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1 Joseph was not able to control his feelings any longer . He did not want to cry in front of his servants , so he said to them loudly , “ All of you go outside !” After they went outside , there were no Egyptians there with Joseph when he told his brothers who he was . 2 He cried so loudly that even the people outside heard it , and even the people in the king ’ s palace heard it . 3 Joseph said to his brothers , “ I am Joseph ! Is our father still alive ?” But his brothers were not able to reply , because they were frightened because of what he said . 4 Then Joseph said to his brothers , “ Come close to me !” When they came closer to him , he said , “ I am your brother Joseph ! I am the one you sold to traders who brought me here to Egypt ! 5 But now , do not be distressed , and do not be angry with yourselves for having sold me as a slave . It was God who sent me here ahead of you in order to keep you from dying in the famine . 6 There has been a famine in this country for two years , and it will continue for five more years . During this time , no one will plow the ground , and there will be no crops to harvest . 7 God sent me here ahead of you to keep you from starving , and to make sure that your descendants would survive . 8 Therefore , it was not you who sent me here ; it was God who sent me here ! He has caused me to become like a father to the king . I am in charge of everything in his palace and the governor of everyone in Egypt ! 9 Now return to my father quickly and say to him , ‘ This is what your son Joseph says : “ God has caused me to become the governor over the whole land of Egypt . Come down to me immediately ! 10 You can live in the region of Goshen . You and your children and your grandchildren , your sheep and goats and cattle , and everything that you own , will be near me . 11 Since there will be five more years of famine , I will make sure that you have food . If you do not come here , you and your family and all of your servants will starve . “‘

12 If you — and Benjamin , too — look closely at me , all of you will see that it is really I , Joseph , who am speaking to you . 13 Go and tell my father about how much honor I have here in Egypt . And tell him about everything else that you have seen . Bring my father down here quickly !”

14 Then he threw his arms around his younger brother Benjamin ’ s neck and cried . And Benjamin hugged him and cried . 15 Then he kissed his older brothers on their cheeks , and he cried . After that , his brothers started to talk with him .

16 Someone went to the palace and told the news that Joseph ’ s brothers had come . The king and all his officials were pleased . 17 The king said to Joseph , “ Tell your brothers this : ‘ Put loads of grain on your animals and return to Canaan land . 18 Then bring your father and your families back here . I will give you the best land in Egypt , and you will have the best food in the land to eat .’ 19 Also tell this to your brothers : ‘ Take some carts from Egypt to carry your children and your wives , and get them and your father and come back here quickly . 20 Do not worry about bringing your possessions , because the best things in Egypt will be yours . Because of that , you will not need to bring things from Canaan .’”

21 Jacob ’ s sons did what the king commanded . Joseph gave them carts and food to eat along the way , as the king had ordered . 22 To each of them he gave new clothes , but he gave three hundred pieces of silver and five sets of new clothes to Benjamin ! 23 This is what he sent to his father : Ten male donkeys , loaded with some of the best things that came from Egypt , and ten female donkeys loaded with grain , bread , and other food for his father ’ s trip to Egypt . 24 Then he sent his brothers on their way , saying to them “ Do not quarrel along the way !”

25 So the brothers left Egypt and came to their father Jacob in Canaan land . 26 One of them told him , “ Joseph is still alive ! In fact , he is the governor over all of Egypt !” Jacob was extremely astonished ; he could not believe that it was true . 27 But they told him everything that Joseph had said to them , and Jacob saw the carts that Joseph had sent to carry him and his family and possessions to Egypt . Then Jacob ’ s shock ended . 28 He said , “ What you have said is enough to convince me ! My son Joseph is still alive , and I will go and see him before I die !”