NIV 2011
Jacob Blesses His Sons
49 Then Jacob called for his sons and said: “Gather around so I can tell you what will happen to you in days to come.
2 “Assemble and listen, sons of Jacob;
listen to your father Israel.
3 “Reuben, you are my firstborn,
my might, the first sign of my strength,
excelling in honor, excelling in power.
4 Turbulent as the waters, you will no longer excel,
for you went up onto your father’s bed,
onto my couch and defiled it.
5 “Simeon and Levi are brothers—
their swords are weapons of violence.
6 Let me not enter their council,
let me not join their assembly,
for they have killed men in their anger
and hamstrung oxen as they pleased.
7 Cursed be their anger, so fierce,
and their fury, so cruel!
I will scatter them in Jacob
and disperse them in Israel.
8 “Judah, your brothers will praise you;
your hand will be on the neck of your enemies;
your father’s sons will bow down to you.
9 You are a lion’s cub, Judah;
you return from the prey, my son.
Like a lion he crouches and lies down,
like a lioness—who dares to rouse him?
10 The scepter will not depart from Judah,
nor the ruler's staff from between his feet,
until he to whom it belongs shall come
and the obedience of the nations shall be his.
11 He will tether his donkey to a vine,
his colt to the choicest branch;
he will wash his garments in wine,
his robes in the blood of grapes.
12 His eyes will be darker than wine,
his teeth whiter than milk.[e]
13 “Zebulun will live by the seashore
and become a haven for ships;
his border will extend toward Sidon.
14 “Issachar is a rawboned donkey
lying down among the sheep pens.
15 When he sees how good is his resting place
and how pleasant is his land,
he will bend his shoulder to the burden
and submit to forced labor.
16 “Dan will provide justice for his people
as one of the tribes of Israel.
17 Dan will be a snake by the roadside,
a viper along the path,
that bites the horse’s heels
so that its rider tumbles backward.
18 “I look for your deliverance, Lord.
19 “Gad will be attacked by a band of raiders,
but he will attack them at their heels.
20 “Asher’s food will be rich;
he will provide delicacies fit for a king.
21 “Naphtali is a doe set free
that bears beautiful fawns.
22 “Joseph is a fruitful vine,
a fruitful vine near a spring,
whose branches climb over a wall.[k]
23 With bitterness archers attacked him;
they shot at him with hostility.
24 But his bow remained steady,
his strong arms stayed limber,
because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob,
because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel,
25 because of your father’s God, who helps you,
because of the Almighty, who blesses you
with blessings of the skies above,
blessings of the deep springs below,
blessings of the breast and womb.
26 Your father’s blessings are greater
than the blessings of the ancient mountains,
than the bounty of the age-old hills.
Let all these rest on the head of Joseph,
on the brow of the prince among his brothers.
27 “Benjamin is a ravenous wolf;
in the morning he devours the prey,
in the evening he divides the plunder.”
28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said to them when he blessed them, giving each the blessing appropriate to him.
The Death of Jacob
29 Then he gave them these instructions: “I am about to be gathered to my people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite, 30 the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre in Canaan, which Abraham bought along with the field as a burial place from Ephron the Hittite. 31 There Abraham and his wife Sarah were buried, there Isaac and his wife Rebekah were buried, and there I buried Leah. 32 The field and the cave in it were bought from the Hittites.”
33 When Jacob had finished giving instructions to his sons, he drew his feet up into the bed, breathed his last and was gathered to his people.
WYC 1382
Jacob Blesses His Sons
49 Forsooth Jacob called his sons, and said to them, Be ye gathered together, that I tell what things shall come to you in the last days;
2 be ye gathered [together], and hear, ye sons of Jacob, hear ye Israel your father.
3 Reuben, my first begotten son,
thou art my strength, and the beginning of my sorrow;
thou oughtest to be the former in gifts, the more in lordship;
4 (but) thou art shed out as water; wax thou not,
for thou ascendedest on the bed of thy father,
and defouledest his bed.
5 Simeon and Levi, brethren,
fighting vessels of wickedness;
6 my soul come not into the counsel of them,
and my glory be not in the congregation of them;
for in their strong vengeance, they killed a man,
and in their [own] will, they undermined the wall;
7 cursed be the strong vengeance of them, for it is obstinate,
and the indignation of them, for it is hard;
I shall part them in Jacob, and I shall scatter them in Israel.
8 Judah, thy brethren shall praise thee,
thine hands shall be in the nolls of thine enemies;
the sons of thy father shall worship thee.
9 Judah, the whelp of a lion; my son,
thou hast gone up to the prey; thou restedest,
and hast lain as a lion,
and as a lioness, who shall raise him?
10 The sceptre shall not be taken away from Judah,
and a duke (out) of his hip,
till he come that shall be sent,
and he shall be the abiding of heathen men;
11 and he shall tie his colt at the vinery,
and his she-ass at the vine;
O! my son, he shall wash his stole in wine,
and his mantle in the blood of the grape;
12 (yea,) his eyes be fairer than wine,
and his teeth be whiter than milk.
13 Zebulun shall dwell in the brink of the sea,
and in the standing of ships;
and he shall stretch till to Sidon.
14 Issachar, a strong ass,
lying betwixt [the] terms, (Issachar, like a strong donkey, lying between two burdens,)
15 saw rest, that it was good,
and saw the land, that it was best,
and he underset his shoulder to bear,
and he was made serving to tributes.
16 Dan shall deem his people,
as also another lineage in Israel.
17 Dan be made a serpent in the way,
and (a) cerastes, that is, an horned adder,
in the path, and bite he the feet of an horse,
that the rider of him fall backward;
18 Lord, I shall abide thine health.
19 Gad shall be girded, and he shall fight (them) before him,
and he shall be girded behind.
20 Asher, his bread shall be fat,
and he shall give delights to kings.
21 Naphtali shall be an hart sent out,
and giving speeches of fairness.
22 Joseph, a son increasing,
(yea,) a son increasing, and fair in beholding;
[the] daughters run about on the wall,
23 but his brethren wrathed (at) him, and chided him,
and they had darts, and had envy to him.
24 His bow sat in the strong (One), the Lord,
and the bonds of his arms and his hands were unbound
by the hand of the mighty (God) of Jacob;
of him a shepherd went out, the stone of Israel.
25 (The) God of thy father shall be thine helper,
and Almighty God shall bless thee,
with blessings of (the) heaven(s) from above,
and with blessings of the sea lying beneath,
with blessings of teats, and of the womb;
26 the blessings of thy father be strengthened,
that is, be (made) better than the blessings of his fathers,
till the desire of (the) everlasting hills came;
blessings be made on the head of Joseph,
and in the noll of (the) Nazarite, that is, holy, among his brethren.
27 Benjamin, a ravishing wolf,
shall eat the prey early,
and in the eventide he shall part (the) spoils.
28 All these were in [the] twelve kindreds of Israel; their father spake these things to them, and he blessed them all by proper blessings,
The Death of Jacob
29 and he commanded to them, and said, I am (soon to be) gathered to my people; bury ye me with my fathers in the double den, that is in the land of Ephron (the) Hittite, 30 (that is, in the den in the field at Machpelah,) against Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which den Abraham bought with the field of Ephron (the) Hittite, into (a) possession of a sepulchre. 31 There they buried him, and Sarah his wife; also Isaac was buried there, with Rebecca his wife; there also Leah lieth buried. 32 (This verse is omitted in the original text.)
33 And when the behests were ended, by which he taught his sons, he gathered together his feet on the bed, and died, and he was put to his people.
Please Share This Page!
Leave a comment and start a conversation below.
Email me at suzanne@christthetruelight.com
Add comment
Comments