| New King James Version | Berean Study Bible |
| 1And Jacob called his sons and said, “Gather together, that I may tell you what shall befall you in the last days: | 1Then Jacob called for his sons and said, “Gather around so that I can tell you what will happen to you in the days to come: |
| 2“Gather together and hear, you sons of Jacob, And listen to Israel your father. | 2Come together and listen, O sons of Jacob; listen to your father Israel. |
| 3“Reuben, you are my firstborn, My might and the beginning of my strength, The excellency of dignity and the excellency of power. | 3Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, excelling in honor, excelling in power. |
| 4Unstable as water, you shall not excel, Because you went up to your father’s bed; Then you defiled it— He went up to my couch. | 4Uncontrolled as the waters, you will no longer excel, because you went up to your father’s bed, onto my couch, and defiled it. |
| 5“Simeon and Levi are brothers; Instruments of cruelty are in their dwelling place. | 5Simeon and Levi are brothers; their swords are weapons of violence. |
| 6Let not my soul enter their council; Let not my honor be united to their assembly; For in their anger they slew a man, And in their self-will they hamstrung an ox. | 6May I never enter their council; may I never join their assembly. For they kill men in their anger, and hamstring oxen on a whim. |
| 7Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce; And their wrath, for it is cruel! I will divide them in Jacob And scatter them in Israel. | 7Cursed be their anger, for it is strong, and their wrath, for it is cruel! I will disperse them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel. |
| 8“Judah, you are he whom your brothers shall praise; Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; Your father’s children shall bow down before you. | 8Judah, your brothers shall praise you. Your hand shall be on the necks of your enemies; your father’s sons shall bow down to you. |
| 9Judah is a lion’s whelp; From the prey, my son, you have gone up. He bows down, he lies down as a lion; And as a lion, who shall rouse him? | 9Judah is a young lion—my son, you return from the prey. Like a lion he crouches and lies down; like a lioness, who dares to rouse him? |
| 10The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor a lawgiver from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes; And to Him shall be the obedience of the people. | 10The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes and the allegiance of the nations is his. |
| 11Binding his donkey to the vine, And his donkey’s colt to the choice vine, He washed his garments in wine, And his clothes in the blood of grapes. | 11He ties his donkey to the vine, his colt to the choicest branch. He washes his garments in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes. |
| 12His eyes are darker than wine, And his teeth whiter than milk. | 12His eyes are darker than wine, and his teeth are whiter than milk. |
| 13“Zebulun shall dwell by the haven of the sea; He shall become a haven for ships, And his border shall adjoin Sidon. | 13Zebulun shall dwell by the seashore and become a harbor for ships; his border shall extend to Sidon. |
| 14“Issachar is a strong donkey, Lying down between two burdens; | 14Issachar is a strong donkey, lying down between the sheepfolds. |
| 15He saw that rest was good, And that the land was pleasant; He bowed his shoulder to bear a burden, And became a band of slaves. | 15He saw that his resting place was good and that his land was pleasant, so he bent his shoulder to the burden and submitted to labor as a servant. |
| 16“Dan shall judge his people As one of the tribes of Israel. | 16Dan shall provide justice for his people as one of the tribes of Israel. |
| 17Dan shall be a serpent by the way, A viper by the path, That bites the horse’s heels So that its rider shall fall backward. | 17He will be a snake by the road, a viper in the path that bites the horse’s heels so that its rider tumbles backward. |
| 18I have waited for your salvation, O LORD! | 18I await Your salvation, O LORD. |
| 19“Gad, a troop shall tramp upon him, But he shall triumph at last. | 19Gad will be attacked by raiders, but he will attack their heels. |
| 20“Bread from Asher shall be rich, And he shall yield royal dainties. | 20Asher’s food will be rich; he shall provide royal delicacies. |
| 21“Naphtali is a deer let loose; He uses beautiful words. | 21Naphtali is a doe set free that bears beautiful fawns. |
| 22“Joseph is a fruitful bough, A fruitful bough by a well; His branches run over the wall. | 22Joseph is a fruitful vine—a fruitful vine by a spring, whose branches scale the wall. |
| 23The archers have bitterly grieved him, Shot at him and hated him. | 23The archers attacked him with bitterness; they aimed at him in hostility. |
| 24But his bow remained in strength, And the arms of his hands were made strong By the hands of the Mighty God of Jacob (From there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel), | 24Yet he steadied his bow, and his strong arms were tempered by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, in the name of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel, |
| 25By 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 lies beneath, Blessings of the breasts and of the womb. | 25by the God of your father who helps you, and by the Almighty who blesses you, with blessings of the heavens above, with blessings of the depths below, with blessings of the breasts and womb. |
| 26The blessings of your father Have excelled the blessings of my ancestors, Up to the utmost bound of the everlasting hills. They shall be on the head of Joseph, And on the crown of the head of him who was separate from his brothers. | 26The blessings of your father have surpassed the blessings of the ancient mountains and the bounty of the everlasting hills. May they rest on the head of Joseph, on the brow of the prince of his brothers. |
| 27“Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; In the morning he shall devour the prey, And at night he shall divide the spoil.” | 27Benjamin 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 spoke to them. And he blessed them; he blessed each one according to his own blessing. | 28These are the tribes of Israel, twelve in all, and this was what their father said to them. He blessed them, and he blessed each one with a suitable blessing. |
| 29Then he charged 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, | 29Then Jacob instructed 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. |
| 30in 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 as a possession for a burial place. | 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. |
| 31There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife, there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife, and there I buried Leah. | 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 that is there were purchased from the sons of Heth.” | 32The field and the cave that is in it were purchased from the Hittites.” |
| 33And when Jacob had finished commanding his sons, he drew his feet up into the bed and breathed his last, and was gathered to his people. | 33When Jacob had finished instructing his sons, he pulled his feet into the bed and breathed his last, and he was gathered to his people. |
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