Genesis 49
1 Vocavit autem Jacob filios suos, et ait eis: Congregamini, ut annuntiem quæ ventura sunt vobis in diebus novissimis.
Then Jacob called his sons, and he said to them: “Gather together, so that I may announce what will happen to you in the last days.
2 [Congregamini, et audite, filii Jacob, audite Israël patrem vestrum:
Gather together and listen, O sons of Jacob. Listen to Israel, your father.
3 Ruben, primogenitus meus, tu fortitudo mea, et principium doloris mei; prior in donis, major in imperio.
Reuben, my firstborn, you are my strength and the beginning of my sorrow: first in gifts, greater in authority.
4 Effusus es sicut aqua, non crescas: quia ascendisti cubile patris tui, et maculasti stratum ejus.
You are being poured out like water, may you not increase. For you climbed onto your father’s bed, and you defiled his resting place.
5 Simeon et Levi fratres vasa iniquitatis bellantia.
The brothers Simeon and Levi: vessels of iniquity waging war.
6 In consilium eorum non veniat anima mea, et in cœtu illorum non sit gloria mea: quia in furore suo occiderunt virum, et in voluntate sua suffoderunt murum.
Let not my soul go by their counsel, nor my glory be within their meeting. For in their fury they killed a man, and in their self-will they undermined a wall.
7 Maledictus furor eorum, quia pertinax: et indignatio eorum, quia dura: dividam eos in Jacob, et dispergam eos in Israël.
Cursed be their fury, because it was obstinate, and their indignation, because it was harsh. I will divide them in Jacob, and I will scatter them in Israel.
8 Juda, te laudabunt fratres tui: manus tua in cervicibus inimicorum tuorum, adorabunt te filii patris tui.
Judah, your brothers will praise you. Your hand will be at the necks of your enemies; the sons of your father will reverence you.
9 Catulus leonis Juda: ad prædam, fili mi, ascendisti: requiescens accubuisti ut leo, et quasi leæna: quis suscitabit eum?
Judah is a lion’s young. You have gone up to the prey, my son. While resting, you have lain like a lion. And just like a lioness, who would rouse him?
10 Non auferetur sceptrum de Juda, et dux de femore ejus, donec veniat qui mittendus est, et ipse erit expectatio gentium.
The scepter from Judah and the leader from his thigh will not be taken away, until he who will be sent arrives, and he will be the expectation of Gentiles.
11 Ligans ad vineam pullum suum, et ad vitem, o fili mi, asinam suam, lavabit in vino stolam suam et in sanguine uvæ pallium suum.
Tying his young colt to the vineyard, and his donkey, O my son, to the vine, he will wash his robe in wine, and his cloak in the blood of the grape.
12 Pulchriores sunt oculi ejus vino, et dentes ejus lacte candidiores.
His eyes are more beautiful than wine, and his teeth whiter than milk.
13 Zabulon in littore maris habitabit, et in statione navium pertingens usque ad Sidonem.
Zebulun will live at the seashore and by the outpost of ships, reaching as far as Sidon.
14 Issachar asinus fortis accubans inter terminos.
Issachar will be a strong donkey, reclining between the borders.
15 Vidit requiem, quod esset bona et terram, quod optima: et supposuit humerum suum ad portandum, factusque est tributis serviens.
He saw that rest would be good, and that the land was excellent. And so he bent his shoulder to carry, and he became a servant under tribute.
16 Dan judicabit populum suum sicut et alia tribus in Israël.
Dan will judge his people just like any other tribe in Israel.
17 Fiat Dan coluber in via, cerastes in semita, mordens ungulas equi, ut cadat ascensor ejus retro.
Let Dan be a snake in the way, a viper in the path, biting the hooves of horses, so that his rider may fall backward.
18 Salutare tuum expectabo, Domine.
I will wait for your salvation, O Lord.
19 Gad, accinctus præliabatur ante eum: et ipse accingetur retrorsum.
Gad, being girded, will fight before him. And he himself will be girded backward.
20 Aser, pinguis panis ejus, et præbebit delicias regibus.
Asher: his bread will be fat, and he will provide delicacies to the kings.
21 Nephthali, cervus emissus, et dans eloquia pulchritudinis.
Naphtali is a stag sent forth, offering words of eloquent beauty.
22 Filius accrescens Joseph, filius accrescens et decorus aspectu: filiæ discurrerunt super murum.
Joseph is a growing son, a growing son and stately to behold; the daughters run back and forth on the wall.
23 Sed exasperaverunt eum et jurgati sunt, invideruntque illi habentes jacula.
But those who held darts, provoked him, and they contend with him, and they envied him.
24 Sedit in forti arcus ejus, et dissoluta sunt vincula brachiorum et manuum illius per manus potentis Jacob: inde pastor egressus est, lapis Israël.
His bow sits in strength, and the bands of his arms and hands have been let loose by the hands of the mighty one of Jacob. From there he went forth as a pastor, the stone of Israel.
25 Deus patris tui erit adjutor tuus, et omnipotens benedicet tibi benedictionibus cæli desuper, benedictionibus abyssi jacentis deorsum, benedictionibus uberum et vulvæ.
The God of your father will be your helper, and the Almighty will bless you with the blessings of heaven above, with the blessings of the abyss that lies beneath, with the blessings of the breasts and of the womb.
26 Benedictiones patris tui confortatæ sunt benedictionibus patrum ejus, donec veniret desiderium collium æternorum: fiant in capite Joseph, et in vertice Nazaræi inter fratres suos.
The blessings of your father are strengthened by the blessings of his fathers, until the desire of the hills of eternity shall arrive. May they be at the head of Joseph, and at the summit of the Nazarite, among his brothers.
27 Benjamin lupus rapax, mane comedat prædam, et vespere dividet spolia.]
Benjamin is a ravenous wolf, in the morning he will eat the prey, and in the evening he will divide the spoil.”
28 Omnes hi in tribubus Israël duodecim: hæc locutus est eis pater suus, benedixitque singulis benedictionibus propriis.
All these are the twelve tribes of Israel. These things their father spoke to them, and he blessed each one with their proper blessings.
29 Et præcepit eis, dicens: Ego congregor ad populum meum: sepelite me cum patribus meis in spelunca duplici quæ est in agro Ephron Hethæi,
And he instructed them, saying: “I am being gathered to my people. Bury me with my fathers in the double cave, which is in the field of Ephron the Hittite,
30 contra Mambre in terra Chanaan, quam emit Abraham cum agro ab Ephron Hethæo in possessionem sepulchri.
opposite Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought, along with its field, from Ephron the Hittite, as a possession for burial.
31 Ibi sepelierunt eum, et Saram uxorem ejus: ibi sepultus est Isaac cum Rebecca conjuge sua: ibi et Lia condita jacet.
There they buried him, with his wife Sarah.” And there Isaac was buried with his wife Rebekah. There also Leah lies preserved.
33 Finitisque mandatis quibus filios instruebat, collegit pedes suos super lectulum, et obiit: appositusque est ad populum suum.
And having finished these commands by which he instructed his sons, he drew his feet onto the bed, and he passed away. And he was gathered to his people.
