Genesis 49
49
1Then Jacob called his sons, and said, “Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you what shall befall you in days to come.
2“Assemble and hear, O sons of Jacob,
and hearken to Israel your father.
3Reuben, you are my first-born,
my might, and the first fruits of my strength,
pre-eminent in pride and pre-eminent in power.
4Unstable as water, you shall not have pre-eminence
because you went up to your father's bed;
then you defiled it—you#49.4 Gk Syr Tg: Heb he went up to my couch!
5Simeon and Levi are brothers;
weapons of violence are their swords.
6O my soul, come not into their council;
O my spirit,#49.6 Or glory be not joined to their company;
for in their anger they slay men,
and in their wantonness they hamstring oxen.
7Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce;
and their wrath, for it is cruel!
I will divide them in Jacob
and scatter them in Israel.
8Judah, your brothers shall praise you;
your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies;
your father's sons shall bow down before you.
9 #
Num 24.9; Rev 5.5. Judah is a lion's whelp;
from the prey, my son, you have gone up.
He stooped down, he couched as a lion,
and as a lioness; who dares rouse him up?
10The scepter shall not depart from Judah,
nor the ruler's staff from between his feet,
until he comes to whom it belongs;#49.10 Syr Compare Tg: Heb until Shiloh comes or until he comes to Shiloh
and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.
11Binding his foal to the vine
and his ass's colt to the choice vine,
he washes his garments in wine
and his vesture in the blood of grapes;
12his eyes shall be red with wine,
and his teeth white with milk.
13Zebulun shall dwell at the shore of the sea;
he shall become a haven for ships,
and his border shall be at Sidon.
14Issachar is a strong ass,
crouching between the sheepfolds;
15he saw that a resting place was good,
and that the land was pleasant;
so he bowed his shoulder to bear,
and became a slave at forced labor.
16Dan shall judge his people
as one of the tribes of Israel.
17Dan shall be a serpent in the way,
a viper by the path,
that bites the horse's heels
so that his rider falls backward.
18I wait for thy salvation, O Lord.
19Raiders#49.19 Heb gedud, a raiding troop shall raid Gad,
but he shall raid at their heels.
20Asher's food shall be rich,
and he shall yield royal dainties.
21Naphtali is a hind let loose,
that bears comely fawns.#49.21 Or who gives beautiful words
22Joseph is a fruitful bough,
a fruitful bough by a spring;
his branches run over the wall.
23The archers fiercely attacked him,
shot at him, and harassed him sorely;
24yet his bow remained unmoved,
his arms#49.24 Heb the arms of his hands were made agile
by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob
(by the name of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel),
25by the God of your father who will help you,
by God Almighty#49.25 Heb El Shaddai who will bless you
with blessings of heaven above,
blessings of the deep that couches beneath,
blessings of the breasts and of the womb.
26The blessings of your father
are mighty beyond the blessings of the eternal mountains,#49.26 Compare Gk: Heb of my progenitors to
the bounties of the everlasting hills;
may they be on the head of Joseph,
and on the brow of him who was separate from his brothers.
27Benjamin is a ravenous wolf,
in the morning devouring the prey,
and at even dividing the spoil.”
28All these are the twelve tribes of Israel; and this is what their father said to them as he blessed them, blessing each with the blessing suitable to him. 29Then he charged 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 Hittite, 30in the cave that is in the field at Mach-pelah, to the east of Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite to possess as a burying place. 31There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah— 32the field and the cave that is in it were purchased from the Hittites.” 33When Jacob finished charging his sons, he drew up his feet into the bed, and breathed his last, and was gathered to his people.
Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America
Genesis 49
49
1And Ya’akov (he who holds onto the heel of) called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you [that] which shall befall youf in the last days.
2Gather yourselves together, and hear, youf sons of Ya’akov (he who holds onto the heel of); and hearken unto Isra’el (he who holds onto God-The Creator) yourf father.
3Re’uven (behold a son), youi [are] my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power:
4Unstable as water, youi shall not excel; because youi went up to youri father’s bed; then defiled youi [it]: he went up to my couch.
5Shim’on (heard; he who hears; man of hearing) and Levi (Levite) [Joined to] (joined) [are] brethren; instruments of cruelty [are in] their habitations.
6O my soul, come not youi into their secret; unto their assembly, my honour, be not youi united: for in their anger they killed a man, and in their stubbornness they dug down a wall.
7Cursed [be] their anger, for [it was] fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Ya’akov (he who holds onto the heel of), and scatter them in Isra’el (he who holds onto God-The Creator).
8Y’hudah (Let the Powerful One be Praised [Yah]), youi [are he] whom you(i) brethren shall praise: your(i) hand [shall be] in the neck of youri enemies; your(i) father’s children shall bow down before youi.
9Y’hudah [is] a lion’s whelp (a cub; a young one): from the prey, my son, youi are 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 Y’hudah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh [Place of Rest] come; and unto him [shall] the gathering of the people [be].
11Binding his foal unto the vine, and his donkey’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.
13Z’vulun (exalted; Glorious Dwelling Place) shall dwell at the haven of the sea; and he [shall be] for an haven of ships; and his border [shall be] unto Tzidon [Hunting].
14Yissakhar (there is recompense) is a strong donkey 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 (Judge) shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Isra’el (he who holds onto God-The Creator).
17Dan (Judge) shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that bites the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward.
18I have waited for youri salvation, O Lord-Yehōvah (Messiah Pre-Incarnate).
19Gad, (troop; good fortune with much effort) a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last.
20Out of Asher (happy) his bread [shall be] fat, and he shall yield royal dainties.
21Naftali (My Wrestling) [is] a hind let loose: he gives goodly words.
22Yosef (Increaser; May God the Powerful One add [Yah]) [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-Elōhīm [The Living Word - The Many Powered] of Ya’akov (he who holds onto the heel of); (from there [is] the shepherd, the stone of Isra’el [he who holds onto God-The Creator])
25by the God-Elōhīm [The Living Word - The Many Powered] of youri father, who shall help youi; and by the EL Shaddai [The Powerful/Almighty Living Word], who shall bless youi with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lies under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb:
26The blessings of youri father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Yosef, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.
27Binyamin (This Son Is Strength) shall voracious [as] a wolf: in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil (plunder; prey; booty).
28All these [are] the twelve tribes of Isra’el (he who holds onto God-The Creator): and this [is it] that their father spoke unto them, and Blessed (Favored by God; happy; prosperous) them; every one according to his blessing he Blessed (Favored by God; happy; prosperous) 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 ‘Efron (fawn-like) the Hitti (terrorists),
30In the cave that [is] in the field of Makhpelah (portion; double cave), which [is] before Mamre (firmness; fatling (fat cattle) offering), in the land of Kena’an (merchant; trader; or that humbles and subdues), which Avraham [exalted father/Fly They Will] bought with the field of ‘Efron (fawn-like) the Hitti (terrorists) for a possession of a burying place.
31There they buried Avraham [exalted father/Fly They Will] and Sarah [Princess] his wife; there they buried Yitz’chak [Laughter] and Rivkah (Tied Up; Secured) his wife; and there I buried Le’ah (weary; grieved).
32The purchase of the field and of the cave that [is] in it [was] from the children of Het (terror).
33And when Ya’akov (he who holds onto the heel of) 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.
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