1 A nd Jacob calleth unto his sons and saith, `Be gathered together, and I declare to you that which doth happen with you in the latter end of the days.

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

2 ` Be assembled, and hear, sons of Jacob, And hearken unto Israel your father.

Gather yourselves together, and hear, ye sons of Jacob; and hearken unto Israel your father.

3 R euben! my first-born thou, My power, and beginning of my strength, The abundance of exaltation, And the abundance of strength;

Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power:

4 U nstable as water, thou art not abundant; For thou hast gone up thy father's bed; Then thou hast polluted: My couch he went up!

Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel; because thou wentest up to thy father's bed; then defiledst thou it: he went up to my couch.

5 S imeon and Levi brethren! Instruments of violence -- their espousals!

Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations.

6 I nto their secret, come not, O my soul! Unto their assembly be not united, O mine honour; For in their anger they slew a man, And in their self-will eradicated a prince.

O my soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, mine honour, be not thou united: for in their anger they slew a man, and in their selfwill they digged down a wall.

7 C ursed their anger, for fierce, And their wrath, for sharp; I divide them in Jacob, And I scatter them in Israel.

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 J udah! thou -- thy brethren praise thee! Thy hand on the neck of thine enemies, Sons of thy father bow themselves to thee.

Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father's children shall bow down before thee.

9 A lion's whelp Judah, For prey, my son, thou hast gone up; He hath bent, he hath crouched as a lion, And as a lioness; who causeth him to arise?

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 an old lion; who shall rouse him up?

10 T he sceptre turneth not aside from Judah, And a lawgiver from between his feet, Till his Seed come; And his the obedience of peoples.

The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.

11 B inding to the vine his ass, And to the choice vine the colt of his ass, He hath washed in wine his clothing, And in the blood of grapes his covering;

Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass's colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes:

12 R ed eyes with wine, And white teeth with milk!

His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk.

13 Z ebulun at a haven of the seas doth dwell, And he for a haven of ships; And his side unto Zidon.

Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea; and he shall be for an haven of ships; and his border shall be unto Zidon.

14 I ssacher a strong ass, Crouching between the two folds;

Issachar is a strong ass couching down between two burdens:

15 A nd he seeth rest that good, And the land that pleasant, And he inclineth his shoulder to bear, And is to tribute a servant.

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

16 D an doth judge his people, As one of the tribes of Israel;

Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel.

17 D an is a serpent by the way, An adder by the path, Which is biting the horse's heels, And its rider falleth backward.

Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward.

18 F or Thy salvation I have waited, Jehovah!

I have waited for thy salvation, O Lord.

19 G ad! a troop assaulteth him, But he assaulteth last.

Gad, a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last.

20 O ut of Asher his bread fat; And he giveth dainties of a king.

Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties.

21 N aphtali a hind sent away, Who is giving beauteous young ones.

Naphtali is a hind let loose: he giveth goodly words.

22 J oseph a fruitful son; A fruitful son by a fountain, Daughters step over the wall;

Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall:

23 A nd embitter him -- yea, they have striven, Yea, hate him do archers;

The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him:

24 A nd his bow abideth in strength, And strengthened are the arms of his hands By the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, Whence is a shepherd, a son of Israel.

But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel:)

25 B y the God of thy father who helpeth thee, And the Mighty One who blesseth thee, Blessings of the heavens from above, Blessings of the deep lying under, Blessings of breasts and womb; --

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 lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb:

26 T hy father's blessings have been mighty Above the blessings of my progenitors, Unto the limit of the heights age-during They are for the head of Joseph, And for the crown of the one Separate his brethren.

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 that was separate from his brethren.

27 B enjamin! a wolf teareth; In the morning he eateth prey, And at evening he apportioneth spoil.'

Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf: in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil.

28 A ll these the twelve tribes of Israel, and this that which their father hath spoken unto them, and he blesseth them; each according to his blessing he hath blessed them.

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 A nd he commandeth them, and saith unto them, `I am being gathered unto my people; bury me by my fathers, at the cave which in the field of Ephron the Hittite;

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 i n the cave which in the field of Machpelah, which on the front of Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite for a possession of a burying-place;

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 of Ephron the Hittite for a possession of a buryingplace.

31 ( there they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah);

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

32 t he purchase of the field and of the cave which in it, from Sons of Heth.'

The purchase of the field and of the cave that is therein was from the children of Heth.

33 A nd Jacob finisheth commanding his sons, and gathereth up his feet unto the bed, and expireth, and is gathered unto his people.

And when Jacob had made an end of commanding his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the ghost, and was gathered unto his people.