49:1 Jacob called for his sons and said, “Gather together so I can tell you 1 what will happen to you in the future. 2
49:2 “Assemble and listen, you sons of Jacob;
listen to Israel, your father.
49:3 Reuben, you are my firstborn,
my might and the beginning of my strength,
outstanding in dignity, outstanding in power.
49:4 You are destructive 3 like water and will not excel, 4
for you got on your father’s bed, 5
then you defiled it – he got on my couch! 6
49:5 Simeon and Levi are brothers,
weapons of violence are their knives! 7
49:6 O my soul, do not come into their council,
do not be united to their assembly, my heart, 8
for in their anger they have killed men,
and for pleasure they have hamstrung oxen.
49:7 Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce,
and their fury, for it was cruel.
I will divide them in Jacob,
and scatter them in Israel! 9
49:8 Judah, 10 your brothers will praise you.
Your hand will be on the neck of your enemies,
your father’s sons will bow down before you.
49:9 You are a lion’s cub, Judah,
from the prey, my son, you have gone up.
He crouches and lies down like a lion;
like a lioness – who will rouse him?
49:10 The scepter will not depart from Judah,
nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, 11
until he comes to whom it belongs; 12
the nations will obey him. 13
49:11 Binding his foal to the vine,
and his colt to the choicest vine,
he will wash 14 his garments in wine,
his robes in the blood of grapes.
49:12 His eyes will be dark from wine,
and his teeth white from milk. 15
49:13 Zebulun will live 16 by the haven of the sea
and become a haven for ships;
his border will extend to Sidon. 17
49:14 Issachar is a strong-boned donkey
lying down between two saddlebags.
49:15 When he sees 18 a good resting place,
and the pleasant land,
he will bend his shoulder to the burden
and become a slave laborer. 19
49:16 Dan 20 will judge 21 his people
as one of the tribes of Israel.
49:17 May Dan be a snake beside the road,
a viper by the path,
that bites the heels of the horse
so that its rider falls backward. 22
49:18 I wait for your deliverance, O Lord. 23
49:19 Gad will be raided by marauding bands,
but he will attack them at their heels. 24
49:20 Asher’s 25 food will be rich, 26
and he will provide delicacies 27 to royalty.
49:21 Naphtali is a free running doe, 28
he speaks delightful words. 29
49:22 Joseph is a fruitful bough, 30
a fruitful bough near a spring
whose branches 31 climb over the wall.