Genesis 49
1 And Jacob called his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, and I will tell you what will befall you at the end of days.
Jacob called his sons together, and said, “Gather round so I can tell you what's going to happen to you in the future.
2 Assemble yourselves, and hear, ye sons of Jacob, And listen to Israel your father.
Come here, sons of Jacob, and listen to Israel your father.
3 Reuben, thou art my firstborn, My might, and the firstfruits of my vigour: Excellency of dignity, and excellency of strength.
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.
4 Impetuous as the waters, thou shalt have no pre-eminence; Because thou wentest up to thy father's couch: Then defiledst thou [it]: he went up to my bed.
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.
5 Simeon and Levi are brethren: Instruments of violence their swords.
Simeon and Levi are two of the same kind—they use their weapons for destructive violence.
6 My soul, come not into their council; Mine honour, be not united with their assembly; For in their anger they slew men, And in their wantonness houghed oxen.
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.
7 Cursed be their anger, for it [was] violent; And their rage, for it [was] cruel! I will divide them in Jacob, And scatter them in Israel.
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.
8 Judah — [as to] thee, thy brethren will praise thee; Thy hand will be upon the neck of thine enemies; Thy father's children will bow down to thee.
Judah, your brothers will praise you. You will defeat your enemies. Your father's sons shall bow down to you in respect.
9 Judah is a young lion; From the prey, my son, thou art gone up. He stoopeth, he layeth himself down as a lion, And as a lioness: who will rouse him up?
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?
10 The sceptre will not depart from Judah, Nor the lawgiver from between his feet, Until Shiloh come, And to him will be the obedience of peoples.
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.
11 He bindeth his foal to the vine, And his ass's colt to the choice vine; He washeth his dress in wine, And his garment in the blood of grapes.
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.
12 The eyes are red with wine, And the teeth [are] white with milk.
His eyes sparkle more than wine, and his teeth are whiter than milk.
13 Zebulun will dwell at the shore of the seas; Yea, he will be at the shore of the ships, And his side [toucheth] upon Sidon.
Zebulun will live on the seashore and provide a harbor for ships; his territory will extend towards Sidon.
14 Issachar is a bony ass, Crouching down between two hurdles.
Issachar is a strong donkey, lying down between two saddle bags.
15 And he saw the rest that it was good, And the land that it was pleasant; And he bowed his shoulder to bear, And was a tributary servant.
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.
16 Dan will judge his people, As another of the tribes of Israel.
Dan will judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel.
17 Dan will be a serpent on the way, A horned snake on the path, Which biteth the horse's heels, So that the rider falleth backwards.
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.
18 I wait for thy salvation, O Jehovah.
I trust in you to save me, Lord.
19 Gad — troops will rush upon him; But he will rush upon the heel.
Raiders will attack Gad, but he will attack their heels.
20 Out of Asher, his bread shall be fat, And he will give royal dainties.
Asher will have delicious food—he'll produce fancy food for royalty.
21 Naphtali is a hind let loose; He giveth goodly words.
Naphtali is a deer that's free to run; it gives birth to beautiful fawns.
22 Joseph is a fruitful bough; A fruitful bough by a well; [His] branches shoot over the wall.
Joseph is a fruitful tree, a fruitful tree beside a spring, whose branches climb over the wall.
23 The archers have provoked him, And shot at, and hated him;
The archers viciously attacked him; they shot their arrows at him with hate.
24 But his bow abideth firm, And the arms of his hands are supple By the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob. From thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel:
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.
25 From the God of thy father, and he will help thee; And from the Almighty, and he will bless thee — With blessings of heaven from above, With blessings of the deep that lieth under, With blessings of the breast and of the womb.
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.
26 The blessings of thy father surpass the blessings of my ancestors, Unto the bounds of the everlasting hills: They shall be on the head of Joseph, And on the crown of the head of him that was separated from his brethren.
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.
27 Benjamin — [as] a wolf will he tear to pieces; In the morning he will devour the prey, And in the evening he will divide the booty.
Benjamin is a vicious wolf. In the morning he destroys his enemies, in the evening he divides the loot.”
28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father spoke to them; and he blessed them: every one according to his blessing he blessed them.
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.
29 And he charged them, and said to them, I am gathered to my people: bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite,
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.
30 in the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is opposite to Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought of Ephron the Hittite along with the field for a possession of a sepulchre.
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.
31 There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebecca his wife; and there I buried Leah.
Abraham and his wife Sarah were buried there, Isaac and his wife Rebekah were buried there, and I buried Leah there.
32 The purchase of the field, and of the cave that is in it, was from the children of Heth.
The field and the cave were bought from the Hittites.”
33 And when Jacob had made an end of commanding his sons, he gathered his feet into the bed, and expired, and was gathered to his peoples.
When Jacob finished giving these instructions he pulled up his feet into the bed, breathed his last, and joined his forefathers in death.
