Genesis 48-49
Legacy Standard Bible
Israel Blesses Manasseh and Ephraim
48 Now it happened after these things that [a]Joseph was told, “Behold, your father is sick.” So he took his two sons (A)Manasseh and Ephraim with him. 2 Then [b]it was told to Jacob, “Behold, your son Joseph has come to you,” so Israel strengthened himself and sat [c]up in the bed. 3 Then Jacob said to Joseph, “[d](B)God Almighty appeared to me at (C)Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me, 4 and He said to me, ‘Behold, I will make you fruitful and multiply, and I will make you an assembly of peoples, and I will give this land to your seed after you for (D)an everlasting possession.’ 5 So now your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, are mine; (E)Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine, as (F)Reuben and Simeon are. 6 But your kin that [e]have been born after them shall be yours; they shall be called by the [f]names of their brothers in their inheritance. 7 Now as for me, when I came from (G)Paddan, (H)Rachel died, [g]to my sorrow, in the land of Canaan on the journey, when there was still some distance to go to Ephrath; and I buried her there on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).”
8 Then Israel (I)saw Joseph’s sons and said, “Who are these?” 9 And Joseph said to his father, “(J)They are my sons, whom God has given me here.” So he said, “Bring them to me, please, that (K)I may bless them.” 10 Now (L)the eyes of Israel were so dim from age that he could not see. Then [h]Joseph brought them close to him, and he (M)kissed them and embraced them. 11 Then Israel said to Joseph, “I never [i]expected to see your face, and behold, God has let me see your seed as well.” 12 Then Joseph [j]took them from his knees and (N)bowed with his face to the ground. 13 And Joseph took them both, Ephraim with his right hand toward Israel’s left, and Manasseh with his left hand toward Israel’s right, and brought them close to him. 14 But Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on the head of Ephraim, who was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh’s head, [k]crossing his hands, [l]although (O)Manasseh was the firstborn. 15 And he blessed Joseph and said,
“(P)May the God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked,
(Q)The God who has been my shepherd [m]throughout my life to this day,
16 (R)The angel who has redeemed me from all evil,
(S)Bless these boys;
And may my name [n]live on in them,
And the [o]names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac;
And (T)may they grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.”
17 But Joseph saw that his father (U)set his right hand on Ephraim’s head, and it was displeasing in his sight; so he took hold of his father’s hand to remove it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. 18 And Joseph said to his father, “Not so, my father, for this one is the firstborn. Place your right hand on his head.” 19 But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know; he also will become a people, and he also will be great. However, his younger brother shall be greater than he, and (V)his seed shall become the fullness of nations.” 20 (W)And he blessed them that day, saying,
“By you Israel will pronounce blessing, saying,
‘May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh!’”
Thus he put Ephraim before Manasseh. 21 Then Israel said to Joseph, “Behold, I am about to die, but (X)God will be with you and (Y)will bring you back to the land of your fathers. 22 And I give you one [p]portion more than your brothers, (Z)which I took from the hand of the Amorite with my sword and my bow.”
Jacob Assembles His Sons
49 Then Jacob summoned his sons and said, “Gather together that I may tell you what will befall you (AA)in the last days.
2 Assemble together and hear, O sons of Jacob;
And (AB)listen to Israel your father.
3 “Reuben, you are my firstborn;
My might and (AC)the beginning of my vigor,
[q]Preeminent in dignity and [r]preeminent in strength.
4 [s]Uncontrolled as water, you shall not have preeminence,
(AD)Because you went up to your father’s bed;
Then you defiled it—he went up to my couch.
5 “(AE)Simeon and Levi are brothers;
Their swords are implements of violence.
6 (AF)Let my soul not enter into their council;
Let not my glory be united with their assembly;
Because in their anger they killed [t]men,
And in their self-will they hamstrung [u]oxen.
7 Cursed be their anger, for it is strong;
And their wrath, for it is cruel.
(AG)I will divide them amongst Jacob,
And scatter them in Israel.
8 “Judah, as for you, your brothers shall praise you;
Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies;
(AH)Your father’s sons shall bow down to you.
9 Judah is a (AI)lion’s whelp;
From the prey, my son, you have gone up.
(AJ)He [v]crouches, he lies down as a lion,
And as a lioness, who [w]dares rouse him up?
10 (AK)The scepter shall not depart from Judah,
Nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,
[x]Until Shiloh comes,
And (AL)to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.
11 [y](AM)He ties his foal to the vine,
And his donkey’s colt to the choice vine;
(AN)He washes his garments in wine,
And his robes in the blood of grapes.
12 His eyes are [z]dark from wine,
And his teeth [aa]white from milk.
13 “(AO)Zebulun will dwell at the seashore;
And he shall be a shore for ships,
And his flank shall be toward Sidon.
14 “Issachar is [ab]a strong donkey,
(AP)Lying down between the [ac]sheepfolds.
15 And he saw that a resting place was good
And that the land was pleasant,
So he bowed his shoulder to bear burdens,
And became a slave at forced labor.
16 “(AQ)Dan shall (AR)render justice to his people,
As one of the tribes of Israel.
17 Dan shall be a serpent in the way,
A horned snake in the path,
That bites the horse’s heels,
So that his rider falls backward.
18 (AS)For Your salvation I hope, O Yahweh.
21 “(AW)Naphtali is a doe let loose,
He gives beautiful words.
22 “(AX)Joseph is a fruitful [ai]bough,
A fruitful [aj]bough by a spring;
Its [ak]branches run over a wall.
23 And the archers bitterly attacked him and shot at him,
And they bore a grudge against him;
24 But his (AY)bow remained [al]firm,
And [am](AZ)his arms were agile,
From the hands of the (BA)Mighty One of Jacob,
From there is (BB)the Shepherd, (BC)the Stone of Israel,
25 From (BD)the God of your father who helps you,
And [an](BE)by the [ao]Almighty who blesses you
With (BF)blessings of heaven above,
Blessings of the deep that lies beneath,
Blessings of the breasts and of the womb.
26 The blessings of your father
Have surpassed the blessings of my ancestors
Up to the [ap]utmost bound of (BG)the everlasting hills;
May they be on the head of Joseph,
And on the top of the head of the one distinguished among his brothers.
27 “Benjamin is a [aq]ravenous wolf;
In the morning he devours the prey,
And in the evening he divides the spoil.”
Jacob Breathes His Last
28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father spoke to them. So he blessed them. He blessed them, every one [ar]with the blessing appropriate to him. 29 Then he commanded them and said to them, “I am about to be (BH)gathered to my people; (BI)bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in (BJ)the field of Ephron the Hittite, 30 in the (BK)cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought along with the field from Ephron the Hittite as a possession for a burial site. 31 There they buried (BL)Abraham and his wife (BM)Sarah, there they buried (BN)Isaac and his wife Rebekah, and there I buried Leah— 32 the field and the cave that is in it, purchased from the sons of Heth.” 33 So Jacob finished commanding his sons. And he drew his feet into the bed and (BO)breathed his last and was (BP)gathered to his people.
Footnotes
- Genesis 48:1 Lit one said to Joseph
- Genesis 48:2 Lit one told Jacob and said
- Genesis 48:2 Lit upon the bed
- Genesis 48:3 Heb El Shaddai
- Genesis 48:6 Lit you have begotten
- Genesis 48:6 Lit name
- Genesis 48:7 Lit upon me
- Genesis 48:10 Lit he
- Genesis 48:11 Lit meditated, judged
- Genesis 48:12 Lit made them come out
- Genesis 48:14 Or consciously directing
- Genesis 48:14 Lit when
- Genesis 48:15 Lit from the continuance of me
- Genesis 48:16 Lit be called
- Genesis 48:16 Lit name
- Genesis 48:22 Or ridge; lit shoulder; Heb Shechem
- Genesis 49:3 Lit preeminence
- Genesis 49:3 Lit preeminence
- Genesis 49:4 Or Boiling over; lit Recklessness
- Genesis 49:6 Lit a man
- Genesis 49:6 Lit an ox
- Genesis 49:9 Lit bows down
- Genesis 49:9 Lit shall
- Genesis 49:10 Or Until he comes to Shiloh, Until he comes to whom it belongs
- Genesis 49:11 Lit Binding of
- Genesis 49:12 Or darker than
- Genesis 49:12 Or whiter than
- Genesis 49:14 Lit a donkey of bone
- Genesis 49:14 Or saddlebags
- Genesis 49:19 Lit a raiding band
- Genesis 49:19 Lit heel
- Genesis 49:20 Lit From
- Genesis 49:20 Or bread
- Genesis 49:20 Lit fat
- Genesis 49:22 Lit son
- Genesis 49:22 Lit son
- Genesis 49:22 Lit daughters
- Genesis 49:24 In an unyielding position
- Genesis 49:24 Lit the arms of his hands
- Genesis 49:25 Or with
- Genesis 49:25 Heb Shaddai
- Genesis 49:26 Or desire; lit limit
- Genesis 49:27 Lit a wolf that tears
- Genesis 49:28 Lit according to his blessing
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