Genesis 48:8-22

English Standard Version

⁸When Israel saw Joseph's sons, he said, “Who are these?” ⁹Joseph 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.” ¹⁰Now ^(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. ¹¹And Israel said to Joseph, ^(E)“I never expected to see your face; and behold, God has let me see your offspring also.” ¹²Then Joseph removed them from his knees, and he bowed himself with his face to the earth. ¹³And 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). ¹⁵And he blessed Joseph and said,

“The God ^(H)before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked,
    the God who has been my shepherd all my life long to this day,
¹⁶^(I)the angel who has ^(J)redeemed me from all evil, bless the boys;
    and in them let ^(K)my name be carried on, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac;
    and let them ^(L)grow into a multitude^[a] in the midst of the earth.”

¹⁷When 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. ¹⁸And Joseph said to his father, “Not this way, my father; since this one is the firstborn, put your right hand on his head.” ¹⁹But 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.” ²⁰So he blessed them that day, saying,

“By you Israel will pronounce blessings, saying,
^(P)‘God make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh.’”

Thus he put Ephraim before Manasseh. ²¹Then 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. ²²Moreover, 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.”

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Footnotes

Genesis 48:16 Or let them be like fish for multitude
Genesis 48:19 Hebrew fullness
Genesis 48:22 Or one portion of the land; Hebrew shekem, which sounds like the town and district called Shechem

Psalm 1

English Standard Version

Book One

The Way of the Righteous and the Wicked

1 Blessed is the man^[a]
    who ^(A)walks not in ^(B)the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in ^(C)the way of sinners,
    nor ^(D)sits in ^(E)the seat of ^(F)scoffers;
²but his ^(G)delight is in the law^[b] of the Lord,
    and on his ^(H)law he meditates day and night.

³He is like ^(I)a tree
    planted by ^(J)streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
    and its ^(K)leaf does not wither.
^(L)In all that he does, he prospers.
⁴The wicked are not so,
    but are like ^(M)chaff that the wind drives away.

⁵Therefore the wicked ^(N)will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in ^(O)the congregation of the righteous;
⁶for the Lord ^(P)knows ^(Q)the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.

Footnotes

Psalm 1:1 The singular Hebrew word for man (ish) is used here to portray a representative example of a godly person; see Preface
Psalm 1:2 Or instruction