Jacob Blesses His Twelve Sons

49 Then Jacob called his sons and said, “Gather together so that I can tell you what will happen with you in days to come.[fn]

• 2 Listen to Israel your father!
• 3 are my firstborn, my strength, and the firstfruit of my vigor,
• excelling in rank and excelling in power.
• 4 [fn] as water, you shall not excel any longer, for you went up upon the bed of your father,
• then defiled it. You went up upon my couch!
• 5 are brothers; weapons of violence are their swords.
• Let me[fn] not come into their council.
• 6 [fn] be joined to their company. For in their anger they killed men,
• and at their pleasure they hamstrung cattle.
• 7 it is fierce, and their wrath, for it is cruel.
• I will divide them in Jacob,
  • and I will scatter them in Israel.
  • 8 as for you, your brothers shall praise you. Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies.
  • The sons of your father shall bow down to you.
  • 9 is a lion’s cub. From the prey, my son, you have gone up.
• He bowed down; he crouched like a lion and as a lioness.
  • Who shall rouse him?
  • 10  nor the ruler’s staff between his feet,
• until Shiloh comes.
  • And to him shall be the obedience of nations.
  • 11  and his donkey’s colt to the choice vine,
• he washes his clothing in the wine
  • and his garment in the blood of grapes.
  • 12 are darker than wine, and the teeth whiter than milk.
  • 13  He shall become a haven for ships,
  • and his border shall be at Sidon.
  • 14 is a strong donkey, crouching between the sheepfolds.
  • 15 was good, and land that was pleasant.
• So he bowed his shoulder to the burden
  • and became a servant of forced labor.
  • 16  as one of the tribes of Israel.
  • 17  a viper on the road
• that bites the heels of a horse,
  • so that its rider falls backward.
18 
• 19  but he shall attack their heels.
• 20 is delicious, and he shall provide from the king’s delicacies.
• 21 is a doe running free that puts forth beautiful words.
• 22 is the bough[fn] of a fruitful vine, a fruitful bough[fn] by a spring.
• His branches climb over the wall.
• 23 [fn] fiercely attacked him. They shot arrows at him and were hostile to him.
• 24 [fn] were made agile
• by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob.
  • From there is the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel.
  • 25  and by Shaddai[fn] he will bless you
  • with the blessings of heaven above,
• blessings of the deep that crouches beneath,
  • blessings of the breasts and the womb.
  • 26  are superior to the blessings of my ancestors,
  • to the bounty of the everlasting hills.
• May they be on the head of Joseph,
  • and on the forehead of the prince of his brothers.
  • 27 is a devouring wolf, devouring the prey in the morning,
  • and dividing the plunder in the evening.