A   And Iacob called his sonnes, ∧ sayde: Gather you, þt; I maie tell you, what shal happen vnto you in þe; last times: Come together, and heare ye childr&ebar; of Iacob: Herken vnto Israel youre father.

Rub&ebar; my first sonne, ^note thou art my power and the begynnynge of my strength, chefe ^note in gouernaunce, ∧ chefe in auctorite. Thou passest forth swiftly as þe; water. Thou shalt not be the chefest: For ^note thou hast clymmed vp vpon thy fathers bed, euen than defyledest thou my couch with goynge vp.

Symeon and Leui brethren, their deedly weapens are perlous instrumentes. In to their secretes come not my soule, and my worshipe be not ioyned with their congregacion: ^note for in their wrath they slew a man, and in their selfwyll they houghed an oxe. Cursed be their wrath, because

it is so fearce: and their indignacion, because it is so rigorous. I wil deuyde them in Iacob, and scater them in Israel

B    ^noteIuda, thou art he. Thy brethren shall prayse the: for thy h&abar;de shal be in thine enemies neck: thy fathers children shall stoupe vnto the. ^noteIuda is a yonge lyon, thou art come vp hye my sonne, fr&obar; the spoyle. ^noteHe kneled downe and couched himself as a lyon ∧ as a lionesse: who wil rayse him vp? The cepter shal not be remoued fr&obar; Iuda, ner a master fr&obar; his fete, tyll the Worthye come, and vnto him shal the people fall. He shall bynde his foale vnto the vyne, and his Asses colte to þe; noble braunch. He shal wash his garment in wyne, and his mantell in the bloude of grapes. His eyes are roudier then wyne, and his teth whyter then mylck.

C    ^noteZabulon shal dwell in the hauen of the see, and in the porte of shippes, and shal border vpon Sydon.

Isachar shal be a stronge Asse, ∧ laye him downe betwixte þe; borders. And he saw rest, that it was good, and the lande, that it was pleasaunt. And bowed downe his shulder to beare, and became a serua&ubar;t vnto trybute.

^noteDan shal be iudge in his people, as well as a trybe in Israel. Dan shalbe a serpent in the waye, and an edder in the path, and byte the horse in the heles, that his ryder maye fall backwarde. LORDE I loke for thy saluacion.

As for Gad, a wapened hoost of men shal fall violently vpon him, but he shall hurte them in the hele.

Of Asser c&obar;meth his fat bred, and he shal geue delicates vnto kynges.

^noteNepthali is a swift hynde, and geueth goodly wordes.

D   The fruteful sonne Ioseph, that florishinge sonne to loke vpon, the doughters go vp&obar; the wall. And though the shoters angered him, stroue with him, and hated him, yet his bowe bode fast, and the armes of his h&abar;des were made str&obar;ge by the handes of þe; Mightie in Iacob. Of him are come herdmen ∧ stones in Israel. Of þi; fathers God art thou helped, ∧ of the Allmightie art thou blessed, &wt; blessynges of heauen from aboue, with blessinges of þe; depe þt; lyeth vnder, with blessynges of brestes ∧ wombes. The blessinges promised vnto thy father and my fore elders go mightely, after the desyre of the hyest in the worlde: these shal light on Iosephs heade, and on the toppe of his heade, that was separate from his brethren.

Ben Iamin, a rauyshinge wolfe. In the mornynge shal he deuoure the praye, but in the euenynge he shal deuyde the spoyle.

All these are the twolue trybes of Israel: and this is it that their father spake vnto them, whan he blessed them, euery one with a sundrye blessynge.

E   And he commaunded them, and sayde vnto them: I shal be gathered vnto my people, ^note burye me with my fathers in þe; caue which is in the felde of Ephron the Hethite, in the dubble caue that lyeth ouer against Mamre in þe; lande of Cana&abar;, which Abrah&abar; bought with the felde, of Ephron the Hethite for a possession to burye in. ^noteThere buryed they Abrah&abar; ∧ Sara his wife, there buried they Isaac also ∧ Rebecca his wife: ∧ their buried I Lea, in the good of the felde ∧ of the caue therin, which was bought of the Hethites.

^noteAnd whan Iacob had ended this commaundement vnto his children, he pluckte his fete together vpon the bed, and died, and was gathered vnto his people. Th&ebar; fell Ioseph vpon his fathers face, and wepte, and kyssed him.

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