Zayin

Heth

Teth

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,

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,

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.”

Lay Up Treasures in Heaven

^19 (A)“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where ^(B)moth and rust^[a] destroy and where thieves ^(C)break in and steal, ^20 (D)but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

^22 (E)“The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, ^23 (F)but if ^(G)your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

^24 (H)“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and ^(I)money.^[b]

Do Not Be Anxious

^25 (J)“Therefore I tell you, ^(K)do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? ^26 (L)Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. ^(M)Are you not of more value than they? ²⁷ And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his ^(N)span of life?^{[c] 28} And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, ²⁹ yet I tell you, ^(O)even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. ³⁰ But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, ^(P)O you of little faith? ³¹ Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For ^(Q)the Gentiles seek after all these things, and ^(R)your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. ³³ But ^(S)seek first ^(T)the kingdom of God and his righteousness, ^(U)and all these things will be added to you.

^34 (V)“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.