Deuteronomy Chapter 33 verse 21 Holy Bible

ASV Deuteronomy 33:21

And he provided the first part for himself, For there was the lawgiver's portion reserved; And he came `with' the heads of the people; He executed the righteousness of Jehovah, And his ordinances with Israel.
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BBE Deuteronomy 33:21

He kept for himself the first part, for his was the ruler's right: he put in force the righteousness of the Lord, and his decisions for Israel.
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DARBY Deuteronomy 33:21

And he provided the first part for himself, For there was reserved the portion of the lawgiver; And he came with the heads of the people; The justice of Jehovah and his judgments Hath he executed with Israel.
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KJV Deuteronomy 33:21

And he provided the first part for himself, because there, in a portion of the lawgiver, was he seated; and he came with the heads of the people, he executed the justice of the LORD, and his judgments with Israel.
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WBT Deuteronomy 33:21

And he provided the first part for himself, because there, in a portion of the lawgiver, was he seated: and he came with the heads of the people, he executed the justice of the LORD, and his judgments with Israel.
read chapter 33 in WBT

WEB Deuteronomy 33:21

He provided the first part for himself, For there was the lawgiver's portion reserved; He came [with] the heads of the people; He executed the righteousness of Yahweh, His ordinances with Israel.
read chapter 33 in WEB

YLT Deuteronomy 33:21

And he provideth the first part for himself, For there the portion of the lawgiver is covered, And he cometh `with' the heads of the people; The righteousness of Jehovah he hath done, And His judgments with Israel.
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Pulpit Commentary

Pulpit CommentaryVerse 21 refers to Gad's obtaining an inheritance for himself from Moses beyond Jordan. And he provided the first part for himself; literally, and he saw for himself (i.e. chose) the first, i.e. either the most excellent part or the firstfruits of the conquest. Because there, in a portion of the lawgiver, was he seated; rather, for there the portion of the leader was reserved. The word rendered t, lawgiver," or "leader" (מְחֹקֵק), signifies primarily one who ordains or appoints, and is used in both the above senses (cf. Exodus 33:22; Judges 5:14); it is here applied to Gad, because that tribe displayed such promptitude and energy at the head of the tribes in the conquest of the land, that it might be regarded as their leader. An entirely different view of the passage has been taken by some, who by the mechokek understand Moses as the lawgiver, and his portion as the place of his grave, which was concealed, but was within the inheritance of Gad. But it is a fatal objection to this view that not only is the word rendered "portion" (חֶלְקַת) nowhere used of a grave, but the grave of Moses on Mount Nebo was in the territory of Reuben, not in that of Gad. Gesenius renders, "The portion of (assigned by) the lawgiver was preserved." But this does not tally with the immediately preceding statement, that Gad chose his portion for himself; at any rate, it could not be because of this that he chose it. Gad chose for himself a portion on the east of Jordan, and the portion he had chosen was sacredly kept for him, though he went with his brethren to the conquest of Canaan. And he came with the heads of the people; i.e. his place of marching was with the leaders; his place was at the head of the tribes (cf. Numbers 32:17, 21, 32, and Joshua 1:14; Joshua 4:12). He executed the justice of the Lord, etc.; i.e. he did what God required of him, obeying his commands, and thereby fulfilling all righteousness (cf. Matthew 3:15; Philippians 3:6). With Israel; in the fellowship of Israel.

Ellicott's Commentary

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(21) The first part.--The first territory conquered by Moses was distributed between Reuben and Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh.A portion of the lawgiver is interpreted by Rashi as the field of the "burial-place" of the lawgiver. But this can hardly have been in the mind of Moses.He came with the heads of the people.--The Gadites with their companion tribes passed over Jordan to the conquest of Canaan by Moses' order.