Genesis 48:20

¹⁸ And Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father: for this is the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his head.

¹⁹ 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.

²¹ And Israel said unto Joseph, Behold, I die: but God shall be with you, and bring you again unto the land of your fathers.

²² 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.

Here the Bible tells a story about someone else. Ask yourself what it can say to us today. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB: So that day Jacob blessed them and said: “By you shall Israel pronounce this blessing: ‘May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.’” So he put Ephraim before Manasseh.
KJV: 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.
WEB: He blessed them that day, saying, “Israel will bless in your name, saying, ‘God make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh’” He set Ephraim before Manasseh.
ASV: And he blessed them that day, saying, In thee will Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh: and he set Ephraim before Manasseh.
DARBY: And he blessed them that day, saying, In thee will Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and Manasseh! And he set Ephraim before Manasseh.
BLB: And he blessed them that day, saying, “By you Israel will bless, saying, ‘May God make you like Ephraim and like Manasseh.’” And he set Ephraim before Manasseh.

ÅB: Så velsignet han dem samme dag og sa: Ved deg skal Israel velsigne og si: Gud gjøre deg som Efra'im og som Manasse! Og han satte Efra'im foran Manasse.
OTB: Han velsignet dem den dagen og sa: "Ved deg skal Israel uttale velsignelser og si: 'Må Gud gjøre deg som Efraim og Manasse.'" Slik satte han Efraim foran Manasse.
B1930: Så velsignet han dem samme dag og sa: Ved dig skal Israel velsigne og si: Gud gjøre dig som Efra'im og som Manasse! Og han satte Efra'im foran Manasse.

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

Ruth 4:11–12
And all the people that were in the gate, and the elders, said, We are witnesses. The LORD make the woman that is come into thine house like Rachel and like Leah, which two did build the house of Israel: and do thou worthily in Ephratah, and be famous in Beth-lehem:
Read in context
Genesis 28:3
And God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a multitude of people;
Read in context
Genesis 24:60
And they blessed Rebekah, and said unto her, Thou art our sister, be thou the mother of thousands of millions, and let thy seed possess the gate of those which hate them.
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Numbers 7:48
On the seventh day Elishama the son of Ammihud, prince of the children of Ephraim, offered:
Read in context
Numbers 2:18–21
On the west side shall be the standard of the camp of Ephraim according to their armies: and the captain of the sons of Ephraim shall be Elishama the son of Ammihud.
Read in context
Numbers 13:11
Of the tribe of Joseph, namely, of the tribe of Manasseh, Gaddi the son of Susi.
Read in context
Numbers 7:54
On the eighth day offered Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur, prince of the children of Manasseh:
Read in context
Numbers 10:22–23
And the standard of the camp of the children of Ephraim set forward according to their armies: and over his host was Elishama the son of Ammihud.
Read in context