Chapter 48
1 After these things , someone said to Joseph , " Behold , your father is sick ." He took with him his two sons , Manasseh and Ephraim.
2 Someone told Jacob , and said, " Behold , your son Joseph comes to you ," and Israel strengthened himself , and sat on the bed .
3 Jacob said to Joseph , "God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan , and blessed me ,
4 and said to me , ‘ Behold , I will make you fruitful , and multiply you , and I will make of you a company of peoples , and will give this land to your offspring after you for an everlasting possession .’
5 Now your two sons , who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you into Egypt , are mine; Ephraim and Manasseh , even as Reuben and Simeon , will be mine.
6 Your offspring , whom you become the father of after them , will be yours. They will be called after the name of their brothers in their inheritance .
7 As for me , when I came from Paddan , Rachel died beside me in the land of Canaan on the way , when there was still some distance to come to Ephrath, and I buried her there on the way to Ephrath ( also called Bethlehem )."
8 Israel saw Joseph ’s sons , and said, " Who are these?"
9 Joseph said to his father , " They are my sons , whom God has given me here ." He said, " Please bring them to me , and I will bless them ."
10 Now the eyes of Israel were dim for age , so that he couldn’t see well . Joseph brought them near to him ; and he kissed them , and embraced them .
11 Israel said to Joseph , " I didn’t think I would see your face , and behold , God has let me see your offspring also ."
12 Joseph brought them out from between his knees , and he bowed himself with his face to the earth.
13 Joseph took them both , Ephraim in his right hand towards Israel ’s left hand , and Manasseh in his left hand towards Israel ’s right hand , and brought them near to him .
14 Israel stretched out his right hand , and laid it on Ephraim’s head , who was the younger , and his left hand on Manasseh ’s head , guiding his hands knowingly, for Manasseh was the firstborn .
15 He blessed Joseph , and said, " The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked , the God who has fed me all my life long to this day ,
16 the angel who has 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 . Let them grow into a multitude upon the earth."
17 When Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it displeased him . He held up his father’s hand , to remove it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh ’s head .
18 Joseph said to his father, " Not so , my father, for this is the firstborn . Put your right hand on his head ."
19 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 will be greater than he , and his offspring will become a multitude of nations ."
20 He blessed them that day , saying, " Israel will bless in your name, saying, ‘God make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh ’" He set Ephraim before Manasseh .
21 Israel said to Joseph , " Behold , I am dying , but God will be with you , and bring you again to the land of your fathers.
22 Moreover I have given to you one portion above your brothers, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow ."