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 called Jacob unto his sons, —and said—Gather yourselves together, and let me tell you, that which shall befall you in the afterpart of the days.

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

Assemble yourselves 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, my first-born, thou, My vigour, and the first-fruit of my strength, —Pre-eminence of elevation and pre-eminence of power:

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.

Boiling over like water, thou mayest not have pre-eminence, Because thou didst mount the bed of thy father, —Then, wast thou profane—My marriage-bed, he mounted!

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

Simeon and Levi, are brethren, —Instruments of violence, are their agreements:

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 circle, do not thou enter my soul! In their convocation, do not thou join mine honour! For in their anger, they slew brave men, And in their wantonness, they ham-strung 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.

Accursed, be their anger, because fierce, And their wrath because cruel, —I divide them in Jacob, And I disperse 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 for thee, thy brethren shall praise thee when thy hand is on the neck of thy foes, —The sons of thy father, shall bow them-selves 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?

A lion’s whelp, is Judah, From the prey, my son hast thou come up! He hath stooped—hath crouched As a lion—or as a lioness, Who shall 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 sceptre shall not depart from Judah, Nor the commander’s staff from between his feet, —Until that he come in as a Shiloh, And, his, be the obedience of the 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.

Binding, to the vine, his ass, And to the choice vine his ass’s colt, He hath washed in wine his raiment, And in the blood of grapes, his mantle:

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

Darker—his eyes, than wine, —Whiter—his teeth than milk!

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

Zebulon, by a haven of seas, shall he settle down, —Even he, by a haven of ships, With his utmost part upon Zidon.

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

Issachar, an ass of strength, —couching between the pens;

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.

Then beholdeth he rest, that it is good, And the ground that it is pleasant, —So he bendeth his shoulder to bear, And becometh a tributary servant.

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

Dan, shall vindicate 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.

It cometh to pass that, Dan, is a serpent upon the way, A horned viper, upon the path, —That biteth the heels of the horse, And his rider falleth backwards: —

18 I await Your salvation, O LORD.

For thy salvation, have I waited O Yahweh!

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

Gad! a troop shall troop on him, —But, he, shall troop on the rear.

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

Out of Asher, fatness, is his food, —So, he, setteth forth dainties for a king.

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

Naphtali, is a slender hind, —That putteth forth antlers of beauty.

22 Joseph is a fruitful vine— a fruitful vine by a spring, whose branches scale the wall.

A fruitful bough, is Joseph, A fruitful bough over a fountain, —Branches creeping over a wall.

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

So they attack him and have shot, —So they enclose him, do the masters of 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 abideth, as an enduring one, his bow, And supple are the arms of his hands, —From 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 who doth help thee And GOD Almighty who doth bless thee, Blessings of the heavens, above, Blessings of the abyss, couching beneath, —Blessings of breasts and 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, have prevailed, Over the blessings of the perpetual mountains, The charm of the age-abiding hills, —They turn out to be, for the head of Joseph, And for the crown of the head of him who was set apart from his brethren.

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

Benjamin a wolf that teareth in pieces, In the morning, he eateth prey, And at eventide, he divideth 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, —And this, is that which their father spake to them when he blessed them, Each man severally according to the blessing wherewith 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.

Then commanded he them and said unto them—I, am about to be gathered unto my people, Bury me among my fathers, —within 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 over against Mamre, in the land of Canaan, —which Abraham bought, along with the field, from Ephron the Hittite for a possession of a buryingplace: —

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

There, buried they Abraham, and Sarah his wife, There, buried they Isaac, and Rebekah his wife, —And there, buried I Leah: —

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

buying the field and the cave that is therein, from the sons 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.

So Jacob made an end of commanding his sons, and gathered up his feet into the couch, —and ceased to breathe and was gathered unto his people.