1 Mose 48
1 Mmere bi akyi no, wɔka kyerɛɛ Yosef se, “Wʼagya yare.” Enti Yosef faa ne mmabarima baanu, Efraim ne Manase kaa ne ho kɔsraa no.
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 Bere a wɔbɔɔ Yakob amanneɛ se, “Wo ba Yosef aba wo nkyɛn rebɛsra wo” no, Yakob miaa nʼani sɔre tenaa ne mpa so.
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 Yakob ka kyerɛɛ Yosef se, “Otumfo Nyankopɔn yii ne ho adi kyerɛɛ me wɔ Lus a ɛwɔ Kanaan asase so. Ɛhɔ na ohyiraa me,
He said to Joseph, “When I was at Luz in Canaan, God Almighty appeared to me. He blessed me
4 ka kyerɛɛ me se, ‘Mɛma woawo, ama wʼase afɛe. Mɛma wʼasefo ayɛ ɔman kɛse. Mede saa asase yi bɛma wʼasefo afebɔɔ sɛ wɔn agyapade.’
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 “Ɛno nti, mede wo mma baanu a wɔwoo wɔn maa wo ansa na mereba wo nkyɛn wɔ Misraim asase so ha no bɛka me mma no ho. Efraim ne Manase bɛka me mma ho, sɛnea Ruben ne Simeon yɛ me mma no.
“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 Mma foforo biara a wobɛwo wɔn wɔ Efraim ne Manase akyi no na wɔbɛyɛ wo de. Wɔde wɔn bɛka wɔn nuanom no ho wɔ asase a wɔde bɛma wɔn sɛ wɔn agyapade no so.
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 Bere a mifi Paddan-Aram reba no, ababaa Rahel wuu wɔ ɔkwan mu ma ɛyɛɛ me yaw. Na aka akwansin kakraa bi na yɛadu Efrat. Ɛno nti, misiee no wɔ Eufrate, a wɔfrɛ no Betlehem no kwankyɛn baabi.”
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 Bere a Israel huu Yosef mmabarima no, obisae se, “Na eyinom yɛ hefo?”
When Jacob saw Joseph’s sons, he asked, “Who are these boys?”
9 Yosef buaa nʼagya se, “Wɔyɛ mmabarima a Onyankopɔn de wɔn adom me wɔ ha.” Na Israel kae se, “Fa wɔn bra mʼanim ha na minhyira wɔn.”
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 Saa bere no, esiane onyin nti, na Israel ani so ayɛ wusiwusi a onhu ade papa. Ne saa nti, Yosef de ne mma no kɔɔ ne nkyɛn pɛɛ ma ɔyɛɛ wɔn atuu, fifew wɔn ano.
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 Israel ka kyerɛɛ Yosef se, “Manna mannwene sɛ mehu wʼanim bio da, nanso hwɛ nea Onyame ayɛ. Wama me ho kwan ama mahu wo mma nso.”
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 Yosef maa wɔn so fii Israel kotodwe anim, na ɔno ara nso buu nkotodwe de nʼanim butuw fam.
Joseph took the boys from alongside Jacob’s knees. Then he bowed down with his face to the ground.
13 Ɔsɔre no, ɔde ne nsa nifa soo Efraim mu, de no gyinaa Yakob benkum so, na ɔde ne nsa benkum soo Manase mu, de no gyinaa Yakob nifa so bɛn no pɛɛ.
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 Israel teɛɛ ne nsa nifa de too Efraim a ɔyɛ akumaa no apampam, na ɔde ne nsa benkum no too Manase nso apampam. Ɛwɔ mu sɛ na Manase yɛ abakan de, nanso ɔde ne nsa benkum na ɛtoo nʼapampam.
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 Ohyiraa Yosef se, “Onyankopɔn a mʼagyanom Abraham ne Isak nantew nʼanim, ne me Nyankopɔn a ɔhwɛɛ me sɛ oguanhwɛfo de besi nnɛ no,
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 ɔsoro bɔfo a ogyee me fii ɔhaw nyinaa mu no, onhyira saa mmarimaa yi. Wɔmfa me din ne mʼagyanom, Abraham ne Isak din ntoto wɔn, na wɔn ase mfɛe wɔ asase so.”
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 Bere a Yosef huu sɛ nʼagya de ne nsa nifa ato Efraim apampam no, anyɛ no dɛ. Enti oyii nʼagya nsa nifa no fii Efraim apampam, kɔtoo Manase apampam.
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 Yosef ka kyerɛɛ nʼagya se, “Dabi, mʼagya, oyi ne mʼabakan, nti fa wo nsa nifa to nʼapampam.”
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 Nanso nʼagya ampene so kae se, “Me ba, minim saa. Ɔno nso bɛyɛ ɔman, na wayɛ ɔkɛse. Nanso ne nua kumaa no bɛyɛ ɔkɛse asen no, na nʼasefo bɛyɛ aman bebree.”
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 Enti da no, Yakob hyiraa mmarimaa no se, “Israelfo nyinaa nam mo din so behyirahyira wɔn ho wɔn ho. Wɔbɛka se, ‘Onyankopɔn behyirahyira mo, ama moakɔ so frɔmfrɔm te sɛ Efraim ne Manase.’” Saa ɔkwan yi so na Yakob fa maa Efraim bedii Manase anim.
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 Na Israel ka kyerɛɛ Yosef se, “Merebewu, nanso Onyankopɔn bɛhwɛ mo so, na wasan de mo akɔ Kanaan, mo agyanom asase so bio.
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 Wo a mprempren woabɛyɛ wo nuanom nyinaa so panyin no, mede asase a menam me afoa ne mʼagyan so gye fii Amorifo nkyɛn no rema wo.”
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.”
