Genesis 49:5-15

5 “Simeon and Levi are brothers— their swords[a] are weapons of violence.
6 Let 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, so fierce, and their fury, so cruel! I will scatter them in Jacob and disperse them in Israel.
8 “Judah,[b] 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 You 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 will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,[c]until he to whom it belongs[d] shall come and the obedience of the nations shall be his.
11 He 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 will be darker than wine, his teeth whiter than milk.[e]
13 “Zebulun will live by the seashore and become a haven for ships; his border will extend toward Sidon.
14 “Issachar is a rawboned[f] donkey lying down among the sheep pens.[g]
15 When 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.

Cross References 30

  • 1. S Genesis 29:33
  • 2. Genesis 29:34
  • 3. S Genesis 34:25; S Proverbs 4:17
  • 4. Psalms 1:1; Proverbs 1:15; Ephesians 5:11
  • 5. S Genesis 34:26
  • 6. Joshua 11:6,9; 2 Samuel 8:4; 1 Chronicles 18:4
  • 7. Genesis 34:7
  • 8. Genesis 34:25
  • 9. Joshua 19:1,9; Joshua 21:1-42
  • 10. S Genesis 29:35
  • 11. Deuteronomy 28:48
  • 12. S Genesis 9:25; Deuteronomy 33:7; 1 Chronicles 5:2
  • 13. Numbers 24:9; Psalms 7:2; Psalms 10:9; Ezekiel 19:5; Micah 5:8
  • 14. Ezekiel 19:2
  • 15. Revelation 5:5
  • 16. ver 27; Numbers 23:24; Job 38:39; Psalms 17:12; Psalms 22:13; Psalms 104:21
  • 17. Numbers 24:17,19; Judges 1:1-2; Judges 20:18; 1 Chronicles 5:2; 1 Chronicles 28:4; Psalms 60:7; Psalms 108:8
  • 18. Ezekiel 21:27
  • 19. Psalms 2:9; Psalms 72:8-11; Psalms 98:3; Psalms 110:2; Isaiah 2:4; Isaiah 26:18; Isaiah 42:1,4; Isaiah 45:22; Isaiah 48:20; Isaiah 49:6; Isaiah 51:5
  • 20. Judges 5:10; Judges 10:4; Zechariah 9:9
  • 21. Deuteronomy 8:8; 2 Kings 18:32
  • 22. Deuteronomy 32:14; Isaiah 63:2
  • 23. Song of Songs 5:12
  • 24. S Genesis 30:20; Deuteronomy 33:18-19; Joshua 19:10-11
  • 25. S Genesis 10:19
  • 26. S Genesis 30:18
  • 27. Judges 5:16; Psalms 68:13
  • 28. Joshua 19:17-23
  • 29. Ezekiel 29:18
  • 30. 1 Kings 4:6; 1 Kings 5:13; 1 Kings 9:21; Isaiah 14:2; Isaiah 31:8

Footnotes 7

  • [a]. The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
  • [b]. "Judah" sounds like and may be derived from the Hebrew for "praise."
  • [c]. Or "from his descendants"
  • [d]. Or "to whom tribute belongs" ; the meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
  • [e]. Or "will be dull from wine," / "his teeth white from milk"
  • [f]. Or "strong"
  • [g]. Or "the campfires" ; or "the saddlebags"
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