Deuteronomy 33
New Living Translation
Moses Blesses the People
33 This is the blessing that Moses, the man of God, gave to the people of Israel before his death:
2 “The Lord came from Mount Sinai
and dawned upon us[a] from Mount Seir;
he shone forth from Mount Paran
and came from Meribah-kadesh
with flaming fire at his right hand.[b]
3 Indeed, he loves his people;[c]
all his holy ones are in his hands.
They follow in his steps
and accept his teaching.
4 Moses gave us the Lord’s instruction,
the special possession of the people of Israel.[d]
5 The Lord became king in Israel[e]—
when the leaders of the people assembled,
when the tribes of Israel gathered as one.”
6 Moses said this about the tribe of Reuben:[f]
“Let the tribe of Reuben live and not die out,
though they are few in number.”
7 Moses said this about the tribe of Judah:
“O Lord, hear the cry of Judah
and bring them together as a people.
Give them strength to defend their cause;
help them against their enemies!”
8 Moses said this about the tribe of Levi:
“O Lord, you have given your Thummim and Urim—the sacred lots—
to your faithful servants the Levites.[g]
You put them to the test at Massah
and struggled with them at the waters of Meribah.
9 The Levites obeyed your word
and guarded your covenant.
They were more loyal to you
than to their own parents.
They ignored their relatives
and did not acknowledge their own children.
10 They teach your regulations to Jacob;
they give your instructions to Israel.
They present incense before you
and offer whole burnt offerings on the altar.
11 Bless the ministry of the Levites, O Lord,
and accept all the work of their hands.
Hit their enemies where it hurts the most;
strike down their foes so they never rise again.”
12 Moses said this about the tribe of Benjamin:
“The people of Benjamin are loved by the Lord
and live in safety beside him.
He surrounds them continuously
and preserves them from every harm.”
13 Moses said this about the tribes of Joseph:
“May their land be blessed by the Lord
with the precious gift of dew from the heavens
and water from beneath the earth;
14 with the rich fruit that grows in the sun,
and the rich harvest produced each month;
15 with the finest crops of the ancient mountains,
and the abundance from the everlasting hills;
16 with the best gifts of the earth and its bounty,
and the favor of the one who appeared in the burning bush.
May these blessings rest on Joseph’s head,
crowning the brow of the prince among his brothers.
17 Joseph has the majesty of a young bull;
he has the horns of a wild ox.
He will gore distant nations,
even to the ends of the earth.
This is my blessing for the multitudes of Ephraim
and the thousands of Manasseh.”
18 Moses said this about the tribes of Zebulun and Issachar[h]:
“May the people of Zebulun prosper in their travels.
May the people of Issachar prosper at home in their tents.
19 They summon the people to the mountain
to offer proper sacrifices there.
They benefit from the riches of the sea
and the hidden treasures in the sand.”
20 Moses said this about the tribe of Gad:
“Blessed is the one who enlarges Gad’s territory!
Gad is poised there like a lion
to tear off an arm or a head.
21 The people of Gad took the best land for themselves;
a leader’s share was assigned to them.
When the leaders of the people were assembled,
they carried out the Lord’s justice
and obeyed his regulations for Israel.”
22 Moses said this about the tribe of Dan:
“Dan is a lion’s cub,
leaping out from Bashan.”
23 Moses said this about the tribe of Naphtali:
“O Naphtali, you are rich in favor
and full of the Lord’s blessings;
may you possess the west and the south.”
24 Moses said this about the tribe of Asher:
“May Asher be blessed above other sons;
may he be esteemed by his brothers;
may he bathe his feet in olive oil.
25 May the bolts of your gates be of iron and bronze;
may you be secure all your days.”
26 “There is no one like the God of Israel.[i]
He rides across the heavens to help you,
across the skies in majestic splendor.
27 The eternal God is your refuge,
and his everlasting arms are under you.
He drives out the enemy before you;
he cries out, ‘Destroy them!’
28 So Israel will live in safety,
prosperous Jacob in security,
in a land of grain and new wine,
while the heavens drop down dew.
29 How blessed you are, O Israel!
Who else is like you, a people saved by the Lord?
He is your protecting shield
and your triumphant sword!
Your enemies will cringe before you,
and you will stomp on their backs!”
Footnotes
- 33:2a As in Greek and Syriac versions; Hebrew reads upon them.
- 33:2b Or came from myriads of holy ones, from the south, from his mountain slopes. The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
- 33:3 As in Greek version; Hebrew reads Indeed, lover of the peoples.
- 33:4 Hebrew of Jacob. The names “Jacob” and “Israel” are often interchanged throughout the Old Testament, referring sometimes to the individual patriarch and sometimes to the nation.
- 33:5 Hebrew in Jeshurun, a term of endearment for Israel.
- 33:6 Hebrew lacks Moses said this about the tribe of Reuben.
- 33:8 As in Greek version; Hebrew lacks the Levites.
- 33:18 Hebrew lacks and Issachar.
- 33:26 Hebrew of Jeshurun, a term of endearment for Israel.
Deuteronomy 33
Common English Bible
The fourth heading: Moses’ blessing
33 This is the blessing that Moses the man of God gave the Israelites before he died. 2 He said:
The Lord came from Sinai:
from Seir he shone like the dawn on us,[a]
from Paran Mountain he beamed down.
Thousands of holy ones were with him;[b]
his warriors were next to him, ready.[c]
3 Yes, those who love[d] the nations—
all his holy ones—were at your command;
they followed your footsteps;
they got moving when you said so.
4 Moses gave the Instruction to us—
it’s the prized possession of Jacob’s assembly.
5 A king came to rule in Jeshurun,
when the people’s leaders gathered together,
when Israel’s tribes were one.
6 “I pray that Reuben lives, doesn’t die,
though his numbers are so few.”
7 Moses said this to Judah:
“Lord, listen to Judah’s voice!
Bring him back to his own people,
strengthen his hands;[e]
be his help against every enemy.”
8 Then he told Levi:
“Give your Thummim to Levi,[f]
your Urim to your faithful one—
the one you tested at Massah,
the one you challenged by Meribah’s waters;
9 the one who said of his own mother and father:
‘I don’t consider them as such’;
of their siblings: ‘I don’t recognize them’;
of their own children, ‘I don’t know them’—
but who obeyed your words
and who guarded your covenant!
10 They teach your case laws to Jacob,
your Instruction to Israel.
They hold sweet incense to your nose;
put the entirely burned offering on your altar.
11 I pray that the Lord blesses Levi’s strength,
favors his hard work,
and crushes the insides of his enemies
so that those who hate him can’t fight anymore.”
12 He said to Benjamin:
“The Lord’s dearest one
rests safely on him.
The Lord always shields him;
he rests on God’s chest.”
13 Then he told Joseph:
“I pray that his land is blessed by God:
with heaven’s gifts from above,[g]
with the deep waters stretching out underneath;
14 with the gifts produced by the sun,
with the gifts generated by the moon;[h]
15 with the best fruit from ancient mountains,
with the gifts of eternal hills;
16 with the gifts of the earth and all that fills it,
and the favor of the one who lives on Sinai.[i]
I pray that all these rest on Joseph’s head,
on the crown of that prince among brothers.
17 A firstborn bull[j]—that’s how majestic he is!
A wild ox’s horns—those are his horns!
With them he gores all peoples
completely, to the far ends of the earth!
His horns[k] are Ephraim’s tens of thousands.
His horns are Manasseh’s thousands.”
18 Then he told Zebulun:
“Zebulun: celebrate when you are out and about;
Issachar: celebrate when you are at home in your tents!
19 They call all sorts of people to the mountain,
where they offer right sacrifices.
It’s true: They’re nourished on the sea’s abundance;
they are nourished on buried treasures in the sand.”
20 Then he told Gad:
“May Gad’s broad lands[l] be blessed!
He lives like a lion:
he rips an arm, even a head!
21 He chose the best part for himself
because there, where the commander’s portion was,
the leaders of the people gathered together.[m]
Gad executed the Lord’s justice
and the Lord’s judgments for Israel.”[n]
22 Then he told Dan:
“Dan is a lion cub.
He jumps up from Bashan.”
23 Then he told Naphtali:
“Naphtali—you are full of favor,
overflowing with the Lord’s blessing—
go possess the west and the south!”
24 Finally, he told Asher:
“Asher is the most blessed of sons.
I pray that he’s his brothers’ favorite—
one who dips his foot in fine oil.
25 I pray that your dead bolts are iron and copper,
and that your strength lasts all your days.”[o]
26 Jeshurun! No one compares to God!
He rides through heaven to help you,
rides majestically through the clouds.
27 The most ancient God is a place of safety;[p]
the eternal arms are a support.[q]
He drove out the enemy before you.
He commanded: “Destroy them!”
28 So Israel now lives in safety—
Jacob’s residence[r] is secure—
in a land full of grain and wine,
where the heavens drip dew.
29 Happy are you, Israel! Who is like you?
You are a people saved by the Lord!
He’s the shield that helps you,
your majestic sword!
Your enemies will come crawling on their knees to you,
but you will stomp on their backs![s]
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 33:2 Correcting with LXX, Vulg, Syr, Tg Onkelos (see 33:4); MT and Sam on them
- Deuteronomy 33:2 Correction; cf LXX, Sam, Syr, Vulg; MT he came from Ribeboth-kodesh
- Deuteronomy 33:2 LXX angels; Heb uncertain
- Deuteronomy 33:3 Correction; MT lover of
- Deuteronomy 33:7 Or with his hands he contended
- Deuteronomy 33:8 DSS (4QDeuth, 4QTest) and LXX; MT lacks Give to Levi.
- Deuteronomy 33:13 Or from the dew
- Deuteronomy 33:14 Or moons or months
- Deuteronomy 33:16 Or lives in a bush
- Deuteronomy 33:17 Sam, LXX, Vulg; DSS (4QDeuth) and Heb the oldest offspring of his bull
- Deuteronomy 33:17 Or they; also in the next line
- Deuteronomy 33:20 Or the one who makes Gad large
- Deuteronomy 33:21 Cf LXX; MT there the commander’s portion was reserved; he came at the front of the people or there was the portion of the respected commander; the people’s leaders came.
- Deuteronomy 33:21 Heb uncertain
- Deuteronomy 33:25 Heb uncertain
- Deuteronomy 33:27 Or He humiliates the oldest gods.
- Deuteronomy 33:27 Or He shatters the most ancient forces.
- Deuteronomy 33:28 Or fountain
- Deuteronomy 33:29 Or their shrines
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Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible