Genesis 49

¹And 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.

²Gather yourselves together, and hear, O ye sons of Jacob, hearken to Israel, your father:

³Ruben, my firstborn, thou art my strength, and the beginning of my sorrow; excelling in gifts, greater in command.

⁴Thou art poured out as water, grow thou not; because thou wentest up to thy father's bed, and didst defile his couch.

⁵Simeon and Levi brethren: vessels of iniquity waging war.

⁶Let 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 self-will they undermined a wall.

⁷Cursed 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.

⁸Juda, thee shall thy brethren praise: thy hand shall be on the necks of thy enemies; the sons of thy father shall bow down to thee.

⁹Juda 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?

¹⁰The 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.

¹¹Tying 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.

¹²His eyes are more beautiful than wine, and his teeth whiter than milk.

¹³Zabulon shall dwell on the seashore, and in the road of ships, reaching as far as Sidon.

¹⁴Issachar shall be a strong ass, lying down between the borders.

¹⁵He 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.

¹⁶Dan shall judge his people like another tribe in Israel.

¹⁷Let Dan be a snake in the way, a serpent in the path, that biteth the horse's heels, that his rider may fall backward.

¹⁸I will look for thy salvation, O Lord.

¹⁹Gad, being girded, shall fight before him: and he himself shall be girded backward.

²⁰Aser, his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield dainties to kings.

²¹Nephthali, a hart let loose, and giving words of beauty.

²²Joseph is a growing son, a growing son and comely to behold: the daughters run to and fro upon the wall;

²³But they that held darts, provoked him, and quarrelled with him, and envied him.

²⁴His 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.

²⁵The 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.

²⁶The 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.

²⁷Benjamin a ravenous wolf, in the morning shall eat the prey, and in the evening shall divide the spoil.

²⁸All these are the twelve tribes of Israel: these things their father spoke to them, and he blessed every one with their proper blessings.

²⁹And 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,

³⁰Over against Mambre, in the land of Chanaan, which Abraham bought together with the field, of Ephron the Hethite, for a possession to bury in.

³¹There they buried him, and Sara his wife: there was Isaac buried with Rebecca, his wife: there also Lia doth lie buried.

³²And 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.

Genesis 49

¹And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days.

²Gather yourselves together, and hear, ye sons of Jacob; and hearken unto Israel your father.

³Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power:

⁴Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel; because thou wentest up to thy father’s bed; then defiledst thou it: he went up to my couch.

⁵Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations.

⁶O my soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, mine honour, be not thou united: for in their anger they slew a man, and in their selfwill they digged down a wall.

⁷Cursed 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.

⁸Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father’s children shall bow down before thee.

⁹Judah is a lion’s whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up?

¹⁰The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.

¹¹Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass’s colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes:

¹²His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk.

¹³Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea; and he shall be for an haven of ships; and his border shall be unto Zidon.

¹⁴Issachar is a strong ass couching down between two burdens:

¹⁵And he saw that rest was good, and the land that it was pleasant; and bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant unto tribute.

¹⁶Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel.

¹⁷Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward.

¹⁸I have waited for thy salvation, O Lord.

¹⁹Gad, a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last.

²⁰Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties.

²¹Naphtali is a hind let loose: he giveth goodly words.

²²Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall:

²³The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him:

²⁴But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel:)

²⁵Even 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 lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb:

²⁶The blessings of thy father have prevailed above 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 him that was separate from his brethren.

²⁷Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf: in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil.

²⁸All these are the twelve tribes of Israel: and this is it that their father spake unto them, and blessed them; every one according to his blessing he blessed them.

²⁹And 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,

³⁰In the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field of Ephron the Hittite for a possession of a buryingplace.

³¹There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah.

³²The purchase of the field and of the cave that is therein was from the children of Heth.

³³And when Jacob had made an end of commanding his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the ghost, and was gathered unto his people.