Genesis 49
1 Then Jacob called for his sons and said, “Gather around so that I can tell you what will happen to you in the days to come:
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 Come together and listen, O sons of Jacob; listen to your father Israel.
Gather together and listen, O sons of Jacob. Listen to Israel, your father.
3 Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, excelling in honor, excelling in power.
Reuben, my firstborn, you are my strength and the beginning of my sorrow: first in gifts, greater in authority.
4 Uncontrolled as the waters, you will no longer excel, because you went up to your father’s bed, onto my couch, and defiled it.
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 Simeon and Levi are brothers; their swords are weapons of violence.
The brothers Simeon and Levi: vessels of iniquity waging war.
6 May I never enter their council; may I never join their assembly. For they kill men in their anger, and hamstring oxen on a whim.
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 anger, for it is strong, and their wrath, for it is cruel! I will disperse them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel.
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 shall praise you. Your hand shall be on the necks of your enemies; your father’s sons shall bow down to you.
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 young lion— my son, you return from the prey. Like a lion he crouches and lies down; like a lioness, who dares to rouse him?
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 will not depart from Judah, nor the staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes and the allegiance of the nations is his.
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 He ties his donkey to the vine, his colt to the choicest branch. He washes his garments in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes.
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 darker than wine, and his teeth are whiter than milk.
His eyes are more beautiful than wine, and his teeth whiter than milk.
13 Zebulun shall dwell by the seashore and become a harbor for ships; his border shall extend to Sidon.
Zebulun will live at the seashore and by the outpost of ships, reaching as far as Sidon.
14 Issachar is a strong donkey, lying down between the sheepfolds.
Issachar will be a strong donkey, reclining between the borders.
15 He saw that his resting place was good and that his land was pleasant, so he bent his shoulder to the burden and submitted to labor as a servant.
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 shall provide justice for his people as one of the tribes of Israel.
Dan will judge his people just like any other tribe in Israel.
17 He will be a snake by the road, a viper in the path that bites the horse’s heels so that its rider tumbles backward.
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 await Your salvation, O LORD.
I will wait for your salvation, O Lord.
19 Gad will be attacked by raiders, but he will attack their heels.
Gad, being girded, will fight before him. And he himself will be girded backward.
20 Asher’s food will be rich; he shall provide royal delicacies.
Asher: his bread will be fat, and he will provide delicacies to the kings.
21 Naphtali is a doe set free that bears beautiful fawns.
Naphtali is a stag sent forth, offering words of eloquent beauty.
22 Joseph is a fruitful vine— a fruitful vine by a spring, whose branches scale the wall.
Joseph is a growing son, a growing son and stately to behold; the daughters run back and forth on the wall.
23 The archers attacked him with bitterness; they aimed at him in hostility.
But those who held darts, provoked him, and they contend with him, and they envied him.
24 Yet he steadied his bow, and his strong arms were tempered by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, in the name of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel,
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 by the God of your father who helps you, and by the Almighty who blesses you, with blessings of the heavens above, with blessings of the depths below, with blessings of the breasts and womb.
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 have surpassed the blessings of the ancient mountains and the bounty of the everlasting hills. May they rest on the head of Joseph, on the brow of the prince of his brothers.
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 devours the prey, in the evening he divides the plunder.”
Benjamin is a ravenous wolf, in the morning he will eat the prey, and in the evening he will divide the spoil.”
28 These are the tribes of Israel, twelve in all, and this was what their father said to them. He blessed them, and he blessed each one with a suitable blessing.
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 Then Jacob instructed them, “I am about to be gathered to my people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite.
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 The cave is in the field of Machpelah near Mamre, in the land of Canaan. This is the field Abraham purchased from Ephron the Hittite as a burial site.
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 Abraham and his wife Sarah are buried, there Isaac and his wife Rebekah are buried, and there I buried Leah.
There they buried him, with his wife Sarah.” And there Isaac was buried with his wife Rebekah. There also Leah lies preserved.
32 The field and the cave that is in it were purchased from the Hittites.”
33 When Jacob had finished instructing his sons, he pulled his feet into the bed and breathed his last, and he was gathered to his people.
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.
