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.
Then Jacob called for his sons, and said: “Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you what will happen to you in the future.
2 Be assembled, and hear, sons of Jacob, And listen to your father Israel.
Assemble yourselves and listen, you sons of Jacob. 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, my might, and the beginning of my strength, outstanding in dignity, and outstanding 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!
Uncontrollable as rushing water, you will not have the preeminence, because you went up to your father's bed. Then you defiled it; you went up to my couch.
5 Simeon and Levi [are] brothers! Instruments of violence—their espousals!
Simeon and Levi are brothers. Weapons of violence are their swords.
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.
O my soul, do not come into their council; do not join in their meetings, for my heart has too much honor for that. For in their anger they killed men. It was for pleasure that they hamstrung oxen.
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.
May their anger be cursed, for it was fierce—and their fury, for it was cruel. I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in 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. Your hand will be on the neck of your enemies. Your father's sons will bow down before you.
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?
Judah is a lion's cub. My son, you have gone up from your victims. He stooped down, he crouched like a lion, like a lioness. Who would dare to awaken 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.
The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between 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;
Binding his donkey to the vine, and his donkey's colt to the choice vine, he has washed his garments in wine, and his robe in the blood of grapes.
12 Red [are] eyes with wine, And white [are] teeth with milk!
His eyes will be as dark as wine, and his teeth as white as 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 by the shore of the sea. He will be a harbor for ships, and his border will extend to Sidon.
14 Issachar [is] a strong donkey, Crouching between the two folds;
Issachar is a strong donkey, lying down between the sheepfolds.
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 a good resting place and the pleasant land. He will bend his shoulder to the burden and become a servant for the task.
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 a snake beside the road, a poisonous snake in the path that bites the horse's heels, so that his rider falls backward.
18 For Your salvation I have waited, YHWH!
I wait for your salvation, Yahweh.
19 Gad! A troop assaults him, But he assaults last.
Gad—raiders will attack him, but he will attack them at their heels.
20 Out of Asher his bread [is] fat; And he gives delicacies of a king.
Asher's food will be rich, and he will provide royal delicacies.
21 Naphtali [is] a doe sent away, Who is giving beautiful young ones.
Naphtali is a doe let loose; he will have beautiful fawns.
22 Joseph [is] a fruitful son; A fruitful son by a fountain, Daughters step over the wall;
Joseph is a fruitful bough, a fruitful bough near a spring, whose branches climb over the wall.
23 And embitter him indeed, they have striven, Indeed, archers hate him;
The archers will attack him and shoot at him and harass him.
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 his bow will remain steady, and his hands will be skillful because of the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, because of the name of 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 God will bless you with blessings of the sky above, blessings of the deep that lies beneath, and blessings of the breasts and womb.
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 of your father are greater than the blessings of the ancient mountains or the desirable things of the ancient hills. May they be on the head of Joseph, even upon the crown of the head of the prince of his brothers.
27 Benjamin! A wolf tears; In the morning he eats prey, And at evening he apportions spoil.”
Benjamin is a hungry wolf. In the morning he will devour the prey, and in the evening he will divide the plunder.”
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 the twelve tribes of Israel. This is what their father said to them when he blessed them. Each one he blessed with an appropriate blessing.
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 instructed them and said to them, “I am about to go to my people. Bury me with my forefathers in the cave that is 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;
in the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is near Mamre in the land of Canaan, the field that Abraham bought for a burial place from Ephron the Hittite.
31 (there they buried Abraham and his wife Sarah; there they buried Isaac and his wife Rebekah; and there I buried Leah);
There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah.
32 the purchase of the field and of the cave which [is] in it, [is] from sons of Heth.”
The field and the cave that is in it were purchased from the people of Heth.”
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 these instructions to his sons, he pulled his feet into the bed, breathed his last, and went to his people.
