Deuteronomy 33
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.”
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
Deuteronomy 33
Lexham English Bible
Blessings of Moses on Israel
33 Now[a] this is the blessing with which Moses, the man of God, blessed the Israelites[b] before[c] his death.
2 Then[d] he said,
“Yahweh came from Sinai,
and he dawned upon them from Seir;
he shone forth from Mount Paran,
and he came with myriads of holy ones,
at his right hand a fiery law for them.[e]
3 Moreover,[f] he loves his people,[g]
all the holy ones were in your hand,
and they bowed down to[h] your feet,
each one accepted directions from you.[i]
4 A law Moses instructed for us,
as a possession for the assembly of Jacob.
5 And then a king arose in Jeshurun,
at the gathering of the leaders of the people,
united were the tribes of Israel.[j]
6 “May Reuben live, and may he not die,
and let his number not be few.”[k]
7 And he said this of Judah,[l]
“Hear, O Yahweh, the voice of Judah,
and bring him to his people;
his own hands strive[m] for him,
and may you be a help against[n] his foes.”
8 And of Levi he said,
“Your Thummim and your Urim
are for your faithful one,[o]
whom you tested at Massah;[p]
you contended with him
at the waters of Meribah.
9 The one saying of his father and of his mother,
‘I have not regarded them,’
and his brothers he did not acknowledge,
and his children[q] he did not know,
but rather they observed your word,
and your covenant they kept.
10 They taught[r] your regulations to Jacob,
and your law to Israel;
they placed incense smoke before you,[s]
and whole burnt offerings on your altar.
11 Bless, O Yahweh, his substance,
and with the work of his hands you must be pleased;
smite the loins of those who attack him,
and those hating him, so that they cannot arise.”[t]
12 Of Benjamin he said,
“The beloved of Yahweh dwells securely,[u]
the Most High[v] shields all around him,
all the day,
and between his shoulders he dwells.”
13 And of Joseph he said,
“Blessed by Yahweh is his land,
with[w] the choice things of heaven,
with[x] dew, and with[y] the deep lying down beneath,
14 and with[z] the choice things of the fruits[aa] of the the sun,
and with the choice things of the yield of the seasons,[ab]
15 and with[ac] the finest things of the ancient mountains,
and with[ad] the choice things of the eternal hills,[ae]
16 and with[af] the choice things of the earth and its fullness,
and the favor of the one who dwelt[ag] in the bush.[ah]
Let them come to the head of Joseph,
and to the crown of the prince among his brothers.
17 As the firstborn of his ox, majesty belongs to him,[ai]
and his horns are the horns of a wild ox;
with them he drives people together,[aj]
and they are the myriads of Ephraim,
and they are the thousands of Manasseh.”
18 And of Zebulun he said,
“Rejoice, Zebulun, in your going out,
and rejoice, Issachar, in your tents;
19 They summon people to the mountains;[ak]
there they sacrifice the sacrifices of righteousness,
because the affluence of the seas they suck out,
and the most hidden treasures of the sand.”[al]
20 And of Gad he said,
“Blessed be the one who enlarges Gad;[am]
like a lion he dwells,
and he tears an arm as well as a scalp.
21 And he selected[an] the best part for himself, [ao]
for there the portion of a ruler is included,
and he came with the heads of the people;[ap]
he did[aq] the righteousness of Yahweh,
and his regulations for Israel.”
22 And of Dan he said,
“Dan is a cub of a lion;
he leaps from Bashan.”[ar]
23 And of Naphtali, he said,
“Oh, Naphtali, sated of favor,
and full of the blessing of Yahweh;
take possession of the lake,
and the land to the south.”
24 And of Asher he said,
“Blessed more than sons[as] is Asher;
may he be the favorite[at] of his brothers,
dipping his feet in the oil.[au]
25 Your bars are[av] iron and bronze,
and as your days, so is[aw] your strength.”
26 “There is no one like God, O, Jeshurun,
who rides through the heavens to your help,
and with his majesty through the skies.
27 The God of ancient time[ax] is a hiding place,
and underneath are the arms of eternity,[ay]
and he drove out from before[az] you your enemy,
and he said, ‘Destroy them!’
28 So Israel dwells alone and carefree,
the spring of Jacob in a land of grain and wine;
his heavens even drip dew.
29 Blessed are you, O Israel.
Who is like you, a people who is saved by Yahweh,
the shield of your help,
and who is the sword of your triumph,
and your enemies, they shall fawn before you,[ba]
and you shall tread on their backs.”
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 33:1 Or “And”
- Deuteronomy 33:1 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Deuteronomy 33:1 Literally “to the face of”
- Deuteronomy 33:2 Or “And”
- Deuteronomy 33:2 This pointing of the MT is very difficult; here HALOT 93 suggests “fire a law for them” as a translation of the compound Hebrew word made up of “fire” + “law,” which I render as “a fiery law”
- Deuteronomy 33:3 Or “Indeed”
- Deuteronomy 33:3 Literally “a lover of peoples”
- Deuteronomy 33:3 Or “at”
- Deuteronomy 33:3 Literally “he takes up from your words”
- Deuteronomy 33:5 Literally “together the tribes of Israel”
- Deuteronomy 33:6 Literally “let he be his people of number”
- Deuteronomy 33:7 Literally “and this concerning/to Judah, and he said”
- Deuteronomy 33:7 Or “is/are great” on his behalf
- Deuteronomy 33:7 Literally “from”
- Deuteronomy 33:8 Literally “man, your faithful one”
- Deuteronomy 33:8 Literally “whom you tested him at Massah”
- Deuteronomy 33:9 Or “sons”
- Deuteronomy 33:10 Or “teach/will teach”
- Deuteronomy 33:10 Literally “in your nose”
- Deuteronomy 33:11 Literally “so that not they stand up”
- Deuteronomy 33:12 Literally “in confidence”
- Deuteronomy 33:12 This is the most likely reading in context (Most High God). Literally the Hebrew text reads “upon him,” so the NASV translates the first line as: dwell in security “by him”
- Deuteronomy 33:13 Hebrew “from”
- Deuteronomy 33:13 Hebrew “from”
- Deuteronomy 33:13 Hebrew “from”
- Deuteronomy 33:14 Hebrew “from”
- Deuteronomy 33:14 Or “produce of”
- Deuteronomy 33:14 Literally “months”
- Deuteronomy 33:15 Hebrew “from”
- Deuteronomy 33:15 Hebrew “from”
- Deuteronomy 33:15 Literally “the hills of eternity never ending ages”
- Deuteronomy 33:16 Hebrew “from”
- Deuteronomy 33:16 Literally “dwells” but context puts the event into the past; literally “dweller of the bush”
- Deuteronomy 33:16 Some scholars suggest that this expression must be read as: on Sinai
- Deuteronomy 33:17 Literally “is for him”
- Deuteronomy 33:17 Or “all at once” (NASB)
- Deuteronomy 33:19 Hebrew “mountain”
- Deuteronomy 33:19 Literally “the covered of the hidden of the sand”
- Deuteronomy 33:20 Literally “the enlarger of Gad”
- Deuteronomy 33:21 Or “provided”
- Deuteronomy 33:21 Hebrew “for him”
- Deuteronomy 33:21 Or possibly, “the heads of the people came/assembled” (compare NEB)
- Deuteronomy 33:21 Or “worked”
- Deuteronomy 33:22 Hebrew “the Bashan,” referring to a well-known geographical and agricultural area
- Deuteronomy 33:24 Literally “blessed from/of sons is” features the comparative use the Hebrew preposition min, “than”
- Deuteronomy 33:24 Literally “may he be favored”
- Deuteronomy 33:24 Literally “and dipping in the oil his feet”
- Deuteronomy 33:25 Or “will be”
- Deuteronomy 33:25 Or “so will be/may be”
- Deuteronomy 33:27 Literally “before/earlier times”
- Deuteronomy 33:27 Or “everlasting ages” or “everlasting arms”
- Deuteronomy 33:27 Literally “from your face”
- Deuteronomy 33:29 Hebrew “to you”
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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