Genesis 49

International Standard Version

³ “Reuben, you’re my firstborn,
    my strength,
        and the first fruit of my vitality.
You excel in rank
    and excel in power.
⁴ But you’re as undisciplined as a roaring river,
    so eventually you won’t succeed,
because you got in your father’s bed,^[c]
    defiled it, and then approached my couch.”

⁵ “Simeon and Levi are brothers;
    their swords are violent weapons.
⁶ I’ll^[d] never join their council;
    I’ll never enter their assembly.
In their anger they committed murder
    and lamed cattle just for fun.
⁷ Their anger is cursed,
    because it is so fierce,
as is their vehemence,
    because it is so cruel.
I will separate them throughout Jacob’s territory^[e]
    and disperse them throughout Israel.”

⁸ “Your brothers will praise you, Judah.^[f]
    Your hand will be at the throat of your enemies,
and your father’s children will bow down to you.
⁹ Judah is a lion cub.
    My son, you have gone up from the prey.
Crouching like a lion,
    he lies down,
Like a lioness,
    who would dare rouse him?
¹⁰ The scepter will not depart from Judah,
    nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,
until the one^[g] comes, who owns them both,^[h]
    and to him will belong the allegiance^[i] of nations.
¹¹ Binding his donkey to the vine
    and his mare’s foal to its thick tendrils,
he will wash his garments in wine
    and his robe in the juice of grapes.
¹² His eyes are darker than wine
    and his teeth whiter than milk.”

¹³ “Zebulun will settle down near the sea shore
    and become a safe haven for shipping,
        bordering Sidon.”

¹⁴ “Issachar is a strong donkey,
    resting between sheepfolds.
¹⁵ He observed that his resting place was excellent,
    and that the land was pleasant;
he bent down,
    picked up his burdens,
        and became a slave at forced labor.”

¹⁶ “Dan will judge^[j] his people
    as one of Israel’s tribes.
¹⁷ Dan will be a snake on the path,
    a viper on the road
that snaps at the heels of horses,
    causing their riders to fall off.

¹⁹ “Bandits will raid Gad,
    but Gad will raid them back.”^[k]

²⁰ “Asher’s food will be delicious;
    he will be a provider of delicacies fit for royalty.”

²¹ “Naphtali is a free running deer
    who produces eloquent literature.”

²² “Joseph is descended from a fruitful vine,
    a fruitful vine planted near springs of water.
        His branches climb over walls.
²³ Even though enemies^[l] attacked him,
    shooting at him
        and pursuing him viciously,
²⁴ nevertheless his bow remained steady
    and his arms kept in shape
        by the strength of Jacob’s Mighty One,
in the name of the Shepherd,
    Israel’s Rock,
²⁵ by your father’s God
    who helps you,
by the Almighty
    who will keep on blessing you
with blessings from heaven above,
    with blessings from the deepest ocean,
with blessing from the breasts and the womb.
²⁶ Your father’s blessings will prove to be stronger
    than blessings from the eternal mountains
        or bounties from the everlasting hills.
May they come to rest on Joseph’s head,
    May they be set upon the brow of the one
        who was separated from his own brothers.”

²⁷ “Benjamin is vicious like a wolf;
    what he kills in the morning
        he devours in the evening.”