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:
And Jacob called his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, and I will tell you what will befall you at the end of days.
2 Come together and listen, O sons of Jacob; listen to your father Israel.
Assemble yourselves, and hear, ye sons of Jacob, And 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, thou art my firstborn, My might, and the firstfruits of my vigour: Excellency of dignity, and excellency of strength.
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.
Impetuous as the waters, thou shalt have no pre-eminence; Because thou wentest up to thy father's couch: Then defiledst thou [it]: he went up to my bed.
5 Simeon and Levi are brothers; their swords are weapons of violence.
Simeon and Levi are brethren: Instruments of violence their swords.
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.
My soul, come not into their council; Mine honour, be not united with their assembly; For in their anger they slew men, And in their wantonness houghed oxen.
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 anger, for it [was] violent; And their rage, for it [was] cruel! I will divide them in Jacob, And 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 — [as to] thee, thy brethren will praise thee; Thy hand will be upon the neck of thine enemies; Thy father's children will bow down to thee.
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 young lion; From the prey, my son, thou art gone up. He stoopeth, he layeth himself down as a lion, And as a lioness: who will rouse him up?
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 sceptre will not depart from Judah, Nor the lawgiver from between his feet, Until Shiloh come, And to him will be the obedience of peoples.
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.
He bindeth his foal to the vine, And his ass's colt to the choice vine; He washeth his dress in wine, And his garment in the blood of grapes.
12 His eyes are darker than wine, and his teeth are whiter than milk.
The eyes are red with wine, And the teeth [are] white with milk.
13 Zebulun shall dwell by the seashore and become a harbor for ships; his border shall extend to Sidon.
Zebulun will dwell at the shore of the seas; Yea, he will be at the shore of the ships, And his side [toucheth] upon Sidon.
14 Issachar is a strong donkey, lying down between the sheepfolds.
Issachar is a bony ass, Crouching down between two hurdles.
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.
And he saw the rest that it was good, And the land that it was pleasant; And he bowed his shoulder to bear, And was a tributary servant.
16 Dan shall provide justice for his people as one of the tribes of Israel.
Dan will judge his people, As another of the tribes of 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.
Dan will be a serpent on the way, A horned snake on the path, Which biteth the horse's heels, So that the rider falleth backwards.
18 I await Your salvation, O LORD.
I wait for thy salvation, O Jehovah.
19 Gad will be attacked by raiders, but he will attack their heels.
Gad — troops will rush upon him; But he will rush upon the heel.
20 Asher’s food will be rich; he shall provide royal delicacies.
Out of Asher, his bread shall be fat, And he will give royal dainties.
21 Naphtali is a doe set free that bears beautiful fawns.
Naphtali is a hind let loose; He giveth goodly words.
22 Joseph is a fruitful vine— a fruitful vine by a spring, whose branches scale the wall.
Joseph is a fruitful bough; A fruitful bough by a well; [His] branches shoot over the wall.
23 The archers attacked him with bitterness; they aimed at him in hostility.
The archers have provoked him, And shot at, and hated 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,
But his bow abideth firm, And the arms of his hands are supple By the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob. From thence is the shepherd, 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.
From the God of thy father, and he will help thee; And from the Almighty, and he will bless thee — With blessings of heaven from above, With blessings of the deep that lieth under, With blessings of the breast 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 thy father surpass the blessings of my ancestors, Unto the bounds of the everlasting hills: They shall be on the head of Joseph, And on the crown of the head of him that was separated from his brethren.
27 Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; in the morning he devours the prey, in the evening he divides the plunder.”
Benjamin — [as] a wolf will he tear to pieces; In the morning he will devour the prey, And in the evening he will divide the booty.
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, and this is what their father spoke to them; and he blessed them: every one according to his blessing he blessed them.
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 charged them, and said to them, I am gathered to my people: bury me with my fathers in the cave that 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.
in the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is opposite to Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought of Ephron the Hittite along with the field for a possession of a sepulchre.
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 Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebecca his wife; and there I buried Leah.
32 The field and the cave that is in it were purchased from the Hittites.”
The purchase of the field, and of the cave that is in it, was from the children of Heth.
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 when Jacob had made an end of commanding his sons, he gathered his feet into the bed, and expired, and was gathered to his peoples.
