King James Bible

International Standard 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.

1After this, Jacob called his sons together and told them, "Assemble yourselves around me so I can tell you all what is going to happen to you in the last days.

2Gather yourselves together, and hear, ye sons of Jacob; and hearken unto Israel your father.

2"Gather together and listen, you children 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're my firstborn, my strength, and the first fruit of my vitality. You excel in rank and excel 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.

4But you're as undisciplined as a roaring river, so eventually you won't succeed, because you got in your father's bed, defiled it, and then approached my couch."

5Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations.

5"Simeon and Levi are brothers; their swords are violent weapons.

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.

6I'll never join their council; I'll never enter their assembly. In their anger they committed murder and lamed cattle just for fun.

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.

7Their anger is cursed, because it is so fierce, as is their vehemence, because it is so cruel. I will separate them throughout Jacob's territory and disperse them throughout 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"Your brothers will praise you, Judah. Your hand will be at the throat of your enemies, and your father's children 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?

9Judah is a lion cub. My son, you have gone up from the prey. Crouching like a lion, he lies down, Like a lioness, who would dare 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 never depart from Judah, nor a ruler's staff from between his feet, until the One comes, who owns them both, and to him will belong the allegiance of nations.

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:

11Binding his donkey to the vine and his mare's foal to its thick tendrils, he will wash his garments in wine and his robe in the juice of grapes.

12His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk.

12His eyes are darker than wine and 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 settle down near the sea shore and become a safe haven for shipping, bordering Sidon."

14Issachar is a strong ass couching down between two burdens:

14"Issachar is a strong donkey, resting between sheepfolds.

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.

15He observed that his resting place was excellent, and that the land was pleasant; he bent down, picked up his burdens, and became a slave at forced labor."

16Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel.

16"Dan will judge his people as one of Israel's tribes.

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 on the path, a viper on the road that snaps at the heels of horses, causing their riders to fall off.

18I have waited for thy salvation, O LORD.

18"LORD, I'm waiting for your salvation."

19Gad, a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last.

19"Bandits will raid Gad, but Gad will raid them back."

20Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties.

20"Asher's food will be delicious; he will be a provider of delicacies fit for royalty."

21Naphtali is a hind let loose: he giveth goodly words.

21"Naphtali is a free running deer who produces eloquent literature."

22Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall:

22"Joseph is descended from a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine planted near springs of water. His branches climb over walls.

23The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him:

23Even though enemies attacked him, shooting at him and pursuing him viciously,

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:)

24nevertheless his bow remained steady and his arms kept in shape by the strength of Jacob's Mighty One, in the name of the Shepherd, Israel's Rock,

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:

25by your father's God who helps you, by the Almighty who will keep on blessing you with blessings from heaven above, with blessings from the deepest ocean, with blessing from the breasts and the 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 will prove to be stronger than blessings from the eternal mountains or bounties from the everlasting hills. May they come to rest on Joseph's head, May they be set upon the brow of the one who was separated from his own 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 vicious like a wolf; what he kills in the morning he devours in the evening."

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.

28That's how Israel blessed these twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father told them when he pronounced his blessing for them, blessing each one with a blessing suitable for them.

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,

29In his last words, Jacob issued this set of instructions to them all: "I'm about to join our ancestors. Bury me alongside my ancestors in the cave in the field that used to belong to 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.

30It's the cave in the field near Mamre at Machpelah in the land of Canaan that Abraham bought to serve as a cemetery.

31There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah.

31It's where Abraham and his wife Sarah were buried, where Isaac and his wife Rebekah were buried, and where I buried Leah.

32The purchase of the field and of the cave that is therein was from the children of Heth.

32Both the field and the cave that's in it were purchased 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.

33After concluding this set of instructions to his sons, Jacob tucked his feet up into bed, quit breathing, and was gathered to his ancestors.

King James Bible, text courtesy of BibleProtector.com.

The Holy Bible: International Standard Version® Release 2.1 Copyright © 1996-2012 The ISV Foundation ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY.