Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

133 A Song of the Ascents, by David. Lo, how good and how pleasant The dwelling of brethren -- even together!

² As the good oil on the head, Coming down on the beard, the beard of Aaron, That cometh down on the skirt of his robes,

³ As dew of Hermon -- That cometh down on hills of Zion, For there Jehovah commanded the blessing -- Life unto the age!

⁸ And Israel seeth the sons of Joseph, and saith, `Who [are] these?'

⁹ 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.'

¹⁰ 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;

¹¹ and Israel saith unto Joseph, `To see thy face I had not thought, and lo, God hath shewed me also thy seed.'

¹² And Joseph bringeth them out from between his knees, and boweth himself on his face to the earth;

¹³ 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.

¹⁴ 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.

¹⁵ 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:

¹⁶ 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.'

¹⁷ And Joseph seeth that his father setteth his right hand on the head of Ephraim, and it is wrong in his eyes, and he supporteth the hand of his father to turn it aside from off the head of Ephraim to the head of Manasseh;

¹⁸ and Joseph saith unto his father, `Not so, my father, for this [is] the first-born; set thy right hand on his head.'

¹⁹ And his father refuseth, and saith, `I have known, my son, I have known; he also becometh a people, and he also is great, and yet, his young brother is greater than he, and his seed is the fulness of the nations;'

²⁰ and he blesseth them in that day, saying, `By thee doth Israel bless, saying, God set thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh;' and he setteth Ephraim before Manasseh.

²¹ And Israel saith unto Joseph, `Lo, I am dying, and God hath been with you, and hath brought you back unto the land of your fathers;

²² and I -- I have given to thee one portion above thy brethren, which I have taken out of the hand of the Amorite by my sword and by my bow.'

²³ By faith Moses, having been born, was hid three months by his parents, because they saw the child comely, and were not afraid of the decree of the king;

²⁴ by faith Moses, having become great, did refuse to be called a son of the daughter of Pharaoh,

²⁵ having chosen rather to be afflicted with the people of God, than to have sin's pleasure for a season,

²⁶ greater wealth having reckoned the reproach of the Christ than the treasures in Egypt, for he did look to the recompense of reward;

²⁷ by faith he left Egypt behind, not having been afraid of the wrath of the king, for, as seeing the Invisible One -- he endured;

²⁸ by faith he kept the passover, and the sprinkling of the blood, that He who is destroying the first-born might not touch them.

²⁹ By faith they did pass through the Red Sea as through dry land, which the Egyptians having received a trial of, were swallowed up;