Deuteronomy 33
Complete Jewish Bible
Parashah 54: V’Zot HaBrachah (This is the blessing) 33:1–34:12
33 This is the blessing that Moshe, the man of God, spoke over the people of Isra’el before his death:
2 “Adonai came from Sinai;
from Se‘ir he dawned on his people,
shone forth from Mount Pa’ran;
and with him were myriads of holy ones;
at his right hand
was a fiery law for them.
3 He truly loves the peoples —
all his holy ones are in your hand;
sitting at your feet,
they receive your instruction,
4 the Torah Moshe commanded us
as an inheritance for the community of Ya‘akov.
5 Then a king arose in Yeshurun
when the leaders of the people were gathered,
all the tribes of Isra’el together.
6 “Let Re’uven live and not die out,
even though his numbers grow few.”
7 Of Y’hudah he said:
“Hear, Adonai, the cry of Y’hudah!
Bring him in to his people,
let his own hands defend him;
but you, help him against his enemies.”
(ii) 8 Of Levi he said:
“Let your tumim and urim
be with your pious one,
whom you tested at Massah,
with whom you struggled at M’rivah Spring.
9 Of his father and mother he said, ‘I don’t know them’;
he didn’t acknowledge his brothers or children.
For he observed your word,
and he kept your covenant.
10 They will teach Ya‘akov your rulings,
Isra’el your Torah.
They will set incense before you
and whole burnt offerings on your altar.
11 Adonai, bless his possessions,
accept the work he does;
but crush his enemies hip and thigh;
may those who hate him rise no more.”
12 Of Binyamin he said:
“Adonai’s beloved lives securely.
He protects him day after day.
He lives between his shoulders.”
(iii) 13 Of Yosef he said:
“May Adonai bless his land
with the best from the sky, for the dew,
and for what comes from the deep beneath,
14 with the best of what the sun makes grow,
with the best of what comes up each month,
15 with the best from the mountains of old,
with the best from the eternal hills,
16 with the best from the earth and all that fills it,
and the favor of him who lived in the [burning] bush.
May blessing come on the head of Yosef,
on the brow of the prince among his brothers.
17 His firstborn bull — glory is his;
his horns are those of a wild ox;
With them he will gore the peoples,
all of them, to the ends of the earth.
These are the myriads of Efrayim;
these are the thousands of M’nasheh.”
(iv) 18 Of Z’vulun he said:
“Rejoice, Z’vulun, as you go forth,
and you, Yissakhar, in your tents.
19 They will summon peoples to the mountain
and there offer righteous sacrifices;
for they will draw from the abundance of the seas
and from the hidden treasures of the sand.”
20 Of Gad he said:
“Blessed is he who makes Gad so large;
he lies there like a lion,
tearing arm and scalp.
21 He chose the best for himself
when the princely portion was assigned.
When the leaders of the people came,
he carried out Adonai’s justice
and his rulings concerning Isra’el.”
(v) 22 Of Dan he said:
“Dan is a lion cub
leaping forth from Bashan.”
23 Of Naftali he said:
“You, Naftali, satisfied with favor
and full of blessing from Adonai,
take possession of the sea and the south.”
24 Of Asher he said:
“May Asher be most blessed of sons,
may he be the favorite among his brothers
and bathe his feet in oil.
25 May your bolts be of iron and bronze
and your strength last as long as you live.
26 “Yeshurun, there is no one like God,
riding through the heavens to help you,
riding on the clouds in his majesty.
(vi) 27 The God of old is a dwelling-place,
with everlasting arms beneath.
He expelled the enemy before you
and he said, ‘Destroy!’
28 So Isra’el lives in security;
the fountain of Ya‘akov is alone
in a land of grain and new wine,
where the skies drip with dew.
29 Happy are you, Isra’el!
“Who is like you, a people saved by Adonai,
your defender helping you
and your sword of triumph?
Your enemies will cringe before you,
but you will trample down their high places.”
Deuteronomy 33
Authorized (King James) Version
33 And this is the blessing, wherewith Moses the man of God blessed the children of Israel before his death. 2 And he said,
The Lord came from Sinai,
and rose up from Seir unto them;
he shined forth from mount Paran,
and he came with ten thousands of saints:
from his right hand went a fiery law for them.
3 Yea, he loved the people;
all his saints are in thy hand:
and they sat down at thy feet;
every one shall receive of thy words.
4 Moses commanded us a law,
even the inheritance of the congregation of Jacob.
5 And he was king in Jeshurun,
when the heads of the people
and the tribes of Israel were gathered together.
6 Let Reuben live, and not die;
and let not his men be few.
7 And this is the blessing of Judah: and he said,
Hear, Lord, the voice of Judah,
and bring him unto his people:
let his hands be sufficient for him;
and be thou an help to him from his enemies.
8 And of Levi he said,
Let thy Thummim and thy Urim be with thy holy one,
whom thou didst prove at Massah,
and with whom thou didst strive at the waters of Meribah;
9 who said unto his father and to his mother,
I have not seen him;
neither did he acknowledge his brethren,
nor knew his own children:
for they have observed thy word,
and kept thy covenant.
10 They shall teach Jacob thy judgments,
and Israel thy law:
they shall put incense before thee,
and whole burnt sacrifice upon thine altar.
11 Bless, Lord, his substance,
and accept the work of his hands:
smite through the loins of them that rise against him,
and of them that hate him,
that they rise not again.
12 And of Benjamin he said,
The beloved of the Lord shall dwell in safety by him;
and the Lord shall cover him all the day long,
and he shall dwell between his shoulders.
13 And of Joseph he said,
Blessed of the Lord be his land,
for the precious things of heaven,
for the dew, and for the deep that coucheth beneath,
14 and for the precious fruits brought forth by the sun,
and for the precious things put forth by the moon,
15 and for the chief things of the ancient mountains,
and for the precious things of the lasting hills,
16 and for the precious things of the earth
and fulness thereof,
and for the good will of him that dwelt in the bush:
let the blessing come upon the head of Joseph,
and upon the top of the head of him that was separated from his brethren.
17 His glory is like the firstling of his bullock,
and his horns are like the horns of unicorns:
with them he shall push the people together to the ends of the earth:
and they are the ten thousands of Ephraim,
and they are the thousands of Manasseh.
18 And of Zebulun he said,
Rejoice, Zebulun, in thy going out;
and, Issachar, in thy tents.
19 They shall call the people unto the mountain;
there they shall offer sacrifices of righteousness:
for they shall suck of the abundance of the seas,
and of treasures hid in the sand.
20 And of Gad he said,
Blessed be he that enlargeth Gad:
he dwelleth as a lion,
and teareth the arm with the crown of the head.
21 And he provided the first part for himself,
because there, in a portion of the lawgiver, was he seated;
and he came with the heads of the people,
he executed the justice of the Lord,
and his judgments with Israel.
22 And of Dan he said,
Dan is a lion’s whelp:
he shall leap from Bashan.
23 And of Naphtali he said,
O Naphtali, satisfied with favour,
and full with the blessing of the Lord:
possess thou the west and the south.
24 And of Asher he said,
Let Asher be blessed with children;
let him be acceptable to his brethren,
and let him dip his foot in oil.
25 Thy shoes shall be iron and brass;
and as thy days, so shall thy strength be.
26 There is none like unto the God of Jeshurun,
who rideth upon the heaven in thy help,
and in his excellency on the sky.
27 The eternal God is thy refuge,
and underneath are the everlasting arms:
and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee;
and shall say, Destroy them.
28 Israel then shall dwell in safety alone:
the fountain of Jacob shall be upon a land of corn and wine;
also his heavens shall drop down dew.
29 Happy art thou, O Israel:
who is like unto thee, O people
saved by the Lord, the shield of thy help,
and who is the sword of thy excellency!
and thine enemies shall be found liars unto thee;
and thou shalt tread upon their high places.
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.
KJV reproduced by permission of Cambridge University Press, the Crown’s patentee in the UK.