Genesis 49:1-21
New American Standard Bible
2Gather together and listen, sons of Jacob; Yes, listen to Israel your father.
3'Reuben, you are my firstborn, My might and the beginning of my strength, Preeminent in dignity and preeminent in power.
4 Uncontrollable 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.
5'Simeon and Levi are brothers; Their swords are implements of violence.
6May my soul not enter into their council; May my glory not be united with their assembly; For in their anger they killed men, And in their self-will they lamed oxen.
7Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce; And their wrath, for it is cruel. I will scatter them in Jacob, And disperse them among Israel.
8'As for you, Judah, your brothers shall praise you; Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; Your father’s sons shall bow down to you.
9Judah is a lion’s cub; From the prey, my son, you have gone up. He crouches, he lies down as a lion, And as a lion, who dares to stir him up?
10The scepter will not depart from Judah, Nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes, And to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.
11He ties his foal to the vine, And his donkey’s colt to the choice vine; He washes his garments in wine, And his robes in the blood of grapes.
12His eyes are dull from wine, And his teeth white from milk.
13'Zebulun will reside at the seashore; And he shall be a harbor for ships, And his flank shall be toward Sidon.
14'Issachar is a strong donkey, Lying down between the sheepfolds.
15When he saw that a resting place was good And that the land was pleasant, He bowed his shoulder to carry burdens, And became a slave at forced labor.
16'Dan shall judge his people, As one of the tribes of Israel.
17Dan shall be a serpent in the way, A horned viper in the path, That bites the horse’s heels, So that its rider falls backward.
18For Your salvation I wait, Lord.
19'As for Gad, a band of raiders shall attack him, But he will attack at their heels.
20'As for Asher, his food shall be rich, And he will yield royal delicacies.
21'Naphtali is a doe let loose; He utters beautiful words.
King James Version
Christian Standard Bible
2Come together and listen, sons of Jacob; listen to your father Israel:
3Reuben, you are my firstborn, my strength and the firstfruits of my virility, excelling in prominence, excelling in power.
4Turbulent as water, you will not excel, because you got into your father’s bed and you defiled it—he got into my bed.
5Simeon and Levi are brothers; their knives are vicious weapons.
6May I never enter their council; may I never join their assembly. For in their anger they kill men, and on a whim they hamstring oxen.
7Their anger is cursed, for it is strong, and their fury, for it is cruel! I will disperse them throughout Jacob and scatter them throughout Israel.
8Judah, your brothers will praise you. Your hand will be on the necks of your enemies; your father’s sons will bow down to you.
9Judah is a young lion — my son, you return from the kill. He crouches; he lies down like a lion or a lioness—who dares to rouse him?
10The scepter will not depart from Judah or the staff from between his feet until he whose right it is comes and the obedience of the peoples belongs to him.
11He ties his donkey to a vine, and the colt of his donkey to the choice vine. He washes his clothes in wine and his robes in the blood of grapes.
13Zebulun will live by the seashore and will be a harbor for ships, and his territory will be next to Sidon.
14Issachar is a strong donkey lying down between the saddlebags.
New Living Translation
3'Reuben, you are my firstborn, my strength, the child of my vigorous youth. You are first in rank and first in power.
4But you are as unruly as a flood, and you will be first no longer. For you went to bed with my wife; you defiled my marriage couch.
5'Simeon and Levi are two of a kind; their weapons are instruments of violence.
6May I never join in their meetings; may I never be a party to their plans. For in their anger they murdered men, and they crippled oxen just for sport.
7A curse on their anger, for it is fierce; a curse on their wrath, for it is cruel. I will scatter them among the descendants of Jacob; I will disperse them throughout Israel.
8'Judah, your brothers will praise you. You will grasp your enemies by the neck. All your relatives will bow before you.
9Judah, my son, is a young lion that has finished eating its prey. Like a lion he crouches and lies down; like a lioness — who dares to rouse him?
10The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from his descendants, until the coming of the one to whom it belongs, the one whom all nations will honor.
11He ties his foal to a grapevine, the colt of his donkey to a choice vine. He washes his clothes in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes.
12His eyes are darker than wine, and his teeth are whiter than milk.
14'Issachar is a sturdy donkey, resting between two saddlepacks.
15When he sees how good the countryside is and how pleasant the land, he will bend his shoulder to the load and submit himself to hard labor.
English Standard Version
2"Assemble and listen, O sons of Jacob, listen to Israel your father.
3"Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, and the firstfruits of my strength, preeminent in dignity and preeminent 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!
5 "Simeon and Levi are brothers; weapons of violence are their swords.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
12His eyes are darker than wine, and 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.
14 "Issachar is a strong donkey, crouching between the sheepfolds.
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.
16 "Dan shall judge 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.
18I wait for your salvation, O Lord.
19 "Raiders shall raid Gad, but he shall raid at their heels.
20 "Asher 's food shall be rich, and he shall yield royal delicacies.
21 "Naphtali is a doe let loose that bears beautiful fawns.
New International Version
2"Assemble and listen, sons of Jacob; listen to your father Israel.
3"Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, the first sign of my strength, excelling in honor, excelling in power.
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— their swords are weapons of violence.
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, so fierce, and their fury, so cruel! I will scatter them in Jacob and disperse them in Israel.
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.
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 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.
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.
13"Zebulun will live by the seashore and become a haven for ships; his border will extend toward Sidon.
14"Issachar is a rawboned donkey lying down among the sheep pens.
New King James Version
2“Gather together and hear, you sons of Jacob, And 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.
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.
5“Simeon and Levi are brothers; Instruments of cruelty are in their dwelling place.
6 Let 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.
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.
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.
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?
10 The 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.
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.
12His eyes are darker than wine, And his teeth whiter than milk.
13“Zebulun shall dwell by the haven of the sea; He shall become a haven for ships, And his border shall adjoin Sidon.
14“Issachar is a strong donkey, Lying down between two burdens;
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.
16“Dan shall judge his people As one of the tribes of Israel.
17 Dan 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.
18 I have waited for your salvation, O Lord!
19“Gad, a troop shall tramp upon him, But he shall triumph at last.
20“Bread from Asher shall be rich, And he shall yield royal dainties.
21“Naphtali is a deer let loose; He uses beautiful words.
