Jacob Blesses Ephraim and Manasseh

48 Sometime after these things Joseph was told, “Come right away. Your father is sick.” So he took his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, with him. ² Jacob was told, “Look, your son Joseph is coming to you,” so Israel gathered his strength and sat up on the bed.

³ Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me. ⁴ He said to me, ‘I will make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will make you into a community of peoples, and I will give this land to your descendants after you as a permanent possession.’ ⁵ Now your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, will be counted as mine. Ephraim and Manasseh will count as my sons the same as Reuben and Simeon. ⁶ Your sons that you father after them will count as your own. For receiving their inheritance they will be registered under the name of their brothers. ⁷ As for me, when I came back from Paddan, to my loss^[a] Rachel died on the journey in the land of Canaan when we were still some distance from Ephrath, and I buried her there on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).”

⁸ Israel saw Joseph’s sons and asked, “Who are these boys?”

⁹ Joseph said to his father, “They are my sons, whom God has given me here.”

Israel said, “Please bring them to me, and I will bless them.”

¹⁰ Now the eyes of Israel were failing because of his age, and he could not see. Joseph brought the boys close to Jacob, and he kissed them and embraced them. ¹¹ Israel said to Joseph, “I did not think I would see your face, but now God has let me see your offspring also.” ¹² Joseph moved them from Jacob’s lap, and he bowed down with his face to the ground. ¹³ Joseph led them both. He led Ephraim with his right hand toward Israel’s left hand, and Manasseh with his left hand toward Israel’s right hand, and brought them close to him. ¹⁴ But Israel, crossing his hands, stretched out his right hand and laid it on the head of Ephraim, who was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh’s head, though Manasseh was the firstborn. ¹⁵ He blessed Joseph and said,

¹⁷ When Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, he was displeased. He held up his father’s hand to remove it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. ¹⁸ Joseph said to his father, “Not so, my father, for this one is the firstborn. Put your right hand on his head.”

¹⁹ His father refused and said, “I know, my son. I know. He also will become a people, and he also will be great. However, his younger brother will be greater than he, and his descendants will become a multitude of nations.” ²⁰ He blessed them that day with these words: “Israel will pronounce a blessing using your name, saying, ‘May God make you like Ephraim and like Manasseh.’” So he placed Ephraim ahead of Manasseh.