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Genesis 49:1-28
Modern English Version
Genesis 49:1-28
Modern English Version
Jacob Blesses His Sons(A)
49 Jacob called to his sons and said, “Gather yourselves together, so that I may tell you what will befall you in the last days.
2 Gather yourselves together and hear, sons of Jacob,
and listen to your father Israel.
3 Reuben, you are my firstborn,
my might and the beginning of my strength,
the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power.
4 Unstable as water, you shall not excel,
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;
weapons of violence are their swords.
6 Let my soul not enter into their council;
let my glory not be united with their assembly;
for in their anger they killed men
and in their self-will they hamstrung oxen.
7 Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce;
and their wrath, for it is cruel!
I will divide them in Jacob
and scatter them in Israel.
8 Judah, your brothers shall praise you;
your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies;
your father’s sons will bow down before you.
9 Judah is a lion’s cub;
from the prey, my son, you have gone up.
He crouches and lies down like a lion;
and as a lion, who dares rouse him?
10 The scepter shall not depart from Judah,
nor a lawgiver from between his feet,
until Shiloh comes;
and to him will be the obedience of the people.
11 He tethers his foal to the vine,
and his colt to the choicest vine;
he washes his garments in wine,
his clothes in the blood of grapes.
12 His eyes are darker than wine,
and his teeth whiter than milk.
13 Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea;
and he shall be a haven of ships.
His border shall be at Sidon.
14 Issachar is a strong donkey,
lying down between two burdens;
15 he saw that a resting place was good,
and that the land was pleasant;
so he bowed his shoulder to bear the burden
and became a slave to forced labor.
16 Dan shall judge his people
as one of the tribes of Israel.
17 Dan shall be a serpent by the road,
a viper on the path,
that bites the horse’s heels
so that its rider will fall backward.
18 I wait for Your salvation, O Lord!
19 Gad shall be attacked by raiding bands,
but he shall raid at their heels.
20 Asher’s food shall be rich,
and he shall yield royal delicacies.
21 Naphtali is a doe set loose;
he gives beautiful words.
22 Joseph is a fruitful bough,
a fruitful bough by a spring,
whose branches run over the wall.
23 The archers bitterly attacked him,
they shot at him and hated him.
24 But his bow remained firm.
His arms were agile
because of the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob,
because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel,
25 because of the God of your father who will help you,
and by the Almighty who will bless you
with blessings from heaven above,
blessings from the deep that lies beneath,
the blessings of the breasts and the womb.
26 The blessings of your father have surpassed
the blessings of my fathers,
up to the utmost bound of the everlasting hills.
They will be on the head of Joseph,
and on the crown of the head of him who was set apart from his brothers.
27 Benjamin is a ravenous wolf;
in the morning he devours the prey,
and at night he divides the spoil.”
28 These are all the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said to them when he blessed them. He blessed them, each with the blessing appropriate to him.
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Genesis 49:1-28
American Standard Version
Genesis 49:1-28
American Standard Version
49 And Jacob called unto his sons, and said: Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the latter days.
2 Assemble yourselves, and hear, ye sons of Jacob;
And hearken unto Israel your father.
3 Reuben, thou art my first-born, my might, and the [a]beginning of my strength;
The pre-eminence of dignity, and the pre-eminence of power.
4 Boiling over as water, [b]thou shalt not have the pre-eminence;
Because thou wentest up to thy father’s bed;
Then defiledst thou it: he went up to my couch.
5 Simeon and Levi are brethren;
Weapons of violence are their [c]swords.
6 O my soul, come not thou into their [d]council;
Unto their assembly, my glory, be not thou united;
For in their anger they slew [e]a man,
And in their self-will they hocked [f]an ox.
7 Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce;
And their wrath, for it was cruel:
I will divide them in Jacob,
And scatter them in Israel.
8 Judah, thee shall thy brethren praise:
Thy hand shall be on the neck of thine enemies;
Thy father’s sons shall bow down before thee.
9 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 a lioness; who shall rouse him up?
10 The sceptre shall not depart from Judah,
Nor [g]the ruler’s staff from between his feet,
[h]Until Shiloh come;
And unto him shall the obedience of the peoples be.
11 Binding his foal unto the vine,
And his ass’s colt unto the choice vine;
He hath washed his garments in wine,
And his vesture 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 [i]haven of the sea;
And he shall be for a haven of ships;
And his border shall be [j]upon Sidon.
14 Issachar is a strong ass,
Couching down between the sheepfolds:
15 And he saw [k]a resting-place that it was good,
And the land that it was pleasant;
And he bowed his shoulder to bear,
And became a servant under taskwork.
16 Dan shall judge his people,
As one of the tribes of Israel.
17 Dan shall be a serpent in the way,
An [l]adder in the path,
That biteth the horse’s heels,
So that his rider falleth backward.
18 I have waited for thy salvation, O Jehovah.
19 Gad, [m]a troop [n]shall press upon him;
But he shall press upon their heel.
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.
22 Joseph is [o]a fruitful bough,
A fruitful bough by a fountain;
His [p]branches run over the wall.
23 The archers have sorely grieved him,
And shot at him, and persecuted him:
24 But his bow abode in strength,
And the arms of his hands were made [q]strong,
By the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob
[r](From thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel),
25 Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee,
And by the Almighty, who shall bless thee,
With blessings of heaven above,
Blessings of the deep that coucheth beneath,
Blessings of the breasts, and of the womb.
26 The blessings of thy father
Have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors
Unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills:
They shall be on the head of Joseph,
And on the crown of the head of him [s]that was separate from his brethren.
27 Benjamin is a wolf that raveneth:
In the morning he shall devour the prey,
And at even he shall divide the spoil.
28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel: and this is it that their father spake unto them and blessed them; every one according to his blessing he blessed them.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Genesis 49:3 Or, first-fruits
- Genesis 49:4 Or, have not thou
- Genesis 49:5 Or, compacts
- Genesis 49:6 Or, secret
- Genesis 49:6 Or, men
- Genesis 49:6 Or, oxen
- Genesis 49:10 Or, a lawgiver
- Genesis 49:10 Or, Till he come to Shiloh, having the obedience of the peoples. Or, according to Syriac, Till he come whose it is etc.
- Genesis 49:13 Hebrew beach.
- Genesis 49:13 Or, by
- Genesis 49:15 Or, rest
- Genesis 49:17 Or, horned snake
- Genesis 49:19 Hebrew gedud, a marauding band.
- Genesis 49:19 Hebrew gad, to press.
- Genesis 49:22 Hebrew the son of a fruitful tree.
- Genesis 49:22 Hebrew daughters.
- Genesis 49:24 Or, active
- Genesis 49:24 Or, From thence, from the shepherd. Or, as otherwise read, By the name of the shepherd
- Genesis 49:26 Or, that is prince among
Genesis 49:1-28
New International Version
Genesis 49:1-28
New International Version
Jacob Blesses His Sons(A)
49 Then Jacob called for his sons and said: “Gather around so I can tell you what will happen to you in days to come.(B)
3 “Reuben, you are my firstborn,(E)
my might, the first sign of my strength,(F)
excelling in honor,(G) excelling in power.
4 Turbulent as the waters,(H) you will no longer excel,
for you went up onto your father’s bed,
onto my couch and defiled it.(I)
5 “Simeon(J) and Levi(K) are brothers—
their swords[a] are weapons of violence.(L)
6 Let me not enter their council,
let me not join their assembly,(M)
for they have killed men in their anger(N)
and hamstrung(O) oxen as they pleased.
7 Cursed be their anger, so fierce,
and their fury,(P) so cruel!(Q)
I will scatter them in Jacob
and disperse them in Israel.(R)
8 “Judah,[b](S) your brothers will praise you;
your hand will be on the neck(T) of your enemies;
your father’s sons will bow down to you.(U)
9 You are a lion’s(V) cub,(W) Judah;(X)
you return from the prey,(Y) 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,(Z)
nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,[c]
until he to whom it belongs[d] shall come(AA)
and the obedience of the nations shall be his.(AB)
11 He will tether his donkey(AC) to a vine,
his colt to the choicest branch;(AD)
he will wash his garments in wine,
his robes in the blood of grapes.(AE)
12 His eyes will be darker than wine,
his teeth whiter than milk.[e](AF)
13 “Zebulun(AG) will live by the seashore
and become a haven for ships;
his border will extend toward Sidon.(AH)
14 “Issachar(AI) is a rawboned[f] donkey
lying down among the sheep pens.[g](AJ)
15 When he sees how good is his resting place
and how pleasant is his land,(AK)
he will bend his shoulder to the burden(AL)
and submit to forced labor.(AM)
16 “Dan[h](AN) will provide justice for his people
as one of the tribes of Israel.(AO)
17 Dan(AP) will be a snake by the roadside,
a viper along the path,(AQ)
that bites the horse’s heels(AR)
so that its rider tumbles backward.
22 “Joseph(BB) is a fruitful vine,(BC)
a fruitful vine near a spring,
whose branches(BD) climb over a wall.[k]
23 With bitterness archers attacked him;(BE)
they shot at him with hostility.(BF)
24 But his bow remained steady,(BG)
his strong arms(BH) stayed[l] limber,
because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob,(BI)
because of the Shepherd,(BJ) the Rock of Israel,(BK)
25 because of your father’s God,(BL) who helps(BM) you,
because of the Almighty,[m](BN) who blesses you
with blessings of the skies above,
blessings of the deep springs below,(BO)
blessings of the breast(BP) and womb.(BQ)
26 Your father’s blessings are greater
than the blessings of the ancient mountains,
than[n] the bounty of the age-old hills.(BR)
Let all these rest on the head of Joseph,(BS)
on the brow of the prince among[o] his brothers.(BT)
27 “Benjamin(BU) is a ravenous wolf;(BV)
in the morning he devours the prey,(BW)
in the evening he divides the plunder.”(BX)
28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel,(BY) and this is what their father said to them when he blessed them, giving each the blessing(BZ) appropriate to him.
Footnotes
- Genesis 49:5 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
- Genesis 49:8 Judah sounds like and may be derived from the Hebrew for praise.
- Genesis 49:10 Or from his descendants
- Genesis 49:10 Or to whom tribute belongs; the meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
- Genesis 49:12 Or will be dull from wine, / his teeth white from milk
- Genesis 49:14 Or strong
- Genesis 49:14 Or the campfires; or the saddlebags
- Genesis 49:16 Dan here means he provides justice.
- Genesis 49:19 Gad sounds like the Hebrew for attack and also for band of raiders.
- Genesis 49:21 Or free; / he utters beautiful words
- Genesis 49:22 Or Joseph is a wild colt, / a wild colt near a spring, / a wild donkey on a terraced hill
- Genesis 49:24 Or archers will attack … will shoot … will remain … will stay
- Genesis 49:25 Hebrew Shaddai
- Genesis 49:26 Or of my progenitors, / as great as
- Genesis 49:26 Or of the one separated from
Modern English Version (MEV)
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American Standard Version (ASV)
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New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.