49:1 Then Jacob called for his sons and said: “Gather around so I can tell you what will happen to you in days to come.
49:2 “Assemble and listen, sons of Jacob; listen to your father Israel.
49:3 “Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, the first sign of my strength, excelling in honor, excelling in power.
49:4 Turbulent as the waters, you will no longer excel, for you went up onto your father’s bed, onto my couch and defiled it.
49:5 “Simeon and Levi are brothers - their swords* are weapons of violence. / *The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
49:6 Let me not enter their council, let me not join their assembly, for they have killed men in their anger and hamstrung oxen as they pleased.
49:7 Cursed be their anger, so fierce, and their fury, so cruel! I will scatter them in Jacob and disperse them in Israel.
49:8 “Judah,* your brothers will praise you; your hand will be on the neck of your enemies; your father’s sons will bow down to you. / *Judah sounds like and may be derived from the Hebrew for praise.
49:9 You are a lion’s cub, Judah; you return from the prey, my son. Like a lion he crouches and lies down, like a lioness - who dares to rouse him?
49:10 The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,* until he to whom it belongs** shall come and the obedience of the nations shall be his. / *Or from his descendants / **Or to whom tribute belongs; the meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
49:11 He will tether his donkey to a vine, his colt to the choicest branch; he will wash his garments in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes.
49:12 His eyes will be darker than wine, his teeth whiter than milk*. / *Or will be dull from wine, / his teeth white from milk
49:13 “Zebulun will live by the seashore and become a haven for ships; his border will extend toward Sidon.
49:14 “Issachar is a rawboned* donkey lying down among the sheep pens.** / *Or strong / **Or the campfires; or the saddlebags
49:15 When he sees how good is his resting place and how pleasant is his land, he will bend his shoulder to the burden and submit to forced labor.
49:16 “Dan* will provide justice for his people as one of the tribes of Israel. / *Dan here means he provides justice.
49:17 Dan will be a snake by the roadside, a viper along the path, that bites the horse’s heels so that its rider tumbles backward.
49:18 “I look for your deliverance, Lord.
49:19 “Gad* will be attacked by a band of raiders, but he will attack them at their heels. / *Gad sounds like the Hebrew for attack and also for band of raiders.
49:20 “Asher’s food will be rich; he will provide delicacies fit for a king.
49:21 “Naphtali is a doe set free that bears beautiful fawns*. / *Or free; / he utters beautiful words
49:22 “Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine near a spring, whose branches climb over a wall.* / *Or Joseph is a wild colt, a wild colt near a spring, a wild donkey on a terraced hill
49:23 With bitterness archers attacked him; they shot at him with hostility.
49:24 But his bow remained steady, his strong arms stayed* limber, because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob, because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel, / *Or archers will attack … will shoot … will remain … will stay
49:25 because of your father’s God, who helps you, because of the Almighty,* who blesses you with blessings of the skies above, blessings of the deep springs below, blessings of the breast and womb. / *Hebrew Shaddai
49:26 Your father’s blessings are greater than the blessings of the ancient mountains, than* the bounty of the age-old hills. Let all these rest on the head of Joseph, on the brow of the prince among** his brothers. / *Or of my progenitors, as great as / **Or of the one separated from
49:27 “Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; in the morning he devours the prey, in the evening he divides the plunder.”
49:28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said to them when he blessed them, giving each the blessing appropriate to him.
49:29 Then he gave them these instructions: “I am about to be gathered to my people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite,
49:30 the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre in Canaan, which Abraham bought along with the field as a burial place from Ephron the Hittite.
49:31 There Abraham and his wife Sarah were buried, there Isaac and his wife Rebekah were buried, and there I buried Leah.
49:32 The field and the cave in it were bought from the Hittites*.” / *Or the descendants of Heth
49:33 When Jacob had finished giving instructions to his sons, he drew his feet up into the bed, breathed his last and was gathered to his people.