1And after these things, someone told Joseph, “Behold, your father is sick”: and he took with him his two sons, Manasseh, and Ephraim.
2And someone told Jacob, “Behold, your son Joseph is coming to you”; and Israel strengthened himself, and sat up on the bed.
3And Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me,
4And said to me, “Behold, I will make you fruitful, and multiply you, and I will make of you a multitude of people; and will give this land to your descendants after you for an everlasting possession”.
5And now your two sons, Ephraim, and Manasseh, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you into Egypt, are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine.
6And your offspring, which you beget after them, shall be yours, and shall be called after the name of their brothers in their inheritance.
7And as for me, when I came from Paddan, Rachel died by me in the land of Canaan along the way, when yet there was but a little way to go to Ephrath: and I buried her there in the way of Ephrath; the same is Bethlehem.
8And Israel beheld Joseph's sons, and said, “Who are these?”
9And Joseph said to his father, “They are my sons, whom God has given me in this place”. And he said, “Bring them close to me, and I will bless them”.
10Now the eyes of Israel were dim for age, so that he could not see. And Joseph brought them near to him; and he kissed them, and embraced them.
11And Israel said to Joseph, I had not thought I would see your face; and, lo, God has showed me also your sons”.
12And Joseph brought them out from between his knees, and he bowed himself to the earth.
13And 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.
14And 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 first-born.
15And he blessed Joseph, and said, “God, before Whom my fathers, Abraham and Isaac, walked, the God Who fed me all my life long until this day,
16An Angel Who 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”.
17And 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.
18And Joseph said to his father, “Not so, my father; for this is the first-born; put your right hand upon his head”.
19And 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 descendants shall become a multitude of nations”.
20And he blessed them that day, saying, “In you shall Israel bless”, saying, “God make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh”: and he set Ephraim before Manasseh.
21And Israel said to Joseph, “Behold, I die; but God shall be with you, and bring you again to the land of your fathers.
22Moreover, I have given to you one portion above your brothers, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow”. Easy Reader Bible: Purple Letter Edition © 2023 by Jim Musser. Used by Permission. All rights Reserved. Bible Hub |
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