Deuteronomii 33
1 Hæc est benedictio, qua benedixit Moyses, homo Dei, filiis Israël ante mortem suam.
This is the blessing, with which Moses, the man of God, blessed the sons 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 ejus ignea lex.
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 Dilexit populos, omnes sancti in manu illius sunt: et qui appropinquant pedibus ejus, accipient de doctrina illius.
He loved the people; all the holy ones are in his hand. And those who approach his feet shall receive from his doctrine.
4 Legem præcepit nobis Moyses, hæreditatem multitudinis Jacob.
Moses instructed us in the law, the inheritance of the multitude of Jacob.
5 Erit apud rectissimum rex, congregatis principibus populi cum tribubus Israël.
The king shall have great righteousness, at the gathering of the princes of the people with the tribes of Israel.
6 Vivat Ruben, et non moriatur, et sit parvus in numero.
Let Ruben live, and not die, and may he be small in number.”
7 Hæc est Judæ benedictio: Audi, Domine, vocem Judæ, et ad populum suum introduc eum: manus ejus pugnabunt pro eo, et adjutor illius contra adversarios ejus erit.
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 Levi quoque ait: Perfectio tua, et doctrina tua viro sancto tuo, quem probasti in tentatione, et judicasti ad aquas contradictionis.
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 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.
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 Judicia tua, o Jacob, et legem tuam, o Israël: ponent thymiama in furore tuo, et holocaustum super altare tuum.
your judgments, O Jacob, and your law, O Israel. They shall place incense before your fury and a holocaust upon your altar.
11 Benedic, Domine, fortitudini ejus: et opera manuum illius suscipe. Percute dorsa inimicorum ejus: et qui oderunt eum, non consurgant.
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 Et Benjamin ait: Amantissimus Domini habitabit confidenter in eo: quasi in thalamo tota die morabitur, et inter humeros illius requiescet.
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 Joseph quoque ait: De benedictione Domini terra ejus, de pomis cæli, et rore, atque abysso subjacente.
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 De pomis fructuum solis ac lunæ,
from the fruits of the crops under the sun and the moon,
15 de vertice antiquorum montium, de pomis collium æternorum:
from the heights of the ancient mountains, from the fruits of the everlasting hills,
16 et de frugibus terræ, et de plenitudine ejus. Benedictio illius qui apparuit in rubo, veniat super caput Joseph, et super verticem nazaræi inter fratres suos.
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 Quasi primogeniti tauri pulchritudo ejus, cornua rhinocerotis cornua illius: in ipsis ventilabit gentes usque ad terminos terræ. Hæ sunt multitudines Ephraim: et hæc millia Manasse.
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 Et Zabulon ait: Lætare, Zabulon, in exitu tuo, et Issachar in tabernaculis tuis.
And to Zebulun he said: “Rejoice, O Zebulun, in your departure, and Issachar, in your tabernacles.
19 Populos vocabunt ad montem: ibi immolabunt victimas justitiæ. Qui inundationem maris quasi lac sugent, et thesauros absconditos arenarum.
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 Et Gad ait: Benedictus in latitudine Gad: quasi leo requievit, cepitque brachium et verticem.
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 Et vidit principatum suum, quod in parte sua doctor esset repositus: qui fuit cum principibus populi, et fecit justitias Domini, et judicium suum cum Israël.
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 Dan quoque ait: Dan catulus leonis, fluet largiter de Basan.
Likewise, to Dan he said: “Dan is a young lion. He shall flow plentifully from Bashan.”
23 Et Nephthali dixit: Nephthali abundantia perfruetur, et plenus erit benedictionibus Domini: mare et meridiem possidebit.
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 Aser quoque ait: Benedictus in filiis Aser, sit placens fratribus suis, et tingat in oleo pedem suum:
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 ferrum et æs calceamentum ejus. Sicut dies juventutis tuæ, ita et senectus tua.
His shoe shall be of iron and of brass. As were the days of your youth, so also shall be your old age.
26 Non est deus alius ut Deus rectissimi, ascensor cæli, auxiliator tuus. Magnificentia ejus discurrunt nubes,
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 habitaculum ejus sursum, et subter brachia sempiterna ejiciet a facie tua inimicum, dicetque: Conterere.
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 Habitabit Israël confidenter, et solus. Oculus Jacob in terra frumenti et vini, cælique caligabunt rore.
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 Beatus es tu, Israël: 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 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.”
