New King James Version

King James Bible

1And Jacob called his sons and said, “Gather together, that I may tell you what shall befall you in the last days:

1And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days.

2“Gather together and hear, you sons of Jacob, And listen to Israel your father.

2Gather yourselves together, and hear, ye sons of Jacob; and hearken unto Israel your father.

3“Reuben, you are my firstborn, My might and the beginning of my strength, The excellency of dignity and the excellency of power.

3Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power:

4Unstable as water, you shall not excel, Because you went up to your father’s bed; Then you defiled it— He went up to my couch.

4Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel; because thou wentest up to thy father's bed; then defiledst thou it: he went up to my couch.

5“Simeon and Levi are brothers; Instruments of cruelty are in their dwelling place.

5Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations.

6Let not my soul enter their council; Let not my honor be united to their assembly; For in their anger they slew a man, And in their self-will they hamstrung an ox.

6O my soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, mine honour, be not thou united: for in their anger they slew a man, and in their selfwill they digged down a wall.

7Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce; And their wrath, for it is cruel! I will divide them in Jacob And scatter them in Israel.

7Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.

8“Judah, you are he whom your brothers shall praise; Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; Your father’s children shall bow down before you.

8Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father's children shall bow down before thee.

9Judah is a lion’s whelp; From the prey, my son, you have gone up. He bows down, he lies down as a lion; And as a lion, who shall rouse him?

9Judah is a lion's whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up?

10The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor a lawgiver from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes; And to Him shall be the obedience of the people.

10The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.

11Binding his donkey to the vine, And his donkey’s colt to the choice vine, He washed his garments in wine, And his clothes in the blood of grapes.

11Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass's colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes:

12His eyes are darker than wine, And his teeth whiter than milk.

12His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk.

13“Zebulun shall dwell by the haven of the sea; He shall become a haven for ships, And his border shall adjoin Sidon.

13Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea; and he shall be for an haven of ships; and his border shall be unto Zidon.

14“Issachar is a strong donkey, Lying down between two burdens;

14Issachar is a strong ass couching down between two burdens:

15He saw that rest was good, And that the land was pleasant; He bowed his shoulder to bear a burden, And became a band of slaves.

15And he saw that rest was good, and the land that it was pleasant; and bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant unto tribute.

16“Dan shall judge his people As one of the tribes of Israel.

16Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel.

17Dan shall be a serpent by the way, A viper by the path, That bites the horse’s heels So that its rider shall fall backward.

17Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward.

18I have waited for your salvation, O LORD!

18I have waited for thy salvation, O LORD.

19“Gad, a troop shall tramp upon him, But he shall triumph at last.

19Gad, a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last.

20“Bread from Asher shall be rich, And he shall yield royal dainties.

20Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties.

21“Naphtali is a deer let loose; He uses beautiful words.

21Naphtali is a hind let loose: he giveth goodly words.

22“Joseph is a fruitful bough, A fruitful bough by a well; His branches run over the wall.

22Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall:

23The archers have bitterly grieved him, Shot at him and hated him.

23The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him:

24But his bow remained in strength, And the arms of his hands were made strong By the hands of the Mighty God of Jacob (From there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel),

24But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel:)

25By the God of your father who will help you, And by the Almighty who will bless you With blessings of heaven above, Blessings of the deep that lies beneath, Blessings of the breasts and of the womb.

25Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb:

26The blessings of your father Have excelled the blessings of my ancestors, Up to the utmost bound of the everlasting hills. They shall be on the head of Joseph, And on the crown of the head of him who was separate from his brothers.

26The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.

27“Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; In the morning he shall devour the prey, And at night he shall divide the spoil.”

27Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf: in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil.

28All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father spoke to them. And he blessed them; he blessed each one according to his own blessing.

28All these are the twelve tribes of Israel: and this is it that their father spake unto them, and blessed them; every one according to his blessing he blessed them.

29Then he charged them and said to them: “I am to be gathered to my people; bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite,

29And he charged them, and said unto them, I am to be gathered unto my people: bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite,

30in the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field of Ephron the Hittite as a possession for a burial place.

30In the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field of Ephron the Hittite for a possession of a buryingplace.

31There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife, there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife, and there I buried Leah.

31There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah.

32The field and the cave that is there were purchased from the sons of Heth.”

32The purchase of the field and of the cave that is therein was from the children of Heth.

33And when Jacob had finished commanding his sons, he drew his feet up into the bed and breathed his last, and was gathered to his people.

33And when Jacob had made an end of commanding his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the ghost, and was gathered unto his people.

The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.

King James Bible, text courtesy of BibleProtector.com.