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.

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.

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

Be assembled, and hear, sons of Jacob, And 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 power, and beginning of my strength, The abundance of exaltation, And the abundance of strength;

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.

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!

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

Simeon and Levi [are] brothers! Instruments of violence—their espousals!

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.

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.

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 [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.

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 praise you! Your hand [is] on the neck of your enemies, Sons of your father bow themselves 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?

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?

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 does not turn aside from Judah, And a lawgiver from between his feet, Until his Seed comes; And His [is] the obedience of peoples.

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:

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;

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

Red [are] eyes with wine, And white [are] teeth with 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 dwells at a haven of the seas, And he [is] for a haven of ships; And his side [is] to Sidon.

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

Issachar [is] a strong donkey, Crouching between the two folds;

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.

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.

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

Dan judges 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.

Dan is a serpent by the way, a viper by the path, Which is biting the horse’s heels, And its rider falls backward.

18 I have waited for thy salvation, O LORD.

For Your salvation I have waited, YHWH!

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

Gad! A troop assaults him, But he assaults last.

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

Out of Asher his bread [is] fat; And he gives delicacies of a king.

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

Naphtali [is] a doe sent away, Who is giving beautiful young ones.

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

Joseph [is] a fruitful son; A fruitful son by a fountain, Daughters step over the wall;

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

And embitter him indeed, they have striven, Indeed, archers hate him;

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, )

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.

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 the Mighty One who blesses you, Blessings of the heavens from above, Blessings of the deep lying under, Blessings of 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.

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.

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

Benjamin! A wolf tears; In the morning he eats prey, And at evening he apportions spoil.”

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.

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.

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,

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;

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:

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;

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

(there they buried Abraham and his wife Sarah; there they buried Isaac and his wife Rebekah; and there I buried Leah);

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

the purchase of the field and of the cave which [is] in it, [is] from sons of Heth.”

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.

And Jacob finishes commanding his sons, and gathers up his feet to the bed, and expires, and is gathered to his people.