1And Ya'akov called unto his banim, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the acharit hayamim (last days).

2Gather yourselves together, and hear, ye Bnei Ya'akov; and pay heed unto Yisroel Avichem.

3Reuven, thou art my bechor, my koach, and the reshit of my strength, the excellency of honor, and excellency of oz (power):

4Unstable as mayim, thou shalt not excel; because thou wentest up to mishkevei avicha (thy fatherʼs bed, i.e. incest); then defiledst thou it; he went up to my couch.

5Shim'on and Levi are achim; kelei chamas (instruments of violence) are in their swords.

6O my nefesh, enter not thou into their sod (secret, council); unto their kehal, mine kavod, be not thou united; for in their anger they slaughtered ish, and in their ratzon (self-will) they lamed shor (ox).

7Arur (cursed) be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel; I will dispense them in Ya'akov, and scatter them in Yisroel.

8Yehudah, thou art he whom thy achim yoducha (they will praise you); thy yad shall be in the oref (neck) of thine enemies; Bnei Avicha shall bow down before thee.

9Yehudah is the cub of an aryeh (lion); from the prey, beni (my son), thou hast gone up; he stooped down, he couched like an aryeh, and like a lioness; who shall rouse him?

10The shevet (sceptre) shall not depart from Yehudah, nor a Mekhokek (Lawgiver) from between his raglayim, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall be the obedience of the amim (peoples, nations).

11He ties his foal unto the gefen (vine), and his donkeyʼs colt unto the choice vine; he will wash his levush (garments) in yayin, and his robe in the dahm anavim (blood of grapes);

12His eyes shall be darker with yayin, and his shinayim (teeth) whiter than cholov (milk).

13Zevulun shall dwell at the seashore; and he shall be a haven for oniyyot (ships); and his border shall be unto Tzidon.

14Yissakhar is a strong chamor (donkey) lying down between two saddlebags;

15And he saw that a menuchah (resting place) was tov, and haaretz that it was pleasant; and bowed his shoulder to bear, and became oved (submitting, enslaved) at forced labor.

16Dan yadin (shall judge) his people, as one of the Shivtei Yisroel.

17Dan shall be a nachash beside the derech, a viper along the orach (path) that biteth the ikkvei sus (the horse heels), so that its rider shall fall backward.

18I have waited for Thy Yeshu'ah (Salvation), Hashem.

19Gad, gedud (raider) shall raid him; but he shall raid akev ([at] the heel).

20Out of Asher his lechem shall be rich, and he shall yield royal dainties.

21Naphtali is a doe let loose; he giveth goodly sayings.

22Yosef is a ben of a fruit-tree, even ben of a fruit-tree near an ayin (spring, well); its daughters (i.e., branches) run over the wall;

23The ba'alei khitzim (archers) provoke him, and shoot at him, and hate him;

24But his keshet (bow) remained steady, and the arms of his hands remain strong, from the hands of the Avir Ya'akov, from there, from the Ro'eh, Even Yisroel;

25And from El Avicha, who shall help thee; and Shaddai, who shall make brocha over thee with Birkat Shomayim above, Birkat Tehom that lieth beneath, Birkat Shadayim and of Rekhem.

26Birkat Avicha surpass the Birkat of my progenitors unto the utmost border of the giveot olam (everlasting hills); they shall come on the rosh Yosef, and on the brow of the Prince among his achim.

27Binyamin — a ze'ev (wolf) which tears in pieces; in the boker he shall devour the prey, and at erev he shall divide the plunder.

28All these are the Shivtei Yisroel; and this is it that Avichem spoke unto them, and made a brocha on them; every one according to his berakhah he blessed them.

29And he charged them, and said unto them, I am to be gathered unto my people; bury me with Avotai in the me'arah (cave) that is in the sadeh of Ephron the Chitti,

30In the me'arah that is in the sadeh of Machpelah, which is near Mamre, in Eretz Kena'an, which Avraham bought with the sadeh of Ephron the Chitti for an achuzzat kever (burial estate).

31There they buried Avraham and Sarah his isha; there they buried Yitzchak and Rivkah his isha; and there I buried Leah.

32The purchase of the sadeh and of the me'arah (cave) that is therein was from the Bnei Chet (Heth).

33And when Ya'akov had made an end of commanding his banim, he gathered up his raglayim into the mittah, and expired, and was gathered unto his people.

THE ORTHODOX JEWISH BIBLE

FOURTH EDITION © Artists For Israel Intl Inc., 2002-2011, 2021.

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Genesis 49

Jacob's Blessing

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

2Gather yourselves together, and hear, ye sons of Jacob;

And hearken unto Israel your father.

3Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength,

The excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power:

4Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel;

Because thou wentest up to thy father's bed;

Then defiledst thou it: he went up to my couch.

5Simeon and Levi are brethren;

Instruments of cruelty are in their habitations.

6O my soul, come not thou into their secret;

Unto their assembly, mine honour, be not thou united:

For in their anger they slew a man,

And in their selfwill they digged down a wall.

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.

8Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise:

Thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies;

Thy father's children shall bow down before thee.

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 an old lion; who shall rouse him up?

10The sceptre shall not depart from Judah,

Nor a lawgiver from between his feet,

Until Shiloh come;

And unto him shall the gathering of the people be.

11Binding his foal unto the vine,

And his ass's colt unto the choice vine;

He washed his garments in wine,

And his clothes in the blood of grapes:

12His eyes shall be red with wine,

And his teeth white with milk.

13Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea;

And he shall be for an haven of ships;

And his border shall be unto Zidon.

14Issachar is a strong ass

Couching down between two burdens:

15And he saw that rest was good,

And the land that it was pleasant;

And bowed his shoulder to bear,

And became a servant unto tribute.

16Dan shall judge his people,

As one of the tribes of Israel.

17Dan shall be a serpent by the way,

An adder in the path,

That biteth the horse heels,

So that his rider shall fall backward.

18I have waited for thy salvation, O LORD.

19Gad, a troop shall overcome him:

But he shall overcome at the last.

20Out of Asher his bread shall be fat,

And he shall yield royal dainties.

21Naphtali is a hind let loose:

He giveth goodly words.

22Joseph is a fruitful bough,

Even a fruitful bough by a well;

Whose branches run over the wall:

23The archers have sorely grieved him,

And shot at him, and hated him:

24But his bow abode in strength,

And the arms of his hands were made strong

By the hands of the mighty God of Jacob;

(From thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel:)

25 Even 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 lieth under,

Blessings of the breasts, and of the 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.

27Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf:

In the morning he shall devour the prey,

And at night he shall divide the spoil.

Death of Jacob

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. 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, 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 of Ephron the Hittite for a possession of a buryingplace. 31There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah. 32The purchase of the field and of the cave that is therein was from the children of Heth. 33And when Jacob had made an end of commanding his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the ghost, and was gathered unto his people.

Rights in the Authorized (King James) Version in the United Kingdom are vested in the Crown. Published by permission of the Crown’s patentee, Cambridge University Press.

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Bereshis 49

Genesis 49