Deuteronomy 33:5-7

Amplified Bible

⁵
“The Lord was King in Jeshurun (Israel),
When the heads of the people were gathered,
The tribes of Israel together.

⁶
“May [the tribe of] Reuben live and not die out,
^[a]But let his men be few.”

⁷And [Moses said] this of ^[b]Judah:

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

Deuteronomy 33:6 Or Nor. The Hebrew can be taken either way, though the parallelism of thought slightly favors “nor let.” However, some argue for the wording “but let” due to the fact that Reuben had committed the grave offense of fornication with Bilhah, his father’s concubine (Gen 49:3, 4; also see note Gen 22:24). It is maintained that Moses’ blessing for Reuben is somewhat mixed, asking that the tribe not become extinct, but that it always be few in number.
Deuteronomy 33:7 The tribe of Judah later absorbed the tribe of Simeon (Josh 19:1-9), therefore, a specific blessing for Simeon is omitted from this passage.

Deuteronomy 33:5-7

New International Version

⁵He was king^(A) over Jeshurun^[a]^(B)
when the leaders of the people assembled,
along with the tribes of Israel.

⁶“Let Reuben live and not die,
nor^[b] his people be few.”^(C)

⁷And this he said about Judah:^(D)

“Hear, Lord, the cry of Judah;
bring him to his people.
With his own hands he defends his cause.
Oh, be his help against his foes!”

Deuteronomy 33:5 Jeshurun means the upright one, that is, Israel; also in verse 26.
Deuteronomy 33:6 Or but let

Amplified Bible (AMP)

New International Version (NIV)