1 Then Jacob {Yaakov, Patriarchal Father} called his sons and said, “Gather yourselves together, and I will tell you what will happen to you in the end of the days {beacharit hayamim: prophetic future}.”
2 Come together and listen, sons of Jacob; give ear to Israel {yisra’el: covenant identity} your father {avikhem: patriarchal ancestor}.
3 Reuben, you are my firstborn, my strength {koach: foundational might}, the beginning {reshit: first and chief part} of my vigor; first in dignity and first in power.
4 Reckless {pachaz: unstable, impulsive} like water, you will not excel, because you went up to your father’s bed; then you defiled it—my couch {yetsui: intimate resting place} you went up to.
5 Simeon and Levi are brothers; their swords are weapons {kelei: violent implements} of violence {chamas: lawless harm}.
6 In their council {sodam: secret plotting}, do not let my soul enter; in their assembly, do not let my honor {kavod: personal dignity} be united. For in their anger they killed a man, and by their will they hamstrung an ox.
7 Cursed is their anger because it is fierce {appam: furious outburst}, and their wrath because it is cruel {evratam: outpouring of rage}. I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel.
8 Judah, you {attah: singled-out leader}—your brothers will praise you {yodukha: openly acknowledge}; you will lay your hand on the neck of your enemies, and your father’s sons will bow before you.
9 A lion’s cub is Judah; from the prey, my son, you have arisen {alita: ascended in strength}. He crouched and lay down like a lion, like a lioness—who will rouse him {yekimenu: awaken his power}?
10 The scepter {shevet: enduring royal authority} will not turn aside from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh comes; and to him will be the gathering {yiqqehat: collective assembly} of the peoples.
11 He binds his young donkey to the vine {gefen: cultivated grape plant}, and the foal of his female donkey to the choice vine. He washes his clothing in wine, and his garment in the blood {dam: rich grape liquid} of grapes.
12 His eyes are richer in color than wine {yayin: fermented grape drink}, and his teeth are purer than milk {chalav: fresh animal milk}.
13 Zebulun will dwell by the shore of the seas, becoming a harbor for ships {oniyot: sea vessels}; his border {yarketo: distant frontier} will reach toward Sidon.
14 Issachar is a robust donkey {garem: physically sturdy}, reclining amid the sheepfolds {mishpetayim: livestock enclosures}.
15 When he saw that the resting place {menukhah: secure region} was good and that the land was pleasant, he bent his shoulder {shikhmo: symbol of submission} to carry the load and became a servant to forced labor.
16 Dan will judge {yadin: exercise rulership} his people, like one of the tribes {shivtei: tribal divisions} of Israel.
17 Dan will be a serpent {nachash: cunning adversary} on the road, a viper {shefifon: hidden threat} on the path, biting the horse’s heels so that its rider falls backward.
18 For Your salvation {yeshuah: deliverance from distress} I have waited, O LORD {YHWH, Faithful Rescuer}.
19 Gad {gad: tribal ancestor}, a troop will attack him {yegudenu: hostile onslaught}, but he will attack at the heel.
20 From Asher {Asher: happy, fortunate} his bread {lechem: staple food} will be rich, and he will provide delicacies fit for a king.
21 Naphtali is a doe {ayyalah: swift graceful deer} sent forth, who gives beautiful words {imrei: eloquent speech}.
22 Joseph is a fruitful {porat: richly productive} son, a fruitful son by a spring; his branches {banot: family extensions} climb over a wall.
23 They made him bitter {vayemararu-hu: caused deep anguish}; they shot at him and they hated him—the archers {baalei khitsim: arrow-bearers}.
24 But his bow remained steady in strength, and the arms of his hands were made agile by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob {Avir Ya'aqov, Strength Giver}; from there comes the Shepherd {ro'eh: guiding protector}, the Stone of Israel.
25 From the God of your father {El, Ancestral Helper}, who will help you, and from Shaddai {Shaddai, All-Sufficient Source}, who will bless you with blessings of the heavens above, blessings of the deep that lies beneath, blessings of breasts and womb.
26 The blessings of your father have surpassed the blessings of my progenitors {horai: ancestral parents}, up to the desire of the ancient hills; may they be upon the head of Joseph and upon the crown of him who is set apart {nezir: specially consecrated} from his brothers.
27 Benjamin is a wolf {zeev: fierce predator}; in the morning he feeds on prey, and in the evening he divides the plunder {shalal: battle spoils}.
28 These are all the tribes {shivtei: distinct clan groups} of Israel, twelve in number; this is what their father said to them when he blessed them—he blessed each man according to his blessing {kvirchato: specific share allotted}.
29 Then he instructed them and said, “I am about to be gathered to my people {am: covenant community}; inter me with my fathers {avot: patriarchal ancestors} in the cave that lies in the field of Ephron the Hittite.”
30 In the cave located within the field of Machpelah, before Mamre in the land of Canaan—this is the field that Abraham acquired {kanah: formal land purchase} from Ephron the Hittite as a burial possession {achuzat-kaver: permanent family tomb}.
31 In that place they buried {kavru: interred in ground} Abraham and Sarah his wife {ishto: covenantal spouse}; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah.
32 The acquisition {mikneh: legal acquisition} of the field and its cave was from the sons of Heth {benei-chet: Hittite clan}.
33 When Jacob finished instructing {letsavvot: solemn farewell charge} his sons, he drew his feet up onto the bed, breathed his last {vayigva: yielded up spirit}, and was gathered to his people.