² “Assemble^(C) and listen, sons of Jacob;
    listen to your father Israel.^(D)

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)

“Your Thummim and Urim^(B) belong
    to your faithful servant.^(C)
You tested^(D) him at Massah;
    you contended with him at the waters of Meribah.^(E)
9 He said of his father and mother,^(F)
    ‘I have no regard for them.’
He did not recognize his brothers
    or acknowledge his own children,
but he watched over your word
    and guarded your covenant.^(G)
10 He teaches^(H) your precepts to Jacob
    and your law to Israel.^(I)
He offers incense before you^(J)
    and whole burnt offerings on your altar.^(K)

⁸ “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)
9 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)

¹⁶ “Dan^[g](V) will provide justice for his people
    as one of the tribes of Israel.^(W)
17 Dan^(X) will be a snake by the roadside,
    a viper along the path,^(Y)
that bites the horse’s heels^(Z)
    so that its rider tumbles backward.

¹⁸ “I look for your deliverance,^(AA) Lord.^(AB)

¹⁹ “Gad^[h](AC) will be attacked by a band of raiders,
    but he will attack them at their heels.^(AD)

²⁰ “Asher’s^(AE) food will be rich;^(AF)
    he will provide delicacies fit for a king.^(AG)

²¹ “Naphtali^(AH) is a doe set free
    that bears beautiful fawns.^[i](AI)

“May the Lord bless his land
    with the precious dew from heaven above
    and with the deep waters that lie below;^(B)
14 with the best the sun brings forth
    and the finest the moon can yield;
¹⁵ with the choicest gifts of the ancient mountains^(C)
    and the fruitfulness of the everlasting hills;
¹⁶ with the best gifts of the earth and its fullness
    and the favor of him who dwelt in the burning bush.^(D)
Let all these rest on the head of Joseph,
    on the brow of the prince among^[a] his brothers.^(E)
17 In majesty he is like a firstborn bull;
    his horns^(F) are the horns of a wild ox.^(G)
With them he will gore^(H) the nations,
    even those at the ends of the earth.
Such are the ten thousands of Ephraim;^(I)
    such are the thousands of Manasseh.^(J)”