Genesis 49
1 Then called Jacob unto his sons, —and said—Gather yourselves together, and let me tell you, that which shall befall you in the afterpart 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 Assemble yourselves and hear ye 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 vigour, and the first-fruit of my strength, —Pre-eminence of elevation and pre-eminence of power:
Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, outstanding in dignity, and outstanding in power.
4 Boiling over like water, thou mayest not have pre-eminence, Because thou didst mount the bed of thy father, —Then, wast thou profane—My marriage-bed, he mounted!
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, are their agreements:
Simeon and Levi are brothers. Weapons of violence are their swords.
6 Into their circle, do not thou enter my soul! In their convocation, do not thou join mine honour! For in their anger, they slew brave men, And in their wantonness, they ham-strung oxen.
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 Accursed, be their anger, because fierce, And their wrath because cruel, —I divide them in Jacob, And I disperse 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, as for thee, thy brethren shall praise thee when thy hand is on the neck of thy foes, —The sons of thy father, shall bow them-selves down 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, From the prey, my son hast thou come up! He hath stooped—hath crouched As a lion—or as a lioness, Who shall rouse him?
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 shall not depart from Judah, Nor the commander’s staff from between his feet, —Until that he come in as a Shiloh, And, his, be the obedience of the 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 his ass’s colt, He hath washed in wine his raiment, And in the blood of grapes, his mantle:
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 Darker—his eyes, than wine, —Whiter—his teeth than milk!
His eyes will be as dark as wine, and his teeth as white as milk.
13 Zebulon, by a haven of seas, shall he settle down, —Even he, by a haven of ships, With his utmost part upon 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 Issachar, an ass of strength, —couching between the pens;
Issachar is a strong donkey, lying down between the sheepfolds.
15 Then beholdeth he rest, that it is good, And the ground that it is pleasant, —So he bendeth his shoulder to bear, And becometh a tributary 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, shall vindicate his people, —as one of the tribes of Israel;
Dan will judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel.
17 It cometh to pass that, Dan, is a serpent upon the way, A horned viper, upon the path, —That biteth the heels of the horse, And his rider falleth backwards: —
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, have I waited O Yahweh!
I wait for your salvation, Yahweh.
19 Gad! a troop shall troop on him, —But, he, shall troop on the rear.
Gad—raiders will attack him, but he will attack them at their heels.
20 Out of Asher, fatness, is his food, —So, he, setteth forth dainties for a king.
Asher's food will be rich, and he will provide royal delicacies.
21 Naphtali, is a slender hind, —That putteth forth antlers of beauty.
Naphtali is a doe let loose; he will have beautiful fawns.
22 A fruitful bough, is Joseph, A fruitful bough over a fountain, —Branches creeping over a wall.
Joseph is a fruitful bough, a fruitful bough near a spring, whose branches climb over the wall.
23 So they attack him and have shot, —So they enclose him, do the masters of arrows.
The archers will attack him and shoot at him and harass him.
24 But abideth, as an enduring one, his bow, And supple are the arms of his hands, —From the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, From thence, is the Shepherd the Stone 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 From the GOD of thy father who doth help thee And GOD Almighty who doth bless thee, Blessings of the heavens, above, Blessings of the abyss, couching beneath, —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 The blessings of thy father, have prevailed, Over the blessings of the perpetual mountains, The charm of the age-abiding hills, —They turn out to be, for the head of Joseph, And for the crown of the head of him who was set apart 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 that teareth in pieces, In the morning, he eateth prey, And at eventide, he divideth 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 spake to them when he blessed them, Each man severally according to the blessing wherewith he 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 Then commanded he them and said unto them—I, am about to be gathered unto my people, Bury me among my fathers, —within the cave, that 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 that is in the field of Machpelah which is over against Mamre, in the land of Canaan, —which Abraham bought, along with the field, from Ephron the Hittite for a possession of a buryingplace: —
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, buried they Abraham, and Sarah his wife, There, buried they Isaac, and Rebekah his wife, —And there, buried I Leah: —
There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah.
32 buying the field and the cave that is therein, from the sons of Heth.
The field and the cave that is in it were purchased from the people of Heth.”
33 So Jacob made an end of commanding his sons, and gathered up his feet into the couch, —and ceased to breathe and was 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.
