Joseph is a fruitful bough,
Even a fruitful bough by a well;
Whose branches run over the wall:
The archers have sorely grieved him,
And shot at him, and hated him:
But 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:)
Even 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:
The 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.
Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf:
In the morning he shall devour the prey,
And at night he shall divide the spoil.
All these are the twelve tribes of Israel: and this is it that their father spake unto them, and blessed
[ 150 ]
