192 lines
4.2 KiB
Markdown
192 lines
4.2 KiB
Markdown
Jacob's Last Words to His Sons
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# Chapter 49
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1. Then Jacob called together all his sons and said, "Gather around me, and I will tell you what will happen to each of you in the days to come.
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2. "Come and listen, you sons of Jacob;
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listen to Israel, your father.
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3. "Reuben, you are my firstborn, my strength,
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the child of my vigorous youth.
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You are first in rank and first in power.
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4. But you are as unruly as a flood,
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and you will be first no longer.
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For you went to bed with my wife;
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you defiled my marriage couch.
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5. "Simeon and Levi are two of a kind;
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their weapons are instruments of violence.
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6. May I never join in their meetings;
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may I never be a party to their plans.
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For in their anger they murdered men,
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and they crippled oxen just for sport.
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7. A curse on their anger, for it is fierce;
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a curse on their wrath, for it is cruel.
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I will scatter them among the descendants of Jacob;
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I will disperse them throughout Israel.
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8. "Judah, your brothers will praise you.
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You will grasp your enemies by the neck.
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All your relatives will bow before you.
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9. Judah, my son, is a young lion
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that has finished eating its prey.
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Like a lion he crouches and lies down;
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like a lioness--who dares to rouse him?
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10. The scepter will not depart from Judah,
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nor the ruler's staff from his descendants,
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until the coming of the one to whom it belongs,
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the one whom all nations will honor.
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11. He ties his foal to a grapevine,
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the colt of his donkey to a choice vine.
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He washes his clothes in wine,
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his robes in the blood of grapes.
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12. His eyes are darker than wine,
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and his teeth are whiter than milk.
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13. "Zebulun will settle by the seashore
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and will be a harbor for ships;
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his borders will extend to Sidon.
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14. "Issachar is a sturdy donkey,
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resting between two saddlepacks.
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15. When he sees how good the countryside is
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and how pleasant the land,
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he will bend his shoulder to the load
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and submit himself to hard labor.
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16. "Dan will govern his people,
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like any other tribe in Israel.
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17. Dan will be a snake beside the road,
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a poisonous viper along the path
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that bites the horse's hooves
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so its rider is thrown off.
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18. I trust in you for salvation, O LORD!
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19. "Gad will be attacked by marauding bands,
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but he will attack them when they retreat.
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20. "Asher will dine on rich foods
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and produce food fit for kings.
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21. "Naphtali is a doe set free
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that bears beautiful fawns.
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22. "Joseph is the foal of a wild donkey,
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the foal of a wild donkey at a spring--
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one of the wild donkeys on the ridge.
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23. Archers attacked him savagely;
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they shot at him and harassed him.
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24. But his bow remained taut,
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and his arms were strengthened
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by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob,
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by the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel.
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25. May the God of your father help you;
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may the Almighty bless you
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with the blessings of the heavens above,
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and blessings of the watery depths below,
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and blessings of the breasts and womb.
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26. May my fatherly blessings on you
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surpass the blessings of my ancestors,
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reaching to the heights of the eternal hills.
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May these blessings rest on the head of Joseph,
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who is a prince among his brothers.
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27. "Benjamin is a ravenous wolf,
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devouring his enemies in the morning
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and dividing his plunder in the evening."
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28. These are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said as he told his sons good-bye. He blessed each one with an appropriate message.
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Jacob's Death and Burial
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29. Then Jacob instructed them, "Soon I will die and join my ancestors. Bury me with my father and grandfather in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite.
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30. This is the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre in Canaan, that Abraham bought from Ephron the Hittite as a permanent burial site.
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31. There Abraham and his wife Sarah are buried. There Isaac and his wife, Rebekah, are buried. And there I buried Leah.
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32. It is the plot of land and the cave that my grandfather Abraham bought from the Hittites."
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33. When Jacob had finished this charge to his sons, he drew his feet into the bed, breathed his last, and joined his ancestors in death.
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