Genesis 49:1-18

New American Standard Bible 1995

³ “Reuben, you are my firstborn;
My might and ^(C)the beginning of my strength,
^[b]Preeminent in dignity and ^[c]preeminent in power.
⁴ “^[d]Uncontrolled as water, you shall not have preeminence,
^(D)Because you went up to your father’s bed;
Then you defiled it—he went up to my couch.

⁵ “^(E)Simeon and Levi are brothers;
Their swords are implements of violence.
⁶ “^(F)Let my soul not enter into their council;
Let not my glory be united with their assembly;
Because in their anger they slew ^[e]men,
And in their self-will they lamed ^[f]oxen.
⁷ “Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce;
And their wrath, for it is cruel.
^(G)I will ^[g]disperse them in Jacob,
And scatter them in Israel.

⁸ “Judah, your brothers shall praise you;
Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies;
^(H)Your father’s sons shall bow down to you.
⁹ “Judah is a ^(I)lion’s whelp;
From the prey, my son, you have gone up.
^(J)He ^[h]couches, he lies down as a lion,
And as a ^[i]lion, who ^[j]dares rouse him up?
¹⁰ “^(K)The scepter shall not depart from Judah,
Nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,
^[k]Until Shiloh comes,
And ^(L)to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.
¹¹ “^[l](M)He ties his foal to the vine,
And his donkey’s colt to the choice vine;
^(N)He washes his garments in wine,
And his robes in the blood of grapes.
¹² “His eyes are ^[m]dull from wine,
And his teeth ^[n]white from milk.

¹³ “^(O)Zebulun will dwell at the seashore;
And he shall be ^[o]a haven for ships,
And his flank shall be toward Sidon.

¹⁴ “Issachar is ^[p]a strong donkey,
^(P)Lying down between the ^[q]sheepfolds.
¹⁵ “When he saw that a resting place was good
And that the land was pleasant,
He bowed his shoulder to bear burdens,
And became a slave at forced labor.

¹⁶ “^(Q)Dan shall ^(R)judge his people,
As one of the tribes of Israel.
¹⁷ “Dan shall be a serpent in the way,
A horned snake in the path,
That bites the horse’s heels,
So that his rider falls backward.
¹⁸ “^(S)For Your salvation I wait, O Lord.