Genesis 45:1-15

Joseph Shows Kindness To His Brothers

1Then Joseph could not control himself [any longer] in front of all those who attended him, and he called out, “Have everyone leave me.” So no man stood there when Joseph revealed himself to his brothers. 2Joseph wept aloud, and the Egyptians [who had just left him] heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard of it. 3Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still alive?” But his brothers were speechless, for they were stunned and dismayed by [the fact that they were in] Joseph’s presence.

4And Joseph said to his brothers, “Please come closer to me.” And they approached him. And he said, “I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. 5Now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me ahead of you to save life and preserve our family. 6For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are still five more years in which there will be no plowing and harvesting. 7God sent me [to Egypt] ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on the earth, and to keep you alive by a great escape. 8So now it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh and lord of all his household and ruler over all the land of Egypt. 9Hurry and go up to my father, and tell him, ‘Your son Joseph says this to you: God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me, do not delay. 10You shall live in the land of Goshen [the best pasture land of Egypt], and you shall be close to me—you and your children and your grandchildren, your flocks and your herds and all you have. 11“There I will provide for you and sustain you, so that you and your household and all that are yours may not become impoverished, for there are still five years of famine to come.”’ 12Look! Your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see, that I am speaking to you [personally in your language and not through an interpreter]. 13“Now you must tell my father of all my splendor and power in Egypt, and of everything that you have seen; and you must hurry and bring my father down here.” 14Then he embraced his brother Benjamin’s neck and wept, and Benjamin wept on his neck. 15He kissed all his brothers and wept on them, and afterward his brothers talked with him.