Now after these things someone said to Joseph, Come, your father is ill; so he took his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, with him. 2 And someone told Jacob, See, your son Joseph has come to you; and Israel mustered his strength and sat up in bed. 3 And Jacob said to Joseph, God Shaddai appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me. 4 And he said to me, See, I am about to make you fruitful, and I will multiply you and make you into a congregation of peoples; and I will give this land to your descendants after you for an everlasting possession. 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; Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine, as Reuben and Simeon are. 6 But your offspring which you shall have after them shall be yours; they shall receive their brothers' name when they inherit. 7 For when I came from Paddan, Rachel died beside me in the land of Canaan, on the journey, when there was still a stretch of land before we came to Ephrath; and I buried her there on the road to Ephrath, that is, Bethlehem.

8 And when Israel saw Joseph's sons, he said, Who are these? 9 And Joseph said to his father, They are my sons, whom God has given me here. And he said, Please bring them to me, so that I may bless them. 10 Now Israel's eyes were weak because of his age, and he could not see. And Joseph led them near to him; and he kissed them and embraced them. 11 Then Israel said to Joseph, I did not think to see your face, but see, God has let me see your children also. 12 And Joseph led them out from between his knees, and bowed down with his face to the earth. 13 And Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand towards Israel's left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand towards Israel's right hand, and led them to him. 14 And Israel stretched out his right hand and placed it on Ephraim's head, though he was the younger. and placed his left hand on Manasseh's head, crossing his hands; for Manasseh was the firstborn. 15 And he blessed Joseph, and said,

The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who was my shepherd all my life until today, 16 the Angel who redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads;

and in them let my name he called, and the name of my fathers, Abraham and Isaac;

and let them increase to a multitude in the midst of the earth.

17 But when Joseph saw that his father had placed his right hand on Ephraim's head, it displeased him; so he grasped his father's hand to remove it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's head. 18 And Joseph said to his father, Not like that, my father, for this 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. Nevertheless, his younger brother will be greater, and his descendants will become an abundance of nations. 20 And he blessed them on that day, and said,

By you shall Israel bless, saying, God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.

And he put Ephraim before Manasseh. 21 Then Israel said to Joseph, See, I am about to die; but God will be with you, and will bring you back to the land of your fathers. 22 And I have given you one portion more than your brothers, which I took out of the hands of the Amorites with my sword and my bow.