Genesis 48

1 And it comes to pass, after these things, that [one] says to Joseph, “Behold, your father is sick”; and he takes his two sons with him, Manasseh and Ephraim.

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 [one] declares [it] to Jacob and says, “Behold, your son Joseph is coming to you”; and Israel strengthens himself, and sits on 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 says to Joseph, “God Almighty has appeared to me, in Luz, in the land of Canaan, and blesses 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 says to me, Behold, I am making you fruitful, and have multiplied you, and given you for an assembly of peoples, and given this land to your seed after you, a continuous 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 And now, your two sons, who are born to you in the land of Egypt, before my coming to you to Egypt, they [are] mine; Ephraim and Manasseh, as Reuben and Simeon, they are 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 your family which you have begotten after them are yours; by the name of their brothers they are called in their inheritance.

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

7 And I—in my coming in from Padan-[Aram] Rachel has died by me in the land of Canaan, in the way, while yet a distance of land to enter Ephrata, and I bury her there in the way of Ephrata, which [is] Beth-Lehem.”

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 Israel sees the sons of Joseph and says, “Who [are] these?”

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

9 And Joseph says to his father, “They [are] my sons, whom God has given to me in this [place]”; and he says, “Please bring them to me, and I 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 And the eyes of Israel have been heavy from age—he is unable to see; and he brings them near to him, and he kisses them and cleaves to 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 says to Joseph, “I had not thought [possible] to see your face, and behold, God has also showed me your seed.”

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 brings them out from between his knees, and bows himself on his face to the earth;

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

13 and Joseph takes them both, Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel’s left, and Manasseh in his left toward Israel’s right, and brings [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 And Israel puts out his right hand and places [it] on the head of Ephraim, who [is] the younger, and his left hand on the head of Manasseh; he has guided his hands wisely, for Manasseh [is] the firstborn.

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 blesses Joseph and says, “God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac habitually walked: God who is feeding me from my being to 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 Messenger who is redeeming me from all evil blesses the youths, and my name is called on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and they increase into a multitude in the midst of the land.”

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 sees that his father sets his right hand on the head of Ephraim, and it is wrong in his eyes, and he supports the hand of his father to turn it aside from off the head of Ephraim to the head of Manasseh;

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 says to his father, “Not so, my father, for this [is] the firstborn; set your right hand on 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 his father refuses and says, “I have known, my son, I have known; he also becomes a people, and he also is great, and yet, his young brother is greater than he, and his seed is the fullness of the 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 blesses them in that day, saying, “By you does Israel bless, saying, God set you as Ephraim and as Manasseh”; and he sets Ephraim before Manasseh.

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 says to Joseph, “Behold, I am dying, and God has been with you, and has brought you back 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 have given to you one portion above your brothers, which I have taken out of the hand of the Amorite by my sword and by my 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.