Genesis 49
1 Then Iaakob called his sonnes, and sayde, Gather your selues together, that I may tell you what shall come to you in the last dayes.
And Jacob called his sons, and said to them,
2 Gather your selues together, and heare, ye sonnes of Iaakob, and hearken vnto Israel your father.
Assemble yourselves, that I may tell you what shall happen to you in the last days. Gather yourselves together, and hear me, sons of Jacob; hear Israel, hear your father.
3 Reuben mine eldest sonne, thou art my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellencie of dignitie, and the excellencie of power:
Ruben, thou [art] my first-born, thou my strength, and the first of my children, hard to be endured, [hard and] self-willed.
4 Thou wast light as water: thou shalt not be excellent, because thou wentest vp to thy fathers bed: then diddest thou defile my bed, thy dignitie is gone.
Thou wast insolent like water, burst not forth with violence, for thou wentest up to the bed of thy father; then thou defiledst the couch, whereupon thou wentest up.
5 Simeon and Leui, brethren in euill, the instruments of crueltie are in their habitations.
Symeon and Levi, brethren, accomplished the injustice of their cutting off.
6 Into their secret let not my soule come: my glory, be not thou ioyned with their assembly: for in their wrath they slew a man, and in their selfe will they digged downe a wall.
Let not my soul come into their counsel, and let not mine inward parts contend in their conspiracy, for in their wrath they slew men, and in their passion they houghed a bull.
7 Cursed be their wrath, for it was fierce, and their rage, for it was cruell: I will deuide them in Iaakob, and scatter them in Israel.
Cursed be their wrath, for it was willful, and their anger, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.
8 Thou Iudah, thy brethre shall praise thee: thine hande shalbe in the necke of thine enemies: thy fathers sonnes shall bowe downe vnto thee.
Juda, thy brethren have praised thee, and thy hands shall be on the back of thine enemies; thy father's sons shall do thee reverence.
9 Iudah, as a Lions whelpe shalt thou come vp from the spoyle, my sonne. He shall lye downe and couche as a Lion, and as a Lionesse: Who shall stirre him vp?
Juda is a lion's whelp: from the tender plant, my son, thou art gone up, having couched thou liest as a lion, and as a whelp; who shall stir him up?
10 The scepter shall not depart from Iudah, nor a Lawegiuer from betweene his feete, vntill Shiloh come, and the people shall be gathered vnto him.
A ruler shall not fail from Juda, nor a prince from his loins, until there come the things stored up for him; and he is the expectation of nations.
11 He shall binde his Asse foale vnto ye vine, and his Asses colte vnto the best vine. hee shall wash his garment in wine, and his cloke in the blood of grapes.
Binding his foal to the vine, and the foal of his ass to the branch [of it], he shall wash his robe in wine, and his garment in the blood of the grape.
12 His eyes shalbe red with wine, and his teeth white with milke.
His eyes shall be more cheering than wine, and his teeth whiter than milk.
13 Zebulun shall dwell by the sea side, and he shalbe an hauen for shippes: and his border shalbe vnto Zidon.
Zabulon shall dwell on the coast, and he [shall be] by a haven of ships, and shall extend to Sidon.
14 Issachar shalbe a strong asse, couching downe betweene two burdens:
Issachar has desired that which is good; resting between the inheritances.
15 And he shall see that rest is good, and that the land is pleasant, and he shall bow his shoulder to beare, and shalbe subiect vnto tribute.
And having seen the resting place that it was good, and the land that it was fertile, he subjected his shoulder to labour, and became a husbandman.
16 Dan shall iudge his people as one of the tribes of Israel.
Dan shall judge his people, as one tribe too in Israel.
17 Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder by the path, byting the horse heeles, so that his rider shall fall backward.
And let Dan be a serpent in the way, besetting the path, biting the heel of the horse (and the rider shall fall backward),
18 O Lord, I haue waited for thy saluation.
waiting for the salvation of the Lord.
19 Gad, an hoste of men shall ouercome him, but he shall ouercome at the last.
Gad, a plundering troop shall plunder him; but he shall plunder him, [pursuing him] closely.
20 Concerning Asher, his bread shalbe fat, and he shall giue pleasures for a king.
Aser, his bread [shall be] fat; and he shall yield dainties to princes.
21 Naphtali shalbe a hinde let goe, giuing goodly wordes.
Nephthalim is a spreading stem, bestowing beauty on its fruit.
22 Ioseph shalbe a fruitefull bough, euen a fruitful bough by the well side: the small boughs shall runne vpon the wall.
Joseph is a son increased; my dearly loved son is increased; my youngest son, turn to me.
23 And the archers grieued him, and shotte against him and hated him.
Against whom men taking evil counsel reproached [him], and the archers pressed hard upon him.
24 But his bowe abode strong, and the hands of his armes were strengthened, by the handes of the mighty God of Iaakob, of whom was the feeder appointed, by the stone of Israel,
But their bow and arrows were mightily consumed, and the sinews of their arms were slackened by the hand of the mighty one of Jacob; thence is he that strengthened Israel from the God of thy father;
25 Euen by the God of thy father, who shall helpe thee, and by the almightie, who shall blesse thee with heauenly blessinges from aboue, with blessings of the deepe, that lyeth beneath, with blessings of the brestes, and of the wombe.
and my God helped thee, and he blessed thee with the blessing of heaven from above, and the blessing of the earth possessing all things, because of the blessing of the breasts and of the womb,
26 The blessings of thy father shalbe stronger then the blessings of mine elders: vnto the ende of the hilles of the worlde they shall be on the head of Ioseph, and on the top of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.
the blessings of thy father and thy mother—it has prevailed above the blessing of the lasting mountains, and beyond the blessings of the everlasting hills; they shall be upon the head of Joseph, and upon the head of the brothers of whom he took the lead.
27 Beniamin shall rauine as a wolfe: in the morning he shall deuoure the pray, and at night he shall deuide the spoyle.
Benjamin, as a ravening wolf, shall eat still in the morning, and at evening he gives food.
28 All these are the twelue tribes of Israel, and thus their father spake vnto them, and blessed them: euery one of them blessed hee with a seuerall blessing.
All these [are] the twelve sons of Jacob; and their father spoke these words to them, and he blessed them; he blessed each of them according to his blessing.
29 And he charged them and sayd vnto them, I am ready to be gathered vnto my people: burie mee with my fathers in the caue, that is in the fielde of Ephron the Hittite,
And he said to them, I am added to my people; ye shall bury me with my fathers in the cave, which is in the field of Ephron the Chettite,
30 In the caue that is in the field of Machpelah besides Mamre in the land of Canaan: which caue Abraham bought with the fielde of Ephron the Hittite for a possession to burie in.
in the double cave which is opposite Mambre, in the land of Chanaan, the cave which Abraam bought of Ephron the Chettite, for a possession of a sepulchre.
31 There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife: there they buryed Izhak and Rebekah his wife: and there I buried Leah.
There they buried Abraam and Sarrha his wife; there they buried Isaac, and Rebecca his wife; there they buried Lea;
32 The purchase of the fielde and the caue that is therein, was bought of the children of Heth.
in the portion of the field, and of the cave that was in it, [purchased] of the sons of Chet.
33 Thus Iaakob made an end of giuing charge to his sonnes, and plucked vp his feete into the bed and gaue vp the ghost, and was gathered to his people.
And Jacob ceased giving charges to his sons; and having lifted up his feet on the bed, he died, and was gathered to his people.
