Deuteronomy 33 - 34, 2 Corinthians 11 - 12, Psalm 132

The Blessing of Moses

33Now this is the blessing with which Moses ^athe man of God blessed the sons of Israel before his death. ²And he said, “^aYahweh came from Sinai,^bAnd He ¹dawned on them from Seir;^cHe shone forth from Mount Paran,And He came from ^dthe ²midst of ten thousand holy ones;^eAt His right hand there was ³flashing lightning for them.

³“^aIndeed, He loves ¹the people;^bAll ²Your holy ones are in Your hand,^cAnd they ³followed in Your steps;Everyone is bearing up Your words.⁴“^aMoses commanded us with a law,^bA possession for the assembly of Jacob.⁵“^aAnd He was king in Jeshurun,When the heads of the people were gathered,The tribes of Israel together.⁶“^aMay Reuben live and not die,Nor his men be few.”

⁷^aAnd this regarding Judah; so he said, “Hear, O Yahweh, the voice of Judah,And bring him to his people.With his hands he contended for ¹them,And may You be a help against his adversaries.”

⁸Of Levi he said, “Let Your ^aThummim and Your Urim belong to ¹Your ^bholy one,^cWhom You tested at Massah,²With whom You contended at the waters of Meribah;

⁹^aWho said of his father and his mother,‘I did not consider them’;And he did not recognize his brothers,Nor did he know his own sons,For ^bthey kept Your word,And they observed Your covenant.¹⁰“^aThey shall ¹teach Your judgments to Jacob,And Your law to Israel.^bThey shall put incense ²before You,And ^cwhole burnt offerings on Your altar.¹¹“O Yahweh, bless his substance,And accept the work of his hands;Crush the loins of those who rise up against him,And those who hate him, so that they will not rise again.”

¹²Of Benjamin he said, “^aMay the beloved of Yahweh dwell in security by Him,^bWho shields him all the day,^cAnd he dwells between His shoulders.”

¹³Of Joseph he said, “^aBlessed of Yahweh be his land,With the choice things of heaven, with the dew,And from the deep lying beneath,

¹⁴And with the choice produce of the sun,And with the choice yield of the months,¹⁵And with the ¹best things of ^athe ancient mountains,And with the choice things of the everlasting hills,¹⁶And with the choice things of the earth and its fullness,And the favor ^aof Him who dwelt in the bush.Let it come to the head of Joseph,And to the top of the head of the one distinguished among his brothers.¹⁷“As the firstborn of his ox, splendor is his,And his horns are the horns of ^athe wild ox;With them he will ^bpush the peoples,All ¹at once, to the ends of the earth.And those are the ten thousands of Ephraim,And those are the thousands of Manasseh.”

¹⁸^aOf Zebulun he said, “Be glad, Zebulun, in your going forth,And, Issachar, in your tents.

¹⁹“^aThey will call peoples to the mountain;There they will offer ^brighteous sacrifices;For they will ¹draw out ^cthe abundance of the seas,And the hidden treasures of the sand.”

²⁰^aOf Gad he said, “Blessed is the one who enlarges Gad;He lies down ^bas a ¹lion,And tears the arm, also the top of the head.

²¹“^aThen he ¹provided the first part for himself,^bFor there the ruler’s portion was ²reserved;^cAnd he came with the heads of the people;^dHe did the righteousness of Yahweh,And His judgments with Israel.”

²²^aOf Dan he said, “Dan is ^ba lion’s whelp,That leaps forth from Bashan.”

²³Of Naphtali he said, “^aO Naphtali, satisfied with favor,And full of the blessing of Yahweh,Take possession of the sea and the south.”

²⁴^aOf Asher he said, “More blessed than sons is Asher;May he be favored by his brothers,^bAnd may he dip his foot in oil.

²⁵“^aYour locks will be iron and bronze,^bAnd according to your days, so your fortitude will be.²⁶“^aThere is none like the God of ¹Jeshurun,^bWho rides the heavens ²to your help,And through the skies in His majesty.²⁷“^aThe eternal God is a ¹dwelling place,^bAnd underneath are the everlasting arms;^cAnd He drove out the enemy from before you,^dAnd said, ‘Destroy!’²⁸“^aSo Israel dwells in security,^bThe fountain of Jacob secluded,^cIn a land of grain and new wine;^dHis heavens also drop down dew.²⁹“^aBlessed are you, O Israel;^bWho is like you, a people saved by Yahweh,^cWho is the shield of your help^dAnd the sword of your majesty!^eSo your enemies will cower before you,^fAnd you will tread upon their high places.”

The Death of Moses

34^aThen Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho. And Yahweh ^bshowed him all the land, Gilead as far as Dan, ²and all Naphtali and the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah as far as the ¹^,^awestern sea, ³and the ¹Negev and the plain in the valley of Jericho, ^athe city of palm trees, as far as Zoar. ⁴Then Yahweh said to him, “This is the land which ^aI swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it to your seed’; I have let you see it with your eyes, but you shall not go over there.” ⁵So Moses ^athe servant of Yahweh ^bdied there in the land of Moab, according to the ¹command of Yahweh. ⁶And He buried him in the valley in the land of Moab, ^aopposite Beth-peor; but ^bno man knows his burial place to this day. ⁷Now Moses was ^a120 years old when he died; ^bhis eye was not dim, nor his vigor abated. ⁸So the sons of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days. Then the days of weeping and mourning for Moses came to an end.

⁹Now Joshua the son of Nun was ^afilled with the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him; and the sons of Israel listened to him and did as Yahweh had commanded Moses. ¹⁰^aAnd there has not yet arisen a prophet in Israel like Moses, whom ^bYahweh knew face to face, ¹¹¹in regard to all the signs and wonders which Yahweh sent him to do in the land of Egypt against Pharaoh, all his servants, and all his land, ¹²and ¹in regard to all the mighty ²power and ³in regard to all the great terror which Moses did in the sight of all Israel.

Paul Defends His Apostleship

11I wish that you would ^abear with me in a little ^bfoolishness, but ¹indeed you are bearing with me. ²For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy, for I ^abetrothed you to one husband, so that I might ^bpresent you as a pure virgin to Christ. ³But I fear that, as the ^aserpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be corrupted from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ. ⁴For if ¹one comes and preaches ^aanother Jesus whom we did not preach, or you receive a ^bdifferent spirit which you did not receive, or a ^cdifferent gospel which you did not accept, you ^dbear this ^ebeautifully. ⁵For I consider myself ^ain no way inferior to the ¹most-eminent apostles. ⁶But even if I am ^aunskilled in word, yet I am not so in ^bknowledge; in fact, in every way we have ^cmade this evident to you in all things.

⁷Or ^adid I commit a sin in humbling myself so that you might be exalted, because I proclaimed the ^bgospel of God to you ^cwithout charge? ⁸I robbed other churches by ^ataking wages from them to minister to you. ⁹And when I was present with you and was in need, I was ^anot a burden to anyone; for when ^bthe brothers came from ^cMacedonia they fully supplied my need, and in everything I kept and will keep myself from ^dbeing a burden to you. ¹⁰^aAs the truth of Christ is in me, ^bthis boasting of mine will not be stopped in the regions of ^cAchaia. ¹¹Why? ^aBecause I do not love you? ^bGod knows I do!

¹²But what I am doing I will continue to do, ^aso that I may cut off opportunity from those who desire an opportunity to be found just as we are in the matter about which they are boasting. ¹³For such men are ^afalse apostles, ^bdeceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. ¹⁴And no wonder, for even ^aSatan disguises himself as an ^bangel of light. ¹⁵Therefore it is not surprising if his ministers also disguise themselves as ministers of righteousness, ^awhose end will be according to their deeds.

¹⁶^aAgain I say, let no one think me foolish; but if you do, receive me even as foolish, so that I also may boast a little. ¹⁷What I am saying, I am not saying ¹^,^aaccording to the Lord, but as ^bin foolishness, in this confidence of boasting. ¹⁸Since ^amany boast ^baccording to the flesh, I will boast also. ¹⁹For you, ^abeing so wise, are bearing the foolish gladly. ²⁰For you bear it if anyone ^aenslaves you, anyone ^bdevours you, anyone ^ctakes advantage of you, anyone ^dexalts himself, anyone ^ehits you in the face. ²¹To my ^ashame I must say that we have been ^bweak by comparison. But in whatever respect anyone else ^cis daring—I ^dspeak in foolishness—I am just as daring myself. ²²Are they ^aHebrews? ^bSo am I. Are they ^cIsraelites? ^dSo am I. Are they Abraham’s ^eseed? ^fSo am I. ²³Are they ^aministers of Christ?—I speak as if insane—I more so; in ¹^,^bfar more labors, in ²^,^cfar more imprisonments, in ^dbeatings without number, in frequent ^edanger of death. ²⁴Five times I received from the Jews ^aforty lashes less one. ²⁵Three times I was ^abeaten with rods, once I was ^bstoned, three times I was shipwrecked—a night and a day I have spent in the deep. ²⁶I have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my ^acountrymen, dangers from the ^bGentiles, dangers in the ^ccity, dangers in the desolate places, dangers on the sea, dangers among ^dfalse brothers. ²⁷I have been in ^alabor and hardship, in many sleepless nights, in ^bstarvation and thirst, often ^chungry, in cold and ¹^,^dwithout enough clothing. ²⁸Apart from such ¹external things, there is the daily pressure on me of concern for ^aall the churches. ²⁹Who is ^aweak without my being weak? Who is made to stumble ¹without my burning concern?

³⁰If I have to boast, I will boast of what pertains to my ^aweakness. ³¹The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, ^aHe who is blessed forever, ^bknows that I am not lying. ³²In ^aDamascus the ethnarch under Aretas the king was ^bguarding the city of the Damascenes in order to seize me, ³³and I was let down in a basket ^athrough a window ¹in the wall, and so escaped his hands.

A Vision of Paradise

12^aIt is necessary to boast, though it is not profitable, but I will go on to visions and ^brevelations ¹of the Lord. ²I know a man ^ain Christ who fourteen years ago—whether in the body I do not know, or out of the body I do not know, ^bGod knows—such a man was ^ccaught up to the ^dthird heaven. ³And I know how such a man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, ^aGod knows— ⁴was ^acaught up into ^bParadise and heard inexpressible words, which a man is not permitted to speak. ⁵^aOn behalf of such a man I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except in ^bweaknesses. ⁶For if I do wish to boast I will not be ^afoolish, ^bfor I will be speaking the truth; but I refrain from this, so that no one will consider me beyond what he sees in me or hears from me.

A Thorn in the Flesh

⁷Because of the surpassing greatness of the ^arevelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a ^bthorn in the flesh, a ^cmessenger of Satan to ¹torment me—to keep me from exalting myself! ⁸Concerning this I pleaded with the Lord ^athree times that it might leave me. ⁹And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for ^apower is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather ^bboast in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. ¹⁰Therefore ^aI am well content with weaknesses, with ¹insults, with ^bdistresses, with ^cpersecutions and ^dhardships, ^efor the sake of Christ, for ^fwhen I am weak, then I am strong.

Concern for the Corinthian Church

¹¹I have become ^afoolish; you yourselves compelled me. For I ought to have been commended by you, for ^bin no respect was I inferior to the ¹most-eminent apostles, even if ^cI am nothing. ¹²The ¹^,^asigns ²of a true apostle were worked out among you with all perseverance, by ³signs and wonders and ⁴miracles. ¹³For in what respect were you treated as less than the rest of the churches, except that ^aI myself did not become a burden to you? ¹Forgive me ^bthis wrong!

¹⁴Here ^afor this third time I am ready to come to you, and I ^bwill not be a burden to you; for I ^cdo not seek what is yours, but ^dyou. For ^echildren ought not to save up for their parents, but ^fparents for their children. ¹⁵So I will ^amost gladly spend and be fully spent for your souls. If ^bI love you more, am I to be loved less? ¹⁶But be that as it may, I ^adid not burden you myself. Nevertheless, crafty fellow that I am, I ^btook you in by deceit. ¹⁷^aHave I taken advantage of you through any of those whom I have sent to you? ¹⁸I ^aencouraged ^bTitus to go, and I sent ^cthe brother with him. Did Titus take any advantage of you? Did we not walk ¹in the same ^dspirit—^ein the very same steps?

¹⁹All this time ¹you think we are defending ourselves to you. We speak in Christ ^ain the sight of God. ^bAnd all these things, ^cbeloved, are for your building up. ²⁰For I am afraid that perhaps ^awhen I come I may find you to be not what I wish and may be found by you to be not what you wish; that perhaps there will be ^bstrife, jealousy, ^coutbursts of anger, ^dselfish ambition, ^eslanders, ^fgossip, arrogance, disturbances. ²¹I am afraid that when I come again my God may humiliate me before you, and I may mourn over many of those who have ^asinned in the past and not repented of the ^bimpurity, sexual immorality, and sensuality which they have practiced.

Yahweh Has Chosen Zion

132

A Song of Ascents.

Remember, O Yahweh, on David’s behalf,All ^ahis affliction;²How he swore to YahwehAnd vowed to ^athe Mighty One of Jacob,³“Surely I will not come into ¹^,^amy house,Nor ²lie in the ³comfort of my bed;⁴I will not ^agive sleep to my eyesOr slumber to my eyelids,⁵Until I find a ^aplace for Yahweh,¹A dwelling place for ^bthe Mighty One of Jacob.”⁶Behold, we heard of it in ^aEphrathah,We found it in the ^bfields of ¹Jaar.⁷Let us come into His ¹^,^adwelling place;Let us ^bworship at the ^cfootstool of His feet.⁸^aArise, O Yahweh, to Your ^bresting place,You and the ark of Your ^cstrength.⁹Let Your priests be ^aclothed with righteousness,And let Your ^bholy ones sing for joy.¹⁰For the sake of David Your servant,Do not turn away the face of Your ^aanointed.¹¹Yahweh has ^asworn to DavidA truth from which He will not turn back:“^bOf the fruit of your ¹body I will set upon your throne.¹²“If your sons keep My covenantAnd My testimony which I will teach them,Their sons also shall ^asit upon your throne forever.”¹³For Yahweh has ^achosen Zion;He has ^bdesired it for His habitation.¹⁴“This is My ^aresting place forever;Here I will ^binhabit, for I have desired it.¹⁵“I will abundantly ^abless her provision;I will ^bsatisfy her needy with bread.¹⁶“Her ^apriests also I will clothe with salvation,And her ^bholy ones will sing loudly for joy.¹⁷“There I will cause the ^ahorn of David to spring up;I have prepared a ^blamp for Mine anointed.¹⁸“His enemies I will ^aclothe with shame,But upon him, his ^bcrown shall blossom.”