and he held up his father's hand, to remove it from Ephraim's head unto Manasseh's head. And Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father: for this is the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his head. 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. 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. And Israel said unto Joseph, Behold, I die: but God shall be with you, and bring you again unto the land of your fathers. 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.
And Jacob called unto his sons, and said. Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days.
Gather yourselves together, and hear, ye sons
of Jacob;
And hearken unto Israel your father.
Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my might, and the
beginning of my strength,
The excellency of dignity, and the excellency of
power:
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