Genesis 49

New International Version

Jacob Blesses His Sons^(A)

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.^(B)

²“Assemble^(C) and listen, sons of Jacob;
listen to your father Israel.^(D)

³“Reuben, you are my firstborn,^(E)
    my might, the first sign of my strength,^(F)
    excelling in honor,^(G) excelling in power.
⁴Turbulent as the waters,^(H) you will no longer excel,
    for you went up onto your father’s bed,
    onto my couch and defiled it.^(I)

⁵“Simeon^(J) and Levi^(K) are brothers—
    their swords^[a] are weapons of violence.^(L)
⁶Let me not enter their council,
    let me not join their assembly,^(M)
for they have killed men in their anger^(N)
    and hamstrung^(O) oxen as they pleased.
⁷Cursed be their anger, so fierce,
    and their fury,^(P) so cruel!^(Q)
I will scatter them in Jacob
    and disperse them in Israel.^(R)

⁸“Judah,^[b]^(S) your brothers will praise you;
    your hand will be on the neck^(T) of your enemies;
    your father’s sons will bow down to you.^(U)
⁹You are a lion’s^(V) cub,^(W) Judah;^(X)
    you return from the prey,^(Y) my son.
Like a lion he crouches and lies down,
    like a lioness—who dares to rouse him?
¹⁰The scepter will not depart from Judah,^(Z)
    nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,^[c]
until he to whom it belongs^[d] shall come^(AA)
    and the obedience of the nations shall be his.^(AB)
¹¹He will tether his donkey^(AC) to a vine,
    his colt to the choicest branch;^(AD)
he will wash his garments in wine,
    his robes in the blood of grapes.^(AE)
¹²His eyes will be darker than wine,
    his teeth whiter than milk.^[e]^(AF)

¹³“Zebulun^(AG) will live by the seashore
and become a haven for ships;
his border will extend toward Sidon.^(AH)

¹⁴“Issachar^(AI) is a rawboned^[f] donkey
    lying down among the sheep pens.^[g]^(AJ)
¹⁵When he sees how good is his resting place
    and how pleasant is his land,^(AK)
he will bend his shoulder to the burden^(AL)
    and submit to forced labor.^(AM)

¹⁶“Dan^[h]^(AN) will provide justice for his people
    as one of the tribes of Israel.^(AO)
¹⁷Dan^(AP) will be a snake by the roadside,
    a viper along the path,^(AQ)
that bites the horse’s heels^(AR)
    so that its rider tumbles backward.

¹⁸“I look for your deliverance,^(AS) Lord.^(AT)

¹⁹“Gad^[i]^(AU) will be attacked by a band of raiders,
but he will attack them at their heels.^(AV)

²⁰“Asher’s^(AW) food will be rich;^(AX)
he will provide delicacies fit for a king.^(AY)

²¹“Naphtali^(AZ) is a doe set free
that bears beautiful fawns.^[j]^(BA)

²²“Joseph^(BB) is a fruitful vine,^(BC)
    a fruitful vine near a spring,
    whose branches^(BD) climb over a wall.^[k]
²³With bitterness archers attacked him;^(BE)
    they shot at him with hostility.^(BF)
²⁴But his bow remained steady,^(BG)
    his strong arms^(BH) stayed^[l] limber,
because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob,^(BI)
    because of the Shepherd,^(BJ) the Rock of Israel,^(BK)
²⁵because of your father’s God,^(BL) who helps^(BM) you,
    because of the Almighty,^[m]^(BN) who blesses you
with blessings of the skies above,
    blessings of the deep springs below,^(BO)
    blessings of the breast^(BP) and womb.^(BQ)
²⁶Your father’s blessings are greater
    than the blessings of the ancient mountains,
    than^[n] the bounty of the age-old hills.^(BR)
Let all these rest on the head of Joseph,^(BS)
    on the brow of the prince among^[o] his brothers.^(BT)

²⁷“Benjamin^(BU) is a ravenous wolf;^(BV)
in the morning he devours the prey,^(BW)
in the evening he divides the plunder.”^(BX)

²⁸All these are the twelve tribes of Israel,^(BY) and this is what their father said to them when he blessed them, giving each the blessing^(BZ) appropriate to him.

The Death of Jacob

²⁹Then he gave them these instructions:^(CA) “I am about to be gathered to my people.^(CB) Bury me with my fathers^(CC) in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite,^(CD) ³⁰the cave in the field of Machpelah,^(CE) near Mamre^(CF) in Canaan, which Abraham bought along with the field^(CG) as a burial place^(CH) from Ephron the Hittite. ³¹There Abraham^(CI) and his wife Sarah^(CJ) were buried, there Isaac and his wife Rebekah^(CK) were buried, and there I buried Leah.^(CL) ³²The field and the cave in it were bought from the Hittites.^[p]^(CM)”

³³When 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.^(CN)

Footnotes

Genesis 49:5 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
Genesis 49:8 Judah sounds like and may be derived from the Hebrew for praise.
Genesis 49:10 Or from his descendants
Genesis 49:10 Or to whom tribute belongs; the meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
Genesis 49:12 Or will be dull from wine, / his teeth white from milk
Genesis 49:14 Or strong
Genesis 49:14 Or the campfires; or the saddlebags
Genesis 49:16 Dan here means he provides justice.
Genesis 49:19 Gad sounds like the Hebrew for attack and also for band of raiders.
Genesis 49:21 Or free; / he utters beautiful words
Genesis 49:22 Or Joseph is a wild colt, / a wild colt near a spring, / a wild donkey on a terraced hill
Genesis 49:24 Or archers will attack … will shoot … will remain … will stay
Genesis 49:25 Hebrew Shaddai
Genesis 49:26 Or of my progenitors, / as great as
Genesis 49:26 Or of the one separated from
Genesis 49:32 Or the descendants of Heth

Genesis 50

New International Version

50 Joseph threw himself on his father and wept over him and kissed him.^(A) ²Then Joseph directed the physicians in his service to embalm his father Israel. So the physicians embalmed him,^(B) ³taking a full forty days, for that was the time required for embalming. And the Egyptians mourned for him seventy days.^(C)

⁴When the days of mourning^(D) had passed, Joseph said to Pharaoh’s court,^(E) “If I have found favor in your eyes,^(F) speak to Pharaoh for me. Tell him, ⁵‘My father made me swear an oath^(G) and said, “I am about to die;^(H) bury me in the tomb I dug for myself^(I) in the land of Canaan.”^(J) Now let me go up and bury my father;^(K) then I will return.’”

⁶Pharaoh said, “Go up and bury your father, as he made you swear to do.”

⁷So Joseph went up to bury his father. All Pharaoh’s officials^(L) accompanied him—the dignitaries of his court^(M) and all the dignitaries of Egypt— ⁸besides all the members of Joseph’s household and his brothers and those belonging to his father’s household.^(N) Only their children and their flocks and herds were left in Goshen.^(O) ⁹Chariots^(P) and horsemen^[a] also went up with him. It was a very large company.

¹⁰When they reached the threshing floor^(Q) of Atad, near the Jordan, they lamented loudly and bitterly;^(R) and there Joseph observed a seven-day period^(S) of mourning^(T) for his father.^(U) ¹¹When the Canaanites^(V) who lived there saw the mourning at the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “The Egyptians are holding a solemn ceremony of mourning.”^(W) That is why that place near the Jordan is called Abel Mizraim.^[b]

¹²So Jacob’s sons did as he had commanded them:^(X) ¹³They carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave in the field of Machpelah,^(Y) near Mamre,^(Z) which Abraham had bought along with the field^(AA) as a burial place from Ephron the Hittite.^(AB) ¹⁴After burying his father, Joseph returned to Egypt, together with his brothers and all the others who had gone with him to bury his father.^(AC)

Joseph Reassures His Brothers

¹⁵When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph holds a grudge^(AD) against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?”^(AE) ¹⁶So they sent word to Joseph, saying, “Your father left these instructions^(AF) before he died: ¹⁷‘This is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins^(AG) and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.’^(AH) Now please forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your father.^(AI)” When their message came to him, Joseph wept.^(AJ)

¹⁸His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him.^(AK) “We are your slaves,”^(AL) they said.

¹⁹But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God?^(AM) ²⁰You intended to harm me,^(AN) but God intended^(AO) it for good^(AP) to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.^(AQ) ²¹So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.^(AR)” And he reassured them and spoke kindly^(AS) to them.

The Death of Joseph

²²Joseph stayed in Egypt, along with all his father’s family. He lived a hundred and ten years^(AT) ²³and saw the third generation^(AU) of Ephraim’s^(AV) children.^(AW) Also the children of Makir^(AX) son of Manasseh^(AY) were placed at birth on Joseph’s knees.^[c]^(AZ)

²⁴Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die.^(BA) But God will surely come to your aid^(BB) and take you up out of this land to the land^(BC) he promised on oath to Abraham,^(BD) Isaac^(BE) and Jacob.”^(BF) ²⁵And Joseph made the Israelites swear an oath^(BG) and said, “God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones^(BH) up from this place.”^(BI)