1 And this is the blessing which God’s servant Moses gave to the sons of Israel before he died.[1] 2 See where the Lord comes forth, he said, from Sinai, where he rises high above the hills of Edom before us, dawns on us from mount Pharan; thousands of his holy ones were about him, and on his right hand his law shone to them like fire. 3 How he loves those tribes of his! All his holy ones dwell in his protecting care, can gather at his feet, and partake of his instruction. 4 We had a law given to us by Moses, the heirloom of Jacob’s posterity, 5 and our king dwelt among us, his favoured people, with the chieftains and all the tribes of Israel assembled about him.
1 Hæc est benedictio, qua benedixit Moyses, homo Dei, filiis Israël ante mortem suam. 2 Et ait:Dominus de Sinai venit,et de Seir ortus est nobis:apparuit de monte Pharan,et cum eo sanctorum millia.In dextera ejus ignea lex. 3 Dilexit populos,omnes sancti in manu illius sunt:et qui appropinquant pedibus ejus,accipient de doctrina illius. 4 Legem præcepit nobis Moyses,hæreditatem multitudinis Jacob. 5 Erit apud rectissimum rex,congregatis principibus populi cum tribubus Israël.
7 And this was Juda’s blessing. Listen, Lord, to Juda’s plea, and restore him to his place among the people, so that he may fight for it and defend it against its enemies.
7 Hæc est Judæ benedictio:Audi, Domine, vocem Judæ,et ad populum suum introduc eum:manus ejus pugnabunt pro eo,et adjutor illius contra adversarios ejus erit.
8 And of Levi he said, The touchstones of Wisdom and Truth are for the man thou hast set apart, testing him at the place of Challenge, proving his worth at the Water of Rebellion.[2] 9 This is one who said to his father and mother, You are no acquaintance of mine, and to his brethren, I do not recognize you. Here are men that treated their own children as strangers, paying heed rather to thy warnings, keeping true to thy covenant; 10 Here, they said to Jacob, are the decrees thou must obey, here, Israel, is the law that governs thee. When thou art angry, Lord, it is theirs to offer incense, and burn sacrifice upon thy altar. 11 Bless all he has, Lord, and prosper all he does; smite his enemies and put them to rout, never let them rise up again to plot against him.
8 Levi quoque ait:Perfectio tua, et doctrina tua viro sancto tuo,quem probasti in tentatione,et judicasti ad aquas contradictionis. 9 Qui dixit patri suo et matri suæ: Nescio vos:et fratribus suis: Ignoro vos:et nescierunt filios suos.Hi custodierunt eloquium tuum,et pactum tuum servaverunt. 10 Judicia tua, o Jacob,et legem tuam, o Israël:ponent thymiama in furore tuo,et holocaustum super altare tuum. 11 Benedic, Domine, fortitudini ejus:et opera manuum illius suscipe.Percute dorsa inimicorum ejus:et qui oderunt eum, non consurgant.
12 Of Benjamin he said, First in the Lord’s love, he shall dwell secure in that companionship. God will spread his pavilion over him at all times, rest on those hills.[3]
12 Et Benjamin ait:Amantissimus Domini habitabit confidenter in eo:quasi in thalamo tota die morabitur,et inter humeros illius requiescet.
13 Of Joseph he said, His is a land rich in blessing from the Lord, enriched with dew by the heavens above us, with springs by the depth beneath, 14 enriched by ripening suns and engendering moons, 15 enriched by every influence of ancient mountains and immemorial hills, 16 enriched by earth and all the foison earth yields. Let the blessing of that God who once appeared in the bush light upon the head of Joseph, light on his brow who is separated like a Nazirite from his brethren. 17 What is the pride of the first-born bull-calf, or of the wild ox, but his two horns? Such horns has Joseph, that can toss nations to the ends of the earth; the hordes of Ephraim, the legions of Manasses!
13 Joseph quoque ait:De benedictione Domini terra ejus,de pomis cæli, et rore, atque abysso subjacente. 14 De pomis fructuum solis ac lunæ, 15 de vertice antiquorum montium,de pomis collium æternorum: 16 et de frugibus terræ, et de plenitudine ejus.Benedictio illius qui apparuit in rubo,veniat super caput Joseph,et super verticem nazaræi inter fratres suos. 17 Quasi primogeniti tauri pulchritudo ejus,cornua rhinocerotis cornua illius:in ipsis ventilabit gentes usque ad terminos terræ.Hæ sunt multitudines Ephraim:et hæc millia Manasse.
18 Of Zabulon he said, Happy art thou, Zabulon, and thou too, Issachar, at home and abroad. 19 Peoples shall be their guests on the mountain height, where their solemn sacrifice is offered. The wealth of the sea shall foster them, the treasures that lie hidden in the sands.
18 Et Zabulon ait:Lætare, Zabulon, in exitu tuo,et Issachar in tabernaculis tuis. 19 Populos vocabunt ad montem:ibi immolabunt victimas justitiæ.Qui inundationem maris quasi lac sugent,et thesauros absconditos arenarum.
20 Of Gad he said, Blessed is Gad in the breadth of his lands; he lies there like a lion, ready to take head and arm for his prey. 21 He too has achieved eminence; did not those lands of his enshrine such a ruler as took his part among the chiefs of the people, executing the Lord’s justice, his decrees concerning Israel?[4]
20 Et Gad ait:Benedictus in latitudine Gad:quasi leo requievit,cepitque brachium et verticem. 21 Et vidit principatum suum,quod in parte sua doctor esset repositus:qui fuit cum principibus populi,et fecit justitias Domini,et judicium suum cum Israël.
24 Of Aser he said, Aser is a son highly favoured; let him stand well with his brethren; let him have oil to wash his feet in, 25 iron and bronze to make shoes for him. Let thy age be peaceful as thy youth.
24 Aser quoque ait:Benedictus in filiis Aser,sit placens fratribus suis,et tingat in oleo pedem suum: 25 ferrum et æs calceamentum ejus.Sicut dies juventutis tuæ, ita et senectus tua.
26 The beloved people has a God great as no other; he rides in heaven to deliver thee, the clouds making way for his majestic coming; 27 there, on high, is his dwelling, and yet the eternal arms reach down to uphold thee. He will dispossess the enemy at thy onslaught, and doom him to destruction; 28 Israel shall live unmolested, Jacob shall see no rival near him, in a land full of corn and wine, under skies curtained with dewy mist. 29 Blessed, Israel, thou art, a people like no other, finding in the Lord thy deliverance, the shield that protects thee, the sword that wins thee renown! Thy enemies shall forswear their enmity, and thou shalt tread their pride in the dust.[5]
26 Non est deus alius ut Deus rectissimi,ascensor cæli, auxiliator tuus.Magnificentia ejus discurrunt nubes, 27 habitaculum ejus sursum,et subter brachia sempiternaejiciet a facie tua inimicum,dicetque: Conterere. 28 Habitabit Israël confidenter, et solus.Oculus Jacob in terra frumenti et vini,cælique caligabunt rore. 29 Beatus es tu, Israël:quis similis tui, popule, qui salvaris in Domino?Scutum auxilii tui,et gladius gloriæ tuæ:negabunt te inimici tui,et tu eorum colla calcabis.
[1] There is much disagreement about the interpretation of the Hebrew text in this chapter, and it may even be defective (the tribe of Simeon, for instance, is not mentioned). In many places the Latin version differs considerably.
[2] It is not clear why the tribe of Levi is here described as having distinguished itself on the occasion recorded in Ex. 17; cf. Ex. 32.26-28.
[3] Literally, ‘on his shoulders’, but the Hebrew word used also applies to slopes of ground, and it is pointed out that Jerusalem stood actually on the frontier between Juda and Benjamin.
[4] It is not clear what ruler (literally, ‘teacher’) is referred to; some think there is an allusion to Moses’ own grave, which, however, must have been in the territory of Ruben.
[5] Literally, according to the Hebrew text, the last sentence reads ‘Thy enemies shall cringe before thee, and thou shalt trample on their high places’; in the Latin version, ‘Thy enemies shall deny thee, and thou shalt trample on their necks’.
