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. 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.
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.
(K)Moses [a]commanded a law for us,
(L)A heritage of the congregation of Jacob.
And He was (M)King in (N)Jeshurun,
When the leaders of the people were gathered,
All the tribes of Israel together.

“Let (O)Reuben live, and not die,
Nor let his men be few.”

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.”

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,
(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.”

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Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 33:4 charged us with
  2. Deuteronomy 33:8 Lit. Perfections and Your Lights
  3. Deuteronomy 33:29 Places for pagan worship

33 And this is the blessing, wherewith Moses the man of God blessed the children of Israel before his death. And he said,

Jehovah came from Sinai,
And rose from Seir unto them;
He shined forth from mount Paran,
And he came from the ten thousands of [a]holy ones:
At his right hand [b]was a fiery law for them.
Yea, he loveth the [c]people;
All [d]his saints are in thy hand:
And they sat down at thy feet;
Every one [e]shall receive of thy words.
Moses commanded us a law,
An inheritance for the assembly of Jacob.
And [f]he was king in Jeshurun,
When the heads of the people were gathered,
All the tribes of Israel together.
Let Reuben live, and not die;
[g]Nor let his men be few.

And this is the blessing of Judah: and he said,

Hear, Jehovah, the voice of Judah,
And bring him in unto his people.
[h]With his hands he contended [i]for himself;
And thou shalt be a help against his adversaries.

And of Levi he said,

Thy Thummim and thy Urim are with [j]thy godly one,
Whom thou didst prove at Massah,
With whom thou didst strive at the waters of Meribah;
Who said of his father, and of his mother, I have not seen him;
Neither did he acknowledge his brethren,
Nor knew he his own children:
For they have observed thy word,
And keep thy covenant.
10 They shall teach Jacob thine ordinances,
And Israel thy law:
They shall put incense [k]before thee,
And whole burnt-offering upon thine altar.
11 Bless, Jehovah, his substance,
And accept the work of his hands:
Smite through the loins of them that rise up against him,
And of them that hate him, that they rise not again.

12 Of Benjamin he said,

The beloved of Jehovah shall dwell in safety by him;
He covereth him all the day long,
And he dwelleth between his shoulders.

13 And of Joseph he said,

Blessed of Jehovah be his land,
For the precious things of heaven, for the dew,
And for the deep that coucheth beneath,
14 And for the precious things of the fruits of the sun,
And for the precious things of the growth of the [l]moons,
15 And for the chief things of the ancient mountains,
And for the precious things of the everlasting hills,
16 And for the precious things of the earth and the fulness thereof,
And the good will of him that dwelt in the bush.
Let the blessing come upon the head of Joseph,
And upon the crown of the head of him [m]that was separate from his brethren.
17 [n]The firstling of his herd, majesty is his;
And his horns are the horns of the wild-ox:
With them he shall [o]push the peoples all of them, even the ends of the earth:
And they are the ten thousands of Ephraim,
And they are the thousands of Manasseh.

18 And of Zebulun he said,

Rejoice, Zebulun, in thy going out;
And, Issachar, in thy tents.
19 They shall call the peoples unto the mountain;
There shall they offer sacrifices of righteousness:
For they shall suck the abundance of the seas,
And the hidden treasures of the sand.

20 And of Gad he said,

Blessed be he that enlargeth Gad:
He dwelleth as a lioness,
And teareth the arm, yea, the crown of the head.
21 And he [p]provided the first part for himself,
For there was [q]the lawgiver’s portion reserved;
And he came [r]with the heads of the people;
He executed the righteousness of Jehovah,
And his ordinances with Israel.

22 And of Dan he said,

Dan is a lion’s whelp,
That leapeth forth from Bashan.

23 And of Naphtali he said,

O Naphtali, satisfied with favor,
And full with the blessing of Jehovah,
Possess thou the [s]west and the south.

24 And of Asher he said,

Blessed be Asher [t]with children;
Let him be acceptable unto his brethren,
And let him dip his foot in oil.
25 Thy [u]bars shall be iron and brass;
And as thy days, so shall thy [v]strength be.
26 There is none like unto God, O Jeshurun,
Who rideth upon the heavens for thy help,
And in his excellency on the skies.
27 The eternal God is thy dwelling-place,
And underneath are the everlasting arms.
And he thrust out the enemy from before thee,
And said, Destroy.
28 And Israel dwelleth in safety,
The fountain of Jacob alone,
In a land of grain and new wine;
Yea, his heavens drop down dew.
29 Happy art thou, O Israel:
Who is like unto thee, a people saved by Jehovah,
The shield of thy help,
And the sword of thy excellency!
And thine enemies shall [w]submit themselves unto thee;
And thou shalt tread upon their high places.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 33:2 Hebrew holiness.
  2. Deuteronomy 33:2 Or, was fire, a law. Or, as otherwise read, were streams for them
  3. Deuteronomy 33:3 Or, tribes
  4. Deuteronomy 33:3 Or, their holy ones
  5. Deuteronomy 33:3 Or, received
  6. Deuteronomy 33:5 Or, there was a king
  7. Deuteronomy 33:6 Or, But
  8. Deuteronomy 33:7 Or, Let his hands be sufficient for them
  9. Deuteronomy 33:7 Or, for them
  10. Deuteronomy 33:8 Or, him whom thou lovest
  11. Deuteronomy 33:10 Hebrew in thy nostrils.
  12. Deuteronomy 33:14 Or, months
  13. Deuteronomy 33:16 Or, that is prince among
  14. Deuteronomy 33:17 Or, His firstling bullock
  15. Deuteronomy 33:17 Or, gore
  16. Deuteronomy 33:21 Or, chose. Hebrew saw.
  17. Deuteronomy 33:21 Or, a ruler’s portion
  18. Deuteronomy 33:21 Or, to
  19. Deuteronomy 33:23 Or, sea
  20. Deuteronomy 33:24 Or, above sons
  21. Deuteronomy 33:25 Or, shoes
  22. Deuteronomy 33:25 Or, rest. Or, security
  23. Deuteronomy 33:29 Or, yield feigned obedience