A curse on their uncontrolled anger,
    on their indiscriminate wrath.
I’ll throw them out with the trash;
    I’ll shred and scatter them like confetti throughout Israel.

8-12 You, Judah, your brothers will praise you:
    Your fingers on your enemies’ throat,
    while your brothers honor you.
You’re a lion’s cub, Judah,
    home fresh from the kill, my son.
Look at him, crouched like a lion, king of beasts;
    who dares mess with him?
The scepter shall not leave Judah;
    he’ll keep a firm grip on the command staff
Until the ultimate ruler comes
    and the nations obey him.
He’ll tie up his donkey to the grapevine,
    his purebred prize to a sturdy branch.
He will wash his shirt in wine
    and his cloak in the blood of grapes,
His eyes will be darker than wine,
    his teeth whiter than milk.

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Cursed be their anger, so fierce,
    and their fury,(A) so cruel!(B)
I will scatter them in Jacob
    and disperse them in Israel.(C)

“Judah,[a](D) your brothers will praise you;
    your hand will be on the neck(E) of your enemies;
    your father’s sons will bow down to you.(F)
You are a lion’s(G) cub,(H) Judah;(I)
    you return from the prey,(J) my son.
Like a lion he crouches and lies down,
    like a lioness—who dares to rouse him?

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Footnotes

  1. Genesis 49:8 Judah sounds like and may be derived from the Hebrew for praise.