Deuteronomy 33-34
Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
Moses’ Final Blessing on Israel
33 This is the blessing with which Moses the man of God blessed the children of Israel before his death. 2 He said,
“The Lord came from Sinai,
and dawned from Se′ir upon us;[a]
he shone forth from Mount Paran,
he came from the ten thousands of holy ones,
with flaming fire[b] at his right hand.
3 Yea, he loved his people;[c]
all those consecrated to him were in his[d] hand;
so they followed[e] in thy steps,
receiving direction from thee,
4 when Moses commanded us a law,
as a possession for the assembly of Jacob.
5 Thus the Lord became king in Jesh′urun,
when the heads of the people were gathered,
all the tribes of Israel together.
6 “Let Reuben live, and not die,
nor let his men be few.”
7 And this he said of Judah:
“Hear, O Lord, the voice of Judah,
and bring him in to his people.
With thy hands contend[f] for him,
and be a help against his adversaries.”
8 And of Levi he said,
“Give to Levi[g] thy Thummim,
and thy Urim to thy godly one,
whom thou didst test at Massah,
with whom thou didst strive at the waters of Mer′ibah;
9 who said of his father and mother,
‘I regard them not’;
he disowned his brothers,
and ignored his children.
For they observed thy word,
and kept thy covenant.
10 They shall teach Jacob thy ordinances,
and Israel thy law;
they shall put incense before thee,
and whole burnt offering upon thy altar.
11 Bless, O Lord, his substance,
and accept the work of his hands;
crush the loins of his adversaries,
of those that hate him, that they rise not again.”
12 Of Benjamin he said,
“The beloved of the Lord,
he dwells in safety by him;
he encompasses him all the day long,
and makes his dwelling between his shoulders.”
13 And of Joseph he said,
“Blessed by the Lord be his land,
with the choicest gifts of heaven above,[h]
and of the deep that couches beneath,
14 with the choicest fruits of the sun,
and the rich yield of the months,
15 with the finest produce of the ancient mountains,
and the abundance of the everlasting hills,
16 with the best gifts of the earth and its fulness,
and the favor of him that dwelt in the bush.
Let these come upon the head of Joseph,
and upon the crown of the head of him that is prince among his brothers.
17 His firstling bull has majesty,
and his horns are the horns of a wild ox;
with them he shall push the peoples,
all of them, to the ends of the earth;
such are the ten thousands of E′phraim,
and such are the thousands of Manas′seh.”
18 And of Zeb′ulun he said,
“Rejoice, Zeb′ulun, in your going out;
and Is′sachar, in your tents.
19 They shall call peoples to their mountain;
there they offer right sacrifices;
for they suck the affluence of the seas
and the hidden treasures of the sand.”
20 And of Gad he said,
“Blessed be he who enlarges Gad!
Gad couches like a lion,
he tears the arm, and the crown of the head.
21 He chose the best of the land for himself,
for there a commander’s portion was reserved;
and he came to the heads of the people,
with Israel he executed the commands
and just decrees of the Lord.”
22 And of Dan he said,
“Dan is a lion’s whelp,
that leaps forth from Bashan.”
23 And of Naph′tali he said,
“O Naph′tali, satisfied with favor,
and full of the blessing of the Lord,
possess the lake and the south.”
24 And of Asher he said,
“Blessed above sons be Asher;
let him be the favorite of his brothers,
and let him dip his foot in oil.
25 Your bars shall be iron and bronze;
and as your days, so shall your strength be.
26 “There is none like God, O Jesh′urun,
who rides through the heavens to your help,
and in his majesty through the skies.
27 The eternal God is your dwelling place,
and underneath are the everlasting arms.
And he thrust out the enemy before you,
and said, Destroy.
28 So Israel dwelt in safety,
the fountain of Jacob alone,
in a land of grain and wine;
yea, his heavens drop down dew.
29 Happy are you, O Israel! Who is like you,
a people saved by the Lord,
the shield of your help,
and the sword of your triumph!
Your enemies shall come fawning to you;
and you shall tread upon their high places.”
Moses Dies and Is Buried in the Land of Moab
34 And Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho. And the Lord showed him all the land, Gilead as far as Dan, 2 all Naph′tali, the land of E′phraim and Manas′seh, all the land of Judah as far as the western sea, 3 the Negeb, and the Plain, that is, the valley of Jericho the city of palm trees, as far as Zo′ar. 4 And the Lord said to him, “This is the land of which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ I have let you see it with your eyes, but you shall not go over there.” 5 So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord, 6 and he buried him in the valley in the land of Moab opposite Beth-pe′or; but no man knows the place of his burial to this day. 7 Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died; his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated. 8 And the people of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days; then the days of weeping and mourning for Moses were ended.
9 And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands upon him; so the people of Israel obeyed him, and did as the Lord had commanded Moses. 10 And there has not arisen a prophet since in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, 11 none like him for all the signs and the wonders which the Lord sent him to do in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to all his land, 12 and for all the mighty power and all the great and terrible deeds which Moses wrought in the sight of all Israel.
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 33:2 Gk Syr Vg: Heb them
- Deuteronomy 33:2 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain
- Deuteronomy 33:3 Gk: Heb peoples
- Deuteronomy 33:3 Heb thy
- Deuteronomy 33:3 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain
- Deuteronomy 33:7 Cn: Heb with his hands he contended
- Deuteronomy 33:8 Gk: Heb lacks Give to Levi
- Deuteronomy 33:13 Two Heb Mss and Tg: Heb with the dew
Psalm 104
Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
God the Creator and Provider
104 [a]Bless the Lord, O my soul!
O Lord my God, thou art very great!
Thou art clothed with honor and majesty,
2 who coverest thyself with light as with a garment,
who hast stretched out the heavens like a tent,
3 who hast laid the beams of thy chambers on the waters,
who makest the clouds thy chariot,
who ridest on the wings of the wind,
4 who makest the winds thy messengers,
fire and flame thy ministers.
5 Thou didst set the earth on its foundations,
so that it should never be shaken.
6 Thou didst cover it with the deep as with a garment;
the waters stood above the mountains.
7 At thy rebuke they fled;
at the sound of thy thunder they took to flight.
8 The mountains rose, the valleys sank down
to the place which thou didst appoint for them.
9 Thou didst set a bound which they should not pass,
so that they might not again cover the earth.
10 Thou makest springs gush forth in the valleys;
they flow between the hills,
11 they give drink to every beast of the field;
the wild asses quench their thirst.
12 By them the birds of the air have their habitation;
they sing among the branches.
13 From thy lofty abode thou waterest the mountains;
the earth is satisfied with the fruit of thy work.
14 Thou dost cause the grass to grow for the cattle,
and plants for man to cultivate,[b]
that he may bring forth food from the earth,
15 and wine to gladden the heart of man,
oil to make his face shine,
and bread to strengthen man’s heart.
16 The trees of the Lord are watered abundantly,
the cedars of Lebanon which he planted.
17 In them the birds build their nests;
the stork has her home in the fir trees.
18 The high mountains are for the wild goats;
the rocks are a refuge for the badgers.
19 Thou hast made the moon to mark the seasons;
the sun knows its time for setting.
20 Thou makest darkness, and it is night,
when all the beasts of the forest creep forth.
21 The young lions roar for their prey,
seeking their food from God.
22 When the sun rises, they get them away
and lie down in their dens.
23 Man goes forth to his work
and to his labor until the evening.
24 O Lord, how manifold are thy works!
In wisdom hast thou made them all;
the earth is full of thy creatures.
25 Yonder is the sea, great and wide,
which teems with things innumerable,
living things both small and great.
26 There go the ships,
and Leviathan which thou didst form to sport in it.
27 These all look to thee,
to give them their food in due season.
28 When thou givest to them, they gather it up;
when thou openest thy hand, they are filled with good things.
29 When thou hidest thy face, they are dismayed;
when thou takest away their breath, they die
and return to their dust.
30 When thou sendest forth thy Spirit,[c] they are created;
and thou renewest the face of the ground.
31 May the glory of the Lord endure for ever,
may the Lord rejoice in his works,
32 who looks on the earth and it trembles,
who touches the mountains and they smoke!
33 I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;
I will sing praise to my God while I have being.
34 May my meditation be pleasing to him,
for I rejoice in the Lord.
35 Let sinners be consumed from the earth,
and let the wicked be no more!
Bless the Lord, O my soul!
Praise the Lord!
Footnotes
- 104 A magnificent hymn of creation, it should be compared with Gen 1. It is remarkably similar to an Egyptian hymn to Aten, the sun god.
- Psalm 104:14 Or fodder for the animals that serve man
- Psalm 104:30 Or breath
1 Thessalonians 3
Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
3 Therefore when we could bear it no longer, we were willing to be left behind at Athens alone, 2 and we sent Timothy, our brother and God’s servant in the gospel of Christ, to establish you in your faith and to exhort you, 3 that no one be moved by these afflictions. You yourselves know that this is to be our lot. 4 For when we were with you, we told you beforehand that we were to suffer affliction; just as it has come to pass, and as you know. 5 For this reason, when I could bear it no longer, I sent that I might know your faith, for fear that somehow the tempter had tempted you and that our labor would be in vain.
Timothy’s Encouraging Report
6 But now that Timothy has come to us from you, and has brought us the good news of your faith and love and reported that you always remember us kindly and long to see us, as we long to see you— 7 for this reason, brethren, in all our distress and affliction we have been comforted about you through your faith; 8 for now we live, if you stand fast in the Lord. 9 For what thanksgiving can we render to God for you, for all the joy which we feel for your sake before our God, 10 praying earnestly night and day that we may see you face to face and supply what is lacking in your faith?
11 Now may our God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus, direct our way to you; 12 and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all men, as we do to you, 13 so that he may establish your hearts unblamable in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.
The Revised Standard Version of the Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1965, 1966 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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