Genesis 50
50
1And Joseph falleth on his father's face, and weepeth over him, and kisseth him;
2and Joseph commandeth his servants, the physicians, to embalm his father, and the physicians embalm Israel;
3and they fulfil for him forty days, for so they fulfil the days of the embalmed, and the Egyptians weep for him seventy days.
4And the days of his weeping pass away, and Joseph speaketh unto the house of Pharaoh, saying, ‘If, I pray you, I have found grace in your eyes, speak, I pray you, in the ears of Pharaoh, saying,
5My father caused me to swear, saying, Lo, I am dying; in my burying-place which I have prepared for myself in the land of Canaan, there dost thou bury me; and now, let me go up, I pray thee, and bury my father, and return;’
6and Pharaoh saith, ‘Go up and bury thy father, as he caused thee to swear.’
7And Joseph goeth up to bury his father, and go up with him do all the servants of Pharaoh, elders of his house, and all the elders of the land of Egypt,
8and all the house of Joseph, and his brethren, and the house of his father; only their infants, and their flock, and their herd, have they left in the land of Goshen;
9and there go up with him both chariot and horsemen, and the camp is very great.
10And they come unto the threshing-floor of Atad, which [is] beyond the Jordan, and they lament there, a lamentation great and very grievous; and he maketh for his father a mourning seven days,
11and the inhabitant of the land, the Canaanite, see the mourning in the threshing-floor of Atad, and say, ‘A grievous mourning [is] this to the Egyptians;’ therefore hath [one] called its name ‘The mourning of the Egyptians,’ which [is] beyond the Jordan.
12And his sons do to him so as he commanded them,
13and his sons bear him away to the land of Canaan, and bury him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, which Abraham bought with the field for a possession of a burying-place, from Ephron the Hittite, on the front of Mamre.
14And Joseph turneth back to Egypt, he and his brethren, and all who are going up with him to bury his father, after his burying his father.
15And the brethren of Joseph see that their father is dead, and say, ‘Peradventure Joseph doth hate us, and doth certainly return to us all the evil which we did with him.’
16And they give a charge for Joseph, saying, ‘Thy father commanded before his death, saying,
17Thus ye do say to Joseph, I pray thee, bear, I pray thee, with the transgression of thy brethren, and their sin, for they have done thee evil; and now, bear, we pray thee, with the transgression of the servants of the God of thy father;’ and Joseph weepeth in their speaking unto him.
18And his brethren also go and fall before him, and say, ‘Lo, we [are] to thee for servants.’
19And Joseph saith unto them, ‘Fear not, for [am] I in the place of God?
20As for you, ye devised against me evil — God devised it for good, in order to do as [at] this day, to keep alive a numerous people;
21and now, fear not: I do nourish you and your infants;’ and he comforteth them, and speaketh unto their heart.
22And Joseph dwelleth in Egypt, he and the house of his father, and Joseph liveth a hundred and ten years,
23and Joseph looketh on Ephraim's sons of the third [generation]; sons also of Machir, son of Manasseh, have been born on the knees of Joseph.
24And Joseph saith unto his brethren, ‘I am dying, and God doth certainly inspect you, and hath caused you to go up from this land, unto the land which He hath sworn to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.’
25And Joseph causeth the sons of Israel to swear, saying, ‘God doth certainly inspect you, and ye have brought up my bones from this [place].’
26And Joseph dieth, a son of an hundred and ten years, and they embalm him, and he is put into a coffin in Egypt.
maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society
Genesis 50
50
1Joseph started crying, then leaned over to hug and kiss his father.
2Joseph gave orders for Jacob's body to be embalmed, 3and it took the usual forty days.
The Egyptians mourned seventy days for Jacob. 4When the time of mourning was over, Joseph said to the Egyptian leaders, “If you consider me your friend, please speak to the king#50.4 the king: See the note at 12.15. for me. 5Just before my father died, he made me promise to bury him in his burial cave in Canaan. If the king will give me permission to go, I will come back here.”#Gn 47.29-31.
6The king answered, “Go to Canaan and keep your promise to your father.”
7-9When Joseph left Goshen with his brothers, his relatives, and his father's relatives to bury Jacob, many of the king's highest officials and even his military chariots and cavalry went along. The Israelites left behind only their children, their cattle, and their sheep and goats.
10After crossing the River Jordan and reaching Atad's threshing place, Joseph made everyone mourn and weep seven days for his father. 11The Canaanites saw this and said, “The Egyptians are in great sorrow.” Then they named the place “Egypt in Sorrow”.#50.11 Egypt in Sorrow: Or “Abel-Mizraim”.
12So Jacob's sons did just as their father had instructed. 13They took him to Canaan and buried him in Machpelah Cave, the burial place Abraham had bought from Ephron the Hittite.#Ac 7.16.
14After the funeral, Joseph, his brothers, and everyone else returned to Egypt.
Joseph dies
Joseph's promise to his brothers
15After Jacob died, Joseph's brothers said to each other, “What if Joseph still hates us and wants to get even with us for all the cruel things we did to him?”
16So they sent this message to Joseph:
Before our father died, 17he told us, “You did some cruel and terrible things to Joseph, but you must ask him to forgive you.”
Now we ask you to forgive the terrible things we did. After all, we serve the same God that your father worshipped.
When Joseph heard this, he started crying.
18At once, Joseph's brothers came and bowed down to the ground in front of him and said, “We are your slaves.”
19But Joseph told them, “Don't be afraid! I have no right to change what God has decided. 20You tried to harm me, but God made it turn out for the best, so that he could save all these people, as he is now doing. 21Don't be afraid! I will take care of you and your children.” After Joseph said this, his brothers felt much better.
Joseph's death
22Joseph lived in Egypt with his brothers until he died at the age of one hundred and ten. 23Joseph lived long enough to see Ephraim's children and grandchildren. He also lived to see the children of Manasseh's son Machir, and he welcomed them into his family. 24Before Joseph died, he told his brothers, “I won't live much longer. But God will take care of you and lead you out of Egypt to the land he promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 25Now promise me that you will take my body with you when God leads you to that land.”#Ex 13.19; Js 24.32; He 11.22.
26So Joseph died in Egypt at the age of one hundred and ten; his body was embalmed and put in a coffin.
© British and Foreign Bible Society 2012