2. “Come together and listen, sons of Jacob.Listen to your father Israel.
3. “Reuben, my firstborn, you are my strengthAnd the first child of my manhood,The proudest and strongest of all my sons.
4. You are like a raging flood,But you will not be the most important,For you slept with my concubineAnd dishonoured your father's bed.
5. “Simeon and Levi are brothers.They use their weapons to commit violence.
6. I will not join in their secret talks,Nor will I take part in their meetings,For they killed men in angerAnd they crippled bulls for sport.
7. A curse be on their anger, because it is so fierce,And on their fury, because it is so cruel.I will scatter them throughout the land of Israel.I will disperse them among its people.
8. “Judah, your brothers will praise you.You hold your enemies by the neck.Your brothers will bow down before you.
9. Judah is like a lion,Killing his victim and returning to his den,Stretching out and lying down.No one dares disturb him.
10. Judah will hold the royal sceptre,And his descendants will always rule.Nations will bring him tributeAnd bow in obedience before him.
11. He ties his young donkey to a grapevine,To the very best of the vines.He washes his clothes in blood-red wine.
12. His eyes are bloodshot from drinking wine,His teeth white from drinking milk.
13. “Zebulun will live beside the sea.His shore will be a haven for ships.His territory will reach as far as Sidon.
14. “Issachar is no better than a donkeyThat lies stretched out between its saddlebags.
15. But he sees that the resting place is goodAnd that the land is delightful.So he bends his back to carry the loadAnd is forced to work as a slave.
16. “Dan will be a ruler for his people.They will be like the other tribes of Israel.
17. Dan will be a snake at the side of the road,A poisonous snake beside the path,That strikes at the horse's heel,So that the rider is thrown off backwards.
18. “I wait for your deliverance, Lord.
19. “Gad will be attacked by a band of robbers,But he will turn and pursue them.
20. “Asher's land will produce rich food.He will provide food fit for a king.
21. “Naphtali is a deer that runs free,Who bears lovely fawns.
22. “Joseph is like a wild donkey by a spring,A wild colt on a hillside.