Deuteronomy 33
The Voice
33 Before he died, Moses, the man of God, blessed the people of Israel with this blessing.
The Lord has “called Israel His own” in the way that cities and territories in the ancient world are named after those who have explored, settled, or conquered them. It is understood that the person whose name is attached to a place will have continuing interests there, such as preventing anyone else from taking the crops, oppressing the people, and so forth. The Lord’s name is literally “over” the people of Israel, providing shelter and protection. Anyone who wants to harass them has to answer to Him, so His great reputation will keep them safe from marauders. If they are trusting and obedient, they will be protected from spiritual dangers and attacks by the power and reputation of the One who has called them by His own name.
2 Moses: The Eternal came from Mount Sinai:
He glowed like the dawn over Mount Seir;
He shone like the sun over Mount Paran;
He arose in the middle of His chosen ones, gathered in their tens of thousands.
The law was a flame in His right hand.[a]
3 Truly He loves His people;
all Your chosen ones are in Your hand.
They gathered at Your feet and received Your words.
4 Moses gave us a law to keep;
it will always belong to the people of Jacob.
5 When all their leaders gathered and the Israelite tribes came together,
the Eternal became king of Jeshurun—
6 Let Reuben live and not die,
and let not his people be few.
7 Moses said this about Judah:
Moses: Listen, Eternal, to the voice of Judah,
and bring him back to his people safely.
He defends himself with his own hands;
help him against his enemies!
8 About Levi he said,
Moses: Your Thummim and Urim belong to your loyal servant,
the man you tested at Massah and had a dispute with at Meribah about the water.
9 When the Levites carry out the law,
they don’t give special treatment to their fathers or mothers
Or favor their relatives or recognize their children.
They obey Your word and keep Your covenant.
10 They teach Jacob Your rules;
they teach Israel Your law.
They set incense before You
and offer burnt sacrifices on Your altar.
11 Bless Levi with strength, Eternal,
and accept the service he offers You.
Crush the loins of those who hate him and attack him,
so they’ll never attack them again!
12 About Benjamin he said,
Moses: The Eternal’s beloved rests safely next to Him,
protected all through the day,
resting between His shoulders.
13 About Joseph he said,
Moses: May his land be blessed by the Eternal
with the best the sky has to offer—abundant rains—
and with the dew and the waters that lie below the ground.
14 May it be blessed with the best the sun can produce
and the best crops of each month,
15 With the best that grows on the ancient mountains
and the everlasting hills,
16 With the best the land has to offer
when it’s filled with good things,
And most of all may it be blessed
with the favor of the One who appeared in the burning bush.
Let all these blessings rest on Joseph’s head,
on the head of this prince among his brothers.
17 He’s majestic, like a firstborn bull;
he has powerful horns, as does a wild ox.
With them he will gore the nations, driving them away to the ends of the earth.
This is the power of Ephraim’s ten thousands,
of Manasseh’s thousands of troops.
18 About Zebulun and Issachar he said,
Moses: Rejoice, Zebulun, as you go out to sea,
and rejoice, Issachar, in your tents!
19 They call peoples to the mountain
where they offer right sacrifices;
Because they feast on the abundance of the sea,
and they profit from the hidden treasures of the sand.
20 About Gad he said,
Moses: Blessed is the one who expands Gad’s territory!
He lives there like a lioness,
tearing at the arm and the top of the head.
21 He chose the best for himself;
a commander’s portion was hidden for him there, east of the Jordan.
He came at the head of the army to help the other tribes conquer their land.
He carried out the righteousness of what the Eternal said was to happen,
What was right, and carried out His decrees with the rest of Israel.
22 About Dan he said,
Moses: Dan is a lion’s cub,
leaping up from Bashan.
23 About Naphtali he said,
Moses: Naphtali, you’re satisfied with favor and filled with the Eternal’s blessing.
Take possession of the Sea of Galilee and the land on its western and southern shores.
24 About Asher he said,
Moses: Asher is the most blessed of Israel’s sons;
may he be the favorite of his brothers!
May the olive trees in his land produce so abundantly
that he’ll be wading in olive oil!
25 May the bolts of your gates be iron and bronze,
and may you have the strength you need for every day.
In Hebrew this expression, “There is no god like God,” makes an extremely strong statement. God is one of a kind.
26 There is no god like the God of Jeshurun—
the God of the upright ones of Israel—
Who comes across the sky to rescue you,
riding on the clouds in His majesty.
27 The Eternal God is your shelter;
He holds you up in His everlasting arms.
He chased away your enemies ahead of you,
shouting to you, “Destroy them!”
28 Now Israel lives in safety;
Jacob’s spring is isolated
In a land of grain and new wine
where dew falls from the sky.
29 How happy you are, Israel! Who is like you?
You’re the people the Eternal has saved.
He’s the shield that protects you
and the sword that brings you pride.
Your enemies will cringe and surrender before you,
and you’ll stamp out their high places of worship into the ground.
Footnotes
- 33:2 Meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
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
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