Genesis 49

Israel's Prophecy concerning His Sons

1 Then Jacob summoned his sons and said, "Assemble yourselves that I may tell you what will befall you in the days to come.

2 "Gather together and hear, O sons of Jacob;
And listen to Israel your father.

3 "Reuben, you are my firstborn;
My might and the beginning of my strength,
Preeminent in dignity and preeminent in power.

4 "Uncontrolled 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;
Their swords are implements of violence.

6 "Let my soul not enter into their council;
Let not my glory be united with their assembly;
Because in their anger they slew men,
And in their self-will they lamed oxen.

7 "Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce;
And their wrath, for it is cruel.
I will disperse 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 to you.

9 "Judah is a lion's whelp;
From the prey, my son, you have gone up.
He couches, he lies down as a lion,
And as a lion, who dares rouse him up?

10 "The scepter shall not depart from Judah,
Nor the ruler's staff from between his feet,
tUntil Shiloh comes,
And to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.

11 "He ties his foal to the vine,
And his donkey's colt to the choice vine;
He washes his garments in wine,
And his robes in the blood of grapes.

12 "His eyes are tdull from wine,
And his teeth twhite from milk.

13 "Zebulun will dwell at the seashore;
And he shall be a haven for ships,
And his flank shall be toward Sidon.

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

15 "When he saw that a resting place was good
And that the land was pleasant,
He bowed his shoulder to bear burdens,
And became a slave 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 horned snake in the path,
That bites the horse's heels,
So that his rider falls backward.

18 "For Your salvation I wait, O LORD.

19 "As for Gad, raiders shall raid him,
But he will raid at their heels.

20 "As for Asher, his food shall be rich,
And he will yield royal dainties.

21 "Naphtali is a doe let loose,
He gives beautiful words.

22 "Joseph is a fruitful tbough,
A fruitful bough by a spring;
Its tbranches run over a wall.

23 "The archers bitterly attacked him,
And shot at him and harassed him;

24 But his bow remained firm,
And his arms were agile,
From the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob
(From there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel),

25 From the God of your father who helps you,
And by the Almighty who blesses you
With blessings of heaven above,
Blessings of the deep that lies beneath,
Blessings of the breasts and of the womb.

26 "The blessings of your father
Have surpassed the blessings of my ancestors
Up to the utmost bound of the everlasting hills;
May they be on the head of Joseph,
And on the crown of the head of the one distinguished among his brothers.

27 "Benjamin is a ravenous wolf;
In the morning he devours the prey,
And in the evening he divides the spoil."

28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said to them when he blessed them. He blessed them, every one with the blessing appropriate to him.29 Then he charged them and said to them, "I am about 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 of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought along with the field from Ephron the Hittite for a burial site.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 that is in it, purchased from the sons of Heth."33 When Jacob finished charging his sons, he drew 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.