Genèse 48

1 II arriva, après ces faits, qu’on dit à Joseph: "Ton père est malade." Et il partit emmenant ses deux fils, Manassé et Éphraïm.

Now after these things, word came to Joseph that his father was ill: and he took with him his sons Manasseh and Ephraim.

2 On l’annonça à Jacob, en disant: "Voici que ton fils Joseph vient te voir." Israël recueillit ses forces et s’assit sur le lit.

And when they said to Jacob, Your son Joseph is coming to see you: then Israel, getting all his strength together, had himself lifted up in his bed.

3 Et Jacob dit à Joseph: "Le Dieu tout-puissant m’est apparu à Louz, au pays de Canaan et m’a béni.

And Jacob said to Joseph, God, the Ruler of all, came to me in a vision at Luz in the land of Canaan, and gave me his blessing,

4 Il m’a dit: ‘Je veux te faire croître et fructifier et je te ferai devenir une multitude de peuples; et je donnerai ce pays à te postérité ultérieure, comme possession perpétuelle.'

And said to me, Truly, I will make you fertile and give you increase and will make of you a great family of nations: and I will give this land to your seed after you to be their heritage for ever.

5 Eh bien! Tes deux fils, qui te sont nés au pays d’Égypte avant que je vinsse auprès de toi en Égypte, deviennent les miens; non moins que Ruben et Siméon, Éphraïm et Manassé seront à moi.

And now your two sons who came to birth in Egypt before I came to you here, are mine; Ephraim and Manasseh will be mine, in the same way as Reuben and Simeon are.

6 Quant aux enfants que tu engendrerais après eux, ils te seront attribués: ils s’appelleront du nom de leurs frères, à l’égard de leur héritage.

And any other offspring which you have after them, will be yours, and will be named after their brothers in their heritage.

7 Pour moi, quand je revins du territoire d’Aram, Rachel mourut dans mes bras au pays de Canaan pendant le voyage, lorsqu’une kibra de pays me séparait encore d’Éphrath; je l’inhumai là, sur le chemin d’Éphrath, qui est Bethléem."

And as for me, when I came from Paddan, death overtook Rachel on the way, when we were still some distance from Ephrath; and I put her to rest there on the road to Ephrath, which is Beth-lehem.

8 Israël remarqua les enfants de Joseph et il dit: "Qui sont ceux-là?"

Then Israel, looking at Joseph's sons, said, Who are these?

9 Joseph répondit à son père: "Ce sont mes fils, que Dieu m’a donnés dans ce pays." Jacob reprit: "Approche-les de moi, je te prie, que je les bénisse."

And Joseph said to his father, They are my sons, whom God has given me in this land. And he said, Let them come near me, and I will give them a blessing.

10 Or, les yeux d’Israël, appesantis par la vieillesse, ne pouvaient plus bien voir. Il fit approcher de lui ces jeunes gens, leur donna des baisers, les pressa dans ses bras;

Now because Israel was old, his eyes were no longer clear, and he was not able to see. So he made them come near to him, and he gave them a kiss, folding them in his arms.

11 et Israël dit à Joseph: "Je ne comptais pas revoir ton visage et voici que Dieu m’a fait voir jusqu’à ta postérité".

And Israel said to Joseph, I had no hope of seeing your face again, but God in his mercy has let me see you and your children.

12 Joseph les retira d’entre ses genoux et se prosterna devant lui jusqu’à terre.

Then Joseph took them from between his knees, and went down on his face to the earth.

13 Puis Joseph les prit tous deux, Éphraïm de la main droite, à gauche d’Israël et Manassé de la main gauche, à droite d’Israël; et il les fit avancer vers lui.

Then taking Ephraim with his right hand, Joseph put him at Israel's left side, and with his left hand he put Manasseh at Israel's right side, placing them near him.

14 Israël étendit la main droite, l’imposa sur la tête d’Éphraïm, qui était le plus jeune et mit sa main gauche sur la tête de Manassé; il croisa ses mains, quoique Manassé fut l’aîné.

And Israel, stretching out his right hand, put it on the head of Ephraim, the younger, and his left hand on the head of Manasseh, crossing his hands on purpose, for Manasseh was the older.

15 Il bénit Joseph, puis dit: "Que la Divinité dont mes pères, Abraham et Isaac, ont suivi les voies; que la Divinité qui a veillé sur moi depuis ma naissance jusqu’à ce jour;

And he gave Joseph a blessing, saying, May the God to whom my fathers, Abraham and Isaac, gave worship, the God who has taken care of me all my life till this day,

16 que l’ange qui m’a délivré de tout mal, bénisse ces jeunes gens! Puisse-t-il perpétuer mon nom et le nom de mes pères Abraham et Isaac! Puisse-t-il multiplier à l’infini au milieu de la contrée."

The angel who has been my saviour from all evil, send his blessing on these children: and let my name and the name of my fathers, Abraham and Isaac, be given to them; and let them become a great nation in the earth.

17 Joseph remarqua que son père posait sa main droite sur la tête d’Éphraïm et cela lui déplut; il souleva la main de son père pour la faire passer de la tête d’Éphraïm sur la tête de Manassé

Now when Joseph saw that his father had put his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it did not seem right to him; and lifting his father's hand he would have put it on the head of Manasseh.

18 et il dit à son père: "Pas ainsi, mon père! Puisque celui-ci est l’aîné, mets ta main droite sur sa tête."

And Joseph said to his father, Not so, my father, for this is the older; put your right hand on his head.

19 Son père s’y refusa et dit: "Je le sais, mon fils, je le sais; lui aussi deviendra un peuple et lui aussi sera grand: mais son jeune frère sera plus grand que lui et sa postérité formera plusieurs nations."

But his father would not, saying, I am doing it on purpose, my son; he will certainly become a nation and a great one; but his younger brother will be greater than he, and his seed will become a great family of nations.

20 Il les bénit alors et il dit: "Israël te nommera dans ses bénédictions, en disant: Dieu te fasse devenir comme Éphraïm et Manassé!" II plaça ainsi Éphraïm avant Manassé.

So he gave them his blessing that day, saying, You will be the sign of blessing in Israel, for they will say, May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh; and he put Ephraim before Manasseh.

21 Israël dit à Joseph: "Voici, je vais mourir. Dieu sera avec vous et il vous ramènera au pays de vos aïeux.

Then Israel said to Joseph, Now my death is near; but God will be with you, guiding you back to the land of your fathers.

22 Or, je te promets une portion supérieure à celle de tes frères, portion conquise sur l’Amorréen, à l’aide de mon épée et de mon arc."

And I have given you more than your brothers, even Shechem as your heritage, which I took from the Amorites with my sword and my bow.