3-4. Reuben, you’re my firstborn,my strength, first proof of my manhood,at the top in honor and at the top in power,But like a bucket of water spilled,you’ll be at the top no more,Because you climbed into your father’s marriage bed,mounting that couch, and you defiled it.
5-6. Simeon and Levi are two of a kind,ready to fight at the drop of a hat.I don’t want anything to do with their vendettas,want no part in their bitter feuds;They kill men in fits of temper,slash oxen on a whim.
7. A curse on their uncontrolled anger,on their indiscriminate wrath.I’ll throw them out with the trash;I’ll shred and scatter them like confetti throughout Israel.
8-12. You, Judah, your brothers will praise you:Your fingers on your enemies’ throat,while your brothers honor you.You’re a lion’s cub, Judah,home fresh from the kill, my son.Look at him, crouched like a lion, king of beasts;who dares mess with him?The scepter shall not leave Judah;he’ll keep a firm grip on the command staffUntil the ultimate ruler comesand the nations obey him.He’ll tie up his donkey to the grapevine,his purebred prize to a sturdy branch.He will wash his shirt in wineand his cloak in the blood of grapes,His eyes will be darker than wine,his teeth whiter than milk.
13. Zebulun settles down on the seashore;he’s a safe harbor for ships,right alongside Sidon.
14-15. Issachar is one tough donkeycrouching between the corrals;When he saw how good the place was,how pleasant the country,He gave up his freedomand went to work as a slave.
16-17. Dan will handle matters of justice for his people;he will hold his own just fine among the tribes of Israel.Dan is only a small snake in the grass,a lethal serpent in ambush by the roadWhen he strikes a horse in the heel,and brings its huge rider crashing down.
18. I wait in hopefor your salvation, God.
19. Gad will be attacked by bandits,but he will trip them up.