Jacob Blesses his Sons
1And Jacobcalledunto his sons,and said,Gather yourselves together,that I may tellyou [that] which shall befallyou in the lastdays.
2Gather yourselves together,and hear,ye sonsof Jacob;and hearkenunto Israelyour father.
3Reuben,thou [art] my firstborn,my might,and the beginningof my strength,the excellencyof dignity,and the excellencyof power:
4Unstableas water,thou shalt not excel;because thou wentest upto thy father'sbed;then defiledst thou[it]: he went upto my couch.
5Simeonand Levi[are] brethren;instrumentsof cruelty[are in] their habitations.
6O my soul,comenot thou into their secret;unto their assembly,mine honour,be not thou united:for in their angerthey slewa man,and in their selfwillthey digged downa wall.
7Cursed[be] their anger,for [it was] fierce;and their wrath,for it was cruel:I will dividethem in Jacob,and scatterthem in Israel.
8Judah,thou [art he] whom thy brethrenshall praise:thy hand[shall be] in the neckof thine enemies;thy father'schildrenshall bow downbefore thee.
9Judah[is] a lion'swhelp:from the prey,my son,thou art gone up:he stooped down,he couchedas a lion,and as an old lion;who shall rouse him up?
10The sceptreshall not departfrom Judah,nor a lawgiverfrom between his feet,untilShilohcome;and unto him [shall] the gatheringof the people[be].
11Bindinghis foalunto the vine,and his ass'scoltunto the choice vine;he washedhis garmentsin wine,and his clothesin the bloodof grapes:
12His eyes[shall be] redwith wine,and his teethwhitewith milk.
13Zebulunshall dwellat the havenof the sea;and he [shall be] for an havenof ships;and his border[shall be] unto Zidon.
14Issachar[is] a strongasscouching downbetween two burdens:
15And he sawthat rest[was] good,and the landthat [it was] pleasant;and bowedhis shoulderto bear,and became a servantunto tribute.
16Danshall judgehis people,as oneof the tribesof Israel.
17Danshall be a serpentby the way,an adderin the path,that biteththe horseheels,so that his ridershall fallbackward.
18I have waited forthy salvation,O LORD.
19Gad,a troopshall overcomehim: but he shall overcomeat the last.
20Out of Asherhis bread[shall be] fat,and he shall yieldroyaldainties.
21Naphtali[is] a hindlet loose:he givethgoodlywords.
22Joseph[is] a fruitfulbough,[even] a fruitfulboughby a well;[whose] branchesrunover the wall:
23The archershave sorely grieved him,and shot[at him], and hated him:
24But his bowabodein strength,and the armsof his handswere made strongby the handsof the mighty[God] of Jacob;(from thence [is] the shepherd,the stoneof Israel:)
25[Even] by the Godof thy father,who shall helpthee; and bythe Almighty,who shall blessthee with blessingsof heavenabove,blessingsof the deepthat liethunder, blessingsof the breasts,and of the womb:
26The blessingsof thy fatherhave prevailedabove the blessingsof my progenitorsunto the utmost boundof the everlastinghills:they shall be on the headof Joseph,and on the crown of the headof him that was separatefrom his brethren.
27Benjaminshall ravin[as] a wolf:in the morninghe shall devourthe prey,and at nighthe shall dividethe spoil.
28All these [are] the twelvetribesof Israel:and this [is it] that their fatherspakeunto them, and blessedthem; everyoneaccording to his blessinghe blessedthem.
The Death of Jacob
29And he chargedthem, and saidunto them, I am to be gatheredunto my people:buryme with my fathersin the cavethat [is] in the fieldof Ephronthe Hittite,30In the cavethat [is] in the fieldof Machpelah,which [is] beforeMamre,in the landof Canaan,which Abrahamboughtwith the fieldof Ephronthe Hittitefor a possessionof a buryingplace.31There they buriedAbrahamand Sarahhis wife;there they buriedIsaacand Rebekahhis wife;and there I buriedLeah.32The purchaseof the fieldand of the cavethat [is] therein [was] from the childrenof Heth.33And when Jacobhad made an endof commandinghis sons,he gathered uphis feetinto the bed,and yielded up the ghost,and was gatheredunto his people.
