Jacob Blesses His Sons 1 ULT Then Jacob called for his sons and said,“Gather together, and I will reveal to you what will meet you in the end of days. BSB BSB: Then Jacob called for his sons and said, “Gather around so that I can tell you what will happen to you in the days to come:
2 ULT Assemble and listen, sons of Jacob, and listen to Israel your father. BSB BSB: Come together and listen, O sons of Jacob; listen to your father Israel.
3 ULT Reuben, you{ are} my firstborn, my might and the first of my strength, excelling{ in} rank and excelling{ in} power. BSB BSB: Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, excelling in honor, excelling in power.
4 ULT Turbulent like waters, you will not excel, because you went up{ onto} your father’ s bed, and you defiled{ it}. He went up{ onto} my couch! BSB BSB: Uncontrolled as the waters, you will no longer excel, because you went up to your father’s bed, onto my couch, and defiled it.
5 ULT Simeon and Levi{ are} brothers. Their swords{ are} weapons of violence. BSB BSB: Simeon and Levi are brothers; their swords are weapons of violence.
6 ULT Do not let my soul enter into their council! Do not let my glory join in their assembly, because in their anger they killed a man, and for their pleasure they hamstrung an ox. BSB BSB: May I never enter their council; may I never join their assembly. For they kill men in their anger, and hamstring oxen on a whim.
7 ULT Cursed{ be} their anger because{ it is} strong, and their fury because{ it is} cruel! I will divide them in Jacob, and I will scatter them in Israel. BSB BSB: Cursed be their anger, for it is strong, and their wrath, for it is cruel! I will disperse them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel.
8 ULT Judah,{ it is} you your brothers will praise. Your hand{ will be} on the neck of those opposing you. The sons of your father will bow down to you. BSB BSB: Judah, your brothers shall praise you. Your hand shall be on the necks of your enemies; your father’s sons shall bow down to you.
9 ULT Judah{ is} the cub of a lion. From the prey, my son, you have gone up. He crouches{ and} lies down like a lion. And like a lioness, who will rouse him? BSB BSB: Judah is a young lion—my son, you return from the prey. Like a lion he crouches and lies down; like a lioness, who dares to rouse him?
10 ULT The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes and to him{ belongs} the obedience of the peoples. BSB BSB: The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes and the allegiance of the nations is his.
11 ULT He will tether his donkey to the{ grape} vine, and the son of his donkey to the choice branch. He will wash his garment{ s} in wine and his robe{ s} in the blood of grapes. BSB BSB: He ties his donkey to the vine, his colt to the choicest branch. He washes his garments in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes.
12 ULT { His} eyes{ will be} brilliant from wine, and{ his} teeth{ will be} white from milk. BSB BSB: His eyes are darker than wine, and his teeth are whiter than milk.
13 ULT Zebulun will settle at the shore of the sea, and he{ will live} at the shore of ships, and his border{ will reach} to Sidon. BSB BSB: Zebulun shall dwell by the seashore and become a harbor for ships; his border shall extend to Sidon.
14 ULT Issachar{ is} a strong donkey lying down between two saddlebags. BSB BSB: Issachar is a strong donkey, lying down between the sheepfolds.
15 ULT And he sees{ his} resting place that{ it is} good and the land that it is pleasant. Then he will bend his shoulder to bear{ the loads}, and he will be a forced labor servant. BSB BSB: He saw that his resting place was good and that his land was pleasant, so he bent his shoulder to the burden and submitted to labor as a servant.
16 ULT Dan will judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel. BSB BSB: Dan shall provide justice for his people as one of the tribes of Israel.
17 ULT Dan will be a snake beside the road, a viper beside the path, that bites the heels of a horse, and its rider falls off backward. BSB BSB: He will be a snake by the road, a viper in the path that bites the horse’s heels so that its rider tumbles backward.
18 ULT I am waiting for your salvation, Yahweh! BSB BSB: I await Your salvation, O LORD.
19 ULT { As for} Gad, raider{ s} will attack him, but he will attack{ their} heel{ s}. BSB BSB: Gad will be attacked by raiders, but he will attack their heels.
20 ULT From Asher, his bread{ will be} fat, and he will provide king’ s delicacies. BSB BSB: Asher’s food will be rich; he shall provide royal delicacies.
21 ULT Naphtali{ is} a doe that is let loose. He gives words of beauty. BSB BSB: Naphtali is a doe set free that bears beautiful fawns.
22 ULT Joseph{ is} the son of a fruit- bearing{ vine}, the son of a fruit- bearing{ vine} beside a spring,{ whose} daughters go up over a wall. BSB BSB: Joseph is a fruitful vine—a fruitful vine by a spring, whose branches scale the wall.
23 ULT And masters of arrows will attack him and shoot and harass him. BSB BSB: The archers attacked him with bitterness; they aimed at him in hostility.
24 ULT But his bow will remain in strength and the arms of his hands will be made limber by the hands of the Mighty{ One} of Jacob, by the name of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel, BSB BSB: Yet he steadied his bow, and his strong arms were tempered by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, in the name of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel,
25 ULT by the God of your father, and he will help you, and with the Almighty, and he will bless you{ with} blessings of the heavens above, blessings of the deep that lies below, blessings of breasts and womb. BSB BSB: by the God of your father who helps you, and by the Almighty who blesses you, with blessings of the heavens above, with blessings of the depths below, with blessings of the breasts and womb.
26 ULT The blessings of your father have surpassed the blessings of my ancestors, even to the bounties of the eternal hills. May they rest on the head of Joseph, even on the top of the head of the one consecrated from{ among} his brothers. BSB BSB: The blessings of your father have surpassed the blessings of the ancient mountains and the bounty of the everlasting hills. May they rest on the head of Joseph, on the brow of the prince of his brothers.
27 ULT Benjamin{ is} a ravenous wolf. In the morning it devours{ its} prey, and in the evening it divides the plunder.” BSB BSB: Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; in the morning he devours the prey, in the evening he divides the plunder.”
28 ULT All those{ are} the twelve tribes of Israel, and that{ is} what their father said to them. And he blessed them, each one, according to his blessing he blessed them. BSB BSB: These are the tribes of Israel, twelve in all, and this was what their father said to them. He blessed them, and he blessed each one with a suitable blessing.
The Death of Jacob 29 ULT Then he commanded them and said to them,“I am being gathered to my people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave that{ is} in the field of Ephron the Hittite, BSB BSB: Then Jacob instructed them, “I am about to be gathered to my people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite.
30 ULT in the cave that{ is} in the field of Machpelah that{ is} in front of Mamre in the land of Canaan, that Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite as property{ for} a burial place. BSB BSB: The cave is in the field of Machpelah near Mamre, in the land of Canaan. This is the field Abraham purchased from Ephron the Hittite as a burial site.
31 ULT There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife, there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife, and there I buried Leah. BSB BSB: There Abraham and his wife Sarah are buried, there Isaac and his wife Rebekah are buried, and there I buried Leah.
32 ULT The purchase of the field and the cave that{ is} in it{ was} from the sons of Heth.” BSB BSB: The field and the cave that is in it were purchased from the Hittites.”
33 ULT Then Jacob finished commanding his sons, and he drew his feet into the bed and exhaled and was gathered to his people. BSB BSB: When Jacob had finished instructing his sons, he pulled his feet into the bed and breathed his last, and he was gathered to his people.