Deuteronomy 33:6-25
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
6 May Reuben live and not die out,(A)
but let his numbers be few.
7 Of Judah he said this:
Hear, Lord, the voice of Judah,
and bring him to his people.[a]
His own hands defend his cause;
be a help against his foes.(B)
8 Of Levi he said:(C)
Give to Levi your Thummim,
your Urim[b] to your faithful one;
Him you tested at Massah,
contended against him at the waters of Meribah.(D)
9 [c]He said of his father and mother,
“I have no regard for them”;
His brothers he would not acknowledge,
and his own children he did not recognize.
For they kept your words,
and your covenant they upheld.(E)
10 (F)They teach your ordinances to Jacob,
your law to Israel.
They bring incense to your nostrils,
and burnt offerings to your altar.
11 Bless, Lord, his strength,
be pleased with the work of his hands.
Crush the loins of his adversaries
and of his foes, that they may not rise.
12 Of Benjamin he said:
The beloved of the Lord,
he abides in safety beside him;
He shelters him all day long;
the beloved abides at his breast.[d](G)
13 Of Joseph he said:(H)
Blessed by the Lord is his land
with the best of heaven above
and of the abyss crouching beneath;
14 With the best of the produce of the sun,
and the choicest yield of the months;
15 With the finest gifts of the ancient mountains
and the best from the everlasting hills;
16 With the best of the earth and its fullness,
and the favor of the one who dwells on Sinai.
Let these come upon the head of Joseph
and upon the brow of the prince among his brothers.(I)
17 His firstborn bull, majesty is his!
His horns are the horns of a wild ox;
With them he gores the peoples,
attacks the ends of the earth.
These are the myriads of Ephraim,
and these the thousands of Manasseh.
18 Of Zebulun he said:(J)
Rejoice, Zebulun, in your expeditions,
exult, Issachar, in your tents!
19 They invite peoples to the mountain
where they offer right sacrifices,
Because they suck up the abundance of the seas[e]
and the hidden treasures of the sand.
20 Of Gad he said:(K)
Blessed be the one who has made Gad so vast!
He lies there like a lion;
he tears the arm, the head as well.
21 He saw that the best should be his,
for there the commander’s portion was assigned;
he came at the head of the people.
He carried out the justice of the Lord
and his ordinances for Israel.(L)
22 Of Dan he said:
Dan is a lion’s cub,(M)
that springs away from a viper!
23 Of Naphtali he said:
Naphtali, abounding with favor,
filled with the blessing of the Lord,
take possession of the west and south.(N)
24 Of Asher he said:(O)
Most blessed[f] of sons be Asher!
May he be the favorite among his brothers,
and may he dip his foot in oil!
25 May the bolts of your gates be iron and bronze;
may your strength endure through all your days!
Footnotes
- 33:7 Bring him to his people: this probably refers to the isolated position of the tribe of Judah (cf. Jgs 1:17–19); according to some commentators the reference is to the divided kingdom.
- 33:8 Thummim…Urim: devices priests used for divination (cf. note on Ex 28:30).
- 33:9 The reference is probably to the Levites’ slaughter of other Israelites after the incident of the golden calf; cf. Ex 32:27–29.
- 33:12 Abides at his breast: an image of security under divine protection.
- 33:19 The abundance of the seas: perhaps the wealth that comes from sea trade or from fishing. The hidden treasures of the sand: possibly an allusion to the valuable purple dye extracted from certain marine shells found on the coast of northern Palestine.
- 33:24 Most blessed: Hebrew baruk; but the name Asher may suggest a play on the Hebrew ’ashre, “happy”; cf., e.g., v. 29; Ps 1:1. Oil: the land of the tribe of Asher was covered with olive groves.
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