Passage

Genesis 50.19-21

Book: Genesis · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV

17. So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the transgression of thy brethren, and their sin, for that they did unto thee evil. And now, we pray thee, forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spake unto him. 18. And his brethren also went and fell down before his face; and they said, Behold, we are thy servants.

19. And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God? 20. And as for you, ye meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive. 21. Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them.

And Joseph dwelt in Egypt, he, and his father's house: and Joseph lived a hundred and ten years. 23. And Joseph saw Ephraim's children of the third generation: the children also of Machir the son of Manasseh were born upon Joseph's knees. (Genesis 50:17-23, ASV)

WEB

17. ‘You shall tell Joseph, “Now please forgive the disobedience of your brothers, and their sin, because they did evil to you.”’ Now, please forgive the disobedience of the servants of the God of your father.” Joseph wept when they spoke to him. 18. His brothers also went and fell down before his face; and they said, “Behold, we are your servants.”

19. Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid, for am I in the place of God? 20. As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring to pass, as it is today, to save many people alive. 21. Now therefore don’t be afraid. I will nourish you and your little ones.” He comforted them, and spoke kindly to them.

Joseph lived in Egypt, he, and his father’s house. Joseph lived one hundred ten years. 23. Joseph saw Ephraim’s children to the third generation. The children also of Machir, the son of Manasseh, were born on Joseph’s knees. (Genesis 50:17-23, WEB)

KJV

17. So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren, and their sin; for they did unto thee evil: and now, we pray thee, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spake unto him. 18. And his brethren also went and fell down before his face; and they said, Behold, we be thy servants.

19. And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God? 20. But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive. 21. Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them. ^{kindly: Heb. to their hearts}

And Joseph dwelt in Egypt, he, and his father's house: and Joseph lived an hundred and ten years. 23. And Joseph saw Ephraim's children of the third generation: the children also of Machir the son of Manasseh were brought up upon Joseph's knees. ^{brought: Heb. born} (Genesis 50:17-23, KJV)

YLT

17. Thus 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. 18. And his brethren also go and fall before him, and say, 'Lo, we [are] to thee for servants.'

19. And Joseph saith unto them, 'Fear not, for [am] I in the place of God? 20. As 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; 21. and now, fear not: I do nourish you and your infants;' and he comforteth them, and speaketh unto their heart.

And Joseph dwelleth in Egypt, he and the house of his father, and Joseph liveth a hundred and ten years, 23. and 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. (Genesis 50:17-23, YLT)

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Setting

Speaker: TBD
Audience: TBD
Location: TBD
Time period: TBD

Theological reading

Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word.

H5162 - nacham, nacham, Strong's H5162
H2896 - tov, tov, Strong's H2896
H3820 - lev, lev, Strong's H3820
H0430 - elohim, elohim, Strong's H0430
H6213 - asah, asah, Strong's H6213

Quoted in

Arguments and defeaters:

Concepts:

Compatibilism, via Genesis 50.20
Concurrentism, via Genesis 50.20
Divine Providence, via Genesis 50.20
Divine Sovereignty, via Genesis 50.20
Free Will and Determinism, via Genesis 50.20

Lexicon:

H2896 - tov, via Genesis 50.20

Notes

Your annotations.

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.