Study Desk

This is the blessing that Moses, the man of God, gave the Israelites before his death.^(a)

He said: The Lord came from Sinai and appeared to them from Seir; He shone on them from Mount Paran and came with ten thousand holy ones,^[a] with lightning^[b] from His right hand^[c] for them.^(b)

Indeed He loves the people.^[d](c) All Your^[e] holy ones^[f] are in Your hand, and they assemble^[g] at Your feet. Each receives Your words.

Moses gave us instruction, a possession for the assembly of Jacob.

So He became King in Jeshurun^[h] when the leaders of the people gathered with the tribes of Israel.

Let Reuben live and not die though his people become few.^(d)

He said this about Judah: Lord , hear Judah's cry and bring him to his people. He fights for his cause^[i] with his own hands, but may You be a help against his foes.

He said about Levi: Your Thummim and Urim belong to Your faithful one;^[j] You tested him at Massah and contended with him at the waters of Meribah.^(e)

He said about his father and mother, "I do not regard them." He disregarded his brothers and didn't acknowledge his sons, for they kept Your word and maintained Your covenant.^(f)

They will teach Your ordinances to Jacob and Your instruction to Israel;^(g) they will set incense before You and whole burnt offerings on Your altar.

Lord , bless his possessions,^[k] and accept the work of his hands. Smash the loins of his adversaries and enemies, so that they cannot rise again.

He said about Benjamin: The Lord 's beloved rests^[l] securely on Him. He^[m] shields him all day long, and he rests on His shoulders.^[n]

He said about Joseph: May his land be blessed by the Lord with the dew of heaven's bounty and the watery depths that lie beneath;^(h)

with the bountiful harvest from the sun and the abundant yield of the seasons;

with the best products of the ancient mountains and the bounty of the eternal hills;

with the choice gifts of the land and everything in it; and with the favor of Him who appeared^[o] in the burning bush.⁽ⁱ⁾ May these rest on the head of Joseph, on the crown of the prince of his brothers.^(j)

His firstborn bull has^[p] splendor, and horns like^[q] those of a wild ox; he gores all the peoples with them to the ends of the earth. Such are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and such are the thousands of Manasseh.

He said about Zebulun: Rejoice, Zebulun, in your journeys, and Issachar, in your tents.

They summon the peoples to a mountain; there they offer acceptable sacrifices. For they draw from the wealth of the seas and the hidden treasures of the sand.^(k)

He said about Gad: The one who enlarges Gad's territory will be blessed. He lies down like a lion and tears off an arm or even a head.^(l)

He chose the best part for himself, because a ruler's portion was assigned there for him. He came with the leaders of the people; he carried out the Lord 's justice and His ordinances for Israel.^(m)

He said about Dan: Dan is a young lion, leaping out of Bashan.⁽ⁿ⁾

He said about Naphtali: Naphtali, enjoying approval, full of the Lord 's blessing, take^[r] possession to the west and the south.

He said about Asher: May Asher^[s] be the most blessed of the sons; may he be the most favored among his brothers and dip his foot in olive oil.^[t](o)

May the bolts of your gate be iron and bronze, and your strength last as long as you live.

There is none like the God of Jeshurun,^[u] who rides the heavens to your aid, the clouds in His majesty.^(p)

The God of old is your dwelling place,^(q) and underneath are the everlasting arms. He drives out the enemy before you and commands, "Destroy!"

So Israel dwells securely; Jacob lives untroubled^[v](r) in a land of grain and new wine; even his skies drip with dew.^(s)

How happy you are, Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the Lord ? He is the shield that protects you, the sword you boast in. Your enemies will cringe before you,^(t) and you will tread on their backs.^[w](u)

Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah,^(a) which faces Jericho, and the Lord showed him all the land: Gilead as far as Dan,

all of Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Mediterranean^[a] Sea,

the Negev, and the region from the Valley of Jericho, the City of Palms, as far as Zoar.

The Lord then said to him, "This is the land I promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, ‘I will give it to your descendants.'^(b) I have let you see it with your own eyes, but you will not cross into it."

So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab, as the Lord had said.

He buried him^[b] in the valley^(c) in the land of Moab facing Beth-peor, and no one to this day knows where his grave is.^(d)

Moses was 120 years old when he died; his eyes were not weak, and his vitality had not left him.

The Israelites wept for Moses in the plains of Moab 30 days. Then the days of weeping and mourning for Moses came to an end.

Joshua son of Nun was filled with the spirit of wisdom because Moses had laid his hands on him. So the Israelites obeyed him and did as the Lord had commanded Moses.

No prophet has arisen again in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face.^(e)

He was unparalleled for all the signs and wonders the Lord sent him to do against the land of Egypt—to Pharaoh, to all his officials, and to all his land,

and for all the mighty acts of power and terrifying deeds that Moses performed in the sight of all Israel.