48 Some time after these things occurred, someone told Joseph, Behold, your father is sick. And he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim [and went to Goshen].

² When Jacob was told, Your son Joseph has come to you, Israel collected his strength and sat up on the bed.

³ And Jacob said to Joseph, God Almighty appeared to me at Luz [Bethel] 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 you a multitude of people and will give this land to your descendants after you as an everlasting possession.^(A)

⁵ And now your two sons, [Ephraim and Manasseh], who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, are mine. [I am adopting them, and now] as Reuben and Simeon, [they] shall be mine.

⁶ But other sons who may be born after them shall be your own; and they shall be called after the names of these [two] brothers and reckoned as belonging to them [when they come] into their inheritance.

⁷ And as for me, when I came from Padan, Rachel died at my side in the land of Canaan on the way, when yet there was but a little way to come to Ephrath; and I buried her there on the way to Ephrath, that is, Bethlehem.

⁸ When Israel [almost blind] saw Joseph’s sons, he said, Who are these?

⁹ And Joseph said to his father, They are my sons, whom God has given me in this place. And he said, Bring them to me, I pray you, that I may bless them.

¹⁰ Now Israel’s eyes were dim from age, so that he could not see. And Joseph brought them near to him, and he kissed and embraced them.

¹¹ Israel said to Joseph, I had not thought that I would see your face, but see, God has shown me your offspring also.

¹² Then Joseph took [the boys] from [his father’s embrace] and he bowed [before him] with his face to the earth.

¹³ Then Joseph took both [boys], Ephraim with his right hand toward Israel’s left, and Manasseh with his left hand toward Israel’s right, and brought them close to him.

¹⁴ And Israel reached out his right hand and laid it on the head of Ephraim, who was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh’s head, ^[a]crossing his hands intentionally, for Manasseh was the firstborn.

¹⁵ Then [Jacob] blessed Joseph and said, God [Himself], before Whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac lived and walked habitually, God [Himself], Who has [been my Shepherd and has led and] fed me from the time I came into being until this day,

¹⁶ The ^[b]redeeming Angel [that is, the Angel the Redeemer—not a created being but the Lord Himself] Who has redeemed me continually from every evil, bless the lads! And let my name be perpetuated in them [may they be worthy of having their names coupled with mine], and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them become a multitude in the midst of the earth.

¹⁷ When Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on Ephraim’s head, it displeased him; and he held up his father’s hand to move it to Manasseh’s head.

¹⁸ And Joseph said, Not so, my father, for this is the firstborn; put your right hand upon his head.

¹⁹ But his father refused and said, I know, my son, I know. He also shall become a people and shall be great; but his younger brother shall be ^[c]greater than he, and his offspring shall become a multitude of nations.

²⁰ And he blessed them that day, saying, By you shall Israel bless [one another], saying, May God make you like Ephraim and like Manasseh. And he set Ephraim before Manasseh.

²¹ And Israel said to Joseph, Behold, I [am about to] die, but God will be with you and bring you again to the land of your fathers.

²² Moreover, I have given to you [Joseph] one portion [Shechem, one mountain slope] more than any of your brethren, which I took [reclaiming it] out of the hand of the Amorites with my sword and with my bow.^(B)