Genesis 49

Jacob Blesses His Sons

1 Then Jacob called his sons and said, "Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you what shall happen to you in days to come.

2  "Assemble and listen, O sons of Jacob,
listen to Israel your father.

3  "Reuben, you are my firstborn,
my might, and the firstfruits of my strength,
preeminent in dignity and preeminent in power.
4  Unstable 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;
weapons of violence are their swords.
6  Let my soul come not into their council;
O my glory, be not joined to their company.
For in their anger they killed men,
and in their willfulness they hamstrung oxen.
7  Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce,
and their wrath, for it is cruel!
I will divide them in Jacob
and scatter them in Israel.

8  "Judah, your brothers shall praise you;
your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies;
your father's sons shall bow down before you.
9  Judah is a lion's cub;
from the prey, my son, you have gone up.
He stooped down; he crouched as a lion
and as a lioness; who dares rouse him?
10  The scepter shall not depart from Judah,
nor the ruler's staff from between his feet,
until tribute comes to him;t
and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.
11  Binding his foal to the vine
and his donkey's colt to the choice vine,
he has washed his garments in wine
and his vesture in the blood of grapes.
12  His eyes are darker than wine,
and his teeth whiter than milk.

13  "Zebulun shall dwell at the shore of the sea;
he shall become a haven for ships,
and his border shall be at Sidon.

14  "Issachar is a strong donkey,
crouching between the sheepfolds.t
15  He saw that a resting place was good,
and that the land was pleasant,
so he bowed his shoulder to bear,
and became a servant 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 viper by the path,
that bites the horse's heels
so that his rider falls backward.
18  I wait for your salvation, O Lord.

19  "Raiders shall raid Gad,t
but he shall raid at their heels.

20  "Asher's food shall be rich,
and he shall yield royal delicacies.

21  "Naphtali is a doe let loose
that bears beautiful fawns.t

22  "Joseph is a fruitful bough,
a fruitful bough by a spring;
his branches run over the wall.t
23  The archers bitterly attacked him,
shot at him, and harassed him severely,
24  yet his bow remained unmoved;
his armst were made agile
by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob
(from there is the Shepherd,t the Stone of Israel),
25  by the God of your father who will help you,
by the Almightyt who will bless you
with blessings of heaven above,
blessings of the deep that crouches beneath,
blessings of the breasts and of the womb.
26  The blessings of your father
are mighty beyond the blessings of my parents,
up to the bounties of the everlasting hills.t
May they be on the head of Joseph,
and on the brow of him who was set apart from his brothers.

27  "Benjamin is a ravenous wolf,
in the morning devouring the prey
and at evening dividing the spoil."

Jacob's Death and Burial

28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel. This is what their father said to them as he blessed them, blessing each with the blessing suitable to him.29 Then he commanded them and said to them, "I am to be gathered to my people; bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite,30 in the cave that is in the field at Machpelah, to the east of Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite to possess as a burying place.31 There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife. There they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife, and there I buried Leah—32 the field and the cave that is in it were bought from the Hittites."33 When Jacob finished commanding his sons, he drew up his feet into the bed and breathed his last and was gathered to his people.

Genesis 49

The Blessing of Jacob

1 Jacob called for his sons and said, “Gather together so I can tell yout what will happen to you in the future.t

2 “Assemble and listen, you sons of Jacob;
listen to Israel, your father.

3 Reuben, you are my firstborn,
my might and the beginning of my strength,
outstanding in dignity, outstanding in power.

4 You are destructivet like water and will not excel,t
for you got on your father’s bed,s
then you defiled it – he got on my couch!t

5 Simeon and Levi are brothers,
weapons of violence are their knives!t

6 O my soul, do not come into their council,
do not be united to their assembly, my heart,t
for in their anger they have killed men,
and for pleasure they have hamstrung oxen.

7 Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce,
and their fury, for it was cruel.
I will divide them in Jacob,
and scatter them in Israel!s

8 Judah,s your brothers will praise you.
Your hand will be on the neck of your enemies,
your father’s sons will bow down before you.

9 You are a lion’s cub, Judah,
from the prey, my son, you have gone up.
He crouches and lies down like a lion;
like a lioness – who will rouse him?

10 The scepter will not depart from Judah,
nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,t
until he comes to whom it belongs;t
the nations will obey him.t

11 Binding his foal to the vine,
and his colt to the choicest vine,
he will washt his garments in wine,
his robes in the blood of grapes.

12 His eyes will be dark from wine,
and his teeth white from milk.t

13 Zebulun will livet by the haven of the sea
and become a haven for ships;
his border will extend to Sidon.

14 Issachar is a strong-boned donkey
lying down between two saddlebags.

15 When he seest a good resting place,
and the pleasant land,
he will bend his shoulder to the burden
and become a slave laborer.s

16 Dans will judget his people
as one of the tribes of Israel.

17 May Dan be a snake beside the road,
a viper by the path,
that bites the heels of the horse
so that its rider falls backward.s

18 I wait for your deliverance, O Lord.s

19 Gad will be raided by marauding bands,
but he will attack them at their heels.ss

20 Asher’ss food will be rich,t
and he will provide delicaciest to royalty.

21 Naphtali is a free running doe,t
he speaks delightful words.ts

22 Joseph is a fruitful bough,t
a fruitful bough near a spring
whose branchest climb over the wall.

23 The archers will attack him,t
they will shoot at him and oppose him.

24 But his bow will remain steady,
and his handst will be skillful;
because of the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob,
because oft the Shepherd, the Rockt of Israel,

25 because of the God of your father,
who will help you,t
because of the sovereign God,t
who will bless yout
with blessings from the sky above,
blessings from the deep that lies below,
and blessings of the breasts and womb.s

26 The blessings of your father are greater
thant the blessings of the eternal mountainst
or the desirable things of the age-old hills.
They will be on the head of Joseph
and on the brow of the prince of his brothers.t

27 Benjamin is a ravenous wolf;
in the morning devouring the prey,
and in the evening dividing the plunder.”

28 Theset are the twelve tribes of Israel. This is what their father said to them when he blessed them. He gave each of them an appropriate blessing.t
29 Then he instructed them,t “I am about to got to my people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite.30 It is the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought for a burial plot from Ephron the Hittite.31 There they buried Abraham and his wife Sarah; there they buried Isaac and his wife Rebekah; and there I buried Leah.

32 The field and the cave in it were acquired from the sons of Heth.”t

33 When Jacob finished giving these instructions to his sons, he pulled his feet up onto the bed, breathed his last breath, and wentt to his people.