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About Jacob giving his special blessing to his sons
1 Then Jacob called for his sons and said to them, “Come here, and gather around close to me so that I can speak to you. I will tell you what will happen to you and your children and all your descendants in the future.”
2 The old man had two names. One was Jacob, but God had given him another important name, Israel. He said to his sons,
“Come together and listen to me.
Listen to your father Israel.”
Then he spoke his last words to them one by one, before he died. 3 First he said to Reuben,
“Reuben, you are my firstborn son.
When you were born, people knew that I was a strong man.
And you are stronger than your brothers today.
4 But you did a very bad thing to me, because you slept with my servant.
You didn't respect me, your father.
You are like rain that none of us can control,
because no one can control you.
So, because of the wrong you did, you will no longer be greater than your brothers, you will always be less important.”
5 Then Jacob spoke to his sons Simeon and Levi and said,
“Simeon and Levi, you have the same mother.
But you both have swords to fight hard.
6 I won't go with you when you talk together secretly.
I won't go to your meetings,
because you killed men when you were angry,
and you crippled some bullocks for fun.
7 Trouble will happen for you,
because you still want to fight and you are still angry.
You are both cruel men.
So I will spread out your people among all the Israelite people.”
8 Then Jacob spoke to his son Judah.
“Judah,” he said, “your brothers will praise you.
They will come and bow down to you, because you are strong.
You will grab the people who hate you.
You will hold them by the neck.
9 You are like a lion.
It kills wild animals and comes back to its cave.
It stretches out its legs and goes to sleep.
We can't wake it up, because it is too dangerous.
10 Judah, you will be a ruler later.
Your descendants will be rulers too.
They will rule until the king comes here.
People from other countries will come to him,
bringing many things for him.
And they will bow down to him, because they will know he is very great.
11 You will be like someone with lots of good grapevines.
His vines grow big and he ties his young donkey to the best one.
He has so much wine he can wash his clothes in it.
12 His eyes are no longer clear because he has been drinking wine.
And his teeth are white from drinking milk.”
13 Then Jacob spoke to his son Zebulun and said,
“Zebulun, you will live beside the sea.
Your country will reach right over to Sidon.
Ships will come into its bays.”
14 Then Jacob spoke to his son Issachar and said,
“Issachar, you are like a donkey that doesn't want to work.
It lies down between two bags,
because it doesn't want to carry them on its back.
15 But it will get up and carry the bags on its back, because it is a good place.
And like the donkey you will also work for other people.”
16 Then Jacob spoke to his son Dan and said,
“Dan, you will be a judge, deciding if your people are good or bad.
But your people are also Israelite people.
17 But you will be waiting on the road,
just like a snake that hides in the grass
and bites the horse's heel,
so that if anyone is riding on the horse he will fall on his back to the ground.”
18 Then Jacob spoke to God and said,
“I am waiting for you to help me, Yahweh, and keep me safe from trouble.”
19 Then Jacob spoke to his son Gad and said,
“Thieves will fight you,
but you will drive them away.”
20 Then Jacob spoke to his son Asher and said,
“Asher, your land will produce good food.
It will be so good that a king will eat it.”
21 Then Jacob spoke to his son Naphtali and said,
“Naphtali, you will be like a deer that runs wherever it likes,
and has lovely baby deer.”
22 And then Jacob spoke to his son Joseph. He said,
“Joseph, you will be like a good tree that stands by a spring of water,
and gives good shade and produces lots of fruit.
23 Your enemies hated you,
and kept coming to fight you with spears.
24 They ran after you with their spears, but your hands didn't shake,
so you were stronger than they were.
You were strong because my God helped you to fight.
My God is very powerful,
and he has made me strong,
and he has looked after me.
25 It is my God who helps you to fight.
It is my God who is very powerful
and he is blessing you.
He gives you rain from above
and water from under the ground.
He gives you many cattle and children.
26 He gives you plenty of different kinds of food to eat and beautiful flowers to look at.
He gives you good things from the mountains.
I am asking God to give all these good things to you, my son.
You are the one he has chosen and he has made you different from your brothers.”
27 Then Jacob spoke to his youngest son Benjamin and said,
“You are like a dangerous wild dog.
It kills other animals and eats them.
You go in the morning to fight and you kill people and you grab their things.
And when the sun sets you and your people share those things.”
28 These are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father Jacob said, as he spoke different words of blessing to each one.
About Jacob dying
29-30 Then Jacob told his sons what they were to do. “I am going to die soon,” he said. “I will go to my father's people and you must bury me with them. You must put my body in the cave at Machpelah near Mamre in Canaan. You know the cave that is on the land that belonged to Ephron the Hittite. Abraham bought the land and the cave so that he could put his dead people in the cave. 31 They put Abraham and his wife Sarah in it and later they put Isaac and his wife Rebecca there too. And I buried Leah there. 32 So put me too in the cave that Abraham bought.” 33 When Jacob had finished speaking to his sons, he lay down and took his last breath and died.