Deuteronomy 33
Legacy Standard Bible
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. 2 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.
3 (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.
4 (J)Moses commanded us with a law,
(K)A possession for the assembly of Jacob.
5 (L)And He was king in Jeshurun,
When the heads of the people were gathered,
The tribes of Israel together.
6 “(M)May Reuben live and not die,
Nor his men be few.”
7 (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.”
8 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;
9 (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
- Deuteronomy 33:2 Lit rose to
- Deuteronomy 33:2 Lit myriads of holiness
- Deuteronomy 33:2 Or a fiery law
- Deuteronomy 33:3 Lit peoples
- Deuteronomy 33:3 Lit His
- Deuteronomy 33:3 Or lie down at Your feet
- Deuteronomy 33:7 Lit him
- Deuteronomy 33:8 Lit him
- Deuteronomy 33:8 Or For
- Deuteronomy 33:10 Or instruct
- Deuteronomy 33:10 Lit in Your nostrils
- Deuteronomy 33:15 Or chief
- Deuteronomy 33:17 Or together
- Deuteronomy 33:19 Lit suck
- Deuteronomy 33:20 Or lioness
- Deuteronomy 33:21 Lit saw
- Deuteronomy 33:21 Or covered up
- Deuteronomy 33:26 A poetic name for Israel, cf. 33:5, 26; Is 44:2
- Deuteronomy 33:26 Lit in
- Deuteronomy 33:27 Or refuge
Deuteronomy 33
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Moses’ Blessings
33 This is the blessing that Moses, the man of God, gave the Israelites before his death.(A) 2 He said:
The Lord came from Sinai
and appeared to them from Seir;
He shone on them from Mount Paran
and came with ten thousand holy ones,[a]
with lightning[b] from His right hand[c] for them.(B)
3 Indeed He loves the people.[d](C)
All Your[e] holy ones[f] are in Your hand,
and they assemble[g] at Your feet.
Each receives Your words.
4 Moses gave us instruction,
a possession for the assembly of Jacob.
5 So He became King in Jeshurun[h]
when the leaders of the people gathered
with the tribes of Israel.
6 Let Reuben live and not die
though his people become few.(D)
7 He said this about Judah:
Lord, hear Judah’s cry and bring him to his people.
He fights for his cause[i] with his own hands,
but may You be a help against his foes.
8 He said about Levi:
Your Thummim and Urim belong to Your faithful one;[j]
You tested him at Massah
and contended with him at the waters of Meribah.(E)
9 He said about his father and mother,
“I do not regard them.”
He disregarded his brothers
and didn’t acknowledge his sons,
for they kept Your word
and maintained Your covenant.(F)
10 They will teach Your ordinances to Jacob
and Your instruction to Israel;(G)
they will set incense before You
and whole burnt offerings on Your altar.
11 Lord, bless his possessions,[k]
and accept the work of his hands.
Smash the loins of his adversaries and enemies,
so that they cannot rise again.
12 He said about Benjamin:
The Lord’s beloved rests[l] securely on Him.
He[m] shields him all day long,
and he rests on His shoulders.[n]
13 He said about Joseph:
May his land be blessed by the Lord
with the dew of heaven’s bounty
and the watery depths that lie beneath;(H)
14 with the bountiful harvest from the sun
and the abundant yield of the seasons;
15 with the best products of the ancient mountains
and the bounty of the eternal hills;
16 with the choice gifts of the land
and everything in it;
and with the favor of Him
who appeared[o] in the burning bush.(I)
May these rest on the head of Joseph,
on the crown of the prince of his brothers.(J)
17 His firstborn bull has[p] splendor,
and horns like[q] those of a wild ox;
he gores all the peoples with them
to the ends of the earth.
Such are the ten thousands of Ephraim,
and such are the thousands of Manasseh.
18 He said about Zebulun:
Rejoice, Zebulun, in your journeys,
and Issachar, in your tents.
19 They summon the peoples to a mountain;
there they offer acceptable sacrifices.
For they draw from the wealth of the seas
and the hidden treasures of the sand.(K)
20 He said about Gad:
The one who enlarges Gad’s territory
will be blessed.
He lies down like a lion
and tears off an arm or even a head.(L)
21 He chose the best part for himself,
because a ruler’s portion was assigned there for him.
He came with the leaders of the people;
he carried out the Lord’s justice
and His ordinances for Israel.(M)
22 He said about Dan:
Dan is a young lion,
leaping out of Bashan.(N)
23 He said about Naphtali:
Naphtali, enjoying approval,
full of the Lord’s blessing,
take[r] possession to the west and the south.
24 He said about Asher:
May Asher[s] be the most blessed of the sons;
may he be the most favored among his brothers
and dip his foot in olive oil.[t](O)
25 May the bolts of your gate be iron and bronze,
and your strength last as long as you live.
26 There is none like the God of Jeshurun,[u]
who rides the heavens to your aid,
the clouds in His majesty.(P)
27 The God of old is your dwelling place,(Q)
and underneath are the everlasting arms.
He drives out the enemy before you
and commands, “Destroy!”
28 So Israel dwells securely;
Jacob lives untroubled[v](R)
in a land of grain and new wine;
even his skies drip with dew.(S)
29 How happy you are, Israel!
Who is like you,
a people saved by the Lord?
He is the shield that protects you,
the sword you boast in.
Your enemies will cringe before you,(T)
and you will tread on their backs.[w](U)
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 33:2 LXX reads Mount Paran with ten thousands from Kadesh
- Deuteronomy 33:2 Or fiery law; Hb obscure
- Deuteronomy 33:2 Or ones, from His southland to the mountain slopes
- Deuteronomy 33:3 Or peoples
- Deuteronomy 33:3 Lit His, or its
- Deuteronomy 33:3 Either the saints of Israel or angels
- Deuteronomy 33:3 Hb obscure
- Deuteronomy 33:5 = Upright One, referring to Israel
- Deuteronomy 33:7 Or He contends for them
- Deuteronomy 33:8 DSS, LXX read Give to Levi Your Thummim, Your Urim to Your favored one
- Deuteronomy 33:11 Or abilities
- Deuteronomy 33:12 Or Let the Lord’s beloved rest
- Deuteronomy 33:12 LXX reads The Most High
- Deuteronomy 33:12 Or and He dwells among his mountain slopes
- Deuteronomy 33:16 Lit dwelt
- Deuteronomy 33:17 Some DSS, Sam, LXX, Syr, Vg read A firstborn bull—he has
- Deuteronomy 33:17 Lit and his horns are
- Deuteronomy 33:23 Sam, LXX, Syr, Vg, Tg read he will take
- Deuteronomy 33:24 = Happy or Blessed; Gn 30:13
- Deuteronomy 33:24 A symbol for prosperity
- Deuteronomy 33:26 = Upright One, referring to Israel
- Deuteronomy 33:28 Text emended; MT reads Jacob’s fountain is alone
- Deuteronomy 33:29 Or high places
Legacy Standard Bible Copyright ©2021 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org For Permission to Quote Information visit https://www.LSBible.org.
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.