Genesis 48

1 And it came about after these things that someone said to Joseph, "Look, your father is sick." And taking with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, he went to Jacob.

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 someone reported to Jacob, and said, "Look, your son Joseph has come to you." Then Israel strengthened himself and sat up in 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, "El Shaddai 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 said to me, 'Look, I will make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will make of you a company of peoples, and will give this land to your descendants after you as 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 your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you into Egypt, are mine; Ephraim and Manasseh will be mine, as Reuben and Simeon are.

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 your offspring born to you after them will be yours. But in their inheritance they are to be called after the names of their brothers.

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

7 But as for me, when I came from Paddan Aram, Rachel died, in 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)."

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 Then Israel saw 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, "Please bring them to me, so that I can 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 Now the eyes of Israel were failing because of his age, so that he couldn't see. Then he brought them near 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 did not expect to see your face, but look, God has let me see your offspring as well."

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

12 Then Joseph brought them out from between his knees, and he bowed himself with his face to the ground.

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 And Israel stretched out his right hand and placed it on Ephraim's head, who was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh's head, crossing his hands, although 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 Then he blessed Joseph, and said, "The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life 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 who has redeemed me from all evil, bless the boys. And may my name be carried on in them, and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac. And may they grow into a multitude upon the earth."

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 placed his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it displeased him, and he grasped his father's hand to move 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 one is the firstborn. Put your 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. However, his younger brother will be greater than he, and his descendants will become a multitude 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 So he blessed them that day, saying, "By you Israel will pronounce blessing, saying, 'God make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh.'" Thus he put 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 Then Israel said to Joseph, "Look, I am about to die, but God will be with you, and God will bring you back from this land 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 Moreover, I give to you one portion more than your brothers, which I took out of the hand of the Amorites 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.”