⁸ When Israel saw Joseph's sons, he said, “Who are these?” ⁹ Joseph said to his father, ^(A)“They are my sons, whom God has given me here.” And he said, “Bring them to me, please, that ^(B)I may bless them.” ¹⁰ Now ^(C)the eyes of Israel were dim with age, so that he could not see. So Joseph brought them near him, ^(D)and he kissed them and embraced them. ¹¹ And Israel said to Joseph, ^(E)“I never expected to see your face; and behold, God has let me see your offspring also.” ¹² Then Joseph removed them from his knees, and he bowed himself with his face to the earth. ¹³ And Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel's left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel's right hand, and brought them near him. ^14 (F)And Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on the head of Ephraim, who was the younger, and his left hand on the head of Manasseh, ^(G)crossing his hands (for Manasseh was the firstborn). ¹⁵ And he blessed Joseph and said,

¹⁷ When Joseph saw that his father ^(M)laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it displeased him, and he took his father's hand to move it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's head. ¹⁸ And Joseph said to his father, “Not this way, my father; since this one is the firstborn, put your right hand on his head.” ¹⁹ But his father refused and said, ^(N)“I know, my son, I know. He also shall become a people, and he also shall be great. Nevertheless, ^(O)his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his offspring shall become a multitude^[b] of nations.” ²⁰ So he blessed them that day, saying,

Thus he put Ephraim before Manasseh. ²¹ Then Israel said to Joseph, “Behold, I am about to die, but ^(Q)God will be with you and will bring you again to the land of your fathers. ²² Moreover, I have given to ^(R)you rather than to your brothers one mountain slope^[c] that I took from the hand of the Amorites with my sword and with my bow.”

God's Good Purposes

¹⁵ When Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “It may be that Joseph will hate us and pay us back for all the evil that we did to him.” ¹⁶ So they sent a message to Joseph, saying, “Your father gave this command before he died: ¹⁷ ‘Say to Joseph, “Please forgive the transgression of your brothers and their sin, because they did evil to you.”’ And now, please forgive the transgression of the servants of ^(A)the God of your father.” Joseph wept when they spoke to him. ¹⁸ His brothers also came and ^(B)fell down before him and said, “Behold, we are your servants.” ¹⁹ But Joseph said to them, “Do not fear, for ^(C)am I in the place of God? ²⁰ As for you, you meant evil against me, but ^(D)God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people^[a] should be kept alive, as they are today. ²¹ So do not fear; ^(E)I will provide for you and your little ones.” Thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.

The Death of Joseph

²² So Joseph remained in Egypt, he and his father's house. Joseph lived 110 years. ²³ And Joseph saw Ephraim's children ^(F)of the third generation. The ^(G)children also of Machir the son of Manasseh were ^(H)counted as Joseph's own.^{[b] 24} And Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die, but ^(I)God will visit you and bring you up out of this land to the land ^(J)that he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.” ²⁵ Then ^(K)Joseph made the sons of Israel swear, saying, “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here.” ²⁶ So Joseph died, being 110 years old. They ^(L)embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.