1
And it was, after these words*, that one said to Joseph, Behold, thy father is··sick; and he took his two sons with him, Manasseh and Ephraim.
2
And one told Jacob, and said, Behold, thy son Joseph comes to▵ thee; and Israel strengthened himself, and sat on the bed◦.
3
And Jacob said to▵ Joseph, God◦ Shaddai was seen by me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me,
4
and He said to▵ me, Behold I will make· thee ·fruitful, and will cause thee to be multiplied, and will give thee for an assembly of peoples; and I will give this land to thy seed after thee for an eternal possession◦.
5
And now thy two sons, who were··born to thee in the land of Egypt, before I came to▵ thee into Egypt, they◦ are mine; Ephraim and Manasseh, as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine.
6
And thy begotten which thou begettest after them, shall be thine; on the name of their brothers they shall be called in their inheritance.
7
And I◦, in my coming from Paddan, Rachel died on me in the land of Canaan, in the way, when there was still a tract of land to come toward Ephrath; and I buried her there in the way of Ephrath, this◦ is Bethlehem.
8
And Israel saw the sons of Joseph, and said, Whose are these?
9
And Joseph said to▵ his father, These◦ are my sons, whom God has given me in this place. And he said, Take them, I pray◦, to▵ me, and I will bless them.
10
And the eyes of Israel were··heavy from being··old; he was· not ·able to see. And he presented them to▵ him; and he kissed them and embraced them.
11
And Israel said to▵ Joseph, I did not judge▵ to see thy face again; and behold, God has made me see thy seed also.
12
And Joseph brought· them ·out from between his knees; and he bowed· himself ·down with his face◦ to▫ the earth.
13
And Joseph took the two of them, Ephraim in his right··hand on Israel’s left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand on Israel’s right··hand, and presented them to▵ him.
14
And Israel put··forth◦ his right··hand, and put it on the head of Ephraim, and he◦ was the younger▵, and his left hand on the head of Manasseh; he put··forth his hands crosswise*, for Manasseh was the firstborn.
15
And he blessed Joseph, and said, The God before whom my fathers walked, Abraham and Isaac, the God who shepherds me as··long··as I am, even··until this day,
16
the Angel who redeems me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be called in them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow to a multitude in the midst◦ of the earth.
17
And Joseph saw that his father put his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, and it was··evil in his eyes; and he held◦ the hand of his father to remove it from on the head of Ephraim onto◦ the head of Manasseh.
18
And Joseph said to▵ his father, Not so, my father; for this is the firstborn; set thy right··hand on his head.
19
And his father refused, and said, I know, my son, I know; he◦ also shall be for a people, and he◦ also shall become··great; nevertheless his younger◦ brother shall be··greater than he, and his seed shall be the fullness of the nations.
20
And he blessed them on◦ this◦ day, saying, In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God set thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh; and he set Ephraim before Manasseh.
21
And Israel said to▵ Joseph, Behold, I▵ die; and God shall be with you, and shall return you to▵ the land of your fathers.
22
And I◦ give thee one portion* above thy brothers, which I took out··of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow.
