Genesis 48

Modern

Literal

Jacob Blesses Ephraim and Manasseh

¹Some time later Joseph was told, “Your father is ill.” So he set out with his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim.

¹And it came to pass after these things, that someone said to Joseph, “Behold, your father is sick.” And he took his two sons with him, Manasseh and Ephraim.

²When Jacob was told, “Your son Joseph has come to you,” Israel rallied his strength and sat up in bed.

²And someone told, Jacob and said, “Behold, your son Joseph has come to you.” And Israel strengthened himself and sat up on the bed.

³Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty^a appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and there He blessed me

³And Jacob said to Joseph, “El-Shaddai appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and He blessed me

⁴and told me, ‘Behold, I will make you fruitful and multiply you; I will make you a multitude of peoples, and will give this land to your descendants after you as an everlasting possession.’

⁴and He said to me, ‘Behold, I am making you fruitful, and I will multiply you, and I will give you to be an assembly of peoples, and I will give this land to your seed after you as an everlasting possession.’

⁵And now your two sons born to you in Egypt before I came to you here shall be reckoned as mine; Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine, just as Reuben and Simeon are mine.

⁵And now, your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before my coming to you in Egypt, they are mine: Ephraim and Manasseh; like Reuben and like Simeon, they shall be mine.

⁶Any children born to you after them shall be yours, and they shall be called by the names of their brothers in the territory they inherit.

⁶And your offspring, whom you beget after them, shall be yours. By the name of their brothers they will be called in their inheritance.

⁷Now as for me, when I was returning from Paddan,^a to my sorrow Rachel died along the way in the land of Canaan, some distance from Ephrath. So I buried her there beside the road to Ephrath” (that is, Bethlehem).

⁷And I, when I was coming from Paddan, Rachel died upon me in the land of Canaan, on the way, when there was a distance of land to go to to Ephrathah. And I buried her there on the way to Ephrath” (that is, in Bethlehem).

⁸When Israel saw the sons of Joseph, he asked, “Who are these?”

⁸And Israel saw the sons of Joseph and said, “Who are these?”

⁹Joseph said to his father, “They are the sons God has given me in this place.”

So Jacob said, “Please bring them to me, that I may bless them.”

⁹And Joseph said to his father, “They are my sons, whom God has given to me in this place.” And he said, “Bring them, please, to me, and I will bless them.”

¹⁰Now Israel’s eyesight was poor because of old age; he could hardly see. Joseph brought his sons to him, and his father kissed them and embraced them.

¹⁰And the eyes of Israel were heavy from old age; he was not able to see. And he brought them near to him, and he kissed them and he embraced them.

¹¹“I never expected to see your face again,” Israel said to Joseph, “but now God has let me see your children as well.”

¹¹And Israel said to Joseph, “To see your face I had not expected, and behold, God has shown me also your seed.”

¹²Then Joseph removed his sons from his father’s knees and bowed facedown.

¹²And Joseph brought them from between his knees, and he bowed himself with his nose to the earth.

¹³And Joseph took both of them—with Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel’s left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel’s right hand—and brought them close to him.

¹³And Joseph took the two of them: Ephraim in his right hand, from the left of Israel, and Manasseh in his left hand, from the right of Israel, and he brought them near to him.

¹⁴But Israel stretched out his right hand and put it on the head of Ephraim, the younger; and crossing his hands, he put his left on Manasseh’s head, although Manasseh was the firstborn.

¹⁴And Israel stretched out his right hand and set it on the head of Ephraim—and he was the younger—and his left hand on the head of Manasseh; he acted wisely with his hands, for Manasseh was the firstborn.

¹⁵Then he blessed Joseph and said:

“May the God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked,

the God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day,

¹⁵And he blessed Joseph and said, “God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd from my continued being unto this day,

¹⁶the angel^a who has redeemed me from all harm—

may He bless these boys.

And may they be called by my name

and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac,

and may they grow into a multitude upon the earth.”

¹⁶the angel who has redeemed me from all evil, may he bless the boys. And let my name be called upon them, and the name of my fathers, Abraham and Isaac, and may they multiply like fish into a multitude in the midst of the earth.”

¹⁷When Joseph saw that his father had placed his right hand on Ephraim’s head, he was displeased and took his father’s hand to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s.

¹⁷And Joseph saw that his father had set his right hand on the head of Ephraim, and it was evil in his eyes; and he took hold of the hand of his father to remove it from the head of Ephraim to the head of Manasseh.

¹⁸“Not so, my father!” Joseph said. “This one is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head.”

¹⁸And Joseph said to his father, “Not so, my father, for this one is the firstborn; set your right hand on his head.”

¹⁹But his father refused. “I know, my son, I know!” he said. “He too shall become a people, and he too shall be great; nevertheless, his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his offspring shall become a multitude of nations.”

¹⁹And his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know! He also shall become a people, and he also shall be great. And yet, his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become the fullness of the nations.”

²⁰So that day Jacob blessed them and said:

“By you shall Israel pronounce this blessing:

‘May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.’”

So he put Ephraim before Manasseh.

²⁰And he blessed them that day, saying, “By you Israel will bless, saying, ‘May God make you like Ephraim and like Manasseh.’” And he set Ephraim before Manasseh.

²¹Then Israel said to Joseph, “Look, I am about to die, but God will be with you and bring you back to the land of your fathers.

²¹And Israel said to Joseph, “Behold, I am dying, and God will be with you and He will bring you back to the land of your fathers.

²²And to you, as one who is above your brothers, I give the ridge of land^a that I took from the Amorites with my sword and bow.”

²²And I, I have given to you one portion above your brothers, which I took from the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow.”