Genesis 49
1 And Jacob calleth unto his sons and saith, 'Be gathered together, and I declare to you that which doth happen with you in the latter end of the days.
And Jacob called his sons, and said to them: Gather yourselves together that I may tell you the things that shall befall you in the last days.
2 'Be assembled, and hear, sons of Jacob, And hearken unto Israel your father.
Gather yourselves together, and hear, O ye sons of Jacob, hearken to Israel your father:
3 Reuben! my first-born thou, My power, and beginning of my strength, The abundance of exaltation, And the abundance of strength;
Ruben, my firstborn, thou art my strength, and the beginning of my sorrow: excelling in gifts, greater in command.
4 Unstable as water, thou art not abundant; For thou hast gone up thy father's bed; Then thou hast polluted: My couch he went up!
Thou art poured out as water, grow thou not: because thou wentest up to thy father’s bed, and didst defile his couch.
5 Simeon and Levi [are] brethren! Instruments of violence — their espousals!
Simeon and Levi brethren: vessels of iniquity, waging war.
6 Into their secret, come not, O my soul! Unto their assembly be not united, O mine honour; For in their anger they slew a man, And in their self-will eradicated a prince.
Let not my soul go into their counsel, nor my glory be in their assembly: because in their fury they slew a man, and in their selfwill they undermined a wall.
7 Cursed [is] their anger, for [it is] fierce, And their wrath, for [it is] sharp; I divide them in Jacob, And I scatter them in Israel.
Cursed be their fury, because it was stubborn: and their wrath because it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and will scatter them in Israel.
8 Judah! thou — thy brethren praise thee! Thy hand [is] on the neck of thine enemies, Sons of thy father bow themselves to thee.
Juda, thee shall thy brethren praise: thy hands shall be on the necks of thy enemies: the sons of thy father shall bow down to thee.
9 A lion's whelp [is] Judah, For prey, my son, thou hast gone up; He hath bent, he hath crouched as a lion, And as a lioness; who causeth him to arise?
Juda is a lion’s whelp: to the prey, my son, thou art gone up: resting thou hast couched as a lion, and as a lioness, who shall rouse him?
10 The sceptre turneth not aside from Judah, And a lawgiver from between his feet, Till his Seed come; And his [is] the obedience of peoples.
The sceptre shall not be taken away from Juda, nor a ruler from his thigh, till he come that is to be sent, and he shall be the expectation of nations.
11 Binding to the vine his ass, And to the choice vine the colt of his ass, He hath washed in wine his clothing, And in the blood of grapes his covering;
Tying his foal to the vineyard, and his ass, O my son, to the vine. He shall wash his robe in wine, and his garment in the blood of the grape.
12 Red [are] eyes with wine, And white [are] teeth with milk!
His eyes are more beautiful than wine, and his teeth whiter than milk.
13 Zebulun at a haven of the seas doth dwell, And he [is] for a haven of ships; And his side [is] unto Zidon.
Zabulon shall dwell on the sea shore, and in the road of ships, reaching as far as Sidon.
14 Issacher [is] a strong ass, Crouching between the two folds;
Issachar shall be a strong ass lying down between the borders.
15 And he seeth rest that [it is] good, And the land that [it is] pleasant, And he inclineth his shoulder to bear, And is to tribute a servant.
He saw rest that it was good: and the land that it was excellent: and he bowed his shoulder to carry, and became a servant under tribute.
16 Dan doth judge his people, As one of the tribes of Israel;
Dan shall judge his people like another tribe in Israel.
17 Dan is a serpent by the way, An adder by the path, Which is biting the horse's heels, And its rider falleth backward.
Let Dan be a snake in the way, a serpent in the path, that biteth the horse’s heels that his rider may fall backward.
18 For Thy salvation I have waited, Jehovah!
I will look for thy salvation, O Lord.
19 Gad! a troop assaulteth him, But he assaulteth last.
Gad, being girded, shall fight before him: and he himself shall be girded backward.
20 Out of Asher his bread [is] fat; And he giveth dainties of a king.
Aser, his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield dainties to kings.
21 Naphtali [is] a hind sent away, Who is giving beauteous young ones.
Nephtali, a hart let loose, and giving words of beauty.
22 Joseph [is] a fruitful son; A fruitful son by a fountain, Daughters step over the wall;
Joseph is a growing son, a growing son and comely to behold; the daughters run to and fro upon the wall.
23 And embitter him — yea, they have striven, Yea, hate him do archers;
But they that held darts provoked him, and quarrelled with him, and envied him.
24 And his bow abideth in strength, And strengthened are the arms of his hands By the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, Whence is a shepherd, a son of Israel.
His bow rested upon the strong, and the bands of his arms and his hands were loosed, by the hands of the mighty one of Jacob: thence he came forth a pastor, the stone of Israel.
25 By the God of thy father who helpeth thee, And the Mighty One who blesseth thee, Blessings of the heavens from above, Blessings of the deep lying under, Blessings of breasts and womb; —
The God of thy father shall be thy helper, and the Almighty shall bless thee with the blessings of heaven above, with the blessings of the deep that lieth beneath, with the blessings of the breasts and of the womb.
26 Thy father's blessings have been mighty Above the blessings of my progenitors, Unto the limit of the heights age-during They are for the head of Joseph, And for the crown of the one Separate [from] his brethren.
The blessings of thy father are strengthened with the blessings of his fathers: until the desire of the everlasting hills should come; may they be upon the head of Joseph, and upon the crown of the Nazarite among his brethren.
27 Benjamin! a wolf teareth; In the morning he eateth prey, And at evening he apportioneth spoil.'
Benjamin a ravenous wolf, in the morning shall eat the prey, and in the evening shall divide the spoil.
28 All these [are] the twelve tribes of Israel, and this [is] that which their father hath spoken unto them, and he blesseth them; each according to his blessing he hath blessed them.
All these are the twelve tribes of Israel: these things their father spoke to them, and he blessed every one, with their proper blessings.
29 And he commandeth them, and saith unto them, 'I am being gathered unto my people; bury me by my fathers, at the cave which [is] in the field of Ephron the Hittite;
And he charged them, saying: I am now going to be gathered to my people: bury me with my fathers in the double cave, which is in the field of Ephron the Hethite,
30 in the cave which [is] in the field of Machpelah, which [is] on the front of Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite for a possession of a burying-place;
Over against Mambre in the land of Chanaan, which Abraham bought together with the field of Ephron the Hethite for a possession to bury in.
31 (there they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah);
There they buried him, and Sara his wife: there was Isaac buried with Rebecca his wife: there also Lia doth lie buried.
32 the purchase of the field and of the cave which [is] in it, [is] from Sons of Heth.'
33 And Jacob finisheth commanding his sons, and gathereth up his feet unto the bed, and expireth, and is gathered unto his people.
And when he had ended the commandments, wherewith he instructed his sons, he drew up his feet upon the bed, and died: and he was gathered to his people.
