The majesty of God, 1-5. The blessings of the twelve tribes, 6-25. The excellency of Israel, 26-29.
1 And this is the blessing with which Moses, the man of God, blessed the children of Israel before his death: 2 And he said,
"The LORD came from Sinai,/
and rose up from Seir to them./
He shined forth from mount Paran,/
and he came with tens of thousands of saints./
From his right hand went a fiery law for them.
3 Indeed, he loved the people./
All his saints are in your hand,/
and they sat down at your feet./
Each receives your words.
4 Moses commanded us a law,/
even the inheritance of the congregation of Jacob.
5 And he was king in Jeshurun/
when the heads of the people/
and the tribes of Israel were assembled.
6 "Let Reuben live, and not die,/
and do not let his men be few."
7 And this is the blessing of Judah:
"Hear, LORD, the voice of Judah,/
and bring him to his people./
Let his hands be sufficient for him./
May you be a help to him from his enemies."
8 And of Levi he said,
"Let your Thummim and your Urim be with your holy one,/
whom you proved at Massah/
and with whom you strove at the waters of Meribah,
9 Who said to his father and to his mother,/
'I have not seen him,'/
neither did he acknowledge his brothers,/
nor know his own children,/
for they have observed your word/
and kept your covenant.
10 They shall teach Jacob your judgments/
and Israel your law./
They shall put incense before you/
and whole burnt sacrifice upon your altar.
11 Bless, LORD, his substance,/
and accept the work of his hands./
Smite through the loins of those who rise against him/
and of those who hate him,/
so that they do not rise again."
12 And of Benjamin he said,
"The beloved of the LORD shall dwell in safety by him,/
and the LORD shall cover him all day long,/
and he shall dwell between his shoulders."
13 And of Joseph he said,
"Blessed of the LORD be his land/
for the precious things of heaven, for the dew,/
for the deep that couches beneath,
14 For the precious fruits brought forth by the sun,/
for the precious things put forth by the moon,
15 For the chief things of the ancient mountains,/
for the precious things of the lasting hills,
16 For the precious things of the earth and its fullness,/
and for the good will of him who dwelt in the bush./
Let the blessing come upon the head of Joseph/
and upon the top of the head of him who was separated from his brothers.
17 His glory is like the first-born of his bull,/
and his horns are like the horns of wild oxen./
With them he shall push the people together/
to the ends of the earth./
And they are the tens of thousands of Ephraim,/
and they are the thousands of Manasseh."
18 And of Zebulun he said,
"Rejoice, Zebulun, in your going out,/
and Issachar, in your tents.
19 They shall call the people to the mountain./
There they shall offer sacrifices of righteousness,/
for they shall draw out the abundance of the seas/
and of treasures hid in the sand."
20 And of Gad he said,
"Blessed is he who enlarges Gad./
He dwells as a lion/
and tears the arm with the crown of the head.
21 And he provided the first part for himself,/
because there, in a portion of the lawgiver, he was seated./
And he came with the heads of the people./
He executed the justice of the LORD/
and his judgments with Israel."
22 And of Dan he said,
"Dan is a lion's whelp./
He shall leap from Bashan."
23 And of Naphtali he said,
"O Naphtali, satisfied with favor/
and full with the blessing of the LORD,/
possess the west and the south."
24 And of Asher he said,
"Let Asher be blessed with children./
Let him be acceptable to his brothers,/
and let him dip his foot in oil.
25 Your shoes shall be iron and brass./
And as your days, so your strength shall be.
26 "There is no one like the God of Jeshurun,/
who rides upon the heaven to your help/
and in his excellence on the sky.
27 The eternal God is your refuge,/
and underneath are the everlasting arms./
And he shall thrust out the enemy from before you,/
and shall say, 'Destroy them.'
28 Israel then shall dwell in safety alone./
The fountain of Jacob shall be upon a land of grain and wine./
His heavens shall also drop down dew.
29 Happy are you, O Israel!/
Who is like you, O people saved by the LORD,/
the shield of your help,/
and he who is the sword of your excellence?/
And your enemies shall be found liars to you,/
and you shall tread upon their high places."
Matthew Henry Commentary - Deuteronomy, Chapter 33[➚]
[v.27a] - "The eternal God" - Reference, Psalm 90:1-2, 102:24-28; Isaiah 9:6, 57:15; Jeremiah 10:10; Micah 5:2; 1st Timothy 1:17; Hebrews 9:14.
[v.27b] - "your refuge" - Reference, Psalm 18:2, 27:5, 36:7, 46:1, 7, 11, 48:3, 91:1, 2, 9, 15; Proverbs 18:10; Luke 13:34.
[v.27c] - "underneath are the everlasting arms" - Reference, Genesis 49:24; Proverbs 10:25; Song of Solomon 2:6; Isaiah 26:4; 1st Peter 1:3-5; Jude 1:24.
[v.27d] - "thrust out the enemy from before you" - Reference, Deuteronomy 9:3-5; John 10:28-29; Romans 8:2, 16:20; Revelation 20:2-3, 10.