New Revised Standard NRS
The Bible in Basic English BBE
1 Then Jacob called his sons, and said: "Gather around, that I may tell you what will happen to you in days to come.
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And Jacob sent for his sons, and said, Come together, all of you, so that I may give you news of your fate in future times.
2 Assemble and hear, O sons of Jacob; listen to Israel your father.
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Come near, O sons of Jacob, and give ear to the words of Israel your father.
3 Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might and the first fruits of my vigor, excelling in rank and excelling in power.
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Reuben, you are my oldest son, the first-fruit of my strength, first in pride and first in power:
4 Unstable as water, you shall no longer excel because you went up onto your father's bed; then you defiled it—you went up onto my couch!
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But because you were uncontrolled, the first place will not be yours; for you went up to your father's bed, even his bride-bed, and made it unclean.
5 Simeon and Levi are brothers; weapons of violence are their swords.
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Simeon and Levi are brothers; deceit and force are their secret designs.
6 May I never come into their council; may I not be joined to their company— for in their anger they killed men, and at their whim they hamstrung oxen.
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Take no part in their secrets, O my soul; keep far away, O my heart, from their meetings; for in their wrath they put men to death, and for their pleasure even oxen were wounded.
7 Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce, and their wrath, for it is cruel! I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.
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A curse on their passion for it was bitter; and on their wrath for it was cruel. I will let their heritage in Jacob be broken up, driving them from their places in Israel.
8 Judah, your brothers shall praise you; your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; your father's sons shall bow down before you.
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To you, Judah, will your brothers give praise: your hand will be on the neck of your haters; your father's sons will go down to the earth before you.
9 Judah is a lion's whelp; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He crouches down, he stretches out like a lion, like a lioness—who dares rouse him up?
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Judah is a young lion; like a lion full of meat you have become great, my son; now he takes his rest like a lion stretched out and like an old lion; by whom will his sleep be broken?
10 The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and the obedience of the peoples is his.
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The rod of authority will not be taken from Judah, and he will not be without a law-giver, till he comes who has the right to it, and the peoples will put themselves under his rule.
11 Binding his foal to the vine and his donkey's colt to the choice vine, he washes his garments in wine and his robe in the blood of grapes;
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Knotting his ass's cord to the vine, and his young ass to the best vine; washing his robe in wine, and his clothing in the blood of grapes:
12 his eyes are darker than wine, and his teeth whiter than milk.
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His eyes will be dark with wine, and his teeth white with milk.
13 Zebulun shall settle at the shore of the sea; he shall be a haven for ships, and his border shall be at Sidon.
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The resting-place of Zebulun will be by the sea, and he will be a harbour for ships; the edge of his land will be by Zidon.
14 Issachar is a strong donkey, lying down between the sheepfolds;
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Issachar is a strong ass stretched out among the flocks:
15 he saw that a resting place was good, and that the land was pleasant; so he bowed his shoulder to the burden, and became a slave at forced labor.
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And he saw that rest was good and the land was pleasing; so he let them put weights on his back and became a servant.
16 Dan shall judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel.
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Dan will be the judge of his people, as one of the tribes of Israel.
17 Dan shall be a snake by the roadside, a viper along the path, that bites the horse's heels so that its rider falls backward.
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May Dan be a snake in the way, a horned snake by the road, biting the horse's foot so that the horseman has a fall.
18 I wait for your salvation, O Lord.
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I have been waiting for your salvation, O Lord.
19 Gad shall be raided by raiders, but he shall raid at their heels.
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Gad, an army will come against him, but he will come down on them in their flight.
20 Asher's food shall be rich, and he shall provide royal delicacies.
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Asher's bread is fat; he gives delicate food for kings.
21 Naphtali is a doe let loose that bears lovely fawns.
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Naphtali is a roe let loose, giving fair young ones.
22 Joseph is a fruitful bough, a fruitful bough by a spring; his branches run over the wall.
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Joseph is a young ox, whose steps are turned to the fountain;
23 The archers fiercely attacked him; they shot at him and pressed him hard.
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He was troubled by the archers; they sent out their arrows against him, cruelly wounding him:
24 Yet his bow remained taut, and his arms were made agile by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, by the name of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel,
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But their bows were broken by a strong one, and the cords of their arms were cut by the Strength of Jacob, by the name of the Stone of Israel:
25 by the God of your father, who will help you, by the Almighty who will bless you with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lies beneath, blessings of the breasts and of the womb.
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Even by the God of your father, who will be your help, and by the Ruler of all, who will make you full with blessings from heaven on high, blessings of the deep stretched out under the earth, blessings of the breasts and of the fertile body:
26 The blessings of your father are stronger than the blessings of the eternal mountains, the bounties of the everlasting hills; may they be on the head of Joseph, on the brow of him who was set apart from his brothers.
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Blessings of sons, old and young, to the father: blessings of the oldest mountains and the fruit of the eternal hills: let them come on the head of Joseph, on the crown of him who was separate from his brothers.
27 Benjamin is a ravenous wolf, in the morning devouring the prey, and at evening dividing the spoil."
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Benjamin is a wolf, searching for meat: in the morning he takes his food, and in the evening he makes division of what he has taken.
28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said to them when he blessed them, blessing each one of them with a suitable blessing.
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These are the twelve tribes of Israel: and these are the words their father said to them, blessing them; to every one he gave his blessing.
29 Then he charged them, saying to them, "I am about to be gathered to my people. Bury me with my ancestors—in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite,
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And he gave orders to them, saying, Put me to rest with my people and with my fathers, in the hollow of the rock in the field of Ephron the Hittite,
30 in the cave in the field at Machpelah, near Mamre, in the land of Canaan, in the field that Abraham bought from Ephron the Hittite as a burial site.
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In the rock in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre in the land of Canaan, which Abraham got from Ephron the Hittite, to be his resting-place.
31 There Abraham and his wife Sarah were buried; there Isaac and his wife Rebekah were buried; and there I buried Leah—
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There Abraham and Sarah his wife were put to rest, and there they put Isaac and Rebekah his wife, and there I put Leah to rest.
32 the field and the cave that is in it were purchased from the Hittites."
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In the rock in the field which was got for a price from the people of Heth.
33 When Jacob ended his charge to his sons, he drew up his feet into the bed, breathed his last, and was gathered to his people.
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And when Jacob had come to the end of these words to his sons, stretching himself on his bed, he gave up his spirit, and went the way of his people.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.