1Then Jacob summoned his sons and said, “Assemble yourselves, so that I may tell you what will happen to you in the #49.1: Lit end of the daysdays to come.

2“Gather together and listen, sons of Jacob;

Yes, 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“#49.4: Or Gushing overUncontrollable 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 #49.5: Or plans; meaning uncertainswords are implements of violence.

6“May my soul not enter into their council;

May my glory not be united with their assembly;

For in their anger they killed #49.6: Lit a manmen,

And in their self-will they lamed #49.6: Lit an oxoxen.

7“Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce;

And their wrath, for it is cruel.

I will scatter them in Jacob,

And disperse them among Israel.

8¶“As for you, 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 cub;

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

He #49.9: Lit bows downcrouches, he lies down as a lion,

And as a #49.9: Lit lionesslion, who #49.9: Lit shalldares to stir him up?

10“The scepter will not depart from Judah,

Nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,

# 49.10: Or Until he comes to Shiloh; or Until he comes to whom it belongs Until 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 #49.12: Or darker thandull from wine,

And his teeth #49.12: Or whiter thanwhite from milk.

13¶“Zebulun will reside at the seashore;

And he shall be #49.13: Lit a shore of shipsa harbor for ships,

And his flank shall be toward Sidon.

14¶“Issachar is a #49.14: Lit donkey of bonestrong 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 carry 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 viper in the path,

That bites the horse’s heels,

So that its rider falls backward.

18“For Your salvation I wait, Lord.

19¶“As for Gad, a band of raiders shall attack him,

But he will attack at their #49.19: Lit heelheels.

20¶“#49.20: Lit FromAs for Asher, his #49.20: Or breadfood shall be #49.20: Lit fatrich,

And he will yield royal delicacies.

21¶“Naphtali is a doe let loose;

He utters beautiful words.

22¶“Joseph is a fruitful #49.22: Lit sonbranch,

A fruitful #49.22: Lit sonbranch by a spring;

Its #49.22: Lit daughtersbranches hang over a wall.

23“The archers provoked him,

And shot at him and were hostile toward him;

24But his bow remained #49.24: I.e., in an unyielding positionfirm,

And #49.24: Lit the arms of his handshis arms were agile,

From the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob

(From there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel),

25From the God of your father who helps you,

And #49.25: Or withby the #49.25: Heb ShaddaiAlmighty 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 #49.26: Lit limit; or desirefurthest boundary of the everlasting hills;

May they be on the head of Joseph,

And on the top of the head of the one distinguished among his brothers.

27¶“Benjamin is a #49.27: Lit a wolf that tearsravenous wolf;

In the morning he devours the prey,

And in the evening he divides the spoils.”

28All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said to them #49.28: Lit andwhen he blessed them. He blessed them, every one #49.28: Lit according to his blessingwith the blessing appropriate to him.

Jacob Dies

29Then he commanded 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, 30in the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is opposite Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought along with the field from Ephron the Hittite as a #49.30: Lit possession of a burial placeburial site. 31There they buried Abraham and his wife Sarah, there they buried Isaac and his wife Rebekah, and there I buried Leah— 32the field and the cave that is in it, purchased from the sons of Heth.” 33When Jacob finished commanding his sons, he drew his feet into the bed and breathed his last, and was gathered to his people.

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Genesis 49

Jacob Blesses His Sons

1Then Jacob called all his sons to him. He said, “My sons, come here to me. I will tell you what will happen in the future.

2“Children of Jacob, gather around.

Come listen to Israel, your father.

Reuben

3“Reuben, my first son, you are my strength,

the first proof of my manhood.

You were the most honored

and powerful of all my sons.

4But your passion was like a flood you couldn’t control.

So you will not remain my most honored son.

You climbed into your father’s bed

and slept with one of his wives.

You brought shame to my bed,

to the bed you lay on.

Simeon and Levi

5“Simeon and Levi are brothers.

They are violent with their swords.

6I will not join their secret meetings.

I will not take part in their evil plans.

They have killed people out of anger

and crippled animals for fun.

7Their anger is so strong that it is a curse.

They are too cruel when they are angry.

They will not get their own land in the land of Jacob.

They will be spread throughout Israel.

Judah

8“Judah, your brothers will praise you.

You will defeat your enemies.

Your brothers will bow down to you.

9Judah is like a young lion.

My son, you are like a lion standing over the animal it killed.

Like a lion, Judah lies down to rest,

and no one is brave enough to disturb him.

10Men from Judah’s family will be kings.

The sign that his family rules

will not leave his family before the real king comes.#49:10 before the real king comes Or “until Shiloh comes,” “until the man it belongs to comes,” or “until his tribute comes.”

Then many people will obey and serve him.

11He ties his donkeys to the best grapevines.

He washes his clothes in the best wine.

12His eyes are red from drinking wine.

His teeth are white from drinking milk.#49:10-12 Or “10 The ruler’s scepter will not pass from between Judah’s feet before he gets what is his, that is, the people’s obedience. 11 His young donkey will be tied to the very best grapevines. He will wash his finest clothes in wine, the blood of grapes. 12 His eyes will be redder than wine, his teeth whiter than milk.”

Zebulun

13“Zebulun will live near the sea.

His seacoast will be a safe place for ships.

His land will continue as far as the city of Sidon.

Issachar

14“Issachar is like a donkey that has worked too hard.

He will lie down under his heavy load.

15He will see his land is pleasant

and that his resting place is good.

But he will agree to carry heavy loads;

he will agree to work as a slave.

Dan

16“Dan#49:16 Dan This name means “judge” and is a wordplay with “rule.” will rule his people

as one of the tribes of Israel.

17Dan will be like a snake at the side of the road.

He will be like a dangerous snake lying near the path.

That snake bites a horse’s foot,

and the rider falls to the ground.

18“Lord, I am waiting for your salvation.

Gad

19“A group of robbers will attack#49:19 A group of robbers will attack The Hebrew words for “group of robbers” and “attack” sound like the name Gad. Gad,

but Gad will chase them away.

Asher

20“Asher’s land will grow much good food.

He will have food fit for a king!

Naphtali

21“Naphtali is like a deer running free,

and his words are beautiful.

Joseph

22“Joseph is like a wild donkey,

like a young donkey by a spring,

like colts grazing in a pasture.#49:22 Or “Joseph is very successful. Joseph is like a vine covered with fruit, like a vine growing by a spring, like a vine growing along a fence.”

23People attacked him and made life hard for him.

Men with arrows became his enemies.

24But he won the fight

with his mighty bow and his skillful arms.

He gets power from the Mighty One of Jacob,

from the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel,

25the God of your father who helps you.

May God All-Powerful bless you

and give you blessings

from the sky above and from the deep below.

May he give you blessings

from breast and womb.

26My parents had many good things happen to them.

And I, your father, was blessed even more.

Your brothers left you with nothing.

But now I pile all my blessings on you,

as high as a mountain.

Benjamin

27“Benjamin is like a hungry wolf.

In the morning he kills and eats.

In the evening he shares what is left.”

28These are the twelve families of Israel. And this is what their father said to them. He gave each son a blessing that was right for him. 29Then Israel gave them a command. He said, “When I die, I want to be with my people. I want to be buried with my ancestors in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite. 30That cave is in the field of Machpelah near Mamre in the land of Canaan. Abraham bought that field from Ephron so that he could have a burying place. 31Abraham and his wife Sarah are buried in that cave. Isaac and his wife Rebekah are buried in that cave. I buried my wife Leah in that cave. 32That cave is in the field that was bought from the Hittites.” 33After Jacob finished talking to his sons, he lay down, put his feet back on the bed, and died.

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Genesis 49

Genesis 49