Genesis 49 : 1 (HCSB)
Then Jacob called his sons and said, "Gather around, and I will tell you what will happen to you in the days to come.
Genesis 49 : 2 (HCSB)
Come together and listen, sons of Jacob; listen to your father Israel:
Genesis 49 : 3 (HCSB)
Reuben, you are my firstborn, my strength and the firstfruits of my virility, excelling in prominence, excelling in power.
Genesis 49 : 4 (HCSB)
Turbulent as water, you will no longer excel, because you got into your father's bed and you defiled it-- he got into my bed.
Genesis 49 : 5 (HCSB)
Simeon and Levi are brothers; their knives are vicious weapons.
Genesis 49 : 6 (HCSB)
May 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.
Genesis 49 : 7 (HCSB)
Their 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.
Genesis 49 : 8 (HCSB)
Judah, your brothers will praise you. Your hand will be on the necks of your enemies; your father's sons will bow down to you.
Genesis 49 : 9 (HCSB)
Judah is a young lion-- my son, you return from the kill-- he crouches; he lies down like a lion and like a lioness-- who wants to rouse him?
Genesis 49 : 10 (HCSB)
The 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.
Genesis 49 : 11 (HCSB)
He 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.
Genesis 49 : 12 (HCSB)
His eyes are darker than wine, and his teeth are whiter than milk.
Genesis 49 : 13 (HCSB)
Zebulun will live by the seashore and will be a harbor for ships, and his territory will be next to Sidon.
Genesis 49 : 14 (HCSB)
Issachar is a strong donkey lying down between the saddlebags.
Genesis 49 : 15 (HCSB)
He saw that his resting place was good and that the land was pleasant, so he leaned his shoulder to bear a load and became a forced laborer.
Genesis 49 : 16 (HCSB)
Dan will judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel.
Genesis 49 : 17 (HCSB)
He will be a snake by the road, a viper beside the path, that bites the horses' heels so that its rider falls backwards.
Genesis 49 : 18 (HCSB)
I wait for Your salvation, LORD.
Genesis 49 : 19 (HCSB)
Gad will be attacked by *marauding bands, but he will attack their heels.
Genesis 49 : 20 (HCSB)
Asher's food will be rich, and he will produce royal delicacies.
Genesis 49 : 21 (HCSB)
Naphtali is a doe set free that bears beautiful fawns.
Genesis 49 : 22 (HCSB)
Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine beside a spring; its branches climb over the wall.
Genesis 49 : 23 (HCSB)
The archers attacked him, shot at him, and were hostile toward him.
Genesis 49 : 24 (HCSB)
Yet his bow remained steady, and his strong arms were made agile by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, by the name of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel,
Genesis 49 : 25 (HCSB)
by the God of your father who helps you, and by the Almighty who blesses you with blessings of the heavens above, blessings of the deep that lies below, and blessings of the breasts and the womb.
Genesis 49 : 26 (HCSB)
The blessings of your father excel the blessings of my ancestors and the bounty of the eternal hills. May they rest on the head of Joseph, on the crown of the prince of his brothers.
Genesis 49 : 27 (HCSB)
Benjamin is a wolf; he tears *his prey. In the morning he devours the prey, and in the evening he divides the plunder."
Genesis 49 : 28 (HCSB)
These are the tribes of Israel, 12 in all, and this was what their father said to them. He blessed them, and he blessed each one with a suitable blessing.
Genesis 49 : 29 (HCSB)
Then he commanded them: "I am about to be gathered to my people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite.
Genesis 49 : 30 (HCSB)
The cave is in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre, in the land of Canaan. This is the field Abraham purchased from Ephron the Hittite as a burial site.
Genesis 49 : 31 (HCSB)
Abraham and his wife Sarah are buried there, Isaac and his wife Rebekah are buried there, and I buried Leah there.
Genesis 49 : 32 (HCSB)
The field and the cave in it *were purchased from the Hittites."
Genesis 49 : 33 (HCSB)
When Jacob had finished instructing his sons, he drew his feet into the bed and died. He was gathered to his people.
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