Genesis 45:1-8 ▼

1 At this point, Joseph could not control his emotions any longer, so he cried out to everyone who was standing nearby, |Everybody! Leave me!| As a result, none of his staff was anywhere near him when he revealed himself to his brothers.

2 He cried so loudly that the Egyptians heard him, including Pharaoh's household.

3 Joseph blurted out, |I'm Joseph! Is my father really alive?| But his brothers could not answer him, because they had become terrified to be in his presence.

4 Joseph implored his brothers, |Please come close to me.| So they did. |I'm your brother Joseph, whom you sold into slavery in Egypt!| he told them.

5 |But don't be distressed or angry at yourselves because you sold me here, because God sent me ahead of you all in order to deliver us.

6 That's because this famine has been going on for two years now in this region, and there are still five years left, during which there won't be any plowing or harvesting.

7 God sent me ahead of you to keep you alive on the earth, and to save you all in a magnificent way.

8 As a result, it wasn't you who sent me here, but God himself! He established me as a father-figure to Pharaoh himself! I'm in charge of his entire palace and ruler over the entire land of Egypt.