| NET Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1Jacob called for his sons and said, "Gather together so I can tell you what will happen to you in the future. | 1Then Jacob called together all his sons and said, “Gather around me, and I will tell you what will happen to each of you in the days to come. |
| 2"Assemble and listen, you sons of Jacob; listen to Israel, your father. | 2“Come and listen, you sons of Jacob; listen to Israel, your father. |
| 3Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might and the beginning of my strength, outstanding in dignity, outstanding in power. | 3“Reuben, you are my firstborn, my strength, the child of my vigorous youth. You are first in rank and first in power. |
| 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! | 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. |
| 5Simeon and Levi are brothers, weapons of violence are their knives! | 5“Simeon and Levi are two of a kind; their weapons are instruments of violence. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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! | 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. |
| 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. | 8“Judah, your brothers will praise you. You will grasp your enemies by the neck. All your relatives will bow before you. |
| 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? | 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 between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs; the nations will obey 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. |
| 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. | 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 will be dark from wine, and his teeth white from milk. | 12His eyes are darker than wine, and his teeth are whiter than milk. |
| 13Zebulun will live by the haven of the sea and become a haven for ships; his border will extend to Sidon. | 13“Zebulun will settle by the seashore and will be a harbor for ships; his borders will extend to Sidon. |
| 14Issachar is a strong-boned donkey lying down between two saddlebags. | 14“Issachar is a sturdy donkey, resting between two saddlepacks. |
| 15When he sees a good resting place, and the pleasant land, he will bend his shoulder to the burden and become a slave laborer. | 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. |
| 16Dan will judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel. | 16“Dan will govern his people, like any other tribe in Israel. |
| 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. | 17Dan will be a snake beside the road, a poisonous viper along the path that bites the horse’s hooves so its rider is thrown off. |
| 18I wait for your deliverance, O LORD. | 18I trust in you for salvation, O LORD! |
| 19Gad will be raided by marauding bands, but he will attack them at their heels. | 19“Gad will be attacked by marauding bands, but he will attack them when they retreat. |
| 20Asher's food will be rich, and he will provide delicacies to royalty. | 20“Asher will dine on rich foods and produce food fit for kings. |
| 21Naphtali is a free running doe, he speaks delightful words. | 21“Naphtali is a doe set free that bears beautiful fawns. |
| 22Joseph is a fruitful bough, a fruitful bough near a spring whose branches climb over the wall. | 22“Joseph is the foal of a wild donkey, the foal of a wild donkey at a spring— one of the wild donkeys on the ridge. |
| 23The archers will attack him, they will shoot at him and oppose him. | 23Archers attacked him savagely; they shot at him and harassed him. |
| 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, | 24But his bow remained taut, and his arms were strengthened by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, by the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel. |
| 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. | 25May the God of your father help you; may the Almighty bless you with the blessings of the heavens above, and blessings of the watery depths below, and blessings of the breasts and womb. |
| 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. | 26May my fatherly blessings on you surpass the blessings of my ancestors, reaching to the heights of the eternal hills. May these blessings rest on the head of Joseph, who is a prince among his brothers. |
| 27Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; in the morning devouring the prey, and in the evening dividing the plunder." | 27“Benjamin is a ravenous wolf, devouring his enemies in the morning and dividing his plunder in the evening.” |
| 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. | 28These are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said as he told his sons good-bye. He blessed each one with an appropriate message. Jacob’s Death and Burial |
| 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. | 29Then Jacob instructed them, “Soon I will die and join my ancestors. Bury me with my father and grandfather in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite. |
| 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. | 30This is the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre in Canaan, that Abraham bought from Ephron the Hittite as a permanent burial site. |
| 31There they buried Abraham and his wife Sarah; there they buried Isaac and his wife Rebekah; and there I buried Leah. | 31There Abraham and his wife Sarah are buried. There Isaac and his wife, Rebekah, are buried. And there I buried Leah. |
| 32The field and the cave in it were acquired from the sons of Heth." | 32It is the plot of land and the cave that my grandfather Abraham bought from the Hittites.” |
| 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. | 33When Jacob had finished this charge to his sons, he drew his feet into the bed, breathed his last, and joined his ancestors in death. |
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