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Genesis 49 :: New American Standard Bible 2020 (NASB20)

Jacob’s Prophecy concerning His Sons

Gen 49:1

Then Jacob summoned his sons and said, “Assemble yourselves, so that I may tell you what will happen to you in the [fn]days to come.

Gen 49:2

“Gather together and listen, sons of Jacob;

Yes, listen to Israel your father.

Gen 49:3

“Reuben, you are my firstborn,

My might and the beginning of my strength,

Preeminent in dignity and preeminent in power.

Gen 49:4

[fn]Uncontrollable as water, you shall not have preeminence,

Because you went up to your father’s bed;

Then you defiled it—he went up to my couch.

Gen 49:5

“Simeon and Levi are brothers;

Their [fn]swords are implements of violence.

Gen 49:6

“May my soul not enter into their council;

May my glory not be united with their assembly;

For in their anger they killed [fn]men,

And in their self-will they lamed [fn]oxen.

Gen 49:7

“Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce;

And their wrath, for it is cruel.

I will scatter them in Jacob,

And disperse them among Israel.

Gen 49:8

“As for you, Judah, your brothers shall praise you;

Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies;

Your father’s sons shall bow down to you.

Gen 49:9

“Judah is a lion’s cub;

From the prey, my son, you have gone up.

He [fn]crouches, he lies down as a lion,

And as a [fn]lion, who [fn]dares to stir him up?

Gen 49:10

“The scepter will not depart from Judah,

Nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,

[fn]Until Shiloh comes,

And to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.

Gen 49:11

“He ties his foal to the vine,

And his donkey’s colt to the choice vine;

He washes his garments in wine,

And his robes in the blood of grapes.

Gen 49:12

“His eyes are [fn]dull from wine,

And his teeth [fn]white from milk.

Gen 49:13

“Zebulun will reside at the seashore;

And he shall be [fn]a harbor for ships,

And his flank shall be toward Sidon.

Gen 49:14

“Issachar is a [fn]strong donkey,

Lying down between the sheepfolds.

Gen 49:15

“When he saw that a resting place was good

And that the land was pleasant,

He bowed his shoulder to carry burdens,

And became a slave at forced labor.

Gen 49:16

“Dan shall judge his people,

As one of the tribes of Israel.

Gen 49:17

“Dan shall be a serpent in the way,

A horned viper in the path,

That bites the horse’s heels,

So that its rider falls backward.

Gen 49:18

“For Your salvation I wait, LORD.

Gen 49:19

“As for Gad, a band of raiders shall attack him,

But he will attack at their [fn]heels.

Gen 49:20

[fn]As for Asher, his [fn]food shall be [fn]rich,

And he will yield royal delicacies.

Gen 49:21

“Naphtali is a doe let loose;

He utters beautiful words.

Gen 49:22

“Joseph is a fruitful [fn]branch,

A fruitful [fn]branch by a spring;

Its [fn]branches hang over a wall.

Gen 49:23

“The archers provoked him,

And shot at him and were hostile toward him;

Gen 49:24

But his bow remained [fn]firm,

And [fn]his arms were agile,

From the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob

(From there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel),

Gen 49:25

From the God of your father who helps you,

And [fn]by the [fn]Almighty who blesses you

With blessings of heaven above,

Blessings of the deep that lies beneath,

Blessings of the breasts and of the womb.

Gen 49:26

“The blessings of your father

Have surpassed the blessings of my ancestors

Up to the [fn]furthest boundary of the everlasting hills;

May they be on the head of Joseph,

And on the top of the head of the one distinguished among his brothers.

Gen 49:27

“Benjamin is a [fn]ravenous wolf;

In the morning he devours the prey,

And in the evening he divides the spoils.”

Gen 49:28

All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said to them [fn]when he blessed them. He blessed them, every one [fn]with the blessing appropriate to him.

Jacob Dies

Gen 49:29Then he commanded them and said to them, “I am about to be gathered to my people; bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite,
Gen 49:30in the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is opposite Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought along with the field from Ephron the Hittite as a [fn]burial site.
Gen 49:31“There they buried Abraham and his wife Sarah, there they buried Isaac and his wife Rebekah, and there I buried Leah
Gen 49:32the field and the cave that is in it, purchased from the sons of Heth.”
Gen 49:33When Jacob finished commanding his sons, he drew his feet into the bed and breathed his last, and was gathered to his people.
NASB20 Footnotes
Lit end of the days
Or Gushing over
Or plans; meaning uncertain
Lit a man
Lit an ox
Lit bows down
Lit lioness
Lit shall
Or Until he comes to Shiloh; or Until he comes to whom it belongs
Or darker than
Or whiter than
Lit a shore of ships
Lit donkey of bone
Lit heel
Lit From
Or bread
Lit fat
Lit son
Lit son
Lit daughters
I.e., in an unyielding position
Lit the arms of his hands
Or with
Heb Shaddai
Lit limit; or desire
Lit a wolf that tears
Lit and
Lit according to his blessing
Lit possession of a burial place
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Genesis Chapter 49 — Additional Translations: