- And it came to pass after these things, that
it was reported to Joseph, Behold, thy father
is ill; and, having taken his two sons, Manasse
and Ephraim, he came to Jacob.
- And
it was reported to Jacob, saying, Behold,
thy son Joseph cometh to thee; and Israel
having strengthened himself, sat upon the
bed.
- And Jacob said to Joseph, My God
appeared to me in Luza, in the land of Chanaan,
and blessed me,
- and said to me, Behold,
I will increase thee, and multiply thee,
and will make of thee multitudes of nations;
and I will give this land to thee, and to thy
seed after thee, for an everlasting possession.
- Now then thy two sons, who were born to
thee in the land of Egypt, before I came to
thee into Egypt, are mine; Ephraim and
Manasse, as Ruben and Symeon they shall
be mine.
- And the children which thou
shalt beget hereafter, shall be in the name
of their brethren; they shall be named
after their inheritances.
- And as for me,
when I came out of Mesopotamia of Syria,
Rachel, thy mother, died in the land of
Chanaan, as I drew night to the horse-course
of Chabratha of the land of Chanaan, so as
to come to Ephratha; and I buried her in
the road of the course; this is Bethlehem.
- And when Israel saw the sons of Joseph,
he said, Who are these to thee?
- And
Joseph said to his father, They are my sons,
whom God gave me here; and Jacob said,
Bring me them, that I may bless them.
- Now the eyes of Israel were dim through
age, and he could not see; and he brought
them near to him, and he kissed them, and
embraced them.
- And Israel said to Joseph,
Behold, I have not been deprived of
seeing thy face, and lo! God has showed
me thy seed also.
- And Joseph brought
them out from between his knees, and they
did reverence to him, with their face to the
ground.
- And Joseph took his two sons,
both Ephraim in his right hand, but on the
left of Israel, and Manasse on his left hand,
but on the right of Israel, and brought them
near to him.
- But Israel having stretched
out his right hand, laid it on the head of
Ephraim, and he was the younger; and his
left hand on the head of Manasse, guiding
his hands crosswise.
- And he blessed them and said, The God
in whose sight my fathers were well pleasing,
even Abraam and Isaac, the God who continues
to feed me from my youth until this
day;
- the angel who delivers me from all
evils, bless these boys, and my name shall
be called upon them, and the name of my
fathers, Abraam and Isaac; and let them be
increased to a great multitude on the earth.
- And Joseph having seen that his father
put his right hand on the head of Ephraim
-- it seemed grievous to him; and Joseph
took hold of the hand of his father, to remove
it from the head of Ephraim to the
head of Manasse.
- And Joseph said to his
father, Not so, father; for this is the first-born;
lay thy right-hand upon his head.
- And he would not, but said, I know it, son,
I know it; he also shall be a people, and he
shall be exalted, but his younger brother
shall be greater than he, and his seed shall
become a multitude of nations.
- And he
blessed them in that day, saying, In you
shall Israel be blessed, saying, God make
thee as Ephraim and Manasse; and he set
Ephraim before Manasse.
- And Israel said
to Joseph, Behold, I die; and God shall be
with you, and restore you to the land of
your fathers.
- And I give to thee Sicima,
a select portion above thy brethren, which
I took out of the hand of the Amorites with
my sword and bow.
[English translation of the Septuagint by Sir Lancelot Charles Lee
Brenton (1807-1862) originally published by Samuel Bagster & Sons,
Ltd., London, 1851]