15
He 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.
16
"Dan shall judge his people As one of the tribes of Israel.
17
Dan 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.
18
I have waited for your salvation, O Lord!
19
"Gad, a troop shall tramp upon him, But he shall triumph at last.
20
"Bread from Asher shall be rich, And he shall yield royal dainties.
21
"Naphtali is a deer let loose; He uses beautiful words.
22
"Joseph is a fruitful bough, A fruitful bough by a well; His branches run over the wall.
23
The archers have bitterly grieved him, Shot at him and hated him.
24
But 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),
25
By 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.
26
The 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.
27
"Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; In the morning he shall devour the prey, And at night he shall divide the spoil."
28
All 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.
29
Then 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,
30
in 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.
31
There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife, there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife, and there I buried Leah.
32
The field and the cave that is there were purchased from the sons of Heth."
33
And 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.