49:1-28* — Dt 33:1–29
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.a
2“Assembleb and listen, sons of Jacob;
listen to your father Israel.c
3“Reuben, you are my firstborn,d
my might, the first sign of my strength,e
excelling in honor,f excelling in power.
4Turbulent as the waters,g you will no longer excel,
for you went up onto your father’s bed,
onto my couch and defiled it.h
5“Simeoni and Levij are brothers—
their swords* are weapons of violence.k
6Let me not enter their council,
let me not join their assembly,l
for they have killed men in their angerm
and hamstrungn oxen as they pleased.
7Cursed be their anger, so fierce,
I will scatter them in Jacob
and disperse them in Israel.q
8“Judah,*r your brothers will praise you;
your hand will be on the necks of your enemies;
your father’s sons will bow down to you.t
9You are a lion’su cub,v Judah;w
you return from the prey,x 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,y
nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,*
until he to whom it belongs* shall comez
and the obedience of the nations be his.a
11He will tether his donkeyb to a vine,
his colt to the choicest branch;c
he will wash his garments in wine,
his robes in the blood of grapes.d
12His eyes will be darker than wine,
13“Zebulunf will live by the seashore
and become a haven for ships;
his border will extend toward Sidon.g
14“Issacharh is a rawboned* donkey
lying down among the sheep pens.*i
15When he sees how good is his resting place
and how pleasant is his land,j
he will bend his shoulder to the burdenk
and submit to forced labor.l
16“Dan*m will provide justice for his people
as one of the tribes of Israel.n
17Dano will be a snake by the roadside,
a viper along the path,p
that bites the horse’s heelsq
so that its rider tumbles backward.
18“I look for your deliverance,r Lord.s
19“Gad*t will be attacked by a band of raiders,
but he will attack them at their heels.u
20“Asher’sv food will be rich;w
he will provide delicacies fit for a king.x
21“Naphtaliy is a doe set free
22“Josepha is a fruitful vine,b
a fruitful vine near a spring,
whose branchesc climb over a wall.*
23With bitterness archers attacked him;d
they shot at him with hostility.e
24But his bow remained steady,f
his strong armsg stayed* limber,
because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob,h
because of the Shepherd,i the Rock of Israel,j
25because of your father’s God,k who helpsl you,
because of the Almighty,*m who blesses you
with blessings of the heavens above,
blessings of the deep that lies below,n
blessings of the breasto and womb.p
26Your father’s blessings are greater
than the blessings of the ancient mountains,
than* the bounty of the age-old hills.q
Let all these rest on the head of Joseph,r
on the brow of the prince among* his brothers.s
27“Benjamint is a ravenous wolf;u
in the morning he devours the prey,v
in the evening he divides the plunder.”w
28All these are the twelve tribes of Israel,x and this is what their father said to them when he blessed them, giving each the blessingy appropriate to him.
29Then he gave them these instructions:a “I am about to be gathered to my people.b Bury me with my fathersc in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite,d 30the cave in the field of Machpelah,e near Mamref in Canaan, which Abraham bought along with the fieldg as a burial placeh from Ephron the Hittite. 31There Abrahami and his wife Sarahj were buried, there Isaac and his wife Rebekahk were buried, and there I buried Leah.l 32The field and the cave in it were bought from the Hittites.*m”
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.n