Deuteronomy 33

¹This is the blessing with which Moses the man of God blessed the people of Israel before his death .

²He said , The Lord came from Sinai and dawned from Seir upon us; he shone forth from Mount Paran ; he came from the ten thousands of holy ones , with flaming fire at his right hand .

³Yes , he loved his people , all his holy ones were in his hand ; so they followed in your steps , receiving direction from you,

⁴when Moses commanded us a law , as a possession for the assembly of Jacob .

⁵Thus the Lord became king in Jeshurun , when the heads of the people were gathered , all the tribes of Israel together .

⁶Let 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 for him, and be a help against his adversaries .

⁸And of Levi he said , Give to Levi your Thummim , and your Urim to your godly one , whom you tested at Massah , with whom you quarreled at the waters of Meribah ;

⁹who said of his father and mother , I regard them not ; he disowned his brothers and ignored his children . For they observed your word and kept your covenant .

¹⁰They shall teach Jacob your rules and Israel your law ; they shall put incense before you and whole burnt offerings on your altar .

¹¹Bless , O Lord, his substance , and accept the work of his hands ; crush the loins of his adversaries , of those who hate him, that they rise not again .

¹²Of Benjamin he said , The beloved of the Lord dwells in safety . The High surrounds him all day long , and dwells between his shoulders .

¹³And of Joseph he said , Blessed by the Lord be his land , with the choicest gifts of heaven above, and of the deep that crouches beneath ,

¹⁴with the choicest fruits of the sun and the rich yield of the months ,

¹⁵with the finest produce of the ancient mountains and the abundance of the everlasting hills ,

¹⁶with the best gifts of the earth and its fullness and the favor of 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 .

¹⁷A firstborn bull —he has majesty , and his horns are the horns of a wild ox ; with them he shall gore the peoples , all of them , to the ends of the earth ; they are the ten thousands of Ephraim , and they are the thousands of Manasseh .

¹⁸And of Zebulun he said , Rejoice , Zebulun , in your going out , and Issachar , in your tents .

¹⁹They shall call peoples to their mountain ; there they offer right sacrifices ; for they draw from the abundance of the seas and the hidden treasures of the sand .

²⁰And of Gad he said , Blessed be he who enlarges Gad ! Gad crouches like a lion ; he tears off arm and scalp.

²¹He chose the best of the land for himself, for there a commander’s portion was reserved ; and he came with the heads of the people , with Israel he executed the justice of the Lord, and his judgments for Israel .

²²And of Dan he said , Dan is a lion’s cub that leaps from Bashan .

²³And of Naphtali he said , O Naphtali , sated with favor , and full of the blessing of the Lord, possess the lake and the south .

²⁴And of Asher he said , Most blessed of sons be Asher ; let him be the favorite of his brothers , and let him dip his foot in oil .

²⁵Your bars shall be iron and bronze , and as your days , so shall your strength be.

²⁶There is none like God , O Jeshurun , who rides through the heavens to your help , through the skies in his majesty .

²⁷The eternal God is your dwelling place , and underneath are the everlasting arms . And he thrust out the enemy before you and said , Destroy .

²⁸So Israel lived in safety , Jacob lived alone , in a land of grain and wine , whose heavens drop down dew .

²⁹Happy are you, O Israel ! Who is like you, a people saved by the Lord, 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 .