49:1 Then Jacob called his sons, and said, "Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you what shall befall you in days to come.
49:1 Then Jacob called his sons, and said: "Gather around, that I may tell you what will happen to you in days to come.

49:2 Assemble and hear, O sons of Jacob, and hearken to Israel your father.
49:2 Assemble and hear, O sons of Jacob; listen to Israel your father.

49:3 Reuben, you are my first-born, my might, and the first fruits of my strength, pre-eminent in pride and pre-eminent in power.
49:3 Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might and the first fruits of my vigor, excelling in rank and excelling in power.

49:4 Unstable as water, you shall not have pre-eminence because you went up to your father's bed; then you defiled it -- you went up to my couch!
49:4 Unstable as water, you shall no longer excel because you went up onto your father's bed; then you defiled it--you went up onto my couch!

49:5 Simeon and Levi are brothers; weapons of violence are their swords.
49:5 Simeon and Levi are brothers; weapons of violence are their swords.

49:6 O my soul, come not into their council; O my spirit, be not joined to their company; for in their anger they slay men, and in their wantonness they hamstring oxen.
49:6 May I never come into their council; may I not be joined to their company--for in their anger they killed men, and at their whim they hamstrung oxen.

49:7 Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce; and their wrath, for it is cruel! I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel.
49:7 Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce, and their wrath, for it is cruel! I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.

49:8 Judah, your brothers shall praise you; your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; your father's sons shall bow down before you.
49:8 Judah, your brothers shall praise you; your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; your father's sons shall bow down before you.

49:9 Judah is a lion's whelp; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as a lioness; who dares rouse him up?
49:9 Judah is a lion's whelp; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He crouches down, he stretches out like a lion, like a lioness--who dares rouse him up?

49:10 The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.
49:10 The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and the obedience of the peoples is his.

49:11 Binding his foal to the vine and his ass's colt to the choice vine, he washes his garments in wine and his vesture in the blood of grapes;
49:11 Binding his foal to the vine and his donkey's colt to the choice vine, he washes his garments in wine and his robe in the blood of grapes;

49:12 his eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk.
49:12 his eyes are darker than wine, and his teeth whiter than milk.

49:13 Zeb'ulun shall dwell at the shore of the sea; he shall become a haven for ships, and his border shall be at Sidon.
49:13 Zebulun shall settle at the shore of the sea; he shall be a haven for ships, and his border shall be at Sidon.

49:14 Is'sachar is a strong ass, crouching between the sheepfolds;
49:14 Issachar is a strong donkey, lying down between the sheepfolds;

49:15 he saw that a resting place was good, and that the land was pleasant; so he bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a slave at forced labor.
49:15 he saw that a resting place was good, and that the land was pleasant; so he bowed his shoulder to the burden, and became a slave at forced labor.

49:16 Dan shall judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel.
49:16 Dan shall judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel.

49:17 Dan shall be a serpent in the way, a viper by the path, that bites the horse's heels so that his rider falls backward.
49:17 Dan shall be a snake by the roadside, a viper along the path, that bites the horse's heels so that its rider falls backward.

49:18 I wait for thy salvation, O LORD.
49:18 I wait for your salvation, O LORD.

49:19 Raiders shall raid Gad, but he shall raid at their heels.
49:19 Gad shall be raided by raiders, but he shall raid at their heels.

49:20 Asher's food shall be rich, and he shall yield royal dainties.
49:20 Asher's food shall be rich, and he shall provide royal delicacies.

49:21 Naph'tali is a hind let loose, that bears comely fawns.
49:21 Naphtali is a doe let loose that bears lovely fawns.

49:22 Joseph is a fruitful bough, a fruitful bough by a spring;his branches run over the wall.
49:22 Joseph is a fruitful bough, a fruitful bough by a spring; his branches run over the wall.

49:23 The archers fiercely attacked him, shot at him, and harassed him sorely;
49:23 The archers fiercely attacked him; they shot at him and pressed him hard.

49:24 yet his bow remained unmoved, his arms were made agile by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob (by the name of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel),
49:24 Yet his bow remained taut, and his arms were made agile by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, by the name of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel,

49:25 by the God of your father who will help you, by God Almighty who will bless you with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that couches beneath, blessings of the breasts and of the womb.
49:25 by the God of your father, who will help you, by the Almighty who will bless you with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lies beneath, blessings of the breasts and of the womb.

49:26 The blessings of your father are mighty beyond the blessings of the eternal mountains, the bounties of the everlasting hills; may they be on the head of Joseph, and on the brow of him who was separate from his brothers.
49:26 The blessings of your father are stronger than the blessings of the eternal mountains, the bounties of the everlasting hills; may they be on the head of Joseph, on the brow of him who was set apart from his brothers.

49:27 Benjamin is a ravenous wolf, in the morning devouring the prey, and at even dividing the spoil."
49:27 Benjamin is a ravenous wolf, in the morning devouring the prey, and at evening dividing the spoil."

49:28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel; and this is what their father said to them as he blessed them, blessing each with the blessing suitable to him.
49:28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said to them when he blessed them, blessing each one of them with a suitable blessing.

49:29 Then he charged them, and said to them, "I am to be gathered to my people; bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite,
49:29 Then he charged them, saying to them, "I am about to be gathered to my people. Bury me with my ancestors--in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite,

49:30 in the cave that is in the field at Mach-pe'lah, to the east of Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite to possess as a burying place.
49:30 in the cave in the field at Machpelah, near Mamre, in the land of Canaan, in the field that Abraham bought from Ephron the Hittite as a burial site.

49:31 There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah --
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 that is in it were purchased from the Hittites."
49:32 the field and the cave that is in it were purchased from the Hittites."

49:33 When Jacob finished charging his sons, he drew up his feet into the bed, and breathed his last, and was gathered to his people.
49:33 When Jacob ended his charge to his sons, he drew up his feet into the bed, breathed his last, and was gathered to his people.