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

⁷ So Joseph went up to bury his father. All Pharaoh’s officials^(A) accompanied him—the dignitaries of his court^(B) and all the dignitaries of Egypt— ⁸ besides all the members of Joseph’s household and his brothers and those belonging to his father’s household.^(C) Only their children and their flocks and herds were left in Goshen.^{(D) 9} Chariots^(E) and horsemen^[a] also went up with him. It was a very large company.

¹⁰ When they reached the threshing floor^(F) of Atad, near the Jordan, they lamented loudly and bitterly;^(G) and there Joseph observed a seven-day period^(H) of mourning^(I) for his father.^{(J) 11} When the Canaanites^(K) who lived there saw the mourning at the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “The Egyptians are holding a solemn ceremony of mourning.”^(L) That is why that place near the Jordan is called Abel Mizraim.^[b]

¹² So Jacob’s sons did as he had commanded them:^{(M) 13} They carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave in the field of Machpelah,^(N) near Mamre,^(O) which Abraham had bought along with the field^(P) as a burial place from Ephron the Hittite.^{(Q) 14} After burying his father, Joseph returned to Egypt, together with his brothers and all the others who had gone with him to bury his father.^(R)

Joseph Reassures His Brothers

¹⁵ When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph holds a grudge^(S) against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?”^{(T) 16} So they sent word to Joseph, saying, “Your father left these instructions^(U) before he died: ¹⁷ ‘This is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins^(V) and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.’^(W) Now please forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your father.^(X)” When their message came to him, Joseph wept.^(Y)

¹⁸ His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him.^(Z) “We are your slaves,”^(AA) they said.

¹⁹ But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God?^{(AB) 20} You intended to harm me,^(AC) but God intended^(AD) it for good^(AE) to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.^(AF)