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Blessings for Manasseh and Ephraim
48 Some time later Joseph learned that his father was very sick. So he took his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim and went to his father. 2 When Joseph arrived, someone told Jacob, also called Israel, “Your son Joseph has come to see you.” Jacob was weak. So he used all his strength and sat up on his bed.
3 Then Jacob said to Joseph, “God All-Powerful appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan. God blessed me there. 4 He said to me, ‘I will give you many children. I will make you the father of many peoples. And I will give your descendants this land forever.’ 5 Your two sons were born here in Egypt before I came. They will be counted as my own sons. Ephraim and Manasseh will be my sons just as Reuben and Simeon are my sons. 6 But if you have other children, they will be your own. But their land will be part of the land given to Ephraim and Manasseh. 7 When I came from Northwest Mesopotamia, Rachel died in the land of Canaan. We were traveling toward Ephrath. This made me very sad. I buried her there beside the road to Ephrath.” (Today Ephrath is Bethlehem.)
8 Then Israel saw Joseph’s sons. He said, “Who are these boys?”
9 Joseph said to his father, “They are my sons. God has given them to me here in Egypt.”
Israel said, “Bring your sons to me so I may bless them.”
10 At this time Israel’s eyesight was bad because he was old. So Joseph brought the boys close to him. Israel kissed the boys and put his arms around them. 11 He said to Joseph, “I thought I would never see you alive again. And now God has let me see you and also your children.” 12 Then Joseph moved his sons off Israel’s lap. Joseph bowed facedown to the ground. 13 He put Ephraim on his right side and Manasseh on his left. (So Ephraim was near Israel’s left hand, and Manasseh was near Israel’s right hand.) Joseph brought the boys close to Israel. 14 But Israel crossed his arms. He put his right hand on the head of Ephraim, who was younger. He put his left hand on the head of Manasseh. But he was the firstborn son. 15 And Israel blessed Joseph and said,
“My ancestors Abraham and Isaac served our God.
And like a shepherd God has led me all my life.
16 He was the Angel who saved me from all my troubles.
Now I pray that he will bless these boys.
May my name be known through these boys.
And may the names of my ancestors Abraham and Isaac be known through them.
May they have many descendants on the earth.”
17 Joseph saw that his father put his right hand on Ephraim’s head. Joseph didn’t like it. So he took hold of his father’s hand. He wanted to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. 18 Joseph said to his father, “You are doing it wrong, Father. Manasseh is the firstborn son. Put your right hand on his head.”
19 But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know. Manasseh will be great and have many descendants. But his younger brother will be greater. And his descendants will be enough to make a nation.”
20 So Israel blessed them that day. He said,
“When a blessing is given in Israel, they will say:
‘May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.’”
In this way he made Ephraim greater than Manasseh.
21 Then Israel said to Joseph, “Look at me. I am about to die. But God will be with you. He will take you back to the land of your fathers. 22 I have given you something that I did not give your brothers. I have given you the land of Shechem that I took from the Amorite people. I took it with my sword and my bow.”
Jacob Blesses His Sons
49 Then Jacob called his sons to him. He said, “Come here to me. I will tell you what will happen to you in the future.
2 “Come together and listen, sons of Jacob.
Listen to Israel, your father.
3 “Reuben, my first son, you are my strength.
Your birth showed I could be a father.
You have the highest position among my sons.
You are the most powerful.
4 But you are uncontrolled like water.
So you will no longer lead your brothers.
This is because you got into your father’s bed.
You shamed me by having physical relations with my slave girl.
5 “Simeon and Levi are brothers.
They used their swords to do violence.
6 I will not join their secret talks.
I will not meet with them to plan evil.
They killed men because they were angry.
And they crippled oxen just for fun.
7 May their anger be cursed, because it is too violent.
May their violence be cursed, because it is too cruel.
I will divide them up among the tribes of Jacob.
I will scatter them through all the tribes of Israel.
8 “Judah, your brothers will praise you.
You will grab your enemies by the neck.
Your brothers will bow down to you.
9 Judah is like a young lion.
You have returned from killing, my son.
Like a lion, he stretches out and lies down to rest.
No one is brave enough to wake him.
10 Men from Judah’s family will be kings.
Someone from Judah will always be on the throne.
Judah will rule until the real king comes.
And the nations will obey him.
11 He ties his donkey to a grapevine.
He ties his young donkey to the best branch.
He can afford to use wine to wash his clothes.
He even uses grape juice to wash his robes.
12 His eyes are bright from drinking wine.
His teeth are white from drinking milk.
13 “Zebulun will live near the sea.
His shore will be a safe place for ships.
His land will reach as far as Sidon.
14 “Issachar is like a strong donkey.
He lies down while carrying his load.
15 He will see his resting place is good.
He will see how pleasant his land is.
Then he will put his back to the load.
He will become a slave.
16 “Dan will rule his own people
like the other tribes in Israel.
17 Dan will be like a snake by the side of the road.
He will be like a dangerous snake lying near the path.
That snake bites a horse’s leg.
And the rider is thrown off backward.
18 “Lord, I wait for your salvation.
19 “Robbers will attack Gad.
But he will defeat them and drive them away.
20 “Asher’s land will grow much good food.
He will grow food fit for a king.
21 “Naphtali is like a female deer that runs free.
She has beautiful fawns.
22 “Joseph is like a grapevine that produces much fruit.
He is like a healthy vine watered by a spring.
He is like a vine whose branches grow over the wall.
23 Men attack him violently with arrows.
They shoot at him angrily.
24 But he aims his bow well.
His arms are made strong.
He gets his power from the Mighty God of Jacob.
He gets his strength from the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel.
25 Your father’s God helps you.
God All-Powerful blesses you.
He blesses you with rain from above.
He blesses you with water from springs below.
He blesses you with many babies born to your wives.
He blesses you with many young ones born to your animals.
26 The blessings of your father are greater
than the blessings of the oldest mountains.
They are greater than the good things of the long-lasting hills.
May these blessings rest on the head of Joseph.
May they rest on the forehead of the one who was separated from his brothers.
27 “Benjamin is like a hungry wolf.
In the morning he eats what he has caught.
In the evening he divides what he has taken.”
28 These are the 12 tribes of Israel. And this is what their father said to them. He gave each son the blessing that was right for him. 29 Then Israel gave them a command. He said, “I am about to die. Bury me with my ancestors in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite. 30 That cave is in the field of Machpelah east of Mamre. It is in the land of Canaan. Abraham bought that field from Ephron the Hittite for a burying place. 31 Abraham and Sarah his wife are buried there. Isaac and Rebekah his wife are buried there. I buried my wife Leah there. 32 The field and the cave in it were bought from the Hittite people.” 33 After Jacob finished talking to his sons, he lay down. He put his feet back on the bed, took his last breath and died.
Jesus Heals Many People
29 Then Jesus left that place and went to the shore of Lake Galilee. He went up on a hill and sat there.
30 Great crowds came to Jesus. They brought their sick with them: the lame, the blind, the crippled, the dumb and many others. They put them at Jesus’ feet, and he healed them. 31 The crowd was amazed when they saw that people who could not speak were able to speak again. The crippled were made strong again. Those who could not walk were able to walk again. The blind were able to see again. And they praised the God of Israel for this.
More Than 4,000 People Fed
32 Jesus called his followers to him and said, “I feel sorry for these people. They have been with me three days, and now they have nothing to eat. I don’t want to send them away hungry. They might faint while going home.”
33 His followers asked him, “Where can we get enough bread to feed all these people? We are far away from any town.”
34 Jesus asked, “How many loaves of bread do you have?”
They answered, “We have seven loaves and a few small fish.”
35 Jesus told the people to sit on the ground. 36 He took the seven loaves of bread and the fish and gave thanks to God for the food. Then Jesus divided the food and gave it to his followers. They gave the food to the people. 37 All the people ate and were satisfied. After this, the followers filled seven baskets with the pieces of food that were not eaten. 38 There were about 4,000 men there who ate, besides women and children. 39 After they ate, Jesus told the people to go home. He got into the boat and went to the area of Magadan.
The Leaders Ask for a Miracle
16 The Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus. They wanted to trap him. So they asked him to show them a miracle to prove that he was from God.
2 Jesus answered,[a] “When you see the sunset, you know what the weather will be. If the sky is red, then you say we will have good weather. 3 And in the morning if the sky is dark and red, then you say that it will be a rainy day. You see these signs in the sky, and you know what they mean. In the same way, you see the things that are happening now. But you don’t know their meaning. 4 Evil and sinful people ask for a miracle as a sign. But they will have no sign—only the sign of Jonah.”[b] Then Jesus left them and went away.
Guard Against Wrong Teachings
5 Jesus and his followers went across the lake. But the followers forgot to bring bread. 6 Jesus said to them, “Be careful! Guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.”
7 The followers discussed the meaning of this. They said, “Did Jesus say this because we forgot to bring bread?”
8 Jesus knew that they were talking about this. So he asked them, “Why are you talking about not having bread? Your faith is small. 9 You still don’t understand? Remember the five loaves of bread that fed the 5,000 people? And remember that you filled many baskets with bread after the people finished eating? 10 And remember the seven loaves of bread that fed the 4,000 people? Remember that you filled many baskets then also? 11 So I was not talking to you about bread. Why don’t you understand that? I am telling you to be careful and guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.” 12 Then the followers understood what Jesus meant. He was not telling them to guard against the yeast used in bread. He was telling them to guard against the teaching of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.
A Prayer for the King
For the director of music. A song of David.
20 May the Lord answer you in times of trouble.
May the God of Jacob protect you.
2 May he send you help from his Temple.
May he support you from Mount Zion.
3 May he remember all your offerings.
May he accept all your sacrifices. Selah
4 May he give you what you want.
May all your plans succeed.
5 We will shout for joy when you succeed.
We will raise a flag in the name of our God.
May the Lord give you all that you ask for.
6 Now I know the Lord helps his appointed king.
He answers him from his holy heaven.
He saves him with his strong right hand.
7 Some trust in chariots, others in horses.
But we trust the Lord our God.
8 They are overwhelmed and defeated.
But we march forward and win.
9 Lord, save the king!
Answer us when we call for help.
20 My child, pay attention to my words.
Listen closely to what I say.
21 Don’t ever forget my words.
Keep them deep within your heart.
22 These words are the secret to life for those who find them.
They bring health to the whole body.
23 Be very careful about what you think.
Your thoughts run your life.
24 Don’t use your mouth to tell lies.
Don’t ever say things that are not true.
25 Keep your eyes focused on what is right.
Keep looking straight ahead to what is good.
26 Be careful what you do.
Always do what is right.
27 Do not do anything unless it is right.
Stay away from evil.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.