Genesis 49
1 And Jacob calls to his sons and says, “Be gathered together, and I declare to you that which happens with you in the latter end of the days.
Jacob called his sons together, and said, “Gather round so I can tell you what's going to happen to you in the future.
2 Be assembled, and hear, sons of Jacob, And listen to your father Israel.
Come here, sons of Jacob, and listen to Israel your father.
3 Reuben! You [are] my firstborn, My power, and beginning of my strength, The abundance of exaltation, And the abundance of strength;
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.
4 Unstable as water, you are not abundant; For you have gone up your father’s bed; Then you have defiled [it]: He went up my couch!
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.
5 Simeon and Levi [are] brothers! Instruments of violence—their espousals!
Simeon and Levi are two of the same kind—they use their weapons for destructive violence.
6 Into their secret, do not come, O my soul! Do not be united to their assembly, O my glory; For in their anger they slew a man, And in their self-will eradicated a prince.
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.
7 Cursed [is] their anger, for [it is] fierce, And their wrath, for [it is] sharp; I divide them in Jacob, And I scatter them in Israel.
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.
8 Judah! Your brothers praise you! Your hand [is] on the neck of your enemies, Sons of your father bow themselves to you.
Judah, your brothers will praise you. You will defeat your enemies. Your father's sons shall bow down to you in respect.
9 A lion’s whelp [is] Judah, For prey, my son, you have gone up; He has bent, he has crouched as a lion, And as a lioness; who causes him to arise?
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?
10 The scepter does not turn aside from Judah, And a lawgiver from between his feet, Until his Seed comes; And His [is] the obedience of peoples.
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.
11 Binding to the vine his donkey, And to the choice vine the colt of his donkey, He has washed in wine his clothing, And in the blood of grapes his covering;
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.
12 Red [are] eyes with wine, And white [are] teeth with milk!
His eyes sparkle more than wine, and his teeth are whiter than milk.
13 Zebulun dwells at a haven of the seas, And he [is] for a haven of ships; And his side [is] to Sidon.
Zebulun will live on the seashore and provide a harbor for ships; his territory will extend towards Sidon.
14 Issachar [is] a strong donkey, Crouching between the two folds;
Issachar is a strong donkey, lying down between two saddle bags.
15 And he sees rest, that [it is] good, And the land, that [it is] pleasant, And he inclines his shoulder to bear, And is a servant for tribute.
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.
16 Dan judges his people, As one of the tribes of Israel;
Dan will judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel.
17 Dan is a serpent by the way, a viper by the path, Which is biting the horse’s heels, And its rider falls backward.
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.
18 For Your salvation I have waited, YHWH!
I trust in you to save me, Lord.
19 Gad! A troop assaults him, But he assaults last.
Raiders will attack Gad, but he will attack their heels.
20 Out of Asher his bread [is] fat; And he gives delicacies of a king.
Asher will have delicious food—he'll produce fancy food for royalty.
21 Naphtali [is] a doe sent away, Who is giving beautiful young ones.
Naphtali is a deer that's free to run; it gives birth to beautiful fawns.
22 Joseph [is] a fruitful son; A fruitful son by a fountain, Daughters step over the wall;
Joseph is a fruitful tree, a fruitful tree beside a spring, whose branches climb over the wall.
23 And embitter him indeed, they have striven, Indeed, archers hate him;
The archers viciously attacked him; they shot their arrows at him with hate.
24 And his bow abides in strength, And strengthened are the arms of his hands By the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, From where is a shepherd, a son of Israel.
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.
25 By the God of your father who helps you, And the Mighty One who blesses you, Blessings of the heavens from above, Blessings of the deep lying under, Blessings of breasts and womb—
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.
26 Your father’s blessings have been mighty Above the blessings of my progenitors, To the limit of the perpetual heights They are for the head of Joseph, And for the crown of the one Separate [from] his brothers.
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.
27 Benjamin! A wolf tears; In the morning he eats prey, And at evening he apportions spoil.”
Benjamin is a vicious wolf. In the morning he destroys his enemies, in the evening he divides the loot.”
28 All these [are] the twelve tribes of Israel, and this [is] that which their father has spoken to them, and he blesses them; each according to his blessing he has blessed them.
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.
29 And he commands them and says to them, “I am being gathered to my people; bury me by my fathers, at the cave which [is] in the field of Ephron the Hittite;
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.
30 in the cave which [is] in the field of Machpelah, which [is] on the front of Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite for a possession of a burying-place;
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.
31 (there they buried Abraham and his wife Sarah; there they buried Isaac and his wife Rebekah; and there I buried Leah);
Abraham and his wife Sarah were buried there, Isaac and his wife Rebekah were buried there, and I buried Leah there.
32 the purchase of the field and of the cave which [is] in it, [is] from sons of Heth.”
The field and the cave were bought from the Hittites.”
33 And Jacob finishes commanding his sons, and gathers up his feet to the bed, and expires, and is gathered to his people.
When Jacob finished giving these instructions he pulled up his feet into the bed, breathed his last, and joined his forefathers in death.
