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 Yacob, and said, Behold, thy son Joseph cometh unto thee: and
Yisrael strengthened himself, and sat upon the bed.
3 And Yacob said unto Joseph, YAHUAH 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 Yisrael beheld Joseph's sons, and said, Who [are] these?
9 And Joseph said unto his father, They [are] my sons, whom YAHUAH 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 Yisrael 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 Yisrael said unto Joseph, I had not thought to see thy face: and, lo,
YAHUAH 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 Yisrael's left
hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Yisrael's right hand, and brought
[them] near unto him.
14 And Yisrael 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, YAHUAH, before whom my fathers Abraham and
Isaac did walk, YAHUAH 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 Yisrael bless, saying,
YAHUAH make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh: and he set Ephraim before Manasseh.
21 And Yisrael said unto Joseph, Behold, I die: but YAHUAH 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.