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The Book of Genesis
Genesis 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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