-
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.
02 And one told Jacob, and said, Behold,
thy son Joseph cometh unto thee: and Israel
strengthened himself, and sat upon the bed.
03 And Jacob said unto Joseph, God Almighty
appeared unto me at Luz in the land of Canaan,
and blessed me,
04 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.
05 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.
06 And thy issue, which thou begettest
after them, shall be thine, and shall be called
after the name of their brethren in their
inheritance.
07 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.
08 And Israel beheld Joseph's sons, and
said, Who are these?
09 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.
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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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