Jacob, Joseph & Egypt

And Joseph saith unto the people, `Lo, I have bought you to-day and your ground for Pharaoh; lo, seed for you, and ye have sown the ground,

and it hath come to pass in the increases, that ye have given a fifth to Pharaoh, and four of the parts are for yourselves, for seed of the field, and for your food, and for those who are in your houses, and for food for your infants.'

And they say, `Thou hast revived us; we find grace in the eyes of my lord, and have been servants to Pharaoh;'

and Joseph setteth it for a statute unto this day, concerning the ground of Egypt, that Pharaoh hath a fifth; only the ground of the priests alone hath not become Pharaoh's.

And Israel dwelleth in the land of Egypt, in the land of Goshen, and they have possession in it, and are fruitful, and multiply exceedingly;

and Jacob liveth in the land of Egypt seventeen years, and the days of Jacob, the years of his life, are an hundred and forty and seven years.

And the days of Israel are near to die, and he calleth for his son, for Joseph, and saith to him, `If, I pray thee, I have found grace in thine eyes, put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh, and thou hast done with me kindness and truth; bury me not, I pray thee, in Egypt,

and I have lain with my fathers, and thou hast borne me out of Egypt, and buried me in their burying-place.' And he saith, `I--I do according to thy word;'

and he saith, `Swear to me;' and he sweareth to him, and Israel boweth himself on the head of the bed.

And it cometh to pass, after these things, that one saith to Joseph, `Lo, thy father is sick;' and he taketh his two sons with him, Manasseh and Ephraim.

And one declareth to Jacob, and saith, `Lo, thy son Joseph is coming unto thee;' and Israel doth strengthen himself, and sit upon the bed.

And Jacob saith unto Joseph, `God Almighty hath appeared unto me, in Luz, in the land of Canaan, and blesseth me,

and saith unto me, Lo, I am making thee fruitful, and have multiplied thee, and given thee for an assembly of peoples, and given this land to thy seed after thee, a possession age-during.

`And now, thy two sons, who are born to thee in the land of Egypt, before my coming unto thee to Egypt, mine they are ; Ephraim and Manasseh, as Reuben and Simeon they are mine;

and thy family which thou hast begotten after them are thine; by the name of their brethren they are called in their inheritance.

`And I--in my coming in from Padan- Aram Rachel hath died by me in the land of Canaan, in the way, while yet a kibrath of land to enter Ephrata, and I bury her there in the way of Ephrata, which is Bethlehem.'

And Israel seeth the sons of Joseph, and saith, `Who are these?'

and Joseph saith unto his father, `They are my sons, whom God hath given to me in this place ;' and he saith, `Bring them, I pray thee, unto me, and I bless them.'

And the eyes of Israel have been heavy from age, he is unable to see; and he bringeth them nigh unto him, and he kisseth them, and cleaveth to them;

and Israel saith unto Joseph, `To see thy face I had not thought, and lo, God hath shewed me also thy seed.'

And Joseph bringeth them out from between his knees, and boweth himself on his face to the earth;

and Joseph taketh them both, Ephraim in his right hand towards Israel's left, and Manasseh in his left towards Israel's right, and bringeth them nigh to him.

And Israel putteth out his right hand, and placeth it upon the head of Ephraim, who is the younger, and his left hand upon the head of Manasseh; he hath guided his hands wisely, for Manasseh is the first-born.

And he blesseth Joseph, and saith, `God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked habitually: God who is feeding me from my being unto this day:

the Messenger who is redeeming me from all evil doth bless the youths, and my name is called upon them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and they increase into a multitude in the midst of the land.'