American Standard Version
Genesis 49:4
4Boiling over as water, thou shalt not have the pre-eminence;Because thou wentest up to thy father’s bed;Then defiledst thou it: he went up to my couch.
Genesis 49:4 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)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.
- New International Version (NIV)Turbulent as the waters, you will no longer excel, for you went up onto your father’s bed, onto my couch and defiled it.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Unstable 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!
- New King James Version (NKJV)Unstable as water, you shall not excel, Because you went up to your father’s bed; Then you defiled it— He went up to my couch.
Context of Genesis 49:4
2Assemble yourselves, and hear, ye sons of Jacob; And hearken unto Israel your father. 3Reuben, thou art my first-born, my might, and the beginning of my strength; The pre-eminence of dignity, and the pre-eminence of power. Boiling over as water, thou shalt not have the pre-eminence; Because thou wentest up to thy father’s bed; Then defiledst thou it: he went up to my couch. 5Simeon and Levi are brethren; Weapons of violence are their swords. 6O my soul, come not thou into their council; Unto their assembly, my glory, be not thou united; For in their anger they slew a man, And in their self-will they hocked an ox.
Read all of Genesis 49Genesis 49:4 word by word
פַּ֤חַז כַּמַּ֙יִם֙ אַל־תּוֹתַ֔ר כִּ֥י עָלִ֖יתָ מִשְׁכְּבֵ֣י אָבִ֑יךָ אָ֥ז חִלַּ֖לְתָּ יְצוּעִ֥י עָלָֽה׃ פRead the interlinear
Cross-references for Genesis 49:4
- James 1:6But let him ask in faith, nothing doubting: for he that doubteth is like the surge of the sea driven by the wind and tossed.
- 2 Peter 2:14having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; enticing unstedfast souls; having a heart exercised in covetousness; children of cursing;
- 2 Peter 3:16as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; wherein are some things hard to be understood, which the ignorant and unstedfast wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.
- Genesis 46:8And these are the names of the children of Israel, who came into Egypt, Jacob and his sons: Reuben, Jacob’s first-born.
- Numbers 32:1Now the children of Reuben and the children of Gad had a very great multitude of cattle: and when they saw the land of Jazer, and the land of Gilead, that, behold, the place was a place for cattle;
- Deuteronomy 33:6Let Reuben live, and not die; Nor let his men be few.
- Genesis 35:22And it came to pass, while Israel dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father’s concubine: and Israel heard of it. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve:
- Deuteronomy 5:21Neither shalt thou covet thy neighbor’s wife; neither shalt thou desire thy neighbor’s house, his field, or his man-servant, or his maid-servant, his ox, or his ass, or anything that is thy neighbor’s.
- Deuteronomy 27:20Cursed be he that lieth with his father’s wife, because he hath uncovered his father’s skirt. And all the people shall say, Amen.
- 1 Chronicles 5:1And the sons of Reuben the first-born of Israel (for he was the first-born; but, forasmuch as he defiled his father’s couch, his birthright was given unto the sons of Joseph the son of Israel; and the genealogy is not to be reckoned after the birthright.
- 1 Corinthians 5:1It is actually reported that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not even among the Gentiles, that oneof you hath his father’s wife.
Commentaries on Genesis 49:4
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4Pouring out like the waters - This is an obscure sentence because unfinished. It evidently relates to the defilement of his father's couch; and the word פחז pachaz, here translated pouring out, and in our Version unstable, has a bad meaning in other places of the Scripture, being applied to dissolute, debauched, and licentious conduct. See Judges 9:4; Zephaniah 3:4; Jeremiah 23:14, Jeremiah 23:32; Jeremiah 29:23. Thou shalt not excel - This tribe never…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1-33Verses 1-33 - Jacob Blesses His Sons 5. מכרה mekêrāh “weapon;” related: כיר kārar or כרה kārāh dig. “Device, design?” related: מכר mākar “sell,” in Arabic “take counsel. Habitation.” 10. מחקק mechoqēq “lawgiver, judge, dispenser of laws.” This word occurs in six other places - Numbers 21:18; Deuteronomy 33:21; Jud. Deuteronomy 5:14; Psalm 60:9; Psalm 108:9; Isaiah 33:22; in five of which it clearly denotes ruler, or judge. The meaning “sceptre” is…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 3-7Verses 3-7 Reuben was the first-born; but by gross sin, he forfeited the birthright. The character of Reuben is, that he was unstable as water. Men do not thrive, because they do not fix. Reuben's sin left a lasting infamy upon his family. Let us never do evil, then we need not fear being told of it. Simeon and Levi were passionate and revengeful. The murder of the Shechemites is a proof of this. Jacob protested against that barbarous act. Our soul is our…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3-4Uncontrolled as the waters: As the firstborn, Reuben should have led the family. But he acted without control, like water that boils or flows wildly (for example, 35:22). Because of this, Jacob said that Reuben would not succeed as a leader (see 37:21–22, 29; 42:22, 37–38; compare Judges 5:15–16; 1 Chronicles 5:1–2).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-331. Jacob called unto his sons--It is not to the sayings of the dying saint, so much as of the inspired prophet, that attention is called in this chapter. Under the immediate influence of the Holy Spirit he pronounced his prophetic benediction and described the condition of their respective descendants in the last days, or future times. Ge 49:3, 4. Reuben forfeited by his crime the rights and honors of primogeniture. His posterity never made any figure; no…Read the comment
Topics related to Genesis 49:4
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Genesis 49
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
American Standard Version — 1901 — Public Domain
Commentaries