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, someone told Joseph, “[Hey, ] your father is ill.” When Joseph heard that, he took his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, to see his father.

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 someone told Jacob, “Look, your son Joseph has come to see you!” Jacob sat up on the bed, even though it was difficult for him to do that.

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

He said to Joseph, “When I was at Luz in Canaan, God Almighty appeared to me. 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 said to me, ‘I am going to enable you to become the father of many children. You will have many descendants, and they will become [the ancestors of] many people-groups. And I will give this land to your descendants to possess forever.’

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 I will consider that your two sons, who were born to you here in Egypt before I came here, will (belong to me/be as though they are my sons). Ephraim and Manasseh will be [as though they were] my sons, and they will inherit my possessions, just like my sons Reuben and Simeon [and the others] will.

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

If you later become the father of any more children, they will not be considered to be my children, but as my grandchildren, and [in Canaan] they will receive as part of what they inherit some of the same land that is in the territory that their brothers [Ephraim and Manasseh] will 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.'

Many years ago, as I was returning from Paddan-Aram/Mesopotamia, your mother Rachel died in the Canaan region, while we were still traveling, not far from Ephrath [town]. So I buried her body there alongside the road to Ephrath [which is now called Bethlehem].”

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

When Jacob saw Joseph’s sons, he asked, “Who are these boys?”

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 replied, “They are the sons that God has given to me here in Egypt.” Jacob said, “Bring them close to me so that I can 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;

Jacob was almost blind because he was very old. He could not recognize the boys. So Joseph brought his sons close to his father, and Jacob kissed them and hugged them.

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

Jacob said to Joseph, “I did not expect to see you again, but look at this! God has allowed me to see not only you, but he has allowed me to see your children, too!”

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

Joseph took the boys from alongside Jacob’s knees. Then he bowed down with his face to the ground.

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.

Then Joseph took both of the boys, putting Ephraim on his right side toward Jacob’s left hand, and putting Manasseh on his left side toward Jacob’s right hand, and brought them close to Jacob.

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 Jacob [did not do what Joseph wanted him to do. Instead], he reached out his right hand and put it on Ephraim’s head, even though he was the younger son. He crossed his arms and put his left hand on Manasseh’s head, even though Manasseh was the older son.

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/asked God to bless) Joseph and his sons, saying, “My grandfather Abraham and my father Isaac conducted their lives as God desired, and to this very day God has led me and taken care of me as a shepherd leads and cares for his sheep [MET].

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 whom he sent has kept me from being harmed in any way. I pray that God will bless these boys. I pray that people will never forget about me and about Abraham and Isaac because of what God does for these boys. I pray that they will have many descendants who will live all over 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 and not on Manasseh’s head, he was distressed/displeased. So he took his father’s hand to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head.

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

Joseph said to him, “My father, that is not right! The one on whom you put your left hand is my older son. 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, saying, “I know that, my son, I know what I am doing. Manasseh’s descendants will also become a people-group, and they will become important. But his younger brother’s descendants will become greater than his will. His descendants will become several 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 he blessed them both on that day, saying, “The people in Israel will use your names when they bless people. They will say, ‘We pray that God will help you as he helped Ephraim and Manasseh.’” In that way, Jacob said that Ephraim would become more important than 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 Jacob said to Joseph, “I am about to die. But I know that God will help/protect you. And some day he will take your descendants back to the land of their ancestors.

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 it is to you, not to your brothers, that I will give the fertile hill in the Shechem area. I captured that land from the Amor people-group, fighting them with my sword and my bow and arrows.”