Genesis 49

1 And Jacob calls to his sons and says, “Be gathered together, and I declare to you that which happens with you in the latter end of the days.

Then Jacob summoned his sons, and said: "Gather yourselves together so that I may tell you what will happen to you in the days to come.

2 Be assembled, and hear, sons of Jacob, And listen to your father Israel.

Assemble yourselves and hear, you sons of Jacob. Listen to Israel, your father.

3 Reuben! You [are] my firstborn, My power, and beginning of my strength, The abundance of exaltation, And the abundance of strength;

Reuben, you are my firstborn, my strength, and the the firstfruits of my virility, preeminent in dignity and preeminent in power.

4 Unstable as water, you are not abundant; For you have gone up your father’s bed; Then you have defiled [it]: He went up my couch!

Uncontrolled as the waters, you will not have excel, because you went up to your father's bed, you went up and defiled my couch.

5 Simeon and Levi [are] brothers! Instruments of violence—their espousals!

Simeon and Levi are brothers. Their swords are weapons of violence.

6 Into their secret, do not come, O my soul! Do not be united to their assembly, O my glory; For in their anger they slew a man, And in their self-will eradicated a prince.

May I never enter their council. May my honor never be joined with their assembly. For in their anger they killed men, and for pleasure they hamstrung oxen.

7 Cursed [is] their anger, for [it is] fierce, And their wrath, for [it is] sharp; I divide them in Jacob, And I scatter them in Israel.

Cursed be their anger, for it has been fierce, and their fury, for it was cruel. I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.

8 Judah! Your brothers praise you! Your hand [is] on the neck of your enemies, Sons of your father bow themselves to you.

Judah, your brothers will praise you. Your hand will be on the neck of your enemies. Your father's sons will bow down before you.

9 A lion’s whelp [is] Judah, For prey, my son, you have gone up; He has bent, he has crouched as a lion, And as a lioness; who causes him to arise?

Judah is a lion's cub. From the prey, my son, you rise up. Like a lion he crouches and lies down, as a lioness. Who will rouse him up?

10 The scepter does not turn aside from Judah, And a lawgiver from between his feet, Until his Seed comes; And His [is] the obedience of peoples.

The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs. And it is he whom the peoples will obey.

11 Binding to the vine his donkey, And to the choice vine the colt of his donkey, He has washed in wine his clothing, And in the blood of grapes his covering;

Binding his foal to the vine, and his donkey's colt to the choice vine. He will wash his garments in wine, and his robes in the blood of grapes.

12 Red [are] eyes with wine, And white [are] teeth with milk!

His eyes will be darker than wine, and his teeth whiter than milk.

13 Zebulun dwells at a haven of the seas, And he [is] for a haven of ships; And his side [is] to Sidon.

Zebulun will dwell at the seashore, and he will be a harbor for ships, and his border will be at Sidon.

14 Issachar [is] a strong donkey, Crouching between the two folds;

Issachar is a strong donkey lying down between the saddlebags.

15 And he sees rest, that [it is] good, And the land, that [it is] pleasant, And he inclines his shoulder to bear, And is a servant for tribute.

When he sees a good resting place, that the land is pleasant, he will bend his back to the burden, and become a slave doing forced labor.

16 Dan judges his people, As one of the tribes of Israel;

Dan will judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel.

17 Dan is a serpent by the way, a viper by the path, Which is biting the horse’s heels, And its rider falls backward.

Dan will be a serpent on the road, a viper by the path, that bites the horse's heels so that his rider falls backward.

18 For Your salvation I have waited, YHWH!

I wait for your salvation, God.

19 Gad! A troop assaults him, But he assaults last.

Gad will be attacked by raiders, but he will raid at their heels.

20 Out of Asher his bread [is] fat; And he gives delicacies of a king.

Asher's food will be rich, and he will provide royal delicacies.

21 Naphtali [is] a doe sent away, Who is giving beautiful young ones.

Naphtali is a doe set free that bears beautiful fawns.

22 Joseph [is] a fruitful son; A fruitful son by a fountain, Daughters step over the wall;

Joseph is a fruitful son, a fruitful son by a spring. His branches run over a wall.

23 And embitter him indeed, they have striven, Indeed, archers hate him;

The archers will attack him with bitterness, and shoot at him, and harass him.

24 And his bow abides in strength, And strengthened are the arms of his hands By the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, From where is a shepherd, a son of Israel.

Yet his bow will remain steady, and his arms will be made agile by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, by the name of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel,

25 By the God of your father who helps you, And the Mighty One who blesses you, Blessings of the heavens from above, Blessings of the deep lying under, Blessings of breasts and womb—

by the God of your father, who will help you, and El Shaddai, who will bless you with blessings of the sky above, blessings of the deep that lies below, and blessings of the breasts and of the womb.

26 Your father’s blessings have been mighty Above the blessings of my progenitors, To the limit of the perpetual heights They are for the head of Joseph, And for the crown of the one Separate [from] his brothers.

The blessings of your father are greater than the blessings of the ancient mountains, and the bounty of the everlasting hills. They will be on the head of Joseph, and on the brow of the prince among his brothers.

27 Benjamin! A wolf tears; In the morning he eats prey, And at evening he apportions spoil.”

Benjamin is a ravenous wolf. In the morning he will devour the prey, and at evening he will divide the plunder."

28 All these [are] the twelve tribes of Israel, and this [is] that which their father has spoken to them, and he blesses them; each according to his blessing he has blessed them.

All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said to them when he blessed them. He blessed each one with his own individual blessing.

29 And he commands them and says to them, “I am being gathered to my people; bury me by my fathers, at the cave which [is] in the field of Ephron the Hittite;

Then he instructed them, and said to them, "I am to be gathered to my people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hethite,

30 in the cave which [is] in the field of Machpelah, which [is] on the front of Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite for a possession of a burying-place;

in the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is near Mamre in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought along with the field from Ephron the Hethite as a burial place.

31 (there they buried Abraham and his wife Sarah; there they buried Isaac and his wife Rebekah; and there I buried Leah);

There they buried Abraham and his wife Sarah. There they buried Isaac and his wife Rebekah, and there I buried Leah.

32 the purchase of the field and of the cave which [is] in it, [is] from sons of Heth.”

The field and the cave that is in it were purchased from the sons of Heth."

33 And Jacob finishes commanding his sons, and gathers up his feet to the bed, and expires, and is gathered to his people.

When Jacob finished instructing his sons, he drew his legs up into the bed and breathed his last, and was gathered to his people.