Jacob Blesses Joseph’s Sons^(A)

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, ^(B)Manasseh and Ephraim. ² And Jacob was told, “Look, your son Joseph is coming to you”; and Israel ^[a]strengthened himself and sat up on the bed. ³ Then Jacob said to Joseph: “God ^(C)Almighty appeared to me at ^(D)Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me, ⁴ and said to me, ‘Behold, I will ^(E)make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will make of you a multitude of people, and ^(F)give this land to your descendants after you ^(G)as an everlasting possession.’ ⁵ And now your ^(H)two 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 ^[b]offspring ^[c]whom 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, ^(I)Rachel 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 ^(J)I will bless them.” ¹⁰ Now ^(K)the eyes of Israel were dim with age, so that he could not see. Then Joseph brought them near him, and he ^(L)kissed them and embraced them. ¹¹ And Israel said to Joseph, ^(M)“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 ^(N)laid it on Ephraim’s head, who was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh’s head, ^(O)guiding his hands knowingly, for Manasseh was the ^(P)firstborn. ¹⁵ And ^(Q)he blessed Joseph, and said:

¹⁷ Now when Joseph saw that his father ^(V)laid 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, ^(W)“I know, my son, I know. He also shall become a people, and he also shall be great; but truly ^(X)his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his descendants shall become a multitude of nations.”

²⁰ So he blessed them that day, saying, ^(Y)“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 ^(Z)God will be with you and bring you back to the land of your fathers. ²² Moreover ^(AA)I have given to you one ^[d]portion above your brothers, which I took from the hand ^(AB)of 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 ^(AC)tell you what shall befall you ^(AD)in the last days:

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.

Jacob’s Death and Burial

²⁹ Then he charged them and said to them: “I ^(BQ)am to be gathered to my people; ^(BR)bury me with my fathers ^(BS)in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, ³⁰ in the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre in the land of Canaan, ^(BT)which Abraham bought with the field of Ephron the Hittite as a possession for a burial place. ^31 (BU)There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife, ^(BV)there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife, and there I buried Leah. ³² The field and the cave that is there were purchased from the sons of Heth.” ³³ And when Jacob had finished commanding his sons, he drew his feet up into the bed and breathed his last, and was gathered to his people.

The Parable of the Lost Sheep^(A)

15 Then ^(B)all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him. ² And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, “This Man ^[a]receives sinners ^(C)and eats with them.” ³ So He spoke this parable to them, saying:

^4 (D)“What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? ⁵ And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. ⁶ And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ^(E)‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep ^(F)which was lost!’ ⁷ I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents ^(G)than over ninety-nine ^[b]just persons who ^(H)need no repentance.

The Parable of the Lost Coin

⁸ “Or what woman, having ten silver ^[c]coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? ⁹ And when she has found it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I lost!’ ¹⁰ Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

The Parable of the Lost Son

¹¹ Then He said: “A certain man had two sons. ¹² And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.’ So he divided to them ^(I)his livelihood. ¹³ And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with ^[d]prodigal living. ¹⁴ But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want. ¹⁵ Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. ¹⁶ And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the ^[e]pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything.

¹⁷ “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! ¹⁸ I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, ^(J)I have sinned against heaven and before you, ¹⁹ and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.” ’

²⁰ “And he arose and came to his father. But ^(K)when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. ²¹ And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven ^(L)and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

²² “But the father said to his servants, ^[f]‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. ²³ And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; ^24 (M)for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ And they began to be merry.

²⁵ “Now his older son was in the field. And as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. ²⁶ So he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. ²⁷ And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and because he has received him safe and sound, your father has killed the fatted calf.’

²⁸ “But he was angry and would not go in. Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him. ²⁹ So he answered and said to his father, ‘Lo, these many years I have been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends. ³⁰ But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.’

³¹ “And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. ³² It was right that we should make merry and be glad, ^(N)for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.’ ”

A Song of Confidence in God’s Triumph over Evil