Genesis 48
King James Version
48 And it came to pass after these things, that one told Joseph, Behold, thy father is sick: and he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim.
2 And one told Jacob, and said, Behold, thy son Joseph cometh unto thee: and Israel strengthened himself, and sat upon the bed.
3 And Jacob said unto Joseph, God Almighty appeared unto me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me,
4 And said unto me, Behold, I will make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, and I will make of thee a multitude of people; and will give this land to thy seed after thee for an everlasting possession.
5 And now thy two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, which were born unto thee in the land of Egypt before I came unto thee into Egypt, are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine.
6 And thy issue, which thou begettest after them, shall be thine, and shall be called after the name of their brethren in their inheritance.
7 And as for me, when I came from Padan, Rachel died by me in the land of Canaan in the way, when yet there was but a little way to come unto Ephrath: and I buried her there in the way of Ephrath; the same is Bethlehem.
8 And Israel beheld Joseph's sons, and said, Who are these?
9 And Joseph said unto his father, They are my sons, whom God hath given me in this place. And he said, Bring them, I pray thee, unto me, and I will bless them.
10 Now the eyes of Israel were dim for age, so that he could not see. And he brought them near unto him; and he kissed them, and embraced them.
11 And Israel said unto Joseph, I had not thought to see thy face: and, lo, God hath shewed me also thy seed.
12 And Joseph brought them out from between 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 unto him.
14 And Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid it upon Ephraim's head, who was the younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh's head, guiding his hands wittingly; for Manasseh was the firstborn.
15 And he blessed Joseph, and said, God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my life long unto this day,
16 The Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.
17 And when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him: and he held up his father's hand, to remove it from Ephraim's head unto Manasseh's head.
18 And Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father: for this is the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his head.
19 And his father refused, and said, I know it, my son, I know it: he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great: but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations.
20 And he blessed them that day, saying, In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh: and he set Ephraim before Manasseh.
21 And Israel said unto Joseph, Behold, I die: but God shall be with you, and bring you again unto the land of your fathers.
22 Moreover I have given to thee one portion above thy brethren, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow.
Genesis 48
Expanded Bible
Blessings for Manasseh and Ephraim
48 ·Some time later [L And after these things] Joseph ·learned [was told] that his father was very sick, so he took his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim ·and went to his father [L with him]. 2 When Joseph arrived, someone told Jacob, “Your son Joseph has come to see you.” ·Jacob [L Israel; another name for Jacob; 32:28] ·was weak, so he ·used all [L summoned] his strength and sat up on his bed.
3 Then Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz [C another name for Bethel] in the land of Canaan and blessed me there [28:19; 35:9–15]. 4 He said to me, ‘I will ·give you many children [L make you fruitful and multiply you; 1:28]. I will make you ·the father [L a company; an assembly] of many peoples, and I will give your ·descendants [L seed] this land ·forever [as a permanent possession].’ 5 Your two sons, who were born here in Egypt before I came, will be counted as my own sons. Ephraim and Manasseh will be my sons just as Reuben and Simeon are my sons [C his two oldest children]. 6 But if you have other children, they will be your own, and ·their land will be part of the land given to Ephraim and Manasseh [L they will be recorded according to the name of their brothers in regard to their inheritance]. 7 When I came from northwestern Mesopotamia [L Paddan], Rachel died in the land of Canaan, as we were traveling toward Ephrath [35:16, 19]. This made me very sad, and I buried her there beside the road to Ephrath.” (Today Ephrath is Bethlehem.)
8 Then Israel saw Joseph’s sons and said, “Who are these boys?”
9 Joseph said to his father, “They are my sons that God has given me here in ·Egypt [L this place].”
Israel said, “Bring your sons to me so I may bless them.”
10 At this time Israel’s eyesight was ·bad [L heavy] because he was old. So Joseph brought the boys close to him, and Israel kissed the boys and ·put his arms around [embraced] them. 11 He said to Joseph, “I thought I would never see ·you alive [L your face] again, and now God has ·let me see you and [L shown me] also your ·children [L seed].” 12 Then Joseph moved his sons off ·Israel’s lap [L his knees] and bowed facedown to the ground. 13 He put Ephraim on his right side and Manasseh on his left. (So Ephraim was near Israel’s left hand, and Manasseh was near Israel’s right hand.) Joseph brought the boys close to Israel. 14 But Israel ·crossed his arms and put his [L sent forth and placed his] right hand on the head of Ephraim, who was younger. He put his left hand on the head of Manasseh, the firstborn son. 15 And Israel blessed Joseph and said,
“My ·ancestors [fathers] Abraham and Isaac ·served [L walked before] our God,
and like a shepherd God has led me all my life.
16 He was the Angel who ·saved [redeemed] me from all ·my troubles [harm].
Now I pray that he will bless these boys.
May my name be known through these boys,
and may the names of my ancestors Abraham and Isaac be known through them.
May they ·have many descendants [grow into a large group]
on the earth.”
17 When Joseph saw that his father put his right hand on Ephraim’s head, he ·didn’t like it [L thought it was wrong]. So he took hold of his father’s hand, wanting to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. 18 Joseph said to his father, “·You are doing it wrong, Father, since Manasseh [L No, my Father, for this] is the firstborn son. Put your right hand on his head.”
19 But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know. Manasseh will be great and ·have many descendants [L become great]. But his younger brother will be greater, and his ·descendants [L seed] will ·be enough to make a nation [L become the fullness of nations; C Ephraim would become the dominant tribe in northern Israel].”
20 So ·Israel [L he] blessed them that day and said,
“When a blessing is given in Israel, they will say:
‘May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.’ ”
In this way he ·made Ephraim greater than [L set Ephraim before] Manasseh.
21 Then Israel said to Joseph, “Look at me; I am about to die. But God will be with you and will take you back to the land of your fathers. 22 I have given you something that I did not give your brothers—the land of Shechem [or mountain slope; 12:6] that I took from the Amorite people with my sword and my bow [perhaps 34:1–31].”
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