Deuteronomy 33-34

New American Standard Bible

The Blessing by Moses

33 Now this is the blessing with which Moses ^(A)the man of God blessed the sons of Israel before his death. ²He said,

“^(B)The Lord came from Sinai,
^(C)And ^[a]dawned on them from Seir;
^(D)He shone from Mount Paran,
And He came from ^(E)the midst of myriads of ^[b]holy ones;
^(F)At His right hand there was ^[c]flashing lightning for them.
³^(G)Indeed, He loves ^[d]the people;
^(H)All ^[e]Your holy ones are in Your hand,
^(I)And they ^[f]followed in Your steps;
Everyone takes of Your words.
⁴^(J)Moses issued to us the Law,
^(K)A possession for the assembly of Jacob.
⁵^(L)And He was king in ^[g]Jeshurun,
When the heads of the people gathered,
The tribes of Israel together.

⁶“^(M)May Reuben live and not die,
Nor may his people be few.”

⁷^(N)And this was regarding Judah; so he said:

“Hear, Lord, the voice of Judah,
And bring him to his people.
With his hands he contended for ^[h]them,
And may You be a help against his adversaries.”

⁸Of Levi he said,

“Let Your ^(O)Thummim and Your Urim belong to Your ^(P)godly man,
^(Q)Whom You tested at Massah,
With ^[i]whom You contended at the waters of Meribah;
⁹^(R)Who said of his father and his mother,
‘I did not consider them’;
And he did not acknowledge his brothers,
Nor did he regard his own sons,
For ^(S)they kept Your word,
And complied with Your covenant.
¹⁰^(T)They will teach Your ordinances to Jacob,
And Your Law to Israel.
^(U)They shall put ^[j]incense before You,
And ^(V)whole burnt offerings on Your altar.
¹¹Lord, bless his strength,
And accept the work of his hands;
Smash the ^[k]hips of those who rise up against him,
And those who hate him, so that they do not rise again.”

¹²Of Benjamin he said,

“^(W)May the beloved of the Lord live in security beside Him
^(X)Who shields him all the day long,
^(Y)And he lives between His shoulders.”

¹³Of Joseph he said,

“^(Z)Blessed of the Lord be his land,
With the choice things of heaven, with the dew,
And from the deep waters lying beneath,
¹⁴And with the choice yield of the sun,
And the choice produce of the months;
¹⁵And with the ^[l]best things of ^(AA)the ancient mountains,
With the choice things of the everlasting hills,
¹⁶And with the choice things of the earth and its fullness,
And the favor ^(AB)of Him who dwelt in the bush.
Let it come to the head of Joseph,
And to the top of the head of the one who was prince among his brothers.
¹⁷As the firstborn of his ox, majesty is his,
And his horns are the horns of ^(AC)the wild ox;
With them he will ^(AD)gore the peoples
All ^[m]at once, to the ends of the earth.
And those are the ten thousands of Ephraim,
And those are the thousands of Manasseh.”

¹⁸^(AE)Of Zebulun he said,

“Rejoice, Zebulun, in your going out,
And, Issachar, in your tents.
¹⁹^(AF)They will call peoples to the mountain;
There they will offer ^(AG)righteous sacrifices;
For they will ^[n]draw out ^(AH)the abundance of the seas,
And the hidden treasures of the sand.”

²⁰^(AI)Of Gad he said,

“Blessed is the one who enlarges Gad;
He lies down ^(AJ)as a ^[o]lion,
And tears the arm, also the crown of the head.
²¹^(AK)Then he ^[p]selected the choicest part for himself,
^(AL)For there the ruler’s portion was ^[q]reserved;
^(AM)And he came with the leaders of the people;
^(AN)He executed the justice of the Lord,
And His ordinances with Israel.”

²²^(AO)Of Dan he said,

“Dan is ^(AP)a lion’s cub;
He leaps out from Bashan.”

²³Of Naphtali he said,

“^(AQ)Naphtali, satisfied with favor,
And full of the blessing of the Lord,
Take possession of the sea and the south.”

²⁴^(AR)Of Asher he said,

“More blessed than sons is Asher;
May he be favored by his brothers,
^(AS)And may he dip his foot in olive oil.
²⁵^(AT)Your ^[r]bars will be iron and bronze,
^(AU)And as your days, so will your strength be.

²⁶“^(AV)There is no one like the God of ^[s]Jeshurun,
^(AW)Who rides the heavens ^[t]to your help,
And the clouds in His majesty.
²⁷^(AX)The eternal God is a ^[u]hiding place,
^(AY)And underneath are the everlasting arms;
^(AZ)And He drove out the enemy from you,
^(BA)And said, ‘Destroy!’
²⁸^(BB)So Israel lives in security,
^(BC)The fountain of Jacob secluded,
^(BD)In a land of grain and new wine;
^(BE)His heavens also drip down dew.
²⁹^(BF)Blessed are you, Israel;
^(BG)Who is like you, a people saved by the Lord,
^(BH)The shield of your help,
^(BI)And He who is the sword of your majesty!
^(BJ)So your enemies will cringe before you,
^(BK)And you will trample on their high places.”

The Death of Moses

34 ^(BL)Now Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho. And the Lord ^(BM)showed him all the land, Gilead as far as Dan, ²and all Naphtali and the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah as far as the ^[v]^(BN)western sea, ³and the ^[w]Negev and the territory in the Valley of Jericho, ^(BO)the city of palm trees, as far as Zoar. ⁴Then the Lord said to him, “This is the land which ^(BP)I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it to your ^[x]descendants’; I have let you see it with your eyes, but you will not go over there.” ⁵So Moses ^(BQ)the servant of the Lord ^(BR)died there in the land of Moab, in accordance with the ^[y]word of the Lord. ⁶And He buried him in the valley in the land of Moab, ^(BS)opposite Beth-peor; but ^(BT)no one knows his burial place to this day. ⁷Although Moses was ^(BU)120 years old when he died, ^(BV)his eyesight was not dim, nor had his vigor left him. ⁸So the sons of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab for thirty days; then the days of weeping and mourning for Moses came to an end.

⁹Now Joshua the son of Nun was ^(BW)filled with the spirit of wisdom, because Moses had laid his hands on him; and the sons of Israel listened to him and did as the Lord had commanded Moses. ¹⁰Since that time ^(BX)no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom ^(BY)the Lord knew face to face, ¹¹for all the signs and wonders which the Lord sent him to perform in the land of Egypt against Pharaoh, all his servants, and all his land— ¹²and for all the mighty ^[z]power and all the great terror which Moses performed in the sight of all Israel.

Footnotes

Deuteronomy 33:2 Lit rose to
Deuteronomy 33:2 Lit holiness
Deuteronomy 33:2 Or a fiery law
Deuteronomy 33:3 Lit peoples
Deuteronomy 33:3 Lit His
Deuteronomy 33:3 Or lie down at Your feet
Deuteronomy 33:5 A symbolic name for Israel
Deuteronomy 33:7 Lit him
Deuteronomy 33:8 Lit him
Deuteronomy 33:10 Lit smoke in Your nostrils
Deuteronomy 33:11 Lit loins
Deuteronomy 33:15 Or chief
Deuteronomy 33:17 Or together
Deuteronomy 33:19 Lit suck
Deuteronomy 33:20 Or lioness
Deuteronomy 33:21 Lit saw
Deuteronomy 33:21 Lit covered
Deuteronomy 33:25 I.e., to secure gates
Deuteronomy 33:26 I.e., Israel
Deuteronomy 33:26 Lit in
Deuteronomy 33:27 Or refuge
Deuteronomy 34:2 I.e., Mediterranean Sea
Deuteronomy 34:3 I.e., South country
Deuteronomy 34:4 Lit seed
Deuteronomy 34:5 Lit mouth
Deuteronomy 34:12 Lit hand

Joshua 1-2

New American Standard Bible

God’s Orders to Joshua

1 Now it came about after the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, that the Lord spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ ^[a]servant, saying, ²“Moses ^(A)My servant is dead; so now arise, ^(B)cross this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them, to the sons of Israel. ³^(C)Every place on which the sole of your foot steps, I have given it to you, just as I spoke to Moses. ⁴^(D)From the wilderness and this Lebanon, even as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and as far as the Great Sea toward the setting of the sun will be your territory. ⁵^(E)No one will be able to oppose you all the days of your life. Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you; ^(F)I will not desert you nor abandon you. ⁶^(G)Be strong and courageous, for you shall give this people possession of the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. ⁷Only be strong and very courageous; ^[b]^(H)be careful to do according to all the Law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may ^[c]achieve success wherever you go. ⁸^(I)This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may ^[d]be careful to do according to all that is written in it; ^(J)for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will ^[e]achieve success. ⁹Have I not commanded you? ^(K)Be strong and courageous! ^(L)Do not be terrified nor dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Joshua Assumes Command

¹⁰Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying, ¹¹“Pass through the midst of the camp and command the people, saying, ‘Prepare provisions for yourselves, for within ^(M)three days you are going to cross this Jordan, to go in to take possession of the land which the Lord your God is giving you, to possess it.’”

¹²But ^(N)to the Reubenites, to the Gadites, and to the half-tribe of Manasseh, Joshua ^[f]said, ¹³“Remember the word which Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, saying, ‘^(O)The Lord your God is giving you rest, and will give you this land.’ ¹⁴Your wives, your little ones, and your livestock shall remain in the land which Moses gave you beyond the Jordan, but you shall cross ahead of your brothers in battle formation, all your valiant warriors, and shall help them, ¹⁵until the Lord gives your brothers rest, as He is giving you, and they also possess the land which the Lord your God is giving them. ^(P)Then you may return to ^[g]your own land, and take possession of ^[h]that which Moses ^(Q)the servant of the Lord gave you beyond the Jordan toward the sunrise.”

¹⁶They answered Joshua, saying, “All that you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. ¹⁷Just as we obeyed Moses in all things, so we will obey you; only ^(R)may the Lord your God be with you as He was with Moses. ¹⁸Anyone who rebels against your ^[i]command and does not obey your words in all that you command him, shall be put to death; only be strong and courageous.”

Rahab Shelters Spies

2 Then Joshua the son of Nun sent two men as spies secretly from ^(S)Shittim, saying, “Go, view the land, especially Jericho.” So they went and entered the house of ^(T)a prostitute whose name was Rahab, and rested there. ²But it was told to the king of Jericho, saying, “Behold, men from the sons of Israel have come here tonight to spy out the land.” ³And the king of Jericho sent word to Rahab, saying, “Bring out the men who have come to you, who have entered your house, for they have come to spy out all the land.” ⁴But the ^(U)woman had taken the two men and hidden them, and she said, “Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from. ⁵It came about, when it was time to shut the gate at dark, that the men went out; I do not know where the men went. Pursue them quickly, for you will overtake them.” ⁶But ^(V)she had brought them up to the roof and hidden them in the stalks of flax which she had laid in order on the roof. ⁷So the men pursued them on the road to the Jordan, to the crossing places; and as soon as those who were pursuing them had gone out, they shut the gate.

⁸Now before ^[j]the spies lay down, she came up to them on the roof, ⁹and said to the men, “^(W)I know that the Lord has given you the land, and that the ^(X)terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land have despaired because of you. ¹⁰^(Y)For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the ^[k]Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and ^(Z)what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you ^[l]utterly destroyed. ¹¹When we heard these reports, ^(AA)our hearts melted and no ^[m]courage remained in anyone any longer because of you; for the ^(AB)Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth below. ¹²Now then, please swear to me by the Lord, since I have dealt kindly with you, that you also will deal kindly with my father’s household, and give me a ^(AC)pledge of ^[n]truth, ¹³and ^[o]spare my father and my mother, and my brothers and my sisters, and all who belong to them, and save our ^[p]lives from death.” ¹⁴So the men said to her, “Our ^[q]life ^[r]for yours if you do not tell this business of ours; and it shall come about when the Lord gives us the land that we will ^(AD)deal kindly and ^[s]faithfully with you.”

The Promise to Rahab

¹⁵Then she let them down by a rope through the window, for her house was on the city wall, so that she was living on the wall. ¹⁶And she said to them, “^(AE)Go to the hill country, so that the pursuers will not encounter you, and hide yourselves there for three days until the pursuers return. Then afterward you may go on your way.” ¹⁷And the men said to her, “^(AF)We shall be exempt from this oath ^[t]to you which you have made us swear, ¹⁸^[u]unless, when we come into the land, you tie this cord of scarlet thread in the window through which you let us down, and ^(AG)gather into your house your father, your mother, your brothers, and all your father’s household. ¹⁹And it shall come about that anyone who goes out of the doors of your house outside will have ^[v]his blood on his own head, and we will be innocent; but anyone who is with you in the house, ^(AH)his blood will be on our head if a hand is laid on him. ²⁰But if you tell this business of ours, then we shall be exempt from the oath which you have made us swear.” ²¹She then said, “According to your words, so be it.” So she sent them away, and they departed; and she tied the scarlet cord in the window.

²²So they departed and came to the hill country, and remained there for three days, until the pursuers returned. Now the pursuers had searched for them ^[w]all along the road, but had not found them. ²³Then the two men returned and came down from the hill country, and they crossed over and came to Joshua the son of Nun. Then they reported to him all that had happened to them. ²⁴And they said to Joshua, “The Lord has indeed handed over to us all the land; furthermore, ^(AI)all the inhabitants of the land have despaired because of us.”