1
And Jacob called his sons, and said , Gather yourselves, and I will tell you what shall befall you in the last days .
2
Bring· yourselves ·together and hear , ye sons of Jacob , and hearken to▵ Israel your father .
3
Reuben , my firstborn , thou◦ art my power, and the beginning ◦ of my vigor, excelling◦ in eminence, and excelling◦ in strength.
4
Fickle as water thou shalt not excel◦, for thou wentest··up on the bed of thy father , then thou didst profane it; he went··up on my mat .
5
Simeon and Levi are brothers ; instruments of violence are their swords.
6
Into their secret council let not my soul come ; with their assembly let not my glory be united; for in their anger they killed a man ◦, and in their good··pleasure they hamstrung an ox .
7
Cursed be their anger for it was strong, and their wrath for it was hardened. I will part them in Jacob , and scatter them in Israel .
8
Thou◦ Judah , thy brothers shall confess thee, thy hand shall be on◦ the neck◦ of thine enemies , the sons of thy father shall bow ··down to thee.
9
Judah is a whelp of a lion ; from the prey, my son , thou art gone··up; he stooped, he couched as a lion , and as an old ··lion ; who shall raise· him ·up?
10
The scepter shall not be removed from Judah , and a lawgiver from between his feet , even··until Shiloh come ; and to Him will be the obedience◦ of the peoples.
11
He binds his donkey ··colt to the vine, and the young◦ of his she··donkey to the noble··vine; he washes his clothing in wine , and his covering in the blood of grapes ;
12
his eyes are red with wine , and his teeth are white with milk .
13
Zebulun shall inhabit the haven of the seas , and he◦ shall be a haven* for ships , and his flank shall be by◦ Zidon.
14
Issachar is a bony◦ donkey , couching between the packs.
15
And he shall see rest that it is good , and the land that it is pleasant ; and he shall incline his shoulder to bear··the··burden◦, and shall be a servant to tribute.
16
Dan shall make··judgment◦ for his people as one of the tribes ◦ of Israel .
17
Dan shall be a serpent on the way , an arrow-snake upon the path , biting the horse ’s heels , and his rider shall fall backward.
18
I wait for Thy salvation , O Jehovah .
19
Gad , a troop shall troop ··against* him and he◦ shall troop ··against the heel .
20
From Asher, his bread is with··oil, and he◦ shall give the pleasurable things of a king.
21
Naphtali is a deer sent ··out, giving goodly sayings*.
22
Joseph is the son of a fruitful one, the son of a fruitful one over a fount* of the daughters , she strides upon the wall ▵.
23
And the arrow masters embitter him, and shoot◦, and hate◦ him.
24
And he shall sit in the strength◦ of his bow , and the arms of his hands are strengthened▵ by the hands of the Powerful··One of Jacob ; from thence is the Shepherd , the Stone of Israel .
25
By the God◦ of thy father , and He shall help thee, and with◦ Shaddai , and He shall bless thee, with the blessings of heavens from above, with blessings of the abyss that coucheth beneath , with blessings of the breasts and of the womb .
26
The blessings of thy father shall prevail above the blessings of those who conceived me, even··to the longing of the hills of an age; they shall be on the head of Joseph , and on the top··of··the··head of the Nazarite* of his brothers .
27
Benjamin is a wolf , he tears away in the morning , he shall eat ··up the prey◦, and at evening he shall part the spoil .
28
All these tribes ◦ of Israel are twelve; and this is what their father spoke to them and blessed them; each◦ according··to his blessing he blessed them.
29
And he commanded them, and said to▵ them, I◦ am being gathered to▵ my people; bury me to▵ 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 upon the faces of Mamre , in the land of Canaan , which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite for a possession◦ of a burying··place.
31
There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife ; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife ; and there I buried Leah.
32
That which was bought of the field , and of the cave which is in it, was from the sons of Heth .
33
And Jacob completed commanding his sons, and he gathered his feet to▵ the bed◦, and expired, and was gathered to▵ his peoples.