Jacob Blesses His Sons
49
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1 Jacob called his sons together and said:
My sons, I am Jacob,
your father Israel.
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49
Chapter recording List of all recordings of KJV
1 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.
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2 Come, gather around,
as I tell your future.
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2 Gather yourselves together, and hear, ye sons of Jacob; and hearken unto Israel your father.
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3 Reuben, you are my oldest,
born at the peak of my powers;
you were an honored leader.
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3 Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power:
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4 Uncontrollable as a flood,
you slept with my wife
and disgraced my bed.
And so you no longer deserve
the place of honor.
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4 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. thou shalt...: Heb. do not thou excel he went...: or, my couch is gone
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5 Simeon and Levi,
you are brothers,
each a gruesome sword.
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5 Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations. instruments...: or, their swords are weapons of violence
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6 I never want to take part
in your plans or deeds.
You slaughtered people
in your anger,
and you crippled cattle
for no reason.
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6 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. digged...: or, houghed or lamed oxen
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7 Now I place a curse on you
because of
your fierce anger.
Your descendants
will be scattered
among the tribes of Israel.
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7 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.
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8 Judah, you will be praised
by your brothers;
they will bow down to you,
as you defeat your enemies.
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8 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.
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9 My son, you are a lion
ready to eat your victim!
You are terribly fierce;
no one will bother you.
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9 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?
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10 You will have power and rule
until nations obey you h 49.10 until ... you: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
and come bringing gifts.
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10 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.
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11 You will tie your donkey
to a choice grapevine
and wash your clothes
in wine from those grapes.
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11 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:
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12 Your eyes are darker than wine,
your teeth whiter than milk.
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12 His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk.
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13 Zebulun, you will settle
along the seashore
and provide safe harbors
as far north as Sidon.
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13 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.
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14 Issachar, you are a strong donkey
resting in the meadows. i 49.14 resting ... meadows: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
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14 Issachar is a strong ass couching down between two burdens:
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15 You found them so pleasant
that you worked too hard
and became a slave.
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15 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.
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16 Dan, j 49.16 Dan: In Hebrew “Dan” means “justice” or “judgment.” you are the tribe
that will bring justice
to Israel.
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16 Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel.
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17 You are a snake that bites
the heel of a horse,
making its rider fall.
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17 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. an adder: Heb. an arrow-snake
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18 Our Lord, I am waiting
for you to save us.
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18 I have waited for thy salvation, O LORD.
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19 Gad, k 49.19 Gad: In Hebrew “Gad” sounds like “attack.” you will be attacked,
then attack your attackers.
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19 Gad, a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last.
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20 Asher, you will eat food
fancy enough for a king.
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20 Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties.
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21 Naphtali, you are a wild deer
with lovely fawns. l 49.21 with lovely fawns: Or “speaking lovely words.”
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21 Naphtali is a hind let loose: he giveth goodly words.
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22 Joseph, you are a fruitful vine
growing near a stream
and climbing a wall. m 49.22 wall: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
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22 Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall: branches: Heb. daughters
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23 Enemies attacked with arrows,
refusing to show mercy.
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23 The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him:
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24 But you stood your ground,
swiftly shooting back
with the help of Jacob's God,
the All-Powerful One—
his name is the Shepherd,
Israel's mighty rock. n 49.24 mighty rock: The Hebrew text has “rock,” which is sometimes used in poetry to compare the Lord to a mountain where his people can run for protection from their enemies.
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24 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:)
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25 Your help came from the God
your father worshiped,
from God All-Powerful.
God will bless you with rain
and streams from the earth;
he will bless you
with many descendants.
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25 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:
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26 My son, the blessings I give
are better than the promise
of ancient mountains
or eternal hills. o 49.26 eternal hills: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
Joseph, I pray these blessings
will come to you,
because you are the leader
of your brothers.
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26 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.
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27 Benjamin, you are a fierce wolf,
destroying your enemies
morning and evening.
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27 Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf: in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil.
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28 These are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is how Jacob gave each of them their proper blessings.
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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.
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Jacob's Death
29-31 Jacob told his sons:
Soon I will die, and I want you to bury me in Machpelah Cave. Abraham bought this cave as a burial place from Ephron the Hittite, and it is near the town of Mamre in Canaan. Abraham and Sarah are buried there, and so are Isaac and Rebekah. I buried Leah there too.
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29 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,
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32 Both the cave and the land that goes with it were bought from the Hittites.
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32 The purchase of the field and of the cave that is therein was from the children of Heth.
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33 When Jacob had finished giving these instructions to his sons, he lay down on his bed and died.
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33 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.
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© 1999 American Bible Society |
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