Chapter 48 Manasseh and Ephraim

[1] And it came to pass after these things, that one told Joseph, 

Behold, thy father is sick: and he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim.

[2] And one told Jacob, and said, 

Behold, thy son Joseph cometh unto thee: and Israel strengthened himself, and sat upon the bed.

[3] And Jacob said unto Joseph, 

God Almighty appeared unto me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me,

[4] And said unto me, 

Behold, I will make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, and I will make of thee a multitude of people; and will give this land to thy seed after thee for an everlasting possession.

[5] And now thy two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, which were born unto thee in the land of Egypt before I came unto thee into Egypt, are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine.

[6] And thy issue, which thou begettest after them, shall be thine, and shall be called after the name of their brethren in their inheritance.

[7] And as for me, when I came from Padan, Rachel died by me in the land of Canaan in the way, when yet there was but a little way to come unto Ephrath: and I buried her there in the way of Ephrath; the same is Bethlehem.

[8] And Israel beheld Joseph's sons, and said, 

who are these?

[9] And Joseph said unto his father, 

they are my sons, whom God hath given me in this place. And he said, 

bring them, I pray thee, unto me, and I will bless them.

[10] Now the eyes (of Israel) were dim for age, so that he could not see. And he brought them near unto him; and he kissed them, and embraced them.

[11] And Israel said unto Joseph, 

I had not thought to see thy face: and, lo, God hath shewed me also thy seed.

[12] And Joseph brought them out from between his knees, and he bowed himself with his face to the earth.

[13] And 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 near unto him.

[14] And Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid it upon Ephraim's head (who was the younger) and his left hand upon Manasseh's head, guiding his hands wittingly; for Manasseh was the firstborn.

[15] And he blessed Joseph, and said, 

God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my life long unto this day,

[16] The Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.

[17] And when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him: and he held up his father's hand, to remove it from Ephraim's head unto Manasseh's head.

[18] And Joseph said unto his father, 

not so, my father: for this is the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his head.

[19] And his father refused, and said, 

I know it, my son, I know it: he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great: but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations.

[20] And he blessed them that day, saying (in thee shall Israel bless) saying, 

God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh: and he set Ephraim before Manasseh.

[21] And Israel said unto Joseph, 

Behold, I die: but God shall be with you, and bring you again unto the land of your fathers.

[22] Moreover I have given to thee one portion above thy brethren, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow.

Chapter 49