Genesis 48

1 And it came to pass after these things, that it was reported to Joseph, Behold, your father is ill; and, having taken his two sons, Manasse and Ephraim, he came to Jacob.

Now after these things, word came to Joseph that his father was ill: and he took with him his sons Manasseh and Ephraim.

2 And it was reported to Jacob, saying, Behold, your son Joseph comes to you; and Israel having strengthened himself, sat upon the bed.

And when they said to Jacob, Your son Joseph is coming to see you: then Israel, getting all his strength together, had himself lifted up in his bed.

3 And Jacob said to Joseph, My God appeared to me in Luza, in the land of Chanaan, and blessed me,

And Jacob said to Joseph, God, the Ruler of all, came to me in a vision at Luz in the land of Canaan, and gave me his blessing,

4 and said to me, Behold, I will increase you, and multiply you, and will make of you multitudes of nations; and I will give this land to you, and to your seed after you, for an everlasting possession.

And said to me, Truly, I will make you fertile and give you increase and will make of you a great family of nations: and I will give this land to your seed after you to be their heritage for ever.

5 Now then your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt, before I came to you into Egypt, are mine; Ephraim and Manasse, as Ruben and Symeon they shall be mine.

And now your two sons who came to birth in Egypt before I came to you here, are mine; Ephraim and Manasseh will be mine, in the same way as Reuben and Simeon are.

6 And the children which you shall beget hereafter, shall be in the name of their brethren; they shall be named after their inheritances.

And any other offspring which you have after them, will be yours, and will be named after their brothers in their heritage.

7 And as for me, when I came out of Mesopotamia of Syria, Rachel, your mother, died in the land of Chanaan, as I drew night to the horse-course of Chabratha of the land [of Chanaan], so as to come to Ephratha; and I buried her in the road of the course; this is Bethlehem.

And as for me, when I came from Paddan, death overtook Rachel on the way, when we were still some distance from Ephrath; and I put her to rest there on the road to Ephrath, which is Beth-lehem.

8 And when Israel saw the sons of Joseph, he said, Who are these to you?

Then Israel, looking at Joseph's sons, said, Who are these?

9 And Joseph said to his father, They are my sons, whom God gave me here; and Jacob said, Bring me them, that I may bless them.

And Joseph said to his father, They are my sons, whom God has given me in this land. And he said, Let them come near me, and I will give them a blessing.

10 Now the eyes of Israel were dim through age, and he could not see; and he brought them near to him, and he kissed them, and embraced them.

Now because Israel was old, his eyes were no longer clear, and he was not able to see. So he made them come near to him, and he gave them a kiss, folding them in his arms.

11 And Israel said to Joseph, Behold, I have not been deprived of [seeing] your face, and behold! God has showed me your seed also.

And Israel said to Joseph, I had no hope of seeing your face again, but God in his mercy has let me see you and your children.

12 And Joseph brought them out from [between] his knees, and they did reverence to him, with their face to the ground.

Then Joseph took them from between his knees, and went down on his face to the earth.

13 And Joseph took his two sons, both Ephraim in his right hand, but on the left of Israel, and Manasse on his left hand, but on the right of Israel, and brought them near to him.

Then taking Ephraim with his right hand, Joseph put him at Israel's left side, and with his left hand he put Manasseh at Israel's right side, placing them near him.

14 But Israel having stretched out his right hand, laid it on the head of Ephraim, and he was the younger; and his left hand on the head of Manasse, [guiding] his hands crosswise.

And Israel, stretching out his right hand, put it on the head of Ephraim, the younger, and his left hand on the head of Manasseh, crossing his hands on purpose, for Manasseh was the older.

15 And he blessed them and said, The God in whose sight my fathers were well pleasing, [even] Abraam and Isaac, the God who continues to feed me from my youth until this day;

And he gave Joseph a blessing, saying, May the God to whom my fathers, Abraham and Isaac, gave worship, the God who has taken care of me all my life till this day,

16 the angel who delivers me from all evils, bless these boys, and my name shall be called upon them, and the name of my fathers, Abraam and Isaac; and let them be increased to a great multitude on the earth.

The angel who has been my saviour from all evil, send his blessing on these children: and let my name and the name of my fathers, Abraham and Isaac, be given to them; and let them become a great nation in the earth.

17 And Joseph having seen that his father put his right hand on the head of Ephraim—it seemed grievous to him; and Joseph took hold of the hand of his father, to remove it from the head of Ephraim to the head of Manasse.

Now when Joseph saw that his father had put his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it did not seem right to him; and lifting his father's hand he would have put it on the head of Manasseh.

18 And Joseph said to his father, Not so, father; for this is the firstborn; lay your right-hand upon his head.

And Joseph said to his father, Not so, my father, for this is the older; put your right hand on his head.

19 And he would not, but said, I know it, son, I know it; he also shall be a people, and he shall be exalted, but his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations.

But his father would not, saying, I am doing it on purpose, my son; he will certainly become a nation and a great one; but his younger brother will be greater than he, and his seed will become a great family of nations.

20 And he blessed them in that day, saying, In you shall Israel be blessed, saying, God make you as Ephraim and Manasse; and he set Ephraim before Manasse.

So he gave them his blessing that day, saying, You will be the sign of blessing in Israel, for they will say, May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh; and he put Ephraim before Manasseh.

21 And Israel said to Joseph, Behold, I die; and God shall be with you, and restore you to the land of your fathers.

Then Israel said to Joseph, Now my death is near; but God will be with you, guiding you back to the land of your fathers.

22 And I give to you Sicima, a select portion above your brethren, which I took out of the hand of the Amorites with my sword and bow.

And I have given you more than your brothers, even Shechem as your heritage, which I took from the Amorites with my sword and my bow.