Now it came about after these things that ¹Joseph was told, “Behold, your father is sick.” So he took his two sons ^aManasseh and Ephraim with him. 2 When ¹it was told to Jacob, “Behold, your son Joseph has come to you,” Israel ²collected his strength and sat ³up in the bed. 3 Then Jacob said to Joseph, “^1aGod Almighty appeared to me at ^bLuz in the land of Canaan and blessed me, 4 and He said to me, ‘Behold, I will make you fruitful and numerous, and I will make you a multitude of peoples, and will give this land to your ¹descendants after you as ^aan everlasting possession.’ 5 Now your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, are mine; ^aEphraim and Manasseh shall be mine, as ^bReuben and Simeon are. 6 But your children that you have fathered after them shall be yours; they shall be called by the ¹names of their brothers in their inheritance. 7 Now as for me, when I came from ^aPaddan, ^bRachel died, ¹to my sorrow, in the land of Canaan on the journey, when there was still some distance to go to Ephrath. I buried her there on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).”

8 When Israel ^asaw Joseph’s sons, he said, “Who are these?” 9 And Joseph said to his father, “^aThey are my sons, whom God has given me here.” So he said, “Bring them to me, please, so that ^bI may bless them.” 10 Now ^athe eyes of Israel were so ¹dim from age that he could not see. And ²Joseph brought them close to him, and he ^bkissed them and embraced them. 11 And Israel said to Joseph, “I never ¹expected to see your face, and behold, God has let me see your ²children as well!” 12 Then Joseph ¹took them from his knees, and ^abowed with his face to the ground. 13 And Joseph took them both, Ephraim with his right hand toward Israel’s left, and Manasseh with his left hand toward Israel’s right, and brought them close to him. 14 But Israel reached out his right hand and placed it on the head of Ephraim, who was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh’s head, crossing his hands, although ^aManasseh was the firstborn. 15 And he blessed Joseph, and said,“^aThe God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked,^bThe God who has been my shepherd ¹all my life to this day,

17 When Joseph saw that his father ^aplaced his right hand on Ephraim’s head, it displeased him; and he grasped his father’s hand to 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. 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. However, his younger brother shall be greater than he, and ^ahis ¹descendants shall become ²a multitude of nations.” 20 So ^ahe blessed them that day, saying,“By you Israel will pronounce blessing, saying,‘May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh!’”And so he put Ephraim before Manasseh. 21 Then Israel said to Joseph, “Behold, I am about to die, but ^aGod will be with you, and ^bbring you back to the land of your fathers. 22 And I give you one ¹portion more than your brothers, ^awhich I took from the hand of the Amorite with my sword and my bow.”