Genesis 49
1 Forsothe Jacob clepide hise sones, and seide to hem, Be ye gaderid that Y telle what thingis schulen come to you in the laste daies;
Then Jacob summoned his sons, and said: "Gather yourselves together so that I may tell you what will happen to you in the days to come.
2 be ye gaderid, `and here, ye sones of Jacob, here ye Israel youre fadir.
Assemble yourselves and hear, you sons of Jacob. Listen to Israel, your father.
3 Ruben, my firste gendrid sone, thou art my strengthe and the bigynnyng of my sorewe; thou ouytist to be the former in yiftis, the more in lordschip;
Reuben, you are my firstborn, my strength, and the the firstfruits of my virility, preeminent in dignity and preeminent in power.
4 thou art sched out as watir; wexe thou not, for thou stiedist on the bed of thi fader, and defoulidist his bed.
Uncontrolled as the waters, you will not have excel, because you went up to your father's bed, you went up and defiled my couch.
5 Symeon and Leuy, britheren, fiytynge vessils of wickidnesse;
Simeon and Levi are brothers. Their swords are weapons of violence.
6 my soule come not in to the councel of hem, and my glorie be not in the congregacioun of hem; for in her woodnesse thei killiden a man, and in her wille thei myneden the wal;
May I never enter their council. May my honor never be joined with their assembly. For in their anger they killed men, and for pleasure they hamstrung oxen.
7 curside be the woodnesse of hem, for it is obstynat, and the indignacioun of hem for it is hard; Y schal departe hem in Jacob, and I schal scatere hem in Israel.
Cursed be their anger, for it has been fierce, and their fury, for it was cruel. I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.
8 Judas, thi britheren schulen preise thee, thin hondis schulen be in the nollis of thin enemyes; the sones of thi fadir schulen worschipe thee.
Judah, your brothers will praise you. Your hand will be on the neck of your enemies. Your father's sons will bow down before you.
9 `A whelp of lioun `is Judas; my sone thou stiedist to prey; thou restidist, and hast leyn as a lioun, and as a lionesse who schal reise hym?
Judah is a lion's cub. From the prey, my son, you rise up. Like a lion he crouches and lies down, as a lioness. Who will rouse him up?
10 The septre schal not be takun awey fro Juda, and a duyk of his hipe, til he come that schal be sent, and he schal be abiding of hethene men;
The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs. And it is he whom the peoples will obey.
11 and he schal tye his colt at the vyner, and his femal asse at the vyne; A! my sone, he schal waische his stoole in wyn, and his mentil in the blood of grape;
Binding his foal to the vine, and his donkey's colt to the choice vine. He will wash his garments in wine, and his robes in the blood of grapes.
12 hise iyen ben fairere than wyn, and hise teeth ben whittere than mylk.
His eyes will be darker than wine, and his teeth whiter than milk.
13 Zabulon schal dwelle in the brenk of the see, and in the stondyng of schipis; and schal stretche til to Sydon.
Zebulun will dwell at the seashore, and he will be a harbor for ships, and his border will be at Sidon.
14 Isachar, a strong asse,
Issachar is a strong donkey lying down between the saddlebags.
15 liggynge bitwixe termes, seiy reste, that it was good and seiy the lond that it was best, and he vndirsettide his schuldre to bere, and he was maad seruynge to tributis.
When he sees a good resting place, that the land is pleasant, he will bend his back to the burden, and become a slave doing forced labor.
16 Dan schal deme his puple, as also another lynage in Israel.
Dan will judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel.
17 Dan be maad a serpent in the weie, and cerastes in the path, and bite the feet of an hors, that the `stiere therof falle bacward; Lord,
Dan will be a serpent on the road, a viper by the path, that bites the horse's heels so that his rider falls backward.
18 Y schal abide thin helthe.
I wait for your salvation, God.
19 Gad schal be gird, and schal fiyte bifor hym, and he schal be gird bihynde.
Gad will be attacked by raiders, but he will raid at their heels.
20 Aser his breed schal be plenteuouse, and he schal yyue delicis to kyngis.
Asher's food will be rich, and he will provide royal delicacies.
21 Neptalym schal be an hert sent out, and yyuynge spechis of fairenesse.
Naphtali is a doe set free that bears beautiful fawns.
22 Joseph, a sone encreessynge, `a sone encresinge, and fair in biholdyng; douytris runnen aboute on the wal,
Joseph is a fruitful son, a fruitful son by a spring. His branches run over a wall.
23 but hise brithren wraththeden hym, and chidden, and thei hadden dartis, and hadden enuye to hym.
The archers will attack him with bitterness, and shoot at him, and harass him.
24 His bowe sat in the stronge, and the boondis of his armes, and hondis weren vnboundun bi the hond of the myyti of Jacob; of hym a scheepherd yede out, the stoon of Israel.
Yet his bow will remain steady, and his arms will be made agile by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, by the name of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel,
25 God of thi fadir schal be thin helpere, and Almyyti God schal blesse thee with blessyngis of heuene fro aboue, and with blessyngis of the see liggynge binethe, with blessyngis of tetis, and of wombe;
by the God of your father, who will help you, and El Shaddai, who will bless you with blessings of the sky above, blessings of the deep that lies below, and blessings of the breasts and of the womb.
26 the blessyngis of thi fadir ben coumfortid, the blessyngis of his fadris, til the desire of euerlastynge hillis cam; blessyngis ben maad in the heed of Joseph, and in the nol of Nazarei among his britheren.
The blessings of your father are greater than the blessings of the ancient mountains, and the bounty of the everlasting hills. They will be on the head of Joseph, and on the brow of the prince among his brothers.
27 Beniamyn, a rauyschynge wolf, schal ete prey eerly, and in the euentid he schal departe spuylis.
Benjamin is a ravenous wolf. In the morning he will devour the prey, and at evening he will divide the plunder."
28 Alle these weren in twelue kynredis of Israel; her fadir spak these thingys to hem, and blesside hem alle by propre blessyngis,
All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said to them when he blessed them. He blessed each one with his own individual blessing.
29 and comaundide hem, and seide, Y am gaderid to my puple, birie ye me with my fadris in the double denne, which is in the lond of Efron Ethei, ayens Manbre,
Then he instructed them, and said to them, "I am to be gathered to my people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hethite,
30 in the lond of Canaan, which denne Abraham bouyte with the feeld of Efron Ethei, in to possessioun of sepulcre.
in the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is near Mamre in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought along with the field from Ephron the Hethite as a burial place.
31 There thei birieden hym, and Sare his wijf, also Ysaac was biried there with Rebecca his wijf; there also Lia liggith biried.
There they buried Abraham and his wife Sarah. There they buried Isaac and his wife Rebekah, and there I buried Leah.
The field and the cave that is in it were purchased from the sons of Heth."
33 And whanne the comaundementis weren endid, bi whiche he tauyte the sones, he gaderide hise feet on the bed, and diede, and he was put to his puple.
When Jacob finished instructing his sons, he drew his legs up into the bed and breathed his last, and was gathered to his people.
