| New King James Version | New International Version |
| 1And Jacob called his sons and said, “Gather together, that I may tell you what shall befall you in the last days: | 1Then Jacob called for his sons and said: "Gather around so I can tell you what will happen to you in days to come. |
| 2“Gather together and hear, you sons of Jacob, And listen to Israel your father. | 2"Assemble and listen, sons of Jacob; listen to your father Israel. |
| 3“Reuben, you are my firstborn, My might and the beginning of my strength, The excellency of dignity and the excellency of power. | 3"Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, the first sign of my strength, excelling in honor, excelling in 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. | 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; Instruments of cruelty are in their dwelling place. | 5"Simeon and Levi are brothers-- their swords are weapons of violence. |
| 6Let 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. | 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, for it is fierce; And their wrath, for it is cruel! I will divide them in Jacob And scatter them in Israel. | 7Cursed be their anger, so fierce, and their fury, so cruel! I will scatter them in Jacob and disperse 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. | 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. |
| 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? | 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 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. | 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. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 12His eyes are darker than wine, And his teeth whiter than milk. | 12His eyes will be darker than wine, 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. | 13"Zebulun will live by the seashore and become a haven for ships; his border will extend toward Sidon. |
| 14“Issachar is a strong donkey, Lying down between two burdens; | 14"Issachar is a rawboned donkey lying down among the sheep pens. |
| 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. | 15When he sees how good is his resting place and how pleasant is his land, he will bend his shoulder to the burden and submit to forced labor. |
| 16“Dan shall judge his people As one of the tribes of Israel. | 16"Dan will provide justice for his people as one of the tribes of Israel. |
| 17Dan 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. | 17Dan will be a snake by the roadside, a viper along the path, that bites the horse's heels so that its rider tumbles backward. |
| 18I have waited for your salvation, O LORD! | 18"I look for your deliverance, LORD. |
| 19“Gad, a troop shall tramp upon him, But he shall triumph at last. | 19"Gad will be attacked by a band of raiders, but he will attack them at their heels. |
| 20“Bread from Asher shall be rich, And he shall yield royal dainties. | 20"Asher's food will be rich; he will provide delicacies fit for a king. |
| 21“Naphtali is a deer let loose; He uses beautiful words. | 21"Naphtali is a doe set free that bears beautiful fawns. |
| 22“Joseph is a fruitful bough, A fruitful bough by a well; His branches run over the wall. | 22"Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine near a spring, whose branches climb over a wall. |
| 23The archers have bitterly grieved him, Shot at him and hated him. | 23With bitterness archers attacked him; they shot at him with hostility. |
| 24But his bow remained in strength, And the arms of his hands were made strong By the hands of the Mighty God of Jacob (From there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel), | 24But his bow remained steady, his strong arms stayed limber, because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob, because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel, |
| 25By the God of your father who will help you, And by the Almighty who will bless you With blessings of heaven above, Blessings of the deep that lies beneath, Blessings of the breasts and of the womb. | 25because of your father's God, who helps you, because of the Almighty, who blesses you with blessings of the skies above, blessings of the deep springs below, blessings of the breast and womb. |
| 26The blessings of your father Have excelled the blessings of my ancestors, Up to the utmost bound of the everlasting hills. They shall be on the head of Joseph, And on the crown of the head of him who was separate from his brothers. | 26Your father's blessings are greater than the blessings of the ancient mountains, than the bounty of the age-old hills. Let all these rest on the head of Joseph, on the brow of the prince among his brothers. |
| 27“Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; In the morning he shall devour the prey, And at night he shall divide the spoil.” | 27"Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; in the morning he devours the prey, in the evening he divides the plunder." |
| 28All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father spoke to them. And he blessed them; he blessed each one according to his own blessing. | 28All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said to them when he blessed them, giving each the blessing appropriate to him. |
| 29Then he charged them and said to them: “I am to be gathered to my people; bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, | 29Then he gave them these instructions: "I am about to be gathered to my people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave in the field of 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 as a possession for a burial place. | 30the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre in Canaan, which Abraham bought along with the field as a burial place from Ephron the Hittite. |
| 31There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife, there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife, and there I buried Leah. | 31There Abraham and his wife Sarah were buried, there Isaac and his wife Rebekah were buried, and there I buried Leah. |
| 32The field and the cave that is there were purchased from the sons of Heth.” | 32The field and the cave in it were bought from the Hittites." |
| 33And when Jacob had finished commanding his sons, he drew his feet up into the bed and breathed his last, and was gathered to his people. | 33When Jacob had finished giving instructions to his sons, he drew his feet up into the bed, breathed his last and was gathered to his people. |
| The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved. | New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. |
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