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Genesis 49:3-21
English Standard Version
Genesis 49:3-21
English Standard Version
3 “Reuben, you are (A)my firstborn,
my might, and the (B)firstfruits of my strength,
preeminent in dignity and preeminent in power.
4 Unstable as water, you shall not have preeminence,
because you (C)went up to your father's bed;
then you defiled it—he went up to my couch!
5 (D)“Simeon and Levi are brothers;
weapons (E)of violence are their swords.
6 Let my soul come not into their council;
(F)O my glory, (G)be not joined to their company.
For in their anger they killed men,
and in their willfulness they (H)hamstrung oxen.
7 Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce,
and their wrath, for it is cruel!
I will (I)divide them in Jacob
and scatter them in Israel.
8 “Judah, (J)your brothers shall praise you;
(K)your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies;
(L)your father's sons shall bow down before you.
9 Judah is (M)a lion's cub;
from the prey, my son, you have gone up.
(N)He stooped down; he crouched as a lion
and as a lioness; who dares rouse him?
10 The (O)scepter shall not depart from Judah,
nor the ruler's staff (P)from between his feet,
until tribute comes to him;[a]
and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.
11 Binding his foal to the vine
and his donkey's colt to the choice vine,
he has washed his garments in wine
and his vesture in the blood of grapes.
12 His (Q)eyes are darker than wine,
and his teeth whiter than milk.
13 (R)“Zebulun shall dwell at the (S)shore of the sea;
he shall become a haven for ships,
and his border shall be at Sidon.
14 (T)“Issachar is a strong donkey,
crouching between the sheepfolds.[b]
15 He saw that a resting place was good,
and that the land was pleasant,
so he bowed his shoulder to bear,
and (U)became a servant at forced labor.
16 (V)“Dan shall (W)judge his people
as one of the tribes of Israel.
17 Dan (X)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 (Y)wait for your salvation, O Lord.
20 (AB)“Asher's food shall be rich,
and he shall yield royal delicacies.
Footnotes
- Genesis 49:10 By a slight revocalization; a slight emendation yields (compare Septuagint, Syriac, Targum) until he comes to whom it belongs; Hebrew until Shiloh comes, or until he comes to Shiloh
- Genesis 49:14 Or between its saddlebags
- Genesis 49:19 Gad sounds like the Hebrew for raiders and raid
- Genesis 49:21 Or he gives beautiful words, or that bears fawns of the fold
Genesis 49:3-21
New International Version
Genesis 49:3-21
New International Version
3 “Reuben, you are my firstborn,(A)
my might, the first sign of my strength,(B)
excelling in honor,(C) excelling in power.
4 Turbulent as the waters,(D) you will no longer excel,
for you went up onto your father’s bed,
onto my couch and defiled it.(E)
5 “Simeon(F) and Levi(G) are brothers—
their swords[a] are weapons of violence.(H)
6 Let me not enter their council,
let me not join their assembly,(I)
for they have killed men in their anger(J)
and hamstrung(K) oxen as they pleased.
7 Cursed be their anger, so fierce,
and their fury,(L) so cruel!(M)
I will scatter them in Jacob
and disperse them in Israel.(N)
8 “Judah,[b](O) your brothers will praise you;
your hand will be on the neck(P) of your enemies;
your father’s sons will bow down to you.(Q)
9 You are a lion’s(R) cub,(S) Judah;(T)
you return from the prey,(U) 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,(V)
nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,[c]
until he to whom it belongs[d] shall come(W)
and the obedience of the nations shall be his.(X)
11 He will tether his donkey(Y) to a vine,
his colt to the choicest branch;(Z)
he will wash his garments in wine,
his robes in the blood of grapes.(AA)
12 His eyes will be darker than wine,
his teeth whiter than milk.[e](AB)
13 “Zebulun(AC) will live by the seashore
and become a haven for ships;
his border will extend toward Sidon.(AD)
14 “Issachar(AE) is a rawboned[f] donkey
lying down among the sheep pens.[g](AF)
15 When he sees how good is his resting place
and how pleasant is his land,(AG)
he will bend his shoulder to the burden(AH)
and submit to forced labor.(AI)
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
English Standard Version (ESV) 
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.