48One day not long after this, word came to Joseph, "Your father is failing rapidly." So Joseph went to visit his father, and he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim.H310H1697H559H3130H1H2470H3947H8147H1121H4519H6692When Joseph arrived, Jacob was told, "Your son Joseph has come to see you." So Jacob gathered his strength and sat up in his bed.H5046H3290H559H1121H3130H935H3478H2388H3427H42963Jacob said to Joseph, "God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me.H3290H559H3130H410H7706H7200H3870H776H3667H12884He said to me, 'I will make you fruitful, and I will multiply your descendants. I will make you a multitude of nations. And I will give this land of Canaan to your descendants after you as an everlasting possession.'H559H6509H7235H5414H6951H5971H5414H776H2233H310H5769H2725"Now I am claiming as my own sons these two boys of yours, Ephraim and Manasseh, who were born here in the land of Egypt before I arrived. They will be my sons, just as Reuben and Simeon are.H8147H1121H669H4519H3205H776H4714H5704H935H4714H7205H80956But any children born to you in the future will be your own, and they will inherit land within the territories of their brothers Ephraim and Manasseh.H4138H3205H310H7121H5921H8034H251H51597"Long ago, as I was returning from Paddan-aram, Rachel died in the land of Canaan. We were still on the way, some distance from Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). So with great sorrow I buried her there beside the road to Ephrath."H935H6307H7354H4191H776H3667H1870H5750H3530H776H935H672H6912H1870H672H10358Then Jacob looked over at the two boys. "Are these your sons?" he asked.H3478H7200H3130H1121H5599"Yes," Joseph told him, "these are the sons God has given me here in Egypt." And Jacob said, "Bring them closer to me, so I can bless them."H3130H559H1H1121H430H5414H559H3947H128810Jacob was half blind because of his age and could hardly see. So Joseph brought the boys close to him, and Jacob kissed and embraced them.H5869H3478H3513H2207H3201H7200H5066H5401H226311Then Jacob said to Joseph, "I never thought I would see your face again, but now God has let me see your children, too!"H3478H559H3130H6419H7200H6440H430H7200H223312Joseph moved the boys, who were at their grandfather's knees, and he bowed with his face to the ground.H3130H3318H5973H1290H7812H639H77613Then he positioned the boys in front of Jacob. With his right hand he directed Ephraim toward Jacob's left hand, and with his left hand he put Manasseh at Jacob's right hand.H3130H3947H8147H669H3225H3478H8040H4519H8040H3478H3225H506614But Jacob crossed his arms as he reached out to lay his hands on the boys' heads. He put his right hand on the head of Ephraim, though he was the younger boy, and his left hand on the head of Manasseh, though he was the firstborn.H3478H7971H3225H7896H669H7218H6810H8040H4519H7218H7919H3027H7919H4519H106015Then he blessed Joseph and said, "May the God before whom my grandfather Abraham and my father, Isaac, walked—the God who has been my shepherd all my life, to this very day,H1288H3130H559H430H6440H1H85H3327H1980H430H7462H5750H311716the Angel who has redeemed me from all harm—may he bless these boys. May they preserve my name and the names of Abraham and Isaac. And may their descendants multiply greatly throughout the earth."H4397H1350H7451H1288H5288H8034H7121H8034H1H85H3327H1711H7230H7130H77617But Joseph was upset when he saw that his father placed his right hand on Ephraim's head. So Joseph lifted it to move it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's head.H3130H7200H1H7896H3225H3027H7218H669H3415H5869H8551H1H3027H5493H669H7218H4519H721818"No, my father," he said. "This one is the firstborn. Put your right hand on his head."H3130H559H1H1H1060H7760H3225H721819But his father refused. "I know, my son; I know," he replied. "Manasseh will also become a great people, but his younger brother will become even greater. And his descendants will become a multitude of nations."H1H3985H559H3045H1121H3045H5971H1431H199H6996H251H1431H2233H4393H147120So Jacob blessed the boys that day with this blessing: "The people of Israel will use your names when they give a blessing. They will say, 'May God make you as prosperous as Ephraim and Manasseh.'" In this way, Jacob put Ephraim ahead of Manasseh.H1288H3117H559H3478H1288H559H430H7760H669H4519H7760H669H6440H451921Then Jacob said to Joseph, "Look, I am about to die, but God will be with you and will take you back to Canaan, the land of your ancestors.H3478H559H3130H4191H430H7725H776H122And beyond what I have given your brothers, I am giving you an extra portion of the land that I took from the Amorites with my sword and bow."H5414H259H7926H251H3947H3027H567H2719H7198
Jacob’s Last Words to His Sons
49Then Jacob called together all his sons and said, "Gather around me, and I will tell you what will happen to each of you in the days to come.H3290H7121H1121H559H622H5046H7122H319H31172"Come and listen, you sons of Jacob; listen to Israel, your father.H6908H8085H1121H3290H8085H3478H13"Reuben, you are my firstborn, my strength, the child of my vigorous youth. You are first in rank and first in power.H7205H1060H3581H7225H202H3499H7613H3499H57944But you are as unruly as a flood, and you will be first no longer. For you went to bed with my wife; you defiled my marriage couch.H6349H4325H3498H5927H1H4904H2490H5927H33265"Simeon and Levi are two of a kind; their weapons are instruments of violence.H8095H3878H251H3627H2555H43806May I never join in their meetings; may I never be a party to their plans. For in their anger they murdered men, and they crippled oxen just for sport.H5315H935H5475H6951H3519H3161H639H2026H376H7522H6131H77947A curse on their anger, for it is fierce; a curse on their wrath, for it is cruel. I will scatter them among the descendants of Jacob; I will disperse them throughout Israel.H779H639H5794H5678H7185H2505H3290H6327H34788"Judah, your brothers will praise you. You will grasp your enemies by the neck. All your relatives will bow before you.H3063H251H3034H3027H6203H341H1H1121H78129Judah, my son, is a young lion that has finished eating its prey. Like a lion he crouches and lies down; like a lioness—who dares to rouse him?H3063H738H1482H2964H1121H5927H3766H7257H738H3833H696510The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from his descendants, until the coming of the one to whom it belongs, the one whom all nations will honor.H7626H5493H3063H2710H7272H3588H7886H935H3349H597111He ties his foal to a grapevine, the colt of his donkey to a choice vine. He washes his clothes in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes.H631H5895H1612H860H1121H8321H3526H3830H3196H5497H1818H602512His eyes are darker than wine, and his teeth are whiter than milk.H5869H2447H3196H8127H3836H246113"Zebulun will settle by the seashore and will be a harbor for ships; his borders will extend to Sidon.H2074H7931H2348H3220H2348H591H3411H672114"Issachar is a sturdy donkey, resting between two saddlepacks.H3485H1634H2543H7257H494215When he sees how good the countryside is and how pleasant the land, he will bend his shoulder to the load and submit himself to hard labor.H7200H4496H2896H776H5276H5186H7926H5445H5647H452216"Dan will govern his people, like any other tribe in Israel.H1835H1777H5971H259H7626H347817Dan will be a snake beside the road, a poisonous viper along the path that bites the horse's hooves so its rider is thrown off.H1835H5175H1870H8207H734H5391H5483H6119H7392H5307H26818I trust in you for salvation, O LORD!H6960H3444H306819"Gad will be attacked by marauding bands, but he will attack them when they retreat.H1410H1416H1464H1464H611920"Asher will dine on rich foods and produce food fit for kings.H836H3899H8082H5414H4428H457421"Naphtali is a doe set free that bears beautiful fawns.H5321H355H7971H5414H8233H56122"Joseph is the foal of a wild donkey, the foal of a wild donkey at a spring—one of the wild donkeys on the ridge.H3130H6509H1121H6509H1121H5869H1323H6805H779123Archers attacked him savagely; they shot at him and harassed him.H1167H2671H4843H7232H785224But his bow remained taut, and his arms were strengthened by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, by the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel.H7198H3427H386H2220H3027H6339H3027H46H3290H7462H68H347825May the God of your father help you; May the Almighty bless you with the blessings of the heavens above, and blessings of the watery depths below, and blessings of the breasts and womb.H410H1H5826H854H7706H1288H1293H8064H5920H1293H8415H7257H1293H7699H735626May the blessings of your father surpass the blessings of the ancient mountains, reaching to the heights of the eternal hills. May these blessings rest on the head of Joseph, who is a prince among his brothers.H1293H1H1396H1293H2029H8379H5769H1389H7218H3130H6936H5139H25127"Benjamin is a ravenous wolf, devouring his enemies in the morning and dividing his plunder in the evening."H1144H2963H2061H1242H398H5706H6153H2505H799828These are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said as he told his sons good-bye. He blessed each one with an appropriate message.H6240H8147H7626H3478H1H1696H1288H834H376H1293H1288
Jacob’s Death and Burial
29Then Jacob instructed them, "Soon I will die and join my ancestors. Bury me with my father and grandfather in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite.H6680H559H622H5971H6912H1H4631H7704H6085H285030This is the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre in Canaan, that Abraham bought from Ephron the Hittite as a permanent burial site.H4631H7704H4375H6440H4471H776H3667H85H7069H7704H6085H2850H272H691331There Abraham and his wife Sarah are buried. There Isaac and his wife, Rebekah, are buried. And there I buried Leah.H6912H85H8283H802H6912H3327H7259H802H6912H381232It is the plot of land and the cave that my grandfather Abraham bought from the Hittites."H4735H7704H4631H1121H284533When Jacob had finished this charge to his sons, he drew his feet into the bed, breathed his last, and joined his ancestors in death.H3290H3615H6680H1121H622H7272H4296H1478H622H5971
50Joseph threw himself on his father and wept over him and kissed him.H3130H5307H1H6440H1058H54012Then Joseph told the physicians who served him to embalm his father's body; so Jacob was embalmed.H3130H6680H5650H7495H2590H1H7495H2590H34783The embalming process took the usual forty days. And the Egyptians mourned his death for seventy days.H705H3117H4390H4390H3117H2590H4714H1058H7657H31174When the period of mourning was over, Joseph approached Pharaoh's advisers and said, "Please do me this favor and speak to Pharaoh on my behalf.H3117H1068H5674H3130H1696H1004H6547H559H4672H2580H5869H1696H241H6547H5595Tell him that my father made me swear an oath. He said to me, 'Listen, I am about to die. Take my body back to the land of Canaan, and bury me in the tomb I prepared for myself.' So please allow me to go and bury my father. After his burial, I will return without delay."H1H7650H559H2009H4191H6913H3738H776H3667H6912H5927H6912H1H77256Pharaoh agreed to Joseph's request. "Go and bury your father, as he made you promise," he said.H6547H559H5927H6912H1H76507So Joseph went up to bury his father. He was accompanied by all of Pharaoh's officials, all the senior members of Pharaoh's household, and all the senior officers of Egypt.H3130H5927H6912H1H5927H5650H6547H2205H1004H2205H776H47148Joseph also took his entire household and his brothers and their households. But they left their little children and flocks and herds in the land of Goshen.H1004H3130H251H1H1004H2945H6629H1241H5800H776H16579A great number of chariots and charioteers accompanied Joseph.H5927H7393H6571H3966H3515H426410When they arrived at the threshing floor of Atad, near the Jordan River, they held a very great and solemn memorial service, with a seven-day period of mourning for Joseph's father.H935H1637H329H5676H3383H5594H1419H3966H3515H4553H6213H60H1H7651H311711The local residents, the Canaanites, watched them mourning at the threshing floor of Atad. Then they renamed that place (which is near the Jordan) Abel-mizraim, for they said, "This is a place of deep mourning for these Egyptians."H3427H776H3669H7200H60H1637H329H559H3515H60H4714H8034H7121H67H5676H338312So Jacob's sons did as he had commanded them.H1121H6213H668013They carried his body to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre. This is the cave that Abraham had bought as a permanent burial site from Ephron the Hittite.H1121H5375H776H3667H6912H4631H7704H4375H85H7069H7704H272H6913H6085H2850H6440H4471
Joseph Reassures His Brothers
14After burying Jacob, Joseph returned to Egypt with his brothers and all who had accompanied him to his father's burial.H3130H7725H4714H251H5927H6912H1H310H6912H115But now that their father was dead, Joseph's brothers became fearful. "Now Joseph will show his anger and pay us back for all the wrong we did to him," they said.H3130H251H7200H1H4191H559H3130H3863H7852H7725H7725H7451H158016So they sent this message to Joseph: "Before your father died, he instructed usH6680H3130H559H1H6680H6440H4194H55917to say to you: 'Please forgive your brothers for the great wrong they did to you—for their sin in treating you so cruelly.' So we, the servants of the God of your father, beg you to forgive our sin." When Joseph received the message, he broke down and wept.H559H3130H5375H577H6588H251H2403H1580H7451H5375H6588H5650H430H1H3130H1058H169618Then his brothers came and threw themselves down before Joseph. "Look, we are your slaves!" they said.H251H3212H5307H6440H559H565019But Joseph replied, "Don't be afraid of me. Am I God, that I can punish you?H3130H559H3372H43020You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people.H2803H7451H430H2803H2896H4616H6213H3117H2421H7227H5971H242121No, don't be afraid. I will continue to take care of you and your children." So he reassured them by speaking kindly to them.H3372H3557H2945H5162H1696H3820
The Death of Joseph
22So Joseph and his brothers and their families continued to live in Egypt. Joseph lived to the age of 110.H3130H3427H4714H1H1004H3130H2421H3967H6235H814123He lived to see three generations of descendants of his son Ephraim, and he lived to see the birth of the children of Manasseh's son Makir, whom he claimed as his own.H3130H7200H669H1121H8029H1121H4353H1121H4519H3205H3130H129024"Soon I will die," Joseph told his brothers, "but God will surely come to help you and lead you out of this land of Egypt. He will bring you back to the land he solemnly promised to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob."H3130H559H251H4191H430H6485H6485H5927H776H776H7650H85H3327H329025Then Joseph made the sons of Israel swear an oath, and he said, "When God comes to help you and lead you back, you must take my bones with you."H3130H7650H1121H3478H559H430H6485H6485H5927H6106H208826So Joseph died at the age of 110. The Egyptians embalmed him, and his body was placed in a coffin in Egypt.H3130H4191H3967H6235H8141H1121H2590H3455H727H4714
16[A psalm of David.] Keep me safe, O God, for I have come to you for refuge.H4387H1732H8104H410H26202I said to the LORD, "You are my Master! Every good thing I have comes from you."H559H3068H136H28963The godly people in the land are my true heroes! I take pleasure in them!H6918H1992H776H117H26564Troubles multiply for those who chase after other gods. I will not take part in their sacrifices of blood or even speak the names of their gods.H6094H7235H4116H312H5262H1818H5258H1077H5375H8034H81935LORD, you alone are my inheritance, my cup of blessing. You guard all that is mine.H3068H4490H2506H3563H8551H14866The land you have given me is a pleasant land. What a wonderful inheritance!H2256H5307H5273H8231H51597I will bless the LORD who guides me; even at night my heart instructs me.H1288H3068H3289H3629H3256H39158I know the LORD is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me.H7737H3068H8548H3225H41319No wonder my heart is glad, and I rejoice. My body rests in safety.H3820H8055H3519H1523H1320H7931H98310For you will not leave my soul among the dead or allow your holy one to rot in the grave.H5800H5315H7585H5414H2623H7200H784511You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever.H3045H734H2416H6440H7648H8057H3225H5273H5331
Unknown
gathered his strength and sat up in his bed.H5046
