The Byble in Englyshe that is to saye, the content of all the holye scrypture, bothe of the olde and newe Testament, truly translated after the veryte of the Hebrue and Greke textes, by the diligent studye of dyuers excellent lerned [men e]xperte in the fore[saide] tongues.

¶ Iacob lyeth speke: He despreth Ephraim and Manasses for his sonnes, and blesseth them.

CAPI. XLVIII.

AFTer these dedes it happened, that a [unspec A] messenger sayde vnto Ioseph, thy fa∣ther is sycke. And he toke with hym his two sonnes, Manasses and Ephraim. Then was it sayde vnto Iacob: beholde, thy sonne Ioseph cometh vnto the. And Israel toke his strength vnto hym, and sat vp on the bed and Iacob sayd vnto Ioseph. God almyghty appeared vnto me at * 1.1 Lus in the lande of Canaan, and blessed me, and sayde vnto me: beholde, I wyl make the growe, & wyl multi∣plye the, and wyll make a great * 1.2 nombre of people of the, and wyll gyue this lande vnto thy seede after the vnto an euerlastynge pos∣sessyon. And nowe thy two sonnes Manasses & Ephraim which were borne vnto the in the lande of Egypte, before I came to the in to Egypte, are myne: euen as Ruben & Symeō are myne. And the chyldren which thou hast gotten after them, shalbe thyne owne: & shall be called after the names of theyr brethren in [unspec B] theyr enheritaūce. And whē I came from Me sopotamia, Rahell * 1.3 dyed vpon my hand in the lande of Canaan, by the way: when there was but a felde brede to come to Ephrat. And I buried her there in the way to Ephrat. The same is Bethleem. And Israel behelde Io∣sephs sonnes & sayd: what are these? Ioseph sayde vnto his father: they are my sonnes which god hath gyuen me here. And he sayd: oh, bryng them to me, and let me blesse them. And the eyes of Israel were dym for age, so that he coulde not well se. And he broughte them to hym, & he kyssed them & enbraced thē

And Israel sayde vnto Ioseph: I had not thought to haue sene thy face, and yet loo••

God hath shewed it me and also thy seede. And Ioseph toke them awaye from his lap, [unspec C] and worshypped on the grounde before hym.

Then toke Ioseph them bothe: Ephraim with his ryght hande towarde Israels lefte hande, and manasses with his lefte hand, to∣warde Israels ryght hande, & brought them vnto hym. And Israel stretched out his right hande and layde it vpon Ephraims heade, whiche was the yonger, and his lefte hande vpon Manasses heade, gydynge his handes wysely, for Manasses was the elder. And he blessed Ioseph, & sayd: God, before whom my fathers Abraham & Isaac dyd walke, God which hath fed me all my lyfe long vnto this daye. And the angell whiche hath delyuered me from all euyl, blesse these laddes: & let my name be named in them, & the name of my fa¦thers Abraham and Isaac, & that they maye grow in to a multitude / in the myddes of the earth. When Ioseth saw that his father layd his right hande vpon the heade of Ephraim, it displeased hym. And he lyft vp his fathers [unspec D] hande, to haue remoued it from Ephraims heade vnto Manasses heade, & Ioseph sayde vnto his father: Not so my father, for this is the eldest. Put thy ryghte hande vpon his heade. And his father wolde not, but sayd: I knowe it well my sonne, I knowe it well. He shall be also a people and shall be great. But his yonger brother shall be greater then he, and his seede shall be full of people. And he blessed them that daye and sayde. In the let Israel blesse and saye. God make the as E∣phraim and as Manasses. And set Ephraim before Manasses. And Israel sayd vnto Io∣seph: beholde I dye. And God shall be with you / and bryng you agayne vnto the land of your fathers. Moreouer I haue gyuen vnto the, a porcyon of * 1.4 lande aboue thy brethren, whiche I gat out of the hande of the Amorite in my swerde and in my bowe.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Gene. 〈◊〉〈◊〉.
• * 1.2

  Gene. 46, ••
• * 1.3

  Gene. 35▪ ••▪
• * 1.4

  Iohe. iiii. a