Deuteronomy 33:1-34:12
Chapter 33
Moses, the man of God, blessed the Israelites with this blessing before he died.
2 He said,
“The Lord came from Sinai.
For his people he rose from Seir like the sun .
He appeared like sunshine from Mount Paran.
He came with tens of thousands of holy ones.
On his right was a raging fire for them.
3 You certainly love your people.
All your holy ones are in your hands.
They bow at your feet
to receive your instructions.
4 Moses gave us these teachings.
They belong to the assembly of Jacob.
5 The Lord was king of Jeshurun [ c ]
when the leaders of the people assembled
together with all the tribes of Israel.
6 “May the tribe of Reuben live and not die out,
though their people are few in number.”
7 This is what he said about the tribe of Judah :
“Hear the cry of Judah, O Lord ,
and bring them to their people.
They must defend themselves.
Help them against their enemies.”
8 About the tribe of Levi he said,
“Your Thummim and Urim [ d ] belong to your faithful people.
You tested your people at Massah.
You quarreled with them at the oasis of Meribah.
9 They said that they didn’t know their father and mother.
They didn’t recognize their own brothers.
They didn’t acknowledge their own children.
But they obeyed your word
and were faithful to the terms of your promise.
10 They teach Jacob your rules
and give Israel your teachings.
They burn incense for you to smell
and sacrifice burnt offerings on your altar.
11 Lord , bless them with strength
and be pleased with the work they do.
Break the backs of those who attack them and hate them
so that they can never get up again.”
12 About the tribe of Benjamin he said,
“The Lord ’s beloved people will live securely with him.
The Lord will shelter them all day long,
since he, too, lives on the mountain slopes.”
13 About the tribes of Joseph he said,
“May the Lord bless their land with water,
the best gift heaven can send,
with dew and deep springs below the ground.
14 May the Lord bless their land with crops,
the best gift the sun can give,
the best produce of each month,
15 the finest fruits from the oldest mountains,
the best from the ancient hills,
16 and the most plentiful crops of the earth.
May the Lord bless their land with the favor
of the one who was in the burning bush.
May these blessings come to the tribes of Joseph.
May they crown the people who are like princes in Israel.
17 They will be as majestic as a firstborn bull.
Their horns will be like the horns of a wild ox.
They will use them to push away nations
including those at the ends of the earth.
The tens of thousands from the tribe of Ephraim
and the thousands from the tribe of Manasseh will be like this.”
18 About the tribe of Zebulun he said,
“People of Zebulun, enjoy yourselves when you go to war,
and you people of Issachar , enjoy yourselves when you stay at home.
19 They will invite nations to their mountain,
and there they will offer the proper sacrifices.
They will be nourished by the abundance from the seas
and the treasures hidden in the sand.”
20 About the tribe of Gad he said,
“Blessed is the one who gives the people of Gad more land.
They wait there like a lion.
They can tear off an arm or a head.
21 They chose the best land for themselves.
Indeed, a commander’s piece of land was reserved for them.
They were leaders of the people
and did for Israel what the Lord considers fair and honorable.”
22 About the tribe of Dan he said,
“The people of Dan are a lion cub.
Out of Bashan they pounce on their enemies .”
23 About the tribe of Naphtali he said,
“The people of Naphtali enjoy the Lord ’s favor
and are filled with the Lord ’s blessings.
They will take possession of the lake and the land south of it.”
24 About the tribe of Asher he said,
“The people of Asher are the most blessed of the sons of Israel.
May they be the Israelites’ favorite tribe
and wash their feet in olive oil.
25 May the locks and bolts of your gates be made of iron and copper.
May your strength last as long as you live.
26 “There’s no one like your God, Jeshurun!
He rides through the heavens to help you.
In majesty he rides through the clouds.
27 The eternal God is your shelter,
and his everlasting arms support you.
He will force your enemies out of your way
and tell you to destroy them.
28 So Israel will live securely.
Jacob’s spring will be left alone
in a land of grain and new wine.
Dew will drip from Israel’s skies.
29 You are blessed, Israel!
Who is like you,
a nation saved by the Lord ?
He is a shield that helps you
and a sword that wins your victories.
Your enemies will come crawling to you,
and you will stomp on their backs.”
Chapter 34
Then Moses went up on Mount Nebo from the plains of Moab. He went to the top of Pisgah, across from Jericho. The Lord showed him the whole land. He could see Gilead as far as Dan,
2 all of Naphtali, the territory of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the territory of Judah as far as the Mediterranean Sea,
3 the Negev, and the Jordan Plain—the valley of Jericho (the City of Palms)—as far as Zoar.
4 Then the Lord said to him, “This is the land I promised with an oath to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I said I would give it to their descendants. I have let you see it with your own eyes, but you may not go there.”
5 As the Lord had predicted, the Lord ’s servant Moses died in Moab.
6 He was buried in a valley in Moab, near Beth Peor. Even today no one knows where his grave is.
7 Moses was 120 years old when he died. His eyesight never became poor, and he never lost his physical strength.
8 The Israelites mourned for Moses in the plains of Moab for 30 days. Then the time of mourning for him was over.
9 Joshua, son of Nun, was filled with the Spirit of wisdom, because Moses had laid his hands on him. The Israelites obeyed him and did what the Lord had commanded through Moses.
10 There has never been another prophet in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord dealt with face to face.
11 He was the one the Lord sent to do all the miraculous signs and amazing things in Egypt to Pharaoh, to all his officials, and to his whole country.
12 Moses used his mighty hand to do all the spectacular and awe-inspiring deeds that were seen by all the Israelites.
1 In the beginning God created heaven and earth.
2 The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep water. The Spirit of God was hovering over the water.
3 Then God said, “Let there be light!” So there was light.
4 God saw the light was good. So God separated the light from the darkness.
5 God named the light day , and the darkness he named night . There was evening, then morning—the first day.
6 Then God said, “Let there be a horizon in the middle of the water in order to separate the water.”
7 So God made the horizon and separated the water above and below the horizon. And so it was.
8 God named what was above the horizon sky . There was evening, then morning—a second day.
9 Then God said, “Let the water under the sky come together in one area, and let the dry land appear.” And so it was.
10 God named the dry land earth . The water which came together he named sea . God saw that it was good.
11 Then God said, “Let the earth produce vegetation: plants bearing seeds, each according to its own type, and fruit trees bearing fruit with seeds, each according to its own type.” And so it was.
12 The earth produced vegetation: plants bearing seeds, each according to its own type, and trees bearing fruit with seeds, each according to its own type. God saw that they were good.
13 There was evening, then morning—a third day.
14 Then God said, “Let there be lights in the sky to separate the day from the night. They will be signs and will mark religious festivals, days, and years.
15 They will be lights in the sky to shine on the earth.” And so it was.
16 God made the two bright lights: the larger light to rule the day and the smaller light to rule the night. He also made the stars.
17 God put them in the sky to give light to the earth,
18 to dominate the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. God saw that it was good.
19 There was evening, then morning—a fourth day.
20 Then God said, “Let the water swarm with swimming creatures, and let birds fly through the sky over the earth.”
21 So God created the large sea creatures, every type of creature that swims around in the water and every type of flying bird. God saw that they were good.
22 God blessed them and said, “Be fertile, increase in number, fill the sea, and let there be many birds on the earth.”
23 There was evening, then morning—a fifth day.
24 Then God said, “Let the earth produce every type of living creature: every type of domestic animal, crawling animal, and wild animal.” And so it was.
25 God made every type of wild animal, every type of domestic animal, and every type of creature that crawls on the ground. God saw that they were good.
26 Then God said, “Let us make humans in our image, in our likeness. Let them rule the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the domestic animals all over the earth, and all the animals that crawl on the earth.”
27 So God created humans in his image.
In the image of God he created them.
He created them male and female.
28 God blessed them and said, “Be fertile, increase in number, fill the earth, and be its master. Rule the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that crawl on the earth.”
29 God said, “I have given you every plant with seeds on the face of the earth and every tree that has fruit with seeds. This will be your food.
30 I have given all green plants as food to every land animal, every bird in the sky, and every animal that crawls on the earth—every living, breathing animal.” And so it was.
31 And God saw everything that he had made and that it was very good. There was evening, then morning—the sixth day.
Chapter 2
Heaven and earth and everything in them were finished.
2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing. On the seventh day he stopped the work he had been doing.
3 Then God blessed the seventh day and set it apart as holy, because on that day he stopped all his work of creation.
Maftir
35 “On the eighth day you must hold a religious assembly. You must not do any daily work.
36 As a burnt offering, an offering by fire, a soothing aroma to the Lord , bring one bull, one ram, and seven one-year-old lambs that have no defects.
37 Along with them bring the proper amount of grain offerings and wine offerings for the bull, the ram, and the lambs.
38 Also bring one male goat as an offering for sin in addition to the daily burnt offerings with their grain offerings and wine offerings.
39 “These are the offerings you must bring to the Lord at your festivals. They are the offerings you must bring in addition to the offerings for anything you vowed to give to the Lord , your freewill offerings, your burnt offerings, your grain offerings, your wine offerings, and your fellowship offerings.” [ a ]
40 Moses told the Israelites everything the Lord had commanded him.
Chapter 30
Moses said to the heads of the tribes of Israel, “This is what the Lord has commanded about vows :
Haftarah
1 After the death of the Lord ’s servant Moses, the Lord said to Moses’ assistant Joshua, son of Nun,
2 “My servant Moses is dead. Now you and all these people must cross the Jordan River into the land that I am going to give the people of Israel.
3 I will give you every place on which you set foot, as I promised Moses.
4 Your borders will be the desert on the south , nearby Lebanon to the Euphrates River (the country of the Hittites) on the north , and the Mediterranean Sea on the west.
5 No one will be able to oppose you successfully as long as you live. I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will never neglect you or abandon you.
6 Be strong and courageous, because you will help these people take possession of the land I swore to give their ancestors.
7 “Only be strong and very courageous, faithfully doing everything in the teachings that my servant Moses commanded you. Don’t turn away from them. Then you will succeed wherever you go.
8 Never stop reciting these teachings. You must think about them night and day so that you will faithfully do everything written in them. Only then will you prosper and succeed.
9 “I have commanded you, ‘Be strong and courageous! Don’t tremble or be terrified, because the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.’”