1And Jacob called his sons and said, “Gather together, that I may #Deut. 33:1, 6–25; (Amos 3:7)tell you what shall befall you #Num. 24:14; (Deut. 4:30); Is. 2:2; 39:6; Jer. 23:20; Heb. 1:2in the last days:

2“Gather together and hear, you sons of Jacob,

And listen to Israel your father.

3“Reuben, you are #Gen. 29:32my firstborn,

My might and the beginning of my strength,

The excellency of dignity and the excellency of power.

4Unstable as water, you shall not excel,

Because you #Gen. 35:22; Deut. 27:20; 1 Chr. 5:1went up to your father’s bed;

Then you defiled it—

He went up to my couch.

5“Simeon and Levi are brothers;

Instruments of cruelty are in their dwelling place.

6#Ps. 64:2; Prov. 1:15, 16Let not my soul enter their council;

Let not my honor be united #Ps. 26:9; Eph. 5:11to their assembly;

#Gen. 34:26For in their anger they slew a man,

And in their self-will they hamstrung an ox.

7Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce;

And their wrath, for it is cruel!

#Num. 18:24; Josh. 19:1, 9; 21:1–42; 1 Chr. 4:24–27I will divide them in Jacob

And scatter them in Israel.

8“Judah,#Deut. 33:7; Rev. 5:5 you are he whom your brothers shall praise;

#Ps. 18:40Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies;

#Gen. 27:29; 1 Chr. 5:2Your father’s children shall bow down before you.

9Judah is #Deut. 33:22; Ezek. 19:5–7; Mic. 5:8; (Rev. 5:5)a lion’s whelp;

From the prey, my son, you have gone up.

#Num. 23:24; 24:9He bows down, he lies down as a lion;

And as a lion, who shall rouse him?

10#Num. 24:17; Jer. 30:21; Matt. 1:3; 2:6; Luke 3:33; Rev. 5:5The scepter shall not depart from Judah,

Nor #Ps. 60:7a lawgiver from between his feet,

#Is. 11:1; (Matt. 21:9)Until Shiloh comes;

#Deut. 18:15; Ps. 2:6–9; 72:8–11; Is. 42:1, 4; 49:6; 60:1–5; (Luke 2:30–32)And to Him shall be the obedience of the people.

11Binding his donkey to the vine,

And his donkey’s colt to the choice vine,

He washed his garments in wine,

And his clothes in the blood of grapes.

12His eyes are darker than wine,

And his teeth whiter than milk.

13“Zebulun#Deut. 33:18, 19; Josh. 19:10, 11 shall dwell by the haven of the sea;

He shall become a haven for ships,

And his border shall #Gen. 10:19; Josh. 11:8adjoin Sidon.

14“Issachar#1 Chr. 12:32 is a strong donkey,

Lying down between two burdens;

15He saw that rest was good,

And that the land was pleasant;

He bowed #1 Sam. 10:9his shoulder to bear a burden,

And became a band of slaves.

16“Dan#Gen. 30:6; Deut. 33:22; Judg. 18:26, 27 shall judge his people

As one of the tribes of Israel.

17#Judg. 18:27Dan shall be a serpent by the way,

A viper by the path,

That bites the horse’s heels

So that its rider shall fall backward.

18#Ex. 15:2; Ps. 25:5; 40:1–3; 119:166, 174; Is. 25:9; Mic. 7:7I have waited for your salvation, O Lord!

19“Gad,#Gen. 30:11; Deut. 33:20; 1 Chr. 5:18 a troop shall tramp upon him,

But he shall triumph at last.

20“Bread from #Deut. 33:24; Josh. 19:24–31Asher shall be rich,

And he shall yield royal dainties.

21“Naphtali#Deut. 33:23 is a deer let loose;

He uses beautiful words.

22“Joseph is a fruitful bough,

A fruitful bough by a well;

His branches run over the wall.

23The archers have #Gen. 37:4, 24; Ps. 118:13bitterly grieved him,

Shot at him and hated him.

24But his #Job 29:20; Ps. 37:15bow remained in strength,

And the arms of his hands were made strong

By the hands of #Ps. 132:2, 5; Is. 1:24; 49:26the Mighty God of Jacob

#Gen. 45:11; 47:12(From there #(Ps. 23:1; 80:1)is the Shepherd, #(Ps. 118:22); Is. 28:16; (1 Pet. 2:6–8)the Stone of Israel),

25#Gen. 28:13; 32:9; 35:3; 43:23; 50:17By the God of your father who will help you,

#Gen. 17:1; 35:11And by the Almighty #Deut. 33:13who will bless you

With blessings of heaven above,

Blessings of the deep that lies beneath,

Blessings of the breasts and of the womb.

26The blessings of your father

Have excelled the blessings of my ancestors,

#Deut. 33:15; Hab. 3:6Up to the utmost bound of the everlasting hills.

#Deut. 33:16They shall be on the head of Joseph,

And on the crown of the head of him who was separate from his brothers.

27“Benjamin is a #Judg. 20:21, 25ravenous wolf;

In the morning he shall devour the prey,

#Num. 23:24; Esth. 8:11; Ezek. 39:10; Zech. 14:1And at night he shall divide the spoil.”

28All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father spoke to them. And he blessed them; he blessed each one according to his own blessing.

Jacob’s Death and Burial

29Then he charged them and said to them: “I #Gen. 15:15; 25:8; 35:29am to be gathered to my people; #Gen. 47:30; 2 Sam. 19:37bury me with my fathers #Gen. 23:16–20; 50:13in the cave that is 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, #Gen. 23:3–20which Abraham bought with the field of Ephron the Hittite as a possession for a burial place. 31#Gen. 23:19, 20; 25:9There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife, #Gen. 35:29; 50:13there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife, and there I buried Leah. 32The field and the cave that is there were purchased from the sons of Heth.” 33And when Jacob had finished commanding his sons, he drew his feet up into the bed and breathed his last, and was gathered to his people.

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Genesis 49

1Then Iaakob called his sonnes, and sayde, Gather your selues together, that I may tell you what shall come to you in the last dayes. 2Gather your selues together, and heare, ye sonnes of Iaakob, and hearken vnto Israel your father. 3Reuben mine eldest sonne, thou art my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellencie of dignitie, and the excellencie of power: 4Thou wast light as water: thou shalt not be excellent, because thou wentest vp to thy fathers bed: then diddest thou defile my bed, thy dignitie is gone. 5Simeon and Leui, brethren in euill, the instruments of crueltie are in their habitations. 6Into their secret let not my soule come: my glory, be not thou ioyned with their assembly: for in their wrath they slew a man, and in their selfe will they digged downe a wall. 7Cursed be their wrath, for it was fierce, and their rage, for it was cruell: I will deuide them in Iaakob, and scatter them in Israel. 8Thou Iudah, thy brethre shall praise thee: thine hande shalbe in the necke of thine enemies: thy fathers sonnes shall bowe downe vnto thee. 9Iudah, as a Lions whelpe shalt thou come vp from the spoyle, my sonne. He shall lye downe and couche as a Lion, and as a Lionesse: Who shall stirre him vp? 10The scepter shall not depart from Iudah, nor a Lawegiuer from betweene his feete, vntill Shiloh come, and the people shall be gathered vnto him. 11He shall binde his Asse foale vnto ye vine, and his Asses colte vnto the best vine. hee shall wash his garment in wine, and his cloke in the blood of grapes. 12His eyes shalbe red with wine, and his teeth white with milke. 13Zebulun shall dwell by the sea side, and he shalbe an hauen for shippes: and his border shalbe vnto Zidon. 14Issachar shalbe a strong asse, couching downe betweene two burdens: 15And he shall see that rest is good, and that the land is pleasant, and he shall bow his shoulder to beare, and shalbe subiect vnto tribute. 16Dan shall iudge his people as one of the tribes of Israel. 17Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder by the path, byting the horse heeles, so that his rider shall fall backward. 18O Lord, I haue waited for thy saluation. 19Gad, an hoste of men shall ouercome him, but he shall ouercome at the last. 20Concerning Asher, his bread shalbe fat, and he shall giue pleasures for a king. 21Naphtali shalbe a hinde let goe, giuing goodly wordes. 22Ioseph shalbe a fruitefull bough, euen a fruitful bough by the well side: the small boughs shall runne vpon the wall. 23And the archers grieued him, and shotte against him and hated him. 24But his bowe abode strong, and the hands of his armes were strengthened, by the handes of the mighty God of Iaakob, of whom was the feeder appointed, by the stone of Israel, 25Euen by the God of thy father, who shall helpe thee, and by the almightie, who shall blesse thee with heauenly blessinges from aboue, with blessings of the deepe, that lyeth beneath, with blessings of the brestes, and of the wombe. 26The blessings of thy father shalbe stronger then the blessings of mine elders: vnto the ende of the hilles of the worlde they shall be on the head of Ioseph, and on the top of the head of him that was separate from his brethren. 27Beniamin shall rauine as a wolfe: in the morning he shall deuoure the pray, and at night he shall deuide the spoyle. 28All these are the twelue tribes of Israel, and thus their father spake vnto them, and blessed them: euery one of them blessed hee with a seuerall blessing. 29And he charged them and sayd vnto them, I am ready to be gathered vnto my people: burie mee with my fathers in the caue, that is in the fielde of Ephron the Hittite, 30In the caue that is in the field of Machpelah besides Mamre in the land of Canaan: which caue Abraham bought with the fielde of Ephron the Hittite for a possession to burie in. 31There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife: there they buryed Izhak and Rebekah his wife: and there I buried Leah. 32The purchase of the fielde and the caue that is therein, was bought of the children of Heth. 33Thus Iaakob made an end of giuing charge to his sonnes, and plucked vp his feete into the bed and gaue vp the ghost, and was gathered to his people.

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Genesis 49

Genesis 49