Deuteronomy 33

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

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

2 And he said: “The Lord went forth from Sinai, and he arose for us from Seir. He appeared from Mount Paran, and thousands of holy ones were with him. The fiery law was in his right hand.

And he said, The LORD came from Sinai, And rose from Seir unto them; He shined forth from mount Paran, And he came from the ten thousands of holy ones: At his right hand was a fiery law unto them.

3 He loved the people; all the holy ones are in his hand. And those who approach his feet shall receive from his doctrine.

Yea, he loveth the peoples; All his saints are in thy hand: And they sat down at thy feet; [Every one] shall receive of thy words.

4 Moses instructed us in the law, the inheritance of the multitude of Jacob.

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

5 The king shall have great righteousness, at the gathering of the princes of the people with the tribes of Israel.

And he was king in Jeshurun, When the heads of the people were gathered, All the tribes of Israel together.

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

Let Reuben live, and not die; Yet let his men be few.

7 This is the blessing of Judah. “Hear, O Lord, the voice of Judah, and lead him to his people. His hands shall fight for him, and he shall be his helper against his adversaries.”

And this is [the blessing] of Judah: and he said, Hear, LORD, the voice of Judah, And bring him in unto his people: With his hands he contended for himself; And thou shalt be an help against his adversaries.

8 Likewise, to Levi he said: “Your perfection and your doctrine are for your holy man, whom you have proven by temptation, and whom you have judged at the Waters of Contradiction.

And of Levi he said, Thy Thummim and thy Urim are with thy godly one, Whom thou didst prove at Massah, With whom thou didst strive at the waters of Meribah;

9 He has said to his father and to his mother, ‘I do not know you,’ and to his brothers, ‘I will disregard you.’ And they have not known their own sons. Such as these have kept your word and have observed your covenant:

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 your judgments, O Jacob, and your law, O Israel. They shall place incense before your fury and a holocaust upon your altar.

They shall teach Jacob thy judgments, And Israel thy law: They shall put incense before thee, And whole burnt offering upon thine altar.

11 O Lord, bless his strength, and receive the works of his hands. Strike the backs of his enemies, and do not let those who hate him rise up.”

Bless, LORD, 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 And to Benjamin he said: “The most beloved of the Lord will live confidently in him. He shall remain all day long, as if in a bridal chamber, and he shall rest amid her arms.”

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

13 Likewise, to Joseph he said: “His land shall be from the blessing of the Lord, from the fruits of heaven, and from the dew, and from the abyss which lies below,

And of Joseph he said, Blessed of the LORD be his land; For the precious things of heaven, for the dew, And for the deep that coucheth beneath,

14 from the fruits of the crops under the sun and the moon,

And for the precious things of the fruits of the sun, And for the precious things of the growth of the moons,

15 from the heights of the ancient mountains, from the fruits of the everlasting hills,

And for the chief things of the ancient mountains, And for the precious things of the everlasting hills,

16 and from the fruits of the earth with all its plenitude. May the blessing of him who appeared in the bush, settle upon the head of Joseph, and upon the top of the head of the Nazarite among his brothers.

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 that was separate from his brethren.

17 His excellence is like that of a first-born bull. His horns are like the horns of a rhinoceros; he shall brandish these against the Gentiles, even to the ends of the earth. These are the multitudes of Ephraim, and these the thousands of Manasseh.”

The firstling of his bullock, majesty is his; And his horns are the horns of the wild-ox: With them he shall 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 to Zebulun he said: “Rejoice, O Zebulun, in your departure, and Issachar, in your tabernacles.

And of Zebulun he said, Rejoice, Zebulun, in thy going out; And, Issachar, in thy tents.

19 They shall summon the peoples to the mountain. There, they shall immolate the victims of justice, who feed on the flood of the sea, as if on milk, and on the hidden treasures of the sands.”

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 to Gad he said: “Blessed is Gad in his breadth. He has rested like a lion, and he has seized the arm and the top of the head.

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 has seen his own pre-eminence, which his teacher has stored up as his portion. He was with the princes of the people, and he accomplished the justices of the Lord, and his judgment with Israel.”

And he provided the first part for himself, For there was the lawgiver’s portion reserved; And he came [with] the heads of the people, He executed the justice of the LORD, And his judgments with Israel.

22 Likewise, to Dan he said: “Dan is a young lion. He shall flow plentifully from Bashan.”

And of Dan he said, Dan is a lion’s whelp, That leapeth forth from Bashan.

23 And to Naphtali he said: “Naphtali shall enjoy abundance, and he shall be full of the blessings of the Lord. He shall possess the sea and the Meridian.”

And of Naphtali he said, O Naphtali, satisfied with favour, And full with the blessing of the LORD: Possess thou the west and the south.

24 Likewise, to Asher he said: “Let Asher be blessed with sons. Let him be pleasing to his brothers, and let him dip his foot in oil.

And of Asher he said, Blessed be Asher with children; Let him be acceptable unto his brethren, And let him dip his foot in oil.

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

Thy bars shall be iron and brass; And as thy days, so shall thy strength be.

26 There is no other god like the God of the most righteous one. He who rides upon the heavens is your helper. His magnificence scatters the clouds.

There is none like unto God, O Jeshurun, Who rideth upon the heaven for thy help, And in his excellency on the skies.

27 His habitation is above, and the everlasting arms are below. He shall cast out the enemy before your face, and he shall say: ‘Be utterly broken!’

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 Israel shall live in confidence and alone, as the eye of Jacob in a land of grain and of wine; and the heavens shall be misty with dew.

And Israel dwelleth in safety, The fountain of Jacob alone, In a land of corn and wine; Yea, his heavens drop down dew.

29 Blessed are you, O Israel. Who is like you, the people who are saved by the Lord? He is the shield of your assistance and the sword of your glory. Your enemies will refuse to acknowledge you, and so you shall tread upon their necks.”

Happy art thou, O Israel: Who is like unto thee, a people saved by the LORD, The shield of thy help, And that is the sword of thy excellency! And thine enemies shall submit themselves unto thee; And thou shalt tread upon their high places.