Genesis 49
49
Jacob [Israel] Blesses His 12 Sons
1Jacob called for his sons and said, “Come here, and let me tell you what will happen to you in the days to come.
2“Gather around and listen, sons of Jacob.
Listen to your father Israel.
3“Reuben, you are my firstborn,
my strength, the very first son I had,
first in majesty and first in power.
4You will no longer be first
because you were out of control like a flood
and you climbed into your father’s bed.
Then you dishonored it.
He climbed up on my couch.
5“Simeon and Levi are brothers.
Their swords are weapons of violence.
6Do not let me attend their secret meetings.
Do not let me join their assembly.
In their anger they murdered men.
At their whim they crippled cattle.
7May their anger be cursed because it’s so fierce.
May their fury be cursed because it’s so cruel.
I will divide them among ⌞the sons of⌟ Jacob
and scatter them among ⌞the tribes of⌟ Israel.
8“Judah, your brothers will praise you.
Your hand will be on the neck of your enemies.
Your father’s sons will bow down to you.
9Judah, you are a lion cub.
You have come back from the kill, my son.
He lies down and rests like a lion.
He is like a lioness. Who dares to disturb him?
10A scepter will never depart from Judah
nor a ruler’s staff from between his feet
until Shiloh comes
and the people obey him.
11He will tie his donkey to a grapevine,
his colt to the best vine.
He will wash his clothes in wine,
his garments in the blood of grapes.
12His eyes are darker than wine.
His teeth are whiter than milk.
13“Zebulun will live by the coast.
He will have ships by the coast.
His border will go as far as Sidon.
14“Issachar is a strong donkey,
lying down between the saddlebags.
15When he sees that his resting place is good
and that the land is pleasant,
he will bend his back to the burden
and will become a slave laborer.
16“Dan will hand down decisions #49:16 There is a play on words here between Hebrew Dan and yadin (he will hand down decisions). for his people
as one of the tribes of Israel.
17Dan will be a snake on a road,
a viper on a path,
that bites a horse’s heels
so that its rider falls off backwards.
18“I wait with hope for you to rescue me, O Lord.
19“Gad will be attacked by a band of raiders,
but he will strike back at their heels.
20“Asher’s food will be rich.
He will provide delicacies fit for a king.
21“Naphtali is a doe set free
that has beautiful fawns.
22“Joseph is a fruitful tree,
a fruitful tree by a spring,
with branches climbing over a wall.
23Archers provoked him,
shot at him,
and attacked him.
24But his bow stayed steady, and his arms remained limber
because of the help of the Mighty One of Jacob,
because of the name of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel,
25because of the God of your father who helps you,
because of the Almighty who gives you
blessings from the heavens above,
blessings from the deep springs below the ground,
blessings from breasts and womb.
26The blessings of your father are greater than
the blessings of the oldest mountains
and the riches of the ancient hills.
May these blessings rest on the head of Joseph,
on the crown of the prince among his brothers.
27“Benjamin is a ravenous wolf.
In the morning he devours his prey.
In the evening he divides the plunder.”
28These are the 12 tribes of Israel and what their father said to them when he gave each of them his special blessing.
29Then he gave them these instructions, “I am about to join my ancestors in death. Bury me with my ancestors in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite. 30Abraham bought the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, east of Mamre in Canaan, from Ephron the Hittite to use as a tomb. 31Abraham and his wife Sarah are buried there. Isaac and his wife Rebekah are buried there. I also buried Leah there. 32The field and the cave in it were bought from the Hittites.”
33When Jacob finished giving these instructions to his sons, he pulled his feet into his bed. He took his last breath and joined his ancestors in death.
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Genesis 49: GW
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GOD'S WORD® Translation ©1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God's Word to the Nations Mission Society. All rights reserved.
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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