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Manasseh and Ephraim
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.
2 And one told Jacob, and said, Behold, thy son Joseph
cometh unto thee: and Israel strengthened himself, and sat
upon the bed.
3 And Jacob said unto Joseph, God Almighty appeared unto
me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me,
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.
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.
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.
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.
8 And Israel beheld Joseph's sons, and said, Who are
these?
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.
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.
11 And Israel said unto Joseph, I had not thought to see
thy face: and, lo, God hath showed me also thy seed.
12 And Joseph brought them out from between his knees,
and he bowed himself with his face to the earth.
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.
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.
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,
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.
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.
18 And Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father:
for this is the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his head.
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.
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.
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.
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. |
Cults 
Why Did God Permit Sin?
