Print Page Options

49 ¶ And Jacob called unto his sons and said, Gather yourselves together that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days.

Gather yourselves together and hear, ye sons of Jacob, and hearken unto Israel your father.

Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, principal in dignity, and the principal in power.

Unstable as water, thou shalt not be principal because thou didst go up to thy father’s bed; then thou became defiled, going up to my couch.

¶ Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments of injustice are their weapons.

Let my soul not enter into their secret; nor let my honour join their assembly; for in their anger they slew a man, and in their own will they dug down a wall.

Cursed be their anger, which is strong, and their wrath, which is hard; I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel.

¶ Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise; thy hand shall be on the neck of thine enemies; thy father’s sons shall bow down before thee.

Judah is a lion’s whelp; from the prey, my son, thou art gone up; he stooped down, he couched as a lion and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up?

10 The sceptre shall not be taken from Judah, nor the lawgiver from between his feet until Shiloh comes; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.

11 Binding his foal unto the vine and his ass’s colt unto the choice roots; he washed his garments in wine and his covering in the blood of grapes;

12 His eyes red with wine, and his teeth white with milk.

13 ¶ Zebulun shall dwell at the port of the sea; and he shall be for a port of ships; and his border shall be unto Zidon.

14 Issachar is a strong ass couching down between two burdens;

15 and he saw that rest was good and the land that it was pleasant and bowed his shoulder to bear and became a servant unto tribute.

16 Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel.

17 Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that bites the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward.

18 I have waited for thy saving health, O LORD.

19 Gad, an army shall invade him, but he shall invade at the last.

20 Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield delight unto the king.

21 Naphtali is a hind let loose, who shall give forth a good word.

22 ¶ Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a fountain, whose daughters run over the wall.

23 The arches have sorely grieved him and shot at him and hated him;

24 but his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the Mighty one of Jacob; from there did the stone of Israel shepherd,

25 by the God of thy father, who shall help thee, and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of the heavens above, with blessings of the deep that lies under, with blessings of the breasts and of the womb.

26 The blessings of thy father were greater than the blessings of my progenitors; unto the borders of the eternal hills they shall be upon the head of Joseph and on the crown of the Nazarite of his brethren.

27 Benjamin, ravening wolf: in the morning he shall devour the prey, and in the evening he shall divide the spoil.

28 ¶ All these were the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father spoke unto them and blessed them; each one according to his blessing he blessed them.

29 And he charged them and said unto them, I am to be gathered unto my people; bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron, the Hittite,

30 in the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field of Ephron, the Hittite for a possession of a buryingplace.

31 There they buried Abraham and Sarah, his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah, his wife; and there I buried Leah.

32 The purchase of the field and of the cave that is therein was from the sons of Heth.

33 And when Jacob had made an end of commanding his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed and expired and was gathered unto his people.

雅各的遗言

49 雅各叫了他的儿子来,说:“你们都来聚集,让我把你们日后要遇到的事告诉你们。

雅各的儿子们,你们要聚集,要聆听,
听你们父亲以色列的话。
吕便啊,你是我的长子,我的力量,
我壮年头生之子,
极有尊荣,权力超群。
你却放纵如水,必不得居首位;
因为你上了你父亲的床,
[a]上了我的榻,污辱了它!

西缅利未是兄弟;
他们的刀剑是残暴的兵器。
愿我的心不与他们同谋,
愿我的灵[b]不与他们合伙;
因为他们在烈怒中杀人,
任意割断牛腿的筋。
他们火爆的烈怒可诅,
他们凶残的愤恨可咒!
我要把他们分散在雅各中,
使他们散居在以色列

犹大啊,你的兄弟必赞美你,
你的手必掐住仇敌的颈项,
你父亲的儿子要向你下拜。
犹大是只小狮子;
我儿啊,你捕获了猎物就上去。
他蹲伏,他躺卧,如公狮,
又如母狮,谁敢惹他呢?
10 权杖必不离犹大
统治者的杖必不离他两脚之间,
直等细罗[c]来到,
万民都要归顺他。

11 犹大把小驴拴在葡萄树上,
把驴驹拴在佳美的葡萄树上。
他在葡萄酒中洗衣服,
在葡萄汁[d]中洗长袍。
12 他的眼睛比[e]酒红润,
他的牙齿比奶洁白。

13 西布伦必住在海边,
必成为停船的港口;
他的疆界必延到西顿

14 以萨迦是匹强壮的驴,
卧在羊圈之中。
15 他看见居所安舒,
土地肥美,
就屈肩负重,
成为服劳役的仆人。

16 必为他的百姓伸冤[f]
作为以色列支派之一。
17 必作道旁的蛇,
路边的毒蛇,
咬伤马蹄,
使骑马的人向后坠落。

18 耶和华啊,我等候你的救恩。

19 迦得必被袭击者袭击[g]
他却要袭击他们的脚跟。

20 亚设必出丰盛的粮食,
要供应君王的佳肴。

21 拿弗他利是被释放的母鹿,
他要生出可爱的小鹿[h]

22 约瑟是多结果子的树枝,
是泉旁多结果的枝子;
他的枝条伸出墙外。
23 弓箭手恶意攻击他,
敌对他,向他射箭。
24 但他的弓仍旧坚硬,
他的手臂灵活敏捷,
这是因雅各的大能者的手,
从那里,他是以色列的牧者,
以色列的磐石[i]
25 你父亲的 神必帮助你;
全能者必赐福给你:
天上的福,
深渊下面蕴藏的福,
以及生育哺养的福。
26 你父亲的福
胜过我祖先的福,
直到永世山岭的极限。
这些福必降在约瑟的头上,
临到那与兄弟有分别之人的头顶上。

27 便雅悯是只抓撕掠物的狼,
早晨要吃他的猎物,
晚上要分他的掳物。”

28 这一切是以色列的十二个支派。这是他们的父亲对他们所说的话,他按照各人的福分为他们祝福。

雅各的死和安葬

29 他又吩咐他们说:“我快要归到我祖先[j]那里。你们要将我葬在以弗仑田间的洞里,与我的祖先在一处, 30 就是在迦南幔利对面的麦比拉田间的洞里,那田是亚伯拉罕以弗仑买来作坟地的产业。 31 亚伯拉罕和他的妻子撒拉葬在那里;以撒和他的妻子利百加也葬在那里。我也在那里葬了利亚 32 那块田和田间的洞是向人买的。” 33 雅各嘱咐众子完毕后,就把脚收在床上断了气,归到他祖先[k]那里去了。

Footnotes

  1. 49.4 “你”是根据七十士译本和其他古译本;原文是“他”。
  2. 49.6 “灵”:原文是“荣耀”。
  3. 49.10 “细罗”意思不清楚,可指“贡物”或“那应得权杖者”。
  4. 49.11 “汁”:原文是“血”。
  5. 49.12 “比”或译“因”;下同。
  6. 49.16 “伸冤”与“但”的希伯来话发音相近。
  7. 49.19 “袭击”与“迦得”的希伯来话发音相近。
  8. 49.21 “可爱的小鹿”或译“佳美的言语”。
  9. 49.24 “从那里…磐石”:原文另译“因为以色列的牧者,以色列的磐石的名”;七十士译本是“从那里他降服了以色列”。
  10. 49.29 “我祖先”:原文是“我百姓”。
  11. 49.33 “他祖先”:原文是“他百姓”。

Jacob Blesses His Sons(A)

49 Then Jacob called for his sons and said: “Gather around so I can tell you what will happen to you in days to come.(B)

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

“Reuben, you are my firstborn,(E)
    my might, the first sign of my strength,(F)
    excelling in honor,(G) excelling in power.
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)

“Simeon(J) and Levi(K) are brothers—
    their swords[a] are weapons of violence.(L)
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.
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)

“Judah,[b](S) your brothers will praise you;
    your hand will be on the neck(T) of your enemies;
    your father’s sons will bow down to you.(U)
You are a lion’s(V) cub,(W) Judah;(X)
    you return from the prey,(Y) 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,(Z)
    nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,[c]
until he to whom it belongs[d] shall come(AA)
    and the obedience of the nations shall be his.(AB)
11 He will tether his donkey(AC) to a vine,
    his colt to the choicest branch;(AD)
he will wash his garments in wine,
    his robes in the blood of grapes.(AE)
12 His eyes will be darker than wine,
    his teeth whiter than milk.[e](AF)

13 “Zebulun(AG) will live by the seashore
    and become a haven for ships;
    his border will extend toward Sidon.(AH)

14 “Issachar(AI) is a rawboned[f] donkey
    lying down among the sheep pens.[g](AJ)
15 When he sees how good is his resting place
    and how pleasant is his land,(AK)
he will bend his shoulder to the burden(AL)
    and submit to forced labor.(AM)

16 “Dan[h](AN) will provide justice for his people
    as one of the tribes of Israel.(AO)
17 Dan(AP) will be a snake by the roadside,
    a viper along the path,(AQ)
that bites the horse’s heels(AR)
    so that its rider tumbles backward.

18 “I look for your deliverance,(AS) Lord.(AT)

19 “Gad[i](AU) will be attacked by a band of raiders,
    but he will attack them at their heels.(AV)

20 “Asher’s(AW) food will be rich;(AX)
    he will provide delicacies fit for a king.(AY)

21 “Naphtali(AZ) is a doe set free
    that bears beautiful fawns.[j](BA)

22 “Joseph(BB) is a fruitful vine,(BC)
    a fruitful vine near a spring,
    whose branches(BD) climb over a wall.[k]
23 With bitterness archers attacked him;(BE)
    they shot at him with hostility.(BF)
24 But his bow remained steady,(BG)
    his strong arms(BH) stayed[l] limber,
because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob,(BI)
    because of the Shepherd,(BJ) the Rock of Israel,(BK)
25 because of your father’s God,(BL) who helps(BM) you,
    because of the Almighty,[m](BN) who blesses you
with blessings of the skies above,
    blessings of the deep springs below,(BO)
    blessings of the breast(BP) and womb.(BQ)
26 Your father’s blessings are greater
    than the blessings of the ancient mountains,
    than[n] the bounty of the age-old hills.(BR)
Let all these rest on the head of Joseph,(BS)
    on the brow of the prince among[o] his brothers.(BT)

27 “Benjamin(BU) is a ravenous wolf;(BV)
    in the morning he devours the prey,(BW)
    in the evening he divides the plunder.”(BX)

28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel,(BY) and this is what their father said to them when he blessed them, giving each the blessing(BZ) appropriate to him.

The Death of Jacob

29 Then he gave them these instructions:(CA) “I am about to be gathered to my people.(CB) Bury me with my fathers(CC) in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite,(CD) 30 the cave in the field of Machpelah,(CE) near Mamre(CF) in Canaan, which Abraham bought along with the field(CG) as a burial place(CH) from Ephron the Hittite. 31 There Abraham(CI) and his wife Sarah(CJ) were buried, there Isaac and his wife Rebekah(CK) were buried, and there I buried Leah.(CL) 32 The field and the cave in it were bought from the Hittites.[p](CM)

33 When Jacob had finished giving instructions to his sons, he drew his feet up into the bed, breathed his last and was gathered to his people.(CN)

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 49:5 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
  2. Genesis 49:8 Judah sounds like and may be derived from the Hebrew for praise.
  3. Genesis 49:10 Or from his descendants
  4. Genesis 49:10 Or to whom tribute belongs; the meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
  5. Genesis 49:12 Or will be dull from wine, / his teeth white from milk
  6. Genesis 49:14 Or strong
  7. Genesis 49:14 Or the campfires; or the saddlebags
  8. Genesis 49:16 Dan here means he provides justice.
  9. Genesis 49:19 Gad sounds like the Hebrew for attack and also for band of raiders.
  10. Genesis 49:21 Or free; / he utters beautiful words
  11. Genesis 49:22 Or Joseph is a wild colt, / a wild colt near a spring, / a wild donkey on a terraced hill
  12. Genesis 49:24 Or archers will attack … will shoot … will remain … will stay
  13. Genesis 49:25 Hebrew Shaddai
  14. Genesis 49:26 Or of my progenitors, / as great as
  15. Genesis 49:26 Or of the one separated from
  16. Genesis 49:32 Or the descendants of Heth

Jacob Blesses His Sons(A)

49 Jacob called to his sons and said, “Gather yourselves together, so that I may tell you what will befall you in the last days.

Gather yourselves together and hear, sons of Jacob,
    and listen to your father Israel.

Reuben, you are my firstborn,
    my might and the beginning of my strength,
    the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power.
Unstable as water, you shall not excel,
    because you went up to your father’s bed;
    then you defiled it—he went up to my couch.

Simeon and Levi are brothers;
    weapons of violence are their swords.
Let my soul not enter into their council;
    let my glory not be united with their assembly;
for in their anger they killed men
    and in their self-will they hamstrung oxen.
Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce;
    and their wrath, for it is cruel!
I will divide them in Jacob
    and scatter them in Israel.

Judah, your brothers shall praise you;
    your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies;
    your father’s sons will bow down before you.
Judah is a lion’s cub;
    from the prey, my son, you have gone up.
He crouches and lies down like a lion;
    and as a lion, who dares rouse him?
10 The scepter shall not depart from Judah,
    nor a lawgiver from between his feet,
until Shiloh comes;
    and to him will be the obedience of the people.
11 He tethers his foal to the vine,
    and his colt to the choicest vine;
he washes his garments in wine,
    his clothes in the blood of grapes.
12 His eyes are darker than wine,
    and his teeth whiter than milk.

13 Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea;
    and he shall be a haven of ships.
    His border shall be at Sidon.

14 Issachar is a strong donkey,
    lying down between two burdens;
15 he saw that a resting place was good,
    and that the land was pleasant;
so he bowed his shoulder to bear the burden
    and became a slave to forced labor.

16 Dan shall judge his people
    as one of the tribes of Israel.
17 Dan shall be a serpent by the road,
    a viper on the path,
that bites the horse’s heels
    so that its rider will fall backward.

18 I wait for Your salvation, O Lord!

19 Gad shall be attacked by raiding bands,
    but he shall raid at their heels.

20 Asher’s food shall be rich,
    and he shall yield royal delicacies.

21 Naphtali is a doe set loose;
    he gives beautiful words.

22 Joseph is a fruitful bough,
    a fruitful bough by a spring,
    whose branches run over the wall.
23 The archers bitterly attacked him,
    they shot at him and hated him.
24 But his bow remained firm.
    His arms were agile
because of the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob,
    because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel,
25 because of the God of your father who will help you,
    and by the Almighty who will bless you
with blessings from heaven above,
    blessings from the deep that lies beneath,
    the blessings of the breasts and the womb.
26 The blessings of your father have surpassed
    the blessings of my fathers,
    up to the utmost bound of the everlasting hills.
They will be on the head of Joseph,
    and on the crown of the head of him who was set apart from his brothers.

27 Benjamin is a ravenous wolf;
    in the morning he devours the prey,
    and at night he divides the spoil.”

28 These are all the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said to them when he blessed them. He blessed them, each with the blessing appropriate to him.

The Death of Jacob

29 Then he charged them and said to them, “I am about to be gathered to my people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, 30 in the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought along with the field from Ephron the Hittite as a burial place. 31 They buried Abraham and Sarah his wife there. They buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife there, and I buried Leah there. 32 The field and the cave that is there were purchased from the children of Heth.”

33 When Jacob finished instructing his sons, he drew his feet into the bed, breathed his last, and was gathered to his people.

49 And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days.

Gather yourselves together, and hear, ye sons of Jacob; and hearken unto Israel your father.

Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power:

Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel; because thou wentest up to thy father's bed; then defiledst thou it: he went up to my couch.

Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations.

O my soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, mine honour, be not thou united: for in their anger they slew a man, and in their selfwill they digged down a wall.

Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.

Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father's children shall bow down before thee.

Judah is a lion's whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up?

10 The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.

11 Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass's colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes:

12 His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk.

13 Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea; and he shall be for an haven of ships; and his border shall be unto Zidon.

14 Issachar is a strong ass couching down between two burdens:

15 And he saw that rest was good, and the land that it was pleasant; and bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant unto tribute.

16 Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel.

17 Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward.

18 I have waited for thy salvation, O Lord.

19 Gad, a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last.

20 Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties.

21 Naphtali is a hind let loose: he giveth goodly words.

22 Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall:

23 The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him:

24 But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel:)

25 Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb:

26 The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.

27 Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf: in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil.

28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel: and this is it that their father spake unto them, and blessed them; every one according to his blessing he blessed them.

29 And he charged them, and said unto them, I am to be gathered unto my people: bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite,

30 In the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field of Ephron the Hittite for a possession of a buryingplace.

31 There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah.

32 The purchase of the field and of the cave that is therein was from the children of Heth.

33 And when Jacob had made an end of commanding his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the ghost, and was gathered unto his people.