Genesis 48

1¶ And it came to pass after these things that it was told Joseph, Behold, thy father is sick; and he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim.

2And one told Jacob and said, Behold, thy son Joseph comes unto thee. Then Israel strengthened himself and sat upon the bed

3and said unto Joseph, God Almighty appeared unto me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me

4and said unto me, Behold, I will make thee fruitful and multiply thee, and I will make of thee a multitude of peoples and will give this land to thy seed after thee for an everlasting possession.

5And now thy two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, who were born unto thee in the land of Egypt before I came unto thee into Egypt, are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine.

6And those whom thou hast begotten after them shall be thine and shall be called after the name of their brethren in their inheritance.

7Because when I came from Padanaram, Rachel died unto me in the land of Canaan in the way when yet there was but a little way to come unto Ephrath; and I buried her there in the way of Ephrath, which is Bethlehem.

8¶ And Israel beheld Joseph’s sons and said, Who are these?

9And Joseph said unto his father, They are my sons, whom God has given me in this place. And he said, Bring them, I pray thee, unto me, and I will bless them.

10Now the eyes of Israel were so dim for age that he could not see. And he brought them near unto him, and he kissed them and embraced them.

11And Israel said unto Joseph, I had not thought to see thy face, and, behold, God has showed me also thy seed.

12Then Joseph brought them out from between his knees, and he bowed himself with his face to the earth.

13And Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel’s left hand and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel’s right hand and brought them near unto him.

14Then Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it upon Ephraim’s head, who was the younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh’s head, guiding his hands with understanding; for Manasseh was the firstborn.

15And he blessed Joseph and said, God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has fed me all my life long unto this day,

16the Angel who frees me from all evil, bless these young men, and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.

17Then Joseph seeing that his father laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him; and he held up his father’s hand, to remove it from Ephraim’s head unto Manasseh’s head.

18And Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father, for this is the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his head.

19And his father refused and said, I know it, my son, I know it; he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great; but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of Gentiles.

20And he blessed them that day, saying, In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh. And he set Ephraim before Manasseh.

21And Israel said unto Joseph, Behold, I die; but God shall be with you and bring you again unto the land of your fathers.

22Moreover I have given to thee one portion above thy brethren, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow.

The Jubilee Bible 2000 (JUB) by Ransom Press International

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Genesis 48

Manasseh and Ephraim

1Some time later Joseph was told, ‘Your father is ill.’ So he took his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim along with him. 2When Jacob was told, ‘Your son Joseph has come to you,’ Israel rallied his strength and sat up on the bed.

3Jacob said to Joseph, ‘God Almighty#48:3 Hebrew El-Shaddai appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and there he blessed me 4and said to me, “I am going to make you fruitful and increase your numbers. I will make you a community of peoples, and I will give this land as an everlasting possession to your descendants after you.”

5‘Now then, your two sons born to you in Egypt before I came to you here will be reckoned as mine; Ephraim and Manasseh will be mine, just as Reuben and Simeon are mine. 6Any children born to you after them will be yours; in the territory they inherit they will be reckoned under the names of their brothers. 7As I was returning from Paddan,#48:7 That is, North-west Mesopotamia to my sorrow Rachel died in the land of Canaan while we were still on the way, a little distance from Ephrath. So I buried her there beside the road to Ephrath’ (that is, Bethlehem).

8When Israel saw the sons of Joseph, he asked, ‘Who are these?’

9‘They are the sons God has given me here,’ Joseph said to his father.

Then Israel said, ‘Bring them to me so that I may bless them.’

10Now Israel’s eyes were failing because of old age, and he could hardly see. So Joseph brought his sons close to him, and his father kissed them and embraced them.

11Israel said to Joseph, ‘I never expected to see your face again, and now God has allowed me to see your children too.’

12Then Joseph removed them from Israel’s knees and bowed down with his face to the ground. 13And Joseph took both of them, Ephraim on his right towards Israel’s left hand and Manasseh on his left towards Israel’s right hand, and brought them close to him. 14But Israel reached out his right hand and put it on Ephraim’s head, though he was the younger, and crossing his arms, he put his left hand on Manasseh’s head, even though Manasseh was the firstborn.

15Then he blessed Joseph and said,

‘May the God before whom my fathers

Abraham and Isaac walked faithfully,

the God who has been my shepherd

all my life to this day,

16the Angel who has delivered me from all harm

– may he bless these boys.

May they be called by my name

and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac,

and may they increase greatly

on the earth.’

17When Joseph saw his father placing his right hand on Ephraim’s head he was displeased; so he took hold of his father’s hand to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. 18Joseph said to him, ‘No, my father, this one is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head.’

19But his father refused and said, ‘I know, my son, I know. He too will become a people, and he too will become great. Nevertheless, his younger brother will be greater than he, and his descendants will become a group of nations.’ 20He blessed them that day and said,

‘In your#48:20 The Hebrew is singular. name will Israel pronounce this blessing:

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

So he put Ephraim ahead of Manasseh.

21Then Israel said to Joseph, ‘I am about to die, but God will be with you#48:21 The Hebrew is plural. and take you#48:21 The Hebrew is plural. back to the land of your#48:21 The Hebrew is plural. fathers. 22And to you I give one more ridge of land#48:22 The Hebrew for ridge of land is identical with the place name Shechem. than to your brothers, the ridge I took from the Amorites with my sword and my bow.’

The Holy Bible, New International Version® (Anglicised), NIV®

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