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The Blessing of Moses

33 Now this is the blessing with which Moses (A)the man of God blessed the sons of Israel before his death. And he said,

(B)Yahweh came from Sinai,
(C)And He [a]dawned on them from Seir;
(D)He shone forth from Mount Paran,
And He came from (E)the [b]midst of ten thousand holy ones;
(F)At His right hand there was [c]flashing lightning for them.
(G)Indeed, He loves [d]the people;
(H)All [e]Your holy ones are in Your hand,
(I)And they [f]followed in Your steps;
Everyone is bearing up Your words.
(J)Moses commanded us with a law,
(K)A possession for the assembly of Jacob.
(L)And He was king in Jeshurun,
When the heads of the people were gathered,
The tribes of Israel together.

(M)May Reuben live and not die,
Nor his men be few.”

(N)And this regarding Judah; so he said,

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

Of Levi he said,

Let Your (O)Thummim and Your Urim belong to [h]Your (P)holy one,
(Q)Whom You tested at Massah,
[i]With whom You contended at the waters of Meribah;
(R)Who said of his father and his mother,
‘I did not consider them’;
And he did not recognize his brothers,
Nor did he know his own sons,
For (S)they kept Your word,
And they observed Your covenant.
10 (T)They shall [j]teach Your judgments to Jacob,
And Your law to Israel.
(U)They shall put incense [k]before You,
And (V)whole burnt offerings on Your altar.
11 O Yahweh, bless his substance,
And accept the work of his hands;
Crush the loins of those who rise up against him,
And those who hate him, so that they will not rise again.”

12 Of Benjamin he said,

(W)May the beloved of Yahweh dwell in security by Him,
(X)Who shields him all the day,
(Y)And he dwells between His shoulders.”

13 Of Joseph he said,

(Z)Blessed of Yahweh be his land,
With the choice things of heaven, with the dew,
And from the deep lying beneath,
14 And with the choice produce of the sun,
And with the choice yield of the months,
15 And with the [l]best things of (AA)the ancient mountains,
And with the choice things of the everlasting hills,
16 And with the choice things of the earth and its fullness,
And the favor (AB)of Him who dwelt in the bush.
Let it come to the head of Joseph,
And to the top of the head of the one distinguished among his brothers.
17 As the firstborn of his ox, splendor is his,
And his horns are the horns of (AC)the wild ox;
With them he will (AD)push the peoples,
All [m]at once, to the ends of the earth.
And those are the ten thousands of Ephraim,
And those are the thousands of Manasseh.”

18 (AE)Of Zebulun he said,

“Be glad, Zebulun, in your going forth,
And, Issachar, in your tents.
19 (AF)They will call peoples to the mountain;
There they will offer (AG)righteous sacrifices;
For they will [n]draw out (AH)the abundance of the seas,
And the hidden treasures of the sand.”

20 (AI)Of Gad he said,

“Blessed is the one who enlarges Gad;
He lies down (AJ)as a [o]lion,
And tears the arm, also the top of the head.
21 (AK)Then he [p]provided the first part for himself,
(AL)For there the ruler’s portion was [q]reserved;
(AM)And he came with the heads of the people;
(AN)He did the righteousness of Yahweh,
And His judgments with Israel.”

22 (AO)Of Dan he said,

“Dan is (AP)a lion’s whelp,
That leaps forth from Bashan.”

23 Of Naphtali he said,

(AQ)O Naphtali, satisfied with favor,
And full of the blessing of Yahweh,
Take possession of the sea and the south.”

24 (AR)Of Asher he said,

“More blessed than sons is Asher;
May he be favored by his brothers,
(AS)And may he dip his foot in oil.
25 (AT)Your locks will be iron and bronze,
(AU)And according to your days, so your fortitude will be.

26 (AV)There is none like the God of [r]Jeshurun,
(AW)Who rides the heavens [s]to your help,
And through the skies in His majesty.
27 (AX)The eternal God is a [t]dwelling place,
(AY)And underneath are the everlasting arms;
(AZ)And He drove out the enemy from before you,
(BA)And said, ‘Destroy!’
28 (BB)So Israel dwells in security,
(BC)The fountain of Jacob secluded,
(BD)In a land of grain and new wine;
(BE)His heavens also drop down dew.
29 (BF)Blessed are you, O Israel;
(BG)Who is like you, a people saved by Yahweh,
(BH)Who is the shield of your help
(BI)And the sword of your majesty!
(BJ)So your enemies will cower before you,
(BK)And you will tread upon their high places.”

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 33:2 Lit rose to
  2. Deuteronomy 33:2 Lit myriads of holiness
  3. Deuteronomy 33:2 Or a fiery law
  4. Deuteronomy 33:3 Lit peoples
  5. Deuteronomy 33:3 Lit His
  6. Deuteronomy 33:3 Or lie down at Your feet
  7. Deuteronomy 33:7 Lit him
  8. Deuteronomy 33:8 Lit him
  9. Deuteronomy 33:8 Or For
  10. Deuteronomy 33:10 Or instruct
  11. Deuteronomy 33:10 Lit in Your nostrils
  12. Deuteronomy 33:15 Or chief
  13. Deuteronomy 33:17 Or together
  14. Deuteronomy 33:19 Lit suck
  15. Deuteronomy 33:20 Or lioness
  16. Deuteronomy 33:21 Lit saw
  17. Deuteronomy 33:21 Or covered up
  18. Deuteronomy 33:26 A poetic name for Israel, cf. 33:5, 26; Is 44:2
  19. Deuteronomy 33:26 Lit in
  20. Deuteronomy 33:27 Or refuge

33 And this is the blessing, wherewith Moses the man of God blessed the children of Israel before his death. And he said,

Jehovah came from Sinai,
And rose from Seir unto them;
He shined forth from mount Paran,
And he came from the ten thousands of [a]holy ones:
At his right hand [b]was a fiery law for them.
Yea, he loveth the [c]people;
All [d]his saints are in thy hand:
And they sat down at thy feet;
Every one [e]shall receive of thy words.
Moses commanded us a law,
An inheritance for the assembly of Jacob.
And [f]he was king in Jeshurun,
When the heads of the people were gathered,
All the tribes of Israel together.
Let Reuben live, and not die;
[g]Nor let his men be few.

And this is the blessing of Judah: and he said,

Hear, Jehovah, the voice of Judah,
And bring him in unto his people.
[h]With his hands he contended [i]for himself;
And thou shalt be a help against his adversaries.

And of Levi he said,

Thy Thummim and thy Urim are with [j]thy godly one,
Whom thou didst prove at Massah,
With whom thou didst strive at the waters of Meribah;
Who said of his father, and of his mother, I have not seen him;
Neither did he acknowledge his brethren,
Nor knew he his own children:
For they have observed thy word,
And keep thy covenant.
10 They shall teach Jacob thine ordinances,
And Israel thy law:
They shall put incense [k]before thee,
And whole burnt-offering upon thine altar.
11 Bless, Jehovah, his substance,
And accept the work of his hands:
Smite through the loins of them that rise up against him,
And of them that hate him, that they rise not again.

12 Of Benjamin he said,

The beloved of Jehovah shall dwell in safety by him;
He covereth him all the day long,
And he dwelleth between his shoulders.

13 And of Joseph he said,

Blessed of Jehovah be his land,
For the precious things of heaven, for the dew,
And for the deep that coucheth beneath,
14 And for the precious things of the fruits of the sun,
And for the precious things of the growth of the [l]moons,
15 And for the chief things of the ancient mountains,
And for the precious things of the everlasting hills,
16 And for the precious things of the earth and the fulness thereof,
And the good will of him that dwelt in the bush.
Let the blessing come upon the head of Joseph,
And upon the crown of the head of him [m]that was separate from his brethren.
17 [n]The firstling of his herd, majesty is his;
And his horns are the horns of the wild-ox:
With them he shall [o]push the peoples all of them, even 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 peoples unto the mountain;
There shall they offer sacrifices of righteousness:
For they shall suck the abundance of the seas,
And the hidden treasures of the sand.

20 And of Gad he said,

Blessed be he that enlargeth Gad:
He dwelleth as a lioness,
And teareth the arm, yea, the crown of the head.
21 And he [p]provided the first part for himself,
For there was [q]the lawgiver’s portion reserved;
And he came [r]with the heads of the people;
He executed the righteousness of Jehovah,
And his ordinances with Israel.

22 And of Dan he said,

Dan is a lion’s whelp,
That leapeth forth from Bashan.

23 And of Naphtali he said,

O Naphtali, satisfied with favor,
And full with the blessing of Jehovah,
Possess thou the [s]west and the south.

24 And of Asher he said,

Blessed be Asher [t]with children;
Let him be acceptable unto his brethren,
And let him dip his foot in oil.
25 Thy [u]bars shall be iron and brass;
And as thy days, so shall thy [v]strength be.
26 There is none like unto God, O Jeshurun,
Who rideth upon the heavens for thy help,
And in his excellency on the skies.
27 The eternal God is thy dwelling-place,
And underneath are the everlasting arms.
And he thrust out the enemy from before thee,
And said, Destroy.
28 And Israel dwelleth in safety,
The fountain of Jacob alone,
In a land of grain and new wine;
Yea, his heavens drop down dew.
29 Happy art thou, O Israel:
Who is like unto thee, a people saved by Jehovah,
The shield of thy help,
And the sword of thy excellency!
And thine enemies shall [w]submit themselves unto thee;
And thou shalt tread upon their high places.

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 33:2 Hebrew holiness.
  2. Deuteronomy 33:2 Or, was fire, a law. Or, as otherwise read, were streams for them
  3. Deuteronomy 33:3 Or, tribes
  4. Deuteronomy 33:3 Or, their holy ones
  5. Deuteronomy 33:3 Or, received
  6. Deuteronomy 33:5 Or, there was a king
  7. Deuteronomy 33:6 Or, But
  8. Deuteronomy 33:7 Or, Let his hands be sufficient for them
  9. Deuteronomy 33:7 Or, for them
  10. Deuteronomy 33:8 Or, him whom thou lovest
  11. Deuteronomy 33:10 Hebrew in thy nostrils.
  12. Deuteronomy 33:14 Or, months
  13. Deuteronomy 33:16 Or, that is prince among
  14. Deuteronomy 33:17 Or, His firstling bullock
  15. Deuteronomy 33:17 Or, gore
  16. Deuteronomy 33:21 Or, chose. Hebrew saw.
  17. Deuteronomy 33:21 Or, a ruler’s portion
  18. Deuteronomy 33:21 Or, to
  19. Deuteronomy 33:23 Or, sea
  20. Deuteronomy 33:24 Or, above sons
  21. Deuteronomy 33:25 Or, shoes
  22. Deuteronomy 33:25 Or, rest. Or, security
  23. Deuteronomy 33:29 Or, yield feigned obedience