Genesis 49
1 vocavit autem Iacob filios suos et ait eis congregamini ut adnuntiem quae ventura sunt vobis diebus novissimis
And Jacob called unto his sons, and said: 'Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the end of days.
2 congregamini et audite filii Iacob audite Israhel patrem vestrum
Assemble yourselves, and hear, ye sons of Jacob; and hearken unto Israel your father.
3 Ruben primogenitus meus tu fortitudo mea et principium doloris mei prior in donis maior imperio
Reuben, thou art my first-born, my might, and the first-fruits of my strength; the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power.
4 effusus es sicut aqua non crescas quia ascendisti cubile patris tui et maculasti stratum eius
Unstable as water, have not thou the excellency; because thou wentest up to thy father's bed; then defiledst thou it — he went up to my couch.
5 Symeon et Levi fratres vasa iniquitatis bellantia
Simeon and Levi are brethren; weapons of violence their kinship.
6 in consilio eorum ne veniat anima mea et in coetu illorum non sit gloria mea quia in furore suo occiderunt virum et in voluntate sua suffoderunt murum
Let my soul not come into their council; unto their assembly let my glory not be united; for in their anger they slew men, and in their self-will they houghed oxen.
7 maledictus furor eorum quia pertinax et indignatio illorum quia dura dividam eos in Iacob et dispergam illos in Israhel
Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce, and their wrath, for it was cruel; I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.
8 Iuda te laudabunt fratres tui manus tua in cervicibus inimicorum tuorum adorabunt te filii patris tui
Judah, thee shall thy brethren praise; thy hand shall be on the neck of thine enemies; thy father's sons shall bow down before thee.
9 catulus leonis Iuda a praeda fili mi ascendisti requiescens accubuisti ut leo et quasi leaena quis suscitabit eum
Judah is a lion's whelp; from the prey, my son, thou art gone up. He stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as a lioness; who shall rouse him up?
10 non auferetur sceptrum de Iuda et dux de femoribus eius donec veniat qui mittendus est et ipse erit expectatio gentium
The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, as long as men come to Shiloh; and unto him shall the obedience of the peoples be.
11 ligans ad vineam pullum suum et ad vitem o fili mi asinam suam lavabit vino stolam suam et sanguine uvae pallium suum
Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass's colt unto the choice vine; he washeth his garments in wine, and his vesture in the blood of grapes;
12 pulchriores oculi eius vino et dentes lacte candidiores
His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk.
13 Zabulon in litore maris habitabit et in statione navium pertingens usque ad Sidonem
Zebulun shall dwell at the shore of the sea, and he shall be a shore for ships, and his flank shall be upon Zidon.
14 Isachar asinus fortis accubans inter terminos
Issachar is a large-boned ass, couching down between the sheep-folds.
15 vidit requiem quod esset bona et terram quod optima et subposuit umerum suum ad portandum factusque est tributis serviens
For he saw a resting-place that it was good, and the land that it was pleasant; and he bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant under task-work
16 Dan iudicabit populum suum sicut et alia tribus Israhel
Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel.
17 fiat Dan coluber in via cerastes in semita mordens ungulas equi ut cadat ascensor eius retro
Dan shall be a serpent in the way, a horned snake in the path, that biteth the horse's heels, so that his rider falleth backward.
18 salutare tuum expectabo Domine
I wait for Thy salvation, O Lord.
19 Gad accinctus proeliabitur ante eum et ipse accingetur retrorsum
Gad, a troop shall troop upon him; but he shall troop upon their heel.
20 Aser pinguis panis eius et praebebit delicias regibus
As for Asher, his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties.
21 Nepthalim cervus emissus et dans eloquia pulchritudinis
Naphtali is a hind let loose: he giveth goodly words.
22 filius adcrescens Ioseph filius adcrescens et decorus aspectu filiae discurrerunt super murum
Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine by a fountain; its branches run over the wall.
23 sed exasperaverunt eum et iurgati sunt invideruntque illi habentes iacula
The archers have dealt bitterly with him, and shot at him, and hated him;
24 sedit in forti arcus eius et dissoluta sunt vincula brachiorum et manuum illius per manus potentis Iacob inde pastor egressus est lapis Israhel
But his bow abode firm, and the arms of his hands were made supple, by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, from thence, from the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel,
25 Deus patris tui erit adiutor tuus et Omnipotens benedicet tibi benedictionibus caeli desuper benedictionibus abyssi iacentis deorsum benedictionibus uberum et vulvae
Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee, and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee, with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that coucheth beneath, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb.
26 benedictiones patris tui confortatae sunt benedictionibus patrum eius donec veniret desiderium collium aeternorum fiant in capite Ioseph et in vertice nazarei inter fratres suos
The blessings of thy father are mighty beyond the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills; they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of the prince among his brethren.
27 Beniamin lupus rapax mane comedet praedam et vespere dividet spolia
Benjamin is a wolf that raveneth; in the morning he devoureth the prey, and at even he divideth the spoil.'
28 omnes hii in tribubus Israhel duodecim haec locutus est eis pater suus benedixitque singulis benedictionibus propriis
All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is it that their father spoke unto them and blessed them; every one according to his blessing he blessed them.
29 et praecepit eis dicens ego congregor ad populum meum sepelite me cum patribus meis in spelunca duplici quae est in agro Ephron Hetthei
And he charged them, and said unto them: 'I am to be gathered unto my people; bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite,
30 contra Mambre in terra Chanaan quam emit Abraham cum agro ab Ephron Hettheo in possessionem sepulchri
in the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite for a possession of a burying-place.
31 ibi sepelierunt eum et Sarram uxorem eius ibi sepultus est Isaac cum Rebecca coniuge ibi et Lia condita iacet
There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah.
The field and the cave that is therein, which was purchased from the children of Heth.'
33 finitisque mandatis quibus filios instruebat collegit pedes suos super lectulum et obiit adpositusque est ad populum suum
And when Jacob made an end of charging his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed, and expired, and was gathered unto his people.
