Moses’ Death Foretold
Moses’ Final Blessing on Israel
DEUTERONOMY 33 [†]This is the blessing with which Moses y the man of God blessed the people of Israel before his death. 2[†]He said,
z “The LORD came from Sinai
and dawned from Seir upon us; [1]
he shone forth from Mount Paran;
he came a from the ten thousands of holy ones,
with flaming fire [2] at his right hand.
3 Yes, b he loved his people, [3]
c all his holy ones were in his [4] hand;
d so they followed [5] in your steps,
receiving direction from you,
4 when e Moses commanded us a law,
as a possession for the assembly of Jacob.
5[†] Thus the LORD [6] f became king in g Jeshurun,
when the heads of the people were gathered,
all the tribes of Israel together.
6[†] h “Let Reuben live, and not die,
but let his men be few.”
7And this he said of Judah:
“Hear, O LORD, the voice of Judah,
and bring him in to his people.
With your hands contend [7] for him,
and be a help against his adversaries.”
“Give to Levi [8] j your Thummim,
and your Urim to your godly one,
k whom you tested at Massah,
with whom you quarreled at the waters of Meribah;
9 who said of his father and mother,
‘I regard them not’;
l he disowned his brothers
and ignored his children.
For m they observed your word
and kept your covenant.
10[†] n They shall teach Jacob your rules
and Israel your law;
o they shall put incense before you
and p whole burnt offerings on your altar.
11 Bless, O LORD, his substance,
and q accept the work of his hands;
crush the loins of his adversaries,
of those who hate him, that they rise not again.”
“The beloved of the LORD dwells in safety.
The High God [9] surrounds him all day long,
and dwells between his shoulders.”
t “Blessed by the LORD be his land,
with the choicest gifts of heaven u above, [10]
and of the deep that crouches beneath,
14 with the choicest fruits of the sun
and the rich yield of the months,
15[†] with the finest produce of the ancient mountains
and the abundance of v the everlasting hills,
16 with the best gifts of the earth and w its fullness
and the favor of x him who dwells in the bush.
May these rest on the head of Joseph,
on the pate of him who is prince among his brothers.
17 y A firstborn bull [11]—he has majesty,
and his horns are the horns of a z wild ox;
with them a he shall gore the peoples,
all of them, to the ends of the earth;
b they are the ten thousands of Ephraim,
and they are the thousands of Manasseh.”
18And of Zebulun he said,
c “Rejoice, Zebulun, in your going out,
and Issachar, in your tents.
19 They shall call peoples d to their mountain;
there they offer e right sacrifices;
for they draw from the abundance of the seas
and the hidden treasures of the sand.”
20And f of Gad he said,
“Blessed be he who enlarges Gad!
Gad crouches g like a lion;
he tears off arm and scalp.
21[†] h He chose the best of the land for himself,
for there a commander’s portion was reserved;
and i he came with the heads of the people,
with Israel he executed the justice of the LORD,
and his judgments for Israel.”
k “Dan is a lion’s cub
l that leaps from Bashan.”
23[†]And m of Naphtali he said,
“O Naphtali, sated with favor,
and full of the blessing of the LORD,
n possess the lake [12] and the south.”
“Most blessed of sons be Asher;
let him be the favorite of his brothers,
and let him p dip his foot in oil.
25 Your bars shall be iron and bronze,
and as your days, so shall your strength be.
26[†] q “There is none like God, O r Jeshurun,
s who rides through the heavens to your help,
through the skies in his majesty.
27 The eternal God is your t dwelling place, [13]
and underneath are the everlasting arms. [14]
And he thrust out the enemy before you
and said, ‘Destroy.’
28 So Israel lived in safety,
in a land of grain and wine,
whose heavens drop down dew.
29[†] Happy are you, O Israel! w Who is like you,
a people x saved by the LORD,
y the shield of your help,
and the sword of your triumph!
Your enemies shall come fawning to you,
and you shall tread upon their backs.”