Genesis 49 | King James Version

King James Version

1 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' 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' children shall bow down before thee. 9 Judah is a lion' 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' 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.

New International Reader’s Version

Jacob gives blessings to his sons

1 Then Jacob sent for his sons. He said, ‘Gather around me so I can tell you what will happen to you in days to come. 2 ‘Sons of Jacob, come together and listen. Listen to your father Israel. 3 ‘Reuben, you are my eldest son. You were my first child. You were the first sign of my strength. You were first in honour. You were first in power. 4 But you are as unsteady as water. So you won’t be first anymore. You had sex with my concubine on my bed. You lay on my couch and made it “unclean”. 5 ‘Simeon and Levi are brothers. Their swords have killed a lot of people. 6 I won’t share in their plans. I won’t have anything to do with them. They became angry and killed people. They cut the legs of oxen just for the fun of it. 7 May the LORD put a curse on them because of their terrible anger. I will scatter them in Jacob’s land. I will spread them around in Israel. 8 ‘Judah, your brothers will praise you. Your enemies will be brought under your control. Your father’s sons will bow down to you. 9 Judah, you are like a lion’s cub. You return from hunting, my son. Like a lion, you lie down and sleep. You are like a mother lion. Who dares to wake you up? 10 The right to rule will not leave Judah. The ruler’s sceptre will not be taken from between his feet. It will be his until the king it belongs to will come. The nations will obey that king. 11 He will tie his donkey to a vine. He will tie his colt to the very best branch. He will wash his clothes in wine. He will wash his robes in the red juice of grapes. 12 His eyes will be darker than wine. His teeth will be whiter than milk. 13 ‘Zebulun will live by the seashore. He will become a safe harbour for ships. His border will go out towards Sidon. 14 ‘Issachar is like a wild donkey lying down among the sheepfolds. 15 He sees how good his resting place is. He sees that his land is pleasant. So he will carry a heavy load on his back. He will obey when he’s forced to work. 16 ‘Dan will do what is fair for his people. He will do it as one of the tribes of Israel. 17 Dan will be a snake by the side of the road. He will be a poisonous snake along the path. It bites the horse’s heels so that the rider falls off backwards. 18 ‘LORD, I look to you to save me. 19 ‘Gad will be attacked by a group of robbers. But he will attack them as they run away. 20 ‘Asher’s food will be rich and sweet. He will provide food that even a king would enjoy. 21 ‘Naphtali is a female deer set free and gives birth to beautiful fawns. 22 ‘Joseph is a vine that grows a lot of fruit. It grows close by a spring. Its branches climb over a wall. 23 Mean people shot arrows at him. They shot at him because they were angry. 24 But his bow remained steady. His strong arms moved freely. The hand of the Mighty God of Jacob was with him. The Shepherd, the Rock of Israel, stood by him. 25 Joseph, your father’s God helps you. The Mighty God blesses you. He gives you blessings from the sky above. He gives you blessings from the deep springs below. He blesses you with children and with a mother’s milk. 26 Your father’s blessings are great. They are greater than the blessings from the age-old mountains. They are greater than the gifts from the ancient hills. Let all those blessings rest on the head of Joseph. Let them rest on the head of the one who is prince among his brothers. 27 ‘Benjamin is a hungry wolf. In the morning he eats what he has killed. In the evening he shares what he has stolen.’ 28 All these are the 12 tribes of Israel. That’s what their father said to them when he blessed them. He gave each one the blessing that was just right for him.

Jacob dies

29 Then Jacob gave directions to his sons. He said, ‘I’m about to join the members of my family who have already died. Bury me with them in the cave in the field of Ephron, the Hittite. 30 The cave is in the field of Machpelah near Mamre in Canaan. Abraham had bought it as a place where he could bury his wife’s body. He had bought the cave and the field from Ephron, the Hittite. 31 The bodies of Abraham and his wife Sarah were buried there. So were the bodies of Isaac and his wife Rebekah. I also buried Leah’s body there. 32 Abraham bought the field and the cave from the Hittites.’ 33 When Jacob had finished telling his sons what to do, he pulled his feet up into his bed. Then he took his last breath and died. He joined the members of his family who had already died.