1 This is the blessing with which Moses, the man of God, blessed the Israelites before his death.
2
He said:
The
and dawned from Seir upon us; 1
he shone forth from Mount Paran.
With him were myriads of holy ones; 2
at his right, a host of his own. 3
3
Indeed, O favorite among 4 peoples,
all his holy ones were in your charge;
they marched at your heels,
accepted direction from you.
4
Moses charged us with the law,
as a possession for the assembly of Jacob.
5
There arose a king in Jeshurun,
when the leaders of the people assembled--
the united tribes of Israel.
6
May Reuben live, and not die out,
even though his numbers are few.
7
And this he said of Judah:
O
and bring him to his people;
strengthen his hands for him, 5
and be a help against his adversaries.
8
And of Levi he said:
Give to Levi 6 your Thummim,
and your Urim to your loyal one,
whom you tested at Massah,
with whom you contended at the waters of Meribah;
9
who said of his father and mother,
"I regard them not";
he ignored his kin,
and did not acknowledge his children.
For they observed your word,
and kept your covenant.
10
They teach Jacob your ordinances,
and Israel your law;
they place incense before you,
and whole burnt offerings on your altar.
11
Bless, O
and accept the work of his hands;
crush the loins of his adversaries,
of those that hate him, so that they do not rise again.
12
Of Benjamin he said:
The beloved of the
the High God 7 surrounds him all day long--
the beloved 8 rests between his shoulders.
13
And of Joseph he said:
Blessed by the
with the choice gifts of heaven above,
and of the deep that lies beneath;
14
with the choice fruits of the sun,
and the rich yield of the months;
15
with the finest produce of the ancient mountains,
and the abundance of the everlasting hills;
16
with the choice gifts of the earth and its fullness,
and the favor of the one who dwells on Sinai. 9
Let these come on the head of Joseph,
on the brow of the prince among his brothers.
17
A firstborn 10 bull--majesty is his!
His horns are the horns of a wild ox;
with them he gores the peoples,
driving them to 11 the ends of the earth;
such are the myriads of Ephraim,
such the thousands of Manasseh.
18
And of Zebulun he said:
Rejoice, Zebulun, in your going out;
and Issachar, in your tents.
19
They call peoples to the mountain;
there they offer the right sacrifices;
for they suck the affluence of the seas
and the hidden treasures of the sand.
20
And of Gad he said:
Blessed be the enlargement of Gad!
Gad lives like a lion;
he tears at arm and scalp.
21
He chose the best for himself,
for there a commander's allotment was reserved;
he came at the head of the people,
he executed the justice of the
and his ordinances for Israel.
22
And of Dan he said:
Dan is a lion's whelp
that leaps forth from Bashan.
23
And of Naphtali he said:
O Naphtali, sated with favor,
full of the blessing of the
possess the west and the south.
24
And of Asher he said:
Most blessed of sons be Asher;
may he be the favorite of his brothers,
and may he dip his foot in oil.
25
Your bars are iron and bronze;
and as your days, so is your strength.
26
There is none like God, O Jeshurun,
who rides through the heavens to your help,
majestic through the skies.
27
He subdues the ancient gods, 12
shatters 13 the forces of old; 14
he drove out the enemy before you,
and said, "Destroy!"
28
So Israel lives in safety,
untroubled is Jacob's abode 15
in a land of grain and wine,
where the heavens drop down dew.
29
Happy are you, O Israel! Who is like you,
a people saved by the
the shield of your help,
and the sword of your triumph!
Your enemies shall come fawning to you,
and you shall tread on their backs.