Genesis 49

1 Jacob called his sons together, and said, “Gather round so I can tell you what's going to happen to you in the future.

And Jacob called unto his sons, and said: Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the latter days.

2 Come here, sons of Jacob, and listen to Israel your father.

Assemble yourselves, and hear, ye sons of Jacob; And hearken unto Israel your father.

3 Reuben. You are my firstborn, conceived when I was strong, born when I was vigorous! You were above all others is position, above all others in power.

Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength; The excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power.

4 But you boil over like water, so you won't be above anyone anymore, because you went and slept with my concubine; you violated my marriage bed.

Unstable as water, thou shalt not have the excellency; Because thou wentest up to thy father’s bed: Then defiledst thou it: he went up to my couch.

5 Simeon and Levi are two of the same kind—they use their weapons for destructive violence.

Simeon and Levi are brethren; Weapons of violence are their swords.

6 I refuse to be part of their decisions; I refuse to participate in what they do. For they killed men in their anger; they crippled cattle just for fun.

O my soul, come not thou into their council; Unto their assembly, my glory, be not thou united; For in their anger they slew a man, And in their selfwill they houghed an ox.

7 I curse their anger because it is too harsh; I curse their fury because it is too cruel! I will separate their descendants throughout Jacob; I will scatter them throughout Israel.

Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; And their wrath, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, And scatter them in Israel.

8 Judah, your brothers will praise you. You will defeat your enemies. Your father's sons shall bow down to you in respect.

Judah, thee shall thy brethren praise: Thy hand shall be on the neck of thine enemies; Thy father’s sons shall bow down before thee.

9 My son Judah is a young lion coming back from eating its prey. He crouches and lies down like a lion. Like a lion, who would dare to disturb him?

Judah is a lion’s whelp; From the prey, my son, thou art gone up: He stooped down, he couched as a lion, And as a lioness; who shall rouse him up?

10 Judah will always hold the scepter, and the staff of authority will always be at his feet until Shiloh comes; the nations will obey him.

The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, Nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, Until Shiloh come; And unto him shall the obedience of the peoples be.

11 He ties his donkey to the vine, his donkey's colt to the best vine. He washes his clothes in wine, his robes in the red juice of grapes.

Binding his foal unto the vine, And his ass’s colt unto the choice vine; He hath washed his garments in wine, And his vesture in the blood of grapes:

12 His eyes sparkle more than wine, and his teeth are whiter than milk.

His eyes shall be red with wine, And his teeth white with milk.

13 Zebulun will live on the seashore and provide a harbor for ships; his territory will extend towards Sidon.

Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea: And he shall be for an haven of ships; And his border shall be upon Zidon.

14 Issachar is a strong donkey, lying down between two saddle bags.

Issachar is a strong ass, Couching down between the sheepfolds:

15 He sees that the place where he's resting is good, and the land is lovely, so he's willing to lower his back to accept the burden and to work as a slave.

And he saw a resting place that it was good, And the land that it was pleasant; And he bowed his shoulder to bear, And became a servant under taskwork.

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

Dan shall judge his people, As one of the tribes of Israel.

17 Dan will be as dangerous as a snake beside the road, a viper by the path that bites the horse's heel, throwing its rider off backwards.

Dan shall be a serpent in the way, An adder in the path, That biteth the horse’s heels, So that his rider falleth backward.

18 I trust in you to save me, Lord.

I have waited for thy salvation, O LORD.

19 Raiders will attack Gad, but he will attack their heels.

Gad, a troop shall press upon him: But he shall press upon their heel.

20 Asher will have delicious food—he'll produce fancy food for royalty.

Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, And he shall yield royal dainties.

21 Naphtali is a deer that's free to run; it gives birth to beautiful fawns.

Naphtali is a hind let loose: He giveth goodly words.

22 Joseph is a fruitful tree, a fruitful tree beside a spring, whose branches climb over the wall.

Joseph is a fruitful bough, A fruitful bough by a fountain; His branches run over the wall.

23 The archers viciously attacked him; they shot their arrows at him with hate.

The archers have sorely grieved him, And shot at him, and persecuted him:

24 But he held his bow steady, and his arms and hands moved quickly in the strength of the Mighty One of Jacob, who is called the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel.

But his bow abode in strength, And the arms of his hands were made strong, By the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, (From thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel, )

25 The God of your father will help you and the Almighty will bless you with blessings from the heavens above, with blessings from the depths below, with blessings for many children.

Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee, And by the Almighty, who shall bless thee, With blessings of heaven above, Blessings of the deep that coucheth beneath, Blessings of the breasts, and of the womb.

26 The blessings your father received were greater than the blessings of his forefathers, more than the blessings of the eternal mountains. May they be upon the head of Joseph, on the forehead of the one set apart as a leader from his brothers.

The blessings of thy father Have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors Unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: They shall be on the head of Joseph, And on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.

27 Benjamin is a vicious wolf. In the morning he destroys his enemies, in the evening he divides the loot.”

Benjamin is a wolf that ravineth: In the morning he shall devour the prey, And at even he shall divide the spoil.

28 These are all of the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father told them as he blessed them, each according to their respective blessings.

All these are the twelve tribes of Israel: and this is it that their father spake unto them and blessed them; every one according to his blessing he blessed them.

29 Then he gave them the following instructions: “I'm going to die soon. Bury me with my forefathers in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite.

And he charged them, and said unto them, I am to be gathered unto my people: bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite,

30 This is the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre in Canaan, that Abraham bought together with the field from Ephron the Hittite to own as a burial site.

in the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite for a possession of a buryingplace:

31 Abraham and his wife Sarah were buried there, Isaac and his wife Rebekah were buried there, and I buried Leah there.

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

32 The field and the cave were bought from the Hittites.”

the field and the cave that is therein, which was purchased from the children of Heth.

33 When Jacob finished giving these instructions he pulled up his feet into the bed, breathed his last, and joined his forefathers in death.

And when Jacob made an end of charging his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the ghost, and was gathered unto his people.