Genesis 48
48
Jacob Blesses Ephraim and Manasseh
1And it came to pass after these things, that one told Joseph, Behold, thy father is sick: and he took with him his two sons, Manas´seh and E´phra-im. 2And one told Jacob, and said, Behold, thy son Joseph cometh unto thee: and Israel strengthened himself, and sat upon the bed. 3#Gen 28.13,14. And Jacob said unto Joseph, God Almighty appeared unto me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me, 4and said unto me, Behold, I will make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, and I will make of thee a multitude of people; and will give this land to thy seed after thee for an everlasting possession. 5And now thy two sons, E´phra-im and Manas´seh, which were born unto thee in the land of Egypt, before I came unto thee into Egypt, are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine. 6And thy issue, which thou begettest after them, shall be thine, and shall be called after the name of their brethren in their inheritance. 7#Gen 35.16-19. And as for me, when I came from Padan, Rachel died by me in the land of Canaan in the way, when yet there was but a little way to come unto Ephrath: and I buried her there in the way of Ephrath; the same is Bethlehem.
8And Israel beheld Joseph's sons, and said, Who are these? 9And Joseph said unto his father, They are my sons, whom God hath given me in this place. And he said, Bring them, I pray thee, unto me, and I will bless them. 10Now the eyes of Israel were dim for age, so that he could not see. And he brought them near unto him; and he kissed them, and embraced them. 11And Israel said unto Joseph, I had not thought to see thy face: and, lo, God hath showed me also thy seed. 12And Joseph brought them out from between his knees, and he bowed himself with his face to the earth. 13And Joseph took them both, E´phra-im in his right hand toward Israel's left hand, and Manas´seh in his left hand toward Israel's right hand, and brought them near unto him. 14And Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid it upon E´phra-im's head, who was the younger, and his left hand upon Manas´seh's head, guiding his hands wittingly; for Manas´seh was the firstborn. 15And he blessed Joseph, and said,
God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk,
the God which fed me all my life long unto this day,
16the angel which redeemed me from all evil,
bless the lads;
and let my name be named on them,
and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac;
and let them grow into a multitude
in the midst of the earth.
17And when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand upon the head of E´phra-im, it displeased him: and he held up his father's hand, to remove it from E´phra-im's head unto Manas´seh's head. 18And Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father: for this is the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his head. 19And his father refused, and said, I know it, my son, I know it: he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great: but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations. 20#Heb 11.21. And he blessed them that day, saying,
In thee shall Israel bless, saying,
God make thee as E´phra-im and as Manas´seh:
and he set E´phra-im before Manas´seh. 21And Israel said unto Joseph, Behold, I die; but God shall be with you, and bring you again unto the land of your fathers. 22Moreover I have given to thee one portion above thy brethren, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow.
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Genesis 48: KJVAAE
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King James Version 1611, spelling, punctuation and text formatting modernized by ABS in 1962; typesetting © 2010 American Bible Society.
Genesis 48
48
Jacob [Israel] Blesses Joseph’s Two Sons
1Later Joseph was told, “Your father is ill.” So he took his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim ⌞to see Jacob⌟. 2When Jacob was told, “Your son Joseph is here to see you,” Israel gathered his strength and sat up in bed.
3Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in Canaan and blessed me. 4He said to me, ‘I will make you fertile and increase the number of your descendants so that you will become a community of people. I will give this land to your descendants as a permanent possession.’
5“So your two sons, who were born in Egypt before I came here, are my sons. Ephraim and Manasseh will be mine just as Reuben and Simeon are. 6Any other children you have after them will be yours. They will inherit the land listed under their brothers’ names. 7As I was coming back from Paddan, Rachel died in Canaan when we were still some distance from Ephrath. So I buried her there on the way to Ephrath” (that is, Bethlehem).
8When Israel saw Joseph’s sons, he asked, “Who are they?”
9“They are my sons, whom God has given me here in Egypt,” Joseph answered his father.
Then Israel said, “Please bring them to me so that I may bless them.”
10Israel’s eyesight was failing because of old age, and he could hardly see. So Joseph brought his sons close to his father, and Israel hugged them and kissed them.
11Israel said to Joseph, “I never expected to see you again, and now God has even let me see your sons.”
12Joseph took them off his father’s lap and bowed with his face touching the ground. 13Then Joseph took both of them, Ephraim on his right, facing Israel’s left, and Manasseh on his left, facing Israel’s right, and brought them close to him. 14But Israel crossed his hands and reached out. He put his right hand on Ephraim’s head, although Ephraim was the younger son. He put his left hand on Manasseh’s head, although Manasseh was older.
15Then Jacob blessed Joseph,
“May God, in whose presence my grandfather Abraham
and my father Isaac walked,
may God, who has been my shepherd all my life to this very day,
16may the Messenger, who has rescued me from all evil,
bless these boys.
May they be called by my name
and by the names of my grandfather Abraham and my father Isaac.
May they have many children on the earth.”
17When Joseph saw that his father had put his right hand on Ephraim’s head, he didn’t like it. So he took his father’s hand in order to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s. 18Then he said to his father, “That’s not right, Father! This is the firstborn. Put your right hand on his head.”
19His father refused and said, “I know, Son, I know! Manasseh, too, will become a nation, and he, too, will be important. Nevertheless, his younger brother will be more important than he, and his descendants will become many nations.”
20That day he blessed them. He said,
“Because of you, Israel will speak this blessing,
‘May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh!’ ”
In this way Israel put Ephraim ahead of Manasseh.
21Then Israel said to Joseph, “Now I’m about to die, but God will be with you. He will bring you back to the land of your fathers. 22I’m giving you one more mountain ridge than your brothers. I took it from the Amorites with my own sword and bow.”
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