Genesis 49

The Last Words of Jacob

1Jacob called for his sons and said, “Gather round, and I will tell you what will happen to you in the future:

2“Come together and listen, sons of Jacob.

Listen to your father Israel.

3“Reuben, my firstborn, you are my strength

And the first child of my manhood,

The proudest and strongest of all my sons.

4You are like a raging flood,

But you will not be the most important,

For you slept with my concubine

And dishonoured your father's bed.

5“Simeon and Levi are brothers.

They use their weapons to commit violence.

6I will not join in their secret talks,

Nor will I take part in their meetings,

For they killed men in anger

And they crippled bulls for sport.

7A curse be on their anger, because it is so fierce,

And on their fury, because it is so cruel.

I will scatter them throughout the land of Israel.

I will disperse them among its people.

8“Judah, your brothers will praise you.

You hold your enemies by the neck.

Your brothers will bow down before you.

9 # Num 24.9; Rev 5.5 Judah is like a lion,

Killing his victim and returning to his den,

Stretching out and lying down.

No one dares disturb him.

10Judah will hold the royal sceptre,

And his descendants will always rule.

Nations will bring him tribute#49.10 Probable text Nations… tribute; Hebrew unclear.

And bow in obedience before him.

11He ties his young donkey to a grapevine,

To the very best of the vines.

He washes his clothes in blood-red wine.

12His eyes are bloodshot from drinking wine,

His teeth white from drinking milk.#49.12 His eyes… milk; or His eyes are darker than wine, his teeth are whiter than milk.

13“Zebulun will live beside the sea.

His shore will be a haven for ships.

His territory will reach as far as Sidon.

14“Issachar is no better than a donkey

That lies stretched out between its saddlebags.

15But he sees that the resting place is good

And that the land is delightful.

So he bends his back to carry the load

And is forced to work as a slave.

16“Dan will be a ruler for his people.

They will be like the other tribes of Israel.

17Dan will be a snake at the side of the road,

A poisonous snake beside the path,

That strikes at the horse's heel,

So that the rider is thrown off backwards.

18“I wait for your deliverance, LORD.

19“Gad will be attacked by a band of robbers,

But he will turn and pursue them.

20“Asher's land will produce rich food.

He will provide food fit for a king.

21“Naphtali is a deer that runs free,

Who bears lovely fawns.#49.21 Naphtali… fawns; or Naphtali is a spreading tree that puts out lovely branches.

22“Joseph is like a wild donkey by a spring,

A wild colt on a hillside.#49.22 Joseph… hillside; or Joseph is like a tree by a spring, a fruitful tree that spreads over a wall.

23His enemies attack him fiercely

And pursue him with their bows and arrows.

24But his bow remains steady,

And his arms are made strong#49.24 But… strong; or But their bows were broken and splintered, the muscles of their arms torn apart.

By the power of the Mighty God of Jacob,

By the Shepherd, the Protector of Israel.

25It is your father's God who helps you,

The Almighty God who blesses you

With blessings of rain from above

And of deep waters from beneath the ground,

Blessings of many cattle and children,

26Blessings of corn and flowers,#49.26 Probable text corn and flowers; Hebrew your fathers are mightier than.

Blessings of ancient mountains,#49.26 One ancient translation ancient mountains; Hebrew my ancestors to.

Delightful things from everlasting hills.

May these blessings rest on the head of Joseph,

On the brow of the one set apart from his brothers.

27“Benjamin is like a vicious wolf.

Morning and evening he kills and devours.”

28These are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said as he spoke a suitable word of farewell to each son.

The Death and Burial of Jacob

29Then Jacob commanded his sons, “Now that I am going to join my people in death, bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, 30#Gen 23.3–20at Machpelah, east of Mamre, in the land of Canaan. Abraham bought this cave and field from Ephron for a burial ground. 31#Gen 25.9–10; 35.29That is where they buried Abraham and his wife Sarah; that is where they buried Isaac and his wife Rebecca; and that is where I buried Leah. 32The field and the cave in it were bought from the Hittites. Bury me there.” 33#Acts 7.15When Jacob had finished giving instructions to his sons, he lay down again and died.

Learn More About Good News Bible (Anglicised)

Genesis 49

CHAPTER 49

1Forsooth Jacob called his sons, and said to them, Be ye gathered together, that I tell what things shall come to you in the last days;

2be ye gathered [together], and hear, ye sons of Jacob, hear ye Israel your father.

3Reuben, my first begotten son, thou art my strength, and the beginning of my sorrow; thou oughtest to be the former in gifts, the more in lordship;

4thou art shed [or poured] out as water; wax thou not, for thou ascend-edest [or went up] on the bed of thy father, and defouledest his bed.

5Simeon and Levi, brethren, fighting vessels of wickedness;

6my soul come not into the counsel of them, and my glory be not in the congregation of them; for in their strong vengeance, they killed a man, and in their [own] will, they under-mined the wall;

7cursed be the strong vengeance of them, for it is obstinate, and the indignation of them, for it is hard; I shall part them in Jacob, and I shall scatter them in Israel.

8Judah, thy brethren shall praise thee, thine hands shall be in the nolls of thine enemies; the sons of thy father shall worship thee.

9Judah, the whelp of a lion; my son, thou hast gone up to the prey; thou restedest, and hast lain as a lion, and as a lioness, who shall raise him?

10The sceptre shall not be taken away from Judah, and a duke of his hip, till he come that shall be sent, and he shall be the abiding of heathen men;

11and he shall tie his colt at the vinery [or vineyard], and his she-ass at the vine; O! my son, he shall wash his stole in wine, and his mantle in the blood of the grape;

12his eyes be fairer than wine, and his teeth be whiter than milk.

13Zebulun shall dwell in the brink of the sea, and in the standing of ships; and he shall stretch till to Sidon.

14Issachar, a strong ass, lying betwixt [the] terms,

15saw rest, that it was good, and saw the land, that it was best, and he underset his shoulder to bear, and he was made serving to tributes#49:15 Either to rent, (Or to pay rent or taxes), as it is in Hebrew..

16Dan shall deem his people, as also another lineage in Israel.

17Dan be made a serpent in the way, and a cerastes, that is, an horned adder, in the path, and bite he the feet of an horse, that the rider of him fall backward;

18Lord, I shall abide thine health.

19Gad shall be girded, and he shall fight before him, and he shall be girded behind.

20Asher, his bread shall be fat, and he shall give delights to kings.

21Naphtali shall be an hart sent out, and giving speeches of fairness.

22Joseph, a son increasing, a son increasing, and fair in beholding; [the] daughters run about on the wall,

23but his brethren wrathed at him, and chided him, and they had darts, and had envy to him.

24His bow sat in the Strong, that is, the Lord, and the bonds of his arms and his hands were unbound by the hand of the mighty God of Jacob; of him a shepherd went out, the stone of Israel.

25God of thy father shall be thine helper, and Almighty God shall bless thee, with blessings of heaven from above, and with blessings of the sea lying beneath, with blessings of teats, and of the womb;

26the blessings of thy father be comforted, that is, be better than the blessings of his fathers, till the desire of everlasting hills came; blessings be made on the head of Joseph, and in the noll of Nazarite, that is, holy, among his brethren.

27Benjamin, a ravishing wolf, shall eat the prey early, and in the eventide he shall part spoils.

28All these were in [the] twelve kindreds of Israel; their father spake these things to them, and he blessed them all by proper blessings,

29and he commanded to them, and said, I am soon to be gathered to my people; bury ye me with my fathers in the double den, that is in the land of Ephron the Hittite,

30 that is, in the den in the field at Machpelah, against Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which den Abraham bought with the field of Ephron the Hittite, into possession of a sepulchre.

31There they buried him, and Sarah his wife; also Isaac was buried there, with Rebecca his wife; there also Leah lieth buried.

32(This verse is omitted in the original text.)

33And when the behests were ended, by which he taught his sons, he gathered together his feet on the bed, and died, and he was put to his people.

Learn More About Wycliffe's Bible with Modern Spelling