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.

Then Jacob called for his sons, and said: “Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you what will happen to you in the future.

2 'Be assembled, and hear, sons of Jacob, And hearken unto Israel your father.

Assemble yourselves and listen, you sons of Jacob. Listen 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;

Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, outstanding in dignity, and outstanding in power.

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!

Uncontrollable as rushing water, you will not have the preeminence, because you went up to your father's bed. Then you defiled it; you went up to my couch.

5 Simeon and Levi [are] brethren! Instruments of violence — their espousals!

Simeon and Levi are brothers. Weapons of violence are their swords.

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.

O my soul, do not come into their council; do not join in their meetings, for my heart has too much honor for that. For in their anger they killed men. It was for pleasure that they hamstrung oxen.

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.

May their anger be cursed, for it was fierce—and their fury, for it was cruel. I will divide them in Jacob and 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.

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 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?

Judah is a lion's cub. My son, you have gone up from your victims. He stooped down, he crouched like a lion, like a lioness. Who would dare to awaken 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 scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes. The nations will obey him.

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;

Binding his donkey to the vine, and his donkey's colt to the choice vine, he has washed his garments in wine, and his robe in the blood of grapes.

12 Red [are] eyes with wine, And white [are] teeth with milk!

His eyes will be as dark as wine, and his teeth as white as 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.

Zebulun will live by the shore of the sea. He will be a harbor for ships, and his border will extend to Sidon.

14 Issacher [is] a strong ass, Crouching between the two folds;

Issachar is a strong donkey, lying down between the sheepfolds.

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 sees a good resting place and the pleasant land. He will bend his shoulder to the burden and become a servant for the task.

16 Dan doth judge his people, As one of the tribes of Israel;

Dan will judge his people as one of the tribes of 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.

Dan will be a snake beside the road, a poisonous snake in the path that bites the horse's heels, so that his rider falls backward.

18 For Thy salvation I have waited, Jehovah!

I wait for your salvation, Yahweh.

19 Gad! a troop assaulteth him, But he assaulteth last.

Gad—raiders will attack him, but he will attack them at their heels.

20 Out of Asher his bread [is] fat; And he giveth dainties of a king.

Asher's food will be rich, and he will provide royal delicacies.

21 Naphtali [is] a hind sent away, Who is giving beauteous young ones.

Naphtali is a doe let loose; he will have beautiful fawns.

22 Joseph [is] a fruitful son; A fruitful son by a fountain, Daughters step over the wall;

Joseph is a fruitful bough, a fruitful bough near a spring, whose branches climb over the wall.

23 And embitter him — yea, they have striven, Yea, hate him do archers;

The archers will attack him and shoot at him and harass 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.

But his bow will remain steady, and his hands will be skillful because of the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, because of the name of the Shepherd, the Rock 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 your father will help you and the Almighty God will bless you with blessings of the sky above, blessings of the deep that lies beneath, and blessings of the breasts and 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 your father are greater than the blessings of the ancient mountains or the desirable things of the ancient hills. May they be on the head of Joseph, even upon the crown of the head of the prince of his brothers.

27 Benjamin! a wolf teareth; In the morning he eateth prey, And at evening he apportioneth spoil.'

Benjamin is a hungry wolf. In the morning he will devour the prey, and in the evening he will divide the plunder.”

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.

These are the twelve tribes of Israel. This is what their father said to them when he blessed them. Each one he blessed with an appropriate blessing.

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;

Then he instructed them and said to them, “I am about to go to my people. Bury me with my forefathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite,

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;

in the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is near Mamre in the land of Canaan, the field that Abraham bought for a burial place from Ephron the Hittite.

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

32 the purchase of the field and of the cave which [is] in it, [is] from Sons of Heth.'

The field and the cave that is in it were purchased from the people 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.

When Jacob finished these instructions to his sons, he pulled his feet into the bed, breathed his last, and went to his people.