Genesis 49
1 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.
And Jacob calleth unto his sons and saith, 'Be gathered together, and I declare to you that which doth happen with you in the latter end of the days.
2 Gather together and listen, O sons of Jacob. Listen to Israel, your father.
'Be assembled, and hear, sons of Jacob, And hearken unto Israel your father.
3 Reuben, my firstborn, you are my strength and the beginning of my sorrow: first in gifts, greater in authority.
Reuben! my first-born thou, My power, and beginning of my strength, The abundance of exaltation, And the abundance of strength;
4 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.
Unstable as water, thou art not abundant; For thou hast gone up thy father's bed; Then thou hast polluted: My couch he went up!
5 The brothers Simeon and Levi: vessels of iniquity waging war.
Simeon and Levi [are] brethren! Instruments of violence — their espousals!
6 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.
Into their secret, come not, O my soul! Unto their assembly be not united, O mine honour; For in their anger they slew a man, And in their self-will eradicated a prince.
7 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.
Cursed [is] their anger, for [it is] fierce, And their wrath, for [it is] sharp; I divide them in Jacob, And I scatter them in Israel.
8 Judah, your brothers will praise you. Your hand will be at the necks of your enemies; the sons of your father will reverence you.
Judah! thou — thy brethren praise thee! Thy hand [is] on the neck of thine enemies, Sons of thy father bow themselves to thee.
9 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?
A lion's whelp [is] Judah, For prey, my son, thou hast gone up; He hath bent, he hath crouched as a lion, And as a lioness; who causeth him to arise?
10 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.
The sceptre turneth not aside from Judah, And a lawgiver from between his feet, Till his Seed come; And his [is] the obedience of peoples.
11 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.
Binding to the vine his ass, And to the choice vine the colt of his ass, He hath washed in wine his clothing, And in the blood of grapes his covering;
12 His eyes are more beautiful than wine, and his teeth whiter than milk.
Red [are] eyes with wine, And white [are] teeth with milk!
13 Zebulun will live at the seashore and by the outpost of ships, reaching as far as Sidon.
Zebulun at a haven of the seas doth dwell, And he [is] for a haven of ships; And his side [is] unto Zidon.
14 Issachar will be a strong donkey, reclining between the borders.
Issacher [is] a strong ass, Crouching between the two folds;
15 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.
And he seeth rest that [it is] good, And the land that [it is] pleasant, And he inclineth his shoulder to bear, And is to tribute a servant.
16 Dan will judge his people just like any other tribe in Israel.
Dan doth judge his people, As one of the tribes of Israel;
17 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.
Dan is a serpent by the way, An adder by the path, Which is biting the horse's heels, And its rider falleth backward.
18 I will wait for your salvation, O Lord.
For Thy salvation I have waited, Jehovah!
19 Gad, being girded, will fight before him. And he himself will be girded backward.
Gad! a troop assaulteth him, But he assaulteth last.
20 Asher: his bread will be fat, and he will provide delicacies to the kings.
Out of Asher his bread [is] fat; And he giveth dainties of a king.
21 Naphtali is a stag sent forth, offering words of eloquent beauty.
Naphtali [is] a hind sent away, Who is giving beauteous young ones.
22 Joseph is a growing son, a growing son and stately to behold; the daughters run back and forth on the wall.
Joseph [is] a fruitful son; A fruitful son by a fountain, Daughters step over the wall;
23 But those who held darts, provoked him, and they contend with him, and they envied him.
And embitter him — yea, they have striven, Yea, hate him do archers;
24 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.
And his bow abideth in strength, And strengthened are the arms of his hands By the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, Whence is a shepherd, a son of Israel.
25 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.
By the God of thy father who helpeth thee, And the Mighty One who blesseth thee, Blessings of the heavens from above, Blessings of the deep lying under, Blessings of breasts and womb; —
26 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.
Thy father's blessings have been mighty Above the blessings of my progenitors, Unto the limit of the heights age-during They are for the head of Joseph, And for the crown of the one Separate [from] his brethren.
27 Benjamin is a ravenous wolf, in the morning he will eat the prey, and in the evening he will divide the spoil.”
Benjamin! a wolf teareth; In the morning he eateth prey, And at evening he apportioneth spoil.'
28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel. These things their father spoke to them, and he blessed each one with their proper blessings.
All these [are] the twelve tribes of Israel, and this [is] that which their father hath spoken unto them, and he blesseth them; each according to his blessing he hath blessed them.
29 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,
And he commandeth them, and saith unto them, 'I am being gathered unto my people; bury me by my fathers, at the cave which [is] in the field of Ephron the Hittite;
30 opposite Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought, along with its field, from Ephron the Hittite, as a possession for burial.
in the cave which [is] in the field of Machpelah, which [is] on the front of Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite for a possession of a burying-place;
31 There they buried him, with his wife Sarah.” And there Isaac was buried with his wife Rebekah. There also Leah lies preserved.
(there they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah);
the purchase of the field and of the cave which [is] in it, [is] from Sons of Heth.'
33 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.
And Jacob finisheth commanding his sons, and gathereth up his feet unto the bed, and expireth, and is gathered unto his people.
