Genesis 49
1 Forsothe Jacob clepide hise sones, and seide to hem, Be ye gaderid that Y telle what thingis schulen come to you in the laste daies;
Jacob called to his sons, and said: “Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which will happen to you in the days to come.
2 be ye gaderid, `and here, ye sones of Jacob, here ye Israel youre fadir.
Assemble yourselves, and hear, you sons of Jacob. Listen to Israel, your father.
3 Ruben, my firste gendrid sone, thou art my strengthe and the bigynnyng of my sorewe; thou ouytist to be the former in yiftis, the more in lordschip;
“Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, excelling in dignity, and excelling in power.
4 thou art sched out as watir; wexe thou not, for thou stiedist on the bed of thi fader, and defoulidist his bed.
Boiling over like water, you shall not excel, because you went up to your father’s bed, then defiled it. He went up to my couch.
5 Symeon and Leuy, britheren, fiytynge vessils of wickidnesse;
“Simeon and Levi are brothers. Their swords are weapons of violence.
6 my soule come not in to the councel of hem, and my glorie be not in the congregacioun of hem; for in her woodnesse thei killiden a man, and in her wille thei myneden the wal;
My soul, do not come into their council. My glory, do not be united to their assembly; for in their anger they killed men. In their self-will they hamstrung cattle.
7 curside be the woodnesse of hem, for it is obstynat, and the indignacioun of hem for it is hard; Y schal departe hem in Jacob, and I schal scatere hem in 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 Judas, thi britheren schulen preise thee, thin hondis schulen be in the nollis of thin enemyes; the sones of thi fadir schulen worschipe 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 whelp of lioun `is Judas; my sone thou stiedist to prey; thou restidist, and hast leyn as a lioun, and as a lionesse who schal reise hym?
Judah is a lion’s cub. From the prey, my son, you have gone up. He stooped down, he crouched as a lion, as a lioness. Who will rouse him up?
10 The septre schal not be takun awey fro Juda, and a duyk of his hipe, til he come that schal be sent, and he schal be abiding of hethene men;
The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs. The obedience of the peoples will be to him.
11 and he schal tye his colt at the vyner, and his femal asse at the vyne; A! my sone, he schal waische his stoole in wyn, and his mentil in the blood of grape;
Binding his foal to the vine, his donkey’s colt to the choice vine, he has washed his garments in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes.
12 hise iyen ben fairere than wyn, and hise teeth ben whittere than mylk.
His eyes will be red with wine, his teeth white with milk.
13 Zabulon schal dwelle in the brenk of the see, and in the stondyng of schipis; and schal stretche til to Sydon.
“Zebulun will dwell at the haven of the sea. He will be for a haven of ships. His border will be on Sidon.
14 Isachar, a strong asse,
“Issachar is a strong donkey, lying down between the saddlebags.
15 liggynge bitwixe termes, seiy reste, that it was good and seiy the lond that it was best, and he vndirsettide his schuldre to bere, and he was maad seruynge to tributis.
He saw a resting place, that it was good, the land, that it was pleasant. He bows his shoulder to the burden, and becomes a servant doing forced labor.
16 Dan schal deme his puple, as also another lynage in Israel.
“Dan will judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel.
17 Dan be maad a serpent in the weie, and cerastes in the path, and bite the feet of an hors, that the `stiere therof falle bacward; Lord,
Dan will be a serpent on the trail, an adder in the path, that bites the horse’s heels, so that his rider falls backward.
18 Y schal abide thin helthe.
I have waited for your salvation, LORD.
19 Gad schal be gird, and schal fiyte bifor hym, and he schal be gird bihynde.
“A troop will press on Gad, but he will press on their heel.
20 Aser his breed schal be plenteuouse, and he schal yyue delicis to kyngis.
“Asher’s food will be rich. He will produce royal dainties.
21 Neptalym schal be an hert sent out, and yyuynge spechis of fairenesse.
“Naphtali is a doe set free, who bears beautiful fawns.
22 Joseph, a sone encreessynge, `a sone encresinge, and fair in biholdyng; douytris runnen aboute on the wal,
“Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine by a spring. His branches run over the wall.
23 but hise brithren wraththeden hym, and chidden, and thei hadden dartis, and hadden enuye to hym.
The archers have severely grieved him, shot at him, and persecuted him:
24 His bowe sat in the stronge, and the boondis of his armes, and hondis weren vnboundun bi the hond of the myyti of Jacob; of hym a scheepherd yede out, the stoon of Israel.
But his bow remained strong. The arms of his hands were made strong, by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, (from there is the shepherd, the stone of Israel),
25 God of thi fadir schal be thin helpere, and Almyyti God schal blesse thee with blessyngis of heuene fro aboue, and with blessyngis of the see liggynge binethe, with blessyngis of tetis, and of wombe;
even by the God of your father, who will help you, by the Almighty, who will bless you, with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lies below, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb.
26 the blessyngis of thi fadir ben coumfortid, the blessyngis of his fadris, til the desire of euerlastynge hillis cam; blessyngis ben maad in the heed of Joseph, and in the nol of Nazarei among his britheren.
The blessings of your father have prevailed above the blessings of my ancestors, above the boundaries of the ancient hills. They will be on the head of Joseph, on the crown of the head of him who is separated from his brothers.
27 Beniamyn, a rauyschynge wolf, schal ete prey eerly, and in the euentid he schal departe spuylis.
“Benjamin is a ravenous wolf. In the morning he will devour the prey. At evening he will divide the plunder.”
28 Alle these weren in twelue kynredis of Israel; her fadir spak these thingys to hem, and blesside hem alle by propre blessyngis,
All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father spoke to them, and blessed them. He blessed everyone according to his own blessing.
29 and comaundide hem, and seide, Y am gaderid to my puple, birie ye me with my fadris in the double denne, which is in the lond of Efron Ethei, ayens Manbre,
He instructed them, and said to them, “I am to be gathered to my people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite,
30 in the lond of Canaan, which denne Abraham bouyte with the feeld of Efron Ethei, in to possessioun of sepulcre.
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 as a burial place.
31 There thei birieden hym, and Sare his wijf, also Ysaac was biried there with Rebecca his wijf; there also Lia liggith biried.
There they buried Abraham and Sarah, his wife. There they buried Isaac and Rebekah, his wife, and there I buried Leah:
the field and the cave that is therein, which was purchased from the children of Heth.”
33 And whanne the comaundementis weren endid, bi whiche he tauyte the sones, he gaderide hise feet on the bed, and diede, and he was put to his puple.
When Jacob finished charging his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed, breathed his last breath, and was gathered to his people.
