Jacob Blesses His Sons

1And Iacob called for his sonnes ad sayde: come together that I maye tell you what shall happe you in the last dayes.

2Gather you together and heare ye sonnes of Iacob and herken vnto Israel youre father.

3Ruben thou art myne eldest sonne my myghte and the begynnynge of my strength chefe in receauynge and chefe in power.

4As vnstable as water wast thou: thou shalt therfore not be the chefest for thou wenst vp vpo thy fathers bedd and than defyledest thou my couche with goynge vppe.

5The brethern Simeon and Leui weked instrumentes are their wepos.

6In to their secrettes come not my soule and vnto their congregation be my honoure not coupled: for in their wrath they slewe a man and in their selfewill they houghed an oxe.

7Cursed be their wrath for it was stronge and their fearsnes for it was cruell. I will therfore deuyde them in Iacob and scater them in Israel.

8Iuda thy brethern shall prayse the and thine hande shalbe in the necke of thyne enimies and thy fathers childern shall stoupe vnto the.

9Iuda is a lions whelpe. Fro spoyle my sonne thou art come an hye: he layde him downe and couched himselfe as a lion and as a lionesse. Who dare stere him vp?

10The sceptre shall not departe from Iuda nor a ruelar from betwene his legges vntill Silo come vnto whome the people shall herken.

11He shall bynde his fole vnto the vine and his asses colt vnto the vyne braunche ad shall wash his garment in wyne and his mantell in the bloud of grapes

12his eyes are roudier than wyne ad his teeth whitter then mylke.

13Zabulon shall dwell in the hauen of the see and in the porte of shippes and shall reache vnto Sidon.

14Isachar is a stronge asse he couched him doune betwene .ij. borders

15and sawe that rest was good and the lande that it was pleasant and bowed his shulder to beare and became a servaunte vnto trybute.

16Dan shall iudge his people as one of the trybes of Israel.

17Dan shalbe a serpent in the waye and an edder in the path and byte the horse heles so yt his ryder shall fall backwarde,

18After thy sauynge loke I LORde.

19Gad men of warre shall invade him. And he shall turne them to flyght.

20Off Asser cometh fatt breed and he shall geue pleasures for a kynge.

21Nepthali is a swyft hynde ad geueth goodly wordes.

22That florishynge childe Ioseph that florishing childe and goodly vn to the eye: the doughters come forth to bere ruele.

23The shoters haue envyed him and chyde with him ad hated him

24and yet his bowe bode fast and his armes and his handes were stronge by the handes of the myghtye God of Iacob: out of him shall come an herde ma a stone in Israel.

25Thi fathers God shall helpe the and the almightie shall blesse the with blessinges from heaven aboue and with blessinges of the water that lieth vnder and with blessinges of the brestes and of the wombe.

26The blessinges o f thy father were stronge: euen as the blessinges of my elders after the desyre of the hiest in the worlde and these blessinges shall fall on the head of Ioseph and on the toppe of the head of him yt was separat from his brethern.

27Ben Iamin is a raueshynge wolfe. In the mornynge be shall deuoure his praye ad at nyghte he shall deuyde his spoyle.

28All these are the .xij. tribes of Israel and this is that which their father spake vnto them whe he blessed them euery man with a severall blessinge.

The Death of Jacob

29And he charged them and sayde vnto them. I shall be put vnto my people: se that ye burye me with my fathers in the caue that is in the felde of Ephron the Hethyte 30in the double caue that is in the felde before Mamre in the lande of Canaan. Which felde Abraham boughte of Ephron the Hethite for a possessio to burye in. 31There they buryed Abraha and Sara his wyfe there they buryed Isaac and Rebecca his wyfe. And there I buried Lea: 32which felde and the caue that is therin was bought of the childern of Heth. 33When Iacob had commaunded all that he wold vnto his sonnes be plucked vp his fete apon the bedd and dyed and was put vnto his people.