Blessings for Manasseh and Ephraim

48 ·Some time later [^LAnd after these things] Joseph ·learned [was told] that his father was very sick, so he took his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim ·and went to his father [^Lwith him]. ² When Joseph arrived, someone told Jacob, “Your son Joseph has come to see you.” ·Jacob [^LIsrael; another name for Jacob; 32:28] ·was weak, so he ·used all [^Lsummoned] his strength and sat up on his bed.

³ Then Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz [^Canother name for Bethel] in the land of Canaan and blessed me there [28:19; 35:9–15]. ⁴ He said to me, ‘I will ·give you many children [^Lmake you fruitful and multiply you; 1:28]. I will make you ·the father [^La company; an assembly] of many peoples, and I will give your ·descendants [^Lseed] this land ·forever [as a permanent possession].’ ⁵ Your two sons, who were born here in Egypt before I came, will be counted as my own sons. Ephraim and Manasseh will be my sons just as Reuben and Simeon are my sons [^Chis two oldest children]. ⁶ But if you have other children, they will be your own, and ·their land will be part of the land given to Ephraim and Manasseh [^Lthey will be recorded according to the name of their brothers in regard to their inheritance]. ⁷ When I came from northwestern Mesopotamia [^LPaddan], Rachel died in the land of Canaan, as we were traveling toward Ephrath [35:16, 19]. This made me very sad, and I buried her there beside the road to Ephrath.” (Today Ephrath is Bethlehem.)

⁸ Then Israel saw Joseph’s sons and said, “Who are these boys?”

⁹ Joseph said to his father, “They are my sons that God has given me here in ·Egypt [^Lthis place].”

Israel said, “Bring your sons to me so I may bless them.”

¹⁰ At this time Israel’s eyesight was ·bad [^Lheavy] because he was old. So Joseph brought the boys close to him, and Israel kissed the boys and ·put his arms around [embraced] them. ¹¹ He said to Joseph, “I thought I would never see ·you alive [^Lyour face] again, and now God has ·let me see you and [^Lshown me] also your ·children [^Lseed].” ¹² Then Joseph moved his sons off ·Israel’s lap [^Lhis knees] and bowed facedown to the ground. ¹³ He put Ephraim on his right side and Manasseh on his left. (So Ephraim was near Israel’s left hand, and Manasseh was near Israel’s right hand.) Joseph brought the boys close to Israel. ¹⁴ But Israel ·crossed his arms and put his [^Lsent forth and placed his] right hand on the head of Ephraim, who was younger. He put his left hand on the head of Manasseh, the firstborn son. ¹⁵ And Israel blessed Joseph and said,

¹⁷ When Joseph saw that his father put his right hand on Ephraim’s head, he ·didn’t like it [^Lthought it was wrong]. So he took hold of his father’s hand, wanting to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. ¹⁸ Joseph said to his father, “·You are doing it wrong, Father, since Manasseh [^LNo, my Father, for this] is the firstborn son. Put your right hand on his head.”

¹⁹ But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know. Manasseh will be great and ·have many descendants [^Lbecome great]. But his younger brother will be greater, and his ·descendants [^Lseed] will ·be enough to make a nation [^Lbecome the fullness of nations; ^CEphraim would become the dominant tribe in northern Israel].”

²⁰ So ·Israel [^Lhe] blessed them that day and said,

In this way he ·made Ephraim greater than [^Lset Ephraim before] Manasseh.

²¹ Then Israel said to Joseph, “Look at me; I am about to die. But God will be with you and will take you back to the land of your fathers. ²² I have given you something that I did not give your brothers—the land of Shechem [or mountain slope; 12:6] that I took from the Amorite people with my sword and my bow [perhaps 34:1–31].”