King James Version KJV
Good News Translation GNT
1 And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days.
1
Jacob called for his sons and said, "Gather around, and I will tell you what will happen to you in the future:
2 Gather yourselves together, and hear, ye sons of Jacob; and hearken unto Israel your father.
2
"Come together and listen, sons of Jacob. Listen to your father Israel.
3 Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power:
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"Reuben, my first-born, you are my strength And the first child of my manhood, The proudest and strongest of all my sons.
4 Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel; because thou wentest up to thy father's bed; then defiledst thou it: he went up to my couch.
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You are like a raging flood, But you will not be the most important, For you slept with my concubine And dishonored your father's bed.
5 Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations.
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"Simeon and Levi are brothers. They use their weapons to commit violence.
6 O my soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, mine honour, be not thou united: for in their anger they slew a man, and in their selfwill they digged down a wall.
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I will not join in their secret talks, Nor will I take part in their meetings, For they killed people in anger And they crippled bulls for sport.
7 Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.
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A curse be on their anger, because it is so fierce, And on their fury, because it is so cruel. I will scatter them throughout the land of Israel. I will disperse them among its people.
8 Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father's children shall bow down before thee.
8
"Judah, your brothers will praise you. You hold your enemies by the neck. Your brothers will bow down before you.
9 Judah is a lion's whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up?
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Judah is like a lion, Killing his victim and returning to his den, Stretching out and lying down. No one dares disturb him.
10 The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.
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Judah will hold the royal scepter, And his descendants will always rule. Nations will bring him tribute And bow in obedience before him.
11 Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass's colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes:
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He ties his young donkey to a grapevine, To the very best of the vines. He washes his clothes in blood-red wine.
12 His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk.
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His eyes are bloodshot from drinking wine, His teeth white from drinking milk.
13 Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea; and he shall be for an haven of ships; and his border shall be unto Zidon.
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"Zebulun will live beside the sea. His shore will be a haven for ships. His territory will reach as far as Sidon.
14 Issachar is a strong ass couching down between two burdens:
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"Issachar is no better than a donkey That lies stretched out between its saddlebags.
15 And he saw that rest was good, and the land that it was pleasant; and bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant unto tribute.
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But he sees that the resting place is good And that the land is delightful. So he bends his back to carry the load And is forced to work as a slave.
16 Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel.
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"Dan will be a ruler for his people. They will be like the other tribes of Israel.
17 Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward.
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Dan will be a snake at the side of the road, A poisonous snake beside the path, That strikes at the horse's heel, So that the rider is thrown off backward.
18 I have waited for thy salvation, O LORD.
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"I wait for your deliverance, Lord.
19 Gad, a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last.
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"Gad will be attacked by a band of robbers, But he will turn and pursue them.
20 Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties.
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"Asher's land will produce rich food. He will provide food fit for a king.
21 Naphtali is a hind let loose: he giveth goodly words.
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"Naphtali is a deer that runs free, Who bears lovely fawns.
22 Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall:
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"Joseph is like a wild donkey by a spring, A wild colt on a hillside.
23 The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him:
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His enemies attack him fiercely And pursue him with their bows and arrows.
24 But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel:)
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But his bow remains steady, And his arms are made strong By the power of the Mighty God of Jacob, By the Shepherd, the Protector of Israel.
25 Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb:
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It is your father's God who helps you, The Almighty God who blesses you With blessings of rain from above And of deep waters from beneath the ground, Blessings of many cattle and children,
26 The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.
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Blessings of grain and flowers, Blessings of ancient mountains, Delightful things from everlasting hills. May these blessings rest on the head of Joseph, On the brow of the one set apart from his brothers.
27 Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf: in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil.
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"Benjamin is like a vicious wolf. Morning and evening he kills and devours."
28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel: and this is it that their father spake unto them, and blessed them; every one according to his blessing he blessed them.
28
These are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said as he spoke a suitable word of farewell to each son.
29 And he charged them, and said unto them, I am to be gathered unto my people: bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite,
29
Then Jacob commanded his sons, "Now that I am going to join my people in death, bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite,
30 In 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 for a possession of a buryingplace.
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at Machpelah east of Mamre in the land of Canaan. Abraham bought this cave and field from Ephron for a burial ground.
31 There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah.
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That is where they buried Abraham and his wife Sarah; that is where they buried Isaac and his wife Rebecca; and that is where I buried Leah.
32 The purchase of the field and of the cave that is therein was from the children of Heth.
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The field and the cave in it were bought from the Hittites. Bury me there."
33 And when Jacob had made an end of commanding his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the ghost, and was gathered unto his people.
33
When Jacob had finished giving instructions to his sons, he lay back down and died.
The King James Version is in the public domain.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.