“Reuben, you are (A)my firstborn,
My might and the beginning of my strength,
The excellency of dignity and the excellency of power.
Unstable as water, you shall not excel,
Because you (B)went up to your father’s bed;
Then you defiled it
He went up to my couch.

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“Reuben, you are my firstborn,(A)
    my might, the first sign of my strength,(B)
    excelling in honor,(C) excelling in power.
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)

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“Judah,(A) you are he whom your brothers shall praise;
(B)Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies;
(C)Your father’s children shall bow down before you.
Judah is (D)a lion’s whelp;
From the prey, my son, you have gone up.
(E)He [a]bows down, he lies down as a lion;
And as a lion, who shall rouse him?
10 (F)The [b]scepter shall not depart from Judah,
Nor (G)a lawgiver from between his feet,
(H)Until Shiloh comes;
(I)And to Him shall be the obedience of the people.

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Footnotes

  1. Genesis 49:9 couches
  2. Genesis 49:10 A symbol of kingship

“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)

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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.