Genèse 48
1 Après cela l'on vint dire à Joseph que son père était malade; alors, prenant ses deux fils Manassé et Ephraïm, il se rendit auprès de Jacob,
Some time later, someone told Joseph, “[Hey, ] your father is ill.” When Joseph heard that, he took his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, to see his father.
2 Et l'on alla dire à Jacob: Voici ton fils Joseph qui arrive auprès de toi. À ces mots, Israël, fatigué, s'assit sur sa couche.
When someone told Jacob, “Look, your son Joseph has come to see you!” Jacob sat up on the bed, even though it was difficult for him to do that.
3 Et Jacob dit à Joseph: Mon Dieu m'est apparu à Luza, en la terre de Chanaan; il m'a béni,
He said to Joseph, “When I was at Luz in Canaan, God Almighty appeared to me. He blessed me
4 Et il m'a dit: Je te ferai croître et multiplier; je te ferai chef d'une réunion de nations; je donnerai cette terre comme héritage perpétuel à toi, et après toi à ta race.
and said to me, ‘I am going to enable you to become the father of many children. You will have many descendants, and they will become [the ancestors of] many people-groups. And I will give this land to your descendants to possess forever.’
5 Maintenant donc, tes fils Ephraïm et Manassé, qui te sont nés en Égypte avant que j'y vinsse, sont les miens tout comme Ruben et Siméon.
“And now I will consider that your two sons, who were born to you here in Egypt before I came here, will (belong to me/be as though they are my sons). Ephraim and Manasseh will be [as though they were] my sons, and they will inherit my possessions, just like my sons Reuben and Simeon [and the others] will.
6 Mais les rejetons que tu engendreras après ceux-ci seront comptés parmi les tribus de leurs frères, et on les nommera d'après l'héritage de ceux-ci.
If you later become the father of any more children, they will not be considered to be my children, but as my grandchildren, and [in Canaan] they will receive as part of what they inherit some of the same land that is in the territory that their brothers [Ephraim and Manasseh] will inherit.
7 Lorsque je revins de la Mésopotamie syrienne, ta mère, Rachel, mourut en la terre de Chanaan, comme j'étais près d'arriver à Ephratha, en suivant l'hippodrome de la terre d'Habratha, et je l'ensevelis sur le chemin de l'hippodrome: ce lieu est aujourd'hui Bethléem.
Many years ago, as I was returning from Paddan-Aram/Mesopotamia, your mother Rachel died in the Canaan region, while we were still traveling, not far from Ephrath [town]. So I buried her body there alongside the road to Ephrath [which is now called Bethlehem].”
8 Or, Israël, ayant vu les fils de Joseph, dit: Qui sont-ils?
When Jacob saw Joseph’s sons, he asked, “Who are these boys?”
9 Joseph dit à son père: Ce sont les fils que Dieu m'a donnés ici; et Jacob reprit: Amène-les-moi, que je les bénisse.
Joseph replied, “They are the sons that God has given to me here in Egypt.” Jacob said, “Bring them close to me so that I can bless them.”
10 C'est que Jacob avait les yeux affaiblis par l'âge, et il ne pouvait plus bien voir; Joseph amena les enfants à son père; celui-ci les serra dans ses bras et les baisa.
Jacob was almost blind because he was very old. He could not recognize the boys. So Joseph brought his sons close to his father, and Jacob kissed them and hugged them.
11 Israël dit alors à Joseph: Voilà que je n'ai point été privé de te revoir, et de plus Dieu m'a montré tes enfants.
Jacob said to Joseph, “I did not expect to see you again, but look at this! God has allowed me to see not only you, but he has allowed me to see your children, too!”
12 Joseph les fit avancer, et ils se prosternèrent devant Jacob la face contre terre.
Joseph took the boys from alongside Jacob’s knees. Then he bowed down with his face to the ground.
13 Or, Joseph, ayant pris ses fils, plaça l'un, Ephraïm, à sa main droite et à la gauche d'Israël, et l'autre, Manassé, à sa main gauche et à la droite d'Israël, et il les mena ainsi tout près de son père.
Then Joseph took both of the boys, putting Ephraim on his right side toward Jacob’s left hand, and putting Manasseh on his left side toward Jacob’s right hand, and brought them close to Jacob.
14 Alors, Israël étendit la main droite, et la posa sur la tête d'Ephraïm, qui était le plus jeune, et il posa la main gauche sur la tête de Manassé.
But Jacob [did not do what Joseph wanted him to do. Instead], he reached out his right hand and put it on Ephraim’s head, even though he was the younger son. He crossed his arms and put his left hand on Manasseh’s head, even though Manasseh was the older son.
15 Et les bras ainsi croisés, il les bénit et il dit: Que le Dieu devant qui mes pères Abraham et Isaac ont trouvé grâce, que le Dieu qui a pris soin de moi depuis ma jeunesse jusqu'à ce jour,
Then he (blessed/asked God to bless) Joseph and his sons, saying, “My grandfather Abraham and my father Isaac conducted their lives as God desired, and to this very day God has led me and taken care of me as a shepherd leads and cares for his sheep [MET].
16 Que l'ange qui m'a tiré de tous mes périls, bénisse ces deux enfants. En eux seront invoqués mon nom et le nom de mes pères Abraham et Isaac; qu'ils se multiplient à l'infini sur la terre.
The angel whom he sent has kept me from being harmed in any way. I pray that God will bless these boys. I pray that people will never forget about me and about Abraham and Isaac because of what God does for these boys. I pray that they will have many descendants who will live all over the earth.”
17 Or, Joseph ayant vu que son père avait posé la main droite sur la tête d'Ephraïm, en fut affligé, et il prit la main de son père pour l'ôter de la tête d'Ephraïm et la remettre sur celle de Manassé.
When Joseph saw that his father had placed his right hand on Ephraim’s head and not on Manasseh’s head, he was distressed/displeased. So he took his father’s hand to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head.
18 Et Joseph dit à son père: Ce n'est pas ainsi, père, car celui-ci est le premier-né; pose la main droite sur sa tête.
Joseph said to him, “My father, that is not right! The one on whom you put your left hand is my older son. Put your right hand on his head.”
19 Mais Jacob ne voulut pas, et il dit: Je le sais, enfant, je le sais; celui-ci pareillement sera chef de peuple, celui-ci pareillement sera glorifié, mais son frère le plus jeune sera plus grand que lui, et sa race s'étendra en plusieurs nations.
But his father refused, saying, “I know that, my son, I know what I am doing. Manasseh’s descendants will also become a people-group, and they will become important. But his younger brother’s descendants will become greater than his will. His descendants will become several nations.”
20 Et ce même jour il les bénit, et dit: En vous l'on bénira Israël, en disant: «Puisse Dieu te traiter comme Ephraïm et comme Manassé.»Il plaça ainsi Ephraïm avant Manassé.
So he blessed them both on that day, saying, “The people in Israel will use your names when they bless people. They will say, ‘We pray that God will help you as he helped Ephraim and Manasseh.’” In that way, Jacob said that Ephraim would become more important than Manasseh.
21 Israël dit ensuite à Joseph: je meurs, mais Dieu sera avec vous, et il vous reconduira en la terre de vos pères.
Then Jacob said to Joseph, “I am about to die. But I know that God will help/protect you. And some day he will take your descendants back to the land of their ancestors.
22 Et je te donne, comme part d'élite, outre ce qu'auront mes fils, Sicime, que j'ai enlevée aux Amorrhéens par mon arc et mon glaive.
And it is to you, not to your brothers, that I will give the fertile hill in the Shechem area. I captured that land from the Amor people-group, fighting them with my sword and my bow and arrows.”
