Deuteronomy

33 Now this is the blessing wherewith Moses, the man of God, blessed the sons of Israel,—before his death.

2 And he said—Yahweh from Sinai came near,—Yea he dawned out of Seir upon them, He shone forth out of Mount Paran, Yea he came out of holy myriads,—Out of his right hand [proceeded] fire to guide them.

3 Yea he loved the tribes. All his holy ones were in thy hand,—Yea, they were encamped at thy feet, Each one bare away some of thy words.

4 A law did Moses command us,—A possession for the convocation of Jacob.

5 Thus became he in Jeshurun a king,—When the heads of the people gathered themselves together, As one man the tribes of Israel. [Reuben]—

6 Let Reuben live and not die,—Nor his men be easily counted.

7 And this is for Judah, when he said, Hear, O Yahweh, the voice of Judah, That unto his own people thou wouldst bring him home,—Let his own hands suffice him, And a helper from his adversaries do thou become.

8 And of Levi he said: Let thy perfections and thy lights belong unto thy man of lovingkindness,—Whom thou didst put to the proof at Massah, With whom thou didst contend over the waters of Meribah;

9 Who saith of his father and of his mother, I behold them not, And his own brethren regardeth he not, And his own sons observeth he not,—Because they watch thy speech, That thy covenant they may preserve;

10 May teach thy regulations unto Jacob, And thy law unto Israel,—May put incense in thy nostrils, And a whole-offering upon thine altar.

11 Bless, O Yahweh, his substance, And with the work of his hands wilt thou be well pleased,—Crush thou the loins of them who rise up against him, And of them who hate him that they rise not again.

12 Of Benjamin he said, The beloved of Yahweh shall settle down securely,—With one to throw a shade over him all the day long, Yea, between his shoulders hath he found rest.

13 And of Joseph he said, Blessed of Yahweh be his land,—With the precious things of the heavens, with the dew, And with the abyss couching beneath;

14 And with the precious fruits of the sun,—And with the precious yield of the moons;

15 And with the chief of the ancient mountains,—And with the precious things of the age-abiding hills;

16 And with the precious things of the earth and its fulness, And with the goodwill of One who dwelt in a thorn-bush.—Let it come on the head of Joseph, And on the crown of the head of him who was consecrated among his brethren.

17 His firstborn ox be an honour to him, And the horns of a buffalo be his horns, With them let him thrust peoples, All at once to the ends of the earth,—Yea, [with] these the myriads of Ephraim, And [with] those the thousands of Manasseh.

18 And of Zebulun he said, Rejoice, Zebulun, in thy going out,—And [thou], Issachar, in thy tents:

19 The peoples unto the mountain will they call, There will they offer the sacrifices of righteousness,—For the abundance of the seas will they suck, Hidden treasures of the sand.

20 And of Gad he said: Blessed be he that hath made room for Gad,—As a lioness, hath he laid himself down, And hath torn an arm likewise the crown of the head;

21 And hath provided a first part for himself, For there a commander’s portion hath been hid,—So he cometh with the heads of the people, The righteousness of Yahweh he executeth, And his regulations with Israel.

22 And of Dan he said, Dan is a lion’s whelp,—He leapeth out of Bashan.

23 And of Naphtali he said, O Naphtali! satisfied with favour, And full with the blessing of Yahweh,—The west and the sunny south do thou possess.

24 And of Asher he said, Most blessed of sons be Asher,—Let him have the goodwill of his brethren, And let him dip in oil his foot:

25 Iron and bronze be thy sandals, And as thy days be thy strength.

26 There is none like God, O Jeshurun,—Riding upon the heavens to thy help,—And for his own majesty on the skies;

27 Above is the God of aforetime, And beneath are the Arms of the ages,—So he driveth before thee the foe, And doth say—Destroy!

28 Thus hath Israel settled down securely, Alone the fountain of Jacob, Within a land both of corn and new wine,—His heaven also droppeth down dew.

29 How happy art thou, O Israel! Who is like unto thee, O people victorious in Yahweh? Thy helpful shield who also is thy majestic sword,—So that thy foes come cringing unto thee, And thou upon their heights dost march along.