 1 This is the blessing with which Moses the man of God blessed the children of Israel before his death. 2 He said: The Lord came from Sinai and rose from Seir to them. He shone forth from Mount Paran, and He came with ten thousands of saints. From His right went a fiery law for them. 3 Yes, He loved the people. All His saints are in your hand, and they sat down at your feet. Everyone shall receive of your words. 4 Moses commanded us a law, the inheritance of the congregation of Jacob. 5 He was king in Jeshurun, when the heads of the people and the tribes of Israel were gathered. 6 Let Reuben live and not die, and let not his men be few. 7 This for Judah: And he said, Hear, Lord, the voice of Judah, and bring him to his people. Let his hands be sufficient for him, and you shall be a help to him from his enemies. 8 Of Levi he said, Let your Thummim and your Urim be with your holy one whom you proved at Massah. You struggled+ with him at the Waters of Strife, 9 who said to his father and to his mother, I have not seen him. He has not acknowledged his brothers nor knew his own son, for they have observed your Word and kept your covenant. 10 Let them teach Jacob your judgments and Israel your law. Let them put incense before you and whole burnt sacrifice on your altar. 11 O Lord, bless his strength, and accept the work of his hands. Strike through the body+ of those who rise against him and of those who hate him so that they should not rise again. 12 Of Benjamin he said, The beloved of the Lord will live in safety beside Him and will cover him all day long. He will live between His shoulders. 13 Of Joseph he said, Blessed of the Lord be his land, with the precious things of the heavens, for the dew, and for the deep that crouches beneath, 14 and for the precious fruits of the sun, and with the best yield of the months. 15 With the first of the ancient mountains, and for the precious things of the everlasting hills, 16 and for the precious things of the earth and fullness of it, and for the good will of Him who lived in the Bush. Let the blessing come on the head of Joseph, and on the top of the head of him who was separated from his brothers. 17 His glory is like the firstborn of his bull. His horns are like the horns of the wild ox. He will push the people together to the ends of the earth. They are the ten thousands of Ephraim and the thousands of Manasseh. 18 Of Zebulun he said, Rejoice Zebulun, in your going out, and Issachar in your tents. 19 They will call the people to the mountain. There they shall offer sacrifices of righteousness. They will draw from the bounty of the seas and from treasures hidden in the sand. 20 Of Gad he said, Blessed is one who makes Gad greater. He lives like a lion and tears the arm and the crown of the head. 21 He provided the first part for himself, because there was the portion of the lawgiver hidden. And he came with the heads of the people. He executed the justice of the Lord, and His judgments with Israel. 22 Of Dan he said, Dan is a lion's whelp. He will leap from Bashan. 23 Of Naphtali he said, O Naphtali, satisfied with favor, and full with the blessing of the Lord, possess the west and the south. 24 Of Asher he said, Asher shall be blessed with children, let him be pleasing to his brothers, and let him dip his foot in oil. 25 your shoes shall be iron and bronze. And as your days, so shall your strength be. 26 There is none like the God of Jeshurun, who rides on the Heaven to your help, and in His majesty on the clouds. 27 The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. He will throw the enemy out from before you, and shall say, Destroy. 28 Israel shall live in safety alone. The fountain of Jacob in a land of grain and wine. And his heavens shall drop down dew. 29 Blessed are you, O Israel. Who is like you, O people saved by the Lord, the shield of your help, and who is the sword of your excellency. And your enemies shall be found liars to you, and you shall tread on their high places.
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