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.
3 #
4 Macc 17.19. The 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.
* 4I called a meeting
of the tribes of Israel#33.4 Israel: The Hebrew text also uses the name “Jeshurun,” a rare name for “Israel.”
and gave you God's Law.
5Then 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.
8 #
Ex 28.30;
Ex 17.7;
Ex 17.7; Nu 20.13. At Massah and Meribah Spring,#33.8 Massah and Meribah Spring: See Exodus 17.1-7; Numbers 20.1-13.
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 Jordan River, 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 favorite
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.
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Deuteronomy 33: CEVDCI
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.
Deuteronomy 33
33
1And this is the blessing, wherewith Moses the man of God blessed the children of Israel before his death. 2And he said,
Jehovah came from Sinai,
And rose from Seir unto them;
He shined forth from mount Paran,
And he came from the ten thousands of holy ones:
At his right hand was a fiery law for them.
3Yea, he loveth the people;
All his saints are in thy hand:
And they sat down at thy feet;
Every one shall receive of thy words.
4Moses commanded us a law,
An inheritance for the assembly of Jacob.
5And he was king in Jeshurun,
When the heads of the people were gathered,
All the tribes of Israel together.
6Let Reuben live, and not die;
Nor let his men be few.
7And this is the blessing of Judah: and he said,
Hear, Jehovah, the voice of Judah,
And bring him in unto his people.
With his hands he contended for himself;
And thou shalt be a help against his adversaries.
8And of Levi he said,
Thy Thummim and thy Urim are with thy godly one,
Whom thou didst prove at Massah,
With whom thou didst strive at the waters of Meribah;
9Who said of his father, and of his mother, I have not seen him;
Neither did he acknowledge his brethren,
Nor knew he his own children:
For they have observed thy word,
And keep thy covenant.
10They shall teach Jacob thine ordinances,
And Israel thy law:
They shall put incense before thee,
And whole burnt-offering upon thine altar.
11Bless, Jehovah, his substance,
And accept the work of his hands:
Smite through the loins of them that rise up against him,
And of them that hate him, that they rise not again.
12Of Benjamin he said,
The beloved of Jehovah shall dwell in safety by him;
He covereth him all the day long,
And he dwelleth between his shoulders.
13And of Joseph he said,
Blessed of Jehovah be his land,
For the precious things of heaven, for the dew,
And for the deep that coucheth beneath,
14And for the precious things of the fruits of the sun,
And for the precious things of the growth of the moons,
15And for the chief things of the ancient mountains,
And for the precious things of the everlasting hills,
16And for the precious things of the earth and the fulness thereof,
And the good will of him that dwelt in the bush.
Let the blessing come upon the head of Joseph,
And upon the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.
17The firstling of his herd, majesty is his;
And his horns are the horns of the wild-ox:
With them he shall push the peoples all of them, even the ends of the earth:
And they are the ten thousands of Ephraim,
And they are the thousands of Manasseh.
18And of Zebulun he said,
Rejoice, Zebulun, in thy going out;
And, Issachar, in thy tents.
19They shall call the peoples unto the mountain;
There shall they offer sacrifices of righteousness:
For they shall suck the abundance of the seas,
And the hidden treasures of the sand.
20And of Gad he said,
Blessed be he that enlargeth Gad:
He dwelleth as a lioness,
And teareth the arm, yea, the crown of the head.
21And he provided the first part for himself,
For there was the lawgiver’s portion reserved;
And he came with the heads of the people;
He executed the righteousness of Jehovah,
And his ordinances with Israel.
22And of Dan he said,
Dan is a lion’s whelp,
That leapeth forth from Bashan.
23And of Naphtali he said,
O Naphtali, satisfied with favor,
And full with the blessing of Jehovah,
Possess thou the west and the south.
24And of Asher he said,
Blessed be Asher with children;
Let him be acceptable unto his brethren,
And let him dip his foot in oil.
25Thy bars shall be iron and brass;
And as thy days, so shall thy strength be.
26There is none like unto God, O Jeshurun,
Who rideth upon the heavens for thy help,
And in his excellency on the skies.
27The eternal God is thy dwelling-place,
And underneath are the everlasting arms.
And he thrust out the enemy from before thee,
And said, Destroy.
28And Israel dwelleth in safety,
The fountain of Jacob alone,
In a land of grain and new wine;
Yea, his heavens drop down dew.
29Happy art thou, O Israel:
Who is like unto thee, a people saved by Jehovah,
The shield of thy help,
And the sword of thy excellency!
And thine enemies shall submit themselves unto thee;
And thou shalt tread upon their high places.
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