¹ 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 to thee: and Israel strengthened himself, and sat upon the bed.

³ And Jacob said to Joseph, God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me,

⁴ And said to 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, who were born to thee in the land of Egypt before I came to 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 to 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 to his father, They are my sons, whom God hath given me in this place . And he said, Bring them, I pray thee, to 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 to him; and he kissed them, and embraced them.¹

1. dim: Heb. heavy

¹¹ And Israel said to Joseph, I had not thought to see thy face: and, lo, God hath shown 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 to 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 knowingly; for Manasseh was the firstborn.

¹⁵ And he blessed Joseph, and said, God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God who hath fed me all my life long to this day,

¹⁶ The Angel who hath 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.¹

1. grow: Heb. as fishes do increase

¹⁷ And when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him: and he lifted his father’s hand, to remove it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head.¹

1. displeased...: was evil in his eyes

¹⁸ And Joseph said to 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.¹

1. multitude: Heb. fulness

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 to Joseph, Behold, I die: but God shall be with you, and bring you again to 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.