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Genesis 50:14-26 Voice Bible (VOICE)

¹⁴After he had buried his father, Joseph gathered his brothers and the vast company of mourners who had journeyed with him to bury his father, and they all returned to Egypt.

¹⁵When Joseph’s brothers began to realize the implications of their father’s death, Joseph’s brothers began to worry.

Joseph’s Brothers: What if Joseph still bears a grudge in some way against us and decides to pay us back in full for all of the wrong we did to him?

¹⁶So they sent a message to Joseph.

Joseph’s Brothers’ Message: Your father gave us this instruction before he died. ¹⁷He told us to say to you, “Please, I beg you. Forgive the crime of your brothers and the sins they committed against you. They were wrong to treat you so badly.” So please do what your father asked and forgive the crime that we, the servants of the God of your father, committed against you.

Joseph cried when they spoke these words to him. ¹⁸And his brothers approached and fell at his feet.

Joseph’s Brothers: Look! We are your slaves.

Joseph: ¹⁹Don’t be afraid. Am I to judge instead of God? It is not my place. ²⁰Even though you intended to harm me, God intended it only for good, and through me, He preserved the lives of countless people, as He is still doing today. ²¹So don’t worry. I will provide for you myself—for you and your children.

This same sentiment is expressed in Paul’s letter to the Romans (8:28). God can take even the meanest intention and make it work for good for His devoted followers.

So Joseph reassured them and continued to speak kindly to them.

²²Now Joseph remained in Egypt for the rest of his life—he and all of his father’s household. He lived to be 110 years old, ²³long enough to see Ephraim’s children down to the third generation. Joseph adopted the children of Machir (Manasseh’s son) and brought them up as his own. ²⁴One day, Joseph told his brothers,

Joseph (to his brothers): I am about to die, but God will someday come to you, lead you out of this land, and bring you back to the land He swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

²⁵At that, Joseph made the rest of Israel’s sons swear to him an oath.

Joseph: When God comes to you, you must take my bones along with you out of this place and back to our homeland.

²⁶Then Joseph died. He was 110 years old, and he was embalmed and placed in a coffin in Egypt.

The story of Joseph ends with the children of Israel living in Egypt. They live there in peace and security through many generations knowing that their future is not in Egypt; their future is in another land, a land of promise, a land most of them have never seen.

Voice Bible (VOICE)