Genesis 50:15

¹³ For his sons carried him into the land of Canaan, and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, which Abraham bought with the field for a possession of a buryingplace of Ephron the Hittite, before Mamre.

¹⁴ And Joseph returned into Egypt, he, and his brethren, and all that went up with him to bury his father, after he had buried his father.

And when Joseph’s brethren saw that their father was dead, they said, Joseph will peradventure hate us, and will certainly requite us all the evil which we did unto him.

¹⁶ And they sent a messenger unto Joseph, saying, Thy father did command before he died, saying,

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.

Here the Bible tells a story about someone else. Ask yourself what it can say to us today. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB: When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph bears a grudge? Then he will surely repay us for all the evil that we did to him.”
KJV: And when Joseph’s brethren saw that their father was dead, they said, Joseph will peradventure hate us, and will certainly requite us all the evil which we did unto him.
WEB: When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “It may be that Joseph will hate us, and will fully pay us back for all the evil which we did to him.”
ASV: And when Joseph`s brethren saw that their father was dead, they said, It may be that Joseph will hate us, and will fully requite us all the evil which we did unto him.
DARBY: And when Joseph's brethren saw that their father was dead, they said, If now Joseph should be hostile to us, and should indeed requite us all the evil that we did to him!
BLB: And the brothers of Joseph saw that their father was dead, and they said, “Perhaps Joseph will hate us, and he will surely return to us all the evil that we did to him.”

ÅB: Da Josefs brødre så at deres far var død, sa de: Bare nå ikke Josef vil hate oss og gjengjelde oss alt det onde vi gjorde mot ham!
OTB: Da Josefs brødre så at deres far var død, sa de: “Hva om Josef bærer nag mot oss og gjengjelder oss for all den urett vi gjorde mot ham?”
B1930: Da Josefs brødre så at deres far var død, sa de: Bare nu ikke Josef vil hate oss og gjengjelde oss alt det onde vi gjorde mot ham!

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

Proverbs 28:1
The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion.
Read in context
Genesis 42:21–22
And they said one to another, We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us.
Read in context
Psalms 14:5
There were they in great fear: for God is in the generation of the righteous.
Read in context
Genesis 27:41–42
And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him: and Esau said in his heart, The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then will I slay my brother Jacob.
Read in context
Job 15:21–22
A dreadful sound is in his ears: in prosperity the destroyer shall come upon him.
Read in context
Leviticus 26:36
And upon them that are left alive of you I will send a faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies; and the sound of a shaken leaf shall chase them; and they shall flee, as fleeing from a sword; and they shall fall when none pursueth.
Read in context
Psalms 53:5
There were they in great fear, where no fear was: for God hath scattered the bones of him that encampeth against thee: thou hast put them to shame, because God hath despised them.
Read in context
Genesis 42:17
And he put them all together into ward three days.
Read in context