Study Desk

Now, this, is the blessing wherewith Moses, the man of God, blessed the sons of Israel, - before his death.

And he said - Yahweh from Sinai, came near, - Yea he dawned, out of Seir, upon them, He shone forth out of Mount Paran, Yea he came out of holy myriads, - Out of his right hand proceeded fire to guide them.

Yea he loved the tribes, All his holy ones, were in thy hand, - Yea, they, were encamped at thy feet, Each one bare away some of thy words.

A law, did Moses command us, - A possession, for the convocation of Jacob.

Thus became he in, Jeshurun, a king, - When the heads of the people gathered them-selves together, As one man, the tribes of Israel. Reuben -

Let Reuben live and not die, - Nor his men he easily counted.

And, this, is for Judah, when he said, Hear, O Yahweh, the voice of Judah, That unto his own people, thou wouldst bring him home, - Let, his own hands, suffice him, And, a helper from his adversaries, do thou become.

And of Levi, he said: Let, thy perfections and thy lights, belong unto thy man of lovingkindness, - Whom thou didst put to the proof at Massah, With whom thou didst contend over the waters of Meribah;

Who saith of his father and of his mother, I behold them not, And, his own brethren, regardeth he not, And, his own sons, observeth he not, - Because they watch thy speech, That, thy covenant, they may preserve,;

May teach thy regulations unto Jacob, And thy law unto Israel, - May put incense in thy nostrils, And a whole-offering upon thine altar.

Bless, O Yahweh his substance, And with the work of his hands, wilt thou be well pleased, - Crush thou the loins of them who rise up against him, And of them who hate him, that they rise not again.

Of Benjamin, he said, The beloved of Yahweh, shall settle down securely, - With one to throw a shade over him all the day long, Yea, between his shoulders, hath he found rest.

And of Joseph, he said, Blessed of Yahweh, be his land, - With the precious things of the heavens with the dew, And with the abyss, couching beneath;

And with the precious fruits of the sun, - And with the precious yield of the moons;

And with the chief of the ancient mountains, - And with the precious things of the age-abiding hills;

And with the precious things of the earth and its fulness, And with the goodwill of One who dwelt in a thorn-bush. - Let it come on the head of Joseph, And on the crown of the head of him who was consecrated among his brethren.

His firstborn ox, be an honour to him. And the horns of a buffalo, be his horns, With them, let him thrust, peoples, All at once, to the ends of the earth, - Yea, with these, the myriads of Ephraim, And, with those, the thousands of Manasseh.

And, of Zebulun, he said, Rejoice, Zebulun in thy going out, - And thou , Issachar in thy tents:

The peoples, unto the mountain, will they call, There, will they offer the sacrifices of righteousness, - For, the abundance of the seas, will they suck, Hidden treasures of the sand.

And, of Gad, he said: Blessed, be he that hath made room for Gad, - As a lioness, hath he laid himself down, And hath torn an arm likewise the crown of the head;

And hath provided a first part for himself, For, there, a commander's portion hath been hid, - So he cometh with the heads of the people, The righteousness of Yahweh, he executeth, And his regulations, with Israel.

And, of Dan, he said, Dan, is a lion's whelp, - He leapeth out of Bashan.

And, of Naphtali, he said, O Naphtali! satisfied with favour, And full with the blessing of Yahweh, - The west and the sunny south, do thou possess.

And, of Asher, he said, Most blessed of sons, be Asher, - Let him have the goodwill of his brethren, And let him dip, in oil, his foot:

Iron and bronze, be thy sandals, And, as thy days, be thy strength.

There is none like GOD, O Jeshurun, - Riding upon the heavens to thy help, - And for his own majesty, on the skies;

Above, is the God of aforetime, And, beneath, are the Arms of the ages, - So he driveth before thee the foe, And doth say - Destroy!

Thus hath Israel settled down securely, Alone, the fountain of Jacob, Within a land both of corn and new wine, - His heaven also droppeth down dew.

How happy art thou, O Israel! Who is like unto thee, O people victorious in Yahweh? Thy helpful shield, who also is thy majestic sword, - So that thy foes come cringing unto thee, And, thou, upon their heights, dost march along.