Deuteronomy 33

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

Before God’s prophet Moses died, he [asked God to] bless the Israeli people.

2 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.

This is what he said: “Yahweh came [and spoke] to us at Sinai [Mountain]; he [came like] [MET] the sun rises in the Edom [region] and like his light shone on us when we were [in the desert] near Paran Mountain [after we left Sinai Mountain]. He came with 10,000 angels, and there was a flaming fire at his right side.

3 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.

Yahweh truly loves his people, and protects [MTY] all those who belong to him. So they prostrate themselves in front of him, and they listen to his instructions.

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

I gave them laws to obey, laws that would be the most precious thing that [the descendants of] Jacob owned.

5 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] —

So Yahweh became the king of his Israeli people when all the tribes and their leaders were gathered together.

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

[I say this about the tribe of] Reuben: I desire/hope that their tribe will never disappear, but they will never become numerous.

7 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.

“say this about [the tribe of] Judah: Yahweh, listen to them when they call out [for help]; and unite them with the other tribes again. Fight for them, and help them to fight against their enemies.

8 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;

I say this about [the tribe of] Levi: Yahweh, give to those who are dedicated to you the sacred stones [that they will use to find out what you want to be done]; You tested them at a spring in the desert, a spring that they named Massah and also named Meribah [to find out if they would (remain loyal to/continue to obey) you].

9 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;

The tribe of Levi did what you told them to do and obeyed the agreement that you [made with the Israeli people]; those laws were more important to them [HYP] than their siblings and parents and children.

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

The tribe of Levi will teach the Israeli people [DOU] your rules and regulations, and they are the ones who will burn incense and who will completely burn on the altar the offerings [that the people bring].

11 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.

Yahweh, bless their work and (accept/be pleased with) all that they do. Crush/Destroy all their enemies; do not enable their enemies to be able to fight against them again.

12 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.

I say this about [the tribe of] Benjamin: They are the tribe that Yahweh loves; he keeps them safe. He protects them continually, and he lives among their hills [MET].

13 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;

“say this about [the tribes of] Joseph: I desire/hope that Yahweh will bless their land by giving them rain/dew from the sky and water from deep [in the ground],

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

by giving them good fruit [ripened] by the sun and good crops at harvest time.

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

I desire/hope that very nice fruit will grow on trees in their ancient mountains/hills [DOU],

16 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.

and that their land will be have many good crops, blessed by [Yahweh], the one who appeared to me in a burning bush. I desire/hope that Yahweh will bless the tribes of Joseph in all those ways, because he was the leaders of his [older] brothers [when they were in Egypt].

17 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.

The descendants of Joseph will be as strong as [SIM] a bull; [with their weapons they will wound their enemies, like] [MET] a wild ox [gores other animals] with its horns. They will force other people-groups, all of them, to be exiled to the most distant places on the earth. That is what [the descendants of the two sons of Joseph] will do, the ten thousands [of the tribe] of Ephraim and the thousands [of the tribe] of Manasseh.

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

“say this about [the tribes of] Zebulun [and Issachar]: I desire/hope that the people of Zebulun will prosper in their travels [across the seas], and that the people of Issachar will prosper while they stay at home [and take care of their cattle and crops].

19 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.

They will invite people [from the other Israeli tribes] to the mountain [where they worship Yahweh], and they will offer the correct/proper sacrifices to him. They will become rich from [the work that they do on] the seas and from [the things that they make from] (OR, [find in]) the sand [on the beaches].

20 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;

“say this about [the tribe of] Gad: Praise [Yahweh], the one who made their [territory] large. The people of their tribe [will attack their enemies fiercely] [SIM] like a lion that crouches, waiting to tear off the arm or the scalp [of some animal].

21 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.

They chose the best part of the land for themselves; [a large share of the land], a share that should be given to a leader was allotted to them. When the leaders of the tribes of Israel [gathered together], they decided that the tribe of Gad should have a large share of the land. The tribe of Gad obeyed the commands of Yahweh and the things that he decided that they should do.

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

“say this about [the tribe] of Dan: The people of the tribe of Dan are like [SIM] a young lion; they leap from [their caves in the] Bashan [region to attack their enemies].

23 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.

“say this about [the tribe of] Naphtali: [The people of the tribe of] Naphtali have been blessed by Yahweh, who has been very kind to them; their land extends far south from Lake [Galilee].

24 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:

“say this about [the tribe of] Asher: May Yahweh bless the descendants of Asher more than he will bless the other tribes. May he favor Asher’s descendants most of all. I desire/hope that their land will [be filled with olive trees that will] produce a lot of [IDM] [olives to make olive] oil.

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

Their [towns will be protected by high walls with gates that have] bronze and iron bars; I desire/hope that they will be strong and secure/protected all the time that they are alive.

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

“You people of Israel, there is no god like your God, who rides majestically across the sky to help you.

27 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!

God, who lives forever, is the one who (gives you refuge/protects you); [it is as though] he puts his everlasting arms under you [to support you]. He will expel your enemies while you advance; he has told you to destroy all of them.

28 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.

So, you Israeli people will live safely; you descendants of Jacob will not be disturbed by others; in the land where [you will live], there will be plenty of grain and wine, and there will be plenty of rain.

29 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.

You people of Israel, Yahweh (has blessed/is pleased with) you. There is certainly [RHQ] no nation like your nation, whom Yahweh has rescued [from being slaves in Egypt]. [He will be like] [MET] a shield to protect you and like [MET] a sword to enable you to defeat [your enemies]. Your enemies will come to you begging for you [to act mercifully toward them], but you will trample on their backs/necks.”