Genesis 49

1 Jacob called to his sons, and said: “Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which will happen to you in the days to come.

And Jacob calls to his sons and says, “Be gathered together, and I declare to you that which happens with you in the latter end of the days.

2 Assemble yourselves, and hear, you sons of Jacob. Listen to Israel, your father.

Be assembled, and hear, sons of Jacob, And listen to your father Israel.

3 “Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, excelling in dignity, and excelling in power.

Reuben! You [are] my firstborn, My power, and beginning of my strength, The abundance of exaltation, And the abundance of strength;

4 Boiling over like water, you shall not excel, because you went up to your father’s bed, then defiled it. He went up to my couch.

Unstable as water, you are not abundant; For you have gone up your father’s bed; Then you have defiled [it]: He went up my couch!

5 “Simeon and Levi are brothers. Their swords are weapons of violence.

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

6 My soul, do not come into their council. My glory, do not be united to their assembly; for in their anger they killed men. In their self-will they hamstrung cattle.

Into their secret, do not come, O my soul! Do not be united to their assembly, O my glory; 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, your brothers will praise you. Your hand will be on the neck of your enemies. Your father’s sons will bow down before you.

Judah! Your brothers praise you! Your hand [is] on the neck of your enemies, Sons of your father bow themselves to you.

9 Judah is a lion’s cub. From the prey, my son, you have gone up. He stooped down, he crouched as a lion, as a lioness. Who will rouse him up?

A lion’s whelp [is] Judah, For prey, my son, you have gone up; He has bent, he has crouched as a lion, And as a lioness; who causes him to arise?

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

The scepter does not turn aside from Judah, And a lawgiver from between his feet, Until his Seed comes; And His [is] the obedience of peoples.

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

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

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

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

13 “Zebulun will dwell at the haven of the sea. He will be for a haven of ships. His border will be on Sidon.

Zebulun dwells at a haven of the seas, And he [is] for a haven of ships; And his side [is] to Sidon.

14 “Issachar is a strong donkey, lying down between the saddlebags.

Issachar [is] a strong donkey, Crouching between the two folds;

15 He saw a resting place, that it was good, the land, that it was pleasant. He bows his shoulder to the burden, and becomes a servant doing forced labor.

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

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

Dan judges his people, As one of the tribes of Israel;

17 Dan will be a serpent on the trail, an adder in the path, that bites the horse’s heels, so that his rider falls backward.

Dan is a serpent by the way, a viper by the path, Which is biting the horse’s heels, And its rider falls backward.

18 I have waited for your salvation, LORD.

For Your salvation I have waited, YHWH!

19 “A troop will press on Gad, but he will press on their heel.

Gad! A troop assaults him, But he assaults last.

20 “Asher’s food will be rich. He will produce royal dainties.

Out of Asher his bread [is] fat; And he gives delicacies of a king.

21 “Naphtali is a doe set free, who bears beautiful fawns.

Naphtali [is] a doe sent away, Who is giving beautiful young ones.

22 “Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine by a spring. 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 severely grieved him, shot at him, and persecuted him:

And embitter him indeed, they have striven, Indeed, archers hate him;

24 But his bow remained strong. 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 abides in strength, And strengthened are the arms of his hands By the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, From where is a shepherd, a son of Israel.

25 even by the God of your father, who will help you, by the Almighty, who will bless you, with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lies below, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb.

By the God of your father who helps you, And the Mighty One who blesses you, Blessings of the heavens from above, Blessings of the deep lying under, Blessings of breasts and womb—

26 The blessings of your father have prevailed above the blessings of my ancestors, above the boundaries of the ancient hills. They will be on the head of Joseph, on the crown of the head of him who is separated from his brothers.

Your father’s blessings have been mighty Above the blessings of my progenitors, To the limit of the perpetual heights They are for the head of Joseph, And for the crown of the one Separate [from] his brothers.

27 “Benjamin is a ravenous wolf. In the morning he will devour the prey. At evening he will divide the plunder.”

Benjamin! A wolf tears; In the morning he eats prey, And at evening he apportions spoil.”

28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father spoke to them, and blessed them. He blessed everyone according to his own blessing.

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

29 He instructed 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 commands them and says to them, “I am being gathered to 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 as a burial 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 his wife Sarah; there they buried Isaac and his wife Rebekah; and there I buried Leah);

32 the field and the cave that is therein, which was purchased from the children of Heth.”

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

33 When Jacob finished charging his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed, breathed his last breath, and was gathered to his people.

And Jacob finishes commanding his sons, and gathers up his feet to the bed, and expires, and is gathered to his people.