Jacob’s Last Words to His Sons
1 And Jacob called his sons and said, “Gather together, that I maytell you what shall befall youin the last days:
2 “Gather together and hear, you sons of Jacob,
And listen to Israel your father.
3 “Reuben, you aremy firstborn,
My might and the beginning of my strength,
The excellency of dignity and the excellency of power.
4 Unstable as water, you shall not excel,
# Because youwent up to your father’s bed;
Then you defiledit—
He went up to my couch.
5 “Simeon and Leviarebrothers;
Instruments of crueltyareintheir dwelling place.
6 Let not my soul enter their council;
# Let not my honor be unitedto their assembly;
# For in their anger they slew a man,
And in their self-will they hamstrung an ox.
7 Cursedbetheir anger, foritisfierce;
And their wrath, for it is cruel!
# I will divide them in Jacob
And scatter them in Israel.
8 “Judah,youarehewhom your brothers shall praise;
# Your handshallbeon the neck of your enemies;
# Your father’s children shall bow down before you.
9 Judahisa lion’s whelp;
From the prey, my son, you have gone up.
# He bows down, he lies down as a lion;
And as a lion, who shall rouse him?
10 The scepter shall not depart from Judah,
# Nora lawgiver from between his feet,
# Until Shiloh comes;
# And to Himshallbethe obedience of the people.
11 Binding his donkey to the vine,
And his donkey’s colt to the choice vine,
He washed his garments in wine,
And his clothes in the blood of grapes.
12 His eyesaredarker than wine,
And his teeth whiter than milk.
13 “Zebulunshall dwell by the haven of the sea;
Heshallbecomea haven for ships,
# And his border shalladjoin Sidon.
14 “Issacharis a strong donkey,
Lying down between two burdens;
15 He saw that restwasgood,
And that the landwaspleasant;
# He bowedhis shoulder to bearaburden,
And became a band of slaves.
16 “Danshall judge his people
As one of the tribes of Israel.
17 Dan shall be a serpent by the way,
A viper by the path,
That bites the horse’s heels
So that its rider shall fall backward.
18 I have waited for your salvation, OLord!
19 “Gad,a troop shall tramp upon him,
But he shall triumph at last.
20 “Bread fromAshershallberich,
And he shall yield royal dainties.
21 “Naphtaliisa deer let loose;
He uses beautiful words.
22 “Josephisa fruitful bough,
A fruitful bough by a well;
His branches run over the wall.
23 The archers havebitterly grieved him,
Shotathimand hated him.
24 But hisbow remained in strength,
And the arms of his hands were made strong
# By the hands ofthe MightyGodof Jacob
# (From thereisthe Shepherd,the Stone of Israel),
25 By the God of your father who will help you,
# And by the Almightywho will bless you
Withblessings 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 excelled the blessings of my ancestors,
# Up to the utmost bound of the everlasting hills.
# They shall be on the head of Joseph,
And on the crown of the head of him who was separate from his brothers.
27 “Benjamin is aravenous wolf;
In the morning he shall devour the prey,
# And at night he shall divide the spoil.”
28 All thesearethe twelve tribes of Israel, and thisiswhat their father spoke to them. And he blessed them; he blessed each one according to his own blessing.
Jacob’s Death and Burial
29 Then he charged them and said to them: “Iam to be gathered to my people;bury me with my fathersin the cave thatisin the field of Ephron the Hittite,
30 in the cave thatisin the field of Machpelah, whichisbefore Mamre in the land of Canaan,which Abraham bought with the field of Ephron the Hittite as a possession for a burial 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 thatistherewerepurchased from the sons of Heth.”
33 And when Jacob had finished commanding his sons, he drew his feet up into the bed and breathed his last, and was gathered to his people.