Study Desk

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

And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days.

"Gather together and listen, sons of Jacob; Yes, listen to Israel your father.

Gather yourselves together, and hear, ye sons of Jacob; and hearken unto Israel your father.

"Reuben, you are my firstborn, My might and the beginning of my strength, Preeminent in dignity and preeminent in power.

Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power:

"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.

Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel; because thou wentest up to thy father's bed; then defiledst thou it: he went up to my couch.

"Simeon and Levi are brothers; Their swords are implements of violence.

Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations.

"May my soul not enter into their council; May my glory not be united with their assembly; For in their anger they killed men, And in their self-will they lamed oxen.

O my soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, mine honour, be not thou united: for in their anger they slew a man, and in their selfwill they digged down a wall.

"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.

Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.

"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.

Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father's children shall bow down before thee.

"Judah is a lion's cub; From the prey, my son, you have gone up. He crouches, he lies down as a lion, And as a lion, who dares to stir him up?

Judah is a lion's whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up?

"The scepter will not depart from Judah, Nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes, And to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.

The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.

"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.

Binding 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:

"His eyes are dull from wine, And his teeth white from milk.

His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk.

"Zebulun will reside at the seashore; And he shall be a harbor for ships, And his flank shall be toward Sidon.

Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea; and he shall be for an haven of ships; and his border shall be unto Zidon.

"Issachar is a strong donkey, Lying down between the sheepfolds.

Issachar is a strong ass couching down between two burdens:

"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.

And he saw that rest was good, and the land that it was pleasant; and bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant unto tribute.

"Dan shall judge his people, As one of the tribes of Israel.

Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel.

"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.

Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward.

"For Your salvation I wait, LORD.

I have waited for thy salvation, O Lord .

"As for Gad, a band of raiders shall attack him, But he will attack at their heels.

Gad, a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last.

"As for Asher, his food shall be rich, And he will yield royal delicacies.

Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties.

"Naphtali is a doe let loose; He utters beautiful words.

Naphtali is a hind let loose: he giveth goodly words.

"Joseph is a fruitful branch, A fruitful branch by a spring; Its branches hang over a wall.

Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall:

"The archers provoked him, And shot at him and were hostile toward him;

The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him:

But his bow remained firm, And his arms were agile, From the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob (From there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel),

But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel:)

From the God of your father who helps you, And by the Almighty who blesses you With blessings of heaven above, Blessings of the deep that lies beneath, Blessings of the breasts and of the womb.

Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb:

"The blessings of your father Have surpassed the blessings of my ancestors Up to the 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.

The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.

"Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; In the morning he devours the prey, And in the evening he divides the spoils."

Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf: in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil.

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

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.

Then 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,

And he charged them, and said unto them, I am to be gathered unto my people: bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite,

in 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 burial site.

In the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field of Ephron the Hittite for a possession of a buryingplace.

"There they buried Abraham and his wife Sarah, there they buried Isaac and his wife Rebekah, and there I buried Leah—

There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah.

the field and the cave that is in it, purchased from the sons of Heth."

The purchase of the field and of the cave that is therein was from the children of Heth.

When Jacob finished commanding his sons, he drew his feet into the bed and breathed his last, and was gathered to his people.

And when Jacob had made an end of commanding his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the ghost, and was gathered unto his people.