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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2: 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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5: 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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16: 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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17: 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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18: 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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19: 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. |