Bereshis 49
Orthodox Jewish Bible
49 And Ya’akov called unto his banim, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the acharit hayamim (last days).
2 Gather yourselves together, and hear, ye Bnei Ya’akov; and pay heed unto Yisroel Avichem.
3 Reuven, thou art my bechor, my koach, and the reshit of my strength, the excellency of honor, and excellency of oz (power):
4 Unstable as mayim, thou shalt not excel; because thou wentest up to mishkevei avicha (thy father’s bed, i.e. incest); then defiledst thou it; he went up to my couch.
5 Shimon and Levi are achim; kelei chamas (instruments of violence) are in their swords.
6 O my nefesh, enter not thou into their sod (secret, council); unto their kehal, mine kavod, be not thou united; for in their anger they slaughtered ish, and in their ratzon (self-will) they lamed shor (ox).
7 Arur (cursed) be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel; I will dispense them in Ya’akov, and scatter them in Yisroel.
8 Yehudah, thou art he whom thy achim yoducha (they will praise you); thy yad shall be in the oref (neck) of thine enemies; Bnei Avicha shall bow down before thee.
9 Yehudah is the cub of an aryeh (lion); from the prey, beni (my son), thou hast gone up; he stooped down, he couched like an aryeh, and like a lioness; who shall rouse him?
10 The shevet (sceptre) shall not depart from Yehudah, nor a Mekhokek (Lawgiver) from between his raglayim, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall be the obedience of the amim (peoples, nations).
11 He ties his foal unto the gefen (vine), and his donkey’s colt unto the choice vine; he will wash his levush (garments) in yayin, and his robe in the dahm anavim (blood of grapes);
12 His eyes shall be darker with yayin, and his shinayim (teeth) whiter than cholov (milk).
13 Zevulun shall dwell at the seashore; and he shall be a haven for oniyyot (ships); and his border shall be unto Tzidon.
14 Yissakhar is a strong chamor (donkey) lying down between two saddlebags;
15 And he saw that a menuchah (resting place) was tov, and haaretz that it was pleasant; and bowed his shoulder to bear, and became oved (submitting, enslaved) at forced labor.
16 Dan yadin (shall judge) his people, as one of the Shivtei Yisroel.
17 Dan shall be a nachash beside the derech, a viper along the orach (path) that biteth the ikkvei sus (the horse heels), so that its rider shall fall backward.
18 I have waited for Thy Yeshuah (Salvation), Hashem.
19 Gad, gedud (raider) shall raid him; but he shall raid akev ([at] the heel).
20 Out of Asher his lechem shall be rich, and he shall yield royal dainties.
21 Naphtali is a doe let loose; he giveth goodly sayings.
22 Yosef is a ben of a fruittree, even ben of a fruit-tree near an ayin (spring, well); its daughters (i.e., branches) run over the wall;
23 The ba’alei khitzim (archers) provoke him, and shoot at him, and hate him;
24 But his keshet (bow) remained steady, and the arms of his hands remain strong, from the hands of the Avir Ya’akov, from there, from the Ro’eh, Even Yisroel;
25 And from El Avicha, who shall help thee; and Shaddai, who shall make brocha over thee with Birkat Shomayim above, Birkat Tehom that lieth beneath, Birkat Shadayim and of Rekhem.
26 Birkat Avicha surpass the Birkat of my progenitors unto the utmost border of the giveot olam (everlasting hills); they shall come on the rosh Yosef, and on the brow of the Prince among his achim.
27 Binyamin—a ze’ev (wolf) which tears in pieces; in the boker he shall devour the prey, and at erev he shall divide the plunder.
28 All these are the Shivtei Yisroel; and this is it that Avichem spoke unto them, and made a brocha on them; every one according to his brocha he blessed them.
29 And he charged them, and said unto them, I am to be gathered unto my people; bury me with Avotai in the me’arah (cave) that is in the sadeh of Ephron the Chitti,
30 In the me’arah that is in the sadeh of Machpelah, which is near Mamre, in Eretz Kena’an, which Avraham bought with the sadeh of Ephron the Chitti for an achuzzat kever (burial estate).
31 There they buried Avraham and Sarah his isha; there they buried Yitzchak and Rivkah his isha; and there I buried Leah.
32 The purchase of the sadeh and of the me’arah (cave) that is therein was from the Bnei Chet (Heth).
33 And when Ya’akov had made an end of commanding his banim, he gathered up his raglayim into the mittah, and expired, and was gathered unto his people.
Genesis 49
Common English Bible
Jacob reveals his sons’ destinies
49 Jacob summoned his sons and said, “Gather around so that I can tell you what will happen to you in the coming days.
2 Assemble yourselves and listen, sons of Jacob;
listen to Israel your father.
3 Reuben, you are my oldest son,
my strength and my first contender,[a]
superior in status and superior in might.
4 As wild as the waters, you won’t endure,
for you went up to your father’s bed,
you went up[b] and violated my couch.
5 Simeon and Levi are brothers,
weapons of violence their stock in trade.
6 May I myself never enter their council.
May my honor never be linked to their group;
for when they were angry, they killed men,
and whenever they wished, they maimed oxen.
7 Cursed be their anger; it is violent,
their rage; it is relentless.
I’ll divide them up within Jacob
and disperse them within Israel.
8 Judah, you are the one your brothers will honor;
your hand will be on the neck of your enemies;
your father’s sons will bow down to you.
9 Judah is a lion’s cub;
from the prey, my son, you rise up.
He lies down and crouches like a lion;
like a lioness—who dares disturb him?
10 The scepter won’t depart from Judah,
nor the ruler’s staff from among his banners.[c]
Gifts will be brought to him;
people will obey him.
11 He ties his male donkey to the vine,
the colt of his female donkey to the vine’s branches.
He washes his clothes in wine,
his garments in the blood of grapes.
12 His eyes are darker than wine,
and his teeth whiter than milk.
13 Zebulun will live at the seashore;
he’ll live at the harbor of ships,
his border will be at Sidon.
14 Issachar is a sturdy donkey,
bedding down beside the village hearths.[d]
15 He saw that a resting place was good
and that the land was pleasant.
He lowered his shoulder to haul loads
and joined the work gangs.
16 Dan[e] will settle disputes for his people,
as one of Israel’s tribes.
17 Dan will be a snake on the road,
a serpent on the path,
biting a horse’s heels,
so its rider falls backward.
18 I long for your victory, Lord.
19 Gad[f] will be attacked by attackers,
but he’ll attack their back.
20 Asher[g] grows fine foods,
and he will supply the king’s delicacies.
21 Naphtali is a wild doe
that gives birth to beautiful fawns.[h]
22 Joseph is a young bull,[i]
a young bull by a spring,
who strides with oxen.[j]
23 They attacked him fiercely and fired arrows;
the archers attacked him furiously.
24 But his bow stayed strong,
and his forearms were nimble,[k]
by the hands of the strong one of Jacob,
by the name of the shepherd, the rock of Israel,
25 by God, your father, who supports you,
by the Almighty[l] who blesses you
with blessings from the skies above
and blessings from the deep sea below,
blessings from breasts and womb.
26 The blessings of your father exceed
the blessings of the eternal mountains,[m]
the wealth of the everlasting hills.
May they all rest on Joseph’s head,
on the forehead of the one set apart from his brothers.
27 Benjamin is a wolf who hunts:
in the morning he devours the prey;
in the evening he divides the plunder.”
28 These are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said to them. He blessed them by giving each man his own particular blessing.
Jacob’s death and burial
29 Jacob ordered them, “I am soon to join my people. Bury me with my ancestors in the cave that’s in the field of Ephron the Hittite; 30 in the cave that’s in the field of Machpelah near Mamre in the land of Canaan that Abraham bought from Ephron the Hittite as a burial property. 31 That is where Abraham and his wife Sarah are buried, and where Isaac and his wife Rebekah are buried, and where I buried Leah. 32 It is the field and the cave in it that belonged to the Hittites.” 33 After he finished giving orders to his sons, he put his feet up on the bed, took his last breath, and joined his people.
Footnotes
- Genesis 49:3 Or first of my power
- Genesis 49:4 LXX; MT he went up
- Genesis 49:10 Sam; MT his feet
- Genesis 49:14 Or stubbornly lying beneath its saddlebags
- Genesis 49:16 Or he judges, or settles disputes
- Genesis 49:19 Or he attacks or good fortune
- Genesis 49:20 LXX, Syr, Vulg; MT from Asher
- Genesis 49:21 Or who gives beautiful words
- Genesis 49:22 Heb uncertain
- Genesis 49:22 Heb uncertain
- Genesis 49:24 Heb uncertain; or flexible
- Genesis 49:25 Heb Shaddai or the Mountain One
- Genesis 49:26 LXX; Heb uncertain
Genesis 49
King James Version
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.
2 Gather yourselves together, and hear, ye sons of Jacob; and hearken unto Israel your father.
3 Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power:
4 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 Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations.
6 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 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 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 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 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 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 His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk.
13 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 Issachar is a strong ass couching down between two burdens:
15 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 Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel.
17 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 I have waited for thy salvation, O Lord.
19 Gad, a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last.
20 Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties.
21 Naphtali is a hind let loose: he giveth goodly words.
22 Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall:
23 The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him:
24 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 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 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 Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf: in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil.
28 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 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 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.
32 The purchase of the field and of the cave that is therein was from the children of Heth.
33 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.
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