1 Then Jacob called for his sons and said, 'Gather together so that I may tell you what will happen to you in the days to come.'

And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days.

2 'Assemble and listen, sons of Jacob; listen to Israel, your father.'

Gather yourselves together, and hear, ye sons of Jacob; and hearken unto Israel your father.

3 'Reuben, you are my firstborn, my strength, and the first of my vigor, excelling in dignity and excelling in power.'

Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power:

4 'Unstable as water, you will no longer excel, for you went up onto your father's bed; you defiled it—he went up onto my couch.'

Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel; because thou wentest up to thy father's bed; then defiledst thou it: he went up to my couch.

5 'Simeon and Levi are brothers; their swords are weapons of violence.'

Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations.

6 'Let me not enter their council; let me not join their assembly, for in their anger they killed men, and in their self-will they hamstrung oxen.'

O my soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, mine honour, be not thou united: for in their anger they slew a man, and in their selfwill they digged down a wall.

7 'Cursed be their anger, so fierce, and their fury, so cruel! I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel.'

Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for 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, and your father's sons will bow down to you.'

Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father's children shall bow down before thee.

9 'Judah is a lion's cub; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He stoops down, he crouches like a lion, and like a lioness—who dares to rouse him?

Judah is a lion's whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up?

10 'The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until he to whom it belongs shall come, and the obedience of the peoples shall be his.'

The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.

11 'He ties his foal to the vine, his donkey's colt to the choice vine; he washes his garments in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes.'

Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass's colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes:

12 'His eyes are darker than wine, and his teeth whiter than milk.'

His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk.

13 'Zebulun will live by the seashore and become a haven for ships; his border will extend toward Sidon.'

Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea; and he shall be for an haven of ships; and his border shall be unto Zidon.

14 'Issachar is a strong donkey lying down between two burdens.'

Issachar is a strong ass couching down between two burdens:

15 'When he sees how good his resting place is, and how pleasant the land is, he will bend his shoulder to the burden and submit to forced labor.'

And he saw that rest was good, and the land that it was pleasant; and bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant unto tribute.

16 Dan will provide justice for his people, as one of the tribes of Israel.

Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel.

17 Dan will be a serpent by the roadside, a viper along the path, that bites the horse's heels so that its rider falls backward.

Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward.

18 I wait for your salvation, Lord.

I have waited for thy salvation, O LORD.

19 Gad will be attacked by a band of raiders, but he will attack them at their heels.

Gad, a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last.

20 Asher's food will be rich, and he will provide delicacies fit for a king.

Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties.

21 Naphtali is a doe set free that bears beautiful words.

Naphtali is a hind let loose: he giveth goodly words.

22 Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine near a spring, whose branches climb over a wall.

Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall:

23 With bitterness, archers attacked him; they shot at him with hostility.

The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him:

24 But his bow remained steady, and his strong arms stayed limber, because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob, because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel.

But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel:)

25 Because of the God of your father, who helps you, because of the Almighty, who blesses you with blessings of the heavens above, blessings of the deep that lies below, blessings of the breast and womb.

Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb:

26 The blessings of your father are greater than the blessings of the ancient mountains, than the bounty of the age-old hills. Let all these rest on the head of Joseph, on the brow of the prince among his brothers.

The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.

27 Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; in the morning he devours the prey, in the evening he divides the plunder.

Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf: in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil.

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

All these are the twelve tribes of Israel: and this is it that their father spake unto them, and blessed them; every one according to his blessing he blessed them.

29 Then he gave them these instructions: 'I am about to be gathered to my people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite.

And he charged them, and said unto them, I am to be gathered unto my people: bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite,

30 The cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre in Canaan, which Abraham bought along with the field as a burial place from Ephron the Hittite.

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 of Ephron the Hittite for a possession of a buryingplace.

31 There Abraham and his wife Sarah were buried, there Isaac and his wife Rebekah were buried, and there I buried Leah.

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 were purchased from the sons of Heth.

The purchase of the field and of the cave that is therein was from the children of Heth.

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.

And when Jacob had made an end of commanding his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the ghost, and was gathered unto his people.