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’s Last Words

1Then Jacob called his sons and said, “Gather around, and I will tell you what will happen to you in the days to come. # Or in the last days # Nm 24:14; Dt 4:30; 31:29; Is 2:2; Jr 23:20; Dn 2:28; 10:14; Hs 3:5

2Come together and listen, sons of Jacob;

listen to your father Israel:

3Reuben, you are my firstborn, # Gn 29:32

my strength and the firstfruits of my virility, # Dt 21:17

excelling in prominence, excelling in power.

4Turbulent as water, you will no longer excel,

because you got into your father’s bed # Gn 35:22

and you defiled it — he # LXX, Syr, Tg read you got into my bed.

5Simeon and Levi are brothers;

their knives are vicious weapons. # Gn 34:25,30

6May I never enter their council;

may I never join their assembly.

For in their anger they kill men,

and on a whim they hamstring oxen.

7Their anger is cursed, for it is strong,

and their fury, for it is cruel!

I will disperse them throughout Jacob

and scatter them throughout Israel. # Ex 32:28; Nm 3:5-13; Dt 33:10; Jos 19:1-9; 1Ch 4:24-39; 2Ch 34:6; Neh 11:25-28

8Judah, your brothers will praise you. # Gn 29:35

Your hand will be on the necks of your enemies;

your father’s sons will bow down to you. # Gn 27:29; 1Ch 5:2

9Judah is a young lion # Nm 24:9; Ezk 19:5-7; Mc 5:8; Rv 5:5 —

my son, you return from the kill.

He crouches; he lies down like a lion

or a lioness — who dares to rouse him?

10The scepter will not depart from Judah

or the staff from between his feet

until He whose right it is comes # Or until tribute comes to him, or until Shiloh comes, or until He comes to Shiloh # Nm 2:9; 10:14; 24:17; Jdg 1:1-2; Ps 60:7; 108:8; Ezk 21:27

and the obedience of the peoples belongs to Him. # Ps 2:6-9; 72:8-11; Is 42:1,4; 49:6

11He ties his donkey to a vine,

and the colt of his donkey to the choice vine.

He washes his clothes in wine

and his robes in the blood of grapes.

12His eyes are darker than wine,

and his teeth are whiter than milk.

13Zebulun will live by the seashore

and will be a harbor for ships,

and his territory will be next to Sidon. # Dt 33:19; Jos 19:10-16

14Issachar is a strong donkey

lying down between the saddlebags. # Or sheepfolds

15He saw that his resting place was good

and that the land was pleasant,

so he leaned his shoulder to bear a load

and became a forced laborer. # Jdg 5:15-16

16Dan will judge his people # Dt 33:22; Jdg 13:2,25; 18:25-27

as one of the tribes of Israel.

17He will be a snake by the road,

a viper beside the path,

that bites the horses’ heels

so that its rider falls backward.

18I wait for Your salvation, Lord.

19Gad will be attacked by raiders,

but he will attack their heels. # Dt 33:20; 1Ch 5:18-22; Jr 49:1

20Asher’s # LXX, Syr, Vg; MT reads their heel. 20 From Asher food will be rich,

and he will produce royal delicacies. # Dt 33:24-25; Jos 19:24-31; Jdg 5:17; 1Kg 4:7

21Naphtali is a doe set free

that bears beautiful fawns. # Jos 19:32-39

22Joseph is a fruitful vine,

a fruitful vine beside a spring;

its branches # Lit daughters climb over the wall. # Hb obscure

23The archers attacked him,

shot at him, and were hostile toward him.

24Yet his bow remained steady,

and his strong # Lit and the hands of his arms were made agile

by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, # Gn 31:42; Ps 132:2,5; Is 1:24; 49:26

by the name of # Syr, Tg; MT reads Jacob, from there the Shepherd, # Gn 48:15; Ps 23:1; Jr 31:10 the Rock of Israel, # Ps 118:22; Is 28:16; 1Pt 2:6-8

25by the God of your father who helps you,

and by the Almighty who blesses you

with blessings of the heavens above,

blessings of the deep that lies below,

and blessings of the breasts and the womb.

26The blessings of your father excel

the blessings of my ancestors # Or of the mountains

and # Lit to the bounty of the eternal hills. # Hb obscure # Dt 33:15-16

May they rest on the head of Joseph,

on the crown of the prince of his brothers.

27Benjamin is a wolf; he tears his prey.

In the morning he devours the prey,

and in the evening he divides the plunder.” # Jdg 5:14; 20:21; 1Sm 14:47-48

28These are the tribes of Israel, 12 in all, and this was what their father said to them. He blessed them, and he blessed each one with a suitable blessing.

Jacob’s Burial Instructions

29Then he commanded them: “I am about to be gathered to my people. # Gn 25:8 Bury me with my fathers # Gn 47:30 in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite. # Gn 23:16-20; 50:13 30The cave is in the field of Machpelah near Mamre, in the land of Canaan. This is the field Abraham purchased from Ephron the Hittite as a burial site. # Gn 23:3-20 31Abraham and his wife Sarah are buried there, # Gn 23:19; 25:9 Isaac and his wife Rebekah are buried there, # Gn 35:29 and I buried Leah there. # Gn 48:7 32The field and the cave in it were purchased from the Hittites.” 33When Jacob had finished instructing his sons, he drew his feet into the bed and died. He was gathered to his people.

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Genesis 49

Genesis 49