Genesis 48

1 And it cometh to pass, after these things, that [one] saith to Joseph, 'Lo, thy father is sick;' and he taketh his two sons with him, Manasseh and Ephraim.

Some time later Joseph was told, “Your father is ill.” So he set out with his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim.

2 And [one] declareth to Jacob, and saith, 'Lo, thy son Joseph is coming unto thee;' and Israel doth strengthen himself, and sit upon the bed.

When Jacob was told, “Your son Joseph has come to you,” Israel rallied his strength and sat up in bed.

3 And Jacob saith unto Joseph, 'God Almighty hath appeared unto me, in Luz, in the land of Canaan, and blesseth me,

Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and there He blessed me

4 and saith unto me, Lo, I am making thee fruitful, and have multiplied thee, and given thee for an assembly of peoples, and given this land to thy seed after thee, a possession age-during.

and told me, ‘Behold, I will make you fruitful and multiply you; I will make you a multitude of peoples, and will give this land to your descendants after you as an everlasting possession.’

5 'And now, thy two sons, who are born to thee in the land of Egypt, before my coming unto thee to Egypt, mine they [are]; Ephraim and Manasseh, as Reuben and Simeon they are mine;

And now your two sons born to you in Egypt before I came to you here shall be reckoned as mine; Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine, just as Reuben and Simeon are mine.

6 and thy family which thou hast begotten after them are thine; by the name of their brethren they are called in their inheritance.

Any children born to you after them shall be yours, and they shall be called by the names of their brothers in the territory they inherit.

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

Now as for me, when I was returning from Paddan, to my sorrow Rachel died along the way in the land of Canaan, some distance from Ephrath. So I buried her there beside the road to Ephrath” (that is, Bethlehem).

8 And Israel seeth the sons of Joseph, and saith, 'Who [are] these?'

When Israel saw the sons of Joseph, he asked, “Who are these?”

9 and Joseph saith unto his father, 'They [are] my sons, whom God hath given to me in this [place];' and he saith, 'Bring them, I pray thee, unto me, and I bless them.'

Joseph said to his father, “They are the sons God has given me in this place.” So Jacob said, “Please bring them to me, that I may bless them.”

10 And the eyes of Israel have been heavy from age, he is unable to see; and he bringeth them nigh unto him, and he kisseth them, and cleaveth to them;

Now Israel’s eyesight was poor because of old age; he could hardly see. Joseph brought his sons to him, and his father kissed them and embraced them.

11 and Israel saith unto Joseph, 'To see thy face I had not thought, and lo, God hath shewed me also thy seed.'

“I never expected to see your face again,” Israel said to Joseph, “but now God has let me see your children as well.”

12 And Joseph bringeth them out from between his knees, and boweth himself on his face to the earth;

Then Joseph removed his sons from his father’s knees and bowed facedown.

13 and Joseph taketh them both, Ephraim in his right hand towards Israel's left, and Manasseh in his left towards Israel's right, and bringeth [them] nigh to him.

And Joseph took both of them—with Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel’s left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel’s right hand—and brought them close to him.

14 And Israel putteth out his right hand, and placeth [it] upon the head of Ephraim, who [is] the younger, and his left hand upon the head of Manasseh; he hath guided his hands wisely, for Manasseh [is] the first-born.

But Israel stretched out his right hand and put it on the head of Ephraim, the younger; and crossing his hands, he put his left on Manasseh’s head, although Manasseh was the firstborn.

15 And he blesseth Joseph, and saith, 'God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked habitually: God who is feeding me from my being unto this day:

Then he blessed Joseph and said: “May the God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day,

16 the Messenger who is redeeming me from all evil doth bless the youths, and my name is called upon 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 redeemed me from all harm— may He bless these boys. And may they be called by my name and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac, and may they grow into a multitude upon the earth.”

17 And Joseph seeth that his father setteth his right hand on the head of Ephraim, and it is wrong in his eyes, and he supporteth the hand of his father to turn it aside from off the head of Ephraim to the head of Manasseh;

When Joseph saw that his father had placed his right hand on Ephraim’s head, he was displeased and took his father’s hand to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s.

18 and Joseph saith unto his father, 'Not so, my father, for this [is] the first-born; set thy right hand on his head.'

“Not so, my father!” Joseph said. “This one is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head.”

19 And his father refuseth, and saith, 'I have known, my son, I have known; he also becometh a people, and he also is great, and yet, his young brother is greater than he, and his seed is the fulness of the nations;'

But his father refused. “I know, my son, I know!” he said. “He too shall become a people, and he too shall be great; nevertheless, his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his offspring shall become a multitude of nations.”

20 and he blesseth them in that day, saying, 'By thee doth Israel bless, saying, God set thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh;' and he setteth Ephraim before Manasseh.

So that day Jacob blessed them and said: “By you shall Israel pronounce this blessing: ‘May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.’” So he put Ephraim before Manasseh.

21 And Israel saith unto Joseph, 'Lo, I am dying, and God hath been with you, and hath brought you back unto the land of your fathers;

Then Israel said to Joseph, “Look, I am about to die, but God will be with you and bring you back to the land of your fathers.

22 and I — I have given to thee one portion above thy brethren, which I have taken out of the hand of the Amorite by my sword and by my bow.'

And to you, as one who is above your brothers, I give the ridge of land that I took from the Amorites with my sword and bow.”