Jenèz 49
1 Jakòb fè rele pitit gason l' yo, li di yo: -Sanble non. M'ap fè nou konnen sa ki pral rive nou nan jou k'ap vini yo.
Jacob summoned all his sons, and said to them,
2 Sanble, vin koute non, pitit Jakòb yo! vin koute sa Izrayèl, papa nou, pral di nou.
“Gather around me in order that I can tell you what will happen in the future. My sons, come and listen to me. I am your father, [Jacob, whom God named] Israel.
3 Ou menm, Woubenn, premye pitit gason mwen, ou se fòs mwen, premye pitit mwen fè. Nan tout pitit mwen yo, se ou ki gen plis fòs, se ou ki pi gwonèg.
Reuben, you are my oldest son. You were born when I was young and energetic/strong. You are prouder and stronger than all the rest of my sons.
4 Ou tankou yon larivyè k'ap desann. Men, se pa ou k'ap alatèt, paske ou kouche ak yon madanm papa ou. Ou moute sou kabann mwen, ou fè sa ou pa t' dwe fè.
But you were as uncontrollable as a flood [SIM]. So now you will not be my most important son, because you climbed up onto my bed, and had sex with [MTY] my (concubine/slave who had become one of my wives). Your doing that caused me, your father, to have great shame.
5 Simeyon ak Levi se menm moun, se pwason kraze nan bouyon! Yo sèvi ak zam yo pou fè mechanste.
Simeon and Levi, you have both acted like criminals. You use your swords to act violently.
6 Mwen p'ap patisipe nan konplo yo. Mwen p'ap la avèk yo nan reyinyon yo. Paske lè yo ankòlè, yo touye moun. Yo koupe jarèt towo bèf pou dan ri.
I do not want to be with you when you make evil plans [DOU]. I do not want to join you in your meetings, because you killed people when you became very angry, and you (hamstrung/cut the tendons in the legs of) oxen just to (have fun/see them suffer).
7 Madichon pou yo lè yo move paske yo san manman! M'ap fè yo rete toupatou nan peyi Jakòb la. M'ap gaye yo nan tout peyi Izrayèl la.
God says, ‘I will (curse/cause bad things to happen to) them for being very angry, for acting very cruelly when they were very furious. I will scatter their descendants [MTY] throughout Israel land.’
8 Ou menm, Jida, frè ou yo ap fè lwanj ou. W'ap kenbe lènmi ou yo dèyè kou. Pitit papa ou yo ap bese tèt devan ou.
Judah, your [older and younger] brothers will praise you. They will bow down before you, because you will thoroughly defeat [MTY] your enemies.
9 Jida, se yon jenn ti lyon. Lè ou fin fè ravaj, pitit mwen, ou tounen tounen ou. Ou kwoupi, ou kache kò ou tankou yon jenn ti lyon, tankou yon fenmèl lyon. Ki moun ki ka deranje ou?
Judah is like a young lion [SIM] that has returned to its den satisfied after eating the animals that it has killed. He is like a lion that lies down and stretches out after eating; no one would dare to disturb it [RHQ].
10 Yo p'ap ka wete kòmandman an nan men Jida. Non. Baton kòmandman an p'ap soti nan mitan janm li, jouk tan moun tout pèp sou latè pral obeyi a va vini.
There will always be a ruler [MTY] from the descendants of Judah [MTY]. Each one will hold a scepter/staff to show that he has authority as a king. He will do that until the one to whom the scepter belongs comes, the one to whom the nations will bring tribute and show that they will obey him.
11 L'ap mare ti bourik li a nan yon pye rezen, l'ap mare pitit manman bourik li a nan pi bon pye rezen an. L'ap lave rad li nan diven, l'ap lave varèz li nan diven wouj kou san.
The grapevines of Judah’s descendants will produce grapes very abundantly. As a result, they will not object to tying their young donkeys to the grapevines in order that the donkeys can eat the leaves of the grapevines. [Wine will be very plentiful, with the result that] they could wash their cloaks in wine that is as red as blood [MET].
12 Je l' wouj ak diven. Dan l' blan ak lèt.
Their eyes will be red because of [drinking too much] wine, but their teeth will be very white because of drinking much milk [from the cows].
13 Zabilon pral rete bò lanmè. Batiman yo va jwenn bon pò sou rivaj li yo. Limit peyi l' la ap rive jouk Sidon.
Zebulun, your descendants will live by the seashore where there will be a safe harbor for ships. Their land will extend north as far as Sidon [city].
14 Isaka, se yon bon bourik chay. Li kouche nan mitan de bò sakpay.
Issachar, your descendants will be like strong donkeys that are lying down on the ground between their loads, [so tired that they cannot get up]!
15 Li wè jan kote li poze kò l' la nan gou li, li wè jan peyi a bèl. Li pare do l' pou l' pote chay li. Li tounen esklav pou l' travay di.
They will see that their resting place is good, and that the land pleases them very much. But they will bend their backs to carry heavy loads and be forced to work for others.
16 Dann ap yon chèf pou pèp li, tankou yon branch nan fanmi Izrayèl.
Dan, although your tribe will be small, their leaders will rule their people just like the leaders of other tribes of Israel will rule their people.
17 Dann ap tankou yon sèpan bò gran chemen an, yon sèpan mechan sou bò wout la. L'ap mòde chwal yo nan talon pou l' fè kavalye yo tonbe sou tèt.
Your descendants will be like snakes at the side of a road, like poisonous snakes lying beside a path. They will strike the heels of horses that pass by, causing the riders to fall backwards [as the horses rear up on their hind legs].”
18 O Seyè, m'ap tann ou vin sove mwen!
Then Jacob prayed, “Yahweh, I am waiting for you to rescue me [from my enemies].”
19 Ou menm, Gad, yon bann vòlò ap vin tonbe sou ou. Men, w'ap kouri dèyè yo, se ou k'ap mete men sou yo.
[Then Jacob continued telling his sons what would happen in the future. He said], “Gad, your tribe/descendants will be attacked by a group of bandits, but your tribe/descendants will pursue and attack them [MTY].
20 Peyi Asè a ap bay bon manje k'ap bay fòs. L'ap donnen manje ki gou nan bouch wa yo.
Asher, your descendants will eat good-tasting food; they will produce food that is delicious enough for kings to eat.
21 Neftali, se yon fenmèl kabrit ki lage. L'ap fè bèl ti pitit.
Naphtali, your descendants will be like deer [MET] that are (free to/not tied down and can) run wherever they wish. They will give birth to children who are good-looking like (fawns/baby deer) [MET].
22 Jozèf se boujon yon pye rezen ki konn donnen, li soti nan yon pye rezen bò sous dlo ki donnen byen. Branch li yo moute sou tout miray la.
Joseph, you will have many descendants [MET]. Their children will be as many as the fruit on a vine near a spring of water, whose branches extend over a wall.
23 Y'ap chache l' kont, y'ap voye wòch sou li. Moun k'ap voye flèch yo tounen yon pèsekisyon pou li.
Their enemies will attack them fiercely, and shoot at them with bows and arrows and pursue them.
24 Men, banza pa li a rete fèm, ponyèt li pa febli, gremesi pouvwa Bondye Jakòb la, Bondye ki gadò pèp Izrayèl la. Se li ki tout pwoteksyon yo.
But they will hold their bows steady and their arms will remain strong, because of the power [MTY] of my mighty God, because of Yahweh who guides and provides for me [MET] like a shepherd guides and provides for his sheep. The people of Israel will [ask Yahweh to protect them], [like people hide under] a huge [overhanging] to be protected.
25 Sa soti nan Bondye papa ou la k'ap ede ou, nan Bondye ki gen tout pouvwa a k'ap beni ou avèk benediksyon lapli ki soti anwo nan syèl la, avèk benediksyon sous dlo k'ap soti anba tè a, avèk benediksyon ki soti nan tete ak nan vant manman.
God, the one whom I worship, will help your descendants. God Almighty will bless them by sending them rain from the sky and by giving them water from deep/far below the ground. He will give them many cattle and children [MET] (OR, and their cattle will have many offspring).
26 Benediksyon papa ou yo pi plis pase benediksyon mòn ki la pou tout tan yo. Se pou benediksyon sa yo tonbe sou tèt Jozèf, sou tèt moun Bondye te chwazi nan mitan tout frè l' yo.
The blessings that I want God to give you are great ones. They are greater than the blessings that come from the eternal mountains, greater than the ones that come from the everlasting hills. Joseph, I pray that these blessings will (be given to you/come upon your head), because you are the leader of your [older] brothers [and younger brother].
27 Benjamen, se yon bèt nan bwa devoran. Nan maten, li manje bèt li kenbe a. Nan aswè, l'ap separe toujou sa l' te pran yo.
Benjamin, your descendants will be like [MET] vicious/fierce wolves: In the morning they will kill their enemies like a wolf devours (its prey/the animals that it has killed), and in the evening they will divide among their warriors the spoils that they seized from their enemies.”
28 Men douz branch fanmi Izrayèl yo. Men sa papa yo te di yo. Li beni yo, li bay chak moun benediksyon pa yo.
Those twelve sons are the ancestors of the twelve tribes of Israel. That is what their father said to them as he blessed them, telling to each one words that were appropriate for him.
29 Apre sa, Jakòb ba yo lòd sa a: -Mwen menm, mwen pral jwenn fanmi m' yo ki mouri deja. Antere m' menm kote ak zansèt mwen yo nan twou wòch ki nan jaden Efwon, moun Et la,
Then Jacob said to his sons, “I will soon die. Bury my body where some of my ancestors are buried, in the cave that is in the field that was bought from Ephron, who belonged to the Heth people-group.
30 nan twou wòch ki nan jaden Makpela a, anfas Manmre, nan peyi Kanaran. Se Abraram ki te achte twou wòch sa a ak tout jaden an nan men Efwon, moun Et la, pou sèvi l' simityè.
That field is in the Machpelah area, east of Mamre [town], in Canaan. My grandfather Abraham bought it from Ephron to use as a burial place.
31 Se la yo te antere Abraram ak Sara, madanm li. Se la yo te antere Izarak ak Rebeka, madanm li. Se la tout mwen te antere Leya.
That is where they buried him and his wife Sarah. That is where they buried my father Isaac and his wife Rebekah. And that is where I buried my wife Leah.
32 Se nan men mesye Et yo nou te achte jaden an ak tout twou wòch ki sou li a.
That field and the cave in it were bought from the Heth people-group; so that is where I want you to bury me.”
33 Lè Jakòb fin pale konsa ak pitit gason l' yo, li lonje kò l' sou kabann lan, li mouri, li al jwenn fanmi li yo ki te mouri deja.
When Jacob finished giving those instructions to his sons, he lay down on his bed again. Then he died [IDM].
