Genesis 48:5-20

5Now your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, are mine; 1Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine, as 2Reuben and Simeon are. 6But your children that you have fathered after them shall be yours; they shall be called by the 3names of their brothers in their inheritance. 7Now as for me, when I came from 4Paddan, 5Rachel died, 6to my sorrow, in the land of Canaan on the journey, when there was still some distance to go to Ephrath. I buried her there on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).”

8When Israel 7saw Joseph’s sons, he said, “Who are these?” 9And Joseph said to his father, “8They are my sons, whom God has given me here.” So he said, “Bring them to me, please, so that 9I may bless them.” 10Now 10the eyes of Israel were so 11dim from age that he could not see. And 12Joseph brought them close to him, and he 13kissed them and embraced them. 11And Israel said to Joseph, “I never 14expected to see your face, and behold, God has let me see your 15children as well!” 12Then Joseph 16took them from his knees, and 17bowed with his face to the ground. 13And Joseph took them both, Ephraim with his right hand toward Israel’s left, and Manasseh with his left hand toward Israel’s right, and brought them close to him. 14But Israel reached out his right hand and placed it on the head of Ephraim, who was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh’s head, crossing his hands, although 18Manasseh was the firstborn. 15And he blessed Joseph, and said, “19The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, 20The God who has been my shepherd 21all my life to this day,1622The angel who has redeemed me from all evil, 23Bless the boys; And may my name 24live on in them, And the 25names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; And 26may they grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.”

17When Joseph saw that his father 27placed his right hand on Ephraim’s head, it displeased him; and he grasped his father’s hand to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. 18And Joseph said to his father, “Not so, my father, for this one is the firstborn. Place your right hand on his head.” 19But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know; he also will become a people and he also will be great. However, his younger brother shall be greater than he, and 28his 29descendants shall become 30a multitude of nations.” 20So 31he blessed them that day, saying, “By you Israel will pronounce blessing, saying, ‘May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh!’” And so he put Ephraim before Manasseh.