Deuteronomy 33

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

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

2 And he said, The Lord came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them: he shone forth from mount Paran, and he came from among myriads of saints; from his right hand he gave a fiery law unto them.

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.

3 Yea, thou also lovedst the tribes; all their saints were in thy hand; and they, prostrate before thy feet, received thy words.

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

4 “The law which Moses commanded us, is the inheritance of the congregation of Jacob.”

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

5 Thus became he king in Yeshurun, when the heads of the people were assembled, as one the tribes of Israel.

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

6 May Reuben live, and not die; and may not his men be few.

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

7 And this is [the blessing] of Judah, and he said, Hear, Lord, the voice of Judah, and bring him unto his people: let the power of his hands contend for him; and be thou a help to him from his adversaries.

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.”

8 And of Levi he said, Thy Thummim and thy Urim are with thy holy man, whom thou didst prove at Massah, and with whom thou didst strive at the waters of Meribah;

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.

9 Who said of his father and of his mother, I have not seen him; and who did not acknowledge his brothers, nor regarded his own children; for they observe thy word, and thy covenant they keep.

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:

10 They shall teach thy ordinances unto Jacob, and thy law unto Israel: they shall put incense before thee, and whole burnt-sacrifice upon thy altar.

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

11 Bless, O Lord, his substance, and receive favorably the work of his hands: crush the loins of those that rise up against him, and those that hate him, that they cannot rise again.

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.”

12 And of Benjamin he said, The beloved of the Lord [is he], he shall dwell in safety by him: he will shield him all the day long, and between his shoulders will he dwell.

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.”

13 And of Joseph he said, Blessed of the Lord be his land, through the precious gift of heaven, through the dew, and through the deep that coucheth beneath,

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,

14 And through the precious fruits brought forth by the sun, and through the precious things put forth by the moon,

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

15 And through the best things of the ancient mountains, and through the precious things of the everlasting hills,

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

16 And through the precious things of the earth and its fulness, and through the goodwill of him that dwelt in the thorn-bush: may this blessing come upon the head of Joseph, and upon the crown of the head of him that was separated from his brothers.

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.

17 His first-born steer is adorned with glory, and his horns are like the horns of reem; with them shall he push nations together to the ends of the earth: and they are the myriads of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Menasseh.

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.”

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

And to Zebulun he said: “Rejoice, O Zebulun, in your departure, and Issachar, in your tabernacles.

19 They will call the tribes unto the mountain; there will they offer sacrifices of righteousness; for they will suck the abundance of the seas, and the treasures hid in the sand.

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.”

20 And of Gad he said, Blessed be he that enlargeth Gad: like a lioness lieth he down, and teareth off the arm with the crown of the head.

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.

21 And he provided the first part for himself, because there is the field of the law-giver, of the hidden; and he went forth at the head of the people: he executed the justice of the Lord, and his judgments with Israel.

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.”

22 And of Dan he said, Dan is a lion's whelp, that leapeth forth from Bashan.

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

23 And of Naphtali he said, O Naphtali, satisfied with favor, and full of the blessing of the Lord, take thou possession of the west and the south.

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.”

24 And of Asher he said, More than [all] the children be Asher blessed: he shall be the most favored of his brethren, and bathe his foot in oil.

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.

25 Iron and copper shall be thy bolts; and as thy [younger] days so shall thy old age be.

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

26 There is none like unto the God of Yeshurun, who rideth to help thee upon the heavens, and in his excellency upon the skies.

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.

27 Thy refuge is the eternal God, and here beneath, the everlasting arms; and he thrust out the enemy from before thee; and he said, Destroy.

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!’

28 And then dwelt Israel in safety, alone, the fountain of Jacob; in a land of corn and wine; also its heavens shall drop down dew.

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.

29 Happy art thou, O Israel! who is like unto thee, O people, saved by the Lord, the Shield of thy help, and who is the Sword of thy excellency! and thy enemies shall fawn upon thee; and thou shalt tread upon their high-places.

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.”