Genesis 48

1 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.

Et après ces choses il arriva que l'on dit à Joseph: Voilà ton père malade. Et il prit avec lui ses deux fils, Manassé et Ephraïm.

2 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.

Et on l'annonça à Jacob en ces termes: Voici que ton fils Joseph arrive chez toi. Et Jacob recueillit ses forces et s'assit au lit.

3 He said to Joseph, “When I was at Luz in Canaan, God Almighty appeared to me. He blessed me

Et Jacob dit à Joseph: Dieu, le Tout-Puissant, m'est apparu à Luz au pays de Canaan, et m'a béni

4 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.’

et m'a dit: Voici, je veux te rendre fécond et te multiplier et te faire devenir une masse de peuples, et je donnerai ce pays-ci à ta postérité après toi en propriété éternelle.

5 “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.

Et maintenant tes deux fils qui te sont nés au pays d'Égypte avant mon arrivée chez toi au pays d'Égypte, seront miens; Ephraïm et Manassé seront miens à l'égal de Ruben et Siméon.

6 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.

Mais tes enfants que tu engendreras après eux, seront tiens; ils seront compris sous le nom de leurs frères dans le lot de ceux-ci.

7 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].”

Et quand je revenais de Mésopotamie, à mes côtés mourut Rachel dans le pays de Canaan, en route, à quelque distance d'Ephrata; et c'est là que je lui donnai la sépulture sur le chemin d'Ephrata, c'est-à-dire Bethléhem.

8 When Jacob saw Joseph’s sons, he asked, “Who are these boys?”

Alors Israël vit les deux fils de Joseph et dit: Qui sont-ils?

9 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.”

Et Joseph dit à son père: Ce sont mes fils que Dieu m'a donnés ici. Et il dit: Eh bien! amène-les-moi afin que je les bénisse.

10 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.

Or les yeux d'Israël étaient accablés par l'âge et il ne pouvait plus voir. Et il les fit approcher de lui, et il les embrassa et les étreignit.

11 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!”

Et Israël dit à Joseph: Je ne pensais pas revoir ton visage et voilà que Dieu m'a accordé de voir aussi ta postérité!

12 Joseph took the boys from alongside Jacob’s knees. Then he bowed down with his face to the ground.

Et Joseph les éloigna de ses genoux et se prosterna la face contre terre.

13 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.

Puis Joseph les prit les deux, Ephraïm à sa droite, à la gauche d'Israël, et Manassé à sa gauche, à la droite d'Israël, et il les fit approcher de lui.

14 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.

Mais Israël étendit sa main droite et la posa sur la tête d'Ephraïm qui était pourtant le cadet, et il posa sa main gauche sur la tête de Manassé; ce fut sciemment qu'il posa ainsi sa main, car Manassé était le premier-né.

15 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].

Et il bénit Joseph et dit: Dieu en la présence duquel ont marché mes pères, Abraham et Isaac, le Dieu qui a été mon berger depuis que j'existe jusqu'à ce jour,

16 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.”

l'Ange qui m'a délivré de tous les maux, bénisse ces enfants; que mon nom et le nom de mes pères, Abraham et Isaac, soient portés par eux, et qu'ils multiplient abondamment dans le pays.

17 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.

Mais Joseph ayant vu que son père posait sa main droite sur la tête d'Ephraïm en eut du déplaisir, et il prit la main de son père pour la transférer de la tête d'Ephraïm sur la tête de Manassé.

18 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.”

Et Joseph dit à son père: Non pas ainsi, mon père, car celui-ci est le premier-né, pose ta main droite sur sa tête.

19 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.”

Mais son père refusa et dit: Je le sais, mon fils, je le sais! lui aussi il deviendra un peuple, lui aussi il grandira; mais son frère cadet sera plus grand que lui, et sa postérité sera une multitude de peuples.

20 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.

Il les bénit donc ainsi ce jour-là et il dit: Israël bénira par toi et dira: Que Dieu te traite comme Ephraïm et comme Manassé! et il mit ainsi Ephraïm avant Manassé.

21 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.

Et Israël dit à Joseph: Voici, je meurs, et Dieu sera avec vous et vous ramènera au pays de vos pères,

22 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.”

je te donne de plus qu'à tes frères une portion que j'ai conquise sur les Amoréens avec mon épée et mon arc.