Genesis 49
1 And Jacob called his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, and I will tell you what will befall you at the end of days.
And Jacob sent for his sons, and said, Come together, all of you, so that I may give you news of your fate in future times.
2 Assemble yourselves, and hear, ye sons of Jacob, And listen to Israel your father.
Come near, O sons of Jacob, and give ear to the words of Israel your father.
3 Reuben, thou art my firstborn, My might, and the firstfruits of my vigour: Excellency of dignity, and excellency of strength.
Reuben, you are my oldest son, the first-fruit of my strength, first in pride and first in power:
4 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.
But because you were uncontrolled, the first place will not be yours; for you went up to your father's bed, even his bride-bed, and made it unclean.
5 Simeon and Levi are brethren: Instruments of violence their swords.
Simeon and Levi are brothers; deceit and force are their secret designs.
6 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.
Take no part in their secrets, O my soul; keep far away, O my heart, from their meetings; for in their wrath they put men to death, and for their pleasure even oxen were wounded.
7 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.
A curse on their passion for it was bitter; and on their wrath for it was cruel. I will let their heritage in Jacob be broken up, driving them from their places in Israel.
8 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.
To you, Judah, will your brothers give praise: your hand will be on the neck of your haters; your father's sons will go down to the earth before you.
9 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?
Judah is a young lion; like a lion full of meat you have become great, my son; now he takes his rest like a lion stretched out and like an old lion; by whom will his sleep be broken?
10 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.
The rod of authority will not be taken from Judah, and he will not be without a law-giver, till he comes who has the right to it, and the peoples will put themselves under his rule.
11 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.
Knotting his ass's cord to the vine, and his young ass to the best vine; washing his robe in wine, and his clothing in the blood of grapes:
12 The eyes are red with wine, And the teeth [are] white with milk.
His eyes will be dark with wine, and his teeth white with milk.
13 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.
The resting-place of Zebulun will be by the sea, and he will be a harbour for ships; the edge of his land will be by Zidon.
14 Issachar is a bony ass, Crouching down between two hurdles.
Issachar is a strong ass stretched out among the flocks:
15 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.
And he saw that rest was good and the land was pleasing; so he let them put weights on his back and became a servant.
16 Dan will judge his people, As another of the tribes of Israel.
Dan will be the judge of his people, as one of the tribes of Israel.
17 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.
May Dan be a snake in the way, a horned snake by the road, biting the horse's foot so that the horseman has a fall.
18 I wait for thy salvation, O Jehovah.
I have been waiting for your salvation, O Lord.
19 Gad — troops will rush upon him; But he will rush upon the heel.
Gad, an army will come against him, but he will come down on them in their flight.
20 Out of Asher, his bread shall be fat, And he will give royal dainties.
Asher's bread is fat; he gives delicate food for kings.
21 Naphtali is a hind let loose; He giveth goodly words.
Naphtali is a roe let loose, giving fair young ones.
22 Joseph is a fruitful bough; A fruitful bough by a well; [His] branches shoot over the wall.
Joseph is a young ox, whose steps are turned to the fountain;
23 The archers have provoked him, And shot at, and hated him;
He was troubled by the archers; they sent out their arrows against him, cruelly wounding him:
24 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:
But their bows were broken by a strong one, and the cords of their arms were cut by the Strength of Jacob, by the name of the Stone of Israel:
25 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.
Even by the God of your father, who will be your help, and by the Ruler of all, who will make you full with blessings from heaven on high, blessings of the deep stretched out under the earth, blessings of the breasts and of the fertile body:
26 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.
Blessings of sons, old and young, to the father: blessings of the oldest mountains and the fruit of the eternal hills: let them come on the head of Joseph, on the crown of him who was separate from his brothers.
27 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.
Benjamin is a wolf, searching for meat: in the morning he takes his food, and in the evening he makes division of what he has taken.
28 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.
These are the twelve tribes of Israel: and these are the words their father said to them, blessing them; to every one he gave his blessing.
29 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,
And he gave orders to them, saying, Put me to rest with my people and with my fathers, in the hollow of the rock in the field of Ephron the Hittite,
30 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.
In the rock in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre in the land of Canaan, which Abraham got from Ephron the Hittite, to be his resting-place.
31 There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebecca his wife; and there I buried Leah.
There Abraham and Sarah his wife were put to rest, and there they put Isaac and Rebekah his wife, and there I put Leah to rest.
32 The purchase of the field, and of the cave that is in it, was from the children of Heth.
In the rock in the field which was got for a price from the people of Heth.
33 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.
And when Jacob had come to the end of these words to his sons, stretching himself on his bed, he gave up his spirit, and went the way of his people.
