Genesis 49:3
Reuben, thou are my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the pre-eminence of dignity, and the pre-eminence of power.
A Conservative Version
In The King James Version
In Context
2Assemble yourselves, and hear, ye sons of Jacob, and hearken to Israel your father.
Cross References
Genesis 35:22And it came to pass, while Israel dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father's concubine, and Israel heard of it. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve.
Genesis 46:8And these are the names of the sons of Israel who came into Egypt with their father Jacob, Jacob and his sons: The firstborn of Jacob, Reuben.
Numbers 1:20And the sons of Reuben, Israel's first-born, their generations, by their families, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of the names, by their polls, every male from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go
Deuteronomy 21:17But he shall acknowledge the first-born, the son of the one regarded inferior, by giving him a double portion of all that he has, for he is the beginning of his strength. The right of the first-born is his.
Deuteronomy 33:6Let Reuben live, and not die, nor let his men be few.
1 Chronicles 5:1And the sons of Reuben the first-born of Israel (for he was the first-born, but, inasmuch as he defiled his father's couch, his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph the son of Israel, and so the genealogy is not to be reckone
Matthew Henry on Genesis 49:2-5
Jacob's Prophecy Concerning His Sons. ( b. c. 1689.) 1 And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befal you in the last days. 2 Gather yourselves together, and hear, ye sons of Jacob; and hearken unto Israel your father. 3 Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power: 4 Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel; because thou wentest up to thy father's bed; then… Read the whole commentary →