Gen 48:1, 9-20, 1Sa 1:24, Psa 115:14-15, Jer 32:39, Mat 18:2-5, Mar 10:13 | ESV | STEP | After this , Joseph was told , Behold , your father is ill . So he took with him his two sons , Manasseh and Ephraim .

9 Joseph said to his father, ^a“They are my sons, whom God has given me here.” And he said, “Bring them to me, please, that ^bI may bless them.” 10 Now ^cthe eyes of Israel were dim with age, so that he could not see. So Joseph brought them near him, ^dand he kissed them and embraced them. 11 And Israel said to Joseph, ^e“I never expected to see your face; and behold, God has let me see your offspring also.” 12 Then Joseph removed them from his knees, and he bowed himself with his face to the earth. 13 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 him. 14 ^fAnd Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on the head of Ephraim, who was the younger, and his left hand on the head of Manasseh, ^gcrossing his hands (for Manasseh was the firstborn). 15 And he blessed Joseph and said,

“The God ^hbefore whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked,
the God who has been my shepherd all my life long to this day,
16 ⁱthe angel who has ^jredeemed me from all evil, bless the boys;
and in them let ^kmy name be carried on, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac;
and let them ^lgrow into a multitude ^{▼▼Or let them be like fish for multitude} in the midst of the earth.”
17 When Joseph saw that his father ⁿlaid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it displeased him, and he took his father’s hand to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. 18 And Joseph said to his father, “Not this way, my father; since this one is the firstborn, put your right hand on his head.” 19 But his father refused and said, ^o“I know, my son, I know. He also shall become a people, and he also shall be great. Nevertheless, ^phis younger brother shall be greater than he, and his offspring shall become a multitude ^{▼▼Hebrew fullness} of nations.” 20 So he blessed them that day, saying,

“By you Israel will pronounce blessings, saying,
^r‘God make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh.’”
Thus he put Ephraim before Manasseh.

1 Samuel 1:24

24 And when she had weaned him, ^sshe took him up with her, along with a three-year-old bull, ^{▼▼Dead Sea Scroll, Septuagint, Syriac; Masoretic Text three bulls} an ephah ^{▼▼An ephah was about 3/5 bushel or 22 liters} of flour, and a skin of wine, and she brought him to ^vthe house of the Lord at Shiloh. And the child was young.

Psalms 115:14-15

14 May the Lord ^wgive you increase,
you and your children!
15 May ^xyou be blessed by the Lord,
^ywho made heaven and earth!

Jeremiah 32:39

39 ^zI will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, ^aafor their own good and the good of their children after them.

Matthew 18:2-5

2 And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them 3 and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you ^abturn and ^acbecome like children, you ^adwill never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 ^aeWhoever humbles himself like this child is the ^afgreatest in the kingdom of heaven.

5 ^ag“Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me,

Mark 10:13

Let the Children Come to Me

13 ^ahAnd they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples ^airebuked them.