Genesis 48:5–20

⁵Your two sons^e born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt are now mine.^f Ephraim and Manasseh belong to me just as Reuben and Simeon do. ⁶Children born to you after them will be yours and will be recorded under the names of their brothers with regard to their inheritance. ⁷When I was returning from Paddan, to my sorrow Rachel died along the way,^g some distance from Ephrath in the land of Canaan. I buried her there along the way to Ephrath” (that is, Bethlehem).

⁸When Israel saw Joseph’s sons, he said, “Who are these?”

⁹And Joseph said to his father, “They are my sons God has given me here.”

So Israel said, “Bring them to me and I will bless them.”^{h 10}Now his eyesight was poor because of old age; he could hardly^B see.ⁱ Joseph brought them to him, and he kissed and embraced them.^{j 11}Israel said to Joseph, “I never expected to see your face again, but now God has even let me see your offspring.” ¹²Then Joseph took them from his father’s knees and bowed with his face to the ground.^k

EPHRAIM’S GREATER BLESSING

¹³Then Joseph took them both—with his right hand Ephraim toward Israel’s left, and with his left hand Manasseh toward Israel’s right—and brought them to Israel. ¹⁴But Israel stretched out his right hand and put it on the head of Ephraim, the younger, and crossing his hands, put his left on Manasseh’s head, although Manasseh was the firstborn.^{l 15}Then he blessed Joseph and said:

The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked,^m

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

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

may he bless these boys.

And may they be called by my name

and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac,^p

and may they grow to be numerous within the land.

¹⁷When Joseph saw that his father had placed his right hand on Ephraim’s head, he thought it was a mistake^A and took his father’s hand to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s. ¹⁸Joseph said to his father, “Not that way, 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 tribe,^B and he too will be great; nevertheless, his younger brother will be greater than he, and his offspring will become a populous nation.”^{C 20}So he blessed them that day, putting Ephraim before Manasseh when he said, “The nation Israel will invoke blessings by you, saying, ‘May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.’ ”