Genesis 48

1 After these things, Joseph was told, “Look — your father is ill.” And taking his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, he came to Jacob. 2 And Jacob was told, “Look — your son Joseph is coming to you.” And Israel gathered his strength and sat up on the bed. 3 And Jacob said to Joseph, “My God appeared to me at Luz, in the land of Canaan, and blessed me, 4 and said to me, ‘Look — I will increase you and multiply you, and make you into gatherings of nations, and I will give this land to you, and to your seed after you, as a possession forever.’ 5 Now then — your two sons, born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, are mine. Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine, as Reuben and Simeon are. 6 But the children born to you after them shall be yours; they shall be counted under the names of their brothers in their inheritance. 7 As for me — when I came out of Mesopotamia of Syria, Rachel your mother died in the land of Canaan, as I drew near the racecourse of Chabratha, on the way to Ephrath. And I buried her there beside the road of the racecourse — that is, Bethlehem.” [a]

8 When Israel saw Joseph’s sons, he said, “Who are these to you?” 9 And Joseph said to his father, “They are my sons, whom God has given me here.” And Jacob said, “Bring them to me, so that I may bless them.” 10 Now Israel’s eyes were dim with age, and he could not see. And Joseph brought them near to him, and he kissed them and embraced them. 11 And Israel said to Joseph, “Look — I was not deprived of seeing your face, and now God has shown me your seed as well.” 12 Then Joseph drew them back from between his knees, and they bowed down to him with their faces to the ground. 13 And Joseph took his two sons — Ephraim in his right hand, toward Israel’s left, and Manasseh in his left hand, toward Israel’s right — and brought them near to him. 14 But Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on the head of Ephraim — the younger one — and his left hand on the head of Manasseh, crossing his hands over. 15 And he blessed them and said, “The God in whose sight my fathers Abraham and Isaac were well-pleasing, the God who has fed me from my youth to this day, 16 the messenger who delivers me from every evil — bless these boys. Let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac, and let them grow into a great multitude on the earth.” [b] 17 When Joseph saw that his father had laid his right hand on Ephraim’s head, it displeased him, and Joseph took hold of his father’s hand to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. 18 And Joseph said to his father, “Not that way, father — this one is the firstborn. Lay your right hand on his head.” 19 But he refused, and said, “I know, my son — I know. He too shall become a people, and he too shall be great. But his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations.” 20 So he blessed them that day, saying, “In you shall Israel be blessed — they will say, ‘May God make you like Ephraim and like Manasseh.’” And so he set Ephraim before Manasseh. 21 And Israel said to Joseph, “Look — I am dying. But God will be with you, and will bring you back to the land of your fathers. 22 And to you I give Shechem, a chosen portion above your brothers — the one I took from the hand of the Amorites with my sword and my bow.” [c]