¹⁵ And when the brothers of Joseph saw that their father was dead, they said, “It may be that Joseph will hold a grudge against us and pay us back dearly for all the evil that we did to him.” ¹⁶ So they sent word to Joseph saying, “Your father commanded us before his death, saying, ¹⁷ “Thus you must say to Joseph, ‘O, please now forgive the transgression of your brothers and their sin, for they did evil to you.’ So now, please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father.” And Joseph wept when they spoke to him. ¹⁸ Then his brothers went also and fell before him and said, “Behold, we are your servants.” ¹⁹ Then Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid, for am I in the place of God? ²⁰ As for you, you planned evil against me, but God planned it for good, in order to do this—to keep many people alive—as it is today. ²¹ So then, do not be afraid. I myself will provide for you and your little ones. And he consoled them and spoke kindly^[a] to them.