Deuteronomy 33:7

7 And this he said about Judah: “Hear, LORD, the cry of Judah; bring him to his people. With his own hands he defends his cause. Oh, be his help against his foes!”

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Deuteronomy 33:7 in Other Translations

KJV

7 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.

ESV

7 And this he said of Judah: "Hear, O LORD, the voice of Judah, and bring him in to his people. With your hands contend for him, and be a help against his adversaries."

NLT

7 Moses said this about the tribe of Judah: “O LORD, hear the cry of Judah and bring them together as a people. Give them strength to defend their cause; help them against their enemies!”

MSG

7 Judah: "Listen, God, to the Voice of Judah, bring him to his people; Strengthen his grip, be his helper against his foes."

CSB

7 He said this about Judah: Lord, hear Judah's cry and bring him to his people. He fights for his cause with his own hands, but may You be a help against his foes.

Deuteronomy 33:7 Meaning and Commentary

Deuteronomy 33:7

And this [is the blessing] of Judah
Which follows; the same supplement of the words is made in the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem; but Aben Ezra thinks it refers to what goes before, that this, the same thing prayed for or prophesied of Reuben, belongs also to Judah, that he should live and not die; it may be in the wars in which that tribe would be and was engaged:

and he said, hear, Lord, the voice of Judah;
in prayer, as all the Targums paraphrase it, which was eminently fulfilled in David, Asa, Jehoshaphat, Hezekiah, and other kings, which were of this tribe; who, when in distress, lifted up their voice in prayer to God, and were heard and delivered, as the Lord's people in all ages are: Judah signifies professing, confessing, praising this tribe was both a praying and praising people, as all good men be; they profess the name of the Lord, and their faith in him; they confess their sins and unworthiness; they praise the Lord for his mercies, temporal and spiritual, and pray to him for what they want; and their voice is heard with pleasure, and answered: particularly Judah was a type of Christ, who was of this tribe, and whose voice in prayer for his people has been always heard:

and bring him unto his people;
in peace, often engaged war, so all the Targums: and as it may refer to Christ his antitype, it may respect his incarnation, when he came to his own and was not received by them; and to his resurrection from the dead, when he appeared to his disciples, to their great joy; and to the ministry of the Gospel among the Gentiles, when to him was the gathering of the people; and will be further accomplished at the last day, when he shall return and appear to them that look for him, a second time, without sin unto salvation:

let his hands be sufficient for him;
both to work with, and provide for themselves all the necessaries of life, and to fight with their enemies, and defend themselves against them; so Christ's hands have been sufficient, or he has had a sufficiency of power and strength in his hands, to combat with and overcome all his and our enemies, to work out the salvation of his people, and to supply all their wants:

and be thou an help [to him] from his enemies:
which this tribe often experienced in their wars with their enemies, being very warlike and courageous, successful and victorious, both before they had kings and in the several kings of their tribe, as David, Jehoshaphat, and others; and was remarkably fulfilled in Christ, whose helper the Lord was as man and Mediator, see ( Isaiah 1:7-9 ) ( 49:1-26 ) ; no mention is made of Simeon, because of the affair of Baalpeor, in which that tribe had a great concern, ( Numbers 25:1-18 ) ; as Aben Ezra observes; or because, according to Jacob's prophecy, it was to be scattered in Israel; though the same is also said of Levi, who yet is here blessed; rather therefore the reason is, because Simeon had his inheritance in the midst of the tribe of Judah, and so was blessed in it, see ( Joshua 19:1 ) ; thus the Targum of Jonathan expresses it here,

``and he joined in his portion and in his blessing, Simeon his brother;''

some copies of the Septuagint version, as that in the king of Spain's Bible, make mention of him at the end of Reuben's blessing,

``and let Simeon be much in number.''

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

Deuteronomy 33:7 In-Context

5 He was king over Jeshurun when the leaders of the people assembled, along with the tribes of Israel.

6 “Let Reuben live and not die, nor his people be few.”

7 And this he said about Judah: “Hear, LORD, the cry of Judah; bring him to his people. With his own hands he defends his cause. Oh, be his help against his foes!”

8 About Levi he said: “Your Thummim and Urim belong to your faithful servant. You tested him at Massah; you contended with him at the waters of Meribah.

9 He said of his father and mother, ‘I have no regard for them.’ He did not recognize his brothers or acknowledge his own children, but he watched over your word and guarded your covenant.