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.

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

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

Assemble yourselves, and hear, ye sons of Jacob; and hearken unto 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, thou art my first-born, my might, and the first-fruits of my strength; the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of 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!

Unstable as water, have not thou the excellency; because thou wentest up to thy father's bed; then defiledst thou it — he went up to my couch.

5 Simeon and Levi, are brethren, —Instruments of violence, are their agreements:

Simeon and Levi are brethren; weapons of violence their kinship.

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.

Let my soul not come into their council; unto their assembly let my glory not be united; for in their anger they slew men, and in their self-will they houghed oxen.

7 Accursed, be their anger, because fierce, And their wrath because cruel, —I divide them in Jacob, And I disperse them in Israel.

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.

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, thee shall thy brethren praise; thy hand shall be on the neck of thine enemies; thy father's sons shall bow down before thee.

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?

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?

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:

The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, as long as men come to Shiloh; and unto him shall the obedience of the peoples be.

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:

Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass's colt unto the choice vine; he washeth his garments in wine, and his vesture in the blood of grapes;

12 Darker—his eyes, than wine, —Whiter—his teeth than milk!

His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with 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 shall dwell at the shore of the sea, and he shall be a shore for ships, and his flank shall be upon Zidon.

14 Issachar, an ass of strength, —couching between the pens;

Issachar is a large-boned ass, couching down between the sheep-folds.

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.

For 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 task-work

16 Dan, shall vindicate his people, —as one of the tribes of Israel;

Dan shall 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 shall be a serpent in the way, a horned snake in the path, that biteth the horse's heels, so that his rider falleth backward.

18 For thy salvation, have I waited O Yahweh!

I wait for Thy salvation, O Lord.

19 Gad! a troop shall troop on him, —But, he, shall troop on the rear.

Gad, a troop shall troop upon him; but he shall troop upon their heel.

20 Out of Asher, fatness, is his food, —So, he, setteth forth dainties for a king.

As for Asher, his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties.

21 Naphtali, is a slender hind, —That putteth forth antlers of beauty.

Naphtali is a hind let loose: he giveth goodly words.

22 A fruitful bough, is Joseph, A fruitful bough over a fountain, —Branches creeping over a wall.

Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine by a fountain; its branches run over the wall.

23 So they attack him and have shot, —So they enclose him, do the masters of arrows.

The archers have dealt bitterly with him, and shot at him, and hated him;

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 his bow abode firm, and the arms of his hands were made supple, by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, from thence, from the Shepherd, the Stone 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:

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.

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 of thy father are mighty beyond 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 the prince among his brethren.

27 Benjamin a wolf that teareth in pieces, In the morning, he eateth prey, And at eventide, he divideth spoil.

Benjamin is a wolf that raveneth; in the morning he devoureth the prey, and at even he divideth the spoil.'

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.

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

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:

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,

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: —

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 burying-place.

31 There, buried they Abraham, and Sarah his wife, There, buried they Isaac, and Rebekah his wife, —And there, buried I Leah: —

There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah.

32 buying the field and the cave that is therein, from the sons of Heth.

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

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.

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