Gen 49 | NASB1995 | STEP | Then Jacob summoned his sons and said , “ Assemble yourselves that I may tell you what will befall you in the days to come .

Genesis 49

Israel’s Prophecy concerning His Sons

1 Then Jacob summoned his sons and said, “Assemble yourselves that I may tell you what will befall you ^ain the ^{▼▼ Lit end of the days}days to come. 2 “Gather together and hear, O sons of Jacob;
And ^clisten to Israel your father.

3 “Reuben, you are my firstborn;
My might and ^dthe beginning of my strength,
^{▼▼ Lit preeminence}Preeminent in dignity and ^{▼▼ Lit preeminence}preeminent in power.
4 ^{▼▼ Or Boiling over; lit Recklessness}“Uncontrolled as water, you shall not have preeminence,
^hBecause you went up to your father’s bed;
Then you defiled it—he went up to my couch.

5 ⁱ“Simeon and Levi are brothers;
Their swords are implements of violence.
6 ^j“Let my soul not enter into their council;
Let not my glory be united with their assembly;
Because in their anger they slew ^{▼▼ Lit a man}men,
And in their self-will they lamed ^{▼▼ Lit an ox}oxen.
7 “Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce;
And their wrath, for it is cruel.
^mI will ^{▼▼ Lit divide}disperse them in Jacob,
And scatter them in Israel.

8 “Judah, your brothers shall praise you;
Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies;
^oYour father’s sons shall bow down to you.
9 “Judah is a ^plion’s whelp;
From the prey, my son, you have gone up.
^qHe ^{▼▼ Lit bows down}couches, he lies down as a lion,
And as a ^{▼▼ Or lioness}lion, who ^{▼▼ Lit shall}dares rouse him up?
10 ^u“The scepter shall not depart from Judah,
Nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,
^{▼▼ Or Until he comes to Shiloh; or Until he comes to whom it belongs}Until Shiloh comes,
And ^wto him shall be the obedience of the peoples.
11 ^{▼▼ Lit Binding of
,} ^y“He ties his foal to the vine,
And his donkey’s colt to the choice vine;
^zHe washes his garments in wine,
And his robes in the blood of grapes.
12 “His eyes are ^{▼▼ Or darker than}dull from wine,
And his teeth ^{▼▼ Or whiter than}white from milk.

13 ^ac“Zebulun will dwell at the seashore;
And he shall be ^{▼▼ Lit for a shore of ships}a haven for ships,
And his flank shall be toward Sidon.

14 “Issachar is ^{▼▼ Lit a donkey of bone}a strong donkey,
^afLying down between the ^{▼▼ Or saddlebags}sheepfolds.
15 “When he saw that a resting place was good
And that the land was pleasant,
He bowed his shoulder to bear burdens,
And became a slave at forced labor.

16 ^ah“Dan shall ^aijudge his people,
As one of the tribes of Israel.
17 “Dan shall be a serpent in the way,
A horned snake in the path,
That bites the horse’s heels,
So that his rider falls backward.
18 ^aj“For Your salvation I wait, O Lord.

19 ^ak“As for Gad, ^{▼▼ Lit a raiding band}raiders shall raid him,
But he will raid at their ^{▼▼ Lit heel}heels.

20 ^{▼▼ Lit From
,} ^ao“As for ^apAsher, his ^{▼▼ Or bread}food shall be ^{▼▼ Lit fat}rich,
And he will yield royal dainties.

21 ^as“Naphtali is a doe let loose,
He gives beautiful words.

22 ^at“Joseph is a fruitful ^{▼▼ Lit son}bough,
A fruitful ^{▼▼ Lit son}bough by a spring;
Its ^{▼▼ Lit daughters}branches run over a wall.
23 “The archers bitterly attacked him,
And shot at him and harassed him;
24 But his ^axbow remained ^{▼▼ I.e. in an unyielding position}firm,
And ^{▼▼ Lit the arms of his hands
,} ^bahis arms were agile,
From the hands of the ^bbMighty One of Jacob
(From there is ^bcthe Shepherd, ^bdthe Stone of Israel),
25 From ^bethe God of your father who helps you,
And ^{▼▼ Or with
,} ^bgby the ^{▼▼ Heb Shaddai}Almighty who blesses you
With ^biblessings of heaven above,
Blessings of the deep that lies beneath,
Blessings of the breasts and of the womb.
26 “The blessings of your father
Have surpassed the blessings of my ancestors
Up to the ^{▼▼ Lit limit; or desire}utmost bound of ^bkthe everlasting hills;
May they be on the head of Joseph,
And on the crown of the head of the one distinguished among his brothers.

27 “Benjamin is a ^{▼▼ Lit a wolf that tears}ravenous wolf;
In the morning he devours the prey,
And in the evening he divides the spoil.”

28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said to them ^{▼▼ Lit and}when he blessed them. He blessed them, every one ^{▼▼ Lit according to his blessing}with the blessing appropriate to him. 29 Then he charged them and said to them, “I am about to be ^bogathered to my people; ^bpbury me with my fathers in the cave that is in ^bqthe field of Ephron the Hittite, 30 in the ^brcave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought along with the field from Ephron the Hittite for a ^{▼▼ Lit possession of a burial place}burial site. 31 “There they buried ^btAbraham and his wife ^buSarah, there they buried ^bvIsaac and his wife Rebekah, and there I buried Leah— 32 the field and the cave that is in it, purchased from the sons of Heth.” 33 When Jacob finished charging his sons, he drew his feet into the bed and ^bwbreathed his last, and was ^bxgathered to his people.