Genesis 50
50
Jacob’s Burial
1When Jacob died, Joseph hugged his father and cried over him and kissed him. 2He commanded the doctors who served him to prepare his father’s body, so the doctors prepared Jacob’s body to be buried. 3It took the doctors forty days to prepare his body (the usual time it took). And the Egyptians had a time of sorrow for Jacob that lasted seventy days.
4When this time of sorrow had ended, Joseph spoke to the king’s officers and said, “If you think well of me, please tell this to the king: 5‘When my father was near death, I made a promise to him that I would bury him in a cave in the land of Canaan, in a burial place that he cut out for himself. So please let me go and bury my father, and then I will return.’ ”
6The king answered, “Keep your promise. Go and bury your father.”
7So Joseph went to bury his father. All the king’s officers, the elders of his court, and all the elders of Egypt went with Joseph. 8Everyone who lived with Joseph and his brothers went with him, as well as everyone who lived with his father. They left only their children, their flocks, and their herds in the land of Goshen. 9They went with Joseph in chariots and on horses. It was a very large group.
10When they came to the threshing floor of Atad, near the Jordan River, they cried loudly and bitterly for his father. Joseph’s time of sorrow continued for seven days. 11The people that lived in Canaan saw the sadness at the threshing floor of Atad and said, “Those Egyptians are showing great sorrow!” So now that place is named Sorrow of the Egyptians.
12So Jacob’s sons did as their father commanded. 13They carried his body to the land of Canaan and buried it in the cave in the field of Machpelah near Mamre. Abraham had bought this cave and field from Ephron the Hittite to use as a burial place. 14After Joseph buried his father, he returned to Egypt, along with his brothers and everyone who had gone with him to bury his father.
The Brothers Fear Joseph
15After Jacob died, Joseph’s brothers said, “What if Joseph is still angry with us? We did many wrong things to him. What if he plans to pay us back?” 16So they sent a message to Joseph that said, “Your father gave this command before he died. 17He said to us, ‘You have done wrong and have sinned and done evil to Joseph. Tell Joseph to forgive you, his brothers.’ So now, Joseph, we beg you to forgive our wrong. We are the servants of the God of your father.” When Joseph received the message, he cried.
18And his brothers went to him and bowed low before him and said, “We are your slaves.”
19Then Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Can I do what only God can do? 20You meant to hurt me, but God turned your evil into good to save the lives of many people, which is being done. 21So don’t be afraid. I will take care of you and your children.” So Joseph comforted his brothers and spoke kind words to them.
22Joseph continued to live in Egypt with all his father’s family. He died when he was one hundred ten years old. 23During Joseph’s life Ephraim had children and grandchildren, and Joseph’s son Manasseh had a son named Makir. Joseph accepted Makir’s children as his own.
The Death of Joseph
24Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die, but God will take care of you. He will lead you out of this land to the land he promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” 25Then Joseph had the sons of Israel make a promise. He said, “Promise me that you will carry my bones with you out of Egypt.”
26Joseph died when he was one hundred ten years old. Doctors prepared his body for burial, and then they put him in a coffin in Egypt.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
Genesis 50
50
1Joseph threw himself on his father, crying and kissing his face. 2Then Joseph gave orders to embalm his father's body. 3It took forty days, the normal time for embalming. The Egyptians mourned for him seventy days.
4When the time of mourning was over, Joseph said to the king's officials, “Please take this message to the king: 5#Gn 47.29-31 ‘When my father was about to die, he made me promise him that I would bury him in the tomb which he had prepared in the land of Canaan. So please let me go and bury my father, and then I will come back.’”
6The king answered, “Go and bury your father, as you promised you would.”
7So Joseph went to bury his father. All the king's officials, the senior men of his court, and all the leading men of Egypt went with Joseph. 8His family, his brothers, and the rest of his father's family all went with him. Only their small children and their sheep, goats, and cattle stayed in the region of Goshen. 9Men in chariots and men on horseback also went with him; it was a huge group.
10When they came to the threshing place at Atad east of the Jordan, they mourned loudly for a long time, and Joseph performed mourning ceremonies for seven days. 11When the citizens of Canaan saw those people mourning at Atad, they said, “What a solemn ceremony of mourning the Egyptians are holding!” That is why the place was named Abel Mizraim.#50.11: Abel Mizraim: This name sounds like the Hebrew for “mourning of the Egyptians.”
12So Jacob's sons did as he had commanded them; 13#Ac 7.16 they carried his body to Canaan and buried it in the cave at Machpelah east of Mamre in the field which Abraham had bought from Ephron the Hittite for a burial ground. 14After Joseph had buried his father, he returned to Egypt with his brothers and all who had gone with him for the funeral.
Joseph Reassures His Brothers
15After the death of their father, Joseph's brothers said, “What if Joseph still hates us and plans to pay us back for all the harm we did to him?” 16So they sent a message to Joseph: “Before our father died, 17he told us to ask you, ‘Please forgive the crime your brothers committed when they wronged you.’ Now please forgive us the wrong that we, the servants of your father's God, have done.” Joseph cried when he received this message.
18Then his brothers themselves came and bowed down before him. “Here we are before you as your slaves,” they said.
19But Joseph said to them, “Don't be afraid; I can't put myself in the place of God. 20You plotted evil against me, but God turned it into good, in order to preserve the lives of many people who are alive today because of what happened. 21You have nothing to fear. I will take care of you and your children.” So he reassured them with kind words that touched their hearts.
The Death of Joseph
22Joseph continued to live in Egypt with his father's family; he was a hundred and ten years old when he died. 23He lived to see Ephraim's children and grandchildren. He also lived to receive the children of Machir son of Manasseh into the family. 24He said to his brothers, “I am about to die, but God will certainly take care of you and lead you out of this land to the land he solemnly promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” 25#Ex 13.19; Js 24.32; He 11.22 Then Joseph asked his people to make a vow. “Promise me,” he said, “that when God leads you to that land, you will take my body with you.” 26So Joseph died in Egypt at the age of a hundred and ten. They embalmed his body and put it in a coffin.
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition)
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