“Judah,[a](A) your brothers will praise you;
    your hand will be on the neck(B) of your enemies;
    your father’s sons will bow down to you.(C)
You are a lion’s(D) cub,(E) Judah;(F)
    you return from the prey,(G) my son.
Like a lion he crouches and lies down,
    like a lioness—who dares to rouse him?
10 The scepter will not depart from Judah,(H)
    nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,[b]
until he to whom it belongs[c] shall come(I)
    and the obedience of the nations shall be his.(J)
11 He will tether his donkey(K) to a vine,
    his colt to the choicest branch;(L)
he will wash his garments in wine,
    his robes in the blood of grapes.(M)
12 His eyes will be darker than wine,
    his teeth whiter than milk.[d](N)

13 “Zebulun(O) will live by the seashore
    and become a haven for ships;
    his border will extend toward Sidon.(P)

14 “Issachar(Q) is a rawboned[e] donkey
    lying down among the sheep pens.[f](R)
15 When he sees how good is his resting place
    and how pleasant is his land,(S)
he will bend his shoulder to the burden(T)
    and submit to forced labor.(U)

16 “Dan[g](V) will provide justice for his people
    as one of the tribes of Israel.(W)
17 Dan(X) will be a snake by the roadside,
    a viper along the path,(Y)
that bites the horse’s heels(Z)
    so that its rider tumbles backward.

18 “I look for your deliverance,(AA) Lord.(AB)

19 “Gad[h](AC) will be attacked by a band of raiders,
    but he will attack them at their heels.(AD)

20 “Asher’s(AE) food will be rich;(AF)
    he will provide delicacies fit for a king.(AG)

21 “Naphtali(AH) is a doe set free
    that bears beautiful fawns.[i](AI)

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 49:8 Judah sounds like and may be derived from the Hebrew for praise.
  2. Genesis 49:10 Or from his descendants
  3. Genesis 49:10 Or to whom tribute belongs; the meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
  4. Genesis 49:12 Or will be dull from wine, / his teeth white from milk
  5. Genesis 49:14 Or strong
  6. Genesis 49:14 Or the campfires; or the saddlebags
  7. Genesis 49:16 Dan here means he provides justice.
  8. Genesis 49:19 Gad sounds like the Hebrew for attack and also for band of raiders.
  9. Genesis 49:21 Or free; / he utters beautiful words

Judah, 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.

Judah 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?

10 The 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.

11 Binding 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:

12 His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk.

13 Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea; and he shall be for an haven of ships; and his border shall be unto Zidon.

14 Issachar is a strong ass couching down between two burdens:

15 And 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.

16 Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel.

17 Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward.

18 I have waited for thy salvation, O Lord.

19 Gad, a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last.

20 Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties.

21 Naphtali is a hind let loose: he giveth goodly words.

Read full chapter

[a]Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom(A) for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,(B) but in the future he will honor Galilee of the nations, by the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan—

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 9:1 In Hebrew texts 9:1 is numbered 8:23, and 9:2-21 is numbered 9:1-20.

Nevertheless the dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation, when at the first he lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward did more grievously afflict her by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the nations.

Read full chapter

13 Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum,(A) which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali— 14 to fulfill(B) what was said through the prophet Isaiah:

15 “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,
    the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan,
    Galilee of the Gentiles—
16 the people living in darkness
    have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of the shadow of death
    a light has dawned.”[a](C)

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Matthew 4:16 Isaiah 9:1,2

13 And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim:

14 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying,

15 The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles;

16 The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.

Read full chapter