Genesis 49

vayyiqra ya'aqov el-banayw vayyomer he'asefu ve'aggidah lakhem et asher-yiqra etkhem be'akharit hayyamim

And Jacob called his sons and said, “Come together that I may tell you what is to befall you in days to come.

hiqqavetsu veshimu bene ya'aqov veshimu el-yisra'el avikhem

Assemble and hearken, O sons of Jacob; Hearken to Israel your father:

re'uven bekhori attah kokhi vereshit oni yeter se'et veyeter az

Reuben, you are my first-born, My might and first fruit of my vigor, Exceeding in rank And exceeding in honor.

pakhaz kammayim al-totar ki alita mishkeve avikha az khillalta yetsu'i alah

Unstable as water, you shall excel no longer; For when you mounted your father’s bed, You brought disgrace—my couch he mounted!

shimon velevi akhim kele khamas mekherotehem

Simeon and Levi are a pair; Their weapons are tools of lawlessness.

besodam al-tavo nafshi biqhalam al-tekhad kevodi ki ve'appam haregu ish uvirtsonam iqqeru-shor

Let not my person be included in their council, Let not my being be counted in their assembly. For when angry they slay a man, And when pleased they maim an ox.

arur appam ki az ve'evratam ki qashatah akhalleqem beya'aqov va'afitsem beyisra'el

Cursed be their anger so fierce, And their wrath so relentless. I will divide them in Jacob, Scatter them in Israel.

yehudah attah yodukha akhekha yadekha be'oref oyevekha yishtakhavu lekha bene avikha

You, O Judah, your brothers shall praise; Your hand shall be on the nape of your foes; Your father’s sons shall bow low to you.

gur aryeh yehudah mitteref beni alita kara ravats ke'aryeh ukhelavi mi yeqimennu

Judah is a lion’s whelp; On prey, my son, have you grown. He crouches, lies down like a lion, Like a lioness—who dare rouse him?

lo-yasur shevet mihudah umekhoqeq mibben raglayw ad ki-yavo shiloh velo yiqqehat ammim

The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet; So that tribute shall come to him And the homage of peoples be his.

oseri laggefen iroh velassoreqah beni atono kibbes bayyayin levusho uvedam-anavim sutoh

He tethers his donkey to a vine, His jenny’s foal to a choice vine; He washes his garment in wine, His robe in blood of grapes.

khakhlili enayim miyyayin uleven-shinnayim mekhalav

His eyes are darker than wine; His teeth are whiter than milk.

zevulun lekhof yammim yishkon vehu lekhof oniyyot veyarkhato al-tsidon

Zebulun shall dwell by the seashore; He shall be a haven for ships, And his flank shall rest on Sidon.

yissashkhar khamor garem rovets ben hammishpetayim

Issachar is a strong-boned donkey, Crouching among the sheepfolds.

vayyar menukhah ki tov ve'et-ha'arets ki na'emah vayyet shikhmo lisbol vayehi lemas-oved

When he saw how good was security, And how pleasant was the country, He bent his shoulder to the burden, And became a toiling serf.

dan yadin ammo ke'akhad shivte yisra'el

Dan shall govern his people, As one of the tribes of Israel.

yehi-dan nakhash ale-derekh shefifon ale-orakh hannoshekh iqqeve-sus vayyippol rokhevo akhor

Dan shall be a serpent by the road, A viper by the path, That bites the horse’s heels So that his rider is thrown backward.

lishu'atekha qivviti Adonai

I wait for Your deliverance, O ETERNAL One!

gad gedud yegudennu vehu yagud aqev

Gad shall be raided by raiders, But he shall raid at their heels.

me'asher shemenah lakhmo vehu yitten ma'adanne-melekh

Asher’s bread shall be rich, And he shall yield royal dainties.

naftali ayyalah shelukhah hannoten imre-shafer

Naphtali is a hind let loose, Which yields lovely fawns.

ben porat yosef ben porat ale-ayin banot tsa'adah ale-shur

Joseph is a wild ass, A wild ass by a spring —Wild colts on a hillside.

vayemareruhu varobbu vayyistemuhu ba'ale khitsim

Archers bitterly assailed him; They shot at him and harried him.

vatteshev be'etan qashto vayyafozzu zero'e yadayw mide avir ya'aqov misham ro'eh even yisra'el

Yet his bow stayed taut, And his arms were made firm By the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob— There, the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel—

me'el avikha veyazerekka ve'et shadday vivarekhekka birkhot shamayim me'al birkhot tehom rovetset takhat birkhot shadayim varakham

The God of your father, who helps you, And Shaddai who blesses you With blessings of heaven above, Blessings of the deep that couches below, Blessings of the breast and womb.

birkhot avikha gaveru al-birkhot horay ad-ta'avat givot olam tihyena lerosh yosef uleqodqod nezir ekhayw

The blessings of your father Surpass the blessings of my ancestors, To the utmost bounds of the eternal hills. May they rest on the head of Joseph, On the brow of the elect of his brothers.

binyamin ze'ev yitraf babboqer yokhal ad vela'erev yekhalleq shalal

Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; In the morning he consumes the foe, And in the evening he divides the spoil.”

kol-elleh shivte yisra'el shenem asar vezot asher-dibber lahem avihem vayevarekh otam ish asher kevirkhato berakh otam

All these were the tribes of Israel, twelve in number, and this is what their father said to them as he bade them farewell, addressing to each a parting word appropriate to him.

vayetsav otam vayyomer alehem ani ne'esaf el-ammi qivru oti el-avotay el-hamme'arah asher bisdeh efron hakhitti

Then he instructed them, saying to them, “I am about to be gathered to my kin. Bury me with my ancestors in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite,

bamme'arah asher bisdeh hammakhpelah asher al-pene-mamre be'erets kena'an asher qanah avraham et-hassadeh me'et efron hakhitti la'akhuzzat-qaver

the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, facing Mamre, in the land of Canaan, the field that Abraham bought from Ephron the Hittite for a burial site—

shammah qaveru et-avraham ve'et sarah ishto shammah qaveru et-yitskhaq ve'et rivqah ishto veshammah qavarti et-le'ah

there Abraham and his wife Sarah were buried; there Isaac and his wife Rebekah were buried; and there I buried Leah—

miqneh hassadeh vehamme'arah asher-bo me'et bene-khet

the field and the cave in it, bought from the Hittites.”

vayekhal ya'aqov letsavvot et-banayw vayye'esof raglayw el-hammittah vayyigva vayye'asef el-ammayw

When Jacob finished his instructions to his sons, he drew his feet into the bed and, breathing his last, he was gathered to his kin.