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.

Sometime after this, Joseph was told, “Your father is sick.” So Joseph went to see him, taking with him his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim.

2 And one told Jacob and said, Behold, thy son Joseph is coming to thee. And Israel strengthened himself, and sat upon the bed.

When Jacob was told, “Your son Joseph has come to you,” he gathered his strength and sat up in bed.

3 And Jacob said to Joseph, The Almighty God appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me,

Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in Canaan, and he blessed me there.

4 and he said to me, Behold, I will make thee fruitful and multiply thee, and I will make of thee a company of peoples; and will give this land to thy seed after thee [for] an everlasting possession.

He told me, ‘Listen! I will make you prosperous and make your descendants so numerous that you will become the ancestor of many nations, and I will give this land to your descendants to own forever.’

5 And now thy two sons, who were born to thee in the land of Egypt before I came to thee into Egypt, shall be mine: Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine, as Reuben and Simeon.

I am counting as mine your two sons Ephraim and Manasseh who were born here in Egypt before I arrived, just as Reuben and Simeon are mine.

6 And thy family which thou hast begotten after them shall be thine: they shall be called after the name of their brethren in their inheritance.

Any other children you have after them will be yours, and will share their inheritance within the land of their older brothers.

7 And as for me, when I came from Padan, Rachel died by me in the land of Canaan on the way, when there was yet a certain distance to come to Ephrath; and I buried her there on the way to Ephrath, that is, Bethlehem.

I'm doing this because tragically for me when I was returning from Paddan-aram, Rachel died in Canaan some distance from Ephrath. I buried her there on the way to Ephrath” (also known as Bethlehem).

8 And Israel beheld Joseph's sons, and said, Who are these?

Israel saw Jacob's sons and said, “These are your sons then?”

9 And Joseph said to his father, They are my sons, whom God has given me here. And he said, Bring them, I pray thee, to me, that I may bless them.

“Yes, these are the sons God gave me here,” Joseph told his father. “Bring them over here so I can bless them,” he said.

10 But the eyes of Israel were heavy from age: he could not see. And he brought them nearer to him; and he kissed them, and embraced them.

Israel's eyesight was failing because of his age and he couldn't see well, so Joseph brought them close to his father, and he kissed and hugged them.

11 And Israel said to Joseph, I had not thought to see thy face; and behold, God has let me see also thy seed.

Israel said to Joseph, “I never thought I'd see your face again, and now God has even let me see your children!”

12 And Joseph brought them out from his knees, and bowed down with his face to the earth.

Joseph took his sons from between Israel's knees, and bowed low with his face to the ground.

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 to him.

Then Joseph placed Ephraim on his right so he would be on Israel's left, and Manasseh on his left so he would be on Israel's right, and then brought them over to Israel.

14 But Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid [it] on Ephraim's head — now he was the younger — and his left hand on Manasseh's head; guiding his hands intelligently, for Manasseh was the firstborn.

But when Israel reached out his hands, he crossed them over and placed his right hand on Ephraim the younger son, and placed his left on Manasseh, the firstborn.

15 And he blessed Joseph, and said, The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God that shepherded me all my life long to this day,

He blessed Joseph, saying, “May the God my grandfather Abraham and my father worshiped—the God who has taken care of me like a shepherd throughout my life until now,

16 the Angel that redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named upon them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the land!

the Angel who has saved me from all kinds of trouble—may he bless these boys. May my name and the names of my grandfather Abraham and father Isaac continue through them, and may they have many descendants that spread throughout the earth.”

17 When Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it was evil in his eyes; and he took hold of his father's hand to remove it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's head.

Joseph was unhappy when saw his father had put his right hand on Ephraim, so he took his father's hand to try and move it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's head.

18 And Joseph said to his father, Not so, my father, for this is the firstborn: put thy right hand on his head.

“Not like that, father, this is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head,” Joseph told him.

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; but truly his younger brother will be greater than he; and his seed will become the fulness of nations.

But his father refused, saying, “I know what I'm doing. Manasseh will also become an important people, but his younger brother will be greater than him, and his descendants will become a large nation.”

20 And he blessed them that day, saying, In thee will Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and Manasseh! And he set Ephraim before Manasseh.

So Israel blessed them that day and said: “In the future the people of Israel will use your names to give a blessing, saying, ‘May God bless you like he did Ephraim and Manasseh.’” In saying this he placed Ephraim before Manasseh.

21 And Israel said to Joseph, Behold, I die; and God will be with you, and bring you again to the land of your fathers.

Then Israel said to Joseph, “I'm going to die soon, but God will be with you and bring you back to the land of your fathers.

22 And I have given to thee one tract [of land] above thy brethren, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow.

I'm also giving you something in addition to what I'm giving your brothers—piece of land on the mountain slope of Shechem that I took from the Amorites with my sword and bow.”