Genesis 49:3-21

English Standard Version

³ “Reuben, you are ^(A)my firstborn,
    my might, and the ^(B)firstfruits of my strength,
    preeminent in dignity and preeminent in power.
⁴ Unstable as water, you shall not have preeminence,
    because you ^(C)went up to your father's bed;
    then you defiled it—he went up to my couch!

^5 (D)“Simeon and Levi are brothers;
    weapons ^(E)of violence are their swords.
⁶ Let my soul come not into their council;
    ^(F)O my glory, ^(G)be not joined to their company.
For in their anger they killed men,
    and in their willfulness they ^(H)hamstrung oxen.
⁷ Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce,
    and their wrath, for it is cruel!
I will ^(I)divide them in Jacob
    and scatter them in Israel.

⁸ “Judah, ^(J)your brothers shall praise you;
    ^(K)your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies;
    ^(L)your father's sons shall bow down before you.
⁹ Judah is ^(M)a lion's cub;
    from the prey, my son, you have gone up.
^(N)He stooped down; he crouched as a lion
    and as a lioness; who dares rouse him?
¹⁰ The ^(O)scepter shall not depart from Judah,
    nor the ruler's staff ^(P)from between his feet,
until tribute comes to him;^[a]
    and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.
¹¹ Binding his foal to the vine
    and his donkey's colt to the choice vine,
he has washed his garments in wine
    and his vesture in the blood of grapes.
¹² His ^(Q)eyes are darker than wine,
    and his teeth whiter than milk.

^13 (R)“Zebulun shall dwell at the ^(S)shore of the sea;
    he shall become a haven for ships,
    and his border shall be at Sidon.

^14 (T)“Issachar is a strong donkey,
    crouching between the sheepfolds.^[b]
15 He saw that a resting place was good,
    and that the land was pleasant,
so he bowed his shoulder to bear,
    and ^(U)became a servant at forced labor.

^16 (V)“Dan shall ^(W)judge his people
    as one of the tribes of Israel.
¹⁷ Dan ^(X)shall be a serpent in the way,
    a viper by the path,
that bites the horse's heels
    so that his rider falls backward.
¹⁸ I ^(Y)wait for your salvation, O Lord.

^19 (Z)“Raiders shall raid ^(AA)Gad,^[c]
    but he shall raid at their heels.

^20 (AB)“Asher's food shall be rich,
    and he shall yield royal delicacies.

^21 (AC)“Naphtali is a doe let loose
    that bears beautiful fawns.^[d]