Genesis 49
1 And Jacob called his sons, and said to them: Gather yourselves together that I may tell you the things that shall befall you in the last days.
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:
2 Gather yourselves together, and hear, O ye sons of Jacob, hearken to Israel your father:
Come together and listen, O sons of Jacob; listen to your father Israel.
3 Ruben, my firstborn, thou art my strength, and the beginning of my sorrow: excelling in gifts, greater in command.
Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, excelling in honor, excelling in power.
4 Thou art poured out as water, grow thou not: because thou wentest up to thy father’s bed, and didst defile his couch.
Uncontrolled as the waters, you will no longer excel, because you went up to your father’s bed, onto my couch, and defiled it.
5 Simeon and Levi brethren: vessels of iniquity, waging war.
Simeon and Levi are brothers; their swords are weapons of violence.
6 Let not my soul go into their counsel, nor my glory be in their assembly: because in their fury they slew a man, and in their selfwill they undermined a wall.
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.
7 Cursed be their fury, because it was stubborn: and their wrath because it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and will scatter them in Israel.
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.
8 Juda, thee shall thy brethren praise: thy hands shall be on the necks of thy enemies: the sons of thy father shall bow down to thee.
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.
9 Juda is a lion’s whelp: to the prey, my son, thou art gone up: resting thou hast couched as a lion, and as a lioness, who shall rouse him?
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?
10 The sceptre shall not be taken away from Juda, nor a ruler from his thigh, till he come that is to be sent, and he shall be the expectation of nations.
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.
11 Tying his foal to the vineyard, and his ass, O my son, to the vine. He shall wash his robe in wine, and his garment in the blood of the grape.
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.
12 His eyes are more beautiful than wine, and his teeth whiter than milk.
His eyes are darker than wine, and his teeth are whiter than milk.
13 Zabulon shall dwell on the sea shore, and in the road of ships, reaching as far as Sidon.
Zebulun shall dwell by the seashore and become a harbor for ships; his border shall extend to Sidon.
14 Issachar shall be a strong ass lying down between the borders.
Issachar is a strong donkey, lying down between the sheepfolds.
15 He saw rest that it was good: and the land that it was excellent: and he bowed his shoulder to carry, and became a servant under tribute.
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.
16 Dan shall judge his people like another tribe in Israel.
Dan shall provide justice for his people as one of the tribes of Israel.
17 Let Dan be a snake in the way, a serpent in the path, that biteth the horse’s heels that his rider may fall backward.
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.
18 I will look for thy salvation, O Lord.
I await Your salvation, O LORD.
19 Gad, being girded, shall fight before him: and he himself shall be girded backward.
Gad will be attacked by raiders, but he will attack their heels.
20 Aser, his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield dainties to kings.
Asher’s food will be rich; he shall provide royal delicacies.
21 Nephtali, a hart let loose, and giving words of beauty.
Naphtali is a doe set free that bears beautiful fawns.
22 Joseph is a growing son, a growing son and comely to behold; the daughters run to and fro upon the wall.
Joseph is a fruitful vine— a fruitful vine by a spring, whose branches scale the wall.
23 But they that held darts provoked him, and quarrelled with him, and envied him.
The archers attacked him with bitterness; they aimed at him in hostility.
24 His bow rested upon the strong, and the bands of his arms and his hands were loosed, by the hands of the mighty one of Jacob: thence he came forth a pastor, the stone of Israel.
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,
25 The God of thy father shall be thy helper, and the Almighty shall bless thee with the blessings of heaven above, with the blessings of the deep that lieth beneath, with the blessings of the breasts and of the womb.
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.
26 The blessings of thy father are strengthened with the blessings of his fathers: until the desire of the everlasting hills should come; may they be upon the head of Joseph, and upon the crown of the Nazarite among his brethren.
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.
27 Benjamin a ravenous wolf, in the morning shall eat the prey, and in the evening shall divide the spoil.
Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; in the morning he devours the prey, in the evening he divides the plunder.”
28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel: these things their father spoke to them, and he blessed every one, with their proper blessings.
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.
29 And he charged them, saying: I am now going to be gathered to my people: bury me with my fathers in the double cave, which is in the field of Ephron the Hethite,
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.
30 Over against Mambre in the land of Chanaan, which Abraham bought together with the field of Ephron the Hethite for a possession to bury in.
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.
31 There they buried him, and Sara his wife: there was Isaac buried with Rebecca his wife: there also Lia doth lie buried.
There Abraham and his wife Sarah are buried, there Isaac and his wife Rebekah are buried, and there I buried Leah.
The field and the cave that is in it were purchased from the Hittites.”
33 And when he had ended the commandments, wherewith he instructed his sons, he drew up his feet upon the bed, and died: and he was gathered to his people.
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.
