Genesis 49

1And Jacob called unto his sons, and said: Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the latter days.

1Then Jacob called for his sons and said, 'Gather around so I can tell you what will happen to you in the days to come.

2Assemble yourselves, and hear, ye sons of Jacob; And hearken unto Israel your father.

2Come together and listen, sons of Jacob; listen to your father Israel.

3Reuben, thou art my first-born, my might, and the beginning of my strength; The pre-eminence of dignity, and the pre-eminence of power.

3Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might and the first sign of my strength, outstanding in honor and outstanding in power.

4Boiling over as water, thou shalt not have the pre-eminence; Because thou wentest up to thy father’s bed; Then defiledst thou it: he went up to my couch.

4But you are as turbulent as water, so you will no longer be first. For you climbed into your father’s bed; you stepped up to my couch and defiled it.

5Simeon and Levi are brethren; Weapons of violence are their swords.

5Simeon and Levi are brothers; their swords are tools of violence.

6O my soul, come not thou into their council; Unto their assembly, my glory, be not thou united; For in their anger they slew a man, And in their self-will they hocked an ox.

6I will not join their secret plans; I will not be part of their assembly. For in their anger they killed men, and for fun they crippled oxen.

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.

7A curse on their anger because it is so fierce, and on their fury because it is so cruel! I will scatter them among the people of Jacob and disperse them throughout Israel.

8Judah, thee shall thy brethren praise: Thy hand shall be on the neck of thine enemies; Thy father’s sons shall bow down before thee.

8Judah, 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 is a lion’s whelp; From the prey, my son, thou art gone up: He stooped down, he couched as a lion, And as a lioness; who shall rouse him up?

9Judah is a young lion; you return from the kill, my son. Like a lion he crouches and lies down; like a lioness, who dares to wake him?

10The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, Nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, Until Shiloh come; And unto him shall the obedience of the peoples be.

10The scepter will not leave Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until the one comes to whom it truly belongs, and the nations shall obey him.

11Binding his foal unto the vine, And his ass’s colt unto the choice vine; He hath washed his garments in wine, And his vesture in the blood of grapes:

11Binding his donkey to a grapevine and his colt to the best branch, he washes his clothes in wine and his robes in the blood of grapes.

12His eyes shall be red with wine, And his teeth white with milk.

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

13Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea; And he shall be for a haven of ships; And his border shall be upon Sidon.

13Zebulun will live by the seashore; he will be a harbor for ships, and his border will reach toward Sidon.

14Issachar is a strong ass, Couching down between the sheepfolds:

14Issachar is a strong donkey, lying down between the sheepfolds.

15And he saw a resting-place that it was good, And the land that it was pleasant; And he bowed his shoulder to bear, And became a servant under taskwork.

15When he sees how good the resting place is and how pleasant the land is, he will bend his shoulder to the burden and submit to forced labor.

16Dan shall judge his people, As one of the tribes of Israel.

16Dan will provide justice for his people as one of the tribes of Israel.

17Dan shall be a serpent in the way, An adder in the path, That biteth the horse’s heels, So that his rider falleth backward.

17Dan will be a snake beside the road, a viper in the path that bites the horse’s heels so that its rider falls backward.

18I have waited for thy salvation, O Jehovah.

18I wait for your salvation, O LORD.

19Gad, a troop shall press upon him; But he shall press upon their heel.

19Gad will be attacked by a band of raiders, but he will attack them at their heels.

20Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, And he shall yield royal dainties.

20Asher’s food will be rich; he will provide delicacies fit for a king.

21Naphtali is a hind let loose: He giveth goodly words.

21Naphtali is a doe set free; he speaks beautiful words.

22Joseph is a fruitful bough, A fruitful bough by a fountain; His branches run over the wall.

22Joseph is a fruitful branch, a fruitful branch by a spring whose branches climb over the wall.

23The archers have sorely grieved him, And shot at him, and persecuted him:

23Archers attacked him fiercely; they shot at him and were his enemies.

24But his bow abode in strength, And the arms of his hands were made strong, By the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob (From thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel),

24But his bow stayed steady, and his strong arms were made agile by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel.

25Even 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 coucheth beneath, Blessings of the breasts, and of the womb.

25Because of your father’s God who helps you, because of the Almighty who blesses you with blessings from the skies above, blessings from the deep waters below, and blessings of the breast and 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.

26The blessings of your father are greater than the blessings of the ancient mountains and the bounty of the lasting hills. May they rest on the head of Joseph, on the brow of the prince among his brothers.

27Benjamin is a wolf that raveneth: In the morning he shall devour the prey, And at even he shall divide the spoil.

27Benjamin is a hungry wolf; in the morning he devours the prey, and in the evening he divides the plunder.

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.

28These are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said to them when he blessed them, giving each one the blessing that was right for him.

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,

29Then he gave them these instructions: 'I am about to die and join my people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave 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, which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite for a possession of a burying-place.

30the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre in Canaan, which Abraham bought as a burial plot from Ephron the Hittite, along with the field.

31There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah—

31There Abraham and his wife Sarah were buried, there Isaac and his wife Rebekah were buried, and there I buried Leah.

32the field and the cave that is therein, which was purchased from the children of Heth.

32The field and the cave in it were bought from the Hittites.'

33And when Jacob made an end of charging his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the ghost, and was gathered unto his people.

33When Jacob finished giving these instructions to his sons, he pulled his feet up into the bed, breathed his last, and passed away to join his ancestors.