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.

It came about after these things, that one said to Joseph, “Look, your father is sick.” So he took with him 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, “Look, your son Joseph has arrived to see you,” Israel gathered 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. 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, 'Behold, I will make you fruitful, and multiply you. I will make of you an assembly of nations. I will give this land to your descendants 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;

Now your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you into Egypt, they are mine. Ephraim and Manasseh will 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.

The children you have after them will be yours; they will be listed under the names of their brothers in their inheritance.

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.'

But as for me, when I came from Paddan, to my sorrow Rachel died in the land of Canaan on the way, while there was still some distance to go to Ephrath. I buried her there on the way to Ephrath” (that is, Bethlehem).

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

When Israel saw Joseph's sons, he said, “Whose 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 my sons, whom God has given me here.” Israel said, “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 eyes were failing because of his age, so he could not see. So Joseph brought them near to him, and he 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.'

Israel said to Joseph, “I never expected to see your face again, but God has even allowed me to see your children.”

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

Joseph brought them out from between Israel's knees, and then he bowed with his face to the earth.

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.

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 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.

Israel reached out with his right hand and laid it upon Ephraim's head, who was the younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh's head. He crossed his hands, for 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:

Israel blessed Joseph, saying, “The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has cared for me 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 protected me from all harm, may he bless these boys. May my name be named in them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac. May they grow into a multitude on 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 his father place his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him. 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 his father, “Not so, my father; for this is the firstborn. Put your right hand upon 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;'

His father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know. He also will become a people, and he also will be great. Yet his younger brother will be greater than he, and his descendants will 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.

Israel blessed them that day with these words, “The people of Israel will pronounce blessings by your names saying, 'May God make you like Ephraim and like Manasseh'.” In this way, Israel 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;

Israel said to Joseph, “See, I am about to die, but God will be with you, and will 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.'

To you, as one who is above your brothers, I give to you the mountain slope that I took from the Amorites with my sword and my bow.”