¹ And Jacob called unto his sons, and said: gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the latter days.

² Assemble yourselves, and hear, ye sons of Jacob; And hearken unto Israel your father.

³ Reuben, thou art my first-born, my might, and the beginning of my strength; The pre-eminence of dignity, and the pre-eminence of power.

⁴ Boiling over as water, thou shalt not have the pre-eminence; 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; Weapons of violence are their swords.

⁶ O my soul, come not thou into their council; Unto their assembly, my glory, be not thou united; For in their anger they slew a man, And in their self-will they hocked an ox.

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, thee shall thy brethren praise: Thy hand shall be on the neck of thine enemies; Thy father's sons 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 a lioness; who shall rouse him up?

¹⁰ The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, Nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, Until Shiloh come: And unto him shall the obedience of the peoples be.

¹¹ Binding his foal unto the vine, And his ass's colt unto the choice vine; He hath washed his garments in wine, And his vesture 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 a haven of ships; And his border shall be upon Sidon.

¹⁴ Issachar is a strong ass, Couching down between the sheepfolds:

¹⁵ And he saw a resting-place that it was good, And the land that it was pleasant; And he bowed his shoulder to bear, And became a servant under taskwork.

¹⁶ Dan shall judge his people, As one of the tribes of Israel.

¹⁷ Dan shall be a serpent in the way, An adder in the path, That biteth the horse's heels, So that his rider falleth backward.

¹⁸ I have waited for thy salvation, O Jehovah.

¹⁹ Gad, a troop shall press upon him; But he shall press upon their heel.

²⁰ Out of the 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, A fruitful bough by a fountain; His branches run over the wall.

²³ The archers have sorely grieved him, And shot at him, and persecute him:

²⁴ But his bow abode in strength, And the arms of his hands were made strong, By the hands of the Mighty One 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 coucheth beneath, 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 is a wolf that raveneth: In the morning she shall devour the prey, And at even 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 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 the field and the cave that is therein, which was purchased from the children of Heth.

³³ And when Jacob made an end of charging his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the ghost, and was gathered unto his people.

¹ Jacob called to his sons, and said: "Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which will happen to you in the days to come.

² Assemble yourselves, and hear, you sons of Jacob. Listen to Israel, your father.

³ "Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength; excelling in dignity, and excelling in power.

⁴ Boiling over as water, you shall not excel; because you went up to your father's bed, then defiled it. He went up to my couch.

⁵ "Simeon and Levi are brothers. Their swords are weapons of violence.

⁶ My soul, don't come into their council. My glory, don't be united to their assembly; for in their anger they killed men. In their self-will they hamstrung cattle.

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, your brothers will praise you. Your hand will be on the neck of your enemies. Your father's sons will bow down before you.

⁹ Judah is a lion's cub. From the prey, my son, you have gone up. He stooped down, he crouched as a lion, as a lioness. Who will rouse him up?

¹⁰ The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs. To him will the obedience of the peoples be.

¹¹ Binding his foal to the vine, his donkey's colt to the choice vine; he has washed his garments in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes.

¹² His eyes will be red with wine, his teeth white with milk.

¹³ "Zebulun will dwell at the haven of the sea. He will be for a haven of ships. His border will be on Sidon.

¹⁴ "Issachar is a strong donkey, lying down between the saddlebags.

¹⁵ He saw a resting place, that it was good, the land, that it was pleasant. He bows his shoulder to the burden, and becomes a servant doing forced labor.

¹⁶ "Dan will judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel.

¹⁷ Dan will be a serpent in the way, an adder in the path, That bites the horse's heels, so that his rider falls backward.

¹⁸ I have waited for your salvation, Yahweh.

¹⁹ "A troop will press on Gad, but he will press on their heel.

²⁰ "Asher's food will be rich. He will yield royal dainties.

²¹ "Naphtali is a doe set free, who bears beautiful fawns.

²² "Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine by a spring. His branches run over the wall.

²³ The archers have severely grieved him, shot at him, and persecute him:

²⁴ But his bow remained strong. The arms of his hands were made strong, by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, (from there is the shepherd, the stone of Israel),

²⁵ even by the God of your father, who will help you; by the Almighty, who will bless you, with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lies below, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb.

²⁶ The blessings of your father have prevailed above the blessings of your ancestors, above the boundaries of the ancient hills. They will be on the head of Joseph, on the crown of the head of him who is separated from his brothers.

²⁷ "Benjamin is a ravenous wolf. In the morning he will devour the prey. At evening he will divide the spoil."

²⁸ All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father spoke to them and blessed them. He blessed everyone according to his blessing.

²⁹ He instructed them, and said to them, "I am to be gathered to 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 from Ephron the Hittite as a burial place.

³¹ There they buried Abraham and Sarah, his wife. There they buried Isaac and Rebekah, his wife, and there I buried Leah:

³² the field and the cave that is therein, which was purchased from the children of Heth."

³³ When Jacob made an end of charging his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the spirit, and was gathered to his people.