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.

Then 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.

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

Gather together and hear, O sons of Jacob. Listen to your father Israel.

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

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

But 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.

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

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

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.

May 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.

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

Their 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.

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, 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.

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 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?

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 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.

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;

He 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.

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

His eyes are darker than wine. And his teeth are whiter than 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 will live beside the sea and be a safe place for ships. His land will lie beside Sidon.

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

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

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.

He 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.

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

“Dan will judge his people, as one of the families 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 will be a snake in the way, a snake in the road, that bites the horse’s heels so that the man falls off.

18 F or Thy salvation I have waited, Jehovah!

I wait for Your saving power, O Lord.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The men fought against him with their bows. They sent arrows toward him and made it hard for 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 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,

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; --

by 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.

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.

More 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.

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

“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.”

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 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

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;

Then 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,

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 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.

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

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

The field and the grave that is in it were bought from the sons 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.

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