Devarim (Deuteronomy) 33

1This is the blessing with which Moses, the agent of God, bade the Israelites farewell before he died.

2He said: GOD came from Sinai,And shone upon them from Seir—Appearing from Mount Paran,And approaching from Ribeboth-kodesh, Lightning flashing at them from [God’s] right. uncertain, perhaps a place name.†

3Lover, indeed, of the people,Their hallowed are all in Your hand.They followed in Your steps,Accepting Your pronouncements,†

4When Moses charged us with the TeachingAs the heritage of the congregation of Jacob.

5Then [God] became King in Jeshurun, When the heads of the people assembled,The tribes of Israel together.†

6May Reuben live and not die,Though few be his numbers.

7And this he said of Judah:Hear, O ETERNAL One, the voice of JudahAnd restore him to his people.Though his own hands strive for him, with pathaḥ) “Make his hands strong for him.” Cf. rabbeh, Judg. 9.29. Help him against his foes.†

8And of Levi he said:Let Your Thummim and UrimBe with Your faithful one,Whom You tested at Massah,Challenged at the Waters of Meribah;

9Who said of his father and mother,“I consider them not.”His brothers he disregarded,Ignored his own children.Your precepts alone they observed,And kept Your covenant.

10They shall teach Your laws to JacobAnd Your instructions to Israel.They shall offer You incense to savor And whole-offerings on Your altar.†

11Bless, O ETERNAL One, his substance,And favor his undertakings.Smite the loins of his foes;Let his enemies rise no more.

12Of Benjamin he said:Beloved of GOD,He rests securely close by,Ever protected,As he rests between God’s shoulders.†

13And of Joseph he said:Blessed of GOD be his landWith the bounty of dew from heaven, (“above”) for miṭṭal (lit. “from dew”), cf. Gen. 49.25. And of the deep that couches below;†

14With the bounteous yield of the sun,And the bounteous crop of the moons;

15With the best from the ancient mountains,And the bounty of hills immemorial;

16With the bounty of earth and its fullness,And the favor of the Presence in the Bush.May these rest on the head of Joseph,On the crown of the elect of his brothers.†

17Like a firstling bull in his majesty,He has horns like the horns of the wild-ox;With them he gores the peoples,The ends of the earth one and all.These are the myriads of Ephraim,Those are the thousands of Manasseh.†

18And of Zebulun he said:Rejoice, O Zebulun, on your journeys,And Issachar, in your tents.

19They invite their kin to the mountain,Where they offer sacrifices of success.For they draw from the riches of the seaAnd the hidden hoards of the sand.

20And of Gad he said:Blessed be the One who enlarges Gad!Poised is he like a lionTo tear off arm and scalp.

21“esteemed” in post-biblical Heb. He chose for himself the best,For there is the portion of the revered chieftain,Where the heads of the people come.He executed GOD’s judgmentsAnd decisions for Israel.†

22And of Dan he said:Dan is a lion’s whelpThat leaps forth from Bashan.

23And of Naphtali he said:O Naphtali, sated with favorAnd full of GOD’s blessing,Take possession on the west and south.

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

25May your doorbolts be iron and copper,And your security last all your days.†

26O Jeshurun, there is none like God,Riding through the heavens to help you,Through the skies in heavenly majesty.†

27The ancient God is a refuge,A support are the arms everlasting—Driving out the enemy before youBy a command: Destroy!†

28Thus Israel dwells in safety,Untroubled is Jacob’s abode,In a land of grain and wine,Under heavens dripping dew.

29O happy Israel! Who is like you,A people delivered by GOD,Your protecting Shield, your Sword triumphant!Your enemies shall come cringing before you,And you shall tread on their backs.