Genesis 49 (JPS)

1And Jacob called unto his sons, and said: 'Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the end of days.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:

2Assemble yourselves, and hear, ye sons of Jacob; and hearken unto Israel your father.Come together and listen, O sons of Jacob; listen to your father Israel.

3Reuben, thou art my first-born, my might, and the first-fruits of my strength; the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power.Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, excelling in honor, excelling in power.

4Unstable as water, have not thou the excellency; because thou wentest up to thy father's bed; then defiledst thou it — he went up to my couch.Uncontrolled as the waters, you will no longer excel, because you went up to your father’s bed, onto my couch, and defiled it.

5Simeon and Levi are brethren; weapons of violence their kinship.Simeon and Levi are brothers; their swords are weapons of violence.

6Let my soul not come into their council; unto their assembly let my glory not be united; for in their anger they slew men, and in their self-will they houghed oxen.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.

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.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.

8Judah, thee shall thy brethren praise; thy hand shall be on the neck of thine enemies; thy father's sons shall bow down before thee.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.

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 a lioness; who shall rouse him up?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?

10The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, as long as men come to Shiloh; and unto him shall the obedience of the peoples be.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.

11Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass's colt unto the choice vine; he washeth his garments in wine, and his vesture in the blood of grapes;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.

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

13Zebulun shall dwell at the shore of the sea, and he shall be a shore for ships, and his flank shall be upon Zidon.Zebulun shall dwell by the seashore and become a harbor for ships; his border shall extend to Sidon.

14Issachar is a large-boned ass, couching down between the sheep-folds.Issachar is a strong donkey, lying down between the sheepfolds.

15For he saw a resting-place that it was good, and the land that it was pleasant; and he bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant under task-workHe 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.

16Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel.Dan shall provide justice for his people as one of the tribes of Israel.

17Dan shall be a serpent in the way, a horned snake in the path, that biteth the horse's heels, so that his rider falleth backward.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.

18I wait for Thy salvation, O Lord.I await Your salvation, O LORD.

19Gad, a troop shall troop upon him; but he shall troop upon their heel.Gad will be attacked by raiders, but he will attack their heels.

20As for Asher, his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties.Asher’s food will be rich; he shall provide royal delicacies.

21Naphtali is a hind let loose: he giveth goodly words.Naphtali is a doe set free that bears beautiful fawns.

22Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine by a fountain; its branches run over the wall.Joseph is a fruitful vine—a fruitful vine by a spring, whose branches scale the wall.

23The archers have dealt bitterly with him, and shot at him, and hated him;The archers attacked him with bitterness; they aimed at him in hostility.

24But his bow abode firm, and the arms of his hands were made supple, by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, from thence, from the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel,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,

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 coucheth beneath, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb.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.

26The blessings of thy father are mighty beyond 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 the prince among his brethren.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.

27Benjamin is a wolf that raveneth; in the morning he devoureth the prey, and at even he divideth the spoil.'Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; in the morning he devours the prey, in the evening he divides the plunder.”

28All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is it that their father spoke unto them and blessed them; every one according to his blessing he blessed them.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.

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,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.

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 from Ephron the Hittite for a possession of a burying-place.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.

31There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah.There Abraham and his wife Sarah are buried, there Isaac and his wife Rebekah are buried, and there I buried Leah.

32The field and the cave that is therein, which was purchased from the children of Heth.'The field and the cave that is in it were purchased from the Hittites.”

33And when Jacob made an end of charging his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed, and expired, and was gathered unto his people.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.

Jacob Blesses His Sons

The Death of Jacob

You’ve read Genesis 49

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Jacob Blesses His Sons

The Death of Jacob

You’ve read Genesis 49

Go deeper