MLV(i)
1 And Jacob called to his sons and said, gather yourselves together, that I may tell you* what will befall you* in the latter days.
2 Assemble yourselves and hear, you* sons of Jacob and listen to Israel your* father.
3 Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might and the beginning of my strength, the preeminence of dignity and the pre-eminence of power. 4 Boiling over as water, you will not have the pre-eminence, because you went up to your father's bed, then you defiled it; he went up to my couch.
5 Simeon and Levi are brothers, weapons of violence are their swords. 6 O my soul, do not come into their council, to their assembly, my glory, do not be united, because they killed* a man in their anger and they hocked an ox in their self-will. 7 Cursed be their anger, because it was fierce and their wrath, because it was cruel. I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel.
8 Judah, your brothers will praise you. Your hand will be on the neck of your enemies. Your father's sons will bow down before you. 9 Judah is a lion's cub. From the prey, my son, you have gone up. He stooped down, he couched as a lion and as a lioness, who will rouse him up?
10 The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs and to him will the obedience of the peoples be. 11 Binding his foal to the vine and his donkey's colt to the choice vine, he has washed his garments in wine and his raiment in the blood of grapes. 12 His eyes will be red with wine and his teeth white with milk.
13 Zebulun will dwell at the haven of the sea and he will be for a haven of ships. And his border will be upon Sidon.
14 Issachar is a strong donkey, couching down between the sheepfolds. 15 And he saw a resting place that it was good and the land that it was pleasant. And he bowed his shoulder to bear and became a servant under forced-labor.
16 Dan will judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel. 17 Dan will be a serpent in the way, an adder in the path, that bites the horse's heels, so that his rider falls backward. 18 I have waited for your salvation, O Jehovah.
19 Gad, a troop will press upon him, but he will press upon their heel.
20 Out of the Asher his bread will be fat and he will yield royal dainties.
21 Naphtali is a female-deer let loose. He gives pleasant words.
22 Joseph is a fruitful son, a fruitful son by a fountain, his daughters run over the wall. 23 The archers embittered at him and shot at him and persecute him, 24 but his bow abode in strength. And the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob (From there is the shepherd, the stone of Israel), 25 even by the God of your father, who will help you and by the Almighty, who will bless you with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that couches beneath, blessings of the breasts and of the womb.
26 The blessings of your father have prevailed above the blessings of my forefathers to the utmost bound of the everlasting hills. They will be on the head of Joseph and on the crown of the head of him who was separate from his brothers.
27 Benjamin is a wolf that ravens. In the morning he will devour the prey and at evening he will divide the spoil.
28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel and this is it that their father spoke to them and blessed them; every man according to his blessing he blessed them.
29 And he ordered them and said to them, I am to be gathered to my people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, 30 in the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite for a possession of a burying place.
31 There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife, there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife and there I buried Leah, 32 the field and the cave that is in it, which was purchased from the sons of Heth.
33 And when Jacob made an end of charging his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed and yielded up the spirit and was gathered to his people.
3 Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might and the beginning of my strength, the preeminence of dignity and the pre-eminence of power. 4 Boiling over as water, you will not have the pre-eminence, because you went up to your father's bed, then you defiled it; he went up to my couch.
5 Simeon and Levi are brothers, weapons of violence are their swords. 6 O my soul, do not come into their council, to their assembly, my glory, do not be united, because they killed* a man in their anger and they hocked an ox in their self-will. 7 Cursed be their anger, because it was fierce and their wrath, because it was cruel. I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel.
8 Judah, your brothers will praise you. Your hand will be on the neck of your enemies. Your father's sons will bow down before you. 9 Judah is a lion's cub. From the prey, my son, you have gone up. He stooped down, he couched as a lion and as a lioness, who will rouse him up?
10 The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs and to him will the obedience of the peoples be. 11 Binding his foal to the vine and his donkey's colt to the choice vine, he has washed his garments in wine and his raiment in the blood of grapes. 12 His eyes will be red with wine and his teeth white with milk.
13 Zebulun will dwell at the haven of the sea and he will be for a haven of ships. And his border will be upon Sidon.
14 Issachar is a strong donkey, couching down between the sheepfolds. 15 And he saw a resting place that it was good and the land that it was pleasant. And he bowed his shoulder to bear and became a servant under forced-labor.
16 Dan will judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel. 17 Dan will be a serpent in the way, an adder in the path, that bites the horse's heels, so that his rider falls backward. 18 I have waited for your salvation, O Jehovah.
19 Gad, a troop will press upon him, but he will press upon their heel.
20 Out of the Asher his bread will be fat and he will yield royal dainties.
21 Naphtali is a female-deer let loose. He gives pleasant words.
22 Joseph is a fruitful son, a fruitful son by a fountain, his daughters run over the wall. 23 The archers embittered at him and shot at him and persecute him, 24 but his bow abode in strength. And the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob (From there is the shepherd, the stone of Israel), 25 even by the God of your father, who will help you and by the Almighty, who will bless you with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that couches beneath, blessings of the breasts and of the womb.
26 The blessings of your father have prevailed above the blessings of my forefathers to the utmost bound of the everlasting hills. They will be on the head of Joseph and on the crown of the head of him who was separate from his brothers.
27 Benjamin is a wolf that ravens. In the morning he will devour the prey and at evening he will divide the spoil.
28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel and this is it that their father spoke to them and blessed them; every man according to his blessing he blessed them.
29 And he ordered them and said to them, I am to be gathered to my people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, 30 in the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite for a possession of a burying place.
31 There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife, there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife and there I buried Leah, 32 the field and the cave that is in it, which was purchased from the sons of Heth.
33 And when Jacob made an end of charging his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed and yielded up the spirit and was gathered to his people.