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Jacob’s Last Words to His Sons

49 Then Jacob called together all his sons and said, “Gather around me, and I will tell you what will happen to each of you in the days to come.

“Come and listen, you sons of Jacob;
    listen to Israel, your father.

“Reuben, you are my firstborn, my strength,
    the child of my vigorous youth.
    You are first in rank and first in power.
But you are as unruly as a flood,
    and you will be first no longer.
For you went to bed with my wife;
    you defiled my marriage couch.

“Simeon and Levi are two of a kind;
    their weapons are instruments of violence.
May I never join in their meetings;
    may I never be a party to their plans.
For in their anger they murdered men,
    and they crippled oxen just for sport.
A curse on their anger, for it is fierce;
    a curse on their wrath, for it is cruel.
I will scatter them among the descendants of Jacob;
    I will disperse them throughout Israel.

“Judah, your brothers will praise you.
    You will grasp your enemies by the neck.
    All your relatives will bow before you.
Judah, my son, is a young lion
    that has finished eating its prey.
Like a lion he crouches and lies down;
    like a lioness—who dares to rouse him?
10 The scepter will not depart from Judah,
    nor the ruler’s staff from his descendants,[a]
until the coming of the one to whom it belongs,[b]
    the one whom all nations will honor.
11 He ties his foal to a grapevine,
    the colt of his donkey to a choice vine.
He washes his clothes in wine,
    his robes in the blood of grapes.
12 His eyes are darker than wine,
    and his teeth are whiter than milk.

13 “Zebulun will settle by the seashore
    and will be a harbor for ships;
    his borders will extend to Sidon.

14 “Issachar is a sturdy donkey,
    resting between two saddlepacks.[c]
15 When he sees how good the countryside is
    and how pleasant the land,
he will bend his shoulder to the load
    and submit himself to hard labor.

16 “Dan will govern his people,
    like any other tribe in Israel.
17 Dan will be a snake beside the road,
    a poisonous viper along the path
that bites the horse’s hooves
    so its rider is thrown off.
18 I trust in you for salvation, O Lord!

19 “Gad will be attacked by marauding bands,
    but he will attack them when they retreat.

20 “Asher will dine on rich foods
    and produce food fit for kings.

21 “Naphtali is a doe set free
    that bears beautiful fawns.

22 “Joseph is the foal of a wild donkey,
    the foal of a wild donkey at a spring—
    one of the wild donkeys on the ridge.[d]
23 Archers attacked him savagely;
    they shot at him and harassed him.
24 But his bow remained taut,
    and his arms were strengthened
by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob,
    by the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel.
25 May the God of your father help you;
    may the Almighty bless you
with the blessings of the heavens above,
    and blessings of the watery depths below,
    and blessings of the breasts and womb.
26 May my fatherly blessings on you
    surpass the blessings of my ancestors,[e]
    reaching to the heights of the eternal hills.
May these blessings rest on the head of Joseph,
    who is a prince among his brothers.

27 “Benjamin is a ravenous wolf,
    devouring his enemies in the morning
    and dividing his plunder in the evening.”

28 These are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said as he told his sons good-bye. He blessed each one with an appropriate message.

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Footnotes

  1. 49:10a Hebrew from between his feet.
  2. 49:10b Or until tribute is brought to him and the peoples obey; traditionally rendered until Shiloh comes.
  3. 49:14 Or sheepfolds, or hearths.
  4. 49:22 Or Joseph is a fruitful tree, / a fruitful tree beside a spring. / His branches reach over the wall. The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
  5. 49:26 Or of the ancient mountains.

Jacob Blesses His Twelve Sons

49 Then Jacob called his sons and said, “Gather together so that I can tell you what will happen with you in days to come.[a]

Assemble and hear, O sons of Jacob!
    Listen to Israel your father!
Reuben, you are my firstborn,
    my strength, and the firstfruit of my vigor,
    excelling in rank and excelling in power.
Unstable[b] as water, you shall not excel any longer,
    for you went up upon the bed of your father,
    then defiled it. You went up upon my couch!
Simeon and Levi are brothers;
    weapons of violence are their swords.
    Let me[c] not come into their council.
Let not my person[d] be joined to their company.
    For in their anger they killed men,
    and at their pleasure they hamstrung cattle.
Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce,
    and their wrath, for it is cruel.
I will divide them in Jacob,
    and I will scatter them in Israel.
Judah, as for you, your brothers shall praise you.
    Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies.
    The sons of your father shall bow down to you.
Judah is a lion’s cub.
    From the prey, my son, you have gone up.
He bowed down; he crouched like a lion and as a lioness.
    Who shall rouse him?
10 The scepter shall not depart from Judah,
    nor the ruler’s staff between his feet,
until Shiloh comes.
    And to him shall be the obedience of nations.
11 Binding his donkey to the vine
    and his donkey’s colt to the choice vine,
he washes his clothing in the wine
    and his garment in the blood of grapes.
12 The eyes are darker than wine,
    and the teeth whiter than milk.
13 Zebulun shall settle by the shore of the sea.
    He shall become a haven for ships,
    and his border shall be at Sidon.
14 Issachar is a strong donkey,
    crouching between the sheepfolds.
15 He saw a resting place that was good,
    and land that was pleasant.
So he bowed his shoulder to the burden
    and became a servant of forced labor.
16 Dan shall judge his people
    as one of the tribes of Israel.
17 Dan shall be a serpent on the way,
    a viper on the road
that bites the heels of a horse,
    so that its rider falls backward.
18 I wait for your salvation, O Yahweh.
19 Bandits shall attack Gad,
    but he shall attack their heels.
20 Asher’s food is delicious,
    and he shall provide from the king’s delicacies.
21 Naphtali is a doe running free
    that puts forth beautiful words.
22 Joseph is the bough[e] of a fruitful vine,
    a fruitful bough[f] by a spring.
    His branches climb over the wall.
23 The archers[g] fiercely attacked him.
    They shot arrows at him and were hostile to him.
24 But his bow remained in a steady position;
    his arms[h] were made agile
by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob.
    From there is the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel.
25 Because of the God of your father he will help you
    and by Shaddai[i] he will bless you
    with the blessings of heaven above,
blessings of the deep that crouches beneath,
    blessings of the breasts and the womb.
26 The blessings of your father
    are superior to the blessings of my ancestors,
    to the bounty of the everlasting hills.
May they be on the head of Joseph,
    and on the forehead of the prince of his brothers.
27 Benjamin is a devouring wolf,
    devouring the prey in the morning,
    and dividing the plunder in the evening.

The Death and Burial of Jacob

28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said to them when he blessed them, each according to their blessing.

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Footnotes

  1. Genesis 49:1 Literally “the latter days”
  2. Genesis 49:4 Or “reckless”
  3. Genesis 49:5 Or “my soul”
  4. Genesis 49:6 Or “my glory”
  5. Genesis 49:22 Or “son”
  6. Genesis 49:22 Or “son”
  7. Genesis 49:23 Literally “the masters of the bow”
  8. Genesis 49:24 Literally “the arms of his hands”
  9. Genesis 49:25 Or “the Almighty”