Deuteronomy 33

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

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

2 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.

And he said, Jehovah came from Sinai, And rose up from Seir unto them; He shone forth from mount Paran, And he came from the myriads of the sanctuary; From his right hand [went forth] a law of fire for them.

3 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.

Yea, he loveth the peoples, All his saints are in thy hand, And they sit down at thy feet; Each receiveth of thy words.

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

Moses commanded us a law, The inheritance of the congregation of Jacob.

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

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

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

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

7 “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.

And this of Judah; and he said, Hear, Jehovah, the voice of Judah, And bring him unto his people; May his hands strive for them; And be thou a help to him against his oppressors.

8 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].

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

9 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.

Who said to his father and to his mother, I see him not, And he acknowledged not his brethren, And knew not his own children; For they have observed thy word, And kept thy covenant.

10 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].

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

11 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.

Bless, Jehovah, his substance! And let the work of his hands please thee; Crush the loins of his adversaries, And of them that hate him, that they may never rise again!

12 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].

Of Benjamin he said, The beloved of Jehovah, — he shall dwell in safety by him; He will cover him all the day long, And dwell between his shoulders.

13 “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],

And of Joseph he said, Blessed of Jehovah be his land! By the precious things of the heavens, By the dew, and by the deep that lieth beneath,

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

And by the precious fruits of the sun, And by the precious things put forth by the months,

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

And by the best things of the ancient mountains, And by the precious things of the everlasting hills,

16 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].

And by the precious things of the earth and the fulness thereof. And let the good will of him that dwelt in the bush Come upon the head of Joseph, Upon the top of the head of him that was separated from his brethren.

17 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.

His majesty is as the firstling of his ox; And his horns are as the horns of a buffalo. With them shall he push the peoples Together to the ends of the earth. These are the myriads of Ephraim, And these are the thousands of Manasseh.

18 “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].

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

19 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].

They shall invite [the] peoples to the mountain; There they shall offer sacrifices of righteousness; For they will suck the abundance of the seas, And the hidden treasures of the sand.

20 “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].

And of Gad he said, Blessed be he that enlargeth Gad! As a lion doth he dwell, and teareth the arm, even the top of the head.

21 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.

And he provided the first part for himself, For there was reserved the portion of the lawgiver; And he came with the heads of the people; The justice of Jehovah and his judgments Hath he executed with Israel.

22 “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].

And of Dan he said, Dan is a young lion; He shall spring forth from Bashan.

23 “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].

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

24 “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.

And of Asher he said, Asher shall be blessed with sons; Let him be acceptable to his brethren, And let him dip his foot in oil.

25 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.

Iron and brass shall be thy bolts; And thy rest as thy days.

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

There is none like unto the God of Jeshurun, Who rideth upon the heavens to thy help, And in his majesty, upon the clouds.

27 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.

[Thy] refuge is the God of old, And underneath are the eternal arms; And he shall drive out the enemy from before thee, And shall say, Destroy [them]!

28 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.

And Israel shall dwell in safety alone, The fountain of Jacob, in a land of corn and new wine; Also his heavens shall drop down dew.

29 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.”

Happy art thou, Israel! Who is like unto thee, a people saved by Jehovah, The shield of thy help, And the sword of thine excellency? And thine enemies shall come cringing to thee; And thou shalt tread upon their high places.