| |
New Living Translation |   | |
 |
| |
| | Gen 49:1 | Then Jacob called together all his sons and said, "Gather around me, and I will tell you what is going to happen to you in the days to come.
| |
| | Gen 49:2 | "Come and listen, O sons of Jacob; listen to Israel, your father.
| |
| | Gen 49:3 | "Reuben, you are my oldest son, the child of my vigorous youth. You are first on the list in rank and honor.
| |
| | Gen 49:4 | But you are as unruly as the waves of the sea, and you will be first no longer. For you slept with one of my wives; you dishonored me in my own bed.
| |
| | Gen 49:5 | "Simeon and Levi are two of a kind-- men of violence.
| |
| | Gen 49:6 | O my soul, stay away from them. May I never be a party to their wicked plans. For in their anger they murdered men, and they crippled oxen just for sport.
| |
| | Gen 49:7 | Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce; cursed be their wrath, for it is cruel. Therefore, I will scatter their descendants throughout the nation of Israel.
| |
| | Gen 49:8 | "Judah, your brothers will praise you. You will defeat your enemies. All your relatives will bow before you.
| |
| | Gen 49:9 | Judah is a young lion that has finished eating its prey. Like a lion he crouches and lies down; like a lioness--who will dare to rouse him?
| |
| | Gen 49:10 | The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from his descendants, until the coming of the one to whom it belongs, the one whom all nations will obey.
| |
| | Gen 49:11 | He ties his foal to a grapevine, the colt of his donkey to a choice vine. He washes his clothes in wine because his harvest is so plentiful.
| |
| | Gen 49:12 | His eyes are darker than wine, and his teeth are whiter than milk.
| |
| | Gen 49:13 | "Zebulun will settle on the shores of the sea and will be a harbor for ships; his borders will extend to Sidon.
| |
| | Gen 49:14 | "Issachar is a strong beast of burden, resting among the sheepfolds.
| |
| | Gen 49:15 | When he sees how good the countryside is, how pleasant the land, he will bend his shoulder to the task and submit to forced labor.
| |
| | Gen 49:16 | "Dan will govern his people like any other tribe in Israel.
| |
| | Gen 49:17 | He will be a snake beside the road, a poisonous viper along the path, that bites the horse's heels so the rider is thrown off.
| |
| | Gen 49:18 | I trust in you for salvation, O LORD!
| |
| | Gen 49:19 | "Gad will be plundered by marauding bands, but he will turn and plunder them.
| |
| | Gen 49:20 | "Asher will produce rich foods, food fit for kings.
| |
| | Gen 49:21 | "Naphtali is a deer let loose, producing magnificent fawns.
| |
| | Gen 49:22 | "Joseph is a fruitful tree, a fruitful tree beside a fountain. His branches reach over the wall.
| |
| | Gen 49:23 | He has been attacked by archers, who shot at him and harassed him.
| |
| | Gen 49:24 | But his bow remained strong, and his arms were strengthened by the Mighty One of Jacob, the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel.
| |
| | Gen 49:25 | May the God of your ancestors help you; may the Almighty bless you with the blessings of the heavens above, blessings of the earth beneath, and blessings of the breasts and womb.
| |
| | Gen 49:26 | May the blessings of your ancestors be greater than the blessings of the eternal mountains, reaching to the utmost bounds of the everlasting hills. These blessings will fall on the head of Joseph, who is a prince among his brothers.
| |
| | Gen 49:27 | "Benjamin is a wolf that prowls. He devours his enemies in the morning, and in the evening he divides the plunder."
| |
| | Gen 49:28 | These are the twelve tribes of Israel, and these are the blessings with which Jacob blessed his twelve sons. Each received a blessing that was appropriate to him.
| |
| | Gen 49:29 | Then Jacob told them, "Soon I will die. Bury me with my father and grandfather in the cave in Ephron's field.
| |
| | Gen 49:30 | This is the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre in Canaan, which Abraham bought from Ephron the Hittite for a permanent burial place.
| |
| | Gen 49:31 | There Abraham and his wife Sarah are buried. There Isaac and his wife, Rebekah, are buried. And there I buried Leah.
| |
| | Gen 49:32 | It is the cave that my grandfather Abraham bought from the Hittites."
| |
| | Gen 49:33 | Then when Jacob had finished this charge to his sons, he lay back in the bed, breathed his last, and died.
| |
