| New Living Translation | Berean Study Bible |
| 1Joseph could stand it no longer. There were many people in the room, and he said to his attendants, “Out, all of you!” So he was alone with his brothers when he told them who he was. | 1Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all his attendants, and he cried out, “Send everyone away from me!” So none of them were with Joseph when he made himself known to his brothers. |
| 2Then he broke down and wept. He wept so loudly the Egyptians could hear him, and word of it quickly carried to Pharaoh’s palace. | 2But he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard him, and Pharaoh’s household soon heard of it. |
| 3“I am Joseph!” he said to his brothers. “Is my father still alive?” But his brothers were speechless! They were stunned to realize that Joseph was standing there in front of them. | 3Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still alive?” But they were unable to answer him, because they were terrified in his presence. |
| 4“Please, come closer,” he said to them. So they came closer. And he said again, “I am Joseph, your brother, whom you sold into slavery in Egypt. | 4Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Please come near me.” And they did so. “I am Joseph, your brother,” he said, “the one you sold into Egypt! |
| 5But don’t be upset, and don’t be angry with yourselves for selling me to this place. It was God who sent me here ahead of you to preserve your lives. | 5And now, do not be distressed or angry with yourselves that you sold me into this place, because it was to save lives that God sent me before you. |
| 6This famine that has ravaged the land for two years will last five more years, and there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. | 6For the famine has covered the land these two years, and there will be five more years without plowing or harvesting. |
| 7God has sent me ahead of you to keep you and your families alive and to preserve many survivors. | 7God sent me before you to preserve you as a remnant on the earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance. |
| 8So it was God who sent me here, not you! And he is the one who made me an adviser to Pharaoh—the manager of his entire palace and the governor of all Egypt. | 8Therefore it was not you who sent me here, but God, who has made me a father to Pharaoh—lord of all his household and ruler over all the land of Egypt. |
| 9“Now hurry back to my father and tell him, ‘This is what your son Joseph says: God has made me master over all the land of Egypt. So come down to me immediately! | 9Now return quickly to my father and tell him, ‘This is what your son Joseph says: God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me without delay. |
| 10You can live in the region of Goshen, where you can be near me with all your children and grandchildren, your flocks and herds, and everything you own. | 10You shall settle in the land of Goshen and be near me—you and your children and grandchildren, your flocks and herds, and everything you own. |
| 11I will take care of you there, for there are still five years of famine ahead of us. Otherwise you, your household, and all your animals will starve.’” | 11And there I will provide for you, because there will be five more years of famine. Otherwise, you and your household and everything you own will come to destitution.’ |
| 12Then Joseph added, “Look! You can see for yourselves, and so can my brother Benjamin, that I really am Joseph! | 12Behold! You and my brother Benjamin can see that I, Joseph, am the one speaking with you. |
| 13Go tell my father of my honored position here in Egypt. Describe for him everything you have seen, and then bring my father here quickly.” | 13Tell my father about all my splendor in Egypt and everything you have seen. And bring my father down here quickly.” |
| 14Weeping with joy, he embraced Benjamin, and Benjamin did the same. | 14Then Joseph threw his arms around his brother Benjamin and wept, and Benjamin wept as they embraced. |
| 15Then Joseph kissed each of his brothers and wept over them, and after that they began talking freely with him. Pharaoh Invites Jacob to Egypt | 15Joseph kissed each of his brothers as he wept over them. And afterward his brothers talked with him. |
| 16The news soon reached Pharaoh’s palace: “Joseph’s brothers have arrived!” Pharaoh and his officials were all delighted to hear this. | 16When the news reached Pharaoh’s house that Joseph’s brothers had come, Pharaoh and his servants were pleased. |
| 17Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Tell your brothers, ‘This is what you must do: Load your pack animals, and hurry back to the land of Canaan. | 17Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Tell your brothers, ‘Do as follows: Load your animals and return to the land of Canaan. |
| 18Then get your father and all of your families, and return here to me. I will give you the very best land in Egypt, and you will eat from the best that the land produces.’” | 18Then bring your father and your families and return to me. I will give you the best of the land of Egypt, and you shall eat from the fat of the land.’ |
| 19Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Tell your brothers, ‘Take wagons from the land of Egypt to carry your little children and your wives, and bring your father here. | 19You are also directed to tell them: ‘Take wagons from the land of Egypt for your young children and your wives, and bring your father and come back. |
| 20Don’t worry about your personal belongings, for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours.’” | 20But pay no regard to your belongings, for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours.’ ” |
| 21So the sons of Jacob did as they were told. Joseph provided them with wagons, as Pharaoh had commanded, and he gave them supplies for the journey. | 21So the sons of Israel did as they were told. Joseph gave them wagons as Pharaoh had instructed, and he also gave them provisions for their journey. |
| 22And he gave each of them new clothes—but to Benjamin he gave five changes of clothes and 300 pieces of silver. | 22He gave new garments to each of them, but to Benjamin he gave three hundred shekels of silver and five sets of clothes. |
| 23He also sent his father ten male donkeys loaded with the finest products of Egypt, and ten female donkeys loaded with grain and bread and other supplies he would need on his journey. | 23And he sent to his father the following: ten donkeys loaded with the best of Egypt, and ten female donkeys loaded with grain and bread and provisions for his father’s journey. |
| 24So Joseph sent his brothers off, and as they left, he called after them, “Don’t quarrel about all this along the way!” | 24Then Joseph sent his brothers on their way, and as they were leaving, he said to them, “Do not quarrel on the way!” |
| 25And they left Egypt and returned to their father, Jacob, in the land of Canaan. | 25So the brothers went up out of Egypt and came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan. |
| 26“Joseph is still alive!” they told him. “And he is governor of all the land of Egypt!” Jacob was stunned at the news—he couldn’t believe it. | 26“Joseph is still alive,” they said, “and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt!” But Jacob was stunned, for he did not believe them. |
| 27But when they repeated to Jacob everything Joseph had told them, and when he saw the wagons Joseph had sent to carry him, their father’s spirits revived. | 27However, when they relayed all that Joseph had told them, and when he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to carry him back, the spirit of their father Jacob was revived. |
| 28Then Jacob exclaimed, “It must be true! My son Joseph is alive! I must go and see him before I die.” | 28“Enough!” declared Israel. “My son Joseph is still alive! I will go to see him before I die.” |
|
