Ephraim and Manasseh
1Some time later Joseph was told, “Your father is sick.” So he took his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim along with him. 2Jacob was told, “Your son Joseph has come to you.” So Israel became stronger and sat up in bed.
3Jacob said to Joseph, “The Mighty God appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan. He blessed me there. 4He said to me, ‘I am going to give you children. I will make your family very large. I will make you a community of nations. And I will give this land to your children after you. It will belong to them forever.’
5“Now then, two sons were born to you in Egypt. It happened before I came to you here. They will be counted as my own sons. Ephraim and Manasseh will belong to me, in the same way that Reuben and Simeon belong to me. 6Any children born to you after them will belong to you. Any territory they receive will come from the land that will be given to Ephraim and Manasseh. 7As I was returning from Paddan, Rachel died. It made me very sad. She died in the land of Canaan while we were still on the way. We weren’t very far away from Ephrath. So I buried her body there beside the road to Ephrath.” Ephrath was also called Bethlehem.
8Israel saw Joseph’s sons. He asked, “Who are they?”
9“They are the sons God has given me here,” Joseph said to his father.
Then Israel said, “Bring them to me. I want to give them my blessing.”
10Israel’s eyes were weak because he was old. He couldn’t see very well. So Joseph brought his sons close to him. His father kissed them and hugged them.
11Israel said to Joseph, “I never thought I’d see your face again. But now God has let me see your children too.”
12Then Joseph lifted his sons off Israel’s knees. Joseph bowed down with his face to the ground. 13He placed Ephraim on his right, toward Israel’s left hand. He placed Manasseh on his left, toward Israel’s right hand. Then he brought them close to Israel. 14But Israel reached out his right hand and put it on Ephraim’s head. He did it even though Ephraim was the younger son. He crossed his arms and put his left hand on Manasseh’s head. He did it even though Manasseh was the older son.
15Then Israel gave Joseph his blessing. He said,
“May God bless these boys.
He is the God of my grandfather Abraham and my father Isaac.
They walked faithfully with him.
He is the God who has been my shepherd
all my life right up to this day.
16He is the Angel who has saved me from all harm.
May he bless these boys.
May they be called by my name.
May they also be called by the names of my grandfather Abraham and my father Isaac.
And may the number of them greatly increase
on the earth.”
17Joseph saw his father putting his right hand on Ephraim’s head. And Joseph didn’t like it. So he took hold of his father’s hand to move it over to Manasseh’s head. 18Joseph said to him, “No, my father. Here’s my older son. Put your right hand on his head.”
19But his father wouldn’t do it. He said, “I know, my son. I know. He too will become a nation. He too will become great. But his younger brother will be greater than he is. His children after him will become a group of nations.” 20On that day, Jacob gave them his blessing. He said,
“The people of Israel will bless others in your name.
They will say, ‘May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.’ ”
So he put Ephraim ahead of Manasseh.
21Then Israel said to Joseph, “I’m about to die. But God will be with all of you. He’ll take you back to the land of your fathers. 22But to you, Joseph, I am giving more land than your brothers. I’m giving you the land I took from the Amorites. I took it with my sword and bow.”
Manassés e Efraim
1Algum tempo depois, vieram dizer a José que o pai estava doente. Então pegou nos seus dois filhos, Manassés e Efraim, e foi visitá-lo. 2Quando Jacob ouviu que José ia chegar, juntou as poucas forças que ainda tinha e sentou-se na cama; 3saudou-o assim que ele chegou: “O Deus Todo-Poderoso apareceu-me em Luz, na terra de Canaã, e abençoou-me. 4E prometeu-me: ‘Farei com que te tornes numa grande nação e darei esta terra de Canaã a ti e aos teus descendentes para sempre.’
5E agora, com respeito a estes teus dois filhos que te nasceram aqui no Egito, antes que eu para cá viesse, adotá-los-ei como se tivessem sido gerados por mim mesmo. Efraim e Manassés serão meus tal como Rúben e Simeão. 6Outros filhos que possas ainda vir a ter, esses então sim serão teus e herdarão o que tiver cabido em herança a Efraim e Manassés. 7Nunca me esquecerei de que a tua mãe Raquel morreu quando vinha ainda de Padan-Arã, a pouca distância de Efrata (Belém), e que tive de a sepultar ali, perto do caminho.”
8Então atentou para os dois rapazes: “São estes os teus dois filhos?”
9“Sim, são os dois filhos que Deus me deu aqui no Egito.” E pediu: “Aproxima-os de mim para que os abençoe.”
10Israel já via mal, por causa da sua muita idade. José trouxe-os junto do pai, que os beijou e os abraçou. 11E disse comovido: “Eu, já nem pensava tornar a ver-te sequer a ti, e agora Deus dá-me esta grande alegria de ver até os teus dois filhos!”
12Então José pegou nos moços pela mão e inclinou-se profundamente diante do pai; 13pô-los junto aos seus joelhos, Efraim à esquerda dele e Manassés à direita. 14Mas Israel, ao estender os braços para eles, cruzou-os, pondo assim as mãos sobre as cabeças dos rapazes de forma que a direita ficou sobre Efraim e a esquerda sobre Manassés, o mais velho. Sabia portanto o que fazia.
15E abençoou José:
“Que Deus, o Deus dos meus pais Abraão e Isaque,
o Deus que me sustentou e amparou durante toda a vida,
16o anjo que me livrou de todo o mal,
abençoe ricamente estes moços!
Que estes rapazes possam honrar o meu nome
e o dos meus antepassados Abraão e Isaque,
e que cresçam abundantemente em número!”
17José ficou contrariado quando viu que o pai punha a mão direita sobre Efraim. E pegou na mão do pai para a colocar em cima da cabeça de Manassés: 18“Não, pai. Não é na cabeça desse que deves pôr a mão direita. Este é que é o mais velho, por isso, é sobre ele que deves pô-la.”
19Mas o pai recusou: “Eu sei o que estou a fazer, meu filho. Manassés também se há de tornar numa grande nação, mas o mais novo será maior do que ele.”
20E abençoou os rapazes assim: “Que Israel se habitue a abençoar o seu companheiro, dizendo:
Que Deus te faça tão próspero como Efraim e como Manassés!”
E assim colocou Efraim à frente de Manassés.
21E acrescentou: “Estou a ponto de morrer, mas Deus estará contigo e levar-te-á de novo a Canaã, a terra dos teus antepassados. 22Eu dei-te em herança a belíssima terra de Siquem, que é muito melhor do que a que caberá aos teus irmãos, e que eu tomei com a minha espada aos amorreus.”
