Genesis 50:15–26

JOSEPH’S KINDNESS

¹⁵When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said to one another, “If Joseph is holding a grudge against us, he will certainly repay us for all the suffering we caused him.”^l

¹⁶So they sent this message to Joseph, “Before he died your father gave a command: ¹⁷‘Say this to Joseph: Please forgive your brothers’ transgression and their sin—the suffering they caused you.’ Therefore, please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father.” Joseph wept^m when their message came to him. ¹⁸His brothers also came to him, bowed down before him, and said, “We are your slaves!”

¹⁹But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God?^{n 20}You planned evil against me; God planned it for good to bring about the present result—the survival of many people.^{o 21}Therefore don’t be afraid. I will take care of you and your children.”^p And he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.^B

JOSEPH’S DEATH

²²Joseph and his father’s family remained in Egypt. Joseph lived 110 years. ²³He saw Ephraim’s sons to the third generation;^q the sons of Manasseh’s son Machir were recognized by^C Joseph.^r

²⁴Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die,^s but God will certainly come to your aid and bring you up from this land to the land he swore to give to Abraham,^t Isaac,^u and Jacob.”^{v 25}So Joseph made the sons of Israel take an oath: “When God comes to your aid, you are to carry my bones up from here.”^w

²⁶Joseph died at the age of 110. They embalmed him and placed him in a coffin in Egypt.