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.

NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE® NASB®

A Corporation Not for Profit

La Habra, CA

www.lockman.org

Learn More About New American Standard Bible - NASB

Genesis 49

Jacob's Prophecy concerning His Sons

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 honor, be not thou united:

for in their anger they slew a man,

and in their self-will 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.

9 # Num 24.9. 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 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.

13Zeb´ulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea;

and he shall be for a haven of ships;

and his border shall be unto Zidon.

14Is´sachar 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.

21Naph´tali 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;)

25 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 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 raven as a wolf:

in the morning he shall devour the prey,

and at night he shall divide the spoil.

The Death and Burial of Jacob

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, 30#Gen 23.3-20. in the cave that is in the field of Machpe´lah, 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. 31#Gen 25.9,10; Gen 35.29. There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Le´ah. 32The purchase of the field and of the cave that is therein was from the children of Heth. 33#Acts 7.15. And 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.

Learn More About King James Version with Apocrypha, American Edition