Genesis 49
1 And he summoned Jacob sons his and he said gather yourselves so let me tell to you [that] which it will happen to you at [the] end of the days.
Jacob summoned all his sons, and said to them,
2 Assemble and listen O sons of Jacob and listen to Israel father your.
“Gather around me in order that I can tell you what will happen in the future. My sons, come and listen to me. I am your father, [Jacob, whom God named] Israel.
3 O Reuben [are] firstborn my you strength my and [the] beginning of manly vigor my excellence of dignity and excellence of power.
Reuben, you are my oldest son. You were born when I was young and energetic/strong. You are prouder and stronger than all the rest of my sons.
4 Destructiveness like water may not you excel for you went up [the] bed of father your then you profaned [it] couch my he went up.
But you were as uncontrollable as a flood [SIM]. So now you will not be my most important son, because you climbed up onto my bed, and had sex with [MTY] my (concubine/slave who had become one of my wives). Your doing that caused me, your father, to have great shame.
5 Simeon and Levi [are] brothers [are] weapons of violence swords their.
Simeon and Levi, you have both acted like criminals. You use your swords to act violently.
6 In council their may not it enter self my in assembly their may not it be united honor my for in anger their they slew a man and for pleasure their they hamstrung ox[en].
I do not want to be with you when you make evil plans [DOU]. I do not want to join you in your meetings, because you killed people when you became very angry, and you (hamstrung/cut the tendons in the legs of) oxen just to (have fun/see them suffer).
7 [be] cursed Anger their for fierce and wrath their for it is hard I will divide them in Jacob and I will scatter them in Israel.
God says, ‘I will (curse/cause bad things to happen to) them for being very angry, for acting very cruelly when they were very furious. I will scatter their descendants [MTY] throughout Israel land.’
8 O Judah you they will praise you brothers your hand your [will be] on [the] neck of enemies your they will bow down to you [the] sons of father your.
Judah, your [older and younger] brothers will praise you. They will bow down before you, because you will thoroughly defeat [MTY] your enemies.
9 [is] a cub of A lion Judah from prey O son my you have gone up he bows down he lies down like a lion and like a lion who? will he rouse him.
Judah is like a young lion [SIM] that has returned to its den satisfied after eating the animals that it has killed. He is like a lion that lies down and stretches out after eating; no one would dare to disturb it [RHQ].
10 Not it will depart a scepter from Judah and a ruler's staff from between feet his until that he will come (Shiloh *Q(k)*) and [will belong] to him [the] obedience of peoples.
There will always be a ruler [MTY] from the descendants of Judah [MTY]. Each one will hold a scepter/staff to show that he has authority as a king. He will do that until the one to whom the scepter belongs comes, the one to whom the nations will bring tribute and show that they will obey him.
11 Binding to the vine (donkey his *Q(K)*) and to the choice vine [the] young one of donkey his he will wash in wine clothing his and in [the] blood of grapes (robe his. *Q(K)*)
The grapevines of Judah’s descendants will produce grapes very abundantly. As a result, they will not object to tying their young donkeys to the grapevines in order that the donkeys can eat the leaves of the grapevines. [Wine will be very plentiful, with the result that] they could wash their cloaks in wine that is as red as blood [MET].
12 Dark of eyes more than wine and white of teeth more than milk.
Their eyes will be red because of [drinking too much] wine, but their teeth will be very white because of drinking much milk [from the cows].
13 Zebulun to [the] coast of [the] seas he will dwell and he to a harbor of ships and side his [will be] at Sidon.
Zebulun, your descendants will live by the seashore where there will be a safe harbor for ships. Their land will extend north as far as Sidon [city].
14 Issachar [is] a donkey of bone lying down between the two campfires.
Issachar, your descendants will be like strong donkeys that are lying down on the ground between their loads, [so tired that they cannot get up]!
15 And he saw a resting place that it was good and the land that it was pleasant and he bent down shoulder his to carry a load and he became forced labor of laboring.
They will see that their resting place is good, and that the land pleases them very much. But they will bend their backs to carry heavy loads and be forced to work for others.
16 Dan he will judge people his like one of [the] tribes of Israel.
Dan, although your tribe will be small, their leaders will rule their people just like the leaders of other tribes of Israel will rule their people.
17 May he be Dan a snake on a road a viper on a path the [one which] bites [the] heels of a horse and he fell rider its backwards.
Your descendants will be like snakes at the side of a road, like poisonous snakes lying beside a path. They will strike the heels of horses that pass by, causing the riders to fall backwards [as the horses rear up on their hind legs].”
18 For deliverance your I wait eagerly O Yahweh.
Then Jacob prayed, “Yahweh, I am waiting for you to rescue me [from my enemies].”
19 Gad a marauding band it will attack him and he he will attack a heel.
[Then Jacob continued telling his sons what would happen in the future. He said], “Gad, your tribe/descendants will be attacked by a group of bandits, but your tribe/descendants will pursue and attack them [MTY].
20 From Asher [will be] rich food his and he he will provide delicacies of a king.
Asher, your descendants will eat good-tasting food; they will produce food that is delicious enough for kings to eat.
21 Naphtali [is] a doe let loose the [one which] utters words of beauty.
Naphtali, your descendants will be like deer [MET] that are (free to/not tied down and can) run wherever they wish. They will give birth to children who are good-looking like (fawns/baby deer) [MET].
22 [is] a son of A fruit-bearer Joseph a son of a fruit-bearer at a spring daughters she will climb over a wall.
Joseph, you will have many descendants [MET]. Their children will be as many as the fruit on a vine near a spring of water, whose branches extend over a wall.
23 And they showed bitterness to him and they shot and they bear a grudge him masters of arrows.
Their enemies will attack them fiercely, and shoot at them with bows and arrows and pursue them.
24 And it remained in permanence bow his and they were agile [the] arms of hands his from [the] hands of [the] mighty one of Jacob [is] from there [the] shepherd [the] stone of Israel.
But they will hold their bows steady and their arms will remain strong, because of the power [MTY] of my mighty God, because of Yahweh who guides and provides for me [MET] like a shepherd guides and provides for his sheep. The people of Israel will [ask Yahweh to protect them], [like people hide under] a huge [overhanging] to be protected.
25 From [the] God of father your and he will help you and Almighty and he will bless you blessings of heaven above blessings of [the] deep [which] lies beneath blessings of breasts and womb.
God, the one whom I worship, will help your descendants. God Almighty will bless them by sending them rain from the sky and by giving them water from deep/far below the ground. He will give them many cattle and children [MET] (OR, and their cattle will have many offspring).
26 [the] blessings of Father your they have prevailed over [the] blessings of [the men who] conceived me to desire of hills of antiquity may they be[long] to [the] head of Joseph and to the scalp [the] prince of brothers his.
The blessings that I want God to give you are great ones. They are greater than the blessings that come from the eternal mountains, greater than the ones that come from the everlasting hills. Joseph, I pray that these blessings will (be given to you/come upon your head), because you are the leader of your [older] brothers [and younger brother].
27 Benjamin [is] a wolf [which] it tears to pieces in the morning he consumes booty and to the evening he divides plunder.
Benjamin, your descendants will be like [MET] vicious/fierce wolves: In the morning they will kill their enemies like a wolf devours (its prey/the animals that it has killed), and in the evening they will divide among their warriors the spoils that they seized from their enemies.”
28 All these [are] [the] tribes of Israel two [plus] ten and this [is that] which he spoke to them father their and he blessed them everyone whom according to blessing his he blessed them.
Those twelve sons are the ancestors of the twelve tribes of Israel. That is what their father said to them as he blessed them, telling to each one words that were appropriate for him.
29 And he commanded them and he said to them I [am] about to be gathered to people my bury me with fathers my into the cave which [is] in [the] field of Ephron the Hittite.
Then Jacob said to his sons, “I will soon die. Bury my body where some of my ancestors are buried, in the cave that is in the field that was bought from Ephron, who belonged to the Heth people-group.
30 In the cave which [is] in [the] field of Machpelah which [is] on [the] face of Mamre in [the] land of Canaan which he bought Abraham the field from with Ephron the Hittite to a possession of a burial site.
That field is in the Machpelah area, east of Mamre [town], in Canaan. My grandfather Abraham bought it from Ephron to use as a burial place.
31 There people buried Abraham and Sarah wife his there people buried Isaac and Rebekah wife his and there I buried Leah.
That is where they buried him and his wife Sarah. That is where they buried my father Isaac and his wife Rebekah. And that is where I buried my wife Leah.
32 [the] livestock of The field and the cave which [is] in it from with [the] sons of Heth.
That field and the cave in it were bought from the Heth people-group; so that is where I want you to bury me.”
33 And he finished Jacob to command sons his and he gathered feet his into the bed and he expired and he was gathered to peoples his.
When Jacob finished giving those instructions to his sons, he lay down on his bed again. Then he died [IDM].
