Genesis 49

¹And Jacob called his sons, and said to them: Gather yourselves together that I may tell you the things that shall befall you in the last days. ²Gather yourselves together, and hear, O ye sons of Jacob, hearken to Israel your father: ³Ruben, my firstborn, thou art my strength, and the beginning of my sorrow: excelling in gifts, greater in command. ⁴Thou art poured out as water, grow thou not: because thou wentest up to thy father's bed, and didst defile his couch. ⁵Simeon and Levi brethren: vessels of iniquity, waging war. ⁶Let not my soul go into their counsel, nor my glory be in their assembly: "be- cause in their fury they slew a man, and in their selfwill they undermined a wall. ⁷Cursed be their fury, because it was stubborn: and their wrath because it was cruel: I Will divide them in Jacob, and will scatter them in Israel. ⁸Juda, thee shall thy brethren praise: thy hands shall be on the necks of thy enemies: the sons of thy father shall bow down to thee. ⁹Juda is a lion's whelp: to the prey, my son, thou art gone up: resting thou hast couched as a lion, and as a lioness, who shall rouse him? ¹⁰The sceptre shall not be taken away from Juda, nor a ruler from his thigh, till he come that is to be sent, and he shall be the expectation of nations. ¹¹Tying his foal to the vineyard, and his ass, 0 my son, to the vine. He shall wash his robe in wine, and his garment in the blood of the grape. ¹²His eyes are more beautiful than wine, and his teeth whiter than milk. ¹³Zabulon shall dwell on the sea shore, and in the road of ships, reaching as far as Sidon. ¹⁴Issachar shall be a strong ass lying down between the borders. ¹⁵dummy verses inserted by amos ¹⁶He saw rest that it was good: and the land that it was excellent: and he bowed his shoulder to carry, and became a servant under tribute. ¹⁹Let Dan be a snake in the way, a serpent in the path, that biteth the horse's heels that his rider may fall backward. ²⁰I will look for thy salvation, 0 Lord. ²¹Gad, being girded, shall fight before him: and he himself shall be girded backward. ²²Aser, his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield dainties to kings. ²³Nephtali, a hart let loose, and giving words of beauty. ²⁴Joseph is a growing son, a growing son and comely to behold; the daughters run to and fro upon the wall. ²⁵But they that held darts provoked him, and quarrelled with him, and envied him. ²⁶His bow rested upon the strong, and the bands of his arms and his hands were loosed, by the hands of the mighty one of Jacob: thence he came forth a pastor, the stone of Israel. ²⁷dummy verses inserted by amos ²⁸The God of thy father shall be thy helper, and the Almighty shall bless thee with the blessings of heaven above, with the blessings of the deep that lieth be- neath, with the blessings of the breasts and of the womb. ³¹Benjamin a ravenous wolf, in the morning shall eat the prey, and in the evening shall divide the spoil. ³²All these are the twelve tribes of Israel: these things their father spoke to them, and he blessed every one, with their proper blessings. ³³And he charged them, saying: I am now going to be gathered to my people: bury me with my fathers in the double cave, which is in the field of Ephron the Hethite, ³⁴Over against Mambre in the land of Chanaan, which Abraham bought to- gather with the field of Ephron the Hethite for a possession to bury in. ³⁵There they buried him, and Sara his wife: there was Isaac buried with Rebecca his wife: there also Lia doth lie buried. ³⁶And when he had ended the commandments, wherewith he instructed his sons, he drew up his feet upon the bed, and died: and he was gathered to his people."

¹And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days. ²Gather yourselves together, and hear, ye sons of Jacob; and hearken unto Israel your father. ³Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power: ⁴Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel; because thou wentest up to thy father’s bed; then defiledst thou it: he went up to my couch. ⁵Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations. ⁶O my soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, mine honour, be not thou united: for in their anger they slew a man, and in their selfwill they digged down a wall. ⁷Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel. ⁸Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father’s children shall bow down before thee. ⁹Judah is a lion’s whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up? ¹⁰The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. ¹¹Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass’s colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes: ¹²His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk. ¹³Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea; and he shall be for an haven of ships; and his border shall be unto Zidon. ¹⁴Issachar is a strong ass couching down between two burdens: ¹⁵And he saw that rest was good, and the land that it was pleasant; and bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant unto tribute. ¹⁶Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel. ¹⁷Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward. ¹⁸I have waited for thy salvation, O LORD. ¹⁹Gad, a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last. ²⁰Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties. ²¹Naphtali is a hind let loose: he giveth goodly words. ²²Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall: ²³The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him: ²⁴But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel:) ²⁵Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb: ²⁶The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren. ²⁷Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf: in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil. ²⁸All these are the twelve tribes of Israel: and this is it that their father spake unto them, and blessed them; every one according to his blessing he blessed them. ²⁹And he charged them, and said unto them, I am to be gathered unto my people: bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, ³⁰In the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field of Ephron the Hittite for a possession of a buryingplace. ³¹There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah. ³²The purchase of the field and of the cave that is therein was from the children of Heth. ³³And when Jacob had made an end of commanding his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the ghost, and was gathered unto his people.