² “Assemble^(C) and listen, sons of Jacob;
    listen to your father Israel.^(D)

³ “Reuben, you are my firstborn,^(E)
    my might, the first sign of my strength,^(F)
    excelling in honor,^(G) excelling in power.
⁴ 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)

⁵ “Simeon^(J) and Levi^(K) are brothers—
    their swords^[a] are weapons of violence.^(L)
6 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.
⁷ 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)

⁸ “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)
9 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)

² “Would a wise person answer with empty notions
    or fill their belly with the hot east wind?^(B)
3 Would they argue with useless words,
    with speeches that have no value?^(C)
4 But you even undermine piety
    and hinder devotion to God.^(D)
5 Your sin^(E) prompts your mouth;^(F)
    you adopt the tongue of the crafty.^(G)
6 Your own mouth condemns you, not mine;
    your own lips testify against you.^(H)

⁷ “Are you the first man ever born?^(I)
    Were you brought forth before the hills?^(J)
8 Do you listen in on God’s council?^(K)
    Do you have a monopoly on wisdom?^(L)
9 What do you know that we do not know?
    What insights do you have that we do not have?^(M)
10 The gray-haired and the aged^(N) are on our side,
    men even older than your father.^(O)
11 Are God’s consolations^(P) not enough for you,
    words^(Q) spoken gently to you?^(R)
12 Why has your heart^(S) carried you away,
    and why do your eyes flash,
¹³ so that you vent your rage^(T) against God
    and pour out such words^(U) from your mouth?^(V)

¹⁴ “What are mortals, that they could be pure,
    or those born of woman,^(W) that they could be righteous?^(X)
15 If God places no trust in his holy ones,^(Y)
    if even the heavens are not pure in his eyes,^(Z)
16 how much less mortals, who are vile and corrupt,^(AA)
    who drink up evil^(AB) like water!^(AC)

¹⁷ “Listen to me and I will explain to you;
    let me tell you what I have seen,^(AD)
18 what the wise have declared,
    hiding nothing received from their ancestors^(AE)
19 (to whom alone the land^(AF) was given
    when no foreigners moved among them):
²⁰ All his days the wicked man suffers torment,^(AG)
    the ruthless man through all the years stored up for him.^(AH)
21 Terrifying sounds fill his ears;^(AI)
    when all seems well, marauders attack him.^(AJ)
22 He despairs of escaping the realm of darkness;^(AK)
    he is marked for the sword.^(AL)
23 He wanders about^(AM) for food like a vulture;^(AN)
    he knows the day of darkness^(AO) is at hand.^(AP)
24 Distress and anguish^(AQ) fill him with terror;^(AR)
    troubles overwhelm him, like a king^(AS) poised to attack,
²⁵ because he shakes his fist^(AT) at God
    and vaunts himself against the Almighty,^(AU)
26 defiantly charging against him
    with a thick, strong shield.^(AV)

²⁷ “Though his face is covered with fat
    and his waist bulges with flesh,^(AW)
28 he will inhabit ruined towns
    and houses where no one lives,^(AX)
    houses crumbling to rubble.^(AY)
29 He will no longer be rich and his wealth will not endure,^(AZ)
    nor will his possessions spread over the land.^(BA)
30 He will not escape the darkness;^(BB)
    a flame^(BC) will wither his shoots,^(BD)
    and the breath of God’s mouth^(BE) will carry him away.^(BF)
31 Let him not deceive^(BG) himself by trusting what is worthless,^(BH)
    for he will get nothing in return.^(BI)
32 Before his time^(BJ) he will wither,^(BK)
    and his branches will not flourish.^(BL)
33 He will be like a vine stripped of its unripe grapes,^(BM)
    like an olive tree shedding its blossoms.^(BN)
34 For the company of the godless^(BO) will be barren,
    and fire will consume^(BP) the tents of those who love bribes.^(BQ)
35 They conceive trouble^(BR) and give birth to evil;^(BS)
    their womb fashions deceit.”

⁷ Now then, my sons, listen^(G) to me;
    do not turn aside from what I say.
⁸ Keep to a path far from her,^(H)
    do not go near the door of her house,
⁹ lest you lose your honor to others
    and your dignity^[a] to one who is cruel,
¹⁰ lest strangers feast on your wealth
    and your toil enrich the house of another.^(I)
11 At the end of your life you will groan,
    when your flesh and body are spent.
¹² You will say, “How I hated discipline!
    How my heart spurned correction!^(J)
13 I would not obey my teachers
    or turn my ear to my instructors.
¹⁴ And I was soon in serious trouble^(K)
    in the assembly of God’s people.”^(L)

¹⁵ Drink water from your own cistern,
    running water from your own well.
¹⁶ Should your springs overflow in the streets,
    your streams of water in the public squares?
¹⁷ Let them be yours alone,
    never to be shared with strangers.
¹⁸ May your fountain^(M) be blessed,
    and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth.^(N)
19 A loving doe, a graceful deer^(O)—
    may her breasts satisfy you always,
    may you ever be intoxicated with her love.
²⁰ Why, my son, be intoxicated with another man’s wife?
    Why embrace the bosom of a wayward woman?

²¹ For your ways are in full view^(P) of the Lord,
    and he examines^(Q) all your paths.^(R)
22 The evil deeds of the wicked ensnare them;^(S)
    the cords of their sins hold them fast.^(T)
23 For lack of discipline they will die,^(U)
    led astray by their own great folly.^(V)