Deuteronomy 33:6–25

⁶Moses said about the tribe of Reuben:

“May Reuben never die out,

Although their people are few.”

⁷About the tribe of Judah he said:

“Lord, listen to their cry for help;

Unite them again with the other tribes.

Fight for them, Lord,

And help them against their enemies.”^h

^8*About the tribe of Levi he said:

“You, Lord, reveal your will by the Urim and Thummimⁱ

Through your faithful servants, the Levites;

You put them to the test at Massah

And proved them true at the waters of Meribah.

⁹They showed greater loyalty to you

Than to parents, brothers, or children.

They obeyed your commands

And were faithful to your covenant.

¹⁰They will teach your people to obey your Law;

They will offer sacrifices on your altar.

¹¹Lord, help their tribe to grow strong;

Be pleased with what they do.

Crush all their enemies;

Let them never rise again.”

¹²About the tribe of Benjamin he said:

“This is the tribe the Lord loves and protects;

He guards them all the day long, And he dwells in their midst.”^j

¹³About the tribe of Joseph he said:

“May the Lord bless their land with rain

And with water from under the earth.

¹⁴May their land be blessed with sun-ripened fruit,

Rich with the best fruits of each season.

¹⁵May their ancient hills be covered with choice fruit.

¹⁶May their land be filled with all that is good,

Blessed by the goodness of the Lord,

Who spoke from the burning bush.

May these blessings come to the tribe of Joseph,

Because he was the leader among his brothers.

¹⁷Joseph has the strength of a bull,

The horns of a wild ox.

His horns are Manasseh’s thousands

And Ephraim’s ten thousands.

With them he gores the nations

And pushes them to the ends of the earth.”

¹⁸About the tribes of Zebulun and Issachar he said:

“May Zebulun be prosperous in their trade on the sea,

And may Issachar’s wealth increase at home.

¹⁹They invite foreigners to their mountain

And offer the right sacrifices there.

They get their wealth from the sea

And from the sand along the shore.”

²⁰About the tribe of Gad he said:

“Praise God, who made their territory large.

Gad waits like a lion

To tear off an arm or a scalp.

²¹They took the best of the land for themselves;

A leader’s share was assigned to them.

They obeyed the Lord’s commands and laws

When the leaders of Israel were gathered together.”^k

²²About the tribe of Dan he said:

“Dan is a young lion;

He leaps out from Bashan.”

²³About the tribe of Naphtali he said:

“Naphtali is richly blessed by the Lord’s good favour;

Their land reaches to the south from Lake Galilee.”

²⁴About the tribe of Asher he said:

“Asher is blessed more than the other tribes.

May he be the favourite of his brothers,

And may his land be rich with olive trees.

²⁵May his towns be protected with iron gates,

And may he always live secure.”