JOSEPH MAKING HIMSELF KNOWN TO HIS BRETHREN.
Then Joseph could not refrain himself before all them that stood by him; and he cried, Cause every man to go out from me. And there stood no man with him, while Joseph made himself known unto his brethren. And he wept aloud: and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard.
And Joseph said unto his brethren, I am Joseph; doth my father yet live? And his brethren could not answer him; for they were troubled at his presence. And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt. Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life. For these two years hath the famine been in the land: and yet there are five years, in which there shall neither be earing nor harvest. And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt. Haste ye, and go up to my father, and say unto him, Thus saith thy son Joseph, God hath made me lord of all Egypt: come down unto me, tarry not: And thou shalt dwell in the land of Goshen, and thou shalt be near unto me, thou, and thy children, and thy children's children, and thy flocks, and thy herds, and all that thou hast. And there will I nourish thee; for yet there are five years of famine; lest thou, and thy household, and all that thou hast, come to poverty. And, behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that it is my mouth that speaketh unto you. And ye shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt, and of all that ye have seen; and ye shall haste and bring down my father hither.
And he fell upon his brother Benjamin's neck, and wept; and Benjamin wept upon his neck. Moreover he kissed all his brethren, and wept upon them: and after that his brethren talked with him.
And the fame thereof was heard in Pharaoh's house, saying, Joseph's brethren are come and it pleased Pharaoh well, and his servants.
And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, say unto thy brethren, This do ye; lade your beasts, and go, get you unto the land of Canaan; and take your father and your households, and come unto me: and I will give you the good of the land of Egypt, and ye shall eat the fat of the land.—Genesis xlv, 1-18.
【创45:1】 约瑟在左右站着的人面前情不自禁,吩咐一声说,人都要离开我出去。约瑟和弟兄相认的时候并没有一人站在他面前。
Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all his attendants, and he cried out, 'Have everyone leave my presence!' So there was no one with Joseph when he made himself known to his brothers.
【创45:2】 他就放声大哭,埃及人和法老家中的人都听见了。
And he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard him, and Pharaoh's household heard about it.
【创45:3】 约瑟对他弟兄们说,我是约瑟。我的父亲还在吗?他弟兄不能回答,因为在他面前都惊惶。
Joseph said to his brothers, 'I am Joseph! Is my father still living?' But his brothers were not able to answer him, because they were terrified at his presence.
【创45:4】 约瑟又对他弟兄们说,请你们近前来。他们就近前来。他说,我是你们的兄弟约瑟,就是你们所卖到埃及的。
Then Joseph said to his brothers, 'Come close to me.' When they had done so, he said, 'I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt!
【创45:5】 现在,不要因为把我卖到这里自忧自恨。这是神差我在你们以先来,为要保全生命。
And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you.
【创45:6】 现在这地的饥荒已经二年了,还在五年不能耕种,不能收成。
For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will not be plowing and reaping.
【创45:7】 神差我在你们以先来,为要给你们存留余种在世上,又要大施拯救,保全你们的生命。
But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
【创45:8】 这样看来,差我到这里来的不是你们,乃是神。他又使我如法老的父,作他全家的主,并埃及全地的宰相。
'So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt.
【创45:9】 你们要赶紧上到我父亲那里。对他说,你儿子约瑟这样说,神使我作全埃及的主,请你下到我这里来,不要耽延。
Now hurry back to my father and say to him, 'This is what your son Joseph says: God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me; don't delay.
【创45:10】 你和你我儿子孙子,连牛群羊群,并一切所有的,都可以住在歌珊地,与我相近。
You shall live in the region of Goshen and be near me-you, your children and grandchildren, your flocks and herds, and all you have.
【创45:11】 我要在那里奉养你。因为还有五年的饥荒,免得你和你的眷属,并一切所有的,都败落了。
I will provide for you there, because five years of famine are still to come. Otherwise you and your household and all who belong to you will become destitute.'
【创45:12】 况且你们的眼和我兄弟便雅悯的眼都看见是我亲口对你们说话。
'You can see for yourselves, and so can my brother Benjamin, that it is really I who am speaking to you.
【创45:13】 你们也要将我在埃及一切的荣耀和你们所看见的事都告诉我父亲,又要赶紧地将我父亲搬到我这里来。
Tell my father about all the honor accorded me in Egypt and about everything you have seen. And bring my father down here quickly.'
【创45:14】 于是约瑟伏在他兄弟便雅悯的颈项上哭,便雅悯也在他的颈项上哭。
Then he threw his arms around his brother Benjamin and wept, and Benjamin embraced him, weeping.
【创45:15】 他又与众弟兄亲嘴,抱着他们哭,随后他弟兄就和他说话。
And he kissed all his brothers and wept over them. Afterward his brothers talked with him.
【创45:16】 这风声传到法老的宫里,说,约瑟的弟兄们来了。法老和他的臣仆都很喜欢。
When the news reached Pharaoh's palace that Joseph's brothers had come, Pharaoh and all his officials were pleased.
【创45:17】 法老对约瑟说,你吩咐你的弟兄们说,你们要这样行,把驮子抬在牲口上,起身往迦南地去。
Pharaoh said to Joseph, 'Tell your brothers, 'Do this: Load your animals and return to the land of Canaan,
【创45:18】 将你们的父亲和你们的眷属都搬到我这里来,我要把埃及地的美物赐给你们,你们也要吃这地肥美的出产。
and bring your father and your families back to me. I will give you the best of the land of Egypt and you can enjoy the fat of the land.'