¶ And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather¹ yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days².

Gather yourselves together, and hear, ye sons of Jacob; and hearken³ unto Israel your father.

Reuben, thou art my firstborn⁴, my might⁵, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power:

Unstable⁶ as water, thou shalt not excel⁷; because⁸ thou wentest up to thy father's bed; then defiledst thou it: he went up to my couch⁹.

¶ Simeon¹⁰ and Levi are brethren; instruments¹¹ of cruelty are in their habitations.

O my soul¹², come¹³ not thou into their secret¹⁴; unto their¹⁵ assembly, mine honour¹⁶, be not thou united: for in their anger they slew a man¹⁷, and in their selfwill they digged down a wall¹⁸.

Cursed¹⁹ be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: I will divide²⁰ them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.

¶ Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise²¹: thy hand²² shall be in the neck²³ of thine enemies; thy father's²⁴ children shall bow down before thee.

Judah is a lion's²⁵ whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped²⁶ down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up?

¶ The sceptre²⁷ shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver²⁸ from between²⁹ his feet, until³⁰ Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering³¹ of the people be.

Binding his foal³² unto the vine, and his ass's colt unto the choice vine; he washed³³ his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes:

³⁴His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk.

¶³⁵Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea; and he shall be for an haven of ships; and his border shall be unto Zidon.

³⁶Issachar is a strong ass couching down between two burdens:

And he saw that rest³⁷ was good, and the land that it was pleasant; and bowed³⁸ his shoulder to bear, and became a servant unto tribute.

³⁹Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel.

Dan shall be⁴⁰ a serpent by the way, an adder⁴¹ in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward.

⁴²I have waited for thy salvation, O LORD.

⁴³Gad, a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last.

¶⁴⁴Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties.

⁴⁵Naphtali⁴⁶ is a hind let loose: he giveth goodly words.

¶ Joseph is a fruitful⁴⁷ bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches⁴⁸ run over the wall:

⁴⁹The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him:

But his bow⁵⁰ abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made⁵¹ strong by the hands of the mighty⁵² God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd⁵³, the stone⁵⁴ of Israel:)

Even by the God⁵⁵ of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty⁵⁶, who shall bless thee with blessings⁵⁷ of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb:

The blessings of thy father have prevailed⁵⁸ above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills⁵⁹: they shall⁶⁰ be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate⁶¹ from his brethren.

Benjamin shall ravin⁶² as a wolf⁶³: in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night⁶⁴ he shall divide the spoil.

¶ All these are the twelve⁶⁵ tribes of Israel: and this is it that their father spake unto them, and blessed them; every one⁶⁶ according to his blessing he blessed them.

And he charged them, and said unto them, I am to be gathered⁶⁷ unto my people: bury me⁶⁸ with my fathers in the cave⁶⁹ that is in the field of Ephron⁷⁰ the Hittite,

¶ In the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought⁷¹ with the field of Ephron the Hittite for a possession of a buryingplace.

⁷²There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah.

⁷³The purchase of the field and of the cave that is therein was from the children of Heth.

And when Jacob had made⁷⁴ an end of commanding his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded⁷⁵ up the ghost, and was gathered unto his people.