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Genesis Chapter 48
Joseph visits his father in his sickness, who adopts his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim, and blesses them, preferring the younger before the elder.
English (Douay-Rheims)
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 And it was told the old man: Behold thy son Joseph cometh to thee. And being strengthened, he sat on his bed.
3 And when Joseph was come in to him, he said: God almighty appeared to me at Luza, which is in the land of Chanaan, and he blessed me,
4 And 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 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 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 For, when I came out of Mesopotamia, Rachel died from me in the land of Chanaan in the very journey, and it was spring time: and I was going to Ephrata, and I buried her near the way of Ephrata, which by another name is called Bethlehem.
8 Then seeing his sons, he said to him: Who are these?
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 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 And said to his son: I am not deprived of seeing thee; moreover God hath shown me thy seed.
12 And when Joseph had taken them from his father's lap, he bowed down with his face to the ground.
13 And he set Ephraim on his right hand, 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 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 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 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 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 Ephraim's head, and to remove it to the head of Manasses.
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 he refusing, said: I know, my son, I know: and this also shall become a people, and shall be multiplied; but his younger brother shall be greater than he; and his seed shall grow into nations.
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 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 I give thee a portion above thy brethren, which I took out of the hand of the Amorrhite with my sword and bow.
Old Testament first published 1609 by the English College at Douay
New Testament first published 1582 by the English College at Rheims
Revised and Annotated 1749 by Bishop Richard Challoner
Imprimatur. +James Cardinal Gibbons, Archbishop of Baltimore, September 1, 1899
Latin (Clementine Vulgate)
1 His ita transactis, nuntiatum est Joseph quod ægrotaret pater suus: qui, assumptis duobus filiis Manasse et Ephraim, ire perrexit.
2 Dictumque est seni: Ecce filius tuus Joseph venit ad te. Qui confortatus sedit in lectulo.
3 Et ingresso ad se ait: Deus omnipotens apparuit mihi in Luza, quæ est in terra Chanaan: benedixitque mihi,
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.
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.
6 Reliquos autem quos genueris post eos, tui erunt, et nomine fratrum suorum vocabuntur in possessionibus suis.
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.
8 Videns autem filios ejus dixit ad eum: Qui sunt isti?
9 Respondit: Filii mei sunt, quos donavit mihi Deus in hoc loco. Adduc, inquit, eos ad me, ut benedicam illis.
10 Oculi enim Israël caligabant præ nimia senectute, et clare videre non poterat. Applicitosque ad se, deosculatus et circumplexus eos,
11 dixit ad filium suum: Non sum fraudatus aspectu tuo: insuper ostendit mihi Deus semen tuum.
12 Cumque tulisset eos Joseph de gremio patris, adoravit pronus in terram.
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.
14 Qui extendens manum dexteram, posuit super caput Ephraim minoris fratris: sinistram autem super caput Manasse qui major natu erat, commutans manus.
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:
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.
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.
18 Dixitque ad patrem: Non ita convenit, pater: quia hic est primogenitus, pone dexteram tuam super caput ejus.
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.
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.
21 Et ait ad Joseph filium suum: En ego morior, et erit Deus vobiscum, reducetque vos ad terram patrum vestrorum.
22 Do tibi partem unam extra fratres tuos, quam tuli de manu Amorrhæi in gladio et arcu meo.
Transcribed as part of the Clementine Vulgate Project
Please notify the original transcriber (little.mouth@soon.com) of any errors in this Latin edition
