Deuteronomy 33

HCSB

Deuteronomy 33

Moses’ Blessings

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1} This is the blessing that Moses, the man of God, gave the Israelites before his death.^(A) ^{Tools
2} He said:

The Lord came from Sinai
and appeared to them from Seir;
He shone on them from Mount Paran
and came with ten thousand holy ones,^(a)
with lightning^(b) from His right hand^(c) for them.^(B)

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3}

Indeed He loves the people.^(d)^(C)
All Your^(e) holy ones^(f) are in Your hand,
and they assemble^(g) at Your feet.
Each receives Your words.

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4}

Moses gave us instruction,
a possession for the assembly of Jacob.

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5}

So He became King in Jeshurun^(h)
when the leaders of the people gathered
with the tribes of Israel.

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6}

Let Reuben live and not die
though his people become few.^(D)

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7} He said this about Judah:

Lord, hear Judah’s cry and bring him to his people.
He fights for his cause⁽ⁱ⁾ with his own hands,
but may You be a help against his foes.

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8} He said about Levi:

Your Thummim and Urim belong to Your faithful one;^(j)
You tested him at Massah
and contended with him at the waters of Meribah.^(E)

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9}

He said about his father and mother,
“I do not regard them.”
He disregarded his brothers
and didn’t acknowledge his sons,
for they kept Your word
and maintained Your covenant.^(F)

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10}

They will teach Your ordinances to Jacob
and Your instruction to Israel;^(G)
they will set incense before You
and whole burnt offerings on Your altar.

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11}

Lord, bless his possessions,^(k)
and accept the work of his hands.
Smash the loins of his adversaries and enemies,
so that they cannot rise again.

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12} He said about Benjamin:

The Lord’s beloved rests^(l) securely on Him.
He^(m) shields him all day long,
and he rests on His shoulders.⁽ⁿ⁾

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13} He said about Joseph:

May his land be blessed by the Lord
with the dew of heaven’s bounty
and the watery depths that lie beneath;^(H)

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14}

with the bountiful harvest from the sun
and the abundant yield of the seasons;

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15}

with the best products of the ancient mountains
and the bounty of the eternal hills;

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16}

with the choice gifts of the land
and everything in it;
and with the favor of Him
who appeared^(o) in the burning bush.^(I)
May these rest on the head of Joseph,
on the crown of the prince of his brothers.^(J)

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17}

His firstborn bull has^(p) splendor,
and horns like^(q) those of a wild ox;
he gores all the peoples with them
to the ends of the earth.
Such are the ten thousands of Ephraim,
and such are the thousands of Manasseh.

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18} He said about Zebulun:

Rejoice, Zebulun, in your journeys,
and Issachar, in your tents.

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19}

They summon the peoples to a mountain;
there they offer acceptable sacrifices.
For they draw from the wealth of the seas
and the hidden treasures of the sand.^(K)

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20} He said about Gad:

The one who enlarges Gad’s territory
will be blessed.
He lies down like a lion
and tears off an arm or even a head.^(L)

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21}

He chose the best part for himself,
because a ruler’s portion was assigned there for him.
He came with the leaders of the people;
he carried out the Lord’s justice
and His ordinances for Israel.^(M)

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22} He said about Dan:

Dan is a young lion,
leaping out of Bashan.^(N)

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23} He said about Naphtali:

Naphtali, enjoying approval,
full of the Lord’s blessing,
take^(r) possession to the west and the south.

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24} He said about Asher:

May Asher^(s) be the most blessed of the sons;
may he be the most favored among his brothers
and dip his foot in olive oil.^(t)^(O)

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25}

May the bolts of your gate be iron and bronze,
and your strength last as long as you live.

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26}

There is none like the God of Jeshurun,^(u)
who rides the heavens to your aid,
the clouds in His majesty.^(P)

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27}

The God of old is your dwelling place,^(Q)
and underneath are the everlasting arms.
He drives out the enemy before you
and commands, “Destroy!”

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28}

So Israel dwells securely;
Jacob lives untroubled^(v)^(R)
in a land of grain and new wine;
even his skies drip with dew.^(S)

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29}

How happy you are, Israel!
Who is like you,
a people saved by the Lord?
He is the shield that protects you,
the sword you boast in.
Your enemies will cringe before you,^(T)
and you will tread on their backs.^(w)^(U)

Footnotes:

a. Deuteronomy 33:2: LXX reads Mount Paran with ten thousands from Kadesh

b. Deuteronomy 33:2: Or fiery law; Hb obscure

c. Deuteronomy 33:2: Or ones, from His southland to the mountain slopes

d. Deuteronomy 33:3: Or peoples

e. Deuteronomy 33:3: Lit His, or its

f. Deuteronomy 33:3: Either the saints of Israel or angels

g. Deuteronomy 33:3: Hb obscure

h. Deuteronomy 33:5: Upright One, referring to Israel

i. Deuteronomy 33:7: Or He contends for them

j. Deuteronomy 33:8: DSS, LXX read Give to Levi Your Thummim, Your Urim to Your favored one

k. Deuteronomy 33:11: Or abilities

l. Deuteronomy 33:12: Or Let the Lord’s beloved rest

m. Deuteronomy 33:12: LXX reads The Most High

n. Deuteronomy 33:12: Or and He dwells among his mountain slopes

o. Deuteronomy 33:16: Lit dwelt

p. Deuteronomy 33:17: Some DSS, Sam, LXX, Syr, Vg read A firstborn bull—he has

q. Deuteronomy 33:17: Lit and his horns are

r. Deuteronomy 33:23: Sam, LXX, Syr, Vg, Tg read he will take

s. Deuteronomy 33:24: Happy or Blessed; Gn 30:13

t. Deuteronomy 33:24: A symbol for prosperity

u. Deuteronomy 33:26: Upright One, referring to Israel

v. Deuteronomy 33:28: Text emended; MT reads Jacob’s fountain is alone

w. Deuteronomy 33:29: Or high places

Cross references:

A. Deuteronomy 33:1: Genesis 49:1-33

B. Deuteronomy 33:2: Judges 5:4-5; Psalm 68:7-8; Habakkuk 3:3

C. Deuteronomy 33:3: Deuteronomy 4:37

D. Deuteronomy 33:6: Genesis 49:3-4; Judges 5:15-16

E. Deuteronomy 33:8: Exodus 17:1-7; Numbers 20:2-13

F. Deuteronomy 33:9: Exodus 32:25-29

G. Deuteronomy 33:10: Deuteronomy 31:9-13

H. Deuteronomy 33:13: Proverbs 3:20

I. Deuteronomy 33:16: Exodus 3:2-4

J. Deuteronomy 33:16: Genesis 49:26

K. Deuteronomy 33:18: Genesis 49:13; Judges 5:15; Judges 5:18

L. Deuteronomy 33:20: 1 Chronicles 12:8

M. Deuteronomy 33:20: Numbers 32:1-38

N. Deuteronomy 33:22: Judges 5:17

O. Deuteronomy 33:24: Genesis 49:20

P. Deuteronomy 33:26: Psalm 18:7-19

Q. Deuteronomy 33:27: Psalm 91:9

R. Deuteronomy 33:28: Numbers 23:9

S. Deuteronomy 33:28: Deuteronomy 8:7-9

T. Deuteronomy 33:29: Psalm 18:43-45

U. Deuteronomy 33:29: Deuteronomy 32:13; Habakkuk 3:19