(Translated by https://www.hiragana.jp/)
Genesis 49:5 Simeon and Levi are brothers; their swords are weapons of violence.
Genesis 49:5
New International Version
“Simeon and Levi are brothers— their swords are weapons of violence.

New Living Translation
“Simeon and Levi are two of a kind; their weapons are instruments of violence.

English Standard Version
“Simeon and Levi are brothers; weapons of violence are their swords.

Berean Standard Bible
Simeon and Levi are brothers; their swords are weapons of violence.

King James Bible
Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations.

New King James Version
“Simeon and Levi are brothers; Instruments of cruelty are in their dwelling place.

New American Standard Bible
“Simeon and Levi are brothers; Their swords are implements of violence.

NASB 1995
“Simeon and Levi are brothers; Their swords are implements of violence.

NASB 1977
“Simeon and Levi are brothers; Their swords are implements of violence.

Legacy Standard Bible
“Simeon and Levi are brothers; Their swords are implements of violence.

Amplified Bible
“Simeon and Levi are brothers [equally headstrong, deceitful, vindictive, and cruel]; Their swords are weapons of violence and revenge.

Christian Standard Bible
Simeon and Levi are brothers; their knives are vicious weapons.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Simeon and Levi are brothers; their knives are vicious weapons.

American Standard Version
Simeon and Levi are brethren; Weapons of violence are their swords.

Contemporary English Version
Simeon and Levi, you are brothers, each a gruesome sword.

English Revised Version
Simeon and Levi are brethren; Weapons of violence are their swords.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
"[Simeon] and [Levi] are brothers. Their swords are weapons of violence.

Good News Translation
"Simeon and Levi are brothers. They use their weapons to commit violence.

International Standard Version
"Simeon and Levi are brothers; their swords are violent weapons.

Majority Standard Bible
Simeon and Levi are brothers; their swords are weapons of violence.

NET Bible
Simeon and Levi are brothers, weapons of violence are their knives!

New Heart English Bible
Simeon and Levi are brothers. Their swords are weapons of violence.

Webster's Bible Translation
Simeon and Levi are brethren: instruments of cruelty are in, their habitations.

World English Bible
“Simeon and Levi are brothers. Their swords are weapons of violence.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
Simeon and Levi [are] brothers! Instruments of violence—their espousals!

Young's Literal Translation
Simeon and Levi are brethren! Instruments of violence -- their espousals!

Smith's Literal Translation
Simon and Levi brethren; their swords instruments of violence.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
Simeon and Levi brethren: vessels of iniquity, waging war.

Catholic Public Domain Version
The brothers Simeon and Levi: vessels of iniquity waging war.

New American Bible
“Simeon and Levi, brothers indeed, weapons of violence are their knives.

New Revised Standard Version
Simeon and Levi are brothers; weapons of violence are their swords.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
Simeon and Levi are brothers; instruments of anger are in their nature.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
Shemon and Levi, brothers, are weapons of rage by their nature.
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
Simeon and Levi are brethren; Weapons of violence their kinship.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
Symeon and Levi, brethren, accomplished the injustice of their cutting off.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Jacob Blesses His Sons
4Uncontrolled as the waters, you will no longer excel, because you went up to your father’s bed, onto my couch, and defiled it. 5Simeon and Levi are brothers; their swords are weapons of violence. 6May I never enter their council; may I never join their assembly. For they kill men in their anger, and hamstring oxen on a whim.…

Cross References
Genesis 34:25-30
Three days later, while they were still in pain, two of Jacob’s sons (Dinah’s brothers Simeon and Levi) took their swords, went into the unsuspecting city, and slaughtered every male. / They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with their swords, took Dinah out of Shechem’s house, and went away. / Jacob’s other sons came upon the slaughter and looted the city, because their sister had been defiled. ...

Joshua 5:2-3
At that time the LORD said to Joshua, “Make flint knives and circumcise the sons of Israel once again.” / So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the sons of Israel at Gibeath-haaraloth.

Judges 9:4-5
So they gave him seventy shekels of silver from the temple of Baal-berith, with which Abimelech hired some worthless and reckless men to follow him. / He went to his father’s house in Ophrah, and on one stone murdered his seventy brothers, the sons of Jerubbaal. But Jotham, the youngest son of Jerubbaal, survived, because he hid himself.

1 Chronicles 7:21-22
Zabad his son, and Shuthelah his son. Ezer and Elead were killed by the natives of Gath, because they went down to steal their livestock. / Their father Ephraim mourned for many days, and his relatives came to comfort him.

1 Chronicles 12:1-2
Now these were the men who came to David at Ziklag, while he was still banished from the presence of Saul son of Kish (they were among the mighty men who helped him in battle; / they were archers using both the right and left hands to sling stones and shoot arrows; and they were Saul’s kinsmen from Benjamin):

2 Samuel 2:18-23
The three sons of Zeruiah were there: Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. Now Asahel was fleet of foot like a wild gazelle, / and he chased Abner, not turning to the right or to the left in his pursuit. / And Abner glanced back and said, “Is that you, Asahel?” “It is,” Asahel replied. ...

2 Samuel 3:30
(Joab and his brother Abishai murdered Abner because he had killed their brother Asahel in the battle at Gibeon.)

1 Kings 2:5-6
Moreover, you know what Joab son of Zeruiah did to me—what he did to Abner son of Ner and Amasa son of Jether, the two commanders of the armies of Israel. He killed them in peacetime to avenge the blood of war. He stained with the blood of war the belt around his waist and the sandals on his feet. / So act according to your wisdom, and do not let his gray head go down to Sheol in peace.

1 Kings 2:32-33
The LORD will bring his bloodshed back upon his own head, for without the knowledge of my father David he struck down two men more righteous and better than he when he put to the sword Abner son of Ner, commander of Israel’s army, and Amasa son of Jether, commander of Judah’s army. / Their blood will come back upon the heads of Joab and his descendants forever; but for David, his descendants, his house, and his throne, there shall be peace from the LORD forever.”

Ezekiel 25:12-14
This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Because Edom acted vengefully against the house of Judah, and in so doing incurred grievous guilt, / therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: I will stretch out My hand against Edom and cut off from it both man and beast. I will make it a wasteland, and from Teman to Dedan they will fall by the sword. / I will take My vengeance on Edom by the hand of My people Israel, and they will deal with Edom according to My anger and wrath. Then they will know My vengeance, declares the Lord GOD.’

Amos 1:11
This is what the LORD says: “For three transgressions of Edom, even four, I will not revoke My judgment, because he pursued his brother with the sword and stifled all compassion; his anger raged continually, and his fury flamed incessantly.

Matthew 10:34-36
Do not assume that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. / For I have come to turn ‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. / A man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’

Luke 22:49-51
Those around Jesus saw what was about to happen and said, “Lord, should we strike with our swords?” / And one of them struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear. / But Jesus answered, “No more of this!” And He touched the man’s ear and healed him.

John 18:10-11
Then Simon Peter drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear. The servant’s name was Malchus. / “Put your sword back in its sheath!” Jesus said to Peter. “Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given Me?”

Acts 7:23-25
When Moses was forty years old, he decided to visit his brothers, the children of Israel. / And when he saw one of them being mistreated, Moses went to his defense and avenged him by striking down the Egyptian who was oppressing him. / He assumed his brothers would understand that God was using him to deliver them, but they did not.


Treasury of Scripture

Simeon and Levi are brothers; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations.

Simeon.

Genesis 29:33,34
And she conceived again, and bare a son; and said, Because the LORD hath heard that I was hated, he hath therefore given me this son also: and she called his name Simeon…

Genesis 34:25-29
And it came to pass on the third day, when they were sore, that two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brethren, took each man his sword, and came upon the city boldly, and slew all the males…

Genesis 46:10,11
And the sons of Simeon; Jemuel, and Jamin, and Ohad, and Jachin, and Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanitish woman…

instruments, etc.

Genesis 34:25-29
And it came to pass on the third day, when they were sore, that two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brethren, took each man his sword, and came upon the city boldly, and slew all the males…

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Cruelty Deceit Designs Espousals Force Habitations Implements Instruments Levi Secret Simeon Swords Violence Weapons
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Cruelty Deceit Designs Espousals Force Habitations Implements Instruments Levi Secret Simeon Swords Violence Weapons
Genesis 49
1. Jacob calls his sons to bless them.
3. Their blessing in particular.
29. He charges them about his burial.
33. He dies.














Simeon and Levi
These two names refer to the second and third sons of Jacob and Leah. In Hebrew, "Simeon" means "hearing," and "Levi" means "joined" or "attached." The mention of their names together highlights their close relationship, not only as siblings but also in their actions and characteristics. Historically, Simeon and Levi are known for their violent response to the defilement of their sister Dinah, as recorded in Genesis 34. This act of vengeance, while demonstrating their loyalty to family, also reveals a propensity for violence that Jacob addresses in this blessing.

are brothers
This phrase emphasizes their kinship and unity in action. In the Hebrew context, brotherhood implies a deep bond and shared purpose. However, in this case, their brotherhood is marred by their collective decision to commit violence. The Bible often uses familial relationships to illustrate spiritual truths, and here, the unity of Simeon and Levi serves as a cautionary tale about the potential for collective sin when brothers or sisters in faith do not hold each other accountable.

their swords
The sword is a symbol of power, authority, and judgment in biblical literature. In the context of Simeon and Levi, their swords represent the means by which they executed their violent retribution. The Hebrew word for sword, "chereb," can also imply destruction or ruin. This imagery serves as a reminder of the destructive potential of unchecked anger and the misuse of power. In a broader spiritual sense, it calls believers to wield their spiritual "swords"—the Word of God—with righteousness and discernment.

are weapons of violence
This phrase starkly characterizes the nature of Simeon and Levi's actions. The Hebrew word for violence, "chamas," conveys a sense of injustice, cruelty, and lawlessness. It is a term often used in the Old Testament to describe the moral corruption that led to God's judgment, such as in the days of Noah. By describing their swords as "weapons of violence," Jacob condemns their actions and warns against the destructive consequences of allowing anger and revenge to dictate one's actions. For the Christian reader, this serves as a call to pursue peace and justice, aligning one's actions with the teachings of Christ, who advocates for love and forgiveness over violence and retribution.

(5) Simeon and Levi are brethren.--That is, they are alike in character and disposition. Despising the feeble Reuben, they seem to have been close friends and allies, and probably tried to exercise a tyrannical authority over their younger brethren, Judah being the only one near them in age.

Their habitations.--This translation is universally abandoned, but there is much difference of opinion as to the real meaning of the word. The most probable explanation is that given by Jerome and Rashi, who render it swords. Apparently it is the Greek word machaera, a knife; and as neither the Hebrews nor the Canaanites were metallurgists, such articlesúwere imported by merchants from Ionia. Long before the days of Jacob, caravans of traders traversed the whole country, and the goods which they brought would carry with them their own foreign names. The sentence, therefore, should be translated, "weapons of violence are their knives." The other meaning given by some competent critics, namely, compacts, if the word could be formed at all from the supposed root, would mean marriage contracts, and this gives no intelligible sense.

Verses 5-7. - Simeon and Levi are brethren (not in parentage alone, but also in their deeds; e.g. their massacre of the Shechemites (Genesis 34:25), to which undoubtedly the next words allude); instruments of cruelty are in their habitations - literally, instruments of violence their מְכֵדֹת, a ἅπαξ λらむだεいぷしろんγがんまμみゅー. which has been variously rendered

(1) their dwellings, or habitations (Kimchi, A. V., Calvin, Ainsworth), in the land of their sojourning (Onkelos), for which, however, there does not seem to be much authority;

(2) their machinations or wicked counsels, deriving from מָכַר, to string together, to take in a net, to ensnare (Nahum 3:4), the cognate Arabic root signifying to deceive or practice stratagems (De Dieu, Schultens, Castelli, Tayler Lewis, and others);

(3) their betrothals, or compacts of marriage, connecting with the same root as the preceding in the sense of "binding together" (Dathius, Clericus, Michaelis, Knobel, Furst, et alii); . . .

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Simeon
שִׁמְע֥וֹן (šim·‘ō·wn)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 8095: Simeon -- a son of Jacob, also his tribe, also an Israelite with a foreign wife

and Levi
וְלֵוִ֖י (wə·lê·wî)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3878: Levi -- a son of Jacob, also the tribe descended from him

are brothers;
אַחִ֑ים (’a·ḥîm)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 251: A brother, )

their swords
מְכֵרֹתֵיהֶֽם׃ (mə·ḵê·rō·ṯê·hem)
Noun - feminine plural construct | third person masculine plural
Strong's 4380: (probably some kind of) weapon

are weapons
כְּלֵ֥י (kə·lê)
Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 3627: Something prepared, any apparatus

of violence.
חָמָ֖ס (ḥā·mās)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 2555: Violence, wrong, by meton, unjust gain


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OT Law: Genesis 49:5 Simeon and Levi are brothers (Gen. Ge Gn)
Genesis 49:4
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