1 T hen Jacob called his sons and said, “Gather yourselves together so that I may tell you what will happen to you in the days to come.

And Jacob called his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, and I will tell you what will befall you at the end of days.

2 G ather together and hear, O sons of Jacob. Listen to your father Israel.

Assemble yourselves, and hear, ye sons of Jacob, And listen to Israel your father.

3 “ Reuben, you are my first-born, my power and the beginning of my strength, first in pride and first in power.

Reuben, thou art my firstborn, My might, and the firstfruits of my vigour: Excellency of dignity, and excellency of strength.

4 B ut because you are as wild as water, the first place will not be yours. It is because you went to your father’s bed and made it unclean.

Impetuous as the waters, thou shalt have no pre-eminence; Because thou wentest up to thy father's couch: Then defiledst thou: he went up to my bed.

5 “ Simeon and Levi are brothers. They hurt others with their swords.

Simeon and Levi are brethren: Instruments of violence their swords.

6 M ay my soul not have a part in their secrets, nor my shining-greatness be joined to them. Because in their anger they killed men and for no reason they hurt cattle.

My soul, come not into their council; Mine honour, be not united with their assembly; For in their anger they slew men, And in their wantonness houghed oxen.

7 T heir anger will be punished, for it is bad. Their bad temper will be punished, for it is bad. I will divide them in Jacob and spread them apart in Israel.

Cursed be their anger, for it violent; And their rage, for it cruel! I will divide them in Jacob, And scatter them in Israel.

8 “ Judah, your brothers will praise you. Your hand will be on the neck of those who hate you. Your father’s sons will bow down to you.

Judah— thee, thy brethren will praise thee; Thy hand will be upon the neck of thine enemies; Thy father's children will bow down to thee.

9 J udah is a young lion. Like a lion full of meat, you have become great, my son. He lies down and sleeps like a lion. And as a lion, who is willing to wake him?

Judah is a young lion; From the prey, my son, thou art gone up. He stoopeth, he layeth himself down as a lion, And as a lioness: who will rouse him up?

10 T he right of a ruler will not leave Judah. The ruler’s special stick will not go from between his feet, until Shiloh comes. Then the people will obey Him.

The scepter will not depart from Judah, Nor the lawgiver from between his feet, Until Shiloh come, And to him will be the obedience of peoples.

11 H e ties his young donkey to the vine, his donkey’s young one to the best vine. He washes his clothes in wine, his coats in the blood of grapes.

He bindeth his foal to the vine, And his ass's colt to the choice vine; He washeth his dress in wine, And his garment in the blood of grapes.

12 H is eyes are darker than wine. And his teeth are whiter than milk.

The eyes are red with wine, And the teeth white with milk.

13 “ Zebulun will live beside the sea and be a safe place for ships. His land will lie beside Sidon.

Zebulun will dwell at the shore of the seas; Yea, he will be at the shore of the ships, And his side upon Sidon.

14 “ Issachar is a strong donkey lying down between the loads.

Issachar is a bony ass, Crouching down between two hurdles.

15 H e saw that a resting place was good and that the land was pleasing. So he made his shoulder ready to carry loads. He let himself be a servant.

And he saw the rest that it was good, And the land that it was pleasant; And he bowed his shoulder to bear, And was a tributary servant.

16 “ Dan will judge his people, as one of the families of Israel.

Dan will judge his people, As another of the tribes of Israel.

17 D an will be a snake in the way, a snake in the road, that bites the horse’s heels so that the man falls off.

Dan will be a serpent on the way, A horned snake on the path, Which biteth the horse's heels, So that the rider falleth backwards.

18 I wait for Your saving power, O Lord.

I wait for thy salvation, O Jehovah.

19 “ A group of soldiers will go against Gad. But he will go against them at their heels.

Gad—troops will rush upon him; But he will rush upon the heel.

20 “ Asher’s food will be rich. He will give pleasing food to kings.

Out of Asher, his bread shall be fat, And he will give royal dainties.

21 “ Naphtali is a female deer let loose who gives beautiful young ones.

Naphtali is a hind let loose; He giveth goodly words.

22 “ Joseph is a branch with much fruit, a branch with much fruit by a well. It grows over the wall.

Joseph is a fruitful bough; A fruitful bough by a well; branches shoot over the wall.

23 T he men fought against him with their bows. They sent arrows toward him and made it hard for him.

The archers have provoked him, And shot at, and hated him;

24 B ut his bow did not shake. His arms were made strong by the hands of the Powerful One of Jacob, by the name of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel,

But his bow abideth firm, And the arms of his hands are supple By the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob. From thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel:

25 b y the God of your father Who helps you, and by the All-powerful Who brings good to you. He brings good from heaven above, and from the deep that lies below, and from the body of a mother.

From the God of thy father, and he will help thee; And from the Almighty, and he will bless thee—With blessings of heaven from above, With blessings of the deep that lieth under, With blessings of the breast and of the womb.

26 M ore good has come to your father than to my fathers before me, as lasting as the hills that last forever. May this good be on the head of Joseph, on the crown of him who was divided from his brothers.

The blessings of thy father surpass the blessings of my ancestors, Unto the bounds of the everlasting hills: They shall be on the head of Joseph, And on the crown of the head of him that was separated from his brethren.

27 “ Benjamin is a hungry wolf. In the morning he eats the animals he has caught. And in the evening he divides what he has taken.”

Benjamin— a wolf will he tear to pieces; In the morning he will devour the prey, And in the evening he will divide the booty.

28 A ll these are the twelve family groups of Israel. This is what their father said to them when he prayed that good would come to them. He prayed for each of them to receive the good they should have. The Death of Jacob

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

29 T hen he told them, “I will soon be with my people who have died before me. Bury me with my fathers in the grave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite,

And he charged them, and said to them, I am gathered to my people: bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite,

30 i n the grave that is in the field of Machpelah, east of Mamre, in the land of Canaan. Abraham bought this grave and the field from Ephron the Hittite for a burying place.

in the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is opposite to Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought of Ephron the Hittite along with the field for a possession of a sepulchre.

31 T here they buried Abraham and his wife Sarah. There they buried Isaac and his wife Rebekah. And there I buried Leah.

There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebecca his wife; and there I buried Leah.

32 T he field and the grave that is in it were bought from the sons of Heth.”

The purchase of the field, and of the cave that is in it, was from the children of Heth.

33 W hen Jacob finished telling his sons what to do, he lay back down on his bed and died.

And when Jacob had made an end of commanding his sons, he gathered his feet into the bed, and expired, and was gathered to his peoples.