13 They carried his body to Canaan and buried it in the cave at Machpelah. This was the cave near Mamre in the field that Abraham bought from Ephron the Hittite. Abraham bought that cave to use as a burial place.
14 After Joseph buried his father, he and everyone in the group with him went back to Egypt.
15 After Jacob died, Joseph’s brothers were worried. They were afraid that Joseph would still be mad at them for what they had done years before. They said, “Maybe Joseph still hates us for what we did.”
16 So the brothers sent this message to Joseph: “Before your father died, he told us to give you a message.
17 He said, ‘Tell Joseph that I beg him to please forgive his brothers for the bad things they did to him.’ So now Joseph, we beg you, please forgive us for the bad things we did to you. We are the servants of God, the God of your father.” That message made Joseph very sad, and he cried.
18 His brothers went to him and bowed down in front of him. They said, “We will be your servants.”
19 Then Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. I am not God! I have no right to punish you.