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Genesis 48:17–22

17 Now when Joseph saw that his father ulaid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it displeased him; so he took hold of his father’s hand to remove it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. 18 And Joseph said to his father, “Not so, my father, for this one is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head.”

19 But his father refused and said, v“I know, my son, I know. He also shall become a people, and he also shall be great; but truly whis younger brother shall be greater than he, and his descendants shall become a multitude of nations.”

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

21 Then Israel said to Joseph, “Behold, I am dying, but yGod will be with you and bring you back to the land of your fathers. 22 Moreover zI have given to you one 4portion above your brothers, which I took from the hand aof the Amorite with my sword and my bow.”

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Genesis 48:17–22 — The New International Version (NIV)

17 When 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. 18 Joseph said to him, “No, my father, this one is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head.”

19 But 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.” 20 He blessed them that day and said,

“In your name will Israel pronounce this blessing:

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

So he put Ephraim ahead of Manasseh.

21 Then Israel said to Joseph, “I am about to die, but God will be with you and take you back to the land of your fathers. 22 And to you I give one more ridge of land than to your brothers, the ridge I took from the Amorites with my sword and my bow.”

Genesis 48:17–22 — English Standard Version (ESV)

17 When Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it displeased him, and he took his father’s hand to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. 18 And Joseph said to his father, “Not this way, my father; since this one is the firstborn, put your right hand on his head.” 19 But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know. He also shall become a people, and he also shall be great. Nevertheless, his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his offspring shall become a multitude of nations.” 20 So he blessed them that day, saying,

“By you Israel will pronounce blessings, saying,

‘God make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh.’ ”

Thus he put Ephraim before Manasseh. 21 Then Israel said to Joseph, “Behold, I am about to die, but God will be with you and will bring you again to the land of your fathers. 22 Moreover, I have given to you rather than to your brothers one mountain slope that I took from the hand of the Amorites with my sword and with my bow.”

Genesis 48:17–22 — King James Version (KJV 1900)

17 And when Joseph saw 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. 18 And Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father: for this is the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his head. 19 And 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 nations. 20 And 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. 21 And Israel said unto Joseph, Behold, I die: but God shall be with you, and bring you again unto the land of your fathers. 22 Moreover 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.

Genesis 48:17–22 — New Living Translation (NLT)

17 But Joseph was upset when he saw that his father placed his right hand on Ephraim’s head. So Joseph lifted it to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. 18 “No, my father,” he said. “This one is the firstborn. Put your right hand on his head.”

19 But his father refused. “I know, my son; I know,” he replied. “Manasseh will also become a great people, but his younger brother will become even greater. And his descendants will become a multitude of nations.”

20 So Jacob blessed the boys that day with this blessing: “The people of Israel will use your names when they give a blessing. They will say, ‘May God make you as prosperous as Ephraim and Manasseh.’ ” In this way, Jacob put Ephraim ahead of Manasseh.

21 Then Jacob said to Joseph, “Look, I am about to die, but God will be with you and will take you back to Canaan, the land of your ancestors. 22 And beyond what I have given your brothers, I am giving you an extra portion of the land that I took from the Amorites with my sword and bow.”

Genesis 48:17–22 — New Century Version (NCV)

17 When Joseph saw that his father put his right hand on Ephraim’s head, he didn’t like it. So he took hold of his father’s hand, wanting to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. 18 Joseph said to his father, “You are doing it wrong, Father. Manasseh is the firstborn son. Put your right hand on his head.”

19 But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know. Manasseh will be great and have many descendants. But his younger brother will be greater, and his descendants will be enough to make a nation.”

20 So Israel blessed them that day and said,

“When a blessing is given in Israel, they will say:

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

In this way he made Ephraim greater than Manasseh.

21 Then Israel said to Joseph, “Look at me; I am about to die. But God will be with you and will take you back to the land of your fathers. 22 I have given you something that I did not give your brothers—the land of Shechem that I took from the Amorite people with my sword and my bow.”

Genesis 48:17–22 — American Standard Version (ASV)

17 And when Joseph saw 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. 18 And Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father; for this is the first-born; put thy right hand upon his head. 19 And 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: howbeit his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations. 20 And he blessed them that day, saying, In thee will Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh: and he set Ephraim before Manasseh. 21 And Israel said unto Joseph, Behold, I die: but God will be with you, and bring you again unto the land of your fathers. 22 Moreover 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.

Genesis 48:17–22 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)

17 When Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it was evil in his eyes; and he took hold of his father’s hand to remove it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. 18 And Joseph said to his father, Not so, my father, for this is the firstborn: put thy right hand on his head. 19 But his father refused and said, I know, my son, I know: he also will become a people, and he also will be great; but truly his younger brother will be greater than he; and his seed will become the fulness of nations. 20 And he blessed them that day, saying, In thee will Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and Manasseh! And he set Ephraim before Manasseh. 21 And Israel said to Joseph, Behold, I die; and God will be with you, and bring you again to the land of your fathers. 22 And I have given to thee one tract of land above thy brethren, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow.

Genesis 48:17–22 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

17 When Joseph saw that his father had put his right hand on Ephraim’s head, he didn’t like it. So he took his father’s hand in order to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s. 18 Then he said to his father, “That’s not right, Father! This is the firstborn. Put your right hand on his head.” 

19 His father refused and said, “I know, Son, I know! Manasseh, too, will become a nation, and he, too, will be important. Nevertheless, his younger brother will be more important than he, and his descendants will become many nations.” 

20 That day he blessed them. He said, 

“Because of you, Israel will speak this blessing, 

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

In this way Israel put Ephraim ahead of Manasseh. 

21 Then Israel said to Joseph, “Now I’m about to die, but God will be with you. He will bring you back to the land of your fathers. 22 I’m giving you one more mountain ridge than your brothers. I took it from the Amorites with my own sword and bow.” 

Genesis 48:17–22 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

17 When Joseph saw that his father had placed his right hand on Ephraim’s head, he thought it was a mistake and took his father’s hand to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s. 18 Joseph said to his father, “Not that way, my father! This one is the firstborn. Put your right hand on his head.”

19 But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know! He too will become a tribe, and he too will be great; nevertheless, his younger brother will be greater than he, and his offspring will become a populous nation.” 20 So he blessed them that day with these words:

The nation Israel will invoke blessings by you, saying,

“May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh,”

putting Ephraim before Manasseh.

21 Then Israel said to Joseph, “Look, I am about to die, but God will be with you and will bring you back to the land of your fathers. 22 Over and above what I am giving your brothers, I am giving you the one mountain slope that I took from the hand of the Amorites with my sword and bow.”

Genesis 48:17–22 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

17 When Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it displeased him; so he took 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! Since this one is the firstborn, put your right hand on his head.” 19 But his father refused, and said, “I know, my son, I know; he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great. Nevertheless his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his offspring shall become a multitude of nations.” 20 So he blessed them that day, saying,

“By you Israel will invoke blessings, saying,

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

So he put Ephraim ahead of Manasseh. 21 Then Israel said to Joseph, “I am about to die, but God will be with you and will bring you again to the land of your ancestors. 22 I now give to you one portion more than to your brothers, the portion that I took from the hand of the Amorites with my sword and with my bow.”

Genesis 48:17–22 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)

17 When Joseph saw that his father put his right hand on the head of Ephraim, he was displeased. And he took hold of his father’s hand to remove it from the head of Ephraim over to the head of Manasseh. 18 And Joseph said to his father, “Not so, my father; because this one is the firstborn. Put your right hand upon his head.” 19 But his father refused and said, “I know, my son; I know. He also shall become a people, and he also shall be great, but his younger brother shall be greater than him, and his offspring shall become a multitude of nations.” 20 So he blessed them that day, saying,

Through you Israel shall pronounce blessing, saying,

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

So he put Ephraim before Manasseh. 21 And Israel said to Joseph, “Behold, I am about to die, but God will be with you and will bring you back to the land of your ancestors. 22 And I have given to you one slope of land rather than your brothers, which I took from the hand of the Amorites by my sword and with my bow.”

Genesis 48:17–22 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)

17 Joseph saw his father putting his right hand on Ephraim’s head. And Joseph didn’t like it. So he took hold of his father’s hand to move it over to Manasseh’s head. 18 Joseph said to him, “No, my father. Here’s my older son. Put your right hand on his head.”

19 But his father wouldn’t do it. He said, “I know, my son. I know. He too will become a nation. He too will become great. But his younger brother will be greater than he is. His children after him will become a group of nations.”

20 On that day, Jacob gave them his blessing. He said,

“In the land of Israel, people will bless others in your names.

They will say, ‘May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.’ ”

So he put Ephraim ahead of Manasseh.

21 Then Israel said to Joseph, “I’m about to die. But God will be with all of you. He’ll take you back to the land of your fathers. 22 But you, Joseph, are over your brothers. So I’m giving you the range of hills I took from the Amorites. I took it with my sword and bow.”

Genesis 48:17–22 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)

17 When Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on Ephraim’s head, it displeased him; and he grasped 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 one is the firstborn. Place your right hand on his head.”

19 But 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 shall be greater than he, and his descendants shall become a multitude of nations.”

20 He blessed them that day, saying,

“By you Israel will pronounce blessing, saying,

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

Thus he put Ephraim before Manasseh.

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

22 “I give you one portion more than your brothers, which I took from the hand of the Amorite with my sword and my bow.”


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