1
Now after these things, word came to Joseph that his father was ill : and he took with him his sons Manasseh and Ephraim .
2
And when they said to Jacob , Your son Joseph is coming to see you: then Israel , getting all his strength together, had himself lifted up in his bed.
3
And Jacob said to Joseph , God, the Ruler of all, came to me in a vision at Luz in the land of Canaan , and gave me his blessing ,
4
And said to me, Truly, I will make you fertile and give you increase and will make of you a great family of nations: and I will give this land to your seed after you to be their heritage for ever .
5
And now your two sons who came to birth in Egypt before I came to you here, are mine; Ephraim and Manasseh will be mine, in the same way as Reuben and Simeon are.
6
And any other offspring which you have after them, will be yours, and will be named after their brothers in their heritage .
7
And as for me, when I came from Paddan, death overtook Rachel on the way , when we were still some distance from Ephrath ; and I put her to rest there on the road to Ephrath , which is Beth-lehem.
8
Then Israel , looking at Joseph's sons, said , Who are these?
9
And Joseph said to his father , They are my sons, whom God has given me in this land. And he said , Let them come near me, and I will give them a blessing .
10
Now because Israel was old, his eyes were no longer clear, and he was not able to see . So he made them come near to him, and he gave them a kiss , folding them in his arms.
11
And Israel said to Joseph , I had no hope of seeing your face again, but God in his mercy has let me see you and your children.
12
Then Joseph took them from between his knees , and went down on his face to the earth .
13
Then taking Ephraim with his right hand , Joseph put him at Israel's left side , and with his left hand he put Manasseh at Israel's right side , placing them near him.
14
And Israel , stretching out his right hand , put it on the head of Ephraim , the younger, and his left hand on the head of Manasseh , crossing his hands on purpose, for Manasseh was the older.
15
And he gave Joseph a blessing , saying, May the God to whom my fathers , Abraham and Isaac , gave worship, the God who has taken care of me all my life till this day ,
16
The angel who has been my saviour from all evil , send his blessing on these children: and let my name and the name of my fathers , Abraham and Isaac , be given to them; and let them become a great nation in the earth .
17
Now when Joseph saw that his father had put his right hand on the head of Ephraim , it did not seem right to him; and lifting his father 's hand he would have put it on the head of Manasseh .
18
And Joseph said to his father , Not so, my father , for this is the older; put your right hand on his head .
19
But his father would not, saying, I am doing it on purpose, my son ; he will certainly become a nation and a great one; but his younger brother will be greater than he, and his seed will become a great family of nations .
20
So he gave them his blessing that day , saying, You will be the sign of blessing in Israel , for they will say , May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh ; and he put Ephraim before Manasseh .
21
Then Israel said to Joseph , Now my death is near; but God will be with you, guiding you back to the land of your fathers .
22
And I have given you more than your brothers , even Shechem as your heritage, which I took from the Amorites with my sword and my bow .