33 1 Moses before his death blesseth all the tribes of Israel. 26 There is no god like to the God of Israel: 29 Nor any people like unto his.
1 Now this is the [a]blessing wherewith Moses the man of God blessed the children of Israel before his death, and said,
2 The Lord came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them, and appeared clearly from mount Paran, and he came with ten [b]thousands of Saints, and at his right hand a fiery Law for them.
3 Though he love the people, yet [c]all thy Saints are in thine hands: and they are humbled at [d]thy feet, to receive thy words.
4 Moses commanded us a Law for an [e]inheritance of the Congregation of Jacob.
5 Then [f]he was among the [g]righteous people, as King, when the heads of the people, and the tribes of Israel were assembled.
6 ¶ Let [h]Reuben live, and not die, though his men be a small number.
7 ¶ And thus he blessed Judah, and said, Hear, O Lord, the voice of Judah, and bring him unto his people: his hands shall be [i]sufficient for him, if thou help him against his enemies.
8 ¶ And of Levi he said, Let thy (A)Thummim and thine Urim be with thine Holy one, whom thou didst prove in Massah, and didst cause him to strive at the waters of Meribah.
9 Who said unto his father and to his mother, [j]I have not seen him, neither knew he his brethren, nor knew his own children: for they observed thy word, and kept thy Covenant.
10 They shall teach Jacob thy judgments, and Israel thy Law: they shall put incense before thy face, and the burnt offering upon thine Altar.
11 Bless, O Lord, his substance, and accept the work of his hands: [k]smite through the loins of them that rise against him, and of them that hate him, that they rise not again.
12 ¶ Of Benjamin he said, The beloved of the Lord shall [l]dwell in safety by him: the Lord shall cover him all the day long, and dwell between his shoulders.
13 ¶ And of Joseph he said, Blessed of the Lord is his land for the sweetness of heaven, for the dew, and for the [m]depth lying beneath,
14 And for the sweet increase of the Sun, and for the sweet increase of the Moon,
15 And for thy sweetness of the top of the ancient mountains, and for the sweetness of the old hills,
16 And for the sweetness of the earth, and abundance therefore: and the good will of him that dwelt in the [n]bush, shall come upon the head of Joseph, and upon the top of the head of him that was (B)separated from his brethren.
17 His beauty shall be like his firstborn bullock, and his [o]horns as the horns of an unicorn: with them he shall smite the people together, even the ends of the world: these are also the ten thousands of Ephraim, and these are the thousands of Manasseh.
18 ¶ And of Zebulun he said, Rejoice, Zebulun, in thy [p]going out, and thou Issachar in thy tents.
19 They shall call the people unto the [q]mountain: there they shall offer the sacrifices of righteousness: for [r]they shall suck of the abundance of the sea, and of the treasures hid in the sand.
20 ¶ Also of Gad he said, Blessed be he that enlargeth Gad: he dwelleth as a lion, that catcheth for his prey the arm with the head.
21 And he looked to himself at the beginning, because there was a portion of the [s]Law-giver hid: yet he shall come with the heads of the people, to execute the justice of the Lord, and his judgments with Israel.
22 ¶ And of Dan he said, Dan is a lion’s whelp: he shall leap from Bashan.
23 ¶ Also of Naphtali he said, O Naphtali, satisfied with favor, and filled with the blessing of the Lord, possess [t]the West and the South.
24 ¶ And of Asher he said, Asher shall be blessed with children: he shall be acceptable unto his brethren, and shall dip his foot in oil.
25 Thy shoes shall be [u]iron and brass, and thy strength shall continue as long as thou livest.
26 ¶ There is none like God, O righteous people, which rideth upon the heavens for thine help, and on the clouds in his glory.
27 The eternal God is thy refuge, and under his arms thou art forever: he shall cast out the enemy before thee, and will say, Destroy them.
28 Then Israel [v]the fountain of Jacob shall dwell alone in safety in a land of wheat and wine: also his heavens shall drop the dew.
29 Blessed art thou, O Israel: who is like unto thee, O people saved by the Lord, the shield of thine help, and which is the sword of thy glory? therefore [w]thine enemies shall be in subjection to thee, and thou shalt tread upon their high places.
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 33:1 This blessing containeth not only a simple prayer, but an assurance of the effect thereof.
- Deuteronomy 33:2 Meaning, infinite Angels.
- Deuteronomy 33:3 Hebrew, his Saints, that is, the children of Israel.
- Deuteronomy 33:3 As thy disciples.
- Deuteronomy 33:4 To us and our successors.
- Deuteronomy 33:5 Or, Moses.
- Deuteronomy 33:5 Or, Israel.
- Deuteronomy 33:6 Reuben shall be one of the tribes of God’s people, though for his sin his honor be diminished, and his family but small.
- Deuteronomy 33:7 Signifying, that he should hardly obtain Jacob’s promises, Gen. 49:8.
- Deuteronomy 33:9 He preferred God’s glory to all natural affection, Exod. 32:29.
- Deuteronomy 33:11 He declareth that the ministers of God have many enemies, and therefore have need to be prayed for.
- Deuteronomy 33:12 Because the Temple should be built in Zion, which was in the tribe of Benjamin, he showeth that God should dwell with him there.
- Deuteronomy 33:13 Or, fountains.
- Deuteronomy 33:16 Which was God appearing unto Moses, Exod. 3:2.
- Deuteronomy 33:17 Or, strength.
- Deuteronomy 33:18 In thy prosperous voyages upon the Sea, Gen. 49:13.
- Deuteronomy 33:19 Or, mount Zion.
- Deuteronomy 33:19 The tribe of Zebulun.
- Deuteronomy 33:21 So the portion of the Gadites, and others on this side Jordan was God’s, though it was not so known.
- Deuteronomy 33:23 Meaning, near the sea.
- Deuteronomy 33:25 Thou shalt be strong, or thy country full of metal. It seemeth that Simeon is left out, because he was under Judah, and his portion of his inheritance, Josh. 19:9.
- Deuteronomy 33:28 Who was plentiful in issue as a fountain.
- Deuteronomy 33:29 Thine enemies for fear shall lie and fain to be in subjection.