Read the Bible

Israel Blesses Manasseh and Ephraim

¹ Now it happened after these things that ^(F1)Joseph was told, "Behold, your father is sick." So he took his two sons ^(C1)Manasseh and Ephraim with him.² Then ^(F1)it was told to Jacob, "Behold, your son Joseph has come to you," so Israel strengthened himself and sat ^(F2)up in the bed.³ Then Jacob said to Joseph, "^(F1)(C1)God Almighty appeared to me at ^(C2)Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me,⁴ and He said to me, 'Behold, I will make you fruitful and multiply, and I will make you an assembly of peoples, and I will give this land to your seed after you for ^(C1)an everlasting possession.'⁵ "So now your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, are mine; ^(C1)Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine, as ^(C2)Reuben and Simeon are.⁶ "But your kin that ^(F1)have been born after them shall be yours; they shall be called by the ^(F2)names of their brothers in their inheritance.⁷ "Now as for me, when I came from ^(C1)Paddan, ^(C2)Rachel died, ^(F1)to my sorrow, in the land of Canaan on the journey, when there was still some distance to go to Ephrath; and I buried her there on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem)."

⁸ Then Israel ^(C1)saw Joseph's sons and said, "Who are these?"⁹ And Joseph said to his father, "^(C1)They are my sons, whom God has given me here." So he said, "Bring them to me, please, that ^(C2)I may bless them."¹⁰ Now ^(C1)the eyes of Israel were so dim from age that he could not see. Then ^(F1)Joseph brought them close to him, and he ^(C2)kissed them and embraced them.¹¹ Then Israel said to Joseph, "I never ^(F1)expected to see your face, and behold, God has let me see your seed as well."¹² Then Joseph ^(F1)took them from his knees and ^(C1)bowed with his face to the ground.¹³ And Joseph took them both, Ephraim with his right hand toward Israel's left, and Manasseh with his left hand toward Israel's right, and brought them close to him.¹⁴ But Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on the head of Ephraim, who was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh's head, ^(F1)crossing his hands, ^(F2)although ^(C1)Manasseh was the firstborn.¹⁵ And he blessed Joseph and said,

"^(C1)May the God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked,
^(C2)The God who has been my shepherd ^(F1)throughout my life to this day,

^16 (C1)The angel who has redeemed me from all evil,
^(C2)Bless these boys;
And may my name ^(F1)live on in them,
And the ^(F2)names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac;
And ^(C3)may they grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth."

¹⁷ But Joseph saw that his father ^(C1)set his right hand on Ephraim's head, and it was displeasing in his sight; so he took hold of his father's hand to remove it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's head.¹⁸ And Joseph said to his father, "Not so, my father, for this one is the firstborn. Place your right hand on his head."¹⁹ But his father refused and said, "I know, my son, I know; he also will become a people, and he also will be great. However, his younger brother shall be greater than he, and ^(C1)his seed shall become the fullness of nations."^20 (C1)And he blessed them that day, saying,

"By you Israel will pronounce blessing, saying,
'May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh!'"
Thus he put Ephraim before Manasseh.