C. Lewis - C. S. Lewis Bible - New Revised Standard Version

their doom comes swiftly.

36Indeed the LORD will vindicate his people,

have compassion on his servants,

when he sees that their power is gone,

neither bond nor free remaining.

37Then he will say: Where are their gods,

the rock in which they took refuge,

38who ate the fat of their sacrifices,

and drank the wine of their libations?

Let them rise up and help you,

let them be your protection!

39See now that I, even I, am he;

there is no god besides me.

I kill and I make alive;

I wound and I heal;

and no one can deliver from my hand.

40For I lift up my hand to heaven,

and swear: As I live forever,

41when I whet my flashing sword,

and my hand takes hold on judgment;

I will take vengeance on my adversaries,

and will repay those who hate me.

42I will make my arrows drunk with blood,

and my sword shall devour flesh—

with the blood of the slain and the captives,

from the long-haired enemy.

43Praise, O heavens,[ 78] his people,

worship him, all you gods![ 79]

For he will avenge the blood of his children,[ 80]

and take vengeance on his adversaries;

he will repay those who hate him,[ 79]

and cleanse the land for his people.[ 81]

44 Moses came and recited all the words of this song in the hearing of the people, he and Joshua[ 82] son of Nun. 45When Moses had finished reciting all these words to all Israel, 46he said to them: “Take to heart all the words that I am giving in witness against you today; give them as a command to your children, so that they may diligently observe all the words of this law. 47This is no trifling matter for you, but rather your very life; through it you may live long in the land that you are crossing over the Jordan to possess.”

48 On that very day the LORD addressed Moses as follows: 49“Ascend this mountain of the Abarim, Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, across from Jericho, and view the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites for a possession; 50you shall die there on the mountain that you ascend and shall be gathered to your kin, as your brother Aaron died on Mount Hor and was gathered to his kin; 51because both of you broke faith with me among the Israelites at the waters of Meribath-kadesh in the wilderness of Zin, by failing to maintain my holiness among the Israelites. 52Although you may view the land from a distance, you shall not enter it—the land that I am giving to the Israelites.”

33 This is the blessing with which Moses, the man of God, blessed the Israelites before his death. 2He said:

The LORD came from Sinai,

and dawned from Seir upon us;[ 83]

he shone forth from Mount Paran.

With him were myriads of holy ones;[ 84]

at his right, a host of his own.[ 85]

3Indeed, O favorite among[ 86] peoples,

all his holy ones were in your charge;

they marched at your heels,

accepted direction from you.

4Moses charged us with the law,

as a possession for the assembly of Jacob.

5There arose a king in Jeshurun,

when the leaders of the people assembled—

the united tribes of Israel.

6May Reuben live, and not die out,

even though his numbers are few.

7And this he said of Judah:

O LORD, give heed to Judah,

and bring him to his people;

strengthen his hands for him,[ 87]

and be a help against his adversaries.

8And of Levi he said:

Give to Levi[ 88] your Thummim,

and your Urim to your loyal one,

whom you tested at Massah,

with whom you contended at the waters of Meribah;

9who said of his father and mother,

“I regard them not”;

he ignored his kin,

and did not acknowledge his children.

For they observed your word,

and kept your covenant.

10They teach Jacob your ordinances,

and Israel your law;

they place incense before you,

and whole burnt offerings on your altar.

11Bless, O LORD, his substance,

and accept the work of his hands;

crush the loins of his adversaries,

of those that hate him, so that they do not rise again.

12Of Benjamin he said:

The beloved of the LORD rests in safety—

the High God[ 89] surrounds him all day long—

the beloved[ 90] rests between his shoulders.

13And of Joseph he said:

Blessed by the LORD be his land,

with the choice gifts of heaven above,

and of the deep that lies beneath;

14with the choice 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;

16with the choice gifts of the earth and its fullness,

and the favor of the one who dwells on Sinai.[ 91]

Let these come on the head of Joseph,

on the brow of the prince among his brothers.

17A firstborn[ 92] bull—majesty is his!

His horns are the horns of a wild ox;

with them he gores the peoples,

driving them to[ 93] the ends of the earth;

such are the myriads of Ephraim,

such the thousands of Manasseh.

18And of Zebulun he said:

Rejoice, Zebulun, in your going out;

and Issachar, in your tents.

19They call peoples to the mountain;

there they offer the right sacrifices;

for they suck the affluence of the seas

and the hidden treasures of the sand.

20And of Gad he said:

Blessed be the enlargement of Gad!

Gad lives like a lion;

he tears at arm and scalp.

21He chose the best for himself,

for there a commander’s allotment was reserved;

he came at the head of the people,

he executed the justice of the LORD,

and his ordinances for Israel.

22And of Dan he said:

Dan is a lion’s whelp

that leaps forth from Bashan.

23And of Naphtali he said:

O Naphtali, sated with favor,

full of the blessing of the LORD,

possess the west and the south.

24And of Asher he said:

Most blessed of sons be Asher;

may he be the favorite of his brothers,

and may he dip his foot in oil.

25Your bars are iron and bronze;

and as your days, so is your strength.

26There is none like God, O Jeshurun,

who rides through the heavens to your help,

majestic through the skies.

27He subdues the ancient gods,[ 94]

shatters[ 95] the forces of old;[ 96]

he drove out the enemy before you,

and said, “Destroy!”

28So Israel lives in safety,

untroubled is Jacob’s abode[ 97]

in a land of grain and wine,

where the heavens drop down dew.

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 on their backs.

34 Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho, and the LORD showed him the whole land: Gilead as far as Dan, 2all Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Western Sea, 3the Negeb, and the Plain—that is, the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees—as far as Zoar. 4The LORD said to him, “This is the land of which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it to your descendants’; I have let you see it with your eyes, but you shall not cross over there.” 5Then Moses, the servant of the LORD, died there in the land of Moab, at the LORD’s command. 6He was buried in a valley in the land of Moab, opposite Beth-peor, but no one knows his burial place to this day. 7Moses was one hundred twenty years old when he died; his sight was unimpaired and his vigor had not abated. 8The Israelites wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days; then the period of mourning for Moses was ended.