Deuteronomy 33

NEW JERUSALEM	DOUAI-RHEIMS
1 This is the blessing that Moses, man of God, pronounced over the Israelites before he died.	1 This is the blessing, wherewith the man of God Moses blessed the children of Israel, before his death.
2 He said: Yahweh came from Sinai, from Seir he dawned on us, from Mount Paran blazed forth, Forthem he came, after the mustering at Kadesh, from his zenith as far as the foothil s.	2 And he said: The Lord came from Sinai, and from Seir he rose up to us: he hath appeared from mount Pharan, and with him thousands of saints. In his right hand a fiery law.
3 You who love the ancestors! Your holy ones are all at your command. At your feet they fell, under yourguidance went swiftly on.	3 He hath loved the people, all the saints are in his hand: and they that approach to his feet, shall receive of his doctrine.
4 (Moses enjoined a law on us.) The assembly of Jacob comes into its inheritance;	4 Moses commanded us a law, the inheritance of the multitude of Jacob.
5 there was a king in Jeshurun when the heads of the people foregathered and the tribes of Israel wereal assembled!	5 He shall be king with the most right, the princes of the people being assembled with the tribes of Israel.
6 May Reuben survive and not die out, survive though his men be few!	6 Let Ruben live, and not die, and be he small in number.
7 Of Judah he said this: Listen, Yahweh, to the voice of Judah, and bring him back to his people. Thathis hands may defend his rights, come to his help against his foes!	7 This is the blessing of Juda. Hear, O Lord, the voice of Juda, and bring him in unto his people : his hands shall fight for him, and he shall be his helper against his enemies.
8 Of Levi he said: To Levi, give your urim, to your faithful one, your thummim, having tested him atMassah, having striven with him at the Waters of Meribah.	8 To Levi also he said: Thy perfection, and thy doctrine be to thy holy man, whom thou hast proved in the temptation, and judged at the waters of contradiction :
9 Of his father and mother, he says, 'I have not seen them.' He does not acknowledge his brothers, nordoes he know his own children. Yes, they have kept your word, they hold firmly to your covenant.	9 Who hath said to his father, and to his mother: I do not know you; and to his brethren: I know you not: and their own children they have not known. These have kept thy word, and observed thy covenant,
10 They wil teach your customs to Jacob, and your Law to Israel. They wil put incense before you andburnt offerings on your altar.	10 Thy judgments, O Jacob, and thy law, O Israel: they shall put incense in thy wrath and holocaust upon thy altar.
11 Yahweh, bless his worthiness, and accept the actions he performs. Crush the loins of those who riseagainst him and of his foes, so that they rise no more!	11 Bless, O Lord, his strength, and receive the works of his hands. Strike the backs of his enemies, and let not them that hate him rise.
12 Of Benjamin he said: Beloved of Yahweh, he rests trustful y near him. The Most High protects himday after day and dwel s between his hil sides.	12 And to Benjamin he said: The best beloved of the Lord shall dwell confidently in him: as in a bride chamber shall he abide all the day long, and between his shoulders shall be rest.
13 Of Joseph he said: His land is blessed by Yahweh. For him the best of heaven's dew and of the deepthat lies below,	13 To Joseph also he said: Of the blessing of the Lord be his land, of the fruits of heaven, and of the dew, and of the deep that lieth beneath.
14 the best of what the sun makes grow, of what springs with every month,	14 Of the fruits brought forth by the sun and by the moon.
15 the first-fruits of the ancient mountains, the best from the hil s of old	15 Of the tops of the ancient mountains, of the fruits of the everlasting hills:
16 the best of the land and al it holds, the favour of him who dwells in the Bush. May the hair grow thickon the head of Joseph, on the brow of the consecrated one among his brothers!	16 And of the fruits of the earth, and of the fulness thereof. The blessing of him that appeared in the bush, come upon the head of Joseph, and upon the crown of the Nazarite among his brethren.
17 First-born of the Bul , his the glory. His horns are the wild ox's horns, with which he gores thepeoples to the very ends of the earth. Such are the myriads of Ephraim, such are the thousands of Manasseh.	17 His beauty as of the firstling of a bullock, his horns as the horns of a rhinoceros: with them shall he push the nations even to the ends of the earth These are the multitudes of Ephraim and these the thousands of Manasses.
18 Of Zebulun he said: Prosper, Zebulun, in your expeditions, and you, Issachar, in your tents!	18 And to Zabulon he said: Rejoice, O Zabulon, in thy going out; and Issachar in thy tabernacles.
19 On the mountain where the people come to pray they offer upright sacrifices, for they taste the richesof the seas and the treasures hidden in the sands.	19 They shall call the people to the mountain: there shall they sacrifice the victims of justice. Who shall suck as milk the abundance of the sea, and the hidden treasures of the sands.
20 Of Gad he said: Blessed be he who gives Gad space enough! He lies there like a lioness; he hassavaged arm and face and head.	20 And to Gad he said: Blessed be Gad in his breadth: he hath rested as a lion, and hath seized upon the arm and the top of the head.
21 Then he took the first portion for himself, saw that there was stored up for him a leader's share. Hehas come at the head of the people, has carried out the saving justice of Yahweh and his judgements on Israel.	21 And he saw his pre-eminence, that in his portion the teacher was laid up: who was with the princes of the people, and did the justices of the Lord, and his judgment with Israel.
22 Of Dan he said: Dan is a lion cub leaping from Bashan.	22 To Dan also he said: Dan is a young lion, he shall flow plentifully from Basan.
23 Of Naphtali he said: Naphtali, sated with favours, fil ed with the blessings of Yahweh: the west andsouth are to be his domain.	23 And to Nephtali he said: Nephtali shall enjoy abundance, and shall be full of the blessings of the Lord: he shall possess the sea and the south.
24 Of Asher he said: Most blessed of the sons let Asher be! Let him be the most privileged of hisbrothers and let him bathe his feet in oil!	24 To Aser also he said: Let Aser be blessed with children, let him be acceptable to his brethren, and let him dip his foot in oil.
25 Be your bolts of iron and of bronze and your security as lasting as your days!	25 His shoe shall be iron and brass. As the days of thy youth, so also shall thy old age be.
26 No one is like the God of Jeshurun: he rides the heavens to your rescue, rides the clouds in hismajesty!	26 There is no other God like the God of the rightest: he that is mounted upon the heaven is thy helper. By his magnificence the clouds run hither and thither.
27 The God of old is your refuge, his the eternal arm which here below drives the enemy before you; heit is who says, 'Destroy!'	27 His dwelling is above, and underneath are the everlasting arms: he shall cast out the enemy from before thee, and shall say: Be thou brought to nought.
28 Israel rests trustfully. The well-spring of Jacob is chosen out for a land of corn and wine; thereheaven itself rains down dew.	28 Israel shall dwell in safety, and alone. The eye of Jacob in a land of corn and wine, and the heavens shall be misty with dew.
29 Blessed are you, O Israel! Who is like you, O victorious people? Yahweh is the shield that protectsyou and the sword that leads you to triumph. Your enemies wil try to corrupt you, but you yourself wil trample ontheir backs.	29 Blessed are thou, Israel: who is like to thee, O people, that art saved by the Lord? the shield of thy help, and the sword of thy glory: thy enemies shall deny thee, and thou shalt tread upon their necks.