Genesis 49:1–27

¹And Jacob calleth unto his sons and saith, ‘Be gathered together, and I declare to you that which doth happen with you in the latter end of the days.

²‘Be assembled, and hear, sons of Jacob, And hearken unto Israel your father. ³Reuben! my first-born thou, My power, and beginning of my strength, The abundance of exaltation, And the abundance of strength; ⁴Unstable as water, thou art not abundant; For thou hast gone up thy father’s bed; Then thou hast polluted: My couch he went up!

⁵Simeon and Levi are brethren! Instruments of violence—their espousals! ⁶Into their secret, come not, O my soul! Unto their assembly be not united, O mine honour; For in their anger they slew a man, And in their self-will eradicated a prince. ⁷Cursed is their anger, for it is fierce, And their wrath, for it is sharp; I divide them in Jacob, And I scatter them in Israel.

⁸Judah! thou—thy brethren praise thee! Thy hand is on the neck of thine enemies, Sons of thy father bow themselves to thee. ⁹A lion’s whelp is Judah, For prey, my son, thou hast gone up; He hath bent, he hath crouched as a lion, And as a lioness; who causeth him to arise? ¹⁰The sceptre turneth not aside from Judah, And a lawgiver from between his feet, Till his Seed come; And his is the obedience of peoples. ¹¹Binding to the vine his ass, And to the choice vine the colt of his ass, He hath washed in wine his clothing, And in the blood of grapes his covering; ¹²Red are eyes with wine, And white are teeth with milk!

¹³Zebulun at a haven of the seas doth dwell, And he is for a haven of ships; And his side is unto Zidon. ¹⁴Issacher is a strong ass, Crouching between the two folds; ¹⁵And he seeth rest that it is good, And the land that it is pleasant, And he inclineth his shoulder to bear, And is to tribute a servant. ¹⁶Dan doth judge his people, As one of the tribes of Israel; ¹⁷Dan is a serpent by the way, An adder by the path, Which is biting the horse’s heels, And its rider falleth backward. ¹⁸For Thy salvation I have waited, Jehovah! ¹⁹Gad! a troop assaulteth him, But he assaulteth last. ²⁰Out of Asher his bread is fat; And he giveth dainties of a king. ²¹Naphtali is a hind sent away, Who is giving beauteous young ones.

²²Joseph is a fruitful son; A fruitful son by a fountain, Daughters step over the wall; ²³And embitter him—yea, they have striven, Yea, hate him do archers; ²⁴And his bow abideth in strength, And strengthened are the arms of his hands By the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, Whence is a shepherd, a son of Israel. ²⁵By the God of thy father who helpeth thee, And the Mighty One who blesseth thee, Blessings of the heavens from above, Blessings of the deep lying under, Blessings of breasts and womb;— ²⁶Thy father’s blessings have been mighty Above the blessings of my progenitors, Unto the limit of the heights age-during They are for the head of Joseph, And for the crown of the one Separate from his brethren. ²⁷Benjamin! a wolf teareth; In the morning he eateth prey, And at evening he apportioneth spoil.’