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.
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 Gather yourselves together, and hear, O ye sons of Jacob, hearken to Israel your father:
Come near, O sons of Jacob, and give ear to the words of Israel your father.
3 Ruben, my firstborn, thou art my strength, and the beginning of my sorrow: excelling in gifts, greater in command.
Reuben, you are my oldest son, the first-fruit of my strength, first in pride and first 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.
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 brethren: vessels of iniquity, waging war.
Simeon and Levi are brothers; deceit and force are their secret designs.
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.
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 fury, because it was stubborn: and their wrath because it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and will 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 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.
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 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; 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 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 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 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.
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 His eyes are more beautiful than wine, and his teeth whiter than milk.
His eyes will be dark with wine, and his teeth white with milk.
13 Zabulon shall dwell on the sea shore, and in the road of ships, reaching as far as 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 shall be a strong ass lying down between the borders.
Issachar is a strong ass stretched out among the flocks:
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.
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 shall judge his people like another tribe in Israel.
Dan will be the judge of 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.
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 will look for thy salvation, O Lord.
I have been waiting for your salvation, O Lord.
19 Gad, being girded, shall fight before him: and he himself shall be girded backward.
Gad, an army will come against him, but he will come down on them in their flight.
20 Aser, his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield dainties to kings.
Asher's bread is fat; he gives delicate food for kings.
21 Nephtali, a hart let loose, and giving words of beauty.
Naphtali is a roe let loose, giving fair young ones.
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 young ox, whose steps are turned to the fountain;
23 But they that held darts provoked him, and quarrelled with him, and envied him.
He was troubled by the archers; they sent out their arrows against him, cruelly wounding him:
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.
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 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.
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 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.
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 a ravenous wolf, in the morning shall eat the prey, and in the evening shall divide the spoil.
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: these things their father spoke to them, and he blessed every one, with their proper blessings.
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, 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,
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 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.
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 him, and Sara his wife: there was Isaac buried with Rebecca his wife: there also Lia doth lie buried.
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.
In the rock in the field which was got for a price from the people of Heth.
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.
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.
