Genesis 48

VULGATA	NEW AMERICAN BIBLE
1 His ita transactis, nuntiatum est Joseph quod ægrotaret pater suus : qui, assumptis duobus filiis Manasse et Ephraim, ire perrexit.	1 Some time afterward, Joseph was informed, "Your father is failing." So he took along with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim.
2 Dictumque est seni : Ecce filius tuus Joseph venit ad te. Qui confortatus sedit in lectulo.	2 When Jacob was told, "Your son Joseph has come to you," he rallied 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,	3 Jacob then said to Joseph: "God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessing 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.	4 he said, 'I will make you fertile and numerous and raise you into an assembly of tribes, and I will give this land to your descendants after you as a permanent possession.'
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.	5 Your two sons, therefore, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I joined you here, shall be mine; Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine as much as Reuben and Simeon are mine.
6 Reliquos autem quos genueris post eos, tui erunt, et nomine fratrum suorum vocabuntur in possessionibus suis.	6 Progeny born to you after them shall remain yours; but their heritage shall be recorded in the names of their two 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 juxta viam Ephratæ, quæ alio nomine appellatur Bethlehem.	7 I do this because, when I was returning from Paddan, your mother Rachel died, to my sorrow, during the journey in Canaan, while we were still a short distance from Ephrath; and I buried her there on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem)."
8 Videns autem filios ejus dixit ad eum : Qui sunt isti ?	8 When Israel saw Joseph's sons, he asked, "Who are these?"
9 Respondit : Filii mei sunt, quos donavit mihi Deus in hoc loco. Adduc, inquit, eos ad me, ut benedicam illis.	9 "They are my sons," Joseph answered his father, "whom God has given me here." "Bring them to me," said his father, "that I may bless them."
10 Oculi enim Israël caligabant præ nimia senectute, et clare videre non poterat. Applicitosque ad se, deosculatus et circumplexus eos,	10 (Now Israel's eyes were dim from age, and he could not see well.) When Joseph brought his sons close to him, he kissed and embraced them.
11 dixit ad filium suum : Non sum fraudatus aspectu tuo : insuper ostendit mihi Deus semen tuum.	11 Then Israel said to Joseph, "I never expected to see your face again, and now God has allowed me to see your descendants as well!"
12 Cumque tulisset eos Joseph de gremio patris, adoravit pronus in terram.	12 Joseph removed them from his father's knees and bowed down before him with his face to the ground.
13 Et posuit Ephraim ad dexteram suam, id est, ad sinistram Israël : Manassen vero in sinistra sua, ad dexteram scilicet patris, applicuitque ambos ad eum.	13 Then Joseph took the two, Ephraim with his right hand, to Israel's left, and Manasseh with his left hand, to Israel's right, and led them to him.
14 Qui extendens manum dexteram, posuit super caput Ephraim minoris fratris : sinistram autem super caput Manasse qui major natu erat, commutans manus.	14 But Israel, crossing his hands, put out his right hand and laid it on the head of Ephraim, although he was the younger, and his left hand on the head of Manasseh, although he was the first-born.
15 Benedixitque Jacob filiis Joseph, et ait : Deus, in cujus conspectu ambulaverunt patres mei Abraham, et Isaac ; Deus qui pascit me ab adolescentia mea usque in præsentem diem :	15 Then he blessed them with these words: "May the God in whose ways my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, The God who has been my shepherd from my birth to this day,
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.	16 The Angel who has delivered me from all harm, bless these boys That in them my name be recalled, and the names of my fathers, Abraham and Isaac, And they may become teeming multitudes upon the earth!"
17 Videns autem Joseph 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.	17 When Joseph saw that his father had laid his right hand on Ephraim's head, this seemed wrong to him; so he took hold of his father's hand, to remove it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's,
18 Dixitque ad patrem : Non ita convenit, pater : quia hic est primogenitus, pone dexteram tuam super caput ejus.	18 saying, "That is not right, father; the other one is the first-born; lay your right hand on his head!"
19 Qui renuens, ait : Scio, fili mi, scio : et iste quidem erit in populos, et multiplicabitur : sed frater ejus minor, major erit illo : et semen illius crescet in gentes.	19 But his father resisted. "I know it, son," he said, "I know. That one too shall become a tribe, and he too shall be great. Nevertheless, his younger brother shall surpass him, and his descendants shall become a multitude of nations."
20 Benedixitque eis in tempore illo, dicens : In te benedicetur Israël, atque dicetur : Faciat tibi Deus sicut Ephraim, et sicut Manasse. Constituitque Ephraim ante Manassen.	20 So when he blessed them that day and said, "By you shall the people of Israel pronounce blessings; may they say, 'God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh,'" he placed Ephraim before Manasseh.
21 Et ait ad Joseph filium suum : En ego morior, et erit Deus vobiscum, reducetque vos ad terram patrum vestrorum.	21 Then Israel said to Joseph: "I am about to die. But God will be with you and will restore you to the land of your fathers.
22 Do tibi partem unam extra fratres tuos, quam tuli de manu Amorrhæi in gladio et arcu meo.	22 As for me, I give to you, as to the one above his brothers, Shechem, which I captured from the Amorites with my sword and bow."