Genesis 49

Jacob reveals his sons’ destinies

1Jacob summoned his sons and said, “Gather around so that I can tell you what will happen to you in the coming days.

2Assemble yourselves and listen, sons of Jacob;

listen to Israel your father.

3Reuben, you are my oldest son,

my strength and my first contender,#49.3 Or first of my power

superior in status and superior in might.

4As wild as the waters, you won’t endure,

for you went up to your father’s bed,

you went up#49.4 LXX; MT he went up and violated my couch.

5Simeon and Levi are brothers,

weapons of violence their stock in trade.

6May I myself never enter their council.

May my honor never be linked to their group;

for when they were angry, they killed men,

and whenever they wished, they maimed oxen.

7Cursed be their anger; it is violent,

their rage; it is relentless.

I’ll divide them up within Jacob

and disperse them within Israel.

8Judah, you are the one your brothers will honor;

your hand will be on the neck of your enemies;

your father’s sons will bow down to you.

9Judah is a lion’s cub;

from the prey, my son, you rise up.

He lies down and crouches like a lion;

like a lioness—who dares disturb him?

10The scepter won’t depart from Judah,

nor the ruler’s staff from among his banners.#49.10 Sam; MT his feet

Gifts will be brought to him;

people will obey him.

11He ties his male donkey to the vine,

the colt of his female donkey to the vine’s branches.

He washes his clothes in wine,

his garments in the blood of grapes.

12His eyes are darker than wine,

and his teeth whiter than milk.

13Zebulun will live at the seashore;

he’ll live at the harbor of ships,

his border will be at Sidon.

14Issachar is a sturdy donkey,

bedding down beside the village hearths.#49.14 Or stubbornly lying beneath its saddlebags

15He saw that a resting place was good

and that the land was pleasant.

He lowered his shoulder to haul loads

and joined the work gangs.

16Dan#49.16 Or he judges, or settles disputes will settle disputes for his people,

as one of Israel’s tribes.

17Dan will be a snake on the road,

a serpent on the path,

biting a horse’s heels,

so its rider falls backward.

18I long for your victory, LORD.

19Gad#49.19 Or he attacks or good fortune will be attacked by attackers,

but he’ll attack their back.

20Asher#49.20 LXX, Syr, Vulg; MT from Asher grows fine foods,

and he will supply the king’s delicacies.

21Naphtali is a wild doe

that gives birth to beautiful fawns.#49.21 Or who gives beautiful words

22Joseph is a young bull,#49.22 Heb uncertain

a young bull by a spring,

who strides with oxen.#49.22 Heb uncertain

23They attacked him fiercely and fired arrows;

the archers attacked him furiously.

24But his bow stayed strong,

and his forearms were nimble,#49.24 Heb uncertain; or flexible

by the hands of the strong one of Jacob,

by the name of the shepherd, the rock of Israel,

25by God, your father, who supports you,

by the Almighty#49.25 Heb Shaddai or the Mountain One who blesses you

with blessings from the skies above

and blessings from the deep sea below,

blessings from breasts and womb.

26The blessings of your father exceed

the blessings of the eternal mountains,#49.26 LXX; Heb uncertain

the wealth of the everlasting hills.

May they all rest on Joseph’s head,

on the forehead of the one set apart from his brothers.

27Benjamin is a wolf who hunts:

in the morning he devours the prey;

in the evening he divides the plunder.”

28These are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said to them. He blessed them by giving each man his own particular blessing.

Jacob’s death and burial

29Jacob ordered them, “I am soon to join my people. Bury me with my ancestors in the cave that’s in the field of Ephron the Hittite; 30in the cave that’s in the field of Machpelah near Mamre in the land of Canaan that Abraham bought from Ephron the Hittite as a burial property. 31That is where Abraham and his wife Sarah are buried, and where Isaac and his wife Rebekah are buried, and where I buried Leah. 32It is the field and the cave in it that belonged to the Hittites.” 33After he finished giving orders to his sons, he put his feet up on the bed, took his last breath, and joined his people.

Learn More About Common English Bible

Genesis 49

Jacob’s Last Words to His Sons

1And Jacob called his sons and said, “Gather together, that I may #Deut. 33:1, 6–25; (Amos 3:7)tell you what shall befall you #Num. 24:14; (Deut. 4:30); Is. 2:2; 39:6; Jer. 23:20; Heb. 1:2in the last days:

2“Gather together and hear, you sons of Jacob,

And listen to Israel your father.

3“Reuben, you are #Gen. 29:32my firstborn,

My might and the beginning of my strength,

The excellency of dignity and the excellency of power.

4Unstable as water, you shall not excel,

Because you #Gen. 35:22; Deut. 27:20; 1 Chr. 5:1went up to your father’s bed;

Then you defiled it—

He went up to my couch.

5“Simeon and Levi are brothers;

Instruments of cruelty are in their dwelling place.

6#Ps. 64:2; Prov. 1:15, 16Let not my soul enter their council;

Let not my honor be united #Ps. 26:9; Eph. 5:11to their assembly;

#Gen. 34:26For in their anger they slew a man,

And in their self-will they hamstrung an ox.

7Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce;

And their wrath, for it is cruel!

#Num. 18:24; Josh. 19:1, 9; 21:1–42; 1 Chr. 4:24–27I will divide them in Jacob

And scatter them in Israel.

8“Judah,#Deut. 33:7; Rev. 5:5 you are he whom your brothers shall praise;

#Ps. 18:40Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies;

#Gen. 27:29; 1 Chr. 5:2Your father’s children shall bow down before you.

9Judah is #Deut. 33:22; Ezek. 19:5–7; Mic. 5:8; (Rev. 5:5)a lion’s whelp;

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

#Num. 23:24; 24:9He bows down, he lies down as a lion;

And as a lion, who shall rouse him?

10#Num. 24:17; Jer. 30:21; Matt. 1:3; 2:6; Luke 3:33; Rev. 5:5The scepter shall not depart from Judah,

Nor #Ps. 60:7a lawgiver from between his feet,

#Is. 11:1; (Matt. 21:9)Until Shiloh comes;

#Deut. 18:15; Ps. 2:6–9; 72:8–11; Is. 42:1, 4; 49:6; 60:1–5; (Luke 2:30–32)And to Him shall be the obedience of the people.

11Binding his donkey to the vine,

And his donkey’s colt to the choice vine,

He washed his garments in wine,

And his clothes in the blood of grapes.

12His eyes are darker than wine,

And his teeth whiter than milk.

13“Zebulun#Deut. 33:18, 19; Josh. 19:10, 11 shall dwell by the haven of the sea;

He shall become a haven for ships,

And his border shall #Gen. 10:19; Josh. 11:8adjoin Sidon.

14“Issachar#1 Chr. 12:32 is a strong donkey,

Lying down between two burdens;

15He saw that rest was good,

And that the land was pleasant;

He bowed #1 Sam. 10:9his shoulder to bear a burden,

And became a band of slaves.

16“Dan#Gen. 30:6; Deut. 33:22; Judg. 18:26, 27 shall judge his people

As one of the tribes of Israel.

17#Judg. 18:27Dan shall be a serpent by the way,

A viper by the path,

That bites the horse’s heels

So that its rider shall fall backward.

18#Ex. 15:2; Ps. 25:5; 40:1–3; 119:166, 174; Is. 25:9; Mic. 7:7I have waited for your salvation, O Lord!

19“Gad,#Gen. 30:11; Deut. 33:20; 1 Chr. 5:18 a troop shall tramp upon him,

But he shall triumph at last.

20“Bread from #Deut. 33:24; Josh. 19:24–31Asher shall be rich,

And he shall yield royal dainties.

21“Naphtali#Deut. 33:23 is a deer let loose;

He uses beautiful words.

22“Joseph is a fruitful bough,

A fruitful bough by a well;

His branches run over the wall.

23The archers have #Gen. 37:4, 24; Ps. 118:13bitterly grieved him,

Shot at him and hated him.

24But his #Job 29:20; Ps. 37:15bow remained in strength,

And the arms of his hands were made strong

By the hands of #Ps. 132:2, 5; Is. 1:24; 49:26the Mighty God of Jacob

#Gen. 45:11; 47:12(From there #(Ps. 23:1; 80:1)is the Shepherd, #(Ps. 118:22); Is. 28:16; (1 Pet. 2:6–8)the Stone of Israel),

25#Gen. 28:13; 32:9; 35:3; 43:23; 50:17By the God of your father who will help you,

#Gen. 17:1; 35:11And by the Almighty #Deut. 33:13who will bless you

With blessings of heaven above,

Blessings of the deep that lies beneath,

Blessings of the breasts and of the womb.

26The blessings of your father

Have excelled the blessings of my ancestors,

#Deut. 33:15; Hab. 3:6Up to the utmost bound of the everlasting hills.

#Deut. 33:16They shall be on the head of Joseph,

And on the crown of the head of him who was separate from his brothers.

27“Benjamin is a #Judg. 20:21, 25ravenous wolf;

In the morning he shall devour the prey,

#Num. 23:24; Esth. 8:11; Ezek. 39:10; Zech. 14:1And at night he shall divide the spoil.”

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

Jacob’s Death and Burial

29Then he charged them and said to them: “I #Gen. 15:15; 25:8; 35:29am to be gathered to my people; #Gen. 47:30; 2 Sam. 19:37bury me with my fathers #Gen. 23:16–20; 50:13in 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, #Gen. 23:3–20which Abraham bought with the field of Ephron the Hittite as a possession for a burial place. 31#Gen. 23:19, 20; 25:9There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife, #Gen. 35:29; 50:13there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife, and there I buried Leah. 32The field and the cave that is there were purchased from the sons of Heth.” 33And when Jacob had finished commanding his sons, he drew his feet up into the bed and breathed his last, and was gathered to his people.

Learn More About New King James Version