Genesis 50:18 (DRB)

Passage

And his brethren came to him; and worshipping prostrate on the ground, they said: We are thy servants.

Nearby Context

Genesis 50:16 And they sent a message to him, saying: Thy father commanded us before he died,

Genesis 50:17 That we should say thus much to thee from him: I beseech thee to forget the wickedness of thy brethren, and the sin and malice they practised against thee: we also pray thee, to forgive the servants of the God of thy father this wickedness. And when Joseph heard this, he wept.

Genesis 50:18 And his brethren came to him; and worshipping prostrate on the ground, they said: We are thy servants.

Genesis 50:19 And he answered them: Fear not: can we resist the will of God?

Genesis 50:20 You thought evil against me: but God turned it into good, that he might exalt me, as at present you see, and might save many people.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "brethren", "came", "worshipping", "prostrate", "ground", "said", and "servants". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "brethren" and "came", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 17's "That we should say thus much to..." into verse 19's "And he answered them Fear not can...", so "brethren" and "came" belong inside that flow. In Genesis context, the local focus is creation, human rebellion, covenant promise, and God's providence.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "brethren" and "came" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.