Genesis 48
1 His ita transactis, nunciatum est Ioseph quod ægrotaret pater suus: qui, assumptis duobus filiis Manasse et Ephraim, ire perrexit.
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 Dictumque est seni: Ecce filius tuus Ioseph venit ad te. Qui confortatus sedit in lectulo.
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 ingresso ad se ait: Deus omnipotens apparuit mihi in Luza, quæ est in Terra Chanaan: benedixitque mihi,
He said to Joseph, “When I was at Luz in Canaan, God Almighty appeared to me. He blessed me
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.
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 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.
“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 Reliquos autem quos genueris post eos, tui erunt, et nomine fratrum suorum vocabuntur in possessionibus suis.
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 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.
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 Videns autem filios eius dixit ad eum: Qui sunt isti?
When Jacob saw Joseph’s sons, he asked, “Who are these boys?”
9 Respondit: Filii mei sunt, quos donavit mihi Deus in hoc loco. Adduc, inquit, eos ad me, ut benedicam illis.
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 Oculi enim Israel caligabant præ nimia senectute, et clare videre non poterat. Applicitosque ad se, deosculatus et circumplexus eos,
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 dixit ad filium suum: Non sum fraudatus aspectu tuo: insuper ostendit mihi Deus semen tuum.
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 Cumque tulisset eos Ioseph de gremio patris, adoravit pronus in terram.
Joseph took the boys from alongside Jacob’s knees. Then he bowed down 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 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 Qui extendens manum dexteram, posuit super caput Ephraim minoris fratris: sinistram autem super caput Manasse qui maior natu erat, commutans manus.
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 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:
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 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 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 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.
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 Dixitque ad patrem: Non ita convenit, pater: quia hic est primogenitus, pone dexteram tuam super caput eius.
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 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 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 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 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 Et ait ad Ioseph filium suum: En ego morior, et erit Deus vobiscum, reducetque vos ad terram patrum vestrorum.
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 Do tibi partem unam extra fratres tuos, quam tuli de manu Amorrhæi in gladio et arcu meo.
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.”
