Mose 1 50
1 Yosef tsɔ eɖokui ƒu fofoa ƒe kukua dzi, fa avi ɖe edzi, eye wògbugbɔ nu nɛ.
Joseph leaned close to his father’s face and cried over him and kissed him.
2 Emegbe la, eɖe gbe na eƒe atikewɔlawo be woasi atike na ye fofo Israel. Ale atikewɔlawo si atike nɛ.
Joseph commanded his servants who were morticians to (embalm his father’s body/put spices on his father’s body) to (preserve it/keep it from decaying), and then wrap it with strips of cloth.
3 Atikesisi la xɔ ŋkeke blaene, eye Egipte dukɔ blibo la ƒe konyifafa xɔ ŋkeke blaadre.
So the morticians did that. It took 40 days to embalm Jacob’s body, because that is the amount of time that was always required for them to embalm a body. And the people of Egypt mourned for 70 days because of Jacob’s death.
4 Esi konyifaɣi la va yi la, Yosef te ɖe Farao ŋumewo ŋu, eye wòɖe kuku na wo be woaƒo nu na Farao na ye.
When the time of mourning was finished, Joseph said to the king’s officials, “If you are pleased with me, please take this message to the king:
5 Egblɔ na wo be, “Migblɔ na fia la be Yosef fofo na Yosef ka atam be yeatsɔ ye fofo ƒe kukua ayi Kanaanyigba dzi, eye yeaɖii ɖe afi ma. Mibia mɔfiala nam be wòaɖe mɔ mayi aɖaɖi fofonye. Mika ɖe edzi nɛ nam be matrɔ agbɔ enumake.”
‘When my father was about to die, he told me to solemnly promise that I would bury his body in Canaan, in the tomb that he himself had prepared. So please let me go up to Canaan and bury my father’s body. Then I will return.’”
6 Farao lɔ̃ hegblɔ be, “Yi nàɖi fofowò abe ale si nèka atam ene.”
After they gave the king the message, he replied, “Tell Joseph, ‘Go up and bury your father’s body, as you (swore/solemnly promised) that you would do.’”
7 Ale Yosef yi kple Farao ƒe aɖaŋudelawo kple kpeɖeŋutɔwo
So Joseph went [up to Canaan] to bury his father’s body. All of the king’s officials, all the king’s advisors, and all the elders in Egypt went with him.
8 kple Yosef nɔviŋutsuwo kple woƒe ƒometɔwo. Ke wogblẽ wo vi suewo kple woƒe lãwo ɖe Gosenyigba dzi.
His own family’s small children and their sheep and goats and their cattle stayed in the Goshen region. But all the rest of Joseph’s family and his [older] brothers [and younger brother] and his father’s family went with him.
9 Ale tasiaɖamwo kple sɔdola geɖewo kpakple ameha gã aɖe kplɔ Yosef yii.
Men riding in chariots [MTY] and on horses also went along. It was a huge group.
10 Esi woɖo Atad, teƒe si le Yɔdan tɔsisi la ƒe ɣetoɖoƒe lɔƒo, eye wòte ɖe Yeriko ŋu la, wode kusɔleme, eye wofa konyi ŋkeke adre sɔŋ le Yakob ƒe ku ta.
They went to the east side of the Jordan [River] and arrived at Atad. There was a place there where people (threshed/beat the grain to separate the wheat from the chaff.) There they mourned loudly for Jacob for a long time. Joseph performed mourning ceremonies for his father for seven days.
11 Kanaantɔwo na ŋkɔ bubuteƒe si le afi si te ɖe Yɔdan ŋu la be, Abel Mizraim si gɔmee nye “Konyifalawo tso Egipte,” elabena wogblɔ be, “Teƒe sia Egiptetɔwo fa konyi le vevie.”
When the Canaan people-group who lived there saw them mourning like that, they said, “This is a sad mourning place for the people of Egypt!” So they named the place Abel-Mizraim, [which sounds like the Hebrew words that mean ‘mourning of the Egyptians].’
12 Ale Yakob ƒe viwo wɔ nu siwo wòɖo na wo la.
Then Jacob’s sons did for him what their father had commanded.
13 Wotsɔe yi Kanaanyigba dzi, eye woɖii ɖe kpeto si le Makpela ƒe anyigba dzi si te ɖe Mamre ŋu, abɔ si Abraham ƒle le Efrɔn, Hititɔ la si be wòanye ameɖiƒe la me.
They [crossed the Jordan River and] carried Jacob’s body to Canaan. They buried it in the cave in the field at Machpelah, east of Mamre [town]. That was the field that Abraham had bought from Ephron, who was one of the Heth people-group, to use as a burial place.
14 Yosef trɔ va Egipte kple nɔviawo kpakple ame siwo katã yi wo fofo ƒe kuteƒe la.
After he had buried his father, Joseph and his [older] brothers [and younger brother] and all the others who had gone up to Canaan with him for the funeral returned to Egypt.
15 Ke esi wo fofo ku azɔ la, Yosef nɔviwo de asi vɔvɔ̃ me. Wogblɔ be, “Azɔ la, Yosef aɖo nu vɔ̃ si míewɔ ɖe eŋu la teƒe na mí.”
After Jacob died, Joseph’s brothers became worried. They realized what might happen. They said, “Suppose Joseph hates us and tries to get revenge for all the evil things that we did to him many years ago?”
16 Ale woɖo ame ɖe Yosef be, “Fofowò gblẽ ɖoɖo siawo ɖi hafi ku.
So they sent someone to tell this to Joseph for them: “Before our father died, he told us this:
17 ‘Nya si miagblɔ na Yosef lae nye: Mebia tso asiwò be nàtsɔ nɔviwòwo ƒe nu vɔ̃ kple vodada siwo wowɔ ɖe ŋuwò la ake wo.’ Azɔ míeɖe kuku, tsɔ nu vɔ̃ ke fofowò ƒe Mawu la ƒe dɔlawo.” Esi nya siawo va ɖo Yosef gbɔ la, efa avi.
‘Say to Joseph, “Please forgive your [older] brothers for the evil thing that they did to you, for their terrible sin against you, because what they did to you was very wrong.”’ So now we, who are servants of your father’s God, ask you, please forgive us for what we did to you.” But Joseph just cried when he received their message.
18 Tete nɔviawo va dze klo, de ta agu nɛ, eye wogblɔ nɛ be, “Míenye wò kluviwo.”
Then his [older] brothers themselves came and threw themselves on the ground in front of Joseph, and one of them said, “Please listen. We will just be your servants.”
19 Ke Yosef gblɔ na wo be, “Migavɔ̃ o, Mawue menye be madrɔ̃ ʋɔnu mi, ahe to na mia?
But Joseph replied to them, “Do not be afraid! [God is the one who punishes people]; (am I God?/I am not God!) [RHQ]
20 Le nye ɖeka gome la, Mawu trɔ nu si mieɖo be wòanye nu vɔ̃ la wòzu nu nyui, elabena etsɔm ɖo teƒe kɔkɔ si mele egbe la be mate ŋu aɖe ame geɖewo ƒe agbe.
As for you, yes, you wanted to do something very evil to me. But God caused something good to come from it! He wanted to save many people from dying of hunger, and that is what happened! Today they are alive!
21 Migavɔ̃ o, nye ŋutɔ makpɔ miawo kple miaƒe ƒometɔwo dzi.” Eƒo nu na wo kple gbe bɔbɔe, eye wòde dzi ƒo na wo.
So I say [again], do not be afraid! I will make sure that you and your children have enough to eat.” In that way he reassured them and made made them feel much better.
22 Ale Yosef kple nɔviawo kpakple woƒe ƒometɔwo ganɔ Egipte. Yosef xɔ ƒe alafa ɖeka kple ewo hafi ku.
Joseph lived with his father’s family in Egypt until he was 110 years old.
23 Enɔ agbe, kpɔ via Efraim ƒe viwo kple Makir, Manase ƒe vi ƒe viwo, ame siwo fena le Yosef ƒe afɔ nu.
He lived long enough to see Ephraim’s children and grandchildren. The children of Joseph’s grandson Machir, who was Manasseh’s son, were born before Joseph died, and were adopted by Joseph to be his own children [IDM].
24 Yosef gblɔ na nɔviawo be, “Esusɔ vie maku, ke Mawu ava aɖe mi tso Egiptenyigba sia dzi, eye wòakplɔ mi, miatrɔ ayi anyigba si ŋugbe wòdo na Abraham, Isak kple Yakob ƒe dzidzimeviwo la dzi.”
One day Joseph said to his [older] brothers, “I am about to die. But God will certainly (help/take care of) you. And [some day] he will lead your [descendants] up out of this land and take them to Canaan, the land that he solemnly promised to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”
25 Emegbe Yosef na Israel ƒe viwo ka atam nɛ be, “Mawu akpe ɖe mia ŋu be miatsɔ nye kukua tso afi sia ayi Kanaan.”
Then Joseph said, “When God enables you to do that, you must take my body back to Canaan.” He made his older brothers solemnly promise to do that.
26 Ale Yosef ku esi wòxɔ ƒe alafa ɖeka kple ewo. Wosi atike na eƒe kukua, eye wodee aɖaka me le Egipte.
So Joseph died in Egypt when he was 110 years old. His body was embalmed and put in a coffin there.
