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The First Book of Moses: Called Genesis, Chapter 48
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1 |
And it came to pass after these things, that one told Joseph,
Behold, thy father is sick: and he took with him his two sons,
Manasseh and Ephraim.
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And one told Jacob, and said, Behold, thy son Joseph cometh unto
thee: and Israel strengthened himself, and sat upon the bed.
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3 |
And Jacob said unto Joseph, God Almighty appeared unto me at Luz
in the land of Canaan, and blessed me,
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4 |
And said unto me, Behold,
I will make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, and I will make of thee
a multitude of people; and will give this land to thy seed after thee
for an everlasting possession.
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And now thy two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, which were born unto
thee in the land of Egypt before I came unto thee into Egypt, are
mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine.
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6 |
And thy issue, which thou begettest after them, shall be thine,
and shall be called after the name of their brethren in their
inheritance.
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7 |
And as for me, when I came from Padan, Rachel 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 Ephrath; the same
is Bethlehem.
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8 |
And Israel beheld Joseph's sons, and said, Who are these?
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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.
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10 |
Now the eyes of Israel were dim for age, so that he could not
see.
And he brought them near unto him; and he kissed them, and embraced
them.
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11 |
And Israel said unto Joseph, I had not thought to see thy face:
and, lo, God hath shewed me also thy seed.
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12 |
And Joseph brought them out from between his knees, and he bowed
himself with his face to the earth.
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13 |
And Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand toward
Israel's left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel's
right hand, and brought them near unto him.
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14 |
And Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid it upon
Ephraim's head, who was the younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh's
head, guiding his hands wittingly; for Manasseh was the firstborn.
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15 |
And he blessed Joseph, and said, God, before whom my fathers
Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my life long unto
this day,
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The Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the
lads; and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers
Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of
the earth.
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And when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand upon the
head of Ephraim, it displeased him: and he held up his father's hand,
to remove it from Ephraim's head unto Manasseh's head.
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And Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father: for this is
the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his head.
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And his father refused, and said, I know it, my son, I know it:
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.
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20 |
And he blessed them that day, saying, In thee shall Israel
bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh: and he set
Ephraim before Manasseh.
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21 |
And Israel said unto Joseph, Behold, I die: but God shall be
with you, and bring you again unto the land of your fathers.
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22 |
Moreover I have given to thee one portion above thy brethren,
which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my
bow.
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