“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.
11 Binding his donkey to the vine,
And his donkey’s colt to the choice vine,
He washed his garments in wine,
And his clothes in the blood of grapes.
12 His eyes are darker than wine,
And his teeth whiter than milk.

13 “Zebulun(J) shall dwell by the haven of the sea;
He shall become a haven for ships,
And his border shall (K)adjoin Sidon.

14 “Issachar(L) is a strong donkey,
Lying down between two burdens;
15 He saw that rest was good,
And that the land was pleasant;
He bowed (M)his shoulder to bear a burden,
And became a band of slaves.

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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)
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)

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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.
  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