Genesis, 48

1. Some time later, Joseph was informed, 'Your father has been taken ill.' So he took with him his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim.

1. After this Joseph was told, "Behold, your father is ill"; so he took with him his two sons, Manas'seh and E'phraim.

2. When Jacob was told, 'Look, your son Joseph has come to you,' Israel, summoning his strength, sat up in bed.

2. And it was told to Jacob, "Your son Joseph has come to you"; then Israel summoned his strength, and sat up in bed.

3. 'El Shaddai appeared to me at Luz in Canaan,' Jacob told Joseph, 'and he blessed me,

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

4. saying to me, "I shall make you fruitful and numerous, and shall make you into an assembly of peoples and give this country to your descendants after you, to own in perpetuity."

4. and said to me, `Behold, I will make you fruitful, and multiply you, and I will make of you a company of peoples, and will give this land to your descendants after you for an everlasting possession.'

5. Now your two sons, born to you in Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, shall be mine; Ephraim and Manasseh shall be as much mine as Reuben and Simeon.

5. And now your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, are mine; E'phraim and Manas'seh shall be mine, as Reuben and Simeon are.

6. But with regard to the children you have had since them, they shall be yours, and they shall be known by their brothers' names for the purpose of their inheritance.

6. And the offspring born to you after them shall be yours; they shall be called by the name of their brothers in their inheritance.

7. 'When I was on my way from Paddan, to my sorrow death took your mother Rachel from me in Canaan, on the journey while only a short distance from Ephrath. I buried her there on the road to Ephrath -- now Bethlehem.'

7. For when I came from Paddan, Rachel to my sorrow died in the land of Canaan on the way, when there was still some distance to go to Ephrath; and I buried her there on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem)."

8. When Israel saw Joseph's two sons, he asked, 'Who are these?'

8. When Israel saw Joseph's sons, he said, "Who are these?"

9. 'They are my sons, whom God has given me here,' Joseph told his father. 'Then bring them to me', he said, 'so that I may bless them.'

9. Joseph said to his father, "They are my sons, whom God has given me here." And he said, "Bring them to me, I pray you, that I may bless them."

10. Now, Israel's eyes were dim with age, and he could not see. So Joseph made them come closer to him and he kissed and embraced them.

10. Now the eyes of Israel were dim with age, so that he could not see. So Joseph brought them near him; and he kissed them and embraced them.

11. Then Israel said to Joseph, 'I did not think I should ever see you again, and now God has let me see your children as well!'

11. And Israel said to Joseph, "I had not thought to see your face; and lo, God has let me see your children also."

12. Then Joseph took them from his lap and bowed to the ground.

12. Then Joseph removed them from his knees, and he bowed himself with his face to the earth.

13. Then Joseph took the two of them, Ephraim with his right hand so that he should be on Israel's left, and Manasseh with his left hand, so that he should be on Israel's right, and brought them close to him.

13. And Joseph took them both, E'phraim in his right hand toward Israel's left hand, and Manas'seh in his left hand toward Israel's right hand, and brought them near him.

14. But Israel held out his right hand and laid it on the head of Ephraim, the younger, and his left on the head of Manasseh, crossing his hands -- Manasseh was, in fact, the elder.

14. And Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it upon the head of E'phraim, who was the younger, and his left hand upon the head of Manas'seh, crossing his hands, for Manas'seh was the first-born.

15. Then he blessed Joseph saying: May the God in whose presence my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd from my birth until this day,

15. And he blessed Joseph, and said, "The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has led me all my life long to this day,

16. the Angel who has saved me from all harm, bless these boys, so that my name may live on in them, and the names of my ancestors Abraham and Isaac, and they grow into teeming multitudes on earth!

16. the angel who has redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and in them let my name be perpetuated, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth."

17. Joseph saw that his father was laying his right hand on the head of Ephraim, and this he thought was wrong, so he took his father's hand and tried to shift it from the head of Ephraim to the head of Manasseh.

17. When Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand upon the head of E'phraim, it displeased him; and he took his father's hand, to remove it from E'phraim's head to Manas'seh's head.

18. Joseph protested to his father, 'Not like that, father! This one is the elder; put your right hand on his head.'

18. And Joseph said to his father, "Not so, my father; for this one is the first-born; put your right hand upon his head."

19. But his father refused. 'I know, my son, I know,' he said. 'He too shall become a people; he too will be great. But his younger brother will be greater, his offspring will be sufficient to constitute nations.'

19. But his father refused, and said, "I know, my son, I know; he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great; nevertheless his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his descendants shall become a multitude of nations."

20. So he blessed them that day, saying: By you shall Israel bless itself, saying, 'God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh!' putting Ephraim before Manasseh.

20. So he blessed them that day, saying, "By you Israel will pronounce blessings, saying, `God make you as E'phraim and as Manas'seh'";

21. Then Israel said to Joseph, 'Now I am about to die. But God will be with you and take you back to the land of your ancestors.

21. Then Israel said to Joseph, "Behold, I am about to die, but God will be with you, and will bring you again to the land of your fathers.

22. As for me, I give you a Shechem more than your brothers, the one I took from the Amorites with my sword and bow.'

22. Moreover I have given to you rather than to your brothers one mountain slope which I took from the hand of the Amorites with my sword and with my bow."