Genesis 49
1 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.
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;
2 Gather together and listen, O sons of Jacob. Listen to Israel, your father.
be ye gaderid, `and here, ye sones of Jacob, here ye Israel youre fadir.
3 Reuben, my firstborn, you are my strength and the beginning of my sorrow: first in gifts, greater in authority.
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;
4 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.
thou art sched out as watir; wexe thou not, for thou stiedist on the bed of thi fader, and defoulidist his bed.
5 The brothers Simeon and Levi: vessels of iniquity waging war.
Symeon and Leuy, britheren, fiytynge vessils of wickidnesse;
6 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.
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;
7 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.
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.
8 Judah, your brothers will praise you. Your hand will be at the necks of your enemies; the sons of your father will reverence you.
Judas, thi britheren schulen preise thee, thin hondis schulen be in the nollis of thin enemyes; the sones of thi fadir schulen worschipe thee.
9 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?
`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?
10 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.
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;
11 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.
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;
12 His eyes are more beautiful than wine, and his teeth whiter than milk.
hise iyen ben fairere than wyn, and hise teeth ben whittere than mylk.
13 Zebulun will live at the seashore and by the outpost of ships, reaching as far as Sidon.
Zabulon schal dwelle in the brenk of the see, and in the stondyng of schipis; and schal stretche til to Sydon.
14 Issachar will be a strong donkey, reclining between the borders.
Isachar, a strong asse,
15 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.
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.
16 Dan will judge his people just like any other tribe in Israel.
Dan schal deme his puple, as also another lynage in Israel.
17 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.
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,
18 I will wait for your salvation, O Lord.
Y schal abide thin helthe.
19 Gad, being girded, will fight before him. And he himself will be girded backward.
Gad schal be gird, and schal fiyte bifor hym, and he schal be gird bihynde.
20 Asher: his bread will be fat, and he will provide delicacies to the kings.
Aser his breed schal be plenteuouse, and he schal yyue delicis to kyngis.
21 Naphtali is a stag sent forth, offering words of eloquent beauty.
Neptalym schal be an hert sent out, and yyuynge spechis of fairenesse.
22 Joseph is a growing son, a growing son and stately to behold; the daughters run back and forth on the wall.
Joseph, a sone encreessynge, `a sone encresinge, and fair in biholdyng; douytris runnen aboute on the wal,
23 But those who held darts, provoked him, and they contend with him, and they envied him.
but hise brithren wraththeden hym, and chidden, and thei hadden dartis, and hadden enuye to hym.
24 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.
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.
25 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.
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;
26 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.
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.
27 Benjamin is a ravenous wolf, in the morning he will eat the prey, and in the evening he will divide the spoil.”
Beniamyn, a rauyschynge wolf, schal ete prey eerly, and in the euentid he schal departe spuylis.
28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel. These things their father spoke to them, and he blessed each one with their proper blessings.
Alle these weren in twelue kynredis of Israel; her fadir spak these thingys to hem, and blesside hem alle by propre blessyngis,
29 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,
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,
30 opposite Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought, along with its field, from Ephron the Hittite, as a possession for burial.
in the lond of Canaan, which denne Abraham bouyte with the feeld of Efron Ethei, in to possessioun of sepulcre.
31 There they buried him, with his wife Sarah.” And there Isaac was buried with his wife Rebekah. There also Leah lies preserved.
There thei birieden hym, and Sare his wijf, also Ysaac was biried there with Rebecca his wijf; there also Lia liggith biried.
33 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.
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.
