Genesis 49
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Jacob’s Last Words
49 Then Jacob called his sons and said, “Gather around, and I will tell you what will happen to you in the days to come.[a](A)
2 Come together and listen, sons of Jacob;
listen to your father Israel:
3 Reuben, you are my firstborn,(B)
my strength and the firstfruits of my virility,(C)
excelling in prominence, excelling in power.
4 Turbulent as water, you will no longer excel,
because you got into your father’s bed(D)
and you defiled it—he[b] got into my bed.
5 Simeon and Levi are brothers;
their knives are vicious weapons.(E)
6 May I never enter their council;
may I never join their assembly.
For in their anger they kill men,
and on a whim they hamstring oxen.
7 Their anger is cursed, for it is strong,
and their fury, for it is cruel!
I will disperse them throughout Jacob
and scatter them throughout Israel.(F)
8 Judah, your brothers will praise you.(G)
Your hand will be on the necks of your enemies;
your father’s sons will bow down to you.(H)
9 Judah is a young lion(I)—
my son, you return from the kill.
He crouches; he lies down like a lion
or a lioness—who dares to rouse him?
10 The scepter will not depart from Judah
or the staff from between his feet
until He whose right it is comes[c](J)
and the obedience of the peoples belongs to Him.(K)
11 He ties his donkey to a vine,
and the colt of his donkey to the choice vine.
He washes his clothes in wine
and his robes in the blood of grapes.
12 His eyes are darker than wine,
and his teeth are whiter than milk.
13 Zebulun will live by the seashore
and will be a harbor for ships,
and his territory will be next to Sidon.(L)
14 Issachar is a strong donkey
lying down between the saddlebags.[d]
15 He saw that his resting place was good
and that the land was pleasant,
so he leaned his shoulder to bear a load
and became a forced laborer.(M)
16 Dan will judge his people(N)
as one of the tribes of Israel.
17 He will be a snake by the road,
a viper beside the path,
that bites the horses’ heels
so that its rider falls backward.
18 I wait for Your salvation, Lord.
19 Gad will be attacked by raiders,
but he will attack their heels.(O)
21 Naphtali is a doe set free
that bears beautiful fawns.(Q)
22 Joseph is a fruitful vine,
a fruitful vine beside a spring;
its branches[f] climb over the wall.[g]
23 The archers attacked him,
shot at him, and were hostile toward him.
24 Yet his bow remained steady,
and his strong[h] arms were made agile
by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob,(R)
by the name of[i] the Shepherd,(S) the Rock of Israel,(T)
25 by the God of your father who helps you,
and by the Almighty who blesses you
with blessings of the heavens above,
blessings of the deep that lies below,
and blessings of the breasts and the womb.
26 The blessings of your father excel
the blessings of my ancestors[j]
and[k] the bounty of the eternal hills.[l](U)
May they rest on the head of Joseph,
on the crown of the prince of his brothers.
27 Benjamin is a wolf; he tears his prey.
In the morning he devours the prey,
and in the evening he divides the plunder.”(V)
28 These are the tribes of Israel, 12 in all, and this was what their father said to them. He blessed them, and he blessed each one with a suitable blessing.
Jacob’s Burial Instructions
29 Then he commanded them: “I am about to be gathered to my people.(W) Bury me with my fathers(X) in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite.(Y) 30 The cave is in the field of Machpelah near Mamre, in the land of Canaan. This is the field Abraham purchased from Ephron the Hittite as a burial site.(Z) 31 Abraham and his wife Sarah are buried there,(AA) Isaac and his wife Rebekah are buried there,(AB) and I buried Leah there.(AC) 32 The field and the cave in it were purchased from the Hittites.” 33 When Jacob had finished instructing his sons, he drew his feet into the bed and died. He was gathered to his people.
Footnotes
- Genesis 49:1 Or in the last days
- Genesis 49:4 LXX, Syr, Tg read you
- Genesis 49:10 Or until tribute comes to him, or until Shiloh comes, or until He comes to Shiloh
- Genesis 49:14 Or sheepfolds
- Genesis 49:20 LXX, Syr, Vg; MT reads their heel. 20 From Asher
- Genesis 49:22 Lit daughters
- Genesis 49:22 Hb obscure
- Genesis 49:24 Lit and the hands of his
- Genesis 49:24 Syr, Tg; MT reads Jacob, from there
- Genesis 49:26 Or of the mountains
- Genesis 49:26 Lit to
- Genesis 49:26 Hb obscure
Genesis 49
International Standard Version
Jacob’s Final Blessings
49 After this, Jacob called his sons together and told them, “Assemble yourselves around me[a] so I can tell you all what is going to happen to you in the last days.[b]
2 “Gather together and listen,
you children of Jacob.
Listen to your father Israel.”
On the Future of Reuben
3 “Reuben, you’re my firstborn,
my strength,
and the first fruit of my vitality.
You excel in rank
and excel in power.
4 But you’re as undisciplined as a roaring river,
so eventually you won’t succeed,
because you got in your father’s bed,[c]
defiled it, and then approached my couch.”
On the Future of Simeon and Levi
5 “Simeon and Levi are brothers;
their swords are violent weapons.
6 I’ll[d] never join their council;
I’ll never enter their assembly.
In their anger they committed murder
and lamed cattle just for fun.
7 Their anger is cursed,
because it is so fierce,
as is their vehemence,
because it is so cruel.
I will separate them throughout Jacob’s territory[e]
and disperse them throughout Israel.”
On the Future of Judah
8 “Your brothers will praise you, Judah.[f]
Your hand will be at the throat of your enemies,
and your father’s children will bow down to you.
9 Judah is a lion cub.
My son, you have gone up from the prey.
Crouching like a lion,
he lies down,
Like a lioness,
who would dare rouse him?
10 The scepter will not depart from Judah,
nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,
until the one[g] comes, who owns them both,[h]
and to him will belong the allegiance[i] of nations.
11 Binding his donkey to the vine
and his mare’s foal to its thick tendrils,
he will wash his garments in wine
and his robe in the juice of grapes.
12 His eyes are darker than wine
and his teeth whiter than milk.”
On the Future of Zebulun
13 “Zebulun will settle down near the sea shore
and become a safe haven for shipping,
bordering Sidon.”
On the Future of Issachar
14 “Issachar is a strong donkey,
resting between sheepfolds.
15 He observed that his resting place was excellent,
and that the land was pleasant;
he bent down,
picked up his burdens,
and became a slave at forced labor.”
On the Future of Dan
16 “Dan will judge[j] his people
as one of Israel’s tribes.
17 Dan will be a snake on the path,
a viper on the road
that snaps at the heels of horses,
causing their riders to fall off.
18 “Lord, I’m waiting for your salvation.”
On the Future of Gad
19 “Bandits will raid Gad,
but Gad will raid them back.”[k]
On the Future of Asher
20 “Asher’s food will be delicious;
he will be a provider of delicacies fit for royalty.”
On the Future of Naphtali
21 “Naphtali is a free running deer
who produces eloquent literature.”
On the Future of Joseph
22 “Joseph is descended from a fruitful vine,
a fruitful vine planted near springs of water.
His branches climb over walls.
23 Even though enemies[l] attacked him,
shooting at him
and pursuing him viciously,
24 nevertheless his bow remained steady
and his arms kept in shape
by the strength of Jacob’s Mighty One,
in the name of the Shepherd,
Israel’s Rock,
25 by your father’s God
who helps you,
by the Almighty
who will keep on blessing you
with blessings from heaven above,
with blessings from the deepest ocean,
with blessing from the breasts and the womb.
26 Your father’s blessings will prove to be stronger
than blessings from the eternal mountains
or bounties from the everlasting hills.
May they come to rest on Joseph’s head,
May they be set upon the brow of the one
who was separated from his own brothers.”
On the Future of Benjamin
27 “Benjamin is vicious like a wolf;
what he kills in the morning
he devours in the evening.”
Jacob Dies and is Buried
28 That’s how Israel blessed these[m] twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father told them when he pronounced his blessing for them, blessing each one with a blessing suitable for them. 29 In his last words, Jacob[n] issued this set of instructions to them all: “I’m about to join[o] our ancestors. Bury me alongside my ancestors in the cave in the field that used to belong to Ephron the Hittite. 30 It’s the cave in the field near Mamre at Machpelah in the land of Canaan that Abraham bought to serve as a cemetery. 31 It’s where Abraham and his wife Sarah were buried, where Isaac and his wife Rebekah were buried, and where I buried Leah. 32 Both the field and the cave that’s in it were purchased from the Hittites.”
33 After concluding this set of instructions to his sons, Jacob[p] tucked his feet up into bed, quit breathing, and was gathered to his ancestors.
Footnotes
- Genesis 49:1 The Heb. lacks around me
- Genesis 49:1 Or in days to come
- Genesis 49:4 Cf. Gen 35:22
- Genesis 49:6 Lit. Let my soul
- Genesis 49:7 The Heb. lacks ‘s territory
- Genesis 49:8 The Heb. verb praise is a word play on the name Judah
- Genesis 49:10 Or until Shiloh
- Genesis 49:10 Lit. comes to whom it belongs; i.e. the authority represented by the scepter and ruler’s staff
- Genesis 49:10 Or obedience
- Genesis 49:16 The Heb. name Dan means judge
- Genesis 49:19 Lit. raid the heel
- Genesis 49:23 The Heb. lacks enemies
- Genesis 49:28 Lit. All these are the
- Genesis 49:29 Lit. he
- Genesis 49:29 Lit. to be gathered to
- Genesis 49:33 Lit. he
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