Douay-Rheims Catholic Bible RHE
New Revised Standard NRS
1 And Jacob called his sons, and said to them: Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you the things that shall befall you in the last days.
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Then Jacob called his sons, and said: "Gather around, that I may tell you what will happen to you in days to come.
2 Gather yourselves together, and hear, O ye sons of Jacob, hearken to Israel, your father:
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Assemble and hear, O sons of Jacob; listen to Israel your father.
3 Ruben, my firstborn, thou art my strength, and the beginning of my sorrow; excelling in gifts, greater in command.
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Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might and the first fruits of my vigor, excelling in rank and excelling in power.
4 Thou art poured out as water, grow thou not; because thou wentest up to thy father’s bed, and didst defile his couch.
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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!
5 Simeon and Levi brethren: vessels of iniquity waging war.
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Simeon and Levi are brothers; weapons of violence are their swords.
6 Let not my soul go into their counsel, nor my glory be in their assembly: because in their fury they slew a man, and in their selfwill they undermined a wall.
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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.
7 Cursed be their fury, because it was stubborn: and their wrath, because it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and will scatter them in Israel.
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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.
8 Juda, thee shall thy brethren praise: thy hand shall be on the necks of thy enemies; the sons of thy father shall bow down to thee.
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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.
9 Juda is a lion’s whelp: to the prey, my son, thou art gone up: resting thou hast couched as a lion, and as a lioness, who shall rouse him?
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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?
10 The sceptre shall not be taken away from Juda, nor a ruler from his thigh, till he come that is to be sent, and he shall be the expectation of nations.
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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.
11 Tying his foal to the vineyard, and his ass, O my son, to the vine. He shall wash his robe in wine, and his garment in the blood of the grape.
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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;
12 His eyes are more beautiful than wine, and his teeth whiter than milk.
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his eyes are darker than wine, and his teeth whiter than milk.
13 Zabulon shall dwell on the seashore, and in the road of ships, reaching as far as Sidon.
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Zebulun shall settle at the shore of the sea; he shall be a haven for ships, and his border shall be at Sidon.
14 Issachar shall be a strong ass, lying down between the borders.
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Issachar is a strong donkey, lying down between the sheepfolds;
15 He saw rest that it was good: and the land that it was excellent: and he bowed his shoulder to carry, and became a servant under tribute.
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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.
16 Dan shall judge his people like another tribe in Israel.
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Dan shall judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel.
17 Let Dan be a snake in the way, a serpent in the path, that biteth the horse’s heels, that his rider may fall backward.
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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.
18 I will look for thy salvation, O Lord.
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I wait for your salvation, O Lord.
19 Gad, being girded, shall fight before him: and he himself shall be girded backward.
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Gad shall be raided by raiders, but he shall raid at their heels.
20 Aser, his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield dainties to kings.
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Asher's food shall be rich, and he shall provide royal delicacies.
21 Nephthali, a hart let loose, and giving words of beauty.
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Naphtali is a doe let loose that bears lovely fawns.
22 Joseph is a growing son, a growing son and comely to behold: the daughters run to and fro upon the wall;
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Joseph is a fruitful bough, a fruitful bough by a spring; his branches run over the wall.
23 But they that held darts, provoked him, and quarrelled with him, and envied him.
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The archers fiercely attacked him; they shot at him and pressed him hard.
24 His bow rested upon the strong, and the bands of his arms and his hands were loosed, by the hands of the mighty one of Jacob: thence he came forth a pastor, the stone of Israel.
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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,
25 The God of thy father shall be thy helper, and the Almighty shall bless thee with the blessings of heaven above, with the blessings of the deep that lieth beneath, with the blessings of the breasts and of the womb.
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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.
26 The blessings of thy father are strengthened with the blessings of his fathers: until the desire of the everlasting hills should come: may they be upon the head of Joseph, and upon the crown of the Nazarite among his brethren.
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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.
27 Benjamin a ravenous wolf, in the morning shall eat the prey, and in the evening shall divide the spoil.
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Benjamin is a ravenous wolf, in the morning devouring the prey, and at evening dividing the spoil."
28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel: these things their father spoke to them, and he blessed every one with their proper blessings.
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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.
29 And he charged them, saying: I am now going to be gathered to my people: bury me with my fathers in the double cave, which is in the field of Ephron the Hethite,
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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,
30 Over against Mambre, in the land of Chanaan, which Abraham bought together with the field, of Ephron the Hethite, for a possession to bury in.
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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.
31 There they buried him, and Sara his wife: there was Isaac buried with Rebecca, his wife: there also Lia doth lie buried.
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There Abraham and his wife Sarah were buried; there Isaac and his wife Rebekah were buried; and there I buried Leah—
32 (49-31)
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the field and the cave that is in it were purchased from the Hittites."
33 (49-32) And when he had ended the commandments, wherewith he instructed his sons, he drew up his feet upon the bed, and died: and he was gathered to his people.
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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.
The Douay-Rheims Bible is in the public domain.
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.