Liber Genesis, 49

1. Vocavit autem Iacob filios suos et ait eis: “Congrega mini, ut annuntiem, quae ventura sunt vobis in diebus novissimis.

1. Then Jacob called his sons, and said, "Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you what shall befall you in days to come.

2. Congregamini et audite, filii Iacob, audite Israel patrem vestrum!

2. Assemble and hear, O sons of Jacob, and hearken to Israel your father.

3. Ruben primogenitus meus, tu fortitudo mea et principium roboris mei; prior in dignitate, maior in robore!

3. Reuben, you are my first-born, my might, and the first fruits of my strength, pre-eminent in pride and pre-eminent in power.

4. Ebulliens sicut aqua non excellas, quia ascendisti cubile patris tui et maculasti stratum meum.

4. Unstable as water, you shall not have pre-eminence because you went up to your father's bed; then you defiled it -- you went up to my couch!

5. Simeon et Levi fratres, vasa violentiae arma eorum.

5. Simeon and Levi are brothers; weapons of violence are their swords.

6. In consilium eorum ne veniat anima mea, et in coetu illorum non sit gloria mea; quia in furore suo occiderunt virum et in voluntate sua subnervaverunt tauros.

6. O my soul, come not into their council; O my spirit, be not joined to their company; for in their anger they slay men, and in their wantonness they hamstring oxen.

7. Maledictus furor eorum, quia pertinax, et indignatio eorum, quia dura! Dividam eos in Iacob et dispergam eos in Israel.

7. Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce; and their wrath, for it is cruel! I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel.

8. Iuda, te laudabunt fratres tui; manus tua in cervicibus inimicorum tuorum; adorabunt te filii patris tui.

8. Judah, your brothers shall praise you; your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; your father's sons shall bow down before you.

9. Catulus leonis Iuda: a praeda, fili mi, ascendisti; requiescens accubuit ut leo et quasi leaena; quis suscitabit eum?

9. Judah is a lion's whelp; 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?

10. Non auferetur sceptrum de Iuda et baculus ducis de pedibus eius, donec veniat ille, cuius est, et cui erit oboedientia gentium;

10. The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.

11. ligans ad vineam pullum suum et ad vitem filium asinae suae, lavabit in vino stolam suam et in sanguine uvae pallium suum;

11. Binding his foal to the vine and his ass's colt to the choice vine, he washes his garments in wine and his vesture in the blood of grapes;

12. nigriores sunt oculi eius vino et dentes eius lacte candidiores.

12. his eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk.

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

13. Zeb'ulun shall dwell at the shore of the sea; he shall become a haven for ships, and his border shall be at Sidon.

14. Issachar asinus fortis, accubans inter caulas

14. Is'sachar is a strong ass, crouching between the sheepfolds;

15. vidit requiem quod esset bona, et terram quod optima; et supposuit umerum suum ad portandum factusque est tributis serviens.

15. he saw that a resting place was good, and that the land was pleasant; so he bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a slave at forced labor.

16. Dan iudicabit populum suum sicut una tribuum Israel.

16. Dan shall judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel.

17. Fiat Dan coluber in via, cerastes in semita, mordens calcanea equi, ut cadat ascensor eius retro.

17. Dan shall be a serpent in the way, a viper by the path, that bites the horse's heels so that his rider falls backward.

18. Salutare tuum exspectabo, Domine!

18. I wait for thy salvation, O LORD.

19. Gad, latrones aggredientur eum, ipse autem aggredietur calcaneum eorum.

19. Raiders shall raid Gad, but he shall raid at their heels.

20. Aser, pinguis panis eius, et praebebit delicias regales.

20. Asher's food shall be rich, and he shall yield royal dainties.

21. Nephthali cerva emissa, dans cornua pulchra.

21. Naph'tali is a hind let loose, that bears comely fawns.

22. Arbor fructifera Ioseph, arbor fructifera super fontem: rami transcendunt murum.

22. Joseph is a fruitful bough, a fruitful bough by a spring; his branches run over the wall.

23. Sed exasperaverunt eum et iurgati sunt, et adversati sunt illi habentes iacula.

23. The archers fiercely attacked him, shot at him, and harassed him sorely;

24. Et confractus est arcus eorum, et dissoluti sunt nervi brachiorum eorum per manus Potentis Iacob, per nomen Pastoris, Lapidis Israel.

24. yet his bow remained unmoved, his arms were made agile by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob (by the name of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel),

25. Deus patris tui erit adiutor tuus, et Omnipotens benedicet tibi benedictionibus caeli desuper, benedictionibus abyssi iacentis deorsum, benedictionibus uberum et vulvae.

25. by the God of your father who will help you, by God Almighty who will bless you with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that couches beneath, blessings of the breasts and of the womb.

26. Benedictiones patris tui confortatae sunt super benedictiones montium aeternorum, desiderium collium antiquorum; fiant in capite Ioseph et in vertice nazaraei inter fratres suos.

26. The blessings of your father are mighty beyond the blessings of the eternal mountains, 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.

27. Beniamin lupus rapax; mane comedet praedam et vespere dividet spolia”.

27. Benjamin is a ravenous wolf, in the morning devouring the prey, and at even dividing the spoil."

28. Omnes hi in tribubus Israel duodecim. Haec locutus est eis pater suus benedixitque singulis benedictionibus propriis.

28. All these are the twelve tribes of Israel; and this is what their father said to them as he blessed them, blessing each with the blessing suitable to him.

29. Et praecepit eis dicens: “Ego congregor ad populum meum; sepelite me cum patribus meis in spelunca Machpela, quae est in agro Ephron Hetthaei

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. contra Mambre in terra Chanaan, quam emit Abraham cum agro ab Ephron Hetthaeo in possessionem sepulcri;

30. in the cave that is in the field at Mach-pe'lah, to the east of Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite to possess as a burying place.

31. ibi sepelierunt eum et Saram uxorem eius, ibi sepultus est Isaac cum Rebecca coniuge sua, ibi et Lia condita iacet”.

31. There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah --

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

32. the field and the cave that is in it were purchased from the Hittites."

33.

33. When Jacob finished charging his sons, he drew up his feet into the bed, and breathed his last, and was gathered to his people.