Jacob blesses Joseph's sons

48 After some time, someone told Joseph, ‘Your father is ill.’ So Joseph went to see Jacob and he took his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, with him. ² Someone told Jacob, ‘Your son Joseph has come to see you.’ Jacob's body became stronger and he sat up on the bed. ³ Jacob said to Joseph, ‘God Almighty appeared to me at Luz, in Canaan. God blessed me there. ⁴ He said to me, “I will give you many children, so that your descendants are many. In that way, you will become the ancestor of many nations. I will give this land to you so that it belongs to your descendants for ever.” ’

⁵ Jacob continued to say to Joseph, ‘You have two sons that were born to you in Egypt before I came here. They will become my own sons. Ephraim and Manasseh will be my sons, just as Reuben and Simeon are my sons.^{[a] 6} Any children born to you after them will be your own children. They will receive part of the land that belongs to their brothers, Ephraim and Manasseh.

⁷ As for me, I was very sad when your mother Rachel died on our journey from Paddan. She died near to Ephrath. So I buried her there, next to the road to Ephrath (that is now called Bethlehem).’

⁸ Joseph brought Ephraim and Manasseh to his father, Jacob. Jacob asked him, ‘Who are these boys?’ ⁹ Joseph replied, ‘They are the sons that God has given to me here in Egypt.’ Then Israel said, ‘Bring them near to me so that I can bless them.’

¹⁰ Jacob's eyes had become weak because he was very old. He was almost blind. So Joseph brought his sons near to his father. His father kissed them and he hugged them. ¹¹ Jacob said to Joseph, ‘I never thought that I would see you again. But now God has let me see your children too.’

¹² Then Joseph removed his sons from Jacob's knees. He bent down low, with his face towards the ground. ¹³ He took his two sons near to Jacob. With his right hand, he put Ephraim beside Jacob's left hand. With his left hand, he put Manasseh beside Jacob's right hand.^[b]

¹⁴ Jacob then put out his right hand. But he put it on Ephraim's head, even though Ephraim was the younger son. Jacob crossed his arms so that he put his left hand on Manasseh's head. Manasseh was Joseph's firstborn son.

¹⁵ Then Jacob blessed Joseph. He said,

¹⁷ Joseph saw that his father had put his right hand on Ephraim's head. This made Joseph upset. So he took hold of his father's right hand. He moved it from Ephraim's head on to Manasseh's head. ¹⁸ Joseph said to Jacob, ‘No, my father. This boy is the firstborn son. Put your right hand on his head.’

¹⁹ But Jacob refused to change. He said, ‘I know, my son. I know what I am doing. Manasseh will also have many descendants who become a great nation. But his younger brother, Ephraim, will become even greater. Ephraim's descendants will become many great nations.’

²⁰ So Jacob blessed both of Joseph's sons that day. He said, ‘In your name Israel's people will give this blessing:

In this way, Jacob put Ephraim before Manasseh when he blessed them.

²¹ Then Jacob said to Joseph, ‘I will die soon. But God will be with you. He will take you back to the land where your ancestors lived. ²² I give to you more than I give to your brothers. I give to you the good part of the land that I took from the Amorites.^[e] I fought against them with my weapons to take that land.’