Deuteronomy 33:7

And concerning Judah he said: “O LORD, hear the cry of Judah and bring him to his people. With his own hands he defends his cause, but may You be a help against his foes.”

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Moses pronounces a blessing over the tribe of Judah within a sequence of tribal blessings that follows Reuben and continues with Levi. The utterance functions as a direct prophetic petition for the tribe’s preservation and divine aid.

The words — The Hebrew verb שְׁמַע (she.Ma') means "hear," immediately followed by the divine name יְהוָה (Yah.weh). This pairing establishes the verse as an explicit appeal for Yahweh’s attention to Judah’s distress.

The thread — The theme of divine assistance against adversaries appears in Genesis 49:8, which describes Judah’s hand on his enemies’ necks, and in Psalms 21:8, which portrays God’s right hand seizing those who hate Him. Psalm 20:2 is also linked, though it specifies that help originates from the sanctuary while sustenance comes from Zion.

Why it lands — The text states that Judah’s survival relies on Yahweh answering prayer rather than on human strength alone. It requires a reader to acknowledge that military defense and tribal continuity are contingent on divine intervention.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

וְזֹ֣אתve./Zotand/ this לִֽיהוּדָה֮li./hu.Dahof/ Judah וַיֹּאמַר֒va/i.yo.Marand/ he said שְׁמַ֤עshe.Ma'hear יְהוָה֙Yah.wehO Yahweh ק֣וֹלKol[the] voice of יְהוּדָ֔הye.hu.DahJudah וְאֶל־ve./'el-and/ to עַמּ֖וֹa.M/opeople/ his תְּבִיאֶ֑נּוּte.vi.'E./nuyou will bring/ him יָדָיו֙ya.Da/vown hands/ his רָ֣בravhe contendedל֔וֹl/ofor <the>/ himselfוְעֵ֥זֶרve./'E.zerand/ a help מִצָּרָ֖יוmi./tza.Ra/vfrom/ foes/ his תִּהְיֶֽה׃ סtih.Yehyou will be

King James Version

And this is the blessing of Judah: and he said, Hear, Lord, the voice of Judah, and bring him unto his people: let his hands be sufficient for him; and be thou an help to him from his enemies.

Cross-references

Genesis 49:8 Judah, your brothers shall praise you. Your hand shall be on the necks of your enemies; your father’s sons shall bow down to you.
Psalms 20:2 May He send you help from the sanctuary and sustain you from Zion.
Psalms 21:8 Your hand will apprehend all Your enemies; Your right hand will seize those who hate You.
2 Samuel 7:9 I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make for you a name like that of the greatest in the land.
Psalms 11:1 For the choirmaster. Of David. In the LORD I take refuge. How then can you say to me: “Flee like a bird to your mountain!
Psalms 146:5 Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God,
Isaiah 9:17 Therefore the Lord takes no pleasure in their young men; He has no compassion on their fatherless and widows. For every one of them is godless and wicked, and every mouth speaks folly. Despite all this, His anger is not turned away; His hand is still upraised.
Luke 19:27 And these enemies of mine who were unwilling for me to rule over them, bring them here and slay them in front of me.’”
1 Corinthians 15:25 For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet.
Hebrews 7:14 For it is clear that our Lord descended from Judah, a tribe as to which Moses said nothing about priests.