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Jacob called for his sons and said, “Gather around, and I will tell you what will happen to you in days to come.
2 “Assemble and listen, O sons of Jacob;
hear the words of your father Israel.
3 “Reuben, you are my firstborn,
my might, and the firstfruits of my virility,
excelling in honour, excelling in power.
4 “Turbulent as water, you will no longer excel,
because you got onto your father’s bed,
and you defiled it—
he got onto my couch!
5 “Simeon and Levi are brothers—
their swords are weapons of violence.
6 Let me never enter their council;
let me never be joined to their assembly,
for they have killed men in their anger,
and hamstrung oxen as they pleased.
7 Cursed be their anger, so fierce;
and their wrath, so cruel!
I will scatter them in Jacob,
and disperse them throughout Israel.
8 “Judah, your brothers will praise you;
your hand will be on the neck of your enemies;
your father’s sons will bow down to you.
9 Judah is a young lion;
you return from the prey, my son.
He crouches; he lies down like a lion,
and like a lioness—who dares to rouse him?
10 The sceptre will not depart from Judah,
nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,
until He comes to whom the staff belongs,
and the obedience of the nations is His.
11 He tethers his donkey 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.
12 His eyes are darker than wine,
and his teeth are whiter than milk.
13 “Zebulun will live by the seashore;
he will become a haven for ships,
and his border will be at Sidon.
14 “Issachar is a strong donkey
lying down between two saddlebags.
15 When he sees that his resting place is good
and the land is pleasant,
he will bend his shoulder to the burden,
and become a slave at forced labour.
16 “Dan will judge his people
as one of the tribes of Israel.
17 Dan will be a serpent by the roadside,
a viper along the path,
that bites the horse’s heels
so that its rider falls backward.
18 “I wait for Your salvation, O Lord.
19 “Gad will be attacked by raiders,
but he will attack them at their heels.
20 “Asher’s food will be rich,
and he will provide royal delicacies.
21 “Naphtali is a doe set free
that bears beautiful fawns.
22 “Joseph is a fruitful vine,
a fruitful vine beside a spring;
his branches climb over a wall.
23 The archers bitterly attacked him;
they shot at him with hostility.
24 But his bow remained steady,
and his strong arms were made agile
by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob,
by the name of the Shepherd,
the Rock of Israel,
25 by the God of your father, who helps you,
by the Almighty, who blesses you
with blessings of heaven above,
blessings of the deep that lies below,
blessings of the breasts and of the womb.
26 The blessings of your father are greater
than the blessings of the ancient mountains,
than the bounty of the everlasting hills.
May they rest on the head of Joseph,
on the crown of the prince of his brothers.
27 “Benjamin is a ravenous wolf;
in the morning he devours the prey,
in the evening he divides the plunder.”
28 These are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said to them. He blessed them, and he blessed each one with the blessing appropriate to him.
29 Then he commanded them: “I am about to be gathered to my people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite, 30 the cave in the field at Machpelah, near Mamre in the land of Canaan, which Abraham purchased from Ephron the Hittite for a burial site. 31 Abraham and his wife Sarah are buried there, Isaac and his wife Rebekah are buried there, and I buried Leah there. 32 The field and the cave in it were bought from the Hittites.”
33 When Jacob had finished giving instructions to his sons, he drew his feet up into the bed and breathed his last, and was gathered to his people.