1Jacob calleth his sons to bless them. 3The blessing of Reuben; 5Simeon and Levi; 8Judah; 13Zebulun; 14Issachar; 16Dan; 19Gad; 20Asher; 21Naphtali; 22Joseph; 27and Benjamin. 29He chargeth them about his burial, and dieth.
Quick Tip
Reading is great—but if you ever want to study, just tap a lightbulb
icon.
11AND Jacob called unto his sons, and said, 2Gather yourselves together, that I 3may tell you that which shall befall you in the 4last days.
2Gather yourselves together, and 1hear, ye sons of Jacob; and hearken unto Israel your father.
3¶ Reuben, thou art my 1firstborn, my 2might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power:
4Unstable as water, athou shalt not excel; because thou 1wentest up to thy father's bed; then defiledst thou it: bhe went up to my couch.
5¶ Simeon and Levi are1brethren; ainstruments of cruelty are in their habitations.
6O my soul, come not thou into their 1secret; unto their assembly, mine 2honour, be not thou united: for in their anger they 3slew a man, and in their selfwill they adigged down a wall.
7Cursed be their 1anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: I will 2divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.
8¶ Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall 1praise: thy hand shall be2in the neck of thine enemies; thy father's children shall bow down before thee.
9Judah is1a lion's whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he 2stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up?
10The 1sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor 2a lawgiver from 3between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the 4gathering of the people be.
111Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass's colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes:
12His 1eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk.
13¶ Zebulun shall 1dwell at the haven of the sea; and he shall be for an haven of ships; and his border shall be unto Zidon.
14¶ 1Issachar is a strong ass couching down between two burdens:
15And he saw that 1rest was good, and the land that it was pleasant; and bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant 2unto tribute.
16¶ Dan shall 1judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel.
17Dan shall be a 1serpent by the way, an aadder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward.
18I 1have waited for thy salvation, O Lord.
19¶ Gad, 1a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last.
20¶ Out of Asher 1his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties.
21¶ Naphtali is1a hind let loose: he giveth goodly words.
22¶ Joseph is a 1fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whoseabranches run over the wall:
23The 1archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him:
24But his 1bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of 2the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the 3shepherd, 4the stone of Israel:)
25even by the 1God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall 2bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb:
26The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the 1everlasting hills: they shall be 2on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was 3separate from his brethren.
27¶ Benjamin 1shall ravin as a wolf: in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil.
28¶ All these are the twelve tribes of Israel: and this is it that their father spake unto them, and blessed them; every one according to his blessing he blessed them.
29And he charged them, and said unto them, I am to be 1gathered unto my people: 2bury me with my fathers 3in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite,
30In the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, 1which Abraham bought with the field of Ephron the Hittite for a possession of a buryingplace.
311There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried 2Leah.
32The purchase of the field and of the cave that is therein was from the children of Heth.
33And when Jacob had made an end of commanding his sons, 1he gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the ghost, and was gathered unto his people.