⁴ Now when the days of his mourning were past, Joseph spoke to ^(A)the household of Pharaoh, saying, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, please speak in the hearing of Pharaoh, saying, ^5 (B)‘My father made me swear, saying, “Behold, I am dying; in my grave ^(C)which I dug for myself in the land of Canaan, there you shall bury me.” Now therefore, please let me go up and bury my father, and I will come back.’ ”

⁶ And Pharaoh said, “Go up and bury your father, as he made you swear.”

⁷ So Joseph went up to bury his father; and with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his house, and all the elders of the land of Egypt, ⁸ as well as all the house of Joseph, his brothers, and his father’s house. Only their little ones, their flocks, and their herds they left in the land of Goshen. ⁹ And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen, and it was a very great gathering.

¹⁰ Then they came to the threshing floor of Atad, which is beyond the Jordan, and they ^(D)mourned there with a great and very solemn lamentation. ^(E)He observed seven days of mourning for his father. ¹¹ And when the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning at the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “This is a deep mourning of the Egyptians.” Therefore its name was called ^[a]Abel Mizraim, which is beyond the Jordan.

¹² So his sons did for him just as he had commanded them. ¹³ For ^(F)his sons carried him to the land of Canaan, and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, before Mamre, which Abraham ^(G)bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite as property for a burial place. ¹⁴ And after he had buried his father, Joseph returned to Egypt, he and his brothers and all who went up with him to bury his father.

Joseph Reassures His Brothers

¹⁵ When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, ^(H)they said, “Perhaps Joseph will hate us, and may ^[b]actually repay us for all the evil which we did to him.” ¹⁶ So they sent messengers to Joseph, saying, “Before your father died he commanded, saying, ¹⁷ ‘Thus you shall say to Joseph: “I beg you, please forgive the trespass of your brothers and their sin; ^(I)for they did evil to you.” ’ Now, please, forgive the trespass of the servants of ^(J)the God of your father.” And Joseph wept when they spoke to him.

¹⁸ Then his brothers also went and ^(K)fell down before his face, and they said, “Behold, we are your servants.”

¹⁹ Joseph said to them, ^(L)“Do not be afraid, ^(M)for am I in the place of God? ^20 (N)But as for you, you meant evil against me; but ^(O)God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive. ²¹ Now therefore, do not be afraid; ^(P)I will provide for you and your little ones.” And he comforted them and spoke ^[c]kindly to them.

Do Not Grieve the Spirit

²⁵ Therefore, putting away lying, ^(A)“Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,” for ^(B)we are members of one another. ^26 (C)“Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, ^27 (D)nor give ^[a]place to the devil. ²⁸ Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather ^(E)let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something ^(F)to give him who has need. ^29 (G)Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but ^(H)what is good for necessary ^[b]edification, ^(I)that it may impart grace to the hearers. ³⁰ And ^(J)do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. ^31 (K)Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, ^[c]clamor, and ^(L)evil speaking be put away from you, ^(M)with all malice. ³² And ^(N)be kind to one another, tenderhearted, ^(O)forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.

The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant

²¹ Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? ^(A)Up to seven times?”

²² Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, ^(B)up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven. ²³ Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. ²⁴ And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. ²⁵ But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded ^(C)that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made. ²⁶ The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, ‘Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’ ²⁷ Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.

²⁸ “But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, ‘Pay me what you owe!’ ²⁹ So his fellow servant fell down ^[a]at his feet and begged him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you ^[b]all.’ ³⁰ And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt. ³¹ So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done. ³² Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you ^(D)all that debt because you begged me. ³³ Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?’ ³⁴ And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him.

^35 (E)“So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother ^[c]his trespasses.”