Deuteronomy 33–34

Chapter 33

The Blessing of Moses

¹Now this is the blessing with which Moses ^athe man of God blessed the sons of Israel before his death.

²He said,

“^aThe Lord came from Sinai,

^bAnd ¹dawned on them from Seir;

^cHe shone forth from Mount Paran,

And He came from ^dthe ²midst of ten thousand holy ones;

^eAt His right hand there was ³flashing lightning for them.

³“^aIndeed, He loves ¹the people;

^bAll ²Your holy ones are in Your hand,

^cAnd they ³followed in Your steps;

Everyone receives of Your words.

⁴“^aMoses charged us with a law,

^bA possession for the assembly of Jacob.

⁵“^aAnd He was king in Jeshurun,

When the heads of the people were gathered,

The tribes of Israel together.

⁶“^aMay Reuben live and not die,

Nor his men be few.”

^7aAnd this regarding Judah; so he said,

“Hear, O Lord, the voice of Judah,

And bring him to his people.

With his hands he contended for ¹them,

And may You be a help against his adversaries.”

⁸Of Levi he said,

“Let Your ^aThummim and Your Urim belong to ¹Your ^bgodly man,

^cWhom You proved at Massah,

With whom You contended at the waters of Meribah;

^9aWho said of his father and his mother,

‘I did not consider them’;

And he did not acknowledge his brothers,

Nor did he regard his own sons,

For ^bthey observed Your word,

And kept Your covenant.

¹⁰“^aThey shall teach Your ordinances to Jacob,

And Your law to Israel.

^bThey shall put incense ¹before You,

And ^cwhole burnt offerings on Your altar.

¹¹“O Lord, bless his substance,

And accept the work of his hands;

Shatter the loins of those who rise up against him,

And those who hate him, so that they will not rise again.”

¹²Of Benjamin he said,

“^aMay the beloved of the Lord dwell in security by Him,

^bWho shields him all the day,

^cAnd he dwells between His shoulders.”

¹³Of Joseph he said,

“^aBlessed of the Lord be his land,

With the choice things of heaven, with the dew,

And from the deep lying beneath,

¹⁴And with the choice yield of the sun,

And with the choice produce of the months.

¹⁵“And with the ¹best things of ^athe ancient mountains,

And with the choice things of the everlasting hills,

¹⁶And with the choice things of the earth and its fullness,

And the favor ^aof Him who dwelt in the bush.

Let it come to the head of Joseph,

And to the crown of the head of the one distinguished among his brothers.

¹⁷“As the firstborn of his ox, majesty is his,

And his horns are the horns of ^athe wild ox;

With them he will ^bpush the peoples,

All ¹at once, to the ends of the earth.

And those are the ten thousands of Ephraim,

And those are the thousands of Manasseh.”

^18aOf Zebulun he said,

“Rejoice, Zebulun, in your going forth,

And, Issachar, in your tents.

¹⁹“^aThey will call peoples to the mountain;

There they will offer ^brighteous sacrifices;

For they will ¹draw out ^cthe abundance of the seas,

And the hidden treasures of the sand.”

^20aOf Gad he said,

“Blessed is the one who enlarges Gad;

He lies down ^bas a ¹lion,

And tears the arm, also the crown of the head.

²¹“^aThen he ¹provided the first part for himself,

^bFor there the ruler’s portion was ²reserved;

^cAnd he came with the leaders of the people;

^dHe executed the justice of the Lord,

And His ordinances with Israel.”

^22aOf Dan he said,

“Dan is ^ba lion’s whelp,

That leaps forth from Bashan.”

²³Of Naphtali he said,

“^aO Naphtali, satisfied with favor,

And full of the blessing of the Lord,

Take possession of the sea and the south.”

^24aOf Asher he said,

“More blessed than sons is Asher;

May he be favored by his brothers,

^bAnd may he dip his foot in oil.

²⁵“^aYour locks will be iron and bronze,

^bAnd according to your days, so will your leisurely walk be.

²⁶“^aThere is none like the God of ¹Jeshurun,

^bWho rides the heavens ²to your help,

And through the skies in His majesty.

²⁷“^aThe eternal God is a ¹dwelling place,

^bAnd underneath are the everlasting arms;

^cAnd He drove out the enemy from before you,

^dAnd said, ‘Destroy!’

²⁸“^aSo Israel dwells in security,

^bThe fountain of Jacob secluded,

^cIn a land of grain and new wine;

^dHis heavens also drop down dew.

²⁹“^aBlessed are you, O Israel;

^bWho is like you, a people saved by the Lord,

^cWho is the shield of your help

^dAnd the sword of your majesty!

^eSo your enemies will cringe before you,

^fAnd you will tread upon their high places.”

Chapter 34

The Death of Moses

^1aNow Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho. And the Lord ^bshowed him all the land, Gilead as far as Dan,

²and all Naphtali and the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah as far as the ^1awestern sea,

³and the ¹Negev and the plain in the valley of Jericho, ^athe city of palm trees, as far as Zoar.

⁴Then the Lord said to him, “This is the land which ^aI swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it to your ¹descendants’; I have let you see it with your eyes, but you shall not go over there.”

⁵So Moses ^athe servant of the Lord ^bdied there in the land of Moab, according to the ¹word of the Lord.

⁶And He buried him in the valley in the land of Moab, ^aopposite Beth-peor; but ^bno man knows his burial place to this day.

⁷Although Moses was ^aone hundred and twenty years old when he died, ^bhis eye was not dim, nor his vigor abated.

⁸So the sons of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days; then the days of weeping and mourning for Moses came to an end.

⁹Now Joshua the son of Nun was ^afilled with the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him; and the sons of Israel listened to him and did as the Lord had commanded Moses.

¹⁰Since that time ^ano prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom ^bthe Lord knew face to face,

¹¹for all the signs and wonders which the Lord sent him to perform in the land of Egypt against Pharaoh, all his servants, and all his land,

¹²and for all the mighty ¹power and for all the great terror which Moses performed in the sight of all Israel.