The last words of Moses
1Moses, the man of God, blessed the Israelites before he died. He said:
2‘The Lord came from Mount Sinai
and He appeared on the Seir Mountains.
His light and his glory
was shining from Mount Paran.
He came from his holy place in heaven
with more than 10 000 angels.
3Yes, You love your people
and You protect them.
All who are consecrated to You
belong to You.
You teach them and they listen
to what You say.
4We obey the laws
that Moses gave us,
the laws that were a special gift
to the congregation of Jacob.
5The Lord became King in Jeshurun
when the chiefs and the leaders
of the tribes came together.’
6Moses said this about the tribe of Reuben:
‘I pray that the people of Reuben
will keep on living, and that they will not die.
I pray that they will be a lot of people.’
7Moses said this about the tribe of Judah:
‘Lord, please do what the people of Judah asked.
Please bring them back to their people,
make them strong and help them
against their enemies.’
8Moses said this about the tribe of Levi:
‘The people who believe in You
carry the urim_and_thummim.
You have tested them at Massah,
and You have accused them at the water of Meribah.
9They have left their parents
and their brothers and their children
to do what You say
and to obey your covenant.
10They teach the Israelites
what You decide and what You want.
They bring incense-offerings to You
and burnt-offerings on your altar.
11Lord, please give the Levites
a lot of power and be with them.
Make good things happen to them.
Please defeat their enemies
so that they will never stand up again.’
12Moses said this about the tribe of Benjamin:
‘The Lord loves Benjamin.
His people will live safely,
and the Lord protects them every day
where they live among the mountains.’
13Moses said this about the tribe of Joseph:
‘The Lord will bless the land of Joseph.
His people will get the best of everything,
the best of the rain and the dew
and the water deep under the ground.
14They will get the best
of everything that grows,
everything under the sun,
everything that people
cut and harvest each month,
15the best of everything that grows
on the mountains and hills
that have been there for a very long time.
16They will get the best of everything
that comes from the earth,
and everything that is there
because the Lord who appeared
in a burning bush is good to Joseph.
I pray that the people of Joseph,
who ruled over his brothers,
will get all of this.
17The tribe of Joseph is strong
like a young bull,
like the horns of a wild_ox.
He will push other nations
and chase them all over the earth.
The tribe of Ephraim has 10 000 soldiers,
and Manasseh has 1 000 soldiers.’
18Moses said this about the tribes of Zebulun and Issachar:
‘People of Zebulun, you must be happy
when you are on the road,
and you, Issachar, you must rejoice
when you are in your tents.
19They call the other people
to the mountain
and there they bring the offerings
that they must sacrifice.
They are rich, because they get a lot
of things from the sea,
and they get treasures that were under the sand.’
20Moses said this about the tribe of Gad:
‘I praise the Lord.
He gave the people of Gad a big place to live in.
Gad is like a lion,
and he bites off the arms and heads of strong people.
21The people of Gad have chosen
the best of the land for themselves.
They received the land of a king.
Gad called the leaders_of_Israel
and they did what God wants and what He decided.’
22Moses said this about the tribe of Dan:
‘Dan is like a young lion
that jumps from the land of Bashan.’
23Moses said this about the tribe of Naphtali:
‘The Lord is good to the people
of Naphtali and blesses them.
Naphtali took Lake Kinnereth for themselves,
and also the land south of the lake.’
24Moses said this about the tribe of Asher:
‘The Lord will bless the people of Asher
more than the other tribes.
I pray that the other brothers will love them,
and that they will be so rich
that they will wash their feet in olive oil.
25I pray that their cities will have strong gates
with locks of iron and bronze.
I pray that the Lord will always
be good to the people of Asher.
26Jeshurun, your God is great and big.
There is no one like Him.
He rides through the sky
to come and help you.
He, the King, is riding on the clouds.
27He will always be God in heaven.
He always carries his people in his arms
and He protects them.
He has chased away the enemies before you
and He told you to kill them.
28People of Israel live safely.
The descendants of Jacob live alone
in a land where there is
a lot of wheat and wine,
and dew drops are falling from the sky.
29People of Israel, you must be happy
because the Lord is good to you.
There are no other people
who are as happy as you.
The Lord has saved you,
and He protects you like a shield.
He is like a sword that helps you win.
Your enemies will crawl before you,
and you will trample them.’
