Genesis 48:5–20

⁵And 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. ⁶Your ²offspring ³whom you beget after them shall be yours; they will be called by the name of their brothers in their inheritance. ⁷But 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).”

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

⁹Joseph 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.” ¹⁰Now ^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. ¹¹And Israel said to Joseph, ^l“I had not thought to see your face; but in fact, God has also shown me your offspring!”

¹²So Joseph brought them from beside his knees, and he bowed down with his face to the earth. ¹³And 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. ¹⁴Then 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. ¹⁵And ^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,

¹⁶The 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.”

¹⁷Now 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. ¹⁸And Joseph said to his father, “Not so, my father, for this one is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head.”

¹⁹But 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.”

²⁰So 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.