Deuteronomy 33

1 This is the blessing with which Moses the man of God blessed the people of Israel before his death.

And this [is] the blessing with which Moses the man of God blessed the children of Israel before his death.

2 He said: Yahweh came from Sinai and rose from Seir upon them. He shined out from Mount Paran, and he came with ten thousands of holy ones. In his right hand were flashes of lightning.

And he said, The Lord is come from Sina, and has appeared from Seir to us, and has hasted out of the mount of Pharan, with the ten thousands of Cades; on his right hand [were] his angels with him.

3 Indeed, he loves the peoples; all his holy ones are in your hand, and they bowed down at your feet; they received your words.

And he spared his people, and all his sanctified ones [are] under thy hands; and they are under thee; and he received of his words

4 Moses commanded us a law, an inheritance for the assembly of Jacob.

the law which Moses charged us, an inheritance to the assemblies of Jacob.

5 Then there was a king in Jeshurun, when the heads of the people had gathered, all the tribes of Israel together.

And he shall be prince with the beloved one, when the princes of the people are gathered together with the tribes of Israel.

6 Let Reuben live and not die, but may his men be few.

Let Ruben live, and not die; and let him be many in number.

7 This is the blessing for Judah. Moses said: Listen, Yahweh, to the voice of Judah, and bring him to his people again. Fight for him; be a help against his enemies.

And this [is the blessing] of Juda; Hear, Lord, the voice of Juda, and do thou visit his people: his hands shall contend for him, and thou shalt be a help from his enemies.

8 About Levi, Moses said: Your Thummim and your Urim belong your loyal one, the one whom you tested at Massah, with whom you struggled at the waters of Meribah.

And to Levi he said, Give to Levi his manifestations, and his truth to the holy man, whom they tempted in the temptation; they reviled him at the water of strife.

9 The man who said about his father and mother, “I have not seen them.” Neither did he acknowledge his brothers, nor did he take account of his own children. For he guarded your word and kept your covenant.

Who says to his father and mother, I have not seen thee; and he knew not his brethren, and he refused to know his sons: he kept thine oracles, and observed thy covenant.

10 He teaches Jacob your decrees and Israel your law. He will put incense before you and whole burnt offerings on your altar.

They shall declare thine ordinances to Jacob, and thy law to Israel: they shall place incense in [the time of] thy wrath continually upon thine altar.

11 Bless, Yahweh, his possessions, and accept the work of his hands. Shatter the loins of those who rise up against him, and those of the people who hate him, so that they do not rise up again.

Bless, Lord, his strength, and accept the works of his hands; break the loins of his enemies that have risen up against him, and let not them that hate him rise up.

12 About Benjamin, Moses said: The one loved by Yahweh lives in security beside him; Yahweh shields him all the day long, and he lives between Yahweh's arms.

And to Benjamin he said, The beloved of the Lord shall dwell in confidence, and God overshadows him always, and he rested between his shoulders.

13 About Joseph, Moses said: May his land be blessed by Yahweh with the precious things of heaven, with the dew, and with the deep that lies beneath.

And to Joseph he said, His land [is] of the blessing of the Lord, of the seasons of sky and dew, and of the deeps of wells below,

14 May his land be blessed with the precious things of the harvest of the sun, with the precious things of the produce of the months,

and of the fruits of the changes of the sun in season, and of the produce of the months,

15 with the finest things of the ancient mountains, and with the precious things of the everlasting hills.

from the top of the ancient mountains, and from the top of the everlasting hills,

16 May his land be blessed with the precious things of the earth and its abundance, and with the good will of him who was in the bush. Let the blessing come on the head of Joseph, and on the top of the head of him who was prince over his brothers.

and of the fullness of the land in season: and let the things pleasing to him that dwelt in the bush come on the head of Joseph, and on the crown [of him who was] glorified above his brethren.

17 The firstborn of an ox, majestic is he, and his horns are the horns of a wild ox. With them he will push the peoples, all of them, to the ends of the earth. These are the ten thousands of Ephraim; these are the thousands of Manasseh.

His beauty [is as] the firstling of his bull, his horns [are] the horns of a unicorn; with them he shall thrust the nations at once, even from the end of the earth: these [are] the ten thousands of Ephraim, and these [are] the thousands of Manasse.

18 About Zebulun, Moses said: Rejoice, Zebulun, in your going out, and you, Issachar, in your tents.

And to Zabulon he said, Rejoice, Zabulon, in thy going out, and Issachar in his tents.

19 They will call the peoples to the mountains. There will they offer sacrifices of righteousness. For they will suck the abundance of the seas, and from the sand on the seashore.

They shall utterly destroy the nations, and ye shall call [men] there, and there offer the sacrifice of righteousness; for the wealth of the sea shall suckle thee, and so shall the marts of them that dwell by the sea-coast.

20 About Gad, Moses said: Blessed be he who enlarges Gad. He will live there like a lioness, and he will tear off an arm or a head.

And to Gad he said, Blessed [be] he that enlarges Gad: as a lion he rested, having broken the arm and the ruler.

21 He provided the best part for himself, for there was the leader's portion of land reserved. He came with the heads of the people. He carried out the justice of Yahweh and his decrees with Israel.

And he saw his first-fruits, that there the land of the princes gathered with the chiefs of the people was divided; the Lord wrought righteousness, and his judgment with Israel.

22 About Dan, Moses said: Dan is a lion cub that leaps out from Bashan.

And to Dan he said, Dan [is] a lion's whelp, and shall leap out of Basan.

23 About Naphtali, Moses said: Naphtali, satisfied with favor, and full of the blessing of Yahweh, take possession of the land to the west and south.

And to Nephthali he said, Nephthali [has] the fulness of good things; and let him be filled with blessing from the Lord: he shall inherit the west and the south.

24 About Asher, Moses said: Blessed be Asher more than the other sons; let him be acceptable to his brothers, and let him dip his foot in olive oil.

And to Aser he said, Aser [is] blessed with children; and he shall be acceptable to his brethren: he shall dip his foot in oil.

25 May your city bars be iron and bronze; as long as will be your days, so long will your security be.

His sandal shall be iron and brass; as thy days, so [shall be] thy strength.

26 There is no one like God, Jeshurun—the upright one, who rides through the heavens to your help, and in his majesty on the clouds.

There is not [any such] as the God of the beloved; he who rides upon the heaven [is] thy helper, and the magnificent One of the firmament.

27 The eternal God is a refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. He thrust out the enemy from before you, and he said, “Destroy!”

And the rule of God shall protect thee, and [that] under the strength of the everlasting arms; and he shall cast forth the enemy from before thy face, saying, Perish.

28 Israel dwelt in safety. Jacob's spring was secure in a land of grain and new wine; indeed, let his heavens drop dew on him.

And Israel shall dwell in confidence alone on the land of Jacob, with corn and wine; and the sky [shall be] misty with dew upon thee.

29 Your blessings are many, Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by Yahweh, the shield of your help, and the sword of your majesty? Your enemies will come trembling to you; you will trample down their high places.

Blessed [art] thou, O Israel; who [is] like to thee, O people saved by the Lord? thy helper shall hold his shield over thee, and [his] sword [is] thy boast; and thine enemies shall speak falsely to thee, and thou shalt tread upon their neck.