Deuteronomy 33

1 And this [is] the blessing [with] which Moses the man of God blessed the sons 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 says: “YHWH has come from Sinai, And has risen from Seir for them; He has shone from Mount Paran, And has come [with] myriads of holy ones; At His right hand [came] a fiery law [[or a flaming fire]] for 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 Indeed, He [is] loving the peoples; All His holy ones [are] in Your hand, And they sat down at Your foot, [Each] lifts up Your 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 Moses has commanded a law for us, A possession of the assembly of Jacob.

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

5 And He is King in Yeshurun, In the heads of the people gathering together, 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 Let Reuben live, and not die, And let his men be an [incalculable] number.

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

7 And this [is] for Judah, and he says: Hear, O YHWH, the voice of Judah, And You bring him in to his people; His hand has striven for him, And You are a help 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: Your Perfections and your Lights [are] for your pious one, Whom You have tried in Massah, You strive with him 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 is saying of his father and his mother, I have not seen him; And he has not discerned his brothers, And he has not known his sons; For they have observed Your saying, And they keep Your covenant.

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 teach Your judgments to Jacob, And Your law to Israel; They put incense in Your nose, And whole burnt-offering on Your 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 YHWH, his strength, And accept the work of his hands, Strike the loins of his withstanders, And of those hating him—that they do not rise!

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 Of Benjamin he said: The beloved of YHWH dwells confidently by Him, Covering him over every day; Indeed, he dwells between His shoulders.

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: His land [is] blessed [by] YHWH, By a precious thing of the heavens, By dew, and by the deep crouching 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 by a precious thing—fruits of the sun, And by a precious thing—cast forth by the months,

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

15 And by a chief thing—of the ancient mountains, And by a precious thing—of the continuous heights,

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

16 And by a precious thing—of earth and its fullness, And the good pleasure of Him who is dwelling in the bush; Let it come for the head of Joseph, And for the crown of him [who is] separate 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 splendor [is] a firstling of his ox, And his horns [are] horns of a wild ox; With them he pushes the peoples Altogether to the ends of the earth; And they [are] the myriads of Ephraim, And they [are] the thousands of Manasseh.

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, O Zebulun, in your going out, And, O Issachar, in your tents;

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

19 They call peoples [to] the mountain, There they sacrifice righteous sacrifices; For they suck up the abundance of the seas, And hidden things hidden 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 is he who is enlarging Gad, He dwells as a lioness, And has torn the arm—also the crown!

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 provides the first part for himself, For there the portion of the lawgiver is covered, And he comes [with] the heads of the people; He has done the righteousness of YHWH, 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; He leaps 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 pleasure, And full of the blessing of YHWH, Possess [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: Asher [is] blessed with sons, Let him be accepted by his brothers, And dipping 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 bronze [are] your shoes, And as your days—your strength.

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 the God of Yeshurun, Riding the heavens to your help, And in His excellence 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 The eternal God [is] a habitation, And beneath [are] continuous arms. And He casts out the enemy from your presence and says, 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 Israel dwells [in] confidence alone; The eye of Jacob [is] to a land of grain and wine; Also His heavens 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 O your blessedness, O Israel! Who is like you? A people saved by YHWH, The shield of your help, And He who [is] the sword of your excellence! And your enemies are subdued for you, And you tread on 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.”