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

1 Then Jacob called his sons, and he said to them: "Gather together, so that I may announce what will happen to you in the last days.

2 Gather together and listen, O sons of Jacob. Listen to Israel, your father.

3 Reuben, my firstborn, you are my strength and the beginning of my sorrow: first in gifts, greater in authority.

4 You are being poured out like water, may you not increase. For you climbed onto your father's bed, and you defiled his resting place.

5 The brothers Simeon and Levi: vessels of iniquity waging war.

6 Let not my soul go by their counsel, nor my glory be within their meeting. For in their fury they killed a man, and in their self-will they undermined a wall.

7 Cursed be their fury, because it was obstinate, and their indignation, because it was harsh. I will divide them in Jacob, and I will scatter them in Israel.

8 Judah, your brothers will praise you. Your hand will be at the necks of your enemies; the sons of your father will reverence you.

9 Judah is a lion's young. You have gone up to the prey, my son. While resting, you have lain like a lion. And just like a lioness, who would rouse him?

10 The scepter from Judah and the leader from his thigh will not be taken away, until he who will be sent arrives, and he will be the expectation of Gentiles.

11 Tying his young colt to the vineyard, and his donkey, O my son, to the vine, he will wash his robe in wine, and his cloak in the blood of the grape.

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

13 Zebulun will live at the seashore and by the outpost of ships, reaching as far as Sidon.

14 Issachar will be a strong donkey, reclining between the borders.

15 He saw that rest would be good, and that the land was excellent. And so he bent his shoulder to carry, and he became a servant under tribute.

16 Dan will judge his people just like any other tribe in Israel.

17 Let Dan be a snake in the way, a viper in the path, biting the hooves of horses, so that his rider may fall backward.

18 I will wait for your salvation, O Lord.

19 Gad, being girded, will fight before him. And he himself will be girded backward.

20 Asher: his bread will be fat, and he will provide delicacies to the kings.

21 Naphtali is a stag sent forth, offering words of eloquent beauty.

22 Joseph is a growing son, a growing son and stately to behold; the daughters run back and forth on the wall.

23 But those who held darts, provoked him, and they contend with him, and they envied him.

24 His bow sits in strength, and the bands of his arms and hands have been let loose by the hands of the mighty one of Jacob. From there he went forth as a pastor, the stone of Israel.

25 The God of your father will be your helper, and the Almighty will bless you with the blessings of heaven above, with the blessings of the abyss that lies beneath, with the blessings of the breasts and of the womb.

26 The blessings of your father are strengthened by the blessings of his fathers, until the desire of the hills of eternity shall arrive. May they be at the head of Joseph, and at the summit of the Nazarite, among his brothers.

27 Benjamin is a ravenous wolf, in the morning he will eat the prey, and in the evening he will divide the spoil."

28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel. These things their father spoke to them, and he blessed each one with their proper blessings.

29 And he instructed them, saying: "I am being gathered to my people. Bury me with my fathers in the double cave, which is in the field of Ephron the Hittite,

30 opposite Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought, along with its field, from Ephron the Hittite, as a possession for burial.

31 There they buried him, with his wife Sarah." And there Isaac was buried with his wife Rebekah. There also Leah lies preserved.

32 And having finished these commands by which he instructed his sons, he drew his feet onto the bed, and he passed away. And he was gathered to his people.

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Genesis 49

Genesis 49