Genesis 50:17

17 that we should say to thee these things by his words; I beseech thee, that thou forget the wickedness of thy brethren, and the sin, and [the] malice that they haunted against thee; also we pray thee, that thou forgive this wickedness (which we did) to thy father, the servant of God. When these things were heard, Joseph wept. (that we should say these words of his to thee; My son, I beseech thee, that thou forget the wickedness of thy brothers, and the sin, and the malice that they did against thee; and we also pray thee, that thou forgive our wickedness, for we, like thee, be servants of the God of thy father. And when Joseph heard this message, he wept.)

Genesis 50:17 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 50:17

So shall ye say unto Joseph, forgive, I pray thee now, the
trespass of thy brethren, and their sin
Their very great sin, and therefore more words than one are used to express it: unless this repetition should be intended, and signifies that their crime was a trespass against God, and a sin against their brother; and however they are directed to ask forgiveness for it, and urge the relation they stood in to Joseph, in order to obtain it, which they were ready to acknowledge as a very great evil, and of which they repented:

and now, we pray thee, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God
of thy father;
they urge not only the common relation they stood in to Jacob, but what they stood in to the God of Jacob, being his servants, his worshippers, as Joseph also was; and therefore, being his brethren not only in nature but in religion and grace, they hoped he would forgive their trespass:

and Joseph wept when they spake unto him;
by their messenger; being troubled that they should be in such anxiety and distress of mind, which he had a fellow feeling with, and that they should have no better opinion of him, but entertain such distrust of him, notwithstanding all the kindness he had shown them, as to imagine that he should ever deal hardly with them for their former ill usage of him, which was forgiven and forgotten by him long ago.

Genesis 50:17 In-Context

15 And when their father was dead, the brethren of Joseph dreaded, and spake together, (and said,) Lest peradventure he be mindful of the wrong which he suffered, and yield to us all the evil, that we did. (And now that their father was dead, Joseph's brothers were afraid, and spoke together, and said, Perhaps he shall remember all the wrong, or all the harm, which he suffered because of us, and give back to us all the evil that we did to him, and so we must ask him for mercy.)

16 And (so) they sent (a message) to him, and said, Thy father commanded to us, before that he died,

17 that we should say to thee these things by his words; I beseech thee, that thou forget the wickedness of thy brethren, and the sin, and [the] malice that they haunted against thee; also we pray thee, that thou forgive this wickedness (which we did) to thy father, the servant of God. When these things were heard, Joseph wept. (that we should say these words of his to thee; My son, I beseech thee, that thou forget the wickedness of thy brothers, and the sin, and the malice that they did against thee; and we also pray thee, that thou forgive our wickedness, for we, like thee, be servants of the God of thy father. And when Joseph heard this message, he wept.)

18 And his brethren came to him, and worshipped low to the earth (and bowed low to the ground before him), and said, We be thy servants.

19 To which he answered, Do not ye dread; whether we may against-stand God's will? (To whom he answered, Do not ye fear; for can we stand against God's will?)