Font Size
Genesis 27:27-29
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Genesis 27:27-29
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
27 As Jacob went up to kiss him, Isaac smelled the fragrance of his clothes. With that, he blessed him, saying,
“Ah, the fragrance of my son
is like the fragrance of a field
that the Lord has blessed!(A)
28 May God give to you
of the dew of the heavens
And of the fertility of the earth
abundance of grain and wine.
29 (B)May peoples serve you,
and nations bow down to you;
Be master of your brothers,
and may your mother’s sons bow down to you.
Cursed be those who curse you,
and blessed be those who bless you.”
Genesis 27:27-29
New International Version
Genesis 27:27-29
New International Version
27 So he went to him and kissed(A) him(B). When Isaac caught the smell of his clothes,(C) he blessed him and said,
“Ah, the smell of my son
is like the smell of a field
that the Lord has blessed.(D)
28 May God give you heaven’s dew(E)
and earth’s richness(F)—
an abundance of grain(G) and new wine.(H)
29 May nations serve you
and peoples bow down to you.(I)
Be lord over your brothers,
and may the sons of your mother bow down to you.(J)
May those who curse you be cursed
and those who bless you be blessed.(K)”
Genesis 49:2-27
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Genesis 49:2-27
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
2 “Assemble and listen, sons of Jacob,
listen to Israel, your father.
3 “You, Reuben, my firstborn,
my strength and the first fruit of my vigor,
excelling in rank and excelling in power!
4 Turbulent as water, you shall no longer excel,
for you climbed into your father’s bed
and defiled my couch to my sorrow.(A)
5 [a]“Simeon and Levi, brothers indeed,
weapons of violence are their knives.[b]
6 Let not my person enter their council,
or my honor be joined with their company;
For in their fury they killed men,
at their whim they maimed oxen.(B)
7 Cursed be their fury so fierce,
and their rage so cruel!
I will scatter them in Jacob,
disperse them throughout Israel.
8 “You, Judah, shall your brothers praise
—your hand on the neck of your enemies;
the sons of your father shall bow down to you.
9 Judah is a lion’s cub,
you have grown up on prey, my son.
He crouches, lies down like a lion,
like a lioness—who would dare rouse him?(C)
10 The scepter shall never depart from Judah,
or the mace from between his feet,
Until tribute comes to him,[c]
and he receives the people’s obedience.
11 He tethers his donkey to the vine,
his donkey’s foal to the choicest stem.
In wine he washes his garments,
his robe in the blood of grapes.[d]
12 His eyes are darker than wine,
and his teeth are whiter than milk.
13 “Zebulun shall dwell by the seashore;
he will be a haven for ships,
and his flank shall rest on Sidon.
14 “Issachar is a rawboned donkey,
crouching between the saddlebags.
15 When he saw how good a settled life was,
and how pleasant the land,
He bent his shoulder to the burden
and became a toiling serf.
16 “Dan shall achieve justice[e] for his people
as one of the tribes of Israel.
17 Let Dan be a serpent by the roadside,
a horned viper by the path,
That bites the horse’s heel,
so that the rider tumbles backward.
18 “I long for your deliverance, O Lord![f]
19 “Gad shall be raided by raiders,
but he shall raid at their heels.[g]
20 “Asher’s produce is rich,
and he shall furnish delicacies for kings.
21 “Naphtali is a hind let loose,
which brings forth lovely fawns.
22 “Joseph is a wild colt,
a wild colt by a spring,
wild colts on a hillside.
23 Harrying him and shooting,
the archers opposed him;
24 But his bow remained taut,
and his arms were nimble,
By the power of the Mighty One of Jacob,
because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel,
25 The God of your father, who helps you,[h]
God Almighty, who blesses you,
With the blessings of the heavens above,
the blessings of the abyss that crouches below,
The blessings of breasts and womb,
26 the blessings of fresh grain and blossoms,
the blessings of the everlasting mountains,
the delights of the eternal hills.
May they rest on the head of Joseph,
on the brow of the prince among his brothers.
27 “Benjamin is a ravenous wolf;
mornings he devours the prey,
and evenings he distributes the spoils.”
Footnotes
- 49:5–7 This passage probably refers to their attack on the city of Shechem (Gn 34). Because there is no indication that the warlike tribe of Levi will be commissioned as a priestly tribe (Ex 32:26–29; Dt 33:11), this passage reflects an early, independent tradition.
- 49:5 Knives: if this is the meaning of the obscure Hebrew word here, the reference may be to the knives used in circumcising the men of Shechem (34:24; cf. Jos 5:2).
- 49:10 Until tribute comes to him: this translation is based on a slight change in the Hebrew text, which, as it stands, would seem to mean, “until he comes to Shiloh.” A somewhat different reading of the Hebrew text would be, “until he comes to whom it belongs.” This last has been traditionally understood in a messianic sense. In any case, the passage aims at the supremacy of the tribe of Judah and of the Davidic dynasty.
- 49:11 In wine…the blood of grapes: Judah’s clothes are poetically pictured as soaked with grape juice from trampling in the wine press, the rich vintage of his land; cf. Is 63:2.
- 49:16 In Hebrew the verb for “achieve justice” is from the same root as the name Dan.
- 49:18 This short plea for divine mercy has been inserted into the middle of Jacob’s testament.
- 49:19 In Hebrew there is assonance between the name Gad and the words for “raided,” “raiders,” and “raid.”
- 49:25–26 A very similar description of the agricultural riches of the tribal land of Joseph is given in Dt 33:13–16.
Genesis 49:2-27
New International Version
Genesis 49:2-27
New International Version
3 “Reuben, you are my firstborn,(C)
my might, the first sign of my strength,(D)
excelling in honor,(E) excelling in power.
4 Turbulent as the waters,(F) you will no longer excel,
for you went up onto your father’s bed,
onto my couch and defiled it.(G)
5 “Simeon(H) and Levi(I) are brothers—
their swords[a] are weapons of violence.(J)
6 Let me not enter their council,
let me not join their assembly,(K)
for they have killed men in their anger(L)
and hamstrung(M) oxen as they pleased.
7 Cursed be their anger, so fierce,
and their fury,(N) so cruel!(O)
I will scatter them in Jacob
and disperse them in Israel.(P)
8 “Judah,[b](Q) your brothers will praise you;
your hand will be on the neck(R) of your enemies;
your father’s sons will bow down to you.(S)
9 You are a lion’s(T) cub,(U) Judah;(V)
you return from the prey,(W) 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,(X)
nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,[c]
until he to whom it belongs[d] shall come(Y)
and the obedience of the nations shall be his.(Z)
11 He will tether his donkey(AA) to a vine,
his colt to the choicest branch;(AB)
he will wash his garments in wine,
his robes in the blood of grapes.(AC)
12 His eyes will be darker than wine,
his teeth whiter than milk.[e](AD)
13 “Zebulun(AE) will live by the seashore
and become a haven for ships;
his border will extend toward Sidon.(AF)
14 “Issachar(AG) is a rawboned[f] donkey
lying down among the sheep pens.[g](AH)
15 When he sees how good is his resting place
and how pleasant is his land,(AI)
he will bend his shoulder to the burden(AJ)
and submit to forced labor.(AK)
16 “Dan[h](AL) will provide justice for his people
as one of the tribes of Israel.(AM)
17 Dan(AN) will be a snake by the roadside,
a viper along the path,(AO)
that bites the horse’s heels(AP)
so that its rider tumbles backward.
22 “Joseph(AZ) is a fruitful vine,(BA)
a fruitful vine near a spring,
whose branches(BB) climb over a wall.[k]
23 With bitterness archers attacked him;(BC)
they shot at him with hostility.(BD)
24 But his bow remained steady,(BE)
his strong arms(BF) stayed[l] limber,
because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob,(BG)
because of the Shepherd,(BH) the Rock of Israel,(BI)
25 because of your father’s God,(BJ) who helps(BK) you,
because of the Almighty,[m](BL) who blesses you
with blessings of the skies above,
blessings of the deep springs below,(BM)
blessings of the breast(BN) and womb.(BO)
26 Your father’s blessings are greater
than the blessings of the ancient mountains,
than[n] the bounty of the age-old hills.(BP)
Let all these rest on the head of Joseph,(BQ)
on the brow of the prince among[o] his brothers.(BR)
Footnotes
- Genesis 49:5 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
- Genesis 49:8 Judah sounds like and may be derived from the Hebrew for praise.
- Genesis 49:10 Or from his descendants
- Genesis 49:10 Or to whom tribute belongs; the meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
- Genesis 49:12 Or will be dull from wine, / his teeth white from milk
- Genesis 49:14 Or strong
- Genesis 49:14 Or the campfires; or the saddlebags
- Genesis 49:16 Dan here means he provides justice.
- Genesis 49:19 Gad sounds like the Hebrew for attack and also for band of raiders.
- Genesis 49:21 Or free; / he utters beautiful words
- Genesis 49:22 Or Joseph is a wild colt, / a wild colt near a spring, / a wild donkey on a terraced hill
- Genesis 49:24 Or archers will attack … will shoot … will remain … will stay
- Genesis 49:25 Hebrew Shaddai
- Genesis 49:26 Or of my progenitors, / as great as
- Genesis 49:26 Or of the one separated from
New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.