Genesis 49
English Standard Version
Jacob Blesses His Sons
49 (A)Then Jacob called his sons and said, “Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you what shall happen to you (B)in days to come.
2 “Assemble and listen, O sons of Jacob,
listen to Israel your father.
3 “Reuben, you are (C)my firstborn,
my might, and the (D)firstfruits of my strength,
preeminent in dignity and preeminent in power.
4 Unstable as water, you shall not have preeminence,
because you (E)went up to your father's bed;
then you defiled it—he went up to my couch!
5 (F)“Simeon and Levi are brothers;
weapons (G)of violence are their swords.
6 Let my soul come not into their council;
(H)O my glory, (I)be not joined to their company.
For in their anger they killed men,
and in their willfulness they (J)hamstrung oxen.
7 Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce,
and their wrath, for it is cruel!
I will (K)divide them in Jacob
and scatter them in Israel.
8 “Judah, (L)your brothers shall praise you;
(M)your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies;
(N)your father's sons shall bow down before you.
9 Judah is (O)a lion's cub;
from the prey, my son, you have gone up.
(P)He stooped down; he crouched as a lion
and as a lioness; who dares rouse him?
10 The (Q)scepter shall not depart from Judah,
nor the ruler's staff (R)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 (S)eyes are darker than wine,
and his teeth whiter than milk.
13 (T)“Zebulun shall dwell at the (U)shore of the sea;
he shall become a haven for ships,
and his border shall be at Sidon.
14 (V)“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 (W)became a servant at forced labor.
16 (X)“Dan shall (Y)judge his people
as one of the tribes of Israel.
17 Dan (Z)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 (AA)wait for your salvation, O Lord.
20 (AD)“Asher's food shall be rich,
and he shall yield royal delicacies.
22 “Joseph is (AF)a fruitful bough,
a fruitful bough by a spring;
his branches run over the wall.[e]
23 The archers (AG)bitterly attacked him,
shot at him, and harassed him severely,
24 yet (AH)his bow remained unmoved;
his arms[f] were made agile
by the hands of the (AI)Mighty One of Jacob
(from there is (AJ)the Shepherd,[g] (AK)the Stone of Israel),
25 (AL)by the God of your father who will help you,
by (AM)the Almighty[h] (AN)who will bless you
with blessings of heaven above,
blessings of the deep that crouches beneath,
blessings of the breasts and of the womb.
26 The blessings of your father
are mighty beyond the blessings of my parents,
up to the bounties (AO)of the everlasting hills.[i]
May they be (AP)on the head of Joseph,
and on the brow of him who was set apart from his brothers.
27 (AQ)“Benjamin is a ravenous wolf,
in the morning devouring the prey
and at evening (AR)dividing the spoil.”
Jacob's Death and Burial
28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel. This is what their father said to them as he blessed them, blessing each with the blessing suitable to him. 29 Then he commanded them and said to them, “I am to be (AS)gathered to my people; (AT)bury me with my fathers (AU)in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, 30 in the cave that is in the field at Machpelah, to the east of Mamre, in the land of Canaan, (AV)which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite to possess as a burying place. 31 (AW)There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife. There (AX)they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife, and there I buried Leah— 32 the field and the cave that is in it were bought from the Hittites.” 33 When Jacob finished commanding his sons, he drew up his feet into the bed and breathed his last and (AY)was gathered to his people.
Footnotes
- Genesis 49:10 By a slight revocalization; a slight emendation yields (compare Septuagint, Syriac, Targum) until he comes to whom it belongs; Hebrew until Shiloh comes, or until he comes to Shiloh
- Genesis 49:14 Or between its saddlebags
- Genesis 49:19 Gad sounds like the Hebrew for raiders and raid
- Genesis 49:21 Or he gives beautiful words, or that bears fawns of the fold
- Genesis 49:22 Or Joseph is a wild donkey, a wild donkey beside a spring, his wild colts beside the wall
- Genesis 49:24 Hebrew the arms of his hands
- Genesis 49:24 Or by the name of the Shepherd
- Genesis 49:25 Hebrew Shaddai
- Genesis 49:26 A slight emendation yields (compare Septuagint) the blessings of the eternal mountains, the bounties of the everlasting hills
Genèse 49
La Bible du Semeur
Jacob bénit les douze tribus d’Israël
49 Jacob convoqua ses fils et leur dit :
Réunissez-vous et je vous révélerai ce qui vous arrivera dans les temps à venir.
2 Rassemblez-vous et écoutez, ╵fils de Jacob !
Ecoutez ce que dit ╵Israël, votre père.
3 Ruben, tu es mon premier-né,
le premier fruit de ma vigueur, ╵du temps où j’étais plein de force,
toi, tu es supérieur ╵en dignité ╵et supérieur en force.
4 Bouillonnant comme l’eau, ╵tu n’auras pas le premier rang !
Car tu as profané ╵la couche de ton père, ╵en entrant dans mon lit[a].
5 Siméon et Lévi sont frères,
ils se sont mis d’accord ╵pour semer la violence.
6 Non, je ne veux pas m’associer ╵à leur complot !
Je mets un point d’honneur ╵à ne pas approuver ╵leurs délibérations !
Car mus par leur colère, ╵ils ont tué des hommes ;
poussés par leur caprice, ╵ils ont mutilé des taureaux[b].
7 Que leur colère soit maudite, ╵car elle est violente.
Maudit soit leur emportement, ╵car il est implacable !
Moi je les éparpillerai ╵au milieu de Jacob,
je les disperserai ╵en Israël.
8 O toi, Juda, ╵tes frères te rendront hommage,
ta main fera ployer ╵la nuque de tes ennemis,
et les fils de ton père ╵se prosterneront devant toi.
9 Oui, Juda est un jeune lion[c].
Mon fils, tu reviens de la chasse
et tu t’es accroupi ╵et couché comme un lion,
comme une lionne : ╵qui te ferait lever ?
10 Le sceptre ne s’écartera ╵pas de Juda,
et l’insigne de chef ╵ne sera pas ôté ╵d’entre ses pieds
jusqu’à la venue de celui ╵auquel ils appartiennent[d]
et à qui tous les peuples ╵rendront obéissance.
11 Son âne, il l’attache à la vigne,
et, à un cep de choix, ╵le petit de l’ânesse.
Il lave dans le vin ╵son vêtement,
dans le jus des raisins ╵il nettoie son manteau[e].
12 Il a les yeux plus rouges que le vin,
les dents plus blanches que le lait[f].
13 Zabulon aura sa demeure ╵sur le rivage de la mer,
il aura sur sa côte ╵un port pour les navires,
son territoire s’étendra ╵jusqu’à Sidon.
14 Issacar est un âne ╵très vigoureux
couché au beau milieu ╵de deux enclos.
15 Il a trouvé ╵que le repos est bon,
que le pays est agréable,
il tend l’épaule ╵pour porter le fardeau,
et il s’assujettit ╵à la corvée.
16 Dan jugera son peuple,
comme les autres tribus d’Israël.
17 Que Dan soit un serpent ╵sur le chemin,
qu’il soit une vipère ╵sur le sentier,
mordant les jarrets du cheval,
pour que le cavalier ╵en tombe à la renverse.
18 Je compte sur toi, Eternel ╵pour accorder la délivrance.
19 Gad agressé par une troupe ╵l’assaillira
et c’est sa troupe à lui ╵qui poursuivra la troupe adverse.
20 Aser a une riche nourriture.
C’est lui qui fournira ╵des mets dignes d’un roi.
21 Nephtali est semblable ╵à une biche en liberté ╵qui donne de beaux faons.
22 Joseph est un rameau fertile
d’un arbre plein de fruits ╵planté près d’une source.
Ses branches grimpent et s’élancent ╵par-dessus la muraille.
23 Des archers le provoquent, ╵le prennent à partie,
et le harcèlent de leurs flèches.
24 Mais son arc reste ferme
car ses bras pleins de force ╵conservent leur souplesse
grâce au secours ╵du Puissant de Jacob,
qui est le berger et le Roc ╵sur lequel Israël se fonde.
25 Oui, le Dieu de ton père ╵viendra à ton secours,
le Tout-Puissant te bénira.
Qu’il veuille te bénir d’en haut ╵par des pluies abondantes
et par des eaux d’en bas ╵où repose l’abîme,
par de nombreux enfants ╵et beaucoup de troupeaux.
26 Les bénédictions de ton père surpassent
celles des montagnes antiques
et les meilleurs produits ╵des collines anciennes.
Que ces bénédictions ╵soient sur la tête de Joseph,
et sur le front ╵du prince de ses frères[g] !
27 Benjamin est semblable ╵à un loup qui déchire.
Dès le matin, ╵il dévore sa proie,
et sur le soir encore, ╵répartit le butin.
28 Tous ceux-là ont formé les douze tribus d’Israël, c’est ainsi que leur parla leur père et qu’il les bénit, en prononçant pour chacun sa bénédiction propre.
La mort de Jacob
29 Jacob leur donna ses instructions : Je vais aller rejoindre mes ancêtres, enterrez-moi auprès de mes pères dans la caverne qui se trouve dans le champ d’Ephrôn le Hittite, 30 dans la caverne du champ de Makpéla, vis-à-vis de Mamré, au pays de Canaan, la caverne qu’Abraham a achetée, avec le champ, à Ephrôn le Hittite en propriété funéraire[h]. 31 C’est là qu’on a enterré Abraham et sa femme Sara ; c’est là qu’on a enterré Isaac et sa femme Rébecca. C’est là aussi que j’ai enterré Léa. 32 Le champ et la caverne qui s’y trouve ont été achetés aux Hittites.
33 Lorsque Jacob eut achevé d’énoncer ses instructions à ses fils, il ramena ses pieds sur son lit, expira et fut réuni à ses ancêtres[i].
Footnotes
- 49.4 Voir Gn 35.22.
- 49.6 Voir Gn 34.25.
- 49.9 Voir Nb 24.9 ; Ap 5.5.
- 49.10 Nom diversement traduit : le Pacifique, le Dominateur, l’Envoyé. celui… appartiennent: rend un mot hébreu dont l’interprétation est discutée. Ez 21.32 semble confirmer la lecture adoptée ici. Cette prophétie est généralement rapportée au Messie qui devait naître de la tribu de Juda.
- 49.11 Image soulignant l’abondance (voir Ap 7.14 ; 19.13).
- 49.12 Autre traduction : Ses yeux ont été rendus sombres par le vin, et ses dents blanches par le lait.
- 49.26 Voir Dt 33.15.
- 49.30 Voir Gn 23.3-18.
- 49.33 Voir Ac 7.15.
Genesis 49
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 honour, be not thou united: for in their anger they slew a man, and in their selfwill they digged 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 in 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 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.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
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