Genesis 49

1 And Jacob called unto his sons, and said: Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the latter days.

Then Jacob called for his sons and said, “Gather around so that I can tell you what will happen to you in the days to come:

2 Assemble yourselves, and hear, ye sons of Jacob; And hearken unto Israel your father.

Come together and listen, O sons of Jacob; listen to your father Israel.

3 Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength; The excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power.

Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, excelling in honor, excelling in power.

4 Unstable as water, thou shalt not have the excellency; Because thou wentest up to thy father’s bed: Then defiledst thou it: he went up to my couch.

Uncontrolled as the waters, you will no longer excel, because you went up to your father’s bed, onto my couch, and defiled it.

5 Simeon and Levi are brethren; Weapons of violence are their swords.

Simeon and Levi are brothers; their swords are weapons of violence.

6 O my soul, come not thou into their council; Unto their assembly, my glory, be not thou united; For in their anger they slew a man, And in their selfwill they houghed an ox.

May I never enter their council; may I never join their assembly. For they kill men in their anger, and hamstring oxen on a whim.

7 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.

Cursed be their anger, for it is strong, and their wrath, for it is cruel! I will disperse them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel.

8 Judah, thee shall thy brethren praise: Thy hand shall be on the neck of thine enemies; Thy father’s sons shall bow down before thee.

Judah, your brothers shall praise you. Your hand shall be on the necks of your enemies; your father’s sons shall bow down to you.

9 Judah is a lion’s whelp; From the prey, my son, thou art gone up: He stooped down, he couched as a lion, And as a lioness; who shall rouse him up?

Judah is a young lion— my son, you return from the prey. Like a lion he crouches and lies down; like a lioness, who dares to rouse him?

10 The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, Nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, Until Shiloh come; And unto him shall the obedience of the peoples be.

The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes and the allegiance of the nations is his.

11 Binding his foal unto the vine, And his ass’s colt unto the choice vine; He hath washed his garments in wine, And his vesture in the blood of grapes:

He ties his donkey to the vine, his colt to the choicest branch. He washes his garments in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes.

12 His eyes shall be red with wine, And his teeth white with milk.

His eyes are darker than wine, and his teeth are whiter than milk.

13 Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea: And he shall be for an haven of ships; And his border shall be upon Zidon.

Zebulun shall dwell by the seashore and become a harbor for ships; his border shall extend to Sidon.

14 Issachar is a strong ass, Couching down between the sheepfolds:

Issachar is a strong donkey, lying down between the sheepfolds.

15 And he saw a resting place that it was good, And the land that it was pleasant; And he bowed his shoulder to bear, And became a servant under taskwork.

He saw that his resting place was good and that his land was pleasant, so he bent his shoulder to the burden and submitted to labor as a servant.

16 Dan shall judge his people, As one of the tribes of Israel.

Dan shall provide justice for his people as one of the tribes of Israel.

17 Dan shall be a serpent in the way, An adder in the path, That biteth the horse’s heels, So that his rider falleth backward.

He will be a snake by the road, a viper in the path that bites the horse’s heels so that its rider tumbles backward.

18 I have waited for thy salvation, O LORD.

I await Your salvation, O LORD.

19 Gad, a troop shall press upon him: But he shall press upon their heel.

Gad will be attacked by raiders, but he will attack their heels.

20 Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, And he shall yield royal dainties.

Asher’s food will be rich; he shall provide royal delicacies.

21 Naphtali is a hind let loose: He giveth goodly words.

Naphtali is a doe set free that bears beautiful fawns.

22 Joseph is a fruitful bough, A fruitful bough by a fountain; His branches run over the wall.

Joseph is a fruitful vine— a fruitful vine by a spring, whose branches scale the wall.

23 The archers have sorely grieved him, And shot at him, and persecuted him:

The archers attacked him with bitterness; they aimed at him in hostility.

24 But his bow abode in strength, And the arms of his hands were made strong, By the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, (From thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel, )

Yet he steadied his bow, and his strong arms were tempered by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, in the name of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel,

25 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 coucheth beneath, Blessings of the breasts, and of the womb.

by the God of your father who helps you, and by the Almighty who blesses you, with blessings of the heavens above, with blessings of the depths below, with blessings of the breasts and womb.

26 The blessings of thy father Have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors Unto 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.

The blessings of your father have surpassed the blessings of the ancient mountains and the bounty of the everlasting hills. May they rest on the head of Joseph, on the brow of the prince of his brothers.

27 Benjamin is a wolf that ravineth: In the morning he shall devour the prey, And at even he shall divide the spoil.

Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; in the morning he devours the prey, in the evening he divides the plunder.”

28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel: and this is it that their father spake unto them and blessed them; every one according to his blessing he blessed them.

These are the tribes of Israel, twelve in all, and this was what their father said to them. He blessed them, and he blessed each one with a suitable blessing.

29 And he charged them, and said unto them, I am to be gathered unto my people: bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite,

Then Jacob instructed them, “I am about to be gathered to my people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite.

30 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 from Ephron the Hittite for a possession of a buryingplace:

The cave is in the field of Machpelah near Mamre, in the land of Canaan. This is the field Abraham purchased from Ephron the Hittite as a burial site.

31 there they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah:

There Abraham and his wife Sarah are buried, there Isaac and his wife Rebekah are buried, and there I buried Leah.

32 the field and the cave that is therein, which was purchased from the children of Heth.

The field and the cave that is in it were purchased from the Hittites.”

33 And when Jacob made an end of charging his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the ghost, and was gathered unto his people.

When Jacob had finished instructing his sons, he pulled his feet into the bed and breathed his last, and he was gathered to his people.