Genesis 48
Tree of Life Version
Blessing of Ephraim and Manasseh
48 After these things, someone told Joseph, “Behold, your father is sick.” So he took his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, with him. 2 When someone told Jacob, saying, “Behold, your son Joseph has come to you,” Israel summoned his strength and sat up in the bed.
3 Then Jacob said to Joseph, “El Shaddai appeared to me in Luz, in the land of Canaan, and blessed me.” 4 He said to me, ‘I am going to make you fruitful and multiply you and turn you into an assembly of peoples, and I will give this land to your seed after you as an everlasting possession.’ 5 So now, your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, they are mine. Ephraim and Manasseh will be mine, just like Reuben and Simeon. 6 Any descendent of yours whom you father after them will be yours; they will be identified by the names of their brothers for their inheritance. 7 “Now as for me, when I came from Paddan, to my sorrow Rachel died along the way, in the land of Canaan, while we were still a distance from entering 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’re my sons, whom God has given me here.”
Then he said, “Please bring them to me, so I may bless them.”
10 Now Israel’s eyes had grown heavy with old age—he could not see. So he brought them near to him, and he kissed them and hugged them. 11 Then Israel said to Joseph, “To see your face, I didn’t expect—and look, God has let me see your offspring as well!”
12 Then Joseph took them from his knees and bowed with his face down to the ground. 13 Then Joseph took the two of them—Ephraim with his right hand across from Israel’s left, and Manasseh with his left hand across from Israel’s right—and brought them close to him. 14 But Israel stretched out his right hand and placed it upon Ephraim’s head (though he was the younger), and his left hand upon Manasseh’s head, crossing his hands (though Manasseh was the firstborn). 15 Then he blessed Joseph and said,
“The God before whom my fathers
Abraham and Isaac walked,
The God who has shepherded me
throughout my life to this day,
16 The Angel who redeemed me
from all evil,
May He bless the boys,
and may they be called by my name,
and by the name of my fathers,
Abraham and Isaac.
May they multiply to a multitude
in the midst of the land.”
17 When Joseph saw that his father placed his right hand upon Ephraim’s head, it was wrong in his eyes. So his took hold of his father’s hand to remove it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. 18 Joseph said to his father, “Not like that, my father, because this one’s the firstborn. Put your right hand upon his head.”
19 But 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 seed will be the fullness of the nations.” 20 Then he blessed them that day saying,
“In you shall Israel bless by saying:
‘May God make you
like Ephraim and like Manasseh.’”
Thus he put Ephraim before Manasseh.
21 Then Israel said to Joseph, “Look, I am about to die. But God will be with you and will bring you back to the land of your fathers. 22 Now I myself give you one portion more than your brothers, that which I took from the hand of the Amorites with my sword and my bow.”
Genesis 48
English Standard Version
Jacob Blesses Ephraim and Manasseh
48 After this, Joseph was told, “Behold, your father is ill.” So he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. 2 And it was told to Jacob, “Your son Joseph has come to you.” Then Israel summoned his strength and sat up in bed. 3 And Jacob said to Joseph, (A)“God Almighty[a] appeared to me at (B)Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me, 4 and said to me, ‘Behold, I will make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will make of you a company of peoples and will give this land to your offspring after you (C)for an everlasting possession.’ 5 And now your (D)two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, (E)are mine; Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine, as Reuben and Simeon are. 6 And the children that you fathered after them shall be yours. They shall be called by the name of their brothers in their inheritance. 7 As for me, when I came from Paddan, to my sorrow (F)Rachel died in the land of Canaan on the way, when there was still some distance[b] to go to Ephrath, and I buried her there on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).”
8 When Israel saw Joseph's sons, he said, “Who are these?” 9 Joseph said to his father, (G)“They are my sons, whom God has given me here.” And he said, “Bring them to me, please, that (H)I may bless them.” 10 Now (I)the eyes of Israel were dim with age, so that he could not see. So Joseph brought them near him, (J)and he kissed them and embraced them. 11 And Israel said to Joseph, (K)“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 (L)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, (M)crossing his hands (for Manasseh was the firstborn). 15 And he blessed Joseph and said,
“The God (N)before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked,
the God who has been my shepherd all my life long to this day,
16 (O)the angel who has (P)redeemed me from all evil, bless the boys;
and in them let (Q)my name be carried on, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac;
and let them (R)grow into a multitude[c] in the midst of the earth.”
17 When Joseph saw that his father (S)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, (T)“I know, my son, I know. He also shall become a people, and he also shall be great. Nevertheless, (U)his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his offspring shall become a multitude[d] of nations.” 20 So he blessed them that day, saying,
“By you Israel will pronounce blessings, saying,
(V)‘God make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh.’”
Thus he put Ephraim before Manasseh. 21 Then Israel said to Joseph, “Behold, I am about to die, but (W)God will be with you and will bring you again to the land of your fathers. 22 Moreover, I have given to (X)you rather than to your brothers one mountain slope[e] that I took from the hand of the Amorites with my sword and with my bow.”
Footnotes
- Genesis 48:3 Hebrew El Shaddai
- Genesis 48:7 Or about two hours' distance
- 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
1 Moseboken 48
nuBibeln (Swedish Contemporary Bible)
Manasse och Efraim
48 En tid därefter fick Josef höra att hans far var sjuk. Han tog med sig dit sina två söner Manasse och Efraim. 2 När Jakob hörde att hans son Josef hade kommit, samlade han all sin styrka och satte sig upp i sängen 3 och sa till honom:
”Gud den Väldige visade sig för mig i Lus i Kanaans land. Han välsignade mig 4 och sa till mig: ’Jag ska göra dig fruktsam, och du ska bli till ett stort folk, och jag ska ge Kanaans land till dig och dina ättlingar som egendom för all framtid.’ 5 Dina två söner, Efraim och Manasse, som föddes här i Egyptens land innan jag kom hit, ska vara mina, och de ska få ärva mig på samma sätt som Ruben och Simon[a]. 6 Men de andra barnen som du får ska bli dina egna, och de ska kallas efter sina bröders namn i deras arvedel av landet[b]. 7 När jag kom från Paddan Aram, dog Rakel ifrån mig i Kanaans land medan vi ännu var en bit från Efrata. Jag begravde henne där invid vägen till Efrata.” Efrata heter numera Betlehem.
8 Sedan såg Israel på de två pojkarna och sa: ”Vilka är dessa?” 9 Josef svarade sin far: ”De är mina söner som Gud har gett mig här.” Israel sa: ”För fram dem till mig så ska jag välsigna dem!” 10 På grund av sin höga ålder kunde Israel knappt se. Därför tog Josef pojkarna till honom, så att han kunde kyssa och omfamna dem.
11 Israel sa till Josef: ”Jag trodde aldrig att jag skulle få se dig igen, men nu har Gud till och med låtit mig få se dina barn.”
12 Josef tog pojkarna från Israels knä[c] och bugade sig djupt med ansiktet mot marken. 13 Så förde han fram pojkarna till Israel, med Efraim på sin högra sida och Manasse på sin vänstra, så att Manasse hamnade framför Israels högra hand och Efraim framför hans vänstra. 14 Men Israel sträckte ut sin högra hand och lade den på Efraims huvud, och sin vänstra hand på samma sätt på Manasses huvud, alltså korsade han sina händer, fastän Manasse var den förstfödde.
15 Sedan välsignade han Josef och sa:
”Gud, som mina fäder Abraham och Isak levde i gemenskap med,
Gud, som har varit min herde hela livet,
16 ängeln som löst mig från allt ont,
må välsigna dessa pojkar.
De ska kallas efter mitt namn och mina fäder Abrahams och Isaks namn.
Må de föröka sig så att de blir ett stort folk!”
17 Men när Josef såg att hans far hade lagt sin högra hand på Efraims huvud, tyckte han inte om det. Därför lyfte han sin fars hand för att flytta den från Efraims huvud och lägga den på Manasses huvud i stället. 18 ”Far, gör inte så”, sa han. ”Detta är den äldste, lägg din högra hand på honom!” 19 Men Israel vägrade. ”Jag vet vad jag gör, min son”, sa han. ”Av Manasse ska det bli ett folk, också han ska bli stor, men hans yngre bror ska bli ännu större, och av hans ättlingar ska det bli många folk.”
20 Så välsignade han pojkarna denna dag med orden:
”Israels[d] folk ska välsigna varandra genom att säga:
’Gud ska göra dig lik Efraim och Manasse.’ ”
Han satte alltså Efraim före Manasse.
21 Sedan sa Israel till Josef: ”Jag ska snart dö, men Gud kommer att vara med er och föra er tillbaka till era förfäders land. 22 Och jag ger dig nu, utöver det jag ger till dina bröder, en utvald bergsrygg[e] som jag tog från amoréerna med svärd och båge.”
Genesis 48
GOD’S WORD Translation
Jacob [Israel] Blesses Joseph’s Two Sons
48 Later Joseph was told, “Your father is ill.” So he took his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim ⌞to see Jacob⌟. 2 When Jacob was told, “Your son Joseph is here to see you,” Israel gathered his strength and sat up in bed.
3 Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in Canaan and blessed me. 4 He said to me, ‘I will make you fertile and increase the number of your descendants so that you will become a community of people. I will give this land to your descendants as a permanent possession.’
5 “So your two sons, who were born in Egypt before I came here, are my sons. Ephraim and Manasseh will be mine just as Reuben and Simeon are. 6 Any other children you have after them will be yours. They will inherit the land listed under their brothers’ names. 7 As I was coming back from Paddan, Rachel died in Canaan when we were still some distance from Ephrath. So I buried her there on the way to Ephrath” (that is, Bethlehem).
8 When Israel saw Joseph’s sons, he asked, “Who are they?”
9 “They are my sons, whom God has given me here in Egypt,” Joseph answered his father.
Then Israel said, “Please bring them to me so that I may bless them.”
10 Israel’s eyesight was failing because of old age, and he could hardly see. So Joseph brought his sons close to his father, and Israel hugged them and kissed them.
11 Israel said to Joseph, “I never expected to see you again, and now God has even let me see your sons.”
12 Joseph took them off his father’s lap and bowed with his face touching the ground. 13 Then Joseph took both of them, Ephraim on his right, facing Israel’s left, and Manasseh on his left, facing Israel’s right, and brought them close to him. 14 But Israel crossed his hands and reached out. He put his right hand on Ephraim’s head, although Ephraim was the younger son. He put his left hand on Manasseh’s head, although Manasseh was older.
15 Then Jacob blessed Joseph,
“May God, in whose presence my grandfather Abraham
and my father Isaac walked,
may God, who has been my shepherd all my life to this very day,
16 may the Messenger, who has rescued me from all evil,
bless these boys.
May they be called by my name
and by the names of my grandfather Abraham and my father Isaac.
May they have many children on the earth.”
17 When Joseph saw that his father had put his right hand on Ephraim’s head, he didn’t like it. So he took his father’s hand in order to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s. 18 Then he said to his father, “That’s not right, Father! This is the firstborn. Put your right hand on his head.”
19 His father refused and said, “I know, Son, I know! Manasseh, too, will become a nation, and he, too, will be important. Nevertheless, his younger brother will be more important than he, and his descendants will become many nations.”
20 That day he blessed them. He said,
“Because of you, Israel will speak this blessing,
‘May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh!’ ”
In this way Israel put Ephraim ahead of Manasseh.
21 Then Israel said to Joseph, “Now I’m about to die, but God will be with you. He will bring you back to the land of your fathers. 22 I’m giving you one more mountain ridge than your brothers. I took it from the Amorites with my own sword and bow.”
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