JACOB’S LAST WORDS

49 Then Jacob called his sons and said, “Gather around, and I will tell you what will happen to you in the days to come.F,s

2 Come together and listen, sons of Jacob;

listen to your father Israel:

3 Reuben, you are my firstborn,t

my strength and the firstfruits of my virility,u

excelling in prominence, excelling in power.

4 Turbulent as water, you will not excel,

because you got into your father’s bedv

and you defiled it—heG got into my bed.

5 Simeon and Levi are brothers;

their knives are vicious weapons.a

6 May I never enter their council;

may I never join their assembly.

For in their anger they kill men,

and on a whim they hamstring oxen.

7 Their anger is cursed, for it is strong,

and their fury, for it is cruel!

I will disperse them throughout Jacob

and scatter them throughout Israel.b

8 Judah, your brothers will praise you.c

Your hand will be on the necks of your enemies;

your father’s sons will bow down to you.d

9 Judah is a young lione—

my son, you return from the kill.

He crouches; he lies down like a lion

or a lioness—who dares to rouse him?

10 The scepter will not depart from Judah

or the staff from between his feet

until he whose right it is comesA,f

and the obedience of the peoples belongs to him.g

11 He ties his donkey to a vine,

and the colt of his donkey to the choice vine.

He washes his clothes in wine

and his robes in the blood of grapes.

12 His eyes are darker than wine,

and his teeth are whiter than milk.

13 Zebulun will live by the seashore

and will be a harbor for ships,

and his territory will be next to Sidon.h

14 Issachar is a strong donkey

lying down between the saddlebags.B

15 He saw that his resting place was good

and that the land was pleasant,

so he leaned his shoulder to bear a load

and became a forced laborer.i

16 Dan will judge his peoplej

as one of the tribes of Israel.

17 Dan will be a snake by the road,

a viper beside the path,

that bites the horse’s heels

so that its rider falls backward.

18 I wait for your salvation, Lord.

19 Gad will be attacked by raiders,

but he will attack their heels.k

20 Asher’s* food will be rich,

and he will produce royal delicacies.l

21 Naphtali is a doe set free

that bears beautiful fawns.m

22 Joseph is a fruitful vine,

a fruitful vine beside a spring;

its branchesD climb over the wall.E

23 The archers attacked him,

shot at him, and were hostile toward him.

24 Yet his bow remained steady,

and his strong arms were made agile

by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob,n

by the name ofF the Shepherd,o the Rock of Israel,p

25 by the God of your father who helps you,

and by the Almighty who blesses you

with blessings of the heavens above,

blessings of the deep that lies below,

and blessings of the breasts and the womb.

26 The blessings of your father excel

the blessings of my ancestorsG

andH the bounty of the ancient hills.E,q

May they rest on the head of Joseph,

on the brow of the prince of his brothers.

27 Benjamin is a wolf; he tears his prey.

In the morning he devours the prey,

and in the evening he divides the plunder.”r

28 These are the tribes of Israel, twelve in all, and this is what their father said to them. He blessed them, and he blessed each one with a suitable blessing.