Jakubo unokombolela Ifureimi na Manase
1 Shule kwe tjibaka Josefa kabudziwa kuyi, “Tate babo banogwala.” Ndizo katola bakololo babe babili, Manase na Ifureimi kayenda nabo ku bali. 2 Jakubo kati abudziwa kuyi, “Nkololo wenyu Josefa wazha ku muli,” Iziraela kazwisimisa kamuka kagala pa bulawo. 3 Jakubo kati kuna Josefa, “Ndzimu Masimbawose bakaboneka kundili mu nzi we Luzi mu shango ye Kanana ngono bakandikombolela.” 4 Bakandidwa bakati, “Ndowokuthama ukabe ne mbeleko, unowobe ne bana banjinji. Ndowokuthama itjaba tje bathu, ngono ndowopa ludzi gugo shango iyeyi kube yabo nge kusingapele.”
5 Jakubo kadwilila eti, “Ndizo ngwenu wali bakololo babo babili bakazwaligwa mu Egipiti ndisathu azha ngeno babe bangu, Ifureimi na Manase banowobe bangu koga sa Rubheni na Simiyoni bali bangu. 6 Bamwe bana baungazwala shule kwabo banowobe babo. Banowolongwa mu mazina e bakulu babo kuyendidzana ne thaka yabo. 7 Ndakati ndidwa ku Padani mmeyabo Rahele bakandifila mu shango ye Kanana titji mu zila, thambo futshwanana kudwa mu Efurati. Ndizo ndakababiganya pa hwunde ye Efurati” (kodwiwa Bhetelehema).
8 Kukati Iziraela ebona bakololo ba Josefa, kabhuzwa kati, “Ndiboani ibaba?”
9 Josefa kadabila eti, “Ibaba bakololo bangu bandakapiwa ne Ndzimu muno mu Egipiti.”
Ipapo Jakubo kabe eti, “Ubazhise kundili kuti ndizo ndibakombolele.” 10 Mesho a Iziraela akabe asingatjabonesese ngokwegula, wakabe asingatjabone zubuyanana. Ndizo Josefa kasedzedza bakololo babe kuna tate babe ngono ibo bakabaputa bakabagumbatila. 11 Iziraela kati kuna Josefa, “Ndakabe ndisingakumbule kuti ndingakubona kakale, koga ngwenu Ndzimu wathama kuti ndibone bana babobo.” 12 Ipapo Josefa kabadusa pa makumbo a tate babe ngono kathigama kakotamisa nsholo uwe.
13 Josefa kabhata bana babe nge maboko, Ifureimi nge luboko gugwe gwe luji kunlingisanya nge gwe lumeshwe gwa tate babe, Manase nge lumeshwe kunlingisanya nge luji gwa tate babe ndizo kabasedzedza pa bali. 14 Koga Iziraela katambunudza luboko gugwe gwe luji kagubiga pezhugwi kwe nsholo wa Ifureimi iye wakabe ali ntjetjana, ngono lumeshwe kagubiga pezhugwi kwe nsholo wa Manase eleyanya maboko awe, Manase ndiye wakabe ali mbano. 15 Kakombolela Josefa eti,
“Ndzimu wakabe uhwiligwa ndi botate bangu, Abhurahama na Isaki,
Ndzimu iwo wakabe nlisi wangu mu bupenyu gwangu gose kuswikila ngwenu.
16 Ntumwa we kudzimu iye wakandigwila,
mu mbatsha dzose ngaakombolele balisana ibaba,
mubali zina langu ngalidwilidziwe,
ne zina la botate bangu Abhurahama na Isaki,
ngabawande babe banjinji mu shango.”
17 Josefa kati ebona tate babe bebiga luboko gwe luji pezhugwi kwe nsholo wa Ifureimi kasishathe, ndizo kabhata luboko gwa tate babe kugudusa pa nsholo wa Ifureimi kugubiga pa nsholo wa Manase. 18 Josefa kabe eti kuna tate babe, “Akuzojalo tate, mbano ndiwoyu, bigani luboko gwenyu munli.”
19 Koga tate babe bakalamba bakati, “Ndoziba, mwanangu, na iyebo unowobe itjaba tjikulukulu, kabe nkulu. Ne kwakajalo nnung'una uwe unowobe nkulu kumpinda ne ludzi gugwe gowobe tjaba.”
20 Ndizo Jakubo kabakombolela mu zhuba ilelo eti, “Baiziraela banowokombolela ndimwi beti, ‘Ndzimu ngabakuthame munge Ifureimi na Manase.’ ” Nge zila iyeyo Jakubo katungamidza Ifureimi pana Manase.
21 Ipapo Iziraela kabe eti kuna Josefa, “Imi ndofa zwangu, Ndzimu unowobe namwi ukamubgwiliza ku shango ya botate benyu. 22 Iwe ndokupa gobe limwe landisingape bakulu babo ne banung'una babo, ndokupa ntuthu we Shekemu wandakatola mu Baamori nge thumo nenge dati ne nsebe.”
Jacob Blesses Joseph's Two Sons
1 Joseph was told that his father Jacob had become very sick. So Joseph went to see him and took along his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. 2 When Joseph arrived, someone told Jacob, “Your son Joseph has come to see you.” Jacob sat up in bed, but it took almost all his strength.
3 Jacob told Joseph:
God All-Powerful appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan, where he gave me his blessing 4 and promised, “I will give you a large family with many descendants that will grow into a nation. And I am giving you this land that will belong to you and your family forever.”
5 Then Jacob went on to say:
Joseph, your two sons Ephraim and Manasseh were born in Egypt, but I accept them as my own, just as Reuben and Simeon are mine. 6 Any children you have later will be considered yours, but their inheritance will come from Ephraim and Manasseh. 7 Unfortunately, your mother Rachel died in Canaan after we had left northern Syria and before we reached Bethlehem. And I had to bury her along the way.
8-10 Jacob was very old and almost blind. He did not recognize the two boys, and so he asked Joseph, “Who are these boys?”
Joseph answered, “They are my sons. God has given them to me here in Egypt.”
“Bring them to me,” Jacob said. “I want to give them my blessing.” Joseph brought the boys to him, and he hugged and kissed them.
11 Jacob turned to Joseph and told him, “For many years I thought you were dead and that I would never see you again. But now God has even let me live to see your children.” 12 Then Joseph made his sons move away from Jacob's knees, and Joseph bowed down in front of him with his face to the ground.
13 After Joseph got up, he brought his two sons over to Jacob again. He led his younger son Ephraim to the left side of Jacob and his older son Manasseh to the right. 14 But before Jacob gave them his blessing, he crossed his arms, putting his right hand on the head of Ephraim and his left hand on the head of Manasseh. 15 Then he gave Joseph his blessing and said:
My grandfather Abraham and my father Isaac worshiped the Lord God. He has been with me all my life, 16 and his angel has kept me safe. Now I pray that he will bless these boys and that my name and the names of Abraham and Isaac will live on because of them. I ask God to give them many children and many descendants as well.
17 Joseph did not like it when he saw his father place his right hand on the head of the younger son. So he tried to move his father's right hand from Ephraim's head and place it on Manasseh. 18 Joseph said, “Father, you have made a mistake. This is the older boy. Put your right hand on him.”
19 But his father said, “Son, I know what I am doing. It's true that Manasseh's family will someday become a great nation. But Ephraim will be even greater than Manasseh, because his descendants will become many great nations.”
20 Jacob told him that in the future the people of Israel would ask God's blessings on one another by saying, “I pray for God to bless you as much as he blessed Ephraim and Manasseh.” Jacob put Ephraim's name first to show that he would be greater than Manasseh. 21 After that, Jacob said, “Joseph, you can see that I won't live much longer. But God will be with you and will lead you back to the land he promised our family long ago. 22 Meanwhile, I'm giving you the hillside I captured from the Amorites.”