| English Standard Version | New International Version |
| 1Then Jacob called his sons and said, “Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you what shall happen to you in days to come. | 1Then Jacob called for his sons and said: "Gather around so I can tell you what will happen to you in days to come. |
| 2“Assemble and listen, O sons of Jacob, listen to Israel your father. | 2"Assemble and listen, sons of Jacob; listen to your father Israel. |
| 3“Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, and the firstfruits of my strength, preeminent in dignity and preeminent in power. | 3"Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, the first sign of my strength, excelling in honor, excelling in power. |
| 4Unstable 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! | 4Turbulent as the waters, you will no longer excel, for you went up onto your father's bed, onto my couch and defiled it. |
| 5“Simeon and Levi are brothers; weapons of violence are their swords. | 5"Simeon and Levi are brothers-- their swords are weapons of violence. |
| 6Let my soul come not into their council; O my glory, be not joined to their company. For in their anger they killed men, and in their willfulness they hamstrung oxen. | 6Let me not enter their council, let me not join their assembly, for they have killed men in their anger and hamstrung oxen as they pleased. |
| 7Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce, and their wrath, for it is cruel! I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel. | 7Cursed be their anger, so fierce, and their fury, so cruel! I will scatter them in Jacob and disperse them in Israel. |
| 8“Judah, your brothers shall praise you; your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; your father’s sons shall bow down before you. | 8"Judah, your brothers will praise you; your hand will be on the neck of your enemies; your father's sons will bow down to you. |
| 9Judah is a lion’s cub; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He stooped down; he crouched as a lion and as a lioness; who dares rouse him? | 9You are a lion's cub, Judah; you return from the prey, my son. Like a lion he crouches and lies down, like a lioness--who dares to rouse him? |
| 10The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples. | 10The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until he to whom it belongs shall come and the obedience of the nations shall be his. |
| 11Binding his foal to the vine and his donkey’s colt to the choice vine, he has washed his garments in wine and his vesture in the blood of grapes. | 11He will tether his donkey to a vine, his colt to the choicest branch; he will wash his garments in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes. |
| 12His eyes are darker than wine, and his teeth whiter than milk. | 12His eyes will be darker than wine, his teeth whiter than milk. |
| 13“Zebulun shall dwell at the shore of the sea; he shall become a haven for ships, and his border shall be at Sidon. | 13"Zebulun will live by the seashore and become a haven for ships; his border will extend toward Sidon. |
| 14“Issachar is a strong donkey, crouching between the sheepfolds. | 14"Issachar is a rawboned donkey lying down among the sheep pens. |
| 15He saw that a resting place was good, and that the land was pleasant, so he bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant at forced labor. | 15When he sees how good is his resting place and how pleasant is his land, he will bend his shoulder to the burden and submit to forced labor. |
| 16“Dan shall judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel. | 16"Dan will provide justice for his people as one of the tribes of Israel. |
| 17Dan shall be a serpent in the way, a viper by the path, that bites the horse’s heels so that his rider falls backward. | 17Dan will be a snake by the roadside, a viper along the path, that bites the horse's heels so that its rider tumbles backward. |
| 18I wait for your salvation, O LORD. | 18"I look for your deliverance, LORD. |
| 19“Raiders shall raid Gad, but he shall raid at their heels. | 19"Gad will be attacked by a band of raiders, but he will attack them at their heels. |
| 20“Asher’s food shall be rich, and he shall yield royal delicacies. | 20"Asher's food will be rich; he will provide delicacies fit for a king. |
| 21“Naphtali is a doe let loose that bears beautiful fawns. | 21"Naphtali is a doe set free that bears beautiful fawns. |
| 22“Joseph is a fruitful bough, a fruitful bough by a spring; his branches run over the wall. | 22"Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine near a spring, whose branches climb over a wall. |
| 23The archers bitterly attacked him, shot at him, and harassed him severely, | 23With bitterness archers attacked him; they shot at him with hostility. |
| 24yet his bow remained unmoved; his arms were made agile by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob (from there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel), | 24But his bow remained steady, his strong arms stayed limber, because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob, because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel, |
| 25by the God of your father who will help you, by the Almighty who will bless you with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that crouches beneath, blessings of the breasts and of the womb. | 25because of your father's God, who helps you, because of the Almighty, who blesses you with blessings of the skies above, blessings of the deep springs below, blessings of the breast and womb. |
| 26The blessings of your father are mighty beyond the blessings of my parents, up to the bounties of the everlasting hills. May they be on the head of Joseph, and on the brow of him who was set apart from his brothers. | 26Your father's blessings are greater than the blessings of the ancient mountains, than the bounty of the age-old hills. Let all these rest on the head of Joseph, on the brow of the prince among his brothers. |
| 27“Benjamin is a ravenous wolf, in the morning devouring the prey and at evening dividing the spoil.” | 27"Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; in the morning he devours the prey, in the evening he divides the plunder." |
| 28All these are the twelve tribes of Israel. This is what their father said to them as he blessed them, blessing each with the blessing suitable to him. | 28All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said to them when he blessed them, giving each the blessing appropriate to him. |
| 29Then he commanded 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, | 29Then he gave them these instructions: "I am about to be gathered to my people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite, |
| 30in the cave that is in the field at Machpelah, to the east of Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite to possess as a burying place. | 30the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre in Canaan, which Abraham bought along with the field as a burial place from Ephron the Hittite. |
| 31There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife. There they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife, and there I buried Leah— | 31There Abraham and his wife Sarah were buried, there Isaac and his wife Rebekah were buried, and there I buried Leah. |
| 32the field and the cave that is in it were bought from the Hittites.” | 32The field and the cave in it were bought from the Hittites." |
| 33When Jacob finished commanding his sons, he drew up his feet into the bed and breathed his last and was gathered to his people. | 33When Jacob had finished giving instructions to his sons, he drew his feet up into the bed, breathed his last and was gathered to his people. |
| ESV Text Edition: 2016. The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved. | New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. |
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