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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GOD'S WORD® Translation ©1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God's Word to the Nations Mission Society. All rights reserved.
Genesis 48
48
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 Manasseh and Ephraim. 2And one told Jacob and said, Behold, thy son Joseph is coming to thee. And Israel strengthened himself, and sat upon the bed. 3And Jacob said to Joseph, The Almighty ·God#GodHebrew: El appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me, 4and he said to me, Behold, I will make thee fruitful and multiply thee, and I will make of thee a company of peoples; and will give this land to thy seed after thee for an everlasting possession. 5And now thy two sons, who were born to thee in the land of Egypt before I came to thee into Egypt, shall be mine: Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine, as Reuben and Simeon. 6And thy family which thou hast begotten after them shall be thine: they shall be called after the name of their brethren in their inheritance. 7And as for me, when I came from Padan, Rachel died by me in the land of Canaan on the way, when there was yet a certain distance to come to Ephrath; and I buried her there on the way to Ephrath, that is, Bethlehem.
8And Israel beheld Joseph's sons, and said, Who are these? 9And Joseph said to his father, They are my sons, whom God#GodHebrew: Elohim has given me here. And he said, Bring them, I pray thee, to me, that I may bless them. 10But the eyes of Israel were heavy from age: he could not see. And he brought them nearer to him; and he kissed them, and embraced them. 11And Israel said to Joseph, I had not thought to see thy face; and behold, God#GodHebrew: Elohim has let me see also thy seed. 12And Joseph brought them out from his knees, and bowed down with his face to the earth. 13And Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel's left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel's right hand, and brought them near to him. 14But Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid it on Ephraim's head — now he was the younger — and his left hand on Manasseh's head; guiding his hands intelligently, for Manasseh was the firstborn. 15And he blessed Joseph, and said, The God#GodHebrew: Elohim before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God#GodHebrew: Elohim that shepherded me all my life long to this day, 16the Angel that redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named upon them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the land! 17When Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it was evil in his eyes; and he took hold of his father's hand to remove it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's head. 18And Joseph said to his father, Not so, my father, for this is the firstborn: put thy right hand on his head. 19But his father refused and said, I know, my son, I know: he also will become a people, and he also will be great; but truly his younger brother will be greater than he; and his seed will become the fulness of nations. 20And he blessed them that day, saying, In thee will Israel bless, saying, God#GodHebrew: Elohim make thee as Ephraim and Manasseh! And he set Ephraim before Manasseh. 21And Israel said to Joseph, Behold, I die; and God#GodHebrew: Elohim will be with you, and bring you again to the land of your fathers. 22And I have given to thee one tract of land above thy brethren, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow.
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First published in 1890. This edition is maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.