1 Jacob Assembles His Sons Then Jacob summoned his sons and said, “Gather together that I may tell you what will befall you in the last days.
2 “Assemble together and hear, O sons of Jacob;And listen to Israel your father.
3 ¶“Reuben, you are my firstborn;My might and the beginning of my vigor, 49:3Lit preeminence Preeminent in dignity and 49:3Lit preeminence preeminent in strength.
4 “ 49:4Or Boiling over; lit Recklessness Uncontrolled as water, you shall not have preeminence,Because you went up to your father’s bed;Then you defiledit—he went up to my couch.
5 ¶“Simeon and Levi are brothers;Their swords are implements of violence.
6 “Let my soul not enter into their council;Let not my glory be united with their assembly;Because in their anger they killed 49:6Lit a man men,And in their self-will they hamstrung 49:6Lit an ox oxen.
7 “Cursed be their anger, for it is strong;And their wrath, for it is cruel.I will divide them amongst Jacob,And scatter them in Israel.
8 ¶“Judah, as for you, your brothers shall praise you;Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies;Your father’s sons shall bow down to you.
9 “Judah is a lion’s whelp;From the prey, my son, you have gone up.He 49:9Lit bows down crouches, he lies down as a lion,And as a lioness, who 49:9Lit shall dares rouse him up?
10 “The scepter shall not depart from Judah,Nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, 49:10Or Until he comes to Shiloh, Until he comes to whom it belongs Until Shiloh comes,And to himshall bethe obedience of the peoples.
11 “ 49:11Lit Binding of He tieshisfoal to the vine,And his donkey’s colt to the choice vine;He washes his garments in wine,And his robes in the blood of grapes.
12 “His eyes are 49:12Or darker than dark from wine,And his teeth 49:12Or whiter than white from milk.
13 ¶“Zebulun will dwell at the seashore;And heshall bea shore for ships,And his flankshall betoward Sidon.
14 ¶“Issachar is 49:14Lit a donkey of bone a strong donkey,Lying down between the 49:14Or saddlebags sheepfolds.
15 “And he saw that a resting place was goodAnd that the land was pleasant,So he bowed his shoulder to bearburdens,And became a slave at forced labor.
16 ¶“Dan shall render justice to his people,As one of the tribes of Israel.
17 “Dan shall be a serpent in the way,A horned snake in the path,That bites the horse’s heels,So that his rider falls backward.
18 “For Your salvation I hope, O Yahweh.
19 ¶“As for Gad, 49:19Lit a raiding band raiders shall raid him,But he will raidattheir 49:19Lit heel heels.
20 ¶“ 49:20Lit From As for Asher, his 49:20Or bread food shall be 49:20Lit fat rich,And he will yield royal dainties.
21 ¶“Naphtali is a doe let loose,He gives beautiful words.
22 ¶“Joseph is a fruitful 49:22Lit son bough,A fruitful 49:22Lit son bough by a spring;Its 49:22Lit daughters branches run over a wall.
23 “And the archers bitterly attacked him and shotat him,And they bore a grudge against him;
24 But his bow remained 49:24 In an unyielding position firm,And 49:24 Lit the arms of his hands his arms were agile,From the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob,From there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel,
25 From the God of your father who helps you,And 49:25 Or with by the 49:25 Heb Shaddai Almighty who blesses youWithblessings of heaven above,Blessings of the deep that lies beneath,Blessings of the breasts and of the womb.
26 “The blessings of your fatherHave surpassed the blessings of my ancestorsUp to the 49:26Or desire; lit limit utmost bound of the everlasting hills;May they be on the head of Joseph,And on the top of the head of the one distinguished among his brothers.
27 ¶“Benjamin is a 49:27Lit a wolf that tears ravenous wolf;In the morning he devours the prey,And in the evening he divides the spoil.”Jacob Breathes His Last
28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father spoke to them. So he blessed them. He blessed them, every one 49:28Lit according to his blessing with the blessing appropriate to him.
29 Then he commanded them and said to them, “I am about to be gathered to my people; bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite,
30 in the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought along with the field from Ephron the Hittite as a possession for a burial site.
31 There they buried Abraham and his wife Sarah, there they buried Isaac and his wife Rebekah, and there I buried Leah—
32 the field and the cave that is in it, purchased from the sons of Heth.”
33 So Jacob finished commanding his sons. And he drew his feet into the bed and breathed his last and was gathered to his people.