Genesis 48
48
CHAPTER 48
1And so when these things were done, it was told to Joseph, that his father was sick. And he took his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, and he disposed him to go.
2And it was said to the eld [or old] man, Lo! thy son Joseph cometh to thee; which was comforted, and sat up in the bed.
3And when Joseph entered to him, he said, Almighty God appeared to me in Luz, which is in the land of Canaan, and blessed me,
4and said, I shall increase thee, and multiply thee, and I shall make thee into companies of peoples, and I shall give to thee this land, and to thy seed after thee, into everlasting possession.
5Therefore thy two sons, that be born to thee in the land of Egypt, before that I came hither to thee, shall be mine; Ephraim and Manasseh, as Reuben and Simeon, shall be areckoned to me;
6forsooth the others which thou shalt beget after them shall be thine; and they shall be called by the name of their brethren in their possessions.
7Forsooth when I came from Mesopotamia, Rachel was dead to me in the land of Canaan, in that way; and it was the beginning of summer; and before that I entered into Ephratah, and I buried her beside the way of Ephratah, which by another name is called Bethlehem.
8Forsooth Jacob saw the sons of Joseph, and said to him, Who be these?
9He answered, They be my sons, which God gave me in this place. Jacob said, Bring them to me, that I bless them.
10For the eyes of Israel dimmed for great eld age, and he might not see clearly; and he kissed and embraced those children joined to him,
11and he said to his son, I am not defrauded of thy sight; furthermore God hath showed to me thy seed.
12And when Joseph had taken them from his father’s lap, he worshipped or honoured low to the earth.
13And he set Ephraim on his right side, that is, on the left side of Israel; forsooth he set Manasseh on his left side, that is, on the right side of his father; and he joined both to him.
14Which held forth the right hand, and laid it on Ephraim’s head, the younger brother; soothly he laid his left hand on Manasseh’s head, that was the more through birth. Jacob changed his hands,
15and blessed his son Joseph#48:15 In blessing Ephraim and Manasseh, Jacob was in fact blessing Joseph. (Good News Bible), and said, God, in whose sight my fathers Abraham and Isaac went; God that feedeth me from my young waxing age till into this present day;
16the angel that delivered me from all evils, bless these children, and my name be called on them, and the names of my fathers, Abraham and Isaac; and wax they in multitude on earth.
17Forsooth Joseph saw that his father had set [or put] his right hand on the head of Ephraim, and he took that heavily, and he enforced or endeavoured him to raise his father’s hand, and take it from the head of Ephraim, and to bear it over upon the head of Manasseh.
18And Joseph said to his father, Father, it accordeth not so; for this is the first begotten; set [or put] thy right hand on his head.
19Which forsook to do so, and said, I know, my son, I know; and soothly this child shall be into peoples, and he shall be multiplied; but his younger brother shall be more than he, and his seed shall increase into a multitude of folks.
20And he blessed them in that time, and said, Israel shall be blessed in thee, and it shall be said, God do to thee as to Ephraim and as to Manasseh. And he set Ephraim before Manasseh;
21and Jacob said to Joseph, his son, Lo! I die, and God shall be with you, and shall lead you again to the land of your fathers;
22I give to thee one part over thy brethren, which I took from the hand of Amorite, in my sword and bow.
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Genesis 48: WBMS
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Wycliffe’s Bible with Modern Spelling ©2017
Wycliffe’s Apocrypha ©2013, 2015
Wycliffe’s Bible © 2012, 2015
Wycliffe’s New Testament ©2001, 2011
Wycliffe’s Old Testament ©2001, 2010
Genesis 48
48
Blessings for Manasseh and Ephraim
1Some time later Joseph learned that his father was very sick. So he took his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, and went to his father. 2When Joseph arrived, someone told Israel, “Your son Joseph has come to see you.” Israel was very weak, but he tried hard and sat up in his bed.
3Then Israel said to Joseph, “God All-Powerful appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan. God blessed me there. 4He said to me, ‘I will make you a great family. I will give you many children and you will be a great people. Your family will own this land forever.’ 5Now you have two sons. These two sons were born here in the country of Egypt before I came. Your two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, will be like my own sons. They will be like Reuben and Simeon to me. 6So these two boys will be my sons. They will share in everything I own. But if you have other sons, they will be your sons. But they will also be like sons to Ephraim and Manasseh—that is, in the future, they will share in everything that Ephraim and Manasseh own. 7On the trip from Paddan Aram, Rachel died in the land of Canaan. This made me very sad. We were still traveling toward Ephrath. I buried her there on the road to Ephrath.” (Ephrath is Bethlehem.)
8Then Israel saw Joseph’s sons. Israel said, “Who are these boys?”
9Joseph said to his father, “These are my sons. These are the boys God gave me.”
Israel said, “Bring your sons to me. I will bless them.”
10Israel was old and his eyes were not good. So Joseph brought the boys close to his father. Israel kissed and hugged the boys. 11Then Israel said to Joseph, “I never thought I would see your face again. But look! God has let me see you and your children.”
12Then Joseph took the boys off Israel’s lap, and they bowed down in front of his father. 13Joseph put Ephraim on his right side and Manasseh on his left side. (So Ephraim was on Israel’s left side, and Manasseh was on Israel’s right side.) 14But Israel crossed his hands and put his right hand on the head of the younger boy Ephraim. Then he put his left hand on Manasseh, even though Manasseh was the firstborn. 15And Israel blessed Joseph and said,
“My ancestors, Abraham and Isaac, worshiped our God,
and that God has led me all my life.
16He was the Angel who saved me from all my troubles.
And I pray that he will bless these boys.
Now they will have my name
and the name of our ancestors, Abraham and Isaac.
I pray that they will grow to become great families and nations
on earth.”
17Joseph saw that his father put his right hand on Ephraim’s head. This didn’t make Joseph happy. Joseph took his father’s hand because he wanted to move it from Ephraim’s head and put it on Manasseh’s head. 18Joseph said to his father, “You have your right hand on the wrong boy. Manasseh is the firstborn. Put your right hand on him.”
19But his father refused and said, “I know, son. I know. Manasseh is the firstborn. He will be great and will be the father of many people. But his younger brother will be greater than he is. And the younger brother’s family will be much larger.”
20So Israel blessed them that day. He said,
“The Israelites will use your names
whenever they bless someone.
They will say, ‘May God make you
like Ephraim and Manasseh.’”
In this way Israel made Ephraim greater than Manasseh.
21Then Israel said to Joseph, “Look, my time to die is almost here, but God will still be with you. He will lead you back to the land of your ancestors. 22I have given you one portion more than I gave to your brothers. I gave you the land that I won from the Amorites. I used my sword and bow to take that land.”
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