| New King James Version | NET Bible |
| 1And Jacob called his sons and said, “Gather together, that I may tell you what shall befall you in the last days: | 1Jacob called for his sons and said, "Gather together so I can tell you what will happen to you in the future. |
| 2“Gather together and hear, you sons of Jacob, And listen to Israel your father. | 2"Assemble and listen, you sons of Jacob; listen to Israel, your father. |
| 3“Reuben, you are my firstborn, My might and the beginning of my strength, The excellency of dignity and the excellency of power. | 3Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might and the beginning of my strength, outstanding in dignity, outstanding in power. |
| 4Unstable as water, you shall not excel, Because you went up to your father’s bed; Then you defiled it— He went up to my couch. | 4You are destructive like water and will not excel, for you got on your father's bed, then you defiled it--he got on my couch! |
| 5“Simeon and Levi are brothers; Instruments of cruelty are in their dwelling place. | 5Simeon and Levi are brothers, weapons of violence are their knives! |
| 6Let not my soul enter their council; Let not my honor be united to their assembly; For in their anger they slew a man, And in their self-will they hamstrung an ox. | 6O my soul, do not come into their council, do not be united to their assembly, my heart, for in their anger they have killed men, and for pleasure they have hamstrung oxen. |
| 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, for it was fierce, and their fury, for it was cruel. I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel! |
| 8“Judah, you are he whom your brothers shall praise; Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; Your father’s children shall bow down before you. | 8Judah, your brothers will praise you. Your hand will be on the neck of your enemies, your father's sons will bow down before you. |
| 9Judah is a lion’s whelp; From the prey, my son, you have gone up. He bows down, he lies down as a lion; And as a lion, who shall rouse him? | 9You are a lion's cub, Judah, from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He crouches and lies down like a lion; like a lioness--who will rouse him? |
| 10The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor a lawgiver from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes; And to Him shall be the obedience of the people. | 10The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs; the nations will obey him. |
| 11Binding his donkey to the vine, And his donkey’s colt to the choice vine, He washed his garments in wine, And his clothes in the blood of grapes. | 11Binding his foal to the vine, and his colt to the choicest vine, 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 dark from wine, and his teeth white from milk. |
| 13“Zebulun shall dwell by the haven of the sea; He shall become a haven for ships, And his border shall adjoin Sidon. | 13Zebulun will live by the haven of the sea and become a haven for ships; his border will extend to Sidon. |
| 14“Issachar is a strong donkey, Lying down between two burdens; | 14Issachar is a strong-boned donkey lying down between two saddlebags. |
| 15He saw that rest was good, And that the land was pleasant; He bowed his shoulder to bear a burden, And became a band of slaves. | 15When he sees a good resting place, and the pleasant land, he will bend his shoulder to the burden and become a slave laborer. |
| 16“Dan shall judge his people As one of the tribes of Israel. | 16Dan will judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel. |
| 17Dan shall be a serpent by the way, A viper by the path, That bites the horse’s heels So that its rider shall fall backward. | 17May Dan be a snake beside the road, a viper by the path, that bites the heels of the horse so that its rider falls backward. |
| 18I have waited for your salvation, O LORD! | 18I wait for your deliverance, O LORD. |
| 19“Gad, a troop shall tramp upon him, But he shall triumph at last. | 19Gad will be raided by marauding bands, but he will attack them at their heels. |
| 20“Bread from Asher shall be rich, And he shall yield royal dainties. | 20Asher's food will be rich, and he will provide delicacies to royalty. |
| 21“Naphtali is a deer let loose; He uses beautiful words. | 21Naphtali is a free running doe, he speaks delightful words. |
| 22“Joseph is a fruitful bough, A fruitful bough by a well; His branches run over the wall. | 22Joseph is a fruitful bough, a fruitful bough near a spring whose branches climb over the wall. |
| 23The archers have bitterly grieved him, Shot at him and hated him. | 23The archers will attack him, they will shoot at him and oppose him. |
| 24But his bow remained in strength, And the arms of his hands were made strong By the hands of the Mighty God of Jacob (From there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel), | 24But his bow will remain steady, and his hands will be skillful; because of the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel, |
| 25By the God of your father who will help you, And by the Almighty who will bless you With blessings of heaven above, Blessings of the deep that lies beneath, Blessings of the breasts and of the womb. | 25because of the God of your father, who will help you, because of the sovereign God, who will bless you with blessings from the sky above, blessings from the deep that lies below, and blessings of the breasts and womb. |
| 26The blessings of your father Have excelled the blessings of my ancestors, Up to the utmost bound of the everlasting hills. They shall be on the head of Joseph, And on the crown of the head of him who was separate from his brothers. | 26The blessings of your father are greater than the blessings of the eternal mountains or the desirable things of the age-old hills. They will be on the head of Joseph and on the brow of the prince of his brothers. |
| 27“Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; In the morning he shall devour the prey, And at night he shall divide the spoil.” | 27Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; in the morning devouring the prey, and in the evening dividing the plunder." |
| 28All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father spoke to them. And he blessed them; he blessed each one according to his own blessing. | 28These are the twelve tribes of Israel. This is what their father said to them when he blessed them. He gave each of them an appropriate blessing. |
| 29Then 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, | 29Then he instructed them, "I am about to go 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 as a possession for a burial place. | 30It is the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought for a burial plot 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 they buried Abraham and his wife Sarah; there they buried Isaac and his wife Rebekah; and there I buried Leah. |
| 32The field and the cave that is there were purchased from the sons of Heth.” | 32The field and the cave in it were acquired from the sons of Heth." |
| 33And when Jacob had finished commanding his sons, he drew his feet up into the bed and breathed his last, and was gathered to his people. | 33When Jacob finished giving these instructions to his sons, he pulled his feet up onto the bed, breathed his last breath, and went to his people. |
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