Jacob bendice a sus hijos
1Jacob llamó a sus hijos y dijo: «Reúnanse, que voy a declararles lo que les va a suceder en el futuro:
2»Hijos de Jacob: acérquense y escuchen;
presten atención a su padre Israel.
3»Tú, Rubén, eres mi primogénito,
primer fruto de mi vigor,
primero en honor y en poder.
4Impetuoso como un torrente,
ya no serás el primero:
te acostaste en mi cama;
profanaste la cama de tu propio padre.
5»Simeón y Leví son hermanos;
sus espadas son instrumentos de violencia.
6¡No quiero participar de sus reuniones
ni arriesgar mi honor en sus asambleas!,
porque en su furor mataron hombres,
y por capricho mutilaron toros.
7¡Malditas sean la violencia de su enojo
y la crueldad de su furor!
Los dispersaré en el país de Jacob,
los desparramaré en la tierra de Israel.
8»Tú, Judá, serás alabado49:8 En hebreo, Judá suena como el verbo que significa alabar. por tus hermanos;
dominarás a tus enemigos
y tus propios hermanos se postrarán ante ti.
9Mi hijo Judá es como un cachorro de león
que se ha nutrido de la presa.
Se agacha como un león,
se tiende como una leona:
¿quién se atreverá a despertarlo?
10El cetro no se apartará de Judá,
ni de entre sus pies el bastón de mando,
hasta que llegue el verdadero rey,49:10 el verdadero rey. Alt. el verdadero dueño o a quien le pertenece.
quien merece la obediencia de los pueblos.
11Judá amarra su asno a la vid
y la cría de su asno a la mejor cepa;
lava su ropa en vino;
su manto, en la sangre de las uvas.
12Sus ojos son más oscuros que el vino;
sus dientes, más blancos que la leche.49:12 Sus ojos … la leche. Alt. Sus ojos están oscurecidos por el vino; sus dientes, blanqueados por la leche.
13»Zabulón vivirá a la orilla del mar;
será puerto seguro para las naves
y sus fronteras llegarán hasta Sidón.
14»Isacar es un asno fuerte
echado entre dos alforjas.
15Al ver que el establo era bueno
y que la tierra era agradable,
agachó el hombro para llevar la carga
y se sometió a la esclavitud.
16»Dan hará justicia en su pueblo,
como una de las tribus de Israel.
17Dan es una serpiente junto al camino,
una víbora junto al sendero,
que muerde los talones del caballo
y hace caer de espaldas al jinete.
18»¡Señor, espero tu salvación!
19»Las hordas atacan a Gad,
pero él las atacará por la espalda.
20»Aser disfrutará de comidas deliciosas;
ofrecerá manjares de reyes.
21»Neftalí es una gacela libre,
que tiene hermosos cervatillos.49:21 que … cervatillos. Alt. que pronuncia hermosas palabras.
22»José es un retoño fértil,
fértil retoño junto al agua,
cuyas ramas trepan por el muro.
23Los arqueros lo atacaron sin piedad;
le tiraron flechas, lo hostigaron.
24Pero su arco se mantuvo firme
y sus brazos fueron ágiles.
¡Gracias al Poderoso de Jacob,
al Pastor y Roca de Israel!
25¡Gracias al Dios de tu padre, que te ayuda!
¡Gracias al Todopoderoso, que te bendice!
¡Con bendiciones de lo alto!
¡Con bendiciones del abismo!
¡Con bendiciones de los pechos y del seno materno!
26Son mejores las bendiciones de tu padre
que las de los montes de antaño,
que la abundancia de las colinas eternas.
¡Que descansen estas bendiciones
sobre la cabeza de José,
sobre la frente del escogido entre sus hermanos!
27»Benjamín es un lobo rapaz
que en la mañana devora la presa
y en la tarde reparte los despojos».
28Estas son las doce tribus de Israel y esto es lo que su padre dijo cuando impartió a cada una de ellas su bendición.
Muerte de Jacob
29Además, Jacob dio estas instrucciones: «Ya estoy a punto de reunirme con los míos. Entiérrenme junto a mis antepasados, en la cueva que está en el campo de Efrón el hitita. 30Se trata de la cueva de Macpela, frente a Mamré, en la tierra de Canaán. Está en el campo que Abraham compró a Efrón el hitita, para que fuera el sepulcro de la familia. 31Allí fueron sepultados Abraham y su esposa Sara, Isaac y su esposa Rebeca. Allí también enterré a Lea. 32Ese campo y su cueva se les compró a los hititas».
33Cuando Jacob terminó de dar estas instrucciones a sus hijos, volvió a acostarse; exhaló el último suspiro y fue a reunirse con sus antepasados.
Jacob Gives Blessings to His Sons
1Then Jacob sent for his sons. He said, “Gather around me so I can tell you what will happen to you in days to come.
2“Sons of Jacob, come together and listen.
Listen to your father Israel.
3“Reuben, you are my oldest son.
You were my first child. You were the first sign of my strength.
You were first in honor. You were first in power.
4But you are as unsteady as water. So you won’t be first anymore.
You had sex with my concubine on my bed.
You lay on my couch and made it ‘unclean.’
5“Simeon and Levi are brothers.
Their swords have killed a lot of people.
6I won’t share in their plans.
I won’t have anything to do with them.
They became angry and killed people.
They cut the legs of oxen just for the fun of it.
7May the Lord put a curse on them
because of their terrible anger.
I will scatter them in Jacob’s land.
I will spread them around in Israel.
8“Judah, your brothers will praise you.
Your enemies will be brought under your control.
Your father’s sons will bow down to you.
9Judah, you are like a lion’s cub.
You return from hunting, my son.
Like a lion, you lie down and sleep.
You are like a mother lion. Who dares to wake you up?
10The right to rule will not leave Judah.
The ruler’s scepter will not be taken from between his feet.
It will be his until the king it belongs to will come.
The nations will obey that king.
11He will tie his donkey to a vine.
He will tie his colt to the very best branch.
He will wash his clothes in wine.
He will wash his robes in the red juice of grapes.
12His eyes will be darker than wine.
His teeth will be whiter than milk.
13“Zebulun will live by the seashore.
He will become a safe harbor for ships.
His border will go out toward Sidon.
14“Issachar is like a wild donkey
lying down among the sheep pens.
15He sees how good his resting place is.
He sees that his land is pleasant.
So he will carry a heavy load on his back.
He will obey when he’s forced to work.
16“Dan will do what is fair for his people.
He will do it as one of the tribes of Israel.
17Dan will be a snake by the side of the road.
He will be a poisonous snake along the path.
It bites the horse’s heels
so that the rider falls off backward.
18“Lord, I look to you to save me.
19“Gad will be attacked by a group of robbers.
But he will attack them as they run away.
20“Asher’s food will be rich and sweet.
He will provide food that even a king would enjoy.
21“Naphtali is a female deer set free
and gives birth to beautiful fawns.
22“Joseph is a vine that grows a lot of fruit.
It grows close by a spring.
Its branches climb over a wall.
23Mean people shot arrows at him.
They shot at him because they were angry.
24But his bow remained steady.
His strong arms moved freely.
The hand of the Mighty God of Jacob was with him.
The Shepherd, the Rock of Israel, stood by him.
25Joseph, your father’s God helps you.
The Mighty God blesses you.
He gives you blessings from the sky above.
He gives you blessings from the deep springs below.
He blesses you with children and with a mother’s milk.
26Your father’s blessings are great.
They are greater than the blessings from the age-old mountains.
They are greater than the gifts from the ancient hills.
Let all those blessings rest on the head of Joseph.
Let them rest on the head of the one who is prince among his brothers.
27“Benjamin is a hungry wolf.
In the morning he eats what he has killed.
In the evening he shares what he has stolen.”
28All these are the 12 tribes of Israel. That’s what their father said to them when he blessed them. He gave each one the blessing that was just right for him.
Jacob Dies
29Then Jacob gave directions to his sons. He said, “I’m about to join the members of my family who have already died. Bury me with them in the cave in the field of Ephron, the Hittite. 30The cave is in the field of Machpelah near Mamre in Canaan. Abraham had bought it as a place where he could bury his wife’s body. He had bought the cave and the field from Ephron, the Hittite. 31The bodies of Abraham and his wife Sarah were buried there. So were the bodies of Isaac and his wife Rebekah. I also buried Leah’s body there. 32Abraham bought the field and the cave from the Hittites.”
33When Jacob had finished telling his sons what to do, he pulled his feet up into his bed. Then he took his last breath and died. He joined the members of his family who had already died.
