| New Living Translation | Berean Study Bible |
| 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. | 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“Come and listen, you sons of Jacob; 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 strength, the child of my vigorous youth. You are first in rank and first in power. | 3Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, excelling in honor, excelling in power. |
| 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. | 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 two of a kind; their weapons are instruments of violence. | 5Simeon and Levi are brothers; their swords are weapons of violence. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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. | 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, your brothers will praise you. You will grasp your enemies by the neck. All your relatives will bow 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, 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? | 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 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. | 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. |
| 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. | 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 are whiter than milk. | 12His eyes are darker than wine, and his teeth are whiter than milk. |
| 13“Zebulun will settle by the seashore and will be a harbor for ships; his borders will extend to Sidon. | 13Zebulun shall dwell by the seashore and become a harbor for ships; his border shall extend to Sidon. |
| 14“Issachar is a sturdy donkey, resting between two saddlepacks. | 14Issachar is a strong donkey, lying down between the sheepfolds. |
| 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. | 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 will govern his people, like any other tribe in Israel. | 16Dan shall provide justice for his people as one of the tribes of Israel. |
| 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. | 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 trust in you for salvation, O LORD! | 18I await Your salvation, O LORD. |
| 19“Gad will be attacked by marauding bands, but he will attack them when they retreat. | 19Gad will be attacked by raiders, but he will attack their heels. |
| 20“Asher will dine on rich foods and produce food fit for kings. | 20Asher’s food will be rich; he shall provide royal delicacies. |
| 21“Naphtali is a doe set free that bears beautiful fawns. | 21Naphtali is a doe set free that bears beautiful fawns. |
| 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. | 22Joseph is a fruitful vine—a fruitful vine by a spring, whose branches scale the wall. |
| 23Archers attacked him savagely; they shot at him and harassed him. | 23The archers attacked him with bitterness; they aimed at him in hostility. |
| 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. | 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, |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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. | 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, devouring his enemies in the morning and dividing his plunder in the evening.” | 27Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; in the morning he devours the prey, in the evening he divides the plunder.” |
| 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 | 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 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. | 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. |
| 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. | 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 Abraham and his wife Sarah are buried. There Isaac and his wife, Rebekah, are buried. 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. |
| 32It is the plot of land and the cave that my grandfather Abraham bought from the Hittites.” | 32The field and the cave that is in it were purchased from the Hittites.” |
| 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. | 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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