Genesis 49
1 Jacob called his sons together, and said, “Gather round so I can tell you what's going to happen to you in the future.
And Jacob called to his sons, and said, Assemble yourselves, that I may tell you [that] which shall befall you in the last days.
2 Come here, sons of Jacob, and listen to Israel your father.
Assemble yourselves, and hear, ye sons of Jacob: and hearken to Israel your father.
3 Reuben. You are my firstborn, conceived when I was strong, born when I was vigorous! You were above all others is position, above all others in power.
Reuben, thou [art] my first-born, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellence of dignity, and the excellence of power:
4 But you boil over like water, so you won't be above anyone anymore, because you went and slept with my concubine; you violated my marriage bed.
Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel; because thou wentest up to thy father's bed; then defiledst thou [it]; he went up to my couch.
5 Simeon and Levi are two of the same kind—they use their weapons for destructive violence.
Simeon and Levi [are] brethren: instruments of cruelty [are in], their habitations.
6 I refuse to be part of their decisions; I refuse to participate in what they do. For they killed men in their anger; they crippled cattle just for fun.
O my soul, come not thou into their secret; to their assembly, my honor, be not thou united: for in their anger they slew a man, and in their self-will they digged down a wall.
7 I curse their anger because it is too harsh; I curse their fury because it is too cruel! I will separate their descendants throughout Jacob; I will scatter them throughout Israel.
Cursed [be] their anger, for [it was] fierce: and their wrath, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.
8 Judah, your brothers will praise you. You will defeat your enemies. Your father's sons shall bow down to you in respect.
Judah, thou [art he] whom thy brethren shall praise; thy hand [shall be] on the neck of thy enemies: thy father's children shall bow down before thee.
9 My son Judah is a young lion coming back from eating its prey. He crouches and lies down like a lion. Like a lion, who would dare to disturb him?
Judah [is] a lion's whelp; from the prey, my son, thou hast gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion: who shall rouse him up?
10 Judah will always hold the scepter, and the staff of authority will always be at his feet until Shiloh comes; the nations will obey him.
The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh shall come: and to him [shall be] the gathering of the people.
11 He ties his donkey to the vine, his donkey's colt to the best vine. He washes his clothes in wine, his robes in the red juice of grapes.
Binding his foal to the vine, and his ass's colt to the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes:
12 His eyes sparkle more than wine, and his teeth are whiter than milk.
His eyes [shall be] red with wine, and his teeth white with milk.
13 Zebulun will live on the seashore and provide a harbor for ships; his territory will extend towards Sidon.
Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea; and he [shall be] for a haven of ships; and his border [shall be] to Zidon.
14 Issachar is a strong donkey, lying down between two saddle bags.
Issachar [is] a strong ass, couching down between two burdens:
15 He sees that the place where he's resting is good, and the land is lovely, so he's willing to lower his back to accept the burden and to work as a slave.
And he saw that rest [was] good, and the land that [it was] pleasant; and bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant to tribute.
16 Dan will judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel.
Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel.
17 Dan will be as dangerous as a snake beside the road, a viper by the path that bites the horse's heel, throwing its rider off backwards.
Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse-heels, so that his rider shall fall backward.
18 I trust in you to save me, Lord.
I have waited for thy salvation O LORD.
19 Raiders will attack Gad, but he will attack their heels.
Gad, a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last.
20 Asher will have delicious food—he'll produce fancy food for royalty.
Out of Asher his bread [shall be] fat, and he shall yield royal dainties.
21 Naphtali is a deer that's free to run; it gives birth to beautiful fawns.
Naphtali [is] a hind let loose: he giveth goodly words.
22 Joseph is a fruitful tree, a fruitful tree beside a spring, whose branches climb over the wall.
Joseph [is] a fruitful bough, [even] a fruitful bough by a well; [whose] branches run over the wall:
23 The archers viciously attacked him; they shot their arrows at him with hate.
The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot [at him], and hated him:
24 But he held his bow steady, and his arms and hands moved quickly in the strength of the Mighty One of Jacob, who is called the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel.
But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty [God] of Jacob: from thence [is] the shepherd the stone of Israel:
25 The God of your father will help you and the Almighty will bless you with blessings from the heavens above, with blessings from the depths below, with blessings for many children.
[Even] by the God of thy father, who shall help thee, and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth beneath, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb:
26 The blessings your father received were greater than the blessings of his forefathers, more than the blessings of the eternal mountains. May they be upon the head of Joseph, on the forehead of the one set apart as a leader from his brothers.
The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors to the utmost bound of the everlasting hills; they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.
27 Benjamin is a vicious wolf. In the morning he destroys his enemies, in the evening he divides the loot.”
Benjamin shall raven [as] a wolf: in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil.
28 These are all of the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father told them as he blessed them, each according to their respective blessings.
All these [are] the twelve tribes of Israel: and this [is it] which their father spoke to them, and blessed them; every one according to his blessing he blessed them.
29 Then he gave them the following instructions: “I'm going to die soon. Bury me with my forefathers in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite.
And he charged them, and said to them, I am to be gathered to my people: bury me with my fathers in the cave that [is] in the field of Ephron the Hittite.
30 This is the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre in Canaan, that Abraham bought together with the field from Ephron the Hittite to own as a burial site.
In the cave that [is] in the field of Machpelah, which [is] before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field of Ephron the Hittite for a possession of a burying-place.
31 Abraham and his wife Sarah were buried there, Isaac and his wife Rebekah were buried there, and I buried Leah there.
(There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah, )
32 The field and the cave were bought from the Hittites.”
The purchase of the field and of the cave that [is] in it, [was] from the children of Heth.
33 When Jacob finished giving these instructions he pulled up his feet into the bed, breathed his last, and joined his forefathers in death.
And when Jacob had made an end of commanding his sons, he drew his feet into the bed, and expired, and was gathered to his people.
