Genesis 48:1-20
New American Standard Bible
Israel’s Last Days
48 Now it came about after these things that [a]Joseph was told, “Behold, your father is sick.” So he took his two sons (A)Manasseh and Ephraim with him. 2 When [b]it was told to Jacob, “Behold, your son Joseph has come to you,” Israel [c]collected his strength and sat [d]up in the bed. 3 Then Jacob said to Joseph, “[e](B)God Almighty appeared to me at (C)Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me, 4 and He said to me, ‘Behold, I will make you fruitful and numerous, and I will make you a multitude of peoples, and will give this land to your [f]descendants after you as (D)an everlasting possession.’ 5 Now your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, are mine; (E)Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine, as (F)Reuben and Simeon are. 6 But your children that you have fathered after them shall be yours; they shall be called by the [g]names of their brothers in their inheritance. 7 Now as for me, when I came from (G)Paddan, (H)Rachel died, [h]to my sorrow, in the land of Canaan on the journey, when there was still some distance to go to Ephrath. I buried her there on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).”
8 When Israel (I)saw Joseph’s sons, he said, “Who are these?” 9 And Joseph said to his father, “(J)They are my sons, whom God has given me here.” So he said, “Bring them to me, please, so that (K)I may bless them.” 10 Now (L)the eyes of Israel were so [i]dim from age that he could not see. And [j]Joseph brought them close to him, and he (M)kissed them and embraced them. 11 And Israel said to Joseph, “I never [k]expected to see your face, and behold, God has let me see your [l]children as well!” 12 Then Joseph [m]took them from his knees, and (N)bowed with his face to the ground. 13 And Joseph took them both, 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 But Israel reached out his right hand and placed it on the head of Ephraim, who was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh’s head, crossing his hands, although (O)Manasseh was the firstborn. 15 And he blessed Joseph, and said,
“(P)The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked,
(Q)The God who has been my shepherd [n]all my life to this day,
16 (R)The angel who has redeemed me from all evil,
(S)Bless the boys;
And may my name [o]live on in them,
And the [p]names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac;
And (T)may they grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.”
17 When Joseph saw that his father (U)placed his right hand on Ephraim’s head, it displeased him; and he grasped his father’s hand to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. 18 And Joseph said to his father, “Not so, my father, for this one is the firstborn. Place your right hand on 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 be great. However, his younger brother shall be greater than he, and (V)his [q]descendants shall become [r]a multitude of nations.” 20 So (W)he blessed them that day, saying,
“By you Israel will pronounce blessing, saying,
‘May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh!’”
And so he put Ephraim before Manasseh.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Genesis 48:1 Lit one said to Joseph
- Genesis 48:2 Lit one told Jacob and said
- Genesis 48:2 Lit strengthened himself
- Genesis 48:2 Lit upon the bed
- Genesis 48:3 Heb El Shaddai
- Genesis 48:4 Lit seed
- Genesis 48:6 Lit name
- Genesis 48:7 Lit upon me
- Genesis 48:10 Lit dull
- Genesis 48:10 Lit he
- Genesis 48:11 Lit assumed
- Genesis 48:11 Lit seed
- Genesis 48:12 Lit made them come out
- Genesis 48:15 Lit from the continuance of me
- Genesis 48:16 Lit be called
- Genesis 48:16 Lit name
- Genesis 48:19 Lit seed
- Genesis 48:19 Lit the fullness
Genesis 48:1-20
Common English Bible
48 After this happened, Joseph was told,[a] “Your father is getting weaker,” so he took his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim with him. 2 When Jacob was informed,[b] “Your son Joseph is here now,” he[c] pulled himself together and sat up in bed. 3 Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty[d] appeared to me in Luz in the land of Canaan. He blessed me 4 and said to me, ‘I am about to give you many children, to increase your numbers, and to make you a large group of peoples. I will give this land to your descendants following you as an enduring possession.’ 5 Now, your two sons born to you in the land of Egypt before I arrived in Egypt are my own. Ephraim and Manasseh are just like Reuben and Simeon to me. 6 Your family who is born to you after them are yours, but their inheritance will be determined under their brothers’ names. 7 When I came back from Paddan-aram,[e] Rachel died, to my sorrow, on the road in the land of Canaan, with some distance yet to go to Ephrathah, so I buried her there near the road to Ephrathah,[f] which is Bethlehem.”
8 When Israel saw Joseph’s sons, he said, “Who are these?”
9 Joseph told his father, “They’re my sons, whom God gave me here.”
Israel said, “Bring them to me and I will bless them.” 10 Because Israel’s eyesight had failed from old age and he wasn’t able to see, Joseph brought them close to him, and he kissed and embraced them.
11 Israel said to Joseph, “I didn’t expect I’d see your face, but now God has shown me your children too.” 12 Then Joseph took them from Israel’s knees, and he bowed low with his face to the ground. 13 Joseph took both of them, Ephraim in his right hand at Israel’s left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand at Israel’s right hand, and brought them close to him. 14 But Israel put out his right hand and placed it on the head of Ephraim, the younger one, and his left hand on Manasseh’s head, crossing his hands because Manasseh was the oldest son. 15 He blessed them[g] and said,
“May the God before whom my fathers
Abraham and Isaac walked,
may the God who was my shepherd
from the beginning until this day,
16 may the divine messenger who protected me from all harm,
bless the young men.
Through them may my name be kept alive
and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac.
May they grow into a great multitude
throughout the land.”
17 When Joseph saw that his father had placed his right hand on Ephraim’s head, he was upset and grasped his father’s hand to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. 18 Joseph said to his father, “No, my father! This is the oldest son. Put your right hand on his head.”
19 But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know. He’ll become a people too, and he’ll also be great. But his younger brother will be greater than he will, and his descendants will become many nations.” 20 Israel blessed them that day, saying,
“Through you, Israel will pronounce blessings, saying,
‘May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.’”
So Israel put Ephraim before Manasseh.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Genesis 48:1 LXX, Syr, Tg, Vulg; MT he told
- Genesis 48:2 LXX; MT he informed
- Genesis 48:2 Heb Israel
- Genesis 48:3 Heb El Shaddai or God of the Mountain
- Genesis 48:7 Sam, LXX, Syr; MT lacks aram.
- Genesis 48:7 Sam; MT Ephrath
- Genesis 48:15 LXX; MT Joseph
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible