Study Desk

Now, do not be upset and do not be angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me ahead of you to preserve life!

God sent me ahead of you to preserve you on the earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.

So now, it is not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me an adviser to Pharaoh, lord over all his household, and ruler over all the land of Egypt.

Now go up to my father quickly and tell him, ‘This is what your son Joseph says: "God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me; do not delay!

So Israel began his journey, taking with him all that he had. When he came to Beer Sheba he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.

God spoke to Israel in a vision during the night and said, "Jacob, Jacob!" He replied, "Here I am!"

He said, "I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there.

Jacob said to Joseph, "The sovereign God appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me.

Joseph said to his father, "They are the sons God has given me in this place." His father said, "Bring them to me so I may bless them."

Israel said to Joseph, "I never expected to see you again, but now God has allowed me to see your children too."

Then he blessed Joseph and said, "May the God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked— the God who has been my shepherd all my life long to this day,

So he blessed them that day, saying, "By you will Israel bless, saying, ‘May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.'" So he put Ephraim before Manasseh.

Then Israel said to Joseph, "I am about to die, but God will be with you and will bring you back to the land of your fathers.

because of the God of your father, who will help you, because of the sovereign God, who will bless you with blessings from the sky above, blessings from the deep that lies below, and blessings of the breasts and womb.

‘Tell Joseph this: Please forgive the sin of your brothers and the wrong they did when they treated you so badly.' Now please forgive the sin of the servants of the God of your father." When this message was reported to him, Joseph wept.

But Joseph answered them, "Don't be afraid. Am I in the place of God?

As for you, you meant to harm me, but God intended it for a good purpose, so he could preserve the lives of many people, as you can see this day.

Then Joseph said to his brothers, "I am about to die. But God will surely come to you and lead you up from this land to the land he swore on oath to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob."

Joseph made the sons of Israel swear an oath. He said, "God will surely come to you. Then you must carry my bones up from this place."

But the midwives feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them; they let the boys live.