Genesis 48

Jacob Blesses Ephraim and Manasseh

48Some time after this, Joseph was told, “Your father is weaker.” So he set out with his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. ²When Jacob was told, “Your son Joseph has come to you,” Israel summoned his strength and sat up in bed.

³Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty ^lappeared to me at Luz ^min the land of Canaan and blessed me. ⁴He said to me, ‘I will make you fruitful and numerous; I will make many nations come from you, and I will give this land as an eternal possession ⁿto your future descendants.’ ^o5Your two sons ^pborn to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt are now mine. ^qEphraim 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, ^rsome 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 Jacob said, “Bring them to me and I will bless them.” ^s10Now his eyesight was poor because of old age; he could hardly ^tsee. ^uJoseph brought them to him, and he kissed and embraced them. ^v11Israel 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. ^w

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. ^x15Then he blessed Joseph and said:

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

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

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

may He bless these boys.

And may they be called by my name

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

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 ^cand 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, ^dand he too will be great; nevertheless, his younger brother will be greater than he, and his offspring will become a populous nation.” ^e20So 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.

²¹Then 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. ^f22Over and above what I am giving your brothers, I am giving you the one mountain slope ^gthat I took from the hand of the Amorites with my sword and bow.” ^h