Genesis 50:20 Text
King James Version (KJV)
But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.
World English Bible (WEB)
As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to save many people alive, as is happening today.
What Genesis 50:20 Means
Joseph speaks these words to the brothers who sold him into slavery years earlier. He does not deny that what they did was evil: 'you meant evil against me'. He then says God meant the same events for good, to save many lives. The point is not that evil stops being evil, but that God was able to work through it without excusing it. The KJV and WEB are close here; the WEB's 'as is happening today' reads a little more clearly than 'as it is this day'. A common misreading turns the verse into a claim that everything bad that happens is secretly good. Joseph's statement is tied to his own history and looks back from the far side of it. It offers hope that God can redeem hard events, not a command to call suffering good.
Context of Genesis 50:20
Genesis is traditionally attributed to Moses, though scholars discuss how it was composed. This verse comes at the very end of the book. Jacob has died, and Joseph's brothers fear he will finally take revenge. They send a message asking forgiveness, and Joseph weeps. He reassures them, saying he is not in the place of God, and promises to provide for them and their children. The book then closes with Joseph's death. To read the whole book, see random verse from Genesis.
How to Apply Genesis 50:20
If you are carrying a wound from something someone did, this verse does not require you to pretend it was fine. It does leave room for hope that your story is not finished. Consider where you might trust God with the outcome, and where forgiveness, in time, could free you.
Related Verses
- Romans 8:28 – And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
- Genesis 45:5-8 – Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life. For these two years hath the famine been in the land: and yet there are five years, in the which there shall neither be earing nor harvest. And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.
- Psalm 34:19 – Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.
- Isaiah 61:3 – To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD , that he might be glorified.
Looking for more verses on this theme? Browse Bible Verses About Trust, each with a short note on its context.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Genesis 50:20 mean?
Joseph tells his brothers that although they intended harm when they sold him, God used the events to preserve many lives during a famine. It shows God bringing good out of evil without excusing the evil.
Does Genesis 50:20 mean everything happens for a reason?
Not in a simple way. Joseph speaks about his own story, looking back. He still calls what his brothers did evil. The verse offers hope that God can redeem harm, but it does not say that every painful event is good or planned.
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