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49
Jacob told his sons about things that will happen later on
1 Then Jacob sent somebody to bring all his sons to him. And Jacob said to his sons, “Come to me, all of you, and I will tell you about the things that will happen to you and your families. These things will happen later on. 2 Come near to me, my sons. I am your father Jacob, and my other name is Israel. Listen to me.”
Jacob talked to Reuben
3 Then Jacob said,
“Reuben, you are my oldest son.
You were born first. You were born at that time when I was a strong young man.
You were the most important and the most powerful of all my sons.
4 But then you went and did whatever you wanted, just like the wild water in the sea.
You took one of my wives, and you slept with her, like a man sleeps with his wife.
That was a wrong and dirty thing you did. You made me really shamed.
So you will not be my most important son any more.”
Jacob talked about Simeon and Levi
5 Then Jacob said,
“Simeon and Levi are just like each other.
They both like to fight, and they use long knives to hurt people and kill them.
6 They got really angry, so they killed a big mob of men.
They are like people that caught a lot of cows and cut their legs, for no reason.
They make secret plans, but I will not do that with them.
I will not go with them to do bad things.
7 I’m asking God to curse Simeon and Levi, because they are really angry men, and they properly hurt people.
So God will split up their tribes, and he will send their people all over the land.
He will mix them up with all the other tribes of the Israel nation.”
Jacob talked to Judah
8 Then Jacob said,
“Judah, your tribe will fight against their enemies, and your tribe will win.
Then the tribes of all your brothers, they will say that your tribe is really great,
and they will bend down in front of your tribe, to show them respect.”
9 Jacob also said,
“My son Judah is like a strong young lion,
like a lion that fought another animal and won,
like a lion that killed an animal and ate it.
He is like a lion that lies down to sleep,
and nobody is brave enough to wake it up.*Numbers 24:9; Revelation 5:5
10 Judah’s tribe will always be important and powerful.
Leaders and big bosses will come from his tribe.
People from other countries will bring them gifts.
And people from different nations will respect them and do what they say.
11 Judah’s land will be full of good grape vines.
His tribe will even tie their donkeys to those grape vines, so that the donkeys can eat the grapes.
They will make lots of grape juice and wine.
They will have even more grape juice and wine than water.
12 There will be enough wine for everybody in Judah’s land,
and they will all have lots of milk to drink.”
Jacob talked about Zebulun
13 Then Jacob said,
“Zebulun’s tribe will set up their camp next to the sea,
and it will be a safe place for ships.
The north bit of Zebulun’s land will be near the town called Sidon, in Fonisha country.”
Jacob talked about Issachar
14 Then Jacob said,
“Issachar is like a strong donkey,
like a donkey with bags on its back, that lies down to rest.
15 His tribe will see a country where the land is really good,
and they will want to live in that land.
So they will agree to work for the people that own that country,
and those people will make them work really hard.”
Jacob talked about Dan
16 Then Jacob said,
“Dan’s tribe will have their own bosses, just like all the other tribes of the Israel nation.
Those bosses from Dan’s tribe, they will be good and fair to the people.
17 Dan’s tribe will be smart, just like a clever snake.
They will wait for their enemies, like a snake hiding beside the road.
They will attack their enemies, and they will win against those enemies,
like a snake that bites a horse’s leg, so that the man on the horse will fall down.”
Jacob talked to God
18 Then Jacob said, “God, I am waiting for you to save us.”
Jacob talked about Gad
19 Then Jacob said,
“Bad men will attack Gad’s tribe, and those bad men will try to steal Gad’s things,
but Gad’s tribe will fight back and attack those men, and those men will run away.”
Jacob talked about Asher
20 Then Jacob said,
“Asher’s land will grow really good food.
That food will be so good, rich bosses will pay a lot of money to eat it.”
Jacob talked about Naphtali
21 Then Jacob said,
“Naphtali is like a wild animal called a deer,
that is free to run wherever it wants,
and has really pretty babies.”
Jacob talked about Joseph
22 Then Jacob said,
“Lots of people will be born into Joseph’s family.
Yes, Joseph’s family will grow big, just like a grape vine that grows near a spring of water,
and has lots of fruit.
Its branches are so long, they grow over a big wall.
23 Joseph’s enemies hated him,
they attacked him and made trouble for him.
24 But he didn’t give up,
God helped him to stand strong.
Yes, God, my God, he is the one that has all the power.
God looks after his people properly, just like a man looks after his sheep properly.
God is like solid rock, he keeps his people safe.”
25 Jacob kept on talking to Joseph. He said,
“My God will help you.
God has power over everything, and he will be good to you.
He will make rain come down from the sky,
and he will make water come up from springs under the ground,
so that your land will grow really good food.
You will have lots of kids and grand-kids,
and your animals will have lots of babies.
26 I know that God will give you all those good things,
and they will be better than anything the old mountains can give you,
better than anything else on the earth.”
Then Jacob said,
“Joseph, you are more special than all your brothers,
so I’m asking God to give you all those good things.”
Jacob talked about Benjamin
27 Then Jacob said,
“Benjamin’s tribe will be like a wild dog that is really hungry.
In the morning, they will kill their enemies and grab all their good things,
and in the night time, they will share those good things with each other.”
28 In that way, Jacob talked to his 12 sons, and he told them about things that will happen to them and their families later on. He said different things to each of his sons, and those things that he said were right for each one of them.
You know, later on, Jacob’s 12 sons became the grand-fathers of the 12 tribes in the Israel mob.
Jacob told his sons to bury his body in a cave
29-30 Then Jacob said to his sons, “I am going to die very soon. After I die, I want you mob to bury my body in that cave in Canaan country. My father’s body and my grand-father’s body are already in that cave. That cave is on some land in the place called Makpelah, to the east of Mamreh, in Canaan country. That land used to belong to a man from the Heth tribe, called Efron. My grand-father Abraham, he bought that land from Efron, to use as a grave.*Genesis 23:3-20 31 And Abraham buried his wife Sarah there. Some time later, Abraham died, and they buried him in that same place. My father Isaac and his wife Rebekah, they are buried there too. And I also buried my wife Leah there.*Genesis 25:9-10; 35:29 32 That land and that cave, they used to belong to the Heth people, but now that place belongs to our family.”
33 Jacob finished saying all those things to his sons, and he lay down on his bed. Then he breathed for the last time, and he died.*Acts 7:15

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*49:9 Numbers 24:9; Revelation 5:5

*49:29-30 Genesis 23:3-20

*49:31 Genesis 25:9-10; 35:29

*49:33 Acts 7:15

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