Genesis 48

¹And it came to pass after these things that it was said to Joseph, 'Behold, your father is sick.' And he took his two sons with him, Manasseh and Ephraim.

²And it was told to Jacob, and it was said, 'Look, your son Joseph is coming to you.' And Israel strengthened himself and sat up on the bed.

³And Jacob said to Joseph, 'El Shaddai appeared to me at Luz, in the land of Canaan, and he blessed me.

⁴And he said to me, 'Look, I will make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will make you an assembly of peoples, and I will give this land to your seed after you as an everlasting possession.'

⁵And now, your two sons who were born to you in the land of Egypt before my coming to you, to Egypt — they are mine; Ephraim and Manasseh, like Reuben and Simeon, shall be mine.

⁶And your offspring whom you beget after them shall be yours; by the name of their brothers they shall be called in their inheritance.

⁷And as for me, when I came from Paddan, Rachel died on me in the land of Canaan on the way, when there was still a stretch of land to come to Ephrathah, and I buried her there on the way to Ephrath — that is Bethlehem.

⁸And Israel saw the sons of Joseph, and he said, 'Who are these?'

⁹And Joseph said to his father, 'They are my sons, whom God gave me here.' And he said, 'Bring them to me, please, and I will bless them.'

¹⁰Now the eyes of Israel were heavy with age; he was not able to see. And he brought them close to him, and he kissed them, and he embraced them.

¹¹And Israel said to Joseph, I did not think I would see your face, and look, God has let me see your seed as well.

¹²And Joseph brought them out from between his knees, and he bowed down to his face to the ground.

¹³And Joseph took the two of them — Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel's left, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel's right — and he brought them near to him.

¹⁴And Israel put out his right hand and placed it on the head of Ephraim, who was the younger, and his left hand on the head of Manasseh, crossing his hands, for Manasseh was the firstborn.

¹⁵And he blessed Joseph and said, 'The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has shepherded me all my life to this day,

¹⁶the Angel who has redeemed me from all harm — may he bless the youths; and may my name be called upon them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and may they multiply greatly in the midst of the land.'

¹⁷And Joseph saw that his father placed his right hand on the head of Ephraim, and it was bad in his eyes, and he grasped his father's hand to remove it from upon the head of Ephraim to upon the head of Manasseh.

¹⁸And Joseph said to his father, Not so, my father, for this one is the firstborn. Put your right hand on his head.

¹⁹And his father refused and said, 'I know, my son, I know. He also will become a people, and he also will become great. But his younger brother will become greater than he, and his offspring will become the fullness of nations.'

²⁰And he blessed them that day, saying, 'By you Israel will bless, saying: May God make you like Ephraim and like Manasseh.' And he set Ephraim before Manasseh.

²¹And Israel said to Joseph, Look, I am dying, but God will be with you, and will bring you back to the land of your fathers.

²²And as for me, I give to you one shoulder-portion above your brothers, which I took from the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow.