Book of Genesis, Chapter 49
Chapter 49 of Genesis
and hearken to Israel your father.
my might, and the first fruits of my strength,
pre-eminent in pride and pre-eminent in power.
because you went up to your father’s bed;
then you defiled it—you[a] went up to my couch!
weapons of violence are their swords.
O my spirit,[b] be not joined to their company;
for in their anger they slay men,
and in their wantonness they hamstring oxen.
and their wrath, for it is cruel!
I will divide them in Jacob
and scatter them in Israel.
your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies;
your father’s sons shall bow down before you.
from the prey, my son, you have gone up.
He stooped down, he couched as a lion,
and as a lioness; who dares rouse him up?
nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,
until he comes to whom it belongs;[c]
and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.
and his ass’s colt to the choice vine,
he washes his garments in wine
and his vesture in the blood of grapes;
and his teeth white with milk.
he shall become a haven for ships,
and his border shall be at Sidon.
crouching between the sheepfolds;
and that the land was pleasant;
so he bowed his shoulder to bear,
and became a slave at forced labor.
as one of the tribes of Israel.
a viper by the path,
that bites the horse’s heels
so that his rider falls backward.
but he shall raid at their heels.
and he shall yield royal dainties.
that bears comely fawns.[e]
a fruitful bough by a spring;
his branches run over the wall.
shot at him, and harassed him sorely;
his arms[f] were made agile
by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob
(by the name of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel),
by God Almighty[g] who will bless you
with blessings of heaven above,
blessings of the deep that couches beneath,
blessings of the breasts and of the womb.
are mighty beyond the blessings of the eternal mountains,[h]
the bounties of the everlasting hills;
may they be on the head of Joseph,
and on the brow of him who was separate from his brothers.
in the morning devouring the prey,
and at even dividing the spoil.”FOOTNOTES
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