Jacob Blesses His Sons

49:1–28Ref—Dt 33:1–29

49 Then Jacob called for his sons and said: “Gather around so I can tell you what will happen to you in days to come.v

2 “Assemblew and listen, sons of Jacob;

listen to your father Israel.x

3 “Reuben, you are my firstborn,y

my might, the first sign of my strength,z

excelling in honor,a excelling in power.

4 Turbulent as the waters,b you will no longer excel,

for you went up onto your father’s bed,

onto my couch and defiled it.c

5 “Simeond and Levie are brothers—

their swordsa are weapons of violence.f

6 Let me not enter their council,

let me not join their assembly,g

for they have killed men in their angerh

and hamstrungi oxen as they pleased.

7 Cursed be their anger, so fierce,

and their fury,j so cruel!k

I will scatter them in Jacob

and disperse them in Israel.l

8 “Judah,b m your brothers will praise you;

your hand will be on the neckn of your enemies;

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

9 You are a lion’sp cub,q Judah;r

you return from the prey,s my son.

Like a lion he crouches and lies down,

like a lioness—who dares to rouse him?

10 The scepter will not depart from Judah,t

nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,c

until he to whom it belongsd shall comeu

and the obedience of the nations shall be his.v

11 He will tether his donkeyw to a vine,

his colt to the choicest branch;x

he will wash his garments in wine,

his robes in the blood of grapes.y

12 His eyes will be darker than wine,

his teeth whiter than milk.e z

13 “Zebuluna will live by the seashore

and become a haven for ships;

his border will extend toward Sidon.b

14 “Issacharc is a rawbonedf donkey

lying down among the sheep pens.g d

15 When he sees how good is his resting place

and how pleasant is his land,e

he will bend his shoulder to the burdenf

and submit to forced labor.g

16 “Danh h will provide justice for his people

as one of the tribes of Israel.i

17 Danj will be a snake by the roadside,

a viper along the path,k

that bites the horse’s heelsl

so that its rider tumbles backward.

18 “I look for your deliverance,m Lord.n

19 “Gadi o will be attacked by a band of raiders,

but he will attack them at their heels.p

20 “Asher’sq food will be rich;r

he will provide delicacies fit for a king.s

21 “Naphtalit is a doe set free

that bears beautiful fawns.j u

22 “Josephv is a fruitful vine,w

a fruitful vine near a spring,

whose branchesx climb over a wall.k

23 With bitterness archers attacked him;y

they shot at him with hostility.z

24 But his bow remained steady,a

his strong armsb stayedl limber,

because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob,c

because of the Shepherd,d the Rock of Israel,e

25 because of your father’s God,f who helpsg you,

because of the Almighty,m h who blesses you

with blessings of the skies above,

blessings of the deep springs below,i

blessings of the breastj and womb.k

26 Your father’s blessings are greater

than the blessings of the ancient mountains,

thann the bounty of the age-old hills.l

Let all these rest on the head of Joseph,m

on the brow of the prince amongo his brothers.n

27 “Benjamino is a ravenous wolf;p

in the morning he devours the prey,q

in the evening he divides the plunder.”r

28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel,s and this is what their father said to them when he blessed them, giving each the blessingt appropriate to him.

The Death of Jacob

29 Then he gave them these instructions:u “I am about to be gathered to my people.v Bury me with my fathersw in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite,x 30 the cave in the field of Machpelah,y near Mamrez in Canaan, which Abraham bought along with the fielda as a burial placeb from Ephron the Hittite. 31 There Abrahamc and his wife Sarahd were buried, there Isaac and his wife Rebekahe were buried, and there I buried Leah.f 32 The field and the cave in it were bought from the Hittites.p g”

33 When Jacob had finished giving instructions to his sons, he drew his feet up into the bed, breathed his last and was gathered to his people.h

50 Joseph threw himself on his father and wept over him and kissed him.i 2 Then Joseph directed the physicians in his service to embalm his father Israel. So the physicians embalmed him,j 3 taking a full forty days, for that was the time required for embalming. And the Egyptians mourned for him seventy days.k

4 When the days of mourningl had passed, Joseph said to Pharaoh’s court,m “If I have found favor in your eyes,n speak to Pharaoh for me. Tell him, 5 ‘My father made me swear an oatho and said, “I am about to die;p bury me in the tomb I dug for myselfq in the land of Canaan.”r Now let me go up and bury my father;s then I will return.’ ”

6 Pharaoh said, “Go up and bury your father, as he made you swear to do.”

7 So Joseph went up to bury his father. All Pharaoh’s officialst accompanied him—the dignitaries of his courtu and all the dignitaries of Egypt—8 besides all the members of Joseph’s household and his brothers and those belonging to his father’s household.v Only their children and their flocks and herds were left in Goshen.w 9 Chariotsx and horsemena also went up with him. It was a very large company.

10 When they reached the threshing floory of Atad, near the Jordan, they lamented loudly and bitterly;z and there Joseph observed a seven-day perioda of mourningb for his father.c 11 When the Canaanitesd who lived there saw the mourning at the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “The Egyptians are holding a solemn ceremony of mourning.”e That is why that place near the Jordan is called Abel Mizraim.b

12 So Jacob’s sons did as he had commanded them:f 13 They carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave in the field of Machpelah,g near Mamre,h which Abraham had bought along with the fieldi as a burial place from Ephron the Hittite.j 14 After burying his father, Joseph returned to Egypt, together with his brothers and all the others who had gone with him to bury his father.k

Joseph Reassures His Brothers

15 When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph holds a grudgel against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?”m 16 So they sent word to Joseph, saying, “Your father left these instructionsn before he died: 17 ‘This is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers the sinso and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.’p Now please forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your father.q” When their message came to him, Joseph wept.r

18 His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him.s “We are your slaves,”t they said.

19 But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God?u 20 You intended to harm me,v but God intendedw it for goodx to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.y 21 So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.z” And he reassured them and spoke kindlya to them.

The Death of Joseph

22 Joseph stayed in Egypt, along with all his father’s family. He lived a hundred and ten yearsb 23 and saw the third generationc of Ephraim’sd children.e Also the children of Makirf son of Manassehg were placed at birth on Joseph’s knees.c h

24 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die.i But God will surely come to your aidj and take you up out of this land to the landk he promised on oath to Abraham,l Isaacm and Jacob.”n 25 And Joseph made the Israelites swear an oatho and said, “God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bonesp up from this place.”q

26 So Joseph diedr at the age of a hundred and ten.s And after they embalmed him,t he was placed in a coffin in Egypt.