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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”

Jacob reveals his sons’ destinies

49 Jacob summoned his sons and said, “Gather around so that I can tell you what will happen to you in the coming days.

Assemble yourselves and listen, sons of Jacob;
        listen to Israel your father.
Reuben, you are my oldest son,
    my strength and my first contender,[a]
    superior in status and superior in might.
As wild as the waters, you won’t endure,
    for you went up to your father’s bed,
    you went up[b] and violated my couch.
Simeon and Levi are brothers,
        weapons of violence their stock in trade.
May I myself never enter their council.
May my honor never be linked to their group;
        for when they were angry, they killed men,
        and whenever they wished, they maimed oxen.
Cursed be their anger; it is violent,
        their rage; it is relentless.
I’ll divide them up within Jacob
        and disperse them within Israel.
Judah, you are the one your brothers will honor;
        your hand will be on the neck of your enemies;
        your father’s sons will bow down to you.
Judah is a lion’s cub;
        from the prey, my son, you rise up.
He lies down and crouches like a lion;
        like a lioness—who dares disturb him?
10 The scepter won’t depart from Judah,
        nor the ruler’s staff from among his banners.[c]
Gifts will be brought to him;
        people will obey him.
11 He ties his male donkey to the vine,
        the colt of his female donkey to the vine’s branches.
He washes his clothes in wine,
        his garments in the blood of grapes.
12 His eyes are darker than wine,
        and his teeth whiter than milk.
13 Zebulun will live at the seashore;
        he’ll live at the harbor of ships,
        his border will be at Sidon.
14 Issachar is a sturdy donkey,
        bedding down beside the village hearths.[d]
15 He saw that a resting place was good
        and that the land was pleasant.
He lowered his shoulder to haul loads
        and joined the work gangs.
16 Dan[e] will settle disputes for his people,
        as one of Israel’s tribes.
17 Dan will be a snake on the road,
        a serpent on the path,
biting a horse’s heels,
        so its rider falls backward.
18 I long for your victory, Lord.
19 Gad[f] will be attacked by attackers,
        but he’ll attack their back.
20 Asher[g] grows fine foods,
        and he will supply the king’s delicacies.
21 Naphtali is a wild doe
        that gives birth to beautiful fawns.[h]
22 Joseph is a young bull,[i]
        a young bull by a spring,
        who strides with oxen.[j]
23 They attacked him fiercely and fired arrows;
        the archers attacked him furiously.
24 But his bow stayed strong,
        and his forearms were nimble,[k]
            by the hands of the strong one of Jacob,
            by the name of the shepherd, the rock of Israel,
25                 by God, your father, who supports you,
            by the Almighty[l] who blesses you
                with blessings from the skies above
                and blessings from the deep sea below,
                blessings from breasts and womb.
26 The blessings of your father exceed
            the blessings of the eternal mountains,[m]
            the wealth of the everlasting hills.
        May they all rest on Joseph’s head,
            on the forehead of the one set apart from his brothers.
27 Benjamin is a wolf who hunts:
        in the morning he devours the prey;
        in the evening he divides the plunder.”

28 These are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said to them. He blessed them by giving each man his own particular blessing.

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Footnotes

  1. Genesis 49:3 Or first of my power
  2. Genesis 49:4 LXX; MT he went up
  3. Genesis 49:10 Sam; MT his feet
  4. Genesis 49:14 Or stubbornly lying beneath its saddlebags
  5. Genesis 49:16 Or he judges, or settles disputes
  6. Genesis 49:19 Or he attacks or good fortune
  7. Genesis 49:20 LXX, Syr, Vulg; MT from Asher
  8. Genesis 49:21 Or who gives beautiful words
  9. Genesis 49:22 Heb uncertain
  10. Genesis 49:22 Heb uncertain
  11. Genesis 49:24 Heb uncertain; or flexible
  12. Genesis 49:25 Heb Shaddai or the Mountain One
  13. Genesis 49:26 LXX; Heb uncertain