15 And he blessed Joseph and said,

“The God (A)before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked,
    the God who has been my shepherd all my life long to this day,
16 (B)the angel who has (C)redeemed me from all evil, bless the boys;
    and in them let (D)my name be carried on, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac;
    and let them (E)grow into a multitude[a] in the midst of the earth.”

17 When Joseph saw that his father (F)laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it displeased him, and he took his father's hand to move it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's head. 18 And Joseph said to his father, “Not this way, my father; since this one is the firstborn, put your right hand on his head.” 19 But his father refused and said, (G)“I know, my son, I know. He also shall become a people, and he also shall be great. Nevertheless, (H)his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his offspring shall become a multitude[b] of nations.” 20 So he blessed them that day, saying,

“By you Israel will pronounce blessings, saying,
(I)‘God make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh.’”

Thus he put Ephraim before Manasseh. 21 Then Israel said to Joseph, “Behold, I am about to die, but (J)God will be with you and will bring you again to the land of your fathers. 22 Moreover, I have given to (K)you rather than to your brothers one mountain slope[c] that I took from the hand of the Amorites with my sword and with my bow.”

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Footnotes

  1. Genesis 48:16 Or let them be like fish for multitude
  2. Genesis 48:19 Hebrew fullness
  3. Genesis 48:22 Or one portion of the land; Hebrew shekem, which sounds like the town and district called Shechem

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