Deuteronomy 33

“The Lord came from Sinai

and dawned from Seir upon us;

he shone forth from Mount Paran;

he came from the ten thousands of holy ones,

with flaming fire at his right hand.

₃Yes, he loved his people,

all his holy ones were in his hand;

so they followed in your steps,

receiving direction from you,

₄when Moses commanded us a law,

as a possession for the assembly of Jacob.

₅Thus the Lord became king in Jeshurun,

when the heads of the people were gathered,

all the tribes of Israel together.

₆“Let Reuben live, and not die,

but let his men be few.”

“Hear, O Lord, the voice of Judah,

and bring him in to his people.

With your hands contend for him,

and be a help against his adversaries.”

“Give to Levi your Thummim,

and your Urim to your godly one,

whom you tested at Massah,

with whom you quarreled at the waters of Meribah;

₉who said of his father and mother,

‘I regard them not’;

he disowned his brothers

and ignored his children.

For they observed your word

and kept your covenant.

₁₀They shall teach Jacob your rules

and Israel your law;

they shall put incense before you

and whole burnt offerings on your altar.

₁₁Bless, O Lord, his substance,

and accept the work of his hands;

crush the loins of his adversaries,

of those who hate him, that they rise not again.”

“The beloved of the Lord dwells in safety.

The High God surrounds him all day long,

and dwells between his shoulders.”

“Blessed by the Lord be his land,

with the choicest gifts of heaven above,

and of the deep that crouches beneath,

₁₄with the choicest fruits of the sun

and the rich yield of the months,

₁₅with the finest produce of the ancient mountains

and the abundance of the everlasting hills,

₁₆with the best gifts of the earth and its fullness

and the favor of him who dwells in the bush.

May these rest on the head of Joseph,

on the pate of him who is prince among his brothers.

₁₇A firstborn bull—he has majesty,

and his horns are the horns of a wild ox;

with them he shall gore the peoples,

all of them, to the ends of the earth;

they are the ten thousands of Ephraim,

and they are the thousands of Manasseh.”

“Rejoice, Zebulun, in your going out,

and Issachar, in your tents.

₁₉They shall call peoples to their mountain;

there they offer right sacrifices;

for they draw from the abundance of the seas

and the hidden treasures of the sand.”

“Blessed be he who enlarges Gad!

Gad crouches like a lion;

he tears off arm and scalp.

₂₁He chose the best of the land for himself,

for there a commander’s portion was reserved;

and he came with the heads of the people,

with Israel he executed the justice of the Lord,

and his judgments for Israel.”

“Dan is a lion’s cub

that leaps from Bashan.”

“O Naphtali, sated with favor,

and full of the blessing of the Lord,

possess the lake and the south.”

“Most blessed of sons be Asher;

let him be the favorite of his brothers,

and let him dip his foot in oil.

₂₅Your bars shall be iron and bronze,

and as your days, so shall your strength be.

₂₆“There is none like God, O Jeshurun,

who rides through the heavens to your help,

through the skies in his majesty.

₂₇The eternal God is your dwelling place,

and underneath are the everlasting arms.

And he thrust out the enemy before you

and said, ‘Destroy.’

₂₈So Israel lived in safety,

Jacob lived alone,

in a land of grain and wine,

whose heavens drop down dew.

₂₉Happy are you, O Israel! Who is like you,

a people saved by the Lord,

the shield of your help,

and the sword of your triumph!

Your enemies shall come fawning to you,

and you shall tread upon their backs.”