New Living Translation NLT
Common English Bible CEB
1 Then 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.
1
Jacob summoned his sons and said, "Gather around so that I can tell you what will happen to you in the coming days.
2 “Come and listen, you sons of Jacob; listen to Israel, your father.
2
Assemble yourselves and listen, sons of Jacob; listen to Israel your father.
3 “Reuben, you are my firstborn, my strength, the child of my vigorous youth. You are first in rank and first in power.
3
Reuben, you are my oldest son, my strength and my first contender, superior in status and superior in might.
4 But 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.
4
As wild as the waters, you won't endure, for you went up to your father's bed, you went up and violated my couch.
5 “Simeon and Levi are two of a kind; their weapons are instruments of violence.
5
Simeon and Levi are brothers, weapons of violence their stock in trade.
6 May 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.
6
May I myself never enter their council. May my honor never be linked to their group; for when they were angry, they killed men, and whenever they wished, they maimed oxen.
7 A 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.
7
Cursed be their anger; it is violent, their rage; it is relentless. I'll divide them up within Jacob and disperse them within Israel.
8 “Judah, your brothers will praise you. You will grasp your enemies by the neck. All your relatives will bow before you.
8
Judah, you are the one your brothers will honor; your hand will be on the neck of your enemies; your father's sons will bow down to you.
9 Judah, 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?
9
Judah is a lion's cub; from the prey, my son, you rise up. He lies down and crouches like a lion; like a lioness—who dares disturb him?
10 The 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.
10
The scepter won't depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from among his banners. Gifts will be brought to him; people will obey him.
11 He 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.
11
He ties his male donkey to the vine, the colt of his female donkey to the vine's branches. He washes his clothes in wine, his garments in the blood of grapes.
12 His eyes are darker than wine, and his teeth are whiter than milk.
12
His eyes are darker than wine, and his teeth whiter than milk.
13 “Zebulun will settle by the seashore and will be a harbor for ships; his borders will extend to Sidon.
13
Zebulun will live at the seashore; he'll live at the harbor of ships, his border will be at Sidon.
14 “Issachar is a sturdy donkey, resting between two saddlepacks.
14
Issachar is a sturdy donkey, bedding down beside the village hearths.
15 When 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.
15
He saw that a resting place was good and that the land was pleasant. He lowered his shoulder to haul loads and joined the work gangs.
16 “Dan will govern his people, like any other tribe in Israel.
16
Dan will settle disputes for his people, as one of Israel's tribes.
17 Dan 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.
17
Dan will be a snake on the road, a serpent on the path, biting a horse's heels, so its rider falls backward.
18 I trust in you for salvation, O LORD !
18
I long for your victory, LORD.
19 “Gad will be attacked by marauding bands, but he will attack them when they retreat.
19
Gad will be attacked by attackers, but he'll attack their back.
20 “Asher will dine on rich foods and produce food fit for kings.
20
Asher grows fine foods, and he will supply the king's delicacies.
21 “Naphtali is a doe set free that bears beautiful fawns.
21
Naphtali is a wild doe that gives birth to 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.
22
Joseph is a young bull, a young bull by a spring, who strides with oxen.
23 Archers attacked him savagely; they shot at him and harassed him.
23
They attacked him fiercely and fired arrows; the archers attacked him furiously.
24 But 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.
24
But his bow stayed strong, and his forearms were nimble, by the hands of the strong one of Jacob, by the name of the shepherd, the rock of Israel,
25 May 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.
25
by God, your father, who supports you, by the Almighty who blesses you with blessings from the skies above and blessings from the deep sea below, blessings from breasts and womb.
26 May 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.
26
The blessings of your father exceed the blessings of the eternal mountains, the wealth of the everlasting hills. May they all rest on Joseph's head, on the forehead of the one set apart from his brothers.
27 “Benjamin is a ravenous wolf, devouring his enemies in the morning and dividing his plunder in the evening.”
27
Benjamin is a wolf who hunts: in the morning he devours the prey; in the evening he divides the plunder."
28 These 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.
28
These are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said to them. He blessed them by giving each man his own particular blessing.
29 Then 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.
29
Jacob ordered them, "I am soon to join my people. Bury me with my ancestors in the cave that's in the field of Ephron the Hittite;
30 This is the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre in Canaan, that Abraham bought from Ephron the Hittite as a permanent burial site.
30
in the cave that's in the field of Machpelah near Mamre in the land of Canaan that Abraham bought from Ephron the Hittite as a burial property.
31 There Abraham and his wife Sarah are buried. There Isaac and his wife, Rebekah, are buried. And there I buried Leah.
31
That is where Abraham and his wife Sarah are buried, and where Isaac and his wife Rebekah are buried, and where I buried Leah.
32 It is the plot of land and the cave that my grandfather Abraham bought from the Hittites.”
32
It is the field and the cave in it that belonged to the Hittites."
33 When Jacob had finished this charge to his sons, he drew his feet into the bed, breathed his last, and joined his ancestors in death.
33
After he finished giving orders to his sons, he put his feet up on the bed, took his last breath, and joined his people.
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by
Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2011 Common English Bible