Beginning
Jacob blesses Joseph's sons
48 After some time, someone told Joseph, ‘Your father is ill.’ So Joseph went to see Jacob and he took his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, with him. 2 Someone told Jacob, ‘Your son Joseph has come to see you.’ Jacob's body became stronger and he sat up on the bed. 3 Jacob said to Joseph, ‘God Almighty appeared to me at Luz, in Canaan. God blessed me there. 4 He said to me, “I will give you many children, so that your descendants are many. In that way, you will become the ancestor of many nations. I will give this land to you so that it belongs to your descendants for ever.” ’
5 Jacob continued to say to Joseph, ‘You have two sons that were born to you in Egypt before I came here. They will become my own sons. Ephraim and Manasseh will be my sons, just as Reuben and Simeon are my sons.[a] 6 Any children born to you after them will be your own children. They will receive part of the land that belongs to their brothers, Ephraim and Manasseh.
7 As for me, I was very sad when your mother Rachel died on our journey from Paddan. She died near to Ephrath. So I buried her there, next to the road to Ephrath (that is now called Bethlehem).’
8 Joseph brought Ephraim and Manasseh to his father, Jacob. Jacob asked him, ‘Who are these boys?’ 9 Joseph replied, ‘They are the sons that God has given to me here in Egypt.’ Then Israel said, ‘Bring them near to me so that I can bless them.’
10 Jacob's eyes had become weak because he was very old. He was almost blind. So Joseph brought his sons near to his father. His father kissed them and he hugged them. 11 Jacob said to Joseph, ‘I never thought that I would see you again. But now God has let me see your children too.’
12 Then Joseph removed his sons from Jacob's knees. He bent down low, with his face towards the ground. 13 He took his two sons near to Jacob. With his right hand, he put Ephraim beside Jacob's left hand. With his left hand, he put Manasseh beside Jacob's right hand.[b]
14 Jacob then put out his right hand. But he put it on Ephraim's head, even though Ephraim was the younger son. Jacob crossed his arms so that he put his left hand on Manasseh's head. Manasseh was Joseph's firstborn son.
15 Then Jacob blessed Joseph. He said,
‘May God bless these two boys.
He is the God that my ancestors, Abraham and Isaac, served.
Like a shepherd takes care of his sheep,
God has taken care of me all my life, until this day.
16 He is the Angel who has kept me safe.[c]
I pray that he will bless these boys.
I pray that, because of them, people will remember my name,
and the names of my ancestors, Abraham and Isaac.
I pray that they will have many descendants who live all over the earth.’
17 Joseph saw that his father had put his right hand on Ephraim's head. This made Joseph upset. So he took hold of his father's right hand. He moved it from Ephraim's head on to Manasseh's head. 18 Joseph said to Jacob, ‘No, my father. This boy is the firstborn son. Put your right hand on his head.’
19 But Jacob refused to change. He said, ‘I know, my son. I know what I am doing. Manasseh will also have many descendants who become a great nation. But his younger brother, Ephraim, will become even greater. Ephraim's descendants will become many great nations.’
20 So Jacob blessed both of Joseph's sons that day. He said, ‘In your name Israel's people will give this blessing:
“May God be good to you, just like he was to Ephraim and Manasseh.” ’[d]
In this way, Jacob put Ephraim before Manasseh when he blessed them.
21 Then Jacob said to Joseph, ‘I will die soon. But God will be with you. He will take you back to the land where your ancestors lived. 22 I give to you more than I give to your brothers. I give to you the good part of the land that I took from the Amorites.[e] I fought against them with my weapons to take that land.’
Jacob blesses his sons
49 Then Jacob called for all his sons. He said, ‘Come here to me. Then I can tell you what will happen to you, in future years. 2 You sons of Jacob, come together now and listen to your father, Israel.’[f]
Reuben
3 Jacob said, ‘Reuben you are my firstborn son. You were born first, when I was a strong young man. Of all my sons, you are the most famous and the strongest.
4 Yet you are as wild as the sea. You had sex with your father's slave wife. This bad thing brought me shame. So you will not become great.[g]
Simeon and Levi
5 Simeon and Levi are brothers. They use their swords as weapons to destroy people.[h]
6 I will not join them when they decide to do bad things. I will not meet with them. They have killed people when they are angry. They have hurt animals because it makes them happy.
7 Their anger is so strong that God will curse them. Their anger makes them do cruel things. So God will curse them. I will make your descendants separate from one another. They will live all over the country of Israel.
Judah
8 Judah, your brothers will praise you. You will win against your enemies. Your father's sons will bend down towards the ground in front of you.
9 Judah is like a young lion who has eaten good food. He has eaten what he killed and now he rests. Nobody would want to try and wake him up!
10 Judah's descendants will always rule as king. They will continue to hold the stick and the sceptre that show the king's authority. They will do that until the man comes who truly has that authority. People from all nations will obey that king.[i]
11 Judah will tie his young donkey to a vine. It will be a vine that has the best grapes. He will wash his clothes in the red wine that is made from those grapes.[j]
12 His eyes will become red because he drinks so much wine. His teeth will become white because he drinks so much milk.[k]
Zebulun
13 Zebulun will live by the shore of the sea. His town will be a safe place for ships to stay. His land will go as far as Sidon.
Issachar
14 Issachar is like a strong donkey that is lying down between two of its bags.
15 He will see that he has a good place to live, with good land. Then he will agree to work hard. He will work like a slave for other people.[l]
Dan
16 Dan will be a ruler for his people. His descendants will be equal with the other tribes of Israel.[m]
17 He will be small and dangerous, like a snake that lies beside the road. He will be like a snake that bites the legs of horses so that the riders fall off.
18 I trust you to save me from trouble, Lord.[n]
Gad
19 Robbers will attack Gad, but he will fight back against them.
Asher
20 Asher will have much good food. It will be good enough for kings to eat.
Naphtali
21 Naphtali is like a deer that runs freely and gives birth to beautiful babies.
Joseph
22 Joseph is like a vine that has lots of fruit. It grows near a well and its branches go over a wall.[o]
23 His enemies will be angry with him. They will attack him with arrows. 24 But he will hold his own bow strongly. He will shoot his arrows well. The Mighty One of Jacob will give Joseph strength. God, who is Israel's Shepherd and Rock, will help him.[p]
25 The Almighty God, the God of your father, will help you and he will bless you. He will give you rain that comes from the sky above. He will give you springs of water from below the ground. He will cause you to have many descendants. That is how God will bless you.
26 The blessings that I, your father, give to you are great! They are greater than any good things that the old mountains or hills can give to you. They are special blessings for you, Joseph, because you are the leader of your brothers.
Benjamin
27 Benjamin is like a hungry wolf. He kills an animal and eats it in the morning. In the evening, he gives what remains to his people.’[q]
28 All these are ancestors of the 12 tribes of Israel. This is what their father said to them when he blessed them. He told each of his sons what was right for them and their descendants.[r]
Jacob dies and Joseph buries him
29 Then Jacob said to his 12 sons, ‘I will soon die. You must take my dead body back to Canaan. Bury me there with my ancestors. Bury me in the cave in the field that belonged to Ephron the Hittite. 30 The cave is at Machpelah, near Mamre in Canaan. Abraham bought this cave from Ephron as a place to bury his family. 31 That is where they buried Abraham and his wife Sarah. They also buried Isaac and his wife Rebekah there. I buried Leah there too. 32 Abraham bought the cave and the field from the Hittites.’
33 Jacob finished telling his sons what they should do. Then he lay down on his bed again. He breathed for the last time and he died there.
50 Joseph bent down near his father's face. He wept over him and he kissed him. 2 Then Joseph told some of his servants to take Jacob's body. They knew how to put special oil on the body so that it would not become spoiled. Joseph's servants did what he told them to do. 3 The servants took care of the body for 40 days, which is the usual time. The Egyptians wept for 70 days because of Jacob's death.[s]
4 The time for them to weep came to an end. Joseph said to Pharaoh's officers, ‘If you agree, speak to Pharaoh for me. Tell him this: 5 My father made me make a promise. He said, “I will soon die. Bury me in the grave that I prepared for myself in Canaan.” So please let me go and bury my father there. Then I will return.’ 6 Pharaoh said, ‘Go and bury your father's body in the way that you promised him.’
7 So Joseph went to Canaan to bury his father. All Pharaoh's officers went with him. The important people who lived in Pharaoh's palace, as well as the important Egyptian officers, all went with Joseph. 8 Everyone in Joseph's family also went with him. His brothers and their families went, but they did not take their young children or their animals. They left those in Goshen. 9 Many soldiers also went with them. Some of them rode in chariots and some rode on horses.
10 They came to Atad's threshing floor, near the Jordan River. They stayed there for seven days to weep for the death of Jacob. They were very sad. 11 The Canaanite people who lived near there saw how sad Joseph and his people were. So they gave Atad's threshing floor a different name. They called it ‘Abel Mizraim’.[t] They said, ‘The Egyptians are showing that they are very sad because an important person has died.’
12 So Jacob's sons did what he had told them to do. 13 They carried his body to Canaan. They buried him there in the cave, in the field at Machpelah, near Mamre. That is the cave that Abraham had bought from Ephron the Hittite. He had bought it as a grave for him and for his family.
14 When Joseph had buried his father, he returned to Egypt together with his brothers. Everyone who had gone to Canaan with him also returned to Egypt.
15 Now Jacob was dead and Joseph's brothers became frightened. They said to each other, ‘We did a bad thing to Joseph. Now he will be angry and he will punish us for what we did.’ 16 So they sent a message to Joseph. They said, ‘Your father said this to us before he died. 17 He told us to say to you, “Please forgive your brothers for the very bad thing that they did against you. They did a very cruel thing to you.” So please forgive our sin. We are servants of your father's God.’
When Joseph received their message, he was very upset and he wept. 18 His brothers came to see him. They bent down low to the ground in front of Joseph. They said to him, ‘We are your slaves.’ 19 But Joseph said to them, ‘Do not be afraid of me. It is God who has the authority to punish people. I am not God! 20 You decided to hurt me. But God caused a good thing to happen because of that. God brought me here to save the lives of many people. You can see how that has really happened! 21 So do not be afraid. I will continue to take care of you. You and your children will receive what you need.’ In this way Joseph comforted them and he spoke kind words to them.
Joseph dies
22 Joseph lived in Egypt, together with his father's family. He lived for 110 years. 23 And he was still alive to see Ephraim's children and grandchildren. He also saw Makir's children. Makir was Manasseh's son. Joseph took Makir's children to be his own children.[u]
24 Then Joseph said to his brothers, ‘I will soon die. But God will come to you and he will help you. He will take you out of Egypt. He will take you back to the land that he promised to give to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.’ 25 He also said, ‘God will help you to leave Egypt. When that happens, you must carry my bones away from here.’ Joseph made the other sons of Israel promise that they would do that.
26 So Joseph died when he was 110 years old. They put special oil on his body so that it would not become spoiled. Then they put his body in a box there in Egypt.[v]
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