Genesis 49
1599 Geneva Bible
49 1 Jacob blesseth all his sons by name. 10 He telleth them that Christ shall come out of Judah. 29 He will be buried with his fathers. 33 He dieth.
1 Then Jacob called his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you what shall come to you in the [a]last days.
2 Gather yourselves together, and hear, ye sons of Jacob, and hearken unto Israel your father.
3 ¶ Reuben mine eldest son, thou art my [b]might, and the beginning of my strength, [c]the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power:
4 Thou wast light as water: thou shalt not be excellent, because (A)thou wentest up to thy father’s bed: [d]then diddest thou defile my bed, thy dignity is gone.
5 ¶ Simeon and Levi, brethren in evil, [e]the instruments of cruelty are in their habitations.
6 Into their secret let not my soul come: my [f]glory be not thou joined with their assembly: for in their wrath they slew a [g]man, and in their self-will they dug down a wall.
7 Cursed be their wrath, for it was fierce, and their rage, for it was cruel: I will [h]divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.
8 ¶ Thou Judah, thy brethren shall praise thee: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies: thy father’s son shall [i]bow down before unto thee.
9 Judah as a Lion’s whelp shalt thou come up from the spoil, my son. He shall lie down and couch a Lion, and as a Lioness: [j]Who shall stir him up?
10 The [k]Sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a Lawgiver from between his feet, until [l]Shiloh come, and the people shall be gathered unto him.
11 He shall bind his Ass foal unto the [m]vine, and his ass’s colt unto the best vine. He shall wash his garment in wine, and his cloak in the blood of grapes.
12 His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk.
13 ¶ Zebulun shall dwell by the seaside, and he shall be an haven for ships: and his border shall be unto Sidon.
14 ¶ Issachar shall be [n][o]a strong ass, couching down between two burdens:
15 And he shall see that rest is good, and that the land is pleasant, and he shall bow his shoulder to bear, and shall be subject unto tribute.
16 ¶ Dan [p]shall judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel.
17 Dan shall be a [q]serpent by the way, an adder by the path, biting the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward.
18 [r]O Lord, I have waited for thy salvation.
19 ¶ Gad, a host of men shall overcome him, but he shall overcome at the last.
20 ¶ Concerning Asher, his [s]bread shall be fat, and he shall give pleasures for a king.
21 ¶ Naphtali shall be a hind let go, giving [t]goodly words.
22 ¶ Joseph shall be [u]a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by the well side: the [v]small boughs shall turn upon the wall:
23 [w]And the archers grieved him, and shot against him, and hated him.
24 But his bow abode strong, and the hands of his arms were strengthened, by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob, of whom was the feeder appointed by the [x]stone of Israel,
25 Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee, and by the almighty, who shall bless thee with heavenly blessings from above, with blessings of the deep that lieth beneath, with blessings of the breasts, and of the womb.
26 The blessings of thy father shall be [y]stronger than the blessings of mine elders: unto the end of the hills of the world they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the top of the head of him that was [z]separated 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 thus their father spake unto them, and blessed them: every one of them blessed he with a several blessing.
29 And he charged them and said unto them, I am ready to be gathered unto my people: (B)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, besides Mamre in the land of Canaan: which cave Abraham bought with the field of Ephron the Hittite for a possession to bury in.
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 the cave that is therein, was bought of the children of Heth.
33 Thus Jacob made an end of giving charge to his sons, and [aa]plucked his feet into the bed, and gave up the ghost, and was gathered to his people.
Footnotes
- Genesis 49:1 When God shall bring you out of Egypt, and because that he speaketh of the Messiah, he nameth it the last days.
- Genesis 49:3 Begotten in my youth.
- Genesis 49:3 If thou hadst not lost thy birthright by thine offense.
- Genesis 49:4 Or, it ceased to be my bed.
- Genesis 49:5 Or, their swords were instruments of violence.
- Genesis 49:6 Or, tongue: meaning that he neither consented to them in word nor thought.
- Genesis 49:6 The Shechemites, Gen. 34:26.
- Genesis 49:7 For Levi had no part, and Simeon was under Judah, Josh. 19:1, till God gave them the place of the Amalekites, 1 Chron. 4:43.
- Genesis 49:8 As was verified in David and Christ.
- Genesis 49:9 His enemies shall so fear him.
- Genesis 49:10 Or, Kingdom.
- Genesis 49:10 Which is Christ the Messiah, the giver of prosperity who shall call the Gentiles to salvation.
- Genesis 49:11 A country most abundant with vines and pastures is promised him.
- Genesis 49:14 Hebrew, an ass of great bones.
- Genesis 49:14 His force shall be great, but he shall want courage to resist his enemies.
- Genesis 49:16 Shall have the honor of a tribe.
- Genesis 49:17 That is, full of subtlety.
- Genesis 49:18 Seeing the miseries that his posterity should fall into, he bursteth out in prayer to God to remedy it.
- Genesis 49:20 He shall abound in corn and pleasant fruits.
- Genesis 49:21 Overcoming more by fair words than by force.
- Genesis 49:22 Hebrew, a son of increase.
- Genesis 49:22 Hebrew, daughters.
- Genesis 49:23 As his brethren when they were his enemies, Potiphar and others.
- Genesis 49:24 That is God.
- Genesis 49:26 Inasmuch as he was more near to the accomplishment of the promise, and it had been more often confirmed.
- Genesis 49:26 Either in dignity, or when he was sold from his brethren.
- Genesis 49:33 Whereby is signified how quietly he died.
Genesis 49
New International Reader's Version
Jacob Gives Blessings to His Sons
49 Then Jacob sent for his sons. He said, “Gather around me so I can tell you what will happen to you in days to come.
2 “Sons of Jacob, come together and listen.
Listen to your father Israel.
3 “Reuben, you are my oldest son.
You were my first child. You were the first sign of my strength.
You were first in honor. You were first in power.
4 But you are as unsteady as water. So you won’t be first anymore.
You had sex with my concubine on my bed.
You lay on my couch and made it ‘unclean.’
5 “Simeon and Levi are brothers.
Their swords have killed a lot of people.
6 I won’t share in their plans.
I won’t have anything to do with them.
They became angry and killed people.
They cut the legs of oxen just for the fun of it.
7 May the Lord put a curse on them
because of their terrible anger.
I will scatter them in Jacob’s land.
I will spread them around in Israel.
8 “Judah, your brothers will praise you.
Your enemies will be brought under your control.
Your father’s sons will bow down to you.
9 Judah, you are like a lion’s cub.
You return from hunting, my son.
Like a lion, you lie down and sleep.
You are like a mother lion. Who dares to wake you up?
10 The right to rule will not leave Judah.
The ruler’s scepter will not be taken from between his feet.
It will be his until the king it belongs to will come.
The nations will obey that king.
11 He will tie his donkey to a vine.
He will tie his colt to the very best branch.
He will wash his clothes in wine.
He will wash his robes in the red juice of grapes.
12 His eyes will be darker than wine.
His teeth will be whiter than milk.
13 “Zebulun will live by the seashore.
He will become a safe harbor for ships.
His border will go out toward Sidon.
14 “Issachar is like a wild donkey
lying down among the sheep pens.
15 He sees how good his resting place is.
He sees that his land is pleasant.
So he will carry a heavy load on his back.
He will obey when he’s forced to work.
16 “Dan will do what is fair for his people.
He will do it as one of the tribes of Israel.
17 Dan will be a snake by the side of the road.
He will be a poisonous snake along the path.
It bites the horse’s heels
so that the rider falls off backward.
18 “Lord, I look to you to save me.
19 “Gad will be attacked by a group of robbers.
But he will attack them as they run away.
20 “Asher’s food will be rich and sweet.
He will provide food that even a king would enjoy.
21 “Naphtali is a female deer set free
and gives birth to beautiful fawns.
22 “Joseph is a vine that grows a lot of fruit.
It grows close by a spring.
Its branches climb over a wall.
23 Mean people shot arrows at him.
They shot at him because they were angry.
24 But his bow remained steady.
His strong arms moved freely.
The hand of the Mighty God of Jacob was with him.
The Shepherd, the Rock of Israel, stood by him.
25 Joseph, your father’s God helps you.
The Mighty God blesses you.
He gives you blessings from the sky above.
He gives you blessings from the deep springs below.
He blesses you with children and with a mother’s milk.
26 Your father’s blessings are great.
They are greater than the blessings from the age-old mountains.
They are greater than the gifts from the ancient hills.
Let all those blessings rest on the head of Joseph.
Let them rest on the head of the one who is prince among his brothers.
27 “Benjamin is a hungry wolf.
In the morning he eats what he has killed.
In the evening he shares what he has stolen.”
28 All these are the 12 tribes of Israel. That’s what their father said to them when he blessed them. He gave each one the blessing that was just right for him.
Jacob Dies
29 Then Jacob gave directions to his sons. He said, “I’m about to join the members of my family who have already died. Bury me with them in the cave in the field of Ephron, the Hittite. 30 The cave is in the field of Machpelah near Mamre in Canaan. Abraham had bought it as a place where he could bury his wife’s body. He had bought the cave and the field from Ephron, the Hittite. 31 The bodies of Abraham and his wife Sarah were buried there. So were the bodies of Isaac and his wife Rebekah. I also buried Leah’s body there. 32 Abraham bought the field and the cave from the Hittites.”
33 When Jacob had finished telling his sons what to do, he pulled his feet up into his bed. Then he took his last breath and died. He joined the members of his family who had already died.
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