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

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

4 a nd 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 an everlasting possession.

5 A nd 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.

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

7 A nd 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.

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

9 A nd 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.

10 B ut 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.

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

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

13 A nd 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 near to him.

14 B ut Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid 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.

15 A nd 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,

16 t he 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!

17 W hen 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.

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

19 B ut 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.

20 A nd 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.

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

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