Deuteronomy 33
New American Standard Bible
The Blessing by Moses
33 Now this is the blessing with which Moses (A)the man of God blessed the sons of Israel before his death. 2 He said,
“(B)The Lord came from Sinai,
(C)And [a]dawned on them from Seir;
(D)He shone from Mount Paran,
And He came from (E)the midst of myriads of [b]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 takes of Your words.
4 (J)Moses issued to us the Law,
(K)A possession for the assembly of Jacob.
5 (L)And He was king in [g]Jeshurun,
When the heads of the people gathered,
The tribes of Israel together.
6 “(M)May Reuben live and not die,
Nor may his people be few.”
7 (N)And this was regarding Judah; so he said:
“Hear, Lord, the voice of Judah,
And bring him to his people.
With his hands he contended for [h]them,
And may You be a help against his adversaries.”
8 Of Levi he said,
“Let Your (O)Thummim and Your Urim belong to Your (P)godly man,
(Q)Whom You tested at Massah,
With [i]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 acknowledge his brothers,
Nor did he regard his own sons,
For (S)they kept Your word,
And complied with Your covenant.
10 (T)They will teach Your ordinances to Jacob,
And Your Law to Israel.
(U)They shall put [j]incense before You,
And (V)whole burnt offerings on Your altar.
11 Lord, bless his strength,
And accept the work of his hands;
Smash the [k]hips of those who rise up against him,
And those who hate him, so that they do not rise again.”
12 Of Benjamin he said,
“(W)May the beloved of the Lord live in security beside Him
(X)Who shields him all the day long,
(Y)And he lives between His shoulders.”
13 Of Joseph he said,
“(Z)Blessed of the Lord be his land,
With the choice things of heaven, with the dew,
And from the deep waters lying beneath,
14 And with the choice yield of the sun,
And the choice produce of the months;
15 And with the [l]best things of (AA)the ancient mountains,
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 who was prince among his brothers.
17 As the firstborn of his ox, majesty is his,
And his horns are the horns of (AC)the wild ox;
With them he will (AD)gore 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,
“Rejoice, Zebulun, in your going out,
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 crown of the head.
21 (AK)Then he [p]selected the choicest part for himself,
(AL)For there the ruler’s portion was [q]reserved;
(AM)And he came with the leaders of the people;
(AN)He executed the justice of the Lord,
And His ordinances with Israel.”
22 (AO)Of Dan he said,
“Dan is (AP)a lion’s cub;
He leaps out from Bashan.”
23 Of Naphtali he said,
“(AQ)Naphtali, satisfied with favor,
And full of the blessing of the Lord,
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 olive oil.
25 (AT)Your [r]bars will be iron and bronze,
(AU)And as your days, so will your strength be.
26 “(AV)There is no one like the God of [s]Jeshurun,
(AW)Who rides the heavens [t]to your help,
And the clouds in His majesty.
27 (AX)The eternal God is a [u]hiding place,
(AY)And underneath are the everlasting arms;
(AZ)And He drove out the enemy from you,
(BA)And said, ‘Destroy!’
28 (BB)So Israel lives in security,
(BC)The fountain of Jacob secluded,
(BD)In a land of grain and new wine;
(BE)His heavens also drip down dew.
29 (BF)Blessed are you, Israel;
(BG)Who is like you, a people saved by the Lord,
(BH)The shield of your help,
(BI)And He who is the sword of your majesty!
(BJ)So your enemies will cringe before you,
(BK)And you will trample on their high places.”
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 33:2 Lit rose to
- Deuteronomy 33:2 Lit 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 33:5 A symbolic name for Israel
- Deuteronomy 33:7 Lit him
- Deuteronomy 33:8 Lit him
- Deuteronomy 33:10 Lit smoke in Your nostrils
- Deuteronomy 33:11 Lit loins
- 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 Lit covered
- Deuteronomy 33:25 I.e., to secure gates
- Deuteronomy 33:26 I.e., Israel
- Deuteronomy 33:26 Lit in
- Deuteronomy 33:27 Or refuge
Deuteronomy 33
New King James Version
Moses’ Final Blessing on Israel
33 Now this is (A)the blessing with which Moses (B)the man of God blessed the children of Israel before his death. 2 And he said:
(C)“The Lord came from Sinai,
And dawned on them from (D)Seir;
He shone forth from (E)Mount Paran,
And He came with (F)ten thousands of saints;
From His right hand
Came a fiery law for them.
3 Yes, (G)He loves the people;
(H)All His saints are in Your hand;
They (I)sit down at Your feet;
Everyone (J)receives Your words.
4 (K)Moses [a]commanded a law for us,
(L)A heritage of the congregation of Jacob.
5 And He was (M)King in (N)Jeshurun,
When the leaders of the people were gathered,
All the tribes of Israel together.
6 “Let (O)Reuben live, and not die,
Nor let his men be few.”
7 And this he said of (P)Judah:
“Hear, Lord, the voice of Judah,
And bring him to his people;
(Q)Let his hands be sufficient for him,
And may You be (R)a help against his enemies.”
8 And of (S)Levi he said:
(T)“Let Your [b]Thummim and Your Urim be with Your holy one,
(U)Whom You tested at Massah,
And with whom You contended at the waters of Meribah,
9 (V)Who says of his father and mother,
‘I have not (W)seen them’;
(X)Nor did he acknowledge his brothers,
Or know his own children;
For (Y)they have observed Your word
And kept Your covenant.
10 (Z)They shall teach Jacob Your judgments,
And Israel Your law.
They shall put incense before You,
(AA)And a whole burnt sacrifice on Your altar.
11 Bless his substance, Lord,
And (AB)accept the work of his hands;
Strike the loins of those who rise against him,
And of those who hate him, that they rise not again.”
12 Of Benjamin he said:
“The beloved of the Lord shall dwell in safety by Him,
Who shelters him all the day long;
And he shall dwell between His shoulders.”
13 And of Joseph he said:
(AC)“Blessed of the Lord is his land,
With the precious things of heaven, with the (AD)dew,
And the deep lying beneath,
14 With the precious fruits of the sun,
With the precious produce of the months,
15 With the best things of (AE)the ancient mountains,
With the precious things (AF)of the everlasting hills,
16 With the precious things of the earth and its fullness,
And the favor of (AG)Him who dwelt in the bush.
Let the blessing come (AH)‘on the head of Joseph,
And on the crown of the head of him who was separate from his brothers.’
17 His glory is like a (AI)firstborn bull,
And his horns like the (AJ)horns of the wild ox;
Together with them
(AK)He shall push the peoples
To the ends of the earth;
(AL)They are the ten thousands of Ephraim,
And they are the thousands of Manasseh.”
18 And of Zebulun he said:
(AM)“Rejoice, Zebulun, in your going out,
And Issachar in your tents!
19 They shall (AN)call the peoples to the mountain;
There (AO)they shall offer sacrifices of righteousness;
For they shall partake of the abundance of the seas
And of treasures hidden in the sand.”
20 And of Gad he said:
“Blessed is he who (AP)enlarges Gad;
He dwells as a lion,
And tears the arm and the crown of his head.
21 (AQ)He provided the first part for himself,
Because a lawgiver’s portion was reserved there.
(AR)He came with the heads of the people;
He administered the justice of the Lord,
And His judgments with Israel.”
22 And of Dan he said:
“Dan is a lion’s whelp;
(AS)He shall leap from Bashan.”
23 And of Naphtali he said:
“O Naphtali, (AT)satisfied with favor,
And full of the blessing of the Lord,
(AU)Possess the west and the south.”
24 And of Asher he said:
(AV)“Asher is most blessed of sons;
Let him be favored by his brothers,
And let him (AW)dip his foot in oil.
25 Your sandals shall be (AX)iron and bronze;
As your days, so shall your strength be.
26 “There is (AY)no one like the God of (AZ)Jeshurun,
(BA)Who rides the heavens to help you,
And in His excellency on the clouds.
27 The eternal God is your (BB)refuge,
And underneath are the everlasting arms;
(BC)He will thrust out the enemy from before you,
And will say, ‘Destroy!’
28 Then (BD)Israel shall dwell in safety,
(BE)The fountain of Jacob (BF)alone,
In a land of grain and new wine;
His (BG)heavens shall also drop dew.
29 (BH)Happy are you, O Israel!
(BI)Who is like you, a people saved by the Lord,
(BJ)The shield of your help
And the sword of your majesty!
Your enemies (BK)shall submit to you,
And (BL)you shall tread down their [c]high places.”
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 33:4 charged us with
- Deuteronomy 33:8 Lit. Perfections and Your Lights
- Deuteronomy 33:29 Places for pagan worship
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
