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: Gather yourselves together that I may tell you the things that shall befall you in the last days.
2 Gather your selues together, and heare, ye sonnes of Iaakob, and hearken vnto Israel your father.
Gather yourselves together, and hear, O ye sons of Jacob, hearken to Israel 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, my firstborn, thou art my strength, and the beginning of my sorrow: excelling in gifts, greater in command.
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 art poured out as water, grow thou not: because thou wentest up to thy father’s bed, and didst defile his couch.
5 Simeon and Leui, brethren in euill, the instruments of crueltie are in their habitations.
Simeon and Levi brethren: vessels of iniquity, waging war.
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 go into their counsel, nor my glory be in their assembly: because in their fury they slew a man, and in their selfwill they undermined a wall.
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 fury, because it was stubborn: and their wrath because it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and will 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, thee shall thy brethren praise: thy hands shall be on the necks of thy enemies: the sons of thy father shall bow down to thee.
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: to the prey, my son, thou art gone up: resting thou hast couched as a lion, and as a lioness, who shall rouse him?
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.
The sceptre shall not be taken away from Juda, nor a ruler from his thigh, till he come that is to be sent, and he shall be 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.
Tying his foal to the vineyard, and his ass, O my son, to the vine. 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 are more beautiful 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 sea shore, and in the road of ships, reaching as far as Sidon.
14 Issachar shalbe a strong asse, couching downe betweene two burdens:
Issachar shall be a strong ass lying down between the borders.
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.
He saw rest that it was good: and the land that it was excellent: and he bowed his shoulder to carry, and became a servant under tribute.
16 Dan shall iudge his people as one of the tribes of Israel.
Dan shall judge his people like another tribe 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.
Let Dan be a snake in the way, a serpent in the path, that biteth the horse’s heels that his rider may fall backward.
18 O Lord, I haue waited for thy saluation.
I will look for thy salvation, O Lord.
19 Gad, an hoste of men shall ouercome him, but he shall ouercome at the last.
Gad, being girded, shall fight before him: and he himself shall be girded backward.
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 kings.
21 Naphtali shalbe a hinde let goe, giuing goodly wordes.
Nephtali, a hart let loose, and giving words of beauty.
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 growing son, a growing son and comely to behold; the daughters run to and fro upon the wall.
23 And the archers grieued him, and shotte against him and hated him.
But they that held darts provoked him, and quarrelled with him, and envied 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,
His bow rested upon the strong, and the bands of his arms and his hands were loosed, by the hands of the mighty one of Jacob: thence he came forth a pastor, the stone of Israel.
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.
The God of thy father shall be thy helper, and the Almighty shall bless thee with the blessings of heaven above, with the blessings of the deep that lieth beneath, with the blessings 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 are strengthened with the blessings of his fathers: until the desire of the everlasting hills should come; may they be upon the head of Joseph, and upon the crown of the Nazarite among his brethren.
27 Beniamin shall rauine as a wolfe: in the morning he shall deuoure the pray, and at night he shall deuide the spoyle.
Benjamin a ravenous wolf, in the morning shall eat the prey, and in the evening shall divide the spoil.
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 tribes of Israel: these things their father spoke to them, and he blessed every one, with their proper blessings.
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 charged them, saying: I am now going to be gathered to my people: bury me with my fathers in the double cave, which is in the field of Ephron the Hethite,
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.
Over against Mambre in the land of Chanaan, which Abraham bought together with the field of Ephron the Hethite for a possession to bury in.
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 him, and Sara his wife: there was Isaac buried with Rebecca his wife: there also Lia doth lie buried.
32 The purchase of the fielde and the caue that is therein, was bought of the children of Heth.
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 when he had ended the commandments, wherewith he instructed his sons, he drew up his feet upon the bed, and died: and he was gathered to his people.
