^50:15When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph bears a grudge and wants to repay¹⁹ us in full²⁰ for all the harm²¹ we did to him?” ^50:16So they sent word²² to Joseph, saying, “Your father gave these instructions before he died: ^50:17‘Tell Joseph this: Please forgive the sin of your brothers and the wrong they did when they treated you so badly.’ Now please forgive the sin of the servants of the God of your father.” When this message was reported to him, Joseph wept.²³^50:18Then his brothers also came and threw themselves down before him; they said, “Here we are; we are your slaves.” ^50:19But Joseph answered them, “Don’t be afraid. Am²⁴ I in the place of God? ^50:20As for you, you meant to harm me,²⁵ but God intended it for a good purpose, so he could preserve the lives of many people, as you can see this day.²⁶^50:21So now, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your little children.” Then he consoled them and spoke kindly²⁷ to them.

^50:22Joseph lived in Egypt, along with his father’s family.²⁸ Joseph lived 110 years. ^50:23Joseph saw the descendants of Ephraim to the third generation.²⁹ He also saw the children of Makir the son of Manasseh; they were given special inheritance rights by Joseph.³⁰

^50:24Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die. But God will surely come to you³¹ and lead you up from this land to the land he swore on oath to give³² to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” ^50:25Joseph made the sons of Israel swear an oath. He said, “God will surely come to you. Then you must carry my bones up from this place.” ^50:26So Joseph died at the age of 110.³³ After they embalmed him, his body³⁴ was placed in a coffin in Egypt.

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Genesis 50:20: As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.

Footnotes

19 The imperfect tense could be a simple future; it could also have a desiderative nuance.
20 The infinitive absolute makes the statement emphatic, “repay in full.”
21 Or “evil.”
22 The verb means “command,” but they would hardly be commanding him. It probably means they sent their father’s instructions to Joseph.
23 Heb “and Joseph wept when they spoke to him.”
24 Heb “For am I.”
25 Heb “you devised against me evil.”
26 Heb “God devised it for good in order to do, like this day, to preserve alive a great nation.”
27 Heb “spoke to their heart.”
28 Heb “he and the house of his father.”
29 Heb “saw Ephraim, the children of the third.”
30 Heb “they were born on the knees of Joseph.” This expression implies their adoption by Joseph, which meant that they received an inheritance from him.
31 The verb פָּקַד (paqad) means “to visit,” i.e., to intervene for blessing or cursing; here Joseph announces that God would come to fulfill the promises by delivering them from Egypt. The statement is emphasized by the use of the infinitive absolute with the verb: “God will surely visit you.”
32 The words “to give” are supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.
33 Heb “son of a hundred and ten years.”
34 Heb “he.”