| King James Bible | New International Version |
| 1And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days. | 1Then Jacob called for his sons and said: "Gather around so I can tell you what will happen to you in days to come. |
| 2Gather yourselves together, and hear, ye sons of Jacob; and hearken unto Israel your father. | 2"Assemble and listen, sons of Jacob; listen to your father Israel. |
| 3Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power: | 3"Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, the first sign of my strength, excelling in honor, excelling in power. |
| 4Unstable 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. | 4Turbulent as the waters, you will no longer excel, for you went up onto your father's bed, onto my couch and defiled it. |
| 5Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations. | 5"Simeon and Levi are brothers-- their swords are weapons of violence. |
| 6O 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. | 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 was fierce; and their wrath, for it was 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. |
| 8Judah, 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. | 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 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? | 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 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. | 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 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: | 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 shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk. | 12His eyes will be darker than wine, his teeth whiter than milk. |
| 13Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea; and he shall be for an haven of ships; and his border shall be unto Zidon. | 13"Zebulun will live by the seashore and become a haven for ships; his border will extend toward Sidon. |
| 14Issachar is a strong ass couching down between two burdens: | 14"Issachar is a rawboned donkey lying down among the sheep pens. |
| 15And 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. | 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. |
| 16Dan 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 by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall 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 have waited for thy salvation, O LORD. | 18"I look for your deliverance, LORD. |
| 19Gad, a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last. | 19"Gad will be attacked by a band of raiders, but he will attack them at their heels. |
| 20Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties. | 20"Asher's food will be rich; he will provide delicacies fit for a king. |
| 21Naphtali is a hind let loose: he giveth goodly words. | 21"Naphtali is a doe set free that bears beautiful fawns. |
| 22Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose 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 have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him: | 23With bitterness archers attacked him; they shot at him with hostility. |
| 24But 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:) | 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, |
| 25Even 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: | 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 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. | 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. |
| 27Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf: in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide 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: and this is it that their father spake unto them, and blessed them; every one according to his blessing he blessed them. | 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. |
| 29And 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, | 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 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. | 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 purchase of the field and of the cave that is therein was from the children of Heth. | 32The field and the cave in it were bought from the Hittites." |
| 33And 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. | 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. |
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