¶ And it came to pass after these things, that one told Joseph, Behold, thy father¹ is sick: and he took with him his two sons², Manasseh and Ephraim.

And one told Jacob, and said, Behold, thy son Joseph cometh unto thee: and Israel strengthened³ himself, and sat upon the bed.

And Jacob said unto Joseph, God⁴ Almighty appeared⁵ unto me at Luz⁶ in the land of Canaan, and blessed me,

And said unto me, Behold, I⁷ will make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, and I will make of thee a multitude of people; and will give⁸ this land to thy seed after thee for an everlasting⁹ possession.

And now thy two sons¹⁰, Ephraim and Manasseh, which were born unto thee in the land of Egypt before I came unto thee into Egypt, are mine;¹¹ as Reuben¹² and Simeon, they shall be mine.

And thy issue, which thou begettest after them, shall be thine, and shall be called¹³ after the name of their brethren in their inheritance.

And as for me, when I came from Padan¹⁴, Rachel¹⁵ died by me in the land of Canaan in the way, when yet there was but a little way to come unto Ephrath: and I buried her there in the way of Ephrath¹⁶; the same is Bethlehem.

¶ And Israel beheld Joseph's sons, and said, Who are these?

And Joseph said unto his father, They are my sons¹⁷, whom God hath given me in this place. And he said, Bring them, I pray thee, unto me, and I will bless them¹⁸.

¶ Now the eyes¹⁹ of Israel were dim²⁰ for age, so that he could not see. And he brought them near unto him; and he kissed²¹ them, and embraced them.

And Israel said unto Joseph, I had not²² thought to see thy face: and, lo, God²³ hath shewed me also thy seed.

And Joseph brought them out from between his knees, and he bowed himself²⁴ with his face to the earth.

And Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel's left²⁵ hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel's right²⁶ hand, and brought them near unto him.

And Israel stretched out his right hand²⁷, and laid²⁸ it upon Ephraim's head, who was the younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh's head, guiding²⁹ his hands wittingly; for Manasseh was the firstborn³⁰.

And he blessed³¹ Joseph, and said, God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk³², the God which fed me³³ all my life long unto this day,

The Angel³⁴ which redeemed³⁵ me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name³⁶ be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into³⁷ a multitude³⁸ in the midst of the earth.

And when Joseph saw that his father laid his³⁹ right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him:⁴⁰ and he held up his father's hand, to remove it from Ephraim's head unto Manasseh's head.

And Joseph said unto his father, Not so,⁴¹ my father: for this⁴² is the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his head.

And his father refused, and said, I know it,⁴³ my son, I know it: he also shall become⁴⁴ a people, and he also shall be great: but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude⁴⁵ of nations.

¶ And he blessed them that day, saying, In thee shall Israel bless⁴⁶, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh: and he set⁴⁷ Ephraim before Manasseh.

And Israel said unto Joseph, Behold,⁴⁸ I die: but God⁴⁹ shall be with you, and bring you again unto the land⁵⁰ of your fathers.

Moreover I have given⁵¹ to thee one portion above thy brethren, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite⁵² with my sword and with my bow.