Genesis 49

Jacob’s Prophecy concerning His Sons

1Then Jacob summoned his sons and said, “Assemble yourselves, so that I may tell you what will happen to you in the #49:1 Lit end of the daysdays to come.

2“Gather together and listen, sons of Jacob;

Yes, listen to Israel your father.

3¶“Reuben, you are my firstborn,

My might and the beginning of my strength,

Preeminent in dignity and preeminent in power.

4“#49:4 Or Gushing overUncontrollable as water, you shall not have preeminence,

Because you went up to your father’s bed;

Then you defiled it—he went up to my couch.

5¶“Simeon and Levi are brothers;

Their #49:5 Or plans; meaning uncertainswords are implements of violence.

6“May my soul not enter into their council;

May my glory not be united with their assembly;

For in their anger they killed #49:6 Lit a manmen,

And in their self-will they lamed #49:6 Lit an oxoxen.

7“Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce;

And their wrath, for it is cruel.

I will scatter them in Jacob,

And disperse them among Israel.

8¶“As for you, Judah, 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 cub;

From the prey, my son, you have gone up.

He #49:9 Lit bows downcrouches, he lies down as a lion,

And as a #49:9 Lit lionesslion, who #49:9 Lit shalldares to stir him up?

10“The scepter will not depart from Judah,

Nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,

# 49:10 Or Until he comes to Shiloh; or Until he comes to whom it belongs Until Shiloh comes,

And to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.

11“He ties his foal 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 #49:12 Or darker thandull from wine,

And his teeth #49:12 Or whiter thanwhite from milk.

13¶“Zebulun will reside at the seashore;

And he shall be #49:13 Lit a shore of shipsa harbor for ships,

And his flank shall be toward Sidon.

14¶“Issachar is a #49:14 Lit donkey of bonestrong donkey,

Lying down between the sheepfolds.

15“When he saw that a resting place was good

And that the land was pleasant,

He bowed his shoulder to carry burdens,

And became a slave at forced labor.

16¶“Dan shall judge his people,

As one of the tribes of Israel.

17“Dan shall be a serpent in the way,

A horned viper in the path,

That bites the horse’s heels,

So that its rider falls backward.

18“For Your salvation I wait, Lord.

19¶“As for Gad, a band of raiders shall attack him,

But he will attack at their #49:19 Lit heelheels.

20¶“#49:20 Lit FromAs for Asher, his #49:20 Or breadfood shall be #49:20 Lit fatrich,

And he will yield royal delicacies.

21¶“Naphtali is a doe let loose;

He utters beautiful words.

22¶“Joseph is a fruitful #49:22 Lit sonbranch,

A fruitful #49:22 Lit sonbranch by a spring;

Its #49:22 Lit daughtersbranches hang over a wall.

23“The archers provoked him,

And shot at him and were hostile toward him;

24But his bow remained #49:24 I.e., in an unyielding positionfirm,

And #49:24 Lit the arms of his handshis arms were agile,

From the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob

(From there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel),

25From the God of your father who helps you,

And #49:25 Or withby the #49:25 Heb ShaddaiAlmighty who blesses you

With blessings of heaven above,

Blessings of the deep that lies beneath,

Blessings of the breasts and of the womb.

26“The blessings of your father

Have surpassed the blessings of my ancestors

Up to the #49:26 Lit limit; or desirefurthest boundary 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 #49:27 Lit a wolf that tearsravenous wolf;

In the morning he devours the prey,

And in the evening he divides the spoils.”

28All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said to them #49:28 Lit andwhen he blessed them. He blessed them, every one #49:28 Lit according to his blessingwith the blessing appropriate to him.

Jacob Dies

29Then 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, 30in the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is opposite Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought along with the field from Ephron the Hittite as a #49:30 Lit possession of a burial placeburial site. 31There they buried Abraham and his wife Sarah, there they buried Isaac and his wife Rebekah, and there I buried Leah— 32the field and the cave that is in it, purchased from the sons of Heth.” 33When Jacob finished commanding his sons, he drew his feet into the bed and breathed his last, and was gathered to his people.

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Berĕshith (Genesis) 49

1And Ya‛aqoḇ called his sons and said, “Gather together, so that I declare to you what is to befall you in the last days:

2“Gather together and hear, you sons of Ya‛aqoḇ, and listen to Yisra’ĕl your father.

3“Re’uḇĕn, you are my first-born, my power and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of exaltation and the excellency of power.

4“Boiling like water, you do not excel, because you went up to your father’s bed, then you defiled it – he went up to my couch.

5“Shim‛on and Lĕwi are brothers, their weapons are implements of violence.

6“Let my being not enter their council, let my esteem not be united to their assembly; because they killed a man in their displeasure, and they lamed an ox in pleasure.

7“Cursed be their displeasure for it is fierce, and their wrath for it is cruel! I divide them in Ya‛aqoḇ and scatter them in Yisra’ĕl.

8“You, Yehuḏah, your brothers praise you; your hand is on the neck of your enemies; your father’s children bow down before you.

9Yehuḏah is a lion’s cub; from the prey you have gone up, my son! He bowed down, he crouched like a lion. And like a lion, who does rouse him?”

10“The sceptre shall not turn aside from Yehuḏah, nor an Inscriber from between his feet, until Shiloh comes, and to Him is the obedience of peoples.

11“Binding his donkey to the vine, and his donkey’s colt to the choice vine, he washed his garments in wine, and his robes in the blood of grapes.

12“His eyes are darker than wine, and his teeth whiter than milk.

13“Zeḇulun dwells at the seashore, he is for a haven for ships, and his border is unto Tsiḏon.

14“Yissasḵar is a strong donkey lying down between two burdens,

15and he saw that a resting place was good, and that the land was pleasant, and he inclined his shoulder to bear a burden, and became a subject to slave labour.

16“Dan rightly rules his people as one of the tribes of Yisra’ĕl.

17“Dan is a serpent by the way, an adder by the path, that bites the horse’s heels so that its rider falls backward.

18I have waited for your deliverance, O יהוה!”

19“Gaḏ, a raiding band raids him, but he raids its heel.

20“Bread from Ashĕr is rich, and he gives delicacies of a sovereign.

21“Naphtali is a deer let loose, he gives words of elegance.

22“Yosĕph is an offshoot of a fruit-bearing tree, an offshoot of a fruit-bearing tree by a fountain, his branches run over a wall.

23“And the archers have bitterly grieved him, shot at him and hated him.

24But his bow remained in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the Mighty One of Ya‛aqoḇ – from there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Yisra’ĕl - ”

25from the Ěl of your father who helps you, and by the Almighty who blesses you with blessings of the heavens from above, blessings of the deep that lies beneath, blessings of the breasts and of the womb.

26“The blessings of your father have excelled the blessings of my ancestors, up to the limit of the everlasting hills. They are on the head of Yosĕph, and on the crown of the head of him who was separated from his brothers.

27“Binyamin is a wolf that tears, in the morning he eats prey, and at night he divides the spoil.”

28All these are the twelve tribes of Yisra’ĕl, and this is what their father spoke to them. And he blessed them, he blessed each one according to his own blessing.

29And he commanded 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 Ḥittite,

30in the cave that is in the field of Maḵpĕlah, which is before Mamrĕ in the land of Kena‛an, which Aḇraham bought with the field of Ephron the Ḥittite as a possession for a burial-site.

31There they buried Aḇraham and Sarah his wife, there they buried Yitsḥaq and Riḇqah his wife, and there I buried Lĕ’ah –

32the field purchased, and the cave which is in it, from the sons of Ḥĕth.”

33And when Ya‛aqoḇ ended commanding his sons, he drew his feet up into the bed and breathed his last, and was gathered to his people.

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