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¹ Now, this, is the blessing wherewith Moses, the man of God, blessed the sons of Israel, - before his death.² 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.³ 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.⁴ A law, did Moses command us, - A possession, for the convocation of Jacob.⁵ 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 -

⁶ Let Reuben live and not die, - Nor his men he easily counted.⁷ 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.

⁸ 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;⁹ 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,;¹⁰ May teach thy regulations unto Jacob, And thy law unto Israel, - May put incense in thy nostrils, And a whole-offering upon thine altar.¹¹ 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.

¹² 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.¹³ 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;¹⁴ And with the precious fruits of the sun, - And with the precious yield of the moons;¹⁵ And with the chief of the ancient mountains, - And with the precious things of the age-abiding hills;¹⁶ 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.¹⁷ 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.

¹⁸ And, of Zebulun, he said, Rejoice, Zebulun in thy going out, - And thou , Issachar in thy tents:¹⁹ 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.²⁰ 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;²¹ 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.

²² And, of Dan, he said, Dan, is a lion's whelp, - He leapeth out of Bashan.²³ 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.²⁴ 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:²⁵ Iron and bronze, be thy sandals, And, as thy days, be thy strength.

²⁶ There is none like GOD, O Jeshurun, - Riding upon the heavens to thy help, - And for his own majesty, on the skies;²⁷ 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!²⁸ 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.²⁹ 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.