Bible, King James Version
Genesis
Gen.48
[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 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.
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