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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. 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.
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,
when Moses commanded us a law,
    as a possession for the assembly of Jacob.
Thus the Lord became king in Jesh′urun,
    when the heads of the people were gathered,
    all the tribes of Israel together.

“Let Reuben live, and not die,
    nor let his men be few.”

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.”

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;
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.”

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 33:2 Gk Syr Vg: Heb them
  2. Deuteronomy 33:2 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain
  3. Deuteronomy 33:3 Gk: Heb peoples
  4. Deuteronomy 33:3 Heb thy
  5. Deuteronomy 33:3 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain
  6. Deuteronomy 33:7 Cn: Heb with his hands he contended
  7. Deuteronomy 33:8 Gk: Heb lacks Give to Levi
  8. Deuteronomy 33:13 Two Heb Mss and Tg: Heb with the dew

Paul Goes to Macedonia and Greece

20 After the uproar ceased, Paul sent for the disciples and having exhorted them took leave of them and departed for Macedo′nia. When he had gone through these parts and had given them much encouragement, he came to Greece. There he spent three months, and when a plot was made against him by the Jews as he was about to set sail for Syria, he determined to return through Macedo′nia. Sop′ater of Beroe′a, the son of Pyrrhus, accompanied him; and of the Thessalo′nians, Aristar′chus and Secun′dus; and Ga′ius of Derbe, and Timothy; and the Asians, Tych′icus and Troph′imus. These went on and were waiting for us at Tro′as, but we sailed away from Philippi after the days of Unleavened Bread, and in five days we came to them at Tro′as, where we stayed for seven days.

Paul’s Farewell Visit to Troas

On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul talked with them, intending to depart on the morrow; and he prolonged his speech until midnight. There were many lights in the upper chamber where we were gathered. And a young man named Eu′tychus was sitting in the window. He sank into a deep sleep as Paul talked still longer; and being overcome by sleep, he fell down from the third story and was taken up dead. 10 But Paul went down and bent over him, and embracing him said, “Do not be alarmed, for his life is in him.” 11 And when Paul had gone up and had broken bread and eaten, he conversed with them a long while, until daybreak, and so departed. 12 And they took the lad away alive, and were not a little comforted.

The Voyage from Troas to Miletus

13 But going ahead to the ship, we set sail for Assos, intending to take Paul aboard there; for so he had arranged, intending himself to go by land. 14 And when he met us at Assos, we took him on board and came to Mityle′ne. 15 And sailing from there we came the following day opposite Chi′os; the next day we touched at Samos; and[a] the day after that we came to Mile′tus. 16 For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus, so that he might not have to spend time in Asia; for he was hastening to be at Jerusalem, if possible, on the day of Pentecost.

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Footnotes

  1. Acts 20:15 Other ancient authorities add after remaining at Trogyllium

Moses’ Death Foretold

48 And the Lord said to Moses that very day, 49 “Ascend this mountain of the Ab′arim, Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, opposite Jericho; and view the land of Canaan, which I give to the people of Israel for a possession; 50 and die on the mountain which you ascend, and be gathered to your people, as Aaron your brother died in Mount Hor and was gathered to his people; 51 because you broke faith with me in the midst of the people of Israel at the waters of Mer′i-bath-ka′desh, in the wilderness of Zin; because you did not revere me as holy in the midst of the people of Israel. 52 For you shall see the land before you; but you shall not go there, into the land which I give to the people of Israel.”

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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, all Naph′tali, the land of E′phraim and Manas′seh, all the land of Judah as far as the western sea, the Negeb, and the Plain, that is, the valley of Jericho the city of palm trees, as far as Zo′ar. 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.” So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord, 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. Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died; his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated. 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.

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.

Paul Speaks to the Ephesian Elders

17 And from Mile′tus he sent to Ephesus and called to him the elders of the church. 18 And when they came to him, he said to them:

“You yourselves know how I lived among you all the time from the first day that I set foot in Asia, 19 serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials which befell me through the plots of the Jews; 20 how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house, 21 testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance to God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. 22 And now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem, bound in the Spirit, not knowing what shall befall me there; 23 except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me. 24 But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may accomplish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. 25 And now, behold, I know that all you among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom will see my face no more. 26 Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all of you, 27 for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God. 28 Take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God[a] which he obtained with the blood of his own Son.[b] 29 I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; 30 and from among your own selves will arise men speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. 31 Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish every one with tears. 32 And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. 33 I coveted no one’s silver or gold or apparel. 34 You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my necessities, and to those who were with me. 35 In all things I have shown you that by so toiling one must help the weak, remembering the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

36 And when he had spoken thus, he knelt down and prayed with them all. 37 And they all wept and embraced Paul and kissed him, 38 sorrowing most of all because of the word he had spoken, that they should see his face no more. And they brought him to the ship.

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Footnotes

  1. Acts 20:28 Other ancient authorities read of the Lord
  2. Acts 20:28 Greek with the blood of his Own or with his own blood

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