Genesis 49
American Standard Version
49 And Jacob called unto his sons, and said: Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the latter days.
2 Assemble yourselves, and hear, ye sons of Jacob;
And hearken unto Israel your father.
3 Reuben, thou art my first-born, my might, and the [a]beginning of my strength;
The pre-eminence of dignity, and the pre-eminence of power.
4 Boiling over as water, [b]thou shalt not have the pre-eminence;
Because thou wentest up to thy father’s bed;
Then defiledst thou it: he went up to my couch.
5 Simeon and Levi are brethren;
Weapons of violence are their [c]swords.
6 O my soul, come not thou into their [d]council;
Unto their assembly, my glory, be not thou united;
For in their anger they slew [e]a man,
And in their self-will they hocked [f]an ox.
7 Cursed 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.
8 Judah, thee shall thy brethren praise:
Thy hand shall be on the neck of thine enemies;
Thy father’s sons shall bow down before thee.
9 Judah 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?
10 The sceptre shall not depart from Judah,
Nor [g]the ruler’s staff from between his feet,
[h]Until Shiloh come;
And unto him shall the obedience of the peoples be.
11 Binding his foal unto the vine,
And his ass’s colt unto the choice vine;
He hath washed his garments in wine,
And his vesture in the blood of grapes:
12 His eyes shall be red with wine,
And his teeth white with milk.
13 Zebulun shall dwell at the [i]haven of the sea;
And he shall be for a haven of ships;
And his border shall be [j]upon Sidon.
14 Issachar is a strong ass,
Couching down between the sheepfolds:
15 And he saw [k]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 taskwork.
16 Dan shall judge his people,
As one of the tribes of Israel.
17 Dan shall be a serpent in the way,
An [l]adder in the path,
That biteth the horse’s heels,
So that his rider falleth backward.
18 I have waited for thy salvation, O Jehovah.
19 Gad, [m]a troop [n]shall press upon him;
But he shall press upon their heel.
20 Out of Asher his bread shall be fat,
And he shall yield royal dainties.
21 Naphtali is a hind let loose:
He giveth goodly words.
22 Joseph is [o]a fruitful bough,
A fruitful bough by a fountain;
His [p]branches run over the wall.
23 The archers have sorely grieved him,
And shot at him, and persecuted him:
24 But his bow abode in strength,
And the arms of his hands were made [q]strong,
By the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob
[r](From thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel),
25 Even 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.
26 The 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 [s]that was separate from his brethren.
27 Benjamin is a wolf that raveneth:
In the morning he shall devour the prey,
And at even he shall divide the spoil.
28 All 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. 29 And 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, 30 in 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. 31 There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah— 32 the field and the cave that is therein, which was purchased from the children of Heth. 33 And when Jacob made an end of charging his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the ghost, and was gathered unto his people.
Footnotes
- Genesis 49:3 Or, first-fruits
- Genesis 49:4 Or, have not thou
- Genesis 49:5 Or, compacts
- Genesis 49:6 Or, secret
- Genesis 49:6 Or, men
- Genesis 49:6 Or, oxen
- Genesis 49:10 Or, a lawgiver
- Genesis 49:10 Or, Till he come to Shiloh, having the obedience of the peoples. Or, according to Syriac, Till he come whose it is etc.
- Genesis 49:13 Hebrew beach.
- Genesis 49:13 Or, by
- Genesis 49:15 Or, rest
- Genesis 49:17 Or, horned snake
- Genesis 49:19 Hebrew gedud, a marauding band.
- Genesis 49:19 Hebrew gad, to press.
- Genesis 49:22 Hebrew the son of a fruitful tree.
- Genesis 49:22 Hebrew daughters.
- Genesis 49:24 Or, active
- Genesis 49:24 Or, From thence, from the shepherd. Or, as otherwise read, By the name of the shepherd
- Genesis 49:26 Or, that is prince among
Genesis 49
Expanded Bible
Jacob Blesses His Sons
49 Then Jacob called his sons to him. He said, “·Come here to [L Gather around] me, and I will tell you what will happen to you in the ·future [L days to come].
2 “·Come [L Assemble] together and listen, sons of Jacob.
Listen to Israel [C another name for Jacob; 32:28], your father.”
3 “Reuben, my ·first son [firstborn], you are my strength.
·Your birth showed I could be a father [L …and the first of my virility/vigor].
·You have the highest position among my sons [L …excelling in pride/rank/authority],
and you are the most powerful [L …excelling in power].
4 But you are ·uncontrolled [unstable] like water [C often a symbol of chaos or evil],
so you will no longer ·lead your brothers [L excel].
This is because you got into your father’s bed
and ·shamed me by having sexual relations with my slave girl [L you defiled it by going up on my couch; 35:22].
5 “Simeon and Levi are brothers
who used their ·swords [or circumcision knives; or counsels; or treaties; ch. 34] to do violence.
6 I will not join their secret talks,
and I will not ·meet with them to plan evil [L join them in their assembly].
They killed men because they were angry,
and they ·crippled [hamstrung] oxen ·just for fun [or at will; 34:25–31].
7 May their anger be cursed, because it is too ·violent [severe; strong; intense].
May their violence be cursed, because it is too ·cruel [harsh].
I will divide them up among the tribes of Jacob
and scatter them through all the tribes of Israel [C neither Simeon nor Levi received a tribal allotment in the Promised Land; Josh. 13–22].
8 “Judah, your brothers will praise you [C the Hebrew verb for “praise” sounds like the name Judah].
·You will grab your enemies by the neck [L Your hand will be on the neck of your enemies],
and ·your brothers [L the sons of your father] will bow down to you.
9 Judah is like a ·young lion [lion cub].
You have ·returned from killing [L come up from the prey], my son.
Like a lion, he stretches out and ·lies down to rest [crouches],
and [L like a lioness] ·no one is brave enough to [who will…?] wake him.
10 ·Kings will come from Judah’s family [L No one will turn aside the scepter from Judah; C a scepter is a symbol of kingship];
·someone from Judah will always be on the throne [L the ruler’s staff/mace from between his feet; C anticipates the rise of a perpetual kingship from the tribe of Judah; 2 Sam. 7].
Judah will rule until ·Shiloh comes [or he comes to Shiloh; or he comes to whom it belongs; or tribute comes to him],
and the ·nations [peoples] will obey him.
11 He ties his donkey to a grapevine,
his young donkey to the best ·branch [vine].
He ·can afford to use wine to wash his clothes [L washes his clothes in wine]
and the ·best wine [L blood of grapes] to wash his robes.
12 His eyes are dark like the color of wine,
and his teeth are as white as the color of milk.
13 “Zebulun will live ·near [L at the shore/coast of] the sea.
His ·shore [coast] will be a safe place for ships,
and his land will reach as far as Sidon [10:15].
14 “Issachar is like a strong donkey
who lies down ·while carrying his load [or between the pack saddles].
15 When he sees his ·resting place [camp] is good
and how pleasant his land is,
he will put his ·back [L shoulder] to the load
and become a slave [L at forced labor].
16 “Dan will ·rule [judge; or contend for; C the Hebrew verb for “judge” sounds like the name Dan] his own people
like ·the other [L one of the] tribes in Israel.
17 Dan will be like a snake by the side of the road,
a ·dangerous snake [viper] lying near the path.
That snake bites a horse’s ·leg [heel; hoof],
and the rider is thrown off backward.
18 “Lord, I wait for your ·salvation [or victory].
19 “·Robbers [or Raiders] will ·attack [raid] Gad [C the Hebrew word for “raiders” sounds like the name Gad],
but he will ·defeat them and drive them away [L raid them at their heels].
20 “Asher’s land will grow much ·good [or rich] food;
he will grow ·food fit for a king [kingly delicacies].
21 “Naphtali is like a female deer that runs free,
that has ·beautiful fawns [or beautiful words].
22 “Joseph is like a ·grapevine that produces much fruit [or fruitful bough/tree; or foal of a wild donkey]
a ·healthy vine [or fruitful bough/tree; or foal of a wild donkey] ·watered by [L by] a spring,
·whose branches grow over the wall [or a wild donkey on a hillside].
23 Archers attack him violently
and shoot at him angrily,
24 but ·he aims his bow well [L his bow remains taut].
His arms ·are made strong [or were snapped].
·He gets his power from [L …by the hands of] the Mighty God of Jacob
·and his strength from [or by the name of] the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel.
25 Your father’s God helps you.
God Almighty blesses you.
He blesses you with ·rain [L blessings] from above,
with ·water from springs below [L the blessings of the deep that crouches below],
with ·many babies born to your wives
and many young ones born to your animals [L the blessings of breasts and womb]
26 The blessings of your father are greater
than the blessings of the ·oldest [or eternal] mountains,
greater than the ·good things [delight] of the long-lasting hills.
May these blessings rest on the head of Joseph,
on the forehead of the one who was ·separated from [or prince among] his brothers [C Ephraim would become the dominant tribe in northern Israel].
27 “Benjamin is like a hungry wolf.
In the morning he eats ·what he has caught [prey],
and in the evening he divides ·what he has taken [the plunder].”
28 These are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said to them. He gave each son the blessing that was ·right [suitable; appropriate] for him. 29 Then Israel gave them a command and said, “I am about to ·die [L be gathered to my people/relatives; 25:8]. Bury me with my ·ancestors [fathers] in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite [23:7–20; 25:9]. 30 That cave is in the field of Machpelah east of Mamre in the land of Canaan. Abraham bought the field and cave from Ephron the Hittite for a ·burying place [burial site]. 31 Abraham and Sarah his wife are buried there. Isaac and Rebekah his wife are buried there, and I buried my wife Leah there. 32 The field and the cave in it were bought from the Hittite people.” 33 After Jacob finished ·talking to [or instructing] his sons, he lay down. He put his feet back on the bed, took his last breath, and ·died [L was gathered to his people/relatives; 25:8].
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