Genesis 49

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.

1Jacob called his sons to come to him. He said, "Gather around me. I will tell you what will happen to you in the days ahead."

2Gather yourselves together, and hear, ye sons of Jacob; and hearken unto Israel your father.

2"Come close together and listen, sons of Jacob. Listen to your father Israel." Israel was Jacob's other name.

3Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power:

3"Reuben, you are my oldest son. You were born first, when I was young and strong. You should have had the most honor and the most power."

4Unstable 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.

4"But you are wild, like rushing water. So you will not be first anymore. You climbed into your father's bed. You went up onto my couch and shamed it."

5Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations.

5"Simeon and Levi are brothers. Their swords are tools for hurting people."

6O 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.

6"I will never join their secret plans. I will never sit in their meetings. When they were angry, they killed men. When they felt like it, they crippled oxen."

NoteThe KJV says they "digged down a wall." The Hebrew means they cut the leg muscles of oxen so the animals could no longer work.

7Cursed 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.

7"Their anger is cursed, because it was so strong. Their rage is cursed, because it was cruel. I will split them up and scatter them among the family of Israel."

8Judah, 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.

8"Judah, your brothers will praise you. Your hand will hold your enemies by the neck. Your father's sons will bow down to you."

9Judah 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?

9"Judah is like a young lion. My son, you come home from the hunt. He crouches and lies down like a lion. Who would dare to wake him?"

10The 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.

10"A king's staff will always stay with Judah. Rulers will come from his family until Shiloh comes. Then the nations will follow him."

NoteA scepter is a special staff a king holds. It is a sign that he rules.

11Binding 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:

11"He ties his donkey to a grapevine. He ties his young donkey to the best branch. He washes his clothes in wine, in the red juice of grapes."

12His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk.

12"His eyes are darker than wine. His teeth are whiter than milk."

13Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea; and he shall be for an haven of ships; and his border shall be unto Zidon.

13"Zebulun will live beside the sea. Ships will come to his shore. His land will reach all the way to Zidon."

14Issachar is a strong ass couching down between two burdens:

14"Issachar is like a strong donkey. He lies down between the sheep pens."

15And 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.

15"He saw that his resting place was good. He saw that the land was pleasant. So he bent his back to carry loads. He worked hard, like a servant."

16Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel.

16"Dan will help his people decide what is right. He will be one of the twelve family groups of Israel."

17Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward.

17"Dan will be like a snake beside the road. He will bite a horse's heels. Then the rider will fall off backward."

18I have waited for thy salvation, O LORD.

18"LORD, I am waiting for you to save us."

19Gad, a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last.

19"Raiders will attack Gad. But in the end he will chase them and win."

20Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties.

20"Asher will have rich food. He will grow food good enough for a king."

21Naphtali is a hind let loose: he giveth goodly words.

21"Naphtali is like a deer running free. He speaks beautiful words."

NoteThe KJV says Naphtali "giveth goodly words." The same Hebrew words can also mean he has beautiful fawns, which are baby deer. Both readings are old.

22Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall:

22"Joseph is like a healthy vine beside a spring of water. Its branches climb right over the wall."

23The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him:

23"Men with bows attacked him. They shot at him and hated him."

24But 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:)

24"But he held his bow steady. The Mighty God of Jacob made his arms strong. That God is the Shepherd and the Rock of Israel."

25Even 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:

25"Your father's God will help you. God Almighty will bless you. He gives good things from the heavens above and from the deep waters below. He gives children, and milk to feed them."

26The 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.

26"My blessings for you are greater than the blessings of the old mountains. They are richer than the gifts of the hills that last forever. May they rest on Joseph's head. He stands out from his brothers."

27Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf: in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil.

27"Benjamin is like a hungry wolf. In the morning he eats what he has caught. In the evening he shares out what he took."

28All 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.

28These are the twelve tribes of Israel. This is what their father said to them. He blessed each son with the blessing that fit him.

29And 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,

29Then Jacob told them, "I am about to die and join my family. Bury me with my fathers in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite."

30In 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.

30"That cave is in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre, in the land of Canaan. Abraham bought the field from Ephron the Hittite to use as a burial place."

31There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah.

31"Abraham and his wife Sarah are buried there. Isaac and his wife Rebekah are buried there. I buried Leah there too."

32The purchase of the field and of the cave that is therein was from the children of Heth.

32"The field and the cave in it were bought from the Hittites."

33And 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.

33When Jacob finished speaking to his sons, he pulled his feet up into the bed. Then he took his last breath and died.

Note"Yielded up the ghost" is old English for died. "Gathered unto his people" means he joined the family members who died before him.