28 And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years. So the length of Jacob’s life was one hundred and forty-seven years. 29 When the time edrew near that Israel must die, he called his son Joseph and said to him, “Now if I have found favor in your sight, please fput your hand under my thigh, and gdeal kindly and truly with me. hPlease do not bury me in Egypt, 30 but ilet me lie with my fathers; you shall carry me out of Egypt and jbury me in their burial place.”

And he said, “I will do as you have said.”

31 Then he said, “Swear to me.” And he swore to him. So kIsrael bowed himself on the head of the bed.

Jacob Blesses Joseph’s Sons

48 Now it came to pass after these things that Joseph was told, “Indeed your father is sick”; and he took with him his two sons, aManasseh and Ephraim. 2 And Jacob was told, “Look, your son Joseph is coming to you”; and Israel 1strengthened himself and sat up on the bed. 3 Then Jacob said to Joseph: “God bAlmighty appeared to me at cLuz in the land of Canaan and blessed me, 4 and said to me, ‘Behold, I will dmake you fruitful and multiply you, and I will make of you a multitude of people, and egive this land to your descendants after you fas an everlasting possession.’ 5 And now your gtwo sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine. 6 Your 2offspring 3whom you beget after them shall be yours; they will be called by the name of their brothers in their inheritance. 7 But as for me, when I came from Padan, hRachel died beside me in the land of Canaan on the way, when there was but a little distance to go to Ephrath; and I buried her there on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).”

8 Then Israel saw Joseph’s sons, and said, “Who are these?”

9 Joseph said to his father, “They are my sons, whom God has given me in this place.”

And he said, “Please bring them to me, and iI will bless them.” 10 Now jthe eyes of Israel were dim with age, so that he could not see. Then Joseph brought them near him, and he kkissed them and embraced them. 11 And Israel said to Joseph, l“I had not thought to see your face; but in fact, God has also shown me your offspring!”

12 So Joseph brought them from beside his knees, and he bowed down with his face to the earth. 13 And Joseph took them both, Ephraim with his right hand toward Israel’s left hand, and Manasseh with his left hand toward Israel’s right hand, and brought them near him. 14 Then Israel stretched out his right hand and mlaid it on Ephraim’s head, who was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh’s head, nguiding his hands knowingly, for Manasseh was the ofirstborn. 15 And phe blessed Joseph, and said:

“God, qbefore whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked,

The God who has fed me all my life long to this day,

16 The Angel rwho has redeemed me from all evil,

Bless the lads;

Let smy name be named upon them,

And the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac;

And let them tgrow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.”

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.”

Jacob’s Last Words to His Sons

49 And Jacob called his sons and said, “Gather together, that I may atell you what shall befall you bin the last days:

2 “Gather together and hear, you sons of Jacob,

And listen to Israel your father.

3 “Reuben, you are cmy firstborn,

My might and the beginning of my strength,

The excellency of dignity and the excellency of power.

4 Unstable as water, you shall not excel,

Because you dwent up to your father’s bed;

Then you defiled it—

He went up to my couch.

5 “Simeon and Levi are brothers;

Instruments of 1cruelty are in their dwelling place.

6 eLet not my soul enter their council;

Let not my honor be united fto their assembly;

gFor in their anger they slew a man,

And in their self-will they 2hamstrung an ox.

7 Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce;

And their wrath, for it is cruel!

hI will divide them in Jacob

And scatter them in Israel.

8 “Judah, iyou are he whom your brothers shall praise;

jYour hand shall be on the neck of your enemies;

kYour father’s children shall bow down before you.

9 Judah is la lion’s whelp;

From the prey, my son, you have gone up.

mHe 3bows down, he lies down as a lion;

And as a lion, who shall rouse him?

10 nThe 4scepter shall not depart from Judah,

Nor oa lawgiver from between his feet,

pUntil Shiloh comes;

qAnd to Him shall be the obedience of the people.

11 Binding his donkey to the vine,

And his donkey’s colt to the choice vine,

He washed his garments in wine,

And his clothes in the blood of grapes.

12 His eyes are darker than wine,

And his teeth whiter than milk.

13 “Zebulun rshall dwell by the haven of the sea;

He shall become a haven for ships,

And his border shall sadjoin Sidon.

14 “Issachar tis a strong donkey,

Lying down between two burdens;

15 He saw that rest was good,

And that the land was pleasant;

He bowed uhis shoulder to bear a burden,

And became a band of slaves.

16 “Dan vshall judge his people

As one of the tribes of Israel.

17 wDan shall be a serpent by the way,

A viper by the path,

That bites the horse’s heels

So that its rider shall fall backward.

18 xI have waited for your salvation, O Lord!

19 “Gad, y5a troop shall 6tramp upon him,

But he shall 6triumph at last.

20 “Bread from zAsher shall be rich,

And he shall yield royal dainties.

21 “Naphtali ais a deer let loose;

He uses beautiful words.

22 “Joseph is a fruitful bough,

A fruitful bough by a well;

His branches run over the wall.

23 The archers have bbitterly grieved him,

Shot at him and hated him.

24 But his cbow remained in strength,

And the arms of his hands were 7made strong

By the hands of dthe Mighty God of Jacob

e(From there fis the Shepherd, gthe Stone of Israel),

25 hBy the God of your father who will help you,

iAnd by the Almighty jwho will bless you

With blessings of heaven above,

Blessings of the deep that lies beneath,

Blessings of the breasts and of the womb.

26 The blessings of your father

Have excelled the blessings of my ancestors,

kUp to the utmost bound of the everlasting hills.

lThey shall be on the head of Joseph,

And on the crown of the head of him who was separate from his brothers.

27 “Benjamin is a mravenous wolf;

In the morning he shall devour the prey,

nAnd at night he shall divide the spoil.”

28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father spoke to them. And he blessed them; he blessed each one according to his own blessing.