Deuteronomy 33

1 This is the blessing, wherewith the man of God Moses blessed the children of Israel, before his death.

Now, this, is the blessing wherewith Moses, the man of God, blessed the sons of Israel, —before his death.

2 And he said: The Lord came from Sinai, and from Seir he rose up to us: he hath appeared from mount Pharan, and with him thousands of saints. In his right hand a fiery law.

And he said—Yahweh from Sinai, came near, —Yea he dawned, out of Seir, upon them, He shone forth out of Mount Paran, Yea he came out of holy myriads, —Out of his right hand [proceeded] fire to guide them.

3 He hath loved the people, all the saints are in his hand: and they that approach to his feet, shall receive of his doctrine.

Yea he loved the tribes, All his holy ones, were in thy hand, —Yea, they, were encamped at thy feet, Each one bare away some of thy words.

4 Moses commanded us a law, the inheritance of the multitude of Jacob.

A law, did Moses command us, —A possession, for the convocation of Jacob.

5 He shall be king with the most right, the princes of the people being assembled with the tribes of Israel.

Thus became he in, Jeshurun, a king, —When the heads of the people gathered them-selves together, As one man, the tribes of Israel. [Reuben] —

6 Let Ruben live, and not die, and be he small in number.

Let Reuben live and not die, —Nor his men be easily counted.

7 This is the blessing of Juda. Hear, O Lord, the voice of Juda, and bring him in unto his people: his hands shall fight for him, and he shall be his helper against his enemies.

And, this, is for Judah, when he said, Hear, O Yahweh, the voice of Judah, That unto his own people, thou wouldst bring him home, —Let, his own hands, suffice him, And, a helper from his adversaries, do thou become.

8 To Levi also he said: Thy perfection, and thy doctrine be to thy holy man, whom thou hast proved in the temptation, and judged at the waters of contradiction:

And of Levi, he said: Let, thy perfections and thy lights, belong unto thy man of lovingkindness, —Whom thou didst put to the proof at Massah, With whom thou didst contend over the waters of Meribah;

9 Who hath said to his father, and to his mother: I do not know you; and to his brethren: I know you not: and their own children they have not known. These have kept thy word, and observed thy covenant,

Who saith of his father and of his mother, I behold them not, And, his own brethren, regardeth he not, And, his own sons, observeth he not, —Because they watch thy speech, That, thy covenant, they may preserve;

10 Thy judgments, O Jacob, and thy law, O Israel: they shall put incense in thy wrath and holocaust upon thy altar.

May teach thy regulations unto Jacob, And thy law unto Israel, —May put incense in thy nostrils, And a whole-offering upon thine altar.

11 Bless, O Lord, his strength, and receive the works of his hands. Strike the backs of his enemies, and let not them that hate him rise.

Bless, O Yahweh his substance, And with the work of his hands, wilt thou be well pleased, —Crush thou the loins of them who rise up against him, And of them who hate him, that they rise not again.

12 And to Benjamin he said: The best beloved of the Lord shall dwell confidently in him: as in a bride chamber shall he abide all the day long, and between his shoulders shall be rest.

Of Benjamin, he said, The beloved of Yahweh, shall settle down securely, —With one to throw a shade over him all the day long, Yea, between his shoulders, hath he found rest.

13 To Joseph also he said: Of the blessing of the Lord be his land, of the fruits of heaven, and of the dew, and of the deep that lieth beneath.

And of Joseph, he said, Blessed of Yahweh, be his land, —With the precious things of the heavens with the dew, And with the abyss, couching beneath;

14 Of the fruits brought forth by the sun and by the moon.

And with the precious fruits of the sun, —And with the precious yield of the moons;

15 Of the tops of the ancient mountains, of the fruits of the everlasting hills:

And with the chief of the ancient mountains, —And with the precious things of the age-abiding hills;

16 And of the fruits of the earth, and of the fulness thereof. The blessing of him that appeared in the bush, come upon the head of Joseph, and upon the crown of the Nazarite among his brethren.

And with the precious things of the earth and its fulness, And with the goodwill of One who dwelt in a thorn-bush.—Let it come on the head of Joseph, And on the crown of the head of him who was consecrated among his brethren.

17 His beauty as of the firstling of a bullock, his horns as the horns of a rhinoceros: with them shall he push the nations even to the ends of the earth These are the multitudes of Ephraim and these the thousands of Manasses.

His firstborn ox, be an honour to him. And the horns of a buffalo, be his horns, With them, let him thrust, peoples, All at once, to the ends of the earth, —Yea, [with] these, the myriads of Ephraim, And, [with] those, the thousands of Manasseh.

18 And to Zabulon he said: Rejoice, O Zabulon, in thy going out; and Issachar in thy tabernacles.

And, of Zebulun, he said, Rejoice, Zebulun in thy going out, —And [thou], Issachar in thy tents:

19 They shall call the people to the mountain: there shall they sacrifice the victims of justice. Who shall suck as milk the abundance of the sea, and the hidden treasures of the sands.

The peoples, unto the mountain, will they call, There, will they offer the sacrifices of righteousness, —For, the abundance of the seas, will they suck, Hidden treasures of the sand.

20 And to Gad he said: Blessed be Gad in his breadth: he hath rested as a lion, and hath seized upon the arm and the top of the head.

And, of Gad, he said: Blessed, be he that hath made room for Gad, —As a lioness, hath he laid himself down, And hath torn an arm likewise the crown of the head;

21 And he saw his pre-eminence, that in his portion the teacher was laid up: who was with the princes of the people, and did the justices of the Lord, and his judgment with Israel.

And hath provided a first part for himself, For, there, a commander’s portion hath been hid, —So he cometh with the heads of the people, The righteousness of Yahweh, he executeth, And his regulations, with Israel.

22 To Dan also he said: Dan is a young lion, he shall flow plentifully from Basan.

And, of Dan, he said, Dan, is a lion’s whelp, —He leapeth out of Bashan.

23 And to Nephtali he said: Nephtali shall enjoy abundance, and shall be full of the blessings of the Lord: he shall possess the sea and the south.

And, of Naphtali, he said, O Naphtali! satisfied with favour, And full with the blessing of Yahweh, —The west and the sunny south, do thou possess.

24 To Aser also he said: Let Aser be blessed with children, let him be acceptable to his brethren, and let him dip his foot in oil.

And, of Asher, he said, Most blessed of sons, be Asher, —Let him have the goodwill of his brethren, And let him dip, in oil, his foot:

25 His shoe shall be iron and brass. As the days of thy youth, so also shall thy old age be.

Iron and bronze, be thy sandals, And, as thy days, be thy strength.

26 There is no other God like the God of the rightest: he that is mounted upon the heaven is thy helper. By his magnificence the clouds run hither and thither.

There is none like GOD, O Jeshurun, —Riding upon the heavens to thy help, —And for his own majesty, on the skies;

27 His dwelling is above, and underneath are the everlasting arms: he shall cast out the enemy from before thee, and shall say: Be thou brought to nought.

Above, is the God of aforetime, And, beneath, are the Arms of the ages, —So he driveth before thee the foe, And doth say—Destroy!

28 Israel shall dwell in safety, and alone. The eye of Jacob in a land of corn and wine, and the heavens shall be misty with dew.

Thus hath Israel settled down securely, Alone, the fountain of Jacob, Within a land both of corn and new wine, —His heaven also droppeth down dew.

29 Blessed are thou, Israel: who is like to thee, O people, that art saved by the Lord? the shield of thy help, and the sword of thy glory: thy enemies shall deny thee, and thou shalt tread upon their necks.

How happy art thou, O Israel! Who is like unto thee, O people victorious in Yahweh? Thy helpful shield, who also is thy majestic sword, —So that thy foes come cringing unto thee, And, thou, upon their heights, dost march along.