Genesis 49

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

Vocavit autem Jacob filios suos, et ait eis: Congregamini, ut annuntiem quæ ventura sunt vobis in diebus novissimis.

2Gather yourselves together, and hear, O ye sons of Jacob, hearken to Israel, your father:

Congregamini, et audite, filii Jacob, audite Israël patrem vestrum:

3Ruben, my firstborn, thou art my strength, and the beginning of my sorrow; excelling in gifts, greater in command.

Ruben, primogenitus meus, tu fortitudo mea, et principium doloris mei; prior in donis, major in imperio.

4Thou art poured out as water, grow thou not; because thou wentest up to thy father’s bed, and didst defile his couch.

Effusus es sicut aqua, non crescas: quia ascendisti cubile patris tui, et maculasti stratum ejus.

5Simeon and Levi brethren: vessels of iniquity waging war.

Simeon et Levi fratres vasa iniquitatis bellantia.

6Let not my soul go into their counsel, nor my glory be in their assembly: because in their fury they slew a man, and in their self-will they undermined a wall.

In consilium eorum non veniat anima mea, et in cœtu illorum non sit gloria mea: quia in furore suo occiderunt virum, et in voluntate sua suffoderunt murum.

7Cursed be their fury, because it was stubborn: and their wrath, because it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and will scatter them in Israel.

Maledictus furor eorum, quia pertinax: et indignatio eorum, quia dura: dividam eos in Jacob, et dispergam eos in Israël.

8Juda, thee shall thy brethren praise: thy hand shall be on the necks of thy enemies; the sons of thy father shall bow down to thee.

Juda, te laudabunt fratres tui: manus tua in cervicibus inimicorum tuorum, adorabunt te filii patris tui.

9Juda is a lion’s whelp: to the prey, my son, thou art gone up: resting thou hast couched as a lion, and as a lioness, who shall rouse him?

Catulus leonis Juda: ad prædam, fili mi, ascendisti: requiescens accubuisti ut leo, et quasi leæna: quis suscitabit eum?

10The sceptre shall not be taken away from Juda, nor a ruler from his thigh, till he come that is to be sent, and he shall be the expectation of nations.

Non auferetur sceptrum de Juda, et dux de femore ejus, donec veniat qui mittendus est, et ipse erit expectatio gentium.

11Tying his foal to the vineyard, and his ass, O my son, to the vine. He shall wash his robe in wine, and his garment in the blood of the grape.

Ligans ad vineam pullum suum, et ad vitem, o fili mi, asinam suam, lavabit in vino stolam suam et in sanguine uvæ pallium suum.

12His eyes are more beautiful than wine, and his teeth whiter than milk.

Pulchriores sunt oculi ejus vino, et dentes ejus lacte candidiores.

13Zabulon shall dwell on the seashore, and in the road of ships, reaching as far as Sidon.

Zabulon in littore maris habitabit, et in statione navium pertingens usque ad Sidonem.

14Issachar shall be a strong ass, lying down between the borders.

Issachar asinus fortis accubans inter terminos.

15He saw rest that it was good: and the land that it was excellent: and he bowed his shoulder to carry, and became a servant under tribute.

Vidit requiem, quod esset bona et terram, quod optima: et supposuit humerum suum ad portandum, factusque est tributis serviens.

16Dan shall judge his people like another tribe in Israel.

Dan judicabit populum suum sicut et alia tribus in Israël.

17Let Dan be a snake in the way, a serpent in the path, that biteth the horse’s heels, that his rider may fall backward.

Fiat Dan coluber in via, cerastes in semita, mordens ungulas equi, ut cadat ascensor ejus retro.

18I will look for thy salvation, O Lord.

Salutare tuum expectabo, Domine.

19Gad, being girded, shall fight before him: and he himself shall be girded backward.

Gad, accinctus præliabatur ante eum: et ipse accingetur retrorsum.

20Aser, his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield dainties to kings.

Aser, pinguis panis ejus, et præbebit delicias regibus.

21Nephthali, a hart let loose, and giving words of beauty.

Nephthali, cervus emissus, et dans eloquia pulchritudinis.

22Joseph is a growing son, a growing son and comely to behold: the daughters run to and fro upon the wall;

Filius accrescens Joseph, filius accrescens et decorus aspectu: filiæ discurrerunt super murum.

23But they that held darts, provoked him, and quarrelled with him, and envied him.

Sed exasperaverunt eum et jurgati sunt, invideruntque illi habentes jacula.

24His bow rested upon the strong, and the bands of his arms and his hands were loosed, by the hands of the mighty one of Jacob: thence he came forth a pastor, the stone of Israel.

Sedit in forti arcus ejus, et dissoluta sunt vincula brachiorum et manuum illius per manus potentis Jacob: inde pastor egressus est, lapis Israël.

25The God of thy father shall be thy helper, and the Almighty shall bless thee with the blessings of heaven above, with the blessings of the deep that lieth beneath, with the blessings of the breasts and of the womb.

Deus patris tui erit adjutor tuus, et omnipotens benedicet tibi benedictionibus cæli desuper, benedictionibus abyssi jacentis deorsum, benedictionibus uberum et vulvæ.

26The blessings of thy father are strengthened with the blessings of his fathers: until the desire of the everlasting hills should come: may they be upon the head of Joseph, and upon the crown of the Nazarite among his brethren.

Benedictiones patris tui confortatæ sunt benedictionibus patrum ejus, donec veniret desiderium collium æternorum: fiant in capite Joseph, et in vertice Nazaræi inter fratres suos.

27Benjamin a ravenous wolf, in the morning shall eat the prey, and in the evening shall divide the spoil.

Benjamin lupus rapax, mane comedat prædam, et vespere dividet spolia.

28All these are the twelve tribes of Israel: these things their father spoke to them, and he blessed every one with their proper blessings.

Omnes hi in tribubus Israël duodecim: hæc locutus est eis pater suus, benedixitque singulis benedictionibus propriis.

29And he charged them, saying: I am now going to be gathered to my people: bury me with my fathers in the double cave, which is in the field of Ephron the Hethite,

Et præcepit eis, dicens: Ego congregor ad populum meum: sepelite me cum patribus meis in spelunca duplici quæ est in agro Ephron Hethæi,

30Over against Mambre, in the land of Chanaan, which Abraham bought together with the field, of Ephron the Hethite, for a possession to bury in.

contra Mambre in terra Chanaan, quam emit Abraham cum agro ab Ephron Hethæo in possessionem sepulchri.

31There they buried him, and Sara his wife: there was Isaac buried with Rebecca, his wife: there also Lia doth lie buried.

Ibi sepelierunt eum, et Saram uxorem ejus: ibi sepultus est Isaac cum Rebecca conjuge sua: ibi et Lia condita jacet.

32And when he had ended the commandments, wherewith he instructed his sons, he drew up his feet upon the bed, and died: and he was gathered to his people.

Finitisque mandatis quibus filios instruebat, collegit pedes suos super lectulum, et obiit: appositusque est ad populum suum.