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Jacob Blesses Ephraim and Manasseh
48 And it happened that after these things, it was said to Joseph, “Behold, your father is ill.” And he took his two sons with him, Ephraim and Manasseh. 2 And it was told to Jacob, “Behold, your son Joseph has come to you.” Then Israel strengthened himself and he sat up in the bed. 3 Then Jacob said to Joseph, “El-Shaddai[a] appeared to me in Luz, in the land of Canaan, and blessed me, 4 and said to me, ‘Behold, I will make you fruitful and make you numerous, and will make you a company of nations. And I will give this land to your offspring after you as an everlasting possession.’ 5 And now, your two sons who were born to you in the land of Egypt before my coming to you in Egypt, are mine. Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine as Reuben and Simeon are. 6 And your children whom you father after them shall be yours. By the name of their brothers they shall be called, with respect to their inheritance. 7 As for me, when I came to Paddan-Aram Rachel died to my sorrow[b] in the land of Canaan on the way when there was still some distance to go to Ephrath. And I buried her there on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).” 8 When Israel saw the sons of Joseph he said, “Who are these?” 9 Then Joseph said to his father, “They are my sons whom God has given me here.” And he said, “Please bring them to me that I may bless them.” 10 Now the eyes of Israel were dim[c] on account of old age; he was not able to see. So he brought them near to him, and he kissed them and embraced them. 11 And Israel said to Joseph, “I did not expect to see your face and behold, God has also shown me your offspring.” 12 Then Joseph removed them from his knees and bowed down with his face to the ground. 13 And Joseph took the two of them, Ephraim at his right to the left of Israel, and Manasseh at his left to the right of Israel. And he brought them near to him. 14 And Israel stretched out his right hand and put it on the head of Ephraim (now he was the younger), and his left hand on the head of Manasseh, crossing his hands, for Manasseh was the firstborn. 15 And he blessed Joseph and said,
“The God before whom my fathers, Abraham and Isaac, walked,
The God who shepherded me all my life[d] unto this day,
16 The angel who redeemed me from all evil,
may he bless the boys.
And through them let my name be perpetuated,[e]
and the name of my fathers, Abraham and Isaac.
And let them multiply into many in the midst of the earth.
17 When Joseph saw that his father put his right hand on the head of Ephraim, he was displeased. And he took hold of his father’s hand to remove it from the head of Ephraim over to the head of Manasseh. 18 And Joseph said to his father, “Not so, my father; because this one is the firstborn. Put your right hand upon his head.” 19 But his father refused and said, “I know, my son; I know. He also shall become a people, and he also shall be great, but his younger brother shall be greater than him, and his offspring shall become a multitude of nations.” 20 So he blessed them that day, saying,
Through you Israel shall pronounce blessing, saying,
‘May God make you like Ephraim and like Manasseh.’”
So he put Ephraim before Manasseh. 21 And Israel said to Joseph, “Behold, I am about to die, but God will be with you and will bring you back to the land of your ancestors.[f] 22 And I have given to you one slope of land rather than your brothers, which I took from the hand of the Amorites by my sword and with my bow.”
Jacob Blesses His Twelve Sons
49 Then Jacob called his sons and said, “Gather together so that I can tell you what will happen with you in days to come.[g]
2 Assemble and hear, O sons of Jacob!
Listen to Israel your father!
3 Reuben, you are my firstborn,
my strength, and the firstfruit of my vigor,
excelling in rank and excelling in power.
4 Unstable[h] as water, you shall not excel any longer,
for you went up upon the bed of your father,
then defiled it. You went up upon my couch!
5 Simeon and Levi are brothers;
weapons of violence are their swords.
Let me[i] not come into their council.
6 Let not my person[j] be joined to their company.
For in their anger they killed men,
and at their pleasure they hamstrung cattle.
7 Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce,
and their wrath, for it is cruel.
I will divide them in Jacob,
and I will scatter them in Israel.
8 Judah, as for you, your brothers shall praise you.
Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies.
The sons of your father shall bow down to you.
9 Judah is a lion’s cub.
From the prey, my son, you have gone up.
He bowed down; he crouched like a lion and as a lioness.
Who shall rouse him?
10 The scepter shall not depart from Judah,
nor the ruler’s staff between his feet,
until Shiloh comes.
And to him shall be the obedience of nations.
11 Binding his donkey to the vine
and his donkey’s colt to the choice vine,
he washes his clothing in the wine
and his garment in the blood of grapes.
12 The eyes are darker than wine,
and the teeth whiter than milk.
13 Zebulun shall settle by the shore of the sea.
He shall become a haven for ships,
and his border shall be at Sidon.
14 Issachar is a strong donkey,
crouching between the sheepfolds.
15 He saw a resting place that was good,
and land that was pleasant.
So he bowed his shoulder to the burden
and became a servant of forced labor.
16 Dan shall judge his people
as one of the tribes of Israel.
17 Dan shall be a serpent on the way,
a viper on the road
that bites the heels of a horse,
so that its rider falls backward.
18 I wait for your salvation, O Yahweh.
19 Bandits shall attack Gad,
but he shall attack their heels.
20 Asher’s food is delicious,
and he shall provide from the king’s delicacies.
21 Naphtali is a doe running free
that puts forth beautiful words.
22 Joseph is the bough[k] of a fruitful vine,
a fruitful bough[l] by a spring.
His branches climb over the wall.
23 The archers[m] fiercely attacked him.
They shot arrows at him and were hostile to him.
24 But his bow remained in a steady position;
his arms[n] were made agile
by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob.
From there is the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel.
25 Because of the God of your father he will help you
and by Shaddai[o] he will bless you
with the blessings of heaven above,
blessings of the deep that crouches beneath,
blessings of the breasts and the womb.
26 The blessings of your father
are superior to the blessings of my ancestors,
to the bounty of the everlasting hills.
May they be on the head of Joseph,
and on the forehead of the prince of his brothers.
27 Benjamin is a devouring wolf,
devouring the prey in the morning,
and dividing the plunder in the evening.
The Death and Burial of Jacob
28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said to them when he blessed them, each according to their blessing. 29 Then he instructed them and said to them, “I am about to be gathered to my people. Bury me among my ancestors[p] in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, 30 in the cave that is in the field of Machpelah that is before[q] Mamre in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite as a burial site. 31 There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife. There they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife. And there I buried Leah— 32 the purchase of the field and the cave which was in it from the Hittites.” 33 When Jacob finished instructing his sons he drew his feet up to the bed. Then he took his last breath and was gathered to his people.
Many Others Healed in Galilee
29 And departing from there, Jesus went along the Sea of Galilee, and he went up on the mountain and[a] was sitting there. 30 And large crowds came to him, having with them the mute, blind, lame, crippled,[b] and many others, and they put them down at his feet, and he healed them. 31 So then the crowd was astonished when they[c] saw the mute speaking, the crippled healthy, and the lame walking, and the blind seeing, and they praised the God of Israel.
The Feeding of Four Thousand
32 And Jesus summoned his disciples and[d] said, “I have compassion on the crowd, because they have remained with me three days already and do not have anything to eat, and I do not want to send them away hungry lest they give out on the way.” 33 And the disciples said to him, “Where in this desolate place can we get[e] so much bread that such a great crowd could be satisfied?” 34 And Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” So they said, “Seven, and a few little fish.” 35 And commanding the crowd to recline for a meal on the ground, 36 he took the seven loaves and the fish and after he[f] had given thanks, he broke them[g] and began giving[h] them[i] to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 37 And they all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up what was left over of the broken pieces, seven baskets full. 38 Now those who ate were four thousand men, in addition to women and children. 39 And after he[j] sent away the crowds, he got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan.
The Signs of the Times
16 And when[k] the Pharisees and Sadducees came to test him,[l] they asked him to show them a sign from heaven. 2 So he answered and[m] said to them, “When[n] evening comes you say, ‘It will be fair weather because the sky is red,’ 3 and early in the morning, ‘Today it will be stormy weather, because the sky is red and[o] darkening.’ You know how to evaluate correctly the appearance of the sky, but you are not able to evaluate[p] the signs of the times. 4 An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, and a sign will not be given to it except the sign of Jonah!” And he left them and[q] went away.
Beware the Leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees
5 And when[r] the disciples arrived at the other side,[s] they had forgotten to take bread. 6 And Jesus said to them, “Watch out for and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees!” 7 So they were discussing this[t] among themselves, saying, “It is because we did not take bread.” 8 But knowing this,[u] Jesus said, “Why are you discussing among yourselves that you did not take bread,[v] you of little faith? 9 Do you not yet understand or do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you took up? 10 Or the seven loaves for the four thousand and how many baskets you took up? 11 How do you not understand that I did not speak to you about bread? But beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees!” 12 Then they understood that he did not say to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
God’s Blessing on the King
For the music director. A psalm of David.[a]
20 May Yahweh answer you in the day of trouble.
May the name of Jacob’s God protect[b] you.
2 May he send you help[c] from the sanctuary,
and from Zion may he sustain you.
3 May he remember all your offerings,
and your burnt offering may he regard favorably.[d]
4 May he give to you your heart’s desire,[e]
and your every plan may he fulfill. Selah
5 May we shout for joy over your victory,
and in the name of our God may we set up banners.
May Yahweh fulfill all your requests.
6 Now I know that Yahweh will help his anointed.[f]
He will answer him from his holy heaven
with the victorious power of his right hand.
7 Some boast in chariots and others in horses,[g]
but we boast in the name of Yahweh, our God.
8 They will collapse and fall,
and we will rise and stand firm.
9 Rescue,[h] O Yahweh.
Let the king answer us when we call.
Staying the Course
20 My child, be attentive to my words;
to my sayings incline your ear.
21 May they not escape from your sight;[a]
keep them in the midst of your heart.
22 For they are life to those who find them
and healing to the entire body.[b]
23 With all vigilance, keep your heart,
for from it comes the source[c] of life.
24 Remove from yourself deceitful speech,[d]
and abolish devious talk[e] from yourself.
25 May your eyes look forward[f]
and your gaze be straight before you.
26 May the path of your foot be balanced
and all your ways be sure.
27 Do not swerve right or left;
remove your foot from evil.
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