1And JacobH3290 calledH7121 unto his sonsH1121, and saidH559: GatherH622 yourselves together, that I may tellH5046 you that which shall befall you in the latterH319 daysH3117.
2AssembleH6908 yourselves, and hearH8085, ye sonsH1121 of JacobH3290;And hearken unto IsraelH3478 your fatherH1.3ReubenH7205, thou art my first-born, my might, and the beginning of my strengthH3581;The pre-eminence of dignityH7613, and the pre-eminence of powerH3581.4Boiling over as waterH4325, thou shalt not have the pre-eminence;Because thou wentest up to thy father’sH1 bedH4904;ThenH227 defiledst thou it: he wentH5927 up to my couch.5SimeonH8095 and LeviH3878 are brethren;WeaponsH3627 of violenceH2555 are their swords.6O my soulH5315, comeH935 not thou into their councilH5475;Unto their assemblyH6951, my gloryH3519, be not thou united;For in their angerH639 they slewH2026 a manH376,And in their self-will they hocked an oxH7794.7CursedH779 be their angerH639, for it was fierceH5794;And their wrathH5678, for it was cruel:I will divideH2505 them in JacobH3290,And scatterH6327 them in IsraelH3478.8JudahH3063, thee shall thy brethren praiseH3034:Thy handH3027 shall be on the neckH6203 of thine enemiesH341;Thy father’sH1 sonsH1121 shall bowH7812 downH7812 before thee.9JudahH3063 is a lion’sH738 whelp;From the preyH2964, my sonH1121, thou art goneH5927 up:He stooped downH7257, he couched as a lionH738,And as a lionessH3833; who shall rouse him up?10The sceptre shall not departH5493 from JudahH3063,Nor the ruler’sH2710 staffH7626 from between his feetH7272,Until Shiloh comeH935;And unto him shall the obedienceH3349 of the peoplesH5971 be.11BindingH631 his foal unto the vineH1612,And his ass’s colt unto the choice vineH1612;He hath washedH3526 his garments in wineH3196,And his vesture in the bloodH1818 of grapes:12His eyesH5869 shall be red with wineH3196,And his teethH8127 whiteH3836 with milkH2461.13ZebulunH2074 shall dwellH7931 at the haven of the seaH3220;And he shall be for a haven of shipsH591;And his border shall be upon SidonH6721.14IssacharH3485 is a strong ass,Couching downH7257 between the sheepfolds:15And he sawH7200 a resting-place that it wasH1961 goodH2896,And the landH776 that it wasH1961 pleasantH5276;And he bowed his shoulderH7926 to bear,And becameH1961 a servant under taskwork.16DanH1835 shall judgeH1777 his peopleH5971,As oneH259 of the tribesH7626 of IsraelH3478.17DanH1835 shall beH1961 a serpent in the wayH1870,An adder in the pathH734,That biteth the horse’s heelsH6119,So that his riderH7392 falleth backwardH268.18I have waited for thy salvationH3444, O Jehovah.19GadH1410, a troopH1416 shall press upon him;But he shall press upon their heelH6119.20Out of AsherH836 his breadH3899 shall be fat,And he shall yield royal dainties.21NaphtaliH5321 is a hind let loose:He giveth goodly wordsH561.22JosephH3130 is a fruitfulH6509 bough,A fruitfulH6509 bough by a fountain;His branches run over the wallH7791.23The archers have sorely grieved him,And shot at him, and persecuted him:24But his bowH7198 abode in strengthH2220,And the armsH2220 of his handsH3027 were made strong, By the handsH3027 of the MightyH46 OneH46 of JacobH3290 (From thence is the shepherdH7462, the stoneH68 of IsraelH3478),25Even by the GodH410 of thy fatherH1, who shall helpH5826 thee,And by the AlmightyH7706, who shall blessH1288 thee,With blessingsH1293 of heavenH8064 above,BlessingsH1293 of the deepH8415 that coucheth beneath,BlessingsH1293 of the breastsH7699, and of the wombH7356.26The blessingsH1293 of thy fatherH1Have prevailedH1396 above the blessingsH1293 of my progenitorsUnto the utmost bound of the everlasting hillsH1389:They shall beH1961 on the headH7218 of JosephH3130,And on the crown of the headH7218 of him that wasH1961 separate from his brethren.27BenjaminH1144 is a wolfH2061 that raveneth:In the morningH1242 he shall devourH398 the prey,And at even he shall divideH2505 the spoilH7998. 28All these are the twelve tribesH7626 of IsraelH3478: and this is it that their fatherH1 spake unto them and blessedH1288 them; every oneH376 according to his blessing he blessedH1288 them. 29And he charged them, and saidH559 unto them, I am to be gatheredH622 unto my peopleH5971: buryH6912 me with my fathersH1 in the caveH4631 that is in the fieldH7704 of EphronH6085 the HittiteH2850, 30in the caveH4631 that is in the fieldH7704 of MachpelahH4375, which is before MamreH4471, in the landH776 of CanaanH3667, which AbrahamH85 boughtH7069 with the fieldH7704 from EphronH6085 the HittiteH2850 for a possessionH272 of a burying-place. 31There they buriedH6912 AbrahamH85 and SarahH8283 his wifeH802; there they buriedH6912 IsaacH3327 and RebekahH7259 his wifeH802; and there I buriedH6912 LeahH3812— 32the fieldH7704 and the caveH4631 that is therein, which was purchased from the children of HethH2845. 33And when JacobH3290 made an endH3615 of charging his sonsH1121, he gatheredH622 up his feetH7272 into the bedH4296, and yielded up the ghost, and was gatheredH622 unto his peopleH5971.
Commentaries