Holman Christian Standard Bible

New Living Translation

1Then Jacob called his sons and said, "Gather around, and I will tell you what will happen to you in the days to come.

1Then Jacob called together all his sons and said, “Gather around me, and I will tell you what will happen to each of you in the days to come.

2Come together and listen, sons of Jacob; listen to your father Israel:

2“Come and listen, you sons of Jacob; listen to Israel, your father.

3Reuben, you are my firstborn, my strength and the firstfruits of my virility, excelling in prominence, excelling in power.

3“Reuben, you are my firstborn, my strength, the child of my vigorous youth. You are first in rank and first in power.

4Turbulent as water, you will no longer excel, because you got into your father's bed and you defiled it--he got into my bed.

4But you are as unruly as a flood, and you will be first no longer. For you went to bed with my wife; you defiled my marriage couch.

5Simeon and Levi are brothers; their knives are vicious weapons.

5“Simeon and Levi are two of a kind; their weapons are instruments of violence.

6May I never enter their council; may I never join their assembly. For in their anger they kill men, and on a whim they hamstring oxen.

6May I never join in their meetings; may I never be a party to their plans. For in their anger they murdered men, and they crippled oxen just for sport.

7Their anger is cursed, for it is strong, and their fury, for it is cruel! I will disperse them throughout Jacob and scatter them throughout Israel.

7A curse on their anger, for it is fierce; a curse on their wrath, for it is cruel. I will scatter them among the descendants of Jacob; I will disperse them throughout Israel.

8Judah, your brothers will praise you. Your hand will be on the necks of your enemies; your father's sons will bow down to you.

8“Judah, your brothers will praise you. You will grasp your enemies by the neck. All your relatives will bow before you.

9Judah is a young lion-- my son, you return from the kill. He crouches; he lies down like a lion or a lioness--who dares to rouse him?

9Judah, my son, is a young lion that has finished eating its prey. Like a lion he crouches and lies down; like a lioness—who dares to rouse him?

10The scepter will not depart from Judah or the staff from between his feet until He whose right it is comes and the obedience of the peoples belongs to Him.

10The 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 honor.

11He ties his donkey to a vine, and the colt of his donkey to the choice vine. He washes his clothes in wine and his robes in the blood of grapes.

11He ties his foal to a grapevine, the colt of his donkey to a choice vine. He washes his clothes in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes.

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

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

13Zebulun will live by the seashore and will be a harbor for ships, and his territory will be next to Sidon.

13“Zebulun will settle by the seashore and will be a harbor for ships; his borders will extend to Sidon.

14Issachar is a strong donkey lying down between the saddlebags.

14“Issachar is a sturdy donkey, resting between two saddlepacks.

15He saw that his resting place was good and that the land was pleasant, so he leaned his shoulder to bear a load and became a forced laborer.

15When he sees how good the countryside is and how pleasant the land, he will bend his shoulder to the load and submit himself to hard labor.

16Dan will judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel.

16“Dan will govern his people, like any other tribe in Israel.

17He will be a snake by the road, a viper beside the path, that bites the horses' heels so that its rider falls backward.

17Dan will be a snake beside the road, a poisonous viper along the path that bites the horse’s hooves so its rider is thrown off.

18I wait for Your salvation, LORD.

18I trust in you for salvation, O LORD!

19Gad will be attacked by raiders, but he will attack their heels.

19“Gad will be attacked by marauding bands, but he will attack them when they retreat.

20Asher's food will be rich, and he will produce royal delicacies.

20“Asher will dine on rich foods and produce food fit for kings.

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

21“Naphtali is a doe set free that bears beautiful fawns.

22Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine beside a spring; its branches climb over the wall.

22“Joseph is the foal of a wild donkey, the foal of a wild donkey at a spring— one of the wild donkeys on the ridge.

23The archers attacked him, shot at him, and were hostile toward him.

23Archers attacked him savagely; they shot at him and harassed him.

24Yet his bow remained steady, and his strong arms were made agile by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, by the name of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel,

24But his bow remained taut, and his arms were strengthened by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, by the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel.

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

25May the God of your father help you; may the Almighty bless you with the blessings of the heavens above, and blessings of the watery depths below, and blessings of the breasts and womb.

26The blessings of your father excel the blessings of my ancestors and the bounty of the eternal hills. May they rest on the head of Joseph, on the crown of the prince of his brothers.

26May my fatherly blessings on you surpass the blessings of my ancestors, reaching to the heights of the eternal hills. May these blessings rest on the head of Joseph, who is a prince among his brothers.

27Benjamin is a wolf; he tears his prey. In the morning he devours the prey, and in the evening he divides the plunder."

27“Benjamin is a ravenous wolf, devouring his enemies in the morning and dividing his plunder in the evening.”

28These are the tribes of Israel, 12 in all, and this was what their father said to them. He blessed them, and he blessed each one with a suitable blessing.

28These are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said as he told his sons good-bye. He blessed each one with an appropriate message. Jacob’s Death and Burial

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

29Then Jacob instructed them, “Soon I will die and join my ancestors. Bury me with my father and grandfather in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite.

30The cave is in the field of Machpelah near Mamre, in the land of Canaan. This is the field Abraham purchased from Ephron the Hittite as a burial site.

30This is the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre in Canaan, that Abraham bought from Ephron the Hittite as a permanent burial site.

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

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

32The field and the cave in it were purchased from the Hittites."

32It is the plot of land and the cave that my grandfather Abraham bought from the Hittites.”

33When Jacob had finished instructing his sons, he drew his feet into the bed and died. He was gathered to his people.

33When Jacob had finished this charge to his sons, he drew his feet into the bed, breathed his last, and joined his ancestors in death.

Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission.

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.