Moses Blesses the Twelve Tribes

1This is the blessynge, wherwith Moses the man of God blessed ye childre of Israel before his death,

2and saide: The LORDE came from Sinai, and rose vp vnto the from Seir. He appeared fro mount Paran, and came wt many thousande sayntes. At his righte hande is there a lawe of fyre for them:

3O how loued he the people? All his sayntes are in his hande, they shall set them selues downe at thy fete, and receaue of thy wordes.

4Moses commaunded vs the lawe, which is the enheritaunce of the congregacion of Iacob.

5And he was in the fulnesse of the kynge, & helde ye rulers of ye people together, with the trybes of Israel.

6Let Ruben lyue, and not dye, and his people be fewe in nombre.

7This is the blessynge of Iuda. And he sayde: LORDE heare the voyce of Iuda, and brynge him vnto his people: Let his hades multiplye him, and let him be helped fro his enemies.

8And vnto Leui he sayde: Thy perfectnes and yi lighte be acordinge vnto the man of thy mercy, who thou hast tempted at Massa, whan ye stroue by the water of stryfe.

9He that sayeth vnto his father and to his mother: I se him not: and to his brother, I knowe him not: and to his sonne, I wote not of him, those haue obserued thy wordes, and kepte yi couenaunt:

10they shal teach Iacob thy iudgmentes, and Israel thy lawe: they shal laie incense before thy nose, & burntofferinges vpon thine altare.

11LORDE, blesse thou his power & accepte the workes of his handes: smyte the loynes of them yt ryse vp agaynst him, & of them that hate him, that they lifte not vp them selues.

12And to Ben Iamin he saide: The beloued of the LORDE shal dwell in hope on him: All the daye longe shal he wayte vpon him, and shal dwell betwene his shulders.

13And to Ioseph he sayde: His londe lieth in the blessynge of the LORDE, there are noble frutes of heauen, of the dew, and of the depe that lyeth beneth:

14There are noble frutes of the increase of the Sonne, and noble rype frutes of ye monethes:

15And of ye toppes of the mountaynes of olde, and of the hilles allwaye,

16and of the noble frutes of ye earth, and of the fulnesse therof. The good will of him that dwelleth in the busshe, come vpon the heade of Ioseph, and vpon ye toppe of his heade that was separated fro amonge his brethren.

17His bewtye is as a firstborne oxe, and his hornes are as ye hornes of an Vnicorne: with the same shal he pusshe the nacions together, euen vnto the endes of the worlde. These are the thousandes of Ephraim, and the thousandes of Manasse.

18And vnto Zabulon he sayde: Reioyse Zabulon of thy outgoynge: but reioyse thou Isachar of thy tentes.

19They shall call the people vnto ye hyll, and there shal they offre ye offeringes of righteousnes. For they shal sucke the abundaunce of the see, and the treasures hyd in the sonde.

20And to Gad he sayde: Blessynge haue Gad, which maketh rowme. He dwelleth as a lyon, and spoyleth the arme and the toppe of the heade.

21And he sawe his begynnynge, that ye heape of the teachers laye hydd there, and came with the rulers of the people, and executed the righteousnesse of the LORDE, and his iudgment on Israel.

22And to Dan he sayde: Dan a yonge lyon, he shal flowe from Basan.

23And to Nephtali he saide: Nephtali shal haue abundaunce of pleasure, & shalbe full of the blessynge of the LORDE: his possession shalbe towarde the west and south.

24And to Asser he sayde: Asser be blessed wt sonnes, accepted be he with his brethren, and dyppe his fote in oyle.

25Yron and brasse be on thy shues. Thyne age be as thy youth.

26There is no God as the God of the iust. He that sytteth vpon heauen, be thy helpe. And his glory is in the cloudes,

27that is the dwellynge of God from the beginnynge, and vnder the armes of the worlde. And he shal dryue out thyne enemye before the, and saye: Be destroyed.

28And Israel shall dwell safe alone. The eye of Iacob shalbe vpon ye londe where corne and wine is, heauen also shal droppe with dewe.

29Happye art thou Israel, who is lyke vnto the? O thou people yt art saued by the LORDE, which is thy helpe, shylde, and the swerde of thy glorye. Thyne enemies shal pyne awaye, and thou shalt treade vpon the height of them.