Deuteronomy 33
33
Moses’ Final Blessing on Israel
1Now this is #Gen. 49:28the blessing with which Moses #Ps. 90the man of God blessed the children of Israel before his death. 2And he said:
#Ex. 19:18, 20; Ps. 68:8, 17; Hab. 3:3“The Lord came from Sinai,
And dawned on them from #Deut. 2:1, 4Seir;
He shone forth from #Num. 10:12Mount Paran,
And He came with #Dan. 7:10; Acts 7:53; Rev. 5:11ten thousands of saints;
From His right hand
Came a fiery law for them.
3Yes, #Ps. 47:4; Hos. 11:1He loves the people;
#1 Sam. 2:9All His saints are in Your hand;
They #(Luke 10:39)sit down at Your feet;
Everyone #Prov. 2:1receives Your words.
4#Deut. 4:2; John 1:17; 7:19Moses commanded a law for us,
#Ps. 119:111A heritage of the congregation of Jacob.
5And He was #Ex. 15:18King in #Deut. 32:15Jeshurun,
When the leaders of the people were gathered,
All the tribes of Israel together.
6“Let #Gen. 49:3, 4Reuben live, and not die,
Nor let his men be few.”
7And this he said of #Gen. 49:8–12Judah:
“Hear, Lord, the voice of Judah,
And bring him to his people;
#Gen. 49:8Let his hands be sufficient for him,
And may You be #Ps. 146:5a help against his enemies.”
8And of #Gen. 49:5Levi he said:
#Ex. 28:30; Lev. 8:8“Let Your Thummim and Your Urim be with Your holy one,
#Num. 20:2–13; Deut. 6:2, 3, 16; Ps. 81:7Whom You tested at Massah,
And with whom You contended at the waters of Meribah,
9#(Num. 25:5–8; Matt. 10:37; 19:29)Who says of his father and mother,
‘I have not #(Gen. 29:32)seen them’;
#Ex. 32:26–28Nor did he acknowledge his brothers,
Or know his own children;
For #Mal. 2:5, 6they have observed Your word
And kept Your covenant.
10#Lev. 10:11; Deut. 31:9–13; Mal. 2:7They shall teach Jacob Your judgments,
And Israel Your law.
They shall put incense before You,
#Lev. 1:9; Ps. 51:19And a whole burnt sacrifice on Your altar.
11Bless his substance, Lord,
And #2 Sam. 24:23; Ezek. 20:40accept the work of his hands;
Strike the loins of those who rise against him,
And of those who hate him, that they rise not again.”
12Of Benjamin he said:
“The beloved of the Lord shall dwell in safety by Him,
Who shelters him all the day long;
And he shall dwell between His shoulders.”
13And of Joseph he said:
#Gen. 49:22–26“Blessed of the Lord is his land,
With the precious things of heaven, with the #Gen. 27:28dew,
And the deep lying beneath,
14With the precious fruits of the sun,
With the precious produce of the months,
15With the best things of #Gen. 49:26the ancient mountains,
With the precious things #Hab. 3:6of the everlasting hills,
16With the precious things of the earth and its fullness,
And the favor of #Ex. 3:2–4; Acts 7:30–35Him who dwelt in the bush.
Let the blessing come #Gen. 49:26‘on the head of Joseph,
And on the crown of the head of him who was separate from his brothers.’
17His glory is like a #1 Chr. 5:1firstborn bull,
And his horns like the #Num. 23:22horns of the wild ox;
Together with them
#1 Kin. 22:11; Ps. 44:5He shall push the peoples
To the ends of the earth;
#Gen. 48:19They are the ten thousands of Ephraim,
And they are the thousands of Manasseh.”
18And of Zebulun he said:
#Gen. 49:13–15“Rejoice, Zebulun, in your going out,
And Issachar in your tents!
19They shall #Ex. 15:17; Ps. 2:6; Is. 2:3call the peoples to the mountain;
There #Ps. 4:5; 51:19they shall offer sacrifices of righteousness;
For they shall partake of the abundance of the seas
And of treasures hidden in the sand.”
20And of Gad he said:
“Blessed is he who #1 Chr. 12:8enlarges Gad;
He dwells as a lion,
And tears the arm and the crown of his head.
21#Num. 32:16, 17He provided the first part for himself,
Because a lawgiver’s portion was reserved there.
#Josh. 4:12He came with the heads of the people;
He administered the justice of the Lord,
And His judgments with Israel.”
22And of Dan he said:
“Dan is a lion’s whelp;
#Gen. 49:16, 17; Josh. 19:47He shall leap from Bashan.”
23And of Naphtali he said:
“O Naphtali, #Gen. 49:21satisfied with favor,
And full of the blessing of the Lord,
#Josh. 19:32Possess the west and the south.”
24And of Asher he said:
#Gen. 49:20“Asher is most blessed of sons;
Let him be favored by his brothers,
And let him #Job 29:6dip his foot in oil.
25Your sandals shall be #Deut. 8:9iron and bronze;
As your days, so shall your strength be.
26“There is #Ex. 15:11; Deut. 4:35; Ps. 86:8; Jer. 10:6no one like the God of #Deut. 32:15Jeshurun,
#Deut. 10:14; Ps. 68:3, 33, 34; 104:3Who rides the heavens to help you,
And in His excellency on the clouds.
27The eternal God is your #(Ps. 90:1; 91:2, 9)refuge,
And underneath are the everlasting arms;
#Deut. 9:3–5He will thrust out the enemy from before you,
And will say, ‘Destroy!’
28Then #Deut. 33:12; Jer. 23:6; 33:16Israel shall dwell in safety,
#Deut. 8:7, 8The fountain of Jacob #Num. 23:9alone,
In a land of grain and new wine;
His #Gen. 27:28heavens shall also drop dew.
29#Ps. 144:15Happy are you, O Israel!
#Deut. 4:32–34; 2 Sam. 7:23Who is like you, a people saved by the Lord,
#Gen. 15:1; Ps. 115:9The shield of your help
And the sword of your majesty!
Your enemies #Ps. 18:44; 66:3shall submit to you,
And #Num. 33:52you shall tread down their high places.”
Currently Selected:
Deuteronomy 33: NKJV
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
Deuteronomy 33
33
Moses blesses the tribes of Israel
1Moses was a prophet, and before he died, he blessed the tribes of Israel by saying:
2The LORD came from Mount Sinai.
From Edom, he gave light
to his people,
and his glory was shining
from Mount Paran.
Thousands of his warriors
were with him, and fire
was at his right hand.#33.2 Thousands…right hand: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
3The LORD loves the tribes
of Israel,#33.3 the tribes of Israel: Or “the nations”.
and he protects his people.
They listen to his words
and worship at his feet.
4-5I called a meeting
of the tribes of Israel#33.4-5 Israel: The Hebrew text also uses the name “Jeshurun”, a rare name for “Israel”.
and gave you God's Law.
Then you and your leaders
made the LORD your king.
6Tribe of Reuben, you will live,
even though your tribe
will always be small.#33.6 even though…small: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
7The LORD will listen to you,
tribe of Judah, as you beg
to come safely home.
You fought your enemies alone;#33.7 beg…alone: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
now the LORD will help you.
8At Massah and Meribah Spring,#33.8 Massah and Meribah Spring: See Exodus 17.1-7; Numbers 20.1-13.#Ex 28.30; Ex 17.7; Ex 17.7; Nu 20.13.
the LORD tested you,
tribe of Levi.
You were faithful,#33.8 the LORD tested you, tribe of Levi. You were faithful: Or “the LORD tested me. I was faithful” or “the LORD tested Aaron and me. We were faithful.”
and so the priesthood#33.8 priesthood: The Hebrew text has “your thummim and your urim”, objects that were used by priests to get answers from God. belongs
to the Levi tribe.
9Protecting Israel's agreement
with the LORD
was more important to you
than the life of your father
or mother,
or brothers or sisters,
or your own children.#33.9 Protecting Israel's agreement…your own children: See Exodus 32.25-29.
10You teach God's laws to Israel,#33.10 Israel: See the note at 32.9.
and at the place of worship
you offer sacrifices
and burn incense.
11I pray that the LORD will bless
everything you do,
and make you strong enough
to crush your enemies.
12The LORD Most High#33.12 Most High: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text. loves you,
tribe of Benjamin.
He will live among your hills
and protect you.
13Descendants of Joseph,
the LORD will bless you
with precious water
from deep wells
and with dew from the sky.
14Month by month, your fruit
will ripen in the sunshine.
15You will have a rich harvest
from the slopes
of the ancient hills.
16The LORD who appeared
in the burning bush
wants to give you the best
the land can produce,
and it will be a princely crown
on Joseph's head.
17The armies of Ephraim
and Manasseh
are majestic and fierce
like a bull or a wild ox.
They will run their spears
through faraway nations.
18Be happy, Zebulun,
as your boats set sail;
be happy, Issachar,
in your tents.
19The sea will make you wealthy,
and from the sandy beach
you will get treasure.#33.19 sandy beach…treasure: Possibly a reference to glass made from sand; glass was rare and very valuable.
So invite the other tribes#33.19 other tribes: Or “nations”.
to celebrate with you
and offer sacrifices to God.
20Tribe of Gad,
the LORD will bless you
with more land.
So shout his praises!
Your tribe is like a lion
ripping up its victim.
21Your leaders met together
and chose the best land
for your tribe,
but you obeyed the LORD
and helped the other tribes.#33.21 tribes: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 21. The Gad tribe asked for some of the land east of the River Jordan, but promised that their warriors would cross the Jordan and help the other tribes take over the land west of the Jordan (see Numbers 32.1-33; Joshua 4.10-13).
22Tribe of Dan,
you are like a lion cub,
startled by a snake.#33.22 startled by a snake: Or “jumping out from the forest of Bashan”.
23The LORD is pleased with you,
people of Naphtali.
He will bless you
and give you the land
to the west and the south.#33.23 land to the west and the south: Or “land south as far as Lake Galilee”.
24The LORD's greatest blessing
is for you, tribe of Asher.
You will be the favourite
of all the other tribes.
You will be rich with olive oil
25and have strong town gates
with bronze and iron bolts.
Your people will be powerful
for as long as they live.
26Israel,#33.26 Israel: See the note at 33.4. no other god
is like ours—
the clouds are his chariot
as he rides across the skies
to come and help us.
27The eternal God
is our hiding place;
he carries us in his arms.
When God tells you
to destroy your enemies,
he will make them run.
28Israel, you will live in safety;
your enemies will be gone.#33.28 your enemies will be gone: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
The dew will fall from the sky,
and you will have plenty
of grain and wine.
29The LORD has rescued you
and given you more blessings
than any other nation.
He protects you like a shield
and is your majestic sword.
Your enemies will bow in fear,
and you will trample
on their backs.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
© British and Foreign Bible Society 2012