Deuteronomii 33
1 Hæc est benedictio, qua benedixit Moyses, homo Dei, filiis Israel ante mortem suam.
This is the blessing, wherewith the man of God Moses blessed the children of Israel, before his death.
2 Et ait: Dominus de Sinai venit, et de Seir ortus est nobis: apparuit de monte Pharan, et cum eo sanctorum millia. In dextera eius ignea lex.
And he said: The Lord came from Sinai, and from Seir he rose up to us: he hath appeared from mount Pharan, and with him thousands of saints. In his right hand a fiery law.
3 Dilexit populos, omnes sancti in manu illius sunt: et qui appropinquant pedibus eius, accipient de doctrina illius.
He hath loved the people, all the saints are in his hand: and they that approach to his feet, shall receive of his doctrine.
4 Legem præcepit nobis Moyses, hereditatem multitudinis Iacob.
Moses commanded us a law, the inheritance of the multitude of Jacob.
5 Erit apud rectissimum rex, congregatis principibus populi cum tribubus Israel.
He shall be king with the most right, the princes of the people being assembled with the tribes of Israel.
6 Vivat Ruben, et non moriatur, et sit parvus in numero.
Let Ruben live, and not die, and be he small in number.
7 Hæc est Iudæ benedicio: Audi Domine vocem Iudæ, et ad populum suum introduc eum: manus eius pugnabunt pro eo, et adiutor illius contra adversarios eius erit.
This is the blessing of Juda. Hear, O Lord, the voice of Juda, and bring him in unto his people: his hands shall fight for him, and he shall be his helper against his enemies.
8 Levi quoque ait: Perfectio tua, et doctrina tua viro sancto tuo, quem probasti in tentatione, et iudicasti ad Aquas contradictionis.
To Levi also he said: Thy perfection, and thy doctrine be to thy holy man, whom thou hast proved in the temptation, and judged at the waters of contradiction:
9 Qui dixit patri suo, et matri suæ: Nescio vos; et fratribus suis: Ignoro vos: et nescierunt filios suos. Hi custodierunt eloquium tuum, et pactum tuum servaverunt,
Who hath said to his father, and to his mother: I do not know you; and to his brethren: I know you not: and their own children they have not known. These have kept thy word, and observed thy covenant,
10 iudicia tua o Iacob, et legem tuam o Israel: ponent thymiama in furore tuo, et holocaustum super altare tuum.
Thy judgments, O Jacob, and thy law, O Israel: they shall put incense in thy wrath and holocaust upon thy altar.
11 Benedic Domine fortitudini eius, et opera manuum illius suscipe. Percute dorsa inimicorum eius: et qui oderunt eum, non consurgant.
Bless, O Lord, his strength, and receive the works of his hands. Strike the backs of his enemies, and let not them that hate him rise.
12 Et Beniamin ait: Amantissimus Domini habitabit confidenter in eo: quasi in thalamo tota die morabitur, et inter humeros illius requiescet.
And to Benjamin he said: The best beloved of the Lord shall dwell confidently in him: as in a bride chamber shall he abide all the day long, and between his shoulders shall be rest.
13 Ioseph quoque ait: De benedictione Domini terra eius, de pomis cæli, et rore, atque abysso subiacente,
To Joseph also he said: Of the blessing of the Lord be his land, of the fruits of heaven, and of the dew, and of the deep that lieth beneath.
14 de pomis fructuum solis ac lunæ,
Of the fruits brought forth by the sun and by the moon.
15 de vertice antiquorum montium, de pomis collium æternorum:
Of the tops of the ancient mountains, of the fruits of the everlasting hills:
16 et de frugibus terræ, et de plenitudine eius. Benedictio illius, qui apparuit in rubo, veniat super caput Ioseph, et super verticem Nazaræi inter fratres suos.
And of the fruits of the earth, and of the fulness thereof. The blessing of him that appeared in the bush, come upon the head of Joseph, and upon the crown of the Nazarite among his brethren.
17 Quasi primogeniti tauri pulchritudo eius, cornua rhinocerotis cornua illius: in ipsis ventilabit Gentes usque ad terminos terræ. Hæ sunt multitudines Ephraim: et hæc millia Manasse.
His beauty as of the firstling of a bullock, his horns as the horns of a rhinoceros: with them shall he push the nations even to the ends of the earth These are the multitudes of Ephraim and these the thousands of Manasses.
18 Et Zabulon ait: Lætare Zabulon in exitu tuo, et Issachar in tabernaculis tuis.
And to Zabulon he said: Rejoice, O Zabulon, in thy going out; and Issachar in thy tabernacles.
19 Populos vocabunt ad montem: ibi immolabunt victimas iustitiæ. Qui inundationem maris quasi lac sugent, et thesauros absconditos arenarum.
They shall call the people to the mountain: there shall they sacrifice the victims of justice. Who shall suck as milk the abundance of the sea, and the hidden treasures of the sands.
20 Et Gad ait: Benedictus in latitudine Gad: quasi leo requievit, cepitque brachium et verticem.
And to Gad he said: Blessed be Gad in his breadth: he hath rested as a lion, and hath seized upon the arm and the top of the head.
21 Et vidit principatum suum, quod in parte sua doctor esset repositus: qui fuit cum principibus populi, et fecit iustitias Domini, et iudicium suum cum Israel.
And he saw his pre-eminence, that in his portion the teacher was laid up: who was with the princes of the people, and did the justices of the Lord, and his judgment with Israel.
22 Dan quoque ait: Dan catulus leonis, fluet largiter de Basan.
To Dan also he said: Dan is a young lion, he shall flow plentifully from Basan.
23 Et Nephthali dixit: Nephthali abundantia perfruetur, et plenus erit benedictionibus Domini: mare et meridiem possidebit.
And to Nephtali he said: Nephtali shall enjoy abundance, and shall be full of the blessings of the Lord: he shall possess the sea and the south.
24 Aser quoque ait: Benedictus in filiis Aser, sit placens fratribus suis, et tingat in oleo pedem suum.
To Aser also he said: Let Aser be blessed with children, let him be acceptable to his brethren, and let him dip his foot in oil.
25 Ferrum et æs calceamentum eius. Sicut dies iuventutis tuæ, ita et senectus tua.
His shoe shall be iron and brass. As the days of thy youth, so also shall thy old age be.
26 Non est deus alius ut Deus rectissimi: ascensor cæli auxiliator tuus. Magnificentia eius discurrunt nubes,
There is no other God like the God of the rightest: he that is mounted upon the heaven is thy helper. By his magnificence the clouds run hither and thither.
27 habitaculum eius sursum, et subter brachia sempiterna: eiiciet a facie tua inimicum, dicetque: Conterere.
His dwelling is above, and underneath are the everlasting arms: he shall cast out the enemy from before thee, and shall say: Be thou brought to nought.
28 Habitabit Israel confidenter, et solus: oculus Iacob in terra frumenti et vini, cælique caligabunt rore.
Israel shall dwell in safety, and alone. The eye of Jacob in a land of corn and wine, and the heavens shall be misty with dew.
29 Beatus es tu Israel: quis similis tui popule, qui salvaris in Domino? Scutum auxilii tui, et gladius gloriæ tuæ: negabunt te inimici tui, et tu eorum colla calcabis.
Blessed are thou, Israel: who is like to thee, O people, that art saved by the Lord? the shield of thy help, and the sword of thy glory: thy enemies shall deny thee, and thou shalt tread upon their necks.
