Genesis 49
1 Jacob summoned all his sons, and said to them,
ἐκάλεσεν δὲ Ιακωβ τοὺς υἱοὺς αὐτοῦ καὶ εἶπεν συνάχθητε ἵνα ἀναγγείλω ὑμῖν τί ἀπαντήσει ὑμῖν ἐπ’ ἐσχάτων τῶν ἡμερῶν
2 “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.
ἀθροίσθητε καὶ ἀκούσατε υἱοὶ Ιακωβ ἀκούσατε Ισραηλ τοῦ πατρὸς ὑμῶν
3 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.
Ρουβην πρωτότοκός μου σύ ἰσχύς μου καὶ ἀρχὴ τέκνων μου σκληρὸς φέρεσθαι καὶ σκληρὸς αὐθάδης
4 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.
ἐξύβρισας ὡς ὕδωρ μὴ ἐκζέσῃς ἀνέβης γὰρ ἐπὶ τὴν κοίτην τοῦ πατρός σου τότε ἐμίανας τὴν στρωμνήν οὗ ἀνέβης
5 Simeon and Levi, you have both acted like criminals. You use your swords to act violently.
Συμεων καὶ Λευι ἀδελφοί συνετέλεσαν ἀδικίαν ἐξ αἱρέσεως αὐτῶν
6 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).
εἰς βουλὴν αὐτῶν μὴ ἔλθοι ἡ ψυχή μου καὶ ἐπὶ τῇ συστάσει αὐτῶν μὴ ἐρείσαι τὰ ἥπατά μου ὅτι ἐν τῷ θυμῷ αὐτῶν ἀπέκτειναν ἀνθρώπους καὶ ἐν τῇ ἐπιθυμίᾳ αὐτῶν ἐνευροκόπησαν ταῦρον
7 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.’
ἐπικατάρατος ὁ θυμὸς αὐτῶν ὅτι αὐθάδης καὶ ἡ μῆνις αὐτῶν ὅτι ἐσκληρύνθη διαμεριῶ αὐτοὺς ἐν Ιακωβ καὶ διασπερῶ αὐτοὺς ἐν Ισραηλ
8 Judah, your [older and younger] brothers will praise you. They will bow down before you, because you will thoroughly defeat [MTY] your enemies.
Ιουδα σὲ αἰνέσαισαν οἱ ἀδελφοί σου αἱ χεῖρές σου ἐπὶ νώτου τῶν ἐχθρῶν σου προσκυνήσουσίν σοι οἱ υἱοὶ τοῦ πατρός σου
9 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].
σκύμνος λέοντος Ιουδα ἐκ βλαστοῦ υἱέ μου ἀνέβης ἀναπεσὼν ἐκοιμήθης ὡς λέων καὶ ὡς σκύμνος τίς ἐγερεῖ αὐτόν
10 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.
οὐκ ἐκλείψει ἄρχων ἐξ Ιουδα καὶ ἡγούμενος ἐκ τῶν μηρῶν αὐτοῦ ἕως ἂν ἔλθῃ τὰ ἀποκείμενα αὐτῷ καὶ αὐτὸς προσδοκία ἐθνῶν
11 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].
δεσμεύων πρὸς ἄμπελον τὸν πῶλον αὐτοῦ καὶ τῇ ἕλικι τὸν πῶλον τῆς ὄνου αὐτοῦ πλυνεῖ ἐν οἴνῳ τὴν στολὴν αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐν αἵματι σταφυλῆς τὴν περιβολὴν αὐτοῦ
12 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].
χαροποὶ οἱ ὀφθαλμοὶ αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ οἴνου καὶ λευκοὶ οἱ ὀδόντες αὐτοῦ ἢ γάλα
13 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].
Ζαβουλων παράλιος κατοικήσει καὶ αὐτὸς παρ’ ὅρμον πλοίων καὶ παρατενεῖ ἕως Σιδῶνος
14 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]!
Ισσαχαρ τὸ καλὸν ἐπεθύμησεν ἀναπαυόμενος ἀνὰ μέσον τῶν κλήρων
15 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.
καὶ ἰδὼν τὴν ἀνάπαυσιν ὅτι καλή καὶ τὴν γῆν ὅτι πίων ὑπέθηκεν τὸν ὦμον αὐτοῦ εἰς τὸ πονεῖν καὶ ἐγενήθη ἀνὴρ γεωργός
16 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.
Δαν κρινεῖ τὸν ἑαυτοῦ λαὸν ὡσεὶ καὶ μία φυλὴ ἐν Ισραηλ
17 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].”
καὶ γενηθήτω Δαν ὄφις ἐφ’ ὁδοῦ ἐγκαθήμενος ἐπὶ τρίβου δάκνων πτέρναν ἵππου καὶ πεσεῖται ὁ ἱππεὺς εἰς τὰ ὀπίσω
18 Then Jacob prayed, “Yahweh, I am waiting for you to rescue me [from my enemies].”
τὴν σωτηρίαν περιμένω κυρίου
19 [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].
Γαδ πειρατήριον πειρατεύσει αὐτόν αὐτὸς δὲ πειρατεύσει αὐτῶν κατὰ πόδας
20 Asher, your descendants will eat good-tasting food; they will produce food that is delicious enough for kings to eat.
Ασηρ πίων αὐτοῦ ὁ ἄρτος καὶ αὐτὸς δώσει τρυφὴν ἄρχουσιν
21 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].
Νεφθαλι στέλεχος ἀνειμένον ἐπιδιδοὺς ἐν τῷ γενήματι κάλλος
22 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.
υἱὸς ηὐξημένος Ιωσηφ υἱὸς ηὐξημένος ζηλωτός υἱός μου νεώτατος πρός με ἀνάστρεψον
23 Their enemies will attack them fiercely, and shoot at them with bows and arrows and pursue them.
εἰς ὃν διαβουλευόμενοι ἐλοιδόρουν καὶ ἐνεῖχον αὐτῷ κύριοι τοξευμάτων
24 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.
καὶ συνετρίβη μετὰ κράτους τὰ τόξα αὐτῶν καὶ ἐξελύθη τὰ νεῦρα βραχιόνων χειρῶν αὐτῶν διὰ χεῖρα δυνάστου Ιακωβ ἐκεῖθεν ὁ κατισχύσας Ισραηλ
25 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).
παρὰ θεοῦ τοῦ πατρός σου καὶ ἐβοήθησέν σοι ὁ θεὸς ὁ ἐμὸς καὶ εὐλόγησέν σε εὐλογίαν οὐρανοῦ ἄνωθεν καὶ εὐλογίαν γῆς ἐχούσης πάντα ἕνεκεν εὐλογίας μαστῶν καὶ μήτρας
26 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].
εὐλογίας πατρός σου καὶ μητρός σου ὑπερίσχυσεν ἐπ’ εὐλογίαις ὀρέων μονίμων καὶ ἐπ’ εὐλογίαις θινῶν ἀενάων ἔσονται ἐπὶ κεφαλὴν Ιωσηφ καὶ ἐπὶ κορυφῆς ὧν ἡγήσατο ἀδελφῶν
27 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.”
Βενιαμιν λύκος ἅρπαξ τὸ πρωινὸν ἔδεται ἔτι καὶ εἰς τὸ ἑσπέρας διαδώσει τροφήν
28 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.
πάντες οὗτοι υἱοὶ Ιακωβ δώδεκα καὶ ταῦτα ἐλάλησεν αὐτοῖς ὁ πατὴρ αὐτῶν καὶ εὐλόγησεν αὐτούς ἕκαστον κατὰ τὴν εὐλογίαν αὐτοῦ εὐλόγησεν αὐτούς
29 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.
καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς ἐγὼ προστίθεμαι πρὸς τὸν ἐμὸν λαόν θάψατέ με μετὰ τῶν πατέρων μου ἐν τῷ σπηλαίῳ ὅ ἐστιν ἐν τῷ ἀγρῷ Εφρων τοῦ Χετταίου
30 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.
ἐν τῷ σπηλαίῳ τῷ διπλῷ τῷ ἀπέναντι Μαμβρη ἐν τῇ γῇ Χανααν ὃ ἐκτήσατο Αβρααμ τὸ σπήλαιον παρὰ Εφρων τοῦ Χετταίου ἐν κτήσει μνημείου
31 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.
ἐκεῖ ἔθαψαν Αβρααμ καὶ Σαρραν τὴν γυναῖκα αὐτοῦ ἐκεῖ ἔθαψαν Ισαακ καὶ Ρεβεκκαν τὴν γυναῖκα αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐκεῖ ἔθαψα Λειαν
32 That field and the cave in it were bought from the Heth people-group; so that is where I want you to bury me.”
ἐν κτήσει τοῦ ἀγροῦ καὶ τοῦ σπηλαίου τοῦ ὄντος ἐν αὐτῷ παρὰ τῶν υἱῶν Χετ
33 When Jacob finished giving those instructions to his sons, he lay down on his bed again. Then he died [IDM].
καὶ κατέπαυσεν Ιακωβ ἐπιτάσσων τοῖς υἱοῖς αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐξάρας τοὺς πόδας αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τὴν κλίνην ἐξέλιπεν καὶ προσετέθη πρὸς τὸν λαὸν αὐτοῦ
