Deuteronomy 33:1–29 — Blessings of Moses on Israel

Blessings of Moses on Israel

33 Now[fn] this is the blessing with which Moses, the man of God, blessed the ⌊Israelites⌋[fn] ⌊before⌋[fn] his death.

2 Then[fn] he said,

“Yahweh came from Sinai,
- and he dawned upon them from Seir;
- he shone forth from Mount Paran,
and he came with myriads of holy ones,
- at his right hand a fiery law for them.[fn]
3 Moreover,[fn] he loves his people ,[fn]
- all the holy ones were in your hand,
and they bowed down to[fn] your feet,
- each one accepted directions from you .[fn]
4 A law Moses instructed for us,
- as a possession for the assembly of Jacob.
5 And then a king arose in Jeshurun,
- at the gathering of the leaders of the people,
- united were the tribes of Israel .[fn]
6 “May Reuben live, and may he not die,
- and let his number not be few .”[fn]
7 And he said this of Judah ,[fn]
“Hear, O Yahweh, the voice of Judah,
- and bring him to his people;
his own hands strive[fn] for him,
- and may you be a help against[fn] his foes.”
8 And of Levi he said,
- “Your Thummim and your Urim
are for your faithful one ,[fn]
- whom you tested at Massah ;[fn]
you contended with him
- at the waters of Meribah.
9 The one saying of his father and of his mother,
- ‘I have not regarded them,’
and his brothers he did not acknowledge,
- and his children[fn] he did not know,
but rather they observed your word,
- and your covenant they kept.
10 They taught[fn] your regulations to Jacob,
- and your law to Israel;
they placed incense smoke before you ,[fn]
- and whole burnt offerings on your altar.
11 Bless, O Yahweh, his substance,
- and with the work of his hands you must be pleased;
smite the loins of those who attack him,
- and those hating him, so that they cannot arise .”[fn]
12 Of Benjamin he said,
“The beloved of Yahweh dwells securely ,[fn]
- the Most High[fn] shields all around him,
all the day,
- and between his shoulders he dwells.”
13 And of Joseph he said,
- “Blessed by Yahweh is his land,
with[fn] the choice things of heaven,
- with[fn] dew, and with[fn] the deep lying down beneath,
14 and with[fn] the choice things of the fruits[fn] of the the sun,
- and with the choice things of the yield of the seasons ,[fn]
15 and with[fn] the finest things of the ancient mountains,
- and with[fn] the choice things of the eternal hills ,[fn]
16 and with[fn] the choice things of the earth and its fullness,
- and the favor of the one who dwelt[fn] in the bush.[fn]
Let them come to the head of Joseph,
- and to the crown of the prince among his brothers.
17 As the firstborn of his ox, majesty belongs to him ,[fn]
- and his horns are the horns of a wild ox;
with them he drives people together,[fn]
- and they are the myriads of Ephraim,
- and they are the thousands of Manasseh.”
18 And of Zebulun he said,
“Rejoice, Zebulun, in your going out,
- and rejoice, Issachar, in your tents;
19 They summon people to the mountains;[fn]
- there they sacrifice the sacrifices of righteousness,
because the affluence of the seas they suck out,
- and the most hidden treasures of the sand .”[fn]
20 And of Gad he said,
- “Blessed be the one who enlarges Gad ;[fn]
like a lion he dwells,
- and he tears an arm as well as a scalp.
21 And he selected[fn] the best part for himself,[fn]
- for there the portion of a ruler is included,
and he came with the heads of the people;[fn]
- he did[fn] the righteousness of Yahweh,
- and his regulations for Israel.”
22 And of Dan he said,
“Dan is a cub of a lion;
- he leaps from Bashan.”[fn]
23 And of Naphtali, he said,
“Oh, Naphtali, sated of favor,
- and full of the blessing of Yahweh;
take possession of the lake,
- and the land to the south.”
24 And of Asher he said,
- “Blessed more than sons[fn] is Asher;
may he be the favorite[fn] of his brothers,
- dipping his feet in the oil .[fn]
25 Your bars are[fn] iron and bronze,
- and as your days, so is[fn] your strength.”
26 “There is no one like God, O, Jeshurun,
- who rides through the heavens to your help,
- and with his majesty through the skies.
27 The God of ancient time[fn] is a hiding place,
- and underneath are the arms of eternity,[fn]
and he drove out from before[fn] you your enemy,
- and he said, ‘Destroy them!’
28 So Israel dwells alone and carefree,
- the spring of Jacob in a land of grain and wine;
- his heavens even drip dew.
29 Blessed are you, O Israel.
- Who is like you, a people who is saved by Yahweh,
the shield of your help,
- and who is the sword of your triumph,
and your enemies, they shall fawn before you,[fn]
- and you shall tread on their backs.”

33:1 Or “And”

33:1 Literally “sons/children of Israel”

33:1 Literally “to the face of”

33:2 Or “And”

33:2 This pointing of the MT is very difficult; here HALOT 93 suggests “fire a law for them” as a translation of the compound Hebrew word made up of “fire” + “law,” which I render as “a fiery law”

33:2 Or “Indeed”

33:2 Literally “a lover of peoples”

33:2 Or “at”

33:2 Literally “he takes up from your words”

33:2 Literally “together the tribes of Israel”

33:2 Literally “let he be his people of number”

33:2 Literally “and this concerning/to Judah, and he said”

33:2 Or “is/are great” on his behalf

33:2 Literally “from”

33:2 Literally “man, your faithful one”

33:2 Literally “whom you tested him at Massah”

33:2 Or “sons”

33:2 Or “teach/will teach”

33:2 Literally “in your nose”

33:2 Literally “so that not they stand up”

33:2 Literally “in confidence”

33:2 This is the most likely reading in context (Most High God). Literally the Hebrew text reads “upon him,” so the NASV translates the first line as: dwell in security “by him”

33:2 Hebrew “from”

33:2 Or “produce of”

33:2 Literally “months”

33:2 Hebrew “from”

33:2 Literally “the hills of eternity never ending ages ”

33:2 Hebrew “from”

33:2 Literally “dwells” but context puts the event into the past; literally “dweller of the bush”

33:2 Some scholars suggest that this expression must be read as: on Sinai

33:2 Literally “is for him”

33:2 Or “all at once” (NASB)

33:2 Hebrew “mountain”

33:2 Literally “the covered of the hidden of the sand”

33:2 Literally “the enlarger of Gad”

33:2 Or “provided”

33:2 Hebrew “for him”

33:2 Or possibly, “the heads of the people came/assembled” (compare NEB)

33:2 Or “worked”

33:2 Hebrew “the Bashan,” referring to a well-known geographical and agricultural area

33:2 Literally “blessed from/of sons is” features the comparative use the Hebrew prepositionmin, “than”

33:2 Literally “may he be favored”

33:2 Literally “and dipping in the oil his feet”

33:2 Or “will be”

33:2 Or “so will be/may be”

33:2 Literally “before/earlier times”

33:2 Or “everlasting ages” or “everlasting arms”

33:2 Literally “from your face”

33:2 Hebrew “to you”

LEB by section DEU 33:1

Blessings of Moses on Israel