Genesis 49
1 Then Iaakob called his sonnes, and sayde, Gather your selues together, that I may tell you what shall come to you in the last dayes.
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 your selues together, and heare, ye sonnes of Iaakob, and hearken vnto Israel your father.
Come near, O sons of Jacob, and give ear to the words of Israel your father.
3 Reuben mine eldest sonne, thou art my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellencie of dignitie, and the excellencie of power:
Reuben, you are my oldest son, the first-fruit of my strength, first in pride and first in power:
4 Thou wast light as water: thou shalt not be excellent, because thou wentest vp to thy fathers bed: then diddest thou defile my bed, thy dignitie is gone.
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 Leui, brethren in euill, the instruments of crueltie are in their habitations.
Simeon and Levi are brothers; deceit and force are their secret designs.
6 Into their secret let not my soule come: my glory, be not thou ioyned with their assembly: for in their wrath they slew a man, and in their selfe will they digged downe 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 wrath, for it was fierce, and their rage, for it was cruell: I will deuide them in Iaakob, 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 Thou Iudah, thy brethre shall praise thee: thine hande shalbe in the necke of thine enemies: thy fathers sonnes shall bowe downe vnto 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 Iudah, as a Lions whelpe shalt thou come vp from the spoyle, my sonne. He shall lye downe and couche as a Lion, and as a Lionesse: Who shall stirre him vp?
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 scepter shall not depart from Iudah, nor a Lawegiuer from betweene his feete, vntill Shiloh come, and the people shall be gathered vnto him.
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 shall binde his Asse foale vnto ye vine, and his Asses colte vnto the best vine. hee shall wash his garment in wine, and his cloke 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 His eyes shalbe red with wine, and his teeth white with milke.
His eyes will be dark with wine, and his teeth white with milk.
13 Zebulun shall dwell by the sea side, and he shalbe an hauen for shippes: and his border shalbe vnto Zidon.
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 shalbe a strong asse, couching downe betweene two burdens:
Issachar is a strong ass stretched out among the flocks:
15 And he shall see that rest is good, and that the land is pleasant, and he shall bow his shoulder to beare, and shalbe subiect vnto 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 iudge his people as one of the tribes of Israel.
Dan will be the judge of his people, as one of the tribes of Israel.
17 Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder by the path, byting the horse heeles, so that his rider shall 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 O Lord, I haue waited for thy saluation.
I have been waiting for your salvation, O Lord.
19 Gad, an hoste of men shall ouercome him, but he shall ouercome at the last.
Gad, an army will come against him, but he will come down on them in their flight.
20 Concerning Asher, his bread shalbe fat, and he shall giue pleasures for a king.
Asher's bread is fat; he gives delicate food for kings.
21 Naphtali shalbe a hinde let goe, giuing goodly wordes.
Naphtali is a roe let loose, giving fair young ones.
22 Ioseph shalbe a fruitefull bough, euen a fruitful bough by the well side: the small boughs shall runne vpon the wall.
Joseph is a young ox, whose steps are turned to the fountain;
23 And the archers grieued him, and shotte against him and hated him.
He was troubled by the archers; they sent out their arrows against him, cruelly wounding him:
24 But his bowe abode strong, and the hands of his armes were strengthened, by the handes of the mighty God of Iaakob, of whom was the feeder appointed, by 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 Euen by the God of thy father, who shall helpe thee, and by the almightie, who shall blesse thee with heauenly blessinges from aboue, with blessings of the deepe, that lyeth beneath, with blessings of the brestes, and of the wombe.
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 shalbe stronger then the blessings of mine elders: vnto the ende of the hilles of the worlde they shall be on the head of Ioseph, and on the top of the head of him that was separate 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 Beniamin shall rauine as a wolfe: in the morning he shall deuoure the pray, and at night he shall deuide the spoyle.
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 twelue tribes of Israel, and thus their father spake vnto them, and blessed them: euery one of them blessed hee with a seuerall blessing.
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 sayd vnto them, I am ready to be gathered vnto my people: burie mee with my fathers in the caue, that is in the fielde 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 caue that is in the field of Machpelah besides Mamre in the land of Canaan: which caue Abraham bought with the fielde of Ephron the Hittite for a possession to burie 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 Abraham and Sarah his wife: there they buryed Izhak and Rebekah 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 fielde and the caue that is therein, was bought of the children of Heth.
In the rock in the field which was got for a price from the people of Heth.
33 Thus Iaakob made an end of giuing charge to his sonnes, and plucked vp his feete into the bed and gaue vp the ghost, and 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.
