Genesis 50:19-26

50:19 But Joseph answered them, “Don’t be afraid. Am ¹  I in the place of God? 50:20 As for you, you meant to harm me, ²  but God intended it for a good purpose, so he could preserve the lives of many people, as you can see this day. ³  50:21 So now, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your little children.” Then he consoled them and spoke kindly ⁴  to them.

50:22 Joseph lived in Egypt, along with his father’s family. ⁵  Joseph lived 110 years. 50:23 Joseph saw the descendants of Ephraim to the third generation. ⁶  He also saw the children of Makir the son of Manasseh; they were given special inheritance rights by Joseph. ⁷ 

50:24 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die. But God will surely come to you ⁸  and lead you up from this land to the land he swore on oath to give ⁹  to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” 50:25 Joseph 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.” 50:26 So Joseph died at the age of 110. ¹⁰  After they embalmed him, his body ¹¹  was placed in a coffin in Egypt.

¹ tn Heb “For am I.”

² tn Heb “you devised against me evil.”

³ tn Heb “God devised it for good in order to do, like this day, to preserve alive a great nation.”

⁴ tn Heb “spoke to their heart.”

⁵ tn Heb “he and the house of his father.”

⁶ tn Heb “saw Ephraim, the children of the third.”

⁷ tn 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.

⁸ tn 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.”

⁹ tn The words “to give” are supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.

¹⁰ tn Heb “son of a hundred and ten years.”

¹¹ tn Heb “he.”