Genesis 49

1 And Jacob called to his sons, and said, gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the latter days.

And Jacob calleth unto his sons and saith, 'Be gathered together, and I declare to you that which doth happen with you in the latter end of the days.

2 Assemble yourselves, and hear, ye sons of Jacob, and hearken to Israel your father.

'Be assembled, and hear, sons of Jacob, And hearken unto Israel your father.

3 Reuben, thou are my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the pre-eminence of dignity, and the pre-eminence of power.

Reuben! my first-born thou, My power, and beginning of my strength, The abundance of exaltation, And the abundance of strength;

4 Boiling over as water, thou shall not have the pre-eminence, because thou went up to thy father's bed, then thou defiled it; he went up to my couch.

Unstable as water, thou art not abundant; For thou hast gone up thy father's bed; Then thou hast polluted: My couch he went up!

5 Simeon and Levi are brothers, weapons of violence are their swords.

Simeon and Levi [are] brethren! Instruments of violence — their espousals!

6 O my soul, come not thou into their council, to their assembly, my glory, be not thou united, for in their anger they slew a man, and in their self-will they hocked an ox.

Into their secret, come not, O my soul! Unto their assembly be not united, O mine honour; For in their anger they slew a man, And in their self-will eradicated a prince.

7 Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce, and their wrath, for it was cruel. I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.

Cursed [is] their anger, for [it is] fierce, And their wrath, for [it is] sharp; I divide them in Jacob, And I scatter them in Israel.

8 Judah, thy brothers shall praise thee. Thy hand shall be on the neck of thine enemies. Thy father's sons shall bow down before thee.

Judah! thou — thy brethren praise thee! Thy hand [is] on the neck of thine enemies, Sons of thy father bow themselves to thee.

9 Judah is a lion's whelp. From the prey, my son, thou have gone up. He stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as a lioness, who shall rouse him up?

A lion's whelp [is] Judah, For prey, my son, thou hast gone up; He hath bent, he hath crouched as a lion, And as a lioness; who causeth him to arise?

10 The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs, and to him shall the obedience of the peoples be.

The sceptre turneth not aside from Judah, And a lawgiver from between his feet, Till his Seed come; And his [is] the obedience of peoples.

11 Binding his foal to the vine, and his donkey's colt to the choice vine, he has washed his garments in wine, and his vesture in the blood of grapes.

Binding to the vine his ass, And to the choice vine the colt of his ass, He hath washed in wine his clothing, And in the blood of grapes his covering;

12 His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk.

Red [are] eyes with wine, And white [are] teeth with milk!

13 Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea, and he shall be for a haven of ships. And his border shall be upon Sidon.

Zebulun at a haven of the seas doth dwell, And he [is] for a haven of ships; And his side [is] unto Zidon.

14 Issachar is a strong donkey, couching down between the sheepfolds.

Issacher [is] a strong ass, Crouching between the two folds;

15 And he saw a resting place that it was good, and the land that it was pleasant. And he bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant under task work.

And he seeth rest that [it is] good, And the land that [it is] pleasant, And he inclineth his shoulder to bear, And is to tribute a servant.

16 Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel.

Dan doth judge his people, As one of the tribes of Israel;

17 Dan shall be a serpent in the way, an adder in the path, that bites the horse's heels, so that his rider falls backward.

Dan is a serpent by the way, An adder by the path, Which is biting the horse's heels, And its rider falleth backward.

18 I have waited for thy salvation, O Jehovah.

For Thy salvation I have waited, Jehovah!

19 Gad, a troop shall press upon him, but he shall press upon their heel.

Gad! a troop assaulteth him, But he assaulteth last.

20 Out of the Asher his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties.

Out of Asher his bread [is] fat; And he giveth dainties of a king.

21 Naphtali is a hind let loose. He gives goodly words.

Naphtali [is] a hind sent away, Who is giving beauteous young ones.

22 Joseph is a fruitful bough, a fruitful bough by a fountain, his branches run over the wall.

Joseph [is] a fruitful son; A fruitful son by a fountain, Daughters step over the wall;

23 The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and persecute him,

And embitter him — yea, they have striven, Yea, hate him do archers;

24 but his bow abode in strength. And the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob (From there is the shepherd, the stone of Israel),

And his bow abideth in strength, And strengthened are the arms of his hands By the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, Whence is a shepherd, a son of Israel.

25 even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee, and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that couches beneath, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb.

By the God of thy father who helpeth thee, And the Mighty One who blesseth thee, Blessings of the heavens from above, Blessings of the deep lying under, Blessings of breasts and womb; —

26 The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my forefathers to the utmost bound of the everlasting hills. They shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him who was separate from his brothers.

Thy father's blessings have been mighty Above the blessings of my progenitors, Unto the limit of the heights age-during They are for the head of Joseph, And for the crown of the one Separate [from] his brethren.

27 Benjamin is a wolf that ravens. In the morning he shall devour the prey, and at evening he shall divide the spoil.

Benjamin! a wolf teareth; In the morning he eateth prey, And at evening he apportioneth spoil.'

28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is it that their father spoke to them and blessed them; every man according to his blessing he blessed them.

All these [are] the twelve tribes of Israel, and this [is] that which their father hath spoken unto them, and he blesseth them; each according to his blessing he hath blessed them.

29 And he ordered them, and said to them, I am to be gathered to my people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite,

And he commandeth them, and saith unto them, 'I am being gathered unto my people; bury me by my fathers, at the cave which [is] in the field of Ephron the Hittite;

30 in the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite for a possession of a burying place.

in the cave which [is] in the field of Machpelah, which [is] on the front of Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite for a possession of a burying-place;

31 There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife, there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife, and there I buried Leah,

(there they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah);

32 the field and the cave that is in it, which was purchased from the sons of Heth.

the purchase of the field and of the cave which [is] in it, [is] from Sons of Heth.'

33 And when Jacob made an end of charging his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the spirit, and was gathered to his people.

And Jacob finisheth commanding his sons, and gathereth up his feet unto the bed, and expireth, and is gathered unto his people.