Genesis 48

NEW JERUSALEM	DOUAI-RHEIMS
1 Some time later, Joseph was informed, 'Your father has been taken il .' So he took with him his twosons Manasseh and Ephraim.	1 After these things, it was told Joseph that his father was sick: and he set out to go to him, taking his two sons Manasses and Ephraim.
2 When Jacob was told, 'Look, your son Joseph has come to you,' Israel, summoning his strength, satup in bed.	2 And it was told the old man: Behold I thy son Joseph cometh to thee. And being strengthened he sat on his bed.
3 'El Shaddai appeared to me at Luz in Canaan,' Jacob told Joseph, 'and he blessed me,	3 And when Joseph was come in to him, he said : God Almighty appeared to me at Lute, which is in the land of Chanaan: and he blessed me,
4 saying to me, "I shall make you fruitful and numerous, and shal make you into an assembly ofpeoples and give this country to your descendants after you, to own in perpetuity."	4 And he said : I will cause thee to increase and multiply, and I will make of thee a multitude of people: and I will give this land to thee, and to thy seed after thee for an everlasting possession.
5 Now your two sons, born to you in Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, shal be mine; Ephraim andManasseh shall be as much mine as Reuben and Simeon.	5 So thy two sons who were born to thee in the land of Egypt before I came hither to thee, shall be mine: Ephraim and Manasses shall be reputed to me as Ruben and Simeon.
6 But with regard to the children you have had since them, they shall be yours, and they shal be knownby their brothers' names for the purpose of their inheritance.	6 But the rest whom thou shalt have after them, shall be thine, and shall be called by the name of their brethren in their possessions.
7 'When I was on my way from Paddan, to my sorrow death took your mother Rachel from me inCanaan, on the journey while only a short distance from Ephrath. I buried her there on the road to Ephrath --now Bethlehem.'	7 For, when I came out of Mesopotamia, Rachel died from me in the land of Ohanaan in the very journey, and it was springtime: and I was going to Ephrata, and I buried her near the way of Ephrata, which by another name is called Bethlehem.
8 When Israel saw Joseph's two sons, he asked, 'Who are these?'	8 Then seeing his sons, he said to him: Who are these?
9 'They are my sons, whom God has given me here,' Joseph told his father. 'Then bring them to me', hesaid, 'so that I may bless them.'	9 He answered: They are my sons, whom God hath given me in this place. And he said: Bring them to me that I may bless them.
10 Now, Israel's eyes were dim with age, and he could not see. So Joseph made them come closer tohim and he kissed and embraced them.	10 For Israel's eyes were dim by reason of his great age, and he could not see clearly. And when they were brought to him, he kissed and embraced them.
11 Then Israel said to Joseph, 'I did not think I should ever see you again, and now God has let me seeyour children as wel !'	11 And said to his son: I am not deprived of seeing thee: moreover God hath shewed me thy seed.
12 Then Joseph took them from his lap and bowed to the ground.	12 And when Joseph had taken them from his father's lap, he bowed down with his face to the ground.
13 Then Joseph took the two of them, Ephraim with his right hand so that he should be on Israel's left,and Manasseh with his left hand, so that he should be on Israel's right, and brought them close to him.	13 And he set Ephraim on his right bend, that is, towards the left hand of Israel; but Manasses on his left hand, to wit, towards his father's right hand, and brought them near to him.
14 But Israel held out his right hand and laid it on the head of Ephraim, the younger, and his left on thehead of Manasseh, crossing his hands -- Manasseh was, in fact, the elder.	14 But he stretching forth his right hand, put it upon the head of Ephraim the younger brother; and the left upon the head of Manasses who was the elder, changing his hands.
15 Then he blessed Joseph saying: May the God in whose presence my fathers Abraham and Isaacwalked, the God who has been my shepherd from my birth until this day,	15 And Jacob blessed the sons of Joseph, and said: God, in whose sight my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, God that feedeth me from my youth until this day;
16 the Angel who has saved me from al harm, bless these boys, so that my name may live on in them,and the names of my ancestors Abraham and Isaac, and they grow into teeming multitudes on earth!	16 The angel that delivereth me from all evils, bless these boys: and let my name be called upon them, and the names of my fathers Abraham, and Isaac, and may they grow into a multitude upon the earth.
17 Joseph saw that his father was laying his right hand on the head of Ephraim, and this he thought waswrong, so he took his father's hand and tried to shift it from the head of Ephraim to the head of Manasseh.	17 And Joseph seeing that his father had put his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, was much displeased: and taking his father's hand he tried to lift it from Ephraims head, and to remove it to the head of Manasses.
18 Joseph protested to his father, 'Not like that, father! This one is the elder; put your right hand on hishead.'	18 And he said to his father: It should not be so, my father: for this is the firstborn, put thy right hand upon his head.
19 But his father refused. 'I know, my son, I know,' he said. 'He too shal become a people; he too wilbe great. But his younger brother wil be greater, his offspring wil be sufficient to constitute nations.'	19 But he refusing, said: I know, my son, I know: and this also shall become peoples, and shall be multiplied: but this younger brother shall be greater than he: and his seed shall grow into nations.
20 So he blessed them that day, saying: By you shal Israel bless itself, saying, 'God make you likeEphraim and Manasseh!' putting Ephraim before Manasseh.	20 And he blessed them at that time, saying: In thee shall Israel be blessed, and it shall be said: God do to thee as to Ephraim, and as to Manasses. And he set Ephraim before Manasses.
21 Then Israel said to Joseph, 'Now I am about to die. But God will be with you and take you back to theland of your ancestors.	21 And he said to Joseph his son: Behold I die, and God will be with you, and will bring you back into the land of your fathers.
22 As for me, I give you a Shechem more than your brothers, the one I took from the Amorites with mysword and bow.'	22 I give thee a portion above thy brethren, which I took out of the hand of the Amorrhite a with my sword and bow.