| Berean Study Bible | NET Bible |
| 1Then Jacob called for his sons and said, “Gather around so that I can tell you what will happen to you in the days to come: | 1Jacob called for his sons and said, "Gather together so I can tell you what will happen to you in the future. |
| 2Come together and listen, O sons of Jacob; listen to your father Israel. | 2"Assemble and listen, you sons of Jacob; listen to Israel, your father. |
| 3Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, excelling in honor, excelling in power. | 3Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might and the beginning of my strength, outstanding in dignity, outstanding in power. |
| 4Uncontrolled as the waters, you will no longer excel, because you went up to your father’s bed, onto my couch, and defiled it. | 4You are destructive like water and will not excel, for you got on your father's bed, then you defiled it--he got on my couch! |
| 5Simeon and Levi are brothers; their swords are weapons of violence. | 5Simeon and Levi are brothers, weapons of violence are their knives! |
| 6May I never enter their council; may I never join their assembly. For they kill men in their anger, and hamstring oxen on a whim. | 6O my soul, do not come into their council, do not be united to their assembly, my heart, for in their anger they have killed men, and for pleasure they have hamstrung oxen. |
| 7Cursed be their anger, for it is strong, and their wrath, for it is cruel! I will disperse them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel. | 7Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce, and their fury, for it was cruel. I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel! |
| 8Judah, your brothers shall praise you. Your hand shall be on the necks of your enemies; your father’s sons shall bow down to you. | 8Judah, your brothers will praise you. Your hand will be on the neck of your enemies, your father's sons will bow down before you. |
| 9Judah is a young lion—my son, you return from the prey. Like a lion he crouches and lies down; like a lioness, who dares to rouse him? | 9You are a lion's cub, Judah, from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He crouches and lies down like a lion; like a lioness--who will rouse him? |
| 10The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes and the allegiance of the nations is his. | 10The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs; the nations will obey him. |
| 11He ties his donkey to the vine, his colt to the choicest branch. He washes his garments in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes. | 11Binding his foal to the vine, and his colt to the choicest vine, he will wash his garments in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes. |
| 12His eyes are darker than wine, and his teeth are whiter than milk. | 12His eyes will be dark from wine, and his teeth white from milk. |
| 13Zebulun shall dwell by the seashore and become a harbor for ships; his border shall extend to Sidon. | 13Zebulun will live by the haven of the sea and become a haven for ships; his border will extend to Sidon. |
| 14Issachar is a strong donkey, lying down between the sheepfolds. | 14Issachar is a strong-boned donkey lying down between two saddlebags. |
| 15He saw that his resting place was good and that his land was pleasant, so he bent his shoulder to the burden and submitted to labor as a servant. | 15When he sees a good resting place, and the pleasant land, he will bend his shoulder to the burden and become a slave laborer. |
| 16Dan shall provide justice for his people as one of the tribes of Israel. | 16Dan will judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel. |
| 17He will be a snake by the road, a viper in the path that bites the horse’s heels so that its rider tumbles backward. | 17May Dan be a snake beside the road, a viper by the path, that bites the heels of the horse so that its rider falls backward. |
| 18I await Your salvation, O LORD. | 18I wait for your deliverance, O LORD. |
| 19Gad will be attacked by raiders, but he will attack their heels. | 19Gad will be raided by marauding bands, but he will attack them at their heels. |
| 20Asher’s food will be rich; he shall provide royal delicacies. | 20Asher's food will be rich, and he will provide delicacies to royalty. |
| 21Naphtali is a doe set free that bears beautiful fawns. | 21Naphtali is a free running doe, he speaks delightful words. |
| 22Joseph is a fruitful vine—a fruitful vine by a spring, whose branches scale the wall. | 22Joseph is a fruitful bough, a fruitful bough near a spring whose branches climb over the wall. |
| 23The archers attacked him with bitterness; they aimed at him in hostility. | 23The archers will attack him, they will shoot at him and oppose him. |
| 24Yet he steadied his bow, and his strong arms were tempered by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, in the name of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel, | 24But his bow will remain steady, and his hands will be skillful; because of the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel, |
| 25by the God of your father who helps you, and by the Almighty who blesses you, with blessings of the heavens above, with blessings of the depths below, with blessings of the breasts and womb. | 25because of the God of your father, who will help you, because of the sovereign God, who will bless you with blessings from the sky above, blessings from the deep that lies below, and blessings of the breasts and womb. |
| 26The blessings of your father have surpassed the blessings of the ancient mountains and the bounty of the everlasting hills. May they rest on the head of Joseph, on the brow of the prince of his brothers. | 26The blessings of your father are greater than the blessings of the eternal mountains or the desirable things of the age-old hills. They will be on the head of Joseph and on the brow of the prince of his brothers. |
| 27Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; in the morning he devours the prey, in the evening he divides the plunder.” | 27Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; in the morning devouring the prey, and in the evening dividing the plunder." |
| 28These are the tribes of Israel, twelve in all, and this was what their father said to them. He blessed them, and he blessed each one with a suitable blessing. | 28These are the twelve tribes of Israel. This is what their father said to them when he blessed them. He gave each of them an appropriate blessing. |
| 29Then Jacob instructed them, “I am about to be gathered to my people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite. | 29Then he instructed them, "I am about to go to my people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite. |
| 30The cave is in the field of Machpelah near Mamre, in the land of Canaan. This is the field Abraham purchased from Ephron the Hittite as a burial site. | 30It is the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought for a burial plot from Ephron the Hittite. |
| 31There Abraham and his wife Sarah are buried, there Isaac and his wife Rebekah are buried, and there I buried Leah. | 31There they buried Abraham and his wife Sarah; there they buried Isaac and his wife Rebekah; and there I buried Leah. |
| 32The field and the cave that is in it were purchased from the Hittites.” | 32The field and the cave in it were acquired from the sons of Heth." |
| 33When Jacob had finished instructing his sons, he pulled his feet into the bed and breathed his last, and he was gathered to his people. | 33When Jacob finished giving these instructions to his sons, he pulled his feet up onto the bed, breathed his last breath, and went to his people. |
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