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:
Vocavit autem Jacob filios suos, et ait eis: Congregamini, ut annuntiem quæ ventura sunt vobis in diebus novissimis.
2 Come together and listen, O sons of Jacob; listen to your father Israel.
Congregamini, et audite, filii Jacob, audite Israël patrem vestrum:
3 Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, excelling in honor, excelling in power.
Ruben, primogenitus meus, tu fortitudo mea, et principium doloris mei; prior in donis, major in imperio.
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.
Effusus es sicut aqua, non crescas: quia ascendisti cubile patris tui, et maculasti stratum ejus.
5 Simeon and Levi are brothers; their swords are weapons of violence.
Simeon et Levi fratres vasa iniquitatis bellantia.
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.
In consilium eorum non veniat anima mea, et in cœtu illorum non sit gloria mea: quia in furore suo occiderunt virum, et in voluntate sua suffoderunt murum.
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.
Maledictus furor eorum, quia pertinax: et indignatio eorum, quia dura: dividam eos in Jacob, et dispergam eos in Israël.
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.
Juda, te laudabunt fratres tui: manus tua in cervicibus inimicorum tuorum, adorabunt te filii patris tui.
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?
Catulus leonis Juda: ad prædam, fili mi, ascendisti: requiescens accubuisti ut leo, et quasi leæna: quis suscitabit eum?
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.
Non auferetur sceptrum de Juda, et dux de femore ejus, donec veniat qui mittendus est, et ipse erit expectatio gentium.
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.
Ligans ad vineam pullum suum, et ad vitem, o fili mi, asinam suam, lavabit in vino stolam suam et in sanguine uvæ pallium suum.
12 His eyes are darker than wine, and his teeth are whiter than milk.
Pulchriores sunt oculi ejus vino, et dentes ejus lacte candidiores.
13 Zebulun shall dwell by the seashore and become a harbor for ships; his border shall extend to Sidon.
Zabulon in littore maris habitabit, et in statione navium pertingens usque ad Sidonem.
14 Issachar is a strong donkey, lying down between the sheepfolds.
Issachar asinus fortis accubans inter terminos.
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.
Vidit requiem, quod esset bona et terram, quod optima: et supposuit humerum suum ad portandum, factusque est tributis serviens.
16 Dan shall provide justice for his people as one of the tribes of Israel.
Dan judicabit populum suum sicut et alia tribus in Israël.
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.
Fiat Dan coluber in via, cerastes in semita, mordens ungulas equi, ut cadat ascensor ejus retro.
18 I await Your salvation, O LORD.
Salutare tuum expectabo, Domine.
19 Gad will be attacked by raiders, but he will attack their heels.
Gad, accinctus præliabitur ante eum: et ipse accingetur retrorsum.
20 Asher’s food will be rich; he shall provide royal delicacies.
Aser, pinguis panis ejus, et præbebit delicias regibus.
21 Naphtali is a doe set free that bears beautiful fawns.
Nephthali, cervus emissus, et dans eloquia pulchritudinis.
22 Joseph is a fruitful vine— a fruitful vine by a spring, whose branches scale the wall.
Filius accrescens Joseph, filius accrescens et decorus aspectu: filiæ discurrerunt super murum.
23 The archers attacked him with bitterness; they aimed at him in hostility.
Sed exasperaverunt eum et jurgati sunt, invideruntque illi habentes jacula.
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,
Sedit in forti arcus ejus, et dissoluta sunt vincula brachiorum et manuum illius per manus potentis Jacob: inde pastor egressus est, lapis Israël.
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.
Deus patris tui erit adjutor tuus, et omnipotens benedicet tibi benedictionibus cæli desuper, benedictionibus abyssi jacentis deorsum, benedictionibus uberum et vulvæ.
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.
Benedictiones patris tui confortatæ sunt benedictionibus patrum ejus, donec veniret desiderium collium æternorum: fiant in capite Joseph, et in vertice Nazaræi inter fratres suos.
27 Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; in the morning he devours the prey, in the evening he divides the plunder.”
Benjamin lupus rapax, mane comedat prædam, et vespere dividet spolia.
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.
Omnes hi in tribubus Israël duodecim: hæc locutus est eis pater suus, benedixitque singulis benedictionibus propriis.
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.
Et præcepit eis, dicens: Ego congregor ad populum meum: sepelite me cum patribus meis in spelunca duplici quæ est in agro Ephron Hethæi,
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.
contra Mambre in terra Chanaan, quam emit Abraham cum agro ab Ephron Hethæo in possessionem sepulchri.
31 There Abraham and his wife Sarah are buried, there Isaac and his wife Rebekah are buried, and there I buried Leah.
Ibi sepelierunt eum, et Saram uxorem ejus: ibi sepultus est Isaac cum Rebecca conjuge sua: ibi et Lia condita jacet.
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.
Finitisque mandatis quibus filios instruebat, collegit pedes suos super lectulum, et obiit: appositusque est ad populum suum.
