Genesis 48
1 his ita transactis nuntiatum est Ioseph quod aegrotaret pater eius qui adsumptis 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 quae 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 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 igitur filii tui qui nati sunt tibi in terra Aegypti antequam huc venirem ad te mei erunt Ephraim et Manasses sicut Ruben et Symeon 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 Mesopotamiam mortua est Rahel in terra Chanaan in ipso itinere eratque vernum tempus et ingrediebar Ephratam et sepelivi eam iuxta viam Ephratae quae alio nomine appellatur Bethleem
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 dedit 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 Israhel caligabant prae nimia senectute et clare videre non poterat adplicitosque ad se deosculatus et circumplexus
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 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 Israhel Manassen vero in sinistra sua ad dexteram scilicet patris adplicuitque 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 dextram posuit super caput Ephraim iunioris 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 Ioseph filio suo et ait Deus in cuius conspectu ambulaverunt patres mei Abraham et Isaac Deus qui pascit me ab adulescentia mea usque in praesentem 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 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 adprehensam patris manum 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 rennuens ait scio fili mi scio et iste quidem erit in populos et multiplicabitur sed frater eius iunior maior illo erit 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 ipso tempore dicens in te benedicetur Israhel 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 Amorrei 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.”
