Genesis 49
1 Then called Jacob unto his sons, —and said—Gather yourselves together, and let me tell you, that which shall befall you in the afterpart 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 Assemble yourselves and hear ye sons of Jacob, —And hearken unto Israel your father!
Come here, sons of Jacob, and listen to Israel your father.
3 Reuben, my first-born, thou, My vigour, and the first-fruit of my strength, —Pre-eminence of elevation and pre-eminence of power:
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 Boiling over like water, thou mayest not have pre-eminence, Because thou didst mount the bed of thy father, —Then, wast thou profane—My marriage-bed, he mounted!
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 brethren, —Instruments of violence, are their agreements:
Simeon and Levi are two of the same kind—they use their weapons for destructive violence.
6 Into their circle, do not thou enter my soul! In their convocation, do not thou join mine honour! For in their anger, they slew brave men, And in their wantonness, they ham-strung oxen.
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 Accursed, be their anger, because fierce, And their wrath because cruel, —I divide them in Jacob, And I disperse 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, as for thee, thy brethren shall praise thee when thy hand is on the neck of thy foes, —The sons of thy father, shall bow them-selves down to thee:
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, From the prey, my son hast thou come up! He hath stooped—hath crouched As a lion—or as a lioness, Who shall rouse him?
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 sceptre shall not depart from Judah, Nor the commander’s staff from between his feet, —Until that he come in as a Shiloh, And, his, be the obedience of the 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 ass, And to the choice vine his ass’s colt, He hath washed in wine his raiment, And in the blood of grapes, his mantle:
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 Darker—his eyes, than wine, —Whiter—his teeth than milk!
His eyes sparkle more than wine, and his teeth are whiter than milk.
13 Zebulon, by a haven of seas, shall he settle down, —Even he, by a haven of ships, With his utmost part upon Zidon.
Zebulun will live on the seashore and provide a harbor for ships; his territory will extend towards Sidon.
14 Issachar, an ass of strength, —couching between the pens;
Issachar is a strong donkey, lying down between two saddle bags.
15 Then beholdeth he rest, that it is good, And the ground that it is pleasant, —So he bendeth his shoulder to bear, And becometh a tributary servant.
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, shall vindicate his people, —as one of the tribes of Israel;
Dan will judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel.
17 It cometh to pass that, Dan, is a serpent upon the way, A horned viper, upon the path, —That biteth the heels of the horse, And his rider falleth backwards: —
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 thy salvation, have I waited O Yahweh!
I trust in you to save me, Lord.
19 Gad! a troop shall troop on him, —But, he, shall troop on the rear.
Raiders will attack Gad, but he will attack their heels.
20 Out of Asher, fatness, is his food, —So, he, setteth forth dainties for a king.
Asher will have delicious food—he'll produce fancy food for royalty.
21 Naphtali, is a slender hind, —That putteth forth antlers of beauty.
Naphtali is a deer that's free to run; it gives birth to beautiful fawns.
22 A fruitful bough, is Joseph, A fruitful bough over a fountain, —Branches creeping over a wall.
Joseph is a fruitful tree, a fruitful tree beside a spring, whose branches climb over the wall.
23 So they attack him and have shot, —So they enclose him, do the masters of arrows.
The archers viciously attacked him; they shot their arrows at him with hate.
24 But abideth, as an enduring one, his bow, And supple are the arms of his hands, —From the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, From thence, is the Shepherd the Stone 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 From the GOD of thy father who doth help thee And GOD Almighty who doth bless thee, Blessings of the heavens, above, Blessings of the abyss, couching beneath, —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 The blessings of thy father, have prevailed, Over the blessings of the perpetual mountains, The charm of the age-abiding hills, —They turn out to be, for the head of Joseph, And for the crown of the head of him who was set apart from his brethren.
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 that teareth in pieces, In the morning, he eateth prey, And at eventide, he divideth 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 spake to them when he blessed them, Each man severally according to the blessing wherewith he 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 Then commanded he them and said unto them—I, am about to be gathered unto my people, Bury me among my fathers, —within the cave, that 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 that is in the field of Machpelah which is over against Mamre, in the land of Canaan, —which Abraham bought, along with the field, from Ephron the Hittite for a possession of a buryingplace: —
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, buried they Abraham, and Sarah his wife, There, buried they Isaac, and Rebekah his wife, —And there, buried I Leah: —
Abraham and his wife Sarah were buried there, Isaac and his wife Rebekah were buried there, and I buried Leah there.
32 buying the field and the cave that is therein, from the sons of Heth.
The field and the cave were bought from the Hittites.”
33 So Jacob made an end of commanding his sons, and gathered up his feet into the couch, —and ceased to breathe and was gathered unto 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.
