15 And he blessed Joseph, and said,

(A)The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked,
(B)The God who has been my shepherd [a]all my life to this day,
16 (C)The angel who has redeemed me from all evil,
(D)Bless the boys;
And may my name [b]live on in them,
And the [c]names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac;
And (E)may they grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.”

17 When Joseph saw that his father (F)placed 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 (G)his [d]descendants shall become [e]a multitude of nations.” 20 So (H)he 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 (I)God will be with you, and (J)bring you back to the land of your fathers. 22 And I give you one [f]portion more than your brothers, (K)which I took from the hand of the Amorite with my sword and my bow.”

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Footnotes

  1. Genesis 48:15 Lit from the continuance of me
  2. Genesis 48:16 Lit be called
  3. Genesis 48:16 Lit name
  4. Genesis 48:19 Lit seed
  5. Genesis 48:19 Lit the fullness
  6. Genesis 48:22 Or ridge; lit shoulder; Heb Shechem

15 Then he blessed(A) Joseph and said,

“May the God before whom my fathers
    Abraham and Isaac walked faithfully,(B)
the God who has been my shepherd(C)
    all my life to this day,
16 the Angel(D) who has delivered me from all harm(E)
    —may he bless(F) these boys.(G)
May they be called by my name
    and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac,(H)
and may they increase greatly
    on the earth.”(I)

17 When Joseph saw his father placing his right hand(J) on Ephraim’s head(K) he was displeased; so he took hold of his father’s hand to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. 18 Joseph said to him, “No, my father, this one is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head.”(L)

19 But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know. He too will become a people, and he too will become great.(M) Nevertheless, his younger brother will be greater than he,(N) and his descendants will become a group of nations.(O) 20 He blessed(P) them that day(Q) and said,

“In your[a] name will Israel(R) pronounce this blessing:(S)
    ‘May God make you like Ephraim(T) and Manasseh.(U)’”

So he put Ephraim ahead of Manasseh.

21 Then Israel said to Joseph, “I am about to die, but God will be with you[b](V) and take you[c] back to the land of your[d] fathers.(W) 22 And to you I give one more ridge of land[e](X) than to your brothers,(Y) the ridge I took from the Amorites with my sword(Z) and my bow.”

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Footnotes

  1. Genesis 48:20 The Hebrew is singular.
  2. Genesis 48:21 The Hebrew is plural.
  3. Genesis 48:21 The Hebrew is plural.
  4. Genesis 48:21 The Hebrew is plural.
  5. Genesis 48:22 The Hebrew for ridge of land is identical with the place name Shechem.