Deuteronomy 33–34

Moses’ Blessings

33This is the blessing that Moses, the man of God, gave the Israelites before his death. ^g2He said:

The Lord came from Sinai

and appeared to them from Seir; ^h

He shone on them from Mount Paran ⁱ

and came with ten thousand holy ones, ^j

with lightning ^kfrom His right hand ^lfor them. ^m

³Indeed He loves the people. ^no

All Your ^pholy ones ^qare in Your hand,

and they assemble ^rat Your feet.

Each receives Your words.

⁴Moses gave us instruction,

a possession for the assembly of Jacob.

⁵So He became King in Jeshurun ^st

when the leaders of the people gathered

with the tribes of Israel.

⁶Let Reuben live and not die

though his people become few. ^u

⁷He said this about Judah:

Lord, hear Judah’s cry and bring him to his people.

He fights for his cause ^vwith his own hands,

but may You be a help against his foes.

⁸He said about Levi:

Your Thummim and Urim ^wbelong to Your faithful one; ^x

You tested him at Massah

and contended with him at the waters of Meribah. ^y

⁹He said about his father and mother,

“I do not regard them.”

He disregarded his brothers

and didn’t acknowledge his sons,

for they kept Your word

and maintained Your covenant. ^z

¹⁰They will teach Your ordinances to Jacob

and Your instruction to Israel; ^a

they will set incense before You

and whole burnt offerings on Your altar.

¹¹Lord, bless his possessions, ^b

and accept the work of his hands.

Smash the loins of his adversaries and enemies,

so that they cannot rise again.

¹²He said about Benjamin:

The Lord’s beloved rests ^csecurely on Him.

He ^dshields him all day long,

and he rests on His shoulders. ^e

¹³He said about Joseph:

May his land be blessed by the Lord

with the dew of heaven’s bounty

and the watery depths that lie beneath; ^f

¹⁴with the bountiful harvest from the sun

and the abundant yield of the seasons;

¹⁵with the best products of the ancient mountains

and the bounty of the eternal hills; ^g

¹⁶with the choice gifts of the land

and everything in it;

and with the favor of Him

who appeared ^hin the burning bush. ⁱ

May these rest on the head of Joseph,

on the crown of the prince of his brothers. ^j

¹⁷His firstborn bull has ^ksplendor,

and horns like ^lthose of a wild ox;

he gores all the peoples with them

to the ends of the earth.

Such are the ten thousands of Ephraim,

and such are the thousands of Manasseh.

¹⁸He said about Zebulun:

Rejoice, Zebulun, in your journeys,

and Issachar, in your tents.

¹⁹They summon the peoples to a mountain;

there they offer acceptable sacrifices.

For they draw from the wealth of the seas

and the hidden treasures of the sand. ^m

²⁰He said about Gad:

The one who enlarges Gad’s territory

will be blessed.

He lies down like a lion

and tears off an arm or even a head. ⁿ

²¹He chose the best part for himself,

because a ruler’s portion was assigned there for him.

He came with the leaders of the people;

he carried out the Lord’s justice

and His ordinances for Israel. ^o

²²He said about Dan:

Dan is a young lion,

leaping out of Bashan. ^p

²³He said about Naphtali:

Naphtali, enjoying approval,

full of the Lord’s blessing,

take ^qpossession to the west and the south.

²⁴He said about Asher:

May Asher ^rbe the most blessed of the sons;

may he be the most favored among his brothers

and dip his foot in olive oil. ^st

²⁵May the bolts of your gate be iron and bronze,

and your strength last as long as you live.

²⁶There is none like the God of Jeshurun, ^u

who rides the heavens to your aid,

the clouds in His majesty. ^v

²⁷The God of old is your dwelling place, ^w

and underneath are the everlasting arms.

He drives out the enemy before you

and commands, “Destroy!”

²⁸So Israel dwells securely; ^x

Jacob lives untroubled ^yz

in a land of grain and new wine;

even his skies drip with dew. ^a

²⁹How happy you are, Israel!

Who is like you,

a people saved by the Lord?

He is the shield that protects you,

the sword you boast in.

Your enemies will cringe before you, ^b

and you will tread on their backs. ^cd

Moses’ Death

34Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, ^ewhich faces Jericho, and the Lord showed him all the land: Gilead as far as Dan, ²all of Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Mediterranean ^fSea, ³the Negev, and the region from the Valley of Jericho, the City of Palms, as far as Zoar. ⁴The Lord then said to him, “This is the land I promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ ^gI have let you see it with your own eyes, but you will not cross into it.”

⁵So Moses the servant of the Lord ^hdied there in the land of Moab, as the Lord had said. ⁶He buried him ⁱin the valley ^jin the land of Moab facing Beth-peor, and no one to this day knows where his grave is. ^k7Moses was 120 years old when he died; his eyes were not weak, and his vitality had not left him. ⁸The Israelites wept for Moses in the plains of Moab 30 days. ^lThen the days of weeping and mourning for Moses came to an end. ^m

⁹Joshua son of Nun was filled with the spirit of wisdom ⁿbecause Moses had laid his hands on him. ^oSo the Israelites obeyed him and did as the Lord had commanded Moses. ^p10No prophet has arisen again in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face. ^q11He was unparalleled for all the signs and wonders the Lord sent him to do against the land of Egypt—to Pharaoh, to all his officials, and to all his land, ¹²and for all the mighty acts of power and terrifying deeds that Moses performed in the sight of all Israel. ^r