1 Joseph threw himself on his father. He cried over him, and kissed him.

2 Then Joseph gave orders to embalm his father’s body.

3 It took forty days, which is the normal time for embalming. The Egyptians mourned for him seventy days.

4 When the time of mourning was over, Joseph said to the king’s officials: »Please take this message to the king:

5 »When my father was about to die, he made me promise him that I would bury him in the tomb that he had prepared in the land of Canaan. Please, let me go and bury my father. Then I will come back.«

6 The king replied: »By all means go and bury your father, as you promised you would.«

7 So Joseph went to bury his father. All the king’s officials, the senior men of his court, and all the leading men of Egypt went with Joseph.

8 His family, including his brothers, and the rest of his father’s family all went with him. Only their small children and their sheep, goats, and cattle stayed in the region of Goshen.

9 Men in chariots and men on horseback also went with him. It was a very large group.

10 They mourned loudly for a long time at the threshing place at Atad east of the Jordan. Joseph performed mourning ceremonies for seven days.

11 The citizens of Canaan saw those people mourning at Atad. They said: »What a solemn ceremony of mourning the Egyptians are holding!« That is why the place was named Abel-mizraim.

12 Jacob’s sons did as he had commanded them.

13 They carried his body to Canaan and buried it in the cave at Machpelah east of Mamre. He was buried in the field Abraham bought from Ephron the Hittite for a burial ground.

14 After the funeral, Joseph, his brothers, and everyone else returned to Egypt.

15 After Jacob died, Joseph’s brothers said to each other: »What if Joseph still hates us and wants to get even with us for all the cruel things we did to him?«

16 Thus they sent word to Joseph, saying: »Your father gave us orders before his death. He said,

17 »‘You are to say to Joseph: »Let the wrongdoing of your brothers be overlooked, and the evil they did to you. If it is your pleasure, forgive the sin of the servants of your father’s God.« ’« Upon hearing these words Joseph was overcome with weeping.

18 Then his brothers also came and immediately bowed down in front of him. »We are your slaves!« they said.

19 Joseph replied to them: »Do not be afraid! I cannot take God’s place.

20 »Even though you planned evil against me, God planned good to come out of it. This was to keep many people alive, as he is doing now.

21 »You have nothing to fear. I will take care of you and your children.« So he reassured them with kind words that touched their hearts.

22 Joseph continued to live in Egypt with his father’s family. He was a hundred and ten years old when he died.

23 Joseph lived long enough to see Ephraim’s children and grandchildren. He also lived to see the children of Manasseh’s son Machir. He welcomed them into his family.

24 Before Joseph died, he told his brothers: »I will not live much longer. God will take care of you. He will lead you out of Egypt to the land he promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

25 »Promise me that you will take my body with you when God leads you to that land.«

26 Joseph died in Egypt at the age of one hundred and ten. His body was embalmed and put in a coffin.