Genesis 50:20
“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.”
King James Version (KJV)
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This verse comes after Jacob's death, when Joseph's brothers fear he will now take revenge for their earlier betrayal, and Joseph reassures them.
What Does Genesis 50:20 Mean?
Genesis 50:20 means that Joseph summed up his whole life's story in a single profound truth: his brothers intended harm, but God intended the same events for good, working through them to save many lives. Spoken after their father's death, when the brothers feared revenge, this verse is Joseph's final, settled word of grace.
The verse sets human intention and divine intention side by side: "ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good." Both are real. The brothers genuinely meant harm, and Joseph does not pretend otherwise. Yet over and through their evil, God was working a saving purpose -- "to save much people alive" during the famine. This is one of Scripture's clearest statements of how God's good purposes can prevail even through human wrongdoing, without making the wrongdoing good in itself. For Joseph, this conviction is the ground of his forgiveness; because God brought good out of the evil, Joseph need not avenge himself. The verse offers enduring comfort: no betrayal, no suffering, lies beyond God's power to redeem. What others mean for harm, God can weave into a larger story of rescue and grace.
In the Original Language
The Hebrew "chashab" (thought, meant, devised) is used of both the brothers and God, sharpening the contrast between evil intent and good intent.
Cross References
“Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life.”
- Genesis 45:5
“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.”
- Romans 8:28
“Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee: the remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain.”
- Psalm 76:10
Application
Trust that no wrong done to you is beyond God's power to redeem, and let that confidence free you to forgive rather than to avenge.
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