Deuteronomy 33

NEW AMERICAN BIBLE	DOUAI-RHEIMS
1 This is the blessing which Moses, the man of God, pronounced upon 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: "The LORD came from Sinai and dawned on his people from Seir; He shone forth from Mount Paran and advanced from Meribath-kadesh, While at his right hand a fire blazed forth and his wrath devastated the nations.	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 But all his holy ones were in his hand; they followed at his feet and he bore them up on his pinions.	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 A law he gave to us; he made the community of Jacob his domain,	4 Moses commanded us a law, the inheritance of the multitude of Jacob.
5 and he became king of his darling. When the chiefs of the people assembled and the tribes of Israel came together.	5 He shall be king with the most right, the princes of the people being assembled with the tribes of Israel.
6 "May Reuben live and not die out, but let his men be few."	6 Let Ruben live, and not die, and be he small in number.
7 The following is for Judah. He said: "The LORD hears the cry of Judah; you will bring him to his people. His own hands defend his cause and you will be 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 belong your Thummim, to the man of your favor your Urim; For you put him to the test at Massah and you contended 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 He said of his father, 'I regard him not'; his brothers he would not acknowledge, and his own children he refused to recognize. Thus the Levites keep your words, and your covenant they uphold.	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 promulgate your decisions to Jacob and your law to Israel. They bring the smoke of sacrifice to your nostrils, and burnt offerings to 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 Bless, O LORD, his possessions and accept the ministry of his hands. Break the backs of his adversaries and of his foes, that they may not rise."	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: "Benjamin is the beloved of the LORD, who shelters him all the day, while he abides securely at his breast."	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: "Blessed by the LORD is his land with the best of the skies above and of the abyss crouching beneath;	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 With the best of the produce of the year, and the choicest sheaves of the months;	14 Of the fruits brought forth by the sun and by the moon.
15 With the finest gifts of the age-old mountains and the best from the timeless hills;	15 Of the tops of the ancient mountains, of the fruits of the everlasting hills:
16 With the best of the earth and its fullness, and the favor of him who dwells in the bush. These shall come upon the head of Joseph and upon the brow of the prince 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 The majestic bull, his father's first-born, whose horns are those of the wild ox With which to gore the nations, even those at the ends of the earth." (These are the myriads of Ephraim, and these 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: "Rejoice, O Zebulun, in your pursuits, 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 You who invite the tribes to the mountains where feasts are duly held, Because you suck up the abundance of the seas and the hidden treasures of the sand."	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 has made Gad so vast! He lies there like a lion that has seized the arm and head of the prey.	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 He saw that the best should be his when the princely portion was assigned, while the heads of the people were gathered. He carried out the justice of the LORD and his decrees respecting 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's whelp, that springs forth 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 is enriched with favors and filled with the blessings of the LORD; The lake and south of it are his possession!"	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: "More blessed than the other sons be Asher! May he be the favorite among his brothers, as the oil of his olive trees runs over his feet!	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 May your bolts be of iron and bronze; may your strength endure through all your days!"	25 His shoe shall be iron and brass. As the days of thy youth, so also shall thy old age be.
26 "There is no god like the God of the darling, who rides the heavens in his power, and rides the skies in his majesty;	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 He spread out the primeval tent; he extended the ancient canopy. He drove the enemy out of your way and the Amorite he destroyed.	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 has dwelt securely, and the fountain of Jacob has been undisturbed In a land of grain and wine, where the heavens drip with 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 How fortunate you are, O Israel! Where else is a nation victorious in the LORD? The LORD is your saving shield, and his sword is your glory. Your enemies fawn upon you, as you stride upon their heights."	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.