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Deuteronomy 33 :: English Standard Version (ESV)

Moses’ Final Blessing on Israel

Deu 33:1

Deu 33:1This is the blessing with which Moses the man of God blessed the people of Israel before his death.

Deu 33:2

Deu 33:2He said,
“The LORD came from Sinai
and dawned from Seir upon us;[fn]
he shone forth from Mount Paran;
he came from the ten thousands of holy ones,
with flaming fire[fn] at his right hand.

Deu 33:3

Deu 33:3Yes, he loved his people,[fn]
all his holy ones were in his[fn] hand;
so they followed[fn] in your steps,
receiving direction from you,

Deu 33:4

Deu 33:4when Moses commanded us a law,
as a possession for the assembly of Jacob.

Deu 33:5

Deu 33:5Thus the LORD[fn] became king in Jeshurun,
when the heads of the people were gathered,
all the tribes of Israel together.

Deu 33:6

Deu 33:6“Let Reuben live, and not die,
but let his men be few.”

Deu 33:7

Deu 33:7And this he said of Judah:
“Hear, O LORD, the voice of Judah,
and bring him in to his people.
With your hands contend[fn] for him,
and be a help against his adversaries.”

Deu 33:8

Deu 33:8And of Levi he said,
“Give to Levi[fn] your Thummim,
and your Urim to your godly one,
whom you tested at Massah,
with whom you quarreled at the waters of Meribah;

Deu 33:9

Deu 33:9who 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.

Deu 33:10

Deu 33:10They shall teach Jacob your rules
and Israel your law;
they shall put incense before you
and whole burnt offerings on your altar.

Deu 33:11

Deu 33:11Bless, 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.”

Deu 33:12

Deu 33:12Of Benjamin he said,
“The beloved of the LORD dwells in safety.
The High God[fn] surrounds him all day long,
and dwells between his shoulders.”

Deu 33:13

Deu 33:13And of Joseph he said,
“Blessed by the LORD be his land,
with the choicest gifts of heaven above,[fn]
and of the deep that crouches beneath,

Deu 33:14

Deu 33:14with the choicest fruits of the sun
and the rich yield of the months,

Deu 33:15

Deu 33:15with the finest produce of the ancient mountains
and the abundance of the everlasting hills,

Deu 33:16

Deu 33:16with 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.

Deu 33:17

Deu 33:17A firstborn bull[fn]—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.”

Deu 33:18

Deu 33:18And of Zebulun he said,
“Rejoice, Zebulun, in your going out,
and Issachar, in your tents.

Deu 33:19

Deu 33:19They 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.”

Deu 33:20

Deu 33:20And of Gad he said,
“Blessed be he who enlarges Gad!
Gad crouches like a lion;
he tears off arm and scalp.

Deu 33:21

Deu 33:21He 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.”

Deu 33:22

Deu 33:22And of Dan he said,
“Dan is a lion’s cub
that leaps from Bashan.”

Deu 33:23

Deu 33:23And of Naphtali he said,
“O Naphtali, sated with favor,
and full of the blessing of the LORD,
possess the lake[fn] and the south.”

Deu 33:24

Deu 33:24And of Asher he said,
“Most blessed of sons be Asher;
let him be the favorite of his brothers,
and let him dip his foot in oil.

Deu 33:25

Deu 33:25Your bars shall be iron and bronze,
and as your days, so shall your strength be.

Deu 33:26

Deu 33:26“There is none like God, O Jeshurun,
who rides through the heavens to your help,
through the skies in his majesty.

Deu 33:27

Deu 33:27The eternal God is your dwelling place,[fn]
and underneath are the everlasting arms.[fn]
And he thrust out the enemy before you
and said, ‘Destroy.’

Deu 33:28

Deu 33:28So Israel lived in safety,
Jacob lived alone,[fn]
in a land of grain and wine,
whose heavens drop down dew.

Deu 33:29

Deu 33:29Happy 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.”
See the ESV Preface (Especially for Parenthesis, Brackets, & Asterisks).
ESV Footnotes
Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate; Hebrew them
The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain
Septuagint; Hebrew peoples
Hebrew your
The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain
Hebrew Thus he
Probable reading; Hebrew With his hands he contended
Dead Sea Scroll, Septuagint; Masoretic Text lacks Give to Levi
Septuagint; Hebrew dwells in safety by him. He
Two Hebrew manuscripts and Targum; Hebrew with the dew
Dead Sea Scroll, Septuagint, Samaritan; Masoretic Text His firstborn bull
Or west
Or a dwelling place
Revocalization of verse 27 yields He subdues the ancient gods, and shatters the forces of old
Hebrew the abode of Jacob was alone
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The Holy Bible, English Standard Version copyright © 2001, 2007, 2011, 2016 by Crossway Books and Bibles, a Publishing Ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

See detailed copyright information.

For more information on this translation, see the ESV Preface.

Deuteronomy Chapter 33 — Additional Translations:

King James Version New King James Version New Living Translation New International Version Christian Standard Bible New American Standard Bible 2020 New American Standard Bible 1995 Legacy Standard Bible Amplified Bible New English Translation Revised Standard Version American Standard Version Young's Literal Translation Darby Translation Webster's Bible Hebrew Names Version Latin Vulgate Westminster Leningrad Codex Septuagint Smith Van Dyck Arabic Bible Open New Arabic Version Brenton's English Septuagint Reina Valera 1909 Reina-Valera 1960 Bible in Basic English Chinese Traditional Union Espanol Moderno Korean Holy Bible Louis Segond German Luther Russian Synodal Translation Sagradas Escrituras

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