Genesis 49
AMP — Amplified Bible (AMP)
KJV — King James Version Bible (KJV)
Verse 1
Then Jacob called for his sons and said, “Assemble yourselves [around me] that I may tell you what will happen to you and your descendants [a]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.
Verse 2
“Gather together and hear, O sons of Jacob;
And listen to Israel (Jacob) your father.
Gather yourselves together, and hear, ye sons of Jacob; and hearken unto Israel your father.
Verse 3
“Reuben, you are my [b]firstborn;
My might, the beginning of my strength and vigor,
Preeminent in dignity and preeminent in power [that should have been your birthright].
Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power:
Verse 4
“But unstable and reckless and boiling over like water [in sinful lust], you shall [c]not excel or have the preeminence [of the firstborn],
Because you went up to your father’s bed [with Bilhah];
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.
Verse 5
“Simeon and Levi are brothers [equally headstrong, deceitful, vindictive, and cruel];
Their swords are weapons of violence and revenge.
Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations.
Verse 6
“O my soul, do not come into their secret council;
Let not my glory (honor) be united with their assembly [for I knew nothing of their plot];
Because in their anger they killed men [an honored man, Shechem, and the Shechemites],
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.
Verse 7
“Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce;
And their wrath, for it was cruel.
I will divide and disperse them in Jacob,
And [d]scatter them in [the midst of the land of] 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.
Verse 8
“Judah, you are the one whom your brothers shall praise;
Your hand will 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.
Verse 9
“Judah, a lion’s cub;
With the prey, my son, you have gone high up [the mountain].
He stooped down, he crouched like a lion,
And like a lion—who dares rouse him?
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?
Verse 10
“The scepter [of royalty] shall not depart from Judah,
Nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,
Until Shiloh [the Messiah, the Peaceful One] 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.
Verse 11
“Tying [e]his foal to the [strong] vine
And his donkey’s colt to the choice vine,
He washes his clothing in wine [because the grapevine produces abundantly],
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:
Verse 12
“His eyes are darker and sparkle more than wine,
And his teeth whiter than milk.
His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk.
Verse 13
“Zebulun shall dwell at the seashore;
And he shall be a haven (landing place) 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.
Verse 14
“Issachar is [like] a strong-boned donkey,
Crouching down between the sheepfolds.
Issachar is a strong ass couching down between two burdens:
Verse 15
“When he saw that the resting place was good
And that the land was pleasant,
He bowed his shoulder to bear [burdens],
And became a servant 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.
Verse 16
“Dan shall judge his people,
As one of the tribes of Israel.
Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel.
Verse 17
“Dan shall be a [venomous] serpent in the way,
A fanged snake in the path,
That bites the horse’s heels,
So that his 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.
Verse 18
“I wait for Your salvation, O Lord.
I have waited for thy salvation, O Lord.
Verse 19
“As for [f]Gad—a raiding troop shall raid him,
But he shall raid at their heels and assault them [victoriously].
Gad, a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last.
Verse 20
“Asher’s food [supply] shall be rich and bountiful,
And he shall yield and deliver royal delights.
Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties.
Verse 21
“Naphtali is a doe let loose, [a swift warrior,]
Which yields branched antlers (eloquent words).
Naphtali is a hind let loose: he giveth goodly words.
Verse 22
“Joseph is a fruitful bough (a main branch of the vine),
A fruitful bough by a spring (a well, a fountain);
Its branches run over the wall [influencing others].
Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall:
Verse 23
“The [skilled] archers have bitterly attacked and provoked him;
They have shot [at him] and harassed him.
The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him:
Verse 24
“But his bow remained firm and steady [in the Strength that does not fail],
For his arms were made strong and agile
By the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob,
(By the name of 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:)
Verse 25
By the God of your father who will help you,
And by the [g]Almighty who blesses you
With blessings of the heavens above,
Blessings lying in the deep that couches beneath,
Blessings of the [nursing] breasts and of the [fertile] 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:
Verse 26
“The blessings of your father
Are greater than the blessings of my ancestors [Abraham and Isaac]
Up to the utmost bound of the everlasting hills;
They shall be on the head of Joseph,
Even on the crown of the head of him who was the distinguished one and the one who is prince among (separate from) 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.
Verse 27
“Benjamin is a [h]ravenous wolf;
In the morning he devours the prey,
And at night he divides the spoil.”
Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf: in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil.
Verse 28
All these are the [beginnings of the] twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said to them as he blessed them, blessing each one according to 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.
Verse 29
He charged them and said to them, “I am 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,
Verse 30
in the cave in the field at Machpelah, east of Mamre, in the land of Canaan, that Abraham bought, along with the field from Ephron the Hittite, to possess 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.
Verse 31
There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife, there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife, 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.
Verse 32
the field and the cave that is in it was purchased from the sons of Heth.”
The purchase of the field and of the cave that is therein was from the children of Heth.
Verse 33
When Jacob (Israel) had finished commanding his sons, he drew his feet into the bed and breathed his last, and was [i]gathered to his people [who had preceded him in death].
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.