49:1 Then Jacob called for his sons and said: “Gather around so I can tell you what will happen to you in days to come.
49:2 “Assemble and listen, sons of Jacob; listen to your father Israel.
49:3 “Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, the first sign of my strength, excelling in honor, excelling in power.
49:4 Turbulent as the waters, you will no longer excel, for you went up onto your father’s bed, onto my couch and defiled it.
49:5 “Simeon and Levi are brothers–their swords are weapons of violence.
49:6 Let me not enter their council, let me not join their assembly, for they have killed men in their anger and hamstrung oxen as they pleased.
49:7 Cursed be their anger, so fierce, and their fury, so cruel! I will scatter them in Jacob and disperse them in Israel.
49:8 “Judah, your brothers will praise you; your hand will be on the neck of your enemies; your father’s sons will bow down to you.
49:9 You are a lion’s cub, O Judah; you return from the prey, my son. Like a lion he crouches and lies down, like a lioness–who dares to rouse him?
49:10 The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his.
49:11 He will tether his donkey to a vine, his colt to the choicest branch; he will wash his garments in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes.
49:12 His eyes will be darker than wine, his teeth whiter than milk.
49:13 “Zebulun will live by the seashore and become a haven for ships; his border will extend toward Sidon.
49:14 “Issachar is a rawboned donkey lying down between two saddlebags.
49:15 When he sees how good is his resting place and how pleasant is his land, he will bend his shoulder to the burden and submit to forced labor.
49:16 “Dan will provide justice for his people as one of the tribes of Israel.
49:17 Dan will be a serpent by the roadside, a viper along the path, that bites the horse’s heels so that its rider tumbles backward.
49:18 “I look for your deliverance, O LORD.
49:19 “Gad will be attacked by a band of raiders, but he will attack them at their heels.
49:20 “Asher’s food will be rich; he will provide delicacies fit for a king.
49:21 “Naphtali is a doe set free that bears beautiful fawns.
49:22 “Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine near a spring, whose branches climb over a wall.
49:23 With bitterness archers attacked him; they shot at him with hostility.
49:24 But his bow remained steady, his strong arms stayed limber, because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob, because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel,
49:25 because of your father’s God, who helps you, because of the Almighty, who blesses you with blessings of the heavens above, blessings of the deep that lies below, blessings of the breast and womb.
49:26 Your father’s blessings are greater than the blessings of the ancient mountains, than the bounty of the age-old hills. Let all these rest on the head of Joseph, on the brow of the prince among his brothers.
49:27 “Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; in the morning he devours the prey, in the evening he divides the plunder.”
49:28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said to them when he blessed them, giving each the blessing appropriate to him.
49:29 Then he gave them these instructions: “I am about to be gathered to my people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite,
49:30 the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre in Canaan, which Abraham bought as a burial place from Ephron the Hittite, along with the field.
49:31 There Abraham and his wife Sarah were buried, there Isaac and his wife Rebekah were buried, and there I buried Leah.
49:32 The field and the cave in it were bought from the Hittites.”
49:33 When Jacob had finished giving instructions to his sons, he drew his feet up into the bed, breathed his last and was gathered to his people.
49:1 And Jacob called to his sons and said, Gather yourselves together that I may tell you what will happen to you in the last days.
49:2 Assemble yourselves, and listen, O sons of Jacob; / Yes, listen to Israel your father.
49:3 Reuben, you are my firstborn, / My might and the firstfruits of my vigor, / Preeminent in dignity and preeminent in power.
49:4 Ebullient as water, you will not have the preeminence, / Because you went up to your father s bed; / Then you defiled it ? he went up to my couch.
49:5 Simeon and Levi are brothers; / Weapons of violence are their swords.
49:6 Come not into their council, O my soul; / Be not united with their assembly, O my glory; / For in their anger they slew men, / And in their self-will they hamstrung oxen.
49:7 Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce; / And their wrath, for it is cruel: / I will divide them in Jacob, / And scatter them in Israel.
49:8 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.
49:9 Judah is a young lion; / From the prey, my son, you have gone up. / He couches, he stretches out like a lion, / And like a lioness; who will rouse him up?
49:10 The scepter will not depart from Judah, / Nor the ruler s staff from between his feet, / Until Shiloh comes, / And to Him shall be the obedience of the peoples.
49:11 Binding his foal to the vine, / And his donkey s colt to the choice vine, / He washes his garment in wine, / And his robe in the blood of grapes.
49:12 Dark are his eyes with wine, / And white are his teeth with milk.
49:13 Zebulun will dwell at the shore of the sea, / And he will be a shore for ships, / And his flank will be toward Sidon.
49:14 Issachar is a strong donkey, / Couching between the sheepfolds.
49:15 And he saw a resting place that was good / And the land that was pleasant, / And he bowed his shoulder to bear, / And became a task-worker to bring tribute.
49:16 Dan will judge his people, / As one of the tribes of Israel.
49:17 Dan will be a serpent in the way, / A viper on the path, / That bites the horse s heels, / So that his rider falls backward.
49:18 I have waited for Your salvation, O Jehovah.
49:19 Gad, raiders will raid him, / But he will raid at their heel.
49:20 Asher s food will be rich, / And he will yield royal dainties.
49:21 Naphtali is a hind let loose; / He gives beautiful words.
49:22 Joseph is a fruitful bough, / A fruitful bough by a fountain; / His branches run over the wall.
49:23 The archers bitterly attacked him, / And shot at him and harassed him;
49:24 But his bow remained firm, / And the arms of his hands were agile, / By the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob ? / From there is the Shepherd, the stone of Israel ?
49:25 From the God of your father, who will help you, / And from the All-sufficient One, who will bless you / With blessings of heaven above, / Blessings of the deep that lies beneath, / Blessings of the breasts and of the womb.
49:26 The blessings of your father surpass / The blessings of my ancestors / To the utmost bound of the everlasting hills. / They will be on the head of Joseph, / And on the crown of the head of the one who was separate from his / brothers.
49:27 Benjamin is a ravenous wolf, / In the morning devouring the prey / And in the evening dividing the spoil.
49:28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father spoke to them when he blessed them; he blessed them, each one according to his blessing.
49:29 And he charged them and said to them, I am being gathered to my people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite,
49:30 In the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought along with the field from Ephron the Hittite for the possession of a burial place ?
49:31 There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife, there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife, and there I buried Leah ?
49:32 The field and the cave that is in it, purchased from the children of Heth.
49:33 And when Jacob had finished charging his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed and expired, and he was gathered to his people.