Jacob called for his sons, saying, "Gather around me, that I may tell you what shall come upon you in the days to come. Assemble and hear, sons of Jacob, listen to Israel your father."
He turned to Reuben: "You are my firstborn, my strength, the beginning of my might, excelling in honor and power. Yet unstable as water, you shall not excel, for you went up to your father's bed and defiled it."
To Simeon and Levi he said, "Brothers in violence, their swords are weapons of cruelty. Let me not join their council, for in their anger they slew men and in their fury they crippled oxen. Cursed be their anger, so fierce, their fury, so cruel! I will scatter them in Jacob and disperse them in Israel."
Then he spoke to Judah: "Your brothers shall praise you, your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies, your father's sons shall bow before you. You are a lion's cub, returning from the prey. Like a lion he crouches, like a lioness—who dares rouse him? The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until the one comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of nations is his. He ties his donkey to the vine, his colt to the choicest branch. He washes his garments in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes. His eyes are darker than wine, his teeth whiter than milk."
He said of Zebulun: "He will dwell by the seashore, a haven for ships, his border reaching toward Sidon."
Of Issachar: "A strong donkey lying between saddlebags, he sees that the land is good and pleasant, yet he bends his shoulder to bear and submits to forced labor."
Of Dan: "He shall judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel. Dan shall be a serpent by the roadside, a viper along the path, that bites the horse's heels so its rider falls backward. I wait for your deliverance, O Lord."
Of Gad: "Raiders shall attack him, but he will strike back at their heels."
Of Asher: "Rich will be his food; he shall provide delicacies fit for kings."
Of Naphtali: "A doe set free, bearing beautiful fawns."
Then of Joseph: "A fruitful vine by a spring, whose branches run over the wall. Though archers attacked him and shot with hostility, his bow remained steady, his arms stayed strong, by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, by the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel. By your father's God, who helps you, by the Almighty who blesses you with blessings of the heavens above, blessings of the deep below, blessings of the breast and womb. The blessings of your father surpass the blessings of the ancient mountains, the bounty of everlasting hills. May they rest on the head of Joseph, the prince among his brothers."
Of Benjamin he said: "A ravenous wolf—in the morning devouring the prey, in the evening dividing the plunder."
All these were the twelve tribes of Israel, and their father spoke to each according to the blessing appointed for him.
Then Jacob gave his command: "I am to be gathered to my people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite, the cave in the field of Machpelah near Mamre in Canaan, which Abraham bought from Ephron as a burial place. There Abraham and Sarah are buried, there Isaac and Rebekah are buried, and there I buried Leah. The field and the cave in it were bought from the Hittites."
When Jacob finished instructing his sons, he drew his feet up into the bed, breathed his last, and was gathered to his people.