₃Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?” But when his brothers heard this, they were so terrified that they could not answer. ₄Then Joseph said to them, “Please come closer.” They did, and he said, “I am your brother Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. ₅Now do not be upset or blame yourselves because you sold me here. It was really God who sent me ahead of you to save people's lives. ₆This is only the second year of famine in the land; there will be five more years in which there will be neither ploughing nor reaping. ₇God sent me ahead of you to rescue you in this amazing way and to make sure that you and your descendants survive. ₈So it was not really you who sent me here, but God. He has made me the king's highest official. I am in charge of his whole country; I am the ruler of all Egypt.

₉“Now hurry back to my father and tell him that this is what his son Joseph says: ‘God has made me ruler of all Egypt; come to me without delay. ₁₀You can live in the region of Goshen, where you can be near me — you, your children, your grandchildren, your sheep, your goats, your cattle, and everything else that you have. ₁₁If you are in Goshen, I can take care of you. There will still be five years of famine; and I do not want you, your family, and your livestock to starve.’ ”