DaySpring Hope & Encouragement Bible - Flipbook - Page 87
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G enesis 49
and the names of Abraham and Isaac.
And may their descendants multiply greatly
throughout the earth.”
17 But 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. 18 “No, my father,” he said. “This one is the firstborn. Put
your right hand on his head.”
19 But 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.”
20 So Jacob blessed the boys that day with this blessing: “The people of Is
rael 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.
21 Then 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. 22 And
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.”
Jacob’s Last Words to His Sons
Then 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.
49
2
“Come and listen, you sons of Jacob;
listen to Israel, your father.
3
“Reuben, you are my firstborn, my strength,
the child of my vigorous youth.
You are first in rank and first in power.
But 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.
4
5
6
7
8
“Simeon and Levi are two of a kind;
their weapons are instruments of violence.
May 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.
A 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.
“Judah, your brothers will praise you.
You will grasp your enemies by the neck.
48:22 Or an extra ridge of land. The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
