1 After these things were done, it was reported to Joseph that his father was sick. And taking his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim, he went directly to him.
2 And it was told to the old man, “Behold, your son Joseph is coming to you.” And being strengthened, he sat up in bed.
3 And when he had entered to him, he said: “Almighty God appeared to me at Luz, which is in the land of Canaan, and he blessed me.
4 And he said: ‘I will increase and multiply you, and I will make you influential among the people. And I will give this land to you, and to your offspring after you, as an everlasting possession.’
5 Therefore, your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came here to you, will be mine. Ephraim and Manasseh will be treated by me just like Reuben and Simeon.
6 But the remainder, whom you will conceive after them, will be yours, and they will be called by the name of their brothers among their possessions.
7 As for me, when I came from Mesopotamia, Rachel died in the land of Canaan on the very journey, and it was springtime. And I entered Ephrath and buried her next to the way of Ephrath, which by another name is called Bethlehem.”
8 Then, seeing his sons, he said to him: “Who are these?”
9 He responded, “They are my sons, whom God gave to me as a gift in this place.” “Bring them to me,” he said, “so that I may bless them.”
10 For Israel’s eyes were clouded by reason of his great age, and he was unable to see clearly. And when they were placed up against him, he kissed and embraced them.
11 And he said to his son: “I have not been cheated out of seeing you. Moreover, God has shown me your offspring.”
12 And when Joseph had taken them from his father’s lap, he reverenced prone on the ground.
13 And he placed Ephraim on his right, that is, towards the left hand of Israel. Yet truly Manasseh was on his left, namely, towards his father’s right hand. And he placed them both up against him.
14 And he, extending his right hand, placed it over the head of Ephraim, the younger brother, but the left hand was on the head of Manasseh, who was the elder, so that his hands were crossed.
15 And Jacob blessed the sons of Joseph, and he said: “God, in whose sight my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, God who pastured me from my youth until the present day,
16 the Angel, who rescues me from all evils: bless these boys. And let my name be invoked over them, and also the names of my fathers, Abraham and Isaac. And may they increase into a multitude across the earth.”
17 But Joseph, seeing that his father had placed his right hand over the head of Ephraim, took it gravely. And grasping his father’s hand, he tried to lift it from Ephraim’s head and transfer it onto the head of Manasseh.
18 And he said to his father: “It should not have come to pass this way, father. For this one is the firstborn. Place your right hand over his head.”
19 But refusing, he said: “I know, my son, I know. And this one, indeed, will be among the people and will be multiplied. But his younger brother will be greater than he. And his offspring will increase among the nations.”
20 And he blessed them at that time, saying: “In you, Israel will be blessed, and it will be said: ‘May God treat you like Ephraim, and like Manasseh.’ ” And he established Ephraim before Manasseh.
21 And he said to his son Joseph: “See, I am dying, and God will be with you, and he will lead you back to the land of your fathers.
22 I give you one part beyond that of your brothers, which I took from the hand of the Amorite with my sword and my bow.”
1 Then Jacob called his sons, and he said to them: “Gather together, so that I may announce what will happen to you in the last days.
2 Gather together and listen, O sons of Jacob. Listen to Israel, your father.
3 Reuben, my firstborn, you are my strength and the beginning of my sorrow: first in gifts, greater in authority.
4 You are being poured out like water, may you not increase. For you climbed onto your father’s bed, and you defiled his resting place.
5 The brothers Simeon and Levi: vessels of iniquity waging war.
6 Let not my soul go by their counsel, nor my glory be within their meeting. For in their fury they killed a man, and in their self-will they undermined a wall.
7 Cursed be their fury, because it was obstinate, and their indignation, because it was harsh. I will divide them in Jacob, and I will scatter them in Israel.
8 Judah, your brothers will praise you. Your hand will be at the necks of your enemies; the sons of your father will reverence you.
9 Judah is a lion’s young. You have gone up to the prey, my son. While resting, you have lain like a lion. And just like a lioness, who would rouse him?
10 The scepter from Judah and the leader from his thigh will not be taken away, until he who will be sent arrives, and he will be the expectation of Gentiles.
11 Tying his young colt to the vineyard, and his donkey, O my son, to the vine, he will wash his robe in wine, and his cloak in the blood of the grape.
12 His eyes are more beautiful than wine, and his teeth whiter than milk.
13 Zebulun will live at the seashore and by the outpost of ships, reaching as far as Sidon.
14 Issachar will be a strong donkey, reclining between the borders.
15 He saw that rest would be good, and that the land was excellent. And so he bent his shoulder to carry, and he became a servant under tribute.
16 Dan will judge his people just like any other tribe in Israel.
17 Let Dan be a snake in the way, a viper in the path, biting the hooves of horses, so that his rider may fall backward.
18 I will wait for your salvation, O Lord.
19 Gad, being girded, will fight before him. And he himself will be girded backward.
20 Asher: his bread will be fat, and he will provide delicacies to the kings.
21 Naphtali is a stag sent forth, offering words of eloquent beauty.
22 Joseph is a growing son, a growing son and stately to behold; the daughters run back and forth on the wall.
23 But those who held darts, provoked him, and they contend with him, and they envied him.
24 His bow sits in strength, and the bands of his arms and hands have been let loose by the hands of the mighty one of Jacob. From there he went forth as a pastor, the stone of Israel.
25 The God of your father will be your helper, and the Almighty will bless you with the blessings of heaven above, with the blessings of the abyss that lies beneath, with the blessings of the breasts and of the womb.
26 The blessings of your father are strengthened by the blessings of his fathers, until the desire of the hills of eternity shall arrive. May they be at the head of Joseph, and at the summit of the Nazarite, among his brothers.
27 Benjamin is a ravenous wolf, in the morning he will eat the prey, and in the evening he will divide the spoil.”
28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel. These things their father spoke to them, and he blessed each one with their proper blessings.
29 And he instructed them, saying: “I am being gathered to my people. Bury me with my fathers in the double cave, which is in the field of Ephron the Hittite,
30 opposite Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought, along with its field, from Ephron the Hittite, as a possession for burial.
31 There they buried him, with his wife Sarah.” And there Isaac was buried with his wife Rebekah. There also Leah lies preserved.
32 And having finished these commands by which he instructed his sons, he drew his feet onto the bed, and he passed away. And he was gathered to his people.
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1 Behold, the king will reign in justice, and the princes will rule in judgment.
2 And a man will be like someone hidden from the wind, who conceals himself from a storm, or like rivers of waters in a time of thirst, or like the shadow of a rock that juts out in a desert land.
3 The eyes of those who see will not be obscured, and the ears of those who hear will listen closely.
4 And the heart of the foolish will understand knowledge, and the tongue of those with impaired speech will speak quickly and plainly.
5 He who is foolish will no longer be called leader, nor will the deceitful be called greater.
6 For a foolish man speaks foolishness and his heart works iniquity in order to accomplish deception. And he speaks to the Lord deceitfully, so as to empty the soul of the hungry and to take away drink from the thirsty.
7 The tools of the deceitful are very wicked. For they have concocted plans to destroy the meek by lying words, though the poor speak judgment.
8 Yet truly, the prince will plan things that are worthy of a prince, and he will stand above the rulers.
9 You opulent women, rise up and listen to my voice! O confident daughters, play close attention to my eloquence!
10 For after a year and some days, you who are confident will be disturbed. For the vintage has been completed; the gathering will no longer occur.
11 Be stupefied, you opulent women! Be disturbed, O confident ones! Strip yourselves, and be confounded; gird yourselves at the waist.
12 Mourn over your breasts, over the delightful country, over the fruitful vineyard.
13 Thorn and brier will rise up, over the soil of my people. How much more over all the houses of gladness, over the city of exultation?
14 For the house has been forsaken. The multitude of the city has been abandoned. A darkness and a covering have been placed over its dens, even unto eternity. It will be the gladness of wild donkeys and the pasture of flocks,
15 until the Spirit is poured over us from on high. And the desert will be a fruitful field, and the fruitful field will be considered as a forest.
16 And judgment will live in solitude, and justice will be seated in a fruitful place.
17 And the work of justice will be peace. And the service of justice will be quiet and secure, forever.
18 And my people will be seated in the beauty of peacefulness, and in the tabernacles of faithfulness, and in the opulence of restfulness.
19 But hail will be in the descent of the forest, and the city will be brought exceedingly low.
20 Blessed are you who sow over any waters, sending the feet of the ox and the donkey there.
19 They prevented me in the day of my affliction: and the Lord became my protector.
20 And he brought me forth into a large place: he saved me, because he was well pleased with me.
21 And the Lord will reward me according to my justice; and will repay me according to the cleanness of my hands:
22 Because I have kept the ways of the Lord; and have not done wickedly against my God.
23 For till his judgments are in my sight: and his justices I have not put away from me.
24 And I shall be spotless with him: and shall keep myself from my iniquity.
25 And the Lord will reward me according to my justice; and according to the cleanness of my hands before his eyes.
1 The kingdom of heaven is like the father of a family who went out in early morning to lead workers into his vineyard.
2 Then, having made an agreement with the workers for one denarius per day, he sent them into his vineyard.
3 And going out about the third hour, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace.
4 And he said to them, ‘You may go into my vineyard, too, and what I will give you will be just.’
5 So they went forth. But again, he went out about the sixth, and about the ninth hour, and he acted similarly.
6 Yet truly, about the eleventh hour, he went out and found others standing, and he said to them, ‘Why have you stood here idle all day?’
7 They say to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You also may go into my vineyard.’
8 And when evening had arrived, the lord of the vineyard said to his manager, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning from the last, even to the first.’
9 And so, when those who had arrived about the eleventh hour came forward, each received a single denarius.
10 Then when the first ones also came forward, they considered that they would receive more. But they, too, received one denarius.
11 And upon receiving it, they murmured against the father of the family,
12 saying, ‘These last have worked for one hour, and you have made them equal to us, who worked bearing the weight and heat of the day.’
13 But responding to one of them, he said: ‘Friend, I caused you no injury. Did you not agree with me to one denarius?
14 Take what is yours and go. But it is my will to give to this last, just as to you.
15 And is it not lawful for me to do what I will? Or is your eye wicked because I am good?’
16 So then, the last shall be first, and the first shall be last. For many are called, but few are chosen.”
17 And Jesus, ascending to Jerusalem, took the twelve disciples aside in private and said to them:
18 Behold, we are ascending to Jerusalem, and the Son of man shall be handed over to the leaders of the priests and to the scribes. And they shall condemn him to death.
19 And they shall hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and scourged and crucified. And on the third day, he shall rise again.”
20 Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee approached him, with her sons, adoring him, and petitioning something from him.
21 And he said to her, “What do you want?” She said to him, “Declare that these, my two sons, may sit, one at your right hand, and the other at your left, in your kingdom.”
22 But Jesus, responding, said: “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink from the chalice, from which I will drink?” They said to him, “We are able.”
23 He said to them: “From my chalice, indeed, you shall drink. But to sit at my right or my left is not mine to give to you, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”
24 And the ten, upon hearing this, became indignant with the two brothers.
25 But Jesus called them to himself and said: “You know that the first ones among the Gentiles are their rulers, and that those who are greater exercise power among them.
26 It shall not be this way among you. But whoever will want to be greater among you, let him be your minister.
27 And whoever will want to be first among you, he shall be your servant,
28 even as the Son of man has not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a redemption for many.”
29 And as they were departing from Jericho, a great crowd followed him.
30 And behold, two blind men, sitting by the way, heard that Jesus was passing by; and they cried out, saying, “Lord, Son of David, take pity on us.”
31 But the crowd rebuked them to be quiet. But they cried out all the more, saying, “Lord, Son of David, take pity on us.”
32 And Jesus stood still, and he called them and said, “What do you want, that I might do for you?”
33 They said to him, “Lord, that our eyes be opened.”
34 Then Jesus, taking pity on them, touched their eyes. And immediately they saw, and they followed him.
