| New American Standard Bible 1995 | New International Version |
| 1Then Jacob summoned his sons and said, "Assemble yourselves that I may tell you what will befall you in the days to come. | 1Then Jacob called for his sons and said: "Gather around so I can tell you what will happen to you in days to come. |
| 2"Gather together and hear, O sons of Jacob; And listen to Israel your father. | 2"Assemble and listen, sons of Jacob; listen to your father Israel. |
| 3"Reuben, you are my firstborn; My might and the beginning of my strength, Preeminent in dignity and preeminent in power. | 3"Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, the first sign of my strength, excelling in honor, excelling in power. |
| 4"Uncontrolled as water, you shall not have preeminence, Because you went up to your father's bed; Then you defiled it-- he went up to my couch. | 4Turbulent as the waters, you will no longer excel, for you went up onto your father's bed, onto my couch and defiled it. |
| 5"Simeon and Levi are brothers; Their swords are implements of violence. | 5"Simeon and Levi are brothers-- their swords are weapons of violence. |
| 6"Let my soul not enter into their council; Let not my glory be united with their assembly; Because in their anger they slew men, And in their self-will they lamed oxen. | 6Let me not enter their council, let me not join their assembly, for they have killed men in their anger and hamstrung oxen as they pleased. |
| 7"Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce; And their wrath, for it is cruel. I will disperse them in Jacob, And scatter them in Israel. | 7Cursed be their anger, so fierce, and their fury, so cruel! I will scatter them in Jacob and disperse them in Israel. |
| 8"Judah, your brothers shall praise you; Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; Your father's sons shall bow down to you. | 8"Judah, your brothers will praise you; your hand will be on the neck of your enemies; your father's sons will bow down to you. |
| 9"Judah is a lion's whelp; From the prey, my son, you have gone up. He couches, he lies down as a lion, And as a lion, who dares rouse him up? | 9You are a lion's cub, Judah; you return from the prey, my son. Like a lion he crouches and lies down, like a lioness--who dares to rouse him? |
| 10"The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes, And to him shall be the obedience of the peoples. | 10The 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 nations shall be his. |
| 11"He ties his foal to the vine, And his donkey's colt to the choice vine; He washes his garments in wine, And his robes in the blood of grapes. | 11He will tether his donkey to a vine, his colt to the choicest branch; he will wash his garments in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes. |
| 12"His eyes are dull from wine, And his teeth white from milk. | 12His eyes will be darker than wine, his teeth whiter than milk. |
| 13"Zebulun will dwell at the seashore; And he shall be a haven for ships, And his flank shall be toward Sidon. | 13"Zebulun will live by the seashore and become a haven for ships; his border will extend toward Sidon. |
| 14"Issachar is a strong donkey, Lying down between the sheepfolds. | 14"Issachar is a rawboned donkey lying down among the sheep pens. |
| 15"When he saw that a resting place was good And that the land was pleasant, He bowed his shoulder to bear burdens, And became a slave at forced labor. | 15When he sees how good is his resting place and how pleasant is his land, he will bend his shoulder to the burden and submit to forced labor. |
| 16"Dan shall judge his people, As one of the tribes of Israel. | 16"Dan will provide justice for his people as one of the tribes of Israel. |
| 17"Dan shall be a serpent in the way, A horned snake in the path, That bites the horse's heels, So that his rider falls backward. | 17Dan will be a snake by the roadside, a viper along the path, that bites the horse's heels so that its rider tumbles backward. |
| 18"For Your salvation I wait, O LORD. | 18"I look for your deliverance, LORD. |
| 19"As for Gad, raiders shall raid him, But he will raid at their heels. | 19"Gad will be attacked by a band of raiders, but he will attack them at their heels. |
| 20"As for Asher, his food shall be rich, And he will yield royal dainties. | 20"Asher's food will be rich; he will provide delicacies fit for a king. |
| 21"Naphtali is a doe let loose, He gives beautiful words. | 21"Naphtali is a doe set free that bears beautiful fawns. |
| 22"Joseph is a fruitful bough, A fruitful bough by a spring; Its branches run over a wall. | 22"Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine near a spring, whose branches climb over a wall. |
| 23"The archers bitterly attacked him, And shot at him and harassed him; | 23With bitterness archers attacked him; they shot at him with hostility. |
| 24But his bow remained firm, And his arms were agile, From the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob (From there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel), | 24But his bow remained steady, his strong arms stayed limber, because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob, because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel, |
| 25From the God of your father who helps you, And by the Almighty who blesses you With blessings of heaven above, Blessings of the deep that lies beneath, Blessings of the breasts and of the womb. | 25because of your father's God, who helps you, because of the Almighty, who blesses you with blessings of the skies above, blessings of the deep springs below, blessings of the breast and womb. |
| 26"The blessings of your father Have surpassed the blessings of my ancestors Up to the utmost bound of the everlasting hills; May they be on the head of Joseph, And on the crown of the head of the one distinguished among his brothers. | 26Your father's blessings 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. |
| 27"Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; In the morning he devours the prey, And in the evening he divides the spoil." | 27"Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; in the morning he devours the prey, in the evening he divides the plunder." |
| 28All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said to them when he blessed them. He blessed them, every one with the blessing appropriate to him. | 28All 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. |
| 29Then he charged them and said to them, "I am about to be gathered to my people; bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, | 29Then 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, |
| 30in the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought along with the field from Ephron the Hittite for a burial site. | 30the 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. |
| 31"There they buried Abraham and his wife Sarah, there they buried Isaac and his wife Rebekah, and there I buried Leah-- | 31There Abraham and his wife Sarah were buried, there Isaac and his wife Rebekah were buried, and there I buried Leah. |
| 32the field and the cave that is in it, purchased from the sons of Heth." | 32The field and the cave in it were bought from the Hittites." |
| 33When Jacob finished charging his sons, he drew his feet into the bed and breathed his last, and was gathered to his people. | 33When 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. |
| New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit //www.lockman.org | New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. |
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