Genesis 49

Genesis · Chapter 49

Genesis 49:6

1And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days.2Gather yourselves together, and hear, ye sons of Jacob; and hearken unto Israel your father.3Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power:4Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel; because thou wentest up to thy father’s bed; then defiledst thou it: he went up to my couch.5Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations.6O my soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, mine honour, be not thou united: for in their anger they slew a man, and in their selfwill they digged down a wall.7Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.8Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father’s children shall bow down before thee.9Judah is a lion’s whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up?10The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.11Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass’s colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes:12His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk.13Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea; and he shall be for an haven of ships; and his border shall be unto Zidon.14Issachar is a strong ass couching down between two burdens:15And he saw that rest was good, and the land that it was pleasant; and bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant unto tribute.16Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel.17Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward.18I have waited for thy salvation, O LORD.19Gad, a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last.20Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties.21Naphtali is a hind let loose: he giveth goodly words.22Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall:23The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him:24But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel:)25Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb:26The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.27Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf: in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil.28All these are the twelve tribes of Israel: and this is it that their father spake unto them, and blessed them; every one according to his blessing he blessed them.29And he charged them, and said unto them, I am to be gathered unto my people: bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite,30In the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field of Ephron the Hittite for a possession of a buryingplace.31There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah.32The purchase of the field and of the cave that is therein was from the children of Heth.33And when Jacob had made an end of commanding his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the ghost, and was gathered unto his people.

King James Version (1769)

Other translations

VerseKJVBSBASV
6O my soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, mine honour, be not thou united: for in their anger they slew a man, and in their selfwill they digged down a wall.May I never enter their council; may I never join their assembly. For they kill men in their anger, and hamstring oxen on a whim.O my soul, come not thou into their council; Unto their assembly, my glory, be not thou united; For in their anger they slew a man, And in their self-will they hocked an ox.

In context

Who is speaking and to whom, what is happening, when and where, and why it matters, each with its sources. Coming with the context cards.

Original Hebrew words

EnglishHebrewSay itStrong'sMeaning
in council theirבְּסֹדָם֙be-so-DAMH5475
counsel

סוֹד (sod) 1) council, counsel, assembly 1a) council (of familiar conversation) 1a1) divan, circle (of familiar friends) 1a2) assembly, company 1b) counsel 1b1) counsel (itself) 1b2) secret counsel 1b3) familiar converse, intimacy (with God)

may notאַל־'al-H0408
not

אַל (al) 1) not, no, nor, neither, nothing (as wish or preference) 1a) do not, let not (with a verb) 1b) let there not be (with a verb understood) 1c) not, no (with substantive) 1d) nothing (as substantive) Aramaic equivalent: al (אַל "not" H0409)

it enterתָּבֹ֣אta-VO'H0935G
to come (in): come

בּוֹא (bo) : come/go_in 1) to go in, enter, come, go, come in 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to enter, come in 1a2) to come 1a2a) to come with 1a2b) to come upon, fall or light upon, attack (enemy) 1a2c) to come to pass 1a3) to attain to 1a4) to be enumerated 1a5) to go 1b) (Hiphil) 1b1) to lead in 1b2) to carry in 1b3) to bring in, cause to come in, gather, cause to come, bring near, bring against, bring upon 1b4) to bring to pass 1c) (Hophal) 1c1) to be brought, brought in 1c2) to be introduced, be put

self myנַפְשִׁ֔יnaf-SHIH5315G
soul

נֶ֫פֶשׁ (ne.phesh) 1) soul, self, life, creature, person, appetite, mind, living being, desire, emotion, passion 1a) that which breathes, the breathing substance or being, soul, the inner being of man 1b) living being 1c) living being (with life in the blood) 1d) the man himself, self, person or individual 1e) seat of the appetites 1f) seat of emotions and passions 1g) activity of mind 1g1) uncertain 1h) activity of the will 1h1) uncertain 1i) activity of the character 1i1) uncertain

in assembly theirבִּקְהָלָ֖םbik-ha-LAMH6951
assembly

קָהָל (qa.hal) 1) assembly, company, congregation, convocation 1a) assembly 1a1) for evil counsel, war or invasion, religious purposes 1b) company (of returning exiles) 1c) congregation 1c1) as organised body

may notאַל־'al-H0408
not

אַל (al) 1) not, no, nor, neither, nothing (as wish or preference) 1a) do not, let not (with a verb) 1b) let there not be (with a verb understood) 1c) not, no (with substantive) 1d) nothing (as substantive) Aramaic equivalent: al (אַל "not" H0409)

it be unitedתֵּחַ֣דte-CHADH3161
be joined

יָחַד (ya.chad) 1) to join, unite, be joined, be united 1a) (Qal) to be united 1b) (Piel) to unite

honor myכְּבֹדִ֑יke-vo-DIH3519
glory

כָּבוֹד (ka.vod) 1) glory, honour, glorious, abundance 1a) abundance, riches 1b) honour, splendour, glory 1c) honour, dignity 1d) honour, reputation 1e) honour, reverence, glory 1f) glory

forכִּ֤יkiH3588A
for

כִּי (ki) 1) that, for, because, when, as though, as, because that, but, then, certainly, except, surely, since 1a) that 1a1) yea, indeed 1b) when (of time) 1b1) when, if, though (with a concessive force) 1c) because, since (causal connection) 1d) but (after negative) 1e) that if, for if, indeed if, for though, but if 1f) but rather, but 1g) except that 1h) only, nevertheless 1i) surely 1j) that is 1k) but if 1l) for though 1m) forasmuch as, for therefore

in anger theirבְאַפָּם֙ve-'a-PAMH0639G
face: anger

אַף (aph) : anger 1) nostril, nose, face 2) anger

they slewהָ֣רְגוּHA-re-guH2026
to kill

הָרַג (ha.rag) 1) to kill, slay, murder, destroy, murderer, slayer, out of hand 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to kill, slay 1a2) to destroy, ruin 1b) (Niphal) to be killed 1c) (Pual) to be killed, be slain

a manאִ֔ישׁ'IshH0376G
man

אִישׁ (ish) : man 1) man 1a) man, male (in contrast to woman, female) 1b) husband 1c) human being, person (in contrast to God) 1d) servant 1e) mankind 1f) champion 1g) great man 2) whosoever 3) each (adjective)

and for pleasure theirוּבִרְצֹנָ֖םu-vir-tzo-NAMH7522
acceptance

רָצוֹן (ra.tson) 1) pleasure, delight, favour, goodwill, acceptance, will 1a) goodwill, favour 1b) acceptance 1c) will, desire, pleasure, self-will

they hamstrungעִקְּרוּ־'i-ke-ru-H6131B
to hamstring

עִקֵּר (iq.qer) 1) to cut, hamstring 1a) (Piel) to cut, hamstring

ox[en]שֽׁוֹר׃ShorH7794
cattle

שׁוֹר (shor) 1) ox, bull, a head of cattle 1a) for plowing, for food, as sacrifice Aramaic equivalent: tor (תּוֹר "bullock" H8450)

Words and meanings from STEPBible data (Tyndale House, Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). The capitalized syllable is the stressed one.