Genesis 48
48
CHAPTER 48
1And so when these things were done, it was told to Joseph, that his father was sick. And he took his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, and he disposed him to go.
2And it was said to the eld [or old] man, Lo! thy son Joseph cometh to thee; which was comforted, and sat up in the bed.
3And when Joseph entered to him, he said, Almighty God appeared to me in Luz, which is in the land of Canaan, and blessed me,
4and said, I shall increase thee, and multiply thee, and I shall make thee into companies of peoples, and I shall give to thee this land, and to thy seed after thee, into everlasting possession.
5Therefore thy two sons, that be born to thee in the land of Egypt, before that I came hither to thee, shall be mine; Ephraim and Manasseh, as Reuben and Simeon, shall be areckoned to me;
6forsooth the others which thou shalt beget after them shall be thine; and they shall be called by the name of their brethren in their possessions.
7Forsooth when I came from Mesopotamia, Rachel was dead to me in the land of Canaan, in that way; and it was the beginning of summer; and before that I entered into Ephratah, and I buried her beside the way of Ephratah, which by another name is called Bethlehem.
8Forsooth Jacob saw the sons of Joseph, and said to him, Who be these?
9He answered, They be my sons, which God gave me in this place. Jacob said, Bring them to me, that I bless them.
10For the eyes of Israel dimmed for great eld age, and he might not see clearly; and he kissed and embraced those children joined to him,
11and he said to his son, I am not defrauded of thy sight; furthermore God hath showed to me thy seed.
12And when Joseph had taken them from his father’s lap, he worshipped or honoured low to the earth.
13And he set Ephraim on his right side, that is, on the left side of Israel; forsooth he set Manasseh on his left side, that is, on the right side of his father; and he joined both to him.
14Which held forth the right hand, and laid it on Ephraim’s head, the younger brother; soothly he laid his left hand on Manasseh’s head, that was the more through birth. Jacob changed his hands,
15and blessed his son Joseph#48:15 In blessing Ephraim and Manasseh, Jacob was in fact blessing Joseph. (Good News Bible), and said, God, in whose sight my fathers Abraham and Isaac went; God that feedeth me from my young waxing age till into this present day;
16the angel that delivered me from all evils, bless these children, and my name be called on them, and the names of my fathers, Abraham and Isaac; and wax they in multitude on earth.
17Forsooth Joseph saw that his father had set [or put] his right hand on the head of Ephraim, and he took that heavily, and he enforced or endeavoured him to raise his father’s hand, and take it from the head of Ephraim, and to bear it over upon the head of Manasseh.
18And Joseph said to his father, Father, it accordeth not so; for this is the first begotten; set [or put] thy right hand on his head.
19Which forsook to do so, and said, I know, my son, I know; and soothly this child shall be into peoples, and he shall be multiplied; but his younger brother shall be more than he, and his seed shall increase into a multitude of folks.
20And he blessed them in that time, and said, Israel shall be blessed in thee, and it shall be said, God do to thee as to Ephraim and as to Manasseh. And he set Ephraim before Manasseh;
21and Jacob said to Joseph, his son, Lo! I die, and God shall be with you, and shall lead you again to the land of your fathers;
22I give to thee one part over thy brethren, which I took from the hand of Amorite, in my sword and bow.
Currently Selected:
Genesis 48: WBMS
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Wycliffe’s Bible with Modern Spelling ©2017
Wycliffe’s Apocrypha ©2013, 2015
Wycliffe’s Bible © 2012, 2015
Wycliffe’s New Testament ©2001, 2011
Wycliffe’s Old Testament ©2001, 2010
Genesis 48
48
Jacob Blesses Joseph's Two Sons
1Joseph was told that his father Jacob had become very sick. So Joseph went to see him and took along his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. 2When Joseph arrived, someone told Jacob, “Your son Joseph has come to see you.” Jacob sat up in bed, but it took almost all his strength.
3 #
Gn 28.13,14. Jacob told Joseph:
God All-Powerful appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan, where he gave me his blessing 4and promised, “I will give you a large family with many descendants that will grow into a nation. And I am giving you this land that will belong to you and your family forever.”
5Then Jacob went on to say:
Joseph, your two sons Ephraim and Manasseh were born in Egypt, but I accept them as my own, just as Reuben and Simeon are mine. 6Any children you have later will be considered yours, but their inheritance will come from Ephraim and Manasseh. 7#Gn 35.16-19. Unfortunately, your mother Rachel died in Canaan after we had left northern Syria#48.7 northern Syria: See the note at 24.10. and before we reached Bethlehem.#48.7 Bethlehem: The Hebrew text has “Ephrath, that is, Bethlehem.” And I had to bury her along the way.
8-10Jacob was very old and almost blind. He did not recognize the two boys, and so he asked Joseph, “Who are these boys?”
Joseph answered, “They are my sons. God has given them to me here in Egypt.”
“Bring them to me,” Jacob said. “I want to give them my blessing.” Joseph brought the boys to him, and he hugged and kissed them.
11Jacob turned to Joseph and told him, “For many years I thought you were dead and that I would never see you again. But now God has even let me live to see your children.” 12Then Joseph made his sons move away from Jacob's knees,#48.12 move … Jacob's knees: The two boys were placed either on or between Jacob's knees, as a sign that he had accepted them as his sons. and Joseph bowed down in front of him with his face to the ground.
13After Joseph got up, he brought his two sons over to Jacob again. He led his younger son Ephraim to the left side of Jacob and his older son Manasseh to the right. 14But before Jacob gave them his blessing, he crossed his arms, putting his right hand on the head of Ephraim and his left hand on the head of Manasseh. 15Then he gave Joseph his blessing and said:
My grandfather Abraham and my father Isaac worshiped the Lord God. He has been with me all my life, 16and his angel has kept me safe. Now I pray that he will bless these boys and that my name and the names of Abraham and Isaac will live on because of them. I ask God to give them many children and many descendants as well.
17Joseph did not like it when he saw his father place his right hand on the head of the younger son. So he tried to move his father's right hand from Ephraim's head and place it on Manasseh. 18Joseph said, “Father, you have made a mistake. This is the older boy. Put your right hand on him.”
19But his father said, “Son, I know what I am doing. It's true that Manasseh's family will someday become a great nation. But Ephraim will be even greater than Manasseh, because his descendants will become many great nations.”
20 #
He 11.21. Jacob told him that in the future the people of Israel would ask God's blessings on one another by saying, “I pray for God to bless you as much as he blessed Ephraim and Manasseh.” Jacob put Ephraim's name first to show that he would be greater than Manasseh. 21After that, Jacob said, “Joseph, you can see that I won't live much longer. But God will be with you and will lead you back to the land he promised our family long ago. 22Meanwhile, I'm giving you the hillside#48.22 the hillside: Or “a larger share than your brothers, the land.” I captured from the Amorites.”
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.