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Introduction to the Blessing of Moses
33 This is the blessing Moses the man of God pronounced upon the Israelites before his death. 2 He said:
A Historical Review
“The Lord came from Sinai
and revealed himself[a] to Israel[b] from Seir.
He appeared in splendor[c] from Mount Paran,
and came forth with ten thousand holy ones.[d]
With his right hand he gave a fiery law[e] to them.
3 Surely he loves the people;[f]
all your holy ones[g] are in your power.[h]
And they sit[i] at your feet,
each receiving[j] your words.
4 Moses delivered to us a law,[k]
an inheritance for the assembly of Jacob.
5 The Lord[l] was king over Jeshurun,[m]
when the leaders of the people assembled,
the tribes of Israel together.[n]
Blessing on Reuben
6 “May Reuben live and not die,
and may his people multiply.”[o]
Blessing on Judah
7 And this is the blessing[p] to Judah. He said,
“Listen, O Lord, to Judah’s voice,
and bring him to his people.
May his power be great,
and may you help him against his foes.”
Blessing on Levi
8 Of Levi he said:
“Your Thummim and Urim[q] belong to your godly one,[r]
whose authority you challenged at Massah,[s]
and with whom you argued at the waters of Meribah.[t]
9 He said to his father and mother, ‘I have not seen him,’[u]
and he did not acknowledge his own brothers
or know his own children,
for they kept your word,
and guarded your covenant.
10 They will teach Jacob your ordinances
and Israel your law;
they will offer incense as a pleasant odor,
and a whole offering on your altar.
11 Bless, O Lord, his goods,
and be pleased with his efforts;
undercut the legs[v] of any who attack him,
and of those who hate him, so that they cannot stand.”
Blessing on Benjamin
12 Of Benjamin he said:
“The beloved of the Lord will live safely by him;
he protects him all the time,
and the Lord[w] places him on his chest.”[x]
Blessing on Joseph
13 Of Joseph he said:
“May the Lord bless his land
with the harvest produced by the sky,[y] by the dew,
and by the depths crouching beneath;
14 with the harvest produced by the daylight[z]
and by[aa] the moonlight;[ab]
15 with the best[ac] of the ancient mountains
and the harvest produced by the age-old hills;
16 with the harvest of the earth and its fullness
and the pleasure of him who resided in the burning bush.[ad]
May blessing rest on Joseph’s head,
and on the top of the head of the one set apart[ae] from his brothers.
17 May the firstborn of his bull bring him honor,
and may his horns be those of a wild ox;
with them may he gore all peoples,
all the far reaches of the earth.
They are the ten thousands of Ephraim,[af]
and they are the thousands of Manasseh.”
Blessing on Zebulun and Issachar
18 Of Zebulun he said:
“Rejoice, Zebulun, when you go outside,
and Issachar, when you are in your tents.
19 They will summon peoples to the mountain,
there they will sacrifice proper[ag] sacrifices;
for they will enjoy[ah] the abundance of the seas,
and the hidden treasures of the shores.”[ai]
Blessing on Gad
20 Of Gad he said:
“Blessed be the one who enlarges Gad.
Like a lioness he will dwell;
he will tear at an arm—indeed, a scalp.[aj]
21 He has selected the best part for himself,
for the portion of the ruler[ak] is set aside[al] there;
he came with the leaders[am] of the people,
he obeyed the righteous laws of the Lord
and his ordinances with Israel.”
Blessing on Dan
22 Of Dan he said:
“Dan is a lion’s cub;
he will leap forth from Bashan.”[an]
Blessing on Naphtali
23 Of Naphtali he said:
“O Naphtali, overflowing with favor,
and full of the Lord’s blessing,
possess the west and south.”
Blessing on Asher
24 Of Asher he said:
“Asher is blessed with children;
may he be favored by his brothers,
and may he dip his foot in olive oil.[ao]
25 The bars of your gates[ap] will be made of iron and bronze,
and may you have lifelong strength.”
General Praise and Blessing
26 “There is no one like God, O Jeshurun,[aq]
who rides through the sky[ar] to help you,
on the clouds in majesty.
27 The everlasting God is a refuge,
and underneath you are his eternal arms;[as]
he has driven out enemies before you,
and has said, “Destroy!”
28 Israel lives in safety,
the fountain of Jacob is quite secure,[at]
in a land of grain and new wine;
indeed, its heavens[au] rain down dew.[av]
29 You have joy, Israel! Who is like you?
You are a people delivered by the Lord,
your protective shield
and your exalted sword.
May your enemies cringe before you;
may you trample on their backs.”
A Call to Repent
13 Now[a] there were some present on that occasion who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices.[b] 2 He[c] answered them, “Do you think these Galileans were worse sinners[d] than all the other Galileans, because they suffered these things? 3 No, I tell you! But unless you repent,[e] you will all perish as well![f] 4 Or those eighteen who were killed[g] when the tower in Siloam fell on them,[h] do you think they were worse offenders than all the others who live in Jerusalem? 5 No, I tell you! But unless you repent[i] you will all perish as well!”[j]
Warning to Israel to Bear Fruit
6 Then[k] Jesus[l] told this parable: “A man had a fig tree[m] planted in his vineyard, and he came looking for fruit on it and found none. 7 So[n] he said to the worker who tended the vineyard, ‘For[o] three years[p] now, I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and each time I inspect it[q] I find none. Cut[r] it down! Why[s] should it continue to deplete[t] the soil?’ 8 But the worker[u] answered him, ‘Sir, leave it alone this year too, until I dig around it and put fertilizer[v] on it. 9 Then if[w] it bears fruit next year,[x] very well,[y] but if[z] not, you can cut it down.’”
Healing on the Sabbath
10 Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues[aa] on the Sabbath, 11 and a woman was there[ab] who had been disabled by a spirit[ac] for eighteen years. She[ad] was bent over and could not straighten herself up completely.[ae] 12 When[af] Jesus saw her, he called her to him[ag] and said, “Woman,[ah] you are freed[ai] from your infirmity.”[aj] 13 Then[ak] he placed his hands on her, and immediately[al] she straightened up and praised God. 14 But the president of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the crowd, “There are six days on which work[am] should be done![an] So come[ao] and be healed on those days, and not on the Sabbath day.” 15 Then the Lord answered him,[ap] “You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from its stall,[aq] and lead it to water?[ar] 16 Then[as] shouldn’t[at] this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan[au] bound for eighteen long[av] years, be released from this imprisonment[aw] on the Sabbath day?” 17 When[ax] he said this all his adversaries were humiliated,[ay] but[az] the entire crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things[ba] he was doing.[bb]
On the Kingdom of God
18 Thus Jesus[bc] asked,[bd] “What is the kingdom of God[be] like?[bf] To[bg] what should I compare it? 19 It is like a mustard seed[bh] that a man took and sowed[bi] in his garden. It[bj] grew and became a tree,[bk] and the wild birds[bl] nested in its branches.”[bm]
20 Again[bn] he said, “To what should I compare the kingdom of God?[bo] 21 It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with[bp] three measures[bq] of flour until all the dough had risen.”[br]
65 But then the Lord awoke from his sleep;[a]
he was like a warrior in a drunken rage.[b]
66 He drove his enemies back;
he made them a permanent target for insults.[c]
67 He rejected the tent of Joseph;
he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim.
68 He chose the tribe of Judah
and Mount Zion, which he loves.
69 He made his sanctuary as enduring as the heavens above,[d]
as secure as the earth, which he established permanently.[e]
70 He chose David, his servant,
and took him from the sheepfolds.
71 He took him away from following the mother sheep,[f]
and made him the shepherd of Jacob, his people,
and of Israel, his chosen nation.[g]
72 David[h] cared for them with pure motives;[i]
he led them with skill.[j]
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