Manasseh and Ephraim
1Some time later Joseph was told, “Your father is ill.” So he took his two sons Manasseh and Ephraima along with him. 2When Jacob was told, “Your son Joseph has come to you,” Israelb rallied his strength and sat up on the bed.
3Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty1c appeared to me at Luzd in the land of Canaan, and there he blessed mee 4and said to me, ‘I am going to make you fruitful and increase your numbers.f I will make you a community of peoples, and I will give this landg as an everlasting possession to your descendants after you.’h
5“Now then, your two sons born to you in Egypti before I came to you here will be reckoned as mine; Ephraim and Manasseh will be mine,j just as Reubenk and Simeonl are mine. 6Any children born to you after them will be yours; in the territory they inherit they will be reckoned under the names of their brothers. 7As I was returning from Paddan,2m to my sorrown Rachel died in the land of Canaan while we were still on the way, a little distance from Ephrath. So I buried her there beside the road to Ephrath” (that is, Bethlehem).o
8When Israelp saw the sons of Joseph,q he asked, “Who are these?”
9“They are the sons God has given me here,”r Joseph said to his father.
Then Israel said, “Bring them to me so I may blesss them.”
10Now Israel’s eyes were failing because of old age, and he could hardly see.t So Joseph brought his sons close to him, and his father kissed themu and embraced them.v
11Israelw said to Joseph, “I never expected to see your face again,x and now God has allowed me to see your children too.”y
12Then Joseph removed them from Israel’s kneesz and bowed down with his face to the ground.a 13And Joseph took both of them, Ephraim on his right toward Israel’s left hand and Manasseh on his left toward Israel’s right hand,b and brought them close to him. 14But Israelc reached out his right hand and put it on Ephraim’s head,d though he was the younger,e and crossing his arms, he put his left hand on Manasseh’s head, even though Manasseh was the firstborn.f
15Then he blessedg Joseph and said,
“May the God before whom my fathers
Abraham and Isaac walked faithfully,h
the God who has been my shepherdi
all my life to this day,
16the Angelj who has delivered me from all harmk
May they be called by my name
and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac,n
and may they increase greatly
on the earth.”o
17When Joseph saw his father placing his right handp on Ephraim’s headq he was displeased; so he took hold of his father’s hand to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. 18Joseph said to him, “No, my father, this one is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head.”r
19But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know. He too will become a people, and he too will become great.s Nevertheless, his younger brother will be greater than he,t and his descendants will become a group of nations.u” 20He blessedv them that dayw and said,
So he put Ephraim ahead of Manasseh.
21Then Israel said to Joseph, “I am about to die, but God will be with you4b and take you5 back to the land of your6 fathers.c 22And to you I give one more ridge of land7d than to your brothers,e the ridge I took from the Amorites with my swordf and my bow.”
Jacob Blesses His Sons
49:1-28Ref — Dt 33:1–29
1Then Jacob called for his sons and said: “Gather around so I can tell you what will happen to you in days to come.a
2“Assembleb and listen, sons of Jacob;
listen to your father Israel.c
3“Reuben, you are my firstborn,d
my might, the first sign of my strength,e
excelling in honor,f excelling in power.
4Turbulent as the waters,g you will no longer excel,
for you went up onto your father’s bed,
onto my couch and defiled it.h
5“Simeoni and Levij are brothers—
their swords1 are weapons of violence.k
6Let me not enter their council,
let me not join their assembly,l
for they have killed men in their angerm
and hamstrungn oxen as they pleased.
7Cursed be their anger, so fierce,
I will scatter them in Jacob
and disperse them in Israel.q
8“Judah,2r your brothers will praise you;
your hand will be on the necks of your enemies;
your father’s sons will bow down to you.t
9You are a lion’su cub,v Judah;w
you return from the prey,x my son.
Like a lion he crouches and lies down,
like a lioness—who dares to rouse him?
10The scepter will not depart from Judah,y
nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,3
until he to whom it belongs4 shall comez
and the obedience of the nations shall be his.a
11He will tether his donkeyb to a vine,
his colt to the choicest branch;c
he will wash his garments in wine,
his robes in the blood of grapes.d
12His eyes will be darker than wine,
13“Zebulunf will live by the seashore
and become a haven for ships;
his border will extend toward Sidon.g
14“Issacharh is a rawboned6 donkey
lying down among the sheep pens.7i
15When he sees how good is his resting place
and how pleasant is his land,j
he will bend his shoulder to the burdenk
and submit to forced labor.l
16“Dan8m will provide justice for his people
as one of the tribes of Israel.n
17Dano will be a snake by the roadside,
a viper along the path,p
that bites the horse’s heelsq
so that its rider tumbles backward.
18“I look for your deliverance,r LORD.s
19“Gad9t will be attacked by a band of raiders,
but he will attack them at their heels.u
20“Asher’sv food will be rich;w
he will provide delicacies fit for a king.x
21“Naphtaliy is a doe set free
that bears beautiful fawns.10z
22“Josepha is a fruitful vine,b
a fruitful vine near a spring,
whose branchesc climb over a wall.11
23With bitterness archers attacked him;d
they shot at him with hostility.e
24But his bow remained steady,f
his strong armsg stayed12 limber,
because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob,h
because of the Shepherd,i the Rock of Israel,j
25because of your father’s God,k who helpsl you,
because of the Almighty,13m who blesses you
with blessings of the skies above,
blessings of the deep springs below,n
blessings of the breasto and womb.p
26Your father’s blessings are greater
than the blessings of the ancient mountains,
than14 the bounty of the age-old hills.q
Let all these rest on the head of Joseph,r
on the brow of the prince among15 his brothers.s
27“Benjamint is a ravenous wolf;u
in the morning he devours the prey,v
in the evening he divides the plunder.”w
28All these are the twelve tribes of Israel,x and this is what their father said to them when he blessed them, giving each the blessingy appropriate to him.
The Death of Jacob
29Then he gave them these instructions:z “I am about to be gathered to my people.a Bury me with my fathersb in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite,c 30the cave in the field of Machpelah,d near Mamree in Canaan, which Abraham bought along with the fieldf as a burial placeg from Ephron the Hittite. 31There Abrahamh and his wife Sarahi were buried, there Isaac and his wife Rebekahj were buried, and there I buried Leah.k 32The field and the cave in it were bought from the Hittites.16l”
33When Jacob had finished giving instructions to his sons, he drew his feet up into the bed, breathed his last and was gathered to his people.m
1Joseph threw himself on his father and wept over him and kissed him.a 2Then Joseph directed the physicians in his service to embalm his father Israel. So the physicians embalmed him,b 3taking a full forty days, for that was the time required for embalming. And the Egyptians mourned for him seventy days.c
4When the days of mourningd had passed, Joseph said to Pharaoh’s court,e “If I have found favor in your eyes,f speak to Pharaoh for me. Tell him, 5‘My father made me swear an oathg and said, “I am about to die;h bury me in the tomb I dug for myselfi in the land of Canaan.”j Now let me go up and bury my father;k then I will return.’ ”
6Pharaoh said, “Go up and bury your father, as he made you swear to do.”
7So Joseph went up to bury his father. All Pharaoh’s officialsl accompanied him—the dignitaries of his courtm and all the dignitaries of Egypt— 8besides all the members of Joseph’s household and his brothers and those belonging to his father’s household.n Only their children and their flocks and herds were left in Goshen.o 9Chariotsp and horsemen1 also went up with him. It was a very large company.
10When they reached the threshing floorq of Atad, near the Jordan, they lamented loudly and bitterly;r and there Joseph observed a seven-day periods of mourningt for his father.u 11When the Canaanitesv who lived there saw the mourning at the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “The Egyptians are holding a solemn ceremony of mourning.”w That is why that place near the Jordan is called Abel Mizraim.2
12So Jacob’s sons did as he had commanded them:x 13They carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave in the field of Machpelah,y near Mamre,z which Abraham had bought along with the fielda as a burial place from Ephron the Hittite.b 14After burying his father, Joseph returned to Egypt, together with his brothers and all the others who had gone with him to bury his father.c
Joseph Reassures His Brothers
15When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph holds a grudged against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?”e 16So they sent word to Joseph, saying, “Your father left these instructionsf before he died: 17‘This is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers the sinsg and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.’h Now please forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your father.i” When their message came to him, Joseph wept.j
18His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him.k “We are your slaves,”l they said.
19But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God?m 20You intended to harm me,n but God intendedo it for goodp to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.q 21So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.r” And he reassured them and spoke kindlys to them.
The Death of Joseph
22Joseph stayed in Egypt, along with all his father’s family. He lived a hundred and ten yearst 23and saw the third generationu of Ephraim’sv children.w Also the children of Makirx son of Manassehy were placed at birth on Joseph’s knees.3z
24Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die.a But God will surely come to your aidb and take you up out of this land to the landc he promised on oath to Abraham,d Isaace and Jacob.”f 25And Joseph made the Israelites swear an oathg and said, “God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bonesh up from this place.”i
26So Joseph diedj at the age of a hundred and ten.k And after they embalmed him,l he was placed in a coffin in Egypt.