And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years; so the days of Jacob, the years of his life, were a hundred forty and seven years.

And the time drew near that Israel must die; and he called his son Joseph, and said unto him: “If now I have found favour in thy sight, put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me; bury me not, I pray thee, in Egypt.

But when I sleep with my fathers, thou shalt carry me out of Egypt, and bury me in their burying-place.” And he said: “I will do as thou hast said.”

And he said: “Swear unto me.” And he swore unto him. And Israel bowed down upon the bed’s head.

And it came to pass after these things, that one said to Joseph: “Behold, thy father is sick.” And he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim.

And one told Jacob, and said: “Behold, thy son Joseph cometh unto thee.” And Israel strengthened himself, and sat upon the bed.

And Jacob said unto Joseph: “God Almighty appeared unto me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me,

and said unto me: Behold, I will make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, and I will make of thee a company of peoples; and will give this land to thy seed after thee for an everlasting possession.

And now thy two sons, who were born unto thee in the land of Egypt before I came unto thee into Egypt, are mine; Ephraim and Manasseh, even as Reuben and Simeon, shall be mine.

And thy issue, that thou begettest after them, shall be thine; they shall be called after the name of their brethren in their inheritance.

And as for me, when I came from Paddan, Rachel died unto me in the land of Canaan in the way, when there was still some way to come unto Ephrath; and I buried her there in the way to Ephrath—the same is Beth-lehem.

And Israel beheld Joseph’s sons, and said: “Who are these?”

And Joseph said unto his father: “They are my sons, whom God hath given me here.” And he said: “Bring them, I pray thee, unto me, and I will bless them.”

Now the eyes of Israel were dim for age, so that he could not see. And he brought them near unto him; and he kissed them, and embraced them.

And Israel said unto Joseph: “I had not thought to see thy face; and, lo, God hath let me see thy seed also.”

And Joseph brought them out from between his knees; and he fell down on his face to the earth.

And Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel’s left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel’s right hand, and brought them near unto him.

And Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid it upon Ephraim’s head, who was the younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh’s head, guiding his hands wittingly; for Manasseh was the first-born.

And he blessed Joseph, and said: “The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God who hath been my shepherd all my life long unto this day,

the angel who hath redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named in them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.”

And when Joseph saw that his father was laying his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him, 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 first-born; 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; howbeit his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations.”

And he blessed them that day, saying: “By 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 will be with you, and bring you back 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 end of days.

Assemble yourselves, and hear, ye sons of Jacob; and hearken unto Israel your father.

Reuben, thou art my first-born, my might, and the first-fruits of my strength; the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power.

Unstable as water, have not thou the excellency; because thou wentest up to thy father’s bed; then defiledst thou it—he went up to my couch.

Simeon and Levi are brethren; weapons of violence their kinship.

Let my soul not come into their council; unto their assembly let my glory not be united; for in their anger they slew men, and in their self-will they houghed oxen.

Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce, and their wrath, for it was cruel; I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.

Judah, thee shall thy brethren praise; thy hand shall be on the neck of thine enemies; thy father’s sons shall bow down before thee.

Judah is a lion’s whelp; from the prey, my son, thou art gone up. He stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as a lioness; who shall rouse him up?

The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, as long as men come to Shiloh; and unto him shall the obedience of the peoples be.

Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass’s colt unto the choice vine; he washeth his garments in wine, and his vesture in the blood of grapes;

His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk.

Zebulun shall dwell at the shore of the sea, and he shall be a shore for ships, and his flank shall be upon Zidon.

Issachar is a large-boned ass, couching down between the sheep-folds.

For he saw a resting-place that it was good, and the land that it was pleasant; and he bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant under task-work.

Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel.

Dan shall be a serpent in the way, a horned snake in the path, that biteth the horse’s heels, so that his rider falleth backward.

I wait for Thy salvation, O LORD.

Gad—troops will raid him, but he will raid at their heel.

From Asher comes rich bread; he will provide royal delicacies.

Naphtali is a doe let loose; he brings words of beauty.

Joseph is a fruitful branch—fruitful by a spring; its branches climb over the wall.

Archers provoked him, attacked him, and hated him.

Yet his bow remained steady; his arms were strengthened by the Mighty One of Jacob—there, the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel.

From the God of your father—He will help you; from Shaddai—He will bless you: blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep below, blessings of breast and womb.

Your father’s blessings surpass those of the ancients, to the farthest hills: may they rest on Joseph’s head, on the crown of the one set apart from his brothers.

Joseph fell on his father’s face, wept over him, and kissed him.

Joseph commanded his servants, the physicians, to embalm his father; and the physicians embalmed Israel.

Forty days were completed for him (the embalming days); and Egypt wept for him seventy days.

When the mourning days passed, Joseph spoke to Pharaoh’s household: “If I found favor, please speak in Pharaoh’s hearing, saying…”

“My father made me swear: ‘I am dying—bury me in my grave in Canaan.’ Now let me go up, bury my father, and return.”

Pharaoh said: “Go up and bury your father, as he made you swear.”

Joseph went up to bury his father, and with him went Pharaoh’s servants, the elders of his house, and the elders of Egypt.

All Joseph’s household, his brothers, and his father’s house went—only their children and livestock remained in Goshen.

Chariots and horsemen also went up—an exceedingly great camp.

They came to the threshing floor of Atad beyond the Jordan and mourned bitterly; he kept seven days of mourning for his father.

The Canaanites saw the mourning and said, “This is heavy mourning for Egypt”; therefore it was called Avel-Mitzrayim.

His sons did for him exactly as he had commanded.

They carried him to Canaan and buried him in the cave of the field of Makpelah—the burial place Abraham bought from Ephron the Hittite.

After burying his father, Joseph returned to Egypt—he, his brothers, and all who went with him.

Joseph’s brothers feared: “Perhaps he hates us and will repay us for what we did.”

They sent a message to Joseph: “Your father commanded before his death, saying…”

“Please forgive your brothers’ offense and sin…” Joseph wept as they spoke.

His brothers fell before him and said, “Here we are—your servants.”

Joseph said, “Do not fear—am I in God’s place?”

You planned harm against me, but God planned it for good—so that many lives would be preserved, as it is today.

“So do not fear. I will provide for you and your little ones.” He comforted them and spoke to their hearts.

Joseph lived in Egypt—he and his father’s house; Joseph lived 110 years.

Joseph saw Ephraim’s children to the third generation; also the children of Machir son of Manasseh were born on Joseph’s knees.

Joseph said, “I am dying; but God will surely remember you and bring you up from this land to the land sworn to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”

Joseph made the children of Israel swear: “When God surely remembers you, carry up my bones from here.”

Joseph died at 110 years; they embalmed him and placed him in a coffin in Egypt.

When David’s days drew near to die, he charged Solomon his son, saying:

“I am going the way of all the earth; be strong, and be a man.”

Keep the charge of Adonai your God—walk in His ways and keep His statutes and teachings—so you may succeed in all you do and wherever you turn.

So Adonai will uphold His word: if your sons walk before Me in truth, with all heart and soul, you will not lack a man upon Israel’s throne.

You know what Joab did… he shed blood in a time of peace and put bloodguilt upon his belt and sandals.

Act according to your wisdom; do not let his gray head go down to Sheol in peace.

Show kindness to Barzillai’s sons; let them eat at your table, for they stood by me when I fled from Absalom.

And Shimei… cursed me bitterly. I swore to him by Adonai, “I will not kill you by the sword.”

Now do not hold him innocent; you are wise—you will know what to do, and bring his gray head down to Sheol with blood.

David slept with his fathers and was buried in the City of David.

The days David reigned over Israel were forty years: seven in Hebron and thirty-three in Jerusalem.

Solomon sat on his father David’s throne, and his kingdom was firmly established.