Genesis 49
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 not 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 Dan will be a snake by the road,
a viper beside the path,
that bites the horse’s 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 arms were made agile
by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob,(R)
by the name of[h] 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[i]
and[j] the bounty of the ancient hills.[k](U)
May they rest on the head of Joseph,
on the brow 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, twelve in all, and this is 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 ancestors(X) in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hethite.(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 Hethite as burial property.(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 Hethites.” 33 When Jacob had finished giving charges to his sons, he drew his feet into the bed, took his last breath, and was gathered to his people.
Footnotes
- 49:1 Or in the last days
- 49:4 LXX, Syr, Tg read you
- 49:10 Or until tribute comes to him, or until Shiloh comes, or until he comes to Shiloh
- 49:14 Or sheep pens
- 49:19–20 LXX, Syr, Vg; MT reads their heel. 20 From Asher
- 49:22 Lit daughters
- 49:22 Hb obscure
- 49:24 Syr, Tg; MT reads Jacob, from there
- 49:26 Or of the mountains
- 49:26 Lit to
- 49:26 Hb obscure
Genesis 49
21st Century King James Version
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.
2 “Gather yourselves together and hear, ye sons of Jacob, and hearken unto Israel your father:
3 “Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power.
4 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.
5 “Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations.
6 O my soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, mine honor, be not thou united; for in their anger they slew a man, and in their selfwill they dug down a wall.
7 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.
8 “Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise; thy hand shall be on the neck of thine enemies; thy father’s children shall bow down before thee.
9 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 scepter 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 a haven of ships, and his border shall be unto Sidon.
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 to 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’s 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 raven 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 spoke 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 as a burying place.
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.
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