fra Biblica1Før sin død velsignede profeten Moses israelitterne med følgende ord:2Fra Sinai førte Herren os fremad, i Seir så vi hans herlighed, på Parans bjerge hans stråleglans. Hans hellige titusinder fulgte ham, da han kom sydfra til Moabs skråninger.[1]3Herren elsker sit folk, han holder hånden over sine hellige, de, som følger i hans fodspor og adlyder alle hans bud,4alle de love, som jeg pålagde folket, og som Jakobs slægt fik i eje.5Herren blev Israels hersker, dengang folkets ledere samledes, og alle stammer gav deres ja.6Herre, lad Ruben leve og ikke uddø, selvom hans stammetal er lille.[2]7Herre, hjælp Juda imod hans fjender. Vær du den, som forsvarer ham. Bring ham hjem fra krigen i god behold. Hør, han råber til dig om hjælp.8Herre, åbenbar ved Urim og Tummim din vilje for Levi, din trofaste tjener, som du satte på prøve ved Massa, og irettesatte ved Meribas vande.9Han var mere loyal over for dig end over for sin egen familie. Han adlød dine befalinger, var trofast imod din pagt.10Han skal lære Israels folk dine bud, Jakobs børn dine love. Han skal ofre dig duftende røgelse, bringe brændofre op på dit alter.11Herre, velsign ham med styrke, må hans tjeneste være til glæde for dig. Knus hans fjender, som hader ham, så de aldrig rejser sig imod ham igen.12Benjamin er Herrens yndling, han kan trygt hvile sig. Han beskyttes dagen lang, han omsluttes af Herrens arme.13Herren velsigne Josefs land, med himlens regn og jordens kilder.14med solmoden frugt og rigelig afgrøde,15med det bedste fra de ældgamle bjerge, med en herlig høst fra de evige høje,16med alt det bedste, som jorden rummer, med nåde fra ham, som talte til mig ved tornebusken. Velsignet er Josef som leder blandt sit folk, som fyrste over sine brødre.17Han er stærk som tyren, har horn som vildoksen. Han gennemborer fjenderne, jager dem på flugt til jordens ender. Efraims mægtige hær er hans styrke, Manasses talstærke folk kæmper tappert.18Zebulon bliver velsignet på sine handelsrejser. Issakars telte vil bugne af gods og guld.19De vil samle folkene på bjerget og i fællesskab bringe ofre til Herren. De bringer havets rigdomme i hus og graver skatte op af sandet.20Tak, Herre, at du giver god plads til Gads stamme. Som løven ligger Gad på lur, parat til at rive fjendens hoved eller arm af.21Han valgte den bedste del af landet, et område, der passer sig for en leder. Når Israels ledere er samlet, er Gad parat til at handle på Herrens bud.22Dan er som en løveunge, der springer frem fra Bashan.23Naftali er mæt af velsignelse og fyldt med Herrens nåde. Han får søen og solsiden[3] i eje.24Asher er en særlig velsignet søn, en yndling blandt sine brødre, hans land vil blive fyldt med oliven.25Hans byer har porte af jern og bronze, hans styrke vil vare, så længe han lever.26Der er ingen som Israels Gud. Han farer frem over himlen for at hjælpe, han rider på skyerne som en konge.27Den evige Gud er din tilflugt, hans evige arme holder dig oppe. Han jager fjenden på flugt foran dig og befaler dig at udslette ham.28Israel skal bo i tryghed, Jakobs børn får egen bolig i et land fyldt med korn og vin, hvor himlen drypper af væde.29Israel, hvor er du velsignet, et folk, der befries af Herren selv. Han er dit skjold og din redning, han er dit sejrende sværd. Dine fjender bøjer sig i støvet for dig, men du udsletter dem.[4]
1This is the blessing with which Moses the man of God blessed the people of Israel before his death. (Josva 14,6; 1.Krøn 23,14; 2.Krøn 30,16; Ez 3,2)2He said, “The Lord came from Sinai and dawned from Seir upon us;[1] he shone forth from Mount Paran; he came from the ten thousands of holy ones, with flaming fire[2] at his right hand. (2.Mos 19,18; 2.Mos 19,20; Dom 5,4; Salm 68,7; Salm 68,17; Dan 7,10; Hab 3,3; Ap G 7,53; Gal 3,19; Heb 2,2; Judas 1,14; Åb 5,11)3Yes, he loved his people,[3] all his holy ones were in his[4] hand; so they followed[5] in your steps, receiving direction from you, (5.Mos 7,7; 5.Mos 10,15; Hos 11,1; Luk 10,39; Joh 10,27; Ap G 22,3; Rom 8,35; Rom 8,38)4when Moses commanded us a law, as a possession for the assembly of Jacob. (Joh 1,17; Joh 7,19)5Thus the Lord[6] became king in Jeshurun, when the heads of the people were gathered, all the tribes of Israel together. (4.Mos 23,21; 5.Mos 32,15; Dom 8,23; Es 33,22)6“Let Reuben live, and not die, but let his men be few.” (1.Mos 49,3)7And this he said of Judah: “Hear, O Lord, the voice of Judah, and bring him in to his people. With your hands contend[7] for him, and be a help against his adversaries.”8And of Levi he said, “Give to Levi[8] your Thummim, and your Urim to your godly one, whom you tested at Massah, with whom you quarreled at the waters of Meribah; (1.Mos 49,5; 2.Mos 17,7; 2.Mos 28,30; 4.Mos 20,13)9who said of his father and mother, ‘I regard them not’; he disowned his brothers and ignored his children. For they observed your word and kept your covenant. (2.Mos 32,26; Mal 2,4)10They shall teach Jacob your rules and Israel your law; they shall put incense before you and whole burnt offerings on your altar. (2.Mos 30,7; 3.Mos 10,11; 5.Mos 17,9; 1.Sam 2,28; Salm 51,19; Ez 43,27; Ez 44,23)11Bless, O Lord, his substance, and accept the work of his hands; crush the loins of his adversaries, of those who hate him, that they rise not again.” (Ez 20,40; Ez 43,27; Amos 5,22)12Of Benjamin he said, “The beloved of the Lord dwells in safety. The High God[9] surrounds him all day long, and dwells between his shoulders.” (1.Mos 49,27)13And of Joseph he said, “Blessed by the Lord be his land, with the choicest gifts of heaven above,[10] and of the deep that crouches beneath, (1.Mos 27,28; 1.Mos 49,22; 1.Mos 49,25; 5.Mos 33,28)14with the choicest fruits of the sun and the rich yield of the months,15with the finest produce of the ancient mountains and the abundance of the everlasting hills, (1.Mos 49,26; Salm 90,2; Hab 3,6)16with the best gifts of the earth and its fullness and the favor of him who dwells in the bush. May these rest on the head of Joseph, on the pate of him who is prince among his brothers. (2.Mos 3,2; Salm 24,1; Ap G 7,30; Ap G 7,35)17A firstborn bull[11]—he has majesty, and his horns are the horns of a wild ox; with them he shall gore the peoples, all of them, to the ends of the earth; they are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Manasseh.” (1.Mos 48,19; 4.Mos 1,33; 4.Mos 1,35; 4.Mos 23,22; 1.Kong 22,11; 1.Krøn 5,1; Salm 44,5; Dan 8,4)18And of Zebulun he said, “Rejoice, Zebulun, in your going out, and Issachar, in your tents. (1.Mos 49,13)19They shall call peoples to their mountain; there they offer right sacrifices; for they draw from the abundance of the seas and the hidden treasures of the sand.” (2.Mos 15,17; Salm 4,5; Salm 51,19; Es 2,3)20And of Gad he said, “Blessed be he who enlarges Gad! Gad crouches like a lion; he tears off arm and scalp. (1.Mos 49,19; 1.Krøn 12,8)21He chose the best of the land for himself, for there a commander’s portion was reserved; and he came with the heads of the people, with Israel he executed the justice of the Lord, and his judgments for Israel.” (4.Mos 32,1; 4.Mos 32,16; 4.Mos 32,31; Josva 1,12; 1.Krøn 5,18)22And of Dan he said, “Dan is a lion’s cub that leaps from Bashan.” (1.Mos 49,9; 1.Mos 49,16; Josva 19,47; Dom 18,27)23And of Naphtali he said, “O Naphtali, sated with favor, and full of the blessing of the Lord, possess the lake[12] and the south.” (1.Mos 49,21; Josva 19,32)24And of Asher he said, “Most blessed of sons be Asher; let him be the favorite of his brothers, and let him dip his foot in oil. (1.Mos 49,20; Job 29,6)25Your bars shall be iron and bronze, and as your days, so shall your strength be.26“There is none like God, O Jeshurun, who rides through the heavens to your help, through the skies in his majesty. (2.Mos 15,11; 5.Mos 32,15; Salm 68,33; Salm 104,3; Es 19,1; Hab 3,8)27The eternal God is your dwelling place,[13] and underneath are the everlasting arms.[14] And he thrust out the enemy before you and said, ‘Destroy.’ (Salm 90,1; Salm 91,9)28So Israel lived in safety, Jacob lived alone,[15] in a land of grain and wine, whose heavens drop down dew. (4.Mos 23,9; Salm 68,26; Es 48,1)29Happy are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the Lord, the shield of your help, and the sword of your triumph! Your enemies shall come fawning to you, and you shall tread upon their backs.” (2.Sam 7,23; Salm 33,20; Salm 115,9; Es 45,17)