Genesis 48
1 His ita transactis, nunciatum est Ioseph quod ægrotaret pater suus: qui, assumptis duobus filiis Manasse et Ephraim, ire perrexit.
Sometime after this, Joseph was told, “Your father is sick.” So Joseph went to see him, taking with him his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim.
2 Dictumque est seni: Ecce filius tuus Ioseph venit ad te. Qui confortatus sedit in lectulo.
When Jacob was told, “Your son Joseph has come to you,” he gathered his strength and sat up in bed.
3 Et ingresso ad se ait: Deus omnipotens apparuit mihi in Luza, quæ est in Terra Chanaan: benedixitque mihi,
Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in Canaan, and he blessed me there.
4 et ait: Ego te augebo et multiplicabo, et faciam te in turbas populorum: daboque tibi terram hanc, et semini tuo post te in possessionem sempiternam.
He told me, ‘Listen! I will make you prosperous and make your descendants so numerous that you will become the ancestor of many nations, and I will give this land to your descendants to own forever.’
5 Duo ergo filii tui, qui nati sunt tibi in Terra Ægypti, antequam huc venirem ad te, mei erunt: Ephraim et Manasses, sicut Ruben et Simeon reputabuntur mihi.
I am counting as mine your two sons Ephraim and Manasseh who were born here in Egypt before I arrived, just as Reuben and Simeon are mine.
6 Reliquos autem quos genueris post eos, tui erunt, et nomine fratrum suorum vocabuntur in possessionibus suis.
Any other children you have after them will be yours, and will share their inheritance within the land of their older brothers.
7 Mihi enim, quando veniebam de Mesopotamia, mortua est Rachel in terra Chanaan in ipso itinere, eratque vernum tempus: et ingrediebar Ephratam, et sepelivi eam iuxta viam Ephratæ, quæ alio nomine appellatur Bethlehem.
I'm doing this because tragically for me when I was returning from Paddan-aram, Rachel died in Canaan some distance from Ephrath. I buried her there on the way to Ephrath” (also known as Bethlehem).
8 Videns autem filios eius dixit ad eum: Qui sunt isti?
Israel saw Jacob's sons and said, “These are your sons then?”
9 Respondit: Filii mei sunt, quos donavit mihi Deus in hoc loco. Adduc, inquit, eos ad me, ut benedicam illis.
“Yes, these are the sons God gave me here,” Joseph told his father. “Bring them over here so I can bless them,” he said.
10 Oculi enim Israel caligabant præ nimia senectute, et clare videre non poterat. Applicitosque ad se, deosculatus et circumplexus eos,
Israel's eyesight was failing because of his age and he couldn't see well, so Joseph brought them close to his father, and he kissed and hugged them.
11 dixit ad filium suum: Non sum fraudatus aspectu tuo: insuper ostendit mihi Deus semen tuum.
Israel said to Joseph, “I never thought I'd see your face again, and now God has even let me see your children!”
12 Cumque tulisset eos Ioseph de gremio patris, adoravit pronus in terram.
Joseph took his sons from between Israel's knees, and bowed low with his face to the ground.
13 Et posuit Ephraim ad dexteram suam, id est, ad sinistram Israel: Manassen vero in sinistra sua, ad dexteram scilicet patris, applicuitque ambos ad eum.
Then Joseph placed Ephraim on his right so he would be on Israel's left, and Manasseh on his left so he would be on Israel's right, and then brought them over to Israel.
14 Qui extendens manum dexteram, posuit super caput Ephraim minoris fratris: sinistram autem super caput Manasse qui maior natu erat, commutans manus.
But when Israel reached out his hands, he crossed them over and placed his right hand on Ephraim the younger son, and placed his left on Manasseh, the firstborn.
15 Benedixitque Iacob filiis Ioseph, et ait: Deus, in cuius conspectu ambulaverunt patres mei Abraham, et Isaac, Deus qui pascit me ab adolescentia mea usque in præsentem diem:
He blessed Joseph, saying, “May the God my grandfather Abraham and my father worshiped—the God who has taken care of me like a shepherd throughout my life until now,
16 Angelus, qui eruit me de cunctis malis, benedicat pueris istis: et invocetur super eos nomen meum, nomina quoque patrum meorum Abraham, et Isaac, et crescant in multitudinem super terram.
the Angel who has saved me from all kinds of trouble—may he bless these boys. May my name and the names of my grandfather Abraham and father Isaac continue through them, and may they have many descendants that spread throughout the earth.”
17 Videns autem Ioseph quod posuisset pater suus dexteram manum super caput Ephraim, graviter accepit: et apprehensam manum patris levare conatus est de capite Ephraim, et transferre super caput Manasse.
Joseph was unhappy when saw his father had put his right hand on Ephraim, so he took his father's hand to try and move it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's head.
18 Dixitque ad patrem: Non ita convenit, pater: quia hic est primogenitus, pone dexteram tuam super caput eius.
“Not like that, father, this is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head,” Joseph told him.
19 Qui renuens, ait: Scio fili mi, scio: et iste quidem erit in populos, et multiplicabitur: sed frater eius minor, maior erit illo: et semen illius crescet in gentes.
But his father refused, saying, “I know what I'm doing. Manasseh will also become an important people, but his younger brother will be greater than him, and his descendants will become a large nation.”
20 Benedixitque eis in tempore illo, dicens: In te benedicetur Israel, atque dicetur: Faciat tibi Deus sicut Ephraim, et sicut Manasse. Constituitque Ephraim ante Manassen.
So Israel blessed them that day and said: “In the future the people of Israel will use your names to give a blessing, saying, ‘May God bless you like he did Ephraim and Manasseh.’” In saying this he placed Ephraim before Manasseh.
21 Et ait ad Ioseph filium suum: En ego morior, et erit Deus vobiscum, reducetque vos ad terram patrum vestrorum.
Then Israel said to Joseph, “I'm going to die soon, but God will be with you and bring you back to the land of your fathers.
22 Do tibi partem unam extra fratres tuos, quam tuli de manu Amorrhæi in gladio et arcu meo.
I'm also giving you something in addition to what I'm giving your brothers—piece of land on the mountain slope of Shechem that I took from the Amorites with my sword and bow.”
