Wayfinding Bible - Flipbook - Page 79
Genesis 49
to the ground. 13 Then he positioned the boys in
front of Jacob. With his right hand he directed
Ephraim toward Jacob’s left hand, and with his
left hand he put Manasseh at Jacob’s right hand.
14
But Jacob crossed his arms as he reached out
to lay his hands on the boys’ heads. He put his
right hand on the head of Ephraim, though he
was the younger boy, and his left hand on the
head of Manasseh, though he was the firstborn.
15
Then he blessed Joseph and said,
16
6
7
8
9
b | THE MESSIAH | 49:8-12
PG 365
But Joseph was upset when he saw that
his father placed his right hand on Ephraim’s
head. So Joseph lifted it to move it from Ephra
im’s head to Manasseh’s head. 18 “No, my father,” he said. “This one is the firstborn. Put
your right hand on his head.”
19
But his father refused. “I know, my son;
I know,” he replied. “Manasseh will also become a great people, but his younger brother
will become even greater. And his descendants
will become a multitude of nations.”
20
So Jacob blessed the boys that day with
this blessing: “The people of Israel will use
your names when they give a blessing. They
will say, ‘May God make you as prosperous as
Ephraim and Manasseh.’” In this way, Jacob
put Ephraim ahead of Manasseh.
21
Then Jacob said to Joseph, “Look, I am
about to die, but God will be with you and will
take you back to Canaan, the land of your ancestors. 22 And beyond what I have given your
brothers, I am giving you an extra portion of
the land* that I took from the Amorites with
my sword and bow.”
17
5
PG 9
“May the God before whom my grandfather
Abraham
and my father, Isaac, walked—
the God who has been my shepherd
all my life, to this very day,
the Angel who has redeemed me from all
harm—
may he bless these boys.
May they preserve my name
and the names of Abraham and Isaac.
And may their descendants multiply greatly
throughout the earth.”
For you went to bed with my wife;
you defiled my marriage couch.
10
11
12
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.
2
“Come and listen, you sons of Jacob;
listen to Israel, your father.
3
“Reuben, you are my firstborn, my strength,
the child of my vigorous youth.
You are first in rank and first in power.
But you are as unruly as a flood,
and you will be first no longer.
4
“Judah, your brothers will praise you.
You will grasp your enemies by the neck.
All your relatives will bow before you.
Judah, my son, is a young lion
that has finished eating its prey.
Like a lion he crouches and lies down;
like a lioness—who dares to rouse him?
The scepter will not depart from Judah,
nor the ruler’s staff from his
descendants,*
until the coming of the one to whom it
belongs,*
the one whom all nations will honor.
He ties his foal to a grapevine,
the colt of his donkey to a choice vine.
He washes his clothes in wine,
his robes in the blood of grapes.
His eyes are darker than wine,
and his teeth are whiter than milk.
13
“Zebulun will settle by the seashore
and will be a harbor for ships;
his borders will extend to Sidon.
14
“Issachar is a sturdy donkey,
resting between two saddlepacks.*
When he sees how good the countryside is
and how pleasant the land,
he will bend his shoulder to the load
and submit himself to hard labor.
15
16
17
JACOB’S LAST WORDS TO HIS SONS
49
“Simeon and Levi are two of a kind;
their weapons are instruments of
violence.
May I never join in their meetings;
may I never be a party to their plans.
For in their anger they murdered men,
and they crippled oxen just for sport.
A curse on their anger, for it is fierce;
a curse on their wrath, for it is cruel.
I will scatter them among the descendants
of Jacob;
I will disperse them throughout Israel.
18
“Dan will govern his people,
like any other tribe in Israel.
Dan will be a snake beside the road,
a poisonous viper along the path
that bites the horse’s hooves
so its rider is thrown off.
I trust in you for salvation, O Lord!
19
“Gad will be attacked by marauding bands,
but he will attack them when they
retreat.
20
“Asher will dine on rich foods
and produce food fit for kings.
48:22 Or an extra ridge of land. The meaning of the Hebrew is
uncertain. 49:10a Hebrew from between his feet. 49:10b Or until
tribute is brought to him and the peoples obey; traditionally rendered
until Shiloh comes. 49:14 Or sheepfolds, or hearths.
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