Deuteronomy 33 - Lexham English Bible (LEB)

Blessings of Moses on Israel

33 Now^[a] this is the blessing with which Moses, the man of God, blessed the Israelites^[b] before^[c] his death.

² Then^[d] he said,

“Yahweh came from Sinai,
and he dawned upon them from Seir;
he shone forth from Mount Paran,
and he came with myriads of holy ones,
at his right hand a fiery law for them.^[e]
3 Moreover,^[f] he loves his people,^[g]
all the holy ones were in your hand,
and they bowed down to^[h] your feet,
each one accepted directions from you.^[i]
4 A law Moses instructed for us,
as a possession for the assembly of Jacob.
⁵ And then a king arose in Jeshurun,
at the gathering of the leaders of the people,
united were the tribes of Israel.^[j]
6 “May Reuben live, and may he not die,
and let his number not be few.”^[k]
7 And he said this of Judah,^[l]
“Hear, O Yahweh, the voice of Judah,
and bring him to his people;
his own hands strive^[m] for him,
and may you be a help against^[n] his foes.”
⁸ And of Levi he said,
“Your Thummim and your Urim
are for your faithful one,^[o]
whom you tested at Massah;^[p]
you contended with him
at the waters of Meribah.
⁹ The one saying of his father and of his mother,
‘I have not regarded them,’
and his brothers he did not acknowledge,
and his children^[q] he did not know,
but rather they observed your word,
and your covenant they kept.
¹⁰ They taught^[r] your regulations to Jacob,
and your law to Israel;
they placed incense smoke before you,^[s]
and whole burnt offerings on your altar.
¹¹ Bless, O Yahweh, his substance,
and with the work of his hands you must be pleased;
smite the loins of those who attack him,
and those hating him, so that they cannot arise.”^[t]
12 Of Benjamin he said,
“The beloved of Yahweh dwells securely,^[u]
the Most High^[v] shields all around him,
all the day,
and between his shoulders he dwells.”
¹³ And of Joseph he said,
“Blessed by Yahweh is his land,
with^[w] the choice things of heaven,
with^[x] dew, and with^[y] the deep lying down beneath,
¹⁴ and with^[z] the choice things of the fruits^[aa] of the the sun,
and with the choice things of the yield of the seasons,^[ab]
15 and with^[ac] the finest things of the ancient mountains,
and with^[ad] the choice things of the eternal hills,^[ae]
16 and with^[af] the choice things of the earth and its fullness,
and the favor of the one who dwelt^[ag] in the bush.^[ah]
Let them come to the head of Joseph,
and to the crown of the prince among his brothers.
¹⁷ As the firstborn of his ox, majesty belongs to him,^[ai]
and his horns are the horns of a wild ox;
with them he drives people together,^[aj]
and they are the myriads of Ephraim,
and they are the thousands of Manasseh.”
¹⁸ And of Zebulun he said,
“Rejoice, Zebulun, in your going out,
and rejoice, Issachar, in your tents;
¹⁹ They summon people to the mountains;^[ak]
there they sacrifice the sacrifices of righteousness,
because the affluence of the seas they suck out,
and the most hidden treasures of the sand.”^[al]
20 And of Gad he said,
“Blessed be the one who enlarges Gad;^[am]
like a lion he dwells,
and he tears an arm as well as a scalp.
²¹ And he selected^[an] the best part for himself, ^[ao]
for there the portion of a ruler is included,
and he came with the heads of the people;^[ap]
he did^[aq] the righteousness of Yahweh,
and his regulations for Israel.”
²² And of Dan he said,
“Dan is a cub of a lion;
he leaps from Bashan.”^[ar]
23 And of Naphtali, he said,
“Oh, Naphtali, sated of favor,
and full of the blessing of Yahweh;
take possession of the lake,
and the land to the south.”
²⁴ And of Asher he said,
“Blessed more than sons^[as] is Asher;
may he be the favorite^[at] of his brothers,
dipping his feet in the oil.^[au]
25 Your bars are^[av] iron and bronze,
and as your days, so is^[aw] your strength.”
²⁶ “There is no one like God, O, Jeshurun,
who rides through the heavens to your help,
and with his majesty through the skies.
²⁷ The God of ancient time^[ax] is a hiding place,
and underneath are the arms of eternity,^[ay]
and he drove out from before^[az] you your enemy,
and he said, ‘Destroy them!’
²⁸ So Israel dwells alone and carefree,
the spring of Jacob in a land of grain and wine;
his heavens even drip dew.
²⁹ Blessed are you, O Israel.
Who is like you, a people who is saved by Yahweh,
the shield of your help,
and who is the sword of your triumph,
and your enemies, they shall fawn before you,^[ba]
and you shall tread on their backs.”

Footnotes

1. Deuteronomy 33:1 Or “And”
2. Deuteronomy 33:1 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
3. Deuteronomy 33:1 Literally “to the face of”
4. Deuteronomy 33:2 Or “And”
5. Deuteronomy 33:2 This pointing of the MT is very difficult; here HALOT 93 suggests “fire a law for them” as a translation of the compound Hebrew word made up of “fire” + “law,” which I render as “a fiery law”
6. Deuteronomy 33:3 Or “Indeed”
7. Deuteronomy 33:3 Literally “a lover of peoples”
8. Deuteronomy 33:3 Or “at”
9. Deuteronomy 33:3 Literally “he takes up from your words”
10. Deuteronomy 33:5 Literally “together the tribes of Israel”
11. Deuteronomy 33:6 Literally “let he be his people of number”
12. Deuteronomy 33:7 Literally “and this concerning/to Judah, and he said”
13. Deuteronomy 33:7 Or “is/are great” on his behalf
14. Deuteronomy 33:7 Literally “from”
15. Deuteronomy 33:8 Literally “man, your faithful one”
16. Deuteronomy 33:8 Literally “whom you tested him at Massah”
17. Deuteronomy 33:9 Or “sons”
18. Deuteronomy 33:10 Or “teach/will teach”
19. Deuteronomy 33:10 Literally “in your nose”
20. Deuteronomy 33:11 Literally “so that not they stand up”
21. Deuteronomy 33:12 Literally “in confidence”
22. Deuteronomy 33:12 This is the most likely reading in context (Most High God). Literally the Hebrew text reads “upon him,” so the NASV translates the first line as: dwell in security “by him”
23. Deuteronomy 33:13 Hebrew “from”
24. Deuteronomy 33:13 Hebrew “from”
25. Deuteronomy 33:13 Hebrew “from”
26. Deuteronomy 33:14 Hebrew “from”
27. Deuteronomy 33:14 Or “produce of”
28. Deuteronomy 33:14 Literally “months”
29. Deuteronomy 33:15 Hebrew “from”
30. Deuteronomy 33:15 Hebrew “from”
31. Deuteronomy 33:15 Literally “the hills of eternity never ending ages”
32. Deuteronomy 33:16 Hebrew “from”
33. Deuteronomy 33:16 Literally “dwells” but context puts the event into the past; literally “dweller of the bush”
34. Deuteronomy 33:16 Some scholars suggest that this expression must be read as: on Sinai
35. Deuteronomy 33:17 Literally “is for him”
36. Deuteronomy 33:17 Or “all at once” (NASB)
37. Deuteronomy 33:19 Hebrew “mountain”
38. Deuteronomy 33:19 Literally “the covered of the hidden of the sand”
39. Deuteronomy 33:20 Literally “the enlarger of Gad”
40. Deuteronomy 33:21 Or “provided”
41. Deuteronomy 33:21 Hebrew “for him”
42. Deuteronomy 33:21 Or possibly, “the heads of the people came/assembled” (compare NEB)
43. Deuteronomy 33:21 Or “worked”
44. Deuteronomy 33:22 Hebrew “the Bashan,” referring to a well-known geographical and agricultural area
45. Deuteronomy 33:24 Literally “blessed from/of sons is” features the comparative use the Hebrew preposition min, “than”
46. Deuteronomy 33:24 Literally “may he be favored”
47. Deuteronomy 33:24 Literally “and dipping in the oil his feet”
48. Deuteronomy 33:25 Or “will be”
49. Deuteronomy 33:25 Or “so will be/may be”
50. Deuteronomy 33:27 Literally “before/earlier times”
51. Deuteronomy 33:27 Or “everlasting ages” or “everlasting arms”
52. Deuteronomy 33:27 Literally “from your face”
53. Deuteronomy 33:29 Hebrew “to you”