Genesis 49:13-27

English Standard Version

^13 (A)“Zebulun shall dwell at the ^(B)shore of the sea;
    he shall become a haven for ships,
    and his border shall be at Sidon.

^14 (C)“Issachar is a strong donkey,
    crouching between the sheepfolds.^[a]
15 He saw that a resting place was good,
    and that the land was pleasant,
so he bowed his shoulder to bear,
    and ^(D)became a servant at forced labor.

^16 (E)“Dan shall ^(F)judge his people
    as one of the tribes of Israel.
¹⁷ Dan ^(G)shall be a serpent in the way,
    a viper by the path,
that bites the horse's heels
    so that his rider falls backward.
¹⁸ I ^(H)wait for your salvation, O Lord.

^19 (I)“Raiders shall raid ^(J)Gad,^[b]
    but he shall raid at their heels.

^20 (K)“Asher's food shall be rich,
    and he shall yield royal delicacies.

^21 (L)“Naphtali is a doe let loose
    that bears beautiful fawns.^[c]

²² “Joseph is ^(M)a fruitful bough,
    a fruitful bough by a spring;
    his branches run over the wall.^[d]
23 The archers ^(N)bitterly attacked him,
    shot at him, and harassed him severely,
²⁴ yet ^(O)his bow remained unmoved;
    his arms^[e] were made agile
by the hands of the ^(P)Mighty One of Jacob
    (from there is ^(Q)the Shepherd,^{[f] (R)}the Stone of Israel),
^25 (S)by the God of your father who will help you,
    by ^(T)the Almighty^{[g] (U)}who will bless you
    with blessings of heaven above,
blessings of the deep that crouches beneath,
    blessings of the breasts and of the womb.
²⁶ The blessings of your father
    are mighty beyond the blessings of my parents,
    up to the bounties ^(V)of the everlasting hills.^[h]
May they be ^(W)on the head of Joseph,
    and on the brow of him who was set apart from his brothers.

^27 (X)“Benjamin is a ravenous wolf,
    in the morning devouring the prey
    and at evening ^(Y)dividing the spoil.”