Genesis 49:1-12

Jacob called all his sons together and gathered them around his bedside. He said to them, “Let me prophesy to you about your future destinies: “Come together and listen to me, O sons of Jacob, Listen to your father Israel. “Reuben, my firstborn, you are my strength and the firstfruits of my manhood. You are preeminent in pride and surpassing others in power. You are unstable—as turbulent as floodwaters; you will no longer excel, for you have slept with my concubine and defiled yourself in your father’s bed! “Simeon and Levi, you are two of a kind and brothers in crime, for your swords have committed violent acts. O my soul, let me not join in their secret plans. O my heart, never let me be counted in their assembly, for they killed men in fits of rage, and for pleasure, they maimed an ox. Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce, and their wrath so relentless. I will divide your descendants throughout Jacob’s territory and scatter them throughout Israel. “O Judah, your brothers will praise you. You will conquer your foes in battle, And your father’s sons will bow down before you. Judah, my son, you are like a young lion who has devoured its prey and departed. Like a lion, he crouches and lies down, and like a lioness—who dares to awaken him? The scepter of rulership will not be taken from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from his descendants, until the Shiloh comes and takes what is due him, for the obedience of nations belongs to him. He will tether his donkey to the vine and his purebred colt to the choicest branch. He will wash his garments in wine and his robe in the blood of grapes. His eyes are more exhilarating than wine and his teeth whiter than milk.