Deuteronomy 33-34
English Standard Version
Moses' Final Blessing on Israel
33 This is the blessing with which Moses (A)the man of God blessed the people of Israel before his death. 2 He said,
(B)“The Lord came from Sinai
and dawned from Seir upon us;[a]
he shone forth from Mount Paran;
he came (C)from the ten thousands of holy ones,
with flaming fire[b] at his right hand.
3 Yes, (D)he loved his people,[c]
(E)all his holy ones were in his[d] hand;
(F)so they followed[e] in your steps,
receiving direction from you,
4 when (G)Moses commanded us a law,
as a possession for the assembly of Jacob.
5 Thus the Lord[f] (H)became king in (I)Jeshurun,
when the heads of the people were gathered,
all the tribes of Israel together.
6 (J)“Let Reuben live, and not die,
but 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 your hands contend[g] for him,
and be a help against his adversaries.”
8 And (K)of Levi he said,
“Give to Levi[h] (L)your Thummim,
and your Urim to your godly one,
(M)whom you tested at Massah,
with whom you quarreled at the waters of Meribah;
9 who said of his father and mother,
‘I regard them not’;
(N)he disowned his brothers
and ignored his children.
For (O)they observed your word
and kept your covenant.
10 (P)They shall teach Jacob your rules
and Israel your law;
(Q)they shall put incense before you
and (R)whole burnt offerings on your altar.
11 Bless, O Lord, his substance,
and (S)accept the work of his hands;
crush the loins of his adversaries,
of those who hate him, that they rise not again.”
12 (T)Of Benjamin he said,
“The beloved of the Lord dwells in safety.
The High God[i] surrounds him all day long,
and dwells between his shoulders.”
13 And (U)of Joseph he said,
(V)“Blessed by the Lord be his land,
with the choicest gifts of heaven (W)above,[j]
and of the deep that crouches 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 (X)the everlasting hills,
16 with the best gifts of the earth and (Y)its fullness
and the favor of (Z)him who dwells in the bush.
May these rest on the head of Joseph,
on the pate of him who is prince among his brothers.
17 (AA)A firstborn bull[k]—he has majesty,
and his horns are the horns of a (AB)wild ox;
with them (AC)he shall gore the peoples,
all of them, to the ends of the earth;
(AD)they are the ten thousands of Ephraim,
and they are the thousands of Manasseh.”
18 And of Zebulun he said,
(AE)“Rejoice, Zebulun, in your going out,
and Issachar, in your tents.
19 They shall call peoples (AF)to their mountain;
there they offer (AG)right sacrifices;
for they draw from the abundance of the seas
and the hidden treasures of the sand.”
20 And (AH)of Gad he said,
“Blessed be he who enlarges Gad!
Gad crouches (AI)like a lion;
he tears off arm and scalp.
21 (AJ)He chose the best of the land for himself,
for there a commander's portion was reserved;
and (AK)he came with the heads of the people,
with Israel he executed the justice of the Lord,
and his judgments for Israel.”
22 And (AL)of Dan he said,
23 And (AO)of Naphtali he said,
“O Naphtali, sated with favor,
and full of the blessing of the Lord,
(AP)possess the lake[l] and the south.”
24 And (AQ)of Asher he said,
“Most blessed of sons be Asher;
let him be the favorite of his brothers,
and let him (AR)dip his foot in oil.
25 Your bars shall be iron and bronze,
and as your days, so shall your strength be.
26 (AS)“There is none like God, O (AT)Jeshurun,
(AU)who rides through the heavens to your help,
through the skies in his majesty.
27 The eternal God is your (AV)dwelling place,[m]
and underneath are the everlasting arms.[n]
And he thrust out the enemy before you
and said, ‘Destroy.’
28 So Israel lived in safety,
(AW)Jacob lived (AX)alone,[o]
in a land of grain and wine,
whose heavens drop down dew.
29 Happy are you, O Israel! (AY)Who is like you,
a people (AZ)saved by the Lord,
(BA)the shield of your help,
and the sword of your triumph!
Your enemies shall come fawning to you,
and you shall tread upon their backs.”
The Death of Moses
34 Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab (BB)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 Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah (BC)as far as the western sea, 3 (BD)the Negeb, and (BE)the Plain, that is, the Valley of Jericho (BF)the city of palm trees, as far as (BG)Zoar. 4 And the Lord said to him, (BH)“This is the land of which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, ‘I will give it to your offspring.’ (BI)I have let you see it with your eyes, but (BJ)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-peor; but (BK)no one knows the place of his burial to this day. 7 (BL)Moses was 120 years old when he died. (BM)His eye was undimmed, and his vigor unabated. 8 And the people of Israel (BN)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 (BO)the spirit of wisdom, for (BP)Moses had laid his hands on him. So (BQ)the people of Israel obeyed him and did as the Lord had commanded Moses. 10 And there has not (BR)arisen a prophet since in Israel like Moses, (BS)whom the Lord knew face to face, 11 none like him for all (BT)the signs and the wonders that 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 deeds of terror that Moses did in the sight of all Israel.
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 33:2 Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate; Hebrew them
- Deuteronomy 33:2 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain
- Deuteronomy 33:3 Septuagint; Hebrew peoples
- Deuteronomy 33:3 Hebrew your
- Deuteronomy 33:3 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain
- Deuteronomy 33:5 Hebrew Thus he
- Deuteronomy 33:7 Probable reading; Hebrew With his hands he contended
- Deuteronomy 33:8 Dead Sea Scroll, Septuagint; Masoretic Text lacks Give to Levi
- Deuteronomy 33:12 Septuagint; Hebrew dwells in safety by him. He
- Deuteronomy 33:13 Two Hebrew manuscripts and Targum; Hebrew with the dew
- Deuteronomy 33:17 Dead Sea Scroll, Septuagint, Samaritan; Masoretic Text His firstborn bull
- Deuteronomy 33:23 Or west
- Deuteronomy 33:27 Or a dwelling place
- Deuteronomy 33:27 Revocalization of verse 27 yields He subdues the ancient gods, and shatters the forces of old
- Deuteronomy 33:28 Hebrew the abode of Jacob was alone
Joshua 1-2
English Standard Version
God Commissions Joshua
1 After the death of Moses the (A)servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' (B)assistant, 2 “Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the people of Israel. 3 (C)Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses. 4 (D)From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun shall be your territory. 5 (E)No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just (F)as I was with Moses, so (G)I will be with you. (H)I will not leave you or forsake you. 6 (I)Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them. 7 Only be strong and (J)very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law (K)that Moses my servant commanded you. (L)Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success[a] wherever you go. 8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but (M)you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. 9 Have I not commanded you? (N)Be strong and courageous. (O)Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
Joshua Assumes Command
10 And Joshua commanded the (P)officers of the people, 11 “Pass through the midst of the camp and command the people, ‘Prepare your provisions, for (Q)within three days (R)you are to pass over this Jordan to go in to take possession of the land that the Lord your God is giving you to possess.’”
12 And to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh Joshua said, 13 “Remember the word that (S)Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, saying, ‘The Lord your God is providing you a place of rest and will give you this land.’ 14 Your wives, your little ones, and your livestock shall remain in the land that Moses gave you beyond the Jordan, but all the men of valor among you shall pass over armed before your brothers and shall help them, 15 (T)until the Lord gives rest to your brothers as he has to you, and they also take possession of the land that the Lord your God is giving them. (U)Then you shall return to the land of your possession and shall possess it, the land that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you beyond the Jordan toward the sunrise.”
16 And they answered Joshua, “All that you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. 17 Just as we obeyed Moses in all things, so we will obey you. Only may the Lord your God (V)be with you, as he was with Moses! 18 Whoever rebels against your commandment and disobeys your words, whatever you command him, shall be put to death. (W)Only be strong and courageous.”
Rahab Hides the Spies
2 And Joshua the son of Nun (X)sent[b] two men secretly from Shittim as spies, saying, “Go, view the land, especially Jericho.” And they went and came into the house of (Y)a prostitute whose name was (Z)Rahab and lodged there. 2 And it was told to the king of Jericho, “Behold, men of Israel have come here tonight to search out the land.” 3 Then the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying, “Bring out the men who have come to you, who entered your house, for they have come to search out all the land.” 4 But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. And she said, “True, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from. 5 And when the gate was about to be closed at dark, the men went out. I do not know where the men went. Pursue them quickly, for you will overtake them.” 6 But she had brought them up to the roof and hid them with the stalks of flax that she had laid in order on the roof. 7 So the men pursued after them on the way to the Jordan (AA)as far as the fords. And the gate was shut as soon as the pursuers had gone out.
8 Before the men[c] lay down, she came up to them on the roof 9 and said to the men, “I know that the Lord has given you the land, (AB)and that the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land (AC)melt away before you. 10 For we have heard how the Lord (AD)dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and (AE)what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to (AF)Sihon and Og, whom you devoted to destruction.[d] 11 And (AG)as soon as we heard it, (AH)our hearts melted, and there was no spirit left in any man because of you, for (AI)the Lord your God, he is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath. 12 Now then, please swear to me by the Lord that, as I have dealt kindly with you, you also will deal kindly with my father's house, and (AJ)give me a sure sign 13 that you will save alive my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them, and deliver our lives from death.” 14 And the men said to her, “Our life for yours even to death! If you do not tell this business of ours, then when the Lord gives us the land (AK)we will deal kindly and faithfully with you.”
15 Then she (AL)let them down by a rope through the window, for her house was built into the city wall, so that she lived in the wall. 16 And she said[e] to them, “Go into the hills, or the pursuers will encounter you, and hide there three days until the pursuers have returned. Then afterward you may go your way.” 17 The men said to her, “We will be guiltless with respect to this oath of yours that you have made us swear. 18 (AM)Behold, when we come into the land, you shall tie this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, (AN)and you shall gather into your house your father and mother, your brothers, and all your father's household. 19 Then if anyone goes out of the doors of your house into the street, (AO)his blood shall be on his own head, and we shall be guiltless. But if a hand is laid on anyone who is with you in the house, his blood shall be on our head. 20 But if you (AP)tell this business of ours, then we shall be guiltless with respect to your oath that you have made us swear.” 21 And she said, “According to your words, so be it.” Then she sent them away, and they departed. And she tied the scarlet cord in the window.
22 They departed and went into the hills and remained there three days until the pursuers returned, and the pursuers searched all along the way and found nothing. 23 Then the two men returned. They came down from the hills and (AQ)passed over and came to Joshua the son of Nun, and they told him all that had happened to them. 24 And they said to Joshua, “Truly (AR)the Lord has given all the land into our hands. And also, all the inhabitants of the land (AS)melt away because of us.”
Footnotes
- Joshua 1:7 Or may act wisely
- Joshua 2:1 Or had sent
- Joshua 2:8 Hebrew they
- Joshua 2:10 That is, set apart (devoted) as an offering to the Lord (for destruction)
- Joshua 2:16 Or had said
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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