Genesis 48

1 And it came to pass after these things, that it was reported to Joseph, Behold, thy father is sick. And he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim.

2 And it was reported to Jacob, saying, Behold, thy son Joseph comes to thee. And Israel strengthened himself, and sat upon the bed.

3 And Jacob said to Joseph, God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me,

4 and 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.

5 And now thy two sons, who were born to thee in the land of Egypt before I came to thee into Egypt, are mine, Ephraim and Manasseh, even as Reuben and Simeon, shall be mine.

6 And thy issue, which thou beget after them, shall be thine, they shall be called after the name of their brothers in their inheritance.

7 And as for me, when I came from Paddan, Rachel died by me in the land of Canaan on the way, when there was still some distance to come to Ephrath. And I buried her there on the way to Ephrath (the same is Bethlehem).

8 And Israel beheld Joseph's sons, and said, Who are these?

9 And Joseph said to his father, They are my sons, whom God has given me here. And he said, Bring them, I pray thee, to me, and I will bless them.

10 Now the eyes of Israel were dim for age, so that he could not see. And he brought them near to him, and he kissed them, and embraced them.

11 And Israel said to Joseph, I had not thought to see thy face, and, lo, God has let me see thy seed also.

12 And Joseph brought them out from between his knees, and he bowed himself with his face to the earth.

13 And 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.

14 And Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid it upon Ephraim's head, who was the younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh's head, guiding his hands deliberately, for Manasseh was the firstborn.

15 And he blessed Joseph, and said, The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has fed me all my life long to this day,

16 the agent who has 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.

17 And when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him. And he held up his father's hand, to remove it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's head.

18 And Joseph said to his father, Not so, my father, for this is the firstborn, put thy right hand upon his head.

19 And his father refused, and said, I know, my son, I know. He also shall become a people, and he also shall be great. However, his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations.

20 And he blessed them that day, saying, In thee will Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh. And he set Ephraim before Manasseh.

21 And Israel said to Joseph, Behold, I die, but God will be with you, and bring you again to the land of your fathers.

22 Moreover I have given to thee one portion above thy brothers, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow.