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48
1 And it came to pass after these things, that some one said to Joseph, Behold, thy father is sick; and he took his two sons with him, Menasseh and Ephraim. 2 And some one told Jacob, and said, Behold, thy son Joseph is coming unto thee; and Israel strengthened himself, and sat upon the bed. 3 And Jacob said unto Joseph, God, the Almighty, appeared unto me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me, 4 And he said unto me, Behold, I will make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, and I will make of thee a multitude of people; and I will give this land to thy seed after thee for an everlasting possession. 5 And now thy two sons, who were born unto thee in the land of Egypt, before I came unto thee into Egypt, shall be mine; Ephraim and Menasseh shall be unto me as Reuben and Simeon. 6 And thy issue, which thou begettest after them, shall be thine, after the name of their brothers shall they be called in their inheritance. 7 And as for me, when I came from Padan, Rachel died by me in the land of Canaan on the way, when yet there was some distance to come unto Ephrath: and I buried her there on the way of Ephrath, the same is Beth-lechem. 8 And Israel perceived the sons of Joseph, and said, Who are these? 9 And Joseph said unto his father, They are my sons, whom God 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 Israel were dim through age, he could not see; and he brought them near unto him, and he kissed them, and embraced them. 11 And Israel said unto Joseph, To see thy face I had not hoped; and lo, God hath shown 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 Israel's left, and Menasseh in his left hand toward Israel's right, and brought them near unto him. 14 And Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid it upon Ephraim's head, who was the younger, and his left hand upon Menasseh's head; he laid his hands wittingly; although Menasseh was the first-born. 15 And he blessed Joseph, and said, The God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God who fed me from my first being unto this day, 16 The angel who redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be called 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 would lay his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him: and he took hold of his father's hand, to remove it from the head of Ephraim unto the head of Menasseh. 18 And Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father; for this is the first-born, put thy right hand upon his head. 19 And his father refused, and said, I know, my son, I know, 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, With thee shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and Menasseh: and so he set Ephraim before Menasseh. 21 And Israel said unto Joseph, Behold, I die; but God will be with you, and bring you again unto the land of your fathers 22 Moreover I have given unto thee one portion above thy brothers, which I took out of the hand of the Emorite with my sword and with my bow.

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