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
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.
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