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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1" /><title>Genesis 49 NIV</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="/chapnew2.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="../spec.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/print.css" type="text/css" media="Print" /></head><body><div id="fx"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx2"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="30" scrolling="no" src="../cmenus/genesis/49.htm" align="left" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div><div id="blnk"></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable"><tr><td><div id="fx5"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" 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href="../genesis/48.htm" title="Genesis 48">◄</a> Genesis 49 <a href="../genesis/50.htm" title="Genesis 50">►</a></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="vheading"><table width="100%"><tr><td width="99%" valign="top">New International Version</td><td width="1%" valign="top"><a href="/p/niv/esv/genesis/49.shtml" style="color:#001320" title="Parallel Chapters"> Par ▾ </a></tr></table></div><div class="chap"><p class="sectionhead">Jacob Blesses His Sons</p><p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/genesis/49-1.htm"><b>1</b></a></span>Then Jacob called for his sons and said: “Gather around so I can tell you what will happen to you in days to come.</p> <div class="stanza"><p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/genesis/49-2.htm"><b>2</b></a></span>“Assemble and listen, sons of Jacob;</p><p class="line2">listen to your father Israel.</p></div> <div class="stanza"><p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/genesis/49-3.htm"><b>3</b></a></span>“Reuben, you are my firstborn,</p><p class="line2">my might, the first sign of my strength,</p><p class="line2">excelling in honor, excelling in power.</p> <p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/genesis/49-4.htm"><b>4</b></a></span>Turbulent as the waters, you will no longer excel,</p><p class="line2">for you went up onto your father’s bed,</p><p class="line2">onto my couch and defiled it.</p></div> <div class="stanza"><p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/genesis/49-5.htm"><b>5</b></a></span>“Simeon and Levi are brothers—</p><p class="line2">their swords <span class="nivfootnote"><sup><a href="#footnotes" title="The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.">a</a></sup></span> are weapons of violence.</p> <p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/genesis/49-6.htm"><b>6</b></a></span>Let me not enter their council,</p><p class="line2">let me not join their assembly,</p><p class="line1">for they have killed men in their anger</p><p class="line2">and hamstrung oxen as they pleased.</p> <p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/genesis/49-7.htm"><b>7</b></a></span>Cursed be their anger, so fierce,</p><p class="line2">and their fury, so cruel!</p><p class="line1">I will scatter them in Jacob</p><p class="line2">and disperse them in Israel.</p></div> <div class="stanza"><p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/genesis/49-8.htm"><b>8</b></a></span>“Judah, <span class="nivfootnote"><sup><a href="#footnotes" title="Judah sounds like and may be derived from the Hebrew for praise.">b</a></sup></span> your brothers will praise you;</p><p class="line2">your hand will be on the neck of your enemies;</p><p class="line2">your father’s sons will bow down to you.</p> <p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/genesis/49-9.htm"><b>9</b></a></span>You are a lion’s cub, Judah;</p><p class="line2">you return from the prey, my son.</p><p class="line1">Like a lion he crouches and lies down,</p><p class="line2">like a lioness—who dares to rouse him?</p> <p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/genesis/49-10.htm"><b>10</b></a></span>The scepter will not depart from Judah,</p><p class="line2">nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, <span class="nivfootnote"><sup><a href="#footnotes" title="Or from his descendants">c</a></sup></span> </p><p class="line1">until he to whom it belongs <span class="nivfootnote"><sup><a href="#footnotes" title="Or to whom tribute belongs; the meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.">d</a></sup></span> shall come</p><p class="line2">and the obedience of the nations shall be his.</p> <p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/genesis/49-11.htm"><b>11</b></a></span>He will tether his donkey to a vine,</p><p class="line2">his colt to the choicest branch;</p><p class="line1">he will wash his garments in wine,</p><p class="line2">his robes in the blood of grapes.</p> <p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/genesis/49-12.htm"><b>12</b></a></span>His eyes will be darker than wine,</p><p class="line2">his teeth whiter than milk. <span class="nivfootnote"><sup><a href="#footnotes" title="Or will be dull from wine, his teeth white from milk">e</a></sup></span> </p></div> <div class="stanza"><p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/genesis/49-13.htm"><b>13</b></a></span>“Zebulun will live by the seashore</p><p class="line2">and become a haven for ships;</p><p class="line2">his border will extend toward Sidon.</p></div> <div class="stanza"><p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/genesis/49-14.htm"><b>14</b></a></span>“Issachar is a rawboned <span class="nivfootnote"><sup><a href="#footnotes" title="Or strong">f</a></sup></span> donkey</p><p class="line2">lying down among the sheep pens. <span class="nivfootnote"><sup><a href="#footnotes" title="Or the campfires; or the saddlebags">g</a></sup></span> </p> <p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/genesis/49-15.htm"><b>15</b></a></span>When he sees how good is his resting place</p><p class="line2">and how pleasant is his land,</p><p class="line1">he will bend his shoulder to the burden</p><p class="line2">and submit to forced labor.</p></div> <div class="stanza"><p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/genesis/49-16.htm"><b>16</b></a></span>“Dan <span class="nivfootnote"><sup><a href="#footnotes" title="Dan here means he provides justice.">h</a></sup></span> will provide justice for his people</p><p class="line2">as one of the tribes of Israel.</p> <p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/genesis/49-17.htm"><b>17</b></a></span>Dan will be a snake by the roadside,</p><p class="line2">a viper along the path,</p><p class="line1">that bites the horse’s heels</p><p class="line2">so that its rider tumbles backward.</p></div> <div class="stanza"><p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/genesis/49-18.htm"><b>18</b></a></span>“I look for your deliverance, <span class="name">Lord</span>.</p></div> <div class="stanza"><p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/genesis/49-19.htm"><b>19</b></a></span>“Gad <span class="nivfootnote"><sup><a href="#footnotes" title="Gad sounds like the Hebrew for attack and also for band of raiders.">i</a></sup></span> will be attacked by a band of raiders,</p><p class="line2">but he will attack them at their heels.</p></div> <div class="stanza"><p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/genesis/49-20.htm"><b>20</b></a></span>“Asher’s food will be rich;</p><p class="line2">he will provide delicacies fit for a king.</p></div> <div class="stanza"><p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/genesis/49-21.htm"><b>21</b></a></span>“Naphtali is a doe set free</p><p class="line2">that bears beautiful fawns. <span class="nivfootnote"><sup><a href="#footnotes" title="Or free; he utters beautiful words">j</a></sup></span> </p></div> <div class="stanza"><p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/genesis/49-22.htm"><b>22</b></a></span>“Joseph is a fruitful vine,</p><p class="line2">a fruitful vine near a spring,</p><p class="line2">whose branches climb over a wall. <span class="nivfootnote"><sup><a href="#footnotes" title="Or Joseph is a wild colt, a wild colt near a spring, a wild donkey on a terraced hill">k</a></sup></span> </p> <p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/genesis/49-23.htm"><b>23</b></a></span>With bitterness archers attacked him;</p><p class="line2">they shot at him with hostility.</p> <p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/genesis/49-24.htm"><b>24</b></a></span>But his bow remained steady,</p><p class="line2">his strong arms stayed <span class="nivfootnote"><sup><a href="#footnotes" title="Or archers will attack . . . will shoot . . . will remain . . . will stay">l</a></sup></span> limber,</p><p class="line1">because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob,</p><p class="line2">because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel,</p> <p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/genesis/49-25.htm"><b>25</b></a></span>because of your father’s God, who helps you,</p><p class="line2">because of the Almighty, <span class="nivfootnote"><sup><a href="#footnotes" title="Hebrew Shaddai">m</a></sup></span> who blesses you</p><p class="line1">with blessings of the skies above,</p><p class="line2">blessings of the deep springs below,</p><p class="line2">blessings of the breast and womb.</p> <p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/genesis/49-26.htm"><b>26</b></a></span>Your father’s blessings are greater</p><p class="line2">than the blessings of the ancient mountains,</p><p class="line2">than <span class="nivfootnote"><sup><a href="#footnotes" title="Or of my progenitors, as great as">n</a></sup></span> the bounty of the age-old hills.</p><p class="line1">Let all these rest on the head of Joseph,</p><p class="line2">on the brow of the prince among <span class="nivfootnote"><sup><a href="#footnotes" title="Or of the one separated from">o</a></sup></span> his brothers.</p></div> <div class="stanza"><p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/genesis/49-27.htm"><b>27</b></a></span>“Benjamin is a ravenous wolf;</p><p class="line2">in the morning he devours the prey,</p><p class="line2">in the evening he divides the plunder.”</p></div> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/genesis/49-28.htm"><b>28</b></a></span>All 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.</p> <p class="sectionhead">The Death of Jacob</p><p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/genesis/49-29.htm"><b>29</b></a></span>Then 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, <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/genesis/49-30.htm"><b>30</b></a></span>the 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. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/genesis/49-31.htm"><b>31</b></a></span>There Abraham and his wife Sarah were buried, there Isaac and his wife Rebekah were buried, and there I buried Leah. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/genesis/49-32.htm"><b>32</b></a></span>The field and the cave in it were bought from the Hittites. <span class="nivfootnote"><sup><a href="#footnotes" title="Or the descendants of Heth">p</a></sup></span> ”</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/genesis/49-33.htm"><b>33</b></a></span>When 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.</p><hr size="1" color="DDEEFF"><span class="mainfootnotes"><A name="footnotes"></a><span class="mainfootnoteshdg">Footnotes:</span><br><span class="nivfootnotesbot">a</span> <span class="fnverse">5</span> <span class="footnotebot">The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.</span><br><span class="nivfootnotesbot">b</span> <span class="fnverse">8</span> <span class="footnotebot"><i>Judah</i> sounds like and may be derived from the Hebrew for <i>praise.</i></span><br><span class="nivfootnotesbot">c</span> <span class="fnverse">10</span> <span class="footnotebot">Or <i>from his descendants</i></span><br><span class="nivfootnotesbot">d</span> <span class="fnverse">10</span> <span class="footnotebot">Or <i>to whom tribute belongs</i>; the meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.</span><br><span class="nivfootnotesbot">e</span> <span class="fnverse">12</span> <span class="footnotebot">Or <i>will be dull from wine,<br />     his teeth white from milk</i></span><br><span class="nivfootnotesbot">f</span> <span class="fnverse">14</span> <span class="footnotebot">Or <i>strong</i></span><br><span class="nivfootnotesbot">g</span> <span class="fnverse">14</span> <span class="footnotebot">Or <i>the campfires</i>; or <i>the saddlebags</i></span><br><span class="nivfootnotesbot">h</span> <span class="fnverse">16</span> <span class="footnotebot"><i>Dan</i> here means <i>he provides justice.</i></span><br><span class="nivfootnotesbot">i</span> <span class="fnverse">19</span> <span class="footnotebot"><i>Gad</i> sounds like the Hebrew for <i>attack</i> and also for <i>band of raiders.</i></span><br><span class="nivfootnotesbot">j</span> <span class="fnverse">21</span> <span class="footnotebot">Or <i>free;<br />     he utters beautiful words</i></span><br><span class="nivfootnotesbot">k</span> <span class="fnverse">22</span> <span class="footnotebot">Or <i>Joseph is a wild colt,<br />     a wild colt near a spring,<br />     a wild donkey on a terraced hill</i></span><br><span class="nivfootnotesbot">l</span> <span class="fnverse">24</span> <span class="footnotebot">Or <i>archers will attack . . . will shoot . . . will remain . . . will stay</i></span><br><span class="nivfootnotesbot">m</span> <span class="fnverse">25</span> <span class="footnotebot">Hebrew <i>Shaddai</i></span><br><span class="nivfootnotesbot">n</span> <span class="fnverse">26</span> <span class="footnotebot">Or <i>of my progenitors,<br />     as great as</i></span><br><span class="nivfootnotesbot">o</span> <span class="fnverse">26</span> <span class="footnotebot">Or <i>of the one separated from</i></span><br><span class="nivfootnotesbot">p</span> <span class="fnverse">32</span> <span class="footnotebot">Or <i>the descendants of Heth</i></span><br><hr size="1" color="DDEEFF"></div></div><div id="botbox"><div class="padbot"><div align="center"><p class="ntext"><a href="http://niv.scripturetext.com/version.htm">New International Version</a> (NIV)</p><p class="ntext2">Holy Bible, New International Version&reg, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by <a href="http://biblica.com">Biblica, Inc.</a>® Used by permission. 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