Gad shall be raided by raiders,
But he shall raid at their heels.
Asher’s bread shall be rich,
And he shall yield royal dainties.
Naphtali is a hind let loose,
Which yields lovely fawns.
Joseph is a wild ass,
A wild ass by a spring
–Wild colts on a hillside.
Archers bitterly assailed him;
They shot at him and harried him.
Yet his bow staved taut,
And his arms were made firm
By the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob–
There, the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel–
The God of your father who helps you,
And Shaddai who blesses you
With blessings of heaven above,
Blessings of the deep that couches below,
Blessings of the breast and womb.
The blessings of your father
Surpass the blessings of my ancestors,
To the utmost bounds of the eternal hills.
May they rest on the head of Joseph,
On the brow of the elect of his brothers.
From Parshat Va-Yehi. From THE TANAKH: The New JPS Translation According to the Traditional Hebrew Text. Copyright 1985 by the Jewish Publication Society. Used by permission.