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 unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days.

2 Come together and listen, O sons of Jacob; listen to your father Israel.

Gather yourselves together, and hear, ye sons of Jacob; and hearken unto 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 first-born, my might, and the beginning of my strength; the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power [should be thine].

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.

Unstable as water, thou shalt not have the excellence; because thou wentest up to thy father's bed; then defiledst thou the one who ascended my couch.

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

Simeon and Levi are brethren; weapons of violence are 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.

Into their secret shall my soul not come; unto their assembly my spirit shall not be united; for in their anger they slew the man, and in their self-will they lamed the ox.

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 is fierce; and their wrath, for it is 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, thou art the one thy brothers shall praise, thy hand shall be on the neck of thy enemies; thy father's children shall bow down unto 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?

Like a lion's whelp, O Judah, from the prey, my son, thou risest: he stoopeth down, he croucheth as a lion, and as a lioness, who shall 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 shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet; until Shiloh come, and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.

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 unto the vine his foal, and to the vine-branch his ass's colt; he washeth his garments in wine, and in the blood of grapes his clothes;

12 His eyes are darker than wine, and his teeth are whiter than milk.

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

13 Zebulun shall dwell by the seashore and become a harbor for ships; his border shall extend to Sidon.

Zebulun shall dwell at the margin of the seas; and he shall be at the haven of ships; and his border shall be near to Zidon.

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

Issachar is a strong-boned ass, couching down between the stables.

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 when he saw the resting-place that it was good, and the land that it was pleasant, he bent his shoulder to bear, and became a servant unto tribute.

16 Dan shall provide justice for his people as one of the tribes of Israel.

Dan shall judge his people, as one 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 shall be a serpent by the way, an adder on the path, that biteth the horse in the heels, so that his rider falleth backward.

18 I await Your salvation, O LORD.

For thy salvation, I hope, O Lord.

19 Gad will be attacked by raiders, but he will attack their heels.

Gad, troops will band against him; but he shall wound their heel.

20 Asher’s food will be rich; he shall provide royal delicacies.

Out of Asher cometh fat bread, and he shall yield royal dainties.

21 Naphtali is a doe set free that bears beautiful fawns.

Naphtali is [like] a fleet hind; he bringeth pleasant 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 spring; the branches of which run over the wall.

23 The archers attacked him with bitterness; they aimed at him in hostility.

And they embittered his life, and they shot at him, and they hated him, the men of the arrows.

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 abode in strength, and his arm and his hands remained firm; from the hands of the mighty God of Jacob, from there thou becamest 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, who will help thee; and from the Almighty, who will bless thee, with blessings of heaven above, with blessings of the deep that coucheth beneath, with 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.

With the blessings of thy father that have excelled the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: these shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separated from his brothers.

27 Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; in the morning he devours the prey, in the evening he divides the plunder.”

Benjamin shall be as a wolf that rendeth: in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at evening he shall 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 tribes of Israel, twelve in number; and this is what their father spoke unto them, and wherewith he blessed them; every one according to his proper blessing blessed he 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 unto them, I am to be gathered unto my people; bury me near 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 before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which field Abraham bought of Ephron the Hittite, for a possession as a burying-place,

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 Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah, )

32 The field and the cave that is in it were purchased from the Hittites.”

Purchasing the field and the cave that is therein 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 up his feet into the bed; and he departed this life, and was gathered unto his people.