Digital_Ethipian_Bible_(pdf).pdf

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4 Copyright Notice: © 2024 Edward Jones. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, whether electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or through any information storage system, without the author's or publisher's written permission. However, short quotations are allowed for the purpose of review or critical analysis, provided that they are properly attributed. Disclaimer: This book presents a unique selection of sacred texts from the Ethiopian Bible, carefully translated and curated from original manuscripts written in Ge'ez, Hebrew, and other ancient languages. The texts have been organized to provide a comprehensive and accessible resource for readers interested in exploring the rich biblical tradition of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. The author has introduced and commented on the material to offer context and facilitate reflection. Limitation of Liability: The author and publisher disclaim any responsibility for any losses, damages, or inconveniences that may arise from using the information in this book. The content is provided "as is" without implied or explicit guarantees of accuracy, completeness, or suitability for specific purposes. The reader uses the information at their own risk and discretion.

5 TABLE OF CONTENT INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................... 10 OLD TESTAMENT ................................................................................................. 12 THE PENTATEUCH (TORAH OR LAW) ............................................................................................... 13 Genesis ................................................................................................................................. 13 Exodus .................................................................................................................................. 57 Leviticus ............................................................................................................................... 93 Numbers ............................................................................................................................. 120 Deuteronomy .......................................................................................................................157 HISTORICAL BOOKS ...................................................................................................................... 188 Joshua................................................................................................................................. 188 Judges .................................................................................................................................209 Ruth ....................................................................................................................................230 I Samuel .............................................................................................................................. 233 II Samuel ............................................................................................................................260 I Kings.................................................................................................................................284 II Kings ............................................................................................................................... 310 I Chronicles ........................................................................................................................ 335 II Chronicles ....................................................................................................................... 361 Ezra ..................................................................................................................................... 391 Nehemiah .......................................................................................................................... 400 Esther ................................................................................................................................. 413 Additions to Esther ............................................................................................................420 Tobit ................................................................................................................................... 427

6 Judith ................................................................................................................................. 438 Esdras I ............................................................................................................................... 451 Esdras II ............................................................................................................................. 466 Baruch I.............................................................................................................................. 492 Baruch II ............................................................................................................................ 498 WISDOM BOOKS (POETIC BOOKS) ................................................................................................ 505 Job ...................................................................................................................................... 505 Psalms ................................................................................................................................ 526 Psalm 151............................................................................................................................. 581 Proverbs ............................................................................................................................. 582 Ecclesiastes ........................................................................................................................ 600 The Song of Songs .............................................................................................................. 606 The Wisdom of Solomon ....................................................................................................610 Sirach ................................................................................................................................. 623 PROPHETIC BOOKS ...................................................................................................................... 654 Major Prophets ..................................................................................................................... 654 Isaiah .................................................................................................................................. 654 Jeremiah ............................................................................................................................ 695 The Letter of Jeremiah ....................................................................................................... 741 Lamentations ......................................................................................................................743 Ezekiel ................................................................................................................................. 747 Daniel ................................................................................................................................. 789 Prayer of Azariah and the Songs of the Three Holy Children ........................................... 792 Susanna .............................................................................................................................. 803 Bel and the Dragon ............................................................................................................ 805

7 Minor Prophets ..................................................................................................................... 806 Hosea ................................................................................................................................. 806 Joel ..................................................................................................................................... 813 Amos ................................................................................................................................... 815 Obadiah ............................................................................................................................. 820 Jonah .................................................................................................................................. 821 Micah .................................................................................................................................. 823 Nahum ................................................................................................................................826 Habakkuk .......................................................................................................................... 828 Zephaniah ...........................................................................................................................829 Haggai................................................................................................................................. 831 Zechariah ............................................................................................................................ 833 Malachi .............................................................................................................................. 840 NEW TESTAMENT .............................................................................................. 843 THE GOSPELS ...............................................................................................................................844 Matthew ..............................................................................................................................844 Mark ................................................................................................................................... 871 Luke ................................................................................................................................... 888 John .................................................................................................................................... 917 HISTORICAL BOOK ....................................................................................................................... 939 Acts ..................................................................................................................................... 939 LETTERS OF PAUL (PAULINE EPISTLES) ......................................................................................... 969 Romans ............................................................................................................................... 969 I Corinthians...................................................................................................................... 980 II Corinthians ..................................................................................................................... 992

8 Galatians ............................................................................................................................ 999 Ephesians ......................................................................................................................... 1003 Philippians ........................................................................................................................1007 Colossians ......................................................................................................................... 1010 I Thessalonians ................................................................................................................. 1012 II Thessalonians................................................................................................................ 1015 I Timothy .......................................................................................................................... 1016 II Timothy ......................................................................................................................... 1019 Titus .................................................................................................................................. 1021 Philemon ...........................................................................................................................1023 GENERAL LETTERS (CATHOLIC EPISTLES) ...................................................................................1023 Hebrews ............................................................................................................................1023 James ................................................................................................................................1032 I Peter ................................................................................................................................ 1035 II Peter ............................................................................................................................. 1038 I John ............................................................................................................................... 1040 II John ...............................................................................................................................1043 III John .............................................................................................................................1043 Jude .................................................................................................................................. 1044 Clement I...........................................................................................................................1045 APOCALYPTIC BOOK ....................................................................................... 1064 Revelation ........................................................................................................................ 1064 Enoch I ..............................................................................................................................1078 Enoch II ............................................................................................................................ 1127 Jubilees ............................................................................................................................. 1143

9 ADDITIONAL BOOKS ....................................................................................... 1207 (UNIQUE TO ETHIOPIAN CANON) ................................................................... 1207 HISTORICAL BOOKS .................................................................................................................... 1207 Meqabyan I ....................................................................................................................... 1207 Meqabian II ....................................................................................................................... 1241 Meqabyan III .................................................................................................................... 1260 PRAYER BOOKS .......................................................................................................................... 1270 Prayer of Manasses .......................................................................................................... 1270 CONCLUSION .................................................................................................... 1271

10 Introduction The Ethiopian Bible, known as one of the oldest and most complete collections of sacred texts, is a spiritual and cultural heritage that dates back to the early history of Christianity. Written in the revered Ge'ez language, an ancient Semitic language of the Horn of Africa, it is much more than a simple religious text: it represents the heart of the faith and identity of the Ethiopian people. Its 88 books differ significantly from Western versions, such as the King James Version (KJV), which contains only 66 books. The origins of the Ethiopian Bible are closely linked to the spread of Christianity in Ethiopia, one of the first nations in the world to adopt Christianity as the state religion in the 4th century AD, during the reign of King Ezana of Axum. The translation of the Bible into Ge'ez, which probably took place around the 5th century, allowed the Ethiopian people to access the Holy Scriptures directly, contributing to the establishment of a unique religious tradition distinct from other Eastern and Western Christian currents. This Bible is distinguished by its richness and variety, offering a view of early Christianity that includes universally recognized canonical texts and a vast array of deuterocanonical and apocryphal writings. The Old Testament of the Ethiopian Bible includes the books of the Pentateuch—Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy—that form the basis of the Mosaic law. These are followed by the Historical Books, which narrate the people's events of Israel, from the conquest of the Promised Land under Joshua to the post-exilic period. This section also features texts exclusive to the Ethiopian tradition, such as the Additions to Esther, 1 and 2 Esdras, and the two books of Baruch, enriching the biblical narrative with unique perspectives and details.

11 The Wisdom Books provide philosophical and moral reflections through works such as the Wisdom of Solomon and Sirach, along with the Psalms and the additional Psalm 151, a text not included in the Hebrew and Western Christian canon. The Prophetic Books, which include Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the twelve minor prophets, are complemented by additional writings such as the Prayer of Azariah, Susanna, and Bel and the Dragon, offering a broader prophetic and apocalyptic picture compared to other biblical traditions. The New Testament opens with the four canonical Gospels and continues with the Acts of the Apostles and the Pauline epistles, including the rare addition of 1 Clement, an apostolic letter that attests to the authority and influence of the early Church. Moreover, the apocalyptic section is vibrant, including the Book of Revelation and texts such as the two books of Enoch and the Jubilees, which provide essential prophetic and cosmological visions for Ethiopian theology. A distinctive and fascinating feature of the Ethiopian Bible is the inclusion of the Books of Meqabyan I-III, a set of texts unrelated to the Maccabees found in other traditions but dealing with themes of faith and resistance. These texts, along with the Prayer of Manasseh, complete a collection that, with its 88 books, represents the most extensive and inclusive biblical tradition. The Ethiopian Bible is not just a sacred text for the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church but also a source of identity and unity for the Ethiopian people. The Bible provided strength and hope during centuries of challenges, invasions, and oppressions, serving as a spiritual and cultural guide. Today, it represents a treasure for the world, offering a glimpse into an ancient Christianity whose roots intertwine with the earliest Christian communities in the Middle East and Africa. For scholars, believers, and the curious, the Ethiopian Bible invites exploration into a rich and diverse tradition that challenges the boundaries of the conventional biblical canon and opens up new perspectives on the meaning of faith and revelation. Its extraordinary preservation and the dedication with which it has been passed down through the centuries testify to its importance for Ethiopia and all humanity.

12 Old Testament

13 The Pentateuch (Torah or Law) Genesis Genesis Chapter 1 1 In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth,2 the earth was a formless wasteland, and darkness covered the abyss, while a mighty wind swept over the waters. 3 Then God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. 4 God saw how good the light was. God then separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." Thus evening came, and morning followed - the first day.6 Then God said, "Let there be a dome in the middle of the waters, to separate one body of water from the other." And so it happened: 7 God made the dome, and it separated the water above the dome from the water below it. 8 God called the dome "the sky." Evening came, and morning followed - the second day. 9 Then God said, "Let the water under the sky be gathered into a single basin, so that the dry land may appear." And so it happened: the water under the sky was gathered into its basin, and the dry land appeared. 10 God called the dry land "the earth," and the basin of the water he called "the sea." God saw how good it was. 11 Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth vegetation: every kind of plant that bears seed and every kind of fruit tree on earth that bears fruit with its seed in it." And so it happened: 12 the earth brought forth every kind of plant that bears seed and every kind of fruit tree on earth that bears fruit with its seed in it. God saw how good it was. 13 Evening came, and morning followed - the third day.14 Then God said: "Let there be lights in the dome of the sky, to separate day from night. Let them mark the fixed times, the days and the years,15 and serve as luminaries in the dome of the sky, to shed light upon the earth." And so it happened: 16 God made the two great lights, the greater one to govern the day, and the lesser one to govern the night; and he made the stars. 17 God set them in the dome of the sky, to shed light upon the earth, 18 to govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. God saw how good it was. 19 Evening came, and morning followed - the fourth day. 20 Then God said, "Let the water teem with an abundance of living creatures, and on the earth let birds fly beneath the dome of the sky." And so it happened: 21 God created the great sea monsters and all kinds of swimming creatures with which the water teems, and all kinds of winged birds. 22 God saw how good it was, and God blessed them, saying, "Be fertile, multiply, and fill the water of the seas; and let the birds multiply on the earth." 23 Evening came, and morning followed - the fifth day. 24 Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth all kinds of living creatures: cattle, creeping things, and wild animals of all kinds." And so it happened: 25 God made all kinds of wild animals, all kinds of cattle, and all kinds of creeping things of the earth. God saw how good it was. 26 Then God said: "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and the cattle, and over all the wild animals and all the creatures that crawl on the ground." 27 God created man in his image; in the divine

14 image he created him; male and female he created them. 28 God blessed them, saying: "Be fertile and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and all the living things that move on the earth." 29 God also said: "See, I give you every seed- bearing plant all over the earth and every tree that has seed-bearing fruit on it to be your food; 30 and to all the animals of the land, all the birds of the air, and all the living creatures that crawl on the ground, I give all the green plants for food." And so it happened. 31 God looked at everything he had made, and he found it very good. Evening came, and morning followed - the sixth day. Genesis Chapter 2 1 Thus the heavens and the earth and all their array were completed. 2 Since on the seventh day God was finished with the work he had been doing, he rested on the seventh day from all the work he had undertaken. 3 So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work he had done in creation. 4 Such is the story of the heavens and the earth at their creation. At the time when the LORD God made the earth and the heavens - 5 while as yet there was no field shrub on earth and no grass of the field had sprouted, for the LORD God had sent no rain upon the earth and there was no man to till the soil, 6 but a stream was welling up out of the earth and was watering all the surface of the ground - 7 The LORD God formed man out of the clay of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and so man became a living being. 8 Then the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and he placed there the man whom he had formed. 9 Out of the ground the LORD God made various trees grow that were delightful to look at and good for food, with the tree of life in the middle of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good and bad. 10 A river rises in Eden to water the garden; beyond there it divides and becomes four branches. 11 The name of the first is the Pishon; it is the one that winds through the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 The gold of that land is excellent; bdellium and lapis lazuli are also there. 13 The name of the second river is the Gihon; it is the one that winds all through the land of Cush. 14The name of the third river is the Tigris; it is the one that flows east of Asshur. The fourth river is the Euphrates. 15 The LORD God then took the man and settled him in the garden of Eden, to cultivate and care for it. 16 The LORD God gave man this order: "You are free to eat from any of the trees of the garden 17 Except the tree of knowledge of good and bad. From that tree you shall not eat; the moment you eat from it you are surely doomed to die." 18 The LORD God said: "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a suitable partner for him." 19 So the LORD God formed out of the ground various wild animals and various birds of the air, and he brought them to the man to see what he would call them; whatever the man called each of them would be its name. 20 The man gave names to all the cattle, all the birds of the air, and all the wild animals; but none proved to be the suitable partner for the man. 21 So the LORD God cast a deep sleep on the man, and while he was asleep, he took out one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. 22 The LORD God then built up into a woman the rib that he had taken from the man. When he brought her to the man, 23 The man said: "This one, at last, is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; This one shall be called 'woman,' for out of 'her man' this one has been taken." 24 That is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one body. 25 The man and his wife were both naked, yet they felt no shame. Genesis Chapter 3 1 Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the animals that the LORD God had made.

he had taken from the man. When he brought her to the man, 23 The man said: "This one, at last, is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; This one shall be called 'woman,' for out of 'her man' this one has been taken." 24 That is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one body. 25 The man and his wife were both naked, yet they felt no shame. Genesis Chapter 3 1 Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the animals that the LORD God had made. The serpent asked the woman, "Did God really tell you not to eat from any of the trees in the garden?" 2 The woman answered the serpent: "We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; 3 it is only about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden that God said, 'You shall not eat it or even

15 touch it, lest you die.'" 4 But the serpent said to the woman: "You certainly will not die! 5 No, God knows well that the moment you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods who know what is good and what is bad." 6 The woman saw that the tree was good for food, pleasing to the eyes, and desirable for gaining wisdom. So, she took some of its fruit and ate it; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized that they were naked; so, they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves. 8 When they heard the sound of the LORD God moving about in the garden at the breezy time of the day, the man and his wife hid themselves from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9 The LORD God then called to the man and asked him, "Where are you?" 10 He answered, "I heard you in the garden; but I was afraid, because I was naked, so I hid myself." 11 Then he asked, "Who told you that you were naked? You have eaten, then, from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat!" 12 The man replied, "The woman whom you put here with me - she gave me fruit from the tree, so I ate it." 13 The LORD God then asked the woman, "Why did you do such a thing?" The woman answered, "The serpent tricked me into it, so I ate it." 14 Then the LORD God said to the serpent: "Because you have done this, you shall be banned from all the animals and from all the wild creatures; On your belly shall you crawl, and dirt shall you eat all the days of your life. 15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; He will strike at your head, while you strike at his heel." 16 The woman he said: "I will intensify the pangs of your childbearing; in pain shall you bring forth children. Yet your urge shall be for your husband, and he shall be your master." 17 To the man he said: "Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat, "Cursed be the ground because of you! In toil shall you eat its yield all the days of your life. 18 Thorns and thistles shall it bring forth to you, as you eat of the plants of the field. 19 By the sweat of your face shall you get bread to eat, Until you return to the ground, from which you were taken; For you are dirt, and to dirt you shall return." 20 The man called his wife Eve, because she became the mother of all the living. 21 For the man and his wife the LORD God made leather garments, with which he clothed them. 22 Then the LORD God said: "See! The man has become like one of us, knowing what is good and what is bad! Therefore, he must not be allowed to put out his hand to take fruit from the tree of life also, and thus eat of it and live forever." 23 The LORD God therefore banished him from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from which he had been taken. 24 When he expelled the man, he settled him east of the garden of Eden; and he stationed the cherubim and the fiery revolving sword, to guard the way to the tree of life. Genesis Chapter 4 1 The man had relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, "I have produced a man with the help of the LORD." 2 Next, she bore his brother Abel. Abel became a keeper of flocks, and Cain a tiller of the soil. 3 In the course of time Cain brought an offering to the LORD from the fruit of the soil, 4 While Abel, for his part, brought one of the best firstlings of his flock. The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering, 5 But on Cain and his offering he did not. Cain greatly resented this and was crestfallen. 6 So the LORD said to Cain: "Why are you so resentful and crestfallen? 7 If you do well, you can hold up your head; but if not, sin is a demon lurking at the door: his urge is toward you, yet you can be his master." 8 Cain said to his brother Abel, "Let us go out in the field." When they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.

. The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering, 5 But on Cain and his offering he did not. Cain greatly resented this and was crestfallen. 6 So the LORD said to Cain: "Why are you so resentful and crestfallen? 7 If you do well, you can hold up your head; but if not, sin is a demon lurking at the door: his urge is toward you, yet you can be his master." 8 Cain said to his brother Abel, "Let us go out in the field." When they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him. 9 Then the LORD asked Cain, "Where is your brother Abel?" He answered, "I do not know. Am I my brother's keeper?" 10 The LORD then said: "What have you done! Listen: your brother's blood cries out to me from the soil! 11 Therefore you shall be banned from the soil that opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. 12 If you till the soil, it shall no longer give you its produce. You shall become a restless wanderer on the earth." 13 Cain said to the

16 LORD: "My punishment is too great to bear. 14 Since you have now banished me from the soil, and I must avoid your presence and become a restless wanderer on the earth, anyone may kill me at sight." 15 Not so!" the LORD said to him. "If anyone kills Cain, Cain shall be avenged sevenfold." So, the LORD put a mark on Cain, lest anyone should kill him at sight. 16 Cain then left the LORD'S presence and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden. 17 Cain had relations with his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch. Cain also became the founder of a city, which he named after his son Enoch. 18 To Enoch was born Irad, and Irad became the father of Mehujael; Mehujael became the father of Methusael, and Methusael became the father of Lamech. 19 Lamech took two wives; the name of the first was Adah, and the name of the second Zillah. 20 Adah gave birth to Jabal, the ancestor of all who dwell in tents and keep cattle. 21 His brother's name was Jubal; he was the ancestor of all who play the lyre and the pipe. 22 Zillah, on her part, gave birth to Tubalcain, the ancestor of all who forge instruments of bronze and iron. The sister of Tubalcain was Naamah. 23 Lamech said to his wives: "Adah and Zillah, hear my voice; wives of Lamech, listen to my utterance: I have killed a man for wounding me, a boy for bruising me. 24 If Cain is avenged sevenfold, then Lamech seventy-sevenfold." 25 Adam again had relations with his wife, and she gave birth to a son whom she called Seth. "God has granted me more offspring in place of Abel," she said, "because Cain slew him." 26 To Seth, in turn, a son was born, and he named him Enosh. At that time men began to invoke the LORD by name. Genesis Chapter 5 1 This is the record of the descendants of Adam. When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God; 2 He created them male and female. When they were created, he blessed them and named them "man." 3 Adam was one hundred and thirty years old when he begot a son in his likeness, after his image; and he named him Seth. 4 Adam lived eight hundred years after the birth of Seth, and he had other sons and daughters. 5 The whole lifetime of Adam was nine hundred and thirty years; then he died. 6 When Seth was one hundred and five years old, he became the father of Enosh. 7 Seth lived eight hundred and seven years after the birth of Enosh, and he had other sons and daughters. 8 The whole lifetime of Seth was nine hundred and twelve years; then he died. 9 When Enosh was ninety years old, he became the father of Kenan. 10 Enosh lived eight hundred and fifteen years after the birth of Kenan, and he had other sons and daughters. 11 The whole lifetime of Enosh was nine hundred and five years; then he died. 12 When Kenan was seventy years old, he became the father of Mahalalel. 13 Kenan lived eight hundred and forty years after the birth of Mahalalel, and he had other sons and daughters. 14 The whole lifetime of Kenan was nine hundred and ten years; then he died. 15 When Mahalalel was sixty-five years old, he became the father of Jared. 16 Mahalalel lived eight hundred and thirty years after the birth of Jared, and he had other sons and daughters. 17 The whole lifetime of Mahalalel was eight hundred and ninety- five years; then he died. 18 When Jared was one hundred and sixty-two years old, he became the father of Enoch. 19 Jared lived eight hundred years after the birth of Enoch, and he had other sons and daughters. 20 The whole lifetime of Jared was nine hundred and sixty-two years; then he died. 21 When Enoch was sixty-five years old, he became the father of Methuselah. 22 Enoch lived three hundred years after the birth of Methuselah, and he had other sons and daughters. 23 The whole lifetime of Enoch was three hundred and sixty-five years. 24 Then Enoch walked with God, and he was no longer here, for God took him. 25 When Methuselah was one hundred and eighty-seven years old, he became the father of Lamech.

The whole lifetime of Jared was nine hundred and sixty-two years; then he died. 21 When Enoch was sixty-five years old, he became the father of Methuselah. 22 Enoch lived three hundred years after the birth of Methuselah, and he had other sons and daughters. 23 The whole lifetime of Enoch was three hundred and sixty-five years. 24 Then Enoch walked with God, and he was no longer here, for God took him. 25 When Methuselah was one hundred and eighty-seven years old, he became the father of Lamech. 26 Methuselah lived seven hundred and eighty-two years after the birth of Lamech, and he had other sons and daughters. 27 The whole lifetime of Methuselah was nine hundred and sixty-nine years; then he died. 28 When Lamech was one hundred and eighty-two years old, he begot a son 29 and named him Noah, saying, "Out of the very ground that the LORD has put under a curse, this one shall bring us relief from our work and the

17 toil of our hands." 30 Lamech lived five hundred and ninety-five years after the birth of Noah, and he had other sons and daughters. 31 The whole lifetime of Lamech was seven hundred and seventy- seven years; then he died. 32 When Noah was five hundred years old, he became the father of Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Genesis Chapter 6 1 When men began to multiply on earth and daughters were born to them, 2 The sons of heaven saw how beautiful the daughters of man were, and so they took for their wives as many of them as they chose. 3 Then the LORD said: "My spirit shall not remain in man forever, since he is but flesh. His days shall comprise one hundred and twenty years." 4 At that time the Nephilim appeared on earth (as well as later), after the sons of heaven had intercourse with the daughters of man, who bore them sons. They were the heroes of old, the men of renown. 5 When the LORD saw how great was man's wickedness on earth, and how no desire that his heart conceived was ever anything but evil, 6 He regretted that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was grieved. 7 So the LORD said: "I will wipe out from the earth the men whom I have created, and not only the men, but also the beasts and the creeping things and the birds of the air, for I am sorry that I made them." 8 But Noah found favor with the LORD. 9 These are the descendants of Noah. Noah, a good man and blameless in that age, 10 For he walked with God, begot three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. 11 In the eyes of God the earth was corrupt and full of lawlessness. 12 When God saw how corrupt the earth had become, since all mortals led depraved lives on earth, 13 He said to Noah: "I have decided to put an end to all mortals on earth; the earth is full of lawlessness because of them. So I will destroy them and all life on earth. 14 Make yourself an ark of gopherwood, put various compartments in it, and cover it inside and out with pitch. 15 This is how you shall build it: the length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. 16 Make an opening for daylight in the ark, and finish the ark a cubit above it. Put an entrance in the side of the ark, which you shall make with bottom, second and third decks. 17 I, on my part, am about to bring the flood (waters) on the earth, to destroy everywhere all creatures in which there is the breath of life; everything on earth shall perish. 18 But with you I will establish my covenant; you and your sons, your wife and your sons' wives, shall go into the ark. 19 Of all other living creatures you shall bring two into the ark, one male and one female, that you may keep them alive with you. 20 Of all kinds of birds, of all kinds of beasts, and of all kinds of creeping things, two of each shall come into the ark with you, to stay alive. 21 Moreover, you are to provide yourself with all the food that is to be eaten, and store it away, that it may serve as provisions for you and for them." 22 This Noah did; he carried out all the commands that God gave him. Genesis Chapter 7 1 Then the LORD said to Noah: "Go into the ark, you and all your household, for you alone in this age have I found to be truly just. 2 Of every clean animal, take with you seven pairs, a male and its mate; and of the unclean animals, one pair, a male and its mate; 3 Likewise, of every clean bird of the air, seven pairs, a male and a female, and of all the unclean birds, one pair, a male and a female. Thus, you will keep their issue alive over all the earth. 4 Seven days from now I will bring rain down on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and so I will wipe out from the surface of the earth every moving creature that I have made." 5 Noah did just as the LORD had commanded him. 6 Noah was six hundred years old when the flood waters came upon the earth. 7 Together with his sons, his wife, and his sons' wives, Noah went into the ark because of the waters of the flood.

male and a female. Thus, you will keep their issue alive over all the earth. 4 Seven days from now I will bring rain down on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and so I will wipe out from the surface of the earth every moving creature that I have made." 5 Noah did just as the LORD had commanded him. 6 Noah was six hundred years old when the flood waters came upon the earth. 7 Together with his sons, his wife, and his sons' wives, Noah went into the ark because of the waters of the flood. 8 Of the clean animals and the unclean, of the birds, and of everything that creeps on the ground, 9 (two by two) male and female entered the ark with Noah, just as the LORD had commanded him. 10 As soon as the seven days were over, the waters of the flood came upon the earth.11 In the six

18 hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month: it was on that day that all the fountains of the great abyss burst forth, and the floodgates of the sky were opened. 12 For forty days and forty nights heavy rain poured down on the earth. 13 On the precise day named, Noah and his sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and Noah's wife, and the three wives of Noah's sons had entered the ark, 14 Together with every kind of wild beast, every kind of domestic animal, every kind of creeping thing of the earth, and every kind of bird. 15 Pairs of all creatures in which there was the breath of life entered the ark with Noah. 16 Those that entered were male and female, and of all species they came, as God had commanded Noah. Then the LORD shut him in. 17 The flood continued upon the earth for forty days. As the waters increased, they lifted the ark, so that it rose above the earth. 18 The swelling waters increased greatly, but the ark floated on the surface of the waters. 19 Higher and higher above the earth rose the waters, until all the highest mountains everywhere were submerged, 20 The crest rising fifteen cubits higher than the submerged mountains. 21 All creatures that stirred on earth perished: birds, cattle, wild animals, and all that swarmed on the earth, as well as all mankind. 22 Everything on dry land with the faintest breath of life in its nostrils died out. 23 The LORD wiped out every living thing on earth: man, and cattle, the creeping things and the birds of the air; all were wiped out from the earth. Only Noah and those with him in the ark were left. 24 The waters maintained their crest over the earth for one hundred and fifty days, Genesis Chapter 8 1 And then God remembered Noah and all the animals, wild and tame, that were with him in the ark. So God made a wind sweep over the earth, and the waters began to subside. 2 The fountains of the abyss and the floodgates of the sky were closed, and the downpour from the sky was held back. 3 Gradually the waters receded from the earth. At the end of one hundred and fifty days, the waters had so diminished 4 That, in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. 5 The waters continued to diminish until the tenth month, and on the first day of the tenth month the tops of the mountains appeared. 6 At the end of forty days Noah opened the hatch he had made in the ark, 7 And he sent out a raven, to see if the waters had lessened on the earth. It flew back and forth until the waters dried off from the earth. 8 Then he sent out a dove, to see if the waters had lessened on the earth. 9 But the dove could find no place to alight and perch, and it returned to him in the ark, for there was water all over the earth. Putting out his hand, he caught the dove and drew it back to him inside the ark. 10 He waited seven days more and again sent the dove out from the ark. 11 In the evening the dove came back to him, and there in its bill was a plucked-off olive leaf! So Noah knew that the waters had lessened on the earth. 12 He waited still another seven days and then released the dove once more; and this time it did not come back. 13 In the six hundred and first year of Noah's life, in the first month, on the first day of the month, the water began to dry up on the earth. Noah then removed the covering of the ark and saw that the surface of the ground was drying up. 14 In the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth was dry. 15 Then God said to Noah: 16 "Go out of the ark, together with your wife and your sons and your sons' wives. 17 Bring out with you every living thing that is with you - all bodily creatures, be they birds or animals or creeping things of the earth - and let them abound on the earth, breeding and multiplying on it." 18 So Noah came out, together with his wife and his sons and his sons' wives.

ground was drying up. 14 In the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth was dry. 15 Then God said to Noah: 16 "Go out of the ark, together with your wife and your sons and your sons' wives. 17 Bring out with you every living thing that is with you - all bodily creatures, be they birds or animals or creeping things of the earth - and let them abound on the earth, breeding and multiplying on it." 18 So Noah came out, together with his wife and his sons and his sons' wives. 19 And all the animals, wild and tame, all the birds, and all the creeping creatures of the earth left the ark, one kind after another. 20 Then Noah built an altar to the LORD and choosing from every clean animal and every clean bird, he offered holocausts on the altar. 21 When the LORD smelled the sweet odor, he said to himself: "Never again will I doom the earth because of man, since the desires of man's heart are evil from the start; nor will I ever again strike down all living beings, as I have done. 22 As long as the earth lasts, seedtime

19 and harvest, cold and heat, Summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease." Genesis Chapter 9 1 God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them: "Be fertile and multiply and fill the earth. 2 Dread fear of you shall come upon all the animals of the earth and all the birds of the air, upon all the creatures that move about on the ground and all the fishes of the sea; into your power they are delivered. 3 Every creature that is alive shall be yours to eat; I give them all to you as I did the green plants. 4 Only flesh with its lifeblood still in it you shall not eat. 5 For your own lifeblood, too, I will demand an accounting: from every animal I will demand it, and from man in regard to his fellow man I will demand an accounting for human life. 6 If anyone sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; For in the image of God has man been made. 7 Be fertile, then, and multiply; abound on earth and subdue it." 8 God said to Noah and to his sons with him: 9 "See, I am now establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you 10 And with every living creature that was with you: all the birds, and the various tame and wild animals that were with you and came out of the ark. 11 I will establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all bodily creatures be destroyed by the waters of a flood; there shall not be another flood to devastate the earth." 12 God added: "This is the sign that I am giving for all ages to come, of the covenant between me and you and every living creature with you: 13 I set my bow in the clouds to serve as a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. 14 When I bring clouds over the earth, and the bow appears in the clouds, 15 I will recall the covenant I have made between me and you and all living beings, so that the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all mortal beings. 16 As the bow appears in the clouds, I will see it and recall the everlasting covenant that I have established between God and all living beings - all mortal creatures that are on earth." 17 God told Noah: "This is the sign of the covenant I have established between me and all mortal creatures that are on earth." 18 The sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham and Japheth. (Ham was the father of Canaan.) 19 These three were the sons of Noah, and from them the whole earth was peopled. 20 Now Noah, a man of the soil, was the first to plant a vineyard. 21 When he drank some of the wine, he became drunk and lay naked inside his tent. 22 Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father's nakedness, and he told his two brothers outside about it. 23 Shem and Japheth, however, took a robe, and holding it on their backs, they walked backward and covered their father's nakedness; since their faces were turned the other way, they did not see their father's nakedness. 24 When Noah woke up from his drunkenness and learned what his youngest son had done to him, 25 He said: "Cursed be Caanan! The lowest of slaves shall he be to his brothers." 26 He also said: "Blessed be the LORD, the God of Shem! Let Canaan be his slave. 27 May God expand Japheth, so that he dwells among the tents of Shem; and let Canaan be his slave." 28 Noah lived three hundred and fifty years after the flood. 29 The whole lifetime of Noah was nine hundred and fifty years; then he died. Genesis Chapter 10 1 These are the descendants of Noah's sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, to whom sons were born after the flood. 2 The descendants of Japheth: Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras. 3 The descendants of Gomer: Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah. 4 The descendants of Javan: Elishah, Tarshish, the Kittim, and the Rodanim. 5 These are the descendants of Japheth, and from them sprang the maritime nations, in their respective lands - each with its own language - by their clans within their nations. 6 The descendants of Ham: Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan. 7 The descendants of Cush: Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabteca.

h: Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras. 3 The descendants of Gomer: Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah. 4 The descendants of Javan: Elishah, Tarshish, the Kittim, and the Rodanim. 5 These are the descendants of Japheth, and from them sprang the maritime nations, in their respective lands - each with its own language - by their clans within their nations. 6 The descendants of Ham: Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan. 7 The descendants of Cush: Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabteca. The descendants of Raamah: Sheba and Dedan. 8 Cush became the father of Nimrod, who was the first potentate on earth. 9 He was a mighty hunter by the grace of the LORD; hence the saying, "Like Nimrod, a

20 mighty hunter by the grace of the LORD." 10 The chief cities of his kingdom were Babylon, Erech, and Accad, all of them in the land of Shinar. 11 From that land he went forth to Asshur, where he built Nineveh, Rehoboth-Ir, and Calah, 12 As well as Resen, between Nineveh and Calah, the latter being the principal city. 13 Mizraim became the father of the Ludim, the Anamim, the Lehabim, the Naphtuhim, 14 The Pathrusim, the Casluhim, and the Caphtorim from whom the Philistines sprang. 15 Canaan became the father of Sidon, his first-born, and of Heth; 16 Also of the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Girgashites, 17 The Hivites, the Arkites, the Sinites, 18 The Arvadites, the Zemarites, and the Hamathites. Afterward, the clans of the Canaanites spread out, 19 So that the Canaanite borders extended from Sidon all the way to Gerar, near Gaza, and all the way to Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, near Lasha. 20 These are the descendants of Ham, according to their clans and languages, by their lands and nations. 21 To Shem also, Japheth's oldest brother and the ancestor of all the children of Eber, sons were born. 22 The descendants of Shem: Elam, Asshur, Arpachshad, Lud, and Aram. 23 The descendants of Aram: Uz, Hul, Gether, and Mash. 24 Arpachshad became the father of Shelah, and Shelah became the father of Eber. 25 To Eber two sons were born: the name of the first was Peleg, for in his time the world was divided; and the name of his brother was Joktan. 26 Joktan became the father of Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah, 27 Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, 28 Obal, Abimael, Sheba, 29 Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab. All these were descendants of Joktan. 30 Their settlements extended all the way to Sephar, the eastern hill country. 31 These are the descendants of Shem, according to their clans and languages by their lands and nations. 32 These are the groupings of Noah's sons, according to their origins and by their nations. From these the other nations of the earth branched out after the flood. Genesis Chapter 11 1 The whole world spoke the same language, using the same words. 2 While men were migrating in the east, they came upon a valley in the land of Shinar and settled there. 3 They said to one another, "Come, let us mold bricks and harden them with fire." They used bricks for stone, and bitumen for mortar. 4 Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the sky, and so make a name for ourselves; otherwise we shall be scattered all over the earth." 5 LORD came down to see the city and the tower that the men had built. 6 Then the LORD said: "If now, while they are one people, all speaking the same language, they have started to do this, nothing will later stop them from doing whatever they presume to do. 7 Let us then go down and there confuse their language, so that one will not understand what another says." 8 Thus the LORD scattered them from there all over the earth, and they stopped building the city. 9 That is why it was called Babel, because there the LORD confused the speech of all the world. It was from that place that he scattered them all over the earth. 10 This is the record of the descendants of Shem. When Shem was one hundred years old, he became the father of Arpachshad, two years after the flood. 11 Shem lived five hundred years after the birth of Arpachshad, and he had other sons and daughters. 12 When Arpachshad was thirty-five years old, he became the father of Shelah. 13 Arpachshad lived four hundred and three years after the birth of Shelah, and he had other sons and daughters. 14 When Shelah was thirty years old, he became the father of Eber. 15 Shelah lived four hundred and three years after the birth of Eber, and he had other sons and daughters. 16 When Eber was thirty-four years old, he became the father of Peleg. 17 Eber lived four hundred and thirty years after the birth of Peleg, and he had other sons and daughters.18 When Peleg was thirty years old, he became the father of Reu.

dred and three years after the birth of Shelah, and he had other sons and daughters. 14 When Shelah was thirty years old, he became the father of Eber. 15 Shelah lived four hundred and three years after the birth of Eber, and he had other sons and daughters. 16 When Eber was thirty-four years old, he became the father of Peleg. 17 Eber lived four hundred and thirty years after the birth of Peleg, and he had other sons and daughters.18 When Peleg was thirty years old, he became the father of Reu. 19 Peleg lived two hundred and nine years after the birth of Reu, and he had other sons and daughters. 20 When Reu was thirty-two years old, he became the father of Serug. 21 Reu lived two hundred and seven years after the birth of Serug, and he had other sons and daughters. 22 When Serug was thirty years old, he became the father of Nahor. 23 Serug lived two hundred years after the birth of Nahor, and he had other sons and daughters. 24 When Nahor

21 was twenty-nine years old, he became the father of Terah. 25 Nahor lived one hundred and nineteen years after the birth of Terah, and he had other sons and daughters. 26 When Terah was seventy years old, he became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran. 27 This is the record of the descendants of Terah. Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran, and Haran became the father of Lot. 28 Haran died before his father Terah, in his native land, in Ur of the Chaldeans. 29 Abram and Nahor took wives; the name of Abram's wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor's wife was Milcah, daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah and Iscah. 30 Sarai was barren; she had no child. 31 Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot, son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, the wife of his son Abram, and brought them out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to go to the land of Canaan. But when they reached Haran, they settled there. 32 The lifetime of Terah was two hundred and five years; then Terah died in Haran. Genesis Chapter 12 1 The LORD said to Abram: "Go forth from the land of your kinsfolk and from your father's house to a land that I will show you. 2 "I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you. All the communities of the earth shall find blessing in you." 4 Abram went as the LORD directed him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. 5 Abram took his wife Sarai, his brother's son Lot, all the possessions that they had accumulated, and the persons they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan, 6 Abram passed through the land as far as the sacred place at Shechem, by the terebinth of Moreh. (The Canaanites were then in the land.) 7 The LORD appeared to Abram and said, "To your descendants I will give this land." So Abram built an altar there to the LORD who had appeared to him. 8 From there he moved on to the hill country east of Bethel, pitching his tent with Bethel to the west and Ai to the east. He built an altar there to the LORD and invoked the LORD by name. 9 Then Abram journeyed on by stages to the Negeb. 10 There was famine in the land; so, Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, since the famine in the land was severe. 11 When he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai: "I know well how beautiful a woman you are. 12 When the Egyptians see you, they will say, 'She is his wife'; then they will kill me, but let you live. 13 Please say, therefore, that you are my sister, so that it may go well with me on your account and my life may be spared for your sake." 14 When Abram came to Egypt, the Egyptians saw how beautiful the woman was; and when Pharaoh's courtiers saw her, 15 They praised her to Pharaoh. So, she was taken into Pharaoh's palace. 16 On her account it went very well with Abram, and he received flocks and herds, male and female slaves, male and female asses, and camels. 17 But the LORD struck Pharaoh and his household with severe plagues because of Abram's wife Sarai. 18 Then Pharaoh summoned Abram and said to him: "How could you do this to me! Why didn't you tell me she was your wife? 19 Why did you say, 'She is my sister,' so that I took her for my wife? Here, then, is your wife. Take her and be gone!" 20 Then Pharaoh gave men orders concerning him, and they sent him on his way, with his wife and all that belonged to him. Genesis Chapter 13 1 From Egypt Abram went up to the Negeb with his wife and all that belonged to him, and Lot accompanied him. 2 Now Abram was very rich in livestock, silver, and gold. 3 From the Negeb he traveled by stages toward Bethel, to the place between Bethel and Ai where his tent had formerly stood, 4 The site where he had first built the altar; and there he invoked the LORD by name.

ave men orders concerning him, and they sent him on his way, with his wife and all that belonged to him. Genesis Chapter 13 1 From Egypt Abram went up to the Negeb with his wife and all that belonged to him, and Lot accompanied him. 2 Now Abram was very rich in livestock, silver, and gold. 3 From the Negeb he traveled by stages toward Bethel, to the place between Bethel and Ai where his tent had formerly stood, 4 The site where he had first built the altar; and there he invoked the LORD by name. 5 Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents, 6 So that the land could not support them if they stayed together; their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together. 7 There were quarrels between the herdsmen of Abram's livestock and those of Lot's. (At this time

22 the Canaanites and the Perizzites were occupying the land.) 8 So Abram said to Lot: "Let there be no strife between you and me, or between your herdsmen and mine, for we are kinsmen. 9 Is not the whole land at your disposal? Please separate from me. If you prefer the left, I will go to the right; if you prefer the right, I will go to the left." 10 Lot looked about and saw how well watered the whole Jordan Plain was as far as Zoar, like the LORD'S own garden, or like Egypt. (This was before the LORD had destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) 11 Lot, therefore, chose for himself the whole Jordan Plain and set out eastward. Thus they separated from each other; 12 Abram stayed in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled among the cities of the Plain, pitching his tents near Sodom. 13 Now the inhabitants of Sodom were very wicked in the sins they committed against the LORD. 14 Lot had left, the LORD said to Abram: "Look about you, and from where you are, gaze to the north and south, east and west. 15 All the land that you see I will give to you and your descendants forever. 16 I will make your descendants like the dust of the earth; if anyone could count the dust of the earth, your descendants too might be counted. 17 Set forth and walk about in the land, through its length and breadth, for to you I will give it." 18 Abram moved his tents and went on to settle near the terebinth of Mamre, which is at Hebron. There he built an altar to the LORD. Genesis Chapter 14 1 In the days of. . . , Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goiim 2 Made war on Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar).v3 All the latter kings joined forces in the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Salt Sea). 4 For twelve years they had been subject to Chedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year they r ebelled. 5 In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and the kings allied with him came and defeated the Rephaim in Ashteroth-karnaim, the Zuzim in Ham, the Emim in Shaveh-kiriathaim, 6 And the Horites in the hill country of Seir, as far as Elparan, close by the wilderness. 7 They then turned back and came to Enmishpat (that is, Kadesh), and they subdued the whole country both of the Amalekites and of the Amorites who dwelt in Hazazon-tamar. 8 Thereupon the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) marched out, and in the Valley of Siddim they went into battle against them: 9 Against Chedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of Goiim, Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar-four kings against five. 10 Now the Valley of Siddim was full of bitumen pits; and as the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, they fell into these, while the rest fled to the mountains. 11 The victors seized all the possessions and food supplies of Sodom and Gomorrah and then went their way, 12 taking with them Abram's nephew Lot, who had been living in Sodom, as well as his possessions. 13 A fugitive came and brought the news to Abram the Hebrew, who was camping at the terebinth of Mamre the Amorite, a kinsman of Eshcol and Aner; these were in league with Abram. 14 When Abram heard that his nephew had been captured, he mustered three hundred and eighteen of his retainers, born in his house, and went in pursuit as far as Dan. 15 He and his party deployed against them at night, defeated them, and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is north of Damascus.

s well as his possessions. 13 A fugitive came and brought the news to Abram the Hebrew, who was camping at the terebinth of Mamre the Amorite, a kinsman of Eshcol and Aner; these were in league with Abram. 14 When Abram heard that his nephew had been captured, he mustered three hundred and eighteen of his retainers, born in his house, and went in pursuit as far as Dan. 15 He and his party deployed against them at night, defeated them, and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is north of Damascus. 16 He recovered all the possessions, besides bringing back his kinsman Lot and his possessions, along with the women and the other captives. 17 When Abram returned from his victory over Chedorlaomer and the kings who were allied with him, the king of Sodom went out to greet him in the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King's Valley). 18 Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread and wine, and being a priest of God Most High, he blessed Abram with these words: 19 Blessed be Abram by God Most High, the creator of heaven and earth; 20 And blessed be God Most High, who delivered your foes into your hand." Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything. 21 The king of Sodom said to Abram, "Give me the people; the goods you may keep." 22 But Abram replied to the king of Sodom: "I have sworn to the LORD, God Most

23 High, the creator of heaven and earth, 23 that I would not take so much as a thread or a sandal strap from anything that is yours, lest you should say, 'I made Abram rich.' 24 Nothing for me except what my servants have used up and the share that is due to the men who joined me - Aner, Eshcol and Mamre; let them take their share." Genesis Chapter 15 1 Sometime after these events, this word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: "Fear not, Abram! I am your shield; I will make your reward very great." 2 But Abram said, "O Lord GOD, what good will your gifts be, if I keep on being childless and have as my heir the steward of my house, Eliezer?" 3 Abram continued, "See, you have given me no offspring, and so one of my servants will be my heir." 4 Then the word of the LORD came to him: "No, that one shall not be your heir; your own issue shall be your heir." 5 He took him outside and said: "Look up at the sky and count the stars, if you can. Just so," he added, "shall your descendants be." 6 Abram put his faith in the LORD, who credited it to him as an act of righteousness. 7 He then said to him, "I am the LORD who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land as a possession." 8 "O Lord GOD," he asked, "How am I to know that I shall possess it?" 9 He answered him, "Bring me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old she-goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtle-dove, and a young pigeon." 10 He brought him all these, split them in two, and placed each half opposite the other; but the birds he did not cut up. 11 Birds of prey swooped down on the carcasses, but Abram stayed with them. 12 As the sun was about to set, a trance fell upon Abram, and a deep, terrifying darkness enveloped him. 13 Then the LORD said to Abram: "Know for certain that your descendants shall be aliens in a land not their own, where they shall be enslaved and oppressed for four hundred years. 14 But I will bring judgment on the nation they must serve, and in the end they will depart with great wealth. 15 You, however, shall join your forefathers in peace; you shall be buried at a contented old age. 16 In the fourth time-span the others shall come back here; the wickedness of the Amorites will not have reached its full measure until then." 17 When the sun had set and it was dark, there appeared a smoking brazier and a flaming torch, which passed between those pieces. 18 It was on that occasion that the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying: "To your descendants I give this land, from the Wadi of Egypt to the Great River (the Euphrates), 19 the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, 20 the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, 21 the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites." Genesis Chapter 16 1 Abram's wife Sarai had borne him no children. She had, however, an Egyptian maidservant named Hagar. 2 Sarai said to Abram: "The LORD has kept me from bearing children. Have intercourse, then, with my maid; perhaps I shall have sons through her." Abram heeded Sarai's request. 3 Thus, after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, his wife Sarai took her maid, Hagar the Egyptian, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his concubine. 4 He had intercourse with her, and she became pregnant. When she became aware of her pregnancy, she looked on her mistress with disdain. 5 So Sarai said to Abram: "You are responsible for this outrage against me. I myself gave my maid to your embrace; but ever since she became aware of her pregnancy, she has been looking on me with disdain. May the LORD decide between you and me!" 6 Abram told Sarai: "Your maid is in your power. Do to her whatever you please." Sarai then abused her so much that Hagar ran away from her.

h her, and she became pregnant. When she became aware of her pregnancy, she looked on her mistress with disdain. 5 So Sarai said to Abram: "You are responsible for this outrage against me. I myself gave my maid to your embrace; but ever since she became aware of her pregnancy, she has been looking on me with disdain. May the LORD decide between you and me!" 6 Abram told Sarai: "Your maid is in your power. Do to her whatever you please." Sarai then abused her so much that Hagar ran away from her. 7 The LORD'S messenger found her by a spring in the wilderness, the spring on the road to Shur, 8 and he asked, "Hagar, maid of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?" She answered, "I am running away from my mistress, Sarai." 9 But the LORD'S messenger told her: "Go back to your mistress and submit to her abusive treatment. 10 I will make your descendants so numerous," added the LORD'S messenger, "that

24 they will be too many to count. 11 Besides," the LORD'S messenger said to her: "You are now pregnant and shall bear a son; you shall name him Ishmael, For the LORD has heard you, God has answered you. 12 He shall be a wild ass of a man, his hand against everyone, and everyone's hand against him; In opposition to all his kin shall he encamp." 13 To the LORD who spoke to her she gave a name, saying, "You are the God of Vision"; she meant, "Have I really seen God and remained alive after my vision?" 14 That is why the well is called Beer-lahai-roi. It is between Kadesh and Bered. 15 Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram named the son whom Hagar bore him Ishmael. 16 Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore him Ishmael. Genesis Chapter 17 1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said: "I am God the Almighty. Walk in my presence and be blameless. 2 Between you and me I will establish my covenant, and I will multiply you exceedingly." 3 When Abram prostrated himself, God continued to speak to him: 4 "My covenant with you is this: you are to become the father of a host of nations. 5 No longer shall you be called Abram; your name shall be Abraham, for I am making you the father of a host of nations. 6 I will render you exceedingly fertile; I will make nations of you; kings shall stem from you. 7 I will maintain my covenant with you and your descendants after you throughout the ages as an everlasting pact, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. 8 I will give to you and to your descendants after you the land in which you are now staying, the whole land of Canaan, as a permanent possession; and I will be their God." 9 God also said to Abraham: "On your part, you and your descendants after you must keep my covenant throughout the ages. 10 This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you that you must keep: every male among you shall be circumcised. 11 Circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, and that shall be the mark of the covenant between you and me. 12 Throughout the ages, every male among you, when he is eight days old, shall be circumcised, including houseborn slaves and those acquired with money from any foreigner who is not of your blood. 13 Yes, both the houseborn slaves and those acquired with money must be circumcised. Thus, my covenant shall be in your flesh as an everlasting pact. 14 If a male is uncircumcised, that is, if the flesh of his foreskin has not been cut away, such a one shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant." 15 God further said to Abraham: "As for your wife Sarai, do not call her Sarai; her name shall be Sarah. 16 I will bless her, and I will give you a son by her. Him also will I bless; he shall give rise to nations, and rulers of peoples shall issue from him." 17 Abraham prostrated himself and laughed as he said to himself, "Can a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Or can Sarah give birth at ninety?" 18 Then Abraham said to God, "Let but Ishmael live on by your favor!" 19 God replied: "Nevertheless, your wife Sarah is to bear you a son, and you shall call him Isaac. I will maintain my covenant with him as an everlasting pact, to be his God and the God of his descendants after him. 20 As for Ishmael, I am heeding you: I hereby bless him. I will make him fertile and will multiply him exceedingly. He shall become the father of twelve chieftains, and I will make of him a great nation. 21 But my covenant I will maintain with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you by this time next year." 22 When he had finished speaking with him, God departed from Abraham. 23 Then Abraham took his son Ishmael and all his slaves, whether born in his house or acquired with his money - every male among the members of Abraham's household - and he circumcised the flesh of their foreskins on that same day, as God had told him to do.

he father of twelve chieftains, and I will make of him a great nation. 21 But my covenant I will maintain with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you by this time next year." 22 When he had finished speaking with him, God departed from Abraham. 23 Then Abraham took his son Ishmael and all his slaves, whether born in his house or acquired with his money - every male among the members of Abraham's household - and he circumcised the flesh of their foreskins on that same day, as God had told him to do. 24 Abraham was ninety-nine years old when the flesh of his foreskin was circumcised, 25 and his son Ishmael was thirteen years old when the flesh of his foreskin was circumcised. 26 Thus, on that same day Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised; 27 and all the male members of his household, including the slaves born in his house or acquired with his money from foreigners, were circumcised with him.

25 Genesis Chapter 18 1 The LORD appeared to Abraham by the terebinth of Mamre, as he sat in the entrance of his tent, while the day was growing hot. 2 Looking up, he saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he ran from the entrance of the tent to greet them; and bowing to the ground, 3 he said: "Sir, if I may ask you this favor, please do not go on past your servant. 4 Let some water be brought, that you may bathe your feet, and then rest yourselves under the tree. 5 Now that you have come this close to your servant, let me bring you a little food, that you may refresh yourselves; and afterward you may go on your way." "Very well," they replied, "do as you have said." 6 Abraham hastened into the tent and told Sarah, "Quick, three seahs of fine flour! Knead it and make rolls." 7 He ran to the herd, picked out a tender, choice steer, and gave it to a servant, who quickly prepared it. 8 Then he got some curds and milk, as well as the steer that had been prepared, and set these before them; and he waited on them under the tree while they ate. 9 "Where is your wife Sarah?" they asked him. "There in the tent," he replied. 10 One of them said, "I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah will then have a son." Sarah was listening at the entrance of the tent, just behind him. 11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years, and Sarah had stopped having her womanly periods. 12 So Sarah laughed to herself and said, "Now that I am so withered and my husband is so old, am I still to have sexual pleasure?" 13 But the LORD said to Abraham: "Why did Sarah laugh and say, 'Shall I really bear a child, old as I am?' 14 Is anything too marvelous for the LORD to do? At the appointed time, about this time next year, I will return to you, and Sarah will have a son." 15 Because she was afraid, Sarah dissembled, saying, "I didn't laugh." But he said, "Yes you did." 16 The men set out from there and looked down toward Sodom; Abraham was walking with them, to see them on their way. 17 The LORD reflected: "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, 18 now that he is to become a great and populous nation, and all the nations of the earth are to find blessing in him? 19 Indeed, I have singled him out that he may direct his sons and his posterity to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just, so that the LORD may carry into effect for Abraham the promises he made about him." 20 Then the LORD said: "The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great, and their sin so grave, 21 that I must go down and see whether or not their actions fully correspond to the cry against them that comes to me. I mean to find out." 22 While the two men walked on farther toward Sodom, the LORD remained standing before Abraham. 23 Then Abraham drew nearer to him and said: "Will you sweep away the innocent with the guilty? 24 Suppose there were fifty innocent people in the city; would you wipe out the place, rather than spare it for the sake of the fifty innocent people within it? 25 Far be it from you to do such a thing, to make the innocent die with the guilty, so that the innocent and the guilty would be treated alike! Should not the judge of all the world act with justice?" 26 The LORD replied, "If I find fifty innocent people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake." 27 Abraham spoke up again: "See how I am presuming to speak to my Lord, though I am but dust and ashes! 28 What if there are five less than fifty innocent people? Will you destroy the whole city because of those five?" "I will not destroy it," he answered, "if I find forty-five there." 29 But Abraham persisted, saying, "What if only forty are found there?" He replied, "I will forebear doing it for the sake of the forty." 30 Then he said, "Let not my Lord grow impatient if I go on.

r their sake." 27 Abraham spoke up again: "See how I am presuming to speak to my Lord, though I am but dust and ashes! 28 What if there are five less than fifty innocent people? Will you destroy the whole city because of those five?" "I will not destroy it," he answered, "if I find forty-five there." 29 But Abraham persisted, saying, "What if only forty are found there?" He replied, "I will forebear doing it for the sake of the forty." 30 Then he said, "Let not my Lord grow impatient if I go on. What if only thirty are found there?" He replied, "I will forebear doing it if I can find but thirty there." 31 Still he went on, "Since I have thus dared to speak to my Lord, what if there are no more than twenty?" "I will not destroy it," he answered, "for the sake of the twenty." 32 But he still persisted: "Please, let not my Lord grow angry if I speak up this last time. What if there are at least ten there?" "For the sake of those ten," he replied, "I will not destroy it." 33 The LORD departed as soon as he had finished speaking with Abraham, and Abraham returned home.

26 Genesis Chapter 19 1 The two angels reached Sodom in the evening, as Lot was sitting at the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he got up to greet them; and bowing down with his face to the ground, 2 he said, "Please, gentlemen, come aside into your servant's house for the night, and bathe your feet; you can get up early to continue your journey." But they replied, "No, we shall pass the night in the town square." 3 He urged them so strongly, however, that they turned aside to his place and entered his house. He prepared a meal for them, baking cakes without leaven, and they dined. 4 Before they went to bed, all the townsmen of Sodom, both young and old - all the people to the last man - closed in on the house. 5 They called to Lot and said to him, "Where are the men who came to your house tonight? Bring them out to us that we may have intimacies with them." 6 Lot went out to meet them at the entrance. When he had shut the door behind him, 7 he said, "I beg you, my brothers, not to do this wicked thing. 8 I have two daughters who have never had intercourse with men. Let me bring them out to you, and you may do to them as you please. But don't do anything to these men, for you know they have come under the shelter of my roof." 9 They replied, "Stand back! This fellow," they sneered, "came here as an immigrant, and now he dares to give orders! We'll treat you worse than them!" With that, they pressed hard against Lot, moving in closer to break down the door. 10 But his guests put out their hands, pulled Lot inside with them, and closed the door; 11 at the same time they struck the men at the entrance of the house, one and all, with such a blinding light that they were utterly unable to reach the doorway. 12 Then the angels said to Lot: "Who else belongs to you here? Your sons (sons-in-law) and your daughters and all who belong to you in the city - take them away from it! 13 We are about to destroy this place, for the outcry reaching the LORD against those in the city is so great that he has sent us to destroy it." 14 So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who had contracted marriage with his daughters. "Get up and leave this place," he told them; "the LORD is about to destroy the city." But his sons-in-law thought he was joking. 15 As dawn was breaking, the angels urged Lot on, saying, "On your way! Take with you your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away in the punishment of the city." 16 When he hesitated, the men, by the LORD'S mercy, seized his hand and the hands of his wife and his two daughters and led them to safety outside the city. 17 As soon as they had been brought outside, he was told: "Flee for your life! Don't look back or stop anywhere on the Plain. Get off to the hills at once, or you will be swept away." 18 "Oh, no, my lord!" replied Lot. 19 "You have already thought enough of your servant to do me the great kindness of intervening to save my life. But I cannot flee to the hills to keep the disaster from overtaking me, and so I shall die. 20 Look, this town ahead is near enough to escape to. It's only a small place. Let me flee there - it's a small place, isn't it? - that my life may be saved." 21 "Well, then," he replied, "I will also grant you the favor you now ask. I will not overthrow the town you speak of. 22 Hurry, escape there! I cannot do anything until you arrive there." That is why the town is called Zoar. 23 The sun was just rising over the earth as Lot arrived in Zoar; 24 at the same time the LORD rained down sulphurous fire upon Sodom and Gomorrah (from the LORD out of heaven). 25 He overthrew those cities and the whole Plain, together with the inhabitants of the cities and the produce of the soil. 26 But Lot's wife looked back, and she was turned into a pillar of salt. 27 Early the next morning Abraham went to the place where he had stood in the LORD'S presence.

is why the town is called Zoar. 23 The sun was just rising over the earth as Lot arrived in Zoar; 24 at the same time the LORD rained down sulphurous fire upon Sodom and Gomorrah (from the LORD out of heaven). 25 He overthrew those cities and the whole Plain, together with the inhabitants of the cities and the produce of the soil. 26 But Lot's wife looked back, and she was turned into a pillar of salt. 27 Early the next morning Abraham went to the place where he had stood in the LORD'S presence. 28 As he looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and the whole region of the Plain, he saw dense smoke over the land rising like fumes from a furnace. 29 Thus it came to pass: when God destroyed the Cities of the Plain, he was mindful of Abraham by sending Lot away from the upheaval by which God overthrew the cities where Lot had been living. 30 Since Lot was afraid to stay in Zoar, he and his two daughters went up from Zoar and settled in the hill country, where he lived with his two daughters in a cave. 31 The older one said to the younger: "Our father is getting old, and there is not a man

27 on earth to unite with us as was the custom everywhere. 32 Come, let us ply our father with wine and then lie with him, that we may have offspring by our father." 33 So that night they plied their father with wine, and the older one went in and lay with her father; but he was not aware of her lying down or her getting up. 34 Next day the older one said to the younger: "Last night it was I who lay with my father. Let us ply him with wine again tonight, and then you go in and lie with him, that we may both have offspring by our father." 35 So that night, too, they plied their father with wine, and then the younger one went in and lay with him; but again he was not aware of her lying down or her getting up. 36 Thus both of Lot's daughters became pregnant by their father. 37 The older one gave birth to a son whom she named Moab, saying, "From my father." He is the ancestor of the Moabites of today. 38 The younger one, too, gave birth to a son, and she named him Ammon, saying, "The son of my kin." He is the ancestor of the Ammonites of today. Genesis Chapter 20 1 Abraham journeyed on to the region of the Negeb, where he settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he stayed in Gerar, 2 he said of his wife Sarah, "She is my sister." So Abimelech, king of Gerar, sent and took Sarah. 3 But God came to Abimelech in a dream one night and said to him, "You are about to die because of the woman you have taken, for she has a husband." 4 Abimelech, who had not approached her, said: "O Lord, would you slay a man even though he is innocent? 5 He himself told me, 'She is my sister,' and she herself also stated, 'He is my brother.' I did it in good faith and with clean hands." 6 God answered him in the dream: "Yes, I know you did it in good faith. In fact, it was I who kept you from sinning against me; that is why I did not let you touch her. 7 Therefore, return the man's wife - as a spokesman he will intercede for you - that your life may be saved. If you do not return her, you can be sure that you and all who are yours will certainly die." 8 Early the next morning Abimelech called all his court officials and informed them of everything that had happened, and the men were horrified. 9 Then Abimelech summoned Abraham and said to him: "How could you do this to us! What wrong did I do to you that you should have brought such monstrous guilt on me and my kingdom? You have treated me in an intolerable way. 10 What were you afraid of," he asked him, "that you should have done such a thing?" 11 "I was afraid," answered Abraham, "because I thought there would surely be no fear of God in this place, and so they would kill me on account of my wife. 12 Besides, she is in truth my sister, but only my father's daughter, not my mother's; and so she became my wife. 13 When God sent me wandering from my father's house, I asked her: 'Would you do me this favor? In whatever place we come to, say that I am your brother.'" 14 Then Abimelech took flocks and herds and male and female slaves and gave them to Abraham; and after he restored his wife Sarah to him, 15 he said, "Here, my land lies at your disposal; settle wherever you please." 16 To Sarah he said: "See, I have given your brother a thousand shekels of silver. Let that serve you as a vindication before all who are with you; your honor has been preserved with everyone." 17 Abraham then interceded with God, and God restored health to Abimelech, that is, to his wife and his maidservants, so that they could bear children; 18 for God had tightly closed every womb in Abimelech's household on account of Abraham's wife Sarah. Genesis Chapter 21 1 The LORD took note of Sarah as he had said he would; he did for her as he had promised. 2 Sarah became pregnant and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time that God had stated. 3 Abraham gave the name Isaac to this son of his whom Sarah bore him. 4 When his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, as God had commanded.

that they could bear children; 18 for God had tightly closed every womb in Abimelech's household on account of Abraham's wife Sarah. Genesis Chapter 21 1 The LORD took note of Sarah as he had said he would; he did for her as he had promised. 2 Sarah became pregnant and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time that God had stated. 3 Abraham gave the name Isaac to this son of his whom Sarah bore him. 4 When his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, as God had commanded. 5 Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. 6 Sarah then said, "God has given me cause to laugh, and all who hear of it will laugh with me. 7 Who would have told Abraham," she added, "that Sarah

28 would nurse children! Yet I have borne him a son in his old age." 8 Isaac grew, and on the day of the child's weaning, Abraham held a great feast. 9 Sarah noticed the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham playing with her son Isaac; 10 so she demanded of Abraham: "Drive out that slave and her son! No son of that slave is going to share the inheritance with my son Isaac!" 11 Abraham was greatly distressed, especially on account of his son Ishmael. 12 But God said to Abraham: "Do not be distressed about the boy or about your slave woman. Heed the demands of Sarah, no matter what she is asking of you; for it is through Isaac that descendants shall bear your name. 13 As for the son of the slave woman, I will make a great nation of him also, since he too is your offspring." 14 Early the next morning Abraham got some bread and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar. Then, placing the child on her back, he sent her away. As she roamed aimlessly in the wilderness of Beer-sheba, 15 the water in the skin was used up. So she put the child down under a shrub, 16 and then went and sat down opposite him, about a bowshot away; for she said to herself, "Let me not watch to see the child die." As she sat opposite him, he began to cry. 17 God heard the boy's cry, and God's messenger called to Hagar from heaven: "What is the matter, Hagar? Don't be afraid; God has heard the boy's cry in this plight of his. 18 Arise, lift up the boy and hold him by the hand; for I will make of him a great nation." 19 Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. She went and filled the skin with water, and then let the boy drink. 20 God was with the boy as he grew up. He lived in the wilderness and became an expert bowman, 21 with his home in the wilderness of Paran. His mother got a wife for him from the land of Egypt. 22 About that time Abimelech, accompanied by Phicol, the commander of his army, said to Abraham: "God is with you in everything you do. 23 Therefore, swear to me by God at this place that you will not deal falsely with me or with my progeny and posterity, but will act as loyally toward me and the land in which you stay as I have acted toward you." 24 To this Abraham replied, "I so swear." 25 Abraham, however, reproached Abimelech about a well that Abimelech's men had seized by force. 26 "I have no idea who did that," Abimelech replied. "In fact, you never told me about it, nor did I ever hear of it until now." 27 Then Abraham took sheep and cattle and gave them to Abimelech and the two made a pact. 28 Abraham also set apart seven ewe lambs of the flock, 29 and Abimelech asked him, "What is the purpose of these seven ewe lambs that you have set apart?" 30 Abraham answered, "The seven ewe lambs you shall accept from me that thus I may have your acknowledgment that the well was dug by me." 31 This is why the place is called Beer-sheba; the two took an oath there. 32 When they had thus made the pact in Beer-sheba, Abimelech, along with Phicol, the commander of his army, left and returned to the land of the Philistines. 33 Abraham planted a tamarisk at Beer- sheba, and there he invoked by name the LORD, God the Eternal. 34 Abraham resided in the land of the Philistines for many years. Genesis Chapter 22 1 Some time after these events, God put Abraham to the test. He called to him, "Abraham!" "Ready!" he replied. 2 Then God said: "Take your son Isaac, your only one, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah. There you shall offer him up as a holocaust on a height that I will point out to you." 3 Early the next morning Abraham saddled his donkey, took with him his son Isaac, and two of his servants as well, and with the wood that he had cut for the holocaust, set out for the place of which God had told him. 4 On the third day Abraham got sight of the place from afar. 5 Then he said to his servants: "Both of you stay here with the donkey, while the boy and I go on over yonder.

o to the land of Moriah. There you shall offer him up as a holocaust on a height that I will point out to you." 3 Early the next morning Abraham saddled his donkey, took with him his son Isaac, and two of his servants as well, and with the wood that he had cut for the holocaust, set out for the place of which God had told him. 4 On the third day Abraham got sight of the place from afar. 5 Then he said to his servants: "Both of you stay here with the donkey, while the boy and I go on over yonder. We will worship and then come back to you." 6 Thereupon Abraham took the wood for the holocaust and laid it on his son Isaac's shoulders, while he himself carried the fire and the knife. 7 As the two walked on together, Isaac spoke to his father Abraham. "Father!" he said. "Yes, son," he replied. Isaac continued, "Here are the fire and the wood, but where is the sheep for the holocaust?" 8 "Son," Abraham answered, "God himself will provide the sheep for the holocaust."

29 Then the two continued going forward. 9 When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. Next he tied up his son Isaac, and put him on top of the wood on the altar. 10 Then he reached out and took the knife to slaughter his son. 11 But the LORD'S messenger called to him from heaven, "Abraham, Abraham!" "Yes, Lord," he answered. 12 "Do not lay your hand on the boy," said the messenger. "Do not do the least thing to him. I know now how devoted you are to God, since you did not withhold from me your own beloved son." 13 As Abraham looked about, he spied a ram caught by its horns in the thicket. So he went and took the ram and offered it up as a holocaust in place of his son. 14 Abraham named the site Yahweh-yireh; hence people now say, "On the mountain the LORD will see." 15 Again the LORD'S messenger called to Abraham from heaven 16 and said: "I swear by myself, declares the LORD, that because you acted as you did in not withholding from me your beloved son, 17 I will bless you abundantly and make your descendants as countless as the stars of the sky and the sands of the seashore; your descendants shall take possession of the gates of their enemies, 18 and in your descendants all the nations of the earth shall find blessing - all this because you obeyed my command.'' 19 Abraham then returned to his servants, and they set out together for Beer-sheba, where Abraham made his home. 20 Sometime afterward, the news came to Abraham: "Milcah too has borne sons, to your brother Nahor: 21 Uz, his first-born, his brother Buz, Kemuel (the father of Aram), 22 Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel." 23 Bethuel became the father of Rebekah. These eight Milcah bore to Abraham's brother Nahor. 24 His concubine, whose name was Reumah, also bore children: Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah. Genesis Chapter 23 1 The span of Sarah's life was one hundred and twenty-seven years. 2 She died in Kiriatharba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham performed the customary mourning rites for her. 3 Then he left the side of his dead one and addressed the Hittites: 4 "Although I am a resident alien among you, sell me from your holdings a piece of property for a burial ground, that I may bury my dead wife." 5 The Hittites answered Abraham: "Please, sir, 6 listen to us! You are an elect of God among us. Bury your dead in the choicest of our burial sites. None of us would deny you his burial ground for the burial of your dead." 7 Abraham, however, began to bow low before the local citizens, the Hittites, 8 while he appealed to them: "If you will allow me room for burial of my dead, listen to me! Intercede for me with Ephron, son of Zohar, asking him 9 to sell me the cave of Machpelah that he owns; it is at the edge of his field. Let him sell it to me in your presence, at its full price, for a burial place." 10 Now Ephron was present with the Hittites. So Ephron the Hittite replied to Abraham in the hearing of the Hittites who sat on his town council: 11 "Please, sir, listen to me! I give you both the field and the cave in it; in the presence of my kinsmen I make this gift. Bury your dead!" 12 But Abraham, after bowing low before the local citizens, addressed Ephron in the hearing of these men: 13 "Ah, if only you would please listen to me! I will pay you the price of the field. Accept it from me, that I may bury my dead there." 14 Ephron replied to Abraham, "Please, 15 sir, listen to me! A piece of land worth four hundred shekels of silver - what is that between you and me, as long as you can bury your dead?" 16 Abraham accepted Ephron's terms; he weighed out to him the silver that Ephron had stipulated in the hearing of the Hittites, four hundred shekels of silver at the current market value.

f only you would please listen to me! I will pay you the price of the field. Accept it from me, that I may bury my dead there." 14 Ephron replied to Abraham, "Please, 15 sir, listen to me! A piece of land worth four hundred shekels of silver - what is that between you and me, as long as you can bury your dead?" 16 Abraham accepted Ephron's terms; he weighed out to him the silver that Ephron had stipulated in the hearing of the Hittites, four hundred shekels of silver at the current market value. 17 Thus Ephron's field in Machpelah, facing Mamre, together with its cave and all the trees anywhere within its limits, was conveyed 18 to Abraham by purchase in the presence of all the Hittites who sat on Ephron's town council. 19 After this transaction, Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave of the field of Machpelah, facing Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. 20 Thus the field with its cave was transferred from the Hittites to Abraham as a burial place.

30 Genesis Chapter 24 1 Abraham had now reached a ripe old age, and the LORD had blessed him in every way. 2 Abraham said to the senior servant of his household, who had charge of all his possessions: "Put your hand under my thigh, 3 and I will make you swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you will not procure a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I live, 4 but that you will go to my own land and to my kindred to get a wife for my son Isaac." 5 The servant asked him: "What if the woman is unwilling to follow me to this land? Should I then take your son back to the land from which you migrated?" 6 "Never take my son back there for any reason," Abraham told him. 7 "The LORD, the God of heaven, who took me from my father's house and the land of my kin, and who confirmed by oath the promise he then made to me, 'I will give this land to your descendants' - he will send his messenger before you, and you will obtain a wife for my son there. 8 If the woman is unwilling to follow you, you will be released from this oath. But never take my son back there!" 9 So the servant put his hand under the thigh of his master Abraham and swore to him in this undertaking. 10 The servant then took ten of his master's camels, and bearing all kinds of gifts from his master, he made his way to the city of Nahor in Aram Naharaim. 11 Near evening, at the time when women go out to draw water, he made the camels kneel by the well outside the city. 12 Then he prayed: "LORD, God of my master Abraham, let it turn out favorably for me today and thus deal graciously with my master Abraham. 13 While I stand here at the spring and the daughters of the townsmen are coming out to draw water, 14 if I say to a girl, 'Please lower your jug, that I may drink,' and she answers, 'Take a drink, and let me give water to your camels, too,' let her be the one whom you have decided upon for your servant Isaac. In this way I shall know that you have dealt graciously with my master." 15 He had scarcely finished these words when Rebekah (who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Abraham's brother Nahor) came out with a jug on her shoulder. 16 The girl was very beautiful, a virgin, untouched by man. She went down to the spring and filled her jug. As she came up, 17 the servant ran toward her and said, "Please give me a sip of water from your jug." 18 "Take a drink, sir," she replied, and quickly lowering the jug onto her hand, she gave him a drink. 19 When she had let him drink his fill, she said, "I will draw water for your camels, too, until they have drunk their fill." 20 With that, she quickly emptied her jug into the drinking trough and ran back to the well to draw more water, until she had drawn enough for all the camels. 21 The man watched her the whole time, silently waiting to learn whether or not the LORD had made his errand successful. 22 When the camels had finished drinking, the man took out a gold ring weighing half a shekel, which he fastened on her nose, and two gold bracelets weighing ten shekels, which he put on her wrists. 23 Then he asked her: "Whose daughter are you? Tell me, please. And is there room in your father's house for us to spend the night?" 24 She answered: "I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, whom she bore to Nahor. 25 There is plenty of straw and fodder at our place," she added, "and room to spend the night." 26 The man then bowed down in worship to the LORD, 27 saying: "Blessed be the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who has not let his constant kindness toward my master fail. As for myself also, the LORD has led me straight to the house of my master's brother." 28 Then the girl ran off and told her mother's household about it. 29 Now Rebekah had a brother named Laban. 30 As soon as he saw the ring and the bracelets on his sister Rebekah and heard her words about what the man had said to her, Laban rushed outside to the man at the spring.

e LORD, 27 saying: "Blessed be the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who has not let his constant kindness toward my master fail. As for myself also, the LORD has led me straight to the house of my master's brother." 28 Then the girl ran off and told her mother's household about it. 29 Now Rebekah had a brother named Laban. 30 As soon as he saw the ring and the bracelets on his sister Rebekah and heard her words about what the man had said to her, Laban rushed outside to the man at the spring. When he reached him, he was still standing by the camels at the spring. 31 So he said to him: "Come, blessed of the LORD! Why are you staying outside when I have made the house ready for you, as well as a place for the camels?" 32 The man then went inside; and while the camels were being unloaded and provided with straw and fodder, water was brought to bathe his feet and the feet of the men who were with him. 33 But when the table was set for him, he said, "I will not eat until I have told my

31 tale." "Do so," they replied. 34 "I am Abraham's servant," he began. 35 "The LORD has blessed my master so abundantly that he has become a wealthy man; he has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male and female slaves, and camels and asses. 36 My master's wife Sarah bore a son to my master in her old age, and he has given him everything he owns. 37 My master put me under oath, saying: 'You shall not procure a wife for my son among the daughters of the Canaanites in whose land I live; 38 instead, you shall go to my father's house, to my own relatives, to get a wife for my son.' 39 When I asked my master, 'What if the woman will not follow me?,' 40 he replied: 'The LORD, in whose presence I have always walked, will send his messenger with you and make your errand successful, and so you will get a wife for my son from my own kindred of my father's house. 41 Then you shall be released from my ban. If you visit my kindred and they refuse you, then, too, you shall be released from my ban.' 42 "When I came to the spring today, I prayed: 'LORD, God of my master Abraham, may it be your will to make successful the errand I am engaged on! 43 While I stand here at the spring, if I say to a young woman who comes out to draw water, Please give me a little water from your jug, 44 and she answers, Not only may you have a drink, but I will give water to your camels, too - let her be the woman whom the LORD has decided upon for my master's son.' 45 "I had scarcely finished saying this prayer to myself when Rebekah came out with a jug on her shoulder. After she went down to the spring and drew water, I said to her, 'Please let me have a drink.' 46 She quickly lowered the jug she was carrying and said, 'Take a drink, and let me bring water for your camels, too.' So I drank, and she watered the camels also. 47 When I asked her, 'Whose daughter are you?' she answered, 'The daughter of Bethuel, son of Nahor, borne to Nahor by Milcah.' So I put the ring on her nose and the bracelets on her wrists. 48 Then I bowed down in worship to the LORD, blessing the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me on the right road to obtain the daughter of my master's kinsman for his son. 49 If, therefore, you have in mind to show true loyalty to my master, let me know; but if not, let me know that, too. I can then proceed accordingly." 50 Laban and his household said in reply: "This thing comes from the LORD; we can say nothing to you either for or against it. 51 Here is Rebekah, ready for you; take her with you, that she may become the wife of your master's son, as the LORD has said." 52 When Abraham's servant heard their answer, he bowed to the ground before the LORD. 53 Then he brought out objects of silver and gold and articles of clothing and presented them to Rebekah; he also gave costly presents to her brother and mother. 54 After he and the men with him had eaten and drunk, they spent the night there. When they were up the next morning, he said, "Give me leave to return to my master." 55 Her brother and mother replied, "Let the girl stay with us a short while, say ten days; after that she may go." 56 But he said to them, "Do not detain me, now that the LORD has made my errand successful; let me go back to my master." 57 They answered, "Let us call the girl and see what she herself has to say about it." 58 So they called Rebekah and asked her, "Do you wish to go with this man?" She answered, "I do." 59 At this they allowed their sister Rebekah and her nurse to take leave, along with Abraham's servant and his men. 60 Invoking a blessing on Rebekah, they said: "Sister, may you grow into thousands of myriads; And may your descendants gain possession of the gates of their enemies!" 61 Then Rebekah and her maids started out; they mounted their camels and followed the man. So the servant took Rebekah and went on his way. 62 Meanwhile Isaac had gone from Beer-lahai-roi and was living in the region of the Negeb.

y allowed their sister Rebekah and her nurse to take leave, along with Abraham's servant and his men. 60 Invoking a blessing on Rebekah, they said: "Sister, may you grow into thousands of myriads; And may your descendants gain possession of the gates of their enemies!" 61 Then Rebekah and her maids started out; they mounted their camels and followed the man. So the servant took Rebekah and went on his way. 62 Meanwhile Isaac had gone from Beer-lahai-roi and was living in the region of the Negeb. 63 One day toward evening he went out. . . in the field, and as he looked around, he noticed that camels were approaching. 64 Rebekah, too, was looking about, and when she saw him, she alighted from her camel 65 and asked the servant, "Who is the man out there, walking through the fields toward us?" "That is my master," replied the servant. Then she covered herself with her veil. 66 The servant recounted to Isaac all the things he had done. 67 Then Isaac took Rebekah into his tent; he married her, and thus she became his wife. In his love for her Isaac found solace after the death of his mother Sarah.

32 Genesis Chapter 25 1 Abraham married another wife, whose name was Keturah. 2 She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. 3 Jokshan became the father of Sheba and Dedan. The descendants of Dedan were the Asshurim, the Letushim, and the Leummim. 4 The descendants of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All of these were descendants of Keturah. 5 Abraham deeded everything that he owned to his son Isaac. 6 To his sons by concubinage, however, he made grants while he was still living, as he sent them away eastward, to the land of Kedem, away from his son Isaac. 7 The whole span of Abraham's life was one hundred and seventy- five years. 8 Then he breathed his last, dying at a ripe old age, grown old after a full life; and he was taken to his kinsmen. 9 His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron, son of Zohar the Hittite, which faces Mamre, 10 the field that Abraham had bought from the Hittites; there he was buried next to his wife Sarah. 11 After the death of Abraham, God blessed his son Isaac, who made his home near Beer-lahai-roi. 12 These are the descendants of Abraham's son Ishmael, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah's slave, bore to Abraham. 13 These are the names of Ishmael's sons, listed in the order of their birth: Nebaioth (Ishmael's firstborn), Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 14 Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 15 Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. 16 These are the sons of Ishmael, their names by their villages and encampments; twelve chieftains of as many tribal groups. 17 The span of Ishmael's life was one hundred and thirty-seven years. After he had breathed his last and died, he was taken to his kinsmen. 18 The Ishmaelites ranged from Havilah-by-Shur, which is on the border of Egypt, all the way to Asshur; and each of them pitched camp in opposition to his various kinsmen. 19 This is the family history of Isaac, son of Abraham; Abraham had begotten Isaac. 20 Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan-aram and the sister of Laban the Aramean. 21 Isaac entreated the LORD on behalf of his wife, since she was sterile. The LORD heard his entreaty, and Rebekah became pregnant. 22 But the children in her womb jostled each other so much that she exclaimed, "If this is to be so, what good will it do me!" She went to consult the LORD, 23 and he answered her: "Two nations are in your womb, two peoples are quarreling while still within you; But one shall surpass the other, and the older shall serve the younger." 24 When the time of her delivery came, there were twins in her womb. 25 The first to emerge was reddish, and his whole body was like a hairy mantle; so, they named him Esau. 26 His brother came out next, gripping Esau's heel; so, they named him Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when they were born. 27 As the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter, a man who lived in the open; whereas Jacob was a simple man, who kept to his tents. 28 Isaac preferred Esau, because he was fond of game; but Rebekah preferred Jacob. 29 Once, when Jacob was cooking a stew, Esau came in from the open, famished. 30 He said to Jacob, "Let me gulp down some of that red stuff; I'm starving." (That is why he was called Edom.) 31 But Jacob replied, "First give me your birthright in exchange for it." 32 "Look," said Esau, "I'm on the point of dying. What good will any birthright do me?" 33 But Jacob insisted, "Swear to me first!" So, he sold Jacob his birthright under oath. 34 Jacob then gave him some bread and the lentil stew; and Esau ate, drank, got up, and went his way. Esau cared little for his birthright. Genesis Chapter 26 1 There was a famine in the land (distinct from the earlier one that had occurred in the days of Abraham), and Isaac went down to Abimelech, king of the Philistines in Gerar. 2 The LORD appeared to him and said: "Do not go down to Egypt but continue to camp wherever in this land I tell you.

st!" So, he sold Jacob his birthright under oath. 34 Jacob then gave him some bread and the lentil stew; and Esau ate, drank, got up, and went his way. Esau cared little for his birthright. Genesis Chapter 26 1 There was a famine in the land (distinct from the earlier one that had occurred in the days of Abraham), and Isaac went down to Abimelech, king of the Philistines in Gerar. 2 The LORD appeared to him and said: "Do not go down to Egypt but continue to camp wherever in this land I tell you. 3 Stay in this land, and I will be with you and bless you; for to you and your descendants I will give all these lands, in fulfillment of the oath that I swore to your father Abraham. 4 I will

33 make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and give them all these lands, and in your descendants all the nations of the earth shall find blessing - 5 this because Abraham obeyed me, keeping my mandate (my commandments, my ordinances, and my instructions)." 6 So Isaac settled in Gerar. 7 When the men of the place asked questions about his wife, he answered, "She is my sister." He was afraid, if he called her his wife, the men of the place would kill him on account of Rebekah, since she was very beautiful. 8 But when he had been there for a long time, Abimelech, king of the Philistines, happened to look out of a window and was surprised to see Isaac fondling his wife, Rebekah. 9 He called for Isaac and said: "She must certainly be your wife! How could you have said, 'She is my sister'?" Isaac replied, "I thought I might lose my life on her account." 10 "How could you do this to us!" exclaimed Abimelech. "It would have taken very little for one of the men to lie with your wife, and you would have thus brought guilt upon us!" 11 Abimelech therefore gave this warning to all his men: "Anyone who molests this man or his wife shall forthwith be put to death." 12 Isaac sowed a crop in that region and reaped a hundredfold the same year. Since the LORD blessed him, 13 he became richer and richer all the time, until he was very wealthy indeed. 14 He acquired such flocks and herds, and so many work animals, that the Philistines became envious of him. 15 (The Philistines had stopped up and filled with dirt all the wells that his father's servants had dug back in the days of his father Abraham.) 16 So Abimelech said to Isaac, "Go away from us; you have become far too numerous for us." 17 Isaac left there and made the Wadi Gerar his regular campsite. 18 (Isaac reopened the wells which his father's servants had dug back in the days of his father Abraham and which the Philistines had stopped up after Abraham's death; he gave them the same names that his father had given them.) 19 But when Isaac's servants dug in the wadi and reached spring water in their well, 20 the shepherds of Gerar quarreled with Isaac's servants, saying, "The water belongs to us!" So, the well was called Esek, because they had challenged him there. 21 Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over that one too; so, it was called Sitnah. 22 When he had moved on from there, he dug still another well; but over this one they did not quarrel. It was called Rehoboth, because he said, "The LORD has now given us ample room, and we shall flourish in the land." 23 From there Isaac went up to Beer-sheba. 24 The same night the LORD appeared to him and said: "I am the God of your father Abraham. You have no need to fear, since I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham." 25 So he built an altar there and invoked the LORD by name. After he had pitched his tent there, his servants began to dig a well nearby. 26 Abimelech had meanwhile come to him from Gerar, accompanied by Ahuzzath, his councilor, and Phicol, the general of his army. 27 Isaac asked them, "Why have you come to me, seeing that you hate me and have driven me away from you?"28 They answered: "We are convinced that the LORD is with you, so we propose that there be a sworn agreement between our two sides - between you and us. Let us make a pact with you: 29 you shall not act unkindly toward us, just as we have not molested you, but have always acted kindly toward you and have let you depart in peace. Henceforth, 'The LORD'S blessing be upon you!'" 30 Isaac then made a feast for them, and they ate and drank. 31 Early the next morning they exchanged oaths. Then Isaac bade them farewell, and they departed from him in peace. 32 That same day Isaac's servants came and brought him news about the well they had been digging; they told him, "We have reached water!" 33 He called it Shibah; hence the name of the city, Beer- sheba, to this day.

s acted kindly toward you and have let you depart in peace. Henceforth, 'The LORD'S blessing be upon you!'" 30 Isaac then made a feast for them, and they ate and drank. 31 Early the next morning they exchanged oaths. Then Isaac bade them farewell, and they departed from him in peace. 32 That same day Isaac's servants came and brought him news about the well they had been digging; they told him, "We have reached water!" 33 He called it Shibah; hence the name of the city, Beer- sheba, to this day. 34 When Esau was forty years old, he married Judith, daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath, daughter of Elon the Hivite. 35 But they became a source of embitterment to Isaac and Rebekah. Genesis Chapter 27 1 When Isaac was so old that his eyesight had failed him, he called his older son Esau and said to him, "Son!" "Yes, father!" he replied. 2 Isaac then said, "As you can see, I am so old that I may now

34 die at any time. 3 Take your gear, therefore - your quiver and bow - and go out into the country to hunt some game for me. 4 With your catch prepare an appetizing dish for me, such as I like, and bring it to me to eat, so that I may give you my special blessing before I die." 5 Rebekah had been listening while Isaac was speaking to his son Esau. So when Esau went out into the country to hunt some game for his father, 6 Rebekah said to her son Jacob, "Listen! I overheard your father tell your brother Esau, 7 'Bring me some game and with it prepare an appetizing dish for me to eat, that I may give you my blessing with the LORD'S approval before I die.' 8 Now, son, listen carefully to what I tell you. 9 Go to the flock and get me two choice kids. With these I will prepare an appetizing dish for your father, such as he likes. 10 Then bring it to your father to eat, that he may bless you before he dies." 11 "But my brother Esau is a hairy man," said Jacob to his mother Rebekah, "and I am smooth-skinned! 12 Suppose my father feels me? He will think I am making sport of him, and I shall bring on myself a curse instead of a blessing." 13 His mother, however, replied: "Let any curse against you, son, fall on me! Just do as I say. Go and get me the kids." 14 So Jacob went and got them and brought them to his mother; and with them she prepared an appetizing dish, such as his father liked. 15 Rebekah then took the best clothes of her older son Esau that she had in the house, and gave them to her younger son Jacob to wear; 16 and with the skins of the kids she covered up his hands and the hairless parts of his neck. 17 Then she handed her son Jacob the appetizing dish and the bread she had prepared. 18 Bringing them to his father, Jacob said, "Father!" "Yes?" replied Isaac. "Which of my sons are you?" 19 Jacob answered his father: "I am Esau, your first-born. I did as you told me. Please sit up and eat some of my game, so that you may give me your special blessing." 20 But Isaac asked, "How did you succeed so quickly, son?" He answered, "The LORD, your God, let things turn out well with me." 21 Isaac then said to Jacob, "Come closer, son, that I may feel you, to learn whether you really are my son Esau or not." 22 So Jacob moved up closer to his father. When Isaac felt him, he said, "Although the voice is Jacob's, the hands are Esau's." 23 (He failed to identify him because his hands were hairy, like those of his brother Esau; so in the end he gave him his blessing.) 24 Again he asked him, "Are you really my son Esau?" "Certainly," he replied. 25 Then Isaac said, "Serve me your game, son, that I may eat of it and then give you my blessing." Jacob served it to him, and Isaac ate; he brought him wine, and he drank. 26 Finally his father Isaac said to him, "Come closer, son, and kiss me." 27 As Jacob went up and kissed him, Isaac smelled the fragrance of his clothes. With that, he blessed him, saying, "Ah, the fragrance of my son is like the fragrance of a field that the LORD has blessed! 28 "May God give to you of the dew of the heavens And of the fertility of the earth abundance of grain and wine. 29 "Let peoples serve you, and nations pay you homage; Be master of your brothers, and may your mother's sons bow down to you. Cursed be those who curse you, and blessed be those who bless you." 30 Jacob had scarcely left his father, just after Isaac had finished blessing him, when his brother Esau came back from his hunt. 31 Then he too prepared an appetizing dish with his game, and bringing it to his father, he said, "Please, father, eat some of your son's game, that you may then give me your special blessing." 32 "Who are you?" his father Isaac asked him. "I am Esau," he replied, "your first-born son." 33 With that, Isaac was seized with a fit of uncontrollable trembling. "Who was it, then," he asked, "that hunted game and brought it to me? I finished eating it just before you came, and I blessed him.

his hunt. 31 Then he too prepared an appetizing dish with his game, and bringing it to his father, he said, "Please, father, eat some of your son's game, that you may then give me your special blessing." 32 "Who are you?" his father Isaac asked him. "I am Esau," he replied, "your first-born son." 33 With that, Isaac was seized with a fit of uncontrollable trembling. "Who was it, then," he asked, "that hunted game and brought it to me? I finished eating it just before you came, and I blessed him. Now he must remain blessed!" 34 On hearing his father's words, Esau burst into loud, bitter sobbing. "Father, bless me too!" he begged. 35 When Isaac explained, "Your brother came here by a ruse and carried off your blessing," 36 Esau exclaimed, "He has been well named Jacob! He has now supplanted me twice! First he took away my birthright, and now he has taken away my blessing." Then he pleaded, "Haven't you saved a blessing for me?" 37 Isaac replied: "I have already appointed him your master, and I have assigned to him all his kinsmen as his slaves; besides, I have enriched him with grain and wine. What then can I do for you, son?" 38 But Esau urged his father, "Have you only that one blessing, father? Bless

35 me too!" Isaac, however, made no reply; and Esau wept aloud. 39 Finally Isaac spoke again and said to him: "Ah, far from the fertile earth shall be your dwelling; far from the dew of the heavens above! 40 "By your sword you shall live, and your brother you shall serve; But when you become restive, you shall throw off his yoke from your neck." 41 Esau bore Jacob a grudge because of the blessing his father had given him. He said to himself, "When the time of mourning for my father comes, I will kill my brother Jacob." 42 When Rebekah got news of what her older son Esau had in mind, she called her younger son Jacob and said to him: "Listen! Your brother Esau intends to settle accounts with you by killing you. 43 Therefore, son, do what I tell you: flee at once to my brother Laban in Haran, 44 and stay with him a while until your brother's fury subsides 45 (until your brother's anger against you subsides) and he forgets what you did to him. Then I will send for you and bring you back. Must I lose both of you in a single day?" 46 Rebekah said to Isaac: "I am disgusted with life because of the Hittite women. If Jacob also should marry a Hittite woman, a native of the land, like these women, what good would life be to me?" Genesis Chapter 28 1 Isaac therefore called Jacob, greeted him with a blessing, and charged him: "You shall not marry a Canaanite woman! 2 Go now to Paddan-aram, to the home of your mother's father Bethuel, and there choose a wife for yourself from among the daughters of your uncle Laban. 3 May God Almighty bless you and make you fertile, multiply you that you may become an assembly of peoples. 4 May he extend to you and your descendants the blessing he gave to Abraham, so that you may gain possession of the land where you are staying, which he assigned to Abraham." 5 Then Isaac sent Jacob on his way; he went to Paddan-aram, to Laban, son of Bethuel the Aramean, and brother of Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau. 6 Esau noted that Isaac had blessed Jacob when he sent him to Paddan-aram to get himself a wife there, charging him, as he gave him his blessing, not to marry a Canaanite woman, 7 and that Jacob had obeyed his father and mother and gone to Paddan-aram. 8 Esau realized how displeasing the Canaanite women were to his father Isaac, 9 so he went to Ishmael, and in addition to the wives he had, married Mahalath, the daughter of Abraham's son Ishmael and sister of Nebaioth. 10 Jacob departed from Beer-sheba and proceeded toward Haran. 11 When he came upon a certain shrine, as the sun had already set, he stopped there for the night. Taking one of the stones at the shrine, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep at that spot. 12 Then he had a dream: a stairway rested on the ground, with its top reaching to the heavens; and God's messengers were going up and down on it. 13 And there was the LORD standing beside him and saying: "I, the LORD, am the God of your forefather Abraham and the God of Isaac; the land on which you are lying I will give to you and your descendants. 14 These shall be as plentiful as the dust of the earth, and through them you shall spread out east and west, north and south. In you and your descendants all the nations of the earth shall find blessing. 15 Know that I am with you; I will protect you wherever you go, and bring you back to this land. I will never leave you until I have done what I promised you." 16 When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he exclaimed, "Truly, the LORD is in this spot, although I did not know it!" 17 In solemn wonder he cried out: "How awesome is this shrine! This is nothing else but an abode of God, and that is the gateway to heaven!" 18 Early the next morning Jacob took the stone that he had put under his head, set it up as a memorial stone, and poured oil on top of it. 19 He called that site Bethel, whereas the former name of the town had been Luz.

done what I promised you." 16 When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he exclaimed, "Truly, the LORD is in this spot, although I did not know it!" 17 In solemn wonder he cried out: "How awesome is this shrine! This is nothing else but an abode of God, and that is the gateway to heaven!" 18 Early the next morning Jacob took the stone that he had put under his head, set it up as a memorial stone, and poured oil on top of it. 19 He called that site Bethel, whereas the former name of the town had been Luz. 20 Jacob then made this vow: "If God remains with me, to protect me on this journey I am making and to give me enough bread to eat and clothing to wear, 21 and I come back safe to my father's house, the LORD shall be my God. 22 This stone that I have set up as a memorial stone shall be God's abode. Of everything you give me, I will faithfully return a tenth part to you."

36 Genesis Chapter 29 1 After Jacob resumed his journey, he came to the land of the Easterners. 2 Looking about, he saw a well in the open country, with three droves of sheep huddled near it, for droves were watered from that well. A large stone covered the mouth of the well. 3 Only when all the shepherds were assembled there could they roll the stone away from the mouth of the well and water the flocks. Then they would put the stone back again over the mouth of the well. 4 Jacob said to them, "Friends, where are you from?" "We are from Haran," they replied. 5 Then he asked them, "Do you know Laban, son of Nahor?" "We do," they answered. 6 He inquired further, "Is he well?" "He is," they answered, "and here comes his daughter Rachel with his flock." 7 Then he said: "There is still much daylight left; it is hardly the time to bring the animals home. Why don't you water the flocks now, and then continue pasturing them?" 8 "We cannot," they replied, "until all the shepherds are here to roll the stone away from the mouth of the well; only then can we water the flocks." 9 While he was still talking with them, Rachel arrived with her father's sheep; she was the one who tended them. 10 As soon as Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of his uncle Laban, with the sheep of his uncle Laban, he went up, rolled the stone away from the mouth of the well, and watered his uncle's sheep. 11 Then Jacob kissed Rachel and burst into tears. 12 He told her that he was her father's relative, Rebekah's son, and she ran to tell her father. 13 When Laban heard the news about his sister's son Jacob, he hurried out to meet him. After embracing and kissing him, he brought him to his house. Jacob then recounted to Laban all that had happened, 14 and Laban said to him, "You are indeed my flesh and blood." After Jacob had stayed with him a full month, 15 Laban said to him: "Should you serve me for nothing just because you are a relative of mine? Tell me what your wages should be." 16 Now Laban had two daughters; the older was called Leah, the younger Rachel. 17 Leah had lovely eyes, but Rachel was well formed and beautiful. 18 Since Jacob had fallen in love with Rachel, he answered Laban, "I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel." 19 Laban replied, "I prefer to give her to you rather than to an outsider. Stay with me." 20 So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, yet they seemed to him but a few days because of his love for her. 21 Then Jacob said to Laban, "Give me my wife, that I may consummate my marriage with her, for my term is now completed." 22 So Laban invited all the local inhabitants and gave a feast. 23 At nightfall he took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob, and Jacob consummated the marriage with her. 24 (Laban assigned his slave girl Zilpah to his daughter Leah as her maidservant.) 25 In the morning Jacob was amazed: it was Leah! So, he cried out to Laban: "How could you do this to me! Was it not for Rachel that I served you? Why did you dupe me?" 26 "It is not the custom in our country," Laban replied, "to marry off a younger daughter before an older one. 27 Finish the bridal week for this one, and then I will give you the other too, in return for another seven years of service with me." 28 Jacob agreed. He finished the bridal week for Leah, and then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel in marriage. 29 (Laban assigned his slave girl Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as her maidservant.) 30 Jacob then consummated his marriage with Rachel also, and he loved her more than Leah. he remained in Laban's service another seven years. 31 When the LORD saw that Leah was unloved, he made her fruitful, while Rachel remained barren. 32 Leah conceived and bore a son, and she named him Reuben; for she said, "It means, 'The LORD saw my misery; now my husband will love me.'" 33 She conceived again and bore a son, and said, "It means, 'The LORD heard that I was unloved,' and therefore he has given me this one also"; so, she named him Simeon.

hel also, and he loved her more than Leah. he remained in Laban's service another seven years. 31 When the LORD saw that Leah was unloved, he made her fruitful, while Rachel remained barren. 32 Leah conceived and bore a son, and she named him Reuben; for she said, "It means, 'The LORD saw my misery; now my husband will love me.'" 33 She conceived again and bore a son, and said, "It means, 'The LORD heard that I was unloved,' and therefore he has given me this one also"; so, she named him Simeon. 34 Again she conceived and bore a son, and she said, "Now at last my husband will become attached to me, since I have now borne him three sons"; that is why she named him Levi. 35 Once more she conceived and bore a son, and she said, "This time I will give grateful praise to the LORD"; therefore, she named him Judah. Then she stopped bearing children.

37 Genesis Chapter 30 1 When Rachel saw that she failed to bear children to Jacob, she became envious of her sister. She said to Jacob, "Give me children or I shall die!" 2 In anger Jacob retorted, "Can I take the place of God, who has denied you the fruit of the womb?" 3 She replied, "Here is my maidservant Bilhah. Have intercourse with her, and let her give birth on my knees, so that I too may have offspring, at least through her." 4 So she gave him her maidservant Bilhah as a consort, and Jacob had intercourse with her. 5 When Bilhah conceived and bore a son, 6 Rachel said, "God has vindicated me; indeed, he has heeded my plea and given me a son." Therefore, she named him Dan. 7 Rachel's maidservant Bilhah conceived again and bore a second son, 8 and Rachel said, "I engaged in a fateful struggle with my sister, and I prevailed." So, she named him Naphtali. 9 When Leah saw that she had ceased to bear children, she gave her maidservant Zilpah to Jacob as a consort. 10 So Jacob had intercourse with Zilpah, and she conceived and bore a son. 11 Leah then said, "What good luck!" So, she named him Gad. 12 Then Leah's maidservant Zilpah bore a second son to Jacob; 13 and Leah said, "What good fortune!" - meaning, "Women call me fortunate." So, she named him Asher. 14 One day, during the wheat harvest, when Reuben was out in the field, he came upon some mandrakes which he brought home to his mother Leah. Rachel asked Leah, "Please let me have some of your son's mandrakes." 15 Leah replied, "Was it not enough for you to take away my husband, that you must now take my son's mandrakes too?" "Very well, then!" Rachel answered. "In exchange for your son's mandrakes, Jacob may lie with you tonight." 16 That evening, when Jacob came home from the fields, Leah went out to meet him. "You are now to come in with me," she told him, “Because I have paid for you with my son's mandrakes." So that night he slept with her, 17 and God heard her prayer; she conceived and bore a fifth son to Jacob. 18 Leah then said, "God has given me my reward for having let my husband have my maidservant"; so, she named him Issachar. 19 Leah conceived again and bore a sixth son to Jacob; 20 and she said, "God has brought me a precious gift. This time my husband will offer me presents, now that I have borne him six sons"; so, she named him Zebulun. 21 Finally, she gave birth to a daughter, and she named her Dinah. 22 Then God remembered Rachel; he heard her prayer and made her fruitful. 23 She conceived and bore a son, and she said, "God has removed my disgrace." 24 So she named him Joseph, meaning, "May the LORD add another son to this one for me!" 25 After Rachel gave birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban: "Give me leave to go to my homeland. 26 Let me have my wives, for whom I served you, and my children, too, that I may depart. You know very well the service that I have rendered you." 27 Laban answered him: "If you will please..."I have learned through divination that it is because of you that God has blessed me. 28 So," he continued, "state what wages you want from me, and I will pay them." 29 Jacob replied: "You know what work I did for you and how well your livestock fared under my care; 30 the little you had before I came has grown into very much, since the LORD'S blessings came upon you in my company. Therefore, I should now do something for my own household as well." 31 "What should I pay you?" Laban asked. Jacob answered: "You do not have to pay me anything outright. I will again pasture and tend your flock, if you do this one thing for me: 32 go through your whole flock today and remove from it every dark animal among the sheep and every spotted or speckled one among the goats. Only such animals shall be my wages. 33 In the future, whenever you check on these wages of mine, let my honesty testify against me: any animal in my possession that is not a speckled or spotted goat, or a dark sheep, got there by theft!" 34 "Very well," agreed Laban.

thing outright. I will again pasture and tend your flock, if you do this one thing for me: 32 go through your whole flock today and remove from it every dark animal among the sheep and every spotted or speckled one among the goats. Only such animals shall be my wages. 33 In the future, whenever you check on these wages of mine, let my honesty testify against me: any animal in my possession that is not a speckled or spotted goat, or a dark sheep, got there by theft!" 34 "Very well," agreed Laban. "Let it be as you say." 35 That same day Laban removed the streaked and spotted he-goats and all the speckled and spotted she-goats, all those with some white on them, as well as the fully dark-colored sheep; these he left. . . in charge of his sons. 36 Then he put a three days' journey between himself and Jacob, while Jacob continued to pasture the rest of Laban's flock. 37 Jacob, however, got some fresh shoots of poplar, almond

38 and plane trees, and he made white stripes in them by peeling off the bark down to the white core of the shoots. 38 The rods that he had thus peeled he then set upright in the watering troughs, so that they would be in front of the animals that drank from the troughs. When the animals were in heat as they came to drink, 39 the goats mated by the rods, and so they brought forth streaked, speckled and spotted kids. 40 The sheep, on the other hand, Jacob kept apart, and he set these animals to face the streaked or fully dark-colored animals of Laban. Thus, he produced special flocks of his own, which he did not put with Laban's flock. 41 Moreover, whenever the hardier animals were in heat, Jacob would set the rods in the troughs in full view of these animals, so that they mated by the rods; 42 but with the weaker animals he would not put the rods there. So, the feeble animals would go to Laban, but the sturdy ones to Jacob. 43 Thus the man grew increasingly prosperous, and he came to own not only large flocks but also male and female servants and camels and asses. Genesis Chapter 31 1 Jacob learned that Laban's sons were saying, "Jacob has taken everything that belonged to our father, and he has accumulated all this wealth of his by using our father's property." 2 Jacob perceived, too, that Laban's attitude toward him was not what it had previously been. 3 Then the LORD said to Jacob, "Return to the land of your fathers, where you were born, and I will be with you." 4 So Jacob sent for Rachel and Leah to meet him where he was in the field with his flock. 5 There he said to them: "I have noticed that your father's attitude toward me is not as it was in the past; but the God of my father has been with me. 6 You well know what effort I put into serving your father; 7 yet your father cheated me and changed my wages time after time. God, however, did not let him do me any harm. 8 Whenever your father said, 'The speckled animals shall be your wages,' the entire flock would bear speckled young; whenever he said, 'The streaked animals shall be your wages,' the entire flock would bear streaked young. 9 Thus God reclaimed your father's livestock and gave it to me. 10 Once, in the breeding season, I had a dream in which I saw mating he-goats that were streaked, speckled and mottled. 11 In the dream God's messenger called to me, 'Jacob!' 'Here!' I replied. 12 Then he said: 'Note well. All the he-goats in the flock, as they mate, are streaked, speckled and mottled, for I have seen all the things that Laban has been doing to you. 13 I am the God who appeared to you in Bethel, where you anointed a memorial stone and made a vow to me. Up, then! Leave this land and return to the land of your birth.'" 14 Rachel and Leah answered him: "Have we still an heir's portion in our father's house? 15 Are we not regarded by him as outsiders? He not only sold us; he has even used up the money that he got for us! 16 All the wealth that God reclaimed from our father really belongs to us and our children. Therefore, do just as God has told you." 17 Jacob proceeded to put his children and wives on camels, 18 and he drove off with all his livestock and all the property he had acquired in Paddan-aram, to go to his father Isaac in the land of Canaan. 19 Now Laban had gone away to shear his sheep, and Rachel had meanwhile appropriated her father's household idols. 20 Jacob had hoodwinked Laban the Aramean by not telling him of his intended flight. 21 Thus he made his escape with all that he had. Once he was across the Euphrates, he headed for the highlands of Gilead. 22 On the third day, word came to Laban that Jacob had fled. 23 Taking his kinsmen with him, he pursued him for seven days until he caught up with him in the hill country of Gilead.

Now Laban had gone away to shear his sheep, and Rachel had meanwhile appropriated her father's household idols. 20 Jacob had hoodwinked Laban the Aramean by not telling him of his intended flight. 21 Thus he made his escape with all that he had. Once he was across the Euphrates, he headed for the highlands of Gilead. 22 On the third day, word came to Laban that Jacob had fled. 23 Taking his kinsmen with him, he pursued him for seven days until he caught up with him in the hill country of Gilead. 24 But that night God appeared to Laban the Aramean in a dream and warned him, "Take care not to threaten Jacob with any harm!" 25 When Laban overtook Jacob, Jacob's tents were pitched in the highlands; Laban also pitched his tents there, on Mount Gilead. 26 "What do you mean," Laban demanded of Jacob, "by hoodwinking me and carrying off my daughters like war captives? 27 Why did you dupe me by stealing away secretly? You should have told me, and I would have sent you off with merry singing to the sound of tambourines and harps. 28 You did not even allow me a parting kiss to my daughters and

39 grandchildren! What you have now done is a senseless thing. 29 I have it in my power to harm all of you; but last night the God of your father said to me, 'Take care not to threaten Jacob with any harm!' 30 Granted that you had to leave because you were desperately homesick for your father's house, why did you steal my gods?" 31 "I was frightened," Jacob replied to Laban, "at the thought that you might take your daughters away from me by force. 32 But as for your gods, the one you find them with shall not remain alive! If, with my kinsmen looking on, you identify anything here as belonging to you, take it." Jacob, of course, had no idea that Rachel had stolen the idols. 33 Laban then went in and searched Jacob's tent and Leah's tent, as well as the tents of the two maidservants; but he did not find the idols. Leaving Leah's tent, he went into Rachel's. 34 Now Rachel had taken the idols, put them inside a camel cushion, and seated herself upon them. When Laban had rummaged through the rest of her tent without finding them, 35 Rachel said to her father, "Let not my lord feel offended that I cannot rise in your presence; a woman's period is upon me." So, despite his search, he did not find his idols. 36 Jacob, now enraged, upbraided Laban. "What crime or offense have I committed," he demanded, "that you should hound me so fiercely? 37 Now that you have ransacked all my things, have you found a single object taken from your belongings? If so, produce it here before your kinsmen and mine, and let them decide between us two. 38 "In the twenty years that I was under you, no ewe or she-goat of yours ever miscarried, and I have never feasted on a ram of your flock. 39 I never brought you an animal torn by wild beasts; I made good the loss myself. You held me responsible for anything stolen by day or night. 40 How often the scorching heat ravaged me by day, and the frost by night, while sleep fled from my eyes! 41 Of the twenty years that I have now spent in your household, I slaved fourteen years for your two daughters and six years for your flock, while you changed my wages time after time. 42 If my ancestral God, the God of Abraham and the Awesome One of Isaac, had not been on my side, you would now have sent me away empty-handed. But God saw my plight and the fruits of my toil, and last night he gave judgment." 43 Laban replied to Jacob: "The women are mine, their children are mine, and the flocks are mine; everything you see belongs to me. But since these women are my daughters, I will now do something for them and for the children they have borne. 44 Come, then, we will make a pact, you and I; the LORD shall be a witness between us." 45 Then Jacob took a stone and set it up as a memorial stone. 46 Jacob said to his kinsmen, "Gather some stones." So, they got some stones and made a mound; and they had a meal there at the mound. 47 Laban called it Jegar-sahadutha, but Jacob named it Galeed. 48 "This mound," said Laban, "shall be a witness from now on between you and me." That is why it was named Galeed - 49 and also Mizpah, for he said: "May the LORD keep watch between you and me when we are out of each other's sight. b50 If you mistreat my daughters, or take other wives besides my daughters, remember that even though no one else is about, God will be witness between you and me." 51 Laban said further to Jacob: "Here is this mound, and here is the memorial stone that I have set up between you and me. 52 This mound shall be witness, and this memorial stone shall be witness, that, with hostile intent, neither may I pass beyond this mound into your territory, nor may you pass beyond it into mine. 53 May the God of Abraham and the god of Nahor (their ancestral deities) maintain justice between us!" Jacob took the oath by the Awesome One of Isaac. 54 He then offered a sacrifice on the mountain and invited his kinsmen to share in the meal.

the memorial stone that I have set up between you and me. 52 This mound shall be witness, and this memorial stone shall be witness, that, with hostile intent, neither may I pass beyond this mound into your territory, nor may you pass beyond it into mine. 53 May the God of Abraham and the god of Nahor (their ancestral deities) maintain justice between us!" Jacob took the oath by the Awesome One of Isaac. 54 He then offered a sacrifice on the mountain and invited his kinsmen to share in the meal. When they had eaten, they passed the night on the mountain. Genesis Chapter 32 ¹ Early the next morning, Laban kissed his grandchildren and his daughters goodbye; then he set out on his journey back home, ² while Jacob continued on his own way. Then God's messengers encountered Jacob. ³ When he saw them he said, "This is God's encampment." So he named that place Mahanaim. ⁴ Jacob sent messengers ahead to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the

40 country of Edom, ⁵ with this message: "Thus shall you say to my lord Esau: 'Your servant Jacob speaks as follows: I have been staying with Laban and have been detained there until now. ⁶ I own cattle, asses and sheep, as well as male and female servants. I am sending my lord this information in the hope of gaining your favor.'" ⁷ When the messengers returned to Jacob, they said, "We reached your brother Esau. He is now coming to meet you, accompanied by four hundred men." ⁸ Jacob was very much frightened. In his anxiety, he divided the people who were with him, as well as his flocks, herds and camels, into two camps. ⁹ "If Esau should attack and overwhelm one camp," he reasoned, "the remaining camp may still survive." ¹⁰ Then he prayed: "O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac! You told me, O LORD, 'Go back to the land of your birth, and I will be good to you.' ¹¹ I am unworthy of all the acts of kindness that you have loyally performed for your servant: although I crossed the Jordan here with nothing but my staff, I have now grown into two companies. ¹² Save me, I pray, from the hand of my brother Esau! Otherwise I fear that when he comes he will strike me down and slay the mothers and children. ¹³ You yourself said, 'I will be very good to you, and I will make your descendants like the sands of the sea, which are too numerous to count.'" ¹⁴ After passing the night there, Jacob selected from what he had with him the following presents for his brother Esau: ¹⁵ two hundred she-goats and twenty he-goats; two hundred ewes and twenty rams; ¹⁶ thirty milch camels and their young; forty cows and ten bulls; twenty she-asses and ten he-asses. ¹⁷ He put these animals in charge of his servants, in separate droves, and he told the servants, "Go on ahead of me, but keep a space between one drove and the next." ¹⁸ To the servant in the lead he gave this instruction: "When my brother Esau meets you, he may ask you, 'Whose man are you? Where are you going? To whom do these animals ahead of you belong?' ¹⁹ Then you shall answer, 'They belong to your brother Jacob, but they have been sent as a gift to my lord Esau; and Jacob himself is right behind us.'" ²⁰ He gave similar instructions to the second servant and the third and to all the others who followed behind the droves, namely: "Thus and thus shall you say to Esau, when you reach him; ²¹ and be sure to add, 'Your servant Jacob is right behind us.'" For Jacob reasoned, "If I first appease him with gifts that precede me, then later, when I face him, perhaps he will forgive me." ²² So the gifts went on ahead of him, while he stayed that night in the camp. ²³ In the course of that night, however, Jacob arose, took his two wives, with the two maidservants and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. ²⁴ After he had taken them across the stream and had brought over all his possessions, ²⁵ Jacob was left there alone. Then some man wrestled with him until the break of dawn. ²⁶ When the man saw that he could not prevail over him, he struck Jacob's hip at its socket, so that the hip socket was wrenched as they wrestled. ²⁷ The man then said, "Let me go, for it is daybreak." But Jacob said, "I will not let you go until you bless me." ²⁸ "What is your name?" the man asked. He answered, "Jacob." ²⁹ Then the man said, "You shall no longer be spoken of as Jacob, but as Israel, because you have contended with divine and human beings and have prevailed." ³⁰ Jacob then asked him, "Do tell me your name, please." He answered, "Why should you want to know my name?" With that, he bade him farewell. ³¹ Jacob named the place Peniel, "Because I have seen God face to face," he said, "yet my life has been spared." ³² At sunrise, as he left Penuel, Jacob limped along because of his hip.

ered, "Jacob." ²⁹ Then the man said, "You shall no longer be spoken of as Jacob, but as Israel, because you have contended with divine and human beings and have prevailed." ³⁰ Jacob then asked him, "Do tell me your name, please." He answered, "Why should you want to know my name?" With that, he bade him farewell. ³¹ Jacob named the place Peniel, "Because I have seen God face to face," he said, "yet my life has been spared." ³² At sunrise, as he left Penuel, Jacob limped along because of his hip. ³³ That is why, to this day, the Israelites do not eat the sciatic muscle that is on the hip socket, inasmuch as Jacob's hip socket was struck at the sciatic muscle. Genesis Chapter 33 1 Jacob looked up and saw Esau coming, accompanied by four hundred men. So, he divided his children among Leah, Rachel and the two maidservants, 2 putting the maids and their children first, Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph last. 3 He himself went on ahead of them,

41 bowing to the ground seven times, until he reached his brother. 4 Esau ran to meet him, embraced him, and flinging himself on his neck, kissed him as he wept. 5 When Esau looked about, he saw the women and children. "Who are these with you?" he asked. Jacob answered, "They are the children whom God has graciously bestowed on your servant." 6 Then the maidservants and their children came forward and bowed low; 7 next, Leah and her children came forward and bowed low; lastly, Rachel and her children came forward and bowed low. 8 Then Esau asked, "What did you intend with all those droves that I encountered?" Jacob answered, "It was to gain my lord's favor." 9 "I have plenty," replied Esau; "you should keep what is yours, brother." 10 "No, I beg you!" said Jacob. "If you will do me the favor, please accept this gift from me, since to come into your presence is for me like coming into the presence of God, now that you have received me so kindly. 11 Do accept the present I have brought you; God has been generous toward me, and I have an abundance." Since he so urged him, Esau accepted. 12 Then Esau said, "Let us break camp and be on our way; I will travel alongside you." 13 But Jacob replied: "As my lord can see, the children are frail. Besides, I am encumbered with the flocks and herds, which now have sucklings; if overdriven for a single day, the whole flock will die. 14 Let my lord, then, go on ahead of me, while I proceed more slowly at the pace of the livestock before me and at the pace of my children, until I join my lord in Seir." 15 Esau replied, "Let me at least put at your disposal some of the men who are with me." But Jacob said, "For what reason? Please indulge me in this, my lord." 16 So on the same day that Esau began his journey back to Seir, 17 Jacob journeyed to Succoth. There he built a home for himself and made booths for his livestock. That is why the place was called Succoth. 18 Having thus come from Paddan-aram, Jacob arrived safely at the city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, and he encamped in sight of the city. 19 The plot of ground on which he had pitched his tent he bought for a hundred pieces of bullion from the descendants of Hamor, the founder of Shechem. 20 He set up a memorial stone there and invoked "El, the God of Israel." Genesis Chapter 34 1 Dinah, the daughter whom Leah had borne to Jacob, went out to visit some of the women of the land. 2 When Shechem, son of Hamor the Hivite, who was chief of the region, saw her, he seized her and lay with her by force. 3 Since he was strongly attracted to Dinah, daughter of Jacob, indeed was really in love with the girl, he endeavored to win her affection. 4 Shechem also asked his father Hamor, "Get me this girl for a wife." 5 Meanwhile, Jacob heard that Shechem had defiled his daughter Dinah; but since his sons were out in the fields with his livestock, he held his peace until they came home. 6 Now Hamor, the father of Shechem, went out to discuss the matter with Jacob, 7 just as Jacob's sons were coming in from the fields. When they heard the news, the men were shocked and seethed with indignation. What Shechem had done was an outrage in Israel; such a thing could not be tolerated. 8 Hamor appealed to them, saying: "My son Shechem has his heart set on your daughter. Please give her to him in marriage. 9 Intermarry with us; give your daughters to us and take our daughters for yourselves. 10 Thus you can live among us. The land is open before you; you can settle and move about freely in it and acquire landed property here." 11 Then Shechem, too, appealed to Dinah's father and brothers: "Do me this favour, and I will pay whatever you demand of me. 12 No matter how high you set the bridal price; I will pay you whatever you ask; only give me the maiden in marriage." 13 Jacob's sons replied to Shechem and his father Hamor with guile, speaking as they did because their sister Dinah had been defiled.

live among us. The land is open before you; you can settle and move about freely in it and acquire landed property here." 11 Then Shechem, too, appealed to Dinah's father and brothers: "Do me this favour, and I will pay whatever you demand of me. 12 No matter how high you set the bridal price; I will pay you whatever you ask; only give me the maiden in marriage." 13 Jacob's sons replied to Shechem and his father Hamor with guile, speaking as they did because their sister Dinah had been defiled. 14 "We could not do such a thing," they said, "as to give our sister to an uncircumcised man; that would be a disgrace for us. 15 We will agree with you only on this condition, that you become like us by having every male among you circumcised. 16 Then we will give you our daughters and take yours in marriage; we will settle among you and become one kindred people with you. 17 But if you do not comply with our terms regarding circumcision, we will take our daughter and go away." 18 Their proposal

42 seemed fair to Hamor and his son Shechem. 19 The young man lost no time in acting in the matter, since he was deeply in love with Jacob's daughter. Moreover, he was more highly respected than anyone else in his clan. 20 So Hamor and his son Shechem went to their town council and thus presented the matter to their fellow townsmen: 21 "These men are friendly toward us. Let them settle in the land and move about in it freely; there is ample room in the country for them. We can marry their daughters and give our daughters to them in marriage. 22 But the men will agree to live with us and form one kindred people with us only on this condition, that every male among us be circumcised as they themselves are. 23 Would not the livestock they have acquired - all their animals - then be ours? Let us, therefore, give in to them, so that they may settle among us." 24 All the able-bodied men of the town agreed with Hamor and his son Shechem, and all the males, including every able-bodied man in the community, were circumcised. 25 On the third day, while they were still in pain, Dinah's full brothers Simeon and Levi, two of Jacob's sons, took their swords, advanced against the city without any trouble, and massacred all the males. 26 After they had put Hamor and his son Shechem to the sword, they took Dinah from Shechem's house and left. 27 Then the other sons of Jacob followed up the slaughter and sacked the city in reprisal for their sister Dinah's defilement. 28 They seized their flocks, herds and asses, whatever was in the city and in the country around. 29 They carried off all their wealth, their women, and their children, and took for loot whatever was in the houses. 30 Jacob said to Simeon and Levi: "You have brought trouble upon me by making me loathsome to the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites and the Perizzites. I have so few men that, if these people unite against me and attack me, I and my family will be wiped out." 31 But they retorted, "Should our sister have been treated like a harlot?" Genesis Chapter 35 1 God said to Jacob: "Go up now to Bethel. Settle there and build an altar there to the God who appeared to you while you were fleeing from your brother Esau." 2 So Jacob told his family and all the others who were with him: "Get rid of the foreign gods that you have among you; then purify yourselves and put on fresh clothes. 3 We are now to go up to Bethel, and I will build an altar there to the God who answered me in my hour of distress and who has been with me wherever I have gone." 4 They therefore handed over to Jacob all the foreign gods in their possession and also the rings they had in their ears. 5 Then, as they set out, a terror from God fell upon the towns round about, so that no one pursued the sons of Jacob. 6 Thus Jacob and all the people who were with him arrived in Luz (that is, Bethel) in the land of Canaan.7 There he built an altar and named the place Bethel, for it was there that God had revealed himself to him when he was fleeing from his brother. 8 Death came to Rebekah's nurse Deborah; she was buried under the oak below Bethel, and so it was called Allonbacuth. 9 On Jacob's arrival from Paddan-aram, God appeared to him again and blessed him. 10 God said to him: "You whose name is Jacob shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your name." Thus, he was named Israel. 11 God also said to him: "I am God Almighty; be fruitful and multiply. A nation, indeed, an assembly of nations, shall stem from you, and kings shall issue from your loins. 12 The land I once gave to Abraham and Isaac I now give to you; And to your descendants after you will I give this land." 13 Then God departed from him. 14 On the site where God had spoken with him, Jacob set up a memorial stone, and upon it he made a libation and poured out oil. 15 Jacob named the site Bethel, because God had spoken with him there.

"I am God Almighty; be fruitful and multiply. A nation, indeed, an assembly of nations, shall stem from you, and kings shall issue from your loins. 12 The land I once gave to Abraham and Isaac I now give to you; And to your descendants after you will I give this land." 13 Then God departed from him. 14 On the site where God had spoken with him, Jacob set up a memorial stone, and upon it he made a libation and poured out oil. 15 Jacob named the site Bethel, because God had spoken with him there. 16 Then they departed from Bethel; but while they still had some distance to go on the way to Ephrath, Rachel began to be in labor and to suffer great distress. 17 When her pangs were most severe, her midwife said to her, "Have no fear! This time, too, you have a son." 18 With her last breath - for she was at the point of death-she called him Ben-oni; his father, however, named him Benjamin. 19 Thus Rachel died; and she was buried on the road to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). 20 Jacob set up a memorial stone on her grave, and the same monument marks Rachel's grave to this

43 day. 21 Israel moved on and pitched his tent beyond Migdal-eder. 22 While Israel was encamped in that region, Reuben went and lay with Bilhah, his father's concubine. When Israel heard of it, he was greatly offended. The sons of Jacob were now twelve. 23 The sons of Leah: Reuben, Jacob's first-born, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun; 24 the sons of Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin; 25 the sons of Rachel's maid Bilhah: Dan and Naphtali; 26 the sons of Leah's maid Zilpah: Gad and Asher. These are the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Paddan-aram. 27 Jacob went home to his father Isaac at Mamre, in Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had stayed. 28 The lifetime of Isaac was one hundred and eighty years. 29 then he breathed his last. After a full life, he died as an old man and was taken to his kinsmen. His sons Esau and Jacob buried him. Genesis Chapter 36 1 These are the descendants of Esau (that is, Edom). 2 Esau took his wives from among the Canaanite women: Adah, daughter of Elon the Hittite; Oholibamah, granddaughter through Anah of Zibeon the Hivite; 3 and Basemath, daughter of Ishmael and sister of Nebaioth. 4 Adah bore Eliphaz to Esau; Basemath bore Reuel; 5 and Oholibamah bore Jeush, Jalam and Korah. These are the sons of Esau who were born to him in the land of Canaan. 6 Esau took his wives, his sons, his daughters, and all the members of his household, as well as his livestock comprising various animals and all the property he had acquired in the land of Canaan, and went to the land of Seir, out of the way of his brother Jacob. 7 Their possessions had become too great for them to dwell together, and the land in which they were staying could not support them because of their livestock. 8 So Esau settled in the highlands of Seir. (Esau is Edom.) 9 These are the descendants of Esau, ancestor of the Edomites, in the highlands of Seir. 10 These are the names of Esau's sons: Eliphaz, son of Esau's wife Adah; and Reuel, son of Esau's wife Basemath. 11 The sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz. 12 (Esau's son Eliphaz had a concubine Timna, and she bore Amalek to Eliphaz.) These are the descendants of Esau's wife Adah. 13 The sons of Reuel were Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These are the descendants of Esau's wife Basemath. 14 The descendants of Esau's wife Oholibamah - granddaughter through Anah of Zibeon - whom she bore to Esau were Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. 15 The following are the clans of Esau's descendants. The descendants of Eliphaz, Esau's first-born: the clans of Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz, 16 Korah, Gatam, and Amalek. These are the clans of Eliphaz in the land of Edom; they are descended from Adah. 17 The descendants of Esau's son Reuel: the clans of Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These are the clans of Reuel in the land of Edom; they are descended from Esau's wife Basemath. 18 The descendants of Esau's wife Oholibamah: the clans of Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These are the clans of Esau's wife Oholibamah, daughter of Anah. 19 Such are the descendants of Esau (that is, Edom) according to their clans. 20 The following are the descendants of Seir the Horite, the original settlers in the land: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, 21 Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan; they are the Horite clans descended from Seir, in the land of Edom. 22 Lotan's descendants were Hori and Hemam, and Lotan's sister was Timna. 23 Shobal's descendants were Alvan, Mahanath, Ebal, Shepho, and Onam. 24 Zibeon's descendants were Aiah and Anah. (He is the Anah who found water in the desert while he was pasturing the asses of his father Zibeon.) 25 The descendants of Anah were Dishon and Oholibamah, daughter of Anah. 26 The descendants of Dishon were Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Cheran. 27 The descendants of Ezer were Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan. 28 The descendants of Dishan were Uz and Aran.

Hemam, and Lotan's sister was Timna. 23 Shobal's descendants were Alvan, Mahanath, Ebal, Shepho, and Onam. 24 Zibeon's descendants were Aiah and Anah. (He is the Anah who found water in the desert while he was pasturing the asses of his father Zibeon.) 25 The descendants of Anah were Dishon and Oholibamah, daughter of Anah. 26 The descendants of Dishon were Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Cheran. 27 The descendants of Ezer were Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan. 28 The descendants of Dishan were Uz and Aran. 29 These are the Horite clans: the clans of Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, 30 Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan; they were the clans of the Horites, clan by clan, in the land of Seir. 31 The following are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom before any king reigned over the Israelites. 32 Bela, son of Beor, became king in Edom; the name of his city was Dinhabah. 33 When Bela died, Jobab, son of Zerah, from Bozrah, succeeded

44 him as king. 34 When Jobab died, Husham, from the land of the Temanites, succeeded him as king. He defeated the Midianites in the country of Moab; the name of his city was Avith. 35 When Husham died, Hadad, son of Bedad, succeeded him as king. 36 When Hadad died, Samlah, from Masrekah, succeeded him as king. 37 When Samlah died, Shaul, from Rehoboth-on-the-River, succeeded him as king. 38 When Shaul died, Baal-hanan, son of Achbor, succeeded him as king. 39 When Baal-hanan died, Hadar succeeded him as king; the name of his city was Pau. (His wife's name was Mehetabel; she was the daughter of Matred, son of Mezahab.) 40 The following are the names of the clans of Esau individually according to their subdivisions and localities: the clans of Timna, Alvah, Jetheth, 41 Oholibamah, Elah, Pinon, 42 Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar, 43 Magdiel, and Iram. These are the clans of the Edomites, according to their settlements in their territorial holdings. (Esau was the father of the Edomites.) Genesis Chapter 37 1 Jacob settled in the land where his father had stayed, the land of Canaan. 2 This is his family history. When Joseph was seventeen years old, he was tending the flocks with his brothers; he was an assistant to the sons of his father's wives Bilhah and Zilpah, and he brought his father bad reports about them. 3 Israel loved Joseph best of all his sons, for he was the child of his old age; and he had made him a long tunic. 4 When his brothers saw that their father loved him best of all his sons, they hated him so much that they would not even greet him. 5 Once Joseph had a dream, which he told to his brothers: 6 "Listen to this dream I had. 7 There we were, binding sheaves in the field, when suddenly my sheaf rose to an upright position, and your sheaves formed a ring around my sheaf and bowed down to it." 8 "Are you really going to make yourself king over us?" his brothers asked him. "Or impose your rule on us?" So, they hated him all the more because of his talk about his dreams. 9 Then he had another dream, and this one, too, he told to his brothers. "I had another dream," he said; "this time, the sun and the moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me." 10 When he also told it to his father, his father reproved him. "What is the meaning of this dream of yours?" he asked. "Can it be that I and your mother and your brothers are to come and bow to the ground before you?" 11 So, his brothers were wrought up against him, but his father pondered the matter. 12 One day, when his brothers had gone to pasture their father's flocks at Shechem, 13 Israel said to Joseph, "Your brothers, you know, are tending our flocks at Shechem. Get ready; I will send you to them." "I am ready," Joseph answered. 14 "Go then," he replied, "see if all is well with your brothers and the flocks and bring back word." So, he sent him off from the valley of Hebron. When Joseph reached Shechem, 15 a man met him as he was wandering about in the fields. "What are you looking for?" the man asked him. 16 "I am looking for my brothers," he answered. "Could you please tell me where they are tending the flocks?" 17 The man told him, "They have moved on from here; in fact, I heard them say, 'Let us go on to Dothan.'" So, Joseph went after his brothers and caught up with them in Dothan. 18 They noticed him from a distance, and before he came up to them, they plotted to kill him. 19 They said to one another: "Here comes that master dreamer! 20 Come on, let us kill him and throw him into one of the cisterns here; we could say that a wild beast devoured him. We shall then see what comes of his dreams." 21 When Reuben heard this, he tried to save him from their hands, saying: "We must not take his life. 22 Instead of shedding blood," he continued, "just throw him into that cistern there in the desert; but don't kill him outright." His purpose was to rescue him from their hands and restore him to his father.

comes that master dreamer! 20 Come on, let us kill him and throw him into one of the cisterns here; we could say that a wild beast devoured him. We shall then see what comes of his dreams." 21 When Reuben heard this, he tried to save him from their hands, saying: "We must not take his life. 22 Instead of shedding blood," he continued, "just throw him into that cistern there in the desert; but don't kill him outright." His purpose was to rescue him from their hands and restore him to his father. 23 So when Joseph came up to them, they stripped him of the long tunic he had on; 24 then they took him and threw him into the cistern, which was empty and dry. 25 They then sat down to their meal. Looking up, they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, their camels laden with gum, balm and resin to be taken down to Egypt. 26 Judah said to his brothers: "What is to be gained by killing our brother and concealing his blood? 27 Rather, let us sell him to these Ishmaelites, instead

45 of doing away with him ourselves. After all, he is our brother, our own flesh." His brothers agreed. 28 They sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. Some Midianite traders passed by, and they pulled Joseph up out of the cistern and took him to Egypt. 29 When Reuben went back to the cistern and saw that Joseph was not in it, he tore his clothes, 30 and returning to his brothers, he exclaimed: "The boy is gone! And I - where can I turn?" 31 They took Joseph's tunic, and after slaughtering a goat, dipped the tunic in its blood. 32 Then they sent someone to bring the long tunic to their father, with the message: "We found this. See whether it is your son's tunic or not." 33 He recognized it and exclaimed: "My son's tunic! A wild beast has devoured him! Joseph has been torn to pieces!" 34 Then Jacob rent his clothes, put sackcloth on his loins, and mourned his son many days. 35 Though his sons and daughters tried to console him, he refused all consolation, saying, "No, I will go down mourning to my son in the nether world." Thus did his father lament him. 36 The Midianites, meanwhile, sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, a courtier of Pharaoh and his chief steward. Genesis Chapter 38 1 About that time Judah parted from his brothers and pitched his tent near a certain Adullamite named Hirah. 2 There he met the daughter of a Canaanite named Shua, married her, and had relations with her. 3 She conceived and bore a son, whom she named Er. 4 Again she conceived and bore a son, whom she named Onan. 5 Then she bore still another son, whom she named Shelah. They were in Chezib when he was born. 6 Judah got a wife named Tamar for his first-born, Er. 7 But Er, Judah's first-born, greatly offended the LORD; so the LORD took his life. 8 Then Judah said to Onan, "Unite with your brother's widow, in fulfillment of your duty as brother-in-law, and thus preserve your brother's line." 9 Onan, however, knew that the descendants would not be counted as his; so whenever he had relations with his brother's widow, he wasted his seed on the ground, to avoid contributing offspring for his brother. 10 What he did greatly offended the LORD, and the LORD took his life too. 11 Thereupon Judah said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, "Stay as a widow in your father's house until my son Shelah grows up" - for he feared that Shelah also might die like his brothers. So Tamar went to live in her father's house. 12 Years passed, and Judah's wife, the daughter of Shua, died. After Judah completed the period of mourning, he went up to Timnah for the shearing of his sheep, in company with his friend Hirah the Adullamite. 13 When Tamar was told that her father-in-law was on his way up to Timnah to shear his sheep, 14 she took off her widow's garb, veiled her face by covering herself with a shawl, and sat down at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the way to Timnah; for she was aware that, although Shelah was now grown up, she had not been given to him in marriage. 15 When Judah saw her, he mistook her for a harlot, since she had covered her face. 16 So he went over to her at the roadside, and not realizing that she was his daughter-in-law, he said, "Come, let me have intercourse with you." She replied, "What will you pay me for letting you have intercourse with me?" 17 He answered, "I will send you a kid from the flock." "Very well," she said, "provided you leave a pledge until you send it." 18 Judah asked, "What pledge am I to give to you?" She answered, "Your seal and cord, and the staff you carry." So he gave them to her and had intercourse with her, and she conceived by him. 19 When she went away, she took off her shawl and put on her widow's garb again. 20 Judah sent the kid by his friend the Adullamite to recover the pledge from the woman; but he could not find her.

"I will send you a kid from the flock." "Very well," she said, "provided you leave a pledge until you send it." 18 Judah asked, "What pledge am I to give to you?" She answered, "Your seal and cord, and the staff you carry." So he gave them to her and had intercourse with her, and she conceived by him. 19 When she went away, she took off her shawl and put on her widow's garb again. 20 Judah sent the kid by his friend the Adullamite to recover the pledge from the woman; but he could not find her. 21 So he asked the men of the place, "Where is the temple prostitute, the one by the roadside in Enaim?" But they answered, "There has never been a temple prostitute here."22 He went back to Judah and told him, "I could not find her; and besides, the men of the place said there was no temple prostitute there." 23 "Let her keep the things," Judah replied; "otherwise we shall become a laughingstock. After all, I did send her the kid, even though you were unable to find her." 24 About three months later, Judah was told that his daughter-in-law Tamar had played the harlot and was

46 then with child from her harlotry. "Bring her out," cried Judah; "she shall be burned." 25 But as they were bringing her out, she sent word to her father-in-law, "It is by the man to whom these things belong that I am with child. Please verify," she added, "whose seal and cord and whose staff these are." 26 Judah recognized them and said, "She is more in the right than I am, since I did not give her to my son Shelah." But he had no further relations with her. 27 When the time of her delivery came, she was found to have twins in her womb. 28 While she was giving birth, one infant put out his hand; and the midwife, taking a crimson thread, tied it on his hand, to note that this one came out first. 29 But as he withdrew his hand, his brother came out; and she said, "What a breach you have made for yourself!" So, he was called Perez. 30 Afterward his brother came out; he was called Zerah. Genesis Chapter 39 1 When Joseph was taken down to Egypt, a certain Egyptian (Potiphar, a courtier of Pharaoh and his chief steward) bought him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him there. 2 But since the LORD was with him, Joseph got on very well and was assigned to the household of his Egyptian master. 3 When his master saw that the LORD was with him and brought him success in whatever he did, 4 he took a liking to Joseph and made him his personal attendant; he put him in charge of his household and entrusted to him all his possessions. 5 From the moment that he put him in charge of his household and all his possessions, the LORD blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake; in fact, the LORD'S blessing was on everything he owned, both inside the house and out. 6 Having left everything he owned in Joseph's charge, he gave no thought, with Joseph there, to anything but the food he ate. Now Joseph was strikingly handsome in countenance and body. 7 After a time, his master's wife began to look fondly at him and said, "Lie with me." 8 But he refused. "As long as I am here," he told her, "my master does not concern himself with anything in the house, but has entrusted to me all he owns. 9 He wields no more authority in this house than I do, and he has withheld from me nothing but yourself, since you are his wife. How, then, could I commit so great a wrong and thus stand condemned before God?" 10 Although she tried to entice him day after day, he would not agree to lie beside her, or even stay near her. 11 One such day, when Joseph came into the house to do his work, and none of the household servants were then in the house, 12 she laid hold of him by his cloak, saying, "Lie with me!" But leaving the cloak in her hand, he got away from her and ran outside. 13 When she saw that he had left his cloak in her hand as he fled outside, 14 she screamed for her household servants and told them, "Look! my husband has brought in a Hebrew slave to make sport of us! He came in here to lie with me, but I cried out as loud as I could. 15 When he heard me scream for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran away outside." 16 She kept the cloak with her until his master came home. 17 Then she told him the same story: "The Hebrew slave whom you brought here broke in on me, to make sport of me. 18 But when I screamed for help, he left his cloak beside me and fled outside." 19 As soon as the master heard his wife's story about how his slave had treated her, he became enraged. 20 He seized Joseph and threw him into the jail where the royal prisoners were confined. But even while he was in prison, 21 the LORD remained with Joseph; he showed him kindness by making the chief jailer well-disposed toward him. 22 The chief jailer put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners in the jail, and everything that had to be done there was done under his management.

nd fled outside." 19 As soon as the master heard his wife's story about how his slave had treated her, he became enraged. 20 He seized Joseph and threw him into the jail where the royal prisoners were confined. But even while he was in prison, 21 the LORD remained with Joseph; he showed him kindness by making the chief jailer well-disposed toward him. 22 The chief jailer put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners in the jail, and everything that had to be done there was done under his management. 23 The chief jailer did not concern himself with anything at all that was in Joseph's charge, since the LORD was with him and brought success to all he did. Genesis Chapter 40 1 Sometime afterward, the royal cupbearer and baker gave offense to their lord, the king of Egypt. 2 Pharaoh was angry with his two courtiers, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker, 3 and he put

47 them in custody in the house of the chief steward (the same jail where Joseph was confined). 4 The chief steward assigned Joseph to them, and he became their attendant. After they had been in custody for some time, 5 the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt who were confined in the jail both had dreams on the same night, each dream with its own meaning. 6 When Joseph came to them in the morning, he noticed that they looked disturbed. 7 So he asked Pharaoh's courtiers who were with him in custody in his master's house, "Why do you look so sad today?" 8 They answered him, "We have had dreams, but there is no one to interpret them for us." Joseph said to them, "Surely, interpretations come from God. Please tell the dreams to me." 9 Then the chief cupbearer told Joseph his dream. "In my dream," he said, "I saw a vine in front of me, 10 and on the vine were three branches. It had barely budded when its blossoms came out, and its clusters ripened into grapes. 11 Pharaoh's cup was in my hand; so I took the grapes, pressed them out into his cup, and put it in Pharaoh's hand." 12 Joseph said to him: "This is what it means. The three branches are three days; 13 within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your post. You will be handing Pharaoh his cup as you formerly used to do when you were his cupbearer. 14 So if you will still remember, when all is well with you, that I was here with you, please do me the favor of mentioning me to Pharaoh, to get me out of this place. 15 The truth is that I was kidnaped from the land of the Hebrews, and here I have not done anything for which I should have been put into a dungeon." 16 When the chief baker saw that Joseph had given this favorable interpretation, he said to him: "I too had a dream. In it I had three wicker baskets on my head; 17 in the top one were all kinds of bakery products for Pharaoh, but the birds were pecking at them out of the basket on my head." 18 Joseph said to him in reply: "This is what it means. The three baskets are three days; 19 within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and have you impaled on a stake, and the birds will be pecking the flesh from your body." 20 And in fact, on the third day, which was Pharaoh's birthday, when he gave a banquet to all his staff, with his courtiers around him, he lifted up the heads of the chief cupbearer and chief baker. 21 He restored the chief cupbearer to his office, so that he again handed the cup to Pharaoh; 22 but the chief baker he impaled-just as Joseph had told them in his interpretation. 23 Yet the chief cupbearer gave no thought to Joseph; he had forgotten him. Genesis Chapter 41 1 After a lapse of two years, Pharaoh had a dream. He saw himself standing by the Nile, 2 when up out of the Nile came seven cows, handsome and fat; they grazed in the reed grass. 3 Behind them seven other cows, ugly and gaunt, came up out of the Nile; and standing on the bank of the Nile beside the others, 4 the ugly, gaunt cows ate up the seven handsome, fat cows. Then Pharaoh woke up. 5 He fell asleep again and had another dream. He saw seven ears of grain, fat and healthy, growing on a single stalk. 6 Behind them sprouted seven ears of grain, thin and blasted by the east wind; 7 and the seven thin ears swallowed up the seven fat, healthy ears. Then Pharaoh woke up, to find it was only a dream. 8 Next morning his spirit was agitated. So he summoned all the magicians and sages of Egypt and recounted his dreams to them; but no one could interpret his dreams for him. 9 Then the chief cupbearer spoke up and said to Pharaoh: "On this occasion I am reminded of my negligence. 10 Once, when Pharaoh was angry, he put me and the chief baker in custody in the house of the chief steward. 11 Later, we both had dreams on the same night, and each of our dreams had its own meaning.

t was only a dream. 8 Next morning his spirit was agitated. So he summoned all the magicians and sages of Egypt and recounted his dreams to them; but no one could interpret his dreams for him. 9 Then the chief cupbearer spoke up and said to Pharaoh: "On this occasion I am reminded of my negligence. 10 Once, when Pharaoh was angry, he put me and the chief baker in custody in the house of the chief steward. 11 Later, we both had dreams on the same night, and each of our dreams had its own meaning. 12 There with us was a Hebrew youth, a slave of the chief steward; and when we told him our dreams, he interpreted them for us and explained for each of us the meaning of his dream. 13 And it turned out just as he had told us: I was restored to my post, but the other man was impaled." 14 Pharaoh therefore had Joseph summoned, and they hurriedly brought him from the dungeon. After he shaved and changed his clothes, he came into Pharaoh's presence. 15 Pharaoh then said to him: "I had certain dreams that no one can interpret. But I hear

48 it said of you that the moment you are told a dream you can interpret it." 16 "It is not I," Joseph replied to Pharaoh, "but God who will give Pharaoh the right answer." 17 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph: "In my dream, I was standing on the bank of the Nile, 18 when up from the Nile came seven cows, fat and well-formed; they grazed in the reed grass. 19 Behind them came seven other cows, scrawny, most ill-formed and gaunt. Never have I seen such ugly specimens as these in all the land of Egypt! 20 The gaunt, ugly cows ate up the first seven fat cows. 21 But when they had consumed them, no one could tell that they had done so, because they looked as ugly as before. Then I woke up. 22 In another dream I saw seven ears of grain, fat and healthy, growing on a single stalk. 23 Behind them sprouted seven ears of grain, shriveled and thin and blasted by the east wind; 24 and the seven thin ears swallowed up the seven healthy ears. I have spoken to the magicians, but none of them can give me an explanation." 25 Joseph said to Pharaoh: "Both of Pharaoh's dreams have the same meaning. God has thus foretold to Pharaoh what he is about to do. 26 The seven healthy cows are seven years, and the seven healthy ears are seven years - the same in each dream. 27 So also, the seven thin, ugly cows that came up after them are seven years, as are the seven thin, wind- blasted ears; they are seven years of famine. 28 It is just as I told Pharaoh: God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do. 29 Seven years of great abundance are now coming throughout the land of Egypt; 30 but these will be followed by seven years of famine, when all the abundance in the land of Egypt will be forgotten. When the famine has ravaged the land, 31 no trace of the abundance will be found in the land because of the famine that follows it - so utterly severe will that famine be. 32 That Pharaoh had the same dream twice means that the matter has been reaffirmed by God and that God will soon bring it about. 33 "Therefore, let Pharaoh seek out a wise and discerning man and put him in charge of the land of Egypt. 34 Pharaoh should also take action to appoint overseers, so as to regiment the land during the seven years of abundance. 35 They should husband all the food of the coming good years, collecting the grain under Pharaoh's authority, to be stored in the towns for food. 36 This food will serve as a reserve for the country against the seven years of famine that are to follow in the land of Egypt, so that the land may not perish in the famine." 37 This advice pleased Pharaoh and all his officials. 38 "Could we find another like him," Pharaoh asked his officials, "a man so endowed with the spirit of God?" 39 So Pharaoh said to Joseph: "Since God has made all this known to you, no one can be as wise and discerning as you are. 40 You shall be in charge of my palace, and all my people shall dart at your command. Only in respect to the throne shall I outrank you. 41 Herewith," Pharaoh told Joseph, "I place you in charge of the whole land of Egypt." 42 With that, Pharaoh took off his signet ring and put it on Joseph's finger. He had him dressed in robes of fine linen and put a gold chain about his neck. 43 He then had him ride in the chariot of his vizier, and they shouted "Abrek!" before him. Thus was Joseph installed over the whole land of Egypt. 44 "I, Pharaoh, proclaim," he told Joseph, “That without your approval no one shall move hand or foot in all the land of Egypt." 45 Pharaoh also bestowed the name of Zaphnath-paneah on Joseph, and he gave him in marriage Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, priest of Heliopolis. 46 Joseph was thirty years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. After Joseph left Pharaoh's presence, he traveled throughout the land of Egypt.

Thus was Joseph installed over the whole land of Egypt. 44 "I, Pharaoh, proclaim," he told Joseph, “That without your approval no one shall move hand or foot in all the land of Egypt." 45 Pharaoh also bestowed the name of Zaphnath-paneah on Joseph, and he gave him in marriage Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, priest of Heliopolis. 46 Joseph was thirty years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. After Joseph left Pharaoh's presence, he traveled throughout the land of Egypt. 47 During the seven years of plenty, when the land produced abundant crops, 48 he husbanded all the food of these years of plenty that the land of Egypt was enjoying and stored it in the towns, placing in each town the crops of the fields around it. 49 Joseph garnered grain in quantities like the sands of the sea, so vast that at last he stopped measuring it, for it was beyond measure. 50 Before the famine years set in, Joseph became the father of two sons, borne to him by Asenath, daughter of Potiphera, priest of Heliopolis. 51 He named his first-born Manasseh, meaning, "God has made me forget entirely the sufferings I endured at the hands of my family”. 52 and the second he named Ephraim, meaning, "God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction." 53 When the seven years of abundance enjoyed by the land of Egypt came to an end, 54

49 the seven years of famine set in, just as Joseph had predicted. Although there was famine in all the other countries, food was available throughout the land of Egypt. 55 When hunger came to be felt throughout the land of Egypt and the people cried to Pharaoh for bread, Pharaoh directed all the Egyptians to go to Joseph and do whatever he told them. 56 When the famine had spread throughout the land, Joseph opened all the cities that had grain and rationed it to the Egyptians, since the famine had gripped the land of Egypt. 57 In fact, all the world came to Joseph to obtain rations of grain, for famine had gripped the whole world. Genesis Chapter 42 1 When Jacob learned that grain rations were available in Egypt, he said to his sons: "Why do you keep gaping at one another? 2 I hear," he went on, "that rations of grain are available in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us, that we may stay alive rather than die of hunger." 3 So ten of Joseph's brothers went down to buy an emergency supply of grain from Egypt. 4 It was only Joseph's full brother Benjamin that Jacob did not send with the rest, for he thought some disaster might befall him. 5 Thus, since there was famine in the land of Canaan also, the sons of Israel were among those who came to procure rations. 6 It was Joseph, as governor of the country, who dispensed the rations to all the people. When Joseph's brothers came and knelt down before him with their faces to the ground, 7 he recognized them as soon as he saw them. But he concealed his own identity from them and spoke sternly to them. "Where do you come from?" he asked them. They answered, "From the land of Canaan, to procure food." 8 When Joseph recognized his brothers, although they did not recognize him, 9 he was reminded of the dreams he had about them. He said to them: "You are spies. You have come to see the nakedness of the land." 10 "No, my lord," they replied. "On the contrary, your servants have come to procure food. 11 All of us are sons of the same man. We are honest men; your servants have never been spies." 12 But he answered them: "Not so! You have come to see the nakedness of the land." 13 "We your servants," they said, "were twelve brothers, sons of a certain man in Canaan; but the youngest one is at present with our father, and the other one is gone." 14 "It is just as I said," Joseph persisted; "you are spies. 15 This is how you shall be tested: unless your youngest brother comes here, I swear by the life of Pharaoh that you shall not leave here. 16 So send one of your number to get your brother, while the rest of you stay here under arrest. Thus shall your words be tested for their truth; if they are untrue, as Pharaoh lives, you are spies!" 17 With that, he locked them up in the guardhouse for three days. 18 On the third day Joseph said to them: "Do this, and you shall live; for I am a God- fearing man. 19 If you have been honest, only one of your brothers need be confined in this prison, while the rest of you may go and take home provisions for your starving families. 20 But you must come back to me with your youngest brother. Your words will thus be verified, and you will not die." To this they agreed. 21 To one another, however, they said: "Alas, we are being punished because of our brother. We saw the anguish of his heart when he pleaded with us, yet we paid no heed; that is why this anguish has now come upon us."22 "Didn't I tell you,” Broke in Reuben, "not to do wrong to the boy? But you wouldn't listen! Now comes the reckoning for his blood." 23 They did not know, of course, that Joseph understood what they said, since he spoke with them through an interpreter. 24 But turning away from them, he wept. When he was able to speak to them again, he had Simeon taken from them and bound before their eyes. 25 Then Joseph gave orders to have their containers filled with grain, their money replaced in each one's sack, and provisions given them for their journey.

wrong to the boy? But you wouldn't listen! Now comes the reckoning for his blood." 23 They did not know, of course, that Joseph understood what they said, since he spoke with them through an interpreter. 24 But turning away from them, he wept. When he was able to speak to them again, he had Simeon taken from them and bound before their eyes. 25 Then Joseph gave orders to have their containers filled with grain, their money replaced in each one's sack, and provisions given them for their journey. After this had been done for them,26 they loaded their donkeys with the rations and departed. 27 At the night encampment, when one of them opened his bag to give his donkey some fodder, he was surprised to see his money in the mouth of his bag. 28 "My money has been returned!" he cried out to his brothers. "Here it is in my bag!" At that their hearts sank. Trembling, they asked one another, "What is this that God has done to us?" 29 When they got back

50 to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan, they told him all that had happened to them. 30 "The man who is lord of the country," they said, "spoke to us sternly and put us in custody as if we were spying on the land. 31 But we said to him: 'We are honest men; we have never been spies. 32 There were twelve of us brothers, sons of the same father; but one is gone, and the youngest one is at present with our father in the land of Canaan.' 33 Then the man who is lord of the country said to us: 'This is how I shall know if you are honest men: leave one of your brothers with me, while the rest of you go home with rations for your starving families. 34When you come back to me with your youngest brother, and I know that you are honest men and not spies, I will restore your brother to you, and you may move about freely in the land.'" 35 When they were emptying their sacks, there in each one's sack was his moneybag! At the sight of their moneybags, they and their father were dismayed.36 Their father Jacob said to them: "Must you make me childless? Joseph is gone, and Simeon is gone, and now you would take away Benjamin! Why must such things always happen to me?" 37 Then Reuben told his father: "Put him in my care, and I will bring him back to you. You may kill my own two sons if I do not return him to you." 38 But Jacob replied: "My son shall not go down with you. Now that his full brother is dead, he is the only one left. If some disaster should befall him on the journey you must make, you would send my white head down to the nether world in grief." Genesis Chapter 43 1 Now the famine in the land grew more severe. 2 So when they had used up all the rations they had brought from Egypt, their father said to them, "Go back and procure us a little more food." 3 But Judah replied: "The man strictly warned us, 'You shall not appear in my presence unless your brother is with you.' 4 If you are willing to let our brother go with us, we will go down to procure food for you. 5 But if you are not willing, we will not go down, because the man told us, 'You shall not appear in my presence unless your brother is with you.'" 6 Israel demanded, "Why did you bring this trouble on me by telling the man that you had another brother?" 7 They answered: "The man kept asking about ourselves and our family: 'Is your father still living? Do you have another brother?' We had to answer his questions. How could we know that he would say, 'Bring your brother down here'?" 8 Then Judah urged his father Israel: "Let the boy go with me, that we may be off and, on our way, if you and we and our children are to keep from starving to death. 9 I myself will stand surety for him. You can hold me responsible for him. If I fail to bring him back, to set him in your presence, you can hold it against me forever. 10 Had we not dilly-dallied, we could have been there and back twice by now!"11 Their father Israel then told them: "If it must be so, then do this: Put some of the land's best products in your baggage and take them down to the man as gifts: some balm and honey, gum and resin, and pistachios and almonds. 12 Also take extra money along, for you must return the amount that was put back in the mouths of your bags; it may have been a mistake. 13 Take your brother, too, and be off on your way back to the man. 14 May God Almighty dispose the man to be merciful toward you, so that he may let your other brother go, as well as Benjamin. As for me, if I am to suffer bereavement, I shall suffer it." 15 So the men got the gifts, took double the amount of money with them, and, accompanied by Benjamin, were off on their way down to Egypt to present themselves to Joseph. 16 When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he told his head steward, "Take these men into the house, and have an animal slaughtered and prepared, for they are to dine with me at noon." 17 Doing as Joseph had ordered, the steward conducted the men to Joseph's house.

amin. As for me, if I am to suffer bereavement, I shall suffer it." 15 So the men got the gifts, took double the amount of money with them, and, accompanied by Benjamin, were off on their way down to Egypt to present themselves to Joseph. 16 When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he told his head steward, "Take these men into the house, and have an animal slaughtered and prepared, for they are to dine with me at noon." 17 Doing as Joseph had ordered, the steward conducted the men to Joseph's house. 18 But on being led to his house, they became apprehensive. "It must be," they thought, "on account of the money put back in our bags the first time, that we are taken inside; they want to use it as a pretext to attack us and take our donkeys and seize us as slaves." 19 So they went up to Joseph's head steward and talked to him at the entrance of the house. 20 "If you please, sir," they said, "we came down here once before to procure food. 21 But when we

51 arrived at a night's encampment and opened our bags, there was each man's money in the mouth of his bag - our money in the full amount! We have now brought it back. 22 We have brought other money to procure food with. We do not know who put the first money in our bags." 23 "Be at ease," he replied; "you have no need to fear. Your God and the God of your father must have put treasures in your bags for you. As for your money, I received it." With that, he led Simeon out to them. 24 The steward then brought the men inside Joseph's house. He gave them water to bathe their feet and got fodder for their donkeys. 25 Then they set out their gifts to await Joseph's arrival at noon, for they had heard that they were to dine there. 26 When Joseph came home, they presented him with the gifts they had brought inside, while they bowed down before him to the ground. 27 After inquiring how they were, he asked them, "And how is your aged father, of whom you spoke? Is he still in good health?" 28 "Your servant our father is thriving and still in good health," they said, as they bowed respectfully. 29 When Joseph's eye fell on his full brother Benjamin, he asked, "Is this your youngest brother, of whom you told me?" Then he said to him, "May God be gracious to you, my boy!" 30 With that, Joseph had to hurry out, for he was so overcome with affection for his brother that he was on the verge of tears. He went into a private room and wept there. 31 After washing his face, he reappeared and, now in control of himself, gave the order, "Serve the meal." 32 It was served separately to him, to the brothers, and to the Egyptians who partook of his board. (Egyptians may not eat with Hebrews; that is abhorrent to them.) 33 When they were seated by his directions according to their age, from the oldest to the youngest, they looked at one another in amazement; 34 and as portions were brought to them from Joseph's table, Benjamin's portion was five times as large as anyone else's. So, they drank freely and made merry with him. Genesis Chapter 44 1 Then Joseph gave his head steward these instructions: "Fill the men's bags with as much food as they can carry and put each man's money in the mouth of his bag. 2 In the mouth of the youngest one's bag put also my silver goblet, together with the money for his rations." The steward carried out Joseph's instructions. 3 At daybreak the men and their donkeys were sent off. 4 They had not gone far out of the city when Joseph said to his head steward: "Go at once after the men! When you overtake them, say to them, 'Why did you repay good with evil? Why did you steal the silver goblet from me? 5 It is the very one from which my master drinks and which he uses for divination. What you have done is wrong.'" 6 When the steward overtook them and repeated these words to them, 7 they remonstrated with him: "How can my lord say such things? Far be it from your servants to do such a thing! 8 We even brought back to you from the land of Canaan the money that we found in the mouths of our bags. Why, then, would we steal silver or gold from your master's house? 9 If any of your servants is found to have the goblet, he shall die, and as for the rest of us, we shall become my lord's slaves." 10 But he replied, "Even though it ought to be as you propose, only the one who is found to have it shall become my slave, and the rest of you shall be exonerated." 11 Then each of them eagerly lowered his bag to the ground and opened it; 12 and when a search was made, starting with the oldest and ending with the youngest, the goblet turned up in Benjamin's bag. 13 At this, they tore their clothes. Then, when each man had reloaded his donkey, they returned to the city. 14 As Judah and his brothers reentered Joseph's house, he was still there; so they flung themselves on the ground before him. 15 "How could you do such a thing?" Joseph asked them.

onerated." 11 Then each of them eagerly lowered his bag to the ground and opened it; 12 and when a search was made, starting with the oldest and ending with the youngest, the goblet turned up in Benjamin's bag. 13 At this, they tore their clothes. Then, when each man had reloaded his donkey, they returned to the city. 14 As Judah and his brothers reentered Joseph's house, he was still there; so they flung themselves on the ground before him. 15 "How could you do such a thing?" Joseph asked them. "You should have known that such a man as I could discover by divination what happened." 16 Judah replied: "What can we say to my lord? How can we plead or how try to prove our innocence? God has uncovered your servants' guilt. Here we are, then, the slaves of my lord - the rest of us no less than the one in whose possession the goblet was found." 17 "Far be it from me to act thus!" said Joseph. "Only the one in whose possession the goblet was found shall become my slave; the rest of you may go back safe and sound to your father." 18 Judah then stepped up to

52 him and said: "I beg you, my lord, let your servant speak earnestly to my lord, and do not become angry with your servant, for you are the equal of Pharaoh. 19 My lord asked your servants, 'Have you a father, or another brother?' 20 So we said to my lord, 'We have an aged father, and a young brother, the child of his old age. This one's full brother is dead, and since he is the only one by that mother who is left, his father dotes on him.' 21 Then you told your servants, 'Bring him down to me that my eyes may look on him.' 22 We replied to my lord, 'The boy cannot leave his father; his father would die if he were to leave him.' 23 But you told your servants, 'Unless your youngest brother comes back with you, you shall not come into my presence again.' 24 When we returned to your servant our father, we reported to him the words of my lord. 25 "Later, our father told us to come back and buy some food for the family. 26 So we reminded him, 'We cannot go down there; only if our youngest brother is with us can we go, for we may not see the man if our youngest brother is not with us.' 27 Then your servant our father said to us, 'As you know, my wife bore me two sons. 28 One of them, however, disappeared, and I had to conclude that he must have been torn to pieces by wild beasts; I have not seen him since. 29 If you now take this one away from me too, and some disaster befalls him, you will send my white head down to the nether world in grief.' 30 "If then the boy is not with us when I go back to your servant my father, whose very life is bound up with his, he will die as soon as he sees that the boy is missing; 31 and your servants will thus send the white head of our father down to the nether world in grief. 32 Besides, I, your servant, got the boy from his father by going surety for him, saying, 'If I fail to bring him back to you, father, you can hold it against me forever.' 33 Let me, your servant, therefore, remain in place of the boy as the slave of my lord, and let the boy go back with his brothers. 34 How could I go back to my father if the boy were not with me? I could not bear to see the anguish that would overcome my father." Genesis Chapter 45 1 Joseph could no longer control himself in the presence of all his attendants, so he cried out, "Have everyone withdraw from me!" Thus no one else was about when he made himself known to his brothers. 2 But his sobs were so loud that the Egyptians heard him, and so the news reached Pharaoh's palace. 3 "I am Joseph," he said to his brothers. "Is my father still in good health?" But his brothers could give him no answer, so dumbfounded were they at him. 4 "Come closer to me," he told his brothers. When they had done so, he said: "I am your brother Joseph, whom you once sold into Egypt. 5 But now do not be distressed, and do not reproach yourselves for having sold me here. It was really for the sake of saving lives that God sent me here ahead of you. 6 For two years now the famine has been in the land, and for five more years tillage will yield no harvest. 7 God, therefore, sent me on ahead of you to ensure for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives in an extraordinary deliverance. 8 So it was not really you but God who had me come here; and he has made of me a father to Pharaoh, lord of all his household, and ruler over the whole land of Egypt. 9 "Hurry back, then, to my father and tell him: 'Thus says your son Joseph: God has made me lord of all Egypt; come to me without delay. 10 You will settle in the region of Goshen, where you will be near me - you and your children and grandchildren, your flocks and herds, and everything that you own. 11 Since five years of famine still lie ahead, I will provide for you there, so that you and your family and all that are yours may not suffer want.' 12 Surely, you can see for yourselves, and Benjamin can see for himself, that it is I, Joseph, who am speaking to you.

seph: God has made me lord of all Egypt; come to me without delay. 10 You will settle in the region of Goshen, where you will be near me - you and your children and grandchildren, your flocks and herds, and everything that you own. 11 Since five years of famine still lie ahead, I will provide for you there, so that you and your family and all that are yours may not suffer want.' 12 Surely, you can see for yourselves, and Benjamin can see for himself, that it is I, Joseph, who am speaking to you. 13 Tell my father all about my high position in Egypt and what you have seen. But hurry and bring my father down here." 14 Thereupon he flung himself on the neck of his brother Benjamin and wept, and Benjamin wept in his arms. 15 Joseph then kissed all his brothers, crying over each of them; and only then were his brothers able to talk with him. 16 When the news reached Pharaoh's palace that Joseph's brothers had come, Pharaoh and his courtiers were pleased. 17 So Pharaoh told Joseph: "Say to your brothers: 'This is what you shall do: Load up your animals and go without

53 delay to the land of Canaan. 18 There get your father and your families, and then come back here to me; I will assign you the best land in Egypt, where you will live off the fat of the land.' 19 Instruct them further: 'Do this. Take wagons from the land of Egypt for your children and your wives and to transport your father on your way back here. 20 Do not be concerned about your belongings, for the best in the whole land of Egypt shall be yours.'" 21 The sons of Israel acted accordingly. Joseph gave them the wagons, as Pharaoh had ordered, and he supplied them with provisions for the journey. 22 He also gave to each of them fresh clothing, but to Benjamin he gave three hundred shekels of silver and five sets of garments. 23 Moreover, what he sent to his father was ten jackasses loaded with the finest products of Egypt and ten jennies loaded with grain and bread and other provisions for his journey. 24 As he sent his brothers on their way, he told them, "Let there be no recriminations on the way." 25 So they left Egypt and made their way to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan. 26 When they told him, "Joseph is still alive - in fact, it is he who is ruler of all the land of Egypt," he was dumbfounded; he could not believe them. 27 But when they recounted to him all that Joseph had told them, and when he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent for his transport, the spirit of their father Jacob revived. 28 "It is enough," said Israel. "My son Joseph is still alive! I must go and see him before I die." Genesis Chapter 46 1 Israel set out with all that was his. When he arrived at Beer-sheba, he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. 2 Their God, speaking to Israel in a vision by night, called, "Jacob! Jacob!" "Here I am," he answered. 3 Then he said: "I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for there I will make you a great nation. 4 Not only will I go down to Egypt with you; I will also bring you back here, after Joseph has closed your eyes." 5 So Jacob departed from Beer-sheba, and the sons of Israel put their father and their wives and children on the wagons that Pharaoh had sent for his transport. 6 They took with them their livestock and the possessions they had acquired in the land of Canaan. Thus, Jacob and all his descendants migrated to Egypt. 7 His sons and his grandsons, his daughters and his granddaughters - all his descendants - he took with him to Egypt. 8 These are the names of the Israelites, Jacob and his descendants, who migrated to Egypt. Reuben, Jacob's first-born, 9 and the sons of Reuben: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi. 10 The sons of Simeon: Nemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul, son of a Canaanite woman. 11 The sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. 12 The sons of Judah: Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah - but Er and Onan had died in the land of Canaan; and the sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul. 13 The sons of Issachar: Tola, Puah, Jashub, and Shimron. 14 The sons of Zebulun: Sered, Elon, and Jahleel. 15 These were the sons whom Leah bore to Jacob in Paddan-aram, along with his daughter Dinah - thirty-three persons in all, male and female. 16 The sons of Gad: Zephon, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arod, and Areli. 17 The sons of Asher: Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, and Beriah, with their sister Serah; and the sons of Beriah: Heber and Malchiel. 18 These were the descendants of Zilpah, whom Laban had given to his daughter Leah; these she bore to Jacob - sixteen persons in all. 19 The sons of Jacob's wife Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin. 20 In the land of Egypt Joseph became the father of Manasseh and Ephraim, whom Asenath, daughter of Potiphera, priest of Heliopolis, bore to him. 21 The sons of Benjamin: Bela, Becher, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ahiram, Shupham, Hupham, and Ard. 22 These were the sons whom Rachel bore to Jacob - fourteen persons in all. 23 The sons of Dan: Hushim. 24 The sons of Naphtali: Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem.

ore to Jacob - sixteen persons in all. 19 The sons of Jacob's wife Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin. 20 In the land of Egypt Joseph became the father of Manasseh and Ephraim, whom Asenath, daughter of Potiphera, priest of Heliopolis, bore to him. 21 The sons of Benjamin: Bela, Becher, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ahiram, Shupham, Hupham, and Ard. 22 These were the sons whom Rachel bore to Jacob - fourteen persons in all. 23 The sons of Dan: Hushim. 24 The sons of Naphtali: Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem. 25 These were the sons of Bilhah, whom Laban had given to his daughter Rachel; these she bore to Jacob - seven persons in all. 26 Jacob's people who migrated to Egypt - his direct descendants, not counting the wives of Jacob's sons - numbered sixty-six persons in all. 27 Together with Joseph's sons who were born to him in Egypt - two persons - all the people comprising Jacob's family who had come to Egypt amounted to seventy persons in all. 28 Israel

54 had sent Judah ahead to Joseph, so that he might meet him in Goshen. On his arrival in the region of Goshen, 29 Joseph hitched the horses to his chariot and rode to meet his father Israel in Goshen. As soon as he saw him, he flung himself on his neck and wept a long time in his arms. 30 And Israel said to Joseph, "At last I can die, now that I have seen for myself that Joseph is still alive." 31 Joseph then said to his brothers and his father's household: "I will go and inform Pharaoh, telling him: 'My brothers and my father's household, whose home is in the land of Canaan, have come to me. 32 The men are shepherds, having long been keepers of livestock; and they have brought with them their flocks and herds, as well as everything else they own.' 33 So when Pharaoh summons you and asks what your occupation is, 34 you must answer, 'We your servants, like our ancestors, have been keepers of livestock from the beginning until now,' in order that you may stay in the region of Goshen, since all shepherds are abhorrent to the Egyptians." Genesis Chapter 47 1 Joseph went and told Pharaoh, "My father and my brothers have come from the land of Canaan, with their flocks and herds and everything else they own; and they are now in the region of Goshen." 2 He then presented to Pharaoh five of his brothers whom he had selected from their full number. 3 When Pharaoh asked them what their occupation was, they answered, "We, your servants, like our ancestors, are shepherds. 4 We have come," they continued, "in order to stay in this country, for there is no pasture for your servants' flocks in the land of Canaan, so severe has the famine been there. Please, therefore, let your servants settle in the region of Goshen." 5 Pharaoh said to Joseph, "They may settle in the region of Goshen; and if you know any of them to be qualified, you may put them in charge of my own livestock." Thus, when Jacob and his sons came to Joseph in Egypt, and Pharaoh, king of Egypt, heard about it, Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Now that your father and brothers have come to you, 6 the land of Egypt is at your disposal; settle your father and brothers in the pick of the land." 7 Then Joseph brought his father Jacob and presented him to Pharaoh. After Jacob had paid his respects to Pharaoh, 8 Pharaoh asked him, "How many years have you lived?" 9 Jacob replied: "The years I have lived as a wayfarer amount to a hundred and thirty. Few and hard have been these years of my life, and they do not compare with the years that my ancestors lived as wayfarers." 10 Then Jacob bade Pharaoh farewell and withdrew from his presence. 11 As Pharaoh had ordered, Joseph settled his father and brothers and gave them holdings in Egypt on the pick of the land, in the region of Rameses. 12 And Joseph sustained his father and brothers and his father's whole household, down to the youngest, with food. 13 Since there was no food in any country because of the extreme severity of the famine, and the lands of Egypt and Canaan were languishing from hunger, 14 Joseph gathered in, as payment for the rations that were being dispensed, all the money that was to be found in Egypt and Canaan, and he put it in Pharaoh's palace. 15 When all the money in Egypt and Canaan was spent, all the Egyptians came to Joseph, pleading, "Give us food or we shall perish under your eyes; for our money is gone." 16 "Since your money is gone," replied Joseph, "give me your livestock, and I will sell you bread in return for your livestock." 17 So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and he sold them food in return for their horses, their flocks of sheep and herds of cattle, and their donkeys. Thus he got them through that year with bread in exchange for all their livestock.

n was spent, all the Egyptians came to Joseph, pleading, "Give us food or we shall perish under your eyes; for our money is gone." 16 "Since your money is gone," replied Joseph, "give me your livestock, and I will sell you bread in return for your livestock." 17 So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and he sold them food in return for their horses, their flocks of sheep and herds of cattle, and their donkeys. Thus he got them through that year with bread in exchange for all their livestock. 18 When that year ended, they came to him in the following one and said: "We cannot hide from my lord that, with our money spent and our livestock made over to my lord, there is nothing left to put at my lord's disposal except our bodies and our farm land. 19 Why should we and our land perish before your very eyes? Take us and our land in exchange for food, and we will become Pharaoh's slaves and our land his property; only give us seed, that we may survive and not perish, and that

55 our land may not turn into a waste." 20 Thus Joseph acquired all the farm land of Egypt for Pharaoh, since with the famine too much for them to bear, every Egyptian sold his field; so the land passed over to Pharaoh, 21 and the people were reduced to slavery, from one end of Egypt's territory to the other. 22 Only the priests' lands Joseph did not take over. Since the priests had a fixed allowance from Pharaoh and lived off the allowance Pharaoh had granted them, they did not have to sell their land. 23 Joseph told the people: "Now that I have acquired you and your land for Pharaoh, here is your seed for sowing the land. 24 But when the harvest is in, you must give a fifth of it to Pharaoh, while you keep four-fifths as seed for your fields and as food for yourselves and your families (and as food for your children)." 25 "You have saved our lives!" they answered. "We are grateful to my lord that we can be Pharaoh's slaves." 26 Thus Joseph made it a law for the land in Egypt, which is still in force, that a fifth of its produce should go to Pharaoh. Only the land of the priests did not pass over to Pharaoh. 27 Thus Israel settled in the land of Egypt, in the region of Goshen. There they acquired property, were fertile, and increased greatly. 28 Jacob lived in the land of Egypt for seventeen years; the span of his life came to a hundred and forty-seven years. 29 When the time approached for Israel to die, he called his son Joseph and said to him: "If you really wish to please me, put your hand under my thigh as a sign of your constant loyalty to me; do not let me be buried in Egypt. 30 When I lie down with my ancestors, have me taken out of Egypt and buried in their burial place." 31 "I will do as you say," he replied. But his father demanded, "Swear it to me!" So, Joseph swore to him. Then Israel bowed at the head of the bed. Genesis Chapter 48 1 Sometime afterward, Joseph was informed, "Your father is failing." So he took along with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. 2 When Jacob was told, "Your son Joseph has come to you," he rallied his strength and sat up in bed. 3 Jacob then said to Joseph: "God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessing me, 4 he said, 'I will make you fertile and numerous and raise you into an assembly of tribes, and I will give this land to your descendants after you as a permanent possession.' 5 Your two sons, therefore, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I joined you here, shall be mine; Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine as much as Reuben and Simeon are mine. 6 Progeny born to you after them shall remain yours; but their heritage shall be recorded in the names of their two brothers. 7 I do this because, when I was returning from Paddan, your mother Rachel died, to my sorrow, during the journey in Canaan, while we were still a short distance from Ephrath; and I buried her there on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem)." 8 When Israel saw Joseph's sons, he asked, "Who are these?" 9 "They are my sons," Joseph answered his father, "whom God has given me here." "Bring them to me," said his father, "that I may bless them." 10 (Now Israel's eyes were dim from age, and he could not see well.) When Joseph brought his sons close to him, he kissed and embraced them. 11 Then Israel said to Joseph, "I never expected to see your face again, and now God has allowed me to see your descendants as well!" 12 Joseph removed them from his father's knees and bowed down before him with his face to the ground. 13 Then Joseph took the two, Ephraim with his right hand, to Israel's left, and Manasseh with his left hand, to Israel's right, and led them to him. 14 But Israel, crossing his hands, put out his right hand and laid it on the head of Ephraim, although he was the younger, and his left hand on the head of Manasseh, although he was the first-born.

od has allowed me to see your descendants as well!" 12 Joseph removed them from his father's knees and bowed down before him with his face to the ground. 13 Then Joseph took the two, Ephraim with his right hand, to Israel's left, and Manasseh with his left hand, to Israel's right, and led them to him. 14 But Israel, crossing his hands, put out his right hand and laid it on the head of Ephraim, although he was the younger, and his left hand on the head of Manasseh, although he was the first-born. 15 Then he blessed them with these words: "May the God in whose ways my father’s Abraham and Isaac walked, The God who has been my shepherd from my birth to this day, 16 The Angel who has delivered me from all harm, bless these boys That in them my name be recalled, and the names of my fathers, Abraham and Isaac, And they may become teeming multitudes upon the earth!" 17 When Joseph

56 saw that his father had laid his right hand on Ephraim's head, this seemed wrong to him; so, he took hold of his father's hand, to remove it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's, 18 saying, "That is not right, father; the other one is the first-born; lay your right hand on his head!" 19 But his father resisted. "I know it, son," he said, "I know. That one too shall become a tribe, and he too shall be great. Nevertheless, his younger brother shall surpass him, and his descendants shall become a multitude of nations." 20 So when he blessed them that day and said, "By you shall the people of Israel pronounce blessings; may they say, 'God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh,'" he placed Ephraim before Manasseh. 21 Then Israel said to Joseph: "I am about to die. But God will be with you and will restore you to the land of your fathers. 22 As for me, I give to you, as to the one above his brothers, Shechem, which I captured from the Amorites with my sword and bow." Genesis Chapter 49 1 Jacob called his sons and said: "Gather around, that I may tell you what is to happen to you in days to come. 2 "Assemble and listen, sons of Jacob, listen to Israel, your father. 3 "You, Reuben, my first-born, my strength and the first fruit of my manhood, excelling in rank and excelling in power! 4 Unruly as water, you shall no longer excel, for you climbed into your father's bed and defiled my couch to my sorrow. 5 "Simeon and Levi, brothers indeed, weapons of violence are their knives. 6 Let not my soul enter their council, or my spirit be joined with their company; For in their fury they slew men, in their willfulness they maimed oxen. 7 Cursed be their fury so fierce, and their rage so cruel! I will scatter them in Jacob, disperse them throughout Israel. 8 "You, Judah, shall your brothers praise - your hand on the neck of your enemies; the sons of your father shall bow down to you. 9 Judah, like a lion's whelp, you have grown up on prey, my son. He crouches like a lion recumbent, the king of beasts - who would dare rouse him? 10 The scepter shall never depart from Judah, or the mace from between his legs, while tribute is brought to him, and he receives the people's homage. 11 He tethers his donkey to the vine, his purebred ass to the choicest stem. In wine he washes his garments his robe in the blood of grapes. 12 His eyes are darker than wine, and his teeth are whiter than milk. 13 "Zebulun shall dwell by the seashore (This means a shore for ships), and his flank shall be based on Sidon. 14 "Issachar is a rawboned ass, crouching between the saddlebags. 15 When he saw how good a settled life was, and how pleasant the country, He bent his shoulder to the burden and became a toiling serf. 16 "Dan shall achieve justice for his kindred like any other tribe of Israel. 17 Let Dan be a serpent by the roadside, a horned viper by the path, that bites the horse's heel, so that the rider tumbles backward. 18 "(I long for your deliverance, O LORD!) 19 "Gad shall be raided by raiders, but he shall raid at their heels. 20 "Asher's produce is rich, and he shall furnish dainties for kings. 21 "Naphtali is a hind let loose which brings forth lovely fawns. 22 "Joseph is a wild colt, a wild colt by a spring, a wild ass on a hillside. 23 Harrying and attacking, the archers opposed him; 24 But each one's bow remained stiff, as their arms were unsteady, By the power of the Mighty One of Jacob, because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel, 25 The God of your father, who helps you, God Almighty, who blesses you, With the blessings of the heavens above, the blessings of the abyss that crouches below, The blessings of breasts and womb, 26 the blessings of fresh grain and blossoms, The blessings of the everlasting mountains, the delights of the eternal hills. May they rest on the head of Joseph, on the brow of the prince among his brothers.

unsteady, By the power of the Mighty One of Jacob, because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel, 25 The God of your father, who helps you, God Almighty, who blesses you, With the blessings of the heavens above, the blessings of the abyss that crouches below, The blessings of breasts and womb, 26 the blessings of fresh grain and blossoms, The blessings of the everlasting mountains, the delights of the eternal hills. May they rest on the head of Joseph, on the brow of the prince among his brothers. 27 "Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; mornings he devours the prey, and evenings he distributes the spoils." 28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said about them, as he bade them farewell and gave to each of them an appropriate message. 29 Then he gave them this charge: "Since I am about to be taken to my kindred, bury me with my fathers in the cave that lies in the field of Ephron the Hittite, 30 the cave in the field of Machpelah, facing on Mamre, in the land of Canaan, the field that Abraham bought from Ephron the Hittite

57 for a burial ground. 31 There Abraham and his wife Sarah are buried, and so are Isaac and his wife Rebekah, and there, too, I buried Leah - 32 the field and the cave in it that had been purchased from the Hittites." 33 When Jacob had finished giving these instructions to his sons, he drew his feet into the bed, breathed his last, and was taken to his kindred. Genesis Chapter 50 1 Joseph threw himself on his father's face and wept over him as he kissed him. 2 Then he ordered the physicians in his service to embalm his father. When they embalmed Israel, 3 they spent forty days at it, for that is the full period of embalming; and the Egyptians mourned him for seventy days. 4 When that period of mourning was over, Joseph spoke to Pharaoh's courtiers. "Please do me this favor," he said, "and convey to Pharaoh this request of mine. 5 Since my father, at the point of death, made me promise on oath to bury him in the tomb that he had prepared for himself in the land of Canaan, may I go up there to bury my father and then come back?" 6 Pharaoh replied, "Go and bury your father, as he made you promise on oath." 7 So Joseph left to bury his father; and with him went all of Pharaoh's officials who were senior members of his court and all the other dignitaries of Egypt, 8 as well as Joseph's whole household, his brothers, and his father's household; only their children and their flocks and herds were left in the region of Goshen. 9 Chariots, too, and charioteers went up with him; it was a very large retinue. 10 When they arrived at Goren-ha-atad, which is beyond the Jordan, they held there a very great and solemn memorial service; and Joseph observed seven days of mourning for his father. 11 When the Canaanites who inhabited the land saw the mourning at Goren-ha-atad, they said, "This is a solemn funeral the Egyptians are having." That is why the place was named Abel-mizraim. It is beyond the Jordan. 12 Thus Jacob's sons did for him as he had instructed them. 13 They carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave in the field of Machpelah, facing on Mamre, the field that Abraham had bought for a burial ground from Ephron the Hittite. 14 After Joseph had buried his father he returned to Egypt, together with his brothers and all who had gone up with him for the burial of his father. 15 Now that their father was dead, Joseph's brothers became fearful and thought, "Suppose Joseph has been nursing a grudge against us and now plans to pay us back in full for all the wrong we did him!" 16 So they approached Joseph and said: "Before your father died, he gave us these instructions: 17 'You shall say to Joseph, Jacob begs you to forgive the criminal wrongdoing of your brothers, who treated you so cruelly.' Please, therefore, forgive the crime that we, the servants of your father's God, committed." When they spoke these words to him, Joseph broke into tears. 18 Then his brothers proceeded to fling themselves down before him and said, "Let us be your slaves!" 19 But Joseph replied to them: "Have no fear. Can I take the place of God? 20 Even though you meant harm to me, God meant it for good, to achieve his present end, the survival of many people. 21 Therefore have no fear. I will provide for you and for your children." By thus speaking kindly to them, he reassured them. 22 Joseph remained in Egypt, together with his father's family. He lived a hundred and ten years. 23 He saw Ephraim's children to the third generation, and the children of Manasseh's son Machir were also born on Joseph's knees. 24 Joseph said to his brothers: "I am about to die. God will surely take care of you and lead you out of this land to the land that he promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob." 25 Then, putting the sons of Israel under oath, he continued, "When God thus takes care of you, you must bring my bones up with you from this place." 26 Joseph died at the age of a hundred and ten.

Ephraim's children to the third generation, and the children of Manasseh's son Machir were also born on Joseph's knees. 24 Joseph said to his brothers: "I am about to die. God will surely take care of you and lead you out of this land to the land that he promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob." 25 Then, putting the sons of Israel under oath, he continued, "When God thus takes care of you, you must bring my bones up with you from this place." 26 Joseph died at the age of a hundred and ten. He was embalmed and laid to rest in a coffin in Egypt. Exodus Exodus Chapter 1

58 1 These are the names of the sons of Israel who, accompanied by their households, migrated with Jacob into Egypt: 2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah; 3 Issachar, Zebulun and Benjamin; 4 Dan and Naphtali; Gad and Asher. 5 The total number of the direct descendants of Jacob was seventy. Joseph was already in Egypt. 6 Now Joseph and all his brothers and that whole generation died. 7 But the Israelites were fruitful and prolific. They became so numerous and strong that the land was filled with them. 8 Then a new king, who knew nothing of Joseph 4 , came to power in Egypt. 9 He said to his subjects, "Look how numerous and powerful the Israelite people are growing, more so than we ourselves! 10 Come, let us deal shrewdly with them to stop their increase; otherwise, in time of war they too may join our enemies to fight against us, and so leave our country." 11 Accordingly, taskmasters were set over the Israelites to oppress them with forced labor. Thus they had to build for Pharaoh the supply cities of Pithom and Raamses. 12 Yet the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread. The Egyptians, then, dreaded the Israelites 13 and reduced them to cruel slavery, 14 making life bitter for them with hard work in mortar and brick and all kinds of field work - the whole cruel fate of slaves. 15 The king of Egypt told the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was called Shiphrah and the other Puah, 16 When you act as midwives for the Hebrew women and see them giving birth, if it is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, she may live." 17 The midwives, however, feared God; they did not do as the king of Egypt had ordered them, but let the boys live. 18 So the king summoned the midwives and asked them, "Why have you acted thus, allowing the boys to live?" 19 The midwives answered Pharaoh, "The Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women. They are robust and give birth before the midwife arrives." 20 Therefore God dealt well with the midwives. The people, too, increased and grew strong. 21 And because the midwives feared God, he built up families for them. 22 Pharaoh then commanded all his subjects, "Throw into the river every boy that is born to the Hebrews, but you may let all the girls live." Exodus Chapter 2 1 Now a certain man of the house of Levi married a Levite woman, 2 who conceived and bore a son. Seeing that he was a goodly child, she hid him for three months. 3 When she could hide him no longer, she took a papyrus basket, daubed it with bitumen and pitch, and putting the child in it, placed it among the reeds on the riverbank. 4 His sister stationed herself at a distance to find out what would happen to him. 5 Pharaoh's daughter came down to the river to bathe, while her maids walked along the riverbank. Noticing the basket among the reeds, she sent her handmaid to fetch it. 6 On opening it, she looked, and lo, there was a baby boy, crying! She was moved with pity for him and said, "It is one of the Hebrews' children." 7 Then his sister asked Pharaoh's daughter, "Shall I go and call one of the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?" 8 "Yes, do so," she answered. So, the maiden went and called the child's own mother. 9 Pharaoh's daughter said to her, "Take this child and nurse it for me, and I will repay you." The woman therefore took the child and nursed it. 10 When the child grew, she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter, who adopted him as her son and called him Moses; for she said, "I drew him out of the water." 11 On one occasion, after Moses had grown up, when he visited his kinsmen and witnessed their forced labor, he saw an Egyptian striking a Hebrew, one of his own kinsmen. 12 Looking about and seeing no one, he slew the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. 13 The next day he went out again, and now two Hebrews were fighting! So he asked the culprit, "Why are you striking your fellow Hebrew?" 14 But he replied, "Who has appointed you ruler and judge over us?

or she said, "I drew him out of the water." 11 On one occasion, after Moses had grown up, when he visited his kinsmen and witnessed their forced labor, he saw an Egyptian striking a Hebrew, one of his own kinsmen. 12 Looking about and seeing no one, he slew the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. 13 The next day he went out again, and now two Hebrews were fighting! So he asked the culprit, "Why are you striking your fellow Hebrew?" 14 But he replied, "Who has appointed you ruler and judge over us? Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian?" Then Moses became afraid and thought, "The affair must certainly be known." 15 Pharaoh, too, heard of the affair and sought to put him to death. But Moses fled from him and stayed in the land of Midian. As he was seated there by a well, 16 seven daughters of a priest of Midian came to draw water and fill the troughs to water their father's flock. 17 But some shepherds came and drove them away. Then Moses got up and defended them and watered their

59 flock. 18 When they returned to their father Reuel, he said to them, "How is it you have returned so soon today?" 19 They answered, "An Egyptian saved us from the interference of the shepherds. He even drew water for us and watered the flock!" 20 "Where is the man?" he asked his daughters. "Why did you leave him there? Invite him to have something to eat." 21 Moses agreed to live with him, and the man gave him his daughter Zipporah in marriage. 22 She bore him a son, whom he named Gershom; for he said, "I am a stranger in a foreign land." 23 A long time passed, during which the king of Egypt died. Still the Israelites groaned and cried out because of their slavery. As their cry for release went up to God, 24 he heard their groaning and was mindful of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. 25 He saw the Israelites and knew... Exodus Chapter 3 1 Meanwhile Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian. Leading the flock across the desert, he came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 There an angel of the LORD appeared to him in fire flaming out of a bush. As he looked on, he was surprised to see that the bush, though on fire, was not consumed. 3 So Moses decided, "I must go over to look at this remarkable sight and see why the bush is not burned." 4 When the LORD saw him coming over to look at it more closely, God called out to him from the bush, "Moses! Moses!" He answered, "Here I am." 5 God said, "Come no nearer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground. 6 I am the God of your father," he continued, "the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob." Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. 7 But the LORD said, "I have witnessed the affliction of my people in Egypt and have heard their cry of complaint against their slave drivers, so I know well what they are suffering. 8 Therefore I have come down to rescue them from the hands of the Egyptians and lead them out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey, the country of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. 9 So indeed the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have truly noted that the Egyptians are oppressing them. 10 Come, now! I will send you to Pharaoh to lead my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt." 11 But Moses said to God, "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and lead the Israelites out of Egypt?" 12 He answered, "I will be with you; and this shall be your proof that it is I who have sent you: when you bring my people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this very mountain." 13 "But," said Moses to God, "when I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' if they ask me, 'What is his name?' what am I to tell them?" 14 God replied, "I am who am." Then he added, "This is what you shall tell the Israelites: I AM sent me to you." 15 God spoke further to Moses, "Thus shall you say to the Israelites: The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. "This is my name forever; this is my title for all generations. 16 "Go and assemble the elders of the Israelites, and tell them: The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, has appeared to me and said: I am concerned about you and about the way you are being treated in Egypt; 17 so I have decided to lead you up out of the misery of Egypt into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites, a land flowing with milk and honey. 18 "Thus, they will heed your message. Then you and the elders of Israel shall go to the king of Egypt and say to him: The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has sent us word. Permit us, then, to go a three days' journey in the desert, that we may offer sacrifice to the LORD, our God.

you are being treated in Egypt; 17 so I have decided to lead you up out of the misery of Egypt into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites, a land flowing with milk and honey. 18 "Thus, they will heed your message. Then you and the elders of Israel shall go to the king of Egypt and say to him: The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has sent us word. Permit us, then, to go a three days' journey in the desert, that we may offer sacrifice to the LORD, our God. 19 "Yet I know that the king of Egypt will not allow you to go unless he is forced.20 I will stretch out my hand, therefore, and smite Egypt by doing all kinds of wondrous deeds there. After that he will send you away. 21 I will even make the Egyptians so well- disposed toward this people that, when you leave, you will not go empty-handed. 22 Every woman shall ask her neighbour and her house guest for silver and gold articles and for clothing to put on your sons and daughters. Thus, you will despoil the Egyptians."

60 Exodus Chapter 4 1 "But" objected Moses, "suppose they will not believe me, nor listen to my plea? For they may say, 'The LORD did not appear to you.'" 2 The LORD therefore asked him, "What is that in your hand?" "A staff," he answered. 3 The LORD then said, "Throw it on the ground." When he threw it on the ground it was changed into a serpent, and Moses shied away from it. 4 "Now, put out your hand," the LORD said to him, "and take hold of its tail." So he put out his hand and laid hold of it, and it became a staff in his hand. 5 "This will take place so that they may believe," he continued, "that the LORD, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, did appear to you." 6 Again the LORD said to him, "Put your hand in your bosom." He put it in his bosom, and when he withdrew it, to his surprise his hand was leprous, like snow. 7 The LORD then said, "Now, put your hand back in your bosom." Moses put his hand back in his bosom, and when he withdrew it, to his surprise it was again like the rest of his body. 8 "If they will not believe you, nor heed the message of the first sign, they should believe the message of the second. 9 And if they will not believe even these two signs, nor heed your plea, take some water from the river and pour it on the dry land. The water you take from the river will become blood on the dry land." 10 Moses, however, said to the LORD, "If you please, LORD, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past, nor recently, nor now that you have spoken to your servant; but I am slow of speech and tongue." 11 The LORD said to him, "Who gives one man speech and makes another deaf and dumb? Or who gives sight to one and makes another blind? Is it not I, the LORD? 12 Go, then! It is I who will assist you in speaking and will teach you what you are to say." 13 Yet he insisted, "If you please, Lord, send someone else!" 14 Then the LORD became angry with Moses and said, "Have you not your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know that he is an eloquent speaker. Besides, he is now on his way to meet you. 15 When he sees you, his heart will be glad. You are to speak to him, then, and put the words in his mouth. I will assist both you and him in speaking and will teach the two of you what you are to do. 16 He shall speak to the people for you: he shall be your spokesman, and you shall be as God to him. 17 Take this staff in your hand; with it you are to perform the signs." 18 After this Moses returned to his father-in-law Jethro and said to him, "Let me go back, please, to my kinsmen in Egypt, to see whether they are still living." Jethro replied, "Go in peace." 19 In Midian the LORD said to Moses, "Go back to Egypt, for all the men who sought your life are dead." 20 So Moses took his wife and his sons, and started back to the land of Egypt, with them riding the ass. The staff of God he carried with him. 21 The LORD said to him, "On your return to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders I have put in your power. I will make him obstinate, however, so that he will not let the people go. 22 So you shall say to Pharaoh: Thus says the LORD: Israel is my son, my first-born. 23 Hence I tell you: Let my son go, that he may serve me. If you refuse to let him go, I warn you, I will kill your son, your first-born." 24 On the journey, at a place where they spent the night, the Lord came upon Moses and would have killed him. 25 But Zipporah took a piece of flint and cut off her son's foreskin and, touching his person, she said, "You are a spouse of blood to me." 26 Then God let Moses go. At that time, she said, "A spouse of blood," in regard to the circumcision. 27 The LORD said to Aaron, "Go into the desert to meet Moses." So he went, and when they met at the mountain of God, Aaron kissed him. 28 Moses informed him of all the LORD had said in sending him, and of the various signs he had enjoined upon him.

lled him. 25 But Zipporah took a piece of flint and cut off her son's foreskin and, touching his person, she said, "You are a spouse of blood to me." 26 Then God let Moses go. At that time, she said, "A spouse of blood," in regard to the circumcision. 27 The LORD said to Aaron, "Go into the desert to meet Moses." So he went, and when they met at the mountain of God, Aaron kissed him. 28 Moses informed him of all the LORD had said in sending him, and of the various signs he had enjoined upon him. 29 Then Moses and Aaron went and assembled all the elders of the Israelites. 30 Aaron told them everything the LORD had said to Moses, and he performed the signs before the people. 31 The people believed, and when they heard that the LORD was concerned about them and had seen their affliction, they bowed down in worship. Exodus Chapter 5

61 1 After that, Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Let my people go, that they may celebrate a feast to me in the desert." 2 Pharaoh answered, "Who is the LORD, that I should heed his plea to let Israel go? I do not know the LORD; even if I did, I would not let Israel go." 3 They replied, "The God of the Hebrews has sent us word. Let us go a three days' journey in the desert, that we may offer sacrifice to the LORD, our God; otherwise he will punish us with pestilence or the sword." 4 The king of Egypt answered them, "What do you mean, Moses and Aaron, by taking the people away from their work? Off to your labor! 5 Look how numerous the people of the land are already," continued Pharaoh, "and yet you would give them rest from their labor!" 6 That very day Pharaoh gave the taskmasters and foremen of the people this order: 7 "You shall no longer supply the people with straw for their brickmaking as you have previously done. Let them go and gather straw themselves! 8 Yet you shall levy upon them the same quota of bricks as they have previously made. Do not reduce it. They are lazy; that is why they are crying, 'Let us go to offer sacrifice to our God.' 9 Increase the work for the men, so that they keep their mind on it and pay no attention to lying words." 10 So the taskmasters and foremen of the people went out and told them, "Thus says Pharaoh: I will not provide you with straw. 11 Go and gather the straw yourselves, wherever you can find it. Yet there must not be the slightest reduction in your work." 12 The people, then, scattered throughout the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw, 13 while the taskmasters kept driving them on, saying, "Finish your work, the same daily amount as when your straw was supplied." 14 The foremen of the Israelites, whom the taskmasters of Pharaoh had placed over them, were beaten, and were asked, "Why have you not completed your prescribed amount of bricks yesterday and today, as before?" 15 Then the Israelite foremen came and made this appeal to Pharaoh: "Why do you treat your servants in this manner? 16 No straw is supplied to your servants, and still we are told to make bricks. Look how your servants are beaten! It is you who are at fault." 17 Pharaoh answered, "It is just because you are lazy that you keep saying, 'Let us go and offer sacrifice to the LORD.' 18 Off to work, then! Straw shall not be provided for you, but you must still deliver your quota of bricks." 19 The Israelite foremen knew they were in a sorry plight, having been told not to reduce the daily amount of bricks. 20 When, therefore, they left Pharaoh and came upon Moses and Aaron, who were waiting to meet them, 21 they said to them, "The LORD look upon you and judge! You have brought us into bad odor with Pharaoh and his servants and have put a sword in their hands to slay us." 22 Moses again had recourse to the LORD and said, "Lord, why do you treat this people so badly? And why did you send me on such a mission? 23 Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has maltreated this people of yours, and you have done nothing to rescue them." Exodus Chapter 6 1 Then the LORD answered Moses, "Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh. Forced by my mighty hand, he will send them away; compelled by my outstretched arm, he will drive them from his land." 2 God also said to Moses, "I am the LORD. 3 As God the Almighty I appeared to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, but my name, LORD, I did not make known to them. 4 I also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they were living as aliens. 5 And now that I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are treating as slaves, I am mindful of my covenant. 6 Therefore, say to the Israelites: I am the LORD. I will free you from the forced labor of the Egyptians and will deliver you from their slavery.

Almighty I appeared to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, but my name, LORD, I did not make known to them. 4 I also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they were living as aliens. 5 And now that I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are treating as slaves, I am mindful of my covenant. 6 Therefore, say to the Israelites: I am the LORD. I will free you from the forced labor of the Egyptians and will deliver you from their slavery. I will rescue you by my outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. 7 I will take you as my own people, and you shall have me as your God. You will know that I, the LORD, am your God when I free you from the labor of the Egyptians 8 and bring you into the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. I will give it to you as your own possession - I, the LORD!" 9 But when Moses told this to the Israelites, they would not listen to him because of their dejection and hard slavery. 10 Then

62 the LORD said to Moses, 11 "Go and tell Pharaoh, king of Egypt, to let the Israelites leave his land."12 But Moses protested to the LORD, "If the Israelites would not listen to me, how can it be that Pharaoh will listen to me, poor speaker that I am!" 13 Still, the LORD, to bring the Israelites out of Egypt, spoke to Moses and Aaron and gave them his orders regarding both the Israelites and Pharaoh, king of Egypt. 14 These are the heads of the ancestral houses. The sons of Reuben, the first-born of Israel, were Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron and Carmi; these are the clans of Reuben. 15 The sons of Simeon were Jenuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar and Shaul, who was the son of a Canaanite woman; these are the clans of Simeon. 16 The names of the sons of Levi, in their genealogical order, are Gershon, Kohath and Merari. Levi lived one hundred and thirty-seven years. 17 The sons of Gershon, as heads of clans, were Libni and Shimei. 18 The sons of Kohath were Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel. Kohath lived one hundred and thirty-three years. 19 The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi. These are the clans of Levi in their genealogical order. 20 Amram married his aunt Jochebed, who bore him Aaron, Moses and Miriam. Amram lived one hundred and thirty-seven years. 21 The sons of Izhar were Korah, Nepheg and Zichri. 22 The sons of Uzziel were Mishael, Elzaphan and Sithri. 23 Aaron married Amminadab's daughter, Elisheba, the sister of Nahshon; she bore him Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. 24 The sons of Korah were Assir, Elkanah and Abiasaph. These are the clans of the Korahites. 25 Aaron's son, Eleazar, married one of Putiel's daughters, who bore him Phinehas. These are the heads of the ancestral clans of the Levites. 26 This is the Aaron and this the Moses to whom the LORD said, "Lead the Israelites from the land of Egypt, company by company." 27 These are the ones who spoke to Pharaoh, king of Egypt, to bring the Israelites out of Egypt - the same Moses and Aaron. 28 On the day the LORD spoke to Moses in Egypt 29 he said, "I am the LORD. Repeat to Pharaoh, king of Egypt, all that I tell you." 30 But Moses protested to the LORD, "Since I am a poor speaker, how can it be that Pharaoh will listen to me?" Exodus Chapter 7 1 The LORD answered him, "See! I have made you as God to Pharaoh, and Aaron your brother shall act as your prophet. 2 You shall tell him all that I command you. In turn, your brother Aaron shall tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites leave his land. 3 Yet I will make Pharaoh so obstinate that, despite the many signs and wonders that I will work in the land of Egypt, 4 he will not listen to you. Therefore I will lay my hand on Egypt and by great acts of judgment I will bring the hosts of my people, the Israelites, out of the land of Egypt, 5 so that the Egyptians may learn that I am the LORD, as I stretch out my hand against Egypt and lead the Israelites out of their midst." 6 Moses and Aaron did as the LORD had commanded them. 7 Moses was eighty years old and Aaron eighty- three when they spoke to Pharaoh. 8 The LORD told Moses and Aaron, 9 "If Pharaoh demands that you work a sign or wonder, you shall say to Aaron: Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh, and it will be changed into a snake." 10 Then Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did as the LORD had commanded. Aaron threw his staff down before Pharaoh and his servants, and it was changed into a snake. 11 Pharaoh, in turn, summoned wise men and sorcerers, and they also, the magicians of Egypt, did likewise by their magic arts. 12 Each one threw down his staff, and it was changed into a snake. But Aaron's staff swallowed their staffs. 13 Pharaoh, however, was obstinate and would not listen to them, just as the LORD had foretold. 14 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Pharaoh is obdurate in refusing to let the people go. 15 Tomorrow morning, when he sets out for the water, go and present yourself by the river bank, holding in your hand the staff that turned into a serpent.

magicians of Egypt, did likewise by their magic arts. 12 Each one threw down his staff, and it was changed into a snake. But Aaron's staff swallowed their staffs. 13 Pharaoh, however, was obstinate and would not listen to them, just as the LORD had foretold. 14 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Pharaoh is obdurate in refusing to let the people go. 15 Tomorrow morning, when he sets out for the water, go and present yourself by the river bank, holding in your hand the staff that turned into a serpent. 16 Say to him: The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to you with the message: Let my people go to worship me in the desert. But as yet you have not listened. 17 The LORD now says: This is how you shall know that I am the LORD. I will strike the water of the river with the staff I hold, and it shall be changed into blood. 18 The fish in the river shall die, and the

63 river itself shall become so polluted that the Egyptians will be unable to drink its water." 19 The LORD then said to Moses, "Say to Aaron: Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt - their streams and canals and pools, all their supplies of water - that they may become blood. Throughout the land of Egypt there shall be blood, even in the wooden pails and stone jars." 20 Moses and Aaron did as the LORD had commanded. Aaron raised his staff and struck the waters of the river in full view of Pharaoh and his servants, and all the water of the river was changed into blood. 21 The fish in the river died, and the river itself became so polluted that the Egyptians could not drink its water. There was blood throughout the land of Egypt. 22 But the Egyptian magicians did the same by their magic arts. So, Pharaoh remained obstinate and would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the LORD had foretold. 23 He turned away and went into his house, with no concern even for this. 24 All the Egyptians had to dig in the neighborhood of the river for drinking water, since they could not drink the river water. 25 Seven days passed after the LORD had struck the river. 26 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh and tell him: Thus says the LORD: Let my people go to worship me. 27 If you refuse to let them go, I warn you, I will send a plague of frogs over all your territory. 28 The river will teem with frogs. They will come up into your palace and into your bedroom and onto your bed, into the houses of your servants, too, and your subjects, even into your ovens and your kneading bowls. 29 The frogs will swarm all over you and your subjects and your servants." Exodus Chapter 8 1 The LORD then told Moses, "Say to Aaron: Stretch out your hand and your staff over the streams and canals and pools, to make frogs overrun the land of Egypt." 2 Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt. 3 But the magicians did the same by their magic arts. They, too, made frogs overrun the land of Egypt. 4 Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, "Pray the LORD to remove the frogs from me and my subjects, and I will let the people go to offer sacrifice to the LORD." 5 Moses answered Pharaoh, "Do me the favor of appointing the time when I am to pray for you and your servants and your subjects, that the frogs may be taken away from you and your houses and be left only in the river." 6 "Tomorrow," said Pharaoh. Then Moses replied, "It shall be as you have said, so that you may learn that there is none like the LORD, our God. 7 The frogs shall leave you and your houses, your servants and your subjects; only in the river shall they be left." 8 After Moses and Aaron left Pharaoh's presence, Moses implored the LORD to fulfill the promise he had made to Pharaoh about the frogs; 9 and the LORD did as Moses had asked. The frogs in the houses and courtyards and fields died off. 10 Heaps and heaps of them were gathered up, and there was a stench in the land. 11 But when Pharaoh saw that there was a respite, he became obdurate and would not listen to them, just as the LORD had foretold. 12 Thereupon the LORD said to Moses, "Tell Aaron to stretch out his staff and strike the dust of the earth, that it may be turned into gnats throughout the land of Egypt." 13 They did so. Aaron stretched out his hand, and with his staff he struck the dust of the earth, and gnats came upon man and beast. The dust of the earth was turned into gnats throughout the land of Egypt. 14 Though the magicians tried to bring forth gnats by their magic arts, they could not do so. As the gnats infested man and beast, 15 the magicians said to Pharaoh, "This is the finger of God." Yet Pharaoh remained obstinate and would not listen to them, just as the LORD had foretold.

Egypt." 13 They did so. Aaron stretched out his hand, and with his staff he struck the dust of the earth, and gnats came upon man and beast. The dust of the earth was turned into gnats throughout the land of Egypt. 14 Though the magicians tried to bring forth gnats by their magic arts, they could not do so. As the gnats infested man and beast, 15 the magicians said to Pharaoh, "This is the finger of God." Yet Pharaoh remained obstinate and would not listen to them, just as the LORD had foretold. 16 Again the LORD told Moses, "Early tomorrow morning present yourself to Pharaoh when he goes forth to the water and say to him: Thus says the LORD: Let my people go to worship me. 17 If you will not let my people go, I warn you, I will loose swarms of flies upon you and your servants and your subjects and your houses. The houses of the Egyptians and the very ground on which they stand shall be filled with swarms of flies. 18 But on that day, I will make an exception of the land of Goshen: there shall be no flies where my people dwell, that you may

64 know that I am the LORD in the midst of the earth. 19 I will make this distinction between my people and your people. This sign shall take place tomorrow." 20 This the LORD did. Thick swarms of flies entered the house of Pharaoh and the houses of his servants; throughout Egypt the land was infested with flies. 21 Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said to them, "Go and offer sacrifice to your God in this land." 22 But Moses replied, "It is not right to do so, for the sacrifices we offer to the LORD, our God, are an abomination to the Egyptians. If before their very eyes we offer sacrifices which are an abomination to them, will not the Egyptians stone us? 23 We must go a three days' journey in the desert to offer sacrifice to the LORD, our God, as he commands us." 24 "Well, then," said Pharaoh, "I will let you go to offer sacrifice to the LORD, your God, in the desert, provided that you do not go too far away and that you pray for me." 25 Moses answered, "As soon as I leave your presence I will pray to the LORD that the flies may depart tomorrow from Pharaoh and his servants and his subjects. Pharaoh, however, must not play false again by refusing to let the people go to offer sacrifice to the LORD." 26 When Moses left Pharaoh's presence, he prayed to the LORD; 27 and the LORD did as Moses had asked. He removed the flies from Pharaoh and his servants and subjects. Not one remained. 28 But once more Pharaoh became obdurate and would not let the people go. Exodus Chapter 9 1 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh and tell him: Thus says the LORD, the God of the Hebrews: Let my people go to worship me. 2 If you refuse to let them go and persist in holding them, 3 I warn you; the LORD will afflict all your livestock in the field - your horses, asses, camels, herds and flocks - with a very severe pestilence. 4 But the LORD will distinguish between the livestock of Israel and that of Egypt, so that none belonging to the Israelites will die." 5 And setting a definite time, the LORD added, "Tomorrow the LORD shall do this in the land." 6 And on the next day the LORD did so. All the livestock of the Egyptians died, but not one beast belonging to the Israelites. 7 But though Pharaoh's messengers informed him that not even one beast belonging to the Israelites had died, he still remained obdurate and would not let the people go. 8 Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, "Take a double handful of soot from a furnace, and in the presence of Pharaoh let Moses scatter it toward the sky. 9 It will then turn into fine dust over the whole land of Egypt and cause festering boils on man and beast throughout the land." 10 So they took soot from a furnace and stood in the presence of Pharaoh. Moses scattered it toward the sky, and it caused festering boils on man and beast.11 The magicians could not stand in Moses' presence, for there were boils on the magicians no less than on the rest of the Egyptians. 12 But the LORD made Pharaoh obstinate, and he would not listen to them, just as the LORD had foretold to Moses. 13 Then the LORD told Moses, "Early tomorrow morning present yourself to Pharaoh and say to him: Thus says the LORD, the God of the Hebrews: Let my people go to worship me, 14 or this time I will hurl all my blows upon you and your servants and your subjects, that you may know that there is none like me anywhere on earth. 15 For by now I would have stretched out my hand and struck you and your subjects with such pestilence as would wipe you from the earth. 16 But this is why I have spared you: to show you my power and to make my name resound throughout the earth! 17 Will you still block the way for my people by refusing to let them go? 18 I warn you, then, tomorrow at this hour I will rain down such fierce hail as there has never been in Egypt from the day the nation was founded up to the present. 19 Therefore, order all your livestock and whatever else you have in the open fields to be brought to a place of safety.

would wipe you from the earth. 16 But this is why I have spared you: to show you my power and to make my name resound throughout the earth! 17 Will you still block the way for my people by refusing to let them go? 18 I warn you, then, tomorrow at this hour I will rain down such fierce hail as there has never been in Egypt from the day the nation was founded up to the present. 19 Therefore, order all your livestock and whatever else you have in the open fields to be brought to a place of safety. Whatever man or beast remains in the fields and is not brought to shelter shall die when the hail comes upon them." 20 Some of Pharaoh's servants feared the warning of the LORD and hurried their servants and livestock off to shelter. 21 Others, however, did not take the warning of the LORD to heart and left their servants and livestock in the fields. 22 The LORD then said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand toward the sky,

65 that hail may fall upon the entire land of Egypt, on man and beast and every growing thing in the land of Egypt." 23 When Moses stretched out his staff toward the sky, the LORD sent forth hail and peals of thunder. Lightning flashed toward the earth, and the LORD rained down hail upon the land of Egypt; 24 and lightning constantly flashed through the hail, such fierce hail as had never been seen in the land since Egypt became a nation. 25 It struck down every man and beast that was in the open throughout the land of Egypt; it beat down every growing thing and splintered every tree in the fields. 26 Only in the land of Goshen, where the Israelites dwelt, was there no hail. 27 Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said to them, "I have sinned again! The LORD is just; it is I and my subjects who are at fault. 28 Pray to the LORD, for we have had enough of God's thunder and hail. Then I will let you go; you need stay no longer." 29 Moses replied, "As soon as I leave the city I will extend my hands to the LORD; the thunder will cease, and there will be no more hail. Thus you shall learn that the earth is the LORD'S. 30 But you and your servants, I know, do not yet fear the LORD God." 31 Now the flax and the barley were ruined, because the barley was in ear and the flax in bud. 32 But the wheat and the spelt were not ruined, for they grow later. 33 When Moses had left Pharaoh's presence and had gone out of the city, he extended his hands to the LORD. Then the thunder and the hail ceased, and the rain no longer poured down upon the earth. 34 But Pharaoh, seeing that the rain and hail and thunder had ceased, sinned again: he with his servants became obdurate, 35 and in his obstinacy, he would not let the Israelites go, as the LORD had foretold through Moses. Exodus Chapter 10 ¹ Then the LORD said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh, for I have made him and his servants obdurate in order that I may perform these signs of mine among them ² and that you may recount to your son and grandson how ruthlessly I dealt with the Egyptians and what signs I wrought among them, so that you may know that I am the LORD."³ So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and told him, "Thus says the LORD, the God of the Hebrews: How long will you refuse to submit to me? Let my people go to worship me. ⁴ If you refuse to let my people go, I warn you, tomorrow I will bring locusts into your country.⁵ They shall cover the ground, so that the ground itself will not be visible. They shall eat up the remnant you saved unhurt from the hail, as well as all the foliage that has since sprouted in your fields. ⁶ They shall fill your houses and the houses of your servants and of all the Egyptians; such a sight your fathers or grandfathers have not seen from the day they first settled on this soil up to the present day." With that he turned and left Pharaoh. ⁷ But Pharaoh's servants said to him, "How long must he be a menace to us? Let the men go to worship the LORD, their God. Do you not yet realize that Egypt is being destroyed?"⁸ So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh, who said to them, "You may go and worship the LORD, your God. But how many of you will go?"⁹ "Young and old must go with us," Moses answered, "our sons and daughters as well as our flocks and herds must accompany us. That is what a feast of the LORD means to us."¹⁰ "The LORD help you," Pharaoh replied, "if I ever let your little ones go with you! Clearly, you have some evil in mind. ¹¹ No, no! Just you men can go and worship the LORD. After all, that is what you want." With that they were driven from Pharaoh's presence.¹² The LORD then said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt, that locusts may swarm over it and eat up all the vegetation and whatever the hail has left."¹³ So Moses stretched out his staff over the land of Egypt, and the LORD sent an east wind blowing over the land all that day and all that night. At dawn the east wind brought the locusts.

¹¹ No, no! Just you men can go and worship the LORD. After all, that is what you want." With that they were driven from Pharaoh's presence.¹² The LORD then said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt, that locusts may swarm over it and eat up all the vegetation and whatever the hail has left."¹³ So Moses stretched out his staff over the land of Egypt, and the LORD sent an east wind blowing over the land all that day and all that night. At dawn the east wind brought the locusts. ¹⁴ They swarmed over the whole land of Egypt and settled down on every part of it. Never before had there been such a fierce swarm of locusts, nor will there ever be. 1⁵ They covered the surface of the whole land, till it was black with them. They ate up all the vegetation in the land and the fruit of whatever trees the hail had spared. Nothing green was left on any tree or plant throughout the land of Egypt. ¹⁶ Hastily Pharaoh

66 summoned Moses and Aaron and said, "I have sinned against the LORD, your God, and against you. ¹⁷ But now, do forgive me my sin once more, and pray the LORD, your God, to take at least this deadly pest from me."¹⁸ When Moses left the presence of Pharaoh, he prayed to the LORD,¹⁹ and the LORD changed the wind to a very strong west wind, which took up the locusts and hurled them into the Red Sea. But though not a single locust remained within the confines of Egypt,²⁰ the LORD made Pharaoh obstinate, and he would not let the Israelites go.²¹ Then the LORD said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand toward the sky, that over the land of Egypt there may be such intense darkness that one can feel it."²² So Moses stretched out his hand toward the sky, and there was dense darkness throughout the land of Egypt for three days.²³ Men could not see one another, nor could they move from where they were, for three days. But all the Israelites had light where they dwelt. ²⁴ Pharaoh then summoned Moses and Aaron and said, "Go and worship the LORD. Your little ones, too, may go with you. But your flocks and herds must remain."²⁵ Moses replied, "You must also grant us sacrifices and holocausts to offer up to the LORD, our God. ²⁶ Hence, our livestock also must go with us. Not an animal must be left behind. Some of them we must sacrifice to the LORD, our God, but we ourselves shall not know which ones we must sacrifice to him until we arrive at the place itself."²⁷ But the LORD made Pharaoh obstinate, and he would not let them go. ²⁸ "Leave my presence," Pharaoh said to him, "and see to it that you do not appear before me again! The day you appear before me you shall die!"²⁹ Moses replied, "Well said! I will never appear before you again." Exodus Chapter 11 ¹ Then the LORD told Moses, "One more plague will I bring upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt. After that he will let you depart. In fact, he will not merely let you go; he will drive you away. ² Instruct your people that every man is to ask his neighbor, and every woman her neighbor, for silver and gold articles and for clothing." ³ The LORD indeed made the Egyptians well-disposed toward the people; Moses himself was very highly regarded by Pharaoh's servants and the people in the land of Egypt. ⁴ Moses then said, "Thus says the LORD: At midnight I will go forth through Egypt. ⁵ Every first-born in this land shall die, from the first-born of Pharaoh on the throne to the first- born of the slave-girl at the handmill, as well as all the first-born of the animals. ⁶ Then there shall be loud wailing throughout the land of Egypt, such as has never been, nor will ever be again. ⁷ But among the Israelites and their animals not even a dog shall growl, so that you may know how the LORD distinguishes between the Egyptians and the Israelites. ⁸ All these servants of yours shall then come down to me, and prostrate before me, they shall beg me, 'Leave us, you and all your followers!' Only then will I depart." With that he left Pharaoh's presence in hot anger. ⁹ The LORD said to Moses, "Pharaoh refuses to listen to you that my wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt." ¹⁰ Thus, although Moses and Aaron performed these various wonders in Pharaoh's presence, the LORD made Pharaoh obstinate, and he would not let the Israelites leave his land. Exodus Chapter 12 ¹ The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, ² "This month shall stand at the head of your calendar; you shall reckon it the first month of the year. ³ Tell the whole community of Israel: On the tenth of this month every one of your families must procure for itself a lamb, one apiece for each household. ⁴ If a family is too small for a whole lamb, it shall join the nearest household in procuring one and shall share in the lamb in proportion to the number of persons who partake of it. ⁵ The lamb must be a year-old male and without blemish. You may take it from either the sheep or the goats.

dar; you shall reckon it the first month of the year. ³ Tell the whole community of Israel: On the tenth of this month every one of your families must procure for itself a lamb, one apiece for each household. ⁴ If a family is too small for a whole lamb, it shall join the nearest household in procuring one and shall share in the lamb in proportion to the number of persons who partake of it. ⁵ The lamb must be a year-old male and without blemish. You may take it from either the sheep or the goats. ⁶ You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, and then, with the whole assembly of Israel present, it shall be slaughtered during the evening twilight. ⁷ They shall take some of its blood and apply it to the two doorposts and the lintel of every house in

67 which they partake of the lamb. ⁸ That same night they shall eat its roasted flesh with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. ⁹ It shall not be eaten raw or boiled, but roasted whole, with its head and shanks and inner organs. ¹⁰ None of it must be kept beyond the next morning; whatever is left over in the morning shall be burned up. ¹¹ "This is how you are to eat it: with your loins girt, sandals on your feet and your staff in hand, you shall eat like those who are in flight. It is the Passover of the LORD. ¹² For on this same night I will go through Egypt, striking down every first - born of the land, both man and beast, and executing judgment on all the gods of Egypt-I, the LORD! ¹³ But the blood will mark the houses where you are. Seeing the blood, I will pass over you; thus, when I strike the land of Egypt, no destructive blow will come upon you. ¹⁴ "This day shall be a memorial feast for you, which all your generations shall celebrate with pilgrimage to the LORD, as a perpetual institution. ¹⁵ For seven days you must eat unleavened bread. From the very first day you shall have your houses clear of all leaven. Whoever eats leavened bread from the first day to the seventh shall be cut off from Israel. ¹⁶ On the first day you shall hold a sacred assembly, and likewise on the seventh. On these days you shall not do any sort of work, except to prepare the food that everyone needs. ¹⁷ "Keep, then, this custom of the unleavened bread. Since it was on this very day that I brought your ranks out of the land of Egypt, you must celebrate this day throughout your generations as a perpetual institution. ¹⁸ From the evening of the fourteenth day of the first month until the evening of the twenty-first day of this month you shall eat unleavened bread. ¹⁹ For seven days no leaven may be found in your houses. Anyone, be he a resident alien or a native, who eats leavened food shall be cut off from the community of Israel. ²⁰ Nothing leavened may you eat; wherever you dwell you may eat only unleavened bread." ²¹ Moses called all the elders of Israel and said to them, "Go and procure lambs for your families, and slaughter them as Passover victims. ²² Then take a bunch of hyssop, and dipping it in the blood that is in the basin, sprinkle the lintel and the two doorposts with this blood. But none of you shall go outdoors until morning. ²³ For the LORD will go by, striking down the Egyptians. Seeing the blood on the lintel and the two doorposts, the LORD will pass over that door and not let the destroyer come into your houses to strike you down. ²⁴ "You shall observe this as a perpetual ordinance for yourselves and your descendants. ²⁵ Thus, you must also observe this rite when you have entered the land which the LORD will give you as he promised. ²⁶ When your children ask you, 'What does this rite of yours mean?' ²⁷ you shall reply, 'This is the Passover sacrifice of the LORD, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt; when he struck down the Egyptians, he spared our houses.'" Then the people bowed down in worship, ²⁸ and the Israelites went and did as the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron. ²⁹ At midnight the LORD slew every first-born in the land of Egypt, from the first-born of Pharaoh on the throne to the first-born of the prisoner in the dungeon, as well as all the first-born of the animals. ³⁰ Pharaoh arose in the night, he and all his servants and all the Egyptians; and there was loud wailing throughout Egypt, for there was not a house without its dead. ³¹ During the night Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, "Leave my people at once, you and the Israelites with you! Go and worship the LORD as you said. ³² Take your flocks, too, and your herds, as you demanded, and be gone; and you will be doing me a favor." ³³ The Egyptians likewise urged the people on, to hasten their departure from the land; they thought that otherwise they would all die.

gyptians; and there was loud wailing throughout Egypt, for there was not a house without its dead. ³¹ During the night Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, "Leave my people at once, you and the Israelites with you! Go and worship the LORD as you said. ³² Take your flocks, too, and your herds, as you demanded, and be gone; and you will be doing me a favor." ³³ The Egyptians likewise urged the people on, to hasten their departure from the land; they thought that otherwise they would all die. ³⁴ The people, therefore, took their dough before it was leavened, in their kneading bowls wrapped in their cloaks on their shoulders. ³⁵ The Israelites did as Moses had commanded: they asked the Egyptians for articles of silver and gold and for clothing. ³⁶ The LORD indeed had made the Egyptians so well-disposed toward the people that they let them have whatever they asked for. Thus did they despoil the Egyptians. ³⁷ The Israelites set out from Rameses for Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, not counting the children. ³⁸ A crowd of mixed ancestry also went up with them, besides their livestock, very numerous flocks and herds. ³⁹ Since the dough they had brought out of Egypt was not leavened, they baked it into

68 unleavened loaves. They had been rushed out of Egypt and had no opportunity even to prepare food for the journey. ⁴⁰ The time the Israelites had stayed in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years. ⁴¹ At the end of four hundred and thirty years, all the hosts of the LORD left the land of Egypt on this very date. ⁴² This was a night of vigil for the LORD, as he led them out of the land of Egypt; so on this same night all the Israelites must keep a vigil for the LORD throughout their generations. ⁴³ The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, "These are the regulations for the Passover. No foreigner may partake of it. ⁴⁴ However, any slave who has been bought for money may partake of it, provided you have first circumcised him. ⁴⁵ But no transient alien or hired servant may partake of it. ⁴⁶ It must be eaten in one and the same house; you may not take any of its flesh outside the house. You shall not break any of its bones. ⁴⁷ The whole community of Israel must keep this feast. ⁴⁸ If any aliens living among you wish to celebrate the Passover of the LORD, all the males among them must first be circumcised, and then they may join in its observance just like the natives. But no man who is uncircumcised may partake of it. ⁴⁹ The law shall be the same for the resident alien as for the native." ⁵⁰ All the Israelites did just as the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron. ⁵¹ on that same day the LORD brought the Israelites out of Egypt company by company. Exodus Chapter 13 ¹ The LORD spoke to Moses and said, ² "Consecrate to me every first-born that opens the womb among the Israelites, both of man and beast, for it belongs to me." ³ Moses said to the people, "Remember this day on which you came out of Egypt, that place of slavery. It was with a strong hand that the LORD brought you away. Nothing made with leaven must be eaten. ⁴ This day of your departure is in the month of Abib. ⁵ Therefore, it is in this month that you must celebrate this rite, after the LORD, your God, has brought you into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites and Jebusites, which he swore to your fathers he would give you, a land flowing with milk and honey. ⁶ For seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and the seventh day shall also be a festival to the LORD. ⁷ Only unleavened bread may be eaten during the seven days; no leaven and nothing leavened may be found in all your territory. ⁸ On this day you shall explain to your son, 'This is because of what the LORD did for me when I came out of Egypt.' ⁹ It shall be as a sign on your hand and as a reminder on your forehead; thus the law of the LORD will ever be on your lips, because with a strong hand the LORD brought you out of Egypt. ¹⁰ Therefore, you shall keep this prescribed rite at its appointed time from year to year. ¹¹ "When the LORD, your God, has brought you into the land of the Canaanites, which he swore to you and your fathers he would give you, ¹² you shall dedicate to the LORD every son that opens the womb; and all the male firstlings of your animals shall belong to the LORD. ¹³ Every first-born of an ass you shall redeem with a sheep. If you do not redeem it, you shall break its neck. Every first-born son you must redeem. ¹⁴ If your son should ask you later on, 'What does this mean?' you shall tell him, 'With a strong hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt, that place of slavery.

ich he swore to you and your fathers he would give you, ¹² you shall dedicate to the LORD every son that opens the womb; and all the male firstlings of your animals shall belong to the LORD. ¹³ Every first-born of an ass you shall redeem with a sheep. If you do not redeem it, you shall break its neck. Every first-born son you must redeem. ¹⁴ If your son should ask you later on, 'What does this mean?' you shall tell him, 'With a strong hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt, that place of slavery. ¹⁵ When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the LORD killed every first-born in the land of Egypt, every first-born of man and of beast. That is why I sacrifice to the LORD everything of the male sex that opens the womb, and why I redeem every first-born of my sons.' ¹⁶ Let this, then, be as a sign on your hand and as a pendant on your forehead: with a strong hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt." ¹⁷ Now, when Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the Philistines' land, though this was the nearest; for he thought, should the people see that they would have to fight, they might change their minds and return to Egypt. ¹⁸ Instead, he rerouted them toward the Red Sea by way of the desert road. In battle array the Israelites marched out of Egypt. ¹⁹ Moses also took Joseph's bones along, for Joseph had made the Israelites swear solemnly that, when God should come to them, they would carry his bones away with them. ²⁰ Setting out from Succoth, they camped at Etham near the edge

69 of the desert. ²¹ The LORD preceded them, in the daytime by means of a column of cloud to show them the way, and at night by means of a column of fire to give them light. Thus they could travel both day and night. ²² Neither the column of cloud by day nor the column of fire by night ever left its place in front of the people. Exodus Chapter 14 ¹ Then the LORD said to Moses, ² "Tell the Israelites to turn about and camp before Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea. You shall camp in front of Baal-zephon, just opposite, by the sea. ³ Pharaoh will then say, 'The Israelites are wandering about aimlessly in the land. The desert has closed in on them.' ⁴ Thus will I make Pharaoh so obstinate that he will pursue them. Then I will receive glory through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD." This the Israelites did. ⁵ When it was reported to the king of Egypt that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his servants changed their minds about them. "What have we done!" they exclaimed. "Why, we have released Israel from our service!" ⁶ So Pharaoh made his chariots ready and mustered his soldiers - ⁷ six hundred first-class chariots and all the other chariots of Egypt, with warriors on them all. ⁸ So obstinate had the LORD made Pharaoh that he pursued the Israelites even while they were marching away in triumph. ⁹ The Egyptians, then, pursued them; Pharaoh's whole army, his horses, chariots and charioteers, caught up with them as they lay encamped by the sea, at Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon. ¹⁰ Pharaoh was already near when the Israelites looked up and saw that the Egyptians were on the march in pursuit of them. In great fright they cried out to the LORD. ¹¹ And they complained to Moses, "Were there no burial places in Egypt that you had to bring us out here to die in the desert? Why did you do this to us? Why did you bring us out of Egypt? ¹² Did we not tell you this in Egypt, when we said, 'Leave us alone. Let us serve the Egyptians'? Far better for us to be the slaves of the Egyptians than to die in the desert." ¹³ But Moses answered the people, "Fear not! Stand your ground, and you will see the victory the LORD will win for you today. These Egyptians whom you see today you will never see again. ¹⁴ The LORD himself will fight for you; you have only to keep still." ¹⁵ Then the LORD said to Moses, "Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to go forward. ¹⁶ And you, lift up your staff and, with hand outstretched over the sea, split the sea in two, that the Israelites may pass through it on dry land. ¹⁷ But I will make the Egyptians so obstinate that they will go in after them. Then I will receive glory through Pharaoh and all his army, his chariots and charioteers. ¹⁸ The Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I receive glory through Pharaoh and his chariots and charioteers." ¹⁹ The angel of God, who had been leading Israel's camp, now moved and went around behind them. The column of cloud also, leaving the front, took up its place behind them, ²⁰ so that it came between the camp of the Egyptians and that of Israel. But the cloud now became dark, and thus the night passed without the rival camps coming any closer together all night long. ²¹ Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the LORD swept the sea with a strong east wind throughout the night and so turned it into dry land. When the water was thus divided, ²² the Israelites marched into the midst of the sea on dry land, with the water like a wall to their right and to their left. ²³ The Egyptians followed in pursuit; all Pharaoh's horses and chariots and charioteers went after them right into the midst of the sea. ²⁴ In the night watch just before dawn the LORD cast through the column of the fiery cloud upon the Egyptian force a glance that threw it into a panic; ²⁵ and he so clogged their chariot wheels that they could hardly drive.

thus divided, ²² the Israelites marched into the midst of the sea on dry land, with the water like a wall to their right and to their left. ²³ The Egyptians followed in pursuit; all Pharaoh's horses and chariots and charioteers went after them right into the midst of the sea. ²⁴ In the night watch just before dawn the LORD cast through the column of the fiery cloud upon the Egyptian force a glance that threw it into a panic; ²⁵ and he so clogged their chariot wheels that they could hardly drive. With that the Egyptians sounded the retreat before Israel, because the LORD was fighting for them against the Egyptians. ²⁶ Then the LORD told Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the water may flow back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots and their charioteers." ²⁷ So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at dawn the sea flowed back to its normal depth. The Egyptians were fleeing head on toward the sea, when the LORD hurled them into its midst. ²⁸ As

70 the water flowed back, it covered the chariots and the charioteers of Pharaoh's whole army which had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not a single one of them escaped. ²⁹ But the Israelites had marched on dry land through the midst of the sea, with the water like a wall to their right and to their left. ³⁰ Thus the LORD saved Israel on that day from the power of the Egyptians. When Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the seashore ³¹ and beheld the great power that the LORD had shown against the Egyptians, they feared the LORD and believed in him and in his servant Moses. Exodus Chapter 15 ¹ Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the LORD: I will sing to the LORD, for he is gloriously triumphant; horse and chariot he has cast into the sea. ² My strength and my courage is the LORD, and he has been my savior. He is my God, I praise him; the God of my father, I extol him. ³ The LORD is a warrior, LORD is his name! ⁴ Pharaoh's chariots and army he hurled into the sea; the elite of his officers were submerged in the Red Sea. ⁵ The flood waters covered them, they sank into the depths like a stone. ⁶ Your right hand, O LORD, magnificent in power, your right hand, O LORD, has shattered the enemy. ⁷ In your great majesty you overthrew your adversaries; you loosed your wrath to consume them like stubble. ⁸ At a breath of your anger the waters piled up, the flowing waters stood like a mound, the flood waters congealed in the midst of the sea. ⁹ The enemy boasted, "I will pursue and overtake them; I will divide the spoils and have my fill of them; I will draw my sword; my hand shall despoil them!" ¹⁰ When your wind blew, the sea covered them; like lead they sank in the mighty waters. ¹¹ Who is like to you among the gods, O LORD? Who is like to you, magnificent in holiness? O terrible in renown, worker of wonders, ¹² when you stretched out your right hand, the earth swallowed them! ¹³ In your mercy you led the people you redeemed; in your strength you guided them to your holy dwelling. ¹⁴ The nations heard and quaked; anguish gripped the dwellers in Philistia. ¹⁵ Then were the princes of Edom dismayed; trembling seized the chieftains of Moab; All the dwellers in Canaan melted away; ¹⁶ terror and dread fell upon them. By the might of your arm they were frozen like stone, while your people, O LORD, passed over, while the people you had made your own passed over. ¹⁷ And you brought them in and planted them on the mountain of your inheritance - the place where you made your seat, O LORD, the sanctuary, O LORD, which your hands established. ¹⁸ The LORD shall reign forever and ever. ¹⁹ They sang thus because Pharaoh's horses and chariots and charioteers had gone into the sea, and the LORD made the waters of the sea flow back upon them, though the Israelites had marched on dry land through the midst of the sea. ²⁰ The prophetess Miriam, Aaron's sister, took a tambourine in her hand, while all the women went out after her with tambourines, dancing; ²¹ and she led them in the refrain: Sing to the LORD, for he is gloriously triumphant; horse and chariot he has cast into the sea. ²² Then Moses led Israel forward from the Red Sea, and they marched out to the desert of Shur. After traveling for three days through the desert without finding water, ²³ they arrived at Marah, where they could not drink the water, because it was too bitter. Hence this place was called Marah. ²⁴ As the people grumbled against Moses, saying, "What are we to drink?" ²⁵ he appealed to the LORD, who pointed out to him a certain piece of wood. When he threw this into the water, the water became fresh.It was here that the LORD, in making rules and regulations for them, put them to the test.

ur. After traveling for three days through the desert without finding water, ²³ they arrived at Marah, where they could not drink the water, because it was too bitter. Hence this place was called Marah. ²⁴ As the people grumbled against Moses, saying, "What are we to drink?" ²⁵ he appealed to the LORD, who pointed out to him a certain piece of wood. When he threw this into the water, the water became fresh.It was here that the LORD, in making rules and regulations for them, put them to the test. ²⁶ "If you really listen to the voice of the LORD, your God," he told them, "and do what is right in his eyes: if you heed his commandments and keep all his precepts, I will not afflict you with any of the diseases with which I afflicted the Egyptians; for I, the LORD, am your healer." ²⁷ Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees, and they camped there near the water. Exodus Chapter 16

71 ¹ Having set out from Elim, the whole Israelite community came into the desert of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departure from the land of Egypt. ² Here in the desert the whole Israelite community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. ³ The Israelites said to them, "Would that we had died at the LORD'S hand in the land of Egypt, as we sat by our fleshpots and ate our fill of bread! But you had to lead us into this desert to make the whole community die of famine!" ⁴ Then the LORD said to Moses, "I will now rain down bread from heaven for you. Each day the people are to go out and gather their daily portion; thus will I test them, to see whether they follow my instructions or not. ⁵ On the sixth day, however, when they prepare what they bring in, let it be twice as much as they gather on the other days." ⁶ So Moses and Aaron told all the Israelites, "At evening you will know that it was the LORD who brought you out of the land of Egypt; ⁷ and in the morning you will see the glory of the LORD, as he heeds your grumbling against him. But what are we that you should grumble against us? ⁸ When the LORD gives you flesh to eat in the evening," continued Moses, "and in the morning your fill of bread, as he heeds the grumbling you utter against him, what then are we? Your grumbling is not against us, but against the LORD." ⁹ Then Moses said to Aaron, "Tell the whole Israelite community: Present yourselves before the LORD, for he has heard your grumbling." ¹⁰ When Aaron announced this to the whole Israelite community, they turned toward the desert, and lo, the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud! ¹¹ The LORD spoke to Moses and said, ¹² "I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites. Tell them: In the evening twilight you shall eat flesh, and in the morning you shall have your fill of bread, so that you may know that I, the LORD, am your God." ¹³ In the evening quail came up and covered the camp. In the morning a dew lay all about the camp, ¹⁴ and when the dew evaporated, there on the surface of the desert were fine flakes like hoarfrost on the ground. ¹⁵ On seeing it, the Israelites asked one another, "What is this?" for they did not know what it was. But Moses told them, "This is the bread which the LORD has given you to eat. ¹⁶ "Now, this is what the LORD has commanded. So gather it that everyone has enough to eat, an omer for each person, as many of you as there are, each man providing for those of his own tent." ¹⁷ The Israelites did so. Some gathered a large and some a small amount. ¹⁸ But when they measured it out by the omer, he who had gathered a large amount did not have too much, and he who had gathered a small amount did not have too little. They so gathered that everyone had enough to eat. ¹⁹ Moses also told them, "Let no one keep any of it over until tomorrow morning." ²⁰ But they would not listen to him. When some kept a part of it over until the following morning, it became wormy and rotten. Therefore Moses was displeased with them. ²¹ Morning after morning they gathered it, till each had enough to eat; but when the sun grew hot, the manna melted away. ²² On the sixth day they gathered twice as much food, two omers for each person. When all the leaders of the community came and reported this to Moses, ²³ he told them, "That is what the LORD prescribed. Tomorrow is a day of complete rest, the sabbath, sacred to the LORD. You may either bake or boil the manna, as you please; but whatever is left put away and keep for the morrow." ²⁴ When they put it away for the morrow, as Moses commanded, it did not become rotten or wormy. ²⁵ Moses then said, "Eat it today, for today is the sabbath of the LORD. On this day you will not find any of it on the ground. ²⁶ On the other six days you can gather it, but on the seventh day, the sabbath, none of it will be there." ²⁷ Still, on the seventh day some of the people went out to gather it, although they did not find any.

u please; but whatever is left put away and keep for the morrow." ²⁴ When they put it away for the morrow, as Moses commanded, it did not become rotten or wormy. ²⁵ Moses then said, "Eat it today, for today is the sabbath of the LORD. On this day you will not find any of it on the ground. ²⁶ On the other six days you can gather it, but on the seventh day, the sabbath, none of it will be there." ²⁷ Still, on the seventh day some of the people went out to gather it, although they did not find any. ²⁸ Then the LORD said to Moses, "How long will you refuse to keep my commandments and laws? ²⁹ Take note! The LORD has given you the sabbath. That is why on the sixth day he gives you food for two days. On the seventh day everyone is to stay home and no one is to go out." ³⁰ After that the people rested on the seventh day. ³¹ The Israelites called this food manna. It was like coriander seed, but white, and it tasted like wafers made with honey. ³² Moses said, "This is what the LORD has commanded. Keep an omerful of manna for your descendants, that they may see what food I gave you to eat in the desert when I

72 brought you out of the land of Egypt." ³³ Moses then told Aaron, "Take an urn and put an omer of manna in it. Then place it before the LORD in safekeeping for your descendants." ³⁴ So Aaron placed it in front of the commandments for safekeeping, as the LORD had commanded Moses. ³⁵ The Israelites ate this manna for forty years, until they came to settled land; they ate manna until they reached the borders of Canaan. ³⁶ (An omer is one tenth of an ephah.) Exodus Chapter 17 ¹ From the desert of Sin the whole Israelite community journeyed by stages, as the LORD directed, and encamped at Rephidim. Here there was no water for the people to drink. ² They quarreled, therefore, with Moses and said, "Give us water to drink." Moses replied, "Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the LORD to a test?" ³ Here, then, in their thirst for water, the people grumbled against Moses, saying, "Why did you ever make us leave Egypt? Was it just to have us die here of thirst with our children and our livestock?" ⁴ So Moses cried out to the LORD, "What shall I do with this people? A little more and they will stone me!" ⁵ The LORD answered Moses, "Go over there in front of the people, along with some of the elders of Israel, holding in your hand, as you go, the staff with which you struck the river. ⁶ I will be standing there in front of you on the rock in Horeb. Strike the rock, and the water will flow from it for the people to drink." This Moses did, in the presence of the elders of Israel. ⁷ The place was called Massah and Meribah, because the Israelites quarreled there and tested the LORD, saying, "Is the LORD in our midst or not?" ⁸ At Rephidim, Amalek came and waged war against Israel. ⁹ Moses, therefore, said to Joshua, "Pick out certain men, and tomorrow go out and engage Amalek in battle. I will be standing on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand." ¹⁰ So Joshua did as Moses told him: he engaged Amalek in battle after Moses had climbed to the top of the hill with Aaron and Hur. ¹¹ As long as Moses kept his hands raised up, Israel had the better of the fight, but when he let his hands rest, Amalek had the better of the fight. ¹² Moses' hands, however, grew tired; so they put a rock in place for him to sit on. Meanwhile Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side and one on the other, so that his hands remained steady till sunset. ¹³ And Joshua mowed down Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword. ¹⁴ Then the LORD said to Moses, "Write this down in a document as something to be remembered, and recite it in the ears of Joshua: I will completely blot out the memory of Amalek from under the heavens." ¹⁵ Moses also built an altar there, which he called Yahweh-nissi; ¹⁶ for he said, "The LORD takes in hand his banner; the LORD will war against Amalek through the centuries." Exodus Chapter 18 ¹ Now Moses' father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian, heard of all that God had done for Moses and for his people Israel: how the LORD had brought Israel out of Egypt. ² So his father-in-law Jethro took along Zipporah, Moses' wife, whom Moses had sent back to him, ³ and her two sons. One of these was called Gershom; for he said, "I am a stranger in a foreign land." ⁴ The other was called Eliezer; for he said, "My father's God is my helper; he has rescued me from Pharaoh's sword." ⁵ Together with Moses' wife and sons, then, his father-in-law Jethro came to him in the desert where he was encamped near the mountain of God, ⁶ and he sent word to Moses, "I, Jethro, your father-in-law, am coming to you, along with your wife and her two sons." ⁷ Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, bowed down before him, and kissed him. Having greeted each other, they went into the tent. ⁸ Moses then told his father-in-law of all that the LORD had done to Pharaoh and the Egyptians for the sake of Israel, and of all the hardships they had had to endure on their journey, and how the LORD had come to their rescue.

e mountain of God, ⁶ and he sent word to Moses, "I, Jethro, your father-in-law, am coming to you, along with your wife and her two sons." ⁷ Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, bowed down before him, and kissed him. Having greeted each other, they went into the tent. ⁸ Moses then told his father-in-law of all that the LORD had done to Pharaoh and the Egyptians for the sake of Israel, and of all the hardships they had had to endure on their journey, and how the LORD had come to their rescue. ⁹ Jethro rejoiced over all the goodness that the LORD had shown Israel in rescuing them from the hands of the Egyptians. ¹⁰ "Blessed be the LORD," he said, "who has rescued his people from the hands of Pharaoh and the

73 Egyptians. ¹¹ Now I know that the LORD is a deity great beyond any other; for he took occasion of their being dealt with insolently to deliver the people from the power of the Egyptians." ¹² Then Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses, brought a holocaust and other sacrifices to God, and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to participate with Moses' father-in-law in the meal before God. ¹³ The next day Moses sat in judgment for the people, who waited about him from morning until evening. ¹⁴ When his father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he inquired, "What sort of thing is this that you are doing for the people? Why do you sit alone while all the people have to stand about you from morning till evening?" ¹⁵ Moses answered his father-in-law, "The people come to me to consult God. ¹⁶ Whenever they have a disagreement, they come to me to have me settle the matter between them and make known to them God's decisions and regulations." ¹⁷ "You are not acting wisely," his father-in-law replied. ¹⁸ "You will surely wear yourself out, and not only yourself but also these people with you. The task is too heavy for you; you cannot do it alone. ¹⁹ Now, listen to me, and I will give you some advice, that God may be with you. Act as the people's representative before God, bringing to him whatever they have to say. ²⁰ Enlighten them in regard to the decisions and regulations, showing them how they are to live and what they are to do. ²¹ But you should also look among all the people for able and God-fearing men, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain, and set them as officers over groups of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens. ²² Let these men render decisions for the people in all ordinary cases. More important cases they should refer to you, but all the lesser cases they can settle themselves. Thus, your burden will be lightened, since they will bear it with you. ²³ If you do this, when God gives you orders you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied." ²⁴ Moses followed the advice of his father-in-law and did all that he had suggested. ²⁵ He picked out able men from all Israel and put them in charge of the people as officers over groups of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens. ²⁶ They rendered decisions for the people in all ordinary cases. The more difficult cases they referred to Moses, but all the lesser cases they settled themselves. ²⁷ Then Moses bade farewell to his father-in-law, who went off to his own country. Exodus Chapter 19 ¹ In the third month after their departure from the land of Egypt, on its first day, the Israelites came to the desert of Sinai. ² After the journey from Rephidim to the desert of Sinai, they pitched camp. While Israel was encamped here in front of the mountain, ³ Moses went up the mountain to God. Then the LORD called to him and said, "Thus shall you say to the house of Jacob; ⁴ tell the Israelites: You have seen for yourselves how I treated the Egyptians and how I bore you up on eagle wings and brought you here to myself. ⁵ Therefore, if you hearken to my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my special possession, dearer to me than all other people, though all the earth is mine. ⁶ You shall be to me a kingdom of priests, a holy nation. That is what you must tell the Israelites." ⁷ So Moses went and summoned the elders of the people. When he set before them all that the LORD had ordered him to tell them, ⁸ the people all answered together, "Everything the LORD has said, we will do." Then Moses brought back to the LORD the response of the people. ⁹ The LORD also told him, "I am coming to you in a dense cloud, so that when the people hear me speaking with you, they may always have faith in you also." When Moses, then, had reported to the LORD the response of the people, ¹⁰ the LORD added, "Go to the people and have them sanctify themselves today and tomorrow.

the LORD had ordered him to tell them, ⁸ the people all answered together, "Everything the LORD has said, we will do." Then Moses brought back to the LORD the response of the people. ⁹ The LORD also told him, "I am coming to you in a dense cloud, so that when the people hear me speaking with you, they may always have faith in you also." When Moses, then, had reported to the LORD the response of the people, ¹⁰ the LORD added, "Go to the people and have them sanctify themselves today and tomorrow. Make them wash their garments ¹¹ and be ready for the third day; for on the third day the LORD will come down on Mount Sinai before the eyes of all the people. ¹² Set limits for the people all around the mountain, and tell them: Take care not to go up the mountain, or even to touch its base. If anyone touches the mountain, he must be put to death. ¹³ No hand shall touch him; he must be stoned to death or killed with arrows. Such a one, man or beast, must not be allowed to live. Only when the ram's horn resounds may they go up to the

74 mountain." ¹⁴ Then Moses came down from the mountain to the people and had them sanctify themselves and wash their garments. ¹⁵ He warned them, "Be ready for the third day. Have no intercourse with any woman." ¹⁶ On the morning of the third day there were peals of thunder and lightning, and a heavy cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled. ¹⁷ But Moses led the people out of the camp to meet God, and they stationed themselves at the foot of the mountain. ¹⁸ Mount Sinai was all wrapped in smoke, for the LORD came down upon it in fire. The smoke rose from it as though from a furnace, and the whole mountain trembled violently. ¹⁹ The trumpet blast grew louder and louder, while Moses was speaking and God answering him with thunder. ²⁰ When the LORD came down to the top of Mount Sinai, he summoned Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up to him. ²¹ Then the LORD told Moses, "Go down and warn the people not to break through toward the LORD in order to see him; otherwise many of them will be struck down. ²² The priests, too, who approach the LORD must sanctify themselves; else he will vent his anger upon them." ²³ Moses said to the LORD, "The people cannot go up to Mount Sinai, for you yourself warned us to set limits around the mountain to make it sacred." ²⁴ The LORD repeated, "Go down now! Then come up again along with Aaron. But the priests and the people must not break through to come up to the LORD; else he will vent his anger upon them." ²⁵ So Moses went down to the people and told them this. Exodus Chapter 20 ¹ Then God delivered all these commandments: ² "I, the LORD, am your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of slavery. ³ You shall not have other gods besides me. ⁴ You shall not carve idols for yourselves in the shape of anything in the sky above or on the earth below or in the waters beneath the earth; ⁵ you shall not bow down before them or worship them. For I, the LORD, your God, am a jealous God, inflicting punishment for their fathers' wickedness on the children of those who hate me, down to the third and fourth generation; ⁶ but bestowing mercy down to the thousandth generation, on the children of those who love me and keep my commandments. ⁷ "You shall not take the name of the LORD, your God, in vain. For the LORD will not leave unpunished him who takes his name in vain. ⁸ "Remember to keep holy the sabbath day. ⁹ Six days you may labor and do all your work, ¹⁰ but the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD, your God. No work may be done then either by you, or your son or daughter, or your male or female slave, or your beast, or by the alien who lives with you. ¹¹ In six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them; but on the seventh day he rested. That is why the LORD has blessed the sabbath day and made it holy. ¹² "Honor your father and your mother, that you may have a long life in the land which the LORD, your God, is giving you. ¹³ "You shall not kill. ¹⁴ "You shall not commit adultery. ¹⁵ "You shall not steal. ¹⁶ "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. ¹⁷ "You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male or female slave, nor his ox or ass, nor anything else that belongs to him." ¹⁸ When the people witnessed the thunder and lightning, the trumpet blast and the mountain smoking, they all feared and trembled. So they took up a position much farther away ¹⁹ and said to Moses, "You speak to us, and we will listen; but let not God speak to us, or we shall die." ²⁰ Moses answered the people, "Do not be afraid, for God has come to you only to test you and put his fear upon you, lest you should sin." ²¹ Still the people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the cloud where God was. ²² The LORD told Moses, "Thus shall you speak to the Israelites: You have seen for yourselves that I have spoken to you from heaven.

a position much farther away ¹⁹ and said to Moses, "You speak to us, and we will listen; but let not God speak to us, or we shall die." ²⁰ Moses answered the people, "Do not be afraid, for God has come to you only to test you and put his fear upon you, lest you should sin." ²¹ Still the people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the cloud where God was. ²² The LORD told Moses, "Thus shall you speak to the Israelites: You have seen for yourselves that I have spoken to you from heaven. ²³ Do not make anything to rank with me; neither gods of silver nor gods of gold shall you make for yourselves. ²⁴ "An altar of earth you shall make for me, and upon it you shall sacrifice your holocausts and peace offerings, your sheep and your oxen. In whatever place I choose for the remembrance of my name I will come to you and bless you. ²⁵ If you make an altar of stone for me, do not build it of cut

75 stone, for by putting a tool to it you desecrate it. ²⁶ You shall not go up by steps to my altar, on which you must not be indecently uncovered. Exodus Chapter 21 ¹ "These are the rules you shall lay before them. ² When you purchase a Hebrew slave, he is to serve you for six years, but in the seventh year he shall be given his freedom without cost. ³ If he comes into service alone, he shall leave alone; if he comes with a wife, his wife shall leave with him. ⁴ But if his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the woman and her children shall remain the master's property and the man shall leave alone. ⁵ If, however, the slave declares, 'I am devoted to my master and my wife and children; I will not go free,' ⁶ his master shall bring him to God and there, at the door or doorpost, he shall pierce his ear with an awl, thus keeping him as his slave forever. ⁷ "When a man sells his daughter as a slave, she shall not go free as male slaves do. ⁸ But if her master, who had destined her for himself, dislikes her, he shall let her be redeemed. He has no right to sell her to a foreigner, since he has broken faith with her. ⁹ If he destines her for his son, he shall treat her like a daughter. ¹⁰ If he takes another wife, he shall not withhold her food, her clothing, or her conjugal rights. ¹¹ If he does not grant her these three things, she shall be given her freedom absolutely, without cost to her. ¹² "Whoever strikes a man a mortal blow must be put to death. ¹³ He, however, who did not hunt a man down, but caused his death by an act of God, may flee to a place which I will set apart for this purpose. ¹⁴ But when a man kills another after maliciously scheming to do so, you must take him even from my altar and put him to death. ¹⁵ Whoever strikes his father or mother shall be put to death. ¹⁶ "A kidnapper, whether he sells his victim or still has him when caught, shall be put to death. ¹⁷ "Whoever curses his father or mother shall be put to death. ¹⁸ "When men quarrel and one strikes the other with a stone or with his fist, not mortally, but enough to put him in bed, ¹⁹ the one who struck the blow shall be acquitted, provided the other can get up and walk around with the help of his staff. Still, he must compensate him for his enforced idleness and provide for his complete cure. ²⁰ "When a man strikes his male or female slave with a rod so hard that the slave dies under his hand, he shall be punished. ²¹ If, however, the slave survives for a day or two, he is not to be punished, since the slave is his own property. ²² "When men have a fight and hurt a pregnant woman, so that she suffers a miscarriage, but no further injury, the guilty one shall be fined as much as the woman's husband demands of him, and he shall pay in the presence of the judges. ²³ But if injury ensues, you shall give life for life, ²⁴ eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, ²⁵ burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe. ²⁶ "When a man strikes his male or female slave in the eye and destroys the use of the eye, he shall let the slave go free in compensation for the eye. ²⁷ If he knocks out a tooth of his male or female slave, he shall let the slave go free in compensation for the tooth. ²⁸ "When an ox gores a man or a woman to death, the ox must be stoned; its flesh may not be eaten. The owner of the ox, however, shall go unpunished. ²⁹ But if an ox was previously in the habit of goring people and its owner, though warned, would not keep it in; should it then kill a man or a woman, not only must the ox be stoned, but its owner also must be put to death. ³⁰ If, however, a fine is imposed on him, he must pay in ransom for his life whatever amount is imposed on him. ³¹ This law applies if it is a boy or a girl that the ox gores. ³² But if it is a male or a female slave that it gores, he must pay the owner of the slave thirty shekels of silver, and the ox must be stoned.

of goring people and its owner, though warned, would not keep it in; should it then kill a man or a woman, not only must the ox be stoned, but its owner also must be put to death. ³⁰ If, however, a fine is imposed on him, he must pay in ransom for his life whatever amount is imposed on him. ³¹ This law applies if it is a boy or a girl that the ox gores. ³² But if it is a male or a female slave that it gores, he must pay the owner of the slave thirty shekels of silver, and the ox must be stoned. ³³ "When a man uncovers or digs a cistern and does not cover it over again, should an ox or an ass fall into it, ³⁴ the owner of the cistern must make good by restoring the value of the animal to its owner; the dead animal, however, he may keep. ³⁵ "When one man's ox hurts another's ox so badly that it dies, they shall sell the live ox and divide this money as well as the dead animal equally between them. ³⁶ But if it was known that the ox was previously in the habit of goring and its owner would not keep it in, he must make full restitution,

76 an ox for an ox; but the dead animal he may keep. Exodus Chapter 22 ¹ "(If a thief is caught in the act of housebreaking and beaten to death, there is no bloodguilt involved. ² But if after sunrise he is thus beaten, there is bloodguilt.) He must make full restitution. If he has nothing, he shall be sold to pay for his theft. ³ If what he stole is found alive in his possession, be it an ox, an ass or a sheep, he shall restore two animals for each one stolen. ⁴ "When a man is burning over a field or a vineyard, if he lets the fire spread so that it burns in another's field, he must make restitution with the best produce of his own field or vineyard. ⁵ If the fire spreads further, and catches on to thorn bushes, so that shocked grain or standing grain or the field itself is burned up, the one who started the fire must make full restitution. ⁶ "When a man gives money or an article to another for safekeeping and it is stolen from the latter's house, the thief, if caught, must make twofold restitution. ⁷ If the thief is not caught, the owner of the house shall be brought to God, to swear that he himself did not lay hands on his neighbor's property. ⁸ In every question of dishonest appropriation, whether it be about an ox, or an ass, or a sheep, or a garment, or anything else that has disappeared, where another claims that the thing is his, both parties shall present their case before God; the one whom God convicts must make twofold restitution to the other. ⁹ "When a man gives an ass, or an ox, or a sheep, or any other animal to another for safekeeping, if it dies, or is maimed or snatched away, without anyone witnessing the fact, ¹⁰ the custodian shall swear by the LORD that he did not lay hands on his neighbor's property; the owner must accept the oath, and no restitution is to be made. ¹¹ But if the custodian is really guilty of theft, he must make restitution to the owner. ¹² If it has been killed by a wild beast, let him bring it as evidence, and he need not make restitution for the mangled animal. ¹³ "When a man borrows an animal from his neighbor, if it is maimed or dies while the owner is not present, the man must make restitution. ¹⁴ But if the owner is present, he need not make restitution. If it was hired, this was covered by the price of its hire. ¹⁵ "When a man seduces a virgin who is not betrothed, and lies with her, he shall pay her marriage price and marry her. ¹⁶ If her father refuses to give her to him, he must still pay him the customary marriage price for virgins. ¹⁷ "You shall not let a sorceress live. ¹⁸ "Anyone who lies with an animal shall be put to death. ¹⁹ "Whoever sacrifices to any god, except to the LORD alone, shall be doomed. ²⁰ "You shall not molest or oppress an alien, for you were once aliens yourselves in the land of Egypt. ²¹ You shall not wrong any widow or orphan. ²² If ever you wrong them and they cry out to me, I will surely hear their cry. ²³ My wrath will flare up, and I will kill you with the sword; then your own wives will be widows, and your children orphans. ²⁴ "If you lend money to one of your poor neighbors among my people, you shall not act like an extortioner toward him by demanding interest from him. ²⁵ If you take your neighbor's cloak as a pledge, you shall return it to him before sunset; ²⁶ for this cloak of his is the only covering he has for his body. What else has he to sleep in? If he cries out to me, I will hear him; for I am compassionate. ²⁷ "You shall not revile God, nor curse a prince of your people. ²⁸ "You shall not delay the offering of your harvest and your press. You shall give me the first-born of your sons. ²⁹ You must do the same with your oxen and your sheep; for seven days the firstling may stay with its mother, but on the eighth day you must give it to me. ³⁰ "You shall be men sacred to me. Flesh torn to pieces in the field you shall not eat; throw it to the dogs. Exodus Chapter 23 ¹ "You shall not repeat a false report.

You shall not revile God, nor curse a prince of your people. ²⁸ "You shall not delay the offering of your harvest and your press. You shall give me the first-born of your sons. ²⁹ You must do the same with your oxen and your sheep; for seven days the firstling may stay with its mother, but on the eighth day you must give it to me. ³⁰ "You shall be men sacred to me. Flesh torn to pieces in the field you shall not eat; throw it to the dogs. Exodus Chapter 23 ¹ "You shall not repeat a false report. Do not join the wicked in putting your hand, as an unjust witness, upon anyone. ² Neither shall you allege the example of the many as an excuse for doing wrong, nor shall you, when testifying in a lawsuit, side with the many in perverting justice. ³ You shall not favor a poor man in his lawsuit. ⁴ "When you come upon your enemy's ox or ass going

77 astray, see to it that it is returned to him. ⁵ When you notice the ass of one who hates you lying prostrate under its burden, by no means desert him; help him, rather, to raise it up. ⁶ "You shall not deny one of your needy fellow men his rights in his lawsuit. ⁷ You shall keep away from anything dishonest. The innocent and the just you shall not put to death, nor shall you acquit the guilty. ⁸ Never take a bribe, for a bribe blinds even the most clear-sighted and twists the words even of the just. ⁹ You shall not oppress an alien; you well know how it feels to be an alien, since you were once aliens yourselves in the land of Egypt. ¹⁰ "For six years you may sow your land and gather in its produce. ¹¹ But the seventh year you shall let the land lie untilled and unharvested, that the poor among you may eat of it and the beasts of the field may eat what the poor leave. So also shall you do in regard to your vineyard and your olive grove. ¹² "For six days you may do your work, but on the seventh day you must rest, that your ox and your ass may also have rest, and that the son of your maidservant and the alien may be refreshed. ¹³ Give heed to all that I have told you. "Never mention the name of any other god; it shall not be heard from your lips. ¹⁴ "Three times a year you shall celebrate a pilgrim feast to me. ¹⁵ You shall keep the feast of Unleavened Bread. As I have commanded you, you must eat unleavened bread for seven days at the prescribed time in the month of Abib, for it was then that you came out of Egypt. No one shall appear before me empty-handed. ¹⁶ You shall also keep the feast of the grain harvest with the first of the crop that you have sown in the field; and finally, the feast at the fruit harvest at the end of the year, when you gather in the produce from the fields. ¹⁷ Thrice a year shall all your men appear before the Lord GOD. ¹⁸ "You shall not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread; nor shall the fat of my feast be kept overnight till the next day. ¹⁹ The choicest first fruits of your soil you shall bring to the house of the LORD, your God. "You shall not boil a kid in its mother's milk. ²⁰ "See, I am sending an angel before you, to guard you on the way and bring you to the place I have prepared. ²¹ Be attentive to him and heed his voice. Do not rebel against him, for he will not forgive your sin. My authority resides in him. ²² If you heed his voice and carry out all I tell you, I will be an enemy to your enemies and a foe to your foes. ²³ "My angel will go before you and bring you to the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites and Jebusites; and I will wipe them out. ²⁴ Therefore, you shall not bow down in worship before their gods, nor shall you make anything like them; rather, you must demolish them and smash their sacred pillars. ²⁵ The LORD, your God, you shall worship; then I will bless your food and drink, and I will remove all sickness from your midst; ²⁶ no woman in your land will be barren or miscarry; and I will give you a full span of life. ²⁷ "I will have the fear of me precede you, so that I will throw into panic every nation you reach. I will make all your enemies turn from you in flight, ²⁸ and ahead of you I will send hornets to drive the Hivites, Canaanites and Hittites out of your way. ²⁹ But not in one year will I drive them all out before you; else the land will become so desolate that the wild beasts will multiply against you. ³⁰ Instead, I will drive them out little by little before you, until you have grown numerous enough to take possession of the land. ³¹ I will set your boundaries from the Red Sea to the sea of the Philistines, and from the desert to the River; all who dwell in this land I will hand over to you to be driven out of your way. ³² You shall not make a covenant with them or their gods.

drive them all out before you; else the land will become so desolate that the wild beasts will multiply against you. ³⁰ Instead, I will drive them out little by little before you, until you have grown numerous enough to take possession of the land. ³¹ I will set your boundaries from the Red Sea to the sea of the Philistines, and from the desert to the River; all who dwell in this land I will hand over to you to be driven out of your way. ³² You shall not make a covenant with them or their gods. ³³ They must not abide in your land, lest they make you sin against me by ensnaring you into worshiping their gods." Exodus Chapter 24 ¹ Moses himself was told, "Come up to the LORD, you and Aaron, with Nadab, Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel. You shall all worship at some distance, ² but Moses alone is to come close to the LORD; the others shall not come too near, and the people shall not come up at all with Moses." ³ When Moses came to the people and related all the words and ordinances of the LORD, they all answered with one voice, "We will do everything that the LORD has told us." ⁴ Moses then

78 wrote down all the words of the LORD and, rising early the next day, he erected at the foot of the mountain an altar and twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel. ⁵ Then, having sent certain young men of the Israelites to offer holocausts and sacrifice young bulls as peace offerings to the LORD, ⁶ Moses took half of the blood and put it in large bowls; the other half he splashed on the altar. ⁷ Taking the book of the covenant, he read it aloud to the people, who answered, "All that the LORD has said, we will heed and do." ⁸ Then he took the blood and sprinkled it on the people, saying, "This is the blood of the covenant which the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words of his." ⁹ Moses then went up with Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy elders of Israel, ¹⁰ and they beheld the God of Israel. Under his feet there appeared to be sapphire tilework, as clear as the sky itself. ¹¹ Yet he did not smite these chosen Israelites. After gazing on God, they could still eat and drink. ¹² The LORD said to Moses, "Come up to me on the mountain and, while you are there, I will give you the stone tablets on which I have written the commandments intended for their instruction." ¹³ So Moses set out with Joshua, his aide, and went up to the mountain of God. ¹⁴ The elders, however, had been told by him, "Wait here for us until we return to you. Aaron and Hur are staying with you. If anyone has a complaint, let him refer the matter to them." ¹⁵ After Moses had gone up, a cloud covered the mountain. ¹⁶ The glory of the LORD settled upon Mount Sinai. The cloud covered it for six days, and on the seventh day he called to Moses from the midst of the cloud. ¹⁷ To the Israelites the glory of the LORD was seen as a consuming fire on the mountaintop. ¹⁸ But Moses passed into the midst of the cloud as he went up on the mountain; and there he stayed for forty days and forty nights. Exodus Chapter 25 ¹ This is what the LORD then said to Moses: ² "Tell the Israelites to take up a collection for me. From every man you shall accept the contribution that his heart prompts him to give me. ³ These are the contributions you shall accept from them: gold, silver and bronze; ⁴ violet, purple and scarlet yarn; fine linen and goat hair; ⁵ rams' skins dyed red, and tahash skins; acacia wood; ⁶ oil for the light; spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense; ⁷ onyx stones and other gems for mounting on the ephod and the breastpiece. ⁸ "They shall make a sanctuary for me, that I may dwell in their midst. ⁹ This Dwelling and all its furnishings you shall make exactly according to the pattern that I will now show you. ¹⁰ "You shall make an ark of acacia wood, two and a half cubits long, one and a half cubits wide, and one and a half cubits high. ¹¹ Plate it inside and outside with pure gold, and put a molding of gold around the top of it. ¹² Cast four gold rings and fasten them on the four supports of the ark, two rings on one side and two on the opposite side. ¹³ Then make poles of acacia wood and plate them with gold. ¹⁴ These poles you are to put through the rings on the sides of the ark, for carrying it; ¹⁵ they must remain in the rings of the ark and never be withdrawn. ¹⁶ In the ark you are to put the commandments which I will give you. ¹⁷ "You shall then make a propitiatory of pure gold, two cubits and a half long, and one and a half cubits wide. ¹⁸ Make two cherubim of beaten gold for the two ends of the propitiatory, ¹⁹ fastening them so that one cherub springs direct from each end. ²⁰ The cherubim shall have their wings spread out above, covering the propitiatory with them; they shall be turned toward each other, but with their faces looking toward the propitiatory. ²¹ This propitiatory you shall then place on top of the ark. In the ark itself you are to put the commandments which I will give you.

long, and one and a half cubits wide. ¹⁸ Make two cherubim of beaten gold for the two ends of the propitiatory, ¹⁹ fastening them so that one cherub springs direct from each end. ²⁰ The cherubim shall have their wings spread out above, covering the propitiatory with them; they shall be turned toward each other, but with their faces looking toward the propitiatory. ²¹ This propitiatory you shall then place on top of the ark. In the ark itself you are to put the commandments which I will give you. ²² There I will meet you and there, from above the propitiatory, between the two cherubim on the ark of the commandments, I will tell you all the commands that I wish you to give the Israelites. ²³ "You shall also make a table of acacia wood, two cubits long, a cubit wide, and a cubit and a half high. ²⁴ Plate it with pure gold and make a molding of gold around it. ²⁵ Surround it with a frame, a handbreadth high, with a molding of gold around the frame. ²⁶ You shall also make four rings of gold for it and fasten them at the four corners, one at each leg, ²⁷ on two opposite sides of the

79 frame as holders for the poles to carry the table. ²⁸ These poles for carrying the table you shall make of acacia wood and plate with gold. ²⁹ Of pure gold you shall make its plates and cups, as well as its pitchers and bowls for pouring libations. ³⁰ On the table you shall always keep showbread set before me. ³¹ "You shall make a lampstand of pure beaten gold - its shaft and branches - with its cups and knobs and petals springing directly from it. ³² Six branches are to extend from the sides of the lampstand, three branches on one side, and three on the other. ³³ On one branch there are to be three cups, shaped like almond blossoms, each with its knob and petals; on the opposite branch there are to be three cups, shaped like almond blossoms, each with its knob and petals; and so for the six branches that extend from the lampstand. ³⁴ On the shaft there are to be four cups, shaped like almond blossoms, with their knobs and petals, ³⁵ including a knob below each of the three pairs of branches that extend from the lampstand. ³⁶ Their knobs and branches shall so spring from it that the whole will form but a single piece of pure beaten gold. ³⁷ You shall then make seven lamps for it and so set up the lamps that they shed their light on the space in front of the lampstand. ³⁸ These, as well as the trimming shears and trays, must be of pure gold. ³⁹ Use a talent of pure gold for the lampstand and all its appurtenances. ⁴⁰ See that you make them according to the pattern shown you on the mountain. Exodus Chapter 26 ¹ "The Dwelling itself you shall make out of sheets woven of fine linen twined and of violet, purple and scarlet yarn, with cherubim embroidered on them. ² The length of each shall be twenty-eight cubits, and the width four cubits; all the sheets shall be of the same size. ³ Five of the sheets are to be sewed together, edge to edge; and the same for the other five. ⁴ Make loops of violet yarn along the edge of the end sheet in one set, and the same along the edge of the end sheet in the other set. ⁵ There are to be fifty loops along the edge of the end sheet in the first set, and fifty loops along the edge of the corresponding sheet in the second set, and so placed that the loops are directly opposite each other. ⁶ Then make fifty clasps of gold, with which to join the two sets of sheets, so that the Dwelling forms one whole. ⁷ "Also make sheets woven of goat hair, to be used as a tent covering over the Dwelling. ⁸ Eleven such sheets are to be made; the length of each shall be thirty cubits, and the width four cubits: all eleven sheets shall be of the same size. ⁹ Sew five of the sheets, edge to edge, into one set, and the other six sheets into another set. Use the sixth sheet double at the front of the tent. ¹⁰ Make fifty loops along the edge of the end sheet in one set, and fifty loops along the edge of the end sheet in the second set. ¹¹ Also make fifty bronze clasps and put them into the loops, to join the tent into one whole. ¹² There will be an extra half sheet of tent covering, which shall be allowed to hang down over the rear of the Dwelling. ¹³ Likewise, the sheets of the tent will have an extra cubit's length to be left hanging down on either side of the Dwelling to protect it. ¹⁴ Over the tent itself you shall make a covering of rams' skins dyed red, and above that, a covering of tahash skins. ¹⁵ "You shall make boards of acacia wood as walls for the Dwelling. ¹⁶ The length of each board is to be ten cubits, and its width one and a half cubits. ¹⁷ Each board shall have two arms that shall serve to fasten the boards in line. In this way all the boards of the Dwelling are to be made.

ra cubit's length to be left hanging down on either side of the Dwelling to protect it. ¹⁴ Over the tent itself you shall make a covering of rams' skins dyed red, and above that, a covering of tahash skins. ¹⁵ "You shall make boards of acacia wood as walls for the Dwelling. ¹⁶ The length of each board is to be ten cubits, and its width one and a half cubits. ¹⁷ Each board shall have two arms that shall serve to fasten the boards in line. In this way all the boards of the Dwelling are to be made. ¹⁸ Set up the boards of the Dwelling as follows: twenty boards on the south side, ¹⁹ with forty silver pedestals under the twenty boards, so that there are two pedestals under each board, at its two arms; ²⁰ twenty boards on the other side of the Dwelling, the north side, ²¹ with their forty silver pedestals, two under each board; ²² six boards for the rear of the Dwelling, to the west; ²³ and two boards for the corners at the rear of the Dwelling. ²⁴ These two shall be double at the bottom, and likewise double at the top, to the first ring. That is how both boards in the corners are to be made. ²⁵ Thus, there shall be in the rear eight boards, with their sixteen silver pedestals, two pedestals under each board. ²⁶ Also make bars of acacia wood: five for the boards on one side of the Dwelling, ²⁷ five for those on the other side, and five for those at the rear, toward the west. ²⁸

80 The center bar, at the middle of the boards, shall reach across from end to end. ²⁹ Plate the boards with gold, and make gold rings on them as holders for the bars, which are also to be plated with gold. ³⁰ You shall erect the Dwelling according to the pattern shown you on the mountain. ³¹ "You shall have a veil woven of violet, purple and scarlet yarn, and of fine linen twined, with cherubim embroidered on it. ³² It is to be hung on four gold-plated columns of acacia wood, which shall have hooks of gold and shall rest on four silver pedestals. ³³ Hang the veil from clasps. The ark of the commandments you shall bring inside, behind this veil which divides the holy place from the holy of holies. ³⁴ Set the propitiatory on the ark of the commandments in the holy of holies. ³⁵ "Outside the veil you shall place the table and the lampstand, the latter on the south side of the Dwelling, opposite the table, which is to be put on the north side. ³⁶ For the entrance of the tent make a variegated curtain of violet, purple and scarlet yarn and of fine linen twined. ³⁷ Make five columns of acacia wood for this curtain; have them plated with gold, with their hooks of gold; and cast five bronze pedestals for them. Exodus Chapter 27 ¹ "You shall make an altar of acacia wood, on a square, five cubits long and five cubits wide; it shall be three cubits high. ² At the four corners there are to be horns, so made that they spring directly from the altar. You shall then plate it with bronze. ³ Make pots for removing the ashes, as well as shovels, basins, forks and fire pans, all of which shall be of bronze. ⁴ Make a grating of bronze network for it; this to have four bronze rings, one at each of its four corners. ⁵ Put it down around the altar, on the ground. This network is to be half as high as the altar. ⁶ You shall also make poles of acacia wood for the altar, and plate them with bronze. ⁷ These poles are to be put through the rings, so that they are on either side of the altar when it is carried. ⁸ Make the altar itself in the form of a hollow box, just as it was shown you on the mountain. ⁹ "You shall also make a court for the Dwelling. On the south side the court shall have hangings a hundred cubits long, woven of fine linen twined, ¹⁰ with twenty columns and twenty pedestals of bronze; the hooks and bands on the columns shall be of silver. ¹¹ On the north side there shall be similar hangings, a hundred cubits long, with twenty columns and twenty pedestals of bronze; the hooks and bands on the columns shall be of silver. ¹² On the west side, across the width of the court, there shall be hangings, fifty cubits long, with ten columns and ten pedestals. ¹³ The width of the court on the east side shall be fifty cubits. ¹⁴ On one side there shall be hangings to the extent of fifteen cubits, with three columns and three pedestals; ¹⁵ on the other side there shall be hangings to the extent of fifteen cubits, with three columns and three pedestals. ¹⁶ "At the entrance of the court there shall be a variegated curtain, twenty cubits long, woven of violet, purple and scarlet yarn and of fine linen twined. It shall have four columns and four pedestals. ¹⁷ "All the columns around the court shall have bands and hooks of silver, and pedestals of bronze. ¹⁸ The enclosure of the court is to be one hundred cubits long, fifty cubits wide, and five cubits high. Fine linen twined must be used, and the pedestals must be of bronze. ¹⁹ All the fittings of the Dwelling, whatever be their use, as well as all its tent pegs and all the tent pegs of the court, must be of bronze. ²⁰ "You shall order the Israelites to bring you clear oil of crushed olives, to be used for the light, so that you may keep lamps burning regularly.

silver, and pedestals of bronze. ¹⁸ The enclosure of the court is to be one hundred cubits long, fifty cubits wide, and five cubits high. Fine linen twined must be used, and the pedestals must be of bronze. ¹⁹ All the fittings of the Dwelling, whatever be their use, as well as all its tent pegs and all the tent pegs of the court, must be of bronze. ²⁰ "You shall order the Israelites to bring you clear oil of crushed olives, to be used for the light, so that you may keep lamps burning regularly. ²¹ From evening to morning Aaron and his sons shall maintain them before the LORD in the meeting tent, outside the veil which hangs in front of the commandments. This shall be a perpetual ordinance for the Israelites throughout their generations. Exodus Chapter 28 ¹ "From among the Israelites have your brother Aaron, together with his sons Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, brought to you, that they may be my priests. ² For the glorious adornment of your brother Aaron you shall have sacred vestments made. ³ Therefore, to the various expert

81 workmen whom I have endowed with skill, you shall give instructions to make such vestments for Aaron as will set him apart for his sacred service as my priest. ⁴ These are the vestments they shall make: a breastpiece, an ephod, a robe, a brocaded tunic, a miter and a sash. In making these sacred vestments which your brother Aaron and his sons are to wear in serving as my priests, ⁵ they shall use gold, violet, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen. ⁶ "The ephod they shall make of gold thread and of violet, purple and scarlet yarn, embroidered on cloth of fine linen twined. ⁷ It shall have a pair of shoulder straps joined to its two upper ends. ⁸ The embroidered belt of the ephod shall extend out from it and, like it, be made of gold thread, of violet, purple and scarlet yarn, and of fine linen twined. ⁹ "Get two onyx stones and engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel: ¹⁰ six of their names on one stone, and the other six on the other stone, in the order of their birth. ¹¹ As a gem-cutter engraves a seal, so shall you have the two stones engraved with the names of the sons of Israel and then mounted in gold filigree work. ¹² Set these two stones on the shoulder straps of the ephod as memorial stones of the sons of Israel. Thus Aaron shall bear their names on his shoulders as a reminder before the LORD. ¹³ Make filigree rosettes of gold, ¹⁴ as well as two chains of pure gold, twisted like cords, and fasten the cordlike chains to the filigree rosettes. ¹⁵ "The breastpiece of decision you shall also have made, embroidered like the ephod with gold thread and violet, purple and scarlet yarn on cloth of fine linen twined. ¹⁶ It is to be square when folded double, a span high and a span wide. ¹⁷ On it you shall mount four rows of precious stones: in the first row, a carnelian, a topaz and an emerald; ¹⁸ in the second row, a garnet, a sapphire and a beryl; ¹⁹ in the third row, a jacinth, an agate and an amethyst; ²⁰ in the fourth row, a chrysolite, an onyx and a jasper. These stones are to be mounted in gold filigree work, ²¹ twelve of them to match the names of the sons of Israel, each stone engraved like a seal with the name of one of the twelve tribes. ²² "When the chains of pure gold, twisted like cords, have been made for the breastpiece, ²³ you shall then make two rings of gold for it and fasten them to the two upper ends of the breastpiece. ²⁴ The gold cords are then to be fastened to the two rings at the upper ends of the breastpiece, ²⁵ the other two ends of the cords being fastened in front to the two filigree rosettes which are attached to the shoulder straps of the ephod. ²⁶ Make two other rings of gold and put them on the two lower ends of the breastpiece, on its edge that faces the ephod. ²⁷ Then make two more rings of gold and fasten them to the bottom of the shoulder straps next to where they join the ephod in front, just above its embroidered belt. ²⁸ Violet ribbons shall bind the rings of the breastpiece to the rings of the ephod, so that the breastpiece will stay right above the embroidered belt of the ephod and not swing loose from it. ²⁹ "Whenever Aaron enters the sanctuary, he will thus bear the names of the sons of Israel on the breastpiece of decision over his heart as a constant reminder before the LORD. ³⁰ In this breastpiece of decision you shall put the Urim and Thummim, that they may be over Aaron's heart whenever he enters the presence of the LORD. Thus he shall always bear the decisions for the Israelites over his heart in the LORD'S presence. ³¹ "The robe of the ephod you shall make entirely of violet material. ³² It shall have an opening for the head in the center, and around this opening there shall be a selvage, woven as at the opening of a shirt, to keep it from being torn.

the LORD. ³⁰ In this breastpiece of decision you shall put the Urim and Thummim, that they may be over Aaron's heart whenever he enters the presence of the LORD. Thus he shall always bear the decisions for the Israelites over his heart in the LORD'S presence. ³¹ "The robe of the ephod you shall make entirely of violet material. ³² It shall have an opening for the head in the center, and around this opening there shall be a selvage, woven as at the opening of a shirt, to keep it from being torn. ³³ All around the hem at the bottom you shall make pomegranates, woven of violet, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen twined, with gold bells between them; ³⁴ first a gold bell, then a pomegranate, and thus alternating all around the hem of the robe. ³⁵ Aaron shall wear it when ministering, that its tinkling may be heard as he enters and leaves the LORD'S presence in the sanctuary; else he will die. ³⁶ "You shall also make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it, as on a seal engraving, 'Sacred to the LORD.' ³⁷ This plate is to be tied over the miter with a violet ribbon in such a way that it rests on the front of the miter, ³⁸ over Aaron's forehead. Since Aaron bears whatever guilt the Israelites may incur in consecrating any of their sacred gifts, this plate must always be over his forehead, so that they may find favor with the LORD. ³⁹ "The tunic of fine linen shall be brocaded. The miter shall be made of fine linen. The

82 sash shall be of variegated work. ⁴⁰ "Likewise, for the glorious adornment of Aaron's sons you shall have tunics and sashes and turbans made. ⁴¹ With these you shall clothe your brother Aaron and his sons. Anoint and ordain them, consecrating them as my priests. ⁴² You must also make linen drawers for them, to cover their naked flesh from their loins to their thighs. ⁴³ Aaron and his sons shall wear them whenever they go into the meeting tent or approach the altar to minister in the sanctuary, lest they incur guilt and die. This shall be a perpetual ordinance for him and for his descendants. Exodus Chapter 29 ¹ "This is the rite you shall perform in consecrating them as my priests. Procure a young bull and two unblemished rams. ² With fine wheat flour make unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers spread with oil, ³ and put them in a basket. Take the basket of them along with the bullock and the two rams. ⁴ Aaron and his sons you shall also bring to the entrance of the meeting tent, and there wash them with water. ⁵ Take the vestments and clothe Aaron with the tunic, the robe of the ephod, the ephod itself, and the breastpiece, fastening the embroidered belt of the ephod around him. ⁶ Put the miter on his head, the sacred diadem on the miter. ⁷ Then take the anointing oil and anoint him with it, pouring it on his head. ⁸ Bring forward his sons also and clothe them with the tunics, ⁹ gird them with the sashes, and tie the turbans on them. Thus shall the priesthood be theirs by perpetual law, and thus shall you ordain Aaron and his sons. ¹⁰ "Now bring forward the bullock in front of the meeting tent. There Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on its head. ¹¹ Then slaughter the bullock before the LORD, at the entrance of the meeting tent. ¹² Take some of its blood and with your finger put it on the horns of the altar. All the rest of the blood you shall pour out at the base of the altar. ¹³ All the fat that covers its inner organs, as well as the lobe of its liver and its two kidneys, together with the fat that is on them, you shall take and burn on the altar. ¹⁴ But the flesh and hide and offal of the bullock you must burn up outside the camp, since this is a sin offering. ¹⁵ "Then take one of the rams, and after Aaron and his sons have laid their hands on its head, ¹⁶ slaughter it. The blood you shall take and splash on all the sides of the altar. ¹⁷ Cut the ram into pieces; its inner organs and shanks you shall first wash, and then put them with the pieces and with the head. ¹⁸ The entire ram shall then be burned on the altar, since it is a holocaust, a sweet-smelling oblation to the LORD. ¹⁹ "After this take the other ram, and when Aaron and his sons have laid their hands on its head, ²⁰ slaughter it. Some of its blood you shall take and put on the tip of Aaron's right ear and on the tips of his sons' right ears and on the thumbs of their right hands and the great toes of their right feet. Splash the rest of the blood on all the sides of the altar. ²¹ Then take some of the blood that is on the altar, together with some of the anointing oil, and sprinkle this on Aaron and his vestments, as well as on his sons and their vestments, that his sons and their vestments may be sacred. ²² "Now, from this ram you shall take its fat: its fatty tail, the fat that covers its inner organs, the lobe of its liver, its two kidneys with the fat that is on them, and its right thigh, since this is the ordination ram; ²³ then, out of the basket of unleavened food that you have set before the LORD, you shall take one of the loaves of bread, one of the cakes made with oil, and one of the wafers. ²⁴ All these things you shall put into the hands of Aaron and his sons, so that they may wave them as a wave offering before the LORD. ²⁵ After you have received them back from their hands, you shall burn them on top of the holocaust on the altar as a sweet-smelling oblation to the LORD.

ince this is the ordination ram; ²³ then, out of the basket of unleavened food that you have set before the LORD, you shall take one of the loaves of bread, one of the cakes made with oil, and one of the wafers. ²⁴ All these things you shall put into the hands of Aaron and his sons, so that they may wave them as a wave offering before the LORD. ²⁵ After you have received them back from their hands, you shall burn them on top of the holocaust on the altar as a sweet-smelling oblation to the LORD. ²⁶ Finally, take the breast of Aaron's ordination ram and wave it as a wave offering before the LORD; this is to be your own portion. ²⁷ "Thus shall you set aside the breast of whatever wave offering is waved, as well as the thigh of whatever raised offering is raised up, whether this be the ordination ram or anything else belonging to Aaron or to his sons. ²⁸ Such things are due to Aaron and his sons from the Israelites by a perpetual ordinance as a contribution. From their peace offerings, too, the Israelites shall

83 make a contribution, their contribution to the LORD. ²⁹ "The sacred vestments of Aaron shall be passed down to his descendants, that in them they may be anointed and ordained. ³⁰ The descendant who succeeds him as priest and who is to enter the meeting tent to minister in the sanctuary shall be clothed with them for seven days. ³¹ "You shall take the flesh of the ordination ram and boil it in a holy place. ³² At the entrance of the meeting tent Aaron and his sons shall eat the flesh of the ram and the bread that is in the basket. ³³ They themselves are to eat of these things by which atonement was made at their ordination and consecration; but no layman may eat of them, since they are sacred. ³⁴ If some of the flesh of the ordination sacrifice or some of the bread remains over on the next day, this remnant must be burned up; it is not to be eaten, since it is sacred. ³⁵ Carry out all these orders in regard to Aaron and his sons just as I have given them to you. "Seven days you shall spend in ordaining them, ³⁶ sacrificing a bullock each day as a sin offering, to make atonement. Thus also shall you purge the altar in making atonement for it; you shall anoint it in order to consecrate it. ³⁷ Seven days you shall spend in making atonement for the altar and in consecrating it. Then the altar will be most sacred, and whatever touches it will become sacred. ³⁸ "Now, this is what you shall offer on the altar: two yearling lambs as the sacrifice established for each day; ³⁹ one lamb in the morning and the other lamb at the evening twilight. ⁴⁰ With the first lamb there shall be a tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with a fourth of a hin of oil of crushed olives and, as its libation, a fourth of a hin of wine. ⁴¹ The other lamb you shall offer at the evening twilight, with the same cereal offering and libation as in the morning. You shall offer this as a sweet-smelling oblation to the LORD. ⁴² Throughout your generations this established holocaust shall be offered before the LORD at the entrance of the meeting tent, where I will meet you and speak to you. ⁴³ "There, at the altar, I will meet the Israelites; hence, it will be made sacred by my glory. ⁴⁴ Thus I will consecrate the meeting tent and the altar, just as I also consecrate Aaron and his sons to be my priests. ⁴⁵ I will dwell in the midst of the Israelites and will be their God. ⁴⁶ They shall know that I, the LORD, am their God who brought them out of the land of Egypt, so that I, the LORD, their God, might dwell among them. Exodus Chapter 30 ¹ "For burning incense you shall make an altar of acacia wood, ² with a square surface, a cubit long, a cubit wide, and two cubits high, with horns that spring directly from it. ³ Its grate on top, its walls on all four sides, and its horns you shall plate with pure gold. Put a gold molding around it. ⁴ Underneath the molding you shall put gold rings, two on one side and two on the opposite side, as holders for the poles used in carrying it. ⁵ Make the poles, too, of acacia wood and plate them with gold. ⁶ This altar you are to place in front of the veil that hangs before the ark of the commandments where I will meet you. ⁷ "On it Aaron shall burn fragrant incense. Morning after morning, when he prepares the lamps, ⁸ and again in the evening twilight, when he lights the lamps, he shall burn incense. Throughout your generations this shall be the established incense offering before the LORD. ⁹ On this altar you shall not offer up any profane incense, or any holocaust or cereal offering; nor shall you pour out a libation upon it. ¹⁰ Once a year Aaron shall perform the atonement rite on its horns. Throughout your generations this atonement is to be made once a year with the blood of the atoning sin offering.

, ⁸ and again in the evening twilight, when he lights the lamps, he shall burn incense. Throughout your generations this shall be the established incense offering before the LORD. ⁹ On this altar you shall not offer up any profane incense, or any holocaust or cereal offering; nor shall you pour out a libation upon it. ¹⁰ Once a year Aaron shall perform the atonement rite on its horns. Throughout your generations this atonement is to be made once a year with the blood of the atoning sin offering. This altar is most sacred to the LORD." ¹¹ The LORD also said to Moses, ¹² "When you take a census of the Israelites who are to be registered, each one, as he is enrolled, shall give the LORD a forfeit for his life, so that no plague may come upon them for being registered. ¹³ Everyone who enters the registered group must pay a half-shekel, according to the standard of the sanctuary shekel, twenty gerahs to the shekel. This payment of a half-shekel is a contribution to the LORD. ¹⁴ Everyone of twenty years or more who enters the registered group must give this contribution to the LORD. ¹⁵ The rich need not give more, nor shall the poor give less, than a half-shekel in this contribution to the LORD to pay the

84 forfeit for their lives. ¹⁶ When you receive this forfeit money from the Israelites, you shall donate it to the service of the meeting tent, that there it may be the Israelites' reminder before the LORD, of the forfeit paid for their lives." ¹⁷ The LORD said to Moses, ¹⁸ "For ablutions you shall make a bronze laver with a bronze base. Place it between the meeting tent and the altar, and put water in it. ¹⁹ Aaron and his sons shall use it in washing their hands and feet. ²⁰ When they are about to enter the meeting tent, they must wash with water, lest they die. Likewise when they approach the altar in their ministry, to offer an oblation to the LORD, ²¹ they must wash their hands and feet, lest they die. This shall be a perpetual ordinance for him and his descendants throughout their generations." ²² The LORD said to Moses, ²³ "Take the finest spices: five hundred shekels of free- flowing myrrh; half that amount, that is, two hundred and fifty shekels, of fragrant cinnamon; two hundred and fifty shekels of fragrant cane; ²⁴ five hundred shekels of cassia-all according to the standard of the sanctuary shekel; together with a hin of olive oil; ²⁵ and blend them into sacred anointing oil, perfumed ointment expertly prepared. ²⁶ With this sacred anointing oil you shall anoint the meeting tent and the ark of the commandments, ²⁷ the table and all its appurtenances, the lampstand and its appurtenances, the altar of incense ²⁸ and the altar of holocausts with all its appurtenances, and the laver with its base. ²⁹ When you have consecrated them, they shall be most sacred; whatever touches them shall be sacred. ³⁰ Aaron and his sons you shall also anoint and consecrate as my priests. ³¹ To the Israelites you shall say: As sacred anointing oil this shall belong to me throughout your generations. ³² It may not be used in any ordinary anointing of the body, nor may you make any other oil of a like mixture. It is sacred, and shall be treated as sacred by you. ³³ Whoever prepares a perfume like this, or whoever puts any of this on a layman, shall be cut off from his kinsmen." ³⁴ The LORD told Moses, "Take these aromatic substances: storax and onycha and galbanum, these and pure frankincense in equal parts; ³⁵ and blend them into incense. This fragrant powder, expertly prepared, is to be salted and so kept pure and sacred. ³⁶ Grind some of it into fine dust and put this before the commandments in the meeting tent where I will meet you. This incense shall be treated as most sacred by you. ³⁷ You may not make incense of a like mixture for yourselves; you must treat it as sacred to the LORD. ³⁸ Whoever makes an incense like this for his own enjoyment of its fragrance, shall be cut off from his kinsmen." Exodus Chapter 31 ¹ The LORD said to Moses, ² "See, I have chosen Bezalel, son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, ³ and I have filled him with a divine spirit of skill and understanding and knowledge in every craft: ⁴ in the production of embroidery, in making things of gold, silver or bronze, ⁵ in cutting and mounting precious stones, in carving wood, and in every craft. ⁶ As his assistant I have appointed Oholiab, son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. I have also endowed all the experts with the necessary skill to make all the things I have ordered you to make: ⁷ the meeting tent, the ark of the commandments with the propitiatory on top of it, all the furnishings of the tent, ⁸ the table with its appurtenances, the pure gold lampstand with all its appurtenances, the altar of incense, ⁹ the altar of holocausts with all its appurtenances, the laver with its base, ¹⁰ the service cloths, the sacred vestments for Aaron the priest, the vestments for his sons in their ministry, ¹¹ the anointing oil, and the fragrant incense for the sanctuary.

red you to make: ⁷ the meeting tent, the ark of the commandments with the propitiatory on top of it, all the furnishings of the tent, ⁸ the table with its appurtenances, the pure gold lampstand with all its appurtenances, the altar of incense, ⁹ the altar of holocausts with all its appurtenances, the laver with its base, ¹⁰ the service cloths, the sacred vestments for Aaron the priest, the vestments for his sons in their ministry, ¹¹ the anointing oil, and the fragrant incense for the sanctuary. All these things they shall make just as I have commanded you." ¹² The LORD said to Moses, ¹³ "You must also tell the Israelites: Take care to keep my sabbaths, for that is to be the token between you and me throughout the generations, to show that it is I, the LORD, who make you holy. ¹⁴ Therefore, you must keep the sabbath as something sacred. Whoever desecrates it shall be put to death. If anyone does work on that day, he must be rooted out of his people. ¹⁵ Six days there are for doing work, but the seventh day is the sabbath of complete rest, sacred to the LORD. Anyone who does work on the sabbath day shall be put to death. ¹⁶ So shall the Israelites observe the sabbath, keeping it throughout their

85 generations as a perpetual covenant. ¹⁷ Between me and the Israelites it is to be an everlasting token; for in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, but on the seventh day he rested at his ease." ¹⁸ When the LORD had finished speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two tablets of the commandments, the stone tablets inscribed by God's own finger. Exodus Chapter 32 ¹ When the people became aware of Moses' delay in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said to him, "Come, make us a god who will be our leader; as for the man Moses who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has happened to him." ² Aaron replied, "Have your wives and sons and daughters take off the golden earrings they are wearing, and bring them to me." ³ So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron, ⁴ who accepted their offering, and fashioning this gold with a graving tool, made a molten calf. Then they cried out, "This is your God, O Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt." ⁵ On seeing this, Aaron built an altar before the calf and proclaimed, "Tomorrow is a feast of the LORD." ⁶ Early the next day the people offered holocausts and brought peace offerings. Then they sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to revel. ⁷ With that, the LORD said to Moses, "Go down at once to your people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt, for they have become depraved. ⁸ They have soon turned aside from the way I pointed out to them, making for themselves a molten calf and worshiping it, sacrificing to it and crying out, 'This is your God, O Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt!' ⁹ I see how stiff-necked this people is," continued the LORD to Moses. ¹⁰ "Let me alone, then, that my wrath may blaze up against them to consume them. Then I will make of you a great nation." ¹¹ But Moses implored the LORD, his God, saying, "Why, O LORD, should your wrath blaze up against your own people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt with such great power and with so strong a hand? ¹² Why should the Egyptians say, 'With evil intent he brought them out, that he might kill them in the mountains and exterminate them from the face of the earth'? Let your blazing wrath die down; relent in punishing your people. ¹³ Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel, and how you swore to them by your own self, saying, 'I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky; and all this land that I promised, I will give your descendants as their perpetual heritage.'" ¹⁴ So the LORD relented in the punishment he had threatened to inflict on his people. ¹⁵ Moses then turned and came down the mountain with the two tablets of the commandments in his hands, tablets that were written on both sides, front and back; ¹⁶ tablets that were made by God, having inscriptions on them that were engraved by God himself. ¹⁷ Now, when Joshua heard the noise of the people shouting, he said to Moses, "That sounds like a battle in the camp." ¹⁸ But Moses answered, "It does not sound like cries of victory, nor does it sound like cries of defeat; the sounds that I hear are cries of revelry." ¹⁹ As he drew near the camp, he saw the calf and the dancing. With that, Moses' wrath flared up, so that he threw the tablets down and broke them on the base of the mountain. ²⁰ Taking the calf they had made, he fused it in the fire and then ground it down to powder, which he scattered on the water and made the Israelites drink. ²¹ Moses asked Aaron, "What did this people ever do to you that you should lead them into so grave a sin?" Aaron replied, "Let not my lord be angry. ²² You know well enough how prone the people are to evil.

he calf and the dancing. With that, Moses' wrath flared up, so that he threw the tablets down and broke them on the base of the mountain. ²⁰ Taking the calf they had made, he fused it in the fire and then ground it down to powder, which he scattered on the water and made the Israelites drink. ²¹ Moses asked Aaron, "What did this people ever do to you that you should lead them into so grave a sin?" Aaron replied, "Let not my lord be angry. ²² You know well enough how prone the people are to evil. ²³ They said to me, 'Make us a god to be our leader; as for the man Moses who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has happened to him.' ²⁴ So I told them, 'Let anyone who has gold jewelry take it off.' They gave it to me, and I threw it into the fire, and this calf came out." ²⁵ When Moses realized that, to the scornful joy of their foes, Aaron had let the people run wild, ²⁶ he stood at the gate of the camp and cried, "Whoever is for the LORD, let him come to me!" All the Levites then rallied to him, ²⁷ and he told them, "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Put your sword on your hip, every one of you! Now go up and down the camp, from gate to gate, and slay your own kinsmen, your friends

86 and neighbors!" ²⁸ The Levites carried out the command of Moses, and that day there fell about three thousand of the people. ²⁹ Then Moses said, "Today you have been dedicated to the LORD, for you were against your own sons and kinsmen, to bring a blessing upon yourselves this day." ³⁰ On the next day Moses said to the people, "You have committed a grave sin. I will go up to the LORD, then; perhaps I may be able to make atonement for your sin." ³¹ So Moses went back to the LORD and said, "Ah, this people has indeed committed a grave sin in making a god of gold for themselves! ³² If you would only forgive their sin! If you will not, then strike me out of the book that you have written." ³³ The LORD answered, "Him only who has sinned against me will I strike out of my book. ³⁴ Now, go and lead the people whither I have told you. My angel will go before you. When it is time for me to punish, I will punish them for their sin." ³⁵ Thus the LORD smote the people for having had Aaron make the calf for them. Exodus Chapter 33 ¹ The LORD told Moses, "You and the people whom you have brought up from the land of Egypt, are to go up from here to the land which I swore to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob I would give to their descendants. ² Driving out the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites, I will send an angel before you ³ to the land flowing with milk and honey. But I myself will not go up in your company, because you are a stiff-necked people; otherwise I might exterminate you on the way." ⁴ When the people heard this bad news, they went into mourning, and no one wore his ornaments. ⁵ The LORD said to Moses, "Tell the Israelites: You are a stiff-necked people. Were I to go up in your company even for a moment, I would exterminate you. Take off your ornaments, therefore; I will then see what I am to do with you." ⁶ So, from Mount Horeb onward, the Israelites laid aside their ornaments. ⁷ The tent, which was called the meeting tent, Moses used to pitch at some distance away, outside the camp. Anyone who wished to consult the LORD would go to this meeting tent outside the camp. ⁸ Whenever Moses went out to the tent, the people would all rise and stand at the entrance of their own tents, watching Moses until he entered the tent. ⁹ As Moses entered the tent, the column of cloud would come down and stand at its entrance while the LORD spoke with Moses. ¹⁰ On seeing the column of cloud stand at the entrance of the tent, all the people would rise and worship at the entrance of their own tents. ¹¹ The LORD used to speak to Moses face to face, as one man speaks to another. Moses would then return to the camp, but his young assistant, Joshua, son of Nun, would not move out of the tent. ¹² Moses said to the LORD, "You, indeed, are telling me to lead this people on; but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. Yet you have said, 'You are my intimate friend,' and also, 'You have found favor with me.' ¹³ Now, if I have found favor with you, do let me know your ways so that, in knowing you, I may continue to find favor with you. Then, too, this nation is, after all, your own people." ¹⁴ "I myself," the LORD answered, "will go along, to give you rest." ¹⁵ Moses replied, "If you are not going yourself, do not make us go up from here. ¹⁶ For how can it be known that we, your people and I, have found favor with you, except by your going with us? Then we, your people and I, will be singled out from every other people on the earth." ¹⁷ The LORD said to Moses, "This request, too, which you have just made, I will carry out, because you have found favor with me and you are my intimate friend." ¹⁸ Then Moses said, "Do let me see your glory!" ¹⁹ He answered, "I will make all my beauty pass before you, and in your presence I will pronounce my name, 'LORD'; I who show favors to whom I will, I who grant mercy to whom I will. ²⁰ But my face you cannot see, for no man sees me and still lives.

ut from every other people on the earth." ¹⁷ The LORD said to Moses, "This request, too, which you have just made, I will carry out, because you have found favor with me and you are my intimate friend." ¹⁸ Then Moses said, "Do let me see your glory!" ¹⁹ He answered, "I will make all my beauty pass before you, and in your presence I will pronounce my name, 'LORD'; I who show favors to whom I will, I who grant mercy to whom I will. ²⁰ But my face you cannot see, for no man sees me and still lives. ²¹ Here," continued the LORD, "is a place near me where you shall station yourself on the rock. ²² When my glory passes I will set you in the hollow of the rock and will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. ²³ Then I will remove my hand, so that you may see my back; but my face is not to be seen."

87 Exodus Chapter 34 ¹ The LORD said to Moses, "Cut two stone tablets like the former, that I may write on them the commandments which were on the former tablets that you broke. ² Get ready for tomorrow morning, when you are to go up Mount Sinai and there present yourself to me on the top of the mountain. ³ No one shall come up with you, and no one is even to be seen on any part of the mountain; even the flocks and the herds are not to go grazing toward this mountain." ⁴ Moses then cut two stone tablets like the former, and early the next morning he went up Mount Sinai as the LORD had commanded him, taking along the two stone tablets. ⁵ Having come down in a cloud, the LORD stood with him there and proclaimed his name, "LORD." ⁶ Thus the LORD passed before him and cried out, "The LORD, the LORD, a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger and rich in kindness and fidelity, ⁷ continuing his kindness for a thousand generations, and forgiving wickedness and crime and sin; yet not declaring the guilty guiltless, but punishing children and grandchildren to the third and fourth generation for their fathers' wickedness!" ⁸ Moses at once bowed down to the ground in worship. ⁹ Then he said, "If I find favor with you, O Lord, do come along in our company. This is indeed a stiff-necked people; yet pardon our wickedness and sins, and receive us as your own." ¹⁰ "Here, then," said the LORD, "is the covenant I will make. Before the eyes of all your people I will work such marvels as have never been wrought in any nation anywhere on earth, so that this people among whom you live may see how awe-inspiring are the deeds which I, the LORD, will do at your side. ¹¹ But you, on your part, must keep the commandments I am giving you today. "I will drive out before you the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. ¹² Take care, therefore, not to make a covenant with these inhabitants of the land that you are to enter; else they will become a snare among you. ¹³ Tear down their altars; smash their sacred pillars, and cut down their sacred poles. ¹⁴ You shall not worship any other god, for the LORD is 'the Jealous One'; a jealous God is he. ¹⁵ Do not make a covenant with the inhabitants of that land; else, when they render their wanton worship to their gods and sacrifice to them, one of them may invite you and you may partake of his sacrifice. ¹⁶ Neither shall you take their daughters as wives for your sons; otherwise, when their daughters render their wanton worship to their gods, they will make your sons do the same. ¹⁷ You shall not make for yourselves molten gods. ¹⁸ You shall keep the feast of Unleavened Bread. For seven days at the prescribed time in the month of Abib you are to eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you; for in the month of Abib you came out of Egypt. ¹⁹ To me belongs every first-born male that opens the womb among all your livestock, whether in the herd or in the flock. ²⁰ The firstling of an ass you shall redeem with one of the flock; if you do not redeem it, you must break its neck. The first- born among your sons you shall redeem. No one shall appear before me empty-handed. ²¹ For six days you may work, but on the seventh day you shall rest; on that day you must rest even during the seasons of plowing and harvesting. ²² You shall keep the feast of Weeks with the first of the wheat harvest; likewise, the feast at the fruit harvest at the close of the year. ²³ Three times a year all your men shall appear before the Lord, the LORD God of Israel. ²⁴ Since I will drive out the nations before you to give you a large territory, there will be no one to covet your land when you go up three times a year to appear before the LORD, your God. ²⁵ You shall not offer me the blood of sacrifice with leavened bread, nor shall the sacrifice of the Passover feast be kept overnight for the next day. ²⁶ The choicest first fruits of your soil you shall bring to the house of the LORD, your God.

your men shall appear before the Lord, the LORD God of Israel. ²⁴ Since I will drive out the nations before you to give you a large territory, there will be no one to covet your land when you go up three times a year to appear before the LORD, your God. ²⁵ You shall not offer me the blood of sacrifice with leavened bread, nor shall the sacrifice of the Passover feast be kept overnight for the next day. ²⁶ The choicest first fruits of your soil you shall bring to the house of the LORD, your God. You shall not boil a kid in its mother's milk." ²⁷ Then the LORD said to Moses, "Write down these words, for in accordance with them I have made a covenant with you and with Israel." ²⁸ So Moses stayed there with the LORD for forty days and forty nights, without eating any food or drinking any water, and he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the ten commandments. ²⁹ As Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the commandments in his hands,

88 he did not know that the skin of his face had become radiant while he conversed with the LORD. ³⁰ When Aaron, then, and the other Israelites saw Moses and noticed how radiant the skin of his face had become, they were afraid to come near him. ³¹ Only after Moses called to them did Aaron and all the rulers of the community come back to him. Moses then spoke to them. ³² Later on, all the Israelites came up to him, and he enjoined on them all that the LORD had told him on Mount Sinai. ³³ When he finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face. ³⁴ Whenever Moses entered the presence of the LORD to converse with him, he removed the veil until he came out again. On coming out, he would tell the Israelites all that had been commanded. ³⁵ Then the Israelites would see that the skin of Moses' face was radiant; so, he would again put the veil over his face until he went in to converse with the LORD. Exodus Chapter 35 ¹ Moses assembled the whole Israelite community and said to them, "This is what the LORD has commanded to be done. ² On six days work may be done, but the seventh day shall be sacred to you as the sabbath of complete rest to the LORD. Anyone who does work on that day shall be put to death. ³ You shall not even light a fire in any of your dwellings on the sabbath day." ⁴ Moses told the whole Israelite community, "This is what the LORD has commanded: ⁵ Take up among you a collection for the LORD. Everyone, as his heart prompts him, shall bring, as a contribution to the LORD, gold, silver and bronze; ⁶ violet, purple and scarlet yarn; fine linen and goat hair; ⁷ rams' skins dyed red, and tahash skins; acacia wood; ⁸ oil for the light; spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense; ⁹ onyx stones and other gems for mounting on the ephod and on the breastpiece. ¹⁰ "Let every expert among you come and make all that the LORD has commanded: the Dwelling, ¹¹ with its tent, its covering, its clasps, its boards, its bars, its columns and its pedestals; ¹² the ark, with its poles, the propitiatory, and the curtain veil; ¹³ the table, with its poles and all its appurtenances, and the showbread; ¹⁴ the lampstand, with its appurtenances, the lamps, and the oil for the light; ¹⁵ the altar of incense, with its poles; the anointing oil, and the fragrant incense; the entrance curtain for the entrance of the Dwelling; ¹⁶ the altar of holocausts, with its bronze grating, its poles, and all its appurtenances; the laver, with its base; ¹⁷ the hangings of the court, with their columns and pedestals; the curtain for the entrance of the court; ¹⁸ the tent pegs for the Dwelling and for the court, with their ropes; ¹⁹ the service cloths for use in the sanctuary; the sacred vestments for Aaron, the priest, and the vestments worn by his sons in their ministry." ²⁰ When the whole Israelite community left Moses' presence, ²¹ everyone, as his heart suggested and his spirit prompted, brought a contribution to the LORD for the construction of the meeting tent, for all its services, and for the sacred vestments. ²² Both the men and the women, all as their heart prompted them, brought brooches, earrings, rings, necklaces and various other gold articles. Everyone who could presented an offering of gold to the LORD. ²³ Everyone who happened to have violet, purple or scarlet yarn, fine linen or goat hair, rams' skins dyed red or tahash skins, brought them. ²⁴ Whoever could make a contribution of silver or bronze offered it to the LORD; and everyone who happened to have acacia wood for any part of the work, brought it. ²⁵ All the women who were expert spinners brought hand-spun violet, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen thread. ²⁶ All the women who possessed the skill, spun goat hair. ²⁷ The princes brought onyx stones and other gems for mounting on the ephod and on the breastpiece; ²⁸ as well as spices, and oil for the light, anointing oil, and fragrant incense.

ke a contribution of silver or bronze offered it to the LORD; and everyone who happened to have acacia wood for any part of the work, brought it. ²⁵ All the women who were expert spinners brought hand-spun violet, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen thread. ²⁶ All the women who possessed the skill, spun goat hair. ²⁷ The princes brought onyx stones and other gems for mounting on the ephod and on the breastpiece; ²⁸ as well as spices, and oil for the light, anointing oil, and fragrant incense. ²⁹ Every Israelite man and woman brought to the LORD such voluntary offerings as they thought best, for the various kinds of work which the LORD had commanded Moses to have done. ³⁰ Moses said to the Israelites, "See, the LORD has chosen Bezalel, son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, ³¹ and has filled him with a divine spirit of skill and understanding and knowledge in every craft: ³² in the production of embroidery, in making things of gold, silver or bronze, ³³ in cutting and mounting

89 precious stones, in carving wood, and in every other craft. ³⁴ He has also given both him and Oholiab, son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, the ability to teach others. ³⁵ He has endowed them with skill to execute all types of work: engraving, embroidering, the making of variegated cloth of violet, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen thread, weaving, and all other arts and crafts. Exodus Chapter 36 1 "Bezalel, therefore, will set to work with Oholiab and with all the experts whom the LORD has endowed with skill and understanding in knowing how to execute all the work for the service of the sanctuary, just as the LORD has commanded." ² Moses then called Bezalel and Oholiab and all the other experts whom the LORD had endowed with skill, men whose hearts moved them to come and take part in the work. ³ They received from Moses all the contributions which the Israelites had brought for establishing the service of the sanctuary. Still, morning after morning the people continued to bring their voluntary offerings to Moses. ⁴ Thereupon the experts who were executing the various kinds of work for the sanctuary, all left the work they were doing, ⁵ and told Moses, "The people are bringing much more than is needed to carry out the work which the LORD has commanded us to do." ⁶ Moses, therefore, ordered a proclamation to be made throughout the camp: "Let neither man nor woman make any more contributions for the sanctuary." So the people stopped bringing their offerings; ⁷ there was already enough at hand, in fact, more than enough, to complete the work to be done. ⁸ The various experts who were executing the work, made the Dwelling with its ten sheets woven of fine linen twined, having cherubim embroidered on them with violet, purple and scarlet yarn. ⁹ The length of each sheet was twenty- eight cubits, and the width four cubits; all the sheets were of the same size. ¹⁰ Five of the sheets were sewed together, edge to edge; and the same for the other five. ¹¹ Loops of violet yarn were made along the edge of the end sheet in the first set, and the same along the edge of the end sheet in the second set. ¹² Fifty loops were thus put on one inner sheet, and fifty loops on the inner sheet in the other set, with the loops directly opposite each other. ¹³ Then fifty clasps of gold were made, with which the sheets were joined so that the Dwelling formed one whole. ¹⁴ Sheets of goat hair were also woven as a tent over the Dwelling. Eleven such sheets were made. ¹⁵ The length of each sheet was thirty cubits and the width four cubits; all eleven sheets were the same size. ¹⁶ Five of these sheets were sewed edge to edge into one set; and the other six sheets into another set. ¹⁷ Fifty loops were made along the edge of the end sheet in one set, and fifty loops along the edge of the corresponding sheet in the other set. ¹⁸ Fifty bronze clasps were made with which the tent was joined so that it formed one whole. ¹⁹ A covering for the tent was made of rams' skins dyed red, and above that, a covering of tahash skins. ²⁰ Boards of acacia wood were made as walls for the Dwelling. ²¹ The length of each board was ten cubits, and the width one and a half cubits. ²² Each board had two arms, fastening them in line. In this way all the boards of the Dwelling were made. ²³ They were set up as follows: twenty boards on the south side, ²⁴ with forty silver pedestals under the twenty boards, so that there were two pedestals under each board, at its two arms; ²⁵ twenty boards on the other side of the Dwelling, the north side, ²⁶ with their forty silver pedestals, two under each board; ²⁷ six boards at the rear of the Dwelling, to the west; ²⁸ and two boards at the corners in the rear of the Dwelling. ²⁹ These were double at the bottom, and likewise double at the top, to the first ring. That is how both boards in the corners were made. ³⁰ Thus, there were in the rear eight boards, with their sixteen silver pedestals, two pedestals under each board.

s; ²⁵ twenty boards on the other side of the Dwelling, the north side, ²⁶ with their forty silver pedestals, two under each board; ²⁷ six boards at the rear of the Dwelling, to the west; ²⁸ and two boards at the corners in the rear of the Dwelling. ²⁹ These were double at the bottom, and likewise double at the top, to the first ring. That is how both boards in the corners were made. ³⁰ Thus, there were in the rear eight boards, with their sixteen silver pedestals, two pedestals under each board. ³¹ Bars of acacia wood were also made, five for the boards on one side of the Dwelling, ³² five for those on the other side, and five for those at the rear, to the west. ³³ The center bar, at the middle of the boards, was made to reach across from end to end. ³⁴ The boards were plated with gold, and gold rings were made on them as holders for the bars, which were also plated with gold. ³⁵ The veil was woven of violet, purple and scarlet yarn, and of fine linen twined, with cherubim

90 embroidered on it. ³⁶ Four gold-plated columns of acacia wood, with gold hooks, were made for it, and four silver pedestals were cast for them. ³⁷ The curtain for the entrance of the tent was made of violet, purple and scarlet yarn, and of fine linen twined, woven in a variegated manner. ³⁸ Its five columns, with their hooks as well as their capitals and bands, were plated with gold; their five pedestals were of bronze. Exodus Chapter 37 1 Bezalel made the ark of acacia wood, two and a half cubits long, one and a half cubits wide, and one and a half cubits high. ² The inside and outside were plated with gold, and a molding of gold was put around it. ³ Four gold rings were cast and put on its four supports, two rings for one side and two for the opposite side. ⁴ Poles of acacia wood were made and plated with gold; ⁵ these were put through the rings on the sides of the ark, for carrying it. ⁶ The propitiatory was made of pure gold, two and a half cubits long and one and a half cubits wide. ⁷ Two cherubim of beaten gold were made for the two ends of the propitiatory, ⁸ one cherub fastened at one end, the other at the other end, springing directly from the propitiatory at its two ends. ⁹ The cherubim had their wings spread out above, covering the propitiatory with them. They were turned toward each other, but with their faces looking toward the propitiatory. ¹⁰ The table was made of acacia wood, two cubits long, one cubit wide, and one and a half cubits high. ¹¹ It was plated with pure gold, and a molding of gold was put around it. ¹² A frame a handbreadth high was also put around it, with a molding of gold around the frame. ¹³ Four rings of gold were cast for it and fastened, one at each of the four corners. ¹⁴ The rings were alongside the frame as holders for the poles to carry the table. ¹⁵ These poles were made of acacia wood and plated with gold. ¹⁶ The vessels that were set on the table, its plates and cups, as well as its pitchers and bowls for pouring libations, were of pure gold. ¹⁷ The lampstand was made of pure beaten gold - its shaft and branches as well as its cups and knobs and petals springing directly from it. ¹⁸ Six branches extended from its sides, three branches on one side and three on the other. ¹⁹ On one branch there were three cups, shaped like almond blossoms, each with its knob and petals; on the opposite branch there were three cups, shaped like almond blossoms, each with its knob and petals; and so for the six branches that extended from the lampstand. ²⁰ On the shaft there were four cups, shaped like almond blossoms, with their knobs and petals, ²¹ including a knob below each of the three pairs of branches that extended from the lampstand. ²² The knobs and branches sprang so directly from it that the whole formed but a single piece of pure beaten gold. ²³ Its seven lamps, as well as its trimming shears and trays, were made of pure gold. ²⁴ A talent of pure gold was used for the lampstand and its various appurtenances. ²⁵ The altar of incense was made of acacia wood, on a square, a cubit long, a cubit wide, and two cubits high, having horns that sprang directly from it. ²⁶ Its grate on top, its walls on all four sides, and its horns were plated with pure gold; and a molding of gold was put around it. ²⁷ Underneath the molding gold rings were placed, two on one side and two on the opposite side, as holders for the poles to carry it. ²⁸ The poles, too, were made of acacia wood and plated with gold. ²⁹ The sacred anointing oil and the fragrant incense were prepared in their pure form by a perfumer. Exodus Chapter 38 1 The altar of holocausts was made of acacia wood, on a square, five cubits long and five cubits wide; its height was three cubits. ² At the four corners horns were made that sprang directly from the altar. The whole was plated with bronze. ³ All the utensils of the altar, the pots, shovels, basins, forks and fire pans, were likewise made of bronze.

ia wood and plated with gold. ²⁹ The sacred anointing oil and the fragrant incense were prepared in their pure form by a perfumer. Exodus Chapter 38 1 The altar of holocausts was made of acacia wood, on a square, five cubits long and five cubits wide; its height was three cubits. ² At the four corners horns were made that sprang directly from the altar. The whole was plated with bronze. ³ All the utensils of the altar, the pots, shovels, basins, forks and fire pans, were likewise made of bronze. ⁴ A grating of bronze network was made for the altar and placed round it, on the ground, half as high as the altar itself. ⁵ Four rings were cast for the four corners of the bronze grating, as holders for the poles, ⁶ which were made of acacia wood

91 and plated with bronze. ⁷ The poles were put through the rings on the sides of the altar for carrying it. The altar was made in the form of a hollow box. ⁸ The bronze laver, with its bronze base, was made from the mirrors of the women who served at the entrance of the meeting tent. ⁹ The court was made as follows. On the south side of the court there were hangings, woven of fine linen twined, a hundred cubits long, ¹⁰ with twenty columns and twenty pedestals of bronze, the hooks and bands of the columns being of silver. ¹¹ On the north side there were similar hangings, one hundred cubits long, with twenty columns and twenty pedestals of bronze, the hooks and bands of the columns being of silver. ¹² On the west side there were hangings, fifty cubits long, with ten columns and ten pedestals, the hooks and bands of the columns being of silver. ¹³ On the east side the court was fifty cubits long. ¹⁴ Toward one side there were hangings to the extent of fifteen cubits, with three columns and three pedestals; toward the other side, ¹⁵ beyond the entrance of the court, there were likewise hangings to the extent of fifteen cubits, with three columns and three pedestals. ¹⁶ The hangings on all sides of the court were woven of fine linen twined. ¹⁷ The pedestals of the columns were of bronze, while the hooks and bands of the columns were of silver; the capitals were silver-plated, and all the columns of the court were banded with silver. ¹⁸ At the entrance of the court there was a variegated curtain, woven of violet, purple and scarlet yarn and of fine linen twined, twenty cubits long and five cubits wide, in keeping with the hangings of the court. ¹⁹ There were four columns and four pedestals of bronze for it, while their hooks were of silver. ²⁰ All the tent pegs for the Dwelling and for the court around it were of bronze. ²¹ The following is an account of the various amounts used on the Dwelling, the Dwelling of the commandments, drawn up at the command of Moses by the Levites under the direction of Ithamar, son of Aaron the priest. ²² However, it was Bezalel, son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, who made all that the Lord commanded Moses, ²³ and he was assisted by Oholiab, son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, who was an engraver, an embroiderer, and a weaver of variegated cloth of violet, purple and scarlet yarn and of fine linen. ²⁴ All the gold used in the entire construction of the sanctuary, having previously been given as an offering, amounted to twenty- nine talents and seven hundred and thirty shekels, according to the standard of the sanctuary shekel. ²⁵ The amount of the silver received from the community was one hundred talents and one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five shekels, according to the standard of the sanctuary shekel; ²⁶ one bekah apiece, that is, a half-shekel apiece, according to the standard of the sanctuary shekel, was received from every man of twenty years or more who entered the registered group; the number of these was six hundred and three thousand five hundred and fifty men. ²⁷ One hundred talents of silver were used for casting the pedestals of the sanctuary and the pedestals of the veil, one talent for each pedestal, or one hundred talents for the one hundred pedestals. ²⁸ The remaining one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five shekels were used for making the hooks on the columns, for plating the capitals, and for banding them with silver. ²⁹ The bronze, given as an offering, amounted to seventy talents and two thousand four hundred shekels.

dred and fifty men. ²⁷ One hundred talents of silver were used for casting the pedestals of the sanctuary and the pedestals of the veil, one talent for each pedestal, or one hundred talents for the one hundred pedestals. ²⁸ The remaining one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five shekels were used for making the hooks on the columns, for plating the capitals, and for banding them with silver. ²⁹ The bronze, given as an offering, amounted to seventy talents and two thousand four hundred shekels. ³⁰ With this were made the pedestals at the entrance of the meeting tent, the bronze altar with its bronze gratings and all the appurtenances of the altar, ³¹ the pedestals around the court, the pedestals at the entrance of the court, and all the tent pegs for the Dwelling and for the court around it. Exodus Chapter 39 1 With violet, purple, and scarlet yarn were woven the service cloths for use in the sanctuary, as well as the sacred vestments for Aaron, as the LORD had commanded Moses. ² The ephod was woven of gold thread and of violet, purple, and scarlet yarn and of fine linen twined. ³ Gold was first hammered into gold leaf and then cut up into threads, which were woven with the violet, purple, and scarlet yarn into an embroidered pattern on the fine linen. ⁴ Shoulder straps were made for it and joined to its two upper ends. ⁵ The embroidered belt on the ephod extended out

92 from it and, like it, was made of gold thread, of violet, purple, and scarlet yarn, and of fine linen twined, as the LORD had commanded Moses. ⁶ The onyx stones were prepared and mounted in gold filigree work; they were engraved like seal engravings with the names of the sons of Israel. ⁷ These stones were set on the shoulder straps of the ephod as memorial stones of the sons of Israel, just as the LORD had commanded Moses. ⁸ The breastpiece was embroidered like the ephod, with gold thread and violet, purple, and scarlet yarn on cloth of fine linen twined. ⁹ It was square and folded double, a span high and a span wide in its folded form. ¹⁰ Four rows of precious stones were mounted on it: in the first row a carnelian, a topaz, and an emerald; ¹¹ in the second row, a garnet, a sapphire, and a beryl; ¹² in the third row a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; ¹³ in the fourth row a chrysolite, an onyx, and a jasper. They were mounted in gold filigree work. ¹⁴ These stones were twelve, to match the names of the sons of Israel, and each stone was engraved like a seal with the name of one of the twelve tribes. ¹⁵ Chains of pure gold, twisted like cords, were made for the breastpiece, ¹⁶ together with two gold filigree rosettes and two gold rings. The two rings were fastened to the two upper ends of the breastpiece. ¹⁷ The two gold chains were then fastened to the two rings at the ends of the breastpiece. ¹⁸ The other two ends of the two chains were fastened in front to the two filigree rosettes, which were attached to the shoulder straps of the ephod. ¹⁹ Two other gold rings were made and put on the two lower ends of the breastpiece, on the edge facing the ephod. ²⁰ Two more gold rings were made and fastened to the bottom of the two shoulder straps next to where they joined the ephod in front, just above its embroidered belt. ²¹ Violet ribbons bound the rings of the breastpiece to the rings of the ephod, so that the breastpiece stayed right above the embroidered belt of the ephod and did not swing loose from it. All this was just as the LORD had commanded Moses. ²² The robe of the ephod was woven entirely of violet yarn, ²³ with an opening in its center like the opening of a shirt, with selvage around the opening to keep it from being torn. ²⁴ At the hem of the robe pomegranates were made of violet, purple, and scarlet yarn and of fine linen twined; ²⁵ bells of pure gold were also made and put between the pomegranates all around the hem of the robe: ²⁶ first a bell, then a pomegranate, and thus alternating all around the hem of the robe which was to be worn in performing the ministry— all this, just as the LORD had commanded Moses. ²⁷ For Aaron and his sons there were also woven tunics of fine linen; ²⁸ the miter of fine linen; the ornate turbans of fine linen; drawers of linen (of fine linen twined); ²⁹ and sashes of variegated work made of fine linen twined and of violet, purple, and scarlet yarn, as the LORD had commanded Moses. ³⁰ The plate of the sacred diadem was made of pure gold and inscribed, as on a seal engraving: "Sacred to the LORD." ³¹ It was tied over the miter with a violet ribbon, as the LORD had commanded Moses. ³² Thus the entire work of the Dwelling of the meeting tent was completed. The Israelites did the work just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

(of fine linen twined); ²⁹ and sashes of variegated work made of fine linen twined and of violet, purple, and scarlet yarn, as the LORD had commanded Moses. ³⁰ The plate of the sacred diadem was made of pure gold and inscribed, as on a seal engraving: "Sacred to the LORD." ³¹ It was tied over the miter with a violet ribbon, as the LORD had commanded Moses. ³² Thus the entire work of the Dwelling of the meeting tent was completed. The Israelites did the work just as the LORD had commanded Moses. ³³ They then brought to Moses the Dwelling, the tent with all its appurtenances, the clasps, the boards, the bars, the columns, the pedestals, ³⁴ the covering of rams' skins dyed red, the covering of tahash skins, the curtain veil; ³⁵ the ark of the commandments with its poles, the propitiatory, ³⁶ the table with all its appurtenances and the showbread, ³⁷ the pure gold lampstand with its lamps set up on it and with all its appurtenances, the oil for the light, ³⁸ the golden altar, the anointing oil, the fragrant incense; the curtain for the entrance of the tent, ³⁹ the altar of bronze with its bronze grating, its poles and all its appurtenances, the laver with its base, ⁴⁰ the hangings of the court with their columns and pedestals, the curtain for the entrance of the court with its ropes and tent pegs, all the equipment for the service of the Dwelling of the meeting tent; ⁴¹ the service cloths for use in the sanctuary, the sacred vestments for Aaron the priest, and the vestments to be worn by his sons in their ministry. ⁴² The Israelites had carried out all the work just as the LORD had commanded Moses. ⁴³ So when Moses saw that all the work was done just as the LORD had commanded, he blessed them.

93 Exodus Chapter 40 1 Then the LORD said to Moses, ² "On the first day of the first month you shall erect the Dwelling of the meeting tent. ³ Put the ark of the commandments in it, and screen off the ark with the veil. ⁴ Bring in the table and set it. Then bring in the lampstand and set up the lamps on it. ⁵ Put the golden altar of incense in front of the ark of the commandments, and hang the curtain at the entrance of the Dwelling. ⁶ Put the altar of holocausts in front of the entrance of the Dwelling of the meeting tent. ⁷ Place the laver between the meeting tent and the altar, and put water in it. ⁸ Set up the court round about, and put the curtain at the entrance of the court. ⁹ "Take the anointing oil and anoint the Dwelling and everything in it, consecrating it and all its furnishings, so that it will be sacred. ¹⁰ Anoint the altar of holocausts and all its appurtenances, consecrating it, so that it will be most sacred. ¹¹ Likewise, anoint the laver with its base, and thus consecrate it. ¹² "Then bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the meeting tent, and there wash them with water. ¹³ Clothe Aaron with the sacred vestments and anoint him, thus consecrating him as my priest. ¹⁴ Bring forward his sons also, and clothe them with the tunics. ¹⁵ As you have anointed their father, anoint them also as my priests. Thus, by being anointed, shall they receive a perpetual priesthood throughout all future generations." ¹⁶ Moses did exactly as the LORD had commanded him. ¹⁷ On the first day of the first month of the second year the Dwelling was erected. ¹⁸ It was Moses who erected the Dwelling. He placed its pedestals, set up its boards, put in its bars, and set up its columns. ¹⁹ He spread the tent over the Dwelling and put the covering on top of the tent, as the LORD had commanded him. ²⁰ He took the commandments and put them in the ark; he placed poles alongside the ark and set the propitiatory upon it. ²¹ He brought the ark into the Dwelling and hung the curtain veil, thus screening off the ark of the commandments, as the LORD had commanded him. ²² He put the table in the meeting tent, on the north side of the Dwelling, outside the veil, ²³ and arranged the bread on it before the LORD, as the LORD had commanded him. ²⁴ He placed the lampstand in the meeting tent, opposite the table, on the south side of the Dwelling, ²⁵ and he set up the lamps before the LORD, as the LORD had commanded him. ²⁶ He placed the golden altar in the meeting tent, in front of the veil, ²⁷ and on it he burned fragrant incense, as the LORD had commanded him. ²⁸ He hung the curtain at the entrance of the Dwelling. ²⁹ He put the altar of holocausts in front of the entrance of the Dwelling of the meeting tent, and offered holocausts and cereal offerings on it, as the LORD had commanded him. ³⁰ He placed the laver between the meeting tent and the altar, and put water in it for washing. ³¹ Moses and Aaron and his sons used to wash their hands and feet there, ³² for they washed themselves whenever they went into the meeting tent or approached the altar, as the LORD had commanded Moses. ³³ Finally, he set up the court around the Dwelling and the altar and hung the curtain at the entrance of the court. Thus Moses finished all the work. ³⁴ Then the cloud covered the meeting tent, and the glory of the LORD filled the Dwelling. ³⁵ Moses could not enter the meeting tent, because the cloud settled down upon it and the glory of the LORD filled the Dwelling. ³⁶ Whenever the cloud rose from the Dwelling, the Israelites would set out on their journey. ³⁷ But if the cloud did not lift, they would not go forward; only when it lifted did they go forward.

and hung the curtain at the entrance of the court. Thus Moses finished all the work. ³⁴ Then the cloud covered the meeting tent, and the glory of the LORD filled the Dwelling. ³⁵ Moses could not enter the meeting tent, because the cloud settled down upon it and the glory of the LORD filled the Dwelling. ³⁶ Whenever the cloud rose from the Dwelling, the Israelites would set out on their journey. ³⁷ But if the cloud did not lift, they would not go forward; only when it lifted did they go forward. ³⁸ In the daytime the cloud of the LORD was seen over the Dwelling; whereas at night, fire was seen in the cloud by the whole house of Israel in all the stages of their journey. Leviticus Leviticus chapter 1 ¹ The LORD called Moses, and from the meeting tent gave him this message: ² "Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When any one of you wishes to bring an animal offering to the LORD,

94 such an offering must be from the herd or from the flock. ³ "If his holocaust offering is from the herd, it must be a male without blemish. To find favor with the LORD, he shall bring it to the entrance of the meeting tent ⁴ and there lay his hand on the head of the holocaust, so that it may be acceptable to make atonement for him. ⁵ He shall then slaughter the bull before the LORD, but Aaron's sons, the priests, shall offer up its blood by splashing it on the sides of the altar which is at the entrance of the meeting tent. ⁶ Then he shall skin the holocaust and cut it up into pieces. ⁷ After Aaron's sons, the priests, have put some burning embers on the altar and laid some wood on them, ⁸ they shall lay the pieces of meat, together with the head and the suet, on top of the wood and embers on the altar. ⁹ The inner organs and the shanks, however, the offerer shall first wash with water. The priest shall then burn the whole offering on the altar as a holocaust, a sweet- smelling oblation to the LORD. ¹⁰ "If his holocaust offering is from the flock, that is, a sheep or a goat, he must bring a male without blemish. ¹¹ This he shall slaughter before the LORD at the north side of the altar. Then Aaron's sons, the priests, shall splash its blood on the sides of the altar. ¹² When the offerer has cut it up into pieces, the priest shall lay these, together with the head and suet, on top of the wood and the fire on the altar. ¹³ The inner organs and the shanks, however, the offerer shall first wash with water. The priest shall offer them up and then burn the whole offering on the altar as a holocaust, a sweet-smelling oblation to the LORD. ¹⁴ "If he offers a bird as a holocaust to the LORD, he shall choose a turtledove or a pigeon as his offering. ¹⁵ Having brought it to the altar where it is to be burned, the priest shall snap its head loose and squeeze out its blood against the side of the altar. ¹⁶ Its crop and feathers shall be removed and thrown on the ash heap at the east side of the altar. ¹⁷ Then, having split the bird down the middle without separating the halves, the priest shall burn it on the altar, over the wood on the fire, as a holocaust, a sweet-smelling oblation to the LORD. Leviticus chapter 2 ¹ "When anyone wishes to bring a cereal offering to the LORD, his offering must consist of fine flour. He shall pour oil on it and put frankincense over it. ² When he has brought it to Aaron's sons, the priests, one of them shall take a handful of this fine flour and oil, together with all the frankincense, and this he shall burn on the altar as a token offering, a sweet-smelling oblation to the LORD. ³ The rest of the cereal offering belongs to Aaron and his sons. It is a most sacred oblation to the LORD. ⁴ "When the cereal offering you present is baked in an oven, it must be in the form of unleavened cakes made of fine flour mixed with oil, or of unleavened wafers spread with oil. ⁵ If you present a cereal offering that is fried on a griddle, it must be of fine flour mixed with oil and unleavened. ⁶ Such a cereal offering must be broken into pieces, and oil must be poured over it. ⁷ If you present a cereal offering that is prepared in a pot, it must be of fine flour, deep-fried in oil. ⁸ A cereal offering that is made in any of these ways you shall bring to the LORD, offering it to the priest, who shall take it to the altar. ⁹ Its token offering the priest shall then lift from the cereal offering and burn on the altar as a sweet-smelling oblation to the LORD. ¹⁰ The rest of the cereal offering belongs to Aaron and his sons. It is a most sacred oblation to the LORD. ¹¹ "Every cereal offering that you present to the LORD shall be unleavened, for you shall not burn any leaven or honey as an oblation to the LORD. ¹² Such you may indeed present to the LORD in the offering of first fruits, but they are not to be placed on the altar for a pleasing odor.

shall then lift from the cereal offering and burn on the altar as a sweet-smelling oblation to the LORD. ¹⁰ The rest of the cereal offering belongs to Aaron and his sons. It is a most sacred oblation to the LORD. ¹¹ "Every cereal offering that you present to the LORD shall be unleavened, for you shall not burn any leaven or honey as an oblation to the LORD. ¹² Such you may indeed present to the LORD in the offering of first fruits, but they are not to be placed on the altar for a pleasing odor. ¹³ However, every cereal offering that you present to the LORD shall be seasoned with salt. Do not let the salt of the covenant of your God be lacking from your cereal offering. On every offering you shall offer salt. ¹⁴ "If you present a cereal offering of first fruits to the LORD, you shall offer it in the form of fresh grits of new ears of grain, roasted by fire. ¹⁵ On this cereal offering you shall put oil and frankincense. ¹⁶ For its token offering the priest shall then burn some of the grits and oil, together with all the frankincense, as an oblation to the LORD.

95 Leviticus chapter 3 ¹ "If someone in presenting a peace offering makes his offering from the herd, he may offer before the LORD either a male or a female animal, but it must be without blemish. ² He shall lay his hand on the head of his offering, and then slaughter it at the entrance of the meeting tent; but Aaron's sons, the priests, shall splash its blood on the sides of the altar. ³ From the peace offering he shall offer as an oblation to the LORD the fatty membrane over the inner organs, and all the fat that adheres to them, ⁴ as well as the two kidneys, with the fat on them near the loins, and the lobe of the liver, which he shall sever above the kidneys. ⁵ All this Aaron's sons shall then burn on the altar with the holocaust, on the wood over the fire, as a sweet-smelling oblation to the LORD. ⁶ "If the peace offering he presents to the LORD is from the flock, he may offer either a male or a female animal, but it must be without blemish. ⁷ If he presents a lamb as his offering, he shall bring it before the LORD, ⁸ and after laying his hand on the head of his offering, he shall slaughter it before the meeting tent; but Aaron's sons shall splash its blood on the sides of the altar. ⁹ As an oblation to the LORD he shall present the fat of the peace offering: the whole fatty tail, which he must sever close to the spine, the fatty membrane over the inner organs, and all the fat that adheres to them, ¹⁰ as well as the two kidneys, with the fat on them near the loins, and the lobe of the liver, which he must sever above the kidneys. ¹¹ All this the priest shall burn on the altar as the food of the LORD'S oblation. ¹² "If he presents a goat, he shall bring it before the LORD, ¹³ and after laying his hand on its head, he shall slaughter it before the meeting tent; but Aaron's sons shall splash its blood on the sides of the altar. ¹⁴ From it he shall offer as an oblation to the LORD the fatty membrane over the inner organs, and all the fat that adheres to them, ¹⁵ as well as the two kidneys, with the fat on them near the loins, and the lobe of the liver, which he must sever above the kidneys. ¹⁶ All this the priest shall burn on the altar as the food of the sweet-smelling oblation. All the fat belongs to the LORD. ¹⁷ This shall be a perpetual ordinance for your descendants wherever they may dwell. You shall not partake of any fat or any blood." Leviticus chapter 4 ¹ "The LORD said to Moses, ² 'Tell the Israelites: When a person inadvertently commits a sin against some command of the LORD by doing one of the forbidden things, ³ if it is the anointed priest who thus sins and thereby makes the people also become guilty, he shall present to the LORD a young, unblemished bull as a sin offering for the sin he committed. ⁴ Bringing the bullock to the entrance of the meeting tent, before the LORD, he shall lay his hand on its head and slaughter it before the LORD. ⁵ The anointed priest shall then take some of the bullock's blood and bring it into the meeting tent, ⁶ where, dipping his finger in the blood, he shall sprinkle it seven times before the LORD, toward the veil of the sanctuary. ⁷ The priest shall also put some of the blood on the horns of the altar of fragrant incense which is before the LORD in the meeting tent. The rest of the bullock's blood he shall pour out at the base of the altar of holocausts which is at the entrance of the meeting tent. ⁸ From the sin-offering bullock he shall remove all the fat: the fatty membrane over the inner organs, and all the fat that adheres to them, ⁹ as well as the two kidneys, with the fat on them near the loins, and the lobe of the liver, which he must sever above the kidneys. ¹⁰ This is the same as is removed from the ox of the peace offering; and the priest shall burn it on the altar of holocausts.

shall pour out at the base of the altar of holocausts which is at the entrance of the meeting tent. ⁸ From the sin-offering bullock he shall remove all the fat: the fatty membrane over the inner organs, and all the fat that adheres to them, ⁹ as well as the two kidneys, with the fat on them near the loins, and the lobe of the liver, which he must sever above the kidneys. ¹⁰ This is the same as is removed from the ox of the peace offering; and the priest shall burn it on the altar of holocausts. ¹¹ The hide of the bullock and all its flesh, with its head, legs, inner organs and offal, ¹² in short, the whole bullock, shall be brought outside the camp to a clean place where the ashes are deposited and there be burned up in a wood fire. At the place of the ash heap, there it must be burned. ¹³ 'If the whole community of Israel inadvertently and without even being aware of it does something that the LORD has forbidden and thus makes itself guilty, ¹⁴ should it later on become known that the sin was committed, the community shall

96 present a young bull as a sin offering. They shall bring it before the meeting tent, ¹⁵ and here, before the LORD, the elders of the community shall lay their hands on the bullock's head. When the bullock has been slaughtered before the LORD, ¹⁶ the anointed priest shall bring some of its blood into the meeting tent, ¹⁷ and dipping his finger in the blood, he shall sprinkle it seven times before the LORD, toward the veil. ¹⁸ He shall also put some of the blood on the horns of the altar of fragrant incense which is before the LORD in the meeting tent. The rest of the blood he shall pour out at the base of the altar of holocausts which is at the entrance of the meeting tent. ¹⁹ All of its fat he shall take from it and burn on the altar, ²⁰ doing with this bullock just as he did with the other sin-offering bullock. Thus the priest shall make atonement for them, and they will be forgiven. ²¹ This bullock must also be brought outside the camp and burned, just as has been prescribed for the other one. This is the sin offering for the community. ²² 'Should a prince commit a sin inadvertently by doing one of the things which are forbidden by some commandment of the LORD, his God, and thus become guilty, ²³ if later on he learns of the sin he committed, he shall bring as his offering an unblemished male goat. ²⁴ Having laid his hands on its head, he shall slaughter the goat as a sin offering before the LORD, in the place where the holocausts are slaughtered. ²⁵ The priest shall then take some of the blood of the sin offering on his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of holocausts. The rest of the blood he shall pour out at the base of this altar. ²⁶ All of the fat he shall burn on the altar like the fat of the peace offering. Thus the priest shall make atonement for the prince's sin, and it will be forgiven. ²⁷ 'If a private person commits a sin inadvertently by doing one of the things which are forbidden by the commandments of the LORD, and thus becomes guilty, ²⁸ should he later on learn of the sin he committed, he shall bring an unblemished she-goat as the offering for his sin. ²⁹ Having laid his hand on the head of the sin offering, he shall slaughter it at the place of the holocausts. ³⁰ The priest shall then take some of its blood on his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of holocausts. The rest of the blood he shall pour out at the base of the altar. ³¹ All the fat shall be removed, just as the fat is removed from the peace offering, and the priest shall burn it on the altar for an odor pleasing to the LORD. Thus the priest shall make atonement for him, and he will be forgiven. ³² 'If, however, for his sin offering he presents a lamb, he shall bring an unblemished female. ³³ Having laid his hand on its head, he shall slaughter this sin offering in the place where the holocausts are slaughtered. ³⁴ The priest shall then take some of the blood of the sin offering on his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of holocausts. The rest of the blood he shall pour out at the base of the altar. ³⁵ All the fat shall be removed, just as the fat is removed from the peace-offering lamb, and the priest shall burn it on the altar with the other oblations of the LORD.

male. ³³ Having laid his hand on its head, he shall slaughter this sin offering in the place where the holocausts are slaughtered. ³⁴ The priest shall then take some of the blood of the sin offering on his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of holocausts. The rest of the blood he shall pour out at the base of the altar. ³⁵ All the fat shall be removed, just as the fat is removed from the peace-offering lamb, and the priest shall burn it on the altar with the other oblations of the LORD. Thus the priest shall make atonement for the man's sin, and it will be forgiven." Leviticus chapter 5 1 "If any person refuses to give the information which, as a witness of something he has seen or learned, he has been adjured to give, and thus commits a sin and has guilt to bear; ² or if someone, without being aware of it, touches any unclean thing, as the carcass of an unclean wild animal, or that of an unclean domestic animal, or that of an unclean swarming creature, and thus becomes unclean and guilty; ³ or if someone, without being aware of it, touches some human uncleanness, whatever kind of uncleanness this may be, and then recognizes his guilt; ⁴ or if someone, without being aware of it, rashly utters an oath to do good or evil, such as men are accustomed to utter rashly, and then recognizes that he is guilty of such an oath; ⁵ then whoever is guilty in any of these cases shall confess the sin he has incurred, ⁶ and as his sin offering for the sin he has committed he shall bring to the LORD a female animal from the flock, a ewe lamb or a she-goat. The priest shall then make atonement for his sin. ⁷ If, however, he cannot afford an animal of the flock, he shall bring to the LORD as the sin offering for his sin two turtledoves or two pigeons, one for a sin

97 offering and the other for a holocaust. ⁸ He shall bring them to the priest, who shall offer the one for the sin offering first. Snapping its head loose at the neck, yet without breaking it off completely, ⁹ he shall sprinkle some of the blood of the sin offering against the side of the altar. The rest of the blood shall be squeezed out against the base of the altar. Such is the offering for sin. ¹⁰ The other bird shall be offered as a holocaust in the usual way. Thus the priest shall make atonement for the sin the man committed, and it will be forgiven. ¹¹ If he is unable to afford even two turtledoves or two pigeons, he shall present as a sin offering for his sin one tenth of an ephah of fine flour. He shall not put oil or frankincense on it, because it is a sin offering. ¹² When he has brought it to the priest, the latter shall take a handful of this flour as a token offering, and this he shall burn as a sin offering on the altar with the other oblations of the LORD. ¹³ Thus the priest shall make atonement for the sin that the man committed in any of the above cases, and it will be forgiven. The rest of the flour, like the cereal offerings, shall belong to the priest. ¹⁴ The LORD said to Moses, ¹⁵ If someone commits a sin by inadvertently cheating in the LORD'S sacred dues, he shall bring to the LORD as his guilt offering an unblemished ram from the flock, valued at two silver shekels according to the standard of the sanctuary shekel. ¹⁶ He shall also restore what he has sinfully withheld from the sanctuary, adding to it a fifth of its value. This is to be given to the priest, who shall then make atonement for him with the guilt-offering ram, and he will be forgiven. ¹⁷ If someone, without being aware of it, commits such a sin by doing one of the things which are forbidden by some commandment of the LORD, that he incurs guilt for which he must answer, ¹⁸ he shall bring as a guilt offering to the priest an unblemished ram of the flock of the established value. The priest shall then make atonement for the fault which was unwittingly committed, and it will be forgiven. ¹⁹ Such is the offering for guilt; the penalty of the guilt must be paid to the LORD. ²⁰ The LORD said to Moses, ²¹ If someone commits a sin of dishonesty against the LORD by denying his neighbor a deposit or a pledge for a stolen article, or by otherwise retaining his neighbor's goods unjustly, ²² or if, having found a lost article, he denies the fact and swears falsely about it with any of the sinful oaths that men make in such cases, ²³ he shall therefore, since he has incurred guilt by his sin, restore the thing that was stolen or unjustly retained by him or the deposit left with him or the lost article he found ²⁴ or whatever else he swore falsely about; on the day of his guilt offering he shall make full restitution of the thing itself, and in addition, give the owner one fifth of its value. ²⁵ As his guilt offering he shall bring to the LORD an unblemished ram of the flock of the established value. When he has presented this as his guilt offering to the priest, ²⁶ the latter shall make atonement for him before the LORD, and he will be forgiven whatever guilt he may have incurred. Leviticus chapter 6 ¹ The LORD said to Moses, ² "Give Aaron and his sons the following command: This is the ritual for holocausts. The holocaust is to remain on the hearth of the altar all night until the next morning, and the fire is to be kept burning on the altar. ³ The priest, clothed in his linen robe and wearing linen drawers on his body, shall take away the ashes to which the fire has reduced the holocaust on the altar, and lay them at the side of the altar. ⁴ Then, having taken off these garments and put on other garments, he shall carry the ashes to a clean place outside the camp. ⁵ The fire on the altar is to be kept burning; it must not go out. Every morning the priest shall put firewood on it.

ing, and the fire is to be kept burning on the altar. ³ The priest, clothed in his linen robe and wearing linen drawers on his body, shall take away the ashes to which the fire has reduced the holocaust on the altar, and lay them at the side of the altar. ⁴ Then, having taken off these garments and put on other garments, he shall carry the ashes to a clean place outside the camp. ⁵ The fire on the altar is to be kept burning; it must not go out. Every morning the priest shall put firewood on it. On this he shall lay out the holocaust and burn the fat of the peace offerings. ⁶ The fire is to be kept burning continuously on the altar; it must not go out. ⁷ "This is the ritual of the cereal offering. One of Aaron's sons shall first present it before the LORD, in front of the altar. ⁸ Then he shall take from it a handful of its fine flour and oil, together with all the frankincense that is on it, and this he shall burn on the altar as its token offering, a sweet-smelling oblation to the LORD. ⁹ The rest of it Aaron and his sons may eat; but it must be eaten in the form of unleavened cakes

98 and in a sacred place: in the court of the meeting tent they shall eat it. ¹⁰ It shall not be baked with leaven. I have given it to them as their portion from the oblations of the LORD; it is most sacred, like the sin offering and the guilt offering. ¹¹ All the male descendants of Aaron may partake of it as their rightful share in the oblations of the LORD perpetually throughout your generations. Whatever touches the oblations becomes sacred." ¹² The LORD said to Moses, ¹³ "This is the offering that Aaron and his sons shall present to the LORD (on the day he is anointed): one tenth of an ephah of fine flour for the established cereal offering, half in the morning and half in the evening. ¹⁴ It shall be well kneaded and fried in oil on a griddle when you bring it in. Having broken the offering into pieces, you shall present it as a sweet-smelling oblation to the LORD. ¹⁵ Aaron's descendant who succeeds him as the anointed priest shall do likewise. This is a perpetual ordinance: for the Lord the whole offering shall be burned. ¹⁶ Every cereal offering of a priest shall be a whole burnt offering; it may not be eaten." ¹⁷ The LORD said to Moses, ¹⁸ "Tell Aaron and his sons: This is the ritual for sin offerings. At the place where holocausts are slaughtered, there also, before the LORD, shall the sin offering be slaughtered. It is most sacred. ¹⁹ The priest who presents the sin offering may partake of it; but it must be eaten in a sacred place, in the court of the meeting tent. ²⁰ Whatever touches its flesh shall become sacred. If any of its blood is spilled on a garment, the stained part must be washed in a sacred place. ²¹ A clay vessel in which it has been cooked shall thereafter be broken; if it is cooked in a bronze vessel, this shall be scoured afterward and rinsed with water. ²² All the males of the priestly line may partake of the sin offering, since it is most sacred. ²³ But no one may partake of any sin offering of which some blood has been brought into the meeting tent to make atonement in the sanctuary; such an offering must be burned up in the fire. Leviticus chapter 7 ¹"This is the ritual for guilt offerings, which are most sacred. ²At the place where the holocausts are slaughtered, there also shall the guilt offering be slaughtered. Its blood shall be splashed on the sides of the altar. ³All of its fat shall be taken from it and offered up: the fatty tail, the fatty membrane over the inner organs, ⁴as well as the two kidneys with the fat on them near the loins, and the lobe of the liver, which must be severed above the kidneys. ⁵All this the priest shall burn on the altar as an oblation to the LORD. This is the guilt offering. ⁶All the males of the priestly line may partake of it; but it must be eaten in a sacred place, since it is most sacred. ⁷Because the sin offering and the guilt offering are alike, both having the same ritual, the guilt offering likewise belongs to the priest who makes atonement with it. ⁸Similarly, the priest who offers a holocaust for someone may keep for himself the hide of the holocaust that he has offered. ⁹Also, every cereal offering that is baked in an oven or deep-fried in a pot or fried on a griddle shall belong to the priest who offers it, ¹⁰whereas all cereal offerings that are offered up dry or mixed with oil shall belong to all of Aaron's sons without distinction. ¹¹This is the ritual for the peace offerings that are presented to the LORD. ¹²When anyone makes a peace offering in thanksgiving, together with his thanksgiving sacrifice he shall offer unleavened cakes mixed with oil, unleavened wafers spread with oil, and cakes made of fine flour mixed with oil and well kneaded. ¹³His offering shall also include loaves of leavened bread along with the victim of his peace offering for thanksgiving. ¹⁴From each of his offerings he shall present one portion as a contribution to the LORD; this shall belong to the priest who splashes the blood of the peace offering.

offering in thanksgiving, together with his thanksgiving sacrifice he shall offer unleavened cakes mixed with oil, unleavened wafers spread with oil, and cakes made of fine flour mixed with oil and well kneaded. ¹³His offering shall also include loaves of leavened bread along with the victim of his peace offering for thanksgiving. ¹⁴From each of his offerings he shall present one portion as a contribution to the LORD; this shall belong to the priest who splashes the blood of the peace offering. ¹⁵The flesh of the thanksgiving sacrifice shall be eaten on the day it is offered; none of it may be kept till the next day. ¹⁶However, if the sacrifice is a votive or a free-will offering, it should indeed be eaten on the day the sacrifice is offered, but what is left over may be eaten on the next day. ¹⁷Should any flesh from the sacrifice be left over on the third day, it must be burned up in the fire. ¹⁸If, therefore, any of the flesh of the peace offering is eaten on the third day, it shall not win favor for him nor shall it be reckoned to

99 his credit; rather, it shall be considered as refuse, and anyone who eats of it shall have his guilt to bear. ¹⁹Should the flesh touch anything unclean, it may not be eaten, but shall be burned up in the fire. All who are clean may partake of this flesh. ²⁰If, however, someone while in a state of uncleanness eats any of the flesh of a peace offering belonging to the LORD, that person shall be cut off from his people. ²¹Likewise, if someone touches anything unclean, whether the uncleanness be of human or of animal origin or from some loathsome crawling creature, and then eats of a peace offering belonging to the LORD, that person, too, shall be cut off from his people." ²²The LORD said to Moses, ²³"Tell the Israelites: You shall not eat the fat of any ox or sheep or goat. ²⁴Although the fat of an animal that has died a natural death or has been killed by wild beasts may be put to any other use, you may not eat it. ²⁵If anyone eats the fat of an animal from which an oblation is made to the LORD, such a one shall be cut off from his people. ²⁶Wherever you dwell, you shall not partake of any blood, be it of bird or of animal. ²⁷Every person who partakes of any blood shall be cut off from his people." ²⁸The LORD said to Moses, ²⁹"Tell the Israelites: He who presents a peace offering to the LORD shall bring a part of it as his special offering to him, ³⁰carrying in with his own hands the oblations to the LORD. The fat is to be brought in, together with the breast, which is to be waved as a wave offering before the LORD. ³¹The priest shall burn the fat on the altar, but the breast belongs to Aaron and his sons. ³²Moreover, from your peace offering you shall give to the priest the right leg as a raised offering. ³³The descendant of Aaron who offers up the blood and fat of the peace offering shall have the right leg as his portion, ³⁴for from the peace offerings of the Israelites I have taken the breast that is waved and the leg that is raised up, and I have given them to Aaron, the priest, and to his sons by a perpetual ordinance as a contribution from the Israelites." ³⁵This is the priestly share from the oblations of the LORD, allotted to Aaron and his sons on the day he called them to be the priests of the LORD; ³⁶on the day he anointed them the LORD ordered the Israelites to give them this share by a perpetual ordinance throughout their generations. ³⁷This is the ritual for holocausts, cereal offerings, sin offerings, guilt offerings, (ordination offerings) and peace offerings, ³⁸which the LORD enjoined on Moses at Mount Sinai at the time when he commanded the Israelites in the wilderness of Sinai to bring their offerings to the LORD. Leviticus chapter 8 ¹"The LORD said to Moses, ²'Take Aaron and his sons, together with the vestments, the anointing oil, the bullock for a sin offering, the two rams, and the basket of unleavened food. ³Then assemble the whole community at the entrance of the meeting tent.' ⁴And Moses did as the LORD had commanded. When the community had assembled at the entrance of the meeting tent, ⁵Moses told them what the LORD had ordered to be done. ⁶Bringing forward Aaron and his sons, he first washed them with water. ⁷Then he put the tunic on Aaron, girded him with the sash, clothed him with the robe, placed the ephod on him, and girded him with the embroidered belt of the ephod, fastening it around him. ⁸He then set the breastpiece on him, with the Urim and Thummim in it, ⁹and put the miter on his head, attaching the gold plate, the sacred diadem, over the front of the miter, at his forehead, as the LORD had commanded him to do. ¹⁰Taking the anointing oil, Moses anointed and consecrated the Dwelling, with all that was in it. ¹¹Then he sprinkled some of this oil seven times on the altar, and anointed the altar, with all its appurtenances, and the laver, with its base, thus consecrating them. ¹²He also poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron's head, thus consecrating him.

the miter on his head, attaching the gold plate, the sacred diadem, over the front of the miter, at his forehead, as the LORD had commanded him to do. ¹⁰Taking the anointing oil, Moses anointed and consecrated the Dwelling, with all that was in it. ¹¹Then he sprinkled some of this oil seven times on the altar, and anointed the altar, with all its appurtenances, and the laver, with its base, thus consecrating them. ¹²He also poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron's head, thus consecrating him. ¹³Moses likewise brought forward Aaron's sons, clothed them with tunics, girded them with sashes, and put turbans on them, as the LORD had commanded him to do. ¹⁴When he had brought forward the bullock for a sin offering, Aaron and his sons laid their hands on its head. ¹⁵Then Moses slaughtered it, and taking some of its blood, with his finger he put it on the horns around the altar, thus purifying the altar. He also made atonement for the altar by

100 pouring out the blood at its base when he consecrated it. ¹⁶Taking all the fat that was over the inner organs, as well as the lobe of the liver and the two kidneys with their fat, Moses burned them on the altar. ¹⁷The bullock, however, with its hide and flesh and offal he burned in the fire outside the camp, as the LORD had commanded him to do. ¹⁸He next brought forward the holocaust ram, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on its head. ¹⁹When he had slaughtered it, Moses splashed its blood on all sides of the altar. ²⁰After cutting up the ram into pieces, he burned the head, the cut-up pieces and the suet; ²¹then, having washed the inner organs and the shanks with water, he also burned these remaining parts of the ram on the altar as a holocaust, a sweet-smelling oblation to the LORD, as the LORD had commanded him to do. ²²Then he brought forward the second ram, the ordination ram, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on its head. ²³When he had slaughtered it, Moses took some of its blood and put it on the tip of Aaron's right ear, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot. ²⁴Moses had the sons of Aaron also come forward, and he put some of the blood on the tips of their right ears, on the thumbs of their right hands, and on the big toes of their right feet. The rest of the blood he splashed on the sides of the altar. ²⁵He then took the fat: the fatty tail and all the fat over the inner organs, the lobe of the liver and the two kidneys with their fat, and likewise the right leg; ²⁶from the basket of unleavened food that was set before the LORD he took one unleavened cake, one loaf of bread made with oil, and one wafer; these he placed on top of the portions of fat and the right leg. ²⁷He then put all these things into the hands of Aaron and his sons, whom he had wave them as a wave offering before the LORD. ²⁸When he had received them back, Moses burned them with the holocaust on the altar as the ordination offering, a sweet-smelling oblation to the LORD. ²⁹He then took the breast and waved it as a wave offering before the LORD; this was Moses' own portion of the ordination ram. All this was in keeping with the LORD'S command to Moses. ³⁰Taking some of the anointing oil and some of the blood that was on the altar, Moses sprinkled with it Aaron and his vestments, as well as his sons and their vestments, thus consecrating both Aaron and his vestments and his sons and their vestments. ³¹Finally, Moses said to Aaron and his sons, 'Boil the flesh at the entrance of the meeting tent, and there eat it with the bread that is in the basket of the ordination offering, in keeping with the command I have received: Aaron and his sons shall eat of it.' ³²What is left over of the flesh and the bread you shall burn up in the fire. ³³Moreover, you are not to depart from the entrance of the meeting tent for seven days, until the days of your ordination are completed; for your ordination is to last for seven days. ³⁴The LORD has commanded that what has been done today be done to make atonement for you. ³⁵Hence you must remain at the entrance of the meeting tent day and night for seven days, carrying out the prescriptions of the LORD; otherwise, you shall die; for this is the command I have received.' ³⁶So Aaron and his sons did all that the LORD had commanded through Moses." Leviticus chapter 9 ¹"On the eighth day Moses summoned Aaron and his sons, together with the elders of Israel, ²and said to Aaron, 'Take a calf for a sin offering and a ram for a holocaust, both without blemish, and offer them before the LORD. ³Tell the elders of Israel, too: Take a he-goat for a sin offering, a calf and a lamb, both unblemished yearlings, for a holocaust, ⁴and an ox and a ram for a peace offering, to sacrifice them before the LORD, along with a cereal offering mixed with oil; for today the LORD will reveal himself to you.' ⁵So they brought what Moses had ordered.

h the elders of Israel, ²and said to Aaron, 'Take a calf for a sin offering and a ram for a holocaust, both without blemish, and offer them before the LORD. ³Tell the elders of Israel, too: Take a he-goat for a sin offering, a calf and a lamb, both unblemished yearlings, for a holocaust, ⁴and an ox and a ram for a peace offering, to sacrifice them before the LORD, along with a cereal offering mixed with oil; for today the LORD will reveal himself to you.' ⁵So they brought what Moses had ordered. When the whole community had come forward and stood before the LORD, ⁶Moses said, 'This is what the LORD orders you to do, that the glory of the LORD may be revealed to you. ⁷Come up to the altar,' Moses then told Aaron, 'and offer your sin offering and your holocaust in atonement for yourself and for your family; then present the offering of the people in atonement for them, as the LORD has commanded.' ⁸Going up to the altar, Aaron first slaughtered the calf that was his own sin offering.

101 ⁹When his sons presented the blood to him, he dipped his finger in the blood and put it on the horns of the altar. The rest of the blood he poured out at the base of the altar. ¹⁰He then burned on the altar the fat, the kidneys and the lobe of the liver that were taken from the sin offering, as the LORD had commanded Moses; ¹¹but the flesh and the hide he burned up in the fire outside the camp. ¹²Then Aaron slaughtered his holocaust. When his sons brought him the blood, he splashed it on all sides of the altar. ¹³They then brought him the pieces and the head of the holocaust, and he burned them on the altar. ¹⁴Having washed the inner organs and the shanks, he burned these also with the holocaust on the altar. ¹⁵Thereupon he had the people's offering brought up. Taking the goat that was for the people's sin offering, he slaughtered it and offered it up for sin as before. ¹⁶Then he brought forward the holocaust, other than the morning holocaust, and offered it in the usual manner. ¹⁷He then presented the cereal offering; taking a handful of it, he burned it on the altar. ¹⁸Finally he slaughtered the ox and the ram, the peace offering of the people. When his sons brought him the blood, Aaron splashed it on all sides of the altar. ¹⁹The portions of fat from the ox and from the ram, the fatty tail, the fatty membrane over the inner organs, the two kidneys, with the fat that is on them, and the lobe of the liver, ²⁰he placed on top of the breasts and burned them on the altar, ²¹having first waved the breasts and the right legs as a wave offering before the LORD, in keeping with the LORD'S command to Moses. ²²Aaron then raised his hands over the people and blessed them. When he came down from offering the sin offering and holocaust and peace offering, ²³Moses and Aaron went into the meeting tent. On coming out they again blessed the people. Then the glory of the LORD was revealed to all the people. ²⁴Fire came forth from the LORD'S presence and consumed the holocaust and the remnants of the fat on the altar. Seeing this, all the people cried out and fell prostrate." Leviticus chapter 10 ¹ "During this time Aaron's sons Nadab and Abihu took their censers and, strewing incense on the fire they had put in them, they offered up before the LORD profane fire, such as he had not authorized. ² Fire therefore came forth from the LORD'S presence and consumed them, so that they died in his presence. ³ Moses then said to Aaron, 'This is as the LORD said: Through those who approach me I will manifest my sacredness; In the sight of all the people I will reveal my glory.' But Aaron said nothing. ⁴ Then Moses summoned Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Aaron's uncle Uzziel, with the order, 'Come, remove your kinsmen from the sanctuary and carry them to a place outside the camp.' ⁵ So they went in and took them, in their tunics, outside the camp, as Moses had commanded. ⁶ Moses said to Aaron and his sons Eleazar and Ithamar, 'Do not bare your heads or tear your garments, lest you bring not only death on yourselves but God's wrath also on the whole community. Your kinsmen, the rest of the house of Israel, shall mourn for those whom the LORD'S fire has smitten; ⁷ but do not you go beyond the entry of the meeting tent, else you shall die; for the anointing oil of the LORD is upon you.' So they did as Moses told them. ⁸ The LORD said to Aaron, ⁹ 'When you are to go to the meeting tent, you and your sons are forbidden under pain of death, by a perpetual ordinance throughout your generations, to drink any wine or strong drink. ¹⁰ You must be able to distinguish between what is sacred and what is profane, between what is clean and what is unclean; ¹¹ you must teach the Israelites all the laws that the LORD has given them through Moses.' ¹² Moses said to Aaron and his surviving sons, Eleazar and Ithamar, 'Take the cereal offering left over from the oblations of the LORD, and eat it beside the altar in the form of unleavened cakes.

, by a perpetual ordinance throughout your generations, to drink any wine or strong drink. ¹⁰ You must be able to distinguish between what is sacred and what is profane, between what is clean and what is unclean; ¹¹ you must teach the Israelites all the laws that the LORD has given them through Moses.' ¹² Moses said to Aaron and his surviving sons, Eleazar and Ithamar, 'Take the cereal offering left over from the oblations of the LORD, and eat it beside the altar in the form of unleavened cakes. Since it is most sacred, ¹³ you must eat it in a sacred place. This is your due from the oblations of the LORD, and that of your sons; such is the command I have received. ¹⁴ With your sons and daughters you shall also eat the breast of the wave offering and the leg of the raised offering, in a clean place; for these have been assigned to you and your children as your due from the peace offerings of the Israelites. ¹⁵ The leg of the raised

102 offering and the breast of the wave offering shall first be brought in with the oblations, the fatty portions, that are to be waved as a wave offering before the LORD. Then they shall belong to you and your children by a perpetual ordinance, as the LORD has commanded.' ¹⁶ When Moses inquired about the goat of the sin offering, he discovered that it had all been burned. So he was angry with the surviving sons of Aaron, Eleazar and Ithamar, and said, ¹⁷ 'Why did you not eat the sin offering in the sacred place, since it is most sacred? It has been given to you that you might bear the guilt of the community and make atonement for them before the LORD. ¹⁸ If its blood was not brought into the inmost part of the sanctuary, you should certainly have eaten the offering in the sanctuary, in keeping with the command I had received.' ¹⁹ Aaron answered Moses, 'Even though they presented their sin offering and holocaust before the LORD today, yet this misfortune has befallen me. Had I then eaten of the sin offering today, would it have been pleasing to the LORD?' ²⁰ On hearing this, Moses was satisfied." Leviticus chapter 11 ¹ The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, ² "Speak to the Israelites and tell them: Of all land animals these are the ones you may eat: ³ any animal that has hoofs you may eat, provided it is cloven- footed and chews the cud. ⁴ But you shall not eat any of the following that only chew the cud or only have hoofs: the camel, which indeed chews the cud, but does not have hoofs and is therefore unclean for you; ⁵ the rock badger, which indeed chews the cud, but does not have hoofs and is therefore unclean for you; ⁶ the hare, which indeed chews the cud, but does not have hoofs and is therefore unclean for you; and the pig, ⁷ which does indeed have hoofs and is cloven-footed, but does not chew the cud and is therefore unclean for you. ⁸ Their flesh you shall not eat, and their dead bodies you shall not touch; they are unclean for you. ⁹ "Of the various creatures that live in the water, you may eat the following: whatever in the seas or in river waters has both fins and scales you may eat. ¹⁰ But of the various creatures that crawl or swim in the water, whether in the sea or in the rivers, all those that lack either fins or scales are loathsome for you, ¹¹ and you shall treat them as loathsome. Their flesh you shall not eat, and their dead bodies you shall loathe. ¹² Every water creature that lacks fins or scales is loathsome for you. ¹³ "Of the birds, these you shall loathe and, as loathsome, they shall not be eaten: the eagle, the vulture, the osprey, ¹⁴ the kite, the various species of falcons, ¹⁵ the various species of crows, ¹⁶ the ostrich, the nightjar, the gull, the various species of hawks, ¹⁷ the owl, the cormorant, the screech owl, ¹⁸ the barn owl, the desert owl, the buzzard, ¹⁹ the stork, the various species of herons, the hoopoe, and the bat. ²⁰ "The various winged insects that walk on all fours are loathsome for you. ²¹ But of the various winged insects that walk on all fours you may eat those that have jointed legs for leaping on the ground; ²² hence of these you may eat the following: the various kinds of locusts, the various kinds of grasshoppers, the various kinds of katydids, and the various kinds of crickets. ²³ All other winged insects that have four legs are loathsome for you. ²⁴ "Such is the uncleanness that you contract, that everyone who touches their dead bodies shall be unclean until evening, ²⁵ and everyone who picks up any part of their dead bodies shall wash his garments and be unclean until evening. ²⁶ All hoofed animals that are not cloven-footed or do not chew the cud are unclean for you; everyone who touches them becomes unclean. ²⁷ Of the various quadrupeds, all those that walk on paws are unclean for you; everyone who touches their dead bodies shall be unclean until evening, ²⁸ and everyone who picks up their dead bodies shall wash his garments and be unclean until evening.

²⁵ and everyone who picks up any part of their dead bodies shall wash his garments and be unclean until evening. ²⁶ All hoofed animals that are not cloven-footed or do not chew the cud are unclean for you; everyone who touches them becomes unclean. ²⁷ Of the various quadrupeds, all those that walk on paws are unclean for you; everyone who touches their dead bodies shall be unclean until evening, ²⁸ and everyone who picks up their dead bodies shall wash his garments and be unclean until evening. Such is their uncleanness for you. ²⁹ "Of the creatures that swarm on the ground, the following are unclean for you: the rat, the mouse, the various kinds of lizards, ³⁰ the gecko, the chameleon, the agama, the skink, and the mole. ³¹ Among the various swarming creatures, these are unclean for you. Everyone who touches them when they are dead shall be unclean until evening. ³² Everything on which one of them falls when dead becomes unclean. Any such article

103 that men use, whether it be an article of wood, cloth, leather or goat hair, must be put in water and remain unclean until evening, when it again becomes clean. ³³ Should any of these creatures fall into a clay vessel, everything in it becomes unclean, and the vessel itself you must break. ³⁴ Any solid food that was in contact with water, and any liquid that men drink, in any such vessel become unclean. ³⁵ Any object on which one of their dead bodies falls, becomes unclean; if it is an oven or a jar-stand, this must be broken to pieces; they are unclean and shall be treated as unclean by you. ³⁶ However, a spring or a cistern for collecting water remains clean; but whoever touches the dead body becomes unclean. ³⁷ Any sort of cultivated grain remains clean even though one of their dead bodies falls on it; ³⁸ but if the grain has become moistened, it becomes unclean when one of these falls on it. ³⁹ "When one of the animals that you could otherwise eat, dies of itself, anyone who touches its dead body shall be unclean until evening; ⁴⁰ and anyone who eats of its dead body shall wash his garments and be unclean until evening; so also, anyone who removes its dead body shall wash his garments and be unclean until evening. ⁴¹ "All the creatures that swarm on the ground are loathsome and shall not be eaten. ⁴² Whether it crawls on its belly, goes on all fours, or has many legs, you shall eat no swarming creature: they are loathsome. ⁴³ Do not make yourselves loathsome or unclean with any swarming creature through being contaminated by them. ⁴⁴ For I, the LORD, am your God; and you shall make and keep yourselves holy, because I am holy. You shall not make yourselves unclean, then, by any swarming creature that crawls on the ground. ⁴⁵ Since I, the LORD, brought you up from the land of Egypt that I might be your God, you shall be holy, because I am holy. ⁴⁶ "This is the law for animals and birds and for all the creatures that move about in the water or swarm on the ground, ⁴⁷ that you may distinguish between the clean and the unclean, between creatures that may be eaten and those that may not be eaten." Leviticus chapter 12 ¹ The LORD said to Moses, ² "Tell the Israelites: When a woman has conceived and gives birth to a boy, she shall be unclean for seven days, with the same uncleanness as at her menstrual period. ³ On the eighth day, the flesh of the boy's foreskin shall be circumcised, ⁴ and then she shall spend thirty-three days more in becoming purified of her blood; she shall not touch anything sacred nor enter the sanctuary till the days of her purification are fulfilled. ⁵ If she gives birth to a girl, for fourteen days she shall be as unclean as at her menstruation, after which she shall spend sixty-six days in becoming purified of her blood. ⁶ "When the days of her purification for a son or for a daughter are fulfilled, she shall bring to the priest at the entrance of the meeting tent a yearling lamb for a holocaust and a pigeon or a turtledove for a sin offering. ⁷ The priest shall offer them up before the LORD to make atonement for her, and thus she will be clean again after her flow of blood. Such is the law for the woman who gives birth to a boy or a girl child. ⁸ If, however, she cannot afford a lamb, she may take two turtledoves or two pigeons, the one for a holocaust and the other for a sin offering. The priest shall make atonement for her, and thus she will again be clean." Leviticus chapter 13 ¹ The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, ² "If someone has on his skin a scab or pustule or blotch which appears to be the sore of leprosy, he shall be brought to Aaron, the priest, or to one of the priests among his descendants, ³ who shall examine the sore on his skin. If the hair on the sore has turned white and the sore itself shows that it has penetrated below the skin, it is indeed the sore of leprosy; the priest, on seeing this, shall declare the man unclean.

in be clean." Leviticus chapter 13 ¹ The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, ² "If someone has on his skin a scab or pustule or blotch which appears to be the sore of leprosy, he shall be brought to Aaron, the priest, or to one of the priests among his descendants, ³ who shall examine the sore on his skin. If the hair on the sore has turned white and the sore itself shows that it has penetrated below the skin, it is indeed the sore of leprosy; the priest, on seeing this, shall declare the man unclean. ⁴ If, however, the blotch on the skin is white, but does not seem to have penetrated below the skin, nor has the hair turned white, the priest shall quarantine the stricken man for seven days. ⁵ On the seventh day the priest shall again examine him. If he judges that the sore has remained unchanged and has not spread on the skin, the priest shall quarantine him for another seven days, ⁶ and once more examine him

104 on the seventh day. If the sore is now dying out and has not spread on the skin, the priest shall declare the man clean; it was merely eczema. The man shall wash his garments and so become clean. ⁷ But if, after he has shown himself to the priest to be declared clean, the eczema spreads at all on his skin, he shall once more show himself to the priest. ⁸ Should the priest, on examining it, find that the eczema has indeed spread on the skin, he shall declare the man unclean; it is leprosy. ⁹ "When someone is stricken with leprosy, he shall be brought to the priest. ¹⁰ Should the priest, on examining him, find that there is a white scab on the skin which has turned the hair white and that there is raw flesh in it, ¹¹ it is skin leprosy that has long developed. The priest shall declare the man unclean without first quarantining him, since he is certainly unclean. ¹² If leprosy breaks out on the skin and, as far as the priest can see, covers all the skin of the stricken man from head to foot, ¹³ should the priest then, on examining him, find that the leprosy does cover his whole body, he shall declare the stricken man clean; since it has all turned white, the man is clean. ¹⁴ But as soon as raw flesh appears on him, he is unclean; ¹⁵ on observing the raw flesh, the priest shall declare him unclean, because raw flesh is unclean; it is leprosy. ¹⁶ If, however, the raw flesh again turns white, he shall return to the priest; ¹⁷ should the latter, on examining him, find that the sore has indeed turned white, he shall declare the stricken man clean, and thus he will be clean. ¹⁸ "If a man who had a boil on his skin which later healed, ¹⁹ should now in the place of the boil have a white scab or a pink blotch, he shall show himself to the priest. ²⁰ If the latter, on examination, sees that it is deeper than the skin and that the hair has turned white, he shall declare the man unclean; it is the sore of leprosy that has broken out in the boil. ²¹ But if the priest, on examining him, finds that there is no white hair in it and that it is not deeper than the skin and is already dying out, the priest shall quarantine him for seven days. ²² If it has then spread on the skin, the priest shall declare him unclean; the man is stricken. ²³ But if the blotch remains in its place without spreading, it is merely the scar of the boil; the priest shall therefore declare him clean. ²⁴ "If a man had a burn on his skin, and the proud flesh of the burn now becomes a pink or a white blotch, ²⁵ the priest shall examine it. If the hair has turned white on the blotch and this seems to have penetrated below the skin, it is leprosy that has broken out in the burn; the priest shall therefore declare him unclean and stricken with leprosy. ²⁶ But if the priest, on examining it, finds that there is no white hair on the blotch and that this is not deeper than the skin and is already dying out, the priest shall quarantine him for seven days. ²⁷ Should the priest, when examining it on the seventh day, find that it has spread at all on the skin, he shall declare the man unclean and stricken with leprosy. ²⁸ But if the blotch remains in its place without spreading on the skin and is already dying out, it is merely the scab of the burn; the priest shall therefore declare the man clean, since it is only the scar of the burn. ²⁹ "When a man or a woman has a sore on the head or cheek, ³⁰ should the priest, on examining it, find that the sore has penetrated below the skin and that there is fine yellow hair on it, the priest shall declare the person unclean, for this is scall, a leprous disease of the head or cheek. ³¹ But if the priest, on examining the scall sore, finds that it has not penetrated below the skin, though the hair on it may not be black, the priest shall quarantine the person with the scall sore for seven days, ³² and on the seventh day again examine the sore.

, ³⁰ should the priest, on examining it, find that the sore has penetrated below the skin and that there is fine yellow hair on it, the priest shall declare the person unclean, for this is scall, a leprous disease of the head or cheek. ³¹ But if the priest, on examining the scall sore, finds that it has not penetrated below the skin, though the hair on it may not be black, the priest shall quarantine the person with the scall sore for seven days, ³² and on the seventh day again examine the sore. If the scall has not spread and has no yellow hair on it and does not seem to have penetrated below the skin, ³³ the man shall shave himself, but not on the diseased spot. Then the priest shall quarantine him for another seven days. ³⁴ If the priest, when examining the scall on the seventh day, finds that it has not spread on the skin and that it has not penetrated below the skin, he shall declare the man clean; the latter shall wash his garments, and thus he will be clean. ³⁵ But if the scall spreads at all on his skin after he has been declared clean, ³⁶ the priest shall again examine it. If the scall has indeed spread on the skin, he need not look for yellow hair; the man is surely unclean. ³⁷ If, however, he judges that the scall has remained in its place and that black hair has grown on it, the disease has been healed; the man is clean, and the priest shall

105 declare him clean. ³⁸ "When the skin of a man or a woman is spotted with white blotches, ³⁹ the priest shall make an examination. If the blotches on the skin are white and already dying out, it is only tetter that has broken out on the skin, and the person therefore is clean. ⁴⁰ "When a man loses the hair of his head, he is not unclean merely because of his bald crown. ⁴¹ So too, if he loses the hair on the front of his head, he is not unclean merely because of his bald forehead. ⁴² But when there is a pink sore on his bald crown or bald forehead, it is leprosy that is breaking out there. ⁴³ The priest shall examine him; and if the scab on the sore of the bald spot has the same pink appearance as that of skin leprosy of the fleshy part of the body, ⁴⁴ the man is leprous and unclean, and the priest shall declare him unclean by reason of the sore on his head. ⁴⁵ "The one who bears the sore of leprosy shall keep his garments rent and his head bare, and shall muffle his beard; he shall cry out, 'Unclean, unclean!' ⁴⁶ As long as the sore is on him he shall declare himself unclean, since he is in fact unclean. He shall dwell apart, making his abode outside the camp. ⁴⁷ "When a leprous infection is on a garment of wool or of linen, ⁴⁸ or on woven or knitted material of linen or wool, or on a hide or anything made of leather, ⁴⁹ if the infection on the garment or hide, or on the woven or knitted material, or on any leather article is greenish or reddish, the thing is indeed infected with leprosy and must be shown to the priest. ⁵⁰ Having examined the infection, the priest shall quarantine the infected article for seven days. ⁵¹ On the seventh day the priest shall again examine the infection. If it has spread on the garment, or on the woven or knitted material, or on the leather, whatever be its use, the infection is malignant leprosy, and the article is unclean. ⁵² He shall therefore burn up the garment, or the woven or knitted material of wool or linen, or the leather article, whatever it may be, which is infected; since it has malignant leprosy, it must be destroyed by fire. ⁵³ But if the priest, on examining the infection, finds that it has not spread on the garment, or on the woven or knitted material, or on the leather article, ⁵⁴ he shall give orders to have the infected article washed and then quarantined for another seven days. ⁵⁵ Then the priest shall again examine the infected article after it has been washed. If the infection has not changed its appearance, even though it may not have spread, the article is unclean and shall be destroyed by fire. ⁵⁶ But if the priest, on examining the infection, finds that it is dying out after the washing, he shall tear the infected part out of the garment, or the leather, or the woven or knitted material. ⁵⁷ If, however, the infection again appears on the garment, or on the woven or knitted material, or on the leather article, it is still virulent and the thing infected shall be destroyed by fire. ⁵⁸ But if, after the washing, the infection has left the garment, or the woven or knitted material, or the leather article, the thing shall be washed a second time, and thus it will be clean. ⁵⁹ This is the law for leprous infection on a garment of wool or linen, or on woven or knitted material, or on any leather article, to determine whether it is clean or unclean." Leviticus chapter 14 ¹ The LORD said to Moses, ² "This is the law for the victim of leprosy at the time of his purification. He shall be brought to the priest, ³ who is to go outside the camp to examine him. If the priest finds that the sore of leprosy has healed in the leper, ⁴ he shall order the man who is to be purified, to get two live, clean birds, as well as some cedar wood, scarlet yarn, and hyssop. ⁵ The priest shall then order him to slay one of the birds over an earthen vessel with spring water in it.

r 14 ¹ The LORD said to Moses, ² "This is the law for the victim of leprosy at the time of his purification. He shall be brought to the priest, ³ who is to go outside the camp to examine him. If the priest finds that the sore of leprosy has healed in the leper, ⁴ he shall order the man who is to be purified, to get two live, clean birds, as well as some cedar wood, scarlet yarn, and hyssop. ⁵ The priest shall then order him to slay one of the birds over an earthen vessel with spring water in it. ⁶ Taking the living bird with the cedar wood, the scarlet yarn and the hyssop, the priest shall dip them all in the blood of the bird that was slain over the spring water, ⁷ and then sprinkle seven times the man to be purified from his leprosy. When he has thus purified him, he shall let the living bird fly away over the countryside. ⁸ The man being purified shall then wash his garments and shave off all his hair and bathe in water; only when he is thus made clean may he come inside the camp; but he shall still remain outside his tent for seven days. ⁹ On the seventh day he shall again shave off all the hair of his head, his beard, his eyebrows, and any other hair he may have, and also wash his

106 garments and bathe his body in water; and so he will be clean. ¹⁰ "On the eighth day he shall take two unblemished male lambs, one unblemished yearling ewe lamb, three tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil for a cereal offering, and one log of oil. ¹¹ The priest who performs the purification ceremony shall place the man who is being purified, as well as all these offerings, before the LORD at the entrance of the meeting tent. ¹² Taking one of the male lambs, the priest shall present it as a guilt offering, along with the log of oil, waving them as a wave offering before the LORD. ¹³ (This lamb he shall slaughter in the sacred place where the sin offering and the holocaust are slaughtered; because, like the sin offering, the guilt offering belongs to the priest and is most sacred.) ¹⁴ Then the priest shall take some of the blood of the guilt offering and put it on the tip of the man's right ear, the thumb of his right hand, and the big toe of his right foot. ¹⁵ The priest shall also take the log of oil and pour some of it into the palm of his own left hand; ¹⁶ then, dipping his right forefinger in it, he shall sprinkle it seven times before the LORD. ¹⁷ Of the oil left in his hand the priest shall put some on the tip of the man's right ear, the thumb of his right hand, and the big toe of his right foot, over the blood of the guilt offering. ¹⁸ The rest of the oil in his hand the priest shall put on the head of the man being purified. Thus shall the priest make atonement for him before the LORD. ¹⁹ Only after he has offered the sin offering in atonement for the man's uncleanness shall the priest slaughter the holocaust ²⁰ and offer it, together with the cereal offering, on the altar before the LORD. When the priest has thus made atonement for him, the man will be clean. ²¹ "If a man is poor and cannot afford so much, he shall take one male lamb for a guilt offering, to be used as a wave offering in atonement for himself, one tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil for a cereal offering, a log of oil, ²² and two turtledoves or pigeons, which he can more easily afford, the one as a sin offering and the other as a holocaust. ²³ On the eighth day of his purification he shall bring them to the priest, at the entrance of the meeting tent before the LORD. ²⁴ Taking the guilt-offering lamb, along with the log of oil, the priest shall wave them as a wave offering before the LORD. ²⁵ When he has slaughtered the guilt-offering lamb, he shall take some of its blood, and put it on the tip of the right ear of the man being purified, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot. ²⁶ The priest shall then pour some of the oil into the palm of his own left hand ²⁷ and with his right forefinger sprinkle it seven times before the LORD. ²⁸ Some of the oil in his hand the priest shall also put on the tip of the man's right ear, the thumb of his right hand, and the big toe of his right foot, over the blood of the guilt offering. ²⁹ The rest of the oil in his hand the priest shall put on the man's head. Thus shall he make atonement for him before the LORD. ³⁰ Then, of the turtledoves or pigeons, such as the man can afford, ³¹ the priest shall offer up one as a sin offering and the other as a holocaust, along with the cereal offering. Thus shall the priest make atonement before the LORD for the man who is to be purified. ³² This is the law for one afflicted with leprosy who has insufficient means for his purification." ³³ The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, ³⁴ "When you come into the land of Canaan, which I am giving you to possess, if I put a leprous infection on any house of the land you occupy, ³⁵ the owner of the house shall come and report to the priest, 'It looks to me as if my house were infected.' ³⁶ The priest shall then order the house to be cleared out before he goes in to examine the infection, lest everything in the house become unclean. Only after this is he to go in to examine the house.

ication." ³³ The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, ³⁴ "When you come into the land of Canaan, which I am giving you to possess, if I put a leprous infection on any house of the land you occupy, ³⁵ the owner of the house shall come and report to the priest, 'It looks to me as if my house were infected.' ³⁶ The priest shall then order the house to be cleared out before he goes in to examine the infection, lest everything in the house become unclean. Only after this is he to go in to examine the house. ³⁷ If the priest, on examining it, finds that the infection on the walls of the house consists of greenish or reddish depressions which seem to go deeper than the surface of the wall, ³⁸ he shall close the door of the house behind him and quarantine the house for seven days. ³⁹ On the seventh day the priest shall return to examine the house again. If he finds that the infection has spread on the walls, ⁴⁰ he shall order the infected stones to be pulled out and cast in an unclean place outside the city. ⁴¹ The whole inside of the house shall then be scraped, and the mortar that has been scraped off shall be dumped in an unclean place outside the city. ⁴² Then new stones shall be brought and put in the place of the old stones, and new mortar shall be made and plastered

107 on the house. ⁴³ "If the infection breaks out once more after the stones have been pulled out and the house has been scraped and replastered, ⁴⁴ the priest shall come again; and if he finds that the infection has spread in the house, it is corrosive leprosy, and the house is unclean. ⁴⁵ It shall be pulled down, and all its stones, beams and mortar shall be hauled away to an unclean place outside the city. ⁴⁶ Whoever enters a house while it is quarantined shall be unclean until evening. ⁴⁷ Whoever sleeps or eats in such a house shall also wash his garments. ⁴⁸ If the priest finds, when he comes to examine the house, that the infection has in fact not spread after the plastering, he shall declare the house clean, since the infection has been healed. ⁴⁹ To purify the house, he shall take two birds, as well as cedar wood, scarlet yarn, and hyssop. ⁵⁰ One of the birds he shall slay over an earthen vessel with spring water in it. ⁵¹ Then, taking the cedar wood, the hyssop and the scarlet yarn, together with the living bird, he shall dip them all in the blood of the slain bird and the spring water, and sprinkle the house seven times. ⁵² Thus shall he purify the house with the bird's blood and the spring water, along with the living bird, the cedar wood, the hyssop, and the scarlet yarn. ⁵³ He shall then let the living bird fly away over the countryside outside the city. When he has thus made atonement for it, the house will be clean. ⁵⁴ "This is the law for every kind of human leprosy and scall, ⁵⁵ for leprosy of garments and houses, ⁵⁶ as well as for scabs, pustules and blotches, ⁵⁷ so that it may be manifest when there is a state of uncleanness and when a state of cleanness. This is the law for leprosy." Leviticus chapter 15 ¹ The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, ² "Speak to the Israelites and tell them: Every man who is afflicted with a chronic flow from his private parts is thereby unclean. ³ Such is his uncleanness from this flow that it makes no difference whether the flow drains off or is blocked up; his uncleanness remains. ⁴ Any bed on which the man afflicted with the flow lies, is unclean, and any piece of furniture on which he sits, is unclean. ⁵ Anyone who touches his bed shall wash his garments, bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. ⁶ Whoever sits on a piece of furniture on which the afflicted man was sitting, shall wash his garments, bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. ⁷ Whoever touches the body of the afflicted man shall wash his garments, bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. ⁸ If the afflicted man spits on a clean man, the latter shall wash his garments, bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. ⁹ Any saddle on which the afflicted man rides, is unclean. ¹⁰ Whoever touches anything that was under him shall be unclean until evening; whoever lifts up any such thing shall wash his garments, bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. ¹¹ Anyone whom the afflicted man touches with unrinsed hands shall wash his garments, bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. ¹² Earthenware touched by the afflicted man shall be broken; and every wooden article shall be rinsed with water. ¹³ "When a man who has been afflicted with a flow becomes free of his affliction, he shall wait seven days for his purification. Then he shall wash his garments and bathe his body in fresh water, and so he will be clean. ¹⁴ On the eighth day he shall take two turtledoves or two pigeons, and going before the LORD, to the entrance of the meeting tent, he shall give them to the priest, ¹⁵ who shall offer them up, the one as a sin offering and the other as a holocaust. Thus shall the priest make atonement before the LORD for the man's flow. ¹⁶ "When a man has an emission of seed, he shall bathe his whole body in water and be unclean until evening. ¹⁷ Any piece of cloth or leather with seed on it shall be washed with water and be unclean until evening.

wo turtledoves or two pigeons, and going before the LORD, to the entrance of the meeting tent, he shall give them to the priest, ¹⁵ who shall offer them up, the one as a sin offering and the other as a holocaust. Thus shall the priest make atonement before the LORD for the man's flow. ¹⁶ "When a man has an emission of seed, he shall bathe his whole body in water and be unclean until evening. ¹⁷ Any piece of cloth or leather with seed on it shall be washed with water and be unclean until evening. ¹⁸ "If a man lies carnally with a woman, they shall both bathe in water and be unclean until evening. ¹⁹ "When a woman has her menstrual flow, she shall be in a state of impurity for seven days. Anyone who touches her shall be unclean until evening. ²⁰ Anything on which she lies or sits during her impurity shall be unclean. ²¹ Anyone who touches her bed shall wash his garments, bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. ²² Whoever touches any article of furniture on which she was sitting, shall wash his garments, bathe

108 in water, and be unclean until evening. ²³ But if she is on the bed or on the seat when he touches it, he shall be unclean until evening. ²⁴ If a man dares to lie with her, he contracts her impurity and shall be unclean for seven days; every bed on which he then lies also becomes unclean. ²⁵ "When a woman is afflicted with a flow of blood for several days outside her menstrual period, or when her flow continues beyond the ordinary period, as long as she suffers this unclean flow she shall be unclean, just as during her menstrual period. ²⁶ Any bed on which she lies during such a flow becomes unclean, as it would during her menstruation, and any article of furniture on which she sits becomes unclean just as during her menstruation. ²⁷ Anyone who touches them becomes unclean; he shall wash his garments, bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. ²⁸ "If she becomes freed from her affliction, she shall wait seven days, and only then is she to be purified. ²⁹ On the eighth day she shall take two turtledoves or two pigeons and bring them to the priest at the entrance of the meeting tent. ³⁰ The priest shall offer up one of them as a sin offering and the other as a holocaust. Thus shall the priest make atonement before the LORD for her unclean flow. ³¹ "You shall warn the Israelites of their uncleanness, lest by defiling my Dwelling, which is in their midst, their uncleanness be the cause of their death. ³² "This is the law for the man who is afflicted with a chronic flow, or who has an emission of seed, and thereby becomes unclean; ³³ as well as for the woman who has her menstrual period, or who is afflicted with a chronic flow; the law for male and female; and also for the man who lies with an unclean woman." Leviticus chapter 16 ¹ After the death of Aaron's two sons, who died when they approached the LORD'S presence, the LORD spoke to Moses ² and said to him, "Tell your brother Aaron that he is not to come whenever he pleases into the sanctuary, inside the veil, in front of the propitiatory on the ark; otherwise, when I reveal myself in a cloud above the propitiatory, he will die. ³ Only in this way may Aaron enter the sanctuary. He shall bring a young bullock for a sin offering and a ram for a holocaust. ⁴ He shall wear the sacred linen tunic, with the linen drawers next his flesh, gird himself with the linen sash and put on the linen miter. But since these vestments are sacred, he shall not put them on until he has first bathed his body in water. ⁵ From the Israelite community he shall receive two male goats for a sin offering and one ram for a holocaust. ⁶ "Aaron shall bring in the bullock, his sin offering to atone for himself and for his household. ⁷ Taking the two male goats and setting them before the LORD at the entrance of the meeting tent, ⁸ he shall cast lots to determine which one is for the LORD and which for Azazel. ⁹ The goat that is determined by lot for the LORD, Aaron shall bring in and offer up as a sin offering. ¹⁰ But the goat determined by lot for Azazel he shall set alive before the LORD, so that with it he may make atonement by sending it off to Azazel in the desert. ¹¹ "Thus shall Aaron offer up the bullock, his sin offering, to atone for himself and for his family. When he has slaughtered it, ¹² he shall take a censer full of glowing embers from the altar before the LORD, as well as a double handful of finely ground fragrant incense, and bringing them inside the veil, ¹³ there before the LORD he shall put incense on the fire, so that a cloud of incense may cover the propitiatory over the commandments; else he will die. ¹⁴ Taking some of the bullock's blood, he shall sprinkle it with his finger on the fore part of the propitiatory and likewise sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times in front of the propitiatory.

mbers from the altar before the LORD, as well as a double handful of finely ground fragrant incense, and bringing them inside the veil, ¹³ there before the LORD he shall put incense on the fire, so that a cloud of incense may cover the propitiatory over the commandments; else he will die. ¹⁴ Taking some of the bullock's blood, he shall sprinkle it with his finger on the fore part of the propitiatory and likewise sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times in front of the propitiatory. ¹⁵ "Then he shall slaughter the people's sin-offering goat, and bringing its blood inside the veil, he shall do with it as he did with the bullock's blood, sprinkling it on the propitiatory and before it. ¹⁶ Thus he shall make atonement for the sanctuary because of all the sinful defilements and faults of the Israelites. He shall do the same for the meeting tent, which is set up among them in the midst of their uncleanness. ¹⁷ No one else may be in the meeting tent from the time he enters the sanctuary to make atonement until he departs. When he has made atonement for himself and his household, as well as for the whole Israelite community, ¹⁸ he shall come out to the altar before the LORD

109 and make atonement for it also. Taking some of the bullock's and the goat's blood, he shall put it on the horns around the altar, ¹⁹ and with his finger sprinkle some of the blood on it seven times. Thus he shall render it clean and holy, purged of the defilements of the Israelites. ²⁰ "When he has completed the atonement rite for the sanctuary, the meeting tent and the altar, Aaron shall bring forward the live goat. ²¹ Laying both hands on its head, he shall confess over it all the sinful faults and transgressions of the Israelites, and so put them on the goat's head. He shall then have it led into the desert by an attendant. ²² Since the goat is to carry off their iniquities to an isolated region, it must be sent away into the desert. ²³ "After Aaron has again gone into the meeting tent, he shall strip off and leave in the sanctuary the linen vestments he had put on when he entered there. ²⁴ After bathing his body with water in a sacred place, he shall put on his vestments, and then come out and offer his own and the people's holocaust, in atonement for himself and for the people, ²⁵ and also burn the fat of the sin offering on the altar. ²⁶ "The man who has led away the goat for Azazel shall wash his garments and bathe his body in water; only then may he enter the camp. ²⁷ The sin-offering bullock and goat whose blood was brought into the sanctuary to make atonement, shall be taken outside the camp, where their hides and flesh and offal shall be burned up in the fire. ²⁸ The one who burns them shall wash his garments and bathe his body in water; only then may he enter the camp. ²⁹ "This shall be an everlasting ordinance for you: on the tenth day of the seventh month every one of you, whether a native or a resident alien, shall mortify himself and shall do no work. ³⁰ Since on this day atonement is made for you to make you clean, so that you may be cleansed of all your sins before the LORD, ³¹ by everlasting ordinance it shall be a most solemn sabbath for you, on which you must mortify yourselves. ³² "This atonement is to be made by the priest who has been anointed and ordained to the priesthood in succession to his father. He shall wear the linen garments, the sacred vestments, ³³ and make atonement for the sacred sanctuary, the meeting tent and the altar, as well as for the priests and all the people of the community. ³⁴ This, then, shall be an everlasting ordinance for you: once a year atonement shall be made for all the sins of the Israelites." Thus was it done, as the LORD had commanded Moses. Leviticus chapter 17 ¹ The LORD said to Moses, ² "Speak to Aaron and his sons, as well as to all the Israelites, and tell them: This is what the LORD has commanded. ³ Any Israelite who slaughters an ox or a sheep or a goat, whether in the camp or outside of it, ⁴ without first bringing it to the entrance of the meeting tent to present it as an offering to the LORD in front of his Dwelling, shall be judged guilty of bloodshed; and for this, such a man shall be cut off from among his people. ⁵ Therefore, such sacrifices as they used to offer up in the open field the Israelites shall henceforth offer to the LORD, bringing them to the priest at the entrance of the meeting tent and sacrificing them there as peace offerings to the LORD. ⁶ The priest shall splash the blood on the altar of the LORD at the entrance of the meeting tent and there burn the fat for an odor pleasing to the LORD. ⁷ No longer shall they offer their sacrifices to the satyrs to whom they used to render their wanton worship. This shall be an everlasting ordinance for them and their descendants. ⁸ "Tell them, therefore: Anyone, whether of the house of Israel or of the aliens residing among them, who offers a holocaust or sacrifice ⁹ without bringing it to the entrance of the meeting tent to offer it to the LORD, shall be cut off from his kinsmen.

g tent and there burn the fat for an odor pleasing to the LORD. ⁷ No longer shall they offer their sacrifices to the satyrs to whom they used to render their wanton worship. This shall be an everlasting ordinance for them and their descendants. ⁸ "Tell them, therefore: Anyone, whether of the house of Israel or of the aliens residing among them, who offers a holocaust or sacrifice ⁹ without bringing it to the entrance of the meeting tent to offer it to the LORD, shall be cut off from his kinsmen. ¹⁰ And if anyone, whether of the house of Israel or of the aliens residing among them, partakes of any blood, I will set myself against that one who partakes of blood and will cut him off from among his people. ¹¹ Since the life of a living body is in its blood, I have made you put it on the altar, so that atonement may thereby be made for your own lives, because it is the blood, as the seat of life, that makes atonement. ¹² That is why I have told the Israelites: No one among you, not even a resident alien, may partake of blood. ¹³ "Anyone hunting, whether of the Israelites or of the aliens residing among them, who catches an animal or a bird that may be eaten, shall pour

110 out its blood and cover it with earth. ¹⁴ Since the life of every living body is its blood, I have told the Israelites: You shall not partake of the blood of any meat. Since the life of every living body is its blood, anyone who partakes of it shall be cut off. ¹⁵ "Everyone, whether a native or an alien, who eats of an animal that died of itself or was killed by a wild beast, shall wash his garments, bathe in water, and be unclean until evening, and then he will be clean. ¹⁶ If he does not wash or does not bathe his body, he shall have the guilt to bear." Leviticus chapter 18 ¹ The LORD said to Moses, ² "Speak to the Israelites and tell them: I, the LORD, am your God. ³ You shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt, where you once lived, nor shall you do as they do in the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you; do not conform to their customs. ⁴ My decrees you shall carry out, and my statutes you shall take care to follow. I, the LORD, am your God. ⁵ Keep, then, my statutes and decrees, for the man who carries them out will find life through them. I am the LORD. ⁶ None of you shall approach a close relative to have sexual intercourse with her. I am the LORD. ⁷ You shall not disgrace your father by having intercourse with your mother. Besides, since she is your own mother, you shall not have intercourse with her. ⁸ You shall not have intercourse with your father's wife, for that would be a disgrace to your father. ⁹ You shall not have intercourse with your sister, your father's daughter or your mother's daughter, whether she was born in your own household or born elsewhere. ¹⁰ You shall not have intercourse with your son's daughter or with your daughter's daughter, for that would be a disgrace to your own family. ¹¹ You shall not have intercourse with the daughter whom your father's wife bore to him, since she, too, is your sister. ¹² You shall not have intercourse with your father's sister, since she is your father's relative. ¹³ You shall not have intercourse with your mother's sister, since she is your mother's relative. ¹⁴ You shall not disgrace your father's brother by being intimate with his wife, since she, too, is your aunt. ¹⁵ You shall not have intercourse with your daughter-in-law; she is your son's wife, and therefore you shall not disgrace her. ¹⁶ You shall not have intercourse with your brother's wife, for that would be a disgrace to your brother. ¹⁷ You shall not have intercourse with a woman and also with her daughter, nor shall you marry and have intercourse with her son's daughter or her daughter's daughter; this would be shameful, because they are related to her. ¹⁸ While your wife is still living you shall not marry her sister as her rival; for thus you would disgrace your first wife. ¹⁹ You shall not approach a woman to have intercourse with her while she is unclean from menstruation. ²⁰ You shall not have carnal relations with your neighbor's wife, defiling yourself with her. ²¹ You shall not offer any of your offspring to be immolated to Molech, thus profaning the name of your God. I am the LORD. ²² You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; such a thing is an abomination. ²³ You shall not have carnal relations with an animal, defiling yourself with it; nor shall a woman set herself in front of an animal to mate with it; such things are abhorrent. ²⁴ Do not defile yourselves by any of these things by which the nations whom I am driving out of your way have defiled themselves. ²⁵ Because their land has become defiled, I am punishing it for its wickedness, by making it vomit out its inhabitants. ²⁶ You, however, whether natives or resident aliens, must keep my statutes and decrees forbidding all such abominations ²⁷ by which the previous inhabitants defiled the land; ²⁸ otherwise the land will vomit you out also for having defiled it, just as it vomited out the nations before you. ²⁹ Everyone who does any of these abominations shall be cut off from among his people.

s. ²⁵ Because their land has become defiled, I am punishing it for its wickedness, by making it vomit out its inhabitants. ²⁶ You, however, whether natives or resident aliens, must keep my statutes and decrees forbidding all such abominations ²⁷ by which the previous inhabitants defiled the land; ²⁸ otherwise the land will vomit you out also for having defiled it, just as it vomited out the nations before you. ²⁹ Everyone who does any of these abominations shall be cut off from among his people. ³⁰ Heed my charge, then, not to defile yourselves by observing the abominable customs that have been observed before you. I, the LORD, am your God." Leviticus chapter 19 ¹ The LORD said to Moses, ² "Speak to the whole Israelite community and tell them: Be holy, for

111 I, the LORD your God, am holy. ³ Revere your mother and father, and keep my sabbaths. I, the LORD, am your God. ⁴ Do not turn aside to idols, nor make molten gods for yourselves. I, the LORD, am your God. ⁵ When you sacrifice your peace offering to the LORD, if you wish it to be acceptable, ⁶ it must be eaten on the very day of your sacrifice or on the following day. Whatever is left over until the third day shall be burned up in the fire. ⁷ If any of it is eaten on the third day, the sacrifice will be unacceptable as refuse; ⁸ whoever eats of it then shall pay the penalty for having profaned what is sacred to the LORD. Such a one shall be cut off from his people. ⁹ When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not be so thorough that you reap the field to its very edge, nor shall you glean the stray ears of grain. ¹⁰ Likewise, you shall not pick your vineyard bare, nor gather up the grapes that have fallen. These things you shall leave for the poor and the alien. I, the LORD, am your God. ¹¹ You shall not steal. You shall not lie or speak falsely to one another. ¹² You shall not swear falsely by my name, thus profaning the name of your God. I am the LORD. ¹³ You shall not defraud or rob your neighbor. You shall not withhold overnight the wages of your day laborer. ¹⁴ You shall not curse the deaf, or put a stumbling block in front of the blind, but you shall fear your God. I am the LORD. ¹⁵ You shall not act dishonestly in rendering judgment. Show neither partiality to the weak nor deference to the mighty, but judge your fellow men justly. ¹⁶ You shall not go about spreading slander among your kinsmen; nor shall you stand by idly when your neighbor's life is at stake. I am the LORD. ¹⁷ You shall not bear hatred for your brother in your heart. Though you may have to reprove your fellow man, do not incur sin because of him. ¹⁸ Take no revenge and cherish no grudge against your fellow countrymen. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD. ¹⁹ Keep my statutes: do not breed any of your domestic animals with others of a different species; do not sow a field of yours with two different kinds of seed; and do not put on a garment woven with two different kinds of thread. ²⁰ If a man has carnal relations with a female slave who has already been living with another man but has not yet been redeemed or given her freedom, they shall be punished but not put to death, because she is not free. ²¹ The man, moreover, shall bring to the entrance of the meeting tent a ram as his guilt offering to the LORD. ²² With this ram the priest shall make atonement before the LORD for the sin he has committed, and it will be forgiven him. ²³ When you come into the land and plant any fruit tree there, first look upon its fruit as if it were uncircumcised. For three years, while its fruit remains uncircumcised, it may not be eaten. ²⁴ In the fourth year, however, all of its fruit shall be sacred to the LORD as a thanksgiving feast to him. ²⁵ Not until the fifth year may you eat its fruit. Thus it will continue its yield for you. I, the LORD, am your God. ²⁶ Do not eat meat with the blood still in it. Do not practice divination or soothsaying. ²⁷ Do not clip your hair at the temples, nor trim the edges of your beard. ²⁸ Do not lacerate your bodies for the dead, and do not tattoo yourselves. I am the LORD. ²⁹ You shall not degrade your daughter by making a prostitute of her; else the land will become corrupt and full of lewdness. ³⁰ Keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary. I am the LORD. ³¹ Do not go to mediums or consult fortune-tellers, for you will be defiled by them. I, the LORD, am your God. ³² Stand up in the presence of the aged, and show respect for the old; thus shall you fear your God. I am the LORD. ³³ When an alien resides with you in your land, do not molest him.

. I am the LORD. ²⁹ You shall not degrade your daughter by making a prostitute of her; else the land will become corrupt and full of lewdness. ³⁰ Keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary. I am the LORD. ³¹ Do not go to mediums or consult fortune-tellers, for you will be defiled by them. I, the LORD, am your God. ³² Stand up in the presence of the aged, and show respect for the old; thus shall you fear your God. I am the LORD. ³³ When an alien resides with you in your land, do not molest him. ³⁴ You shall treat the alien who resides with you no differently than the natives born among you; have the same love for him as for yourself; for you too were once aliens in the land of Egypt. I, the LORD, am your God. ³⁵ Do not act dishonestly in using measures of length or weight or capacity. ³⁶ You shall have a true scale and true weights, an honest ephah and an honest hin. I, the LORD, am your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt. ³⁷ Be careful, then, to observe all my statutes and decrees. I am the LORD." Leviticus chapter 20 ¹ The LORD said to Moses, ² "Tell the Israelites: Anyone, whether an Israelite or an alien residing

112 in Israel, who gives any of his offspring to Molech shall be put to death. Let his fellow citizens stone him. ³ I myself will turn against such a man and cut him off from the body of his people; for in giving his offspring to Molech, he has defiled my sanctuary and profaned my holy name. ⁴ Even if his fellow citizens connive at such a man's crime of giving his offspring to Molech, and fail to put him to death, ⁵ I myself will set my face against that man and his family and will cut off from their people both him and all who join him in his wanton worship of Molech. ⁶ Should anyone turn to mediums and fortune-tellers and follow their wanton ways, I will turn against such a one and cut him off from his people. ⁷ Sanctify yourselves, then, and be holy; for I, the LORD, your God, am holy. ⁸ Be careful, therefore, to observe what I, the LORD, who make you holy, have prescribed. ⁹ Anyone who curses his father or mother shall be put to death; since he has cursed his father or mother, he has forfeited his life. ¹⁰ If a man commits adultery with his neighbor's wife, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall be put to death. ¹¹ If a man disgraces his father by lying with his father's wife, both the man and his stepmother shall be put to death; they have forfeited their lives. ¹² If a man lies with his daughter-in-law, both of them shall be put to death; since they have committed an abhorrent deed, they have forfeited their lives. ¹³ If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them shall be put to death for their abominable deed; they have forfeited their lives. ¹⁴ If a man marries a woman and her mother also, the man and the two women as well shall be burned to death for their shameful conduct, so that such shamefulness may not be found among you. ¹⁵ If a man has carnal relations with an animal, the man shall be put to death, and the animal shall be slain. ¹⁶ If a woman goes up to any animal to mate with it, the woman and the animal shall be slain; let them both be put to death; their lives are forfeit. ¹⁷ If a man consummates marriage with his sister or his half-sister, they shall be publicly cut off from their people for this shameful deed; the man shall pay the penalty of having had intercourse with his own sister. ¹⁸ If a man lies in sexual intercourse with a woman during her menstrual period, both of them shall be cut off from their people, because they have laid bare the flowing fountain of her blood. ¹⁹ You shall not have intercourse with your mother's sister or your father's sister; whoever does so shall pay the penalty of incest. ²⁰ If a man disgraces his uncle by having intercourse with his uncle's wife, the man and his aunt shall pay the penalty by dying childless. ²¹ If a man marries his brother's wife and thus disgraces his brother, they shall be childless because of this incest. ²² Be careful to observe all my statutes and all my decrees; otherwise the land where I am bringing you to dwell will vomit you out. ²³ Do not conform, therefore, to the customs of the nations whom I am driving out of your way, because all these things that they have done have filled me with disgust for them. ²⁴ But to you I have said: Their land shall be your possession, a land flowing with milk and honey. I am giving it to you as your own, I, the LORD, your God, who have set you apart from the other nations. ²⁵ You, too, must set apart, then, the clean animals from the unclean, and the clean birds from the unclean, so that you may not be contaminated with the uncleanness of any beast or bird or of any swarming creature in the land that I have set apart for you. ²⁶ To me, therefore, you shall be sacred; for I, the LORD, am sacred, I, who have set you apart from the other nations to be my own.

ney. I am giving it to you as your own, I, the LORD, your God, who have set you apart from the other nations. ²⁵ You, too, must set apart, then, the clean animals from the unclean, and the clean birds from the unclean, so that you may not be contaminated with the uncleanness of any beast or bird or of any swarming creature in the land that I have set apart for you. ²⁶ To me, therefore, you shall be sacred; for I, the LORD, am sacred, I, who have set you apart from the other nations to be my own. ²⁷ A man or a woman who acts as a medium or fortune-teller shall be put to death by stoning; they have no one but themselves to blame for their death." Leviticus chapter 21 ¹ The LORD said to Moses, "Speak to Aaron's sons, the priests, and tell them: None of you shall make himself unclean for any dead person among his people, ² except for his nearest relatives, his mother or father, his son or daughter, his brother ³ or his maiden sister, who is of his own family while she remains unmarried; for these he may make himself unclean. ⁴ But for a sister who has married out of his family he shall not make himself unclean; this would be a profanation. ⁵ The priests shall not make bare the crown of the head, nor shave the edges of the beard, nor lacerate

113 the body. ⁶ To their God they shall be sacred, and not profane his name; since they offer up the oblations of the LORD, the food of their God, they must be holy. ⁷ A priest shall not marry a woman who has been a prostitute or has lost her honor, nor a woman who has been divorced by her husband; for the priest is sacred to his God. ⁸ Honor him as sacred who offers up the food of your God; treat him as sacred, because I, the LORD, who have consecrated him, am sacred. ⁹ A priest's daughter who loses her honor by committing fornication and thereby dishonors her father also, shall be burned to death. ¹⁰ The most exalted of the priests, upon whose head the anointing oil has been poured and who has been ordained to wear the special vestments, shall not bare his head or rend his garments, ¹¹ nor shall he go near any dead person. Not even for his father or mother may he thus become unclean ¹² or leave the sanctuary; otherwise he will profane the sanctuary of his God, for with the anointing oil upon him, he is dedicated to his God, to me, the LORD. ¹³ The priest shall marry a virgin. ¹⁴ Not a widow or a woman who has been divorced or a woman who has lost her honor as a prostitute, but a virgin, taken from his own people, shall he marry; ¹⁵ otherwise he will have base offspring among his people. I, the LORD, have made him sacred." ¹⁶ The LORD said to Moses, ¹⁷ "Speak to Aaron and tell him: None of your descendants, of whatever generation, who has any defect shall come forward to offer up the food of his God. ¹⁸ Therefore, he who has any of the following defects may not come forward: he who is blind, or lame, or who has any disfigurement or malformation, ¹⁹ or a crippled foot or hand, ²⁰ or who is hump-backed or weakly or walleyed, or who is afflicted with eczema, ringworm or hernia. ²¹ No descendant of Aaron the priest who has any such defect may draw near to offer up the oblations of the LORD; on account of his defect he may not draw near to offer up the food of his God. ²² He may, however, partake of the food of his God: of what is most sacred as well as of what is sacred. ²³ Only, he may not approach the veil nor go up to the altar on account of his defect; he shall not profane these things that are sacred to me, for it is I, the LORD, who make them sacred." ²⁴ Moses, therefore, told this to Aaron and his sons and to all the Israelites. Leviticus chapter 22 ¹ The LORD said to Moses, ² "Tell Aaron and his sons to respect the sacred offerings which the Israelites consecrate to me; else they will profane my holy name. I am the LORD. ³ Tell them: If any one of you, or of your descendants in any future generation, dares, while he is in a state of uncleanness, to draw near the sacred offerings which the Israelites consecrate to the LORD, such a one shall be cut off from my presence. I am the LORD. ⁴ No descendant of Aaron who is stricken with leprosy, or who suffers from a flow, may eat of these sacred offerings, unless he again becomes clean. Moreover, if anyone touches a person who has become unclean by contact with a corpse, or if anyone has had an emission of seed, ⁵ or if anyone touches any swarming creature or any man whose uncleanness, of whatever kind it may be, is contagious, ⁶ the one who touches such as these shall be unclean until evening and may not eat of the sacred portions until he has first bathed his body in water, ⁷ then, when the sun sets, he again becomes clean. Only then may he eat of the sacred offerings, which are his food. ⁸ He shall not make himself unclean by eating of any animal that has died of itself or has been killed by wild beasts. I am the LORD. ⁹ They shall keep my charge and not do wrong in this matter; else they will die for their profanation. I am the LORD who have consecrated them. ¹⁰ Neither a lay person nor a priest's tenant or hired servant may eat of any sacred offering. ¹¹ But a slave whom a priest acquires by purchase or who is born in his house may eat of his food.

ferings, which are his food. ⁸ He shall not make himself unclean by eating of any animal that has died of itself or has been killed by wild beasts. I am the LORD. ⁹ They shall keep my charge and not do wrong in this matter; else they will die for their profanation. I am the LORD who have consecrated them. ¹⁰ Neither a lay person nor a priest's tenant or hired servant may eat of any sacred offering. ¹¹ But a slave whom a priest acquires by purchase or who is born in his house may eat of his food. ¹² A priest's daughter who is married to a layman may not eat of the sacred contributions. ¹³ But if a priest's daughter is widowed or divorced and, having no children, returns to her father's house, she may then eat of her father's food as in her youth. No layman, however, may eat of it. ¹⁴ If such a one eats of a sacred offering through inadvertence, he shall make restitution to the priest for the sacred offering, with an increment of one fifth of the amount. ¹⁵

114 The sacred offerings which the Israelites contribute to the LORD the priests shall not allow to be profaned ¹⁶ nor in the eating of the sacred offering shall they bring down guilt that must be punished; it is I, the LORD, who make them sacred. ¹⁷ The LORD said to Moses, ¹⁸ Speak to Aaron and his sons and to all the Israelites, and tell them: When anyone of the house of Israel, or any alien residing in Israel, who wishes to offer a sacrifice, brings a holocaust as a votive offering or as a free-will offering to the LORD, ¹⁹ if it is to be acceptable, the ox or sheep or goat that he offers must be an unblemished male. ²⁰ You shall not offer one that has any defect, for such a one would not be acceptable for you. ²¹ When anyone presents a peace offering to the LORD from the herd or the flock in fulfillment of a vow, or as a free-will offering, if it is to find acceptance, it must be unblemished; it shall not have any defect. ²² One that is blind or crippled or maimed, or one that has a running sore or mange or ringworm, you shall not offer to the LORD; do not put such an animal on the altar as an oblation to the LORD. ²³ An ox or a sheep that is in any way ill- proportioned or stunted you may indeed present as a free-will offering, but it will not be acceptable as a votive offering. ²⁴ One that has its testicles bruised or crushed or torn out or cut off you shall not offer to the LORD. You shall neither do this in your own land ²⁵ nor receive from a foreigner any such animals to offer up as the food of your God; since they are deformed or defective, they will not be acceptable for you. ²⁶ The LORD said to Moses, ²⁷ When an ox or a lamb or a goat is born, it shall remain with its mother for seven days; only from the eighth day onward will it be acceptable, to be offered as an oblation to the LORD. ²⁸ You shall not slaughter an ox or a sheep on one and the same day with its young. ²⁹ Whenever you offer a thanksgiving sacrifice to the LORD, so offer it that it may be acceptable for you; ³⁰ it must, therefore, be eaten on the same day; none of it shall be left over until the next day. I am the LORD. ³¹ Be careful to observe the commandments which I, the LORD, give you, ³² and do not profane my holy name; in the midst of the Israelites I, the LORD, must be held as sacred. It is I who made you sacred ³³ and led you out of the land of Egypt, that I, the LORD, might be your God." Leviticus chapter 23 ¹ The LORD said to Moses, ² "Speak to the Israelites and tell them: The following are the festivals of the LORD, my feast days, which you shall celebrate with a sacred assembly. ³ For six days work may be done; but the seventh day is the sabbath rest, a day for sacred assembly, on which you shall do no work. The sabbath shall belong to the LORD wherever you dwell. ⁴ These, then, are the festivals of the LORD which you shall celebrate at their proper time with a sacred assembly. ⁵ The Passover of the LORD falls on the fourteenth day of the first month, at the evening twilight. ⁶ The fifteenth day of this month is the LORD'S feast of Unleavened Bread. For seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. ⁷ On the first of these days you shall hold a sacred assembly and do no sort of work. ⁸ On each of the seven days you shall offer an oblation to the LORD. Then on the seventh day you shall again hold a sacred assembly and do no sort of work. ⁹ The LORD said to Moses, ¹⁰ Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When you come into the land which I am giving you, and reap your harvest, you shall bring a sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest to the priest, ¹¹ who shall wave the sheaf before the LORD that it may be acceptable for you. On the day after the sabbath the priest shall do this. ¹² On this day, when your sheaf is waved, you shall offer to the LORD for a holocaust an unblemished yearling lamb.

assembly and do no sort of work. ⁹ The LORD said to Moses, ¹⁰ Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When you come into the land which I am giving you, and reap your harvest, you shall bring a sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest to the priest, ¹¹ who shall wave the sheaf before the LORD that it may be acceptable for you. On the day after the sabbath the priest shall do this. ¹² On this day, when your sheaf is waved, you shall offer to the LORD for a holocaust an unblemished yearling lamb. ¹³ Its cereal offering shall be two tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil, as a sweet-smelling oblation to the LORD; and its libation shall be a fourth of a hin of wine. ¹⁴ Until this day, when you bring your God this offering, you shall not eat any bread or roasted grain or fresh kernels. This shall be a perpetual statute for you and your descendants wherever you dwell. ¹⁵ Beginning with the day after the sabbath, the day on which you bring the wave-offering sheaf, you shall count seven full weeks, ¹⁶ and then on the day after the seventh week, the fiftieth day, you shall present the new cereal offering to the LORD. ¹⁷

115 For the wave offering of your first fruits to the LORD, you shall bring with you from wherever you live two loaves of bread made of two tenths of an ephah of fine flour and baked with leaven. ¹⁸ Besides the bread, you shall offer to the LORD a holocaust of seven unblemished yearling lambs, one young bull, and two rams, along with their cereal offering and libations, as a sweet-smelling oblation to the LORD. ¹⁹ One male goat shall be sacrificed as a sin offering, and two yearling lambs as a peace offering. ²⁰ The priest shall wave the bread of the first fruits and the two lambs as a wave offering before the LORD; these shall be sacred to the LORD and belong to the priest. ²¹ On this same day you shall by proclamation have a sacred assembly, and no sort of work may be done. This shall be a perpetual statute for you and your descendants wherever you dwell. ²² When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not be so thorough that you reap the field to its very edge, nor shall you glean the stray ears of your grain. These things you shall leave for the poor and the alien. I, the LORD, am your God. ²³ The LORD said to Moses, ²⁴ Tell the Israelites: On the first day of the seventh month you shall keep a sabbath rest, with a sacred assembly and with the trumpet blasts as a reminder; ²⁵ you shall then do no sort of work, and you shall offer an oblation to the LORD. ²⁶ The LORD said to Moses, ²⁷ The tenth of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement, when you shall hold a sacred assembly and mortify yourselves and offer an oblation to the LORD. ²⁸ On this day you shall not do any work, because it is the Day of Atonement, when atonement is made for you before the LORD, your God. ²⁹ Anyone who does not mortify himself on this day shall be cut off from his people, ³⁰ and if anyone does any work on this day, I will remove him from the midst of his people. ³¹ This is a perpetual statute for you and your descendants wherever you dwell: you shall do no work, ³² but shall keep a sabbath of complete rest and mortify yourselves. Beginning on the evening of the ninth of the month, you shall keep this sabbath of yours from evening to evening. ³³ The LORD said to Moses, ³⁴ Tell the Israelites: The fifteenth day of this seventh month is the LORD'S feast of Booths, which shall continue for seven days. ³⁵ On the first day there shall be a sacred assembly, and you shall do no sort of work. ³⁶ For seven days you shall offer an oblation to the LORD, and on the eighth day you shall again hold a sacred assembly and offer an oblation to the LORD. On that solemn closing you shall do no sort of work. ³⁷ These, therefore, are the festivals of the LORD on which you shall proclaim a sacred assembly, and offer as an oblation to the LORD holocausts and cereal offerings, sacrifices and libations, as prescribed for each day, ³⁸ in addition to those of the LORD'S sabbaths, your donations, your various votive offerings and the free-will offerings that you present to the LORD. ³⁹ On the fifteenth day, then, of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the produce of the land, you shall celebrate a pilgrim feast of the LORD for a whole week. The first and the eighth day shall be days of complete rest. ⁴⁰ On the first day you shall gather foliage from majestic trees, branches of palms and boughs of myrtles and of valley poplars, and then for a week you shall make merry before the LORD, your God. ⁴¹ By perpetual statute for you and your descendants you shall keep this pilgrim feast of the LORD for one whole week in the seventh month of the year. ⁴² During this week every native Israelite among you shall dwell in booths, ⁴³ that your descendants may realize that, when I led the Israelites out of the land of Egypt, I made them dwell in booths. I, the LORD, am your God.

of palms and boughs of myrtles and of valley poplars, and then for a week you shall make merry before the LORD, your God. ⁴¹ By perpetual statute for you and your descendants you shall keep this pilgrim feast of the LORD for one whole week in the seventh month of the year. ⁴² During this week every native Israelite among you shall dwell in booths, ⁴³ that your descendants may realize that, when I led the Israelites out of the land of Egypt, I made them dwell in booths. I, the LORD, am your God. ⁴⁴ Thus did Moses announce to the Israelites the festivals of the LORD. Leviticus chapter 24 ¹ The LORD said to Moses, ² "Order the Israelites to bring you clear oil of crushed olives for the light, so that you may keep lamps burning regularly. ³ In the meeting tent, outside the veil that hangs in front of the commandments, Aaron shall set up the lamps to burn before the LORD regularly, from evening till morning. Thus, by a perpetual statute for you and your descendants, ⁴ the lamps shall be set up on the pure gold lampstand, to burn regularly before the LORD. ⁵ You shall take fine flour and bake it into twelve cakes, using two tenths of an ephah of flour for each

116 cake. ⁶ These you shall place in two piles, six in each pile, on the pure gold table before the LORD. ⁷ On each pile put some pure frankincense, which shall serve as an oblation to the LORD, a token offering for the bread. ⁸ Regularly on each sabbath day this bread shall be set out afresh before the LORD, offered on the part of the Israelites by an everlasting agreement. ⁹ It shall belong to Aaron and his sons, who must eat it in a sacred place, since, as something most sacred among the various oblations to the LORD, it is his by perpetual right. ¹⁰ Among the Israelites there was a man born of an Israelite mother (Shelomith, daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan) and an Egyptian father. ¹¹ This man quarreled publicly with another Israelite and cursed and blasphemed the LORD'S name. So the people brought him to Moses, ¹² who kept him in custody till a decision from the LORD should settle the case for them. ¹³ The LORD then said to Moses, ¹⁴ Take the blasphemer outside the camp, and when all who heard him have laid their hands on his head, let the whole community stone him. ¹⁵ Tell the Israelites: Anyone who curses his God shall bear the penalty of his sin; ¹⁶ whoever blasphemes the name of the LORD shall be put to death. The whole community shall stone him; alien and native alike must be put to death for blaspheming the LORD'S name. ¹⁷ Whoever takes the life of any human being shall be put to death; ¹⁸ whoever takes the life of an animal shall make restitution of another animal. A life for a life! ¹⁹ Anyone who inflicts an injury on his neighbor shall receive the same in return. ²⁰ Limb for limb, eye for eye, tooth for tooth! The same injury that a man gives another shall be inflicted on him in return. ²¹ Whoever slays an animal shall make restitution, but whoever slays a man shall be put to death. ²² You shall have but one rule, for alien and native alike. I, the LORD, am your God. ²³ When Moses told this to the Israelites, they took the blasphemer outside the camp and stoned him; they carried out the command that the LORD had given Moses. Leviticus chapter 25 ¹ The LORD said to Moses on Mount Sinai, ²"Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When you enter the land that I am giving you, let the land, too, keep a sabbath for the LORD. ³For six years you may sow your field, and for six years prune your vineyard, gathering in their produce. ⁴But during the seventh year the land shall have a complete rest, a sabbath for the LORD, when you may neither sow your field nor prune your vineyard. ⁵The aftergrowth of your harvest you shall not reap, nor shall you pick the grapes of your untrimmed vines in this year of sabbath rest for the land. ⁶While the land has its sabbath, all its produce will be food equally for you yourself and for your male and female slaves, for your hired help and the tenants who live with you, ⁷and likewise for your livestock and for the wild animals on your land. ⁸Seven weeks of years shall you count— seven times seven years—so that the seven cycles amount to forty-nine years. ⁹Then, on the tenth day of the seventh month let the trumpet resound; on this, the Day of Atonement, the trumpet blast shall re-echo throughout your land. ¹⁰This fiftieth year you shall make sacred by proclaiming liberty in the land for all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you, when every one of you shall return to his own property, every one to his own family estate. ¹¹In this fiftieth year, your year of jubilee, you shall not sow, nor shall you reap the aftergrowth or pick the grapes from the untrimmed vines. ¹²Since this is the jubilee, which shall be sacred for you, you may not eat of its produce, except as taken directly from the field. ¹³In this year of jubilee, then, every one of you shall return to his own property. ¹⁴Therefore, when you sell any land to your neighbor or buy any from him, do not deal unfairly.

erty, every one to his own family estate. ¹¹In this fiftieth year, your year of jubilee, you shall not sow, nor shall you reap the aftergrowth or pick the grapes from the untrimmed vines. ¹²Since this is the jubilee, which shall be sacred for you, you may not eat of its produce, except as taken directly from the field. ¹³In this year of jubilee, then, every one of you shall return to his own property. ¹⁴Therefore, when you sell any land to your neighbor or buy any from him, do not deal unfairly. ¹⁵On the basis of the number of years since the last jubilee shall you purchase the land from him; and so also, on the basis of the number of years for crops, shall he sell it to you. ¹⁶When the years are many, the price shall be so much the more; when the years are few, the price shall be so much the less. For it is really the number of crops that he sells you. ¹⁷Do not deal unfairly, then; but stand in fear of your God. I, the LORD, am your God. ¹⁸Observe my precepts and be careful to keep my regulations, for then you will dwell securely in the land.

117 ¹⁹The land will yield its fruit and you will have food in abundance, so that you may live there without worry. ²⁰Therefore, do not say, 'What shall we eat in the seventh year, if we do not then sow or reap our crop?' ²¹I will bestow such blessings on you in the sixth year that there will then be crop enough for three years. ²²When you sow in the eighth year, you will continue to eat from the old crop; and even into the ninth year, when the crop comes in, you will still have the old to eat from. ²³The land shall not be sold in perpetuity; for the land is mine, and you are but aliens who have become my tenants. ²⁴Therefore, in every part of the country that you occupy, you must permit the land to be redeemed. ²⁵When one of your countrymen is reduced to poverty and has to sell some of his property, his closest relative, who has the right to redeem it, may go and buy back what his kinsman has sold. ²⁶If, however, the man has no relative to redeem his land, but later on acquires sufficient means to buy it back in his own name, ²⁷he shall make a deduction from the price in proportion to the number of years since the sale, and then pay back the balance to the one to whom he sold it, so that he may thus regain his own property. ²⁸But if he does not acquire sufficient means to buy back his land, what he has sold shall remain in the possession of the purchaser until the jubilee, when it must be released and returned to its original owner. ²⁹When someone sells a dwelling in a walled town, he has the right to buy it back during the time of one full year from its sale. ³⁰But if such a house in a walled town has not been redeemed at the end of a full year, it shall belong in perpetuity to the purchaser and his descendants; nor shall it be released in the jubilee. ³¹However, houses in villages that are not encircled by walls shall be considered as belonging to the surrounding farm land; they may be redeemed at any time, and in the jubilee they must be released. ³²In levitical cities the Levites shall always have the right to redeem the town houses that are their property. ³³Any town house of the Levites in their cities that had been sold and not redeemed, shall be released in the jubilee; for the town houses of the Levites are their hereditary property in the midst of the Israelites. ³⁴Moreover, the pasture land belonging to their cities shall not be sold at all; it must always remain their hereditary property. ³⁵When one of your fellow countrymen is reduced to poverty and is unable to hold out beside you, extend to him the privileges of an alien or a tenant, so that he may continue to live with you. ³⁶Do not exact interest from your countryman either in money or in kind, but out of fear of God let him live with you. ³⁷You are to lend him neither money at interest nor food at a profit. ³⁸I, the LORD, am your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan and to be your God. ³⁹When, then, your countryman becomes so impoverished beside you that he sells you his services, do not make him work as a slave. ⁴⁰Rather, let him be like a hired servant or like your tenant, working with you until the jubilee year, ⁴¹when he, together with his children, shall be released from your service and return to his kindred and to the property of his ancestors. ⁴²Since those whom I brought out of the land of Egypt are servants of mine, they shall not be sold as slaves to any man. ⁴³Do not lord it over them harshly, but stand in fear of your God. ⁴⁴Slaves, male and female, you may indeed possess, provided you buy them from among the neighboring nations. ⁴⁵You may also buy them from among the aliens who reside with you and from their children who are born and reared in your land. Such slaves you may own as chattels, ⁴⁶and leave to your sons as their hereditary property, making them perpetual slaves. But you shall not lord it harshly over any of the Israelites, your kinsmen.

³Do not lord it over them harshly, but stand in fear of your God. ⁴⁴Slaves, male and female, you may indeed possess, provided you buy them from among the neighboring nations. ⁴⁵You may also buy them from among the aliens who reside with you and from their children who are born and reared in your land. Such slaves you may own as chattels, ⁴⁶and leave to your sons as their hereditary property, making them perpetual slaves. But you shall not lord it harshly over any of the Israelites, your kinsmen. ⁴⁷When one of your countrymen is reduced to such poverty that he sells himself to a wealthy alien who has a permanent or a temporary residence among you, or to one of the descendants of an immigrant family, ⁴⁸even after he has thus sold his services he still has the right of redemption; he may be redeemed by one of his own brothers, ⁴⁹or by his uncle or cousin, or by some other relative or fellow clansman; or, if he acquires the means, he may redeem himself. ⁵⁰With his purchaser he shall compute the years from the sale to the jubilee, distributing the sale price over these years as though he had been hired as a day laborer. ⁵¹The more such years there are, the more of the sale price he shall pay back as ransom; ⁵²the fewer

118 years there are left before the jubilee year, the more he has to his credit; in proportion to his years of service shall he pay his ransom. ⁵³The alien shall treat him as a servant hired on an annual basis, and he shall not lord it over him harshly under your very eyes. ⁵⁴If he is not thus redeemed, he shall nevertheless be released, together with his children, in the jubilee year. ⁵⁵For to me the Israelites belong as servants; they are servants of mine, because I brought them out of the land of Egypt, I, the LORD, your God. Leviticus chapter 26 ¹ "Do not make false gods for yourselves. You shall not erect an idol or a sacred pillar for yourselves, nor shall you set up a stone figure for worship in your land; for I, the LORD, am your God. ² Keep my sabbaths and reverence my sanctuary. I am the LORD. ³ If you live in accordance with my precepts and are careful to observe my commandments, ⁴ I will give you rain in due season, so that the land will bear its crops, and the trees their fruit; ⁵ your threshing will last till vintage time, and your vintage till the time for sowing, and you will have food to eat in abundance, so that you may dwell securely in your land. ⁶ I will establish peace in the land, that you may lie down to rest without anxiety. I will rid the country of ravenous beasts, and keep the sword of war from sweeping across your land. ⁷ You will rout your enemies and lay them low with your sword. ⁸ Five of you will put a hundred of your foes to flight, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand of them, till they are cut down by your sword. ⁹ I will look with favor upon you, and make you fruitful and numerous, as I carry out my covenant with you. ¹⁰ So much of the old crops will you have stored up for food that you will have to discard them to make room for the new. ¹¹ I will set my Dwelling among you, and will not disdain you. ¹² Ever present in your midst, I will be your God, and you will be my people; ¹³ for it is I, the LORD, your God, who brought you out of the land of the Egyptians and freed you from their slavery, breaking the yoke they had laid upon you and letting you walk erect. ¹⁴ But if you do not heed me and do not keep all these commandments, ¹⁵ if you reject my precepts and spurn my decrees, refusing to obey all my commandments and breaking my covenant, ¹⁶ then I, in turn, will give you your deserts. I will punish you with terrible woes - with wasting and fever to dim the eyes and sap the life. You will sow your seed in vain, for your enemies will consume the crop. ¹⁷ I will turn against you, till you are beaten down before your enemies and lorded over by your foes. You will take to flight though no one pursues you. ¹⁸ If even after this you do not obey me, I will increase the chastisement for your sins sevenfold, ¹⁹ to break your haughty confidence. I will make the sky above you as hard as iron, and your soil as hard as bronze, ²⁰ so that your strength will be spent in vain; your land will bear no crops, and its trees no fruit. ²¹ If then you become defiant in your unwillingness to obey me, I will multiply my blows another sevenfold, as your sins deserve. ²² I will unleash the wild beasts against you, to rob you of your children and wipe out your livestock, till your population dwindles away and your roads become deserted. ²³ If, with all this, you still refuse to be chastened by me and continue to defy me, ²⁴ I, too, will defy you and will smite you for your sins seven times harder than before. ²⁵ I will make the sword, the avenger of my covenant, sweep over you. Though you then huddle together in your walled cities, I will send in pestilence among you, till you are forced to surrender to the enemy. ²⁶ And as I cut off your supply of bread, ten women will need but one oven for baking all the bread they dole out to you in rations - not enough food to still your hunger.

y me and continue to defy me, ²⁴ I, too, will defy you and will smite you for your sins seven times harder than before. ²⁵ I will make the sword, the avenger of my covenant, sweep over you. Though you then huddle together in your walled cities, I will send in pestilence among you, till you are forced to surrender to the enemy. ²⁶ And as I cut off your supply of bread, ten women will need but one oven for baking all the bread they dole out to you in rations - not enough food to still your hunger. ²⁷ If, despite all this, you still persist in disobeying and defying me, ²⁸ I, also, will meet you with fiery defiance and will chastise you with sevenfold fiercer punishment for your sins, ²⁹ till you begin to eat the flesh of your own sons and daughters. ³⁰ I will demolish your high places, overthrow your incense stands, and cast your corpses on those of your idols. In my abhorrence of you, ³¹ I will lay waste your cities and devastate your sanctuaries, refusing to accept your sweet-smelling offerings. ³² So devastated will I leave the land that your very enemies who come to live there will stand aghast at

119 the sight of it. ³³ You yourselves I will scatter among the nations at the point of my drawn sword, leaving your countryside desolate and your cities deserted. ³⁴ Then shall the land retrieve its lost sabbaths during all the time it lies waste, while you are in the land of your enemies; then shall the land have rest and make up for its sabbaths ³⁵ during all the time that it lies desolate, enjoying the rest that you would not let it have on the sabbaths when you lived there. ³⁶ Those of you who survive in the lands of their enemies I will make so fainthearted that, if leaves rustle behind them, they will flee headlong, as if from the sword, though no one pursues them; ³⁷ stumbling over one another as if to escape a weapon, while no one is after them - so helpless will you be to take a stand against your foes! ³⁸ You will be lost among the Gentiles, swallowed up in your enemies' country. ³⁹ Those of you who survive in the lands of their enemies will waste away for their own and their fathers' guilt. ⁴⁰ Thus they will have to confess that they and their fathers were guilty of having rebelled against me and of having defied me, ⁴¹ so that I, too, had to defy them and bring them into their enemies' land. Then, when their uncircumcised hearts are humbled and they make amends for their guilt, ⁴² I will remember my covenant with Jacob, my covenant with Isaac, and my covenant with Abraham; and of the land, too, I will be mindful. ⁴³ But the land must first be rid of them, that in its desolation it may make up its lost sabbaths, and that they, too, may make good the debt of their guilt for having spurned my precepts and abhorred my statutes. ⁴⁴ Yet even so, even while they are in their enemies' land, I will not reject or spurn them, lest, by wiping them out, I make void my covenant with them; for I, the LORD, am their God. ⁴⁵ I will remember them because of the covenant I made with their forefathers, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt under the very eyes of the Gentiles, that I, the LORD, might be their God. ⁴⁶ These are the precepts, decrees and laws which the LORD had Moses promulgate on Mount Sinai in the pact between himself and the Israelites. Leviticus chapter 27 ¹The LORD said to Moses, ²"Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When anyone fulfills a vow of offering one or more persons to the LORD, who are to be ransomed at a fixed sum of money, ³for persons between the ages of twenty and sixty, the fixed sum, in sanctuary shekels, shall be fifty silver shekels for a man, ⁴and thirty shekels for a woman; ⁵for persons between the ages of five and twenty, the fixed sum shall be twenty shekels for a youth, and ten for a maiden; ⁶for persons between the ages of one month and five years, the fixed sum shall be five silver shekels for a boy, and three for a girl; ⁷for persons of sixty or more, the fixed sum shall be fifteen shekels for a man, and ten for a woman. ⁸However, if the one who took the vow is too poor to meet the fixed sum, the person must be set before the priest, who shall determine the sum for his ransom in keeping with the means of the one who made the vow. ⁹If the offering vowed to the LORD is an animal that may be sacrificed, every such animal, when vowed to the LORD, becomes sacred. ¹⁰The offerer shall not present a substitute for it by exchanging either a better for a worse one or a worse for a better one. If he attempts to offer one animal in place of another, both the original and its substitute shall be treated as sacred. ¹¹If the animal vowed to the LORD is unclean and therefore unfit for sacrifice, it must be set before the priest, ¹²who shall determine its value in keeping with its good or bad qualities, and the value set by the priest shall stand. ¹³If the offerer wishes to redeem the animal, he shall pay one fifth more than this valuation.

etter for a worse one or a worse for a better one. If he attempts to offer one animal in place of another, both the original and its substitute shall be treated as sacred. ¹¹If the animal vowed to the LORD is unclean and therefore unfit for sacrifice, it must be set before the priest, ¹²who shall determine its value in keeping with its good or bad qualities, and the value set by the priest shall stand. ¹³If the offerer wishes to redeem the animal, he shall pay one fifth more than this valuation. ¹⁴When someone dedicates his house as sacred to the LORD, the priest shall determine its value in keeping with its good or bad points, and the value set by the priest shall stand. ¹⁵If the one who dedicated his house wishes to redeem it, he shall pay one fifth more than the price thus established, and then it will again be his. ¹⁶If the object which someone dedicates to the LORD is a piece of his hereditary land, its valuation shall be made according to the amount of seed required to sow it, the acreage sown with a homer of barley seed being valued at fifty silver shekels. ¹⁷If the dedication of a field is made at the beginning of a jubilee

120 period, the full valuation shall hold; ¹⁸but if it is some time after this, the priest shall estimate its money value according to the number of years left until the next jubilee year, with a corresponding rebate on the valuation. ¹⁹If the one who dedicated his field wishes to redeem it, he shall pay one fifth more than the price thus established, and so reclaim it. ²⁰If, instead of redeeming such a field, he sells it to someone else, it may no longer be redeemed; ²¹but at the jubilee it shall be released as sacred to the LORD; like a field that is doomed, it shall become priestly property. ²²If the field that some man dedicates to the LORD is one he had purchased and not a part of his hereditary property, ²³the priest shall compute its value in proportion to the number of years until the next jubilee, and on the same day the price thus established shall be given as sacred to the LORD; ²⁴at the jubilee, however, the field shall revert to the hereditary owner of this land from whom it had been purchased. ²⁵Every valuation shall be made according to the standard of the sanctuary shekel. There are twenty gerahs to the shekel. ²⁶Note that a first-born animal, which as such already belongs to the LORD, may not be dedicated by vow to him. If it is an ox or a sheep, it shall be ceded to the LORD; ²⁷but if it is an unclean animal, it may be redeemed by paying one fifth more than its fixed value. If it is not redeemed, it shall be sold at its fixed value. ²⁸Note, also, that any one of his possessions which a man vows as doomed to the LORD, whether it is a human being or an animal or a hereditary field, shall be neither sold nor ransomed; everything that is thus doomed becomes most sacred to the LORD. ²⁹All human beings that are doomed lose the right to be redeemed; they must be put to death. ³⁰All tithes of the land, whether in grain from the fields or in fruit from the trees, belong to the LORD, as sacred to him. ³¹If someone wishes to buy back any of his tithes, he shall pay one fifth more than their value. ³²The tithes of the herd and the flock shall be determined by ceding to the LORD as sacred every tenth animal as they are counted by the herdsman's rod. ³³It shall not matter whether good ones or bad ones are thus chosen, and no exchange may be made. If any exchange is attempted, both the original animal and its substitute shall be treated as sacred, without the right of being bought back." ³⁴These are the commandments which the LORD gave Moses on Mount Sinai for the Israelites. Numbers Numbers chapter 1 ¹In the year following that of the Israelites' departure from the land of Egypt, on the first day of the second month, the LORD said to Moses in the meeting tent in the desert of Sinai: ²"Take a census of the whole community of the Israelites, by clans and ancestral houses, registering each male individually. ³You and Aaron shall enroll in companies all the men in Israel of twenty years or more who are fit for military service. ⁴To assist you there shall be a man from each tribe, the head of his ancestral house. ⁵These are the names of those who are to assist you: from Reuben: Elizur, son of Shedeur; ⁶from Simeon: Shelumiel, son of Zurishaddai; ⁷from Judah: Nahshon, son of Amminadab; ⁸from Issachar: Nethanel, son of Zuar; ⁹from Zebulun: Eliab, son of Helon; ¹⁰from Ephraim: Elishama, son of Ammihud, and from Manasseh: Gamaliel, son of Pedahzur, for the descendants of Joseph; ¹¹from Benjamin: Abidan, son of Gideoni; ¹²from Dan: Ahiezer, son of Ammishaddai; ¹³from Asher: Pagiel, son of Ochran; ¹⁴from Gad: Eliasaph, son of Reuel; ¹⁵from Naphtali: Ahira, son of Enan." ¹⁶These were councilors of the community, princes of their ancestral tribes, chiefs of the troops of Israel. ¹⁷So Moses and Aaron took these men who had been designated, ¹⁸and assembled the whole community on the first day of the second month.

sseh: Gamaliel, son of Pedahzur, for the descendants of Joseph; ¹¹from Benjamin: Abidan, son of Gideoni; ¹²from Dan: Ahiezer, son of Ammishaddai; ¹³from Asher: Pagiel, son of Ochran; ¹⁴from Gad: Eliasaph, son of Reuel; ¹⁵from Naphtali: Ahira, son of Enan." ¹⁶These were councilors of the community, princes of their ancestral tribes, chiefs of the troops of Israel. ¹⁷So Moses and Aaron took these men who had been designated, ¹⁸and assembled the whole community on the first day of the second month. Every man of twenty years or more then declared his name and lineage according to clan and ancestral house, ¹⁹as the LORD had commanded Moses. This is their census as taken in the desert of Sinai. ²⁰Of the descendants of Reuben, the first-born of Israel, registered by lineage in clans and

121 ancestral houses: when all the males of twenty years or more who were fit for military service were polled, ²¹forty-six thousand five hundred were enrolled in the tribe of Reuben. ²²Of the descendants of Simeon, registered by lineage in clans and ancestral houses: when all the males of twenty years or more who were fit for military service were polled, ²³fifty-nine thousand three hundred were enrolled in the tribe of Simeon. ²⁴Of the descendants of Gad, registered by lineage in clans and ancestral houses: when all the males of twenty years or more who were fit for military service were polled, ²⁵forty-five thousand six hundred and fifty were enrolled in the tribe of Gad. ²⁶Of the descendants of Judah, registered by lineage in clans and ancestral houses: when all the males of twenty years or more who were fit for military service were polled, ²⁷seventy-four thousand six hundred were enrolled in the tribe of Judah. ²⁸Of the descendants of Issachar, registered by lineage in clans and ancestral houses: when all the males of twenty years or more who were fit for military service were polled, ²⁹fifty-four thousand four hundred were enrolled in the tribe of Issachar. ³⁰Of the descendants of Zebulun, registered by lineage in clans and ancestral houses: when all the males of twenty years or more who were fit for military service were polled, ³¹fifty-seven thousand four hundred were enrolled in the tribe of Zebulun. ³²Of the descendants of Joseph—Of the descendants of Ephraim, registered by lineage in clans and ancestral houses: when all the males of twenty years or more who were fit for military service were polled, ³³forty thousand five hundred were enrolled in the tribe of Ephraim. ³⁴Of the descendants of Manasseh, registered by lineage in clans and ancestral houses: when all the males of twenty years or more who were fit for military service were polled, ³⁵thirty-two thousand two hundred were enrolled in the tribe of Manasseh. ³⁶Of the descendants of Benjamin, registered by lineage in clans and ancestral houses: when all the males of twenty years or more who were fit for military service were polled, ³⁷thirty-five thousand four hundred were enrolled in the tribe of Benjamin. ³⁸Of the descendants of Dan, registered by lineage in clans and ancestral houses: when all the males of twenty years or more who were fit for military service were polled, ³⁹sixty-two thousand seven hundred were enrolled in the tribe of Dan. ⁴⁰Of the descendants of Asher, registered by lineage in clans and ancestral houses: when all the males of twenty years or more who were fit for military service were polled, ⁴¹forty-one thousand five hundred were enrolled in the tribe of Asher. ⁴²Of the descendants of Naphtali, registered by lineage in clans and ancestral houses: when all the males of twenty years or more who were fit for military service were polled, ⁴³fifty-three thousand four hundred were enrolled in the tribe of Naphtali. ⁴⁴It was these who were registered, each according to his ancestral house, in the census taken by Moses and Aaron and the twelve princes of Israel. ⁴⁵The total number of the Israelites of twenty years or more who were fit for military service, registered by ancestral houses, ⁴⁶was six hundred and three thousand, five hundred and fifty. ⁴⁷The Levites, however, were not registered by ancestral tribe with the others. ⁴⁸For the LORD had told Moses, ⁴⁹"The tribe of Levi alone you shall not enroll nor include in the census along with the other Israelites. ⁵⁰You are to give the Levites charge of the Dwelling of the commandments with all its equipment and all that belongs to it. It is they who shall carry the Dwelling with all its equipment and who shall be its ministers. They shall therefore camp around the Dwelling. ⁵¹When the Dwelling is to move on, the Levites shall take it down; when the Dwelling is to be pitched, it is the Levites who shall set it up. Any layman who comes near it shall be put to death.

census along with the other Israelites. ⁵⁰You are to give the Levites charge of the Dwelling of the commandments with all its equipment and all that belongs to it. It is they who shall carry the Dwelling with all its equipment and who shall be its ministers. They shall therefore camp around the Dwelling. ⁵¹When the Dwelling is to move on, the Levites shall take it down; when the Dwelling is to be pitched, it is the Levites who shall set it up. Any layman who comes near it shall be put to death. ⁵²While the other Israelites shall camp by companies, each in his own division of the camp, ⁵³the Levites shall camp around the Dwelling of the commandments. Otherwise God's wrath will strike the Israelite community. The Levites, then, shall have charge of the Dwelling of the commandments." ⁵⁴All this the Israelites fulfilled as the LORD had commanded Moses. Numbers chapter 2 ¹The LORD said to Moses and Aaron: ²"The Israelites shall camp, each in his own division, under

122 the ensigns of their ancestral houses. They shall camp around the meeting tent, but at some distance from it. ³"Encamped on the east side, toward the sunrise, shall be the divisional camp of Judah, arranged in companies. (The prince of the Judahites was Nahshon, son of Amminadab, ⁴and his soldiers amounted in the census to seventy-four thousand six hundred.) ⁵With Judah shall camp the tribe of Issachar (Their prince was Nethanel, son of Zuar, ⁶and his soldiers amounted in the census to fifty-four thousand four hundred.) ⁷and the tribe of Zebulun. (Their prince was Eliab, son of Helon, ⁸and his soldiers amounted in the census to fifty-seven thousand four hundred. ⁹The total number of those registered by companies in the camp of Judah was one hundred and eighty-six thousand four hundred.) These shall be first on the march. ¹⁰"On the south side shall be the divisional camp of Reuben, arranged in companies. (Their prince was Elizur, son of Shedeur, ¹¹and his soldiers amounted in the census to forty-six thousand five hundred.) ¹²Beside them shall camp the tribe of Simeon (Their prince was Shelumiel, son of Zurishaddai, ¹³and his soldiers amounted in the census to fifty-nine thousand three hundred.) ¹⁴and next the tribe of Gad. (Their prince was Eliasaph, son of Reuel, ¹⁵and his soldiers amounted in the census to forty-five thousand six hundred and fifty. ¹⁶The total number of those registered by companies in the camp of Reuben was one hundred and fifty-one thousand four hundred and fifty.) These shall be second on the march. ¹⁷"Then the meeting tent and the camp of the Levites shall set out in the middle of the line. As in camp, so also on the march, every man shall be in his proper place, with his own division. ¹⁸"On the west side shall be the divisional camp of Ephraim, arranged in companies. (Their prince was Elishama, son of Ammihud, ¹⁹and his soldiers amounted in the census to forty thousand five hundred.) ²⁰Beside them shall camp the tribe of Manasseh (Their prince was Gamaliel, son of Pedahzur, ²¹and his soldiers amounted in the census to thirty-two thousand two hundred.) ²²and the tribe of Benjamin. (Their prince was Abidan, son of Gideoni, ²³and his soldiers amounted in the census to thirty-five thousand four hundred. ²⁴The total number of those registered by companies in the camp of Ephraim was one hundred and eight thousand one hundred.) These shall be third on the march. ²⁵"On the north side shall be the divisional camp of Dan, arranged in companies. (Their prince was Ahiezer, son of Ammishaddai, ²⁶and his soldiers amounted in the census to sixty-two thousand seven hundred.) ²⁷Beside them shall camp the tribe of Asher (Their prince was Pagiel, son of Ochran, ²⁸and his soldiers amounted in the census to forty-one thousand five hundred.) ²⁹and next the tribe of Naphtali. (Their prince was Ahira, son of Enan, ³⁰and his soldiers amounted in the census to fifty-three thousand four hundred. ³¹The total number of those registered by companies in the camp of Dan was one hundred and fifty-seven thousand six hundred.) These shall be the last of the divisions on the march." ³²This was the census of the Israelites taken by ancestral houses. The total number of those registered by companies in the camps was six hundred and three thousand five hundred and fifty. ³³The Levites, however, were not registered with the other Israelites, for so the LORD had commanded Moses. ³⁴The Israelites did just as the LORD had commanded Moses; both in camp and on the march, they were in their own divisions, every man according to his clan and his ancestral house. Numbers chapter 3 ¹The following were the descendants of Aaron and Moses at the time that the LORD spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai. ²The sons of Aaron were Nadab his first-born, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. ³These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the anointed priests who were ordained to exercise the priesthood.

ses. ³⁴The Israelites did just as the LORD had commanded Moses; both in camp and on the march, they were in their own divisions, every man according to his clan and his ancestral house. Numbers chapter 3 ¹The following were the descendants of Aaron and Moses at the time that the LORD spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai. ²The sons of Aaron were Nadab his first-born, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. ³These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the anointed priests who were ordained to exercise the priesthood. ⁴But when Nadab and Abihu offered profane fire before the LORD in the desert of Sinai, they met death in the presence of the LORD, and left no sons. Thereafter only Eleazar and Ithamar performed the priestly functions under the direction of their father Aaron. ⁵Now the LORD said to Moses: ⁶"Summon the tribe of Levi and present them to Aaron the priest,

123 as his assistants. ⁷They shall discharge his obligations and those of the whole community before the meeting tent by serving at the Dwelling. ⁸They shall have custody of all the furnishings of the meeting tent and discharge the duties of the Israelites in the service of the Dwelling. ⁹You shall give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they have been set aside from among the Israelites as dedicated to me. ¹⁰But only Aaron and his descendants shall you appoint to have charge of the priestly functions. Any layman who comes near shall be put to death." ¹¹The LORD said to Moses, ¹²"It is I who have chosen the Levites from the Israelites in place of every first-born that opens the womb among the Israelites. The Levites, therefore, are mine, ¹³because every first-born is mine. When I slew all the first-born in the land of Egypt, I made all the first-born in Israel sacred to me, both of man and of beast. They belong to me; I am the LORD." ¹⁴The LORD said to Moses in the desert of Sinai, ¹⁵"Take a census of the Levites by ancestral houses and clans, registering every male of a month or more." ¹⁶Moses, therefore, took their census in accordance with the command the LORD had given him. ¹⁷The sons of Levi were named Gershon, Kohath and Merari. ¹⁸The descendants of Gershon, by clans, were named Libni and Shimei. ¹⁹The descendants of Kohath, by clans, were Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel. ²⁰The descendants of Merari, by clans, were Mahli and Mushi. These were the clans of the Levites by ancestral houses. ²¹To Gershon belonged the clan of the Libnites and the clan of the Shimeites; these were the clans of the Gershonites. ²²When all their males of a month or more were registered, they numbered seven thousand five hundred. ²³The clans of the Gershonites camped behind the Dwelling, to the west. ²⁴The prince of their ancestral house was Eliasaph, son of Lael. ²⁵At the meeting tent they had charge of whatever pertained to the Dwelling, the tent and its covering, the curtain at the entrance of the meeting tent, ²⁶the hangings of the court, the curtain at the entrance of the court enclosing both the Dwelling and the altar, and the ropes. ²⁷To Kohath belonged the clans of the Amramites, the Izharites, the Hebronites, and the Uzzielites; these were the clans of the Kohathites. ²⁸When all their males of a month or more were registered, they numbered eight thousand three hundred. They had charge of the sanctuary. ²⁹The clans of the Kohathites camped at the south side of the Dwelling. ³⁰The prince of their ancestral house was Elizaphan, son of Uzziel. ³¹They had charge of whatever pertained to the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the utensils with which the ministry of the sanctuary was exercised, and the veil. ³²The chief prince of the Levites, however, was Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest; he was supervisor over those who had charge of the sanctuary. ³³To Merari belonged the clans of the Mahlites and the Mushites; these were the clans of Merari. ³⁴When all their males of a month or more were registered, they numbered six thousand two hundred. ³⁵The prince of the ancestral house of the clans of Merari was Zuriel, son of Abihail. They camped at the north side of the Dwelling. ³⁶The Merarites were charged with the care of whatever pertained to the boards of the Dwelling, its bars, columns, pedestals, and all its fittings, ³⁷as well as the columns of the surrounding court with their pedestals, pegs and ropes. ³⁸East of the Dwelling, that is, in front of the meeting tent, toward the sunrise, were camped Moses and Aaron and the latter's sons. They discharged the obligations of the sanctuary for the Israelites. Any layman who came near was to be put to death. ³⁹The total number of male Levites a month old or more whom Moses had registered by clans in keeping with the LORD'S command, was twenty- two thousand.

ittings, ³⁷as well as the columns of the surrounding court with their pedestals, pegs and ropes. ³⁸East of the Dwelling, that is, in front of the meeting tent, toward the sunrise, were camped Moses and Aaron and the latter's sons. They discharged the obligations of the sanctuary for the Israelites. Any layman who came near was to be put to death. ³⁹The total number of male Levites a month old or more whom Moses had registered by clans in keeping with the LORD'S command, was twenty- two thousand. ⁴⁰The LORD then said to Moses, "Take a census of all the first-born males of the Israelites a month old or more, and compute their total number. ⁴¹Then assign the Levites to me, the LORD, in place of all the first-born of the Israelites, as well as their cattle in place of all the first-born among the cattle of the Israelites." ⁴²So Moses took a census of all the first-born of the Israelites, as the LORD had commanded him. ⁴³When all the first-born males of a month or more were registered, they numbered twenty-two thousand two hundred and seventy-three. ⁴⁴The LORD said to Moses: ⁴⁵"Take the Levites in place of all the first-born of the Israelites, and the Levites' cattle in place of their cattle, that the Levites may belong to me. I am the LORD. ⁴⁶As

124 ransom for the two hundred and seventy-three first-born of the Israelites who outnumber the Levites, ⁴⁷you shall take five shekels for each individual, according to the standard of the sanctuary shekel, twenty gerahs to the shekel. ⁴⁸Give this silver to Aaron and his sons as ransom for the extra number." ⁴⁹So Moses took the silver as ransom from those who were left when the rest had been redeemed by the Levites. ⁵⁰From the first-born of the Israelites he received in silver one thousand three hundred and sixty-five shekels according to the sanctuary standard. ⁵¹He then gave this ransom silver to Aaron and his sons, as the LORD had commanded him. Numbers chapter 4 ¹The LORD said to Moses and Aaron: ²"Among the Levites take a total of the Kohathites, by clans and ancestral houses, all the men of the Kohathites ³between thirty and fifty years of age; these are to undertake obligatory tasks in the meeting tent. ⁴"The service of the Kohathites in the meeting tent concerns the most sacred objects. ⁵In breaking camp, Aaron and his sons shall go in and take down the screening curtain and cover the ark of the commandments with it. ⁶Over these they shall put a cover of tahash skin, and on top of this spread an all-violet cloth. They shall then put the poles in place. ⁷On the table of the Presence they shall spread a violet cloth and put on it the plates and cups, as well as the bowls and pitchers for libations; the established bread offering shall remain on the table. ⁸Over these they shall spread a scarlet cloth and cover all this with tahash skin. They shall then put the poles in place. ⁹They shall use a violet cloth to cover the lampstand with its lamps, trimming shears, and trays, as well as the various containers of oil from which it is supplied. ¹⁰The lampstand with all its utensils they shall then enclose in a covering of tahash skin, and place on a litter. ¹¹Over the golden altar they shall spread a violet cloth, and cover this also with a covering of tahash skin. They shall then put the poles in place. ¹²Taking the utensils of the sanctuary service, they shall wrap them all in violet cloth and cover them with tahash skin. They shall then place them on a litter. ¹³After cleansing the altar of its ashes, they shall spread a purple cloth over it. ¹⁴On this they shall put all the utensils with which it is served: the fire pans, forks, shovels, basins, and all the utensils of the altar. They shall then spread a covering of tahash skin over this, and put the poles in place. ¹⁵"Only after Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sacred objects and all their utensils on breaking camp, shall the Kohathites enter to carry them. But they shall not touch the sacred objects; if they do they will die. These, then, are the objects in the meeting tent that the Kohathites shall carry. ¹⁶"Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, shall be in charge of the oil for the light, the fragrant incense, the established cereal offering, and the anointing oil. He shall be in charge of the whole Dwelling with all the sacred objects and utensils that are in it." ¹⁷The LORD said to Moses and Aaron: ¹⁸"Do not let the group of Kohathite clans perish from the body of the Levites. ¹⁹That they may live and not die when they approach the most sacred objects, this is what you shall do for them: Aaron and his sons shall go in and assign to each of them his task and what he must carry; ²⁰but the Kohathites shall not go in to look upon the sacred objects, even for an instant; if they do, they will die." ²¹The LORD said to Moses, ²²"Take a total among the Gershonites also, by ancestral houses and clans, ²³of all the men between thirty and fifty years of age; these are to undertake obligatory tasks in the meeting tent.

ey approach the most sacred objects, this is what you shall do for them: Aaron and his sons shall go in and assign to each of them his task and what he must carry; ²⁰but the Kohathites shall not go in to look upon the sacred objects, even for an instant; if they do, they will die." ²¹The LORD said to Moses, ²²"Take a total among the Gershonites also, by ancestral houses and clans, ²³of all the men between thirty and fifty years of age; these are to undertake obligatory tasks in the meeting tent. ²⁴This is the task of the clans of the Gershonites, what they must do and what they must carry: ²⁵they shall carry the sheets of the Dwelling, the meeting tent with its covering and the outer wrapping of tahash skin, the curtain at the entrance of the meeting tent, ²⁶the hangings of the court, the curtain at the entrance of the court that encloses both the Dwelling and the altar, together with their ropes and all other objects necessary in their use. Whatever is to be done with these things shall be their task. ²⁷The service of the Gershonites shall be entirely under the direction of Aaron and his sons, with regard to what they must do and what they must carry; you shall make each man of them responsible for what he is to carry. ²⁸This, then, is the task of the Gershonites in the meeting tent;

125 and they shall be under the supervision of Ithamar, son of Aaron the priest. ²⁹"Among the Merarites, too, you shall enroll by clans and ancestral houses ³⁰all their men between thirty and fifty years of age; these are to undertake obligatory tasks in the meeting tent. ³¹This is what they shall be responsible for carrying, all the years of their service in the meeting tent: the boards of the Dwelling with its bars, columns and pedestals, ³²and the columns of the surrounding court with their pedestals, pegs and ropes. You shall designate for each man of them all the objects connected with his service, which he shall be responsible for carrying. ³³This, then, is the task of the clans of the Merarites during all their service in the meeting tent under the supervision of Ithamar, son of Aaron the priest." ³⁴So Moses and Aaron and the princes of the community made a registration among the Kohathites, by clans and ancestral houses, ³⁵of all the men between thirty and fifty years of age. These were to undertake obligatory tasks in the meeting tent; ³⁶as registered by clans, they numbered two thousand seven hundred and fifty. ³⁷Such was the census of all the men of the Kohathite clans who were to serve in the meeting tent, which Moses took, together with Aaron, as the LORD bade him. ³⁸The registration was then made among the Gershonites, by clans and ancestral houses, ³⁹of all the men between thirty and fifty years of age. These were to undertake obligatory tasks in the meeting tent; ⁴⁰as registered by clans and ancestral houses, they numbered two thousand six hundred and thirty. ⁴¹Such was the census of all the men of the Gershonite clans who were to serve in the meeting tent, which Moses took, together with Aaron, at the LORD'S bidding. ⁴²Then the registration was made among the Merarites, by clans and ancestral houses, ⁴³of all the men from thirty up to fifty years of age. These were to undertake obligatory tasks in the meeting tent; ⁴⁴as registered by clans, they numbered three thousand two hundred. ⁴⁵Such was the census of the men of the Merarite clans which Moses took, together with Aaron, as the LORD bade him. ⁴⁶Therefore, when Moses and Aaron and the Israelites princes had completed the registration among the Levites, by clans and ancestral houses, ⁴⁷of all the men between thirty and fifty years of age who were to undertake tasks of service or transport of the meeting tent, ⁴⁸the total number registered was eight thousand five hundred and eighty. ⁴⁹According to the LORD'S bidding to Moses, they gave them their individual assignments for service and for transport; so the LORD had commanded Moses. Numbers chapter 5 ¹The LORD said to Moses: ²"Order the Israelites to expel from camp every leper, and everyone suffering from a discharge, and everyone who has become unclean by contact with a corpse. ³Male and female alike, you shall compel them to go out of the camp; they are not to defile the camp in which I dwell." ⁴The Israelites obeyed the command that the LORD had given Moses; they expelled them from the camp. ⁵The LORD said to Moses, ⁶"Tell the Israelites: If a man (or a woman) commits a fault against his fellow man and wrongs him, thus breaking faith with the LORD, ⁷he shall confess the wrong he has done, restore his ill-gotten goods in full, and in addition give one fifth of their value to the one he has wronged. ⁸However, if the latter has no next of kin to whom restoration of the ill-gotten goods can be made, the goods to be restored shall be the LORD'S and shall fall to the priest; this is apart from the atonement ram with which the priest makes amends for the guilty man. ⁹Likewise, every sacred contribution that the Israelites are bound to make shall fall to the priest.

he wrong he has done, restore his ill-gotten goods in full, and in addition give one fifth of their value to the one he has wronged. ⁸However, if the latter has no next of kin to whom restoration of the ill-gotten goods can be made, the goods to be restored shall be the LORD'S and shall fall to the priest; this is apart from the atonement ram with which the priest makes amends for the guilty man. ⁹Likewise, every sacred contribution that the Israelites are bound to make shall fall to the priest. ¹⁰Each Israelite man may dispose of his own sacred contributions; they become the property of the priest to whom he gives them." ¹¹The LORD said to Moses, ¹²"Speak to the Israelites and tell them: If a man's wife goes astray and becomes unfaithful to him ¹³by having intercourse with another man, though her husband has not sufficient evidence of the fact, so that her impurity remains unproved for lack of a witness who might have caught her in the act; ¹⁴or if a man is overcome by a feeling of jealousy that makes him suspect his wife, whether she was actually impure or not: ¹⁵he shall bring his wife to the priest

126 and shall take along as an offering for her a tenth of an ephah of barley meal. However, he shall not pour oil on it nor put frankincense over it, since it is a cereal offering of jealousy, a cereal offering for an appeal in a question of guilt. ¹⁶"The priest shall first have the woman come forward and stand before the LORD. ¹⁷In an earthen vessel he shall meanwhile put some holy water, as well as some dust that he has taken from the floor of the Dwelling. ¹⁸Then, as the woman stands before the LORD, the priest shall uncover her head and place in her hands the cereal offering of her appeal, that is, the cereal offering of jealousy, while he himself shall hold the bitter water that brings a curse. ¹⁹Then he shall adjure the woman, saying to her, 'If no other man has had intercourse with you, and you have not gone astray by impurity while under the authority of your husband, be immune to the curse brought by this bitter water. ²⁰But if you have gone astray while under the authority of your husband and have acted impurely by letting a man other than your husband have intercourse with you' - ²¹so shall the priest adjure the woman with this oath of imprecation - 'may the LORD make you an example of malediction and imprecation among your people by causing your thighs to waste away and your belly to swell! ²²May this water, then, that brings a curse, enter your body to make your belly swell and your thighs waste away!' And the woman shall say, 'Amen, amen!' ²³The priest shall put these imprecations in writing and shall then wash them off into the bitter water, ²⁴which he is to have the woman drink, so that it may go into her with all its bitter curse. ²⁵But first he shall take the cereal offering of jealousy from the woman's hand, and having waved this offering before the LORD, shall put it near the altar, ²⁶where he shall take a handful of the cereal offering as its token offering and burn it on the altar. Only then shall he have the woman drink the water. ²⁷Once she has done so, if she has been impure and unfaithful to her husband, this bitter water that brings a curse will go into her, and her belly will swell and her thighs will waste away, so that she will become an example of imprecation among her people. ²⁸If, however, the woman has not defiled herself, but is still pure, she will be immune and will still be able to bear children. ²⁹"This, then, is the law for jealousy: When a woman goes astray while under the authority of her husband and acts impurely, ³⁰or when such a feeling of jealousy comes over a man that he becomes suspicious of his wife, he shall have her stand before the LORD, and the priest shall apply this law in full to her. ³¹The man shall be free from guilt, but the woman shall bear such guilt as she may have." Numbers chapter 6 ¹The LORD said to Moses: ²"Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When a man (or a woman) solemnly takes the nazirite vow to dedicate himself to the LORD, ³he shall abstain from wine and strong drink; he may neither drink wine vinegar, other vinegar, of any kind of grape juice, nor eat either fresh or dried grapes. ⁴As long as he is a nazirite he shall not eat anything of the produce of the vine; not even unripe grapes or grapeskins. ⁵While he is under the nazirite vow, no razor shall touch his hair. Until the period of his dedication to the LORD is over, he shall be sacred, and shall let the hair of his head grow freely. ⁶As long as he is dedicated to the LORD, he shall not enter where a dead person is. ⁷Not even for his father or mother, his sister or brother, should they die, may he become unclean, since his head bears his dedication to God. ⁸As long as he is a nazirite he is sacred to the LORD.

ripe grapes or grapeskins. ⁵While he is under the nazirite vow, no razor shall touch his hair. Until the period of his dedication to the LORD is over, he shall be sacred, and shall let the hair of his head grow freely. ⁶As long as he is dedicated to the LORD, he shall not enter where a dead person is. ⁷Not even for his father or mother, his sister or brother, should they die, may he become unclean, since his head bears his dedication to God. ⁸As long as he is a nazirite he is sacred to the LORD. ⁹"If someone dies very suddenly in his presence, so that his dedicated head becomes unclean, he shall shave his head on the day of his purification, that is, on the seventh day. ¹⁰On the eighth day he shall bring two turtledoves or two pigeons to the priest at the entrance of the meeting tent. ¹¹The priest shall offer up the one as a sin offering and the other as a holocaust, thus making atonement for him for the sin he has committed by reason of the dead person. On the same day he shall reconsecrate his head ¹²and begin anew the period of his dedication to the LORD as a nazirite, bringing a yearling lamb as a guilt offering. The previous period is not valid, because his dedicated head became unclean. ¹³"This is the ritual for the nazirite: On the day he

127 completes the period of his dedication he shall go to the entrance of the meeting tent, ¹⁴bringing as his offering to the LORD one unblemished yearling lamb for a holocaust, one unblemished yearling ewe lamb for a sin offering, one unblemished ram as a peace offering, along with their cereal offerings and libations, ¹⁵and a basket of unleavened cakes of fine flour mixed with oil and of unleavened wafers spread with oil. ¹⁶The priest shall present them before the LORD, and shall offer up the sin offering and the holocaust for him. ¹⁷He shall then offer up the ram as a peace offering to the LORD, with its cereal offering and libation, and the basket of unleavened cakes. ¹⁸Then at the entrance of the meeting tent the nazirite shall shave his dedicated head, collect the hair, and put it in the fire that is under the peace offering. ¹⁹After the nazirite has shaved off his dedicated hair, the priest shall take a boiled shoulder of the ram, as well as one unleavened cake and one unleavened wafer from the basket, and shall place them in the hands of the nazirite. ²⁰The priest shall then wave them as a wave offering before the LORD. They become sacred and shall belong to the priest, along with the breast of the wave offering and the leg of the raised offering. Only after this may the nazirite drink wine. ²¹"This, then, is the law for the nazirite; this is the offering to the LORD which is included in his vow of dedication apart from anything else which his means may allow. Thus shall he carry out the law of his dedication in keeping with the vow he has taken." ²²The LORD said to Moses: ²³"Speak to Aaron and his sons and tell them: This is how you shall bless the Israelites. Say to them: ²⁴The LORD bless you and keep you! ²⁵The LORD let his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you! ²⁶The LORD look upon you kindly and give you peace! ²⁷So shall they invoke my name upon the Israelites, and I will bless them." Numbers chapter 7 ¹Now, when Moses had completed the erection of the Dwelling and had anointed and consecrated it with all its equipment (as well as the altar with all its equipment), ²an offering was made by the princes of Israel, who were heads of ancestral houses; the same princes of the tribes who supervised the census. ³The offering they brought before the LORD consisted of six baggage wagons and twelve oxen, that is, a wagon for every two princes, and an ox for every prince. These they presented as their offering before the Dwelling. ⁴The LORD then said to Moses, ⁵"Accept their offering, that these things may be put to use in the service of the meeting tent. Assign them to the Levites, to each group in proportion to its duties." ⁶So Moses accepted the wagons and oxen, and assigned them to the Levites. ⁷He gave two wagons and four oxen to the Gershonites in proportion to their duties, ⁸and four wagons and eight oxen to the Merarites in proportion to their duties, under the supervision of Ithamar, son of Aaron the priest. ⁹He gave none to the Kohathites, because they had to carry on their shoulders the sacred objects which were their charge. ¹⁰For the dedication of the altar also, the princes brought offerings before the altar on the day it was anointed. ¹¹But the LORD said to Moses, "Let one prince a day present his offering for the dedication of the altar." ¹²The one who presented his offering on the first day was Nahshon, son of Amminadab, prince of the tribe of Judah. ¹³His offering consisted of one silver plate weighing a hundred and thirty shekels according to the sanctuary standard and one silver basin weighing seventy shekels, both filled with fine flour mixed with oil for a cereal offering; ¹⁴one gold cup of ten shekels' weight filled with incense; ¹⁵one young bull, one ram, and one yearling lamb for a holocaust; ¹⁶one goat for a sin offering; ¹⁷and two oxen, five rams, five goats, and five yearling lambs for a peace offering. This was the offering of Nahshon, son of Amminadab.

of one silver plate weighing a hundred and thirty shekels according to the sanctuary standard and one silver basin weighing seventy shekels, both filled with fine flour mixed with oil for a cereal offering; ¹⁴one gold cup of ten shekels' weight filled with incense; ¹⁵one young bull, one ram, and one yearling lamb for a holocaust; ¹⁶one goat for a sin offering; ¹⁷and two oxen, five rams, five goats, and five yearling lambs for a peace offering. This was the offering of Nahshon, son of Amminadab. ¹⁸On the second day Nethanel, son of Zuar, prince of Issachar, made his offering. ¹⁹He presented as his offering one silver plate weighing a hundred and thirty shekels according to the sanctuary standard and one silver basin weighing seventy shekels, both filled with fine flour mixed with oil for a cereal offering; ²⁰one gold cup of ten shekels' weight filled with incense; ²¹one young bull, one ram, and one yearling lamb for a holocaust; ²²one goat for a sin offering; ²³and two oxen, five rams, five

128 goats, and five yearling lambs for a peace offering. This was the offering of Nethanel, son of Zuar. ²⁴On the third day it was the turn of Eliab, son of Helon, prince of the Zebulunites. ²⁵His offering consisted of one silver plate weighing a hundred and thirty shekels according to the sanctuary standard and one silver basin weighing seventy shekels, both filled with fine flour mixed with oil for a cereal offering; ²⁶one gold cup of ten shekels' weight filled with incense; ²⁷one young bull, one ram, and one yearling lamb for a holocaust; ²⁸one goat for a sin offering; ²⁹and two oxen, five rams, five goats, and five yearling lambs for a peace offering. This was the offering of Eliab, son of Helon. ³⁰On the fourth day it was the turn of Elizur, son of Shedeur, prince of the Reubenites. ³¹His offering consisted of one silver plate weighing a hundred and thirty shekels according to the sanctuary standard and one silver basin weighing seventy shekels, both filled with fine flour mixed with oil for a cereal offering; ³²one gold cup of ten shekels' weight filled with incense; ³³one young bull, one ram, and one yearling lamb for a holocaust; ³⁴one goat for a sin offering; ³⁵and two oxen, five rams, five goats, and five yearling lambs for a peace offering. This was the offering of Elizur, son of Shedeur. ³⁶On the fifth day it was the turn of Shelumiel, son of Zurishaddai, prince of the Simeonites. ³⁷His offering consisted of one silver plate weighing a hundred and thirty shekels according to the sanctuary standard and one silver basin weighing seventy shekels, both filled with fine flour mixed with oil for a cereal offering; ³⁸one gold cup of ten shekels' weight filled with incense; ³⁹one young bull, one ram, and one yearling lamb for a holocaust; ⁴⁰one goat for a sin offering; ⁴¹and two oxen, five rams, five goats, and five yearling lambs for a peace offering. This was the offering of Shelumiel, son of Zurishaddai. ⁴²On the sixth day it was the turn of Eliasaph, son of Reuel, prince of the Gadites. ⁴³His offering consisted of one silver plate weighing a hundred and thirty shekels according to the sanctuary standard and one silver basin weighing seventy shekels, both filled with fine flour mixed with oil for a cereal offering; ⁴⁴one gold cup of ten shekels' weight filled with incense; ⁴⁵one young bull, one ram, and one yearling lamb for a holocaust; ⁴⁶one goat for a sin offering; ⁴⁷and two oxen, five rams, five goats, and five yearling lambs for a peace offering. This was the offering of Eliasaph, son of Reuel. ⁴⁸On the seventh day it was the turn of Elishama, son of Ammihud, prince of the Ephraimites. ⁴⁹His offering consisted of one silver plate weighing a hundred and thirty shekels according to the sanctuary standard and one silver basin weighing seventy shekels, both filled with fine flour mixed with oil for a cereal offering; ⁵⁰one gold cup of ten shekels' weight filled with incense; ⁵¹one young bull, one ram, and one yearling lamb for a holocaust; ⁵²one goat for a sin offering; ⁵³and two oxen, five rams, five goats, and five yearling lambs for a peace offering. This was the offering of Elishama, son of Ammihud. ⁵⁴On the eighth day it was the turn of Gamaliel, son of Pedahzur, prince of the Manassehites. ⁵⁵His offering consisted of one silver plate weighing a hundred and thirty shekels according to the sanctuary standard and one silver basin weighing seventy shekels, both filled with fine flour mixed with oil for a cereal offering; ⁵⁶one gold cup of ten shekels' weight filled with incense; ⁵⁷one young bull, one ram, and one yearling lamb for a holocaust; ⁵⁸one goat for a sin offering; ⁵⁹and two oxen, five rams, five goats, and five yearling lambs for a peace offering. This was the offering of Gamaliel, son of Pedahzur. ⁶⁰On the ninth day it was the turn of Abidan, son of Gideoni, prince of the Benjaminites.

dard and one silver basin weighing seventy shekels, both filled with fine flour mixed with oil for a cereal offering; ⁵⁶one gold cup of ten shekels' weight filled with incense; ⁵⁷one young bull, one ram, and one yearling lamb for a holocaust; ⁵⁸one goat for a sin offering; ⁵⁹and two oxen, five rams, five goats, and five yearling lambs for a peace offering. This was the offering of Gamaliel, son of Pedahzur. ⁶⁰On the ninth day it was the turn of Abidan, son of Gideoni, prince of the Benjaminites. ⁶¹His offering consisted of one silver plate weighing a hundred and thirty shekels according to the sanctuary standard and one silver basin weighing seventy shekels, both filled with fine flour mixed with oil for a cereal offering; ⁶²one gold cup of ten shekels' weight filled with incense; ⁶³one young bull, one ram, and one yearling lamb for a holocaust; ⁶⁴one goat for a sin offering; ⁶⁵and two oxen, five rams, five goats, and five yearling lambs for a peace offering. This was the offering of Abidan, son of Gideoni. ⁶⁶On the tenth day it was the turn of Ahiezer, son of Ammishaddai, prince of the Danites. ⁶⁷His offering consisted of one silver plate weighing a hundred and thirty shekels according to the sanctuary standard and one silver basin weighing seventy shekels, both filled with fine flour mixed with oil for a cereal offering; ⁶⁸one gold cup of

129 ten shekels' weight filled with incense; ⁶⁹one young bull, one ram, and one yearling lamb for a holocaust; ⁷⁰one goat for a sin offering; ⁷¹and two oxen, five rams, five goats, and five yearling lambs for a peace offering. This was the offering of Ahiezer, son of Ammishaddai. ⁷²On the eleventh day it was the turn of Pagiel, son of Ochran, prince of the Asherites. ⁷³His offering consisted of one silver plate weighing one hundred and thirty shekels according to the sanctuary standard and one silver basin weighing seventy shekels, both filled with fine flour mixed with oil for a cereal offering; ⁷⁴one gold cup of ten shekels' weight filled with incense; ⁷⁵one young bull, one ram, and one yearling lamb for a holocaust; ⁷⁶one goat for a sin offering; ⁷⁷and two oxen, five rams, five goats, and five yearling lambs for a peace offering. This was the offering of Pagiel, son of Ochran. ⁷⁸On the twelfth day it was the turn of Ahira, son of Enan, prince of the Naphtalites. ⁷⁹His offering consisted of one silver plate weighing a hundred and thirty shekels according to the sanctuary standard and one silver basin weighing seventy shekels, both filled with fine flour mixed with oil for a cereal offering; ⁸⁰one gold cup of ten shekels' weight filled with incense; ⁸¹one young bull, one ram, and one yearling lamb for a holocaust; ⁸²one goat for a sin offering; ⁸³and two oxen, five rams, five goats, and five yearling lambs for a peace offering. This was the offering of Ahira, son of Enan. ⁸⁴These were the offerings for the dedication of the altar, given by the princes of Israel on the occasion of its anointing: twelve silver plates, twelve silver basins, and twelve gold cups. ⁸⁵Each silver plate weighed a hundred and thirty shekels, and each silver basin seventy, so that all the silver of these vessels amounted to two thousand four hundred shekels, according to the sanctuary standard. ⁸⁶The twelve gold cups that were filled with incense weighed ten shekels apiece, according to the sanctuary standard, so that all the gold of the cups amounted to one hundred and twenty shekels. ⁸⁷The animals for the holocausts were, in all, twelve young bulls, twelve rams, and twelve yearling lambs, with their cereal offerings; those for the sin offerings were twelve goats. ⁸⁸The animals for the peace offerings were, in all, twenty-four oxen, sixty rams, sixty goats, and sixty yearling lambs. These, then, were the offerings for the dedication of the altar after it was anointed. ⁸⁹When Moses entered the meeting tent to speak with him, he heard the voice addressing him from above the propitiatory on the ark of the commandments, from between the two cherubim; and it spoke to him. Numbers chapter 8 ¹The LORD spoke to Moses, and said, ²"Give Aaron this command: When you set up the seven lamps, have them throw their light toward the front of the lampstand." ³Aaron did so, setting up the lamps to face toward the front of the lampstand, just as the LORD had commanded Moses. ⁴The lampstand was made of beaten gold in both its shaft and its branches, according to the pattern which the LORD had shown Moses. ⁵The LORD said to Moses: ⁶"Take the Levites from among the Israelites and purify them. ⁷This is what you shall do to them to purify them. Sprinkle them with the water of remission; then have them shave their whole bodies and wash their clothes, and so purify themselves. ⁸They shall take a young bull, along with its cereal offering of fine flour mixed with oil; you shall take another young bull for a sin offering. ⁹Then have the Levites come forward in front of the meeting tent, where you shall assemble also the whole community of the Israelites. ¹⁰While the Levites are present before the LORD, the Israelites shall lay their hands upon them. ¹¹Let Aaron then offer the Levites before the LORD as a wave offering from the Israelites, thus devoting them to the service of the LORD.

e a young bull, along with its cereal offering of fine flour mixed with oil; you shall take another young bull for a sin offering. ⁹Then have the Levites come forward in front of the meeting tent, where you shall assemble also the whole community of the Israelites. ¹⁰While the Levites are present before the LORD, the Israelites shall lay their hands upon them. ¹¹Let Aaron then offer the Levites before the LORD as a wave offering from the Israelites, thus devoting them to the service of the LORD. ¹²The Levites in turn shall lay their hands on the heads of the bullocks, which shall then be immolated, the one as a sin offering and the other as a holocaust to the LORD, in atonement for the Levites. ¹³Thus, then, shall you have the Levites stand before Aaron and his sons, to be offered as a wave offering to the LORD; ¹⁴and thus shall you set aside the Levites from the rest of the Israelites, that they may be mine. ¹⁵"Only then shall the Levites enter upon their service in the meeting tent. You shall purify them and offer

130 them as a wave offering; ¹⁶because they, among the Israelites, are strictly dedicated to me; I have taken them for myself in place of every first-born that opens the womb among the Israelites. ¹⁷Indeed, all the first-born among the Israelites, both of man and of beast, belong to me; I consecrated them to myself on the day I slew all the first-born in the land of Egypt. ¹⁸But in place of all the first-born Israelites I have taken the Levites; ¹⁹and I have given these dedicated Israelites to Aaron and his sons to discharge the duties of the Israelites in the meeting tent and to make atonement for them, so that no plague may strike among the Israelites should they come near the sanctuary." ²⁰Thus, then, did Moses and Aaron and the whole community of the Israelites deal with the Levites, carrying out exactly the command which the LORD had given Moses concerning them. ²¹When the Levites had cleansed themselves of sin and washed their clothes, Aaron offered them as a wave offering before the LORD, and made atonement for them to purify them. ²²Only then did they enter upon their service in the meeting tent under the supervision of Aaron and his sons. The command which the LORD had given Moses concerning the Levites was carried out. ²³The LORD said to Moses: ²⁴"This is the rule for the Levites. Each from his twenty-fifth year onward shall perform the required service in the meeting tent. ²⁵When he is fifty years old, he shall retire from the required service and work no longer. ²⁶His service with his fellow Levites shall consist in sharing their responsibilities in the meeting tent, but he shall not do the work. This, then, is how you are to regulate the duties of the Levites." Numbers chapter 9 ¹In the first month of the year following their departure from the land of Egypt, the Lord said to Moses in the desert of Sinai, ²"Tell the Israelites to celebrate the Passover at the prescribed time. ³The evening twilight of the fourteenth day of this month is the prescribed time when you shall celebrate it, observing all its rules and regulations." ⁴Moses, therefore, told the Israelites to celebrate the Passover. ⁵And they did so, celebrating the Passover in the desert of Sinai during the evening twilight of the fourteenth day of the first month, just as the LORD had commanded Moses. ⁶There were some, however, who were unclean because of a human corpse and so could not keep the Passover that day. These men came up to Moses and Aaron that same day ⁷and said, "Although we are unclean because of a corpse, why should we be deprived of presenting the LORD'S offering at its proper time along with the other Israelites?" ⁸Moses answered them, "Wait until I learn what the LORD will command in your regard." ⁹The LORD then said to Moses: ¹⁰"Speak to the Israelites and say: If any one of you or of your descendants is unclean because of a corpse, or if he is absent on a journey, he may still keep the LORD'S Passover. ¹¹But he shall keep it in the second month, during the evening twilight of the fourteenth day of that month, eating it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs, ¹²and not leaving any of it over till morning, nor breaking any of its bones, but observing all the rules of the Passover. ¹³However, anyone who is clean and not away on a journey, who yet fails to keep the Passover, shall be cut off from his people, because he did not present the LORD'S offering at the prescribed time. That man shall bear the consequences of his sin. ¹⁴"If an alien who lives among you wishes to keep the LORD'S Passover, he too shall observe the rules and regulations for the Passover. You shall have the same law for the resident alien as for the native of the land." ¹⁵On the day when the Dwelling was erected, the cloud covered the Dwelling, the tent of the commandments; but from evening until morning it took on the appearance of fire over the Dwelling.

he LORD'S offering at the prescribed time. That man shall bear the consequences of his sin. ¹⁴"If an alien who lives among you wishes to keep the LORD'S Passover, he too shall observe the rules and regulations for the Passover. You shall have the same law for the resident alien as for the native of the land." ¹⁵On the day when the Dwelling was erected, the cloud covered the Dwelling, the tent of the commandments; but from evening until morning it took on the appearance of fire over the Dwelling. ¹⁶It was always so: during the day the Dwelling was covered by the cloud, which at night had the appearance of fire. ¹⁷Whenever the cloud rose from the tent, the Israelites would break camp; wherever the cloud came to rest, they would pitch camp. ¹⁸At the bidding of the LORD the Israelites moved on, and at his bidding they encamped. As long as the cloud stayed over the Dwelling, they remained in camp. ¹⁹Even when the cloud tarried many days over the Dwelling, the Israelites obeyed the LORD and would not move on; ²⁰yet sometimes the

131 cloud was over the Dwelling only for a few days. It was at the bidding of the LORD that they stayed in camp, and it was at his bidding that they departed. ²¹Sometimes the cloud remained there only from evening until morning; and when it rose in the morning, they would depart. Or if the cloud lifted during the day, or even at night, they would then set out. ²²Whether the cloud tarried over the Dwelling for two days or for a month or longer, the Israelites remained in camp and did not depart; but when it lifted, they moved on. ²³Thus, it was always at the bidding of the LORD that they encamped, and at his bidding that they set out; ever heeding the charge of the LORD, as he had bidden them through Moses. Numbers chapter 10 ¹The LORD said to Moses: ²"Make two trumpets of beaten silver, which you shall use in assembling the community and in breaking camp. ³When both are blown, the whole community shall gather round you at the entrance of the meeting tent; ⁴but when one of them is blown, only the princes, the chiefs of the troops of Israel, shall gather round you. ⁵When you sound the first alarm, those encamped on the east side shall set out; ⁶when you sound the second alarm, those encamped on the south side shall set out; when you sound the third alarm, those encamped on the west side shall set out; when you sound the fourth alarm, those encamped on the north side shall set out. Thus shall the alarm be sounded for them to depart. ⁷But in calling forth an assembly you are to blow an ordinary blast, without sounding the alarm. ⁸"It is the sons of Aaron, the priests, who shall blow the trumpets; and the use of them is prescribed by perpetual statute for you and your descendants. ⁹When in your own land you go to war against an enemy that is attacking you, you shall sound the alarm on the trumpets, and the LORD, your God, will remember you and save you from your foes. ¹⁰On your days of celebration, your festivals, and your new-moon feasts, you shall blow the trumpets over your holocausts and your peace offerings; this will serve as a reminder of you before your God. I, the LORD, am your God." ¹¹In the second year, on the twentieth day of the second month, the cloud rose from the Dwelling of the commandments. ¹²The Israelites moved on from the desert of Sinai by stages, until the cloud came to rest in the desert of Paran. ¹³The first time that they broke camp at the bidding of the LORD through Moses, ¹⁴the camp of the Judahites, under its own standard and arranged in companies, was the first to set out. Nahshon, son of Amminadab, was over their host, ¹⁵and Nethanel, son of Zuar, over the host of the tribe of Issachar, ¹⁶and Eliab, son of Helon, over the host of the tribe of Zebulun. ¹⁷Then, after the Dwelling was dismantled, the clans of Gershon and Merari set out, carrying the Dwelling. ¹⁸The camp of the Reubenites, under its own standard and arranged in companies, was the next to set out, with Elizur, son of Shedeur, over their host, ¹⁹and Shelumiel, son of Zurishaddai, over the host of the tribe of Simeon, ²⁰and Eliasaph, son of Reuel, over the host of the tribe of Gad. ²¹The clan of Kohath then set out, carrying the sacred objects for the Dwelling, which was to be erected before their arrival. ²²The camp of the Ephraimites next set out, under its own standard and arranged in companies, with Elishama, son of Ammihud, over their host, ²³and Gamaliel, son of Pedahzur, over the host of the tribe of Manasseh, ²⁴and Abidan, son of Gideoni, over the host of the tribe of Benjamin. ²⁵Finally, as rear guard for all the camps, the camp of the Danites set out, under its own standard and arranged in companies, with Ahiezer, son of Ammishaddai, over their host, ²⁶and Pagiel, son of Ochran, over the host of the tribe of Asher, ²⁷and Ahira, son of Enan, over the host of the tribe of Naphtali. ²⁸This was the order of departure for the Israelites, company by company.

ahzur, over the host of the tribe of Manasseh, ²⁴and Abidan, son of Gideoni, over the host of the tribe of Benjamin. ²⁵Finally, as rear guard for all the camps, the camp of the Danites set out, under its own standard and arranged in companies, with Ahiezer, son of Ammishaddai, over their host, ²⁶and Pagiel, son of Ochran, over the host of the tribe of Asher, ²⁷and Ahira, son of Enan, over the host of the tribe of Naphtali. ²⁸This was the order of departure for the Israelites, company by company. As they were setting out, ²⁹Moses said to his brother-in-law Hobab, son of Reuel the Midianite, "We are setting out for the place which the LORD has promised to give us. Come with us, and we will be generous toward you, for the LORD has promised prosperity to Israel." ³⁰But he answered, "No, I will not come. I am going instead to my own country and to my own kindred." ³¹Moses said, "Please, do not leave us; you know where we can camp in the desert, and you will

132 serve as eyes for us. ³²If you come with us, we will share with you the prosperity the LORD will bestow on us." ³³They moved on from the mountain of the LORD, a three days' journey, and the ark of the covenant of the LORD which was to seek out their resting place went the three days' journey with them. ³⁴And when they set out from camp, the cloud of the LORD was over them by day. ³⁵Whenever the ark set out, Moses would say, "Arise, O LORD, that your enemies may be scattered, and those who hate you may flee before you." ³⁶And when it came to rest, he would say, "Return, O LORD, you who ride upon the clouds, to the troops of Israel." Numbers chapter 11 ¹Now the people complained in the hearing of the LORD; and when he heard it his wrath flared up so that the fire of the LORD burned among them and consumed the outskirts of the camp. ²But when the people cried out to Moses, he prayed to the LORD and the fire died out. ³Hence that place was called Taberah, because there the fire of the LORD burned among them. ⁴The foreign elements among them were so greedy for meat that even the Israelites lamented again, "Would that we had meat for food! ⁵We remember the fish we used to eat without cost in Egypt, and the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. ⁶But now we are famished; we see nothing before us but this manna." ⁷Manna was like coriander seed and had the appearance of bdellium. ⁸When they had gone about and gathered it up, the people would grind it between millstones or pound it in a mortar, then cook it in a pot and make it into loaves, which tasted like cakes made with oil. ⁹At night, when the dew fell upon the camp, the manna also fell. ¹⁰When Moses heard the people, family after family, crying at the entrance of their tents, so that the LORD became very angry, he was grieved. ¹¹"Why do you treat your servant so badly?" Moses asked the LORD. "Why are you so displeased with me that you burden me with all this people? ¹²Was it I who conceived all this people? or was it I who gave them birth, that you tell me to carry them at my bosom, like a foster father carrying an infant, to the land you have promised under oath to their fathers? ¹³Where can I get meat to give to all this people? For they are crying to me, 'Give us meat for our food.' ¹⁴I cannot carry all this people by myself, for they are too heavy for me. ¹⁵If this is the way you will deal with me, then please do me the favor of killing me at once, so that I need no longer face this distress." ¹⁶Then the LORD said to Moses, "Assemble for me seventy of the elders of Israel, men you know for true elders and authorities among the people, and bring them to the meeting tent. When they are in place beside you, ¹⁷I will come down and speak with you there. I will also take some of the spirit that is on you and will bestow it on them, that they may share the burden of the people with you. You will then not have to bear it by yourself. ¹⁸"To the people, however, you shall say: Sanctify yourselves for tomorrow, when you shall have meat to eat. For in the hearing of the LORD you have cried, 'Would that we had meat for food! Oh, how well off we were in Egypt!' Therefore the LORD will give you meat for food, ¹⁹and you will eat it, not for one day, or two days, or five, or ten, or twenty days, ²⁰but for a whole month—until it comes out of your very nostrils and becomes loathsome to you. For you have spurned the LORD who is in your midst, and in his presence you have wailed, 'Why did we ever leave Egypt?'" ²¹But Moses said, "The people around me include six hundred thousand soldiers; yet you say, 'I will give them meat to eat for a whole month.' ²²Can enough sheep and cattle be slaughtered for them? If all the fish of the sea were caught for them, would they have enough?" ²³The LORD answered Moses, "Is this beyond the LORD'S reach? You shall see now whether or not what I have promised you takes place." ²⁴So Moses went out and told the people what the LORD had said.

'Why did we ever leave Egypt?'" ²¹But Moses said, "The people around me include six hundred thousand soldiers; yet you say, 'I will give them meat to eat for a whole month.' ²²Can enough sheep and cattle be slaughtered for them? If all the fish of the sea were caught for them, would they have enough?" ²³The LORD answered Moses, "Is this beyond the LORD'S reach? You shall see now whether or not what I have promised you takes place." ²⁴So Moses went out and told the people what the LORD had said. Gathering seventy elders of the people, he had them stand around the tent. ²⁵The LORD then came down in the cloud and spoke to him. Taking some of the spirit that was on Moses, he bestowed it on the seventy elders; and as the spirit came to rest on them, they prophesied. ²⁶Now two men, one named Eldad and the other Medad, were not in the gathering but had been left in the camp. They too had been on

133 the list, but had not gone out to the tent; yet the spirit came to rest on them also, and they prophesied in the camp. ²⁷So, when a young man quickly told Moses, "Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp," ²⁸Joshua, son of Nun, who from his youth had been Moses' aide, said, "Moses, my lord, stop them." ²⁹But Moses answered him, "Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the people of the LORD were prophets! Would that the LORD might bestow his spirit on them all!" ³⁰Then Moses retired to the camp, along with the elders of Israel. ³¹There arose a wind sent by the LORD, that drove in quail from the sea and brought them down over the campsite at a height of two cubits from the ground for the distance of a day's journey all around the camp. ³²All that day, all night, and all the next day the people gathered in the quail. Even the one who got the least gathered ten homers of them. Then they spread them out all around the camp. ³³But while the meat was still between their teeth, before it could be consumed, the LORD'S wrath flared up against the people, and he struck them with a very great plague. ³⁴So that place was named Kibroth-hattaavah, because it was there that the greedy people were buried. ³⁵From Kibroth- hattaavah the people set out for Hazeroth. Numbers chapter 12 ¹While they were in Hazeroth, Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses on the pretext of the marriage he had contracted with a Cushite woman. ²They complained, "Is it through Moses alone that the LORD speaks? Does he not speak through us also?" And the LORD heard this. ³Now, Moses himself was by far the meekest man on the face of the earth. ⁴So at once the LORD said to Moses and Aaron and Miriam, "Come out, you three, to the meeting tent." And the three of them went. ⁵Then the LORD came down in the column of cloud, and standing at the entrance of the tent, called Aaron and Miriam. When both came forward, ⁶he said, "Now listen to the words of the LORD: Should there be a prophet among you, in visions will I reveal myself to him, in dreams will I speak to him; ⁷Not so with my servant Moses! Throughout my house he bears my trust: ⁸face to face I speak to him, plainly and not in riddles. The presence of the LORD he beholds. Why, then, did you not fear to speak against my servant Moses?" ⁹So angry was the LORD against them that when he departed, ¹⁰and the cloud withdrew from the tent, there was Miriam, a snow-white leper! When Aaron turned and saw her a leper, ¹¹"Ah, my lord!" he said to Moses, "please do not charge us with the sin that we have foolishly committed! ¹²Let her not thus be like the stillborn babe that comes forth from its mother's womb with its flesh half consumed." ¹³Then Moses cried to the LORD, "Please, not this! Pray, heal her!" ¹⁴But the LORD answered Moses, "Suppose her father had spit in her face, would she not hide in shame for seven days? Let her be confined outside the camp for seven days; only then may she be brought back." ¹⁵So Miriam was confined outside the camp for seven days, and the people did not start out again until she was brought back. ¹⁶After that the people set out from Hazeroth and encamped in the desert of Paran. Numbers chapter 13 ¹The LORD said to Moses, ²"Send men to reconnoiter the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites. You shall send one man from each ancestral tribe, all of them princes." ³So Moses dispatched them from the desert of Paran, as the LORD had ordered.

e brought back." ¹⁵So Miriam was confined outside the camp for seven days, and the people did not start out again until she was brought back. ¹⁶After that the people set out from Hazeroth and encamped in the desert of Paran. Numbers chapter 13 ¹The LORD said to Moses, ²"Send men to reconnoiter the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites. You shall send one man from each ancestral tribe, all of them princes." ³So Moses dispatched them from the desert of Paran, as the LORD had ordered. All of them were leaders among the Israelites; ⁴by name they were: Shammua, son of Zaccur, of the tribe of Reuben; ⁵Shaphat, son of Hori, of the tribe of Simeon; ⁶Caleb, son of Jephunneh, of the tribe of Judah; ⁷Igal (son of Joseph), of the tribe of Issachar; ⁸Hoshea, son of Nun, of the tribe of Ephraim; ⁹Palti, son of Raphu, of the tribe of Benjamin; ¹⁰Gaddiel, son of Sodi, of the tribe of Zebulun; ¹¹Gaddi, son of Susi, of the tribe of Manasseh, for the Josephites, with ¹²Ammiel, son of Gemalli, of the tribe of Dan; ¹³Sethur, son of Michael, of the tribe of Asher; ¹⁴Nahbi, son of Vophsi, of the tribe of Naphtali; ¹⁵Geuel, son of Machi, of the tribe of Gad. ¹⁶These are the names of the men whom

134 Moses sent out to reconnoiter the land. But Hoshea, son of Nun, Moses called Joshua. ¹⁷In sending them to reconnoiter the land of Canaan, Moses said to them, "Go up here in the Negeb, up into the highlands, ¹⁸and see what kind of land it is. Are the people living there strong or weak, few or many? ¹⁹Is the country in which they live good or bad? Are the towns in which they dwell open or fortified? ²⁰Is the soil fertile or barren, wooded or clear? And do your best to get some of the fruit of the land." It was then the season for early grapes. ²¹So they went up and reconnoitered the land from the desert of Zin as far as where Rehob adjoins Labo of Hamath. ²²Going up by way of the Negeb, they reached Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai and Talmai, descendants of the Anakim, were living. (Hebron had been built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.) ²³They also reached the Wadi Eshcol, where they cut down a branch with a single cluster of grapes on it, which two of them carried on a pole, as well as some pomegranates and figs. ²⁴It was because of the cluster the Israelites cut there that they called the place Wadi Eshcol. ²⁵After reconnoitering the land for forty days they returned, ²⁶met Moses and Aaron and the whole community of the Israelites in the desert of Paran at Kadesh, made a report to them all, and showed them the fruit of the country. ²⁷They told Moses: "We went into the land to which you sent us. It does indeed flow with milk and honey, and here is its fruit. ²⁸However, the people who are living in the land are fierce, and the towns are fortified and very strong. Besides, we saw descendants of the Anakim there. ²⁹Amalekites live in the region of the Negeb; Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites dwell in the highlands, and Canaanites along the seacoast and the banks of the Jordan." ³⁰Caleb, however, to quiet the people toward Moses, said, "We ought to go up and seize the land, for we can certainly do so." ³¹But the men who had gone up with him said, "We cannot attack these people; they are too strong for us." ³²So they spread discouraging reports among the Israelites about the land they had scouted, saying, "The land that we explored is a country that consumes its inhabitants. And all the people we saw there are huge men, ³³veritable giants (the Anakim were a race of giants); we felt like mere grasshoppers, and so we must have seemed to them." Numbers chapter 14 ¹At this, the whole community broke out with loud cries, and even in the night the people wailed. ²All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, the whole community saying to them, "Would that we had died in the land of Egypt, or that here in the desert we were dead! ³Why is the LORD bringing us into this land only to have us fall by the sword? Our wives and little ones will be taken as booty. Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?" ⁴So they said to one another, "Let us appoint a leader and go back to Egypt." ⁵But Moses and Aaron fell prostrate before the whole assembled community of the Israelites; ⁶while Joshua, son of Nun, and Caleb, son of Jephunneh, who had been in the party that scouted the land, tore their garments ⁷and said to the whole community of the Israelites, "The country which we went through and explored is a fine, rich land. ⁸If the LORD is pleased with us, he will bring us in and give us that land, a land flowing with milk and honey. ⁹But do not rebel against the LORD! You need not be afraid of the people of that land; they are but food for us! Their defense has left them, but the LORD is with us. Therefore, do not be afraid of them." ¹⁰In answer, the whole community threatened to stone them. But then the glory of the LORD appeared at the meeting tent to all the Israelites. ¹¹And the LORD said to Moses, "How long will this people spurn me? How long will they refuse to believe in me, despite all the signs I have performed among them? ¹²I will strike them with pestilence and wipe them out.

e people of that land; they are but food for us! Their defense has left them, but the LORD is with us. Therefore, do not be afraid of them." ¹⁰In answer, the whole community threatened to stone them. But then the glory of the LORD appeared at the meeting tent to all the Israelites. ¹¹And the LORD said to Moses, "How long will this people spurn me? How long will they refuse to believe in me, despite all the signs I have performed among them? ¹²I will strike them with pestilence and wipe them out. Then I will make of you a nation greater and mightier than they." ¹³But Moses said to the LORD: "Are the Egyptians to hear of this? For by your power you brought out this people from among them. ¹⁴And are they to tell of it to the inhabitants of this land? It has been heard that you, O LORD, are in the midst of this people; you, LORD, who plainly reveal yourself! Your cloud stands over them, and you go before them by day in a column of cloud and by night in a column of fire.

135 ¹⁵If now you slay this whole people, the nations who have heard such reports of you will say, ¹⁶'The LORD was not able to bring this people into the land he swore to give them; that is why he slaughtered them in the desert.' ¹⁷Now then, let the power of my Lord be displayed in its greatness, even as you have said, ¹⁸'The LORD is slow to anger and rich in kindness, forgiving wickedness and crime; yet not declaring the guilty guiltless, but punishing children to the third and fourth generation for their fathers' wickedness.' ¹⁹Pardon, then, the wickedness of this people in keeping with your great kindness, even as you have forgiven them from Egypt until now." ²⁰The LORD answered: "I pardon them as you have asked. ²¹Yet, by my life and the LORD'S glory that fills the whole earth, ²²of all the men who have seen my glory and the signs I worked in Egypt and in the desert, and who nevertheless have put me to the test ten times already and have failed to heed my voice, ²³not one shall see the land which I promised on oath to their fathers. None of these who have spurned me shall see it. ²⁴But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me unreservedly, I will bring him into the land where he has just been, and his descendants shall possess it. ²⁵But now, since the Amalekites and Canaanites are living in the valleys, turn away tomorrow and set out in the desert on the Red Sea road." ²⁶The LORD also said to Moses and Aaron: ²⁷"How long will this wicked community grumble against me? I have heard the grumblings of the Israelites against me. ²⁸Tell them: By my life, says the LORD, I will do to you just what I have heard you say. ²⁹Here in the desert shall your dead bodies fall. Of all your men of twenty years or more, registered in the census, who grumbled against me, ³⁰not one shall enter the land where I solemnly swore to settle you, except Caleb, son of Jephunneh, and Joshua, son of Nun. ³¹Your little ones, however, who you said would be taken as booty, I will bring in, and they shall appreciate the land you spurned. ³²But as for you, your bodies shall fall here in the desert, ³³here where your children must wander for forty years, suffering for your faithlessness, till the last of you lies dead in the desert. ³⁴Forty days you spent in scouting the land; forty years shall you suffer for your crimes: one year for each day. Thus you will realize what it means to oppose me. ³⁵I, the LORD, have sworn to do this to all this wicked community that conspired against me: here in the desert they shall die to the last man." ³⁶And so it happened to the men whom Moses had sent to reconnoiter the land and who on returning had set the whole community grumbling against him by spreading discouraging reports about the land; ³⁷these men who had given out the bad report about the land were struck down by the LORD and died. ³⁸Of all the men who had gone to reconnoiter the land, only Joshua, son of Nun, and Caleb, son of Jephunneh, survived. ³⁹When Moses repeated these words to all the Israelites, the people felt great remorse. ⁴⁰Early the next morning they started up into the foothills, saying, "Here we are, ready to go up to the place that the LORD spoke of: for we were indeed doing wrong." ⁴¹But Moses said, "Why are you again disobeying the LORD'S orders? This cannot succeed. ⁴²Do not go up, because the LORD is not in your midst; if you go, you will be beaten down before your enemies. ⁴³For there the Amalekites and Canaanites face you, and you will fall by the sword. You have turned back from following the LORD; therefore the LORD will not be with you." ⁴⁴Yet they dared to go up into the foothills, even though neither the ark of the covenant of the LORD nor Moses left the camp.

." ⁴¹But Moses said, "Why are you again disobeying the LORD'S orders? This cannot succeed. ⁴²Do not go up, because the LORD is not in your midst; if you go, you will be beaten down before your enemies. ⁴³For there the Amalekites and Canaanites face you, and you will fall by the sword. You have turned back from following the LORD; therefore the LORD will not be with you." ⁴⁴Yet they dared to go up into the foothills, even though neither the ark of the covenant of the LORD nor Moses left the camp. ⁴⁵And the Amalekites and Canaanites who dwelt in that hill country came down and defeated them, beating them back as far as Hormah. Numbers chapter 15 ¹The LORD said to Moses, ²"Give the Israelites these instructions: When you have entered the land that I will give you for your homesteads, ³if you make to the LORD a sweet-smelling oblation from the herd or from the flock, in holocaust, in fulfillment of a vow, or as a freewill offering, or for one of your festivals, ⁴whoever does so shall also present to the LORD a cereal offering consisting of a tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with a fourth of a hin of oil, ⁵as well as a

136 libation of a fourth of a hin of wine, with each lamb sacrificed in holocaust or otherwise. ⁶With each sacrifice of a ram you shall present a cereal offering of two tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with a third of a hin of oil, ⁷and a libation of a third of a hin of wine, thus making a sweet- smelling offering to the LORD. ⁸When you sacrifice an ox as a holocaust, or in fulfillment of a vow, or as a peace offering to the LORD, ⁹with it you shall present a cereal offering of three tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with half a hin of oil, ¹⁰and a libation of half a hin of wine, as a sweet- smelling oblation to the LORD. ¹¹The same is to be done for each ox, ram, lamb or goat. ¹²Whatever the number you offer, do the same for each of them. ¹³"All the native-born shall make these offerings in the same way, whenever they present a sweet-smelling oblation to the LORD. ¹⁴Likewise, in any future generation, any alien residing with you permanently or for a time, who presents a sweet-smelling oblation to the LORD, shall do as you do. ¹⁵There is but one rule for you and for the resident alien, a perpetual rule for all your descendants. Before the LORD you and the alien are alike, ¹⁶with the same law and the same application of it for the alien residing among you as for yourselves." ¹⁷The LORD said to Moses, ¹⁸"Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When you enter the land into which I will bring you ¹⁹and begin to eat of the food of that land, you shall offer the LORD a contribution ²⁰consisting of a cake of your first batch of dough. You shall offer it just as you offer a contribution from the threshing floor. ²¹Throughout your generations you shall give a contribution to the LORD from your first batch of dough. ²²"When through inadvertence you fail to carry out any of these commandments which the LORD gives to Moses, ²³and through Moses to you, from the time the LORD first issues the commandment down through your generations: ²⁴if the community itself unwittingly becomes guilty of the fault of inadvertence, the whole community shall offer the holocaust of one young bull as a sweet-smelling oblation pleasing to the LORD, along with its prescribed cereal offering and libation, as well as one he-goat as a sin offering. ²⁵Then the priest shall make atonement for the whole Israelite community; thus they will be forgiven the inadvertence for which they have brought their holocaust as an oblation to the LORD. ²⁶Not only the whole Israelite community, but also the aliens residing among you, shall be forgiven, since the fault of inadvertence affects all the people. ²⁷"However, if it is an individual who sins inadvertently, he shall bring a yearling she-goat as a sin offering, ²⁸and the priest shall make atonement before the LORD for him who sinned inadvertently; when atonement has been made for him, he will be forgiven. ²⁹You shall have but one law for him who sins inadvertently, whether he be a native Israelite or an alien residing with you. ³⁰"But anyone who sins defiantly, whether he be a native or an alien, insults the LORD, and shall be cut off from among his people. ³¹Since he has despised the word of the LORD and has broken his commandment, he must be cut off. He has only himself to blame." ³²While the Israelites were in the desert, a man was discovered gathering wood on the sabbath day. ³³Those who caught him at it brought him to Moses and Aaron and the whole assembly. ³⁴But they kept him in custody, for there was no clear decision as to what should be done with him. ³⁵Then the LORD said to Moses, "This man shall be put to death; let the whole community stone him outside the camp." ³⁶So the whole community led him outside the camp and stoned him to death, as the LORD had commanded Moses. ³⁷The LORD said to Moses, ³⁸"Speak to the Israelites and tell them that they and their descendants must put tassels on the corners of their garments, fastening each corner tassel with a violet cord.

custody, for there was no clear decision as to what should be done with him. ³⁵Then the LORD said to Moses, "This man shall be put to death; let the whole community stone him outside the camp." ³⁶So the whole community led him outside the camp and stoned him to death, as the LORD had commanded Moses. ³⁷The LORD said to Moses, ³⁸"Speak to the Israelites and tell them that they and their descendants must put tassels on the corners of their garments, fastening each corner tassel with a violet cord. ³⁹When you use these tassels, let the sight of them remind you to keep all the commandments of the LORD, without going wantonly astray after the desires of your hearts and eyes. ⁴⁰Thus you will remember to keep all my commandments and be holy to your God. ⁴¹I, the LORD, am your God who, as God, brought you out of Egypt that I, the LORD, may be your God." Numbers chapter 16

137 ¹Korah, son of Izhar, son of Kohath, son of Levi, (and Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, son of Pallu, son of Reuben) took ²two hundred and fifty Israelites who were leaders in the community, members of the council and men of note. They stood before Moses, ³and held an assembly against Moses and Aaron, to whom they said, "Enough from you! The whole community, all of them, are holy; the LORD is in their midst. Why then should you set yourselves over the LORD'S congregation?" ⁴When Moses heard this, he fell prostrate. ⁵Then he said to Korah and to all his band, "May the LORD make known tomorrow morning who belongs to him and who is the holy one and whom he will have draw near to him! Whom he chooses, he will have draw near him. ⁶Do this: take your censers (Korah and all his band) ⁷and put fire in them and place incense in them before the LORD tomorrow. He whom the LORD then chooses is the holy one. Enough from you Levites!" ⁸Moses also said to Korah, "Listen to me, you Levites! ⁹Is it too little for you that the God of Israel has singled you out from the community of Israel, to have you draw near him for the service of the LORD'S Dwelling and to stand before the community to minister for them? ¹⁰He has allowed you and your kinsmen, the descendants of Levi, to approach him, and yet you now seek the priesthood too. ¹¹It is therefore against the LORD that you and all your band are conspiring. For what has Aaron done that you should grumble against him?" ¹²Moses summoned Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, but they answered, "We will not go. ¹³Are you not satisfied with having led us here away from a land flowing with milk and honey, to make us perish in the desert, that you must now lord it over us? ¹⁴Far from bringing us to a land flowing with milk and honey, or giving us fields and vineyards for our inheritance, will you also gouge out our eyes? No, we will not go." ¹⁵Then Moses became very angry and said to the LORD, "Pay no heed to their offering. I have never taken a single ass from them, nor have I wronged any one of them." ¹⁶Moses said to Korah, "You and all your band shall appear before the LORD tomorrow—you and they and Aaron too. ¹⁷Then each of your two hundred and fifty followers shall take his own censer, put incense in it, and offer it to the LORD; and you and Aaron, each with his own censer, shall do the same." ¹⁸So they all took their censers, and laying incense on the fire they had put in them, they took their stand by the entrance of the meeting tent along with Moses and Aaron. ¹⁹Then, when Korah had assembled all his band against them at the entrance of the meeting tent, the glory of the LORD appeared to the entire community, ²⁰and the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, ²¹"Stand apart from this band, that I may consume them at once." ²²But they fell prostrate and cried out, "O God, God of the spirits of all mankind, will one man's sin make you angry with the whole community?" ²³The LORD answered Moses, ²⁴"Speak to the community and tell them: Withdraw from the space around the Dwelling" (of Korah, Dathan and Abiram). ²⁵Moses, followed by the elders of Israel, arose and went to Dathan and Abiram. ²⁶Then he warned the community, "Keep away from the tents of these wicked men and do not touch anything that is theirs: otherwise you too will be swept away because of all their sins." ²⁷When Dathan and Abiram had come out and were standing at the entrances of their tents with their wives and sons and little ones, ²⁸Moses said, "This is how you shall know that it was the LORD who sent me to do all I have done, and that it was not I who planned it: ²⁹if these men die an ordinary death, merely suffering the fate common to all mankind, then it was not the LORD who sent me.

n and do not touch anything that is theirs: otherwise you too will be swept away because of all their sins." ²⁷When Dathan and Abiram had come out and were standing at the entrances of their tents with their wives and sons and little ones, ²⁸Moses said, "This is how you shall know that it was the LORD who sent me to do all I have done, and that it was not I who planned it: ²⁹if these men die an ordinary death, merely suffering the fate common to all mankind, then it was not the LORD who sent me. ³⁰But if the LORD does something entirely new, and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them alive down into the nether world, with all belonging to them, then you will know that these men have defied the LORD." ³¹No sooner had he finished saying all this than the ground beneath them split open, ³²and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and their families (and all of Korah's men) and all their possessions. ³³They went down alive to the nether world with all belonging to them; the earth closed over them, and they perished from the community. ³⁴But all the Israelites near them fled at their shrieks, saying, "The earth might swallow us too!" ³⁵So they withdrew from the space around the Dwelling (of Korah, Dathan and Abiram). And fire from the LORD came forth which consumed the two hundred and

138 fifty men who were offering the incense. Numbers chapter 17 ¹The LORD said to Moses, ²"Tell Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, to remove the censers from the embers; and scatter the fire some distance away, ³for these sinners have consecrated the censers at the cost of their lives. Have them hammered into plates to cover the altar, because in being presented before the LORD they have become sacred. In this way they shall serve as a sign to the Israelites." ⁴So Eleazar the priest had the bronze censers of those burned during the offering hammered into a covering for the altar, ⁵in keeping with the orders which the LORD had given him through Moses. This cover was to be a reminder to the Israelites that no layman, no one who was not a descendant of Aaron, should approach the altar to offer incense before the LORD, lest he meet the fate of Korah and his band. ⁶The next day the whole Israelite community grumbled against Moses and Aaron, saying, "It is you who have slain the LORD'S people." ⁷But while the community was deliberating against them, Moses and Aaron turned toward the meeting tent, and the cloud now covered it and the glory of the LORD appeared. ⁸Then Moses and Aaron came to the front of the meeting tent, ⁹and the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, ¹⁰"Depart from this community, that I may consume them at once." But they fell prostrate. ¹¹Then Moses said to Aaron, "Take your censer, put fire from the altar in it, lay incense on it, and bring it quickly to the community to make atonement for them; for wrath has come forth from the LORD and the blow is falling." ¹²Obeying the orders of Moses, Aaron took his censer and ran in among the community, where the blow was already falling on the people. Then, as he offered the incense and made atonement for the people, ¹³standing there between the living and the dead, the scourge was checked. ¹⁴Yet fourteen thousand seven hundred died from the scourge, in addition to those who died because of Korah. ¹⁵When the scourge had been checked, Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance of the meeting tent. ¹⁶The LORD now said to Moses, ¹⁷"Speak to the Israelites and get one staff from them for each ancestral house, twelve staffs in all, one from each of their tribal princes. Mark each man's name on his staff; ¹⁸and mark Aaron's name on Levi's staff, for the head of Levi's ancestral house shall also have a staff. ¹⁹Then lay them down in the meeting tent, in front of the commandments, where I meet you. ²⁰There the staff of the man of my choice shall sprout. Thus will I suppress from my presence the Israelites' grumbling against you." ²¹So Moses spoke to the Israelites, and their princes gave him staffs, twelve in all, one from each tribal prince; and Aaron's staff was with them. ²²Then Moses laid the staffs down before the LORD in the tent of the commandments. ²³The next day, when Moses entered the tent, Aaron's staff, representing the house of Levi, had sprouted and put forth not only shoots, but blossoms as well, and even bore ripe almonds! ²⁴Moses thereupon brought out all the staffs from the LORD'S presence to the Israelites. After each prince identified his own staff and took it, ²⁵the LORD said to Moses, "Put back Aaron's staff in front of the commandments, to be kept there as a warning to the rebellious, so that their grumbling may cease before me; if it does not, they will die." ²⁶And Moses did as the LORD had commanded him. ²⁷Then the Israelites cried out to Moses, "We are perishing; we are lost, we are all lost! ²⁸Every time anyone approaches the Dwelling of the LORD, he dies! Are we to perish to the last man?" Numbers chapter 18 ¹The LORD said to Aaron, "You and your sons as well as the other members of your ancestral house shall be responsible for the sanctuary; but the responsibility of the priesthood shall rest on you and your sons alone.

does not, they will die." ²⁶And Moses did as the LORD had commanded him. ²⁷Then the Israelites cried out to Moses, "We are perishing; we are lost, we are all lost! ²⁸Every time anyone approaches the Dwelling of the LORD, he dies! Are we to perish to the last man?" Numbers chapter 18 ¹The LORD said to Aaron, "You and your sons as well as the other members of your ancestral house shall be responsible for the sanctuary; but the responsibility of the priesthood shall rest on you and your sons alone. ²Bring with you also your other kinsmen of the tribe of Levi, your ancestral tribe, as your associates and assistants, while you and your sons are in front of the tent of the commandments. ³They shall look after your persons and the whole tent; however, they shall

139 not come near the sacred vessels or the altar, lest both they and you die. ⁴As your associates they shall have charge of all the work connected with the meeting tent. But no layman shall come near you. ⁵You shall have charge of the sanctuary and of the altar, that wrath may not fall again upon the Israelites. ⁶"Remember, it is I who have taken your kinsmen, the Levites, from the body of the Israelites; they are a gift to you, dedicated to the LORD for the service of the meeting tent. ⁷But only you and your sons are to have charge of performing the priestly functions in whatever concerns the altar and the room within the veil. I give you the priesthood as a gift. Any layman who draws near shall be put to death." ⁸The LORD said to Aaron, "I myself have given you charge of the contributions made to me in the various sacred offerings of the Israelites; by perpetual ordinance I have assigned them to you and to your sons as your priestly share. ⁹You shall have the right to share in the oblations that are most sacred, in whatever they offer me as cereal offerings or sin offerings or guilt offerings; these shares shall accrue to you and to your sons. ¹⁰In eating them you shall treat them as most sacred; every male among you may partake of them. As sacred, they belong to you. ¹¹You shall also have what is removed from the gift in every wave offering of the Israelites; by perpetual ordinance I have assigned it to you and to your sons and daughters. All in your family who are clean may partake of it. ¹²I have also assigned to you all the best of the new oil and of the new wine and grain that they give to the LORD as their first fruits; ¹³and likewise, of whatever grows on their land, the first products that they bring in to the LORD shall be yours; all of your family who are clean may partake of them. ¹⁴Whatever is doomed in Israel shall be yours. ¹⁵Every living thing that opens the womb, whether of man or of beast, such as are to be offered to the LORD, shall be yours; but you must let the first-born of man, as well as of unclean animals, be redeemed. ¹⁶The ransom for a boy is to be paid when he is a month old; it is fixed at five silver shekels according to the sanctuary standard, twenty gerahs to the shekel. ¹⁷But the first- born of cattle, sheep or goats shall not be redeemed; they are sacred. Their blood you must splash on the altar and their fat you must burn as a sweet-smelling oblation to the LORD. ¹⁸Their meat, however, shall be yours, just as the breast and the right leg of the wave offering belong to you. ¹⁹By perpetual ordinance I have assigned to you and to your sons and daughters all the contributions from the sacred gifts which the Israelites make to the LORD; this is an inviolable covenant to last forever before the LORD, for you and for your descendants." ²⁰Then the LORD said to Aaron, "You shall not have any heritage in the land of the Israelites nor hold any portion among them; I will be your portion and your heritage among them. ²¹"To the Levites, however, I hereby assign all tithes in Israel as their heritage in recompense for the service they perform in the meeting tent. ²²The Israelites may no longer approach the meeting tent; else they will incur guilt deserving death. ²³Only the Levites are to perform the service of the meeting tent, and they alone shall be held responsible; this is a perpetual ordinance for all your generations. The Levites, therefore, shall not have any heritage among the Israelites, ²⁴for I have assigned to them as their heritage the tithes which the Israelites give as a contribution to the LORD.

e service they perform in the meeting tent. ²²The Israelites may no longer approach the meeting tent; else they will incur guilt deserving death. ²³Only the Levites are to perform the service of the meeting tent, and they alone shall be held responsible; this is a perpetual ordinance for all your generations. The Levites, therefore, shall not have any heritage among the Israelites, ²⁴for I have assigned to them as their heritage the tithes which the Israelites give as a contribution to the LORD. That is why I have ordered that they are not to have any heritage among the Israelites." ²⁵The LORD said to Moses, ²⁶"Give the Levites these instructions: When you receive from the Israelites the tithes I have assigned you from them as your heritage, you are to make a contribution from them to the LORD, a tithe of the tithes; ²⁷and your contribution will be credited to you as if it were grain from the threshing floor or new wine from the press. ²⁸Thus you too shall make a contribution from all the tithes you receive from the Israelites, handing over to Aaron the priest the part to be contributed to the LORD. ²⁹From all the gifts that you receive, and from the best parts, you are to consecrate to the LORD your own full contribution. ³⁰"Tell them also: Once you have made your contribution from the best part, the rest of the tithes will be credited to you Levites as if it were produce of the threshing floor or of the winepress. ³¹Your families, as well as you, may eat them anywhere, since they are your recompense for service at the meeting tent. ³²You will incur no guilt so long as you

140 make a contribution of the best part. Do not profane the sacred gifts of the Israelites and so bring death on yourselves." Numbers chapter 19 ¹The LORD said to Moses and Aaron: ²"This is the regulation which the law of the LORD prescribes. Tell the Israelites to procure for you a red heifer that is free from every blemish and defect and on which no yoke has ever been laid. ³This is to be given to Eleazar the priest, to be led outside the camp and slaughtered in his presence. ⁴Eleazar the priest shall take some of its blood on his finger and sprinkle it seven times toward the front of the meeting tent. ⁵Then the heifer shall be burned in his sight, with its hide and flesh, its blood and offal; ⁶and the priest shall take some cedar wood, hyssop and scarlet yarn and throw them into the fire in which the heifer is being burned. ⁷The priest shall then wash his garments and bathe his body in water. He remains unclean until the evening, and only afterward may he return to the camp. ⁸Likewise, he who burned the heifer shall wash his garments, bathe his body in water, and be unclean until evening. ⁹Finally, a man who is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer and deposit them in a clean place outside the camp. There they are to be kept for preparing lustral water for the Israelite community. The heifer is a sin offering. ¹⁰He who has gathered up the ashes of the heifer shall also wash his garments and be unclean until evening. This is a perpetual ordinance, both for the Israelites and for the aliens residing among them. ¹¹"Whoever touches the dead body of any human being shall be unclean for seven days; ¹²he shall purify himself with the water on the third and on the seventh day, and then he will be clean again. But if he fails to purify himself on the third and on the seventh day, he will not become clean. ¹³Everyone who fails to purify himself after touching the body of any deceased person, defiles the Dwelling of the LORD and shall be cut off from Israel. Since the lustral water has not been splashed over him, he remains unclean: his uncleanness still clings to him. ¹⁴"This is the law: When a man dies in a tent, everyone who enters the tent, as well as everyone already in it, shall be unclean for seven days; ¹⁵likewise, every vessel that is open, or with its lid unfastened, shall be unclean. ¹⁶Moreover, everyone who in the open country touches a dead person, whether he was slain by the sword or died naturally, or who touches a human bone or a grave, shall be unclean for seven days. ¹⁷For anyone who is thus unclean, ashes from the sin offering shall be put in a vessel, and spring water shall be poured on them. ¹⁸Then a man who is clean shall take some hyssop, dip it in this water, and sprinkle it on the tent and on all the vessels and persons that were in it, or on him who touched a bone, a slain person or other dead body, or a grave. ¹⁹The clean man shall sprinkle the unclean on the third and on the seventh day; thus purified on the seventh day, he shall wash his garments and bathe his body in water, and in the evening he will be clean again. ²⁰Any unclean man who fails to have himself purified shall be cut off from the community, because he defiles the sanctuary of the LORD. As long as the lustral water has not been splashed over him, he remains unclean. ²¹This shall be a perpetual ordinance for you. "One who sprinkles the lustral water shall wash his garments, and anyone who comes in contact with this water shall be unclean until evening. ²²Moreover, whatever the unclean person touches becomes unclean itself, and anyone who touches it becomes unclean until evening." Numbers chapter 20 ¹The whole Israelite community arrived in the desert of Zin in the first month, and the people settled at Kadesh. It was here that Miriam died, and here that she was buried. ²As the community had no water, they held a council against Moses and Aaron.

l wash his garments, and anyone who comes in contact with this water shall be unclean until evening. ²²Moreover, whatever the unclean person touches becomes unclean itself, and anyone who touches it becomes unclean until evening." Numbers chapter 20 ¹The whole Israelite community arrived in the desert of Zin in the first month, and the people settled at Kadesh. It was here that Miriam died, and here that she was buried. ²As the community had no water, they held a council against Moses and Aaron. ³The people contended with Moses, exclaiming, "Would that we too had perished with our kinsmen in the LORD'S presence! ⁴Why have you brought the LORD'S community into this desert where we and our livestock are dying? ⁵Why did you lead us out of Egypt, only to bring us to this wretched place which has neither grain

141 nor figs nor vines nor pomegranates? Here there is not even water to drink!" ⁶But Moses and Aaron went away from the assembly to the entrance of the meeting tent, where they fell prostrate. Then the glory of the LORD appeared to them, ⁷and the LORD said to Moses, ⁸"Take the staff and assemble the community, you and your brother Aaron, and in their presence order the rock to yield its waters. From the rock you shall bring forth water for the community and their livestock to drink." ⁹So Moses took the staff from its place before the LORD, as he was ordered. ¹⁰He and Aaron assembled the community in front of the rock, where he said to them, "Listen to me, you rebels! Are we to bring water for you out of this rock?" ¹¹Then, raising his hand, Moses struck the rock twice with his staff, and water gushed out in abundance for the community and their livestock to drink. ¹²But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, "Because you were not faithful to me in showing forth my sanctity before the Israelites, you shall not lead this community into the land I will give them." ¹³These are the waters of Meribah, where the Israelites contended against the LORD, and where he revealed his sanctity among them. ¹⁴From Kadesh Moses sent men to the king of Edom with the message: "Your brother Israel has this to say: You know of all the hardships that have befallen us, ¹⁵how our fathers went down to Egypt, where we stayed a long time, how the Egyptians maltreated us and our fathers, ¹⁶and how, when we cried to the LORD, he heard our cry and sent an angel who led us out of Egypt. Now here we are at the town of Kadesh at the edge of your territory. ¹⁷Kindly let us pass through your country. We will not cross any fields or vineyards, nor drink any well water, but we will go straight along the royal road without turning to the right or to the left, until we have passed through your territory." ¹⁸But Edom answered him, "You shall not pass through here; if you do, I will advance against you with the sword." ¹⁹The Israelites insisted, "We want only to go up along the highway. If we or our livestock drink any of your water, we will pay for it. Surely there is no harm in merely letting us march through." ²⁰But Edom still said, "No, you shall not pass through," and advanced against them with a large and heavily armed force. ²¹Therefore, since Edom refused to let them pass through their territory, Israel detoured around them. ²²Setting out from Kadesh, the whole Israelite community came to Mount Hor. ²³There at Mount Hor, on the border of the land of Edom, the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, ²⁴"Aaron is about to be taken to his people; he shall not enter the land I am giving to the Israelites, because you both rebelled against my commandment at the waters of Meribah. ²⁵Take Aaron and his son Eleazar and bring them up on Mount Hor. ²⁶Then strip Aaron of his garments and put them on his son Eleazar; for there Aaron shall be taken in death." ²⁷Moses did as the LORD commanded. When they had climbed Mount Hor in view of the whole community, ²⁸Moses stripped Aaron of his garments and put them on his son Eleazar. Then Aaron died there on top of the mountain. When Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain, ²⁹all the community understood that Aaron had passed away; and for thirty days the whole house of Israel mourned him. Numbers chapter 21 ¹When the Canaanite king of Arad, who lived in the Negeb, heard that the Israelites were coming along the way of Atharim, he engaged them in battle and took some of them captive. ²Israel then made this vow to the LORD: "If you deliver this people into my hand, I will doom their cities." ³Later, when the LORD heeded Israel's prayer and delivered up the Canaanites, they doomed them and their cities. Hence that place was named Hormah. ⁴From Mount Hor they set out on the Red Sea road, to by-pass the land of Edom.

anite king of Arad, who lived in the Negeb, heard that the Israelites were coming along the way of Atharim, he engaged them in battle and took some of them captive. ²Israel then made this vow to the LORD: "If you deliver this people into my hand, I will doom their cities." ³Later, when the LORD heeded Israel's prayer and delivered up the Canaanites, they doomed them and their cities. Hence that place was named Hormah. ⁴From Mount Hor they set out on the Red Sea road, to by-pass the land of Edom. But with their patience worn out by the journey, ⁵the people complained against God and Moses, "Why have you brought us up from Egypt to die in this desert, where there is no food or water? We are disgusted with this wretched food!" ⁶In punishment the LORD sent among the people saraph serpents, which bit the people so that many of them died. ⁷Then the people came to Moses and said, "We have sinned in complaining against the LORD and

142 you. Pray the LORD to take the serpents from us." So Moses prayed for the people, ⁸and the LORD said to Moses, "Make a saraph and mount it on a pole, and if anyone who has been bitten looks at it, he will recover." ⁹Moses accordingly made a bronze serpent and mounted it on a pole, and whenever anyone who had been bitten by a serpent looked at the bronze serpent, he recovered. ¹⁰The Israelites moved on and encamped in Oboth. ¹¹Setting out from Oboth, they encamped in Iye-abarim in the desert fronting Moab on the east. ¹²Setting out from there, they encamped in the Wadi Zered. ¹³Setting out from there, they encamped on the other side of the Arnon, in the desert that extends from the territory of the Amorites; for the Arnon forms Moab's boundary with the Amorites. ¹⁴Hence it is said in the "Book of the Wars of the LORD": "Waheb in Suphah and the wadies, ¹⁵Arnon and the wadi gorges that reach back toward the site of Ar and slant to the border of Moab." ¹⁶From there they went to Beer, where there was the well of which the LORD said to Moses, "Bring the people together, and I will give them water." ¹⁷Then it was that Israel sang this song: "Spring up, O well! - so sing to it - ¹⁸the well that the princes sank, that the nobles of the people dug, with their scepters and their staffs." From Beer they went to Mattanah, ¹⁹from Mattanah to Nahaliel, from Nahaliel to Bamoth, ²⁰from Bamoth to the cleft in the plateau of Moab at the headland of Pisgah that overlooks Jeshimon. ²¹Now Israel sent men to Sihon, king of the Amorites, with the message, ²²"Let us pass through your country. We will not turn aside into any field or vineyard, nor will we drink any well water, but we will go straight along the royal road until we have passed through your territory." ²³Sihon, however, would not let Israel pass through his territory, but mustered all his forces and advanced into the desert against Israel. When he reached Jahaz, he engaged Israel in battle. ²⁴But Israel defeated him at the point of the sword, and took possession of his land from the Arnon to the Jabbok and as far as the country of the Ammonites, whose boundary was at Jazer. ²⁵Israel seized all the towns here and settled in these towns of the Amorites, in Heshbon and all its dependencies. ²⁶Now Heshbon was the capital of Sihon, king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab and had seized all his land from Jazer to the Arnon. ²⁷That is why the poets say: "Come to Heshbon, let it be rebuilt, let Sihon's capital be firmly constructed. ²⁸For fire went forth from Heshbon and a blaze from the city of Sihon; it consumed the cities of Moab and swallowed up the high places of the Arnon. ²⁹Woe to you, O Moab! You are ruined, O people of Chemosh! He let his sons become fugitives and his daughters be taken captive by the Amorite king Sihon. ³⁰Their plowland is ruined from Heshbon to Dibon; Ar is laid waste; fires blaze as far as Medeba." ³¹When Israel had settled in the land of the Amorites, ³²Moses sent spies to Jazer; Israel then captured it with its dependencies and dispossessed the Amorites who were there. ³³Then they turned and went up along the road to Bashan. But Og, king of Bashan, advanced against them with all his people to give battle at Edrei. ³⁴The LORD, however, said to Moses, "Do not be afraid of him; for into your hand I will deliver him with all his people and his land. Do to him as you did to Sihon, king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon." ³⁵So they struck him down with his sons and all his people, until not a survivor was left to him, and they took possession of his land. Numbers chapter 22 ¹Then the Israelites moved on and encamped in the plains of Moab on the other side of the Jericho stretch of the Jordan. ²Now Balak, son of Zippor, saw all that Israel did to the Amorites. ³Indeed, Moab feared the Israelites greatly because of their numbers, and detested them.

m as you did to Sihon, king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon." ³⁵So they struck him down with his sons and all his people, until not a survivor was left to him, and they took possession of his land. Numbers chapter 22 ¹Then the Israelites moved on and encamped in the plains of Moab on the other side of the Jericho stretch of the Jordan. ²Now Balak, son of Zippor, saw all that Israel did to the Amorites. ³Indeed, Moab feared the Israelites greatly because of their numbers, and detested them. ⁴So Moab said to the elders of Midian, "Soon this horde will devour all the country around us as an ox devours the grass of the field." And Balak, Zippor's son, who was king of Moab at that time, ⁵sent messengers to Balaam, son of Beor, at Pethor on the Euphrates, in the land of the Amawites, summoning him with these words, "A people has come here from Egypt who now cover the face of the earth and are settling down opposite us! ⁶Please come and curse this people for us; they are stronger than

143 we are. We may then be able to defeat them and drive them out of the country. For I know that whoever you bless is blessed and whoever you curse is cursed." ⁷Then the elders of Moab and of Midian left with the divination fee in hand and went to Balaam. When they had given him Balak's message, ⁸he said to them in reply, "Stay here overnight, and I will give you whatever answer the LORD gives me." So the princes of Moab lodged with Balaam. ⁹Then God came to Balaam and said, "Who are these men visiting you?" ¹⁰Balaam answered God, "Balak, son of Zippor, king of Moab, sent me the message: ¹¹'This people that came here from Egypt now cover the face of the earth. Please come and lay a curse on them for us; we may then be able to give them battle and drive them out.'" ¹²But God said to Balaam, "Do not go with them and do not curse this people, for they are blessed." ¹³The next morning Balaam arose and told the princes of Balak, "Go back to your own country, for the LORD has refused to let me go with you." ¹⁴So the princes of Moab went back to Balak with the report, "Balaam refused to come with us." ¹⁵Balak again sent princes, who were more numerous and more distinguished than the others. ¹⁶On coming to Balaam they told him, "This is what Balak, son of Zippor, has to say: Please do not refuse to come to me. ¹⁷I will reward you very handsomely and will do anything you ask of me. Please come and lay a curse on this people for me." ¹⁸But Balaam replied to Balak's officials, "Even if Balak gave me his house full of silver and gold, I could not do anything, small or great, contrary to the command of the LORD, my God. ¹⁹But, you too shall stay here overnight, till I learn what else the LORD may tell me." ²⁰That night God came to Balaam and said to him, "If these men have come to summon you, you may go with them; yet only on the condition that you do exactly as I tell you." ²¹So the next morning when Balaam arose, he saddled his ass, and went off with the princes of Moab. ²²But now the anger of God flared up at him for going, and the angel of the LORD stationed himself on the road to hinder him as he was riding along on his ass, accompanied by two of his servants. ²³When the ass saw the angel of the LORD standing on the road with sword drawn, she turned off the road and went into the field, and Balaam had to beat her to bring her back on the road. ²⁴Then the angel of the LORD took his stand in a narrow lane between vineyards with a stone wall on each side. ²⁵When the ass saw the angel of the LORD there, she shrank against the wall; and since she squeezed Balaam's leg against it, he beat her again. ²⁶The angel of the LORD then went ahead, and stopped next in a passage so narrow that there was no room to move either to the right or to the left. ²⁷When the ass saw the angel of the LORD there, she cowered under Balaam. So, in anger, he again beat the ass with his stick. ²⁸But now the LORD opened the mouth of the ass, and she asked Balaam, "What have I done to you that you should beat me these three times?" ²⁹"You have acted so willfully against me," said Balaam to the ass, "that if I but had a sword at hand, I would kill you here and now." ³⁰But the ass said to Balaam, "Am I not your own beast, and have you not always ridden upon me until now? Have I been in the habit of treating you this way before?" "No," replied Balaam. ³¹Then the LORD removed the veil from Balaam's eyes, so that he too saw the angel of the LORD standing on the road with sword drawn; and he fell on his knees and bowed to the ground. ³²But the angel of the LORD said to him, "Why have you beaten your ass these three times? It is I who have come armed to hinder you because this rash journey of yours is directly opposed to me. ³³When the ass saw me, she turned away from me these three times. If she had not turned away from me, I would have killed you; her I would have spared." ³⁴Then Balaam said to the angel of the LORD, "I have sinned.

ORD standing on the road with sword drawn; and he fell on his knees and bowed to the ground. ³²But the angel of the LORD said to him, "Why have you beaten your ass these three times? It is I who have come armed to hinder you because this rash journey of yours is directly opposed to me. ³³When the ass saw me, she turned away from me these three times. If she had not turned away from me, I would have killed you; her I would have spared." ³⁴Then Balaam said to the angel of the LORD, "I have sinned. Yet I did not know that you stood against me to oppose my journey. Since it has displeased you, I will go back home." ³⁵But the angel of the LORD said to Balaam, "Go with the men; but you may say only what I tell you." So Balaam went on with the princes of Balak. ³⁶When Balak heard that Balaam was coming, he went out to meet him at the boundary city Ir-Moab on the Arnon at the end of the Moabite territory. ³⁷And he said to Balaam, "I sent an urgent summons to you! Why did you not come to me? Did you think I could not reward you?" ³⁸Balaam answered him, "Well, I have come to you after all. But what power have I to say

144 anything? I can speak only what God puts in my mouth." ³⁹Then Balaam went with Balak, and they came to Kiriath-huzoth. ⁴⁰Here Balak slaughtered oxen and sheep, and sent portions to Balaam and to the princes who were with him. ⁴¹The next morning Balak took Balaam up on Bamoth-baal, and from there he saw some of the clans. Numbers chapter 23 1 Then Balaam said to Balak, "Build me seven altars, and prepare seven bullocks and seven rams for me here." ² So he did as Balaam had ordered, offering a bullock and a ram on each altar. And Balak said to him, "I have erected the seven altars, and have offered a bullock and a ram on each." ³ Balaam then said to him, "Stand here by your holocaust while I go over there. Perhaps the LORD will meet me, and then I will tell you whatever he lets me see." He went out on the barren height, ⁴ and God met him. ⁵ When he had put an utterance in Balaam's mouth, the LORD said to him, "Go back to Balak, and speak accordingly." ⁶ So he went back to Balak, who was still standing by his holocaust together with all the princes of Moab. ⁷ Then Balaam gave voice to his oracle: From Aram has Balak brought me here, Moab's king, from the Eastern Mountains: "Come and lay a curse for me on Jacob, come and denounce Israel." ⁸ How can I curse whom God has not cursed? How denounce whom the LORD has not denounced? ⁹ For from the top of the crags I see him, from the heights I behold him. Here is a people that lives apart and does not reckon itself among the nations. ¹⁰ Who has ever counted the dust of Jacob, or numbered Israel's wind-borne particles? May I die the death of the just, may my descendants be as many as theirs! ¹¹ "What have you done to me?" cried Balak to Balaam. "It was to curse my foes that I brought you here; instead, you have even blessed them." ¹² Balaam replied, "Is it not what the LORD puts in my mouth that I must repeat with care?" ¹³ Then Balak said to him, "Please come with me to another place from which you can see only some and not all of them, and from there curse them for me." ¹⁴ So he brought him to the lookout field on the top of Pisgah, where he built seven altars and offered a bullock and a ram on each of them. ¹⁵ Balaam then said to Balak, "Stand here by your holocaust, while I seek a meeting over there." ¹⁶ Then the LORD met Balaam, and having put an utterance in his mouth, he said to him, "Go back to Balak, and speak accordingly." ¹⁷ So he went back to Balak, who was still standing by his holocaust together with the princes of Moab. When Balak asked him, "What did the LORD say?" ¹⁸ Balaam gave voice to his oracle: Be aroused, O Balak, and hearken; give ear to my testimony, O son of Zippor! ¹⁹ God is not man that he should speak falsely, nor human, that he should change his mind. Is he one to speak and not act, to decree and not fulfill? ²⁰ It is a blessing I have been given to pronounce; a blessing which I cannot restrain. ²¹ Misfortune is not observed in Jacob, nor misery seen in Israel. The LORD, his God, is with him; with him is the triumph of his King. ²² It is God who brought him out of Egypt, a wild bull of towering might. ²³ No, there is no sorcery against Jacob, nor omen against Israel. It shall yet be said of Jacob, and of Israel, "Behold what God has wrought!" ²⁴ Here is a people that springs up like a lioness, and stalks forth like a lion; It rests not till it has devoured its prey and has drunk the blood of the slain. ²⁵ "Even though you cannot curse them," said Balak to Balaam, "at least do not bless them." ²⁶ But Balaam answered Balak, "Did I not warn you that I must do all that the LORD tells me?" ²⁷ Then Balak said to Balaam, "Come, let me bring you to another place; perhaps God will approve of your cursing them for me from there." ²⁸ So he took Balaam to the top of Peor, that overlooks Jeshimon.

and stalks forth like a lion; It rests not till it has devoured its prey and has drunk the blood of the slain. ²⁵ "Even though you cannot curse them," said Balak to Balaam, "at least do not bless them." ²⁶ But Balaam answered Balak, "Did I not warn you that I must do all that the LORD tells me?" ²⁷ Then Balak said to Balaam, "Come, let me bring you to another place; perhaps God will approve of your cursing them for me from there." ²⁸ So he took Balaam to the top of Peor, that overlooks Jeshimon. ²⁹ Balaam then said to him, "Here build me seven altars; and here prepare for me seven bullocks and seven rams." ³⁰ And Balak did as Balaam had ordered, offering a bullock and a ram on each altar. Numbers chapter 24 ¹ Balaam, however, perceiving that the LORD was pleased to bless Israel, did not go aside as before

145 to seek omens, but turned his gaze toward the desert. ² When he raised his eyes and saw Israel encamped, tribe by tribe, the spirit of God came upon him, ³ and he gave voice to his oracle: The utterance of Balaam, son of Beor, the utterance of the man whose eye is true, ⁴ The utterance of one who hears what God says, and knows what the Most High knows, Of one who sees what the Almighty sees, enraptured, and with eyes unveiled: ⁵ How goodly are your tents, O Jacob; your encampments, O Israel! ⁶ They are like gardens beside a stream, like the cedars planted by the LORD. ⁷ His wells shall yield free-flowing waters, he shall have the sea within reach; His king shall rise higher than... and his royalty shall be exalted. ⁸ It is God who brought him out of Egypt, a wild bull of towering might. He shall devour the nations like grass, their bones he shall strip bare. ⁹ He lies crouching like a lion, or like a lioness; who shall arouse him? Blessed is he who blesses you, and cursed is he who curses you! ¹⁰ Balak beat his palms together in a blaze of anger at Balaam and said to him, "It was to curse my foes that I summoned you here; yet three times now you have even blessed them instead! ¹¹ Be off at once, then, to your home. I promised to reward you richly, but the LORD has withheld the reward from you!" ¹² Balaam replied to Balak, "Did I not warn the very messengers whom you sent to me, ¹³ 'Even if Balak gave me his house full of silver and gold, I could not of my own accord do anything, good or evil, contrary to the command of the LORD'? Whatever the LORD says I must repeat. ¹⁴ But now that I am about to go to my own people, let me first warn you what this people will do to your people in the days to come." ¹⁵ Then Balaam gave voice to his oracle: The utterance of Balaam, son of Beor, the utterance of the man whose eye is true, ¹⁶ The utterance of one who hears what God says, and knows what the Most High knows, Of one who sees what the Almighty sees, enraptured and with eyes unveiled. ¹⁷ I see him, though not now; I behold him, though not near: A star shall advance from Jacob, and a staff shall rise from Israel, That shall smite the brows of Moab, and the skulls of all the Shuthites, ¹⁸ Till Edom is dispossessed, and no fugitive is left in Seir. Israel shall do valiantly, ¹⁹ and Jacob shall overcome his foes. ²⁰ Upon seeing Amalek, Balaam gave voice to his oracle: First of the peoples was Amalek, but his end is to perish forever. ²¹ Upon seeing the Kenites, he gave voice to his oracle: Your abode is enduring, O smith, and your nest is set on a cliff; ²² Yet destined for burning - even as I watch - are your inhabitants. ²³ Upon seeing... he gave voice to his oracle: Alas, who shall survive of Ishmael, ²⁴ to deliver his people from the hands of the Kittim? When they have conquered Asshur and conquered Eber, He too shall perish forever. ²⁵ Then Balaam set out on his journey home; and Balak also went his way. Numbers chapter 25 ¹ While Israel was living at Shittim, the people degraded themselves by having illicit relations with the Moabite women. ² These then invited the people to the sacrifices of their god, and the people ate of the sacrifices and worshiped their god. ³ When Israel thus submitted to the rites of Baal of Peor, the LORD'S anger flared up against Israel, ⁴ and he said to Moses, "Gather all the leaders of the people, and hold a public execution of the guilty ones before the LORD, that his blazing wrath may be turned away from Israel." ⁵ So Moses told the Israelite judges, "Each of you shall kill those of his men who have submitted to the rites of Baal of Peor." ⁶ Yet a certain Israelite came and brought in a Midianite woman to his clansmen in the view of Moses and of the whole Israelite community, while they were weeping at the entrance of the meeting tent.

id to Moses, "Gather all the leaders of the people, and hold a public execution of the guilty ones before the LORD, that his blazing wrath may be turned away from Israel." ⁵ So Moses told the Israelite judges, "Each of you shall kill those of his men who have submitted to the rites of Baal of Peor." ⁶ Yet a certain Israelite came and brought in a Midianite woman to his clansmen in the view of Moses and of the whole Israelite community, while they were weeping at the entrance of the meeting tent. ⁷ When Phinehas, son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, saw this, he left the assembly, and taking a lance in hand, ⁸ followed the Israelite into his retreat where he pierced the pair of them, the Israelite and the woman. Thus the slaughter of Israelites was checked; ⁹ but only after twenty-four thousand had died. ¹⁰ Then the LORD said to Moses, ¹¹ "Phinehas, son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, has turned my anger from the Israelites by his zeal for my honor among them; that is why I did not put an end to the Israelites for the offense to my honor. ¹² Announce, therefore, that I hereby give

146 him my pledge of friendship, ¹³ which shall be for him and for his descendants after him the pledge of an everlasting priesthood, because he was zealous on behalf of his God and thus made amends for the Israelites." ¹⁴ The Israelite slain with the Midianite woman was Zimri, son of Salu, prince of an ancestral house of the Simeonites. ¹⁵ The slain Midianite woman was Cozbi, daughter of Zur, who was head of a clan, an ancestral house, in Midian. ¹⁶ The LORD then said to Moses, ¹⁷ "Treat the Midianites as enemies and crush them, ¹⁸ for they have been your enemies by their wily dealings with you as regards Peor and as regards their kinswoman Cozbi, the daughter of a Midianite prince, who was killed at the time of the slaughter because of Peor." ¹⁹ After the slaughter. Numbers chapter 26 ¹ The LORD said to Moses and Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, ² "Take a census, by ancestral houses, throughout the community of the Israelites of all those of twenty years or more who are fit for military service in Israel." ³ So on the plains of Moab along the Jericho stretch of the Jordan, Moses and the priest Eleazar registered ⁴ those of twenty years or more, as the LORD had commanded Moses. The Israelites who came out of the land of Egypt were as follows: ⁵ Of Reuben, the first-born of Israel, the Reubenites by clans were: through Hanoch the clan of the Hanochites, through Pallu the clan of the Palluites, ⁶ through Hezron the clan of the Hezronites, through Carmi the clan of the Carmites. ⁷ These were the clans of the Reubenites, of whom forty-three thousand seven hundred and thirty men were registered. ⁸ From Pallu descended Eliab, ⁹ and the descendants of Eliab were Dathan and Abiram—the same Dathan and Abiram, councilors of the community, who revolted against Moses and Aaron (like Korah's band when it rebelled against the LORD). ¹⁰ The earth opened its mouth and swallowed them as a warning (Korah too and the band that died when the fire consumed two hundred and fifty men. ¹¹ The descendants of Korah, however, did not die out). ¹² The Simeonites by clans were: through Nemuel the clan of the Nemuelites, through Jamin the clan of the Jaminites, through Jachin the clan of the Jachinites, ¹³ through Zohar the clan of the Zoharites, through Shaul the clan of the Shaulites. ¹⁴ These were the clans of the Simeonites, of whom twenty-two thousand two hundred men were registered. ¹⁵ The Gadites by clans were: through Zephon the clan of the Zephonites, through Haggi the clan of the Haggites, through Shuni the clan of the Shunites, ¹⁶ through Ozni the clan of the Oznites, through Eri the clan of the Erites, ¹⁷ through Arod the clan of the Arodites, through Areli the clan of the Arelites. ¹⁸ These were the clans of the Gadites, of whom forty thousand five hundred men were registered. ¹⁹ The sons of Judah who died in the land of Canaan were Er and Onan. ²⁰ The Judahites by clans were: through Shelah the clan of the Shelahites, through Perez the clan of the Perezites, through Zerah the clan of the Zerahites. ²¹ The Perezites were: through Hezron the clan of the Hezronites, through Hamul the clan of the Hamulites. ²² These were the clans of Judah, of whom seventy-six thousand five hundred men were registered. ²³ The Issacharites by clans were: through Tola the clan of the Tolaites, through Puvah the clan of the Puvahites, ²⁴ through Jashub the clan of the Jashubites, through Shimron the clan of the Shimronites. ²⁵ These were the clans of Issachar, of whom sixty-four thousand three hundred men were registered. ²⁶ The Zebulunites by clans were: through Sered the clan of the Seredites, through Elon the clan of the Elonites, through Jahleel the clan of the Jahleelites. ²⁷ These were the clans of the Zebulunites, of whom sixty thousand five hundred men were registered. ²⁸ The sons of Joseph were Manasseh and Ephraim.

²⁴ through Jashub the clan of the Jashubites, through Shimron the clan of the Shimronites. ²⁵ These were the clans of Issachar, of whom sixty-four thousand three hundred men were registered. ²⁶ The Zebulunites by clans were: through Sered the clan of the Seredites, through Elon the clan of the Elonites, through Jahleel the clan of the Jahleelites. ²⁷ These were the clans of the Zebulunites, of whom sixty thousand five hundred men were registered. ²⁸ The sons of Joseph were Manasseh and Ephraim. ²⁹ The Manassehites by clans were: through Machir the clan of the Machirites, through Gilead, a descendant of Machir, the clan of the Gileadites. ³⁰ The Gileadites were: through Abiezer the clan of the Abiezrites, through Helek the clan of the Helekites, ³¹ through Asriel the clan of the Asrielites, through Shechem the clan of the Shechemites, ³² through Shemida the clan of the Shemidaites, through Hepher the clan of the Hepherites. ³³ Zelophehad, son of Hepher, had no

147 sons, but only daughters, whose names were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. ³⁴ These were the clans of Manasseh, of whom fifty-two thousand seven hundred men were registered. ³⁵ The Ephraimites by clans were: through Shuthelah the clan of the Shuthelahites, through Becher the clan of the Becherites, through Tahan the clan of the Tahanites. ³⁶ The Shuthelahites were: through Eran the clan of the Eranites. ³⁷ These were the clans of the Ephraimites, of whom thirty- two thousand five hundred men were registered. These were the descendants of Joseph by clans. ³⁸ The Benjaminites by clans were: through Bela the clan of the Belaites, through Ashbel the clan of the Ashbelites, through Ahiram the clan of the Ahiramites, ³⁹ through Shupham the clan of the Shuphamites, through Hupham the clan of the Huphamites. ⁴⁰ The descendants of Bela were Ard and Naaman: through Ard the clan of the Ardites, through Naaman the clan of the Naamanites. ⁴¹ These were the Benjaminites by clans, of whom forty-five thousand six hundred men were registered. ⁴² The Danites by clans were: through Shuham the clan of the Shuhamites. These were the clans of Dan, ⁴³ of whom sixty-four thousand four hundred men were registered. ⁴⁴ The Asherites by clans were: through Imnah the clan of the Imnites, through Ishvi the clan of the Ishvites, through Beriah the clan of the Beriites, ⁴⁵ through Heber the clan of the Heberites, through Malchiel the clan of the Malchielites. ⁴⁶ The name of Asher's daughter was Serah. ⁴⁷ These were the clans of Asher, of whom fifty-three thousand four hundred men were registered. ⁴⁸ The Naphtalites by clans were: through Jahzeel the clan of the Jahzeelites, through Guni the clan of the Gunites, ⁴⁹ through Jezer the clan of the Jezerites, through Shillem the clan of the Shillemites. ⁵⁰ These were the clans of Naphtali, of whom forty-five thousand four hundred men were registered. ⁵¹ These six hundred and one thousand seven hundred and thirty were the Israelites who were registered. ⁵² The LORD said to Moses, ⁵³ "Among these groups the land shall be divided as their heritage in keeping with the number of individuals in each group. ⁵⁴ To a large group you shall assign a large heritage, to a small group a small heritage, each group receiving its heritage in proportion to the number of men registered in it. ⁵⁵ But the land shall be divided by lot, as the heritage of the various ancestral tribes. ⁵⁶ As the lot falls shall each group, large or small, be assigned its heritage." ⁵⁷ The Levites registered by clans were: through Gershon the clan of the Gershonites, through Kohath the clan of the Kohathites, through Merari the clan of the Merarites. ⁵⁸ These also were clans of Levi: the clan of the Libnites, the clan of the Hebronites, the clan of the Mahlites, the clan of the Mushites, the clan of the Korahites. Among the descendants of Kohath was Amram, ⁵⁹ whose wife was named Jochebed. She also was of the tribe of Levi, born to the tribe in Egypt. To Amram she bore Aaron and Moses and their sister Miriam. ⁶⁰ To Aaron were born Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. ⁶¹ But Nadab and Abihu died when they offered profane fire before the LORD. ⁶² The total number of male Levites one month or more of age, who were registered, was twenty-three thousand. They were not registered with the other Israelites, however, for no heritage was given them among the Israelites. ⁶³ These, then, were the men registered by Moses and the priest Eleazar in the census of the Israelites taken on the plains of Moab along the Jericho stretch of the Jordan. ⁶⁴ Among them there was not a man of those who had been registered by Moses and the priest Aaron in the census of the Israelites taken in the desert of Sinai.

f age, who were registered, was twenty-three thousand. They were not registered with the other Israelites, however, for no heritage was given them among the Israelites. ⁶³ These, then, were the men registered by Moses and the priest Eleazar in the census of the Israelites taken on the plains of Moab along the Jericho stretch of the Jordan. ⁶⁴ Among them there was not a man of those who had been registered by Moses and the priest Aaron in the census of the Israelites taken in the desert of Sinai. ⁶⁵ For the LORD had told them that they would surely die in the desert, and not one of them was left except Caleb, son of Jephunneh, and Joshua, son of Nun. Numbers chapter 27 ¹ Zelophehad, son of Hepher, son of Gilead, son of Machir, son of Manasseh, son of Joseph, had daughters named Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. They came forward, ² and standing in the presence of Moses, the priest Eleazar, the princes, and the whole community at the entrance of the meeting tent, said: ³ "Our father died in the desert. Although he did not join those who banded together against the LORD (in Korah's band), he died for his own sin without leaving any

148 sons. ⁴ But why should our father's name be withdrawn from his clan merely because he had no son? Let us, therefore, have property among our father's kinsmen." ⁵ When Moses laid their case before the LORD, ⁶ the LORD said to him, ⁷ "The plea of Zelophehad's daughters is just; you shall give them hereditary property among their father's kinsmen, letting their father's heritage pass on to them. ⁸ Therefore, tell the Israelites: If a man dies without leaving a son, you shall let his heritage pass on to his daughter; ⁹ if he has no daughter, you shall give his heritage to his brothers; ¹⁰ if he has no brothers, you shall give his heritage to his father's brothers; ¹¹ if his father had no brothers, you shall give his heritage to his nearest relative in his clan, who shall then take possession of it." This is the legal norm for the Israelites, as the LORD commanded Moses. ¹² The LORD said to Moses, "Go up here into the Abarim Mountains and view the land that I am giving to the Israelites. ¹³ When you have viewed it, you too shall be taken to your people, as was your brother Aaron, ¹⁴ because in the rebellion of the community in the desert of Zin you both rebelled against my order to manifest my sanctity to them by means of the water." (This is the water of Meribah of Kadesh in the desert of Zin.) ¹⁵ Then Moses said to the LORD, ¹⁶ "May the LORD, the God of the spirits of all mankind, set over the community a man ¹⁷ who shall act as their leader in all things, to guide them in all their actions; that the LORD'S community may not be like sheep without a shepherd." ¹⁸ And the LORD replied to Moses, "Take Joshua, son of Nun, a man of spirit, and lay your hand upon him. ¹⁹ Have him stand in the presence of the priest Eleazar and of the whole community, and commission him before their eyes. ²⁰ Invest him with some of your own dignity, that the whole Israelite community may obey him. ²¹ He shall present himself to the priest Eleazar, to have him seek out for him the decisions of the Urim in the LORD'S presence; and as he directs, Joshua, all the Israelites with him, and the community as a whole shall perform all their actions." ²² Moses did as the LORD had commanded him. Taking Joshua and having him stand in the presence of the priest Eleazar and of the whole community, ²³ he laid his hands on him and gave him his commission, as the LORD had directed through Moses. Numbers chapter 28 ¹ The LORD said to Moses, ² "Give the Israelites this commandment: At the times I have appointed, you shall be careful to present to me the food offerings that are offered to me as sweet- smelling oblations. ³ "You shall tell them therefore: This is the oblation which you shall offer to the LORD: two unblemished yearling lambs each day as the established holocaust, ⁴ offering one lamb in the morning and the other during the evening twilight, ⁵ each with a cereal offering of one tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with a fourth of a hin of oil of crushed olives. ⁶ This is the established holocaust that was offered at Mount Sinai as a sweet-smelling oblation to the LORD. ⁷ And as the libation for the first lamb, you shall pour out to the LORD in the sanctuary a fourth of a hin of wine. ⁸ The other lamb, to be offered during the evening twilight, you shall offer with the same cereal offering and the same libation as in the morning, as a sweet-smelling oblation to the LORD. ⁹ "On the sabbath day you shall offer two unblemished yearling lambs, with their cereal offering, two tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil, and with their libations. ¹⁰ Each sabbath there shall be the sabbath holocaust in addition to the established holocaust and its libation.

rth of a hin of wine. ⁸ The other lamb, to be offered during the evening twilight, you shall offer with the same cereal offering and the same libation as in the morning, as a sweet-smelling oblation to the LORD. ⁹ "On the sabbath day you shall offer two unblemished yearling lambs, with their cereal offering, two tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil, and with their libations. ¹⁰ Each sabbath there shall be the sabbath holocaust in addition to the established holocaust and its libation. ¹¹ "On the first of each month you shall offer as a holocaust to the LORD two bullocks, one ram, and seven unblemished yearling lambs, ¹² with three tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil as the cereal offering for each bullock, two tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil as the cereal offering for the ram, ¹³ and one tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil as the cereal offering for each lamb, that the holocaust may be a sweet-smelling oblation to the LORD. ¹⁴ Their libations shall be half a hin of wine for each bullock, a third of a hin for the ram, and a fourth of a hin for each lamb. This is the new moon holocaust for every new moon of the year. ¹⁵ Moreover, one goat shall be sacrificed as a sin offering to the LORD. These are to be offered

149 in addition to the established holocaust and its libation. ¹⁶ "On the fourteenth day of the first month falls the Passover of the LORD, ¹⁷ and the fifteenth day of this month is the pilgrimage feast. For seven days unleavened bread is to be eaten. ¹⁸ On the first of these days you shall hold a sacred assembly, and do no sort of work. ¹⁹ As an oblation you shall offer a holocaust to the LORD, which shall consist of two bullocks, one ram, and seven yearling lambs that you are sure are unblemished, ²⁰ with their cereal offerings of fine flour mixed with oil; offering three tenths of an ephah for each bullock, two tenths for the ram, ²¹ and one tenth for each of the seven lambs; ²² and offer one goat as a sin offering in atonement for yourselves. ²³ These offerings you shall make in addition to the established morning holocaust: ²⁴ you shall make exactly the same offerings each day for seven days as food offerings, in addition to the established holocaust with its libation, for a sweet-smelling oblation to the LORD. ²⁵ On the seventh day you shall hold a sacred assembly, and do no sort of work. ²⁶ "On the day of first fruits, on your feast of Weeks, when you present to the LORD the new cereal offering, you shall hold a sacred assembly, and do no sort of work. ²⁷ You shall offer as a sweet-smelling holocaust to the LORD two bullocks, one ram, and seven yearling lambs that you are sure are unblemished, ²⁸ with their cereal offerings of fine flour mixed with oil; offering three tenths of an ephah for each bullock, two tenths for the ram, ²⁹ and one tenth for each of the seven lambs. ³⁰ Moreover, one goat shall be offered as a sin offering in atonement for yourselves. ³¹ You shall make these offerings, together with their libations, in addition to the established holocaust with its cereal offering. Numbers chapter 29 ¹ The LORD said to Moses, ² "On the first day of the seventh month you shall hold a sacred assembly, and do no sort of work; it shall be a day on which you sound the trumpet. ³ You shall offer as a sweet-smelling holocaust to the LORD one bullock, one ram, and seven unblemished yearling lambs, ⁴ with their cereal offerings of fine flour mixed with oil; offering three tenths of an ephah for the bullock, two tenths for the ram, ⁵ and one tenth for each of the seven lambs. ⁶ Moreover, one goat shall be offered as a sin offering in atonement for yourselves. ⁷ These are to be offered in addition to the ordinary new-moon holocaust with its cereal offering, and in addition to the established holocaust with its cereal offering, together with the libations prescribed for them, as a sweet-smelling oblation to the LORD. ⁸ On the tenth day of this seventh month you shall hold a sacred assembly, and mortify yourselves, and do no sort of work. ⁹ You shall offer as a sweet- smelling holocaust to the LORD one bullock, one ram, and seven yearling lambs that you are sure are unblemished, ¹⁰ with their cereal offerings of fine flour mixed with oil; offering three tenths of an ephah for the bullock, two tenths for the ram, ¹¹ and one tenth for each of the seven lambs. ¹² Moreover, one goat shall be sacrificed as a sin offering. These are to be offered in addition to the atonement sin offering, the established holocaust with its cereal offering, and their libations. ¹³ On the fifteenth day of the seventh month you shall hold a sacred assembly, and do no sort of work; then, for seven days following, you shall celebrate a pilgrimage feast to the LORD. ¹⁴ You shall offer as a sweet-smelling holocaust to the LORD thirteen bullocks, two rams, and fourteen yearling lambs that are unblemished, ¹⁵ with their cereal offerings of fine flour mixed with oil; offering three tenths of an ephah for each of the thirteen bullocks, two tenths for each of the two rams, ¹⁶ and one tenth for each of the fourteen lambs. Moreover, one goat shall be sacrificed as a sin offering.

k; then, for seven days following, you shall celebrate a pilgrimage feast to the LORD. ¹⁴ You shall offer as a sweet-smelling holocaust to the LORD thirteen bullocks, two rams, and fourteen yearling lambs that are unblemished, ¹⁵ with their cereal offerings of fine flour mixed with oil; offering three tenths of an ephah for each of the thirteen bullocks, two tenths for each of the two rams, ¹⁶ and one tenth for each of the fourteen lambs. Moreover, one goat shall be sacrificed as a sin offering. These are to be offered in addition to the established holocaust with its cereal offering and libation. ¹⁷ On the second day you shall offer twelve bullocks, two rams, and fourteen unblemished yearling lambs, ¹⁸ with their cereal offerings and libations as prescribed for the bullocks, rams and lambs in proportion to their number, ¹⁹ as well as one goat for a sin offering, besides the established holocaust with its cereal offering and libation. ²⁰ On the third day you shall offer eleven bullocks, two rams, and fourteen unblemished yearling lambs, ²¹ with their cereal

150 offerings and libations as prescribed for the bullocks, rams and lambs in proportion to their number, ²² as well as one goat for a sin offering, besides the established holocaust with its cereal offering and libation. ²³ On the fourth day you shall offer ten bullocks, two rams, and fourteen unblemished yearling lambs, ²⁴ with their cereal offerings and libations as prescribed for the bullocks, rams and lambs in proportion to their number, ²⁵ as well as one goat for a sin offering, besides the established holocaust with its cereal offering and libation. ²⁶ On the fifth day you shall offer nine bullocks, two rams, and fourteen unblemished yearling lambs, ²⁷ with their cereal offerings and libations as prescribed for the bullocks, rams and lambs in proportion to their number, ²⁸ as well as one goat for a sin offering, besides the established holocaust with its cereal offering and libation. ²⁹ On the sixth day you shall offer eight bullocks, two rams, and fourteen unblemished yearling lambs, ³⁰ with their cereal offerings and libations as prescribed for the bullocks, rams and lambs in proportion to their number, ³¹ as well as one goat for a sin offering, besides the established holocaust with its cereal offering and libation. ³² On the seventh day you shall offer seven bullocks, two rams, and fourteen unblemished yearling lambs, ³³ with their cereal offerings and libations as prescribed for the bullocks, rams and lambs in proportion to their number, ³⁴ as well as one goat for a sin offering, besides the established holocaust with its cereal offering and libation. ³⁵ On the eighth day you shall hold a solemn meeting, and do no sort of work. ³⁶ You shall offer up in holocaust as a sweet-smelling oblation to the LORD one bullock, one ram, and seven unblemished yearling lambs, ³⁷ with their cereal offerings and libations as prescribed for the bullocks, rams and lambs in proportion to their number, ³⁸ as well as one goat for a sin offering, besides the established holocaust with its cereal offering and libation. ³⁹ These are the offerings you shall make to the LORD on your festivals, besides whatever holocausts, cereal offerings, libations, and peace offerings you present as your votive or freewill offerings." Numbers chapter 30 ¹ Moses then gave the Israelites these instructions, just as the LORD had ordered him. ² Moses said to the heads of the Israelite tribes, "This is what the LORD has commanded: ³ When a man makes a vow to the LORD or binds himself under oath to a pledge of abstinence, he shall not violate his word, but must fulfill exactly the promise he has uttered. ⁴ When a woman, while still a maiden in her father's house, makes a vow to the LORD, or binds herself to a pledge, ⁵ if her father learns of her vow or the pledge to which she bound herself and says nothing to her about it, then any vow or any pledge she has made remains valid. ⁶ But if on the day he learns of it her father expresses to her his disapproval, then any vow or any pledge she has made becomes null and void; and the LORD releases her from it, since her father has expressed to her his disapproval. ⁷ If she marries while under a vow or under a rash pledge to which she bound herself, ⁸ and her husband learns of it, yet says nothing to her that day about it, then the vow or pledge she had made remains valid. ⁹ But if on the day he learns of it her husband expresses to her his disapproval, he thereby annuls the vow she had made or the rash pledge to which she had bound herself, and the LORD releases her from it. ¹⁰ The vow of a widow or of a divorced woman, or any pledge to which such a woman binds herself, is valid. ¹¹ If it is in her husband's house that she makes a vow or binds herself under oath to a pledge, ¹² and her husband learns of it yet says nothing to express to her his disapproval, then any vow or any pledge she has made remains valid.

xpresses to her his disapproval, he thereby annuls the vow she had made or the rash pledge to which she had bound herself, and the LORD releases her from it. ¹⁰ The vow of a widow or of a divorced woman, or any pledge to which such a woman binds herself, is valid. ¹¹ If it is in her husband's house that she makes a vow or binds herself under oath to a pledge, ¹² and her husband learns of it yet says nothing to express to her his disapproval, then any vow or any pledge she has made remains valid. ¹³ But if on the day he learns of them her husband annuls them, then whatever she has expressly promised in her vow or in her pledge becomes null and void; since her husband has annulled them, the LORD releases her from them. ¹⁴ Any vow or any pledge that she makes under oath to mortify herself, her husband can either allow to remain valid or render null and void. ¹⁵ But if her husband, day after day, says nothing at all to her about them, he thereby allows as valid any vow or any pledge she has made; he has allowed them to remain valid, because on the day he learned of them he said nothing to her about

151 them. ¹⁶ If, however, he countermands them some time after he first learned of them, he is responsible for her guilt. ¹⁷ These are the statutes which the LORD prescribed through Moses concerning the relationship between a husband and his wife, as well as between a father and his daughter while she is still a maiden in her father's house. Numbers chapter 31 ¹ The LORD said to Moses, ² "Avenge the Israelites on the Midianites, and then you shall be taken to your people." ³ So Moses told the people, "Select men from your midst and arm them for war, to attack the Midianites and execute the LORD'S vengeance on them. ⁴ From each of the tribes of Israel you shall send a band of one thousand men to war." ⁵ From the clans of Israel, therefore, a thousand men of each tribe were levied, so that there were twelve thousand men armed for war. ⁶ Moses sent them out on the campaign, a thousand from each tribe, with Phinehas, son of Eleazar, the priest for the campaign, who had with him the sacred vessels and the trumpets for sounding the alarm. ⁷ They waged war against the Midianites, as the LORD had commanded Moses, and killed every male among them. ⁸ Besides those slain in battle, they killed the five Midianite kings: Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba; and they also executed Balaam, son of Beor, with the sword. ⁹ But the Israelites kept the women of the Midianites with their little ones as captives, and all their herds and flocks and wealth as spoil, ¹⁰ while they set on fire all the towns where they had settled and all their encampments. ¹¹ Then they took all the booty, with the people and beasts they had captured, and brought the captives, together with the spoils and booty, ¹² to Moses and the priest Eleazar and to the Israelite community at their camp on the plains of Moab, along the Jericho stretch of the Jordan. ¹³ When Moses and the priest Eleazar, with all the princes of the community, went outside the camp to meet them, ¹⁴ Moses became angry with the officers of the army, the clan and company commanders, who were returning from combat. ¹⁵ "So you have spared all the women!" he exclaimed. ¹⁶ "Why, they are the very ones who on Balaam's advice prompted the unfaithfulness of the Israelites toward the LORD in the Peor affair, which began the slaughter of the LORD'S community. ¹⁷ Slay, therefore, every male child and every woman who has had intercourse with a man. ¹⁸ But you may spare and keep for yourselves all girls who had no intercourse with a man. ¹⁹ Moreover, you shall stay outside the camp for seven days, and those of you who have slain anyone or touched anyone slain in battle shall purify yourselves on the third and on the seventh day. This applies both to you and to your captives. ²⁰ You shall also purify every article of cloth, leather, goats' hair, or wood." ²¹ Eleazar the priest told the soldiers who had returned from combat: "This is what the law, as prescribed by the LORD to Moses, ordains: ²² Whatever can stand fire, such as gold, silver, bronze, iron, tin, and lead, ²³ you shall put into the fire, that it may become clean; however, it must also be purified with lustral water. But whatever cannot stand fire you shall put into the water. ²⁴ On the seventh day you shall wash your clothes, and then you will again be clean. After that, you may enter the camp." ²⁵ The LORD said to Moses: ²⁶ "With the help of the priest Eleazar and of the heads of the ancestral houses, count up all the human captives and the beasts that have been taken; ²⁷ then divide them evenly, giving half to those who took an active part in the war by going out to combat, and half to the rest of the community. ²⁸ You shall levy a tax for the LORD on the warriors who went out to combat: one out of every five hundred persons, oxen, asses, and sheep in their half of the spoil you shall turn over to the priest Eleazar as a contribution to the LORD.

zar and of the heads of the ancestral houses, count up all the human captives and the beasts that have been taken; ²⁷ then divide them evenly, giving half to those who took an active part in the war by going out to combat, and half to the rest of the community. ²⁸ You shall levy a tax for the LORD on the warriors who went out to combat: one out of every five hundred persons, oxen, asses, and sheep in their half of the spoil you shall turn over to the priest Eleazar as a contribution to the LORD. ³⁰ From the Israelites' half you shall take one out of every fifty persons, and the same from the different beasts, oxen, asses, and sheep, and give them to the Levites, who have charge of the LORD'S Dwelling." ³¹ So Moses and the priest Eleazar did this, as the LORD had commanded Moses. ³² This booty, what was left of the loot which the soldiers had taken, amounted to six hundred and seventy-five thousand sheep, ³³ seventy-two thousand oxen, ³⁴ sixty-one thousand asses, ³⁵ and thirty-two thousand girls who were still

152 virgins. ³⁶ The half that fell to those who had gone out to combat was: three hundred and thirty- seven thousand five hundred sheep, ³⁷ of which six hundred and seventy-five fell as tax to the LORD; ³⁸ thirty-six thousand oxen, of which seventy-two fell as tax to the LORD; ³⁹ thirty thousand five hundred asses, of which sixty-one fell as tax to the LORD; ⁴⁰ and sixteen thousand persons, of whom thirty-two fell as tax to the LORD. ⁴¹ The taxes contributed to the LORD, Moses gave to the priest Eleazar, as the LORD had commanded him. ⁴² The half for the other Israelites, which fell to the community when Moses had taken it from the soldiers, was: ⁴³ three hundred and thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep, ⁴⁴ thirty-six thousand oxen, ⁴⁵ thirty thousand five hundred asses, ⁴⁶ and sixteen thousand persons. ⁴⁷ From this, the Israelites' share, Moses, as the LORD had ordered, took one out of every fifty, both of persons and of beasts, and gave them to the Levites, who had charge of the LORD'S Dwelling. ⁴⁸ Then the officers who had been clan and company commanders of the army came up to Moses ⁴⁹ and said to him, "Your servants have counted up the soldiers under our command, and not one is missing. ⁵⁰ So, to make atonement for ourselves before the LORD, each of us will bring as an offering to the LORD some gold article he has picked up, such as an anklet, a bracelet, a ring, an earring, or a necklace." ⁵¹ Moses and the priest Eleazar accepted this gold from them, all of it in well-wrought articles. ⁵² The gold that they gave as a contribution to the LORD amounted in all to sixteen thousand seven hundred and fifty shekels. This was from the clan and company commanders; ⁵³ what the common soldiers had looted each one kept for himself. ⁵⁴ Moses, then, and the priest Eleazar accepted the gold from the clan and company commanders and put it in the meeting tent as a memorial for the Israelites before the LORD. Numbers chapter 32 ¹ Now the Reubenites and Gadites had a very large number of livestock. Noticing that the land of Jazer and of Gilead was grazing country, ² they came to Moses and the priest Eleazar and to the princes of the community and said, ³ "The region of Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo and Baal-meon, ⁴ which the LORD has laid low before the community of Israel, is grazing country. Now, since your servants have livestock," ⁵ they continued, "if we find favor with you, let this land be given to your servants as their property. Do not make us cross the Jordan." ⁶ But Moses answered the Gadites and Reubenites: "Are your kinsmen, then, to engage in war, while you remain here? ⁷ Why do you wish to discourage the Israelites from crossing to the land the LORD has given them? ⁸ That is just what your fathers did when I sent them from Kadesh- barnea to reconnoiter the land. ⁹ They went up to the Wadi Eshcol and reconnoitered the land, then so discouraged the Israelites that they would not enter the land the LORD had given them. ¹⁰ At that time the wrath of the LORD flared up, and he swore, ¹¹ 'Because they have not followed me unreservedly, none of these men of twenty years or more who have come up from Egypt shall ever see this country I promised under oath to Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, ¹² except the Kenizzite Caleb, son of Jephunneh, and Joshua, son of Nun, who have followed the LORD unreservedly.' ¹³ So in his anger with the Israelites the LORD made them wander in the desert forty years, until the whole generation that had done evil in the sight of the LORD had died out. ¹⁴ And now here you are, a brood of sinners, rising up in your fathers' place to add still more to the LORD'S blazing wrath against the Israelites.

ountry I promised under oath to Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, ¹² except the Kenizzite Caleb, son of Jephunneh, and Joshua, son of Nun, who have followed the LORD unreservedly.' ¹³ So in his anger with the Israelites the LORD made them wander in the desert forty years, until the whole generation that had done evil in the sight of the LORD had died out. ¹⁴ And now here you are, a brood of sinners, rising up in your fathers' place to add still more to the LORD'S blazing wrath against the Israelites. ¹⁵ If you turn away from following him, he will make them stay still longer in the desert, and so you will bring about the ruin of this whole nation." ¹⁶ But they were insistent with him: "We wish only to build sheepfolds here for our flocks, and towns for our families; ¹⁷ but we ourselves will march as troops in the van of the Israelites, until we have led them to their destination. Meanwhile, our families can remain here in the fortified towns, safe from attack by the natives. ¹⁸ We will not return to our homes until every one of the Israelites has taken possession of his heritage, ¹⁹ and will not claim any heritage with them once

153 we cross the Jordan, so long as we receive a heritage for ourselves on this eastern side of the Jordan." ²⁰ Moses said to them in reply: "If you keep your word to march as troops in the LORD'S vanguard ²¹ and to cross the Jordan in full force before the LORD until he has driven his enemies out of his way ²² and the land is subdued before him, then you may return here, quit of every obligation to the LORD and to Israel, and this region shall be your possession before the LORD. ²³ But if you do not do this, you will sin against the LORD, and you can be sure that you will not escape the consequences of your sin. ²⁴ Build the towns, then, for your families, and the folds for your flocks, but also fulfill your express promise." ²⁵ The Gadites and Reubenites answered Moses, "Your servants will do as you command, my lord. ²⁶ While our wives and children, our herds and other livestock remain in the towns of Gilead, ²⁷ all your servants will go across as armed troops to battle before the LORD, just as your lordship says." ²⁸ Moses, therefore, gave this order in their regard to the priest Eleazar, to Joshua, son of Nun, and to the heads of the ancestral tribes of the Israelites: ²⁹ "If all the Gadites and Reubenites cross the Jordan with you as combat troops before the LORD, you shall give them Gilead as their property when the land has been subdued before you. ³⁰ But if they will not go across with you as combat troops before the LORD, you shall bring their wives and children and livestock across before you into Canaan, and they shall have their property with you in the land of Canaan." ³¹ To this, the Gadites and Reubenites replied, "We will do what the LORD has commanded us, your servants. ³² We ourselves will go across into the land of Canaan as troops before the LORD, but we will retain our hereditary property on this side of the Jordan." ³³ So Moses gave them (the Gadites and Reubenites, as well as half the tribe of Manasseh, son of Joseph, the kingdom of Sihon, king of the Amorites, and the kingdom of Og, king of Bashan,) the land with its towns and the districts that surrounded them. ³⁴ The Gadites rebuilt the fortified towns of Dibon, Ataroth, Aroer, ³⁵ Atroth-shophan, Jazer, Jogbehah, ³⁶ Beth-nimrah and Beth-haran, and they built sheepfolds. ³⁷ The Reubenites rebuilt Heshbon, Elealeh, Kiriathaim, ³⁸ Nebo, Baal-meon (names to be changed!), and Sibmah. These towns, which they rebuilt, they called by their old names. ³⁹ The descendants of Machir, son of Manasseh, invaded Gilead and captured it, driving out the Amorites who were there. ⁴⁰ (Moses gave Gilead to Machir, son of Manasseh, and he settled there.) ⁴¹ Jair, a Manassehite clan, campaigned against the tent villages, captured them, and called them Havvoth-jair. ⁴² Nobah also campaigned against Kenath, captured it with its dependencies, and called it Nobah after his own name. Numbers chapter 33 ¹ The following are the stages by which the Israelites journeyed up by companies from the land of Egypt under the guidance of Moses and Aaron. ² By the LORD'S command Moses recorded the starting places of the various stages. The starting places of the successive stages were: ³ They set out from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month. On the Passover morrow the Israelites went forth in triumph, in view of all Egypt, ⁴ while the Egyptians buried their first-born all of whom the LORD had struck down; on their gods, too, the LORD executed judgments. ⁵ Setting out from Rameses, the Israelites camped at Succoth. ⁶ Setting out from Succoth, they camped at Etham near the edge of the desert. ⁷ Setting out from Etham, they turned back to Pi-hahiroth, which is opposite Baal-zephon, and they camped opposite Migdol. ⁸ Setting out from Pi-hahiroth, they crossed over through the sea into the desert, and after a three days' journey in the desert of Etham, they camped at Marah.

m the LORD had struck down; on their gods, too, the LORD executed judgments. ⁵ Setting out from Rameses, the Israelites camped at Succoth. ⁶ Setting out from Succoth, they camped at Etham near the edge of the desert. ⁷ Setting out from Etham, they turned back to Pi-hahiroth, which is opposite Baal-zephon, and they camped opposite Migdol. ⁸ Setting out from Pi-hahiroth, they crossed over through the sea into the desert, and after a three days' journey in the desert of Etham, they camped at Marah. ⁹ Setting out from Marah, they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees, and they camped there. ¹⁰ Setting out from Elim, they camped beside the Red Sea. ¹¹ Setting out from the Red Sea, they camped in the desert of Sin. ¹² Setting out from the desert of Sin, they camped at Dophkah. ¹³ Setting out from Dophkah, they camped at Alush. ¹⁴ Setting out from Alush, they camped at Rephidim, where there was no water for the people to drink. ¹⁵ Setting out from Rephidim, they

154 camped in the desert of Sinai. ¹⁶ Setting out from the desert of Sinai, they camped at Kibroth- hattaavah. ¹⁷ Setting out from Kibroth-hattaavah, they camped at Hazeroth. ¹⁸ Setting out from Hazeroth, they camped at Rithmah. ¹⁹ Setting out from Rithmah, they camped at Rimmon-perez. ²⁰ Setting out from Rimmon-perez, they camped at Libnah. ²¹ Setting out from Libnah, they camped at Rissah. ²² Setting out from Rissah, they camped at Kehelathah. ²³ Setting out from Kehelathah, they camped at Mount Shepher. ²⁴ Setting out from Mount Shepher, they camped at Haradah. ²⁵ Setting out from Haradah, they camped at Makheloth. ²⁶ Setting out from Makheloth, they camped at Tahath. ²⁷ Setting out from Tahath, they camped at Terah. ²⁸ Setting out from Terah, they camped at Mithkah. ²⁹ Setting out from Mithkah, they camped at Hashmonah. ³⁰ Setting out from Hashmonah, they camped at Moseroth. ³¹ Setting out from Moseroth, they camped at Bene-jaakan. ³² Setting out from Bene-jaakan, they camped at Mount Gidgad. ³³ Setting out from Mount Gidgad, they camped at Jotbathah. ³⁴ Setting out from Jotbathah, they camped at Abronah. ³⁵ Setting out from Abronah, they camped at Ezion-geber. ³⁶ Setting out from Ezion-geber, they camped in the desert of Zin, at Kadesh. ³⁷ Setting out from Kadesh, they camped at Mount Hor on the border of the land of Edom. ³⁸ (Aaron the priest ascended Mount Hor at the LORD'S command, and there he died in the fortieth year from the departure of the Israelites from the land of Egypt, on the first day of the fifth month. ³⁹ Aaron was a hundred and twenty-three years old when he died on Mount Hor. ⁴⁰ Now, when the Canaanite king of Arad, who lived in the Negeb in the land of Canaan, heard that the Israelites were coming...) ⁴¹ Setting out from Mount Hor, they camped at Zalmonah. ⁴² Setting out from Zalmonah, they camped at Punon. ⁴³ Setting out from Punon, they camped at Oboth. ⁴⁴ Setting out from Oboth, they camped at Iye-abarim on the border of Moab. ⁴⁵ Setting out from Iye-abarim, they camped at Dibon-gad. ⁴⁶ Setting out from Dibon-gad, they camped at Almon-diblathaim. ⁴⁷ Setting out from Almon-diblathaim, they camped in the Abarim Mountains opposite Nebo. ⁴⁸ Setting out from the Abarim Mountains, they camped on the plains of Moab along the Jericho stretch of the Jordan. ⁴⁹ Their camp along the Jordan on the plains of Moab extended from Beth-jeshimoth to Abelshittim. ⁵⁰ The LORD spoke to Moses on the plains of Moab beside the Jericho stretch of the Jordan and said to him: ⁵¹ "Tell the Israelites: When you go across the Jordan into the land of Canaan, ⁵² drive out all the inhabitants of the land before you; destroy all their stone figures and molten images and demolish all their high places. ⁵³ You shall take possession of the land and settle in it, for I have given you the land as your property. ⁵⁴ You shall apportion the land among yourselves by lot, clan by clan, assigning a large heritage to a large group and a small heritage to a small group. Wherever anyone's lot falls, there shall his property be within the heritage of his ancestral tribe. ⁵⁵ But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land before you, those whom you allow to remain will become as barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides, and they will harass you in the country where you live, ⁵⁶ and I will treat you as I had intended to treat them." Numbers chapter 34 ¹ The LORD said to Moses, ² "Give the Israelites this order: When you enter the land of Canaan, this is the territory that shall fall to you as your heritage - the land of Canaan with its boundaries: ³ Your southern boundary shall be at the desert of Zin along the border of Edom; on the east it shall begin at the end of the Salt Sea, ⁴ and turning south of the Akrabbim Pass, it shall cross Zin, and extend south of Kadesh-barnea to Hazar-addar; thence it shall cross to Azmon, ⁵ and turning from Azmon to the Wadi of Egypt, shall terminate at the Sea.

order: When you enter the land of Canaan, this is the territory that shall fall to you as your heritage - the land of Canaan with its boundaries: ³ Your southern boundary shall be at the desert of Zin along the border of Edom; on the east it shall begin at the end of the Salt Sea, ⁴ and turning south of the Akrabbim Pass, it shall cross Zin, and extend south of Kadesh-barnea to Hazar-addar; thence it shall cross to Azmon, ⁵ and turning from Azmon to the Wadi of Egypt, shall terminate at the Sea. ⁶ For your western boundary you shall have the Great Sea with its coast; this shall be your western boundary. ⁷ The following shall be your boundary on the north: from the Great Sea you shall draw a line to Mount Hor, ⁸ and shall continue it from Mount Hor to Labo in the land of Hamath, with the boundary extending through Zedad. ⁹ Thence the boundary shall reach to Ziphron and terminate at Hazar-enan. This shall be

155 your northern boundary. ¹⁰ For your eastern boundary you shall draw a line from Hazar-enan to Shepham. ¹¹ From Shepham the boundary shall go down to Ar-Baal, east of Ain, and descending further, shall strike the ridge on the east side of the Sea of Chinnereth; ¹² thence the boundary shall continue along the Jordan and terminate with the Salt Sea. This is the land that shall be yours, with the boundaries that surround it."¹³ Moses also gave this order to the Israelites: "This is the land, to be apportioned among you by lot, which the LORD has commanded to be given to the nine and one-half tribes. ¹⁴ For all the ancestral houses of the tribe of Reuben, and the ancestral houses of the tribe of Gad, as well as half of the tribe of Manasseh, have already received their heritage; ¹⁵ these two and one-half tribes have received their heritage on the eastern side of the Jericho stretch of the Jordan, toward the sunrise." ¹⁶ The LORD said to Moses, ¹⁷ "These are the names of the men who shall apportion the land among you: Eleazar the priest, and Joshua, son of Nun, ¹⁸ and one prince from each of the tribes whom you shall designate for this task. ¹⁹ These shall be as follows: from the tribe of Judah: Caleb, son of Jephunneh; ²⁰ from the tribe of Simeon: Samuel, son of Ammihud; ²¹ from the tribe of Benjamin: Elidad, son of Chislon; ²² from the tribe of Dan: Bukki, son of Jogli; ²³ from the tribe of Manasseh: Hanniel, son of Ephod; ²⁴ from the tribe of Ephraim: Kemuel, son of Shiphtan, for the descendants of Joseph; ²⁵ from the tribe of Zebulun: Elizaphan, son of Parnach; ²⁶ from the tribe of Issachar: Paltiel, son of Azzan; ²⁷ from the tribe of Asher: Ahihud, son of Shelomi; ²⁸ from the tribe of Naphtali: Pedahel, son of Ammihud." ²⁹ These are they whom the LORD commanded to assign the Israelites their heritage in the land of Canaan. Numbers chapter 35 ¹ The LORD gave these instructions to Moses on the plains of Moab beside the Jericho stretch of the Jordan: ² "Tell the Israelites that out of their hereditary property they shall give the Levites cities for homes, as well as pasture lands around the cities. ³ The cities shall serve them to dwell in, and the pasture lands shall serve their herds and flocks and other animals. ⁴ The pasture lands of the cities to be assigned the Levites shall extend a thousand cubits from the city walls in each direction. ⁵ Thus you shall measure out two thousand cubits outside the city along each side—east, south, west and north—with the city lying in the center. This shall serve them as the pasture lands of their cities. ⁶ "Now these are the cities you shall give to the Levites: the six cities of asylum which you must establish as places where a homicide can take refuge, and in addition forty-two other cities—a total of forty-eight cities with their pasture lands to be assigned the Levites. ⁷ In assigning the cities from the property of the Israelites, take more from a larger group and fewer from a smaller one, so that each group will cede cities to the Levites in proportion to its own heritage." ⁸ The LORD said to Moses, ⁹ "Tell the Israelites: When you go across the Jordan into the land of Canaan, ¹⁰ select for yourselves cities to serve as cities of asylum, where a homicide who has killed someone unintentionally may take refuge. ¹¹ These cities shall serve you as places of asylum from the avenger of blood, so that a homicide shall not be put to death unless he is first tried before the community. ¹² Six cities of asylum shall you assign: ¹³ three beyond the Jordan, and three in the land of Canaan. ¹⁴ These six cities of asylum shall serve not only the Israelites but all the resident or transient aliens among them, so that anyone who has killed another unintentionally may take refuge there. ¹⁵ "If a man strikes another with an iron instrument and causes his death, he is a murderer and shall be put to death.

homicide shall not be put to death unless he is first tried before the community. ¹² Six cities of asylum shall you assign: ¹³ three beyond the Jordan, and three in the land of Canaan. ¹⁴ These six cities of asylum shall serve not only the Israelites but all the resident or transient aliens among them, so that anyone who has killed another unintentionally may take refuge there. ¹⁵ "If a man strikes another with an iron instrument and causes his death, he is a murderer and shall be put to death. ¹⁶ If a man strikes another with a death-dealing stone in his hand and causes his death, he is a murderer and shall be put to death. ¹⁷ If a man strikes another with a death-dealing club in his hand and causes his death, he is a murderer and shall be put to death. ¹⁸ The avenger of blood may execute the murderer, putting him to death on sight. ¹⁹ "If a man pushes another out of hatred, or after lying in wait for him throws something at him, and causes his death, ²⁰ or if he strikes another out of enmity and causes his death, he shall be put to

156 death as a murderer. The avenger of blood may execute the murderer on sight. ²¹ "However, if a man pushes another accidentally and not out of enmity, or if without lying in wait for him he throws some object at him, ²² or without seeing him throws a death-dealing stone which strikes him and causes his death, although he was not his enemy nor seeking to harm him: ²³ then the community, deciding the case between the slayer and the avenger of blood in accordance with these norms, ²⁴ shall free the homicide from the avenger of blood and shall remand him to the city of asylum where he took refuge; and he shall stay there until the death of the high priest who has been anointed with sacred oil. ²⁵ If the homicide of his own accord leaves the bounds of the city of asylum where he has taken refuge, ²⁶ and the avenger of blood finds him beyond these bounds and kills him, the avenger incurs no bloodguilt; ²⁷ the homicide was bound to stay in his city of asylum until the death of the high priest. Only after the death of the high priest may the homicide return to his own district. ²⁸ "These shall be norms for you and all your descendants, wherever you live, for rendering judgment. ²⁹ "Whenever someone kills another, the evidence of witnesses is required for the execution of the murderer. The evidence of a single witness is not sufficient for putting a person to death. ³⁰ "You shall not accept indemnity in place of the life of a murderer who deserves the death penalty; he must be put to death. ³¹ Nor shall you accept indemnity to allow a refugee to leave his city of asylum and again dwell elsewhere in the land before the death of the high priest. ³² You shall not desecrate the land where you live. Since bloodshed desecrates the land, the land can have no atonement for the blood shed on it except through the blood of him who shed it. ³³ Do not defile the land in which you live and in the midst of which I dwell; for I am the LORD who dwells in the midst of the Israelites." Numbers chapter 36 ¹ The heads of the ancestral houses in the clan of descendants of Gilead, son of Machir, son of Manasseh—one of the Josephite clans—came up and laid this plea before Moses and the priest Eleazar and before the princes who were the heads of the ancestral houses of the other Israelites. ² They said: "The LORD commanded you, my lord, to apportion the land by lot among the Israelites; and you, my lord, were also commanded by the LORD to give the heritage of our kinsman Zelophehad to his daughters. ³ But if they marry into one of the other Israelite tribes, their heritage will be withdrawn from our ancestral heritage and will be added to that of the tribe into which they marry; thus the heritage that fell to us by lot will be diminished. ⁴ When the Israelites celebrate the jubilee year, the heritage of these women will be permanently added to that of the tribe into which they marry and will be withdrawn from that of our ancestral tribe." ⁵ So Moses gave this regulation to the Israelites according to the instructions of the LORD: "The tribe of the Josephites are right in what they say. ⁶ This is what the LORD commands with regard to the daughters of Zelophehad: They may marry anyone they please, provided they marry into a clan of their ancestral tribe, ⁷ so that no heritage of the Israelites will pass from one tribe to another, but all the Israelites will retain their own ancestral heritage. ⁸ Therefore, every daughter who inherits property in any of the Israelite tribes shall marry someone belonging to a clan of her own ancestral tribe, in order that all the Israelites may remain in possession of their own ancestral heritage. ⁹ Thus, no heritage can pass from one tribe to another, but all the Israelite tribes will retain their own ancestral heritage." ¹⁰ The daughters of Zelophehad obeyed the command which the LORD had given to Moses.

lites will retain their own ancestral heritage. ⁸ Therefore, every daughter who inherits property in any of the Israelite tribes shall marry someone belonging to a clan of her own ancestral tribe, in order that all the Israelites may remain in possession of their own ancestral heritage. ⁹ Thus, no heritage can pass from one tribe to another, but all the Israelite tribes will retain their own ancestral heritage." ¹⁰ The daughters of Zelophehad obeyed the command which the LORD had given to Moses. ¹¹ Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah and Noah, Zelophehad's daughters, married relatives on their father's side ¹² within the clans of the descendants of Manasseh, son of Joseph; hence their heritage remained in the tribe of their father's clan. ¹³ These are the commandments and decisions which the LORD prescribed for the Israelites through Moses, on the plains of Moab beside the Jericho stretch of the Jordan.

157 Deuteronomy Deuteronomy Chapter 1 ¹These are the words which Moses spoke to all Israel beyond the Jordan, in the desert, in the Arabah, opposite Suph, between Paran and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Dizahab.²It is a journey of eleven days from Horeb to Kadesh-barnea by way of the highlands of Seir.³In the fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses spoke to the Israelites all the commands that the LORD had given him in their regard.⁴After he had defeated Sihon, king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon, and Og, king of Bashan, who lived in Ashtaroth and in Edrei,⁵Moses began to explain the law in the land of Moab beyond the Jordan, as follows:⁶"The LORD, our God, said to us at Horeb, 'You have stayed long enough at this mountain.⁷Leave here and go to the hill country of the Amorites and to all the surrounding regions, the land of the Canaanites in the Arabah, the mountains, the foothills, the Negeb, and the seacoast; to Lebanon, and as far as the Great River, the Euphrates.⁸I have given that land over to you. Go now and occupy the land I swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, I would give to them and to their descendants.'⁹At that time I said to you, 'Alone, I am unable to carry you.¹⁰The LORD, your God, has so multiplied you that you are now as numerous as the stars in the sky.¹¹May the LORD, the God of your fathers, increase you a thousand times over, and bless you as he promised!¹²But how can I alone bear the crushing burden that you are, along with your bickering?¹³Choose wise, intelligent, and experienced men from each of your tribes, that I may appoint them as your leaders.'¹⁴You answered me, 'We agree to do as you have proposed.'¹⁵So I took outstanding men of your tribes, wise and experienced, and made them your leaders as officials over thousands, over hundreds, over fifties, and over tens, and other tribal officers.¹⁶I charged your judges at that time, 'Listen to complaints among your kinsmen, and administer true justice to both parties even if one of them is an alien.¹⁷In rendering judgment, do not consider who a person is; give ear to the lowly and to the great alike, fearing no man, for judgment is God's. Refer to me any case that is too hard for you and I will hear it.'¹⁸Thereupon I gave you all the commands you were to fulfill.¹⁹Then, in obedience to the command of the LORD, our God, we set out from Horeb and journeyed through the whole desert, vast and fearful as you have seen, in the direction of the hill country of the Amorites. We had reached Kadesh-barnea²⁰when I said to you, 'You have come to the hill country of the Amorites, which the LORD, our God, is giving us.²¹The LORD, your God, has given this land over to you. Go up and occupy it, as the LORD, the God of your fathers, commands you. Do not fear or lose heart.'²²Then all of you came up to me and said, 'Let us send men ahead to reconnoiter the land for us and report to us on the road we must follow and the cities we must take.'²³Agreeing with the proposal, I chose twelve men from your number, one from each tribe.²⁴They set out into the hill country as far as the Wadi Eshcol, and explored it.²⁵Then, taking along some of the fruit of the land, they brought it down to us and reported, 'The land which the LORD, our God, gives us is good.'²⁶But you refused to go up, and after defying the command of the LORD, your God,²⁷you set to murmuring in your tents, 'Out of hatred for us the LORD has brought us up out of the land of Egypt, to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites and destroy us.²⁸What shall we meet with up there?

into the hill country as far as the Wadi Eshcol, and explored it.²⁵Then, taking along some of the fruit of the land, they brought it down to us and reported, 'The land which the LORD, our God, gives us is good.'²⁶But you refused to go up, and after defying the command of the LORD, your God,²⁷you set to murmuring in your tents, 'Out of hatred for us the LORD has brought us up out of the land of Egypt, to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites and destroy us.²⁸What shall we meet with up there? Our kinsmen have made us fainthearted by reporting that the people are stronger and taller than we, and their cities are large and fortified to the sky; besides, they saw the Anakim there.'²⁹But I said to you, 'Have no dread or fear of them.³⁰The LORD, your God, who goes before you, will himself fight for you, just as he took your part before your very eyes in Egypt,³¹as well as in the desert, where you saw how the LORD, your God, carried you, as a man carries his child, all along your journey until you arrived at this place.'³²Despite this, you would not trust the LORD, your God,³³who journeys before you to find you a resting place—by day in the cloud, and by night

158 in the fire, to show the way you must go.³⁴When the LORD heard your words, he was angry;³⁵and he swore, 'Not one man of this evil generation shall look upon the good land I swore to give to your fathers,³⁶except Caleb, son of Jephunneh; he shall see it. For to him and to his sons I will give the land he trod upon, because he has followed the LORD unreservedly.'³⁷The LORD was angered against me also on your account, and said, 'Not even you shall enter there, ³⁸ but your aide Joshua, son of Nun, shall enter. Encourage him, for he is to give Israel its heritage.³⁹Your little ones, who you said would become booty, and your children, who as yet do not know good from bad—they shall enter; to them I will give it, and they shall occupy it.⁴⁰But as for yourselves: turn about and proceed into the desert on the Red Sea road.'⁴¹In reply you said to me, 'We have sinned against the LORD. We will go up ourselves and fight, just as the LORD, our God, commanded us.' And each of you girded on his weapons, making light of going up into the hill country. ⁴² But the LORD said to me, 'Warn them: Do not go up and fight, lest you be beaten down before your enemies, for I will not be in your midst.'⁴³I gave you this warning but you would not listen. In defiance of the LORD'S command you arrogantly marched off into the hill country.⁴⁴Then the Amorites living there came out against you and, like bees, chased you, cutting you down in Seir as far as Hormah.⁴⁵On your return you wept before the LORD, but he did not listen to your cry or give ear to you.⁴⁶That is why you had to stay as long as you did at Kadesh. Deuteronomy Chapter 2 ¹"When we did turn and proceed into the desert on the Red Sea road, as the LORD had commanded me, we circled around the highlands of Seir for a long time.²Finally the LORD said to me,³'You have wandered round these highlands long enough; turn and go north.⁴Give this order to the people: You are now about to pass through the territory of your kinsmen, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. Though they are afraid of you, be very careful⁵not to come in conflict with them, for I will not give you so much as a foot of their land, since I have already given Esau possession of the highlands of Seir.⁶You shall purchase from them with silver the food you eat and the well water you drink.⁷The LORD, your God, has blessed you in all your undertakings; he has been concerned about your journey through this vast desert. It is now forty years that he has been with you, and you have never been in want.'⁸Then we left behind us the Arabah route, Elath, Ezion-geber, and Seir, where our kinsmen, the descendants of Esau, live; and we went on toward the desert of Moab.⁹And the LORD said to me, 'Do not show hostility to the Moabites or engage them in battle, for I will not give you possession of any of their land, since I have given Ar to the descendants of Lot as their own.¹⁰(Formerly the Emim lived there, a people strong and numerous and tall like the Anakim;¹¹like them they were considered Rephaim.

Then we left behind us the Arabah route, Elath, Ezion-geber, and Seir, where our kinsmen, the descendants of Esau, live; and we went on toward the desert of Moab.⁹And the LORD said to me, 'Do not show hostility to the Moabites or engage them in battle, for I will not give you possession of any of their land, since I have given Ar to the descendants of Lot as their own.¹⁰(Formerly the Emim lived there, a people strong and numerous and tall like the Anakim;¹¹like them they were considered Rephaim. It was the Moabites who called them Emim.¹²In Seir, however, the former inhabitants were the Horites; the descendants of Esau dispossessed them, clearing them out of the way and taking their place, just as the Israelites have done in the land of their heritage which the LORD has given them.)¹³Get ready, then, to cross the Wadi Zered.' So we crossed it.¹⁴Thirty-eight years had elapsed between our departure from Kadesh-barnea and that crossing; in the meantime the whole generation of soldiers had perished from the camp, as the LORD had sworn they should.¹⁵For it was the LORD'S hand that was against them, till he wiped them out of the camp completely.¹⁶When at length death had put an end to all the soldiers among the people,¹⁷the LORD said to me,¹⁸'You are now about to leave Ar and the territory of Moab behind.¹⁹As you come opposite the Ammonites, do not show hostility or come in conflict with them, for I will not give you possession of any land of the Ammonites, since I have given it to the descendants of Lot as their own.²⁰(This also was considered a country of the Rephaim from its former inhabitants, whom the Ammonites called Zamzummim,²¹a people strong and numerous and tall like the Anakim. But these, too, the LORD cleared out of the way for the Ammonites, who ousted them and took their place.²²He had done

159 the same for the descendants of Esau, who dwell in Seir, by clearing the Horites out of their way, so that the descendants of Esau have taken their place down to the present.²³So also the Caphtorim, migrating from Caphtor, cleared away the Avvim, who once dwelt in villages as far as Gaza, and took their place.)²⁴Advance now across the Wadi Arnon. I now deliver into your hands Sihon, the Amorite king of Heshbon, and his land. Begin the occupation; engage him in battle.²⁵This day I will begin to put a fear and dread of you into every nation under the heavens, so that at the mention of your name they will quake and tremble before you.'²⁶So I sent messengers from the desert of Kedemoth to Sihon, king of Heshbon, with this offer of peace:²⁷'Let me pass through your country by the highway; I will go along it without turning aside to the right or to the left.²⁸For the food I eat which you will supply, and for the water you give me to drink, you shall be paid in silver. Only let me march through,²⁹as the descendants of Esau who dwell in Seir and the Moabites who dwell in Ar have done, until I cross the Jordan into the land which the LORD, our God, is about to give us.'³⁰But Sihon, king of Heshbon, refused to let us pass through his land, because the LORD, your God, made him stubborn in mind and obstinate in heart that he might deliver him up to you, as indeed he has now done.³¹Then the LORD said to me, 'Now that I have already begun to hand over to you Sihon and his land, begin the actual occupation.'³²So Sihon and all his people advanced against us to join battle at Jahaz;³³but since the LORD, our God, had delivered him to us, we defeated him and his sons and all his people.³⁴At that time we seized all his cities and doomed them all, with their men, women, and children; we left no survivor.³⁵Our only booty was the livestock and the loot of the captured cities.³⁶From Aroer on the edge of the Wadi Arnon and from the city in the wadi itself, as far as Gilead, no city was too well fortified for us to whom the LORD had delivered them up.³⁷However, in obedience to the command of the LORD, our God, you did not encroach upon any of the Ammonite land, neither the region bordering on the Wadi Jabbok nor the cities of the highlands. Deuteronomy Chapter 3 ¹"Then we turned and proceeded toward Bashan. But Og, king of Bashan, advanced against us with all his people to give battle at Edrei.²The LORD, however, said to me, 'Do not be afraid of him, for I have delivered him into your hand with all his people and his land. Do to him as you did to Sihon, king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon.'³And thus the LORD, our God, delivered into our hands Og, king of Bashan, with all his people. We defeated him so completely that we left him no survivor.⁴At that time we captured all his cities, none of them eluding our grasp, the whole region of Argob, the kingdom of Og in Bashan: sixty cities in all,⁵to say nothing of the great number of unwalled towns. All the cities were fortified with high walls and gates and bars.⁶As we had done to Sihon, king of Heshbon, so also here we doomed all the cities, with their men, women, and children;⁷but all the livestock and the loot of each city we took as booty for ourselves.⁸And so at that time we took from the two kings of the Amorites beyond the Jordan the territory from the Wadi Arnon to Mount Hermon⁹(which is called Sirion by the Sidonians and Senir by the Amorites),¹⁰comprising all the cities of the plateau and all Gilead and all the cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan including Salecah and Edrei.¹¹(Og, king of Bashan, was the last remaining survivor of the Rephaim.

and children;⁷but all the livestock and the loot of each city we took as booty for ourselves.⁸And so at that time we took from the two kings of the Amorites beyond the Jordan the territory from the Wadi Arnon to Mount Hermon⁹(which is called Sirion by the Sidonians and Senir by the Amorites),¹⁰comprising all the cities of the plateau and all Gilead and all the cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan including Salecah and Edrei.¹¹(Og, king of Bashan, was the last remaining survivor of the Rephaim. He had a bed of iron, nine regular cubits long and four wide, which is still preserved in Rabbah of the Ammonites.)¹²When we occupied the land at that time, I gave Reuben and Gad the territory from Aroer, on the edge of the Wadi Arnon, halfway up into the highlands of Gilead, with the cities therein.¹³The rest of Gilead and all of Bashan, the kingdom of Og, the whole Argob region, I gave to the half-tribe of Manasseh. (All this region of Bashan was once called a land of the Rephaim.¹⁴Jair, a Manassehite clan, took all the region of Argob as far as the border of the Geshurites and Maacathites, and called it after his own name Bashan Havvoth- jair, the name it bears today.)¹⁵To Machir I gave Gilead,¹⁶and to Reuben and Gad the territory

160 from Gilead to the Wadi Arnon - including the wadi bed and its banks - and to the Wadi Jabbok, which is the border of the Ammonites,¹⁷as well as the Arabah with the Jordan and its eastern banks from Chinnereth to the Salt Sea of the Arabah, under the slopes of Pisgah.¹⁸At that time I charged them as follows 'The LORD, your God, has given you this land as your own. But all you troops equipped for battle must cross over in the vanguard of your brother Israelites.¹⁹Only your wives and children, as well as your livestock, of which I know you have a large number, shall remain behind in the towns I have given you,²⁰until the LORD has settled your kinsmen as well, and they too possess the land which the LORD, your God, will give them on the other side of the Jordan. Then you may all return to the possessions I have given you.'²¹It was then that I instructed Joshua, 'Your eyes have seen all that the LORD, your God, has done to both these kings; so, too, will the LORD do to all the kingdoms which you will encounter over there.²²Fear them not, for the LORD, your God, will fight for you.'²³And it was then that I besought the LORD,²⁴'O Lord GOD, you have begun to show to your servant your greatness and might. For what god in heaven or on earth can perform deeds as mighty as yours?²⁵Ah, let me cross over and see this good land beyond the Jordan, this fine hill country, and the Lebanon!'²⁶But the LORD was angry with me on your account and would not hear me. 'Enough!' the LORD said to me. 'Speak to me no more of this.²⁷Go up to the top of Pisgah and look out to the west, and to the north, and to the south, and to the east. Look well, for you shall not cross this Jordan.²⁸Commission Joshua, and encourage and strengthen him, for he shall cross at the head of this people and shall put them in possession of the land you are to see.'²⁹This was while we were in the ravine opposite Beth-peor." Deuteronomy Chapter 4 ¹"Now, Israel, hear the statutes and decrees which I am teaching you to observe, that you may live, and may enter in and take possession of the land which the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you. ²In your observance of the commandments of the LORD, your God, which I enjoin upon you, you shall not add to what I command you nor subtract from it. ³You have seen with your own eyes what the LORD did at Baal-peor: the LORD, your God, destroyed from your midst everyone that followed the Baal of Peor; ⁴but you, who clung to the LORD, your God, are all alive today. ⁵Therefore, I teach you the statutes and decrees as the LORD, my God, has commanded me, that you may observe them in the land you are entering to occupy. ⁶Observe them carefully, for thus will you give evidence of your wisdom and intelligence to the nations, who will hear of all these statutes and say, 'This great nation is truly a wise and intelligent people.' ⁷For what great nation is there that has gods so close to it as the LORD, our God, is to us whenever we call upon him? ⁸Or what great nation has statutes and decrees that are as just as this whole law which I am setting before you today? ⁹"However, take care and be earnestly on your guard not to forget the things which your own eyes have seen, nor let them slip from your memory as long as you live, but teach them to your children and to your children's children. ¹⁰There was the day on which you stood before the LORD, your God, at Horeb, and he said to me, 'Assemble the people for me; I will have them hear my words, that they may learn to fear me as long as they live in the land and may so teach their children.' ¹¹You came near and stood at the foot of the mountain, which blazed to the very sky with fire and was enveloped in a dense black cloud. ¹²Then the LORD spoke to you from the midst of the fire. You heard the sound of the words, but saw no form; there was only a voice. ¹³He proclaimed to you his covenant, which he commanded you to keep: the ten commandments, which he wrote on two tablets of stone.

ds, that they may learn to fear me as long as they live in the land and may so teach their children.' ¹¹You came near and stood at the foot of the mountain, which blazed to the very sky with fire and was enveloped in a dense black cloud. ¹²Then the LORD spoke to you from the midst of the fire. You heard the sound of the words, but saw no form; there was only a voice. ¹³He proclaimed to you his covenant, which he commanded you to keep: the ten commandments, which he wrote on two tablets of stone. ¹⁴The LORD charged me at that time to teach you the statutes and decrees which you are to observe over in the land you will occupy. ¹⁵You saw no form at all on the day the LORD spoke to you at Horeb from the midst of the fire. Be strictly on your guard, therefore, ¹⁶not to degrade yourselves by fashioning an idol to represent any figure, whether it be the form of a man or a woman, ¹⁷of any animal on the earth or of any bird that flies

161 in the sky, ¹⁸of anything that crawls on the ground or of any fish in the waters under the earth. ¹⁹And when you look up to the heavens and behold the sun or the moon or any star among the heavenly hosts, do not be led astray into adoring them and serving them. These the LORD, your God, has let fall to the lot of all other nations under the heavens; ²⁰but you he has taken and led out of that iron foundry, Egypt, that you might be his very own people, as you are today. ²¹Since the LORD was angered against me on your account and swore that I should not cross the Jordan nor enter the good land which he is giving you as a heritage, ²²I myself shall die in this country without crossing the Jordan; but you will cross over and take possession of that good land. ²³Take heed, therefore, lest, forgetting the covenant which the LORD, your God, has made with you, you fashion for yourselves against his command an idol in any form whatsoever. ²⁴For the LORD, your God, is a consuming fire, a jealous God. ²⁵"When you have children and grandchildren, and have grown old in the land, should you then degrade yourselves by fashioning an idol in any form and by this evil done in his sight provoke the LORD, your God, ²⁶I call heaven and earth this day to witness against you, that you shall all quickly perish from the land which you will occupy when you cross the Jordan. You shall not live in it for any length of time but shall be promptly wiped out. ²⁷The LORD will scatter you among the nations, and there shall remain but a handful of you among the nations to which the LORD will lead you. ²⁸There you shall serve gods fashioned by the hands of man out of wood and stone, gods which can neither see nor hear, neither eat nor smell. ²⁹Yet there too you shall seek the LORD, your God; and you shall indeed find him when you search after him with your whole heart and your whole soul. ³⁰In your distress, when all these things shall have come upon you, you shall finally return to the LORD, your God, and heed his voice. ³¹Since the LORD, your God, is a merciful God, he will not abandon and destroy you, nor forget the covenant which under oath he made with your fathers. ³²"Ask now of the days of old, before your time, ever since God created man upon the earth; ask from one end of the sky to the other: Did anything so great ever happen before? Was it ever heard of? ³³Did a people ever hear the voice of God speaking from the midst of fire, as you did, and live? ³⁴Or did any god venture to go and take a nation for himself from the midst of another nation, by testings, by signs and wonders, by war, with his strong hand and outstretched arm, and by great terrors, all of which the LORD, your God, did for you in Egypt before your very eyes? ³⁵All this you were allowed to see that you might know the LORD is God and there is no other. ³⁶Out of the heavens he let you hear his voice to discipline you; on earth he let you see his great fire, and you heard him speaking out of the fire. ³⁷For love of your fathers he chose their descendants and personally led you out of Egypt by his great power, ³⁸driving out of your way nations greater and mightier than you, so as to bring you in and to make their land your heritage, as it is today. ³⁹This is why you must now know, and fix in your heart, that the LORD is God in the heavens above and on earth below, and that there is no other.

to discipline you; on earth he let you see his great fire, and you heard him speaking out of the fire. ³⁷For love of your fathers he chose their descendants and personally led you out of Egypt by his great power, ³⁸driving out of your way nations greater and mightier than you, so as to bring you in and to make their land your heritage, as it is today. ³⁹This is why you must now know, and fix in your heart, that the LORD is God in the heavens above and on earth below, and that there is no other. ⁴⁰You must keep his statutes and commandments which I enjoin on you today, that you and your children after you may prosper, and that you may have long life on the land which the LORD, your God, is giving you forever." ⁴¹Then Moses set apart three cities in the region east of the Jordan, ⁴²that a homicide might take refuge there if he unwittingly killed his neighbor to whom he had previously borne no malice, and that he might save his life by fleeing to one of these cities: ⁴³Bezer in the desert, in the region of the plateau, for the Reubenites; Ramoth in Gilead for the Gadites; and Golan in Bashan for the Manassehites. ⁴⁴This is the law which Moses set before the Israelites. ⁴⁵These are the ordinances, statutes and decrees which he proclaimed to them when they had come out of Egypt ⁴⁶and were beyond the Jordan in the ravine opposite Beth- peor, in the land of Sihon, king of the Amorites, who dwelt in Heshbon and whom Moses and the Israelites defeated after coming out of Egypt. ⁴⁷They occupied his land and the land of Og, king of Bashan, as well - the land of these two kings of the Amorites in the region east of the Jordan: ⁴⁸from Aroer on the edge of the Wadi Arnon to Mount Sion (that is Hermon) ⁴⁹and all the Arabah

162 east of the Jordan, as far as the Arabah Sea under the slopes of Pisgah. Deuteronomy Chapter 5 ¹Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, "Hear, O Israel, the statutes and decrees which I proclaim in your hearing this day, that you may learn them and take care to observe them. ²The LORD, our God, made a covenant with us at Horeb; ³not with our fathers did he make this covenant, but with us, all of us who are alive here this day. ⁴The LORD spoke with you face to face on the mountain from the midst of the fire. ⁵Since you were afraid of the fire and would not go up the mountain, I stood between the LORD and you at that time, to announce to you these words of the LORD: ⁶'I, the LORD, am your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of slavery. ⁷You shall not have other gods besides me. ⁸You shall not carve idols for yourselves in the shape of anything in the sky above or on the earth below or in the waters beneath the earth; ⁹you shall not bow down before them or worship them. For I, the LORD, your God, am a jealous God, inflicting punishments for their fathers' wickedness on the children of those who hate me, down to the third and fourth generation ¹⁰but bestowing mercy, down to the thousandth generation, on the children of those who love me and keep my commandments. ¹¹You shall not take the name of the LORD, your God, in vain. For the LORD will not leave unpunished him who takes his name in vain. ¹²Take care to keep holy the sabbath day as the LORD, your God, commanded you. ¹³Six days you may labor and do all your work; ¹⁴but the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD, your God. No work may be done then, whether by you, or your son or daughter, or your male or female slave, or your ox or ass or any of your beasts, or the alien who lives with you. Your male and female slave should rest as you do. ¹⁵For remember that you too were once slaves in Egypt, and the LORD, your God, brought you from there with his strong hand and outstretched arm. That is why the LORD, your God, has commanded you to observe the sabbath day. ¹⁶Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD, your God, has commanded you, that you may have a long life and prosperity in the land which the LORD, your God, is giving you. ¹⁷You shall not kill. ¹⁸You shall not commit adultery. ¹⁹You shall not steal. ²⁰You shall not bear dishonest witness against your neighbor. ²¹You shall not covet your neighbor's wife. You shall not desire your neighbor's house or field, nor his male or female slave, nor his ox or ass, nor anything that belongs to him.' ²²These words, and nothing more, the LORD spoke with a loud voice to your entire assembly on the mountain from the midst of the fire and the dense cloud. He wrote them upon two tablets of stone and gave them to me. ²³But when you heard the voice from the midst of the darkness, while the mountain was ablaze with fire, you came to me in the person of all your tribal heads and elders, ²⁴and said, 'The LORD, our God, has indeed let us see his glory and his majesty! We have heard his voice from the midst of the fire and have found out today that a man can still live after God has spoken with him. ²⁵But why should we die now? Surely this great fire will consume us. If we hear the voice of the LORD, our God, any more, we shall die. ²⁶For what mortal has heard, as we have, the voice of the living God speaking from the midst of fire, and survived? ²⁷Go closer, you, and hear all that the LORD, our God, will say, and then tell us what the LORD, our God, tells you; we will listen and obey.' ²⁸The LORD heard your words as you were speaking to me and said to me, 'I have heard the words these people have spoken to you, which are all well said. ²⁹Would that they might always be of such a mind, to fear me and to keep all my commandments! Then they and their descendants would prosper forever. ³⁰Go, tell them to return to their tents.

and survived? ²⁷Go closer, you, and hear all that the LORD, our God, will say, and then tell us what the LORD, our God, tells you; we will listen and obey.' ²⁸The LORD heard your words as you were speaking to me and said to me, 'I have heard the words these people have spoken to you, which are all well said. ²⁹Would that they might always be of such a mind, to fear me and to keep all my commandments! Then they and their descendants would prosper forever. ³⁰Go, tell them to return to their tents. ³¹Then you wait here near me and I will give you all the commandments, the statutes and decrees you must teach them, that they may observe them in the land which I am giving them to possess.' ³²Be careful, therefore, to do as the LORD, your God, has commanded you, not turning aside to the right or to the left, ³³but following exactly the way prescribed for you by the LORD, your God, that you may live and prosper, and may have long life in the land which you are to occupy."

163 Deuteronomy Chapter 6 ¹"These then are the commandments, the statutes and decrees which the LORD, your God, has ordered that you be taught to observe in the land into which you are crossing for conquest, ²so that you and your son and your grandson may fear the LORD, your God, and keep, throughout the days of your lives, all his statutes and commandments which I enjoin on you, and thus have long life. ³Hear then, Israel, and be careful to observe them, that you may grow and prosper the more, in keeping with the promise of the LORD, the God of your fathers, to give you a land flowing with milk and honey. ⁴"Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone! ⁵Therefore, you shall love the LORD, your God, with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength. ⁶Take to heart these words which I enjoin on you today. ⁷Drill them into your children. Speak of them at home and abroad, whether you are busy or at rest. ⁸Bind them at your wrist as a sign and let them be as a pendant on your forehead. ⁹Write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates. ¹⁰"When the LORD, your God, brings you into the land which he swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, that he would give you, a land with fine, large cities that you did not build, ¹¹with houses full of goods of all sorts that you did not garner, with cisterns that you did not dig, with vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant; and when, therefore, you eat your fill, ¹²take care not to forget the LORD, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of slavery. ¹³The LORD, your God, shall you fear; him shall you serve, and by his name shall you swear. ¹⁴You shall not follow other gods, such as those of the surrounding nations, ¹⁵lest the wrath of the LORD, your God, flare up against you and he destroy you from the face of the land; for the LORD, your God, who is in your midst, is a jealous God. ¹⁶"You shall not put the LORD, your God, to the test, as you did at Massah. ¹⁷But keep the commandments of the LORD, your God, and the ordinances and statutes he has enjoined on you. ¹⁸Do what is right and good in the sight of the LORD, that you may, according to his word, prosper, and may enter in and possess the good land which the LORD promised on oath to your fathers, ¹⁹thrusting all your enemies out of your way. ²⁰"Later on, when your son asks you what these ordinances, statutes and decrees mean which the LORD, our God, has enjoined on you, ²¹you shall say to your son, 'We were once slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, but the LORD brought us out of Egypt with his strong hand ²²and wrought before our eyes signs and wonders, great and dire, against Egypt and against Pharaoh and his whole house. ²³He brought us from there to lead us into the land he promised on oath to our fathers, and to give it to us. ²⁴Therefore, the LORD commanded us to observe all these statutes in fear of the LORD, our God, that we may always have as prosperous and happy a life as we have today; ²⁵and our justice before the LORD, our God, is to consist in carefully observing all these commandments he has enjoined on us.'" Deuteronomy Chapter 7 ¹"When the LORD, your God, brings you into the land which you are to enter and occupy, and dislodges great nations before you—the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites: seven nations more numerous and powerful than you—²and when the LORD, your God, delivers them up to you and you defeat them, you shall doom them. Make no covenant with them and show them no mercy. ³You shall not intermarry with them, neither giving your daughters to their sons nor taking their daughters for your sons. ⁴For they would turn your sons from following me to serving other gods, and then the wrath of the LORD would flare up against you and quickly destroy you.

s, Hivites and Jebusites: seven nations more numerous and powerful than you—²and when the LORD, your God, delivers them up to you and you defeat them, you shall doom them. Make no covenant with them and show them no mercy. ³You shall not intermarry with them, neither giving your daughters to their sons nor taking their daughters for your sons. ⁴For they would turn your sons from following me to serving other gods, and then the wrath of the LORD would flare up against you and quickly destroy you. ⁵"But this is how you must deal with them: Tear down their altars, smash their sacred pillars, chop down their sacred poles, and destroy their idols by fire. ⁶For you are a people sacred to the LORD, your God; he has chosen you from all the nations on the face of the earth to be a people peculiarly his own. ⁷It was not because you are the largest of

164 all nations that the LORD set his heart on you and chose you, for you are really the smallest of all nations. ⁸It was because the LORD loved you and because of his fidelity to the oath he had sworn to your fathers, that he brought you out with his strong hand from the place of slavery, and ransomed you from the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. ⁹Understand, then, that the LORD, your God, is God indeed, the faithful God who keeps his merciful covenant down to the thousandth generation toward those who love him and keep his commandments, ¹⁰but who repays with destruction the person who hates him; he does not dally with such a one, but makes him personally pay for it. ¹¹You shall therefore carefully observe the commandments, the statutes and the decrees which I enjoin on you today. ¹²"As your reward for heeding these decrees and observing them carefully, the LORD, your God, will keep with you the merciful covenant which he promised on oath to your fathers. ¹³He will love and bless and multiply you; he will bless the fruit of your womb and the produce of your soil, your grain and wine and oil, the issue of your herds and the young of your flocks, in the land which he swore to your fathers he would give you. ¹⁴You will be blessed above all peoples; no man or woman among you shall be childless nor shall your livestock be barren. ¹⁵The LORD will remove all sickness from you; he will not afflict you with any of the malignant diseases that you know from Egypt, but will leave them with all your enemies. ¹⁶"You shall consume all the nations which the LORD, your God, will deliver up to you. You are not to look on them with pity, lest you be ensnared into serving their gods. ¹⁷Perhaps you will say to yourselves, 'These nations are greater than we. How can we dispossess them?' ¹⁸But do not be afraid of them. Rather, call to mind what the LORD, your God, did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt: ¹⁹the great testings which your own eyes have seen, the signs and wonders, his strong hand and outstretched arm with which the LORD, your God, brought you out. The same also will he do to all the nations of whom you are now afraid. ²⁰Moreover, the LORD, your God, will send hornets among them, until the survivors who have hidden from you are destroyed. ²¹Therefore, do not be terrified by them, for the LORD, your God, who is in your midst, is a great and awesome God. ²²He will dislodge these nations before you little by little. You cannot exterminate them all at once, lest the wild beasts become too numerous for you. ²³The LORD, your God, will deliver them up to you and will rout them utterly until they are annihilated. ²⁴He will deliver their kings into your hand, that you may make their names perish from under the heavens. No man will be able to stand up against you, till you have put an end to them. ²⁵The images of their gods you shall destroy by fire. Do not covet the silver or gold on them, nor take it for yourselves, lest you be ensnared by it; for it is an abomination to the LORD, your God. ²⁶You shall not bring any abominable thing into your house, lest you be doomed with it; loathe and abhor it utterly as a thing that is doomed." Deuteronomy Chapter 8 ¹"Be careful to observe all the commandments I enjoin on you today, that you may live and increase, and may enter in and possess the land which the LORD promised on oath to your fathers. ²Remember how for forty years now the LORD, your God, has directed all your journeying in the desert, so as to test you by affliction and find out whether or not it was your intention to keep his commandments. ³He therefore let you be afflicted with hunger, and then fed you with manna, a food unknown to you and your fathers, in order to show you that not by bread alone does man live, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of the LORD. ⁴The clothing did not fall from you in tatters, nor did your feet swell these forty years.

RD, your God, has directed all your journeying in the desert, so as to test you by affliction and find out whether or not it was your intention to keep his commandments. ³He therefore let you be afflicted with hunger, and then fed you with manna, a food unknown to you and your fathers, in order to show you that not by bread alone does man live, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of the LORD. ⁴The clothing did not fall from you in tatters, nor did your feet swell these forty years. ⁵So you must realize that the LORD, your God, disciplines you even as a man disciplines his son. ⁶Therefore, keep the commandments of the LORD, your God, by walking in his ways and fearing him. ⁷For the LORD, your God, is bringing you into a good country, a land with streams of water, with springs and fountains welling up in the hills and valleys, ⁸a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, of olive trees and of honey, ⁹a land where you can eat bread without stint and where you will lack nothing,

165 a land whose stones contain iron and in whose hills you can mine copper. ¹⁰But when you have eaten your fill, you must bless the LORD, your God, for the good country he has given you. ¹¹Be careful not to forget the LORD, your God, by neglecting his commandments and decrees and statutes which I enjoin on you today: ¹²lest, when you have eaten your fill, and have built fine houses and lived in them, ¹³and have increased your herds and flocks, your silver and gold, and all your property, ¹⁴you then become haughty of heart and unmindful of the LORD, your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of slavery; ¹⁵who guided you through the vast and terrible desert with its saraph serpents and scorpions, its parched and waterless ground; who brought forth water for you from the flinty rock ¹⁶and fed you in the desert with manna, a food unknown to your fathers, that he might afflict you and test you, but also make you prosperous in the end. ¹⁷Otherwise, you might say to yourselves, 'It is my own power and the strength of my own hand that has obtained for me this wealth.' ¹⁸Remember then, it is the LORD, your God, who gives you the power to acquire wealth, by fulfilling, as he has now done, the covenant which he swore to your fathers. ¹⁹But if you forget the LORD, your God, and follow other gods, serving and worshiping them, I forewarn you this day that you will perish utterly. ²⁰Like the nations which the LORD destroys before you, so shall you too perish for not heeding the voice of the LORD, your God." Deuteronomy Chapter 9 ¹"Hear, O Israel! You are now about to cross the Jordan to enter in and dispossess nations greater and stronger than yourselves, having large cities fortified to the sky, ²the Anakim, a people great and tall. You know of them and have heard it said of them, 'Who can stand up against the Anakim?' ³Understand, then, today that it is the LORD, your God, who will cross over before you as a consuming fire; he it is who will reduce them to nothing and subdue them before you, so that you can drive them out and destroy them quickly, as the LORD promised you. ⁴After the LORD, your God, has thrust them out of your way, do not say to yourselves, 'It is because of my merits that the LORD has brought me in to possess this land'; for it is really because of the wickedness of these nations that the LORD is driving them out before you. ⁵No, it is not because of your merits or the integrity of your heart that you are going in to take possession of their land; but the LORD, your God, is driving these nations out before you on account of their wickedness and in order to keep the promise which he made on oath to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. ⁶Understand this, therefore: it is not because of your merits that the LORD, your God, is giving you this good land to possess, for you are a stiff-necked people. ⁷"Bear in mind and do not forget how you angered the LORD, your God, in the desert. From the day you left the land of Egypt until you arrived in this place, you have been rebellious toward the LORD. ⁸At Horeb you so provoked the LORD that he was angry enough to destroy you, ⁹when I had gone up the mountain to receive the stone tablets of the covenant which the LORD made with you. Meanwhile I stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights without eating or drinking, ¹⁰till the LORD gave me the two tablets of stone inscribed, by God's own finger, with a copy of all the words that the LORD spoke to you on the mountain from the midst of the fire on the day of the assembly. ¹¹Then, at the end of the forty days and forty nights, when the LORD had given me the two stone tablets of the covenant, ¹²he said to me, 'Go down from here now, quickly, for your people whom you have brought out of Egypt have become depraved; they have already turned aside from the way I pointed out to them and have made for themselves a molten idol. ¹³I have seen now how stiff-necked this people is,' the LORD said to me.

ou on the mountain from the midst of the fire on the day of the assembly. ¹¹Then, at the end of the forty days and forty nights, when the LORD had given me the two stone tablets of the covenant, ¹²he said to me, 'Go down from here now, quickly, for your people whom you have brought out of Egypt have become depraved; they have already turned aside from the way I pointed out to them and have made for themselves a molten idol. ¹³I have seen now how stiff-necked this people is,' the LORD said to me. ¹⁴'Let me be, that I may destroy them and blot out their name from under the heavens. I will then make of you a nation mightier and greater than they.' ¹⁵"When I had come

166 down again from the blazing, fiery mountain, with the two tablets of the covenant in both my hands, ¹⁶I saw how you had sinned against the LORD, your God: you had already turned aside from the way which the LORD had pointed out to you by making for yourselves a molten calf! ¹⁷Raising the two tablets with both hands I threw them from me and broke them before your eyes. ¹⁸Then, as before, I lay prostrate before the LORD for forty days and forty nights without eating or drinking, because of all the sin you had committed in the sight of the LORD and the evil you had done to provoke him. ¹⁹For I dreaded the fierce anger of the LORD against you: his wrath would destroy you. Yet once again the LORD listened to me. ²⁰With Aaron, too, the LORD was deeply angry, and would have killed him had I not prayed for him also at that time. ²¹Then, taking the calf, the sinful object you had made, and fusing it with fire, I ground it down to powder as fine as dust, which I threw into the wadi that went down the mountainside. ²²"At Taberah, at Massah, and at Kibroth-hattaavah likewise, you provoked the LORD to anger. ²³And when he sent you up from Kadesh-barnea to take possession of the land he was giving you, you rebelled against this command of the LORD, your God, and would not trust or obey him. ²⁴Ever since I have known you, you have been rebels against the LORD. ²⁵"Those forty days, then, and forty nights, I lay prostrate before the LORD, because he had threatened to destroy you. ²⁶This was my prayer to him: O Lord GOD, destroy not your people, the heritage which your majesty has ransomed and brought out of Egypt with your strong hand. ²⁷Remember your servants, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Look not upon the stubbornness of this people nor upon their wickedness and sin, ²⁸lest the people from whose land you have brought us say, 'The LORD was not able to bring them into the land he promised them'; or 'Out of hatred for them, he brought them out to slay them in the desert.' ²⁹They are, after all, your people and your heritage, whom you have brought out by your great power and with your outstretched arm." Deuteronomy Chapter 10 ¹"At that time the LORD said to me, 'Cut two tablets of stone like the former; then come up the mountain to me. Also make an ark of wood. ²I will write upon the tablets the commandments that were on the former tablets that you broke, and you shall place them in the ark.' ³So I made an ark of acacia wood, and cut two tablets of stone like the former, and went up the mountain carrying the two tablets. ⁴The LORD then wrote on them, as he had written before, the ten commandments which he spoke to you on the mountain from the midst of the fire on the day of the assembly. After the LORD had given them to me, ⁵I turned and came down the mountain, and placed the tablets in the ark I had made. There they have remained, in keeping with the command the LORD gave me. ⁶(The Israelites set out from Beeroth Bene-jaakan for Moserah, where Aaron died and was buried, his son Eleazar succeeding him in the priestly office. ⁷From there they set out for Gudgodah, and from Gudgodah for Jotbathah, a region where there is water in the wadies.) ⁸"At that time the LORD set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the ark of the covenant of the LORD, to be in attendance before the LORD and minister to him, and to give blessings in his name, as they have done to this day. ⁹For this reason, Levi has no share in the heritage with his brothers; the LORD himself is his heritage, as the LORD, your God, has told him.

he priestly office. ⁷From there they set out for Gudgodah, and from Gudgodah for Jotbathah, a region where there is water in the wadies.) ⁸"At that time the LORD set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the ark of the covenant of the LORD, to be in attendance before the LORD and minister to him, and to give blessings in his name, as they have done to this day. ⁹For this reason, Levi has no share in the heritage with his brothers; the LORD himself is his heritage, as the LORD, your God, has told him. ¹⁰"After I had spent these other forty days and forty nights on the mountain, and the LORD had once again heard me and decided not to destroy you, ¹¹he said to me, 'Go now and set out at the head of your people, that they may enter in and occupy the land which I swore to their fathers I would give them.' ¹²"And now, Israel, what does the LORD, your God, ask of you but to fear the LORD, your God, and follow his ways exactly, to love and serve the LORD, your God, with all your heart and all your soul, ¹³to keep the commandments and statutes of the LORD which I enjoin on you today for your own good? ¹⁴¹Think! The heavens, even the highest heavens, belong to the LORD, your God, as well as the earth and everything on it. ¹⁵Yet in his love for your fathers the LORD was so attached to them

167 as to choose you, their descendants, in preference to all other peoples, as indeed he has now done. ¹⁶²Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and be no longer stiff-necked. ¹⁷For the LORD, your God, is the God of gods, the LORD of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who has no favorites, accepts no bribes; ¹⁸who executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and befriends the alien, feeding and clothing him. ¹⁹So you too must befriend the alien, for you were once aliens yourselves in the land of Egypt. ²⁰The LORD, your God, shall you fear, and him shall you serve; hold fast to him and swear by his name. ²¹He is your glory, he, your God, who has done for you those great and terrible things which your own eyes have seen. ²²Your ancestors went down to Egypt seventy strong, and now the LORD, your God, has made you as numerous as the stars of the sky." Deuteronomy Chapter 11 ¹"Love the LORD, your God, therefore, and always heed his charge: his statutes, decrees and commandments. ²It is not your children, who have not known it from experience, but you yourselves who must now understand the discipline of the LORD, your God; his majesty, his strong hand and outstretched arm; ³the signs and deeds he wrought among the Egyptians, on Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and on all his land; ⁴what he did to the Egyptian army and to their horses and chariots, engulfing them in the water of the Red Sea as they pursued you, and bringing ruin upon them even to this day; ⁵what he did for you in the desert until you arrived in this place; ⁶and what he did to the Reubenites Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, when the ground opened its mouth and swallowed them up out of the midst of Israel, with their families and tents and every living thing that belonged to them. ⁷With your own eyes you have seen all these great deeds that the LORD has done. ⁸Keep all the commandments, then, which I enjoin on you today, that you may be strong enough to enter in and take possession of the land into which you are crossing, ⁹and that you may have long life on the land which the LORD swore to your fathers he would give to them and their descendants, a land flowing with milk and honey. ¹⁰"For the land which you are to enter and occupy is not like the land of Egypt from which you have come, where you would sow your seed and then water it by hand, as in a vegetable garden. ¹¹No, the land into which you are crossing for conquest is a land of hills and valleys that drinks in rain from the heavens, ¹²a land which the LORD, your God, looks after; his eyes are upon it continually from the beginning of the year to the end. ¹³¹If, then, you truly heed my commandments which I enjoin on you today, loving and serving the LORD, your God, with all your heart and all your soul, ¹⁴²I will give the seasonal rain to your land, the early rain and the late rain, that you may have your grain, wine and oil to gather in; ¹⁵and I will bring forth grass in your fields for your animals. Thus you may eat your fill. ¹⁶But be careful lest your heart be so lured away that you serve other gods and worship them. ¹⁷For then the wrath of the LORD will flare up against you and he will close up the heavens, so that no rain will fall, and the soil will not yield its crops, and you will soon perish from the good land he is giving you. ¹⁸"Therefore, take these words of mine into your heart and soul. Bind them at your wrist as a sign, and let them be a pendant on your forehead. ¹⁹Teach them to your children, speaking of them at home and abroad, whether you are busy or at rest. ²⁰And write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates, ²¹so that, as long as the heavens are above the earth, you and your children may live on in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers he would give them.

e good land he is giving you. ¹⁸"Therefore, take these words of mine into your heart and soul. Bind them at your wrist as a sign, and let them be a pendant on your forehead. ¹⁹Teach them to your children, speaking of them at home and abroad, whether you are busy or at rest. ²⁰And write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates, ²¹so that, as long as the heavens are above the earth, you and your children may live on in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers he would give them. ²²"For if you are careful to observe all these commandments I enjoin on you, loving the LORD, your God, and following his ways exactly, and holding fast to him, ²³the LORD will drive all these nations out of your way, and you will dispossess nations greater and mightier than yourselves. ²⁴³Every place where you set foot shall be yours: from the desert and from Lebanon, from the Euphrates River to the Western Sea, shall be your territory. ²⁵None shall stand up against you; the LORD, your God, will spread the fear and dread of you through any land where you set foot, as he promised you. ²⁶"I set before you here, this day, a blessing and a curse: ²⁷a blessing for

168 obeying the commandments of the LORD, your God, which I enjoin on you today; ²⁸a curse if you do not obey the commandments of the LORD, your God, but turn aside from the way I ordain for you today, to follow other gods, whom you have not known. ²⁹⁴When the LORD, your God, brings you into the land which you are to enter and occupy, then you shall pronounce the blessing on Mount Gerizim, the curse on Mount Ebal. ³⁰(Are they not beyond the Jordan, on the other side of the western road in the country of the Canaanites who live in the Arabah, opposite the Gilgal beside the terebinth of Moreh?) ³¹For you are about to cross the Jordan to enter and occupy the land which the LORD, your God, is giving you. When, therefore, you take possession of it and settle there, ³²be careful to observe all the statutes and decrees that I set before you today." Deuteronomy Chapter 12 "¹These are the statutes and decrees which you must be careful to observe in the land which the LORD, the God of your fathers, has given you to occupy, as long as you live on its soil. ²Destroy without fail every place on the high mountains, on the hills, and under every leafy tree where the nations you are to dispossess worship their gods. ³Tear down their altars, smash their sacred pillars, destroy by fire their sacred poles, and shatter the idols of their gods, that you may stamp out the remembrance of them in any such place. ⁴That is not how you are to worship the LORD, your God. ⁵Instead, you shall resort to the place which the LORD, your God, chooses out of all your tribes and designates as his dwelling ⁶and there you shall bring your holocausts and sacrifices, your tithes and personal contributions, your votive and freewill offerings, and the firstlings of your herds and flocks. ⁷There, too, before the LORD, your God, you and your families shall eat and make merry over all your undertakings, because the LORD, your God, has blessed you. ⁸You shall not do as we are now doing; here, everyone does what seems right to himself, ⁹since you have not yet reached your resting place, the heritage which the LORD, your God, will give you. ¹⁰But after you have crossed the Jordan and dwell in the land which the LORD, your God, is giving you as a heritage, when he has given you rest from all your enemies round about and you live there in security, ¹¹then to the place which the LORD, your God, chooses as the dwelling place for his name you shall bring all the offerings I command you: your holocausts and sacrifices, your tithes and personal contributions, and every special offering you have vowed to the LORD. ¹²You shall make merry before the LORD, your God, with your sons and daughters, your male and female slaves, as well as with the Levite who belongs to your community but has no share of his own in your heritage. ¹³Take care not to offer up your holocausts in any place you fancy, ¹⁴but offer them up in the place which the LORD chooses from among your tribes; there you shall make whatever offerings I enjoin upon you. ¹⁵However, in any of your communities you may slaughter and eat to your heart's desire as much meat as the LORD, your God, has blessed you with; and the unclean as well as the clean may eat it, as they do the gazelle or the deer. ¹⁶Only, you shall not partake of the blood, but must pour it out on the ground like water. ¹⁷Moreover, you shall not, in your own communities, partake of your tithe of grain or wine or oil, of the first-born of your herd or flock, of any offering you have vowed, of your freewill offerings, or of your personal contributions. ¹⁸These you must eat before the LORD, your God, in the place he chooses, along with your son and daughter, your male and female slave, and the Levite who belongs to your community; and there, before the LORD, you shall make merry over all your undertakings. ¹⁹Take care, also, that you do not neglect the Levite as long as you live in the land.

ain or wine or oil, of the first-born of your herd or flock, of any offering you have vowed, of your freewill offerings, or of your personal contributions. ¹⁸These you must eat before the LORD, your God, in the place he chooses, along with your son and daughter, your male and female slave, and the Levite who belongs to your community; and there, before the LORD, you shall make merry over all your undertakings. ¹⁹Take care, also, that you do not neglect the Levite as long as you live in the land. ²⁰¹After the LORD, your God, has enlarged your territory, as he promised you, when you wish meat for food, you may eat it at will, to your heart's desire; ²¹and if the place which the LORD, your God, chooses for the abode of his name is too far, you may slaughter in the manner I have told you any of your herd or flock that the LORD has given you, and eat it to your heart's desire in your own community. ²²You may eat it as you would the gazelle or the deer: the unclean and the clean eating it alike. ²³But

169 make sure that you do not partake of the blood; for blood is life, and you shall not consume this seat of life with the flesh. ²⁴Do not partake of the blood, therefore, but pour it out on the ground like water. ²⁵Abstain from it, that you and your children after you may prosper for doing what is right in the sight of the LORD. ²⁶However, any sacred gifts or votive offerings that you may have, you shall bring with you to the place which the LORD chooses, ²⁷and there you must offer both the flesh and the blood of your holocausts on the altar of the LORD, your God; of your other sacrifices the blood indeed must be poured out against the altar of the LORD, your God, but their flesh may be eaten. ²⁸Be careful to heed all these commandments I enjoin on you, that you and your descendants may always prosper for doing what is good and right in the sight of the LORD, your God. ²⁹When the LORD, your God, removes the nations from your way as you advance to dispossess them, be on your guard! Otherwise, once they have been wiped out before you and you have replaced them and are settled in their land, ³⁰you will be lured into following them. Do not inquire regarding their gods, 'How did these nations worship their gods? I, too, would do the same.' ³¹You shall not thus worship the LORD, your God, because they offered to their gods every abomination that the LORD detests, even burning their sons and daughters to their gods." Deuteronomy Chapter 13 "¹Every command that I enjoin on you, you shall be careful to observe, neither adding to it nor subtracting from it. ²¹If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer who promises you a sign or wonder, ³urging you to follow other gods, whom you have not known, and to serve them: even though the sign or wonder he has foretold you comes to pass, ⁴pay no attention to the words of that prophet or that dreamer; for the LORD, your God, is testing you to learn whether you really love him with all your heart and with all your soul. ⁵The LORD, your God, shall you follow, and him shall you fear; his commandment shall you observe, and his voice shall you heed, serving him and holding fast to him alone. ⁶But that prophet or that dreamer shall be put to death, because, in order to lead you astray from the way which the LORD, your God, has directed you to take, he has preached apostasy from the LORD, your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and ransomed you from that place of slavery. Thus shall you purge the evil from your midst. ⁷If your own full brother, or your son or daughter, or your beloved wife, or your intimate friend, entices you secretly to serve other gods, whom you and your fathers have not known, ⁸gods of any other nations, near at hand or far away, from one end of the earth to the other: ⁹do not yield to him or listen to him, nor look with pity upon him, to spare or shield him, ¹⁰but kill him. Your hand shall be the first raised to slay him; the rest of the people shall join in with you. ¹¹You shall stone him to death, because he sought to lead you astray from the LORD, your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of slavery. ¹²And all Israel, hearing of it, shall fear and never again do such evil as this in your midst. ¹³If, in any of the cities which the LORD, your God, gives you to dwell in, you hear it said ¹⁴that certain scoundrels have sprung up among you and have led astray the inhabitants of their city to serve other gods whom you have not known, ¹⁵you must inquire carefully into the matter and investigate it thoroughly. If you find that it is true and an established fact that this abomination has been committed in your midst, ¹⁶you shall put the inhabitants of that city to the sword, dooming the city and all life that is in it, even its cattle, to the sword. ¹⁷Having heaped up all its spoils in the middle of its square, you shall burn the city with all its spoils as a whole burnt offering to the LORD, your God.

whom you have not known, ¹⁵you must inquire carefully into the matter and investigate it thoroughly. If you find that it is true and an established fact that this abomination has been committed in your midst, ¹⁶you shall put the inhabitants of that city to the sword, dooming the city and all life that is in it, even its cattle, to the sword. ¹⁷Having heaped up all its spoils in the middle of its square, you shall burn the city with all its spoils as a whole burnt offering to the LORD, your God. Let it be a heap of ruins forever, never to be rebuilt. ¹⁸You shall not retain anything that is doomed, that the blazing wrath of the LORD may die down and he may show you mercy and in his mercy for you may multiply you as he promised your fathers on oath; ¹⁹because you have heeded the voice of the LORD, your God, keeping all his commandments which I enjoin on you today, doing what is right in his sight."

170 Deuteronomy Chapter 14 "¹You are children of the LORD, your God. You shall not gash yourselves nor shave the hair above your foreheads for the dead. ²For you are a people sacred to the LORD, your God, who has chosen you from all the nations on the face of the earth to be a people peculiarly his own. ³You shall not eat any abominable thing. ⁴These are the animals you may eat: the ox, the sheep, the goat, ⁵¹the red deer, the gazelle, the roe deer, the ibex, the addax, the oryx, and the mountain sheep. ⁶Any animal that has hoofs you may eat, provided it is cloven-footed and chews the cud. ⁷But you shall not eat any of the following that only chew the cud or only have cloven hoofs: the camel, the hare and the rock badger, which indeed chew the cud, but do not have hoofs and are therefore unclean for you; ⁸and the pig, which indeed has hoofs and is cloven-footed, but does not chew the cud and is therefore unclean for you. Their flesh you shall not eat, and their dead bodies you shall not touch. ⁹Of the various creatures that live in the water, whatever has both fins and scales you may eat, ¹⁰but all those that lack either fins or scales you shall not eat; they are unclean for you. ¹¹You may eat all clean birds. ¹²But you shall not eat any of the following: the eagle, the vulture, the osprey, ¹³the various kites and falcons, ¹⁴all the various species of crows, ¹⁵the ostrich, the nightjar, the gull, the various species of hawks, ¹⁶the owl, the screech owl, the ibis, ¹⁷the desert owl, the buzzard, the cormorant, ¹⁸the stork, the various species of herons, the hoopoe, and the bat. ¹⁹²All winged insects, too, are unclean for you and shall not be eaten. ²⁰But you may eat any clean winged creatures. ²¹³You must not eat any animal that has died of itself, for you are a people sacred to the LORD, your God. But you may give it to an alien who belongs to your community, and he may eat it, or you may sell it to a foreigner. You shall not boil a kid in its mother's milk. ²²Each year you shall tithe all the produce that grows in the field you have sown; ²³then in the place which the LORD, your God, chooses as the dwelling place of his name you shall eat in his presence your tithe of the grain, wine and oil, as well as the firstlings of your herd and flock, that you may learn always to fear the LORD, your God. ²⁴⁴If, however, the journey is too much for you and you are not able to bring your tithe, because the place which the LORD, your God, chooses for the abode of his name is too far for you, considering how the LORD has blessed you, ²⁵you may exchange the tithe for money and, with the purse of money in hand, go to the place which the LORD, your God, chooses. ²⁶You may then exchange the money for whatever you desire, oxen or sheep, wine or strong drink, or anything else you would enjoy, and there before the LORD, your God, you shall partake of it and make merry with your family. ²⁷But do not neglect the Levite who belongs to your community, for he has no share in the heritage with you. ²⁸At the end of every third year you shall bring out all the tithes of your produce for that year and deposit them in community stores, ²⁹that the Levite who has no share in the heritage with you, and also the alien, the orphan and the widow who belong to your community, may come and eat their fill; so that the LORD, your God, may bless you in all that you undertake." Deuteronomy Chapter 15 "¹At the end of every seven-year period you shall have a relaxation of debts, ²which shall be observed as follows. Every creditor shall relax his claim on what he has loaned his neighbor; he must not press his neighbor, his kinsman, because a relaxation in honor of the LORD has been proclaimed. ³You may press a foreigner, but you shall relax the claim on your kinsman for what is yours. ⁴Nay, more! since the LORD, your God, will bless you abundantly in the land he will give you to occupy as your heritage, there should be no one of you in need.

l have a relaxation of debts, ²which shall be observed as follows. Every creditor shall relax his claim on what he has loaned his neighbor; he must not press his neighbor, his kinsman, because a relaxation in honor of the LORD has been proclaimed. ³You may press a foreigner, but you shall relax the claim on your kinsman for what is yours. ⁴Nay, more! since the LORD, your God, will bless you abundantly in the land he will give you to occupy as your heritage, there should be no one of you in need. ⁵If you but heed the voice of the LORD, your God, and carefully observe all these commandments which I enjoin on you today, ⁶you will lend to many nations, and borrow from none; you will rule over many nations, and none will rule over you, since the LORD, your God, will bless you as he promised. ⁷If one of

171 your kinsmen in any community is in need in the land which the LORD, your God, is giving you, you shall not harden your heart nor close your hand to him in his need. ⁸Instead, you shall open your hand to him and freely lend him enough to meet his need. ⁹Be on your guard lest, entertaining the mean thought that the seventh year, the year of relaxation, is near, you grudge help to your needy kinsman and give him nothing; else he will cry to the LORD against you and you will be held guilty. ¹⁰When you give to him, give freely and not with ill will; for the LORD, your God, will bless you for this in all your works and undertakings. ¹¹²The needy will never be lacking in the land; that is why I command you to open your hand to your poor and needy kinsman in your country. ¹²If your kinsman, a Hebrew man or woman, sells himself to you, he is to serve you for six years, but in the seventh year you shall dismiss him from your service, a free man. ¹³When you do so, you shall not send him away empty-handed, ¹⁴but shall weight him down with gifts from your flock and threshing floor and wine press, in proportion to the blessing the LORD, your God, has bestowed on you. ¹⁵For remember that you too were once slaves in the land of Egypt, and the LORD, your God, ransomed you. That is why I am giving you this command today. ¹⁶If, however, he tells you that he does not wish to leave you, because he is devoted to you and your household, since he fares well with you, ¹⁷³you shall take an awl and thrust it through his ear into the door, and he shall then be your slave forever. Your female slave, also, you shall treat in the same way. ¹⁸You must not be reluctant to let your slave go free, since the service he has given you for six years was worth twice a hired man's salary; then also the LORD, your God, will bless you in everything you do. ¹⁹You shall consecrate to the LORD, your God, all the male firstlings of your herd and of your flock. You shall not work the firstlings of your cattle, nor shear the firstlings of your flock. ²⁰Year after year you and your family shall eat them before the LORD, your God, in the place he chooses. ²¹If, however, a firstling is lame or blind or has any other serious defect, you shall not sacrifice it to the LORD, your God, ²²but in your own communities you may eat it, the unclean and the clean eating it alike, as you would a gazelle or a deer. ²³Only, you shall not partake of its blood, which must be poured out on the ground like water." Deuteronomy Chapter 16 "¹Observe the month of Abib by keeping the Passover of the LORD, your God, since it was in the month of Abib that he brought you by night out of Egypt. ²You shall offer the Passover sacrifice from your flock or your herd to the LORD, your God, in the place which he chooses as the dwelling place of his name. ³You shall not eat leavened bread with it. For seven days you shall eat with it only unleavened bread, the bread of affliction, that you may remember as long as you live the day of your departure from the land of Egypt; for in frightened haste you left the land of Egypt. ⁴Nothing leavened may be found in all your territory for seven days, and none of the meat which you sacrificed on the evening of the first day shall be kept overnight for the next day. ⁵You may not sacrifice the Passover in any of the communities which the LORD, your God, gives you; ⁶only at the place which he chooses as the dwelling place of his name, and in the evening at sunset, on the anniversary of your departure from Egypt, shall you sacrifice the Passover. ⁷You shall cook and eat it at the place the LORD, your God, chooses; then in the morning you may return to your tents. ⁸For six days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh there shall be a solemn meeting in honor of the LORD, your God; on that day you shall not do any sort of work. ⁹You shall count off seven weeks, computing them from the day when the sickle is first put to the standing grain.

sunset, on the anniversary of your departure from Egypt, shall you sacrifice the Passover. ⁷You shall cook and eat it at the place the LORD, your God, chooses; then in the morning you may return to your tents. ⁸For six days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh there shall be a solemn meeting in honor of the LORD, your God; on that day you shall not do any sort of work. ⁹You shall count off seven weeks, computing them from the day when the sickle is first put to the standing grain. ¹⁰²You shall then keep the feast of Weeks in honor of the LORD, your God, and the measure of your own freewill offering shall be in proportion to the blessing the LORD, your God, has bestowed on you. ¹¹In the place which the LORD, your God, chooses as the dwelling place of his name, you shall make merry in his presence together with your son and daughter, your male and female slave, and the Levite who belongs to your community, as well as the alien, the orphan and

172 the widow among you. ¹²Remember that you too were once slaves in Egypt, and carry out these statutes carefully. ¹³³You shall celebrate the feast of Booths for seven days, when you have gathered in the produce from your threshing floor and wine press. ¹⁴You shall make merry at your feast, together with your son and daughter, your male and female slave, and also the Levite, the alien, the orphan and the widow who belong to your community. ¹⁵For seven days you shall celebrate this pilgrim feast in honor of the LORD, your God, in the place which he chooses; since the LORD, your God, has blessed you in all your crops and in all your undertakings, you shall do nought but make merry. ¹⁶Three times a year, then, every male among you shall appear before the LORD, your God, in the place which he chooses: at the feast of Unleavened Bread, at the feast of Weeks, and at the feast of Booths. No one shall appear before the LORD empty-handed, ¹⁷but each of you with as much as he can give, in proportion to the blessings which the LORD, your God, has bestowed on you. ¹⁸You shall appoint judges and officials throughout your tribes to administer true justice for the people in all the communities which the LORD, your God, is giving you. ¹⁹You shall not distort justice; you must be impartial. You shall not take a bribe; for a bribe blinds the eyes even of the wise and twists the words even of the just. ²⁰Justice and justice alone shall be your aim, that you may have life and may possess the land which the LORD, your God, is giving you. ²¹⁴⁵You shall not plant a sacred pole of any kind of wood beside the altar of the LORD, your God, which you will build; ²²nor shall you erect a sacred pillar, such as the LORD, your God, detests." Deuteronomy Chapter 17 "¹You shall not sacrifice to the LORD, your God, from the herd or from the flock an animal with any serious defect; that would be an abomination to the LORD, your God. ²If there is found among you, in any one of the communities which the LORD, your God, gives you, a man or a woman who does evil in the sight of the LORD, your God, and transgresses his covenant, ³by serving other gods, or by worshiping the sun or the moon or any of the host of the sky, against my command; ⁴and if, on being informed of it, you find by careful investigation that it is true and an established fact that this abomination has been committed in Israel: ⁵¹you shall bring the man (or woman) who has done the evil deed out to your city gates and stone him to death. ⁶The testimony of two or three witnesses is required for putting a person to death; no one shall be put to death on the testimony of only one witness. ⁷At the execution, the witnesses are to be the first to raise their hands against him; afterward all the people are to join in. Thus shall you purge the evil from your midst. ⁸If in your own community there is a case at issue which proves too complicated for you to decide, in a matter of bloodshed or of civil rights or of personal injury, you shall then go up to the place which the LORD, your God, chooses, ⁹to the levitical priests or to the judge who is in office at that time. They shall study the case and then hand down to you their decision. ¹⁰According to this decision that they give you in the place which the LORD chooses, you shall act, being careful to do exactly as they direct. ¹¹You shall carry out the directions they give you and the verdict they pronounce for you, without turning aside to the right or to the left from the decision they hand down to you. ¹²²Any man who has the insolence to refuse to listen to the priest who officiates there in the ministry of the LORD, your God, or to the judge, shall die. Thus shall you purge the evil from your midst. ¹³And all the people, on hearing of it, shall fear, and never again be so insolent.

ul to do exactly as they direct. ¹¹You shall carry out the directions they give you and the verdict they pronounce for you, without turning aside to the right or to the left from the decision they hand down to you. ¹²²Any man who has the insolence to refuse to listen to the priest who officiates there in the ministry of the LORD, your God, or to the judge, shall die. Thus shall you purge the evil from your midst. ¹³And all the people, on hearing of it, shall fear, and never again be so insolent. ¹⁴When you have come into the land which the LORD, your God, is giving you, and have occupied it and settled in it, should you then decide to have a king over you like all the surrounding nations, ¹⁵you shall set that man over you as your king whom the LORD, your God, chooses. He whom you set over you as king must be your kinsman; a foreigner, who is no kin of yours, you may not set over you. ¹⁶³But he shall not have a great number of horses; nor shall he make his people go back again to Egypt to acquire them, against the LORD'S warning that you must never go back

173 that way again. ¹⁷Neither shall he have a great number of wives, lest his heart be estranged, nor shall he accumulate a vast amount of silver and gold. ¹⁸When he is enthroned in his kingdom, he shall have a copy of this law made from the scroll that is in the custody of the levitical priests. ¹⁹He shall keep it with him and read it all the days of his life that he may learn to fear the LORD, his God, and to heed and fulfill all the words of this law and these statutes. ²⁰Let him not become estranged from his countrymen through pride, nor turn aside to the right or to the left from these commandments. Then he and his descendants will enjoy a long reign in Israel." Deuteronomy Chapter 18 "¹The whole priestly tribe of Levi shall have no share in the heritage with Israel; they shall live on the oblations of the LORD and the portions due to him. ²Levi shall have no heritage among his brothers; the LORD himself is his heritage, as he has told him. ³The priests shall have a right to the following things from the people: from those who are offering a sacrifice, whether the victim is from the herd or from the flock, the priest shall receive the shoulder, the jowls and the stomach. ⁴You shall also give him the first fruits of your grain and wine and oil, as well as the first fruits of the shearing of your flock; ⁵for the LORD, your God, has chosen him and his sons out of all your tribes to be always in attendance to minister in the name of the LORD. ⁶When a Levite goes from one of your communities anywhere in Israel in which he ordinarily resides, to visit, as his heart may desire, the place which the LORD chooses, ⁷he may minister there in the name of the LORD, his God, like all his fellow Levites who are in attendance there before the LORD. ⁸He shall then receive the same portions to eat as the rest, along with his monetary offerings and heirlooms. ⁹When you come into the land which the LORD, your God, is giving you, you shall not learn to imitate the abominations of the peoples there. ¹⁰Let there not be found among you anyone who immolates his son or daughter in the fire, nor a fortune-teller, soothsayer, charmer, diviner, ¹¹or caster of spells, nor one who consults ghosts and spirits or seeks oracles from the dead. ¹²Anyone who does such things is an abomination to the LORD, and because of such abominations the LORD, your God, is driving these nations out of your way. ¹³You, however, must be altogether sincere toward the LORD, your God. ¹⁴Though these nations whom you are to dispossess listen to their soothsayers and fortune-tellers, the LORD, your God, will not permit you to do so. ¹⁵A prophet like me will the LORD, your God, raise up for you from among your own kinsmen; to him you shall listen. ¹⁶This is exactly what you requested of the LORD, your God, at Horeb on the day of the assembly, when you said, 'Let us not again hear the voice of the LORD, our God, nor see this great fire any more, lest we die.' ¹⁷And the LORD said to me, 'This was well said. ¹⁸I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their kinsmen, and will put my words into his mouth; he shall tell them all that I command him. ¹⁹If any man will not listen to my words which he speaks in my name, I myself will make him answer for it. ²⁰But if a prophet presumes to speak in my name an oracle that I have not commanded him to speak, or speaks in the name of other gods, he shall die.' ²¹If you say to yourselves, 'How can we recognize an oracle which the LORD has spoken?', ²²know that, even though a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if his oracle is not fulfilled or verified, it is an oracle which the LORD did not speak.

If any man will not listen to my words which he speaks in my name, I myself will make him answer for it. ²⁰But if a prophet presumes to speak in my name an oracle that I have not commanded him to speak, or speaks in the name of other gods, he shall die.' ²¹If you say to yourselves, 'How can we recognize an oracle which the LORD has spoken?', ²²know that, even though a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if his oracle is not fulfilled or verified, it is an oracle which the LORD did not speak. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously, and you shall have no fear of him." Deuteronomy Chapter 19 "¹When the LORD, your God, removes the nations whose land he is giving you, and you have taken their place and are settled in their cities and houses, ²¹you shall set apart three cities in the land which the LORD, your God, is giving you to occupy. ³You shall thereby divide into three regions the land which the LORD, your God, will give you as a heritage, and so arrange the routes that every homicide will be able to find a refuge. ⁴It is in the following case that a homicide may take

174 refuge in such a place to save his life: when someone unwittingly kills his neighbor to whom he had previously borne no malice. ⁵For example, if he goes with his neighbor to a forest to cut wood, and as he swings his ax to fell a tree, its head flies off the handle and hits his neighbor a mortal blow, he may take refuge in one of these cities to save his life. ⁶²Should the distance be too great, the avenger of blood may in the heat of his anger pursue the homicide and overtake him and strike him dead, even though he does not merit death since he had previously borne the slain man no malice. ⁷That is why I order you to set apart three cities. ⁸But if the LORD, your God, enlarges your territory, as he swore to your fathers, and gives you all the land he promised your fathers he would give ⁹in the event that you carefully observe all these commandments which I enjoin on you today, loving the LORD, your God, and ever walking in his ways: then add three cities to these three. ¹⁰Thus, in the land which the LORD, your God, is giving you as a heritage, innocent blood will not be shed and you will not become guilty of bloodshed. ¹¹However, if someone lies in wait for his neighbor out of hatred for him, and rising up against him, strikes him mortally, and then takes refuge in one of these cities, ¹²the elders of his own city shall send for him and have him taken from there, and shall hand him over to be slain by the avenger of blood. ¹³Do not look on him with pity, but purge from Israel the stain of shedding innocent blood, that you may prosper. ¹⁴You shall not move your neighbor's landmarks erected by your forefathers in the heritage you receive in the land which the LORD, your God, is giving you to occupy. ¹⁵One witness alone shall not take the stand against a man in regard to any crime or any offense of which he may be guilty; a judicial fact shall be established only on the testimony of two or three witnesses. ¹⁶If an unjust witness takes the stand against a man to accuse him of a defection from the law, ¹⁷the two parties in the dispute shall appear before the LORD in the presence of the priests or judges in office at that time; ¹⁸and if after a thorough investigation the judges find that the witness is a false witness and has accused his kinsman falsely, ¹⁹you shall do to him as he planned to do to his kinsman. Thus shall you purge the evil from your midst. ²⁰The rest, on hearing of it, shall fear, and never again do a thing so evil among you. ²¹Do not look on such a man with pity. Life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, and foot for foot!" Deuteronomy Chapter 20 "¹When you go out to war against your enemies and you see horses and chariots and an army greater than your own, do not be afraid of them, for the LORD, your God, who brought you up from the land of Egypt, will be with you. ²When you are about to go into battle, the priest shall come forward and say to the soldiers: ³'Hear, O Israel! Today you are going into battle against your enemies. Be not weakhearted or afraid; be neither alarmed nor frightened by them. ⁴For it is the LORD, your God, who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies and give you victory.' ⁵Then the officials shall say to the soldiers, 'Is there anyone who has built a new house and not yet had the housewarming? Let him return home, lest he die in battle and another dedicate it. ⁶Is there anyone who has planted a vineyard and never yet enjoyed its fruits? Let him return home, lest he die in battle and another enjoy its fruits in his stead. ⁷Is there anyone who has betrothed a woman and not yet taken her as his wife? Let him return home, lest he die in battle and another take her to wife.' ⁸In fine, the officials shall say to the soldiers, 'Is there anyone who is afraid and weakhearted? Let him return home, lest he make his fellows as fainthearted as himself.' ⁹When the officials have finished speaking to the soldiers, military officers shall be appointed over the army.

st he die in battle and another enjoy its fruits in his stead. ⁷Is there anyone who has betrothed a woman and not yet taken her as his wife? Let him return home, lest he die in battle and another take her to wife.' ⁸In fine, the officials shall say to the soldiers, 'Is there anyone who is afraid and weakhearted? Let him return home, lest he make his fellows as fainthearted as himself.' ⁹When the officials have finished speaking to the soldiers, military officers shall be appointed over the army. ¹⁰When you march up to attack a city, first offer it terms of peace. ¹¹If it agrees to your terms of peace and opens its gates to you, all the people to be found in it shall serve you in forced labor. ¹²But if it refuses to make peace with you and instead offers you battle, lay siege to it, ¹³and when the LORD, your God, delivers it into your hand, put every male in it to the sword; ¹⁴but the women and children and livestock and all else in it that is worth plundering you may take as your

175 booty, and you may use this plunder of your enemies which the LORD, your God, has given you. ¹⁵That is how you shall deal with any city at a considerable distance from you, which does not belong to the peoples of this land. ¹⁶But in the cities of those nations which the LORD, your God, is giving you as your heritage, you shall not leave a single soul alive. ¹⁷You must doom them all - the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites - as the LORD, your God, has commanded you, ¹⁸lest they teach you to make any such abominable offerings as they make to their gods, and you thus sin against the LORD, your God. ¹⁹When you are at war with a city and have to lay siege to it for a long time before you capture it, you shall not destroy its trees by putting an ax to them. You may eat their fruit, but you must not cut down the trees. After all, are the trees of the field men, that they should be included in your siege? ²⁰However, those trees which you know are not fruit trees you may destroy, cutting them down to build siegeworks with which to reduce the city that is resisting you." Deuteronomy Chapter 21 "¹If the corpse of a slain man is found lying in the open on the land which the LORD, your God, is giving you to occupy, and it is not known who killed him, ²your elders and judges shall go out and measure the distances to the cities that are in the neighborhood of the corpse. ³When it is established which city is nearest the corpse, the elders of that city shall take a heifer that has never been put to work as a draft animal under a yoke, ⁴and bringing it down to a wadi with an everflowing stream at a place that has not been plowed or sown, they shall cut the heifer's throat there in the wadi. ⁵The priests, the descendants of Levi, shall also be present, for the LORD, your God, has chosen them to minister to him and to give blessings in his name, and every case of dispute or violence must be settled by their decision. ⁶Then all the elders of that city nearest the corpse shall wash their hands over the heifer whose throat was cut in the wadi, ⁷and shall declare, 'Our hands did not shed this blood, and our eyes did not see the deed. ⁸Absolve, O LORD, your people Israel, whom you have ransomed, and let not the guilt of shedding innocent blood remain in the midst of your people Israel.' Thus they shall be absolved from the guilt of bloodshed, ⁹and you shall purge from your midst the guilt of innocent blood, that you may prosper for doing what is right in the sight of the LORD. ¹⁰When you go out to war against your enemies and the LORD, your God, delivers them into your hand, so that you take captives, ¹¹if you see a comely woman among the captives and become so enamored of her that you wish to have her as wife, ¹²you may take her home to your house. But before she may live there, she must shave her head and pare her nails ¹³and lay aside her captive's garb. After she has mourned her father and mother for a full month, you may have relations with her, and you shall be her husband and she shall be your wife. ¹⁴However, if later on you lose your liking for her, you shall give her her freedom, if she wishes it; but you shall not sell her or enslave her, since she was married to you under compulsion. ¹⁵If a man with two wives loves one and dislikes the other; and if both bear him sons, but the first-born is of her whom he dislikes: ¹⁶when he comes to bequeath his property to his sons he may not consider as his first-born the son of the wife he loves, in preference to his true first-born, the son of the wife whom he dislikes. ¹⁷On the contrary, he shall recognize as his first-born the son of her whom he dislikes, giving him a double share of whatever he happens to own, since he is the first fruits of his manhood, and to him belong the rights of the first-born.

th bear him sons, but the first-born is of her whom he dislikes: ¹⁶when he comes to bequeath his property to his sons he may not consider as his first-born the son of the wife he loves, in preference to his true first-born, the son of the wife whom he dislikes. ¹⁷On the contrary, he shall recognize as his first-born the son of her whom he dislikes, giving him a double share of whatever he happens to own, since he is the first fruits of his manhood, and to him belong the rights of the first-born. ¹⁸If a man has a stubborn and unruly son who will not listen to his father or mother, and will not obey them even though they chastise him, ¹⁹his father and mother shall have him apprehended and brought out to the elders at the gate of his home city, ²⁰where they shall say to those city elders, 'This son of ours is a stubborn and unruly fellow who will not listen to us; he is a glutton and a drunkard.' ²¹Then all his fellow citizens shall stone him to death. Thus shall you purge the evil from your midst, and all Israel, on hearing of it, shall fear. ²²If a man guilty of a capital offense is put to death and his

176 corpse hung on a tree, ²³it shall not remain on the tree overnight. You shall bury it the same day; otherwise, since God's curse rests on him who hangs on a tree, you will defile the land which the LORD, your God, is giving you as an inheritance." Deuteronomy Chapter 22 "¹You shall not see your kinsman's ox or sheep driven astray without showing concern about it; see to it that it is returned to your kinsman. ²If this kinsman does not live near you, or you do not know who he may be, take it to your own place and keep it with you until he claims it; then give it back to him. ³You shall do the same with his ass, or his garment, or anything else which your kinsman loses and you happen to find; you may not be unconcerned about them. ⁴You shall not see your kinsman's ass or ox foundering on the road without showing concern about it; see to it that you help him lift it up. ⁵A woman shall not wear an article proper to a man, nor shall a man put on a woman's dress; for anyone who does such things is an abomination to the LORD, your God. ⁶If, while walking along, you chance upon a bird's nest with young birds or eggs in it, in any tree or on the ground, and the mother bird is sitting on them, you shall not take away the mother bird along with her brood; ⁷you shall let her go, although you may take her brood away. It is thus that you shall have prosperity and a long life. ⁸When you build a new house, put a parapet around the roof; otherwise, if someone falls off, you will bring bloodguilt upon your house. ⁹You shall not sow your vineyard with two different kinds of seed; if you do, its produce shall become forfeit, both the crop you have sown and the yield of the vineyard. ¹⁰You shall not plow with an ox and an ass harnessed together. ¹¹You shall not wear cloth of two different kinds of thread, wool and linen, woven together. ¹²You shall put twisted cords on the four corners of the cloak that you wrap around you. ¹³If a man, after marrying a woman and having relations with her, comes to dislike her, ¹⁴and makes monstrous charges against her and defames her by saying, 'I married this woman, but when I first had relations with her I did not find her a virgin,' ¹⁵the father and mother of the girl shall take the evidence of her virginity and bring it to the elders at the city gate. ¹⁶There the father of the girl shall say to the elders, 'I gave my daughter to this man in marriage, but he has come to dislike her, ¹⁷and now brings monstrous charges against her, saying: I did not find your daughter a virgin. But here is the evidence of my daughter's virginity!' And they shall spread out the cloth before the elders of the city. ¹⁸Then these city elders shall take the man and chastise him, ¹⁹besides fining him one hundred silver shekels, which they shall give to the girl's father, because the man defamed a virgin in Israel. Moreover, she shall remain his wife, and he may not divorce her as long as he lives. ²⁰But if this charge is true, and evidence of the girl's virginity is not found, ²¹they shall bring the girl to the entrance of her father's house and there her townsmen shall stone her to death, because she committed a crime against Israel by her unchasteness in her father's house. Thus shall you purge the evil from your midst. ²²If a man is discovered having relations with a woman who is married to another, both the man and the woman with whom he has had relations shall die. Thus shall you purge the evil from your midst. ²³If within the city a man comes upon a maiden who is betrothed, and has relations with her, ²⁴you shall bring them both out to the gate of the city and there stone them to death: the girl because she did not cry out for help though she was in the city, and the man because he violated his neighbor's wife. Thus shall you purge the evil from your midst. ²⁵If, however, it is in the open fields that a man comes upon such a betrothed maiden, seizes her and has relations with her, the man alone shall die.

within the city a man comes upon a maiden who is betrothed, and has relations with her, ²⁴you shall bring them both out to the gate of the city and there stone them to death: the girl because she did not cry out for help though she was in the city, and the man because he violated his neighbor's wife. Thus shall you purge the evil from your midst. ²⁵If, however, it is in the open fields that a man comes upon such a betrothed maiden, seizes her and has relations with her, the man alone shall die. ²⁶You shall do nothing to the maiden, since she is not guilty of a capital offense. This case is like that of a man who rises up against his neighbor and murders him: ²⁷it was in the open fields that he came upon her, and though the betrothed maiden may have cried out for help, there was no one to come to her aid. ²⁸If a man comes upon a maiden that is not betrothed, takes her and has relations with her, and their deed is discovered, ²⁹the man who had relations with her shall pay the girl's father

177 fifty silver shekels and take her as his wife, because he has deflowered her. Moreover, he may not divorce her as long as he lives." Deuteronomy Chapter 23 "¹A man shall not marry his father's wife, nor shall he dishonor his father's bed. ²No one whose testicles have been crushed or whose penis has been cut off may be admitted into the community of the LORD. ³No child of an incestuous union may be admitted into the community of the LORD, nor any descendant of his even to the tenth generation. ⁴No Ammonite or Moabite may ever be admitted into the community of the LORD, nor any descendants of theirs even to the tenth generation, ⁵because they would not succor you with food and water on your journey after you left Egypt, and because Moab hired Balaam, son of Beor, from Pethor in Aram Naharaim, to curse you; ⁶though the LORD, your God, would not listen to Balaam and turned his curse into a blessing for you, because he loves you. ⁷Never promote their peace and prosperity as long as you live. ⁸But do not abhor the Edomite, since he is your brother, nor the Egyptian, since you were an alien in his country. ⁹Children born to them may in the third generation be admitted into the community of the LORD. ¹⁰When you are in camp during an expedition against your enemies, you shall keep yourselves from everything offensive. ¹¹If one of you becomes unclean because of a nocturnal emission, he shall go outside the camp, and not return until, ¹²toward evening, he has bathed in water; then, when the sun has set, he may come back into the camp. ¹³Outside the camp you shall have a place set aside to be used as a latrine. ¹⁴You shall also keep a trowel in your equipment and with it, when you go outside to ease nature, you shall first dig a hole and afterward cover up your excrement. ¹⁵Since the LORD, your God, journeys along within your camp to defend you and to put your enemies at your mercy, your camp must be holy; otherwise, if he sees anything indecent in your midst, he will leave your company. ¹⁶You shall not hand over to his master a slave who has taken refuge from him with you. ¹⁷Let him live with you wherever he chooses, in any one of your communities that pleases him. Do not molest him. ¹⁸There shall be no temple harlot among the Israelite women, nor a temple prostitute among the Israelite men. ¹⁹You shall not offer a harlot's fee or a dog's price as any kind of votive offering in the house of the LORD, your God; both these things are an abomination to the LORD, your God. ²⁰You shall not demand interest from your countrymen on a loan of money or of food or of anything else on which interest is usually demanded. ²¹You may demand interest from a foreigner, but not from your countryman, so that the LORD, your God, may bless you in all your undertakings on the land you are to enter and occupy. ²²When you make a vow to the LORD, your God, you shall not delay in fulfilling it; otherwise you will be held guilty, for the LORD, your God, is strict in requiring it of you. ²³Should you refrain from making a vow, you will not be held guilty. ²⁴But you must keep your solemn word and fulfill the votive offering you have freely promised to the LORD. ²⁵When you go through your neighbor's vineyard, you may eat as many of his grapes as you wish, but do not put them in your basket.

enter and occupy. ²²When you make a vow to the LORD, your God, you shall not delay in fulfilling it; otherwise you will be held guilty, for the LORD, your God, is strict in requiring it of you. ²³Should you refrain from making a vow, you will not be held guilty. ²⁴But you must keep your solemn word and fulfill the votive offering you have freely promised to the LORD. ²⁵When you go through your neighbor's vineyard, you may eat as many of his grapes as you wish, but do not put them in your basket. ²⁶When you go through your neighbor's grainfield, you may pluck some of the ears with your hand, but do not put a sickle to your neighbor's grain." Deuteronomy Chapter 24 "¹When a man, after marrying a woman and having relations with her, is later displeased with her because he finds in her something indecent, and therefore he writes out a bill of divorce and hands it to her, thus dismissing her from his house: ²if on leaving his house she goes and becomes the wife of another man, ³and the second husband, too, comes to dislike her and dismisses her from his house by handing her a written bill of divorce; or if this second man who has married her, dies; ⁴then her former husband, who dismissed her, may not again take her as his wife after she has become defiled. That would be an abomination before the LORD, and you shall not bring such

178 guilt upon the land which the LORD, your God, is giving you as a heritage. ⁵When a man is newly wed, he need not go out on a military expedition, nor shall any public duty be imposed on him. He shall be exempt for one year for the sake of his family, to bring joy to the wife he has married. ⁶No one shall take a hand mill or even its upper stone as a pledge for debt, for he would be taking the debtor's sustenance as a pledge. ⁷If any man is caught kidnapping a fellow Israelite in order to enslave him and sell him, the kidnapper shall be put to death. Thus shall you purge the evil from your midst. ⁸In an attack of leprosy you shall be careful to observe exactly and to carry out all the directions of the levitical priests. Take care to act in accordance with the instructions I have given them. ⁹Remember what the LORD, your God, did to Miriam on the journey after you left Egypt. ¹⁰When you make a loan of any kind to your neighbor, you shall not enter his house to receive a pledge from him, ¹¹but shall wait outside until the man to whom you are making the loan brings his pledge outside to you. ¹²If he is a poor man, you shall not sleep in the mantle he gives as a pledge, ¹³but shall return it to him at sunset that he himself may sleep in it. Then he will bless you, and it will be a good deed of yours before the LORD, your God. ¹⁴You shall not defraud a poor and needy hired servant, whether he be one of your own countrymen or one of the aliens who live in your communities. ¹⁵You shall pay him each day's wages before sundown on the day itself, since he is poor and looks forward to them. Otherwise, he will cry to the LORD against you, and you will be held guilty. ¹⁶Fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor children for their fathers; only for his own guilt shall a man be put to death. ¹⁷You shall not violate the rights of the alien or of the orphan, nor take the clothing of a widow as a pledge. ¹⁸For, remember, you were once slaves in Egypt, and the LORD, your God, ransomed you from there; that is why I command you to observe this rule. ¹⁹When you reap the harvest in your field and overlook a sheaf there, you shall not go back to get it; let it be for the alien, the orphan, or the widow, that the LORD, your God, may bless you in all your undertakings. ²⁰When you knock down the fruit of your olive trees, you shall not go over the branches a second time; let what remains be for the alien, the orphan, and the widow. ²¹When you pick your grapes, you shall not go over the vineyard a second time; let what remains be for the alien, the orphan, and the widow. ²² For remember that you were once slaves in Egypt; that is why I command you to observe this rule." Deuteronomy Chapter 25 "¹When men have a dispute and bring it to court, and a decision is handed down to them acquitting the innocent party and condemning the guilty party, ²if the latter deserves stripes, the judge shall have him lie down and in his presence receive the number of stripes his guilt deserves. ³Forty stripes may be given him, but no more; lest, if he were beaten with more stripes than these, your kinsman should be looked upon as disgraced because of the severity of the beating. ⁴You shall not muzzle an ox when it is treading out grain. ⁵When brothers live together and one of them dies without a son, the widow of the deceased shall not marry anyone outside the family; but her husband's brother shall go to her and perform the duty of a brother-in-law by marrying her. ⁶The first-born son she bears shall continue the line of the deceased brother, that his name may not be blotted out from Israel. ⁷If, however, a man does not care to marry his brother's wife, she shall go up to the elders at the gate and declare, 'My brother-in-law does not intend to perform his duty toward me and refuses to perpetuate his brother's name in Israel.' ⁸Thereupon the elders of his city shall summon him and admonish him.

her and perform the duty of a brother-in-law by marrying her. ⁶The first-born son she bears shall continue the line of the deceased brother, that his name may not be blotted out from Israel. ⁷If, however, a man does not care to marry his brother's wife, she shall go up to the elders at the gate and declare, 'My brother-in-law does not intend to perform his duty toward me and refuses to perpetuate his brother's name in Israel.' ⁸Thereupon the elders of his city shall summon him and admonish him. If he persists in saying, 'I am not willing to marry her,' ⁹his sister-in-law, in the presence of the elders, shall go up to him and strip his sandal from his foot and spit in his face, saying publicly, 'This is how one should be treated who will not build up his brother's family!' ¹⁰And his lineage shall be spoken of in Israel as 'the family of the man stripped of his sandal.' ¹¹When two men are fighting and the wife of one intervenes to save her husband from the blows of his opponent, if she stretches out her hand and seizes the latter by his

179 private parts, ¹²you shall chop off her hand without pity. ¹³You shall not keep two differing weights in your bag, one large and the other small; ¹⁴nor shall you keep two different measures in your house, one large and the other small. ¹⁵But use a true and just weight, and a true and just measure, that you may have a long life on the land which the LORD, your God, is giving you. ¹⁶Everyone who is dishonest in any of these matters is an abomination to the LORD, your God. ¹⁷Bear in mind what Amalek did to you on the journey after you left Egypt, ¹⁸how without fear of any god he harassed you along the way, weak and weary as you were, and cut off at the rear all those who lagged behind. ¹⁹Therefore, when the LORD, your God, gives you rest from all your enemies round about in the land which he is giving you to occupy as your heritage, you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under the heavens. Do not forget!" Deuteronomy Chapter 26 "¹When you have come into the land which the LORD, your God, is giving you as a heritage, and have occupied it and settled in it, ²you shall take some first fruits of the various products of the soil which you harvest from the land which the LORD, your God, gives you, and putting them in a basket, you shall go to the place which the LORD, your God, chooses for the dwelling place of his name. ³There you shall go to the priest in office at that time and say to him, 'Today I acknowledge to the LORD, my God, that I have indeed come into the land which he swore to our fathers he would give us.' ⁴The priest shall then receive the basket from you and shall set it in front of the altar of the LORD, your God. ⁵Then you shall declare before the LORD, your God, 'My father was a wandering Aramean who went down to Egypt with a small household and lived there as an alien. But there he became a nation great, strong and numerous. ⁶When the Egyptians maltreated and oppressed us, imposing hard labor upon us, ⁷we cried to the LORD, the God of our fathers, and he heard our cry and saw our affliction, our toil and our oppression. ⁸He brought us out of Egypt with his strong hand and outstretched arm, with terrifying power, with signs and wonders; ⁹and bringing us into this country, he gave us this land flowing with milk and honey. ¹⁰Therefore, I have now brought you the first fruits of the products of the soil which you, O LORD, have given me.' And having set them before the LORD, your God, you shall bow down in his presence. ¹¹Then you and your family, together with the Levite and the aliens who live among you, shall make merry over all these good things which the LORD, your God, has given you. ¹²When you have finished setting aside all the tithes of your produce in the third year, the year of the tithes, and you have given them to the Levite, the alien, the orphan and the widow, that they may eat their fill in your own community, ¹³you shall declare before the LORD, your God, 'I have purged my house of the sacred portion and I have given it to the Levite, the alien, the orphan and the widow, just as you have commanded me. In this I have not broken or forgotten any of your commandments: ¹⁴I have not eaten any of the tithe as a mourner; I have not brought any of it out as one unclean; I have not offered any of it to the dead. I have thus hearkened to the voice of the LORD, my God, doing just as you have commanded me. ¹⁵Look down, then, from heaven, your holy abode, and bless your people Israel and the soil you have given us in the land flowing with milk and honey which you promised on oath to our fathers.' ¹⁶This day the LORD, your God, commands you to observe these statutes and decrees.

not eaten any of the tithe as a mourner; I have not brought any of it out as one unclean; I have not offered any of it to the dead. I have thus hearkened to the voice of the LORD, my God, doing just as you have commanded me. ¹⁵Look down, then, from heaven, your holy abode, and bless your people Israel and the soil you have given us in the land flowing with milk and honey which you promised on oath to our fathers.' ¹⁶This day the LORD, your God, commands you to observe these statutes and decrees. Be careful, then, to observe them with all your heart and with all your soul. ¹⁷Today you are making this agreement with the LORD: he is to be your God and you are to walk in his ways and observe his statutes, commandments and decrees, and to hearken to his voice. ¹⁸And today the LORD is making this agreement with you: you are to be a people peculiarly his own, as he promised you; and provided you keep all his commandments, ¹⁹he will then raise you high in praise and renown and glory above all other nations he has made, and you will be a people sacred to the LORD, your God, as he promised."

180 Deuteronomy Chapter 27 “¹Then Moses, with the elders of Israel, gave the people this order: ‘Keep all these commandments which I enjoin on you today. ²On the day you cross the Jordan into the land which the LORD, your God, is giving you, set up some large stones and coat them with plaster. ³Also write on them, at the time you cross, all the words of this law, that you may thus enter into the land flowing with milk and honey, which the LORD, your God, and the God of your fathers, is giving you as he promised you. ⁴When, moreover, you have crossed the Jordan, besides setting up on Mount Ebal these stones concerning which I command you today, and coating them with plaster, ⁵you shall also build to the LORD, your God, an altar made of stones that no iron tool has touched. ⁶You shall make this altar of the LORD, your God, with undressed stones, and shall offer on it holocausts to the LORD, your God. ⁷You shall also sacrifice peace offerings and eat them there, making merry before the LORD, your God. ⁸On the stones you shall inscribe all the words of this law very clearly.’ ⁹Moses, with the 180ulfil180al priests, then said to all Israel: ‘Be silent, O Israel, and listen! This day you have become the people of the LORD, your God. ¹⁰You shall therefore hearken to the voice of the LORD, your God, and keep his commandments and statutes which I enjoin on you today.’ ¹¹That same day Moses gave the people this order: ¹²’When you cross the Jordan, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin shall stand on Mount Gerizim to pronounce blessings over the people, ¹³while Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali shall stand on Mount Ebal to pronounce curses. ¹⁴The Levites shall proclaim aloud to all the men of Israel: ¹⁵”Cursed be the man who makes a carved or molten idol—an abomination to the LORD, the product of a craftsman’s hands—and sets it up in secret!” And all the people shall answer, “Amen!” ¹⁶”Cursed be he who dishonors his father or his mother!” And all the people shall answer, “Amen!” ¹⁷”Cursed be he who moves his neighbor’s landmarks!” And all the people shall answer, "Amen!" ¹⁸"Cur’ed be he who misleads a blind man”on his way!" And all the people shall answer, "Amen!" ¹⁹’Cursed be he who violates the rig”ts of the alien, the orphan, or the widow!” And all the people shall answer, “Amen!” ²⁰”Cursed be he who has relations with his father’s wife, for he dishonors his father’s bed!” And all the people shall answer, “Amen!” ²¹”Cursed be he who has relations with any animal!” And all the people shall answer, “Amen!” ²²”Cursed be he who has relations with his sister or his half-sister!” And all the people shall answer, “Amen!” ²³”Cursed be he who has relations with his mother-in-law!” And all the people shall answer, “Amen!” ²⁴”Cursed be he who slays his neighbor in secret!” And all the people shall answer, “Amen!” ²⁵”Cursed be he who accepts payment for slaying an innocent man!” And all the people shall answer, “Amen!” ²⁶”Cursed be he who fails to 180ulfil any of the provisions of this law!” And all the people shall answer, “Amen!” Deuteronomy Chapter 28 "¹Thus, then, shall it be: if you continue to heed the voice of the LORD, your God, and are careful to observe all his commandments which I enjoin on you today, the LORD, your God, will raise you high above all the nations of the earth. ²When you hearken to the voice of the LORD, your God, all these blessings will come upon you and overwhelm you: ³May you be blessed in the city, and blessed in the country! ⁴Blessed be the fruit of your womb, the produce of your soil and the offspring of your livestock, the issue of your herds and the young of your flocks! ⁵Blessed be your grain bin and your kneading bowl! ⁶May you be blessed in your coming in, and blessed in your going out! ⁷The LORD will beat down before you the enemies that rise up against you; though they come out against you from but one direction, they will flee before you in seven.

³May you be blessed in the city, and blessed in the country! ⁴Blessed be the fruit of your womb, the produce of your soil and the offspring of your livestock, the issue of your herds and the young of your flocks! ⁵Blessed be your grain bin and your kneading bowl! ⁶May you be blessed in your coming in, and blessed in your going out! ⁷The LORD will beat down before you the enemies that rise up against you; though they come out against you from but one direction, they will flee before you in seven. ⁸The LORD will affirm his blessing upon you, on your barns and on all your undertakings, blessing you in the land that the LORD, your God, gives you. ⁹Provided that you keep the commandments of the LORD,

181 your God, and walk in his ways, he will establish you as a people sacred to himself, as he swore to you; ¹⁰so that, when all the nations of the earth see you bearing the name of the LORD, they will stand in awe of you. ¹¹The LORD will increase in more than goodly measure the fruit of your womb, the offspring of your livestock, and the produce of your soil, in the land which he swore to your fathers he would give you. ¹²The LORD will open up for you his rich treasure house of the heavens, to give your land rain in due season, blessing all your undertakings, so that you will lend to many nations and borrow from none. ¹³The LORD will make you the head, not the tail, and you will always mount higher and not decline, as long as you obey the commandments of the LORD, your God, which I order you today to observe carefully; ¹⁴not turning aside to the right or to the left from any of the commandments which I now give you, in order to follow other gods and serve them. ¹⁵But if you do not hearken to the voice of the LORD, your God, and are not careful to observe all his commandments which I enjoin on you today, all these curses shall come upon you and overwhelm you: ¹⁶May you be cursed in the city, and cursed in the country! ¹⁷Cursed be your grain bin and your kneading bowl! ¹⁸Cursed be the fruit of your womb, the produce of your soil and the offspring of your livestock, the issue of your herds and the young of your flocks! ¹⁹May you be cursed in your coming in, and cursed in your going out! ²⁰The LORD will put a curse on you, defeat and frustration in every enterprise you undertake, until you are speedily destroyed and perish for the evil you have done in forsaking me. ²¹The LORD will bring a pestilence upon you that will persist until he has exterminated you from the land you are entering to occupy. ²²The LORD will strike you with wasting and fever, with scorching, fiery drought, with blight and searing wind, that will plague you until you perish. ²³The sky over your heads will be like bronze and the earth under your feet like iron. ²⁴For rain the LORD will give your land powdery dust, which will come down upon you from the sky until you are destroyed. ²⁵The LORD will let you be beaten down before your enemies; though you advance against them from one direction, you will flee before them in seven, so that you will become a terrifying example to all the kingdoms of the earth. ²⁶Your carcasses will become food for all the birds of the air and for the beasts of the field, with no one to frighten them off. ²⁷The LORD will strike you with Egyptian boils and with tumors, eczema and the itch, until you cannot be cured. ²⁸And the LORD will strike you with madness, blindness and panic, ²⁹so that even at midday you will grope like a blind man in the dark, unable to find your way. You will be oppressed and robbed continually, with no one to come to your aid. ³⁰Though you betroth a wife, another man will have her. Though you build a house, you will not live in it. Though you plant a vineyard, you will not enjoy its fruits. ³¹Your ox will be slaughtered before your eyes, and you will not eat of its flesh. Your ass will be stolen in your presence, but you will not recover it. Your flocks will be given to your enemies, with no one to come to your aid. ³²Your sons and daughters will be given to a foreign nation while you look on and grieve for them in constant helplessness. ³³A people whom you do not know will consume the fruit of your soil and of all your labor, and you will be oppressed and crushed at all times without surcease, ³⁴until you are driven mad by what your eyes must look upon. ³⁵The LORD will strike you with malignant boils of which you cannot be cured, on your knees and legs, and from the soles of your feet to the crown of your head.

r sons and daughters will be given to a foreign nation while you look on and grieve for them in constant helplessness. ³³A people whom you do not know will consume the fruit of your soil and of all your labor, and you will be oppressed and crushed at all times without surcease, ³⁴until you are driven mad by what your eyes must look upon. ³⁵The LORD will strike you with malignant boils of which you cannot be cured, on your knees and legs, and from the soles of your feet to the crown of your head. ³⁶The LORD will bring you, and your king whom you have set over you, to a nation which you and your fathers have not known, and there you will serve strange gods of wood and stone, ³⁷and will call forth amazement, reproach and barbed scorn from all the nations to which the LORD will lead you. ³⁸Though you spend much seed on your field, you will harvest but little, for the locusts will devour the crop. ³⁹Though you plant and cultivate vineyards, you will not drink or store up the wine, for the grubs will eat the vines clean. ⁴⁰Though you have olive trees throughout your country, you will have no oil for ointment, for your olives will drop off unripe. ⁴¹Though you beget sons and daughters, they will not remain with you, but will go into captivity. ⁴²Buzzing insects will infest all your trees and the crops of your soil. ⁴³The alien residing among

182 you will rise higher and higher above you, while you sink lower and lower. ⁴⁴He will lend to you, not you to him. He will become the head, you the tail. ⁴⁵All these curses will come upon you, pursuing you and overwhelming you, until you are destroyed, because you would not hearken to the voice of the LORD, your God, nor keep the commandments and statutes he gave you. ⁴⁶They will light on you and your descendants as a sign and a wonder for all time. ⁴⁷Since you would not serve the LORD, your God, with joy and gratitude for abundance of every kind, ⁴⁸therefore in hunger and thirst, in nakedness and utter poverty, you will serve the enemies whom the LORD will send against you. He will put an iron yoke on your neck, until he destroys you. ⁴⁹The LORD will raise up against you a nation from afar, from the end of the earth, that swoops down like an eagle, a nation whose tongue you do not understand, ⁵⁰a nation of stern visage, that shows neither respect for the aged nor pity for the young. ⁵¹They will consume the offspring of your livestock and the produce of your soil, until you are destroyed; they will leave you no grain or wine or oil, no issue of your herds or young of your flocks, until they have brought about your ruin. ⁵²They will besiege you in each of your communities, until the great, unscalable walls you trust in come tumbling down all over your land. They will so besiege you in every community throughout the land which the LORD, your God, has given you, ⁵³that in the distress of the siege to which your enemy subjects you, you will eat the fruit of your womb, the flesh of your own sons and daughters whom the LORD, your God, has given you. ⁵⁴The most refined and fastidious man among you will begrudge his brother and his beloved wife and his surviving children, ⁵⁵any share in the flesh of his children that he himself is using for food when nothing else is left him in the straits of the siege to which your enemy will subject you in all your communities. ⁵⁶The most refined and delicate woman among you, so delicate and refined that she would not venture to set the sole of her foot on the ground, will begrudge her beloved husband and her son and daughter ⁵⁷the afterbirth that issues from her womb and the infant she brings forth when she secretly uses them for food for want of anything else, in the straits of the siege to which your enemy will subject you in your communities. ⁵⁸If you are not careful to observe every word of the law which is written in this book, and to revere the glorious and awesome name of the LORD, your God, ⁵⁹he will smite you and your descendants with severe and constant blows, malignant and lasting maladies. ⁶⁰He will again afflict you with all the diseases of Egypt which you dread, and they will persist among you. ⁶¹Should there be any kind of sickness or calamity not mentioned in this book of the law, that too the LORD will bring upon you until you are destroyed. ⁶²Of you who were numerous as the stars in the sky, only a few will be left, because you would not hearken to the voice of the LORD, your God. ⁶³Just as the LORD once took delight in making you grow and prosper, so will he now take delight in ruining and destroying you, and you will be plucked out of the land you are now entering to occupy. ⁶⁴The LORD will scatter you among all the nations from one end of the earth to the other, and there you will serve strange gods of wood and stone, such as you and your fathers have not known. ⁶⁵Among these nations you will find no repose, not a foot of ground to stand upon, for there the LORD will give you an anguished heart and wasted eyes and a dismayed spirit. ⁶⁶You will live in constant suspense and stand in dread both day and night, never sure of your existence. ⁶⁷In the morning you will say, "Would that it were evening!" and in the evening you will say, "Would that it were morning!" for the dread that your heart must feel and the sight that your eyes must see.

s have not known. ⁶⁵Among these nations you will find no repose, not a foot of ground to stand upon, for there the LORD will give you an anguished heart and wasted eyes and a dismayed spirit. ⁶⁶You will live in constant suspense and stand in dread both day and night, never sure of your existence. ⁶⁷In the morning you will say, "Would that it were evening!" and in the evening you will say, "Would that it were morning!" for the dread that your heart must feel and the sight that your eyes must see. ⁶⁸The LORD will send you back in galleys to Egypt, to the region I told you that you were never to see again; and there you will offer yourselves for sale to your enemies as male and female slaves, but there will be no buyer. ⁶⁹These are the words of the covenant which the LORD ordered Moses to make with the Israelites in the land of Moab, in addition to the covenant which he made with them at Horeb." Deuteronomy Chapter 29

183 ¹ "Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, 'You have seen all that the LORD did in the land of Egypt before your very eyes to Pharaoh and all his servants and to all his land; ² the great testings your own eyes have seen, and those great signs and wonders. ³ But not even at the present day has the LORD yet given you a mind to understand, or eyes to see, or ears to hear. ⁴ I led you for forty years in the desert. Your clothes did not fall from you in tatters nor your sandals from your feet; ⁵ bread was not your food, nor wine or beer your drink. Thus you should know that I, the LORD, am your God. ⁶ When we came to this place, Sihon, king of Heshbon, and Og, king of Bashan, came out to engage us in battle, but we defeated them ⁷ and took over their land, which we then gave as a heritage to the Reubenites, Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh. ⁸ Keep the terms of this covenant, therefore, and fulfill them, that you may succeed in whatever you do. ⁹ You are all now standing before the LORD, your God—your chiefs and judges, your elders and officials, and all of the men of Israel, ¹⁰ together with your wives and children and the aliens who live in your camp, down to those who hew wood and draw water for you— ¹¹ that you may enter into the covenant of the LORD, your God, which he concluded with you today under this sanction of a curse; ¹² so that he may now establish you as his people and he may be your God, as he promised you and as he swore to your fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. ¹³ But it is not with you alone that I am making this covenant, under this sanction of a curse; ¹⁴ it is just as much with those who are not here among us today as it is with those of us who are now here present before the LORD, our God. ¹⁵ You know in what surroundings we lived in the land of Egypt and what we passed by in the nations we traversed, ¹⁶ and you saw the loathsome idols of wood and stone, of gold and silver, that they possess. ¹⁷ Let there be, then, no man or woman, no clan or tribe among you, who would now turn away their hearts from the LORD, our God, to go and serve these pagan gods! Let there be no root that would bear such poison and wormwood among you. ¹⁸ If any such person, upon hearing the words of this curse, should beguile himself into thinking that he can safely persist in his stubbornness of heart, as though to sweep away both the watered soil and the parched ground, ¹⁹ the LORD will never consent to pardon him. Instead, the LORD'S wrath and jealousy will flare up against that man, and every curse mentioned in this book will alight on him. The LORD will blot out his name from under the heavens ²⁰ and will single him out from all the tribes of Israel for doom, in keeping with all the curses of the covenant inscribed in this book of the law. ²¹ Future generations, your own descendants who will rise up after you, as well as the foreigners who will come here from far-off lands, when they see the calamities of this land and the ills with which the LORD has smitten it— ²² all its soil being nothing but sulphur and salt, a burnt-out waste, unsown and unfruitful, without a blade of grass, destroyed like Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which the LORD overthrew in his furious wrath— ²³ they and all the nations will ask, "Why has the LORD dealt thus with this land?

descendants who will rise up after you, as well as the foreigners who will come here from far-off lands, when they see the calamities of this land and the ills with which the LORD has smitten it— ²² all its soil being nothing but sulphur and salt, a burnt-out waste, unsown and unfruitful, without a blade of grass, destroyed like Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which the LORD overthrew in his furious wrath— ²³ they and all the nations will ask, "Why has the LORD dealt thus with this land? Why this fierce outburst of wrath?" ²⁴ And the answer will be, "Because they forsook the covenant which the LORD, the God of their fathers, had made with them when he brought them out of the land of Egypt, ²⁵ and they went and served other gods and adored them, gods whom they did not know and whom he had not let fall to their lot: ²⁶ that is why the LORD was angry with this land and brought on it all the imprecations listed in this book; ²⁷ in his furious wrath and tremendous anger the LORD uprooted them from their soil and cast them out into a strange land, where they are today." ²⁸ (Both what is still hidden and what has already been revealed concern us and our descendants forever, that we may carry out all the words of this law.) Deuteronomy Chapter 30 ¹ "When all these things which I have set before you, the blessings and the curses, are fulfilled in you, and from among whatever nations the LORD, your God, may have dispersed you, you ponder them in your heart: ² then, provided that you and your children return to the LORD, your God,

184 and heed his voice with all your heart and all your soul, just as I now command you, ³ the LORD, your God, will change your lot; and taking pity on you, he will again gather you from all the nations wherein he has scattered you. ⁴ Though you may have been driven to the farthest corner of the world, even from there will the LORD, your God, gather you; even from there will he bring you back. ⁵ The LORD, your God, will then bring you into the land which your fathers once occupied, that you too may occupy it, and he will make you more prosperous and numerous than your fathers. ⁶ The LORD, your God, will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, that you may love the LORD, your God, with all your heart and all your soul, and so may live. ⁷ But all those curses the LORD, your God, will assign to your enemies and the foes who persecuted you. ⁸ You, however, must again heed the LORD'S voice and carry out all his commandments which I now enjoin on you. ⁹ Then the LORD, your God, will increase in more than goodly measure the returns from all your labors, the fruit of your womb, the offspring of your livestock, and the produce of your soil; for the LORD, your God, will again take delight in your prosperity, even as he took delight in your fathers', ¹⁰ if only you heed the voice of the LORD, your God, and keep his commandments and statutes that are written in this book of the law, when you return to the LORD, your God, with all your heart and all your soul. ¹¹ For this command which I enjoin on you today is not too mysterious and remote for you. ¹² It is not up in the sky, that you should say, 'Who will go up in the sky to get it for us and tell us of it, that we may carry it out?' ¹³ Nor is it across the sea, that you should say, 'Who will cross the sea to get it for us and tell us of it, that we may carry it out?' ¹⁴ No, it is something very near to you, already in your mouths and in your hearts; you have only to carry it out. ¹⁵ Here, then, I have today set before you life and prosperity, death and doom. ¹⁶ If you obey the commandments of the LORD, your God, which I enjoin on you today, loving him, and walking in his ways, and keeping his commandments, statutes and decrees, you will live and grow numerous, and the LORD, your God, will bless you in the land you are entering to occupy. ¹⁷ If, however, you turn away your hearts and will not listen, but are led astray and adore and serve other gods, ¹⁸ I tell you now that you will certainly perish; you will not have a long life on the land which you are crossing the Jordan to enter and occupy. ¹⁹ I call heaven and earth today to witness against you: I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Choose life, then, that you and your descendants may live, ²⁰ by loving the LORD, your God, heeding his voice, and holding fast to him. For that will mean life for you, a long life for you to live on the land which the LORD swore he would give to your fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob." Deuteronomy Chapter 31 ¹ "When Moses had finished speaking these words to all Israel, ² he said to them, 'I am now one hundred and twenty years old and am no longer able to move about freely; besides, the LORD has told me that I shall not cross this Jordan. ³ It is the LORD, your God, who will cross before you; he will destroy these nations before you, that you may supplant them. (It is Joshua who will cross before you, as the LORD promised.) ⁴ The LORD will deal with them just as he dealt with Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites whom he destroyed, and with their country. ⁵ When, therefore, the LORD delivers them up to you, you must deal with them exactly as I have ordered you.

; besides, the LORD has told me that I shall not cross this Jordan. ³ It is the LORD, your God, who will cross before you; he will destroy these nations before you, that you may supplant them. (It is Joshua who will cross before you, as the LORD promised.) ⁴ The LORD will deal with them just as he dealt with Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites whom he destroyed, and with their country. ⁵ When, therefore, the LORD delivers them up to you, you must deal with them exactly as I have ordered you. ⁶ Be brave and steadfast; have no fear or dread of them, for it is the LORD, your God, who marches with you; he will never fail you or forsake you.' ⁷ Then Moses summoned Joshua and in the presence of all Israel said to him, 'Be brave and steadfast, for you must bring this people into the land which the LORD swore to their fathers he would give them; you must put them in possession of their heritage. ⁸ It is the LORD who marches before you; he will be with you and will never fail you or forsake you. So do not fear or be dismayed.' ⁹ When Moses had written down this law, he entrusted it to the levitical priests who carry the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and to all the elders of Israel, ¹⁰ giving them this order: 'On the feast of Booths, at the prescribed time in the

185 year of relaxation which comes at the end of every seven-year period, ¹¹ when all Israel goes to appear before the LORD, your God, in the place which he chooses, you shall read this law aloud in the presence of all Israel. ¹² Assemble the people - men, women and children, as well as the aliens who live in your communities - that they may hear it and learn it, and so fear the LORD, your God, and carefully observe all the words of this law. ¹³ Their children also, who do not know it yet, must hear it and learn it, that they too may fear the LORD, your God, as long as you live on the land which you will cross the Jordan to occupy.' ¹⁴ The LORD said to Moses, 'The time is now approaching for you to die. Summon Joshua, and present yourselves at the meeting tent that I may give him his commission.' So Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves at the meeting tent. ¹⁵ And the LORD appeared at the tent in a column of cloud, which stood still at the entrance of the tent. ¹⁶ The LORD said to Moses, 'Soon you will be at rest with your fathers, and then this people will take to rendering wanton worship to the strange gods among whom they will live in the land they are about to enter. They will forsake me and break the covenant which I have made with them. ¹⁷ At that time my anger will flare up against them; I will forsake them and hide my face from them, so that they will become a prey to be devoured, and many evils and troubles will befall them. At that time they will indeed say, "Is it not because our God is not among us that these evils have befallen us?" ¹⁸ Yet I will be hiding my face from them at that time only because of all the evil they have done in turning to other gods. ¹⁹ Write out this song, then, for yourselves. Teach it to the Israelites and have them recite it, so that this song may be a witness for me against the Israelites. ²⁰ For when I have brought them into the land flowing with milk and honey which I promised on oath to their fathers, and they have eaten their fill and grown fat, if they turn to other gods and serve them, despising me and breaking my covenant; ²¹ then, when many evils and troubles befall them, this song, which their descendants will not have forgotten to recite, will bear witness against them. For I know what they are inclined to do even at the present time, before I have brought them into the land which I promised on oath to their fathers.' ²² So Moses wrote this song that same day, and he taught it to the Israelites. ²³ Then the LORD commissioned Joshua, son of Nun, and said to him, 'Be brave and steadfast, for it is you who must bring the Israelites into the land which I promised them on oath. I myself will be with you.' ²⁴ When Moses had finished writing out on a scroll the words of the law in their entirety, ²⁵ he gave the Levites who carry the ark of the covenant of the LORD this order: ²⁶ 'Take this scroll of the law and put it beside the ark of the covenant of the LORD, your God, that there it may be a witness against you. ²⁷ For I already know how rebellious and stiff-necked you will be. Why, even now, while I am alive among you, you have been rebels against the LORD! How much more, then, after I am dead! ²⁸ Therefore, assemble all your tribal elders and your officials before me, that I may speak these words for them to hear, and so may call heaven and earth to witness against them. ²⁹ For I know that after my death you are sure to become corrupt and to turn aside from the way along which I directed you, so that evil will befall you in some future age because you have done evil in the LORD'S sight, and provoked him by your deeds.' ³⁰ Then Moses recited the words of this song from beginning to end, for the whole assembly of Israel to hear." Deuteronomy Chapter 32 ¹ "Give ear, O heavens, while I speak; let the earth hearken to the words of my mouth!

h to witness against them. ²⁹ For I know that after my death you are sure to become corrupt and to turn aside from the way along which I directed you, so that evil will befall you in some future age because you have done evil in the LORD'S sight, and provoked him by your deeds.' ³⁰ Then Moses recited the words of this song from beginning to end, for the whole assembly of Israel to hear." Deuteronomy Chapter 32 ¹ "Give ear, O heavens, while I speak; let the earth hearken to the words of my mouth! ² May my instruction soak in like the rain, and my discourse permeate like the dew, Like a downpour upon the grass, like a shower upon the crops. ³ For I will sing the LORD'S renown. Oh, proclaim the greatness of our God! ⁴ The Rock - how faultless are his deeds, how right all his ways! A faithful God, without deceit, how just and upright he is! ⁵ Yet basely has he been treated by his degenerate children, a perverse and crooked race! ⁶ Is the LORD to be thus repaid by you, O stupid and foolish people? Is he not your father who created you? Has he not made you and established you? ⁷ Think

186 back on the days of old, reflect on the years of age upon age. Ask your father and he will inform you, ask your elders and they will tell you: ⁸ When the Most High assigned the nations their heritage, when he parceled out the descendants of Adam, He set up the boundaries of the peoples after the number of the sons of God; ⁹ While the LORD'S own portion was Jacob, His hereditary share was Israel. ¹⁰ He found them in a wilderness, a wasteland of howling desert. He shielded them and cared for them, guarding them as the apple of his eye. ¹¹ As an eagle incites its nestlings forth by hovering over its brood, So he spread his wings to receive them and bore them up on his pinions. ¹² The LORD alone was their leader, no strange god was with him. ¹³ He had them ride triumphant over the summits of the land and live off the products of its fields, Giving them honey to suck from its rocks and olive oil from its hard, stony ground; ¹⁴ Butter from its cows and milk from its sheep, with the fat of its lambs and rams; Its Bashan bulls and its goats, with the cream of its finest wheat; and the foaming blood of its grapes you drank. ¹⁵ (So Jacob ate his fill,) the darling grew fat and frisky; you became fat and gross and gorged. They spurned the God who made them and scorned their saving Rock. ¹⁶ They provoked him with strange gods and angered him with abominable idols. ¹⁷ They offered sacrifice to demons, to "no-gods," to gods whom they had not known before, To newcomers just arrived, of whom their fathers had never stood in awe. ¹⁸ You were unmindful of the Rock that begot you, You forgot the God who gave you birth. ¹⁹ When the LORD saw this, he was filled with loathing and anger toward his sons and daughters. ²⁰ 'I will hide my face from them," he said, "and see what will then become of them. What a fickle race they are, sons with no loyalty in them! ²¹ "Since they have provoked me with their 'no-god' and angered me with their vain idols, I will provoke them with a 'no-people'; with a foolish nation I will anger them. ²² "For by my wrath a fire is enkindled that shall rage to the depths of the nether world, Consuming the earth with its yield, and licking with flames the roots of the mountains. ²³ I will spend on them woe upon woe and exhaust all my arrows against them: ²⁴ "Emaciating hunger and consuming fever and bitter pestilence, And the teeth of wild beasts I will send among them, with the venom of reptiles gliding in the dust. ²⁵ "Snatched away by the sword in the street and by sheer terror at home Shall be the youth and the maiden alike, the nursing babe as well as the hoary old man. ²⁶ "I would have said, 'I will make an end of them and blot out their name from men's memories,' ²⁷ Had I not feared the insolence of their enemies, feared that these foes would mistakenly boast, 'Our own hand won the victory; the LORD had nothing to do with it.'" ²⁸ For they are a people devoid of reason, having no understanding. ²⁹ If they had insight they would realize what happened, they would understand their future and say, ³⁰ "How could one man rout a thousand, or two men put ten thousand to flight, Unless it was because their Rock sold them and the LORD delivered them up?" ³¹ Indeed, their "rock" is not like our Rock, and our foes are under condemnation. ³² They are a branch of Sodom's vinestock, from the vineyards of Gomorrah. Poisonous are their grapes and bitter their clusters. ³³ Their wine is the venom of dragons and the cruel poison of cobras. ³⁴ "Is not this preserved in my treasury, sealed up in my storehouse, ³⁵ Against the day of vengeance and requital, against the time they lose their footing?" Close at hand is the day of their disaster and their doom is rushing upon them! ³⁶ Surely, the LORD shall do justice for his people; on his servants he shall have pity. When he sees their strength failing, and their protected and unprotected alike disappearing, ³⁷ He will say, "Where are their gods whom they relied on as their 'rock'?

ras. ³⁴ "Is not this preserved in my treasury, sealed up in my storehouse, ³⁵ Against the day of vengeance and requital, against the time they lose their footing?" Close at hand is the day of their disaster and their doom is rushing upon them! ³⁶ Surely, the LORD shall do justice for his people; on his servants he shall have pity. When he sees their strength failing, and their protected and unprotected alike disappearing, ³⁷ He will say, "Where are their gods whom they relied on as their 'rock'? ³⁸ Let those who ate the fat of your sacrifices and drank the wine of your libations Rise up now and help you! Let them be your protection! ³⁹ "Learn then that I, I alone, am God, and there is no god besides me. It is I who bring both death and life, I who inflict wounds and heal them, and from my hand there is no rescue. ⁴⁰ "To the heavens I raise my hand and swear: As surely as I live forever, ⁴¹ I will sharpen my flashing sword, and my hand shall lay hold of my quiver. "With vengeance I will repay my foes and requite those who hate me. ⁴² I will make my arrows drunk with blood, and my sword shall gorge itself with flesh - With the blood of

187 the slain and the captured, Flesh from the heads of the enemy leaders." ⁴³ Exult with him, you heavens, glorify him, all you angels of God; For he avenges the blood of his servants and purges his people's land. ⁴⁴ So Moses, together with Joshua, son of Nun, went and recited all the words of this song for the people to hear. ⁴⁵ When Moses had finished speaking all these words to all Israel, ⁴⁶ he said, "Take to heart all the warning which I have now given you and which you must impress on your children, that you may carry out carefully every word of this law. ⁴⁷ For this is no trivial matter for you; rather, it means your very life, since it is by this means that you are to enjoy a long life on the land which you will cross the Jordan to occupy." ⁴⁸ On that very day the LORD said to Moses, ⁴⁹ "Go up on Mount Nebo, here in the Abarim Mountains (it is in the land of Moab facing Jericho), and view the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites as their possession. ⁵⁰ Then you shall die on the mountain you have climbed, and shall be taken to your people, just as your brother Aaron died on Mount Hor and there was taken to his people; ⁵¹ because both of you broke faith with me among the Israelites at the waters of Meribath-kadesh in the desert of Zin by failing to manifest my sanctity among the Israelites. ⁵² You may indeed view the land at a distance, but you shall not enter that land which I am giving to the Israelites." Deuteronomy Chapter 33 ¹ "This is the blessing which Moses, the man of God, pronounced upon the Israelites before he died. ² He said: 'The LORD came from Sinai and dawned on his people from Seir; He shone forth from Mount Paran and advanced from Meribath-kadesh, While at his right hand a fire blazed forth and his wrath devastated the nations. ³ But all his holy ones were in his hand; they followed at his feet and he bore them up on his pinions. ⁴ A law he gave to us; he made the community of Jacob his domain, ⁵ and he became king of his darling. When the chiefs of the people assembled and the tribes of Israel came together. ⁶ May Reuben live and not die out, but let his men be few.' ⁷ The following is for Judah. He said: 'The LORD hears the cry of Judah; you will bring him to his people. His own hands defend his cause and you will be his help against his foes.' ⁸ Of Levi he said: 'To Levi belong your Thummim, to the man of your favor your Urim; For you put him to the test at Massah and you contended with him at the waters of Meribah. ⁹ He said of his father, "I regard him not"; his brothers he would not acknowledge, and his own children he refused to recognize. Thus the Levites keep your words, and your covenant they uphold. ¹⁰ They promulgate your decisions to Jacob and your law to Israel. They bring the smoke of sacrifice to your nostrils, and burnt offerings to your altar. ¹¹ Bless, O LORD, his possessions and accept the ministry of his hands. Break the backs of his adversaries and of his foes, that they may not rise.' ¹² Of Benjamin he said: 'Benjamin is the beloved of the LORD, who shelters him all the day, while he abides securely at his breast.' ¹³ Of Joseph he said: 'Blessed by the LORD is his land with the best of the skies above and of the abyss crouching beneath; ¹⁴ With the best of the produce of the year, and the choicest sheaves of the months; ¹⁵ With the finest gifts of the age-old mountains and the best from the timeless hills; ¹⁶ With the best of the earth and its fullness, and the favor of him who dwells in the bush. These shall come upon the head of Joseph and upon the brow of the prince among his brothers, ¹⁷ The majestic bull, his father's first-born, whose horns are those of the wild ox With which to gore the nations, even those at the ends of the earth.' (These are the myriads of Ephraim, and these the thousands of Manasseh.) ¹⁸ Of Zebulun he said: 'Rejoice, O Zebulun, in your pursuits, and you, Issachar, in your tents!

the best of the earth and its fullness, and the favor of him who dwells in the bush. These shall come upon the head of Joseph and upon the brow of the prince among his brothers, ¹⁷ The majestic bull, his father's first-born, whose horns are those of the wild ox With which to gore the nations, even those at the ends of the earth.' (These are the myriads of Ephraim, and these the thousands of Manasseh.) ¹⁸ Of Zebulun he said: 'Rejoice, O Zebulun, in your pursuits, and you, Issachar, in your tents! ¹⁹ You who invite the tribes to the mountains where feasts are duly held, Because you suck up the abundance of the seas and the hidden treasures of the sand.' ²⁰ Of Gad he said: 'Blessed be he who has made Gad so vast! He lies there like a lion that has seized the arm and head of the prey. ²¹ He saw that the best should be his when the princely portion was assigned, while the heads of the people were gathered. He carried out the justice of the LORD and his decrees respecting Israel.' ²² Of Dan he said: 'Dan is a lion's whelp, that springs

188 forth from Bashan!' ²³ Of Naphtali he said: 'Naphtali is enriched with favors and filled with the blessings of the LORD; The lake and south of it are his possession!' ²⁴ Of Asher he said: 'More blessed than the other sons be Asher! May he be the favorite among his brothers, as the oil of his olive trees runs over his feet! ²⁵ May your bolts be of iron and bronze; may your strength endure through all your days!' ²⁶ There is no god like the God of the darling, who rides the heavens in his power, and rides the skies in his majesty; ²⁷ He spread out the primeval tent; he extended the ancient canopy. He drove the enemy out of your way and the Amorite he destroyed. ²⁸ Israel has dwelt securely, and the fountain of Jacob has been undisturbed In a land of grain and wine, where the heavens drip with dew. ²⁹ How fortunate you are, O Israel! Where else is a nation victorious in the LORD? The LORD is your saving shield, and his sword is your glory. Your enemies fawn upon you, as you stride upon their heights." Deuteronomy Chapter 34 ¹ "Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, the headland of Pisgah which faces Jericho, and the LORD showed him all the land—Gilead, and as far as Dan, ² all Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Western Sea, ³ the Negeb, the circuit of the Jordan with the lowlands at Jericho, city of palms, and as far as Zoar. ⁴ The LORD then said to him, 'This is the land which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that I would give to their descendants. I have let you feast your eyes upon it, but you shall not cross over.' ⁵ So there, in the land of Moab, Moses, the servant of the LORD, died as the LORD had said; ⁶ and he was buried in the ravine opposite Beth-peor in the land of Moab, but to this day no one knows the place of his burial. ⁷ Moses was one hundred and twenty years old when he died, yet his eyes were undimmed and his vigor unabated. ⁸ For thirty days the Israelites wept for Moses in the plains of Moab, till they had completed the period of grief and mourning for Moses. ⁹ Now Joshua, son of Nun, was filled with the spirit of wisdom, since Moses had laid his hands upon him; and so the Israelites gave him their obedience, thus carrying out the LORD'S command to Moses. ¹⁰ Since then no prophet has arisen in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face. ¹¹ He had no equal in all the signs and wonders the LORD sent him to perform in the land of Egypt against Pharaoh and all his servants and against all his land, ¹² and for the might and the terrifying power that Moses exhibited in the sight of all Israel." Historical Books Joshua Joshua Chapter 1 "¹ After Moses, the servant of the LORD, had died, the LORD said to Moses' aide Joshua, son of Nun: ² 'My servant Moses is dead. So prepare to cross the Jordan here, with all the people, into

189 the land I will give the Israelites. ³ As I promised Moses, I will deliver to you every place where you set foot. ⁴ Your domain is to be all the land of the Hittites, from the desert and from Lebanon east to the great river Euphrates and west to the Great Sea. ⁵ No one can withstand you while you live. I will be with you as I was with Moses: I will not leave you nor forsake you. ⁶ Be firm and steadfast, so that you may give this people possession of the land which I swore to their fathers I would give them. ⁷ Above all, be firm and steadfast, taking care to observe the entire law which my servant Moses enjoined on you. Do not swerve from it either to the right or to the left, that you may succeed wherever you go. ⁸ Keep this book of the law on your lips. Recite it by day and by night, that you may observe carefully all that is written in it; then you will successfully attain your goal. ⁹ I command you: be firm and steadfast! Do not fear nor be dismayed, for the LORD, your God, is with you wherever you go.' ¹⁰ So Joshua commanded the officers of the people: ¹¹ 'Go through the camp and instruct the people, "Prepare your provisions, for three days from now you shall cross the Jordan here, to march in and take possession of the land which the LORD, your God, is giving you."' ¹² Joshua reminded the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh: ¹³ 'Remember what Moses, the servant of the LORD, commanded you when he said, "The LORD, your God, will permit you to settle in this land."' ¹⁴ Your wives, your children, and your livestock shall remain in the land Moses gave you here beyond the Jordan. But all the warriors among you must cross over armed ahead of your kinsmen and you must help them ¹⁵ until the LORD has settled your kinsmen, and they, like you, possess the land which the LORD, your God, is giving them. Afterward, you may return and occupy your own land, which Moses, the servant of the LORD, has given you east of the Jordan.' ¹⁶ 'We will do all you have commanded us,' they answered Joshua, 'and we will go wherever you send us. ¹⁷ We will obey you as completely as we obeyed Moses. But may the LORD, your God, be with you as he was with Moses. ¹⁸ If anyone rebels against your orders and does not obey every command you give him, he shall be put to death. But be firm and steadfast.'" Joshua Chapter 2 "¹ Then Joshua, son of Nun, secretly sent out two spies from Shittim, saying, 'Go, reconnoiter the land and Jericho.' When the two reached Jericho, they went into the house of a harlot named Rahab, where they lodged. ² But a report was brought to the king of Jericho that some Israelites had come there that night to spy out the land. ³ So the king of Jericho sent Rahab the order, 'Put out the visitors who have entered your house, for they have come to spy out the entire land.' ⁴ The woman had taken the two men and hidden them, so she said, 'True, the men you speak of came to me, but I did not know where they came from. ⁵ At dark, when it was time for the gate to be shut, they left, and I do not know where they went. You will have to pursue them immediately to overtake them.' ⁶ Now, she had led them to the roof and hidden them among her stalks of flax spread out there. ⁷ But the pursuers set out along the way to the fords of the Jordan, and once they had left, the gate was shut. ⁸ Before the spies fell asleep, Rahab came to them on the roof ⁹ and said: 'I know that the LORD has given you the land, that a dread of you has come upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land are overcome with fear of you. ¹⁰ For we have heard how the LORD dried up the waters of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and how you dealt with Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites beyond the Jordan, whom you doomed to destruction. ¹¹ At these reports, we are disheartened; everyone is discouraged because of you, since the LORD, your God, is God in heaven above and on earth below.

you the land, that a dread of you has come upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land are overcome with fear of you. ¹⁰ For we have heard how the LORD dried up the waters of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and how you dealt with Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites beyond the Jordan, whom you doomed to destruction. ¹¹ At these reports, we are disheartened; everyone is discouraged because of you, since the LORD, your God, is God in heaven above and on earth below. ¹² Now then, swear to me by the LORD that, since I am showing kindness to you, you in turn will show kindness to my family; and give me an unmistakable token ¹³ that you are to spare my father and mother, brothers and sisters, and all their kin, and save us from death.' ¹⁴ 'We pledge our lives for yours,' the men answered her. 'If you do not betray this errand of ours, we will be faithful in showing kindness to

190 you when the LORD gives us the land.' ¹⁵ Then she let them down through the window with a rope; for she lived in a house built into the city wall. ¹⁶ 'Go up into the hill country,' she suggested to them, 'that your pursuers may not find you. Hide there for three days, until they return; then you may proceed on your way.' ¹⁷ The men answered her, 'This is how we will fulfill the oath you made us take: ¹⁸ When we come into the land, tie this scarlet cord in the window through which you are letting us down; and gather your father and mother, your brothers, and all your family into your house. ¹⁹ Should any of them pass outside the doors of your house, he will be responsible for his own death, and we shall be guiltless. But we shall be responsible if anyone in the house with you is harmed. ²⁰ If, however, you betray this errand of ours, we shall be quit of the oath you have made us take.' ²¹ 'Let it be as you say,' she replied, and bade them farewell. When they were gone, she tied the scarlet cord in the window. ²² They went up into the hills, where they stayed three days until their pursuers, who had sought them all along the road without finding them, returned. ²³ Then the two came back down from the hills, crossed the Jordan to Joshua, son of Nun, and reported all that had befallen them. ²⁴ They assured Joshua, 'The LORD has delivered all this land into our power; indeed, all the inhabitants of the land are overcome with fear of us.'" Joshua Chapter 3 "¹ Early the next morning, Joshua moved with all the Israelites from Shittim to the Jordan, where they lodged before crossing over. ² Three days later the officers went through the camp ³ and issued these instructions to the people: 'When you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD, your God, which the levitical priests will carry, you must also break camp and follow it, ⁴ that you may know the way to take, for you have not gone over this road before. But let there be a space of two thousand cubits between you and the ark. Do not come nearer to it.' ⁵ Joshua also said to the people, 'Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will perform wonders among you.' ⁶ And he directed the priests to take up the ark of the covenant and go on ahead of the people; and they did so. ⁷ Then the LORD said to Joshua, 'Today I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know I am with you, as I was with Moses. ⁸ Now command the priests carrying the ark of the covenant to come to a halt in the Jordan when they reach the edge of the waters.' ⁹ So Joshua said to the Israelites, 'Come here and listen to the words of the LORD, your God.' ¹⁰ He continued: 'This is how you will know that there is a living God in your midst, who at your approach will dispossess the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites. ¹¹ The ark of the covenant of the LORD of the whole earth will precede you into the Jordan. ¹² (Now choose twelve men, one from each of the tribes of Israel.) ¹³ When the soles of the feet of the priests carrying the ark of the LORD, the Lord of the whole earth, touch the water of the Jordan, it will cease to flow; for the water flowing down from upstream will halt in a solid bank.' ¹⁴ The people struck their tents to cross the Jordan, with the priests carrying the ark of the covenant ahead of them. ¹⁵ No sooner had these priestly bearers of the ark waded into the waters at the edge of the Jordan, which overflows all its banks during the entire season of the harvest, ¹⁶ than the waters flowing from upstream halted, backing up in a solid mass for a very great distance indeed, from Adam, a city in the direction of Zarethan; while those flowing downstream toward the Salt Sea of the Arabah disappeared entirely. Thus the people crossed over opposite Jericho.

he ark of the covenant ahead of them. ¹⁵ No sooner had these priestly bearers of the ark waded into the waters at the edge of the Jordan, which overflows all its banks during the entire season of the harvest, ¹⁶ than the waters flowing from upstream halted, backing up in a solid mass for a very great distance indeed, from Adam, a city in the direction of Zarethan; while those flowing downstream toward the Salt Sea of the Arabah disappeared entirely. Thus the people crossed over opposite Jericho. ¹⁷ While all Israel crossed over on dry ground, the priests carrying the ark of the covenant of the LORD remained motionless on dry ground in the bed of the Jordan until the whole nation had completed the passage." Joshua Chapter 4 "¹ After the entire nation had crossed the Jordan, ² the LORD said to Joshua, 'Choose twelve men from the people, one from each tribe, ³ and instruct them to take up twelve stones from this spot

191 in the bed of the Jordan where the priests have been standing motionless. Carry them over with you, and place them where you are to stay tonight.' ⁴ Summoning the twelve men whom he had selected from among the Israelites, one from each tribe, ⁵ Joshua said to them: 'Go to the bed of the Jordan in front of the ark of the LORD, your God; lift to your shoulders one stone apiece, so that they will equal in number the tribes of the Israelites. ⁶ In the future, these are to be a sign among you. When your children ask you what these stones mean to you, ⁷ you shall answer them, "The waters of the Jordan ceased to flow before the ark of the covenant of the LORD when it crossed the Jordan." Thus these stones are to serve as a perpetual memorial to the Israelites.' ⁸ The twelve Israelites did as Joshua had commanded: they took up as many stones from the bed of the Jordan as there were tribes of the Israelites, and carried them along to the camp site, where they placed them, according to the LORD'S direction. ⁹ Joshua also had twelve stones set up in the bed of the Jordan on the spot where the priests stood who were carrying the ark of the covenant. They are there to this day. ¹⁰ The priests carrying the ark remained in the bed of the Jordan until everything had been done that the LORD had commanded Joshua to tell the people. The people crossed over quickly, ¹¹ and when all had reached the other side, the ark of the LORD, borne by the priests, also crossed to its place in front of them. ¹² The Reubenites, Gadites, and half-tribe of Manasseh, armed, marched in the vanguard of the Israelites, as Moses had ordered. ¹³ About forty thousand troops equipped for battle passed over before the LORD to the plains of Jericho. ¹⁴ That day the LORD exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel, and thenceforth during his whole life they respected him as they had respected Moses. ¹⁵ Then the LORD said to Joshua, ¹⁶ 'Command the priests carrying the ark of the commandments to come up from the Jordan.' ¹⁷ Joshua did so, ¹⁸ and when the priests carrying the ark of the covenant of the LORD had come up from the bed of the Jordan, as the soles of their feet regained the dry ground, the waters of the Jordan resumed their course and as before overflowed all its banks. ¹⁹ The people came up from the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and camped in Gilgal on the eastern limits of Jericho. ²⁰ At Gilgal Joshua set up the twelve stones which had been taken from the Jordan, ²¹ saying to the Israelites, 'In the future, when the children among you ask their fathers what these stones mean, ²² you shall inform them, "Israel crossed the Jordan here on dry ground." ²³ For the LORD, your God, dried up the waters of the Jordan in front of you until you crossed over, just as the LORD, your God, had done at the Red Sea, which he dried up in front of us until we crossed over; ²⁴ in order that all the peoples of the earth may learn that the hand of the LORD is mighty, and that you may fear the LORD, your God, forever.'" Joshua Chapter 5 "¹ When all the kings of the Amorites to the west of the Jordan and all the kings of the Canaanites by the sea heard that the LORD had dried up the waters of the Jordan before the Israelites until they crossed over, they were disheartened and lost courage at their approach. ² On this occasion the LORD said to Joshua, 'Make flint knives and circumcise the Israelite nation for the second time.' ³ So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the Israelites at Gibeath-haaraloth, ⁴ under these circumstances: Of all the people who came out of Egypt, every man of military age had died in the desert during the journey after they left Egypt. ⁵ Though all the men who came out were circumcised, none of those born in the desert during the journey after the departure from Egypt were circumcised.

n the LORD said to Joshua, 'Make flint knives and circumcise the Israelite nation for the second time.' ³ So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the Israelites at Gibeath-haaraloth, ⁴ under these circumstances: Of all the people who came out of Egypt, every man of military age had died in the desert during the journey after they left Egypt. ⁵ Though all the men who came out were circumcised, none of those born in the desert during the journey after the departure from Egypt were circumcised. ⁶ Now the Israelites had wandered forty years in the desert, until all the warriors among the people that came forth from Egypt died off because they had not obeyed the command of the LORD. For the LORD swore that he would not let them see the land flowing with milk and honey which he had promised their fathers he would give us. ⁷ It was the children whom he raised up in their stead whom Joshua circumcised, for these were yet with foreskins, not having been circumcised on the journey. ⁸ When the rite had been performed, the whole nation remained in

192 camp where they were, until they recovered. ⁹ Then the LORD said to Joshua, 'Today I have removed the reproach of Egypt from you.' Therefore the place is called Gilgal to the present day. ¹⁰ While the Israelites were encamped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, they celebrated the Passover on the evening of the fourteenth of the month. ¹¹ On the day after the Passover they ate of the produce of the land in the form of unleavened cakes and parched grain. On that same day ¹² after the Passover on which they ate of the produce of the land, the manna ceased. No longer was there manna for the Israelites, who that year ate of the yield of the land of Canaan. ¹³ While Joshua was near Jericho, he raised his eyes and saw one who stood facing him, drawn sword in hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, 'Are you one of us or of our enemies?' ¹⁴ He replied, 'Neither. I am the captain of the host of the LORD and I have just arrived.' Then Joshua fell prostrate to the ground in worship, and said to him, 'What has my lord to say to his servant?' ¹⁵ The captain of the host of the LORD replied to Joshua, 'Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy.' And Joshua obeyed." Joshua Chapter 6 "¹ Now Jericho was in a state of siege because of the presence of the Israelites, so that no one left or entered. ² And to Joshua the LORD said, 'I have delivered Jericho and its king into your power. ³ Have all the soldiers circle the city, marching once around it. Do this for six days, ⁴ with seven priests carrying ram's horns ahead of the ark. On the seventh day march around the city seven times, and have the priests blow the horns. ⁵ When they give a long blast on the ram's horns and you hear that signal, all the people shall shout aloud. The wall of the city will collapse, and they will be able to make a frontal attack.' ⁶ Summoning the priests, Joshua, son of Nun, then ordered them to take up the ark of the covenant with seven of the priests carrying ram's horns in front of the ark of the LORD. ⁷ And he ordered the people to proceed in a circle around the city, with the picked troops marching ahead of the ark of the LORD. ⁸ At this order they proceeded, with the seven priests who carried the ram's horns before the LORD blowing their horns, and the ark of the covenant of the LORD following them. ⁹ In front of the priests with the horns marched the picked troops; the rear guard followed the ark, and the blowing of horns was kept up continually as they marched. ¹⁰ But the people had been commanded by Joshua not to shout or make any noise or outcry until he gave the word: only then were they to shout. ¹¹ So he had the ark of the LORD circle the city, going once around it, after which they returned to camp for the night. ¹² Early the next morning, Joshua had the priests take up the ark of the LORD. ¹³ The seven priests bearing the ram's horns marched in front of the ark of the LORD, blowing their horns. Ahead of these marched the picked troops, while the rear guard followed the ark of the LORD, and the blowing of horns was kept up continually. ¹⁴ On this second day they again marched around the city once before returning to camp; and for six days in all they did the same. ¹⁵ On the seventh day, beginning at daybreak, they marched around the city seven times in the same manner; on that day only did they march around the city seven times. ¹⁶ The seventh time around, the priests blew the horns and Joshua said to the people, 'Now shout, for the LORD has given you the city ¹⁷ and everything in it. It is under the LORD'S ban. Only the harlot Rahab and all who are in the house with her are to be spared, because she hid the messengers we sent. ¹⁸ But be careful not to take, in your greed, anything that is under the ban; else you will bring upon the camp of Israel this ban and the misery of it. ¹⁹ All silver and gold, and the articles of bronze or iron, are sacred to the LORD.

lew the horns and Joshua said to the people, 'Now shout, for the LORD has given you the city ¹⁷ and everything in it. It is under the LORD'S ban. Only the harlot Rahab and all who are in the house with her are to be spared, because she hid the messengers we sent. ¹⁸ But be careful not to take, in your greed, anything that is under the ban; else you will bring upon the camp of Israel this ban and the misery of it. ¹⁹ All silver and gold, and the articles of bronze or iron, are sacred to the LORD. They shall be put in the treasury of the LORD.' ²⁰ As the horns blew, the people began to shout. When they heard the signal horn, they raised a tremendous shout. The wall collapsed, and the people stormed the city in a frontal attack and took it. ²¹ They observed the ban by putting to the sword all living creatures in the city: men and women, young and old, as well as oxen, sheep and asses. ²² Joshua directed the two men who had spied out the land, 'Go into the harlot's house

193 and bring out the woman with all her kin, as you swore to her you would do.' ²³ The spies entered and brought out Rahab, with her father, mother, brothers, and all her kin. Her entire family they led forth and placed them outside the camp of Israel. ²⁴ The city itself they burned with all that was in it, except the silver, gold, and articles of bronze and iron, which were placed in the treasury of the house of the LORD. ²⁵ Because Rahab the harlot had hidden the messengers whom Joshua had sent to reconnoiter Jericho, Joshua spared her with her family and all her kin, who continue in the midst of Israel to this day. ²⁶ On that occasion Joshua imposed the oath: Cursed before the LORD be the man who attempts to rebuild this city, Jericho. He shall lose his first-born when he lays its foundation, and he shall lose his youngest son when he sets up its gates. ²⁷ Thus the LORD was with Joshua so that his fame spread throughout the land." Joshua Chapter 7 "¹ But the Israelites violated the ban; Achan, son of Carmi, son of Zerah, son of Zara of the tribe of Judah, took goods that were under the ban, and the anger of the LORD flared up against the Israelites. ² Joshua next sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Bethel on its eastern side, with instructions to go up and reconnoiter the land. When they had explored Ai, ³ they returned to Joshua and advised, 'Do not send all the people up; if only about two or three thousand go up, they can overcome Ai. The enemy there are few; you need not call for an effort from all the people.' ⁴ About three thousand of the people made the attack, but they were defeated by those at Ai, ⁵ who killed some thirty-six of them. They pressed them back across the clearing in front of the city gate till they broke ranks, and defeated them finally on the descent, so that the confidence of the people melted away like water. ⁶ Joshua, together with the elders of Israel, rent his garments and lay prostrate before the ark of the LORD until evening; and they threw dust on their heads. ⁷ 'Alas, O Lord GOD,' Joshua prayed, 'why did you ever allow this people to pass over the Jordan, delivering us into the power of the Amorites, that they might destroy us? Would that we had been content to dwell on the other side of the Jordan. ⁸ Pray, Lord, what can I say, now that Israel has turned its back to its enemies? ⁹ When the Canaanites and the other inhabitants of the land hear of it, they will close in around us and efface our name from the earth. What will you do for your great name?' ¹⁰ The LORD replied to Joshua: 'Stand up. Why are you lying prostrate? ¹¹ Israel has sinned: they have violated the covenant which I enjoined on them. They have stealthily taken goods subject to the ban, and have deceitfully put them in their baggage. ¹² If the Israelites cannot stand up to their enemies, but must turn their back to them, it is because they are under the ban. I will not remain with you unless you remove from among you whoever has incurred the ban. ¹³ Rise, sanctify the people. Tell them to sanctify themselves before tomorrow, for the LORD, the God of Israel, says: You are under the ban, O Israel. You cannot stand up to your enemies until you remove from among you whoever has incurred the ban. ¹⁴ In the morning you must present yourselves by tribes. The tribe which the LORD designates shall come forward by clans; the clan which the LORD designates shall come forward by families; the family which the LORD designates shall come forward one by one. ¹⁵ He who is designated as having incurred the ban shall be destroyed by fire, with all that is his, because he has violated the covenant of the LORD and has committed a shameful crime in Israel.' ¹⁶ Early the next morning Joshua had Israel come forward by tribes, and the tribe of Judah was designated. ¹⁷ Then he had the clans of Judah come forward, and the clan of Zerah was designated. He had the clan of Zerah come forward by families, and Zabdi was designated.

es shall come forward one by one. ¹⁵ He who is designated as having incurred the ban shall be destroyed by fire, with all that is his, because he has violated the covenant of the LORD and has committed a shameful crime in Israel.' ¹⁶ Early the next morning Joshua had Israel come forward by tribes, and the tribe of Judah was designated. ¹⁷ Then he had the clans of Judah come forward, and the clan of Zerah was designated. He had the clan of Zerah come forward by families, and Zabdi was designated. ¹⁸ Finally he had that family come forward one by one, and Achan, son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah of the tribe of Judah, was designated. ¹⁹ Joshua said to Achan, 'My son, give to the LORD, the God of Israel, glory and honor by telling me what you have done; do not hide it from me.' ²⁰ Achan answered Joshua, 'I have indeed sinned against the LORD, the God of Israel. This is what I have done: ²¹ Among the spoils, I saw a beautiful Babylonian mantle, two hundred

194 shekels of silver, and a bar of gold fifty shekels in weight; in my greed I took them. They are now hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath.' ²² The messengers whom Joshua sent hastened to the tent and found them hidden there, with the silver underneath. ²³ They took them from the tent, brought them to Joshua and all the Israelites, and spread them out before the LORD. ²⁴ Then Joshua and all Israel took Achan, son of Zerah, with the silver, the mantle, and the bar of gold, and with his sons and daughters, his ox, his ass and his sheep, his tent, and all his possessions, and led them off to the Valley of Achor. ²⁵ Joshua said, 'The LORD bring upon you today the misery with which you have afflicted us!' And all Israel stoned him to death ²⁶ and piled a great heap of stones over him, which remains to the present day. Then the anger of the LORD relented. That is why the place is called the Valley of Achor to this day." Joshua Chapter 8 "¹ The LORD then said to Joshua, 'Do not be afraid or dismayed. Take all the army with you and prepare to attack Ai. I have delivered the king of Ai into your power, with his people, city, and land. ² Do to Ai and its king what you did to Jericho and its king; except that you may take its spoil and livestock as booty. Set an ambush behind the city.' ³ So Joshua and all the soldiers prepared to attack Ai. Picking out thirty thousand warriors, Joshua sent them off by night ⁴ with these orders: 'See that you ambush the city from the rear, at no great distance; then all of you be on the watch. ⁵ The rest of the people and I will come up to the city, and when they make a sortie against us as they did the last time, we will flee from them. ⁶ They will keep coming out after us until we have drawn them away from the city, for they will think we are fleeing from them as we did the last time. When this occurs, ⁷ rise from ambush and take possession of the city, which the LORD, your God, will deliver into your power. ⁸ When you have taken the city, set it afire in obedience to the LORD'S command. These are my orders to you.' ⁹ Then Joshua sent them away. They went to the place of ambush, taking up their position to the west of Ai, toward Bethel. Joshua, however, spent that night in the plain. ¹⁰ Early the next morning Joshua mustered the army and went up to Ai at its head, with the elders of Israel. ¹¹ When all the troops he led were drawn up in position before the city, they pitched camp north of Ai, on the other side of the ravine. ¹² (He took about five thousand men and set them in ambush between Bethel and Ai, west of the city.) ¹³ Thus the people took up their stations, with the main body north of the city and the ambush west of it, and Joshua waited overnight among his troops. ¹⁴ The king of Ai saw this, and he and all his army came out very early in the morning to engage Israel in battle at the descent toward the Arabah, not knowing that there was an ambush behind the city. ¹⁵ Joshua and the main body of the Israelites fled in seeming defeat toward the desert, ¹⁶ till the last of the soldiers in the city had been called out to pursue them. ¹⁷ Since they were drawn away from the city, with every man engaged in this pursuit of Joshua and the Israelites, not a soldier remained in Ai (or Bethel), and the city was open and unprotected. ¹⁸ Then the LORD directed Joshua, 'Stretch out the javelin in your hand toward Ai, for I will deliver it into your power.' Joshua stretched out the javelin in his hand toward the city, ¹⁹ and as soon as he did so, the men in ambush rose from their post, rushed in, captured the city, and immediately set it on fire. ²⁰ By the time the men of Ai looked back, the smoke from the city was already sky-high.

the Israelites, not a soldier remained in Ai (or Bethel), and the city was open and unprotected. ¹⁸ Then the LORD directed Joshua, 'Stretch out the javelin in your hand toward Ai, for I will deliver it into your power.' Joshua stretched out the javelin in his hand toward the city, ¹⁹ and as soon as he did so, the men in ambush rose from their post, rushed in, captured the city, and immediately set it on fire. ²⁰ By the time the men of Ai looked back, the smoke from the city was already sky-high. Escape in any direction was impossible because the Israelites retreating toward the desert now turned on their pursuers; ²¹ for when Joshua and the main body of Israelites saw that the city had been taken from ambush and was going up in smoke, they struck back at the men of Ai. ²² Since those in the city came out to intercept them, the men of Ai were hemmed in by Israelites on either side, who cut them down without any fugitives or survivors ²³ except the king, whom they took alive and brought to Joshua. ²⁴ All the inhabitants of Ai who had pursued the Israelites into the desert were slain by the sword there in the open, down to the last man. Then all Israel returned and put to the sword those inside the city. ²⁵ There fell that day a

195 total of twelve thousand men and women, the entire population of Ai. ²⁶ Joshua kept the javelin in his hand stretched out until he had fulfilled the doom on all the inhabitants of Ai. ²⁷ However, the Israelites took for themselves as booty the livestock and the spoil of that city, according to the command of the LORD issued to Joshua. ²⁸ Then Joshua destroyed the place by fire, reducing it to an everlasting mound of ruins, as it remains today. ²⁹ He had the king of Ai hanged on a tree until evening; then at sunset Joshua ordered the body removed from the tree and cast at the entrance of the city gate, where a great heap of stones was piled up over it, which remains to the present day. ³⁰ Later Joshua built an altar to the LORD, the God of Israel, on Mount Ebal, ³¹ of unhewn stones on which no iron tool had been used, in keeping with the command to the Israelites of Moses, the servant of the LORD, as recorded in the book of the law. On this altar, they offered holocausts and peace offerings to the LORD. ³² There, in the presence of the Israelites, Joshua inscribed upon the stones a copy of the law written by Moses. ³³ And all Israel, stranger and native alike, with their elders, officers, and judges, stood on either side of the ark facing the levitical priests who were carrying the ark of the covenant of the LORD. Half of them were facing Mount Gerizim and half Mount Ebal, thus carrying out the instructions of Moses, the servant of the LORD, for the blessing of the people of Israel on this first occasion. ³⁴ Then were read aloud all the words of the law, the blessings and the curses, exactly as written in the book of the law. ³⁵ Every single word that Moses had commanded, Joshua read aloud to the entire community, including the women and children, and the strangers who had accompanied Israel." Joshua Chapter 9 "¹ When the news reached the kings west of the Jordan, in the mountain regions and in the foothills, and all along the coast of the Great Sea as far as Lebanon: Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, ² they all formed an alliance to launch a common attack against Joshua and Israel. ³ On learning what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, the inhabitants of Gibeon ⁴ put into effect a device of their own. They chose provisions for a journey, making use of old sacks for their asses, and old wineskins, torn and mended. ⁵ They wore old, patched sandals and shabby garments; and all the bread they took was dry and crumbly. ⁶ Thus they journeyed to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal, where they said to him and to the men of Israel, 'We have come from a distant land to propose that you make an alliance with us.' ⁷ But the men of Israel replied to the Hivites, 'You may be living in land that is ours. How, then, can we make an alliance with you?' ⁸ But they answered Joshua, 'We are your servants.' Then Joshua asked them, 'Who are you? Where do you come from?' ⁹ They answered him, 'Your servants have come from a far-off land, because of the fame of the LORD, your God. For we have heard reports of all that he did in Egypt ¹⁰ and all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites beyond the Jordan, Sihon, king of Heshbon, and Og, king of Bashan, who lived in Ashtaroth. ¹¹ So our elders and all the inhabitants of our country said to us, "Take along provisions for the journey and go to meet them. Say to them: We are your servants; we propose that you make an alliance with us." ¹² This bread of ours was still warm when we brought it from home as provisions the day we left to come to you, but now it is dry and crumbled. ¹³ Here are our wineskins, which were new when we filled them, but now they are torn. Look at our garments and sandals, which are worn out from the very long journey.' ¹⁴ Then the Israelite princes partook of their provisions, without seeking the advice of the LORD.

t them. Say to them: We are your servants; we propose that you make an alliance with us." ¹² This bread of ours was still warm when we brought it from home as provisions the day we left to come to you, but now it is dry and crumbled. ¹³ Here are our wineskins, which were new when we filled them, but now they are torn. Look at our garments and sandals, which are worn out from the very long journey.' ¹⁴ Then the Israelite princes partook of their provisions, without seeking the advice of the LORD. ¹⁵ So Joshua made an alliance with them and entered into an agreement to spare them, which the princes of the community sealed with an oath. ¹⁶ Three days after the agreement was entered into, the Israelites learned that these people were from nearby and would be living in Israel. ¹⁷ The third day on the road, the Israelites came to their cities of Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath-jearim, ¹⁸ but did not attack them, because the princes of the community had sworn to them by the LORD, the God of Israel. When the entire community grumbled against the princes, ¹⁹ these all remonstrated

196 with the people, 'We have sworn to them by the LORD, the God of Israel, and so we cannot harm them. ²⁰ Let us therefore spare their lives and so deal with them that we shall not be punished for the oath we have sworn to them.' ²¹ Thus the princes recommended that they be let live, as hewers of wood and drawers of water for the entire community; and the community did as the princes advised them. ²² Joshua summoned the Gibeonites and said to them, 'Why did you lie to us and say that you lived at a great distance from us when you will be living in our very midst? ²³ For this are you accursed: every one of you shall always be a slave (hewers of wood and drawers of water) for the house of my God.' ²⁴ They answered Joshua, 'Your servants were fully informed of how the LORD, your God, commanded his servant Moses that you be given the entire land and that all its inhabitants be destroyed before you. Since, therefore, at your advance, we were in great fear for our lives, we acted as we did. ²⁵ And now that we are in your power, do with us what you think fit and right.' ²⁶ Joshua did what he had decided: while he saved them from being killed by the Israelites, ²⁷ at the same time he made them, as they still are, hewers of wood and drawers of water for the community and for the altar of the LORD, in the place of the LORD'S choice." Joshua Chapter 10 "¹ Now Adonizedek, king of Jerusalem, heard that, in the capture and destruction of Ai, Joshua had done to that city and its king as he had done to Jericho and its king. He heard also that the inhabitants of Gibeon had made their peace with Israel, remaining among them, ² and that there was great fear abroad, because Gibeon was large enough for a royal city, larger even than the city of Ai, and all its men were brave. ³ So Adonizedek, king of Jerusalem, sent for Hoham, king of Hebron, Piram, king of Jarmuth, Japhia, king of Lachish, and Debir, king of Eglon, ⁴ to come to his aid for an attack on Gibeon, since it had concluded peace with Joshua and the Israelites. ⁵ The five Amorite kings, of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon, united all their forces and marched against Gibeon, where they took up siege positions. ⁶ Thereupon, the men of Gibeon sent an appeal to Joshua in his camp at Gilgal: 'Do not abandon your servants. Come up here quickly and save us. Help us, because all the Amorite kings of the mountain country have joined forces against us.' ⁷ So Joshua marched up from Gilgal with his picked troops and the rest of his soldiers. ⁸ Meanwhile the LORD said to Joshua, 'Do not fear them, for I have delivered them into your power. Not one of them will be able to withstand you.' ⁹ And when Joshua made his surprise attack upon them after an all-night march from Gilgal, ¹⁰ the LORD threw them into disorder before him. The Israelites inflicted a great slaughter on them at Gibeon and pursued them down the Beth- horon slope, harassing them as far as Azekah and Makkedah. ¹¹ While they fled before Israel along the descent from Beth-horon, the LORD hurled great stones from the sky above them all the way to Azekah, killing many. More died from these hailstones than the Israelites slew with the sword. ¹² On this day, when the LORD delivered up the Amorites to the Israelites, Joshua prayed to the LORD, and said in the presence of Israel: Stand still, O sun, at Gibeon, O moon, in the valley of Aijalon! ¹³ And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, while the nation took vengeance on its foes. Is this not recorded in the Book of Jashar? The sun halted in the middle of the sky; not for a whole day did it resume its swift course. ¹⁴ Never before or since was there a day like this, when the LORD obeyed the voice of a man; for the LORD fought for Israel. ¹⁵ Then Joshua and all Israel returned to the camp at Gilgal.

esence of Israel: Stand still, O sun, at Gibeon, O moon, in the valley of Aijalon! ¹³ And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, while the nation took vengeance on its foes. Is this not recorded in the Book of Jashar? The sun halted in the middle of the sky; not for a whole day did it resume its swift course. ¹⁴ Never before or since was there a day like this, when the LORD obeyed the voice of a man; for the LORD fought for Israel. ¹⁵ Then Joshua and all Israel returned to the camp at Gilgal. ¹⁶ Meanwhile the five kings who had fled hid in a cave at Makkedah. ¹⁷ When Joshua was told that the five kings had been discovered hiding in a cave at Makkedah, ¹⁸ he said, 'Roll large stones to the mouth of the cave and post men over it to guard them. ¹⁹ But do not remain there yourselves. Pursue your enemies, and harry them in the rear. Do not allow them to escape to their cities, for the LORD, your God, has delivered them into your power.' ²⁰ Once Joshua and the Israelites had finally inflicted the last blows in this very great slaughter, and the survivors had escaped from them into the fortified cities, ²¹ all the army returned safely to Joshua

197 and the camp at Makkedah, no man uttering a sound against the Israelites. ²² Then Joshua said, 'Open the mouth of the cave and bring out those five kings to me.' ²³ Obediently, they brought out to him from the cave the five kings, of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon. ²⁴ When they had done so, Joshua summoned all the men of Israel and said to the commanders of the soldiers who had marched with him, 'Come forward and put your feet on the necks of these kings.' They came forward and put their feet upon their necks. ²⁵ Then Joshua said to them, 'Do not be afraid or dismayed, be firm and steadfast. This is what the LORD will do to all the enemies against whom you fight.' ²⁶ Thereupon Joshua struck and killed them and hanged them on five trees, where they remained hanging until evening. ²⁷ At sunset they were removed from the trees at the command of Joshua and cast into the cave where they had hidden; over the mouth of the cave large stones were placed, which remain until this very day. ²⁸ Makkedah, too, Joshua captured and put to the sword at that time. He fulfilled the doom on the city, on its king, and on every person in it, leaving no survivors. Thus he did to the king of Makkedah what he had done to the king of Jericho. ²⁹ Joshua then passed on with all Israel from Makkedah to Libnah, which he attacked. ³⁰ Libnah also, with its king, the LORD delivered into the power of Israel. He put it to the sword with every person there, leaving no survivors. Thus he did to its king what he had done to the king of Jericho. ³¹ Joshua next passed on with all Israel from Libnah to Lachish, where they set up a camp during the attack. ³² The LORD delivered Lachish into the power of Israel, so that on the second day Joshua captured it and put it to the sword with every person in it, just as he had done to Libnah. ³³ At that time Horam, king of Gezer, came up to help Lachish, but Joshua defeated him and his people, leaving him no survivors. ³⁴ From Lachish, Joshua passed on with all Israel to Eglon; encamping near it, they attacked it ³⁵ and captured it the same day, putting it to the sword. He fulfilled the doom that day on every person in it, just as he had done at Lachish. ³⁶ From Eglon, Joshua went up with all Israel to Hebron, which they attacked ³⁷ and captured. They put it to the sword with its king, all its towns, and every person there, leaving no survivors, just as Joshua had done to Eglon. He fulfilled the doom on it and on every person there. ³⁸ Then Joshua and all Israel turned back to Debir and attacked it, ³⁹ capturing it with its king and all its towns. They put them to the sword and fulfilled the doom on every person there, leaving no survivors. Thus was done to Debir and its king what had been done to Hebron, as well as to Libnah and its king. ⁴⁰ Joshua conquered the entire country; the mountain regions, the Negeb, the foothills, and the mountain slopes, with all their kings. He left no survivors but fulfilled the doom on all who lived there, just as the LORD, the God of Israel, had commanded. ⁴¹ Joshua conquered from Kadesh-barnea to Gaza, and all the land of Goshen to Gibeon. ⁴² All these kings and their lands Joshua captured in a single campaign, for the LORD, the God of Israel, fought for Israel. ⁴³ Thereupon Joshua with all Israel returned to the camp at Gilgal." Joshua Chapter 11 "¹ When Jabin, king of Hazor, learned of this, he sent a message to Jobab, king of Madon, to the king of Shimron, to the king of Achshaph, ² and to the northern kings in the mountain regions and in the Arabah near Chinneroth, in the foothills, and in Naphath-dor to the west. ³ These were Canaanites to the east and west, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites and Jebusites in the mountain regions, and Hivites at the foot of Hermon in the land of Mizpah. ⁴ They came out with all their troops, an army numerous as the sands on the seashore, and with a multitude of horses and chariots.

of Madon, to the king of Shimron, to the king of Achshaph, ² and to the northern kings in the mountain regions and in the Arabah near Chinneroth, in the foothills, and in Naphath-dor to the west. ³ These were Canaanites to the east and west, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites and Jebusites in the mountain regions, and Hivites at the foot of Hermon in the land of Mizpah. ⁴ They came out with all their troops, an army numerous as the sands on the seashore, and with a multitude of horses and chariots. ⁵ All these kings joined forces and marched to the waters of Merom, where they encamped together to fight against Israel. ⁶ The LORD said to Joshua, 'Do not fear them, for by this time tomorrow I will stretch them slain before Israel. You must hamstring their horses and burn their chariots.' ⁷ Joshua with his whole army came upon them at the waters of Merom in a surprise attack. ⁸ The LORD delivered them into the power of the Israelites, who defeated them

198 and pursued them to Greater Sidon, to Misrephoth-maim, and eastward to the valley of Mizpeh. They struck them all down, leaving no survivors. ⁹ Joshua did to them as the LORD had commanded: he hamstrung their horses and burned their chariots. ¹⁰ At that time Joshua, turning back, captured Hazor and slew its king with the sword; for Hazor formerly was the chief of all those kingdoms. ¹¹ He also fulfilled the doom by putting every person there to the sword, till none was left alive. Hazor itself he burned. ¹² Joshua thus captured all those kings with their cities and put them to the sword, fulfilling the doom on them, as Moses, the servant of the LORD, had commanded. ¹³ However, Israel did not destroy by fire any of the cities built on raised sites, except Hazor, which Joshua burned. ¹⁴ The Israelites took all the spoil and livestock of these cities as their booty; but the people they put to the sword, until they had exterminated the last of them, leaving none alive. ¹⁵ As the LORD had commanded his servant Moses, so Moses commanded Joshua, and Joshua acted accordingly. He left nothing undone that the LORD had commanded Moses should be done. ¹⁶ So Joshua captured all this land: the mountain regions, the entire Negeb, all the land of Goshen, the foothills, the Arabah, as well as the mountain regions and foothills of Israel, ¹⁷ from Mount Halak that rises toward Seir as far as Baal-gad in the Lebanon valley at the foot of Mount Hermon. All their kings he captured and put to death. ¹⁸ Joshua waged war against all these kings for a long time. ¹⁹ With the exception of the Hivites who lived in Gibeon, no city made peace with the Israelites; all were taken in battle. ²⁰ For it was the design of the LORD to encourage them to wage war against Israel, that they might be doomed to destruction and thus receive no mercy, but be exterminated, as the LORD had commanded Moses. ²¹ At that time Joshua penetrated the mountain regions and exterminated the Anakim in Hebron, Debir, Anab, the entire mountain region of Judah, and the entire mountain region of Israel. Joshua fulfilled the doom on them and on their cities, ²² so that no Anakim were left in the land of the Israelites. However, some survived in Gaza, in Gath, and in Ashdod. ²³ Thus Joshua captured the whole country, just as the LORD had foretold to Moses. Joshua gave it to Israel as their heritage, apportioning it among the tribes. And the land enjoyed peace." Joshua Chapter 12 "¹ The kings of the land east of the Jordan, from the River Arnon to Mount Hermon, including all the eastern section of the Arabah, whom the Israelites conquered and whose lands they occupied, were: ² First, Sihon, king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon. His domain extended from Aroer, which is on the bank of the Wadi Arnon, to include the wadi itself, and the land northward through half of Gilead to the Wadi Jabbok, ³ as well as the Arabah from the eastern side of the Sea of Chinnereth, as far south as the eastern side of the Salt Sea of the Arabah in the direction of Beth- jeshimoth, to a point under the slopes of Pisgah. ⁴ Secondly, Og, king of Bashan, a survivor of the Rephaim, who lived at Ashtaroth and Edrei. ⁵ He ruled over Mount Hermon, Salecah, and all Bashan as far as the boundary of the Geshurites and Maacathites, and over half of Gilead as far as the territory of Sihon, king of Heshbon. ⁶ After Moses, the servant of the LORD, and the Israelites conquered them, he assigned their land to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, as their property. ⁷ This is a list of the kings whom Joshua and the Israelites conquered west of the Jordan and whose land, from Baal-gad in the Lebanon valley to Mount Halak which rises toward Seir, Joshua apportioned to the tribes of Israel. ⁸ It included the mountain regions and foothills, the Arabah, the slopes, the desert, and the Negeb, belonging to the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites.

r land to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, as their property. ⁷ This is a list of the kings whom Joshua and the Israelites conquered west of the Jordan and whose land, from Baal-gad in the Lebanon valley to Mount Halak which rises toward Seir, Joshua apportioned to the tribes of Israel. ⁸ It included the mountain regions and foothills, the Arabah, the slopes, the desert, and the Negeb, belonging to the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. ⁹ They were the kings of Jericho, Ai (which is near Bethel), ¹⁰ Jerusalem, Hebron, ¹¹ Jarmuth, Lachish, ¹² Eglon, Gezer, ¹³ Debir, Geder, ¹⁴ Hormah, Arad, ¹⁵ Libnah, Adullam, ¹⁶ Makkedah, Bethel, ¹⁷ Tappuah, Hepher, ¹⁸ Aphek, Lasharon, ¹⁹ Madon, Hazor, ²⁰ Shimron, Achshaph, ²¹ Taanach, Megiddo, ²² Kedesh, Jokneam (at Carmel), ²³ and Dor (in Naphath-dor), the foreign king at Gilgal, ²⁴ and the king of Tirzah:

199 thirty-one kings in all." Joshua Chapter 13 "¹ When Joshua was old and advanced in years, the LORD said to him: 'Though now you are old and advanced in years, a very large part of the land still remains to be conquered. ² This additional land includes all Geshur and all the districts of the Philistines ³ (from the stream adjoining Egypt to the boundary of Ekron in the north is reckoned Canaanite territory, though held by the five lords of the Philistines in Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath and Ekron); also where the Avvim are in the south; ⁴ all the land of the Canaanites from Mearah of the Sidonians to Aphek, and the boundaries of the Amorites; ⁵ and the Gebalite territory; and all the Lebanon on the east, from Baal-gad at the foot of Mount Hermon to Labo in the land of Hamath. ⁶ At the advance of the Israelites I will drive out all the Sidonian inhabitants of the mountain regions between Lebanon and Misrephoth-maim; at least include these areas in the division of the Israelite heritage, just as I have commanded you. ⁷ Now, therefore, apportion among the nine tribes and the half-tribe of Manasseh the land which is to be their heritage.' ⁸ Now the other half of the tribe of Manasseh as well as the Reubenites and Gadites had received their heritage which Moses, the servant of the LORD, had given them east of the Jordan: ⁹ from Aroer on the bank of the Wadi Arnon and the city in the wadi itself, through the tableland of Medeba and Dibon, ¹⁰ with the rest of the cities of Sihon, king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon, to the boundary of the Ammonites; ¹¹ also Gilead and the territory of the Geshurites and Maacathites, all Mount Hermon, and all Bashan as far as Salecah, ¹² the entire kingdom in Bashan of Og, a survivor of the Rephaim, who reigned at Ashtaroth and Edrei. Though Moses conquered and occupied these territories, ¹³ the Israelites did not dislodge the Geshurites and Maacathites, so that Geshur and Maacath survive in the midst of Israel to this day. ¹⁴ However, to the tribe of Levi Moses assigned no heritage since, as the LORD had promised them, the LORD, the God of Israel, is their heritage. ¹⁵ What Moses gave to the Reubenite clans: ¹⁶ Their territory reached from Aroer, on the bank of the Wadi Arnon, and the city in the wadi itself, through the tableland about Medeba, ¹⁷ to include Heshbon and all its towns which are on the tableland, Dibon, Bamoth-baal, Beth-baal-meon, ¹⁸ Jahaz, Kedemoth, Mephaath, ¹⁹ Kiriathaim, Sibmah, Zereth-shahar on the knoll within the valley, ²⁰ Beth-peor, the slopes of Pisgah, Beth-jeshimoth, ²¹ and the other cities of the tableland and, generally, of the kingdom of Sihon. This Amorite king, who reigned in Heshbon, Moses had killed, with his vassals, the princes of Midian, who were settled in the land: Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur and Reba; ²² and among their slain followers the Israelites put to the sword also the soothsayer Balaam, son of Beor. ²³ The boundary of the Reubenites was the bank of the Jordan. These cities and their villages were the heritage of the clans of the Reubenites. ²⁴ What Moses gave to the Gadite clans: ²⁵ Their territory included Jazer, all the cities of Gilead, and half the land of the Ammonites as far as Aroer, toward Rabbah (that is, ²⁶ from Heshbon to Ramath-mizpeh and Betonim, and from Mahanaim to the boundary of Lodebar); ²⁷ and in the Jordan valley: Beth-haram, Beth-nimrah, Succoth, Zaphon, the other part of the kingdom of Sihon, king of Heshbon, with the bank of the Jordan to the southeastern tip of the Sea of Chinnereth. ²⁸ These cities and their villages were the heritage of the clans of the Gadites. ²⁹ What Moses gave to the clans of the half-tribe of Manasseh: ³⁰ Their territory included Mahanaim, all of Bashan, the entire kingdom of Og, king of Bashan, and all the villages of Jair, which are sixty cities in Bashan.

the Jordan valley: Beth-haram, Beth-nimrah, Succoth, Zaphon, the other part of the kingdom of Sihon, king of Heshbon, with the bank of the Jordan to the southeastern tip of the Sea of Chinnereth. ²⁸ These cities and their villages were the heritage of the clans of the Gadites. ²⁹ What Moses gave to the clans of the half-tribe of Manasseh: ³⁰ Their territory included Mahanaim, all of Bashan, the entire kingdom of Og, king of Bashan, and all the villages of Jair, which are sixty cities in Bashan. ³¹ Half of Gilead, with Ashtaroth and Edrei, once the royal cities of Og in Bashan, fell to the descendants of Machir, son of Manasseh, for half the clans descended from Machir. ³² These are the portions which Moses gave when he was in the plains of Moab, beyond the Jordan east of Jericho. ³³ However, Moses gave no heritage to the tribe of Levi, since the LORD himself, the God of Israel, is their heritage, as he promised."

200 Joshua Chapter 14 "¹ Here follow the portions which the Israelites received in the land of Canaan. Eleazar the priest, Joshua, son of Nun, and the heads of families in the tribes of the Israelites determined ² their heritage by lot, in accordance with the instructions the LORD had given through Moses concerning the remaining nine and a half tribes. ³ For to two and a half tribes Moses had already given a heritage beyond the Jordan; and though the Levites were given no heritage among the tribes, ⁴ the descendants of Joseph formed two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim. The Levites themselves received no share of the land except cities to live in, with their pasture lands for the cattle and flocks. ⁵ Thus, in apportioning the land, did the Israelites carry out the instructions of the LORD to Moses. ⁶ When the Judahites came up to Joshua in Gilgal, the Kenizzite Caleb, son of Jephunneh, said to him: 'You know what the LORD said to the man of God, Moses, about you and me in Kadesh-barnea. ⁷ I was forty years old when the servant of the LORD, Moses, sent me from Kadesh-barnea to reconnoiter the land; and I brought back to him a conscientious report. ⁸ My fellow scouts who went up with me discouraged the people, but I was completely loyal to the LORD, my God. ⁹ On that occasion Moses swore this oath, "The land where you have set foot shall become your heritage and that of your descendants forever, because you have been completely loyal to the LORD, my God." ¹⁰ Now, as he promised, the LORD has preserved me while Israel was journeying through the desert, for the forty-five years since the LORD spoke thus to Moses; and although I am now eighty-five years old, ¹¹ I am still as strong today as I was the day Moses sent me forth, with no less vigor whether for war or for ordinary tasks. ¹² Give me, therefore, this mountain region which the LORD promised me that day, as you yourself heard. True, the Anakim are there, with large fortified cities, but if the LORD is with me I shall be able to drive them out, as the LORD promised.' ¹³ Joshua blessed Caleb, son of Jephunneh, and gave him Hebron as his heritage. ¹⁴ Therefore Hebron remains the heritage of the Kenizzite Caleb, son of Jephunneh, to the present day, because he was completely loyal to the LORD, the God of Israel. ¹⁵ Hebron was formerly called Kiriath-arba, for Arba, the greatest among the Anakim. And the land enjoyed peace." Joshua Chapter 15 1"The lot for the clans of the Judahite tribe fell in the extreme south toward the boundary of Edom, the desert of Zin in the Negeb.² The boundary there ran from the bay that forms the southern end of the Salt Sea,³ southward below the pass of Akrabbim, across through Zin, up to a point south of Kadesh-barnea, across to Hezron, and up to Addar; from there, looping around Karka,⁴ it crossed to Azmon and then joined the Wadi of Egypt before coming out at the sea.

enjoyed peace." Joshua Chapter 15 1"The lot for the clans of the Judahite tribe fell in the extreme south toward the boundary of Edom, the desert of Zin in the Negeb.² The boundary there ran from the bay that forms the southern end of the Salt Sea,³ southward below the pass of Akrabbim, across through Zin, up to a point south of Kadesh-barnea, across to Hezron, and up to Addar; from there, looping around Karka,⁴ it crossed to Azmon and then joined the Wadi of Egypt before coming out at the sea. (This is your southern boundary.)⁵ The eastern boundary was the Salt Sea as far as the mouth of the Jordan.⁶ The northern boundary climbed from the bay where the Jordan meets the sea, up to Beth-hoglah, and ran north of Beth-arabah, up to Eben-Bohan-ben-Reuben.⁷ Thence it climbed to Debir, north of the vale of Achor, in the direction of the Gilgal that faces the pass of Adummim, on the south side of the wadi; from there it crossed to the waters of En-shemesh and emerged at En-rogel.⁸ Climbing again to the Valley of Ben-hinnom on the southern flank of the Jebusites (that is, Jerusalem), the boundary rose to the top of the mountain at the northern end of the Valley of Rephaim, which bounds the Valley of Hinnom on the west.⁹ From the top of the mountain it ran to the fountain of waters of Nephtoah, extended to the cities of Mount Ephron, and continued to Baalah, or Kiriath-jearim.¹⁰ From Baalah the boundary curved westward to Mount Seir and passed north of the ridge of Mount Jearim (that is, Chesalon); thence it descended to Beth- shemesh, and ran across to Timnah.¹¹ It then extended along the northern flank of Ekron, continued through Shikkeron, and across to Mount Baalah, thence to include Jabneel, before it

201 came out at the sea.¹² The western boundary was the Great Sea and its coast. This was the complete boundary of the clans of the Judahites.¹³ As the LORD had commanded, Joshua gave Caleb, son of Jephunneh, a portion among the Judahites, namely, Kiriath-arba (Arba was the father of Anak), that is, Hebron.¹⁴ And Caleb drove out from there the three Anakim, the descendants of Anak: Sheshai, Ahiman and Talmai.¹⁵ From there he marched up against the inhabitants of Debir, which was formerly called Kiriath-sepher.¹⁶ Caleb said, 'I will give my daughter Achsah in marriage to the one who attacks Kiriath-sepher and captures it.'¹⁷ Othniel, son of Caleb's brother Kenaz, captured it, and so Caleb gave him his daughter Achsah in marriage.¹⁸ On the day of her marriage to Othniel, she induced him to ask her father for some land. Then, as she alighted from the ass, Caleb asked her, 'What is troubling you?'¹⁹ She answered, 'Give me an additional gift! Since you have assigned to me land in the Negeb, give me also pools of water.' So he gave her the upper and the lower pools.²⁰ This is the heritage of the clans of the tribe of Judahites:²¹ The cities of the tribe of the Judahites in the extreme southern district toward Edom were: Kabzeel, Eder, Jagur,²² Kinah, Dimonah, Adadah,²³ Kedesh, Hazor and Ithnan;²⁴ Ziph, Telem, Bealoth,²⁵ Hazor-hadattah, and Kerioth-hezron (that is, Hazor);²⁶ Amam, Shema, Moladah,²⁷ Hazar-gaddah, Heshmon, Beth-pelet,²⁸ Hazar-shual, Beer-sheba and Biziothiah;²⁹ Baalah, Iim, Ezem,³⁰ Eltolad, Chesil, Hormah,³¹ Ziklag, Madmannah, Sansannah,³² Lebaoth, Shilhim and En-rimmon; a total of twenty-nine cities with their villages.³³ In the foothills: Eshtaol, Zorah, Ashnah,³⁴ Zanoah, Engannim, Tappuah, Enam,³⁵ Jarmuth, Adullam, Socoh, Azekah,³⁶ Shaaraim, Adithaim, Gederah, and Gederothaim; fourteen cities and their villages.³⁷ Zenan, Hadashah, Migdal-gad,³⁸ Dilean, Mizpeh, Joktheel,³⁹ Lachish, Bozkath, Eglon,⁴⁰ Cabbon, Lahmam, Chitlish,⁴¹ Gederoth, Beth-dagon, Naamah and Makkedah; sixteen cities and their villages.⁴² Libnah, Ether, Ashan,⁴³ Iphtah, Ashnah, Nezib,⁴⁴ Keilah, Achzib and Mareshah; nine cities and their villages.⁴⁵ Ekron and its towns and villages;⁴⁶ from Ekron to the sea, all the towns that lie alongside Ashdod, and their villages;⁴⁷ Ashdod and its towns and villages; Gaza and its towns and villages, as far as the Wadi of Egypt and the coast of the Great Sea.⁴⁸ In the mountain regions: Shamir, Jattir, Socoh,⁴⁹ Dannah, Kiriath-sannah (that is, Debir),⁵⁰ Anab, Eshtemoh, Anim,⁵¹ Goshen, Holon and Giloh; eleven cities and their villages.⁵² Arab, Dumah, Eshan,⁵³ Janim, Beth-tappuah, Aphekah,⁵⁴ Humtah, Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), and Zior; nine cities and their villages.⁵⁵ Maon, Carmel, Ziph, Juttah,⁵⁶ Jezreel, Jokdeam, Zanoah,⁵⁷ Kain, Gibbeah and Timnah; ten cities and their villages.⁵⁸ Halhul, Beth-zur, Gedor,⁵⁹ Maarath, Beth-anoth and Eltekon; six cities and their villages.

: Shamir, Jattir, Socoh,⁴⁹ Dannah, Kiriath-sannah (that is, Debir),⁵⁰ Anab, Eshtemoh, Anim,⁵¹ Goshen, Holon and Giloh; eleven cities and their villages.⁵² Arab, Dumah, Eshan,⁵³ Janim, Beth-tappuah, Aphekah,⁵⁴ Humtah, Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), and Zior; nine cities and their villages.⁵⁵ Maon, Carmel, Ziph, Juttah,⁵⁶ Jezreel, Jokdeam, Zanoah,⁵⁷ Kain, Gibbeah and Timnah; ten cities and their villages.⁵⁸ Halhul, Beth-zur, Gedor,⁵⁹ Maarath, Beth-anoth and Eltekon; six cities and their villages. Tekoa, Ephrathah (that is, Bethlehem), Peor, Etam, Kulom, Tatam, Zores, Karim, Gallim, Bether and Manoko; eleven cities and their villages.⁶⁰ Kiriath-baal (that is, Kiriath-jearim) and Rabbah; two cities and their villages.⁶¹ In the desert: Beth-arabah, Middin, Secacah,⁶² Nibshan, Ir-hamelah and En-gedi; six cities and their villages.⁶³ (But the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem the Judahites could not drive out; so the Jebusites dwell in Jerusalem beside the Judahites to the present day.)" Joshua Chapter 16 "¹The lot that fell to the Josephites extended from the Jordan at Jericho to the waters of Jericho east of the desert; then the boundary went up from Jericho to the heights at Bethel.² Leaving Bethel for Luz, it crossed the ridge to the border of the Archites at Ataroth,³ and descended westward to the border of the Japhletites, to that of the Lower Beth-horon, and to Gezer, ending thence at the sea.⁴ Within the heritage of Manasseh and Ephraim, sons of Joseph,⁵³ the dividing line for the heritage of the clans of the Ephraimites ran from east of Ataroth-addar to Upper Beth- horon⁶ and thence to the sea. From Michmethath on the north, their boundary curved eastward around Taanath-shiloh, and continued east of it to Janoah;⁷ from there it descended to Ataroth and Naarah, and skirting Jericho, it ended at the Jordan.⁸ From Tappuah the boundary ran

202 westward to the Wadi Kanah and ended at the sea. This was the heritage of the clans of the Ephraimites,⁹ including the villages that belonged to each city set aside for the Ephraimites within the territory of the Manassehites.¹⁰ But they did not drive out the Canaanites living in Gezer, who live on within Ephraim to the present day, though they have been impressed as laborers." Joshua Chapter 17 "¹Now as for the lot that fell to the tribe of Manasseh as the first-born of Joseph: since his eldest son, Machir, the father of Gilead, was a warrior, who had already obtained Gilead and Bashan, ²the allotment was now made to the other descendants of Manasseh, the clans of Abiezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Hepher and Shemida, the other male children of Manasseh, son of Joseph. ³Furthermore, Zelophehad, son of Hepher, son of Gilead, son of Machir, son of Manasseh, had had no sons, but only daughters, whose names were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. ⁴These presented themselves to Eleazar the priest, to Joshua, son of Nun, and to the princes, saying, 'The LORD commanded Moses to give us a heritage among our kinsmen.' So in obedience to the command of the LORD a heritage was given to each of them among their father's kinsmen. ⁵Thus ten shares fell to Manasseh apart from the land of Gilead and Bashan beyond the Jordan, ⁶since these female descendants of Manasseh received each a portion among his sons. The land of Gilead fell to the rest of the Manassehites. ⁷Manasseh bordered on Asher. From Michmethath near Shechem, another boundary ran southward to include the natives of En-Tappuah, ⁸because the district of Tappuah belonged to Manasseh, although Tappuah itself was an Ephraimite city on the border of Manasseh. ⁹This same boundary continued down to the Wadi Kanah. The cities that belonged to Ephraim from among the cities in Manasseh were those to the south of that wadi; thus the territory of Manasseh ran north of the wadi and ended at the sea. ¹⁰The land on the south belonged to Ephraim and that on the north to Manasseh; with the sea as their common boundary, they reached Asher on the north and Issachar on the east. ¹¹Moreover, in Issachar and in Asher Manasseh was awarded Beth-shean and its towns, Ibleam and its towns, Dor and its towns and the natives there, Endor and its towns and natives, Taanach and its towns and natives, and Megiddo and its towns and natives (the third is Naphath-dor). ¹²Since the Manassehites could not conquer these cities, the Canaanites persisted in this region. ¹³When the Israelites grew stronger they impressed the Canaanites as laborers, but they did not drive them out. ¹⁴The descendants of Joseph said to Joshua, 'Why have you given us only one lot and one share as our heritage? Our people are too many, because of the extent to which the LORD has blessed us.' ¹⁵Joshua answered them, 'If you are too many, go up to the forest and clear out a place for yourselves there in the land of the Perizzites and Rephaim, since the mountain regions of Ephraim are so narrow.' ¹⁶For the Josephites said, 'Our mountain regions are not enough for us; on the other hand, the Canaanites living in the valley region all have iron chariots, in particular those in Beth-shean and its towns, and those in the valley of Jezreel.' ¹⁷Joshua therefore said to Ephraim and Manasseh, the house of Joseph, 'You are a numerous people and very strong. You shall have not merely one share, ¹⁸for the mountain region which is now forest shall be yours when you clear it. Its adjacent land shall also be yours if, despite their strength and iron chariots, you drive out the Canaanites.'" Joshua Chapter 18 "¹After they had subdued the land, the whole community of the Israelites assembled at Shiloh, where they set up the meeting tent. ²Seven tribes among the Israelites had not yet received their heritage.

ph, 'You are a numerous people and very strong. You shall have not merely one share, ¹⁸for the mountain region which is now forest shall be yours when you clear it. Its adjacent land shall also be yours if, despite their strength and iron chariots, you drive out the Canaanites.'" Joshua Chapter 18 "¹After they had subdued the land, the whole community of the Israelites assembled at Shiloh, where they set up the meeting tent. ²Seven tribes among the Israelites had not yet received their heritage. ³Joshua therefore said to the Israelites, 'How much longer will you put off taking steps to possess the land which the LORD, the God of your fathers, has given you? ⁴Choose three men from each of your tribes; I will commission them to begin a survey of the land, which they shall describe for purposes of inheritance. When they return to me ⁵you shall divide it into seven parts.

203 Judah is to retain its territory in the south, and the house of Joseph its territory in the north. ⁶You shall bring here to me the description of the land in seven sections. I will then cast lots for you here before the LORD, our God. ⁷For the Levites have no share among you, because the priesthood of the LORD is their heritage; while Gad, Reuben, and the half-tribe of Manasseh have already received the heritage east of the Jordan which Moses, the servant of the LORD, gave them.' ⁸When those who were to map out the land were ready for the journey, Joshua instructed them to survey the land, prepare a description of it, and return to him; then he would cast lots for them there before the LORD in Shiloh. ⁹So they went through the land, listed its cities in writing in seven sections, and returned to Joshua in the camp at Shiloh. ¹⁰Joshua then divided up the land for the Israelites into their separate shares, casting lots for them before the LORD in Shiloh. ¹¹One lot fell to the clans of the tribe of Benjaminites. The territory allotted them lay between the descendants of Judah and those of Joseph. ¹²Their northern boundary began at the Jordan and went over the northern flank of Jericho, up westward into the mountains, till it reached the desert of Beth-aven. ¹³From there it crossed over to the southern flank of Luz (that is, Bethel). Then it ran down to Ataroth-addar, on the mountaintop south of Lower Beth-horon. ¹⁴For the western border, the boundary line swung south from the mountaintop opposite Bethhoron till it reached Kiriath-baal (that is, Kiriath-jearim), which city belonged to the Judahites. This was the western boundary. ¹⁵The southern boundary began at the limits of Kiriath-jearim and projected to the spring at Nephtoah. ¹⁶It went down to the edge of the mountain on the north of the Valley of Rephaim, where it faces the Valley of Ben-hinnom; and continuing down the Valley of Hinnom along the southern flank of the Jebusites, reached En-rogel. ¹⁷Inclining to the north, it extended to En-shemesh, and thence to Geliloth, opposite the pass of Adummim. Then it dropped to Eben- Bohan-ben-Reuben, ¹⁸across the northern flank of the Arabah overlook, down into the Aarabah. ¹⁹From there the boundary continued across the northern flank of Beth-hoglah and extended to the northern tip of the Salt Sea, at the southern end of the Jordan. This was the southern boundary. ²⁰The Jordan bounded it on the east. This was how the heritage of the clans of the Benjaminites was bounded on all sides. ²¹Now the cities belonging to the clans of the tribe of the Benjaminites were: Jericho, Beth-hoglah, Emek-keziz, ²²Beth-arabah, Zemaraim, Bethel, ²³Avvim, Parah, Ophrah, ²⁴Chephar-ammoni, Ophni and Geba; twelve cities and their villages. ²⁵Also Gibeon, Ramah, Beeroth, ²⁶Mizpeh, Chephirah, Mozah, ²⁷Rekem, Irpeel, Taralah, ²⁸Zela, Haeleph, the Jebusite city (that is, Jerusalem), Gibeah and Kiriath; fourteen cities and their villages. This was the heritage of the clans of Benjaminites." Joshua Chapter 19 "¹The second lot fell to Simeon. The heritage of the clans of the tribe of Simeonites lay within that of the Judahites. ²For their heritage they received Beer-sheba, Shema, Moladah, ³Hazar-shual, Balah, Ezem, ⁴Eltolad, Bethul, Hormah, ⁵Ziklag, Bethmar-caboth, Hazar-susah, ⁶Beth-lebaoth and Sharuhen; thirteen cities and their villages. ⁷Also En-rimmon, Ether and Ashan; four cities and their villages, ⁸besides all the villages around these cities as far as Baalath-beer (that is, Ramoth-negeb). This was the heritage of the clans of the tribe of the Simeonites. ⁹This heritage of the Simeonites was within the confines of the Judahites; for since the portion of the latter was too large for them, the Simeonites obtained their heritage within it. ¹⁰The third lot fell to the clans of the Zebulunites. The limit of their heritage was at Sarid. ¹¹Their boundary went up west and through Mareal, reaching Dabbesheth and the wadi that is near Jokneam.

as far as Baalath-beer (that is, Ramoth-negeb). This was the heritage of the clans of the tribe of the Simeonites. ⁹This heritage of the Simeonites was within the confines of the Judahites; for since the portion of the latter was too large for them, the Simeonites obtained their heritage within it. ¹⁰The third lot fell to the clans of the Zebulunites. The limit of their heritage was at Sarid. ¹¹Their boundary went up west and through Mareal, reaching Dabbesheth and the wadi that is near Jokneam. ¹²From Sarid eastward it ran to the district of Chisloth-tabor, on to Daberath, and up to Japhia. ¹³From there it continued eastward to Gath-hepher and to Eth-kazin, extended to Rimmon, and turned to Neah. ¹⁴Skirting north of Hannathon, the boundary ended at the valley of Iphtahel. ¹⁵Thus, with Kattath, Nahalal, Shimron, Idalah and Bethlehem, there were twelve cities and their villages ¹⁶to comprise the

204 heritage of the clans of the Zebulunites. ¹⁷The fourth lot fell to Issachar. The territory of the clans of the Issacharites ¹⁸included Jezreel, Chesulloth, Shunem, ¹⁹Hapharaim, Shion, Anaharath, ²⁰Rabbith, Kishion, Ebez, ²¹Remeth, En-gannim, En-haddah and Beth-pazzez. ²²The boundary reached Tabor, Shahazumah and Beth-shemesh, ending at the Jordan. These sixteen cities and their villages ²³were the heritage of the clans of the Issacharites. ²⁴The fifth lot fell to the clans of the tribe of the Asherites. ²⁵Their territory included Helkath, Hali, Beten, Achshaph, ²⁶Allammelech, Amad and Mishal, and reached Carmel on the west, and Shihor-libnath. ²⁷In the other direction, it ran eastward of Beth-dagon, reached Zebulun and the valley of Iphtahel; then north of Beth-emek and Neiel, it extended to Cabul, ²⁸Mishal, Abdon, Rehob, Hammon and Kanah, near Greater Sidon. ²⁹Then the boundary turned back to Ramah and to the fortress city of Tyre; thence it cut back to Hosah and ended at the sea. Thus, with Mahalab, Achzib, ³⁰Ummah, Acco, Aphek and Rehob, there were twenty-two cities and their villages ³¹to comprise the heritage of the clans of the tribe of the Asherites. ³²The sixth lot fell to the Naphtalites. The boundary of the clans of the Naphtalites ³³extended from Heleph, from the oak at Zaanannim to Lakkum, including Adami-nekeb and Jabneel, and ended at the Jordan. ³⁴In the opposite direction, westerly, it ran through Aznoth-tabor and from there extended to Hukkok; it touched Zebulun on the south, Asher on the west, and the Jordan on the east. ³⁵The fortified cities were Ziddim, Zer, Hammath, Rakkath, Chinnereth, ³⁶Adamah, Ramah, Hazor, ³⁷Kedesh, Edrei, En-hazor, ³⁸Yiron, Migdal-el, Horem, Beth-anath and Beth-shemesh; nineteen cities and their villages, ³⁹to comprise the heritage of the clans of the tribe of the Naphtalites. ⁴⁰The seventh lot fell to the clans of the tribe of Danites. ⁴¹Their heritage was the territory of Zorah, Eshtaol, Ir-shemesh, ⁴²Shaalabbin, Aijalon, Ithlah, ⁴³Elon, Timnah, Ekron, ⁴⁴Eltekoh, Gibbethon, Baalath, ⁴⁵Jehud, Bene-berak, Gath-rimmon, ⁴⁶Me-jarkon and Rakkon, with the coast at Joppa. ⁴⁷But the territory of the Danites was too small for them; so the Danites marched up and attacked Leshem, which they captured and put to the sword. Once they had taken possession of Leshem, they renamed the settlement after their ancestor Dan. ⁴⁸These cities and their villages were the heritage of the clans of the tribe of the Danites. ⁴⁹When the last of them had received the portions of the land they were to inherit, the Israelites assigned a heritage in their midst to Joshua, son of Nun. ⁵⁰In obedience to the command of the LORD, they gave him the city which he requested, Timnah-serah in the mountain region of Ephraim. He rebuilt the city and made it his home. ⁵¹These are the final portions into which Eleazar the priest, Joshua, son of Nun, and the heads of families in the tribes of the Israelites divided the land by lot in the presence of the LORD, at the door of the meeting tent in Shiloh." Joshua Chapter 20 "¹The LORD said to Joshua: ²'Tell the Israelites to designate the cities of which I spoke to them through Moses, ³to which one guilty of accidental and unintended homicide may flee for asylum from the avenger of blood. ⁴To one of these cities the killer shall flee, and standing at the entrance of the city gate, he shall plead his case before the elders, who must receive him and assign him a place in which to live among them. ⁵Though the avenger of blood pursues him, they are not to deliver up the homicide who slew his fellow man unintentionally and not out of previous hatred. ⁶Once he has stood judgment before the community, he shall live on in that city till the death of the high priest who is in office at the time.

of these cities the killer shall flee, and standing at the entrance of the city gate, he shall plead his case before the elders, who must receive him and assign him a place in which to live among them. ⁵Though the avenger of blood pursues him, they are not to deliver up the homicide who slew his fellow man unintentionally and not out of previous hatred. ⁶Once he has stood judgment before the community, he shall live on in that city till the death of the high priest who is in office at the time. Then the killer may go back home to his own city from which he fled.' ⁷So they set apart Kedesh in Galilee in the mountain region of Naphtali, Shechem in the mountain region of Ephraim, and Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the mountain region of Judah. ⁸And beyond the Jordan east of Jericho they designated Bezer on the open tableland in the tribe of Reuben, Ramoth in Gilead in the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan in the tribe of Manasseh. ⁹These were the designated cities to which any Israelite or stranger living among them

205 who had killed a person accidentally might flee to escape death at the hand of the avenger of blood, until he could appear before the community." Joshua Chapter 21 "¹The heads of the Levite families came up to Eleazar the priest, to Joshua, son of Nun, and to the heads of families of the other tribes of the Israelites ²at Shiloh in the land of Canaan, and said to them, 'The LORD commanded, through Moses, that cities be given us to dwell in, with pasture lands for our livestock.' ³Out of their own heritage, in obedience to this command of the LORD, the Israelites gave the Levites the following cities with their pasture lands. ⁴When the first lot among the Levites fell to the clans of the Kohathites, the descendants of Aaron the priest obtained thirteen cities by lot from the tribes of Judah, Simeon and Benjamin. ⁵The rest of the Kohathites obtained ten cities by lot from the clans of the tribe of Ephraim, from the tribe of Dan, and from the half-tribe of Manasseh. ⁶The Gershonites obtained thirteen cities by lot from the clans of the tribe of Issachar, from the tribe of Asher, from the tribe of Naphtali, and from the half-tribe of Manasseh. ⁷The clans of the Merarites obtained twelve cities from the tribes of Reuben, Gad and Zebulun. ⁸These cities with their pasture lands the Israelites allotted to the Levites in obedience to the LORD'S command through Moses. ⁹From the tribes of the Judahites and Simeonites they designated the following cities, ¹⁰and assigned them to the descendants of Aaron in the Kohathite clan of the Levites, since the first lot fell to them: ¹¹first, Kiriath-arba (Arba was the father of Anak), that is, Hebron, in the mountain region of Judah, with the adjacent pasture lands, ¹²although the open country and villages belonging to the city had been given to Caleb, son of Jephunneh, as his property. ¹³Thus to the descendants of Aaron the priest were given the city of asylum for homicides at Hebron, with its pasture lands; also, Libnah with its pasture lands, ¹⁴Jattir with its pasture lands, Eshtemoa with its pasture lands, ¹⁵Holon with its pasture lands, Debir with its pasture lands, ¹⁶Ashan with its pasture lands, Juttah with its pasture lands, and Beth-shemesh with its pasture lands: nine cities from the two tribes mentioned. ¹⁷From the tribe of Benjamin they obtained the four cities of Gibeon with its pasture lands, Geba with its pasture lands, ¹⁸Anathoth with its pasture lands, and Almon with its pasture lands. ¹⁹These cities which with their pasture lands belonged to the priestly descendants of Aaron, were thirteen in all. ²⁰The rest of the Kohathite clans among the Levites obtained by lot, from the tribe of Ephraim, four cities. ²¹They were assigned, with its pasture lands, the city of asylum for homicides at Shechem in the mountain region of Ephraim; also Gezer with its pasture lands, ²²Kibzaim with its pasture lands, and Beth-horon with its pasture lands. ²³From the tribe of Dan they obtained the four cities of Elteke with its pasture lands, Gibbethon with its pasture lands, ²⁴Aijalon with its pasture lands, and Gath-rimmon with its pasture lands; ²⁵and from the half-tribe of Manasseh the two cities of Taanach with its pasture lands and Ibleam with its pasture lands. ²⁶These cities which with their pasture lands belonged to the rest of the Kohathite clans were ten in all. ²⁷The Gershonite clan of the Levites received from the half-tribe of Manasseh two cities: the city of asylum for homicides at Golan, with its pasture lands; and also Beth-ashtaroth with its pasture lands.

on with its pasture lands, and Gath-rimmon with its pasture lands; ²⁵and from the half-tribe of Manasseh the two cities of Taanach with its pasture lands and Ibleam with its pasture lands. ²⁶These cities which with their pasture lands belonged to the rest of the Kohathite clans were ten in all. ²⁷The Gershonite clan of the Levites received from the half-tribe of Manasseh two cities: the city of asylum for homicides at Golan, with its pasture lands; and also Beth-ashtaroth with its pasture lands. ²⁸From the tribe of Issachar they obtained the four cities of Kishion with its pasture lands, Daberath with its pasture lands, ²⁹Jarmuth with its pasture lands, and En-gannim with its pasture lands; from the tribe of Asher, ³⁰the four cities of Mishal with its pasture lands, Abdon with its pasture lands, ³¹Helkath with its pasture lands, and Rehob with its pasture lands; ³²and from the tribe of Naphtali, three cities: the city of asylum for homicides at Kedesh in Galilee, with its pasture lands; also Hammath with its pasture lands, and Rakkath with its pasture lands. ³³These cities which with their pasture lands belonged to the Gershonite clans were thirteen in all. ³⁴The Merarite clans, the last of the Levites, received from the tribe of Zebulun the four cities of Jokneam with its pasture lands, Kartah with its pasture lands, ³⁵Rimmon with its pasture lands, and Nahalal with its pasture lands;

206 ³⁶also, across the Jordan, from the tribe of Reuben, four cities: the city of asylum for homicides at Bezer with its pasture lands, Jahaz with its pasture lands, ³⁷Kedemoth with its pasture lands, and Mephaath with its pasture lands; ³⁸and from the tribe of Gad a total of four cities: the city of asylum for homicides at Ramoth in Gilead with its pasture lands, also Mahanaim with its pasture lands, ³⁹Heshbon with its pasture lands, and Jazer with its pasture lands. ⁴⁰The cities which were allotted to the Merarite clans, the last of the Levites, were therefore twelve in all. ⁴¹Thus the total number of cities within the territory of the Israelites which, with their pasture lands, belonged to the Levites, was forty-eight. ⁴²With each and every one of these cities went the pasture lands round about it. ⁴³And so the LORD gave Israel all the land he had sworn to their fathers he would give them. Once they had conquered and occupied it, ⁴⁴the LORD gave them peace on every side, just as he had promised their fathers. Not one of their enemies could withstand them; the LORD brought all their enemies under their power. ⁴⁵Not a single promise that the LORD made to the house of Israel was broken; every one was fulfilled." Joshua Chapter 22 ¹At that time Joshua summoned the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh ²and said to them: "You have done all that Moses, the servant of the LORD, commanded you, and have obeyed every command I gave you. ³For many years now you have not once abandoned your kinsmen, but have faithfully carried out the commands of the LORD, your God. ⁴Since, therefore, the LORD, your God, has settled your kinsmen as he promised them, you may now return to your tents beyond the Jordan; to your own land, which Moses, the servant of the LORD, gave you. ⁵But be very careful to observe the precept and law which Moses, the servant of the LORD, enjoined upon you: love the LORD, your God; follow him faithfully; keep his commandments; remain loyal to him; and serve him with your whole heart and soul." ⁶Joshua then blessed them and sent them away to their own tents. ⁷(For, to half the tribe of Manasseh Moses had assigned land in Bashan; and to the other half Joshua had given a portion along with their kinsmen west of the Jordan.) What Joshua said to them when he sent them off to their tents with his blessing was, ⁸"Now that you are returning to your own tents with great wealth, with very numerous livestock, with silver, gold, bronze and iron, and with a very large supply of clothing, divide these spoils of your enemies with your kinsmen there." ⁹So the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh left the other Israelites at Shiloh in the land of Canaan and returned to the land of Gilead, their own property, which they had received according to the LORD'S command through Moses. ¹⁰When the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh came to the region of the Jordan in the land of Canaan, they built there at the Jordan a conspicuously large altar. ¹¹The other Israelites heard the report that the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh had built an altar in the region of the Jordan facing the land of Canaan, across from them, ¹²and therefore they assembled their whole community at Shiloh to declare war on them. ¹³First, however, they sent to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh in the land of Gilead an embassy consisting of Phinehas, son of Eleazar the priest, ¹⁴and ten princes, one from every tribe of Israel, each one being both prince and military leader of his ancestral house. ¹⁵When these came to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh in the land of Gilead, they said to them: ¹⁶"The whole community of the LORD sends this message: What act of treachery is this you have committed against the God of Israel? You have seceded from the LORD this day, and rebelled against him by building an altar of your own!

n of Eleazar the priest, ¹⁴and ten princes, one from every tribe of Israel, each one being both prince and military leader of his ancestral house. ¹⁵When these came to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh in the land of Gilead, they said to them: ¹⁶"The whole community of the LORD sends this message: What act of treachery is this you have committed against the God of Israel? You have seceded from the LORD this day, and rebelled against him by building an altar of your own! ¹⁷For the sin of Peor, a plague came upon the community of the LORD. ¹⁸We are still not free of that; must you now add to it? You are rebelling against the LORD today and by tomorrow he will be angry with the whole community of Israel! ¹⁹If you consider the land you now possess unclean, cross over to the land the LORD possesses, where the Dwelling of the LORD stands, and share that with us. But do not

207 rebel against the LORD, nor involve us in rebellion, by building an altar of your own in addition to the altar of the LORD, our God. ²⁰When Achan, son of Zerah, violated the ban, did not wrath fall upon the entire community of Israel? Though he was but a single man, he did not perish alone for his guilt!" ²¹The Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh replied to the military leaders of the Israelites: "The LORD is the God of gods. ²²The LORD, the God of gods, knows and Israel shall know. If now we have acted out of rebellion or treachery against the LORD, our God, ²³and if we have built an altar of our own to secede from the LORD, or to offer holocausts, grain offerings or peace offerings upon it, the LORD himself will exact the penalty. ²⁴We did it rather out of our anxious concern lest in the future your children should say to our children: 'What have you to do with the LORD, the God of Israel? ²⁵For the LORD has placed the Jordan as a boundary between you and us. You descendants of Reuben and Gad have no share in the LORD.' Thus your children would prevent ours from revering the LORD. ²⁶So we decided to guard our interests by building this altar of our own: not for holocausts or for sacrifices, ²⁷but as evidence for you on behalf of ourselves and our descendants, that we have the right to worship the LORD in his presence with our holocausts, sacrifices, and peace offerings. Now in the future your children cannot say to our children, 'You have no share in the LORD.' ²⁸Our thought was, that if in the future they should speak thus to us or to our descendants, we could answer: 'Look at the model of the altar of the LORD which our fathers made, not for holocausts or for sacrifices, but to witness between you and us.' ²⁹Far be it from us to rebel against the LORD or to secede now from the LORD by building an altar for holocaust, grain offering, or sacrifice in addition to the altar of the LORD, our God, which stands before his Dwelling." ³⁰When Phinehas the priest and the princes of the community, the military leaders of the Israelites, heard what the Reubenites, the Gadites and the Manassehites had to say, they were satisfied. ³¹Phinehas, son of Eleazar the priest, said to the Reubenites, the Gadites and the Manassehites, "Now we know that the LORD is with us. Since you have not committed this act of treachery against the LORD, you have kept the Israelites free from punishment by the LORD." ³²Phinehas, son of Eleazar the priest, and the princes returned from the Reubenites and the Gadites in the land of Gilead to the Israelites in the land of Canaan, and reported the matter to them. ³³The report satisfied the Israelites, who blessed God and decided against declaring war on the Reubenites and Gadites or ravaging the land they occupied. ³⁴The Reubenites and the Gadites gave the altar its name as a witness among them that the LORD is God." Joshua Chapter 23 ¹Many years later, after the LORD had given the Israelites rest from all their enemies round about them, and when Joshua was old and advanced in years, ²he summoned all Israel (including their elders, leaders, judges and officers) and said to them: "I am old and advanced in years. ³You have seen all that the LORD, your God, has done for you against all these nations; for it has been the LORD, your God, himself who fought for you. ⁴Bear in mind that I have apportioned among your tribes as their heritage the nations that survive (as well as those I destroyed) between the Jordan and the Great Sea in the west. ⁵The LORD, your God, will drive them out and dislodge them at your approach, so that you will take possession of their land as the LORD, your God, promised you. ⁶Therefore strive hard to observe and carry out all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, not straying from it in any way, ⁷or mingling with these nations while they survive among you.

d among your tribes as their heritage the nations that survive (as well as those I destroyed) between the Jordan and the Great Sea in the west. ⁵The LORD, your God, will drive them out and dislodge them at your approach, so that you will take possession of their land as the LORD, your God, promised you. ⁶Therefore strive hard to observe and carry out all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, not straying from it in any way, ⁷or mingling with these nations while they survive among you. You must not invoke their gods, or swear by them, or serve them, or worship them, ⁸but you must remain loyal to the LORD, your God, as you have been to this day. ⁹At your approach the LORD has driven out large and strong nations, and to this day no one has withstood you. ¹⁰One of you puts to flight a thousand, because it is the LORD, your God, himself who fights for you, as he promised you. ¹¹Take great care, however, to love the LORD, your God. ¹²For if you ever

208 abandon him and ally yourselves with the remnant of these nations while they survive among you, by intermarrying and intermingling with them, ¹³know for certain that the LORD, your God, will no longer drive these nations out of your way. Instead they will be a snare and a trap for you, a scourge for your sides and thorns for your eyes, until you perish from this good land which the LORD, your God, has given you. ¹⁴"Today, as you see, I am going the way of all men. So now acknowledge with your whole heart and soul that not one of all the promises the LORD, your God, made to you has remained unfulfilled. Every promise has been fulfilled for you, with not one single exception. ¹⁵But just as every promise the LORD, your God, made to you has been fulfilled for you, so will he fulfill every threat, even so far as to exterminate you from this good land which the LORD, your God, has given you. ¹⁶If you transgress the covenant of the LORD, your God, which he enjoined on you, serve other gods and worship them, the anger of the LORD will flare up against you and you will quickly perish from the good land which he has given you." Joshua Chapter 24 ¹Joshua gathered together all the tribes of Israel at Shechem, summoning their elders, their leaders, their judges, and their officers. When they stood in ranks before God, ²Joshua addressed all the people: "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: In times past your fathers, down to Terah, father of Abraham and Nahor, dwelt beyond the River and served other gods. ³But I brought your father Abraham from the region beyond the River and led him through the entire land of Canaan. I made his descendants numerous and gave him Isaac. ⁴To Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. To Esau, I assigned the mountain region of Seir in which to settle, while Jacob and his children went down to Egypt. ⁵"Then I sent Moses and Aaron and smote Egypt with the prodigies which I wrought in her midst. ⁶Afterward, I led you out of Egypt, and when you reached the sea, the Egyptians pursued your fathers to the Red Sea with chariots and horsemen. ⁷Because they cried out to the LORD, he put darkness between your people and the Egyptians, upon whom he brought the sea so that it engulfed them. After you witnessed what I did to Egypt, and dwelt a long time in the desert, ⁸I brought you into the land of the Amorites who lived east of the Jordan. They fought against you, but I delivered them into your power. You took possession of their land, and I destroyed them (the two kings of the Amorites) before you. ⁹Then Balak, son of Zippor, king of Moab, prepared to war against Israel. He summoned Balaam, son of Beor, to curse you; ¹⁰but I would not listen to Balaam. On the contrary, he had to bless you, and I saved you from him. ¹¹Once you crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho, the men of Jericho fought against you, but I delivered them also into your power. ¹²And I sent the hornets ahead of you which drove them (the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites, and Jebusites) out of your way; it was not your sword or your bow. ¹³"I gave you a land which you had not tilled and cities which you had not built, to dwell in; you have eaten of vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant. ¹⁴"Now, therefore, fear the LORD and serve him completely and sincerely. Cast out the gods your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. ¹⁵If it does not please you to serve the LORD, decide today whom you will serve, the gods your fathers served beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose country you are dwelling. As for me and my household, we will serve the LORD." ¹⁶But the people answered, "Far be it from us to forsake the LORD for the service of other gods. ¹⁷For it was the LORD, our God, who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, out of a state of slavery.

e River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. ¹⁵If it does not please you to serve the LORD, decide today whom you will serve, the gods your fathers served beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose country you are dwelling. As for me and my household, we will serve the LORD." ¹⁶But the people answered, "Far be it from us to forsake the LORD for the service of other gods. ¹⁷For it was the LORD, our God, who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, out of a state of slavery. He performed those great miracles before our very eyes and protected us along our entire journey and among all the peoples through whom we passed. ¹⁸At our approach, the LORD drove out (all the peoples, including) the Amorites who dwelt in the land. Therefore we also will serve the LORD, for he is our God." ¹⁹Joshua in turn said to the people, "You may not be able to serve the LORD, for he is a holy God; he is a jealous God who will not forgive your transgressions or your sins. ²⁰If, after the good he has done for you, you forsake

209 the LORD and serve strange gods, he will do evil to you and destroy you." ²¹But the people answered Joshua, "We will still serve the LORD." ²²Joshua therefore said to the people, "You are your own witnesses that you have chosen to serve the LORD." They replied, "We are, indeed!" ²³"Now, therefore, put away the strange gods that are among you and turn your hearts to the LORD, the God of Israel." ²⁴Then the people promised Joshua, "We will serve the LORD, our God, and obey his voice." ²⁵So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day and made statutes and ordinances for them at Shechem, ²⁶which he recorded in the book of the law of God. Then he took a large stone and set it up there under the oak that was in the sanctuary of the LORD. ²⁷And Joshua said to all the people, "This stone shall be our witness, for it has heard all the words which the LORD spoke to us. It shall be a witness against you, should you wish to deny your God." ²⁸Then Joshua dismissed the people, each to his own heritage. ²⁹After these events, Joshua, son of Nun, servant of the LORD, died at the age of a hundred and ten. ³⁰He was buried within the limits of his heritage at Timnath-serah in the mountain region of Ephraim north of Mount Gaash. ³¹Israel served the LORD during the entire lifetime of Joshua and that of the elders who outlived Joshua and knew all that the LORD had done for Israel. ³²The bones of Joseph, which the Israelites had brought up from Egypt, were buried in Shechem in the plot of ground Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor, father of Shechem, for a hundred pieces of money. This was a heritage of the descendants of Joseph. ³³When Eleazar, son of Aaron, also died, he was buried on the hill which had been given to his son Phinehas in the mountain region of Ephraim. Judges Judges Chapter 1 ¹After the death of Joshua, the Israelites consulted the LORD, asking, "Who shall be first among us to attack the Canaanites and to do battle with them?" ²The LORD answered, "Judah shall attack: I have delivered the land into his power." ³Judah then said to his brother Simeon, "Come up with me into the territory allotted to me, and let us engage the Canaanites in battle. I will likewise accompany you into the territory allotted to you." So Simeon went with him. ⁴When the forces of Judah attacked, the LORD delivered the Canaanites and Perizzites into their power, and they slew ten thousand of them in Bezek. ⁵It was in Bezek that they came upon Adonibezek and fought against him. When they defeated the Canaanites and Perizzites, ⁶Adonibezek fled. They set out in pursuit, and when they caught him, cut off his thumbs and his big toes. ⁷At this, Adonibezek said, "Seventy kings, with their thumbs and big toes cut off, used to pick up scraps under my table. As I have done, so has God repaid me." He was brought to Jerusalem, and there he died. ⁸(The Judahites fought against Jerusalem and captured it, putting it to the sword; then they destroyed the city by fire.) ⁹Afterward, the Judahites went down to fight against the Canaanites who lived in the mountain region, in the Negeb, and in the foothills. ¹⁰Judah also marched against the Canaanites who dwelt in Hebron, which was formerly called Kiriath-arba, and defeated Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai. ¹¹From there, they marched against the inhabitants of Debir, which was formerly called Kiriath-sepher. ¹²And Caleb said, "I will give my daughter Achsah in marriage to the one who attacks Kiriath-sepher and captures it." ¹³Othniel, son of Caleb's younger brother Kenaz, captured it; so Caleb gave him his daughter Achsah in marriage. ¹⁴On the day of her marriage to Othniel, she induced him to ask her father for some land. Then, as she alighted from the ass, Caleb asked her, "What is troubling you?" ¹⁵"Give me an additional gift," she answered. "Since you have assigned land in the Negeb to me, give me also pools of water." So Caleb gave her the upper and the lower pool.

who attacks Kiriath-sepher and captures it." ¹³Othniel, son of Caleb's younger brother Kenaz, captured it; so Caleb gave him his daughter Achsah in marriage. ¹⁴On the day of her marriage to Othniel, she induced him to ask her father for some land. Then, as she alighted from the ass, Caleb asked her, "What is troubling you?" ¹⁵"Give me an additional gift," she answered. "Since you have assigned land in the Negeb to me, give me also pools of water." So Caleb gave her the upper and the lower pool. ¹⁶The descendants of the Kenite, Moses' father-in-law, came up with the Judahites from the city of palms to the desert at Arad (which is in the Negeb). But they

210 later left and settled among the Amalekites. ¹⁷Judah then went with his brother Simeon, and they defeated the Canaanites who dwelt in Zephath. After having doomed the city to destruction, they renamed it Hormah. ¹⁸Judah, however, did not occupy Gaza with its territory, Ashkelon with its territory, or Ekron with its territory. ¹⁹Since the LORD was with Judah, he gained possession of the mountain region. Yet he could not dislodge those who lived on the plain, because they had iron chariots. ²⁰As Moses had commanded, Hebron was given to Caleb, who then drove from it the three sons of Anak. ²¹The Benjaminites did not dislodge the Jebusites who dwelt in Jerusalem, with the result that the Jebusites live in Jerusalem beside the Benjaminites to the present day. ²²The house of Joseph, too, marched up against Bethel, and the LORD was with them. ²³The house of Joseph had a reconnaissance made of Bethel, which formerly was called Luz. ²⁴The scouts saw a man coming out of the city and said to him, "Show us a way into the city, and we will spare you." ²⁵He showed them a way into the city, which they then put to the sword; but they let the man and his whole clan go free. ²⁶He then went to the land of the Hittites, where he built a city and called it Luz, as it is still called. ²⁷Manasseh did not take possession of Beth-shean with its towns or of Taanach with its towns. Neither did he dislodge the inhabitants of Dor and its towns, those of Ibleam and its towns, or those of Megiddo and its towns. The Canaanites kept their hold in this district. ²⁸When the Israelites grew stronger, they impressed the Canaanites as laborers but did not drive them out. ²⁹Similarly, the Ephraimites did not drive out the Canaanites living in Gezer, and so the Canaanites live in Gezer in their midst. ³⁰Zebulun did not dislodge the inhabitants of Kitron or those of Nahalol; the Canaanites live among them but have become forced laborers. ³¹Nor did Asher drive out the inhabitants of Acco or those of Sidon, or take possession of Mahaleb, Achzib, Helbah, Aphik, or Rehob. ³²The Asherites live among the Canaanite natives of the land, whom they have not dislodged. ³³Naphtali did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth- shemesh or those of Beth-anath, and so they live among the Canaanite natives of the land. However, the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and Beth-anath have become forced laborers for them. ³⁴The Amorites hemmed in the Danites in the mountain region, not permitting them to go down into the plain. ³⁵The Amorites had a firm hold in Harheres, Aijalon, and Shaalbim, but as the house of Joseph gained the upper hand, they were impressed as laborers. ³⁶The territory of the Amorites extended from the Akrabbim pass to Sela and beyond. Judges Chapter 2 ¹An angel of the LORD went up from Gilgal to Bochim and said, "It was I who brought you up from Egypt and led you into the land which I promised on oath to your fathers. I said that I would never break my covenant with you, ²but that you were not to make a pact with the inhabitants of this land, and you were to pull down their altars. Yet you have not obeyed me. What did you mean by this? ³For now I tell you, I will not clear them out of your way; they shall oppose you and their gods shall become a snare for you." ⁴When the angel of the LORD had made these threats to all the Israelites, the people wept aloud; ⁵¹and so that place came to be called Bochim. They offered sacrifice there to the LORD. ⁶When Joshua dismissed the people, each Israelite went to take possession of his own hereditary land. ⁷The people served the LORD during the entire lifetime of Joshua, and of those elders who outlived Joshua and who had seen all the great work which the LORD had done for Israel. ⁸Joshua, son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, was a hundred and ten years old when he died; ⁹and they buried him within the borders of his heritage at Timnath-heres in the mountain region of Ephraim north of Mount Gaash.

⁶When Joshua dismissed the people, each Israelite went to take possession of his own hereditary land. ⁷The people served the LORD during the entire lifetime of Joshua, and of those elders who outlived Joshua and who had seen all the great work which the LORD had done for Israel. ⁸Joshua, son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, was a hundred and ten years old when he died; ⁹and they buried him within the borders of his heritage at Timnath-heres in the mountain region of Ephraim north of Mount Gaash. ¹⁰But once the rest of that generation were gathered to their fathers, and a later generation arose that did not know the LORD, or what he had done for Israel, ¹¹²the Israelites offended the LORD by serving the Baals. ¹²Abandoning the LORD, the God of their fathers, who had led them out of the land of Egypt, they followed the other gods of the various nations around them, and by their worship of these gods provoked the

211 LORD. ¹³³Because they had thus abandoned him and served Baal and the Ashtaroth, ¹⁴the anger of the LORD flared up against Israel, and he delivered them over to plunderers who despoiled them. He allowed them to fall into the power of their enemies round about whom they were no longer able to withstand. ¹⁵Whatever they undertook, the LORD turned into disaster for them, as in his warning he had sworn he would do, till they were in great distress. ¹⁶Even when the LORD raised up judges to deliver them from the power of their despoilers, ¹⁷they did not listen to their judges, but abandoned themselves to the worship of other gods. They were quick to stray from the way their fathers had taken, and did not follow their example of obedience to the commandments of the LORD. ¹⁸Whenever the LORD raised up judges for them, he would be with the judge and save them from the power of their enemies as long as the judge lived; it was thus the LORD took pity on their distressful cries of affliction under their oppressors. ¹⁹But when the judge died, they would relapse and do worse than their fathers, following other gods in service and worship, relinquishing none of their evil practices or stubborn conduct. ²⁰In his anger toward Israel the LORD said, "Inasmuch as this nation has violated my covenant which I enjoined on their fathers, and has disobeyed me, ²¹I for my part will not clear away for them any more of the nations which Joshua left when he died." ²²Through these nations the Israelites were to be made to prove whether or not they would keep to the way of the LORD and continue in it as their fathers had done; ²³therefore the LORD allowed them to remain instead of expelling them immediately, or delivering them into the power of Israel. Judges Chapter 3 ¹The following are the nations which the LORD allowed to remain, so that through them he might try all those Israelites who had no experience of the battles with Canaan, ²training them in battle, those generations only of the Israelites who would not have had that previous experience: ³¹the five lords of the Philistines; and all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites who dwell in the mountain region of Lebanon between Baal-hermon and the entrance to Hamath. ⁴These served to put Israel to the test, to determine whether they would obey the commandments the LORD had enjoined on their fathers through Moses. ⁵Besides, the Israelites were living among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. ⁶In fact, they took their daughters in marriage, and gave their own daughters to their sons in marriage, and served their gods. ⁷²Because the Israelites had offended the LORD by forgetting the LORD, their God, and serving the Baals and the Asherahs, ⁸the anger of the LORD flared up against them, and he allowed them to fall into the power of Cushan-rishathaim, king of Aram Naharaim, whom they served for eight years. ⁹But when the Israelites cried out to the LORD, he raised up for them a savior, Othniel, son of Caleb's younger brother Kenaz, who rescued them. ¹⁰The spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he judged Israel. When he went out to war, the LORD delivered Cushan-rishathaim, king of Aram, into his power, so that he made him subject. ¹¹The land then was at rest for forty years, until Othniel, son of Kenaz, died. ¹²Again the Israelites offended the LORD, who because of this offense strengthened Eglon, king of Moab, against Israel. ¹³In alliance with the Ammonites and Amalekites, he attacked and defeated Israel, taking possession of the city of palms. ¹⁴The Israelites then served Eglon, king of Moab, for eighteen years. ¹⁵But when the Israelites cried out to the LORD, he raised up for them a savior, the Benjaminite Ehud, son of Gera, who was left-handed. It was by him that the Israelites sent their tribute to Eglon, king of Moab. ¹⁶Ehud made himself a two-edged dagger a foot long, and wore it under his clothes over his right thigh.

ance with the Ammonites and Amalekites, he attacked and defeated Israel, taking possession of the city of palms. ¹⁴The Israelites then served Eglon, king of Moab, for eighteen years. ¹⁵But when the Israelites cried out to the LORD, he raised up for them a savior, the Benjaminite Ehud, son of Gera, who was left-handed. It was by him that the Israelites sent their tribute to Eglon, king of Moab. ¹⁶Ehud made himself a two-edged dagger a foot long, and wore it under his clothes over his right thigh. ¹⁷He presented the tribute to Eglon, king of Moab, who was very fat, ¹⁸and after the presentation went off with the tribute bearers. ¹⁹He returned, however, from where the idols are, near Gilgal, and said, "I have a private message for you, O king." And the king said, "Silence!" Then when all his attendants had left his presence, ²⁰and Ehud went in to him where he sat alone in his cool upper room, Ehud

212 said, "I have a message from God for you." So the king rose from his chair, ²¹and then Ehud with his left hand drew the dagger from his right thigh, and thrust it into Eglon's belly. ²²The hilt also went in after the blade, and the fat closed over the blade because he did not withdraw the dagger from his body. ²³Then Ehud went out into the hall, shutting the doors of the upper room on him and locking them. ²⁴When Ehud had left and the servants came, they saw that the doors of the upper room were locked, and thought, "He must be easing himself in the cool chamber." ²⁵They waited until they finally grew suspicious. Since he did not open the doors of the upper room, they took the key and opened them. There on the floor, dead, lay their lord! ²⁶During their delay Ehud made good his escape and, passing the idols, took refuge in Seirah. ²⁷On his arrival he sounded the horn in the mountain region of Ephraim, and the Israelites went down from the mountains with him as their leader. ²⁸"Follow me," he said to them, "for the LORD has delivered your enemies the Moabites into your power." So they followed him down and seized the fords of the Jordan leading to Moab, permitting no one to cross. ²⁹On that occasion they slew about ten thousand Moabites, all of them strong and valiant men. Not a man escaped. ³⁰Thus was Moab brought under the power of Israel at that time; and the land had rest for eighty years. ³¹After him there was Shamgar, son of Anath, who slew six hundred Philistines with an oxgoad. He, too, rescued Israel. Judges Chapter 4 ¹After Ehud's death, however, the Israelites again offended the LORD. ²So the LORD allowed them to fall into the power of the Canaanite king, Jabin, who reigned in Hazor. The general of his army was Sisera, who dwelt in Harosheth-ha-goiim. ³But the Israelites cried out to the LORD; for with his nine hundred iron chariots he sorely oppressed the Israelites for twenty years. ⁴At this time the prophetess Deborah, wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel. ⁵She used to sit under Deborah's palm tree, situated between Ramah and Bethel in the mountain region of Ephraim, and there the Israelites came up to her for judgment. ⁶She sent and summoned Barak, son of Abinoam, from Kedesh of Naphtali. "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, commands," she said to him; "go, march on Mount Tabor, and take with you ten thousand Naphtalites and Zebulunites. ⁷I will lead Sisera, the general of Jabin's army, out to you at the Wadi Kishon, together with his chariots and troops, and will deliver them into your power." ⁸But Barak answered her, "If you come with me, I will go; if you do not come with me, I will not go." ⁹"I will certainly go with you," she replied, "but you shall not gain the glory in the expedition on which you are setting out, for the LORD will have Sisera fall into the power of a woman." So Deborah joined Barak and journeyed with him to Kedesh. ¹⁰Barak summoned Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh, and ten thousand men followed him. Deborah also went up with him. ¹¹¹Now the Kenite Heber had detached himself from his own people, the descendants of Hobab, Moses' brother-in-law, and had pitched his tent by the terebinth of Zaanannim, which was near Kedesh. ¹²It was reported to Sisera that Barak, son of Abinoam, had gone up to Mount Tabor. ¹³So Sisera assembled from Harosheth-ha-goiim at the Wadi Kishon all nine hundred of his iron chariots and all his forces. ¹⁴Deborah then said to Barak, "Be off, for this is the day on which the LORD has delivered Sisera into your power. The LORD marches before you." So Barak went down Mount Tabor, followed by his ten thousand men. ¹⁵And the LORD put Sisera and all his chariots and all his forces to rout before Barak. Sisera himself dismounted from his chariot and fled on foot. ¹⁶Barak, however, pursued the chariots and the army as far as Harosheth-ha-goiim. The entire army of Sisera fell beneath the sword, not even one man surviving.

to Barak, "Be off, for this is the day on which the LORD has delivered Sisera into your power. The LORD marches before you." So Barak went down Mount Tabor, followed by his ten thousand men. ¹⁵And the LORD put Sisera and all his chariots and all his forces to rout before Barak. Sisera himself dismounted from his chariot and fled on foot. ¹⁶Barak, however, pursued the chariots and the army as far as Harosheth-ha-goiim. The entire army of Sisera fell beneath the sword, not even one man surviving. ¹⁷²Sisera, in the meantime, had fled on foot to the tent of Jael, wife of the Kenite Heber, since Jabin, king of Hazor, and the family of the Kenite Heber were at peace with one another. ¹⁸Jael went out to meet Sisera and said to him, "Come in, my lord, come in with me; do not be afraid." So he went into her tent, and she covered him with a rug. ¹⁹He said to her, "Please

213 give me a little water to drink. I am thirsty." But she opened a jug of milk for him to drink, and then covered him over. ²⁰"Stand at the entrance of the tent," he said to her. "If anyone comes and asks, 'Is there someone here?' say, 'No!'" ²¹Instead Jael, wife of Heber, got a tent peg and took a mallet in her hand. While Sisera was sound asleep, she stealthily approached him and drove the peg through his temple down into the ground, so that he perished in death. ²²Then when Barak came in pursuit of Sisera, Jael went out to meet him and said to him, "Come, I will show you the man you seek." So he went in with her, and there lay Sisera dead, with the tent peg through his temple. ²³Thus on that day God humbled the Canaanite king, Jabin, before the Israelites; ²⁴their power weighed ever heavier upon him, till at length they destroyed the Canaanite king, Jabin. Judges Chapter 5 ¹ On that day Deborah (and Barak, son of Abinoam,) sang this song: ²Of chiefs who took the lead in Israel, of noble deeds by the people who bless the LORD, ³Hear, O kings! Give ear, O princes! I to the LORD will sing my song, my hymn to the LORD, the God of Israel. ⁴O LORD, when you went out from Seir, when you marched from the land of Edom, the earth quaked and the heavens were shaken, while the clouds sent down showers. ⁵Mountains trembled in the presence of the LORD, the One of Sinai, in the presence of the LORD, the God of Israel. ⁶In the days of Shamgar, son of Anath, in the days of slavery caravans ceased: those who traveled the roads went by roundabout paths. ⁷Gone was freedom beyond the walls, gone indeed from Israel. When I, Deborah, rose, when I rose, a mother in Israel, ⁸New gods were their choice; then the war was at their gates. Not a shield could be seen, nor a lance, among forty thousand in Israel! ⁹My heart is with the leaders of Israel, nobles of the people who bless the LORD; ¹⁰They who ride on white asses, seated on saddlecloths as they go their way; ¹¹Sing of them to the strains of the harpers at the wells, where men recount the just deeds of the LORD, his just deeds that brought freedom to Israel. ¹²Awake, awake, Deborah! awake, awake, strike up a song. Strength! arise, Barak, make despoilers your spoil, son of Abinoam. ¹³Then down came the fugitives with the mighty, the people of the LORD came down for me as warriors. ¹⁴From Ephraim, princes were in the valley; behind you was Benjamin, among your troops. From Machir came down commanders, from Zebulun wielders ¹⁵of the marshal's staff. With Deborah were the princes of Issachar; Barak, too, was in the valley, his course unchecked. Among the clans of Reuben great were the searchings of heart. ¹⁶Why do you stay beside your hearths listening to the lowing of the herds? Among the clans of Reuben great were the searchings of heart! ¹⁷Gilead, beyond the Jordan, rests; why does Dan spend his time in ships? Asher, who dwells along the shore, is resting in his coves. ¹⁸Zebulun is the people defying death; Naphtali, too, on the open heights! ¹⁹The kings came and fought; then they fought, those kings of Canaan, at Taanach by the waters of Megiddo; no silver booty did they take. ²⁰From the heavens the stars, too, fought; from their courses they fought against Sisera. ²¹The Wadi Kishon swept them away; a wadi. . . , the Kishon. ²²Then the hoofs of the horses pounded, with the dashing, dashing of his steeds. ²³"Curse Meroz," says the LORD, "hurl a curse at its inhabitants! For they came not to my help, as warriors to the help of the LORD." ²⁴Blessed among women be Jael, blessed among tent-dwelling women. ²⁵He asked for water, she gave him milk; in a princely bowl she offered curds. ²⁶With her left hand she reached for the peg, with her right, for the workman's mallet. She hammered Sisera, crushed his head; she smashed, stove in his temple. ²⁷At her feet he sank down, fell, lay still; down at her feet he sank and fell; where he sank down, there he fell, slain.

nts! For they came not to my help, as warriors to the help of the LORD." ²⁴Blessed among women be Jael, blessed among tent-dwelling women. ²⁵He asked for water, she gave him milk; in a princely bowl she offered curds. ²⁶With her left hand she reached for the peg, with her right, for the workman's mallet. She hammered Sisera, crushed his head; she smashed, stove in his temple. ²⁷At her feet he sank down, fell, lay still; down at her feet he sank and fell; where he sank down, there he fell, slain. ²⁸From the window peered down and wailed the mother of Sisera, from the lattice: "Why is his chariot so long in coming? why are the hoofbeats of his chariots delayed?" ²⁹The wisest of her princesses answers her, and she, too, keeps answering herself: ³⁰"They must be dividing the spoil they took: there must be a damsel or two for each man, spoils of dyed cloth as Sisera's spoil, an ornate shawl or two for me in the spoil." ³¹May all your enemies

214 perish thus, O LORD! but your friends be as the sun rising in its might! And the land was at rest for forty years. Judges Chapter 6 ¹The Israelites offended the LORD, who therefore delivered them into the power of Midian for seven years, ²so that Midian held Israel subject. For fear of Midian the Israelites established the fire signals on the mountains, the caves for refuge, and the strongholds. ³And it used to be that when the Israelites had completed their sowing, Midian, Amalek and the Kedemites would come up, ⁴encamp opposite them, and destroy the produce of the land as far as the outskirts of Gaza, leaving no sustenance in Israel, nor sheep, oxen or asses. ⁵For they would come up with their livestock, and their tents would become as numerous as locusts; and neither they nor their camels could be numbered, when they came into the land to lay it waste. ⁶Thus was Israel reduced to misery by Midian, and so the Israelites cried out to the LORD. ⁷When Israel cried out to the LORD because of Midian, ⁸he sent a prophet to the Israelites who said to them, "The LORD, the God of Israel, says: I led you up from Egypt; I brought you out of the place of slavery. ⁹I rescued you from the power of Egypt and of all your other oppressors. I drove them out before you and gave you their land. ¹⁰And I said to you: I, the LORD, am your God; you shall not venerate the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are dwelling. But you did not obey me." ¹¹Then the angel of the LORD came and sat under the terebinth in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite. While his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the wine press to save it from the Midianites, ¹²the angel of the LORD appeared to him and said, "The LORD is with you, O champion!" ¹³"My Lord," Gideon said to him, "if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are his wondrous deeds of which our fathers told us when they said, 'Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt?' For now the LORD has abandoned us and has delivered us into the power of Midian." ¹⁴The LORD turned to him and said, "Go with the strength you have and save Israel from the power of Midian. It is I who send you." ¹⁵But he answered him, "Please, my lord, how can I save Israel? My family is the meanest in Manasseh, and I am the most insignificant in my father's house." ¹⁶"I shall be with you," the LORD said to him, "and you will cut down Midian to the last man." ¹⁷He answered him, "If I find favor with you, give me a sign that you are speaking with me. ¹⁸Do not depart from here, I pray you, until I come back to you and bring out my offering and set it before you." He answered, "I will await your return." ¹⁹So Gideon went off and prepared a kid and an ephah of flour in the form of unleavened cakes. Putting the meat in a basket and the broth in a pot, he brought them out to him under the terebinth and presented them. ²⁰The angel of God said to him, "Take the meat and unleavened cakes and lay them on this rock; then pour out the broth." When he had done so, ²¹the angel of the LORD stretched out the tip of the staff he held, and touched the meat and unleavened cakes. Thereupon a fire came up from the rock which consumed the meat and unleavened cakes, and the angel of the LORD disappeared from sight. ²²Gideon, now aware that it had been the angel of the LORD, said, "Alas, Lord GOD, that I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face!" ²³The LORD answered him, "Be calm, do not fear. You shall not die." ²⁴So Gideon built there an altar to the LORD and called it Yahweh-shalom. To this day it is still in Ophrah of the Abiezrites. ²⁵That same night the LORD said to him, "Take the seven-year-old spare bullock and destroy your father's altar to Baal and cut down the sacred pole that is by it. ²⁶You shall build, instead, the proper kind of altar to the LORD, your God, on top of this stronghold.

en the angel of the LORD face to face!" ²³The LORD answered him, "Be calm, do not fear. You shall not die." ²⁴So Gideon built there an altar to the LORD and called it Yahweh-shalom. To this day it is still in Ophrah of the Abiezrites. ²⁵That same night the LORD said to him, "Take the seven-year-old spare bullock and destroy your father's altar to Baal and cut down the sacred pole that is by it. ²⁶You shall build, instead, the proper kind of altar to the LORD, your God, on top of this stronghold. Then take the spare bullock and offer it as a holocaust on the wood from the sacred pole you have cut down." ²⁷So Gideon took ten of his servants and did as the LORD had commanded him. But through fear of his family and of the townspeople, he would not do it by day, but did it at night. ²⁸Early the next morning the townspeople found that the altar of Baal had been destroyed, the sacred pole near it cut down, and the spare bullock offered on the altar that was built. ²⁹They asked one another,

215 "Who did this?" Their inquiry led them to the conclusion that Gideon, son of Joash, had done it. ³⁰So the townspeople said to Joash, "Bring out your son that he may die, for he has destroyed the altar of Baal and has cut down the sacred pole that was near it." ³¹But Joash replied to all who were standing around him, "Do you intend to act in Baal's stead, or be his champion? If anyone acts for him, he shall be put to death by morning. If he whose altar has been destroyed is a god, let him act for himself!" ³²So on that day Gideon was called Jerubbaal, because of the words, "Let Baal take action against him, since he destroyed his altar." ³³Then all Midian and Amalek and the Kedemites mustered and crossed over into the valley of Jezreel, where they encamped. ³⁴The spirit of the LORD enveloped Gideon; he blew the horn that summoned Abiezer to follow him. ³⁵He sent messengers, too, throughout Manasseh, which also obeyed his summons; through Asher, Zebulun and Naphtali, likewise, he sent messengers and these tribes advanced to meet the others. ³⁶Gideon said to God, "If indeed you are going to save Israel through me, as you promised, ³⁷I am putting this woolen fleece on the threshing floor. If dew comes on the fleece alone, while all the ground is dry, I shall know that you will save Israel through me, as you promised." ³⁸That is what took place. Early the next morning he wrung the dew from the fleece, squeezing out of it a bowlful of water. ³⁹Gideon then said to God, "Do not be angry with me if I speak once more. Let me make just one more test with the fleece. Let the fleece alone be dry, but let there be dew on all the ground." ⁴⁰That night God did so; the fleece alone was dry, but there was dew on all the ground. Judges Chapter 7 ¹Early the next morning Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) encamped by Enharod with all his soldiers. The camp of Midian was in the valley north of Gibeath-hammoreh. ²The LORD said to Gideon, "You have too many soldiers with you for me to deliver Midian into their power, lest Israel vaunt itself against me and say, 'My own power brought me the victory.' ³Now proclaim to all the soldiers, 'If anyone is afraid or fearful, let him leave.'" When Gideon put them to this test on the mountain, twenty-two thousand of the soldiers left, but ten thousand remained. ⁴The LORD said to Gideon, "There are still too many soldiers. Lead them down to the water and I will test them for you there. If I tell you that a certain man is to go with you, he must go with you. But no one is to go if I tell you he must not." ⁵When Gideon led the soldiers down to the water, the LORD said to him, "You shall set to one side everyone who laps up the water as a dog does with its tongue; to the other, everyone who kneels down to drink." ⁶Those who lapped up the water raised to their mouths by hand numbered three hundred, but all the rest of the soldiers knelt down to drink the water. ⁷The LORD said to Gideon, "By means of the three hundred who lapped up the water I will save you and will deliver Midian into your power. So let all the other soldiers go home." ⁸Their horns, and such supplies as the soldiers had with them, were taken up, and Gideon ordered the rest of the Israelites to their tents, but kept the three hundred men. Now the camp of Midian was beneath him in the valley. ⁹That night the LORD said to Gideon, "Go, descend on the camp, for I have delivered it up to you. ¹⁰If you are afraid to attack, go down to the camp with your aide Purah. ¹¹When you hear what they are saying, you will have the courage to descend on the camp." So he went down with his aide Purah to the outposts of the camp. ¹²The Midianites, Amalekites, and all the Kedemites lay in the valley, as numerous as locusts. Nor could their camels be counted, for these were as many as the sands on the seashore. ¹³When Gideon arrived, one man was telling another about a dream. "I had a dream," he said, "that a round loaf of barley bread was rolling into the camp of Midian.

¹¹When you hear what they are saying, you will have the courage to descend on the camp." So he went down with his aide Purah to the outposts of the camp. ¹²The Midianites, Amalekites, and all the Kedemites lay in the valley, as numerous as locusts. Nor could their camels be counted, for these were as many as the sands on the seashore. ¹³When Gideon arrived, one man was telling another about a dream. "I had a dream," he said, "that a round loaf of barley bread was rolling into the camp of Midian. It came to our tent and struck it, and as it fell it turned the tent upside down." ¹⁴"This can only be the sword of the Israelite Gideon, son of Joash," the other replied. "God has delivered Midian and all the camp into his power." ¹⁵When Gideon heard the description and explanation of the dream, he prostrated himself. Then returning to the camp of Israel, he said, "Arise, for the LORD has delivered the camp of Midian into your power." ¹⁶He divided the three

216 hundred men into three companies, and provided them all with horns and with empty jars and torches inside the jars. ¹⁷"Watch me and follow my lead," he told them. "I shall go to the edge of the camp, and as I do, you must do also. ¹⁸When I and those with me blow horns, you too must blow horns all around the camp and cry out, 'For the LORD and for Gideon!'" ¹⁹So Gideon and the hundred men who were with him came to the edge of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, just after the posting of the guards. They blew the horns and broke the jars they were holding. ²⁰All three companies blew horns and broke their jars. They held the torches in their left hands, and in their right the horns they were blowing, and cried out, "A sword for the LORD and Gideon!" ²¹They all remained standing in place around the camp, while the whole camp fell to running and shouting and fleeing. ²²But the three hundred men kept blowing the horns, and throughout the camp the LORD set the sword of one against another. The army fled as far as Beth- shittah in the direction of Zarethan, near the border of Abel-meholah at Tabbath. ²³The Israelites were called to arms from Naphtali, from Asher, and from all Manasseh, and they pursued Midian. ²⁴Gideon also sent messengers throughout the mountain region of Ephraim to say, "Go down to confront Midian, and seize the water courses against them as far as Beth-barah, as well as the Jordan." So all the Ephraimites were called to arms, and they seized the water courses as far as Beth-barah, and the Jordan as well. ²⁵They captured the two princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb, killing Oreb at the rock of Oreb and Zeeb at the wine press of Zeeb. Then they pursued Midian and carried the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon beyond the Jordan. Judges Chapter 8 ¹But the Ephraimites said to him, "What have you done to us, not calling us when you went to fight against Midian?" And they quarreled bitterly with him. ²"What have I accomplished now in comparison with you?" he answered them. "Is not the gleaning of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abiezer? ³Into your power God delivered the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb. What have I been able to do in comparison with you?" When he said this, their anger against him subsided. ⁴When Gideon reached the Jordan and crossed it with his three hundred men, they were exhausted and famished. ⁵So he said to the men of Succoth, "Will you give my followers some loaves of bread? They are exhausted, and I am pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, kings of Midian." ⁶But the princes of Succoth replied, "Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your possession, that we should give food to your army?" ⁷Gideon said, "Very well; when the LORD has delivered Zebah and Zalmunna into my power, I will grind your flesh in with the thorns and briers of the desert." ⁸He went up from there to Penuel and made the same request of them, but the men of Penuel answered him as had the men of Succoth. ⁹So to the men of Penuel, too, he said, "When I return in triumph, I will demolish this tower." ¹⁰Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with their force of about fifteen thousand men; these were all who were left of the whole Kedemite army, a hundred and twenty thousand swordsmen having fallen. ¹¹Gideon went up by the route of the nomads east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and attacked the camp when it felt secure. ¹²Zebah and Zalmunna fled. He pursued them and took the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, captive, throwing the entire army into panic. ¹³Then Gideon, son of Joash, returned from battle by the pass of Heres. ¹⁴He captured a young man of Succoth, who upon being questioned listed for him the seventy-seven princes and elders of Succoth.

d twenty thousand swordsmen having fallen. ¹¹Gideon went up by the route of the nomads east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and attacked the camp when it felt secure. ¹²Zebah and Zalmunna fled. He pursued them and took the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, captive, throwing the entire army into panic. ¹³Then Gideon, son of Joash, returned from battle by the pass of Heres. ¹⁴He captured a young man of Succoth, who upon being questioned listed for him the seventy-seven princes and elders of Succoth. ¹⁵So he went to the men of Succoth and said, "Here are Zebah and Zalmunna, with whom you taunted me, 'Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your possession, that we should give food to your weary followers?'" ¹⁶He took the elders of the city, and thorns and briers of the desert, and ground these men of Succoth into them. ¹⁷He also demolished the tower of Penuel and slew the men of the city. ¹⁸Then he said to Zebah and Zalmunna, "Where now are the men you killed at Tabor?" "They all resembled you," they replied. "They appeared to be princes." ¹⁹"They were my brothers, my mother's sons," he

217 said. "As the LORD lives, if you had spared their lives, I should not kill you." ²⁰Then he said to his first-born, Jether, "Go, kill them." Since Jether was still a boy, he was afraid and did not draw his sword. ²¹Zebah and Zalmunna said, "Come, kill us yourself, for a man's strength is like the man." So Gideon stepped forward and killed Zebah and Zalmunna. He also took the crescents that were on the necks of their camels. ²²The Israelites then said to Gideon, "Rule over us—you, your son, and your son's son—for you rescued us from the power of Midian." ²³But Gideon answered them, "I will not rule over you, nor shall my son rule over you. The LORD must rule over you." ²⁴Gideon went on to say, "I should like to make a request of you. Will each of you give me a ring from his booty?" (For being Ishmaelites, the enemy had gold rings.) ²⁵"We will gladly give them," they replied, and spread out a cloak into which everyone threw a ring from his booty. ²⁶The gold rings that he requested weighed seventeen hundred gold shekels, in addition to the crescents and pendants, the purple garments worn by the kings of Midian, and the trappings that were on the necks of their camels. ²⁷Gideon made an ephod out of the gold and placed it in his city Ophrah. However, all Israel paid idolatrous homage to it there, and caused the ruin of Gideon and his family. ²⁸Thus was Midian brought into subjection by the Israelites; no longer did they hold their heads high. And the land had rest for forty years, during the lifetime of Gideon. ²⁹Then Jerubbaal, son of Joash, went back home to stay. ³⁰Now Gideon had seventy sons, his direct descendants, for he had many wives. ³¹His concubine who lived in Shechem also bore him a son, whom he named Abimelech. ³²At a good old age Gideon, son of Joash, died and was buried in the tomb of his father Joash in Ophrah of the Abiezrites. ³³But after Gideon was dead, the Israelites again abandoned themselves to the Baals, making Baal of Berith their god ³⁴and forgetting the LORD, their God, who had delivered them from the power of their enemies all around them. ³⁵Nor were they grateful to the family of Jerubbaal (Gideon) for all the good he had done for Israel. Judges Chapter 9 ¹Abimelech, son of Jerubbaal, went to his mother's kinsmen in Shechem and said to them and to the whole clan to which his mother's family belonged, ²"Put this question to all the citizens of Shechem: 'Which is better for you: that seventy men, all of Jerubbaal's sons, rule over you, or that one man rule over you?' You must remember that I am your own flesh and bone." ³When his mother's kin repeated these words to them on his behalf, all the citizens of Shechem sympathized with Abimelech, thinking, "He is our kinsman." ⁴They also gave him seventy silver shekels from the temple of Baal of Berith, with which Abimelech hired shiftless men and ruffians as his followers. ⁵He then went to his ancestral house in Ophrah and slew his brothers, the seventy sons of Jerubbaal, on one stone. Only the youngest son of Jerubbaal, Jotham, escaped, for he was hidden. ⁶Then all the citizens of Shechem and all Beth-millo came together and proceeded to make Abimelech king by the terebinth at the memorial pillar in Shechem. ⁷When this was reported to him, Jotham went to the top of Mount Gerizim and, standing there, cried out to them in a loud voice: "Hear me, citizens of Shechem, that God may then hear you! ⁸Once the trees went to anoint a king over themselves.

ns of Jerubbaal, on one stone. Only the youngest son of Jerubbaal, Jotham, escaped, for he was hidden. ⁶Then all the citizens of Shechem and all Beth-millo came together and proceeded to make Abimelech king by the terebinth at the memorial pillar in Shechem. ⁷When this was reported to him, Jotham went to the top of Mount Gerizim and, standing there, cried out to them in a loud voice: "Hear me, citizens of Shechem, that God may then hear you! ⁸Once the trees went to anoint a king over themselves. So they said to the olive tree, 'Reign over us.' ⁹But the olive tree answered them, 'Must I give up my rich oil, whereby men and gods are honored, and go to wave over the trees?' ¹⁰Then the trees said to the fig tree, 'Come; you reign over us!' ¹¹But the fig tree answered them, 'Must I give up my sweetness and my good fruit, and go to wave over the trees?' ¹²Then the trees said to the vine, 'Come you, and reign over us.' ¹³But the vine answered them, 'Must I give up my wine that cheers gods and men, and go to wave over the trees?' ¹⁴Then all the trees said to the buckthorn, 'Come; you reign over us!' ¹⁵But the buckthorn replied to the trees, 'If you wish to anoint me king over you in good faith, come and take refuge in my shadow. Otherwise, let fire come from the buckthorn and devour the cedars of Lebanon.' ¹⁶"Now then, if you have acted in good faith and honorably in appointing Abimelech your king, if you have dealt well with Jerubbaal

218 and with his family, and if you have treated him as he deserved— ¹⁷for my father fought for you at the risk of his life when he saved you from the power of Midian; ¹⁸but you have risen against his family this day and have killed his seventy sons upon one stone, and have made Abimelech, the son of his handmaid, king over the citizens of Shechem because he is your kinsman— ¹⁹if, then, you have acted in good faith and with honor toward Jerubbaal and his family this day, rejoice in Abimelech and may he in turn rejoice in you. ²⁰But if not, let fire come forth from Abimelech to devour the citizens of Shechem and Beth-millo, and let fire come forth from the citizens of Shechem and from Beth-millo to devour Abimelech." ²¹Then Jotham went in flight to Beer, where he remained for fear of his brother Abimelech. ²²When Abimelech had ruled Israel for three years, ²³God put bad feelings between Abimelech and the citizens of Shechem, who rebelled against Abimelech. ²⁴This was to repay the violence done to the seventy sons of Jerubbaal and to avenge their blood upon their brother Abimelech, who killed them, and upon the citizens of Shechem, who encouraged him to kill his brothers. ²⁵The citizens of Shechem then set men in ambush for him on the mountaintops, and these robbed all who passed them on the road. But it was reported to Abimelech. ²⁶Now Gaal, son of Ebed, came over to Shechem with his kinsmen. The citizens of Shechem put their trust in him, ²⁷and went out into the fields, harvested their grapes, and trod them out. Then they held a festival and went to the temple of their god, where they ate and drank and cursed Abimelech. ²⁸Gaal, son of Ebed, said, "Who is Abimelech? And why should we of Shechem serve him? Were not the son of Jerubbaal and his lieutenant Zebul once subject to the men of Hamor, father of Shechem? Why should we serve him? ²⁹Would that this people were entrusted to my command! I would depose Abimelech. I would say to Abimelech, 'Get a larger army and come out!'" ³⁰At the news of what Gaal, son of Ebed, had said, Zebul, the ruler of the city, was angry ³¹and sent messengers to Abimelech in Arumah with the information: "Gaal, son of Ebed, and his kinsmen have come to Shechem and are stirring up the city against you. ³²Now rouse yourself; set an ambush tonight in the fields, you and the men who are with you. ³³Promptly at sunrise tomorrow morning, make a raid on the city. When he and his followers come out against you, deal with him as best you can." ³⁴During the night Abimelech advanced with all his soldiers and set up an ambush for Shechem in four companies. ³⁵Gaal, son of Ebed, went out and stood at the entrance of the city gate. When Abimelech and his soldiers rose from their place of ambush, ³⁶Gaal saw them and said to Zebul, "There are men coming down from the hilltops!" But Zebul answered him, "You see the shadow of the hills as men." ³⁷But Gaal went on to say, "Men are coming down from the region of Tabbur-Haares, and one company is coming by way of Elon- Meonenim." ³⁸Zebul said to him, "Where now is the boast you uttered, 'Who is Abimelech that we should serve him?' Are these not the men for whom you expressed contempt? Go out now and fight with them." ³⁹So Gaal went out at the head of the citizens of Shechem and fought against Abimelech. ⁴⁰But Abimelech routed him, and he fled before him; and many fell slain right up to the entrance of the gate. ⁴¹Abimelech returned to Arumah, but Zebul drove Gaal and his kinsmen from Shechem, which they had occupied. ⁴²The next day, when the people were taking the field, it was reported to Abimelech, ⁴³who divided the men he had into three companies and set up an ambush in the fields. He watched till he saw the people leave the city, and then rose against them for the attack.

against Abimelech. ⁴⁰But Abimelech routed him, and he fled before him; and many fell slain right up to the entrance of the gate. ⁴¹Abimelech returned to Arumah, but Zebul drove Gaal and his kinsmen from Shechem, which they had occupied. ⁴²The next day, when the people were taking the field, it was reported to Abimelech, ⁴³who divided the men he had into three companies and set up an ambush in the fields. He watched till he saw the people leave the city, and then rose against them for the attack. ⁴⁴Abimelech and the company with him dashed in and stood by the entrance of the city gate, while the other two companies rushed upon all who were in the field and attacked them. ⁴⁵That entire day Abimelech fought against the city and captured it. He then killed its inhabitants and demolished the city, sowing the site with salt. ⁴⁶When they heard of this, all the citizens of Migdal-shechem went into the crypt of the temple of El-berith. ⁴⁷It was reported to Abimelech that all the citizens of Migdal-shechem were gathered together. ⁴⁸So he went up Mount Zalmon with all his soldiers, took his axe in his hand, and cut down some brushwood. This he lifted to his shoulder, then said to the men with him, "Hurry! Do just as you have seen me do." ⁴⁹So all the

219 men likewise cut down brushwood, and following Abimelech, placed it against the crypt. Then they set the crypt on fire over their heads, so that every one of the citizens of Migdal-shechem, about a thousand men and women, perished. ⁵⁰Abimelech proceeded to Thebez, which he invested and captured. ⁵¹Now there was a strong tower in the middle of the city, and all the men and women, in a word all the citizens of the city, fled there, shutting themselves in and going up to the roof of the tower. ⁵²Abimelech came up to the tower and fought against it, advancing to the very entrance of the tower to set it on fire. ⁵³But a certain woman cast the upper part of a millstone down on Abimelech's head, and it fractured his skull. ⁵⁴He immediately called his armor-bearer and said to him, "Draw your sword and dispatch me, lest they say of me that a woman killed me." So his attendant ran him through and he died. ⁵⁵When the Israelites saw that Abimelech was dead, they all left for their homes. ⁵⁶Thus did God requite the evil Abimelech had done to his father in killing his seventy brothers. ⁵⁷God also brought all their wickedness home to the Shechemites, for the curse of Jotham, son of Jerubbaal, overtook them. Judges Chapter 10 ¹After Abimelech there rose to save Israel the Issacharite Tola, son of Puah, son of Dodo, a resident of Shamir in the mountain region of Ephraim. ²When he had judged Israel twenty-three years, he died and was buried in Shamir. ³Jair the Gileadite came after him and judged Israel twenty-two years. ⁴He had thirty sons who rode on thirty saddle-asses and possessed thirty cities in the land of Gilead; these are called Havvoth-jair to the present day. ⁵Jair died and was buried in Kamon. ⁶The Israelites again offended the LORD, serving the Baals and Ashtaroths, the gods of Aram, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the Ammonites, and the gods of the Philistines. Since they had abandoned the LORD and would not serve him, ⁷the LORD became angry with Israel and allowed them to fall into the power of the Philistines and the Ammonites. ⁸For eighteen years they afflicted and oppressed the Israelites in Bashan, and all the Israelites in the Amorite land beyond the Jordan in Gilead. ⁹The Ammonites also crossed the Jordan to fight against Judah, Benjamin, and the house of Ephraim, so that Israel was in great distress. ¹⁰Then the Israelites cried out to the LORD, "We have sinned against you; we have forsaken our God and have served the Baals." ¹¹The LORD answered the Israelites: "Did not the Egyptians, the Amorites, the Ammonites, the Philistines, ¹²the Sidonians, the Amalekites, and the Midianites oppress you? Yet when you cried out to me, and I saved you from their grasp, ¹³you still forsook me and worshiped other gods. Therefore I will save you no more. ¹⁴Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen; let them save you now that you are in distress." ¹⁵But the Israelites said to the LORD, "We have sinned. Do to us whatever you please. Only save us this day." ¹⁶And they cast out the foreign gods from their midst and served the LORD, so that he grieved over the misery of Israel. ¹⁷The Ammonites had gathered for war and encamped in Gilead, while the Israelites assembled and encamped in Mizpah. ¹⁸And among the people, the princes of Gilead said to one another, "The one who begins the war against the Ammonites shall be leader of all the inhabitants of Gilead." Judges Chapter 11 ¹There was a chieftain, the Gileadite Jephthah, born to Gilead of a harlot. ²Gilead's wife had also borne him sons, and on growing up the sons of the wife had driven Jephthah away, saying to him, "You shall inherit nothing in our family, for you are the son of another woman." ³So Jephthah had fled from his brothers and had taken up residence in the land of Tob. A rabble had joined company with him, and went out with him on raids.

all be leader of all the inhabitants of Gilead." Judges Chapter 11 ¹There was a chieftain, the Gileadite Jephthah, born to Gilead of a harlot. ²Gilead's wife had also borne him sons, and on growing up the sons of the wife had driven Jephthah away, saying to him, "You shall inherit nothing in our family, for you are the son of another woman." ³So Jephthah had fled from his brothers and had taken up residence in the land of Tob. A rabble had joined company with him, and went out with him on raids. ⁴Some time later, the Ammonites warred on Israel. ⁵When this occurred, the elders of Gilead went to bring Jephthah from the land of Tob. ⁶"Come," they said to Jephthah, "be our commander that we may be able to fight the Ammonites." ⁷"Are you not the ones who hated me and drove me from my father's house?" Jephthah replied to the

220 elders of Gilead. "Why do you come to me now, when you are in distress?" ⁸The elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, "In any case, we have now come back to you; if you go with us to fight against the Ammonites, you shall be the leader of all of us who dwell in Gilead." ⁹Jephthah answered the elders of Gilead, "If you bring me back to fight against the Ammonites and the LORD delivers them up to me, I shall be your leader." ¹⁰The elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, "The LORD is witness between us that we will do as you say." ¹¹So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him their leader and commander. In Mizpah, Jephthah settled all his affairs before the LORD. ¹²Then he sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites to say, "What have you against me that you come to fight with me in my land?" ¹³He answered the messengers of Jephthah, "Israel took away my land from the Arnon to the Jabbok and the Jordan when they came up from Egypt. Now restore the same peaceably." ¹⁴Again Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites, ¹⁵saying to him, "This is what Jephthah says: Israel did not take the land of Moab or the land of the Ammonites. ¹⁶For when they came up from Egypt, Israel went through the desert to the Red Sea and came to Kadesh. ¹⁷Israel then sent messengers to the king of Edom saying, 'Let me pass through your land.' But the king of Edom did not give consent. They also sent to the king of Moab, but he too was unwilling. So Israel remained in Kadesh. ¹⁸Then they went through the desert, and by-passing the land of Edom and the land of Moab, went east of the land of Moab and encamped across the Arnon. Thus they did not go through the territory of Moab, for the Arnon is the boundary of Moab. ¹⁹Then Israel sent messengers to Sihon, king of the Amorites, king of Heshbon. Israel said to him, 'Let me pass through your land to my own place.' ²⁰But Sihon refused to let Israel pass through his territory. On the contrary, he gathered all his soldiers, who encamped at Jahaz and fought Israel. ²¹But the LORD, the God of Israel, delivered Sihon and all his men into the power of Israel, who defeated them and occupied all the land of the Amorites dwelling in that region, ²²the whole territory from the Arnon to the Jabbok, from the desert to the Jordan. ²³If now the LORD, the God of Israel, has cleared the Amorites out of the way of his people, are you to dislodge Israel? ²⁴Should you not possess that which your god Chemosh gave you to possess, and should we not possess all that the LORD, our God, has cleared out for us? ²⁵Again, are you any better than Balak, son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever quarrel with Israel, or did he war against them ²⁶when Israel occupied Heshbon and its villages, Aroer and its villages, and all the cities on the banks of the Arnon? Three hundred years have passed; why did you not recover them during that time? ²⁷I have not sinned against you, but you wrong me by warring against me. Let the LORD, who is judge, decide this day between the Israelites and the Ammonites!" ²⁸But the king of the Ammonites paid no heed to the message Jephthah sent him. ²⁹The spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah. He passed through Gilead and Manasseh, and through Mizpah-Gilead as well, and from there he went on to the Ammonites. ³⁰Jephthah made a vow to the LORD. "If you deliver the Ammonites into my power," he said, ³¹"whoever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me when I return in triumph from the Ammonites shall belong to the LORD. I shall offer him up as a holocaust." ³²Jephthah then went on to the Ammonites to fight against them, and the LORD delivered them into his power, ³³so that he inflicted a severe defeat on them, from Aroer to the approach of Minnith (twenty cities in all) and as far as Abel- keramin. Thus were the Ammonites brought into subjection by the Israelites. ³⁴When Jephthah returned to his house in Mizpah, it was his daughter who came forth, playing the tambourines and dancing.

s shall belong to the LORD. I shall offer him up as a holocaust." ³²Jephthah then went on to the Ammonites to fight against them, and the LORD delivered them into his power, ³³so that he inflicted a severe defeat on them, from Aroer to the approach of Minnith (twenty cities in all) and as far as Abel- keramin. Thus were the Ammonites brought into subjection by the Israelites. ³⁴When Jephthah returned to his house in Mizpah, it was his daughter who came forth, playing the tambourines and dancing. She was an only child: he had neither son nor daughter besides her. ³⁵When he saw her, he rent his garments and said, "Alas, daughter, you have struck me down and brought calamity upon me. For I have made a vow to the LORD and I cannot retract." ³⁶"Father," she replied, "you have made a vow to the LORD. Do with me as you have vowed, because the LORD has wrought vengeance for you on your enemies the Ammonites." ³⁷Then she said to her father, "Let me have this favor. Spare me for two months, that I may go off down the mountains to mourn my virginity

221 with my companions." ³⁸"Go," he replied, and sent her away for two months. So she departed with her companions and mourned her virginity on the mountains. ³⁹At the end of the two months she returned to her father, who did to her as he had vowed. She had not been intimate with man. It then became a custom in Israel ⁴⁰for Israelite women to go yearly to mourn the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite for four days of the year. Judges Chapter 12 ¹The men of Ephraim gathered together and crossed over to Zaphon. They said to Jephthah, "Why do you go on to fight with the Ammonites without calling us to go with you? We will burn your house over you." ²Jephthah answered them, "My soldiers and I were engaged in a critical contest with the Ammonites. I summoned you, but you did not rescue me from their power. ³When I saw that you would not effect a rescue, I took my life in my own hand and went on to the Ammonites, and the LORD delivered them into my power. Why, then, do you come up against me this day to fight with me?" ⁴Then Jephthah called together all the men of Gilead and fought against Ephraim, whom they defeated; for the Ephraimites had said, "You of Gilead are Ephraimite fugitives in territory belonging to Ephraim and Manasseh." ⁵The Gileadites took the fords of the Jordan toward Ephraim. When any of the fleeing Ephraimites said, "Let me pass," the men of Gilead would say to him, "Are you an Ephraimite?" If he answered, "No!" ⁶they would ask him to say "Shibboleth." If he said "Sibboleth," not being able to give the proper pronunciation, they would seize him and kill him at the fords of the Jordan. Thus forty-two thousand Ephraimites fell at that time. ⁷After having judged Israel for six years, Jephthah the Gileadite died and was buried in his city in Gilead. ⁸After him Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel. ⁹He had thirty sons. He also had thirty daughters married outside the family, and he brought in as wives for his sons thirty young women from outside the family. After having judged Israel for seven years, ¹⁰Ibzan died and was buried in Bethlehem. ¹¹After him the Zebulunite Elon judged Israel. When he had judged Israel for ten years, ¹²the Zebulunite Elon died and was buried in Elon in the land of Zebulun. ¹³After him the Pirathonite Abdon, son of Hillel, judged Israel. ¹⁴He had forty sons and thirty grandsons who rode on seventy saddle-asses. After having judged Israel for eight years, ¹⁵the Pirathonite Abdon, son of Hillel, died and was buried in Pirathon in the land of Ephraim on the mountain of the Amalekites. Judges Chapter 13 ¹The Israelites again offended the LORD, who therefore delivered them into the power of the Philistines for forty years. ²There was a certain man from Zorah, of the clan of the Danites, whose name was Manoah. His wife was barren and had borne no children. ³An angel of the LORD appeared to the woman and said to her, "Though you are barren and have had no children, yet you will conceive and bear a son. ⁴Now, then, be careful to take no wine or strong drink and to eat nothing unclean. ⁵As for the son you will conceive and bear, no razor shall touch his head, for this boy is to be consecrated to God from the womb. It is he who will begin the deliverance of Israel from the power of the Philistines." ⁶The woman went and told her husband, "A man of God came to me; he had the appearance of an angel of God, terrible indeed. I did not ask him where he came from, nor did he tell me his name. ⁷But he said to me, 'You will be with child and will bear a son. So take neither wine nor strong drink, and eat nothing unclean. For the boy shall be consecrated to God from the womb, until the day of his death.'" ⁸Manoah then prayed to the LORD. "O LORD, I beseech you," he said, "may the man of God whom you sent, return to us to teach us what to do for the boy who will be born." ⁹God heard the prayer of Manoah, and the angel of God came again

222 to the woman as she was sitting in the field. Since her husband Manoah was not with her, ¹⁰the woman ran in haste and told her husband. "The man who came to me the other day has appeared to me," she said to him; ¹¹so Manoah got up and followed his wife. When he reached the man, he said to him, "Are you the one who spoke to my wife?" "Yes," he answered. ¹²Then Manoah asked, "Now, when that which you say comes true, what are we expected to do for the boy?" ¹³The angel of the LORD answered Manoah, "Your wife is to abstain from all the things of which I spoke to her. ¹⁴She must not eat anything that comes from the vine, nor take wine or strong drink, nor eat anything unclean. Let her observe all that I have commanded her." ¹⁵Then Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, "Can we persuade you to stay, while we prepare a kid for you?" ¹⁶But the angel of the LORD answered Manoah, "Although you press me, I will not partake of your food. But if you will, you may offer a holocaust to the LORD." Not knowing that it was the angel of the LORD, ¹⁷Manoah said to him, "What is your name, that we may honor you when your words come true?" ¹⁸The angel of the LORD answered him, "Why do you ask my name, which is mysterious?" ¹⁹Then Manoah took the kid with a cereal offering and offered it on the rock to the LORD, whose works are mysteries. While Manoah and his wife were looking on, ²⁰as the flame rose to the sky from the altar, the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame of the altar. When Manoah and his wife saw this, they fell prostrate to the ground; ²¹but the angel of the LORD was seen no more by Manoah and his wife. Then Manoah, realizing that it was the angel of the LORD, ²²said to his wife, "We will certainly die, for we have seen God." ²³But his wife pointed out to him, "If the LORD had meant to kill us, he would not have accepted a holocaust and cereal offering from our hands! Nor would he have let us see all this just now, or hear what we have heard." ²⁴The woman bore a son and named him Samson. The boy grew up and the LORD blessed him; ²⁵the spirit of the LORD first stirred him in Mahaneh-dan, which is between Zorah and Eshtaol. Judges Chapter 14 ¹Samson went down to Timnah and saw there one of the Philistine women. ²On his return he told his father and mother, "There is a Philistine woman I saw in Timnah whom I wish you to get as a wife for me." ³His father and mother said to him, "Can you find no wife among your kinsfolk or among all our people, that you must go and take a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines?" But Samson answered his father, "Get her for me, for she pleases me." ⁴Now his father and mother did not know that this had been brought about by the LORD, who was providing an opportunity against the Philistines; for at that time they had dominion over Israel. ⁵So Samson went down to Timnah with his father and mother. When they had come to the vineyards of Timnah, a young lion came roaring to meet him. ⁶But the spirit of the LORD came upon Samson, and although he had no weapons, he tore the lion in pieces as one tears a kid. ⁷However, on the journey to speak for the woman, he did not mention to his father or mother what he had done. ⁸Later, when he returned to marry the woman who pleased him, he stepped aside to look at the remains of the lion and found a swarm of bees and honey in the lion's carcass. ⁹So he scooped the honey out into his palms and ate it as he went along. When he came to his father and mother, he gave them some to eat, without telling them that he had scooped the honey from the lion's carcass. ¹⁰His father also went down to the woman, and Samson gave a banquet there, since it was customary for the young men to do this. ¹¹When they met him, they brought thirty men to be his companions. ¹²Samson said to them, "Let me propose a riddle to you. If within the seven days of the feast you solve it for me successfully, I will give you thirty linen tunics and thirty sets of garments.

nd mother, he gave them some to eat, without telling them that he had scooped the honey from the lion's carcass. ¹⁰His father also went down to the woman, and Samson gave a banquet there, since it was customary for the young men to do this. ¹¹When they met him, they brought thirty men to be his companions. ¹²Samson said to them, "Let me propose a riddle to you. If within the seven days of the feast you solve it for me successfully, I will give you thirty linen tunics and thirty sets of garments. ¹³But if you cannot answer it for me, you must give me thirty tunics and thirty sets of garments." "Propose your riddle," they responded; "we will listen to it." ¹⁴So he said to them, "Out of the eater came forth food, and out of the strong came forth sweetness." After three days' failure to answer the riddle, ¹⁵they said on the fourth day to Samson's wife, "Coax your husband to answer the riddle for us, or

223 we will burn you and your family. Did you invite us here to reduce us to poverty?" ¹⁶At Samson's side, his wife wept and said, "You must hate me; you do not love me, for you have proposed a riddle to my countrymen, but have not told me the answer." He said to her, "If I have not told it even to my father or my mother, must I tell it to you?" ¹⁷But she wept beside him during the seven days the feast lasted. On the seventh day, since she importuned him, he told her the answer, and she explained the riddle to her countrymen. ¹⁸On the seventh day, before the sun set, the men of the city said to him, "What is sweeter than honey, and what is stronger than a lion?" He replied to them, "If you had not plowed with my heifer, you would not have solved my riddle." ¹⁹The spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he went down to Ashkelon, where he killed thirty of their men and despoiled them; he gave their garments to those who had answered the riddle. Then he went off to his own family in anger, ²⁰and Samson's wife was married to the one who had been best man at his wedding. Judges Chapter 15 ¹After some time, in the season of the wheat harvest, Samson visited his wife, bringing a kid. But when he said, "Let me be with my wife in private," her father would not let him enter, ²saying, "I thought it certain you wished to repudiate her; so I gave her to your best man. Her younger sister is more beautiful than she; you may have her instead." ³Samson said to them, "This time the Philistines cannot blame me if I harm them." ⁴So Samson left and caught three hundred foxes. Turning them tail to tail, he tied between each pair of tails one of the torches he had at hand. ⁵He then kindled the torches and set the foxes loose in the standing grain of the Philistines, thus burning both the shocks and the standing grain, and the vineyards and olive orchards as well. ⁶When the Philistines asked who had done this, they were told, "Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnite, because his wife was taken and given to his best man." So the Philistines went up and destroyed her and her family by fire. ⁷Samson said to them, "If this is how you act, I will not stop until I have taken revenge on you." ⁸And with repeated blows, he inflicted a great slaughter on them. Then he went down and remained in a cavern of the cliff of Etam. ⁹The Philistines went up and, from a camp in Judah, deployed against Lehi. ¹⁰When the men of Judah asked, "Why have you come up against us?" they answered, "To take Samson prisoner; to do to him as he has done to us." ¹¹Three thousand men of Judah went down to the cavern in the cliff of Etam and said to Samson, "Do you not know that the Philistines are our rulers? Why, then, have you done this to us?" He answered them, "As they have done to me, so have I done to them." ¹²They said to him, "We have come to take you prisoner, to deliver you over to the Philistines." Samson said to them, "Swear to me that you will not kill me yourselves." ¹³"No," they replied, "we will certainly not kill you but will only bind you and deliver you over to them." So they bound him with two new ropes and brought him up from the cliff. ¹⁴When he reached Lehi, and the Philistines came shouting to meet him, the spirit of the LORD came upon him: the ropes around his arms became as flax that is consumed by fire and his bonds melted away from his hands. ¹⁵Near him was the fresh jawbone of an ass; he reached out, grasped it, and with it killed a thousand men. ¹⁶Then Samson said, "With the jawbone of an ass I have piled them in a heap; With the jawbone of an ass I have slain a thousand men." ¹⁷As he finished speaking he threw the jawbone from him; and so that place was named Ramath-lehi. ¹⁸Being very thirsty, he cried to the LORD and said, "You have granted this great victory by the hand of your servant.

and his bonds melted away from his hands. ¹⁵Near him was the fresh jawbone of an ass; he reached out, grasped it, and with it killed a thousand men. ¹⁶Then Samson said, "With the jawbone of an ass I have piled them in a heap; With the jawbone of an ass I have slain a thousand men." ¹⁷As he finished speaking he threw the jawbone from him; and so that place was named Ramath-lehi. ¹⁸Being very thirsty, he cried to the LORD and said, "You have granted this great victory by the hand of your servant. Must I now die of thirst or fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?" ¹⁹Then God split the cavity in Lehi, and water issued from it, which Samson drank till his spirit returned and he revived. Hence that spring in Lehi is called En-hakkore to this day. ²⁰Samson judged Israel for twenty years in the days of the Philistines. Judges Chapter 16

224 ¹Once Samson went down to Gaza, where he saw a harlot and visited her. ²Informed that Samson had come there, the men of Gaza surrounded him with an ambush at the city gate all night long. And all the night they waited, saying, "Tomorrow morning we will kill him." ³Samson rested there until midnight. Then he rose, seized the doors of the city gate and the two gateposts, and tore them loose, bar and all. He hoisted them on his shoulders and carried them to the top of the ridge opposite Hebron. ⁴After that he fell in love with a woman in the Wadi Sorek whose name was Delilah. ⁵The lords of the Philistines came to her and said, "Beguile him and find out the secret of his great strength, and how we may overcome and bind him so as to keep him helpless. We will each give you eleven hundred shekels of silver." ⁶So Delilah said to Samson, "Tell me the secret of your great strength and how you may be bound so as to be kept helpless." ⁷"If they bind me with seven fresh bowstrings which have not dried," Samson answered her, "I shall be as weak as any other man." ⁸So the lords of the Philistines brought her seven fresh bowstrings which had not dried, and she bound him with them. ⁹She had men lying in wait in the chamber and so she said to him, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson!" But he snapped the strings as a thread of tow is severed by a whiff of flame; and the secret of his strength remained unknown. ¹⁰Delilah said to Samson, "You have mocked me and told me lies. Now tell me how you may be bound." ¹¹"If they bind me tight with new ropes, with which no work has been done," he answered her, "I shall be as weak as any other man." ¹²So Delilah took new ropes and bound him with them. Then she said to him, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson!" For there were men lying in wait in the chamber. But he snapped them off his arms like thread. ¹³Delilah said to Samson again, "Up to now you have mocked me and told me lies. Tell me how you may be bound." He said to her, "If you weave my seven locks of hair into the web and fasten them with the pin, I shall be as weak as any other man." ¹⁴So while he slept, Delilah wove his seven locks of hair into the web, and fastened them in with the pin. Then she said, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson!" Awakening from his sleep, he pulled out both the weaver's pin and the web. ¹⁵Then she said to him, "How can you say that you love me when you do not confide in me? Three times already you have mocked me, and not told me the secret of your great strength!" ¹⁶She importuned him continually and vexed him with her complaints till he was deathly weary of them. ¹⁷So he took her completely into his confidence and told her, "No razor has touched my head, for I have been consecrated to God from my mother's womb. If I am shaved, my strength will leave me, and I shall be as weak as any other man." ¹⁸When Delilah saw that he had taken her completely into his confidence, she summoned the lords of the Philistines, saying, "Come up this time, for he has opened his heart to me." So the lords of the Philistines came and brought up the money with them. ¹⁹She had him sleep on her lap, and called for a man who shaved off his seven locks of hair. Then she began to mistreat him, for his strength had left him. ²⁰When she said, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson!", and he woke from his sleep, he thought he could make good his escape as he had done time and again, for he did not realize that the LORD had left him. ²¹But the Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes. Then they brought him down to Gaza and bound him with bronze fetters, and he was put to grinding in the prison. ²²But the hair of his head began to grow as soon as it was shaved off. ²³The lords of the Philistines assembled to offer a great sacrifice to their god Dagon and to make merry. They said, "Our god has delivered into our power Samson our enemy." ²⁴When the people saw him, they praised their god.

ealize that the LORD had left him. ²¹But the Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes. Then they brought him down to Gaza and bound him with bronze fetters, and he was put to grinding in the prison. ²²But the hair of his head began to grow as soon as it was shaved off. ²³The lords of the Philistines assembled to offer a great sacrifice to their god Dagon and to make merry. They said, "Our god has delivered into our power Samson our enemy." ²⁴When the people saw him, they praised their god. For they said, "Our god has delivered into our power our enemy, the ravager of our land, the one who has multiplied our slain." Then they stationed him between the columns. ²⁵When their spirits were high, they said, "Call Samson that he may amuse us." So they called Samson from the prison, and he played the buffoon before them. ²⁶Samson said to the attendant who was holding his hand, "Put me where I may touch the columns that support the temple and may rest against them." ²⁷The temple was full of men and women: all the lords of the Philistines were there, and from the roof about three thousand men and women looked on as Samson

225 provided amusement. ²⁸Samson cried out to the LORD and said, "O Lord GOD, remember me! Strengthen me, O God, this last time that for my two eyes I may avenge myself once and for all on the Philistines." ²⁹Samson grasped the two middle columns on which the temple rested and braced himself against them, one at his right hand, the other at his left. ³⁰And Samson said, "Let me die with the Philistines!" He pushed hard, and the temple fell upon the lords and all the people who were in it. Those he killed at his death were more than those he had killed during his lifetime. ³¹All his family and kinsmen went down and bore him up for burial in the grave of his father Manoah between Zorah and Eshtaol. He had judged Israel for twenty years. Judges Chapter 17 ¹There was a man in the mountain region of Ephraim whose name was Micah. ²He said to his mother, "The eleven hundred shekels of silver over which you pronounced a curse in my hearing when they were taken from you, are in my possession. It was I who took them; so now I will restore them to you." ³When he restored the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother, she took two hundred of them and gave them to the silversmith, who made of them a carved idol overlaid with silver. ⁴Then his mother said, "May the LORD bless my son! I have consecrated the silver to the LORD as my gift in favor of my son, by making a carved idol overlaid with silver." It remained in the house of Micah. ⁵Thus the layman Micah had a sanctuary. He also made an ephod and household idols, and consecrated one of his sons, who became his priest. ⁶In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what he thought best. ⁷There was a young Levite who had resided within the tribe of Judah at Bethlehem of Judah. ⁸From that city he set out to find another place of residence. On his journey he came to the house of Micah in the mountain region of Ephraim. ⁹Micah said to him, "Where do you come from?" He answered him, "I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, and am on my way to find some other place of residence." ¹⁰"Stay with me," Micah said to him. "Be father and priest to me, and I will give you ten silver shekels a year, a set of garments, and your food." ¹¹So the young Levite decided to stay with the man, to whom he became as one of his own sons. ¹²Micah consecrated the young Levite, who became his priest, remaining in his house. ¹³Therefore Micah said, "Now I know that the LORD will prosper me, since the Levite has become my priest." Judges Chapter 18 ¹At that time, there was no king in Israel. Moreover, the tribe of Danites were in search of a district to dwell in, for up to that time they had received no heritage among the tribes of Israel. ²So the Danites sent from their clan a detail of five valiant men of Zorah and Eshtaol to reconnoiter the land and scout it. With their instructions to go and scout the land, they traveled as far as the house of Micah in the mountain region of Ephraim, where they passed the night. ³Near the house of Micah, they recognized the voice of the young Levite and turned in that direction. "Who brought you here and what are you doing here?" they asked him. "What is your interest here?" ⁴"This is how Micah treats me," he replied to them. "He pays me a salary and I am his priest." ⁵They said to him, "Consult God, that we may know whether the undertaking we are engaged in will succeed." ⁶The priest said to them, "Go and prosper: the LORD is favorable to the undertaking you are engaged in." ⁷So the five men went on and came to Laish. They saw that the people dwelling there lived securely after the manner of the Sidonians, quiet and trusting, with no lack of any natural resources. They were distant from the Sidonians and had no contact with other people. ⁸When the five returned to their kinsmen in Zorah and Eshtaol and were asked for a report, ⁹they replied, "Come, let us attack them, for we have seen the land and it is very good.

is favorable to the undertaking you are engaged in." ⁷So the five men went on and came to Laish. They saw that the people dwelling there lived securely after the manner of the Sidonians, quiet and trusting, with no lack of any natural resources. They were distant from the Sidonians and had no contact with other people. ⁸When the five returned to their kinsmen in Zorah and Eshtaol and were asked for a report, ⁹they replied, "Come, let us attack them, for we have seen the land and it is very good. Are you going to hesitate? Do not be slothful about beginning your expedition to possess the land. ¹⁰Those against whom you go are a trusting people, and the land is ample. God has indeed given it into your power: a

226 place where no natural resource is lacking." ¹¹So six hundred men of the clan of the Danites, fully armed with weapons of war, set out from where they were in Zorah and Eshtaol, ¹²and camped in Judah, up near Kiriath-jearim; hence to this day the place, which lies west of Kiriath-jearim, is called Mahaneh-dan. ¹³From there they went on to the mountain region of Ephraim and came to the house of Micah. ¹⁴The five men who had gone to reconnoiter the land of Laish said to their kinsmen, "Do you know that in these houses there are an ephod, household idols, and a carved idol overlaid with silver? Now decide what you must do!" ¹⁵So turning in that direction, they went to the house of the young Levite at the home of Micah and greeted him. ¹⁶The six hundred men girt with weapons of war, who were Danites, stood by the entrance of the gate, and the priest stood there also. ¹⁷Meanwhile, the five men who had gone to reconnoiter the land went up and entered the house of Micah. ¹⁸When they had gone in and taken the ephod, the household idols, and the carved idol overlaid with silver, the priest said to them, "What are you doing?" ¹⁹They said to him, "Be still: put your hand over your mouth. Come with us and be our father and priest. Is it better for you to be a priest for the family of one man or to be a priest for a tribe and a clan in Israel?" ²⁰The priest, agreeing, took the ephod, household idols, and carved idol and went off in the midst of the band. ²¹As they turned to depart, they placed their little ones, their livestock, and their goods at the head of the column. ²²The Danites had already gone some distance when those in the houses near that of Micah took up arms and overtook them. ²³They called to the Danites, who turned about and said to Micah, "What do you want, that you have taken up arms?" ²⁴"You have taken my god, which I made, and have gone off with my priest as well," he answered. "What is left for me? How, then, can you ask me what I want?" ²⁵The Danites said to him, "Let us hear no further sound from you, lest fierce men fall upon you and you and your family lose your lives." ²⁶The Danites then went on their way, and Micah, seeing that they were stronger than he, returned home. ²⁷Having taken what Micah had made, and the priest he had had, they attacked Laish, a quiet and trusting people; they put them to the sword and destroyed their city by fire. ²⁸No one came to their aid since the city was far from Sidon and they had no contact with other people. The Danites then rebuilt the city, which was in the valley that belongs to Beth-rehob, and lived there. ²⁹They named it Dan after their ancestor Dan, son of Israel. However, the name of the city was formerly Laish. ³⁰The Danites set up the carved idol for themselves, and Jonathan, son of Gershom, son of Moses, and his descendants were priests for the tribe of the Danites until the time of the captivity of the land. ³¹They maintained the carved idol Micah had made as long as the house of God was in Shiloh. Judges Chapter 19 ¹At that time, when there was no king in Israel, there was a Levite residing in remote parts of the mountain region of Ephraim who had taken for himself a concubine from Bethlehem of Judah. ²His concubine was unfaithful to him and left him for her father's house in Bethlehem of Judah, where she stayed for some four months. ³Her husband then set out with his servant and a pair of asses, and went after her to forgive her and take her back. She brought him into her father's house, and on seeing him, the girl's father joyfully made him welcome. ⁴He was detained by the girl's father, and so he spent three days with this father-in-law of his, eating and drinking and passing the night there. ⁵On the fourth day they rose early in the morning and he prepared to go. But the girl's father said to his son-in-law, "Fortify yourself with a little food; you can go later on." ⁶So they stayed and the two men ate and drank together.

ake her back. She brought him into her father's house, and on seeing him, the girl's father joyfully made him welcome. ⁴He was detained by the girl's father, and so he spent three days with this father-in-law of his, eating and drinking and passing the night there. ⁵On the fourth day they rose early in the morning and he prepared to go. But the girl's father said to his son-in-law, "Fortify yourself with a little food; you can go later on." ⁶So they stayed and the two men ate and drank together. Then the girl's father said to the husband, "Why not decide to spend the night here and enjoy yourself?" ⁷The man still made a move to go, but when his father-in-law pressed him he went back and spent the night there. ⁸On the fifth morning he rose early to depart, but the girl's father said, "Fortify yourself and tarry until the afternoon." When he and his father-in-law had eaten, ⁹and the husband was ready to go with his concubine

227 and servant, the girl's father said to him, "It is already growing dusk. Stay for the night. See, the day is coming to an end. Spend the night here and enjoy yourself. Early tomorrow you can start your journey home." ¹⁰The man, however, refused to stay another night; he and his concubine set out with a pair of saddled asses and traveled till they came opposite Jebus, which is Jerusalem. ¹¹Since they were near Jebus with the day far gone, the servant said to his master, "Come, let us turn off to this city of the Jebusites and spend the night in it." ¹²But his master said to him, "We will not turn off to a city of foreigners, who are not Israelites, but will go on to Gibeah. ¹³Come," he said to his servant, "let us make for some other place, either Gibeah or Ramah, to spend the night." ¹⁴So they continued on their way till the sun set on them when they were abreast of Gibeah of Benjamin. ¹⁵There they turned off to enter Gibeah for the night. The man waited in the public square of the city he had entered, but no one offered them the shelter of his home for the night. ¹⁶In the evening, however, an old man came from his work in the field; he was from the mountain region of Ephraim, though he lived among the Benjaminite townspeople of Gibeah. ¹⁷When he noticed the traveler in the public square of the city, the old man asked where he was going, and whence he had come. ¹⁸He said to him, "We are traveling from Bethlehem of Judah far up into the mountain region of Ephraim, where I belong. I have been to Bethlehem of Judah and am now going back home; but no one has offered us the shelter of his house. ¹⁹We have straw and fodder for our asses, and bread and wine for the woman and myself and for our servant; there is nothing else we need." ²⁰"You are welcome," the old man said to him, "but let me provide for all your needs, and do not spend the night in the public square." ²¹So he led them to his house and provided fodder for the asses. Then they washed their feet and ate and drank. ²²While they were enjoying themselves, the men of the city, who were corrupt, surrounded the house and beat on the door. They said to the old man whose house it was, "Bring out your guest, that we may abuse him." ²³The owner of the house went out to them and said, "No, my brothers; do not be so wicked. Since this man is my guest, do not commit this crime. ²⁴Rather let me bring out my maiden daughter or his concubine. Ravish them, or do whatever you want with them; but against the man you must not commit this wanton crime." ²⁵When the men would not listen to his host, the husband seized his concubine and thrust her outside to them. They had relations with her and abused her all night until the following dawn, when they let her go. ²⁶Then at daybreak, the woman came and collapsed at the entrance of the house in which her husband was a guest, where she lay until the morning. ²⁷When her husband rose that day and opened the door of the house to start out again on his journey, there lay the woman, his concubine, at the entrance of the house with her hands on the threshold. ²⁸He said to her, "Come, let us go"; but there was no answer. So the man placed her on an ass and started out again for home. ²⁹On reaching home, he took a knife to the body of his concubine, cut her into twelve pieces, and sent them throughout the territory of Israel. ³⁰Everyone who saw this said, "Nothing like this has been done or seen from the day the Israelites came up from the land of Egypt to this day. Take note of it, and state what you propose to do." Judges Chapter 20 ¹So all the Israelites came out as one man: from Dan to Beer-sheba, and from the land of Gilead, the community was gathered to the LORD at Mizpah. ²The leaders of all the people and all the tribesmen of Israel, four hundred thousand foot soldiers who were swordsmen, presented themselves in the assembly of the people of God. ³Meanwhile, the Benjaminites heard that the Israelites had gone up to Mizpah.

land of Egypt to this day. Take note of it, and state what you propose to do." Judges Chapter 20 ¹So all the Israelites came out as one man: from Dan to Beer-sheba, and from the land of Gilead, the community was gathered to the LORD at Mizpah. ²The leaders of all the people and all the tribesmen of Israel, four hundred thousand foot soldiers who were swordsmen, presented themselves in the assembly of the people of God. ³Meanwhile, the Benjaminites heard that the Israelites had gone up to Mizpah. The Israelites asked to be told how the crime had taken place, ⁴and the Levite, the husband of the murdered woman, testified: "My concubine and I went into Gibeah of Benjamin for the night. ⁵But the citizens of Gibeah rose up against me by night and surrounded the house in which I was. Me they attempted to kill, and my concubine they abused so that she died. ⁶So I took my concubine and cut her up and sent her through every part of the

228 territory of Israel, because of the monstrous crime they had committed in Israel. ⁷Now that you are all here, O Israelites, state what you propose to do." ⁸All the people rose as one man to say, "None of us is to leave for his tent or return to his home. ⁹Now as for Gibeah, this is what we will do: We will proceed against it by lot, ¹⁰taking from all the tribes of Israel ten men for every hundred, a hundred for every thousand, a thousand for every ten thousand, and procuring supplies for the soldiers who will go to deal fully and suitably with Gibeah of Benjamin for the crime it committed in Israel." ¹¹When, therefore, all the men of Israel without exception were leagued together against the city, ¹²the tribes of Israel sent men throughout the tribe of Benjamin to say, "What is this evil which has occurred among you? ¹³Now give up these corrupt men of Gibeah, that we may put them to death and thus purge the evil from Israel." But the Benjaminites refused to accede to the demand of their brothers, the Israelites. ¹⁴Instead, the Benjaminites assembled from their other cities to Gibeah, to do battle with the Israelites. ¹⁵The number of the Benjaminite swordsmen from the other cities on that occasion was twenty-six thousand, in addition to the inhabitants of Gibeah. ¹⁶Included in this total were seven hundred picked men who were left- handed, every one of them able to sling a stone at a hair without missing. ¹⁷Meanwhile, the other Israelites who, without Benjamin, mustered four hundred thousand swordsmen ready for battle, ¹⁸moved on to Bethel and consulted God. When the Israelites asked who should go first in the attack on the Benjaminites, the LORD said, "Judah shall go first." ¹⁹The next day the Israelites advanced on Gibeah with their forces. ²⁰On the day the Israelites drew up in battle array at Gibeah for the combat with Benjamin, ²¹the Benjaminites came out of the city and felled twenty-two thousand men of Israel. ²²But though the Israelite soldiers took courage and again drew up for combat in the same place as on the previous day, ²³then the Israelites went up and wept before the LORD until evening. "Shall I again engage my brother Benjamin in battle?" they asked the LORD; and the LORD answered that they should. ²⁴When they met the Benjaminites for the second time, ²⁵once again the Benjaminites who came out of Gibeah against them felled eighteen thousand Israelites, all of them swordsmen. ²⁶So the entire Israelite army went up to Bethel, where they wept and remained fasting before the LORD until evening of that day, besides offering holocausts and peace offerings before the LORD. ²⁷When the Israelites consulted the LORD (for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days, ²⁸and Phinehas, son of Eleazar, son of Aaron, was ministering to him in those days), and asked, "Shall I go out again to battle with Benjamin, my brother, or shall I desist?" the LORD said, "Attack! for tomorrow I will deliver him into your power." ²⁹So Israel set men in ambush around Gibeah. ³⁰The Israelites went up against the Benjaminites for the third time and formed their line of battle at Gibeah as on other occasions. ³¹The Benjaminites went out to meet them, and in the beginning, they killed off about thirty of the Israelite soldiers in the open field, just as on the other occasions. ³²Therefore the Benjaminites thought, "We are defeating them as before"; not realizing that disaster was about to overtake them. The Israelites, however, had planned the flight so as to draw them away from the city onto the highways. They were drawn away from the city onto the highways, of which the one led to Bethel, the other to Gibeon. ³³And then all the men of Israel rose from their places. They re-formed their ranks at Baal-tamar, and the Israelites in ambush rushed from their place west of Gibeah, ³⁴ten thousand picked men from all Israel, and advanced against the city itself.

at disaster was about to overtake them. The Israelites, however, had planned the flight so as to draw them away from the city onto the highways. They were drawn away from the city onto the highways, of which the one led to Bethel, the other to Gibeon. ³³And then all the men of Israel rose from their places. They re-formed their ranks at Baal-tamar, and the Israelites in ambush rushed from their place west of Gibeah, ³⁴ten thousand picked men from all Israel, and advanced against the city itself. In a fierce battle, ³⁵the LORD defeated Benjamin before Israel; and on that day the Israelites killed twenty-five thousand one hundred men of Benjamin, all of them swordsmen. ³⁶To the Benjaminites it had looked as though the enemy were defeated, for the men of Israel gave ground to Benjamin, trusting in the ambush they had set at Gibeah. ³⁷But then the men in ambush made a sudden dash into Gibeah, overran it, and put the whole city to the sword. ³⁸Now, the other Israelites had agreed with the men in ambush on a smoke signal they were to send up from the city. ³⁹And though the men of Benjamin had begun by killing off some thirty of the men of Israel, under the impression that they

229 were defeating them as surely as in the earlier fighting, the Israelites wheeled about to resist ⁴⁰as the smoke of the signal column began to rise up from the city. It was when Benjamin looked back and saw the whole city in flames against the sky ⁴¹that the men of Israel wheeled about. Therefore the men of Benjamin were thrown into confusion, for they realized the disaster that had overtaken them. ⁴²They retreated before the men of Israel in the direction of the desert, with the fight being pressed against them. In their very midst, meanwhile, those who had been in the city were spreading destruction. ⁴³The men of Benjamin had been surrounded and were now pursued to a point east of Gibeah, ⁴⁴while eighteen thousand of them fell, warriors to a man. ⁴⁵The rest turned and fled through the desert to the rock Rimmon. But on the highways, the Israelites picked off five thousand men among them, and chasing them up to Gidom, killed another two thousand of them there. ⁴⁶Those of Benjamin who fell on that day were in all twenty-five thousand swordsmen, warriors to a man. ⁴⁷But six hundred others who turned and fled through the desert reached the rock Rimmon, where they remained for four months. ⁴⁸The men of Israel withdrew through the territory of the Benjaminites, putting to the sword the inhabitants of the cities, the livestock, and all they chanced upon. Moreover, they destroyed by fire all the cities they came upon. Judges Chapter 21 ¹Now the men of Israel had sworn at Mizpah that none of them would give his daughter in marriage to anyone from Benjamin. ²So the people went to Bethel and remained there before God until evening, raising their voices in bitter lament. ³They said, "LORD, God of Israel, why has it come to pass in Israel that today one tribe of Israel should be lacking?" ⁴Early the next day the people built an altar there and offered holocausts and peace offerings. ⁵Then the Israelites asked, "Are there any among all the tribes of Israel who did not come up to the LORD for the assembly?" For they had taken a solemn oath that anyone who did not go up to the LORD at Mizpah should be put to death without fail. ⁶The Israelites were disconsolate over their brother Benjamin and said, "Today one of the tribes of Israel has been cut off. ⁷What can we do about wives for the survivors, since we have sworn by the LORD not to give them any of our daughters in marriage?" ⁸And when they asked whether anyone among the tribes of Israel had not come up to the LORD in Mizpah, they found that none of the men of Jabesh-gilead had come to the encampment for the assembly. ⁹A roll call of the army established that none of the inhabitants of that city were present. ¹⁰The community, therefore, sent twelve thousand warriors with orders to go to Jabesh-gilead and put those who lived there to the sword, including the women and children. ¹¹They were told to include under the ban all males and every woman who was not still a virgin. ¹²Finding among the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead four hundred young virgins, who had had no relations with men, they brought them to the camp at Shiloh in the land of Canaan. ¹³Then the whole community sent a message to the Benjaminites at the rock Rimmon, offering them peace. ¹⁴When Benjamin returned at that time, they gave them as wives the women of Jabesh-gilead whom they had spared; but these proved to be not enough for them. ¹⁵The people were still disconsolate over Benjamin because the LORD had made a breach among the tribes of Israel. ¹⁶And the elders of the community said, "What shall we do for wives for the survivors? For every woman in Benjamin has been put to death." ¹⁷They said, "Those of Benjamin who survive must have heirs, else one of the Israelite tribes will be wiped out.

ned at that time, they gave them as wives the women of Jabesh-gilead whom they had spared; but these proved to be not enough for them. ¹⁵The people were still disconsolate over Benjamin because the LORD had made a breach among the tribes of Israel. ¹⁶And the elders of the community said, "What shall we do for wives for the survivors? For every woman in Benjamin has been put to death." ¹⁷They said, "Those of Benjamin who survive must have heirs, else one of the Israelite tribes will be wiped out. ¹⁸Yet we cannot give them any of our daughters in marriage, because the Israelites have sworn, 'Cursed be he who gives a woman to Benjamin!'" ¹⁹Then they thought of the yearly feast of the LORD at Shiloh, north of Bethel, east of the highway that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and south of Lebonah. ²⁰And they instructed the Benjaminites, "Go and lie in wait in the vineyards. ²¹When you see the girls of Shiloh come out to do their dancing, leave the vineyards and each of you seize one of the girls of Shiloh for a wife, and go to the land of Benjamin. ²²When their fathers or their brothers come to complain to us, we shall say to them,

230 'Release them to us as a kindness, since we did not take a woman apiece in the war. Had you yourselves given them these wives, you would now be guilty.'" ²³The Benjaminites did this; they carried off a wife for each of them from their raid on the dancers, and went back to their own territory, where they rebuilt and occupied the cities. ²⁴Also at that time the Israelites dispersed; each of them left for his own heritage in his own clan and tribe. ²⁵In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what he thought best. Ruth Ruth Chapter 1 ¹Once in the time of the judges there was a famine in the land; so a man from Bethlehem of Judah departed with his wife and two sons to reside on the plateau of Moab. ²The man was named Elimelech, his wife Naomi, and his sons Mahlon and Chilion; they were Ephrathites from Bethlehem of Judah. Some time after their arrival on the Moabite plateau, ³Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons, ⁴who married Moabite women, one named Orpah, the other Ruth. When they had lived there about ten years, ⁵both Mahlon and Chilion died also, and the woman was left with neither her two sons nor her husband. ⁶She then made ready to go back from the plateau of Moab because word reached her there that the LORD had visited his people and given them food. ⁷She and her two daughters-in-law left the place where they had been living. Then as they were on the road back to the land of Judah, ⁸Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, "Go back, each of you, to your mother's house! May the LORD be kind to you as you were to the departed and to me! ⁹May the LORD grant each of you a husband and a home in which you will find rest." She kissed them good-bye, but they wept with loud sobs, ¹⁰and told her they would return with her to her people. ¹¹"Go back, my daughters!" said Naomi. "Why should you come with me? Have I other sons in my womb who may become your husbands? ¹²Go back, my daughters! Go, for I am too old to marry again. And even if I could offer any hopes, or if tonight I had a husband or had borne sons, ¹³would you then wait and deprive yourselves of husbands until those sons grew up? No, my daughters! my lot is too bitter for you, because the LORD has extended his hand against me." ¹⁴Again they sobbed aloud and wept; and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law good-bye, but Ruth stayed with her. ¹⁵"See now!" she said, "your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and her god. Go back after your sister-in-law!" ¹⁶But Ruth said, "Do not ask me to abandon or forsake you! for wherever you go I will go, wherever you lodge I will lodge, your people shall be my people, and your God my God. ¹⁷Wherever you die I will die, and there be buried. May the LORD do so and so to me, and more besides, if aught but death separates me from you!" ¹⁸Naomi then ceased to urge her, for she saw she was determined to go with her. ¹⁹So they went on together till they reached Bethlehem. On their arrival there, the whole city was astir over them, and the women asked, "Can this be Naomi?" ²⁰But she said to them, "Do not call me Naomi. Call me Mara, for the Almighty has made it very bitter for me. ²¹I went away with an abundance, but the LORD has brought me back destitute. Why should you call me Naomi, since the LORD has pronounced against me and the Almighty has brought evil upon me?" ²²Thus it was that Naomi returned with the Moabite daughter-in-law, Ruth, who accompanied her back from the plateau of Moab. They arrived in Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest. Ruth Chapter 2 ¹Naomi had a prominent kinsman named Boaz, of the clan of her husband Elimelech. ²Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, "Let me go and glean ears of grain in the field of anyone who will allow me that favor." Naomi said to her, "Go, my daughter," ³and she went. The field she entered to glean after the harvesters happened to be the section belonging to Boaz of the clan of Elimelech. ⁴Boaz

231 himself came from Bethlehem and said to the harvesters, "The LORD be with you!" and they replied, "The LORD bless you!" ⁵Boaz asked the overseer of his harvesters, "Whose girl is this?" ⁶The overseer of the harvesters answered, "She is the Moabite girl who returned from the plateau of Moab with Naomi. ⁷She asked leave to gather the gleanings into sheaves after the harvesters; and ever since she came this morning she has remained here until now, with scarcely a moment's rest." ⁸Boaz said to Ruth, "Listen, my daughter! Do not go to glean in anyone else's field; you are not to leave here. Stay here with my women servants. ⁹Watch to see which field is to be harvested, and follow them; I have commanded the young men to do you no harm. When you are thirsty, you may go and drink from the vessels the young men have filled." ¹⁰Casting herself prostrate upon the ground, she said to him, "Why should I, a foreigner, be favored with your notice?" ¹¹Boaz answered her: "I have had a complete account of what you have done for your mother-in-law after your husband's death; you have left your father and your mother and the land of your birth, and have come to a people whom you did not know previously. ¹²May the LORD reward what you have done! May you receive a full reward from the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge." ¹³She said, "May I prove worthy of your kindness, my lord: you have comforted me, your servant, with your consoling words; would indeed that I were a servant of yours!" ¹⁴At mealtime Boaz said to her, "Come here and have some food; dip your bread in the sauce." Then as she sat near the reapers, he handed her some roasted grain and she ate her fill and had some left over. ¹⁵She rose to glean, and Boaz instructed his servants to let her glean among the sheaves themselves without scolding her, ¹⁶and even to let drop some handfuls and leave them for her to glean without being rebuked. ¹⁷She gleaned in the field until evening, and when she beat out what she had gleaned it came to about an ephah of barley, ¹⁸which she took into the city and showed to her mother-in-law. Next she brought out and gave her what she had left over from lunch. ¹⁹So her mother-in-law said to her, "Where did you glean today? Where did you go to work? May he who took notice of you be blessed!" Then she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked. "The man at whose place I worked today is named Boaz," she said. ²⁰"May he be blessed by the LORD, who is ever merciful to the living and to the dead," Naomi exclaimed to her daughter- in-law; and she continued, "He is a relative of ours, one of our next of kin." ²¹"He even told me," added Ruth the Moabite, "that I should stay with his servants until they complete his entire harvest." ²²"You would do well, my dear," Naomi rejoined, "to go out with his servants; for in someone else's field you might be insulted." ²³So she stayed gleaning with the servants of Boaz until the end of the barley and wheat harvests. Ruth Chapter 3 ¹When she was back with her mother-in-law, Naomi said to her, "My daughter, I must seek a home for you that will please you. ²Now is not Boaz, with whose servants you were, a relative of ours? This evening he will be winnowing barley at the threshing floor. ³So bathe and anoint yourself; then put on your best attire and go down to the threshing floor. Do not make yourself known to the man before he has finished eating and drinking. ⁴But when he lies down, take note of the place where he does so. Then go, uncover a place at his feet, and lie down. He will tell you what to do." ⁵"I will do whatever you advise," Ruth replied. ⁶So she went down to the threshing floor and did just as her mother-in-law had instructed her. ⁷Boaz ate and drank to his heart's content. Then when he went and lay down at the edge of the sheaves, she stole up, uncovered a place at his feet, and lay down.

man before he has finished eating and drinking. ⁴But when he lies down, take note of the place where he does so. Then go, uncover a place at his feet, and lie down. He will tell you what to do." ⁵"I will do whatever you advise," Ruth replied. ⁶So she went down to the threshing floor and did just as her mother-in-law had instructed her. ⁷Boaz ate and drank to his heart's content. Then when he went and lay down at the edge of the sheaves, she stole up, uncovered a place at his feet, and lay down. ⁸In the middle of the night, however, the man gave a start and turned around to find a woman lying at his feet. ⁹He asked, "Who are you?" And she replied, "I am your servant Ruth. Spread the corner of your cloak over me, for you are my next of kin." ¹⁰He said, "May the LORD bless you, my daughter! You have been even more loyal now than before in not going after the young men, whether poor or rich. ¹¹So be assured, daughter, I will do for you whatever you

232 say; all my townspeople know you for a worthy woman. ¹²Now, though indeed I am closely related to you, you have another relative still closer. ¹³Stay as you are for tonight, and tomorrow, if he wishes to claim you, good! let him do so. But if he does not wish to claim you, as the LORD lives, I will claim you myself. Lie there until morning." ¹⁴So she lay at his feet until morning, but rose before men could recognize one another. Boaz said, "Let it not be known that this woman came to the threshing floor." ¹⁵Then he said to her, "Take off your cloak and hold it out." When she did so, he poured out six measures of barley, helped her lift the bundle, and left for the city. ¹⁶Ruth went home to her mother-in-law, who asked, "How have you fared, my daughter?" So she told her all the man had done for her, ¹⁷and concluded, "He gave me these six measures of barley because he did not wish me to come back to my mother-in-law emptyhanded!" ¹⁸Naomi then said, "Wait here, my daughter, until you learn what happens, for the man will not rest, but will settle the matter today." Ruth Chapter 4 ¹Boaz went and took a seat at the gate; and when he saw the closer relative of whom he had spoken come along, he called to him by name, "Come and sit beside me!" And he did so. ²Then Boaz picked out ten of the elders of the city and asked them to sit nearby. When they had done this, ³he said to the near relative: "Naomi, who has come back from the Moabite plateau, is putting up for sale the piece of land that belonged to our kinsman Elimelech. ⁴So I thought I would inform you, bidding you before those here present, including the elders of my people, to put in your claim for it if you wish to acquire it as next of kin. But if you do not wish to claim it, tell me so, that I may be guided accordingly, for no one has a prior claim to yours, and mine is next." He answered, "I will put in my claim." ⁵Boaz continued, "Once you acquire the field from Naomi, you must take also Ruth the Moabite, the widow of the late heir, and raise up a family for the departed on his estate." ⁶The near relative replied, "I cannot exercise my claim lest I depreciate my own estate. Put in a claim yourself in my stead, for I cannot exercise my claim." ⁷Now it used to be the custom in Israel that, to make binding a contract of redemption or exchange, one party would take off his sandal and give it to the other. This was the form of attestation in Israel. ⁸So the near relative, in saying to Boaz, "Acquire it for yourself," drew off his sandal. ⁹Boaz then said to the elders and to all the people, "You are witnesses today that I have acquired from Naomi all the holdings of Elimelech, Chilion, and Mahlon. ¹⁰I also take Ruth the Moabite, the widow of Mahlon, as my wife, in order to raise up a family for her late husband on his estate, so that the name of the departed may not perish among his kinsmen and fellow citizens. Do you witness this today?" ¹¹All those at the gate, including the elders, said, "We do so. May the LORD make this wife come into your house like Rachel and Leah, who between them built up the house of Israel. May you do well in Ephrathah and win fame in Bethlehem. ¹²With the offspring the LORD will give you from this girl, may your house become like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah." ¹³Boaz took Ruth. When they came together as man and wife, the LORD enabled her to conceive and she bore a son. ¹⁴Then the women said to Naomi, "Blessed is the LORD who has not failed to provide you today with an heir! May he become famous in Israel! ¹⁵He will be your comfort and the support of your old age, for his mother is the daughter-in-law who loves you. She is worth more to you than seven sons!" ¹⁶Naomi took the child, placed him on her lap, and became his nurse. ¹⁷And the neighbor women gave him his name, at the news that a grandson had been born to Naomi. They called him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.

i, "Blessed is the LORD who has not failed to provide you today with an heir! May he become famous in Israel! ¹⁵He will be your comfort and the support of your old age, for his mother is the daughter-in-law who loves you. She is worth more to you than seven sons!" ¹⁶Naomi took the child, placed him on her lap, and became his nurse. ¹⁷And the neighbor women gave him his name, at the news that a grandson had been born to Naomi. They called him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David. ¹⁸These are the descendants of Perez: Perez was the father of Hezron, ¹⁹Hezron was the father of Ram, Ram was the father of Amminadab, ²⁰Amminadab was the father of Nahshon, Nahshon was the father of Salmon, ²¹Salmon was the father of Boaz, Boaz was the father of Obed, ²²Obed was the father of Jesse, and Jesse became the father of David.

233 I Samuel 1 Samuel Chapter 1 ¹There was a certain man from Ramathaim, Elkanah by name, a Zuphite from the hill country of Ephraim. He was the son of Jeroham, son of Elihu, son of Tohu, son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. ²He had two wives, one named Hannah, the other Peninnah; Peninnah had children, but Hannah was childless. ³This man regularly went on pilgrimage from his city to worship the LORD of hosts and to sacrifice to him at Shiloh, where the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were ministering as priests of the LORD. ⁴When the day came for Elkanah to offer sacrifice, he used to give a portion each to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters, ⁵but a double portion to Hannah because he loved her, though the LORD had made her barren. ⁶Her rival, to upset her, turned it into a constant reproach to her that the LORD had left her barren. ⁷This went on year after year; each time they made their pilgrimage to the sanctuary of the LORD, Peninnah would approach her, and Hannah would weep and refuse to eat. ⁸Her husband Elkanah used to ask her: "Hannah, why do you weep, and why do you refuse to eat? Why do you grieve? Am I not more to you than ten sons?" ⁹Hannah rose after one such meal at Shiloh, and presented herself before the LORD; at the time, Eli the priest was sitting on a chair near the doorpost of the LORD's temple. ¹⁰In her bitterness she prayed to the LORD, weeping copiously, ¹¹and she made a vow, promising: "O LORD of hosts, if you look with pity on the misery of your handmaid, if you remember me and do not forget me, if you give your handmaid a male child, I will give him to the LORD for as long as he lives; neither wine nor liquor shall he drink, and no razor shall ever touch his head." ¹²As she remained long at prayer before the LORD, Eli watched her mouth, ¹³for Hannah was praying silently; though her lips were moving, her voice could not be heard. Eli, thinking her drunk, ¹⁴said to her, "How long will you make a drunken show of yourself? Sober up from your wine!" ¹⁵"It isn't that, my lord," Hannah answered. "I am an unhappy woman. I have had neither wine nor liquor; I was only pouring out my troubles to the LORD. ¹⁶Do not think your handmaid a ne'er-do-well; my prayer has been prompted by my deep sorrow and misery." ¹⁷Eli said, "Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him." ¹⁸She replied, "Think kindly of your maidservant," and left. She went to her quarters, ate and drank with her husband, and no longer appeared downcast. ¹⁹Early the next morning they worshiped before the LORD, and then returned to their home in Ramah. When Elkanah had relations with his wife Hannah, the LORD remembered her. ²⁰She conceived, and at the end of her term bore a son whom she called Samuel, since she had asked the LORD for him. ²¹The next time her husband Elkanah was going up with the rest of his household to offer the customary sacrifice to the LORD and to fulfill his vows, ²²Hannah did not go, explaining to her husband, "Once the child is weaned, I will take him to appear before the LORD and to remain there forever; I will offer him as a perpetual nazirite." ²³Her husband Elkanah answered her: "Do what you think best; wait until you have weaned him. Only, may the LORD bring your resolve to fulfillment!" And so she remained at home and nursed her son until she had weaned him. ²⁴Once he was weaned, she brought him up with her, along with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour, and a skin of wine, and presented him at the temple of the LORD in Shiloh. ²⁵After the boy's father had sacrificed the young bull, Hannah, his mother, approached Eli ²⁶and said: "Pardon, my lord! As you live, my lord, I am the woman who stood near you here, praying to the LORD. ²⁷I prayed for this child, and the LORD granted my request. ²⁸Now I, in turn, give him to the LORD; as long as he lives, he shall be dedicated to the LORD." She left him there. 1 Samuel Chapter 2

234 ¹And as she worshiped the LORD, she said: "My heart exults in the LORD, my horn is exalted in my God. I have swallowed up my enemies; I rejoice in my victory. ²There is no Holy One like the LORD; there is no Rock like our God. ³Speak boastfully no longer, nor let arrogance issue from your mouths. For an all-knowing God is the LORD, a God who judges deeds. ⁴The bows of the mighty are broken, while the tottering gird on strength. ⁵The well-fed hire themselves out for bread, while the hungry batten on spoil. The barren wife bears seven sons, while the mother of many languishes. ⁶The LORD puts to death and gives life; he casts down to the nether world; he raises up again. ⁷The LORD makes poor and makes rich, he humbles, he also exalts. ⁸He raises the needy from the dust; from the ash heap he lifts up the poor, to seat them with nobles and make a glorious throne their heritage. He gives to the vower his vow and blesses the sleep of the just. For the pillars of the earth are the LORD's, and he has set the world upon them. ⁹He will guard the footsteps of his faithful ones, but the wicked shall perish in the darkness. For not by strength does man prevail; ¹⁰the LORD's foes shall be shattered. The Most High in heaven thunders; the LORD judges the ends of the earth, now may he give strength to his king, and exalt the horn of his anointed!"¹¹When Elkanah returned home to Ramah, the child remained in the service of the LORD under the priest Eli. ¹²Now the sons of Eli were wicked; they had respect neither for the LORD ¹³nor for the priests' duties toward the people. When someone offered a sacrifice, the priest's servant would come with a three-pronged fork, while the meat was still boiling, ¹⁴and would thrust it into the basin, kettle, caldron, or pot. Whatever the fork brought up, the priest would keep. That is how all the Israelites were treated who came to the sanctuary at Shiloh. ¹⁵In fact, even before the fat was burned, the priest's servant would come and say to the man offering the sacrifice, "Give me some meat to roast for the priest. He will not accept boiled meat from you, only raw meat." ¹⁶And if the man protested, "Let the fat be burned first as is the custom, then take whatever you wish," he would reply, "No, give it to me now, or else I will take it by force." ¹⁷Thus the young men sinned grievously in the presence of the LORD; they treated the offerings to the LORD with disdain. ¹⁸Meanwhile the boy Samuel, girt with a linen apron, was serving in the presence of the LORD. ¹⁹His mother used to make a little garment for him, which she would bring him each time she went up with her husband to offer the customary sacrifice. ²⁰And Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, as they were leaving for home. He would say, "May the LORD repay you with children from this woman for the gift she has made to the LORD!" ²¹The LORD favored Hannah so that she conceived and gave birth to three more sons and two daughters, while young Samuel grew up in the service of the LORD. ²²When Eli was very old, he heard repeatedly how his sons were treating all Israel (and that they were having relations with the women serving at the entry of the meeting tent). ²³So he said to them: "Why are you doing such things? ²⁴No, my sons, you must not do these things! It is not a good report that I hear the people of the LORD spreading about you. ²⁵If a man sins against another man, one can intercede for him with the LORD; but if a man sins against the LORD, who can intercede for him?" But they disregarded their father's warning, since the LORD had decided on their death. ²⁶Meanwhile, young Samuel was growing in stature and in worth in the estimation of the LORD and of men. ²⁷A man of God came to Eli and said to him: "This is what the LORD says: 'I went so far as to reveal myself to your father's family when they were in Egypt as slaves to the house of Pharaoh.

another man, one can intercede for him with the LORD; but if a man sins against the LORD, who can intercede for him?" But they disregarded their father's warning, since the LORD had decided on their death. ²⁶Meanwhile, young Samuel was growing in stature and in worth in the estimation of the LORD and of men. ²⁷A man of God came to Eli and said to him: "This is what the LORD says: 'I went so far as to reveal myself to your father's family when they were in Egypt as slaves to the house of Pharaoh. ²⁸I chose them out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priests, to go up to my altar, to burn incense, and to wear the ephod before me; and I assigned all the oblations of the Israelites to your father's family. ²⁹Why do you keep a greedy eye on my sacrifices and on the offerings which I have prescribed? And why do you honor your sons in preference to me, fattening yourselves with the choicest part of every offering of my people Israel?' ³⁰This, therefore, is the oracle of the LORD, the God of Israel: 'I said in the past that your family and your father's family should minister in my presence forever. But now,' the LORD declares, 'away with this! for I will honor those who honor me, but those who spurn me

235 shall be accursed. ³¹Yes, the time is coming when I will break your strength and the strength of your father's family, so that no man in your family shall reach old age. ³²You shall witness as a disappointed rival all the benefits enjoyed by Israel, but there shall never be an old man in your family. ³³I will permit some of your family to remain at my altar, to wear out their eyes in consuming greed; but the rest of the men of your family shall die by the sword. ³⁴You shall have a sign in what will happen to your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas: both shall die on the same day. ³⁵I will choose a faithful priest who shall do what I have in heart and mind. I will establish a lasting house for him which shall function in the presence of my anointed forever. ³⁶Then whoever is left of your family will come to grovel before him for a piece of silver or a loaf of bread, and will say: "Appoint me, I beg you, to a priestly function, that I may have a morsel of bread to eat."'" 1 Samuel Chapter 3 ¹During the time young Samuel was minister to the LORD under Eli, a revelation of the LORD was uncommon and vision infrequent. ²One day Eli was asleep in his usual place. His eyes had lately grown so weak that he could not see. ³The lamp of God was not yet extinguished, and Samuel was sleeping in the temple of the LORD where the ark of God was. ⁴The LORD called to Samuel, who answered, "Here I am." ⁵He ran to Eli and said, "Here I am. You called me." "I did not call you," Eli said. "Go back to sleep." So he went back to sleep. ⁶Again the LORD called Samuel, who rose and went to Eli. "Here I am," he said. "You called me." But he answered, "I did not call you, my son. Go back to sleep." ⁷At that time Samuel was not familiar with the LORD, because the LORD had not revealed anything to him as yet. ⁸The LORD called Samuel again, for the third time. Getting up and going to Eli, he said, "Here I am. You called me." Then Eli understood that the LORD was calling the youth. ⁹So he said to Samuel, "Go to sleep, and if you are called, reply, 'Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.'" When Samuel went to sleep in his place, ¹⁰the LORD came and revealed his presence, calling out as before, "Samuel, Samuel!" Samuel answered, "Speak, for your servant is listening." ¹¹The LORD said to Samuel: "I am about to do something in Israel that will cause the ears of everyone who hears it to ring. ¹²On that day I will carry out in full against Eli everything I threatened against his family. ¹³I announce to him that I am condemning his family once and for all, because of this crime: though he knew his sons were blaspheming God, he did not reprove them. ¹⁴Therefore, I swear to the family of Eli that no sacrifice or offering will ever expiate its crime." ¹⁵Samuel then slept until morning, when he got up early and opened the doors of the temple of the LORD. He feared to tell Eli the vision, ¹⁶but Eli called to him, "Samuel, my son!" He replied, "Here I am." ¹⁷Then Eli asked, "What did he say to you? Hide nothing from me! May God do thus and so to you if you hide a single thing he told you." ¹⁸So Samuel told him everything, and held nothing back. Eli answered, "He is the LORD. He will do what he judges best." ¹⁹Samuel grew up, and the LORD was with him, not permitting any word of his to be without effect. ²⁰Thus all Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba came to know that Samuel was an accredited prophet of the LORD. ²¹The LORD continued to appear at Shiloh; he manifested himself to Samuel at Shiloh through his word. 1 Samuel Chapter 4 ¹And Samuel spoke to all Israel. At that time, the Philistines gathered for an attack on Israel. Israel went out to engage them in battle and camped at Ebenezer, while the Philistines camped at Aphek. ²The Philistines then drew up in battle formation against Israel. After a fierce struggle, Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who slew about four thousand men on the battlefield.

LORD continued to appear at Shiloh; he manifested himself to Samuel at Shiloh through his word. 1 Samuel Chapter 4 ¹And Samuel spoke to all Israel. At that time, the Philistines gathered for an attack on Israel. Israel went out to engage them in battle and camped at Ebenezer, while the Philistines camped at Aphek. ²The Philistines then drew up in battle formation against Israel. After a fierce struggle, Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who slew about four thousand men on the battlefield. ³When the troops retired to the camp, the elders of Israel said, "Why has the LORD permitted us to be defeated today by the Philistines? Let us fetch the ark of the LORD from Shiloh that it may go into battle among us and save us from the grasp of our enemies." ⁴So the people sent to Shiloh and

236 brought from there the ark of the LORD of hosts, who is enthroned upon the cherubim. The two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were with the ark of God. ⁵When the ark of the LORD arrived in the camp, all Israel shouted so loudly that the earth resounded. ⁶The Philistines, hearing the noise of shouting, asked, "What can this loud shouting in the camp of the Hebrews mean?" On learning that the ark of the LORD had come into the camp, ⁷the Philistines were frightened. They said, "Gods have come to their camp." They said also, "Woe to us! This has never happened before. ⁸Woe to us! Who can deliver us from the power of these mighty gods? These are the gods that struck the Egyptians with various plagues and with pestilence. ⁹Take courage and be manly, Philistines; otherwise, you will become slaves to the Hebrews, as they were your slaves. So fight manfully!" ¹⁰The Philistines fought, and Israel was defeated; every man fled to his own tent. It was a disastrous defeat, in which Israel lost thirty thousand foot soldiers. ¹¹The ark of God was captured, and Eli's two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were among the dead. ¹²A Benjaminite fled from the battlefield and reached Shiloh that same day, with his clothes torn and his head covered with dirt. ¹³When he arrived, Eli was sitting in his chair beside the gate, watching the road, for he was troubled at heart about the ark of God. The man, however, went into the city to divulge his news, which put the whole city in an uproar. ¹⁴Hearing the outcry of the men standing near him, Eli inquired, "What does this commotion mean?" ¹⁵(Eli was ninety-eight years old, and his eyes would not focus, so that he could not see.) ¹⁶The man quickly came up to Eli and said, "It is I who have come from the battlefield; I fled from there today." He asked, "What happened, my son?" ¹⁷And the messenger answered: "Israel fled from the Philistines; in fact, the troops suffered heavy losses. Your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are among the dead, and the ark of God has been captured." ¹⁸At this mention of the ark of God, Eli fell backward from his chair into the gateway; since he was an old man and heavy, he died of a broken neck. He had judged Israel for forty years. ¹⁹His daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was with child and at the point of giving birth. When she heard the news concerning the capture of the ark and the deaths of her father-in-law and her husband, she was seized with the pangs of labor, and gave birth. ²⁰She was about to die when the women standing around her said to her, "Never fear! You have given birth to a son." Yet she neither answered nor paid any attention. ²¹She named the child Ichabod, saying, "Gone is the glory from Israel," with reference to the capture of the ark of God and to her father-in-law and her husband. ²²She said, "Gone is the glory from Israel," because the ark of God had been captured. 1 Samuel Chapter 5 ¹The Philistines, having captured the ark of God, transferred it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. ²They then took the ark of God and brought it into the temple of Dagon, placing it beside Dagon. ³When the people of Ashdod rose early the next morning, Dagon was lying prone on the ground before the ark of the LORD. So they picked Dagon up and replaced him. ⁴But the next morning early, when they arose, Dagon lay prone on the ground before the ark of the LORD, his head and hands broken off and lying on the threshold, his trunk alone intact. ⁵For this reason, neither the priests of Dagon nor any others who enter the temple of Dagon tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this very day; they always step over it. ⁶Now the LORD dealt severely with the people of Ashdod. He ravaged and afflicted the city and its vicinity with hemorrhoids; he brought upon the city a great and deadly plague of mice that swarmed in their ships and overran their fields.

D, his head and hands broken off and lying on the threshold, his trunk alone intact. ⁵For this reason, neither the priests of Dagon nor any others who enter the temple of Dagon tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this very day; they always step over it. ⁶Now the LORD dealt severely with the people of Ashdod. He ravaged and afflicted the city and its vicinity with hemorrhoids; he brought upon the city a great and deadly plague of mice that swarmed in their ships and overran their fields. ⁷On seeing how matters stood, the men of Ashdod decided, "The ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us, for he is handling us and our god Dagon severely." ⁸So they summoned all the Philistine lords and inquired of them, "What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?" The men of Gath replied, "Let them move the ark of the God of Israel on to us." ⁹So they moved the ark of the God of Israel to Gath! But after it had been brought there, the LORD threw the city into utter turmoil: he afflicted its inhabitants, young and old, and hemorrhoids broke out on them. ¹⁰The ark of God

237 was next sent to Ekron; but as it entered that city, the people there cried out, "Why have they brought the ark of the God of Israel here to kill us and our kindred?" ¹¹Then they, too, sent a summons to all the Philistine lords and pleaded: "Send away the ark of the God of Israel. Let it return to its own place, that it may not kill us and our kindred." A deadly panic had seized the whole city, since the hand of God had been very heavy upon it. ¹²Those who escaped death were afflicted with hemorrhoids, and the outcry from the city went up to the heavens. 1 Samuel Chapter 6 ¹The ark of the LORD had been in the land of the Philistines seven months ²when they summoned priests and fortune-tellers to ask, "What shall we do with the ark of the LORD? Tell us what we should send back with it." ³They replied: "If you intend to send away the ark of the God of Israel, you must not send it alone, but must, by all means, make amends to him through a guilt offering. Then you will be healed, and will learn why he continues to afflict you." ⁴When asked further, "What guilt offering should be our amends to him?", they replied: "Five golden hemorrhoids and five golden mice to correspond to the number of Philistine lords, since the same plague has struck all of you and your lords. ⁵Therefore, make images of the hemorrhoids and of the mice that are infesting your land and give them as a tribute to the God of Israel. Perhaps then he will cease to afflict you, your gods, and your land. ⁶Why should you become stubborn, as the Egyptians and Pharaoh were stubborn? Was it not after he had dealt ruthlessly with them that the Israelites were released and departed? ⁷So now set to work and make a new cart. Then take two milch cows that have not borne the yoke; hitch them to the cart, but drive their calves indoors away from them. ⁸You shall next take the ark of the LORD and place it on the cart, putting in a box beside it the golden articles that you are offering, as amends for your guilt. Start it on its way, and let it go. ⁹Then watch! If it goes to Beth-shemesh along the route to his own territory, he has brought this great calamity upon us; if not, we will know it was not he who struck us, but that an accident happened to us." ¹⁰They acted upon this advice. Taking two milch cows, they hitched them to the cart but shut up their calves indoors. ¹¹Then they placed the ark of the LORD on the cart, along with the box containing the golden mice and the images of the hemorrhoids. ¹²The cows went straight for the route to Beth-shemesh and continued along this road, mooing as they went, without turning right or left. The Philistine lords followed them as far as the border of Beth- shemesh. ¹³The people of Beth-shemesh were harvesting the wheat in the valley. When they looked up and spied the ark, they greeted it with rejoicing. ¹⁴The cart came to the field of Joshua the Beth-shemite and stopped there. At a large stone in the field, the wood of the cart was split up and the cows were offered as a holocaust to the LORD. ¹⁵The Levites, meanwhile, had taken down the ark of God and the box beside it, in which the golden articles were, and had placed them on the great stone. The men of Beth-shemesh also offered other holocausts and sacrifices to the LORD that day. ¹⁶After witnessing this, the five Philistine lords returned to Ekron the same day. ¹⁷The golden hemorrhoids the Philistines sent back as a guilt offering to the LORD were as follows: one for Ashdod, one for Gaza, one for Ashkelon, one for Gath, and one for Ekron. ¹⁸The golden mice, however, corresponded to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords, including fortified cities and open villages. The large stone on which the ark of the LORD was placed is still in the field of Joshua the Beth-shemite at the present time.

ned to Ekron the same day. ¹⁷The golden hemorrhoids the Philistines sent back as a guilt offering to the LORD were as follows: one for Ashdod, one for Gaza, one for Ashkelon, one for Gath, and one for Ekron. ¹⁸The golden mice, however, corresponded to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords, including fortified cities and open villages. The large stone on which the ark of the LORD was placed is still in the field of Joshua the Beth-shemite at the present time. ¹⁹The descendants of Jeconiah did not join in the celebration with the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh when they greeted the ark of the LORD, and seventy of them were struck down. The people went into mourning at this great calamity with which the LORD had afflicted them. ²⁰The men of Beth-shemesh asked, "Who can stand in the presence of this Holy One? To whom shall he go from us?" ²¹They then sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kiriath-jearim, saying, "The Philistines have returned the ark of the LORD; come down and get it."

238 1 Samuel Chapter 7 ¹So the inhabitants of Kiriath-jearim came for the ark of the LORD and brought it into the house of Abinadab on the hill, appointing his son Eleazar as guardian of the ark of the LORD. ²From the day the ark came to rest in Kiriath-jearim a long time—twenty years—elapsed, and the whole Israelite population turned to the LORD. ³Samuel said to them: "If you wish with your whole heart to return to the LORD, put away your foreign gods and your Ashtaroth, devote yourselves to the LORD, and worship him alone. Then he will deliver you from the power of the Philistines." ⁴So the Israelites put away their Baals and Ashtaroth, and worshiped the LORD alone. ⁵Samuel then gave orders, "Gather all Israel to Mizpah, that I may pray to the LORD for you." ⁶When they were gathered at Mizpah, they drew water and poured it out on the ground before the LORD, and they fasted that day, confessing, "We have sinned against the LORD." It was at Mizpah that Samuel began to judge the Israelites. ⁷When the Philistines heard that the Israelites had gathered at Mizpah, their lords went up against Israel. Hearing this, the Israelites became afraid of the Philistines ⁸and said to Samuel, "Implore the LORD our God unceasingly for us, to save us from the clutches of the Philistines." ⁹Samuel therefore took an unweaned lamb and offered it entire as a holocaust to the LORD. He implored the LORD for Israel, and the LORD heard him. ¹⁰While Samuel was offering the holocaust, the Philistines advanced to join battle with Israel. That day, however, the LORD thundered loudly against the Philistines, and threw them into such confusion that they were defeated by Israel. ¹¹Thereupon the Israelites sallied forth from Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, harrying them down beyond Beth-car. ¹²Samuel then took a stone and placed it between Mizpah and Jeshanah; he named it Ebenezer, explaining, "To this point the LORD helped us." ¹³Thus were the Philistines subdued, never again to enter the territory of Israel, for the LORD was severe with them as long as Samuel lived. ¹⁴The cities from Ekron to Gath which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to them. Israel also freed the territory of these cities from the dominion of the Philistines. Moreover, there was peace between Israel and the Amorites. ¹⁵Samuel judged Israel as long as he lived. ¹⁶He made a yearly journey, passing through Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah and judging Israel at each of these sanctuaries. ¹⁷Then he used to return to Ramah, for that was his home. There, too, he judged Israel and built an altar to the LORD. 1 Samuel Chapter 8 ¹In his old age, Samuel appointed his sons judges over Israel. ²His first-born was named Joel, his second son, Abijah; they judged at Beer-sheba. ³His sons did not follow his example but sought illicit gain and accepted bribes, perverting justice. ⁴Therefore all the elders of Israel came in a body to Samuel at Ramah ⁵and said to him, "Now that you are old, and your sons do not follow your example, appoint a king over us, as other nations have, to judge us." ⁶Samuel was displeased when they asked for a king to judge them. He prayed to the LORD, however, ⁷who said in answer: "Grant the people's every request. It is not you they reject, they are rejecting me as their king. ⁸As they have treated me constantly from the day I brought them up from Egypt to this day, deserting me and worshiping strange gods, so do they treat you too. ⁹Now grant their request; but at the same time, warn them solemnly and inform them of the rights of the king who will rule them." ¹⁰Samuel delivered the message of the LORD in full to those who were asking him for a king. ¹¹He told them: "The rights of the king who will rule you will be as follows: He will take your sons and assign them to his chariots and horses, and they will run before his chariot. ¹²He will also appoint from among them his commanders of groups of a thousand and of a hundred soldiers.

t their request; but at the same time, warn them solemnly and inform them of the rights of the king who will rule them." ¹⁰Samuel delivered the message of the LORD in full to those who were asking him for a king. ¹¹He told them: "The rights of the king who will rule you will be as follows: He will take your sons and assign them to his chariots and horses, and they will run before his chariot. ¹²He will also appoint from among them his commanders of groups of a thousand and of a hundred soldiers. He will set them to do his plowing and his harvesting, and to make his implements of war and the equipment of his chariots. ¹³He will use your daughters as ointment-makers, as cooks, and as bakers. ¹⁴He will take the best of your fields, vineyards, and olive groves, and give them to his officials. ¹⁵He will tithe

239 your crops and your vineyards, and give the revenue to his eunuchs and his slaves. ¹⁶He will take your male and female servants, as well as your best oxen and your asses, and use them to do his work. ¹⁷He will tithe your flocks and you yourselves will become his slaves. ¹⁸When this takes place, you will complain against the king whom you have chosen, but on that day the LORD will not answer you." ¹⁹The people, however, refused to listen to Samuel's warning and said, "Not so! There must be a king over us. ²⁰We too must be like other nations, with a king to rule us and to lead us in warfare and fight our battles." ²¹When Samuel had listened to all the people had to say, he repeated it to the LORD, ²²who then said to him, "Grant their request and appoint a king to rule them." Samuel thereupon said to the men of Israel, "Each of you go to his own city." 1 Samuel Chapter 9 ¹There was a stalwart man from Benjamin named Kish, who was the son of Abiel, son of Zeror, son of Becorath, son of Aphiah, a Benjaminite. ²He had a son named Saul, who was a handsome young man. There was no other Israelite handsomer than Saul; he stood head and shoulders above the people. ³Now the asses of Saul's father, Kish, had wandered off. Kish said to his son Saul, "Take one of the servants with you and go out and hunt for the asses." ⁴Accordingly they went through the hill country of Ephraim, and through the land of Shalishah. Not finding them there, they continued through the land of Shaalim without success. They also went through the land of Benjamin, but they failed to find the animals. ⁵When they came to the land of Zuph, Saul said to the servant who was with him, "Come, let us turn back, lest my father forget about the asses and become anxious about us." ⁶The servant replied, "Listen! There is a man of God in this city, a man held in high esteem; all that he says is sure to come true. Let us go there now! Perhaps he can tell us how to accomplish our errand." ⁷But Saul said to his servant, "If we go, what can we offer the man? There is no bread in our bags, and we have no present to give the man of God. What have we?" ⁸Again the servant answered Saul, "I have a quarter of a silver shekel. If I give that to the man of God, he will tell us our way." ⁹(In former times in Israel, anyone who went to consult God used to say, "Come, let us go to the seer." For he who is now called prophet was formerly called seer.) ¹⁰Saul then said to his servant, "Well said! Come on, let us go!" And they went to the city where the man of God lived. ¹¹As they were going up the ascent to the city, they met some girls coming out to draw water and inquired of them, "Is the seer in town?" ¹²The girls answered, "Yes, there—straight ahead. Hurry now; just today he came to the city, because the people have a sacrifice today on the high place. ¹³When you enter the city, you may reach him before he goes up to the high place to eat. The people will not eat until he arrives; only after he blesses the sacrifice will the invited guests eat. Go up immediately, for you should find him right now." ¹⁴So they went up to the city. As they entered it, Samuel was coming toward them on his way to the high place. ¹⁵The day before Saul's arrival, the LORD had given Samuel the revelation: ¹⁶"At this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin whom you are to anoint as commander of my people Israel. He shall save my people from the clutches of the Philistines, for I have witnessed their misery and accepted their cry for help." ¹⁷When Samuel caught sight of Saul, the LORD assured him, "This is the man of whom I told you; he is to govern my people." ¹⁸Saul met Samuel in the gateway and said, "Please tell me where the seer lives." ¹⁹Samuel answered Saul: "I am the seer. Go up ahead of me to the high place and eat with me today. In the morning, before dismissing you, I will tell you whatever you wish.

l save my people from the clutches of the Philistines, for I have witnessed their misery and accepted their cry for help." ¹⁷When Samuel caught sight of Saul, the LORD assured him, "This is the man of whom I told you; he is to govern my people." ¹⁸Saul met Samuel in the gateway and said, "Please tell me where the seer lives." ¹⁹Samuel answered Saul: "I am the seer. Go up ahead of me to the high place and eat with me today. In the morning, before dismissing you, I will tell you whatever you wish. ²⁰As for the asses you lost three days ago, do not worry about them, for they have been found. Whom does Israel desire ardently if not you and your father's family?" ²¹Saul replied: "Am I not a Benjaminite, of one of the smallest tribes of Israel, and is not my clan the least among the clans of the tribe of Benjamin? Why say such things to me?" ²²Samuel then took Saul and his servant and brought them to the room, where he placed them at the head of the guests, of whom there were about thirty. ²³He said to the cook, "Bring the portion

240 I gave you and told you to put aside." ²⁴So the cook took up the leg and what went with it, and placed it before Saul. Samuel said: "This is a reserved portion that has been set before you. Eat, for it was kept for you until your arrival; I explained that I was inviting some guests." Thus Saul dined with Samuel that day. ²⁵When they came down from the high place into the city, a mattress was spread for Saul on the roof, ²⁶and he slept there. At daybreak Samuel called to Saul on the roof, "Get up, and I will start you on your journey." Saul rose, and he and Samuel went outside the city together. ²⁷As they were approaching the edge of the town, Samuel said to Saul, "Tell the servant to go on ahead of us, but stay here yourself for the moment, that I may give you a message from God." 1 Samuel Chapter 10 ¹Then, from a flask he had with him, Samuel poured oil on Saul's head; he also kissed him, saying: "The LORD anoints you commander over his heritage. You are to govern the LORD'S people Israel and to save them from the grasp of their enemies round about. This will be the sign for you that the LORD has anointed you commander over his heritage: ²When you leave me today, you will meet two men near Rachel's tomb at Zelzah in the territory of Benjamin, who will say to you, 'The asses you went to look for have been found. Your father is no longer worried about the asses but is anxious about you and says, *What shall I do about my son?*' ³Farther on, when you arrive at the terebinth of Tabor, you will be met by three men going up to God at Bethel; one will be bringing three kids, another three loaves of bread, and the third a skin of wine. ⁴They will greet you and offer you two wave offerings of bread, which you will take from them. ⁵After that, you will come to Gibeath-elohim, where there is a garrison of the Philistines. As you enter that city, you will meet a band of prophets, in a prophetic state, coming down from the high place preceded by lyres, tambourines, flutes, and harps. ⁶The spirit of the LORD will rush upon you, and you will join them in their prophetic state and will be changed into another man. ⁷When you see these signs fulfilled, do whatever you judge feasible because God is with you. ⁸Now go down ahead of me to Gilgal, for I shall come down to you to offer holocausts and to sacrifice peace offerings. Wait seven days until I come to you; I shall then tell you what you must do." ⁹As Saul turned to leave Samuel, God gave him another heart. That very day all these signs came to pass. ¹⁰When they were going from there to Gibeah, a band of prophets met him, and the spirit of God rushed upon him, so that he joined them in their prophetic state. ¹¹When all who had known him previously saw him in a prophetic state among the prophets, they said to one another, "What has happened to the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?" ¹²And someone from that district added, "And who is their father?" Thus the proverb arose, "Is Saul also among the prophets?" ¹³When he came out of the prophetic state, he went home. ¹⁴Saul's uncle inquired of him and his servant, "Where have you been?" Saul replied, "To look for the asses. When we could not find them, we went to Samuel." ¹⁵Then Saul's uncle said, "Tell me, then, what Samuel said to you." ¹⁶Saul said to his uncle, "He assured us that the asses had been found." But he mentioned nothing to him of what Samuel had said about the kingship.

father?" Thus the proverb arose, "Is Saul also among the prophets?" ¹³When he came out of the prophetic state, he went home. ¹⁴Saul's uncle inquired of him and his servant, "Where have you been?" Saul replied, "To look for the asses. When we could not find them, we went to Samuel." ¹⁵Then Saul's uncle said, "Tell me, then, what Samuel said to you." ¹⁶Saul said to his uncle, "He assured us that the asses had been found." But he mentioned nothing to him of what Samuel had said about the kingship. ¹⁷Samuel called the people together to the LORD at Mizpah ¹⁸and addressed the Israelites: "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, *It was I who brought Israel up from Egypt and delivered you from the power of the Egyptians and from the power of all the kingdoms that oppressed you.* ¹⁹But today you have rejected your God, who delivers you from all your evils and calamities, by saying to him, *Not so, but you must appoint a king over us.* Now, therefore, take your stand before the LORD according to tribes and families." ²⁰So Samuel had all the tribes of Israel come forward, and the tribe of Benjamin was chosen. ²¹Next, he had the tribe of Benjamin come forward in clans, and the clan of Matri was chosen, and finally Saul, son of Kish, was chosen. But they looked for him in vain. ²²Again they consulted the LORD, "Has he come here?" The LORD answered, "He is hiding among the baggage." ²³They ran to bring him from

241 there; and when he stood among the people, he was head and shoulders above all the crowd. ²⁴Samuel said to all the people, "Do you see the man whom the LORD has chosen? There is none like him among all the people!" Then all the people shouted, "Long live the king!" ²⁵Samuel next explained to the people the law of royalty and wrote it in a book, which he placed in the presence of the LORD. This done, Samuel dismissed the people, each to his own place. ²⁶Saul also went home to Gibeah, accompanied by warriors whose hearts the LORD had touched. ²⁷But certain worthless men said, "How can this fellow save us?" They despised him and brought him no present. 1 Samuel Chapter 11 ¹About a month later, Nahash the Ammonite went up and laid siege to Jabesh-gilead. All the men of Jabesh begged Nahash, "Make a treaty with us, and we will be your subjects." ²But Nahash the Ammonite replied, "This is my condition for a treaty with you: I must gouge out every man's right eye, that I may thus bring ignominy on all Israel." ³The elders of Jabesh said to him: "Give us seven days to send messengers throughout the territory of Israel. If no one rescues us, we will surrender to you." ⁴When the messengers arrived at Gibeah of Saul, they related the news to the people, all of whom wept aloud. ⁵Just then Saul came in from the field, behind his oxen. "Why are the people weeping?" he asked. The message of the inhabitants of Jabesh was repeated to him. ⁶As he listened to this report, the spirit of God rushed upon him, and he became very angry. ⁷Taking a yoke of oxen, he cut them into pieces, which he sent throughout the territory of Israel by couriers with the message, "If anyone does not come out to follow Saul (and Samuel), the same as this will be done to his oxen!" In dread of the LORD, the people turned out to a man. ⁸When he reviewed them in Bezek, there were three hundred thousand Israelites and seventy thousand Judahites. ⁹To the messengers who had come, he said, "Tell the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead that tomorrow, while the sun is hot, they will be rescued." The messengers came and reported this to the inhabitants of Jabesh, who were jubilant, ¹⁰and said to Nahash, "Tomorrow we will surrender to you, and you may do whatever you please with us." ¹¹On the appointed day, Saul arranged his troops in three companies and invaded the camp during the dawn watch. They slaughtered Ammonites until the heat of the day; by then the survivors were so scattered that no two were left together. ¹²The people then said to Samuel, "Who questioned whether Saul should rule over us? Hand over the men, and we will put them to death." ¹³But Saul broke in to say, "No man is to be put to death this day, for today the LORD has saved Israel." ¹⁴Samuel said to the people, "Come, let us go to Gilgal to inaugurate the kingdom there." ¹⁵So all the people went to Gilgal, where, in the presence of the LORD, they made Saul king. They also sacrificed peace offerings there before the LORD, and Saul and all the Israelites celebrated the occasion with great joy. 1 Samuel Chapter 12 ¹Samuel addressed all Israel: "I have granted your request in every respect," he said. "I have set a king over you. ²And now the king is your leader. As for me, I am old and gray, and have sons among you. I have lived with you from my youth to the present day. ³Here I stand! Answer me in the presence of the LORD and of his anointed. Whose ox have I taken? Whose ass have I taken? Whom have I cheated? Whom have I oppressed? From whom have I accepted a bribe and overlooked his guilt? I will make restitution to you." ⁴They replied, "You have neither cheated us, nor oppressed us, nor accepted anything from anyone." ⁵So he said to them, "The LORD is witness against you this day, and his anointed as well, that you have found nothing in my possession." "He is witness," they agreed.

e in the presence of the LORD and of his anointed. Whose ox have I taken? Whose ass have I taken? Whom have I cheated? Whom have I oppressed? From whom have I accepted a bribe and overlooked his guilt? I will make restitution to you." ⁴They replied, "You have neither cheated us, nor oppressed us, nor accepted anything from anyone." ⁵So he said to them, "The LORD is witness against you this day, and his anointed as well, that you have found nothing in my possession." "He is witness," they agreed. ⁶Continuing, Samuel said to the people: "The LORD is witness, who appointed Moses and Aaron, and who brought your fathers up from the land of Egypt. ⁷Now, therefore, take your stand, and I shall arraign you before the LORD, and shall recount for you all

242 the acts of mercy the LORD has done for you and your fathers. ⁸When Jacob and his sons went to Egypt and the Egyptians oppressed them, your fathers appealed to the LORD, who sent Moses and Aaron to bring them out of Egypt, and he gave them this place to live in. ⁹But they forgot the LORD their God; and he allowed them to fall into the clutches of Sisera, the captain of the army of Jabin, king of Hazor, into the grasp of the Philistines, and into the grip of the king of Moab, who made war against them. ¹⁰Each time they appealed to the LORD and said, 'We have sinned in forsaking the LORD and worshiping Baals and Ashtaroth; but deliver us now from the power of our enemies, and we will worship you.' ¹¹Accordingly, the LORD sent Jerubbaal, Barak, Jephthah, and Samuel; he delivered you from the power of your enemies on every side, so that you were able to live in security. ¹²Yet, when you saw Nahash, king of the Ammonites, advancing against you, you said to me, 'Not so, but a king must rule us,' even though the LORD your God is your king. ¹³Now you have the king you want, a king the LORD has given you. ¹⁴If you fear the LORD and worship him, if you are obedient to him and do not rebel against the LORD'S command, if both you and the king who rules you follow the LORD your God—well and good. ¹⁵But if you do not obey the LORD and if you rebel against his command, the LORD will deal severely with you and your king, and destroy you. ¹⁶Now then, stand ready to witness the great marvel the LORD is about to accomplish before your eyes. ¹⁷Are we not in the harvest time for wheat? Yet I shall call to the LORD, and he will send thunder and rain. Thus you will see and understand how greatly the LORD is displeased that you have asked for a king." ¹⁸Samuel then called to the LORD, and the LORD sent thunder and rain that day. As a result, all the people dreaded the LORD and Samuel. ¹⁹They said to Samuel, "Pray to the LORD your God for us, your servants, that we may not die for having added to all our other sins the evil of asking for a king." ²⁰"Do not fear," Samuel answered them. "It is true you have committed all this evil; still, you must not turn from the LORD, but must worship him with your whole heart. ²¹Do not turn to meaningless idols which can neither profit nor save; they are nothing. ²²For the sake of his own great name the LORD will not abandon his people, since the LORD himself chose to make you his people. ²³As for me, far be it from me to sin against the LORD by ceasing to pray for you and to teach you the good and right way. ²⁴But you must fear the LORD and worship him faithfully with your whole heart; keep in mind the great things he has done among you. ²⁵If instead you continue to do evil, both you and your king shall perish." 1 Samuel Chapter 13 ¹ Saul was. . . years old when he became king and he reigned. . . (two) years over Israel. ² Saul chose three thousand men of Israel, of whom two thousand remained with him in Michmash and in the hill country of Bethel, and one thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin. He sent the rest of the people back to their tents. ³ Now Jonathan overcame the Philistine garrison which was in Gibeah, and the Philistines got word of it. Then Saul sounded the horn throughout the land, with a proclamation, "Let the Hebrews hear!" ⁴ Thus all Israel learned that Saul had overcome the garrison of the Philistines and that Israel had brought disgrace upon the Philistines; and the soldiers were called up to Saul in Gilgal. ⁵ The Philistines also assembled for battle, with three thousand chariots, six thousand horsemen, and foot soldiers as numerous as the sands of the seashore. Moving up against Israel, they encamped in Michmash, east of Beth-aven. ⁶ Some Israelites, aware of the danger and of the difficult situation, hid themselves in caves, in thickets, among rocks, in caverns, and in cisterns, ⁷ and other Hebrews passed over the Jordan into the land of Gad and Gilead.

soldiers were called up to Saul in Gilgal. ⁵ The Philistines also assembled for battle, with three thousand chariots, six thousand horsemen, and foot soldiers as numerous as the sands of the seashore. Moving up against Israel, they encamped in Michmash, east of Beth-aven. ⁶ Some Israelites, aware of the danger and of the difficult situation, hid themselves in caves, in thickets, among rocks, in caverns, and in cisterns, ⁷ and other Hebrews passed over the Jordan into the land of Gad and Gilead. Saul, however, held out at Gilgal, although all his followers were seized with fear. ⁸ He waited seven days—the time Samuel had determined. When Samuel did not arrive at Gilgal, the men began to slip away from Saul. ⁹ He then said, "Bring me the holocaust and peace offerings," and he offered up the holocaust. ¹⁰ He had just finished this offering when Samuel arrived. Saul went out to greet him, ¹¹ and Samuel asked him, "What have you done?" Saul replied:

243 "When I saw that the men were slipping away from me, since you had not come by the specified time, and with the Philistines assembled at Michmash, ¹² I said to myself, 'Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not yet sought the LORD'S blessing.' So in my anxiety I offered up the holocaust." ¹³ Samuel's response was: "You have been foolish! Had you kept the command the LORD your God gave you, the LORD would now establish your kingship in Israel as lasting; ¹⁴ but as things are, your kingdom shall not endure. The LORD has sought out a man after his own heart and has appointed him commander of his people, because you broke the LORD'S command." ¹⁵ Then Samuel set out from Gilgal and went his own way; but the rest of the people went up after Saul to meet the soldiers, going from Gilgal to Gibeah of Benjamin. Saul then numbered the soldiers he had with him, who were about six hundred. ¹⁶ Saul, his son Jonathan, and the soldiers they had with them were now occupying Geba of Benjamin, and the Philistines were encamped at Michmash. ¹⁷ Meanwhile, raiders left the camp of the Philistines in three bands. One band took the Ophrah road toward the district of Shual; ¹⁸ another turned in the direction of Beth-horon; and the third took the road for Geba that overlooks the Valley of the Hyenas toward the desert. ¹⁹ Not a single smith was to be found in the whole land of Israel, for the Philistines had said, "Otherwise the Hebrews will make swords or spears." ²⁰ All Israel, therefore, had to go down to the Philistines to sharpen their plowshares, mattocks, axes, and sickles. ²¹ The price for the plowshares and mattocks was two-thirds of a shekel, and a third of a shekel for sharpening the axes and for setting the ox-goads. ²² And so on the day of battle neither sword nor spear could be found in the possession of any of the soldiers with Saul or Jonathan. Only Saul and his son Jonathan had them. ²³ An outpost of the Philistines had pushed forward to the pass of Michmash. 1 Samuel Chapter 14 ¹ One day Jonathan, son of Saul, said to his armor-bearer, "Come let us go over to the Philistine outpost on the other side." But he did not inform his father. ² (Saul's command post was under the pomegranate tree near the threshing floor on the outskirts of Geba; those with him numbered about six hundred men. ³ Ahijah, son of Ahitub, brother of Ichabod, who was the son of Phinehas, son of Eli, the priest of the LORD at Shiloh, was wearing the ephod.) Nor did the soldiers know that Jonathan had gone. ⁴ Flanking the ravine through which Jonathan intended to get over to the Philistine outpost there was a rocky crag on each side, one called Bozez, the other Seneh. ⁵ One crag was to the north, toward Michmash, the other to the south, toward Geba. ⁶ Jonathan said to his armor-bearer: "Come let us go over to that outpost of the uncircumcised. Perhaps the LORD will help us, because it is no more difficult for the LORD to grant victory through a few than through many." ⁷ His armor-bearer replied, "Do whatever you are inclined to do; I will match your resolve." ⁸ Jonathan continued: "We shall go over to those men and show ourselves to them. ⁹ If they say to us, 'Stay there until we can come to you,' we shall stop where we are; we shall not go up to them. ¹⁰ But if they say, 'Come up to us,' we shall go up, because the LORD has delivered them into our grasp. That will be our sign." ¹¹ Accordingly, the two of them appeared before the outpost of the Philistines, who said, "Look, some Hebrews are coming out of the holes where they have been hiding." ¹² The men of the outpost called to Jonathan and his armor-bearer.

w ourselves to them. ⁹ If they say to us, 'Stay there until we can come to you,' we shall stop where we are; we shall not go up to them. ¹⁰ But if they say, 'Come up to us,' we shall go up, because the LORD has delivered them into our grasp. That will be our sign." ¹¹ Accordingly, the two of them appeared before the outpost of the Philistines, who said, "Look, some Hebrews are coming out of the holes where they have been hiding." ¹² The men of the outpost called to Jonathan and his armor-bearer. "Come up here," they said, "and we will teach you a lesson." So Jonathan said to his armor-bearer, "Climb up after me, for the LORD has delivered them into the grasp of Israel." ¹³ Jonathan clambered up with his armor-bearer behind him; as the Philistines turned to flee him, he cut them down, and his armor-bearer followed him and finished them off. ¹⁴ In this first exploit Jonathan and his armor-bearer slew about twenty men within half a furlong. ¹⁵ Then panic spread to the army and to the countryside, and all the soldiers, including the outpost and the raiding parties, were terror- stricken. The earth also shook, so that the panic was beyond human endurance. ¹⁶ The lookouts of Saul in Geba of Benjamin saw that the enemy camp had scattered and were running about in all

244 directions. ¹⁷ Saul said to those around him, "Count the troops and find out if any of us are missing." When they had investigated, they found Jonathan and his armor-bearer missing. ¹⁸ Saul then said to Ahijah, "Bring the ephod here." (Ahijah was wearing the ephod in front of the Israelites at that time.) ¹⁹ While Saul was speaking to the priest, the tumult in the Philistine camp kept increasing. So he said to the priest, "Withdraw your hand." ²⁰ And Saul and all his men shouted and rushed into the fight, where the Philistines, wholly confused, were thrusting swords at one another. ²¹ In addition, the Hebrews who had previously sided with the Philistines and had gone up with them to the camp, turned to join the Israelites under Saul and Jonathan. ²² Likewise, all the Israelites who were hiding in the hill country of Ephraim, on hearing that the Philistines were fleeing, pursued them in the rout. ²³ Thus the LORD saved Israel that day. The battle continued past Beth-horon; ²⁴ the whole people, about ten thousand combatants, were with Saul, and there was scattered fighting in every town in the hill country of Ephraim. And Saul swore a very rash oath that day, putting the people under this ban: "Cursed be the man who takes food before evening, before I am able to avenge myself on my enemies." So none of the people tasted food. ²⁵ Indeed, there was a honeycomb lying on the ground, ²⁶ and when the soldiers came to the comb the swarm had left it; yet no one would raise a hand to his mouth from it, because the people feared the oath. ²⁷ Jonathan, who had not heard that his father had put the people under oath, thrust out the end of the staff he was holding and dipped it into the honey. Then he raised it to his mouth and his eyes lit up. ²⁸ At this one of the soldiers spoke up: "Your father put the people under a strict oath, saying, 'Cursed be the man who takes food this day!' As a result the people are weak." ²⁹ Jonathan replied: "My father brings trouble to the land. Look how bright my eyes are from this small taste of honey I have had. ³⁰ What is more, if the people had eaten freely today of their enemy's booty when they came across it, would not the slaughter of the Philistines by now have been the greater for it?" ³¹ After the Philistines were routed that day from Michmash to Aijalon, the people were completely exhausted. ³² So they pounced upon the spoil and took sheep, oxen and calves, slaughtering them on the ground and eating the flesh with blood. ³³ Informed that the people were sinning against the LORD by eating the flesh with blood, Saul said: "You have broken faith. Roll a large stone here for me." ³⁴ He continued: "Mingle with the people and tell each of them to bring his ox or his sheep to me. Slaughter it here and then eat, but you must not sin against the LORD by eating the flesh with blood." So everyone brought to the LORD whatever ox he had seized, and they slaughtered them there; ³⁵ and Saul built an altar to the LORD—this was the first time he built an altar to the LORD. ³⁶ Then Saul said, "Let us go down in pursuit of the Philistines by night, to plunder among them until daybreak and to kill them all off." They replied, "Do what you think best." But the priest said, "Let us consult God." ³⁷ So Saul inquired of God: "Shall I go down in pursuit of the Philistines? Will you deliver them into the power of Israel?" But he received no answer on this occasion. ³⁸ Saul then said, "Come here, all officers of the army. We must investigate and find out how this sin was committed today. ³⁹ As the LORD lives who has given victory to Israel, even if my son Jonathan has committed it, he shall surely die!" But none of the people answered him. ⁴⁰ So he said to all Israel, "Stand on one side, and I and my son Jonathan will stand on the other." The people responded, "Do what you think best." ⁴¹ And Saul said to the LORD, the God of Israel: "Why did you not answer your servant this time?

here, all officers of the army. We must investigate and find out how this sin was committed today. ³⁹ As the LORD lives who has given victory to Israel, even if my son Jonathan has committed it, he shall surely die!" But none of the people answered him. ⁴⁰ So he said to all Israel, "Stand on one side, and I and my son Jonathan will stand on the other." The people responded, "Do what you think best." ⁴¹ And Saul said to the LORD, the God of Israel: "Why did you not answer your servant this time? If the blame for this resides in me or my son Jonathan, LORD, God of Israel, respond with Urim; but if this guilt is in your people Israel, respond with Thummim." Jonathan and Saul were designated, and the people went free. ⁴² Saul then said, "Cast lots between me and my son Jonathan." And Jonathan was designated. ⁴³ Saul said to Jonathan, "Tell me what you have done." Jonathan replied, "I only tasted a little honey from the end of the staff I was holding. Am I to die for this?" ⁴⁴ Saul said, "May God do thus and so to me if you do not indeed die, Jonathan!" ⁴⁵ But the army said to Saul: "Is Jonathan to die, though it was he who brought Israel this great victory? This must not be! As

245 the LORD lives, not a single hair of his head shall fall to the ground, for God was with him in what he did today!" Thus the soldiers were able to rescue Jonathan from death. ⁴⁶ After that Saul gave up the pursuit of the Philistines, who returned to their own territory. ⁴⁷ After taking over the kingship of Israel, Saul waged war on all their surrounding enemies—Moab, the Ammonites, Aram, Beth-rehob, the king of Zobah, and the Philistines. Wherever he turned, he was successful ⁴⁸ and fought bravely. He defeated Amalek and delivered Israel from the hands of those who were plundering them. ⁴⁹ The sons of Saul were Jonathan, Ishvi, and Malchishua; his two daughters were named, the elder, Merob, and the younger, Michal. ⁵⁰ Saul's wife, who was named Ahinoam, was the daughter of Ahimaaz. The name of his general was Abner, son of Saul's uncle, Ner; ⁵¹ Kish, Saul's father, and Ner, Abner's father, were sons of Abiel. ⁵² An unremitting war was waged against the Philistines during Saul's lifetime. When Saul saw any strong or brave man, he took him into his service. 1 Samuel Chapter 15 ¹ Samuel said to Saul: "It was I the LORD sent to anoint you king over his people Israel. Now, therefore, listen to the message of the LORD. ² This is what the LORD of hosts has to say: 'I will punish what Amalek did to Israel when he barred his way as he was coming up from Egypt. ³ Go, now, attack Amalek, and deal with him and all that he has under the ban. Do not spare him, but kill men and women, children and infants, oxen and sheep, camels and asses.'" ⁴ Saul alerted the soldiers, and at Telaim reviewed two hundred thousand foot soldiers and ten thousand men of Judah. ⁵ Saul went to the city of Amalek, and after setting an ambush in the wadi, ⁶ warned the Kenites: "Come! Leave Amalek and withdraw, that I may not have to destroy you with them, for you were kind to the Israelites when they came up from Egypt." After the Kenites left, ⁷ Saul routed Amalek from Havilah to the approaches of Shur, on the frontier of Egypt. ⁸ He took Agag, king of Amalek, alive, but on the rest of the people he put into effect the ban of destruction by the sword. ⁹ He and his troops spared Agag and the best of the fat sheep and oxen, and the lambs. They refused to carry out the doom on anything that was worthwhile, dooming only what was worthless and of no account. ¹⁰ Then the LORD spoke to Samuel: ¹¹ "I regret having made Saul king, for he has turned from me and has not kept my command." At this Samuel grew angry and cried out to the LORD all night. ¹² Early in the morning he went to meet Saul, but was informed that Saul had gone to Carmel, where he erected a trophy in his own honor, and that on his return he had passed on and gone down to Gilgal. ¹³ When Samuel came to him, Saul greeted him: "The LORD bless you! I have kept the command of the LORD." ¹⁴ But Samuel asked, "What, then, is the meaning of this bleating of sheep that comes to my ears, and the lowing of oxen that I hear?" ¹⁵ Saul replied: "They were brought from Amalek. The men spared the best sheep and oxen to sacrifice to the LORD, your God; but we have carried out the ban on the rest." ¹⁶ Samuel said to Saul: "Stop! Let me tell you what the LORD said to me last night." "Speak!" he replied. ¹⁷ Samuel then said: "Though little in your own esteem, are you not leader of the tribes of Israel? The LORD anointed you king of Israel ¹⁸ and sent you on a mission, saying, 'Go and put the sinful Amalekites under a ban of destruction. Fight against them until you have exterminated them.' ¹⁹ Why then have you disobeyed the LORD? You have pounced on the spoil, thus displeasing the LORD." ²⁰ Saul answered Samuel: "I did indeed obey the LORD and fulfill the mission on which the LORD sent me. I have brought back Agag, and I have destroyed Amalek under the ban.

not leader of the tribes of Israel? The LORD anointed you king of Israel ¹⁸ and sent you on a mission, saying, 'Go and put the sinful Amalekites under a ban of destruction. Fight against them until you have exterminated them.' ¹⁹ Why then have you disobeyed the LORD? You have pounced on the spoil, thus displeasing the LORD." ²⁰ Saul answered Samuel: "I did indeed obey the LORD and fulfill the mission on which the LORD sent me. I have brought back Agag, and I have destroyed Amalek under the ban. ²¹ But from the spoil the men took sheep and oxen, the best of what had been banned, to sacrifice to the LORD their God in Gilgal." ²² But Samuel said: "Does the LORD so delight in holocausts and sacrifices as in obedience to the command of the LORD? Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission than the fat of rams. ²³ For a sin like divination is rebellion, and presumption is the crime of idolatry. Because you have rejected the command of the LORD, he, too, has rejected you as ruler." ²⁴ Saul

246 replied to Samuel: "I have sinned, for I have disobeyed the command of the LORD and your instructions. In my fear of the people, I did what they said. ²⁵ Now forgive my sin, and return with me, that I may worship the LORD." ²⁶ But Samuel said to Saul, "I will not return with you, because you rejected the command of the LORD and the LORD rejects you as king of Israel." ²⁷ As Samuel turned to go, Saul seized a loose end of his mantle, and it tore off. ²⁸ So Samuel said to him: "The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day, and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you. ²⁹ The Glory of Israel neither retracts nor repents, for he is not man that he should repent." ³⁰ But he answered: "I have sinned, yet honor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel. Return with me that I may worship the LORD your God." ³¹ And so Samuel returned with him, and Saul worshiped the LORD. ³² Afterward Samuel commanded, "Bring Agag, king of Amalek, to me." Agag came to him struggling and saying, "So it is bitter death!" ³³ And Samuel said, "As your sword has made women childless, so shall your mother be childless among women." Then he cut Agag down before the LORD in Gilgal. ³⁴ Samuel departed for Ramah, while Saul went up to his home in Gibeah of Saul. ³⁵ Never again, as long as he lived, did Samuel see Saul. Yet he grieved over Saul, because the LORD regretted having made him king of Israel. 1 Samuel Chapter 16 ¹ The LORD said to Samuel: "How long will you grieve for Saul, whom I have rejected as king of Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and be on your way. I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem, for I have chosen my king from among his sons." ² But Samuel replied: "How can I go? Saul will hear of it and kill me." To this the LORD answered: "Take a heifer along and say, 'I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.' ³ Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I myself will tell you what to do; you are to anoint for me the one I point out to you." ⁴ Samuel did as the LORD had commanded him. When he entered Bethlehem, the elders of the city came trembling to meet him and inquired, "Is your visit peaceful, O seer?" ⁵ He replied: "Yes! I have come to sacrifice to the LORD. So cleanse yourselves and join me today for the banquet." He also had Jesse and his sons cleanse themselves and invited them to the sacrifice. ⁶ As they came, he looked at Eliab and thought, "Surely the LORD'S anointed is here before him." ⁷ But the LORD said to Samuel: "Do not judge from his appearance or from his lofty stature, because I have rejected him. Not as man sees does God see, because man sees the appearance but the LORD looks into the heart." ⁸ Then Jesse called Abinadab and presented him before Samuel, who said, "The Lord has not chosen him." ⁹ Next Jesse presented Shammah, but Samuel said, "The LORD has not chosen this one either." ¹⁰ In the same way Jesse presented seven sons before Samuel, but Samuel said to Jesse, "The LORD has not chosen any one of these." ¹¹ Then Samuel asked Jesse, "Are these all the sons you have?" Jesse replied, "There is still the youngest, who is tending the sheep." Samuel said to Jesse, "Send for him; we will not begin the sacrificial banquet until he arrives here." ¹² Jesse sent and had the young man brought to them. He was ruddy, a youth handsome to behold and making a splendid appearance. The LORD said, "There—anoint him, for this is he!" ¹³ Then Samuel, with the horn of oil in hand, anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and from that day on, the spirit of the LORD rushed upon David. When Samuel took his leave, he went to Ramah. ¹⁴ The spirit of the LORD had departed from Saul, and he was tormented by an evil spirit sent by the LORD. ¹⁵ So the servants of Saul said to him: "Please! An evil spirit from God is tormenting you. ¹⁶ If your lordship will order it, we, your servants here in attendance on you, will look for a man skilled in playing the harp.

orn of oil in hand, anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and from that day on, the spirit of the LORD rushed upon David. When Samuel took his leave, he went to Ramah. ¹⁴ The spirit of the LORD had departed from Saul, and he was tormented by an evil spirit sent by the LORD. ¹⁵ So the servants of Saul said to him: "Please! An evil spirit from God is tormenting you. ¹⁶ If your lordship will order it, we, your servants here in attendance on you, will look for a man skilled in playing the harp. When the evil spirit from God comes over you, he will play and you will feel better." ¹⁷ Saul then told his servants, "Find me a skillful harpist and bring him to me." ¹⁸ A servant spoke up to say: "I have observed that one of the sons of Jesse of Bethlehem is a skillful harpist. He is also a stalwart soldier, besides being an able speaker, and handsome. Moreover, the

247 LORD is with him." ¹⁹ Accordingly, Saul dispatched messengers to ask Jesse to send him his son David, who was with the flock. ²⁰ Then Jesse took five loaves of bread, a skin of wine, and a kid, and sent them to Saul by his son David. ²¹ Thus David came to Saul and entered his service. Saul became very fond of him, made him his armor-bearer, ²² and sent Jesse the message, "Allow David to remain in my service, for he meets with my approval." ²³ Whenever the spirit from God seized Saul, David would take the harp and play, and Saul would be relieved and feel better, for the evil spirit would leave him. 1 Samuel Chapter 17 ¹ The Philistines rallied their forces for battle at Socoh in Judah and camped between Socoh and Azekah at Ephes-dammim. ² Saul and the Israelites also gathered and camped in the Vale of the Terebinth, drawing up their battle line to meet the Philistines. ³ The Philistines were stationed on one hill and the Israelites on an opposite hill, with a valley between them. ⁴ A champion named Goliath of Gath came out from the Philistine camp; he was six and a half feet tall. ⁵ He had a bronze helmet on his head and wore a bronze corselet of scale armor weighing five thousand shekels, ⁶ and bronze greaves, and had a bronze scimitar slung from a baldric. ⁷ The shaft of his javelin was like a weaver's heddle-bar, and its iron head weighed six hundred shekels. His shield-bearer went before him. ⁸ He stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel: "Why come out in battle formation? I am a Philistine, and you are Saul's servants. Choose one of your men, and have him come down to me. ⁹ If he beats me in combat and kills me, we will be your vassals; but if I beat him and kill him, you shall be our vassals and serve us." ¹⁰ The Philistine continued: "I defy the ranks of Israel today. Give me a man and let us fight together." ¹¹ Saul and all the men of Israel, when they heard this challenge of the Philistine, were dismayed and terror-stricken. ¹² David was the son of an Ephrathite named Jesse, who was from Bethlehem in Judah. He had eight sons, and in the days of Saul was old and well on in years. ¹³ The three oldest sons of Jesse had followed Saul to war; these three sons who had gone off to war were named, the first-born Eliab, the second son Abinadab, and the third Shammah. ¹⁴ David was the youngest. While the three oldest had joined Saul, ¹⁵ David would go and come from Saul to tend his father's sheep at Bethlehem. ¹⁶ Meanwhile the Philistine came forward and took his stand morning and evening for forty days. ¹⁷ Now Jesse said to his son David: "Take this ephah of roasted grain and these ten loaves for your brothers, and bring them quickly to your brothers in the camp. ¹⁸ Also take these ten cheeses for the field officer. Greet your brothers and bring home some token from them. ¹⁹ Saul, and they, and all Israel are fighting against the Philistines in the Vale of the Terebinth." ²⁰ Early the next morning, having left the flock with a shepherd, David set out on his errand, as Jesse had commanded him. He reached the barricade of the camp just as the army, on their way to the battleground, were shouting their battle cry. ²¹ The Israelites and the Philistines drew up opposite each other in battle array. ²² David entrusted what he had brought to the keeper of the baggage and hastened to the battle line, where he greeted his brothers. ²³ While he was talking with them, the Philistine champion, by name Goliath of Gath, came up from the ranks of the Philistines and spoke as before, and David listened. ²⁴ When the Israelites saw the man, they all retreated before him, very much afraid. ²⁵ The Israelites had been saying: "Do you see this man coming up? He comes up to insult Israel.

r in battle array. ²² David entrusted what he had brought to the keeper of the baggage and hastened to the battle line, where he greeted his brothers. ²³ While he was talking with them, the Philistine champion, by name Goliath of Gath, came up from the ranks of the Philistines and spoke as before, and David listened. ²⁴ When the Israelites saw the man, they all retreated before him, very much afraid. ²⁵ The Israelites had been saying: "Do you see this man coming up? He comes up to insult Israel. If anyone should kill him, the king would give him great wealth, and his daughter as well, and would grant exemption to his father's family in Israel." ²⁶ David now said to the men standing by: "What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and frees Israel of the disgrace? Who is this uncircumcised Philistine in any case, that he should insult the armies of the living God?" ²⁷ They repeated the same words to him and said, "That is how the man who kills him will be rewarded." ²⁸ When Eliab, his oldest brother, heard him speaking with the men, he grew angry with David and said: "Why did you come down? With whom have you left those sheep in the desert

248 meanwhile? I know your arrogance and your evil intent. You came down to enjoy the battle!" ²⁹ David replied, "What have I done now? - I was only talking." ³⁰ Yet he turned from him to another and asked the same question; and everyone gave him the same answer as before. ³¹ The words that David had spoken were overheard and reported to Saul, who sent for him. ³² Then David spoke to Saul: "Let your majesty not lose courage. I am at your service to go and fight this Philistine." ³³ But Saul answered David, "You cannot go up against this Philistine and fight with him, for you are only a youth, while he has been a warrior from his youth." ³⁴ Then David told Saul: "Your servant used to tend his father's sheep, and whenever a lion or bear came to carry off a sheep from the flock, ³⁵ I would go after it and attack it and rescue the prey from its mouth. If it attacked me, I would seize it by the jaw, strike it, and kill it. ³⁶ Your servant has killed both a lion and a bear, and this uncircumcised Philistine will be as one of them, because he has insulted the armies of the living God." ³⁷ David continued: "The LORD, who delivered me from the claws of the lion and the bear, will also keep me safe from the clutches of this Philistine." Saul answered David, "Go! the LORD will be with you." ³⁸ Then Saul clothed David in his own tunic, putting a bronze helmet on his head and arming him with a coat of mail. ³⁹ David also girded himself with Saul's sword over the tunic. He walked with difficulty, however, since he had never tried armor before. He said to Saul, "I cannot go in these, because I have never tried them before." So he took them off. ⁴⁰ Then, staff in hand, David selected five smooth stones from the wadi and put them in the pocket of his shepherd's bag. With his sling also ready to hand, he approached the Philistine. ⁴¹ With his shield-bearer marching before him, the Philistine also advanced closer and closer to David. ⁴² When he had sized David up, and seen that he was youthful, and ruddy, and handsome in appearance, he held him in contempt. ⁴³ The Philistine said to David, "Am I a dog that you come against me with a staff?" Then the Philistine cursed David by his gods ⁴⁴ and said to him, "Come here to me, and I will leave your flesh for the birds of the air and the beasts of the field." ⁴⁵ David answered him: "You come against me with sword and spear and scimitar, but I come against you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel that you have insulted. ⁴⁶ Today the LORD shall deliver you into my hand; I will strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will leave your corpse and the corpses of the Philistine army for the birds of the air and the beasts of the field; thus the whole land shall learn that Israel has a God. ⁴⁷ All this multitude, too, shall learn that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves. For the battle is the LORD'S, and he shall deliver you into our hands." ⁴⁸ The Philistine then moved to meet David at close quarters, while David ran quickly toward the battle line in the direction of the Philistine. ⁴⁹ David put his hand into the bag and took out a stone, hurled it with the sling, and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone embedded itself in his brow, and he fell prostrate on the ground. ⁵⁰ Thus David overcame the Philistine with sling and stone; he struck the Philistine mortally, and did it without a sword. ⁵¹ Then David ran and stood over him; with the Philistine's own sword (which he drew from its sheath) he dispatched him and cut off his head. When they saw that their hero was dead, the Philistines took to flight. ⁵² Then the men of Israel and Judah, with loud shouts, went in pursuit of the Philistines to the approaches of Gath and to the gates of Ekron, and Philistines fell wounded along the road from Shaaraim as far as Gath and Ekron. ⁵³ On their return from the pursuit of the Philistines, the Israelites looted their camp.

er him; with the Philistine's own sword (which he drew from its sheath) he dispatched him and cut off his head. When they saw that their hero was dead, the Philistines took to flight. ⁵² Then the men of Israel and Judah, with loud shouts, went in pursuit of the Philistines to the approaches of Gath and to the gates of Ekron, and Philistines fell wounded along the road from Shaaraim as far as Gath and Ekron. ⁵³ On their return from the pursuit of the Philistines, the Israelites looted their camp. ⁵⁴ David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem; but he kept Goliath's armor in his own tent. ⁵⁵ When Saul saw David go out to meet the Philistine, he asked his general Abner, "Abner, whose son is that youth?" Abner replied, "As truly as your majesty is alive, I have no idea." ⁵⁶ And the king said, "Find out whose son the lad is." ⁵⁷ So when David returned from slaying the Philistine, Abner took him and presented him to Saul. David was still holding the Philistine's head. ⁵⁸ Saul then asked him, "Whose son are you, young man?" David replied, "I am the son of your servant Jesse of Bethlehem."

249 1 Samuel Chapter 18 ¹ By the time David finished speaking with Saul, Jonathan had become as fond of David as if his life depended on him; he loved him as he loved himself. ² Saul laid claim to David that day and did not allow him to return to his father's house. ³ And Jonathan entered into a bond with David, because he loved him as himself. ⁴ Jonathan divested himself of the mantle he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his military dress, and his sword, his bow and his belt. ⁵ David then carried out successfully every mission on which Saul sent him. So Saul put him in charge of his soldiers, and this was agreeable to the whole army, even to Saul's own officers. ⁶ At the approach of Saul and David on David's return after slaying the Philistine, women came out from each of the cities of Israel to meet King Saul, singing and dancing, with tambourines, joyful songs, and sistrums. ⁷ The women played and sang: "Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands." ⁸ Saul was very angry and resentful of the song, for he thought: "They give David ten thousands, but only thousands to me. All that remains for him is the kingship." ⁹ And from that day on, Saul was jealous of David. ¹⁰ The next day an evil spirit from God came over Saul, and he raged in his house. David was in attendance, playing the harp as at other times, while Saul was holding his spear. ¹¹ Saul poised the spear, thinking to nail David to the wall, but twice David escaped him. ¹² Saul then began to fear David, because the LORD was with him, but had departed from Saul himself. ¹³ Accordingly, Saul removed him from his presence by appointing him a field officer. So David led the people on their military expeditions, ¹⁴ and prospered in all his enterprises, for the LORD was with him. ¹⁵ Seeing how successful he was, Saul conceived a fear of David. ¹⁶ On the other hand, all Israel and Judah loved him, since he led them on their expeditions. ¹⁷ Saul said to David, "There is my older daughter, Merob, whom I will give you in marriage if you become my champion and fight the battles of the LORD." Saul had in mind, "I shall not touch him; let the Philistines strike him." ¹⁸ But David answered Saul: "Who am I? And who are my kin or my father's clan in Israel that I should become the king's son-in-law?" ¹⁹ However, when it was time for Saul's daughter Merob to be given to David, she was given in marriage to Adriel the Meholathite instead. ²⁰ Now Saul's daughter Michal loved David, and it was reported to Saul, who was pleased at this, ²¹ for he thought, "I will offer her to him to become a snare for him, so that the Philistines may strike him." Thus for the second time Saul said to David, "You shall become my son-in-law today." ²² Saul then ordered his servants to speak to David privately and to say: "The king is fond of you, and all his officers love you. You should become the king's son-in-law." ²³ But when Saul's servants mentioned this to David, he said: "Do you think it easy to become the king's son-in-law? I am poor and insignificant." ²⁴ When his servants reported to him the nature of David's answer, ²⁵ Saul commanded them to say this to David: "The king desires no other price for the bride than the foreskins of one hundred Philistines, that he may thus take vengeance on his enemies." Saul intended in this way to bring about David's death through the Philistines. ²⁶ When the servants reported this offer to David, he was pleased with the prospect of becoming the king's son-in-law. Before the year was up, ²⁷ David made preparations and sallied forth with his men and slew two hundred Philistines. He brought back their foreskins and counted them out before the king, that he might thus become the king's son-in-law. So Saul gave him his daughter Michal in marriage. ²⁸ Saul thus came to recognize that the LORD was with David; besides, his own daughter Michal loved David. ²⁹ Therefore Saul feared David all the more and was his enemy ever after.

of becoming the king's son-in-law. Before the year was up, ²⁷ David made preparations and sallied forth with his men and slew two hundred Philistines. He brought back their foreskins and counted them out before the king, that he might thus become the king's son-in-law. So Saul gave him his daughter Michal in marriage. ²⁸ Saul thus came to recognize that the LORD was with David; besides, his own daughter Michal loved David. ²⁹ Therefore Saul feared David all the more and was his enemy ever after. ³⁰ The Philistine chiefs continued to make forays, but each time they took the field, David was more successful against them than any other of Saul's officers, and as a result acquired great fame. 1 Samuel Chapter 19

250 ¹ Saul discussed his intention of killing David with his son Jonathan and with all his servants. But Saul's son Jonathan, who was very fond of David, ² told him: "My father Saul is trying to kill you. Therefore, please be on your guard tomorrow morning; get out of sight and remain in hiding. ³ I, however, will go out and stand beside my father in the countryside where you are, and will speak to him about you. If I learn anything, I will let you know." ⁴ Jonathan then spoke well of David to his father Saul, saying to him: "Let not your majesty sin against his servant David, for he has committed no offense against you, but has helped you very much by his deeds. ⁵ When he took his life in his hands and slew the Philistine, and the LORD brought about a great victory for all Israel through him, you were glad to see it. Why, then, should you become guilty of shedding innocent blood by killing David without cause?" ⁶ Saul heeded Jonathan's plea and swore, "As the LORD lives, he shall not be killed." ⁷ So Jonathan summoned David and repeated the whole conversation to him. Jonathan then brought David to Saul, and David served him as before. ⁸ When war broke out again, David went out to fight against the Philistines and inflicted a great defeat upon them, putting them to flight. ⁹ Then an evil spirit from the LORD came upon Saul as he was sitting in his house with spear in hand and David was playing the harp nearby. ¹⁰ Saul tried to nail David to the wall with the spear, but David eluded Saul, so that the spear struck only the wall, and David got away safe. ¹¹ The same night, Saul sent messengers to David's house to guard it, that he might kill him in the morning. David's wife Michal informed him, "Unless you save yourself tonight, tomorrow you will be killed." ¹² Then Michal let David down through a window, and he made his escape in safety. ¹³ Michal took the household idol and laid it in the bed, putting a net of goat's hair at its head and covering it with a spread. ¹⁴ When Saul sent messengers to arrest David, she said, "He is sick." ¹⁵ Saul, however, sent the messengers back to see David and commanded them, "Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may kill him." ¹⁶ But when the messengers entered, they found the household idol in the bed, with the net of goat's hair at its head. ¹⁷ Saul therefore asked Michal: "Why did you play this trick on me? You have helped my enemy to get away!" Michal answered Saul: "He threatened me, 'Let me go or I will kill you.'" ¹⁸ Thus David got safely away; he went to Samuel in Ramah, informing him of all that Saul had done to him. Then he and Samuel went to stay in the sheds. ¹⁹ When Saul was told that David was in the sheds near Ramah, ²⁰ he sent messengers to arrest David. But when they saw the band of prophets, presided over by Samuel, in a prophetic frenzy, they too fell into the prophetic state. ²¹ Informed of this, Saul sent other messengers, who also fell into the prophetic state. For the third time Saul sent messengers, but they too fell into the prophetic state. ²² Saul then went to Ramah himself. Arriving at the cistern of the threshing floor on the bare hilltop, he inquired, "Where are Samuel and David?", and was told, "At the sheds near Ramah." ²³ As he set out from the hilltop toward the sheds, the spirit of God came upon him also, and he continued on in a prophetic condition until he reached the spot. At the sheds near Ramah ²⁴ he, too, stripped himself of his garments and he, too, remained in the prophetic state in the presence of Samuel; all that day and night he lay naked. That is why they say, "Is Saul also among the prophets?" 1 Samuel Chapter 20 ¹ David fled from the sheds near Ramah, and went to Jonathan. "What have I done?" he asked him. "What crime or what offense does your father hold against me that he seeks my life?" ² Jonathan answered him: "Heaven forbid that you should die! My father does nothing, great or small, without disclosing it to me.

nts and he, too, remained in the prophetic state in the presence of Samuel; all that day and night he lay naked. That is why they say, "Is Saul also among the prophets?" 1 Samuel Chapter 20 ¹ David fled from the sheds near Ramah, and went to Jonathan. "What have I done?" he asked him. "What crime or what offense does your father hold against me that he seeks my life?" ² Jonathan answered him: "Heaven forbid that you should die! My father does nothing, great or small, without disclosing it to me. Why, then, should my father conceal this from me? This cannot be so!" ³ But David replied: "Your father is well aware that I am favored with your friendship, so he has decided, 'Jonathan must not know of this lest he be grieved.' Nevertheless, as the LORD lives and as you live, there is but a step between me and death." ⁴ Jonathan then said to David, "I will do whatever you wish." ⁵ David answered: "Tomorrow is the new moon, when I should in fact

251 dine with the king. Let me go and hide in the open country until evening. ⁶ If it turns out that your father misses me, say, 'David urged me to let him go on short notice to his city Bethlehem, because his whole clan is holding its seasonal sacrifice there.' ⁷ If he says, 'Very well,' your servant is safe. But if he becomes quite angry, you can be sure he has planned some harm. ⁸ Do this kindness for your servant because of the LORD'S bond between us, into which you brought me: if I am guilty, kill me yourself! Why should you give me up to your father?" ⁹ But Jonathan answered: "Not I! If ever I find out that my father is determined to inflict injury upon you, I will certainly let you know." ¹⁰ David then asked Jonathan, "Who will tell me if your father gives you a harsh answer?" ¹¹ Jonathan replied to David, "Come, let us go out into the field." When they were out in the open country together, ¹² Jonathan said to David: "As the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, I will sound out my father about this time tomorrow. Whether he is well disposed toward David or not, I will send you the information. ¹³ Should it please my father to bring any injury upon you, may the LORD do thus and so to Jonathan if I do not apprise you of it and send you on your way in peace. May the LORD be with you even as he was with my father. ¹⁴ Only this: if I am still alive, may you show me the kindness of the LORD. But if I die, ¹⁵ never withdraw your kindness from my house. And when the LORD exterminates all the enemies of David from the surface of the earth, ¹⁶ the name of Jonathan must never be allowed by the family of David to die out from among you, or the LORD will make you answer for it." ¹⁷ And in his love for David, Jonathan renewed his oath to him, because he loved him as his very self. ¹⁸ Jonathan then said to him: "Tomorrow is the new moon; and you will be missed, since your place will be vacant. ¹⁹ On the following day you will be missed all the more. Go to the spot where you hid on the other occasion and wait near the mound there. ²⁰ On the third day of the month I will shoot arrows, as though aiming at a target. ²¹ I will then send my attendant to go and recover the arrows. If in fact I say to him, 'Look, the arrow is this side of you; pick it up,' come, for you are safe. As the LORD lives, there will be nothing to fear. ²² But if I say to the boy, 'Look, the arrow is beyond you,' go, for the LORD sends you away. ²³ However, in the matter which you and I have discussed, the LORD shall be between you and me forever." ²⁴ So David hid in the open country. On the day of the new moon, when the king sat at table to dine, ²⁵ taking his usual place against the wall, Jonathan sat facing him, while Abner sat at the king's side, and David's place was vacant. ²⁶ Saul, however, said nothing that day, for he thought, "He must have become unclean by accident, and not yet have been cleansed." ²⁷ On the next day, the second day of the month, David's place was vacant. Saul inquired of his son Jonathan, "Why has the son of Jesse not come to table yesterday or today?" ²⁸ Jonathan answered Saul: "David urgently asked me to let him go to his city, Bethlehem. ²⁹ 'Please let me go,' he begged, 'for we are to have a clan sacrifice in our city, and my brothers insist on my presence. Now, therefore, if you think well of me, give me leave to visit my brothers.' That is why he has not come to the king's table." ³⁰ But Saul was extremely angry with Jonathan and said to him: "Son of a rebellious woman, do I not know that, to your own shame and to the disclosure of your mother's shame, you are the companion of Jesse's son? ³¹ Why, as long as the son of Jesse lives upon the earth, you cannot make good your claim to the kingship! So send for him, and bring him to me, for he is doomed." ³² But Jonathan asked his father Saul: "Why should he die?

my brothers.' That is why he has not come to the king's table." ³⁰ But Saul was extremely angry with Jonathan and said to him: "Son of a rebellious woman, do I not know that, to your own shame and to the disclosure of your mother's shame, you are the companion of Jesse's son? ³¹ Why, as long as the son of Jesse lives upon the earth, you cannot make good your claim to the kingship! So send for him, and bring him to me, for he is doomed." ³² But Jonathan asked his father Saul: "Why should he die? What has he done?" ³³ At this Saul brandished his spear to strike him, and thus Jonathan learned that his father was resolved to kill David. ³⁴ Jonathan sprang up from the table in great anger and took no food that second day of the month, for he was grieved on David's account, since his father had railed against him. ³⁵ The next morning Jonathan went out into the field with a little boy for his appointment with David. ³⁶ There he said to the boy, "Run and fetch the arrow." And as the boy ran, he shot an arrow beyond him in the direction of the city. ³⁷ When the boy made for the spot where Jonathan had shot the arrow, Jonathan called after him, "The arrow is farther on!" ³⁸ Again he called to his lad, "Hurry, be quick, don't delay!" Jonathan's boy picked up the arrow and brought it to his

252 master. ³⁹ The boy knew nothing; only Jonathan and David knew what was meant. ⁴⁰ Then Jonathan gave his weapons to this boy of his and said to him, "Go, take them to the city." ⁴¹ When the boy had left, David rose from beside the mound and prostrated himself on the ground three times before Jonathan in homage. They kissed each other and wept aloud together. ⁴² At length Jonathan said to David, "Go in peace, in keeping with what we two have sworn by the name of the LORD: 'The LORD shall be between you and me, and between your posterity and mine forever.'" 1 Samuel Chapter 21 ¹ Then David departed on his way, while Jonathan went back into the city. ² David went to Ahimelech, the priest of Nob, who came trembling to meet him and asked, "Why are you alone? Is there no one with you?" ³ David answered the priest: "The king gave me a commission and told me to let no one know anything about the business on which he sent me or the commission he gave me. For that reason, I have arranged a meeting place with my men. ⁴ Now what have you on hand? Give me five loaves, or whatever you can find." ⁵ But the priest replied to David, "I have no ordinary bread on hand, only holy bread; if the men have abstained from women, you may eat some of that." ⁶ David answered the priest: "We have indeed been segregated from women as on previous occasions. Whenever I go on a journey, all the young men are consecrated—even for a secular journey. All the more so today, when they are consecrated at arms!" ⁷ So the priest gave him holy bread, for no other bread was on hand except the showbread which had been removed from the LORD's presence and replaced by fresh bread when it was taken away. ⁸ One of Saul's servants was there that day, detained before the LORD; his name was Doeg the Edomite, and he was Saul's chief henchman. ⁹ David then asked Ahimelech: "Do you have a spear or a sword on hand? I brought along neither my sword nor my weapons, because the king's business was urgent." ¹⁰ The priest replied: "The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the Vale of the Terebinth, is here (wrapped in a mantle) behind an ephod. If you wish to take that, take it; there is no sword here except that one." David said: "There is none to match it. Give it to me!" ¹¹ That same day David took to flight from Saul, going to Achish, king of Gath. ¹² But the servants of Achish said, "Is this not David, the king of the land? During their dances do they not sing, 'Saul has slain his thousands, but David his ten thousands'?" ¹³ David took note of these remarks and became very much afraid of Achish, king of Gath. ¹⁴ So, as they watched, he feigned insanity and acted like a madman in their hands, drumming on the doors of the gate and drooling onto his beard. ¹⁵ Finally Achish said to his servants: "You see the man is mad. Why did you bring him to me? ¹⁶ Do I not have enough madmen, that you bring in this one to carry on in my presence? Should this fellow come into my house?" 1 Samuel Chapter 22 ¹ David left Gath and escaped to the cave of Adullam. When his brothers and the rest of his family heard about it, they came down to him there. ² He was joined by all those who were in difficulties or in debt, or who were embittered, and he became their leader. About four hundred men were with him. ³ From there David went to Mizpeh of Moab and said to the king of Moab, "Let my father and mother stay with you, until I learn what God will do for me." ⁴ He left them with the king of Moab, and they stayed with him as long as David remained in the refuge. ⁵ But the prophet Gad said to David: "Do not remain in the refuge. Leave, and go to the land of Judah." And so David left and went to the forest of Hereth. ⁶ Now Saul heard that David and his men had been located. At the time he was sitting in Gibeah under a tamarisk tree on the high place, holding his spear, while all his servants were standing by. ⁷ So he said to them: "Listen, men of Benjamin!

e left them with the king of Moab, and they stayed with him as long as David remained in the refuge. ⁵ But the prophet Gad said to David: "Do not remain in the refuge. Leave, and go to the land of Judah." And so David left and went to the forest of Hereth. ⁶ Now Saul heard that David and his men had been located. At the time he was sitting in Gibeah under a tamarisk tree on the high place, holding his spear, while all his servants were standing by. ⁷ So he said to them: "Listen, men of Benjamin! Will the son of Jesse give all of you fields and vineyards? Will he make each of you an officer over a thousand or a hundred men, ⁸ that you have all conspired against me and no one tells me that my son has made

253 an agreement with the son of Jesse? None of you shows sympathy for me or discloses to me that my son has stirred up my servant to be an enemy against me, as is the case today." ⁹ Then Doeg the Edomite, who was standing with the officers of Saul, spoke up: "I saw the son of Jesse come to Ahimelech, son of Ahitub, in Nob. ¹⁰ He consulted the LORD for him and gave him supplies, and the sword of Goliath the Philistine as well." ¹¹ At this the king sent a summons to Ahimelech the priest, son of Ahitub, and to all his family who were priests in Nob; and they all came to the king. ¹² Then Saul said, "Listen, son of Ahitub!" He replied, "Yes, my lord." ¹³ Saul asked him, "Why did you conspire against me with the son of Jesse by giving him food and a sword and by consulting God for him, that he might rebel against me and become my enemy, as is the case today?" ¹⁴ Ahimelech answered the king: "And who among all your servants is as loyal as David, the king's son-in-law, captain of your bodyguard, and honored in your own house? ¹⁵ Is this the first time I have consulted God for him? No indeed! Let not the king accuse his servant or anyone in my family of such a thing. Your servant knows nothing at all, great or small, about the whole matter." ¹⁶ But the king said, "You shall die, Ahimelech, with all your family." ¹⁷ The king then commanded his henchmen standing by: "Make the rounds and kill the priests of the LORD, for they assisted David. They knew he was a fugitive and yet failed to inform me." But the king's servants refused to lift a hand to strike the priests of the LORD. ¹⁸ The king therefore commanded Doeg, "You make the rounds and kill the priests!" So Doeg the Edomite went from one to the next and killed the priests himself, slaying on that day eighty-five who wore the linen ephod. ¹⁹ Saul also put the priestly city of Nob to the sword, including men and women, children and infants, and oxen, asses, and sheep. ²⁰ One son of Ahimelech, son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped and fled to David. ²¹ When Abiathar told David that Saul had slain the priests of the LORD, ²² David said to him: "I knew that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul. I am responsible for the death of all your family. ²³ Stay with me. Fear nothing; he that seeks your life must seek my life also. You are under my protection." 1 Samuel Chapter 23 ¹ David received information that the Philistines were attacking Keilah and plundering the threshing floors. ² So he consulted the LORD, inquiring, "Shall I go and defeat these Philistines?" The LORD answered, "Go, for you will defeat the Philistines and rescue Keilah." ³ But David's men said to him: "We are afraid here in Judah. How much more so if we go to Keilah against the forces of the Philistines!" ⁴ Again David consulted the LORD, who answered, "Go down to Keilah, for I will deliver the Philistines into your power." ⁵ David then went with his men to Keilah and fought with the Philistines. He drove off their cattle and inflicted a severe defeat on them, and thus rescued the inhabitants of Keilah. ⁶ Abiathar, son of Ahimelech, who had fled to David, went down with David to Keilah, taking the ephod with him. ⁷ When Saul was told that David had entered Keilah, he said: "God has put him in my grip. Now he has shut himself in, for he has entered a city with gates and bars." ⁸ Saul then called all the people to war, in order to go down to Keilah and besiege David and his men. ⁹ When David found out that Saul was planning to harm him, he said to the priest Abiathar, "Bring forward the ephod." ¹⁰ David then said: "O LORD God of Israel, your servant has heard a report that Saul plans to come to Keilah, to destroy the city on my account. ¹¹ Will they hand me over? And now: will Saul come down as your servant has heard?

in, for he has entered a city with gates and bars." ⁸ Saul then called all the people to war, in order to go down to Keilah and besiege David and his men. ⁹ When David found out that Saul was planning to harm him, he said to the priest Abiathar, "Bring forward the ephod." ¹⁰ David then said: "O LORD God of Israel, your servant has heard a report that Saul plans to come to Keilah, to destroy the city on my account. ¹¹ Will they hand me over? And now: will Saul come down as your servant has heard? O LORD God of Israel, tell your servant." The LORD answered, "He will come down." ¹² David then asked, "Will the citizens of Keilah deliver me and my men into the grasp of Saul?" And the LORD answered, "Yes." ¹³ So David and his men, about six hundred in number, left Keilah and wandered from place to place. When Saul was informed that David had escaped from Keilah, he abandoned the expedition. ¹⁴ David now lived in the refuges in the desert, or in the barren hill country near Ziph. Though Saul sought him continually, the LORD did not deliver David into his grasp. ¹⁵ David was

254 apprehensive because Saul had come out to seek his life; but while he was at Horesh in the barrens near Ziph, ¹⁶ Saul's son, Jonathan, came down there to David and strengthened his resolve in the LORD. ¹⁷ He said to him: "Have no fear, my father Saul shall not lay a hand to you. You shall be king of Israel and I shall be second to you. Even my father Saul knows this." ¹⁸ They made a joint agreement before the LORD in Horesh, where David remained, while Jonathan returned to his home. ¹⁹ Some of the Ziphites went up to Saul in Gibeah and said, "David is hiding among us, now in the refuges, and again at Horesh, or on the hill of Hachilah, south of the wasteland. ²⁰ Therefore, whenever the king wishes to come down, let him do so. It will be our task to deliver him into the king's grasp." ²¹ Saul replied: "The LORD bless you for your sympathy toward me. ²² Go now and make sure once more! Take note of the place where he sets foot" (for he thought, perhaps they are playing some trick on me). ²³ "Look around and learn in which of all the various hiding places he is holding out. Then come back to me with sure information, and I will go with you. If he is in the region, I will search him out among all the families of Judah." ²⁴ So they went off to Ziph ahead of Saul. At this time David and his men were in the desert below Maon, in the Arabah south of the wasteland. ²⁵ When Saul and his men came looking for him, David got word of it and went down to the gorge in the desert below Maon. Saul heard of this and pursued David into the desert below Maon. ²⁶ As Saul moved along one rim of the gorge, David and his men took to the other. David was in anxious flight to escape Saul, and Saul and his men were attempting to outflank David and his men in order to capture them, ²⁷ when a messenger came to Saul, saying, "Come quickly, because the Philistines have invaded the land." ²⁸ Saul interrupted his pursuit of David and went to meet the Philistines. This is how that place came to be called the Gorge of Divisions. 1 Samuel Chapter 24 ¹ David then went up from there and stayed in the refuges behind Engedi. ² And when Saul returned from the pursuit of the Philistines, he was told that David was in the desert near Engedi. ³ So Saul took three thousand picked men from all Israel and went in search of David and his men in the direction of the wild goat crags. ⁴ When he came to the sheepfolds along the way, he found a cave, which he entered to ease nature. David and his men were occupying the inmost recesses of the cave. ⁵ David's servants said to him, "This is the day of which the LORD said to you, 'I will deliver your enemy into your grasp; do with him as you see fit.'" So David moved up and stealthily cut off an end of Saul's mantle. ⁶ Afterward, however, David regretted that he had cut off an end of Saul's mantle. ⁷ He said to his men, "The LORD forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the LORD'S anointed, as to lay a hand on him, for he is the Lord's anointed." ⁸ With these words David restrained his men and would not permit them to attack Saul. Saul then left the cave and went on his way. ⁹ David also stepped out of the cave, calling to Saul, "My lord the king!" When Saul looked back, David bowed to the ground in homage ¹⁰ and asked Saul: "Why do you listen to those who say, 'David is trying to harm you'? ¹¹ You see for yourself today that the LORD just now delivered you into my grasp in the cave. I had some thought of killing you, but I took pity on you instead. I decided, 'I will not raise a hand against my lord, for he is the LORD'S anointed and a father to me.' ¹² Look here at this end of your mantle which I hold. Since I cut off an end of your mantle and did not kill you, see and be convinced that I plan no harm and no rebellion. I have done you no wrong, though you are hunting me down to take my life. ¹³ The LORD will judge between me and you, and the LORD will exact justice from you in my case.

ought of killing you, but I took pity on you instead. I decided, 'I will not raise a hand against my lord, for he is the LORD'S anointed and a father to me.' ¹² Look here at this end of your mantle which I hold. Since I cut off an end of your mantle and did not kill you, see and be convinced that I plan no harm and no rebellion. I have done you no wrong, though you are hunting me down to take my life. ¹³ The LORD will judge between me and you, and the LORD will exact justice from you in my case. I shall not touch you. ¹⁴ The old proverb says, 'From the wicked comes forth wickedness.' So I will take no action against you. ¹⁵ Against whom are you on campaign, O king of Israel? Whom are you pursuing? A dead dog, or a single flea! ¹⁶ The LORD will be the judge; he will decide between me and you. May he see this, and take my part, and grant me justice beyond your reach!" ¹⁷ When David finished saying these things to Saul, Saul answered, "Is that your voice, my son David?" And he wept aloud.

255 ¹⁸ Saul then said to David: "You are in the right rather than I; you have treated me generously, while I have done you harm. ¹⁹ Great is the generosity you showed me today, when the LORD delivered me into your grasp and you did not kill me. ²⁰ For if a man meets his enemy, does he send him away unharmed? May the LORD reward you generously for what you have done this day. ²¹ And now, since I know that you shall surely be king and that sovereignty over Israel shall come into your possession, ²² swear to me by the LORD that you will not destroy my descendants and that you will not blot out my name and family." ²³ David gave Saul his oath and Saul returned home, while David and his men went up to the refuge. 1 Samuel Chapter 25 ¹ Samuel died, and all Israel gathered to mourn him; they buried him at his home in Ramah. Then David went down to the desert of Maon. ² There was a man of Maon who had property in Carmel; he was very wealthy, owning three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. At this time he was present for the shearing of his flock in Carmel. ³ The man was named Nabal, his wife, Abigail. The woman was intelligent and attractive, but Nabal himself, a Calebite, was harsh and ungenerous in his behavior. ⁴ When David heard in the desert that Nabal was shearing his flock, ⁵ he sent ten young men, instructing them: "Go up to Carmel. Pay Nabal a visit and greet him in my name. ⁶ Say to him, 'Peace be with you, my brother, and with your family, and with all who belong to you. ⁷ I have just heard that shearers are with you. Now, when your shepherds were with us, we did them no injury, neither did they miss anything all the while they were in Carmel. ⁸ Ask your servants and they will tell you so. Look kindly on these young men, since we come at a festival time. Please give your servants and your son David whatever you can manage.'" ⁹ When David's young men arrived, they delivered this message fully to Nabal in David's name, and then waited. ¹⁰ But Nabal answered the servants of David: "Who is David? Who is the son of Jesse? Nowadays there are many servants who run away from their masters. ¹¹ Must I take my bread, my wine, my meat that I have slaughtered for my own shearers, and give them to men who come from I know not where?" ¹² So David's young men retraced their steps and on their return reported to him all that had been said. ¹³ Thereupon David said to his men, "Let everyone gird on his sword." And so everyone, David included, girded on his sword. About four hundred men went up after David, while two hundred remained with the baggage. ¹⁴ But Nabal's wife Abigail was informed of this by one of the servants, who said: "David sent messengers from the desert to greet our master, but he flew at them screaming. ¹⁵ Yet these men were very good to us. We were done no injury, neither did we miss anything all the while we were living among them during our stay in the open country. ¹⁶ For us they were like a rampart night and day the whole time we were pasturing the sheep near them. ¹⁷ Now, see what you can do, for you must realize that otherwise evil is in store for our master and for his whole family. He is so mean that no one can talk to him." ¹⁸ Abigail quickly got together two hundred loaves, two skins of wine, five dressed sheep, five seahs of roasted grain, a hundred cakes of pressed raisins, and two hundred cakes of pressed figs, and loaded them on asses. ¹⁹ She then said to her servants, "Go on ahead; I will follow you." But she did not tell her husband Nabal. ²⁰ As she came down through a mountain defile riding on an ass, David and his men were also coming down from the opposite direction. When she met them, ²¹ David had just been saying: "Indeed, it was in vain that I guarded all this man's possessions in the desert, so that he missed nothing. He has repaid good with evil.

isins, and two hundred cakes of pressed figs, and loaded them on asses. ¹⁹ She then said to her servants, "Go on ahead; I will follow you." But she did not tell her husband Nabal. ²⁰ As she came down through a mountain defile riding on an ass, David and his men were also coming down from the opposite direction. When she met them, ²¹ David had just been saying: "Indeed, it was in vain that I guarded all this man's possessions in the desert, so that he missed nothing. He has repaid good with evil. ²² May God do thus and so to David, if by morning I leave a single male alive among all those who belong to him." ²³ As soon as Abigail saw David, she dismounted quickly from the ass and, falling prostrate on the ground before David, did him homage. ²⁴ As she fell at his feet she said: "My lord, let the blame be mine. Please let your handmaid speak to you, and listen to the words of your handmaid. ²⁵ Let not my lord pay attention to that worthless man Nabal, for he is just like his name. Fool is his name, and he acts the fool. I,

256 your handmaid, did not see the young men whom my lord sent. ²⁶ Now, therefore, my lord, as the LORD lives, and as you live, it is the LORD who has kept you from shedding blood and from avenging yourself personally. May your enemies and those who seek to harm my lord become as Nabal! ²⁷ Accept this present, then, which your maidservant has brought for my lord, and let it be given to the young men who follow my lord. ²⁸ Please forgive the transgression of your handmaid, for the LORD shall certainly establish a lasting dynasty for my lord, because your lordship is fighting the battles of the LORD, and there is no evil to be found in you your whole life long. ²⁹ If anyone rises to pursue you and to seek your life, may the life of my lord be bound in the bundle of the living in the care of the LORD your God; but may he hurl out the lives of your enemies as from the hollow of a sling. ³⁰ And when the LORD carries out for my lord the promise of success he has made concerning you, and appoints you as commander over Israel, ³¹ you shall not have this as a qualm or burden on your conscience, my lord, for having shed innocent blood or for having avenged yourself personally. When the LORD confers this benefit on your lordship, remember your handmaid." ³² David said to Abigail: "Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who sent you to meet me today. ³³ Blessed be your good judgment and blessed be you yourself, who this day have prevented me from shedding blood and from avenging myself personally. ³⁴ Otherwise, as the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, who has restrained me from harming you, if you had not come so promptly to meet me, by dawn Nabal would not have had a single man or boy left alive." ³⁵ David then took from her what she had brought him and said to her: "Go up to your home in peace! See, I have granted your request as a personal favor." ³⁶ When Abigail came to Nabal, there was a drinking party in his house like that of a king, and Nabal was merry because he was very drunk. So she told him nothing at all before daybreak the next morning. ³⁷ But then, when Nabal had become sober, his wife told him what had happened. At this his courage died within him, and he became like a stone. ³⁸ About ten days later the LORD struck him and he died. ³⁹ On hearing that Nabal was dead, David said: "Blessed be the LORD, who has requited the insult I received at the hand of Nabal, and who restrained his servant from doing evil, but has punished Nabal for his own evil deeds." David then sent a proposal of marriage to Abigail. ⁴⁰ When David's servants came to Abigail in Carmel, they said to her, "David has sent us to you that he may take you as his wife." ⁴¹ Rising and bowing to the ground, she answered, "Your handmaid would become a slave to wash the feet of my lord's servants." ⁴² She got up immediately, mounted an ass, and followed David's messengers, with her five maids following in attendance upon her. She became his wife, ⁴³ and David also married Ahinoam of Jezreel. Thus both of them were his wives; but Saul gave David's wife Michal, Saul's own daughter, to Palti, son of Laish, who was from Gallim. 1 Samuel Chapter 26 ¹ Men from Ziph came to Saul in Gibeah, reporting that David was hiding on the hill of Hachilah at the edge of the wasteland. ² So Saul went off down to the desert of Ziph with three thousand picked men of Israel, to search for David in the desert of Ziph. ³ Saul camped beside the road on the hill of Hachilah, at the edge of the wasteland. David, who was living in the desert, saw that Saul had come into the desert after him ⁴ and sent out scouts, who confirmed Saul's arrival. ⁵ David himself then went to the place where Saul was encamped and examined the spot where Saul and Abner, son of Ner, the general, had their sleeping quarters. Saul's were within the barricade, and all his soldiers were camped around him.

rch for David in the desert of Ziph. ³ Saul camped beside the road on the hill of Hachilah, at the edge of the wasteland. David, who was living in the desert, saw that Saul had come into the desert after him ⁴ and sent out scouts, who confirmed Saul's arrival. ⁵ David himself then went to the place where Saul was encamped and examined the spot where Saul and Abner, son of Ner, the general, had their sleeping quarters. Saul's were within the barricade, and all his soldiers were camped around him. ⁶ David asked Ahimelech the Hittite, and Abishai, son of Zeruiah and brother of Joab, "Who will go down into the camp with me to Saul?" Abishai replied, "I will." ⁷ So David and Abishai went among Saul's soldiers by night and found Saul lying asleep within the barricade, with his spear thrust into the ground at his head and Abner and his men sleeping around him. ⁸ Abishai whispered to David: "God has delivered your enemy into your grasp this day. Let me nail him to the ground with one thrust of the spear; I will not need a second

257 thrust!" ⁹ But David said to Abishai, "Do not harm him, for who can lay hands on the LORD'S anointed and remain unpunished? ¹⁰ As the LORD lives," David continued, "it must be the LORD himself who will strike him, whether the time comes for him to die, or he goes out and perishes in battle. ¹¹ But the LORD forbid that I touch his anointed! Now take the spear which is at his head and the water jug, and let us be on our way." ¹² So David took the spear and the water jug from their place at Saul's head, and they got away without anyone's seeing or knowing or awakening. All remained asleep, because the LORD had put them into a deep slumber. ¹³ Going across to an opposite slope, David stood on a remote hilltop at a great distance from Abner, son of Ner, and the troops. ¹⁴ He then shouted, "Will you not answer, Abner?" And Abner answered, "Who is it that calls me?" ¹⁵ David said to Abner: "Are you not a man whose like does not exist in Israel? Why, then, have you not guarded your lord the king when one of his subjects went to kill the king, your lord? ¹⁶ This is no creditable service you have performed. As the LORD lives, you people deserve death because you have not guarded your lord, the LORD'S anointed. Go, look: where are the king's spear and the water jug that was at his head?" ¹⁷ Saul recognized David's voice and asked, "Is that your voice, my son David?" David answered, "Yes, my lord the king." ¹⁸ He continued: "Why does my lord pursue his servant? What have I done? What evil do I plan? ¹⁹ Please, now, let my lord the king listen to the words of his servant. If the LORD has incited you against me, let an offering appease him; but if men, may they be cursed before the LORD, because they have exiled me so that this day I have no share in the LORD'S inheritance, but am told: 'Go serve other gods!' ²⁰ Do not let my blood flow to the ground far from the presence of the LORD. For the king of Israel has come out to seek a single flea as if he were hunting partridge in the mountains." ²¹ Then Saul said: "I have done wrong. Come back, my son David, I will not harm you again, because you have held my life precious today. Indeed, I have been a fool and have made a serious mistake." ²² But David answered: "Here is the king's spear. Let an attendant come over to get it. ²³ The LORD will reward each man for his justice and faithfulness. Today, though the LORD delivered you into my grasp, I would not harm the LORD'S anointed. ²⁴ As I valued your life highly today, so may the LORD value my life highly and deliver me from all difficulties." ²⁵ Then Saul said to David: "Blessed are you, my son David! You shall certainly succeed in whatever you undertake." David went his way, and Saul returned to his home. 1 Samuel Chapter 27 ¹ But David said to himself: "I shall perish some day at the hand of Saul. I have no choice but to escape to the land of the Philistines; then Saul will give up his continual search for me throughout the land of Israel, and I shall be out of his reach." ² Accordingly, David departed with his six hundred men and went over to Achish, son of Maoch, king of Gath. ³ David and his men lived in Gath with Achish; each one had his family, and David had his two wives, Ahinoam from Jezreel and Abigail, the widow of Nabal from Carmel. ⁴ When Saul was told that David had fled to Gath, he no longer searched for him. ⁵ David said to Achish: "If I meet with your approval, let me have a place to live in one of the country towns. Why should your servant live with you in the royal city?" ⁶ That same day Achish gave him Ziklag, which has, therefore, belonged to the kings of Judah up to the present time. ⁷ In all, David lived a year and four months in the country of the Philistines. ⁸ David and his men went up and made raids on the Geshurites, Girzites, and Amalekites—peoples living in the land between Telam, on the approach to Shur, and the land of Egypt.

r approval, let me have a place to live in one of the country towns. Why should your servant live with you in the royal city?" ⁶ That same day Achish gave him Ziklag, which has, therefore, belonged to the kings of Judah up to the present time. ⁷ In all, David lived a year and four months in the country of the Philistines. ⁸ David and his men went up and made raids on the Geshurites, Girzites, and Amalekites—peoples living in the land between Telam, on the approach to Shur, and the land of Egypt. ⁹ In attacking the land David would not leave a man or woman alive, but would carry off sheep, oxen, asses, camels, and clothes. On his return he brought these to Achish, ¹⁰ who asked, "Whom did you raid this time?" And David answered, "The Negeb of Judah," or "The Negeb of Jerahmeel," or "The Negeb of the Kenites." ¹¹ But David would not leave a man or woman alive to be brought to Gath, fearing that they would betray him by saying, "This is what David did." This was his custom as

258 long as he lived in the country of the Philistines. ¹² And Achish trusted David, thinking, "He must certainly be detested by his people Israel. I shall have him as my vassal forever." 1 Samuel Chapter 28 ¹ In those days the Philistines mustered their military forces to fight against Israel. So Achish said to David, "You realize, of course, that you and your men must go out on campaign with me to Jezreel." ² David answered Achish, "Good! Now you shall learn what your servant can do." Then Achish said to David, "I shall appoint you my permanent bodyguard." ³ Now Samuel had died and, after being mourned by all Israel, was buried in his city, Ramah. Meanwhile Saul had driven mediums and fortune-tellers out of the land. ⁴ The Philistine levies advanced to Shunem and encamped. Saul, too, mustered all Israel; they camped on Gilboa. ⁵ When Saul saw the camp of the Philistines, he was dismayed and lost heart completely. ⁶ He therefore consulted the LORD; but the LORD gave no answer, whether in dreams or by the Urim or through prophets. ⁷ Then Saul said to his servants, "Find me a woman who is a medium, to whom I can go to seek counsel through her." His servants answered him, "There is a woman in Endor who is a medium." ⁸ So he disguised himself, putting on other clothes, and set out with two companions. They came to the woman by night, and Saul said to her, "Tell my fortune through a ghost; conjure up for me the one I ask you to." ⁹ But the woman answered him, "You are surely aware of what Saul has done, in driving the mediums and fortune-tellers out of the land. Why, then, are you laying snares for my life, to have me killed?" ¹⁰ But Saul swore to her by the LORD, "As the LORD lives, you shall incur no blame for this." ¹¹ Then the woman asked him, "Whom do you want me to conjure up?" and he answered, "Samuel." ¹² When the woman saw Samuel, she shrieked at the top of her voice and said to Saul, "Why have you deceived me? You are Saul!" ¹³ But the king said to her, "Have no fear. What do you see?" The woman answered Saul, "I see a preternatural being rising from the earth." ¹⁴ "What does he look like?" asked Saul. And she replied, "It is an old man who is rising, clothed in a mantle." Saul knew that it was Samuel, and so he bowed face to the ground in homage. ¹⁵ Samuel then said to Saul, "Why do you disturb me by conjuring me up?" Saul replied: "I am in great straits, for the Philistines are waging war against me and God has abandoned me. Since he no longer answers me through prophets or in dreams, I have called you to tell me what I should do." ¹⁶ To this Samuel said: "But why do you ask me, if the LORD has abandoned you and is with your neighbor? ¹⁷ The LORD has done to you what he foretold through me: he has torn the kingdom from your grasp and has given it to your neighbor David. ¹⁸ "Because you disobeyed the LORD'S directive and would not carry out his fierce anger against Amalek, the LORD has done this to you today. ¹⁹ Moreover, the LORD will deliver Israel, and you as well, into the clutches of the Philistines. By tomorrow you and your sons will be with me, and the LORD will have delivered the army of Israel into the hands of the Philistines." ²⁰ Immediately Saul fell full length on the ground, for he was badly shaken by Samuel's message. Moreover, he had no bodily strength left, since he had eaten nothing all that day and night. ²¹ Then the woman came to Saul, and seeing that he was quite terror-stricken, said to him: "Remember, your maidservant obeyed you: I took my life in my hands and fulfilled the request you made of me. ²² Now you, in turn, please listen to your maidservant. Let me set something before you to eat, so that you may have strength when you go on your way." ²³ But he refused, saying, "I will not eat." However, when his servants joined the woman in urging him, he listened to their entreaties, got up from the ground, and sat on a couch.

and seeing that he was quite terror-stricken, said to him: "Remember, your maidservant obeyed you: I took my life in my hands and fulfilled the request you made of me. ²² Now you, in turn, please listen to your maidservant. Let me set something before you to eat, so that you may have strength when you go on your way." ²³ But he refused, saying, "I will not eat." However, when his servants joined the woman in urging him, he listened to their entreaties, got up from the ground, and sat on a couch. ²⁴ The woman had a stall-fed calf in the house, which she now quickly slaughtered. Then taking flour, she kneaded it and baked unleavened bread. ²⁵ She set the meal before Saul and his servants, and they ate. Then they stood up and left the same night. 1 Samuel Chapter 29

259 ¹ Now the Philistines had mustered all their forces in Aphek, and the Israelites were encamped at the spring of Harod near Jezreel. ² As the Philistine lords were marching their groups of a hundred and a thousand, David and his men were marching in the rear guard with Achish. ³ The Philistine chiefs asked, "What are those Hebrews doing here?" And Achish answered them: "Why, that is David, the officer of Saul, king of Israel. He has been with me now for a year or two, and I have no fault to find with him from the day he came over to me until the present." ⁴ But the Philistine chiefs were angered at this and said to him: "Send that man back! Let him return to the place you picked out for him. He must not go down into battle with us, lest during the battle he become our enemy. For how else can he win back his master's favor, if not with the heads of these men of ours? ⁵ Is this not the David of whom they sing during their dances, 'Saul has slain his thousands, but David his ten thousands'?" ⁶ So Achish summoned David and said to him: "As the LORD lives, you are honest, and I should be pleased to have you active with me in the camp, for I have found nothing wrong with you from the day of your arrival to this day. But you are not welcome to the lords. ⁷ Withdraw peaceably, now, and do nothing that might displease the Philistine lords." ⁸ But David said to Achish: "What have I done? Or what have you against your servant from the first day I have been with you to this day, that I cannot go to fight against the enemies of my lord the king?" ⁹ "You know," Achish answered David, "that you are acceptable to me. But the Philistine chiefs have determined you are not to go up with us to battle. ¹⁰ So the first thing tomorrow, you and your lord's servants who came with you, go to the place I picked out for you. Do not decide to take umbrage at this; you are as acceptable to me as an angel of God. But make an early morning start, as soon as it grows light, and be on your way." ¹¹ So David and his men left early in the morning to return to the land of the Philistines. The Philistines, however, went on up to Jezreel. 1 Samuel Chapter 30 ¹ Before David and his men reached Ziklag on the third day, the Amalekites had raided the Negeb and Ziklag, had stormed the city, and had set it on fire. ² They had taken captive the women and all who were in the city, young and old, killing no one; they had carried them off when they left. ³ David and his men arrived at the city to find it burned to the ground and their wives, sons, and daughters taken captive. ⁴ Then David and those who were with him wept aloud until they could weep no more. ⁵ David's two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail, the widow of Nabal from Carmel, had also been carried off with the rest. ⁶ Now David found himself in great difficulty, for the men spoke of stoning him, so bitter were they over the fate of their sons and daughters. But with renewed trust in the LORD his God, ⁷ David said to Abiathar, the priest, son of Ahimelech, "Bring me the ephod!" When Abiathar brought him the ephod, ⁸ David inquired of the LORD, "Shall I pursue these raiders? Can I overtake them?" The LORD answered him, "Go in pursuit, for you shall surely overtake them and effect a rescue." ⁹ So David went off with his six hundred men and came as far as the Wadi Besor, where those who were to remain behind halted. ¹⁰ David continued the pursuit with four hundred men, but two hundred were too exhausted to cross the Wadi Besor and remained behind. ¹¹ An Egyptian was found in the open country and brought to David. He was provided with food, which he ate, and given water to drink; ¹² a cake of pressed figs and two cakes of pressed raisins were also offered to him. When he had eaten, he revived; he had not taken food nor drunk water for three days and three nights. ¹³ Then David asked him, "To whom do you belong, and where do you come from?" He replied: "I am an Egyptian, the slave of an Amalekite.

o cross the Wadi Besor and remained behind. ¹¹ An Egyptian was found in the open country and brought to David. He was provided with food, which he ate, and given water to drink; ¹² a cake of pressed figs and two cakes of pressed raisins were also offered to him. When he had eaten, he revived; he had not taken food nor drunk water for three days and three nights. ¹³ Then David asked him, "To whom do you belong, and where do you come from?" He replied: "I am an Egyptian, the slave of an Amalekite. My master abandoned me because I fell sick three days ago today. ¹⁴ We raided the Negeb of the Cherethites, the territory of Judah, and the Negeb of Caleb; and we set Ziklag on fire." ¹⁵ David then asked him, "Will you lead me down to this raiding party?" He answered, "Swear to me by God that you will not kill me or deliver me to my master, and I will lead you to the raiding party." ¹⁶ He did lead them, and there were the Amalekites scattered all over the ground, eating,

260 drinking, and in a festive mood because of all the rich booty they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from the land of Judah. ¹⁷ From dawn to sundown David attacked them, putting them under the ban so that none escaped except four hundred young men, who mounted their camels and fled. ¹⁸ David recovered everything the Amalekites had taken and rescued his two wives. ¹⁹ Nothing was missing, small or great, booty or sons or daughters, of all that the Amalekites had taken. David brought back everything. ²⁰ Moreover, David took all the sheep and oxen, and as they drove these before him, they shouted, "This is David's spoil!" ²¹ When David came to the two hundred men who had been too exhausted to follow him, and whom he had left behind at the Wadi Besor, they came out to meet David and the men with him. On nearing them, David greeted them. ²² But all the stingy and worthless men among those who had accompanied David spoke up to say, "Since they did not accompany us, we will not give them anything from the booty, except to each man his wife and children. Let them take those along and be on their way." ²³ But David said: "You must not do this, my brothers, after what the LORD has given us. He has protected us and delivered into our grip the band that came against us. ²⁴ Who could agree with this proposal of yours? Rather, the share of the one who goes down to battle and that of the one who remains with the baggage shall be the same; they shall share alike." ²⁵ And from that day forward he made it a law and a custom in Israel, as it still is today. ²⁶ When David came to Ziklag, he sent part of the spoil to the elders of Judah, city by city, saying, "This is a gift to you from the spoil of the enemies of the LORD": ²⁷ to those in Bethel, to those in Ramoth-negeb, to those in Jattir, ²⁸ to those in Aroer, to those in Siphmoth, to those in Eshtemoa, ²⁹ to those in Racal, to those in the Jerahmeelite cities, to those in the Kenite cities, ³⁰ to those in Hormah, to those in Borashan, to those in Athach, ³¹ to those in Hebron, and to all the places frequented by David and his men. 1 Samuel Chapter 31 ¹ As they pressed their attack on Israel, with the Israelites fleeing before them and falling mortally wounded on Mount Gilboa, ² the Philistines pursued Saul and his sons closely, and slew Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua, sons of Saul. ³ The battle raged around Saul, and the archers hit him; he was pierced through the abdomen. ⁴ Then Saul said to his armor-bearer, "Draw your sword and run me through, lest these uncircumcised come and make sport of me." But his armor-bearer, badly frightened, refused to do it. So Saul took his own sword and fell upon it. ⁵¹ When the armor- bearer saw that Saul was dead, he too fell upon his sword and died with him. ⁶ Thus Saul, his three sons, and his armor-bearer died together on that same day. ⁷ When the Israelites on the slope of the valley and those along the Jordan saw that the men of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they too abandoned their cities and fled. Then the Philistines came and lived in those cities. ⁸ The day after the battle the Philistines came to strip the slain, and found Saul and his three sons lying on Mount Gilboa. ⁹ They cut off Saul's head and stripped him of his armor, and then sent the good news throughout the land of the Philistines to their idols and to the people. ¹⁰ They put his armor in the temple of Astarte, but impaled his body on the wall of Bethshan. ¹¹ When the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, ¹²² all their warriors set out, and after marching throughout the night, removed the bodies of Saul and his sons from the wall of Beth-shan, and brought them to Jabesh, where they cremated them. ¹³ Then they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh, and fasted for seven days. II Samuel 2 Samuel Chapter 1

261 ¹ After the death of Saul, David returned from his defeat of the Amalekites and spent two days in Ziklag. ² On the third day, a man came from Saul's camp, with his clothes torn and dirt on his head. Going to David, he fell to the ground in homage. ³ David asked him, "Where do you come from?" He replied, "I have escaped from the Israelite camp." ⁴ "Tell me what happened," David bade him. He answered that the soldiers had fled the battle and that many of them had fallen and were dead, among them Saul and his son Jonathan. ⁵ Then David said to the youth who was reporting to him, "How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?" ⁶ The youthful informant replied: "It was by chance that I found myself on Mount Gilboa and saw Saul leaning on his spear, with chariots and horsemen closing in on him. ⁷ He turned around and, seeing me, called me to him. When I said, 'Here I am,' ⁸ he asked me, 'Who are you?' and I replied, 'An Amalekite.' ⁹ Then he said to me, 'Stand up to me, please, and finish me off, for I am in great suffering, yet fully alive.' ¹⁰ So I stood up to him and dispatched him, for I knew that he could not survive his wound. I removed the crown from his head and the armlet from his arm and brought them here to my lord." ¹¹ David seized his garments and rent them, and all the men who were with him did likewise. ¹² They mourned and wept and fasted until evening for Saul and his son Jonathan, and for the soldiers of the LORD of the clans of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword. ¹³ Then David said to the young man who had brought him the information, "Where are you from?" He replied, "I am the son of an Amalekite immigrant." ¹⁴ David said to him, "How is it that you were not afraid to put forth your hand to desecrate the LORD'S anointed?" ¹⁵ David then called one of the attendants and said to him, "Come, strike him down"; and the youth struck him a mortal blow. ¹⁶ Meanwhile David said to him, "You are responsible for your own death, for you testified against yourself when you said, 'I dispatched the LORD'S anointed.'" ¹⁷ Then David chanted this elegy for Saul and his son Jonathan, ¹⁸ which is recorded in the Book of Jashar to be taught to the Judahites. He sang: ¹⁹ "Alas! the glory of Israel, Saul, slain upon your heights; how can the warriors have fallen! ²⁰ Tell it not in Gath, herald it not in the streets of Ashkelon, lest the Philistine maidens rejoice, lest the daughters of the strangers exult! ²¹¹ Mountains of Gilboa, may there be neither dew nor rain upon you, nor upsurgings of the deeps! Upon you lie begrimed the warriors' shields, the shield of Saul, no longer anointed with oil. ²² From the blood of the slain, from the bodies of the valiant, the bow of Jonathan did not turn back, or the sword of Saul return unstained. ²³ Saul and Jonathan, beloved and cherished, separated neither in life nor in death, swifter than eagles, stronger than lions! ²⁴ Women of Israel, weep over Saul, who clothed you in scarlet and in finery, who decked your attire with ornaments of gold. ²⁵ How can the warriors have fallen in the thick of the battle, slain upon your heights! ²⁶ I grieve for you, Jonathan, my brother! most dear have you been to me; more precious have I held love for you than love for women. ²⁷ How can the warriors have fallen, the weapons of war have perished!" 2 Samuel Chapter 2 ¹ After this David inquired of the LORD, "Shall I go up into one of the cities of Judah?" The LORD replied to him, "Yes." Then David asked, "Where shall I go?" He replied, "To Hebron." ² So David went up there accompanied by his two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail, the widow of Nabal of Carmel. ³ David also brought up his men with their families, and they dwelt in the cities near Hebron. ⁴ Then the men of Judah came there and anointed David king of the Judahites. A report reached David that the men of Jabesh-gilead had buried Saul.

hall I go up into one of the cities of Judah?" The LORD replied to him, "Yes." Then David asked, "Where shall I go?" He replied, "To Hebron." ² So David went up there accompanied by his two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail, the widow of Nabal of Carmel. ³ David also brought up his men with their families, and they dwelt in the cities near Hebron. ⁴ Then the men of Judah came there and anointed David king of the Judahites. A report reached David that the men of Jabesh-gilead had buried Saul. ⁵ So David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh-gilead and said to them: "May you be blessed by the LORD for having done this kindness to your lord Saul in burying him. ⁶ And now may the LORD be kind and faithful to you. I, too, will be generous to you for having done this. ⁷ Take courage, therefore, and prove yourselves valiant men, for though your lord Saul is dead, the Judahites have anointed me their king." ⁸ Abner, son of Ner, Saul's general, took Ishbaal, son of Saul, and brought him over to Mahanaim, ⁹

262 where he made him king over Gilead, the Ashurites, Jezreel, Ephraim, Benjamin, and the rest of Israel. ¹⁰ Ishbaal, son of Saul, was forty years old when he became king over Israel, and he reigned for two years. The Judahites alone followed David. ¹¹ In all, David spent seven years and six months in Hebron as king of the Judahites. ¹² Now Abner, son of Ner, and the servants of Ishbaal, Saul's son, left Mahanaim for Gibeon. ¹³ Joab, son of Zeruiah, and David's servants also set out and met them at the pool of Gibeon. And they sat down, one group on one side of the pool and the other on the opposite side. ¹⁴ Then Abner said to Joab, "Let the young men rise and perform for us." Joab replied, "All right!" ¹⁵ So they rose and were counted off: twelve of the Benjaminites of Ishbaal, son of Saul, and twelve of David's servants. ¹⁶ Then each one grasped his opponent's head and thrust his sword into his opponent's side, and all fell down together. And so that place, which is in Gibeon, was named the Field of the Sides. ¹⁷ After a very fierce battle that day, Abner and the men of Israel were defeated by David's servants. ¹⁸ The three sons of Zeruiah were there—Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. Asahel, who was as fleet of foot as a gazelle in the open field, ¹⁹ set out after Abner, turning neither right nor left in his pursuit. ²⁰ Abner turned around and said, "Is that you, Asahel?" He replied, "Yes." ²¹ Abner said to him, "Turn right or left; seize one of the young men and take what you can strip from him." But Asahel would not desist from his pursuit. ²² Once more Abner said to Asahel: "Stop pursuing me! Why must I strike you to the ground? How could I face your brother Joab?" ²³ Still he refused to stop. So Abner struck him in the abdomen with the heel of his javelin, and the weapon protruded from his back. He fell there and died on the spot. And all who came to the place where Asahel had fallen and died, came to a halt. ²⁴ Joab and Abishai, however, continued the pursuit of Abner. The sun had gone down when they came to the hill of Ammah which lies east of the valley toward the desert near Geba. ²⁵ Here the Benjaminites rallied around Abner, forming a single group, and made a stand on the hilltop. ²⁶ Then Abner called to Joab and said: "Must the sword destroy to the utmost? Do you not know that afterward there will be bitterness? How much longer will you refrain from ordering the people to stop the pursuit of their brothers?" ²⁷ Joab replied, "As God lives, if you had not spoken, the soldiers would not have been withdrawn from the pursuit of their brothers until morning." ²⁸ Joab then sounded the horn, and all the soldiers came to a halt, pursuing Israel no farther and fighting no more. ²⁹ Abner and his men marched all night long through the Arabah, crossed the Jordan, marched all through the morning, and came to Mahanaim. ³⁰ Joab, after interrupting the pursuit of Abner, assembled all the men. Besides Asahel, nineteen other servants of David were missing. ³¹ But David's servants had fatally wounded three hundred and sixty men of Benjamin, followers of Abner. ³² They took up Asahel and buried him in his father's tomb in Bethlehem. Joab and his men made an all-night march, and dawn found them in Hebron. 2 Samuel Chapter 3 ¹ There followed a long war between the house of Saul and that of David, in which David grew stronger, but the house of Saul weaker. ² Sons were born to David in Hebron: his first-born, Amnon, of Ahinoam from Jezreel; ³ the second, Chileab, of Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel; the third, Absalom, son of Maacah the daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur; ⁴ the fourth, Adonijah, son of Haggith; the fifth, Shephatiah, son of Abital; ⁵ and the sixth, Ithream, of David's wife Eglah. These were born to David in Hebron. ⁶ During the war between the house of Saul and that of David, Abner was gaining power in the house of Saul. ⁷ Now Saul had had a concubine, Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah.

non, of Ahinoam from Jezreel; ³ the second, Chileab, of Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel; the third, Absalom, son of Maacah the daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur; ⁴ the fourth, Adonijah, son of Haggith; the fifth, Shephatiah, son of Abital; ⁵ and the sixth, Ithream, of David's wife Eglah. These were born to David in Hebron. ⁶ During the war between the house of Saul and that of David, Abner was gaining power in the house of Saul. ⁷ Now Saul had had a concubine, Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah. And Ishbaal, son of Saul, said to Abner, "Why have you been intimate with my father's concubine?" ⁸ Enraged at the words of Ishbaal, Abner said, "Am I a dog's head in Judah? At present I am doing a kindness to the house of your father Saul, to his brothers and his friends, by keeping you out of David's clutches; yet this day you charge me with a crime involving a woman! ⁹ May God do thus and so to Abner if I do not carry out for David what the LORD swore

263 to him - ¹⁰ that is, take away the kingdom from the house of Saul and establish the throne of David over Israel and over Judah from Dan to Beersheba." ¹¹ In his fear of Abner, Ishbaal was no longer able to say a word to him. ¹² Then Abner sent messengers to David in Telam, where he was at the moment, to say, "Make an agreement with me, and I will aid you by bringing all Israel over to you." ¹³ He replied, "Very well, I will make an agreement with you. But one thing I require of you. You must not appear before me unless you bring back Michal, Saul's daughter, when you come to present yourself to me." ¹⁴ At the same time David sent messengers to Ishbaal, son of Saul, to say, "Give me my wife Michal, whom I espoused by paying a hundred Philistine foreskins." ¹⁵ Ishbaal sent for her and took her away from her husband Paltiel, son of Laish, ¹⁶ who followed her weeping as far as Bahurim. But Abner said to him, "Go back!" And he turned back. ¹⁷ Abner then said in discussion with the elders of Israel: "For a long time you have been seeking David as your king. ¹⁸ Now take action, for the LORD has said of David, 'By my servant David I will save my people Israel from the grasp of the Philistines and from the grasp of all their enemies.'" ¹⁹ Abner also spoke personally to Benjamin, and then went to make his own report to David in Hebron concerning all that would be agreeable to Israel and to the whole house of Benjamin. ²⁰ When Abner, accompanied by twenty men, came to David in Hebron, David prepared a feast for Abner and for the men who were with him. ²¹ Then Abner said to David, "I will now go to assemble all Israel for my lord the king, that they may make an agreement with you; you will then be king over all whom you wish to rule." So David bade Abner farewell, and he went away in peace. ²² Just then David's servants and Joab were coming in from an expedition, bringing much plunder with them. Abner, having been dismissed by David, was no longer with him in Hebron but had gone his way in peace. ²³ When Joab and the whole force he had with him arrived, he was informed, "Abner, son of Ner, came to David; he has been sent on his way in peace." ²⁴ So Joab went to the king and said: "What have you done? Abner came to you. Why did you let him go peacefully on his way? ²⁵ Are you not aware that Abner came to deceive you and to learn the ins and outs of all that you are doing?" ²⁶ Joab then left David, and without David's knowledge sent messengers after Abner, who brought him back from the cistern of Sirah. ²⁷ When Abner returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside within the city gate as though to speak with him privately. There he stabbed him in the abdomen, and he died in revenge for the killing of Joab's brother Asahel. ²⁸ Later David heard of it and said: "Before the LORD; I and my kingdom are forever innocent. ²⁹ May the full responsibility for the death of Abner, son of Ner, be laid to Joab and to all his family. May the men of Joab's family never be without one suffering from a discharge, or a leper, or one unmanly, one falling by the sword, or one in need of bread!" ³⁰ (Joab and his brother Abishai had lain in wait for Abner because he killed their brother Asahel in battle at Gibeon.) ³¹ Then David said to Joab and to all the people who were with him, "Rend your garments, gird yourselves with sackcloth, and mourn over Abner." King David himself followed the bier. ³² When they had buried Abner in Hebron, the king wept aloud at the grave of Abner, and the people also wept. ³³ And the king sang this elegy over Abner: "Would Abner have died like a fool? ³⁴ Your hands were not bound with chains, nor your feet placed in fetters; As men fall before the wicked, you fell." And all the people continued to weep for him. ³⁵ Then they went to console David with food while it was still day.

s with sackcloth, and mourn over Abner." King David himself followed the bier. ³² When they had buried Abner in Hebron, the king wept aloud at the grave of Abner, and the people also wept. ³³ And the king sang this elegy over Abner: "Would Abner have died like a fool? ³⁴ Your hands were not bound with chains, nor your feet placed in fetters; As men fall before the wicked, you fell." And all the people continued to weep for him. ³⁵ Then they went to console David with food while it was still day. But David swore, "May God do thus and so to me if I eat bread or anything else before sunset." ³⁶ All the people noted this with approval, just as they were pleased with everything that the king did. ³⁷ So on that day all the people and all Israel came to know that the king had no part in the killing of Abner, son of Ner. ³⁸ The king then said to his servants: "You must recognize that a great general has fallen today in Israel. ³⁹ Although I am the anointed king, I am weak this day, and these men, the sons of Zeruiah, are too ruthless for me. May the LORD requite the evildoer in accordance with his evil deed." 2 Samuel Chapter 4

264 ¹ When Ishbaal, son of Saul, heard that Abner had died in Hebron, he ceased to resist and all Israel was alarmed. ² Ishbaal, son of Saul, had two company leaders named Baanah and Rechab, sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, of the tribe of Benjamin. (Beeroth, too, was ascribed to Benjamin: ³ the Beerothites fled to Gittaim, where they have been resident aliens to this day. ⁴ Jonathan, son of Saul, had a son named Meribbaal with crippled feet. He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel, and his nurse took him up and fled. But in their hasty flight, he fell and became lame.) ⁵ The sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, Rechab and Baanah, came into the house of Ishbaal during the heat of the day, while he was taking his siesta. ⁶ The portress of the house had dozed off while sifting wheat, and was asleep. So Rechab and his brother Baanah slipped past ⁷ and entered the house while Ishbaal was lying asleep in his bedroom. They struck and killed him, and cut off his head. Then, taking the head, they traveled on the Arabah road all night long. ⁸ They brought the head of Ishbaal to David in Hebron and said to the king: "This is the head of Ishbaal, son of your enemy Saul, who sought your life. Thus has the LORD this day avenged my lord the king on Saul and his posterity." ⁹ But David replied to Rechab and his brother Baanah, sons of Rimmon the Beerothite: "As the LORD lives, who rescued me from all difficulty, ¹⁰ in Ziklag I seized and put to death the man who informed me of Saul's death, thinking himself the bearer of good news for which I ought to give him a reward. ¹¹ How much more now, when wicked men have slain an innocent man in bed at home, must I hold you responsible for his death and destroy you from the earth!" ¹² So at a command from David, the young men killed them and cut off their hands and feet, hanging them up near the pool in Hebron. But he took the head of Ishbaal and buried it in Abner's grave in Hebron. 2 Samuel Chapter 5 ¹ All the tribes of Israel came to David in Hebron and said: "Here we are, your bone and your flesh. ² In days past, when Saul was our king, it was you who led the Israelites out and brought them back. And the LORD said to you, 'You shall shepherd my people Israel and shall be commander of Israel.'" ³ When all the elders of Israel came to David in Hebron, King David made an agreement with them there before the LORD, and they anointed him king of Israel. ⁴ David was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned for forty years: ⁵ seven years and six months in Hebron over Judah, and thirty-three years in Jerusalem over all Israel and Judah. ⁶ Then the king and his men set out for Jerusalem against the Jebusites who inhabited the region. David was told, "You cannot enter here: the blind and the lame will drive you away!" which was their way of saying, "David cannot enter here." ⁷ But David did take the stronghold of Zion, which is the City of David. ⁸ On that day David said: "All who wish to attack the Jebusites must strike at them through the water shaft. The lame and the blind shall be the personal enemies of David." That is why it is said, "The blind and the lame shall not enter the palace." ⁹ David then dwelt in the stronghold, which was called the City of David; he built up the area from Millo to the palace. ¹⁰ David grew steadily more powerful, for the LORD of hosts was with him. ¹¹ Hiram, king of Tyre, sent ambassadors to David; he furnished cedar wood, as well as carpenters and masons, who built a palace for David. ¹² And David knew that the LORD had established him as king of Israel and had exalted his rule for the sake of his people Israel. ¹³ David took more concubines and wives in Jerusalem after he had come from Hebron, and more sons and daughters were born to him in Jerusalem. ¹⁴ These are the names of those who were born to him in Jerusalem: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon, ¹⁵ Ibhar, Elishua, Nepheg, Japhia, ¹⁶ Elishama, Baaliada, and Eliphelet.

carpenters and masons, who built a palace for David. ¹² And David knew that the LORD had established him as king of Israel and had exalted his rule for the sake of his people Israel. ¹³ David took more concubines and wives in Jerusalem after he had come from Hebron, and more sons and daughters were born to him in Jerusalem. ¹⁴ These are the names of those who were born to him in Jerusalem: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon, ¹⁵ Ibhar, Elishua, Nepheg, Japhia, ¹⁶ Elishama, Baaliada, and Eliphelet. ¹⁷ When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king of Israel, they all took the field in search of him. On hearing this, David went down to the refuge. ¹⁸ The Philistines came and overran the valley of Rephaim. ¹⁹ David inquired of the LORD, "Shall I attack the Philistines - will you deliver them into my grip?" The LORD replied to David, "Attack, for I will surely deliver the Philistines into

265 your grip." ²⁰ David then went to Baal-perazim, where he defeated them. He said, "The LORD has scattered my enemies before me like waters that have broken free." That is why the place is called Baal-perazim. ²¹ They abandoned their gods there, and David and his men carried them away. ²² But the Philistines came up again and overran the valley of Rephaim. ²³ So David inquired of the LORD, who replied: "You must not attack frontally, but circle their rear and meet them before the mastic trees. ²⁴ When you hear a sound of marching in the tops of the mastic trees, act decisively, for the LORD will have gone forth before you to attack the camp of the Philistines." ²⁵ David obeyed the LORD'S command and routed the Philistines from Gibeon as far as Gezer. 2 Samuel Chapter 6 ¹ David again assembled all the picked men of Israel, thirty thousand in number. ² Then David and all the people who were with him set out for Baala of Judah to bring up from there the ark of God, which bears the name of the LORD of hosts enthroned above the cherubim. ³ The ark of God was placed on a new cart and taken away from the house of Abinadab on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio, sons of Abinadab, guided the cart, ⁴ with Ahio walking before it, ⁵ while David and all the Israelites made merry before the LORD with all their strength, with singing and with citharas, harps, tambourines, sistrums and cymbals. ⁶ When they came to the threshing floor of Nodan, Uzzah reached out his hand to the ark of God and steadied it, for the oxen were making it tip. ⁷ But the LORD was angry with Uzzah; God struck him on that spot, and he died there before God. ⁸ David was disturbed because the LORD had vented his anger on Uzzah. (The place has been called Perez- uzzah down to the present day.) ⁹ David feared the LORD that day and said, "How can the ark of the LORD come to me?" ¹⁰ So David would not have the ark of the LORD brought to him in the City of David, but diverted it to the house of Obed-edom the Gittite. ¹¹ The ark of the LORD remained in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite for three months, and the LORD blessed Obed- edom and his whole house. ¹² When it was reported to King David that the LORD had blessed the family of Obed-edom and all that belonged to him, David went to bring up the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom into the City of David amid festivities. ¹³ As soon as the bearers of the ark of the LORD had advanced six steps, he sacrificed an ox and a fatling. ¹⁴ Then David, girt with a linen apron, came dancing before the LORD with abandon, ¹⁵ as he and all the Israelites were bringing up the ark of the LORD with shouts of joy and to the sound of the horn. ¹⁶ As the ark of the LORD was entering the City of David, Saul's daughter Michal looked down through the window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the LORD, and she despised him in her heart. ¹⁷ The ark of the LORD was brought in and set in its place within the tent David had pitched for it. Then David offered holocausts and peace offerings before the LORD. ¹⁸ When he finished making these offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD of hosts. ¹⁹ He then distributed among all the people, to each man and each woman in the entire multitude of Israel, a loaf of bread, a cut of roast meat, and a raisin cake. With this, all the people left for their homes. ²⁰ When David returned to bless his own family, Saul's daughter Michal came out to meet him and said, "How the king of Israel has honored himself today, exposing himself to the view of the slave girls of his followers, as a commoner might do!" ²¹ But David replied to Michal: "I was dancing before the LORD. As the LORD lives, who preferred me to your father and his whole family when he appointed me commander of the LORD'S people, Israel, not only will I make merry before the LORD, ²² but I will demean myself even more.

to bless his own family, Saul's daughter Michal came out to meet him and said, "How the king of Israel has honored himself today, exposing himself to the view of the slave girls of his followers, as a commoner might do!" ²¹ But David replied to Michal: "I was dancing before the LORD. As the LORD lives, who preferred me to your father and his whole family when he appointed me commander of the LORD'S people, Israel, not only will I make merry before the LORD, ²² but I will demean myself even more. I will be lowly in your esteem, but in the esteem of the slave girls you spoke of I will be honored." ²³ And so Saul's daughter Michal was childless to the day of her death. 2 Samuel Chapter 7 ¹ When King David was settled in his palace, and the LORD had given him rest from his enemies

266 on every side, ² he said to Nathan the prophet, "Here I am living in a house of cedar, while the ark of God dwells in a tent!" ³ Nathan answered the king, "Go, do whatever you have in mind, for the LORD is with you." ⁴ But that night the LORD spoke to Nathan and said: ⁵ "Go, tell my servant David, 'Thus says the LORD: Should you build me a house to dwell in? ⁶ I have not dwelt in a house from the day on which I led the Israelites out of Egypt to the present, but I have been going about in a tent under cloth. ⁷ In all my wanderings everywhere among the Israelites, did I ever utter a word to any one of the judges whom I charged to tend my people Israel, to ask: Why have you not built me a house of cedar?' ⁸ Now then, speak thus to my servant David, 'The LORD of hosts has this to say: It was I who took you from the pasture and from the care of the flock to be commander of my people Israel. ⁹ I have been with you wherever you went, and I have destroyed all your enemies before you. And I will make you famous like the great ones of the earth. ¹⁰ I will fix a place for my people Israel; I will plant them so that they may dwell in their place without further disturbance. Neither shall the wicked continue to afflict them as they did of old, ¹¹ since the time I first appointed judges over my people Israel. I will give you rest from all your enemies. The LORD also reveals to you that he will establish a house for you. ¹² And when your time comes and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your heir after you, sprung from your loins, and I will make his kingdom firm. ¹³ It is he who shall build a house for my name. And I will make his royal throne firm forever. ¹⁴ I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me. And if he does wrong, I will correct him with the rod of men and with human chastisements; ¹⁵ but I will not withdraw my favor from him as I withdrew it from your predecessor Saul, whom I removed from my presence. ¹⁶ Your house and your kingdom shall endure forever before me; your throne shall stand firm forever.'" ¹⁷ Nathan reported all these words and this entire vision to David. ¹⁸ Then King David went in and sat before the LORD and said, "Who am I, Lord GOD, and who are the members of my house, that you have brought me to this point? ¹⁹ Yet even this you see as too little, Lord GOD; you have also spoken of the house of your servant for a long time to come: this too you have shown to man, Lord GOD! ²⁰ What more can David say to you? You know your servant, Lord GOD! ²¹ For your servant's sake and as you have had at heart, you have brought about this entire magnificent disclosure to your servant. ²² And so - 'Great are you, Lord GOD! There is none like you and there is no God but you, just as we have heard it told. ²³ What other nation on earth is there like your people Israel, which God has led, redeeming it as his people; so that you have made yourself renowned by doing this magnificent deed, and by doing awe-inspiring things as you cleared nations and their gods out of the way of your people, which you redeemed for yourself from Egypt? ²⁴ You have established for yourself your people Israel as yours forever, and you, LORD, have become their God. ²⁵ And now, LORD God, confirm for all time the prophecy you have made concerning your servant and his house, and do as you have promised. ²⁶ Your name will be forever great, when men say, 'The LORD of hosts is God of Israel,' and the house of your servant David stands firm before you. ²⁷ It is you, LORD of hosts, God of Israel, who said in a revelation to your servant, 'I will build a house for you.' Therefore your servant now finds the courage to make this prayer to you. ²⁸ And now, Lord GOD, you are God and your words are truth; you have made this generous promise to your servant.

vant and his house, and do as you have promised. ²⁶ Your name will be forever great, when men say, 'The LORD of hosts is God of Israel,' and the house of your servant David stands firm before you. ²⁷ It is you, LORD of hosts, God of Israel, who said in a revelation to your servant, 'I will build a house for you.' Therefore your servant now finds the courage to make this prayer to you. ²⁸ And now, Lord GOD, you are God and your words are truth; you have made this generous promise to your servant. ²⁹ Do, then, bless the house of your servant that it may be before you forever; for you, Lord GOD, have promised, and by your blessing the house of your servant shall be blessed forever." 2 Samuel Chapter 8 ¹ After this David attacked the Philistines and conquered them, wresting. . . from the Philistines. ² He also defeated Moab and then measured them with a line, making them lie down on the ground. He told off two lengths of line for execution, and a full length to be spared. Thus the Moabites became tributary to David. ³ Next David defeated Hadadezer, son of Rehob, king of

267 Zobah, when he went to reestablish his dominion at the Euphrates River. ⁴ David captured from him one thousand seven hundred horsemen and twenty thousand foot soldiers. And he hamstrung all the chariot horses, preserving only enough for a hundred chariots. ⁵ When the Arameans of Damascus came to the aid of Hadadezer, king of Zobah, David slew twenty-two thousand of them. ⁶ David then placed garrisons in Aram of Damascus, and the Arameans became subjects, tributary to David. The LORD brought David victory in all his undertakings. ⁷ David also took away the golden shields used by Hadadezer's servants and brought them to Jerusalem. (These Shishak, king of Egypt, took away when he came to Jerusalem in the days of Rehoboam, son of Solomon.) ⁸ From Tebah and Berothai, towns of Hadadezer, King David removed a very large quantity of bronze. ⁹ When Toi, king of Hamath, heard that David had defeated all the forces of Hadadezer, ¹⁰ he sent his son Hadoram to King David to greet him and to congratulate him for his victory over Hadadezer in battle, because Toi had been in many battles with Hadadezer. Hadoram also brought with him articles of silver, gold, and bronze. ¹¹ These, too, King David consecrated to the LORD, together with the silver and gold he had taken from every nation he had conquered: ¹² from Edom and Moab, from the Ammonites, from the Philistines, from the Amalekites, and from the plunder of Hadadezer, son of Rehob, king of Zobah. ¹³ On his return, David became famous for having slain eighteen thousand Edomites in the Salt Valley; ¹⁴ after which he placed garrisons in Edom. Thus all the Edomites became David's subjects, and the LORD brought David victory in all his undertakings. ¹⁵ David reigned over all Israel, judging and administering justice to all his people. ¹⁶ Joab, son of Zeruiah, was in command of the army. Jehoshaphat, son of Ahilud, was chancellor. ¹⁷ Zadok, son of Ahitub, and Ahimelech, son of Abiathar, were priests. Shawsha was scribe. ¹⁸ Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, was in command of the Cherethites and Pelethites. And David's sons were priests. 2 Samuel Chapter 9 ¹ David asked, "Is there any survivor of Saul's house to whom I may show kindness for the sake of Jonathan?" ² Now there was a servant of the family of Saul named Ziba. He was summoned to David, and the king asked him, "Are you Ziba?" He replied, "Your servant." ³ Then the king inquired, "Is there any survivor of Saul's house to whom I may show God's kindness?" Ziba answered the king, "There is still Jonathan's son, whose feet are crippled." ⁴ The king said to him, "Where is he?" and Ziba answered, "He is in the house of Machir, son of Ammiel, in Lodebar." ⁵ So King David sent for him and had him brought from the house of Machir, son of Ammiel, in Lodebar. ⁶ When Meribbaal, son of Jonathan, son of Saul, came to David, he fell prostrate in homage. David said, "Meribbaal," and he answered, "Your servant." ⁷ "Fear not," David said to him, "I will surely be kind to you for the sake of your father Jonathan. I will restore to you all the lands of your grandfather Saul, and you shall always eat at my table." ⁸ Bowing low, he answered, "What is your servant that you should pay attention to a dead dog like me?" ⁹ The king then called Ziba, Saul's attendant, and said to him: "I am giving your lord's son all that belonged to Saul and to all his family. ¹⁰ You and your sons and servants must till the land for him. You shall bring in the produce, which shall be food for your lord's family to eat. But Meribbaal, your lord's son, shall always eat at my table." Ziba, who had fifteen sons and twenty servants, ¹¹ said to the king, "Your servant shall do just as my lord the king has commanded him." And so Meribbaal ate at David's table like one of the king's sons. ¹² Meribbaal had a young son whose name was Mica; and all the tenants of Ziba's family worked for Meribbaal. ¹³ But Meribbaal lived in Jerusalem, because he always ate at the king's table.

shall be food for your lord's family to eat. But Meribbaal, your lord's son, shall always eat at my table." Ziba, who had fifteen sons and twenty servants, ¹¹ said to the king, "Your servant shall do just as my lord the king has commanded him." And so Meribbaal ate at David's table like one of the king's sons. ¹² Meribbaal had a young son whose name was Mica; and all the tenants of Ziba's family worked for Meribbaal. ¹³ But Meribbaal lived in Jerusalem, because he always ate at the king's table. He was lame in both feet. 2 Samuel Chapter 10 ¹ Some time later the king of the Ammonites died, and his son Hanun succeeded him as king. ²

268 David thought, "I will be kind to Hanun, son of Nahash, as his father was kind to me." So David sent his servants with condolences to Hanun for the loss of his father. But when David's servants entered the country of the Ammonites, ³ the Ammonite princes said to their lord Hanun: "Do you think that David is honoring your father by sending men with condolences? Is it not rather to explore the city, to spy on it, and to overthrow it, that David has sent his messengers to you?" ⁴ Hanun, therefore, seized David's servants and, after shaving off half their beards and cutting away the lower halves of their garments at the buttocks, sent them away. ⁵ When he was told of it, King David sent out word to them, since the men were quite ashamed. "Stay in Jericho until your beards grow," he said, "and then come back." ⁶ In view of the offense they had given to David, the Ammonites sent for and hired twenty thousand Aramean foot soldiers from Beth-rehob and Zobah, as well as the king of Maacah with one thousand men, and twelve thousand men from Tob. ⁷ On learning this, David sent out Joab with the entire levy of trained soldiers. ⁸ The Ammonites came out and drew up in battle formation at the entrance of their city gate, while the Arameans of Zobah and Rehob and the men of Tob and Maacah remained apart in the open country. ⁹ When Joab saw the battle lines drawn up against him, both front and rear, he made a selection from all the picked troops of Israel and arrayed them against the Arameans. ¹⁰ He placed the rest of the soldiers under the command of his brother Abishai, who arrayed them against the Ammonites. ¹¹ Joab said, "If the Arameans are stronger than I, you shall help me. But if the Ammonites are stronger than you, I will come to help you. ¹² Be brave; let us prove our valor for the sake of our people and the cities of our God; the LORD will do what he judges best." ¹³ When Joab and the soldiers who were with him approached the Arameans for battle, they fled before him. ¹⁴ The Ammonites, seeing that the Arameans had fled, also fled from Abishai and withdrew into the city. Joab then ceased his attack on the Ammonites and returned to Jerusalem. ¹⁵ Then the Arameans responded to their defeat by Israel with a full mustering of troops; ¹⁶ Hadadezer sent for and enlisted Arameans from beyond the Euphrates. They came to Helam, with Shobach, general of Hadadezer's army, at their head. ¹⁷ On receiving this news, David assembled all Israel, crossed the Jordan, and went to Helam. The Arameans drew up in formation against David and fought with him. ¹⁸ But the Arameans gave way before Israel, and David's men killed seven hundred charioteers and forty thousand of the Aramean foot soldiers. Shobach, general of the army, was struck down and died on the field. ¹⁹ All of Hadadezer's vassal kings, in view of their defeat by Israel, then made peace with the Israelites and became their subjects. And the Arameans were afraid to give further aid to the Ammonites. 2 Samuel Chapter 11 ¹ At the turn of the year, when kings go out on campaign, David sent out Joab along with his officers and the army of Israel, and they ravaged the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. David, however, remained in Jerusalem. ² One evening David rose from his siesta and strolled about on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing, who was very beautiful. ³ David had inquiries made about the woman and was told, "She is Bathsheba, daughter of Eliam, and wife of (Joab's armor-bearer) Uriah the Hittite." ⁴ Then David sent messengers and took her. When she came to him, he had relations with her, at a time when she was just purified after her monthly period. She then returned to her house. ⁵ But the woman had conceived, and sent the information to David, "I am with child." ⁶ David therefore sent a message to Joab, "Send me Uriah the Hittite." So Joab sent Uriah to David.

s made about the woman and was told, "She is Bathsheba, daughter of Eliam, and wife of (Joab's armor-bearer) Uriah the Hittite." ⁴ Then David sent messengers and took her. When she came to him, he had relations with her, at a time when she was just purified after her monthly period. She then returned to her house. ⁵ But the woman had conceived, and sent the information to David, "I am with child." ⁶ David therefore sent a message to Joab, "Send me Uriah the Hittite." So Joab sent Uriah to David. ⁷ When he came, David questioned him about Joab, the soldiers, and how the war was going, and Uriah answered that all was well. ⁸ David then said to Uriah, "Go down to your house and bathe your feet." Uriah left the palace, and a portion was sent out after him from the king's table. ⁹ But Uriah slept at the entrance of the royal palace with the other officers of his lord, and did not go down to his own house. ¹⁰ David was told that Uriah had not gone home. So

269 he said to Uriah, "Have you not come from a journey? Why, then, did you not go down to your house?" ¹¹ Uriah answered David, "The ark and Israel and Judah are lodged in tents, and my lord Joab and your majesty's servants are encamped in the open field. Can I go home to eat and to drink and to sleep with my wife? As the LORD lives and as you live, I will do no such thing." ¹² Then David said to Uriah, "Stay here today also, I shall dismiss you tomorrow." So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day. On the day following, ¹³ David summoned him, and he ate and drank with David, who made him drunk. But in the evening he went out to sleep on his bed among his lord's servants, and did not go down to his home. ¹⁴ The next morning David wrote a letter to Joab which he sent by Uriah. ¹⁵ In it he directed: "Place Uriah up front, where the fighting is fierce. Then pull back and leave him to be struck down dead." ¹⁶ So while Joab was besieging the city, he assigned Uriah to a place where he knew the defenders were strong. ¹⁷ When the men of the city made a sortie against Joab, some officers of David's army fell, and among them Uriah the Hittite died. ¹⁸ Then Joab sent David a report of all the details of the battle, ¹⁹ instructing the messenger, "When you have finished giving the king all the details of the battle, ²⁰ the king may become angry and say to you: 'Why did you go near the city to fight? Did you not know that they would shoot from the wall above? ²¹ Who killed Abimelech, son of Jerubbaal? Was it not a woman who threw a millstone down on him from the wall above, so that he died in Thebez? Why did you go near the wall?' Then you in turn shall say, 'Your servant Uriah the Hittite is also dead.'" ²² The messenger set out, and on his arrival he relayed to David all the details as Joab had instructed him. ²³ He told David: "The men had us at a disadvantage and came out into the open against us, but we pushed them back to the entrance of the city gate. ²⁴ Then the archers shot at your servants from the wall above, and some of the king's servants died, among them your servant Uriah." ²⁵ David said to the messenger: "This is what you shall convey to Joab: 'Do not be chagrined at this, for the sword devours now here and now there. Strengthen your attack on the city and destroy it.' Encourage him." ²⁶ When the wife of Uriah heard that her husband had died, she mourned her lord. ²⁷ But once the mourning was over, David sent for her and brought her into his house. She became his wife and bore him a son. But the LORD was displeased with what David had done. 2 Samuel Chapter 12 ¹ The LORD sent Nathan to David, and when he came to him, he said: "Judge this case for me! In a certain town there were two men, one rich, the other poor. ² The rich man had flocks and herds in great numbers. ³ But the poor man had nothing at all except one little ewe lamb that he had bought. He nourished her, and she grew up with him and his children. She shared the little food he had and drank from his cup and slept in his bosom. She was like a daughter to him. ⁴ Now, the rich man received a visitor, but he would not take from his own flocks and herds to prepare a meal for the wayfarer who had come to him. Instead he took the poor man's ewe lamb and made a meal of it for his visitor." ⁵ David grew very angry with that man and said to Nathan: "As the LORD lives, the man who has done this merits death! ⁶ He shall restore the ewe lamb fourfold because he has done this and has had no pity." ⁷ Then Nathan said to David: "You are the man! Thus says the LORD God of Israel: 'I anointed you king of Israel. I rescued you from the hand of Saul. ⁸ I gave you your lord's house and your lord's wives for your own. I gave you the house of Israel and of Judah. And if this were not enough, I could count up for you still more. ⁹ Why have you spurned the LORD and done evil in his sight?

done this merits death! ⁶ He shall restore the ewe lamb fourfold because he has done this and has had no pity." ⁷ Then Nathan said to David: "You are the man! Thus says the LORD God of Israel: 'I anointed you king of Israel. I rescued you from the hand of Saul. ⁸ I gave you your lord's house and your lord's wives for your own. I gave you the house of Israel and of Judah. And if this were not enough, I could count up for you still more. ⁹ Why have you spurned the LORD and done evil in his sight? You have cut down Uriah the Hittite with the sword; you took his wife as your own, and him you killed with the sword of the Ammonites. ¹⁰ Now, therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah to be your wife.' ¹¹ Thus says the LORD: 'I will bring evil upon you out of your own house. I will take your wives while you live to see it, and will give them to your neighbor. He shall lie with your wives in broad daylight. ¹² You have done this deed in secret, but I will bring it about in the

270 presence of all Israel, and with the sun looking down.'" ¹³ Then David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD." Nathan answered David: "The LORD on his part has forgiven your sin: you shall not die. ¹⁴ But since you have utterly spurned the LORD by this deed, the child born to you must surely die." ¹⁵ Then Nathan returned to his house. The LORD struck the child that the wife of Uriah had borne to David, and it became desperately ill. ¹⁶ David besought God for the child. He kept a fast, retiring for the night to lie on the ground clothed in sackcloth. ¹⁷ The elders of his house stood beside him urging him to rise from the ground; but he would not, nor would he take food with them. ¹⁸ On the seventh day, the child died. David's servants, however, were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they said: "When the child was alive, we spoke to him, but he would not listen to what we said. How can we tell him the child is dead? He may do some harm!" ¹⁹ But David noticed his servants whispering among themselves and realized that the child was dead. He asked his servants, "Is the child dead?" They replied, "Yes, he is." ²⁰ Rising from the ground, David washed and anointed himself, and changed his clothes. Then he went to the house of the LORD and worshiped. He returned to his own house, where at his request food was set before him, and he ate. ²¹ His servants said to him: "What is this you are doing? While the child was living, you fasted and wept and kept vigil; now that the child is dead, you rise and take food." ²² He replied: "While the child was living, I fasted and wept, thinking, 'Perhaps the LORD will grant me the child's life.' ²³ But now he is dead. Why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me." ²⁴ Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba. He went and slept with her; and she conceived and bore him a son, who was named Solomon. The LORD loved him ²⁵ and sent the prophet Nathan to name him Jedidiah, on behalf of the LORD. ²⁶ Joab fought against Rabbah of the Ammonites and captured this royal city. ²⁷ He sent messengers to David with the word: "I have fought against Rabbah and have taken the water-city. ²⁸ Therefore, assemble the rest of the soldiers, join the siege against the city and capture it, lest it be I that capture the city and it be credited to me." ²⁹ So David assembled the rest of the soldiers and went to Rabbah. When he had fought against it and captured it, ³⁰ he took the crown from Milcom's head. It weighed a talent, of gold and precious stones; it was placed on David's head. He brought out immense booty from the city, ³¹ and also led away the inhabitants, whom he assigned to work with saws, iron picks, and iron axes, or put to work at the brickmold. This is what he did to all the Ammonite cities. David and all the soldiers then returned to Jerusalem. 2 Samuel Chapter 13 ¹ Some time later the following incident occurred. David's son Absalom had a beautiful sister named Tamar, and David's son Amnon loved her. ² He was in such straits over his sister Tamar that he became sick; since she was a virgin, Amnon thought it impossible to carry out his designs toward her. ³ Now Amnon had a friend named Jonadab, son of David's brother Shimeah, who was very clever. ⁴ He asked him, "Prince, why are you so dejected morning after morning? Why not tell me?" So Amnon said to him, "I am in love with Tamar, my brother Absalom's sister." ⁵ Then Jonadab replied, "Lie down on your bed and pretend to be sick. When your father comes to visit you, say to him, 'Please let my sister Tamar come and encourage me to take food. If she prepares something appetizing in my presence, for me to see, I will eat it from her hand.'" ⁶ So Amnon lay down and pretended to be sick.

ver. ⁴ He asked him, "Prince, why are you so dejected morning after morning? Why not tell me?" So Amnon said to him, "I am in love with Tamar, my brother Absalom's sister." ⁵ Then Jonadab replied, "Lie down on your bed and pretend to be sick. When your father comes to visit you, say to him, 'Please let my sister Tamar come and encourage me to take food. If she prepares something appetizing in my presence, for me to see, I will eat it from her hand.'" ⁶ So Amnon lay down and pretended to be sick. When the king came to visit him, Amnon said to the king, "Please let my sister Tamar come and prepare some fried cakes before my eyes, that I may take nourishment from her hand." ⁷ David then sent home a message to Tamar, "Please go to the house of your brother Amnon and prepare some nourishment for him." ⁸ Tamar went to the house of her brother Amnon, who was in bed. Taking dough and kneading it, she twisted it into cakes before his eyes and fried the cakes. ⁹ Then she took the pan and set out the cakes before him. But Amnon would not eat; he said, "Have everyone leave me." When they had all left him, ¹⁰ Amnon said to

271 Tamar, "Bring the nourishment into the bedroom, that I may have it from your hand." So Tamar picked up the cakes she had prepared and brought them to her brother Amnon in the bedroom. ¹¹ But when she brought them to him to eat, he seized her and said to her, "Come! Lie with me, my sister!" ¹² But she answered him, "No my brother! Do not shame me! That is an intolerable crime in Israel. Do not commit this insensate deed. ¹³ Where would I take my shame? And you would be a discredited man in Israel. So please, speak to the king; he will not keep me from you." ¹⁴ Not heeding her plea, he overpowered her; he shamed her and had relations with her. ¹⁵ Then Amnon conceived an intense hatred for her, which far surpassed the love he had had for her. "Get up and leave," he said to her. ¹⁶ She replied, "No, brother, because to drive me out would be far worse than the first injury you have done me." He would not listen to her, ¹⁷ but called the youth who was his attendant and said, "Put her outside, away from me, and bar the door after her." ¹⁸ Now she had on a long tunic, for that is how maiden princesses dressed in olden days. When his attendant put her out and barred the door after her, ¹⁹ Tamar put ashes on her head and tore the long tunic in which she was clothed. Then, putting her hands to her head, she went away crying loudly. ²⁰ Her brother Absalom said to her: "Has your brother Amnon been with you? Be still now, my sister; he is your brother. Do not take this affair to heart." But Tamar remained grief-stricken and forlorn in the house of her brother Absalom. ²¹ King David, who got word of the whole affair, became very angry. He did not, however, spark the resentment of his son Amnon, whom he favored because he was his first-born. ²² Absalom, moreover, said nothing at all to Amnon, although he hated him for having shamed his sister Tamar. ²³ After a period of two years, Absalom had shearers in Baalhazor near Ephraim, and he invited all the princes. ²⁴ Absalom went to the king and said: "Your servant is having shearers. Please, your majesty, come with all your retainers to your servant." ²⁵ But the King said to Absalom, "No, my son, all of us should not go lest we be a burden to you." And though Absalom urged him, he refused to go and began to bid him good- bye. ²⁶ Absalom then said, "If you will not come yourself, please let my brother Amnon come to us." The king asked him, "Why should he go to you?" ²⁷ At Absalom's urging, however, he sent Amnon and all the other princes with him. Absalom prepared a banquet fit for royalty. ²⁸ But he had instructed his servants: "Now watch! When Amnon is merry with wine and I say to you, 'Kill Amnon,' put him to death. Do not be afraid, for it is I who order you to do it. Be resolute and act manfully." ²⁹ When the servants did to Amnon as Absalom had commanded, all the other princes rose, mounted their mules, and fled. ³⁰ While they were still on the road, a report reached David that Absalom had killed all the princes and that not one of them had survived. ³¹ The king stood up, rent his garments, and then lay on the ground. All his servants standing by him also rent their garments. ³² But Jonadab, son of David's brother Shimeah, spoke up: "Let not my lord think that all the young princes have been killed! Amnon alone is dead, for Absalom was determined on this ever since Amnon shamed his sister Tamar. ³³ So let not my lord the king put faith in the report that all the princes are dead. Amnon alone is dead." ³⁴ Meanwhile, Absalom had taken flight. Then the servant on watch looked about and saw a large group coming down the slope from the direction of Bahurim. He came in and reported this, telling the king that he had seen some men coming down the mountainside from the direction of Bahurim. ³⁵ So Jonadab said to the king: "There! The princes have come. It is as your servant said." ³⁶ No sooner had he finished speaking than the princes came in, weeping aloud.

he princes are dead. Amnon alone is dead." ³⁴ Meanwhile, Absalom had taken flight. Then the servant on watch looked about and saw a large group coming down the slope from the direction of Bahurim. He came in and reported this, telling the king that he had seen some men coming down the mountainside from the direction of Bahurim. ³⁵ So Jonadab said to the king: "There! The princes have come. It is as your servant said." ³⁶ No sooner had he finished speaking than the princes came in, weeping aloud. The king, too, and all his servants wept very bitterly. ³⁷ But Absalom, who had taken flight, went to Talmai, son of Ammihud, king of Geshur, ³⁸ and stayed in Geshur for three years. ³⁹ The king continued during all that time to mourn over his son; but his longing reached out for Absalom as he became reconciled to the death of Amnon. 2 Samuel Chapter 14 ¹ When Joab, son of Zeruiah, observed how the king felt toward Absalom, ² he sent to Tekoa and

272 brought from there a gifted woman, to whom he said: "Pretend to be in mourning. Put on mourning apparel and do not anoint yourself with oil, that you may appear to be a woman who has been long in mourning for a departed one. ³ Then go to the king and speak to him in this manner." And Joab instructed her what to say. ⁴ So the woman of Tekoa went to the king and fell prostrate to the ground in homage, saying, "Help, your majesty!" ⁵ The king said to her, "What do you want?" She replied: "Alas, I am a widow; my husband is dead. ⁶ Your servant had two sons, who quarreled in the field. There being no one to part them, one of them struck his brother and killed him. ⁷ Then the whole clan confronted your servant and demanded: 'Give up the one who killed his brother. We must put him to death for the life of his brother whom he has slain; we must extinguish the heir also.' Thus they will quench my remaining hope and leave my husband neither name nor posterity upon the earth." ⁸ The king then said to the woman: "Go home. I will issue a command on your behalf." ⁹ The woman of Tekoa answered him, "Let me and my family be to blame, my lord king; you and your throne are innocent." ¹⁰ Then the king said, "If anyone says a word to you, have him brought to me, and he shall not touch you again." ¹¹ But she went on to say, "Please, your majesty, keep in mind the LORD your God, that the avenger of blood may not go too far in destruction and that my son may not be done away with." He replied, "As the LORD lives, not a hair of your son shall fall to the ground." ¹² The woman continued, "Please let your servant say still another word to my lord the king." He replied, "Speak." ¹³ So the woman said: "Why, then, do you think of this same kind of thing against the people of God? In pronouncing as he has, the king shows himself guilty, for not bringing back his own banished son. ¹⁴ We must indeed die; we are then like water that is poured out on the ground and cannot be gathered up. Yet, though God does not bring back life, he does take thought how not to banish anyone from him. ¹⁵ And now, if I have presumed to speak of this matter to your majesty, it is because the people have given me cause to fear. And so your servant thought: 'Let me speak to the king. Perhaps he will grant the petition of his maidservant. ¹⁶ For the king must surely consent to free his servant from the grasp of one who would seek to destroy me and my son as well from God's inheritance.'" ¹⁷ And the woman concluded: "Let the word of my lord the king provide a resting place; indeed, my lord the king is like an angel of God, evaluating good and bad. The LORD your God be with you." ¹⁸ The king answered the woman, "Now do not conceal from me anything I may ask you!" The woman said, "Let my lord the king speak." ¹⁹ So the king asked, "Is Joab involved with you in all this?" And the woman answered: "As you live, my lord the king, it is just as your majesty has said, and not otherwise. It was your servant Joab who instructed me and told your servant all these things she was to say. ²⁰ Your servant Joab did this to come at the issue in a roundabout way. But my lord is as wise as an angel of God, so that he knows all things on earth." ²¹ Then the king said to Joab: "I hereby grant this request. Go, therefore, and bring back young Absalom." ²² Falling prostrate to the ground in homage and blessing the king, Joab said, "This day I know that I am in good favor with you, my lord the king, since the king has granted the request of his servant." ²³ Joab then went off to Geshur and brought Absalom to Jerusalem. ²⁴ But the king said, "Let him go to his own house; he shall not appear before me." So Absalom went off to his house and did not appear before the king. ²⁵ In all Israel there was not a man who could so be praised for his beauty as Absalom, who was without blemish from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head.

ay I know that I am in good favor with you, my lord the king, since the king has granted the request of his servant." ²³ Joab then went off to Geshur and brought Absalom to Jerusalem. ²⁴ But the king said, "Let him go to his own house; he shall not appear before me." So Absalom went off to his house and did not appear before the king. ²⁵ In all Israel there was not a man who could so be praised for his beauty as Absalom, who was without blemish from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. ²⁶ When he shaved his head - which he used to do at the end of every year, because his hair became too heavy for him - the hair weighed two hundred shekels according to the royal standard. ²⁷ Absalom had three sons born to him, besides a daughter named Tamar, who was a beautiful woman. ²⁸ Absalom lived in Jerusalem for two years without appearing before the king. ²⁹ Then he summoned Joab to send him to the king, but Joab would not come to him. Although he summoned him a second time, Joab refused to come. ³⁰ He therefore instructed his servants: "You see Joab's field that borders mine, on which he has barley. Go, set it on fire." And so Absalom's servants set

273 the field on fire. Joab's farmhands came to him with torn garments and reported to him what had been done. ³¹ At this, Joab went to Absalom in his house and asked him, "Why have your servants set my field on fire?" ³² Absalom answered Joab: "I was summoning you to come here, that I may send you to the king to say: 'Why did I come back from Geshur? I would be better off if I were still there!' Now, let me appear before the king. If I am guilty, let him put me to death." ³³ Joab went to the king and reported this. The king then called Absalom, who came to him and in homage fell on his face to the ground before the king. Then the king kissed him. 2 Samuel Chapter 15 ¹ After this Absalom provided himself with chariots, horses, and fifty henchmen. ² Moreover, Absalom used to rise early and stand alongside the road leading to the gate. If someone had a lawsuit to be decided by the king, Absalom would call to him and say, "From what city are you?" And when he replied, "Your servant is of such and such a tribe of Israel," ³ Absalom would say to him, "Your suit is good and just, but there is no one to hear you in the king's name." ⁴ And he would continue: "If only I could be appointed judge in the land! Then everyone who has a lawsuit to be decided might come to me and I would render him justice." ⁵ Whenever a man approached him to show homage, he would extend his hand, hold him, and kiss him. ⁶ By behaving in this way toward all the Israelites who came to the king for judgment, Absalom was stealing away the loyalties of the men of Israel. ⁷ After a period of four years, Absalom said to the king: "Allow me to go to Hebron and fulfill a vow I made to the LORD. ⁸ For while living in Geshur in Aram, your servant made this vow: 'If the LORD ever brings me back to Jerusalem, I will worship him in Hebron.'" ⁹ The king wished him a safe journey, and he went off to Hebron. ¹⁰ Then Absalom sent spies throughout the tribes of Israel to say, "When you hear the sound of the horn, declare Absalom king in Hebron." ¹¹ Two hundred men had accompanied Absalom from Jerusalem. They had been invited and went in good faith, knowing nothing of the plan. ¹² Absalom also sent to Ahithophel the Gilonite, David's counselor, an invitation to come from his town, Giloh, for the sacrifices he was about to offer. So the conspiracy gained strength, and the people with Absalom increased in numbers. ¹³ An informant came to David with the report, "The Israelites have transferred their loyalty to Absalom." ¹⁴ At this, David said to all his servants who were with him in Jerusalem: "Up! Let us take flight, or none of us will escape from Absalom. Leave quickly, lest he hurry and overtake us, then visit disaster upon us and put the city to the sword." ¹⁵ The king's officers answered him, "Your servants are ready, whatever our lord the king chooses to do." ¹⁶ Then the king set out, accompanied by his entire household, except for ten concubines whom he left behind to take care of the palace. ¹⁷ As the king left the city, with all his officers accompanying him, they halted opposite the ascent of the Mount of Olives, at a distance, ¹⁸ while the whole army marched past him. As all the Cherethites and Pelethites, and the six hundred men of Gath who had accompanied him from that city, were passing in review before the king, ¹⁹ he said to Ittai the Gittite: "Why should you also go with us? Go back and stay with the king, for you are a foreigner and you, too, are an exile from your own country. ²⁰ You came only yesterday, and shall I have you wander about with us today, wherever I have to go?

the Mount of Olives, at a distance, ¹⁸ while the whole army marched past him. As all the Cherethites and Pelethites, and the six hundred men of Gath who had accompanied him from that city, were passing in review before the king, ¹⁹ he said to Ittai the Gittite: "Why should you also go with us? Go back and stay with the king, for you are a foreigner and you, too, are an exile from your own country. ²⁰ You came only yesterday, and shall I have you wander about with us today, wherever I have to go? Return and take your brothers with you, and may the LORD be kind and faithful to you." ²¹ But Ittai answered the king, "As the LORD lives, and as my lord the king lives, your servant shall be wherever my lord the king may be, whether for death or for life." ²² So the king said to Ittai, "Go, then, march on." And Ittai the Gittite, with all his men and all the dependents that were with him, marched on. ²³ Everyone in the countryside wept aloud as the last of the soldiers went by, and the king crossed the Kidron Valley with all the soldiers moving on ahead of him by way of the Mount of Olives, toward the desert. ²⁴ Zadok, too (with all the Levite bearers of the ark of the covenant of God), and Abiathar brought the ark of God to a halt until the soldiers had marched out of the city. ²⁵ Then the king said to Zadok: "Take the

274 ark of God back to the city. If I find favor with the LORD, he will bring me back and permit me to see it and its lodging. ²⁶ But if he should say, 'I am not pleased with you,' I am ready; let him do to me as he sees fit." ²⁷ The king also said to the priest Zadok: "See to it that you and Abiathar return to the city in peace, and both your sons with you, your own son Ahimaaz, and Abiathar's son Jonathan. ²⁸ Remember, I shall be waiting at the fords near the desert until I receive information from you." ²⁹ So Zadok and Abiathar took the ark of God back to Jerusalem and remained there. ³⁰ As David went up the Mount of Olives, he wept without ceasing. His head was covered, and he was walking barefoot. All those who were with him also had their heads covered and were weeping as they went. ³¹ When David was informed that Ahithophel was among the conspirators with Absalom, he said, "O LORD, turn the counsel of Ahithophel to folly!" ³² When David reached the top, where men used to worship God, Hushai the Archite was there to meet him, with rent garments and dirt upon his head. ³³ David said to him: "If you come with me, you will be a burden to me. ³⁴ But if you return to the city and say to Absalom, 'Let me be your servant, O king; I was formerly your father's servant, but now I will be yours,' you will undo for me the counsel of Ahithophel. ³⁵ You will have the priests Zadok and Abiathar there with you. If you hear anything from the royal palace, you shall report it to the priests Zadok and Abiathar, ³⁶ who have there with them both Zadok's son Ahimaaz and Abiathar's son Jonathan. Through them you shall send on to me whatever you hear." ³⁷ So David's friend Hushai went into the city of Jerusalem as Absalom was about to enter it. 2 Samuel Chapter 16 ¹ David had gone a little beyond the top when Ziba, the servant of Meribbaal, met him with saddled asses laden with two hundred loaves of bread, an ephah of cakes of pressed raisins, an ephah of summer fruits, and a skin of wine. ² The king said to Ziba, "What do you plan to do with these?" Ziba replied: "The asses are for the king's household to ride on. The bread and summer fruits are for your servants to eat, and the wine for those to drink who are weary in the desert." ³ Then the king said, "And where is your lord's son?" Ziba answered the king, "He is staying in Jerusalem, for he said, 'Now the Israelites will restore to me my father's kingdom.'" ⁴ The king therefore said to Ziba, "So! Everything Meribbaal had is yours." Then Ziba said: "I pay you homage, my lord the king. May I find favor with you!" ⁵ As David was approaching Bahurim, a man named Shimei, the son of Gera of the same clan as Saul's family, was coming out of the place, cursing as he came. ⁶ He threw stones at David and at all the king's officers, even though all the soldiers, including the royal guard, were on David's right and on his left. ⁷ Shimei was saying as he cursed: "Away, away, you murderous and wicked man! ⁸ The LORD has requited you for all the bloodshed in the family of Saul, in whose stead you became king, and the LORD has given over the kingdom to your son Absalom. And now you suffer ruin because you are a murderer." ⁹ Abishai, son of Zeruiah, said to the king: "Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Let me go over, please, and lop off his head." ¹⁰ But the king replied: "What business is it of mine or of yours, sons of Zeruiah, that he curses? Suppose the LORD has told him to curse David; who then will dare to say, 'Why are you doing this?'" ¹¹ Then the king said to Abishai and to all his servants: "If my own son, who came forth from my loins, is seeking my life, how much more might this Benjaminite do so! Let him alone and let him curse, for the LORD has told him to.

urse my lord the king? Let me go over, please, and lop off his head." ¹⁰ But the king replied: "What business is it of mine or of yours, sons of Zeruiah, that he curses? Suppose the LORD has told him to curse David; who then will dare to say, 'Why are you doing this?'" ¹¹ Then the king said to Abishai and to all his servants: "If my own son, who came forth from my loins, is seeking my life, how much more might this Benjaminite do so! Let him alone and let him curse, for the LORD has told him to. ¹² Perhaps the LORD will look upon my affliction and make it up to me with benefits for the curses he is uttering this day." ¹³ David and his men continued on the road, while Shimei kept abreast of them on the hillside, all the while cursing and throwing stones and dirt as he went. ¹⁴ The king and all the soldiers with him arrived at the Jordan tired out, and stopped there for a rest. ¹⁵ In the meantime Absalom, accompanied by Ahithophel, entered Jerusalem with all the Israelites. ¹⁶ When David's friend Hushai the Archite came to Absalom, he said to him: "Long live the king! Long live the king!" ¹⁷ But Absalom

275 asked Hushai: "Is this your devotion to your friend? Why did you not go with your friend?" ¹⁸ Hushai replied to Absalom: "On the contrary, I am his whom the LORD and all this people and all Israel have chosen, and with him I will stay. ¹⁹ Furthermore, as I was in attendance upon your father, so will I be before you. Whom should I serve, if not his son?" ²⁰ Then Absalom said to Ahithophel, "Offer your counsel on what we should do." ²¹ Ahithophel replied to Absalom: "Have relations with your father's concubines, whom he left behind to take care of the palace. When all Israel hears how odious you have made yourself to your father, all your partisans will take courage." ²² So a tent was pitched on the roof for Absalom, and he visited his father's concubines in view of all Israel. ²³ Now the counsel given by Ahithophel at that time was as though one had sought divine revelation. Such was all his counsel both to David and to Absalom. 2 Samuel Chapter 17 ¹ Ahithophel went on to say to Absalom: "Please let me choose twelve thousand men, and be off in pursuit of David tonight. ² If I come upon him when he is weary and discouraged, I shall cause him panic. When all the people with him flee, I shall strike down the king alone. ³ Then I can bring back the rest of the people to you, as a bride returns to her husband. It is the death of only one man you are seeking; then all the people will be at peace." ⁴ This plan was agreeable to Absalom and to all the elders of Israel. ⁵ Then Absalom said, "Now call Hushai the Archite also; let us hear what he too has to say." ⁶ When Hushai came to Absalom, Absalom said to him: "This is what Ahithophel proposed. Shall we follow his proposal? If not, speak up." ⁷ Hushai replied to Absalom, "This time Ahithophel has not given good counsel." ⁸ And he went on to say: "You know that your father and his men are warriors, and that they are as fierce as a bear in the wild robbed of her cubs. Moreover, since your father is skilled in warfare, he will not spend the night with the people. ⁹ Even now he lies hidden in one of the caves or in some other place. And if some of our soldiers should fall at the first attack, whoever hears of it will say, 'Absalom's followers have been slaughtered.' ¹⁰ Then even the brave man with the heart of a lion will lose courage. For all Israel knows that your father is a warrior and that those who are with him are brave. ¹¹ "This is what I counsel: Let all Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba, who are as numerous as the sands by the sea, be called up for combat; and go with them yourself. ¹² We can then attack him wherever we find him, settling down upon him as dew alights on the ground. None shall survive - neither he nor any of his followers. ¹³ And if he retires into a city, all Israel shall bring ropes to that city and we can drag it into the gorge, so that not even a pebble of it can be found." ¹⁴ Then Absalom and all the Israelites pronounced the counsel of Hushai the Archite better than that of Ahithophel. For the LORD had decided to undo Ahithophel's good counsel, in order thus to bring Absalom to ruin. ¹⁵ Then Hushai said to the priests Zadok and Abiathar: "This is the counsel Ahithophel gave Absalom and the elders of Israel, and this is what I counseled. ¹⁶ So send a warning to David immediately, not to spend the night at the fords near the desert, but to cross over without fail. Otherwise the king and all the people with him will be destroyed." ¹⁷ Now Jonathan and Ahimaaz were staying at En-rogel, since they could not risk being seen entering the city. A maidservant was to come with information for them, and they in turn were to go and report to King David. ¹⁸ But an attendant saw them and informed Absalom. They sped on their way and reached the house of a man in Bahurim who had a cistern in his courtyard.

ht at the fords near the desert, but to cross over without fail. Otherwise the king and all the people with him will be destroyed." ¹⁷ Now Jonathan and Ahimaaz were staying at En-rogel, since they could not risk being seen entering the city. A maidservant was to come with information for them, and they in turn were to go and report to King David. ¹⁸ But an attendant saw them and informed Absalom. They sped on their way and reached the house of a man in Bahurim who had a cistern in his courtyard. They let themselves down into this, ¹⁹ and the housewife took the cover and spread it over the cistern, strewing ground grain on the cover so that nothing could be noticed. ²⁰ When Absalom's servants came to the woman at the house, they asked, "Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?" The woman replied, "They went by a short while ago toward the water." They searched, but found no one, and so returned to Jerusalem. ²¹ As soon as they left, Ahimaaz and Jonathan came up out of the cistern and went on to inform King David. They said to him: "Leave! Cross the water at once, for Ahithophel has given the following counsel

276 in regard to you." ²² So David and all his people moved on and crossed the Jordan. By daybreak, there was no one left who had not crossed. ²³ When Ahithophel saw that his counsel was not acted upon, he saddled his ass and departed, going to his home in his own city. Then, having left orders concerning his family, he hanged himself. And so he died and was buried in his father's tomb. ²⁴ Now David had gone to Mahanaim when Absalom crossed the Jordan accompanied by all the Israelites. ²⁵ Absalom had put Amasa in command of the army in Joab's place. Amasa was the son of an Ishmaelite named Ithra, who had married Abigail, daughter of Jesse and sister of Joab's mother Zeruiah. ²⁶ Israel and Absalom encamped in the territory of Gilead. ²⁷ When David came to Mahanaim, Shobi, son of Nahash from Rabbah of the Ammonites, Machir, son of Ammiel from Lodebar, and Barzillai, the Gileadite from Rogelim, ²⁸ brought couches, coverlets, basins and earthenware, as well as wheat, barley, flour, roasted grain, beans, lentils, ²⁹ honey, butter and cheese from the flocks and herds, for David and those who were with him to eat; for they said, "The people have been hungry and tired and thirsty in the desert." 2 Samuel Chapter 18 ¹ After mustering the troops he had with him, David placed officers in command of groups of a thousand and groups of a hundred. ² David then put a third part of the soldiers under Joab's command, a third under command of Abishai, son of Zeruiah and brother of Joab, and a third under command of Ittai the Gittite. The king then said to the soldiers, "I intend to go out with you myself." ³ But they replied: "You must not come out with us. For if we should flee, we shall not count; even if half of us should die, we shall not count. You are equal to ten thousand of us. Therefore it is better that we have you to help us from the city." ⁴ So the king said to them, "I will do what you think best"; and he stood by the gate as all the soldiers marched out in units of a hundred and of a thousand. ⁵ But the king gave this command to Joab, Abishai and Ittai: "Be gentle with young Absalom for my sake." All the soldiers heard the king instruct the various leaders with regard to Absalom. ⁶ David's army then took the field against Israel, and a battle was fought in the forest near Mahanaim. ⁷ The forces of Israel were defeated by David's servants, and the casualties there that day were heavy - twenty thousand men. ⁸ The battle spread out over that entire region, and the thickets consumed more combatants that day than did the sword. ⁹ Absalom unexpectedly came up against David's servants. He was mounted on a mule, and, as the mule passed under the branches of a large terebinth, his hair caught fast in the tree. He hung between heaven and earth while the mule he had been riding ran off. ¹⁰ Someone saw this and reported to Joab that he had seen Absalom hanging from a terebinth. ¹¹ Joab said to his informant: "If you saw him, why did you not strike him to the ground on the spot? Then it would have been my duty to give you fifty pieces of silver and a belt." ¹² But the man replied to Joab: "Even if I already held a thousand pieces of silver in my two hands, I would not harm the king's son, for the king charged you and Abishai and Ittai in our hearing to protect the youth Absalom for his sake. ¹³ Had I been disloyal and killed him, the whole matter would have come to the attention of the king, and you would stand aloof." ¹⁴ Joab replied, "I will not waste time with you in this way." And taking three pikes in hand, he thrust for the heart of Absalom, still hanging from the tree alive. ¹⁵ Next, ten of Joab's young armor-bearers closed in on Absalom, and killed him with further blows. ¹⁶ Joab then sounded the horn, and the soldiers turned back from the pursuit of the Israelites, because Joab called on them to halt. ¹⁷ Absalom was taken up and cast into a deep pit in the forest, and a very large mound of stones was erected over him.

"I will not waste time with you in this way." And taking three pikes in hand, he thrust for the heart of Absalom, still hanging from the tree alive. ¹⁵ Next, ten of Joab's young armor-bearers closed in on Absalom, and killed him with further blows. ¹⁶ Joab then sounded the horn, and the soldiers turned back from the pursuit of the Israelites, because Joab called on them to halt. ¹⁷ Absalom was taken up and cast into a deep pit in the forest, and a very large mound of stones was erected over him. And all the Israelites fled to their own tents. ¹⁸ During his lifetime Absalom had taken a pillar and erected it for himself in the King's Valley, for he said, "I have no son to perpetuate my name." The pillar which he named for himself is called Yadabshalom to the present day. ¹⁹ Then Ahimaaz, son of Zadok, said, "Let me run to take the good news to the king that the LORD has set him free from the grasp of his enemies." ²⁰ But Joab

277 said to him: "You are not the man to bring the news today. On some other day you may take the good news, but today you would not be bringing good news, for in fact the king's son is dead." ²¹ Then Joab said to a Cushite, "Go, tell the king what you have seen." The Cushite bowed to Joab and sped away. ²² But Ahimaaz, son of Zadok, said to Joab again, "Come what may, permit me also to run after the Cushite." Joab replied: "Why do you want to run, my son? You will receive no reward." ²³ But he insisted, "Come what may, I want to run." Joab said to him, "Very well." Ahimaaz sped off by way of the Jordan plain and outran the Cushite. ²⁴ Now David was sitting between the two gates, and a lookout mounted to the roof of the gate above the city wall, where he looked about and saw a man running all alone. ²⁵ The lookout shouted to inform the king, who said, "If he is alone, he has good news to report." As he kept coming nearer, ²⁶ the lookout spied another runner. From his place atop the gate he cried out, "There is another man running by himself." And the king responded, "He, too, is bringing good news." ²⁷ Then the lookout said, "I notice that the first one runs like Ahimaaz, son of Zadok." The king replied, "He is a good man; he comes with good news." ²⁸ Then Ahimaaz called out and greeted the king. With face to the ground he paid homage to the king and said, "Blessed be the LORD your God, who has delivered up the men who rebelled against my lord the king." ²⁹ But the king asked, "Is the youth Absalom safe?" And Ahimaaz replied, "I saw a great disturbance when the king's servant Joab sent your servant on, but I do not know what it was." ³⁰ The king said, "Step aside and remain in attendance here." So he stepped aside and remained there. ³¹ When the Cushite came in, he said, "Let my lord the king receive the good news that this day the LORD has taken your part, freeing you from the grasp of all who rebelled against you." ³² But the king asked the Cushite, "Is young Absalom safe?" The Cushite replied, "May the enemies of my lord the king and all who rebel against you with evil intent be as that young man!" 2 Samuel Chapter 19 ¹ The king was shaken, and went up to the room over the city gate to weep. He said as he wept, "My son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you, Absalom, my son, my son!" ² Joab was told that the king was weeping and mourning for Absalom; ³ and that day's victory was turned into mourning for the whole army when they heard that the king was grieving for his son. ⁴ The soldiers stole into the city that day like men shamed by flight in battle. ⁵ Meanwhile the king covered his face and cried out in a loud voice, "My son Absalom! Absalom! My son, my son!" ⁶ Then Joab went to his residence and said: "Though they saved your life and your sons' and daughters' lives, also the lives of your wives and those of your concubines, you have put all your servants to shame today ⁷ by loving those who hate you and hating those who love you. For you have shown today that officers and servants mean nothing to you. Indeed I am now certain that if Absalom were alive today and all of us dead, you would think that more suitable. ⁸ Now then, get up! Go out and speak kindly to your servants. I swear by the LORD that if you do not go out, not a single man will remain with you overnight, and this will be a far greater disaster for you than any that has afflicted you from your youth until now." ⁹ So the king stepped out and sat at the gate. When all the people were informed that the king was sitting at the gate, they came into his presence.

t if Absalom were alive today and all of us dead, you would think that more suitable. ⁸ Now then, get up! Go out and speak kindly to your servants. I swear by the LORD that if you do not go out, not a single man will remain with you overnight, and this will be a far greater disaster for you than any that has afflicted you from your youth until now." ⁹ So the king stepped out and sat at the gate. When all the people were informed that the king was sitting at the gate, they came into his presence. Now the Israelites had fled to their separate tents, ¹⁰ but throughout the tribes of Israel all the people were arguing among themselves, saying to one another: "The king delivered us from the clutches of our enemies, and it was he who rescued us from the grip of the Philistines. But now he has fled from the country before Absalom, ¹¹ and Absalom, whom we anointed over us, died in battle. Why, then, should you remain silent about restoring the king to his palace?" When the talk of all Israel reached the king, ¹² David sent word to the priests Zadok and Abiathar: "Say to the elders of Judah: 'Why should you be last to restore the king to his palace? ¹³ You are my brothers, you are my bone and flesh. Why should you be last to restore the king?' ¹⁴ Also say

278 to Amasa: 'Are you not my bone and flesh? May God do thus and so to me, if you do not become my general permanently in place of Joab.'" ¹⁵ He won over all the Judahites as one man, and so they summoned the king to return, with all his servants. ¹⁶ When the king, on his return, reached the Jordan, Judah had come to Gilgal to meet him and to escort him across the Jordan. ¹⁷ Shimei, son of Gera, the Benjaminite from Bahurim, hurried down with the Judahites to meet King David, ¹⁸ accompanied by a thousand men from Benjamin. Ziba, too, the servant of the house of Saul, accompanied by his fifteen sons and twenty servants, hastened to the Jordan before the king. ¹⁹ They crossed over the ford to bring the king's household over and to do whatever he wished. When Shimei, son of Gera, crossed the Jordan, he fell down before the king ²⁰ and said to him: "May my lord not hold me guilty, and may he not remember and take to heart the wrong that your servant did the day my lord the king left Jerusalem. ²¹ For your servant knows that he has done wrong. Yet realize that I have been the first of the whole house of Joseph to come down today to meet my lord the king." ²² But Abishai, son of Zeruiah, countered: "Shimei must be put to death for this. He cursed the LORD'S anointed." ²³ David replied: "What has come between you and me, sons of Zeruiah, that you would create enmity for me this day? Should anyone die today in Israel? Am I not aware that today I am king of Israel?" ²⁴ Then the king said to Shimei, "You shall not die." And the king gave him his oath. ²⁵ Meribbaal, son of Saul, also went down to meet the king. He had not washed his feet nor trimmed his mustache nor washed his clothes from the day the king left until he returned safely. ²⁶ When he came from Jerusalem to meet the king, the king asked him, "Why did you not go with me, Meribbaal?" ²⁷ He replied: "My lord the king, my servant betrayed me. For your servant, who is lame, said to him, 'Saddle the ass for me, that I may ride on it and go with the king.' ²⁸ But he slandered your servant before my lord the king. But my lord the king is like an angel of God. Do what you judge best. ²⁹ For though my father's entire house deserved only death from my lord the king, yet you placed your servant among the guests at your table. What right do I still have to make further appeal to the king?" ³⁰ But the king said to him: "Why do you go on talking? I say, 'You and Ziba shall divide the property.'" ³¹ Meribbaal answered the king, "Indeed let him have it all, now that my lord the king has returned safely to his palace." ³² Barzillai the Gileadite also came down from Rogelim and escorted the king to the Jordan for his crossing, taking leave of him there. ³³ It was Barzillai, a very old man of eighty and very wealthy besides, who had provisioned the king during his stay in Mahanaim. ³⁴ The king said to Barzillai, "Cross over with me, and I will provide for your old age as my guest in Jerusalem." ³⁵ But Barzillai answered the king: "How much longer have I to live, that I should go up to Jerusalem with the king? ³⁶ I am now eighty years old. Can I distinguish between good and bad? Can your servant taste what he eats and drinks, or still appreciate the voices of singers and songstresses? Why should your servant be any further burden to my lord the king? ³⁷ In escorting the king across the Jordan, your servant is doing little enough! Why should the king give me this reward? ³⁸ Please let your servant go back to die in his own city by the tomb of his father and mother. Here is your servant Chimham. Let him cross over with my lord the king. Do for him whatever you will." ³⁹ Then the king said to him, "Chimham shall come over with me, and I will do for him as you would wish. And anything else you would like me to do for you, I will do." ⁴⁰ Then all the people crossed over the Jordan but the king remained; he kissed Barzillai and bade him Godspeed as he returned to his own district.

your servant go back to die in his own city by the tomb of his father and mother. Here is your servant Chimham. Let him cross over with my lord the king. Do for him whatever you will." ³⁹ Then the king said to him, "Chimham shall come over with me, and I will do for him as you would wish. And anything else you would like me to do for you, I will do." ⁴⁰ Then all the people crossed over the Jordan but the king remained; he kissed Barzillai and bade him Godspeed as he returned to his own district. ⁴¹ Finally the king crossed over to Gilgal, accompanied by Chimham. All the people of Judah and half of the people of Israel had escorted the king across. ⁴² But all these Israelites began coming to the king and saying, "Why did our brothers the Judahites steal you away and escort the king and his household across the Jordan, along with all David's men?" ⁴³ All the Judahites replied to the men of Israel: "Because the king is our relative. Why are you angry over this affair? Have we had anything to eat at the king's expense? Or have portions from his table been given to us?" ⁴⁴ The Israelites answered the Judahites: "We have ten shares in the king. Also,

279 we are the first-born rather than you. Why do you slight us? Were we not first to speak of restoring the king?" Then the Judahites in turn spoke even more fiercely than the Israelites. 2 Samuel Chapter 20 ¹ Now a rebellious individual from Benjamin named Sheba, the son of Bichri, happened to be there. He sounded the horn and cried out, "We have no portion in David, nor any share in the son of Jesse. Every man to his tent, O Israel!" ² So all the Israelites left David for Sheba, son of Bichri. But from the Jordan to Jerusalem the Judahites remained loyal to their king. ³ When King David came to his palace in Jerusalem, he took the ten concubines whom he had left behind to take care of the palace and placed them in confinement. He provided for them, but had no further relations with them. And so they remained in confinement to the day of their death, lifelong widows. ⁴ Then the king said to Amasa: "Summon the Judahites for me within three days. Then present yourself here." ⁵ Accordingly Amasa set out to summon Judah, but delayed beyond the time set for him by David. ⁶ Then David said to Abishai: "Sheba, son of Bichri, may now do us more harm than Absalom did. Take your lord's servants and pursue him, lest he find fortified cities and take shelter while we look on." ⁷ So Joab and the Cherethites and Pelethites and all the warriors marched out behind Abishai from Jerusalem to campaign in pursuit of Sheba, son of Bichri. ⁸ They were at the great stone in Gibeon when Amasa met them. Now Joab had a belt over his tunic, from which was slung, in its sheath near his thigh, a sword that could be drawn with a downward movement. ⁹ And Joab asked Amasa, "How are you, my brother?" With his right hand Joab held Amasa's beard as if to kiss him. ¹⁰ And since Amasa was not on his guard against the sword in Joab's other hand, Joab stabbed him in the abdomen with it, so that his entrails burst forth to the ground, and he died without receiving a second thrust. Then Joab and his brother Abishai pursued Sheba, son of Bichri. ¹¹ One of Joab's attendants stood by Amasa and said, "Let him who favors Joab and is for David follow Joab." ¹² Amasa lay covered with blood in the middle of the highroad, and the man noticed that all the soldiers were stopping. So he removed Amasa from the road to the field and placed a garment over him, because all who came up to him were stopping. ¹³ When he had been removed from the road, everyone went on after Joab in pursuit of Sheba, son of Bichri. ¹⁴ Sheba passed through all the tribes of Israel to Abel Beth-maacah. Then all the Bichrites assembled and they too entered the city after him. ¹⁵ So David's servants came and besieged him in Abel Beth- maacah. They threw up a mound against the city, and all the soldiers who were with Joab began battering the wall to throw it down. ¹⁶ Then a wise woman from the city stood on the outworks and called out, "Listen, listen! Tell Joab to come here, that I may speak with him." ¹⁷ When Joab had come near her, the woman said, "Are you Joab?" And he replied, "Yes." She said to him, "Listen to what your maidservant has to say." He replied. "I am listening." ¹⁸ Then she went on to say: "There is an ancient saying, 'Let them ask if they will in Abel ¹⁹ or in Dan whether loyalty is finished or ended in Israel.' You are seeking to beat down a city that is a mother in Israel. Why do you wish to destroy the inheritance of the LORD?" ²⁰ Joab answered, "Not at all, not at all! I do not wish to destroy or to ruin anything. ²¹ That is not the case at all. A man named Sheba, son of Bichri, from the hill country of Ephraim has rebelled against King David. Surrender him alone, and I will withdraw from the city." Then the woman said to Joab, "His head shall be thrown to you across the wall." ²² She went to all the people with her advice, and they cut off the head of Sheba, son of Bichri, and threw it out to Joab.

ance of the LORD?" ²⁰ Joab answered, "Not at all, not at all! I do not wish to destroy or to ruin anything. ²¹ That is not the case at all. A man named Sheba, son of Bichri, from the hill country of Ephraim has rebelled against King David. Surrender him alone, and I will withdraw from the city." Then the woman said to Joab, "His head shall be thrown to you across the wall." ²² She went to all the people with her advice, and they cut off the head of Sheba, son of Bichri, and threw it out to Joab. He then sounded the horn, and they scattered from the city to their own tents, while Joab returned to Jerusalem to the king. ²³ Joab was in command of the whole army of Israel. Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, was in command of the Cherethites and Pelethites. ²⁴ Adoram was in charge of the forced labor. Jehoshaphat, son of Ahilud, was the chancellor. ²⁵ Shawsha was the scribe. Zadok and Abiathar were priests. ²⁶ Ira the Jairite was also David's priest.

280 2 Samuel Chapter 21 ¹ During David's reign there was a famine for three successive years. David had recourse to the LORD, who said, "There is bloodguilt on Saul and his family because he put the Gibeonites to death." ² So the king called the Gibeonites and spoke to them. (Now the Gibeonites were not Israelites, but survivors of the Amorites; and although the Israelites had given them their oath, Saul had attempted to kill them off in his zeal for the men of Israel and Judah.) ³ David said to the Gibeonites, "What must I do for you and how must I make atonement, that you may bless the inheritance of the LORD?" ⁴ The Gibeonites answered him, "We have no claim against Saul and his house for silver or gold, nor is it our place to put any man to death in Israel." Then he said, "I will do for you whatever you propose." ⁵ They said to the king, "As for the man who was exterminating us and who intended to destroy us that we might have no place in all the territory of Israel, ⁶ let seven men from among his descendants be given to us, that we may dismember them before the LORD in Gibeon, on the LORD'S mountain." The king replied, "I will give them up." ⁷ The king, however, spared Meribbaal, son of Jonathan, son of Saul, because of the LORD'S oath that formed a bond between David and Saul's son Jonathan. ⁸ But the king took Armoni and Meribbaal, the two sons that Aiah's daughter Rizpah had borne to Saul, and the five sons of Saul's daughter Merob that she had borne to Adriel, son of Barzillai the Meholathite, ⁹ and surrendered them to the Gibeonites. They then dismembered them on the mountain before the LORD. The seven fell at the one time; they were put to death during the first days of the harvest - that is, at the beginning of the barley harvest. ¹⁰ Then Rizpah, Aiah's daughter, took sackcloth and spread it out for herself on the rock from the beginning of the harvest until rain came down on them from the sky, fending off the birds of the sky from settling on them by day, and the wild animals by night. ¹¹ When David was informed of what Rizpah, Aiah's daughter, the concubine of Saul, had done, ¹² he went and obtained the bones of Saul and of his son Jonathan from the citizens of Jabesh-gilead, who had carried them off secretly from the public square of Beth-shan, where the Philistines had hanged them at the time they killed Saul on Gilboa. ¹³ When he had brought up from there the bones of Saul and of his son Jonathan, the bones of those who had been dismembered were also gathered up. ¹⁴ Then the bones of Saul and of his son Jonathan were buried in the tomb of his father Kish at Zela in the territory of Benjamin. After all that the king commanded had been carried out, God granted relief to the land. ¹⁵ There was another battle between the Philistines and Israel. David went down with his servants and fought the Philistines, but David grew tired. ¹⁶ Dadu, one of the Rephaim, whose bronze spear weighed three hundred shekels, was about to take him captive. Dadu was girt with a new sword and planned to kill David, ¹⁷ but Abishai, son of Zeruiah, came to his assistance and struck and killed the Philistine. Then David's men swore to him, "You must not go out to battle with us again, lest you quench the lamp of Israel." ¹⁸ After this there was another battle with the Philistines in Gob. On that occasion Sibbecai, from Husha, killed Saph, one of the Rephaim. ¹⁹ There was another battle with the Philistines in Gob, in which Elhanan, son of Jair from Bethlehem, killed Goliath of Gath, who had a spear with a shaft like a weaver's heddle-bar. ²⁰ There was another battle at Gath in which there was a man of large stature with six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot - twenty-four in all. He too was one of the Rephaim. ²¹ And when he insulted Israel, Jonathan, son of David's brother Shimei, killed him.

from Husha, killed Saph, one of the Rephaim. ¹⁹ There was another battle with the Philistines in Gob, in which Elhanan, son of Jair from Bethlehem, killed Goliath of Gath, who had a spear with a shaft like a weaver's heddle-bar. ²⁰ There was another battle at Gath in which there was a man of large stature with six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot - twenty-four in all. He too was one of the Rephaim. ²¹ And when he insulted Israel, Jonathan, son of David's brother Shimei, killed him. ²² These four were Rephaim in Gath, and they fell at the hands of David and his servants. 2 Samuel Chapter 22 ¹ David sang the words of this song to the LORD when the LORD had rescued him from the grasp of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. ² This is what he sang: I "O LORD, my rock, my

281 fortress, my deliverer, ³ my God, my rock of refuge! My shield, the horn of my salvation, my stronghold, my refuge, my savior, from violence you keep me safe. ⁴ 'Praised be the LORD,' I exclaim, and I am safe from my enemies. II ⁵ "The breakers of death surged round about me, the floods of perdition overwhelmed me; ⁶ The cords of the nether world enmeshed me, the snares of death overtook me. ⁷ In my distress I called upon the LORD and cried out to my God; From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry reached his ears. III ⁸ "The earth swayed and quaked; the foundations of the heavens trembled and shook when his wrath flared up. ⁹ Smoke rose from his nostrils, and a devouring fire from his mouth; he kindled coals into flame. ¹⁰ He inclined the heavens and came down, with dark clouds under his feet. ¹¹ He mounted a cherub and flew, borne on the wings of the wind. ¹² He made darkness the shelter about him, with spattering rain and thickening clouds. ¹³ From the brightness of his presence coals were kindled to flame. ¹⁴ "The LORD thundered from heaven; the Most High gave forth his voice. ¹⁵ He sent forth arrows to put them to flight; he flashed lightning and routed them. ¹⁶ Then the wellsprings of the sea appeared, the foundations of the earth were laid bare, At the rebuke of the LORD, at the blast of the wind of his wrath. ¹⁷ "He reached out from on high and grasped me; he drew me out of the deep waters. ¹⁸ He rescued me from my mighty enemy, from my foes, who were too powerful for me. ¹⁹ They attacked me on my day of calamity, but the LORD came to my support. ²⁰ He set me free in the open, and rescued me, because he loves me. IV ²¹ "The LORD rewarded me according to my justice; according to the cleanness of my hands he requited me. ²² For I kept the ways of the LORD and was not disloyal to my God. ²³ For his ordinances were all present to me, and his statutes I put not from me; ²⁴ But I was wholehearted toward him, and I was on my guard against guilt. ²⁵ And the LORD requited me according to my justice, according to my innocence in his sight. ²⁶ "Toward the faithful you are faithful; toward the wholehearted you are wholehearted; ²⁷ Toward the sincere you are sincere; but toward the crooked you are astute. ²⁸ You save lowly people, though on the lofty your eyes look down. ²⁹ You are my lamp, O LORD! O my God, you brighten the darkness about me. ³⁰ For with your aid I run against an armed band, and by the help of my God I leap over a wall. ³¹ God's way is unerring; the promise of the LORD is fire-tried; he is a shield to all who take refuge in him." V ³² "For who is God except the LORD? Who is a rock save our God? ³³ The God who girded me with strength and kept my way unerring; ³⁴ Who made my feet swift as those of hinds and set me on the heights; ³⁵ Who trained my hands for war till my arms could bend a bow of brass. VI ³⁶ "You have given me your saving shield, and your help has made me great. ³⁷ You made room for my steps; unwavering was my stride. ³⁸ I pursued my enemies and destroyed them, nor did I turn again till I made an end of them. ³⁹ I smote them and they did not rise; they fell beneath my feet. VII

282 ⁴⁰ "You girded me with strength for war; you subdued my adversaries beneath me. ⁴¹ My enemies you put to flight before me and those who hated me I destroyed. ⁴² They cried for help-but no one saved them; to the LORD - but he answered them not. ⁴³ I ground them fine as the dust of the earth; like the mud in the streets I trampled them down. VIII ⁴⁴ "You rescued me from the strife of my people; you made me head over nations. A people I had not known became my slaves; ⁴⁵ as soon as they heard me, they obeyed. ⁴⁶ The foreigners fawned and cringed before me; they staggered forth from their fortresses." ⁴⁷ "The LORD live! And blessed be my Rock! Extolled be my God, rock of my salvation. ⁴⁸ O God, who granted me vengeance, who made peoples subject to me ⁴⁹ and helped me escape from my enemies, Above my adversaries you exalt me and from the violent man you rescue me. ⁵⁰ Therefore will I proclaim you, O LORD, among the nations, and I will sing praise to your name, ⁵¹ You who gave great victories to your king and showed kindness to your anointed, to David and his posterity forever." 2 Samuel Chapter 23 ¹ These are the last words of David: "The utterance of David, son of Jesse; the utterance of the man God raised up, Anointed of the God of Jacob, favorite of the Mighty One of Israel. ² The spirit of the LORD spoke through me; his word was on my tongue. ³ The God of Israel spoke; of me the Rock of Israel said, 'He that rules over men in justice, that rules in the fear of God, ⁴ Is like the morning light at sunrise on a cloudless morning, making the greensward sparkle after rain.' ⁵ Is not my house firm before God? He has made an eternal covenant with me, set forth in detail and secured. Will he not bring to fruition all my salvation and my every desire? ⁶ But the wicked are all like thorns to be cast away; they cannot be taken up by hand. ⁷ He who wishes to touch them must arm himself with iron and the shaft of a spear, and they must be consumed by fire." ⁸ These are the names of David's warriors. Ishbaal, son of Hachamoni, was the first of the Three. It was he who brandished his battle-ax over eight hundred slain in a single encounter. ⁹ Next to him, among the Three warriors, was Eleazar, son of Dodo the Ahohite. He was with David at Ephes-dammim when the Philistines assembled there for battle. The Israelites had retreated, ¹⁰ but he stood his ground and fought the Philistines until his hand grew tired and became cramped, holding fast to the sword. The LORD brought about a great victory on that day; the soldiers turned back after Eleazar, but only to strip the slain. ¹¹ Next to him was Shammah, son of Agee the Hararite. The Philistines had assembled at Lehi, where there was a plot of land full of lentils. When the soldiers fled from the Philistines, ¹² he took his stand in the middle of the plot and defended it. He slew the Philistines, and the LORD brought about a great victory. Such were the deeds of the Three warriors. ¹³ During the harvest three of the Thirty went down to David in the cave of Adullam, while a Philistine clan was encamped in the Vale of Rephaim. ¹⁴ At that time David was in the refuge, and there was a garrison of Philistines in Bethlehem. ¹⁵ Now David had a strong craving and said, "Oh, that someone would give me a drink of water from the cistern that is by the gate of Bethlehem!" ¹⁶ So the Three warriors broke through the Philistine camp and drew water from the cistern that is by the gate of Bethlehem. But when they brought it to David he refused to drink it, and instead poured it out to the LORD, ¹⁷ saying: "The LORD forbid that I do this! Can I drink the blood of these men who went at the risk of their lives?" So he refused to drink it. ¹⁸ Abishai, brother of Joab, son of Zeruiah, was at the head of the Thirty. It was he who brandished his spear over three hundred slain. He was listed among the Thirty ¹⁹ and commanded greater respect than the Thirty, becoming their leader.

gate of Bethlehem. But when they brought it to David he refused to drink it, and instead poured it out to the LORD, ¹⁷ saying: "The LORD forbid that I do this! Can I drink the blood of these men who went at the risk of their lives?" So he refused to drink it. ¹⁸ Abishai, brother of Joab, son of Zeruiah, was at the head of the Thirty. It was he who brandished his spear over three hundred slain. He was listed among the Thirty ¹⁹ and commanded greater respect than the Thirty, becoming their leader. However, he did not attain to the Three. ²⁰ Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, a stalwart from Kabzeel, was a man of great achievements. It was he who slew the two lions in Moab. He also went down and killed the lion in the cistern at the time of the snow. ²¹ It

283 was he, too, who slew an Egyptian of large stature. Although the Egyptian was armed with a spear, he went against him with a club and wrested the spear from the Egyptian's hand, then killed him with his own spear. ²² Such were the deeds performed by Benaiah, son of Jehoiada. He was listed among the Thirty warriors ²³ and commanded greater respect than the Thirty. However, he did not attain to the Three. David put him in command of his bodyguard. ²⁴ Asahel, brother of Joab. . . .Among the Thirty were: Elhanan, son of Dodo, from Bethlehem; ²⁵ Shammah from En-harod; Elika from En-harod; ²⁶ Helez from Beth-pelet; Ira, son of Ikkesh, from Tekoa; ²⁷ Abiezer from Anathoth; Sibbecai from Hushah; ²⁸ Zalmon from Ahoh; Maharai from Netophah; ²⁹ Heled, son of Baanah, from Netophah; Ittai, son of Ribai, from Gibeah of the Benjaminites; ³⁰ Benaiah from Pirathon; Hiddai from Nahale-gaash; ³¹ Abibaal from Beth-arabah; Azmaveth from Bahurim; ³² Eliahba from Shaalbon; Jashen the Gunite; Jonathan, ³³ son of Shammah the Hararite; Ahiam, son of Sharar the Hararite; ³⁴ Eliphelet, son of Ahasbai, from Beth-maacah; Eliam, son of Ahithophel, from Gilo; ³⁵ Hezrai from Carmel; Paarai the Arbite; ³⁶ Igal, son of Nathan, from Zobah; Bani the Gadite; ³⁷ Zelek the Ammonite; Naharai from Beeroth, armor-bearer of Joab, son of Zeruiah; ³⁸ Ira from Jattir; Gareb from Jattir; ³⁹ Uriah the Hittite-thirty-seven in all. 2 Samuel Chapter 24 ¹ The LORD'S anger against Israel flared again, and he incited David against the Israelites by prompting him to number Israel and Judah. ² Accordingly the king said to Joab and the leaders of the army who were with him, "Tour all the tribes in Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba and register the people, that I may know their number." ³ But Joab said to the king: "May the LORD your God increase the number of people a hundredfold for your royal majesty to see it with his own eyes. But why does it please my lord the king to order a thing of this kind?" ⁴ The king, however, overruled Joab and the leaders of the army, so they left the king's presence in order to register the people of Israel. ⁵ Crossing the Jordan, they began near Aroer, south of the city in the wadi, and went in the direction of Gad toward Jazer. ⁶ They continued on to Gilead and to the district below Mount Hermon. Then they proceeded to Dan; from there they turned toward Sidon, ⁷ going to the fortress of Tyre and to all the cities of the Hivites and Canaanites, and ending up at Beer-sheba in the Negeb of Judah. ⁸ Thus they toured the whole country, reaching Jerusalem again after nine months and twenty days. ⁹ Joab then reported to the king the number of people registered: in Israel, eight hundred thousand men fit for military service; in Judah, five hundred thousand. ¹⁰ Afterward, however, David regretted having numbered the people, and said to the LORD: "I have sinned grievously in what I have done. But now, LORD, forgive the guilt of your servant, for I have been very foolish." ¹¹ When David rose in the morning, the LORD had spoken to the prophet Gad, David's seer, saying: ¹² "Go and say to David, 'This is what the LORD says: I offer you three alternatives; choose one of them, and I will inflict it on you.'" ¹³ Gad then went to David to inform him. He asked: "Do you want a three years' famine to come upon your land, or to flee from your enemy three months while he pursues you, or to have a three days' pestilence in your land? Now consider and decide what I must reply to him who sent me." ¹⁴ David answered Gad: "I am in very serious difficulty. Let us fall by the hand of God, for he is most merciful; but let me not fall by the hand of man." ¹⁵ Thus David chose the pestilence. Now it was the time of the wheat harvest when the plague broke out among the people.

ant a three years' famine to come upon your land, or to flee from your enemy three months while he pursues you, or to have a three days' pestilence in your land? Now consider and decide what I must reply to him who sent me." ¹⁴ David answered Gad: "I am in very serious difficulty. Let us fall by the hand of God, for he is most merciful; but let me not fall by the hand of man." ¹⁵ Thus David chose the pestilence. Now it was the time of the wheat harvest when the plague broke out among the people. (The LORD then sent a pestilence over Israel from morning until the time appointed, and seventy thousand of the people from Dan to Beer-sheba died.) ¹⁶ But when the angel stretched forth his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, the LORD regretted the calamity and said to the angel causing the destruction among the people, "Enough now! Stay your hand." The angel of the LORD was then standing at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. ¹⁷ When David saw the angel who was striking the people, he said to the LORD: "It is I who have sinned; it is I, the shepherd, who have done wrong. But these are sheep; what have

284 they done? Punish me and my kindred." ¹⁸ On the same day Gad went to David and said to him, "Go up and build an altar to the LORD on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite." ¹⁹ Following Gad's bidding, David went up as the LORD had commanded. ²⁰ Now Araunah looked down and noticed the king and his servants coming toward him while he was threshing wheat. So he went out and paid homage to the king, with face to the ground. ²¹ Then Araunah asked, "Why does my lord the king come to his servant?" David replied, "To buy the threshing floor from you, to build an altar to the LORD, that the plague may be checked among the people." ²² But Araunah said to David: "Let my lord the king take and offer up whatever he may wish. Here are oxen for holocausts, and threshing sledges and the yokes of the oxen for wood. ²³ All this does Araunah give to the king." Araunah then said to the king, "May the LORD your God accept your offering." ²⁴ The king, however, replied to Araunah, "No, I must pay you for it, for I cannot offer to the LORD my God holocausts that cost nothing." So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty silver shekels. ²⁵ Then David built an altar there to the LORD, and offered holocausts and peace offerings. The LORD granted relief to the country, and the plague was checked in Israel. I Kings 1 Kings Chapter 1 ¹ When King David was old and advanced in years, though they spread covers over him he could not keep warm. ² His servants therefore said to him, "Let a young virgin be sought to attend you, lord king, and to nurse you. If she sleeps with your royal majesty, you will be kept warm." ³ So they sought for a beautiful girl throughout the territory of Israel, and found Abishag the Shunamite, whom they brought to the king. ⁴ The maiden, who was very beautiful, nursed the king and cared for him, but the king did not have relations with her. ⁵ Adonijah, son of Haggith, began to display his ambition to be king. He acquired chariots, drivers, and fifty henchmen. ⁶ Yet his father never rebuked him or asked why he was doing this. Adonijah was also very handsome, and next in age to Absalom by the same mother. ⁷ He conferred with Joab, son of Zeruiah, and with Abiathar the priest, and they supported him. ⁸ However, Zadok the priest, Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, Nathan the prophet, and Shimei and his companions, the pick of David's army, did not side with Adonijah. ⁹ When he slaughtered sheep, oxen, and fatlings at the stone Zoheleth, near En-rogel, Adonijah invited all his brothers, the king's sons, and all the royal officials of Judah. ¹⁰ But he did not invite the prophet Nathan, or Benaiah, or the pick of the army, or his brother Solomon. ¹¹ Then Nathan said to Bathsheba, Solomon's mother: "Have you not heard that Adonijah, son of Haggith, has become king without the knowledge of our lord David? ¹² Come now, let me advise you so that you may save your life and that of your son Solomon. ¹³ Go, visit King David, and say to him, 'Did you not, lord king, swear to your handmaid: Your son Solomon shall be king after me and shall sit upon my throne? Why, then, has Adonijah become king?' ¹⁴ And while you are still there speaking to the king, I will come in after you and confirm what you have said." ¹⁵ So Bathsheba visited the king in his room, while Abishag the Shunamite was attending him because of his advanced age. ¹⁶ Bathsheba bowed in homage to the king, who said to her, "What do you wish?" ¹⁷ She answered him: "My lord, you swore to me your handmaid by the LORD, your God, that my son Solomon should reign after you and sit upon your throne. ¹⁸ But now Adonijah has become king, and you, my lord king, do not know it. ¹⁹ He has slaughtered oxen, fatlings, and sheep in great numbers; he has invited all the king's sons, Abiathar the priest, and Joab, the general of the army, but not your servant Solomon.

age. ¹⁶ Bathsheba bowed in homage to the king, who said to her, "What do you wish?" ¹⁷ She answered him: "My lord, you swore to me your handmaid by the LORD, your God, that my son Solomon should reign after you and sit upon your throne. ¹⁸ But now Adonijah has become king, and you, my lord king, do not know it. ¹⁹ He has slaughtered oxen, fatlings, and sheep in great numbers; he has invited all the king's sons, Abiathar the priest, and Joab, the general of the army, but not your servant Solomon. ²⁰ Now, my lord king, all Israel is waiting for you to make known to them who is to sit on the throne after your royal majesty. ²¹ If this is not done, when my lord the king sleeps with his fathers, I and my son Solomon will be

285 considered criminals." ²² While she was still speaking to the king, the prophet Nathan came in. ²³ When he had been announced, the prophet entered the king's presence and, bowing to the floor, did him homage. ²⁴ Then Nathan said: "Have you decided, my lord king, that Adonijah is to reign after you and sit on your throne? ²⁵ He went down today and slaughtered oxen, fatlings, and sheep in great numbers; he invited all the king's sons, the commanders of the army, and Abiathar the priest, and they are eating and drinking in his company and saying, 'Long live King Adonijah!' ²⁶ But me, your servant, he did not invite; nor Zadok the priest, nor Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, nor your servant Solomon. ²⁷ Was this done by my royal master's order without my being told who was to succeed to your majesty's kingly throne?" ²⁸ King David answered, "Call Bathsheba here." When she re-entered the king's presence and stood before him, ²⁹ the king swore, "As the LORD lives, who has delivered me from all distress, ³⁰ this very day I will fulfill the oath I swore to you by the LORD, the God of Israel, that your son Solomon should reign after me and should sit upon my throne in my place." ³¹ Bowing to the floor in homage to the king, Bathsheba said, "May my lord, King David, live forever!" ³² Then King David summoned Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah, son of Jehoiada. When they had entered the king's presence, ³³ he said to them: "Take with you the royal attendants. Mount my son Solomon upon my own mule and escort him down to Gihon. ³⁴ There Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet are to anoint him king of Israel, and you shall blow the horn and cry, 'Long live King Solomon!' ³⁵ When you come back in his train, he is to go in and sit upon my throne and reign in my place. I designate him ruler of Israel and of Judah." ³⁶ In answer to the king, Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, said: "So be it! May the LORD, the God of my lord the king, so decree! ³⁷ As the LORD has been with your royal majesty, so may he be with Solomon, and exalt his throne even more than that of my lord, King David!" ³⁸ So Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites and Pelethites went down, and mounting Solomon on King David's mule, escorted him to Gihon. ³⁹ Then Zadok the priest took the horn of oil from the tent and anointed Solomon. They blew the horn and all the people shouted, "Long live King Solomon!" ⁴⁰ Then all the people went up after him, playing flutes and rejoicing so much as to split open the earth with their shouting. ⁴¹ Adonijah and all the guests who were with him heard it, just as they ended their banquet. When Joab heard the sound of the horn, he asked, "What does this uproar in the city mean?" ⁴² As he was speaking, Jonathan, son of Abiathar the priest, arrived. "Come," said Adonijah, "you are a man of worth and must bring good news." ⁴³ "On the contrary!" Jonathan answered him. "Our lord, King David, has made Solomon king. ⁴⁴ The king sent with him Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites and Pelethites, and they mounted him upon the king's own mule. ⁴⁵ Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anointed him king at Gihon, and they went up from there rejoicing, so that the city is in an uproar. That is the noise you heard. ⁴⁶ Besides, Solomon took his seat on the royal throne, ⁴⁷ and the king's servants went in and paid their respects to our lord, King David, saying, 'May God make Solomon more famous than you and exalt his throne more than your own!' And the king in his bed worshiped God, ⁴⁸ and this is what he said: 'Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who has this day seated one of my sons upon my throne, so that I see it with my own eyes.'" ⁴⁹ All the guests of Adonijah left in terror, each going his own way. ⁵⁰ Adonijah, in fear of Solomon, also left; he went and seized the horns of the altar.

and paid their respects to our lord, King David, saying, 'May God make Solomon more famous than you and exalt his throne more than your own!' And the king in his bed worshiped God, ⁴⁸ and this is what he said: 'Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who has this day seated one of my sons upon my throne, so that I see it with my own eyes.'" ⁴⁹ All the guests of Adonijah left in terror, each going his own way. ⁵⁰ Adonijah, in fear of Solomon, also left; he went and seized the horns of the altar. ⁵¹ It was reported to Solomon that Adonijah, in his fear of King Solomon, had seized the horns of the altar and said, "Let King Solomon first swear that he will not kill me, his servant, with the sword." ⁵² Solomon answered, "If he proves himself worthy, not a hair shall fall from his head. But if he is found guilty of crime, he shall die." ⁵³ King Solomon sent to have him brought down from the altar, and he came and paid homage to the king. Solomon then said to him, "Go to your home." 1 Kings Chapter 2

286 ¹ When the time of David's death drew near, he gave these instructions to his son Solomon: ² "I am going the way of all mankind. Take courage and be a man. ³ Keep the mandate of the LORD, your God, following his ways and observing his statutes, commands, ordinances, and decrees as they are written in the law of Moses, that you may succeed in whatever you do, wherever you turn, ⁴ and the LORD may fulfill the promise he made on my behalf when he said, 'If your sons so conduct themselves that they remain faithful to me with their whole heart and with their whole soul, you shall always have someone of your line on the throne of Israel.' ⁵ You yourself know what Joab, son of Zeruiah, did to me when he slew the two generals of Israel's armies, Abner, son of Ner, and Amasa, son of Jether. He took revenge for the blood of war in a time of peace, and put bloodshed without provocation on the belt about my waist and the sandal on my foot. ⁶ Act with the wisdom you possess; you must not allow him to go down to the grave in peaceful old age. ⁷ But be kind to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and have them eat at your table. For they received me kindly when I was fleeing your brother Absalom. ⁸ You also have with you Shimei, son of Gera, the Benjaminite of Bahurim, who cursed me balefully when I was going to Mahanaim. Because he came down to meet me at the Jordan, I swore to him by the LORD that I would not put him to the sword. ⁹ But you must not let him go unpunished. You are a prudent man and will know how to deal with him to send down his hoary head in blood to the grave." ¹⁰ David rested with his ancestors and was buried in the City of David. ¹¹ The length of David's reign over Israel was forty years: he reigned seven years in Hebron and thirty-three years in Jerusalem. ¹² When Solomon was seated on the throne of his father David, with his sovereignty firmly established, ¹³ Adonijah, son of Haggith, went to Bathsheba, the mother of Solomon. "Do you come as a friend?" she asked. "Yes," he answered, ¹⁴ and added, "I have something to say to you." She replied, "Say it." ¹⁵ So he said: "You know that the kingdom was mine, and all Israel expected me to be king. But the kingdom escaped me and became my brother's, for the LORD gave it to him. ¹⁶ But now there is one favor I would ask of you. Do not refuse me." And she said, "Speak on." ¹⁷ He said, "Please ask King Solomon, who will not refuse you, to give me Abishag the Shunamite for my wife." ¹⁸ "Very well," replied Bathsheba, "I will speak to the king for you." ¹⁹ Then Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak to him for Adonijah, and the king stood up to meet her and paid her homage. Then he sat down upon his throne, and a throne was provided for the king's mother, who sat at his right. ²⁰ "There is one small favor I would ask of you," she said. "Do not refuse me." "Ask it, my mother," the king said to her, "for I will not refuse you." ²¹ So she said, "Let Abishag the Shunamite be given to your brother Adonijah for his wife." ²² "And why do you ask Abishag the Shunamite for Adonijah?" King Solomon answered his mother. "Ask the kingdom for him as well, for he is my elder brother and has with him Abiathar the priest and Joab, son of Zeruiah." ²³ And King Solomon swore by the LORD: "May God do thus and so to me, and more besides, if Adonijah has not proposed this at the cost of his life. ²⁴ And now, as the LORD lives, who has seated me firmly on the throne of my father David and made of me a dynasty as he promised, this day shall Adonijah be put to death." ²⁵ Then King Solomon sent Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, who struck him dead. ²⁶ The king said to Abiathar the priest: "Go to your land in Anathoth.

the priest and Joab, son of Zeruiah." ²³ And King Solomon swore by the LORD: "May God do thus and so to me, and more besides, if Adonijah has not proposed this at the cost of his life. ²⁴ And now, as the LORD lives, who has seated me firmly on the throne of my father David and made of me a dynasty as he promised, this day shall Adonijah be put to death." ²⁵ Then King Solomon sent Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, who struck him dead. ²⁶ The king said to Abiathar the priest: "Go to your land in Anathoth. Though you deserve to die, I will not put you to death this time, because you carried the ark of the Lord GOD before my father David and shared in all the hardships my father endured." ²⁷ So Solomon deposed Abiathar from his office of priest of the LORD, thus fulfilling the prophecy which the LORD had made in Shiloh about the house of Eli. ²⁸ When the news came to Joab, who had sided with Adonijah, though not with Absalom, he fled to the tent of the LORD and seized the horns of the altar. ²⁹ King Solomon was told that Joab had fled to the tent of the LORD and was at the altar. He sent Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, with the order, "Go, strike him down." ³⁰ Benaiah went to the tent of the LORD and said to him, "The king says, 'Come out.'" But he answered, "No! I will die here." Benaiah reported to the king, "This is what Joab said to me in reply." ³¹ The king answered him: "Do as he has said,

287 Strike him down and bury him, and you will remove from me and from my family the blood which Joab shed without provocation. ³² The LORD will hold him responsible for his own blood, because he struck down two men better and more just than himself, and slew them with the sword without my father David's knowledge: Abner, son of Ner, general of Israel's army, and Amasa, son of Jether, general of Judah's army. ³³ Joab and his descendants shall be responsible forever for their blood. But there shall be the peace of the LORD forever for David, and his descendants, and his house, and his throne." ³⁴ Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, went back, struck him down and killed him; he was buried in his house in the desert. ³⁵ The king appointed Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, over the army in his place, and put Zadok the priest in place of Abiathar. ³⁶ Then the king summoned Shimei and said to him: "Build yourself a house in Jerusalem and live there. Do not go anywhere else. ³⁷ For if you leave, and cross the Kidron Valley, be certain you shall die without fail. You shall be responsible for your own blood." ³⁸ Shimei answered the king: "I accept. Your servant will do just as the king's majesty has said." So Shimei stayed in Jerusalem for a long time. ³⁹ But three years later, two of Shimei's servants ran away to Achish, son of Maacah, king of Gath, and Shimei was informed that his servants were in Gath. ⁴⁰ So Shimei rose, saddled his ass, and went to Achish in Gath in search of his servants, whom he brought back. ⁴¹ When Solomon was informed that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath, and had returned, ⁴² the king summoned Shimei and said to him: "Did I not have you swear by the LORD to your clear understanding of my warning that, if you left and went anywhere else, you should die without fail? And you answered, 'I accept and obey.' ⁴³ Why, then, have you not kept the oath of the LORD and the command that I gave you?" ⁴⁴ And the king said to Shimei: "You know in your heart the evil that you did to my father David. Now the LORD requites you for your own wickedness. ⁴⁵ But King Solomon shall be blessed, and David's throne shall endure before the LORD forever." ⁴⁶ The king then gave the order to Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, who struck him dead as he left. 1 Kings Chapter 3 ¹ With the royal power firmly in his grasp, Solomon allied himself by marriage with Pharaoh, king of Egypt. The daughter of Pharaoh, whom he married, he brought to the City of David, until he should finish building his palace, and the temple of the LORD, and the wall around Jerusalem. ² However, the people were sacrificing on the high places, for up to that time no temple had been built to the name of the LORD. ³ Solomon loved the LORD, and obeyed the statutes of his father David; yet he offered sacrifice and burned incense on the high places. ⁴ The king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, because that was the most renowned high place. Upon its altar Solomon offered a thousand holocausts. ⁵ In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream at night. God said, "Ask something of me and I will give it to you." ⁶ Solomon answered: "You have shown great favor to your servant, my father David, because he behaved faithfully toward you, with justice and an upright heart; and you have continued this great favor toward him, even today, seating a son of his on his throne. ⁷ O LORD, my God, you have made me, your servant, king to succeed my father David; but I am a mere youth, not knowing at all how to act. ⁸ I serve you in the midst of the people whom you have chosen, a people so vast that it cannot be numbered or counted. ⁹ Give your servant, therefore, an understanding heart to judge your people and to distinguish right from wrong. For who is able to govern this vast people of yours?" ¹⁰ The LORD was pleased that Solomon made this request.

of his on his throne. ⁷ O LORD, my God, you have made me, your servant, king to succeed my father David; but I am a mere youth, not knowing at all how to act. ⁸ I serve you in the midst of the people whom you have chosen, a people so vast that it cannot be numbered or counted. ⁹ Give your servant, therefore, an understanding heart to judge your people and to distinguish right from wrong. For who is able to govern this vast people of yours?" ¹⁰ The LORD was pleased that Solomon made this request. ¹¹ So God said to him: "Because you have asked for this - not for a long life for yourself, nor for riches, nor for the life of your enemies, but for understanding so that you may know what is right - ¹² I do as you requested. I give you a heart so wise and understanding that there has never been anyone like you up to now, and after you there will come no one to equal you. ¹³ In addition, I give you what you have not asked for, such riches and glory that among kings there is not your like. ¹⁴ And if you follow me by keeping my statutes and commandments, as your

288 father David did, I will give you a long life." ¹⁵ When Solomon awoke from his dream, he went to Jerusalem, stood before the ark of the covenant of the LORD, offered holocausts and peace offerings, and gave a banquet for all his servants. ¹⁶ Later, two harlots came to the king and stood before him. ¹⁷ One woman said: "By your leave, my lord, this woman and I live in the same house, and I gave birth in the house while she was present. ¹⁸ On the third day after I gave birth, this woman also gave birth. We were alone in the house; there was no one there but us two. ¹⁹ This woman's son died during the night; she smothered him by lying on him. ²⁰ Later that night she got up and took my son from my side, as I, your handmaid, was sleeping. Then she laid him in her bosom, after she had laid her dead child in my bosom. ²¹ I rose in the morning to nurse my child, and I found him dead. But when I examined him in the morning light, I saw it was not the son whom I had borne." ²² The other woman answered, "It is not so! The living one is my son, the dead one is yours." But the first kept saying, "No, the dead one is your child, the living one is mine!" Thus they argued before the king. ²³ Then the king said: "One woman claims, 'This, the living one, is my child, and the dead one is yours.' The other answers, 'No! The dead one is your child; the living one is mine.'" ²⁴ The king continued, "Get me a sword." When they brought the sword before him, ²⁵ he said, "Cut the living child in two, and give half to one woman and half to the other." ²⁶ The woman whose son it was, in the anguish she felt for it, said to the king, "Please, my lord, give her the living child - please do not kill it!" The other, however, said, "It shall be neither mine nor yours. Divide it!" ²⁷ The king then answered, "Give the first one the living child! By no means kill it, for she is the mother." ²⁸ When all Israel heard the judgment the king had given, they were in awe of him, because they saw that the king had in him the wisdom of God for giving judgment. 1 Kings Chapter 4 ¹ Solomon was king over all Israel, ² and these were the officials he had in his service: Azariah, son of Zadok, priest; ³ Elihoreph and Ahijah, sons of Shisha, scribes; Jehoshaphat, son of Ahilud, chancellor; ⁴ (Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, commander of the army; Zadok and Abiathar, priests;) ⁵ Azariah, son of Nathan, chief of the commissaries; Zabud, son of Nathan, companion to the king; ⁶ Ahishar, major-domo of the palace; and Adoniram, son of Abda, superintendent of the forced labor. ⁷ Solomon had twelve commissaries for all Israel who supplied food for the king and his household, each having to provide for one month in the year. ⁸ Their names were: the son of Hur in the hill country of Ephraim; ⁹ the son of Deker in Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth-shemesh, Elon and Beth-hanan; ¹⁰ the son of Hesed in Arubboth, as well as in Socoh and the whole region of Hepher; ¹¹ the son of Abinadab, who was married to Solomon's daughter Taphath, in all the Naphath-dor; ¹² Baana, son of Ahilud, in Taanach and Megiddo, and beyond Jokmeam, and in all Beth-shean, and in the country around Zarethan below Jezreel from Beth-shean to Abel-meholah; ¹³ the son of Geber in Ramoth-gilead, having charge of the villages of Jair, son of Manasseh, in Gilead; and of the district of Argob in Bashan - sixty large walled cities with gates barred with bronze; ¹⁴ Ahinadab, son of Iddo, in Mahanaim; ¹⁵ Ahimaaz, who was married to Basemath, another daughter of Solomon, in Naphtali; ¹⁶ Baana, son of Hushai, in Asher and along the rocky coast; ¹⁷ Jehoshaphat, son of Paruah, in Issachar; ¹⁸ Shimei, son of Ela, in Benjamin; ¹⁹ Geber, son of Uri, in the land of Gilead, the land of Sihon, king of the Amorites, and of Og, king of Bashan. There was one prefect besides, in the king's own land.

in Bashan - sixty large walled cities with gates barred with bronze; ¹⁴ Ahinadab, son of Iddo, in Mahanaim; ¹⁵ Ahimaaz, who was married to Basemath, another daughter of Solomon, in Naphtali; ¹⁶ Baana, son of Hushai, in Asher and along the rocky coast; ¹⁷ Jehoshaphat, son of Paruah, in Issachar; ¹⁸ Shimei, son of Ela, in Benjamin; ¹⁹ Geber, son of Uri, in the land of Gilead, the land of Sihon, king of the Amorites, and of Og, king of Bashan. There was one prefect besides, in the king's own land. ²⁰ Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sands by the sea; they ate and drank and made merry. 1 Kings Chapter 5 ¹ Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the River to the land of the Philistines, down to the border of Egypt; they paid Solomon tribute and were his vassals as long as he lived. ² Solomon's supplies for each day were thirty kors of fine flour, sixty kors of meal, ³ ten fatted oxen, twenty

289 pasture-fed oxen, and a hundred sheep, not counting harts, gazelles, roebucks, and fatted fowl. ⁴ He ruled over all the land west of the Euphrates, from Tiphsah to Gaza, and over all its kings, and he had peace on all his borders round about. ⁵ Thus Judah and Israel lived in security, every man under his vine or under his fig tree from Dan to Beer-sheba, as long as Solomon lived. ⁶ Solomon had four thousand stalls for his twelve thousand chariot horses. ⁷ These commissaries, one for each month, provided food for King Solomon and for all the guests at the royal table. They left nothing unprovided. ⁸ For the chariot horses and draft animals also, each brought his quota of barley and straw to the required place. ⁹ Moreover, God gave Solomon wisdom and exceptional understanding and knowledge, as vast as the sand on the seashore. ¹⁰ Solomon surpassed all the Cedemites and all the Egyptians in wisdom. ¹¹ He was wiser than all other men - than Ethan the Ezrahite, or Heman, Chalcol, and Darda, the musicians - and his fame spread throughout the neighboring nations. ¹² Solomon also uttered three thousand proverbs, and his songs numbered a thousand and five. ¹³ He discussed plants, from the cedar on Lebanon to the hyssop growing out of the wall, and he spoke about beasts, birds, reptiles, and fishes. ¹⁴ Men came to hear Solomon's wisdom from all nations, sent by all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom. ¹⁵ When Hiram, king of Tyre, heard that Solomon had been anointed king in place of his father, he sent an embassy to him; for Hiram had always been David's friend. ¹⁶ Solomon sent back this message to Hiram: ¹⁷ "You know that my father David, because of the enemies surrounding him on all sides, could not build a temple in honor of the LORD, his God, until such a time as the LORD should put these enemies under the soles of his feet. ¹⁸ But now the LORD, my God, has given me peace on all sides. There is no enemy or threat of danger. ¹⁹ So I purpose to build a temple in honor of the LORD, my God, as the LORD predicted to my father David when he said: 'It is your son whom I will put upon your throne in your place who shall build the temple in my honor.' ²⁰ Give orders, then, to have cedars from the Lebanon cut down for me. My servants shall accompany yours, since you know that there is no one among us who is skilled in cutting timber like the Sidonians, and I will pay you whatever you say for your servants' salary." ²¹ When he had heard the words of Solomon, Hiram was pleased and said, "Blessed be the LORD this day, who has given David a wise son to rule this numerous people." ²² Hiram then sent word to Solomon, "I agree to the proposal you sent me, and I will provide all the cedars and fir trees you wish. ²³ My servants shall bring them down from the Lebanon to the sea, and I will arrange them into rafts in the sea and bring them wherever you say. There I will break up the rafts, and you shall take the lumber. You, for your part, shall furnish the provisions I desire for my household." ²⁴ So Hiram continued to provide Solomon with all the cedars and fir trees he wished; ²⁵ while Solomon every year gave Hiram twenty thousand kors of wheat to provide for his household, and twenty thousand measures of pure oil. ²⁶ The LORD, moreover, gave Solomon wisdom as he promised him, and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon, since they were parties to a treaty. ²⁷ King Solomon conscripted thirty thousand workmen from all Israel. ²⁸ He sent them to the Lebanon each month in relays of ten thousand, so that they spent one month in the Lebanon and two months at home. Adoniram was in charge of the draft. ²⁹ Solomon had seventy thousand carriers and eighty thousand stonecutters in the mountain, ³⁰ in addition to three thousand three hundred overseers, answerable to Solomon's prefects for the work, directing the people engaged in the work.

arties to a treaty. ²⁷ King Solomon conscripted thirty thousand workmen from all Israel. ²⁸ He sent them to the Lebanon each month in relays of ten thousand, so that they spent one month in the Lebanon and two months at home. Adoniram was in charge of the draft. ²⁹ Solomon had seventy thousand carriers and eighty thousand stonecutters in the mountain, ³⁰ in addition to three thousand three hundred overseers, answerable to Solomon's prefects for the work, directing the people engaged in the work. ³¹ By order of the king, fine, large blocks were quarried to give the temple a foundation of hewn stone. ³² Solomon's and Hiram's builders, along with the Gebalites, hewed them out, and prepared the wood and stones for building the temple. 1 Kings Chapter 6 ¹ In the four hundred and eightieth year from the departure of the Israelites from the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, which is the second

290 month, the construction of the temple of the LORD was begun. ² The temple which King Solomon built for the LORD was sixty cubits long, twenty wide, and twenty-five high. ³ The porch in front of the temple was twenty cubits from side to side, along the width of the nave, and ten cubits deep in front of the temple. ⁴ Splayed windows with trellises were made for the temple, ⁵ and adjoining the wall of the temple, which enclosed the nave and the sanctuary, an annex of several stories was built. ⁶ Its lowest story was five cubits wide, the middle one six cubits wide, the third seven cubits wide, because there were offsets along the outside of the temple so that the beams would not be fastened into the walls of the temple. ⁷ (The temple was built of stone dressed at the quarry, so that no hammer, axe, or iron tool was to be heard in the temple during its construction.) ⁸ The entrance to the lowest floor of the annex was at the right side of the temple, and stairs with intermediate landings led up to the middle story and from the middle story to the third. ⁹ When the temple was built to its full height, it was roofed in with rafters and boards of cedar. ¹⁰ The annex, with its lowest story five cubits high, was built all along the outside of the temple, to which it was joined by cedar beams. ¹¹ This word of the LORD came to Solomon: ¹² "As to this temple you are building - if you observe my statutes, carry out my ordinances, keep and obey all my commands, I will fulfill toward you the promise I made to your father David. ¹³ I will dwell in the midst of the Israelites and will not forsake my people Israel." ¹⁴ When Solomon finished building the temple, ¹⁵ its walls were lined from floor to ceiling beams with cedar paneling, and its floor was laid with fir planking. ¹⁶ At the rear of the temple a space of twenty cubits was set off by cedar partitions from the floor to the rafters, enclosing the sanctuary, the holy of holies. ¹⁷ The nave, or part of the temple in front of the sanctuary, was forty cubits long. ¹⁸ The cedar in the interior of the temple was carved in the form of gourds and open flowers; all was of cedar, and no stone was to be seen. ¹⁹ In the innermost part of the temple was located the sanctuary to house the ark of the LORD'S covenant, ²⁰ twenty cubits long, twenty wide, and twenty high. ²¹ Solomon overlaid the interior of the temple with pure gold. He made in front of the sanctuary a cedar altar, overlaid it with gold, and looped it with golden chains. ²² The entire temple was overlaid with gold so that it was completely covered with it; the whole altar before the sanctuary was also overlaid with gold. ²³ In the sanctuary were two cherubim, each ten cubits high, made of olive wood. ²⁴ Each wing of a cherub measured five cubits so that the space from wing tip to wing tip of each was ten cubits. ²⁵ The cherubim were identical in size and shape, ²⁶ and each was exactly ten cubits high. ²⁷ The cherubim were placed in the inmost part of the temple, with their wings spread wide, so that one wing of each cherub touched a side wall while the other wing, pointing toward the middle of the room, touched the corresponding wing of the second cherub. ²⁸ The cherubim, too, were overlaid with gold. ²⁹ The walls on all sides of both the inner and the outer rooms had carved figures of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers. ³⁰ The floor of both the inner and the outer rooms was overlaid with gold. ³¹ At the entrance of the sanctuary, doors of olive wood were made; the doorframes had beveled posts. ³² The two doors were of olive wood, with carved figures of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers. The doors were overlaid with gold, which was also molded to the cherubim and the palm trees. ³³ The same was done at the entrance to the nave, where the doorposts of olive wood were rectangular.

alm trees, and open flowers. ³⁰ The floor of both the inner and the outer rooms was overlaid with gold. ³¹ At the entrance of the sanctuary, doors of olive wood were made; the doorframes had beveled posts. ³² The two doors were of olive wood, with carved figures of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers. The doors were overlaid with gold, which was also molded to the cherubim and the palm trees. ³³ The same was done at the entrance to the nave, where the doorposts of olive wood were rectangular. ³⁴ The two doors were of fir wood; each door was banded by a metal strap, front and back, ³⁵ and had carved cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers, over which gold was evenly applied. ³⁶ The inner court was walled off by means of three courses of hewn stones and one course of cedar beams. ³⁷ The foundations of the LORD'S temple were laid in the month of Ziv ³⁸ in the fourth year, and it was completed in all particulars, exactly according to plan, in the month of Bul, the eighth month, in the eleventh year. Thus it took Solomon seven years to build it. 1 Kings Chapter 7

291 ¹ His own palace Solomon completed after thirteen years of construction. ² He built the hall called the Forest of Lebanon one hundred cubits long, fifty wide, and thirty high; it was supported by four rows of cedar columns, with cedar capitals upon the columns. ³ Moreover, it had a ceiling of cedar above the beams resting on the columns; these beams numbered forty-five, fifteen to a row. ⁴ There were three window frames at either end, with windows in strict alignment. ⁵ The posts of all the doorways were rectangular, and the doorways faced each other, three at either end. ⁶ The porch of the columned hall he made fifty cubits long and thirty wide. The porch extended the width of the columned hall, and there was a canopy in front. ⁷ He also built the vestibule of the throne where he gave judgment - that is, the tribunal; it was paneled with cedar from floor to ceiling beams. ⁸ His living quarters were in another court, set in deeper than the tribunal and of the same construction. A palace like this tribunal was built for Pharaoh's daughter, whom Solomon had married. ⁹ All these buildings were of fine stones, hewn to size and trimmed front and back with a saw, from the foundation to the bonding course. ¹⁰ (The foundation was made of fine, large blocks, some ten cubits and some eight cubits. ¹¹ Above were fine stones hewn to size, and cedar wood.) ¹² The great court was enclosed by three courses of hewn stones and a bonding course of cedar beams. So also were the inner court of the temple of the LORD and the temple porch. ¹³ King Solomon had Hiram brought from Tyre. ¹⁴ He was a bronze worker, the son of a widow from the tribe of Naphtali; his father had been from Tyre. He was endowed with skill, understanding, and knowledge of how to produce any work in bronze. He came to King Solomon and did all his metal work. ¹⁵ Two hollow bronze columns were cast, each eighteen cubits high and twelve cubits in circumference; their metal was of four fingers' thickness. ¹⁶ There were also two capitals cast in bronze, to place on top of the columns, each of them five cubits high. ¹⁷ Two pieces of network with a chainlike mesh were made to cover the (nodes of the) capitals on top of the columns, one for each capital. ¹⁸ Four hundred pomegranates were also cast; two hundred of them in a double row encircled the piece of network on each of the two capitals. ¹⁹ The capitals on top of the columns were finished wholly in a lotus pattern ²⁰ above the level of the nodes and their enveloping network. ²¹ The columns were then erected adjacent to the porch of the temple, one to the right, called Jachin, and the other to the left, called Boaz. ²² Thus the work on the columns was completed. ²³ The sea was then cast; it was made with a circular rim, and measured ten cubits across, five in height, and thirty in circumference. ²⁴ Under the brim, gourds encircled it, ten to the cubit all the way around; the gourds were in two rows and were cast in one mold with the sea. ²⁵ This rested on twelve oxen, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east, with their haunches all toward the center, where the sea was set upon them. ²⁶ It was a handbreadth thick, and its brim resembled that of a cup, being lily-shaped. Its capacity was two thousand measures. ²⁷ Ten stands were also made of bronze, each four cubits long, four wide, and three high. ²⁸ When these stands were constructed, panels were set within the framework. ²⁹ On the panels between the frames there were lions, oxen, and cherubim; and on the frames likewise, above and below the lions and oxen, there were wreaths in relief. ³⁰ Each stand had four bronze wheels and bronze axles. ³¹ This was surmounted by a crown one cubit high within which was a rounded opening to provide a receptacle a cubit and a half in depth. There was carved work at the opening, on panels that were angular, not curved.

tands were constructed, panels were set within the framework. ²⁹ On the panels between the frames there were lions, oxen, and cherubim; and on the frames likewise, above and below the lions and oxen, there were wreaths in relief. ³⁰ Each stand had four bronze wheels and bronze axles. ³¹ This was surmounted by a crown one cubit high within which was a rounded opening to provide a receptacle a cubit and a half in depth. There was carved work at the opening, on panels that were angular, not curved. ³² The four wheels were below the paneling, and the axletrees of the wheels and the stand were of one piece. Each wheel was a cubit and a half high. ³³ The wheels were constructed like chariot wheels; their axles, fellies, spokes, and hubs were all cast. The four legs of each stand had cast braces, which were under the basin; they had wreaths on each side. ³⁴ These four braces, extending to the corners of each stand, were of one piece with the stand. ³⁵ On top of the stand there was a raised collar half a cubit high, with supports and panels which were of one piece with the top of the stand. ³⁶ On the surfaces of the supports and on the panels, wherever there was a clear space, cherubim, lions, and palm trees were carved,

292 as well as wreaths all around. ³⁷ This was how the ten stands were made, all of the same casting, the same size, the same shape. ³⁸ Ten bronze basins were then made, each four cubits in diameter with a capacity of forty measures, one basin for the top of each of the ten stands. ³⁹ The stands were placed, five on the south side of the temple and five on the north. The sea was placed off to the southeast from the south side of the temple. ⁴⁰ When Hiram made the pots, shovels, and bowls, he therewith completed all his work for King Solomon in the temple of the LORD: ⁴¹ two columns, two nodes for the capitals on top of the columns, two pieces of network covering the nodes for the capitals on top of the columns, ⁴² four hundred pomegranates in double rows on both pieces of network that covered the two nodes of the capitals where they met the columns, ⁴³ ten stands, ten basins on the stands, ⁴⁴ one sea, twelve oxen supporting the sea, ⁴⁵ pots, shovels, and bowls. All these articles which Hiram made for King Solomon in the temple of the LORD were of burnished bronze. ⁴⁶ The king had them cast in the neighborhood of the Jordan, in the clayey ground between Succoth and Zarethan. ⁴⁷ Solomon did not weigh all the articles because they were so numerous; the weight of the bronze, therefore, was not determined. ⁴⁸ Solomon had all the articles made for the interior of the temple of the LORD: the golden altar; the golden table on which the showbread lay; ⁴⁹ the lampstands of pure gold, five to the right and five to the left before the sanctuary, with their flowers, lamps, and tongs of gold; ⁵⁰ basins, snuffers, bowls, cups, and fire pans of pure gold; and hinges of gold for the doors of the inner room, or holy of holies, and for the doors of the outer room, the nave. ⁵¹ When all the work undertaken by King Solomon in the temple of the LORD was completed, he brought in the dedicated offerings of his father David, putting the silver, gold, and other articles in the treasuries of the temple of the LORD. 1 Kings Chapter 8 ¹ At the order of Solomon, the elders of Israel and all the leaders of the tribes, the princes in the ancestral houses of the Israelites, came to King Solomon in Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the LORD'S covenant from the city of David (which is Zion). ² All the men of Israel assembled before King Solomon during the festival in the month of Ethanim (the seventh month). ³ When all the elders of Israel had arrived, the priests took up the ark; ⁴ they carried the ark of the LORD and the meeting tent with all the sacred vessels that were in the tent. (The priests and Levites carried them.) ⁵ King Solomon and the entire community of Israel present for the occasion sacrificed before the ark sheep and oxen too many to number or count. ⁶ The priests brought the ark of the covenant of the LORD to its place beneath the wings of the cherubim in the sanctuary, the holy of holies of the temple. ⁷ The cherubim had their wings spread out over the place of the ark, sheltering the ark and its poles from above. ⁸ The poles were so long that their ends could be seen from that part of the holy place adjoining the sanctuary; however, they could not be seen beyond. (They have remained there to this day.) ⁹ There was nothing in the ark but the two stone tablets which Moses had put there at Horeb, when the LORD made a covenant with the Israelites at their departure from the land of Egypt. ¹⁰ When the priests left the holy place, the cloud filled the temple of the LORD ¹¹ so that the priests could no longer minister because of the cloud, since the LORD'S glory had filled the temple of the LORD. ¹² Then Solomon said, "The LORD intends to dwell in the dark cloud; ¹³ I have truly built you a princely house, a dwelling where you may abide forever." ¹⁴ The king turned and greeted the whole community of Israel as they stood.

with the Israelites at their departure from the land of Egypt. ¹⁰ When the priests left the holy place, the cloud filled the temple of the LORD ¹¹ so that the priests could no longer minister because of the cloud, since the LORD'S glory had filled the temple of the LORD. ¹² Then Solomon said, "The LORD intends to dwell in the dark cloud; ¹³ I have truly built you a princely house, a dwelling where you may abide forever." ¹⁴ The king turned and greeted the whole community of Israel as they stood. ¹⁵ He said to them: "Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who with his own mouth made a promise to my father David and by his hand has brought it to fulfillment. It was he who said, ¹⁶ 'Since the day I brought my people Israel out of Egypt, I have not chosen a city out of any tribe of Israel for the building of a temple to my honor; but I choose David to rule my people Israel.' ¹⁷ When my father David wished to build a temple to the honor of the LORD, the God of Israel, ¹⁸ the LORD said to him, 'In wishing to build a temple to my honor, you do well. ¹⁹ It will not be you, however, who will build the

293 temple; but the son who will spring from you, he shall build the temple to my honor.' ²⁰ And now the LORD has fulfilled the promise that he made: I have succeeded my father David and sit on the throne of Israel, as the LORD foretold, and I have built this temple to honor the LORD, the God of Israel. ²¹ I have provided in it a place for the ark in which is the covenant of the LORD, which he made with our fathers when he brought them out of the land of Egypt." ²² Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of the whole community of Israel, and stretching forth his hands toward heaven, ²³ he said, "LORD, God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth below; you keep your covenant of kindness with your servants who are faithful to you with their whole heart. ²⁴ You have kept the promise you made to my father David, your servant. You who spoke that promise, have this day, by your own power, brought it to fulfillment. ²⁵ Now, therefore, LORD, God of Israel, keep the further promise you made to my father David, your servant, saying, 'You shall always have someone from your line to sit before me on the throne of Israel, provided only that your descendants look to their conduct so that they live in my presence, as you have lived in my presence.' ²⁶ Now, LORD, God of Israel, may this promise which you made to my father David, your servant, be confirmed. ²⁷ Can it indeed be that God dwells among men on earth? If the heavens and the highest heavens cannot contain you, how much less this temple which I have built! ²⁸ Look kindly on the prayer and petition of your servant, O LORD, my God, and listen to the cry of supplication which I, your servant, utter before you this day. ²⁹ May your eyes watch night and day over this temple, the place where you have decreed you shall be honored; may you heed the prayer which I, your servant, offer in this place. ³⁰ Listen to the petitions of your servant and of your people Israel which they offer in this place. Listen from your heavenly dwelling and grant pardon. ³¹ If a man sins against his neighbor and is required to take an oath sanctioned by a curse, when he comes and takes the oath before your altar in this temple, ³² listen in heaven; take action and pass judgment on your servants. Condemn the wicked and punish him for his conduct, but acquit the just and establish his innocence. ³³ If your people Israel sin against you and are defeated by an enemy, and if then they return to you, praise your name, pray to you, and entreat you in this temple, ³⁴ listen in heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel, and bring them back to the land you gave their fathers. ³⁵ If the sky is closed, so that there is no rain, because they have sinned against you and you afflict them, and if then they repent of their sin, and pray, and praise your name in this place, ³⁶ listen in heaven and forgive the sin of your servant and of your people Israel, teaching them the right way to live and sending rain upon this land of yours which you have given to your people as their heritage. ³⁷ If there is famine in the land or pestilence; or if blight comes, or mildew, or a locust swarm, or devouring insects; if an enemy of your people besieges them in one of their cities; whatever plague or sickness there may be, ³⁸ if then any one (of your entire people Israel) has remorse of conscience and offers some prayer or petition, stretching out his hands toward this temple, ³⁹ listen from your heavenly dwelling place and forgive. You who alone know the hearts of all men, render to each one of them according to his conduct; knowing their hearts, so treat them ⁴⁰ that they may fear you as long as they live on the land you gave our fathers.

ges them in one of their cities; whatever plague or sickness there may be, ³⁸ if then any one (of your entire people Israel) has remorse of conscience and offers some prayer or petition, stretching out his hands toward this temple, ³⁹ listen from your heavenly dwelling place and forgive. You who alone know the hearts of all men, render to each one of them according to his conduct; knowing their hearts, so treat them ⁴⁰ that they may fear you as long as they live on the land you gave our fathers. ⁴¹ To the foreigner, likewise, who is not of your people Israel, but comes from a distant land to honor you ⁴² (since men will learn of your great name and your mighty hand and your outstretched arm), when he comes and prays toward this temple, ⁴³ listen from your heavenly dwelling. Do all that the foreigner asks of you, that all the peoples of the earth may know your name, may fear you as do your people Israel, and may acknowledge that this temple which I have built is dedicated to your honor. ⁴⁴ Whatever the direction in which you may send your people forth to war against their enemies, if they pray to you, O LORD, toward the city you have chosen and the temple I have built in your honor, ⁴⁵ listen in heaven to their prayer and petition, and defend their cause. ⁴⁶ When they sin against you (for there is no man who does not sin), and in your anger against them you deliver them to the enemy, so that their captors deport them to a

294 hostile land, far or near, ⁴⁷ may they repent in the land of their captivity and be converted. If then they entreat you in the land of their captors and say, 'We have sinned and done wrong; we have been wicked'; ⁴⁸ if with their whole heart and soul they turn back to you in the land of the enemies who took them captive, pray to you toward the land you gave their fathers, the city you have chosen, and the temple I have built in your honor, ⁴⁹ listen from your heavenly dwelling. ⁵⁰ Forgive your people their sins and all the offenses they have committed against you, and grant them mercy before their captors, so that these will be merciful to them. ⁵¹ For they are your people and your inheritance, whom you brought out of Egypt, from the midst of an iron furnace. ⁵² Thus may your eyes be open to the petition of your servant and to the petition of your people Israel. Hear them whenever they call upon you, ⁵³ because you have set them apart among all the peoples of the earth for your inheritance, as you declared through your servant Moses when you brought our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord GOD. ⁵⁴ When Solomon finished offering this entire prayer of petition to the LORD, he rose from before the altar of the LORD, where he had been kneeling with his hands outstretched toward heaven. ⁵⁵ He stood and blessed the whole community of Israel, saying in a loud voice: ⁵⁶ Blessed be the LORD who has given rest to his people Israel, just as he promised. Not a single word has gone unfulfilled of the entire generous promise he made through his servant Moses. ⁵⁷ May the LORD, our God, be with us as he was with our fathers and may he not forsake us nor cast us off. ⁵⁸ May he draw our hearts to himself, that we may follow him in everything and keep the commands, statutes, and ordinances which he enjoined on our fathers. ⁵⁹ May this prayer I have offered to the LORD, our God, be present to him day and night, that he may uphold the cause of his servant and of his people Israel as each day requires, ⁶⁰ that all the peoples of the earth may know the LORD is God and there is no other. ⁶¹ You must be wholly devoted to the LORD, our God, observing his statutes and keeping his commandments, as on this day. ⁶² The king and all Israel with him offered sacrifices before the LORD. ⁶³ Solomon offered as peace offerings to the LORD twenty-two thousand oxen and one hundred twenty thousand sheep. Thus the king and all the Israelites dedicated the temple of the LORD. ⁶⁴ On that day the king consecrated the middle of the court facing the temple of the LORD; he offered there the holocausts, the cereal offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings, because the bronze altar before the LORD was too small to hold these offerings. ⁶⁵ On this occasion Solomon and all the Israelites, who had assembled in large numbers from Labo of Hamath to the Wadi of Egypt, celebrated the festival before the LORD, our God, for seven days. ⁶⁶ On the eighth day he dismissed the people, who bade the king farewell and went to their homes, rejoicing and happy over all the blessings the LORD had given to his servant David and to his people Israel. 1 Kings Chapter 9 ¹ After Solomon finished building the temple of the LORD, the royal palace, and everything else that he had planned, ² the LORD appeared to him a second time, as he had appeared to him in Gibeon. ³ The LORD said to him: "I have heard the prayer of petition which you offered in my presence. I have consecrated this temple which you have built; I confer my name upon it forever, and my eyes and my heart shall be there always.

had given to his servant David and to his people Israel. 1 Kings Chapter 9 ¹ After Solomon finished building the temple of the LORD, the royal palace, and everything else that he had planned, ² the LORD appeared to him a second time, as he had appeared to him in Gibeon. ³ The LORD said to him: "I have heard the prayer of petition which you offered in my presence. I have consecrated this temple which you have built; I confer my name upon it forever, and my eyes and my heart shall be there always. ⁴ As for you, if you live in my presence as your father David lived, sincerely and uprightly, doing just as I have commanded you, keeping my statutes and decrees, ⁵ I will establish your throne of sovereignty over Israel forever, as I promised your father David when I said, 'You shall always have someone from your line on the throne of Israel.' ⁶ But if you and your descendants ever withdraw from me, fail to keep the commandments and statutes which I set before you, and proceed to venerate and worship strange gods, ⁷ I will cut off Israel from the land I gave them and repudiate the temple I have consecrated to my honor. Israel shall become a proverb and a byword among all nations, ⁸ and this temple shall become a heap of ruins. Every passerby shall catch his breath in amazement, and ask, 'Why has the LORD

295 done this to the land and to this temple?' ⁹ Men will answer: 'They forsook the LORD, their God, who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt; they adopted strange gods which they worshiped and served. That is why the LORD has brought down upon them all this evil.'" ¹⁰ After the twenty years during which Solomon built the two houses, the temple of the LORD and the palace of the king - ¹¹ Hiram, king of Tyre, supplying Solomon with all the cedar wood, fir wood, and gold he wished - King Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee. ¹² Hiram left Tyre to see the cities Solomon had given him, but was not satisfied with them. ¹³ So he said, "What are these cities you have given me, my brother?" And he called them the land of Cabul, as they are called to this day. ¹⁴ Hiram, however, had sent king Solomon one hundred and twenty talents of gold. ¹⁵ This is an account of the forced labor which King Solomon levied in order to build the temple of the LORD, his palace, Millo, the wall of Jerusalem, Hazor, Megiddo, Gezer ¹⁶ (Pharaoh, king of Egypt, had come up and taken Gezer and, after destroying it by fire and slaying all the Canaanites living in the city, had given it as dowry to his daughter, Solomon's wife; ¹⁷ Solomon then rebuilt Gezer), Lower Beth-horon, ¹⁸ Baalath, Tamar in the desert of Judah, ¹⁹ all his cities for supplies, cities for chariots and for horses, and whatever else Solomon decided should be built in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and in the entire land under his dominion. ²⁰ All the non-Israelite people who remained in the land, descendants of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites ²¹ whose doom the Israelites had been unable to accomplish, Solomon conscripted as forced laborers, as they are to this day. ²² But Solomon enslaved none of the Israelites, for they were his fighting force, his ministers, commanders, adjutants, chariot officers, and charioteers. ²³ The supervisors of Solomon's works who policed the people engaged in the work numbered five hundred and fifty. ²⁴ As soon as Pharaoh's daughter went up from the City of David to her palace, which he had built for her, Solomon built Millo. ²⁵ Three times a year Solomon used to offer holocausts and peace offerings on the altar which he had built to the LORD, and to burn incense before the LORD; and he kept the temple in repair. ²⁶ King Solomon also built a fleet at Ezion- geber, which is near Elath on the shore of the Red Sea in the land of Edom. ²⁷ In this fleet Hiram placed his own expert seamen with the servants of Solomon. ²⁸ They went to Ophir, and brought back four hundred and twenty talents of gold to King Solomon. 1 Kings Chapter 10 ¹ The queen of Sheba, having heard of Solomon's fame, came to test him with subtle questions. ² She arrived in Jerusalem with a very numerous retinue, and with camels bearing spices, a large amount of gold, and precious stones. She came to Solomon and questioned him on every subject in which she was interested. ³ King Solomon explained everything she asked about, and there remained nothing hidden from him that he could not explain to her. ⁴ When the queen of Sheba witnessed Solomon's great wisdom, the palace he had built, ⁵ the food at his table, the seating of his ministers, the attendance and garb of his waiters, his banquet service, and the holocausts he offered in the temple of the LORD, she was breathless. ⁶ "The report I heard in my country about your deeds and your wisdom is true," she told the king. ⁷ "Though I did not believe the report until I came and saw with my own eyes, I have discovered that they were not telling me the half. Your wisdom and prosperity surpass the report I heard. ⁸ Happy are your men, happy these servants of yours, who stand before you always and listen to your wisdom. ⁹ Blessed be the LORD, your God, whom it has pleased to place you on the throne of Israel.

breathless. ⁶ "The report I heard in my country about your deeds and your wisdom is true," she told the king. ⁷ "Though I did not believe the report until I came and saw with my own eyes, I have discovered that they were not telling me the half. Your wisdom and prosperity surpass the report I heard. ⁸ Happy are your men, happy these servants of yours, who stand before you always and listen to your wisdom. ⁹ Blessed be the LORD, your God, whom it has pleased to place you on the throne of Israel. In his enduring love for Israel, the LORD has made you king to carry out judgment and justice." ¹⁰ Then she gave the king one hundred and twenty gold talents, a very large quantity of spices, and precious stones. Never again did anyone bring such an abundance of spices as the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon. ¹¹ Hiram's fleet, which used to bring gold from Ophir, also brought from there a large quantity of cabinet wood and precious stones. ¹² With the wood the king made supports for the temple of the LORD and for the

296 palace of the king, and harps and lyres for the chanters. No more such wood was brought or seen to the present day. ¹³ King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba everything she desired and asked for, besides such presents as were given her from Solomon's royal bounty. Then she returned with her servants to her own country. ¹⁴ The gold that Solomon received every year weighed six hundred and sixty-six gold talents, ¹⁵ in addition to what came from the Tarshish fleet, from the traffic of merchants, and from all the kings of Arabia and the governors of the country. ¹⁶ Moreover, King Solomon made two hundred shields of beaten gold (six hundred gold shekels went into each shield) ¹⁷ and three hundred bucklers of beaten gold (three minas of gold went into each buckler); and he put them in the hall of the Forest of Lebanon. ¹⁸ The king also had a large ivory throne made, and overlaid it with refined gold. ¹⁹ The throne had six steps, a back with a round top, and an arm on each side of the seat. Next to each arm stood a lion; ²⁰ and twelve other lions stood on the steps, two to a step, one on either side of each step. Nothing like this was produced in any other kingdom. ²¹ In addition, all King Solomon's drinking vessels were of gold, and all the utensils in the hall of the Forest of Lebanon were of pure gold. There was no silver, for in Solomon's time it was considered worthless. ²² The king had a fleet of Tarshish ships at sea with Hiram's fleet. Once every three years the fleet of Tarshish ships would come with a cargo of gold, silver, ivory, apes, and monkeys. ²³ Thus King Solomon surpassed in riches and wisdom all the kings of the earth. ²⁴ And the whole world sought audience with Solomon, to hear from him the wisdom which God had put in his heart. ²⁵ Each one brought his yearly tribute: silver or gold articles, garments, weapons, spices, horses and mules. ²⁶ Solomon collected chariots and drivers; he had one thousand four hundred chariots and twelve thousand drivers; these he allocated among the chariot cities and to the king's service in Jerusalem. ²⁷ The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and cedars as numerous as the sycamores of the foothills. ²⁸ Solomon's horses were imported from Cilicia, where the king's agents purchased them. ²⁹ A chariot imported from Egypt cost six hundred shekels, a horse one hundred and fifty shekels; they were exported at these rates to all the Hittite and Aramean kings. 1 Kings Chapter 11 ¹ King Solomon loved many foreign women besides the daughter of Pharaoh (Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites), ² from nations with which the LORD had forbidden the Israelites to intermarry, "because," he said, "they will turn your hearts to their gods." But Solomon fell in love with them. ³ He had seven hundred wives of princely rank and three hundred concubines, and his wives turned his heart. ⁴ When Solomon was old his wives had turned his heart to strange gods, and his heart was not entirely with the LORD, his God, as the heart of his father David had been. ⁵ By adoring Astarte, the goddess of the Sidonians, and Milcom, the idol of the Ammonites, ⁶ Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD; he did not follow him unreservedly as his father David had done. ⁷ Solomon then built a high place to Chemosh, the idol of Moab, and to Molech, the idol of the Ammonites, on the hill opposite Jerusalem. ⁸ He did the same for all his foreign wives who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods. ⁹ The LORD, therefore, became angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned away from the LORD, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice ¹⁰ (for though the LORD had forbidden him this very act of following strange gods, Solomon had not obeyed him). ¹¹ So the LORD said to Solomon: "Since this is what you want, and you have not kept my covenant and my statutes which I enjoined on you, I will deprive you of the kingdom and give it to your servant.

ed incense and sacrificed to their gods. ⁹ The LORD, therefore, became angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned away from the LORD, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice ¹⁰ (for though the LORD had forbidden him this very act of following strange gods, Solomon had not obeyed him). ¹¹ So the LORD said to Solomon: "Since this is what you want, and you have not kept my covenant and my statutes which I enjoined on you, I will deprive you of the kingdom and give it to your servant. ¹² I will not do this during your lifetime, however, for the sake of your father David; it is your son whom I will deprive. ¹³ Nor will I take away the whole kingdom. I will leave your son one tribe for the sake of my servant David and of Jerusalem, which I have chosen." ¹⁴ The LORD then raised up an adversary to Solomon: Hadad the Edomite, who was of the royal line in Edom. ¹⁵ Earlier, when David had conquered

297 Edom, Joab, the general of the army, while going to bury the slain, put to death every male in Edom. ¹⁶ Joab and all Israel remained there six months until they had killed off every male in Edom. ¹⁷ Meanwhile, Hadad, who was only a boy, fled toward Egypt with some Edomite servants of his father. ¹⁸ They left Midian and passing through Paran, where they picked up additional men, they went into Egypt to Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who gave Hadad a house, appointed him rations, and assigned him land. ¹⁹ Hadad won great favor with Pharaoh, so that he gave him in marriage the sister of Queen Tahpenes, his own wife. ²⁰ Tahpenes' sister bore Hadad a son, Genubath. After his weaning, the queen kept him in Pharaoh's palace, where he then lived with Pharaoh's own sons. ²¹ When Hadad in Egypt heard that David rested with his ancestors and that Joab, the general of the army, was dead, he said to Pharaoh, "Give me leave to return to my own country." ²² Pharaoh said to him, "What do you lack with me, that you are seeking to return to your own country?" "Nothing," he said, "but please let me go!" ²³ God raised up against Solomon another adversary, in Rezon, the son of Eliada, who had fled from his lord, Hadadezer, king of Zobah, ²⁴ when David defeated them with slaughter. Rezon gathered men about him and became leader of a band, went to Damascus, settled there, and became king in Damascus. ²⁵ He was an enemy of Israel as long as Solomon lived; this added to the harm done by Hadad, who made a rift in Israel by becoming king over Edom. ²⁶ Solomon's servant Jeroboam, son of Nebat, an Ephraimite from Zeredah with a widowed mother, Zeruah, also rebelled against the king. ²⁷ This is why he rebelled. King Solomon was building Millo, closing up the breach of his father's City of David. ²⁸ Jeroboam was a man of means, and when Solomon saw that he was also an industrious young man, he put him in charge of the entire labor force of the house of Joseph. ²⁹ At that time Jeroboam left Jerusalem, and the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite met him on the road. The two were alone in the area, and the prophet was wearing a new cloak. ³⁰ Ahijah took off his new cloak, tore it into twelve pieces, ³¹ and said to Jeroboam: "Take ten pieces for yourself; the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'I will tear away the kingdom from Solomon's grasp and will give you ten of the tribes. ³² One tribe shall remain to him for the sake of David my servant, and of Jerusalem, the city I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel. ³³ The ten I will give you because he has forsaken me and has worshiped Astarte, goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh, god of Moab, and Milcom, god of the Ammonites; he has not followed my ways or done what is pleasing to me according to my statutes and my decrees, as his father David did. ³⁴ Yet I will not take any of the kingdom from Solomon himself, but will keep him a prince as long as he lives for the sake of my servant David, whom I chose, who kept my commandments and statutes. ³⁵ But I will take the kingdom from his son and will give it to you - that is, the ten tribes. ³⁶ I will give his son one tribe, that my servant David may always have a lamp before me in Jerusalem, the city in which I choose to be honored. ³⁷ I will take you; you shall reign over all that you desire and shall become king of Israel. ³⁸ If, then, you heed all that I command you, follow my ways, and please me by keeping my statutes and my commandments like my servant David, I will be with you. I will establish for you, as I did for David, a lasting dynasty; I will give Israel to you. ³⁹ I will punish David's line for this, but not forever.'" ⁴⁰ When Solomon tried to have Jeroboam killed for his rebellion, he escaped to King Shishak, in Egypt, where he remained until Solomon's death. ⁴¹ The rest of the acts of Solomon, with all his deeds and his wisdom, are recorded in the book of the chronicles of Solomon. ⁴² The time that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel was forty years.

I will establish for you, as I did for David, a lasting dynasty; I will give Israel to you. ³⁹ I will punish David's line for this, but not forever.'" ⁴⁰ When Solomon tried to have Jeroboam killed for his rebellion, he escaped to King Shishak, in Egypt, where he remained until Solomon's death. ⁴¹ The rest of the acts of Solomon, with all his deeds and his wisdom, are recorded in the book of the chronicles of Solomon. ⁴² The time that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel was forty years. ⁴³ Solomon rested with his ancestors; he was buried in his father's City of David, and his son Rehoboam succeeded him as king. 1 Kings Chapter 12 ¹ Rehoboam went to Shechem, where all Israel had come to proclaim him king. ² Jeroboam, son of Nebat, who was still in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon, returned from Egypt as soon as he learned this. ³ They said to Rehoboam: ⁴ "Your father put on us a heavy yoke. If you

298 now lighten the harsh service and the heavy yoke your father imposed on us, we will serve you." ⁵ "Come back to me in three days," he answered them. When the people had departed, ⁶ King Rehoboam consulted the elders who had been in his father's service while he was alive, and asked, "What answer do you advise me to give this people?" ⁷ They replied, "If today you will be the servant of this people and submit to them, giving them a favorable answer, they will be your servants forever." ⁸ But he ignored the advice the elders had given him, and consulted the young men who had grown up with him and were in his service. ⁹ He said to them, "What answer do you advise me to give this people, who have asked me to lighten the yoke my father imposed on them?" ¹⁰ The young men who had grown up with him replied, "This is what you must say to this people who have asked you to lighten the yoke your father put on them: 'My little finger is thicker than my father's body. ¹¹ Whereas my father put a heavy yoke on you, I will make it heavier. My father beat you with whips, but I will beat you with scorpions.'" ¹² On the third day all Israel came back to King Rehoboam, as he had instructed them to do. ¹³ Ignoring the advice the elders had given him, the king gave the people a harsh answer. ¹⁴ He said to them, as the young men had advised: "My father put on you a heavy yoke, but I will make it heavier. My father beat you with whips, but I will beat you with scorpions." ¹⁵ The king did not listen to the people, for the LORD brought this about to fulfill the prophecy he had uttered to Jeroboam, son of Nebat, through Ahijah the Shilonite. ¹⁶² When all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them, the people answered the king: "What share have we in David? We have no heritage in the son of Jesse. To your tents, O Israel! Now look to your own house, David." So Israel went off to their tents, ¹⁷ but Rehoboam reigned over the Israelites who lived in the cities of Judah. ¹⁸ King Rehoboam then sent out Adoram, superintendent of the forced labor, but all Israel stoned him to death. Rehoboam managed to mount his chariot to flee to Jerusalem, ¹⁹ and Israel went into rebellion against David's house to this day. ²⁰ When all Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, they summoned him to an assembly and made him king over all Israel. None remained loyal to David's house except the tribe of Judah alone. ²¹ On his arrival in Jerusalem, Rehoboam gathered together all the house of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin - one hundred and eighty thousand seasoned warriors - to fight against the house of Israel, to restore the kingdom to Rehoboam, son of Solomon. ²² However, the LORD spoke to Shemaiah, a man of God: ²³ "Say to Rehoboam, son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to the house of Judah and to Benjamin, and to the rest of the people: ²⁴ 'Thus says the LORD: You must not march out to fight against your brother Israelites. Let every man return home, for I have brought this about.'" They accepted this message of the LORD and gave up the expedition accordingly. ²⁵ Jeroboam built up Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim and lived there. Then he left it and built up Penuel. ²⁶³ Jeroboam thought to himself: "The kingdom will return to David's house. ²⁷ If now this people go up to offer sacrifices in the temple of the LORD in Jerusalem, the hearts of this people will return to their master, Rehoboam, king of Judah, and they will kill me." ²⁸ After taking counsel, the king made two calves of gold and said to the people: "You have been going up to Jerusalem long enough. Here is your God, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt." ²⁹⁴ And he put one in Bethel, the other in Dan. ³⁰ This led to sin, because the people frequented these calves in Bethel and in Dan. ³¹ He also built temples on the high places and made priests from among the people who were not Levites.

r master, Rehoboam, king of Judah, and they will kill me." ²⁸ After taking counsel, the king made two calves of gold and said to the people: "You have been going up to Jerusalem long enough. Here is your God, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt." ²⁹⁴ And he put one in Bethel, the other in Dan. ³⁰ This led to sin, because the people frequented these calves in Bethel and in Dan. ³¹ He also built temples on the high places and made priests from among the people who were not Levites. ³² Jeroboam established a feast in the eighth month on the fifteenth day of the month to duplicate in Bethel the pilgrimage feast of Judah, with sacrifices to the calves he had made; and he stationed in Bethel priests of the high places he had built. ³³ Jeroboam ascended the altar he built in Bethel on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, the month in which he arbitrarily chose to establish a feast for the Israelites; he was going to offer sacrifice. 1 Kings Chapter 13

299 ¹ A man of God came from Judah to Bethel by the word of the LORD, while Jeroboam was standing at the altar to offer sacrifice. ² He cried out against the altar the word of the LORD: "O altar, altar, the LORD says, 'A child shall be born to the house of David, Josiah by name, who shall slaughter upon you the priests of the high places who offer sacrifice upon you, and he shall burn human bones upon you.'" ³ He gave a sign that same day and said: "This is the sign that the LORD has spoken: The altar shall break up and the ashes on it shall be strewn about. ⁴ When King Jeroboam heard what the man of God was crying out against the altar, he stretched forth his hand from the altar and said, "Seize him!" But the hand he stretched forth against him withered, so that he could not draw it back. ⁵ Moreover, the altar broke up and the ashes from it were strewn about - the sign the man of God had given as the word of the LORD. ⁶ Then the king appealed to the man of God. "Entreat the LORD, your God," he said, "and intercede for me that I may be able to withdraw my hand." So the man of God entreated the LORD, and the king recovered the normal use of his hand. ⁷ "Come home with me for some refreshment," the king invited the man of God, "and I will give you a present." ⁸ "If you gave me half your kingdom," the man of God said to the king, "I would not go with you, nor eat bread or drink water in this place. ⁹ For I was instructed by the word of the LORD not to eat bread or drink water and not to return by the way I came." ¹⁰ So he departed by another road and did not go back the way he had come to Bethel. ¹¹ There was an old prophet living in the city, whose sons came and told him all that the man of God had done that day in Bethel. When they repeated to their father the words he had spoken to the king, ¹² the father asked them, "Which way did he go?" And his sons pointed out to him the road taken by the man of God who had come from Judah. ¹³ Then he said to his sons, "Saddle the ass for me." When they had saddled it, he mounted ¹⁴ and followed the man of God, whom he found seated under a terebinth. When he asked him, "Are you the man of God who came from Judah?" he answered, "Yes." ¹⁵ Then he said, "Come home with me and have some bread." ¹⁶ "I cannot go back with you, and I cannot eat bread or drink water with you in this place," he answered, ¹⁷ "for I was told by the word of the LORD neither to eat bread nor drink water here, and not to go back the way I came." ¹⁸ But he said to him, "I, too, am a prophet like you, and an angel told me in the word of the LORD to bring you back with me to my house and to have you eat bread and drink water." He was lying to him, however. ¹⁹ So he went back with him, and ate bread and drank water in his house. ²⁰ But while they were sitting at table, the LORD spoke to the prophet who had brought him back, ²¹ and he cried out to the man of God who had come from Judah: "The LORD says, 'Because you rebelled against the command of the LORD and did not keep the command which the LORD, your God, gave you, ²² but returned and ate bread and drank water in the place where he told you to do neither, your corpse shall not be brought to the grave of your ancestors.'" ²³ After he had eaten bread and drunk water, the ass was saddled for him, and he again ²⁴ set out. But a lion met him on the road, and killed him. His corpse lay sprawled on the road, and the ass remained standing by it, and so did the lion. ²⁵ Some passers-by saw the body lying in the road, with the lion standing beside it, and carried the news to the city where the old prophet lived. ²⁶ On hearing it, the prophet who had brought him back from his journey said: "It is the man of God who rebelled against the command of the LORD.

unk water, the ass was saddled for him, and he again ²⁴ set out. But a lion met him on the road, and killed him. His corpse lay sprawled on the road, and the ass remained standing by it, and so did the lion. ²⁵ Some passers-by saw the body lying in the road, with the lion standing beside it, and carried the news to the city where the old prophet lived. ²⁶ On hearing it, the prophet who had brought him back from his journey said: "It is the man of God who rebelled against the command of the LORD. He has delivered him to a lion, which mangled and killed him, as the LORD predicted to him." ²⁷ Then he said to his sons, "Saddle the ass for me." When they had saddled it, ²⁸ he went off and found the body lying in the road with the ass and the lion standing beside it. The lion had not eaten the body nor had it harmed the ass. ²⁹ The prophet lifted up the body of the man of God and put it on the ass, and brought it back to the city to mourn over it and to bury it. ³⁰ He laid the man's body in his own grave, and they mourned over it: "Alas, my brother!" ³¹ After he had buried him, he said to his sons, "When I die, bury me in the grave where the man of God is buried. Lay my remains beside his. ³² For the word of the LORD which he proclaimed against the altar in Bethel and against all the shrines on the high places in the cities of

300 Samaria shall certainly come to pass." ³³ Jeroboam did not give up his evil ways after this event, but again made priests for the high places from among the common people. Whoever desired it was consecrated and became a priest of the high places. ³⁴ This was a sin on the part of the house of Jeroboam for which it was to be cut off and destroyed from the earth. 1 Kings Chapter 14 ¹ At that time Abijah, son of Jeroboam, took sick. ² So Jeroboam said to his wife, "Get ready and disguise yourself so that none will recognize you as Jeroboam's wife. Then go to Shiloh, where you will find the prophet Ahijah. It was he who predicted my reign over this people. ³ Take along ten loaves, some cakes, and a jar of preserves, and go to him. He will tell you what will happen to the child." ⁴ The wife of Jeroboam obeyed. She made the journey to Shiloh and entered the house of Ahijah who could not see because age had dimmed his sight. ⁵ The LORD had said to Ahijah: "Jeroboam's wife is coming to consult you about her son, for he is sick. This is what you must tell her. When she comes, she will be in disguise." ⁶ So Ahijah, hearing the sound of her footsteps as she entered the door, said, "Come in, wife of Jeroboam. Why are you in disguise? I have been commissioned to give you bitter news. ⁷ Go, tell Jeroboam, 'This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: I exalted you from among the people and made you ruler of my people Israel. ⁸ I deprived the house of David of the kingdom and gave it to you. Yet you have not been like my servant David, who kept my commandments and followed me with his whole heart, doing only what pleased me. ⁹ You have done worse than all who preceded you: you have gone and made for yourself strange gods and molten images to provoke me; but me you have cast behind your back. ¹⁰ Therefore, I am bringing evil upon the house of Jeroboam: I will cut off every male in Jeroboam's line, whether slave or freeman in Israel, and will burn up the house of Jeroboam completely, as though dung were being burned. ¹¹ When one of Jeroboam's line dies in the city, dogs will devour him; when one of them dies in the field, he will be devoured by the birds of the sky. For the LORD has spoken!' ¹² So leave; go home! As you step inside the city, the child will die, ¹³ and all Israel will mourn him and bury him, for he alone of Jeroboam's line will be laid in the grave, since in him alone of Jeroboam's house has something pleasing to the LORD, the God of Israel, been found. ¹⁴ Today, at this very moment, the LORD will raise up for himself a king of Israel who will destroy the house of Jeroboam. ¹⁵ The LORD will strike Israel like a reed tossed about in the water and will pluck out Israel from this good land which he gave their fathers, scattering them beyond the River, because they made sacred poles for themselves and thus provoked the LORD. ¹⁶ He will give up Israel because of the sins Jeroboam has committed and caused Israel to commit." ¹⁷ So Jeroboam's wife started back; when she reached Tirzah and crossed the threshold of her house, the child died. ¹⁸ He was buried with all Israel mourning him, as the LORD had prophesied through his servant the prophet Ahijah. ¹⁹ The rest of the acts of Jeroboam, with his warfare and his reign, are recorded in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. ²⁰ The length of Jeroboam's reign was twenty-two years. He rested with his ancestors, and his son Nadab succeeded him as king. ²¹ Rehoboam, son of Solomon, reigned in Judah. He was forty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city in which, out of all the tribes of Israel, the LORD chose to be honored. His mother was the Ammonite named Naamah. ²² Judah did evil in the sight of the LORD, and by their sins angered him even more than their fathers had done. ²³ They, too, built for themselves high places, pillars, and sacred poles, upon every high hill and under every green tree.

²¹ Rehoboam, son of Solomon, reigned in Judah. He was forty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city in which, out of all the tribes of Israel, the LORD chose to be honored. His mother was the Ammonite named Naamah. ²² Judah did evil in the sight of the LORD, and by their sins angered him even more than their fathers had done. ²³ They, too, built for themselves high places, pillars, and sacred poles, upon every high hill and under every green tree. ²⁴ There were also cult prostitutes in the land. Judah imitated all the abominable practices of the nations whom the LORD had cleared out of the Israelites' way. ²⁵ In the fifth year of King Rehoboam, Shishak, king of Egypt, attacked Jerusalem. ²⁶ He took everything, including the treasures of the temple of the LORD and those of the royal palace, as well as all the gold shields made under Solomon. ²⁷ To replace them,

301 King Rehoboam had bronze shields made, which he entrusted to the officers of the guard on duty at the entrance of the royal palace. ²⁸ Whenever the king visited the temple of the LORD, those on duty would carry the shields, and then return them to the guardroom. ²⁹ The rest of the acts of Rehoboam, with all that he did, are recorded in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah. ³⁰ There was constant warfare between Rehoboam and Jeroboam. ³¹ Rehoboam rested with his ancestors; he was buried with them in the City of David. His mother was the Ammonite named Naamah. His son Abijam succeeded him as king. 1 Kings Chapter 15 ¹ In the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam, son of Nebat, Abijam became king of Judah; ² he reigned three years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Maacah, daughter of Abishalom. ³ He imitated all the sins his father had committed before him, and his heart was not entirely with the LORD, his God, like the heart of his grandfather David. ⁴ Yet for David's sake the LORD, his God, gave him a lamp in Jerusalem, raising up his son after him and permitting Jerusalem to endure; ⁵ because David had pleased the LORD and did not disobey any of his commands as long as he lived, except in the case of Uriah the Hittite. ⁶ There was war between Abijam and Jeroboam. ⁷ The rest of Abijam's acts, with all that he did, are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah. ⁸ Abijam rested with his ancestors; he was buried in the City of David, and his son Asa succeeded him as king. ⁹ In the twentieth year of Jeroboam, king of Israel, Asa, king of Judah, began to reign; ¹⁰ he reigned forty-one years in Jerusalem. His grandmother's name was Maacah, daughter of Abishalom. ¹¹ Asa pleased the LORD like his forefather David, ¹² banishing the temple prostitutes from the land and removing all the idols his father had made. ¹³ He also deposed his grandmother Maacah from her position as queen mother, because she had made an outrageous object for Asherah. Asa cut down this object and burned it in the Kidron Valley. ¹⁴ The high places did not disappear; yet Asa's heart was entirely with the LORD as long as he lived. ¹⁵ He brought into the temple of the LORD his father's and his own votive offerings of silver, gold, and various utensils. ¹⁶ There was war between Asa and Baasha, king of Israel, as long as they both reigned. ¹⁷ Baasha, king of Israel, attacked Judah and fortified Ramah to prevent communication with Asa, king of Judah. ¹⁸ Asa then took all the silver and gold remaining in the treasuries of the temple of the LORD and of the royal palace. Entrusting them to his ministers, King Asa sent them to Ben-hadad, son of Tabrimmon, son of Hezion, king of Aram, resident in Damascus. He said: ¹⁹ "There is a treaty between you and me, as there was between your father and my father. I am sending you a present of silver and gold. Go, break your treaty with Baasha, king of Israel, that he may withdraw from me." ²⁰ Ben-hadad agreed with King Asa and sent the leaders of his troops against the cities of Israel. They attacked Ijon, Dan, Abel-beth-maacah, and all Chinnereth, besides all the land of Naphtali. ²¹ When Baasha heard of it, he left off fortifying Ramah, and stayed in Tirzah. ²² Then King Asa summoned all Judah without exception, and they carried away the stones and beams with which Baasha was fortifying Ramah. With them King Asa built Geba of Benjamin and Mizpeh. ²³ The rest of the acts of Asa, with all his valor and accomplishments, and the cities he built, are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah. In his old age, Asa had an infirmity in his feet. ²⁴ He rested with his ancestors; he was buried in his forefather's City of David, and his son Jehoshaphat succeeded him as king. ²⁵ In the second year of Asa, king of Judah, Nadab, son of Jeroboam, became king of Israel; he reigned over Israel two years.

uilt Geba of Benjamin and Mizpeh. ²³ The rest of the acts of Asa, with all his valor and accomplishments, and the cities he built, are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah. In his old age, Asa had an infirmity in his feet. ²⁴ He rested with his ancestors; he was buried in his forefather's City of David, and his son Jehoshaphat succeeded him as king. ²⁵ In the second year of Asa, king of Judah, Nadab, son of Jeroboam, became king of Israel; he reigned over Israel two years. ²⁶ He did evil in the LORD'S sight, imitating his father's conduct and the sin which he had caused Israel to commit. ²⁷ Baasha, son of Ahijah, of the house of Issachar, plotted against him and struck him down at Gibbethon of the Philistines, which Nadab and all Israel were besieging. ²⁸ Baasha killed him in the third year of Asa, king of Judah, and reigned in his stead. ²⁹ Once he was king, he killed off the entire house of Jeroboam, not leaving a single soul to Jeroboam but destroying him utterly, according to the

302 warning which the LORD had pronounced through his servant, Ahijah the Shilonite, ³⁰ because of the sins Jeroboam committed and caused Israel to commit, by which he provoked the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger. ³¹ The rest of the acts of Nadab, with all that he did, are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. ³² There was war between Asa and Baasha, king of Israel, as long as they lived. ³³ In the third year of Asa, king of Judah, Baasha, son of Ahijah, began his twenty-four-year reign over Israel in Tirzah. ³⁴ He did evil in the LORD'S sight, imitating the conduct of Jeroboam and the sin he had caused Israel to commit. 1 Kings Chapter 16 ¹ The LORD spoke against Baasha to Jehu, son of Hanani, and said: ² "Inasmuch as I lifted you up from the dust and made you ruler of my people Israel, but you have imitated the conduct of Jeroboam and have caused my people Israel to sin, provoking me to anger by their sins, ³ I will destroy you, Baasha, and your house; ⁴ I will make your house like that of Jeroboam, son of Nebat. If anyone of Baasha's line dies in the city, dogs shall devour him; if he dies in the field, he shall be devoured by the birds of the sky." ⁵ The rest of the acts of Baasha, with all his valor and accomplishments, are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. ⁶ Baasha rested with his ancestors; he was buried in Tirzah, and his son Elah succeeded him as king. ⁷ (Through the prophet Jehu, son of Hanani, the LORD had threatened Baasha and his house, because of all the evil Baasha did in the sight of the LORD, provoking him to anger by his evil deeds, so that he became like the house of Jeroboam; and because he killed Nadab.) ⁸ In the twenty-sixth year of Asa, king of Judah, Elah, son of Baasha, began his two-year reign over Israel in Tirzah. ⁹ His servant Zimri, commander of half his chariots, plotted against him. As he was in Tirzah, drinking to excess in the house of Arza, superintendent of his palace in Tirzah, ¹⁰ Zimri entered; he struck and killed him in the twenty-seventh year of Asa, king of Judah, and reigned in his place. ¹¹ Once he was seated on the royal throne, he killed off the whole house of Baasha, not sparing a single male relative or friend of his. ¹² Zimri destroyed the entire house of Baasha, as the LORD had prophesied to Baasha through the prophet Jehu, ¹³ because of all the sins which Baasha and his son Elah committed and caused Israel to commit, provoking the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger by their idols. ¹⁴ The rest of the acts of Elah, with all that he did, are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. ¹⁵ In the twenty-seventh year of Asa, king of Judah, Zimri reigned seven days in Tirzah. The army was besieging Gibbethon of the Philistines ¹⁶ when they heard that Zimri had formed a conspiracy and had killed the king. So that day in the camp all Israel proclaimed Omri, general of the army, king of Israel. ¹⁷ Omri marched up from Gibbethon, accompanied by all Israel, and laid siege to Tirzah. ¹⁸ When Zimri saw the city was captured, he entered the citadel of the royal palace and burned down the palace over him. He died ¹⁹ because of the sins he had committed, doing evil in the sight of the LORD by imitating the sinful conduct of Jeroboam, thus causing Israel to sin. ²⁰ The rest of the acts of Zimri, with the conspiracy he carried out, are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. ²¹ At that time the people of Israel were divided, half following Tibni, son of Ginath, to make him king, and half for Omri. ²² The partisans of Omri prevailed over those of Tibni, son of Ginath. Tibni died and Omri became king. ²³ In the thirty-first year of Asa, king of Judah, Omri became king; he reigned over Israel twelve years, the first six of them in Tirzah. ²⁴ He then bought the hill of Samaria from Shemer for two silver talents and built upon the hill, naming the city he built Samaria after Shemer, the former owner.

Israel were divided, half following Tibni, son of Ginath, to make him king, and half for Omri. ²² The partisans of Omri prevailed over those of Tibni, son of Ginath. Tibni died and Omri became king. ²³ In the thirty-first year of Asa, king of Judah, Omri became king; he reigned over Israel twelve years, the first six of them in Tirzah. ²⁴ He then bought the hill of Samaria from Shemer for two silver talents and built upon the hill, naming the city he built Samaria after Shemer, the former owner. ²⁵ But Omri did evil in the LORD'S sight beyond any of his predecessors. ²⁶ He closely imitated the sinful conduct of Jeroboam, son of Nebat, causing Israel to sin and to provoke the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger by their idols. ²⁷ The rest of the acts of Omri, with all his valor and accomplishments, are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. ²⁸ Omri rested with his ancestors; he was buried in Samaria, and his son Ahab

303 succeeded him as king. ²⁹ In the thirty-eighth year of Asa, king of Judah, Ahab, son of Omri, became king of Israel; he reigned over Israel in Samaria for twenty-two years. ³⁰ Ahab, son of Omri, did evil in the sight of the LORD more than any of his predecessors. ³¹ It was not enough for him to imitate the sins of Jeroboam, son of Nebat. He even married Jezebel, daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians, and went over to the veneration and worship of Baal. ³² Ahab erected an altar to Baal in the temple of Baal which he built in Samaria, ³³ and also made a sacred pole. He did more to anger the LORD, the God of Israel, than any of the kings of Israel before him. ³⁴ During his reign, Hiel from Bethel rebuilt Jericho. He lost his first-born son, Abiram, when he laid the foundation, and his youngest son, Segub, when he set up the gates, as the LORD had foretold through Joshua, son of Nun. 1 Kings Chapter 17 ¹ Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab: "As the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, during these years there shall be no dew or rain except at my word." ² The LORD then said to Elijah: ³ "Leave here, go east and hide in the Wadi Cherith, east of the Jordan. ⁴ You shall drink of the stream, and I have commanded ravens to feed you there." ⁵ So he left and did as the LORD had commanded. He went and remained by the Wadi Cherith, east of the Jordan. ⁶ Ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the stream. ⁷ After some time, however, the brook ran dry, because no rain had fallen in the land. ⁸ So the LORD said to him: ⁹ "Move on to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there. I have designated a widow there to provide for you." ¹⁰ He left and went to Zarephath. As he arrived at the entrance of the city, a widow was gathering sticks there; he called out to her, "Please bring me a small cupful of water to drink." ¹¹ She left to get it, and he called out after her, "Please bring along a bit of bread." ¹² "As the LORD, your God, lives," she answered, "I have nothing baked; there is only a handful of flour in my jar and a little oil in my jug. Just now I was collecting a couple of sticks, to go in and prepare something for myself and my son; when we have eaten it, we shall die." ¹³ "Do not be afraid," Elijah said to her. "Go and do as you propose. But first make me a little cake and bring it to me. Then you can prepare something for yourself and your son. ¹⁴ For the LORD, the God of Israel, says, 'The jar of flour shall not go empty, nor the jug of oil run dry, until the day when the LORD sends rain upon the earth.'" ¹⁵ She left and did as Elijah had said. She was able to eat for a year, and he and her son as well; ¹⁶ The jar of flour did not go empty, nor the jug of oil run dry, as the LORD had foretold through Elijah. ¹⁷ Some time later the son of the mistress of the house fell sick, and his sickness grew more severe until he stopped breathing. ¹⁸ So she said to Elijah, "Why have you done this to me, O man of God? Have you come to me to call attention to my guilt and to kill my son?" ¹⁹ "Give me your son," Elijah said to her. Taking him from her lap, he carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his own bed. ²⁰ He called out to the LORD: "O LORD, my God, will you afflict even the widow with whom I am staying by killing her son?" ²¹ Then he stretched himself out upon the child three times and called out to the LORD: "O LORD, my God, let the life breath return to the body of this child." ²² The LORD heard the prayer of Elijah; the life breath returned to the child's body and he revived. ²³ Taking the child, Elijah brought him down into the house from the upper room and gave him to his mother. "See!" Elijah said to her, "your son is alive." ²⁴ "Now indeed I know that you you are a man of God," the woman replied to Elijah.

²¹ Then he stretched himself out upon the child three times and called out to the LORD: "O LORD, my God, let the life breath return to the body of this child." ²² The LORD heard the prayer of Elijah; the life breath returned to the child's body and he revived. ²³ Taking the child, Elijah brought him down into the house from the upper room and gave him to his mother. "See!" Elijah said to her, "your son is alive." ²⁴ "Now indeed I know that you you are a man of God," the woman replied to Elijah. "The word of the LORD comes truly from your mouth." 1 Kings Chapter 18 ¹ Long afterward, in the third year, the LORD spoke to Elijah, "Go, present yourself to Ahab," he said, "that I may send rain upon the earth." ² So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab. ³ Now the famine in Samaria was bitter, ⁴ and Ahab had summoned Obadiah, his vizier, who was a zealous

304 follower of the LORD. When Jezebel was murdering the prophets of the LORD, Obadiah took a hundred prophets, hid them away fifty each in two caves, and supplied them with food and drink. ⁵ Ahab said to Obadiah, "Come, let us go through the land to all sources of water and to all the streams. We may find grass and save the horses and mules, so that we shall not have to slaughter any of the beasts." ⁶ Dividing the land to explore between them, Ahab went one way by himself, Obadiah another way by himself. ⁷ As Obadiah was on his way, Elijah met him. Recognizing him, Obadiah fell prostrate and asked, "Is it you, my lord Elijah?" ⁸ "Yes," he answered. "Go tell your master, 'Elijah is here!'" ⁹ But Obadiah said, "What sin have I committed, that you are handing me over to Ahab to have me killed? ¹⁰ As the LORD, your God, lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my master has not sent in search of you. When they replied, 'He is not here,' he made each kingdom and nation swear they could not find you. ¹¹ And now you say, 'Go tell your master: Elijah is here!' ¹² After I leave you, the spirit of the LORD will carry you to some place I do not know, and when I go to inform Ahab and he does not find you, he will kill me. Your servant has revered the LORD from his youth. ¹³ Have you not been told, my lord, what I did when Jezebel was murdering the prophets of the LORD - that I hid a hundred of the prophets of the LORD, fifty each in two caves, and supplied them with food and drink? ¹⁴ And now you say, 'Go tell your master: Elijah is here!' He will kill me!" ¹⁵ Elijah answered, "As the LORD of hosts lives, whom I serve, I will present myself to him today." ¹⁶ So Obadiah went to meet Ahab and informed him. Ahab came to meet Elijah, ¹⁷ and when he saw Elijah, said to him, "Is it you, you disturber of Israel?" ¹⁸ "It is not I who disturb Israel," he answered, "but you and your family, by forsaking the commands of the LORD and following the Baals. ¹⁹ Now summon all Israel to me on Mount Carmel, as well as the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah who eat at Jezebel's table." ²⁰ So Ahab sent to all the Israelites and had the prophets assemble on Mount Carmel. ²¹ Elijah appealed to all the people and said, "How long will you straddle the issue? If the LORD is God, follow him; if Baal, follow him." The people, however, did not answer him. ²² So Elijah said to the people, "I am the only surviving prophet of the LORD, and there are four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal. ²³ Give us two young bulls. Let them choose one, cut it into pieces, and place it on the wood, but start no fire. I shall prepare the other and place it on the wood, but shall start no fire. ²⁴ You shall call on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the LORD. The God who answers with fire is God." All the people answered, "Agreed!" ²⁵ Elijah then said to the prophets of Baal, "Choose one young bull and prepare it first, for there are more of you. Call upon your gods, but do not start the fire." ²⁶ Taking the young bull that was turned over to them, they prepared it and called on Baal from morning to noon, saying, "Answer us, Baal!" But there was no sound, and no one answering. And they hopped around the altar they had prepared. ²⁷ When it was noon, Elijah taunted them: "Call louder, for he is a god and may be meditating, or may have retired, or may be on a journey. Perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened." ²⁸ They called out louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom, until blood gushed over them. ²⁹ Noon passed and they remained in a prophetic state until the time for offering sacrifice. But there was not a sound; no one answered, and no one was listening. ³⁰ Then Elijah said to all the people, "Come here to me." When they had done so, he repaired the altar of the LORD which had been destroyed.

red, or may be on a journey. Perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened." ²⁸ They called out louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom, until blood gushed over them. ²⁹ Noon passed and they remained in a prophetic state until the time for offering sacrifice. But there was not a sound; no one answered, and no one was listening. ³⁰ Then Elijah said to all the people, "Come here to me." When they had done so, he repaired the altar of the LORD which had been destroyed. ³¹ He took twelve stones, for the number of tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the LORD had said, "Your name shall be Israel." ³² He built an altar in honor of the LORD with the stones, and made a trench around the altar large enough for two seahs of grain. ³³ When he had arranged the wood, he cut up the young bull and laid it on the wood. ³⁴ "Fill four jars with water," he said, "and pour it over the holocaust and over the wood." "Do it again," he said, and they did it again. "Do it a third time," he said, and they did it a third time. ³⁵ The water flowed around the altar, and the trench was filled with the water. ³⁶ At the time for offering sacrifice, the prophet Elijah came forward and said, "LORD, God of

305 Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things by your command. ³⁷ Answer me, LORD! Answer me, that this people may know that you, LORD, are God and that you have brought them back to their senses." ³⁸ The LORD'S fire came down and consumed the holocaust, wood, stones, and dust, and it lapped up the water in the trench. ³⁹ Seeing this, all the people fell prostrate and said, "The LORD is God! The LORD is God!" ⁴⁰ Then Elijah said to them, "Seize the prophets of Baal. Let none of them escape!" They were seized, and Elijah had them brought down to the brook Kishon and there he slit their throats. ⁴¹ Elijah then said to Ahab, "Go up, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain." ⁴² So Ahab went up to eat and drink, while Elijah climbed to the top of Carmel, crouched down to the earth, and put his head between his knees. ⁴³ "Climb up and look out to sea," he directed his servant, who went up and looked, but reported, "There is nothing." Seven times he said, "Go look again!" ⁴⁴ And the seventh time the youth reported, "There is a cloud as small as a man's hand rising from the sea." Elijah said, "Go and say to Ahab, 'Harness up and leave the mountain before the rain stops you.'" ⁴⁵ In a trice, the sky grew dark with clouds and wind, and a heavy rain fell. Ahab mounted his chariot and made for Jezreel. ⁴⁶ But the hand of the LORD was on Elijah, who girded up his clothing and ran before Ahab as far as the approaches to Jezreel. 1 Kings Chapter 19 ¹ Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done - that he had put all the prophets to the sword. ² Jezebel then sent a messenger to Elijah and said, "May the gods do thus and so to me if by this time tomorrow I have not done with your life what was done to each of them." ³ Elijah was afraid and fled for his life, going to Beer-sheba of Judah. He left his servant there ⁴ and went a day's journey into the desert, until he came to a broom tree and sat beneath it. He prayed for death: "This is enough, O LORD! Take my life, for I am no better than my fathers." ⁵ He lay down and fell asleep under the broom tree, but then an angel touched him and ordered him to get up and eat. ⁶ He looked and there at his head was a hearth cake and a jug of water. After he ate and drank, he lay down again, ⁷ but the angel of the LORD came back a second time, touched him, and ordered, "Get up and eat, else the journey will be too long for you!" ⁸ He got up, ate and drank; then strengthened by that food, he walked forty days and forty nights to the mountain of God, Horeb. ⁹ There he came to a cave, where he took shelter. But the word of the LORD came to him, "Why are you here, Elijah?" ¹⁰ He answered: "I have been most zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts, but the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to the sword. I alone am left, and they seek to take my life." ¹¹ Then the LORD said, "Go outside and stand on the mountain before the LORD; the LORD will be passing by." A strong and heavy wind was rending the mountains and crushing rocks before the LORD - but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake - but the LORD was not in the earthquake. ¹² After the earthquake there was fire - but the LORD was not in the fire. After the fire there was a tiny whispering sound. ¹³ When he heard this, Elijah hid his face in his cloak and went and stood at the entrance of the cave. A voice said to him, "Elijah, why are you here?" ¹⁴ He replied, "I have been most zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts. But the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to the sword. I alone am left, and they seek to take my life." ¹⁵ "Go, take the road back to the desert near Damascus," the LORD said to him. "When you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael as king of Aram.

is, Elijah hid his face in his cloak and went and stood at the entrance of the cave. A voice said to him, "Elijah, why are you here?" ¹⁴ He replied, "I have been most zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts. But the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to the sword. I alone am left, and they seek to take my life." ¹⁵ "Go, take the road back to the desert near Damascus," the LORD said to him. "When you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael as king of Aram. ¹⁶ Then you shall anoint Jehu, son of Nimshi, as king of Israel, and Elisha, son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah, as prophet to succeed you. ¹⁷ If anyone escapes the sword of Hazael, Jehu will kill him. If he escapes the sword of Jehu, Elisha will kill him. ¹⁸ Yet I will leave seven thousand men in Israel - all those who have not knelt to Baal or kissed him." ¹⁹ Elijah set out, and came upon Elisha, son of Shaphat, as he was plowing with twelve

306 yoke of oxen; he was following the twelfth. Elijah went over to him and threw his cloak over him. ²⁰ Elisha left the oxen, ran after Elijah, and said, "Please, let me kiss my father and mother good- bye, and I will follow you." "Go back!" Elijah answered. "Have I done anything to you?" ²¹ Elisha left him and, taking the yoke of oxen, slaughtered them; he used the plowing equipment for fuel to boil their flesh, and gave it to his people to eat. Then he left and followed Elijah as his attendant. 1 Kings Chapter 20 ¹ Ben-hadad, king of Aram, gathered all his forces, and accompanied by thirty-two kings with horses and chariotry, proceeded to invest and attack Samaria. ² He sent couriers to Ahab, king of Israel, within the city, ³ and said to him, "This is Ben-hadad's message: 'Your silver and gold are mine, and your wives and your promising sons are mine.'" ⁴ The king of Israel answered, "As you say, my lord king, I and all I have are yours." ⁵ But the couriers came again and said, "This is Ben- hadad's message: 'I sent you word to give me your silver and gold, your wives and your sons. ⁶ Now, however, at this time tomorrow I will send my servants to you, and they shall ransack your house and the houses of your servants. They shall seize and take away whatever they consider valuable.'" ⁷ The king of Israel then summoned all the elders of the land and said: "Understand clearly that this man wants to ruin us. When he sent to me for my wives and sons, my silver and my gold, I did not refuse him." ⁸ All the elders and all the people said to him, "Do not listen. Do not give in." ⁹ Accordingly he directed the couriers of Ben-hadad, "Say to my lord the king, 'I will do all that you demanded of your servant the first time. But this I cannot do.'" The couriers left and reported this. ¹⁰ Ben-hadad then sent him the message, "May the gods do thus and so to me if there is enough dust in Samaria to make handfuls for all my followers." ¹¹ The king of Israel replied, "Tell him, 'It is not for the man who is buckling his armor to boast as though he were taking it off.'" ¹² Ben-hadad was drinking in the pavilions with the kings when he heard this reply. "Prepare the assault," he commanded his servants; and they made ready to storm the city. ¹³ Then a prophet came up to Ahab, king of Israel and said: "The LORD says, 'Do you see all this huge army? When I deliver it up to you today, you will know that I am the LORD.'" ¹⁴ But Ahab asked, "Through whom will it be delivered up?" He answered, "The LORD says, 'Through the retainers of the governors of the provinces.'" Then Ahab asked, "Who is to attack?" He replied, "You are." ¹⁵ So Ahab called up the retainers of the governors of the provinces, two hundred thirty-two of them. Behind them he mustered all the Israelite soldiery, who numbered seven thousand. ¹⁶ They marched out at noon, while Ben-hadad was drinking heavily in the pavilions with the thirty-two kings who were his allies. ¹⁷ When the retainers of the governors of the provinces marched out first, Ben-hadad received word that some men had marched out of Samaria. ¹⁸ He answered, "Whether they have come out for peace or for war, in any case take them alive." ¹⁹ But when these had come out of the city - the soldiers of the governors of the provinces with the army following them - ²⁰ each of them struck down his man. The Arameans fled with Israel pursuing them, while Ben-hadad, king of Aram, escaped on a chariot steed. ²¹ The king of Israel went out, took the horses and chariots, and inflicted a severe defeat on Aram. ²² Then the prophet went up to the king of Israel and said to him: "Go, regroup your forces. Mark well what you do, for at the beginning of the year the king of Aram will attack you." ²³ On the other hand, the servants of the king of Aram said to him: "Their gods are gods of mountains. That is why they defeated us. But if we fight them on level ground, we shall be sure to defeat them.

riot steed. ²¹ The king of Israel went out, took the horses and chariots, and inflicted a severe defeat on Aram. ²² Then the prophet went up to the king of Israel and said to him: "Go, regroup your forces. Mark well what you do, for at the beginning of the year the king of Aram will attack you." ²³ On the other hand, the servants of the king of Aram said to him: "Their gods are gods of mountains. That is why they defeated us. But if we fight them on level ground, we shall be sure to defeat them. ²⁴ This is what you must do: Take the kings from their posts and put prefects in their places. ²⁵ Mobilize an army as large as the army that has deserted you, horse for horse, chariot for chariot. Let us fight them on level ground, and we shall surely defeat them." He took their advice and did this. ²⁶ At the beginning of the year, Ben-hadad mobilized Aram and went up to Aphek to fight against Israel. ²⁷ The Israelites, too, were called to arms and supplied with provisions; then they went out to engage the foe. The

307 Israelites, encamped opposite them, seemed like a couple of small flocks of goats, while Aram covered the countryside. ²⁸ A man of God came up and said to the king of Israel: "The LORD says, 'Because Aram has said the LORD is a god of mountains, not a god of plains, I will deliver up to you all this large army, that you may know I am the LORD.'" ²⁹ They were encamped opposite each other for seven days. On the seventh day battle was joined, and the Israelites struck down one hundred thousand foot soldiers of Aram in one day. ³⁰ The survivors, twenty-seven thousand of them, fled into the city of Aphek, and there the wall collapsed. Ben-hadad, too, fled, and took refuge within the city, in an inside room. ³¹ His servants said to him: "We have heard that the kings of the land of Israel are merciful kings. Allow us, therefore, to garb ourselves in sackcloth, with cords around our heads, and go out to the king of Israel. Perhaps he will spare your life." ³² So they dressed in sackcloth girded at the waist, and wearing cords around their heads, they went to the king of Israel. "Your servant Ben-hadad pleads for his life," they said. "Is he still alive?" the king asked. "He is my brother." ³³ Hearing this as a good omen, the men quickly took him at his word and said, "Ben-hadad is your brother." He answered, "Go and get him." When Ben-hadad came out to him, the king had him mount his chariot. ³⁴ Ben-hadad said to him, "I will restore the cities which my father took from your father, and you may make yourself bazaars in Damascus, as my father did in Samaria." "On these terms," Ahab replied, "I will set you free." So he made an agreement with him and then set him free. ³⁵ One of the guild prophets was prompted by the LORD to say to his companion, "Strike me." But he refused to strike him. ³⁶ Then he said to him, "Since you did not obey the voice of the LORD, a lion will kill you when you leave me." When they parted company, a lion came upon him and killed him. ³⁷ The prophet met another man and said, "Strike me." The man struck him a blow and wounded him. ³⁸ The prophet went on and waited for the king on the road, having disguised himself with a bandage over his eyes. ³⁹ As the king was passing, he called out to the king and said: "Your servant went into the thick of the battle, and suddenly someone turned and brought me a man and said, 'Guard this man. If he is missing, you shall have to pay for his life with your life or pay out a talent of silver.' ⁴⁰ But while your servant was looking here and there, the man disappeared." The king of Israel said to him, "That is your sentence. You have decided it yourself." ⁴¹ He immediately removed the bandage from his eyes, and the king of Israel recognized him as one of the prophets. ⁴² He said to him: "The LORD says, 'Because you have set free the man I doomed to destruction, your life shall pay for his life, your people for his people.'" ⁴³ Disturbed and angry, the king of Israel went off homeward and entered Samaria. 1 Kings Chapter 21 ¹ Some time after this, as Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard in Jezreel next to the palace of Ahab, king of Samaria, ² Ahab said to Naboth, "Give me your vineyard to be my vegetable garden, since it is close by, next to my house. I will give you a better vineyard in exchange, or, if you prefer, I will give you its value in money." ³ "The LORD forbid," Naboth answered him, "that I should give you my ancestral heritage." ⁴ Ahab went home disturbed and angry at the answer Naboth the Jezreelite had made to him: "I will not give you my ancestral heritage." Lying down on his bed, he turned away from food and would not eat.

said to Naboth, "Give me your vineyard to be my vegetable garden, since it is close by, next to my house. I will give you a better vineyard in exchange, or, if you prefer, I will give you its value in money." ³ "The LORD forbid," Naboth answered him, "that I should give you my ancestral heritage." ⁴ Ahab went home disturbed and angry at the answer Naboth the Jezreelite had made to him: "I will not give you my ancestral heritage." Lying down on his bed, he turned away from food and would not eat. ⁵ His wife Jezebel came to him and said to him, "Why are you so angry that you will not eat?" ⁶ He answered her, "Because I spoke to Naboth the Jezreelite and said to him, 'Sell me your vineyard, or, if you prefer, I will give you a vineyard in exchange.' But he refused to let me have his vineyard." ⁷ "A fine ruler over Israel you are indeed!" his wife Jezebel said to him. "Get up. Eat and be cheerful. I will obtain the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite for you." ⁸ So she wrote letters in Ahab's name and, having sealed them with his seal, sent them to the elders and to the nobles who lived in the same city with Naboth. ⁹ This is what she wrote in the letters: "Proclaim a fast and set Naboth at the head of the people. ¹⁰ Next, get two

308 scoundrels to face him and accuse him of having cursed God and king. Then take him out and stone him to death." ¹¹ His fellow citizens - the elders and the nobles who dwelt in his city - did as Jezebel had ordered them in writing, through the letters she had sent them. ¹² They proclaimed a fast and placed Naboth at the head of the people. ¹³ Two scoundrels came in and confronted him with the accusation, "Naboth has cursed God and king." And they led him out of the city and stoned him to death. ¹⁴ Then they sent the information to Jezebel that Naboth had been stoned to death. ¹⁵ When Jezebel learned that Naboth had been stoned to death, she said to Ahab, "Go on, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite which he refused to sell you, because Naboth is not alive, but dead." ¹⁶ On hearing that Naboth was dead, Ahab started off on his way down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it. ¹⁷ But the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite: ¹⁸ "Start down to meet Ahab, king of Israel, who rules in Samaria. He will be in the vineyard of Naboth, of which he has come to take possession. ¹⁹ This is what you shall tell him, 'The LORD says: After murdering, do you also take possession? For this, the LORD says: In the place where the dogs licked up the blood of Naboth, the dogs shall lick up your blood, too.'" ²⁰ "Have you found me out, my enemy?" Ahab said to Elijah. "Yes," he answered. "Because you have given yourself up to doing evil in the LORD'S sight, ²¹ I am bringing evil upon you: I will destroy you and will cut off every male in Ahab's line, whether slave or freeman, in Israel. ²² I will make your house like that of Jeroboam, son of Nebat, and like that of Baasha, son of Ahijah, because of how you have provoked me by leading Israel into sin." ²³ (Against Jezebel, too, the LORD declared, "The dogs shall devour Jezebel in the district of Jezreel.") ²⁴ "When one of Ahab's line dies in the city, dogs will devour him; when one of them dies in the field, the birds of the sky will devour him." ²⁵ Indeed, no one gave himself up to the doing of evil in the sight of the LORD as did Ahab, urged on by his wife Jezebel. ²⁶ He became completely abominable by following idols, just as the Amorites had done, whom the LORD drove out before the Israelites. ²⁷ When Ahab heard these words, he tore his garments and put on sackcloth over his bare flesh. He fasted, slept in the sackcloth, and went about subdued. ²⁸ Then the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite, ²⁹ "Have you seen that Ahab has humbled himself before me? Since he has humbled himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his time. I will bring the evil upon his house during the reign of his son." 1 Kings Chapter 22 ¹ Three years passed without war between Aram and Israel. ² In the third year, however, King Jehoshaphat of Judah came down to the king of Israel, ³ who said to his servants, "Do you not know that Ramoth-gilead is ours and we are doing nothing to take it from the king of Aram?" ⁴ He asked Jehoshaphat, "Will you come with me to fight against Ramoth-gilead?" Jehoshaphat answered the king of Israel, "You and I are as one, and your people and my people, your horses and my horses as well." ⁵ Jehoshaphat also said to the king of Israel, "Seek the word of the LORD at once." ⁶ The king of Israel gathered together the prophets, about four hundred of them, and asked, "Shall I go to attack Ramoth-gilead or shall I refrain?" "Go up," they answered.

take it from the king of Aram?" ⁴ He asked Jehoshaphat, "Will you come with me to fight against Ramoth-gilead?" Jehoshaphat answered the king of Israel, "You and I are as one, and your people and my people, your horses and my horses as well." ⁵ Jehoshaphat also said to the king of Israel, "Seek the word of the LORD at once." ⁶ The king of Israel gathered together the prophets, about four hundred of them, and asked, "Shall I go to attack Ramoth-gilead or shall I refrain?" "Go up," they answered. "The LORD will deliver it over to the king." ⁷ But Jehoshaphat said, "Is there no other prophet of the LORD here whom we may consult?" ⁸ The king of Israel answered, "There is one other through whom we might consult the LORD, Micaiah, son of Imlah; but I hate him because he prophesies not good but evil about me." Jehoshaphat said, "Let not your majesty speak of evil against you." ⁹ So the king of Israel called an official and said to him, "Get Micaiah, son of Imlah, at once." ¹⁰ The king of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah were seated, each on his throne, clothed in their robes of state on a threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria, and all the prophets were prophesying before them. ¹¹ Zedekiah, son of Chenaanah, made himself horns of iron and said, "The LORD says, 'With these you shall gore Aram until you have destroyed them.'" ¹² The other prophets prophesied in a similar vein, saying: "Go up to Ramoth-gilead; you shall succeed. The

309 LORD will deliver it over to the king." ¹³ The messenger who had gone to call Micaiah said to him, "Look now, the prophets are unanimously predicting good for the king. Let your word be the same as any of theirs; predict good." ¹⁴ "As the LORD lives," Micaiah answered, "I shall say whatever the LORD tells me." ¹⁵ When he came to the king, the king said to him, "Micaiah, shall we go to fight against Ramoth-gilead, or shall we refrain?" "Go up," he answered, "you shall succeed! The LORD will deliver it over to the king." ¹⁶ But the king answered him, "How many times must I adjure you to tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the LORD?" ¹⁷ So Micaiah said: "I see all Israel scattered on the mountains, like sheep without a shepherd, and the LORD saying, 'These have no master! Let each of them go back home in peace.'" ¹⁸ The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "Did I not tell you he prophesies not good but evil about me?" ¹⁹ Micaiah continued: "Therefore hear the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD seated on his throne, with the whole host of heaven standing by to his right and to his left. ²⁰ The LORD asked, 'Who will deceive Ahab, so that he will go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?' And one said this, another that, ²¹ until one of the spirits came forth and presented himself to the LORD, saying, 'I will deceive him.' The LORD asked, 'How?' ²² He answered, 'I will go forth and become a lying spirit in the mouths of all his prophets.' The LORD replied, 'You shall succeed in deceiving him. Go forth and do this.' ²³ So now, the LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouths of all these prophets of yours, but the LORD himself has decreed evil against you." ²⁴ Thereupon Zedekiah, son of Chenaanah, came up and slapped Micaiah on the cheek, saying, "Has the spirit of the LORD, then, left me to speak with you?" ²⁵ "You shall find out," Micaiah replied, "on that day when you retreat into an inside room to hide." ²⁶ The king of Israel then said, "Seize Micaiah and take him back to Amon, prefect of the city, and to Joash, the king's son, ²⁷ and say, 'This is the king's order: Put this man in prison and feed him scanty rations of bread and water until I return in safety.'" ²⁸ But Micaiah said, "If ever you return in safety, the LORD has not spoken through me." ²⁹ The king of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah went up to Ramoth-gilead, ³⁰ and the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "I will disguise myself and go into battle, but you put on your own clothes." So the king of Israel disguised himself and entered the fray. ³¹ In the meantime the king of Aram had given his thirty- two chariot commanders the order, "Do not fight with anyone at all except the king of Israel." ³² When the chariot commanders saw Jehoshaphat, they cried out, "That must be the king of Israel!" and shifted to fight him. But Jehoshaphat shouted his battle cry, ³³ and the chariot commanders, aware that he was not the king of Israel, gave up pursuit of him. ³⁴ Someone, however, drew his bow at random, and hit the king of Israel between the joints of his breastplate. He ordered his charioteer, "Rein about and take me out of the ranks, for I am disabled." ³⁵ The battle grew fierce during the day, and the king, who was propped up in his chariot facing the Arameans, died in the evening. The blood from his wound flowed to the bottom of the chariot. ³⁶ At sunset a cry went through the army, "Every man to his city, every man to his land, ³⁷ for the king is dead!" So they went to Samaria, where they buried the king. ³⁸ When the chariot was washed at the pool of Samaria, the dogs licked up his blood and harlots bathed there, as the LORD had prophesied. ³⁹ The rest of the acts of Ahab, with all that he did, including the ivory palace and all the cities he built, are recorded in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. ⁴⁰ Ahab rested with his ancestors, and his son Ahaziah succeeded him as king.

ity, every man to his land, ³⁷ for the king is dead!" So they went to Samaria, where they buried the king. ³⁸ When the chariot was washed at the pool of Samaria, the dogs licked up his blood and harlots bathed there, as the LORD had prophesied. ³⁹ The rest of the acts of Ahab, with all that he did, including the ivory palace and all the cities he built, are recorded in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. ⁴⁰ Ahab rested with his ancestors, and his son Ahaziah succeeded him as king. ⁴¹ Jehoshaphat, son of Asa, began to reign over Judah in the fourth year of Ahab, king of Israel. ⁴² Jehoshaphat was thirty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Azubah, daughter of Shilhi. ⁴³ He followed all the ways of his father Asa unswervingly, doing what was right in the LORD'S sight. ⁴⁴ Nevertheless, the high places did not disappear, and the people continued to sacrifice and to burn incense on the high places. ⁴⁵ Jehoshaphat also made peace with the king of Israel. ⁴⁶ The rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, with his prowess, what he did and how he fought, are recorded in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah. ⁴⁷ He removed

310 from the land the rest of the cult prostitutes who had remained in the reign of his father Asa. ⁴⁸ There was no king in Edom, but an appointed regent. ⁴⁹ Jehoshaphat made Tarshish ships to go to Ophir for gold; but in fact the ships did not go, because they were wrecked at Ezion-geber. ⁵⁰ Then Ahaziah, son of Ahab, said to Jehoshaphat, "Let my servants accompany your servants in the ships." But Jehoshaphat would not agree. ⁵¹ Jehoshaphat rested with his ancestors; he was buried in his forefathers' City of David. His son Jehoram succeeded him as king. ⁵² Ahaziah, son of Ahab, began to reign over Israel in Samaria in the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah; he reigned two years over Israel. ⁵³ He did evil in the sight of the LORD, behaving like his father, his mother, and Jeroboam, son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin. ⁵⁴ He served and worshiped Baal, thus provoking the LORD, the God of Israel, just as his father had done. II Kings 2 Kings Chapter 1 ¹ After Ahab's death, Moab rebelled against Israel. ² Ahaziah had fallen through the lattice of his roof terrace at Samaria and had been injured. So he sent out messengers with the instructions: "Go and inquire of Baalzebub, the god of Ekron, whether I shall recover from this injury." ³ Meanwhile, the angel of the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite: "Go, intercept the messengers of Samaria's king, and ask them, 'Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baalzebub, the god of Ekron?' ⁴ For this, the LORD says: 'You shall not leave the bed upon which you lie; instead, you shall die.'" And with that, Elijah departed. ⁵ The messengers then returned to Ahaziah, who asked them, "Why have you returned?" ⁶ "A man came up to us," they answered, "who said to us, 'Go back to the king who sent you and tell him: The LORD says, Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are sending to inquire of Baalzebub, the god of Ekron? For this you shall not leave the bed upon which you lie; instead, you shall die.'" ⁷ The king asked them, "What was the man like who came up to you and said these things to you?" ⁸ "Wearing a hairy garment," they replied, "with a leather girdle about his loins." "It is Elijah the Tishbite!" he exclaimed. ⁹ Then the king sent a captain with his company of fifty men after Elijah. The prophet was seated on a hilltop when he found him. "Man of God," he ordered, "the king commands you to come down." ¹⁰ "If I am a man of God," Elijah answered the captain, "may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men." And fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty men. ¹¹ Ahaziah sent another captain with his company of fifty men after Elijah. "Man of God," he called out to Elijah, "the king commands you to come down immediately." ¹² "If I am a man of God," Elijah answered him, "may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men." And divine fire came down from heaven, consuming him and his fifty men. ¹³ Again, for the third time, Ahaziah sent a captain with his company of fifty men. When the third captain arrived, he fell to his knees before Elijah, pleading with him. "Man of God," he implored him, "let my life and the lives of these fifty men, your servants, count for something in your sight! ¹⁴ Already fire has come down from heaven, consuming two captains with their companies of fifty men. But now, let my life mean something to you!" ¹⁵ Then the angel of the LORD said to Elijah, "Go down with him; you need not be afraid of him." ¹⁶ So Elijah left and went down with him and stated to the king: "Thus says the LORD: 'Because you sent messengers to inquire of Baalzebub, the god of Ekron, you shall not leave the bed upon which you lie; instead you shall die.'" ¹⁷ Ahaziah died in fulfillment of the prophecy of the LORD spoken by Elijah. Since he had no son, his brother Joram succeeded him as king, in the second year of Jehoram, son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah.

id to Elijah, "Go down with him; you need not be afraid of him." ¹⁶ So Elijah left and went down with him and stated to the king: "Thus says the LORD: 'Because you sent messengers to inquire of Baalzebub, the god of Ekron, you shall not leave the bed upon which you lie; instead you shall die.'" ¹⁷ Ahaziah died in fulfillment of the prophecy of the LORD spoken by Elijah. Since he had no son, his brother Joram succeeded him as king, in the second year of Jehoram, son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah. ¹⁸ The rest of the acts of Ahaziah are recorded in the book of chronicles of the kings of Israel. 2 Kings Chapter 2

311 ¹ When the LORD was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, he and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. ² "Stay here, please," Elijah said to Elisha. "The LORD has sent me on to Bethel." "As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live," Elisha replied, "I will not leave you." So they went down to Bethel, ³ where the guild prophets went out to Elisha and asked him, "Do you know that the LORD will take your master from over you today?" "Yes, I know it," he replied. "Keep still." ⁴ Then Elijah said to him, "Stay here, please, Elisha, for the LORD has sent me on to Jericho." "As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live," Elisha replied, "I will not leave you." ⁵ They went on to Jericho, where the guild prophets approached Elisha and asked him, "Do you know that the LORD will take your master from over you today?" "Yes, I know it," he replied. "Keep still." ⁶ Elijah said to Elisha, "Please stay here; the LORD has sent me on to the Jordan." "As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live," Elisha replied, "I will not leave you." And so the two went on together. ⁷ Fifty of the guild prophets followed, and when the two stopped at the Jordan, stood facing them at a distance. ⁸ Elijah took his mantle, rolled it up and struck the water, which divided, and both crossed over on dry ground. ⁹ When they had crossed over, Elijah said to Elisha, "Ask for whatever I may do for you, before I am taken from you." Elisha answered, "May I receive a double portion of your spirit." ¹⁰ "You have asked something that is not easy," he replied. "Still, if you see me taken up from you, your wish will be granted; otherwise not." ¹¹ As they walked on conversing, a flaming chariot and flaming horses came between them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. ¹² When Elisha saw it happen he cried out, "My father! my father! Israel's chariots and drivers!" But when he could no longer see him, Elisha gripped his own garment and tore it in two. ¹³ Then he picked up Elijah's mantle which had fallen from him, and went back and stood at the bank of the Jordan. ¹⁴ Wielding the mantle which had fallen from Elijah, he struck the water in his turn and said, "Where is the LORD, the God of Elijah?" When Elisha struck the water it divided and he crossed over. ¹⁵ The guild prophets in Jericho, who were on the other side, saw him and said, "The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha." They went to meet him, bowing to the ground before him. ¹⁶ "Among your servants are fifty brave men," they said. "Let them go in search of your master. Perhaps the spirit of the LORD has carried him away to some mountain or some valley." "Do not send them," he answered. ¹⁷ However, they kept urging him, until he was embarrassed and said, "Send them." So they sent the fifty men, who searched for three days without finding him. ¹⁸ When they returned to Elisha in Jericho, where he was staying, he said to them, "Did I not tell you not to go?" ¹⁹ Once the inhabitants of the city complained to Elisha, "The site of the city is fine indeed, as my lord can see, but the water is bad and the land unfruitful." ²⁰ "Bring me a new bowl," Elisha said, "and put salt into it." When they had brought it to him, ²¹ he went out to the spring and threw salt into it, saying, "Thus says the LORD, 'I have purified this water. Never again shall death or miscarriage spring from it.'" ²² And the water has stayed pure even to this day, just as Elisha prophesied. ²³ From there Elisha went up to Bethel. While he was on the way, some small boys came out of the city and jeered at him. "Go up, baldhead," they shouted, "go up, baldhead!" ²⁴ The prophet turned and saw them, and he cursed them in the name of the LORD. Then two she-bears came out of the woods and tore forty-two of the children to pieces.

have purified this water. Never again shall death or miscarriage spring from it.'" ²² And the water has stayed pure even to this day, just as Elisha prophesied. ²³ From there Elisha went up to Bethel. While he was on the way, some small boys came out of the city and jeered at him. "Go up, baldhead," they shouted, "go up, baldhead!" ²⁴ The prophet turned and saw them, and he cursed them in the name of the LORD. Then two she-bears came out of the woods and tore forty-two of the children to pieces. ²⁵ From there he went to Mount Carmel, and thence he returned to Samaria. 2 Kings Chapter 3 ¹ Joram, son of Ahab, became king of Israel in Samaria (in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, and he reigned for twelve years). ² He did evil in the LORD'S sight, though not as much as his father and mother. He did away with the pillar of Baal, which his father had made, ³ but he still clung to the sin to which Jeroboam, son of Nebat, had lured Israel; this he did not give up. ⁴ Now Mesha, king of Moab, who raised sheep, used to pay the king of Israel as tribute a hundred thousand lambs and the wool of a hundred thousand rams. ⁵ But when Ahab died, the

312 king of Moab had rebelled against the king of Israel. ⁶ Joram as king mustered all Israel, and when he set out on a campaign from Samaria, ⁷ he sent the king of Judah the message: "The king of Moab is in rebellion against me. Will you join me in battle against Moab?" "I will," he replied. "You and I shall be as one, your people and mine, and your horses and mine as well." ⁸ They discussed the route for their attack, and settled upon the route through the desert of Edom. ⁹ So the king of Israel set out, accompanied by the king of Judah and the king of Edom. After their roundabout journey of seven days the water gave out for the army and for the animals with them. ¹⁰ "Alas!" exclaimed the king of Israel. "The LORD has called together these three kings to put them in the grasp of Moab." ¹¹ But the king of Judah asked, "Is there no prophet of the LORD here through whom we may inquire of the LORD?" One of the officers of the king of Israel replied, "Elisha, son of Shaphat, who poured water on the hands of Elijah, is here." ¹² "He has the word of the LORD," the king of Judah agreed. So the kings of Israel, Judah, and Edom went down to Elisha. ¹³ "What do you want with me?" Elisha asked the king of Israel. "Go to the prophets of your father and to the prophets of your mother." "No," the king of Israel replied. "The LORD has called these three kings together to put them in the grasp of Moab." ¹⁴ Then Elisha said, "As the LORD of hosts lives, whom I serve, were it not that I respect the king of Judah, I should neither look at you nor notice you at all. ¹⁵ Now get me a minstrel." When the minstrel played, the power of the LORD came upon Elisha ¹⁶ and he announced: "Thus says the LORD, 'Provide many catch basins in this wadi.' ¹⁷ For the LORD says, 'Though you will see neither wind nor rain, yet this wadi will be filled with water for you, your livestock, and your pack animals to drink.' ¹⁸ And since the LORD does not consider this enough, he will also deliver Moab into your grasp. ¹⁹ You shall destroy every fortified city, fell every fruit tree, stop up all the springs, and ruin every fertile field with stones." ²⁰ In the morning, at the time of the sacrifice, water came from the direction of Edom and filled the land. ²¹ Meanwhile, all Moab heard that the kings had come to give them battle; every man capable of bearing arms was called up and stationed at the border. ²² Early that morning, when the sun shone on the water, the Moabites saw the water at a distance as red as blood. ²³ "This is blood!" they exclaimed. "The kings have fought among themselves and killed one another. Quick! To the spoils, Moabites!" ²⁴ But when they reached the camp of Israel, the Israelites rose up and attacked the Moabites, who fled from them. They ranged through the countryside striking down the Moabites, ²⁵ destroying the cities; each of them cast stones onto every fertile field till they had loaded it down; all the springs they stopped up and every useful tree they felled. Finally only Kir-hareseth was left behind its stone walls, and the slingers had surrounded it and were attacking it. ²⁶ When he saw that he was losing the battle, the king of Moab took seven hundred swordsmen to break through to the king of Aram, but he failed. ²⁷ So he took his first-born, his heir apparent, and offered him as a holocaust upon the wall. The wrath against Israel was so great that they gave up the siege and returned to their own land. 2 Kings Chapter 4 ¹ A certain woman, the widow of one of the guild prophets, complained to Elisha: "My husband, your servant, is dead. You know that he was a God-fearing man, yet now his creditor has come to take my two children as his slaves." ² "How can I help you?" Elisha answered her. "Tell me what you have in the house." "This servant of yours has nothing in the house but a jug of oil," she replied. ³ "Go out," he said, "borrow vessels from all your neighbors - as many empty vessels as you can.

ngs Chapter 4 ¹ A certain woman, the widow of one of the guild prophets, complained to Elisha: "My husband, your servant, is dead. You know that he was a God-fearing man, yet now his creditor has come to take my two children as his slaves." ² "How can I help you?" Elisha answered her. "Tell me what you have in the house." "This servant of yours has nothing in the house but a jug of oil," she replied. ³ "Go out," he said, "borrow vessels from all your neighbors - as many empty vessels as you can. ⁴ Then come back and close the door on yourself and your children; pour the oil into all the vessels, and as each is filled, set it aside." ⁵ She went and did so, closing the door on herself and her children. As they handed her the vessels, she would pour in oil. ⁶ When all the vessels were filled, she said to her son, "Bring me another vessel." "There is none left," he answered her. And then the oil stopped. ⁷ She went and told the man of God, who said, "Go and sell the oil to pay off your

313 creditor; with what remains, you and your children can live." ⁸ One day Elisha came to Shunem, where there was a woman of influence, who urged him to dine with her. Afterward, whenever he passed by, he used to stop there to dine. ⁹ So she said to her husband, "I know that he is a holy man of God. Since he visits us often, ¹⁰ let us arrange a little room on the roof and furnish it for him with a bed, table, chair, and lamp, so that when he comes to us he can stay there." ¹¹ Sometime later Elisha arrived and stayed in the room overnight. ¹² Then he said to his servant Gehazi, "Call this Shunammite woman." He did so, and when she stood before Elisha, ¹³ he told Gehazi, "Say to her, 'You have lavished all this care on us; what can we do for you? Can we say a good word for you to the king or to the commander of the army?'" She replied, "I am living among my own people." ¹⁴ Later Elisha asked, "Can something be done for her?" "Yes!" Gehazi answered. "She has no son, and her husband is getting on in years." ¹⁵ "Call her," said Elisha. When she had been called, and stood at the door, ¹⁶ Elisha promised, "This time next year you will be fondling a baby son." "Please, my lord," she protested, "you are a man of God; do not deceive your servant." ¹⁷ Yet the woman conceived, and by the same time the following year she had given birth to a son, as Elisha had promised. ¹⁸ The day came when the child was old enough to go out to his father among the reapers. ¹⁹ "My head hurts!" he complained to his father. "Carry him to his mother," the father said to a servant. ²⁰ The servant picked him up and carried him to his mother; he stayed with her until noon, when he died in her lap. ²¹ The mother took him upstairs and laid him on the bed of the man of God. Closing the door on him, she went out ²² and called to her husband, "Let me have a servant and a donkey. I must go quickly to the man of God, and I will be back." ²³ "Why are you going to him today?" he asked. "It is neither the new moon nor the sabbath." But she bade him good-bye, ²⁴ and when the donkey was saddled, said to her servant: "Lead on! Do not stop my donkey unless I tell you to." ²⁵ She kept going till she reached the man of God on Mount Carmel. When he spied her at a distance, the man of God said to his servant Gehazi: "There is the Shunammite! ²⁶ Hurry to meet her, and ask if all is well with her, with her husband, and with the boy." "Greetings," she replied. ²⁷ But when she reached the man of God on the mountain, she clasped his feet. Gehazi came near to push her away, but the man of God said: "Let her alone, she is in bitter anguish; the LORD hid it from me and did not let me know." ²⁸ "Did I ask my lord for a son?" she cried out. "Did I not beg you not to deceive me?" ²⁹ "Gird your loins," Elisha said to Gehazi, "take my staff with you and be off; if you meet anyone, do not greet him, and if anyone greets you, do not answer. Lay my staff upon the boy." ³⁰ But the boy's mother cried out: "As the LORD lives and as you yourself live, I will not release you." So he started to go back with her. ³¹ Meanwhile, Gehazi had gone on ahead and had laid the staff upon the boy, but there was no sound or sign of life. He returned to meet Elisha and informed him that the boy had not awakened. ³² When Elisha reached the house, he found the boy lying dead. ³³ He went in, closed the door on them both, and prayed to the LORD. ³⁴ Then he lay upon the child on the bed, placing his mouth upon the child's mouth, his eyes upon the eyes, and his hands upon the hands. As Elisha stretched himself over the child, the body became warm. ³⁵ He arose, paced up and down the room, and then once more lay down upon the boy, who now sneezed seven times and opened his eyes. ³⁶ Elisha summoned Gehazi and said, "Call the Shunammite." She came at his call, and Elisha said to her, "Take your son." ³⁷ She came in and fell at his feet in gratitude; then she took her son and left the room.

g his mouth upon the child's mouth, his eyes upon the eyes, and his hands upon the hands. As Elisha stretched himself over the child, the body became warm. ³⁵ He arose, paced up and down the room, and then once more lay down upon the boy, who now sneezed seven times and opened his eyes. ³⁶ Elisha summoned Gehazi and said, "Call the Shunammite." She came at his call, and Elisha said to her, "Take your son." ³⁷ She came in and fell at his feet in gratitude; then she took her son and left the room. ³⁸ When Elisha returned to Gilgal, there was a famine in the land. Once, when the guild prophets were seated before him, he said to his servant, "Put the large pot on, and make some vegetable stew for the guild prophets." ³⁹ Someone went out into the field to gather herbs and found a wild vine, from which he picked a clothful of wild gourds. On his return he cut them up into the pot of vegetable stew without anybody's knowing it. ⁴⁰ The stew was poured out for the men to eat, but when they began to eat it, they exclaimed, "Man of God, there is poison in the pot!" And they could not eat it. ⁴¹ "Bring some meal," Elisha said. He threw it into the pot and

314 said, "Serve it to the people to eat." And there was no longer anything harmful in the pot. ⁴² A man came from Baal-shalishah bringing the man of God twenty barely loaves made from the first fruits, and fresh grain in the ear. "Give it to the people to eat," Elisha said. ⁴³ But his servant objected, "How can I set this before a hundred men?" "Give it to the people to eat," Elisha insisted. "For thus says the LORD, 'They shall eat and there shall be some left over.'" ⁴⁴ And when they had eaten, there was some left over, as the LORD had said. 2 Kings Chapter 5 ¹ Naaman, the army commander of the king of Aram, was highly esteemed and respected by his master, for through him the LORD had brought victory to Aram. But valiant as he was, the man was a leper. ² Now the Arameans had captured from the land of Israel in a raid a little girl, who became the servant of Naaman's wife. ³ "If only my master would present himself to the prophet in Samaria," she said to her mistress, "he would cure him of his leprosy." ⁴ Naaman went and told his lord just what the slave girl from the land of Israel had said. ⁵ "Go," said the king of Aram. "I will send along a letter to the king of Israel." So Naaman set out, taking along ten silver talents, six thousand gold pieces, and ten festal garments. ⁶ To the king of Israel he brought the letter, which read: "With this letter I am sending my servant Naaman to you, that you may cure him of his leprosy." ⁷ When he read the letter, the king of Israel tore his garments and exclaimed: "Am I a god with power over life and death, that this man should send someone to me to be cured of leprosy? Take note! You can see he is only looking for a quarrel with me!" ⁸ When Elisha, the man of God, heard that the king of Israel had torn his garments, he sent word to the king: "Why have you torn your garments? Let him come to me and find out that there is a prophet in Israel." ⁹ Naaman came with his horses and chariots and stopped at the door of Elisha's house. ¹⁰ The prophet sent him the message: "Go and wash seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will heal, and you will be clean." ¹¹ But Naaman went away angry, saying, "I thought that he would surely come out and stand there to invoke the LORD his God, and would move his hand over the spot, and thus cure the leprosy. ¹² Are not the rivers of Damascus, the Abana and the Pharpar, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be cleansed?" With this, he turned about in anger and left. ¹³ But his servants came up and reasoned with him. "My father," they said, "if the prophet had told you to do something extraordinary, would you not have done it? All the more now, since he said to you, 'Wash and be clean,' should you do as he said." ¹⁴ So Naaman went down and plunged into the Jordan seven times at the word of the man of God. His flesh became again like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean. ¹⁵ He returned with his whole retinue to the man of God. On his arrival he stood before him and said, "Now I know that there is no God in all the earth, except in Israel. Please accept a gift from your servant." ¹⁶ "As the LORD lives whom I serve, I will not take it," Elisha replied; and despite Naaman's urging, he still refused. ¹⁷ Naaman said: "If you will not accept, please let me, your servant, have two mule-loads of earth, for I will no longer offer holocaust or sacrifice to any other god except to the LORD. ¹⁸ But I trust the LORD will forgive your servant this: when my master enters the temple of Rimmon to worship there, then I, too, as his adjutant, must bow down in the temple of Rimmon. May the LORD forgive your servant this." ¹⁹ "Go in peace," Elisha said to him. ²⁰ Naaman had gone some distance when Gehazi, the servant of Elisha, the man of God, thought to himself: "My master was too easy with this Aramean Naaman, not accepting what he brought.

or sacrifice to any other god except to the LORD. ¹⁸ But I trust the LORD will forgive your servant this: when my master enters the temple of Rimmon to worship there, then I, too, as his adjutant, must bow down in the temple of Rimmon. May the LORD forgive your servant this." ¹⁹ "Go in peace," Elisha said to him. ²⁰ Naaman had gone some distance when Gehazi, the servant of Elisha, the man of God, thought to himself: "My master was too easy with this Aramean Naaman, not accepting what he brought. As the LORD lives, I will run after him and get something out of him." ²¹ So Gehazi hurried after Naaman. Aware that someone was running after him, Naaman alighted from his chariot to wait for him. "Is everything all right?" he asked. ²² "Yes," Gehazi replied, "but my master sent me to say, 'Two young men have just come to me, guild prophets from the hill country of Ephraim. Please give them a talent of silver and two festal garments.'" ²³ "Please take two talents," Naaman said, and pressed them upon him. He tied up

315 these silver talents in bags and gave them, with the two festal garments, to two of his servants, who carried them before Gehazi. ²⁴ When they reached the hill, Gehazi took what they had, carried it into the house, and sent the men on their way. ²⁵ He went in and stood before Elisha his master, who asked him, "Where have you been, Gehazi?" He answered, "Your servant has not gone anywhere." ²⁶ But Elisha said to him: "Was I not present in spirit when the man alighted from his chariot to wait for you? Is this a time to take money or to take garments, olive orchards or vineyards, sheep or cattle, male or female servants? ²⁷ The leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you and your descendants forever." And Gehazi left Elisha, a leper white as snow. 2 Kings Chapter 6 ¹ The guild prophets once said to Elisha: "There is not enough room for us to continue to live here with you. ² Let us go to the Jordan, where by getting one beam apiece we can build ourselves a place to live." "Go," Elisha said. ³ "Please agree to accompany your servants," one of them requested. "Yes, I will come," he replied. ⁴ So he went with them, and when they arrived at the Jordan they began to fell trees. ⁵ While one of them was felling a tree trunk, the iron axhead slipped into the water. "O master," he cried out, "it was borrowed!" ⁶ "Where did it fall?" asked the man of God. When he pointed out the spot, Elisha cut off a stick, threw it into the water, and brought the iron to the surface. ⁷ "Pick it up," he said. And the man reached down and grasped it. ⁸ When the king of Aram was waging war on Israel, he would make plans with his servants to attack a particular place. ⁹ But the man of God would send word to the king of Israel, "Be careful! Do not pass by this place, for Aram will attack there." ¹⁰ So the king of Israel would send word to the place which the man of God had indicated, and alert it; then they would be on guard. This happened several times. ¹¹ Greatly disturbed over this, the king of Aram called together his officers. "Will you not tell me," he asked them, "who among us is for the king of Israel?" ¹² "No one, my lord king," answered one of the officers. "The Israelite prophet Elisha can tell the king of Israel the very words you speak in your bedroom." 13 "Go, find out where he is," he said, "so that I may take him captive." Informed that Elisha was in Dothan, 14 he sent there a strong force with horses and chariots. They arrived by night and surrounded the city. 15 Early the next morning, when the attendant of the man of God arose and went out, he saw the force with its horses and chariots surrounding the city. "Alas!" he said to Elisha. "What shall we do, my lord?" 16 "Do not be afraid," Elisha answered. "Our side outnumbers theirs." 17 Then he prayed, "O LORD, open his eyes, that he may see." And the LORD opened the eyes of the servant, so that he saw the mountainside filled with horses and fiery chariots around Elisha. 18 When the Arameans came down to get him, Elisha prayed to the LORD, "Strike this people blind, I pray you." And in answer to the prophet's prayer the LORD struck them blind. 19 Then Elisha said to them: "This is the wrong road, and this is the wrong city. Follow me! I will take you to the man you want." And he led them to Samaria. 20 When they entered Samaria, Elisha prayed, "O LORD, open their eyes that they may see." The LORD opened their eyes, and they saw that they were inside Samaria. 21 When the king of Israel saw them, he asked, "Shall I kill them, my father?" 22 "You must not kill them," replied Elisha. "Do you slay those whom you have taken captive with your sword or bow? Serve them bread and water. Let them eat and drink, and then go back to their master." 23 The king spread a great feast for them. When they had eaten and drunk he sent them away, and they went back to their master. No more Aramean raiders came into the land of Israel.

y saw that they were inside Samaria. 21 When the king of Israel saw them, he asked, "Shall I kill them, my father?" 22 "You must not kill them," replied Elisha. "Do you slay those whom you have taken captive with your sword or bow? Serve them bread and water. Let them eat and drink, and then go back to their master." 23 The king spread a great feast for them. When they had eaten and drunk he sent them away, and they went back to their master. No more Aramean raiders came into the land of Israel. 24 After this, Ben-hadad, king of Aram, mustered his whole army and laid siege to Samaria. 25 Because of the siege the famine in Samaria was so severe that an ass's head sold for eighty pieces of silver, and a fourth of a kab of wild onion for five pieces of silver. 26 One day, as the king of Israel was walking on the city wall, a woman cried out to him, "Help, my lord king!" 27 "No," he replied, "the LORD help you! Where could I find help for you: from the threshing floor or the winepress?" 28 Then the king asked her, "What is your trouble?"

316 She replied: "This woman said to me, 'Give up your son that we may eat him today; then tomorrow we will eat my son.' 29 So we boiled my son and ate him. The next day I said to her, 'Now give up your son that we may eat him.' But she hid her son." 30 When the king heard the woman's words, he tore his garments. And as he was walking on the wall, the people saw that he was wearing sackcloth underneath, next to his skin. 31 "May God do thus and so to me," the king exclaimed, "if the head of Elisha, son of Shaphat, stays on him today!" 32 Meanwhile, Elisha was sitting in his house in conference with the elders. The king had sent a man ahead before he himself should come to him. Elisha had said to the elders: "Do you know that this son of a murderer is sending someone to cut off my head? When the messenger comes, see that you close the door and hold it fast against him. His master's footsteps are echoing behind him." 33 While Elisha was still speaking, the king came down to him and said, "This evil is from the LORD. Why should I trust in the LORD any longer?" 2 Kings Chapter 7 ¹Elisha said: "Hear the word of the LORD! Thus says the LORD, 'At this time tomorrow a seah of fine flour will sell for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel, in the market of Samaria.'" ²But the adjutant on whose arm the king leaned, answered the man of God, "Even if the LORD were to make windows in heaven, how could this happen?" "You shall see it with your own eyes," Elisha said, "but you shall not eat of it." ³At the city gate were four lepers who were deliberating, "Why should we sit here until we die? ⁴If we decide to go into the city, we shall die there, for there is famine in the city. If we remain here, we shall die too. Come, let us desert to the camp of the Arameans. If they spare us, we live; if they kill us, we die." ⁵At twilight they left for the Arameans; but when they reached the edge of the camp, no one was there. ⁶The LORD had caused the army of the Arameans to hear the sound of chariots and horses, the din of a large army, and they had reasoned among themselves, "The king of Israel has hired the kings of the Hittites and the kings of the borderlands to fight us." ⁷Then in the twilight they fled, abandoning their tents, their horses, and their asses, the whole camp just as it was, and fleeing for their lives. ⁸After the lepers reached the edge of the camp, they went first into one tent, ate and drank, and took silver, gold, and clothing from it, and went out and hid them. Back they came into another tent, took things from it, and again went out and hid them. ⁹Then they said to one another: "We are not doing right. This is a day of good news, and we are keeping silent. If we wait until morning breaks, we shall be blamed. Come, let us go and inform the palace." ¹⁰They came and summoned the city gatekeepers. "We went to the camp of the Arameans," they said, "but no one was there - not a human voice, only the horses and asses tethered, and the tents just as they were left." ¹¹The gatekeepers announced this and it was reported within the palace. ¹²Though it was night, the king got up; he said to his servants: "Let me tell you what the Arameans have done to us. Knowing that we are in famine, they have left their camp to hide in the field, hoping to take us alive and enter our city when we leave it." ¹³One of his servants, however, suggested: "Since those who are left in the city are no better off than all the throng that has perished, let some of us take five of the abandoned horses and send scouts to investigate." ¹⁴They took two chariots, and horses, and the king sent them to reconnoiter the Aramean army. "Go and find out," he ordered. ¹⁵They followed the Arameans as far as the Jordan, and the whole route was strewn with garments and other objects that the Arameans had thrown away in their haste.

his servants, however, suggested: "Since those who are left in the city are no better off than all the throng that has perished, let some of us take five of the abandoned horses and send scouts to investigate." ¹⁴They took two chariots, and horses, and the king sent them to reconnoiter the Aramean army. "Go and find out," he ordered. ¹⁵They followed the Arameans as far as the Jordan, and the whole route was strewn with garments and other objects that the Arameans had thrown away in their haste. The messengers returned and told the king. ¹⁶The people went out and plundered the camp of the Arameans; and then a seah of fine flour sold for a shekel and two seahs of barley for a shekel, as the LORD had said. ¹⁷The king put in charge of the gate the officer who was his adjutant; but the people trampled him to death at the gate, just as the man of God had predicted when the king visited him. ¹⁸Thus was fulfilled the prophecy of the man of God to the king, "Two seahs of barley will sell for a shekel, and one seah of fine flour

317 for a shekel at this time tomorrow at the gate of Samaria." ¹⁹The adjutant had answered the man of God, "Even if the LORD were to make windows in heaven, how could this happen?" And Elisha had replied, "You shall see it with your own eyes, but you shall not eat of it." ²⁰And that is what happened to him, for the people trampled him to death at the gate. 2 Kings Chapter 8 ¹Elisha once said to the woman whose son he had restored to life: "Get ready! Leave with your family and settle wherever you can, because the LORD has decreed a seven-year famine which is coming upon the land." ²The woman got ready and did as the man of God said, setting out with her family and settling in the land of the Philistines for seven years. ³At the end of the seven years, the woman returned from the land of the Philistines and went out to the king to claim her house and her field. ⁴The king was talking with Gehazi, the servant of the man of God. "Tell me," he said, "all the great things that Elisha has done." ⁵Just as he was relating to the king how his master had restored a dead person to life, the very woman whose son Elisha had restored to life came to the king to claim her house and field. "My lord king," Gehazi said, "this is the woman, and this is that son of hers whom Elisha restored to life." ⁶The king questioned the woman, and she told him her story. With that the king placed an official at her disposal, saying, "Restore all her property to her, with all that the field produced from the day she left the land until now." ⁷Elisha came to Damascus at a time when Ben-hadad, king of Aram, lay sick. When he was told that the man of God had come there, ⁸the king said to Hazael, "Take a gift with you and go call on the man of God. Have him consult the LORD as to whether I shall recover from this sickness." ⁹Hazael went to visit him, carrying a present, and with forty camel loads of the best goods of Damascus. On his arrival, he stood before the prophet and said, "Your son Ben-hadad, king of Aram, has sent me to ask you whether he will recover from his sickness." ¹⁰"Go and tell him," Elisha answered, "that he will surely recover. However, the LORD has showed me that he will in fact die." ¹¹Then he stared him down until Hazael became ill at ease. The man of God wept, ¹²and Hazael asked, "Why are you weeping, my lord?" Elisha replied, "Because I know the evil that you will inflict upon the Israelites. You will burn their fortresses, you will slay their youth with the sword, you will dash their little children to pieces, you will rip open their pregnant women." ¹³Hazael exclaimed, "How can a dog like me, your servant, do anything so important?" "The LORD has showed you to me as king over Aram," replied Elisha. ¹⁴Hazael left Elisha and returned to his master. "What did Elisha tell you?" asked Ben-hadad. "He told me that you would surely recover," replied Hazael. ¹⁵The next day, however, Hazael took a cloth, dipped it in water, and spread it over the king's face, so that he died. And Hazael reigned in his stead. ¹⁶In the fifth year of Joram, son of Ahab, king of Israel, Jehoram, son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, became king. ¹⁷He was thirty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. ¹⁸He conducted himself like the kings of Israel of the line of Ahab, since the sister of Ahab was his wife; and he did evil in the LORD'S sight. ¹⁹Even so, the LORD was unwilling to destroy Judah, because of his servant David. For he had promised David that he would leave him a lamp in the LORD'S presence for all time. ²⁰During Jehoram's reign, Edom revolted against the sovereignty of Judah and chose a king of its own. ²¹Thereupon Jehoram with all his chariots crossed over to Zair. He arose by night and broke through the Edomites when they had surrounded him and the commanders of his chariots. Then his army fled homeward. ²²To this day Edom has been in revolt against the rule of Judah. Libnah also revolted at that time.

r he had promised David that he would leave him a lamp in the LORD'S presence for all time. ²⁰During Jehoram's reign, Edom revolted against the sovereignty of Judah and chose a king of its own. ²¹Thereupon Jehoram with all his chariots crossed over to Zair. He arose by night and broke through the Edomites when they had surrounded him and the commanders of his chariots. Then his army fled homeward. ²²To this day Edom has been in revolt against the rule of Judah. Libnah also revolted at that time. ²³The rest of the acts of Jehoram, with all that he did, are recorded in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah. ²⁴Jehoram rested with his ancestors and was buried with them in the City of David. His son Ahaziah succeeded him as king. ²⁵Ahaziah, son of Jehoram, king of Judah, became king in the twelfth year of Joram, son of Ahab, king of Israel. ²⁶He was twenty-two years old when he began his reign, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother's name was

318 Athaliah; she was daughter of Omri, king of Israel. ²⁷He conducted himself like the house of Ahab, doing evil in the LORD'S sight as they did, since he was related to them by marriage. ²⁸He joined Joram, son of Ahab, in battle against Hazael, king of Aram, at Ramoth-gilead, where the Arameans wounded Joram. ²⁹King Joram returned to Jezreel to be healed of the wounds which the Arameans had inflicted on him at Ramah in his battle against Hazael, king of Aram. Then Ahaziah, son of Jehoram, king of Judah, went down to Jezreel to visit him there in his illness. 2 Kings Chapter 9 ¹The prophet Elisha called one of the guild prophets and said to him: "Gird your loins, take this flask of oil with you, and go to Ramoth-gilead. ²When you get there, look for Jehu, son of Jehoshaphat, son of Nimshi. Enter and take him away from his companions into an inner chamber. ³From the flask you have, pour oil on his head, and say, 'Thus says the LORD: I anoint you king over Israel.' Then open the door and flee without delay." ⁴The young man (the guild prophet) went to Ramoth-gilead. ⁵When he arrived, the commanders of the army were in session. "I have a message for you, commander," he said. "For which one of us?" asked Jehu. "For you, commander," he answered. ⁶Jehu got up and went into the house. Then the young man poured the oil on his head and said, "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: 'I anoint you king over the people of the LORD, over Israel. ⁷You shall destroy the house of Ahab your master; thus will I avenge the blood of my servants the prophets, and the blood of all the other servants of the LORD shed by Jezebel, ⁸and by all the rest of the family of Ahab. I will cut off every male in Ahab's line, whether slave or freeman in Israel. ⁹I will deal with the house of Ahab as I dealt with the house of Jeroboam, son of Nebat, and with the house of Baasha, son of Ahijah. ¹⁰Dogs shall devour Jezebel at the confines of Jezreel, so that no one can bury her.'" Then he opened the door and fled. ¹¹When Jehu rejoined his master's servants, they asked him, "Is all well? Why did that madman come to you?" You know that kind of man and his talk, he replied. ¹²But they said, "Not at all! Come, tell us." So he told them what the young man had said to him, and finally, "Thus says the LORD: 'I anoint you king over Israel.'" ¹³At once each took his garment, spread it under Jehu on the bare steps, blew the trumpet, and cried out, "Jehu is king!" ¹⁴Thus Jehu, son of Jehoshaphat, son of Nimshi, formed a conspiracy against Joram. Joram, with all Israel, had been besieging Ramoth- gilead against Hazael, king of Aram, ¹⁵but had returned to Jezreel to be healed of the wounds the Arameans had inflicted on him in the battle against Hazael, king of Aram. "If you are truly with me," Jehu said, "see that no one escapes from the city to report in Jezreel." ¹⁶Then Jehu mounted his chariot and drove to Jezreel, where Joram lay ill and Ahaziah, king of Judah, had come to visit him. ¹⁷The watchman standing on the tower in Jezreel saw the troop of Jehu coming and reported, "I see chariots." "Get a driver," Joram said, "and send him to meet them and to ask whether all is well." ¹⁸So a driver went out to meet him and said, "The king asks whether all is well." "What does it matter to you how things are?" Jehu said. "Get behind me." The watchman reported to the king, "The messenger has reached them, but is not returning." ¹⁹Joram sent a second driver, who went to them and said, "The king asks whether all is well." "What does it matter to you how things are?" Jehu replied. "Get behind me." ²⁰The watchman reported, "The messenger has reached them, but is not returning. The driving is like that of Jehu, son of Nimshi, in its fury." ²¹"Prepare my chariot," said Joram. When they had done so, Joram, king of Israel, and Ahaziah, king of Judah, set out, each in his own chariot, to meet Jehu.

them, but is not returning." ¹⁹Joram sent a second driver, who went to them and said, "The king asks whether all is well." "What does it matter to you how things are?" Jehu replied. "Get behind me." ²⁰The watchman reported, "The messenger has reached them, but is not returning. The driving is like that of Jehu, son of Nimshi, in its fury." ²¹"Prepare my chariot," said Joram. When they had done so, Joram, king of Israel, and Ahaziah, king of Judah, set out, each in his own chariot, to meet Jehu. They reached him near the field of Naboth the Jezreelite. ²²When Joram recognized Jehu, he asked, "Is all well, Jehu?" "How can all be well," Jehu replied, "as long as the many fornications and witchcrafts of your mother Jezebel continue?" ²³Joram reined about and fled, crying to Ahaziah, "Treason, Ahaziah!" ²⁴But Jehu drew his bow and shot Joram between the shoulders, so that the arrow went through his heart and he collapsed in his chariot. ²⁵Then Jehu said to his adjutant Bidkar, "Take him and throw him into the field of Naboth

319 the Jezreelite. For I remember that when we were driving teams behind his father Ahab, the LORD delivered this oracle against him: ²⁶'As surely as I saw yesterday the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons,' says the LORD, 'I will repay you for it in that very plot of ground, says the LORD.' So now take him into this plot of ground, in keeping with the word of the LORD." ²⁷Seeing what was happening, Ahaziah, king of Judah, fled toward Beth-haggan. Jehu pursued him, shouting, "Kill him too!" And they pierced him as he rode through the pass of Gur near Ibleam. He continued his flight as far as Megiddo and died there. ²⁸His servants brought him in a chariot to Jerusalem and buried him in the tomb of his ancestors in the City of David. ²⁹Ahaziah had become king of Judah in the eleventh year of Joram, son of Ahab. ³⁰When Jezebel learned that Jehu had arrived in Jezreel, she shadowed her eyes, adorned her hair, and looked down from her window. ³¹As Jehu came through the gate, she cried out, "Is all well, Zimri, murderer of your master?" ³²Jehu looked up to the window and shouted, "Who is on my side? Anyone?" At this, two or three eunuchs looked down toward him. ³³"Throw her down," he ordered. They threw her down, and some of her blood spurted against the wall and against the horses. Jehu rode in over her body ³⁴and, after eating and drinking, he said: "Attend to that accursed woman and bury her; after all, she was a king's daughter." ³⁵But when they went to bury her, they found nothing of her but the skull, the feet, and the hands. ³⁶They returned to Jehu, and when they told him, he said, "This is the sentence which the LORD pronounced through his servant Elijah the Tishbite: 'In the confines of Jezreel dogs shall eat the flesh of Jezebel. ³⁷The corpse of Jezebel shall be like dung in the field in the confines of Jezreel, so that no one can say: This was Jezebel.'" 2 Kings Chapter 10 ¹Ahab had seventy descendants in Samaria. Jehu prepared letters and sent them to the city rulers, to the elders, and to the guardians of Ahab's descendants in Samaria. ²"Since your master's sons are with you," he wrote, "and you have the chariots, the horses, a fortified city, and the weapons, when this letter reaches you ³decide which is the best and the fittest of your master's offspring, place him on his father's throne, and fight for your master's house." ⁴They were overcome with fright and said, "If two kings could not withstand him, how can we?" ⁵So the vizier and the ruler of the city, along with the elders and the guardians, sent this message to Jehu: "We are your servants, and we will do everything you tell us. We will proclaim no one king; do whatever you think best." ⁶So Jehu wrote them a second letter: "If you are on my side and will obey me, count the heads of your master's sons and come to me in Jezreel at this time tomorrow." (The seventy princes were in the care of prominent men of the city, who were rearing them.) ⁷When the letter arrived, they took the princes and slew all seventy of them, put their heads in baskets, and sent them to Jehu in Jezreel. ⁸"They have brought the heads of the princes," a messenger came in and told him. "Pile them in two heaps at the entrance of the city until morning," he ordered. ⁹Going out in the morning, he stopped and said to all the people: "You are not responsible, and although I conspired against my lord and slew him, yet who killed all these? ¹⁰Know that not a single word which the LORD has spoken against the house of Ahab shall go unfulfilled. The LORD has accomplished all that he foretold through his servant Elijah." ¹¹Thereupon Jehu slew all who were left of the family of Ahab in Jezreel, as well as all his powerful supporters, intimates, and priests, leaving him no survivor. ¹²Then he set out for Samaria, and at Beth-eked-haroim on the way, ¹³he came across kinsmen of Ahaziah, king of Judah. "Who are you?" he asked. "We are kinsmen of Ahaziah," they replied.

which the LORD has spoken against the house of Ahab shall go unfulfilled. The LORD has accomplished all that he foretold through his servant Elijah." ¹¹Thereupon Jehu slew all who were left of the family of Ahab in Jezreel, as well as all his powerful supporters, intimates, and priests, leaving him no survivor. ¹²Then he set out for Samaria, and at Beth-eked-haroim on the way, ¹³he came across kinsmen of Ahaziah, king of Judah. "Who are you?" he asked. "We are kinsmen of Ahaziah," they replied. "We are going down to visit the princes and the family of the queen mother." ¹⁴"Take them alive," Jehu ordered. They were taken alive, forty-two in number, then slain at the pit of Beth-eked. Not one of them was spared. ¹⁵When he had left there, Jehu met Jehonadab, son of Rechab, on the road. He greeted him and asked, "Are you sincerely disposed toward me, as I am toward you?" "Yes," replied Jehonadab. "If you are," continued Jehu, "give me

320 your hand." Jehonadab gave him his hand, and Jehu drew him up into his chariot. ¹⁶"Come with me," he said, "and see my zeal for the LORD." And he took him along in his own chariot. ¹⁷When he arrived in Samaria, Jehu slew all who remained there of Ahab's line, doing away with them completely and thus fulfilling the prophecy which the LORD had spoken to Elijah. ¹⁸Jehu gathered all the people together and said to them: "Ahab served Baal to some extent, but Jehu will serve him yet more. ¹⁹Now summon for me all Baal's prophets, all his worshipers, and all his priests. See that no one is absent, for I have a great sacrifice for Baal. Whoever is absent shall not live." This Jehu did as a ruse, so that he might destroy the worshipers of Baal. ²⁰Jehu said further, "Proclaim a solemn assembly in honor of Baal." They did so, ²¹and Jehu sent word of it throughout the land of Israel. All the worshipers of Baal without exception came into the temple of Baal, which was filled to capacity. ²²Then Jehu said to the custodian of the wardrobe, "Bring out the garments for all the worshipers of Baal." When he had brought out the garments for them, ²³Jehu, with Jehonadab, son of Rechab, entered the temple of Baal and said to the worshipers of Baal, "Search and be sure that there is no worshiper of the LORD here with you, but only worshipers of Baal." ²⁴Then they proceeded to offer sacrifices and holocausts. Now Jehu had stationed eighty men outside with this warning, "If one of you lets anyone escape of those whom I shall deliver into your hands, he shall pay life for life." ²⁵As soon as he finished offering the holocaust, Jehu said to the guards and officers, "Go in and slay them. Let no one escape." So the guards and officers put them to the sword and cast them out. Afterward they went into the inner shrine of the temple of Baal, ²⁶took out the stele of Baal, and burned the shrine. ²⁷Then they smashed the stele of Baal, tore down the building, and turned it into a latrine, as it remains today. ²⁸Thus Jehu rooted out the worship of Baal from Israel. ²⁹However, he did not desist from the sins which Jeroboam, son of Nebat, had caused Israel to commit, as regards the golden calves at Bethel and at Dan. ³⁰The LORD said to Jehu, "Because you have done well what I deem right, and have treated the house of Ahab as I desire, your sons to the fourth generation shall sit upon the throne of Israel." ³¹But Jehu was not careful to observe wholeheartedly the law of the LORD, the God of Israel, since he did not desist from the sins which Jeroboam caused Israel to commit. ³²At that time the LORD began to dismember Israel. Hazael defeated the Israelites throughout their territory ³³east of the Jordan (all the land of Gilead, of the Gadites, Reubenites and Manassehites), from Aroer on the river Arnon up through Gilead and Bashan. ³⁴The rest of the acts of Jehu, his valor and all his accomplishments, are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. ³⁵Jehu rested with his ancestors and was buried in Samaria. His son Jehoahaz succeeded him as king. ³⁶The length of Jehu's reign over Israel in Samaria was twenty-eight years. 2 Kings Chapter 11 ¹When Athaliah, the mother of Ahaziah, saw that her son was dead, she began to kill off the whole royal family. ²But Jehosheba, daughter of King Jehoram and sister of Ahaziah, took Joash, his son, and spirited him away, along with his nurse, from the bedroom where the princes were about to be slain. She concealed him from Athaliah, and so he did not die. ³For six years he remained hidden in the temple of the LORD, while Athaliah ruled the land. ⁴But in the seventh year, Jehoiada summoned the captains of the Carians and of the guards. He had them come to him in the temple of the LORD, exacted from them a sworn commitment, and then showed them the king's son.

f Ahaziah, took Joash, his son, and spirited him away, along with his nurse, from the bedroom where the princes were about to be slain. She concealed him from Athaliah, and so he did not die. ³For six years he remained hidden in the temple of the LORD, while Athaliah ruled the land. ⁴But in the seventh year, Jehoiada summoned the captains of the Carians and of the guards. He had them come to him in the temple of the LORD, exacted from them a sworn commitment, and then showed them the king's son. ⁵He gave them these orders: "This is what you must do: the third of you who come on duty on the sabbath shall guard the king's palace; ⁶another third shall be at the gate Sur; and the last third shall be at the gate behind the guards. ⁷The two of your divisions who are going off duty that week shall keep guard over the temple of the LORD for the king. ⁸You shall surround the king, each with drawn weapons, and if anyone tries to approach the cordon, kill him; stay with the king, whatever he may do." ⁹The captains did just as Jehoiada the priest commanded. Each one with

321 his men, both those going on duty for the sabbath and those going off duty that week, came to Jehoiada the priest. ¹⁰He gave the captains King David's spears and shields, which were in the temple of the LORD. ¹¹And the guards, with drawn weapons, lined up from the southern to the northern limit of the enclosure, surrounding the altar and the temple on the king's behalf. ¹²Then Jehoiada led out the king's son and put the crown and the insignia upon him. They proclaimed him king and anointed him, clapping their hands and shouting, "Long live the king!" ¹³Athaliah heard the noise made by the people, and appeared before them in the temple of the LORD. ¹⁴When she saw the king standing by the pillar, as was the custom, and the captains and trumpeters near him, with all the people of the land rejoicing and blowing trumpets, she tore her garments and cried out, "Treason, treason!" ¹⁵Then Jehoiada the priest instructed the captains in command of the force: "Bring her outside through the ranks. If anyone follows her," he added, "let him die by the sword." He had given orders that she should not be slain in the temple of the LORD. ¹⁶She was led out forcibly to the horse gate of the royal palace, where she was put to death. ¹⁷Then Jehoiada made a covenant between the LORD as one party and the king and the people as the other, by which they would be the LORD'S people; and another covenant, between the king and the people. ¹⁸Thereupon all the people of the land went to the temple of Baal and demolished it. They shattered its altars and images completely, and slew Mattan, the priest of Baal, before the altars. After appointing a detachment for the temple of the LORD, Jehoiada ¹⁹with the captains, the Carians, the guards, and all the people of the land, led the king down from the temple of the LORD through the guards' gate to the palace, where Joash took his seat on the royal throne. ²⁰All the people of the land rejoiced and the city was quiet, now that Athaliah had been slain with the sword at the royal palace. 2 Kings Chapter 12 ¹Joash was seven years old when he became king. ²Joash began to reign in the seventh year of Jehu, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. His mother, who was named Zibiah, was from Beer- sheba. ³Joash did what was pleasing to the LORD as long as he lived, because the priest Jehoiada guided him. ⁴Still, the high places did not disappear; the people continued to sacrifice and to burn incense there. ⁵For the priests Joash made this rule: "All the funds for sacred purposes that are brought to the temple of the LORD—the census tax, personal redemption money, and whatever funds are freely brought to the temple of the LORD— ⁶the priests may take for themselves, each from his own clients. However, they must make whatever repairs on the temple may prove necessary." ⁷Nevertheless, as late as the twenty-third year of the reign of King Joash, the priests had not made needed repairs on the temple. ⁸Accordingly, King Joash summoned the priest Jehoiada and the other priests. "Why do you not repair the temple?" he asked them. "You must no longer take funds from your clients, but you shall turn them over for the repairs." ⁹So the priests agreed that they would neither take funds from the people nor make the repairs on the temple. ¹⁰The priest Jehoiada then took a chest, bored a hole in its lid, and set it beside the stele, on the right as one entered the temple of the LORD. The priests who guarded the entry would put into it all the funds that were brought to the temple of the LORD. ¹¹When they noticed that there was a large amount of silver in the chest, the royal scribe (and the priest) would come up, and they would melt down all the funds that were in the temple of the LORD, and weigh them. ¹²The amount thus realized they turned over to the master workmen in the temple of the LORD.

and set it beside the stele, on the right as one entered the temple of the LORD. The priests who guarded the entry would put into it all the funds that were brought to the temple of the LORD. ¹¹When they noticed that there was a large amount of silver in the chest, the royal scribe (and the priest) would come up, and they would melt down all the funds that were in the temple of the LORD, and weigh them. ¹²The amount thus realized they turned over to the master workmen in the temple of the LORD. They in turn would give it to the carpenters and builders working in the temple of the LORD, ¹³and to the lumbermen and stone cutters, and for the purchase of the wood and hewn stone used in repairing the breaches, and for any other expenses that were necessary to repair the temple. ¹⁴None of the funds brought to the temple of the LORD were used there to make silver cups, snuffers, basins, trumpets, or any gold or silver article. ¹⁵Instead, they were given to the workmen, and with them they repaired the

322 temple of the LORD. ¹⁶Moreover, no reckoning was asked of the men who were provided with the funds to give to the workmen, because they held positions of trust. ¹⁷The funds from guilt- offerings and from sin-offerings, however, were not brought to the temple of the LORD; they belonged to the priests. ¹⁸Then King Hazael of Aram mounted a siege against Gath. When he had taken it, Hazael decided to go on to attack Jerusalem. ¹⁹But King Jehoash of Judah took all the dedicated offerings presented by his forebears, Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, and Ahaziah, kings of Judah, as well as his own, and all the gold there was in the treasuries of the temple and the palace, and sent them to King Hazael of Aram, who then led his forces away from Jerusalem. ²⁰The rest of the acts of Joash, with all that he did, are recorded in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah. ²¹Certain of his officials entered into a plot against him and killed him at Beth-millo. ²²Jozacar, son of Shimeath, and Jehozabad, son of Shomer, were the officials who killed him. He was buried in his forefathers' City of David, and his son Amaziah succeeded him as king. 2 Kings Chapter 13 ¹ In the twenty-third year of Joash, son of Ahaziah, king of Judah, Jehoahaz, son of Jehu, began his seventeen-year reign over Israel in Samaria. ² He did evil in the LORD'S sight, conducting himself like Jeroboam, son of Nebat, and not renouncing the sin he had caused Israel to commit. ³ The LORD was angry with Israel and for a long time left them in the power of Hazael, king of Aram, and of Ben-hadad, son of Hazael. ⁴ Then Jehoahaz entreated the LORD, who heard him, since he saw the oppression to which the king of Aram had subjected Israel. ⁵ So the LORD gave Israel a savior, and the Israelites, freed from the power of Aram, dwelt in their own homes as formerly. ⁶ Nevertheless, they did not desist from the sins which the house of Jeroboam had caused Israel to commit, but persisted in them. The sacred pole also remained standing in Samaria. ⁷ No soldiers were left to Jehoahaz, except fifty horsemen with ten chariots and ten thousand foot soldiers, since the king of Aram had destroyed them and trampled them like dust. ⁸ The rest of the acts of Jehoahaz, with all his valor and accomplishments, are recorded in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. ⁹ Jehoahaz rested with his ancestors and was buried in Samaria. His son Joash succeeded him as king. ¹⁰ In the thirty-seventh year of Joash, king of Judah, Jehoash, son of Jehoahaz, began his sixteen-year reign over Israel in Samaria. ¹¹ He did evil in the sight of the LORD; he did not desist from any of the sins which Jeroboam, son of Nebat, had caused Israel to commit, but persisted in them. ¹² (The rest of the acts of Joash, the valor with which he fought against Amaziah, king of Judah, and all his accomplishments, are recorded in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. ¹³ Joash rested with his ancestors, and Jeroboam occupied the throne. Joash was buried with the kings of Israel in Samaria.) ¹⁴ When Elisha was suffering from the sickness of which he was to die, King Joash of Israel went down to visit him. "My father, my father!" he exclaimed, weeping over him. "Israel's chariots and horsemen!" ¹⁵ "Take a bow and some arrows," Elisha said to him. When he had done so, ¹⁶ Elisha said to the king of Israel, "Put your hand on the bow." As the king held the bow, Elisha placed his hands over the king's hands ¹⁷ and said, "Open the window toward the east." He opened it. Elisha said, "Shoot," and he shot. The prophet exclaimed, "The LORD'S arrow of victory! The arrow of victory over Aram! You will completely conquer Aram at Aphec." ¹⁸ Then he said to the king of Israel, "Take the arrows," which he did. Elisha said to him, "Strike the ground!" He struck the ground three times and stopped. ¹⁹ Angry with him, the man of God said: "You should have struck five or six times; you would have defeated Aram completely.

aid, "Open the window toward the east." He opened it. Elisha said, "Shoot," and he shot. The prophet exclaimed, "The LORD'S arrow of victory! The arrow of victory over Aram! You will completely conquer Aram at Aphec." ¹⁸ Then he said to the king of Israel, "Take the arrows," which he did. Elisha said to him, "Strike the ground!" He struck the ground three times and stopped. ¹⁹ Angry with him, the man of God said: "You should have struck five or six times; you would have defeated Aram completely. Now, you will defeat Aram only three times." ²⁰ Elisha died and was buried. At the time, bands of Moabites used to raid the land each year. ²¹ Once some people were burying a man, when suddenly they spied such a raiding band. So they cast the dead man into the grave of Elisha, and everyone went off. But when the man came in contact with the bones of Elisha, he came back to life and rose to his feet. ²² King Hazael of Aram

323 oppressed Israel during the entire reign of Jehoahaz. ²³ But the LORD was merciful with Israel and looked on them with compassion because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He was unwilling to destroy them or to cast them out from his presence. ²⁴ So when King Hazael of Aram died and his son Ben-hadad succeeded him as king, ²⁵ Joash, son of Jehoahaz, took back from Ben-hadad, son of Hazael, the cities which Hazael had taken in battle from his father Jehoahaz. Joash defeated Ben-hadad three times, and thus recovered the cities of Israel. 2 Kings Chapter 14 ¹ In the second year of Joash, son of Jehoahaz, king of Israel, Amaziah, son of Joash, king of Judah, began to reign. ² He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother, whose name was Jehoaddin, was from Jerusalem. ³ He pleased the LORD, yet not like his forefather David, since he did just as his father Joash had done. ⁴ Thus the high places did not disappear; the people continued to sacrifice and to burn incense on them. ⁵ When Amaziah had the kingdom firmly in hand, he slew the officials who had murdered the king, his father. ⁶ But the children of the murderers he did not put to death, obeying the LORD'S command written in the book of the law of Moses, "Fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor shall children be put to death for their fathers; each one shall die for his own sin." ⁷ Amaziah slew ten thousand Edomites in the Salt Valley, and took Sela in battle. He renamed it Joktheel, the name it has to this day. ⁸ Then Amaziah sent messengers to Jehoash, son of Jehoahaz, son of Jehu, king of Israel, with this challenge, "Come, let us meet face to face." ⁹ King Jehoash of Israel sent this reply to the king of Judah: "The thistle of Lebanon sent word to the cedar of Lebanon, 'Give your daughter to my son in marriage,' but an animal of Lebanon passed by and trampled the thistle underfoot. ¹⁰ You have indeed conquered Edom, and you have become ambitious. Enjoy your glory, but stay at home! Why involve yourself and Judah with you in misfortune and failure?" ¹¹ But Amaziah would not listen. King Jehoash of Israel then advanced, and he and King Amaziah of Judah met in battle at Beth-shemesh of Judah. ¹² Judah was defeated by Israel, and all the Judean soldiery fled homeward. ¹³ King Jehoash of Israel captured Amaziah, son of Jehoash, son of Ahaziah, king of Judah, at Beth-shemesh. He went on to Jerusalem where he tore down four hundred cubits of the city wall, from the Gate of Ephraim to the Corner Gate. ¹⁴ He took all the gold and silver and all the utensils there were in the temple of the LORD and the treasuries of the palace, and hostages as well. Then he returned to Samaria. ¹⁵ The rest of the acts of Jehoash, his valor, and how he fought Amaziah, king of Judah, are recorded in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. ¹⁶ Jehoash rested with his ancestors; he was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel. His son Jeroboam succeeded him as king. ¹⁷ Amaziah, son of Joash, king of Judah, survived Jehoash, son of Jehoahaz, king of Israel, by fifteen years. ¹⁸ The rest of the acts of Amaziah are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah. ¹⁹ When a conspiracy was formed against him in Jerusalem, he fled to Lachish. But he was pursued to Lachish and killed there. ²⁰ He was brought back on horses and buried with his ancestors in the City of David in Jerusalem. ²¹ Thereupon all the people of Judah took the sixteen-year-old Azariah and proclaimed him king to succeed his father Amaziah. ²² It was Azariah who rebuilt Elath and restored it to Judah, after King Amaziah rested with his ancestors. ²³ In the fifteenth year of Amaziah, son of Joash, king of Judah, Jeroboam, son of Joash, king of Israel, began his forty-one-year reign in Samaria.

h and killed there. ²⁰ He was brought back on horses and buried with his ancestors in the City of David in Jerusalem. ²¹ Thereupon all the people of Judah took the sixteen-year-old Azariah and proclaimed him king to succeed his father Amaziah. ²² It was Azariah who rebuilt Elath and restored it to Judah, after King Amaziah rested with his ancestors. ²³ In the fifteenth year of Amaziah, son of Joash, king of Judah, Jeroboam, son of Joash, king of Israel, began his forty-one-year reign in Samaria. ²⁴ He did evil in the sight of the LORD; he did not desist from any of the sins which Jeroboam, son of Nebat, had caused Israel to commit. ²⁵ He restored the boundaries of Israel from Labo-of-Hamath to the sea of the Arabah, just as the LORD, the God of Israel, had prophesied through his servant, the prophet Jonah, son of Amittai, from Gath-hepher. ²⁶ For the LORD saw the very bitter affliction of Israel, where there was neither slave nor freeman, no one at all to help Israel. ²⁷ Since the LORD had not determined to blot out the name of Israel from under the

324 heavens, he saved them through Jeroboam, son of Joash. ²⁸ The rest of the acts of Jeroboam, his valor and all his accomplishments, how he fought with Damascus and turned back Hamath from Israel, are recorded in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. ²⁹ Jeroboam rested with his ancestors, the kings of Israel, and his son Zechariah succeeded him as king. 2 Kings Chapter 15 ¹ Azariah, son of Amaziah, king of Judah, became king in the twenty-seventh year of Jeroboam, king of Israel. ² He was sixteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother, whose name was Jecholiah, was from Jerusalem. ³ He pleased the LORD just as his father Amaziah had done. ⁴ Yet the high places did not disappear; the people continued to sacrifice and to burn incense on them. ⁵ The LORD afflicted the king, and he was a leper to the day of his death. He lived in a house apart, while Jotham, the king's son, was vizier and regent for the people of the land. ⁶ The rest of the acts of Azariah, and all his accomplishments, are recorded in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah. ⁷ Azariah rested with his ancestors, and was buried with them in the City of David. His son Jotham succeeded him as king. ⁸ In the thirty- eighth year of Azariah, king of Judah, Zechariah, son of Jeroboam, was king of Israel in Samaria for six months. ⁹ He did evil in the sight of the LORD as his fathers had done, and did not desist from the sins which Jeroboam, son of Nebat, had caused Israel to commit. ¹⁰ Shallum, son of Jabesh, conspired against Zechariah, attacked and killed him at Ibleam, and reigned in his place. ¹¹ The rest of the acts of Zechariah are recorded in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. ¹² Thus the LORD'S promise to Jehu, "Your descendants to the fourth generation shall sit upon the throne of Israel," was fulfilled. ¹³ Shallum, son of Jabesh, became king in the thirty-ninth year of Uzziah, king of Judah; he reigned one month in Samaria. ¹⁴ Menahem, son of Gadi, came up from Tirzah to Samaria, where he attacked and killed Shallum, son of Jabesh, and reigned in his place. ¹⁵ The rest of the acts of Shallum, and the fact of his conspiracy, are recorded in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. ¹⁶ At that time, Menahem punished Tappuah, all the inhabitants of the town and of its whole district, because on his way from Tirzah they did not let him in. He punished them even to ripping open all the pregnant women. ¹⁷ In the thirty-ninth year of Azariah, king of Judah, Menahem, son of Gadi, began his ten-year reign over Samaria. ¹⁸ He did evil in the sight of the LORD, not desisting from the sins which Jeroboam, son of Nebat, had caused Israel to commit. During his reign, ¹⁹ Pul, king of Assyria, invaded the land, and Menahem gave him a thousand talents of silver to have his assistance in strengthening his hold on the kingdom. ²⁰ Menahem secured the money to give to the king of Assyria by exacting it from all the men of substance in the country, fifty silver shekels from each. The king of Assyria did not remain in the country but withdrew. ²¹ The rest of the acts of Menahem, and all his accomplishments, are recorded in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. ²² Menahem rested with his ancestors, and his son Pekahiah succeeded him as king. ²³ In the fiftieth year of Azariah, king of Judah, Pekahiah, son of Menahem, began his two-year reign over Israel in Samaria. ²⁴ He did evil in the sight of the LORD, not desisting from the sins which Jeroboam, son of Nebat, had caused Israel to commit. ²⁵ His adjutant Pekah, son of Remaliah, who had with him fifty men from Gilead, conspired against him, killed him within the palace stronghold in Samaria, and reigned in his place. ²⁶ The rest of the acts of Pekahiah, and all his accomplishments, are recorded in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.

Menahem, began his two-year reign over Israel in Samaria. ²⁴ He did evil in the sight of the LORD, not desisting from the sins which Jeroboam, son of Nebat, had caused Israel to commit. ²⁵ His adjutant Pekah, son of Remaliah, who had with him fifty men from Gilead, conspired against him, killed him within the palace stronghold in Samaria, and reigned in his place. ²⁶ The rest of the acts of Pekahiah, and all his accomplishments, are recorded in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. ²⁷ In the fifty-second year of Azariah, king of Judah, Pekah, son of Remaliah, began his twenty-year reign over Israel in Samaria. ²⁸ He did evil in the sight of the LORD, not desisting from the sins which Jeroboam, son of Nebat, had caused Israel to commit. ²⁹ During the reign of Pekah, king of Israel, Tiglath-pileser, king of Assyria, came and took Ijon, Abel-beth-maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, all the territory of Naphtali, Gilead, and Galilee, deporting the inhabitants to Assyria. ³⁰ Hoshea, son of Elah,

325 conspired against Pekah, son of Remaliah; he attacked and killed him, and reigned in his place (in the twentieth year of Jotham, son of Uzziah). ³¹ The rest of the acts of Pekah, and all his accomplishments, are recorded in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. ³² In the second year of Pekah, son of Remaliah, king of Israel, Jotham, son of Uzziah, king of Judah, began to reign. ³³ He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jerusha, daughter of Zadok. ³⁴ He pleased the LORD, just as his father Uzziah had done. ³⁵ Nevertheless the high places did not disappear and the people continued to sacrifice and to burn incense on them. It was he who built the Upper Gate of the temple of the LORD. ³⁶ The rest of the acts of Jotham, and all his accomplishments, are recorded in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah. ³⁷ It was at that time that the LORD first loosed Rezin, king of Aram, and Pekah, son of Remaliah, against Judah. ³⁸ Jotham rested with his ancestors and was buried with them in his forefather's City of David. His son Ahaz succeeded him as king. 2 Kings Chapter 16 ¹ In the seventeenth year of Pekah, son of Remaliah, Ahaz, son of Jotham, king of Judah, began to reign. ² Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. He did not please the LORD, his God, like his forefather David, ³ but conducted himself like the kings of Israel, and even immolated his son by fire, in accordance with the abominable practice of the nations whom the LORD had cleared out of the way of the Israelites. ⁴ Further, he sacrificed and burned incense on the high places, on hills, and under every leafy tree. ⁵ Then Rezin, king of Aram, and Pekah, son of Remaliah, king of Israel, came up to Jerusalem to attack it. Although they besieged Ahaz, they were unable to conquer him. ⁶ At the same time the king of Edom recovered Elath for Edom, driving the Judeans out of it. The Edomites then entered Elath, which they have occupied until the present. ⁷ Meanwhile, Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser, king of Assyria, with the plea: "I am your servant and your son. Come up and rescue me from the clutches of the king of Aram and the king of Israel, who are attacking me." ⁸ Ahaz took the silver and gold that were in the temple of the LORD and in the palace treasuries and sent them as a present to the king of Assyria, ⁹ who listened to him and moved against Damascus, which he captured. He deported its inhabitants to Kir and put Rezin to death. ¹⁰ King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-pileser, king of Assyria. When he saw the altar in Damascus, King Ahaz sent to Uriah the priest a model of the altar and a detailed design of its construction. ¹¹ Uriah the priest built an altar according to the plans which King Ahaz sent him from Damascus, and had it completed by the time the king returned home. ¹² On his arrival from Damascus, the king inspected this altar, then went up to it and offered sacrifice on it, ¹³ burning his holocaust and cereal-offering, pouring out his libation, and sprinkling the blood of his peace-offerings on the altar. ¹⁴ The bronze altar that stood before the LORD he brought from the front of the temple - that is, from the space between the new altar and the temple of the LORD - and set it on the north side of his altar. ¹⁵ "Upon the large altar," King Ahaz commanded Uriah the priest, "burn the morning holocaust and the evening cereal offering, the royal holocaust and cereal offering, as well as the holocausts, cereal offerings, and libations of the people. You must also sprinkle on it all the blood of holocausts and sacrifices. But the old bronze altar shall be mine for consultation." ¹⁶ Uriah the priest did just as King Ahaz had commanded.

and the temple of the LORD - and set it on the north side of his altar. ¹⁵ "Upon the large altar," King Ahaz commanded Uriah the priest, "burn the morning holocaust and the evening cereal offering, the royal holocaust and cereal offering, as well as the holocausts, cereal offerings, and libations of the people. You must also sprinkle on it all the blood of holocausts and sacrifices. But the old bronze altar shall be mine for consultation." ¹⁶ Uriah the priest did just as King Ahaz had commanded. ¹⁷ King Ahaz detached the frames from the bases and removed the lavers from them; he also took down the bronze sea from the bronze oxen that supported it, and set it on a stone pavement. ¹⁸ In deference to the king of Assyria he removed from the temple of the LORD the emplacement which had been built in the temple for a throne, and the outer entrance for the king. ¹⁹ The rest of the acts of Ahaz are recorded in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah. ²⁰ Ahaz rested with his ancestors and was buried with them

326 in the City of David. His son Hezekiah succeeded him as king. 2 Kings Chapter 17 ¹ In the twelfth year of Ahaz, king of Judah, Hoshea, son of Elah, began his nine-year reign over Israel in Samaria. ² He did evil in the sight of the LORD, yet not to the extent of the kings of Israel before him. ³ Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, advanced against him, and Hoshea became his vassal and paid him tribute. ⁴ But the king of Assyria found Hoshea guilty of conspiracy for sending envoys to the king of Egypt at Sais, and for failure to pay the annual tribute to his Assyrian overlord. ⁵ For this, the king of Assyria arrested and imprisoned Hoshea; he then occupied the whole land and attacked Samaria, which he besieged for three years. ⁶ In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria took Samaria, and deported the Israelites to Assyria, settling them in Halah, at the Habor, a river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes. ⁷ This came about because the Israelites sinned against the LORD, their God, who had brought them up from the land of Egypt, from under the domination of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and because they venerated other gods. ⁸ They followed the rites of the nations whom the LORD had cleared out of the way of the Israelites (and the kings of Israel whom they set up). ⁹ They adopted unlawful practices toward the LORD, their God. They built high places in all their settlements, the watchtowers as well as the walled cities. ¹⁰ They set up pillars and sacred poles for themselves on every high hill and under every leafy tree. ¹¹ There, on all the high places, they burned incense like the nations whom the LORD had sent into exile at their coming. They did evil things that provoked the LORD, ¹² and served idols, although the LORD had told them, "You must not do this." ¹³ And though the LORD warned Israel and Judah by every prophet and seer, "Give up your evil ways and keep my commandments and statutes, in accordance with the entire law which I enjoined on your fathers and which I sent you by my servants the prophets," ¹⁴ they did not listen, but were as stiff-necked as their fathers, who had not believed in the LORD, their God. ¹⁵ They rejected his statutes, the covenant which he had made with their fathers, and the warnings which he had given them. The vanity they pursued, they themselves became: they followed the surrounding nations whom the LORD had commanded them not to imitate. ¹⁶ They disregarded all the commandments of the LORD, their God, and made for themselves two molten calves; they also made a sacred pole and worshiped all the host of heaven, and served Baal. ¹⁷ They immolated their sons and daughters by fire, practiced fortune- telling and divination, and sold themselves into evil doing in the LORD'S sight, provoking him ¹⁸ till, in his great anger against Israel, the LORD put them away out of his sight. Only the tribe of Judah was left. ¹⁹ Even the people of Judah, however, did not keep the commandments of the LORD, their God, but followed the rites practiced by Israel. ²⁰ So the LORD rejected the whole race of Israel. He afflicted them and delivered them over to plunderers, finally casting them out from before him. ²¹ When he tore Israel away from the house of David, they made Jeroboam, son of Nebat, king; he drove the Israelites away from the LORD, causing them to commit a great sin. ²² The Israelites imitated Jeroboam in all the sins he committed, nor would they desist from them. ²³ Finally, the LORD put Israel away out of his sight as he had foretold through all his servants, the prophets; and Israel went into exile from their native soil to Assyria, an exile lasting to the present. ²⁴ The king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim, and settled them in the cities of Samaria in place of the Israelites. They took possession of Samaria and dwelt in its cities.

ted Jeroboam in all the sins he committed, nor would they desist from them. ²³ Finally, the LORD put Israel away out of his sight as he had foretold through all his servants, the prophets; and Israel went into exile from their native soil to Assyria, an exile lasting to the present. ²⁴ The king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim, and settled them in the cities of Samaria in place of the Israelites. They took possession of Samaria and dwelt in its cities. ²⁵ When they first settled there, they did not venerate the LORD, so he sent lions among them that killed some of their number. ²⁶ A report reached the king of Assyria: "The nations whom you deported and settled in the cities of Samaria do not know how to worship the God of the land, and he has sent lions among them that are killing them, since they do not know how to worship the God of the land." ²⁷ The king of Assyria gave the order, "Send back one of the priests whom I deported, to go there and settle, to teach them how to worship the

327 God of the land." ²⁸ So one of the priests who had been deported from Samaria returned and settled in Bethel, and taught them how to venerate the LORD. ²⁹ But these peoples began to make their own gods in the various cities in which they were living; in the shrines on the high places which the Samarians had made, each people set up gods. ³⁰ Thus the Babylonians made Marduk and his consort; the men of Cuth made Nergal; the men of Hamath made Ashima; ³¹ the men of Avva made Nibhaz and Tartak; and the men of Sepharvaim immolated their children by fire to their city gods, King Hadad and his consort Anath. ³² They also venerated the LORD, choosing from their number priests for the high places, who officiated for them in the shrines on the high places. ³³ But, while venerating the LORD, they served their own gods, following the worship of the nations from among whom they had been deported. ³⁴ To this day they worship according to their ancient rites. (They did not venerate the LORD nor observe the statutes and regulations, the law and commandments, which the LORD enjoined on the descendants of Jacob, whom he had named Israel. ³⁵ When he made a covenant with them, he commanded them: "You must not venerate other gods, nor worship them, nor serve them, nor offer sacrifice to them. ³⁶ The LORD, who brought you up from the land of Egypt with great power and outstretched arm: him shall you venerate, him shall you worship, and to him shall you sacrifice. ³⁷ You must be careful to observe forever the statutes and regulations, the law and commandment, which he wrote for you, and you must not venerate other gods. ³⁸ The covenant which I made with you, you must not forget; you must not venerate other gods. ³⁹ But the LORD, your God, you must venerate; it is he who will deliver you from the power of all your enemies." ⁴⁰ They did not listen, however, but continued in their earlier manner.) ⁴¹ Thus these nations venerated the LORD, but also served their idols. And their sons and grandsons, to this day, are doing as their fathers did. 2 Kings Chapter 18 ¹ In the third year of Hoshea, son of Elah, king of Israel, Hezekiah, son of Ahaz, king of Judah, began to reign. ² He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Abi, daughter of Zechariah. ³ He pleased the LORD, just as his forefather David had done. ⁴ It was he who removed the high places, shattered the pillars, and cut down the sacred poles. He smashed the bronze serpent called Nehushtan which Moses had made, because up to that time the Israelites were burning incense to it. ⁵ He put his trust in the LORD, the God of Israel; and neither before him nor after him was there anyone like him among all the kings of Judah. ⁶ Loyal to the LORD, Hezekiah never turned away from him, but observed the commandments which the LORD had given Moses. ⁷ The LORD was with him, and he prospered in all that he set out to do. He rebelled against the king of Assyria and did not serve him. ⁸ He also subjugated the watchtowers and walled cities of the Philistines, all the way to Gaza and its territory. ⁹ In the fourth year of King Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Hoshea, son of Elah, king of Israel, Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, attacked Samaria, laid siege to it, ¹⁰ and after three years captured it. In the sixth year of Hezekiah, the ninth year of Hoshea, king of Israel, Samaria was taken. ¹¹ The king of Assyria then deported the Israelites to Assyria and settled them in Halah, at the Habor, a river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes. ¹² This came about because they had not heeded the warning of the LORD, their God, but violated his covenant, not heeding and not fulfilling the commandments of Moses, the servant of the LORD. ¹³ In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib, king of Assyria, went on an expedition against all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them.

The king of Assyria then deported the Israelites to Assyria and settled them in Halah, at the Habor, a river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes. ¹² This came about because they had not heeded the warning of the LORD, their God, but violated his covenant, not heeding and not fulfilling the commandments of Moses, the servant of the LORD. ¹³ In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib, king of Assyria, went on an expedition against all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them. ¹⁴ Hezekiah, king of Judah, sent this message to the king of Assyria at Lachish: "I have done wrong. Leave me, and I will pay whatever tribute you impose on me." The king of Assyria exacted three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold from Hezekiah, king of Judah. ¹⁵ Hezekiah paid him all the funds there were in the temple of the LORD and in the palace treasuries. ¹⁶ He broke up the door panels and the uprights of the temple of the

328 LORD which he himself had ordered to be overlaid with gold, and gave the gold to the king of Assyria. ¹⁷ The king of Assyria sent the general, the lord chamberlain, and the commander from Lachish with a great army to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. They went up, and on their arrival in Jerusalem, stopped at the conduit of the upper pool on the highway of the fuller's field. ¹⁸ They called for the king, who sent out to them Eliakim, son of Hilkiah, the master of the palace; Shebnah the scribe; and the herald Joah, son of Asaph. ¹⁹ The commander said to them, "Tell Hezekiah, 'Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria: On what do you base this confidence of yours? ²⁰ Do you think mere words substitute for strategy and might in war? On whom, then, do you rely, that you rebel against me? ²¹ This Egypt, the staff on which you rely, is in fact a broken reed which pierces the hand of anyone who leans on it. That is what Pharaoh, king of Egypt, is to all who rely on him. ²² But if you say to me, We rely on the LORD, our God, is not he the one whose high places and altars Hezekiah has removed, commanding Judah and Jerusalem to worship before this altar in Jerusalem?' ²³ "Now, make a wager with my lord, the king of Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses if you can put riders on them. ²⁴ How then can you repulse even one of the least servants of my lord, relying as you do on Egypt for chariots and horsemen? ²⁵ Was it without the LORD'S will that I have come up to destroy this place? The LORD said to me, 'Go up and destroy that land!'" ²⁶ Then Eliakim, son of Hilkiah, and Shebnah and Joah said to the commander: "Please speak to your servants in Aramaic; we understand it. Do not speak to us in Judean within earshot of the people who are on the wall." ²⁷ But the commander replied: "Was it to your master and to you that my lord sent me to speak these words? Was it not rather to the men sitting on the wall, who, with you, will have to eat their own excrement and drink their urine?" ²⁸ Then the commander stepped forward and cried out in a loud voice in Judean, "Listen to the words of the great king, the king of Assyria. ²⁹ Thus says the king: 'Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, since he cannot deliver you out of my hand. ³⁰ Let not Hezekiah induce you to rely on the LORD, saying, The LORD will surely save us; this city will not be handed over to the king of Assyria. ³¹ Do not listen to Hezekiah, for the king of Assyria says: Make peace with me and surrender! Then each of you will eat of his own vine and of his own fig-tree, and drink the water of his own cistern, ³² until I come to take you to a land like your own, a land of grain and wine, of bread and orchards, of olives, oil and fruit syrup. Choose life, not death. Do not listen to Hezekiah when he would seduce you by saying, The LORD will rescue us. ³³ Has any of the gods of the nations ever rescued his land from the hand of the king of Assyria? ³⁴ Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Avva? Where are the gods of the land of Samaria? ³⁵ Which of the gods for all these lands ever rescued his land from my hand? Will the LORD then rescue Jerusalem from my hand?'" ³⁶ But the people remained silent and did not answer him one word, for the king had ordered them not to answer him. ³⁷ Then the master of the palace, Eliakim, son of Hilkiah, Shebnah the scribe, and the herald Joah, son of Asaph, came to Hezekiah with their garments torn, and reported to him what the commander had 2 Kings Chapter 19 ¹ When King Hezekiah heard this, he tore his garments, wrapped himself in sackcloth, and went into the temple of the LORD. ² He sent Eliakim, the master of the palace, Shebnah the scribe, and the elders of the priests, wrapped in sackcloth, to tell the prophet Isaiah, son of Amoz, ³ "Thus says Hezekiah: 'This is a day of distress, of rebuke, and of disgrace. Children are at the point of birth, but there is no strength to bring them forth.

reported to him what the commander had 2 Kings Chapter 19 ¹ When King Hezekiah heard this, he tore his garments, wrapped himself in sackcloth, and went into the temple of the LORD. ² He sent Eliakim, the master of the palace, Shebnah the scribe, and the elders of the priests, wrapped in sackcloth, to tell the prophet Isaiah, son of Amoz, ³ "Thus says Hezekiah: 'This is a day of distress, of rebuke, and of disgrace. Children are at the point of birth, but there is no strength to bring them forth. ⁴ Perhaps the LORD, your God, will hear all the words of the commander, whom his master, the king of Assyria, sent to taunt the living God, and will rebuke him for the words which the LORD, your God, has heard. So send up a prayer for the remnant that is here.'" ⁵ When the servants of King Hezekiah had come to Isaiah, ⁶ he said to them, "Tell this to your master: 'Thus says the LORD: Do not be frightened by the words you have

329 heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me. ⁷ I am about to put in him such a spirit that, when he hears a certain report, he will return to his own land, and there I will cause him to fall by the sword.'" ⁸ When the commander, on his return, heard that the king of Assyria had withdrawn from Lachish, he found him besieging Libnah. ⁹ The king of Assyria heard a report that Tirhakah, king of Ethiopia, had come out to fight against him. Again he sent envoys to Hezekiah with this message: ¹⁰ "Thus shall you say to Hezekiah, king of Judah: 'Do not let your God on whom you rely deceive you by saying that Jerusalem will not be handed over to the king of Assyria. ¹¹ You have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all other countries: they doomed them! Will you, then, be saved? ¹² Did the gods of the nations whom my fathers destroyed save them? Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, or the Edenites in Telassar? ¹³ Where are the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, or the kings of the cities Sepharvaim, Hena and Avva?'" ¹⁴ Hezekiah took the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it; then he went up to the temple of the LORD, and spreading it out before him, ¹⁵ he prayed in the LORD'S presence: "O LORD, God of Israel, enthroned upon the cherubim! You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made the heavens and the earth. ¹⁶ Incline your ear, O LORD, and listen! Open your eyes, O LORD, and see! Hear the words of Sennacherib which he sent to taunt the living God. ¹⁷ Truly, O LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations and their lands, ¹⁸ and cast their gods into the fire; they destroyed them because they were not gods, but the work of human hands, wood and stone. ¹⁹ Therefore, O LORD, our God, save us from the power of this man, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone, O LORD, are God." ²⁰ Then Isaiah, son of Amoz, sent this message to Hezekiah: "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, in answer to your prayer for help against Sennacherib, king of Assyria: I have listened! ²¹ This is the word the LORD has spoken concerning him: 'She despises you, laughs you to scorn, the virgin daughter Zion! Behind you she wags her head, daughter Jerusalem. ²² Whom have you insulted and blasphemed, against whom have you raised your voice and lifted up your eyes on high? Against the Holy One of Israel! ²³ Through your servants you have insulted the LORD. You said: With my many chariots I climbed the mountain heights, the recesses of Lebanon; I cut down its lofty cedars, its choice cypresses; I reached the remotest heights, its forest park. ²⁴ I dug wells and drank water in foreign lands; I dried up with the soles of my feet all the rivers of Egypt. ²⁵ 'Have you not heard? Long ago I prepared it, From days of old I planned it. Now I have brought it to pass: That you should reduce fortified cities into heaps of ruins, ²⁶ While their inhabitants, shorn of power, are dismayed and ashamed, Becoming like the plants of the field, like the green growth, like the scorched grass on the housetops. ²⁷ I am aware whether you stand or sit; I know whether you come or go, ²⁸ and also your rage against me. Because of your rage against me and your fury which has reached my ears, I will put my hook in your nose and my bit in your mouth, and make you return the way you came. ²⁹ 'This shall be a sign for you: this year you shall eat the aftergrowth, next year, what grows of itself; But in the third year, sow and reap, plant vineyards and eat their fruit! ³⁰ The remaining survivors of the house of Judah shall again strike root below and bear fruit above. ³¹ For out of Jerusalem shall come a remnant, and from Mount Zion, survivors. The zeal of the LORD of hosts shall do this.' ³² "Therefore, thus says the LORD concerning the king of Assyria: 'He shall not reach this city, nor shoot an arrow at it, nor come before it with a shield, nor cast up siege-works against it.

itself; But in the third year, sow and reap, plant vineyards and eat their fruit! ³⁰ The remaining survivors of the house of Judah shall again strike root below and bear fruit above. ³¹ For out of Jerusalem shall come a remnant, and from Mount Zion, survivors. The zeal of the LORD of hosts shall do this.' ³² "Therefore, thus says the LORD concerning the king of Assyria: 'He shall not reach this city, nor shoot an arrow at it, nor come before it with a shield, nor cast up siege-works against it. ³³ He shall return by the same way he came, without entering the city, says the LORD. ³⁴ I will shield and save this city for my own sake, and for the sake of my servant David.'" ³⁵ That night the angel of the LORD went forth and struck down one hundred and eighty-five thousand men in the Assyrian camp. Early the next morning, there they were, all the corpses of the dead. ³⁶ So Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, broke camp, and went back home to Nineveh. ³⁷ When he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer slew him with the sword and fled into the land of Ararat. His son Esarhaddon reigned in his stead.

330 2 Kings Chapter 20 ¹ In those days, when Hezekiah was mortally ill, the prophet Isaiah, son of Amoz, came and said to him: "Thus says the LORD: 'Put your house in order, for you are about to die; you shall not recover.'" ² He turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD: ³ "O LORD, remember how faithfully and wholeheartedly I conducted myself in your presence, doing what was pleasing to you!" And Hezekiah wept bitterly. ⁴ Before Isaiah had left the central courtyard, the word of the LORD came to him: ⁵ "Go back and tell Hezekiah, the leader of my people: 'Thus says the LORD, the God of your forefather David: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears. I will heal you. In three days you shall go up to the LORD'S temple; ⁶ I will add fifteen years to your life. I will rescue you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria; I will be a shield to this city for my own sake, and for the sake of my servant David.'" ⁷ Isaiah then ordered a poultice of figs to be brought and applied to the boil, that he might recover. ⁸ Then Hezekiah asked Isaiah, "What is the sign that the LORD will heal me and that I shall go up to the temple of the LORD on the third day?" ⁹ Isaiah replied, "This will be the sign for you from the LORD that he will do what he has promised: Shall the shadow go forward or back ten steps?" ¹⁰ "It is easy for the shadow to advance ten steps," Hezekiah answered. "Rather, let it go back ten steps." ¹¹ So the prophet Isaiah invoked the LORD, who made the shadow retreat the ten steps it had descended on the staircase to the terrace of Ahaz. ¹² At that time, when Merodachbaladan, son of Baladan, king of Babylon, heard that Hezekiah had been ill, he sent letters and gifts to him. ¹³ Hezekiah was pleased at this, and therefore showed the messengers his whole treasury, his silver, gold, spices and fine oil, his armory, and all that was in his storerooms; there was nothing in his house or in all his realm that Hezekiah did not show them. ¹⁴ Then Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezekiah and asked him: "What did these men say to you? Where did they come from?" "They came from a distant land, from Babylon," replied Hezekiah. ¹⁵ "What did they see in your house?" the prophet asked. "They saw everything in my house," answered Hezekiah. "There is nothing in my storerooms that I did not show them." ¹⁶ Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah: "Hear the word of the LORD: ¹⁷ The time is coming when all that is in your house, and everything that your fathers have stored up until this day, shall be carried off to Babylon; nothing shall be left, says the LORD. ¹⁸ Some of your own bodily descendants shall be taken and made servants in the palace of the king of Babylon." ¹⁹ Hezekiah replied to Isaiah, "The word of the LORD which you have spoken is favorable." For he thought, "There will be peace and security in my lifetime." ²⁰ The rest of the acts of Hezekiah, all his valor, and his construction of the pool and conduit by which water was brought into the city, are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah. ²¹ Hezekiah rested with his ancestors and his son Manasseh succeeded him as king. 2 Kings Chapter 21 ¹ Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Hephzibah. ² He did evil in the sight of the LORD, following the abominable practices of the nations whom the LORD had cleared out of the way of the Israelites. ³ He rebuilt the high places which his father Hezekiah had destroyed. He erected altars to Baal, and also set up a sacred pole, as Ahab, king of Israel, had done. He worshiped and served the whole host of heaven. ⁴ He built altars in the temple of the LORD, about which the LORD had said, "I will establish my name in Jerusalem" - ⁵ altars for the whole host of heaven, in the two courts of the temple. ⁶ He immolated his son by fire. He practiced soothsaying and divination, and reintroduced the consulting of ghosts and spirits.

hich his father Hezekiah had destroyed. He erected altars to Baal, and also set up a sacred pole, as Ahab, king of Israel, had done. He worshiped and served the whole host of heaven. ⁴ He built altars in the temple of the LORD, about which the LORD had said, "I will establish my name in Jerusalem" - ⁵ altars for the whole host of heaven, in the two courts of the temple. ⁶ He immolated his son by fire. He practiced soothsaying and divination, and reintroduced the consulting of ghosts and spirits. He did much evil in the LORD'S sight and provoked him to anger. ⁷ The Asherah idol he had made, he set up in the temple, of which the LORD had said to David and to his son Solomon: "In this temple and in Jerusalem, which I have

331 chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I shall place my name forever. ⁸ I will not in future allow Israel to be driven off the land I gave their fathers, provided that they are careful to observe all I have commanded them, the entire law which my servant Moses enjoined upon them." ⁹ But they did not listen, and Manasseh misled them into doing even greater evil than the nations whom the LORD had destroyed at the coming of the Israelites. ¹⁰ Then the LORD spoke through his servants the prophets: ¹¹ "Because Manasseh, king of Judah, has practiced these abominations and has done greater evil than all that was done by the Amorites before him, and has led Judah into sin by his idols, ¹² therefore thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: 'I will bring such evil on Jerusalem and Judah that, whenever anyone hears of it, his ears shall ring. ¹³ I will measure Jerusalem with the same cord as I did Samaria, and with the plummet I used for the house of Ahab. I will wipe Jerusalem clean as one wipes a dish, wiping it inside and out. ¹⁴ I will cast off the survivors of my inheritance and deliver them into enemy hands, to become a prey and a booty for all their enemies, ¹⁵ because they have done evil in my sight and provoked me from the day their fathers came forth from Egypt until today.'" ¹⁶ In addition to the sin which he caused Judah to commit, Manasseh did evil in the sight of the LORD, shedding so much innocent blood as to fill the length and breadth of Jerusalem. ¹⁷ The rest of the acts of Manasseh, the sin he committed and all that he did, are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah. ¹⁸ Manasseh rested with his ancestors and was buried in his palace garden, the garden of Uzza. His son Amon succeeded him as king. ¹⁹ Amon was twenty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Meshullemeth, daughter of Haruz of Jotbah. ²⁰ He did evil in the sight of the LORD, as his father Manasseh had done. ²¹ He followed exactly the path his father had trod, serving and worshiping the idols his father had served. ²² He abandoned the LORD, the God of his fathers, and did not follow the path of the LORD. ²³ Subjects of Amon conspired against him and slew the king in his palace, ²⁴ but the people of the land then slew all who had conspired against King Amon, and proclaimed his son Josiah king in his stead. ²⁵ The rest of the acts that Amon did are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah. ²⁶ He was buried in his own grave in the garden of Uzza, and his son Josiah succeeded him as king. 2 Kings Chapter 22 ¹ Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jedidah, daughter of Adaiah of Bozkath. ² He pleased the LORD and conducted himself unswervingly just as his ancestor David had done. ³¹ In his eighteenth year, King Josiah sent the scribe Shaphan, son of Azaliah, son of Meshullam, to the temple of the LORD with orders to ⁴ go to the high priest Hilkiah and have him smelt down the precious metals that had been donated to the temple of the Lord, which the doorkeepers had collected from the people. ⁵ They were to be consigned to the master workmen in the temple of the LORD, who should then pay them out to the carpenters, builders, and lumbermen making repairs on the temple, ⁶ and for the purchase of wood and hewn stone for the temple repairs. ⁷ No reckoning was asked of them regarding the funds consigned to them, because they held positions of trust. ⁸ The high priest Hilkiah informed the scribe Shaphan, "I have found the book of the law in the temple of the LORD." Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, who read it.

igned to the master workmen in the temple of the LORD, who should then pay them out to the carpenters, builders, and lumbermen making repairs on the temple, ⁶ and for the purchase of wood and hewn stone for the temple repairs. ⁷ No reckoning was asked of them regarding the funds consigned to them, because they held positions of trust. ⁸ The high priest Hilkiah informed the scribe Shaphan, "I have found the book of the law in the temple of the LORD." Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, who read it. ⁹ Then the scribe Shaphan went to the king and reported, "Your servants have smelted down the metals available in the temple and have consigned them to the master workmen in the temple of the LORD." ¹⁰ The scribe Shaphan also informed the king that the priest Hilkiah had given him a book, and then read it aloud to the king. ¹¹ When the king had heard the contents of the book of the law, he tore his garments ¹² and issued this command to Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, son of Shaphan, Achbor, son of Micaiah, the scribe Shaphan, and the king's servant Asaiah: ¹³ "Go, consult the LORD for me, for the people, for all Judah, about the stipulations of this book that has been found, for the anger of the LORD has been

332 set furiously ablaze against us, because our fathers did not obey the stipulations of this book, nor fulfill our written obligations." ¹⁴ So Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Achbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah betook themselves to the Second Quarter in Jerusalem, where the prophetess Huldah resided. She was the wife of Shallum, son of Tikvah, son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe. When they had spoken to her, ¹⁵ she said to them, "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: 'Say to the man who sent you to me, ¹⁶ Thus says the LORD: I will bring upon this place and upon its inhabitants all the evil that is threatened in the book which the king of Judah has read. ¹⁷ Because they have forsaken me and have burned incense to other gods, provoking me by everything to which they turn their hands, my anger is ablaze against this place and it cannot be extinguished.' ¹⁸ "But to the king of Judah who sent you to consult the LORD, give this response: 'Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: As for the threats you have heard, ¹⁹ because you were heartsick and have humbled yourself before the LORD when you heard my threats that this place and its inhabitants would become a desolation and a curse; because you tore your garments and wept before me; I in turn have listened, says the LORD. ²⁰ I will therefore gather you to your ancestors; you shall go to your grave in peace, and your eyes shall not see all the evil I will bring upon this place.'" This they reported to the king. 2 Kings Chapter 23 ¹ The king then had all the elders of Judah and of Jerusalem summoned together before him. ² The king went up to the temple of the LORD with all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem: priests, prophets, and all the people, small and great. He had the entire contents of the book of the covenant that had been found in the temple of the LORD, read out to them. ³ Standing by the column, the king made a covenant before the LORD that they would follow him and observe his ordinances, statutes and decrees with their whole hearts and souls, thus reviving the terms of the covenant which were written in this book. And all the people stood as participants in the covenant. ⁴ Then the king commanded the high priest Hilkiah, his vicar, and the doorkeepers to remove from the temple of the LORD all the objects that had been made for Baal, Asherah, and the whole host of heaven. He had these burned outside Jerusalem on the slopes of the Kidron and their ashes carried to Bethel. ⁵ He also put an end to the pseudo-priests whom the kings of Judah had appointed to burn incense on the high places in the cities of Judah and in the vicinity of Jerusalem, as well as those who burned incense to Baal, to the sun, moon, and signs of the Zodiac, and to the whole host of heaven. ⁶ From the temple of the LORD he also removed the sacred pole, to the Kidron Valley, outside Jerusalem; there he had it burned and beaten to dust, which was then scattered over the common graveyard. ⁷ He tore down the apartments of the cult prostitutes which were in the temple of the LORD, and in which the women wove garments for the Asherah. ⁸ He brought in all the priests from the cities of Judah, and then defiled, from Geba to Beer-sheba, the high places where they had offered incense. He also tore down the high place of the satyrs, which was at the entrance of the Gate of Joshua, governor of the city, to the left as one enters the city gate. ⁹ The priests of the high places could not function at the altar of the LORD in Jerusalem; but they, along with their relatives, ate the unleavened bread. ¹⁰ The king also defiled Topheth in the Valley of Ben-hinnom, so that there would no longer be an immolation of sons or daughters by fire in honor of Molech. ¹¹ He did away with the horses which the kings of Judah had dedicated to the sun; these were at the entrance of the temple of the LORD, near the chamber of Nathan- melech the eunuch, which was in the large building.

aces could not function at the altar of the LORD in Jerusalem; but they, along with their relatives, ate the unleavened bread. ¹⁰ The king also defiled Topheth in the Valley of Ben-hinnom, so that there would no longer be an immolation of sons or daughters by fire in honor of Molech. ¹¹ He did away with the horses which the kings of Judah had dedicated to the sun; these were at the entrance of the temple of the LORD, near the chamber of Nathan- melech the eunuch, which was in the large building. The chariots of the sun he destroyed by fire. ¹² He also demolished the altars made by the kings of Judah on the roof (the roof terrace of Ahaz), and the altars made by Manasseh in the two courts of the temple of the LORD. He pulverized them and threw the dust into the Kidron Valley. ¹³ The king defiled the high places east of Jerusalem, south of the Mount of Misconduct, which Solomon, king of Israel, had built in honor of Astarte,

333 the Sidonian horror, of Chemosh, the Moabite horror, and of Milcom, the idol of the Ammonites. ¹⁴ He broke to pieces the pillars, cut down the sacred poles, and filled the places where they had been with human bones. ¹⁵ Likewise the altar which was at Bethel, the high place built by Jeroboam, son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin—this same altar and high place he tore down, breaking up the stones and grinding them to powder, and burning the Asherah. ¹⁶ When Josiah turned and saw the graves there on the mountainside, he ordered the bones taken from the graves and burned on the altar, and thus defiled it in fulfillment of the word of the LORD which the man of God had proclaimed as Jeroboam was standing by the altar on the feast day. When the king looked up and saw the grave of the man of God who had proclaimed these words, ¹⁷ he asked, "What is that tombstone I see?" The men of the city replied, "It is the grave of the man of God who came from Judah and predicted the very things you have done to the altar of Bethel." ¹⁸ "Let him be," he said, "let no one move his bones." So they left his bones undisturbed together with the bones of the prophet who had come from Samaria. ¹⁹ Josiah also removed all the shrines on the high places near the cities of Samaria which the kings of Israel had erected, thereby provoking the LORD; he did the very same to them as he had done in Bethel. ²⁰ He slaughtered upon the altars all the priests of the high places that were at the shrines, and burned human bones upon them. Then he returned to Jerusalem. ²¹ The king issued a command to all the people to observe the Passover of the LORD, their God, as it was prescribed in that book of the covenant. ²² No Passover such as this had been observed during the period when the Judges ruled Israel, or during the entire period of the kings of Israel and the kings of Judah, ²³ until the eighteenth year of king Josiah, when this Passover of the LORD was kept in Jerusalem. ²⁴ Further, Josiah did away with the consultation of ghosts and spirits, with the household gods, idols, and all the other horrors to be seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, so that he might carry out the stipulations of the law written in the book that the priest Hilkiah had found in the temple of the LORD. ²⁵ Before him there had been no king who turned to the LORD as he did, with his whole heart, his whole soul, and his whole strength, in accord with the entire law of Moses; nor could any after him compare with him. ²⁶ Yet, because of all the provocations that Manasseh had given, the LORD did not desist from his fiercely burning anger against Judah. ²⁷ The LORD said: "Even Judah will I put out of my sight as I did Israel. I will reject this city, Jerusalem, which I chose, and the temple of which I said, 'There shall my name be.'" ²⁸ The rest of the acts of Josiah, with all that he did, are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah. ²⁹ In his time Pharaoh Neco, king of Egypt, went up toward the river Euphrates to the king of Assyria. King Josiah set out to confront him, but was slain at Megiddo at the first encounter. ³⁰ His servants brought his body on a chariot from Megiddo to Jerusalem, where they buried him in his own grave. Then the people of the land took Jehoahaz, son of Josiah, anointed him, and proclaimed him king to succeed his father. ³¹ Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother, whose name was Hamutal, daughter of Jeremiah, was from Libnah. ³² He did evil in the sight of the LORD, just as his forebears had done. ³³ Pharaoh Neco took him prisoner at Riblah in the land of Hamath, thus ending his reign in Jerusalem. He imposed a fine upon the land of a hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold. ³⁴ Pharaoh Neco then appointed Eliakim, son of Josiah, king in place of his father Josiah; he changed his name to Jehoiakim. Jehoahaz he took away with him to Egypt, where he died.

e name was Hamutal, daughter of Jeremiah, was from Libnah. ³² He did evil in the sight of the LORD, just as his forebears had done. ³³ Pharaoh Neco took him prisoner at Riblah in the land of Hamath, thus ending his reign in Jerusalem. He imposed a fine upon the land of a hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold. ³⁴ Pharaoh Neco then appointed Eliakim, son of Josiah, king in place of his father Josiah; he changed his name to Jehoiakim. Jehoahaz he took away with him to Egypt, where he died. ³⁵ Jehoiakim gave the silver and gold to Pharaoh, but taxed the land to raise the amount Pharaoh demanded. He exacted the silver and gold from the people of the land, from each proportionately, to pay Pharaoh Neco. ³⁶ Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Zebidah, daughter of Pedaiah, from Rumah. ³⁷ He did evil in the sight of the LORD, just as his forebears had done.

334 2 Kings Chapter 24 ¹ During his reign Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, moved against him, and Jehoiakim became his vassal for three years. Then Jehoiakim turned and rebelled against him. ² The LORD loosed against him bands of Chaldeans, Arameans, Moabites, and Ammonites; he loosed them against Judah to destroy it, as the LORD had threatened through his servants the prophets. ³ This befell Judah because the LORD had stated that he would inexorably put them out of his sight for the sins Manasseh had committed in all that he did; ⁴ and especially because of the innocent blood he shed, with which he filled Jerusalem, the LORD would not forgive. ⁵ The rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, with all that he did, are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah. ⁶ Jehoiakim rested with his ancestors, and his son Jehoiachin succeeded him as king. ⁷ The king of Egypt did not again leave his own land, for the king of Babylon had taken all that belonged to the king of Egypt from the Wadi of Egypt to the Euphrates River. ⁸ Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Nehushta, daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem. ⁹ He did evil in the sight of the LORD, just as his forebears had done. ¹⁰ At that time the officials of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, attacked Jerusalem, and the city came under siege. ¹¹ Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, himself arrived at the city while his servants were besieging it. ¹² Then Jehoiachin, king of Judah, together with his mother, his ministers, officers, and functionaries, surrendered to the king of Babylon, who, in the eighth year of his reign, took him captive. ¹³ He carried off all the treasures of the temple of the LORD and those of the palace, and broke up all the gold utensils that Solomon, king of Israel, had provided in the temple of the LORD, as the LORD had foretold. ¹⁴ He deported all Jerusalem: all the officers and men of the army, ten thousand in number, and all the craftsmen and smiths. None were left among the people of the land except the poor. ¹⁵ He deported Jehoiachin to Babylon, and also led captive from Jerusalem to Babylon the king's mother and wives, his functionaries, and the chief men of the land. ¹⁶ The king of Babylon also led captive to Babylon all seven thousand men of the army, and a thousand craftsmen and smiths, all of them trained soldiers. ¹⁷ In place of Jehoiachin, the king of Babylon appointed his uncle Mattaniah king, and changed his name to Zedekiah. ¹⁸ Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Hamutal, daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. ¹⁹ He also did evil in the sight of the LORD, just as Jehoiakim had done. ²⁰ The LORD'S anger befell Jerusalem and Judah till he cast them out from his presence. Thus Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon. 2 Kings Chapter 25 ¹ In the tenth month of the ninth year of Zedekiah's reign, on the tenth day of the month, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and his whole army advanced against Jerusalem, encamped around it, and built siege walls on every side. ² The siege of the city continued until the eleventh year of Zedekiah. ³ On the ninth day of the fourth month, when famine had gripped the city, and the people had no more bread, ⁴ the city walls were breached. Then the king and all the soldiers left the city by night through the gate between the two walls which was near the king's garden. Since the Chaldeans had the city surrounded, they went in the direction of the Arabah. ⁵ But the Chaldean army pursued the king and overtook him in the desert near Jericho, abandoned by his whole army. ⁶ The king was therefore arrested and brought to Riblah to the king of Babylon, who pronounced sentence on him. ⁷ He had Zedekiah's sons slain before his eyes. Then he blinded Zedekiah, bound him with fetters, and had him brought to Babylon.

between the two walls which was near the king's garden. Since the Chaldeans had the city surrounded, they went in the direction of the Arabah. ⁵ But the Chaldean army pursued the king and overtook him in the desert near Jericho, abandoned by his whole army. ⁶ The king was therefore arrested and brought to Riblah to the king of Babylon, who pronounced sentence on him. ⁷ He had Zedekiah's sons slain before his eyes. Then he blinded Zedekiah, bound him with fetters, and had him brought to Babylon. ⁸ On the seventh day of the fifth month (this was in the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon), Nebuzaradan, captain of the bodyguard, came to Jerusalem as the representative of the king of Babylon. ⁹ He

335 burned the house of the LORD, the palace of the king, and all the houses of Jerusalem; every large building was destroyed by fire. ¹⁰ Then the Chaldean troops who were with the captain of the guard tore down the walls that surrounded Jerusalem. ¹¹ Then Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, led into exile the last of the people remaining in the city, and those who had deserted to the king of Babylon, and the last of the artisans. ¹² But some of the country's poor, Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, left behind as vinedressers and farmers. ¹³ The bronze pillars that belonged to the house of the LORD, and the wheeled carts and the bronze sea in the house of the LORD, the Chaldeans broke into pieces; they carried away the bronze to Babylon. ¹⁴ They took also the pots, the shovels, the snuffers, the bowls, the pans and all the bronze vessels used for service. ¹⁵ The fire-holders and the bowls which were of gold or silver the captain of the guard also carried off. ¹⁶ The weight in bronze of the two pillars, the bronze sea, and the wheeled carts, all of them furnishings which Solomon had made for the house of the LORD, was never calculated. ¹⁷ Each of the pillars was eighteen cubits high; a bronze capital five cubits high surmounted each pillar, and a network with pomegranates encircled the capital, all of bronze; and so for the other pillar, as regards the network. ¹⁸ The captain of the guard also took Seraiah the high priest, Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the entry. ¹⁹ And from the city he took one courtier, a commander of soldiers, five men in the personal service of the king who were still in the city, the scribe of the army commander, who mustered the people of the land, and sixty of the common people still remaining in the city. ²⁰ The captain of the guard, Nebuzaradan, arrested these and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah; ²¹ the king had them struck down and put to death in Riblah, in the land of Hamath. Thus was Judah exiled from her land. ²² As for the people whom he had allowed to remain in the land of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, appointed as their governor Gedaliah, son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan. ²³ Hearing that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah governor, all the army commanders with their men came to him at Mizpah: Ishmael, son of Nethaniah, Johanan, son of Kareah, Seraiah, son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah, from Beth-maacah. ²⁴ Gedaliah gave the commanders and their men his oath. "Do not be afraid of the Chaldean officials," he said to them. "Remain in the country and serve the king of Babylon, and all will be well with you." ²⁵ But in the seventh month Ishmael, son of Nethaniah, son of Elishama, of royal descent, came with ten men, attacked Gedaliah and killed him, along with the Jews and Chaldeans who were in Mizpah with him. ²⁶ Then all the people, great and small, left with the army commanders and went to Egypt for fear of the Chaldeans. ²⁷ In the thirty- seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin, king of Judah, on the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth month, Evilmerodach, king of Babylon, in the inaugural year of his own reign, raised up Jehoiachin, king of Judah, from prison. ²⁸ He spoke kindly to him and gave him a throne higher than that of the other kings who were with him in Babylon. ²⁹ Jehoiachin took off his prison garb and ate at the king's table as long as he lived. ³⁰ The allowance granted him by the king was a perpetual allowance, in fixed daily amounts, for as long as he lived. I Chronicles 1 Chronicles Chapter 1 ¹ Adam, Seth, Enosh, ² Kenan, Mahalalel, Jared, ³ Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech, ⁴ Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. ⁵ The descendants of Japheth were Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras. ⁶ The descendants of Gomer were Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah. ⁷ The descendants of Javan were Elishah, Tarshish, the Kittim, and the Rodanim. ⁸ The descendants of Ham were Cush, Mesraim, Put, and Canaan.

allowance, in fixed daily amounts, for as long as he lived. I Chronicles 1 Chronicles Chapter 1 ¹ Adam, Seth, Enosh, ² Kenan, Mahalalel, Jared, ³ Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech, ⁴ Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. ⁵ The descendants of Japheth were Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras. ⁶ The descendants of Gomer were Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah. ⁷ The descendants of Javan were Elishah, Tarshish, the Kittim, and the Rodanim. ⁸ The descendants of Ham were Cush, Mesraim, Put, and Canaan. ⁹ The descendants of Cush were Seba, Havilah, Sabta, Raama, and Sabteca. The descendants of Raama were Sheba and Dedan. ¹⁰ Cush became the

336 father of Nimrod, who was the first to be a conqueror on the earth. ¹¹ Mesraim became the father of the Ludim, Anamim, Lehabim, Naphtuhim, ¹² Pathrusim, Casluhim, and Caphtorim, from whom the Philistines sprang. ¹³ Canaan became the father of Sidon, his first-born, and Heth, ¹⁴ and the Jebusite, the Amorite, the Girgashite, ¹⁵ the Hivite, the Arkite, the Sinite, ¹⁶ the Arvadite, the Zemarite, and the Hamathite. ¹⁷ The descendants of Shem were Elam, Asshur, Arpachshad, Lud, and Aram. The descendants of Aram were Uz, Hul, Gether, and Mash. ¹⁸ Arpachshad became the father of Shelah, and Shelah became the father of Eber. ¹⁹ Two sons were born to Eber; the first was named Peleg (for in his time the world was divided), and his brother was Joktan. ²⁰ Joktan became the father of Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah, ²¹ Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, ²² Ebal, Abimael, Sheba, ²³ Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab; all these were the sons of Joktan. ²⁴ Shem, Arpachshad, Shelah, ²⁵ Eber, Peleg, Reu, ²⁶ Serug, Nahor, Terah, ²⁷ Abram, who was Abraham. ²⁸ The sons of Abraham were Isaac and Ishmael. ²⁹ These were their descendants: Nebaioth, the first-born of Ishmael, then Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, ³⁰ Mishma, Dumah, Massa, Hadad, Tema, ³¹ Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. These were the descendants of Ishmael. ³² The descendants of Keturah, Abraham's concubine: she bore Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. The sons of Jokshan were Sheba and Dedan. ³³ The descendants of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were the descendants of Keturah. ³⁴ Abraham became the father of Isaac. The sons of Isaac were Esau and Israel. ³⁵ The sons of Esau were Eliphaz, Reuel, Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. ³⁶ The sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zephi, Gatam, Kenaz, (Timna,) and Amalek. ³⁷ The sons of Reuel were Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. ³⁸ The descendants of Seir were Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. ³⁹ The sons of Lotan were Hori and Homam; Timna was the sister of Lotan. ⁴⁰ The sons of Shobal were Alian, Manahath, Ebal, Shephi, and Onam. The sons of Zibeon were Aiah and Anah. ⁴¹ The sons of Anah: Dishon. The sons of Dishon were Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Cheran. ⁴² The sons of Ezer were Bilhan, Zaavan, and Jaakan. The sons of Dishan were Uz and Aran. ⁴³ The kings who reigned in the land of Edom before they had Israelite kings were the following: Bela, son of Beor, the name of whose city was Dinhabah. ⁴⁴ When Bela died, Jobab, son of Zerah, from Bozrah, succeeded him. ⁴⁵ When Jobab died, Husham, from the land of the Temanites, succeeded him. ⁴⁶ Husham died and Hadad, son of Bedad, succeeded him. He overthrew the Midianites on the Moabite plateau, and the name of his city was Avith. ⁴⁷ Hadad died and Samlah of Masrekah succeeded him. ⁴⁸ Samlah died and Shaul from Rehoboth-han-nahar succeeded him. ⁴⁹ When Shaul died, Baal- hanan, son of Achbor, succeeded him. ⁵⁰ Baalhanan died and Hadad succeeded him. The name of his city was Pai, and his wife's name was Mehetabel. She was the daughter of Matred, who was the daughter of Mezahab. ⁵¹ After Hadad died. . . .These were the chiefs of Edom: the chiefs of Timna, Aliah, Jetheth, ⁵² Oholibamah, Elah, Pinon, ⁵³ Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar, ⁵⁴ Magdiel, and Iram were the chiefs of Edom. 1 Chronicles Chapter 2 ¹ These were the sons of Israel: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, ² Dan, Joseph, Benjamin, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher. ³ The sons of Judah were: Er, Onan, and Shelah; these three were born to him of Bathshua, a Canaanite woman. But Judah's first-born, Er, was wicked in the sight of the LORD, so he killed him. ⁴ Judah's daughter-in-law Tamar bore him Perez and Zerah, so that he had five sons in all. ⁵ The sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul. ⁶ The sons of Zerah were Zimri, Ethan, Heman, Calcol, and Darda - five in all. ⁷ The sons of Zimri: Carmi. The sons of Carmi: Achar, who brought trouble upon Israel by violating the ban.

f Judah were: Er, Onan, and Shelah; these three were born to him of Bathshua, a Canaanite woman. But Judah's first-born, Er, was wicked in the sight of the LORD, so he killed him. ⁴ Judah's daughter-in-law Tamar bore him Perez and Zerah, so that he had five sons in all. ⁵ The sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul. ⁶ The sons of Zerah were Zimri, Ethan, Heman, Calcol, and Darda - five in all. ⁷ The sons of Zimri: Carmi. The sons of Carmi: Achar, who brought trouble upon Israel by violating the ban. ⁸ The sons of Ethan: Azariah. ⁹ The sons born to Hezron were Jerahmeel, Ram, and Chelubai. ¹⁰ Ram became the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab became the father of Nahshon, a prince of the Judahites. ¹¹ Nahshon became the father of Salmah. Salmah became the father of Boaz. ¹² Boaz became the

337 father of Obed. Obed became the father of Jesse. ¹³ Jesse became the father of Eliab, his first- born, of Abinadab, the second son, Shimea, the third, ¹⁴ Nethanel, the fourth, Raddai, the fifth, ¹⁵ Ozem, the sixth, and David, the seventh. ¹⁶ Their sisters were Zeruiah and Abigail. Zeruiah had three sons: Abishai, Joab, and Asahel. ¹⁷ Abigail bore Amasa, whose father was Jether the Ishmaelite. ¹⁸ By his wife Azubah, Caleb, son of Hezron, became the father of a daughter, Jerioth. Her sons were Jesher, Shobab, and Ardon. ¹⁹ When Azubah died, Caleb married Ephrath, who bore him Hur. ²⁰ Hur became the father of Uri, and Uri became the father of Bezalel. ²¹ Then Hezron had relations with the daughter of Machir, the father of Gilead, having married her when he was sixty years old. She bore him Segub. ²² Segub became the father of Jair, who possessed twenty-three cities in the land of Gilead. ²³ Geshur and Aram took from them the villages of Jair, that is, Kenath and its towns, sixty cities in all, which had belonged to the sons of Machir, the father of Gilead. ²⁴ After the death of Hezron, Caleb had relations with Ephrathah, the widow of his father Hezron, and she bore him Ashhur, the father of Tekoa. ²⁵ The sons of Jerahmeel, the first-born of Hezron, were Ram, the first-born, then Bunah, Oren, and Ozem, his brothers. ²⁶ Jerahmeel also had another wife, Atarah by name, who was the mother of Onam. ²⁷ The sons of Ram, the first-born of Jerahmeel, were Maaz, Jamin, and Eker. ²⁸ The sons of Onam were Shammai and Jada. The sons of Shammai were Nadab and Abishur. ²⁹ Abishur's wife, who was named Abihail, bore him Ahban and Molid. ³⁰ The sons of Nadab were Seled and Appaim. Seled died without sons. ³¹ The sons of Appaim: Ishi. The sons of Ishi: Sheshan. The sons of Sheshan: Ahlai. ³² The sons of Jada, the brother of Shammai, were Jether and Jonathan. Jether died without sons. ³³ The sons of Jonathan were Peleth and Zaza. These were the descendants of Jerahmeel. ³⁴ Sheshan, who had no sons, only daughters, had an Egyptian slave named Jarha. ³⁵ Sheshan gave his daughter in marriage to his slave Jarha, and she bore him Attai. ³⁶ Attai became the father of Nathan. Nathan became the father of Zabad. ³⁷ Zabad became the father of Ephlal. Ephlal became the father of Obed. ³⁸ Obed became the father of Jehu. Jehu became the father of Azariah. ³⁹ Azariah became the father of Helez. Helez became the father of Eleasah. ⁴⁰ Eleasah became the father of Sismai. Sismai became the father of Shallum. ⁴¹ Shallum became the father of Jekamiah. Jekamiah became the father of Elishama. ⁴² The descendants of Caleb, the brother of Jerahmeel: (Mesha) his first-born, who was the father of Ziph. Then the sons of Mareshah, who was the father of Hebron. ⁴³ The sons of Hebron were Korah, Tappuah, Rekem, and Shema. ⁴⁴ Shema became the father of Raham, who was the father of Jorkeam. Rekem became the father of Shammai. ⁴⁵ The son of Shammai: Maon, who was the father of Beth-zur. ⁴⁶ Ephah, Caleb's concubine, bore Haran, Moza, and Gazez. Haran became the father of Gazez. ⁴⁷ The sons of Jahdai were Regem, Jotham, Geshan, Pelet, Ephah, and Shaaph. ⁴⁸ Maacah, Caleb's concubine, bore Sheber and Tirhanah. ⁴⁹ She also bore Shaaph, the father of Madmannah, Sheva, the father of Machbenah, and the father of Gibea. Achsah was Caleb's daughter. ⁵⁰ These were descendants of Caleb, sons of Hur, the first-born of Ephrathah: Shobal, the father of Kiriath-jearim, ⁵¹ Salma, the father of Bethlehem, and Hareph, the father of Bethgader. ⁵² The sons of Shobal, the father of Kiriath- jearim, were Reaiah, half the Manahathites, ⁵³ and the clans of Kiriath-jearim: the Ithrites, the Puthites, the Shumathites, and the Mishraites. From these the people of Zorah and the Eshtaolites derived. ⁵⁴ The descendants of Salma were Bethlehem, the Netophathites, Atroth-beth-Joab, half the Manahathites, and the Zorites.

born of Ephrathah: Shobal, the father of Kiriath-jearim, ⁵¹ Salma, the father of Bethlehem, and Hareph, the father of Bethgader. ⁵² The sons of Shobal, the father of Kiriath- jearim, were Reaiah, half the Manahathites, ⁵³ and the clans of Kiriath-jearim: the Ithrites, the Puthites, the Shumathites, and the Mishraites. From these the people of Zorah and the Eshtaolites derived. ⁵⁴ The descendants of Salma were Bethlehem, the Netophathites, Atroth-beth-Joab, half the Manahathites, and the Zorites. ⁵⁵ The clans of the Sopherim dwelling in Jabez were the Tirathites, the Shimeathites, and the Sucathites. They were the Kenites, who came from Hammath of the ancestor of the Rechabites. 1 Chronicles Chapter 3 ¹The following were the sons of David who were born to him in Hebron: the first-born, Amnon, by Ahinoam of Jezreel; the second, Daniel, by Abigail of Carmel; ²the third, Absalom, son of

338 Maacah, who was the daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur; the fourth, Adonijah, son of Haggith; ³the fifth, Shephatiah, by Abital; the sixth, Ithream, by his wife Eglah. ⁴Six in all were born to him in Hebron, where he reigned seven years and six months. Then he reigned thirty-three years in Jerusalem, ⁵where the following were born to him: Shimea, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon — four by Bathsheba, the daughter of Ammiel; ⁶Ibhar, Elishua, Eliphelet, ⁷Nogah, Nepheg, Japhia, ⁸Elishama, Eliada, and Eliphelet — nine. ⁹All these were sons of David, in addition to other sons by concubines; and Tamar was their sister. ¹⁰The son of Solomon was Rehoboam, whose son was Abijah, whose son was Asa, whose son was Jehoshaphat, ¹¹whose son was Joram, whose son was Ahaziah, whose son was Joash, ¹²whose son was Amaziah, whose son was Azariah, whose son was Jotham, ¹³whose son was Ahaz, whose son was Hezekiah, whose son was Manasseh, ¹⁴whose son was Amon, whose son was Josiah. ¹⁵The sons of Josiah were: the first-born Johanan; the second, Jehoiakim; the third, Zedekiah; the fourth, Shallum. ¹⁶The sons of Jehoiakim were: Jeconiah, his son; Zedekiah, his son. ¹⁷The sons of Jeconiah the captive were: Shealtiel, ¹⁸Malchiram, Pedaiah, Shenazzar, Jekamiah, Shama, and Nedabiah. ¹⁹The sons of Pedaiah were Zerubbabel and Shimei. The sons of Zerubbabel were Meshullam and Hananiah; Shelomith was their sister. ²⁰The sons of Meshullam were Hashubah, Ohel, Berechiah, Hasadiah, Jushabhesed — five. ²¹The sons of Hananiah were Pelatiah, Jeshaiah, Rephaiah, Arnan, Obadiah, and Shecaniah. ²²The sons of Shecaniah were Shemiah, Hattush, Igal, Bariah, Neariah, Shaphat — six. ²³The sons of Neariah were Elioenai, Hizkiah, and Azrikam — three. ²⁴The sons of Elioenai were Hodaviah, Eliashib, Pelaiah, Akkub, Johanan, Delaiah, and Anani — seven. 1 Chronicles Chapter 4 ¹The descendants of Judah were: Perez, Hezron, Carmi, Hur, and Shobal. ²Reaiah, the son of Shobal, became the father of Jahath, and Jahath became the father of Ahumai and Lahad. These were the clans of the Zorathites. ³These were the descendants of Hareph, the father of Etam: Jezreel, Ishma, and Idbash; their sister was named Hazzelelponi. ⁴Penuel was the father of Gedor, and Ezer the father of Hushah. These were the descendants of Hur, the first-born of Ephrathah, the father of Bethlehem. ⁵Ashhur, the father of Tekoa, had two wives, Helah and Naarah. ⁶Naarah bore him Ahuzzam, Hepher, the Temenites and the Ahashtarites. These were the descendants of Naarah. ⁷The sons of Helah were Zereth, Izhar, Ethnan, and Koz. ⁸Koz became the father of Anub and Zobebah, as well as of the clans of Aharhel, son of Harum. ⁹Jabez was the most distinguished of the brothers. His mother had named him Jabez, saying, "I bore him with pain." ¹⁰Jabez prayed to the God of Israel: "Oh, that you may truly bless me and extend my boundaries! Help me and make me free of misfortune, without pain!" And God granted his prayer. ¹¹Chelub, the brother of Shuhah, became the father of Mehir, who was the father of Eshton. ¹²Eshton became the father of Bethrapha, Paseah, and Tehinnah, the father of the city of Nahash. These were the men of Recah. ¹³The sons of Kenaz were Othniel and Seraiah. The sons of Othniel were Hathath and Meonothai; ¹⁴Meonothai became the father of Ophrah. Seraiah became the father of Joab, the father of Geharashim, so called because they were craftsmen. ¹⁵The sons of Caleb, son of Jephunneh, were Ir, Elah, and Naam. The sons of Elah were...and Kenaz. ¹⁶The sons of Jehallelel were Ziph, Ziphah, Tiria, and Asarel. ¹⁷The sons of Ezrah were Jether, Mered, Epher, and Jalon. Jether became the father of Miriam, Shammai, and Ishbah, the father of Eshtemoa. ¹⁸His (Mered's) Egyptian wife bore Jered, the father of Gedor, Heber, the father of Soco, and Jekuthiel, the father of Zanoah. These were the sons of Bithiah, the daughter of Pharaoh, whom Mered married.

e sons of Caleb, son of Jephunneh, were Ir, Elah, and Naam. The sons of Elah were...and Kenaz. ¹⁶The sons of Jehallelel were Ziph, Ziphah, Tiria, and Asarel. ¹⁷The sons of Ezrah were Jether, Mered, Epher, and Jalon. Jether became the father of Miriam, Shammai, and Ishbah, the father of Eshtemoa. ¹⁸His (Mered's) Egyptian wife bore Jered, the father of Gedor, Heber, the father of Soco, and Jekuthiel, the father of Zanoah. These were the sons of Bithiah, the daughter of Pharaoh, whom Mered married. ¹⁹The sons of his Jewish wife, the sister of Naham, the father of Keilah, were Shimon the Garmite and Ishi the Maacathite. ²⁰The sons of Shimon were Amnon, Rinnah, Benhanan, and Tilon. The son of Ishi was Zoheth and the son of Zoheth... ²¹The descendants of Shelah, son of Judah, were: Er, the father of Lecah; Laadah, the father of Mareshah; the clans of the linen weavers' guild in

339 Bethashbea; ²²Jokim; the men of Cozeba; and Joash and Saraph, who held property in Moab, but returned to Bethlehem. (These are events of old.) ²³They were potters and inhabitants of Netaim and Gederah, where they lived in the king's service. ²⁴The sons of Simeon were Nemuel, Jamin, Jachin, Zerah, and Shaul, ²⁵whose son was Shallum, whose son was Mibsam, whose son was Mishma. ²⁶The descendants of Mishma were his son Hammuel, whose son was Zaccur, whose son was Shimei. ²⁷Shimei had sixteen sons and six daughters. His brothers, however, did not have many sons, and as a result all their clans did not equal the number of the Judahites. ²⁸They dwelt in Beer-sheba, Moladah, Hazar-shual, ²⁹Bilhah, Ezem, Tolad, ³⁰Bethuel, Hormah, Ziklag, ³¹Beth- marcaboth, Hazar-susim, Bethbiri, and Shaaraim. Until David came to reign, these were their cities ³²and their villages. Etam, also, and Ain, Rimmon, Tochen, and Ashan — five cities, ³³together with all their outlying villages as far as Baal. Here is where they dwelt, and so it was inscribed of them in their family records. ³⁴Meshobab, Jamlech, Joshah, son of Amaziah, ³⁵Joel, Jehu, son of Joshibiah, son of Seraiah, son of Asiel, ³⁶Elioenai, Jaakobath, Jeshohaiah, Asaiah, Adiel, Jesimiel, Benaiah, ³⁷Ziza, son of Shiphi, son of Allon, son of Jedaiah, son of Shimri, son of Shemaiah — ³⁸these just named were princes in their clans, and their ancestral houses spread out to such an extent ³⁹that they went to the approaches of Gedor, east of the valley, seeking pasture for their flocks. ⁴⁰They found abundant and good pastures, and the land was spacious, quiet, and peaceful. ⁴¹They who have just been listed by name set out during the reign of Hezekiah, king of Judah, and attacked the tents of Ham (for Hamites dwelt there formerly) and also the Meunites who were there. They pronounced against them the ban that is still in force and dwelt in their place because they found pasture there for their flocks. ⁴²Five hundred of them (the Simeonites) went to Mount Seir under the leadership of Pelatiah, Neariah, Rephaiah, and Uzziel, sons of Ishi. ⁴³They attacked the surviving Amalekites who had escaped and have resided there to the present day. 1 Chronicles Chapter 5 ¹ The sons of Reuben, the first-born of Israel. (He was indeed the first-born, but because he disgraced the couch of his father his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph, son of Israel, so that he is not listed in the family records according to birthright. ² Judah, in fact, became powerful among his brothers, so that the ruler came from him, though the birthright had been Joseph's.) ³ The sons of Reuben, the first-born of Israel, were Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi. ⁴ His son was Joel, whose son was Shemaiah, whose son was Gog, whose son was Shimei, ⁵ whose son was Micah, whose son was Reaiah, whose son was Baal, ⁶ whose son was Beerah, whom Tiglath-pileser, the king of Assyria, took into exile; he was a prince of the Reubenites. ⁷ His brothers who belonged to his clans, when they were listed in the family records according to their descendants, were: Jeiel, the chief, and Zechariah, ⁸ and Bela, son of Azaz, son of Shema, son of Joel. The Reubenites lived in Aroer and as far as Nebo and Baal-meon; ⁹ toward the east they dwelt as far as the desert which extends from the Euphrates River, for they had much livestock in the land of Gilead. ¹⁰ During the reign of Saul they waged war with the Hagrites, and when they had defeated them they occupied their tents throughout the region east of Gilead. ¹¹ The Gadites lived alongside them in the land of Bashan as far as Salecah. ¹² Joel was chief, Shapham was second in command, and Janai was judge in Bashan. ¹³ Their brothers, corresponding to their ancestral houses, were: Michael, Meshullam, Sheba, Jorai, Jacan, Zia, and Eber—seven. ¹⁴ These were the sons of Abihail, son of Huri, son of Jaroah, son of Gilead, son of Michael, son of Jeshishai, son of Jahdo, son of Buz.

efeated them they occupied their tents throughout the region east of Gilead. ¹¹ The Gadites lived alongside them in the land of Bashan as far as Salecah. ¹² Joel was chief, Shapham was second in command, and Janai was judge in Bashan. ¹³ Their brothers, corresponding to their ancestral houses, were: Michael, Meshullam, Sheba, Jorai, Jacan, Zia, and Eber—seven. ¹⁴ These were the sons of Abihail, son of Huri, son of Jaroah, son of Gilead, son of Michael, son of Jeshishai, son of Jahdo, son of Buz. ¹⁵ Ahi, son of Abdiel, son of Guni, was the head of their ancestral houses. ¹⁶ They dwelt in Gilead, in Bashan and its towns, and in all the pasture lands of Sirion to the borders. ¹⁷ All were listed in the family records in the time of Jotham, king of Judah, and of Jeroboam, king of Israel. ¹⁸ The Reubenites, Gadites, and half-tribe of Manasseh were warriors, men who bore shield and sword and who drew the bow, trained in warfare—forty-four thousand seven hundred and sixty men fit

340 for military service. ¹⁹ When they waged war against the Hagrites and against Jetur, Naphish, and Nodab, ²⁰ they received help so that they mastered the Hagrites and all who were with them. For during the battle they called on God, and he heard them because they had put their trust in him. ²¹ Along with one hundred thousand men they also captured their livestock: fifty thousand camels, two hundred fifty thousand sheep, and two thousand asses. ²² Many had fallen in battle, for victory is from God; and they took over their dwelling place until the time of the exile. ²³ The numerous members of the half-tribe of Manasseh lived in the land of Bashan as far as Baal-hermon, Senir, and Mount Hermon. ²⁴ The following were the heads of their ancestral houses: Epher, Ishi, Eliel, Azriel, Jeremiah, Hodaviah, and Jahdiel—men who were warriors, famous men, and heads over their ancestral houses. ²⁵ However, they offended the God of their fathers by lusting after the gods of the natives of the land, whom God had cleared out of their way. ²⁶ Therefore the God of Israel incited against them the anger of Pul, king of Assyria, and of Tiglath-pileser, king of Assyria, who deported the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh and brought them to Halah, Habor, and Hara, and to the river Gozan, where they have remained to this day. ²⁷ The sons of Levi were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. ²⁸ The sons of Kohath were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. ²⁹ The children of Amram were Aaron, Moses, and Miriam. The sons of Aaron were Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. ³⁰ Eleazar became the father of Phinehas. Phinehas became the father of Abishua. ³¹ Abishua became the father of Bukki. Bukki became the father of Uzzi. ³² Uzzi became the father of Zerahiah. Zerahiah became the father of Meraioth. ³³ Meraioth became the father of Amariah. Amariah became the father of Ahitub. ³⁴ Ahitub became the father of Zadok. Zadok became the father of Ahimaaz. ³⁵ Ahimaaz became the father of Azariah. Azariah became the father of Johanan. ³⁶ Johanan became the father of Azariah, who served as priest in the temple Solomon built in Jerusalem. ³⁷ Azariah became the father of Amariah. Amariah became the father of Ahitub. ³⁸ Ahitub became the father of Zadok. Zadok became the father of Shallum. ³⁹ Shallum became the father of Hilkiah. Hilkiah became the father of Azariah. ⁴⁰ Azariah became the father of Seraiah. Seraiah became the father of Jehozadak. ⁴¹ Jehozadak was one of those who went into the exile which the LORD inflicted on Judah and Jerusalem through Nebuchadnezzar. 1 Chronicles Chapter 6 ¹The sons of Levi were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. ²The sons of Gershon were named Libni and Shimei. ³The sons of Kohath were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. ⁴The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi.The following were the clans of Levi, distributed according to their ancestors: ⁵of Gershon: his son Libni, whose son was Jahath, whose son was Zimmah, ⁶whose son was Joah, whose son was Iddo, whose son was Zerah, whose son was Jetherai. ⁷The descendants of Kohath were: his son Amminadab, whose son was Korah, whose son was Assir, ⁸whose son was Elkanah, whose son was Ebiasaph, whose son was Assir, ⁹whose son was Tahath, whose son was Uriel, whose son was Uzziah, whose son was Shaul. ¹⁰The sons of Elkanah were Amasai and Ahimoth, ¹¹whose son was Elkanah, whose son was Zophai, whose son was Nahath, ¹²whose son was Eliab, whose son was Jeroham, whose son was Elkanah, whose son was Samuel. ¹³The sons of Samuel were Joel, the first-born, and Abijah, the second. ¹⁴The descendants of Merari were Mahli, whose son was Libni, whose son was Shimei, whose son was Uzzah, ¹⁵whose son was Shimea, whose son was Haggiah, whose son was Asaiah.

riel, whose son was Uzziah, whose son was Shaul. ¹⁰The sons of Elkanah were Amasai and Ahimoth, ¹¹whose son was Elkanah, whose son was Zophai, whose son was Nahath, ¹²whose son was Eliab, whose son was Jeroham, whose son was Elkanah, whose son was Samuel. ¹³The sons of Samuel were Joel, the first-born, and Abijah, the second. ¹⁴The descendants of Merari were Mahli, whose son was Libni, whose son was Shimei, whose son was Uzzah, ¹⁵whose son was Shimea, whose son was Haggiah, whose son was Asaiah. ¹⁶The following were entrusted by David with the choir services in the LORD'S house from the time when the ark had obtained a permanent resting place. ¹⁷They served as singers before the Dwelling of the meeting tent until Solomon built the temple of the LORD in Jerusalem, and they performed their services in an order prescribed for them. ¹⁸Those who so performed are the following, together with their descendants. Among the Kohathites: Heman, the chanter, son of Joel, son of Samuel, ¹⁹son of Elkanah, son of Jeroham, son of Eliel, son of Toah, ²⁰son of Zuth, son of Elkanah, son of Mahath, son of Amasi, ²¹son of

341 Elkanah, son of Joel, son of Azariah, son of Zaphaniah, ²²son of Tahath, son of Assir, son of Ebiasaph, son of Korah, ²³son of Izhar, son of Kohath, son of Levi, son of Israel. ²⁴His brother Asaph stood at his right hand. Asaph was the son of Berechiah, son of Shimea, ²⁵son of Michael, son of Baaseiah, son of Malchijah, ²⁶son of Ethni, son of Zerah, son of Adaiah, ²⁷son of Ethan, son of Zimmah, son of Shimei, ²⁸son of Jahath, son of Gershon, son of Levi. ²⁹Their brothers, the Merarites, stood at the left: Ethan, son of Kishi, son of Abdi, son of Malluch, ³⁰son of Hashabiah, son of Amaziah, son of Hilkiah, ³¹son of Amzi, son of Bani, son of Shemer, ³²son of Mahli, son of Mushi, son of Merari, son of Levi. ³³Their brother Levites were appointed to all the other services of the Dwelling of the house of God. ³⁴However, it was Aaron and his descendants who burnt the offerings on the altar of holocausts and on the altar of incense; they alone had charge of the holy of holies and of making atonement for Israel, as Moses, the servant of God, had ordained. ³⁵These were the descendants of Aaron: his son Eleazar, whose son was Phinehas, whose son was Abishua, ³⁶whose son was Bukki, whose son was Uzzi, whose son was Zerahiah, ³⁷whose son was Meraioth, whose son was Amariah, whose son was Ahitub, ³⁸whose son was Zadok, whose son was Ahimaaz. ³⁹The following were their dwelling places to which their encampment was limited. To the descendants of Aaron who belonged to clan of the Kohathites, since the first lot fell to them, ⁴⁰was assigned Hebron with its adjacent pasture lands in the land of Judah, ⁴¹although the open country and the villages belonging to the city had been given to Caleb, the son of Jephunneh. ⁴²There were assigned to the descendants of Aaron: Hebron a city of asylum, Libnah with its pasture lands, Jattir with its pasture lands, Eshtemoa with its pasture lands, ⁴³Holon with its pasture lands, Debir with its pasture lands, ⁴⁴Ashan with its pasture lands, Jetta with its pasture lands, and Beth- shemesh with its pasture lands. ⁴⁵Also from the tribe of Benjamin: Gibeon with its pasture lands, Geba with its pasture lands, Almon with its pasture lands, Anathoth with its pasture lands. In all, they had thirteen cities with their pasture lands. ⁴⁹The Israelites assigned these cities with their pasture lands to the Levites, ⁵⁰designating them by name and assigning them by lot from the tribes of the Judahites, Simeonites, and Benjaminites. ⁴⁶The other Kohathites obtained ten cities by lot for their clans from the tribe of Ephraim, from the tribe of Dan, and from the half-tribe of Manasseh. ⁴⁷The clans of the Gershonites obtained thirteen cities from the tribes of Issachar, Asher, and Naphtali, and from the half-tribe of Manasseh in Bashan. ⁴⁸The clans of the Merarites obtained twelve cities by lot from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun. ⁵¹The clans of the Kohathites obtained cities by lot from the tribe of Ephraim. ⁵²They were assigned: Shechem in the mountain region of Ephraim, a city of asylum, with its pasture lands, Gezer with its pasture lands, ⁵³Kibzaim with its pasture lands, and Beth-horon with its pasture lands. ⁵⁴From the tribe of Dan: Elteke with its pasture lands, Gibbethon with its pasture lands, Aijalon with its pasture lands, and Gath-rimmon with its pasture lands. ⁵⁵From the half-tribe of Manasseh: Taanach with its pasture lands and Ibleam with its pasture lands. These belonged to the rest of the Kohathite clan. ⁵⁶The clans of the Gershonites received from the half-tribe of Manasseh: Golan in Bashan with its pasture lands and Ashtaroth with its pasture lands. ⁵⁷From the tribe of Issachar: Kedesh with its pasture lands, Daberath with its pasture lands, ⁵⁸Ramoth with its pasture lands, and Engannim with its pasture lands. ⁵⁹From the tribe of Asher: Mashal with its pasture lands, Abdon with its pasture lands, ⁶⁰Hilkath with its pasture lands, and Rehob with its pasture lands.

he rest of the Kohathite clan. ⁵⁶The clans of the Gershonites received from the half-tribe of Manasseh: Golan in Bashan with its pasture lands and Ashtaroth with its pasture lands. ⁵⁷From the tribe of Issachar: Kedesh with its pasture lands, Daberath with its pasture lands, ⁵⁸Ramoth with its pasture lands, and Engannim with its pasture lands. ⁵⁹From the tribe of Asher: Mashal with its pasture lands, Abdon with its pasture lands, ⁶⁰Hilkath with its pasture lands, and Rehob with its pasture lands. ⁶¹From the tribe of Naphtali: Kedesh in Galilee with its pasture lands, Hammon with its pasture lands, and Kiriathaim with its pasture lands. ⁶²The rest of the Merarites received from the tribe of Zebulun: Jokneam with its pasture lands, Kartah with its pasture lands, Rimmon with its pasture lands, and Tabor with its pasture lands. ⁶³Across the Jordan at Jericho (that is, east of the Jordan) they received from the tribe of Reuben: Bezer in the desert with its pasture lands, Jahzah with its pasture lands, ⁶⁴Kedemoth with its pasture lands, and Mephaath with its pasture lands. ⁶⁵From the tribe of Gad: Ramoth in Gilead with its pasture lands, Mahanaim with its pasture lands,

342 ⁶⁶Heshbon with its pasture lands, and Jazer with its pasture lands. 1 Chronicles Chapter 7 ¹The sons of Issachar were Tola, Puah, Jashub, and Shimron: four. ²The sons of Tola were Uzzi, Rephaiah, Jeriel, Jahmai, Ibsam, and Shemuel, warrior heads of the ancestral houses of Tola. Their kindred numbered twenty-two thousand six hundred in the time of David. ³The sons of Uzzi: Izarahiah. The sons of Izarahiah were Michael, Obadiah, Joel, and Isshiah. All five of these were chiefs. ⁴Their kindred, by ancestral houses, numbered thirty-six thousand men in organized military troops, since they had more wives and sons ⁵than their fellow tribesmen. In all the clans of Issachar there was a total of eighty-seven thousand warriors in their family records. ⁶The sons of Benjamin were Bela, Becher, and Jediael - three. ⁷The sons of Bela were Ezbon, Uzzi, Uzziel, Jerimoth, and Iri - five. They were heads of their ancestral houses and warriors. Their family records listed twenty-two thousand and thirty-four. ⁸The sons of Becher were Zemirah, Joash, Eliezer, Elioenai, Omri, Jeremoth, Abijah, Anathoth, and Alemeth - all these were sons of Becher. ⁹Their family records listed twenty thousand two hundred of their kindred who were heads of their ancestral houses and warriors. ¹⁰The sons of Jediael: Bilhan. The sons of Bilhan were Jeush, Benjamin, Ehud, Chenaanah, Zethan, Tarshish, and Ahishahar. ¹¹All these were descendants of Jediael, heads of ancestral houses and warriors. They numbered seventeen thousand two hundred men fit for military service... Shupham and Hupham. ¹²The sons of Dan: Hushim. ¹³The sons of Naphtali were Jahziel, Guni, Jezer, and Shallum. These were descendants of Bilhah. ¹⁴The sons of Manasseh, whom his Aramean concubine bore: she bore Machir, the father of Gilead. ¹⁵Machir took a wife whose name was Maacah; his sister's name was Molecheth. Manasseh's second son was named Zelophehad, but to Zelophehad only daughters were born. ¹⁶Maacah, Machir's wife, bore a son whom she named Peresh. He had a brother named Sheresh, whose sons were Ulam and Rakem. ¹⁷The sons of Ulam: Bedan. These were the descendants of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh. ¹⁸His sister Molecheth bore Ishhod, Abiezer, and Mahlah. ¹⁹The sons of Shemida were Ahian, Shechem, Likhi, and Aniam. ²⁰The sons of Ephraim: Shuthelah, whose son was Bered, whose son was Tahath, whose son was Eleadah, whose son was Tahath, ²¹whose son was Zabad. Ephraim's son Shuthelah, and Ezer and Elead, who were born in the land, were slain by the inhabitants of Gath because they had gone down to take away their livestock. ²²Their father Ephraim mourned a long time, but after his kinsmen had come and comforted him, ²³he visited his wife, who conceived and bore a son whom he named Beriah, since evil had befallen his house. ²⁴He had a daughter, Sheerah, who built lower and upper Beth-horon and Uzzen-sheerah. ²⁵Zabad's son was Rephah, whose son was Resheph, whose son was Telah, whose son was Tahan, ²⁶whose son was Ladan, whose son was Ammihud, whose son was Elishama, ²⁷whose son was Nun, whose son was Joshua. ²⁸Their property and their dwellings were in Bethel and its towns, Naaran to the east, Gezer and its towns to the west, and also Shechem and its towns as far as Ayyah and its towns. ²⁹Manasseh, however, had possession of Beth-shean and its towns, Taanach and its towns, Megiddo and its towns, and Dor and its towns. In these dwelt the descendants of Joseph, the son of Israel. ³⁰The sons of Asher were Imnah, Iishvah, Ishvi, and Beriah; their sister was Serah. ³¹Beriah's sons were Heber and Malchiel, who was the father of Birzaith. ³²Heber became the father of Japhlet, Shomer, Hotham, and their sister Shua. ³³The sons of Japhlet were Pasach, Bimhal, and Ashvath; these were the sons of Japhlet. ³⁴The sons of Shomer were Ahi, Rohgah, Jehubbah, and Aram.

d its towns, Megiddo and its towns, and Dor and its towns. In these dwelt the descendants of Joseph, the son of Israel. ³⁰The sons of Asher were Imnah, Iishvah, Ishvi, and Beriah; their sister was Serah. ³¹Beriah's sons were Heber and Malchiel, who was the father of Birzaith. ³²Heber became the father of Japhlet, Shomer, Hotham, and their sister Shua. ³³The sons of Japhlet were Pasach, Bimhal, and Ashvath; these were the sons of Japhlet. ³⁴The sons of Shomer were Ahi, Rohgah, Jehubbah, and Aram. ³⁵The sons of his brother Hotham were Zophah, Imna, Shelesh, and Amal. ³⁶The sons of Zophah were Suah, Harnepher, Shual, Beri, Imrah, ³⁷Bezer, Hod, Shamma, Shilshah, Ithran, and Beera. ³⁸The sons of Jether were Jephunneh, Pispa, and Ara. ³⁹The sons of Ulla were Arah, Hanniel, and Rizia. ⁴⁰All these were descendants of Asher, heads of ancestral houses, distinguished men, warriors, and chiefs among the princes. Their family records

343 numbered twenty-six thousand men fit for military service. 1 Chronicles Chapter 8 ¹Benjamin became the father of Bela, his first-born, Ashbel, the second son, Aharah, the third, ²Nohah, the fourth, and Rapha, the fifth. ³The sons of Bela were Addar and Gera, the father of Ehud. ⁴The sons of Ehud were Abishua, Naaman, Ahoah, ⁵Gera, Shephuphan, and Huram. ⁶These were the sons of Ehud, family heads over those who dwelt in Geba and were deported to Manahath. ⁷Also Naaman, Ahijah, and Gera. The last, who led them into exile, became the father of Uzza and Ahihud. ⁸Shaharaim became a father on the Moabite plateau after he had put away his wives Hushim and Baara. ⁹By his wife Hodesh he became the father of Jobab, Zibia, Mesha, Malcam, ¹⁰Jeuz, Sachia, and Mirmah. These were his sons, family heads. ¹¹By Hushim he became the father of Abitub and Elpaal. ¹²The sons of Elpaal were Eber, Misham, Shemed, who built Ono and Lod with its nearby towns, ¹³Beriah, and Shema. They were family heads of those who dwelt in Aijalon, and they put the inhabitants of Gath to flight. ¹⁴Their brethren were Elpaal, Shashak, and Jeremoth. ¹⁵Zebadiah, Arad, Eder, ¹⁶Michael, Ishpah, and Joha were the sons of Beriah. ¹⁷Zebadiah, Meshullam, Hizki, Heber, ¹⁸Ishmerai, Izliah, and Jobab were the sons of Elpaal. ¹⁹Jakim, Zichri, Zabdi, ²⁰Elienai, Zillethai, Eliel, ²¹Adaiah, Beraiah, and Shimrath were the sons of Shimei. ²²Ishpan, Eber, Eliel, ²³Abdon, Zichri, Hanan, ²⁴Hananiah, Elam, Anthothijah, ²⁵Iphdeiah, and Penuel were the sons of Shashak. ²⁶Shamsherai, Shehariah, Athaliah, ²⁷Jaareshiah, Elijah, and Zichri were the sons of Jeroham. ²⁸These were family heads over their kindred, chiefs who dwelt in Jerusalem. ²⁹In Gibeon dwelt Jeiel, the founder of Gibeon, whose wife's name was Maacah; ³⁰also his first-born son, Abdon, and Zur, Kish, Baal, Ner, Nadab, ³¹Gedor, Ahio, Zecher, and Mikloth. ³²Mikloth became the father of Shimeah. These, too, dwelt with their relatives in Jerusalem, opposite their fellow tribesmen. ³³Ner became the father of Kish, and Kish became the father of Saul. Saul became the father of Jonathan, Malchishua, Abinadab, and Eshbaal. ³⁴The son of Jonathan was Meribbaal, and Meribbaal became the father of Micah. ³⁵The sons of Micah were Pithon, Melech, Tarea, and Ahaz. ³⁶Ahaz became the father of Jehoaddah, and Jehoaddah became the father of Alemeth, Azmaveth, and Zimri. Zimri became the father of Moza. ³⁷Moza became the father of Binea, whose son was Raphah, whose son was Eleasah, whose son was Azel. ³⁸Azel had six sons, whose names were Azrikam, his first-born, Ishmael, Sheariah, Azariah, Obadiah, and Hanan; all these were the sons of Azel. ³⁹The sons of Eshek, his brother, were Ulam, his first-born, Jeush, the second son, and Eliphelet, the third. ⁴⁰The sons of Ulam were combat archers, and many were their sons and grandsons: one hundred and fifty. All these were the descendants of Benjamin. 1 Chronicles Chapter 9 ¹Thus all Israel was inscribed in its family records which are recorded in the book of the kings of Israel. Now Judah had been carried in captivity to Babylon because of its rebellion. ²¹The first to settle again in their cities and dwell there were certain lay Israelites, the priests, the Levites, and the temple slaves. ³In Jerusalem lived Judahites and Benjaminites; also Ephraimites and Manassehites. ⁴Among the Judahites was Uthai, son of Ammihud, son of Omri, son of Imri, son of Bani, one of the descendants of Perez, son of Judah. ⁵Among the Shelanites were Asaiah, the first-born, and his sons. ⁶Among the Zerahites were Jeuel and six hundred and ninety of their brethren. ⁷Among the Benjaminites were Sallu, son of Meshullam, son of Hodaviah, son of Hassenuah; ⁸Ibneiah, son of Jeroham; Elah, son of Uzzi, son of Michri; Meshullam, son of Shephatiah, son of Reuel, son of Ibnijah. ⁹Their kindred of various families were nine hundred and fifty-six. All those named were heads of their ancestral houses.

ts of Perez, son of Judah. ⁵Among the Shelanites were Asaiah, the first-born, and his sons. ⁶Among the Zerahites were Jeuel and six hundred and ninety of their brethren. ⁷Among the Benjaminites were Sallu, son of Meshullam, son of Hodaviah, son of Hassenuah; ⁸Ibneiah, son of Jeroham; Elah, son of Uzzi, son of Michri; Meshullam, son of Shephatiah, son of Reuel, son of Ibnijah. ⁹Their kindred of various families were nine hundred and fifty-six. All those named were heads of their ancestral houses. ¹⁰Among the priests were Jedaiah; Jehoiarib; Jachin; ¹¹Azariah, son of Hilkiah, son of Meshullam, son of Zadok, son of

344 Meraioth, son of Ahitub, the ruler of the house of God; ¹²Adaiah, son of Jeroham, son of Pashhur, son of Malchijah; Maasai, son of Adiel, son of Jahzerah, son of Meshullam, son of Meshillemith, son of Immer. ¹³Their brethren, heads of their ancestral houses, were one thousand seven hundred and sixty, valiant for the work of the service of the house of God. ¹⁴Among the Levites were Shemaiah, son of Hasshub, son of Azrikam, son of Hashabiah, one of the descendants of Merari; ¹⁵Bakbakkar; Heresh; Galal; Mattaniah, son of Mica, son of Zichri, a descendant of Asaph; ¹⁶Obadiah, son of Shemaiah, son of Galal, a descendant of Jeduthun; and Berechiah, son of Asa, son of Elkanah, whose family lived in the villages of the Netophathites. ¹⁷The gatekeepers were Shallum, Akkub, Talmon, Ahiman, and their brethren; Shallum was the chief. ¹⁸Previously they had stood guard at the king's gate on the east side; now they became gatekeepers for the encampments of the Levites. ¹⁹Shallum, son of Kore, son of Ebiasaph, a descendant of Korah, and his brethren of the same ancestral house of the Korahites had as their assigned task the guarding of the threshold of the tent, just as their fathers had guarded the entrance to the encampment of the LORD. ²⁰Phinehas, son of Eleazar, had been their chief in times past - the LORD be with him! ²¹Zechariah, son of Meshelemiah, guarded the gate of the meeting tent. ²²In all, those who were chosen for gatekeepers at the threshold were two hundred and twelve. They were inscribed in the family records of their villages. David and Samuel the seer had established them in their position of trust. ²³Thus they and their sons kept guard over the gates of the house of the LORD, the house which was then a tent. ²⁴The gatekeepers were stationed at the four sides, to the east, the west, the north, and the south. ²⁵Their kinsmen who lived in their own villages took turns in assisting them for seven-day periods, ²⁶while the four chief gatekeepers were on constant duty. These were the Levites who also had charge of the chambers and treasures of the house of God. ²⁷At night they lodged about the house of God, for it was in their charge and they had the duty of opening it each morning. ²⁸Some of them had charge of the liturgical equipment, tallying it as it was brought in and taken out. ²⁹Others were appointed to take care of the utensils and all the sacred vessels, as well as the fine flour, the wine, the oil, the frankincense, and the spices. ³⁰It was the sons of priests, however, who mixed the spiced ointments. ³¹Mattithiah, one of the Levites, the first-born of Shallum the Koreite, was entrusted with preparing the cakes. ³²Benaiah the Kohathite, one of their brethren, was in charge of setting out the showbread each sabbath. ³³These were the chanters and the gatekeepers, family heads over the Levites. They stayed in the chambers when free of duty, for day and night they had to be ready for service. ³⁴These were the levitical family heads over their kindred, chiefs who dwelt in Jerusalem. ³⁵In Gibeon dwelt Jeiel, the founder of Gibeon, whose wife's name was Maacah. ³⁶His first-born son was Abdon; then came Zur, Kish, Baal, Ner, Nadab, ³⁷Gedor, Ahio, Zechariah, and Mikloth. ³⁸Mikloth became the father of Shimeam. These, too, with their brethren, dwelt opposite their brethren in Jerusalem. ³⁹Ner became the father of Kish, and Kish became the father of Saul. Saul became the father of Jonathan, Malchishua, Abinadab, and Eshbaal. ⁴⁰The son of Jonathan was Meribbaal, and Meribbaal became the father of Micah. ⁴¹The sons of Micah were Pithon, Melech, Tahrea, and Ahaz. ⁴²Ahaz became the father of Jehoaddah, and Jehoaddah became the father of Alemeth, Azmaveth, and Zimri. Zimri became the father of Moza. ⁴³Moza became the father of Binea, whose son was Rephaiah, whose son was Eleasah, whose son was Azel.

father of Kish, and Kish became the father of Saul. Saul became the father of Jonathan, Malchishua, Abinadab, and Eshbaal. ⁴⁰The son of Jonathan was Meribbaal, and Meribbaal became the father of Micah. ⁴¹The sons of Micah were Pithon, Melech, Tahrea, and Ahaz. ⁴²Ahaz became the father of Jehoaddah, and Jehoaddah became the father of Alemeth, Azmaveth, and Zimri. Zimri became the father of Moza. ⁴³Moza became the father of Binea, whose son was Rephaiah, whose son was Eleasah, whose son was Azel. ⁴⁴Azel had six sons, whose names were Azrikam, his first-born, Ishmael, Sheariah, Azariah, Obadiah, and Hanan; these were the sons of Azel. 1 Chronicles Chapter 10 ¹Now the Philistines were at war with Israel; the Israelites fled before the Philistines, and a

345 number of them fell, slain on Mount Gilboa. ²The Philistines pressed hard after Saul and his sons. When the Philistines had killed Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua, sons of Saul, ³the whole fury of the battle descended upon Saul. Then the archers found him, and wounded him with their arrows. ⁴Saul said to his armor-bearer, "Draw your sword and thrust me through with it, that these uncircumcised may not come and maltreat me." But the armor-bearer, in great fear, refused. So Saul took his own sword and fell on it; ⁵and seeing him dead, the armor-bearer also fell on his sword and died. ⁶Thus, with Saul and his three sons, his whole house died at one time. ⁷When all the Israelites who were in the valley saw that Saul and his sons had died in the rout, they left their cities and fled; thereupon the Philistines came and occupied them. ⁸On the following day, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, they found Saul and his sons where they had fallen on Mount Gilboa. ⁹They stripped him, cut off his head, and took his armor; these they sent throughout the land of the Philistines to convey the good news to their idols and their people. ¹⁰His armor they put in the house of their gods, but his skull they impaled on the temple of Dagon. ¹¹When all the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead had heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, ¹²its warriors rose to a man, recovered the bodies of Saul and his sons, and brought them to Jabesh. They buried their bones under the oak of Jabesh, and fasted seven days. ¹³Thus Saul died because of his rebellion against the LORD in disobeying his command, and also because he had sought counsel of a necromancer, ¹⁴and had not rather inquired of the LORD. Therefore the LORD slew him, and transferred his kingdom to David, the son of Jesse. 1 Chronicles Chapter 11 ¹Then all Israel gathered about David in Hebron, and they said: "Surely, we are of the same bone and flesh as you. ²Even formerly, when Saul was still the king, it was you who led Israel in all its battles. And now the LORD, your God, has said to you, 'You shall shepherd my people Israel and be ruler over them.'" ³Then all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and there David made a covenant with them in the presence of the LORD; and they anointed him king over Israel, in accordance with the word of the LORD as revealed through Samuel. ⁴Then David and all Israel went to Jerusalem, that is, Jebus, where the natives of the land were called Jebusites. ⁵The inhabitants of Jebus said to David, "You shall not enter here." David nevertheless captured the fortress of Zion, which is the City of David. ⁶David said, "Whoever strikes the Jebusites first shall be made the chief commander." Joab, the son of Zeruiah, was the first to go up; and so he became chief. ⁷David took up his residence in the fortress, which thenceforth was called the City of David. ⁸He rebuilt the city on all sides, from the Millo all the way around, while Joab restored the rest of the city. ⁹David became more and more powerful, for the LORD of hosts was with him. ¹⁰These were David's chief warriors who, together with all Israel, supported him in his reign in order to make him true king, even as the LORD had commanded concerning Israel. ¹¹Here is the list of David's warriors: Ishbaal, the son of Hachamoni, chief of the Three. He brandished his spear against three hundred, whom he slew in a single encounter. ¹²Next to him Eleazar, the son of Dodo the Ahohite, one of the Three warriors. ¹³He was with David at Pas-dammim, where the Philistines had massed for battle. The plow-land was fully planted with barley, but its defenders were retreating before the Philistines. ¹⁴He made a stand on the sown ground, kept it safe, and cut down the Philistines. Thus the LORD brought about a great victory. ¹⁵Three of the Thirty chiefs went down to the rock, to David, who was in the cave of Adullam while the Philistines were encamped in the valley of Rephaim.

Ahohite, one of the Three warriors. ¹³He was with David at Pas-dammim, where the Philistines had massed for battle. The plow-land was fully planted with barley, but its defenders were retreating before the Philistines. ¹⁴He made a stand on the sown ground, kept it safe, and cut down the Philistines. Thus the LORD brought about a great victory. ¹⁵Three of the Thirty chiefs went down to the rock, to David, who was in the cave of Adullam while the Philistines were encamped in the valley of Rephaim. ¹⁶David was then in the stronghold, and a Philistine garrison was at Bethlehem. ¹⁷David expressed a desire: "Oh, that someone would give me a drink from the cistern that is by the gate at Bethlehem!" ¹⁸Thereupon the Three broke through the encampment of the Philistines, drew water from the cistern by the gate at Bethlehem, and carried it back to David. But David refused to drink it. Instead, he poured it out as a libation to the LORD, ¹⁹saying,

346 "God forbid that I should do such a thing! Could I drink the blood of these men who risked their lives?" For at the risk of their lives they brought it; and so he refused to drink it. Such deeds as these the Three warriors performed. ²⁰Abishai, the brother of Joab. He was the chief of the Thirty; he brandished his spear against three hundred, and slew them. Thus he had a reputation like that of the Three. ²¹He was twice as famous as any of the Thirty and became their commander, but he did not attain to the Three. ²²Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, a valiant man of mighty deeds, from Kabzeel. He killed the two sons of Ariel of Moab, and also, on a snowy day, he went down and killed the lion in the cistern. ²³He likewise slew the Egyptian, a huge man five cubits tall. The Egyptian carried a spear that was like a weaver's heddle-bar, but he came against him with a staff, wrested the spear from the Egyptian's hand, and killed him with his own spear. ²⁴Such deeds as these of Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, gave him a reputation like that of the Three. ²⁵He was more famous than any of the Thirty, but he did not attain to the Three. David put him in charge of his bodyguard. ²⁶Also these warriors: Asahel, the brother of Joab; Elhanan, son of Dodo, from Bethlehem; ²⁷Shammoth, from En-harod; Helez, from Palti; ²⁸Ira, son of Ikkesh, from Tekoa; Abiezer, from Anathoth; ²⁹Sibbecai, from Husha; Ilai, from Ahoh; ³⁰Maharai, from Netophah; Heled, son of Baanah, from Netophah; ³¹Ithai, son of Ribai, from Gibeah of Benjamin; Benaiah, from Pirathon; ³²Hurai, from the valley of Gaash; Abiel, from Beth-arabah; ³³Azmaveth, from Bahurim; Eliahba, from Shaalbon; ³⁴Jashen the Gunite; Jonathan, son of Shagee, from En-harod; ³⁵Ahiam, son of Sachar, from En-harod; Elipheleth, son of ³⁶Ahasabi, from Beth-maacah; Ahijah, from Gilo; ³⁷Hezro, from Carmel; Naarai, the son of Ezbai; ³⁸Joel, brother of Nathan, from Rehob, the Gadite; ³⁹Zelek the Ammonite; Naharai, from Beeroth, the armor-bearer of Joab, son of Zeruiah; ⁴⁰Ira, from Jattir; Gareb, from Jattir; ⁴¹Uriah the Hittite; Zabad, son of Ahlai, ⁴²and, in addition to the Thirty, Adina, son of Shiza, the Reubenite, chief of the tribe of Reuben; ⁴³Hanan, from Beth-maacah; Joshaphat the Mithnite; ⁴⁴Uzzia, from Ashterath; Shama and Jeiel, sons of Hotham, from Aroer; ⁴⁵Jediael, son of Shimri, and Joha, his brother, the Tizite; ⁴⁶Eliel the Mahavite; Jeribai and Joshaviah, sons of Elnaam; Ithmah, from Moab; ⁴⁷Eliel, Obed, and Jaasiel the Mezobian. 1 Chronicles Chapter 12 ¹The following men came to David in Ziklag while he was still under banishment from Saul, son of Kish; they, too, were among the warriors who helped him in his battles. ²They were archers who could use either the right or the left hand, both in slinging stones and in shooting arrows with the bow. They were some of Saul's kinsmen, from Benjamin. ³Ahiezer was their chief, along with Joash, both sons of Shemaah of Gibeah; also Jeziel and Pelet, sons of Azmaveth; Beracah; Jehu, from Anathoth; ⁴Ishmaiah the Gibeonite, a warrior on the level of the Thirty, and in addition to their number; ⁵Jeremiah; Jahaziel; Johanan; Jozabad from Gederah; ⁶Eluzai; Jerimoth; Bealiah; Shemariah; Shephatiah the Haruphite; ⁷Elkanah, Isshiah, Azarel, Joezer, and Ishbaal, who were Korahites; ⁸Joelah, finally, and Zebadiah, sons of Jeroham, from Gedor. ⁹Some of the Gadites also went over to David when he was at the stronghold in the wilderness. They were valiant warriors, experienced soldiers equipped with shield and spear, who bore themselves like lions, and were as swift as the gazelles on the mountains. ¹⁰Ezer was their chief, Obadiah was second, Eliab third, ¹¹Mishmannah fourth, Jeremiah fifth, ¹²Attai sixth, Eliel seventh, ¹³Johanan eighth, Elzabad ninth, ¹⁴Jeremiah tenth, and Machbannai eleventh. ¹⁵These Gadites were army commanders, the lesser placed over hundreds and the greater over thousands.

the stronghold in the wilderness. They were valiant warriors, experienced soldiers equipped with shield and spear, who bore themselves like lions, and were as swift as the gazelles on the mountains. ¹⁰Ezer was their chief, Obadiah was second, Eliab third, ¹¹Mishmannah fourth, Jeremiah fifth, ¹²Attai sixth, Eliel seventh, ¹³Johanan eighth, Elzabad ninth, ¹⁴Jeremiah tenth, and Machbannai eleventh. ¹⁵These Gadites were army commanders, the lesser placed over hundreds and the greater over thousands. ¹⁶It was they who crossed over the Jordan when it was overflowing both its banks in the first month, and dispersed all who were in the valleys to the east and to the west. ¹⁷Some Benjaminites and Judahites also came to David at the stronghold. ¹⁸David went out to meet them and addressed them in these words: "If you come peacefully, to help me, I am of a mind to have you join me. But if you have come to betray me to

347 my enemies though my hands have done no wrong, may the God of our fathers see and punish you." ¹⁹Then spirit enveloped Amasai, the chief of the Thirty, who spoke: "We are yours, O David, we are with you, O son of Jesse. Peace, peace to you, and peace to him who helps you; your God it is who helps you." So David received them and placed them among the leaders of his troops. ²⁰Men from Manasseh also deserted to David when he came with the Philistines to battle against Saul. However, he did not help the Philistines, for their lords took counsel and sent him home, saying, "At the cost of our heads he will desert to his master Saul." ²¹As he was returning to Ziklag, therefore, these deserted to him from Manasseh: Adnah, Jozabad, Jediael, Michael, Jozabad, Elihu, and Zillethai, chiefs of thousands of Manasseh. ²²They helped David by taking charge of his troops, for they were all warriors and became commanders of his army. ²³And from day to day men kept coming to David's help until there was a vast encampment, like an encampment of angels. ²⁴This is the muster of the detachments of armed troops that came to David at Hebron to transfer to him Saul's kingdom, as the LORD had ordained. ²⁵Judahites bearing shields and spears: six thousand eight hundred armed troops. ²⁶Of the Simeonites, warriors fit for battle: seven thousand one hundred. ²⁷Of the Levites: four thousand six hundred, ²⁸along with Jehoiada, leader of the line of Aaron, with another three thousand seven hundred, ²⁹and Zadok, a young warrior, with twenty-two princes of his father's house. ³⁰Of the Benjaminites, the brethren of Saul: three thousand—until this time, most of them had held their allegiance to the house of Saul. ³¹Of the Ephraimites: twenty thousand eight hundred warriors, men renowned in their ancestral houses. ³²Of the half-tribe of Manasseh: eighteen thousand, designated by name to come and make David king. ³³Of the Issacharites, their chiefs who were endowed with an understanding of the times and who knew what Israel had to do: two hundred chiefs, together with all their brethren under their command. ³⁴From Zebulun, men fit for military service, set in battle array with every kind of weapon for war: fifty thousand men rallying with a single purpose. ³⁵From Naphtali: one thousand captains, and with them, armed with shield and lance, thirty-seven thousand men. ³⁶Of the Danites, set in battle array: twenty-eight thousand six hundred. ³⁷From Asher, fit for military service and set in battle array: forty thousand. ³⁸From the other side of the Jordan, of the Reubenites, Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, men equipped with every kind of weapon of war: one hundred and twenty thousand. ³⁹All these soldiers, drawn up in battle order, came to Hebron with the resolute intention of making David king over all Israel. The rest of Israel was likewise of one mind to make David king. ⁴⁰They remained with David for three days, feasting and drinking, for their brethren had prepared for them. ⁴¹Moreover, their neighbors from as far as Issachar, Zebulun, and Naphtali came bringing food on asses, camels, mules, and oxen— provisions in great quantity of meal, pressed figs, raisins, wine, oil, oxen, and sheep. For there was rejoicing in Israel. 1 Chronicles Chapter 13 ¹After David had taken counsel with his commanders of thousands and of hundreds, that is to say, with every one of his leaders, ²he said to the whole assembly of Israel: "If it seems good to you, and is so decreed by the LORD our God, let us summon the rest of our brethren from all the districts of Israel, and also the priests and the Levites from their cities with pasture lands, that they may join us; ³and let us bring the ark of our God here among us, for in the days of Saul we did not visit it." ⁴And the whole assembly agreed to do this, for the idea was pleasing to all the people. ⁵Then David assembled all Israel, from Shihor of Egypt to Labo of Hamath, to bring the ark of God from Kiriath-jearim.

eed by the LORD our God, let us summon the rest of our brethren from all the districts of Israel, and also the priests and the Levites from their cities with pasture lands, that they may join us; ³and let us bring the ark of our God here among us, for in the days of Saul we did not visit it." ⁴And the whole assembly agreed to do this, for the idea was pleasing to all the people. ⁵Then David assembled all Israel, from Shihor of Egypt to Labo of Hamath, to bring the ark of God from Kiriath-jearim. ⁶David and all Israel went up to Baalah, that is, to Kiriath-jearim, of Judah, to bring back the ark of God, which was known by the name "LORD enthroned upon the cherubim." ⁷They transported the ark of God on a new cart from the house of Abinadab; Uzzah and Ahio were guiding the cart, ⁸while David and all Israel danced before God with great

348 enthusiasm, amid songs and music on lyres, harps, tambourines, cymbals, and trumpets. ⁹As they reached the threshing floor of Chidon, Uzzah stretched out his hand to steady the ark, for the oxen were upsetting it. ¹⁰Then the LORD became angry with Uzzah and struck him; he died there in God's presence, because he had laid his hand on the ark. ¹¹David was disturbed because the LORD'S anger had broken out against Uzzah. Therefore that place has been called Perez-uzza even to this day. ¹²David was now afraid of God, and he said, "How can I bring the ark of God with me?" ¹³Therefore he did not take the ark back with him to the City of David, but he took it instead to the house of Obed-edom the Gittite. ¹⁴The ark of God remained in the house of Obed-edom with his family for three months, and the LORD blessed Obed-edom's household and all that he possessed. 1 Chronicles Chapter 14 ¹Hiram, king of Tyre, sent envoys to David along with masons and carpenters, and cedar wood to build him a house. ²David now understood that the LORD had truly confirmed him as king over Israel, for his kingdom was greatly exalted for the sake of his people Israel. ³David took other wives in Jerusalem and became the father of more sons and daughters. ⁴These are the names of those who were born to him in Jerusalem: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon, ⁵Ibhar, Elishua, Elpelet, ⁶Nogah, Nepheg, Japhia, ⁷Elishama, Beeliada, and Eliphelet. ⁸When the Philistines had heard that David was anointed king over all Israel, they went up in unison to seek him out. But when David heard of this, he marched out against them. ⁹Meanwhile the Philistines had come and raided the valley of Rephaim. ¹⁰David inquired of God, "Shall I advance against the Philistines, and will you deliver them into my power?" The LORD answered him, "Advance, for I will deliver them into your power." ¹¹They advanced, therefore, to Baal-perazim, and David defeated them there. Then David said, "God has used me to break through my enemies just as water breaks through a dam." Therefore that place was called Baal-perazim. ¹²The Philistines had left their gods there, and David ordered them to be burnt. ¹³Once again the Philistines raided the valley, ¹⁴and again David inquired of God. But God answered him: "Do not try to pursue them, but go around them and come upon them from the direction of the mastic trees. ¹⁵When you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the mastic trees, then go forth to battle, for God has already gone before you to strike the army of the Philistines." ¹⁶David did as God commanded him, and they routed the Philistine army from Gibeon to Gezer. ¹⁷Thus David's fame was spread abroad through every land, and the LORD made all the nations fear him. 1 Chronicles Chapter 15 ¹David built houses for himself in the City of David and prepared a place for the ark of God, pitching a tent for it there. ²At that time he said, "No one may carry the ark of God except the Levites, for the LORD chose them to carry the ark of the LORD and to minister to him forever." ³Then David assembled all Israel in Jerusalem to bring the ark of the LORD to the place which he had prepared for it. ⁴David also called together the sons of Aaron and the Levites: ⁵of the sons of Kohath, Uriel, their chief, and one hundred and twenty of his brethren; ⁶of the sons of Merari, Asaiah, their chief, and two hundred and twenty of his brethren; ⁷of the sons of Gershon, Joel, their chief, and one hundred and thirty of his brethren; ⁸of the sons of Elizaphan, Shemaiah, their chief, and two hundred of his brethren; ⁹of the sons of Hebron, Eliel, their chief, and eighty of his brethren; ¹⁰of the sons of Uzziel, Amminadab, their chief, and one hundred and twelve of his brethren.

of Kohath, Uriel, their chief, and one hundred and twenty of his brethren; ⁶of the sons of Merari, Asaiah, their chief, and two hundred and twenty of his brethren; ⁷of the sons of Gershon, Joel, their chief, and one hundred and thirty of his brethren; ⁸of the sons of Elizaphan, Shemaiah, their chief, and two hundred of his brethren; ⁹of the sons of Hebron, Eliel, their chief, and eighty of his brethren; ¹⁰of the sons of Uzziel, Amminadab, their chief, and one hundred and twelve of his brethren. ¹¹David summoned the priests Zadok and Abiathar, and the Levites Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel, and Amminadab, ¹²and said to them: "You, the heads of the levitical families, must sanctify yourselves along with your brethren and bring the ark of the LORD, the God of Israel, to the place which I have prepared for it. ¹³Because you were not with us the first time, the

349 wrath of the LORD our God burst upon us, for we did not seek him aright." ¹⁴Accordingly, the priests and the Levites sanctified themselves to bring up the ark of the LORD, the God of Israel. ¹⁵The Levites bore the ark of God on their shoulders with poles, as Moses had ordained according to the word of the LORD. ¹⁶David commanded the chiefs of the Levites to appoint their brethren as chanters, to play on musical instruments, harps, lyres, and cymbals, to make a loud sound of rejoicing. ¹⁷Therefore the Levites appointed Heman, son of Joel, and, among his brethren, Asaph, son of Berechiah; and among the sons of Merari, their brethren, Ethan, son of Kushaiah; ¹⁸and, together with these, their brethren of the second rank: the gatekeepers Zechariah, Uzziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Obed- edom, and Jeiel. ¹⁹The chanters, Heman, Asaph, and Ethan, sounded brass cymbals. ²⁰Zechariah, Uzziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Maaseiah, and Benaiah played on harps set to "Alamoth." ²¹But Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Obed-edom, and Jeiel led the chant on lyres set to "the eighth." ²²Chenaniah was the chief of the Levites in the chanting; he directed the chanting, for he was skillful. ²³Berechiah and Elkanah were gatekeepers before the ark. ²⁴The priests, Shebaniah, Joshaphat, Nethanel, Amasai, Zechariah, Benaiah, and Eliezer, sounded the trumpets before the ark of God. Obed-edom and Jeiel were also gatekeepers before the ark. ²⁵Thus David, the elders of Israel, and the commanders of thousands went to bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD with joy from the house of Obed-edom. ²⁶While the Levites, with God's help, were bearing the ark of the covenant of the LORD, seven bulls and seven rams were sacrificed. ²⁷David was clothed in a robe of fine linen, as were all the Levites who carried the ark, the singers, and Chenaniah, the leader of the chant; David was also wearing a linen ephod. ²⁸Thus all Israel brought back the ark of the covenant of the LORD with joyful shouting, to the sound of horns, trumpets, and cymbals, and the music of harps and lyres. ²⁹But as the ark of the covenant of the LORD was entering the City of David, Michal, daughter of Saul, looked down from her window, and when she saw King David leaping and dancing, she despised him in her heart. 1 Chronicles Chapter 16 ¹They brought in the ark of God and set it within the tent which David had pitched for it. Then they offered up holocausts and peace offerings to God. ²When David had finished offering up the holocausts and peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD, ³and distributed to every Israelite, to every man and every woman, a loaf of bread, a piece of meat, and a raisin cake. ⁴He now appointed certain Levites to minister before the ark of the LORD, to celebrate, thank, and praise the LORD, the God of Israel. ⁵Asaph was their chief, and second to him were Zechariah, Uzziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed-edom, and Jeiel. These were to play on harps and lyres, while Asaph was to sound the cymbals, ⁶and the priests Benaiah and Jahaziel were to be the regular trumpeters before the ark of the covenant of God. ⁷Then, on that same day, David appointed Asaph and his brethren to sing for the first time these praises of the LORD: ⁸Give thanks to the LORD, invoke his name; make known among the nations his deeds. ⁹Sing to him, sing his praise, proclaim all his wondrous deeds. ¹⁰Glory in his holy name; rejoice, O hearts that seek the LORD! ¹¹Look to the LORD in his strength; seek to serve him constantly. ¹²Recall the wondrous deeds that he has wrought, his portents, and the judgments he has uttered, ¹³You descendants of Israel, his servants, sons of Jacob, his chosen ones! ¹⁴He, the LORD, is our God; throughout the earth his judgments prevail.

LORD, invoke his name; make known among the nations his deeds. ⁹Sing to him, sing his praise, proclaim all his wondrous deeds. ¹⁰Glory in his holy name; rejoice, O hearts that seek the LORD! ¹¹Look to the LORD in his strength; seek to serve him constantly. ¹²Recall the wondrous deeds that he has wrought, his portents, and the judgments he has uttered, ¹³You descendants of Israel, his servants, sons of Jacob, his chosen ones! ¹⁴He, the LORD, is our God; throughout the earth his judgments prevail. ¹⁵He remembers forever his covenant which he made binding for a thousand generations - ¹⁶Which he entered into with Abraham and by his oath to Isaac; ¹⁷Which he established for Jacob by statute, for Israel as an everlasting covenant, ¹⁸Saying, "To you will I give the land of Canaan as your allotted inheritance." ¹⁹When they were few in number, a handful, and strangers there, ²⁰Wandering from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another people, ²¹He let no one oppress them, and for their sake he rebuked kings:

350 ²²"Touch not my anointed, and to my prophets do no harm." ²³Sing to the LORD, all the earth, announce his salvation, day after day. ²⁴Tell his glory among the nations; among all peoples, his wondrous deeds. ²⁵For great is the LORD and highly to be praised; and awesome is he, beyond all gods. ²⁶For all the gods of the nations are things of nought, but the LORD made the heavens. ²⁷Splendor and majesty go before him; praise and joy are in his holy place. ²⁸Give to the LORD, you families of nations, give to the LORD glory and praise; ²⁹Give to the LORD the glory due his name! Bring gifts, and enter his presence; worship the LORD in holy attire. ³⁰Tremble before him, all the earth; he has made the world firm, not to be moved. ³¹Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice; let them say among the nations: The LORD is king. ³²Let the sea and what fills it resound; let the plains rejoice and all that is in them! ³³Then shall all the trees of the forest exult before the LORD, for he comes: he comes to rule the earth. ³⁴Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his kindness endures forever; ³⁵And say, "Save us, O God, our savior, gather us and deliver us from the nations, That we may give thanks to your holy name and glory in praising you." ³⁶Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, through all eternity! Let all the people say, Amen! Alleluia. ³⁷Then David left Asaph and his brethren there before the ark of the covenant of the LORD to minister before the ark regularly according to the daily ritual; ³⁸he also left there Obed-edom and sixty- eight of his brethren, including Obed-edom, son of Jeduthun, and Hosah, to be gatekeepers. ³⁹But the priest Zadok and his priestly brethren he left before the Dwelling of the LORD on the high place at Gibeon, ⁴⁰to offer holocausts to the LORD on the altar of holocausts regularly, morning and evening, and to do all that is written in the law of the LORD which he has decreed for Israel. ⁴¹With them were Heman and Jeduthun and the others who were chosen and designated by name to give thanks to the LORD, "because his kindness endures forever," ⁴²with trumpets and cymbals for accompaniment, and instruments for the sacred chant. The sons of Jeduthun kept the gate. ⁴³Then all the people departed, each to his own home, and David returned to bless his household. 1 Chronicles Chapter 17 ¹After David had taken up residence in his house, he said to Nathan the prophet, "See, I am living in a house of cedar, but the ark of the covenant of the LORD dwells under tentcloth." ²Nathan replied to David, "Do, therefore, whatever you desire, for God is with you." ³But that same night the word of God came to Nathan: ⁴"Go and tell my servant David, Thus says the LORD: It is not you who are to build a house for me to dwell in. ⁵For I have never dwelt in a house, from the time when I led Israel onward, even to this day, but I have been lodging in tent or pavilion ⁶as long as I have wandered about with all of Israel. Did I ever say a word to any of the judges of Israel whom I commanded to guide my people, such as, 'Why have you not built me a house of cedar?' ⁷Therefore, tell my servant David, Thus says the LORD of hosts: I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, that you might become ruler over my people Israel. ⁸I was with you wherever you went, and I cut down all your enemies before you. I will make your name great like that of the greatest on the earth. ⁹I will assign a place for my people Israel and I will plant them in it to dwell there henceforth undisturbed; nor shall wicked men ever again oppress them, as they did at first, ¹⁰and during all the time when I appointed judges over my people Israel. And I will subdue all your enemies. Moreover, I declare to you that I, the LORD, will build you a house; ¹¹so that when your days have been completed and you must join your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you who will be one of your own sons, and I will establish his kingdom.

l and I will plant them in it to dwell there henceforth undisturbed; nor shall wicked men ever again oppress them, as they did at first, ¹⁰and during all the time when I appointed judges over my people Israel. And I will subdue all your enemies. Moreover, I declare to you that I, the LORD, will build you a house; ¹¹so that when your days have been completed and you must join your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you who will be one of your own sons, and I will establish his kingdom. ¹²He it is who shall build me a house, and I will establish his throne forever. ¹³I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me, and I will not withdraw my favor from him as I withdrew it from him who preceded you; ¹⁴but I will maintain him in my house and in my kingdom forever, and his throne shall be firmly established forever." ¹⁵All these words and this whole vision Nathan related exactly to David. ¹⁶Then David came in and sat in the LORD'S presence, saying: "Who am I, O LORD God,

351 and what is my family, that you should have brought me as far as I have come? ¹⁷And yet, even this you now consider too little, O God! For you have made a promise regarding your servant's family reaching into the distant future, and you have looked on me as henceforth the most notable of men, O LORD God. ¹⁸What more can David say to you? You know your servant. ¹⁹O LORD, for your servant's sake and in keeping with your purpose, you have done this great thing. ²⁰O LORD, there is no one like you and there is no God but you, just as we have always understood. ²¹"Is there, like your people Israel, whom you redeemed from Egypt, another nation on earth whom a god went to redeem as his people? You won for yourself a name for great and awesome deeds by driving out the nations before your people. ²²You made your people Israel your own forever, and you, O LORD, became their God. ²³Therefore, O LORD, may the promise that you have uttered concerning your servant and his house remain firm forever. Bring about what you have promised, ²⁴that your renown as LORD of hosts, God of Israel, may be great and abide forever, while the house of David, your servant, is established in your presence. ²⁵"Because you, O my God, have revealed to your servant that you will build him a house, your servant has made bold to pray before you. ²⁶Since you, O LORD, are truly God and have promised this good thing to your servant, ²⁷and since you have deigned to bless the house of your servant, so that it will remain forever - since it is you, O LORD, who blessed it, it is blessed forever." 1 Chronicles Chapter 18 ¹After this, David defeated the Philistines and subdued them; and he took Gath and its towns away from the control of the Philistines. ²He also defeated Moab, and the Moabites became his subjects, paying tribute. ³David then defeated Hadadezer, king of Zobah toward Hamath, when the latter was on his way to set up his victory stele at the river Euphrates. ⁴David took from him twenty thousand foot soldiers, one thousand chariots, and seven thousand horsemen. Of the chariot horses, David hamstrung all but one hundred. ⁵The Arameans of Damascus came to the aid of Hadadezer, king of Zobah, but David also slew twenty-two thousand of their men. ⁶Then David set up garrisons in the Damascus region of Aram, and the Arameans became his subjects, paying tribute. Thus the LORD made David victorious in all his campaigns. ⁷David took the golden shields that were carried by Hadadezer's attendants and brought them to Jerusalem. ⁸He likewise took away from Tibhath and Cun, cities of Hadadezer, large quantities of bronze, which Solomon later used to make the bronze sea and the pillars and the vessels of bronze. ⁹When Tou, king of Hamath, heard that David had defeated the entire army of Hadadezer, king of Zobah, ¹⁰he sent his son Hadoram to wish King David well and to congratulate him on having waged a victorious war against Hadadezer; for Hadadezer had been at war with Tou. He also sent David gold, silver, and bronze utensils of every sort. ¹¹These also King David consecrated to the LORD along with all the silver and gold that he had taken from the nations: from Edom, Moab, the Ammonites, the Philistines, and Amalek. ¹²Abishai, the son of Zeruiah, also slew eighteen thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt. ¹³He set up garrisons in Edom, and all the Edomites became David's subjects. Thus the LORD made David victorious in all his campaigns. ¹⁴David reigned over all Israel and dispensed justice and right to all his people. ¹⁵Joab, son of Zeruiah, was in command of the army; Jehoshaphat, son of Ahilud, was herald; ¹⁶Zadok, son of Ahitub, and Ahimelech, son of Abiathar, were priests; Shavsha was scribe; ¹⁷Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, was in command of the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and David's sons were the chief assistants to the king. 1 Chronicles Chapter 19 ¹Afterward Nahash, king of the Ammonites, died and his son succeeded him as king.

reigned over all Israel and dispensed justice and right to all his people. ¹⁵Joab, son of Zeruiah, was in command of the army; Jehoshaphat, son of Ahilud, was herald; ¹⁶Zadok, son of Ahitub, and Ahimelech, son of Abiathar, were priests; Shavsha was scribe; ¹⁷Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, was in command of the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and David's sons were the chief assistants to the king. 1 Chronicles Chapter 19 ¹Afterward Nahash, king of the Ammonites, died and his son succeeded him as king. ²David said, "I will show kindness to Hanun, the son of Nahash, for his father treated me with kindness." Therefore he sent envoys to him to comfort him over the death of his father. But when David's

352 servants had entered the land of the Ammonites to comfort Hanun, ³the Ammonite princes said to Hanun, "Do you think David is doing this—sending you these consolers—to honor your father? Have not his servants rather come to you to explore the land, spying it out for its overthrow?" ⁴Thereupon Hanun seized David's servants and had them shaved and their garments cut off halfway at the hips. Then he sent them away. ⁵When David was informed of what had happened to his men, he sent messengers to meet them, for the men had been greatly disgraced. "Remain at Jericho," the king told them, "until your beards have grown again; and then you may come back here." ⁶When the Ammonites realized that they had put themselves in bad odor with David, Hanun and the Ammonites sent a thousand talents of silver to hire chariots and horsemen from Aram Naharaim, from Aram-maacah, and from Zobah. ⁷They hired thirty-two thousand chariots along with the king of Maacah and his army, who came and encamped before Medeba. The Ammonites also assembled from their cities and came out for war. ⁸When David heard of this, he sent Joab and his whole army of warriors against them. ⁹The Ammonites marched out and lined up for a battle at the gate of the city, while the kings who had come to their help remained apart in the open field. ¹⁰When Joab saw that there was a battle line both in front of and behind him, he chose some of the best fighters among the Israelites and set them in array against the Arameans; ¹¹the rest of the army, which he placed under the command of his brother Abishai, then lined up to oppose the Ammonites. ¹²And he said: "If the Arameans prove too strong for me, you must come to my help; and if the Ammonites prove too strong for you, I will save you. ¹³Hold steadfast and let us show ourselves courageous for the sake of our people and the cities of our God; then may the LORD do what seems best to him." ¹⁴Joab therefore advanced with his men to engage the Arameans in battle; but they fled before him. ¹⁵And when the Ammonites saw that the Arameans had fled, they also took to flight before his brother Abishai, and reentered the city. Joab then returned to Jerusalem. ¹⁶Seeing themselves vanquished by Israel, the Arameans sent messengers to bring out the Arameans from the other side of the River, with Shophach, the general of Hadadezer's army, at their head. ¹⁷When this was reported to David, he gathered all Israel together, crossed the Jordan, and met them. With the army of David drawn up to fight the Arameans, they gave battle. ¹⁸But the Arameans fled before Israel, and David slew seven thousand of their chariot fighters and forty thousand of their foot soldiers; he also killed Shophach, the general of the army. ¹⁹When the vassals of Hadadezer saw themselves vanquished by Israel, they made peace with David and became his subjects. After this, the Arameans refused to come to the aid of the Ammonites. 1 Chronicles Chapter 20 ¹At the beginning of the following year, the time when kings go to war, Joab led the army out in force, laid waste the land of the Ammonites, and went on to besiege Rabbah, while David himself remained in Jerusalem. When Joab had attacked Rabbah and destroyed it, ²David took the crown of Milcom from the idol's head. It was found to weigh a talent of gold; and it contained precious stones, which David wore on his own head. He also brought out a great amount of booty from the city. ³He deported the people of the city and set them to work with saws, iron picks, and axes. Thus David dealt with all the cities of the Ammonites. Then he and his whole army returned to Jerusalem. ⁴Afterward there was another battle with the Philistines, at Gezer. At that time, Sibbecai the Hushathite slew Sippai, one of the descendants of the Raphaim, and the Philistines were subdued. ⁵Once again there was war with the Philistines, and Elhanan, the son of Jair, slew Lahmi, the brother of Goliath of Gath, whose spear shaft was like a weaver's heddle-bar.

ith saws, iron picks, and axes. Thus David dealt with all the cities of the Ammonites. Then he and his whole army returned to Jerusalem. ⁴Afterward there was another battle with the Philistines, at Gezer. At that time, Sibbecai the Hushathite slew Sippai, one of the descendants of the Raphaim, and the Philistines were subdued. ⁵Once again there was war with the Philistines, and Elhanan, the son of Jair, slew Lahmi, the brother of Goliath of Gath, whose spear shaft was like a weaver's heddle-bar. ⁶In still another battle, at Gath, they encountered a giant, also a descendant of the Raphaim, who had six fingers to each hand and six toes to each foot; twenty-four in all. ⁷He defied Israel, and Jonathan, the son of Shimea, David's brother, slew him. ⁸These were the descendants of the Raphaim of Gath

353 who died at the hands of David and his servants. 1 Chronicles Chapter 21 ¹A satan rose up against Israel, and he enticed David into taking a census of Israel. ²David therefore said to Joab and to the other generals of the army, "Go, find out the number of the Israelites from Beer-sheba to Dan, and report back to me that I may know their number." ³But Joab replied: "May the LORD increase his people a hundredfold! My lord king, are not all of them my lord's subjects? Why does my lord seek to do this thing? Why will he bring guilt upon Israel?" ⁴However, the king's command prevailed over Joab, who departed and traversed all of Israel, and then returned to Jerusalem. ⁵Joab reported the result of the census to David: of men capable of wielding a sword, there were in all Israel one million one hundred thousand, and in Judah four hundred and seventy thousand. ⁶Levi and Benjamin, however, he did not include in the census, for the king's command was repugnant to Joab. ⁷This command displeased God, who began to punish Israel. ⁸Then David said to God, "I have sinned greatly in doing this thing. Take away your servant's guilt, for I have acted very foolishly." ⁹Then the LORD spoke to Gad, David's seer, in these words: ¹⁰"Go, tell David: Thus says the LORD: I offer you three alternatives; choose one of them, and I will inflict it on you." ¹¹Accordingly, Gad went to David and said to him; "Thus says the LORD: Decide now— ¹²will it be three years of famine; or three months of fleeing your enemies, with the sword of your foes ever at your back; or three days of the LORD's own sword, a pestilence in the land, with the LORD's destroying angel in every part of Israel? Therefore choose: What answer am I to give him who sent me?" ¹³Then David said to Gad: "I am in dire straits. But I prefer to fall into the hand of the LORD, whose mercy is very great, than into the hands of men." ¹⁴Therefore the LORD sent pestilence upon Israel, and seventy thousand men of Israel died. ¹⁵God also sent an angel to destroy Jerusalem; but as he was on the point of destroying it, the LORD saw and decided against the calamity, and said to the destroying angel, "Enough now! Stay your hand!" The angel of the LORD was then standing by the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. ¹⁶When David raised his eyes, he saw the angel of the LORD standing between earth and heaven, with a naked sword in his hand stretched out against Jerusalem. David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, prostrated themselves face to the ground, ¹⁷and David prayed to God: "Was it not I who ordered the census of the people? I am the one who sinned, I did this wicked thing. But these sheep, what have they done? O LORD, my God, strike me and my father's family, but do not afflict your people with this plague!" ¹⁸Then the angel of the LORD commanded Gad to tell David to go up and erect an altar to the LORD on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. ¹⁹David went up at Gad's command, given in the name of the LORD. ²⁰While Ornan was threshing wheat, he turned around and saw the king, and his four sons who were with him, without recognizing them. ²¹But as David came on toward him, he looked up and saw that it was David. Then he left the threshing floor and bowed down before David, his face to the ground. ²²David said to Ornan: "Sell me the ground of this threshing floor, that I may build on it an altar to the LORD. Sell it to me at its full price, that the plague may be stayed from the people." ²³But Ornan said to David: "Take it as your own, and let my lord the king do what seems best to him. See, I also give you the oxen for the holocausts, the threshing sledges for the wood, and the wheat for the cereal offering. I give it all to you." ²⁴But King David replied to Ornan: "No! I will buy it from you properly, at its full price. I will not take what is yours for the LORD, nor offer up holocausts that cost me nothing." ²⁵So David paid Ornan six hundred shekels of gold for the place.

e." ²³But Ornan said to David: "Take it as your own, and let my lord the king do what seems best to him. See, I also give you the oxen for the holocausts, the threshing sledges for the wood, and the wheat for the cereal offering. I give it all to you." ²⁴But King David replied to Ornan: "No! I will buy it from you properly, at its full price. I will not take what is yours for the LORD, nor offer up holocausts that cost me nothing." ²⁵So David paid Ornan six hundred shekels of gold for the place. ²⁶David then built an altar there to the LORD, and offered up holocausts and peace offerings. When he called upon the LORD, he answered him by sending down fire from heaven upon the altar of holocausts. ²⁷Then the LORD gave orders to the angel to return his sword to its sheath. ²⁸Once David saw that the LORD had heard him on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite, he continued to offer sacrifices there.

354 ²⁹The Dwelling of the LORD, which Moses had built in the desert, and the altar of holocausts were at that time on the high place at Gibeon. ³⁰But David could not go there to worship God, for he was fearful of the sword of the angel of the LORD. 1 Chronicles Chapter 22 "¹Therefore David said, 'This is the house of the LORD God, and this is the altar of holocausts for Israel.' ²David then ordered that all the aliens who lived in the land of Israel be brought together, and he appointed them stonecutters to hew out stone blocks for building the house of God. ³He also laid up large stores of iron to make nails for the doors of the gates, and clamps, together with so much bronze that it could not be weighed, ⁴and cedar trees without number. The Sidonians and Tyrians brought great stores of cedar logs to David, ⁵who said: 'My son Solomon is young and immature; but the house that is to be built for the LORD must be made so magnificent that it will be renowned and glorious in all countries. Therefore I will make preparations for it.' Thus before his death David laid up materials in abundance. ⁶Then he called for his son Solomon and commanded him to build a house for the LORD, the God of Israel. ⁷David said to Solomon: 'My son, it was my purpose to build a house myself for the honor of the LORD, my God. ⁸But this word of the LORD came to me: "You have shed much blood, and you have waged great wars. You may not build a house in my honor, because you have shed too much blood upon the earth in my sight. ⁹However, a son is to be born to you. He will be a peaceful man, and I will give him rest from all his enemies on every side. For Solomon shall be his name, and in his time I will bestow peace and tranquillity on Israel. ¹⁰It is he who shall build a house in my honor; he shall be a son to me, and I will be a father to him, and I will establish the throne of his kingship over Israel forever."' ¹¹Now, my son, the LORD be with you, and may you succeed in building the house of the LORD your God, as he has said you shall. ¹²May the LORD give you prudence and discernment when he brings you to rule over Israel, so that you keep the law of the LORD, your God. ¹³Only then shall you succeed, if you are careful to observe the precepts and decrees which the LORD gave Moses for Israel. Be brave and steadfast; do not fear or lose heart. ¹⁴See, with great effort I have laid up for the house of the LORD a hundred thousand talents of gold, a million talents of silver, and bronze and iron in such great quantities that they cannot be weighed. I have also stored up wood and stones, to which you must add. ¹⁵Moreover, you have available an unlimited supply of workmen, stonecutters, masons, carpenters, and every kind of craftsman skilled in gold, silver, bronze, and iron. Set to work, therefore, and the LORD be with you!' ¹⁷David also commanded all of Israel's leaders to help his son Solomon: ¹⁸'Is not the LORD your God with you? Has he not given you rest on every side? Indeed, he has delivered the occupants of the land into my power, and the land is subdued before the LORD and his people. ¹⁹Therefore, devote your hearts and souls to seeking the LORD your God. Proceed to build the sanctuary of the LORD God, that the ark of the covenant of the LORD and God's sacred vessels may be brought into the house built in honor of the LORD.'" 1 Chronicles Chapter 23 "¹When David had grown old and was near the end of his days, he made his son Solomon king over Israel. ²He then gathered together all the leaders of Israel, together with the priests and the Levites. ³The Levites thirty years old and above were counted, and their total number was found to be thirty-eight thousand men. ⁴Of these, twenty-four thousand were to direct the service of the house of the LORD, six thousand were to be officials and judges, ⁵four thousand were to be gatekeepers, and four thousand were to praise the LORD with the instruments which David had devised for praise.

g over Israel. ²He then gathered together all the leaders of Israel, together with the priests and the Levites. ³The Levites thirty years old and above were counted, and their total number was found to be thirty-eight thousand men. ⁴Of these, twenty-four thousand were to direct the service of the house of the LORD, six thousand were to be officials and judges, ⁵four thousand were to be gatekeepers, and four thousand were to praise the LORD with the instruments which David had devised for praise. ⁶David divided them into classes according to the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. ⁷To the Gershonites belonged Ladan and Shimei. ⁸The sons of Ladan: Jehiel the chief, then Zetham and Joel; three in all. ⁹The sons of Shimei were Shelomoth, Haziel, and

355 Haran; three. These were the heads of the families of Ladan. ¹⁰The sons of Shimei were Jahath, Zizah, Jeush, and Beriah; these were the sons of Shimei, four in all. ¹¹Jahath was the chief and Zizah was second to him; but Jeush and Beriah had not many sons, and therefore they were classed as a single family, fulfilling a single office. ¹²The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel; four in all. ¹³The sons of Amram were Aaron and Moses. Aaron was set apart to be consecrated as most holy, he and his sons forever, to offer sacrifice before the LORD, to minister to him, and to bless his name forever. ¹⁴As for Moses, however, the man of God, his sons were counted as part of the tribe of Levi. ¹⁵The sons of Moses were Gershom and Eliezer. ¹⁶The sons of Gershom: Shubael the chief. ¹⁷The sons of Eliezer were Rehabiah the chief - Eliezer had no other sons, but the sons of Rehabiah were very numerous. ¹⁸The sons of Izhar: Shelomith the chief. ¹⁹The sons of Hebron: Jeriah, the chief, Amariah, the second, Jahaziel, the third, and Jekameam, the fourth. ²⁰The sons of Uzziel: Micah, the chief, and Isshiah, the second. ²¹The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli: Eleazar and Kish. ²²Eleazar died leaving no sons, only daughters; the sons of Kish, their kinsmen, married them. ²³The sons of Mushi: Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth; three in all. ²⁴These were the sons of Levi according to their ancestral houses, the family heads as they were enrolled one by one according to their names. They performed the work of the service of the house of the LORD from twenty years of age upward, ²⁵David said: 'The LORD, the God of Israel, has given rest to his people, and has taken up his dwelling in Jerusalem. ²⁶Henceforth the Levites need not carry the Dwelling or any of its furnishings or equipment. ²⁷For David's final orders were to enlist the Levites from the time they were twenty years old. ²⁸Rather, their duty shall be to assist the sons of Aaron in the service of the house of the LORD, having charge of the courts, the chambers, and the preservation of everything holy: they shall take part in the service of the house of God. ²⁹They shall also have charge of the showbread, of the fine flour for the cereal offering, of the wafers of unleavened bread, and of the baking and mixing, and of all measures of quantity and size. ³⁰They must be present every morning to offer thanks and to praise the LORD, and likewise in the evening; ³¹and at every offering of holocausts to the LORD on sabbaths, new moons, and feast days, in such numbers as are prescribed, they must always be present before the LORD. ³²They shall observe what is prescribed for them concerning the meeting tent, the sanctuary, and the sons of Aaron, their brethren, in the service of the house of the LORD.'" 1 Chronicles Chapter 24 "¹The descendants of Aaron also were divided into classes. The sons of Aaron were Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. ²Nadab and Abihu died before their father, leaving no sons; therefore only Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests. ³David, with Zadok, a descendant of Eleazar, and Ahimelech, a descendant of Ithamar, assigned the functions for the priestly service. ⁴But since the descendants of Eleazar were found to be more numerous than those of Ithamar, the former were divided into sixteen groups, and the latter into eight groups, each under its family head. ⁵Their functions were assigned impartially by lot, for there were officers of the holy place, and officers of the divine presence, descended both from Eleazar and from Ithamar.

ith Zadok, a descendant of Eleazar, and Ahimelech, a descendant of Ithamar, assigned the functions for the priestly service. ⁴But since the descendants of Eleazar were found to be more numerous than those of Ithamar, the former were divided into sixteen groups, and the latter into eight groups, each under its family head. ⁵Their functions were assigned impartially by lot, for there were officers of the holy place, and officers of the divine presence, descended both from Eleazar and from Ithamar. ⁶The scribe Shemaiah, son of Nethanel, a Levite, made a record of it in the presence of the king, and of the leaders, of Zadok the priest, and of Ahimelech, son of Abiathar, and of the heads of the ancestral houses of the priests and of the Levites, listing two successive family groups from Eleazar before each one from Ithamar. ⁷The first lot fell to Jehoiarib, the second to Jedaiah, ⁸the third to Harim, the fourth to Seorim, ⁹the fifth to Malchijah, the sixth to Mijamin, ¹⁰the seventh to Hakkoz, the eighth to Abijah, ¹¹the ninth to Jeshua, the tenth to Shecaniah, ¹²the eleventh to Eliashib, the twelfth to Jakim, ¹³the thirteenth to Huppah, the fourteenth to Ishbaal, ¹⁴the fifteenth to Bilgah, the sixteenth to Immer, ¹⁵the seventeenth to Hezir, the eighteenth to Happizzez, ¹⁶the nineteenth to Pethahiah, the

356 twentieth to Jehezkel, ¹⁷the twenty-first to Jachin, the twenty-second to Gamul, ¹⁸the twenty- third to Delaiah, the twenty-fourth to Maaziah. ¹⁹This was the appointed order of their service when they functioned in the house of the LORD in keeping with the precepts given them by Aaron, their father, as the LORD, the God of Israel, had commanded him. ²⁰Of the remaining Levites, there were Shubael, of the descendants of Amram, and Jehdeiah, of the descendants of Shubael; ²¹Isshiah, the chief, of the descendants of Rehabiah; ²²Shelomith of the Izharites, and Jahath of the descendants of Shelomith. ²³The descendants of Hebron were Jeriah, the chief, Amariah, the second, Jahaziel, the third, Jekameam, the fourth. ²⁴The descendants of Uzziel were Micah; Shamir, of the descendants of Micah; ²⁵Isshiah, the brother of Micah; and Zechariah, a descendant of Isshiah. ²⁶The descendants of Merari were Mahli, Mushi, and the descendants of his son Uzziah. ²⁷The descendants of Merari through his son Uzziah: Shoham, Zaccur, and Ibri. ²⁸Descendants of Mahli were Eleazar, who had no sons, ²⁹and Jerahmeel, of the descendants of Kish. ³⁰The descendants of Mushi were Mahli, Eder, and Jerimoth. These were the descendants of the Levites according to their ancestral houses. ³¹They too, in the same manner as their relatives, the descendants of Aaron, cast lots in the presence of King David, Zadok, Ahimelech, and the heads of the priestly and levitical families; the more important family did so in the same way as the less important one." 1 Chronicles Chapter 25 ¹David and the leaders of the liturgical cult set apart for service the descendants of Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun, as singers of inspired songs to the accompaniment of lyres and harps and cymbals. This is the list of those who performed this service: ²Of the sons of Asaph: Zaccur, Joseph, Nethaniah, and Asharelah, sons of Asaph, under the direction of Asaph, who sang inspired songs under the guidance of the king. ³Of Jeduthun, these sons of Jeduthun: Gedaliah, Zeri, Jeshaiah, Shimei, Hashabiah, and Mattithiah; six, under the direction of their father Jeduthun, who sang inspired songs to the accompaniment of a lyre, to give thanks and praise to the LORD. ⁴Of Heman, these sons of Heman: Bukkiah, Mattaniah, Uzziel, Shubael, and Jerimoth; Hananiah, Hanani, Eliathah, Giddalti, Romamti-ezer, Joshbekashah, Mallothi, Hothir, and Mahazioth. ⁵All these were the sons of Heman, the king's seer in divine matters; to enhance his prestige, God gave Heman fourteen sons and three daughters. ⁶All these, whether of Asaph, Jeduthun, or Heman, were under their fathers' direction in the singing in the house of the LORD to the accompaniment of cymbals, harps, and lyres, serving in the house of God, under the guidance of the king. ⁷Their number, together with that of their brethren who were trained in singing to the LORD, all of them skilled men, was two hundred and eighty-eight. ⁸They cast lots for their functions equally, young and old, master and pupil alike. ⁹The first lot fell to Asaph, the family of Joseph; he and his sons and his brethren were twelve. Gedaliah was the second; he and his brethren and his sons were twelve. ¹⁰The third was Zaccur, his sons, and his brethren: twelve. ¹¹The fourth fell to Izri, his sons, and his brethren: twelve. ¹²The fifth was Nethaniah, his sons, and his brethren: twelve. ¹³The sixth was Bukkiah, his sons, and his brethren: twelve. ¹⁴The seventh was Jesarelah, his sons, and his brethren: twelve. ¹⁵The eighth was Jeshaiah, his sons, and his brethren: twelve. ¹⁶The ninth was Mattaniah, his sons, and his brethren: twelve. ¹⁷The tenth was Shimei, his sons, and his brethren: twelve. ¹⁸The eleventh was Uzziel, his sons, and his brethren: twelve. ¹⁹The twelfth fell to Hashabiah, his sons, and his brethren: twelve. ²⁰The thirteenth was Shubael, his sons, and his brethren: twelve. ²¹The fourteenth was Mattithiah, his sons, and his brethren: twelve.

Jesarelah, his sons, and his brethren: twelve. ¹⁵The eighth was Jeshaiah, his sons, and his brethren: twelve. ¹⁶The ninth was Mattaniah, his sons, and his brethren: twelve. ¹⁷The tenth was Shimei, his sons, and his brethren: twelve. ¹⁸The eleventh was Uzziel, his sons, and his brethren: twelve. ¹⁹The twelfth fell to Hashabiah, his sons, and his brethren: twelve. ²⁰The thirteenth was Shubael, his sons, and his brethren: twelve. ²¹The fourteenth was Mattithiah, his sons, and his brethren: twelve. ²²The fifteenth fell to Jeremoth, his sons, and his brethren: twelve. ²³The sixteenth fell to Hananiah, his sons, and his brethren: twelve. ²⁴The seventeenth fell to Joshbekashah, his sons, and his brethren: twelve. ²⁵The eighteenth fell to Hanani, his sons, and his brethren: twelve. ²⁶The nineteenth fell to Mallothi, his sons, and his brethren: twelve. ²⁷The twentieth fell to Eliathah, his

357 sons, and his brethren: twelve. ²⁸The twenty-first fell to Hothir, his sons, and his brethren: twelve. ²⁹The twenty-second fell to Giddalti, his sons, and his brethren: twelve. ³⁰The twenty-third fell to Mahazioth, his sons, and his brethren: twelve. ³¹The twenty-fourth fell to Romamti-ezer, his sons, and his brethren: twelve. 1 Chronicles Chapter 26 ¹As for the classes of gatekeepers. Of the Korahites was Meshelemiah, the son of Kore, one of the sons of Abiasaph. ²Meshelemiah's sons: Zechariah, the first-born, Jediael, the second son, Zebadiah, the third, Jathniel, the fourth, ³Elam, the fifth, Jehohanan, the sixth, Eliehoenai, the seventh. ⁴Obed-edom's sons: Shemaiah, the first-born, Jehozabad, a second son, Joah, the third, Sachar, the fourth, Nethanel, the fifth, ⁵Ammiel, the sixth, Issachar, the seventh, Peullethai, the eighth, for God blessed him. ⁶To his son Shemaiah were born sons who ruled over their family, for they were warriors. ⁷The sons of Shemaiah were Othni, Rephael, Obed, and Elzabad; also his brethren who were men of might, Elihu and Semachiah. ⁸All these were the sons of Obed-edom, who, together with their sons and their brethren, were mighty men, fit for the service. Of Obed- edom, sixty-two. ⁹Of Meshelemiah, eighteen sons and brethren, mighty men. ¹⁰Hosah, a descendant of Merari, had these sons: Shimri, the chief (for though he was not the first-born, his father made him chief), ¹¹Hilkiah, the second son, Tebaliah, the third, Zechariah, the fourth. All the sons and brethren of Hosah were thirteen. ¹²To these classes of gatekeepers, under their chief men, were assigned watches in the service of the house of the LORD, for each group in the same way. ¹³They cast lots for each gate, the small and the large families alike. ¹⁴When the lot was cast for the east side, it fell to Meshelemiah. Then they cast lots for his son Zechariah, a prudent counselor, and the north side fell to his lot. ¹⁵To Obed-edom fell the south side, and to his sons the storehouse. ¹⁶To Hosah fell the west side with the Shallecheth gate at the ascending highway. For each family, watches were established. ¹⁷On the east, six watched each day, on the north, four each day, on the south, four each day, and at the storehouse they were two and two; ¹⁸as for the large building on the west, there were four at the highway and two at the large building. ¹⁹These were the classes of the gatekeepers, descendants of Kore and Merari. ²⁰Their brother Levites superintended the stores for the house of God and the stores of votive offerings. ²¹Among the descendants of Ladan the Gershonite, the family heads were descendants of Jehiel: the descendants of Jehiel, ²²Zetham and his brother Joel, who superintended the treasures of the house of the LORD. ²³From the Amramites, Izharites, Hebronites, and Uzzielites, ²⁴Shubael, son of Gershon, son of Moses, was chief superintendent over the treasures. ²⁵His associate pertained to Eliezer, whose son was Rehabiah, whose son was Jeshaiah, whose son was Joram, whose son was Zichri, whose son was Shelomith. ²⁶This Shelomith and his brethren superintended all the stores of the votive offerings dedicated by King David, the heads of the families, the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and the commanders of the army, ²⁷from the booty they had taken in the wars, for the enhancement of the house of the LORD. ²⁸Also, whatever Samuel the seer, Saul, son of Kish, Abner, son of Ner, Joab, son of Zeruiah, and all others had consecrated, was under the charge of Shelomith and his brethren. ²⁹Among the Izharites, Chenaniah and his sons were in charge of Israel's civil affairs as officials and judges. ³⁰Among the Hebronites, Hashabiah and his brethren, one thousand seven hundred police officers, had the administration of Israel on the western side of the Jordan in all the work of the LORD and in the service of the king. ³¹Among the Hebronites, Jerijah was their chief according to their family records.

nd all others had consecrated, was under the charge of Shelomith and his brethren. ²⁹Among the Izharites, Chenaniah and his sons were in charge of Israel's civil affairs as officials and judges. ³⁰Among the Hebronites, Hashabiah and his brethren, one thousand seven hundred police officers, had the administration of Israel on the western side of the Jordan in all the work of the LORD and in the service of the king. ³¹Among the Hebronites, Jerijah was their chief according to their family records. In the fortieth year of David's reign, search was made, and there were found among them outstanding officers at Jazer of Gilead. ³²His brethren were also police officers, two thousand seven hundred heads of families. King David appointed them to the administration of the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half- tribe of Manasseh in everything pertaining to God and to the king.

358 1 Chronicles Chapter 27 ¹This is the list of the Israelite family heads, commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and other officers who served the king in all that pertained to the divisions, of twenty-four thousand men each, that came and went month by month throughout the year. ²Over the first division for the first month was Ishbaal, son of Zabdiel, and in his division were twenty-four thousand men; ³a descendant of Perez, he was chief over all the commanders of the army for the first month. ⁴Over the division of the second month was Eleazar, son of Dodo, from Ahoh, and in his division were twenty-four thousand men. ⁵The third army commander, chief for the third month, was Benaiah, son of Jehoiada the priest, and in his division were twenty-four thousand men. ⁶This Benaiah was a warrior among the Thirty and over the Thirty. His son Ammizabad was over his division. ⁷Fourth, for the fourth month, was Asahel, brother of Joab, and after him his son Zebadiah, and in his division were twenty-four thousand men. ⁸Fifth, for the fifth month, was the commander Shamhuth, a descendant of Zerah, and in his division were twenty-four thousand men. ⁹Sixth, for the sixth month, was Ira, son of Ikkesh, from Tekoa, and in his division were twenty-four thousand men. ¹⁰Seventh, for the seventh month, was Hellez, from Beth-phelet, of the sons of Ephraim, and in his division were twenty-four thousand men. ¹¹Eighth, for the eighth month, was Sibbecai the Hushathite, a descendant of Zerah, and in his division were twenty-four thousand men. ¹²Ninth, for the ninth month, was Abiezer from Anathoth, of Benjamin, and in his division were twenty- four thousand men. ¹³Tenth, for the tenth month, was Maharai from Netophah, a descendant of Zerah, and in his division were twenty-four thousand men. ¹⁴Eleventh, for the eleventh month, was Benaiah the Pirathonite, of Ephraim, and in his division were twenty-four thousand men. ¹⁵Twelfth, for the twelfth month, was Heldai the Netophathite, of the family of Othniel, and in his division were twenty-four thousand men. ¹⁶Over the tribes of Israel, for the Reubenites the leader was Eliezer, son of Zichri; for the Simeonites, Shephatiah, son of Maacah; ¹⁷for Levi, Hashabiah, son of Kemuel; for Aaron, Zadok; ¹⁸for Judah, Eliab, one of David's brothers; for Issachar, Omri, son of Michael; ¹⁹for Zebulun, Ishmaiah, son of Obadiah; for Naphtali, Jeremoth, son of Azriel; ²⁰for the sons of Ephraim, Hoshea, son of Azaziah; for the half-tribe of Manasseh, Joel, son of Pedaiah; ²¹for the half-tribe of Manasseh in Gilead, Iddo, son of Zechariah; for Benjamin, Jaasiel, son of Abner; ²²for Dan, Azarel, son of Jeroham. These were the commanders of the tribes of Israel. ²³David did not count those who were twenty years of age or younger, for the LORD had promised to multiply Israel like the stars of the heavens. ²⁴Joab, son of Zeruiah, began to take the census, but he did not complete it, for because of it wrath fell upon Israel. Therefore the number did not enter into the book of chronicles of King David. ²⁵Over the treasures of the king was Azmaveth, the son of Adiel. Over the stores in the country, the cities, the villages, and the towers was Jonathan, son of Uzziah. ²⁶Over the farm workers who tilled the soil was Ezri, son of Chelub. ²⁷Over the vineyards was Shimei from Ramah, and over their produce for the wine cellars was Zabdi the Shiphmite. ²⁸Over the olive trees and sycamores of the foothills was Baalhanan the Gederite, and over the stores of oil was Joash. ²⁹Over the cattle that grazed in Sharon was Shitrai the Sharonite, and over the cattle in the valleys was Shaphat, the son of Adlai; ³⁰over the camels was Obil the Ishmaelite; over the she-asses was Jehdeiah the Meronothite; ³¹and over the flocks was Jaziz the Hagrite. All these were the overseers of King David's possessions.

roduce for the wine cellars was Zabdi the Shiphmite. ²⁸Over the olive trees and sycamores of the foothills was Baalhanan the Gederite, and over the stores of oil was Joash. ²⁹Over the cattle that grazed in Sharon was Shitrai the Sharonite, and over the cattle in the valleys was Shaphat, the son of Adlai; ³⁰over the camels was Obil the Ishmaelite; over the she-asses was Jehdeiah the Meronothite; ³¹and over the flocks was Jaziz the Hagrite. All these were the overseers of King David's possessions. ³²Jonathan, David's uncle and a man of intelligence, was counselor and scribe; he and Jehiel, the son of Hachmoni, were tutors of the king's sons. ³³Ahithophel was also the king's counselor, and Hushai the Archite was the king's confidant. ³⁴After Ahithophel came Jehoiada, the son of Benaiah, and Abiathar. The commander of the king's army was Joab. 1 Chronicles Chapter 28

359 ¹David assembled at Jerusalem all the leaders of Israel, the heads of the tribes, the commanders of the divisions who were in the service of the king, the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, the overseers of all the king's estates and possessions, and his sons, together with the courtiers, the warriors, and every important man. ²King David rose to his feet and said: "Hear me, my brethren and my people. It was my purpose to build a house of repose myself for the ark of the covenant of the LORD, the footstool for the feet of our God; and I was preparing to build it. ³But God said to me, 'You may not build a house in my honor, for you are a man who fought wars and shed blood.' ⁴However, the LORD, the God of Israel, chose me from all my father's family to be king over Israel forever. For he chose Judah as leader, then one family of Judah, that of my father; and finally, among all the sons of my father, it pleased him to make me king over all Israel. ⁵And of all my sons - for the LORD has given me many sons - he has chosen my son Solomon to sit on the LORD'S royal throne over Israel. ⁶For he said to me: 'It is your son Solomon who shall build my house and my courts, for I have chosen him for my son, and I will be a father to him. ⁷I will establish his kingdom forever, if he perseveres in keeping my commandments and decrees as he keeps them now.' ⁸Therefore, in the presence of all Israel, the assembly of the LORD, and in the hearing of our God, I exhort you to keep and to carry out all the commandments of the LORD, your God, that you may continue to possess this good land and afterward leave it as an inheritance to your children forever. ⁹"As for you, Solomon, my son, know the God of your father and serve him with a perfect heart and a willing soul, for the LORD searches all hearts and understands all the mind's thoughts. If you seek him, he will let himself be found by you; but if you abandon him, he will cast you off forever. ¹⁰See, then! The LORD has chosen you to build a house as his sanctuary. Take courage and set to work." ¹¹Then David gave to his son Solomon the pattern of the portico and of the building itself, with its storerooms, its upper rooms and inner chambers, and the room with the propitiatory. ¹²He provided also the pattern for all else that he had in mind by way of courts for the house of the LORD, with the surrounding compartments for the stores for the house of God and the stores of the votive offerings, ¹³as well as for the divisions of the priests and Levites, for all the work of the service of the house of the LORD, and for all the liturgical vessels of the house of the LORD. ¹⁴He specified the weight of gold to be used in the golden vessels for the various services and the weight of silver to be used in the silver vessels for the various services; ¹⁵likewise for the golden lampstands and their lamps he specified the weight of gold for each lampstand and its lamps, and for the silver lampstands he specified the weight of silver for each lampstand and its lamps, depending on the use to which each lampstand was to be put. ¹⁶He specified the weight of gold for each table to hold the showbread, and the silver for the silver tables; ¹⁷the pure gold to be used for the forks and pitchers; the amount of gold for each golden bowl and the silver for each silver bowl; ¹⁸the refined gold, and its weight, to be used for the altar of incense; and, finally, gold for what would suggest a chariot throne: the cherubim that spread their wings and covered the ark of the covenant of the LORD. ¹⁹He had successfully committed to writing the exact specifications of the pattern, because the hand of the LORD was upon him. ²⁰Then David said to his son Solomon: "Be firm and steadfast; go to work without fear or discouragement, for the LORD God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or abandon you before you have completed all the work for the service of the house of the LORD.

suggest a chariot throne: the cherubim that spread their wings and covered the ark of the covenant of the LORD. ¹⁹He had successfully committed to writing the exact specifications of the pattern, because the hand of the LORD was upon him. ²⁰Then David said to his son Solomon: "Be firm and steadfast; go to work without fear or discouragement, for the LORD God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or abandon you before you have completed all the work for the service of the house of the LORD. ²¹The classes of the priests and Levites are ready for all the service of the house of God; they will help you in all your work with all those who are eager to show their skill in every kind of craftsmanship. Also the leaders and all the people will do everything that you command." 1 Chronicles Chapter 29 ¹King David then said to the whole assembly: "My son Solomon, whom alone God has chosen, is still young and immature; the work, however, is great, for this castle is not intended for man, but

360 for the LORD God. ²For this reason I have stored up for the house of my God, as far as I was able, gold for what will be made of gold, silver for what will be made of silver, bronze for what will be made of bronze, iron for what will be made of iron, wood for what will be made of wood, onyx stones and settings for them, carnelian and mosaic stones, every other kind of precious stone, and great quantities of marble. ³But now, because of the delight I take in the house of my God, in addition to all that I stored up for the holy house, I give to the house of my God my personal fortune in gold and silver: ⁴three thousand talents of Ophir gold, and seven thousand talents of refined silver, for overlaying the walls of the rooms, ⁵for the various utensils to be made of gold and silver, and for every work that is to be done by artisans. Now, who else is willing to contribute generously this day to the LORD?" ⁶Then the heads of the families, the leaders of the tribes of Israel, the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and the overseers of the king's affairs came forward willingly ⁷and contributed for the service of the house of God five thousand talents and ten thousand darics of gold, ten thousand talents of silver, eighteen thousand talents of bronze, and one hundred thousand talents of iron. ⁸Those who had precious stones gave them into the keeping of Jehiel the Gershonite for the treasury of the house of the LORD. ⁹The people rejoiced over these free-will offerings, which had been contributed to the LORD wholeheartedly. King David also rejoiced greatly. ¹⁰Then David blessed the LORD in the presence of the whole assembly, praying in these words: "Blessed may you be, O LORD, God of Israel our father, from eternity to eternity. ¹¹Yours, O LORD, are grandeur and power, majesty, splendor, and glory. For all in heaven and on earth is yours; yours, O LORD, is the sovereignty; you are exalted as head over all. ¹²Riches and honor are from you, and you have dominion over all. In your hand are power and might; it is yours to give grandeur and strength to all. ¹³Therefore, our God, we give you thanks and we praise the majesty of your name." ¹⁴"But who am I, and who are my people, that we should have the means to contribute so freely? For everything is from you, and we only give you what we have received from you. ¹⁵For we stand before you as aliens: we are only your guests, like all our fathers. Our life on earth is like a shadow that does not abide. ¹⁶O LORD our God, all this wealth that we have brought together to build you a house in honor of your holy name comes from you and is entirely yours. ¹⁷I know, O my God, that you put hearts to the test and that you take pleasure in uprightness. With a sincere heart I have willingly given all these things, and now with joy I have seen your people here present also giving to you generously. ¹⁸O LORD, God of our fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, keep such thoughts in the hearts and minds of your people forever, and direct their hearts toward you. ¹⁹Give to my son Solomon a wholehearted desire to keep your commandments, precepts, and statutes, that he may carry out all these plans and build the castle for which I have made preparation." ²⁰Then David besought the whole assembly, "Now bless the LORD your God!" And the whole assembly blessed the LORD, the God of their fathers, bowing down and prostrating themselves before the LORD and before the king. ²¹On the following day they offered sacrifices and holocausts to the LORD, a thousand bulls, a thousand rams, and a thousand lambs, together with their libations and many other sacrifices for all Israel; ²²and on that day they ate and drank in the LORD'S presence with great rejoicing. Then for a second time they proclaimed David's son Solomon king, and they anointed him as the LORD'S prince, and Zadok as priest. ²³Thereafter Solomon sat on the throne of the LORD as king in place of his father David; he prospered, and all Israel obeyed him.

s and holocausts to the LORD, a thousand bulls, a thousand rams, and a thousand lambs, together with their libations and many other sacrifices for all Israel; ²²and on that day they ate and drank in the LORD'S presence with great rejoicing. Then for a second time they proclaimed David's son Solomon king, and they anointed him as the LORD'S prince, and Zadok as priest. ²³Thereafter Solomon sat on the throne of the LORD as king in place of his father David; he prospered, and all Israel obeyed him. ²⁴All the leaders and warriors, and also all the other sons of King David, swore allegiance to King Solomon. ²⁵And the LORD exalted Solomon greatly in the eyes of all Israel, giving him a glorious reign such as had not been enjoyed by any king over Israel before him. ²⁶Thus David, the son of Jesse, had reigned over all Israel. ²⁷The time that he reigned over Israel was forty years: in Hebron he reigned seven years, and in Jerusalem thirty-three. ²⁸He died at a ripe old age, rich in years and wealth and glory, and his son Solomon succeeded him as king. ²⁹Now the deeds of King David, first and last, can be found written in the

361 history of Samuel the seer, the history of Nathan the prophet, and the history of Gad the seer, ³⁰together with the particulars of his reign and valor, and of the events that affected him and all Israel and all the kingdoms of the surrounding lands. II Chronicles 2 Chronicles Chapter 1 ¹Solomon, son of David, strengthened his hold on the kingdom, for the LORD, his God, was with him, constantly making him more renowned. ²He sent a summons to all Israel, to the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, the judges, the princes of all Israel, and the family heads; ³and, accompanied by the whole assembly, he went to the high place at Gibeon, because the meeting tent of God, made in the desert by Moses, the LORD'S servant, was there. ⁴(The ark of God, however, David had brought up from Kiriath-jearim to Jerusalem, where he had provided a place and pitched a tent for it.) ⁵The bronze altar made by Bezalel, son of Uri, son of Hur, he put in front of the LORD'S Dwelling¹ on the high place. There Solomon and the assembly consulted the LORD, ⁶and Solomon offered sacrifice in the LORD'S presence on the bronze altar at the meeting tent; he offered a thousand holocausts upon it. ⁷That night God appeared to Solomon and said to him, "Make a request of me, and I will grant it to you." ⁸Solomon answered God: "You have shown great favor to my father David, and you have allowed me to succeed him as king. ⁹Now, LORD God, may your promise to my father David be fulfilled, for you have made me king over a people as numerous as the dust of the earth. ¹⁰Give me, therefore, wisdom and knowledge to lead this people, for otherwise who could rule this great people of yours?" ¹¹God then replied to Solomon: "Since this has been your wish and you have not asked for riches, treasures and glory, nor for the life of those who hate you, nor even for a long life for yourself, but have asked for wisdom and knowledge in order to rule my people over whom I have made you king, ¹²wisdom and knowledge are given you; but I will also give you riches, treasures and glory, such as kings before you never had, nor will those have them who come after you." ¹³Solomon returned to Jerusalem from the high place at Gibeon, from the meeting tent, and became king over Israel. ¹⁴He gathered together chariots and drivers, so that he had one thousand four hundred chariots and twelve thousand drivers he could station in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. ¹⁵The king made silver and gold as common in Jerusalem as stones, while cedars became as numerous as the sycamores of the foothills. ¹⁶Solomon also imported horses from Egypt and Cilicia. The king's agents would acquire them by purchase from Cilicia, ¹⁷and would then bring up chariots from Egypt and export them at six hundred silver shekels, with the horses going for a hundred and fifty shekels. At these rates they served as middlemen for all the Hittite and Aramean kings. ¹⁸Solomon gave orders for the building of a house to honor the LORD and also of a house for his own royal estate. 2 Chronicles Chapter 2 ¹He conscripted seventy thousand men to carry stone and eighty thousand to cut the stone in the mountains, and over these he placed three thousand six hundred overseers. ²Moreover, Solomon sent this message to Huram, king of Tyre: "As you dealt with my father David, sending him cedars to build a house for his dwelling, so deal with me. ³I intend to build a house for the honor of the LORD, my God, and to consecrate it to him, for the burning of fragrant incense in his presence, for the perpetual display of the showbread, for holocausts morning and evening, and for the sabbaths, new moons, and festivals of the LORD, our God: such is Israel's perpetual obligation. ⁴And the house I intend to build must be large, for our God is greater than all other gods. ⁵Yet who is really able to build him a house, since the heavens and even the highest heavens cannot contain him?

onor of the LORD, my God, and to consecrate it to him, for the burning of fragrant incense in his presence, for the perpetual display of the showbread, for holocausts morning and evening, and for the sabbaths, new moons, and festivals of the LORD, our God: such is Israel's perpetual obligation. ⁴And the house I intend to build must be large, for our God is greater than all other gods. ⁵Yet who is really able to build him a house, since the heavens and even the highest heavens cannot contain him? And who am I that I should build him a house, unless it be to offer incense in his

362 presence? ⁶Now, send me men skilled at work in gold, silver, bronze and iron, in purple, crimson, and violet fabrics, and who know how to do engraved work, to join the craftsmen who are with me in Judah and Jerusalem, whom my father David appointed. ⁷Also send me boards of cedar, cypress and cabinet wood from Lebanon, for I realize that your servants know how to cut the wood of the Lebanon. My servants will labor with yours ⁸in order to prepare for me a great quantity of wood, since the house I intend to build must be lofty and wonderful. ⁹I will furnish as food for your servants, the hewers who cut the wood, twenty thousand kors of wheat, twenty thousand kors of barley, twenty thousand measures of wine, and twenty thousand measures of oil." ¹⁰Huram, king of Tyre, wrote an answer which he sent to Solomon: "Because the LORD loves his people, he has placed you over them as king." ¹¹He added: "Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who made heaven and earth, for having given King David a wise son of intelligence and understanding, who will build a house for the LORD and also a house for his royal estate. ¹²I am now sending you a craftsman of great skill, Huram-abi, ¹³son of a Danite woman and of a father from Tyre; he knows how to work with gold, silver, bronze and iron, with stone and wood, with purple, violet, fine linen and crimson, and also how to do all kinds of engraved work and to devise every type of artistic work that may be given him and your craftsmen and the craftsmen of my lord David your father. ¹⁴And now, let my lord send to his servants the wheat, barley, oil and wine which he has promised. ¹⁵For our part, we will cut trees on Lebanon, as many as you need, and float them down to you at the port of Joppa, whence you may take them up to Jerusalem." ¹⁶Thereupon Solomon took a census of all the alien men who were in the land of Israel (following the census David his father had taken of them), who were found to number one hundred fifty-three thousand six hundred. ¹⁷Of these he made seventy thousand carriers and eighty thousand cutters in the mountains, and three thousand six hundred overseers to keep the people working. 2 Chronicles Chapter 3 ¹Then Solomon began to build the house of the LORD in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, which had been pointed out to his father David, on the spot which David had selected, the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. ²He began to build in the second month of the fourth year of his reign. ³These were the specifications laid down by Solomon for building the house of God: the length was sixty cubits according to the old measure, and the width was twenty cubits; ⁴the porch which lay before the nave along the width of the house was also twenty cubits, and it was twenty cubits high. He overlaid its interior with pure gold. ⁵The nave he overlaid with cypress wood which he covered with fine gold, embossing on it palms and chains. ⁶He also decorated the building with precious stones. ⁷The house, its beams and thresholds, as well as its walls and its doors, he overlaid with gold, and he engraved cherubim upon the walls. (The gold was from Parvaim.) ⁸He also made the room of the holy of holies. Its length corresponded to the width of the house, twenty cubits, and its width was also twenty cubits. He overlaid it with fine gold to the amount of six hundred talents. ⁹The weight of the nails was fifty gold shekels. The upper chambers he likewise covered with gold. ¹⁰For the room of the holy of holies he made two cherubim of carved workmanship, which were then overlaid with gold. ¹¹The wings of the cherubim spanned twenty cubits: ¹²one wing of each cherub, five cubits in length, extended to a wall of the building, while the other wing, also five cubits in length, touched the corresponding wing of the second cherub. ¹³The combined wingspread of the two cherubim was thus twenty cubits. They stood upon their own feet, facing toward the nave.

overed with gold. ¹⁰For the room of the holy of holies he made two cherubim of carved workmanship, which were then overlaid with gold. ¹¹The wings of the cherubim spanned twenty cubits: ¹²one wing of each cherub, five cubits in length, extended to a wall of the building, while the other wing, also five cubits in length, touched the corresponding wing of the second cherub. ¹³The combined wingspread of the two cherubim was thus twenty cubits. They stood upon their own feet, facing toward the nave. ¹⁴He made the veil of violet, purple, crimson and fine linen, and had cherubim embroidered upon it. ¹⁵In front of the building he set two columns thirty-five cubits high; the capital topping each was of five cubits. ¹⁶He worked out chains in the form of a collar with which he encircled the capitals of the columns, and he made a hundred pomegranates which he set on the chains. ¹⁷He set up the columns to correspond with the nave, one for the right side and the

363 other for the left, and he called the one to the right Jachin and the one to the left Boaz. 2 Chronicles Chapter 4 ¹Then he made a bronze altar twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide and ten cubits high. ²He also made the molten sea. It was perfectly round, ten cubits in diameter, five in depth, and thirty in circumference; ³below the rim a ring of figures of oxen encircled the sea, ten to the cubit, all the way around; there were two rows of these cast in the same mold with the sea. ⁴It rested on twelve oxen, three facing north, three west, three south, and three east, with their haunches all toward the center; the sea rested on their backs. ⁵It was a handbreadth thick, and its brim was made like that of a cup, being lily-shaped. It had a capacity of three thousand measures. ⁶Then he made ten basins for washing, placing five of them to the right and five to the left. Here were cleansed the victims for the holocausts; but the sea was for the priests to wash in. ⁷He made the lampstands of gold, ten of them as was prescribed, and placed them in the nave, five to the right and five to the left. ⁸He made ten tables and had them set in the nave, five to the right and five to the left; and he made a hundred golden bowls. ⁹He made the court of the priests and the great courtyard and the gates of the courtyard; the gates he overlaid with bronze. ¹⁰The sea was placed off to the southeast from the right side of the temple. ¹¹Huram also made the pots, the shovels and the bowls. Huram thus completed the work he had to do for King Solomon in the house of God: ¹²two columns, two nodes for the capitals topping these two columns, and two networks covering the nodes of the capitals topping the columns; ¹³also four hundred pomegranates for the two networks, with two rows of pomegranates to each network, to cover the two nodes of the capitals topping the columns. ¹⁴He made the stands, and the basins on the stands; ¹⁵one sea, and the twelve oxen under it; ¹⁶likewise the pots, the shovels and the forks. Huram-abi made all these articles for King Solomon from polished bronze for the house of the LORD. ¹⁷The king had them cast in the Jordan region, in the clayey ground between Succoth and Zeredah. ¹⁸Solomon made all these vessels, so many in number that the weight of the bronze was not ascertained. ¹⁹Solomon had all these articles made for the house of God: the golden altar, the tables on which the showbread lay, ²⁰the lampstands and their lamps of pure gold which were to burn according to prescription before the sanctuary, ²¹flowers, lamps and gold tongs (this was the purest gold), ²²snuffers, bowls, cups and firepans of pure gold. As for the entry to the house, its inner doors to the holy of holies, as well as the doors to the nave, were of gold. 2 Chronicles Chapter 5 ¹ When all the work undertaken by Solomon for the temple of the LORD had been completed, he brought in the dedicated offerings of his father David, putting the silver, the gold and all the other articles in the treasuries of the house of God. ² At Solomon's order the elders of Israel and all the leaders of the tribes, the princes of the Israelite ancestral houses, came to Jerusalem to bring up the ark of the LORD'S covenant from the City of David (which is Zion). ³ All the men of Israel assembled before the king during the festival of the seventh month. ⁴ When all the elders of Israel had arrived, the Levites took up the ark, ⁵ and they carried the ark and the meeting tent with all the sacred vessels that were in the tent; it was the levitical priests who carried them. ⁶ King Solomon and the entire community of Israel gathered about him before the ark were sacrificing sheep and oxen so numerous that they could not be counted or numbered. ⁷ The priests brought the ark of the covenant of the LORD to its place beneath the wings of the cherubim in the sanctuary, the holy of holies of the temple.

Levites took up the ark, ⁵ and they carried the ark and the meeting tent with all the sacred vessels that were in the tent; it was the levitical priests who carried them. ⁶ King Solomon and the entire community of Israel gathered about him before the ark were sacrificing sheep and oxen so numerous that they could not be counted or numbered. ⁷ The priests brought the ark of the covenant of the LORD to its place beneath the wings of the cherubim in the sanctuary, the holy of holies of the temple. ⁸ The cherubim had their wings spread out over the place of the ark, sheltering the ark and its poles from above. ⁹ The poles were long enough so that their ends could be seen from that part of the holy place nearest the sanctuary; however, they could not be seen beyond. The ark has remained there to this day. ¹⁰ There was nothing in it but the two

364 tablets which Moses put there on Horeb, the tablets of the covenant which the LORD made with the Israelites at their departure from Egypt. ¹¹ When the priests came out of the holy place (all the priests who were present had purified themselves without reference to the rotation of their various classes), ¹² the Levites who were singers, all who belonged to Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun, and their sons and brothers, clothed in fine linen, with cymbals, harps and lyres, stood east of the altar, and with them a hundred and twenty priests blowing trumpets. ¹³ When the trumpeters and singers were heard as a single voice praising and giving thanks to the LORD, and when they raised the sound of the trumpets, cymbals and other musical instruments to "give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his mercy endures forever," the building of the LORD'S temple was filled with a cloud. ¹⁴ The priests could not continue to minister because of the cloud, since the LORD'S glory filled the house of God. 2 Chronicles Chapter 6 ¹ Then Solomon said: "The LORD intends to dwell in the dark cloud. ² I have truly built you a princely house and dwelling, where you may abide forever." ³ Turning about, the king greeted the whole community of Israel as they stood. ⁴ He said: "Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who with his own mouth made a promise to my father David and by his own hands brought it to fulfillment. He said: ⁵ 'Since the day I brought my people out of the land of Egypt, I have not chosen any city from among all the tribes of Israel for the building of a temple to my honor, nor have I chosen any man to be commander of my people Israel; ⁶ but now I choose Jerusalem, where I shall be honored, and I choose David to rule my people Israel.' ⁷ My father David wished to build a temple to the honor of the LORD, the God of Israel, ⁸ but the LORD said to him: 'In wishing to build a temple to my honor, you do well. ⁹ However, you shall not build the temple; rather, your son whom you will beget shall build the temple to my honor.' ¹⁰ "Now the LORD has fulfilled the promise that he made. I have succeeded my father David and have taken my seat on the throne of Israel, as the LORD foretold, and I have built the temple to the honor of the LORD, the God of Israel. ¹¹ And I have placed there the ark, in which abides the covenant of the LORD which he made with the Israelites." ¹² Solomon then took his place before the altar of the LORD in the presence of the whole community of Israel and stretched forth his hands. ¹³ He had made a bronze platform five cubits long, five cubits wide, and three cubits high, which he had placed in the middle of the courtyard. Having ascended it, Solomon knelt in the presence of the whole of Israel and stretched forth his hands toward heaven. ¹⁴ Thus he prayed: "LORD, God of Israel, there is no god like you in heaven or on earth; you keep your covenant and show kindness to your servants who are wholeheartedly faithful to you. ¹⁵ You have kept the promise you made to my father David, your servant. With your own mouth you spoke it, and by your own hand you have brought it to fulfillment this day. ¹⁶ Now, therefore, LORD, God of Israel, keep the further promise you made to my father David, your servant, when you said, 'You shall always have someone from your line to sit before me on the throne of Israel, provided only that your descendants look to their conduct so as always to live according to my law, even as you have lived in my presence.' ¹⁷ Now, LORD, God of Israel, may this promise which you made to your servant David be confirmed. ¹⁸ "Can it indeed be that God dwells with mankind on earth? If the heavens and the highest heavens cannot contain you, how much less this temple which I have built! ¹⁹ Look kindly on the prayer and petition of your servant, O LORD, my God, and listen to the cry of supplication your servant makes before you.

heir conduct so as always to live according to my law, even as you have lived in my presence.' ¹⁷ Now, LORD, God of Israel, may this promise which you made to your servant David be confirmed. ¹⁸ "Can it indeed be that God dwells with mankind on earth? If the heavens and the highest heavens cannot contain you, how much less this temple which I have built! ¹⁹ Look kindly on the prayer and petition of your servant, O LORD, my God, and listen to the cry of supplication your servant makes before you. ²⁰ May your eyes watch day and night over this temple, the place where you have decreed you shall be honored; may you heed the prayer which I your servant offer toward this place. ²¹ Listen to the petitions of your servant and of your people Israel which they direct toward this place. Listen from your heavenly dwelling, and when you have heard, pardon. ²² "When any man sins against his neighbor and is required to take an oath of execration against himself, and

365 when he comes for the oath before your altar in this temple, ²³ listen from heaven: take action and pass judgment on your servants, requiting the wicked man and holding him responsible for his conduct, but absolving the innocent and rewarding him according to his virtue. ²⁴ When your people Israel have sinned against you and are defeated by the enemy, but afterward they return and praise your name, and they pray to you and entreat you in this temple, ²⁵ listen from heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel, and bring them back to the land which you gave them and their fathers. ²⁶ When the sky is closed so that there is no rain, because they have sinned against you, but then they pray toward this place and praise your name, and they withdraw from sin because you afflict them, ²⁷ listen in heaven and forgive the sin of your servants and of your people Israel. But teach them the right way to live, and send rain upon your land which you gave your people as their heritage. ²⁸ When there is famine in the land, when there is pestilence, or blight, or mildew, or locusts, or caterpillars; when their enemies besiege them at any of their gates; whenever there is a plague or sickness of any kind; ²⁹ when any Israelite of all your people offers a prayer or petition of any kind, and in awareness of his affliction and pain, stretches out his hands toward this temple, ³⁰ listen from your heavenly dwelling place, and forgive. Knowing his heart, render to everyone according to his conduct, for you alone know the hearts of men. ³¹ So may they fear you and walk in your ways as long as they live on the land you gave our fathers. ³² "For the foreigner, too, who is not of your people Israel, when he comes from a distant land to honor your great name, your mighty power, and your outstretched arm, when they come in prayer to this temple, ³³ listen from your heavenly dwelling place, and do whatever the foreigner entreats you, that all the peoples of the earth may know your name, fearing you as do your people Israel, and knowing that this house which I have built is dedicated to your honor. ³⁴ "When your people go forth to war against their enemies, wherever you send them, and pray to you in the direction of this city and of the house I have built to your honor, ³⁵ listen from heaven to their prayer and petition, and defend their cause. ³⁶ When they sin against you (for there is no man who does not sin), and in your anger against them you deliver them to the enemy, so that their captors deport them to another land, far or near, ³⁷ when they repent in the land where they are captive and are converted, when they entreat you in the land of their captivity and say, 'We have sinned and done wrong; we have been wicked,' ³⁸ and with their whole heart and with their whole soul they turn back to you in the land of those who hold them captive, when they pray in the direction of their land which you gave their fathers, and of the city you have chosen, and of the house which I have built to your honor, ³⁹ listen from your heavenly dwelling place, hear their prayer and petitions, and uphold their cause. Forgive your people who have sinned against you. ⁴⁰ My God, may your eyes be open and your ears attentive to the prayer of this place. ⁴¹ And now, "Advance, LORD God, to your resting place, you and the ark of your majesty. May your priests, LORD God, be clothed with salvation, may your faithful ones rejoice in good things. ⁴² LORD God, reject not the plea of your anointed, remember the devotion of David, your servant." 2 Chronicles Chapter 7 ¹ When Solomon had ended his prayer, fire came down from heaven and consumed the holocaust and the sacrifices, and the glory of the LORD filled the house. ² But the priests could not enter the house of the LORD, for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of the LORD.

esty. May your priests, LORD God, be clothed with salvation, may your faithful ones rejoice in good things. ⁴² LORD God, reject not the plea of your anointed, remember the devotion of David, your servant." 2 Chronicles Chapter 7 ¹ When Solomon had ended his prayer, fire came down from heaven and consumed the holocaust and the sacrifices, and the glory of the LORD filled the house. ² But the priests could not enter the house of the LORD, for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of the LORD. ³ All the Israelites looked on while the fire came down and the glory of the LORD was upon the house, and they fell down upon the pavement with their faces to the earth and adored, praising the LORD, "for he is good, for his mercy endures forever." ⁴ The king and all the people were offering sacrifices before the LORD. ⁵ King Solomon offered as sacrifice twenty-two thousand oxen, and one hundred twenty thousand sheep. ⁶ Thus the king and all the people dedicated the house of God. The priests were standing at their stations, as were the Levites, with the musical instruments of the LORD

366 which King David had made for "praising the LORD, for his mercy endures forever," when David used them to accompany the hymns. Across from them the priests blew the trumpets and all Israel stood. ⁷ Then Solomon consecrated the middle part of the court which lay before the house of the LORD; there he offered the holocausts and the fat of the peace offerings, since the bronze altar which Solomon had made could not hold the holocausts, the cereal offerings and the fat. ⁸ On this occasion Solomon and with him all Israel, who had assembled in very large numbers from Labo of Hamath to the Wadi of Egypt, celebrated the festival for seven days. ⁹ On the eighth day they held a special meeting, for they had celebrated the dedication of the altar for seven days and the feast for seven days. ¹⁰ On the twenty-third day of the seventh month he sent the people back to their tents, rejoicing and glad at heart at the good things the LORD had done for David, for Solomon, and for his people Israel. ¹¹ Solomon completed the house of the LORD and the royal palace; he successfully accomplished everything he had planned to do in regard to the house of the LORD and his own house. ¹² The LORD appeared to Solomon during the night and said to him: "I have heard your prayer, and I have chosen this place for my house of sacrifice. ¹³ If I close heaven so that there is no rain, if I command the locust to devour the land, if I send pestilence among my people, ¹⁴ and if my people, upon whom my name has been pronounced, humble themselves and pray, and seek my presence and turn from their evil ways, I will hear them from heaven and pardon their sins and revive their land. ¹⁵ Now my eyes shall be open and my ears attentive to the prayer of this place. ¹⁶ And now I have chosen and consecrated this house that my name may be there forever; my eyes and my heart also shall be there always. ¹⁷ "As for you, if you live in my presence as your father David did, doing all that I have commanded you and keeping my statutes and ordinances, ¹⁸ I will establish your royal throne as I covenanted with your father David when I said, 'There shall never be lacking someone of yours as ruler in Israel.' ¹⁹ But if you turn away and forsake my statutes and commands which I placed before you, if you proceed to venerate and worship strange gods, ²⁰ then I will uproot the people from the land I gave them; I will cast from my sight this house which I have consecrated to my honor, and I will make it a proverb and a byword among all peoples. ²¹ This temple which is so exalted - everyone passing by it will be amazed and ask: 'Why has the LORD done this to this land and to this house?' ²² And men will answer: 'They forsook the LORD, the God of their fathers, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and they adopted strange gods and worshiped them and served them. That is why he has brought down upon them all this evil.'" 2 Chronicles Chapter 8 ¹ After the twenty years during which Solomon built the house of the LORD and his own house, ² he built up the cities which Huram had given him, and settled Israelites there. ³ Then Solomon went to Hamath of Zoba and conquered it. ⁴ He built Tadmor in the desert region and all the supply cities, which he built in Hamath. ⁵ He built Upper Beth-horon and Lower Beth-horon, fortified cities with walls, gates and bars; ⁶ also Baalath, all the supply cities belonging to Solomon, and all the cities for the chariots, the cities for the horsemen, and whatever else Solomon decided should be built in Jerusalem, in the Lebanon, and in the entire land under his dominion. ⁷ All the people that remained of the Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, who were not of Israel - ⁸ that is, their descendants remaining in the land, whom the Israelites had not destroyed - Solomon subjected to forced labor, as they continue to this day. ⁹ But Solomon did not enslave the Israelites for his works.

he chariots, the cities for the horsemen, and whatever else Solomon decided should be built in Jerusalem, in the Lebanon, and in the entire land under his dominion. ⁷ All the people that remained of the Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, who were not of Israel - ⁸ that is, their descendants remaining in the land, whom the Israelites had not destroyed - Solomon subjected to forced labor, as they continue to this day. ⁹ But Solomon did not enslave the Israelites for his works. They became soldiers, commanders of his warriors, and commanders of his chariots and his horsemen. ¹⁰ They were also King Solomon's two hundred and fifty overseers who had charge of the people. ¹¹ Solomon brought the daughter of Pharaoh up from the City of David to the palace which he had built for her, for he said, "No wife of mine shall dwell in the house of David, king of Israel, for the places where the ark of the LORD has come are holy." ¹²

367 In those times Solomon offered holocausts to the LORD upon the altar of the LORD which he had built in front of the porch, ¹³ as was required day by day according to the command of Moses, and in particular on the sabbaths, at the new moons, and on the fixed festivals three times a year: on the feast of the Unleavened Bread, the feast of Weeks and the feast of Booths. ¹⁴ And according to the ordinance of his father David he appointed the various classes of the priests for their service, and the Levites according to their functions of praise and ministry alongside the priests, as the daily duty required. The gatekeepers of the various classes stood guard at each gate, since such was the command of David, the man of God. ¹⁵ There was no deviation from the king's command in any respect relating to the priests and Levites or the treasuries. ¹⁶ All of Solomon's work was carried out successfully from the day the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid until the house of the LORD had been completed in every detail. ¹⁷ In those times Solomon went to Ezion- geber and to Elath on the seashore of the land of Edom. ¹⁸ Huram, through his servants, sent him ships and crewmen acquainted with the sea, who accompanied Solomon's servants to Ophir and brought back from there four hundred and fifty talents of gold to King Solomon. 2 Chronicles Chapter 9 ¹ When the queen of Sheba heard of Solomon's fame, she came to Jerusalem to test him with subtle questions, accompanied by a very numerous retinue and by camels bearing spices, much gold, and precious stones. She came to Solomon and questioned him on every subject in which she was interested. ² Solomon explained to her everything she asked about, and there remained nothing hidden from Solomon that he could not explain to her. ³ When the queen of Sheba witnessed Solomon's wisdom, the palace he had built, ⁴ the food at his table, the seating of his ministers, the attendance of his servants and their dress, his cupbearers and their dress, and the holocausts he offered in the house of the LORD, it took her breath away. ⁵ "The account I heard in my country about your deeds and your wisdom is true," she told the king. ⁶ "Yet I did not believe the report until I came and saw with my own eyes. I have discovered that they did not tell me the half of your great wisdom; you have surpassed the stories I heard. ⁷ Happy are your men, happy these servants of yours, who stand before you always and listen to your wisdom. ⁸ Blessed be the LORD, your God, who has been so pleased with you as to place you on his throne as king for the LORD, your God. Because your God has so loved Israel as to will to make it last forever, he has appointed you over them as king to administer right and justice." ⁹ Then she gave the king one hundred and twenty gold talents and a very large quantity of spices, as well as precious stones. There was no other spice like that which the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon. ¹⁰ The servants of Huram and of Solomon who brought gold from Ophir also brought cabinet wood and precious stones. ¹¹ With the cabinet wood the king made stairs for the temple of the LORD and the palace of the king; also lyres and harps for the chanters. The like of these had not been seen before in the land of Judah. ¹² King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba everything she desired and asked him for, more than she had brought to the king. Then she returned to her own country with her servants. ¹³ The gold that Solomon received each year weighed six hundred and sixty-six gold talents, ¹⁴ in addition to what was collected from travelers and what the merchants brought. All the kings of Arabia also, and the governors of the country, brought gold and silver to Solomon.

had not been seen before in the land of Judah. ¹² King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba everything she desired and asked him for, more than she had brought to the king. Then she returned to her own country with her servants. ¹³ The gold that Solomon received each year weighed six hundred and sixty-six gold talents, ¹⁴ in addition to what was collected from travelers and what the merchants brought. All the kings of Arabia also, and the governors of the country, brought gold and silver to Solomon. ¹⁵ Moreover, King Solomon made two hundred large shields of beaten gold, six hundred shekels of beaten gold going into each shield, ¹⁶ and three hundred bucklers of beaten gold, three hundred shekels of gold going into each buckler; these the king put in the hall of the Forest of Lebanon. ¹⁷ King Solomon also made a large ivory throne which he overlaid with fine gold. ¹⁸ The throne had six steps; a footstool of gold was fastened to it, and there was an arm on each side of the seat, with two lions standing beside the arms. ¹⁹ Twelve other lions also stood there, one on either side of each step. Nothing like this had ever been produced in any other kingdom. ²⁰ Furthermore, all of

368 King Solomon's drinking vessels were of gold, and all the utensils in the hall of the Forest of Lebanon were of pure gold; silver was not considered of value in Solomon's time. ²¹ For the king had ships that went to Tarshish with the servants of Huram. Once every three years the fleet of Tarshish would return with a cargo of gold and silver, ivory, apes and monkeys. ²² Thus King Solomon surpassed all the other kings of the earth in riches as well as in wisdom. ²³ All the kings of the earth sought audience with Solomon, to hear from him the wisdom which God had put in his heart. ²⁴ Year in and year out, each one would bring his tribute-silver and gold articles, garments, weapons, spices, horses and mules. ²⁵ Solomon also had four thousand stalls of horses, chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, which he assigned to the chariot cities and to the king in Jerusalem. ²⁶ He was ruler over all the kings from the River to the land of the Philistines and down to the border of Egypt. ²⁷ The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, while cedars became as numerous as the sycamores of the foothills. ²⁸ Horses were imported for Solomon from Egypt and from all the lands. ²⁹ The rest of the acts of Solomon, first and last, are written, as is well known, in the acts of Nathan the prophet, in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of Iddo the seer which concern Jeroboam, son of Nebat. ³⁰ Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel for forty years. ³¹ He rested with his ancestors; he was buried in his father's City of David, and his son Rehoboam succeeded him as king. 2 Chronicles Chapter 10 ¹ Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had come to Shechem to proclaim him king. ² When Jeroboam, son of Nebat, heard of this in Egypt where he had fled from King Solomon, he returned from Egypt. ³ Jeroboam was summoned to the assembly, and he and all Israel said to Rehoboam: ⁴ "Your father laid a heavy yoke upon us. If you now lighten the harsh service and the heavy yoke that your father imposed on us, we will serve you." ⁵ "In three days," he answered them, "come back to me." When the people had departed, ⁶ King Rehoboam consulted the elders who had been in the service of his father during Solomon's lifetime, asking, "What answer do you advise me to give this people?" ⁷ They replied, "If you will deal kindly with this people and give in to them, acceding to their request, they will be your servants forever." ⁸ But he ignored the advice the elders had given him and consulted the young men who had grown up with him and were in his service. ⁹ He said to them, "What answer do you advise me to give this people, who have asked me to lighten the yoke my father imposed on them?" ¹⁰ The young men who had grown up with him replied: "This is the answer you should give to this people who have said to you, 'Your father laid a heavy yoke upon us, but do you lighten our yoke'; this you should say to them: 'My little finger is thicker than my father's body. ¹¹ Whereas my father put a heavy yoke on you, I will make it heavier! My father beat you with whips, but I will beat you with scorpions!'" ¹² On the third day, Jeroboam and all the people came back to King Rehoboam as he had instructed them to do. ¹³ Ignoring the advice the elders had given him, the king gave them a harsh answer, ¹⁴ speaking to them according to the advice of the young men: "My father laid a heavy yoke on you, but I will make it heavier. My father beat you with whips, but I will beat you with scorpions." ¹⁵ The king would not listen to the people, for this turn of events was divinely ordained to fulfill the prophecy the LORD had uttered to Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, through Ahijah the Shilonite. ¹⁶ When all Israel saw that the king would not listen to them, the people answered the king. "What share have we in David? We have no heritage in the son of Jesse. Everyone to your tents, O Israel! Now look to your own house, David!" So all Israel went off to their tents.

will beat you with scorpions." ¹⁵ The king would not listen to the people, for this turn of events was divinely ordained to fulfill the prophecy the LORD had uttered to Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, through Ahijah the Shilonite. ¹⁶ When all Israel saw that the king would not listen to them, the people answered the king. "What share have we in David? We have no heritage in the son of Jesse. Everyone to your tents, O Israel! Now look to your own house, David!" So all Israel went off to their tents. ¹⁷ Rehoboam, therefore, reigned over only those Israelites who lived in the cities of Judah. ¹⁸ King Rehoboam then sent out Hadoram, who was superintendent of the forced labor, but the Israelites stoned him to death. Rehoboam himself managed to mount his chariot and flee to Jerusalem. ¹⁹ Thus Israel has been in rebellion against David's house to this day.

369 2 Chronicles Chapter 11 ¹ On his arrival in Jerusalem Rehoboam gathered together the house of Judah and Benjamin, a hundred and eighty thousand seasoned warriors, to have them fight against Israel and restore the kingdom to him. ² However, the word of the LORD came to Shemaiah, a man of God: ³ "Say to Rehoboam, son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all the Israelites in Judah and Benjamin: ⁴ 'Thus says the LORD: You must not march out to fight against your brothers. Let every man return home, for what has occurred I have brought about.'" They obeyed this message of the LORD and gave up the expedition against Jeroboam. ⁵ Rehoboam took up residence in Jerusalem and built fortified cities in Judah. ⁶ He built up Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa, ⁷ Beth-zur, Soco, Adullam, ⁸ Gath, Mareshah, Ziph, ⁹ Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah, ¹⁰ Zorah, Aijalon, and Hebron; these were fortified cities in Judah and Benjamin. ¹¹ Then he strengthened the fortifications and put commanders in them, with supplies of food, oil and wine. ¹² In every city were shields and spears, and he made them very strong. Thus Judah and Benjamin remained his. ¹³ Now the priests and Levites throughout Israel presented themselves to him from all parts of their land, ¹⁴ for the Levites left their assigned pasture lands and their holdings and came to Judah and Jerusalem, because Jeroboam and his sons repudiated them as priests of the LORD. ¹⁵ In their place, he himself appointed priests for the high places and satyrs and calves he had made. ¹⁶ After them, all those of the Israelite tribes who firmly desired to seek the LORD, the God of Israel, came to Jerusalem to sacrifice to the LORD, the God of their fathers. ¹⁷ Thus they strengthened the kingdom of Judah and made Rehoboam, son of Solomon, prevail for three years; for they walked in the way of David and Solomon three years. ¹⁸ Rehoboam took to himself as wife Mahalath, daughter of Jerimoth, son of David and of Abihail, daughter of Eliab, son of Jesse. ¹⁹ She bore him sons: Jehush, Shemariah and Zaham. ²⁰ After her, he married Maacah, daughter of Absalom, who bore him Abijah, Attai, Ziza and Shelomith. ²¹ Rehoboam loved Maacah, daughter of Absalom, more than all his other wives and concubines; he had taken eighteen wives and sixty concubines, and he fathered twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters. ²² Rehoboam constituted Abijah, son of Maacah, commander among his brothers, for he intended to make him king. ²³ He acted prudently, distributing various of his sons throughout all the districts of Judah and Benjamin, in all the fortified cities; and he furnished them with copious provisions and sought an abundance of wives for them. 2 Chronicles Chapter 12 ¹ After Rehoboam had consolidated his rule and had become powerful, he abandoned the law of the LORD, he and all Israel with him. ² Thus it happened that in the fifth year of King Rehoboam, Shishak, king of Egypt, attacked Jerusalem, for they had been unfaithful to the LORD. ³ He came up with twelve hundred chariots and sixty thousand horsemen, and there was no counting the army that came with him from Egypt—Libyans, Sukkites and Ethiopians. ⁴ They captured the fortified cities of Judah and came as far as Jerusalem. ⁵ Then Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam and the commanders of Judah who had gathered at Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said to them: "Thus says the LORD: 'You have abandoned me, and therefore I have abandoned you to the power of Shishak.'" ⁶ However, the commanders of Israel and the king humbled themselves saying, "The LORD is just." ⁷ When the LORD saw that they had humbled themselves, the word of the LORD came to Shemaiah: "Because they have humbled themselves, I will not destroy them; I will give them some deliverance, and my wrath shall not be poured out upon Jerusalem through Shishak.

ecause of Shishak, and said to them: "Thus says the LORD: 'You have abandoned me, and therefore I have abandoned you to the power of Shishak.'" ⁶ However, the commanders of Israel and the king humbled themselves saying, "The LORD is just." ⁷ When the LORD saw that they had humbled themselves, the word of the LORD came to Shemaiah: "Because they have humbled themselves, I will not destroy them; I will give them some deliverance, and my wrath shall not be poured out upon Jerusalem through Shishak. ⁸ But they shall be his servants, that they may know what it is to serve me and what it is to serve earthly kingdoms." ⁹ Therefore Shishak, king of Egypt, attacked Jerusalem and carried off the treasures of the temple of the LORD and of the king's palace. He

370 took everything, including the gold bucklers that Solomon had made. ¹⁰ (To replace them, King Rehoboam made bronze bucklers, which he entrusted to the officers of the guard on duty at the entrance of the royal palace. ¹¹ Whenever the king visited the temple of the LORD, the troops would come bearing them, and then they would return them to the guardroom.) ¹² Because he had humbled himself, the anger of the LORD turned from him so that it did not destroy him completely; and in Judah, moreover, good deeds were found. ¹³ King Rehoboam consolidated his power in Jerusalem and continued to rule; he was forty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city in which, out of all the tribes of Israel, the LORD chose to be honored. Rehoboam's mother was named Naamah, an Ammonite. ¹⁴ He did evil, for he had not truly resolved to seek the LORD. ¹⁵ The acts of Rehoboam, first and last, are written, as is well known, in the history of Shemaiah the prophet and of Iddo the seer (his family record). There was war continually between Rehoboam and Jeroboam. ¹⁶ Rehoboam rested with his ancestors; he was buried in the City of David. His son Abijah succeeded him as king. 2 Chronicles Chapter 13 ¹ In the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam, Abijah became king of Judah; ² he reigned three years in Jerusalem. His mother was named Michaiah, daughter of Uriel of Gibeah. There was war between Abijah and Jeroboam. ³ Abijah joined battle with a force of four hundred thousand picked warriors, while Jeroboam lined up against him in battle with eight hundred thousand picked and valiant warriors. ⁴ Abijah stood on Mount Zemariam, which is in the highlands of Ephraim, and said: "Listen to me, Jeroboam and all Israel! ⁵ Do you not know that the LORD, the God of Israel, has given the kingdom of Israel to David forever, to him and to his sons, by a covenant made in salt? ⁶ Yet Jeroboam, son of Nebat, the servant of Solomon, son of David, has stood up and rebelled against his lord! ⁷ Worthless men, scoundrels, joined him and overcame Rehoboam, son of Solomon, when Rehoboam was young and unthinking, and no match for them. ⁸ But now, do you think you are a match for the kingdom of the LORD commanded by the sons of David, simply because you are a huge multitude and have with you the golden calves which Jeroboam made you for gods? ⁹ "Have you not expelled the priests of the LORD, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and made for yourselves priests like the peoples of foreign lands? Everyone who comes to consecrate himself with a young bull and seven rams becomes a priest of no-gods. ¹⁰ But as for us, the LORD is our God, and we have not forsaken him. The priests ministering to the LORD are sons of Aaron, and the Levites also have their offices. ¹¹ They burn holocausts to the LORD and fragrant incense morning after morning and evening after evening; they display the showbread on the pure table, and the lamps of the golden lampstand burn evening after evening; for we observe our duties to the LORD, our God, but you have abandoned him. ¹² See, God is with us, at our head, and his priests are here with trumpets to sound the attack against you. Do not battle against the LORD, the God of your fathers, O Israelites, for you will not succeed!" ¹³ But Jeroboam had an ambush go around them to come at them from the rear; so that while his army faced Judah, his ambush lay behind them. ¹⁴ When Judah turned and saw that they had to battle on both fronts, they cried out to the LORD and the priests sounded the trumpets. ¹⁵ Then the men of Judah shouted; and when they did so, God defeated Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah. ¹⁶ The Israelites fled before Judah, and God delivered them into their hands. ¹⁷ Abijah and his people inflicted a severe defeat upon them; five hundred thousand picked men of Israel fell slain.

ile his army faced Judah, his ambush lay behind them. ¹⁴ When Judah turned and saw that they had to battle on both fronts, they cried out to the LORD and the priests sounded the trumpets. ¹⁵ Then the men of Judah shouted; and when they did so, God defeated Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah. ¹⁶ The Israelites fled before Judah, and God delivered them into their hands. ¹⁷ Abijah and his people inflicted a severe defeat upon them; five hundred thousand picked men of Israel fell slain. ¹⁸ The Israelites were subdued on that occasion and the Judahites were victorious because they relied on the LORD, the God of their fathers. ¹⁹ Abijah pursued Jeroboam and took cities from him: Bethel and its dependencies, Jeshanah and its dependencies, and Ephron and its dependencies. ²⁰ Jeroboam did not regain power during the time of Abijah; the LORD struck him down and he died, ²¹ while Abijah continued to grow stronger. He took to himself fourteen wives and fathered twenty-two

371 sons and sixteen daughters. ²² The rest of Abijah's acts, his deeds and his words, are written in the midrash of the prophet Iddo. ²³ Abijah rested with his ancestors; they buried him in the City of David. His son Asa succeeded him as king. During his time, ten years of peace began in the land. 2 Chronicles Chapter 14 ¹ Asa did what was good and pleasing to the LORD, his God, ² removing the heathen altars and the high places, breaking to pieces the sacred pillars, and cutting down the sacred poles. ³ He commanded Judah to seek the LORD, the God of their fathers, and to observe the law and its commands. ⁴ He removed the high places and incense stands from all the cities of Judah, and under him the kingdom had peace. ⁵ He built fortified cities in Judah, for the land had peace and no war was waged against him during these years, because the LORD had given him peace. ⁶ He said to Judah: "Let us build these cities and surround them with walls, towers, gates and bars. The land is still ours, for we have sought the LORD, our God; we sought him, and he has given us rest on every side." So they built and prospered. ⁷ Asa had an army of three hundred thousand shield- and lance-bearers from Judah, and two hundred and eighty thousand from Benjamin who carried bucklers and were archers, all of them valiant warriors. ⁸ Zerah the Ethiopian moved against them with a force of one million men and three hundred chariots, and he came as far as Mareshah. ⁹ Asa went out to meet him and set himself in battle array in the valley of Zephathah, near Mareshah. ¹⁰ Asa called upon the LORD, his God, praying: "O LORD, there is none like you to help the powerless against the strong. Help us, O LORD, our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this multitude. You are the LORD, our God; let no man prevail against you." ¹¹ And so the LORD defeated the Ethiopians before Asa and Judah, and they fled. ¹² Asa and those with him pursued them as far as Gerar, and the Ethiopians fell until there were no survivors, for they were crushed before the LORD and his army, which carried away enormous spoils. ¹³ Then the Judahites conquered all the cities around Gerar, for the fear of the LORD was upon them; they despoiled all the cities, for there was much booty in them. ¹⁴ They attacked also the tents of the cattle-herders and carried off a great number of sheep and camels. Then they returned to Jerusalem. 2 Chronicles Chapter 15 ¹ Upon Azariah, son of Oded, came the spirit of God. ² He went forth to meet Asa and said to him: "Hear me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin! The LORD is with you when you are with him, and if you seek him he will be present to you; but if you abandon him, he will abandon you. ³ For a long time Israel had no true God, no priest-teacher and no law, ⁴ but when in their distress they turned to the LORD, the God of Israel, and sought him, he was present to them. ⁵ In that former time there was no peace for anyone to go or come, but there were many terrors upon the inhabitants of the lands. ⁶ Nation crushed nation and city crushed city, for God destroyed them by every kind of adversity. ⁷ But as for you, be strong and do not relax, for your work shall be rewarded." ⁸ When Asa heard these words and the prophecy (Oded the prophet), he was encouraged to remove the detestable idols from the whole land of Judah and Benjamin and from the cities he had taken in the highlands of Ephraim, and to restore the altar of the LORD which was before the vestibule of the LORD. ⁹ Then he convened all Judah and Benjamin, together with those of Ephraim, Manasseh and Simeon who sojourned with them; for many had fled to him from Israel when they saw that the LORD, his God, was with him. ¹⁰ They gathered at Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of Asa's reign, ¹¹ and sacrificed to the LORD at that time seven hundred oxen and seven thousand sheep of the booty they had brought.

raim, and to restore the altar of the LORD which was before the vestibule of the LORD. ⁹ Then he convened all Judah and Benjamin, together with those of Ephraim, Manasseh and Simeon who sojourned with them; for many had fled to him from Israel when they saw that the LORD, his God, was with him. ¹⁰ They gathered at Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of Asa's reign, ¹¹ and sacrificed to the LORD at that time seven hundred oxen and seven thousand sheep of the booty they had brought. ¹² They entered into a covenant to seek the LORD, the God of their fathers, with all their heart and soul; ¹³ and everyone who would not seek the LORD, the God of Israel, was to be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or

372 woman. ¹⁴ They swore to the LORD with a loud voice, with shouting and with trumpets and horns. ¹⁵ All Judah rejoiced over the oath, for they had sworn with their whole heart and sought him with complete desire, so that he was present to them. And the LORD gave them rest on every side. ¹⁶ Maacah, the mother of King Asa, he deposed as queen mother because she had made an outrageous object for Asherah; Asa cut this down, smashed it, and burnt it in the Kidron Valley. ¹⁷ Although the high places did not disappear from Israel, yet Asa's heart was undivided as long as he lived. ¹⁸ He brought into the house of God his father's votive offerings and his own: silver, gold, and various utensils. ¹⁹ There was no war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa's reign. 2 Chronicles Chapter 16 ¹ In the thirty-sixth year of Asa's reign, Baasha, king of Israel, attacked Judah and fortified Ramah to prevent any communication with Asa, king of Judah. ² Asa then brought out silver and gold from the treasuries of the temple of the LORD and of the royal palace and sent them to Ben-hadad, king of Aram, who lived in Damascus, with this message: ³ "There is a treaty between you and me, as there was between your father and my father. See, I am sending you silver and gold. Go, break your treaty with Baasha, king of Israel, that he may withdraw from me." ⁴ Ben-hadad agreed to King Asa's request and sent the leaders of his troops against the cities of Israel. They attacked Ijon, Dan, Abel-maim, and all the store cities of Naphtali. ⁵ When Baasha heard of it, he left off fortifying Ramah; he stopped his work. ⁶ Then King Asa commandeered all of Judah to carry away the stone and wood with which Baasha had been fortifying Ramah, and with them he fortified Geba and Mizpah. ⁷ At that time Hanani the seer came to Asa, king of Judah, and said to him: "Because you relied on the king of Aram and did not rely on the LORD, your God, the army of the king of Aram has escaped your hand. ⁸ Were not the Ethiopians and Libyans a vast army, with great numbers of chariots and drivers? And yet, because you relied on the LORD, he delivered them into your power. ⁹ The eyes of the LORD roam over the whole earth, to encourage those who are devoted to him wholeheartedly. You have acted foolishly in this matter, for from now on you will have wars." ¹⁰ But Asa became angry with the seer and imprisoned him in the stocks, so greatly was he enraged at him over this. Asa also oppressed some of his people at this time. ¹¹ Now the acts of Asa, first and last, can be found recorded in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. ¹² In the thirty-ninth year of his reign, Asa contracted a serious disease in his feet. But even in his sickness he did not seek the LORD, but only the physicians. ¹³ Asa rested with his ancestors; he died in the forty-first year of his reign. ¹⁴ They buried him in the tomb he had hewn for himself in the City of David, having laid him upon a couch which was filled with spices and various kinds of aromatics compounded into an ointment. They also burned a very great funeral pyre for him. 2 Chronicles Chapter 17 ¹ His son Jehoshaphat succeeded him as king and strengthened his hold against Israel. ² He placed armed forces in all the fortified cities of Judah, and put garrisons in the land of Judah and in the cities of Ephraim which his father Asa had taken. ³ The LORD was with Jehoshaphat, for he walked in the ways his father had pursued in the beginning, and he did not consult the Baals. ⁴ Rather, he sought the God of his father and observed his commands, and not the practices of Israel. ⁵ As a result, the LORD made his kingdom secure, and all Judah gave Jehoshaphat gifts, so that he enjoyed great wealth and glory. ⁶ Thus he was encouraged to follow the LORD'S ways, and again he removed the high places and the sacred poles from Judah.

a had taken. ³ The LORD was with Jehoshaphat, for he walked in the ways his father had pursued in the beginning, and he did not consult the Baals. ⁴ Rather, he sought the God of his father and observed his commands, and not the practices of Israel. ⁵ As a result, the LORD made his kingdom secure, and all Judah gave Jehoshaphat gifts, so that he enjoyed great wealth and glory. ⁶ Thus he was encouraged to follow the LORD'S ways, and again he removed the high places and the sacred poles from Judah. ⁷ In the third year of his reign he sent his leading men, Ben-hail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel and Micaiah, to teach in the cities of Judah. ⁸ With them he sent the Levites Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah and Tobijah, together with the priests Elishama and Jehoram. ⁹ They taught in Judah, having with them the book containing the law of the LORD; they traveled through

373 all the cities of Judah and taught among the people. ¹⁰ Now the fear of the LORD was upon all the kingdoms of the countries surrounding Judah, so that they did not war against Jehoshaphat. ¹¹ Some of the Philistines brought Jehoshaphat gifts and a tribute of silver; and the Arabs also brought him a flock of seven thousand seven hundred rams and seven thousand seven hundred he-goats. ¹² Jehoshaphat grew steadily greater. He built strongholds and store cities in Judah. ¹³ He carried out many works in the cities of Judah, and he had soldiers, valiant warriors, in Jerusalem. ¹⁴ This was their mustering according to their ancestral houses. Of Judah, the commanders of thousands: Adnah the commander, and with him three hundred thousand valiant warriors. ¹⁵ Next to him, Jehohanan the commander, and with him two hundred eighty thousand. ¹⁶ Next to him, Amasiah, son of Zichri, who offered himself to the LORD, and with him two hundred thousand valiant warriors. ¹⁷ From Benjamin: Eliada, a valiant warrior, and with him two hundred thousand armed with bow and buckler. ¹⁸ Next to him, Jozabad, and with him one hundred and eighty thousand equipped for war. ¹⁹ These were at the service of the king; in addition were those whom the king had placed in the fortified cities throughout all Judah. 2 Chronicles Chapter 18 ¹ Jehoshaphat therefore had wealth and glory in abundance; but he became related to Ahab by marriage. ² After some years he went down to Ahab at Samaria; Ahab offered numerous sheep and oxen for him and the people with him, and persuaded him to go up against Ramoth-gilead. ³ Ahab, king of Israel, asked Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, "Will you come with me to Ramoth-gilead?" "You and I are as one," was his answer; "your people and my people as well. We will be with you in the battle." ⁴ But Jehoshaphat also said to the king of Israel, "Seek the word of the LORD at once." ⁵ The king of Israel gathered his prophets, four hundred in number, and asked them, "Shall we go to attack Ramoth-gilead, or shall I refrain?" "Go up," they answered. "God will deliver it over to the king." ⁶ But Jehoshaphat said, "Is there no other prophet of the LORD here whom we may consult?" ⁷ The king of Israel answered Jehoshaphat, "There is still another through whom we may consult the LORD, but I hate him, for he prophesies not good but always evil about me. That is Micaiah, son of Imlah." Jeshoshaphat said, "Let not your Majesty speak of evil against you." ⁸ So the king of Israel called an official, to whom he said, "Get Micaiah, son of Imlah, at once." ⁹ The king of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah were seated each on his throne, clothed in their robes of state on a threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria, and all the prophets were prophesying before them. ¹⁰ Zedekiah, son of Chenaanah, made iron horns for himself and said: "The LORD says, 'With these you shall gore Aram until you have destroyed them.'" ¹¹ The other prophets prophesied in the same vein, saying: "Go up to Ramoth-gilead. You shall succeed; the LORD will deliver it over to the king." ¹² The messenger who had gone to call Micaiah said to him: "Look now, the prophets unanimously predict good for the king.

trance of the gate of Samaria, and all the prophets were prophesying before them. ¹⁰ Zedekiah, son of Chenaanah, made iron horns for himself and said: "The LORD says, 'With these you shall gore Aram until you have destroyed them.'" ¹¹ The other prophets prophesied in the same vein, saying: "Go up to Ramoth-gilead. You shall succeed; the LORD will deliver it over to the king." ¹² The messenger who had gone to call Micaiah said to him: "Look now, the prophets unanimously predict good for the king. Let your word, like each of theirs, predict good." ¹³ "As the LORD lives," Micaiah answered, "I will say what my God tells me." ¹⁴ When he came to the king, the king said to him, "Micaiah, shall we go to fight against Ramoth- gilead, or shall I refrain?" "Go up," he answered, "and succeed; they will be delivered into your power." ¹⁵ But the king said to him, "How many times must I adjure you to tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the LORD?" ¹⁶ Then Micaiah answered: "I see all Israel scattered on the mountains, like sheep without a shepherd, and the LORD saying, 'These have no master!' Let each of them go back home in peace.'" ¹⁷ The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "Did I not tell you that he prophesies no good about me, but only evil?" ¹⁸ But Micaiah continued: "Therefore hear the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD seated on his throne, with the whole host of heaven standing by to his right and to his left. ¹⁹ The LORD asked, 'Who will deceive Ahab, king of Israel, so that he will go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?' And one said this, another that, ²⁰ until a spirit came forward and presented himself to the LORD, saying, 'I will deceive him.' The LORD asked, 'How?'

374 ²¹ He answered, 'I will go forth and become a lying spirit in the mouths of all his prophets.' The LORD agreed: 'You shall succeed in deceiving him. Go forth and do this.' ²² So now the LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouths of these your prophets, but the LORD himself has decreed evil against you." ²³ Thereupon Zedekiah, son of Chenaanah, came up and slapped Micaiah on the cheek, saying, "Which way did the spirit of the LORD go when he left me to speak to you?" ²⁴ "You shall find out," Micaiah replied, "on that day when you enter an innermost chamber to hide." ²⁵ The king of Israel then said: "Seize Micaiah and take him back to Amon, prefect of the city, and to Joash the king's son, ²⁶ and say, 'This is the king's order: Put this man in prison and feed him scanty rations of bread and water until I return in safety!'" ²⁷ But Micaiah said, "If ever you return in safety, the LORD has not spoken through me." And he said, "Hear, O peoples, all of you!" ²⁸ The king of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah went up to Ramoth-gilead ²⁹ and the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "I will go into battle disguised, but you put on your own clothes." So the king of Israel disguised himself and they entered the fray. ³⁰ Meanwhile, the king of Aram had given his chariot commanders the order, "Fight with no one, small or great, except the king of Israel." ³¹ When the commanders saw Jehoshaphat, they exclaimed, "That must be the king of Israel!" and shifted to fight him. But Jehoshaphat cried out and the LORD helped him; God induced them to leave him. ³² The chariot commanders became aware that he was not the king of Israel and gave up their pursuit of him. ³³ Someone, however, drew his bow at random and hit the king of Israel between the joints of his breastplate. He ordered his charioteer, "Rein about and take me out of the ranks, for I am disabled." ³⁴ The battle grew fierce during the day, and the king of Israel braced himself up on his chariot facing the Arameans until evening. He died as the sun was setting. 2 Chronicles Chapter 19 ¹ King Jehoshaphat of Judah returned in safety to his house in Jerusalem. ² Jehu the seer, son of Hanani, met King Jehoshaphat and said to him: "Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the LORD? For this reason, wrath is upon you from the LORD. ³ Yet some good things are to be found in you, since you have removed the sacred poles from the land and have been determined to seek God." ⁴ Jehoshaphat dwelt in Jerusalem; but he went out again among the people from Beer-sheba to the highlands of Ephraim and brought them back to the LORD, the God of their fathers. ⁵ He appointed judges in the land, in all the fortified cities of Judah, city by city, ⁶ and he said to them: "Take care what you do, for you are judging, not on behalf of man, but on behalf of the LORD; he judges with you. ⁷ And now, let the fear of the LORD be upon you. Act carefully, for with the LORD, our God there is no injustice, no partiality, no bribe-taking." ⁸ In Jerusalem also, Jehoshaphat appointed some Levites and priests and some of the family heads of Israel to judge in the name of the LORD and to settle quarrels among the inhabitants of Jerusalem. ⁹ He gave them this command: "You shall act faithfully and wholeheartedly in the fear of the LORD. ¹⁰ And in every dispute that your brethren living in their cities bring to you, whether it concerns bloodguilt or questions of law, command, statutes, or judgments, warn them lest they become guilty before the LORD and his wrath come upon you and your brethren. Do that and you shall be guiltless. ¹¹ See now, Amariah is high priest over you in everything that pertains to the LORD, and Zebadiah, son of Ishmael, is leader of the house of Judah in all that pertains to the king; and the Levites will be your officials.

spute that your brethren living in their cities bring to you, whether it concerns bloodguilt or questions of law, command, statutes, or judgments, warn them lest they become guilty before the LORD and his wrath come upon you and your brethren. Do that and you shall be guiltless. ¹¹ See now, Amariah is high priest over you in everything that pertains to the LORD, and Zebadiah, son of Ishmael, is leader of the house of Judah in all that pertains to the king; and the Levites will be your officials. Act firmly, and the LORD will be with the good." 2 Chronicles Chapter 20 ¹ After this the Moabites, the Ammonites, and with them some Meunites came to fight against Jehoshaphat. ² The message was brought to Jehoshaphat: "A great multitude is coming against you from across the sea, from Edom; they are already in Hazazon-tamar" (which is En-gedi). ³

375 Jehoshaphat was frightened, and he hastened to consult the LORD. He proclaimed a fast for all Judah. ⁴ Then Judah gathered to seek help from the LORD; from every one of the cities of Judah they came to seek the LORD. ⁵ Jehoshaphat stood up in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem in the house of the LORD before the new court, ⁶ and he said: "LORD, God of our fathers, are you not the God in heaven, and do you not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations? In your hand is power and might, and no one can withstand you. ⁷ Was it not you, our God, who drove out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and gave it forever to the descendants of Abraham, your friend? ⁸ They have dwelt in it and they built in it a sanctuary to your honor, saying, ⁹ 'When evil comes upon us, the sword of judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house and before you, for your name is in this house, and we will cry out to you in our affliction, and you will hear and save!' ¹⁰ And now, see the Ammonites, Moabites, and those of Mount Seir whom you did not allow Israel to invade when they came from the land of Egypt, but instead they passed them by and did not destroy them. ¹¹ See how they are now repaying us by coming to drive us out of the possession you have given us. ¹² O our God, will you not pass judgment on them? We are powerless before this vast multitude that comes against us. We are at a loss what to do, hence our eyes are turned toward you." ¹³ All Judah was standing before the LORD, with their little ones, their wives, and their young sons. ¹⁴ And the spirit of the LORD came upon Jahaziel, son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the clan of Asaph, in the midst of the assembly, ¹⁵ and he said: "Listen, all of Judah, inhabitants of Jerusalem, and King Jehoshaphat! The LORD says to you: 'Do not fear or lose heart at the sight of this vast multitude, for the battle is not yours but God's. ¹⁶ Go down against them tomorrow. You will see them coming up by the ascent of Ziz, and you will come upon them at the end of the wadi which opens on the wilderness of Jeruel. ¹⁷ You will not have to fight in this encounter. Take your places, stand firm, and see how the LORD will be with you to deliver you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not fear or lose heart. Tomorrow go out to meet them, and the LORD will be with you.'" ¹⁸ Then Jehoshaphat knelt down with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the LORD in worship. ¹⁹ Levites from among the Kohathites and Korahites rose to sing the praises of the LORD, the God of Israel, in a resounding chorus. ²⁰ In the early morning they hastened out to the wilderness of Tekoa. As they were going out, Jehoshaphat halted and said: "Listen to me, Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem! Trust in the LORD, your God, and you will be found firm. Trust in his prophets and you will succeed." ²¹ After consulting with the people, he appointed some to sing to the LORD and some to praise the holy Appearance as it went forth at the head of the army. They sang: "Give thanks to the LORD, for his mercy endures forever." ²² At the moment they began their jubilant hymn, the LORD laid an ambush against the Ammonites, Moabites, and those of Mount Seir who were coming against Judah, so that they were vanquished. ²³ For the Ammonites and Moabites set upon the inhabitants of Mount Seir and completely exterminated them. And when they had finished with the inhabitants of Seir, they began to destroy each other. ²⁴ When Judah came to the watchtower of the desert and looked toward the throng, they saw only corpses fallen on the ground, with no survivors. ²⁵ Jehoshaphat and his people came to take plunder, and they found an abundance of cattle and personal property, garments and precious vessels. They took so much that they were unable to carry it all; they were three days taking the spoil, so great was it.

ed them. And when they had finished with the inhabitants of Seir, they began to destroy each other. ²⁴ When Judah came to the watchtower of the desert and looked toward the throng, they saw only corpses fallen on the ground, with no survivors. ²⁵ Jehoshaphat and his people came to take plunder, and they found an abundance of cattle and personal property, garments and precious vessels. They took so much that they were unable to carry it all; they were three days taking the spoil, so great was it. ²⁶ On the fourth day they held an assembly in the Valley of Beracah—for there they blessed the LORD; therefore that place has ever since been called the Valley of Beracah. ²⁷ Then all the men of Judah and Jerusalem, with Jehoshaphat at their head, turned back toward Jerusalem celebrating the joyful victory the LORD had given them over their enemies. ²⁸ They came to Jerusalem, to the house of the LORD, with harps, lyres and trumpets. ²⁹ And the fear of God came upon all the kingdoms of the surrounding lands when they heard how the LORD had fought against the enemies of Israel. ³⁰ Thereafter Jehoshaphat's kingdom enjoyed

376 peace, for his God gave him rest on every side. ³¹ Thus Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah. He was thirty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother was named Azubah, daughter of Shilhi. ³² He followed the path of his father Asa unswervingly, doing what was right in the LORD'S sight. ³³ But the high places were not removed, nor as yet had the people fixed their hearts on the God of their fathers. ³⁴ The rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, first and last, can be found written in the chronicle of Jehu, son of Hanani, which is inserted in the book of the kings of Israel. ³⁵ After this, King Jehoshaphat of Judah allied himself with King Ahaziah of Israel, who did evil. ³⁶ He joined with him in building ships to sail to Tarshish; the fleet was built at Ezion-geber. ³⁷ But Eliezer, son of Dodavahu from Mareshah, prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, "Because you have joined with Ahaziah, the LORD will shatter your work." And the ships were wrecked and were unable to sail to Tarshish. 2 Chronicles Chapter 21 ¹Jehoshaphat rested with his ancestors; he was buried with them in the City of David. Jehoram, his son, succeeded him as king. ²His brothers, sons of Jehoshaphat, were Azariah, Jehiel, Zechariah, Azariah, Michael and Shephatiah; all these were sons of King Jehoshaphat of Judah. ³Their father gave them numerous gifts of silver, gold and precious objects, together with fortified cities in Judah, but the kingship he gave to Jehoram because he was the first-born. ⁴When Jehoram had come into his father's kingdom and had consolidated his power, he put to the sword all his brothers and also some of the princes of Israel. ⁵Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. ⁶He conducted himself like the kings of Israel of the line of Ahab, because one of Ahab's daughters was his wife. He did evil in the sight of the LORD, ⁷but the LORD would not destroy the house of David because of the covenant he had made with David and because of his promise to give him and his sons a lamp for all time. ⁸During his time Edom revolted against the sovereignty of Judah; they chose a king of their own. ⁹Thereupon Jehoram crossed over with his officers and all the chariots he had. He arose by night and broke through the Edomites when they had surrounded him and the commanders of his chariots. ¹⁰However, Edom has continued in revolt against the sovereignty of Judah down to the present time. Libnah also revolted at that time against Jehoram's sovereignty because he had forsaken the LORD, the God of his fathers. ¹¹He also set up high places in the mountains of Judah; he led the inhabitants of Jerusalem into idolatry and seduced Judah. ¹²He received a letter from the prophet Elijah with this message: "Thus says the LORD, the God of your ancestor David: 'Because you have not followed the path of your father Jehoshaphat, nor of Asa, king of Judah, ¹³but instead have walked in the way of the kings of Israel and have led Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem into idolatry, as did the house of Ahab, and also because you have murdered your brothers of your father's house who were better than you, ¹⁴the LORD will strike your people, your children, your wives, and all that is yours with a great plague; ¹⁵and you shall have severe pains from a disease in your bowels, while your bowels issue forth because of the disease, day after day.'" ¹⁶Then the LORD stirred up against Jehoram the animosity of the Philistines and of the Arabs who bordered on the Ethiopians. ¹⁷They came up against Judah, invaded it, and carried away all the wealth found in the king's palace, along with his sons and his wives; there was left to him only one son, Jehoahaz, his youngest. ¹⁸After these events, the LORD afflicted him with an incurable disease of the bowels. ¹⁹As time went on until a period of two years had elapsed, his bowels issued forth because of the disease and he died in great pain.

am the animosity of the Philistines and of the Arabs who bordered on the Ethiopians. ¹⁷They came up against Judah, invaded it, and carried away all the wealth found in the king's palace, along with his sons and his wives; there was left to him only one son, Jehoahaz, his youngest. ¹⁸After these events, the LORD afflicted him with an incurable disease of the bowels. ¹⁹As time went on until a period of two years had elapsed, his bowels issued forth because of the disease and he died in great pain. His people did not make a pyre for him like that of his fathers. ²⁰He was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. He departed unloved and was buried in the City of David, but not in the tombs of the kings.

377 2 Chronicles Chapter 22 ¹Then the inhabitants of Jerusalem made Ahaziah, his youngest son, king in his stead, since all the older sons had been slain by the band that had come into the fort with the Arabs. Thus Ahaziah, son of Jehoram, reigned as the king of Judah. ²He was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother was named Athaliah, daughter of Omri. ³He, too, followed the ways of the house of Ahab, because his mother counseled him to act sinfully. ⁴To his own destruction, he did evil in the sight of the LORD, as did the house of Ahab, since they were his counselors after the death of his father. ⁵He was also following their counsel when he accompanied Jehoram, son of Ahab, king of Israel, to battle against Hazael, king of Aram, at Ramoth-gilead. There Jehoram was wounded by the Arameans. ⁶He returned to Jezreel to be healed of the wounds he had received at Rama in his battle against Hazael, king of Aram. Because of this illness, Ahaziah, son of Jehoram, king of Judah, went down to visit Jehoram, son of Ahab, in Jezreel. ⁷Now it was willed by God for Ahaziah's downfall that he should join Jehoram, for after his arrival he rode out with Jehoram to Jehu, son of Nimshi, whom the LORD had anointed to cut down the house of Ahab. ⁸While Jehu was executing judgment on the house of Ahab, he also encountered the princes of Judah and the nephews of Ahaziah who were his attendants, and he slew them. ⁹Then he looked for Ahaziah himself. They caught him where he was hiding in Samaria and brought him to Jehu, who put him to death. They buried him, for they said, "He was the grandson of Jehoshaphat, who sought the LORD with his whole heart." There remained in Ahaziah's house no one powerful enough to wield the kingship. ¹⁰When Athaliah, mother of Ahaziah, learned that her son was dead, she proceeded to kill off all the royal offspring of the house of Judah. ¹¹But Jehosheba, a royal princess, secretly took Ahaziah's son Joash from among the king's sons who were about to be slain, and put him and his nurse in a bedroom. In this way Jehosheba, who was the daughter of King Jehoram, a sister of Ahaziah, and wife of Jehoiada the priest, hid the child from Athaliah's sight, so that she did not put him to death. ¹²For six years he remained hidden with them in the house of God, while Athaliah ruled over the land. 2 Chronicles Chapter 23 ¹In the seventh year, Jehoiada took courage and entered a conspiracy with certain captains: Azariah, son of Jehoram; Ishmael, son of Jehohanan; Azariah, son of Obed; Masseiah, son of Adaiah; and Elishaphat, son of Zichri. ²They journeyed about Judah, gathering the Levites from all the cities of Judah and also the heads of the Israelite families. When they had come to Jerusalem, ³the whole assembly made a covenant with the king in the house of God. Jehoiada said to them: "Here is the king's son who must reign, as the LORD promised concerning the sons of David. ⁴This is what you must do: a third of your number, both priests and Levites, who come in on the sabbath must guard the thresholds, ⁵another third must be at the king's palace, and the final third at the Foundation Gate, when all the people will be in the courts of the LORD'S temple. ⁶Let no one enter the LORD'S house except the priests and those Levites who are ministering. They may enter because they are holy; but all the other people must observe the prescriptions of the LORD. ⁷The Levites shall surround the king on all sides, each with his weapon drawn. Whoever tries to enter the house must be slain. Stay with the king wherever he goes." ⁸The Levites and all Judah did just as Jehoiada the priest commanded. Each brought his men, those who were to come in on the sabbath as well as those who were to depart on the sabbath, since Jehoiada the priest had not dismissed any of the divisions. ⁹Jehoiada the priest gave the captains the spears, shields and bucklers of King David which were in the house of God.

ing on all sides, each with his weapon drawn. Whoever tries to enter the house must be slain. Stay with the king wherever he goes." ⁸The Levites and all Judah did just as Jehoiada the priest commanded. Each brought his men, those who were to come in on the sabbath as well as those who were to depart on the sabbath, since Jehoiada the priest had not dismissed any of the divisions. ⁹Jehoiada the priest gave the captains the spears, shields and bucklers of King David which were in the house of God. ¹⁰He stationed all the people, each with his spear in hand, from the southern to the northern extremity of the enclosure, around the altar and the temple on the king's behalf. ¹¹Then they brought out the king's son, set the crown

378 and the insignia upon him, and made him king. Jehoiada and his sons anointed him, and they cried, "Long live the king!" ¹²When Athaliah heard the din of the people running and acclaiming the king, she went to the people in the temple of the LORD. ¹³She looked, and there was the king standing beside his pillar at the entrance, the officers and the trumpeters around him, and all the people of the land rejoicing and blowing trumpets, while the singers with their musical instruments were leading the acclaim. Athaliah tore her garments and cried out, "Treason! treason!" ¹⁴Then Jehoiada the priest sent out the captains who were in command of the army; he said to them: "Take her outside through the ranks, and if anyone tries to follow her, let him die by the sword. For," the priest continued, "you must not put her to death in the LORD'S temple." ¹⁵So they seized her, and when she arrived at the entrance to the Horse Gate of the palace, they put her to death there. ¹⁶Then Jehoiada made a covenant between himself and all the people and the king, that they should be the LORD'S people. ¹⁷And all the people went to the temple of Baal and tore it down. They smashed its altars and images, and they slew Mattan, the priest of Baal, before the altars. ¹⁸Then Jehoiada gave the charge of the LORD'S temple into the hands of the levitical priests, to whom David had assigned turns in the temple for offering the holocausts of the LORD, as is written in the law of Moses, with rejoicing and song, as David had provided. ¹⁹Moreover, he stationed guards at the gates of the LORD'S temple so that no one unclean in any respect might enter. ²⁰Then he took the captains, the nobles, the rulers among the people, and all the people of the land, and led the king out of the LORD'S house. When they had come within the upper gate of the king's house, they seated the king upon the royal throne. ²¹All the people of the land rejoiced and the city was quiet, now that Athaliah had been put to death by the sword. 2 Chronicles Chapter 24 ¹Joash was seven years old when he became king, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. His mother, named Zibiah, was from Beer-sheba. ²Joash did what was pleasing to the LORD as long as Jehoiada the priest lived. ³Jehoiada provided him with two wives, and he became the father of sons and daughters. ⁴After some time, Joash decided to restore the LORD'S temple. ⁵He called together the priests and Levites and said to them: "Go out to all the cities of Judah and collect money from all Israel that you may repair the house of your God over the years. You must hasten this affair." But the Levites did not hasten. ⁶Then the king summoned Jehoiada, who was in charge, and said to him: "Why have you not required the Levites to bring in from Judah and Jerusalem the tax levied by Moses, the servant of the LORD, and by the assembly of Israel, for the tent of the testimony?" ⁷For the wicked Athaliah and her sons had damaged the house of God and had even turned over to the Baals the dedicated resources of the LORD'S temple. ⁸At the king's command, therefore, they made a chest, which they put outside the gate of the LORD'S temple. ⁹They had it proclaimed throughout Judah and Jerusalem that the tax which Moses, the servant of God, had imposed on Israel in the desert should be brought to the LORD. ¹⁰All the princes and the people rejoiced; they brought what was asked and cast it into the chest until it was filled. ¹¹Whenever the chest was brought to the royal officials by the Levites and they saw that it contained much money, the royal scribe and an overseer for the high priest came, emptied the chest, then took it back and returned it to its place. This they did day after day until they had collected a large sum of money. ¹²Then the king and Jehoiada gave it to the workmen in charge of the labor on the LORD'S temple, who hired masons and carpenters to restore the temple, and also iron- and bronze-smiths to repair it.

e chest was brought to the royal officials by the Levites and they saw that it contained much money, the royal scribe and an overseer for the high priest came, emptied the chest, then took it back and returned it to its place. This they did day after day until they had collected a large sum of money. ¹²Then the king and Jehoiada gave it to the workmen in charge of the labor on the LORD'S temple, who hired masons and carpenters to restore the temple, and also iron- and bronze-smiths to repair it. ¹³The workmen labored, and the task of restoration progressed under their hands. They restored the house of God according to its original form, and reinforced it. ¹⁴After they had finished, they brought the rest of the money to the king and to Jehoiada, who had it made into utensils for the LORD'S temple, utensils for the service and the holocausts, and basins and other gold and silver utensils. They offered holocausts in the LORD'S

379 temple continually throughout the lifetime of Jehoiada. ¹⁵Jehoiada lived to a ripe old age; he was a hundred and thirty years old when he died. ¹⁶He was buried in the City of David with the kings, because he had done good in Israel, in particular with respect to God and his temple. ¹⁷After the death of Jehoiada, the princes of Judah came and paid homage to the king, and the king then listened to them. ¹⁸They forsook the temple of the LORD, the God of their fathers, and began to serve the sacred poles and the idols; and because of this crime of theirs, wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem. ¹⁹Although prophets were sent to them to convert them to the LORD, the people would not listen to their warnings. ²⁰Then the spirit of God possessed Zechariah, son of Jehoiada the priest. He took his stand above the people and said to them: "God says, 'Why are you transgressing the LORD'S commands, so that you cannot prosper? Because you have abandoned the LORD, he has abandoned you.'" ²¹But they conspired against him, and at the king's order they stoned him to death in the court of the LORD'S temple. ²²Thus King Joash was unmindful of the devotion shown him by Jehoiada, Zechariah's father, and slew his son. And as he was dying, he said, "May the LORD see and avenge." ²³At the turn of the year a force of Arameans came up against Joash. They invaded Judah and Jerusalem, did away with all the princes of the people, and sent all their spoil to the king of Damascus. ²⁴Though the Aramean force came with few men, the LORD surrendered a very large force into their power, because Judah had abandoned the LORD, the God of their fathers. So punishment was meted out to Joash. ²⁵After the Arameans had departed from him, leaving him in grievous suffering, his servants conspired against him because of the murder of the son of Jehoiada the priest. They killed him on his sickbed. He was buried in the City of David, but not in the tombs of the kings. ²⁶These conspired against him: Zabad, son of Shimeath from Ammon, and Jehozabad, son of Shimrith from Moab. ²⁷Of his sons, and the great tribute imposed on him, and of his rebuilding of the house of God, there is a written account in the midrash of the book of the kings. His son Amaziah succeeded him as king. 2 Chronicles Chapter 25 ¹Amaziah was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother, named Jehoaddan, was from Jerusalem. ²He did what was pleasing in the sight of the LORD, though not wholeheartedly. ³After he had strengthened his hold on the kingdom, he slew those of his servants who had killed the king, his father; ⁴but he did not put their children to death, for he acted according to what is written in the law, in the Book of Moses, as the LORD commanded: "Fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor children for their fathers; but only for his own guilt shall a man be put to death." ⁵Amaziah mustered Judah and placed them, out of all Judah and Benjamin according to their ancestral houses, under leaders of thousands and of hundreds. When he had counted those of twenty years and over, he found them to be three hundred thousand picked men fit for war, capable of handling lance and shield. ⁶He also hired a hundred thousand valiant warriors from Israel for a hundred talents of silver. ⁷But a man of God came to him and said: "O king, let not the army of Israel go with you, for the LORD is not with Israel, with any Ephraimite. ⁸Instead, go on your own, strongly prepared for the conflict; otherwise the LORD will defeat you in the face of the enemy. It is God who has the power to reinforce or to defeat." ⁹Amaziah answered the man of God, "But what is to be done about the hundred talents that I paid for the troops of Israel?" The man of God replied, "The LORD can give you much more than that." ¹⁰Amaziah then disbanded the troops that had come to him from Ephraim, and sent them home.

not with Israel, with any Ephraimite. ⁸Instead, go on your own, strongly prepared for the conflict; otherwise the LORD will defeat you in the face of the enemy. It is God who has the power to reinforce or to defeat." ⁹Amaziah answered the man of God, "But what is to be done about the hundred talents that I paid for the troops of Israel?" The man of God replied, "The LORD can give you much more than that." ¹⁰Amaziah then disbanded the troops that had come to him from Ephraim, and sent them home. They, however, became furiously angry with Judah, and returned home blazing with resentment. ¹¹Amaziah now assumed command of his army. They proceeded to the Valley of Salt, and there they killed ten thousand men of Seir. ¹²The Judahites also brought back another ten thousand alive, whom they led to the summit of the Rock and then cast down, so that they were all crushed. ¹³Meanwhile, the mercenaries whom Amaziah had dismissed from

380 battle service with him raided the cities of Judah from Samaria to Beth-horon. They killed three thousand of the inhabitants and took away much booty. ¹⁴When Amaziah returned from his conquest of the Edomites he brought back with him the gods of the people of Seir, which he set up as his own gods; he bowed down before them and offered sacrifice to them. ¹⁵Then the anger of the LORD blazed out against Amaziah, and he sent a prophet to him who said: "Why have you had recourse to this people's gods that could not save their own people from your hand?" ¹⁶While he was still speaking, however, the king said to him: "Have you been made the king's counselor? Be silent! Why should it be necessary to kill you?" Therefore the prophet desisted. "I know, however," he said, "that God has let you take counsel to your own destruction, because you have done this thing and have refused to hear my counsel." ¹⁷Having taken counsel, King Amaziah of Judah sent messengers to Joash, son of Jehoahaz, son of Jehu, the king of Israel, saying, "Come, let us meet each other face to face." ¹⁸King Joash of Israel sent this reply to King Amaziah of Judah: "The thistle of the Lebanon sent a message to the cedar of the Lebanon, saying, 'Give your daughter to my son for his wife.' But the wild beasts of the Lebanon passed by and trampled the thistle down. ¹⁹You are thinking, 'See, I have beaten Edom!', and thus ambition makes you proud. Remain at home. Why involve yourself, and Judah with you, in misfortune and failure?" ²⁰But Amaziah would not listen, for God had determined to hand them over because they had had recourse to the gods of Edom. ²¹Therefore King Joash of Israel advanced and he and King Amaziah met in battle at Beth-shemesh of Judah. ²²There Judah was defeated by Israel, and all the Judean soldiers fled homeward. ²³King Joash of Israel captured Amaziah, king of Judah, son of Joash, son of Jehoahaz, at Beth-shemesh and brought him to Jerusalem. Then he tore down the wall of Jerusalem from the Ephraim Gate to the Corner Gate, a distance of four hundred cubits. ²⁴He took away all the gold and silver and all the vessels he found in the house of God with Obed-edom, together with the treasures of the palace, and hostages as well. Then he returned to Samaria. ²⁵Amaziah, son of Joash, king of Judah, survived Joash, son of Jehoahaz, king of Israel, by fifteen years. ²⁶The rest of the acts of Amaziah, first and last, can be found written, as is well known, in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. ²⁷Now from the time that Amaziah ceased to follow the LORD, a conspiracy was formed against him in Jerusalem; hence he fled to Lachish. But they pursued him to Lachish and put him to death there. ²⁸They brought him back on horses and buried him with his ancestors in the City of Judah. 2 Chronicles Chapter 26 1All the people of Judah chose Uzziah, though he was but sixteen years of age, and proclaimed him king to succeed his father Amaziah.² He rebuilt Elath and restored it to Judah; this was after King Amaziah had gone to rest with his ancestors.³ Uzziah was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother, named Jecoliah, was from Jerusalem.⁴ He pleased the LORD, just as his father Amaziah had done.⁵ He was prepared to seek God as long as Zechariah lived, who taught him to fear God; and as long as he sought the LORD, God made him prosper.⁶ He went out and fought the Philistines and razed the walls of Gath, Jabneh, and Ashdod (and built cities in the district of Ashdod and in Philistia).⁷ God helped him against the Philistines, against the Arabs who dwelt in Gurbaal, and against the Meunites.⁸ The Ammonites paid tribute to Uzziah and his fame spread as far as Egypt, for he grew stronger and stronger.⁹ Moreover, Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the Corner Gate, at the Valley Gate, and at the Angle, and he fortified them.¹⁰ He built towers in the desert and dug numerous cisterns, for he had many cattle.

, and Ashdod (and built cities in the district of Ashdod and in Philistia).⁷ God helped him against the Philistines, against the Arabs who dwelt in Gurbaal, and against the Meunites.⁸ The Ammonites paid tribute to Uzziah and his fame spread as far as Egypt, for he grew stronger and stronger.⁹ Moreover, Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the Corner Gate, at the Valley Gate, and at the Angle, and he fortified them.¹⁰ He built towers in the desert and dug numerous cisterns, for he had many cattle. He had plowmen in the foothills and the plains, and vinedressers in the highlands and the garden land. He was a lover of the soil.¹¹ Uzziah also had a standing army of fit soldiers divided into bands according to the number in which they were mustered by Jeiel the scribe and Maaseiah the recorder, under the command of Hananiah, one of the king's officials.¹² The entire

381 number of family heads over these valiant warriors was two thousand six hundred,¹³ and at their disposal was a mighty army of three hundred seven thousand five hundred fighting men of great valor to help the king against his enemies.¹⁴ Uzziah provided for them—for the entire army— bucklers, lances, helmets, breastplates, bows, and slingstones.¹⁵ He also built machines in Jerusalem, devices contrived to stand on the towers and at the angles of the walls to shoot arrows and cast large stones. His fame spread far and wide, and his power was ascribed to the marvelous help he had received.¹⁶ But after he had become strong, he became proud to his own destruction and broke faith with the LORD, his God. He entered the temple of the LORD to make an offering on the altar of incense.¹⁷ But Azariah the priest, and with him eighty other priests of the LORD, courageous men, followed him.¹⁸ They opposed King Uzziah, saying to him: "It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the LORD, but for the priests, the sons of Aaron, who have been consecrated for this purpose. Leave the sanctuary, for you have broken faith and no longer have a part in the glory that comes from the LORD God."¹⁹ Uzziah, who was holding a censer for burning the incense, became angry, but at the moment he showed his anger to the priests, while they were looking at him in the house of the LORD beside the altar of incense, leprosy broke out on his forehead.²⁰ Azariah the chief priest and all the other priests examined him, and when they saw that his forehead was leprous, they expelled him from the temple. He himself fled willingly, for the LORD had afflicted him.²¹ King Uzziah remained a leper to the day of his death. As a leper he dwelt in a segregated house, for he was excluded from the house of the LORD. Therefore his son Jotham was regent of the palace and ruled the people of the land.²² The prophet Isaiah, son of Amos, wrote the rest of the acts of Uzziah, first and last.²³ Uzziah rested with his ancestors; he was buried with them in the field adjoining the royal cemetery, for they said, "He was a leper." His son Jotham succeeded him as king. 2 Chronicles Chapter 27 ¹ Jotham was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. His mother was named Jerusa, daughter of Zadok. ² He pleased the LORD just as his father Uzziah had done, though he did not enter the temple of the LORD; the people, however, continued to act sinfully. ³ He built the upper gate of the LORD'S house and had much construction done on the wall of Ophel. ⁴ Moreover, he built cities in the hill country of Judah, and in the forest land he set up fortresses and towers. ⁵ He fought with the king of the Ammonites and conquered them. That year the Ammonites paid him one hundred talents of silver, together with ten thousand kors of wheat and ten thousand of barley. They brought the same to him also in the second and in the third year. ⁶ Thus Jotham continued to grow strong because he lived resolutely in the presence of the LORD, his God. ⁷ The rest of the acts of Jotham, his wars and his activities, can be found written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah. ⁸ He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. ⁹ Jotham rested with his ancestors and was buried in the City of David, and his son Ahaz succeeded him as king. 2 Chronicles Chapter 28 ¹ Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. He did not please the LORD as his forefather David had done, ² but conducted himself like the kings of Israel and even made molten idols of the Baals. ³ Moreover, he offered sacrifice in the Valley of Ben-hinnom, and immolated his sons by fire according to the abominable practice of the nations which the LORD had cleared out before the Israelites. ⁴ He offered sacrifice and incense on the high places, on hills, and under every leafy tree.

e became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. He did not please the LORD as his forefather David had done, ² but conducted himself like the kings of Israel and even made molten idols of the Baals. ³ Moreover, he offered sacrifice in the Valley of Ben-hinnom, and immolated his sons by fire according to the abominable practice of the nations which the LORD had cleared out before the Israelites. ⁴ He offered sacrifice and incense on the high places, on hills, and under every leafy tree. ⁵ Therefore the LORD, his God, delivered him into the power of the king of Aram. The Arameans defeated him and carried away captive a large number of his people, whom they brought to Damascus. He was also delivered into the power of

382 the king of Israel, who defeated him with great slaughter. ⁶ For Pekah, son of Remaliah, slew one hundred and twenty thousand of Judah in a single day, all of them valiant men, because they had abandoned the LORD, the God of their fathers. ⁷ Zichri, an Ephraimite warrior, killed Maaseiah, the king's son, and Azrikam, the master of the palace, and also Elkanah, who was second to the king. ⁸ The Israelites took away as captives two hundred thousand of their brethren's wives, sons and daughters; they also took from them much plunder, which they brought to Samaria. ⁹ In Samaria there was a prophet of the LORD by the name of Oded. He went out to meet the army returning to Samaria and said to them: "It was because the LORD, the God of your fathers, was angry with Judah that he delivered them into your hands. You, however, have slaughtered them with a fury that has reached up to heaven. ¹⁰ And now you are planning to make the children of Judah and Jerusalem your slaves and bondwomen. Are not you yourselves, therefore, guilty of a crime against the LORD, your God? ¹¹ Now listen to me: send back the captives you have carried off from among your brethren, for the burning anger of the LORD is upon you." ¹² At this, some of the Ephraimite leaders, Azariah, son of Johanan, Berechiah, son of Meshillemoth, Jehizkiah, son of Shallum, and Amasa, son of Hadlai, themselves stood up in opposition to those who had returned from the war. ¹³ They said to them: "Do not bring the captives here, for what you propose will make us guilty before the LORD and increase our sins and our guilt. Our guilt is already great, and there is a burning anger upon Israel." ¹⁴ Therefore the soldiers left their captives and the plunder before the princes and the whole assembly. ¹⁵ Then the men just named proceeded to help the captives. All of them who were naked they clothed from the booty; they clothed them, put sandals on their feet, gave them food and drink, anointed them, and all who were weak they set on asses. They brought them to Jericho, the city of palms, to their brethren. Then they returned to Samaria. ¹⁶ At that time King Ahaz sent an appeal for help to the kings of Assyria. ¹⁷ The Edomites had returned, attacked Judah, and carried off captives. ¹⁸ The Philistines too had raided the cities of the foothills and the Negeb of Judah; they captured Beth-shemesh, Aijalon, Gederoth, Soco and its dependencies, Timnah and its dependencies, and Gimzo and its dependencies, and occupied them. ¹⁹ For the LORD had brought Judah low because of Ahaz, king of Israel, who let Judah go its own way and proved utterly faithless to the LORD. ²⁰ Tilgath-pilneser, king of Assyria, did indeed come to him, but to oppress him rather than to help him. ²¹ Though Ahaz plundered the LORD'S house and the houses of the king and the princes to make payment to the king of Assyria, it availed him nothing. ²² While he was already in distress, the same King Ahaz became even more unfaithful to the LORD. ²³ He sacrificed to the gods of Damascus who had defeated him, saying, "Since it was the gods of the kings of Aram who helped them, I will sacrifice to them that they may help me also." However, they only caused further disaster to him and to all Israel. ²⁴ Ahaz gathered up the utensils of God's house and broke them in pieces. He closed the doors of the LORD'S house and had altars made for himself in every corner of Jerusalem. ²⁵ In every city throughout Judah he set up high places to offer sacrifice to other gods. Thus he angered the LORD, the God of his fathers. ²⁶ The rest of his deeds and his activities, first and last, can be found written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. ²⁷ Ahaz rested with his ancestors and was buried in Jerusalem - in the city, for they did not bring him to the tombs of the kings of Israel.

the doors of the LORD'S house and had altars made for himself in every corner of Jerusalem. ²⁵ In every city throughout Judah he set up high places to offer sacrifice to other gods. Thus he angered the LORD, the God of his fathers. ²⁶ The rest of his deeds and his activities, first and last, can be found written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. ²⁷ Ahaz rested with his ancestors and was buried in Jerusalem - in the city, for they did not bring him to the tombs of the kings of Israel. His son Hezekiah succeeded him as king. 2 Chronicles Chapter 29 ¹ Hezekiah was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother was named Abia, daughter of Zechariah. ² He pleased the LORD just as his forefather David had done. ³ It was he who, in the first month of the first year of his reign, opened the doors of the LORD'S house and repaired them. ⁴ He summoned the priests and Levites, gathered them in the open space to the east, ⁵ and said to them: "Listen to me, you Levites! Sanctify

383 yourselves now and sanctify the house of the LORD, the God of your fathers, and clean out the filth from the sanctuary. ⁶ Our fathers acted faithlessly and did evil in the eyes of the LORD, our God. They abandoned him, turned away their faces from the LORD'S dwelling, and turned their backs on him. ⁷ They also closed the doors of the vestibule, extinguished the lamps, and refused to burn incense and offer holocausts in the sanctuary to the honor of the God of Israel. ⁸ Therefore the anger of the LORD has come upon Judah and Jerusalem; he has made them an object of terror, astonishment and mockery, as you see with your own eyes. ⁹ For our fathers, as you know, fell by the sword, and our sons, our daughters and our wives have been taken captive because of this. ¹⁰ Now, I intend to make a covenant with the LORD, the God of Israel, that his burning anger may withdraw from us. ¹¹ My sons, be not negligent any longer, for it is you whom the LORD has chosen to stand before him, to minister to him, to be his ministers and to offer incense." ¹² Then the Levites arose: Mahath, son of Amasai, and Joel, son of Azariah, descendants of the Kohathites; of the sons of Merari: Kish, son of Abdi, and Azariah, son of Jehallel; of the Gershonites: Joah, son of Zimmah, and Eden, son of Joah; ¹³ of the sons of Elizaphan: Shimri and Jeuel; of the sons of Asaph: Zechariah and Mattaniah; ¹⁴ of the sons of Heman: Jehuel and Shimei; of the sons of Jeduthun: Shemiah and Uzziel. ¹⁵ They gathered their brethren together and sanctified themselves; then they came as the king had ordered, to cleanse the LORD'S house in keeping with his words. ¹⁶ The priests entered the interior of the LORD'S house to cleanse it; and whatever they found in the LORD'S temple that was unclean they brought out to the court of the LORD'S house, where the Levites took it from them and carried it out to the Kidron Valley. ¹⁷ They began the work of consecration on the first day of the first month, and on the eighth day of the month they arrived at the vestibule of the LORD; they consecrated the LORD'S house during eight days, and on the sixteenth day of the first month, they had finished. ¹⁸ Then they went inside to King Hezekiah and said: "We have cleansed the entire house of the LORD, the altar of holocausts with all its utensils, and the table for the showbread with all its utensils. ¹⁹ All the articles which King Ahaz during his reign had thrown away because of his apostasy, we have restored and consecrated, and they are now before the LORD'S altar." ²⁰ Then King Hezekiah hastened to convoke the princes of the city and went up to the LORD'S house. ²¹ Seven bulls, seven rams, seven lambs and seven he-goats were brought for a sin offering for the kingdom, for the sanctuary, and for Judah, and he ordered the sons of Aaron, the priests, to offer them on the altar of the LORD. ²² They slaughtered the bulls, and the priests collected the blood and cast it on the altar. Then they slaughtered the rams and cast the blood on the altar; then they slaughtered the lambs and cast the blood on the altar. ²³ Then the he-goats for the sin offering were led before the king and the assembly, who laid their hands upon them. ²⁴ The priests then slaughtered them and offered their blood on the altar to atone for the sin of all Israel; for "The holocaust and the sin offering," the king had said, "is for all Israel." ²⁵ He stationed the Levites in the LORD'S house with cymbals, harps and lyres according to the prescriptions of David, of Gad the king's seer, and of Nathan the prophet; for the prescriptions were from the LORD through his prophets. ²⁶ The Levites were stationed with the instruments of David, and the priests with the trumpets. ²⁷ Then Hezekiah ordered the holocaust to be sacrificed on the altar, and in the same instant that the holocaust began, they also began the song of the LORD, to the accompaniment of the trumpets and the instruments of David, king of Israel.

nd lyres according to the prescriptions of David, of Gad the king's seer, and of Nathan the prophet; for the prescriptions were from the LORD through his prophets. ²⁶ The Levites were stationed with the instruments of David, and the priests with the trumpets. ²⁷ Then Hezekiah ordered the holocaust to be sacrificed on the altar, and in the same instant that the holocaust began, they also began the song of the LORD, to the accompaniment of the trumpets and the instruments of David, king of Israel. ²⁸ The entire assembly prostrated itself, and they continued to sing the song and to sound the trumpets until the holocaust had been completed. ²⁹ As the holocaust was completed, the king and all who were with him knelt and prostrated themselves. ³⁰ King Hezekiah and the princes then commanded the Levites to sing the praises of the LORD in the words of David and of Asaph the seer. They sang praises till their joy was full, then fell down and prostrated themselves. ³¹ Hezekiah now spoke out this command: "You have undertaken a work for the LORD. Approach, and bring forward the sacrifices and thank offerings for the house of the

384 LORD." Then the assembly brought forward the sacrifices and thank offerings and all the holocausts which were free-will offerings. ³² The number of holocausts that the assembly brought forward was seventy oxen, one hundred rams, and two hundred lambs: all of these as a holocaust to the LORD. ³³ As consecrated gifts there were six hundred oxen and three thousand sheep. ³⁴ Since the priests were too few in number to be able to skin all the victims for the holocausts, their brethren the Levites assisted them until the task was completed and the priests had sanctified themselves; the Levites, in fact, were more willing than the priests to sanctify themselves. ³⁵ Also, the holocausts were many, along with the fat of the peace offerings and the libations for the holocausts. Thus the service of the house of the LORD was reestablished. ³⁶ Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced over what God had reestablished for the people, and at how suddenly this had been done. 2 Chronicles Chapter 30 ¹ Hezekiah sent a message to all Israel and Judah, and even wrote letters to Ephraim and Manasseh saying that they should come to the house of the LORD in Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover in honor of the LORD, the God of Israel. ² The king, his princes, and the entire assembly in Jerusalem had agreed to celebrate the Passover during the second month, ³ for they could not celebrate it at the time of the restoration: the priests had not sanctified themselves in sufficient numbers, and the people were not gathered at Jerusalem. ⁴ When this proposal had been approved by the king and the entire assembly, ⁵ they issued a decree to be proclaimed throughout all Israel from Beer-sheba to Dan, that everyone should come to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover in honor of the LORD, the God of Israel; for not many had kept it in the manner prescribed. ⁶ Accordingly the couriers, with the letters written by the king and his princes, traversed all Israel and Judah, and at the king's command they said: "Israelites, return to the LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, that he may return to you, the remnant left from the hands of the Assyrian kings. ⁷ Be not like your fathers and your brethren who proved faithless to the LORD, the God of their fathers, so that he delivered them over to desolation, as you yourselves now see. ⁸ Be not obstinate, as your fathers were; extend your hands to the LORD and come to his sanctuary that he has consecrated forever, and serve the LORD, your God, that he may turn away his burning anger from you. ⁹ For when you return to the LORD, your brethren and your children will find mercy with their captors and return to this land; for merciful and compassionate is the LORD, your God, and he will not turn away his face from you if you return to him." ¹⁰ So the couriers passed from city to city in the land of Ephraim and Manasseh and as far as Zebulun, but they were derided and scoffed at. ¹¹ Nevertheless, some from Asher, Manasseh and Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem. ¹² In Judah, however, the power of God brought it about that the people were of one mind to carry out the command of the king and the princes in accordance with the word of the LORD. ¹³ Thus many people gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate the feast of Unleavened Bread in the second month; it was a very great assembly. ¹⁴ They proceeded to take down the altars that were in Jerusalem; also they removed all the altars of incense and cast them into the Kidron Valley. ¹⁵ They slaughtered the Passover on the fourteenth day of the second month. The priests and Levites, touched with shame, sanctified themselves and brought holocausts into the house of the LORD. ¹⁶ They stood in the places prescribed for them according to the law of Moses, the man of God.

avened Bread in the second month; it was a very great assembly. ¹⁴ They proceeded to take down the altars that were in Jerusalem; also they removed all the altars of incense and cast them into the Kidron Valley. ¹⁵ They slaughtered the Passover on the fourteenth day of the second month. The priests and Levites, touched with shame, sanctified themselves and brought holocausts into the house of the LORD. ¹⁶ They stood in the places prescribed for them according to the law of Moses, the man of God. The priests sprinkled the blood given them by the Levites; ¹⁷ for many in the assembly had not sanctified themselves, and the Levites were in charge of slaughtering the Passover victims for all who were unclean and therefore could not consecrate them to the LORD. ¹⁸ The greater part of the people, in fact, chiefly from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves. Nevertheless they ate the Passover, contrary to the prescription; for Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, "May the LORD, who is good, grant

385 pardon to ¹⁹ everyone who has resolved to seek God, the LORD, the God of his fathers, though he be not clean as holiness requires." ²⁰ The LORD heard Hezekiah and spared the people. ²¹ Thus the Israelites who were in Jerusalem celebrated the feast of Unleavened Bread with great rejoicing for seven days, and the Levites and the priests sang the praises of the LORD day after day with all their strength. ²² Hezekiah spoke encouragingly to all the Levites who had shown themselves well skilled in the service of the LORD. And when they had completed the seven days of festival, slaying peace offerings and singing praises to the LORD, the God of their fathers, ²³ the whole assembly agreed to celebrate another seven days. With joy, therefore, they continued the festivity seven days longer. ²⁴ King Hezekiah of Judah had contributed a thousand bulls and seven thousand sheep to the assembly, and the princes had contributed to the assembly a thousand bulls and ten thousand sheep. The priests sanctified themselves in great numbers, ²⁵ and the whole assembly of Judah rejoiced, together with the priests and Levites and the rest of the assembly that had come from Israel, as well as the sojourners from the land of Israel and those that lived in Judah. ²⁶ There was great rejoicing in Jerusalem, for since the days of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel, there had not been the like in the city. ²⁷ Then the levitical priests rose and blessed the people; their voice was heard and their prayer reached heaven, God's holy dwelling. 2 Chronicles Chapter 31 ¹ After all this was over, those Israelites who had been present went forth to the cities of Judah and smashed the sacred pillars, cut down the sacred poles, and tore down the high places and altars throughout Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim and Manasseh, until all were destroyed. Then the Israelites returned to their various cities, each to his own possession. ² Hezekiah reestablished the classes of the priests and the Levites according to their former classification, assigning to each priest and Levite his proper service, whether in regard to holocausts or peace offerings, thanksgiving or praise, or ministering in the gates of the encampment of the LORD. ³ From his own wealth the king allotted a portion for holocausts, those of morning and evening and those on sabbaths, new moons and festivals, as prescribed in the law of the LORD. ⁴ He also commanded the people living in Jerusalem to provide the support of the priests and Levites, that they might devote themselves entirely to the law of the LORD. ⁵ As soon as the order was promulgated, the Israelites brought, in great quantities, the best of their grain, wine, oil and honey, and all the produce of the fields; they gave a generous tithe of everything. ⁶ Israelites and Judahites living in other cities of Judah also brought in tithes of oxen, sheep, and things that had been consecrated to the LORD, their God; these they brought in and set out in heaps. ⁷ It was in the third month that they began to establish these heaps, and they completed them in the seventh month. ⁸ When Hezekiah and the princes had come and seen the heaps, they blessed the LORD and his people Israel. ⁹ Then Hezekiah questioned the priests and the Levites concerning the heaps, ¹⁰ and the priest Azariah, head of the house of Zadoc, answered him, "Since they began to bring the offerings to the house of the LORD, we have eaten to the full and have had much left over, for the LORD has blessed his people. This great supply is what was left over." ¹¹ Hezekiah then gave orders that chambers be constructed in the house of the LORD. When this had been done, ¹² the offerings, tithes and consecrated things were deposited there in safekeeping. The overseer of these things was Conaniah the Levite, and his brother Shimei was second in charge.

d him, "Since they began to bring the offerings to the house of the LORD, we have eaten to the full and have had much left over, for the LORD has blessed his people. This great supply is what was left over." ¹¹ Hezekiah then gave orders that chambers be constructed in the house of the LORD. When this had been done, ¹² the offerings, tithes and consecrated things were deposited there in safekeeping. The overseer of these things was Conaniah the Levite, and his brother Shimei was second in charge. ¹³ Jehiel, Azaziah, Nahath, Asahel, Jerimoth, Jozabad, Eliel, Ismachiah, Mahath and Benaiah were supervisors subject to Conaniah and his brother Shimei by appointment of King Hezekiah and of Azariah, the prefect of the house of God. ¹⁴ Kore, the son of Imnah, a Levite and the keeper of the eastern gate, was in charge of the free-will gifts made to God; he distributed the offerings made to the LORD and the most holy of the consecrated things. ¹⁵ Under him in the priestly cities were Eden, Miniamin, Jeshua, Shemaiah, Amariah and Shecaniah, who faithfully made the distribution to their brethren,

386 great and small alike, according to their classes. ¹⁶ There was also a register by ancestral houses of males thirty years of age and over, for all priests who were eligible to enter the house of the LORD according to the daily rule to fulfill their service in the order of their classes. ¹⁷ The priests were inscribed in their family records according to their ancestral houses, and the Levites of twenty years and over according to their various offices and classes. ¹⁸ A distribution was also made to all who were inscribed in the family records, for their little ones, wives, sons and daughters - thus for the entire assembly, since they were to sanctify themselves by sharing faithfully in the consecrated things. ¹⁹ The sons of Aaron, the priests who lived on the lands attached to their cities, had in every city men designated by name to distribute portions to every male among the priests and to every Levite listed in the family records. ²⁰ This Hezekiah did in all Judah. He did what was good, upright and faithful before the LORD, his God. ²¹ Everything that he undertook, for the service of the house of God or for the law and the commandments, was to do the will of his God. He did this wholeheartedly, and he prospered. 2 Chronicles Chapter 32 ¹ But after he had proved his fidelity by such deeds, Sennacherib, king of Assyria, came. He invaded Judah, besieged the fortified cities, and proposed to take them by storm. ² When Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib was coming with the intention of attacking Jerusalem, ³ he decided in counsel with his princes and warriors to stop the waters of the springs outside the city. When they had pledged him their support, ⁴ a large crowd was gathered which stopped all the springs and also the running stream in the valley nearby. For they said, "Why should the kings of Assyria come and find an abundance of water?" ⁵ He then looked to his defenses: he rebuilt the wall where it was broken down, raised towers upon it, and built another wall outside. He strengthened the Millo of the City of David and had a great number of spears and shields prepared. ⁶ Then he appointed army commanders over the people. He gathered them together in his presence in the open space at the gate of the city and encouraged them with these words: ⁷ "Be brave and steadfast; do not be afraid or dismayed because of the king of Assyria and all the throng that is coming with him, for there is more with us than with him. ⁸ For he has only an arm of flesh, but we have the LORD, our God, to help us and to fight our battles." And the people took confidence from the words of King Hezekiah of Judah. ⁹ After this, while Sennacherib, king of Assyria, himself remained at Lachish with all his forces, he sent his officials to Jerusalem with this message for King Hezekiah of Judah, and all the Judahites who were in Jerusalem: ¹⁰ "King Sennacherib of Assyria has this to say: On what are you relying, while you remain under siege in Jerusalem? ¹¹ Has not Hezekiah deceived you, delivering you over to a death of famine and thirst, by his claim that 'the LORD, our God, will save us from the grasp of the king of Assyria'? ¹² Has not this same Hezekiah removed his high places and altars and commanded Judah and Jerusalem, 'You shall prostrate yourselves before one altar only, and on it alone you shall offer incense'? ¹³ Do you not know what my fathers and I have done to all the peoples of other lands? Were the gods of the nations in those lands able to save their lands from my hand? ¹⁴ Who among all the gods of those nations which my fathers put under the ban was able to save his people from my hand? Will your god, then, be able to save you from my hand? ¹⁵ Let not Hezekiah mislead you further and deceive you in any such way. Do not believe him!

efore one altar only, and on it alone you shall offer incense'? ¹³ Do you not know what my fathers and I have done to all the peoples of other lands? Were the gods of the nations in those lands able to save their lands from my hand? ¹⁴ Who among all the gods of those nations which my fathers put under the ban was able to save his people from my hand? Will your god, then, be able to save you from my hand? ¹⁵ Let not Hezekiah mislead you further and deceive you in any such way. Do not believe him! Since no other god of any other nation or kingdom has been able to save his people from my hand or the hands of my fathers, how much the less shall your god save you from my hand!" ¹⁶ His officials said still more against the LORD God and against his servant Hezekiah, ¹⁷ for he had written letters to deride the LORD, the God of Israel, speaking of him in these terms: "As the gods of the nations in other lands have not saved their people from my hand, neither shall Hezekiah's god save his people from my hand." ¹⁸ In a loud voice they shouted in the Judean language to the people of Jerusalem who were on the wall, to frighten and terrify them so that they

387 might capture their city. ¹⁹ They spoke of the God of Israel as though he were one of the gods of the other peoples of the earth, a work of human hands. ²⁰ But because of this, King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah, son of Amos, prayed and called out to heaven. ²¹ Then the LORD sent an angel, who destroyed every valiant warrior, leader and commander in the camp of the Assyrian king, so that he had to return shamefaced to his own country. And when he entered the temple of his god, some of his own offspring struck him down there with the sword. ²² Thus the LORD saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib, king of Assyria, as from every other power; he gave them rest on every side. ²³ Many brought gifts for the LORD to Jerusalem and costly objects for King Hezekiah of Judah, who thereafter was exalted in the eyes of all the nations. ²⁴ In those days Hezekiah became mortally ill. He prayed to the LORD, who answered him by giving him a sign. ²⁵ Hezekiah, however, did not then discharge his debt of gratitude, for he had become proud. Therefore anger descended upon him and upon Judah and Jerusalem. ²⁶ But then Hezekiah humbled himself for his pride - both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and therefore the LORD did not vent his anger on them during the time of Hezekiah. ²⁷ Hezekiah possessed very great wealth and glory. He had treasuries made for his silver, gold, precious stones, spices, jewels, and other precious things of all kinds; ²⁸ also storehouses for the harvest of grain, for wine and oil, and barns for the various kinds of cattle and for the flocks. ²⁹ He built cities for himself, and he acquired sheep and oxen in great numbers, for God gave him very great riches. ³⁰ This same Hezekiah stopped the upper outflow of water from Gihon and led it underground westward to the City of David. Hezekiah prospered in all his undertakings. ³¹ Nevertheless, in respect to the ambassadors (princes) sent to him from Babylon to investigate the sign that had occurred in the land, God forsook him to test him, that he might know all that was in his heart. ³² The rest of Hezekiah's acts, including his pious works, can be found written in the Vision of the Prophet Isaiah, son of Amos, and in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. ³³ Hezekiah rested with his ancestors; he was buried at the approach to the tombs of the descendants of David. All Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem paid him honor at his death. His son Manasseh succeeded him as king. 2 Chronicles Chapter 33 ¹ Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. ² He did evil in the sight of the LORD, following the abominable practices of the nations whom the LORD had cleared out of the way of the Israelites. ³ He rebuilt the high places which his father Hezekiah had torn down, erected altars for the Baals, made sacred poles, and prostrated himself before the whole host of heaven and worshiped them. ⁴ He even built altars in the temple of the LORD, of which the LORD had said, "In Jerusalem shall my name be forever": ⁵ he built altars to the whole host of heaven in the two courts of the LORD'S house. ⁶ It was he, too, who immolated his sons by fire in the Valley of Ben-hinnom. He practiced augury, divination and magic, and appointed necromancers and diviners of spirits, so that he provoked the LORD with the great evil that he did in his sight. ⁷ He placed an idol that he had carved in the house of God, of which God had said to David and his son Solomon: "In this house and in Jerusalem which I have chosen from all the tribes of Israel I shall place my name forever.

courts of the LORD'S house. ⁶ It was he, too, who immolated his sons by fire in the Valley of Ben-hinnom. He practiced augury, divination and magic, and appointed necromancers and diviners of spirits, so that he provoked the LORD with the great evil that he did in his sight. ⁷ He placed an idol that he had carved in the house of God, of which God had said to David and his son Solomon: "In this house and in Jerusalem which I have chosen from all the tribes of Israel I shall place my name forever. ⁸ I will not again allow Israel's feet to leave the land which I assigned to your fathers, provided they are careful to observe all that I commanded them, keeping the whole law and the statutes and the ordinances given by Moses." ⁹ Manasseh misled Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem into doing even greater evil than the nations which the LORD had destroyed at the coming of the Israelites. ¹⁰ The LORD spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they paid no attention. ¹¹ Therefore the LORD brought against them the army commanders of the Assyrian king; they took Manasseh with hooks, shackled him with chains, and transported him to Babylon. ¹² In this distress, he began to appease

388 the LORD, his God. He humbled himself abjectly before the God of his fathers ¹³ and prayed to him. The LORD let himself be won over: he heard his prayer and restored him to his kingdom in Jerusalem. Then Manasseh understood that the LORD is indeed God. ¹⁴ Afterward he built an outer wall for the City of David to the west of Gihon in the valley, extending to the Fish Gate and encircling Ophel; he built it very high. He stationed army officers in all the fortified cities of Judah. ¹⁵ He removed the foreign gods and the idol from the LORD'S house and all the altars he had built on the mount of the LORD'S house and in Jerusalem, and he cast them outside the city. ¹⁶ He restored the altar of the LORD, and sacrificed on it peace offerings and thank offerings, and commanded Judah to serve the LORD, the God of Israel. ¹⁷ Though the people continued to sacrifice on the high places, they now did so to the LORD, their God. ¹⁸ The rest of the acts of Manasseh, his prayer to his God, and the words of the seers who spoke to him in the name of the LORD, the God of Israel, can be found written in the chronicles of the kings of Israel. ¹⁹ His prayer and how his supplication was heard, all his sins and his infidelity, the sites where he built high places and erected sacred poles and carved images before he humbled himself, all can be found written down in the history of his seers. ²⁰ Manasseh rested with his ancestors and was buried in his own palace. His son Amon succeeded him as king. ²¹ Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem. ²² He did evil in the sight of the LORD, just as his father Manasseh had done. Amon offered sacrifice to all the idols which his father Manasseh had made, and worshiped them. ²³ Moreover, he did not humble himself before the LORD as his father Manasseh had done; on the contrary, Amon only increased his guilt. ²⁴ His servants conspired against him and put him to death in his own house. ²⁵ But the people of the land slew all those who had conspired against King Amon, and then they, the people of the land, made his son Josiah king in his stead. 2 Chronicles Chapter 34 ¹ Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. ² He pleased the LORD, following the path of his ancestor David. ³ In the eighth year of his reign, while he was still a youth, he began to seek after the God of his forefather David, and in his twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the sacred poles and the carved and molten images. ⁴ In his presence, the altars of the Baals were destroyed; the incense stands erected above them were torn down; the sacred poles and the carved and molten images were shattered and beaten into dust, which was strewn over the tombs of those who had sacrificed to them; ⁵ and the bones of the priests he burned upon their altars. Thus he purged Judah and Jerusalem. ⁶ He did likewise in the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, Simeon, and in the ruined villages of the surrounding country as far as Naphtali; ⁷ he destroyed the altars, broke up the sacred poles and carved images and beat them into dust, and tore down the incense stands throughout the land of Israel. Then he returned to Jerusalem. ⁸ In the eighteenth year of his reign, in order to cleanse the temple as well as the land, he sent Shaphan, son of Azaliah, Maaseiah, the ruler of the city, and Joah, son of Joahaz, the chamberlain, to restore the house of the LORD, his God. ⁹ They came to Hilkiah the high priest and turned over the money brought to the house of God which the Levites, the guardians of the threshold, had collected from Manasseh, Ephraim, and all the remnant of Israel, as well as from all of Judah, Benjamin, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. ¹⁰ They turned it over to the master workmen in the house of the LORD, and these in turn used it to pay the workmen in the LORD'S house who were restoring and repairing the temple.

the house of the LORD, his God. ⁹ They came to Hilkiah the high priest and turned over the money brought to the house of God which the Levites, the guardians of the threshold, had collected from Manasseh, Ephraim, and all the remnant of Israel, as well as from all of Judah, Benjamin, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. ¹⁰ They turned it over to the master workmen in the house of the LORD, and these in turn used it to pay the workmen in the LORD'S house who were restoring and repairing the temple. ¹¹ They also gave it to the carpenters and the masons to buy hewn stone and timber for the tie beams and rafters of the buildings which the kings of Judah had allowed to fall into ruin. ¹² The men worked faithfully at their task; their overseers were Jahath and Obadiah, Levites of the line of Merari, and Zechariah and Meshullam, of the Kohathites, who directed them. All those Levites who were skillful with

389 musical instruments ¹³ were in charge of the men who carried the burdens, and they directed all the workers in every kind of labor. Some of the other Levites were scribes, officials and gatekeepers. ¹⁴ When they brought out the money that had been deposited in the house of the LORD, Hilkiah the priest found the book of the law of the LORD given through Moses. ¹⁵ He reported this to Shaphan the scribe, saying, "I have found the book of the law in the house of the LORD." Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, ¹⁶ who brought it to the king at the same time that he was making his report to him. He said, "Your servants are doing everything that has been entrusted to them; ¹⁷ they have turned into bullion the metals deposited in the LORD'S house and have handed it over to the overseers and the workmen." ¹⁸ Then Shaphan the scribe announced to the king, "Hilkiah the priest has given me a book." And Shaphan read from it before the king. ¹⁹ When the king heard the words of the law, he tore his garments ²⁰ and issued this command to Hilkiah, to Ahikam, son of Shaphan, to Abdon, son of Michah, to Shaphan the scribe, and to Asaiah, the king's servant: ²¹ "On behalf of myself and those who are left in Israel and Judah, go, consult the LORD concerning the words of the book that has been found. For the anger of the LORD has been set furiously ablaze against us, since our fathers have not kept the word of the LORD and have not done all that is written in this book." ²² Then Hilkiah and the other men from the king went to the prophetess Huldah, the wife of Shallum, son of Tokhath, son of Hasrah, the guardian of the wardrobe; she dwelt in Jerusalem, in the new quarter. They spoke to her as they had been instructed, ²³ and she said to them: "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: 'Tell the one who sent you to me, ²⁴ The LORD says: I am prepared to bring evil upon this place and upon its inhabitants, all the curses written in the book that has been read before the king of Judah. ²⁵ Because they have abandoned me and have offered incense to other gods, provoking me by every deed that they have performed, my anger is ablaze against this place and cannot be extinguished.' ²⁶ But to the king of Judah who sent you to consult the LORD, give this response: 'Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning the threats you have heard: ²⁷ Because you were heartsick and have humbled yourself before God on hearing his words spoken against this place and its inhabitants; because you have humbled yourself before me, have torn your garments, and have wept before me, I in turn have listened - so declares the LORD. ²⁸ I will gather you to your ancestors and you shall be taken to your grave in peace. Your eyes shall not see all the evil I will bring upon this place and upon its inhabitants.'" They brought back this message to the king. ²⁹ The king now convened all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. ³⁰ He went up to the house of the LORD with all the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the priests, the Levites, and all the people, great and small; and he had read aloud to them the entire text of the book of the covenant that had been found in the house of the LORD. ³¹ Standing at his post, the king made a covenant before the LORD to follow the LORD and to keep his commandments, decrees, and statutes with his whole heart and soul, thus observing the terms of the covenant written in this book. ³² He thereby committed all who were of Jerusalem and Benjamin, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem conformed themselves to the covenant of God, the God of their fathers. ³³ Josiah removed every abominable thing from all the territory belonging to the Israelites, and he obliged all who were in Israel to serve the LORD, their God. During his lifetime they did not desert the LORD, the God of their fathers. 2 Chronicles Chapter 35 ¹ Josiah celebrated in Jerusalem a Passover to honor the LORD; the Passover sacrifice was slaughtered on the fourteenth day of the first month.

inhabitants of Jerusalem conformed themselves to the covenant of God, the God of their fathers. ³³ Josiah removed every abominable thing from all the territory belonging to the Israelites, and he obliged all who were in Israel to serve the LORD, their God. During his lifetime they did not desert the LORD, the God of their fathers. 2 Chronicles Chapter 35 ¹ Josiah celebrated in Jerusalem a Passover to honor the LORD; the Passover sacrifice was slaughtered on the fourteenth day of the first month. ² He reappointed the priests to their duties and encouraged them in the service of the LORD'S house. ³ He said to the Levites who were to instruct all Israel, and who were consecrated to the LORD: "Put the holy ark in the house built by Solomon, son of David, king of Israel. It shall no longer be a burden on your shoulders. Serve now

390 the LORD, your God, and his people Israel. ⁴ Prepare yourselves in your ancestral houses and your classes according to the prescriptions of King David of Israel and his son Solomon. ⁵ Stand in the sanctuary according to the divisions of the ancestral houses of your brethren, the common people, so that the distribution of the Levites and the families may be the same. ⁶ Slay the Passover sacrifice, sanctify yourselves, and be at the disposition of your brethren, that all may be carried out according to the word of the LORD given through Moses." ⁷ Josiah contributed to the common people a flock of lambs and kids, thirty thousand in number, each to serve as a Passover victim for any who were present, and also three thousand oxen; these were from the king's property. ⁸ His princes also gave a free-will gift to the people, the priests and the Levites. Hilkiah, Zechariah and Jehiel, prefects of the house of God, gave to the priests two thousand six hundred Passover victims together with three hundred oxen. ⁹ Conaniah and his brothers Shemaiah, Nethanel, Hashabiah, Jehiel and Jozabad, the rulers of the Levites, contributed to the Levites five thousand Passover victims, together with five hundred oxen. ¹⁰ When the service had been arranged, the priests took their places, as did the Levites in their classes according to the king's command. ¹¹ The Passover sacrifice was slaughtered, whereupon the priests sprinkled some of the blood and the Levites proceeded to the skinning. ¹² They separated what was destined for the holocaust and gave it to various groups of the ancestral houses of the common people to offer to the LORD, as is prescribed in the book of Moses. They did the same with the oxen. ¹³ They cooked the Passover on the fire as prescribed, and also cooked the sacred meals in pots, caldrons and pans, then brought them quickly to all the common people. ¹⁴ Afterward they prepared the Passover for themselves and for the priests. Indeed the priests, the sons of Aaron, were busy offering holocausts and the fatty portions until night; therefore the Levites prepared for themselves and for the priests, the sons of Aaron. ¹⁵ The singers, the sons of Asaph, were at their posts as prescribed by David: Asaph, Heman and Jeduthun, the king's seer. The gatekeepers were at every gate; there was no need for them to leave their stations, for their brethren, the Levites, prepared for them. ¹⁶ Thus the entire service of the LORD was arranged that day so that the Passover could be celebrated and the holocausts offered on the altar of the LORD, as King Josiah had commanded. ¹⁷ The Israelites who were present on that occasion kept the Passover and the feast of the Unleavened Bread for seven days. ¹⁸ No such Passover had been observed in Israel since the time of the prophet Samuel, nor had any king of Israel kept a Passover like that of Josiah, the priests and Levites, all of Judah and Israel that were present, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. ¹⁹ It was in the eighteenth year of Josiah's reign that this Passover was observed. ²⁰ After Josiah had done all this to restore the temple, Neco, king of Egypt, came up to fight at Carchemish on the Euphrates, and Josiah went out to intercept him. ²¹ Neco sent messengers to him, saying: "What quarrel is between us, king of Judah? I have not come against you this day, for my war is with another kingdom, and God has told me to hasten. Do not interfere with God who is with me, as otherwise he will destroy you." ²² But Josiah would not withdraw from him, for he had sought a pretext for fighting with him. Therefore he would not listen to the words of Neco that came from the mouth of God, but went out to fight in the plain of Megiddo. ²³ Then the archers shot King Josiah, who said to his servants, "Take me away, for I am seriously wounded." ²⁴ His servants removed him from his own chariot, placed him in another he had in reserve, and brought him to Jerusalem, where he died.

otherwise he will destroy you." ²² But Josiah would not withdraw from him, for he had sought a pretext for fighting with him. Therefore he would not listen to the words of Neco that came from the mouth of God, but went out to fight in the plain of Megiddo. ²³ Then the archers shot King Josiah, who said to his servants, "Take me away, for I am seriously wounded." ²⁴ His servants removed him from his own chariot, placed him in another he had in reserve, and brought him to Jerusalem, where he died. He was buried in the tombs of his ancestors, and all Judah and Jerusalem mourned him. ²⁵ Jeremiah also composed a lamentation over Josiah, which is recited to this day by all the male and female singers in their lamentations over Josiah. These have been made obligatory for Israel, and can be found written in the Lamentations. ²⁶ The rest of the chronicle of Josiah, his pious deeds in regard to what is written in the law of the LORD, and his acts, first and last, can be found written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah.

391 2 Chronicles Chapter 36 ¹ The people of the land took Jehoahaz, son of Josiah, and made him king in Jerusalem in his father's stead. ² Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. ³ The king of Egypt deposed him in Jerusalem and fined the land one hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold. ⁴ Then the king of Egypt made his brother Eliakim king over Judah and Jerusalem, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. Neco took his brother Jehoahaz away and brought him to Egypt. ⁵ Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. He did evil in the sight of the LORD, his God. ⁶ Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came up against him and bound him with chains to take him to Babylon. ⁷ Nebuchadnezzar also carried away to Babylon some of the vessels of the house of the LORD and put them in his palace in Babylon. ⁸ The rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, the abominable things that he did, and what therefore happened to him, can be found written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah. His son Jehoiachin succeeded him as king. ⁹ Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned three months (and ten days) in Jerusalem. He did evil in the sight of the LORD. ¹⁰ At the turn of the year, King Nebuchadnezzar sent for him and had him brought to Babylon, along with precious vessels from the temple of the LORD. He made his brother Zedekiah king over Judah and Jerusalem. ¹¹ Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. ¹² He did evil in the sight of the LORD, his God, and he did not humble himself before the prophet Jeremiah, who spoke the word of the LORD. ¹³ He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear by God. He became stiff-necked and hardened his heart rather than return to the LORD, the God of Israel. ¹⁴ Likewise all the princes of Judah, the priests and the people added infidelity to infidelity, practicing all the abominations of the nations and polluting the LORD'S temple which he had consecrated in Jerusalem. ¹⁵ Early and often did the LORD, the God of their fathers, send his messengers to them, for he had compassion on his people and his dwelling place. ¹⁶ But they mocked the messengers of God, despised his warnings, and scoffed at his prophets, until the anger of the LORD against his people was so inflamed that there was no remedy. ¹⁷ Then he brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans, who slew their young men in their own sanctuary building, sparing neither young man nor maiden, neither the aged nor the decrepit; he delivered all of them over into his grip. ¹⁸ All the utensils of the house of God, the large and the small, and the treasures of the LORD'S house and of the king and his princes, all these he brought to Babylon. ¹⁹ They burnt the house of God, tore down the walls of Jerusalem, set all its palaces afire, and destroyed all its precious objects. ²⁰ Those who escaped the sword he carried captive to Babylon, where they became his and his sons' servants until the kingdom of the Persians came to power. ²¹ All this was to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah: "Until the land has retrieved its lost sabbaths, during all the time it lies waste it shall have rest while seventy years are fulfilled." ²² In the first year of Cyrus, king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah, the LORD inspired King Cyrus of Persia to issue this proclamation throughout his kingdom, both by word of mouth and in writing: ²³ "Thus says Cyrus, king of Persia: 'All the kingdoms of the earth the LORD, the God of heaven, has given to me, and he has also charged me to build him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah.

it lies waste it shall have rest while seventy years are fulfilled." ²² In the first year of Cyrus, king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah, the LORD inspired King Cyrus of Persia to issue this proclamation throughout his kingdom, both by word of mouth and in writing: ²³ "Thus says Cyrus, king of Persia: 'All the kingdoms of the earth the LORD, the God of heaven, has given to me, and he has also charged me to build him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever, therefore, among you belongs to any part of his people, let him go up, and may his God be with him!'" Ezra Ezra Chapter 1 ¹ In the first year of Cyrus, king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken by

392 Jeremiah, the LORD inspired King Cyrus of Persia to issue this proclamation throughout his kingdom, both by word of mouth and in writing: ² "Thus says Cyrus, king of Persia: 'All the kingdoms of the earth the LORD, the God of heaven, has given to me, and he has also charged me to build him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. ³ Whoever, therefore, among you belongs to any part of his people, let him go up, and may his God be with him! ⁴ Let everyone who has survived, in whatever place he may have dwelt, be assisted by the people of that place with silver, gold, goods, and cattle, together with free-will offerings for the house of God in Jerusalem.'" ⁵ Then the family heads of Judah and Benjamin and the priests and Levites—everyone, that is, whom God had inspired to do so—prepared to go up to build the house of the LORD in Jerusalem. ⁶ All their neighbors gave them help in every way, with silver, gold, goods, and cattle, and with many precious gifts besides all their free-will offerings. ⁷ King Cyrus, too, had the utensils of the house of the LORD brought forth which Nebuchadnezzar had taken away from Jerusalem and placed in the house of his god. ⁸ Cyrus, king of Persia, had them brought forth by the treasurer Mithredath, and counted out to Sheshbazzar, the prince of Judah. ⁹ This was the inventory: sacks of goldware, thirty; sacks of silverware, one thousand and twenty-nine; ¹⁰ golden bowls, thirty; silver bowls, four hundred and ten; other ware, one thousand pieces. ¹¹ Total of the gold and silver ware: five thousand four hundred pieces. All these Sheshbazzar took with him when the exiles were brought back from Babylon to Jerusalem. Ezra Chapter 2 ¹ These are the inhabitants of the province who returned from the captivity of the exiles, whom Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, had carried away to Babylon, and who came back to Jerusalem and Judah, each man in his own city ² (those who returned with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Rehum, and Baanah): The census of the men of Israel: ³ sons of Parosh, two thousand one hundred and seventy-two; ⁴ sons of Shephatiah, three hundred and seventy-two; ⁵ sons of Arah, seven hundred and seventy-five; ⁶ sons of Pahath- moab, who were sons of Jeshua and Joab, two thousand eight hundred and twelve; ⁷ sons of Elam, one thousand two hundred and fifty-four; ⁸ sons of Zattu, nine hundred and forty-five; ⁹ sons of Zaccai, seven hundred and sixty; ¹⁰ sons of Bani, six hundred and forty-two; ¹¹ sons of Bebai, six hundred and twenty-three; ¹² sons of Azgad, one thousand two hundred and twenty-two; ¹³ sons of Adonikam, six hundred and sixty-six; ¹⁴ sons of Bigvai, two thousand and fifty-six; ¹⁵ sons of Adin, four hundred and fifty-four; ¹⁶ sons of Ater, who were sons of Hezekiah, ninety-eight; ¹⁷ sons of Bezai, three hundred and twenty-three; ¹⁸ sons of Jorah, one hundred and twelve; ¹⁹ sons of Hashum, two hundred and twenty-three; ²⁰ sons of Gibeon, ninety-five; ²¹ sons of Bethlehem, one hundred and twenty-three; ²² men of Netophah, fifty-six; ²³ men of Anathoth, one hundred and twenty-eight; ²⁴ men of Beth-azmaveth, forty-two; ²⁵ men of Kiriath-jearim, Chephirah, and Beeroth, seven hundred and forty-three; ²⁶ men of Ramah and Geba, six hundred and twenty- one; ²⁷ men of Michmas, one hundred and twenty-two; ²⁸ men of Bethel and Ai, two hundred and twenty-three; ²⁹ sons of Nebo, fifty-two; ³⁰ sons of Magbish, one hundred and fifty-six; ³¹ sons of the other Elam, one thousand two hundred and fifty-four; ³² sons of Harim, three hundred and twenty; ³³ sons of Lod, Hadid, and Ono, seven hundred and twenty-five; ³⁴ sons of Jericho, three hundred and forty-five; ³⁵ sons of Senaah, three thousand six hundred and thirty.

h and Geba, six hundred and twenty- one; ²⁷ men of Michmas, one hundred and twenty-two; ²⁸ men of Bethel and Ai, two hundred and twenty-three; ²⁹ sons of Nebo, fifty-two; ³⁰ sons of Magbish, one hundred and fifty-six; ³¹ sons of the other Elam, one thousand two hundred and fifty-four; ³² sons of Harim, three hundred and twenty; ³³ sons of Lod, Hadid, and Ono, seven hundred and twenty-five; ³⁴ sons of Jericho, three hundred and forty-five; ³⁵ sons of Senaah, three thousand six hundred and thirty. ³⁶ The priests: sons of Jedaiah, who were of the house of Jeshua, nine hundred and seventy-three; ³⁷ sons of Immer, one thousand and fifty-two; ³⁸ sons of Pashhur, one thousand two hundred and forty- seven; ³⁹ sons of Harim, one thousand and seventeen. ⁴⁰ The Levites: sons of Jeshua, Kadmiel, Binnui, and Hodaviah, seventy-four. ⁴¹ The singers: sons of Asaph, one hundred and twenty-eight. ⁴² The gatekeepers: sons of Shallum, sons of Ater, sons of Talmon, sons of Akkub, sons of Hatita, sons of Shobai, one hundred and thirty-nine in all. ⁴³ The temple slaves: sons of Ziha, sons of

393 Hasupha, sons of Tabbaoth, ⁴⁴ sons of Keros, sons of Siaha, sons of Padon, ⁴⁵ sons of Lebanah, sons of Hagabah, sons of Akkub, ⁴⁶ sons of Hagab, sons of Shamlai, sons of Hanan, ⁴⁷ sons of Giddel, sons of Gahar, sons of Reaiah, ⁴⁸ sons of Rezin, sons of Nekoda, sons of Gazzam, ⁴⁹ sons of Uzza, sons of Paseah, sons of Besai, ⁵⁰ sons of Asnah, sons of the Meunites, sons of the Nephusites, ⁵¹ sons of Bakbuk, sons of Hakupha, sons of Harhur, ⁵² sons of Bazluth, sons of Mehida, sons of Harsha, ⁵³ sons of Barkos, sons of Sisera, sons of Temah, ⁵⁴ sons of Neziah, sons of Hatipha. ⁵⁵ Descendants of the slaves of Solomon: sons of Sotai, sons of Hassophereth, sons of Peruda, ⁵⁶ sons of Jaalah, sons of Darkon, sons of Giddel, ⁵⁷ sons of Shephatiah, sons of Hattil, sons of Pochereth-hazzebaim, sons of Ami. ⁵⁸ The total of the temple slaves and the descendants of the slaves of Solomon was three hundred and ninety-two. ⁵⁹ The following who returned from Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub, Addan, and Immer were unable to prove that their ancestral houses and their descent were Israelite: ⁶⁰ sons of Delaiah, sons of Tobiah, sons of Nekoda, six hundred and fifty-two. ⁶¹ Also, of the priests: sons of Habaiah, sons of Hakkoz, sons of Barzillai (he had married one of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite and became known by his name). ⁶² These men searched their family records, but their names could not be found written there; hence they were degraded from the priesthood, ⁶³ and His Excellency ordered them not to partake of the most holy foods until there should be a priest bearing the Urim and Thummim. ⁶⁴ The entire assembly taken together came to forty-two thousand three hundred and sixty, ⁶⁵ not counting their male and female slaves, who were seven thousand three hundred and thirty-seven. They also had two hundred male and female singers. ⁶⁶ Their horses were seven hundred and thirty-six, their mules two hundred and forty-five, ⁶⁷ their camels four hundred and thirty-five, their asses six thousand seven hundred and twenty. ⁶⁸ When they arrived at the house of the LORD in Jerusalem, some of the family heads made free-will offerings for the house of God, to rebuild it in its place. ⁶⁹ According to their means they contributed to the treasury for the temple service: sixty- one thousand drachmas of gold, five thousand minas of silver, and one hundred garments for the priests. ⁷⁰ The priests, the Levites, and some of the common people took up residence in Jerusalem; but the singers, the gatekeepers, and the temple slaves dwelt in their cities. Thus all the Israelites dwelt in their cities. Ezra Chapter 3 ¹ Now when the seventh month came, after the Israelites had settled in their cities, the people gathered at Jerusalem as one man. ² Then Jeshua, son of Jozadak, together with his brethren the priests, and Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, together with his brethren, set about rebuilding the altar of the God of Israel in order to offer on it the holocausts prescribed in the law of Moses, the man of God. ³ Despite their fear of the peoples of the land, they replaced the altar on its foundations and offered holocausts to the LORD on it, both morning and evening. ⁴ They also kept the feast of Booths in the manner prescribed, and they offered the daily holocausts in the proper number required for each day. ⁵ Thereafter they offered the established holocaust, the sacrifices prescribed for the new moons and all the festivals sacred to the LORD, and those which anyone might offer as a free-will gift to the LORD. ⁶ From the first day of the seventh month they began to offer holocausts to the LORD, though the foundation of the temple of the LORD had not yet been laid. ⁷ Then they hired stonecutters and carpenters, and sent food and drink and oil to the Sidonians and Tyrians that they might ship cedar trees from the Lebanon to the port of Joppa, as Cyrus, king of Persia, had authorized.

e new moons and all the festivals sacred to the LORD, and those which anyone might offer as a free-will gift to the LORD. ⁶ From the first day of the seventh month they began to offer holocausts to the LORD, though the foundation of the temple of the LORD had not yet been laid. ⁷ Then they hired stonecutters and carpenters, and sent food and drink and oil to the Sidonians and Tyrians that they might ship cedar trees from the Lebanon to the port of Joppa, as Cyrus, king of Persia, had authorized. ⁸ In the year after their coming to the house of God in Jerusalem, in the second month, Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua, son of Jozadak, together with the rest of their brethren, the priests and Levites and all who had come from the captivity to Jerusalem, began by appointing the Levites twenty years of age and over to supervise the work on the house of the LORD. ⁹ Jeshua and his sons and brethren, with Kadmiel and Binnui, son of Henadad, and their

394 sons and their brethren, the Levites, stood as one man to supervise those who were engaged in the work on the house of God. ¹⁰ When the builders had laid the foundation of the LORD'S temple, the vested priests with the trumpets and the Levites, sons of Asaph, were stationed there with the cymbals to praise the LORD in the manner laid down by David, king of Israel. ¹¹ They alternated in songs of praise and thanksgiving to the LORD, "for he is good, for his kindness to Israel endures forever"; and all the people raised a great shout of joy, praising the LORD because the foundation of the LORD'S house had been laid. ¹² Many of the priests, Levites, and family heads, the old men who had seen the former house, cried out in sorrow as they watched the foundation of the present house being laid. Many others, however, lifted up their voices in shouts of joy, ¹³ and no one could distinguish the sound of the joyful shouting from the sound of those who were weeping; for the people raised a mighty clamor which was heard afar off. Ezra Chapter 4 ¹ When the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the exiles were building a temple for the LORD, the God of Israel, ² they approached Zerubbabel and the family heads and said to them, "Let us build with you, for we seek your God just as you do, and we have sacrificed to him since the days of Esarhaddon, king of Assyria, who had us brought here." ³ But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the family heads of Israel answered them, "It is not your responsibility to build with us a house for our God, but we alone must build it for the LORD, the God of Israel, as King Cyrus of Persia has commanded us." ⁴ Thereupon the people of the land set out to intimidate and dishearten the people of Judah so as to keep them from building. ⁵ They also suborned counselors to work against them and thwart their plans during the remaining years of Cyrus, king of Persia, and until the reign of Darius, king of Persia. ⁶ Also at the beginning of the reign of Ahashuerus they prepared a written accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem. ⁷ Again, in the time of Artaxerxes, Mithredath wrote in concert with Tabeel and the rest of his fellow officials to Artaxerxes, king of Persia. The document was written in Aramaic and was accompanied by a translation. (Aramaic:) ⁸ Then Rehum, the governor, and Shimshai, the scribe, wrote the following letter against Jerusalem to King Artaxerxes: ⁹ "Rehum, the governor, Shimshai, the scribe, and their fellow judges, officials, and agents from among the Persian, Urukian, Babylonian, Susian (that is Elamite), ¹⁰ and the other peoples whom the great and illustrious Assurbanipal transported and settled in the city of Samaria and elsewhere in the province West-of-Euphrates, as follows. . . ." ¹¹ This is a copy of the letter that they sent to him: "To King Artaxerxes, your servants, the men of West-of-Euphrates, as follows: ¹² Let it be known to the king that the Jews who came up from you to us have arrived at Jerusalem and are now rebuilding this rebellious and evil city. They are raising up its walls, and the foundations have already been laid. ¹³ Now let it be known to the king that if this city is rebuilt and its walls are raised up again, they will no longer pay taxes, tributes, or tolls; thus it can only result in harm to the throne. ¹⁴ Now, since we partake of the salt of the palace, we ought not simply to look on while the king is being dishonored. Therefore we have sent this message to inform you, O king, ¹⁵ so that inquiry may be made in the historical records of your fathers. In the historical records you can discover and verify that this city is a rebellious city which has proved fatal to kings and provinces, and that sedition has been fostered there since ancient times. For that reason this city was destroyed.

throne. ¹⁴ Now, since we partake of the salt of the palace, we ought not simply to look on while the king is being dishonored. Therefore we have sent this message to inform you, O king, ¹⁵ so that inquiry may be made in the historical records of your fathers. In the historical records you can discover and verify that this city is a rebellious city which has proved fatal to kings and provinces, and that sedition has been fostered there since ancient times. For that reason this city was destroyed. ¹⁶ We inform you, O king, that if this city is rebuilt and its walls are raised up again, by that very fact you will no longer own any part of West-of-Euphrates." ¹⁷ The king sent this answer: "To Rehum, the governor, Shimshai, the scribe, and their fellow officials living in Samaria and elsewhere in the province West-of-Euphrates, greetings and the following: ¹⁸ The communication which you sent us has been read plainly in my presence. ¹⁹ When at my command inquiry was made, it was verified that from ancient times this city has risen up against kings and that rebellion and sedition have been

395 fostered there. ²⁰ Powerful kings were once in Jerusalem who ruled over all West-of-Euphrates, and taxes, tributes, and tolls were paid to them. ²¹ Give orders, therefore, that will stop the work of these men. This city may not be rebuilt until a further decree has been issued by me. ²² Take care that you do not neglect this matter, lest the evil grow to the detriment of the throne." ²³ As soon as a copy of King Artaxerxes' letter had been read before Rehum, the governor, Shimshai, the scribe, and their fellow officials, they went in all haste to the Jews in Jerusalem and stopped their work by force of arms. ²⁴ Thus it was that the work on the house of God in Jerusalem was halted. This inaction lasted until the second year of the reign of Darius, king of Persia. Ezra Chapter 5 ¹ Then the prophets Haggai and Zechariah, son of Iddo, began to prophesy to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel. ² Thereupon Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua, son of Jozadak, began again to build the house of God in Jerusalem, with the prophets of God giving them support. ³ At that time there came to them Tattenai, governor of West-of- Euphrates, and Shethar-bozenai, and their fellow officials, who asked of them: "Who issued the decree for you to build this house and raise this edifice? ⁴ What are the names of the men who are building this structure?" ⁵ But their God watched over the elders of the Jews so that they were not hindered, until a report could go to Darius and then a written order be sent back concerning this matter. ⁶ A copy of the letter sent to King Darius by Tattenai, governor of West-of-Euphrates, and Shethar-bozenai, and their fellow officials from West-of-Euphrates; ⁷ they sent him a report in which was written the following: "To King Darius, all good wishes! ⁸ Let it be known to the king that we have visited the province of Judah and the house of the great God: it is being rebuilt of cut stone and the walls are being reinforced with timber; the work is being carried on diligently and is making good progress under their hands. ⁹ We then questioned the elders, addressing to them the following words: 'Who issued the decree for you to build this house and raise this edifice?' ¹⁰ We also asked them their names, to report them to you in a list of the men who are their leaders. ¹¹ This was their answer to us: 'We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and we are rebuilding the house built here long years ago, which a great king of Israel built and finished. ¹² But because our fathers provoked the wrath of the God of heaven, he delivered them into the power of the Chaldean, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, who destroyed this house and led the people captive to Babylon. ¹³ However, in the first year of Cyrus, king of Babylon, King Cyrus issued a decree for the rebuilding of this house of God. ¹⁴ Moreover, the gold and silver utensils of the house of God which Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple in Jerusalem and carried off to the temple in Babylon, King Cyrus ordered to be removed from the temple in Babylon and consigned to a certain Sheshbazzar, whom he named governor. ¹⁵ And he commanded him: Take these utensils and deposit them in the temple of Jerusalem, and let the house of God be rebuilt on its former site. ¹⁶ Then this same Sheshbazzar came and laid the foundations of the house of God in Jerusalem. Since that time the building has been going on, and it is not yet completed.' ¹⁷ Now, if it please the king, let a search be made in the royal archives of Babylon to discover whether a decree really was issued by King Cyrus for the rebuilding of this house of God in Jerusalem.

ed him: Take these utensils and deposit them in the temple of Jerusalem, and let the house of God be rebuilt on its former site. ¹⁶ Then this same Sheshbazzar came and laid the foundations of the house of God in Jerusalem. Since that time the building has been going on, and it is not yet completed.' ¹⁷ Now, if it please the king, let a search be made in the royal archives of Babylon to discover whether a decree really was issued by King Cyrus for the rebuilding of this house of God in Jerusalem. And may the king's pleasure in this matter be communicated to us." Ezra Chapter 6 ¹ Thereupon King Darius issued an order to search the archives in which the Babylonian records were stored away; ² and in Ecbatana, the stronghold in the province of Media, a scroll was found containing the following text: "Memorandum. ³ In the first year of King Cyrus, King Cyrus issued a decree: The house of God in Jerusalem. The house is to be rebuilt as a place for offering sacrifices and bringing burnt offerings. Its height is to be sixty cubits and its width sixty cubits. ⁴ It shall

396 have three courses of cut stone for each one of timber. The costs are to be borne by the royal palace. ⁵ Also, the gold and silver utensils of the house of God which Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple of Jerusalem and brought to Babylon are to be sent back: to be returned to their place in the temple of Jerusalem and deposited in the house of God. ⁶ "Now, therefore, Tattenai, governor of West-of-Euphrates, and Shethar-bozenai, and you, their fellow officials in West-of-Euphrates, do not interfere in that place. ⁷ Let the governor and the elders of the Jews continue the work on that house of God; they are to rebuild it on its former site. ⁸ I also issue this decree concerning your dealing with these elders of the Jews in the rebuilding of that house of God: From the royal revenue, the taxes of West-of-Euphrates, let these men be repaid for their expenses, in full and without delay. ⁹ Whatever else is required - young bulls, rams, and lambs for holocausts to the God of heaven, wheat, salt, wine, and oil, according to the requirements of the priests who are in Jerusalem - is to be delivered to them day by day without fail, ¹⁰ that they may continue to offer sacrifices of pleasing odor to the God of heaven and pray for the life of the king and his sons. ¹¹ I also issue this decree: If any man violates this edict, a beam is to be taken from his house, and he is to be lifted up and impaled on it; and his house is to be reduced to rubble for this offense. ¹² And may the God who causes his name to dwell there overthrow every king or people who may undertake to alter this or to destroy this house of God in Jerusalem. I, Darius, have issued this decree; let it be carefully executed." ¹³ Then Tattenai, the governor of West-of-Euphrates, and Shethar-bozenai, and their fellow officials carried out fully the instructions King Darius had sent them. ¹⁴ The elders of the Jews continued to make progress in the building, supported by the message of the prophets, Haggai and Zechariah, son of Iddo. They finished the building according to the command of the God of Israel and the decrees of Cyrus and Darius (and of Artaxerxes, king of Persia). ¹⁵ They completed this house on the third day of the month Adar, in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius. ¹⁶ The Israelites - priests, Levites, and the other returned exiles - celebrated the dedication of this house of God with joy. ¹⁷ For the dedication of this house of God, they offered one hundred bulls, two hundred rams, and four hundred lambs, together with twelve he-goats as a sin-offering for all Israel, in keeping with the number of the tribes of Israel. ¹⁸ Finally, they set up the priests in their classes and the Levites in their divisions for the service of God in Jerusalem, as is prescribed in the book of Moses. ¹⁹ The exiles kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month. ²⁰ The Levites, every one of whom had purified himself for the occasion, sacrificed the Passover for the rest of the exiles, for their brethren the priests, and for themselves. ²¹ The Israelites who had returned from the exile partook of it together with all those who had separated themselves from the uncleanness of the peoples of the land to join them in seeking the LORD, the God of Israel. ²² They joyfully kept the feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days, for the LORD had filled them with joy by making the king of Assyria favorable to them, so that he gave them help in their work on the house of God, the God of Israel. Ezra Chapter 7 ¹ After these events, during the reign of Artaxerxes, king of Persia, Ezra, son of Seraiah, son of Azariah, son of Hilkiah, ² son of Shallum, son of Zadok, son of Ahitub, ³ son of Amariah, son of Azariah, son of Meraioth, ⁴ son of Zerahiah, son of Uzzi, son of Bukki, ⁵ son of Abishua, son of Phinehas, son of Eleazar, son of the high priest Aaron - ⁶ this Ezra came up from Babylon.

ia favorable to them, so that he gave them help in their work on the house of God, the God of Israel. Ezra Chapter 7 ¹ After these events, during the reign of Artaxerxes, king of Persia, Ezra, son of Seraiah, son of Azariah, son of Hilkiah, ² son of Shallum, son of Zadok, son of Ahitub, ³ son of Amariah, son of Azariah, son of Meraioth, ⁴ son of Zerahiah, son of Uzzi, son of Bukki, ⁵ son of Abishua, son of Phinehas, son of Eleazar, son of the high priest Aaron - ⁶ this Ezra came up from Babylon. He was a scribe, well-versed in the law of Moses which was given by the LORD, the God of Israel. Because the hand of the LORD, his God, was upon him, the king granted him all that he requested. ⁷ Some of the Israelites and some priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers, and temple slaves also came up to Jerusalem in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes. ⁸ Ezra came to Jerusalem in the fifth month of that seventh year of the king. ⁹ On the first day of the first month he resolved on the journey up from Babylon, and on the first day of the fifth month he arrived at Jerusalem, for the favoring

397 hand of his God was upon him. ¹⁰ Ezra had set his heart on the study and practice of the law of the LORD and on teaching statutes and ordinances in Israel. ¹¹ This is a copy of the rescript which King Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priest-scribe, the scribe of the text of the LORD'S commandments and statutes for Israel: ¹² "Artaxerxes, king of kings, to Ezra the priest, scribe of the law of the God of heaven (then, after greetings): ¹³ I have issued this decree, that anyone in my kingdom belonging to the people of Israel, its priests or Levites, who is minded to go up to Jerusalem with you, may do so. ¹⁴ You are the envoy from the king and his seven counselors to supervise Judah and Jerusalem in respect of the law of your God which is in your possession, ¹⁵ and to bring with you the silver and gold which the king and his counselors have freely contributed to the God of Israel, whose dwelling is in Jerusalem, ¹⁶ as well as all the silver and gold which you may receive throughout the province of Babylon, together with the free-will offerings which the people and priests freely contribute for the house of their God in Jerusalem. ¹⁷ You must take care, therefore, to use this money to buy bulls, rams, lambs, and the cereal offerings and libations proper to these, and to offer them on the altar of the house of your God in Jerusalem. ¹⁸ You and your brethren may do whatever seems best to you with the remainder of the silver and gold, conformably to the will of your God. ¹⁹ The utensils consigned to you for the service of the house of your God you are to deposit before the God of Jerusalem. ²⁰ Whatever else you may be required to supply for the needs of the house of your God, you may draw from the royal treasury. ²¹ I, Artaxerxes the king, issue this decree to all the treasurers of West-of-Euphrates: Whatever Ezra the priest, scribe of the law of the God of heaven, requests of you, dispense to him accurately, ²² within these limits: silver, one hundred talents; wheat, one hundred kors; wine, one hundred baths; oil, one hundred baths; salt, without limit. ²³ Let everything that is ordered by the God of heaven be carried out exactly for the house of the God of heaven, that wrath may not come upon the realm of the king and his sons. ²⁴ We also inform you that it is not permitted to impose taxes, tributes, or tolls on any priest, Levite, singer, gatekeeper, temple slave, or any other servant of that house of God. ²⁵ "As for you, Ezra, in accordance with the wisdom of your God which is in your possession, appoint magistrates and judges to administer justice to all the people in West-of-Euphrates, to all, that is, who know the laws of your God. Instruct those who do not know these laws. ²⁶ Whoever does not obey the law of your God and the law of the king, let strict judgment be executed upon him, whether death, or corporal punishment, or a fine on his goods, or imprisonment." ²⁷ Blessed be the LORD, the God of our fathers, who thus disposed the mind of the king to glorify the house of the LORD in Jerusalem, ²⁸ and who let me find favor with the king, with his counselors, and with all the most influential royal officials.

s of your God. Instruct those who do not know these laws. ²⁶ Whoever does not obey the law of your God and the law of the king, let strict judgment be executed upon him, whether death, or corporal punishment, or a fine on his goods, or imprisonment." ²⁷ Blessed be the LORD, the God of our fathers, who thus disposed the mind of the king to glorify the house of the LORD in Jerusalem, ²⁸ and who let me find favor with the king, with his counselors, and with all the most influential royal officials. I therefore took courage and, with the hand of the LORD, my God, upon me, I gathered together Israelite family heads to make the return journey with me. Ezra Chapter 8 ¹ This is the list of the family heads who returned with me from Babylon during the reign of King Artaxerxes: ² Of the sons of Phinehas, Gershon; of the sons of Ithamar, Daniel; of the sons of David, Hattush, ³ son of Shecaniah; of the sons of Parosh, Zechariah, and with him one hundred and fifty males were enrolled; ⁴ of the sons of Pahath-moab, Eliehoenai, son of Zerahiah, and with him two hundred males; ⁵ of the sons of Zattu, Shecaniah, son of Jahaziel, and with him three hundred males; ⁶ of the sons of Adin, Ebed, son of Jonathan, and with him fifty males; ⁷ of the sons of Elam, Jeshaiah, son of Athaliah, and with him seventy males; ⁸ of the sons of Shephatiah, Zebadiah, son of Michael, and with him eighty males; ⁹ of the sons of Joab, Obadiah, son of Jehiel, and with him two hundred and eighteen males; ¹⁰ of the sons of Bani, Shelomith, son of Josiphiah, and with him one hundred and sixty males; ¹¹ of the sons of Bebai, Zechariah, son of Bebai, and with him twenty-eight males; ¹² of the sons of Azgad, Johanan, son of Hakkatan, and with him one hundred and ten males; ¹³ of the sons of Adonikam, younger sons, whose names were

398 Eliphelet, Jeiel, and Shemaiah, and with them sixty males; ¹⁴ of the sons of Bigvai, Uthai, son of Zakkur, and with him seventy males. ¹⁵ I had them assemble by the river that flows toward Ahava, where we made camp for three days. There I perceived that both laymen and priests were present, but I could not discover a single Levite. ¹⁶ Therefore I sent Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam, wise leaders, ¹⁷ with a command for Iddo, the leader in the place Casiphia, instructing them what to say to Iddo and his brethren, and to the temple slaves in Casiphia, in order to procure for us ministers for the house of our God. ¹⁸ They sent to us—for the favoring hand of our God was upon us—a well-instructed man, one of the sons of Mahli, son of Levi, son of Israel, namely Sherebiah, with his sons and brethren, eighteen men. ¹⁹ They also sent us Hashabiah, and with him Jeshaiah, sons of Merari, and their brethren and their sons, twenty men. ²⁰ Of the temple slaves (those whom David and the princes appointed to serve the Levites) there were two hundred and twenty. All these men were enrolled by name. ²¹ Then I proclaimed a fast, there by the river of Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God to petition from him a safe journey for ourselves, our children, and all our possessions. ²² For I would have been ashamed to ask the king for troops and horsemen to protect us against enemies along the way, since we had said to the king, "The favoring hand of our God is upon all who seek him, but his mighty wrath is against all who forsake him." ²³ So we fasted, and prayed to our God for this, and our petition was granted. ²⁴ Next I selected twelve of the priestly leaders along with Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brethren, ²⁵ and I weighed out before them the silver and the gold and the utensils offered for the house of our God by the king, his counselors, his officials, and all the Israelites of that region. ²⁶ I consigned it to them in these amounts: silver, six hundred and fifty talents; silver utensils, one hundred; gold, one hundred talents; ²⁷ twenty golden bowls valued at a thousand darics; two vases of excellent polished bronze, as precious as gold. ²⁸ I addressed them in these words: "You are consecrated to the LORD, and the utensils are also consecrated; the silver and the gold are a free-will offering to the LORD, the God of your fathers. ²⁹ Keep good watch over them till you weigh them out in Jerusalem in the presence of the chief priests and Levites and the family leaders of Israel, in the chambers of the house of the LORD." ³⁰ The priests and the Levites then took over the silver, the gold, and the utensils that had been weighed out, to bring them to Jerusalem, to the house of our God. ³¹ We set out for Jerusalem from the river of Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month. The hand of our God remained upon us, and he protected us from enemies and bandits along the way. ³² Thus we arrived in Jerusalem, where we first rested for three days. ³³ On the fourth day, the silver, the gold, and the utensils were weighed out in the house of our God and consigned to the priest Meremoth, son of Uriah, who was assisted by Eleazar, son of Phinehas; they were assisted by the Levites Jozabad, son of Jeshua, and Noadiah, son of Binnui. ³⁴ Everything was in order as to number and weight, and the total weight was registered. At that same time, ³⁵ those who had returned from the captivity, the exiles, offered as holocausts to the God of Israel twelve bulls for all Israel, ninety-six rams, seventy- seven lambs, and twelve goats as sin-offerings: all these as a holocaust to the LORD.

oth, son of Uriah, who was assisted by Eleazar, son of Phinehas; they were assisted by the Levites Jozabad, son of Jeshua, and Noadiah, son of Binnui. ³⁴ Everything was in order as to number and weight, and the total weight was registered. At that same time, ³⁵ those who had returned from the captivity, the exiles, offered as holocausts to the God of Israel twelve bulls for all Israel, ninety-six rams, seventy- seven lambs, and twelve goats as sin-offerings: all these as a holocaust to the LORD. ³⁶ Finally, the orders of the king were presented to the king's satraps and to the governors in West-of- Euphrates, who gave their support to the people and to the house of God. Ezra Chapter 9 ¹ When these matters had been concluded, the leaders approached me with this report: "Neither the Israelite laymen nor the priests nor the Levites have kept themselves aloof from the peoples of the land and their abominations (Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians, and Amorites); ² for they have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and their sons, and thus they have desecrated the holy race with the peoples of the land. Furthermore, the leaders and rulers have taken a leading part in this apostasy!" ³ When I

399 had heard this thing, I tore my cloak and my mantle, plucked hair from my head and beard, and sat there stupefied. ⁴ Around me gathered all who were in dread of the sentence of the God of Israel on this apostasy of the exiles, while I remained motionless until the evening sacrifice. ⁵ Then, at the time of the evening sacrifice, I rose in my wretchedness, and with cloak and mantle torn I fell on my knees, stretching out my hands to the LORD, my God. ⁶ I said: "My God, I am too ashamed and confounded to raise my face to you, O my God, for our wicked deeds are heaped up above our heads and our guilt reaches up to heaven. ⁷ From the time of our fathers even to this day great has been our guilt, and for our wicked deeds we have been delivered over, we and our kings and our priests, to the will of the kings of foreign lands, to the sword, to captivity, to pillage, and to disgrace, as is the case today. ⁸ "And now, but a short time ago, mercy came to us from the LORD, our God, who left us a remnant and gave us a stake in his holy place; thus our God has brightened our eyes and given us relief in our servitude. ⁹ For slaves we are, but in our servitude our God has not abandoned us; rather, he has turned the good will of the kings of Persia toward us. Thus he has given us new life to raise again the house of our God and restore its ruins, and has granted us a fence in Judah and Jerusalem. ¹⁰ But now, O our God, what can we say after all this? For we have abandoned your commandments, ¹¹ which you gave through your servants the prophets: the land which you are entering to take as your possession is a land unclean with the filth of the peoples of the land, with the abominations with which they have filled it from one end to the other in their uncleanness. ¹² Do not, then, give your daughters to their sons in marriage, and do not take their daughters for your sons. Never promote their peace and prosperity; thus you will grow strong, enjoy the produce of the land, and leave it as an inheritance to your children forever. ¹³ "After all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and our great guilt—though you, our God, have made less of our sinfulness than it deserved and have allowed us to survive as we do— ¹⁴ shall we again violate your commandments by intermarrying with these abominable peoples? Would you not become so angered with us as to destroy us without remnant or survivor? ¹⁵ O LORD, God of Israel, you are just; yet we have been spared, the remnant we are today. Here we are before you in our sins. Because of all this, we can no longer stand in your presence." Ezra Chapter 10 ¹ While Ezra prayed and acknowledged their guilt, weeping and prostrate before the house of God, a very large assembly of Israelites gathered about him, men, women, and children; and the people wept profusely. ² Then Shecaniah, the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, made this appeal to Ezra: "We have indeed betrayed our God by taking as wives foreign women of the peoples of the land. Yet even now there remains a hope for Israel. ³ Let us therefore enter into a covenant before our God to dismiss all our foreign wives and the children born of them, in keeping with what you, my lord, advise, and those who fear the commandments of our God. Let the law be observed! ⁴ Rise, then, for this is your duty! We will stand by you, so have courage and take action!" ⁵ Ezra rose to his feet and demanded an oath from the chiefs of the priests, from the Levites and from all Israel that they would do as had been proposed; and they swore it. ⁶ Then Ezra retired from his place before the house of God and entered the chamber of Johanan, son of Eliashib, where he spent the night neither eating food nor drinking water, for he was in mourning over the betrayal by the exiles.

⁴ Rise, then, for this is your duty! We will stand by you, so have courage and take action!" ⁵ Ezra rose to his feet and demanded an oath from the chiefs of the priests, from the Levites and from all Israel that they would do as had been proposed; and they swore it. ⁶ Then Ezra retired from his place before the house of God and entered the chamber of Johanan, son of Eliashib, where he spent the night neither eating food nor drinking water, for he was in mourning over the betrayal by the exiles. ⁷ A proclamation was made throughout Judah and Jerusalem that all the exiles should gather together in Jerusalem, ⁸ and that whoever failed to appear within three days would, according to the judgment of the leaders and elders, suffer the confiscation of all his possessions, and himself be excluded from the assembly of the exiles. ⁹ All the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered together in Jerusalem within the three-day period: it was in the ninth month, on the twentieth day of the month. All the people, standing in the open place before the house of God, were trembling both over the matter at hand and because it was raining. ¹⁰ Then Ezra, the priest,

400 stood up and said to them: "Your unfaithfulness in taking foreign women as wives has added to Israel's guilt. ¹¹ But now, give praise to the LORD, the God of your fathers, and do his will: separate yourselves from the peoples of the land and from these foreign women." ¹² In answer, the whole assembly cried out with a loud voice: "Yes, it is our duty to do as you say! ¹³ But the people are numerous and it is the rainy season, so that we cannot remain out-of-doors; besides, this is not a task that can be performed in a single day or even two, for those of us who have sinned in this regard are many. ¹⁴ Let our leaders represent the whole assembly; then let all those in our cities who have taken foreign women for wives appear at appointed times, accompanied by the elders and magistrates of each city in question, till we have turned away from us our God's burning anger over this affair." ¹⁵ Only Jonathan, son of Asahel, and Jahzeiah, son of Tikvah, were against this proposal, with Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite supporting them. ¹⁶ The exiles did as agreed. Ezra appointed as his assistants men who were family heads, one for each family, all of them designated by name. They held sessions to examine the matter, beginning with the first day of the tenth month. ¹⁷ By the first day of the first month they had passed judgment on all the men who had taken foreign women for wives. ¹⁸ Among the priests, the following were found to have taken foreign women for wives: Of the sons of Jeshua, son of Jozadak, and his brethren: Maaseiah, Eliezer, Jarib, and Gedaliah. ¹⁹ They pledged themselves to dismiss their wives, and as a guilt- offering for their guilt they gave a ram from the flock. ²⁰ Of the sons of Immer: Hanani and Zebadiah; ²¹ of the sons of Harim: Maaseiah, Elijah, Shemaiah, Jehiel, and Uzziah; ²² of the sons of Pashhur: Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethanel, Jozabad, and Elasah. ²³ Of the Levites: Jozabad, Shimei, Kelaiah (also called Kelita), Pethahiah, Judah and Eliezer. ²⁴ Of the singers: Eliashib and Zakkur; of the gatekeepers: Shallum, Telem, and Uri. ²⁵ Among the other Israelites: Of the sons of Parosh: Ramiah, Izziah, Malchijah, Mijamin, Eleazar, Malchijah, and Benaiah; ²⁶ of the sons of Elam: Mattaniah, Zechariah, Jehiel, Abdi, Jeremoth, and Elijah; ²⁷ of the sons of Zattu: Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah, Jeremoth, Zabad, and Aziza; ²⁸ of the sons of Bebai: Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai, and Athlai; ²⁹ of the sons of Bani: Meshullam, Malluch, Adaiah, Jashub, Sheal, and Jeremoth; ³⁰ of the sons of Pahath-moab: Adna, Chelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezalel, Binnui, and Manasseh; ³¹ of the sons of Harim: Eliezer, Isshijah, Malchijah, Shemaiah, Shimeon, ³² Benjamin, Malluch, Shemariah; ³³ of the sons of Hashum: Mattenai, Mattattah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh, Shimei; ³⁴ of the sons of Begui: Maadai, Amram, Uel, ³⁵ Benaiah, Bedeiah, Cheluhi, ³⁶ Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib, ³⁷ Mattaniah, Mattenai, and Jaasu; ³⁸ of the sons of Binnui: Shimei, ³⁹ Shelemiah, Nathan, and Adaiah; ⁴⁰ of the sons of Zachai: Shashai, Sharai, ⁴¹ Azarel, Shelemiah, Shemariah, ⁴² Shallum, Amariah, Joseph; ⁴³ of the sons of Nebo: Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Jaddai, Joel, Benaiah. ⁴⁴ All these had taken foreign wives; but they sent them away, both the women and their children. Nehemiah Nehemiah Chapter 1 ¹ The words of Nehemiah, the son of Hacaliah. In the month Chislev of the twentieth year, I was in the citadel of Susa ² when Hanani, one of my brothers, came with other men from Judah. I asked them about the Jews, the remnant preserved after the captivity, and about Jerusalem, ³ and they answered me: "The survivors of the captivity there in the province are in great distress and under reproach. Also, the wall of Jerusalem lies breached, and its gates have been gutted with fire." ⁴ When I heard this report, I began to weep and continued mourning for several days; I fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.

usa ² when Hanani, one of my brothers, came with other men from Judah. I asked them about the Jews, the remnant preserved after the captivity, and about Jerusalem, ³ and they answered me: "The survivors of the captivity there in the province are in great distress and under reproach. Also, the wall of Jerusalem lies breached, and its gates have been gutted with fire." ⁴ When I heard this report, I began to weep and continued mourning for several days; I fasted and prayed before the God of heaven. ⁵ I prayed: "O LORD, God of heaven, great and awesome God, you who preserve your covenant of mercy toward those who love you and keep your

401 commandments, ⁶ may your ear be attentive, and your eyes open, to heed the prayer which I, your servant, now offer in your presence day and night for your servants the Israelites, confessing the sins which we of Israel have committed against you, I and my father's house included. ⁷ Grievously have we offended you, not keeping the commandments, the statutes, and the ordinances which you committed to your servant Moses. ⁸ But remember, I pray, the promise which you gave through Moses, your servant, when you said: 'Should you prove faithless, I will scatter you among the nations; ⁹ but should you return to me and carefully keep my commandments, even though your outcasts have been driven to the farthest corner of the world, I will gather them from there, and bring them back to the place which I have chosen as the dwelling place for my name.' ¹⁰ They are your servants, your people, whom you freed by your great might and your strong hand. ¹¹ O Lord, may your ear be attentive to my prayer and that of all your willing servants who revere your name. Grant success to your servant this day, and let him find favor with this man"—for I was cupbearer to the king. Nehemiah Chapter 2 ¹ In the month Nisan of the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when the wine was in my charge, I took some and offered it to the king. As I had never before been sad in his presence, ² the king asked me, "Why do you look sad? If you are not sick, you must be sad at heart." Though I was seized with great fear, ³ I answered the king: "May the king live forever! How could I not look sad when the city where my ancestors are buried lies in ruins, and its gates have been eaten out by fire?" ⁴ The king asked me, "What is it, then, that you wish?" I prayed to the God of heaven ⁵ and then answered the king: "If it please the king, and if your servant is deserving of your favor, send me to Judah, to the city of my ancestors' graves, to rebuild it." ⁶ Then the king, and the queen seated beside him, asked me how long my journey would take and when I would return. I set a date that was acceptable to him, and the king agreed that I might go. ⁷ I asked the king further: "If it please the king, let letters be given to me for the governors of West-of-Euphrates, that they may afford me safe-conduct till I arrive in Judah; ⁸ also a letter for Asaph, the keeper of the royal park, that he may give me wood for timbering the gates of the temple-citadel and for the city wall and the house that I shall occupy." The king granted my requests, for the favoring hand of my God was upon me. ⁹ Thus I proceeded to the governors of West-of-Euphrates and presented the king's letters to them. The king also sent with me army officers and cavalry. ¹⁰ When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite slave had heard of this, they were very much displeased that someone had come to seek the welfare of the Israelites. ¹¹ When I had arrived in Jerusalem, I first rested there for three days. ¹² Then I set out by night with only a few other men (for I had not told anyone what my God had inspired me to do for Jerusalem) and with no other animals but my own mount. ¹³ I rode out at night by the Valley Gate, passed by the Dragon Spring, and came to the Dung Gate, observing how the walls of Jerusalem lay in ruins and its gates had been eaten out by fire. ¹⁴ Then I passed over to the Spring Gate and to the King's Pool. Since there was no room here for my mount to pass with me astride, ¹⁵ I continued on foot up the wadi by night, inspecting the wall all the while till I once more reached the Valley Gate, by which I went back in. ¹⁶ The magistrates knew nothing of where I had gone or what I was doing, for as yet I had disclosed nothing to the Jews, neither to the priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the magistrates, nor to the others who would be concerned about the matter.

the Spring Gate and to the King's Pool. Since there was no room here for my mount to pass with me astride, ¹⁵ I continued on foot up the wadi by night, inspecting the wall all the while till I once more reached the Valley Gate, by which I went back in. ¹⁶ The magistrates knew nothing of where I had gone or what I was doing, for as yet I had disclosed nothing to the Jews, neither to the priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the magistrates, nor to the others who would be concerned about the matter. ¹⁷ Afterward I said to them: "You see the evil plight in which we stand: how Jerusalem lies in ruins and its gates have been gutted by fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, so that we may no longer be an object of derision!" ¹⁸ Then I explained to them how the favoring hand of my God had rested upon me, and what the king had said to me. They replied, "Let us be up and building!" And they undertook the good work with vigor. ¹⁹ On hearing of this, Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite slave, and Geshem the

402 Arab mocked us and ridiculed us. "What is this that you are about?" they asked. "Are you rebelling against the king?" ²⁰ My answer to them was this: "It is the God of heaven who will grant us success. We, his servants, shall set about the rebuilding; but for you there is to be neither share nor claim nor memorial in Jerusalem." Nehemiah Chapter 3 ¹ Eliashib the high priest and his priestly brethren took up the task of rebuilding the Sheep Gate. They timbered it and set up its doors, its bolts, and its bars, then continued the rebuilding to the Tower of Hananel. ² At their side the men of Jericho were rebuilding, and next to them was Zaccur, son of Imri. ³ The Fish Gate was rebuilt by the sons of Hassenaah; they timbered it and set up its doors, its bolts, and its bars. ⁴ At their side Meremoth, son of Uriah, son of Hakkoz, carried out the work of repair; next to him was Meshullam, son of Berechiah, son of Meshezabel; and next to him was Zadok, son of Baana. ⁵ Next to him the Tekoites carried out the work of repair; however, some of their outstanding men would not submit to the labor asked by their lords. ⁶ The New City Gate was repaired by Joiada, son of Paseah; and Meshullam, son of Besodeiah; they timbered it and set up its doors, its bolts, and its bars. ⁷ At their side were Melatiah the Gibeonite, Jadon the Meronothite, and the men of Gibeon and of Mizpah, who were under the jurisdiction of the governor of West-of-Euphrates. ⁸ Next to them the work of repair was carried out by Uzziel, son of Harhaiah, a member of the goldsmiths' guild, and at his side was Hananiah, one of the perfumers' guild. They restored Jerusalem as far as the wall of the public square. ⁹ Next to them the work of repair was carried out by Rephaiah, son of Hur, leader of half the district of Jerusalem, ¹⁰ and at his side was Jedaiah, son of Harumaph, who repaired opposite his own house. Next to him Hattush, son of Hashabneiah, carried out the work of repair. ¹¹ The adjoining sector, as far as the Oven Tower, was repaired by Malchijah, son of Harim, and Hasshub, of Pahath-moab. ¹² At their side the work of repair was carried out by Shallum, son of Hallohesh, leader of half the district of Jerusalem, by himself and his daughters. ¹³ The Valley Gate was repaired by Hanun and the inhabitants of Zanoah; they rebuilt it and set up its doors, its bolts, and its bars. They also repaired a thousand cubits of the wall up to the Dung Gate. ¹⁴ The Dung Gate was repaired by Malchijah, son of Rechab, leader of the district of Beth-haccherem; he rebuilt it and set up its doors, its bolts, and its bars. ¹⁵ The Spring Gate was repaired by Shallum, son of Colhozeh, leader of the district of Mizpah; he rebuilt it, roofed it over, and set up its doors, its bolts, and its bars. He also repaired the wall of the Aqueduct Pool near the king's garden as far as the steps that lead down from the City of David. ¹⁶ After him, the work of repair was carried out by Nehemiah, son of Azbuk, leader of half the district of Beth-zur, to a place opposite the tombs of David, as far as the artificial pool and the barracks. ¹⁷ After him, the Levites carried out the work of repair: Rehum, son of Bani. Next to him, for his own district, was Hashabiah, leader of half the district of Keilah. ¹⁸ After him, their brethren carried out the work of repair: Binnui, son of Henadad, leader of half the district of Keilah; ¹⁹ next to him Ezer, son of Jeshua, leader of Mizpah, who repaired the adjoining sector, the Corner, opposite the ascent to the arsenal. ²⁰ After him, Baruch, son of Zabbai, repaired the adjoining sector from the Corner to the entrance of the house of Eliashib, the high priest. ²¹ After him, Meremoth, son of Uriah, son of Hakkoz, repaired the adjoining sector from the entrance of Eliashib's house to the end of the house. ²² After him, the work of repair was carried out by the priests, men of the surrounding country.

son of Jeshua, leader of Mizpah, who repaired the adjoining sector, the Corner, opposite the ascent to the arsenal. ²⁰ After him, Baruch, son of Zabbai, repaired the adjoining sector from the Corner to the entrance of the house of Eliashib, the high priest. ²¹ After him, Meremoth, son of Uriah, son of Hakkoz, repaired the adjoining sector from the entrance of Eliashib's house to the end of the house. ²² After him, the work of repair was carried out by the priests, men of the surrounding country. ²³ After them, Benjamin and Hasshub carried out the repair in front of their houses; after them, Azariah, son of Maaseiah, son of Ananiah, made the repairs alongside his house. ²⁴ After him, Binnui, son of Henadad, repaired the adjoining sector from the house of Azariah to the Corner (that is, to the Angle). ²⁵ After him, Palal, son of Uzai, carried out the work of repair opposite the Corner and the tower projecting from the Upper Palace at the quarters of the guard. After him, Pedaiah, son of Parosh, carried out the

403 work of repair ²⁶ to a point opposite the Water Gate on the east, and the projecting tower. ²⁷ After him, the Tekoites repaired the adjoining sector opposite the great projecting tower, to the wall of Ophel (the temple slaves were dwelling on Ophel). ²⁸ Above the Horse Gate the priests carried out the work of repair, each before his own house. ²⁹ After them Zadok, son of Immer, carried out the repair before his house, and after him the repair was carried out by Shemaiah, son of Shecaniah, keeper of the East Gate. ³⁰ After him, Hananiah, son of Shelemiah, and Hanun, the sixth son of Zalaph, repaired the adjoining sector; after them, Meshullam, son of Berechiah, repaired the place opposite his own lodging. ³¹ After him, Malchijah, a member of the goldsmiths' guild, carried out the work of repair as far as the quarters of the temple slaves and the merchants, before the Gate of Inspection and as far as the upper chamber of the Angle. ³² Between the upper chamber of the Angle and the Sheep Gate, the goldsmiths and the merchants carried out the work of repair. ³³ When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, it roused his anger and he became very much incensed. He ridiculed the Jews, ³⁴ saying in the presence of his brethren and the troops of Samaria: "What are these miserable Jews trying to do? Will they complete their restoration in a single day? Will they recover these stones, burnt as they are, from the heaps of dust?" ³⁵ Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him, and he said: "It is a rubble heap they are building. Any fox that attacked it would breach their wall of stones!" ³⁶ Take note, O our God, how we were mocked! Turn back their derision upon their own heads and let them be carried away to a land of captivity! ³⁷ Hide not their crime and let not their sin be blotted out in your sight, for they insulted the builders to their face! ³⁸ We, however, continued to build the wall, which was soon filled in and completed up to half its height. The people worked with a will. Nehemiah Chapter 4 ¹ When Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites heard that the restoration of the walls of Jerusalem was progressing - for the gaps were beginning to be closed up - they became extremely angry. ² Thereupon they all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and thus to throw us into confusion. ³ We prayed to our God and posted a watch against them day and night for fear of what they might do. ⁴ Meanwhile the Judahites were saying: "Slackened is the bearers' strength, there is no end to the rubbish; Never shall we be able the wall to rebuild." ⁵ Our enemies thought, "Before they are aware of it or see us, we shall come into their midst, kill them, and put an end to the work." ⁶ When the Jews who lived near them had come to us from one place after another, and had told us ten times over that they were about to attack us, ⁷ I stationed guards down below, behind the wall, near the exposed points, assigning them by family groups with their swords, their spears, and their bows. ⁸ I made an inspection, then addressed these words to the nobles, the magistrates, and the rest of the people: "Have no fear of them! Keep in mind the LORD, who is great and to be feared, and fight for your brethren, your sons and daughters, your wives and your homes." ⁹ When our enemies became aware that we had been warned and that God had upset their plan, we all went back, each to his own task at the wall. ¹⁰ From that time on, however, only half my able men took a hand in the work, while the other half, armed with spears, bucklers, bows, and breastplates, stood guard behind the whole house of Judah ¹¹ as they rebuilt the wall. The load carriers, too, were armed; each did his work with one hand and held a weapon with the other. ¹² Every builder, while he worked, had his sword girt at his side.

we had been warned and that God had upset their plan, we all went back, each to his own task at the wall. ¹⁰ From that time on, however, only half my able men took a hand in the work, while the other half, armed with spears, bucklers, bows, and breastplates, stood guard behind the whole house of Judah ¹¹ as they rebuilt the wall. The load carriers, too, were armed; each did his work with one hand and held a weapon with the other. ¹² Every builder, while he worked, had his sword girt at his side. Also, a trumpeter stood beside me, ¹³ for I had said to the nobles, the magistrates, and the rest of the people: "Our work is scattered and extensive, and we are widely separated from one another along the wall; ¹⁴ wherever you hear the trumpet sound, join us there; our God will fight with us." ¹⁵ Thus we went on with the work, half of the men with spears at the ready, from daybreak till the stars came out. ¹⁶ At the same time I told the people to spend the nights inside Jerusalem, each man with his own attendant, so that they might serve as a guard by night and a

404 working force by day. ¹⁷ Neither I, nor my kinsmen, nor any of my attendants, nor any of the bodyguard that accompanied me took off his clothes; everyone kept his weapon at his right hand. Nehemiah Chapter 5 ¹ Then there rose a great outcry of the common people and their wives against certain of their fellow Jews. ² Some said: "We are forced to pawn our sons and daughters in order to get grain to eat that we may live." ³ Others said: "We are forced to pawn our fields, our vineyards, and our houses, that we may have grain during the famine." ⁴ Still others said: "To pay the king's tax we have borrowed money on our fields and our vineyards. ⁵ And though these are our own kinsmen and our children are as good as theirs, we have had to reduce our sons and daughters to slavery, and violence has been done to some of our daughters! Yet we can do nothing about it, for our fields and our vineyards belong to others." ⁶ I was extremely angry when I heard the reasons they had for complaint. ⁷ After some deliberation, I called the nobles and magistrates to account, saying to them, "You are exacting interest from your own kinsmen!" I then rebuked them severely, ⁸ saying to them: "As far as we were able, we bought back our fellow Jews who had been sold to Gentiles; you, however, are selling your own brothers, to have them bought back by us." They remained silent, for they could find no answer. ⁹ I continued: "What you are doing is not good. Should you not walk in the fear of our God, and put an end to the derision of our Gentile enemies? ¹⁰ I myself, my kinsmen, and my attendants have lent the people money and grain without charge. Let us put an end to this usury! ¹¹ I ask that you return to them this very day their fields, their vineyards, their olive groves, and their houses, together with the interest on the money, the grain, the wine, and the oil that you have lent them." ¹² They answered: "We will return everything and exact nothing further from them. We will do just what you ask." Then I called for the priests and had them administer an oath to these men that they would do as they had promised. ¹³ I also shook out the folds of my garment, saying, "Thus may God shake from his home and his fortune every man who fails to keep this promise, and may he thus be shaken out and emptied!" And the whole assembly answered, "Amen," and praised the LORD. Then the people did as they had promised. ¹⁴ Moreover, from the time that King Artaxerxes appointed me governor in the land of Judah, from his twentieth to his thirty-second year - during these twelve years neither I nor my brethren lived from the governor's allowance. ¹⁵ The earlier governors, my predecessors, had laid a heavy burden on the people, taking from them each day forty silver shekels for their food; then too, their men oppressed the people. But I, because I feared God, did not act thus. ¹⁶ Moreover, though I had acquired no land of my own, I did my part in this work on the wall, and all my men were gathered there for the work. ¹⁷ Though I set my table for a hundred and fifty persons, Jews and magistrates, as well as those who came to us from the nations round about, ¹⁸ and though the daily preparations were made at my expense - one beef, six choice muttons, poultry - besides all kinds of wine in abundance every ten days, despite this I did not claim the governor's allowance, for the labor lay heavy upon this people. ¹⁹ Keep in mind, O my God, in my favor all that I did for this people. Nehemiah Chapter 6 ¹ When it had been reported to Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab, and our other enemies that I had rebuilt the wall and that there was no breach left in it (though up to that time I had not yet set up the doors in the gates), ² Sanballat and Geshem sent me this message: "Come, let us hold council together at Caphirim in the plain of Ono." They were planning to do me harm.

labor lay heavy upon this people. ¹⁹ Keep in mind, O my God, in my favor all that I did for this people. Nehemiah Chapter 6 ¹ When it had been reported to Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab, and our other enemies that I had rebuilt the wall and that there was no breach left in it (though up to that time I had not yet set up the doors in the gates), ² Sanballat and Geshem sent me this message: "Come, let us hold council together at Caphirim in the plain of Ono." They were planning to do me harm. ³ However, I sent messengers to them with this reply: "I am engaged in a great enterprise and am unable to come down; why should the work stop, while I leave it to come down to you?" ⁴ Four times they sent me this same proposal, and each time I gave the same reply. ⁵ Then, the fifth time, Sanballat

405 sent me the same message by one of his servants, who bore an unsealed letter ⁶ containing this text: "Among the nations it has been reported - Geshem is witness to this - that you and the Jews are planning a rebellion; that for this reason you are rebuilding the wall; and that you are to be their king" - and so on. ⁷ "Also, that you have set up prophets in Jerusalem to proclaim you king of Judah. Now, since matters like these must reach the ear of the king, come, let us hold council together." ⁸ I sent him this answer: "Nothing of what you report has taken place; rather, it is the invention of your own mind." ⁹ They were all trying to frighten us, thinking, "Their hands will slacken in the work, and it will never be completed." But instead, I now redoubled my efforts. ¹⁰ I went to the house of Shemaiah, son of Delaiah, son of Mehetabel, who was unable to go about, and he said: "Let us meet in the house of God, inside the temple building; let us lock the doors of the temple. For men are coming to kill you; by night they are coming to kill you." ¹¹ My answer was: "A man like me take flight? Can a man like me enter the temple to save his life? I will not go!" ¹² For on consideration it was plain to me that God had not sent him; rather, because Tobiah and Sanballat had bribed him, he voiced this prophecy concerning me ¹³ that I might act on it out of fear and commit this sin. Then they would have had a shameful story with which to discredit me. ¹⁴ Keep in mind Tobiah and Sanballat, O my God, because of these things they did; keep in mind as well Noadiah the prophetess and the other prophets who were trying to frighten me. ¹⁵ The wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of Elul; it had taken fifty-two days. ¹⁶ When all our enemies had heard of this, and all the nations round about had taken note of it, our enemies lost much face in the eyes of the nations, for they knew that it was with our God's help that this work had been completed. ¹⁷ At that same time, however, many letters were going to Tobiah from the nobles of Judah, and Tobiah's letters were reaching them, ¹⁸ for many in Judah were in league with him, since he was the son-in-law of Shecaniah, son of Arah, and his son Jehohanan had married the daughter of Meshullam, son of Berechiah. ¹⁹ Thus they would praise his good deeds in my presence and relate to him whatever I said; and Tobiah sent letters trying to frighten me. Nehemiah Chapter 7 ¹ When the wall had been rebuilt, I had the doors set up, and the gatekeepers (and the singers and the Levites) were put in charge of them. ² Over Jerusalem I placed Hanani, my brother, and Hananiah, the commander of the citadel, who was a more trustworthy and God-fearing man than most. ³ I said to them: "The gates of Jerusalem are not to be opened until the sun is hot, and while the sun is still shining they shall shut and bar the doors. Appoint as watchmen the inhabitants of Jerusalem, some at their watch posts, and others before their own houses." ⁴ Now the city was quite wide and spacious, but its population was small, and none of the houses had been rebuilt. ⁵ When my God had put it into my mind to gather together the nobles, the magistrates, and the common people, and to examine their family records, I came upon the family list of those who had returned in the earliest period. There I found the following written: ⁶ These are the inhabitants of the province who returned from the captivity of the exiles whom Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, had carried away, and who came back to Jerusalem and Judah, each man to his own city ⁷ (those who returned with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum, and Baanah).

examine their family records, I came upon the family list of those who had returned in the earliest period. There I found the following written: ⁶ These are the inhabitants of the province who returned from the captivity of the exiles whom Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, had carried away, and who came back to Jerusalem and Judah, each man to his own city ⁷ (those who returned with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum, and Baanah). The census of the men of Israel: ⁸ sons of Parosh, two thousand one hundred and seventy-two; ⁹ sons of Shephatiah, three hundred and seventy-two; ¹⁰ sons of Arah, six hundred and fifty-two; ¹¹ sons of Pahath-moab who were sons of Jeshua and Joab, two thousand eight hundred and eighteen; ¹² sons of Elam, one thousand two hundred and fifty-four; ¹³ sons of Zattu, eight hundred and forty-five; ¹⁴ sons of Zaccai, seven hundred and sixty; ¹⁵ sons of Binnui, six hundred and forty-eight; ¹⁶ sons of Bebai, six hundred and twenty-eight; ¹⁷ sons of Azgad, two thousand three hundred and twenty-two; ¹⁸ sons of Adonikam, six hundred and sixty-seven; ¹⁹ sons of Bigvai, two thousand and sixty-seven; ²⁰ sons

406 of Adin, six hundred and fifty-five; ²¹ sons of Ater who were sons of Hezekiah, ninety-eight; ²² sons of Hashum, three hundred and twenty-eight; ²³ sons of Bezai, three hundred and twenty- four; ²⁴ sons of Hariph, one hundred and twelve; ²⁵ sons of Gibeon, ninety-five; ²⁶ men of Bethlehem and Netophah, one hundred and eighty-eight; ²⁷ men of Anathoth, one hundred and twenty-eight; ²⁸ men of Beth-azmaveth, forty-two; ²⁹ men of Kiriath-jearim, Chephirah, and Beeroth, seven hundred and forty-three; ³⁰ men of Ramah and Geba, six hundred and twenty- one; ³¹ men of Michmas, one hundred and twenty-two; ³² men of Bethel and Ai, one hundred and twenty-three; ³³ men of Nebo, fifty-two; ³⁴ sons of another Elam, one thousand two hundred and fifty-four; ³⁵ sons of Harim, three hundred and twenty; ³⁶ sons of Jericho, three hundred and forty-five; ³⁷ sons of Lod, Hadid, and Ono, seven hundred and twenty-one; ³⁸ sons of Senaah, three thousand nine hundred and thirty. ³⁹ The priests: sons of Jedaiah who were of the house of Jeshua, nine hundred and seventy-three; ⁴⁰ sons of Immer, one thousand and fifty-two; ⁴¹ sons of Pashhur, one thousand two hundred and forty-seven; ⁴² sons of Harim, one thousand and seventeen. ⁴³ The Levites: sons of Jeshua, Kadmiel, Binnui, Hodeviah, seventy-four. ⁴⁴ The singers: sons of Asaph, one hundred and forty-eight. ⁴⁵ The gatekeepers: sons of Shallum, sons of Ater, sons of Talmon, sons of Akkub, sons of Hatita, sons of Shobai, one hundred and thirty-eight. ⁴⁶ The temple slaves: sons of Ziha, sons of Hasupha, sons of Tabbaoth, ⁴⁷ sons of Keros, sons of Sia, sons of Padon, ⁴⁸ sons of Lebana, sons of Hagaba, sons of Shalmai, ⁴⁹ sons of Hanan, sons of Giddel, sons of Gahar, ⁵⁰ sons of Reaiah, sons of Rezin, sons of Nekoda, ⁵¹ sons of Gazzam, sons of Uzza, sons of Paseah, ⁵² sons of Besai, sons of the Meunites, sons of the Nephusites, ⁵³ sons of Bakbuk, sons of Hakupha, sons of Harhur, ⁵⁴ sons of Bazlith, sons of Mehida, sons of Harsha, ⁵⁵ sons of Barkos, sons of Sisera, sons of Temah, ⁵⁶ sons of Neziah, sons of Hatipha. ⁵⁷ Descendants of the slaves of Solomon: sons of Sotai, sons of Sophereth, sons of Perida, ⁵⁸ sons of Jaala, sons of Darkon, sons of Giddel, ⁵⁹ sons of Shephatiah, sons of Hattil, sons of Pochereth-hazzebaim, sons of Amon. ⁶⁰ The total of the temple slaves and the descendants of the slaves of Solomon was three hundred and ninety-two. ⁶¹ The following who returned from Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub, Addon, and Immer were unable to prove that their ancestral houses and their descent were Israelite: ⁶² sons of Delaiah, sons of Tobiah, sons of Nekoda, six hundred and forty-two. ⁶³ Also, of the priests: sons of Hobaiah, sons of Hakkoz, sons of Barzillai (he had married one of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite and became known by his name). ⁶⁴ These men searched their family records, but their names could not be found written there; hence they were degraded from the priesthood, ⁶⁵ and His Excellency ordered them not to partake of the most holy foods until there should be a priest bearing the Urim and Thummim. ⁶⁶ The entire assembly taken together came to forty-two thousand three hundred and sixty, ⁶⁷ not counting their male and female slaves, who were seven thousand three hundred and thirty-seven. They also had two hundred male and female singers. Their horses were seven hundred and thirty-six, their mules two hundred and forty-five, ⁶⁸ their camels four hundred and thirty-five, their asses six thousand seven hundred and twenty. ⁶⁹ Certain of the family heads contributed to the service. His Excellency put into the treasury one thousand drachmas of gold, fifty basins, thirty garments for priests, and five hundred minas of silver. ⁷⁰ Some of the family heads contributed to the treasury for the temple service: twenty thousand drachmas of gold and two thousand two hundred minas of silver.

their mules two hundred and forty-five, ⁶⁸ their camels four hundred and thirty-five, their asses six thousand seven hundred and twenty. ⁶⁹ Certain of the family heads contributed to the service. His Excellency put into the treasury one thousand drachmas of gold, fifty basins, thirty garments for priests, and five hundred minas of silver. ⁷⁰ Some of the family heads contributed to the treasury for the temple service: twenty thousand drachmas of gold and two thousand two hundred minas of silver. ⁷¹ The contributions of the rest of the people amounted to twenty thousand drachmas of gold, two thousand minas of silver, and sixty-seven garments for priests. ⁷² The priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, the temple slaves, and all Israel took up residence in their cities. Nehemiah Chapter 8 ¹Now when the seventh month came, the whole people gathered as one man in the open space before the Water Gate, and they called upon Ezra the scribe to bring forth the book of the law of

407 Moses which the LORD prescribed for Israel. ²On the first day of the seventh month, therefore, Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly, which consisted of men, women, and those children old enough to understand. ³Standing at one end of the open place that was before the Water Gate, he read out of the book from daybreak till midday, in the presence of the men, the women, and those children old enough to understand; and all the people listened attentively to the book of the law. ⁴Ezra the scribe stood on a wooden platform that had been made for the occasion; at his right side stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah, and on his left Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah, Meshullam. ⁵Ezra opened the scroll so that all the people might see it (for he was standing higher up than any of the people); and, as he opened it, all the people rose. ⁶Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God, and all the people, their hands raised high, answered, "Amen, amen!" Then they bowed down and prostrated themselves before the LORD, their faces to the ground. ⁷(The Levites Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, and Pelaiah explained the law to the people, who remained in their places.) ⁸Ezra read plainly from the book of the law of God, interpreting it so that all could understand what was read. ⁹Then (Nehemiah, that is, His Excellency, and) Ezra the priest-scribe (and the Levites who were instructing the people) said to all the people: "Today is holy to the LORD your God. Do not be sad, and do not weep"—for all the people were weeping as they heard the words of the law. ¹⁰He said further: "Go, eat rich foods and drink sweet drinks, and allot portions to those who had nothing prepared; for today is holy to our LORD. Do not be saddened this day, for rejoicing in the LORD must be your strength!" ¹¹(And the Levites quieted all the people, saying, "Hush, for today is holy, and you must not be saddened.") ¹²Then all the people went to eat and drink, to distribute portions, and to celebrate with great joy, for they understood the words that had been expounded to them. ¹³On the second day, the family heads of the whole people and also the priests and the Levites gathered around Ezra the scribe and examined the words of the law more closely. ¹⁴They found it written in the law prescribed by the LORD through Moses that the Israelites must dwell in booths during the feast of the seventh month; ¹⁵and that they should have this proclamation made throughout their cities and in Jerusalem: "Go out into the hill country and bring in branches of olive trees, oleasters, myrtle, palm, and other leafy trees, to make booths, as the law prescribes." ¹⁶The people went out and brought in branches with which they made booths for themselves, on the roof of their houses, in their courtyards, in the courts of the house of God, and in the open spaces of the Water Gate and the Gate of Ephraim. ¹⁷Thus the entire assembly of the returned exiles made booths and dwelt in them. Now the Israelites had done nothing of this sort from the days of Jeshua, son of Nun, until this occasion; therefore there was very great joy. ¹⁸Ezra read from the book of the law of God day after day, from the first day to the last. They kept the feast for seven days, and the solemn assembly on the eighth day, as was required. Nehemiah Chapter 9 ¹On the twenty-fourth day of this month, the Israelites gathered together fasting and in sackcloth, their heads covered with dust. ²Those of Israelite descent separated themselves from all who were of foreign extraction, then stood forward and confessed their sins and the guilty deeds of their fathers. ³When they had taken their places, they read from the book of the law of the LORD their God, for a fourth part of the day, and during another fourth part they made their confession and prostrated themselves before the LORD their God.

th, the Israelites gathered together fasting and in sackcloth, their heads covered with dust. ²Those of Israelite descent separated themselves from all who were of foreign extraction, then stood forward and confessed their sins and the guilty deeds of their fathers. ³When they had taken their places, they read from the book of the law of the LORD their God, for a fourth part of the day, and during another fourth part they made their confession and prostrated themselves before the LORD their God. ⁴Standing on the platform of the Levites were Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani, who cried out to the LORD their God with a loud voice. ⁵The Levites Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah said, "Arise, bless the LORD, your God, from eternity to eternity!" The Israelites answered with the blessing, "Blessed is your glorious name, and exalted

408 above all blessing and praise." ⁶Then Ezra said: "It is you, O LORD, you are the only one; you made the heavens, the highest heavens and all their host, the earth and all that is upon it, the seas and all that is in them. To all of them you give life, and the heavenly hosts bow down before you. ⁷You, O LORD, are the God who chose Abram, who brought him out from Ur of the Chaldees, and named him Abraham. ⁸When you had found his heart faithful in your sight, you made the covenant with him to give to him and his posterity the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Jebusites, and Girgashites. These promises of yours you fulfilled, for you are just. ⁹You saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, you heard their cry by the Red Sea; ¹⁰You worked signs and wonders against Pharaoh, against all his servants and the people of his land, because you knew of their insolence toward them; thus you made for yourself a name even to this day. ¹¹The sea you divided before them, on dry ground they passed through the midst of the sea; their pursuers you hurled into the depths, like a stone into the mighty waters. ¹²With a column of cloud you led them by day, and by night with a column of fire, to light the way of their journey, the way in which they must travel. ¹³On Mount Sinai you came down, you spoke with them from heaven; you gave them just ordinances, firm laws, good statutes, and commandments; ¹⁴Your holy sabbath you made known to them, commandments, statutes, and law you prescribed for them, by the hand of Moses your servant. ¹⁵Food from heaven you gave them in their hunger, water from a rock you sent them in their thirst. You bade them enter and occupy the land which you had sworn with upraised hand to give them. ¹⁶But they, our fathers, proved to be insolent; they held their necks stiff and would not obey your commandments. ¹⁷They refused to obey and no longer remembered the miracles you had worked for them. They stiffened their necks and turned their heads to return to their slavery in Egypt. But you are a God of pardons, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in mercy; you did not forsake them. ¹⁸Though they made for themselves a molten calf, and proclaimed, 'Here is your God who brought you up out of Egypt,' and were guilty of great effronteries, ¹⁹yet in your great mercy you did not forsake them in the desert. The column of cloud did not cease to lead them by day on their journey, nor did the column of fire by night cease to light for them the way by which they were to travel. ²⁰Your good spirit you bestowed on them, to give them understanding; your manna you did not withhold from their mouths, and you gave them water in their thirst. ²¹Forty years in the desert you sustained them: they did not want; their garments did not become worn, and their feet did not become swollen. ²²You gave them kingdoms and peoples, which you divided up among them as border lands. They possessed the land of Sihon, king of Heshbon, and the land of Og, king of Bashan. ²³You made their children as numerous as the stars of the heavens, and you brought them into the land which you had commanded their fathers to enter and possess. ²⁴The sons went in to take possession of the land, and you humbled before them the Canaanite inhabitants of the land and delivered them over into their power, their kings as well as the peoples of the land, to do with them as they would. ²⁵They captured fortified cities and fertile land; they took possession of houses filled with all good things, cisterns already dug, vineyards, olive groves, and fruit trees in abundance. They could eat and have their fill, fatten and feast themselves on your immense good gifts. ²⁶But they were contemptuous and rebellious: they cast your law behind their backs, they slew your prophets who bore witness against them in order to bring them back to you, and they were guilty of great effronteries.

d. ²⁵They captured fortified cities and fertile land; they took possession of houses filled with all good things, cisterns already dug, vineyards, olive groves, and fruit trees in abundance. They could eat and have their fill, fatten and feast themselves on your immense good gifts. ²⁶But they were contemptuous and rebellious: they cast your law behind their backs, they slew your prophets who bore witness against them in order to bring them back to you, and they were guilty of great effronteries. ²⁷Therefore you delivered them into the power of their enemies, who oppressed them. But in the time of their oppression they would cry out to you, and you would hear them from heaven, and according to your great mercy give them saviors to deliver them from the power of their enemies. ²⁸As soon as they had relief, they would go back to doing evil in your sight. Then again you abandoned them to the power of their enemies, who crushed them. Then they cried out to you, and you heard them from heaven and delivered them according to your mercy, many times over. ²⁹You bore witness against them, in order to bring them back to your law. But they were insolent and would not obey

409 your commandments; they sinned against your ordinances, from which men draw life when they practice them. They turned stubborn backs, stiffened their necks, and would not obey. ³⁰You were patient with them for many years, bearing witness against them through your spirit, by means of your prophets; still they would not listen. Thus you delivered them over into the power of the peoples of the lands. ³¹Yet in your great mercy you did not completely destroy them and you did not forsake them, for you are a kind and merciful God. ³²Now, therefore, O our God, great, mighty, and awesome God, you who in your mercy preserve the covenant, take into account all the disasters that have befallen us, our kings, our princes, our priests, our prophets, our fathers, and your entire people, from the time of the kings of Assyria until this day! ³³In all that has come upon us you have been just, for you kept faith while we have done evil. ³⁴Yes, our kings, our princes, our priests, and our fathers have not kept your law; they paid no attention to your commandments and the obligations of which you reminded them. ³⁵While they were yet in their kingdom, in the midst of the many good things that you had given them and in the wide and fertile land that you had spread out before them, they did not serve you nor did they turn away from their evil deeds. ³⁶But, see, we today are slaves; and as for the land which you gave our fathers that they might eat its fruits and good things—see, we have become slaves upon it! ³⁷Its rich produce goes to the kings whom you set over us because of our sins, who rule over our bodies and our cattle as they please. We are in great distress!" Nehemiah Chapter 10 ¹ In view of all this, we are entering into a firm pact, which we are putting into writing. On the sealed document appear the names of our princes, our Levites, and our priests. ² On the sealed document: His Excellency Nehemiah, son of Hacaliah, and Zedekiah. ³ Seraiah, Azariah, Jeremiah, ⁴ Pashhur, Amariah, Malchijah, ⁵ Hattush, Shebaniah, Malluch, ⁶ Harim, Meremoth, Obadiah, ⁷ Daniel, Ginnethon, Baruch, ⁸ Meshullam, Abijah, Mijamin, ⁹ Maaziah, Bilgai, Shemaiah: these are the priests. ¹⁰ The Levites: Jeshua, son of Azaniah; Binnui, of the sons of Henadad; Kadmiel; ¹¹ and their brethren Shebaniah, Hodiah, Kelita, Pelaiah, Hanan, ¹² Mica, Rehob, Hashabiah, ¹³ Zaccur, Sherebiah, Shebaniah, ¹⁴ Hodiah, Bani, Beninu. ¹⁵ The leaders of the people: Parosh, Pahath-moab, Elam, Zattu, Bani, ¹⁶ Bunni, Azgad, Bebai, ¹⁷ Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin, ¹⁸ Ater, Hezekiah, Azzur, ¹⁹ Hodiah, Hashum, Bezai, ²⁰ Hariph, Anathoth, Nebai, ²¹ Magpiash, Meshullam, Hezir, ²² Meshezabel, Zadok, Jaddua, ²³ Pelatiah, Hanan, Anaiah, ²⁴ Hoshea, Hananiah, Hasshub, ²⁵ Halhohesh, Pilha, Shobek, ²⁶ Rehum, Hashabnah, Maaseiah, ²⁷ Ahiah, Hanan, Anan, ²⁸ Malluch, Harim, Baanah. ²⁹ The rest of the people, priests, Levites, gatekeepers, singers, temple slaves, and all others who have separated themselves from the peoples of the lands in favor of the law of God, with their wives, their sons, their daughters, all who are of the age of discretion, ³⁰ join with their brethren who are their princes, and with the sanction of a curse take this oath to follow the law of God which was given through Moses, the servant of God, and to observe carefully all the commandments of the LORD, our LORD, his ordinances and his statutes. ³¹ Agreed, that we will not marry our daughters to the peoples of the land, and that we will not take their daughters for our sons. ³² When the peoples of the land bring in merchandise or any kind of grain for sale on the sabbath day, we will not buy from them on the sabbath or on any other holy day. We will forgo the seventh year, as well as every kind of debt.

hrough Moses, the servant of God, and to observe carefully all the commandments of the LORD, our LORD, his ordinances and his statutes. ³¹ Agreed, that we will not marry our daughters to the peoples of the land, and that we will not take their daughters for our sons. ³² When the peoples of the land bring in merchandise or any kind of grain for sale on the sabbath day, we will not buy from them on the sabbath or on any other holy day. We will forgo the seventh year, as well as every kind of debt. ³³ We impose these commandments on ourselves: to give a third of a shekel each year for the service of the house of our God, ³⁴ for the showbread, for the daily cereal offering, for the daily holocaust, for the sabbaths, new moons, and festivals, for the holy offerings, for sin offerings to make atonement for Israel, and for every service of the house of our God. ³⁵ We, priests, Levites, and people, have determined by lot concerning the procurement of wood: it is to be brought to the house of our God by each of our family houses at stated times each year, to be burnt on the altar of the LORD, our

410 God, as the law prescribes. ³⁶ We have agreed to bring each year to the house of the LORD the first fruits of our fields and of our fruit trees, of whatever kind; ³⁷ also, as is prescribed in the law, to bring to the house of our God, to the priests who serve in the house of our God, the first-born of our children and our animals, including the first-born of our flocks and herds. ³⁸ The first batch of our dough, and our offerings of the fruit of every tree, of wine and of oil, we will bring to the priests, to the chambers of the house of our God. The tithe of our fields we will bring to the Levites; they, the Levites, shall take the tithe in all the cities of our service. ³⁹ An Aaronite priest shall be with the Levites when they take the tithe, and the Levites shall bring the tithe of the tithes to the house of our God, to the chambers of the treasury. ⁴⁰ For to these chambers the Israelites and Levites bring the offerings of grain, wine, and oil; there also are housed the utensils of the sanctuary, and the ministering priests, the gatekeepers, and the singers. We will not neglect the house of our God. Nehemiah Chapter 11 ¹ The leaders of the people took up residence in Jerusalem, and the rest of the people cast lots to bring one man in ten to reside in Jerusalem, the holy city, while the other nine would remain in the other cities. ² The people applauded all those men who willingly agreed to take up residence in Jerusalem. ³ These are the heads of the province who took up residence in Jerusalem. (In the cities of Judah dwelt lay Israelites, priests, Levites, temple slaves, and the descendants of the slaves of Solomon, each man on the property he owned in his own city.) ⁴ In Jerusalem dwelt both Judahites and Benjaminites. Of the Judahites: Athaiah, son of Uzziah, son of Zechariah, son of Amariah, son of Shephatiah, son of Mehallalel, of the sons of Perez; ⁵ Maaseiah, son of Baruch, son of Colhozeh, son of Hazaiah, son of Adaiah, son of Joiarib, son of Zechariah, a son of the Shelanites. ⁶ The total of the sons of Perez who dwelt in Jerusalem was four hundred and sixty- eight valiant men. ⁷ These were the Benjaminites: Sallu, son of Meshullam, son of Joed, son of Pedaiah, son of Kolaiah, son of Maaseiah, son of Ithiel, son of Jeshaiah, ⁸ and his brethren, warriors, nine hundred and twenty-eight in number. ⁹ Joel, son of Zichri, was their commander, and Judah, son of Hassenuah, was second in charge of the city. ¹⁰ Among the priests were: Jedaiah; Joiarib; Jachin; ¹¹ Seraiah, son of Hilkiah, son of Meshullam, son of Zadok, son of Meraioth, son of Ahitub, the ruler of the house of God, ¹² and their brethren who carried out the temple service, eight hundred and twenty-two; Adaiah, son of Jeroham, son of Pelaliah, son of Amzi, son of Zechariah, son of Pashhur, son of Malchijah, ¹³ and his brethren, family heads, two hundred and forty-two; and Amasai, son of Azarel, son of Ahzai, son of Meshillemoth, son of Immer, ¹⁴ and his brethren, warriors, one hundred and twenty-eight. Their commander was Zabdiel, son of Haggadol. ¹⁵ Among the Levites were Shemaiah, son of Hasshub, son of Azrikam, son of Hashabiah, son of Bunni; ¹⁶ Shabbethai and Jozabad, levitical chiefs who were placed over the external affairs of the house of God; ¹⁷ Mattaniah, son of Micah, son of Zabdi, son of Asaph, director of the psalms, who led the thanksgiving at prayer; Bakbukiah, second in rank among his brethren; and Abda, son of Shammua, son of Galal, son of Jeduthun. ¹⁸ The total of the Levites in the holy city was two hundred and eighty-four. ¹⁹ The gatekeepers were Akkub, Talmon, and their brethren, who kept watch over the gates; one hundred and seventy-two in number. ²⁰ The rest of Israel, including priests and Levites, were in all the other cities of Judah, each man in his inheritance. ²¹ The temple slaves lived on Ophel. Ziha and Gishpa were in charge of the temple slaves.

rank among his brethren; and Abda, son of Shammua, son of Galal, son of Jeduthun. ¹⁸ The total of the Levites in the holy city was two hundred and eighty-four. ¹⁹ The gatekeepers were Akkub, Talmon, and their brethren, who kept watch over the gates; one hundred and seventy-two in number. ²⁰ The rest of Israel, including priests and Levites, were in all the other cities of Judah, each man in his inheritance. ²¹ The temple slaves lived on Ophel. Ziha and Gishpa were in charge of the temple slaves. ²² The prefect of the Levites in Jerusalem was Uzzi, son of Bani, son of Hashabiah, son of Mattaniah, son of Micah; he was one of the sons of Asaph, the singers appointed to the service of the house of God - ²³ for they had been appointed by royal decree, and there was a fixed schedule for the singers assigning them their daily duties. ²⁴ Pethahiah, son of Meshezabel, a descendant of Zerah, son of Judah, was royal deputy in all affairs that concerned the people. ²⁵ As concerns

411 their villages in the country: Judahites lived in Kiriath-arba and its dependencies, in Dibon and its dependencies, in Jekabzeel and its villages, ²⁶ in Jeshua, Moladah, Beth-pelet, ²⁷ in Hazarshual, in Beer-sheba and its dependencies, ²⁸ in Ziklag, in Meconah and its dependencies, ²⁹ in En-rimmon, Zorah, Jarmuth, ³⁰ Zanoah, Adullam, and their villages, Lachish and its countryside, Azekah and its dependencies. They were settled from Beer-sheba to Ge-hinnom. ³¹ Benjaminites were in Geba, Michmash, Aija, Bethel and its dependencies, ³² Anathoth, Nob, Ananiah, ³³ Hazor, Ramah, Gittaim, ³⁴ Hadid, Zeboim, Neballat, ³⁵ Lod, Ono, and the Valley of the Artisans. ³⁶ Some sections of the Levites from Judah settled in Benjamin. Nehemiah Chapter 12 ¹ The following are the priests and Levites who returned with Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua: Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra, ² Amariah, Malluch, Hattush, ³ Shecaniah, Rehum, Meremoth, ⁴ Iddo, Ginnethon, Abijah, ⁵ Mijamin, Maadiah, Bilgah, ⁶ Shemaiah, and Joiarib, Jedaiah, ⁷ Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah, Jedaiah. These were the priestly heads and their brethren in the days of Jeshua. ⁸ The Levites were Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, Mattaniah; the last-mentioned, together with his brethren, was in charge of the hymns, ⁹ while Bakbukiah and Unno and their brethren ministered opposite them by turns. ¹⁰ Jeshua became the father of Joiakim, Joiakim became the father of Eliashib, and Eliashib became the father of Joiada. ¹¹ Joiada became the father of Johanan, and Johanan became the father of Jaddua. ¹² In the days of Joiakim these were the priestly family heads: for Seraiah, Meraiah; for Jeremiah, Hananiah; ¹³ for Ezra, Meshullam; for Amariah, Jehohanan; ¹⁴ for Malluchi, Jonathan; for Shebaniah, Joseph; ¹⁵ for Harim, Adna; for Meremoth, Helkai; ¹⁶ for Iddo, Zechariah; for Ginnethon, Meshullam; ¹⁷ for Abijah, Zichri; for Miamin, . . . ; for Maadiah, Piltai; ¹⁸ for Bilgah, Shammua; for Shemaiah, Jehonathan; ¹⁹ and for Joiarib, Mattenai; for Jedaiah, Uzzi; ²⁰ for Sallu, Kallai; for Amok, Eber; ²¹ for Hilkiah, Hashabiah; for Jedaiah, Nethanel. ²² In the time of Eliashib, Joiada, Johanan, and Jaddua, the family heads of the priests were written down in the Book of Chronicles, up until the reign of Darius the Persian. ²³ The sons of Levi: the family heads were written down in the Book of Chronicles, up until the time of Johanan, the son of Eliashib. ²⁴ The heads of the Levites were Hashabiah, Sherebiah, Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel. Their brethren who stood opposite them to sing praises and thanksgiving in fulfillment of the command of David, the man of God, one section opposite the other, ²⁵ were Mattaniah, Bakbukiah, Obadiah. Meshullam, Talmon, and Akkub were gatekeepers. They kept watch over the storerooms at the gates. ²⁶ All these lived in the time of Joiakim, son of Jeshua, son of Jozadak (and in the time of Nehemiah the governor and of Ezra the priest-scribe). ²⁷ At the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem, the Levites were sought out wherever they lived and were brought to Jerusalem to celebrate a joyful dedication with thanksgiving hymns and the music of cymbals, harps, and lyres. ²⁸ The levitical singers gathered together from the region about Jerusalem, from the villages of the Netophathites, ²⁹ from Beth-gilgal, and from the plains of Geba and Azmaveth (for the singers had built themselves settlements about Jerusalem). ³⁰ The priests and Levites first purified themselves, then they purified the people, the gates, and the wall. ³¹ I had the princes of Judah mount the wall, and I arranged two great choirs.

th thanksgiving hymns and the music of cymbals, harps, and lyres. ²⁸ The levitical singers gathered together from the region about Jerusalem, from the villages of the Netophathites, ²⁹ from Beth-gilgal, and from the plains of Geba and Azmaveth (for the singers had built themselves settlements about Jerusalem). ³⁰ The priests and Levites first purified themselves, then they purified the people, the gates, and the wall. ³¹ I had the princes of Judah mount the wall, and I arranged two great choirs. The first of these proceeded to the right, along the top of the wall, in the direction of the Dung Gate, ³² followed by Hoshaiah and half the princes of Judah, ³³ along with Azariah, Ezra, Meshullam, ³⁴ Judah, Benjamin, Shemaiah, and Jeremiah, ³⁵ priests with the trumpets, and also Zechariah, son of Jonathan, son of Shemaiah, son of Mattaniah, son of Micaiah, son of Zaccur, son of Asaph, ³⁶ and his brethren Shemaiah, Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel, Judah, and Hanani, with the musical instruments of David, the man of God. (Ezra the scribe was at their head.) ³⁷ At the Spring Gate they went straight up by the steps of the City of David and continued along the top of the wall above the house of David until they came to the Water Gate on the east. ³⁸ The second choir

412 proceeded to the left, followed by myself and the other half of the princes of the people, along the top of the wall past the Oven Tower as far as the Broad Wall, ³⁹ then past the Ephraim Gate (the New City Gate), the Fish Gate, the Tower of Hananel, and the Hundred Tower, as far as the Sheep Gate (and they came to a halt at the Prison Gate). ⁴⁰ The two choirs took up a position in the house of God; I, too, who had with me half the magistrates, ⁴¹ the priests Eliakim, Maaseiah, Minjamin, Micaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah, Hananiah, with the trumpets, ⁴² and Maaseiah, Shemaiah, Eleazar, Uzzi, Jehohanan, Malchijah, Elam, and Ezer. The singers were heard under the leadership of Jezrahiah. ⁴³ Great sacrifices were offered on that day, and there was rejoicing over the great feast of the LORD in which they shared. The women and the children joined in, and the rejoicing at Jerusalem could be heard from afar off. ⁴⁴ At that time men were appointed over the chambers set aside for stores, offerings, first fruits, and tithes; in them they were to collect from the fields of the various cities the portions legally assigned to the priests and Levites. For Judah rejoiced in its appointed priests and Levites ⁴⁵ who carried out the ministry of their God and the ministry of purification (as did the singers and the gatekeepers) in accordance with the prescriptions of David and of Solomon, his son. ⁴⁶ For the heads of the families of the singers and the hymns of praise and thanksgiving to God came down from the days of David and Asaph in times of old. ⁴⁷ Thus all Israel, in the days of Zerubbabel (and in the days of Nehemiah), gave the singers and the gatekeepers their portions, according to their daily needs. They made their consecrated offering to the Levites, and the Levites made theirs to the sons of Aaron. Nehemiah Chapter 13 ¹ At that time, when there was reading from the book of Moses in the hearing of the people, it was found written there that "no Ammonite or Moabite may ever be admitted into the assembly of God; ² for they would not succor the Israelites with food and water, but they hired Balaam to curse them, though our God turned the curse into a blessing." ³ When they had heard the law, they separated from Israel every foreign element. ⁴ Before this, the priest Eliashib, who had been placed in charge of the chambers of the house of our God and who was an associate of Tobiah, ⁵ had set aside for the latter's use a large chamber in which had previously been stored the cereal offerings, incense and utensils, the tithes in grain, wine, and oil allotted to the Levites, singers, and gatekeepers, and the offerings due the priests. ⁶ During all this time I had not been in Jerusalem, for in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes, king of Babylon, I had gone back to the king. After due time, however, I asked leave of the king ⁷ and returned to Jerusalem, where I discovered the evil thing that Eliashib had done for Tobiah, in setting aside for him a chamber in the courts of the house of God. ⁸ This displeased me very much, and I had all of Tobiah's household goods thrown outside the chamber. ⁹ Then I gave orders to purify the chambers, and I had them replace there the utensils of the house of God, the cereal offerings, and the incense. ¹⁰ I learned, too, that the portions due the Levites were no longer being given, so that the Levites and the singers who should have been carrying out the services had deserted, each man to his own field. ¹¹ I took the magistrates to task, demanding, "Why is the house of God abandoned?" Then I brought the Levites together and had them resume their stations. ¹² All Judah once more brought in the tithes of grain, wine, and oil to the storerooms; ¹³ and in charge of the storerooms I appointed the priest Shelemiah, Zadok the scribe, and Pedaiah, one of the Levites, together with Hanan, son of Zaccur, son of Mattaniah, as their assistant; for these men were held to be trustworthy.

an to his own field. ¹¹ I took the magistrates to task, demanding, "Why is the house of God abandoned?" Then I brought the Levites together and had them resume their stations. ¹² All Judah once more brought in the tithes of grain, wine, and oil to the storerooms; ¹³ and in charge of the storerooms I appointed the priest Shelemiah, Zadok the scribe, and Pedaiah, one of the Levites, together with Hanan, son of Zaccur, son of Mattaniah, as their assistant; for these men were held to be trustworthy. It was their duty to make the distribution to their brethren. ¹⁴ Remember this to my credit, O my God! Let not the devotion which I showed for the house of my God and its services be forgotten! ¹⁵ In those days I perceived that men in Judah were treading the winepresses on the sabbath; that they were bringing in sheaves of grain, loading them on their asses, together with wine, grapes, figs, and every other kind of burden, and bringing them to Jerusalem on the sabbath day. I warned them to

413 sell none of these victuals. ¹⁶ In Jerusalem itself the Tyrians who were resident there were importing fish and every other kind of merchandise and selling it to the Judahites on the sabbath. ¹⁷ I took the nobles of Judah to task, demanding of them: "What is this evil thing that you are doing, profaning the sabbath day? ¹⁸ Did not your fathers act in this same way, with the result that our God has brought all this evil upon us and upon this city? Would you add to the wrath against Israel by once more profaning the sabbath?" ¹⁹ When the shadows were falling on the gates of Jerusalem before the sabbath, I ordered the doors to be closed and forbade them to be reopened till after the sabbath. I posted some of my own men at the gates so that no burden might enter on the sabbath day. ²⁰ The merchants and sellers of various kinds of merchandise spent the night once or twice outside Jerusalem, ²¹ but then I warned them, saying to them: "Why do you spend the night alongside the wall? If you keep this up, I will lay hands on you!" From that time on, they did not return on the sabbath. ²² Then I ordered the Levites to purify themselves and to go and watch the gates, so that the sabbath day might be kept holy. This, too, remember in my favor, O my God, and have mercy on me in accordance with your great mercy! ²³ Also in those days I saw Jews who had married Ashdodite, Ammonite, or Moabite wives. ²⁴ Of their children, half spoke Ashdodite, and none of them knew how to speak Jewish; and so it was in regard to the languages of the various other peoples. ²⁵ I took them to task and cursed them; I had some of them beaten and their hair pulled out; and I adjured them by God: "You shall not marry your daughters to their sons nor take any of their daughters for your sons or for yourselves! ²⁶ Did not Solomon, the king of Israel, sin because of them? Though among the many nations there was no king like him, and though he was beloved of his God and God had made him king over all Israel, yet even he was made to sin by foreign women. ²⁷ Must it also be heard of you that you have done this same very great evil, betraying our God by marrying foreign women?" ²⁸ One of the sons of Joiada, son of Eliashib the high priest, was the son-in-law of Sanballat the Horonite! I drove him from my presence. ²⁹ Remember against them, O my God, how they defiled the priesthood and the covenant of the priesthood and the Levites! ³⁰ Thus I cleansed them of all foreign contamination. I established the various functions for the priests and Levites, so that each had his appointed task. ³¹ I also provided for the procurement of wood at stated times and for the first fruits. Remember this in my favor, O my God! Esther Esther Chapter 1 ¹During the reign of Ahasuerus—this was the Ahasuerus who ruled over a hundred and twenty- seven provinces from India to Ethiopia—²while he was occupying the royal throne in the stronghold of Susa, ³in the third year of his reign, he presided over a feast for all his officers and ministers: the Persian and Median aristocracy, the nobles, and the governors of the provinces. ⁴For as many as a hundred and eighty days, he displayed the glorious riches of his kingdom and the resplendent wealth of his royal estate. ⁵At the end of this time the king gave a feast of seven days in the garden court of the royal palace for all the people, great and small, who were in the stronghold of Susa. ⁶There were white cotton draperies and violet hangings, held by cords of crimson byssus from silver rings on marble pillars. Gold and silver couches were on the pavement, which was of porphyry, marble, mother-of-pearl, and colored stones. ⁷Liquor was served in a variety of golden cups, and the royal wine flowed freely, as befitted the king's munificence. ⁸By ordinance of the king the drinking was unstinted, for he had instructed all the stewards of his household to comply with the good pleasure of everyone.

white cotton draperies and violet hangings, held by cords of crimson byssus from silver rings on marble pillars. Gold and silver couches were on the pavement, which was of porphyry, marble, mother-of-pearl, and colored stones. ⁷Liquor was served in a variety of golden cups, and the royal wine flowed freely, as befitted the king's munificence. ⁸By ordinance of the king the drinking was unstinted, for he had instructed all the stewards of his household to comply with the good pleasure of everyone. ⁹Queen Vashti also gave a feast for the women inside the royal palace of King Ahasuerus. ¹⁰On the seventh day, when the king was merry

414 with wine, he instructed Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar, and Carkas, the seven eunuchs who attended King Ahasuerus, ¹¹to bring Queen Vashti into his presence wearing the royal crown, that he might display her beauty to the populace and the officials, for she was lovely to behold. ¹²But Queen Vashti refused to come at the royal order issued through the eunuchs. At this the king's wrath flared up, and he burned with fury. ¹³He conferred with the wise men versed in the law, because the king's business was conducted in general consultation with lawyers and jurists. ¹⁴He summoned Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena and Memucan, the seven Persian and Median officials who were in the king's personal service and held first rank in the realm, ¹⁵and asked them, "What is to be done by law with Queen Vashti for disobeying the order of King Ahasuerus issued through the eunuchs?" ¹⁶In the presence of the king and of the officials, Memucan answered: "Queen Vashti has not wronged the king alone, but all the officials and the populace throughout the provinces of King Ahasuerus. ¹⁷For the queen's conduct will become known to all the women, and they will look with disdain upon their husbands when it is reported, 'King Ahasuerus commanded that Queen Vashti be ushered into his presence, but she would not come.' ¹⁸This very day the Persian and Median ladies who hear of the queen's conduct will rebel against all the royal officials, with corresponding disdain and rancor. ¹⁹If it please the king, let an irrevocable royal decree be issued by him and inscribed among the laws of the Persians and Medes, forbidding Vashti to come into the presence of King Ahasuerus and authorizing the king to give her royal dignity to one more worthy than she. ²⁰Thus, when the decree which the king will issue is published throughout his realm, vast as it is, all wives will honor their husbands, from the greatest to the least." ²¹This proposal found acceptance with the king and the officials, and the king acted on the advice of Memucan. ²²He sent letters to all the royal provinces, to each province in its own script and to each people in its own language, to the effect that every man should be lord in his own home. Esther Chapter 2 ¹After this, when King Ahasuerus' wrath had cooled, he thought over what Vashti had done and what had been decreed against her. ²Then the king's personal attendants suggested: "Let beautiful young virgins be sought for the king. ³Let the king appoint commissaries in all the provinces of his realm to bring together all beautiful young virgins to the harem in the stronghold of Susa. Under the care of the royal eunuch Hegai, custodian of the women, let cosmetics be given them. ⁴Then the girl who pleases the king shall reign in place of Vashti." This suggestion pleased the king, and he acted accordingly. ⁵There was in the stronghold of Susa a certain Jew named Mordecai, son of Jair, son of Shimei, son of Kish, a Benjaminite, ⁶who had been exiled from Jerusalem with the captives taken with Jeconiah, king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, had deported. ⁷He was foster father to Hadassah, that is, Esther, his cousin; for she had lost both father and mother. The girl was beautifully formed and lovely to behold. On the death of her father and mother, Mordecai had taken her as his own daughter. ⁸When the king's order and decree had been obeyed and many maidens brought together to the stronghold of Susa under the care of Hegai, Esther also was brought in to the royal palace under the care of Hegai, custodian of the women. ⁹The girl pleased him and won his favor. So he promptly furnished her with cosmetics and provisions. Then picking out seven maids for her from the royal palace, he transferred both her and her maids to the best place in the harem. ¹⁰Esther did not reveal her nationality or family, for Mordecai had commanded her not to do so.

y maidens brought together to the stronghold of Susa under the care of Hegai, Esther also was brought in to the royal palace under the care of Hegai, custodian of the women. ⁹The girl pleased him and won his favor. So he promptly furnished her with cosmetics and provisions. Then picking out seven maids for her from the royal palace, he transferred both her and her maids to the best place in the harem. ¹⁰Esther did not reveal her nationality or family, for Mordecai had commanded her not to do so. ¹¹Day by day Mordecai would walk about in front of the court of the harem, to learn how Esther was faring and what was to become of her. ¹²Each girl went in turn to visit King Ahasuerus after the twelve months' preparation decreed for the women. Of this period of beautifying treatment, six months were spent with oil of myrrh, and the other six months with perfumes and cosmetics. ¹³Then, when the girl was to visit the king, she

415 was allowed to take with her from the harem to the royal palace whatever she chose. ¹⁴She would go in the evening and return in the morning to a second harem under the care of the royal eunuch Shaashgaz, custodian of the concubines. She could not return to the king unless he was pleased with her and had her summoned by name. ¹⁵As for Esther, daughter of Abihail and adopted daughter of his nephew Mordecai, when her turn came to visit the king, she did not ask for anything but what the royal eunuch Hegai, custodian of the women, suggested. Yet she won the admiration of all who saw her. ¹⁶Esther was led to King Ahasuerus in his palace in the tenth month, Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign. ¹⁷The king loved Esther more than all other women, and of all the virgins she won his favor and benevolence. So he placed the royal diadem on her head and made her queen in place of Vashti. ¹⁸Then the king gave a great feast in honor of Esther to all his officials and ministers, granting a holiday to the provinces and bestowing gifts with royal bounty. ¹⁹[To resume: From the time the virgins had been brought together, and while Mordecai was passing his time at the king's gate, ²⁰Esther had not revealed her family or nationality, because Mordecai had told her not to; and Esther continued to follow Mordecai's instructions, just as she had when she was being brought up by him. ²¹And during the time that Mordecai spent at the king's gate, Bagathan and Thares, two of the royal eunuchs who guarded the entrance, had plotted in anger to lay hands on King Ahasuerus. ²²When the plot became known to Mordecai, he told Queen Esther, who in turn informed the king for Mordecai. ²³The matter was investigated and verified, and both of them were hanged on a gibbet. This was written in the annals for the king's use.] Esther Chapter 3 ¹After these events King Ahasuerus raised Haman, son of Hammedatha the Agagite, to high rank, seating him above all his fellow officials. ²All the king's servants who were at the royal gate would kneel and bow down to Haman, for that is what the king had ordered in his regard. Mordecai, however, would not kneel and bow down. ³The king's servants who were at the royal gate said to Mordecai, "Why do you disobey the king's order?" ⁴When they had reminded him day after day and he would not listen to them, they informed Haman, to see whether Mordecai's explanation was acceptable, since he had told them that he was a Jew. ⁵When Haman observed that Mordecai would not kneel and bow down to him, he was filled with anger. ⁶Moreover, he thought it was not enough to lay hands on Mordecai alone. Since they had told Haman of Mordecai's nationality, he sought to destroy all the Jews, Mordecai's people, throughout the realm of King Ahasuerus. ⁷In the first month, Nisan, in the twelfth year of King Ahasuerus, the pur, or lot, was cast in Haman's presence to determine the day and the month for the destruction of Mordecai's people on a single day, and the lot fell on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, Adar. ⁸Then Haman said to King Ahasuerus: "Dispersed among the nations throughout the provinces of your kingdom, there is a certain people living apart, with laws differing from those of every other people. They do not obey the laws of the king, and so it is not proper for the king to tolerate them. ⁹If it please the king, let a decree be issued to destroy them; and I will deliver to the procurators ten thousand silver talents for deposit in the royal treasury." ¹⁰The king took the signet ring from his hand and gave it to Haman, son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews.

ovinces of your kingdom, there is a certain people living apart, with laws differing from those of every other people. They do not obey the laws of the king, and so it is not proper for the king to tolerate them. ⁹If it please the king, let a decree be issued to destroy them; and I will deliver to the procurators ten thousand silver talents for deposit in the royal treasury." ¹⁰The king took the signet ring from his hand and gave it to Haman, son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews. ¹¹"The silver you may keep," the king said to Haman, "but as for this people, do with them whatever you please." ¹²So the royal scribes were summoned; and on the thirteenth day of the first month they wrote, at the dictation of Haman, an order to the royal satraps, the governors of every province, and the officials of every people, to each province in its own script and to each people in its own language. It was written in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed with the royal signet ring. ¹³Letters were sent by couriers to all the royal provinces, that all the Jews, young and old, including women and children, should be killed, destroyed, wiped out in one day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, Adar, and that

416 their goods should be seized as spoil. Esther Chapter 4 ¹When Mordecai learned all that was happening, he tore his garments, put on sackcloth and ashes, and walked through the city crying out loudly and bitterly, ²till he came before the royal gate, which no one clothed in sackcloth might enter. ³(Likewise in each of the provinces, wherever the king's legal enactment reached, the Jews went into deep mourning, with fasting, weeping, and lament; they all slept on sackcloth and ashes.) ⁴Queen Esther's maids and eunuchs came and told her. Overwhelmed with anguish, she sent garments for Mordecai to put on, so that he might take off his sackcloth; but he refused. ⁵Esther then summoned Hathach, one of the king's eunuchs whom he had placed at her service, and commanded him to find out what this action of Mordecai meant and the reason for it. ⁶So Hathach went out to Mordecai in the public square in front of the royal gate, ⁷and Mordecai told him all that had happened, as well as the exact amount of silver Haman had promised to pay to the royal treasury for the slaughter of the Jews. ⁸He also gave him a copy of the written decree for their destruction which had been promulgated in Susa, to show and explain to Esther. He was to instruct her to go to the king; she was to plead and intercede with him on behalf of her people. ⁹"Remember the days of your lowly estate," Mordecai had him say, "when you were brought up in my charge; for Haman, who is second to the king, has asked for our death. ¹⁰Invoke the Lord and speak to the king for us: save us from death." Hathach returned to Esther and told her what Mordecai had said. ¹¹Then Esther replied to Hathach and gave him this message for Mordecai: "All the servants of the king and the people of his provinces know that any man or woman who goes to the king in the inner court without being summoned, suffers the automatic penalty of death, unless the king extends to him the golden scepter, thus sparing his life. Now as for me, I have not been summoned to the king for thirty days." ¹²When Esther's words were reported to Mordecai, ¹³he had this reply brought to her: "Do not imagine that because you are in the king's palace, you alone of all the Jews will escape. ¹⁴Even if you now remain silent, relief and deliverance will come to the Jews from another source; but you and your father's house will perish. Who knows but that it was for a time like this that you obtained the royal dignity?" ¹⁵Esther sent back to Mordecai the response: ¹⁶"Go and assemble all the Jews who are in Susa; fast on my behalf, all of you, not eating or drinking, night or day, for three days. I and my maids will also fast in the same way. Thus prepared, I will go to the king, contrary to the law. If I perish, I perish!" Esther Chapter 5 ¹[Now on the third day, Esther put on her royal garments and stood in the inner courtyard, looking toward the royal palace, while the king was seated on his royal throne in the audience chamber, facing the palace doorway. ²He saw Queen Esther standing in the courtyard, and made her welcome by extending toward her the golden staff which he held. She came up to him, and touched the top of the staff.] ³Then the king said to her, "What is it, Queen Esther? What is your request? Even if it is half of my kingdom, it shall be granted you." ⁴"If it please your majesty," Esther replied, "come today with Haman to a banquet I have prepared." ⁵And the king ordered, "Have Haman make haste to fulfill the wish of Esther." So the king went with Haman to the banquet Esther had prepared.

er welcome by extending toward her the golden staff which he held. She came up to him, and touched the top of the staff.] ³Then the king said to her, "What is it, Queen Esther? What is your request? Even if it is half of my kingdom, it shall be granted you." ⁴"If it please your majesty," Esther replied, "come today with Haman to a banquet I have prepared." ⁵And the king ordered, "Have Haman make haste to fulfill the wish of Esther." So the king went with Haman to the banquet Esther had prepared. ⁶During the drinking of the wine, the king said to Esther, "Whatever you ask for shall be granted, and whatever request you make shall be honored, even if it is for half my kingdom." ⁷Esther replied: "This is my petition and request: ⁸if I have found favor with the king and if it pleases your majesty to grant my petition and honor my request, come with Haman tomorrow to a banquet which I shall prepare for you; and then I will do as you ask." ⁹That day Haman left happy and in good spirits. But when he saw that Mordecai at the royal gate did not rise, and

417 showed no fear of him, he was filled with anger toward him. ¹⁰Haman restrained himself, however, and went home, where he summoned his friends and his wife Zeresh. ¹¹He recounted the greatness of his riches, the large number of his sons, and just how the king had promoted him and placed him above the officials and royal servants. ¹²"Moreover," Haman added, "Queen Esther invited no one but me to the banquet with the king; again tomorrow I am to be her guest, with the king. ¹³Yet none of this satisfies me as long as I continue to see the Jew Mordecai sitting at the royal gate." ¹⁴His wife Zeresh and all his friends said to him, "Have a gibbet set up, fifty cubits in height, and in the morning ask the king to have Mordecai hanged on it. Then go to the banquet with the king in good cheer." This suggestion pleased Haman, and he had the gibbet erected. Esther Chapter 6 ¹That night the king, unable to sleep, asked that the chronicle of notable events be brought in. While this was being read to him, ²the passage occurred in which Mordecai reported Bagathan and Teresh, two of the royal eunuchs who guarded the entrance, for seeking to lay hands on King Ahasuerus. ³The king asked, "What was done to reward and honor Mordecai for this?" The king's attendants replied, "Nothing was done for him." ⁴"Who is in the court?" the king asked. Now Haman had entered the outer court of the king's palace to suggest to the king that Mordecai should be hanged on the gibbet he had raised for him. ⁵The king's servants answered him, "Haman is waiting in the court." "Let him come in," the king said. ⁶When Haman entered, the king said to him, "What should be done for the man whom the king wishes to reward?" Now Haman thought to himself, "Whom would the king more probably wish to reward than me?" ⁷So he replied to the king: "For the man whom the king wishes to reward ⁸there should be brought the royal robe which the king wore and the horse on which the king rode when the royal crown was placed on his head. ⁹The robe and the horse should be consigned to one of the noblest of the king's officials, who must clothe the man the king wishes to reward, have him ride on the horse in the public square of the city, and cry out before him, 'This is what is done for the man whom the king wishes to reward!'" ¹⁰Then the king said to Haman: "Hurry! Take the robe and horse as you have proposed, and do this for the Jew Mordecai, who is sitting at the royal gate. Do not omit anything you proposed." ¹¹So Haman took the robe and horse, clothed Mordecai, had him ride in the public square of the city, and cried out before him, "This is what is done for the man whom the king wishes to reward!" ¹²Mordecai then returned to the royal gate, while Haman hurried home, his head covered in grief. ¹³When he told his wife Zeresh and all his friends everything that had happened to him, his advisers and his wife Zeresh said to him, "If Mordecai, before whom you are beginning to decline, is of the Jewish race, you will not prevail against him, but will surely be defeated by him." ¹⁴While they were speaking with him, the king's eunuchs arrived and hurried Haman off to the banquet Esther had prepared. Esther Chapter 7 ¹So the king and Haman went to the banquet with Queen Esther. ²Again, on this second day, during the drinking of the wine, the king said to Esther, "Whatever you ask, Queen Esther, shall be granted you. Whatever request you make shall be honored, even for half the kingdom." ³Queen Esther replied: "If I have found favor with you, O king, and if it pleases your majesty, I ask that my life be spared, and I beg that you spare the lives of my people. ⁴For my people and I have been delivered to destruction, slaughter, and extinction.

e banquet with Queen Esther. ²Again, on this second day, during the drinking of the wine, the king said to Esther, "Whatever you ask, Queen Esther, shall be granted you. Whatever request you make shall be honored, even for half the kingdom." ³Queen Esther replied: "If I have found favor with you, O king, and if it pleases your majesty, I ask that my life be spared, and I beg that you spare the lives of my people. ⁴For my people and I have been delivered to destruction, slaughter, and extinction. If we were to be sold into slavery I would remain silent, but as it is, the enemy will be unable to compensate for the harm done to the king." ⁵"Who and where," said King Ahasuerus to Queen Esther, "is the man who has dared to do this?" ⁶Esther replied, "The enemy oppressing us is this wicked Haman." At this, Haman was seized with

418 dread of the king and queen. ⁷The king left the banquet in anger and went into the garden of the palace, but Haman stayed to beg Queen Esther for his life, since he saw that the king had decided on his doom. ⁸When the king returned from the garden of the palace to the banquet hall, Haman had thrown himself on the couch on which Esther was reclining; and the king exclaimed, "Will he also violate the queen while she is with me in my own house!" Scarcely had the king spoken when the face of Haman was covered over. ⁹Harbona, one of the eunuchs who attended the king, said, "At the house of Haman stands a gibbet fifty cubits high. Haman prepared it for Mordecai, who gave the report that benefited the king." The king answered, "Hang him on it." ¹⁰So they hanged Haman on the gibbet which he had made ready for Mordecai, and the anger of the king abated. Esther Chapter 8 ¹That day King Ahasuerus gave the house of Haman, enemy of the Jews, to Queen Esther; and Mordecai was admitted to the king's presence, for Esther had revealed his relationship to her. ²The king removed his signet ring from Haman, and transferred it into the keeping of Mordecai; and Esther put Mordecai in charge of the house of Haman. ³In another audience with the king, Esther fell at his feet and tearfully implored him to revoke the harm done by Haman the Agagite, and the plan he had devised against the Jews. ⁴The king stretched forth the golden scepter to Esther. So she rose and, standing in his presence, ⁵said: "If it pleases your majesty and seems proper to you, and if I have found favor with you and you love me, let a document be issued to revoke the letters which that schemer Haman, son of Hammedatha the Agagite, wrote for the destruction of the Jews in all the royal provinces. ⁶For how can I witness the evil that is to befall my people, and how can I behold the destruction of my race?" ⁷King Ahasuerus then said to Queen Esther and to the Jew Mordecai: "Now that I have given Esther the house of Haman, and they have hanged him on the gibbet because he attacked the Jews, ⁸you in turn may write in the king's name what you see fit concerning the Jews and seal the letter with the royal signet ring." For whatever is written in the name of the king and sealed with the royal signet ring cannot be revoked. ⁹At that time, on the twenty-third day of the third month, Sivan, the royal scribes were summoned. Exactly as Mordecai dictated, they wrote to the Jews and to the satraps, governors, and officials of the hundred and twenty-seven provinces from India to Ethiopia: to each province in its own script and to each people in its own language, and to the Jews in their own script and language. ¹⁰These letters, which he wrote in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed with the royal signet ring, he sent by mounted couriers riding thoroughbred royal steeds. ¹¹In these letters the king authorized the Jews in each and every city to group together and defend their lives, and to kill, destroy, wipe out, along with their wives and children, every armed group of any nation or province which should attack them, and to seize their goods as spoil ¹²throughout the provinces of King Ahasuerus, on a single day, the thirteenth of the twelfth month, Adar. ¹³A copy of the letter to be promulgated as law in each and every province was published among all the peoples, so that the Jews might be prepared on that day to avenge themselves on their enemies. ¹⁴Couriers mounted on royal steeds sped forth in haste at the king's order, and the decree was promulgated in the stronghold of Susa. ¹⁵Mordecai left the king's presence clothed in a royal robe of violet and of white cotton, with a large crown of gold and a cloak of crimson byssus. The city of Susa shouted with joy, ¹⁶and there was splendor and merriment for the Jews, exultation and triumph.

ng all the peoples, so that the Jews might be prepared on that day to avenge themselves on their enemies. ¹⁴Couriers mounted on royal steeds sped forth in haste at the king's order, and the decree was promulgated in the stronghold of Susa. ¹⁵Mordecai left the king's presence clothed in a royal robe of violet and of white cotton, with a large crown of gold and a cloak of crimson byssus. The city of Susa shouted with joy, ¹⁶and there was splendor and merriment for the Jews, exultation and triumph. ¹⁷In each and every province and in each and every city, wherever the king's order arrived, there was merriment and exultation, banqueting and feasting for the Jews. And many of the peoples of the land embraced Judaism, for they were seized with a fear of the Jews. Esther Chapter 9 ¹When the day arrived on which the order decreed by the king was to be carried out, the thirteenth

419 day of the twelfth month, Adar, on which the enemies of the Jews had expected to become masters of them, the situation was reversed: the Jews became masters of their enemies. ²The Jews mustered in their cities throughout the provinces of King Ahasuerus to attack those who sought to do them harm, and no one could withstand them, but all peoples were seized with a fear of them. ³Moreover, all the officials of the provinces, the satraps, governors, and royal procurators supported the Jews from fear of Mordecai; ⁴for Mordecai was powerful in the royal palace, and the report was spreading through all the provinces that he was continually growing in power. ⁵The Jews struck down all their enemies with the sword, killing and destroying them; they did to their enemies as they pleased. ⁶In the stronghold of Susa, the Jews killed and destroyed five hundred men. ⁷They also killed Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha, ⁸Porathai, Adalia, Aridatha, ⁹Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai, and Vaizatha, ¹⁰the ten sons of Haman, son of Hammedatha, the foe of the Jews. However, they did not engage in plundering. ¹¹On the same day, when the number of those killed in the stronghold of Susa was reported to the king, ¹²he said to Queen Esther: "In the stronghold of Susa the Jews have killed and destroyed five hundred men, as well as the ten sons of Haman. What must they have done in the other royal provinces! You shall again be granted whatever you ask, and whatever you request shall be honored." ¹³So Esther said, "If it pleases your majesty, let the Jews in Susa be permitted again tomorrow to act according to today's decree, and let the ten sons of Haman be hanged on gibbets." ¹⁴The king then gave an order to this effect, and the decree was published in Susa. So the ten sons of Haman were hanged, ¹⁵and the Jews in Susa mustered again on the fourteenth of the month of Adar and killed three hundred men in Susa. However, they did not engage in plundering. ¹⁶The other Jews, who dwelt in the royal provinces, also mustered and defended themselves, and obtained rest from their enemies. They killed seventy- five thousand of their foes, without engaging in plunder, ¹⁷on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar. On the fourteenth of the month they rested, and made it a day of feasting and rejoicing. ¹⁸(The Jews in Susa, however, mustered on the thirteenth and fourteenth of the month. But on the fifteenth they rested, and made it a day of feasting and rejoicing.) ¹⁹That is why the rural Jews, who dwell in villages, celebrate the fourteenth of the month of Adar as a day of rejoicing and feasting, a holiday on which they send gifts of food to one another. ²⁰Mordecai recorded these events and sent letters to all the Jews, both near and far, in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus. ²¹He ordered them to celebrate every year both the fourteenth and the fifteenth of the month of Adar ²²as the days on which the Jews obtained rest from their enemies and as the month which was turned for them from sorrow into joy, from mourning into festivity. They were to observe these days with feasting and gladness, sending food to one another and gifts to the poor. ²³The Jews took upon themselves for the future this observance which they instituted at the written direction of Mordecai. ²⁴Haman, son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the foe of all the Jews, had planned to destroy them and had cast the pur, or lot, for the time of their defeat and destruction. ²⁵Yet, when Esther entered the royal presence, the king ordered in writing that the wicked plan Haman had devised against the Jews should instead be turned against Haman and that he and his sons should be hanged on gibbets. ²⁶And so these days have been named Purim after the word pur.

tituted at the written direction of Mordecai. ²⁴Haman, son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the foe of all the Jews, had planned to destroy them and had cast the pur, or lot, for the time of their defeat and destruction. ²⁵Yet, when Esther entered the royal presence, the king ordered in writing that the wicked plan Haman had devised against the Jews should instead be turned against Haman and that he and his sons should be hanged on gibbets. ²⁶And so these days have been named Purim after the word pur. Thus, because of all that was contained in this letter, and because of what they had witnessed and experienced in this affair, ²⁷the Jews established and took upon themselves, their descendants, and all who should join them, the inviolable obligation of celebrating these two days every year in the manner prescribed by this letter, and at the time appointed. ²⁸These days were to be commemorated and kept in every generation, by every clan, in every province, and in every city. These days of Purim were never to fall into disuse among the Jews, nor into oblivion among their descendants. ²⁹Queen Esther, daughter of Abihail and of Mordecai the Jew, wrote to confirm with full authority this second letter about Purim, ³⁰when Mordecai sent documents concerning peace and security to all the Jews in the hundred and twenty-seven provinces of Ahasuerus'

420 kingdom. ³¹Thus were established, for their appointed time, these days of Purim which Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther had designated for the Jews, just as they had previously enjoined upon themselves and upon their race the duty of fasting and supplication. ³²The command of Esther confirmed these prescriptions for Purim and was recorded in the book. Esther Chapter 10 ¹King Ahasuerus laid tribute on the land and on the islands of the sea. ²All the acts of his power and valor, as well as a detailed account of the greatness of Mordecai, whom the king promoted, are recorded in the chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia. ³The Jew Mordecai was next in rank to King Ahasuerus, in high standing among the Jews, and was regarded with favor by his many brethren, as the promoter of his people's welfare and the herald of peace for his whole race. Additions to Esther Additions to Esther chapter 1 ¹ [In the second year of the reign of Ahasuerus the great king, on the first day of Nisan, Mordecai the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Jew dwelling in the city Susa, a great man, serving in the king’s palace, saw a vision. Now he was one of the captives whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had carried captive from Jerusalem with Jeconiah the king of Judea. This was his dream: Behold, voices and a noise, thunders and earthquake, tumult upon the earth. And, behold, two great serpents came out, both ready for conflict. A great voice came from them. Every nation was prepared for battle by their voice, even to fight against the nation of the just. Behold, a day of darkness and blackness, suffering and anguish, affection and tumult upon the earth. And all the righteous nation was troubled, fearing their own afflictions. They prepared to die, and cried to God. Something like a great river from a little spring with much water, came from their cry. Light and the sun arose, and the lowly were exalted, and devoured the honorable. Mordecai, who had seen this vision and what God desired to do, having arisen, kept it in his heart, and desired by all means to interpret it, even until night. Mordecai rested quietly in the palace with Gabatha and Tharrha the king’s two chamberlains, eunuchs who guarded the palace. He heard their conversation and searched out their plans. He learned that they were preparing to lay hands on King Ahasuerus; and he informed the king concerning them. The king examined the two chamberlains. They confessed, and were led away and executed. The king wrote these things for a record. Mordecai also wrote concerning these matters. The king commanded Mordecai to serve in the palace, and gave gifts for this service. But Haman the son of Hammedatha the Bougean was honored in the sight of the king, and he endeavored to harm Mordecai and his people, because of the king’s two chamberlains.]² And it came to pass after these things in the days of Ahasuerus, —(this Ahasuerus ruled over one hundred twenty-seven provinces from India)—³ in those days, when King Ahasuerus was on the throne in the city of Susa, ⁴ in the third year of his reign, he made a feast for his friends, for people from the rest of the nations, for the nobles of the Persians and Medes, and for the chief of the local governors. ⁵ After this—after he had shown them the wealth of his kingdom and the abundant glory of his wealth during one hundred eighty days— ⁶ when the days of the wedding feast were completed, the king made a banquet lasting six days for the people of the nations who were present in the city, in the court of the king’s house, ⁷ which was adorned with fine linen and flax on cords of fine linen and purple, fastened to golden and silver studs on pillars of white marble and stone. There were golden and silver couches on a pavement of emerald stone, and of mother-of-pearl, and of white marble, with transparent coverings variously flowered, having roses arranged around it.

t were completed, the king made a banquet lasting six days for the people of the nations who were present in the city, in the court of the king’s house, ⁷ which was adorned with fine linen and flax on cords of fine linen and purple, fastened to golden and silver studs on pillars of white marble and stone. There were golden and silver couches on a pavement of emerald stone, and of mother-of-pearl, and of white marble, with transparent coverings variously flowered, having roses arranged around it. ⁸ There were gold and silver cups, and a small cup of carbuncle set out, of the value of thirty thousand talents, with abundant and sweet wine,

421 which the king himself drank. ⁹ This banquet was not according to the appointed law, but as the king desired to have it. He charged the stewards to perform his will and that of the company. ¹⁰ Also Vashti the queen made a banquet for the women in the palace where King Ahasuerus lived.¹¹ Now on the seventh day, the king, being merry, told Haman, Bazan, Tharrha, Baraze, Zatholtha, Abataza, and Tharaba, the seven chamberlains, servants of King Ahasuerus, ¹² to bring in the queen to him, to enthrone her, and crown her with the diadem, and to show her to the princes, and her beauty to the nations, for she was beautiful.¹³ But queen Vashti refused to come with the chamberlains; so the king was grieved and angered.¹⁴ And he said to his friends, “This is what Vashti said. Therefore pronounce your legal judgment on this case.”¹⁵ So Arkesaeus, Sarsathaeus, and Malisear, the princes of the Persians and Medes, who were near the king, who sat chief in rank by the king, drew near to him,¹⁶ and reported to him according to the laws what it was proper to do to queen Vashti, because she had not done the things commanded by the king through the chamberlains.¹⁷ And Memucan said to the king and to the princes, “Queen Vashti has not wronged the king only, but also all the king’s rulers and princes;¹⁸ for he has told them the words of the queen, and how she disobeyed the king. As she then refused to obey King Ahasuerus,¹⁹ so this day the other wives of the chiefs of the Persians and Medes, having heard what she said to the king, will dare in the same way to dishonor their husbands.²⁰ If then it seems good to the king, let him make a royal decree, and let it be written according to the laws of the Medes and Persians, and let him not alter it: ‘Don’t allow the queen to come in to him any more. Let the king give her royalty to a woman better than she.’²¹ Let the law of the king which he will have made be widely proclaimed in his kingdom. Then all the women will give honor to their husbands, from the poor even to the rich.”²² This advice pleased the king and the princes; and the king did as Memucan had said, and sent into all his kingdom through the several provinces, according to their language, so that men might be feared in their own houses. Additions to Esther chapter 2 ¹ After this, the king’s anger was pacified, and he no more mentioned Vashti, bearing in mind what she had said, and how he had condemned her.² Then the servants of the king said, “Let chaste, beautiful young virgins be sought for the king.³ Let the king appoint local governors in all the provinces of his kingdom, and let them select beautiful, chaste young ladies and bring them to the city Susa, into the women’s apartment. Let them be consigned to the king’s chamberlain, the keeper of the women. Then let things for purification and other needs be given to them. ⁴ Let the woman who pleases the king be queen instead of Vashti.” This thing pleased the king; and he did so..⁵ Now there was a Jew in the city Susa, and his name was Mordecai, the son of Jairus, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin. ⁶ He had been brought as a prisoner from Jerusalem, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had carried into captivity. ⁷ He had a foster child, daughter of Aminadab his father’s brother. Her name was Esther. When her parents died, he brought her up to womanhood as his own. This lady was beautiful. ⁸ And because the king’s ordinance was published, many ladies were gathered to the city of Susa under the hand of Hegai; and Esther was brought to Hegai, the keeper of the women. ⁹ The lady pleased him, and she found favor in his sight. He hurried to give her the things for purification, her portion, and the seven maidens appointed her out of the palace. He treated her and her maidens well in the women’s apartment. ¹⁰ But Esther didn’t reveal her family or her kindred, for Mordecai had charged her not to tell.

he king’s ordinance was published, many ladies were gathered to the city of Susa under the hand of Hegai; and Esther was brought to Hegai, the keeper of the women. ⁹ The lady pleased him, and she found favor in his sight. He hurried to give her the things for purification, her portion, and the seven maidens appointed her out of the palace. He treated her and her maidens well in the women’s apartment. ¹⁰ But Esther didn’t reveal her family or her kindred, for Mordecai had charged her not to tell. ¹¹ But Mordecai used to walk every day by the women’s court, to see what would become of Esther. ¹² Now this was the time for a virgin to go into the king, when she had completed twelve months; for so are the days of purification fulfilled, six months while they are anointing themselves

422 with oil of myrrh, and six months with spices and women’s purifications. ¹³ And then the lady goes in to the king. The officer that he commands to do so will bring her to come in with him from the women’s apartment to the king’s chamber. ¹⁴ She enters in the evening, and in the morning she departs to the second women’s apartment, where Hegai the king’s chamberlain is keeper of the women. She doesn’t go in to the king again, unless she is called by name. ¹⁵ And when the time was fulfilled for Esther the daughter of Aminadab the brother of Mordecai’s father to go in to the king, she neglected nothing which the chamberlain, the women’s keeper, commanded; for Esther found grace in the sight of all who looked at her. ¹⁶ So Esther went in to King Ahasuerus in the twelfth month, which is Adar, in the seventh year of his reign. ¹⁷ The king loved Esther, and she found favor beyond all the other virgins. He put the queen’s crown on her. ¹⁸ The king made a banquet for all his friends and great men for seven days, and he highly celebrated the marriage of Esther; and he granted a remission of taxes to those who were under his dominion. ¹⁹ Meanwhile, Mordecai served in the courtyard. ²⁰ Now Esther had not revealed her country, for so Mordecai commanded her, to fear God, and perform his commandments, as when she was with him. Esther didn’t change her manner of life. ²¹ Two chamberlains of the king, the chiefs of the body-guard, were grieved, because Mordecai was promoted; and they sought to kill King Ahasuerus. ²² And the matter was discovered by Mordecai, and he made it known to Esther, and she declared to the king the matter of the conspiracy. ²³ And the king examined the two chamberlains and hanged them. Then the king gave orders to make a note for a memorial in the royal library of the goodwill shown by Mordecai, as a commendation. Additions to Esther chapter 3 ¹ After this, King Ahasuerus highly honored Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Bugaean. He exalted him and set his seat above all his friends. ² All in the palace bowed down to him, for so the king had given orders to do; but Mordecai didn’t bow down to him. ³ And they in the king’s palace said to Mordecai, “Mordecai, why do you transgress the commands of the king?” ⁴ They questioned him daily, but he didn’t listen to them; so they reported to Haman that Mordecai resisted the commands of the king; and Mordecai had shown to them that he was a Jew. ⁵ When Haman understood that Mordecai didn’t bow down to him, he was greatly enraged, ⁶ and plotted to utterly destroy all the Jews who were under the rule of Ahasuerus. ⁷ In the twelfth year of the reign of Ahasuerus, Haman made a decision by casting lots by day and month, to kill the race of Mordecai in one day. The lot fell on the fourteenth day of the month of Adar. ⁸ So he spoke to King Ahasuerus, saying, “There is a nation scattered among the nations in all your kingdom, and their laws differ from all the other nations. They disobey the king’s laws. It is not expedient for the king to tolerate them. ⁹ If it seem good to the king, let him make a decree to destroy them, and I will remit into the king’s treasury ten thousand talents of silver.” ¹⁰ So the king took off his ring, and gave it into the hands of Haman to seal the decrees against the Jews. ¹¹ The king said to Haman, “Keep the silver, and treat the nation as you will.” ¹² So the king’s recorders were called in the first month, on the thirteenth day, and they wrote as Haman commanded to the captains and governors in every province, from India even to Ethiopia, to one hundred twenty-seven provinces; and to the rulers of the nations according to their languages, in the name of King Ahasuerus. ¹³ The message was sent by couriers throughout the kingdom of Ahasuerus, to utterly destroy the race of the Jews on the first day of the twelfth month, which is Adar, and to plunder their goods.

rders were called in the first month, on the thirteenth day, and they wrote as Haman commanded to the captains and governors in every province, from India even to Ethiopia, to one hundred twenty-seven provinces; and to the rulers of the nations according to their languages, in the name of King Ahasuerus. ¹³ The message was sent by couriers throughout the kingdom of Ahasuerus, to utterly destroy the race of the Jews on the first day of the twelfth month, which is Adar, and to plunder their goods. ¹⁴ Copies of the letters were published in every province; and an order was given to all the nations to be ready for that day. ¹⁵ This business was hastened also in Susa. The king and Haman began to drink, but the city was confused. Additions to Esther chapter 4

423 ¹ But Mordecai, having perceived what was done, tore his garments, put on sackcloth, and sprinkled dust upon himself. Having rushed forth through the open street of the city, he cried with a loud voice, “A nation that has done no wrong is going to be destroyed!” ² He came to the king’s gate, and stood; for it was not lawful for him to enter into the palace wearing sackcloth and ashes. ³ And in every province where the letters were published, there was crying, lamentation, and great mourning on the part of the Jews. They wore sackcloth and ashes. ⁴ The queen’s maids and chamberlains went in and told her; and when she had heard what was done, she was deeply troubled. She sent clothes to Mordecai to replace his sackcloth, but he refused. ⁵ So Esther called for her chamberlain Hathach, who waited upon her; and she sent to learn the truth from Mordecai. ⁷ Mordecai showed him what was done, and the promise which Haman had made the king of ten thousand talents to be paid into the treasury, that he might destroy the Jews. ⁸ And he gave him the copy of what was published in Susa concerning their destruction to show to Esther; and told him to charge her to go in and entreat the king, and to beg him for the people. “Remember,” he said, “the days of your humble condition, how you were nursed by my hand; because Haman, who holds the next place to the king, has spoken against us to cause our death. Call upon the Lord, and speak to the king concerning us, to deliver us from death.” ⁹ So Hathach went in and told her all these words. ¹⁰ Esther said to Hathach, “Go to Mordecai, and say, ¹¹‘All the nations of the empire know than any man or woman who goes in to the king into the inner court without being called, that person must die, unless the king stretches out his golden sceptre; then he shall live. I haven’t been called to go into the king for thirty days.’” ¹² So Hathach reported to Mordecai all the words of Esther. ¹³ Then Mordecai said to Hathach, “Go, and say to her, ‘Esther, don’t say to yourself that you alone will escape in the kingdom, more than all the other Jews. ¹⁴ For if you keep quiet on this occasion, help and protection will come to the Jews from another place; but you and your father’s house will perish. Who knows if you have been made queen for this occasion?’” ¹⁵ And Esther sent the messenger who came to her to Mordecai, saying, ¹⁶“Go and assemble the Jews that are in Susa, and all of you fast for me. Don’t eat or drink for three days, night and day. My maidens and I will also fast. Then I will go in to the king contrary to the law, even if I must die.” ¹⁷ So Mordecai went and did all that Esther commanded him. ¹⁸[He prayed to the Lord, making mention of all the works of the Lord. ¹⁹ He said, “Lord God, you are king ruling over all, for all things are in your power, and there is no one who can oppose you in your purpose to save Israel; ²⁰ for you have made the heaven and the earth and every wonderful thing under heaven. ²¹ You are Lord of all, and there is no one who can resist you, Lord. ²² You know all things. You know, Lord, that it is not in insolence, nor arrogance, nor love of glory, that I have done this, to refuse to bow down to the arrogant Haman. ²³ For I would gladly have kissed the soles of his feet for the safety of Israel. ²⁴ But I have done this that I might not set the glory of man above the glory of God. I will not worship anyone except you, my Lord, and I will not do these things in arrogance. ²⁵ And now, O Lord God, the King, the God of Abraham, spare your people, for our enemies are planning our destruction, and they have desired to destroy your ancient inheritance. ²⁶ Do not overlook your people, whom you have redeemed for yourself out of the land of Egypt. ²⁷ Listen to my prayer. Have mercy on your inheritance and turn our mourning into gladness, that we may live and sing praise to your name, O Lord.

worship anyone except you, my Lord, and I will not do these things in arrogance. ²⁵ And now, O Lord God, the King, the God of Abraham, spare your people, for our enemies are planning our destruction, and they have desired to destroy your ancient inheritance. ²⁶ Do not overlook your people, whom you have redeemed for yourself out of the land of Egypt. ²⁷ Listen to my prayer. Have mercy on your inheritance and turn our mourning into gladness, that we may live and sing praise to your name, O Lord. Don’t utterly destroy the mouth of those who praise you, O Lord.” ²⁸ All Israel cried with all their might, for death was before their eyes.] Additions to Esther chapter 5 ¹ It came to pass on the third day, when she had ceased praying, that she took off her servant’s dress and put on her glorious apparel. Being splendidly dressed and having called upon God the Overseer and Preserver of all things, she took her two maids, and she leaned upon one, as a delicate female, and the other followed bearing her train. She was blooming in the perfection of her beauty.

424 Her face was cheerful and looked lovely, but her heart was filled with fear. ² Having passed through all the doors, she stood before the king. He was sitting on his royal throne. He had put on all his glorious apparel, covered all over with gold and precious stones, and was very terrifying. ³ And having raised his face resplendent with glory, he looked with intense anger. The queen fell, and changed her color as she fainted. She bowed herself upon the head of the maid who went before her. ⁴ But God changed the spirit of the king to gentleness, and in intense feeling, he sprang from off his throne, and took her into his arms, until she recovered. He comforted her with peaceful words, and said to her, “What is the matter, Esther? I am your relative. Cheer up! You shall not die, for our command is openly declared to you: ‘Draw near.’” ⁵ And having raised the golden sceptre, he laid it upon her neck, and embraced her. He said, “Speak to me.” So she said to him, “I saw you, my lord, as an angel of God, and my heart was troubled for fear of your glory; for you, my lord, are to be wondered at, and your face is full of grace.” ⁶ While she was speaking, she fainted and fell. Then the king was troubled, and all his servants comforted her. ⁷ The king said, “What do you desire, Esther? What is your request? Ask even to the half of my kingdom, and it shall be yours.” ⁸ Esther said, “Today is a special day. So if it seems good to the king, let both him and Haman come to the feast which I will prepare this day.” ⁹ The king said, “Hurry and bring Haman here, that we may do as Esther said.” So they both came to the feast about which Esther had spoken.¹⁰ At the banquet, the king said to Esther, “What is your request, queen Esther? You shall have all that you require.” ¹¹ She said, “My request and my petition is: ¹² if I have found favor in the king’s sight, let the king and Haman come again tomorrow to the feast which I shall prepare for them, and tomorrow I will do as I have done today.” ¹³ So Haman went out from the king very glad and merry; but when Haman saw Mordecai the Jew in the court, he was greatly enraged. ¹⁴ Having gone into his own house, he called his friends, and his wife Zeresh. ¹⁵ He showed them his wealth and the glory with which the king had invested him, and how he had promoted him to be chief ruler in the kingdom. ¹⁶ Haman said, “The queen has called no one to the feast with the king but me, and I am invited tomorrow. ¹⁷ But these things don’t please me while I see Mordecai the Jew in the court.” ¹⁸ Then Zeresh his wife and his friends said to him, “Let a fifty cubit tall gallows be made for you. In the morning you speak to the king, and let Mordecai be hanged on the gallows; but you go in to the feast with the king, and be merry.” The saying pleased Haman, and the gallows was prepared. Additions to Esther chapter 6 ¹ The Lord removed sleep from the king that night; so he told his servant to bring in the books, the registers of daily events, to read to him. ² And he found the records written concerning Mordecai, how he had told the king about the king’s two chamberlains, when they were keeping guard, and sought to lay hands on Ahasuerus. ³ The king said, “What honor or favor have we done for Mordecai?” The king’s servants said, “You haven’t done anything for him.” ⁴ And while the king was enquiring about the kindness of Mordecai, behold, Haman was in the court. The king said, “Who is in the court? Now Haman had come in to speak to the king about hanging Mordecai on the gallows which he had prepared.

ai, how he had told the king about the king’s two chamberlains, when they were keeping guard, and sought to lay hands on Ahasuerus. ³ The king said, “What honor or favor have we done for Mordecai?” The king’s servants said, “You haven’t done anything for him.” ⁴ And while the king was enquiring about the kindness of Mordecai, behold, Haman was in the court. The king said, “Who is in the court? Now Haman had come in to speak to the king about hanging Mordecai on the gallows which he had prepared. ⁵ The king’s servants said, “Behold, Haman stands in the court.” And the king said, “Call him!” ⁶ The king said to Haman, “What should I do for the man whom I wish to honor?” Haman said within himself, “Whom would the king honor but myself?” ⁷ He said to the king, “As for the man whom the king wishes to honor, ⁸ let the king’s servants bring the robe of fine linen which the king puts on, and the horse on which the king rides, ⁹ and let him give it to one of the king’s noble friends, and let him dress the man whom the king loves. Let him mount him on the horse, and proclaim through the streets of the city, saying, ‘This is what will be done for every man whom the king honors!’” ¹⁰ Then the king said to Haman, “You have spoken well. Do so for Mordecai the Jew, who waits in the palace, and let not a word of what you

425 have spoken be neglected!” ¹¹ So Haman took the robe and the horse, dressed Mordecai, mounted him on the horse, and went through the streets of the city, proclaiming, “This is what will be done for every man whom the king wishes to honor.” ¹² Then Mordecai returned to the palace; but Haman went home mourning, with his head covered. ¹³ Haman related the events that had happened to him to Zeresh his wife and to his friends. His friends and his wife said to him, “If Mordecai is of the race of the Jews, and you have begun to be humbled before him, you will assuredly fall; and you will not be able to withstand him, for the living God is with him.” ¹⁴ While they were still speaking, the chamberlains arrived to rush Haman to the banquet which Esther had prepared. Additions to Esther chapter 7 ¹ So the king and Haman went in to drink with the queen. ² The king said to Esther at the banquet on the second day, “What is it, queen Esther? What is your request? What is your petition? It shall be done for you, up to half of my kingdom.” ³ She answered and said, “If I have found favor in the sight of the king, let my life be granted as my petition, and my people as my request. ⁴ For both I and my people are sold for destruction, pillage, and genocide. If both we and our children were sold for male and female slaves, I would not have bothered you, for this isn’t worthy of the king’s palace.” ⁵ The king said, “Who has dared to do this thing?” ⁶ Esther said, “The enemy is Haman, this wicked man!” Then Haman was terrified in the presence of the king and the queen. ⁷ The king rose up from the banquet to go into the garden. Haman began to beg the queen for mercy, for he saw that he was in serious trouble. ⁸ The king returned from the garden; and Haman had fallen upon the couch, begging the queen for mercy. The king said, “Will you even assault my wife in my house?” And when Haman heard it, he changed countenance. ⁹ And Bugathan, one of the chamberlains, said to the king, “Behold, Haman has also prepared a gallows for Mordecai, who spoke concerning the king, and a fifty cubit high gallows has been set up on Haman’s property.” The king said, “Let him be hanged on it!” ¹⁰ So Haman was hanged on the gallows that had been prepared for Mordecai. Then the king’s wrath was abated. Additions to Esther chapter 8 ¹ On that day, King Ahasuerus gave to Esther all that belonged to Haman the slanderer. The king called Mordecai, for Esther had told that he was related to her. ² The king took the ring which he had taken away from Haman and gave it to Mordecai. Esther appointed Mordecai over all that had been Haman’s. ³ She spoke yet again to the king, and fell at his feet, and implored him to undo Haman’s mischief and all that he had done against the Jews. ⁴ Then the king extended the golden sceptre to Esther; and Esther arose to stand near the king. ⁵ Esther said, “If it seems good to you, and I have found favor in your sight, let an order be sent that the letters sent by Haman may be reversed—letters that were written for the destruction of the Jews who are in your kingdom. ⁶ For how could I see the affliction of my people, and how could I survive the destruction of my kindred?” ⁷ Then the king said to Esther, “If I have given and freely granted you all that was Haman’s, and hanged him on a gallows because he laid his hands upon the Jews, what more do you seek? ⁸ Write in my name whatever seems good to you, and seal it with my ring; for whatever is written at the command of the king, and sealed with my ring, cannot be countermanded.” ⁹ So the scribes were called in the first month, which is Nisan, on the twenty-third day of the same year; and orders were written to the Jews, whatever the king had commanded to the local governors and chiefs of the local governors, from India even to Ethiopia—one hundred twenty-seven local governors, according to the several provinces, in their own languages.

to you, and seal it with my ring; for whatever is written at the command of the king, and sealed with my ring, cannot be countermanded.” ⁹ So the scribes were called in the first month, which is Nisan, on the twenty-third day of the same year; and orders were written to the Jews, whatever the king had commanded to the local governors and chiefs of the local governors, from India even to Ethiopia—one hundred twenty-seven local governors, according to the several provinces, in their own languages. ¹⁰ They were written by order of the king, sealed with his ring, and the letters were sent by the couriers. ¹¹ In them, he charged them to use their own laws in every city, to help each other, and to treat their adversaries and those who

426 attacked them as they pleased, ¹² on one day in all the kingdom of Ahasuerus, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is Adar. ¹³ Let the copies be posted in conspicuous places throughout the kingdom. Let all the Jews be ready against this day, to fight against their enemies. ¹⁴ So the horsemen went forth with haste to perform the king’s commands. The ordinance was also published in Susa. ¹⁵ Mordecai went out robed in royal apparel, wearing a golden crown and a diadem of fine purple linen. The people in Susa saw it and rejoiced. ¹⁶ The Jews had light and gladness ¹⁷ in every city and province where the ordinance was published. Wherever the proclamation took place, the Jews had joy and gladness, feasting and mirth. Many of the Gentiles were circumcised and became Jews for fear of the Jews. Additions to Esther chapter 9 ¹ Now in the twelfth month, on the thirteenth day of the month, which is Adar, the letters written by the king arrived. ² In that day, the adversaries of the Jews perished; for no one resisted, through fear of them. ³ For the chiefs of the local governors, and the princes and the royal scribes, honored the Jews; for the fear of Mordecai was upon them. ⁴ For the order of the king was in force, that he should be celebrated in all the kingdom. ⁶ In the city Susa the Jews killed five hundred men, ⁷ including Pharsannes, Delphon, Phasga, ⁸ Pharadatha, Barea, Sarbaca, ⁹ Marmasima, Ruphaeus, Arsaeus, and Zabuthaeus, ¹⁰ the ten sons of Haman the son of Hammedatha the Bugaean, the enemy of the Jews; and they plundered their property on the same day. ¹¹ The number of those who perished in Susa was reported to the king. ¹² Then the king said to Esther, “The Jews have slain five hundred men in the city Susa. What do you think they have done in the rest of the country? What more do you ask, that it may be done for you?” ¹³ Esther said to the king, “Let it be granted to the Jews to do the same to them tomorrow. Also, hang the bodies of the ten sons of Haman.” ¹⁴ He permitted it to be done; and he gave up to the Jews of the city the bodies of the sons of Haman to hang. ¹⁵ The Jews assembled in Susa on the fourteenth day of Adar and killed three hundred men, but plundered no property. ¹⁶ The rest of the Jews who were in the kingdom assembled, and helped one another, and obtained rest from their enemies; for they destroyed fifteen thousand of them on the thirteenth day of Adar, but took no spoil. ¹⁷ They rested on the fourteenth of the same month, and kept it as a day of rest with joy and gladness. ¹⁸ The Jews in the city of Susa assembled also on the fourteenth day and rested; and they also observed the fifteenth with joy and gladness. ¹⁹ On this account then, the Jews dispersed in every foreign land keep the fourteenth of Adar as a holy day with joy, each sending gifts of food to his neighbor. ²⁰ Mordecai wrote these things in a book and sent them to the Jews, as many as were in the kingdom of Ahasuerus, both those who were near and those who were far away, ²¹ to establish these as joyful days and to keep the fourteenth and fifteenth of Adar; ²² for on these days the Jews obtained rest from their enemies; and in that month, which was Adar, in which a change was made for them from mourning to joy, and from sorrow to a holiday, to spend the whole of it in good days of feasting and gladness, sending portions to their friends and to the poor. ²³ And the Jews consented to this as Mordecai wrote to them, ²⁴ showing how Haman the son of Hammedatha the Macedonian fought against them, how he made a decree and cast lots to destroy them utterly; ²⁵ also how he went in to the king, telling him to hang Mordecai; but all the calamities he tried to bring upon the Jews came upon himself, and he was hanged, along with his children.

, to spend the whole of it in good days of feasting and gladness, sending portions to their friends and to the poor. ²³ And the Jews consented to this as Mordecai wrote to them, ²⁴ showing how Haman the son of Hammedatha the Macedonian fought against them, how he made a decree and cast lots to destroy them utterly; ²⁵ also how he went in to the king, telling him to hang Mordecai; but all the calamities he tried to bring upon the Jews came upon himself, and he was hanged, along with his children. ²⁶ Therefore these days were called Purim, because of the lots (for in their language they are called Purim) because of the words of this letter, and because of all they suffered on this account, and all that happened to them. ²⁷ Mordecai established it, and the Jews took upon themselves, upon their offspring, and upon those who were joined to them to observe it, neither would they on any account behave differently; but these days were to be a memorial kept in every generation, city, family, and province. ²⁸ These days of Purim shall be kept forever, and their memorial shall not

427 fail in any generation. ²⁹ Queen Esther the daughter of Aminadab and Mordecai the Jew wrote all that they had done, and gave the confirmation of the letter about Purim. ³¹ Mordecai and Esther the queen established this decision on their own, pledging their own well-being to their plan. ³² And Esther established it by a command forever, and it was written for a memorial. Additions to Esther chapter 10 ¹ The king levied a tax upon his kingdom both by land and sea. ² As for his strength and valour, and the wealth and glory of his kingdom, behold, they are written in the book of the Persians and Medes for a memorial. ³ Mordecai was viceroy to King Ahasuerus, and was a great man in the kingdom, honored by the Jews, and lived his life loved by all his nation.⁴[Mordecai said, “These things have come from God. ⁵ For I remember the dream which I had concerning these matters; for not one detail of them has failed. ⁶ There was the little spring which became a river, and there was light, and the sun and much water. The river is Esther, whom the king married and made queen. ⁷ The two serpents are Haman and me. ⁸ The nations are those which combined to destroy the name of the Jews. ⁹ But as for my nation, this is Israel, even those who cried to God and were delivered; for the Lord delivered his people. The Lord rescued us out of all these calamities; and God worked such signs and great wonders as have not been done among the nations. ¹⁰ Therefore he ordained two lots. One for the people of God, and one for all the other nations. ¹¹ And these two lots came for an appointed season, and for a day of judgment, before God, and for all the nations. ¹² God remembered his people and vindicated his inheritance. ¹³ They shall observe these days in the month Adar, on the fourteenth and on the fifteenth day of the month, with an assembly, joy, and gladness before God, throughout the generations forever among his people Israel. ¹⁴ In the fourth year of the reign of Ptolemeus and Cleopatra, Dositheus, who said he was a priest and Levite, and Ptolemeus his son brought this letter of Purim, which they said was authentic, and that Lysimachus the son of Ptolemeus, who was in Jerusalem, had interpreted.] Tobit Tobit Chapter 1 ¹ This book tells the story of Tobit, son of Tobiel, son of Hananiel, son of Aduel, son of Gabael of the family of Asiel, of the tribe of Naphtali, ² who during the reign of Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, was taken captive from Thisbe, which is south of Kedesh Naphtali in upper Galilee, above and to the west of Asser, north of Phogor. ³ I, Tobit, have walked all the days of my life on the paths of truth and righteousness. I performed many charitable works for my kinsmen and my people who had been deported with me to Nineveh, in Assyria. ⁴ When I lived as a young man in my own country, Israel, the entire tribe of my forefather Naphtali had broken away from the house of David and from Jerusalem. This city had been singled out of all Israel's tribes, so that they all might offer sacrifice in the place where the temple, God's dwelling, had been built and consecrated for all generations to come. ⁵ All my kinsmen, like the rest of the tribe of my forefather Naphtali, used to offer sacrifice on all the mountains of Galilee as well as to the young bull which Jeroboam, king of Israel, had made in Dan. ⁶ I, for my part, would often make the pilgrimage alone to Jerusalem for the festivals, as is prescribed for all Israel by perpetual decree. Bringing with me the first fruits of the field and the firstlings of the flock, together with a tenth of my income and the first shearings of the sheep, I would hasten to Jerusalem ⁷ and present them to the priests, Aaron's sons, at the altar. To the Levites who were doing service in Jerusalem I would give the tithe of grain, wine, olive oil, pomegranates, figs, and other fruits. And except for sabbatical years, I used to give a second tithe in money, which each year I would go and disburse in Jerusalem.

with me the first fruits of the field and the firstlings of the flock, together with a tenth of my income and the first shearings of the sheep, I would hasten to Jerusalem ⁷ and present them to the priests, Aaron's sons, at the altar. To the Levites who were doing service in Jerusalem I would give the tithe of grain, wine, olive oil, pomegranates, figs, and other fruits. And except for sabbatical years, I used to give a second tithe in money, which each year I would go and disburse in Jerusalem. ⁸ The third tithe I gave to orphans and widows, and to converts who were living with the Israelites. Every third year

428 I would bring them this offering, and we ate it in keeping with the decree of the Mosaic law and the commands of Deborah, the mother of my father Tobiel; for when my father died, he left me an orphan. ⁹ When I reached manhood, I married Anna, a woman of our own lineage. By her I had a son whom I named Tobiah. ¹⁰ Now, after I had been deported to Nineveh, all my brothers and relatives ate the food of heathens, ¹¹ but I refrained from eating that kind of food. ¹² Because of this wholehearted service of God, ¹³ the Most High granted me favor and status with Shalmaneser, so that I became purchasing agent for all his needs. ¹⁴ Every now and then until his death I would go to Media to buy goods for him. I also deposited several pouches containing a great sum of money with my kinsman Gabael, son of Gabri, who lived at Rages, in Media. ¹⁵ But when Shalmaneser died and his son Sennacherib succeeded him as king, the roads to Media became unsafe, so I could no longer go there. ¹⁶ During Shalmaneser's reign I performed many charitable works for my kinsmen and my people. ¹⁷ I would give my bread to the hungry and my clothing to the naked. If I saw one of my people who had died and been thrown outside the walls of Nineveh, I would bury him. ¹⁸ I also buried anyone whom Sennacherib slew when he returned as a fugitive from Judea during the days of judgment decreed against him by the heavenly King because of the blasphemies he had uttered. In his rage he killed many Israelites, but I used to take their bodies by stealth and bury them; so when Sennacherib looked for them, he could not find them. ¹⁹ But a certain citizen of Nineveh informed the king that it was I who buried the dead. When I found out that the king knew all about me and wanted to put me to death, I went into hiding; then in my fear I took to flight. ²⁰ Afterward, all my property was confiscated; I was left with nothing. All that I had was taken to the king's palace, except for my wife Anna and my son Tobiah. ²¹ But less than forty days later the king was assassinated by two of his sons, who then escaped into the mountains of Ararat. His son Esarhaddon, who succeeded him as king, placed Ahiqar, my brother Anael's son, in charge of all the accounts of his kingdom, so that he took control over the entire administration. ²² Then Ahiqar interceded on my behalf, and I was able to return to Nineveh. For under Sennacherib, king of Assyria, Ahiqar had been chief cupbearer, keeper of the seal, administrator, and treasurer; and Esarhaddon reappointed him. He was a close relative—in fact, my nephew. Tobit Chapter 2 ¹ Thus under King Esarhaddon I returned to my home, and my wife Anna and my son Tobiah were restored to me. Then on our festival of Pentecost, the feast of Weeks, a fine dinner was prepared for me, and I reclined to eat. ² The table was set for me, and when many different dishes were placed before me, I said to my son Tobiah: "My son, go out and try to find a poor man from among our kinsmen exiled here in Nineveh. If he is a sincere worshiper of God, bring him back with you, so that he can share this meal with me. Indeed, son, I shall wait for you to come back." ³ Tobiah went out to look for some poor kinsman of ours. When he returned he exclaimed, "Father!" I said to him, "What is it, son?" He answered, "Father, one of our people has been murdered! His body lies in the market place where he was just strangled!" ⁴ I sprang to my feet, leaving the dinner untouched; and I carried the dead man from the street and put him in one of the rooms, so that I might bury him after sunset. ⁵ Returning to my own quarters, I washed myself and ate my food in sorrow. ⁶ I was reminded of the oracle pronounced by the prophet Amos against Bethel: "Your festivals shall be turned into mourning, And all your songs into lamentation." ⁷ And I wept. Then at sunset I went out, dug a grave, and buried him. ⁸ The neighbors mocked me, saying to one another: "Will this man never learn!

and I carried the dead man from the street and put him in one of the rooms, so that I might bury him after sunset. ⁵ Returning to my own quarters, I washed myself and ate my food in sorrow. ⁶ I was reminded of the oracle pronounced by the prophet Amos against Bethel: "Your festivals shall be turned into mourning, And all your songs into lamentation." ⁷ And I wept. Then at sunset I went out, dug a grave, and buried him. ⁸ The neighbors mocked me, saying to one another: "Will this man never learn! Once before he was hunted down for execution because of this very thing; yet now that he has escaped, here he is again burying the dead!" ⁹ That same night I bathed, and went to sleep next to the wall of my courtyard. Because of the heat I left my face uncovered. ¹⁰ I did not know there were birds perched on the wall above me, till their warm

429 droppings settled in my eyes, causing cataracts. I went to see some doctors for a cure, but the more they anointed my eyes with various salves, the worse the cataracts became, until I could see no more. For four years I was deprived of eyesight, and all my kinsmen were grieved at my condition. Ahiqar, however, took care of me for two years, until he left for Elymais. ¹¹ At that time my wife Anna worked for hire at weaving cloth, the kind of work women do. ¹² When she sent back the goods to their owners, they would pay her. Late in winter she finished the cloth and sent it back to the owners. They paid her the full salary, and also gave her a young goat for the table. ¹³ On entering my house the goat began to bleat. I called to my wife and said: "Where did this goat come from? Perhaps it was stolen! Give it back to its owners; we have no right to eat stolen food!" ¹⁴ But she said to me, "It was given to me as a bonus over and above my wages." Yet I would not believe her, and told her to give it back to its owners. I became very angry with her over this. So she retorted: "Where are your charitable deeds now? Where are your virtuous acts? See! Your true character is finally showing itself!" Tobit Chapter 3 ¹ Grief-stricken in spirit, I groaned and wept aloud. Then with sobs I began to pray: ² "You are righteous, O Lord, and all your deeds are just; All your ways are mercy and truth; you are the judge of the world. ³ And now, O Lord, may you be mindful of me, and look with favor upon me. Punish me not for my sins, nor for my inadvertent offenses, nor for those of my fathers. They sinned against you, ⁴ and disobeyed your commandments. So you handed us over to plundering, exile, and death, till we were an object lesson, a byword, a reproach in all the nations among whom you scattered us. ⁵ Yes, your judgments are many and true in dealing with me as my sins and those of my fathers deserve. For we have not kept your commandments, nor have we trodden the paths of truth before you. ⁶ So now, deal with me as you please, and command my life breath to be taken from me, that I may go from the face of the earth into dust. It is better for me to die than to live, because I have heard insulting calumnies, and I am overwhelmed with grief. Lord, command me to be delivered from such anguish; let me go to the everlasting abode; Lord, refuse me not. For it is better for me to die than to endure so much misery in life, and to hear these insults!" ⁷ On the same day, at Ecbatana in Media, it so happened that Raguel's daughter Sarah also had to listen to abuse, from one of her father's maids. ⁸ For she had been married to seven husbands, but the wicked demon Asmodeus killed them off before they could have intercourse with her, as it is prescribed for wives. So the maid said to her: "You are the one who strangles your husbands! Look at you! You have already been married seven times, but you have had no joy with any one of your husbands. ⁹ Why do you beat us? Because your husbands are dead? Then why not join them! May we never see a son or daughter of yours!" ¹⁰ That day she was deeply grieved in spirit. She went in tears to an upstairs room in her father's house with the intention of hanging herself. But she reconsidered, saying to herself: "No! People would level this insult against my father: 'You had only one beloved daughter, but she hanged herself because of ill fortune!' And thus would I cause my father in his old age to go down to the nether world laden with sorrow. It is far better for me not to hang myself, but to beg the Lord to have me die, so that I need no longer live to hear such insults." ¹¹ At that time, then, she spread out her hands, and facing the window, poured out this prayer: "Blessed are you, O Lord, merciful God! Forever blessed and honored is your holy name; may all your works forever bless you. ¹² And now, O Lord, to you I turn my face and raise my eyes. ¹³ Bid me to depart from the earth, never again to hear such insults.

en with sorrow. It is far better for me not to hang myself, but to beg the Lord to have me die, so that I need no longer live to hear such insults." ¹¹ At that time, then, she spread out her hands, and facing the window, poured out this prayer: "Blessed are you, O Lord, merciful God! Forever blessed and honored is your holy name; may all your works forever bless you. ¹² And now, O Lord, to you I turn my face and raise my eyes. ¹³ Bid me to depart from the earth, never again to hear such insults. ¹⁴ You know, O Master, that I am innocent of any impure act with a man, ¹⁵ And that I have never defiled my own name or my father's name in the land of my exile. I am my father's only daughter, and he has no other child to make his heir, Nor does he have a close kinsman or other relative whom I might bide my time to marry. I have already lost seven husbands; why then should I live any longer? But if it please you,

430 Lord, not to slay me, look favorably upon me and have pity on me; never again let me hear these insults!" ¹⁶ At that very time, the prayer of these two suppliants was heard in the glorious presence of Almighty God. ¹⁷ So Raphael was sent to heal them both: to remove the cataracts from Tobit's eyes, so that he might again see God's sunlight; and to marry Raguel's daughter Sarah to Tobit's son Tobiah, and then drive the wicked demon Asmodeus from her. For Tobiah had the right to claim her before any other who might wish to marry her. In the very moment that Tobit returned from the courtyard to his house, Raguel's daughter Sarah came downstairs from her room. Tobit Chapter 4 ¹ That same day Tobit remembered the money he had deposited with Gabael at Rages in Media, and he thought, ² "Now that I have asked for death, why should I not call my son Tobiah and let him know about this money before I die?" ³ So he called his son Tobiah; and when he came, he said to him: "My son, when I die, give me a decent burial. Honor your mother, and do not abandon her as long as she lives. Do whatever pleases her, and do not grieve her spirit in any way. ⁴ Remember, my son, that she went through many trials for your sake while you were in her womb. And when she dies, bury her in the same grave with me. ⁵ Through all your days, my son, keep the Lord in mind, and suppress every desire to sin or to break his commandments. Perform good works all the days of your life, and do not tread the paths of wrongdoing. ⁶ For if you are steadfast in your service, your good works will bring success, not only to you, but also to all those who live uprightly. ⁷ Give alms from your possessions. Do not turn your face away from any of the poor, and God's face will not be turned away from you. ⁸ Son, give alms in proportion to what you own. If you have great wealth, give alms out of your abundance; if you have but little, distribute even some of that. But do not hesitate to give alms; ⁹ you will be storing up a goodly treasure for yourself against the day of adversity. ¹⁰ Almsgiving frees one from death, and keeps one from going into the dark abode. ¹¹ Alms are a worthy offering in the sight of the Most High for all who give them. ¹² Be on your guard, son, against every form of immorality, and above all, marry a woman of the lineage of your forefathers. Do not marry a stranger who is not of your father's tribe, because we are sons of the prophets. My boy, keep in mind Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, our fathers from of old: all of them took wives from among their own kinsmen and were blessed in their children. Remember that their posterity shall inherit the land. ¹³ Therefore, my son, love your kinsmen. Do not be so proudhearted toward your kinsmen, the sons and daughters of your people, as to refuse to take a wife for yourself from among them. For in such arrogance there is ruin and great disorder. Likewise, in worthlessness there is decay and dire poverty, for worthlessness is the mother of famine. ¹⁴ Do not keep with you overnight the wages of any man who works for you, but pay him immediately. If you thus behave as God's servant, you will receive your reward. Keep a close watch on yourself, my son, in everything you do, and discipline yourself in all your conduct. ¹⁵ Do to no one what you yourself dislike. Do not drink wine till you become drunk, nor let drunkenness accompany you on your way. ¹⁶ Give to the hungry some of your bread, and to the naked some of your clothing. Whatever you have left over, give away as alms; and do not begrudge the alms you give. ¹⁷ Be lavish with your bread and wine at the burial of the virtuous, but do not share them with sinners. ¹⁸ Seek counsel from every wise man, and do not think lightly of any advice that can be useful. ¹⁹ At all times bless the Lord God, and ask him to make all your paths straight and to grant success to all your endeavors and plans.

Give to the hungry some of your bread, and to the naked some of your clothing. Whatever you have left over, give away as alms; and do not begrudge the alms you give. ¹⁷ Be lavish with your bread and wine at the burial of the virtuous, but do not share them with sinners. ¹⁸ Seek counsel from every wise man, and do not think lightly of any advice that can be useful. ¹⁹ At all times bless the Lord God, and ask him to make all your paths straight and to grant success to all your endeavors and plans. For no pagan nation possesses good counsel, but the Lord himself gives all good things. If the Lord chooses, he raises a man up; but if he should decide otherwise, he casts him down to the deepest recesses of the nether world. So now, my son, keep in mind my commandments, and never let them be erased from your heart. ²⁰ And now, son, I wish to inform you that I have deposited a great sum of money with Gabri's son Gabael at Rages in Media. ²¹ Do not be discouraged, my child, because of our poverty. You will be a rich man if you

431 fear God, avoid all sin, and do what is right before the Lord your God." Tobit Chapter 5 ¹ Then Tobiah replied to his father Tobit: "Everything that you have commanded me, father, I will do. ² But how shall I be able to obtain the money from him, since he does not know me nor do I know him? What can I show him to make him recognize me and trust me, so that he will give me the money? I do not even know which roads to take for the journey into Media!" ³ Tobit answered his son Tobiah: "We exchanged signatures on a document written in duplicate; I divided it into two parts, and each of us kept one; his copy I put with the money. Think of it, twenty years have already passed since I deposited that money! So now, my son, find yourself a trustworthy man who will make the journey with you. We will, of course, give him a salary when you return; but get back that money from Gabael." ⁴ Tobiah went to look for someone acquainted with the roads who would travel with him to Media. As soon as he went out, he found the angel Raphael standing before him, though he did not know that this was an angel of God. ⁵ Tobiah said to him, "Who are you, young man?" He replied "I am an Israelite, one of your kinsmen. I have come here to work." Tobiah said, "Do you know the way to Media?" ⁶ The other replied: "Yes, I have been there many times. I know the place well and I know all the routes. I have often traveled to Media; I used to stay with our kinsman Gabael, who lives at Rages in Media. It is a good two days' travel from Ecbatana to Rages, for Rages is situated at the mountains, Ecbatana out on the plateau." ⁷ Tobiah said to him, "Wait for me, young man, till I go back and tell my father; for I need you to make the journey with me. I will, of course, pay you." ⁸ Raphael replied, "Very well, I will wait for you; but do not be long." ⁹ Tobiah went back to tell his father Tobit what had happened. He said to him, "I have just found a man who is one of our own Israelite kinsmen!" Tobit said, "Call the man, so that I may find out what family and tribe he comes from, and whether he is trustworthy enough to travel with you, son." Tobiah went out to summon the man, saying, "Young man, my father would like to see you." ¹⁰ When Raphael entered the house, Tobit greeted him first. Raphael said, "Hearty greetings to you!" Tobit replied: "What joy is left for me any more? Here I am, a blind man who cannot see God's sunlight, but must remain in darkness, like the dead who no longer see the light! Though alive, I am among the dead. I can hear a man's voice, but I cannot see him." Raphael said, "Take courage! God has healing in store for you; so take courage!" Tobit then said: "My son Tobiah wants to go to Media. Can you go with him to show him the way? I will of course pay you, brother." Raphael answered: "Yes, I can go with him, for I know all the routes. I have often traveled to Media and crossed all its plains and mountains; so I know every road well." ¹¹ Tobit asked, "Brother, tell me, please, what family and tribe are you from?" ¹² Raphael said: "Why? Do you need a tribe and a family? Or are you looking for a hired man to travel with your son?" Tobit replied, "I wish to know truthfully whose son you are, brother, and what your name is." ¹³ Raphael answered, "I am Azariah, son of Hananiah the elder, one of your own kinsmen." ¹⁴ Tobit exclaimed: "Welcome! God save you, brother! Do not be provoked with me, brother, for wanting to learn the truth about your family. So it turns out that you are a kinsman, and from a noble and good line! I knew Hananiah and Nathaniah, the two sons of Shemaiah the elder; with me they used to make the pilgrimage to Jerusalem, where we would worship together. No, they did not stray from the right path; your kinsmen are good men. You are certainly of good lineage, and welcome!" ¹⁵ Then he added: "For each day you are away I will give you the normal wages, plus expenses for you and for my son.

o learn the truth about your family. So it turns out that you are a kinsman, and from a noble and good line! I knew Hananiah and Nathaniah, the two sons of Shemaiah the elder; with me they used to make the pilgrimage to Jerusalem, where we would worship together. No, they did not stray from the right path; your kinsmen are good men. You are certainly of good lineage, and welcome!" ¹⁵ Then he added: "For each day you are away I will give you the normal wages, plus expenses for you and for my son. If you go with my son, ¹⁶ I will even add a bonus to your wages!" Raphael replied: "I will go with him; have no fear. In good health we shall leave you, and in good health we shall return to you, for the way is safe." ¹⁷ Tobit said, "God bless you, brother." Then he called his son and said to him: "My son, prepare whatever you need for the journey, and set out with your kinsman. May God in heaven protect you on the way and bring you back to me safe and sound; and may his angel

432 accompany you for safety, my son." Before setting out on his journey, Tobiah kissed his father and mother. Tobit said to him, "Have a safe journey." ¹⁸ But his mother began to weep. She said to Tobit: "Why have you decided to send my child away? Is he not the staff to which we cling, ever there with us in all that we do? ¹⁹ I hope more money is not your chief concern! Rather let it be a ransom for our son! ²⁰ What the Lord has given us to live on is certainly enough for us." ²¹ Tobit reassured her: "Have no such thought. Our son will leave in good health and come back to us in good health. Your own eyes will see the day when he returns to you safe and sound. ²² So, no such thought; do not worry about them, my love. For a good angel will go with him, his journey will be successful, and he will return unharmed." Tobit Chapter 6 ¹ Then she stopped weeping. ² When the boy left home, accompanied by the angel, the dog followed Tobiah out of the house and went with them. The travelers walked till nightfall, and made camp beside the Tigris River. ³ Now when the boy went down to wash his feet in the river, a large fish suddenly leaped out of the water and tried to swallow his foot. He shouted in alarm. ⁴ But the angel said to him, "Take hold of the fish and don't let it get away!" The boy seized the fish and hauled it up on the shore. ⁵ The angel then told him: "Cut the fish open and take out its gall, heart, and liver, and keep them with you; but throw away the entrails. Its gall, heart, and liver make useful medicines." ⁶ After the lad had cut the fish open, he put aside the gall, heart, and liver. Then he broiled and ate part of the fish; the rest he salted and kept for the journey. ⁷ Afterward they traveled on together till they were near Media. The boy asked the angel this question: "Brother Azariah, what medicinal value is there in the fish's heart, liver, and gall?" ⁸ He answered: "As regards the fish's heart and liver, if you burn them so that the smoke surrounds a man or a woman who is afflicted by a demon or evil spirit, the affliction will leave him completely, and no demons will ever return to him again. ⁹ And as for the gall, if you rub it on the eyes of a man who has cataracts, blowing into his eyes right on the cataracts, his sight will be restored." ¹⁰ When they had entered Media and were getting close to Ecbatana, ¹¹ Raphael said to the boy, "Brother Tobiah!" He answered, "Yes, what is it?" Raphael continued: "Tonight we must stay with Raguel, who is a relative of yours. He has a daughter named Sarah, ¹² but no other child. Since you are Sarah's closest relative, you before all other men have the right to marry her. Also, her father's estate is rightfully yours to inherit. Now the girl is sensible, courageous, and very beautiful; and her father loves her dearly." ¹³ He continued: "Since you have the right to marry her, listen to me, brother. Tonight I will ask the girl's father to let us have her as your bride. When we return from Rages, we will hold the wedding feast for her. I know that Raguel cannot keep her from you or let her become engaged to another man; that would be a capital crime according to the decree in the Book of Moses, and he knows that it is your right, before all other men, to marry his daughter. So heed my words, brother; tonight we must speak for the girl, so that we may have her engaged to you. And when we return from Rages, we will take her and bring her back with us to your house." ¹⁴ Tobiah objected, however: "Brother Azariah, I have heard that this woman has already been married seven times, and that her husbands died in their bridal chambers. On the very night they approached her, they dropped dead. And I have heard it said that it was a demon who killed them. ¹⁵ So now I too am afraid of this demon. Because he loves her, he does not harm her; but he does slay any man who wishes to come close to her. I am my father's only child.

nd bring her back with us to your house." ¹⁴ Tobiah objected, however: "Brother Azariah, I have heard that this woman has already been married seven times, and that her husbands died in their bridal chambers. On the very night they approached her, they dropped dead. And I have heard it said that it was a demon who killed them. ¹⁵ So now I too am afraid of this demon. Because he loves her, he does not harm her; but he does slay any man who wishes to come close to her. I am my father's only child. If I should die, I would bring my father and mother down to their grave in sorrow over me. And they have no other son to bury them!" ¹⁶ Raphael said to him: "Do you not remember your father's orders? He commanded you to marry a woman from your own family. So now listen to me, brother; do not give another thought to this demon, but marry Sarah. I know that tonight you shall have her for your wife! ¹⁷ When you go into the bridal chamber, take the fish's liver and heart, and place them on the embers for the

433 incense. ¹⁸ As soon as the demon smells the odor they give off, he will flee and never again show himself near her. Then when you are about to have intercourse with her, both of you first rise up to pray. Beg the Lord of heaven to show you mercy and grant you deliverance. But do not be afraid, for she was set apart for you before the world existed. You will save her, and she will go with you. And I suppose that you will have children by her, who will take the place of brothers for you. So do not worry." When Tobiah heard Raphael say that she was his kinswoman, of his own family's lineage, he fell deeply in love with her, and his heart became set on her. Tobit Chapter 7 ¹ When they entered Ecbatana, Tobiah said, "Brother Azariah, lead me straight to our kinsman Raguel." So he brought him to the house of Raguel, whom they found seated by his courtyard gate. They greeted him first. He said to them, "Greetings to you too, brothers! Good health to you, and welcome!" When he brought them into his home, ² he said to his wife Edna, "This young man looks just like my kinsman Tobit!" ³ So Edna asked them, "Who are you, brothers?" They answered, "We are of the exiles from Naphtali at Nineveh." ⁴ She said, "Do you know our kinsman Tobit?" They answered, "Indeed we do!" She asked, "Is he well?" ⁵ They answered, "Yes, he is alive and well." Then Tobiah exclaimed, "He is my father!" ⁶ Raguel sprang up and kissed him, shedding tears of joy. ⁷ But when he heard that Tobit had lost his eyesight, he was grieved and wept aloud. He said to Tobiah: "My child, God bless you! You are the son of a noble and good father. But what a terrible misfortune that such a righteous and charitable man should be afflicted with blindness!" He continued to weep in the arms of his kinsman Tobiah. ⁸ His wife Edna also wept for Tobit; and even their daughter Sarah began to weep. ⁹ Afterward, Raguel slaughtered a ram from the flock and gave them a cordial reception. When they had bathed and reclined to eat, Tobiah said to Raphael, "Brother Azariah, ask Raguel to let me marry my kinswoman Sarah." ¹⁰ Raguel overheard the words; so he said to the boy: "Eat and drink and be merry tonight, for no man is more entitled to marry my daughter Sarah than you, brother. Besides, not even I have the right to give her to anyone but you, because you are my closest relative. But I will explain the situation to you very frankly. ¹¹ I have given her in marriage to seven men, all of whom were kinsmen of ours, and all died on the very night they approached her. But now, son, eat and drink. I am sure the Lord will look after you both." Tobiah answered, "I will eat or drink nothing until you set aside what belongs to me." Raguel said to him: "I will do it. She is yours according to the decree of the Book of Moses. Your marriage to her has been decided in heaven! Take your kinswoman; from now on you are her love, and she is your beloved. She is yours today and ever after. And tonight, son, may the Lord of heaven prosper you both. May he grant you mercy and peace." ¹² Then Raguel called his daughter Sarah, and she came to him. He took her by the hand and gave her to Tobiah with the words: "Take her according to the law. According to the decree written in the Book of Moses she is your wife. Take her and bring her back safely to your father. And may the God of heaven grant both of you peace and prosperity." ¹³ He then called her mother and told her to bring a scroll, so that he might draw up a marriage contract stating that he gave Sarah to Tobiah as his wife according to the decree of the Mosaic law. Her mother brought the scroll, and he drew up the contract, to which they affixed their seals. ¹⁴ Afterward they began to eat and drink.

written in the Book of Moses she is your wife. Take her and bring her back safely to your father. And may the God of heaven grant both of you peace and prosperity." ¹³ He then called her mother and told her to bring a scroll, so that he might draw up a marriage contract stating that he gave Sarah to Tobiah as his wife according to the decree of the Mosaic law. Her mother brought the scroll, and he drew up the contract, to which they affixed their seals. ¹⁴ Afterward they began to eat and drink. ¹⁵ Later Raguel called his wife Edna and said, "My love, prepare the other bedroom and bring the girl there." ¹⁶ She went and made the bed in the room, as she was told, and brought the girl there. After she had cried over her, she wiped away the tears and said: ¹⁷ "Be brave, my daughter. May the Lord of heaven grant you joy in place of your grief. Courage, my daughter." Then she left. Tobit Chapter 8 ¹ When they had finished eating and drinking, the girl's parents wanted to retire. They brought

434 the young man out of the dining room and led him into the bedroom. ² At this point Tobiah, mindful of Raphael's instructions, took the fish's liver and heart from the bag which he had with him, and placed them on the embers for the incense. ³ The demon, repelled by the odor of the fish, fled into Upper Egypt; Raphael pursued him there and bound him hand and foot. Then Raphael returned immediately. ⁴ When the girl's parents left the bedroom and closed the door behind them, Tobiah arose from bed and said to his wife, "My love, get up. Let us pray and beg our Lord to have mercy on us and to grant us deliverance." ⁵ She got up, and they started to pray and beg that deliverance might be theirs. He began with these words: "Blessed are you, O God of our fathers; praised be your name forever and ever. Let the heavens and all your creation praise you forever. ⁶ You made Adam and you gave him his wife Eve to be his help and support; and from these two the human race descended. You said, 'It is not good for the man to be alone; let us make him a partner like himself.' ⁷ Now, Lord, you know that I take this wife of mine not because of lust, but for a noble purpose. Call down your mercy on me and on her, and allow us to live together to a happy old age." ⁸ They said together, "Amen, amen," ⁹ and went to bed for the night. But Raguel got up and summoned his servants. With him they went out to dig a grave, ¹⁰ for he said, "I must do this, because if Tobiah should die, we would be subjected to ridicule and insult." ¹¹ When they had finished digging the grave, Raguel went back into the house and called his wife, ¹² saying, "Send one of the maids in to see whether Tobiah is alive or dead, so that if necessary we may bury him without anyone's knowing about it." ¹³ She sent the maid, who lit a lamp, opened the bedroom door, went in, and found them sound asleep together. ¹⁴ The maid went out and told the girl's parents that Tobiah was alive, and that there was nothing wrong. ¹⁵ Then Raguel praised the God of heaven in these words: "Blessed are you, O God, with every holy and pure blessing! Let all your chosen ones praise you; let them bless you forever! ¹⁶ Blessed are you, who have made me glad; what I feared did not happen. Rather you have dealt with us according to your great mercy. ¹⁷ Blessed are you, for you were merciful toward two only children. Grant them, Master, mercy and deliverance, and bring their lives to fulfillment with happiness and mercy." ¹⁸ Then he told his servants to fill in the grave before dawn. ¹⁹ He asked his wife to bake many loaves of bread; he himself went out to the herd and picked out two steers and four rams which he ordered to be slaughtered. So the servants began to prepare the feast. ²⁰ He summoned Tobiah and made an oath in his presence, saying: "For fourteen days you shall not stir from here, but shall remain here eating and drinking with me; and you shall bring joy to my daughter's sorrowing spirit. ²¹ Take, to begin with, half of whatever I own when you go back in good health to your father; the other half will be yours when I and my wife die. Be of good cheer, my son! I am your father, and Edna is your mother; and we belong to you and to your beloved now and forever. So be happy, son!" Tobit Chapter 9 ¹ Then Tobiah called Raphael and said to him: ² "Brother Azariah, take along with you four servants and two camels and travel to Rages. Go to Gabael's house and give him this bond. Get the money and then bring him along with you to the wedding celebration. ³ You witnessed the oath that Raguel has sworn; I cannot violate his oath." ⁴ "For you know that my father is counting the days. If I should delay my return by a single day, I would cause him intense grief." ⁵ So Raphael, together with the four servants and two camels, traveled to Rages in Media, where they stayed at Gabael's house.

servants and two camels and travel to Rages. Go to Gabael's house and give him this bond. Get the money and then bring him along with you to the wedding celebration. ³ You witnessed the oath that Raguel has sworn; I cannot violate his oath." ⁴ "For you know that my father is counting the days. If I should delay my return by a single day, I would cause him intense grief." ⁵ So Raphael, together with the four servants and two camels, traveled to Rages in Media, where they stayed at Gabael's house. Raphael gave Gabael his bond and told him about Tobit's son Tobiah, and that he had married and was inviting him to the wedding celebration. Gabael promptly checked over the sealed moneybags, and they placed them on the camels. ⁶ The following morning they got an early start and traveled to the wedding celebration. When they entered Raguel's house, they found Tobiah reclining at table. He sprang up and greeted Gabael, who wept and blessed him, exclaiming: "O noble and good child, son of a noble and good, upright and charitable man, may

435 the Lord grant heavenly blessing to you and to your wife, and to your wife's father and mother. Blessed be God, because I have seen the very image of my cousin Tobit!" Tobit Chapter 10 ¹ Meanwhile, day by day, Tobit was keeping track of the time Tobiah would need to go and to return. When the number of days was reached and his son did not appear, ² he said, "I wonder what has happened. Perhaps he has been detained there; or perhaps Gabael is dead, and there is no one to give him the money." ³ And he began to worry. ⁴ His wife Anna said, "My son has perished and is no longer among the living!" And she began to weep aloud and to wail over her son: ⁵ "Alas, my child, light of my eyes, that I let you make this journey!" ⁶ But Tobit kept telling her: "Hush, do not think about it, my love; he is safe! Probably they have to take care of some unexpected business there. The man who is traveling with him is trustworthy, and is one of our own kinsmen. So do not worry over him, my love. He will be here soon." ⁷ But she retorted, "Stop it, and do not lie to me! My child has perished!" She would go out and keep watch all day at the road her son had taken, and she ate nothing. At sunset she would go back home to wail and cry the whole night through, getting no sleep at all. Now at the end of the fourteen-day wedding celebration which Raguel had sworn to hold for his daughter, Tobiah went to him and said: "Please let me go, for I know that my father and mother do not believe they will ever see me again. So I beg you, father, let me go back to my father. I have already told you how I left him." ⁸ Raguel said to Tobiah: "Stay, my child, stay with me. I am sending messengers to your father Tobit, and they will give him news of you." ⁹ But Tobiah insisted, "No, I beg you to let me go back to my father." ¹⁰ Raguel then promptly handed over to Tobiah Sarah his wife, together with half of all his property: male and female slaves, oxen and sheep, asses and camels, clothing, money, and household goods. ¹¹ Bidding them farewell, he let them go. He embraced Tobiah and said to him: "Good-bye, my son. Have a safe journey. May the Lord of heaven grant prosperity to you and to your wife Sarah. And may I see children of yours before I die!" ¹² Then he kissed his daughter Sarah and said to her: "My daughter, honor your father-in-law and your mother-in-law, because from now on they are as much your parents as the ones who brought you into the world. Go in peace, my daughter; let me hear good reports about you as long as I live." Finally he said good-bye to them and sent them away. ¹³ Then Edna said to Tobiah: "My child and beloved kinsman, may the Lord bring you back safely, and may I live long enough to see children of you and of my daughter Sarah before I die. Before the Lord, I entrust my daughter to your care. Never cause her grief at any time in your life. Go in peace, my child. From now on I am your mother, and Sarah is your beloved. May all of us be prosperous all the days of our lives." She kissed them both and sent them away in peace. ¹⁴ When Tobiah left Raguel, he was full of happiness and joy, and he blessed the Lord of heaven and earth, the King of all, for making his journey so successful. Finally he said good-bye to Raguel and his wife Edna, and added, "May I honor you all the days of my life!" Tobit Chapter 11 ¹ Then they left and began their return journey. When they were near Kaserin, just before Nineveh, ² Raphael said: "You know how we left your father. ³ Let us hurry on ahead of your wife to prepare the house while the rest of the party are still on the way." ⁴ So they both went on ahead and Raphael said to Tobiah, "Have the gall in your hand!" And the dog ran along behind them. ⁵ Meanwhile, Anna sat watching the road by which her son was to come.

or you all the days of my life!" Tobit Chapter 11 ¹ Then they left and began their return journey. When they were near Kaserin, just before Nineveh, ² Raphael said: "You know how we left your father. ³ Let us hurry on ahead of your wife to prepare the house while the rest of the party are still on the way." ⁴ So they both went on ahead and Raphael said to Tobiah, "Have the gall in your hand!" And the dog ran along behind them. ⁵ Meanwhile, Anna sat watching the road by which her son was to come. ⁶ When she saw him coming, she exclaimed to his father, "Tobit, your son is coming, and the man who traveled with him!" ⁷ Raphael said to Tobiah before he reached his father: "I am certain that his eyes will be opened. ⁸ Smear the fish gall on them. This medicine will make the cataracts shrink and peel off from his eyes; then your father will again be able to see the light of day." ⁹ Then Anna ran up to her son, threw her

436 arms around him, and said to him, "Now that I have seen you again, son, I am ready to die!" And she sobbed aloud. ¹⁰ Tobit got up and stumbled out through the courtyard gate. Tobiah went up to him ¹¹ with the fish gall in his hand, and holding him firmly, blew into his eyes. "Courage, father," he said. ¹² Next he smeared the medicine on his eyes, ¹³ and it made them smart. Then, beginning at the corners of Tobit's eyes, Tobiah used both hands to peel off the cataracts. When Tobit saw his son, he threw his arms around him ¹⁴ and wept. He exclaimed, "I can see you, son, the light of my eyes!" Then he said: "Blessed be God, and praised be his great name, and blessed be all his holy angels. May his holy name be praised throughout all the ages, ¹⁵ Because it was he who scourged me, and it is he who has had mercy on me. Behold, I now see my son Tobiah!" Then Tobit went back in, rejoicing and praising God with full voice. Tobiah told his father that his journey had been a success; that he had brought back the money; and that he had married Raguel's daughter Sarah, who would arrive shortly, for she was approaching the gate of Nineveh. ¹⁶ Rejoicing and praising God, Tobit went out to the gate of Nineveh to meet his daughter-in-law. When the people of Nineveh saw him walking along briskly, with no one leading him by the hand, they were amazed. ¹⁷ Before them all Tobit proclaimed how God had mercifully restored sight to his eyes. When Tobit reached Sarah, the wife of his son Tobiah, he greeted her: "Welcome, my daughter! Blessed be your God for bringing you to us, daughter! Blessed are your father and your mother. Blessed is my son Tobiah, and blessed are you, daughter! Welcome to your home with blessing and joy. Come in, daughter!" That day there was joy for all the Jews who lived in Nineveh. ¹⁸ Ahiqar and his nephew Nadab also came to rejoice with Tobit. They celebrated Tobiah's wedding feast for seven happy days, and he received many gifts. Tobit Chapter 12 ¹ When the wedding celebration came to an end, Tobit called his son Tobiah and said to him, "Son, see to it that you give what is due to the man who made the journey with you; give him a bonus too." ² Tobiah said: "Father, how much shall I pay him? It would not hurt me at all to give him half of all the wealth he brought back with me. ³ He led me back safe and sound; he cured my wife; he brought the money back with me; and he cured you. How much of a bonus should I give him?" ⁴ Tobit answered, "It is only fair, son, that he should receive half of all that he brought back." ⁵ So Tobiah called Raphael and said, "Take as your wages half of all that you have brought back, and go in peace." ⁶ Raphael called the two men aside privately and said to them: "Thank God! Give him the praise and the glory. Before all the living, acknowledge the many good things he has done for you, by blessing and extolling his name in song. Before all men, honor and proclaim God's deeds, and do not be slack in praising him. ⁷ A king's secret it is prudent to keep, but the works of God are to be declared and made known. Praise them with due honor. Do good, and evil will not find its way to you. ⁸ Prayer and fasting are good, but better than either is almsgiving accompanied by righteousness. A little with righteousness is better than abundance with wickedness. It is better to give alms than to store up gold; ⁹ for almsgiving saves one from death and expiates every sin. Those who regularly give alms shall enjoy a full life; ¹⁰ but those habitually guilty of sin are their own worst enemies. ¹¹ "I will now tell you the whole truth; I will conceal nothing at all from you. I have already said to you, 'A king's secret it is prudent to keep, but the works of God are to be made known with due honor.' ¹² I can now tell you that when you, Tobit, and Sarah prayed, it was I who presented and read the record of your prayer before the Glory of the Lord; and I did the same thing when you used to bury the dead.

enjoy a full life; ¹⁰ but those habitually guilty of sin are their own worst enemies. ¹¹ "I will now tell you the whole truth; I will conceal nothing at all from you. I have already said to you, 'A king's secret it is prudent to keep, but the works of God are to be made known with due honor.' ¹² I can now tell you that when you, Tobit, and Sarah prayed, it was I who presented and read the record of your prayer before the Glory of the Lord; and I did the same thing when you used to bury the dead. ¹³ When you did not hesitate to get up and leave your dinner in order to go and bury the dead, ¹⁴ I was sent to put you to the test. At the same time, however, God commissioned me to heal you and your daughter-in-law Sarah. ¹⁵ I am Raphael, one of the seven angels who enter and serve before the Glory of the Lord." ¹⁶ Stricken with fear, the two men fell to the ground. ¹⁷ But Raphael said to them: "No need to fear; you are safe. Thank

437 God now and forever. ¹⁸ As for me, when I came to you it was not out of any favor on my part, but because it was God's will. So continue to thank him every day; praise him with song. ¹⁹ Even though you watched me eat and drink. I did not really do so; what you were seeing was a vision. ²⁰ So now get up from the ground and praise God. Behold, I am about to ascend to him who sent me; write down all these things that have happened to you." ²¹ When Raphael ascended they rose to their feet and could no longer see him. ²² They kept thanking God and singing his praises; and they continued to acknowledge these marvelous deeds which he had done when the angel of God appeared to them. Tobit Chapter 13 ¹ Then Tobit composed this joyful prayer: Blessed be God who lives forever, because his kingdom lasts for all ages. ² For he scourges and then has mercy; he casts down to the depths of the nether world, and he brings up from the great abyss. No one can escape his hand. ³ Praise him, you Israelites, before the Gentiles, for though he has scattered you among them, ⁴ he has shown you his greatness even there. Exalt him before every living being, because he is the Lord our God, our Father and God forever. ⁵ He scourged you for your iniquities, but will again have mercy on you all. He will gather you from all the Gentiles among whom you have been scattered. ⁶ When you turn back to him with all your heart, to do what is right before him, Then he will turn back to you, and no longer hide his face from you. So now consider what he has done for you, and praise him with full voice. Bless the Lord of righteousness, and exalt the King of the ages. In the land of my exile I praise him, and show his power and majesty to a sinful nation. "Turn back, you sinners! do the right before him: perhaps he may look with favor upon you and show you mercy. ⁷ As for me, I exalt my God, and my spirit rejoices in the King of heaven. ⁸ Let all men speak of his majesty, and sing his praises in Jerusalem." ⁹ O Jerusalem, holy city, he scourged you for the works of your hands, but will again pity the children of the righteous. ¹⁰ Praise the Lord for his goodness, and bless the King of the ages, so that his tent may be rebuilt in you with joy. May he gladden within you all who were captives; all who were ravaged may he cherish within you for all generations to come. ¹¹ A bright light will shine to all parts of the earth; many nations shall come to you from afar, And the inhabitants of all the limits of the earth, drawn to you by the name of the Lord God, Bearing in their hands their gifts for the King of heaven. Every generation shall give joyful praise in you, and shall call you the chosen one, through all ages forever. ¹² Accursed are all who speak a harsh word against you; accursed are all who destroy you and pull down your walls, And all who overthrow your towers and set fire to your homes; but forever blessed are all those who build you up. ¹³ Go, then, rejoice over the children of the righteous, who shall all be gathered together and shall bless the Lord of the ages. ¹⁴ Happy are those who love you, and happy those who rejoice in your prosperity. Happy are all the men who shall grieve over you, over all your chastisements, For they shall rejoice in you as they behold all your joy forever. ¹⁵ My spirit blesses the Lord, the great King; ¹⁶ Jerusalem shall be rebuilt as his home forever. Happy for me if a remnant of my offspring survive to see your glory and to praise the King of heaven! The gates of Jerusalem shall be built with sapphire and emerald, and all your walls with precious stones. The towers of Jerusalem shall be built with gold, and their battlements with pure gold. ¹⁷ The streets of Jerusalem shall be paved with rubies and stones of Ophir; ¹⁸ The gates of Jerusalem shall sing hymns of gladness, and all her houses shall cry out, "Alleluia! Blessed be God who has raised you up!

me if a remnant of my offspring survive to see your glory and to praise the King of heaven! The gates of Jerusalem shall be built with sapphire and emerald, and all your walls with precious stones. The towers of Jerusalem shall be built with gold, and their battlements with pure gold. ¹⁷ The streets of Jerusalem shall be paved with rubies and stones of Ophir; ¹⁸ The gates of Jerusalem shall sing hymns of gladness, and all her houses shall cry out, "Alleluia! Blessed be God who has raised you up! may he be blessed for all ages!" For in you they shall praise his holy name forever. The end of Tobit's hymn of praise. Tobit Chapter 14 ¹ Tobit died peacefully at the age of a hundred and twelve, and received an honorable burial in Nineveh. ² He was sixty-two years old when he lost his eyesight, and after he recovered it he lived

438 in prosperity, giving alms and continually blessing God and praising the divine Majesty. ³ Just before he died, he called his son Tobiah and Tobiah's seven sons, and gave him this command: "Son, take your children ⁴ and flee into Media, for I believe God's word which was spoken by Nahum against Nineveh. It shall all happen, and shall overtake Assyria and Nineveh; indeed, whatever was said by Israel's prophets, whom God commissioned, shall occur. Not one of all the oracles shall remain unfulfilled, but everything shall take place in the time appointed for it. So it will be safer in Media than in Assyria or Babylon. For I know and believe that whatever God has spoken will be accomplished. It shall happen, and not a single word of the prophecies shall prove false. As for our kinsmen who dwell in Israel, they shall all be scattered and led away into exile from the Good Land. The entire country of Israel shall become desolate; even Samaria and Jerusalem shall become desolate! God's temple there shall be burnt to the ground and shall be desolate for a while. ⁵ But God will again have mercy on them and bring them back to the land of Israel. They shall rebuild the temple, but it will not be like the first one, until the era when the appointed times shall be completed. Afterward all of them shall return from their exile, and they shall rebuild Jerusalem with splendor. In her the temple of God shall also be rebuilt; yes, it will be rebuilt for all generations to come, just as the prophets of Israel said of her. ⁶ All the nations of the world shall be converted and shall offer God true worship; all shall abandon their idols which have deceitfully led them into error, ⁷ and shall bless the God of the ages in righteousness. Because all the Israelites who are to be saved in those days will truly be mindful of God, they shall be gathered together and go to Jerusalem; in security shall they dwell forever in the land of Abraham, which will be given over to them. Those who sincerely love God shall rejoice, but those who become guilty of sin shall completely disappear from the land. ⁸ "Now, as for you, my son, depart from Nineveh; do not remain here. ⁹ Now, children, I give you this command: serve God faithfully and do what is right before him; you must tell your children to do what is upright and to give alms, to be mindful of God and at all times to bless his name sincerely and with all their strength. ¹⁰ The day you bury your mother next to me, do not even stay overnight within the confines of the city. For I see that people here shamelessly commit all sorts of wickedness and treachery. Think, my son, of all that Nadab did to Ahiqar, the very one who brought him up: Ahiqar went down alive into the earth! Yet God made Nadab's disgraceful crime rebound against him. Ahiqar came out again into the light, but Nadab went into the everlasting darkness, for he had tried to kill Ahiqar. Because Ahiqar had given alms to me, he escaped from the deadly trap Nadab had set for him. But Nadab himself fell into the deadly trap, and it destroyed him. ¹¹ So, my children, note well what almsgiving does, and also what wickedness does - it kills! But now my spirit is about to leave me." ¹² They placed him on his bed and he died; and he received an honorable burial. When Tobiah's mother died, he buried her next to his father. He then departed with his wife and children for Media, where he settled in Ecbatana with his father-in-law Raguel. ¹³ He took respectful care of his aging father- in-law and mother-in-law; and he buried them at Ecbatana in Media. Then he inherited Raguel's estate as well as that of his father Tobit. ¹⁴ He died at the venerable age of a hundred and seventeen. ¹⁵ But before he died, he heard of the destruction of Nineveh and saw its effects. He witnessed the exile of the city's inhabitants when Cyaxares, king of Media, led them captive into Media.

ia, where he settled in Ecbatana with his father-in-law Raguel. ¹³ He took respectful care of his aging father- in-law and mother-in-law; and he buried them at Ecbatana in Media. Then he inherited Raguel's estate as well as that of his father Tobit. ¹⁴ He died at the venerable age of a hundred and seventeen. ¹⁵ But before he died, he heard of the destruction of Nineveh and saw its effects. He witnessed the exile of the city's inhabitants when Cyaxares, king of Media, led them captive into Media. Tobiah praised God for all that he had done against the citizens of Nineveh and Assyria. Before dying he rejoiced over Nineveh's destruction, and he blessed the Lord God forever and ever. Amen. Judith Judith Chapter 1

439 ¹ It was the twelfth year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, king of the Assyrians in the great city of Nineveh. At that time Arphaxad ruled over the Medes in Ecbatana. ² Around this city he built a wall of blocks of stone, each three cubits in height and six in length. He made the wall seventy cubits high and fifty thick. ³ At the gates he raised towers of a hundred cubits, with a thickness of sixty cubits at the base. ⁴ The gateway he built to a height of seventy cubits, with an opening forty cubits wide for the passage of his chariot forces and the marshaling of his infantry. ⁵ Then King Nebuchadnezzar waged war against King Arphaxad in the vast plain, in the district of Ragae. ⁶ To him there rallied all the inhabitants of the mountain region, all who dwelt along the Euphrates, the Tigris, and the Hydaspes, and King Arioch of the Elamites, in the plain. Thus many nations came together to resist the people of Cheleoud. ⁷ Now Nebuchadnezzar, king of the Assyrians, sent messengers to all the inhabitants of Persia, and to all those who dwelt in the West: to the inhabitants of Cilicia and Damascus, Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon, to all who dwelt along the seacoast, ⁸ to the peoples of Carmel, Gilead, Upper Galilee, and the vast plain of Esdraelon, ⁹ to all those in Samaria and its cities, and west of the Jordan as far as Jerusalem, Bethany, Chelous, Kadesh, and the River of Egypt; to Tahpanhes, Raamses, all the land of Goshen, ¹⁰ Tanis, Memphis and beyond, and to all the inhabitants of Egypt as far as the borders of Ethiopia. ¹¹ But the inhabitants of all that land disregarded the summons of Nebuchadnezzar, king of the Assyrians, and would not go with him to the war. They were not afraid of him but regarded him as a lone individual opposed to them, and turned away his envoys empty-handed, in disgrace. ¹² Then Nebuchadnezzar fell into a violent rage against all that land, and swore by his throne and his kingdom that he would avenge himself on all the territories of Cilicia and Damascus and Syria, and also destroy with his sword all the inhabitants of Moab, Ammon, the whole of Judea, and those living anywhere in Egypt as far as the borders of the two seas. ¹³ In the seventeenth year he proceeded with his army against King Arphaxad, and was victorious in his campaign. He routed the whole force of Arphaxad, his entire cavalry and all his chariots, ¹⁴ and took possession of his cities. He pressed on to Ecbatana and took its towers, sacked its marketplaces, and turned its glory into shame. ¹⁵ Arphaxad himself he overtook in the mountains of Ragae, ran him through with spears, and utterly destroyed him. ¹⁶ Then he returned home with all his numerous, motley horde of warriors; and there he and his army relaxed and feasted for a hundred and twenty days. Judith Chapter 2 ¹ In the eighteenth year, on the twenty-second day of the first month, there was a discussion in the palace of Nebuchadnezzar, king of the Assyrians, about taking revenge on the whole world, as he had threatened. ² He summoned all his ministers and nobles, laid before them his secret plan, and urged the total destruction of those countries. ³ They decided to do away with all those who had refused to comply with the order he had issued. ⁴ When he had completed his plan, Nebuchadnezzar, king of the Assyrians, summoned Holofernes, general in chief of his forces, second to himself in command, and said to him: ⁵ "Thus says the great king, the lord of all the earth: Go forth from my presence, take with you men of proven valor, a hundred and twenty thousand infantry and twelve thousand cavalry, ⁶ and proceed against all the land of the West, because they did not comply with the order I issued. ⁷ Tell them to have earth and water ready, for I will come against them in my wrath; I will cover all the land with the feet of my soldiers, to whom I will deliver them as spoils.

self in command, and said to him: ⁵ "Thus says the great king, the lord of all the earth: Go forth from my presence, take with you men of proven valor, a hundred and twenty thousand infantry and twelve thousand cavalry, ⁶ and proceed against all the land of the West, because they did not comply with the order I issued. ⁷ Tell them to have earth and water ready, for I will come against them in my wrath; I will cover all the land with the feet of my soldiers, to whom I will deliver them as spoils. ⁸ Their slain shall fill their ravines and wadies, the swelling torrent shall be choked with their dead; ⁹ and I will deport them as exiles to the very ends of the earth. ¹⁰ You go before me and take possession of all their territories for me. If they surrender to you, guard them for me till the day of their punishment. ¹¹ As for those who resist, show them no quarter, but deliver them up to slaughter and plunder in each country you occupy. ¹² For as I live, and by the strength of my kingdom, what I have spoken I will accomplish by my power. ¹³ Do not

440 disobey a single one of the orders of your lord; fulfill them exactly as I have commanded you, and do it without delay." ¹⁴ So Holofernes left the presence of his lord, and summoned all the princes, and the generals and officers of the Assyrian army. ¹⁵ He mustered a hundred and twenty thousand picked troops, as his lord had commanded, and twelve thousand mounted archers, ¹⁶ and grouped them into a complete combat force. ¹⁷ He took along a very large number of camels, asses, and mules for their baggage; innumerable sheep, cattle, and goats for their food supply; ¹⁸ abundant provisions for each man, and much gold and silver from the royal palace. ¹⁹ Then he and his whole army proceeded on their expedition in advance of King Nebuchadnezzar, to cover all the western region with their chariots and cavalry and regular infantry. ²⁰ A huge, irregular force, too many to count, like locusts or the dust of the earth, went along with them. ²¹ After a three-day march from Nineveh, they reached the plain of Bectileth, and from Bectileth they next encamped near the mountains to the north of Upper Cilicia. ²² From there Holofernes took his whole force, the infantry, cavalry, and chariots, and marched into the mountain region. ²³ He devastated Put and Lud, and plundered all the Rassisites and the Ishmaelites on the border of the desert toward the south of Chaldea. ²⁴ Then, following the Euphrates, he went through Mesopotamia, and battered down every fortified city along the Wadi Abron, until he reached the sea. ²⁵ He seized the territory of Cilicia, and cut down everyone who resisted him. Then he proceeded to the southern borders of Japheth, toward Arabia. ²⁶ He surrounded all the Midianites, burned their tents, and plundered their sheepfolds. ²⁷ Descending to the plain of Damascus at the time of the wheat harvest, he set fire to all their fields, destroyed their flocks and herds, despoiled their cities, devastated their plains, and put all their youths to the sword. ²⁸ The fear and dread of him fell upon all the inhabitants of the coastland, upon those in Sidon and Tyre, and those who dwelt in Sur and Ocina, and the inhabitants of Jamnia. Those in Azotus and Ascalon also feared him greatly. Judith Chapter 3 ¹ They therefore sent messengers to him to sue for peace in these words: ² "We, the servants of Nebuchadnezzar the great king, lie prostrate before you; do with us as you will. ³ Our dwellings and all our wheat fields, our flocks and herds, and all our encampments are at your disposal; make use of them as you please. ⁴ Our cities and their inhabitants are also at your service; come and deal with them as you see fit." ⁵ After the spokesmen had reached Holofernes and given him this message, ⁶ he went down with his army to the seacoast, and stationed garrisons in the fortified cities; from them he impressed picked troops as auxiliaries. ⁷ The people of these cities and all the inhabitants of the countryside received him with garlands and dancing to the sound of timbrels. ⁸ Nevertheless, he devastated their whole territory and cut down their sacred groves, for he had been commissioned to destroy all the gods of the earth, so that every nation might worship Nebuchadnezzar alone, and every people and tribe invoke him as a god. ⁹ At length Holofernes reached Esdraelon in the neighborhood of Dothan, the approach to the main ridge of the Judean mountains; ¹⁰ he set up his camp between Geba and Scythopolis, and stayed there a whole month to refurbish all the equipment of his army. Judith Chapter 4 ¹ When the Israelites who dwelt in Judea heard of all that Holofernes, commander-in-chief of Nebuchadnezzar, king of the Assyrians, had done to the nations, and how he had despoiled all their temples and destroyed them, ² they were in extreme dread of him, and greatly alarmed for Jerusalem and the temple of the Lord, their God.

e of the Judean mountains; ¹⁰ he set up his camp between Geba and Scythopolis, and stayed there a whole month to refurbish all the equipment of his army. Judith Chapter 4 ¹ When the Israelites who dwelt in Judea heard of all that Holofernes, commander-in-chief of Nebuchadnezzar, king of the Assyrians, had done to the nations, and how he had despoiled all their temples and destroyed them, ² they were in extreme dread of him, and greatly alarmed for Jerusalem and the temple of the Lord, their God. ³ Now, they had lately returned from exile, and only recently had all the people of Judea been gathered together, and the vessels, the altar, and the temple been purified from profanation. ⁴ So they sent word to the whole region of Samaria, to

441 Kona, Beth-horon, Belmain, and Jericho, to Choba and Aesora, and to the valley of Salem. ⁵ The people there posted guards on all the summits of the high mountains, fortified their villages, and since their fields had recently been harvested, stored up provisions in preparation for war. ⁶ Joakim, who was high priest in Jerusalem in those days, wrote to the inhabitants of Bethulia (and Betomesthaim), which is on the way to Esdraelon, facing the plain near Dothan, ⁷ and instructed them to keep firm hold of the mountain passes, since these offered access to Judea. It would be easy to ward off the attacking forces, as the defile was only wide enough for two abreast. ⁸ The Israelites carried out the orders given them by Joakim, the high priest, and the senate of the whole people of Israel, which met in Jerusalem. ⁹ All the men of Israel cried to God with great fervor and did penance— ¹⁰ they, along with their wives, and children, and domestic animals. All their resident aliens, hired laborers, and slaves also girded themselves with sackcloth. ¹¹ And all the Israelite men, women and children who lived in Jerusalem prostrated themselves in front of the temple building, with ashes strewn on their heads, displaying their sackcloth covering before the Lord. ¹² The altar, too, they draped in sackcloth; and with one accord they cried out fervently to the God of Israel not to allow their children to be seized, their wives to be taken captive, the cities of their inheritance to be ruined, or the sanctuary to be profaned and mocked for the nations to gloat over. ¹³ The Lord heard their cry and had regard for their distress. For the people observed a fast of many days' duration throughout Judea, and before the sanctuary of the Lord Almighty in Jerusalem. ¹⁴ The high priest Joakim, and all the priests in attendance on the Lord who served his altar, were also girded with sackcloth as they offered the daily holocaust, the votive offerings, and the freewill offerings of the people. ¹⁵ With ashes upon their turbans, they cried to the Lord with all their strength to look with favor on the whole house of Israel. Judith Chapter 5 ¹ It was reported to Holofernes, commander-in-chief of the Assyrian army, that the Israelites were ready for battle, and had blocked the mountain passes, fortified the summits of all the higher peaks, and placed roadblocks in the plains. ² In great anger he summoned all the rulers of the Moabites, the generals of the Ammonites, and all the satraps of the seacoast ³ and said to them: "Now tell me, you Canaanites, what sort of people is this that dwells in the mountains? Which cities do they inhabit? How large is their army? In what does their power and strength consist? Who has set himself up as their king and the leader of their army? ⁴ Why have they refused to come out to meet me along with all the other inhabitants of the West?" ⁵ Then Achior, the leader of all the Ammonites, said to him: "My lord, hear this account from your servant; I will tell you the truth about this people that lives near you (that inhabits this mountain region); no lie shall escape your servant's lips. ⁶ These people are descendants of the Chaldeans. ⁷ They formerly dwelt in Mesopotamia, for they did not wish to follow the gods of their forefathers who were born in the land of the Chaldeans. ⁸ Since they abandoned the way of their ancestors, and acknowledged with divine worship the God of heaven, their forefathers expelled them from the presence of their gods. So they fled to Mesopotamia and dwelt there a long time. ⁹ Their God bade them leave their abode and proceed to the land of Canaan. Here they settled, and grew very rich in gold, silver, and a great abundance of livestock. ¹⁰ Later, when famine had gripped the whole land of Canaan, they went down into Egypt. They stayed there as long as they found sustenance, and grew into such a great multitude that the number of their race could not be counted.

rs expelled them from the presence of their gods. So they fled to Mesopotamia and dwelt there a long time. ⁹ Their God bade them leave their abode and proceed to the land of Canaan. Here they settled, and grew very rich in gold, silver, and a great abundance of livestock. ¹⁰ Later, when famine had gripped the whole land of Canaan, they went down into Egypt. They stayed there as long as they found sustenance, and grew into such a great multitude that the number of their race could not be counted. ¹¹ The king of Egypt, however, rose up against them, shrewdly forced them to labor at brickmaking, oppressed and enslaved them. ¹² But they cried to their God, and he struck the land of Egypt with plagues for which there was no remedy. When the Egyptians expelled them, ¹³ God dried up the Red Sea before them, ¹⁴ and led them along the route to Sinai and Kadesh-barnea. First they drove out all the inhabitants of the desert; ¹⁵ then they settled in the land of the Amorites, destroyed all the Heshbonites by main

442 force, crossed the Jordan, and took possession of the whole mountain region. ¹⁶ They expelled the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Shechemites, and all the Gergesites; and they lived in these mountains a long time. ¹⁷ "As long as the Israelites did not sin in the sight of their God, they prospered, for their God, who hates wickedness, was with them. ¹⁸ But when they deviated from the way he prescribed for them, they were ground down steadily, more and more, by frequent wars, and finally taken as captives into foreign lands. The temple of their God was razed to the ground, and their cities were occupied by their enemies. ¹⁹ But now that they have returned to their God, they have come back from the Dispersion wherein they were scattered, and have repossessed Jerusalem, where their sanctuary is, and have settled again in the mountain region which was unoccupied. ²⁰ "So now, my lord and master, if these people are at fault, and are sinning against their God, and if we verify this offense of theirs, then we shall be able to go up and conquer them. ²¹ But if they are not a guilty nation, then your lordship should keep his distance; otherwise their Lord and God will shield them, and we shall become the laughing stock of the whole world." ²² Now when Achior had concluded his recommendation, all the people standing round about the tent murmured; and the officers of Holofernes and all the inhabitants of the seacoast and of Moab alike said he should be cut to pieces. ²³ "We are not afraid of the Israelites," they said, "for they are a powerless people, incapable of a strong defense. ²⁴ Let us therefore attack them; your great army, Lord Holofernes, will swallow them up." Judith Chapter 6 ¹ When the noise of the crowd surrounding the council had subsided, Holofernes, commander-in- chief of the Assyrian army, said to Achior, in the presence of the whole throng of coastland peoples, of the Moabites, and of the Ammonite mercenaries: ² "Who are you, Achior, to prophesy among us as you have done today, and to tell us not to fight against the Israelites because their God protects them? What god is there beside Nebuchadnezzar? He will send his force and destroy them from the face of the earth. Their God will not save them; ³ but we, the servants of Nebuchadnezzar, will strike them down as one man, for they will be unable to withstand the force of our cavalry. ⁴ We will overwhelm them with it, and the mountains shall be drunk with their blood, and their plains filled with their corpses. Not a trace of them shall survive our attack: they shall utterly perish, says King Nebuchadnezzar, lord of all the earth; for he has spoken, and his words shall not remain unfulfilled. ⁵ As for you, Achior, you Ammonite mercenary, for saying these things in a moment of perversity you shall not see my face after today, until I have taken revenge on this race of people from Egypt. ⁶ Then at my return, the sword of my army or the spear of my servants will pierce your sides, and you shall fall among their slain. ⁷ My servants will now conduct you to the mountain region, and leave you at one of the towns along the ascent. ⁸ You shall not die till you are destroyed together with them. ⁹ If you still cherish the hope that they will not be taken, then there is no need for you to be downcast. I have spoken, and my words shall not prove false in any respect." ¹⁰ Then Holofernes ordered the servants who were standing by in his tent to seize Achior, conduct him to Bethulia, and hand him over to the Israelites. ¹¹ So the servants took him in custody and brought him out of the camp into the plain. From there they led him into the mountain region till they reached the springs below Bethulia. ¹² When the men of the city saw them, they seized their weapons and ran out of the city to the crest of the ridge; and all the slingers blocked the ascent of Holofernes' servants by hurling stones upon them.

ho were standing by in his tent to seize Achior, conduct him to Bethulia, and hand him over to the Israelites. ¹¹ So the servants took him in custody and brought him out of the camp into the plain. From there they led him into the mountain region till they reached the springs below Bethulia. ¹² When the men of the city saw them, they seized their weapons and ran out of the city to the crest of the ridge; and all the slingers blocked the ascent of Holofernes' servants by hurling stones upon them. ¹³ So they took cover below the mountain, where they bound Achior and left him lying at the foot of the mountain; then they returned to their lord. ¹⁴ The Israelites came down to him from their city, loosed him, and brought him into Bethulia. They haled him before the rulers of the city, ¹⁵ who in those days were Uzziah, son of Micah of the tribe of Simeon, Chabris, son of Gothoniel, and Charmis, son of Melchiel. ¹⁶ They then convened all the elders of the city; and all their young men, as well as the women,

443 gathered in haste at the place of assembly. They placed Achior in the center of the throng, and Uzziah questioned him about what had happened. ¹⁷ He replied by giving them an account of what was said in the council of Holofernes, and of all his own words among the Assyrian officers, and of all the boasting threats of Holofernes against the house of Israel. ¹⁸ At this the people fell prostrate and worshiped God; and they cried out: ¹⁹ "Lord, God of heaven, behold their arrogance! Have pity on the lowliness of our people, and look with favor this day on those who are consecrated to you." ²⁰ Then they reassured Achior and praised him highly. ²¹ Uzziah brought him from the assembly to his home, where he gave a banquet for the elders. That whole night they called upon the God of Israel for help. Judith Chapter 7 ¹ The following day Holofernes ordered his whole army, and all the allied troops that had come to his support, to move against Bethulia, seize the mountain passes, and engage the Israelites in battle. ² That same day all their fighting men went into action. Their forces numbered a hundred and seventy thousand infantry and twelve thousand horsemen, not counting the baggage train or the men who accompanied it on foot—a very great army. ³ They encamped at the spring in the valley near Bethulia, and spread out in breadth toward Dothan as far as Balbaim, and in length from Bethulia to Cyamon, which faces Esdraelon. ⁴ When the Israelites saw how many there were, they said to one another in great dismay: "Soon they will devour the whole country. Neither the high mountains nor the valleys and hills can support the mass of them." ⁵ Yet they all seized their weapons, lighted fires on their bastions, and kept watch throughout the night. ⁶ On the second day Holofernes led out all his cavalry in the sight of the Israelites who were in Bethulia. ⁷ He reconnoitered the approaches to their city and located their sources of water; these he seized, stationing armed detachments around them, while he himself returned to his troops. ⁸ All the commanders of the Edomites and all the leaders of the Ammonites, together with the generals of the seacoast, came to Holofernes and said: ⁹ "Sir, listen to what we have to say, that there may be no losses among your troops. ¹⁰ These Israelites do not rely on their spears, but on the height of the mountains where they dwell; it is not easy to reach the summit of their mountains. ¹¹ Therefore, sir, do not attack them in regular formation; thus not a single one of your troops will fall. ¹² Stay in your camp, and spare all your soldiers. Have some of your servants keep control of the source of water that flows out at the base of the mountain, ¹³ for that is where the inhabitants of Bethulia get their water. Then thirst will begin to carry them off, and they will surrender their city. Meanwhile, we and our men will go up to the summits of the nearby mountains, and encamp there to guard against anyone's leaving the city. ¹⁴ They and their wives and children will languish with hunger, and even before the sword strikes them they will be laid low in the streets of their city. ¹⁵ Thus you will render them dire punishment for their rebellion and their refusal to meet you peacefully." ¹⁶ Their words pleased Holofernes and all his ministers, and he ordered their proposal to be carried out. ¹⁷ Thereupon the Moabites moved camp, together with five thousand Assyrians. They encamped in the valley, and held the water supply and the springs of the Israelites. ¹⁸ The Edomites and the Ammonites went up and encamped in the mountain region opposite Dothan; and they sent some of their men to the south and to the east opposite Egrebel, near Chusi, which is on Wadi Mochmur. The rest of the Assyrian army was encamped in the plain, covering the whole countryside. Their enormous store of tents and equipment was spread out in profusion everywhere.

five thousand Assyrians. They encamped in the valley, and held the water supply and the springs of the Israelites. ¹⁸ The Edomites and the Ammonites went up and encamped in the mountain region opposite Dothan; and they sent some of their men to the south and to the east opposite Egrebel, near Chusi, which is on Wadi Mochmur. The rest of the Assyrian army was encamped in the plain, covering the whole countryside. Their enormous store of tents and equipment was spread out in profusion everywhere. ¹⁹ The Israelites cried to the Lord, their God, for they were disheartened, since all their enemies had them surrounded, and there was no way of slipping through their lines. ²⁰ The whole Assyrian camp, infantry, chariots, and cavalry, kept them thus surrounded for thirty-four days. All the reservoirs of water failed the inhabitants of Bethulia, ²¹ and the cisterns ran dry, so that on no day did they have enough to drink, but their drinking water was rationed. ²² Their

444 children fainted away, and the women and youths were consumed with thirst and were collapsing in the streets and gateways of the city, with no strength left in them. ²³ All the people, therefore, including youths, women, and children, went in a crowd to Uzziah and the rulers of the city. They set up a great clamor and said before the elders: ²⁴ "God judge between you and us! You have done us grave injustice in not making peace with the Assyrians. ²⁵ There is no help for us now! Instead, God has sold us into their power by laying us prostrate before them in thirst and utter exhaustion. ²⁶ Therefore, summon them and deliver the whole city as booty to the troops of Holofernes and to all his forces; ²⁷ we would be better off to become their prey. We should indeed be made slaves, but at least we should live, and not have to behold our little ones dying before our eyes and our wives and children breathing out their souls. ²⁸ We adjure you by heaven and earth, and by our God, the Lord of our forefathers, who is punishing us for our sins and those of our forefathers, to do as we have proposed, this very day." ²⁹ All in the assembly with one accord broke into shrill wailing and loud cries to the Lord their God. ³⁰ But Uzziah said to them, "Courage, my brothers! Let us wait five days more for the Lord our God, to show his mercy toward us; he will not utterly forsake us. ³¹ But if those days pass without help coming to us, I will do as you say." ³² Then he dispersed the men to their posts, and they returned to the walls and towers of the city; the women and children he sent to their homes. Throughout the city they were in great misery. Judith Chapter 8 ¹ Now in those days Judith, daughter of Merari, son of Joseph, son of Oziel, son of Elkiah, son of Ananias, son of Gideon, son of Raphain, son of Ahitob, son of Elijah, son of Hilkiah, son of Eliab, son of Nathanael, son of Salamiel, son of Sarasadai, son of Simeon, son of Israel, heard of this. ² Her husband, Manasseh, of her own tribe and clan, had died at the time of the barley harvest. ³ While he was in the field supervising those who bound the sheaves, he suffered sunstroke; and he died of this illness in Bethulia, his native city. He was buried with his forefathers in the field between Dothan and Balamon. ⁴ The widowed Judith remained three years and four months at home, ⁵ where she set up a tent for herself on the roof of her house. She put sackcloth about her loins and wore widow's weeds. ⁶ She fasted all the days of her widowhood, except sabbath eves and sabbaths, new moon eves and new moons, feastdays and holidays of the house of Israel. ⁷ She was beautifully formed and lovely to behold. Her husband, Manasseh, had left her gold and silver, servants and maids, livestock and fields, which she was maintaining. ⁸ No one had a bad word to say about her, for she was a very God-fearing woman. ⁹ When Judith, therefore, heard of the harsh words which the people, discouraged by their lack of water, had spoken against their ruler, and of all that Uzziah had said to them in reply, swearing that he would hand over the city to the Assyrians at the end of five days, ¹⁰ she sent the maid who was in charge of all her things to ask Uzziah, Chabris, and Charmis, the elders of the city, to visit her. ¹¹ When they came, she said to them: "Listen to me, you rulers of the people of Bethulia. What you said to the people today is not proper. When you promised to hand over the city to our enemies at the end of five days unless within that time the Lord comes to our aid, you interposed between God and yourselves this oath which you took. ¹² Who are you, then, that you should have put God to the test this day, setting yourselves in the place of God in human affairs? ¹³ It is the Lord Almighty for whom you are laying down conditions; will you never understand anything?

people of Bethulia. What you said to the people today is not proper. When you promised to hand over the city to our enemies at the end of five days unless within that time the Lord comes to our aid, you interposed between God and yourselves this oath which you took. ¹² Who are you, then, that you should have put God to the test this day, setting yourselves in the place of God in human affairs? ¹³ It is the Lord Almighty for whom you are laying down conditions; will you never understand anything? ¹⁴ You cannot plumb the depths of the human heart or grasp the workings of the human mind; how then can you fathom God, who has made all these things, discern his mind, and understand his plan? "No, my brothers, do not anger the Lord our God. ¹⁵ For if he does not wish to come to our aid within the five days, he has it equally within his power to protect us at such time as he pleases, or to destroy us in the face of our enemies. ¹⁶ It is not for you to make the Lord our God give surety for his plans. "God is not man that he should be moved by threats, nor human, that he may be given an ultimatum. ¹⁷ "So while we wait for the

445 salvation that comes from him, let us call upon him to help us, and he will hear our cry if it is his good pleasure. ¹⁸ For there has not risen among us in recent generations, nor does there exist today, any tribe, or clan, or town, or city of ours that worships gods made by hands, as happened in former days. ¹⁹ It was for such conduct that our forefathers were handed over to the sword and to pillage, and fell with great destruction before our enemies. ²⁰ But since we acknowledge no other god but the Lord, we hope that he will not disdain us or any of our people. ²¹ If we are taken, all Judea will fall, our sanctuary will be plundered, and God will make us pay for its profanation with our life's blood. ²² For the slaughter of our kinsmen, for the taking of exiles from the land, and for the devastation of our inheritance, he will lay the guilt on our heads. Wherever we shall be enslaved among the nations, we shall be a mockery and a reproach in the eyes of our masters. ²³ Our enslavement will not be turned to our benefit, but the Lord our God, will maintain it to our disgrace. ²⁴ "Therefore, my brothers, let us set an example for our kinsmen. Their lives depend on us, and the defense of the sanctuary, the temple, and the altar rests with us. ²⁵ Besides all this, we should be grateful to the Lord our God, for putting us to the test, as he did our forefathers. ²⁶ Recall how he dealt with Abraham, and how he tried Isaac, and all that happened to Jacob in Syrian Mesopotamia while he was tending the flocks of Laban, his mother's brother. ²⁷ Not for vengeance did the Lord put them in the crucible to try their hearts, nor has he done so with us. It is by way of admonition that he chastises those who are close to him." ²⁸ Then Uzziah said to her: "All that you have said was spoken with good sense, and no one can gainsay your words. ²⁹ Not today only is your wisdom made evident, but from your earliest years all the people have recognized your prudence, which corresponds to the worthy dispositions of your heart. ³⁰ The people, however, were so tortured with thirst that they forced us to speak to them as we did, and to bind ourselves by an oath that we cannot break. ³¹ But now, God-fearing woman that you are, pray for us that the Lord may send rain to fill up our cisterns, lest we be weakened still further." ³² Then Judith said to them: "Listen to me! I will do something that will go down from generation to generation among the descendants of our race. ³³ Stand at the gate tonight to let me pass through with my maid; and within the days you have specified before you will surrender the city to our enemies, the Lord will rescue Israel by my hand. ³⁴ You must not inquire into what I am doing, for I will not tell you until my plan has been accomplished." ³⁵ Uzziah and the rulers said to her, "Go in peace, and may the Lord God go before you to take vengeance upon our enemies!" ³⁶ Then they withdrew from the tent and returned to their posts. Judith Chapter 9 ¹ Judith threw herself down prostrate, with ashes strewn upon her head, and wearing nothing over her sackcloth. While the incense was being offered in the temple of God in Jerusalem that evening, Judith prayed to the Lord with a loud voice: ² "Lord, God of my forefather Simeon! You put a sword into his hand to take revenge upon the foreigners who had immodestly loosened the maiden's girdle, shamefully exposed her thighs, and disgracefully violated her body. This they did, though you forbade it. ³ Therefore you had their rulers slaughtered; and you covered with their blood the bed in which they lay deceived, the same bed that had felt the shame of their own deceiving. You smote the slaves together with their princes, and the princes together with their servants.

Simeon! You put a sword into his hand to take revenge upon the foreigners who had immodestly loosened the maiden's girdle, shamefully exposed her thighs, and disgracefully violated her body. This they did, though you forbade it. ³ Therefore you had their rulers slaughtered; and you covered with their blood the bed in which they lay deceived, the same bed that had felt the shame of their own deceiving. You smote the slaves together with their princes, and the princes together with their servants. ⁴ Their wives you handed over to plunder, and their daughters to captivity; and all the spoils you divided among your favored sons, who burned with zeal for you, and in their abhorrence of the defilement of their kinswoman, called on you for help. ⁵ "O God, my God, hear me also, a widow. It is you who were the author of those events and of what preceded and followed them. The present, also, and the future you have planned. Whatever you devise comes into being; ⁶ the things you decide on come forward and say, 'Here we are!' All your ways are in readiness, and your judgment is made with foreknowledge. ⁷ "Here are the Assyrians, a vast force, priding themselves

446 on horse and rider, boasting of the power of their infantry, trusting in shield and spear, bow and sling. They do not know that ⁸ 'You, the Lord, crush warfare; Lord is your name. Shatter their strength in your might, and crush their force in your wrath; for they have resolved to profane your sanctuary, to defile the tent where your glorious name resides, and to overthrow with iron the horns of your altar. ⁹ See their pride, and send forth your wrath upon their heads. Give me, a widow, the strong hand to execute my plan. ¹⁰ With the guile of my lips, smite the slave together with the ruler, the ruler together with his servant; crush their pride by the hand of a woman. ¹¹ "Your strength is not in numbers, nor does your power depend upon stalwart men; but you are the God of the lowly, the helper of the oppressed, the supporter of the weak, the protector of the forsaken, the savior of those without hope. ¹² "Please, please, God of my forefather, God of the heritage of Israel, Lord of heaven and earth, Creator of the waters, King of all you have created, hear my prayer! ¹³ Let my guileful speech bring wound and wale on those who have planned dire things against your covenant, your holy temple, Mount Zion, and the homes your children have inherited. ¹⁴ Let your whole nation and all the tribes know clearly that you are the god of all power and might, and that there is no other who protects the people of Israel but you alone." Judith Chapter 10 ¹ As soon as Judith had thus concluded, and ceased her invocation to the God of Israel, ² she rose from the ground. She called her maid and they went down into the house, which she used only on sabbaths and feast days. ³ She took off the sackcloth she had on, laid aside the garments of her widowhood, washed her body with water, and anointed it with rich ointment. She arranged her hair and bound it with a fillet, and put on the festive attire she had worn while her husband, Manasseh, was living. ⁴ She chose sandals for her feet, and put on her anklets, bracelets, rings, earrings, and all her other jewelry. Thus she made herself very beautiful, to captivate the eyes of all the men who should see her. ⁵ She gave her maid a leather flask of wine and a cruse of oil. She filled a bag with roasted grain, fig cakes, bread and cheese; all these provisions she wrapped up and gave to the maid to carry. ⁶ Then they went out to the gate of the city of Bethulia and found Uzziah and the elders of the city, Chabri and Charmis, standing there. ⁷ When these men saw Judith transformed in looks and differently dressed, they were very much astounded at her beauty and said to her, ⁸ "May the God of our fathers bring you to favor, and make your undertaking a success, for the glory of the Israelites and the exaltation of Jerusalem." Judith bowed down to God. Then she said to them, ⁹ "Order the gate of the city opened for me, that I may go to carry out the business we discussed." So they ordered the youths to open the gate for her as she requested. ¹⁰ When they did so, Judith and her maid went out. The men of the city kept her in view as she went down the mountain and crossed the valley; then they lost sight of her. ¹¹ As Judith and her maid walked directly across the valley, they encountered the Assyrian outpost. ¹² The men took her in custody and asked her, "To what people do you belong? Where do you come from, and where are you going?" She replied: "I am a daughter of the Hebrews, and I am fleeing from them, because they are about to be delivered up to you as prey.

nd her maid went out. The men of the city kept her in view as she went down the mountain and crossed the valley; then they lost sight of her. ¹¹ As Judith and her maid walked directly across the valley, they encountered the Assyrian outpost. ¹² The men took her in custody and asked her, "To what people do you belong? Where do you come from, and where are you going?" She replied: "I am a daughter of the Hebrews, and I am fleeing from them, because they are about to be delivered up to you as prey. ¹³ I have come to see Holofernes, the general in chief of your forces, to give him a trustworthy report; I will show him the route by which he can ascend and take possession of the whole mountain district without a single one of his men suffering injury or loss of life." ¹⁴ When the men heard her words and gazed upon her face, which appeared wondrously beautiful to them, they said to her, ¹⁵ "By coming down thus promptly to see our master, you have saved your life. Now go to his tent; some of our men will accompany you to present you to him. ¹⁶ When you stand before him, have no fear in your heart; give him the report you speak of, and he will treat you well." ¹⁷ So they detailed a hundred of their men as an escort for her and her maid, and these conducted them to the tent of Holofernes. ¹⁸ When the news of her arrival spread among the tents, a crowd gathered in the camp. They came and stood

447 around her as she waited outside the tent of Holofernes, while he was being informed about her. ¹⁹ They marveled at her beauty, regarding the Israelites with wonder because of her, and they said to one another, "Who can despise this people that has such women among them? It is not wise to leave one man of them alive, for if any were to be spared they could beguile the whole world." ²⁰ The guard of Holofernes and all his servants came out and ushered her into the tent. ²¹ Now Holofernes was reclining on his bed under a canopy with a netting of crimson and gold, emeralds and other precious stones. ²² When they announced her to him, he came out to the antechamber, preceded by silver lamps; ²³ and when Holofernes and his servants beheld Judith, they all marveled at the beauty of her face. She threw herself down prostrate before him, but his servants raised her up. Judith Chapter 11 ¹ Then Holofernes said to her: "Take courage, lady; have no fear in your heart! Never have I harmed anyone who chose to serve Nebuchadnezzar, king of all the earth. ² Nor would I have raised my spear against your people who dwell in the mountain region, had they not despised me and brought this upon themselves. ³ But now tell me why you fled from them and came to us. In any case, you have come to safety. Take courage! Your life is spared tonight and for the future. ⁴ No one at all will harm you. Rather, you will be well treated, as are all the servants of my lord, King Nebuchadnezzar." ⁵ Judith answered him: "Listen to the words of your servant, and let your handmaid speak in your presence! I will tell no lie to my lord this night, ⁶ and if you follow out the words of your handmaid, God will give you complete success, and my lord will not fail in any of his undertakings. ⁷ By the life of Nebuchadnezzar, king of all the earth, and by the power of him who has sent you to set all creatures aright! Not only do men serve him through you; but even the wild beasts and the cattle and the birds of the air, because of your strength, will live for Nebuchadnezzar and his whole house. ⁸ Indeed, we have heard of your wisdom and sagacity, and all the world is aware that throughout the kingdom you alone are competent, rich in experience, and distinguished in military strategy. ⁹ "As for Achior's speech in your council, we have heard of it. When the men of Bethulia spared him, he told them all he had said to you. ¹⁰ So then, my lord and master, do not disregard his word, but bear it in mind, for it is true. For our people are not punished, nor does the sword prevail against them, except when they sin against their God. ¹¹ But now their guilt has caught up with them, by which they bring the wrath of their God upon them whenever they do wrong; so that my lord will not be repulsed and fail, but death will overtake them. ¹² Since their food gave out and all their water ran low, they decided to kill their animals, and determined to consume all the things which God in his laws forbade them to eat. ¹³ They decreed that they would use up the first fruits of grain and the tithes of wine and oil which they had sanctified and reserved for the priests who minister in the presence of our God in Jerusalem: things which no layman should even touch with his hands. ¹⁴ They have sent messengers to Jerusalem to bring back to them authorization from the council of the elders; for the inhabitants there have also done these things. ¹⁵ On the very day when the response reaches them and they act upon it, they will be handed over to you for destruction. ¹⁶ "As soon as I, your handmaid, learned all this, I fled from them. God has sent me to perform with you such deeds that people throughout the world will be astonished on hearing of them. ¹⁷ Your handmaid is, indeed, a God- fearing woman, serving the God of heaven night and day. Now I will remain with you, my lord; but each night your handmaid will go out to the ravine and pray to God.

very day when the response reaches them and they act upon it, they will be handed over to you for destruction. ¹⁶ "As soon as I, your handmaid, learned all this, I fled from them. God has sent me to perform with you such deeds that people throughout the world will be astonished on hearing of them. ¹⁷ Your handmaid is, indeed, a God- fearing woman, serving the God of heaven night and day. Now I will remain with you, my lord; but each night your handmaid will go out to the ravine and pray to God. He will tell me when the Israelites have committed their crimes. ¹⁸ Then I will come and let you know, so that you may go out with your whole force, and not one of them will be able to withstand you. ¹⁹ I will lead you through Judea, till you come to Jerusalem, and there I will set up your judgment seat. You will drive them like sheep that have no shepherd, and not even a dog will growl at you. This was told

448 me, and announced to me in advance, and I in turn have been sent to tell you." ²⁰ Her words pleased Holofernes and all his servants; they marveled at her wisdom and exclaimed, ²¹ "No other woman from one end of the world to the other looks so beautiful and speaks so wisely!" ²² Then Holofernes said to her: "God has done well in sending you ahead of your people, to bring victory to our arms, and destruction to those who have despised my lord. ²³ You are fair to behold, and your words are well spoken. If you do as you have said, your God will be my God; you shall dwell in the palace of King Nebuchadnezzar, and shall be renowned throughout the earth." Judith Chapter 12 1Then he ordered them to lead her into the room where his silverware was kept, and bade them set a table for her with his own delicacies to eat and his own wine to drink.² But Judith said, "I will not partake of them, lest it be an occasion of sin; but I shall be amply supplied from the things I brought with me."³ Holofernes asked her: "But if your provisions give out, where shall we get more of the same to provide for you? None of your people are with us."⁴ Judith answered him, "As surely as you, my lord, live, your handmaid will not use up her supplies till the Lord accomplishes by my hand what he has determined."⁵ Then the servants of Holofernes led her into the tent, where she slept till midnight.⁶ In the night watch just before dawn, she rose and sent this message to Holofernes, "Give orders, my lord, to let your handmaid go out for prayer."⁷ So Holofernes ordered his bodyguard not to hinder her. Thus she stayed in the camp three days. Each night she went out to the ravine of Bethulia, where she washed herself at the spring of the camp.⁸ After bathing, she besought the Lord, the God of Israel, to direct her way for the triumph of his people.⁹ Then she returned purified to the tent, and remained there until her food was brought to her toward evening.¹⁰ On the fourth day Holofernes gave a banquet for his servants alone, to which he did not invite any of the officers.¹¹ And he said to Bagoas, the eunuch in charge of his household: "Go and persuade this Hebrew woman in your care to come and to eat and drink with us.¹² It would be a disgrace for us to have such a woman with us without enjoying her company. If we do not entice her, she will laugh us to scorn."¹³ So Bagoas left the presence of Holofernes, and came to Judith and said, "So fair a maiden should not be reluctant to come to my lord to be honored by him, to enjoy drinking wine with us, and to be like one of the Assyrian women who live in the palace of Nebuchadnezzar."¹⁴ She replied, "Who am I to refuse my lord? Whatever is pleasing to him I will promptly do. This will be a joy for me till the day of my death."¹⁵ Thereupon she proceeded to put on her festive garments and all her feminine adornments. Meanwhile, her maid went ahead and spread out on the ground for her in front of Holofernes the fleece Bagoas had furnished for her daily use in reclining at her dinner.¹⁶ Then Judith came in and reclined on it. The heart of Holofernes was in rapture over her, and his spirit was shaken. He was burning with the desire to possess her, for he had been biding his time to seduce her from the day he saw her.¹⁷ Holofernes said to her, "Drink and be merry with us!"¹⁸ Judith replied, "I will gladly drink, my lord, for at no time since I was born have I ever enjoyed life as much as I do today."¹⁹ She then took the things her maid had prepared, and ate and drank in his presence.²⁰ Holofernes, charmed by her, drank a great quantity of wine, more than he had ever drunk on one single day in his life. Judith Chapter 13 1When it grew late, his servants quickly withdrew. Bagoas closed the tent from the outside and excluded the attendants from their master's presence.

Judith replied, "I will gladly drink, my lord, for at no time since I was born have I ever enjoyed life as much as I do today."¹⁹ She then took the things her maid had prepared, and ate and drank in his presence.²⁰ Holofernes, charmed by her, drank a great quantity of wine, more than he had ever drunk on one single day in his life. Judith Chapter 13 1When it grew late, his servants quickly withdrew. Bagoas closed the tent from the outside and excluded the attendants from their master's presence. They went off to their beds, for they were all tired from the prolonged banquet.² Judith was left alone in the tent with Holofernes, who lay prostrate on his bed, for he was sodden with wine.³ She had ordered her maid to stand outside the bedroom and wait, as on the other days, for her to come out; she said she would be going out for her prayer. To Bagoas she had said this also.⁴ When all had departed, and no one, small or great,

449 was left in the bedroom, Judith stood by Holofernes' bed and said within herself: "O Lord, God of all might, in this hour look graciously on my undertaking for the exaltation of Jerusalem;⁵ now is the time for aiding your heritage and for carrying out my design to shatter the enemies who have risen against us."⁶ She went to the bedpost near the head of Holofernes, and taking his sword from it,⁷ drew close to the bed, grasped the hair of his head, and said, "Strengthen me this day, O God of Israel!"⁸ Then with all her might she struck him twice in the neck and cut off his head.⁹ She rolled his body off the bed and took the canopy from its supports. Soon afterward, she came out and handed over the head of Holofernes to her maid,¹⁰ who put it into her food pouch; and the two went off together as they were accustomed to do for prayer. They passed through the camp, and skirting the ravine, reached Bethulia on the mountain. As they approached its gates,¹¹ Judith shouted to the guards from a distance: "Open! Open the gate! God, our God, is with us. Once more he has made manifest his strength in Israel and his power against our enemies; he has done it this very day."¹² When the citizens heard her voice, they quickly descended to their city gate and summoned the city elders.¹³ All the people, from the least to the greatest, hurriedly assembled, for her return seemed unbelievable. They opened the gate and welcomed the two women. They made a fire for light; and when they gathered around the two,¹⁴ Judith urged them with a loud voice: "Praise God, praise him! Praise God, who has not withdrawn his mercy from the house of Israel, but has shattered our enemies by my hand this very night."¹⁵ Then she took the head out of the pouch, showed it to them, and said: "Here is the head of Holofernes, general in charge of the Assyrian army, and here is the canopy under which he lay in his drunkenness. The Lord struck him down by the hand of a woman.¹⁶ As the Lord lives, who has protected me in the path I have followed, I swear that it was my face that seduced Holofernes to his ruin, and that he did not sin with me to my defilement or disgrace."¹⁷ All the people were greatly astonished. They bowed down and worshiped God, saying with one accord, "Blessed are you, our God, who today have brought to nought the enemies of your people."¹⁸ Then Uzziah said to her: "Blessed are you, daughter, by the Most High God, above all the women on earth; and blessed be the Lord God, the creator of heaven and earth, who guided your blow at the head of the chief of our enemies.¹⁹ Your deed of hope will never be forgotten by those who tell of the might of God.²⁰ May God make this redound to your everlasting honor, rewarding you with blessings, because you risked your life when your people were being oppressed, and you averted our disaster, walking uprightly before our God." And all the people answered, "Amen! Amen!" Judith Chapter 14 ¹Then Judith said to them: "Listen to me, my brothers. Take this head and hang it on the parapet of your wall. ²At daybreak, when the sun rises on the earth, let each of you seize his weapons, and let all the able-bodied men rush out of the city under command of a captain, as if about to go down into the plain against the advance guard of the Assyrians, but without going down. ³They will seize their armor and hurry to their camp to awaken the generals of the Assyrian army. When they run to the tent of Holofernes and do not find him, panic will seize them, and they will flee before you. ⁴Then you and all the other inhabitants of the whole territory of Israel will pursue them and strike them down in their tracks. ⁵But before doing this, summon for me Achior the Ammonite, that he may see and recognize the one who despised the house of Israel and sent him here to meet his death." ⁶So they called Achior from the house of Uzziah.

waken the generals of the Assyrian army. When they run to the tent of Holofernes and do not find him, panic will seize them, and they will flee before you. ⁴Then you and all the other inhabitants of the whole territory of Israel will pursue them and strike them down in their tracks. ⁵But before doing this, summon for me Achior the Ammonite, that he may see and recognize the one who despised the house of Israel and sent him here to meet his death." ⁶So they called Achior from the house of Uzziah. When he came and saw the head of Holofernes in the hand of one of the men in the assembly of the people, he fell forward in a faint. ⁷Then, after they lifted him up, he threw himself at the feet of Judith in homage, saying: "Blessed are you in every tent of Judah; and in every foreign nation, all who hear of you will be struck with terror. ⁸But now, tell me all that you did during these days." So Judith told him, in the presence of the people, all that she had been doing from the day she left till the time she began speaking to

450 them. ⁹When she finished her account, the people cheered loudly, and their city resounded with shouts of joy. ¹⁰Now Achior, seeing all that the God of Israel had done, believed firmly in him. He had the flesh of his foreskin circumcised, and he has been united with the house of Israel to the present day. ¹¹At daybreak they hung the head of Holofernes on the wall. Then all the Israelite men took up their arms and went to the slopes of the mountain. ¹²When the Assyrians saw them, they notified their captains; these, in turn, went to the generals and division leaders and all their other commanders. ¹³They came to the tent of Holofernes and said to the one in charge of all his things, "Waken our master, for the slaves have dared come down to give us battle, to their utter destruction." ¹⁴Bagoas went in, and knocked at the entry of the tent, presuming that he was sleeping with Judith. ¹⁵As no one answered, he parted the curtains, entered the bedroom, and found him lying on the floor, a headless corpse. ¹⁶He broke into a loud clamor of weeping, groaning, and howling, and rent his garments. ¹⁷Then he entered the tent where Judith had her quarters; and, not finding her, he rushed out to the troops and cried: ¹⁸"The slaves have duped us! A single Hebrew woman has brought disgrace on the house of King Nebuchadnezzar. Here is Holofernes headless on the ground!" ¹⁹When the commanders of the Assyrian army heard these words, they rent their tunics and were seized with consternation. Loud screaming and howling arose in the camp. Judith Chapter 15 ¹On hearing what had happened, those still in their tents were amazed, ²and overcome with fear and trembling. No one kept ranks any longer; they scattered in all directions, and fled along every road, both through the valley and in the mountains. ³Those also who were stationed in the mountain district around Bethulia took to flight. Then all the Israelite warriors overwhelmed them. ⁴Uzziah sent messengers to Betomasthaim, to Choba and Kona, and to the whole country of Israel to report what had happened, that all might fall upon the enemy and destroy them. ⁵On hearing this, all the Israelites, with one accord, attacked them and cut them down as far as Choba. Even those from Jerusalem and the rest of the mountain region took part in this, for they too had been notified of the happenings in the camp of their enemies. The Gileadites and the Galileans struck the enemy's flanks with great slaughter, even beyond Damascus and its territory. ⁶The remaining inhabitants of Bethulia swept down on the camp of the Assyrians, plundered it, and acquired great riches. ⁷The Israelites who returned from the slaughter took possession of what was left, till the towns and villages in the mountains and on the plain were crammed with the enormous quantity of booty they had seized. ⁸The high priest Joakim and the elders of the Israelites, who dwelt in Jerusalem, came to see for themselves the good things that the Lord had done for Israel, and to meet and congratulate Judith. ⁹When they had visited her, all with one accord blessed her, saying: "You are the glory of Jerusalem, the surpassing joy of Israel; You are the splendid boast of our people. ¹⁰With your own hand you have done all this; You have done good to Israel, and God is pleased with what you have wrought. May you be blessed by the Lord Almighty forever and ever!" And all the people answered, "Amen!" ¹¹For thirty days the whole populace plundered the camp, giving Judith the tent of Holofernes, with all his silver, his couches, his dishes, and all his furniture, which she accepted. She harnessed her mules, hitched her wagons to them, and loaded these things on them. ¹²All the women of Israel gathered to see her; and they blessed her and performed a dance in her honor. She took branches in her hands and distributed them to the women around her, ¹³and she and the other women crowned themselves with garlands of olive leaves.

pulace plundered the camp, giving Judith the tent of Holofernes, with all his silver, his couches, his dishes, and all his furniture, which she accepted. She harnessed her mules, hitched her wagons to them, and loaded these things on them. ¹²All the women of Israel gathered to see her; and they blessed her and performed a dance in her honor. She took branches in her hands and distributed them to the women around her, ¹³and she and the other women crowned themselves with garlands of olive leaves. At the head of all the people, she led the women in the dance, while the men of Israel followed in their armor, wearing garlands and singing hymns. ¹⁴Judith led all Israel in this song of thanksgiving, and the people swelled this hymn of praise:

451 Judith Chapter 16 ¹"Strike up the instruments, a song to my God with timbrels, chant to the Lord with cymbals; Sing to him a new song, exalt and acclaim his name. ²For the Lord is God; he crushes warfare, and sets his encampment among his people; he snatched me from the hands of my persecutors. ³The Assyrian came from the mountains of the north, with the myriads of his forces he came; Their numbers blocked the torrents, their horses covered the hills. ⁴He threatened to burn my land, put my youths to the sword, Dash my babes to the ground, make my children a prey, and seize my virgins as spoil. ⁵But the Lord Almighty thwarted them, by a woman's hand he confounded them. ⁶Not by youths was their mighty one struck down, nor did titans bring him low, nor huge giants attack him; But Judith, the daughter of Merari, by the beauty of her countenance disabled him. ⁷She took off her widow's garb to raise up the afflicted in Israel. She anointed her face with fragrant oil; ⁸with a fillet she fastened her tresses, and put on a linen robe to beguile him. ⁹Her sandals caught his eyes, and her beauty captivated his mind. The sword cut through his neck. ¹⁰The Persians were dismayed at her daring, the Medes appalled at her boldness. ¹¹When my lowly ones shouted, they were terrified; when my weaklings cried out, they trembled; at the sound of their war cry, they took to flight. ¹²Sons of slave girls pierced them through; the supposed sons of rebel mothers cut them down; they perished before the ranks of my Lord. ¹³A new hymn I will sing to my God. O Lord, great are you and glorious, wonderful in power and unsurpassable. ¹⁴Let your every creature serve you; for you spoke, and they were made, You sent forth your spirit, and they were created; no one can resist your word. ¹⁵The mountains to their bases, and the seas, are shaken; the rocks, like wax, melt before your glance. But to those who fear you, you are very merciful. ¹⁶Though the sweet odor of every sacrifice is a trifle, and the fat of all holocausts but little in your sight, one who fears the Lord is forever great. ¹⁷Woe to the nations that rise against my people! the Lord Almighty will requite them; in the day of judgment he will punish them: He will send fire and worms into their flesh, and they shall burn and suffer forever." ¹⁸The people then went to Jerusalem to worship God; when they were purified, they offered their holocausts, freewill offerings, and gifts. ¹⁹Judith dedicated, as a votive offering to God, all the things of Holofernes that the people had given her, as well as the canopy that she herself had taken from his bedroom. ²⁰For three months the people continued their celebration in Jerusalem before the sanctuary, and Judith remained with them. ²¹When those days were over, each one returned to his inheritance. Judith went back to Bethulia and remained on her estate. For the rest of her life she was renowned throughout the land. ²²Many wished to marry her, but she gave herself to no man all the days of her life from the time of the death and burial of her husband, Manasseh. ²³She lived to be very old in the house of her husband, reaching the advanced age of a hundred and five. She died in Bethulia, where they buried her in the tomb of her husband, Manasseh; ²⁴and the house of Israel mourned her for seven days. Before she died, she distributed her goods to the relatives of her husband, Manasseh, and to her own relatives; and to the maid she gave her freedom. ²⁵During the life of Judith and for a long time after her death, no one again disturbed the Israelites. Esdras I Esdras 1 Chapter 1 ¹ Josias held the Passover in Jerusalem to his Lord, and offered the Passover the fourteenth day of the first month, ² having set the priests according to their daily courses, being arrayed in their vestments, in the Lord’s temple.

ed, she distributed her goods to the relatives of her husband, Manasseh, and to her own relatives; and to the maid she gave her freedom. ²⁵During the life of Judith and for a long time after her death, no one again disturbed the Israelites. Esdras I Esdras 1 Chapter 1 ¹ Josias held the Passover in Jerusalem to his Lord, and offered the Passover the fourteenth day of the first month, ² having set the priests according to their daily courses, being arrayed in their vestments, in the Lord’s temple. ³ He spoke to the Levites, the temple servants of Israel, that they should make themselves holy to the Lord, to set the holy ark of the Lord in the house that King

452 Solomon the son of David had built. ⁴ He said, “You no longer need to carry it on your shoulders. Now therefore serve the Lord your God, and minister to his people Israel, and prepare yourselves by your fathers’ houses and kindred, ⁵ according to the writing of King David of Israel, and according to the magnificence of Solomon his son. Stand in the holy place according to the divisions of your Levite families who minister in the presence of your kindred the descendants of Israel. ⁶ Offer the Passover in order, prepare the sacrifices for your kindred, and keep the Passover according to the Lord’s commandment, which was given to Moses. ⁷ To the people which were present, Josias gave thirty thousand lambs and kids, and three thousand calves. These things were given from the king’s possessions, as he promised, to the people and to the priests and Levites. ⁸ Helkias, Zacharias, and Esyelus, the rulers of the temple, gave to the priests for the Passover two thousand six hundred sheep, and three hundred calves. ⁹ Jeconias, Samaias, Nathanael his brother, Sabias, Ochielus, and Joram, captains over thousands, gave to the Levites for the Passover five thousand sheep and seven hundred calves. ¹⁰ When these things were done, the priests and Levites, having the unleavened bread, stood in proper order according to the kindred, ¹¹ and according to the several divisions by fathers’ houses, before the people, to offer to the Lord as it is written in the book of Moses. They did this in the morning. ¹² They roasted the Passover lamb with fire, as required. They boiled the sacrifices in the brazen vessels and caldrons with a pleasing smell, ¹³ and set them before all the people. Afterward they prepared for themselves and for their kindred the priests, the sons of Aaron. ¹⁴ For the priests offered the fat until night. The Levites prepared for themselves and for their kindred the priests, the sons of Aaron. ¹⁵ The holy singers also, the sons of Asaph, were in their order, according to the appointment of David: Asaph, Zacharias, and Eddinus, who represented the king. ¹⁶ Moreover the gatekeepers were at every gate. No one needed to depart from his daily duties, for their kindred the Levites prepared for them. ¹⁷ So the things that belonged to the Lord’s sacrifices were accomplished in that day, in holding the Passover, ¹⁸ and offering sacrifices on the altar of the Lord, according to the commandment of King Josias. ¹⁹ So the children of Israel which were present at that time held the Passover and the feast of unleavened bread seven days. ²⁰ Such a Passover had not been held in Israel since the time of the prophet Samuel. ²¹ Indeed, none of the kings of Israel held such a Passover as Josias with the priests, the Levites, and the Jews, held with all Israel that were present in their dwelling place at Jerusalem. ²² This Passover was held in the eighteenth year of the reign of Josias. ²³ The works of Josias were upright before his Lord with a heart full of godliness. ²⁴ Moreover the things that came to pass in his days have been written in times past, concerning those who sinned and did wickedly against the Lord more than any other people or kingdom, and how they grieved him exceedingly, so that the Lord’s words were confirmed against Israel. ²⁵ Now after all these acts of Josias, it came to pass that Pharaoh the king of Egypt came to make war at Carchemish on the Euphrates; and Josias went out against him. ²⁶ But the king of Egypt sent to him, saying, “What do I have to do with you, O king of Judea? ²⁷ I wasn’t sent out from the Lord God against you, for my war is against the Euphrates. Now the Lord is with me, yes, the Lord is with me hastening me forward.

ved him exceedingly, so that the Lord’s words were confirmed against Israel. ²⁵ Now after all these acts of Josias, it came to pass that Pharaoh the king of Egypt came to make war at Carchemish on the Euphrates; and Josias went out against him. ²⁶ But the king of Egypt sent to him, saying, “What do I have to do with you, O king of Judea? ²⁷ I wasn’t sent out from the Lord God against you, for my war is against the Euphrates. Now the Lord is with me, yes, the Lord is with me hastening me forward. Depart from me, and don’t be against the Lord.” ²⁸ However, Josias didn’t turn back to his chariot, but tried to fight with him, not regarding the words of the prophet Jeremy from the Lord’s mouth, ²⁹ but joined battle with him in the plain of Megiddo, and the commanders came down against King Josias. ³⁰ Then the king said to his servants, “Carry me away out of the battle, for I am very weak!” Immediately his servants carried him away out of the army. ³¹ Then he got into his second chariot. After he was brought back to Jerusalem he died, and was buried in the tomb of his ancestors. ³² All Judea mourned for Josias. Jeremy the prophet lamented for Josias, and the chief men with the women made lamentation for him to this day. This was given out for an ordinance to be done continually in all the nation of Israel. ³³ These things are written in the book of the histories of the kings of Judea, and every one of the acts that Josias

453 did, and his glory, and his understanding in the law of the Lord, and the things that he had done before, and the things now told, are reported in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah. ³⁴ The people took Joachaz the son of Josias, and made him king instead of Josias his father, when he was twenty-three years old. ³⁵ He reigned in Judah and Jerusalem for three months. Then the king of Egypt deposed him from reigning in Jerusalem. ³⁶ He set a tax upon the people of one hundred talents of silver and one talent of gold. ³⁷ The king of Egypt also made King Joakim his brother king of Judea and Jerusalem. ³⁸ And Joakim imprisoned the nobles and apprehended his brother Zarakes, and brought him up out of Egypt. ³⁹ Joakim was twenty-five years old when he began to reign in Judea and Jerusalem. He did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord. ⁴⁰ King Nabuchodonosor of Babylon came up against him, bound him with a chain of brass, and carried him to Babylon. ⁴¹ Nabuchodonosor also took some of the Lord’s holy vessels, carried them away, and stored them in his own temple at Babylon. ⁴² But those things that are reported of him, and of his uncleanness and impiety, are written in the chronicles of the kings. ⁴³ Then Joakim his son reigned in his place. When he was made king, he was eighteen years old. ⁴⁴ He reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem. He did that which was evil before the Lord. ⁴⁵ So after a year Nabuchodonosor sent and caused him to be brought to Babylon with the holy vessels of the Lord, ⁴⁶ and made Sedekias king of Judea and Jerusalem when he was twenty-one years old. He reigned eleven years. ⁴⁷ He also did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, and didn’t heed the words that were spoken by Jeremy the prophet from the Lord’s mouth. ⁴⁸ After King Nabuchodonosor had made him to swear by the name of the Lord, he broke his oath and rebelled. Hardening his neck and his heart, he transgressed the laws of the Lord, the God of Israel. ⁴⁹ Moreover the governors of the people and of the priests did many things wickedly, exceeding all the defilements of all nations, and defiled the temple of the Lord, which was sanctified in Jerusalem. ⁵⁰ The God of their ancestors sent by his messenger to call them back, because he had compassion on them and on his dwelling place. ⁵¹ But they mocked his messengers. In the day when the Lord spoke, they scoffed at his prophets ⁵² until he, being angry with his people for their great ungodliness, commanded to bring up the kings of the Chaldeans against them. ⁵³ They killed their young men with the sword around their holy temple, and spared neither young man or young woman, old man or child; but he delivered all of them into their hands. ⁵⁴ They took all the holy vessels of the Lord, both great and small, with the treasure chests of the Lord’s ark and the king’s treasures, and carried them away to Babylon. ⁵⁵ They burned the Lord’s house, broke down Jerusalem’s walls, and burned its towers with fire. ⁵⁶ As for her glorious things, they didn’t stop until they had brought them all to nothing. He carried the people who weren’t slain with the sword to Babylon. ⁵⁷ They were servants to him and to his children until the Persians reigned, to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremy: ⁵⁸ “Until the land has enjoyed its Sabbaths, the whole time of her desolation shall she keep Sabbath, to fulfill seventy years." Esdras 1 Chapter 2 ¹ In the first year of King Cyrus of the Persians, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremy might be accomplished, ² the Lord stirred up the spirit of King Cyrus of the Persians, and he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also by writing, ³ saying, “Cyrus king of the Persians says: The Lord of Israel, the Most High Lord, has made me king of the whole world, ⁴ and commanded me to build him a house at Jerusalem that is in Judea.

to fulfill seventy years." Esdras 1 Chapter 2 ¹ In the first year of King Cyrus of the Persians, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremy might be accomplished, ² the Lord stirred up the spirit of King Cyrus of the Persians, and he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also by writing, ³ saying, “Cyrus king of the Persians says: The Lord of Israel, the Most High Lord, has made me king of the whole world, ⁴ and commanded me to build him a house at Jerusalem that is in Judea. ⁵ If therefore there are any of you that are of his people, let the Lord, even his Lord, be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem that is in Judea, and build the house of the Lord of Israel. He is the Lord who dwells in Jerusalem. ⁶ Therefore, of those who dwell in various places, let those who are in his own place help each one with gold, with silver, ⁷ with gifts, with horses, and cattle, beside the other things which have been added by vow for the temple of the Lord which is in Jerusalem. ⁸ Then the chief of the families of

454 Judah and of the tribe of Benjamin stood up, with the priests, the Levites, and all whose spirit the Lord had stirred to go up, to build the house for the Lord which is in Jerusalem. ⁹ Those who lived around them helped them in all things with silver and gold, with horses and cattle, and with very many gifts that were vowed by a great number whose minds were so moved. ¹⁰ King Cyrus also brought out the holy vessels of the Lord, which Nabuchodonosor had carried away from Jerusalem and had stored in his temple of idols. ¹¹ Now when King Cyrus of the Persians had brought them out, he delivered them to Mithradates his treasurer, ¹² and by him they were delivered to Sanabassar the governor of Judea. ¹³ This was the number of them: one thousand gold cups, one thousand silver cups, twenty-nine silver censers, thirty gold bowls, two thousand four hundred ten silver bowls, and one thousand other vessels. ¹⁴ So all the vessels of gold and of silver were brought up, even five thousand four hundred seventy-nine, ¹⁵ and were carried back by Sanabassar, together with the returning exiles, from Babylon to Jerusalem. ¹⁶ In the time of King Artaxerxes of the Persians, Belemus, Mithradates, Tabellius, Rathumus, Beeltethmus, and Samellius the scribe, with their other associates, dwelling in Samaria and other places, wrote to him against those who lived in Judea and Jerusalem the following letter: ¹⁷“To King Artaxerxes our Lord, from your servants, Rathumus the recorder, Samellius the scribe, and the rest of their council, and the judges who are in Coelesyria and Phoenicia: ¹⁸ Let it now be known to our lord the king, that the Jews that have come up from you to us, having come to Jerusalem, are building that rebellious and wicked city, and are repairing its marketplaces and walls, and are laying the foundation of a temple. ¹⁹ Now if this city is built and its walls are finished, they will not only refuse to give tribute, but will even stand up against kings. ²⁰ Since the things pertaining to the temple are now in hand, we think it appropriate not to neglect such a matter, ²¹ but to speak to our lord the king, to the intent that, if it is your pleasure, search may be made in the books of your ancestors. ²² You will find in the chronicles what is written concerning these things, and will understand that that city was rebellious, troubling both kings and cities, ²³ and that the Jews were rebellious, and kept starting wars there in the past. For this cause, this city was laid waste. ²⁴ Therefore now we do declare to you, O lord the king, that if this city is built again, and its walls set up again, you will from then on have no passage into Coelesyria and Phoenicia.” ²⁵ Then the king wrote back again to Rathumus the recorder, Beeltethmus, Samellius the scribe, and to the rest that of their associates who lived in Samaria, Syria, and Phoenicia, as follows: ²⁶“I have read the letter which you have sent to me. Therefore I commanded to make search, and it has been found that that city of old time has fought against kings, ²⁷ and the men were given to rebellion and war in it, and that mighty and fierce kings were in Jerusalem, who reigned and exacted tribute in Coelesyria and Phoenicia. ²⁸ Now therefore I have commanded to prevent those men from building the city, and heed to be taken that there be nothing done contrary to this order, ²⁹ and that those wicked doings proceed no further to the annoyance of kings.” ³⁰ Then King Artaxerxes, his letters being read, Rathumus, and Samellius the scribe, and the rest of their associates, went in haste to Jerusalem with cavalry and a multitude of people in battle array, and began to hinder the builders.

ibute in Coelesyria and Phoenicia. ²⁸ Now therefore I have commanded to prevent those men from building the city, and heed to be taken that there be nothing done contrary to this order, ²⁹ and that those wicked doings proceed no further to the annoyance of kings.” ³⁰ Then King Artaxerxes, his letters being read, Rathumus, and Samellius the scribe, and the rest of their associates, went in haste to Jerusalem with cavalry and a multitude of people in battle array, and began to hinder the builders. So the building of the temple in Jerusalem ceased until the second year of the reign of King Darius of the Persians. Esdras 1 Chapter 3 ¹ Now King Darius made a great feast for all his subjects, for all who were born in his house, for all the princes of Media and of Persia, ² and for all the local governors and captains and governors who were under him, from India to Ethiopia, in the one hundred twenty seven provinces. ³ They ate and drank, and when they were satisfied went home. Then King Darius went into his bedchamber slept, but awakened out of his sleep. ⁴ Then the three young men of the bodyguard, who guarded the king, spoke one to another: ⁵“Let every one of us state what one thing is strongest.

455 King Darius will give he whose statement seems wiser than the others great gifts and great honors in token of victory. ⁶ He shall be clothed in purple, drink from gold cups, sleep on a gold bed, and have a chariot with bridles of gold, a fine linen turban, and a chain around his neck. ⁷ He shall sit next to Darius because of his wisdom, and shall be called cousin of Darius.” ⁸ Then they each wrote his sentence, sealed them, and laid them under King Darius’ pillow, ⁹ and said, “When the king wakes up, someone will give him the writing. Whoever the king and the three princes of Persia judge that his sentence is the wisest, to him shall the victory be given, as it is written.” ¹⁰ The first wrote, “Wine is the strongest.” ¹¹ The second wrote, “The king is strongest.” ¹² The third wrote, “Women are strongest, but above all things Truth is the victor.” ¹³ Now when the king woke up, they took the writing and gave it to him, so he read it. ¹⁴ Sending out, he called all the princes of Persia and of Media, the local governors, the captains, the governors, and the chief officers ¹⁵ and sat himself down in the royal seat of judgment; and the writing was read before them. ¹⁶ He said, “Call the young men, and they shall explain their own sentences. So they were called and came in. ¹⁷ They said to them, “Explain what you have written.” Then the first, who had spoken of the strength of wine, began ¹⁸ and said this: “O sirs, how exceedingly strong wine is! It causes all men who drink it to go astray. ¹⁹ It makes the mind of the king and of the fatherless child to be the same, likewise of the bondman and of the freeman, of the poor man and of the rich. ²⁰ It also turns every thought into cheer and mirth, so that a man remembers neither sorrow nor debt. ²¹ It makes every heart rich, so that a man remembers neither king nor local governor. It makes people say things in large amounts. ²² When they are in their cups, they forget their love both to friends and kindred, and before long draw their swords. ²³ But when they awake from their wine, they don’t remember what they have done. ²⁴ O sirs, isn’t wine the strongest, seeing that it forces people to do this?” And when he had said this, he stopped speaking. Esdras 1 Chapter 4 ¹ Then the second, who had spoken of the strength of the king, began to say, ²“O sirs, don’t men excel in strength who rule over the sea and land, and all things in them? ³ But yet the king is stronger. He is their lord and has dominion over them. In whatever he commands them, they obey him. ⁴ If he tells them to make war the one against the other, they do it. If he sends them out against the enemies, they go, and conquer mountains, walls, and towers. ⁵ They kill and are killed, and don’t disobey the king’s commandment. If they win the victory, they bring everything to the king—all the plunder and everything else. ⁶ Likewise for those who are not soldiers, and don’t have anything to do with wars, but farm, when they have reaped again that which they had sown, they bring some to the king and compel one another to pay tribute to the king. ⁷ He is just one man! If he commands people to kill, they kill. If he commands them to spare, they spare. ⁸ If he commands them to strike, they strike. If he commands them to make desolate, they make desolate. If he commands to build, they build. ⁹ If he commands them to cut down, they cut down. If he commands them to plant, they plant. ¹⁰ So all his people and his armies obey him. Furthermore, he lies down, he eats and drinks, and takes his rest; ¹¹ and these keep watch around him. None of them may depart and do his own business. They don’t disobey him in anything. ¹² O sirs, how could the king not be the strongest, seeing that he is obeyed like this?” Then he stopped talking. ¹³ Then the third, who had spoken of women, and of truth, (this was Zorobabel) began to speak: ¹⁴“O sirs, isn’t the king great, and men are many, and isn’t wine strong?

ople and his armies obey him. Furthermore, he lies down, he eats and drinks, and takes his rest; ¹¹ and these keep watch around him. None of them may depart and do his own business. They don’t disobey him in anything. ¹² O sirs, how could the king not be the strongest, seeing that he is obeyed like this?” Then he stopped talking. ¹³ Then the third, who had spoken of women, and of truth, (this was Zorobabel) began to speak: ¹⁴“O sirs, isn’t the king great, and men are many, and isn’t wine strong? Who is it then who rules them, or has the lordship over them? Aren’t they women? ¹⁵ Women have given birth to the king and all the people who rule over sea and land. ¹⁶ They came from women. Women nourished up those who planted the vineyards, from where the wine comes..." ¹⁶ ...They came from women. Women nourished up those who planted the vineyards, from where the wine comes. ¹⁷ Women also make garments for men. These bring glory to men. Without women, men can’t exist. ¹⁸ Yes,

456 and if men have gathered together gold and silver and any other beautiful thing, and see a woman who is lovely in appearance and beauty, ¹⁹ they let all those things go and gape at her, and with open mouth stare at her. They all have more desire for her than for gold, or silver, or any other beautiful thing. ²⁰ A man leaves his own father who brought him up, leaves his own country, and joins with his wife. ²¹ With his wife he ends his days, with no thought for his father, mother, or country. ²² By this also you must know that women have dominion over you. Don’t you labor and toil, and bring it all to give to women? ²³ Yes, a man takes his sword and goes out to travel, to rob, to steal, and to sail on the sea and on rivers. ²⁴ He sees a lion and walks in the darkness. When he has stolen, plundered, and robbed, he brings it to the woman he loves. ²⁵ Therefore a man loves his wife better than father or mother. ²⁶ Yes, there are many who have lost their minds for women, and become slaves for their sakes. ²⁷ Many also have perished, have stumbled, and sinned, for women. ²⁸ Now don’t you believe me? Isn’t the king great in his power? Don’t all regions fear to touch him? ²⁹ Yet I saw him and Apame the king’s concubine, the daughter of the illustrious Barticus, sitting at the right hand of the king, ³⁰ and taking the crown from the king’s head, and setting it upon her own head. Yes, she struck the king with her left hand. ³¹ At this, the king gaped and gazed at her with open mouth. If she smiles at him, he laughs. But if she takes any displeasure at him, he flatters her, that she might be reconciled to him again. ³² O sirs, how can it not be that women are strong, seeing they do this?” ³³ Then the king and the nobles looked at one another. So he began to speak concerning truth. ³⁴ “O sirs, aren’t women strong? The earth is great. The sky is high. The sun is swift in its course, for it circles around the sky, and returns on its course again in one day. ³⁵ Isn’t he who makes these things great? Therefore the truth is great, and stronger than all things. ³⁶ All the earth calls upon truth, and the sky blesses truth. All works shake and tremble, but with truth there is no unrighteous thing. ³⁷ Wine is unrighteous. The king is unrighteous. Women are unrighteous. All the children of men are unrighteous, and all their works are unrighteous. There is no truth in them. They shall also perish in their unrighteousness. ³⁸ But truth remains, and is strong forever. Truth lives and conquers forevermore. ³⁹ With truth there is no partiality toward persons or rewards, but truth does the things that are just, instead of any unrighteous or wicked things. All men approve truth’s works. ⁴⁰ In truth’s judgment is not any unrighteousness. Truth is the strength, the kingdom, the power, and the majesty of all ages. Blessed be the God of truth!” ⁴¹ With that, he stopped speaking. Then all the people shouted and said, “Great is truth, and strong above all things!” ⁴² Then the king said to him, “Ask what you wish, even more than is appointed in writing, and we will give it to you, because you are found wisest. You shall sit next to me, and shall be called my cousin.” ⁴³ Then he said to the king, “Remember your vow, which you vowed to build Jerusalem, in the day when you came to your kingdom, ⁴⁴ and to send back all the vessels that were taken out of Jerusalem, which Cyrus set apart when he vowed to destroy Babylon, and vowed to send them back there.

ings!” ⁴² Then the king said to him, “Ask what you wish, even more than is appointed in writing, and we will give it to you, because you are found wisest. You shall sit next to me, and shall be called my cousin.” ⁴³ Then he said to the king, “Remember your vow, which you vowed to build Jerusalem, in the day when you came to your kingdom, ⁴⁴ and to send back all the vessels that were taken out of Jerusalem, which Cyrus set apart when he vowed to destroy Babylon, and vowed to send them back there. ⁴⁵ You also vowed to build the temple which the Edomites burned when Judea was made desolate by the Chaldeans. ⁴⁶ Now, O lord the king, this is what I request, and what I desire of you, and this is the princely generosity that may proceed from you: I ask therefore that you make good the vow, the performance of which you have vowed to the King of Heaven with your own mouth.” ⁴⁷ Then King Darius stood up, kissed him, and wrote letters for him to all the treasurers and governors and captains and local governors, that they should safely bring on their way both him, and all those who would go up with him to build Jerusalem. ⁴⁸ He wrote letters also to all the governors who were in Coelesyria and Phoenicia, and to them in Libanus, that they should bring cedar wood from Libanus to Jerusalem, and that they should help him build the city. ⁴⁹ Moreover he wrote for all the Jews who would go out of his realm up into Judea concerning their freedom, that no officer, no governor, no local governor, nor treasurer, should forcibly enter into their doors, ⁵⁰ and that all the country which they occupied should be free to them without tribute, and that the Edomites

457 should give up the villages of the Jews which they held at that time, ⁵¹ and that there should be given twenty talents yearly toward the building of the temple, until the time that it was built, ⁵² and another ten talents yearly for burnt offerings to be presented upon the altar every day, as they had a commandment to make seventeen offerings, ⁵³ and that all those who would come from Babylonia to build the city should have their freedom—they and their descendants, and all the priests that came. ⁵⁴ He wrote also to give them their support and the priests’ vestments in which they minister. ⁵⁵ For the Levites he wrote that their support should be given them until the day that the house was finished and Jerusalem built up. ⁵⁶ He commanded that land and wages should be given to all who guarded the city. ⁵⁷ He also sent away all the vessels from Babylon that Cyrus had set apart, and all that Cyrus had given in commandment, he commanded also to be done and to be sent to Jerusalem. ⁵⁸ Now when this young man had gone out, he lifted up his face to heaven toward Jerusalem, and praised the King of heaven, ⁵⁹ and said, “From you comes victory. From you comes wisdom. Yours is the glory, and I am your servant. ⁶⁰ Blessed are you, who have given me wisdom. I give thanks to you, O Lord of our fathers. ⁶¹ So he took the letters, went out, came to Babylon, and told it all his kindred. ⁶² They praised the God of their ancestors, because he had given them freedom and liberty ⁶³ to go up and to build Jerusalem and the temple which is called by his name. They feasted with instruments of music and gladness seven days. Esdras 1 Chapter 5 ¹ After this, the chiefs of fathers’ houses were chosen to go up according to their tribes, with their wives, sons, and daughters, with their menservants and maidservants, and their livestock. ² Darius sent with them one thousand cavalry to bring them back to Jerusalem with peace, with musical instruments, drums, and flutes. ³ All their kindred were making merry, and he made them go up together with them. ⁴ These are the names of the men who went up, according to their families among their tribes, after their several divisions. ⁵ The priests, the sons of Phinees, the sons of Aaron: Jesus the son of Josedek, the son of Saraias, and Joakim the son of Zorobabel, the son of Salathiel, of the house of David, of the lineage of Phares, of the tribe of Judah, ⁶ who spoke wise words before Darius the king of Persia in the second year of his reign, in the month Nisan, which is the first month. ⁷ These are the of Judeans who came up from the captivity, where they lived as foreigners, whom Nabuchodonosor the king of Babylon had carried away to Babylon. ⁸ They returned to Jerusalem and to the other parts of Judea, every man to his own city, who came with Zorobabel, with Jesus, Nehemias, Zaraias, Resaias, Eneneus, Mardocheus, Beelsarus, Aspharsus, Reelias, Roimus, and Baana, their leaders.

us the king of Persia in the second year of his reign, in the month Nisan, which is the first month. ⁷ These are the of Judeans who came up from the captivity, where they lived as foreigners, whom Nabuchodonosor the king of Babylon had carried away to Babylon. ⁸ They returned to Jerusalem and to the other parts of Judea, every man to his own city, who came with Zorobabel, with Jesus, Nehemias, Zaraias, Resaias, Eneneus, Mardocheus, Beelsarus, Aspharsus, Reelias, Roimus, and Baana, their leaders. ⁹ The number of them of the nation and their leaders: the sons of Phoros, two thousand one hundred seventy two; the sons of Saphat, four hundred seventy two; ¹⁰ the sons of Ares, seven hundred fifty six; ¹¹ the sons of Phaath Moab, of the sons of Jesus and Joab, two thousand eight hundred twelve; ¹² the sons of Elam, one thousand two hundred fifty four; the sons of Zathui, nine hundred forty five; the sons of Chorbe, seven hundred five; the sons of Bani, six hundred forty eight; ¹³ the sons of Bebai, six hundred twenty three; the sons of Astad, one thousand three hundred twenty two; ¹⁴ the sons of Adonikam, six hundred sixty seven; the sons of Bagoi, two thousand sixty six; the sons of Adinu, four hundred fifty four; ¹⁵ the sons of Ater, of Ezekias, ninety two; the sons of Kilan and Azetas, sixty seven; the sons of Azaru, four hundred thirty two; ¹⁶ the sons of Annis, one hundred one; the sons of Arom, the sons of Bassai, three hundred twenty three; the sons of Arsiphurith, one hundred twelve; ¹⁷ the sons of Baiterus, three thousand five; the sons of Bethlomon, one hundred twenty three; ¹⁸ those from Netophas, fifty five; those from Anathoth, one hundred fifty eight; those from Bethasmoth, forty two; ¹⁹ those from Kariathiarius, twenty five: those from Caphira and Beroth, seven hundred forty three; ²⁰ the Chadiasai and Ammidioi, four hundred twenty two; those from Kirama and Gabbe, six hundred twenty one; ²¹ those from Macalon, one hundred twenty two; those from Betolion,

458 fifty two; the sons of Niphis, one hundred fifty six; ²² the sons of Calamolalus and Onus, seven hundred twenty five; the sons of Jerechu, three hundred forty five; ²³ and the sons of Sanaas, three thousand three hundred thirty... ²⁴ The priests: the sons of Jeddu, the son of Jesus, among the sons of Sanasib, nine hundred seventy two; the sons of Emmeruth, one thousand fifty two; ²⁵ the sons of Phassurus, one thousand two hundred forty seven; and the sons of Charme, one thousand seventeen. ²⁶ The Levites: the sons of Jesus, Kadmiel, Bannas, and Sudias, seventy four. ²⁷ The holy singers: the sons of Asaph, one hundred twenty eight. ²⁸ The gatekeepers: the sons of Salum, the sons of Atar, the sons of Tolman, the sons of Dacubi, the sons of Ateta, the sons of Sabi, in all one hundred thirty nine. ²⁹ The temple servants: the sons of Esau, the sons of Asipha, the sons of Tabaoth, the sons of Keras, the sons of Sua, the sons of Phaleas, the sons of Labana, the sons of Aggaba. ³⁰ the sons of Acud, the sons of Uta, the sons of Ketab, the sons of Accaba, the sons of Subai, the sons of Anan, the sons of Cathua, the sons of Geddur, ³¹ the sons of Jairus, the sons of Daisan, the sons of Noeba, the sons of Chaseba, the sons of Gazera, the sons of Ozias, the sons of Phinoe, the sons of Asara, the sons of Basthai, the sons of Asana, the sons of Maani, the sons of Naphisi, the sons of Acub, the sons of Achipha, the sons of Asur, the sons of Pharakim, the sons of Basaloth, ³² the sons of Meedda, the sons of Cutha, the sons of Charea, the sons of Barchus, the sons of Serar, the sons of Thomei, the sons of Nasi, the sons of Atipha. ³³ The sons of the servants of Solomon: the sons of Assaphioth, the sons of Pharida, the sons of Jeeli, the sons of Lozon, the sons of Isdael, the sons of Saphuthi, ³⁴ the sons of Agia, the sons of Phacareth, the sons of Sabie, the sons of Sarothie, the sons of Masias, the sons of Gas, the sons of Addus, the sons of Subas, the sons of Apherra, the sons of Barodis, the sons of Saphat, the sons of Allon. ³⁵ All the temple- servants and the sons of the servants of Solomon were three hundred seventy two. ³⁶ These came up from Thermeleth, and Thelersas, Charaathalan leading them, and Allar; ³⁷ and they could not show their families, nor their stock, how they were of Israel: the sons of Dalan the son of Ban, the sons of Nekodan, six hundred fifty two. ³⁸ Of the priests, those who usurped the office of the priesthood and were not found: the sons of Obdia, the sons of Akkos, the sons of Jaddus, who married Augia one of the daughters of Zorzelleus, and was called after his name. ³⁹ When the description of the kindred of these men was sought in the register and was not found, they were removed from executing the office of the priesthood; ⁴⁰ for Nehemias and Attharias told them that they should not be partakers of the holy things until a high priest wearing Urim and Thummim should arise. ⁴¹ So all those of Israel, from twelve years old and upward, beside menservants and women servants, were in number forty two thousand three hundred sixty. ⁴² Their menservants and handmaids were seven thousand three hundred thirty and seven; the minstrels and singers, two hundred forty five; ⁴³ four hundred thirty and five camels, seven thousand thirty six horses, two hundred forty five mules, and five thousand five hundred twenty five beasts of burden. ⁴⁴ And some of the chief men of their families, when they came to the temple of God that is in Jerusalem, vowed to set up the house again in its own place according to their ability, ⁴⁵ and to give into the holy treasury of the works one thousand minas of gold, five thousand minas of silver, and one hundred priestly vestments. ⁴⁶ The priests and the Levites and some of the people lived in Jerusalem and the country. The holy singers also and the gatekeepers and all Israel lived in their villages.

⁴⁴ And some of the chief men of their families, when they came to the temple of God that is in Jerusalem, vowed to set up the house again in its own place according to their ability, ⁴⁵ and to give into the holy treasury of the works one thousand minas of gold, five thousand minas of silver, and one hundred priestly vestments. ⁴⁶ The priests and the Levites and some of the people lived in Jerusalem and the country. The holy singers also and the gatekeepers and all Israel lived in their villages. ⁴⁷ But when the seventh month was at hand, and when the children of Israel were each in their own place, they all came together with one purpose into the broad place before the first porch which is toward the east. ⁴⁸ Then Jesus the son of Josedek, his kindred the priests, Zorobabel the son of Salathiel, and his kindred stood up and made the altar of the God of Israel ready ⁴⁹ to offer burned sacrifices upon it, in accordance with the express commands in the book of Moses the man of God. ⁵⁰ Some people joined them out of the other nations of the land, and they erected the altar upon its own place, because all the nations of the land were hostile to them and oppressed them; and they offered sacrifices at the proper times and burnt offerings to the

459 Lord both morning and evening. ⁵¹ They also held the feast of tabernacles, as it is commanded in the law, and offered sacrifices daily, as appropriate. ⁵² After that, they offered the continual oblations and the sacrifices of the Sabbaths, of the new moons, and of all the consecrated feasts. ⁵³ All those who had made any vow to God began to offer sacrifices to God from the new moon of the seventh month, although the temple of God was not yet built. ⁵⁴ They gave money, food, and drink to the masons and carpenters. ⁵⁵ They also gave carts to the people of Sidon and Tyre, that they should bring cedar trees from Libanus, and convey them in rafts to the harbor of Joppa, according to the commandment which was written for them by Cyrus king of the Persians. ⁵⁶ In the second year after his coming to the temple of God at Jerusalem, in the second month, Zorobabel the son of Salathiel, Jesus the son of Josedek, their kindred, the Levitical priests, and all those who had come to Jerusalem out of the captivity began work. ⁵⁷ They laid the foundation of God’s temple on the new moon of the second month, in the second year after they had come to Judea and Jerusalem. ⁵⁸ They appointed the Levites who were at least twenty years old over the Lord’s works. Then Jesus, with his sons and kindred, Kadmiel his brother, the sons of Jesus, Emadabun, and the sons of Joda the son of Iliadun, and their sons and kindred, all the Levites, with one accord stood up and started the business, laboring to advance the works in the house of God. So the builders built the Lord’s temple. ⁵⁹ The priests stood arrayed in their vestments with musical instruments and trumpets, and the Levites the sons of Asaph with their cymbals, ⁶⁰ singing songs of thanksgiving and praising the Lord, according to the directions of King David of Israel. ⁶¹ They sang aloud, praising the Lord in songs of thanksgiving, because his goodness and his glory are forever in all Israel. ⁶² All the people sounded trumpets and shouted with a loud voice, singing songs of thanksgiving to the Lord for the raising up of the Lord’s house. ⁶³ Some of the Levitical priests and of the heads of their families, the elderly who had seen the former house came to the building of this one with lamentation and great weeping. ⁶⁴ But many with trumpets and joy shouted with a loud voice, ⁶⁵ so that the people couldn’t hear the trumpets for the weeping of the people, for the multitude sounded loudly, so that it was heard far away. ⁶⁶ Therefore when the enemies of the tribe of Judah and Benjamin heard it, they came to know what that noise of trumpets meant. ⁶⁷ They learned that those who returned from captivity built the temple for the Lord, the God of Israel. ⁶⁸ So they went to Zorobabel and Jesus, and to the chief men of the families, and said to them, “We will build together with you. ⁶⁹ For we, just like you, obey your Lord, and sacrifice to him from the days of King Asbasareth of the Assyrians, who brought us here.” ⁷⁰ Then Zorobabel, Jesus and the chief men of the families of Israel said to them, “It is not for you to build the house for the Lord our God. ⁷¹ We ourselves alone will build for the Lord of Israel, as King Cyrus of the Persians has commanded us.” ⁷² But the heathen of the land pressed hard upon the inhabitants of Judea, cut off their supplies, and hindered their building. ⁷³ By their secret plots, and popular persuasions and commotions, they hindered the finishing of the building all the time that King Cyrus lived. So they were hindered from building for two years, until the reign of Darius. Esdras 1 Chapter 6 ¹ Now in the second year of the reign of Darius, Aggaeus and Zacharius the son of Addo, the prophets, prophesied to the Jews in Judea and Jerusalem in the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. ² Then Zorobabel the son of Salathiel and Jesus the son of Josedek stood up and began to build the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, the prophets of the Lord being with them and helping them.

hat King Cyrus lived. So they were hindered from building for two years, until the reign of Darius. Esdras 1 Chapter 6 ¹ Now in the second year of the reign of Darius, Aggaeus and Zacharius the son of Addo, the prophets, prophesied to the Jews in Judea and Jerusalem in the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. ² Then Zorobabel the son of Salathiel and Jesus the son of Josedek stood up and began to build the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, the prophets of the Lord being with them and helping them. ³ At the same time Sisinnes the governor of Syria and Phoenicia came to them, with Sathrabuzanes and his companions, and said to them, ⁴“By whose authority do you build this house and this roof, and perform all the other things? Who are the builders who do these things?” ⁵ Nevertheless, the elders of the Jews obtained favor, because the Lord had visited the captives; ⁶

460 and they were not hindered from building until such time as communication was made to Darius concerning them, and his answer received. ⁷ A copy of the letter which Sisinnes, governor of Syria and Phoenicia, and Sathrabuzanes, with their companions, the rulers in Syria and Phoenicia, wrote and sent to Darius: ⁸“To King Darius, greetings. Let it be fully known to our lord the king, that having come into the country of Judea, and entered into the city of Jerusalem, we found in the city of Jerusalem the elders of the Jews that were of the captivity ⁹ building a great new house for the Lord of hewn and costly stones, with timber laid in the walls. ¹⁰ Those works are being done with great speed. The work goes on prosperously in their hands, and it is being accomplished with all glory and diligence. ¹¹ Then asked we these elders, saying, ‘By whose authority are you building this house and laying the foundations of these works?’ ¹² Therefore, to the intent that we might give knowledge to you by writing who were the leaders, we questioned them, and we required of them the names in writing of their principal men. ¹³ So they gave us this answer, ‘We are the servants of the Lord who made heaven and earth. ¹⁴ As for this house, it was built many years ago by a great and strong king of Israel, and was finished. ¹⁵ But when our fathers sinned against the Lord of Israel who is in heaven, and provoked him to wrath, he gave them over into the hands of King Nabuchodonosor of Babylon, king of the Chaldeans. ¹⁶ They pulled down the house, burned it, and carried away the people captive to Babylon. ¹⁷ But in the first year that Cyrus reigned over the country of Babylon, King Cyrus wrote that this house should be rebuilt. ¹⁸ The holy vessels of gold and of silver that Nabuchodonosor had carried away out of the house at Jerusalem and had set up in his own temple, those King Cyrus brought out of the temple in Babylonia, and they were delivered to Zorobabel and to Sanabassarus the governor, ¹⁹ with commandment that he should carry away all these vessels, and put them in the temple at Jerusalem, and that the Lord’s temple should be built on its site. ²⁰ Then Sanabassarus, having come here, laid the foundations of the Lord’s house which is in Jerusalem. From that time to this we are still building. It is not yet fully completed.’ ²¹ Now therefore, if it seems good, O king, let a search be made among the royal archives of our lord the king that are in Babylon. ²² If it is found that the building of the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem has been done with the consent of King Cyrus, and it seems good to our lord the king, let him send us directions concerning these things.” ²³ Then King Darius commanded that a search be made among the archives that were laid up at Babylon. So at Ekbatana the palace, which is in the country of Media, a scroll was found where these things were recorded: ²⁴“In the first year of the reign of Cyrus, King Cyrus commanded to build up the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem, where they sacrifice with continual fire. ²⁵ Its height shall be sixty cubits, and the breadth sixty cubits, with three rows of hewn stones, and one row of new wood from that country. Its expenses are to be given out of the house of King Cyrus. ²⁶ The holy vessels of the house of the Lord, both gold and silver, that Nabuchodonosor took out of the house at Jerusalem and carried away to Babylon, should be restored to the house at Jerusalem, and be set in the place where they were before.” ²⁷ Also he commanded that Sisinnes the governor of Syria and Phoenicia, and Sathrabuzanes, and their companions, and those who were appointed rulers in Syria and Phoenicia, should be careful not to meddle with the place, but allow Zorobabel, the servant of the Lord, and governor of Judea, and the elders of the Jews, to build that house of the Lord in its place.

at Jerusalem and carried away to Babylon, should be restored to the house at Jerusalem, and be set in the place where they were before.” ²⁷ Also he commanded that Sisinnes the governor of Syria and Phoenicia, and Sathrabuzanes, and their companions, and those who were appointed rulers in Syria and Phoenicia, should be careful not to meddle with the place, but allow Zorobabel, the servant of the Lord, and governor of Judea, and the elders of the Jews, to build that house of the Lord in its place. ²⁸“I also command to have it built up whole again; and that they look diligently to help those who are of the captivity of Judea, until the house of the Lord is finished, ²⁹ and that out of the tribute of Coelesyria and Phoenicia a portion shall be carefully given to these men for the sacrifices of the Lord, that is, to Zorobabel the governor for bulls, rams, and lambs, ³⁰ and also corn, salt, wine and oil, and that continually every year without further question, according as the priests who are in Jerusalem may direct to be daily spent, ³¹ that drink offerings may be made to the Most High God for the king and for his children, and that they may pray for their lives.” ³² He commanded that whoever should transgress, yes, or

461 neglect anything written here, a beam shall be taken out of his own house, and he shall be hanged on it, and all his goods seized for the king. ³³“Therefore may the Lord, whose name is called upon there, utterly destroy every king and nation that stretches out his hand to hinder or damage that house of the Lord in Jerusalem. ³⁴ I, King Darius have ordained that these things be done with diligence.” Esdras 1 Chapter 7 ¹ Then Sisinnes the governor of Coelesyria and Phoenicia, and Sathrabuzanes, with their companions, following the commandments of King Darius, ² very carefully supervised the holy work, assisting the elders of the Jews and rulers of the temple. ³ So the holy work prospered, while Aggaeus and Zacharias the prophets prophesied. ⁴ They finished these things by the commandment of the Lord, the God of Israel, and with the consent of Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes, kings of the Persians. ⁵ So the holy house was finished by the twenty-third day of the month Adar, in the sixth year of King Darius. ⁶ The children of Israel, the priests, the Levites, and the others who returned from captivity who joined them did what was written in the book of Moses. ⁷ For the dedication of the Lord’s temple, they offered one hundred bulls, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs, ⁸ and twelve male goats for the sin of all Israel, according to the number of the twelve princes of the tribes of Israel. ⁹ The priests and the Levites stood arrayed in their vestments, according to their kindred, for the services of the Lord, the God of Israel, according to the book of Moses. The gatekeepers were at every gate. ¹⁰ The children of Israel who came out of captivity held the Passover the fourteenth day of the first month, when the priests and the Levites were sanctified together, ¹¹ with all those who returned from captivity; for they were sanctified. For the Levites were all sanctified together, ¹² and they offered the Passover for all who returned from captivity, for their kindred the priests, and for themselves. ¹³ The children of Israel who came out of the captivity ate, even all those who had separated themselves from the abominations of the heathen of the land, and sought the Lord. ¹⁴ They kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days, rejoicing before the Lord, ¹⁵ because he had turned the counsel of the king of Assyria toward them, to strengthen their hands in the works of the Lord, the God of Israel. Esdras 1 Chapter 8 ¹ After these things, when Artaxerxes the king of the Persians reigned, Esdras came, who was the son of Azaraias, the son of Zechrias, the son of Helkias, ² the son of Salem, the son of Sadduk, the son of Ahitob, the son of Amarias, the son of Ozias, the son of Memeroth, the son of Zaraias, the son of Savias, the son of Boccas, the son of Abisne, the son of Phinees, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the chief priest. ³ This Esdras went up from Babylon as a skilled scribe in the law of Moses, which was given by the God of Israel. ⁴ The king honored him, for he found favor in his sight in all his requests. ⁵ There went up with him also some of the children of Israel, and of the priests, Levites, holy singers, gatekeepers, and temple servants to Jerusalem ⁶ in the seventh year of the reign of Artaxerxes, in the fifth month (this was the king’s seventh year); for they left Babylon on the new moon of the first month and came to Jerusalem, by the prosperous journey which the Lord gave them for his sake. ⁷ For Esdras had very great skill, so that he omitted nothing of the law and commandments of the Lord, but taught all Israel the ordinances and judgments. ⁸ Now the commission, which was written from King Artaxerxes, came to Esdras the priest and reader of the law of the Lord, was as follows: ⁹ “King Artaxerxes to Esdras the priest and reader of the law of the Lord, greetings.

the new moon of the first month and came to Jerusalem, by the prosperous journey which the Lord gave them for his sake. ⁷ For Esdras had very great skill, so that he omitted nothing of the law and commandments of the Lord, but taught all Israel the ordinances and judgments. ⁸ Now the commission, which was written from King Artaxerxes, came to Esdras the priest and reader of the law of the Lord, was as follows: ⁹ “King Artaxerxes to Esdras the priest and reader of the law of the Lord, greetings. ¹⁰ Having determined to deal graciously, I have given orders that those of the nation of the Jews, and of the priests and Levites, and of those within our realm who are willing and freely choose to, should go with you to Jerusalem. ¹¹ As many therefore as are so disposed, let them depart with you, as it has seemed good both to me and my seven friends the

462 counselors, ¹² that they may look to the affairs of Judea and Jerusalem, in accordance with what is in the Lord’s law, ¹³ and carry the gifts to the Lord of Israel to Jerusalem, which I and my friends have vowed, and that all the gold and silver that can be found in the country of Babylonia for the Lord in Jerusalem, ¹⁴ with that also which is given of the people for the temple of the Lord their God that is at Jerusalem, be collected: even the gold and silver for bulls, rams, and lambs, and what goes with them, ¹⁵ to the end that they may offer sacrifices to the Lord upon the altar of the Lord their God, which is in Jerusalem. ¹⁶ Whatever you and your kindred decide to do with gold and silver, do that according to the will of your God. ¹⁷ The holy vessels of the Lord, which are given you for the use of the temple of your God, which is in Jerusalem, ¹⁸ and whatever else you shall remember for the use of the temple of your God, you shall give it out of the king’s treasury. ¹⁹ I, King Artaxerxes, have also commanded the keepers of the treasures in Syria and Phoenicia, that whatever Esdras the priest and reader of the law of the Most High God shall send for, they should give it to him with all diligence, ²⁰ to the sum of one hundred talents of silver, likewise also of wheat even to one hundred cors, and one hundred firkins of wine, and salt in abundance. ²¹ Let all things be performed after God’s law diligently to the most high God, that wrath come not upon the kingdom of the king and his sons. ²² I command you also that no tax, nor any other imposition, be laid upon any of the priests, or Levites, or holy singers, or gatekeepers, or temple servants, or any that have employment in this temple, and that no man has authority to impose any tax on them. ²³ You, Esdras, according to the wisdom of God, ordain judges and justices that they may judge in all Syria and Phoenicia all those who know the law of your God; and those who don’t know it, you shall teach. ²⁴ Whoever transgresses the law of your God and of the king shall be punished diligently, whether it be by death, or other punishment, by penalty of money, or by imprisonment.” ²⁵ Then Esdras the scribe said, “Blessed be the only Lord, the God of my fathers, who has put these things into the heart of the king, to glorify his house that is in Jerusalem, ²⁶ and has honored me in the sight of the king, his counselors, and all his friends and nobles. ²⁷ Therefore I was encouraged by the help of the Lord my God, and gathered together out of Israel men to go up with me. ²⁸ These are the chief according to their families and their several divisions, who went up with me from Babylon in the reign of King Artaxerxes: ²⁹ of the sons of Phinees, Gerson; of the sons of Ithamar, Gamael; of the sons of David, Attus the son of Sechenias; ³⁰ of the sons of Phoros, Zacharais; and with him were counted one hundred fifty men; ³¹ of the sons of Phaath Moab, Eliaonias the son of Zaraias, and with him two hundred men; ³² of the sons of Zathoes, Sechenias the son of Jezelus, and with him three hundred men; of the sons of Adin, Obeth the son of Jonathan, and with him two hundred fifty men; ³³ of the sons of Elam, Jesias son of Gotholias, and with him seventy men; ³⁴ of the sons of Saphatias, Zaraias son of Michael, and with him seventy men; ³⁵ of the sons of Joab, Abadias son of Jehiel. Jezelus, and with him two hundred twelve men; ³⁶ of the sons of Banias, Salimoth son of Josaphias, and with him one hundred sixty men; ³⁷ of the sons of Babi, Zacharias son of Bebai, and with him twenty-eight men; ³⁸ of the sons of Azgad: Astath, Joannes son of Hakkatan Akatan, and with him one hundred ten men; ³⁹ of the sons of Adonikam, the last, and these are the names of them, Eliphalat, Jeuel, and Samaias, and with them seventy men; ⁴⁰ of the sons of Bago, Uthi the son of Istalcurus, and with him seventy men. ⁴¹ I gathered them together to the river called Theras.

imoth son of Josaphias, and with him one hundred sixty men; ³⁷ of the sons of Babi, Zacharias son of Bebai, and with him twenty-eight men; ³⁸ of the sons of Azgad: Astath, Joannes son of Hakkatan Akatan, and with him one hundred ten men; ³⁹ of the sons of Adonikam, the last, and these are the names of them, Eliphalat, Jeuel, and Samaias, and with them seventy men; ⁴⁰ of the sons of Bago, Uthi the son of Istalcurus, and with him seventy men. ⁴¹ I gathered them together to the river called Theras. There we pitched our tents three days, and I inspected them. ⁴² When I had found there none of the priests and Levites, ⁴³ then sent I to Eleazar, Iduel, Maasmas, ⁴⁴ Elnathan, Samaias, Joribus, Nathan, Ennatan, Zacharias, and Mosollamus, principal men and men of understanding. ⁴⁵ I asked them to go to Loddeus the captain, who was in the place of the treasury, ⁴⁶ and commanded them that they should speak to Loddeus, to his kindred, and to the treasurers in that place, to send us such men as might execute the priests’ office in our Lord’s house. ⁴⁷ By the mighty hand of our Lord, they brought to us men of understanding of the sons of Mooli the son of Levi, the son of Israel, Asebebias, and his sons,

463 and his kindred, who were eighteen, ⁴⁸ and Asebias, Annuus, and Osaias his brother, of the sons of Chanuneus, and their sons were twenty men; ⁴⁹ and of the temple servants whom David and the principal men had appointed for the servants of the Levites, two hundred twenty temple servants. The list of all their names was reported. ⁵⁰ There I vowed a fast for the young men before our Lord, to seek from him a prosperous journey both for us and for our children and livestock that were with us; ⁵¹ for I was ashamed to ask of the king infantry, cavalry, and an escort for protection against our adversaries. ⁵² For we had said to the king that the power of our Lord would be with those who seek him, to support them in all ways. ⁵³ Again we prayed to our Lord about these things, and found him to be merciful. ⁵⁴ Then I set apart twelve men of the chiefs of the priests, Eserebias, Assamias, and ten men of their kindred with them. ⁵⁵ I weighed out to them the silver, the gold, and the holy vessels of the house of our Lord, which the king, his counselors, the nobles, and all Israel had given. ⁵⁶ When I had weighed it, I delivered to them six hundred fifty talents of silver, silver vessels weighing one hundred talents, one hundred talents of gold, ⁵⁷ twenty golden vessels, and twelve vessels of brass, even of fine brass, glittering like gold. ⁵⁸ I said to them, “You are holy to the Lord, the vessels are holy, and the gold and the silver are a vow to the Lord, the Lord of our fathers. ⁵⁹ Watch and keep them until you deliver them to the chiefs of the priests and Levites, and to the principal men of the families of Israel in Jerusalem, in the chambers of our Lord’s house.” ⁶⁰ So the priests and the Levites who received the silver, the gold, and the vessels which were in Jerusalem, brought them into the temple of the Lord. ⁶¹ We left the river Theras on the twelfth day of the first month. We came to Jerusalem by the mighty hand of our Lord which was upon us. The Lord delivered us from every enemy on the way, and so we came to Jerusalem. ⁶² When we had been there three days, the silver and gold was weighed and delivered in our Lord’s house on the fourth day to Marmoth the priest the son of Urias. ⁶³ With him was Eleazar the son of Phinees, and with them were Josabdus the son of Jesus and Moeth the son of Sabannus, the Levites. All was delivered to them by number and weight. ⁶⁴ All the weight of them was recorded at the same hour. ⁶⁵ Moreover those who had come out of captivity offered sacrifices to the Lord, the God of Israel, even twelve bulls for all Israel, ninety-six rams, ⁶⁶ seventy- two lambs, and twelve goats for a peace offering—all of them a sacrifice to the Lord. ⁶⁷ They delivered the king’s commandments to the king’s stewards and to the governors of Coelesyria and Phoenicia; and they honored the people and the temple of the Lord. ⁶⁸ Now when these things were done, the principal men came to me and said, ⁶⁹ “The nation of Israel, the princes, the priests, and the Levites haven’t put away from themselves the foreign people of the land nor the uncleannesses of the Gentiles—the Canaanites, Hittites, Pherezites, Jebusites, Moabites, Egyptians, and Edomites. ⁷⁰ For both they and their sons have married with their daughters, and the holy seed is mixed with the foreign people of the land. From the beginning of this matter the rulers and the nobles have been partakers of this iniquity.” ⁷¹ And as soon as I had heard these things, I tore my clothes and my holy garment, and plucked the hair from off my head and beard, and sat down sad and full of heaviness. ⁷² So all those who were moved at the word of the Lord, the God of Israel, assembled to me while I mourned for the iniquity, but I sat still full of heaviness until the evening sacrifice.

ixed with the foreign people of the land. From the beginning of this matter the rulers and the nobles have been partakers of this iniquity.” ⁷¹ And as soon as I had heard these things, I tore my clothes and my holy garment, and plucked the hair from off my head and beard, and sat down sad and full of heaviness. ⁷² So all those who were moved at the word of the Lord, the God of Israel, assembled to me while I mourned for the iniquity, but I sat still full of heaviness until the evening sacrifice. ⁷³ Then rising up from the fast with my clothes and my holy garment torn, and bowing my knees and stretching out my hands to the Lord, ⁷⁴ I said, “O Lord, I am ashamed and confounded before your face, ⁷⁵ for our sins are multiplied above our heads, and our errors have reached up to heaven ⁷⁶ ever since the time of our fathers. We are in great sin, even to this day. ⁷⁷ For our sins and our fathers’ we with our kindred, our kings, and our priests were given up to the kings of the earth, to the sword, and to captivity, and for a prey with shame, to this day. ⁷⁸ Now in some measure mercy has been shown to us from you, O Lord, that there should be left us a root and a name in the place of your sanctuary, ⁷⁹ and to uncover a light in the house of the Lord our God, and to give us food in the time of our servitude. ⁸⁰ Yes, when we were in

464 bondage, we were not forsaken by our Lord, but he gave us favor before the kings of Persia, so that they gave us food, ⁸¹ glorified the temple of our Lord, and raised up the desolate Zion, to give us a sure dwelling in Judea and Jerusalem. ⁸² “Now, O Lord, what shall we say, having these things? For we have transgressed your commandments which you gave by the hand of your servants the prophets, saying, ⁸³ ‘The land, which you enter into to possess as an inheritance, is a land polluted with the pollutions of the foreigners of the land, and they have filled it with their uncleanness. ⁸⁴ Therefore now you shall not join your daughters to their sons, neither shall you take their daughters for your sons. ⁸⁵ You shall never seek to have peace with them, that you may be strong, and eat the good things of the land, and that you may leave it for an inheritance to your children for evermore.’ ⁸⁶ All that has happened is done to us for our wicked works and great sins, for you, O Lord, made our sins light, ⁸⁷ and gave to us such a root; but we have turned back again to transgress your law in mingling ourselves with the uncleanness of the heathen of the land. ⁸⁸ You weren’t angry with us to destroy us until you had left us neither root, seed, nor name. ⁸⁹ O Lord of Israel, you are true, for we are left a root this day. ⁹⁰ Behold, now we are before you in our iniquities, for we can’t stand any longer before you because of these things.” ⁹¹ As Esdras in his prayer made his confession, weeping, and lying flat on the ground before the temple, a very great throng of men, women, and children gathered to him from Jerusalem; for there was great weeping among the multitude. ⁹² Then Jechonias the son of Jeelus, one of the sons of Israel, called out, and said, “O Esdras, we have sinned against the Lord God, we have married foreign women of the heathen of the land, but there is still hope for Israel. ⁹³ Let’s make an oath to the Lord about this, that we will put away all our foreign wives with their children, ⁹⁴ as seems good to you, and to as many as obey the Lord’s Law. ⁹⁵ Arise, and take action, for this is your task, and we will be with you to do valiantly.” ⁹⁶ So Esdras arose, and took an oath from the chief of the priests and Levites of all Israel to do these things; and they swore to it. Esdras 1 Chapter 9 ¹ Then Esdras rose up from the court of the temple and went to the chamber of Jonas the son of Eliasib, ² and lodged there, and ate no bread and drank no water, mourning for the great iniquities of the multitude. ³ A proclamation was made in all Judea and Jerusalem to all those who returned from captivity, that they should be gathered together at Jerusalem, ⁴ and that whoever didn’t meet there within two or three days, in accordance with the ruling of the elders, that their livestock would be seized for the use of the temple, and they would be expelled from the multitude of those who returned from captivity. ⁵ Within three days, all those of the tribe of Judah and Benjamin gathered together at Jerusalem. This was the ninth month, on the twentieth day of the month. ⁶ All the multitude sat together shivering in the broad place before the temple because of the present foul weather. ⁷ So Esdras arose up and said to them, “You have transgressed the law and married foreign wives, increasing the sins of Israel. ⁸ Now make confession and give glory to the Lord, the God of our fathers, ⁹ and do his will, and separate yourselves from the heathen of the land, and from the foreign women.” ¹⁰ Then the whole multitude cried out, and said with a loud voice, “Just as you have spoken, so we will do.

ther shivering in the broad place before the temple because of the present foul weather. ⁷ So Esdras arose up and said to them, “You have transgressed the law and married foreign wives, increasing the sins of Israel. ⁸ Now make confession and give glory to the Lord, the God of our fathers, ⁹ and do his will, and separate yourselves from the heathen of the land, and from the foreign women.” ¹⁰ Then the whole multitude cried out, and said with a loud voice, “Just as you have spoken, so we will do. ¹¹ But because the multitude is great, and it is foul weather, so that we can’t stand outside, and this is not a work of one day or two, seeing our sin in these things has spread far, ¹² therefore let the rulers of the multitude stay, and let all those of our settlements that have foreign wives come at the time appointed, ¹³ and with them the rulers and judges of every place, until we turn away the wrath of the Lord from us for this matter.” ¹⁴ So Jonathan the son of Azael and Ezekias the son of Thocanus took the matter on themselves. Mosollamus and Levis and Sabbateus were judges with them. ¹⁵ Those who returned from captivity did according to all these things. ¹⁶ Esdras the priest chose for himself principal men of their families, all by name. On the new moon of the tenth month they met together to examine the matter. ¹⁷ So their

465 cases of men who had foreign wives was brought to an end by the new moon of the first month. ¹⁸ Of the priests who had come together and had foreign wives, there were found ¹⁹ of the sons of Jesus the son of Josedek, and his kindred, Mathelas, Eleazar, and Joribus, and Joadanus. ²⁰ They gave their hands to put away their wives, and to offer rams to make reconciliation for their error. ²¹ Of the sons of Emmer: Ananias, Zabdeus, Manes, Sameus, Hiereel, and Azarias. ²² Of the sons of Phaisur: Elionas, Massias, Ishmael, Nathanael, Ocidelus, and Saloas. ²³ Of the Levites: Jozabdus, Semeis, Colius who was called Calitas, Patheus, Judas, and Jonas. ²⁴ Of the holy singers: Eliasibus and Bacchurus. ²⁵ Of the gatekeepers: Sallumus and Tolbanes. ²⁶ Of Israel, of the sons of Phoros: Hiermas, Ieddias, Melchias, Maelus, Eleazar, Asibas, and Banneas. ²⁷ Of the sons of Ela: Matthanias, Zacharias, Jezrielus, Oabdius, Hieremoth, and Aedias. ²⁸ Of the sons of Zamoth: Eliadas, Eliasimus, Othonias, Jarimoth, Sabathus, and Zardeus. ²⁹ Of the sons of Bebai: Joannes, Ananias, Jozabdus, and Ematheis. ³⁰ Of the sons of Mani: Olamus, Mamuchus, Jedeus, Jasubas, Jasaelus, and Hieremoth. ³¹ Of the sons of Addi: Naathus, Moossias, Laccunus, Naidus, Matthanias, Sesthel, Balnuus, and Manasseas. ³² Of the sons of Annas: Elionas, Aseas, Melchias, Sabbeus, and Simon Chosameus. ³³ Of the sons of Asom: Maltanneus, Mattathias, Sabanneus, Eliphalat, Manasses, and Semei. ³⁴ Of the sons of Baani: Jeremias, Momdis, Ismaerus, Juel, Mamdai, Pedias, Anos, Carabasion, Enasibus, Mamnitamenus, Eliasis, Bannus, Eliali, Someis, Selemias, and Nathanias. Of the sons of Ezora: Sesis, Ezril, Azaelus, Samatus, Zambri, and Josephus. ³⁵ Of the sons of Nooma: Mazitias, Zabadeas, Edos, Juel, and Banaias. ³⁶ All these had taken foreign wives, and they put them away with their children. ³⁷ The priests and Levites, and those who were of Israel, lived in Jerusalem and in the country, on the new moon of the seventh month, and the children of Israel in their settlements. ³⁸ The whole multitude gathered together with one accord into the broad place before the porch of the temple toward the east. ³⁹ They said to Esdras the priest and reader, “Bring the law of Moses that was given by the Lord, the God of Israel.” ⁴⁰ So Esdras the chief priest brought the law to the whole multitude both of men and women, and to all the priests, to hear the law on the new moon of the seventh month. ⁴¹ He read in the broad place before the porch of the temple from morning until midday, before both men and women; and all the multitude gave attention to the law. ⁴² Esdras the priest and reader of the law stood up upon the pulpit of wood which had been prepared. ⁴³ Beside him stood Mattathias, Sammus, Ananias, Azarias, Urias, Ezekias, and Baalsamus on the right hand, ⁴⁴ and on his left hand, Phaldeus, Misael, Melchias, Lothasubus, Nabarias, and Zacharias. ⁴⁵ Then Esdras took the book of the law before the multitude, and sat honorably in the first place before all. ⁴⁶ When he opened the law, they all stood straight up. So Esdras blessed the Lord God Most High, the God of armies, the Almighty. ⁴⁷ All the people answered, “Amen.” Lifting up their hands, they fell to the ground and worshiped the Lord. ⁴⁸ Also Jesus, Annus, Sarabias, Iadinus, Jacubus, Sabateus, Auteas, Maiannas, Calitas, Azarias, Jozabdus, Ananias, and Phalias, the Levites, taught the law of the Lord, and read to the multitude the law of the Lord, explaining what was read. ⁴⁹ Then Attharates said to Esdras the chief priest and reader, and to the Levites who taught the multitude, even to all, ⁵⁰ “This day is holy to the Lord—now they all wept when they heard the law— ⁵¹ go then, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those who have nothing; ⁵² for the day is holy to the Lord. Don’t be sorrowful, for the Lord will bring you to honor.” ⁵³ So the Levites commanded all things to the people, saying, “This day is holy.

w of the Lord, explaining what was read. ⁴⁹ Then Attharates said to Esdras the chief priest and reader, and to the Levites who taught the multitude, even to all, ⁵⁰ “This day is holy to the Lord—now they all wept when they heard the law— ⁵¹ go then, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those who have nothing; ⁵² for the day is holy to the Lord. Don’t be sorrowful, for the Lord will bring you to honor.” ⁵³ So the Levites commanded all things to the people, saying, “This day is holy. Don’t be sorrowful.” ⁵⁴ Then they went their way, every one to eat, drink, enjoy themselves, to give portions to those who had nothing, and to rejoice greatly, ⁵⁵ because they understood the words they were instructed with, and for which they had been assembled.

466 Esdras II Esdras 2 Chapter 1 ¹The second book of the prophet Esdras, the son of Saraias, the son of Azaraias, the son of Helkias, the son of Salemas, the son of Sadoc, the son of Ahitob, ²the son of Achias, the son of Phinees, the son of Heli, the son of Amarias, the son of Aziei, the son of Marimoth, the son of Arna, the son of Ozias, the son of Borith, the son of Abissei, the son of Phinees, the son of Eleazar, ³the son of Aaron, of the tribe of Levi, who was captive in the land of the Medes, in the reign of Artaxerxes king of the Persians. ⁴The Lord’s word came to me, saying, ⁵“Go your way and show my people their sinful deeds, and their children their wickedness which they have done against me, that they may tell their children’s children, ⁶because the sins of their fathers have increased in them, for they have forgotten me, and have offered sacrifices to foreign gods. ⁷Didn’t I bring them out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage? But they have provoked me to wrath and have despised my counsels. ⁸So pull out the hair of your head and cast all evils upon them, for they have not been obedient to my law, but they are a rebellious people. ⁹How long shall I endure them, to whom I have done so much good? ¹⁰I have overthrown many kings for their sakes. I have struck down Pharaoh with his servants and all his army. ¹¹I have destroyed all the nations before them. In the east, I have scattered the people of two provinces, even of Tyre and Sidon, and have slain all their adversaries. ¹²Speak therefore to them, saying: ¹³“The Lord says, truly I brought you through the sea, and where there was no path I made highways for you. I gave you Moses for a leader and Aaron for a priest. ¹⁴I gave you light in a pillar of fire. I have done great wonders among you, yet you have forgotten me, says the Lord. ¹⁵“The Lord Almighty says: The quails were for a token to you. I gave you a camp for your protection, but you complained there. ¹⁶You didn’t celebrate in my name for the destruction of your enemies, but even to this day you still complain. ¹⁷Where are the benefits that I have given you? When you were hungry and thirsty in the wilderness, didn’t you cry to me, ¹⁸saying, ‘Why have you brought us into this wilderness to kill us? It would have been better for us to have served the Egyptians than to die in this wilderness.’ ¹⁹I had pity on your mourning and gave you manna for food. You ate angels’ bread. ²⁰When you were thirsty, didn’t I split the rock, and water flowed out in abundance? Because of the heat, I covered you with the leaves of the trees. ²¹I divided fruitful lands among you. I drove out the Canaanites, the Perizzites, and the Philistines before you. What more shall I do for you?” says the Lord. ²²The Lord Almighty says, “When you were in the wilderness, at the bitter stream, being thirsty and blaspheming my name, ²³I gave you not fire for your blasphemies, but threw a tree in the water, and made the river sweet. ²⁴What shall I do to you, O Jacob? You, Judah, would not obey me. I will turn myself to other nations, and I will give my name to them, that they may keep my statutes. ²⁵Since you have forsaken me, I also will forsake you. When you ask me to be merciful to you, I will have no mercy upon you. ²⁶Whenever you call upon me, I will not hear you, for you have defiled your hands with blood, and your feet are swift to commit murder. ²⁷It is not as though you have forsaken me, but your own selves,” says the Lord. ²⁸The Lord Almighty says, “Haven’t I asked you as a father his sons, as a mother her daughters, and a nurse her young babies, ²⁹that you would be my people, and I would be your God, that you would be my children, and I would be your father? ³⁰I gathered you together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings. But now, what should I do to you? I will cast you out from my presence.

r feet are swift to commit murder. ²⁷It is not as though you have forsaken me, but your own selves,” says the Lord. ²⁸The Lord Almighty says, “Haven’t I asked you as a father his sons, as a mother her daughters, and a nurse her young babies, ²⁹that you would be my people, and I would be your God, that you would be my children, and I would be your father? ³⁰I gathered you together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings. But now, what should I do to you? I will cast you out from my presence. ³¹When you offer burnt sacrifices to me, I will turn my face from you, for I have rejected your solemn feast days, your new moons, and your circumcisions of the flesh. ³²I sent to you my servants the prophets, whom you have taken and slain, and torn their bodies in pieces, whose blood I will require from you,” says the Lord. ³³The Lord Almighty says, “Your house is desolate. I will cast you out as the wind blows stubble. ³⁴Your children won’t be

467 fruitful, for they have neglected my commandment to you, and done that which is evil before me. ³⁵I will give your houses to a people that will come, which not having heard of me yet believe me. Those to whom I have shown no signs will do what I have commanded. ³⁶They have seen no prophets, yet they will remember their former condition. ³⁷I call to witness the gratitude of the people who will come, whose little ones rejoice with gladness. Although they see me not with bodily eyes, yet in spirit they will believe what I say.” ³⁸And now, father, behold with glory, and see the people that come from the east: ³⁹to whom I will give for leaders, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Oseas, Amos, and Micheas, Joel, Abdias, and Jonas, ⁴⁰Nahum, and Abacuc, Sophonias, Aggaeus, Zachary, and Malachy, who is also called the Lord’s messenger. Esdras 2 Chapter 2 ¹Thus saith the Lord, I brought this people out of bondage, and I gave them my commandments by menservants the prophets; whom they would not hear, but despised my counsels. ²The mother that bare them saith unto them, Go your way, ye children; for I am a widow and forsaken. ³I brought you up with gladness; but with sorrow and heaviness have I lost you: for ye have sinned before the Lord your God, and done that thing that is evil before him. ⁴But what shall I now do unto you? I am a widow and forsaken: go your way, O my children, and ask mercy of the Lord. ⁵As for me, O father, I call upon thee for a witness over the mother of these children, which would not keep my covenant, ⁶That thou bring them to confusion, and their mother to a spoil, that there may be no offspring of them. ⁷Let them be scattered abroad among the heathen, let their names be put out of the earth: for they have despised my covenant. ⁸Woe be unto thee, Assur, thou that hidest the unrighteous in thee! O thou wicked people, remember what I did unto Sodom and Gomorrha; ⁹Whose land lieth in clods of pitch and heaps of ashes: even so also will I do unto them that hear me not, saith the Almighty Lord. ¹⁰Thus saith the Lord unto Esdras, Tell my people that I will give them the kingdom of Jerusalem, which I would have given unto Israel. ¹¹Their glory also will I take unto me, and give these the everlasting tabernacles, which I had prepared for them. ¹²They shall have the tree of life for an ointment of sweet savour; they shall neither labour, nor be weary. ¹³Go, and ye shall receive: pray for few days unto you, that they may be shortened: the kingdom is already prepared for you: watch. ¹⁴Take heaven and earth to witness; for I have broken the evil in pieces, and created the good: for I live, saith the Lord. ¹⁵Mother, embrace thy children, and bring them up with gladness, make their feet as fast as a pillar: for I have chosen thee, saith the Lord. ¹⁶And those that be dead will I raise up again from their places, and bring them out of the graves: for I have known my name in Israel. ¹⁷Fear not, thou mother of the children: for I have chosen thee, saith the Lord. ¹⁸For thy help will I send my servants Esau and Jeremy, after whose counsel I have sanctified and prepared for thee twelve trees laden with divers fruits, ¹⁹And as many fountains flowing with milk and honey, and seven mighty mountains, whereupon there grow roses and lilies, whereby I will fill thy children with joy. ²⁰Do right to the widow, judge for the fatherless, give to the poor, defend the orphan, clothe the naked, ²¹Heal the broken and the weak, laugh not a lame man to scorn, defend the maimed, and let the blind man come into the sight of my clearness. ²²Keep the old and young within thy walls. ²³Wheresoever thou findest the dead, take them and bury them, and I will give thee the first place in my resurrection. ²⁴Abide still, O my people, and take thy rest, for thy quietness still come. ²⁵Nourish thy children, O thou good nurse; stablish their feet.

, give to the poor, defend the orphan, clothe the naked, ²¹Heal the broken and the weak, laugh not a lame man to scorn, defend the maimed, and let the blind man come into the sight of my clearness. ²²Keep the old and young within thy walls. ²³Wheresoever thou findest the dead, take them and bury them, and I will give thee the first place in my resurrection. ²⁴Abide still, O my people, and take thy rest, for thy quietness still come. ²⁵Nourish thy children, O thou good nurse; stablish their feet. ²⁶As for the servants whom I have given thee, there shall not one of them perish; for I will require them from among thy number. ²⁷Be not weary: for when the day of trouble and heaviness cometh, others shall weep and be sorrowful, but thou shalt be merry and have abundance. ²⁸The heathen shall envy thee, but they shall be able to do nothing against thee, saith the Lord. ²⁹My hands shall cover thee, so that thy children shall not see hell. ³⁰Be joyful, O thou mother, with thy children; for I will deliver thee, saith the Lord. ³¹Remember thy children

468 that sleep, for I shall bring them out of the sides of the earth, and shew mercy unto them: for I am merciful, saith the Lord Almighty. ³²Embrace thy children until I come and shew mercy unto them: for my wells run over, and my grace shall not fail. ³³I Esdras received a charge of the Lord upon the mount Oreb, that I should go unto Israel; but when I came unto them, they set me at nought, and despised the commandment of the Lord. ³⁴And therefore I say unto you, O ye heathen, that hear and understand, Look for your Shepherd, he shall give you everlasting rest; for he is nigh at hand, that shall come in the end of the world. ³⁵Be ready to the reward of the kingdom, for the everlasting light shall shine upon you for evermore. ³⁶Flee the shadow of this world, receive the joyfulness of your glory: I testify my Saviour openly. ³⁷O receive the gift that is given you, and be glad, giving thanks unto him that hath led you to the heavenly kingdom. ³⁸Arise up and stand, behold the number of those that be sealed in the feast of the Lord; ³⁹Which are departed from the shadow of the world, and have received glorious garments of the Lord. ⁴⁰Take thy number, O Sion, and shut up those of thine that are clothed in white, which have fulfilled the law of the Lord. ⁴¹The number of thy children, whom thou longedst for, is fulfilled: beseech the power of the Lord, that thy people, which have been called from the beginning, may be hallowed. ⁴²I Esdras saw upon the mount Sion a great people, whom I could not number, and they all praised the Lord with songs. ⁴³And in the midst of them there was a young man of a high stature, taller than all the rest, and upon every one of their heads he set crowns, and was more exalted; which I marvelled at greatly. ⁴⁴So I asked the angel, and said, Sir, what are these? ⁴⁵He answered and said unto me, These be they that have put off the mortal clothing, and put on the immortal, and have confessed the name of God: now are they crowned, and receive palms. ⁴⁶Then said I unto the angel, What young person is it that crowneth them, and giveth them palms in their hands? ⁴⁷So he answered and said unto me, It is the Son of God, whom they have confessed in the world. Then began I greatly to commend them that stood so stiffly for the name of the Lord. ⁴⁸Then the angel said unto me, Go thy way, and tell my people what manner of things, and how great wonders of the Lord thy God, thou hast seen. Esdras 2 Chapter 3 ¹ In the thirtieth year after the ruin of the city, I Salathiel, also called Esdras, was in Babylon, and lay troubled upon my bed, and my thoughts came up over my heart, ² for I saw the desolation of Zion and the wealth of those who lived at Babylon. ³ My spirit was very agitated, so that I began to speak words full of fear to the Most High, and said, ⁴ “O sovereign Lord, didn’t you speak at the beginning when you formed the earth—and that yourself alone—and commanded the dust ⁵ and it gave you Adam, a body without a soul? Yet it was the workmanship of your hands, and you breathed into him the breath of life, and he was made alive in your presence. ⁶ You led him into the garden which your right hand planted before the earth appeared. ⁷ You gave him your one commandment, which he transgressed, and immediately you appointed death for him and his descendants. From him were born nations, tribes, peoples, and kindred without number. ⁸ Every nation walked after their own will, did ungodly things in your sight, and despised your commandments, and you didn’t hinder them. ⁹ Nevertheless, again in process of time, you brought the flood on those who lived in the world and destroyed them. ¹⁰ It came to pass that the same thing happened to them. Just as death came to Adam, so was the flood to these. ¹¹ Nevertheless, you left one of them, Noah with his household, and all the righteous men who descended from him.

dred without number. ⁸ Every nation walked after their own will, did ungodly things in your sight, and despised your commandments, and you didn’t hinder them. ⁹ Nevertheless, again in process of time, you brought the flood on those who lived in the world and destroyed them. ¹⁰ It came to pass that the same thing happened to them. Just as death came to Adam, so was the flood to these. ¹¹ Nevertheless, you left one of them, Noah with his household, and all the righteous men who descended from him. ¹² “It came to pass that when those who lived upon the earth began to multiply, they also multiplied children, peoples, and many nations, and began again to be more ungodly than their ancestors. ¹³ It came to pass, when they did wickedly before you, you chose one from among them, whose name was Abraham. ¹⁴ You loved, and to him only you showed the end of the times secretly by night, ¹⁵ and made an everlasting covenant with him, promising him that you would never

469 forsake his descendants. To him, you gave Isaac, and to Isaac you gave Jacob and Esau. ¹⁶ You set apart Jacob for yourself, but rejected Esau. Jacob became a great multitude. ¹⁷ It came to pass that when you led his descendants out of Egypt, you brought them up to Mount Sinai. ¹⁸ You bowed the heavens also, shook the earth, moved the whole world, made the depths tremble, and troubled the age. ¹⁹ Your glory went through four gates, of fire, of earthquake, of wind, and of ice, that you might give the law to the descendants of Jacob, and the commandment to the descendants of Israel. ²⁰ “Yet you didn’t take away from them their wicked heart, that your law might produce fruit in them. ²¹ For the first Adam, burdened with a wicked heart transgressed and was overcome, as were all who are descended from him. ²² Thus disease was made permanent. The law was in the heart of the people along with the wickedness of the root. So the good departed away and that which was wicked remained. ²³ So the times passed away, and the years were brought to an end. Then you raised up a servant, called David, ²⁴ whom you commanded to build a city to your name, and to offer burnt offerings to you in it from what is yours. ²⁵ When this was done many years, then those who inhabited the city did evil, ²⁶ in all things doing as Adam and all his generations had done, for they also had a wicked heart. ²⁷ So you gave your city over into the hands of your enemies. ²⁸ “Then I said in my heart, ‘Are their deeds of those who inhabit Babylon any better? Is that why it gained dominion over Zion?’ ²⁹ For it came to pass when I came here, that I also saw impieties without number, and my soul saw many sinners in this thirtieth year, so that my heart failed me. ³⁰ For I have seen how you endure them sinning, and have spared those who act ungodly, and have destroyed your people, and have preserved your enemies; ³¹ and you have not shown how your way may be comprehended. Are the deeds of Babylon better than those of Zion? ³² Or is there any other nation that knows you beside Israel? Or what tribes have so believed your covenants as these tribes of Jacob? ³³ Yet their reward doesn’t appear, and their labor has no fruit, for I have gone here and there through the nations, and I see that they abound in wealth, and don’t think about your commandments. ³⁴ Weigh therefore our iniquities now in the balance, and theirs also who dwell in the world, and so will it be found which way the scale inclines. ³⁵ Or when was it that they who dwell on the earth have not sinned in your sight? Or what nation has kept your commandments so well? ³⁶ You will find some men by name who have kept your precepts, but you won’t find nations.” Esdras 2 Chapter 4 ¹ The angel who was sent to me, whose name was Uriel, gave me an answer, ² and said to me, “Your understanding has utterly failed you regarding this world. Do you think you can comprehend the way of the Most High?” ³ Then I said, “Yes, my Lord.” He answered me, “I have been sent to show you three ways, and to set before you three problems. ⁴ If you can solve one for me, I also will show you the way that you desire to see, and I will teach you why the heart is wicked.” ⁵ I said, “Say on, my Lord.” Then said he to me, “Go, weigh for me the weight of fire, or measure for me blast of wind, or call back for me the day that is past.” ⁶ Then answered I and said, “Who of the sons of men is able to do this, that you should ask me about such things?” ⁷ He said to me, “If I had asked you, ‘How many dwellings are there in the heart of the sea? Or how many springs are there at the fountain head of the deep? Or how many streams are above the firmament? Or which are the exits of hell?

Say on, my Lord.” Then said he to me, “Go, weigh for me the weight of fire, or measure for me blast of wind, or call back for me the day that is past.” ⁶ Then answered I and said, “Who of the sons of men is able to do this, that you should ask me about such things?” ⁷ He said to me, “If I had asked you, ‘How many dwellings are there in the heart of the sea? Or how many springs are there at the fountain head of the deep? Or how many streams are above the firmament? Or which are the exits of hell? Or which are the entrances of paradise?’ ⁸ perhaps you would say to me, ‘I never went down into the deep, or as yet into hell, neither did I ever climb up into heaven.’ ⁹ Nevertheless now I have only asked you about the fire, wind, and the day, things which you have experienced, and from which you can’t be separated, and yet have you given me no answer about them.” ¹⁰ He said moreover to me, “You can’t understand your own things that you grew up with. ¹¹ How then can your mind comprehend the way of the Most High? How can he who is already worn out with the corrupted world understand incorruption?” When I heard these things, I fell on

470 my face ¹² and said to him, “It would have been better if we weren’t here at all, than that we should come here and live in the midst of ungodliness, and suffer, and not know why.” ¹³ He answered me, and said, “A forest of the trees of the field went out, and took counsel together, ¹⁴ and said, ‘Come! Let’s go and make war against the sea, that it may depart away before us, and that we may make ourselves more forests.’ ¹⁵ The waves of the sea also in like manner took counsel together, and said, ‘Come! Let’s go up and subdue the forest of the plain, that there also we may gain more territory.’ ¹⁶ The counsel of the wood was in vain, for the fire came and consumed it. ¹⁷ Likewise also the counsel of the waves of the sea, for the sand stood up and stopped them. ¹⁸ If you were judge now between these two, which would you justify, or which would you condemn?” ¹⁹ I answered and said, “It is a foolish counsel that they both have taken, for the ground is given to the wood, and the place of the sea is given to bear its waves.” ²⁰ Then answered he me, and said, “You have given a right judgment. Why don’t you judge your own case? ²¹ For just as the ground is given to the wood, and the sea to its waves, even so those who dwell upon the earth may understand nothing but what is upon the earth. Only he who dwells above the heavens understands the things that are above the height of the heavens.” ²² Then answered I and said, “I beg you, O Lord, why has the power of understanding been given to me? ²³ For it was not in my mind to be curious of the ways above, but of such things as pass by us daily, because Israel is given up as a reproach to the heathen. The people whom you have loved have been given over to ungodly nations. The law of our forefathers is made of no effect, and the written covenants are nowhere regarded. ²⁴ We pass away out of the world like locusts. Our life is like a vapor, and we aren’t worthy to obtain mercy. ²⁵ What will he then do for his name by which we are called? I have asked about these things.” ²⁶ Then he answered me, and said, “If you are alive you will see, and if you live long, you will marvel, for the world hastens quickly to pass away. ²⁷ For it is not able to bear the things that are promised to the righteous in the times to come; for this world is full of sadness and infirmities. ²⁸ For the evil about which you asked me has been sown, but its harvest hasn’t yet come. ²⁹ If therefore that which is sown isn’t reaped, and if the place where the evil is sown doesn’t pass away, the field where the good is sown won’t come. ³⁰ For a grain of evil seed was sown in the heart of Adam from the beginning, and how much wickedness it has produced to this time! How much more it will yet produce until the time of threshing comes! ³¹ Ponder now by yourself, how much fruit of wickedness a grain of evil seed has produced. ³² When the grains which are without number are sown, how great a threshing floor they will fill!” ³³ Then I answered and said, “How long? When will these things come to pass? Why are our years few and evil?” ³⁴ He answered me, and said, “Don’t hurry faster than the Most High; for your haste is for your own self, but he who is above hurries on behalf of many. ³⁵ Didn’t the souls of the righteous ask question of these things in their chambers, saying, ‘How long will we be here? When does the fruit of the threshing floor come?’ ³⁶ To them, Jeremiel the archangel answered, ‘When the number is fulfilled of those who are like you. For he has weighed the world in the balance. ³⁷ By measure, he has measured the times. By number, he has counted the seasons. He won’t move or stir them until that measure is fulfilled.’” ³⁸ Then I answered, “O sovereign Lord, all of us are full of ungodliness.

ous ask question of these things in their chambers, saying, ‘How long will we be here? When does the fruit of the threshing floor come?’ ³⁶ To them, Jeremiel the archangel answered, ‘When the number is fulfilled of those who are like you. For he has weighed the world in the balance. ³⁷ By measure, he has measured the times. By number, he has counted the seasons. He won’t move or stir them until that measure is fulfilled.’” ³⁸ Then I answered, “O sovereign Lord, all of us are full of ungodliness. ³⁹ Perhaps it is for our sakes that the threshing time of the righteous is kept back—because of the sins of those who dwell on the earth.” ⁴⁰ So he answered me, “Go your way to a woman with child, and ask of her when she has fulfilled her nine months, if her womb may keep the baby any longer within her.” ⁴¹ Then I said, “No, Lord, that can it not.” He said to me, “In Hades, the chambers of souls are like the womb. ⁴² For just like a woman in labor hurries to escape the anguish of the labor pains, even so these places hurry to deliver those things that are committed to them from the beginning. ⁴³ Then you will be shown those things which you desire to see.” ⁴⁴ Then I answered, “If I have found favor in your sight, and if it is possible, and if I am worthy, ⁴⁵ show me this also, whether there is more to come than is past, or whether the greater part has gone over us. ⁴⁶ For what is gone I

471 know, but I don’t know what is to come.” ⁴⁷ He said to me, “Stand up on my right side, and I will explain the parable to you.” ⁴⁸ So I stood, looked, and saw a hot burning oven passed by before me. It happened that when the flame had gone by I looked, and saw that the smoke remained. ⁴⁹ After this, a watery cloud passed in front of me, and sent down much rain with a storm. When the stormy rain was past, the drops still remained in it.” ⁵⁰ Then said he to me, “Consider with yourself; as the rain is more than the drops, and the fire is greater than the smoke, so the quantity which is past was far greater; but the drops and the smoke still remained.” ⁵¹ Then I prayed, and said, “Do you think that I will live until that time? Or who will be alive in those days?” ⁵² He answered me, “As for the signs you asked me about, I may tell you of them in part; but I wasn’t sent to tell you about your life, for I don’t know. Esdras 2 Chapter 5 ¹“Nevertheless, concerning the signs, behold, the days will come when those who dwell on earth will be taken with great amazement, and the way of truth will be hidden, and the land will be barren of faith. ² Iniquity will be increased above what now you see, and beyond what you have heard long ago. ³ The land that you now see ruling will be a trackless waste, and men will see it desolate. ⁴ But if the Most High grants you to live, you will see what is after the third period will be troubled. The sun will suddenly shine in the night, and the moon in the day. ⁵ Blood will drop out of wood, and the stone will utter its voice. The peoples will be troubled, and the stars will fall. ⁶ He will rule whom those who dwell on the earth don’t expect, and the birds will fly away together. ⁷ The Sodomite sea will cast out fish, and make a noise in the night, which many have not known; but all will hear its voice. ⁸ There will also be chaos in many places. Fires will break out often, and the wild animals will change their places, and women will bring forth monsters. ⁹ Salt waters will be found in the sweet, and all friends will destroy one another. Then reason will hide itself, and understanding withdraw itself into its chamber. ¹⁰ It will be sought by many, and won’t be found. Unrighteousness and lack of restraint will be multiplied on earth. ¹¹ One country will ask another, ‘Has righteousness, or a man that does righteousness, gone through you?’ And it will say, ‘No.’ ¹² It will come to pass at that time that men will hope, but won’t obtain. They will labor, but their ways won’t prosper. ¹³ I am permitted to show you such signs. If you will pray again, and weep as now, and fast seven days, you will hear yet greater things than these.” ¹⁴ Then I woke up, and an extreme trembling went through my body, and my mind was so troubled that it fainted. ¹⁵ So the angel who had come to talk with me held me, comforted me, and set me on my feet. ¹⁶ In the second night, it came to pass that Phaltiel the captain of the people came to me, saying, “Where have you been? Why is your face sad? ¹⁷ Or don’t you know that Israel is committed to you in the land of their captivity? ¹⁸ Get up then, and eat some bread, and don’t forsake us, like a shepherd who leaves the flock in the power of cruel wolves.” ¹⁹ Then said I to him, “Go away from me and don’t come near me for seven days, and then you shall come to me.” He heard what I said and left me. ²⁰ So I fasted seven days, mourning and weeping, like Uriel the angel had commanded me. ²¹ After seven days, the thoughts of my heart were very grievous to me again, ²² and my soul recovered the spirit of understanding, and I began to speak words before the Most High again. ²³ I said, “O sovereign Lord of all the woods of the earth, and of all the trees thereof, you have chosen one vine for yourself. ²⁴ Of all the lands of the world you have chosen one country for yourself. Of all the flowers of the world, you have chosen one lily for yourself.

ike Uriel the angel had commanded me. ²¹ After seven days, the thoughts of my heart were very grievous to me again, ²² and my soul recovered the spirit of understanding, and I began to speak words before the Most High again. ²³ I said, “O sovereign Lord of all the woods of the earth, and of all the trees thereof, you have chosen one vine for yourself. ²⁴ Of all the lands of the world you have chosen one country for yourself. Of all the flowers of the world, you have chosen one lily for yourself. ²⁵ Of all the depths of the sea, you have filled one river for yourself. Of all built cities, you have consecrated Zion for yourself. ²⁶ Of all the birds that are created you have named for yourself one dove. Of all the livestock that have been made, you have provided for yourself one sheep. ²⁷ Among all the multitudes of peoples you have gotten yourself one people. To this people, whom you loved, you gave a law that is approved by all. ²⁸ Now, O Lord, why have you given this one people over to many, and have

472 dishonored the one root above others, and have scattered your only one among many? ²⁹ Those who opposed your promises have trampled down those who believed your covenants. ³⁰ If you really do hate your people so much, they should be punished with your own hands.” ³¹ Now when I had spoken these words, the angel that came to me the night before was sent to me, ³² and said to me, “Hear me, and I will instruct you. Listen to me, and I will tell you more.” ³³ I said, “Speak on, my Lord.” Then said he to me, “You are very troubled in mind for Israel’s sake. Do you love that people more than he who made them?” ³⁴ I said, “No, Lord; but I have spoken out of grief; for my heart is in agony every hour while I labor to comprehend the way of the Most High, and to seek out part of his judgment.” ³⁵ He said to me, “You can’t.” And I said, “Why, Lord? Why was I born? Why wasn’t my mother’s womb my grave, that I might not have seen the travail of Jacob, and the wearisome toil of the people of Israel?” ³⁶ He said to me, “Count for me those who haven’t yet come. Gather together for me the drops that are scattered abroad, and make the withered flowers green again for me. ³⁷ Open for me the chambers that are closed, and bring out the winds for me that are shut up in them. Or show me the image of a voice. Then I will declare to you the travail that you asked to see.” ³⁸ And I said, “O sovereign Lord, who may know these things except he who doesn’t have his dwelling with men? ³⁹ As for me, I lack wisdom. How can I then speak of these things you asked me about?” ⁴⁰ Then said he to me, “Just as you can do none of these things that I have spoken of, even so you can’t find out my judgment, or the end of the love that I have promised to my people.” ⁴¹ I said, “But, behold, O Lord, you have made the promise to those who are alive at the end. What should they do who have been before us, or we ourselves, or those who will come after us?” ⁴² He said to me, “I will compare my judgment to a ring. Just as there is no slowness of those who are last, even so there is no swiftness of those who be first.” ⁴³ So I answered, “Couldn’t you make them all at once that have been made, and that are now, and that are yet to come, that you might show your judgment sooner?” ⁴⁴ Then he answered me, “The creature may not move faster than the creator, nor can the world hold them at once who will be created in it.” ⁴⁵ And I said, “How have you said to your servant, that you will surely make alive at once the creature that you have created? If therefore they will be alive at once, and the creation will sustain them, even so it might now also support them to be present at once.” ⁴⁶ And he said to me, “Ask the womb of a woman, and say to her, ‘If you bear ten children, why do you it at different times? Ask her therefore to give birth to ten children at once.” ⁴⁷ I said, “She can’t, but must do it each in their own time.” ⁴⁸ Then said he to me, “Even so, I have given the womb of the earth to those who are sown in it in their own times. ⁴⁹ For just as a young child may not give birth, neither she who has grown old any more, even so have I organized the world which I created.” ⁵⁰ I asked, “Seeing that you have now shown me the way, I will speak before you. Is our mother, of whom you have told me, still young? Or does she now draw near to old age?” ⁵¹ He answered me, “Ask a woman who bears children, and she will tell you. ⁵² Say to her, ‘Why aren’t they whom you have now brought forth like those who were before, but smaller in stature?’ ⁵³ She also will answer you, ‘Those who are born in the strength of youth are different from those who are born in the time of old age, when the womb fails.’ ⁵⁴ Consider therefore you also, how you are shorter than those who were before you.

have told me, still young? Or does she now draw near to old age?” ⁵¹ He answered me, “Ask a woman who bears children, and she will tell you. ⁵² Say to her, ‘Why aren’t they whom you have now brought forth like those who were before, but smaller in stature?’ ⁵³ She also will answer you, ‘Those who are born in the strength of youth are different from those who are born in the time of old age, when the womb fails.’ ⁵⁴ Consider therefore you also, how you are shorter than those who were before you. ⁵⁵ So are those who come after you smaller than you, as born of the creature which now begins to be old, and is past the strength of youth.” ⁵⁶ Then I said, “Lord, I implore you, if I have found favor in your sight, show your servant by whom you visit your creation.” Esdras 2 Chapter 6 ¹ He said to me, “In the beginning, when the earth was made, before the portals of the world were fixed and before the gatherings of the winds blew, ² before the voices of the thunder sounded and before the flashes of the lightning shone, before the foundations of paradise were laid, ³ before the

473 fair flowers were seen, before the powers of the earthquake were established, before the innumerable army of angels were gathered together, ⁴ before the heights of the air were lifted up, before the measures of the firmament were named, before the footstool of Zion was established, ⁵ before the present years were reckoned, before the imaginations of those who now sin were estranged, and before they were sealed who have gathered faith for a treasure— ⁶ then I considered these things, and they all were made through me alone, and not through another; just as by me also they will be ended, and not by another.” ⁷ Then I answered, “What will be the dividing of the times? Or when will be the end of the first and the beginning of the age that follows?” ⁸ He said to me, “From Abraham to Isaac, because Jacob and Esau were born to him, for Jacob’s hand held Esau’s heel from the beginning. ⁹ For Esau is the end of this age, and Jacob is the beginning of the one that follows. ¹⁰ The beginning of a man is his hand, and the end of a man is his heel. Seek nothing else between the heel and the hand, Esdras!” ¹¹ Then I answered, “O sovereign Lord, if I have found favor in your sight, ¹² I beg you, show your servant the end of your signs which you showed me part on a previous night.” ¹³ So he answered, “Stand up upon your feet, and you will hear a mighty sounding voice. ¹⁴ If the place you stand on is greatly moved ¹⁵ when it speaks don’t be afraid, for the word is of the end, and the foundations of the earth will understand ¹⁶ that the speech is about them. They will tremble and be moved, for they know that their end must be changed.” ¹⁷ It happened that when I had heard it, I stood up on my feet, and listened, and, behold, there was a voice that spoke, and its sound was like the sound of many waters. ¹⁸ It said, “Behold, the days come when I draw near to visit those who dwell upon the earth, ¹⁹ and when I investigate those who have caused harm unjustly with their unrighteousness, and when the affliction of Zion is complete, ²⁰ and when the seal will be set on the age that is to pass away, then I will show these signs: the books will be opened before the firmament, and all will see together. ²¹ The children a year old will speak with their voices. The women with child will deliver premature children at three or four months, and they will live and dance. ²² Suddenly the sown places will appear unsown. The full storehouses will suddenly be found empty. ²³ The trumpet will give a sound which when every man hears, they will suddenly be afraid. ²⁴ At that time friends will make war against one another like enemies. The earth will stand in fear with those who dwell in it. The springs of the fountains will stand still, so that for three hours they won’t flow. ²⁵ “It will be that whoever remains after all these things that I have told you of, he will be saved and will see my salvation, and the end of my world. ²⁶ They will see the men who have been taken up, who have not tasted death from their birth. The heart of the inhabitants will be changed and turned into a different spirit. ²⁷ For evil will be blotted out and deceit will be quenched. ²⁸ Faith will flourish. Corruption will be overcome, and the truth, which has been so long without fruit, will be declared.” ²⁹ When he talked with me, behold, little by little, the place I stood on rocked back and forth. ³⁰ He said to me, “I came to show you these things tonight. ³¹ If therefore you will pray yet again, and fast seven more days, I will again tell you greater things than these. ³² For your voice has surely been heard before the Most High. For the Mighty has seen your righteousness. He has also seen your purity, which you have maintained ever since your youth. ³³ Therefore he has sent me to show you all these things, and to say to you, ‘Believe, and don’t be afraid!

stood on rocked back and forth. ³⁰ He said to me, “I came to show you these things tonight. ³¹ If therefore you will pray yet again, and fast seven more days, I will again tell you greater things than these. ³² For your voice has surely been heard before the Most High. For the Mighty has seen your righteousness. He has also seen your purity, which you have maintained ever since your youth. ³³ Therefore he has sent me to show you all these things, and to say to you, ‘Believe, and don’t be afraid! ³⁴ Don’t be hasty to think vain things about the former times, that you may not hasten in the latter times.’” ³⁵ It came to pass after this, that I wept again, and fasted seven days in like manner, that I might fulfill the three weeks which he told me. ³⁶ On the eighth night, my heart was troubled within me again, and I began to speak in the presence of the Most High. ³⁷ For my spirit was greatly aroused, and my soul was in distress. ³⁸ I said, “O Lord, truly you spoke at the beginning of the creation, on the first day, and said this: ‘Let heaven and earth be made,’ and your word perfected the work. ³⁹ Then the spirit was hovering, and darkness and silence were on every side. The sound of man’s voice was not yet there. ⁴⁰ Then you commanded a ray of light to be brought out of your treasuries, that your works might then

474 appear. ⁴¹ “On the second day, again you made the spirit of the firmament and commanded it to divide and to separate the waters, that the one part might go up, and the other remain beneath. ⁴² “On the third day, you commanded that the waters should be gathered together in the seventh part of the earth. You dried up six parts and kept them, to the intent that of these some being both planted and tilled might serve before you. ⁴³ For as soon as your word went out, the work was done. ⁴⁴ Immediately, great and innumerable fruit grew, with many pleasant tastes, and flowers of inimitable color, and fragrances of most exquisite smell. This was done the third day. ⁴⁵ “On the fourth day, you commanded that the sun should shine, the moon give its light, and the stars should be in their order; ⁴⁶ and gave them a command to serve mankind, who was to be made. ⁴⁷ “On the fifth day, you said to the seventh part, where the water was gathered together, that it should produce living creatures, fowls and fishes; and so it came to pass ⁴⁸ that the mute and lifeless water produced living things as it was told, that the nations might therefore praise your wondrous works. ⁴⁹ “Then you preserved two living creatures. The one you called Behemoth, and the other you called Leviathan. ⁵⁰ You separated the one from the other; for the seventh part, namely, where the water was gathered together, might not hold them both. ⁵¹ To Behemoth, you gave one part, which was dried up on the third day, that he should dwell in it, in which are a thousand hills; ⁵² but to Leviathan you gave the seventh part, namely, the watery part. You have kept them to be devoured by whom you wish, when you wish. ⁵³ “But on the sixth day, you commanded the earth to produce before you cattle, animals, and creeping things. ⁵⁴ Over these, you ordained Adam as ruler over all the works that you have made. Of him came all of us, the people whom you have chosen. ⁵⁵ “All this have I spoken before you, O Lord, because you have said that for our sakes you made this world. ⁵⁶ As for the other nations, which also come from Adam, you have said that they are nothing, and are like spittle. You have likened the abundance of them to a drop that falls from a bucket. ⁵⁷ Now, O Lord, behold these nations, which are reputed as nothing, being rulers over us and devouring us. ⁵⁸ But we your people, whom you have called your firstborn, your only children, and your fervent lover, are given into their hands. ⁵⁹ Now if the world is made for our sakes, why don’t we possess our world for an inheritance? How long will this endure? Esdras 2 Chapter 7 ¹ When I had finished speaking these words, the angel which had been sent to me the nights before was sent to me. ² He said to me, “Rise, Esdras, and hear the words that I have come to tell you.” ³ I said, “Speak on, my Lord.” Then he said to me, “There is a sea set in a wide place, that it might be broad and vast, ⁴ but its entrance is set in a narrow place so as to be like a river. ⁵ Whoever desires to go into the sea to look at it, or to rule it, if he didn’t go through the narrow entrance, how could he come into the broad part? ⁶ Another thing also: There is a city built and set in a plain country, and full of all good things, ⁷ but its entrance is narrow, and is set in a dangerous place to fall, having fire on the right hand, and deep water on the left. ⁸ There is one only path between them both, even between the fire and the water, so that only one person can go there at once. ⁹ If this city is now given to a man for an inheritance, if the heir doesn’t pass the danger before him, how will he receive his inheritance?” ¹⁰ I said, “That is so, Lord.” Then said he to me, “Even so also is Israel’s portion. ¹¹ I made the world for their sakes. What is now done was decreed when Adam transgressed my statutes. ¹² Then the entrances of this world were made narrow, sorrowful, and toilsome. They are but few and evil, full of perils, and involved in great toils.

go there at once. ⁹ If this city is now given to a man for an inheritance, if the heir doesn’t pass the danger before him, how will he receive his inheritance?” ¹⁰ I said, “That is so, Lord.” Then said he to me, “Even so also is Israel’s portion. ¹¹ I made the world for their sakes. What is now done was decreed when Adam transgressed my statutes. ¹² Then the entrances of this world were made narrow, sorrowful, and toilsome. They are but few and evil, full of perils, and involved in great toils. ¹³ For the entrances of the greater world are wide and safe, and produce fruit of immortality. ¹⁴ So if those who live don’t enter these difficult and vain things, they can never receive those that are reserved for them. ¹⁵ Now therefore why are you disturbed, seeing you are but a corruptible man? Why are you moved, since you are mortal? ¹⁶ Why haven’t you considered in your mind that which is to come,

475 rather than that which is present?” ¹⁷ Then I answered and said, “O sovereign Lord, behold, you have ordained in your law that the righteous will inherit these things, but that the ungodly will perish. ¹⁸ The righteous therefore will suffer difficult things, and hope for easier things, but those who have done wickedly have suffered the difficult things, and yet will not see the easier things.” ¹⁹ He said to me, “You are not a judge above God, neither do you have more understanding than the Most High. ²⁰ Yes, let many perish who now live, rather than that the law of God which is set before them be despised. ²¹ For God strictly commanded those who came, even as they came, what they should do to live, and what they should observe to avoid punishment. ²² Nevertheless, they weren’t obedient to him, but spoke against him and imagined for themselves vain things. ²³ They made cunning plans of wickedness, and said moreover of the Most High that he doesn’t exist, and they didn’t know his ways. ²⁴ They despised his law and denied his covenants. They haven’t been faithful to his statutes, and haven’t performed his works. ²⁵ Therefore, Esdras, for the empty are empty things, and for the full are the full things. ²⁶ For behold, the time will come, and it will be, when these signs of which I told you before will come to pass, that the bride will appear, even the city coming forth, and she will be seen who now is withdrawn from the earth. ²⁷ Whoever is delivered from the foretold evils will see my wonders. ²⁸ For my son Jesus will be revealed with those who are with him, and those who remain will rejoice four hundred years. ²⁹ After these years my son Christ will die, along with all of those who have the breath of life. ³⁰ Then the world will be turned into the old silence seven days, like as in the first beginning, so that no human will remain. ³¹ After seven days the world that is not yet awake will be raised up, and what is corruptible will die. ³² The earth will restore those who are asleep in it, and the dust those who dwell in it in silence, and the secret places will deliver those souls that were committed to them. ³³ The Most High will be revealed on the judgment seat, and compassion will pass away, and patience will be withdrawn. ³⁴ Only judgment will remain. Truth will stand. Faith will grow strong. ³⁵ Recompense will follow. The reward will be shown. Good deeds will awake, and wicked deeds won’t sleep. ³⁶ The pit of torment will appear, and near it will be the place of rest. The furnace of hell will be shown, and near it the paradise of delight. ³⁷ Then the Most High will say to the nations that are raised from the dead, ‘Look and understand whom you have denied, whom you haven’t served, whose commandments you have despised. ³⁸ Look on this side and on that. Here is delight and rest, and there fire and torments.’ Thus he will speak to them in the day of judgment. ³⁹ This is a day that has neither sun, nor moon, nor stars, ⁴⁰ neither cloud, nor thunder, nor lightning, neither wind, nor water, nor air, neither darkness, nor evening, nor morning, ⁴¹ neither summer, nor spring, nor heat, nor winter, neither frost, nor cold, nor hail, nor rain, nor dew, ⁴² neither noon, nor night, nor dawn, neither shining, nor brightness, nor light, except only the splendor of the glory of the Most High, by which all will see the things that are set before them. ⁴³ It will endure as though it were a week of years. ⁴⁴ This is my judgment and its prescribed order; but I have only shown these things to you.” ⁴⁵ I answered, “I said then, O Lord, and I say now: Blessed are those who are now alive and keep your commandments! ⁴⁶ But what about those for whom I prayed? For who is there of those who are alive who has not sinned, and who of the children of men hasn’t transgressed your covenant? ⁴⁷ Now I see that the world to come will bring delight to few, but torments to many.

re as though it were a week of years. ⁴⁴ This is my judgment and its prescribed order; but I have only shown these things to you.” ⁴⁵ I answered, “I said then, O Lord, and I say now: Blessed are those who are now alive and keep your commandments! ⁴⁶ But what about those for whom I prayed? For who is there of those who are alive who has not sinned, and who of the children of men hasn’t transgressed your covenant? ⁴⁷ Now I see that the world to come will bring delight to few, but torments to many. ⁴⁸ For an evil heart has grown up in us, which has led us astray from these commandments and has brought us into corruption and into the ways of death. It has shown us the paths of perdition and removed us far from life—and that, not a few only, but nearly all who have been created.” ⁴⁹ He answered me, “Listen to me, and I will instruct you. I will admonish you yet again. ⁵⁰ For this reason, the Most High has not made one world, but two. ⁵¹ For because you have said that the just are not many, but few, and the ungodly abound, hear the explanation. ⁵² If you have just a few precious stones, will you add them to lead and clay?” ⁵³ I said, “Lord, how could that be?” ⁵⁴ He said to me, “Not only that, but ask the earth, and she will tell you. Defer to

476 her, and she will declare it to you. ⁵⁵ Say to her, ‘You produce gold, silver, and brass, and also iron, lead, and clay; ⁵⁶ but silver is more abundant than gold, and brass than silver, and iron than brass, and lead than iron, and clay than lead.’ ⁵⁷ Judge therefore which things are precious and to be desired, what is abundant or what is rare?” ⁵⁸ I said, “O sovereign Lord, that which is plentiful is of less worth, for that which is more rare is more precious.” ⁵⁹ He answered me, “Weigh within yourself the things that you have thought, for he who has what is hard to get rejoices over him who has what is plentiful. ⁶⁰ So also is the judgment which I have promised; for I will rejoice over the few that will be saved, because these are those who have made my glory to prevail now, and through them, my name is now honored. ⁶¹ I won’t grieve over the multitude of those who perish; for these are those who are now like mist, and have become like flame and smoke; they are set on fire and burn hotly, and are extinguished.” ⁶² I answered, “O earth, why have you produced, if the mind is made out of dust, like all other created things? ⁶³ For it would have been better that the dust itself had been unborn, so that the mind might not have been made from it. ⁶⁴ But now the mind grows with us, and because of this we are tormented, because we perish and we know it. ⁶⁵ Let the race of men lament and the animals of the field be glad. Let all who are born lament, but let the four-footed animals and the livestock rejoice. ⁶⁶ For it is far better with them than with us; for they don’t look forward to judgment, neither do they know of torments or of salvation promised to them after death. ⁶⁷ For what does it profit us, that we will be preserved alive, but yet be afflicted with torment? ⁶⁸ For all who are born are defiled with iniquities, and are full of sins and laden with transgressions. ⁶⁹ If after death we were not to come into judgment, perhaps it would have been better for us.” ⁷⁰ He answered me, “When the Most High made the world and Adam and all those who came from him, he first prepared the judgment and the things that pertain to the judgment. ⁷¹ Now understand from your own words, for you have said that the mind grows with us. ⁷² They therefore who dwell on the earth will be tormented for this reason, that having understanding they have committed iniquity, and receiving commandments have not kept them, and having obtained a law they dealt unfaithfully with that which they received. ⁷³ What then will they have to say in the judgment, or how will they answer in the last times? ⁷⁴ For how long a time has the Most High been patient with those who inhabit the world, and not for their sakes, but because of the times which he has foreordained!” ⁷⁵ I answered, “If I have found grace in your sight, O Lord, show this also to your servant, whether after death, even now when every one of us gives up his soul, we will be kept in rest until those times come, in which you renew the creation, or whether we will be tormented immediately.” ⁷⁶ He answered me, “I will show you this also; but don’t join yourself with those who are scorners, nor count yourself with those who are tormented. ⁷⁷ For you have a treasure of works laid up with the Most High, but it won’t be shown you until the last times. ⁷⁸ For concerning death the teaching is: When the decisive sentence has gone out from the Most High that a man shall die, as the spirit leaves the body to return again to him who gave it, it adores the glory of the Most High first of all. ⁷⁹ And if it is one of those who have been scorners and have not kept the way of the Most High, and that have despised his law, and who hate those who fear God, ⁸⁰ these spirits won’t enter into habitations, but will wander and be in torments immediately, ever grieving and sad, in seven ways. ⁸¹ The first way, because they have despised the law of the Most High.

t a man shall die, as the spirit leaves the body to return again to him who gave it, it adores the glory of the Most High first of all. ⁷⁹ And if it is one of those who have been scorners and have not kept the way of the Most High, and that have despised his law, and who hate those who fear God, ⁸⁰ these spirits won’t enter into habitations, but will wander and be in torments immediately, ever grieving and sad, in seven ways. ⁸¹ The first way, because they have despised the law of the Most High. ⁸² The second way, because they can’t now make a good repentance that they may live. ⁸³ The third way, they will see the reward laid up for those who have believed the covenants of the Most High. ⁸⁴ The fourth way, they will consider the torment laid up for themselves in the last days. ⁸⁵ The fifth way, they will see the dwelling places of the others guarded by angels, with great quietness. ⁸⁶ The sixth way, they will see how immediately some of them will pass into torment. ⁸⁷ The seventh way, which is more grievous than all the aforesaid ways, because they will pine away in confusion and be consumed with shame, and will be withered up by fears, seeing the glory of the Most High before whom they have sinned while

477 living, and before whom they will be judged in the last times. ⁸⁸“Now this is the order of those who have kept the ways of the Most High, when they will be separated from their mortal body. ⁸⁹ In the time that they lived in it, they painfully served the Most High, and were in jeopardy every hour, that they might keep the law of the lawgiver perfectly. ⁹⁰ Therefore this is the teaching concerning them: ⁹¹ First of all they will see with great joy the glory of him who takes them up, for they will have rest in seven orders. ⁹² The first order, because they have labored with great effort to overcome the evil thought which was fashioned together with them, that it might not lead them astray from life into death. ⁹³ The second order, because they see the perplexity in which the souls of the ungodly wander, and the punishment that awaits them. ⁹⁴ The third order, they see the testimony which he who fashioned them gives concerning them, that while they lived they kept the law which was given them in trust. ⁹⁵ The fourth order, they understand the rest which, being gathered in their chambers, they now enjoy with great quietness, guarded by angels, and the glory that awaits them in the last days. ⁹⁶ The fifth order, they rejoice that they have now escaped from that which is corruptible, and that they will inherit that which is to come, while they see in addition the difficulty and the pain from which they have been delivered, and the spacious liberty which they will receive with joy and immortality. ⁹⁷ The sixth order, when it is shown to them how their face will shine like the sun, and how they will be made like the light of the stars, being incorruptible from then on. ⁹⁸ The seventh order, which is greater than all the previously mentioned orders, because they will rejoice with confidence, and because they will be bold without confusion, and will be glad without fear, for they hurry to see the face of him whom in their lifetime they served, and from whom they will receive their reward in glory. ⁹⁹ This is the order of the souls of the just, as from henceforth is announced to them. Previously mentioned are the ways of torture which those who would not give heed will suffer from after this.” ¹⁰⁰ I answered, “Will time therefore be given to the souls after they are separated from the bodies, that they may see what you have described to me?” ¹⁰¹ He said, “Their freedom will be for seven days, that for seven days they may see the things you have been told, and afterwards they will be gathered together in their habitations.” ¹⁰² I answered, “If I have found favor in your sight, show further to me your servant whether in the day of judgment the just will be able to intercede for the ungodly or to entreat the Most High for them, ¹⁰³ whether fathers for children, or children for parents, or kindred for kindred, or kinsfolk for their next of kin, or friends for those who are most dear.” ¹⁰⁴ He answered me, “Since you have found favor in my sight, I will show you this also. The day of judgment is a day of decision, and displays to all the seal of truth. Even as now a father doesn’t send his son, or a son his father, or a master his slave, or a friend him that is most dear, that in his place he may understand, or sleep, or eat, or be healed, ¹⁰⁵ so no one will ever pray for another in that day, neither will one lay a burden on another, for then everyone will each bear his own righteousness or unrighteousness.” ¹⁰⁶ I answered, “How do we now find that first Abraham prayed for the people of Sodom, and Moses for the ancestors who sinned in the wilderness, ¹⁰⁷ and Joshua after him for Israel in the days of Achan, ¹⁰⁸ and Samuel in the days of Saul, and David for the plague, and Solomon for those who would worship in the sanctuary, ¹⁰⁹ and Elijah for those that received rain, and for the dead, that he might live, ¹¹⁰ and Hezekiah for the people in the days of Sennacherib, and many others prayed for many?

” ¹⁰⁶ I answered, “How do we now find that first Abraham prayed for the people of Sodom, and Moses for the ancestors who sinned in the wilderness, ¹⁰⁷ and Joshua after him for Israel in the days of Achan, ¹⁰⁸ and Samuel in the days of Saul, and David for the plague, and Solomon for those who would worship in the sanctuary, ¹⁰⁹ and Elijah for those that received rain, and for the dead, that he might live, ¹¹⁰ and Hezekiah for the people in the days of Sennacherib, and many others prayed for many? ¹¹¹ If therefore now, when corruption has grown and unrighteousness increased, the righteous have prayed for the ungodly, why will it not be so then also?” ¹¹² He answered me, “This present world is not the end. The full glory doesn’t remain in it. Therefore those who were able prayed for the weak. ¹¹³ But the day of judgment will be the end of this age, and the beginning of the immortality to come, in which corruption has passed away, ¹¹⁴ intemperance is at an end, infidelity is cut off, but righteousness has grown, and truth has sprung up. ¹¹⁵ Then no one will be able to have mercy on him who is condemned in judgment, nor to harm someone who is victorious.” ¹¹⁶ I answered then, “This is my first and last saying,

478 that it would have been better if the earth had not produced Adam, or else, when it had produced him, to have restrained him from sinning. ¹¹⁷ For what profit is it for all who are in this present time to live in heaviness, and after death to look for punishment? ¹¹⁸ O Adam, what have you done? For though it was you who sinned, the evil hasn’t fallen on you alone, but on all of us who come from you. ¹¹⁹ For what profit is it to us, if an immortal time is promised to us, but we have done deeds that bring death? ¹²⁰ And that there is promised us an everlasting hope, but we have most miserably failed? ¹²¹ And that there are reserved habitations of health and safety, but we have lived wickedly? ¹²² And that the glory of the Most High will defend those who have led a pure life, but we have walked in the most wicked ways of all? ¹²³ And that a paradise will be revealed, whose fruit endures without decay, in which is abundance and healing, but we won’t enter into it, ¹²⁴ for we have lived in perverse ways? ¹²⁵ And that the faces of those who have practiced self- control will shine more than the stars, but our faces will be blacker than darkness? ¹²⁶ For while we lived and committed iniquity, we didn’t consider what we would have to suffer after death.” ¹²⁷ Then he answered, “This is the significance of the battle which humans born on the earth will fight: ¹²⁸ if they are overcome, they will suffer as you have said, but if they get the victory, they will receive the thing that I say. ¹²⁹ For this is the way that Moses spoke to the people while he lived, saying, ‘Choose life, that you may live!’ ¹³⁰ Nevertheless they didn’t believe him or the prophets after him, not even me, who have spoken to them. ¹³¹ Therefore there won’t be such heaviness in their destruction, as there will be joy over those who are assured of salvation.” ¹³² Then I answered, “I know, Lord, that the Most High is now called merciful, in that he has mercy upon those who have not yet come into the world; ¹³³ and compassionate, in that he has compassion upon those who turn to his law; ¹³⁴ and patient, in that he is patient with those who have sinned, since they are his creatures; ¹³⁵ and bountiful, in that he is ready to give rather than to take away; ¹³⁶ and very merciful, in that he multiplies more and more mercies to those who are present, and who are past, and also to those who are to come— ¹³⁷ for if he wasn’t merciful, the world wouldn’t continue with those who dwell in it— ¹³⁸ and one who forgives, for if he didn’t forgive out of his goodness, that those who have committed iniquities might be relieved of them, not even one ten thousandth part of mankind would remain living; ¹³⁹ and a judge, for if he didn’t pardon those who were created by his word, and blot out the multitude of sins, ¹⁴⁰ there would perhaps be very few left of an innumerable multitude.” Esdras 2 Chapter 8 1 He answered me, “The Most High has made this world for many, but the world to come for few. ² Now I will tell you a parable, Esdras. Just as when you ask the earth, it will say to you that it gives very much clay from which earthen vessels are made, but little dust that gold comes from. Even so is the course of the present world. ³ Many have been created, but few will be saved.” ⁴ I answered, “Drink your fill of understanding then, O my soul, and let my heart devour wisdom. ⁵ For you have come here apart from your will, and depart against your will, for you have only been given a short time to live. ⁶ O Lord over us, grant to your servant that we may pray before you, and give us seed for our heart and cultivation for our understanding, that fruit may grow from it, by which everyone who is corrupt, who bears the likeness of a man, may live. ⁷ For you alone exist, and we all are one workmanship of your hands, just as you have said.

ul, and let my heart devour wisdom. ⁵ For you have come here apart from your will, and depart against your will, for you have only been given a short time to live. ⁶ O Lord over us, grant to your servant that we may pray before you, and give us seed for our heart and cultivation for our understanding, that fruit may grow from it, by which everyone who is corrupt, who bears the likeness of a man, may live. ⁷ For you alone exist, and we all are one workmanship of your hands, just as you have said. ⁸ Because you give life to the body that is now fashioned in the womb, and give it members, your creature is preserved in fire and water, and your workmanship endures nine months as your creation which is created in it. ⁹ But that which keeps and that which is kept will both be kept by your keeping. When the womb gives up again what has grown in it, ¹⁰ you have commanded that out of the parts of the body, that is to say, out of the breasts, be given milk, which is the fruit of the breasts, ¹¹ that the body that is fashioned may be nourished for a time, and afterwards you guide it in your mercy. ¹² Yes, you have brought it up in

479 your righteousness, nurtured it in your law, and corrected it with your judgment. ¹³ You put it to death as your creation, and make it live as your work. ¹⁴ If therefore you lightly and suddenly destroy him which with so great labor was fashioned by your commandment, to what purpose was he made? ¹⁵ Now therefore I will speak. About man in general, you know best, but about your people for whose sake I am sorry, ¹⁶ and for your inheritance, for whose cause I mourn, for Israel, for whom I am heavy, and for the seed of Jacob, for whose sake I am troubled, ¹⁷ therefore I will begin to pray before you for myself and for them; for I see the failings of us who dwell in the land; ¹⁸ but I have heard the swiftness of the judgment which is to come. ¹⁹ Therefore hear my voice, and understand my saying, and I will speak before you.” The beginning of the words of Esdras, before he was taken up. He said, ²⁰“O Lord, you who remain forever, whose eyes are exalted, and whose chambers are in the air, ²¹ whose throne is beyond measure, whose glory is beyond comprehension, before whom the army of angels stand with trembling, ²² at whose bidding they are changed to wind and fire, whose word is sure, and sayings constant, whose ordinance is strong, and commandment fearful, ²³ whose look dries up the depths, and whose indignation makes the mountains to melt away, and whose truth bears witness— ²⁴ hear, O Lord, the prayer of your servant, and give ear to the petition of your handiwork. ²⁵ Attend to my words, for as long as I live, I will speak, and as long as I have understanding, I will answer. ²⁶ Don’t look at the sins of your people, but on those who have served you in truth. ²⁷ Don’t regard the doings of those who act wickedly, but of those who have kept your covenants in affliction. ²⁸ Don’t think about those who have lived wickedly before you, but remember those who have willingly known your fear. ²⁹ Let it not be your will to destroy those who have lived like cattle, but look at those who have clearly taught your law. ³⁰ Don’t be indignant at those who are deemed worse than animals, but love those who have always put their trust in your glory. ³¹ For we and our fathers have passed our lives in ways that bring death, but you are called merciful because of us sinners. ³² For if you have a desire to have mercy upon us who have no works of righteousness, then you will be called merciful. ³³ For the just, which have many good works laid up with you, will be rewarded for their own deeds. ³⁴ For what is man, that you should take displeasure at him? Or what is a corruptible race, that you should be so bitter toward it? ³⁵ For in truth, there is no man among those who are born who has not done wickedly, and among those who have lived, there is none which have not done wrong. ³⁶ For in this, O Lord, your righteousness and your goodness will be declared, if you are merciful to those who have no store of good works.” ³⁷ Then he answered me, “Some things you have spoken rightly, and it will happen according to your words. ³⁸ For indeed I will not think about the fashioning of those who have sinned, or about their death, their judgment, or their destruction; ³⁹ but I will rejoice over the creation of the righteous and their pilgrimage, their salvation, and the reward that they will have. ⁴⁰ Therefore as I have spoken, so it will be. ⁴¹ For as the farmer sows many seeds in the ground, and plants many trees, and yet not all that is sown will come up in due season, neither will all that is planted take root, even so those who are sown in the world will not all be saved.” ⁴² Then I answered, “If I have found favor, let me speak before you.

destruction; ³⁹ but I will rejoice over the creation of the righteous and their pilgrimage, their salvation, and the reward that they will have. ⁴⁰ Therefore as I have spoken, so it will be. ⁴¹ For as the farmer sows many seeds in the ground, and plants many trees, and yet not all that is sown will come up in due season, neither will all that is planted take root, even so those who are sown in the world will not all be saved.” ⁴² Then I answered, “If I have found favor, let me speak before you. ⁴³ If the farmer’s seed doesn’t come up because it hasn’t received your rain in due season, or if it is ruined by too much rain and perishes, ⁴⁴ likewise man, who is formed with your hands and is called your own image, because he is made like you, for whose sake you have formed all things, even him have you made like the farmer’s seed. ⁴⁵ Don’t be angry with us, but spare your people and have mercy upon your inheritance, for you have mercy upon your own creation.” ⁴⁶ Then he answered me, “Things present are for those who live now, and things to come for those who will live hereafter. ⁴⁷ For you come far short of being able to love my creature more than I. But you have compared yourself to the unrighteous. Don’t do that! ⁴⁸ Yet in this will you be admirable to the Most High, ⁴⁹ in that you have humbled yourself, as it becomes you, and have not judged yourself among the righteous, so as to be much glorified. ⁵⁰ For many grievous miseries will fall on those who dwell in the world

480 in the last times, because they have walked in great pride. ⁵¹ But understand for yourself, and for those who inquire concerning the glory of those like you, ⁵² because paradise is opened to you. The tree of life is planted. The time to come is prepared. Plenteousness is made ready. A city is built. Rest is allowed. Goodness is perfected, and wisdom is perfected beforehand. ⁵³ The root of evil is sealed up from you. Weakness is done away from you, and death is hidden. Hell and corruption have fled into forgetfulness. ⁵⁴ Sorrows have passed away, and in the end, the treasure of immortality is shown. ⁵⁵ Therefore ask no more questions concerning the multitude of those who perish. ⁵⁶ For when they had received liberty, they despised the Most High, scorned his law, and forsook his ways. ⁵⁷ Moreover they have trodden down his righteous, ⁵⁸ and said in their heart that there is no God—even knowing that they must die. ⁵⁹ For as the things I have said will welcome you, so thirst and pain which are prepared for them. For the Most High didn’t intend that men should be destroyed, ⁶⁰ but those who are created have themselves defiled the name of him who made them, and were unthankful to him who prepared life for them. ⁶¹ Therefore my judgment is now at hand, ⁶² which I have not shown to all men, but to you, and a few like you.” Then I answered, ⁶³“Behold, O Lord, now you have shown me the multitude of the wonders which you will do in the last times, but you haven’t shown me when.” Esdras 2 Chapter 9 1He answered me, “Measure diligently within yourself. When you see that a certain part of the signs are past, which have been told you beforehand, ² then will you understand that it is the very time in which the Most High will visit the world which was made by him. ³ When earthquakes, tumult of peoples, plans of nations, wavering of leaders, and confusion of princes are seen in the world, ⁴ then will you understand that the Most High spoke of these things from the days that were of old, from the beginning. ⁵ For just as with everything that is made in the world, the beginning is evident and the end manifest, ⁶ so also are the times of the Most High: the beginnings are manifest in wonders and mighty works, and the end in effects and signs. ⁷ Everyone who will be saved, and will be able to escape by his works, or by faith by which they have believed, ⁸ will be preserved from the said perils, and will see my salvation in my land and within my borders, which I have sanctified for myself from the beginning. ⁹ Then those who now have abused my ways will be amazed. Those who have cast them away despitefully will live in torments. ¹⁰ For as many as in their life have received benefits, and yet have not known me, ¹¹ and as many as have scorned my law, while they still had liberty and when an opportunity to repent was open to them, didn’t understand, but despised it, ¹² must know it in torment after death. ¹³ Therefore don’t be curious any longer how the ungodly will be punished, but inquire how the righteous will be saved, those who the world belongs to, and for whom the world was created.” ¹⁴ I answered, ¹⁵ “I have said before, and now speak, and will say it again hereafter, that there are more of those who perish than of those who will be saved, ¹⁶ like a wave is greater than a drop.” ¹⁷ He answered me, “Just as the field is, so also the seed. As the flowers are, so are the colors. As the work is, so also is the judgment on it. As is the farmer, so also is his threshing floor. For there was a time in the world ¹⁸ when I was preparing for those who now live, before the world was made for them to dwell in. Then no one spoke against me, ¹⁹ for no one existed. But now those who are created in this world that is prepared, both with a table that doesn’t fail and a law which is unsearchable, are corrupted in their ways.

is, so also the seed. As the flowers are, so are the colors. As the work is, so also is the judgment on it. As is the farmer, so also is his threshing floor. For there was a time in the world ¹⁸ when I was preparing for those who now live, before the world was made for them to dwell in. Then no one spoke against me, ¹⁹ for no one existed. But now those who are created in this world that is prepared, both with a table that doesn’t fail and a law which is unsearchable, are corrupted in their ways. ²⁰ So I considered my world, and behold, it was destroyed, and my earth, and behold, it was in peril, because of the plans that had come into it. ²¹ I saw and spared them, but not greatly, and saved myself a grape out of a cluster, and a plant out of a great forest. ²² Let the multitude perish then, which were born in vain. Let my grape be saved, and my plant, for I have made them perfect with great labor. ²³ Nevertheless, if you will wait seven more days—however don’t fast in them, ²⁴ but go into a field of flowers, where no house is built, and eat only of the flowers of the field, and

481 you shall taste no flesh, and shall drink no wine, but shall eat flowers only— ²⁵ and pray to the Most High continually, then I will come and talk with you.” ²⁶ So I went my way, just as he commanded me, into the field which is called Ardat. There I sat among the flowers, and ate of the herbs of the field, and this food satisfied me. ²⁷ It came to pass after seven days that I lay on the grass, and my heart was troubled again, like before. ²⁸ My mouth was opened, and I began to speak before the Lord Most High, and said, ²⁹ “O Lord, you showed yourself among us, to our fathers in the wilderness, when they went out of Egypt, and when they came into the wilderness, where no man treads and that bears no fruit. ³⁰ You said, ‘Hear me, O Israel. Heed my words, O seed of Jacob. ³¹ For behold, I sow my law in you, and it will bring forth fruit in you, and you will be glorified in it forever.’ ³² But our fathers, who received the law, didn’t keep it, and didn’t observe the statutes. The fruit of the law didn’t perish, for it couldn’t, because it was yours. ³³ Yet those who received it perished, because they didn’t keep the thing that was sown in them. ³⁴ Behold, it is a custom that when the ground has received seed, or the sea a ship, or any vessel food or drink, and when it comes to pass that that which is sown, or that which is launched, ³⁵ or the things which have been received, should come to an end, these come to an end, but the receptacles remain. Yet with us, it doesn’t happen that way. ³⁶ For we who have received the law will perish by sin, along with our heart which received it. ³⁷ Notwithstanding the law doesn’t perish, but remains in its honor.” ³⁸ When I spoke these things in my heart, I looked around me with my eyes, and on my right side I saw a woman, and behold, she mourned and wept with a loud voice, and was much grieved in mind. Her clothes were torn, and she had ashes on her head. ³⁹ Then let I my thoughts go in which I was occupied, and turned myself to her, ⁴⁰ and said to her, “Why are you weeping? Why are you grieved in your mind?” ⁴¹ She said to me, “Leave me alone, my Lord, that I may weep for myself and add to my sorrow, for I am very troubled in my mind, and brought very low.” ⁴² I said to her, “What ails you? Tell me.” ⁴³ She said to me, “I, your servant, was barren and had no child, though I had a husband thirty years. ⁴⁴ Every hour and every day these thirty years I made my prayer to the Most High day and night. ⁴⁵ It came to pass after thirty years that God heard me, your handmaid, and saw my low estate, and considered my trouble, and gave me a son. I rejoiced in him greatly, I and my husband, and all my neighbors. We gave great honor to the Mighty One. ⁴⁶ I nourished him with great care. ⁴⁷ So when he grew up, and I came to take him a wife, I made him a feast day. Esdras 2 Chapter 10 ¹“So it came to pass that when my son was entered into his wedding chamber, he fell down and died. ² Then we all put out the lamps, and all my neighbors rose up to comfort me. I remained quiet until the second day at night. ³ It came to pass, when they had all stopped consoling me, encouraging me to be quiet, then rose I up by night, and fled, and came here into this field, as you see. ⁴ Now I don’t intend to return into the city, but to stay here, and not eat or drink, but to continually mourn and fast until I die.” ⁵ Then I left the reflections I was engaged in, and answered her in anger, ⁶ “You most foolish woman, don’t you see our mourning, and what has happened to us? ⁷ For Zion the mother of us all is full of sorrow, and much humbled. ⁸ It is right now to mourn deeply, since we all mourn, and to be sorrowful, since we are all in sorrow, but you are mourning for one son. ⁹ Ask the earth, and she will tell you that it is she which ought to mourn for so many that grow upon her.

ourn and fast until I die.” ⁵ Then I left the reflections I was engaged in, and answered her in anger, ⁶ “You most foolish woman, don’t you see our mourning, and what has happened to us? ⁷ For Zion the mother of us all is full of sorrow, and much humbled. ⁸ It is right now to mourn deeply, since we all mourn, and to be sorrowful, since we are all in sorrow, but you are mourning for one son. ⁹ Ask the earth, and she will tell you that it is she which ought to mourn for so many that grow upon her. ¹⁰ For out of her, all had their beginnings, and others will come; and, behold, almost all of them walk into destruction, and the multitude of them is utterly doomed. ¹¹ Who then should mourn more, she who has lost so great a multitude, or you, who are grieved but for one? ¹² But if you say to me, ‘My lamentation is not like the earth’s, for I have lost the fruit of my womb, which I brought forth with pains, and bare with sorrows;’ ¹³ but it is with the earth after the manner of the earth. The multitude present in it has gone as it came. ¹⁴ Then say I to you, ‘Just

482 as you have brought forth with sorrow, even so the earth also has given her fruit, namely, people, ever since the beginning to him who made her.’ ¹⁵ Now therefore keep your sorrow to yourself, and bear with a good courage the adversities which have happened to you. ¹⁶ For if you will acknowledge the decree of God to be just, you will both receive your son in time, and will be praised among women. ¹⁷ Go your way then into the city to your husband.” ¹⁸ She said to me, “I won’t do that. I will not go into the city, but I will die here.” ¹⁹ So I proceeded to speak further to her, and said, ²⁰ “Don’t do so, but allow yourself to be persuaded by reason of the adversities of Zion; and be comforted by reason of the sorrow of Jerusalem. ²¹ For you see that our sanctuary has been laid waste, our altar broken down, our temple destroyed, ²² our lute has been brought low, our song is put to silence, our rejoicing is at an end, the light of our candlestick is put out, the ark of our covenant is plundered, our holy things are defiled, and the name that we are called is profaned. Our free men are despitefully treated, our priests are burned, our Levites have gone into captivity, our virgins are defiled and our wives ravished, our righteous men carried away, our little ones betrayed, our young men are brought into bondage, and our strong men have become weak. ²³ What is more than all, the seal of Zion has now lost the seal of her honor, and is delivered into the hands of those who hate us. ²⁴ Therefore shake off your great heaviness, and put away from yourself the multitude of sorrows, that the Mighty One may be merciful to you again, and the Most High may give you rest, even ease from your troubles.” ²⁵ It came to pass while I was talking with her, behold, her face suddenly began to shine exceedingly, and her countenance glistered like lightning, so that I was very afraid of her, and wondered what this meant. ²⁶ Behold, suddenly she made a great and very fearful cry, so that the earth shook at the noise. ²⁷ I looked, and behold, the woman appeared to me no more, but there was a city built, and a place shown itself from large foundations. Then I was afraid, and cried with a loud voice, ²⁸ “Where is Uriel the angel, who came to me at the first? For he has caused me to fall into this great trance, and my end has turned into corruption, and my prayer a reproach!” ²⁹ As I was speaking these words, behold, the angel who had come to me at first came to me, and he looked at me. ³⁰ Behold, I lay as one who had been dead, and my understanding was taken from me. He took me by the right hand, and comforted me, and set me on my feet, and said to me, ³¹ “What ails you? Why are you so troubled? Why is your understanding and the thoughts of your heart troubled?” ³² I said, “Because you have forsaken me; yet I did according to your words, and went into the field, and, behold, I have seen, and still see, that which I am not able to explain.” ³³ He said to me, “Stand up like a man, and I will instruct you.” ³⁴ Then I said, “Speak on, my Lord; only don’t forsake me, lest I die before my time. ³⁵ For I have seen what I didn’t know, and hear what I don’t know. ³⁶ Or is my sense deceived, or my soul in a dream? ³⁷ Now therefore I beg you to explain to your servant what this vision means.” ³⁸ He answered me, “Listen to me, and I will inform you, and tell you about the things you are afraid of, for the Most High has revealed many secret things to you. ³⁹ He has seen that your way is righteous, because you are continually sorry for your people, and make great lamentation for Zion. ⁴⁰ This therefore is the meaning of the vision.

and hear what I don’t know. ³⁶ Or is my sense deceived, or my soul in a dream? ³⁷ Now therefore I beg you to explain to your servant what this vision means.” ³⁸ He answered me, “Listen to me, and I will inform you, and tell you about the things you are afraid of, for the Most High has revealed many secret things to you. ³⁹ He has seen that your way is righteous, because you are continually sorry for your people, and make great lamentation for Zion. ⁴⁰ This therefore is the meaning of the vision. ⁴¹ The woman who appeared to you a little while ago, whom you saw mourning, and began to comfort her, ⁴² but now you no longer see the likeness of the woman, but a city under construction appeared to you, ⁴³ and she told you of the death of her son, this is the interpretation: ⁴⁴ This woman, whom you saw, is Zion, whom you now see as a city being built. ⁴⁵ She told you that she had been barren for thirty years because there were three thousand years in the world in which there was no offering as yet offered in her. ⁴⁶ And it came to pass after three thousand years that Solomon built the city and offered offerings. It was then that the barren bore a son. ⁴⁷ She told you that she nourished him with great care. That was the dwelling in Jerusalem. ⁴⁸ When she said to you, ‘My son died when he entered into his marriage chamber, and that misfortune befell her,’ this was the destruction that came to Jerusalem. ⁴⁹ Behold, you saw her likeness, how she mourned for her son, and you began to

483 comfort her for what has happened to her. These were the things to be opened to you. ⁵⁰ For now the Most High, seeing that you are sincerely grieved and suffer from your whole heart for her, has shown you the brightness of her glory and the attractiveness of her beauty. ⁵¹ Therefore I asked you to remain in the field where no house was built, ⁵² for I knew that the Most High would show this to you. ⁵³ Therefore I commanded you to come into the field, where no foundation of any building was. ⁵⁴ For no human construction could stand in the place in which the city of the Most High was to be shown. ⁵⁵ Therefore don’t be afraid nor let your heart be terrified, but go your way in and see the beauty and greatness of the building, as much as your eyes are able to see. ⁵⁶ Then will you hear as much as your ears may comprehend. ⁵⁷ For you are more blessed than many, and are called by name to be with the Most High, like only a few. ⁵⁸ But tomorrow at night you shall remain here, ⁵⁹ and so the Most High will show you those visions in dreams of what the Most High will do to those who live on the earth in the last days.” So I slept that night and another, as he commanded me. Esdras 2 Chapter 11 ¹"It came to pass the second night that I saw a dream, and behold, an eagle which had twelve feathered wings and three heads came up from the sea. ² I saw, and behold, she spread her wings over all the earth, and all the winds of heaven blew on her, and the clouds were gathered together against her. ³ I saw, and out of her wings there grew other wings near them; and they became little, tiny wings. ⁴ But her heads were at rest. The head in the middle was larger than the other heads, yet rested it with them. ⁵ Moreover I saw, and behold, the eagle flew with her wings to reign over the earth and over those who dwell therein. ⁶ I saw how all things under heaven were subject to her, and no one spoke against her—no, not one creature on earth. ⁷ I saw, and behold, the eagle rose on her talons, and uttered her voice to her wings, saying, ⁸ 'Don’t all watch at the same time. Let each one sleep in his own place and watch in turn; ⁹ but let the heads be preserved for the last.' ¹⁰ I saw, and behold, the voice didn’t come out of her heads, but from the midst of her body. ¹¹ I counted her wings that were near the others, and behold, there were eight of them. ¹² I saw, and behold, on the right side one wing arose and reigned over all the earth. ¹³ When it reigned, the end of it came, and it disappeared, so that its place appeared no more. The next wing rose up and reigned, and it ruled a long time. ¹⁴ It happened that when it reigned, its end came also, so that it disappeared, like the first. ¹⁵ Behold, a voice came to it, and said, ¹⁶ 'Listen, you who have ruled over the earth all this time! I proclaim this to you, before you disappear, ¹⁷ none after you will rule as long as you, not even half as long.' ¹⁸ Then the third arose, and ruled as the others before, and it also disappeared. ¹⁹ So it went with all the wings one after another, as every one ruled, and then disappeared. ²⁰ I saw, and behold, in process of time the wings that followed were set up on the right side, that they might rule also. Some of them ruled, but in a while they disappeared. ²¹ Some of them also were set up, but didn’t rule. ²² After this I saw, and behold, the twelve wings disappeared, along with two of the little wings. ²³ There was no more left on the eagle’s body, except the three heads that rested, and six little wings. ²⁴ I saw, and behold, two little wings divided themselves from the six and remained under the head that was on the right side; but four remained in their place. ²⁵ I saw, and behold, these under wings planned to set themselves up and to rule. ²⁶ I saw, and behold, there was one set up, but in a while it disappeared. ²⁷ A second also did so, and it disappeared faster than the first.

tle wings. ²³ There was no more left on the eagle’s body, except the three heads that rested, and six little wings. ²⁴ I saw, and behold, two little wings divided themselves from the six and remained under the head that was on the right side; but four remained in their place. ²⁵ I saw, and behold, these under wings planned to set themselves up and to rule. ²⁶ I saw, and behold, there was one set up, but in a while it disappeared. ²⁷ A second also did so, and it disappeared faster than the first. ²⁸ I saw, and behold, the two that remained also planned between themselves to reign. ²⁹ While they thought about it, behold, one of the heads that were at rest awakened, the one that was in the middle, for that was greater than the two other heads. ³⁰ I saw how it joined the two other heads with it. ³¹ Behold, the head turned with those who were with it, and ate the two under wings that planned to reign. ³² But this head held the whole earth in possession, and ruled over those who dwell in it with much oppression. It had

484 stronger governance over the world than all the wings that had gone before. ³³ After this I saw, and behold, the head also that was in the middle suddenly disappeared, like the wings. ³⁴ But the two heads remained, which also reigned the same way over the earth and over those who dwell in it. ³⁵ I saw, and behold, the head on the right side devoured the one that was on the left side. ³⁶ Then I heard a voice, which said to me, 'Look in front of you, and consider the thing that you see.' ³⁷ I saw, and behold, something like a lion roused out of the woods roaring. I heard how he sent out a man’s voice to the eagle, and spoke, saying, ³⁸ 'Listen and I will talk with you. The Most High will say to you, ³⁹ "Aren’t you the one that remains of the four animals whom I made to reign in my world, that the end of my times might come through them? ⁴⁰ The fourth came and overcame all the animals that were past, and ruled the world with great trembling, and the whole extent of the earth with grievous oppression. He lived on the earth such a long time with deceit. ⁴¹ You have judged the earth, but not with truth. ⁴² For you have afflicted the meek, you have hurt the peaceful, you have hated those who speak truth, you have loved liars, destroyed the dwellings of those who produced fruit, and threw down the walls of those who did you no harm. ⁴³ Your insolence has come up to the Most High, and your pride to the Mighty. ⁴⁴ The Most High also has looked at his times, and behold, they are ended, and his ages are fulfilled. ⁴⁵ Therefore appear no more, you eagle, nor your horrible wings, nor your evil little wings, nor your cruel heads, nor your hurtful talons, nor all your worthless body, ⁴⁶ that all the earth may be refreshed and relieved, being delivered from your violence, and that she may hope for the judgment and mercy of him who made her."'" Esdras 2 Chapter 12 ¹"It came to pass, while the lion spoke these words to the eagle, I saw, ² and behold, the head that remained disappeared, and the two wings which went over to it arose and set themselves up to reign; and their kingdom was brief and full of uproar. ³ I saw, and behold, they disappeared, and the whole body of the eagle was burned, so that the earth was in great fear. Then I woke up because of great perplexity of mind and great fear, and said to my spirit, ⁴ 'Behold, you have done this to me, because you search out the ways of the Most High. ⁵ Behold, I am still weary in my mind, and very weak in my spirit. There isn’t even a little strength in me, because of the great fear with which I was frightened tonight. ⁶ Therefore I will now ask the Most High that he would strengthen me to the end.' ⁷ Then I said, 'O sovereign Lord, if I have found favor in your sight, and if I am justified with you more than many others, and if my prayer has indeed come up before your face, ⁸ strengthen me then, and show me, your servant, the interpretation and plain meaning of this fearful vision, that you may fully comfort my soul. ⁹ For you have judged me worthy to show me the end of time and the last events of the times.' ¹⁰ He said to me, 'This is the interpretation of this vision which you saw: ¹¹ The eagle, whom you saw come up from the sea, is the fourth kingdom which appeared in a vision to your brother Daniel. ¹² But it was not explained to him, as I now explain it to you or have explained it. ¹³ Behold, the days come that a kingdom will rise up on earth, and it will be feared more than all the kingdoms that were before it. ¹⁴ Twelve kings will reign in it, one after another. ¹⁵ Of those, the second will begin to reign, and will reign a longer time than others of the twelve. ¹⁶ This is the interpretation of the twelve wings which you saw. ¹⁷ As for when you heard a voice which spoke, not going out from the heads, but from the midst of its body, this is the interpretation: ¹⁸ That after the time of that kingdom, there will arise no small contentions, and it will stand in peril of falling.

ngdoms that were before it. ¹⁴ Twelve kings will reign in it, one after another. ¹⁵ Of those, the second will begin to reign, and will reign a longer time than others of the twelve. ¹⁶ This is the interpretation of the twelve wings which you saw. ¹⁷ As for when you heard a voice which spoke, not going out from the heads, but from the midst of its body, this is the interpretation: ¹⁸ That after the time of that kingdom, there will arise no small contentions, and it will stand in peril of falling. Nevertheless, it won’t fall then, but will be restored again to its former power. ¹⁹ You saw the eight under wings sticking to her wings. This is the interpretation: ²⁰ That in it eight kings will arise, whose times will be short and their years swift. ²¹ Two of them will perish when the middle time approaches. Four will be kept for a while until the time of the ending of it will approach; but two will be kept to the end. ²² You saw three heads

485 resting. This is the interpretation: ²³ In its last days, the Most High will raise up three kingdoms and renew many things in them. They will rule over the earth, ²⁴ and over those who dwell in it, with much oppression, more than all those who were before them. Therefore they are called the heads of the eagle. ²⁵ For these are those who will accomplish her wickedness, and who will finish her last actions. ²⁶ You saw that the great head disappeared. It signifies that one of them will die on his bed, and yet with pain. ²⁷ But for the two that remained, the sword will devour them. ²⁸ For the sword of the one will devour him that was with him, but he will also fall by the sword in the last days. ²⁹ You saw two under wings passing over to the head that is on the right side. ³⁰ This is the interpretation: These are they whom the Most High has kept to his end. This is the brief reign that was full of trouble, as you saw. ³¹ 'The lion, whom you saw rising up out of the forest, roaring, speaking to the eagle, and rebuking her for her unrighteousness, and all her words which you have heard, ³² this is the anointed one, whom the Most High has kept to the end [of days, who will spring up out of the seed of David, and he will come and speak] to them and reprove them for their wickedness and unrighteousness, and will heap up before them their contemptuous dealings. ³³ For at first he will set them alive in his judgment, and when he has reproved them, he will destroy them. ³⁴ For he will deliver the rest of my people with mercy, those who have been preserved throughout my borders, and he will make them joyful until the coming of the end, even the day of judgment, about which I have spoken to you from the beginning. ³⁵ This is the dream that you saw, and this is its interpretation. ³⁶ Only you have been worthy to know the secret of the Most High. ³⁷ Therefore write all these things that you have seen in a book, and put it in a secret place. ³⁸ You shall teach them to the wise of your people, whose hearts you know are able to comprehend and keep these secrets. ³⁹ But wait here yourself seven more days, that you may be shown whatever it pleases the Most High to show you.' Then he departed from me. ⁴⁰ It came to pass, when all the people saw that the seven days were past, and I had not come again into the city, they all gathered together, from the least to the greatest, and came to me, and spoke to me, saying, ⁴¹ 'How have we offended you? What evil have we done against you, that you have utterly forsaken us, and sit in this place? ⁴² For of all the prophets, only you are left to us, like a cluster of the vintage, and like a lamp in a dark place, and like a harbor for a ship saved from the tempest. ⁴³ Aren’t the evils which have come to us sufficient? ⁴⁴ If you will forsake us, how much better had it been for us if we also had been consumed in the burning of Zion! ⁴⁵ For we are not better than those who died there.' Then they wept with a loud voice. I answered them, ⁴⁶ 'Take courage, O Israel! Don’t be sorrowful, you house of Jacob; ⁴⁷ for the Most High remembers you. The Mighty has not forgotten you forever. ⁴⁸ As for me, I have not forsaken you. I haven’t departed from you; but I have come into this place to pray for the desolation of Zion, and that I might seek mercy for the humiliation of your sanctuary. ⁴⁹ Now go your way, every man to his own house, and after these days I will come to you.' ⁵⁰ So the people went their way into the city, as I told them to do. ⁵¹ But I sat in the field seven days, as the angel commanded me. In those days, I ate only of the flowers of the field, and my food was from plants." Esdras 2 Chapter 13 ¹"It came to pass after seven days, I dreamed a dream by night. ² Behold, a wind arose from the sea that moved all its waves. ³ I saw, and behold, [this wind caused to come up from the midst of the sea something like the appearance of a man. I saw, and behold,] that man flew with the clouds of heaven.

city, as I told them to do. ⁵¹ But I sat in the field seven days, as the angel commanded me. In those days, I ate only of the flowers of the field, and my food was from plants." Esdras 2 Chapter 13 ¹"It came to pass after seven days, I dreamed a dream by night. ² Behold, a wind arose from the sea that moved all its waves. ³ I saw, and behold, [this wind caused to come up from the midst of the sea something like the appearance of a man. I saw, and behold,] that man flew with the clouds of heaven. When he turned his face to look, everything that he saw trembled. ⁴ Whenever the voice went out of his mouth, all who heard his voice melted, like the wax melts when it feels the fire. ⁵ After this I saw, and behold, an innumerable multitude of people was gathered together from the four winds of heaven to make war against the man who came out of the sea. ⁶ I saw, and behold, he carved himself a great mountain, and flew up onto it. ⁷ I tried to see the region or place from

486 which the mountain was carved, and I couldn’t. ⁸ After this I saw, and behold, all those who were gathered together to fight against him were very afraid, and yet they dared to fight. ⁹ Behold, as he saw the assault of the multitude that came, he didn’t lift up his hand, or hold a spear or any weapon of war; ¹⁰ but I saw only how he sent out of his mouth something like a flood of fire, and out of his lips a flaming breath, and out of his tongue he shot out a storm of sparks. ¹¹ These were all mixed together: the flood of fire, the flaming breath, and the great storm, and fell upon the assault of the multitude which was prepared to fight, and burned up every one of them, so that all of a sudden an innumerable multitude was seen to be nothing but dust of ashes and smell of smoke. When I saw this, I was amazed. ¹² Afterward, I saw the same man come down from the mountain, and call to himself another multitude which was peaceful. ¹³ Many people came to him. Some of them were glad. Some were sorry. Some of them were bound, and some others brought some of those as offerings. Then through great fear I woke up and prayed to the Most High, and said, ¹⁴ 'You have shown your servant these wonders from the beginning, and have counted me worthy that you should receive my prayer. ¹⁵ Now show me also the interpretation of this dream. ¹⁶ For as I conceive in my understanding, woe to those who will be left in those days! Much more woe to those who are not left! ¹⁷ For those who were not left will be in heaviness, ¹⁸ understanding the things that are laid up in the latter days, but not attaining to them. ¹⁹ But woe to them also who are left, because they will see great perils and much distress, like these dreams declare. ²⁰ Yet is it better for one to be in peril and to come into these things, than to pass away as a cloud out of the world, and not to see the things that will happen in the last days.' He answered me, ²¹ 'I will tell you the interpretation of the vision, and I will also open to you the things about which you mentioned. ²² You have spoken of those who are left behind. This is the interpretation: ²³ He that will endure the peril in that time will protect those who fall into danger, even those who have works and faith toward the Almighty. ²⁴ Know therefore that those who are left behind are more blessed than those who are dead. ²⁵ These are the interpretations of the vision: Whereas you saw a man coming up from the midst of the sea, ²⁶ this is he whom the Most High has been keeping for many ages, who by his own self will deliver his creation. He will direct those who are left behind. ²⁷ Whereas you saw that out of his mouth came wind, fire, and storm, ²⁸ and whereas he held neither spear, nor any weapon of war, but destroyed the assault of that multitude which came to fight against him, this is the interpretation: ²⁹ Behold, the days come when the Most High will begin to deliver those who are on the earth. ³⁰ Astonishment of mind will come upon those who dwell on the earth. ³¹ One will plan to make war against another, city against city, place against place, people against people, and kingdom against kingdom. ³² It will be, when these things come to pass, and the signs happen which I showed you before, then my Son will be revealed, whom you saw as a man ascending. ³³ It will be, when all the nations hear his voice, every man will leave his own land and the battle they have against one another. ³⁴ An innumerable multitude will be gathered together, as you saw, desiring to come and to fight against him. ³⁵ But he will stand on the top of Mount Zion. ³⁶ Zion will come, and will be shown to all men, being prepared and built, like you saw the mountain carved without hands. ³⁷ My Son will rebuke the nations which have come for their wickedness, with plagues that are like a storm, ³⁸ and will rebuke them to their face with their evil thoughts, and the torments with which they will be tormented, which are like a flame.

will be gathered together, as you saw, desiring to come and to fight against him. ³⁵ But he will stand on the top of Mount Zion. ³⁶ Zion will come, and will be shown to all men, being prepared and built, like you saw the mountain carved without hands. ³⁷ My Son will rebuke the nations which have come for their wickedness, with plagues that are like a storm, ³⁸ and will rebuke them to their face with their evil thoughts, and the torments with which they will be tormented, which are like a flame. He will destroy them without labor by the law, which is like fire. ³⁹ Whereas you saw that he gathered to himself another multitude that was peaceful, ⁴⁰ these are the ten tribes which were led away out of their own land in the time of Osea the king, whom Salmananser the king of the Assyrians led away captive, and he carried them beyond the River, and they were taken into another land. ⁴¹ But they made this plan among themselves, that they would leave the multitude of the heathen, and go out into a more distant region, where mankind had never lived, ⁴² that there they might keep their statutes which they had not kept in their own land. ⁴³ They entered by

487 the narrow passages of the river Euphrates. ⁴⁴ For the Most High then did signs for them, and stopped the springs of the River until they had passed over. ⁴⁵ For through that country there was a long way to go, namely, of a year and a half. The same region is called Arzareth. ⁴⁶ Then they lived there until the latter time. Now when they begin to come again, ⁴⁷ the Most High stops the springs of the River again, that they may go through. Therefore you saw the multitude gathered together with peace. ⁴⁸ But those who are left behind of your people are those who are found within my holy border. ⁴⁹ It will be therefore when he will destroy the multitude of the nations that are gathered together, he will defend the people who remain. ⁵⁰ Then will he show them very many wonders.' ⁵¹ Then I said, 'O sovereign Lord, explain this to me: Why have I seen the man coming up from the midst of the sea?' ⁵² He said to me, as no one can explore or know what is in the depths of the sea, even so no man on earth can see my Son, or those who are with him, except in the time of his day. ⁵³ This is the interpretation of the dream which you saw, and for this only you are enlightened about this, ⁵⁴ for you have forsaken your own ways, and applied your diligence to mine, and have searched out my law. ⁵⁵ You have ordered your life in wisdom, and have called understanding your mother. ⁵⁶ Therefore I have shown you this, for there is a reward laid up with the Most High. It will be, after another three days I will speak other things to you, and declare to you mighty and wondrous things.' ⁵⁷ Then I went out and passed into the field, giving praise and thanks greatly to the Most High because of his wonders, which he did from time to time, ⁵⁸ and because he governs the time, and such things as happen in their seasons. So I sat there three days." Esdras 2 Chapter 14 ¹It came to pass upon the third day, I sat under an oak, and, behold, a voice came out of a bush near me, and said, “Esdras, Esdras!” ² I said, “Here I am, Lord,” and I stood up on my feet. ³ Then he said to me, “I revealed myself in a bush and talked with Moses when my people were in bondage in Egypt. ⁴ I sent him, and he led my people out of Egypt. I brought him up to Mount Sinai, where I kept him with me for many days. ⁵ I told him many wondrous things, and showed him the secrets of the times and the end of the seasons. I commanded him, saying, ⁶ ‘You shall publish these openly, and these you shall hide.’ ⁷ Now I say to you: ⁸ Lay up in your heart the signs that I have shown, the dreams that you have seen, and the interpretations which you have heard; ⁹ for you will be taken away from men, and from now on you will live with my Son and with those who are like you, until the times have ended. ¹⁰ For the world has lost its youth, and the times begin to grow old. ¹¹ For the age is divided into twelve parts, and ten parts of it are already gone, even the half of the tenth part. ¹² There remain of it two parts after the middle of the tenth part. ¹³ Now therefore set your house in order, reprove your people, comfort the lowly among them, and instruct those of them who are wise, and now renounce the life that is corruptible, ¹⁴ and let go of the mortal thoughts, cast away from you the burdens of man, put off now your weak nature, ¹⁵ lay aside the thoughts that are most grievous to you, and hurry to escape from these times. ¹⁶ For worse evils than those which you have seen happen will be done after this. ¹⁷ For look how much the world will be weaker through age, so much that more evils will increase on those who dwell in it. ¹⁸ For the truth will withdraw itself further off, and falsehood will be near. For now the eagle which you saw in vision hurries to come.” ¹⁹ Then I answered and said, “Let me speak in your presence, O Lord. ²⁰ Behold, I will go, as you have commanded me, and reprove the people who now live, but who will warn those who will be born afterward?

happen will be done after this. ¹⁷ For look how much the world will be weaker through age, so much that more evils will increase on those who dwell in it. ¹⁸ For the truth will withdraw itself further off, and falsehood will be near. For now the eagle which you saw in vision hurries to come.” ¹⁹ Then I answered and said, “Let me speak in your presence, O Lord. ²⁰ Behold, I will go, as you have commanded me, and reprove the people who now live, but who will warn those who will be born afterward? For the world is set in darkness, and those who dwell in it are without light. ²¹ For your law has been burned, therefore no one knows the things that are done by you, or the works that will be done. ²² But if I have found favor before you, send the Holy Spirit to me, and I will write all that has been done in the world since the beginning, even the things that were written in your law, that men may be able to find the path, and that those who would live in the latter days may live.” ²³ He answered me and said, “Go your

488 way, gather the people together, and tell them not to seek you for forty days. ²⁴ But prepare for yourself many tablets, and take with you Sarea, Dabria, Selemia, Ethanus, and Asiel, these five, which are ready to write swiftly; ²⁵ and come here, and I will light a lamp of understanding in your heart which will not be put out until the things have ended about which you will write. ²⁶ When you are done, some things you shall publish openly, and some things you shall deliver in secret to the wise. Tomorrow at this hour you will begin to write.” ²⁷ Then went I out, as he commanded me, and gathered all the people together, and said, ²⁸ “Hear these words, O Israel! ²⁹ Our fathers at the beginning were foreigners in Egypt, and they were delivered from there, ³⁰ and received the law of life, which they didn’t keep, which you also have transgressed after them. ³¹ Then the land of Zion was given to you for a possession; but you yourselves and your ancestors have done unrighteousness, and have not kept the ways which the Most High commanded you. ³² Because he is a righteous judge, in due time, he took from you what he had given you. ³³ Now you are here, and your kindred are among you. ³⁴ Therefore if you will rule over your own understanding and instruct your hearts, you will be kept alive, and after death you will obtain mercy. ³⁵ For after death the judgment will come, when we will live again. Then the names of the righteous will become manifest, and the works of the ungodly will be declared. ³⁶ Let no one therefore come to me now, nor seek me for forty days.” ³⁷ So I took the five men, as he commanded me, and we went out into the field, and remained there. ³⁸ It came to pass on the next day that, behold, a voice called me, saying, “Esdras, open your mouth, and drink what I give you to drink.” ³⁹ Then opened I my mouth, and behold, a full cup was handed to me. It was full of something like water, but its color was like fire. ⁴⁰ I took it, and drank. When I had drunk it, my heart uttered understanding, and wisdom grew in my chest, for my spirit retained its memory. ⁴¹ My mouth was opened, and shut no more. ⁴² The Most High gave understanding to the five men, and they wrote by course the things that were told them, in characters which they didn’t know, and they sat forty days. Now they wrote in the day-time, and at night they ate bread. ⁴³ As for me, I spoke in the day, and by night I didn’t hold my tongue. ⁴⁴ So in forty days, ninety-four books were written. ⁴⁵ It came to pass, when the forty days were fulfilled, that the Most High spoke to me, saying, “The first books that you have written, publish openly, and let the worthy and unworthy read them; ⁴⁶ but keep the last seventy, that you may deliver them to those who are wise among your people; ⁴⁷ for in them is the spring of understanding, the fountain of wisdom, and the stream of knowledge.” ⁴⁸ I did so. Esdras 2 Chapter 15 ¹“Behold, speak in the ears of my people the words of prophecy which I will put in your mouth,” says the Lord. ²“Cause them to be written on paper, for they are faithful and true. ³ Don’t be afraid of their plots against you. Don’t let the unbelief of those who speak against you trouble you. ⁴ For all the unbelievers will die in their unbelief. ⁵“Behold,” says the Lord, “I bring evils on the whole earth: sword, famine, death, and destruction. ⁶ For wickedness has prevailed over every land, and their hurtful works have reached their limit. ⁷ Therefore,” says the Lord, ⁸“I will hold my peace no more concerning their wickedness which they profanely commit, neither will I tolerate them in these things, which they wickedly practice. Behold, the innocent and righteous blood cries to me, and the souls of the righteous cry out continually. ⁹ I will surely avenge them,” says the Lord, “and will receive to me all the innocent blood from among them. ¹⁰ Behold, my people is led like a flock to the slaughter.

l works have reached their limit. ⁷ Therefore,” says the Lord, ⁸“I will hold my peace no more concerning their wickedness which they profanely commit, neither will I tolerate them in these things, which they wickedly practice. Behold, the innocent and righteous blood cries to me, and the souls of the righteous cry out continually. ⁹ I will surely avenge them,” says the Lord, “and will receive to me all the innocent blood from among them. ¹⁰ Behold, my people is led like a flock to the slaughter. I will not allow them now to dwell in the land of Egypt, ¹¹ but I will bring them out with a mighty hand and with a high arm, and will strike Egypt with plagues, as before, and will destroy all its land.” ¹² Let Egypt and its foundations mourn, for the plague of the chastisement and the punishment that God will bring upon it. ¹³ Let the farmers that till the ground mourn, for their seeds will fail and their trees will be ruined through the blight and hail, and a terrible tempest.

489 ¹⁴ Woe to the world and those who dwell in it! ¹⁵ For the sword and their destruction draws near, and nation will rise up against nation to battle with weapons in their hands. ¹⁶ For there will be sedition among men, and growing strong against one another. In their might, they won’t respect their king or the chief of their great ones. ¹⁷ For a man will desire to go into a city, and will not be able. ¹⁸ For because of their pride the cities will be troubled, the houses will be destroyed, and men will be afraid. ¹⁹ A man will have no pity on his neighbors, but will assault their houses with the sword and plunder their goods, because of the lack of bread, and for great suffering. ²⁰“Behold,” says God, “I call together all the kings of the earth to stir up those who are from the rising of the sun, from the south, from the east, and Libanus, to turn themselves one against another, and repay the things that they have done to them. ²¹ Just as they do yet this day to my chosen, so I will do also, and repay into their bosom.” The Lord God says: ²²“My right hand won’t spare the sinners, and my sword won’t cease over those who shed innocent blood on the earth. ²³ A fire has gone out from his wrath and has consumed the foundations of the earth and the sinners, like burnt straw. ²⁴ Woe to those who sin and don’t keep my commandments!” says the Lord. ²⁵“I will not spare them. Go your way, you rebellious children! Don’t defile my sanctuary!” ²⁶ For the Lord knows all those who trespass against him, therefore he will deliver them to death and destruction. ²⁷ For now evils have come upon the whole earth, and you will remain in them; for God will not deliver you, because you have sinned against him. ²⁸ Behold, a horrible sight appearing from the east! ²⁹ The nations of the dragons of Arabia will come out with many chariots. From the day that they set out, their hissing is carried over the earth, so that all those who will hear them may also fear and tremble. ³⁰ Also the Carmonians, raging in wrath, will go out like the wild boars of the forest. They will come with great power and join battle with them, and will devastate a portion of the land of the Assyrians with their teeth. ³¹ Then the dragons will have the upper hand, remembering their nature. If they will turn themselves, conspiring together in great power to persecute them, ³² then these will be troubled, and keep silence through their power, and will turn and flee. ³³ From the land of the Assyrians, an enemy in ambush will attack them and destroy one of them. Upon their army will be fear and trembling, and indecision upon their kings. ³⁴ Behold, clouds from the east, and from the north to the south! They are very horrible to look at, full of wrath and storm. ³⁵ They will clash against one another. They will pour out a heavy storm on the earth, even their own storm. There will be blood from the sword to the horse’s belly, ³⁶ and to the thigh of man, and to the camel’s hock. ³⁷ There will be fearfulness and great trembling upon earth. They who see that wrath will be afraid, and trembling will seize them. ³⁸ After this, great storms will be stirred up from the south, from the north, and another part from the west. ³⁹ Strong winds will arise from the east, and will shut it up, even the cloud which he raised up in wrath; and the storm that was to cause destruction by the east wind will be violently driven toward the south and west. ⁴⁰ Great and mighty clouds, full of wrath, will be lifted up with the storm, that they may destroy all the earth and those who dwell in it. They will pour out over every high and lofty one a terrible storm, ⁴¹ fire, hail, flying swords, and many waters, that all plains may be full, and all rivers, with the abundance of those waters. ⁴² They will break down the cities and walls, mountains and hills, trees of the forest, and grass of the meadows, and their grain. ⁴³ They will go on steadily to Babylon and destroy her.

louds, full of wrath, will be lifted up with the storm, that they may destroy all the earth and those who dwell in it. They will pour out over every high and lofty one a terrible storm, ⁴¹ fire, hail, flying swords, and many waters, that all plains may be full, and all rivers, with the abundance of those waters. ⁴² They will break down the cities and walls, mountains and hills, trees of the forest, and grass of the meadows, and their grain. ⁴³ They will go on steadily to Babylon and destroy her. ⁴⁴ They will come to it and surround it. They will pour out the storm and all wrath on her. Then the dust and smoke will go up to the sky, and all those who are around it will mourn for it. ⁴⁵ Those who remain will serve those who have destroyed it. ⁴⁶ You, Asia, who are partaker in the beauty of Babylon, and in the glory of her person— ⁴⁷ woe to you, you wretch, because you have made yourself like her. You have decked out your daughters for prostitution, that they might please and glory in your lovers, which have always lusted after you! ⁴⁸ You have followed her who is hateful in all her works and inventions. Therefore God says, ⁴⁹“I will send evils on you: widowhood, poverty, famine, sword, and pestilence, to lay

490 waste your houses and bring you to destruction and death. ⁵⁰ The glory of your power will be dried up like a flower when the heat rises that is sent over you. ⁵¹ You will be weakened like a poor woman who is beaten and wounded, so that you won’t be able to receive your mighty ones and your lovers. ⁵² Would I have dealt with you with such jealousy,” says the Lord, ⁵³“if you had not always slain my chosen, exalting and clapping of your hands, and saying over their dead, when you were drunk? ⁵⁴“Beautify your face! ⁵⁵ The reward of a prostitute will be in your bosom, therefore you will be repaid. ⁵⁶ Just as you will do to my chosen,” says the Lord, “even so God will do to you, and will deliver you to your adversaries. ⁵⁷ Your children will die of hunger. You will fall by the sword. Your cities will be broken down, and all your people in the field will perish by the sword. ⁵⁸ Those who are in the mountains will die of hunger, eat their own flesh, and drink their own blood, because of hunger for bread and thirst for water. ⁵⁹ You, unhappy above all others, will come and will again receive evils. ⁶⁰ In the passage, they will rush on the hateful city and will destroy some portion of your land, and mar part of your glory, and will return again to Babylon that was destroyed. ⁶¹ You will be cast down by them as stubble, and they will be to you as fire. ⁶² They will devour you, your cities, your land, and your mountains. They will burn all your forests and your fruitful trees with fire. ⁶³ They will carry your children away captive, and will plunder your wealth, and mar the glory of your face.” Esdras 2 Chapter 16 ¹"Woe to you, Babylon, and Asia! Woe to you, Egypt and Syria! ² Put on sackcloth and garments of goats’ hair, wail for your children and lament; for your destruction is at hand. ³ A sword has been sent upon you, and who is there to turn it back? ⁴ A fire has been sent upon you, and who is there to quench it? ⁵ Calamities are sent upon you, and who is there to drive them away? ⁶ Can one drive away a hungry lion in the forest? Can one quench a fire in stubble, once it has begun to burn? ⁷ Can one turn back an arrow that is shot by a strong archer? ⁸ The Lord God sends the calamities, and who will drive them away? ⁹ A fire will go out from his wrath, and who may quench it? ¹⁰ He will flash lightning, and who will not fear? He will thunder, and who wouldn’t tremble? ¹¹ The Lord will threaten, and who will not be utterly broken in pieces at his presence? ¹² The earth and its foundations quake. The sea rises up with waves from the deep, and its waves will be troubled, along with the fish in them, at the presence of the Lord, and before the glory of his power. ¹³ For his right hand that bends the bow is strong, his arrows that he shoots are sharp, and will not miss when they begin to be shot into the ends of the world. ¹⁴ Behold, the calamities are sent out, and will not return again until they come upon the earth. ¹⁵ The fire is kindled and will not be put out until it consumes the foundations of the earth. ¹⁶ Just as an arrow which is shot by a mighty archer doesn’t return backward, even so the calamities that are sent out upon earth won’t return again. ¹⁷ Woe is me! Woe is me! Who will deliver me in those days? ¹⁸ The beginning of sorrows, when there will be great mourning; the beginning of famine, and many will perish; the beginning of wars, and the powers will stand in fear; the beginning of calamities, and all will tremble! What will they do when the calamities come? ¹⁹ Behold, famine and plague, suffering and anguish! They are sent as scourges for correction. ²⁰ But for all these things they will not turn them from their wickedness, nor be always mindful of the scourges. ²¹ Behold, food will be so cheap on earth that they will think themselves to be in good condition, and even then calamities will grow on earth: sword, famine, and great confusion.

l stand in fear; the beginning of calamities, and all will tremble! What will they do when the calamities come? ¹⁹ Behold, famine and plague, suffering and anguish! They are sent as scourges for correction. ²⁰ But for all these things they will not turn them from their wickedness, nor be always mindful of the scourges. ²¹ Behold, food will be so cheap on earth that they will think themselves to be in good condition, and even then calamities will grow on earth: sword, famine, and great confusion. ²² For many of those who dwell on earth will perish of famine; and others who escape the famine, the sword will destroy. ²³ The dead will be cast out like dung, and there will be no one to comfort them; for the earth will be left desolate, and its cities will be cast down. ²⁴ There will be no farmer left to cultivate the earth or to sow it. ²⁵ The trees will give fruit, but who will gather it? ²⁶ The grapes will ripen, but who will tread them? For in all places there will be a great solitude; ²⁷ for one man will desire to see another, or to hear

491 his voice. ²⁸ For of a city there will be ten left, and two of the field, who have hidden themselves in the thick groves, and in the clefts of the rocks. ²⁹ As in an orchard of olives upon every tree there may be left three or four olives, ³⁰ or as when a vineyard is gathered, there are some clusters left by those who diligently search through the vineyard, ³¹ even so in those days, there will be three or four left by those who search their houses with the sword. ³² The earth will be left desolate, and its fields will be for briers, and its roads and all her paths will grow thorns, because no sheep will pass along them. ³³ The virgins will mourn, having no bridegrooms. The women will mourn, having no husbands. Their daughters will mourn, having no helpers. ³⁴ Their bridegrooms will be destroyed in the wars, and their husbands will perish of famine. ³⁵ Hear now these things, and understand them, you servants of the Lord. ³⁶ Behold, the Lord’s word: receive it. Don’t doubt the things about which the Lord speaks. ³⁷ Behold, the calamities draw near, and are not delayed. ³⁸ Just as a woman with child in the ninth month, when the hour of her delivery draws near, within two or three hours great pains surround her womb, and when the child comes out from the womb, there will be no waiting for a moment, ³⁹ even so the calamities won’t delay coming upon the earth. The world will groan, and sorrows will seize it on every side. ⁴⁰“O my people, hear my word: prepare for battle, and in those calamities be like strangers on the earth. ⁴¹ He who sells, let him be as he who flees away, and he who buys, as one who will lose. ⁴² Let he who does business be as he who has no profit by it, and he who builds, as he who won’t dwell in it, ⁴³ and he who sows, as if he wouldn’t reap, so also he who prunes the vines, as he who won’t gather the grapes, ⁴⁴ those who marry, as those who will have no children, and those who don’t marry, as the widowed. ⁴⁵ Because of this, those who labor, labor in vain; ⁴⁶ for foreigners will reap their fruits, plunder their goods, overthrow their houses, and take their children captive, for in captivity and famine they will conceive their children. ⁴⁷ Those who conduct business, do so only to be plundered. The more they adorn their cities, their houses, their possessions, and their own persons, ⁴⁸ the more I will hate them for their sins,” says the Lord. ⁴⁹ Just as a respectable and virtuous woman hates a prostitute, ⁵⁰ so will righteousness hate iniquity, when she adorns herself, and will accuse her to her face, when he comes who will defend him who diligently searches out every sin on earth. ⁵¹ Therefore don’t be like her or her works. ⁵² For yet a little while, and iniquity will be taken away out of the earth, and righteousness will reign over us. ⁵³ Don’t let the sinner say that he has not sinned; for God will burn coals of fire on the head of one who says “I haven’t sinned before God and his glory.” ⁵⁴ Behold, the Lord knows all the works of men, their imaginations, their thoughts, and their hearts. ⁵⁵ He said, “Let the earth be made,” and it was made, “Let the sky be made,” and it was made. ⁵⁶ At his word, the stars were established, and he knows the number of the stars. ⁵⁷ He searches the deep and its treasures. He has measured the sea and what it contains. ⁵⁸ He has shut the sea in the midst of the waters, and with his word, he hung the earth over the waters. ⁵⁹ He has spread out the sky like a vault. He has founded it over the waters. ⁶⁰ He has made springs of water in the desert and pools on the tops of the mountains to send out rivers from the heights to water the earth. ⁶¹ He formed man, and put a heart in the midst of the body, and gave him breath, life, and understanding, ⁶² yes, the spirit of God Almighty. He who made all things and searches out hidden things in hidden places, ⁶³ surely he knows your imagination, and what you think in your hearts. Woe to those who sin, and try to hide their sin!

nded it over the waters. ⁶⁰ He has made springs of water in the desert and pools on the tops of the mountains to send out rivers from the heights to water the earth. ⁶¹ He formed man, and put a heart in the midst of the body, and gave him breath, life, and understanding, ⁶² yes, the spirit of God Almighty. He who made all things and searches out hidden things in hidden places, ⁶³ surely he knows your imagination, and what you think in your hearts. Woe to those who sin, and try to hide their sin! ⁶⁴ Because the Lord will exactly investigate all your works, and he will put you all to shame. ⁶⁵ When your sins are brought out before men, you will be ashamed, and your own iniquities will stand as your accusers in that day. ⁶⁶ What will you do? Or how will you hide your sins before God and his angels? ⁶⁷ Behold, God is the judge. Fear him! Stop sinning, and forget your iniquities, to never again commit them. So will God lead you out, and deliver you from all suffering. ⁶⁸ For, behold, the burning wrath of a great multitude is kindled over you, and they will take away some of you, and feed you with that which is sacrificed to idols. ⁶⁹ Those who consent to them will be held in derision and in contempt,

492 and be trodden under foot. ⁷⁰ For there will be in various places, and in the next cities, a great insurrection against those who fear the Lord. ⁷¹ They will be like mad men, sparing none, but spoiling and destroying those who still fear the Lord. ⁷² For they will destroy and plunder their goods, and throw them out of their houses. ⁷³ Then the trial of my elect will be made known, even as the gold that is tried in the fire. ⁷⁴ Hear, my elect ones, says the Lord: “Behold, the days of suffering are at hand, and I will deliver you from them. ⁷⁵ Don’t be afraid, and don’t doubt, for God is your guide. ⁷⁶ You who keep my commandments and precepts,” says the Lord God, “don’t let your sins weigh you down, and don’t let your iniquities lift themselves up.” ⁷⁷ Woe to those who are choked with their sins and covered with their iniquities, like a field is choked with bushes, and its path covered with thorns, that no one may travel through! ⁷⁸ It is shut off and given up to be consumed by fire." Baruch I Baruch I Chapter 1 ¹ Now these are the words of the scroll which Baruch, son of Neriah, son of Mahseiah, son of Zedekiah, son of Hasadiah, son of Hilkiah, wrote in Babylon, ² in the fifth year (on the seventh day of the month, at the time when the Chaldeans took Jerusalem and burnt it with fire). ³ And Baruch read the words of this scroll for Jeconiah, son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, to hear it, as well as all the people who came to the reading: ⁴ the nobles, the kings' sons, the elders, and the whole people, small and great alike - all who lived in Babylon by the river Sud. ⁵ They wept and fasted and prayed before the LORD, ⁶ and collected such funds as each could furnish. ⁷ These they sent to Jerusalem, to Jehoiakim, son of Hilkiah, son of Shallum, the priest, and to the priests and the whole people who were with him in Jerusalem. ⁸ (This was when he received the vessels of the house of the Lord that had been removed from the temple, to restore them to the land of Judah, on the tenth of Sivan. These silver vessels Zedekiah, son of Josiah, king of Judah, had had made ⁹ after Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, carried off Jeconiah, and the princes, and the skilled workers, and the nobles, and the people of the land from Jerusalem, as captives, and brought them to Babylon.) ¹⁰ Their message was: "We send you funds, with which you are to procure holocausts, sin offerings, and frankincense, and to prepare cereal offerings; offer these on the altar of the LORD our God, ¹¹ and pray for the life of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and that of Belshazzar, his son, that their lifetimes may equal the duration of the heavens above the earth; ¹² and that the LORD may give us strength, and light to our eyes, that we may live under the protective shadow of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and that of Belshazzar, his son, and serve them long, finding favor in their sight. ¹³ "Pray for us also to the LORD, our God; for we have sinned against the LORD, our God, and the wrath and anger of the LORD have not yet been withdrawn from us at the present day. ¹⁴ And read out publicly this scroll which we send you, in the house of the LORD, on the feast day and during the days of assembly: ¹⁵ "Justice is with the LORD, our God; and we today are flushed with shame, we men of Judah and citizens of Jerusalem, ¹⁶ that we, with our kings and rulers and priests and prophets, and with our fathers, ¹⁷ have sinned in the LORD'S sight ¹⁸ and disobeyed him. We have neither heeded the voice of the LORD, our God, nor followed the precepts which the LORD set before us. ¹⁹ From the time the LORD led our fathers out of the land of Egypt until the present day, we have been disobedient to the LORD, our God, and only too ready to disregard his voice. ²⁰ And the evils and the curse which the LORD enjoined upon Moses, his servant, at the time he led our fathers forth from the land of Egypt to give us the land flowing with milk and honey, cling to us even today.

have neither heeded the voice of the LORD, our God, nor followed the precepts which the LORD set before us. ¹⁹ From the time the LORD led our fathers out of the land of Egypt until the present day, we have been disobedient to the LORD, our God, and only too ready to disregard his voice. ²⁰ And the evils and the curse which the LORD enjoined upon Moses, his servant, at the time he led our fathers forth from the land of Egypt to give us the land flowing with milk and honey, cling to us even today. ²¹ For we did not heed the voice of the LORD, our God, in all the words of the prophets whom he sent us, ²² but each one of

493 us went off after the devices of our own wicked hearts, served other gods, and did evil in the sight of the LORD, our God. Baruch I Chapter 2 ¹ "And the LORD fulfilled the warning he had uttered against us: against our judges, who governed Israel, against our kings and princes, and against the men of Israel and Judah. ² He brought down upon us evils so great that there has not been done anywhere under heaven what has been done in Jerusalem, as was written in the law of Moses: ³ that one after another of us should eat the flesh of his son or of his daughter. ⁴ He has made us subject to all the kingdoms round about us, a reproach and a horror among all the nations round about to which the LORD has scattered us. ⁵ We are brought low, not raised up, because we sinned against the LORD, our God, not heeding his voice. ⁶ "Justice is with the LORD, our God; and we, like our fathers, are flushed with shame even today. ⁷ All the evils of which the LORD had warned us have come upon us: ⁸ and we did not plead before the LORD, or turn, each from the figments of his evil heart. ⁹ And the LORD kept watch over the evils, and brought them home to us; for the LORD is just in all the works he commanded us to do, ¹⁰ but we did not heed his voice, or follow the precepts of the LORD which he set before us. ¹¹ "And now, LORD, God of Israel, you who led your people out of the land of Egypt with your mighty hand, with signs and wonders and great might, and with your upraised arm, so that you have made for yourself a name till the present day: ¹² we have sinned, been impious, and violated, O LORD, our God, all your statutes. ¹³ Let your anger be withdrawn from us, for we are left few in number among the nations to which you scattered us. ¹⁴ Hear, O LORD, our prayer of supplication, and deliver us for your own sake: grant us favor in the presence of our captors, ¹⁵ that the whole earth may know that you are the LORD, our God, and that Israel and his descendants bear your name. ¹⁶ O LORD, look down from your holy dwelling and take thought of us; turn, O LORD, your ear to hear us. ¹⁷ Look directly at us, and behold: it is not the dead in the nether world, whose spirits have been taken from within them, who will give glory and vindication to the LORD. ¹⁸ He whose soul is deeply grieved, who walks bowed and feeble, with failing eyes and famished soul, will declare your glory and justice, LORD! ¹⁹ "Not on the just deeds of our fathers and our kings do we base our plea for mercy in your sight, O LORD, our God. ²⁰ You have brought your wrath and anger down upon us, as you had warned us through your servants the prophets: ²¹ 'Thus says the LORD: Bend your shoulders to the service of the king of Babylon, that you may continue in the land I gave your fathers: ²² for if you do not hear the LORD'S voice so as to serve the king of Babylon, ²³ I will make to cease from the cities of Judah and from the streets of Jerusalem The sounds of joy and the sounds of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride; And all the land shall be deserted, without inhabitants.' ²⁴ But we did not heed your voice, or serve the king of Babylon, and you fulfilled the threats you had made through your servants the prophets, to have the bones of our kings and the bones of our fathers brought out from their burial places. ²⁵ And indeed, they lie exposed to the heat of day and the frost of night. They died in dire anguish, by hunger and the sword and plague. ²⁶ And you reduced the house which bears your name to what it is today, for the wickedness of the kingdom of Israel and the kingdom of Judah. ²⁷ "But with us, O Lord, our God, you have dealt in all your clemency and in all your great mercy.

servants the prophets, to have the bones of our kings and the bones of our fathers brought out from their burial places. ²⁵ And indeed, they lie exposed to the heat of day and the frost of night. They died in dire anguish, by hunger and the sword and plague. ²⁶ And you reduced the house which bears your name to what it is today, for the wickedness of the kingdom of Israel and the kingdom of Judah. ²⁷ "But with us, O Lord, our God, you have dealt in all your clemency and in all your great mercy. ²⁸ This was your warning through your servant Moses, the day you ordered him to write down your law in the presence of the Israelites: ²⁹ If you do not heed my voice, surely this great and numerous throng will dwindle away among the nations to which I will scatter them. ³⁰ For I know they will not heed me, because they are a stiff-necked people. But in the land of their captivity they shall have a change of heart; ³¹ they shall know that I, the LORD, am their God. I will give them hearts, and heedful ears; ³² and they shall praise me in the land of their captivity, and shall invoke my name. ³³ Then they shall turn back from their stiff-necked stubbornness, and

494 from their evil deeds, because they shall remember the fate of their fathers who sinned against the LORD. ³⁴ And I will bring them back to the land which with my oath I promised to their fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; and they shall rule it. I will make them increase; they shall not then diminish. ³⁵ And I will establish for them, as an eternal covenant, that I will be their God, and they shall be my people; and I will not again remove my people Israel from the land I gave them." Baruch I Chapter 3 ¹ "LORD Almighty, God of Israel, afflicted souls and dismayed spirits call to you. ² Hear, O LORD, for you are a God of mercy; and have mercy on us, who have sinned against you: ³ for you are enthroned forever, while we are perishing forever. ⁴ LORD Almighty, God of Israel, hear the prayer of Israel's few, the sons of those who sinned against you; they did not heed the voice of the LORD, their God, and the evils cling to us. ⁵ Remember at this time not the misdeeds of our fathers, but your own hand and name: ⁶ for you are the LORD our God; and you, O LORD, we will praise! ⁷ For this, you put into our hearts the fear of you: that we may call upon your name, and praise you in our captivity, when we have removed from our hearts all the wickedness of our fathers who sinned against you. ⁸ Behold us today in our captivity, where you scattered us, a reproach, a curse, and a requital for all the misdeeds of our fathers, who withdrew from the LORD, our God." ⁹ Hear, O Israel, the commandments of life: listen, and know prudence! ¹⁰ How is it, Israel, that you are in the land of your foes, grown old in a foreign land, defiled with the dead, ¹¹ accounted with those destined for the nether world? ¹² You have forsaken the fountain of wisdom! ¹³ Had you walked in the way of God, you would have dwelt in enduring peace. ¹⁴ Learn where prudence is, where strength, where understanding; that you may know also where are length of days, and life, where light of the eyes, and peace. ¹⁵ Who has found the place of wisdom, who has entered into her treasuries? ¹⁶ Where are the rulers of the nations, they who lorded it over the wild beasts of the earth, ¹⁷ and made sport of the birds of the heavens: they who heaped up the silver and the gold in which men trust; of whose possessions there was no end? ¹⁸ They schemed anxiously for money, but there is no trace of their work: ¹⁹ They have vanished down into the nether world, and others have risen up in their stead. ²⁰ Later generations have seen the light, have dwelt in the land, but the way to understanding they have not known, ²¹ they have not perceived her paths, or reached her; their offspring were far from the way to her. ²² She has not been heard of in Canaan, nor seen in Teman. ²³ The sons of Hagar who seek knowledge on earth, the merchants of Midian and Teman, the phrasemakers seeking knowledge, these have not known the way to wisdom, nor have they her paths in mind. ²⁴ O Israel, how vast is the house of God, how broad the scope of his dominion: ²⁵ Vast and endless, high and immeasurable! ²⁶ In it were born the giants, renowned at the first, stalwarts, skilled in war. ²⁷ Not these did God choose, nor did he give them the way of understanding; ²⁸ They perished for lack of prudence, perished through their folly. ²⁹ Who has gone up to the heavens and taken her, or brought her down from the clouds? ³⁰ Who has crossed the sea and found her, bearing her away rather than choice gold? ³¹ None knows the way to her, nor has any understood her paths. ³² Yet he who knows all things knows her; he has probed her by his knowledge—he who established the earth for all time, and filled it with four-footed beasts; ³³ He who dismisses the light, and it departs, calls it, and it obeys him trembling; ³⁴ Before whom the stars at their posts shine and rejoice; ³⁵ When he calls them, they answer, "Here we are!" shining with joy for their Maker.

d her, bearing her away rather than choice gold? ³¹ None knows the way to her, nor has any understood her paths. ³² Yet he who knows all things knows her; he has probed her by his knowledge—he who established the earth for all time, and filled it with four-footed beasts; ³³ He who dismisses the light, and it departs, calls it, and it obeys him trembling; ³⁴ Before whom the stars at their posts shine and rejoice; ³⁵ When he calls them, they answer, "Here we are!" shining with joy for their Maker. ³⁶ Such is our God; no other is to be compared to him: ³⁷ He has traced out all the way of understanding, and has given her to Jacob, his servant, to Israel, his beloved son. ³⁸ Since then she has appeared on earth, and moved among men." Baruch I Chapter 4 ¹ "She is the book of the precepts of God, the law that endures forever; All who cling to her will

495 live, but those will die who forsake her. ² Turn, O Jacob, and receive her: walk by her light toward splendor. ³ Give not your glory to another, your privileges to an alien race. ⁴ Blessed are we, O Israel; for what pleases God is known to us! ⁵ Fear not, my people! Remember, Israel, ⁶ You were sold to the nations not for your destruction; it was because you angered God that you were handed over to your foes. ⁷ For you provoked your Maker with sacrifices to demons, to no-gods; ⁸ You forsook the Eternal God who nourished you, and you grieved Jerusalem who fostered you. ⁹ She indeed saw coming upon you the anger of God; and she said: 'Hear, you neighbors of Zion! God has brought great mourning upon me, ¹⁰ For I have seen the captivity that the Eternal God has brought upon my sons and daughters. ¹¹ With joy I fostered them; but with mourning and lament I let them go. ¹² Let no one gloat over me, a widow, bereft of many: for the sins of my children I am left desolate, because they turned from the law of God, ¹³ and did not acknowledge his statutes; in the ways of God's commandments they did not walk, nor did they tread the disciplined paths of his justice. ¹⁴ 'Let Zion's neighbors come, to take note of the captivity of my sons and daughters, brought upon them by the Eternal God. ¹⁵ He has brought against them a nation from afar, a nation ruthless and of alien speech, that has neither reverence for age nor tenderness for childhood; ¹⁶ They have led away this widow's cherished sons, have left me solitary, without daughters. ¹⁷ What can I do to help you? ¹⁸ He who has brought this evil upon you must himself deliver you from your enemies' hands. ¹⁹ Farewell, my children, farewell: I am left desolate. ²⁰ I have taken off the garment of peace, have put on sackcloth for my prayer of supplication, and while I live I will cry out to the Eternal God. ²¹ 'Fear not, my children; call upon God, who will deliver you from oppression at enemy hands. ²² I have trusted in the Eternal God for your welfare, and joy has come to me from the Holy One because of the mercy that will swiftly reach you from your eternal savior. ²³ With mourning and lament I sent you forth, but God will give you back to me with enduring gladness and joy. ²⁴ As Zion's neighbors lately saw you taken captive, so shall they soon see God's salvation come to you, with great glory and the splendor of the Eternal God. ²⁵ 'My children, bear patiently the anger that has come from God upon you; your enemies have persecuted you, and you will soon see their destruction and trample upon their necks. ²⁶ My pampered children have trodden rough roads, carried off by their enemies like sheep in a raid. ²⁷ Fear not, my children; call out to God! He who brought this upon you will remember you. ²⁸ As your hearts have been disposed to stray from God, turn now ten times the more to seek him; ²⁹ For he who has brought disaster upon you will, in saving you, bring you back enduring joy.' ³⁰ Fear not, Jerusalem! He who gave you your name is your encouragement. ³¹ Fearful are those who harmed you, who rejoiced at your downfall; ³² Fearful are the cities where your children were enslaved, fearful the city that took your sons. ³³ As that city rejoiced at your collapse, and made merry at your downfall, so shall she grieve over her own desolation. ³⁴ I will take from her the joyous throngs, and her exultation shall be turned to mourning: ³⁵ For fire shall come upon her from the Eternal God, for a long time, and demons shall dwell in her from that time on. ³⁶ Look to the east, Jerusalem! behold the joy that comes to you from God.

rful are the cities where your children were enslaved, fearful the city that took your sons. ³³ As that city rejoiced at your collapse, and made merry at your downfall, so shall she grieve over her own desolation. ³⁴ I will take from her the joyous throngs, and her exultation shall be turned to mourning: ³⁵ For fire shall come upon her from the Eternal God, for a long time, and demons shall dwell in her from that time on. ³⁶ Look to the east, Jerusalem! behold the joy that comes to you from God. ³⁷ Here come your sons whom you once let go, gathered in from the east and from the west by the word of the Holy One, rejoicing in the glory of God." Baruch I Chapter 5 ¹ "Jerusalem, take off your robe of mourning and misery; put on the splendor of glory from God forever: ² Wrapped in the cloak of justice from God, bear on your head the mitre that displays the glory of the eternal name. ³ For God will show all the earth your splendor: ⁴ you will be named by God forever the peace of justice, the glory of God's worship. ⁵ Up, Jerusalem! stand upon the heights; look to the east and see your children gathered from the east and the west at the word of the Holy One, rejoicing that they are remembered by God. ⁶ Led away on foot by their enemies

496 they left you: but God will bring them back to you borne aloft in glory as on royal thrones. ⁷ For God has commanded that every lofty mountain be made low, and that the age-old depths and gorges be filled to level ground, that Israel may advance secure in the glory of God. ⁸ The forests and every fragrant kind of tree have overshadowed Israel at God's command; ⁹ For God is leading Israel in joy by the light of his glory, with his mercy and justice for company." Baruch I Chapter 6 ¹ "A copy of the letter which Jeremiah sent to those who were being led captive to Babylon by the king of the Babylonians, to convey to them what God had commanded him: For the sins you committed before God, you are being led captive to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar, king of the Babylonians. ² When you reach Babylon you will be there many years, a period seven generations long; after which I will bring you back from there in peace. ³ And now in Babylon you will see borne upon men's shoulders gods of silver and gold and wood, which cast fear upon the pagans. ⁴ Take care that you yourselves do not imitate their alien example and stand in fear of them, ⁵ when you see the crowd before them and behind worshiping them. Rather, say in your hearts, 'You, O LORD, are to be worshiped!'; ⁶ for my angel is with you, and he is the custodian of your lives. ⁷ Their tongues are smoothed by woodworkers; they are covered with gold and silver—but they are a fraud, and cannot speak. ⁸ People bring gold, as to a maiden in love with ornament, ⁹ and furnish crowns for the heads of their gods. Then sometimes the priests take the silver and gold from their gods and spend it on themselves, ¹⁰ or give part of it to the harlots on the terrace. They trick them out in garments like men, these gods of silver and gold and wood; ¹¹ but though they are wrapped in purple clothing, they are not safe from corrosion or insects. ¹² They wipe their faces clean of the house dust which is thick upon them. ¹³ Each has a scepter, like the human ruler of a district; but none does away with those that offend against it. ¹⁴ Each has in its right hand an axe or dagger, but it cannot save itself from war or pillage. Thus it is known they are not gods; do not fear them. ¹⁵ As useless as one's broken tools ¹⁶ are their gods, set up in their houses; their eyes are full of dust from the feet of those who enter. ¹⁷ Their courtyards are walled in like those of a man brought to execution for a crime against the king; the priests reinforce their houses with gates and bars and bolts, lest they be carried off by robbers. ¹⁸ They light more lamps for them than for themselves, yet not one of these can they see. ¹⁹ They are like any beam in the house; it is said their hearts are eaten away. Though the insects out of the ground consume them and their garments, they do not feel it. ²⁰ Their faces are blackened by the smoke of the house. ²¹ Bats and swallows alight on their bodies and on their heads; and cats as well as birds. ²² Know, therefore, that they are not gods, and do not fear them. ²³ Despite the gold that covers them for adornment, unless someone wipes away the corrosion, they do not shine; nor did they feel anything when they were molded. ²⁴ They are bought at any price, and there is no spirit in them. ²⁵ Having no feet, they are carried on men's shoulders, displaying their shame to all; and those who worship them are put to confusion ²⁶ because, if they fall to the ground, the worshipers must raise them up. They neither move of themselves if one sets them upright, nor come upright if they fall; but one puts gifts beside them as beside the dead. ²⁷ Their priests resell their sacrifices for their own advantage. Even their wives cure parts of the meat, but do not share it with the poor and the weak; ²⁸ the menstruous and women in childbed handle their sacrifices. Knowing from this that they are not gods, do not fear them. ²⁹ How can they be called gods?

o the ground, the worshipers must raise them up. They neither move of themselves if one sets them upright, nor come upright if they fall; but one puts gifts beside them as beside the dead. ²⁷ Their priests resell their sacrifices for their own advantage. Even their wives cure parts of the meat, but do not share it with the poor and the weak; ²⁸ the menstruous and women in childbed handle their sacrifices. Knowing from this that they are not gods, do not fear them. ²⁹ How can they be called gods? For women bring the offerings to these gods of silver and gold and wood; ³⁰ and in their temples the priests squat with torn tunic and with shaven hair and beard, and with their heads uncovered. ³¹ They shout and wail before their gods as others do at a funeral banquet. ³² The priests take some of their clothing and put it on their wives and children. ³³ Whether they are treated well or ill by anyone, they cannot requite it; they can neither set up a king nor remove him. ³⁴ Similarly, they cannot give anyone riches or coppers; if one fails to fulfill

497 a vow to them, they cannot exact it of him. ³⁵ They neither save a man from death, nor deliver the weak from the strong. ³⁶ To no blind man do they restore his sight, nor do they save any man in an emergency. ³⁷ They neither pity the widow nor benefit the orphan. ³⁸ These gilded and silvered wooden statues are like stones from the mountains; and their worshipers will be put to shame. ³⁹ How then can it be thought or claimed that they are gods? ⁴⁰ Even the Chaldeans themselves have no respect for them; for when they see a deaf mute, incapable of speech, they bring forward Bel and ask the god to make noise, as though the man could understand; ⁴¹ and they are themselves unable to reflect and abandon these gods, for they have no sense. ⁴² And their women, girt with cords, sit by the roads, burning chaff for incense; ⁴³ and whenever one of them is drawn aside by some passer-by who lies with her, she mocks her neighbor who has not been dignified as she has, and has not had her cord broken. ⁴⁴ All that takes place around these gods is a fraud: how then can it be thought or claimed that they are gods? ⁴⁵ They are produced by woodworkers and goldsmiths, and they are nothing else than what these craftsmen wish them to be. ⁴⁶ Even those who produce them are not long-lived; ⁴⁷ how then can what they have produced be gods? They have left frauds and opprobrium to their successors. ⁴⁸ For when war or disaster comes upon them, the priests deliberate among themselves where they can hide with them. ⁴⁹ How then can one not know that these are no-gods, which do not save themselves either from war or from disaster? ⁵⁰ They are wooden, gilded and silvered; they will later be known for frauds. To all peoples and kings it will be clear that they are not gods, but human handiwork; and that God's work is not in them. ⁵¹ Who does not know that they are not gods? ⁵² They set no king over the land, nor do they give men rain. ⁵³ They neither vindicate their own rights, nor do they recover what is unjustly taken, for they are unable; ⁵⁴ they are like crows between heaven and earth. For when fire breaks out in the temple of these wooden or gilded or silvered gods, though the priests flee and are safe, they themselves are burnt up in the fire like beams. ⁵⁵ They cannot resist a king, or enemy forces. ⁵⁶ How then can it be admitted or thought that they are gods? They are safe from neither thieves nor bandits, these wooden and silvered and gilded gods; ⁵⁷ those who seize them strip off the gold and the silver, and go away with the clothing that was on them, and they cannot help themselves. ⁵⁸ How much better to be a king displaying his valor, or a handy tool in a house, the joy of its owner, than these false gods; or the door of a house, that keeps safe those who are within, rather than these false gods; or a wooden post in a palace, rather than these false gods! ⁵⁹ The sun and moon and stars are bright, and obedient in the service for which they are sent. ⁶⁰ Likewise the lightning, when it flashes, is a goodly sight; and the same wind blows over all the land. ⁶¹ The clouds, too, when commanded by God to proceed across the whole world, fulfill the order; ⁶² and fire, sent from on high to burn up the mountains and the forests, does what has been commanded. But these false gods are not their equal, whether in beauty or in power; ⁶³ so that it is unthinkable, and cannot be claimed, that they are gods. They can neither execute judgment, nor benefit man. ⁶⁴ Know, therefore, that they are not gods, and do not fear them. ⁶⁵ Kings they neither curse nor bless. ⁶⁶ They show the nations no signs in the heavens, nor are they brilliant like the sun, nor shining like the moon. ⁶⁷ The beasts which can help themselves by fleeing to shelter are better than they are. ⁶⁸ Thus in no way is it clear to us that they are gods; so do not fear them. ⁶⁹ For like a scarecrow in a cucumber patch, that is no protection, are their wooden, gilded, silvered gods.

it man. ⁶⁴ Know, therefore, that they are not gods, and do not fear them. ⁶⁵ Kings they neither curse nor bless. ⁶⁶ They show the nations no signs in the heavens, nor are they brilliant like the sun, nor shining like the moon. ⁶⁷ The beasts which can help themselves by fleeing to shelter are better than they are. ⁶⁸ Thus in no way is it clear to us that they are gods; so do not fear them. ⁶⁹ For like a scarecrow in a cucumber patch, that is no protection, are their wooden, gilded, silvered gods. ⁷⁰ Just like a thornbush in a garden on which perches every kind of bird, or like a corpse hurled into darkness, are their silvered and gilded wooden gods. ⁷¹ From the rotting of the purple and the linen upon them, it can be known that they are not gods; they themselves will in the end be consumed, and be a disgrace in the land. ⁷² The better for the just man who has no idols: he shall be far from disgrace!"

498 Baruch II Baruch II Chapter 1 ¹ It came to pass, when the children of Israel were taken captive by the king of the Chaldeans, that God spoke to Jeremiah saying: Jeremiah, my chosen [one] [servant], arise and depart from this city, you and Baruch, since I am going to destroy it because of the multitude of the sins of those who dwell in it. ² For your prayers are like a solid pillar in its midst, and like an indestructible wall surrounding it. ³ Now, then, arise and depart before the host of the Chaldeans surrounds it. ⁴ And Jeremiah answered, saying: I beseech you, Lord, permit me, your servant, to speak in your presence. ⁵ And the Lord said to him: Speak, my chosen [one] [servant] Jeremiah. ⁶ And Jeremiah spoke, saying: Lord Almighty, would you deliver the chosen city into the hands of the Chaldeans, so that the king with the multitude of his people might boast and say: “I have prevailed over the holy city of God”? ⁷ No, my Lord, but if it is your will, let it be destroyed by your hands. ⁸ And the Lord said to Jeremiah: Since you are my chosen one, arise and depart from this city, you and Baruch, for I am going to destroy it because of the multitude of the sins of those who dwell in it. ⁹ For neither the king nor his host will be able to enter it unless I first open its gates. ¹⁰ Arise, then, and go to Baruch, and tell him these words. ¹¹ And when you have arisen at the sixth hour of the night, go out on the city walls and I will show you that unless I first destroy the city, they cannot enter it. ¹² When the Lord had said this, he departed from Jeremiah. Baruch II - Chapter 2 ¹ And Jeremiah ran and told these things to Baruch; and as they went into the temple of God, Jeremiah tore his garments and put dust on his head and entered the holy place of God. ² And when Baruch saw him with dust sprinkled on his head and his garments torn, he cried out in a loud voice, saying: Father Jeremiah, what are you doing? What sin has the people committed? ³ (For whenever the people sinned, Jeremiah would sprinkle dust on his head and would pray for the people until their sin was forgiven.) ⁴ So Baruch asked him, saying: Father, what is this? ⁵ And Jeremiah said to him: Refrain from rending your garments — rather, let us rend our hearts! And let us not draw water for the trough, but let us weep and fill them with tears! For the Lord will not have mercy on this people. ⁶ And Baruch said: Father Jeremiah, what has happened? ⁷ And Jeremiah said: God is delivering the city into the hands of the king of the Chaldeans, to take the people captive into Babylon. ⁸ And when Baruch heard these things, he also tore his garments and said: Father Jeremiah, who has made this known to you? ⁹ And Jeremiah said to him: Stay with me awhile, until the sixth hour of the night, so that you may know that this word is true. ¹⁰ Therefore they both remained in the altar-area weeping, and their garments were torn. Baruch II - Chapter 3 1 And when the hour of the night arrived, as the Lord had told Jeremiah they came up together on the walls of the city, Jeremiah and Baruch. ²And behold, there came a sound of trumpets; and angels emerged from heaven holding torches in their hands, and they set them on the walls of the city. ³And when Jeremiah and Baruch saw them, they wept, saying: Now we know that the word is true! ⁴And Jeremiah besought the angels, saying: I beseech you, do not destroy the city yet, until I say something to the Lord. ⁵And the Lord spoke to the angels, saying: Do not destroy the city until I speak to my chosen one, Jeremiah. ⁶Then Jeremiah spoke, saying: I beg you, Lord, bid me to speak in your presence. ⁷And the Lord said: Speak, my chosen [one] [servant] Jeremiah. ⁸And Jeremiah said: Behold, Lord, now we know that you are delivering the city into the hands of its enemies, and they will take the people away to Babylon. What do you want me to do with the holy

499 vessels of the temple service? ¹⁰And the Lord said to him: Take them and consign them to the earth, saying: Hear, Earth, the voice of your creator who formed you in the abundance of waters, who sealed you with seven seals for seven epochs, and after this you will receive your ornaments (?) — ¹¹Guard the vessels of the temple service until the gathering of the beloved. ¹²And Jeremiah spoke, saying: I beseech you, Lord, show me what I should do for Abimelech the Ethiopian, for he has done many kindnesses to your servant Jeremiah. ¹³For he pulled me out of the miry pit; and I do not wish that he should see the destruction and desolation of this city, but that you should be merciful to him and that he should not be grieved. ¹⁴And the Lord said to Jeremiah: Send him to the vineyard of Agrippa, and I will hide him in the shadow of the mountain until I cause the people to return to the city. ¹⁵And you, Jeremiah, go with your people into Babylon and stay with them, preaching to them, until I cause them to return to the city. ¹⁶But leave Baruch here until I speak with him. ¹⁷When he had said these things, the Lord ascended from Jeremiah into heaven. ¹⁸But Jeremiah and Baruch entered the holy place, and taking the vessels of the temple service, they consigned them to the earth as the Lord had told them. ¹⁹And immediately the earth swallowed them. ²⁰And they both sat down and wept. ²¹And when morning came, Jeremiah sent Abimelech, saying: Take a basket and go to the estate of Agrippa by the mountain road, and bring back some figs to give to the sick among the people; for the favor of the Lord is on you and his glory is on your head. ²²And when he had said this, Jeremiah sent him away; and Abimelech went as he told him. Baruch II - Chapter 4 1 And when morning came, behold the host of the Chaldeans surrounded the city. ²And the great angel trumpeted, saying: Enter the city, host of the Chaldeans; for behold, the gate is opened for you. ³Therefore let the king enter, with his multitudes, and let him take all the people captive. ⁴But taking the keys of the temple, Jeremiah went outside the city and threw them away in the presence of the sun, saying: I say to you, Sun, take the keys of the temple of God and guard them until the day in which the Lord asks you for them. ⁵For we have not been found worthy to keep them, for we have become unfaithful guardians. ⁶While Jeremiah was still weeping for the people, they brought him out with the people and dragged them into Babylon. ⁷But Baruch put dust on his head and sat and wailed this lamentation, saying: Why has Jerusalem been devastated? Because of the sins of the beloved people she was delivered into the hands of enemies—because of our sins and those of the people. ⁸But let not the lawless ones boast and say: “We were strong enough to take the city of God by our might;” but it was delivered to you because of our sins. ⁹And God will pity us and cause us to return to our city, but you will not survive! ¹⁰Blessed are our fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, for they departed from this world and did not see the destruction of this city. ¹¹When he had said this, Baruch departed from the city, weeping and saying: Grieving because of you, Jerusalem, I went out from you. ¹²And he remained sitting in a tomb, while the angels came to him and explained to him everything that the Lord revealed to him through them. Baruch II - Chapter 5 1 But Abimelech took the figs in the burning heat; and coming upon a tree, he sat under its shade to rest a bit. ²And leaning his head on the basket of figs, he fell asleep and slept for 66 years; and he was not awakened from his slumber. ³And afterward, when he awoke from his sleep, he said: I slept sweetly for a little while, but my head is heavy because I did not get enough sleep. ⁴Then he uncovered the basket of figs and found them dripping milk. ⁵And he said: I would like to sleep a little longer, because my head is heavy.

the burning heat; and coming upon a tree, he sat under its shade to rest a bit. ²And leaning his head on the basket of figs, he fell asleep and slept for 66 years; and he was not awakened from his slumber. ³And afterward, when he awoke from his sleep, he said: I slept sweetly for a little while, but my head is heavy because I did not get enough sleep. ⁴Then he uncovered the basket of figs and found them dripping milk. ⁵And he said: I would like to sleep a little longer, because my head is heavy. But I am afraid that I might fall asleep and be late in awakening and my father Jeremiah would think badly of me; for if he were not in a hurry, he would not have sent me today at daybreak. ⁶So I will get up, and proceed in the burning heat; for isn’t there heat, isn’t there toil every day? ⁷So he got up and took the basket of figs and placed it on his

500 shoulders, and he entered into Jerusalem and did not recognize it — neither his own house, nor the place — nor did he find his own family or any of his acquaintances. ⁸And he said: The Lord be blessed, for a great trance has come over me today! ⁹This is not the city Jerusalem — and I have lost my way because I came by the mountain road when I arose from my sleep; and since my head was heavy because I did not get enough sleep, I lost my way. ¹⁰It will seem incredible to Jeremiah that I lost my way! ¹¹And he departed from the city; and as he searched he saw the landmarks of the city, and he said: Indeed, this is the city; I lost my way. ¹²And again he returned to the city and searched, and found no one of his own people; and he said: The Lord be blessed, for a great trance has come over me! ¹³And again he departed from the city, and he stayed there grieving, not knowing where he should go. ¹⁴And he put down the basket, saying: I will sit here until the Lord takes this trance from me. ¹⁵And as he sat, he saw an old man coming from the field; and Abimelech said to him: I say to you, old man, what city is this? ¹⁶And he said to him: It is Jerusalem. ¹⁷And Abimelech said to him: Where is Jeremiah the priest, and Baruch the secretary, and all the people of this city, for I could not find them? ¹⁸And the old man said to him: Are you not from this city, seeing that you remember Jeremiah today, because you are asking about him after such a long time? ¹⁹For Jeremiah is in Babylon with the people; for they were taken captive by king Nebuchadnezzar, and Jeremiah is with them to preach the good news to them and to teach them the word. ²⁰As soon as Abimelech heard this from the old man, he said: If you were not an old man, and if it were not for the fact that it is not lawful for a man to upbraid one older than himself, I would laugh at you and say that you are out of your mind — since you say that the people have been taken captive into Babylon. ²¹Even if the heavenly torrents had descended on them, there has not yet been time for them to go into Babylon! ²²For how much time has passed since my father Jeremiah sent me to the estate of Agrippa to bring a few figs, so that I might give them to the sick among the people? ²³And I went and got them, and when I came to a certain tree in the burning heat, I sat to rest a little; and I leaned my head on the basket and fell asleep. ²⁴And when I awoke I uncovered the basket of figs, supposing that I was late; and I found the figs dripping milk, just as I had collected them. ²⁵But you claim that the people have been taken captive into Babylon. ²⁶But that you might know, take the figs and see! ²⁷And he uncovered the basket of figs for the old man, and he saw them dripping milk. ²⁸And when the old man saw them, he said: O my son, you are a righteous man, and God did not want you to see the desolation of the city, so he brought this trance upon you. ²⁹For behold it is 66 years today since the people were taken captive into Babylon. ³⁰But that you might learn, my son, that what I tell you is true — look into the field and see that the ripening of the crops has not appeared. ³¹And notice that the figs are not in season, and be enlightened. ³²Then Abimelech cried out in a loud voice, saying: I bless you, God of heaven and earth, the Rest of the souls of the righteous in every place! ³³Then he said to the old man: What month is this? ³⁴And he said: Nisan (which is Abib). ³⁵And taking some of figs, he gave them to the old man and said to him: May God illumine your way to the city above, Jerusalem. Baruch II - Chapter 6 1 After this, Abimelech went out of the city and prayed to the Lord. ²And behold, an angel of the Lord came and took him by the right hand and brought him back to where Baruch was sitting, and he found him in a tomb. ³And when they saw each other, they both wept and kissed each other. ⁴But when Baruch looked up he saw with his own eyes the figs that were covered in Abimelech’s basket.

em to the old man and said to him: May God illumine your way to the city above, Jerusalem. Baruch II - Chapter 6 1 After this, Abimelech went out of the city and prayed to the Lord. ²And behold, an angel of the Lord came and took him by the right hand and brought him back to where Baruch was sitting, and he found him in a tomb. ³And when they saw each other, they both wept and kissed each other. ⁴But when Baruch looked up he saw with his own eyes the figs that were covered in Abimelech’s basket. ⁵And lifting his eyes to heaven, he prayed, saying: ⁶You are the God who gives a reward to those who love you. Prepare yourself, my heart, and rejoice and be glad while you are in your tabernacle, saying to your fleshly house, “your grief has been changed to joy;” for the Sufficient One is coming and will deliver you in your tabernacle — for there is no sin in you. ⁷Revive in your tabernacle, in your virginal faith, and believe that you will live! ⁸Look at this basket of figs — for

501 behold, they are 66 years old and have not become shrivelled or rotten, but they are dripping milk. ⁹So it will be with you, my flesh, if you do what is commanded you by the angel of righteousness. ¹⁰He who preserved the basket of figs, the same will again preserve you by his power. ¹¹When Baruch had said this, he said to Abimelech: Stand up and let us pray that the Lord may make known to us how we shall be able to send to Jeremiah in Babylon the report about the shelter provided for you on the way. ¹²And Baruch prayed, saying: Lord God, our strength is the elect light which comes forth from your mouth. ¹³We beseech and beg of your goodness — you whose great name no one is able to know — hear the voice of your servants and let knowledge come into our hearts. ¹⁴What shall we do, and how shall we send this report to Jeremiah in Babylon? ¹⁵And while Baruch was still praying, behold an angel of the Lord came and said all these words to Baruch: Agent of the light, do not be anxious about how you will send to Jeremiah; for an eagle is coming to you at the hour of light tomorrow, and you will direct him to Jeremiah. ¹⁶Therefore, write in a letter: Say to the children of Israel: Let the stranger who comes among you be set apart and let 15 days go by; and after this I will lead you into your city, says the Lord. ¹⁷He who is not separated from Babylon will not enter into the city; and I will punish them by keeping them from being received back by the Babylonians, says the Lord. ¹⁸And when the angel had said this, he departed from Baruch. ¹⁹And Baruch sent to the market of the gentiles and got papyrus and ink and wrote a letter as follows: Baruch, the servant of God, writes to Jeremiah in the captivity of Babylon: ²⁰Greetings! Rejoice, for God has not allowed us to depart from this body grieving for the city which was laid waste and outraged. ²¹Wherefore the Lord has had compassion on our tears, and has remembered the covenant which he established with our fathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. ²²And he sent his angel to me, and he told me these words which I send to you. ²³These, then, are the words which the Lord, the God of Israel, spoke, who led us out of Egypt, out of the great furnace: Because you did not keep my ordinances, but your heart was lifted up, and you were haughty before me, in anger and wrath I delivered you to the furnace in Babylon. ²⁴If, therefore, says the Lord, you listen to my voice, from the mouth of Jeremiah my servant, I will bring the one who listens up from Babylon; but the one who does not listen will become a stranger to Jerusalem and to Babylon. ²⁵And you will test them by means of the water of the Jordan; whoever does not listen will be exposed — this is the sign of the great seal. Baruch II - Chapter 7 1 And Baruch got up and departed from the tomb and found the eagle sitting outside the tomb. ²And the eagle said to him in a human voice: Hail, Baruch, steward of the faith. ³And Baruch said to him: You who speak are chosen from among all the birds of heaven, for this is clear from the gleam of your eyes; tell me, then, what are you doing here? ⁴And the eagle said to him: I was sent here so that you might through me send whatever message you want. ⁵And Baruch said to him: Can you carry this message to Jeremiah in Babylon? ⁶And the eagle said to him: Indeed, it was for this reason I was sent. ⁷And Baruch took the letter, and 15 figs from Abimelech’s basket, and tied them to the eagle’s neck and said to him: I say to you, king of the birds, go in peace with good health and carry the message for me. ⁸Do not be like the raven which Noah sent out and which never came back to him in the ark; but be like the dove which, the third time, brought a report to the righteous one.

you carry this message to Jeremiah in Babylon? ⁶And the eagle said to him: Indeed, it was for this reason I was sent. ⁷And Baruch took the letter, and 15 figs from Abimelech’s basket, and tied them to the eagle’s neck and said to him: I say to you, king of the birds, go in peace with good health and carry the message for me. ⁸Do not be like the raven which Noah sent out and which never came back to him in the ark; but be like the dove which, the third time, brought a report to the righteous one. ⁹So you also, take this good message to Jeremiah and to those in bondage with him, that it may be well with you — take this papyrus to the people and to the chosen one of God. ¹⁰Even if all the birds of heaven surround you and want to fight with you, struggle — the Lord will give you strength. ¹¹And do not turn aside to the right or to the left, but straight as a speeding arrow, go in the power of God, and the glory of the Lord will be with you the entire way. ¹²Then the eagle took flight and went away to Babylon, having the letter tied to his neck; and when he arrived he rested on a post outside the city in a desert place. ¹³And he kept silent until Jeremiah

502 came along, for he and some of the people were coming out to bury a corpse outside the city. ¹⁴(For Jeremiah had petitioned king Nebuchadnezzar, saying: “Give me a place where I may bury those of my people who have died;” and the king gave it to him.) ¹⁵And as they were coming out with the body, and weeping, they came to where the eagle was. ¹⁶And the eagle cried out in a loud voice, saying: I say to you, Jeremiah the chosen [one] [servant] of God, go and gather together the people and come here so that they may hear a letter which I have brought to you from Baruch and Abimelech. ¹⁷And when Jeremiah heard this, he glorified God; and he went and gathered together the people along with their wives and children, and he came to where the eagle was. ¹⁸And the eagle came down on the corpse, and it revived. ¹⁹(Now this took place so that they might believe.) ²⁰And all the people were astounded at what had happened, and said: This is the God who appeared to our fathers in the wilderness through Moses, and now he has appeared to us through the eagle. ²¹And the eagle said: I say to you, Jeremiah, come, untie this letter and read it to the people — So he untied the letter and read it to the people. ²²And when the people heard it, they wept and put dust on their heads, and they said to Jeremiah: Deliver us and tell us what to do that we may once again enter our city. ²³And Jeremiah answered and said to them: Do whatever you heard from the letter, and the Lord will lead us into our city. ²⁴And Jeremiah wrote a letter to Baruch, saying thus: My beloved son, do not be negligent in your prayers, beseeching God on our behalf, that he might direct our way until we come out of the jurisdiction of this lawless king. ²⁵For you have been found righteous before God, and he did not let you come here, lest you see the affliction which has come upon the people at the hands of the Babylonians. ²⁶For it is like a father with an only son, who is given over for punishment; and those who see his father and console him cover his face, lest he see how his son is being punished, and be even more ravaged by grief. ²⁷For thus God took pity on you and did not let you enter Babylon lest you see the affliction of the people. ²⁸For since we came here, grief has not left us, for 66 years today. ²⁹For many times when I went out I found some of the people hung up by king Nebuchadnezzar, crying and saying: “Have mercy on us, God-ZAR!” ³⁰When I heard this, I grieved and cried with two-fold mourning, not only because they were hung up, but because they were calling on a foreign God, saying “Have mercy on us.” ³¹But I remembered days of festivity which we celebrated in Jerusalem before our captivity; and when I remembered, I groaned, and returned to my house wailing and weeping. ³²Now, then, pray in the place where you are — you and Abimelech — for this people, that they may listen to my voice and to the decrees of my mouth, so that we may depart from here. ³³For I tell you that the entire time that we have spent here they have kept us in subjection, saying: Recite for us a song from the songs of Zion — the song of your God. Psalm 3-4 ³⁴And we reply to them: How shall we sing for you since we are in a foreign land? ³⁵And after this, Jeremiah tied the letter to the eagle’s neck, saying: Go in peace, and may the Lord watch over both of us. ³⁶And the eagle took flight and came to Jerusalem and gave the letter to Baruch; and when he had untied it he read it and kissed it and wept when he heard about the distresses and afflictions of the people. ³⁷But Jeremiah took the figs and distributed them to the sick among the people, and he kept teaching them to abstain from the pollutions of the gentiles of Babylon. Baruch II - Chapter 8 1 And the day came in which the Lord brought the people out of Babylon. ²And the Lord said to Jeremiah: Rise up — you and the people — and come to the Jordan and say to the people: Let anyone who desires the Lord forsake the works of Babylon.

wept when he heard about the distresses and afflictions of the people. ³⁷But Jeremiah took the figs and distributed them to the sick among the people, and he kept teaching them to abstain from the pollutions of the gentiles of Babylon. Baruch II - Chapter 8 1 And the day came in which the Lord brought the people out of Babylon. ²And the Lord said to Jeremiah: Rise up — you and the people — and come to the Jordan and say to the people: Let anyone who desires the Lord forsake the works of Babylon. ³As for the men who took wives from them and the women who took husbands from them — those who listen to you shall cross over, and you take them into Jerusalem; but those who do not listen to you, do not lead them there. ⁴And Jeremiah spoke these words to the people, and they arose and came to the Jordan to cross over. ⁵As he told them the words that the Lord had spoken to him, half of those who had taken

503 spouses from them did not wish to listen to Jeremiah, but said to him: We will never forsake our wives, but we will bring them back with us into our city. ⁶So they crossed the Jordan and came to Jerusalem. ⁷And Jeremiah and Baruch and Abimelech stood up and said: No man joined with Babylonians shall enter this city! ⁸And they said to one another: Let us arise and return to Babylon to our place — And they departed. ⁹But while they were coming to Babylon, the Babylonians came out to meet them, saying: You shall not enter our city, for you hated us and you left us secretly; therefore you cannot come in with us. ¹⁰For we have taken a solemn oath together in the name of our god to receive neither you nor your children, since you left us secretly. ¹¹And when they heard this, they returned and came to a desert place some distance from Jerusalem and built a city for themselves and named it ‘SAMARIA.’ ¹²And Jeremiah sent to them, saying: Repent, for the angel of righteousness is coming and will lead you to your exalted place. Baruch II - Chapter 9 1 Now those who were with Jeremiah were rejoicing and offering sacrifices on behalf of the people for nine days. ²But on the tenth, Jeremiah alone offered sacrifice. ³And he prayed a prayer, saying: Holy, holy, holy, fragrant aroma of the living trees, true light that enlightens me until I ascend to you; ⁴For your mercy, I beg you — for the sweet voice of the two seraphim, I beg — for another fragrant aroma. ⁵And may Michael, archangel of righteousness, who opens the gates to the righteous, be my guardian until he causes the righteous to enter. ⁶I beg you, almighty Lord of all creation, unbegotten and incomprehensible, in whom all judgment was hidden before these things came into existence. ⁷When Jeremiah had said this, and while he was standing in the altar-area with Baruch and Abimelech, he became as one whose soul had departed. ⁸And Baruch and Abimelech were weeping and crying out in a loud voice: Woe to us! For our father Jeremiah has left us — the priest of God has departed! ⁹And all the people heard their weeping and they all ran to them and saw Jeremiah lying on the ground as if dead. ¹⁰And they tore their garments and put dust on their heads and wept bitterly. ¹¹And after this they prepared to bury him. ¹²And behold, there came a voice saying: Do not bury the one who yet lives, for his soul is returning to his body! ¹³And when they heard the voice they did not bury him, but stayed around his tabernacle for three days saying, “when will he arise?” ¹⁴And after three days his soul came back into his body and he raised his voice in the midst of them all and said: Glorify God with one voice! All of you glorify God and the son of God who awakens us — messiah Jesus — the light of all the ages, the inextinguishable lamp, the life of faith. ¹⁵But after these times there shall be 477 years more and he comes to earth. ¹⁶And the tree of life planted in the midst of paradise will cause all the unfruitful trees to bear fruit, and will grow and sprout forth. ¹⁷And the trees that had sprouted and became haughty and said: “We have supplied our power to the air,” he will cause them to wither, with the grandeur of their branches, and he will cause them to be judged — that firmly rooted tree! ¹⁸And what is crimson will become white as wool — the snow will be blackened — the sweet waters will become salty, and the salty sweet, in the intense light of the joy of God. ¹⁹And he will bless the isles so that they become fruitful by the word of the mouth of his messiah. ²⁰For he shall come, and he will go out and choose for himself twelve apostles to proclaim the news among the nations– he whom I have seen adorned by his father and coming into the world on the Mount of Olives — and he shall fill the hungry souls.

ill become white as wool — the snow will be blackened — the sweet waters will become salty, and the salty sweet, in the intense light of the joy of God. ¹⁹And he will bless the isles so that they become fruitful by the word of the mouth of his messiah. ²⁰For he shall come, and he will go out and choose for himself twelve apostles to proclaim the news among the nations– he whom I have seen adorned by his father and coming into the world on the Mount of Olives — and he shall fill the hungry souls. ²¹When Jeremiah was saying this concerning the son of God — that he is coming into the world — the people became very angry and said: This is a repetition of the words spoken by Isaiah son of Amos, when he said: I saw God and the son of God. ²²Come, then, and let us not kill him by the same sort of death with which we killed Isaiah, but let us stone him with stones. ²³And Baruch and Abimelech were greatly grieved because they wanted to hear in full the mysteries that he had seen. ²⁴But Jeremiah said to them: Be silent and weep not, for they cannot kill me until I describe for you everything I saw. ²⁵And he said to them: Bring a stone

504 here to me. ²⁶And he set it up and said: Light of the ages, make this stone to become like me in appearance, until I have described to Baruch and Abimelech everything I saw. ²⁷Then the stone, by God’s command, took on the appearance of Jeremiah. ²⁸And they were stoning the stone, supposing that it was Jeremiah! ²⁹But Jeremiah delivered to Baruch and to Abimelech all the mysteries he had seen, and forthwith he stood in the midst of the people desiring to complete his ministry. ³⁰Then the stone cried out, saying: O foolish children of Israel, why do you stone me, supposing that I am Jeremiah? Behold, Jeremiah is standing in your midst! ³¹And when they saw him, immediately they rushed upon him with many stones, and his ministry was fulfilled. ³²And when Baruch and Abimelech came, they buried him, and taking the stone they placed it on his tomb and inscribed it thus: This is the stone that was the ally of Jeremiah.

505 Wisdom Books (Poetic Books) Job Job Chapter 1 ¹In the land of Uz, there was a blameless and upright man named Job, who feared God and avoided evil. ²Seven sons and three daughters were born to him; ³and he had seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred she- asses, and a great number of work animals, so that he was greater than any of the men of the East. His sons used to take turns giving feasts, sending invitations to their three sisters to eat and drink with them. And when each feast had run its course, Job would send for them and sanctify them, rising early and offering holocausts for every one of them. For Job said, "It may be that my sons have sinned and blasphemed God in their hearts." This Job did habitually. ⁴One day, when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, Satan also came among them. ⁷And the LORD said to Satan, "Whence do you come?" Then Satan answered the LORD and said, "From roaming the earth and patrolling it." And the LORD said to Satan, "Have you noticed my servant Job, and that there is no one on earth like him, blameless and upright, fearing God and avoiding evil?" ⁹But Satan answered the LORD and said, "Is it for nothing that Job is God-fearing? ¹⁰Have you not surrounded him and his family and all that he has with your protection? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his livestock are spread over the land. ¹¹But now put forth your hand and touch anything that he has, and surely he will blaspheme you to your face." ¹²And the LORD said to Satan, "Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand upon his person." So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD. ¹³And so one day, while his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in the house of their eldest brother, ¹⁴a messenger came to Job and said, "The oxen were plowing and the asses grazing beside them, ¹⁵and the Sabeans carried them off in a raid. They put the herdsmen to the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you." ¹⁶While he was yet speaking, another came and said, "Lightning has fallen from heaven and struck the sheep and their shepherds and consumed them; and I alone have escaped to tell you." ¹⁷While he was yet speaking, another came and said, "The Chaldeans formed three columns, seized the camels, carried them off, and put those tending them to the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you." ¹⁸While he was yet speaking, another came and said, "Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in the house of their eldest brother, ¹⁹when suddenly a great wind came across the desert and smote the four corners of the house. It fell upon the young people and they are dead; and I alone have escaped to tell you." ²⁰Then Job began to tear his cloak and cut off his hair. He cast himself prostrate upon the ground, ²¹and said, "Naked I came forth from my mother's womb, and naked shall I go back again. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD!" ²²In all this Job did not sin, nor did he say anything disrespectful of God. Job Chapter 2

506 ¹Once again the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them. ²And the LORD said to Satan, "Whence do you come?" And Satan answered the LORD and said, "From roaming the earth and patrolling it." ³And the LORD said to Satan, "Have you noticed my servant Job, and that there is no one on earth like him, faultless and upright, fearing God and avoiding evil? He still holds fast to his innocence although you incited me against him to ruin him without cause." ⁴And Satan answered the LORD and said, "Skin for skin! All that a man has will he give for his life. ⁵But now put forth your hand and touch his bone and his flesh, and surely he will blaspheme you to your face." ⁶And the LORD said to Satan, "He is in your power; only spare his life." ⁷So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD and smote Job with severe boils from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head. ⁸And he took a potsherd to scrape himself, as he sat among the ashes. ⁹Then his wife said to him, "Are you still holding to your innocence? Curse God and die." ¹⁰But he said to her, "Are even you going to speak as senseless women do? We accept good things from God; and should we not accept evil?" Through all this, Job said nothing sinful. ¹¹Now when three of Job's friends heard of all the misfortune that had come upon him, they set out each one from his own place: Eliphaz from Teman, Bildad from Shuh, and Zophar from Naamath. They met and journeyed together to give him sympathy and comfort. ¹²But when, at a distance, they lifted up their eyes and did not recognize him, they began to weep aloud; they tore their cloaks and threw dust upon their heads. ¹³Then they sat down upon the ground with him seven days and seven nights, but none of them spoke a word to him; for they saw how great was his suffering. Job Chapter 3 ¹After this, Job opened his mouth and cursed his day. ²Job spoke out and said: ³Perish the day on which I was born, the night when they said, "The child is a boy!" ⁴May that day be darkness: let not God above call for it, nor light shine upon it! ⁵May darkness and gloom claim it, clouds settle upon it, the blackness of night affright it! ⁶May obscurity seize that day; let it not occur among the days of the year, nor enter into the count of the months! ⁷May that night be barren; let no joyful outcry greet it! ⁸Let them curse it who curse the sea, the appointed disturbers of Leviathan! ⁹May the stars of its twilight be darkened; may it look for daylight, but have none, nor gaze on the eyes of the dawn, ¹⁰Because it kept not shut the doors of the womb to shield my eyes from trouble! ¹¹Why did I not perish at birth, come forth from the womb and expire? ¹²Wherefore did the knees receive me? or why did I suck at the breasts? ¹³For then I should have lain down and been tranquil; had I slept, I should then have been at rest ¹⁴With kings and counselors of the earth who built where now there are ruins ¹⁵Or with princes who had gold and filled their houses with silver. ¹⁶Or why was I not buried away like an untimely birth, like babes that have never seen the light? ¹⁷There the wicked cease from troubling, there the weary are at rest. ¹⁸There the captives are at ease together, and hear not the voice of the slave driver. ¹⁹Small and great are there the same, and the servant is free from his master. ²⁰Why is light given to the toilers, and life to the bitter in spirit? ²¹They wait for death and it comes not; they search for it rather than for hidden treasures, ²²Rejoice in it exultingly, and are glad when they reach the grave: ²³Men whose path is hidden from them, and whom God has hemmed in! ²⁴For sighing comes more readily to me than food, and my groans well forth like water. ²⁵For what I fear overtakes me, and what I shrink from comes upon me. ²⁶I have no peace nor ease; I have no rest, for trouble comes! Job Chapter 4 ¹Then spoke Eliphaz the Temanite, who said: ²If someone attempts a word with you, will you mind?

t rather than for hidden treasures, ²²Rejoice in it exultingly, and are glad when they reach the grave: ²³Men whose path is hidden from them, and whom God has hemmed in! ²⁴For sighing comes more readily to me than food, and my groans well forth like water. ²⁵For what I fear overtakes me, and what I shrink from comes upon me. ²⁶I have no peace nor ease; I have no rest, for trouble comes! Job Chapter 4 ¹Then spoke Eliphaz the Temanite, who said: ²If someone attempts a word with you, will you mind? For how can anyone refrain from speaking? ³Behold, you have instructed many, and have made firm their feeble hands. ⁴Your words have upheld the stumbler; you have strengthened his

507 faltering knees. ⁵But now that it comes to you, you are impatient; when it touches yourself, you are dismayed. ⁶Is not your piety a source of confidence, and your integrity of life your hope? ⁷Reflect now, what innocent person perishes? Since when are the upright destroyed? ⁸As I see it, those who plow for mischief and sow trouble, reap the same. ⁹By the breath of God they perish, and by the blast of his wrath they are consumed. ¹⁰Though the lion roars, though the king of beasts cries out, yet the teeth of the young lions are broken; ¹¹The old lion perishes for lack of prey, and the cubs of the lioness are scattered. ¹²For a word was stealthily brought to me, and my ear caught a whisper of it. ¹³In my thoughts during visions of the night, when deep sleep falls on men, ¹⁴Fear came upon me, and shuddering, that terrified me to the bones. ¹⁵Then a spirit passed before me, and the hair of my flesh stood up. ¹⁶It paused, but its likeness I could not discern; a figure was before my eyes, and I heard a still voice: ¹⁷"Can a man be righteous as against God? Can a mortal be blameless against his Maker? ¹⁸Lo, he puts no trust in his servants, and with his angels he can find fault. ¹⁹How much more with those that dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, who are crushed more easily than the moth! ²⁰Morning or evening they may be shattered; with no heed paid to it, they perish forever. ²¹The pegs of their tent are plucked up; they die without knowing wisdom." Job Chapter 5 ¹Call now! Will anyone respond to you? To which of the holy ones will you appeal? ²Nay, impatience kills the fool and indignation slays the simpleton. ³I have seen a fool spreading his roots, but his household suddenly decayed. ⁴His children shall be far from safety; they shall be crushed at the gate without a rescuer. ⁵What they have reaped the hungry shall eat up; and the thirsty shall swallow their substance. ⁶For mischief comes not out of the earth, nor does trouble spring out of the ground; ⁷but man himself begets mischief, as sparks fly upward. ⁸In your place, I would appeal to God, and to God I would state my plea. ⁹He does great things beyond searching out, and marvelous things beyond number. ¹⁰He gives rain upon the earth and sends water upon the fields; ¹¹He sets up on high the lowly, and those who mourn he exalts to safety. ¹²He frustrates the plans of the cunning, so that their hands achieve no success; ¹³He catches the wise in their own ruses, and the designs of the crafty are routed. ¹⁴They meet with darkness in the daytime, and at noonday they grope as though it were night. ¹⁵But the poor from the edge of the sword and from the hand of the mighty, he saves. ¹⁶Thus the unfortunate have hope, and iniquity closes her mouth. ¹⁷Happy is the man whom God reproves! The Almighty's chastening do not reject. ¹⁸For he wounds, but he binds up; he smites, but his hands give healing. ¹⁹Out of six troubles he will deliver you, and at the seventh no evil shall touch you. ²⁰In famine he will deliver you from death, and in war from the threat of the sword; ²¹From the scourge of the tongue you shall be hidden, and shall not fear approaching ruin. ²²At destruction and want you shall laugh; the beasts of the earth you need not dread. ²³You shall be in league with the stones of the field, and the wild beasts shall be at peace with you. ²⁴And you shall know that your tent is secure; taking stock of your household, you shall miss nothing. ²⁵You shall know that your descendants are many, and your offspring as the grass of the earth. ²⁶You shall approach the grave in full vigor, as a shock of grain comes in at its season. ²⁷Lo, this we have searched out; so it is! This we have heard, and you should know. Job Chapter 6 ¹Then Job answered and said: ²"Ah, could my anguish but be measured and my calamity laid with it in the scales, ³they would now outweigh the sands of the sea! Because of this I speak without restraint.

l miss nothing. ²⁵You shall know that your descendants are many, and your offspring as the grass of the earth. ²⁶You shall approach the grave in full vigor, as a shock of grain comes in at its season. ²⁷Lo, this we have searched out; so it is! This we have heard, and you should know. Job Chapter 6 ¹Then Job answered and said: ²"Ah, could my anguish but be measured and my calamity laid with it in the scales, ³they would now outweigh the sands of the sea! Because of this I speak without restraint. ⁴For the arrows of the Almighty pierce me, and my spirit drinks in their poison; the terrors of God are arrayed against me. ⁵Does the wild ass bray when he has grass? Does the ox low

508 over his fodder? ⁶Can a thing insipid be eaten without salt? Is there flavor in the white of an egg? ⁷I refuse to touch them; they are loathsome food to me. ⁸Oh, that I might have my request, and that God would grant what I long for: ⁹Even that God would decide to crush me, that he would put forth his hand and cut me off! ¹⁰Then I should still have consolation and could exult through unremitting pain, because I have not transgressed the commands of the Holy One. ¹¹What strength have I that I should endure, and what is my limit that I should be patient? ¹²Have I the strength of stones, or is my flesh of bronze? ¹³Have I no helper, and has advice deserted me? ¹⁴A friend owes kindness to one in despair, though he have forsaken the fear of the Almighty. ¹⁵My brethren are undependable as a brook, as watercourses that run dry in the wadies; ¹⁶though they may be black with ice, and with snow heaped upon them, ¹⁷yet once they flow, they cease to be; in the heat, they disappear from their place. ¹⁸Caravans turn aside from their routes; they go into the desert and perish. ¹⁹The caravans of Tema search, the companies of Sheba have hopes; ²⁰they are disappointed, though they were confident; they come there and are frustrated. ²¹It is thus that you have now become for me; you see a terrifying thing and are afraid. ²²Have I asked you to give me anything, to offer a gift for me from your possessions, ²³or to deliver me from the enemy, or to redeem me from oppressors? ²⁴Teach me, and I will be silent; prove to me wherein I have erred. ²⁵How agreeable are honest words; yet how unconvincing is your argument! ²⁶Do you consider your words as proof, but the sayings of a desperate man as wind? ²⁷You would even cast lots for the orphan, and would barter away your friend! ²⁸Come, now, give me your attention; surely I will not lie to your face. ²⁹Think it over; let there be no injustice. Think it over; I still am right. ³⁰Is there insincerity on my tongue, or cannot my taste discern falsehood?" Job Chapter 7 ¹"Is not man's life on earth a drudgery? Are not his days those of a hireling? ²He is a slave who longs for the shade, a hireling who waits for his wages. ³So I have been assigned months of misery, and troubled nights have been told off for me. ⁴If in bed I say, 'When shall I arise?' then the night drags on; I am filled with restlessness until the dawn. ⁵My flesh is clothed with worms and scabs; my skin cracks and festers; ⁶my days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle; they come to an end without hope. ⁷Remember that my life is like the wind; I shall not see happiness again. ⁸The eye that now sees me shall no more behold me; as you look at me, I shall be gone. ⁹As a cloud dissolves and vanishes, so he who goes down to the nether world shall come up no more. ¹⁰He shall not again return to his house; his place shall know him no more. ¹¹My own utterance I will not restrain; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul. ¹²Am I the sea, or a monster of the deep, that you place a watch over me? ¹³When I say, 'My bed shall comfort me, my couch shall ease my complaint,' ¹⁴then you affright me with dreams and with visions terrify me, ¹⁵so that I should prefer choking and death rather than my pains. ¹⁶I waste away: I cannot live forever; let me alone, for my days are but a breath. ¹⁷What is man, that you make much of him, or pay him any heed? ¹⁸You observe him with each new day and try him at every moment! ¹⁹How long will it be before you look away from me, and let me alone long enough to swallow my spittle? ²⁰Though I have sinned, what can I do to you, O watcher of men? ²¹Why do you not pardon my offense, or take away my guilt? For soon I shall lie down in the dust; and should you seek me I shall then be gone." Job Chapter 8 ¹"Bildad the Shuhite spoke out and said: ²How long will you utter such things? The words from your mouth are like a mighty wind!

ith each new day and try him at every moment! ¹⁹How long will it be before you look away from me, and let me alone long enough to swallow my spittle? ²⁰Though I have sinned, what can I do to you, O watcher of men? ²¹Why do you not pardon my offense, or take away my guilt? For soon I shall lie down in the dust; and should you seek me I shall then be gone." Job Chapter 8 ¹"Bildad the Shuhite spoke out and said: ²How long will you utter such things? The words from your mouth are like a mighty wind! ³Does God pervert judgment, and does the Almighty distort justice? ⁴If your children have sinned against him and he has left them in the grip of their guilt, ⁵still, if you yourself have recourse to God and make supplication to the Almighty, ⁶should you be

509 blameless and upright, surely now he will awake for you and restore your rightful domain; ⁷your former state will be of little moment, for in time to come you will flourish indeed. ⁸If you inquire of the former generations, and give heed to the experience of the fathers ⁹(as we are but of yesterday and have no knowledge, because our days on earth are but a shadow), ¹⁰will they not teach you and tell you and utter their words of understanding? ¹¹Can the papyrus grow up without mire? Can the reed grass flourish without water? ¹²While it is yet green and uncut, it withers quicker than any grass. ¹³So is the end of everyone who forgets God, and so shall the hope of the godless man perish. ¹⁴His confidence is but a gossamer thread and his trust is a spider's web. ¹⁵He shall rely upon his family, but it shall not last; he shall cling to it, but it shall not endure. ¹⁶He is full of sap before sunrise, and beyond his garden his shoots go forth; ¹⁷about a heap of stones are his roots entwined; among the rocks he takes hold. ¹⁸Yet if one tears him from his place, it will disown him: 'I have never seen you!' ¹⁹There he lies rotting beside the road, and out of the soil another sprouts. ²⁰Behold, God will not cast away the upright; neither will he take the hand of the wicked. ²¹Once more will he fill your mouth with laughter, and your lips with rejoicing. ²²They that hate you shall be clothed with shame, and the tent of the wicked shall be no more." Job Chapter 9 "¹Then Job answered and said: ²I know well that it is so; but how can a man be justified before God? ³Should one wish to contend with him, he could not answer him once in a thousand times. ⁴God is wise in heart and mighty in strength; who has withstood him and remained unscathed? ⁵He removes the mountains before they know it; he overturns them in his anger. ⁶He shakes the earth out of its place, and the pillars beneath it tremble. ⁷He commands the sun, and it rises not; he seals up the stars. ⁸He alone stretches out the heavens and treads upon the crests of the sea. ⁹He made the Bear and Orion, the Pleiades and the constellations of the south; ¹⁰He does great things past finding out, marvelous things beyond reckoning. ¹¹Should he come near me, I see him not; should he pass by, I am not aware of him; ¹²Should he seize me forcibly, who can say him nay? Who can say to him, 'What are you doing?' ¹³He is God and he does not relent; the helpers of Rahab bow beneath him. ¹⁴How much less shall I give him any answer, or choose out arguments against him! ¹⁵Even though I were right, I could not answer him, but should rather beg for what was due me. ¹⁶If I appealed to him and he answered my call, I could not believe that he would hearken to my words; ¹⁷With a tempest he might overwhelm me, and multiply my wounds without cause; ¹⁸He need not suffer me to draw breath, but might fill me with bitter griefs. ¹⁹If it be a question of strength, he is mighty; and if of judgment, who will call him to account? ²⁰Though I were right, my own mouth might condemn me; were I innocent, he might put me in the wrong. ²¹Though I am innocent, I myself cannot know it; I despise my life. ²²It is all one! therefore I say: Both the innocent and the wicked he destroys. ²³When the scourge slays suddenly, he laughs at the despair of the innocent. ²⁴The earth is given into the hands of the wicked; he covers the faces of its judges. If it is not he, who then is it? ²⁵My days are swifter than a runner, they flee away; they see no happiness; ²⁶They shoot by like skiffs of reed, like an eagle swooping upon its prey. ²⁷If I say: I will forget my complaining, I will lay aside my sadness and be of good cheer, ²⁸Then I am in dread of all my pains; I know that you will not hold me innocent. ²⁹If I must be accounted guilty, why then should I strive in vain? ³⁰If I should wash myself with snow and cleanse my hands with lye, ³¹Yet you would plunge me in the ditch, so that my garments would abhor me.

er, they flee away; they see no happiness; ²⁶They shoot by like skiffs of reed, like an eagle swooping upon its prey. ²⁷If I say: I will forget my complaining, I will lay aside my sadness and be of good cheer, ²⁸Then I am in dread of all my pains; I know that you will not hold me innocent. ²⁹If I must be accounted guilty, why then should I strive in vain? ³⁰If I should wash myself with snow and cleanse my hands with lye, ³¹Yet you would plunge me in the ditch, so that my garments would abhor me. ³²For he is not a man like myself, that I should answer him, that we should come together in judgment. ³³Would that there were an arbiter between us, who could lay his hand upon us both ³⁴and withdraw his rod from me. Would that his terrors did not frighten me; ³⁵that I might speak without being afraid of him. Since this is not the case with me."

510 Job Chapter 10 "¹I loathe my life. I will give myself up to complaint; I will speak from the bitterness of my soul. ²I will say to God: Do not put me in the wrong! Let me know why you oppose me. ³Is it a pleasure for you to oppress, to spurn the work of your hands, and smile on the plan of the wicked? ⁴Have you eyes of flesh? Do you see as man sees? ⁵Are your days as the days of a mortal, and are your years as a man's lifetime, ⁶That you seek for guilt in me and search after my sins, ⁷Even though you know that I am not wicked, and that none can deliver me out of your hand? ⁸Your hands have formed me and fashioned me; will you then turn and destroy me? ⁹Oh, remember that you fashioned me from clay! Will you then bring me down to dust again? ¹⁰Did you not pour me out as milk, and thicken me like cheese? ¹¹With skin and flesh you clothed me, with bones and sinews knit me together. ¹²Grace and favor you granted me, and your providence has preserved my spirit. ¹³Yet these things you have hidden in your heart; I know that they are your purpose: ¹⁴If I should sin, you would keep a watch against me, and from my guilt you would not absolve me. ¹⁵If I should be wicked, alas for me! if righteous, I dare not hold up my head, filled with ignominy and sodden with affliction! ¹⁶Should it lift up, you hunt me like a lion: repeatedly you show your wondrous power against me, ¹⁷You renew your attack upon me and multiply your harassment of me; in waves your troops come against me. ¹⁸Why then did you bring me forth from the womb? I should have died and no eye have seen me. ¹⁹I should be as though I had never lived; I should have been taken from the womb to the grave. ²⁰Are not the days of my life few? Let me alone, that I may recover a little ²¹Before I go whence I shall not return, to the land of darkness and of gloom, ²²The black, disordered land where darkness is the only light." Job Chapter 11 "¹And Zophar the Naamathite spoke out and said: ²Should not the man of many words be answered, or must the garrulous man necessarily be right? ³Shall your babblings keep men silent, and shall you deride and no one give rebuke? ⁴Shall you say: 'My teaching is pure, and I am clean in your sight'? ⁵But oh, that God would speak, and open his lips against you, ⁶And tell you that the secrets of wisdom are twice as effective: So you might learn that God will make you answer for your guilt. ⁷Can you penetrate the designs of God? Dare you vie with the perfection of the Almighty? ⁸It is higher than the heavens; what can you do? It is deeper than the netherworld; what can you know? ⁹It is longer than the earth in measure, and broader than the sea. ¹⁰If he seize and imprison or call to judgment, who then can say him nay? ¹¹For he knows the worthlessness of men and sees iniquity; will he then ignore it? ¹²Will empty man then gain understanding, and the wild jackass be made docile? ¹³If you set your heart aright and stretch out your hands toward him, ¹⁴If you remove all iniquity from your conduct, and let not injustice dwell in your tent, ¹⁵Surely then you may lift up your face in innocence; you may stand firm and unafraid. ¹⁶For then you shall forget your misery, or recall it like waters that have ebbed away. ¹⁷Then your life shall be brighter than the noonday; its gloom shall become as the morning, ¹⁸And you shall be secure, because there is hope; you shall look round you and lie down in safety, ¹⁹and you shall take your rest with none to disturb. Many shall entreat your favor, ²⁰but the wicked, looking on, shall be consumed with envy. Escape shall be cut off from them, they shall wait to expire." Job Chapter 12 "¹Then Job replied and said: ²No doubt you are the intelligent folk, and with you wisdom shall die! ³But I have intelligence as well as you; for who does not know such things as these?

d you shall be secure, because there is hope; you shall look round you and lie down in safety, ¹⁹and you shall take your rest with none to disturb. Many shall entreat your favor, ²⁰but the wicked, looking on, shall be consumed with envy. Escape shall be cut off from them, they shall wait to expire." Job Chapter 12 "¹Then Job replied and said: ²No doubt you are the intelligent folk, and with you wisdom shall die! ³But I have intelligence as well as you; for who does not know such things as these? ⁴I have become the sport of my neighbors: 'The one whom God answers when he calls upon him, The just, the perfect man,' is a laughing-stock; ⁵The undisturbed esteem my downfall a disgrace such as

511 awaits unsteady feet; ⁶Yet the tents of robbers are prosperous, and those who provoke God are secure. ⁷But now ask the beasts to teach you, and the birds of the air to tell you; ⁸Or the reptiles on earth to instruct you, and the fish of the sea to inform you. ⁹Which of all these does not know that the hand of God has done this? ¹⁰In his hand is the soul of every living thing, and the life breath of all mankind. ¹¹Does not the ear judge words as the mouth tastes food? ¹²So with old age is wisdom, and with length of days understanding. ¹³With him are wisdom and might; his are counsel and understanding. ¹⁴If he breaks a thing down, there is no rebuilding; if he imprisons a man, there is no release. ¹⁵He holds back the waters and there is drought; he sends them forth and they overwhelm the land. ¹⁶With him are strength and prudence; the misled and the misleaders are his. ¹⁷He sends counselors away barefoot, and of judges he makes fools. ¹⁸He loosens the bonds imposed by kings and leaves but a waistcloth to bind the king's own loins. ¹⁹He silences the trusted adviser, and takes discretion from the aged. ²⁰He breaks down the barriers of the streams and lets their never-failing waters flow away. ²¹The recesses of the darkness he discloses, and brings the gloom forth to the light. ²²He makes nations great and he destroys them; he spreads peoples abroad and he abandons them. ²³He takes understanding from the leaders of the land, ²⁴till they grope in the darkness without light; he makes them stagger like drunken men." Job Chapter 13 "¹Lo, all this my eye has seen; my ear has heard and perceived it. ²What you know, I also know; I fall not short of you. ³But I would speak with the Almighty; I wish to reason with God. ⁴You are glossing over falsehoods and offering vain remedies, every one of you! ⁵Oh, that you would be altogether silent! This for you would be wisdom. ⁶Hear now the rebuke I shall utter and listen to the reproof from my lips. ⁷Is it for God that you speak falsehood? Is it for him that you utter deceit? ⁸Is it for him that you show partiality? Do you play advocate on behalf of God? ⁹Will it be well when he shall search you out? Would you impose on him as one does on men? ¹⁰He will openly rebuke you if even in secret you show partiality. ¹¹Surely will his majesty affright you and the dread of him fall upon you. ¹²Your reminders are ashy maxims, your fabrications are mounds of clay. ¹³Be silent, let me alone! that I may speak and give vent to my feelings. ¹⁴I will carry my flesh between my teeth, and take my life in my hand. ¹⁵Slay me though he might, I will wait for him; I will defend my conduct before him. ¹⁶And this shall be my salvation, that no impious man can come into his presence. ¹⁷Pay careful heed to my speech, and give my statement a hearing. ¹⁸Behold, I have prepared my case, I know that I am in the right. ¹⁹If anyone can make a case against me, then I shall be silent and die. ²⁰These things only do not use against me, then from your presence I need not hide: ²¹Withdraw your hand far from me, and let not the terror of you frighten me. ²²Then call me, and I will respond; or let me speak first, and answer me. ²³What are my faults and my sins? My misdeeds and my sins make known to me! ²⁴Why do you hide your face and consider me your enemy? ²⁵Will you harass a wind-driven leaf, or pursue a withered straw? ²⁶For you draw up bitter indictments against me, and punish in me the faults of my youth. ²⁷You put my feet in the stocks; you watch all my paths and trace out all my footsteps. ²⁸Though he wears out like a leather bottle, like a garment that the moth has consumed?" Job Chapter 14 "¹Man born of woman is short-lived and full of trouble, ²Like a flower that springs up and fades, swift as a shadow that does not abide. ³Upon such a one will you cast your eyes so as to bring him into judgment before you, ⁴Can a man be found who is clean of defilement? There is none, ⁵however short his days.

You put my feet in the stocks; you watch all my paths and trace out all my footsteps. ²⁸Though he wears out like a leather bottle, like a garment that the moth has consumed?" Job Chapter 14 "¹Man born of woman is short-lived and full of trouble, ²Like a flower that springs up and fades, swift as a shadow that does not abide. ³Upon such a one will you cast your eyes so as to bring him into judgment before you, ⁴Can a man be found who is clean of defilement? There is none, ⁵however short his days. You know the number of his months; you have fixed the limit which he cannot pass. ⁶Look away from him and let him be, while, like a hireling, he completes his day. ⁷For a tree there is hope, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again and that its tender shoots will not

512 cease. ⁸Even though its root grow old in the earth, and its stump die in the dust, ⁹Yet at the first whiff of water it may flourish again and put forth branches like a young plant. ¹⁰But when a man dies, all vigor leaves him; when man expires, where then is he? ¹¹As when the waters of a lake fail, or a stream grows dry and parches, ¹²So men lie down and rise not again. Till the heavens are no more, they shall not awake, nor be roused out of their sleep. ¹³Oh, that you would hide me in the nether world and keep me sheltered till your wrath is past; would fix a time for me, and then remember me! ¹⁴When a man has died, were he to live again, all the days of my drudgery I would wait, until my relief should come. ¹⁵You would call, and I would answer you; you would esteem the work of your hands. ¹⁶Surely then you would count my steps, and not keep watch for sin in me. ¹⁷My misdeeds would be sealed up in a pouch, and you would cover over my guilt. ¹⁸But as a mountain falls at last and its rock is moved from its place, ¹⁹As waters wear away the stones and floods wash away the soil of the land, so you destroy the hope of man. ²⁰You prevail once for all against him and he passes on; with changed appearance you send him away. ²¹If his sons are honored, he is not aware of it; if they are in disgrace, he does not know about them. ²²Only his own flesh pains him, and his soul grieves for him." Job Chapter 15 "¹Then Eliphaz the Temanite spoke and said: ²Should a wise man answer with airy opinions, or puff himself up with wind? ³Should he argue in speech which does not avail, and in words which are to no profit? ⁴You in fact do away with piety, and you lessen devotion toward God, ⁵Because your wickedness instructs your mouth, and you choose to speak like the crafty. ⁶Your own mouth condemns you, not I; your own lips refute you. ⁷Are you indeed the first-born of mankind, or were you brought forth before the hills? ⁸Are you privy to the counsels of God, and do you restrict wisdom to yourself? ⁹What do you know that we do not know? What intelligence have you which we have not? ¹⁰There are gray-haired old men among us more advanced in years than your father. ¹¹Are the consolations of God not enough for you, and speech that deals gently with you? ¹²Why do your notions carry you away, and why do your eyes blink, ¹³So that you turn your anger against God and let such words escape your mouth! ¹⁴What is a man that he should be blameless, one born of woman that he should be righteous? ¹⁵If in his holy ones God places no confidence, and if the heavens are not clean in his sight, ¹⁶How much less so is the abominable, the corrupt: man, who drinks in iniquity like water! ¹⁷I will show you, if you listen to me; what I have seen I will tell—¹⁸What wise men relate and have not contradicted since the days of their fathers, ¹⁹To whom alone the land was given, when no foreigner moved among them. ²⁰The wicked man is in torment all his days, and limited years are in store for the tyrant; ²¹The sound of terrors is in his ears; when all is prosperous, the spoiler comes upon him. ²²He despairs of escaping the darkness, and looks ever for the sword; ²³A wanderer, food for the vultures, he knows that his destruction is imminent. ²⁴By day the darkness fills him with dread; distress and anguish overpower him. ²⁵Because he has stretched out his hand against God and bade defiance to the Almighty, ²⁶One shall rush sternly upon him with the stout bosses of his shield, like a king prepared for the charge. ²⁷Because he has blinded himself with his crassness, padding his loins with fat, ²⁸He shall dwell in ruinous cities, in houses that are deserted, that are crumbling into clay ²⁹with no shadow to lengthen over the ground. He shall not be rich, and his possessions shall not endure; ³⁰A flame shall wither him up in his early growth, and with the wind his blossoms shall disappear. ³¹His stalk shall wither before its time, and his branches shall be green no more.

like a king prepared for the charge. ²⁷Because he has blinded himself with his crassness, padding his loins with fat, ²⁸He shall dwell in ruinous cities, in houses that are deserted, that are crumbling into clay ²⁹with no shadow to lengthen over the ground. He shall not be rich, and his possessions shall not endure; ³⁰A flame shall wither him up in his early growth, and with the wind his blossoms shall disappear. ³¹His stalk shall wither before its time, and his branches shall be green no more. ³²He shall be like a vine that sheds its grapes unripened, and like an olive tree casting off its bloom. ³³For the breed of the impious shall be sterile, and fire shall consume the tents of extortioners. ³⁴They conceive malice and bring forth emptiness; they give birth to failure."

513 Job Chapter 16 ¹Then Job answered and said: ²I have heard this sort of thing many times. Wearisome comforters are you all! ³Is there no end to windy words? Or what sickness have you that you speak on? ⁴I also could talk as you do, were you in my place. I could declaim over you, or wag my head at you; ⁵I could strengthen you with talk, or shake my head with silent lips. ⁶If I speak, this pain I have will not be checked; if I leave off, it will not depart from me. ⁷But now that I am exhausted and stunned, all my company has closed in on me. ⁸As a witness there rises up my traducer, speaking openly against me; ⁹I am the prey his wrath assails, he gnashes his teeth against me. My enemies lord it over me; ¹⁰their mouths are agape to bite me. They smite me on the cheek insultingly; they are all enlisted against me. ¹¹God has given me over to the impious; into the clutches of the wicked he has cast me. ¹²I was in peace, but he dislodged me; he seized me by the neck and dashed me to pieces. He has set me up for a target; ¹³his arrows strike me from all directions, He pierces my sides without mercy, he pours out my gall upon the ground. ¹⁴He pierces me with thrust upon thrust; he attacks me like a warrior. ¹⁵I have fastened sackcloth over my skin, and have laid my brow in the dust. ¹⁶My face is inflamed with weeping and there is darkness over my eyes, ¹⁷Although my hands are free from violence, and my prayer is sincere. ¹⁸O earth, cover not my blood, nor let my outcry come to rest! ¹⁹Even now, behold, my witness is in heaven, and my spokesman is on high. ²⁰My friends it is who wrong me; before God my eyes drop tears, ²¹That he may do justice for a mortal in his presence and decide between a man and his neighbor. ²²For my years are numbered now, and I am on a journey from which I shall not return. Job Chapter 17 ¹My spirit is broken, my lamp of life extinguished; my burial is at hand. ²I am indeed mocked, and, as their provocation mounts, my eyes grow dim. ³Grant me one to offer you a pledge on my behalf: who is there that will give surety for me? ⁴You darken their minds to knowledge; therefore they do not understand. ⁵My lot is described as evil, ⁶and I am made a byword of the people; their object lesson I have become. ⁷My eye has grown blind with anguish, and all my frame is shrunken to a shadow. ⁸Upright men are astonished at this, and the innocent aroused against the wicked. ⁹Yet the righteous shall hold to his way, and he who has clean hands increase in strength. ¹⁰But turn now, and come on again; for I shall not find a wise man among you! ¹¹My days are passed away, my plans are at an end, the cherished purposes of my heart. ¹²Such men change the night into day; where there is darkness they talk of approaching light. ¹³If I look for the nether world as my dwelling, if I spread my couch in the darkness, ¹⁴If I must call corruption "my father," and the maggot "my mother" and "my sister," ¹⁵Where then is my hope, and my prosperity, who shall see? ¹⁶Will they descend with me into the nether world? Shall we go down together into the dust? Job Chapter 18 ¹Then Bildad the Shuhite replied and said: ²When will you put an end to words? Reflect, and then we can have discussion. ³Why are we accounted like the beasts, their equals in your sight? ⁴You who tear yourself in your anger, shall the earth be neglected on your account, or the rock be moved out of its place? ⁵Truly, the light of the wicked is extinguished; no flame brightens his hearth. ⁶The light is darkened in his tent; in spite of him, his lamp goes out. ⁷His vigorous steps are hemmed in, and his own counsel casts him down. ⁸For he rushes headlong into a net, and he wanders into a pitfall. ⁹A trap seizes him by the heel, and a snare lays hold of him. ¹⁰A noose for him is hid on the ground, and the toils for him on the way. ¹¹On every side terrors affright him; they harry him at each step. ¹²Disaster is ready at his side, ¹³the first-born of death consumes his limbs.

hearth. ⁶The light is darkened in his tent; in spite of him, his lamp goes out. ⁷His vigorous steps are hemmed in, and his own counsel casts him down. ⁸For he rushes headlong into a net, and he wanders into a pitfall. ⁹A trap seizes him by the heel, and a snare lays hold of him. ¹⁰A noose for him is hid on the ground, and the toils for him on the way. ¹¹On every side terrors affright him; they harry him at each step. ¹²Disaster is ready at his side, ¹³the first-born of death consumes his limbs. ¹⁴Fiery destruction lodges in his tent, and marches him off to the king of terrors. He is plucked from the

514 security of his tent; ¹⁵over his abode brimstone is scattered. ¹⁶Below, his roots dry up, and above, his branches wither. ¹⁷His memory perishes from the land, and he has no name on the earth. ¹⁸He is driven from light into darkness, and banished out of the world. ¹⁹He has neither son nor grandson among his people, nor any survivor where once he dwelt. ²⁰They who come after shall be appalled at his fate; they who went before are struck with horror. ²¹So is it then with the dwelling of the impious man, and such is the place of him who knows not God! Job Chapter 19 ¹Then Job answered and said: ²How long will you vex my soul, grind me down with words? ³These ten times you have reviled me, have assailed me without shame! ⁴Be it indeed that I am at fault and that my fault remains with me, ⁵Even so, if you would vaunt yourselves against me and cast up to me any reproach, ⁶Know then that God has dealt unfairly with me, and compassed me round with his net. ⁷If I cry out "Injustice!" I am not heard. I cry for help, but there is no redress. ⁸He has barred my way and I cannot pass; he has veiled my path in darkness; ⁹He has stripped me of my glory, and taken the diadem from my brow. ¹⁰He breaks me down on every side, and I am gone; my hope he has uprooted like a tree. ¹¹His wrath he has kindled against me; he counts me among his enemies. ¹²His troops advance as one man; they build up their road to attack me, and they encamp around my tent. ¹³My brethren have withdrawn from me, and my friends are wholly estranged. ¹⁴My kinsfolk and companions neglect me, and my guests have forgotten me. ¹⁵Even my handmaids treat me as a stranger; I am an alien in their sight. ¹⁶I call my servant, but he gives no answer, though in my speech I plead with him. ¹⁷My breath is abhorred by my wife; I am loathsome to the men of my family. ¹⁸The young children, too, despise me; when I appear, they speak against me. ¹⁹All my intimate friends hold me in horror; those whom I loved have turned against me! ²⁰My bones cleave to my skin, and I have escaped with my flesh between my teeth. ²¹Pity me, pity me, O you my friends, for the hand of God has struck me! ²²Why do you hound me as though you were divine, and insatiably prey upon me? ²³Oh, would that my words were written down! Would that they were inscribed in a record: ²⁴That with an iron chisel and with lead they were cut in the rock forever! ²⁵But as for me, I know that my Vindicator lives, and that he will at last stand forth upon the dust; ²⁶And from my flesh I shall see God; my inmost being is consumed with longing. ²⁷Whom I myself shall see: my own eyes, not another's, shall behold him. ²⁸But you who say, "How shall we persecute him, seeing that the root of the matter is found in him?" ²⁹Be afraid of the sword for yourselves, for these crimes deserve the sword; that you may know that there is a judgment. Job Chapter 20 ¹Then Zophar the Naamathite spoke and said: ²"Therefore my thoughts answer me, and because of this I am disturbed. ³I hear a rebuke that dishonors me, and my understanding inspires me to reply. ⁴Do you not know this from olden time, since man was placed upon the earth, ⁵that the triumph of the wicked is short, and the joy of the godless but for a moment? ⁶Though his pride mounts up to the heavens and his head reaches to the clouds, ⁷he will perish forever like his own dung; those who have seen him will say, 'Where is he?' ⁸He will fly away like a dream and not be found; he will be chased away like a vision of the night. ⁹The eye that saw him will see him no more, nor will his place behold him any longer. ¹⁰His children will seek the favor of the poor, and his hands will give back his wealth. ¹¹Though his bones are full of youthful vigor, they will lie down with him in the dust.

e heavens and his head reaches to the clouds, ⁷he will perish forever like his own dung; those who have seen him will say, 'Where is he?' ⁸He will fly away like a dream and not be found; he will be chased away like a vision of the night. ⁹The eye that saw him will see him no more, nor will his place behold him any longer. ¹⁰His children will seek the favor of the poor, and his hands will give back his wealth. ¹¹Though his bones are full of youthful vigor, they will lie down with him in the dust. ¹²Though evil is sweet in his mouth, though he hides it under his tongue, ¹³though he is loath to let it go and holds it in his mouth, ¹⁴yet his food will turn sour in his stomach; it will become the venom of serpents within him. ¹⁵He will spit out the riches he swallowed; God will make his stomach vomit them up. ¹⁶He will suck the poison of serpents; the

515 fangs of an adder will kill him. ¹⁷He will not enjoy the streams, the rivers flowing with honey and cream. ¹⁸What he toiled for he must give back uneaten; he will not enjoy the profit from his trading. ¹⁹For he has oppressed and forsaken the poor; he has seized houses he did not build. ²⁰"Because his greed knew no bounds, he will not escape with his treasure. ²¹Nothing is left for him to devour; his prosperity will not endure. ²²In the midst of his plenty, distress will overtake him; the full force of misery will come upon him. ²³When he has filled his belly, God will vent his burning anger against him and rain down his blows on him. ²⁴Though he flees from an iron weapon, a bronze-tipped arrow will pierce him. ²⁵He pulls it out of his back, the gleaming point out of his liver. Terrors will come over him; ²⁶total darkness lies in wait for his treasures. A fire unfanned will consume him and devour what is left in his tent. ²⁷The heavens will expose his guilt; the earth will rise up against him. ²⁸A flood will carry off his house, rushing waters on the day of God’s wrath. ²⁹Such is the fate God allots the wicked, the heritage appointed for them by God.” Job Chapter 21 ¹Then Job said in reply: ²“At least listen to my words, and let that be the consolation you offer. ³Bear with me while I speak; and after I have spoken, you can mock! ⁴Is my complaint toward man? And why should I not be impatient? ⁵Look at me and be astonished, put your hands over your mouths. ⁶When I think of it, I am dismayed, and horror takes hold on my flesh. ⁷Why do the wicked survive, grow old, become mighty in power? ⁸Their progeny is secure in their sight; they see before them their kinsfolk and their offspring. ⁹Their homes are safe and without fear, nor is the scourge of God upon them. ¹⁰Their bulls gender without fail; their cows calve and do not miscarry. ¹¹These folk have infants numerous as lambs, and their children dance. ¹²They sing to the timbrel and harp, and make merry to the sound of the flute. ¹³They live out their days in prosperity, and tranquilly go down to the nether world. ¹⁴Yet they say to God, ‘Depart from us, for we have no wish to learn your ways! ¹⁵What is the Almighty that we should serve him? And what gain shall we have if we pray to him?’ ¹⁶If their happiness is not in their own hands and if the counsel of the wicked is repulsive to God, ¹⁷How often is the lamp of the wicked put out? How often does destruction come upon them, the portion he allots in his anger? ¹⁸Let them be like straw before the wind, and like chaff which the storm snatches away! ¹⁹May God not store up the man’s misery for his children; let him requite the man himself so that he feels it, ²⁰Let his own eyes see the calamity, and the wrath of the Almighty let him drink! ²¹For what interest has he in his family after him, when the number of his months is finished? ²²Can anyone teach God knowledge, seeing that he judges those on high? ²³One dies in his full vigor, wholly at ease and content; ²⁴His figure is full and nourished, and his bones are rich in marrow. ²⁵Another dies in bitterness of soul, having never tasted happiness. ²⁶Alike they lie down in the dust, and worms cover them both. ²⁷Behold, I know your thoughts, and the arguments you rehearse against me. ²⁸For you say, ‘Where is the house of the magnate, and where the dwelling place of the wicked?’ ²⁹Have you not asked the wayfarers and do you not recognize their monuments? ³⁰Nay, the evil man is spared calamity when it comes; ³¹Who will charge him with his conduct to his face, and for what he has done who will repay him? ³²He is carried to the grave, and the clods of the valley are sweet to him. ³³Over him the funeral mound keeps watch, while all the line of mankind follows him, and the countless others who have gone before. ³⁴How then can you offer me vain comfort, while in your answers perfidy remains?" Job Chapter 22 ¹Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said: ²Can a man be profitable to God?

mity when it comes; ³¹Who will charge him with his conduct to his face, and for what he has done who will repay him? ³²He is carried to the grave, and the clods of the valley are sweet to him. ³³Over him the funeral mound keeps watch, while all the line of mankind follows him, and the countless others who have gone before. ³⁴How then can you offer me vain comfort, while in your answers perfidy remains?" Job Chapter 22 ¹Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said: ²Can a man be profitable to God? Though to himself a wise man be profitable! ³Is it of advantage to the Almighty if you are just? Or is it a gain to him if you make your ways perfect? ⁴Is it because of your piety that he reproves you— that he

516 enters with you into judgment? ⁵Is not your wickedness manifold? Are not your iniquities endless? ⁶You have unjustly kept your kinsmen's goods in pawn, left them stripped naked of their clothing. ⁷To the thirsty you have given no water to drink, and from the hungry you have withheld bread; ⁸As if the land belonged to the man of might, and only the privileged were to dwell in it. ⁹You have sent widows away empty-handed, and the resources of orphans you have destroyed. ¹⁰Therefore snares are round about you, and a sudden terror causes you dismay, ¹¹Or darkness, in which you cannot see; a deluge of waters covers you. ¹²Does not God, in the heights of the heavens, behold the stars, high though they are? ¹³Yet you say, "What does God know? Can he judge through the thick darkness? ¹⁴Clouds hide him so that he cannot see; he walks upon the vault of the heavens!" ¹⁵Do you indeed keep to the ancient way trodden by worthless men, ¹⁶Who were snatched away before their time; whose foundations a flood swept away? ¹⁷These men said to God, "Depart from us!" and, "What can the Almighty do to us?" ¹⁸(Yet he had filled their houses with good things! But far be from me the mind of the impious!) ¹⁹The just look on and are gladdened, and the innocent deride them: ²⁰"Truly these have been destroyed where they stood, and such as were left, fire has consumed!" ²¹Come to terms with him to be at peace. In this shall good come to you: ²²Receive instruction from his mouth, and lay up his words in your heart. ²³If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored; if you put iniquity far from your tent, ²⁴And treat raw gold like dust, and the fine gold of Ophir as pebbles from the brook, ²⁵Then the Almighty himself shall be your gold and your sparkling silver. ²⁶For then you shall delight in the Almighty and you shall lift up your face toward God. ²⁷You shall entreat him and he will hear you, and your vows you shall fulfill. ²⁸When you make a decision, it shall succeed for you, and upon your ways the light shall shine. ²⁹For he brings down the pride of the haughty, but the man of humble mien he saves. ³⁰God delivers him who is innocent; you shall be delivered through cleanness of hands. Job Chapter 23 ¹Again Job answered and said: ²Though I know my complaint is bitter, his hand is heavy upon me in my groanings. ³Oh, that today I might find him, that I might come to his judgment seat! ⁴I would set out my cause before him, and fill my mouth with arguments; ⁵I would learn the words with which he would answer, and understand what he would reply to me. ⁶Even should he contend against me with his great power, yet, would that he himself might heed me! ⁷There the upright man might reason with him, and I should once and for all preserve my rights. ⁸But if I go to the east, he is not there; or to the west, I cannot perceive him; ⁹Where the north enfolds him, I behold him not; by the south he is veiled, and I see him not. ¹⁰Yet he knows my way; if he proved me, I should come forth as gold. ¹¹My foot has always walked in his steps; his way I have kept and have not turned aside. ¹²From the commands of his lips I have not departed; the words of his mouth I have treasured in my heart. ¹³But he had decided, and who can say him nay? What he desires, that he does. ¹⁴For he will carry out what is appointed for me; and many such things may yet be in his mind. ¹⁵Therefore am I dismayed before him; when I take thought, I fear him. ¹⁶Indeed God has made my courage fail; the Almighty has put me in dismay. ¹⁷Yes, would that I had vanished in darkness, and that thick gloom were before me to conceal me. Job Chapter 24 ¹Why are not times set by the Almighty, and why do his friends not see his days? ²The wicked remove landmarks; they steal away herds and pasture them. ³The asses of orphans they drive away; they take the widow's ox for a pledge. ⁴They force the needy off the road; all the poor of the land are driven into hiding.

¹⁶Indeed God has made my courage fail; the Almighty has put me in dismay. ¹⁷Yes, would that I had vanished in darkness, and that thick gloom were before me to conceal me. Job Chapter 24 ¹Why are not times set by the Almighty, and why do his friends not see his days? ²The wicked remove landmarks; they steal away herds and pasture them. ³The asses of orphans they drive away; they take the widow's ox for a pledge. ⁴They force the needy off the road; all the poor of the land are driven into hiding. ⁵Like wild asses in the desert, these go forth to their task of seeking food; the steppe provides food for the young among them; ⁶they harvest at night in the untilled land. ⁷They pass the night naked, without clothing, for they have no covering against the cold;

517 ⁸They are drenched with the rain of the mountains, and for want of shelter they cling to the rock. ¹¹Between the rows they press out the oil; they glean in the vineyard of the wicked. They tread the wine presses, yet suffer thirst, ¹⁰and famished are those who carry the sheaves. ¹²From the dust the dying groan, and the souls of the wounded cry out (yet God does not treat it as unseemly). ¹³There are those who are rebels against the light; they know not its ways; they abide not in its paths. ¹⁴When there is no light the murderer rises, to kill the poor and needy. ¹⁵The eye of the adulterer watches for the twilight; he says, "No eye will see me." In the night the thief roams about, and he puts a mask over his face; ¹⁶in the dark he breaks into houses. By day they shut themselves in; none of them know the light, ¹⁷for daylight they regard as darkness. ¹⁸Their portion in the land is accursed, ²⁰and wickedness is splintered like wood. ²²To him who rises without assurance of his life ²³he gives safety and support. He sustains the mighty by his strength, and his eyes are on their ways. ²⁴They are exalted for a while, and then they are gone; they are laid low and, like all others, are gathered up; like ears of grain they shrivel. ²⁵If this be not so, who will confute me, and reduce my argument to nought? Job Chapter 25 ¹Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said: ²Dominion and awesomeness are his who brings about harmony in his heavens. ³Is there any numbering of his troops? Yet to which of them does not his light extend? ⁴How can a man be just in God's sight, or how can any woman's child be innocent? ⁵Behold, even the moon is not bright and the stars are not clear in his sight. ⁶How much less man, who is but a maggot, the son of man, who is only a worm? Job Chapter 26 ¹Then Job spoke again and said: ²What help you give to the powerless, what strength to the feeble arm! ³How you counsel, as though he had no wisdom; how profuse is the advice you offer! ⁴With whose help have you uttered those words, and whose is the breath that comes forth from you? ⁵The shades beneath writhe in terror, the waters, and their inhabitants. ⁶Naked before him is the nether world, and Abaddon has no covering. ⁷He stretches out the North over empty space, and suspends the earth over nothing at all; ⁸He binds up the waters in his clouds, yet the cloud is not rent by their weight; ⁹He holds back the appearance of the full moon by spreading his clouds before it. ¹⁰He has marked out a circle on the surface of the deep as the boundary of light and darkness. ¹¹The pillars of the heavens tremble and are stunned at his thunderous rebuke; ¹²By his power he stirs up the sea, and by his might he crushes Rahab; ¹³With his angry breath he scatters the waters, and he hurls the lightning against them relentlessly; ¹⁴Lo, these are but the outlines of his ways, and how faint is the word we hear! Job Chapter 27 ¹I will teach you the manner of God's dealings, and the way of the Almighty I will not conceal. ²As God lives, who withholds my deserts, the Almighty, who has made bitter my soul, ³So long as I still have life in me and the breath of God is in my nostrils, ⁴My lips shall not speak falsehood, nor my tongue utter deceit! ⁵Far be it from me to account you right; till I die I will not renounce my innocence. ⁶My justice I maintain and I will not relinquish it; my heart does not reproach me for any of my days. ⁷Let my enemy be as the wicked and my adversary as the unjust! ⁸For what can the impious man expect when he is cut off, when God requires his life? ⁹Will God then attend to his cry when calamity comes upon him? ¹⁰Will he then delight in the Almighty and call upon him constantly? ¹²Behold, you yourselves have all seen it; why then do you spend yourselves in idle words! ¹³This is the portion of a wicked man from God, the inheritance an oppressor receives from the Almighty: ¹⁴Though his children be many, the sword is their destiny. His offspring shall not

518 be filled with bread. ¹⁵His survivors, when they die, shall have no burial, and their widows shall not be mourned. ¹⁶Though he heap up silver like dust and store away mounds of clothing, ¹⁷What he has stored the just man shall wear, and the innocent shall divide the silver. ¹⁸He builds his house as of cobwebs, or like a booth put up by the vine-keeper. ¹⁹He lies down a rich man, one last time; he opens his eyes and nothing remains to him. ²⁰Terrors rush upon him by day; at night the tempest carries him off. ²¹The storm wind seizes him and he disappears; it sweeps him out of his place. Job Chapter 28 ¹There is indeed a mine for silver, and a place for gold which men refine. ²Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is melted out of stone. ³He sets an end to darkness, and searches out all perfection: the stones of darkness, and the shadow of death. ⁴He breaks open a shaft away from where people live; they are forgotten by travelers, they hang far from mankind, they swing to and fro. ⁵The earth, from it comes bread, but underneath it is turned up as by fire. ⁶Its stones are the place of sapphires, and it has dust of gold. ⁷That path no bird of prey knows, nor has the falcon’s eye seen it. ⁸The proud beasts have not trodden it, nor has the fierce lion passed over it. ⁹He puts forth his hand on the flinty rock; he overturns the mountains by the roots. ¹⁰He cuts out channels in the rocks, and his eye sees every precious thing. ¹¹He dams up the streams from trickling; what is hidden he brings forth to light. ¹²But where shall wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding? ¹³Man does not know its worth, and it is not found in the land of the living. ¹⁴The deep says, ‘It is not in me,’ and the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’ ¹⁵It cannot be bought for gold, and silver cannot be weighed as its price. ¹⁶It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir, in precious onyx or sapphire. ¹⁷Gold and glass cannot equal it, nor can it be exchanged for jewels of fine gold. ¹⁸No mention shall be made of coral or of crystal; the price of wisdom is above pearls. ¹⁹The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it, nor can it be valued in pure gold. ²⁰From where, then, does wisdom come? And where is the place of understanding? ²¹It is hidden from the eyes of all living and concealed from the birds of the air. ²²Abaddon and Death say, ‘We have heard a rumor of it with our ears.’ ²³God understands the way to it, and he knows its place. ²⁴For he looks to the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens. ²⁵When he gave to the wind its weight and apportioned the waters by measure, ²⁶when he made a decree for the rain and a way for the lightning of the thunder, ²⁷then he saw it and declared it; he established it, and searched it out. ²⁸And he said to man, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to depart from evil is understanding.’ Job Chapter 29 ¹Job took up his theme anew and said: ²Oh, that I were as in the months past! as in the days when God watched over me, ³While he kept his lamp shining above my head, and by his light I walked through darkness; ⁴As I was in my flourishing days, when God sheltered my tent; ⁵When the Almighty was yet with me, and my children were round about me; ⁶When my footsteps were bathed in milk, and the rock flowed with streams of oil; ⁷When I went forth to the gate of the city and set up my seat in the square - ⁸Then the young men saw me and withdrew, while the elders rose up and stood; ⁹The chief men refrained from speaking and covered their mouths with their hands; ¹⁰The voice of the princes was silenced, and their tongues stuck to the roofs of their mouths. ¹¹Whoever heard of me blessed me; those who saw me commended me. ¹²For I rescued the poor who cried out for help, the orphans, and the unassisted; ¹³The blessing of those in extremity came upon me, and the heart of the widow I made joyful. ¹⁴I wore my honesty like a garment; justice was my robe and my turban.

p and stood; ⁹The chief men refrained from speaking and covered their mouths with their hands; ¹⁰The voice of the princes was silenced, and their tongues stuck to the roofs of their mouths. ¹¹Whoever heard of me blessed me; those who saw me commended me. ¹²For I rescued the poor who cried out for help, the orphans, and the unassisted; ¹³The blessing of those in extremity came upon me, and the heart of the widow I made joyful. ¹⁴I wore my honesty like a garment; justice was my robe and my turban. ¹⁵I was eyes to the blind, and feet to the lame was I; ¹⁶I was a father to the needy; the rights of the stranger I studied, ¹⁷And I broke the jaws of the

519 wicked man; from his teeth I forced the prey. ¹⁸Then I said: "In my own nest I shall grow old; I shall multiply years like the phoenix. ¹⁹My root is spread out to the waters; the dew rests by night on my branches. ²⁰My glory is fresh within me, and my bow is renewed in my hand!" Job Chapter 30 ¹But now they hold me in derision who are younger in years than I; whose fathers I should have disdained to rank with the dogs of my flock. ²Such strength as they had, to me meant nought; they were utterly destitute. ³In want and hunger was their lot, they who fled to the parched wastelands: ⁴They plucked saltwort and shrubs; the roots of the broom plant were their food. ⁵They were banished from among men, with an outcry like that against a thief— ⁶to dwell on the slopes of the wadies, in caves of sand and stone; ⁷among the bushes they raised their raucous cry; under the nettles they huddled together. ⁸Irresponsible, nameless men, they were driven out of the land. ⁹Yet now they sing of me in mockery; I am become a byword among them. ¹⁰They abhor me, they stand aloof from me, they do not hesitate to spit in my face! ¹¹Indeed, they have loosed their bonds; they lord it over me, and have thrown off restraint in my presence. ¹²To subvert my paths they rise up; they build their approaches for my ruin. ¹³To destroy me, they attack with none to stay them; ¹⁴as through a wide breach they advance. Amid the uproar they come on in waves; ¹⁵over me rolls the terror. My dignity is borne off on the wind, and my welfare vanishes like a cloud. ¹⁸One with great power lays hold of my clothing; by the collar of my tunic he seizes me: ¹⁹He has cast me into the mire; I am leveled with the dust and ashes. ²⁰I cry to you, but you do not answer me; you stand off and look at me, ²¹Then you turn upon me without mercy and with your strong hand you buffet me. ²²You raise me up and drive me before the wind; I am tossed about by the tempest. ²³Indeed I know you will turn me back in death to the destined place of everyone alive. ²⁴Yet should not a hand be held out to help a wretched man in his calamity? ²⁵Or have I not wept for the hardships of others; was not my soul grieved for the destitute? ²⁶Yet when I looked for good, then evil came; when I expected light, then came darkness. ²⁷My soul ebbs away from me; days of affliction have overtaken me. ²⁸My frame takes no rest by night; my inward parts seethe and will not be stilled. ²⁹I go about in gloom, without the sun; I rise up in public to voice my grief. ³⁰I have become the brother of jackals, companion to the ostrich. ³¹My blackened skin falls away from me; the heat scorches my very frame. ³²My harp is turned to mourning, and my reed pipe to sounds of weeping. Job Chapter 31 ¹But what is man's lot from God above, his inheritance from the Almighty on high? ²Is it not calamity for the unrighteous, and woe for evildoers? ³Does he not see my ways, and number all my steps? ⁴Let God weigh me in the scales of justice; thus will he know my innocence! ⁵If I have walked in falsehood and my foot has hastened to deceit; ⁶If my steps have turned out of the way, and my heart has followed my eyes, or any stain clings to my hands, ⁷Then may I sow, but another eat of it, or may my planting be rooted up! ⁸If my land has cried out against me till its very furrows complained; ⁹If I have eaten its produce without payment and grieved the hearts of its tenants; ¹⁰Then let the thistles grow instead of wheat and noxious weeds instead of barley! ¹¹If I have made an agreement with my eyes and entertained any thoughts against a maiden; ¹²If my heart has been enticed toward a woman, and I have lain in wait at my neighbor's door; ¹³Then may my wife grind for another, and may others cohabit with her! ¹⁴For that would be heinous, a crime to be condemned; ¹⁵A fire that should burn down to the abyss till it consumed all my possessions to the roots. ¹⁶Had I refused justice to my manservant or to my maid, when they had a claim against

520 me, ¹⁷What then should I do when God rose up; what could I answer when he demanded an account? ¹⁸Did not he who made me in the womb make him? Did not the same One fashion us before our birth? ¹⁹If I have denied anything to the poor, or allowed the eyes of the widow to languish ²⁰While I ate my portion alone, with no share in it for the fatherless, ²¹Though like a father God has reared me from my youth, guiding me even from my mother's womb - ²²If I have seen a wanderer without clothing, or a poor man without covering, ²³Whose limbs have not blessed me when warmed with the fleece of my sheep; ²⁴If I have raised my hand against the innocent because I saw that I had supporters at the gate - ²⁵Then may my arm fall from the shoulder, my forearm be broken at the elbow! ²⁶For the dread of God will be upon me, and his majesty will overpower me. ²⁷Had I put my trust in gold or called fine gold my security; ²⁸Or had I rejoiced that my wealth was great, or that my hand had acquired abundance - ²⁹Had I looked upon the sun as it shone, or the moon in the splendor of its progress, ³⁰And had my heart been secretly enticed to waft them a kiss with my hand; ³¹This too would be a crime for condemnation, for I should have denied God above. ³²Had I rejoiced at the destruction of my enemy or exulted when evil fell upon him, ³³Even though I had not suffered my mouth to sin by uttering a curse against his life - ³⁴Had not the men of my tent exclaimed, "Who has not been fed with his meat!" ³⁵Because no stranger lodged in the street, but I opened my door to wayfarers - ³⁶Had I, out of human weakness, hidden my sins and buried my guilt in my bosom ³⁷Because I feared the noisy multitude and the scorn of the tribes terrified me - then I should have remained silent, and not come out of doors! ³⁸Oh, that I had one to hear my case, and that my accuser would write out his indictment! ³⁹Surely, I should wear it on my shoulder or put it on me like a diadem; ⁴⁰Of all my steps I should give him an account; like a prince, I should present myself before him. ⁴¹This is my final plea; let the Almighty answer me! The words of Job are ended. Job Chapter 32 ¹Then the three men ceased to answer Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes. ²But the anger of Elihu, son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, was kindled. He was angry with Job for considering himself rather than God to be in the right. ³He was angry also with the three friends because they had not found a good answer and had not condemned Job. ⁴But since these men were older than he, Elihu bided his time before addressing Job. ⁵When, however, Elihu saw that there was no reply in the mouths of the three men, his wrath was inflamed. ⁶So Elihu, son of Barachel the Buzite, spoke out and said: I am young and you are very old; therefore I held back and was afraid to declare to you my knowledge. ⁷Days should speak, I thought, and many years teach wisdom! ⁸But it is a spirit in man, the breath of the Almighty, that gives him understanding. ⁹It is not those of many days who are wise, nor the aged who understand the right. ¹⁰Therefore I say, hearken to me; let me too set forth my knowledge! ¹¹Behold, I have waited for your discourses, and have given ear to your arguments. ¹²Yes, I followed you attentively as you searched out what to say; And behold, there is none who has convicted Job, not one of you who could refute his statements. ¹³Yet do not say, "We have met wisdom. God may vanquish him but not man!" ¹⁴For had he addressed his words to me, I should not then have answered him as you have done. ¹⁵They are dismayed, they make no more reply; words fail them. ¹⁶Must I wait? Now that they speak no more, and have ceased to make reply, ¹⁷I too will speak my part; I also will show my knowledge! ¹⁸For I am full of matters to utter; the spirit within me compels me. ¹⁹Like a new wineskin with wine under pressure, my bosom is ready to burst. ²⁰Let me speak and obtain relief; let me open my lips, and make reply.

ad he addressed his words to me, I should not then have answered him as you have done. ¹⁵They are dismayed, they make no more reply; words fail them. ¹⁶Must I wait? Now that they speak no more, and have ceased to make reply, ¹⁷I too will speak my part; I also will show my knowledge! ¹⁸For I am full of matters to utter; the spirit within me compels me. ¹⁹Like a new wineskin with wine under pressure, my bosom is ready to burst. ²⁰Let me speak and obtain relief; let me open my lips, and make reply. ²¹I would not be partial to anyone, nor give flattering titles to any. ²²For I know nought of flattery; if I did, my Maker would soon take me away. Job Chapter 33

521 ¹Therefore, O Job, hear my discourse, and hearken to all my words. ²Behold, now I open my mouth; my tongue and my voice form words. ³I will state directly what is in my mind, my lips shall utter knowledge sincerely; ⁴For the spirit of God has made me, the breath of the Almighty keeps me alive. ⁵If you are able, refute me; draw up your arguments and stand forth. ⁶Behold I, like yourself, have been taken from the same clay by God. ⁷Therefore no fear of me should dismay you, nor should my presence weigh heavily upon you. ⁸But you have said in my hearing, as I listened to the sound of your words: ⁹"I am clean and without transgression; I am innocent; there is no guilt in me. ¹⁰Yet he invents pretexts against me and reckons me as his enemy. ¹¹He puts my feet in the stocks; he watches all my ways!" ¹²In this you are not just, let me tell you; for God is greater than man. ¹³Why, then, do you make complaint against him that he gives no account of his doings? ¹⁴For God does speak, perhaps once, or even twice, though one perceive it not. ¹⁵In a dream, in a vision of the night, (when deep sleep falls upon men) as they slumber in their beds, ¹⁶It is then he opens the ears of men and as a warning to them, terrifies them; ¹⁷By turning man from evil and keeping pride away from him, ¹⁸He withholds his soul from the pit and his life from passing to the grave. ¹⁹Or a man is chastened on his bed by pain and unceasing suffering within his frame, ²⁰So that to his appetite food becomes repulsive, and his senses reject the choicest nourishment. ²¹His flesh is wasted so that it cannot be seen, and his bones, once invisible, appear; ²²His soul draws near to the pit, his life to the place of the dead. ²³If then there be for him an angel, one out of a thousand, a mediator, to show him what is right for him and bring the man back to justice, ²⁴He will take pity on him and say, "Deliver him from going down to the pit; I have found him a ransom." ²⁵Then his flesh shall become soft as a boy's; he shall be again as in the days of his youth. ²⁶He shall pray and God will favor him; he shall see God's face with rejoicing. ²⁷He shall sing before men and say, "I sinned and did wrong, yet he has not punished me accordingly. ²⁸He delivered my soul from passing to the pit, and I behold the light of life." ²⁹Lo, all these things God does, twice, or thrice, for a man, ³⁰Bringing back his soul from the pit to the light, in the land of the living. ³¹Be attentive, O Job; listen to me! Be silent and I will speak. ³²If you have aught to say, then answer me. Speak out! I should like to see you justified. ³³If not, then do you listen to me; be silent while I teach you wisdom. Job Chapter 34 ¹Then Elihu continued and said: ²Hear, O wise men, my discourse, and you that have knowledge, hear me! ³For the ear tests words, as the taste does food. ⁴Let us discern for ourselves what is right; let us learn between us what is good. ⁵For Job has said, "I am innocent, but God has taken what is my due. ⁶Notwithstanding my right I am set at nought; in my wound the arrow rankles, sinless though I am." ⁷What man is like Job? He drinks in blasphemies like water, ⁸Keeps company with evildoers and goes along with wicked men, ⁹When he says, "It profits a man nought that he is pleasing to God." ¹⁰Therefore, men of understanding, hearken to me: far be it from God to do wickedness; far from the Almighty to do wrong! ¹¹Rather, he requites men for their conduct, and brings home to a man his way of life. ¹²Surely, God cannot act wickedly, the Almighty cannot violate justice. ¹³Who gave him government over the earth, or who else set all the land in its place? ¹⁴If he were to take back his spirit to himself, withdraw to himself his breath, ¹⁵All flesh would perish together, and man would return to the dust. ¹⁶Now, do you, O Job, hear this! Hearken to the words I speak!

kedness; far from the Almighty to do wrong! ¹¹Rather, he requites men for their conduct, and brings home to a man his way of life. ¹²Surely, God cannot act wickedly, the Almighty cannot violate justice. ¹³Who gave him government over the earth, or who else set all the land in its place? ¹⁴If he were to take back his spirit to himself, withdraw to himself his breath, ¹⁵All flesh would perish together, and man would return to the dust. ¹⁶Now, do you, O Job, hear this! Hearken to the words I speak! ¹⁷Can an enemy of justice indeed be in control, or will you condemn the supreme Just One, ¹⁸Who says to a king, "You are worthless!" and to nobles, "You are wicked!" ¹⁹Who neither favors the person of princes, nor respects the rich more than the poor? For they are all the work of his hands; ²⁰in a moment they die, even at midnight. He brings on nobles, and takes them away, removing the powerful without lifting a hand; ²¹For his eyes are upon the ways of man, and he beholds all his steps. ²²There is no darkness so dense that evildoers can hide in it.

522 ²⁵Therefore he discerns their works; he turns at night and crushes them. ²³For he forewarns no man of his time to come before God in judgment. ²⁴Without a trial he breaks the mighty, and sets others in their stead, ²⁷Because they turned away from him and heeded none of his ways, ²⁸But caused the cries of the poor to reach him, so that he heard the plea of the afflicted. ²⁹If he remains tranquil, who then can condemn? If he hides his face, who then can behold him? ³¹When anyone says to God, "I was misguided; I will offend no more. ³²Teach me wherein I have sinned; if I have done wrong, I will do so no more," ³³Would you then say that God must punish, since you reject what he is doing? It is you who must choose, not I; speak, therefore, what you know. ³⁴Men of understanding will say to me, every wise man who hears my views: ³⁵"Job speaks without intelligence, and his words are without sense." ³⁶Let Job be tried to the limit, since his answers are those of the impious; ³⁷For he is adding rebellion to his sin by brushing off our arguments and addressing many words to God. Job Chapter 35 ¹Then Elihu proceeded and said: ²Do you think it right to say, "I am just rather than God?" ³To say, "What does it profit me; what advantage have I more than if I had sinned?" ⁴I have words for a reply to you and your three companions as well. ⁵Look up to the skies and behold; regard the heavens high above you. ⁶If you sin, what injury do you do to God? Even if your offenses are many, how do you hurt him? ⁷If you are righteous, what do you give him, or what does he receive from your hand? ⁸Your wickedness can affect only a man like yourself; and your justice only a fellow human being. ⁹In great oppression men cry out; they call for help because of the power of the mighty, ¹⁰Saying, "Where is God, my Maker, who has given visions in the night, ¹¹Taught us rather than the beasts of the earth, and made us wise rather than the birds of the heavens?" ¹²Though thus they cry out, he answers not against the pride of the wicked. ¹³But it is idle to say God does not hear or that the Almighty does not take notice. ¹⁴Even though you say that you see him not, the case is before him; with trembling should you wait upon him. ¹⁵But now that you have done otherwise, God's anger punishes, nor does he show concern that a man will die. ¹⁶Yet Job to no purpose opens his mouth, and without knowledge multiplies words. Job Chapter 36 ¹Elihu proceeded further and said: ²Wait yet a little and I will instruct you, for there are still words to be said on God's behalf. ³I will bring my knowledge from afar, and to my Maker I will accord the right. ⁴For indeed, my theme cannot fail me: the one perfect in knowledge I set before you. ⁵Behold, God rejects the obstinate in heart; he preserves not the life of the wicked. ⁶He withholds not the just man's rights, but grants vindication to the oppressed, ⁷And with kings upon thrones he sets them, exalted forever. ⁸Or if they are bound with fetters and held fast by bonds of affliction, ⁹Then he makes known to them what they have done and their sins of boastful pride. ¹⁰He opens their ears to correction and exhorts them to turn back from evil. ¹¹If they obey and serve him, they spend their days in prosperity, their years in happiness. ¹²But if they obey not, they perish; they die for lack of knowledge. ¹³The impious in heart lay up anger for themselves; they cry not for help when he enchains them; ¹⁴Therefore they expire in youth, and perish among the reprobate. ¹⁵But he saves the unfortunate through their affliction, and instructs them through distress. ¹⁶Take heed, turn not to evil; for you have preferred carousal to affliction. ¹⁷Behold, God is sublime in his power. What teacher is there like him? ¹⁸Who prescribes for him his conduct, or who can say, "You have done wrong"? ¹⁹Remember, you should extol his work, which men have praised in song. ²⁰All men contemplate it; man beholds it from afar.

ore they expire in youth, and perish among the reprobate. ¹⁵But he saves the unfortunate through their affliction, and instructs them through distress. ¹⁶Take heed, turn not to evil; for you have preferred carousal to affliction. ¹⁷Behold, God is sublime in his power. What teacher is there like him? ¹⁸Who prescribes for him his conduct, or who can say, "You have done wrong"? ¹⁹Remember, you should extol his work, which men have praised in song. ²⁰All men contemplate it; man beholds it from afar. ²¹Lo, God is great beyond our knowledge; the number of his years is past searching out. ²²He holds in check the waterdrops that filter in rain through his mists, ²³Till the skies run with them and the showers rain down on mankind. ²⁴For

523 by these he nourishes the nations, and gives them food in abundance. ²⁵Lo! he spreads the clouds in layers as the carpeting of his tent. ²⁶In his hands he holds the lightning, and he commands it to strike the mark. ²⁷His thunder speaks for him and incites the fury of the storm. Job Chapter 37 ¹At this my heart trembles and leaps out of its place, ²To hear his angry voice as it rumbles forth from his mouth! ³Everywhere under the heavens he sends it, with his lightning, to the ends of the earth. ⁴Again his voice roars—the majestic sound of his thunder. ⁵He does great things beyond our knowing; wonders past our searching out. ⁶For he says to the snow, "Fall to the earth"; likewise to his heavy, drenching rain. ⁷He shuts up all mankind indoors; ⁸the wild beasts take to cover and remain quietly in their dens. ⁹Out of its chamber comes forth the tempest; from the north winds, the cold. ¹⁰With his breath God brings the frost, and the broad waters become congealed. ¹¹With hail, also, the clouds are laden, as they scatter their flashes of light. ¹²He it is who changes their rounds, according to his plans, in their task upon the surface of the earth, ¹³whether for punishment or mercy, as he commands. ¹⁴Hearken to this, O Job! Stand and consider the wondrous works of God! ¹⁵Do you know how God lays his commands upon them, and makes the light shine forth from his clouds? ¹⁶Do you know how the clouds are banked, the wondrous work of him who is perfect in knowledge? ¹⁷You, whom the streams of water fail when a calm from the south comes over the land, ¹⁸Do you spread out with him the firmament of the skies, hard as a brazen mirror? ¹⁹Teach us then what we shall say to him; we cannot, for the darkness, make our plea. ²⁰Will he be told about it when I speak, or when a man says he is being destroyed? ²¹Nay, rather, it is as the light which men see not while it is obscured among the clouds, till the wind comes by and sweeps the clouds away. ²²From the North the splendor comes, surrounding God's awesome majesty! ²³The Almighty! we cannot discover him, pre-eminent in power and judgment; his great justice owes no one an accounting. ²⁴Therefore men revere him, though none can see him, however wise their hearts. Job Chapter 38 ¹Then the LORD addressed Job out of the storm and said: ²Who is this that obscures divine plans with words of ignorance? ³Gird up your loins now, like a man; I will question you, and you tell me the answers! ⁴Where were you when I founded the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. ⁵Who determined its size; do you know? Who stretched out the measuring line for it? ⁶Into what were its pedestals sunk, and who laid the cornerstone, ⁷While the morning stars sang in chorus and all the sons of God shouted for joy? ⁸And who shut within doors the sea, when it burst forth from the womb; ⁹When I made the clouds its garment and thick darkness its swaddling bands? ¹⁰When I set limits for it and fastened the bar of its door, ¹¹And said: Thus far shall you come but no farther, and here shall your proud waves be stilled! ¹²Have you ever in your lifetime commanded the morning and shown the dawn its place ¹³For taking hold of the ends of the earth, till the wicked are shaken from its surface? ¹⁴The earth is changed as is clay by the seal, and dyed as though it were a garment; ¹⁵But from the wicked the light is withheld, and the arm of pride is shattered. ¹⁶Have you entered into the sources of the sea, or walked about in the depths of the abyss? ¹⁷Have the gates of death been shown to you, or have you seen the gates of darkness? ¹⁸Have you comprehended the breadth of the earth? Tell me, if you know all: ¹⁹Which is the way to the dwelling place of light, and where is the abode of darkness, ²⁰That you may take them to their boundaries and set them on their homeward paths? ²¹You know, because you were born before them, and the number of your years is great!

ou entered into the sources of the sea, or walked about in the depths of the abyss? ¹⁷Have the gates of death been shown to you, or have you seen the gates of darkness? ¹⁸Have you comprehended the breadth of the earth? Tell me, if you know all: ¹⁹Which is the way to the dwelling place of light, and where is the abode of darkness, ²⁰That you may take them to their boundaries and set them on their homeward paths? ²¹You know, because you were born before them, and the number of your years is great! ²²Have you entered the storehouse of the snow, and seen the treasury of the hail ²³Which I have reserved for times of stress, for the days of war and of battle? ²⁴Which way to the parting of the winds, whence the east wind spreads over the

524 earth? ²⁵Who has laid out a channel for the downpour and for the thunderstorm a path ²⁶To bring rain to no man's land, the unpeopled wilderness; ²⁷To enrich the waste and desolate ground till the desert blooms with verdure? ²⁸Has the rain a father; or who has begotten the drops of dew? ²⁹Out of whose womb comes the ice, and who gives the hoarfrost its birth in the skies, ³⁰When the waters lie covered as though with stone that holds captive the surface of the deep? ³¹Have you fitted a curb to the Pleiades, or loosened the bonds of Orion? ³²Can you bring forth the Mazzaroth in their season, or guide the Bear with its train? ³³Do you know the ordinances of the heavens; can you put into effect their plan on the earth? ³⁴Can you raise your voice among the clouds, or veil yourself in the waters of the storm? ³⁵Can you send forth the lightnings on their way, or will they say to you, "Here we are"? ³⁶Who puts wisdom in the heart, and gives the cock its understanding? ³⁷Who counts the clouds in his wisdom? Or who tilts the water jars of heaven ³⁸So that the dust of earth is fused into a mass and its clods made solid? ³⁹Do you hunt the prey for the lioness or appease the hunger of her cubs, ⁴⁰While they crouch in their dens, or lie in wait in the thicket? ⁴¹Who provides nourishment for the ravens when their young ones cry out to God, and they rove abroad without food? Job Chapter 39 ¹Do you know about the birth of the mountain goats, watch for the birth pangs of the hinds, ²Number the months that they must fulfill, and fix the time of their bringing forth? ³They crouch down and bear their young; they deliver their progeny in the desert. ⁴When their offspring thrive and grow, they leave and do not return. ⁵Who has given the wild ass his freedom, and who has loosed him from bonds? ⁶I have made the wilderness his home and the salt flats his dwelling. ⁷He scoffs at the uproar of the city, and hears no shouts of a driver. ⁸He ranges the mountains for pasture, and seeks out every patch of green. ⁹Will the wild ox consent to serve you, and to pass the nights by your manger? ¹⁰Will a rope bind him in the furrow, and will he harrow the valleys after you? ¹¹Will you trust him for his great strength and leave to him the fruits of your toil? ¹²Can you rely on him to thresh out your grain and gather in the yield of your threshing floor? ¹³The wings of the ostrich beat idly; her plumage is lacking in pinions. ¹⁴When she leaves her eggs on the ground and deposits them in the sand, ¹⁵Unmindful that a foot may crush them, that the wild beasts may trample them, ¹⁶She cruelly disowns her young and ruthlessly makes nought of her brood; ¹⁷For God has withheld wisdom from her and has given her no share in understanding. ¹⁸Yet in her swiftness of foot she makes sport of the horse and his rider. ¹⁹Do you give the horse his strength, and endow his neck with splendor? ²⁰Do you make the steed to quiver while his thunderous snorting spreads terror? ²¹He jubilantly paws the plain and rushes in his might against the weapons. ²²He laughs at fear and cannot be deterred; he turns not back from the sword. ²³Around him rattles the quiver, flashes the spear and the javelin. ²⁴Frenzied and trembling he devours the ground; he holds not back at the sound of the trumpet, ²⁵but at each blast he cries, "Aha!" Even from afar he scents the battle, the roar of the chiefs and the shouting. ²⁶Is it by your discernment that the hawk soars, that he spreads his wings toward the south? ²⁷Does the eagle fly up at your command to build his nest aloft? ²⁸On the cliff he dwells and spends the night, on the spur of the cliff or the fortress. ²⁹From thence he watches for his prey; his eyes behold it afar off. ³⁰His young ones greedily drink blood; where the slain are, there is he. Job Chapter 40 ¹The LORD then said to Job: ²Will we have arguing with the Almighty by the critic? Let him who would correct God give answer!

that the hawk soars, that he spreads his wings toward the south? ²⁷Does the eagle fly up at your command to build his nest aloft? ²⁸On the cliff he dwells and spends the night, on the spur of the cliff or the fortress. ²⁹From thence he watches for his prey; his eyes behold it afar off. ³⁰His young ones greedily drink blood; where the slain are, there is he. Job Chapter 40 ¹The LORD then said to Job: ²Will we have arguing with the Almighty by the critic? Let him who would correct God give answer! ³Then Job answered the LORD and said: ⁴Behold, I am of little account; what can I answer you? I put my hand over my mouth. ⁵Though I have spoken once, I will not do so again; though twice, I will do so no more. ⁶Then the LORD addressed Job out of the

525 storm and said: ⁷Gird up your loins now, like a man. I will question you, and you tell me the answers! ⁸Would you refuse to acknowledge my right? Would you condemn me that you may be justified? ⁹Have you an arm like that of God, or can you thunder with a voice like his? ¹⁰Adorn yourself with grandeur and majesty, and array yourself with glory and splendor. ¹¹Let loose the fury of your wrath; ¹²tear down the wicked and shatter them. Bring down the haughty with a glance; ¹³bury them in the dust together; in the hidden world imprison them. ¹⁴Then will I too acknowledge that your own right hand can save you. ¹⁵See, besides you I made Behemoth, that feeds on grass like an ox. ¹⁶Behold the strength in his loins, and his vigor in the sinews of his belly. ¹⁷He carries his tail like a cedar; the sinews of his thighs are like cables. ¹⁸His bones are like tubes of bronze; his frame is like iron rods. ¹⁹He came at the beginning of God's ways, and was made the taskmaster of his fellows; ²⁰For the produce of the mountains is brought to him, and of all wild animals he makes sport. ²¹Under the lotus trees he lies, in coverts of the reedy swamp. ²²The lotus trees cover him with their shade; all about him are the poplars on the bank. ²³If the river grows violent, he is not disturbed; he is tranquil though the torrent surges about his mouth. ²⁴Who can capture him by his eyes, or pierce his nose with a trap? ²⁵Can you lead about Leviathan with a hook, or curb his tongue with a bit? ²⁶Can you put a rope into his nose, or pierce through his cheek with a gaff? ²⁷Will he then plead with you, time after time, or address you with tender words? ²⁸Will he make an agreement with you that you may have him as a slave forever? ²⁹Can you play with him, as with a bird? Can you put him in leash for your maidens? ³⁰Will the traders bargain for him? Will the merchants divide him up? ³¹Can you fill his hide with barbs, or his head with fish spears? ³²Once you but lay a hand upon him, no need to recall any other conflict! Job Chapter 41 ¹Is he not relentless when aroused; who then dares stand before him? ²Whoever might vainly hope to do so need only see him to be overthrown. ³Who has assailed him and come off safe—Who under all the heavens? ⁴I need hardly mention his limbs, his strength, and the fitness of his armor. ⁵Who can strip off his outer garment, or penetrate his double corselet? ⁶Who can force open the doors of his mouth, close to his terrible teeth? ⁷Rows of scales are on his back, tightly sealed together; ⁸They are fitted each so close to the next that no space intervenes; ⁹So joined one to another that they hold fast and cannot be parted. ¹⁰When he sneezes, light flashes forth; his eyes are like those of the dawn. ¹¹Out of his mouth go forth firebrands; sparks of fire leap forth. ¹²From his nostrils issues steam, as from a seething pot or bowl. ¹³His breath sets coals afire; a flame pours from his mouth. ¹⁴Strength abides in his neck, and terror leaps before him. ¹⁵His heart is hard as stone; his flesh, as the lower millstone. ¹⁶When he rises up, the mighty are afraid; the waves of the sea fall back. ¹⁷Should the sword reach him, it will not avail; nor will the spear, nor the dart, nor the javelin. ¹⁸He regards iron as straw, and bronze as rotten wood. ¹⁹The arrow will not put him to flight; slingstones used against him are but straws. ²⁰Clubs he esteems as splinters; he laughs at the crash of the spear. ²¹His belly is sharp as pottery fragments; he spreads like a threshing sledge upon the mire. ²²He makes the depths boil like a pot; the sea he churns like perfume in a kettle. ²³Behind him he leaves a shining path; you would think the deep had the hoary head of age. ²⁴Upon the earth there is not his like, intrepid he was made. ²⁵All, however lofty, fear him; he is king over all proud beasts. Job Chapter 42 ¹Then Job answered the LORD and said: ²I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be hindered.

ry fragments; he spreads like a threshing sledge upon the mire. ²²He makes the depths boil like a pot; the sea he churns like perfume in a kettle. ²³Behind him he leaves a shining path; you would think the deep had the hoary head of age. ²⁴Upon the earth there is not his like, intrepid he was made. ²⁵All, however lofty, fear him; he is king over all proud beasts. Job Chapter 42 ¹Then Job answered the LORD and said: ²I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be hindered. ³I have dealt with great things that I do not understand; things too wonderful for me, which I cannot know. ⁴I had heard of you by word of mouth, but now my eye has seen you. ⁵Therefore I disown what I have said, and repent in dust and ashes. ⁶And it came to

526 pass after the LORD had spoken these words to Job, that the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite, "I am angry with you and with your two friends; for you have not spoken rightly concerning me, as has my servant Job. ⁷Now, therefore, take seven bullocks and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer up a holocaust for yourselves; and let my servant Job pray for you; for his prayer I will accept, not to punish you severely. For you have not spoken rightly concerning me, as has my servant Job." ⁸Then Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite, went and did as the LORD had commanded them. And the LORD accepted the intercession of Job. ⁹Also, the LORD restored the prosperity of Job, after he had prayed for his friends; the LORD even gave to Job twice as much as he had before. ¹⁰Then all his brethren and his sisters came to him, and all his former acquaintances, and they dined with him in his house. They condoled with him and comforted him for all the evil which the LORD had brought upon him; and each one gave him a piece of money and a gold ring. ¹¹Thus the LORD blessed the latter days of Job more than his earlier ones. For he had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she-asses. ¹²And he had seven sons and three daughters, ¹³of whom he called the first Jemimah, the second Keziah, and the third Keren-happuch. ¹⁴In all the land no other women were as beautiful as the daughters of Job; and their father gave them an inheritance among their brethren. ¹⁵After this, Job lived a hundred and forty years; and he saw his children, his grandchildren, and even his great-grandchildren. ¹⁶Then Job died, old and full of years. Psalms Psalms Book 1 Psalm Book 1 Chapter 1 ¹Blessed is the man who doesn’t walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand on the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers; ²but his delight is in Yahweh’s law. On his law he meditates day and night. ³He will be like a tree planted by the streams of water, that produces its fruit in its season, whose leaf also does not wither. Whatever he does shall prosper. ⁴The wicked are not so, but are like the chaff which the wind drives away. ⁵Therefore the wicked shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. ⁶For Yahweh knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked shall perish. Psalm Book 1 Chapter 2 ¹Why do the nations rage, and the peoples plot a vain thing? ²The kings of the earth take a stand, and the rulers take counsel together, against Yahweh, and against his Anointed, saying, ³“Let’s break their bonds apart, and cast their cords from us.” ⁴He who sits in the heavens will laugh. The Lord will have them in derision. ⁵Then he will speak to them in his anger, and terrify them in his wrath: ⁶“Yet I have set my King on my holy hill of Zion.” ⁷I will tell of the decree: Yahweh said to me, “You are my son. Today I have become your father. ⁸Ask of me, and I will give the nations for your inheritance, the uttermost parts of the earth for your possession. ⁹You shall break them with a rod of iron. You shall dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.” ¹⁰Now therefore be wise, you kings. Be instructed, you judges of the earth. ¹¹Serve Yahweh with fear, and rejoice with trembling. ¹²Give sincere homage to the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish on the way, for his wrath will soon be kindled. Blessed are all those who take refuge in him. Psalm Book 1 Chapter 3 ¹Yahweh, how my adversaries have increased! Many are those who rise up against me. ²Many there are who say of my soul, “There is no help for him in God.” Selah. ³But you, Yahweh, are a

527 shield around me, my glory, and the one who lifts up my head. ⁴I cry to Yahweh with my voice, and he answers me out of his holy hill. Selah. ⁵I laid myself down and slept. I awakened, for Yahweh sustains me. ⁶I will not be afraid of tens of thousands of people who have set themselves against me on every side. ⁷Arise, Yahweh! Save me, my God! For you have struck all of my enemies on the cheek bone. You have broken the teeth of the wicked. ⁸Salvation belongs to Yahweh. May your blessing be on your people. Selah. Psalm Book 1 Chapter 4 ¹Answer me when I call, God of my righteousness. Give me relief from my distress. Have mercy on me, and hear my prayer. ²You sons of men, how long shall my glory be turned into dishonor? Will you love vanity and seek after falsehood? Selah. ³But know that Yahweh has set apart for himself him who is godly; Yahweh will hear when I call to him. ⁴Stand in awe, and don’t sin. Search your own heart on your bed, and be still. Selah. ⁵Offer the sacrifices of righteousness. Put your trust in Yahweh. ⁶Many say, “Who will show us any good?” Yahweh, let the light of your face shine on us. ⁷You have put gladness in my heart, more than when their grain and their new wine are increased. ⁸In peace I will both lay myself down and sleep, for you alone, Yahweh, make me live in safety. Psalm Book 1 Chapter 5 ¹Give ear to my words, Yahweh. Consider my meditation. ²Listen to the voice of my cry, my King and my God, for I pray to you. ³Yahweh, in the morning you will hear my voice. In the morning I will lay my requests before you, and will watch expectantly. ⁴For you are not a God who has pleasure in wickedness. Evil can’t live with you. ⁵The arrogant will not stand in your sight. You hate all workers of iniquity. ⁶You will destroy those who speak lies. Yahweh abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man. ⁷But as for me, in the abundance of your loving kindness I will come into your house. I will bow toward your holy temple in reverence of you. ⁸Lead me, Yahweh, in your righteousness because of my enemies. Make your way straight before my face. ⁹For there is no faithfulness in their mouth. Their heart is destruction. Their throat is an open tomb. They flatter with their tongue. ¹⁰Hold them guilty, God. Let them fall by their own counsels. Thrust them out in the multitude of their transgressions, for they have rebelled against you. ¹¹But let all those who take refuge in you rejoice. Let them always shout for joy, because you defend them. Let them also who love your name be joyful in you. ¹²For you will bless the righteous. Yahweh, you will surround him with favor as with a shield. Psalm Book 1 Chapter 6 ¹Yahweh, don’t rebuke me in your anger, neither discipline me in your wrath. ²Have mercy on me, Yahweh, for I am faint. Yahweh, heal me, for my bones are troubled. ³My soul is also in great anguish. But you, Yahweh—how long? ⁴Return, Yahweh. Deliver my soul, and save me for your loving kindness’ sake. ⁵For in death there is no memory of you. In Sheol, who shall give you thanks? ⁶I am weary with my groaning. Every night I flood my bed. I drench my couch with my tears. ⁷My eye wastes away because of grief. It grows old because of all my adversaries. ⁸Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity, for Yahweh has heard the voice of my weeping. ⁹Yahweh has heard my supplication. Yahweh accepts my prayer. ¹⁰May all my enemies be ashamed and dismayed. They shall turn back, they shall be disgraced suddenly. Psalm Book 1 Chapter 7 ¹Yahweh, my God, I take refuge in you. Save me from all those who pursue me, and deliver me, ²lest they tear apart my soul like a lion, ripping it in pieces, while there is no one to deliver.

528 ³Yahweh, my God, if I have done this, if there is iniquity in my hands, ⁴if I have rewarded evil to him who was at peace with me (yes, I have plundered him who without cause was my adversary), ⁵let the enemy pursue my soul, and overtake it; yes, let him tread my life down to the earth, and lay my glory in the dust. Selah. ⁶Arise, Yahweh, in your anger. Lift up yourself against the rage of my adversaries. Awake for me. You have commanded judgment. ⁷Let the congregation of the peoples surround you. Rule over them on high. ⁸Yahweh administers judgment to the peoples. Judge me, Yahweh, according to my righteousness, and to my integrity that is in me. ⁹Oh let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end, but establish the righteous; their minds and hearts are searched by the righteous God. ¹⁰My shield is with God, who saves the upright in heart. ¹¹God is a righteous judge, yes, a God who has indignation every day. ¹²If a man doesn’t repent, he will sharpen his sword; he has bent and strung his bow. ¹³He has also prepared for himself the instruments of death. He makes ready his flaming arrows. ¹⁴Behold, he travails with iniquity. Yes, he has conceived mischief, and brought out falsehood. ¹⁵He has dug a hole, and has fallen into the pit which he made. ¹⁶The trouble he causes shall return to his own head. His violence shall come down on the crown of his own head. ¹⁷I will give thanks to Yahweh according to his righteousness, and will sing praise to the name of Yahweh Most High. Psalm Book 1 Chapter 8 ¹Yahweh, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens! ²From the lips of babes and infants you have established strength, because of your adversaries, that you might silence the enemy and the avenger. ³When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have ordained, ⁴what is man, that you think of him? What is the son of man, that you care for him? ⁵For you have made him a little lower than the angels, and crowned him with glory and honor. ⁶You make him ruler over the works of your hands. You have put all things under his feet: ⁷All sheep and cattle, yes, and the animals of the field, ⁸the birds of the sky, the fish of the sea, and whatever passes through the paths of the seas. ⁹Yahweh, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! Psalm Book 1 Chapter 9 ¹I will give thanks to Yahweh with my whole heart. I will tell of all your marvelous works. ²I will be glad and rejoice in you. I will sing praise to your name, O Most High. ³When my enemies turn back, they stumble and perish in your presence. ⁴For you have maintained my just cause. You sit on the throne judging righteously. ⁵You have rebuked the nations. You have destroyed the wicked. You have blotted out their name forever and ever. ⁶The enemy is overtaken by endless ruin. The very memory of the cities which you have overthrown has perished. ⁷But Yahweh reigns forever. He has prepared his throne for judgment. ⁸He will judge the world in righteousness. He will administer judgment to the peoples in uprightness. ⁹Yahweh will also be a high tower for the oppressed; a high tower in times of trouble. ¹⁰Those who know your name will put their trust in you, for you, Yahweh, have not forsaken those who seek you. ¹¹Sing praises to Yahweh, who dwells in Zion, and declare among the people what he has done. ¹²For he who avenges blood remembers them. He doesn’t forget the cry of the afflicted. ¹³Have mercy on me, Yahweh. See my affliction by those who hate me, and lift me up from the gates of death, ¹⁴that I may show all of your praise. I will rejoice in your salvation in the gates of the daughter of Zion. ¹⁵The nations have sunk down in the pit that they made. In the net which they hid, their own foot is taken. ¹⁶Yahweh has made himself known. He has executed judgment. The wicked is snared by the work of his own hands. Meditation. Selah.

m. He doesn’t forget the cry of the afflicted. ¹³Have mercy on me, Yahweh. See my affliction by those who hate me, and lift me up from the gates of death, ¹⁴that I may show all of your praise. I will rejoice in your salvation in the gates of the daughter of Zion. ¹⁵The nations have sunk down in the pit that they made. In the net which they hid, their own foot is taken. ¹⁶Yahweh has made himself known. He has executed judgment. The wicked is snared by the work of his own hands. Meditation. Selah. ¹⁷The wicked shall be turned back to Sheol, even all the nations that forget God. ¹⁸For the needy shall not always be forgotten, nor the hope of the poor perish forever. ¹⁹Arise, Yahweh! Don’t let man prevail. Let the nations be judged in your sight. ²⁰Put them in

529 fear, Yahweh. Let the nations know that they are only men. Selah. Psalm Book 1 Chapter 10 ¹Why do you stand far off, Yahweh? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble? ²In arrogance, the wicked hunt down the weak. They are caught in the schemes that they devise. ³For the wicked boasts of his heart’s cravings. He blesses the greedy and condemns Yahweh. ⁴The wicked, in the pride of his face, has no room in his thoughts for God. ⁵His ways are prosperous at all times. He is arrogant, and your laws are far from his sight. As for all his adversaries, he sneers at them. ⁶He says in his heart, “I shall not be shaken. For generations I shall have no trouble.” ⁷His mouth is full of cursing, deceit, and oppression. Under his tongue is mischief and iniquity. ⁸He lies in wait near the villages. From ambushes, he murders the innocent. His eyes are secretly set against the helpless. ⁹He lurks in secret as a lion in his ambush. He lies in wait to catch the helpless. He catches the helpless when he draws him in his net. ¹⁰The helpless are crushed. They collapse. They fall under his strength. ¹¹He says in his heart, “God has forgotten. He hides his face. He will never see it.” ¹²Arise, Yahweh! God, lift up your hand! Don’t forget the helpless. ¹³Why does the wicked person condemn God, and say in his heart, “God won’t call me into account”? ¹⁴But you do see trouble and grief. You consider it to take it into your hand. You help the victim and the fatherless. ¹⁵Break the arm of the wicked. As for the evil man, seek out his wickedness until you find none. ¹⁶Yahweh is King forever and ever! The nations will perish out of his land. ¹⁷Yahweh, you have heard the desire of the humble. You will prepare their heart. You will cause your ear to hear, ¹⁸to judge the fatherless and the oppressed, that man who is of the earth may terrify no more. Psalm Book 1 Chapter 11 ¹In Yahweh, I take refuge. How can you say to my soul, “Flee as a bird to your mountain”? ²For, behold, the wicked bend their bows. They set their arrows on the strings, that they may shoot in darkness at the upright in heart. ³If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do? ⁴Yahweh is in his holy temple. Yahweh is on his throne in heaven. His eyes observe. His eyes examine the children of men. ⁵Yahweh examines the righteous, but his soul hates the wicked and him who loves violence. ⁶On the wicked he will rain blazing coals; fire, sulfur, and scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup. ⁷For Yahweh is righteous. He loves righteousness. The upright shall see his face. Psalm Book 1 Chapter 12 ¹Help, Yahweh; for the godly man ceases. For the faithful fail from among the children of men. ²Everyone lies to his neighbor. They speak with flattering lips, and with a double heart. ³May Yahweh cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that boasts, ⁴who have said, “With our tongue we will prevail. Our lips are our own. Who is lord over us?” ⁵“Because of the oppression of the weak and because of the groaning of the needy, I will now arise,” says Yahweh; “I will set him in safety from those who malign him.” ⁶Yahweh’s words are flawless words, as silver refined in a clay furnace, purified seven times. ⁷You will keep them, Yahweh. You will preserve them from this generation forever. ⁸The wicked walk on every side, when what is vile is exalted among the sons of men. Psalm Book 1 Chapter 13 ¹How long, Yahweh? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? ²How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart every day? How long shall my enemy triumph over me? ³Behold, and answer me, Yahweh, my God. Give light to my eyes, lest I sleep in death; ⁴lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed against him;” lest my adversaries rejoice

530 when I fall. ⁵But I trust in your loving kindness. My heart rejoices in your salvation. ⁶I will sing to Yahweh, because he has been good to me. Psalm Book 1 Chapter 14 ¹The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt. They have done abominable deeds. There is no one who does good. ²Yahweh looked down from heaven on the children of men, to see if there were any who understood, who sought after God. ³They have all gone aside. They have together become corrupt. There is no one who does good, no, not one. ⁴Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge, who eat up my people as they eat bread, and don’t call on Yahweh? ⁵There they were in great fear, for God is in the generation of the righteous. ⁶You frustrate the plan of the poor, because Yahweh is his refuge. ⁷Oh that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion! When Yahweh restores the fortunes of his people, then Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad. Psalm Book 1 Chapter 15 ¹Yahweh, who shall dwell in your sanctuary? Who shall live on your holy hill? ²He who walks blamelessly and does what is right, and speaks truth in his heart; ³he who doesn’t slander with his tongue, nor does evil to his friend, nor casts slurs against his fellow man; ⁴in whose eyes a vile man is despised, but who honors those who fear Yahweh; he who keeps an oath even when it hurts, and doesn’t change; ⁵he who doesn’t lend out his money for usury, nor take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things shall never be shaken. Psalm Book 1 Chapter 16 ¹Preserve me, God, for I take refuge in you. ²My soul, you have said to Yahweh, “You are my Lord. Apart from you I have no good thing.” ³As for the saints who are in the earth, they are the excellent ones in whom is all my delight. ⁴Their sorrows shall be multiplied who give gifts to another god. Their drink offerings of blood I will not offer, nor take their names on my lips. ⁵Yah weh assigned my portion and my cup. You made my lot secure. ⁶The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places. Yes, I have a good inheritance. ⁷I will bless Yahweh, who has given me counsel. Yes, my heart instructs me in the night seasons. ⁸I have set Yahweh always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. ⁹Therefore my heart is glad, and my tongue rejoices. My body shall also dwell in safety. ¹⁰For you will not leave my soul in Sheol, neither will you allow your holy one to see corruption. ¹¹You will show me the path of life. In your presence is fullness of joy. In your right hand there are pleasures forever more. Psalm Book 1 Chapter 17 ¹Hear, Yahweh, my righteous plea. Give ear to my prayer that doesn’t go out of deceitful lips. ²Let my sentence come out of your presence. Let your eyes look on equity. ³You have proved my heart. You have visited me in the night. You have tried me, and found nothing. I have resolved that my mouth shall not disobey. ⁴As for the deeds of men, by the word of your lips, I have kept myself from the ways of the violent. ⁵My steps have held fast to your paths. My feet have not slipped. ⁶I have called on you, for you will answer me, God. Turn your ear to me. Hear my speech. ⁷Show your marvelous loving kindness, you who save those who take refuge by your right hand from their enemies. ⁸Keep me as the apple of your eye. Hide me under the shadow of your wings, ⁹from the wicked who oppress me, my deadly enemies, who surround me. ¹⁰They close up their callous hearts. With their mouth they speak proudly. ¹¹They have now surrounded us in our steps. They set their eyes to cast us down to the earth. ¹²He is like a lion that is greedy of his prey, as it were a young lion lurking in secret places. ¹³Arise, Yahweh, confront him. Cast him down. Deliver my

531 soul from the wicked by your sword, ¹⁴from men by your hand, Yahweh, from men of the world, whose portion is in this life. You fill the belly of your cherished ones. Your sons have plenty, and they store up wealth for their children. ¹⁵As for me, I shall see your face in righteousness. I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with seeing your form. Psalm Book 1 Chapter 18 ¹I love you, Yahweh, my strength. ²Yahweh is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower. ³I call on Yahweh, who is worthy to be praised; and I am saved from my enemies. ⁴The cords of death surrounded me. The floods of ungodliness made me afraid. ⁵The cords of Sheol were around me. The snares of death came on me. ⁶In my distress I called on Yahweh, and cried to my God. He heard my voice out of his temple. My cry before him came into his ears. ⁷Then the earth shook and trembled. The foundations also of the mountains quaked and were shaken, because he was angry. ⁸Smoke went out of his nostrils. Consuming fire came out of his mouth. Coals were kindled by it. ⁹He bowed the heavens also, and came down. Thick darkness was under his feet. ¹⁰He rode on a cherub, and flew. Yes, he soared on the wings of the wind. ¹¹He made darkness his hiding place, his pavilion around him, darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies. ¹²At the brightness before him his thick clouds passed, hailstones and coals of fire. ¹³Yahweh also thundered in the sky. The Most High uttered his voice: hailstones and coals of fire. ¹⁴He sent out his arrows, and scattered them. He routed them with great lightning bolts. ¹⁵Then the channels of waters appeared. The foundations of the world were laid bare at your rebuke, Yahweh, at the blast of the breath of your nostrils. ¹⁶He sent from on high. He took me. He drew me out of many waters. ¹⁷He delivered me from my strong enemy, from those who hated me; for they were too mighty for me. ¹⁸They came on me in the day of my calamity, but Yahweh was my support. ¹⁹He brought me out also into a large place. He delivered me, because he delighted in me. ²⁰Yahweh has rewarded me according to my righteousness. According to the cleanness of my hands, he has recompensed me. ²¹For I have kept the ways of Yahweh, and have not wickedly departed from my God. ²²For all his ordinances were before me. I didn’t put away his statutes from me. ²³I was also blameless with him. I kept myself from my iniquity. ²⁴Therefore Yahweh has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his eyesight. ²⁵With the merciful you will show yourself merciful. With the perfect man, you will show yourself perfect. ²⁶With the pure, you will show yourself pure. With the crooked you will show yourself shrewd. ²⁷For you will save the afflicted people, but the arrogant eyes you will bring down. ²⁸For you will light my lamp, Yahweh. My God will light up my darkness. ²⁹For by you, I advance through a troop. By my God, I leap over a wall. ³⁰As for God, his way is perfect. Yahweh’s word is tried. He is a shield to all those who take refuge in him. ³¹For who is God, except Yahweh? Who is a rock, besides our God, ³²the God who arms me with strength, and makes my way perfect? ³³He makes my feet like deer’s feet, and sets me on my high places. ³⁴He teaches my hands to war, so that my arms bend a bow of bronze. ³⁵You have also given me the shield of your salvation. Your right hand sustains me. Your gentleness has made me great. ³⁶You have enlarged my steps under me, My feet have not slipped. ³⁷I will pursue my enemies, and overtake them. I won’t turn away until they are consumed. ³⁸I will strike them through, so that they will not be able to rise. They shall fall under my feet. ³⁹For you have armed me with strength to the battle. You have subdued under me those who rose up against me. ⁴⁰You have also made my enemies turn their backs to me, that I might cut off those who hate me.

s me. Your gentleness has made me great. ³⁶You have enlarged my steps under me, My feet have not slipped. ³⁷I will pursue my enemies, and overtake them. I won’t turn away until they are consumed. ³⁸I will strike them through, so that they will not be able to rise. They shall fall under my feet. ³⁹For you have armed me with strength to the battle. You have subdued under me those who rose up against me. ⁴⁰You have also made my enemies turn their backs to me, that I might cut off those who hate me. ⁴¹They cried, but there was no one to save; even to Yahweh, but he didn’t answer them. ⁴²Then I beat them small as the dust before the wind. I cast them out as the mire of the streets. ⁴³You have delivered me from the strivings of the people. You have made me the head of the nations. A people whom I have not known shall serve me. ⁴⁴As soon as they hear

532 of me they shall obey me. The foreigners shall submit themselves to me. ⁴⁵The foreigners shall fade away, and shall come trembling out of their strongholds. ⁴⁶Yahweh lives! Blessed be my rock. Exalted be the God of my salvation, ⁴⁷even the God who executes vengeance for me, and subdues peoples under me. ⁴⁸He rescues me from my enemies. Yes, you lift me up above those who rise up against me. You deliver me from the violent man. ⁴⁹Therefore I will give thanks to you, Yahweh, among the nations, and will sing praises to your name. ⁵⁰He gives great deliverance to his king, and shows loving kindness to his anointed, to David and to his offspring, forever more. Psalm Book 1 Chapter 19 ¹The heavens declare the glory of God. The expanse shows his handiwork. ²Day after day they pour out speech, and night after night they display knowledge. ³There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard. ⁴Their voice has gone out through all the earth, their words to the end of the world. In them he has set a tent for the sun, ⁵which is as a bridegroom coming out of his room, like a strong man rejoicing to run his course. ⁶His going out is from the end of the heavens, his circuit to its ends. There is nothing hidden from its heat. ⁷Yahweh’s law is perfect, restoring the soul. Yahweh’s covenant is sure, making wise the simple. ⁸Yahweh’s precepts are right, rejoicing the heart. Yahweh’s commandment is pure, enlightening the eyes. ⁹The fear of Yahweh is clean, enduring forever. Yahweh’s ordinances are true, and righteous altogether. ¹⁰They are more to be desired than gold, yes, than much fine gold, sweeter also than honey and the extract of the honeycomb. ¹¹Moreover your servant is warned by them. In keeping them there is great reward. ¹²Who can discern his errors? Forgive me from hidden errors. ¹³Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins. Let them not have dominion over me. Then I will be upright. I will be blameless and innocent of great transgression. ¹⁴Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, Yahweh, my rock, and my redeemer. Psalm Book 1 Chapter 20 ¹May Yahweh answer you in the day of trouble. May the name of the God of Jacob set you up on high, ²send you help from the sanctuary, grant you support from Zion, ³remember all your offerings, and accept your burned sacrifice. Selah. ⁴May he grant you your heart’s desire, and fulfill all your counsel. ⁵We will triumph in your salvation. In the name of our God, we will set up our banners. May Yahweh grant all your requests. ⁶Now I know that Yahweh saves his anointed. He will answer him from his holy heaven, with the saving strength of his right hand. ⁷Some trust in chariots, and some in horses, but we trust in the name of Yahweh our God. ⁸They are bowed down and fallen, but we rise up, and stand upright. ⁹Save, Yahweh! Let the King answer us when we call! Psalm Book 1 Chapter 21 ¹The king rejoices in your strength, Yahweh! How greatly he rejoices in your salvation! ²You have given him his heart’s desire, and have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah. ³For you meet him with the blessings of goodness. You set a crown of fine gold on his head. ⁴He asked life of you and you gave it to him, even length of days forever and ever. ⁵His glory is great in your salvation. You lay honor and majesty on him. ⁶For you make him most blessed forever. You make him glad with joy in your presence. ⁷For the king trusts in Yahweh. Through the loving kindness of the Most High, he shall not be moved. ⁸Your hand will find out all of your enemies. Your right hand will find out those who hate you. ⁹You will make them as a fiery furnace in the time of your anger. Yahweh will swallow them up in his wrath. The fire shall devour them. ¹⁰You will destroy their descendants from the earth, their posterity from among the children of men. ¹¹For they intended evil against you. They plotted evil against you which cannot succeed.

Yahweh. Through the loving kindness of the Most High, he shall not be moved. ⁸Your hand will find out all of your enemies. Your right hand will find out those who hate you. ⁹You will make them as a fiery furnace in the time of your anger. Yahweh will swallow them up in his wrath. The fire shall devour them. ¹⁰You will destroy their descendants from the earth, their posterity from among the children of men. ¹¹For they intended evil against you. They plotted evil against you which cannot succeed. ¹²For you will make them turn their back, when you aim drawn bows at their face. ¹³Be exalted, Yahweh, in your strength,

533 so we will sing and praise your power. Psalm Book 1 Chapter 22 ¹My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from helping me, and from the words of my groaning? ²My God, I cry in the daytime, but you don’t answer; in the night season, and am not silent. ³But you are holy, you who inhabit the praises of Israel. ⁴Our fathers trusted in you. They trusted, and you delivered them. ⁵They cried to you, and were delivered. They trusted in you, and were not disappointed. ⁶But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised by the people. ⁷All those who see me mock me. They insult me with their lips. They shake their heads, saying, ⁸“He trusts in Yahweh. Let him deliver him. Let him rescue him, since he delights in him.” ⁹But you brought me out of the womb. You made me trust while at my mother’s breasts. ¹⁰I was thrown on you from my mother’s womb. You are my God since my mother bore me. ¹¹Don’t be far from me, for trouble is near. For there is no one to help. ¹²Many bulls have surrounded me. Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled me. ¹³They open their mouths wide against me, lions tearing prey and roaring. ¹⁴I am poured out like water. All my bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax. It is melted within me. ¹⁵My strength is dried up like a potsherd. My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth. You have brought me into the dust of death. ¹⁶For dogs have surrounded me. A company of evildoers have enclosed me. They have pierced my hands and feet. ¹⁷I can count all of my bones. They look and stare at me. ¹⁸They divide my garments among them. They cast lots for my clothing. ¹⁹But don’t be far off, Yahweh. You are my help. Hurry to help me! ²⁰Deliver my soul from the sword, my precious life from the power of the dog. ²¹Save me from the lion’s mouth! Yes, you have rescued me from the horns of the wild oxen. ²²I will declare your name to my brothers. Among the assembly, I will praise you. ²³You who fear Yahweh, praise him! All you descendants of Jacob, glorify him! Stand in awe of him, all you descendants of Israel! ²⁴For he has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, neither has he hidden his face from him; but when he cried to him, he heard. ²⁵My praise of you comes in the great assembly. I will pay my vows before those who fear him. ²⁶The humble shall eat and be satisfied. They shall praise Yahweh who seek after him. Let your hearts live forever. ²⁷All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to Yahweh. All the relatives of the nations shall worship before you. ²⁸For the kingdom is Yahweh’s. He is the ruler over the nations. ²⁹All the rich ones of the earth shall eat and worship. All those who go down to the dust shall bow before him, even he who can’t keep his soul alive. ³⁰Posterity shall serve him. Future generations shall be told about the Lord. ³¹They shall come and shall declare his righteousness to a people that shall be born, for he has done it. Psalm Book 1 Chapter 23 ¹Yahweh is my shepherd; I shall lack nothing. ²He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. ³He restores my soul. He guides me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. ⁴Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. ⁵You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil. My cup runs over. ⁶Surely goodness and loving kindness shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in Yahweh’s house forever. Psalm Book 1 Chapter 24 ¹The earth is Yahweh’s, with its fullness; the world, and those who dwell in it. ²For he has founded it on the seas, and established it on the floods. ³Who may ascend to Yahweh’s hill? Who may stand in his holy place? ⁴He who has clean hands and a pure heart; who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood, and has not sworn deceitfully. ⁵He shall receive a blessing from Yahweh, righteousness from the God of his salvation.

my life, and I will dwell in Yahweh’s house forever. Psalm Book 1 Chapter 24 ¹The earth is Yahweh’s, with its fullness; the world, and those who dwell in it. ²For he has founded it on the seas, and established it on the floods. ³Who may ascend to Yahweh’s hill? Who may stand in his holy place? ⁴He who has clean hands and a pure heart; who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood, and has not sworn deceitfully. ⁵He shall receive a blessing from Yahweh, righteousness from the God of his salvation. ⁶This is the generation of those who seek Him, who seek your face—

534 even Jacob. Selah. ⁷Lift up your heads, you gates! Be lifted up, you everlasting doors, and the King of glory will come in. ⁸Who is the King of glory? Yahweh strong and mighty, Yahweh mighty in battle. ⁹Lift up your heads, you gates; yes, lift them up, you everlasting doors, and the King of glory will come in. ¹⁰Who is this King of glory? Yahweh of Armies is the King of glory! Selah. Psalm Book 1 Chapter 25 ¹To you, Yahweh, I lift up my soul. ²My God, I have trusted in you. Don’t let me be shamed. Don’t let my enemies triumph over me. ³Yes, no one who waits for you will be shamed. They will be shamed who deal treacherously without cause. ⁴Show me your ways, Yahweh. Teach me your paths. ⁵Guide me in your truth, and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation. I wait for you all day long. ⁶Yahweh, remember your tender mercies and your loving kindness, for they are from old times. ⁷Don’t remember the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions. Remember me according to your loving kindness, for your goodness’ sake, Yahweh. ⁸Good and upright is Yahweh, therefore he will instruct sinners in the way. ⁹He will guide the humble in justice. He will teach the humble his way. ¹⁰All the paths of Yahweh are loving kindness and truth to such as keep his covenant and his testimonies. ¹¹For your name’s sake, Yahweh, pardon my iniquity, for it is great. ¹²What man is he who fears Yahweh? He shall instruct him in the way that he shall choose. ¹³His soul will dwell at ease. His offspring will inherit the land. ¹⁴The friendship of Yahweh is with those who fear him. He will show them his covenant. ¹⁵My eyes are ever on Yahweh, for he will pluck my feet out of the net. ¹⁶Turn to me, and have mercy on me, for I am desolate and afflicted. ¹⁷The troubles of my heart are enlarged. Oh bring me out of my distresses. ¹⁸Consider my affliction and my travail. Forgive all my sins. ¹⁹Consider my enemies, for they are many. They hate me with cruel hatred. ²⁰Oh keep my soul, and deliver me. Let me not be disappointed, for I take refuge in you. ²¹Let integrity and uprightness preserve me, for I wait for you. ²²God, redeem Israel out of all his troubles. Psalm Book 1 Chapter 26 ¹Judge me, Yahweh, for I have walked in my integrity. I have trusted also in Yahweh without wavering. ²Examine me, Yahweh, and prove me. Try my heart and my mind. ³For your loving kindness is before my eyes. I have walked in your truth. ⁴I have not sat with deceitful men, neither will I go in with hypocrites. ⁵I hate the assembly of evildoers, and will not sit with the wicked. ⁶I will wash my hands in innocence, so I will go about your altar, Yahweh, ⁷that I may make the voice of thanksgiving to be heard and tell of all your wondrous deeds. ⁸Yahweh, I love the habitation of your house, the place where your glory dwells. ⁹Don’t gather my soul with sinners, nor my life with bloodthirsty men ¹⁰in whose hands is wickedness; their right hand is full of bribes. ¹¹But as for me, I will walk in my integrity. Redeem me, and be merciful to me. ¹²My foot stands in an even place. In the congregations I will bless Yahweh. Psalm Book 1 Chapter 27 ¹Yahweh is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? Yahweh is the strength of my life. Of whom shall I be afraid? ²When evildoers came at me to eat up my flesh, even my adversaries and my foes, they stumbled and fell. ³Though an army should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear. Though war should rise against me, even then I will be confident. ⁴One thing I have asked of Yahweh, that I will seek after: that I may dwell in Yahweh’s house all the days of my life, to see Yahweh’s beauty, and to inquire in his temple. ⁵For in the day of trouble, he will keep me secretly in his pavilion. In the secret place of his tabernacle, he will hide me. He will lift me up on a rock. ⁶Now my head will be lifted up above my enemies around me. I will offer sacrifices of joy in his tent. I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to Yahweh.

will be confident. ⁴One thing I have asked of Yahweh, that I will seek after: that I may dwell in Yahweh’s house all the days of my life, to see Yahweh’s beauty, and to inquire in his temple. ⁵For in the day of trouble, he will keep me secretly in his pavilion. In the secret place of his tabernacle, he will hide me. He will lift me up on a rock. ⁶Now my head will be lifted up above my enemies around me. I will offer sacrifices of joy in his tent. I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to Yahweh. ⁷Hear, Yahweh, when I cry with my voice. Have

535 mercy also on me, and answer me. ⁸When you said, “Seek my face,” my heart said to you, “I will seek your face, Yahweh.” ⁹Don’t hide your face from me. Don’t put your servant away in anger. You have been my help. Don’t abandon me, neither forsake me, God of my salvation. ¹⁰When my father and my mother forsake me, then Yahweh will take me up. ¹¹Teach me your way, Yahweh. Lead me in a straight path, because of my enemies. ¹²Don’t deliver me over to the desire of my adversaries, for false witnesses have risen up against me, such as breathe out cruelty. ¹³I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of Yahweh in the land of the living. ¹⁴Wait for Yahweh. Be strong, and let your heart take courage. Yes, wait for Yahweh. Psalm Book 1 Chapter 28 ¹To you, Yahweh, I call. My rock, don’t be deaf to me, lest, if you are silent to me, I would become like those who go down into the pit. ²Hear the voice of my petitions, when I cry to you, when I lift up my hands toward your Most Holy Place. ³Don’t draw me away with the wicked, with the workers of iniquity who speak peace with their neighbors, but mischief is in their hearts. ⁴Give them according to their work, and according to the wickedness of their doings. Give them according to the operation of their hands. Bring back on them what they deserve. ⁵Because they don’t respect the works of Yahweh, nor the operation of his hands, he will break them down and not build them up. ⁶Blessed be Yahweh, because he has heard the voice of my petitions. ⁷Yahweh is my strength and my shield. My heart has trusted in him, and I am helped. Therefore my heart greatly rejoices. With my song I will thank him. ⁸Yahweh is their strength. He is a stronghold of salvation to his anointed. ⁹Save your people, and bless your inheritance. Be their shepherd also, and bear them up forever. Psalm Book 1 Chapter 29 ¹Ascribe to Yahweh, you sons of the mighty, ascribe to Yahweh glory and strength. ²Ascribe to Yahweh the glory due to his name. Worship Yahweh in holy array. ³Yahweh’s voice is on the waters. The God of glory thunders, even Yahweh on many waters. ⁴Yahweh’s voice is powerful. Yahweh’s voice is full of majesty. ⁵Yahweh’s voice breaks the cedars. Yes, Yahweh breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon. ⁶He makes them also to skip like a calf; Lebanon and Sirion like a young, wild ox. ⁷Yahweh’s voice strikes with flashes of lightning. ⁸Yahweh’s voice shakes the wilderness. Yahweh shakes the wilderness of Kadesh. ⁹Yahweh’s voice makes the deer calve, and strips the forests bare. In his temple everything says, “Glory!” ¹⁰Yahweh sat enthroned at the Flood. Yes, Yahweh sits as King forever. ¹¹Yahweh will give strength to his people. Yahweh will bless his people with peace. Psalm Book 1 Chapter 30 ¹I will extol you, Yahweh, for you have raised me up, and have not made my foes to rejoice over me. ²Yahweh my God, I cried to you, and you have healed me. ³Yahweh, you have brought up my soul from Sheol. You have kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit. ⁴Sing praise to Yahweh, you saints of his. Give thanks to his holy name. ⁵For his anger is but for a moment. His favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may stay for the night, but joy comes in the morning. ⁶As for me, I said in my prosperity, “I shall never be moved.” ⁷You, Yahweh, when you favored me, made my mountain stand strong; but when you hid your face, I was troubled. ⁸I cried to you, Yahweh. I made supplication to the Lord: ⁹“What profit is there in my destruction, if I go down to the pit? Shall the dust praise you? Shall it declare your truth? ¹⁰Hear, Yahweh, and have mercy on me. Yahweh, be my helper.” ¹¹You have turned my mourning into dancing for me. You have removed my sackcloth, and clothed me with gladness, ¹²to the end that my heart may sing praise to you, and not be silent. Yahweh my God, I will give thanks to you forever!

536 Psalm Book 1 Chapter 31 ¹In you, Yahweh, I take refuge. Let me never be disappointed. Deliver me in your righteousness. ²Bow down your ear to me. Deliver me speedily. Be to me a strong rock, a house of defense to save me. ³For you are my rock and my fortress, therefore for your name’s sake lead me and guide me. ⁴Pluck me out of the net that they have laid secretly for me, for you are my stronghold. ⁵Into your hand I commend my spirit. You redeem me, Yahweh, God of truth. ⁶I hate those who regard lying vanities, but I trust in Yahweh. ⁷I will be glad and rejoice in your loving kindness, for you have seen my affliction. You have known my soul in adversities. ⁸You have not shut me up into the hand of the enemy. You have set my feet in a large place. ⁹Have mercy on me, Yahweh, for I am in distress. My eye, my soul, and my body waste away with grief. ¹⁰For my life is spent with sorrow, my years with sighing. My strength fails because of my iniquity. My bones are wasted away. ¹¹Because of all my adversaries I have become utterly contemptible to my neighbors, a horror to my acquaintances. Those who saw me on the street fled from me. ¹²I am forgotten from their hearts like a dead man. I am like broken pottery. ¹³For I have heard the slander of many, terror on every side, while they conspire together against me, they plot to take away my life. ¹⁴But I trust in you, Yahweh. I said, “You are my God.” ¹⁵My times are in your hand. Deliver me from the hand of my enemies, and from those who persecute me. ¹⁶Make your face to shine on your servant. Save me in your loving kindness. ¹⁷Let me not be disappointed, Yahweh, for I have called on you. Let the wicked be disappointed. Let them be silent in Sheol. ¹⁸Let the lying lips be mute, which speak against the righteous insolently, with pride and contempt. ¹⁹Oh how great is your goodness, which you have laid up for those who fear you, which you have worked for those who take refuge in you, before the sons of men! ²⁰In the shelter of your presence you will hide them from the plotting of man. You will keep them secretly in a dwelling away from the strife of tongues. ²¹Praise be to Yahweh, for he has shown me his marvelous loving kindness in a strong city. ²²As for me, I said in my haste, “I am cut off from before your eyes.” Nevertheless you heard the voice of my petitions when I cried to you. ²³Oh love Yahweh, all you his saints! Yahweh preserves the faithful, and fully recompenses him who behaves arrogantly. ²⁴Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who hope in Yahweh. Psalm Book 1 Chapter 32 ¹Blessed is he whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sin is covered. ²Blessed is the man to whom Yahweh doesn’t impute iniquity, in whose spirit there is no deceit. ³When I kept silence, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. ⁴For day and night your hand was heavy on me. My strength was sapped in the heat of summer. Selah. ⁵I acknowledged my sin to you. I didn’t hide my iniquity. I said, I will confess my transgressions to Yahweh, and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah. ⁶For this, let everyone who is godly pray to you in a time when you may be found. Surely when the great waters overflow, they shall not reach to him. ⁷You are my hiding place. You will preserve me from trouble. You will surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah. ⁸I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you shall go. I will counsel you with my eye on you. ⁹Don’t be like the horse, or like the mule, which have no understanding, who are controlled by bit and bridle, or else they will not come near to you. ¹⁰Many sorrows come to the wicked, but loving kindness shall surround him who trusts in Yahweh. ¹¹Be glad in Yahweh, and rejoice, you righteous! Shout for joy, all you who are upright in heart! Psalm Book 1 Chapter 33 ¹Rejoice in Yahweh, you righteous! Praise is fitting for the upright. ²Give thanks to Yahweh with the lyre. Sing praises to him with the harp of ten strings.

or like the mule, which have no understanding, who are controlled by bit and bridle, or else they will not come near to you. ¹⁰Many sorrows come to the wicked, but loving kindness shall surround him who trusts in Yahweh. ¹¹Be glad in Yahweh, and rejoice, you righteous! Shout for joy, all you who are upright in heart! Psalm Book 1 Chapter 33 ¹Rejoice in Yahweh, you righteous! Praise is fitting for the upright. ²Give thanks to Yahweh with the lyre. Sing praises to him with the harp of ten strings. ³Sing to him a new song. Play skillfully

537 with a shout of joy! ⁴For Yahweh’s word is right. All his work is done in faithfulness. ⁵He loves righteousness and justice. The earth is full of the loving kindness of Yahweh. ⁶By Yahweh’s word, the heavens were made: all their army by the breath of his mouth. ⁷He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap. He lays up the deeps in storehouses. ⁸Let all the earth fear Yahweh. Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him. ⁹For he spoke, and it was done. He commanded, and it stood firm. ¹⁰Yahweh brings the counsel of the nations to nothing. He makes the thoughts of the peoples to be of no effect. ¹¹The counsel of Yahweh stands fast forever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations. ¹²Blessed is the nation whose God is Yahweh, the people whom he has chosen for his own inheritance. ¹³Yahweh looks from heaven. He sees all the sons of men. ¹⁴From the place of his habitation he looks out on all the inhabitants of the earth, ¹⁵he who fashions all of their hearts; and he considers all of their works. ¹⁶There is no king saved by the multitude of an army. A mighty man is not delivered by great strength. ¹⁷A horse is a vain thing for safety, neither does he deliver any by his great power. ¹⁸Behold, Yahweh’s eye is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his loving kindness, ¹⁹to deliver their soul from death, to keep them alive in famine. ²⁰Our soul has waited for Yahweh. He is our help and our shield. ²¹For our heart rejoices in him, because we have trusted in his holy name. ²²Let your loving kindness be on us, Yahweh, since we have hoped in you. Psalm Book 1 Chapter 34 ¹I will bless Yahweh at all times. His praise will always be in my mouth. ²My soul shall boast in Yahweh. The humble shall hear of it and be glad. ³Oh magnify Yahweh with me. Let’s exalt his name together. ⁴I sought Yahweh, and he answered me, and delivered me from all my fears. ⁵They looked to him, and were radiant. Their faces shall never be covered with shame. ⁶This poor man cried, and Yahweh heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. ⁷Yahweh’s angel encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them. ⁸Oh taste and see that Yahweh is good. Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. ⁹Oh fear Yahweh, you his saints, for there is no lack with those who fear him. ¹⁰The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger, but those who seek Yahweh shall not lack any good thing. ¹¹Come, you children, listen to me. I will teach you the fear of Yahweh. ¹²Who is someone who desires life, and loves many days, that he may see good? ¹³Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking lies. ¹⁴Depart from evil, and do good. Seek peace, and pursue it. ¹⁵Yahweh’s eyes are toward the righteous. His ears listen to their cry. ¹⁶Yahweh’s face is against those who do evil, to cut off their memory from the earth. ¹⁷The righteous cry, and Yahweh hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles. ¹⁸Yahweh is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves those who have a crushed spirit. ¹⁹Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but Yahweh delivers him out of them all. ²⁰He protects all of his bones. Not one of them is broken. ²¹Evil shall kill the wicked. Those who hate the righteous shall be condemned. ²²Yahweh redeems the soul of his servants. None of those who take refuge in him shall be condemned. Psalm Book 1 Chapter 35 ¹Contend, Yahweh, with those who contend with me. Fight against those who fight against me. ²Take hold of shield and buckler, and stand up for my help. ³Brandish the spear and block those who pursue me. Tell my soul, “I am your salvation.” ⁴Let those who seek after my soul be disappointed and brought to dishonor. Let those who plot my ruin be turned back and confounded. ⁵Let them be as chaff before the wind, Yahweh’s angel driving them on. ⁶Let their way be dark and slippery, Yahweh’s angel pursuing them. ⁷For without cause they have hidden their net in a pit for me. Without cause they have dug a pit for my soul.

kler, and stand up for my help. ³Brandish the spear and block those who pursue me. Tell my soul, “I am your salvation.” ⁴Let those who seek after my soul be disappointed and brought to dishonor. Let those who plot my ruin be turned back and confounded. ⁵Let them be as chaff before the wind, Yahweh’s angel driving them on. ⁶Let their way be dark and slippery, Yahweh’s angel pursuing them. ⁷For without cause they have hidden their net in a pit for me. Without cause they have dug a pit for my soul. ⁸Let destruction come on him unawares. Let his net that he has hidden catch himself. Let him fall into that destruction. ⁹My soul shall be joyful in Yahweh. It shall rejoice in his salvation. ¹⁰All my bones shall say, “Yahweh, who is like you, who

538 delivers the poor from him who is too strong for him; yes, the poor and the needy from him who robs him?” ¹¹Unrighteous witnesses rise up. They ask me about things that I don’t know about. ¹²They reward me evil for good, to the bereaving of my soul. ¹³But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth. I afflicted my soul with fasting. My prayer returned into my own bosom. ¹⁴I behaved myself as though it had been my friend or my brother. I bowed down mourning, as one who mourns his mother. ¹⁵But in my adversity, they rejoiced, and gathered themselves together. The attackers gathered themselves together against me, and I didn’t know it. They tore at me, and didn’t cease. ¹⁶Like the profane mockers in feasts, they gnashed their teeth at me. ¹⁷Lord, how long will you look on? Rescue my soul from their destruction, my precious life from the lions. ¹⁸I will give you thanks in the great assembly. I will praise you among many people. ¹⁹Don’t let those who are my enemies wrongfully rejoice over me; neither let those who hate me without a cause wink their eyes. ²⁰For they don’t speak peace, but they devise deceitful words against those who are quiet in the land. ²¹Yes, they opened their mouth wide against me. They said, “Aha! Aha! Our eye has seen it!” ²²You have seen it, Yahweh. Don’t keep silent. Lord, don’t be far from me. ²³Wake up! Rise up to defend me, my God! My Lord, contend for me! ²⁴Vindicate me, Yahweh my God, according to your righteousness. Don’t let them gloat over me. ²⁵Don’t let them say in their heart, “Aha! That’s the way we want it!” Don’t let them say, “We have swallowed him up!” ²⁶Let them be disappointed and confounded together who rejoice at my calamity. Let them be clothed with shame and dishonor who magnify themselves against me. ²⁷Let those who favor my righteous cause shout for joy and be glad. Yes, let them say continually, “May Yahweh be magnified, who has pleasure in the prosperity of his servant!” ²⁸My tongue shall talk about your righteousness and about your praise all day long. Psalm Book 1 Chapter 36 ¹A revelation is within my heart about the disobedience of the wicked: There is no fear of God before his eyes. ²For he flatters himself in his own eyes, too much to detect and hate his sin. ³The words of his mouth are iniquity and deceit. He has ceased to be wise and to do good. ⁴He plots iniquity on his bed. He sets himself in a way that is not good. He doesn’t abhor evil. ⁵Your loving kindness, Yahweh, is in the heavens. Your faithfulness reaches to the skies. ⁶Your righteousness is like the mountains of God. Your judgments are like a great deep. Yahweh, you preserve man and animal. ⁷How precious is your loving kindness, God! The children of men take refuge under the shadow of your wings. ⁸They shall be abundantly satisfied with the abundance of your house. You will make them drink of the river of your pleasures. ⁹For with you is the spring of life. In your light we will see light. ¹⁰Oh continue your loving kindness to those who know you, your righteousness to the upright in heart. ¹¹Don’t let the foot of pride come against me. Don’t let the hand of the wicked drive me away. ¹²There the workers of iniquity are fallen. They are thrust down, and shall not be able to rise. Psalm Book 1 Chapter 37 ¹Don’t fret because of evildoers, neither be envious against those who work unrighteousness. ²For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither like the green herb. ³Trust in Yahweh, and do good. Dwell in the land, and enjoy safe pasture. ⁴Also delight yourself in Yahweh, and he will give you the desires of your heart. ⁵Commit your way to Yahweh. Trust also in him, and he will do this: ⁶he will make your righteousness shine out like light, and your justice as the noon day sun. ⁷Rest in Yahweh, and wait patiently for him. Don’t fret because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who makes wicked plots happen. ⁸Cease from anger, and forsake wrath.

³Trust in Yahweh, and do good. Dwell in the land, and enjoy safe pasture. ⁴Also delight yourself in Yahweh, and he will give you the desires of your heart. ⁵Commit your way to Yahweh. Trust also in him, and he will do this: ⁶he will make your righteousness shine out like light, and your justice as the noon day sun. ⁷Rest in Yahweh, and wait patiently for him. Don’t fret because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who makes wicked plots happen. ⁸Cease from anger, and forsake wrath. Don’t fret; it leads only to evildoing. ⁹For evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait for Yahweh shall inherit the land. ¹⁰For yet a little while, and the wicked will be no more. Yes, though you look for

539 his place, he isn’t there. ¹¹But the humble shall inherit the land, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. ¹²The wicked plots against the just, and gnashes at him with his teeth. ¹³The Lord will laugh at him, for he sees that his day is coming. ¹⁴The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow, to cast down the poor and needy, to kill those who are upright on the path. ¹⁵Their sword shall enter into their own heart. Their bows shall be broken. ¹⁶Better is a little that the righteous has, than the abundance of many wicked. ¹⁷For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, but Yahweh upholds the righteous. ¹⁸Yahweh knows the days of the perfect. Their inheritance shall be forever. ¹⁹They shall not be disappointed in the time of evil. In the days of famine they shall be satisfied. ²⁰But the wicked shall perish. The enemies of Yahweh shall be like the beauty of the fields. They will vanish— vanish like smoke. ²¹The wicked borrow, and don’t pay back, but the righteous give generously. ²²For such as are blessed by him shall inherit the land. Those who are cursed by him shall be cut off. ²³A man’s steps are established by Yahweh. He delights in his way. ²⁴Though he stumble, he shall not fall, for Yahweh holds him up with his hand. ²⁵I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his children begging for bread. ²⁶All day long he deals graciously, and lends. His offspring is blessed. ²⁷Depart from evil, and do good. Live securely forever. ²⁸For Yahweh loves justice, and doesn’t forsake his saints. They are preserved forever, but the children of the wicked shall be cut off. ²⁹The righteous shall inherit the land, and live in it forever. ³⁰The mouth of the righteous talks of wisdom. His tongue speaks justice. ³¹The law of his God is in his heart. None of his steps shall slide. ³²The wicked watch the righteous, and seek to kill him. ³³Yahweh will not leave him in his hand, nor condemn him when he is judged. ³⁴Wait for Yahweh, and keep his way, and he will exalt you to inherit the land. When the wicked are cut off, you shall see it. ³⁵I have seen the wicked in great power, spreading himself like a green tree in its native soil. ³⁶But he passed away, and behold, he was not. Yes, I sought him, but he could not be found. ³⁷Mark the perfect man, and see the upright, for there is a future for the man of peace. ³⁸As for transgressors, they shall be destroyed together. The future of the wicked shall be cut off. ³⁹But the salvation of the righteous is from Yahweh. He is their stronghold in the time of trouble. ⁴⁰Yahweh helps them and rescues them. He rescues them from the wicked and saves them, because they have taken refuge in him. Psalm Book 1 Chapter 38 ¹Yahweh, don’t rebuke me in your wrath, neither chasten me in your hot displeasure. ²For your arrows have pierced me, your hand presses hard on me. ³There is no soundness in my flesh because of your indignation, neither is there any health in my bones because of my sin. ⁴For my iniquities have gone over my head. As a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me. ⁵My wounds are loathsome and corrupt because of my foolishness. ⁶I am in pain and bowed down greatly. I go mourning all day long. ⁷For my waist is filled with burning. There is no soundness in my flesh. ⁸I am faint and severely bruised. I have groaned by reason of the anguish of my heart. ⁹Lord, all my desire is before you. My groaning is not hidden from you. ¹⁰My heart throbs. My strength fails me. As for the light of my eyes, it has also left me. ¹¹My lovers and my friends stand aloof from my plague. My kinsmen stand far away. ¹²They also who seek after my life lay snares. Those who seek my hurt speak mischievous things, and meditate deceits all day long. ¹³But I, as a deaf man, don’t hear. I am as a mute man who doesn’t open his mouth. ¹⁴Yes, I am as a man who doesn’t hear, in whose mouth are no reproofs. ¹⁵For I hope in you, Yahweh. You will answer, Lord my God.

s. My strength fails me. As for the light of my eyes, it has also left me. ¹¹My lovers and my friends stand aloof from my plague. My kinsmen stand far away. ¹²They also who seek after my life lay snares. Those who seek my hurt speak mischievous things, and meditate deceits all day long. ¹³But I, as a deaf man, don’t hear. I am as a mute man who doesn’t open his mouth. ¹⁴Yes, I am as a man who doesn’t hear, in whose mouth are no reproofs. ¹⁵For I hope in you, Yahweh. You will answer, Lord my God. ¹⁶For I said, “Don’t let them gloat over me, or exalt themselves over me when my foot slips.” ¹⁷For I am ready to fall. My pain is continually before me. ¹⁸For I will declare my iniquity. I will be sorry for my sin. ¹⁹But my enemies are vigorous and many. Those who hate me without reason are numerous. ²⁰They who render evil for good are also adversaries to me, because I follow what is good. ²¹Don’t forsake me, Yahweh. My God, don’t be far from me. ²²Hurry to help me, Lord, my

540 salvation. Psalm Book 1 Chapter 39 ¹I said, “I will watch my ways, so that I don’t sin with my tongue. I will keep my mouth with a bridle while the wicked is before me.” ²I was mute with silence. I held my peace, even from good. My sorrow was stirred. ³My heart was hot within me. While I meditated, the fire burned. I spoke with my tongue: ⁴“Yahweh, show me my end, what is the measure of my days. Let me know how frail I am. ⁵Behold, you have made my days hand widths. My lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely every man stands as a breath.” Selah. ⁶“Surely every man walks like a shadow. Surely they busy themselves in vain. He heaps up, and doesn’t know who shall gather. ⁷Now, Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in you. ⁸Deliver me from all my transgressions. Don’t make me the reproach of the foolish. ⁹I was mute. I didn’t open my mouth, because you did it. ¹⁰Remove your scourge away from me. I am overcome by the blow of your hand. ¹¹When you rebuke and correct man for iniquity, you consume his wealth like a moth. Surely every man is but a breath.” Selah. ¹²“Hear my prayer, Yahweh, and give ear to my cry. Don’t be silent at my tears. For I am a stranger with you, a foreigner, as all my fathers were. ¹³Oh spare me, that I may recover strength, before I go away and exist no more.” Psalm Book 1 Chapter 40 ¹I waited patiently for Yahweh. He turned to me, and heard my cry. ²He brought me up also out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay. He set my feet on a rock, and gave me a firm place to stand. ³He has put a new song in my mouth, even praise to our God. Many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in Yahweh. ⁴Blessed is the man who makes Yahweh his trust, and doesn’t respect the proud, nor such as turn away to lies. ⁵Many, Yahweh, my God, are the wonderful works which you have done, and your thoughts which are toward us. They can’t be declared back to you. If I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be counted. ⁶Sacrifice and offering you didn’t desire. You have opened my ears. You have not required burnt offering and sin offering. ⁷Then I said, “Behold, I have come. It is written about me in the book in the scroll. ⁸I delight to do your will, my God. Yes, your law is within my heart.” ⁹I have proclaimed glad news of righteousness in the great assembly. Behold, I will not seal my lips, Yahweh, you know. ¹⁰I have not hidden your righteousness within my heart. I have declared your faithfulness and your salvation. I have not concealed your loving kindness and your truth from the great assembly. ¹¹Don’t withhold your tender mercies from me, Yahweh. Let your loving kindness and your truth continually preserve me. ¹²For innumerable evils have surrounded me. My iniquities have overtaken me, so that I am not able to look up. They are more than the hairs of my head. My heart has failed me. ¹³Be pleased, Yahweh, to deliver me. Hurry to help me, Yahweh. ¹⁴Let them be disappointed and confounded together who seek after my soul to destroy it. Let them be turned backward and brought to dishonor who delight in my hurt. ¹⁵Let them be desolate by reason of their shame that tell me, “Aha! Aha!” ¹⁶Let all those who seek you rejoice and be glad in you. Let such as love your salvation say continually, “Let Yahweh be exalted!” ¹⁷But I am poor and needy. May the Lord think about me. You are my help and my deliverer. Don’t delay, my God. Psalm Book 1 Chapter 41 ¹Blessed is he who considers the poor. Yahweh will deliver him in the day of evil. ²Yahweh will preserve him, and keep him alive. He shall be blessed on the earth, and he will not surrender him to the will of his enemies. ³Yahweh will sustain him on his sickbed, and restore him from his bed of illness. ⁴I said, “Yahweh, have mercy on me! Heal me, for I have sinned against you.” ⁵My enemies speak evil against me: “When will he die, and his name perish?” ⁶If he comes to see me,

541 he speaks falsehood. His heart gathers iniquity to itself. When he goes abroad, he tells it. ⁷All who hate me whisper together against me. They imagine the worst for me. ⁸“An evil disease”, they say, “has afflicted him. Now that he lies he shall rise up no more.” ⁹Yes, my own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, who ate bread with me, has lifted up his heel against me. ¹⁰But you, Yahweh, have mercy on me, and raise me up, that I may repay them. ¹¹By this I know that you delight in me, because my enemy doesn’t triumph over me. ¹²As for me, you uphold me in my integrity, and set me in your presence forever. ¹³Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel, from everlasting and to everlasting! Amen and amen. Psalms Book 2 Psalms Book 2 Chapter 42 ¹ As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants after you, God. ² My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God? ³ My tears have been my food day and night, while they continually ask me, “Where is your God?” ⁴ These things I remember, and pour out my soul within me, how I used to go with the crowd, and led them to God’s house, with the voice of joy and praise, a multitude keeping a holy day. ⁵ Why are you in despair, my soul? Why are you disturbed within me? Hope in God! For I shall still praise him for the saving help of his presence. ⁶ My God, my soul is in despair within me. Therefore I remember you from the land of the Jordan, the heights of Hermon, from the hill Mizar. ⁷ Deep calls to deep at the noise of your waterfalls. All your waves and your billows have swept over me. ⁸ Yahweh will command his loving kindness in the daytime. In the night his song shall be with me: a prayer to the God of my life. ⁹ I will ask God, my rock, “Why have you forgotten me? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?” ¹⁰ As with a sword in my bones, my adversaries reproach me, while they continually ask me, “Where is your God?” ¹¹ Why are you in despair, my soul? Why are you disturbed within me? Hope in God! For I shall still praise him, the saving help of my countenance, and my God. Psalms Book 2 Chapter 43 ¹ Vindicate me, God, and plead my cause against an ungodly nation. Oh, deliver me from deceitful and wicked men. ² For you are the God of my strength. Why have you rejected me? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy? ³ Oh, send out your light and your truth. Let them lead me. Let them bring me to your holy hill, to your tents. ⁴ Then I will go to the altar of God, to God, my exceeding joy. I will praise you on the harp, God, my God. ⁵ Why are you in despair, my soul? Why are you disturbed within me? Hope in God! For I shall still praise him: my Savior, my helper, and my God. Psalms Book 2 Chapter 44 ¹ We have heard with our ears, God; our fathers have told us what work you did in their days, in the days of old. ² You drove out the nations with your hand, but you planted them. You afflicted the peoples, but you spread them abroad. ³ For they didn’t get the land in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them; but your right hand, your arm, and the light of your face, because you were favorable to them. ⁴ God, you are my King. Command victories for Jacob! ⁵ Through you, we will push down our adversaries. Through your name, we will tread down those who rise up against us. ⁶ For I will not trust in my bow, neither will my sword save me. ⁷ But you have saved us from our adversaries, and have shamed those who hate us. ⁸ In God we have made our boast all day long. We will give thanks to your name forever. Selah. ⁹ But now you rejected us, and brought us to dishonor, and don’t go out with our armies. ¹⁰ You make us turn back from the

542 adversary. Those who hate us take plunder for themselves. ¹¹ You have made us like sheep for food, and have scattered us among the nations. ¹² You sell your people for nothing, and have gained nothing from their sale. ¹³ You make us a reproach to our neighbors, a scoffing and a derision to those who are around us. ¹⁴ You make us a byword among the nations, a shaking of the head among the peoples. ¹⁵ All day long my dishonor is before me, and shame covers my face, ¹⁶ at the taunt of one who reproaches and verbally abuses, because of the enemy and the avenger. ¹⁷ All this has come on us, yet we haven’t forgotten you. We haven’t been false to your covenant. ¹⁸ Our heart has not turned back, neither have our steps strayed from your path, ¹⁹ though you have crushed us in the haunt of jackals, and covered us with the shadow of death. ²⁰ If we have forgotten the name of our God, or spread out our hands to a strange god, ²¹ won’t God search this out? For he knows the secrets of the heart. ²² Yes, for your sake we are killed all day long. We are regarded as sheep for the slaughter. ²³ Wake up! Why do you sleep, Lord? Arise! Don’t reject us forever. ²⁴ Why do you hide your face, and forget our affliction and our oppression? ²⁵ For our soul is bowed down to the dust. Our body clings to the earth. ²⁶ Rise up to help us. Redeem us for your loving kindness’ sake. Psalms Book 2 Chapter 45 ¹ My heart overflows with a noble theme. I recite my verses for the king. My tongue is like the pen of a skillful writer. ² You are the most excellent of the sons of men. Grace has anointed your lips, therefore God has blessed you forever. ³ Strap your sword on your thigh, O mighty one, in your splendor and your majesty. ⁴ In your majesty ride on victoriously on behalf of truth, humility, and righteousness. Let your right hand display awesome deeds. ⁵ Your arrows are sharp. The nations fall under you, with arrows in the heart of the king’s enemies. ⁶ Your throne, God, is forever and ever. A scepter of equity is the scepter of your kingdom. ⁷ You have loved righteousness, and hated wickedness. Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your fellows. ⁸ All your garments smell like myrrh, aloes, and cassia. Out of ivory palaces stringed instruments have made you glad. ⁹ Kings’ daughters are among your honorable women. At your right hand the queen stands in gold of Ophir. ¹⁰ Listen, daughter, consider, and turn your ear. Forget your own people, and also your father’s house. ¹¹ So the king will desire your beauty, honor him, for he is your lord. ¹² The daughter of Tyre comes with a gift. The rich among the people entreat your favor. ¹³ The princess inside is all glorious. Her clothing is interwoven with gold. ¹⁴ She shall be led to the king in embroidered work. The virgins, her companions who follow her, shall be brought to you. ¹⁵ With gladness and rejoicing they shall be led. They shall enter into the king’s palace. ¹⁶ Your sons will take the place of your fathers. You shall make them princes in all the earth. ¹⁷ I will make your name to be remembered in all generations. Therefore the peoples shall give you thanks forever and ever. Psalms Book 2 Chapter 46 ¹ God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. ² Therefore we won’t be afraid, though the earth changes, though the mountains are shaken into the heart of the seas; ³ though its waters roar and are troubled, though the mountains tremble with their swelling. Selah. ⁴ There is a river, the streams of which make the city of God glad, the holy place of the tents of the Most High. ⁵ God is within her. She shall not be moved. God will help her at dawn. ⁶ The nations raged. The kingdoms were moved. He lifted his voice and the earth melted. ⁷ Yahweh of Armies is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah. ⁸ Come, see Yahweh’s works, what desolations he has made in the earth. ⁹ He makes wars cease to the end of the earth.

ns tremble with their swelling. Selah. ⁴ There is a river, the streams of which make the city of God glad, the holy place of the tents of the Most High. ⁵ God is within her. She shall not be moved. God will help her at dawn. ⁶ The nations raged. The kingdoms were moved. He lifted his voice and the earth melted. ⁷ Yahweh of Armies is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah. ⁸ Come, see Yahweh’s works, what desolations he has made in the earth. ⁹ He makes wars cease to the end of the earth. He breaks the bow, and shatters the spear. He burns the chariots in the fire. ¹⁰ “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth.” ¹¹ Yahweh of Armies is with us. The God of

543 Jacob is our refuge. Selah. Psalms Book 2 Chapter 47 ¹ Oh clap your hands, all you nations. Shout to God with the voice of triumph! ² For Yahweh Most High is awesome. He is a great King over all the earth. ³ He subdues nations under us, and peoples under our feet. ⁴ He chooses our inheritance for us, the glory of Jacob whom he loved. Selah. ⁵ God has gone up with a shout, Yahweh with the sound of a trumpet. ⁶ Sing praises to God! Sing praises! Sing praises to our King! Sing praises! ⁷ For God is the King of all the earth. Sing praises with understanding. ⁸ God reigns over the nations. God sits on his holy throne. ⁹ The princes of the peoples are gathered together, the people of the God of Abraham. For the shields of the earth belong to God. He is greatly exalted! Psalms Book 2 Chapter 48 ¹ Great is Yahweh, and greatly to be praised, in the city of our God, in his holy mountain. ² Beautiful in elevation, the joy of the whole earth, is Mount Zion, on the north sides, the city of the great King. ³ God has shown himself in her citadels as a refuge. ⁴ For, behold, the kings assembled themselves, they passed by together. ⁵ They saw it, then they were amazed. They were dismayed. They hurried away. ⁶ Trembling took hold of them there, pain, as of a woman in travail. ⁷ With the east wind, you break the ships of Tarshish. ⁸ As we have heard, so we have seen, in the city of Yahweh of Armies, in the city of our God. God will establish it forever. Selah. ⁹ We have thought about your loving kindness, God, in the middle of your temple. ¹⁰ As is your name, God, so is your praise to the ends of the earth. Your right hand is full of righteousness. ¹¹ Let Mount Zion be glad! Let the daughters of Judah rejoice because of your judgments. ¹² Walk about Zion, and go around her. Number its towers. ¹³ Notice her bulwarks. Consider her palaces, that you may tell it to the next generation. ¹⁴ For this God is our God forever and ever. He will be our guide even to death. Psalms Book 2 Chapter 49 ¹ Hear this, all you peoples. Listen, all you inhabitants of the world, ² both low and high, rich and poor together. ³ My mouth will speak words of wisdom. My heart will utter understanding. ⁴ I will incline my ear to a proverb. I will solve my riddle on the harp. ⁵ Why should I fear in the days of evil, when iniquity at my heels surrounds me? ⁶ Those who trust in their wealth, and boast in the multitude of their riches— ⁷ none of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give God a ransom for him. ⁸ For the redemption of their life is costly, no payment is ever enough, ⁹ that he should live on forever, that he should not see corruption. ¹⁰ For he sees that wise men die; likewise the fool and the senseless perish, and leave their wealth to others. ¹¹ Their inward thought is that their houses will endure forever, and their dwelling places to all generations. They name their lands after themselves. ¹² But man, despite his riches, doesn’t endure. He is like the animals that perish. ¹³ This is the destiny of those who are foolish, and of those who approve their sayings. Selah. ¹⁴ They are appointed as a flock for Sheol. Death shall be their shepherd. The upright shall have dominion over them in the morning. Their beauty shall decay in Sheol, far from their mansion. ¹⁵ But God will redeem my soul from the power of Sheol, for he will receive me. Selah. ¹⁶ Don’t be afraid when a man is made rich, when the glory of his house is increased; ¹⁷ for when he dies he will carry nothing away. His glory won’t descend after him. ¹⁸ Though while he lived he blessed his soul— and men praise you when you do well for yourself— ¹⁹ he shall go to the generation of his fathers. They shall never see the light. ²⁰ A man who has riches without understanding, is like the animals that perish. Psalms Book 2 Chapter 50

544 ¹ The Mighty One, God, Yahweh, speaks, and calls the earth from sunrise to sunset. ² Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines out. ³ Our God comes, and does not keep silent. A fire devours before him. It is very stormy around him. ⁴ He calls to the heavens above, to the earth, that he may judge his people: ⁵ “Gather my saints together to me, those who have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.” ⁶ The heavens shall declare his righteousness, for God himself is judge. Selah. ⁷ “Hear, my people, and I will speak. Israel, I will testify against you. I am God, your God. ⁸ I don’t rebuke you for your sacrifices. Your burnt offerings are continually before me. ⁹ I have no need for a bull from your stall, nor male goats from your pens. ¹⁰ For every animal of the forest is mine, and the livestock on a thousand hills. ¹¹ I know all the birds of the mountains. The wild animals of the field are mine. ¹² If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world is mine, and all that is in it. ¹³ Will I eat the meat of bulls, or drink the blood of goats? ¹⁴ Offer to God the sacrifice of thanksgiving. Pay your vows to the Most High. ¹⁵ Call on me in the day of trouble. I will deliver you, and you will honor me.” ¹⁶ But to the wicked God says, “What right do you have to declare my statutes, that you have taken my covenant on your lips, ¹⁷ since you hate instruction, and throw my words behind you? ¹⁸ When you saw a thief, you consented with him, and have participated with adulterers. ¹⁹ You give your mouth to evil. Your tongue frames deceit. ²⁰ You sit and speak against your brother. You slander your own mother’s son. ²¹ You have done these things, and I kept silent. You thought that I was just like you. I will rebuke you, and accuse you in front of your eyes. ²² “Now consider this, you who forget God, lest I tear you into pieces, and there be no one to deliver. ²³ Whoever offers the sacrifice of thanksgiving glorifies me, and prepares his way so that I will show God’s salvation to him.” Psalms Book 2 Chapter 51 ¹ Have mercy on me, God, according to your loving kindness. According to the multitude of your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions. ² Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity. Cleanse me from my sin. ³ For I know my transgressions. My sin is constantly before me. ⁴ Against you, and you only, I have sinned, and done that which is evil in your sight, so you may be proved right when you speak, and justified when you judge. ⁵ Behold, I was born in iniquity. My mother conceived me in sin. ⁶ Behold, you desire truth in the inward parts. You teach me wisdom in the inmost place. ⁷ Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean. Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. ⁸ Let me hear joy and gladness, that the bones which you have broken may rejoice. ⁹ Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all of my iniquities. ¹⁰ Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a right spirit within me. ¹¹ Don’t throw me from your presence, and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me. ¹² Restore to me the joy of your salvation. Uphold me with a willing spirit. ¹³ Then I will teach transgressors your ways. Sinners will be converted to you. ¹⁴ Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, the God of my salvation. My tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness. ¹⁵ Lord, open my lips. My mouth will declare your praise. ¹⁶ For you don’t delight in sacrifice, or else I would give it. You have no pleasure in burnt offering. ¹⁷ The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit. O God, you will not despise a broken and contrite heart. ¹⁸ Do well in your good pleasure to Zion. Build the walls of Jerusalem. ¹⁹ Then you will delight in the sacrifices of righteousness, in burnt offerings and in whole burnt offerings. Then they will offer bulls on your altar. Psalms Book 2 Chapter 52 ¹ Why do you boast of mischief, mighty man? God’s loving kindness endures continually. ² Your tongue plots destruction, like a sharp razor, working deceitfully.

fices of God are a broken spirit. O God, you will not despise a broken and contrite heart. ¹⁸ Do well in your good pleasure to Zion. Build the walls of Jerusalem. ¹⁹ Then you will delight in the sacrifices of righteousness, in burnt offerings and in whole burnt offerings. Then they will offer bulls on your altar. Psalms Book 2 Chapter 52 ¹ Why do you boast of mischief, mighty man? God’s loving kindness endures continually. ² Your tongue plots destruction, like a sharp razor, working deceitfully. ³ You love evil more than good, lying rather than speaking the truth. Selah. ⁴ You love all devouring words, you deceitful tongue. ⁵ God will likewise destroy you forever. He will take you up, and pluck you out of your tent, and root you out of the land of the living. Selah. ⁶ The righteous also will see it, and fear, and laugh at

545 him, saying, ⁷ “Behold, this is the man who didn’t make God his strength, but trusted in the abundance of his riches, and strengthened himself in his wickedness.” ⁸ But as for me, I am like a green olive tree in God’s house. I trust in God’s loving kindness forever and ever. ⁹ I will give you thanks forever, because you have done it. I will hope in your name, for it is good, in the presence of your saints. Psalms Book 2 Chapter 53 ¹ The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, and have done abominable iniquity. There is no one who does good. ² God looks down from heaven on the children of men, to see if there are any who understood, who seek after God. ³ Every one of them has gone back. They have become filthy together. There is no one who does good, no, not one. ⁴ Have the workers of iniquity no knowledge, who eat up my people as they eat bread, and don’t call on God? ⁵ There they were in great fear, where no fear was, for God has scattered the bones of him who encamps against you. You have put them to shame, because God has rejected them. ⁶ Oh that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion! When God brings back his people from captivity, then Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad. Psalms Book 2 Chapter 54 ¹ Save me, God, by your name. Vindicate me in your might. ² Hear my prayer, God. Listen to the words of my mouth. ³ For strangers have risen up against me. Violent men have sought after my soul. They haven’t set God before them. Selah. ⁴ Behold, God is my helper. The Lord is the one who sustains my soul. ⁵ He will repay the evil to my enemies. Destroy them in your truth. ⁶ With a free will offering, I will sacrifice to you. I will give thanks to your name, Yahweh, for it is good. ⁷ For he has delivered me out of all trouble. My eye has seen triumph over my enemies. Psalms Book 2 Chapter 55 ¹ Listen to my prayer, God. Don’t hide yourself from my supplication. ² Attend to me, and answer me. I am restless in my complaint, and moan ³ because of the voice of the enemy, because of the oppression of the wicked. For they bring suffering on me. In anger they hold a grudge against me. ⁴ My heart is severely pained within me. The terrors of death have fallen on me. ⁵ Fearfulness and trembling have come on me. Horror has overwhelmed me. ⁶ I said, “Oh that I had wings like a dove! Then I would fly away, and be at rest. ⁷ Behold, then I would wander far off. I would lodge in the wilderness.” Selah. ⁸ “I would hurry to a shelter from the stormy wind and storm.” ⁹ Confuse them, Lord, and confound their language, for I have seen violence and strife in the city. ¹⁰ Day and night they prowl around on its walls. Malice and abuse are also within her. ¹¹ Destructive forces are within her. Threats and lies don’t depart from her streets. ¹² For it was not an enemy who insulted me, then I could have endured it. Neither was it he who hated me who raised himself up against me, then I would have hidden myself from him. ¹³ But it was you, a man like me, my companion, and my familiar friend. ¹⁴ We took sweet fellowship together. We walked in God’s house with company. ¹⁵ Let death come suddenly on them. Let them go down alive into Sheol. For wickedness is among them, in their dwelling. ¹⁶ As for me, I will call on God. Yahweh will save me. ¹⁷ Evening, morning, and at noon, I will cry out in distress. He will hear my voice. ¹⁸ He has redeemed my soul in peace from the battle that was against me, although there are many who oppose me. ¹⁹ God, who is enthroned forever, will hear and answer them. Selah. They never change and don’t fear God. ²⁰ He raises his hands against his friends. He has violated his covenant. ²¹ His mouth was smooth as butter, but his heart was war. His words were softer than oil, yet they were drawn swords. ²² Cast your burden on Yahweh and he will sustain you. He will never allow the righteous to be moved. ²³ But you, God, will bring them down into the pit of destruction.

546 Bloodthirsty and deceitful men shall not live out half their days, but I will trust in you. Psalms Book 2 Chapter 56 ¹ Be merciful to me, God, for man wants to swallow me up. All day long, he attacks and oppresses me. ² My enemies want to swallow me up all day long, for they are many who fight proudly against me. ³ When I am afraid, I will put my trust in you. ⁴ In God, I praise his word. In God, I put my trust. I will not be afraid. What can flesh do to me? ⁵ All day long they twist my words. All their thoughts are against me for evil. ⁶ They conspire and lurk, watching my steps. They are eager to take my life. ⁷ Shall they escape by iniquity? In anger cast down the peoples, God. ⁸ You count my wanderings. You put my tears into your container. Aren’t they in your book? ⁹ Then my enemies shall turn back in the day that I call. I know this: that God is for me. ¹⁰ In God, I will praise his word. In Yahweh, I will praise his word. ¹¹ I have put my trust in God. I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? ¹² Your vows are on me, God. I will give thank offerings to you. ¹³ For you have delivered my soul from death, and prevented my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living. Psalms Book 2 Chapter 57 ¹ Be merciful to me, God, be merciful to me, for my soul takes refuge in you. Yes, in the shadow of your wings, I will take refuge, until disaster has passed. ² I cry out to God Most High, to God who accomplishes my requests for me. ³ He will send from heaven, and save me, he rebukes the one who is pursuing me. Selah. God will send out his loving kindness and his truth. ⁴ My soul is among lions. I lie among those who are set on fire, even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword. ⁵ Be exalted, God, above the heavens! Let your glory be above all the earth! ⁶ They have prepared a net for my steps. My soul is bowed down. They dig a pit before me. They fall into the middle of it themselves. Selah. ⁷ My heart is steadfast, God. My heart is steadfast. I will sing, yes, I will sing praises. ⁸ Wake up, my glory! Wake up, lute and harp! I will wake up the dawn. ⁹ I will give thanks to you, Lord, among the peoples. I will sing praises to you among the nations. ¹⁰ For your great loving kindness reaches to the heavens, and your truth to the skies. ¹¹ Be exalted, God, above the heavens. Let your glory be over all the earth. Psalms Book 2 Chapter 58 ¹ Do you indeed speak righteousness, silent ones? Do you judge blamelessly, you sons of men? ² No, in your heart you plot injustice. You measure out the violence of your hands in the earth. ³ The wicked go astray from the womb. They are wayward as soon as they are born, speaking lies. ⁴ Their poison is like the poison of a snake, like a deaf cobra that stops its ear, ⁵ which doesn’t listen to the voice of charmers, no matter how skillful the charmer may be. ⁶ Break their teeth, God, in their mouth. Break out the great teeth of the young lions, Yahweh. ⁷ Let them vanish like water that flows away. When they draw the bow, let their arrows be made blunt. ⁸ Let them be like a snail which melts and passes away, like the stillborn child, who has not seen the sun. ⁹ Before your pots can feel the heat of the thorns, he will sweep away the green and the burning alike. ¹⁰ The righteous shall rejoice when he sees the vengeance. He shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked, ¹¹ so that men shall say, “Most certainly there is a reward for the righteous. Most certainly there is a God who judges the earth.” Psalms Book 2 Chapter 59 ¹ Deliver me from my enemies, my God. Set me on high from those who rise up against me. ² Deliver me from the workers of iniquity. Save me from the bloodthirsty men. ³ For, behold, they lie in wait for my soul. The mighty gather themselves together against me, not for my disobedience,

547 nor for my sin, Yahweh. ⁴ I have done no wrong, yet they are ready to attack me. Rise up, behold, and help me! ⁵ You, Yahweh God of Armies, the God of Israel, rouse yourself to punish the nations. Show no mercy to the wicked traitors. Selah. ⁶ They return at evening, howling like dogs, and prowl around the city. ⁷ Behold, they spew with their mouth. Swords are in their lips, “For,” they say, “who hears us?” ⁸ But you, Yahweh, laugh at them. You scoff at all the nations. ⁹ Oh, my Strength, I watch for you, for God is my high tower. ¹⁰ My God will go before me with his loving kindness. God will let me look at my enemies in triumph. ¹¹ Don’t kill them, or my people may forget. Scatter them by your power, and bring them down, Lord our shield. ¹² For the sin of their mouth, and the words of their lips, let them be caught in their pride, for the curses and lies which they utter. ¹³ Consume them in wrath. Consume them, and they will be no more. Let them know that God rules in Jacob, to the ends of the earth. Selah. ¹⁴ At evening let them return. Let them howl like a dog, and go around the city. ¹⁵ They shall wander up and down for food, and wait all night if they aren’t satisfied. ¹⁶ But I will sing of your strength. Yes, I will sing aloud of your loving kindness in the morning. For you have been my high tower, a refuge in the day of my distress. ¹⁷ To you, my strength, I will sing praises. For God is my high tower, the God of my mercy. Psalms Book 2 Chapter 60 ¹ God, you have rejected us. You have broken us down. You have been angry. Restore us, again. ² You have made the land tremble. You have torn it. Mend its fractures, for it quakes. ³ You have shown your people hard things. You have made us drink the wine that makes us stagger. ⁴ You have given a banner to those who fear you, that it may be displayed because of the truth. Selah. ⁵ So that your beloved may be delivered, save with your right hand, and answer us. ⁶ God has spoken from his sanctuary: “I will triumph. I will divide Shechem, and measure out the valley of Succoth. ⁷ Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine. Ephraim also is the defense of my head. Judah is my scepter. ⁸ Moab is my wash basin. I will throw my sandal on Edom. I shout in triumph over Philistia.” ⁹ Who will bring me into the strong city? Who has led me to Edom? ¹⁰ Haven’t you, God, rejected us? You don’t go out with our armies, God. ¹¹ Give us help against the adversary, for the help of man is vain. ¹² Through God we will do valiantly, for it is he who will tread down our adversaries. Psalms Book 2 Chapter 61 ¹ Hear my cry, God. Listen to my prayer. ² From the end of the earth, I will call to you when my heart is overwhelmed. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I. ³ For you have been a refuge for me, a strong tower from the enemy. ⁴ I will dwell in your tent forever. I will take refuge in the shelter of your wings. Selah. ⁵ For you, God, have heard my vows. You have given me the heritage of those who fear your name. ⁶ You will prolong the king’s life. His years will be for generations. ⁷ He shall be enthroned in God’s presence forever. Appoint your loving kindness and truth, that they may preserve him. ⁸ So I will sing praise to your name forever, that I may fulfill my vows daily. Psalms Book 2 Chapter 62 ¹ My soul rests in God alone. My salvation is from him. ² He alone is my rock, my salvation, and my fortress. I will never be greatly shaken. ³ How long will you assault a man? Would all of you throw him down, like a leaning wall, like a tottering fence? ⁴ They fully intend to throw him down from his lofty place. They delight in lies. They bless with their mouth, but they curse inwardly. Selah. ⁵ My soul, wait in silence for God alone, for my expectation is from him. ⁶ He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress. I will not be shaken. ⁷ My salvation and my honor is with God. The rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God. ⁸ Trust in him at all times, you people. Pour out

548 your heart before him. God is a refuge for us. Selah. ⁹ Surely men of low degree are just a breath, and men of high degree are a lie. In the balances they will go up. They are together lighter than a breath. ¹⁰ Don’t trust in oppression. Don’t become vain in robbery. If riches increase, don’t set your heart on them. ¹¹ God has spoken once; twice I have heard this, that power belongs to God. ¹² Also to you, Lord, belongs loving kindness, for you reward every man according to his work. Psalms Book 2 Chapter 63 ¹ God, you are my God. I will earnestly seek you. My soul thirsts for you. My flesh longs for you, in a dry and weary land, where there is no water. ² So I have seen you in the sanctuary, watching your power and your glory. ³ Because your loving kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise you. ⁴ So I will bless you while I live. I will lift up my hands in your name. ⁵ My soul shall be satisfied as with the richest food. My mouth shall praise you with joyful lips, ⁶ when I remember you on my bed, and think about you in the night watches. ⁷ For you have been my help. I will rejoice in the shadow of your wings. ⁸ My soul stays close to you. Your right hand holds me up. ⁹ But those who seek my soul to destroy it shall go into the lower parts of the earth. ¹⁰ They shall be given over to the power of the sword. They shall be jackal food. ¹¹ But the king shall rejoice in God. Everyone who swears by him will praise him, for the mouth of those who speak lies shall be silenced. Psalms Book 2 Chapter 64 ¹ Hear my voice, God, in my complaint. Preserve my life from fear of the enemy. ² Hide me from the conspiracy of the wicked, from the noisy crowd of the ones doing evil; ³ who sharpen their tongue like a sword, and aim their arrows, deadly words, ⁴ to shoot innocent men from ambushes. They shoot at him suddenly and fearlessly. ⁵ They encourage themselves in evil plans. They talk about laying snares secretly. They say, “Who will see them?” ⁶ They plot injustice, saying, “We have made a perfect plan!” Surely man’s mind and heart are cunning. ⁷ But God will shoot at them. They will be suddenly struck down with an arrow. ⁸ Their own tongues shall ruin them. All who see them will shake their heads. ⁹ All mankind shall be afraid. They shall declare the work of God, and shall wisely ponder what he has done. ¹⁰ The righteous shall be glad in Yahweh, and shall take refuge in him. All the upright in heart shall praise him! Psalms Book 2 Chapter 65 ¹ Praise waits for you, God, in Zion. Vows shall be performed to you. ² You who hear prayer, all men will come to you. ³ Sins overwhelmed me, but you atoned for our transgressions. ⁴ Blessed is the one whom you choose and cause to come near, that he may live in your courts. We will be filled with the goodness of your house, your holy temple. ⁵ By awesome deeds of righteousness, you answer us, God of our salvation. You who are the hope of all the ends of the earth, of those who are far away on the sea. ⁶ By your power, you form the mountains, having armed yourself with strength. ⁷ You still the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, and the turmoil of the nations. ⁸ They also who dwell in faraway places are afraid at your wonders. You call the morning’s dawn and the evening with songs of joy. ⁹ You visit the earth, and water it. You greatly enrich it. The river of God is full of water. You provide them grain, for so you have ordained it. ¹⁰ You drench its furrows. You level its ridges. You soften it with showers. You bless it with a crop. ¹¹ You crown the year with your bounty. Your carts overflow with abundance. ¹² The wilderness grasslands overflow. The hills are clothed with gladness. ¹³ The pastures are covered with flocks. The valleys also are clothed with grain. They shout for joy! They also sing. Psalms Book 2 Chapter 66

549 ¹ Make a joyful shout to God, all the earth! ² Sing to the glory of his name! Offer glory and praise! ³ Tell God, “How awesome are your deeds! Through the greatness of your power, your enemies submit themselves to you. ⁴ All the earth will worship you, and will sing to you; they will sing to your name.” Selah. ⁵ Come, and see God’s deeds— awesome work on behalf of the children of men. ⁶ He turned the sea into dry land. They went through the river on foot. There, we rejoiced in him. ⁷ He rules by his might forever. His eyes watch the nations. Don’t let the rebellious rise up against him. Selah. ⁸ Praise our God, you peoples! Make the sound of his praise heard, ⁹ who preserves our life among the living, and doesn’t allow our feet to be moved. ¹⁰ For you, God, have tested us. You have refined us, as silver is refined. ¹¹ You brought us into prison. You laid a burden on our backs. ¹² You allowed men to ride over our heads. We went through fire and through water, but you brought us to the place of abundance. ¹³ I will come into your temple with burnt offerings. I will pay my vows to you, ¹⁴ which my lips promised, and my mouth spoke, when I was in distress. ¹⁵ I will offer to you burnt offerings of fat animals, with the offering of rams, I will offer bulls with goats. Selah. ¹⁶ Come and hear, all you who fear God. I will declare what he has done for my soul. ¹⁷ I cried to him with my mouth. He was extolled with my tongue. ¹⁸ If I cherished sin in my heart, the Lord wouldn’t have listened. ¹⁹ But most certainly, God has listened. He has heard the voice of my prayer. ²⁰ Blessed be God, who has not turned away my prayer, nor his loving kindness from me. Psalms Book 2 Chapter 67 ¹ May God be merciful to us, bless us, and cause his face to shine on us. Selah. ² That your way may be known on earth, and your salvation among all nations, ³ let the peoples praise you, God. Let all the peoples praise you. ⁴ Oh let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you will judge the peoples with equity, and govern the nations on earth. Selah. ⁵ Let the peoples praise you, God. Let all the peoples praise you. ⁶ The earth has yielded its increase. God, even our own God, will bless us. ⁷ God will bless us. All the ends of the earth shall fear him. Psalms Book 2 Chapter 68 ¹ Let God arise! Let his enemies be scattered! Let them who hate him also flee before him. ² As smoke is driven away, so drive them away. As wax melts before the fire, so let the wicked perish at the presence of God. ³ But let the righteous be glad. Let them rejoice before God. Yes, let them rejoice with gladness. ⁴ Sing to God! Sing praises to his name! Extol him who rides on the clouds: to Yah, his name! Rejoice before him! ⁵ A father of the fatherless, and a defender of the widows, is God in his holy habitation. ⁶ God sets the lonely in families. He brings out the prisoners with singing, but the rebellious dwell in a sun-scorched land. ⁷ God, when you went out before your people, when you marched through the wilderness… Selah. ⁸ The earth trembled. The sky also poured down rain at the presence of the God of Sinai— at the presence of God, the God of Israel. ⁹ You, God, sent a plentiful rain. You confirmed your inheritance when it was weary. ¹⁰ Your congregation lived therein. You, God, prepared your goodness for the poor. ¹¹ The Lord announced the word. The ones who proclaim it are a great company. ¹² “Kings of armies flee! They flee!” She who waits at home divides the plunder, ¹³ while you sleep among the camp fires, the wings of a dove sheathed with silver, her feathers with shining gold. ¹⁴ When the Almighty scattered kings in her, it snowed on Zalmon. ¹⁵ The mountains of Bashan are majestic mountains. The mountains of Bashan are rugged. ¹⁶ Why do you look in envy, you rugged mountains, at the mountain where God chooses to reign? Yes, Yahweh will dwell there forever. ¹⁷ The chariots of God are tens of thousands and thousands of thousands.

t home divides the plunder, ¹³ while you sleep among the camp fires, the wings of a dove sheathed with silver, her feathers with shining gold. ¹⁴ When the Almighty scattered kings in her, it snowed on Zalmon. ¹⁵ The mountains of Bashan are majestic mountains. The mountains of Bashan are rugged. ¹⁶ Why do you look in envy, you rugged mountains, at the mountain where God chooses to reign? Yes, Yahweh will dwell there forever. ¹⁷ The chariots of God are tens of thousands and thousands of thousands. The Lord is among them, from Sinai, into the sanctuary. ¹⁸ You have ascended on high. You have led away captives. You have received gifts among people, yes, among the rebellious also, that Yah God might dwell there. ¹⁹ Blessed be the

550 Lord, who daily bears our burdens, even the God who is our salvation. Selah. ²⁰ God is to us a God of deliverance. To Yahweh, the Lord, belongs escape from death. ²¹ But God will strike through the head of his enemies, the hairy scalp of such a one as still continues in his guiltiness. ²² The Lord said, “I will bring you again from Bashan, I will bring you again from the depths of the sea, ²³ that you may crush them, dipping your foot in blood, that the tongues of your dogs may have their portion from your enemies.” ²⁴ They have seen your processions, God, even the processions of my God, my King, into the sanctuary. ²⁵ The singers went before, the minstrels followed after, among the ladies playing with tambourines, ²⁶ “Bless God in the congregations, even the Lord in the assembly of Israel!” ²⁷ There is little Benjamin, their ruler, the princes of Judah, their council, the princes of Zebulun, and the princes of Naphtali. ²⁸ Your God has commanded your strength. Strengthen, God, that which you have done for us. ²⁹ Because of your temple at Jerusalem, kings shall bring presents to you. ³⁰ Rebuke the wild animal of the reeds, the multitude of the bulls with the calves of the peoples. Trample under foot the bars of silver. Scatter the nations who delight in war. ³¹ Princes shall come out of Egypt. Ethiopia shall hurry to stretch out her hands to God. ³² Sing to God, you kingdoms of the earth! Sing praises to the Lord—Selah— ³³ to him who rides on the heaven of heavens, which are of old; behold, he utters his voice, a mighty voice. ³⁴ Ascribe strength to God! His excellency is over Israel, his strength is in the skies. ³⁵ You are awesome, God, in your sanctuaries. The God of Israel gives strength and power to his people. Praise be to God! Psalms Book 2 Chapter 69 ¹ Save me, God, for the waters have come up to my neck! ² I sink in deep mire, where there is no foothold. I have come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me. ³ I am weary with my crying. My throat is dry. My eyes fail looking for my God. ⁴ Those who hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head. Those who want to cut me off, being my enemies wrongfully, are mighty. I have to restore what I didn’t take away. ⁵ God, you know my foolishness. My sins aren’t hidden from you. ⁶ Don’t let those who wait for you be shamed through me, Lord Yahweh of Armies. Don’t let those who seek you be brought to dishonor through me, God of Israel. ⁷ Because for your sake, I have borne reproach. Shame has covered my face. ⁸ I have become a stranger to my brothers, an alien to my mother’s children. ⁹ For the zeal of your house consumes me. The reproaches of those who reproach you have fallen on me. ¹⁰ When I wept and I fasted, that was to my reproach. ¹¹ When I made sackcloth my clothing, I became a byword to them. ¹² Those who sit in the gate talk about me. I am the song of the drunkards. ¹³ But as for me, my prayer is to you, Yahweh, in an acceptable time. God, in the abundance of your loving kindness, answer me in the truth of your salvation. ¹⁴ Deliver me out of the mire, and don’t let me sink. Let me be delivered from those who hate me, and out of the deep waters. ¹⁵ Don’t let the flood waters overwhelm me, neither let the deep swallow me up. Don’t let the pit shut its mouth on me. ¹⁶ Answer me, Yahweh, for your loving kindness is good. According to the multitude of your tender mercies, turn to me. ¹⁷ Don’t hide your face from your servant, for I am in distress. Answer me speedily! ¹⁸ Draw near to my soul and redeem it. Ransom me because of my enemies. ¹⁹ You know my reproach, my shame, and my dishonor. My adversaries are all before you. ²⁰ Reproach has broken my heart, and I am full of heaviness. I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; for comforters, but I found none. ²¹ They also gave me poison for my food. In my thirst, they gave me vinegar to drink. ²² Let their table before them become a snare. May it become a retribution and a trap.

. Answer me speedily! ¹⁸ Draw near to my soul and redeem it. Ransom me because of my enemies. ¹⁹ You know my reproach, my shame, and my dishonor. My adversaries are all before you. ²⁰ Reproach has broken my heart, and I am full of heaviness. I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; for comforters, but I found none. ²¹ They also gave me poison for my food. In my thirst, they gave me vinegar to drink. ²² Let their table before them become a snare. May it become a retribution and a trap. ²³ Let their eyes be darkened, so that they can’t see. Let their backs be continually bent. ²⁴ Pour out your indignation on them. Let the fierceness of your anger overtake them. ²⁵ Let their habitation be desolate. Let no one dwell in their tents. ²⁶ For they persecute him whom you have wounded. They tell of the sorrow of those whom you have hurt. ²⁷ Charge them with crime upon crime. Don’t let them come

551 into your righteousness. ²⁸ Let them be blotted out of the book of life, and not be written with the righteous. ²⁹ But I am in pain and distress. Let your salvation, God, protect me. ³⁰ I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving. ³¹ It will please Yahweh better than an ox, or a bull that has horns and hoofs. ³² The humble have seen it, and are glad. You who seek after God, let your heart live. ³³ For Yahweh hears the needy, and doesn’t despise his captive people. ³⁴ Let heaven and earth praise him; the seas, and everything that moves therein! ³⁵ For God will save Zion, and build the cities of Judah. They shall settle there, and own it. ³⁶ The children also of his servants shall inherit it. Those who love his name shall dwell therein. Psalms Book 2 Chapter 70 ¹ Hurry, God, to deliver me. Come quickly to help me, Yahweh. ² Let them be disappointed and confounded who seek my soul. Let those who desire my ruin be turned back in disgrace. ³ Let them be turned because of their shame who say, “Aha! Aha!” ⁴ Let all those who seek you rejoice and be glad in you. Let those who love your salvation continually say, “Let God be exalted!” ⁵ But I am poor and needy. Come to me quickly, God. You are my help and my deliverer. Yahweh, don’t delay. Psalms Book 2 Chapter 71 1In you, Yahweh, I take refuge. Never let me be disappointed. ² Deliver me in your righteousness, and rescue me. Turn your ear to me, and save me. ³ Be to me a rock of refuge to which I may always go. Give the command to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress. ⁴ Rescue me, my God, from the hand of the wicked, from the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man. ⁵ For you are my hope, Lord Yahweh, my confidence from my youth. ⁶ I have relied on you from the womb. You are he who took me out of my mother’s womb. I will always praise you. ⁷ I am a marvel to many, but you are my strong refuge. ⁸ My mouth shall be filled with your praise, with your honor all day long. ⁹ Don’t reject me in my old age. Don’t forsake me when my strength fails. ¹⁰ For my enemies talk about me. Those who watch for my soul conspire together, ¹¹ saying, “God has forsaken him. Pursue and take him, for no one will rescue him.” ¹² God, don’t be far from me. My God, hurry to help me. ¹³ Let my accusers be disappointed and consumed. Let them be covered with disgrace and scorn who want to harm me. ¹⁴ But I will always hope, and will add to all of your praise. ¹⁵ My mouth will tell about your righteousness, and of your salvation all day, though I don’t know its full measure. ¹⁶ I will come with the mighty acts of the Lord Yahweh. I will make mention of your righteousness, even of yours alone. ¹⁷ God, you have taught me from my youth. Until now, I have declared your wondrous works. ¹⁸ Yes, even when I am old and gray-haired, God, don’t forsake me, until I have declared your strength to the next generation, your might to everyone who is to come. ¹⁹ God, your righteousness also reaches to the heavens. You have done great things. God, who is like you? ²⁰ You, who have shown us many and bitter troubles, you will let me live. You will bring us up again from the depths of the earth. ²¹ Increase my honor and comfort me again. ²² I will also praise you with the harp for your faithfulness, my God. I sing praises to you with the lyre, Holy One of Israel. ²³ My lips shall shout for joy! My soul, which you have redeemed, sings praises to you! ²⁴ My tongue will also talk about your righteousness all day long, for they are disappointed, and they are confounded, who want to harm me. Psalms Book 2 Chapter 72 ¹ God, give the king your justice; your righteousness to the royal son. ² He will judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice. ³ The mountains shall bring prosperity to the people. The hills bring the fruit of righteousness. ⁴ He will judge the poor of the people. He will save the children of the needy, and will break the oppressor in pieces.

out your righteousness all day long, for they are disappointed, and they are confounded, who want to harm me. Psalms Book 2 Chapter 72 ¹ God, give the king your justice; your righteousness to the royal son. ² He will judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice. ³ The mountains shall bring prosperity to the people. The hills bring the fruit of righteousness. ⁴ He will judge the poor of the people. He will save the children of the needy, and will break the oppressor in pieces. ⁵ They shall fear you while the sun endures; and as long as the moon, throughout all generations. ⁶ He will come down like

552 rain on the mown grass, as showers that water the earth. ⁷ In his days, the righteous shall flourish, and abundance of peace, until the moon is no more. ⁸ He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, from the River to the ends of the earth. ⁹ Those who dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him. His enemies shall lick the dust. ¹⁰ The kings of Tarshish and of the islands will bring tribute. The kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts. ¹¹ Yes, all kings shall fall down before him. All nations shall serve him. ¹² For he will deliver the needy when he cries; the poor, who has no helper. ¹³ He will have pity on the poor and needy. He will save the souls of the needy. ¹⁴ He will redeem their soul from oppression and violence. Their blood will be precious in his sight. ¹⁵ He will live; and Sheba’s gold will be given to him. Men will pray for him continually. They will bless him all day long. ¹⁶ Abundance of grain shall be throughout the land. Its fruit sways like Lebanon. Let it flourish, thriving like the grass of the field. ¹⁷ His name endures forever. His name continues as long as the sun. Men shall be blessed by him. All nations will call him blessed. ¹⁸ Praise be to Yahweh God, the God of Israel, who alone does marvelous deeds. ¹⁹ Blessed be his glorious name forever! Let the whole earth be filled with his glory! Amen and amen. ²⁰ This ends the prayers by David, the son of Jesse. Psalms Book 3 Psalms Book 3 Chapter 73 ¹ Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. ² But as for me, my feet were almost gone. My steps had nearly slipped. ³ For I was envious of the arrogant, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. ⁴ For there are no struggles in their death, but their strength is firm. ⁵ They are free from burdens of men, neither are they plagued like other men. ⁶ Therefore pride is like a chain around their neck. Violence covers them like a garment. ⁷ Their eyes bulge with fat. Their minds pass the limits of conceit. ⁸ They scoff and speak with malice. In arrogance, they threaten oppression. ⁹ They have set their mouth in the heavens. Their tongue walks through the earth. ¹⁰ Therefore their people return to them, and they drink up waters of abundance. ¹¹ They say, “How does God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High?” ¹² Behold, these are the wicked. Being always at ease, they increase in riches. ¹³ Surely I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocence, ¹⁴ For all day long I have been plagued, and punished every morning. ¹⁵ If I had said, “I will speak thus”, behold, I would have betrayed the generation of your children. ¹⁶ When I tried to understand this, it was too painful for me— ¹⁷ until I entered God’s sanctuary, and considered their latter end. ¹⁸ Surely you set them in slippery places. You throw them down to destruction. ¹⁹ How they are suddenly destroyed! They are completely swept away with terrors. ²⁰ As a dream when one wakes up, so, Lord, when you awake, you will despise their fantasies. ²¹ For my soul was grieved. I was embittered in my heart. ²² I was so senseless and ignorant. I was a brute beast before you. ²³ Nevertheless, I am continually with you. You have held my right hand. ²⁴ You will guide me with your counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. ²⁵ Whom do I have in heaven? There is no one on earth whom I desire besides you. ²⁶ My flesh and my heart fails, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. ²⁷ For, behold, those who are far from you shall perish. You have destroyed all those who are unfaithful to you. ²⁸ But it is good for me to come close to God. I have made the Lord Yahweh my refuge, that I may tell of all your works. Psalms Book 3 Chapter 74 ¹ God, why have you rejected us forever? Why does your anger smolder against the sheep of your pasture? ² Remember your congregation, which you purchased of old, which you have redeemed to be the tribe of your inheritance: Mount Zion, in which you have lived.

ose who are far from you shall perish. You have destroyed all those who are unfaithful to you. ²⁸ But it is good for me to come close to God. I have made the Lord Yahweh my refuge, that I may tell of all your works. Psalms Book 3 Chapter 74 ¹ God, why have you rejected us forever? Why does your anger smolder against the sheep of your pasture? ² Remember your congregation, which you purchased of old, which you have redeemed to be the tribe of your inheritance: Mount Zion, in which you have lived. ³ Lift up your feet to the perpetual ruins, all the evil that the enemy has done in the sanctuary. ⁴ Your adversaries have

553 roared in the middle of your assembly. They have set up their standards as signs. ⁵ They behaved like men wielding axes, cutting through a thicket of trees. ⁶ Now they break all its carved work down with hatchet and hammers. ⁷ They have burned your sanctuary to the ground. They have profaned the dwelling place of your Name. ⁸ They said in their heart, “We will crush them completely.” They have burned up all the places in the land where God was worshiped. ⁹ We see no miraculous signs. There is no longer any prophet, neither is there among us anyone who knows how long. ¹⁰ How long, God, shall the adversary reproach? Shall the enemy blaspheme your name forever? ¹¹ Why do you draw back your hand, even your right hand? Take it from your chest and consume them! ¹² Yet God is my King of old, working salvation throughout the earth. ¹³ You divided the sea by your strength. You broke the heads of the sea monsters in the waters. ¹⁴ You broke the heads of Leviathan in pieces. You gave him as food to people and desert creatures. ¹⁵ You opened up spring and stream. You dried up mighty rivers. ¹⁶ The day is yours, the night is also yours. You have prepared the light and the sun. ¹⁷ You have set all the boundaries of the earth. You have made summer and winter. ¹⁸ Remember this, that the enemy has mocked you, Yahweh. Foolish people have blasphemed your name. ¹⁹ Don’t deliver the soul of your dove to wild beasts. Don’t forget the life of your poor forever. ²⁰ Honor your covenant, for haunts of violence fill the dark places of the earth. ²¹ Don’t let the oppressed return ashamed. Let the poor and needy praise your name. ²² Arise, God! Plead your own cause. Remember how the foolish man mocks you all day. ²³ Don’t forget the voice of your adversaries. The tumult of those who rise up against you ascends continually. Psalms Book 3 Chapter 75 ¹ We give thanks to you, God. We give thanks, for your Name is near. Men tell about your wondrous works. ² When I choose the appointed time, I will judge blamelessly. ³ The earth and all its inhabitants quake. I firmly hold its pillars. Selah. ⁴ I said to the arrogant, “Don’t boast!” I said to the wicked, “Don’t lift up the horn. ⁵ Don’t lift up your horn on high. Don’t speak with a stiff neck.” ⁶ For neither from the east, nor from the west, nor yet from the south, comes exaltation. ⁷ But God is the judge. He puts down one, and lifts up another. ⁸ For in Yahweh’s hand there is a cup, full of foaming wine mixed with spices. He pours it out. Indeed the wicked of the earth drink and drink it to its very dregs. ⁹ But I will declare this forever: I will sing praises to the God of Jacob. ¹⁰ I will cut off all the horns of the wicked, but the horns of the righteous shall be lifted up. Psalms Book 3 Chapter 76 ¹ In Judah, God is known. His name is great in Israel. ² His tabernacle is also in Salem. His dwelling place in Zion. ³ There he broke the flaming arrows of the bow, the shield, and the sword, and the weapons of war. Selah. ⁴ Glorious are you, and excellent, more than mountains of game. ⁵ Valiant men lie plundered, they have slept their last sleep. None of the men of war can lift their hands. ⁶ At your rebuke, God of Jacob, both chariot and horse are cast into a dead sleep. ⁷ You, even you, are to be feared. Who can stand in your sight when you are angry? ⁸ You pronounced judgment from heaven. The earth feared, and was silent, ⁹ when God arose to judgment, to save all the afflicted ones of the earth. Selah. ¹⁰ Surely the wrath of man praises you. The survivors of your wrath are restrained. ¹¹ Make vows to Yahweh your God, and fulfill them! Let all of his neighbors bring presents to him who is to be feared. ¹² He will cut off the spirit of princes. He is feared by the kings of the earth. Psalms Book 3 Chapter 77 1 My cry goes to God! Indeed, I cry to God for help, and for him to listen to me. ² In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord. My hand was stretched out in the night, and didn’t get tired. My soul

554 refused to be comforted. ³ I remember God, and I groan. I complain, and my spirit is overwhelmed. Selah. ⁴ You hold my eyelids open. I am so troubled that I can’t speak. ⁵ I have considered the days of old, the years of ancient times. ⁶ I remember my song in the night. I consider in my own heart; my spirit diligently inquires: ⁷“Will the Lord reject us forever? Will he be favorable no more? ⁸ Has his loving kindness vanished forever? Does his promise fail for generations? ⁹ Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has he, in anger, withheld his compassion?” Selah. ¹⁰ Then I thought, “I will appeal to this: the years of the right hand of the Most High.” ¹¹ I will remember Yah’s deeds; for I will remember your wonders of old. ¹² I will also meditate on all your work, and consider your doings. ¹³ Your way, God, is in the sanctuary. What god is great like God? ¹⁴ You are the God who does wonders. You have made your strength known among the peoples. ¹⁵ You have redeemed your people with your arm, the sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah. ¹⁶ The waters saw you, God. The waters saw you, and they writhed. The depths also convulsed. ¹⁷ The clouds poured out water. The skies resounded with thunder. Your arrows also flashed around. ¹⁸ The voice of your thunder was in the whirlwind. The lightnings lit up the world. The earth trembled and shook. ¹⁹ Your way was through the sea, your paths through the great waters. Your footsteps were not known. ²⁰ You led your people like a flock, by the hand of Moses and Aaron. Psalms Book 3 Chapter 78 ¹ Hear my teaching, my people. Turn your ears to the words of my mouth. ² I will open my mouth in a parable. I will utter dark sayings of old, ³ which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us. ⁴ We will not hide them from their children, telling to the generation to come the praises of Yahweh, his strength, and his wondrous deeds that he has done. ⁵ For he established a covenant in Jacob, and appointed a teaching in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children; ⁶ that the generation to come might know, even the children who should be born; who should arise and tell their children, ⁷ that they might set their hope in God, and not forget God’s deeds, but keep his commandments, ⁸ and might not be as their fathers— a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation that didn’t make their hearts loyal, whose spirit was not steadfast with God. ⁹ The children of Ephraim, being armed and carrying bows, turned back in the day of battle. ¹⁰ They didn’t keep God’s covenant, and refused to walk in his law. ¹¹ They forgot his doings, his wondrous deeds that he had shown them. ¹² He did marvelous things in the sight of their fathers, in the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan. ¹³ He split the sea, and caused them to pass through. He made the waters stand as a heap. ¹⁴ In the daytime he also led them with a cloud, and all night with a light of fire. ¹⁵ He split rocks in the wilderness, and gave them drink abundantly as out of the depths. ¹⁶ He brought streams also out of the rock, and caused waters to run down like rivers. ¹⁷ Yet they still went on to sin against him, to rebel against the Most High in the desert. ¹⁸ They tempted God in their heart by asking food according to their desire. ¹⁹ Yes, they spoke against God. They said, “Can God prepare a table in the wilderness? ²⁰ Behold, he struck the rock, so that waters gushed out, and streams overflowed. Can he give bread also? Will he provide meat for his people?” ²¹ Therefore Yahweh heard, and was angry. A fire was kindled against Jacob, anger also went up against Israel, ²² because they didn’t believe in God, and didn’t trust in his salvation. ²³ Yet he commanded the skies above, and opened the doors of heaven. ²⁴ He rained down manna on them to eat, and gave them food from the sky. ²⁵ Man ate the bread of angels. He sent them food to the full. ²⁶ He caused the east wind to blow in the sky.

. Can he give bread also? Will he provide meat for his people?” ²¹ Therefore Yahweh heard, and was angry. A fire was kindled against Jacob, anger also went up against Israel, ²² because they didn’t believe in God, and didn’t trust in his salvation. ²³ Yet he commanded the skies above, and opened the doors of heaven. ²⁴ He rained down manna on them to eat, and gave them food from the sky. ²⁵ Man ate the bread of angels. He sent them food to the full. ²⁶ He caused the east wind to blow in the sky. By his power he guided the south wind. ²⁷ He also rained meat on them as the dust, winged birds as the sand of the seas. ²⁸ He let them fall in the middle of their camp, around their habitations. ²⁹ So they ate, and were well filled. He gave them their own desire. ³⁰ They didn’t turn from their cravings. Their food was yet in their mouths, ³¹ when the anger of God went up against them, killed some of their strongest, and struck down the young men of Israel. ³² For all

555 this they still sinned, and didn’t believe in his wondrous works. ³³ Therefore he consumed their days in vanity, and their years in terror. ³⁴ When he killed them, then they inquired after him. They returned and sought God earnestly. ³⁵ They remembered that God was their rock, the Most High God, their redeemer. ³⁶ But they flattered him with their mouth, and lied to him with their tongue. ³⁷ For their heart was not right with him, neither were they faithful in his covenant. ³⁸ But he, being merciful, forgave iniquity, and didn’t destroy them. Yes, many times he turned his anger away, and didn’t stir up all his wrath. ³⁹ He remembered that they were but flesh, a wind that passes away, and doesn’t come again. ⁴⁰ How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness, and grieved him in the desert! ⁴¹ They turned again and tempted God, and provoked the Holy One of Israel. ⁴² They didn’t remember his hand, nor the day when he redeemed them from the adversary; ⁴³ how he set his signs in Egypt, his wonders in the field of Zoan, ⁴⁴ he turned their rivers into blood, and their streams, so that they could not drink. ⁴⁵ He sent among them swarms of flies, which devoured them; and frogs, which destroyed them. ⁴⁶ He also gave their increase to the caterpillar, and their labor to the locust. ⁴⁷ He destroyed their vines with hail, their sycamore fig trees with frost. ⁴⁸ He also gave over their livestock to the hail, and their flocks to hot thunderbolts. ⁴⁹ He threw on them the fierceness of his anger, wrath, indignation, and trouble, and a band of angels of evil. ⁵⁰ He made a path for his anger. He didn’t spare their soul from death, but gave their life over to the pestilence, ⁵¹ and struck all the firstborn in Egypt, the chief of their strength in the tents of Ham. ⁵² But he led out his own people like sheep, and guided them in the wilderness like a flock. ⁵³ He led them safely, so that they weren’t afraid, but the sea overwhelmed their enemies. ⁵⁴ He brought them to the border of his sanctuary, to this mountain, which his right hand had taken. ⁵⁵ He also drove out the nations before them, allotted them for an inheritance by line, and made the tribes of Israel to dwell in their tents. ⁵⁶ Yet they tempted and rebelled against the Most High God, and didn’t keep his testimonies, ⁵⁷ but turned back, and dealt treacherously like their fathers. They were twisted like a deceitful bow. ⁵⁸ For they provoked him to anger with their high places, and moved him to jealousy with their engraved images. ⁵⁹ When God heard this, he was angry, and greatly abhorred Israel, ⁶⁰ so that he abandoned the tent of Shiloh, the tent which he placed among men, ⁶¹ and delivered his strength into captivity, his glory into the adversary’s hand. ⁶² He also gave his people over to the sword, and was angry with his inheritance. ⁶³ Fire devoured their young men. Their virgins had no wedding song. ⁶⁴ Their priests fell by the sword, and their widows couldn’t weep. ⁶⁵ Then the Lord awakened as one out of sleep, like a mighty man who shouts by reason of wine. ⁶⁶ He struck his adversaries backward. He put them to a perpetual reproach. ⁶⁷ Moreover he rejected the tent of Joseph, and didn’t choose the tribe of Ephraim, ⁶⁸ But chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion which he loved. ⁶⁹ He built his sanctuary like the heights, like the earth which he has established forever. ⁷⁰ He also chose David his servant, and took him from the sheepfolds; ⁷¹ from following the ewes that have their young, he brought him to be the shepherd of Jacob, his people, and Israel, his inheritance. ⁷² So he was their shepherd according to the integrity of his heart, and guided them by the skillfulness of his hands. Psalms Book 3 Chapter 79 ¹ God, the nations have come into your inheritance. They have defiled your holy temple. They have laid Jerusalem in heaps. ² They have given the dead bodies of your servants to be food for the birds of the sky, the flesh of your saints to the animals of the earth.

young, he brought him to be the shepherd of Jacob, his people, and Israel, his inheritance. ⁷² So he was their shepherd according to the integrity of his heart, and guided them by the skillfulness of his hands. Psalms Book 3 Chapter 79 ¹ God, the nations have come into your inheritance. They have defiled your holy temple. They have laid Jerusalem in heaps. ² They have given the dead bodies of your servants to be food for the birds of the sky, the flesh of your saints to the animals of the earth. ³ They have shed their blood like water around Jerusalem. There was no one to bury them. ⁴ We have become a reproach to our neighbors, a scoffing and derision to those who are around us. ⁵ How long, Yahweh? Will you be angry forever? Will your jealousy burn like fire? ⁶ Pour out your wrath on the nations that don’t know you, on the kingdoms that don’t call on your name, ⁷ for they have devoured Jacob, and destroyed his homeland. ⁸ Don’t hold the iniquities of our forefathers against us. Let your tender

556 mercies speedily meet us, for we are in desperate need. ⁹ Help us, God of our salvation, for the glory of your name. Deliver us, and forgive our sins, for your name’s sake. ¹⁰ Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?” Let it be known among the nations, before our eyes, that vengeance for your servants’ blood is being poured out. ¹¹ Let the sighing of the prisoner come before you. According to the greatness of your power, preserve those who are sentenced to death. ¹² Pay back to our neighbors seven times into their bosom their reproach with which they have reproached you, Lord. ¹³ So we, your people and sheep of your pasture, will give you thanks forever. We will praise you forever, to all generations. Psalms Book 3 Chapter 80 ¹ Hear us, Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock, you who sit above the cherubim, shine out. ² Before Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh, stir up your might! Come to save us! ³ Turn us again, God. Cause your face to shine, and we will be saved. ⁴ Yahweh God of Armies, how long will you be angry against the prayer of your people? ⁵ You have fed them with the bread of tears, and given them tears to drink in large measure. ⁶ You make us a source of contention to our neighbors. Our enemies laugh among themselves. ⁷ Turn us again, God of Armies. Cause your face to shine, and we will be saved. ⁸ You brought a vine out of Egypt. You drove out the nations, and planted it. ⁹ You cleared the ground for it. It took deep root, and filled the land. ¹⁰ The mountains were covered with its shadow. Its boughs were like God’s cedars. ¹¹ It sent out its branches to the sea, its shoots to the River. ¹² Why have you broken down its walls, so that all those who pass by the way pluck it? ¹³ The boar out of the wood ravages it. The wild animals of the field feed on it. ¹⁴ Turn again, we beg you, God of Armies. Look down from heaven, and see, and visit this vine, ¹⁵ the stock which your right hand planted, the branch that you made strong for yourself. ¹⁶ It’s burned with fire. It’s cut down. They perish at your rebuke. ¹⁷ Let your hand be on the man of your right hand, on the son of man whom you made strong for yourself. ¹⁸ So we will not turn away from you. Revive us, and we will call on your name. ¹⁹ Turn us again, Yahweh God of Armies. Cause your face to shine, and we will be saved. Psalms Book 3 Chapter 81 ¹ Sing aloud to God, our strength! Make a joyful shout to the God of Jacob! ² Raise a song, and bring here the tambourine, the pleasant lyre with the harp. ³ Blow the trumpet at the New Moon, at the full moon, on our feast day. ⁴ For it is a statute for Israel, an ordinance of the God of Jacob. ⁵ He appointed it in Joseph for a covenant, when he went out over the land of Egypt, I heard a language that I didn’t know. ⁶“I removed his shoulder from the burden. His hands were freed from the basket. ⁷ You called in trouble, and I delivered you. I answered you in the secret place of thunder. I tested you at the waters of Meribah.” Selah. ⁸“Hear, my people, and I will testify to you, Israel, if you would listen to me! ⁹ There shall be no strange god in you, neither shall you worship any foreign god. ¹⁰ I am Yahweh, your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it. ¹¹ But my people didn’t listen to my voice. Israel desired none of me. ¹² So I let them go after the stubbornness of their hearts, that they might walk in their own counsels. ¹³ Oh that my people would listen to me, that Israel would walk in my ways! ¹⁴ I would soon subdue their enemies, and turn my hand against their adversaries. ¹⁵ The haters of Yahweh would cringe before him, and their punishment would last forever. ¹⁶ But he would have also fed them with the finest of the wheat. I will satisfy you with honey out of the rock.” Psalms Book 3 Chapter 82 ¹ God presides in the great assembly. He judges among the gods. ²“How long will you judge unjustly, and show partiality to the wicked?” Selah.

isten to me, that Israel would walk in my ways! ¹⁴ I would soon subdue their enemies, and turn my hand against their adversaries. ¹⁵ The haters of Yahweh would cringe before him, and their punishment would last forever. ¹⁶ But he would have also fed them with the finest of the wheat. I will satisfy you with honey out of the rock.” Psalms Book 3 Chapter 82 ¹ God presides in the great assembly. He judges among the gods. ²“How long will you judge unjustly, and show partiality to the wicked?” Selah. ³“Defend the weak, the poor, and the

557 fatherless. Maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. ⁴ Rescue the weak and needy. Deliver them out of the hand of the wicked.” ⁵ They don’t know, neither do they understand. They walk back and forth in darkness. All the foundations of the earth are shaken. ⁶ I said, “You are gods, all of you are sons of the Most High. ⁷ Nevertheless you shall die like men, and fall like one of the rulers.” ⁸ Arise, God, judge the earth, for you inherit all of the nations. Psalms Book 3 Chapter 83 ¹ God, don’t keep silent. Don’t keep silent, and don’t be still, God. ² For, behold, your enemies are stirred up. Those who hate you have lifted up their heads. ³ They conspire with cunning against your people. They plot against your cherished ones. ⁴“Come,” they say, “let’s destroy them as a nation, that the name of Israel may be remembered no more.” ⁵ For they have conspired together with one mind. They form an alliance against you. ⁶ The tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites; Moab, and the Hagrites; ⁷ Gebal, Ammon, and Amalek; Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre; ⁸ Assyria also is joined with them. They have helped the children of Lot. Selah. ⁹ Do to them as you did to Midian, as to Sisera, as to Jabin, at the river Kishon; ¹⁰ who perished at Endor, who became as dung for the earth. ¹¹ Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb, yes, all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna, ¹² who said, “Let’s take possession of God’s pasture lands.” ¹³ My God, make them like tumbleweed, like chaff before the wind. ¹⁴ As the fire that burns the forest, as the flame that sets the mountains on fire, ¹⁵ so pursue them with your tempest, and terrify them with your storm. ¹⁶ Fill their faces with confusion, that they may seek your name, Yahweh. ¹⁷ Let them be disappointed and dismayed forever. Yes, let them be confounded and perish; ¹⁸ that they may know that you alone, whose name is Yahweh, are the Most High over all the earth. Psalms Book 3 Chapter 84 ¹ How lovely are your dwellings, Yahweh of Armies! ² My soul longs, and even faints for the courts of Yahweh. My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. ³ Yes, the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young, near your altars, Yahweh of Armies, my King, and my God. ⁴ Blessed are those who dwell in your house. They are always praising you. Selah. ⁵ Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on a pilgrimage. ⁶ Passing through the valley of Weeping, they make it a place of springs. Yes, the autumn rain covers it with blessings. ⁷ They go from strength to strength. Every one of them appears before God in Zion. ⁸ Yahweh, God of Armies, hear my prayer. Listen, God of Jacob. Selah. ⁹ Behold, God our shield, look at the face of your anointed. ¹⁰ For a day in your courts is better than a thousand. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness. ¹¹ For Yahweh God is a sun and a shield. Yahweh will give grace and glory. He withholds no good thing from those who walk blamelessly. ¹² Yahweh of Armies, blessed is the man who trusts in you. Psalms Book 3 Chapter 85 ¹ Yahweh, you have been favorable to your land. You have restored the fortunes of Jacob. ² You have forgiven the iniquity of your people. You have covered all their sin. Selah. ³ You have taken away all your wrath. You have turned from the fierceness of your anger. ⁴ Turn us, God of our salvation, and cause your indignation toward us to cease. ⁵ Will you be angry with us forever? Will you draw out your anger to all generations? ⁶ Won’t you revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you? ⁷ Show us your loving kindness, Yahweh. Grant us your salvation. ⁸ I will hear what God, Yahweh, will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, his saints; but let them not turn again to folly. ⁹ Surely his salvation is near those who fear him, that glory may dwell in our land. ¹⁰ Mercy and truth meet together.

indignation toward us to cease. ⁵ Will you be angry with us forever? Will you draw out your anger to all generations? ⁶ Won’t you revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you? ⁷ Show us your loving kindness, Yahweh. Grant us your salvation. ⁸ I will hear what God, Yahweh, will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, his saints; but let them not turn again to folly. ⁹ Surely his salvation is near those who fear him, that glory may dwell in our land. ¹⁰ Mercy and truth meet together. Righteousness and peace have kissed each other. ¹¹ Truth

558 springs out of the earth. Righteousness has looked down from heaven. ¹² Yes, Yahweh will give that which is good. Our land will yield its increase. ¹³ Righteousness goes before him, and prepares the way for his steps. Psalms Book 3 Chapter 86 ¹ Hear, Yahweh, and answer me, for I am poor and needy. ² Preserve my soul, for I am godly. You, my God, save your servant who trusts in you. ³ Be merciful to me, Lord, for I call to you all day long. ⁴ Bring joy to the soul of your servant, for to you, Lord, do I lift up my soul. ⁵ For you, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, abundant in loving kindness to all those who call on you. ⁶ Hear, Yahweh, my prayer. Listen to the voice of my petitions. ⁷ In the day of my trouble I will call on you, for you will answer me. ⁸ There is no one like you among the gods, Lord, nor any deeds like your deeds. ⁹ All nations you have made will come and worship before you, Lord. They shall glorify your name. ¹⁰ For you are great, and do wondrous things. You are God alone. ¹¹ Teach me your way, Yahweh. I will walk in your truth. Make my heart undivided to fear your name. ¹² I will praise you, Lord my God, with my whole heart. I will glorify your name forever more. ¹³ For your loving kindness is great toward me. You have delivered my soul from the lowest Sheol. ¹⁴ God, the proud have risen up against me. A company of violent men have sought after my soul, and they don’t hold regard for you before them. ¹⁵ But you, Lord, are a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness and truth. ¹⁶ Turn to me, and have mercy on me! Give your strength to your servant. Save the son of your servant. ¹⁷ Show me a sign of your goodness, that those who hate me may see it, and be shamed, because you, Yahweh, have helped me, and comforted me. Psalms Book 3 Chapter 87 ¹ His foundation is in the holy mountains. ² Yahweh loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob. ³ Glorious things are spoken about you, city of God. Selah. ⁴ I will record Rahab and Babylon among those who acknowledge me. Behold, Philistia, Tyre, and also Ethiopia: “This one was born there.” ⁵ Yes, of Zion it will be said, “This one and that one was born in her;” the Most High himself will establish her. ⁶ Yahweh will count, when he writes up the peoples, “This one was born there.” Selah. ⁷ Those who sing as well as those who dance say, “All my springs are in you.” Psalms Book 3 Chapter 88 ¹ Yahweh, the God of my salvation, I have cried day and night before you. ² Let my prayer enter into your presence. Turn your ear to my cry. ³ For my soul is full of troubles. My life draws near to Sheol. ⁴ I am counted among those who go down into the pit. I am like a man who has no help, ⁵ set apart among the dead, like the slain who lie in the grave, whom you remember no more. They are cut off from your hand. ⁶ You have laid me in the lowest pit, in the darkest depths. ⁷ Your wrath lies heavily on me. You have afflicted me with all your waves. Selah. ⁸ You have taken my friends from me. You have made me an abomination to them. I am confined, and I can’t escape. ⁹ My eyes are dim from grief. I have called on you daily, Yahweh. I have spread out my hands to you. ¹⁰ Do you show wonders to the dead? Do the departed spirits rise up and praise you? Selah. ¹¹ Is your loving kindness declared in the grave? Or your faithfulness in Destruction? ¹² Are your wonders made known in the dark? Or your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness? ¹³ But to you, Yahweh, I have cried. In the morning, my prayer comes before you. ¹⁴ Yahweh, why do you reject my soul? Why do you hide your face from me? ¹⁵ I am afflicted and ready to die from my youth up. While I suffer your terrors, I am distracted. ¹⁶ Your fierce wrath has gone over me. Your terrors have cut me off. ¹⁷ They came around me like water all day long. They completely engulfed me. ¹⁸

559 You have put lover and friend far from me, and my friends into darkness. Psalms Book 3 Chapter 89 ¹ I will sing of the loving kindness of Yahweh forever. With my mouth, I will make known your faithfulness to all generations. ² I indeed declare, “Love stands firm forever. You established the heavens. Your faithfulness is in them.” ³“I have made a covenant with my chosen one, I have sworn to David, my servant, ⁴‘I will establish your offspring forever, and build up your throne to all generations.’” Selah. ⁵ The heavens will praise your wonders, Yahweh, your faithfulness also in the assembly of the holy ones. ⁶ For who in the skies can be compared to Yahweh? Who among the sons of the heavenly beings is like Yahweh, ⁷ a very awesome God in the council of the holy ones, to be feared above all those who are around him? ⁸ Yahweh, God of Armies, who is a mighty one, like you? Yah, your faithfulness is around you. ⁹ You rule the pride of the sea. When its waves rise up, you calm them. ¹⁰ You have broken Rahab in pieces, like one of the slain. You have scattered your enemies with your mighty arm. ¹¹ The heavens are yours. The earth also is yours, the world and its fullness. You have founded them. ¹² You have created the north and the south. Tabor and Hermon rejoice in your name. ¹³ You have a mighty arm. Your hand is strong, and your right hand is exalted. ¹⁴ Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne. Loving kindness and truth go before your face. ¹⁵ Blessed are the people who learn to acclaim you. They walk in the light of your presence, Yahweh. ¹⁶ In your name they rejoice all day. In your righteousness, they are exalted. ¹⁷ For you are the glory of their strength. In your favor, our horn will be exalted. ¹⁸ For our shield belongs to Yahweh, our king to the Holy One of Israel. ¹⁹ Then you spoke in vision to your saints, and said, “I have given strength to the warrior. I have exalted a young man from the people. ²⁰ I have found David, my servant. I have anointed him with my holy oil, ²¹ with whom my hand shall be established. My arm will also strengthen him. ²² No enemy will tax him. No wicked man will oppress him. ²³ I will beat down his adversaries before him, and strike those who hate him. ²⁴ But my faithfulness and my loving kindness will be with him. In my name, his horn will be exalted. ²⁵ I will set his hand also on the sea, and his right hand on the rivers. ²⁶ He will call to me, ‘You are my Father, my God, and the rock of my salvation!’ ²⁷ I will also appoint him my firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth. ²⁸ I will keep my loving kindness for him forever more. My covenant will stand firm with him. ²⁹ I will also make his offspring endure forever, and his throne as the days of heaven. ³⁰ If his children forsake my law, and don’t walk in my ordinances; ³¹ if they break my statutes, and don’t keep my commandments; ³² then I will punish their sin with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes. ³³ But I will not completely take my loving kindness from him, nor allow my faithfulness to fail. ³⁴ I will not break my covenant, nor alter what my lips have uttered. ³⁵ Once I have sworn by my holiness, I will not lie to David. ³⁶ His offspring will endure forever, his throne like the sun before me. ³⁷ It will be established forever like the moon, the faithful witness in the sky.” Selah. ³⁸ But you have rejected and spurned. You have been angry with your anointed. ³⁹ You have renounced the covenant of your servant. You have defiled his crown in the dust. ⁴⁰ You have broken down all his hedges. You have brought his strongholds to ruin. ⁴¹ All who pass by the way rob him. He has become a reproach to his neighbors. ⁴² You have exalted the right hand of his adversaries. You have made all of his enemies rejoice. ⁴³ Yes, you turn back the edge of his sword, and haven’t supported him in battle. ⁴⁴ You have ended his splendor, and thrown his throne down to the ground. ⁴⁵ You have shortened the days of his youth.

. You have defiled his crown in the dust. ⁴⁰ You have broken down all his hedges. You have brought his strongholds to ruin. ⁴¹ All who pass by the way rob him. He has become a reproach to his neighbors. ⁴² You have exalted the right hand of his adversaries. You have made all of his enemies rejoice. ⁴³ Yes, you turn back the edge of his sword, and haven’t supported him in battle. ⁴⁴ You have ended his splendor, and thrown his throne down to the ground. ⁴⁵ You have shortened the days of his youth. You have covered him with shame. Selah. ⁴⁶ How long, Yahweh? Will you hide yourself forever? Will your wrath burn like fire? ⁴⁷ Remember how short my time is, for what vanity you have created all the children of men! ⁴⁸ What man is he who shall live and not see death, who shall deliver his soul from the power of Sheol? Selah. ⁴⁹ Lord, where are your former loving kindnesses, which you swore to David in your faithfulness? ⁵⁰ Remember, Lord, the

560 reproach of your servants, how I bear in my heart the taunts of all the mighty peoples, ⁵¹ With which your enemies have mocked, Yahweh, with which they have mocked the footsteps of your anointed one. ⁵² Blessed be Yahweh forever more. Amen, and Amen. Psalms Book 4 Psalms Book 4 Chapter 90 ¹ Lord, you have been our dwelling place for all generations. ² Before the mountains were born, before you had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, you are God. ³ You turn man to destruction, saying, “Return, you children of men.” ⁴ For a thousand years in your sight are just like yesterday when it is past, like a watch in the night. ⁵ You sweep them away as they sleep. In the morning they sprout like new grass. ⁶ In the morning it sprouts and springs up. By evening, it is withered and dry. ⁷ For we are consumed in your anger. We are troubled in your wrath. ⁸ You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence. ⁹ For all our days have passed away in your wrath. We bring our years to an end as a sigh. ¹⁰ The days of our years are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty years; yet their pride is but labor and sorrow, for it passes quickly, and we fly away. ¹¹ Who knows the power of your anger, your wrath according to the fear that is due to you? ¹² So teach us to count our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. ¹³ Relent, Yahweh! How long? Have compassion on your servants! ¹⁴ Satisfy us in the morning with your loving kindness, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. ¹⁵ Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us, for as many years as we have seen evil. ¹⁶ Let your work appear to your servants, your glory to their children. ¹⁷ Let the favor of the Lord our God be on us. Establish the work of our hands for us. Yes, establish the work of our hands. Psalms Book 4 Chapter 91 ¹ He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. ² I will say of Yahweh, “He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in whom I trust.” ³ For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler, and from the deadly pestilence. ⁴ He will cover you with his feathers. Under his wings you will take refuge. His faithfulness is your shield and rampart. ⁵ You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day, ⁶ nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that wastes at noonday. ⁷ A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it will not come near you. ⁸ You will only look with your eyes, and see the recompense of the wicked. ⁹ Because you have made Yahweh your refuge, and the Most High your dwelling place, ¹⁰ no evil shall happen to you, neither shall any plague come near your dwelling. ¹¹ For he will put his angels in charge of you, to guard you in all your ways. ¹² They will bear you up in their hands, so that you won’t dash your foot against a stone. ¹³ You will tread on the lion and cobra. You will trample the young lion and the serpent underfoot. ¹⁴ “Because he has set his love on me, therefore I will deliver him. I will set him on high, because he has known my name. ¹⁵ He will call on me, and I will answer him. I will be with him in trouble. I will deliver him, and honor him. ¹⁶ I will satisfy him with long life, and show him my salvation.” Psalms Book 4 Chapter 92 ¹ It is a good thing to give thanks to Yahweh, to sing praises to your name, Most High, ² to proclaim your loving kindness in the morning, and your faithfulness every night, ³ with the ten-stringed lute, with the harp, and with the melody of the lyre. ⁴ For you, Yahweh, have made me glad through your work. I will triumph in the works of your hands. ⁵ How great are your works, Yahweh! Your thoughts are very deep. ⁶ A senseless man doesn’t know, neither does a fool understand this: ⁷ though the wicked spring up as the grass, and all the evildoers flourish, they will be destroyed

561 forever. ⁸ But you, Yahweh, are on high forever more. ⁹ For behold, your enemies, Yahweh, for behold, your enemies shall perish. All the evildoers will be scattered. ¹⁰ But you have exalted my horn like that of the wild ox. I am anointed with fresh oil. Psalms Book 4 Chapter 93 ¹ Yahweh reigns! He is clothed with majesty! Yahweh is armed with strength. The world also is established. It can’t be moved. ² Your throne is established from long ago. You are from everlasting. ³ The floods have lifted up, Yahweh, the floods have lifted up their voice. The floods lift up their waves. ⁴ Above the voices of many waters, the mighty breakers of the sea, Yahweh on high is mighty. ⁵ Your statutes stand firm. Holiness adorns your house, Yahweh, forever more. Psalms Book 4 Chapter 94 ¹ Yahweh, you God to whom vengeance belongs, you God to whom vengeance belongs, shine out. ² Rise up, you judge of the earth. Pay back the proud what they deserve. ³ Yahweh, how long will the wicked, how long will the wicked triumph? ⁴ They pour out arrogant words. All the evildoers boast. ⁵ They break your people in pieces, Yahweh, and afflict your heritage. ⁶ They kill the widow and the alien, and murder the fatherless. ⁷ They say, “Yah will not see, neither will Jacob’s God consider.” ⁸ Consider, you senseless among the people; you fools, when will you be wise? ⁹ He who implanted the ear, won’t he hear? He who formed the eye, won’t he see? ¹⁰ He who disciplines the nations, won’t he punish? He who teaches man knows. ¹¹ Yahweh knows the thoughts of man, that they are futile. ¹² Blessed is the man whom you discipline, Yah, and teach out of your law, ¹³ that you may give him rest from the days of adversity, until the pit is dug for the wicked. ¹⁴ For Yahweh won’t reject his people, neither will he forsake his inheritance. ¹⁵ For judgment will return to righteousness. All the upright in heart shall follow it. ¹⁶ Who will rise up for me against the wicked? Who will stand up for me against the evildoers? ¹⁷ Unless Yahweh had been my help, my soul would have soon lived in silence. ¹⁸ When I said, “My foot is slipping!” Your loving kindness, Yahweh, held me up. ¹⁹ In the multitude of my thoughts within me, your comforts delight my soul. ²⁰ Shall the throne of wickedness have fellowship with you, which brings about mischief by statute? ²¹ They gather themselves together against the soul of the righteous, and condemn the innocent blood. ²² But Yahweh has been my high tower, my God, the rock of my refuge. ²³ He has brought on them their own iniquity, and will cut them off in their own wickedness. Yahweh, our God, will cut them off. Psalms Book 4 Chapter 95 ¹ Oh come, let’s sing to Yahweh. Let’s shout aloud to the rock of our salvation! ² Let’s come before his presence with thanksgiving. Let’s extol him with songs! ³ For Yahweh is a great God, a great King above all gods. ⁴ In his hand are the deep places of the earth. The heights of the mountains are also his. ⁵ The sea is his, and he made it. His hands formed the dry land. ⁶ Oh come, let’s worship and bow down. Let’s kneel before Yahweh, our Maker, ⁷ for he is our God. We are the people of his pasture, and the sheep in his care. Today, oh that you would hear his voice! ⁸ Don’t harden your heart, as at Meribah, as in the day of Massah in the wilderness, ⁹ when your fathers tempted me, tested me, and saw my work. ¹⁰ Forty long years I was grieved with that generation, and said, “They are a people who err in their heart. They have not known my ways.” ¹¹ Therefore I swore in my wrath, “They won’t enter into my rest.” Psalms Book 4 Chapter 96 ¹ Sing to Yahweh a new song! Sing to Yahweh, all the earth. ² Sing to Yahweh! Bless his name! Proclaim his salvation from day to day! ³ Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works

562 among all the peoples. ⁴ For Yahweh is great, and greatly to be praised! He is to be feared above all gods. ⁵ For all the gods of the peoples are idols, but Yahweh made the heavens. ⁶ Honor and majesty are before him. Strength and beauty are in his sanctuary. ⁷ Ascribe to Yahweh, you families of nations, ascribe to Yahweh glory and strength. ⁸ Ascribe to Yahweh the glory due to his name. Bring an offering, and come into his courts. ⁹ Worship Yahweh in holy array. Tremble before him, all the earth. ¹⁰ Say among the nations, “Yahweh reigns.” The world is also established. It can’t be moved. He will judge the peoples with equity. ¹¹ Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice. Let the sea roar, and its fullness! ¹² Let the field and all that is in it exult! Then all the trees of the woods shall sing for joy ¹³ before Yahweh; for he comes, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness, the peoples with his truth. Psalms Book 4 Chapter 97 ¹ Yahweh reigns! Let the earth rejoice! Let the multitude of islands be glad! ² Clouds and darkness are around him. Righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne. ³ A fire goes before him, and burns up his adversaries on every side. ⁴ His lightning lights up the world. The earth sees, and trembles. ⁵ The mountains melt like wax at the presence of Yahweh, at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth. ⁶ The heavens declare his righteousness. All the peoples have seen his glory. ⁷ Let all them be shamed who serve engraved images, who boast in their idols. Worship him, all you gods! ⁸ Zion heard and was glad. The daughters of Judah rejoiced because of your judgments, Yahweh. ⁹ For you, Yahweh, are most high above all the earth. You are exalted far above all gods. ¹⁰ You who love Yahweh, hate evil! He preserves the souls of his saints. He delivers them out of the hand of the wicked. ¹¹ Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart. ¹² Be glad in Yahweh, you righteous people! Give thanks to his holy Name. Psalms Book 4 Chapter 98 ¹ Sing to Yahweh a new song, for he has done marvelous things! His right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him. ² Yahweh has made known his salvation. He has openly shown his righteousness in the sight of the nations. ³ He has remembered his loving kindness and his faithfulness toward the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. ⁴ Make a joyful noise to Yahweh, all the earth! Burst out and sing for joy, yes, sing praises! ⁵ Sing praises to Yahweh with the harp, with the harp and the voice of melody. ⁶ With trumpets and sound of the ram’s horn, make a joyful noise before the King, Yahweh. ⁷ Let the sea roar with its fullness; the world, and those who dwell therein. ⁸ Let the rivers clap their hands. Let the mountains sing for joy together ⁹ Let them sing before Yahweh, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with equity. Psalms Book 4 Chapter 99 ¹ Yahweh reigns! Let the peoples tremble. He sits enthroned among the cherubim. Let the earth be moved. ² Yahweh is great in Zion. He is high above all the peoples. ³ Let them praise your great and awesome name. He is Holy! ⁴ The King’s strength also loves justice. You establish equity. You execute justice and righteousness in Jacob. ⁵ Exalt Yahweh our God. Worship at his footstool. He is Holy! ⁶ Moses and Aaron were among his priests, Samuel was among those who call on his name. They called on Yahweh, and he answered them. ⁷ He spoke to them in the pillar of cloud. They kept his testimonies, the statute that he gave them. ⁸ You answered them, Yahweh our God. You are a God who forgave them, although you took vengeance for their doings. ⁹ Exalt Yahweh, our God. Worship at his holy hill, for Yahweh, our God, is holy! Psalms Book 4 Chapter 100

563 ¹ Shout for joy to Yahweh, all you lands! ² Serve Yahweh with gladness. Come before his presence with singing. ³ Know that Yahweh, he is God. It is he who has made us, and we are his. We are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. ⁴ Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him, and bless his name. ⁵ For Yahweh is good. His loving kindness endures forever, his faithfulness to all generations. Psalms Book 4 Chapter 101 ¹ I will sing of loving kindness and justice. To you, Yahweh, I will sing praises. ² I will be careful to live a blameless life. When will you come to me? I will walk within my house with a blameless heart. ³ I will set no vile thing before my eyes. I hate the deeds of faithless men. They will not cling to me. ⁴ A perverse heart will be far from me. I will have nothing to do with evil. ⁵ I will silence whoever secretly slanders his neighbor. I won’t tolerate one who is arrogant and conceited. ⁶ My eyes will be on the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me. He who walks in a perfect way, he will serve me. ⁷ He who practices deceit won’t dwell within my house. He who speaks falsehood won’t be established before my eyes. ⁸ Morning by morning, I will destroy all the wicked of the land, to cut off all the workers of iniquity from Yahweh’s city. Psalms Book 4 Chapter 102 ¹ Hear my prayer, Yahweh! Let my cry come to you. ² Don’t hide your face from me in the day of my distress. Turn your ear to me. Answer me quickly in the day when I call. ³ For my days consume away like smoke. My bones are burned as a torch. ⁴ My heart is blighted like grass, and withered, for I forget to eat my bread. ⁵ By reason of the voice of my groaning, my bones stick to my skin. ⁶ I am like a pelican of the wilderness. I have become as an owl of the waste places. ⁷ I watch, and have become like a sparrow that is alone on the housetop. ⁸ My enemies reproach me all day. Those who are mad at me use my name as a curse. ⁹ For I have eaten ashes like bread, and mixed my drink with tears, ¹⁰ because of your indignation and your wrath; for you have taken me up and thrown me away. ¹¹ My days are like a long shadow. I have withered like grass. ¹² But you, Yahweh, will remain forever; your renown endures to all generations. ¹³ You will arise and have mercy on Zion, for it is time to have pity on her. Yes, the set time has come. ¹⁴ For your servants take pleasure in her stones, and have pity on her dust. ¹⁵ So the nations will fear Yahweh’s name, all the kings of the earth your glory. ¹⁶ For Yahweh has built up Zion. He has appeared in his glory. ¹⁷ He has responded to the prayer of the destitute, and has not despised their prayer. ¹⁸ This will be written for the generation to come. A people which will be created will praise Yah, ¹⁹ for he has looked down from the height of his sanctuary. From heaven, Yahweh saw the earth, ²⁰ to hear the groans of the prisoner, to free those who are condemned to death, ²¹ that men may declare Yahweh’s name in Zion, and his praise in Jerusalem, ²² when the peoples are gathered together, the kingdoms, to serve Yahweh. ²³ He weakened my strength along the course. He shortened my days. ²⁴ I said, “My God, don’t take me away in the middle of my days. Your years are throughout all generations. ²⁵ Of old, you laid the foundation of the earth. The heavens are the work of your hands. ²⁶ They will perish, but you will endure. Yes, all of them will wear out like a garment. You will change them like a cloak, and they will be changed. ²⁷ But you are the same. Your years will have no end. ²⁸ The children of your servants will continue. Their offspring will be established before you.” Psalms Book 4 Chapter 103 ¹ Praise Yahweh, my soul! All that is within me, praise his holy name!

generations. ²⁵ Of old, you laid the foundation of the earth. The heavens are the work of your hands. ²⁶ They will perish, but you will endure. Yes, all of them will wear out like a garment. You will change them like a cloak, and they will be changed. ²⁷ But you are the same. Your years will have no end. ²⁸ The children of your servants will continue. Their offspring will be established before you.” Psalms Book 4 Chapter 103 ¹ Praise Yahweh, my soul! All that is within me, praise his holy name! ² Praise Yahweh, my soul, and don’t forget all his benefits, ³ who forgives all your sins, who heals all your diseases, ⁴ who redeems your life from destruction, who crowns you with loving kindness and tender mercies, ⁵

564 who satisfies your desire with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. ⁶ Yahweh executes righteous acts, and justice for all who are oppressed. ⁷ He made known his ways to Moses, his deeds to the children of Israel. ⁸ Yahweh is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness. ⁹ He will not always accuse; neither will he stay angry forever. ¹⁰ He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor repaid us for our iniquities. ¹¹ For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is his loving kindness toward those who fear him. ¹² As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. ¹³ Like a father has compassion on his children, so Yahweh has compassion on those who fear him. ¹⁴ For he knows how we are made. He remembers that we are dust. ¹⁵ As for man, his days are like grass. As a flower of the field, so he flourishes. ¹⁶ For the wind passes over it, and it is gone. Its place remembers it no more. ¹⁷ But Yahweh’s loving kindness is from everlasting to everlasting with those who fear him, his righteousness to children’s children, ¹⁸ to those who keep his covenant, to those who remember to obey his precepts. ¹⁹ Yahweh has established his throne in the heavens. His kingdom rules over all. ²⁰ Praise Yahweh, you angels of his, who are mighty in strength, who fulfill his word, obeying the voice of his word. ²¹ Praise Yahweh, all you armies of his, you servants of his, who do his pleasure. ²² Praise Yahweh, all you works of his, in all places of his dominion. Praise Yahweh, my soul! Psalms Book 4 Chapter 104 ¹ Bless Yahweh, my soul. Yahweh, my God, you are very great. You are clothed with honor and majesty. ² He covers himself with light as with a garment. He stretches out the heavens like a curtain. ³ He lays the beams of his rooms in the waters. He makes the clouds his chariot. He walks on the wings of the wind. ⁴ He makes his messengers winds, and his servants flames of fire. ⁵ He laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be moved forever. ⁶ You covered it with the deep as with a cloak. The waters stood above the mountains. ⁷ At your rebuke they fled. At the voice of your thunder they hurried away. ⁸ The mountains rose, the valleys sank down, to the place which you had assigned to them. ⁹ You have set a boundary that they may not pass over, that they don’t turn again to cover the earth. ¹⁰ He sends springs into the valleys. They run among the mountains. ¹¹ They give drink to every animal of the field. The wild donkeys quench their thirst. ¹² The birds of the sky nest by them. They sing among the branches. ¹³ He waters the mountains from his rooms. The earth is filled with the fruit of your works. ¹⁴ He causes the grass to grow for the livestock, and plants for man to cultivate, that he may produce food out of the earth: ¹⁵ wine that makes the heart of man glad, oil to make his face to shine, and bread that strengthens man’s heart. ¹⁶ Yahweh’s trees are well watered, the cedars of Lebanon, which he has planted, ¹⁷ where the birds make their nests. The stork makes its home in the cypress trees. ¹⁸ The high mountains are for the wild goats. The rocks are a refuge for the rock badgers. ¹⁹ He appointed the moon for seasons. The sun knows when to set. ²⁰ You make darkness, and it is night, in which all the animals of the forest prowl. ²¹ The young lions roar after their prey, and seek their food from God. ²² The sun rises, and they steal away, and lie down in their dens. ²³ Man goes out to his work, to his labor until the evening. ²⁴ Yahweh, how many are your works! In wisdom, you have made them all. The earth is full of your riches. ²⁵ There is the sea, great and wide, in which are innumerable living things, both small and large animals. ²⁶ There the ships go, and leviathan, whom you formed to play there. ²⁷ These all wait for you, that you may give them their food in due season. ²⁸ You give to them; they gather.

and they steal away, and lie down in their dens. ²³ Man goes out to his work, to his labor until the evening. ²⁴ Yahweh, how many are your works! In wisdom, you have made them all. The earth is full of your riches. ²⁵ There is the sea, great and wide, in which are innumerable living things, both small and large animals. ²⁶ There the ships go, and leviathan, whom you formed to play there. ²⁷ These all wait for you, that you may give them their food in due season. ²⁸ You give to them; they gather. You open your hand; they are satisfied with good. ²⁹ You hide your face; they are troubled. You take away their breath; they die and return to the dust. ³⁰ You send out your Spirit and they are created. You renew the face of the ground. ³¹ Let Yahweh’s glory endure forever. Let Yahweh rejoice in his works. ³² He looks at the earth, and it trembles. He touches the mountains, and they smoke. ³³ I will sing to Yahweh as long as I live. I will sing praise to my God

565 while I have any being. ³⁴ Let my meditation be sweet to him. I will rejoice in Yahweh. ³⁵ Let sinners be consumed out of the earth. Let the wicked be no more. Bless Yahweh, my soul. Praise Yah! Psalms Book 4 Chapter 105 ¹ Give thanks to Yahweh! Call on his name! Make his doings known among the peoples. ² Sing to him, sing praises to him! Tell of all his marvelous works. ³ Glory in his holy name. Let the heart of those who seek Yahweh rejoice. ⁴ Seek Yahweh and his strength. Seek his face forever more. ⁵ Remember his marvelous works that he has done: his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth, ⁶ you offspring of Abraham, his servant, you children of Jacob, his chosen ones. ⁷ He is Yahweh, our God. His judgments are in all the earth. ⁸ He has remembered his covenant forever, the word which he commanded to a thousand generations, ⁹ the covenant which he made with Abraham, his oath to Isaac, ¹⁰ and confirmed it to Jacob for a statute; to Israel for an everlasting covenant, ¹¹ saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance,” ¹² when they were but a few men in number, yes, very few, and foreigners in it. ¹³ They went about from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another people. ¹⁴ He allowed no one to do them wrong. Yes, he reproved kings for their sakes, ¹⁵ “Don’t touch my anointed ones! Do my prophets no harm!” ¹⁶ He called for a famine on the land. He destroyed the food supplies. ¹⁷ He sent a man before them. Joseph was sold for a slave. ¹⁸ They bruised his feet with shackles. His neck was locked in irons, ¹⁹ until the time that his word happened, and Yahweh’s word proved him true. ²⁰ The king sent and freed him, even the ruler of peoples, and let him go free. ²¹ He made him lord of his house, and ruler of all of his possessions, ²² to discipline his princes at his pleasure, and to teach his elders wisdom. ²³ Israel also came into Egypt. Jacob lived in the land of Ham. ²⁴ He increased his people greatly, and made them stronger than their adversaries. ²⁵ He turned their heart to hate his people, to conspire against his servants. ²⁶ He sent Moses, his servant, and Aaron, whom he had chosen. ²⁷ They performed miracles among them, and wonders in the land of Ham. ²⁸ He sent darkness, and made it dark. They didn’t rebel against his words. ²⁹ He turned their waters into blood, and killed their fish. ³⁰ Their land swarmed with frogs, even in the rooms of their kings. ³¹ He spoke, and swarms of flies came, and lice in all their borders. ³² He gave them hail for rain, with lightning in their land. ³³ He struck their vines and also their fig trees, and shattered the trees of their country. ³⁴ He spoke, and the locusts came with the grasshoppers, without number. ³⁵ They ate up every plant in their land, and ate up the fruit of their ground. ³⁶ He struck also all the firstborn in their land, the first fruits of all their manhood. ³⁷ He brought them out with silver and gold. There was not one feeble person among his tribes. ³⁸ Egypt was glad when they departed, for the fear of them had fallen on them. ³⁹ He spread a cloud for a covering, fire to give light in the night. ⁴⁰ They asked, and he brought quails, and satisfied them with the bread of the sky. ⁴¹ He opened the rock, and waters gushed out. They ran as a river in the dry places. ⁴² For he remembered his holy word, and Abraham, his servant. ⁴³ He brought his people out with joy, his chosen with singing. ⁴⁴ He gave them the lands of the nations. They took the labor of the peoples in possession, ⁴⁵ that they might keep his statutes, and observe his laws. Praise Yah! Psalms Book 4 Chapter 106 ¹ Praise Yahweh! Give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever. ² Who can utter the mighty acts of Yahweh, or fully declare all his praise? ³ Blessed are those who keep justice. Blessed is one who does what is right at all times. ⁴ Remember me, Yahweh, with the favor that you show to your people.

lands of the nations. They took the labor of the peoples in possession, ⁴⁵ that they might keep his statutes, and observe his laws. Praise Yah! Psalms Book 4 Chapter 106 ¹ Praise Yahweh! Give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever. ² Who can utter the mighty acts of Yahweh, or fully declare all his praise? ³ Blessed are those who keep justice. Blessed is one who does what is right at all times. ⁴ Remember me, Yahweh, with the favor that you show to your people. Visit me with your salvation, ⁵ that I may see the prosperity of your chosen, that I may rejoice in the gladness of your nation, that I may glory with your inheritance. ⁶ We have sinned with our fathers. We have committed iniquity. We have done

566 wickedly. ⁷ Our fathers didn’t understand your wonders in Egypt. They didn’t remember the multitude of your loving kindnesses, but were rebellious at the sea, even at the Red Sea. ⁸ Nevertheless he saved them for his name’s sake, that he might make his mighty power known. ⁹ He rebuked the Red Sea also, and it was dried up; so he led them through the depths, as through a desert. ¹⁰ He saved them from the hand of him who hated them, and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy. ¹¹ The waters covered their adversaries. There was not one of them left. ¹² Then they believed his words. They sang his praise. ¹³ They soon forgot his works. They didn’t wait for his counsel, ¹⁴ but gave in to craving in the desert, and tested God in the wasteland. ¹⁵ He gave them their request, but sent leanness into their soul. ¹⁶ They envied Moses also in the camp, and Aaron, Yahweh’s saint. ¹⁷ The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan, and covered the company of Abiram. ¹⁸ A fire was kindled in their company. The flame burned up the wicked. ¹⁹ They made a calf in Horeb, and worshiped a molten image. ²⁰ Thus they exchanged their glory for an image of a bull that eats grass. ²¹ They forgot God, their Savior, who had done great things in Egypt, ²² wondrous works in the land of Ham, and awesome things by the Red Sea. ²³ Therefore he said that he would destroy them, had Moses, his chosen, not stood before him in the breach, to turn away his wrath, so that he wouldn’t destroy them. ²⁴ Yes, they despised the pleasant land. They didn’t believe his word, ²⁵ but murmured in their tents, and didn’t listen to Yahweh’s voice. ²⁶ Therefore he swore to them that he would overthrow them in the wilderness, ²⁷ that he would overthrow their offspring among the nations, and scatter them in the lands. ²⁸ They joined themselves also to Baal Peor, and ate the sacrifices of the dead. ²⁹ Thus they provoked him to anger with their deeds. The plague broke in on them. ³⁰ Then Phinehas stood up and executed judgment, so the plague was stopped. ³¹ That was credited to him for righteousness, for all generations to come. ³² They angered him also at the waters of Meribah, so that Moses was troubled for their sakes; ³³ because they were rebellious against his spirit, he spoke rashly with his lips. ³⁴ They didn’t destroy the peoples, as Yahweh commanded them, ³⁵ but mixed themselves with the nations, and learned their works. ³⁶ They served their idols, which became a snare to them. ³⁷ Yes, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons. ³⁸ They shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and of their daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan. The land was polluted with blood. ³⁹ Thus they were defiled with their works, and prostituted themselves in their deeds. ⁴⁰ Therefore Yahweh burned with anger against his people. He abhorred his inheritance. ⁴¹ He gave them into the hand of the nations. Those who hated them ruled over them. ⁴² Their enemies also oppressed them. They were brought into subjection under their hand. ⁴³ He rescued them many times, but they were rebellious in their counsel, and were brought low in their iniquity. ⁴⁴ Nevertheless he regarded their distress, when he heard their cry. ⁴⁵ He remembered for them his covenant, and repented according to the multitude of his loving kindnesses. ⁴⁶ He made them also to be pitied by all those who carried them captive. ⁴⁷ Save us, Yahweh, our God, gather us from among the nations, to give thanks to your holy name, to triumph in your praise! ⁴⁸ Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel, from everlasting even to everlasting! Let all the people say, “Amen.” Praise Yah! Psalms Book 5 Psalms Book 5 Chapter 107 ¹ Give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever. ² Let the redeemed by Yahweh say so, whom he has redeemed from the hand of the adversary, ³ and gathered out of the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south.

ns, to give thanks to your holy name, to triumph in your praise! ⁴⁸ Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel, from everlasting even to everlasting! Let all the people say, “Amen.” Praise Yah! Psalms Book 5 Psalms Book 5 Chapter 107 ¹ Give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever. ² Let the redeemed by Yahweh say so, whom he has redeemed from the hand of the adversary, ³ and gathered out of the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south. ⁴ They wandered in the wilderness in a desert way. They found no city to live in. ⁵ Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them. ⁶ Then they cried to Yahweh in their trouble, and he delivered

567 them out of their distresses. ⁷ He led them also by a straight way, that they might go to a city to live in. ⁸ Let them praise Yahweh for his loving kindness, for his wonderful deeds to the children of men! ⁹ For he satisfies the longing soul. He fills the hungry soul with good. ¹⁰ Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, being bound in affliction and iron, ¹¹ because they rebelled against the words of God, and condemned the counsel of the Most High. ¹² Therefore he brought down their heart with labor. They fell down, and there was no one to help. ¹³ Then they cried to Yahweh in their trouble, and he saved them out of their distresses. ¹⁴ He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and broke away their chains. ¹⁵ Let them praise Yahweh for his loving kindness, for his wonderful deeds to the children of men! ¹⁶ For he has broken the gates of bronze, and cut through bars of iron. ¹⁷ Fools are afflicted because of their disobedience, and because of their iniquities. ¹⁸ Their soul abhors all kinds of food. They draw near to the gates of death. ¹⁹ Then they cry to Yahweh in their trouble, and he saves them out of their distresses. ²⁰ He sends his word, and heals them, and delivers them from their graves. ²¹ Let them praise Yahweh for his loving kindness, for his wonderful deeds to the children of men! ²² Let them offer the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his deeds with singing. ²³ Those who go down to the sea in ships, who do business in great waters, ²⁴ these see Yahweh’s deeds, and his wonders in the deep. ²⁵ For he commands, and raises the stormy wind, which lifts up its waves. ²⁶ They mount up to the sky; they go down again to the depths. Their soul melts away because of trouble. ²⁷ They reel back and forth, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits’ end. ²⁸ Then they cry to Yahweh in their trouble, and he brings them out of their distress. ²⁹ He makes the storm a calm, so that its waves are still. ³⁰ Then they are glad because it is calm, so he brings them to their desired haven. ³¹ Let them praise Yahweh for his loving kindness, for his wonderful deeds for the children of men! ³² Let them exalt him also in the assembly of the people, and praise him in the seat of the elders. ³³ He turns rivers into a desert, water springs into a thirsty ground, ³⁴ and a fruitful land into a salt waste, for the wickedness of those who dwell in it. ³⁵ He turns a desert into a pool of water, and a dry land into water springs. ³⁶ There he makes the hungry live, that they may prepare a city to live in, ³⁷ sow fields, plant vineyards, and reap the fruits of increase. ³⁸ He blesses them also, so that they are multiplied greatly. He doesn’t allow their livestock to decrease. ³⁹ Again, they are diminished and bowed down through oppression, trouble, and sorrow. ⁴⁰ He pours contempt on princes, and causes them to wander in a trackless waste. ⁴¹ Yet he lifts the needy out of their affliction, and increases their families like a flock. ⁴² The upright will see it, and be glad. All the wicked will shut their mouths. ⁴³ Whoever is wise will pay attention to these things. They will consider the loving kindnesses of Yahweh. Psalms Book 5 Chapter 108 ¹ My heart is steadfast, God. I will sing and I will make music with my soul. ² Wake up, harp and lyre! I will wake up the dawn. ³ I will give thanks to you, Yahweh, among the nations. I will sing praises to you among the peoples. ⁴ For your loving kindness is great above the heavens. Your faithfulness reaches to the skies. ⁵ Be exalted, God, above the heavens! Let your glory be over all the earth. ⁶ That your beloved may be delivered, save with your right hand, and answer us. ⁷ God has spoken from his sanctuary: “In triumph, I will divide Shechem, and measure out the valley of Succoth. ⁸ Gilead is mine. Manasseh is mine. Ephraim also is my helmet. Judah is my scepter. ⁹ Moab is my wash pot. I will toss my sandal on Edom.

⁴ For your loving kindness is great above the heavens. Your faithfulness reaches to the skies. ⁵ Be exalted, God, above the heavens! Let your glory be over all the earth. ⁶ That your beloved may be delivered, save with your right hand, and answer us. ⁷ God has spoken from his sanctuary: “In triumph, I will divide Shechem, and measure out the valley of Succoth. ⁸ Gilead is mine. Manasseh is mine. Ephraim also is my helmet. Judah is my scepter. ⁹ Moab is my wash pot. I will toss my sandal on Edom. I will shout over Philistia.” ¹⁰ Who will bring me into the fortified city? Who will lead me to Edom? ¹¹ Haven’t you rejected us, God? You don’t go out, God, with our armies. ¹² Give us help against the enemy, for the help of man is vain. ¹³ Through God, we will do valiantly, for it is he who will tread down our enemies. Psalms Book 5 Chapter 109

568 ¹ God of my praise, don’t remain silent, ² for they have opened the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of deceit against me. They have spoken to me with a lying tongue. ³ They have also surrounded me with words of hatred, and fought against me without a cause. ⁴ In return for my love, they are my adversaries; but I am in prayer. ⁵ They have rewarded me evil for good, and hatred for my love. ⁶ Set a wicked man over him. Let an adversary stand at his right hand. ⁷ When he is judged, let him come out guilty. Let his prayer be turned into sin. ⁸ Let his days be few. Let another take his office. ⁹ Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow. ¹⁰ Let his children be wandering beggars. Let them be sought from their ruins. ¹¹ Let the creditor seize all that he has. Let strangers plunder the fruit of his labor. ¹² Let there be no one to extend kindness to him, neither let there be anyone to have pity on his fatherless children. ¹³ Let his posterity be cut off. In the generation following let their name be blotted out. ¹⁴ Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered by Yahweh. Don’t let the sin of his mother be blotted out. ¹⁵ Let them be before Yahweh continually, that he may cut off their memory from the earth; ¹⁶ because he didn’t remember to show kindness, but persecuted the poor and needy man, the broken in heart, to kill them. ¹⁷ Yes, he loved cursing, and it came to him. He didn’t delight in blessing, and it was far from him. ¹⁸ He clothed himself also with cursing as with his garment. It came into his inward parts like water, like oil into his bones. ¹⁹ Let it be to him as the clothing with which he covers himself, for the belt that is always around him. ²⁰ This is the reward of my adversaries from Yahweh, of those who speak evil against my soul. ²¹ But deal with me, Yahweh the Lord, for your name’s sake, because your loving kindness is good, deliver me; ²² for I am poor and needy. My heart is wounded within me. ²³ I fade away like an evening shadow. I am shaken off like a locust. ²⁴ My knees are weak through fasting. My body is thin and lacks fat. ²⁵ I have also become a reproach to them. When they see me, they shake their head. ²⁶ Help me, Yahweh, my God. Save me according to your loving kindness; ²⁷ that they may know that this is your hand; that you, Yahweh, have done it. ²⁸ They may curse, but you bless. When they arise, they will be shamed, but your servant shall rejoice. ²⁹ Let my adversaries be clothed with dishonor. Let them cover themselves with their own shame as with a robe. ³⁰ I will give great thanks to Yahweh with my mouth. Yes, I will praise him among the multitude. ³¹ For he will stand at the right hand of the needy, to save him from those who judge his soul. Psalms Book 5 Chapter 110 ¹ Yahweh says to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool for your feet.” ² Yahweh will send out the rod of your strength out of Zion. Rule among your enemies. ³ Your people offer themselves willingly in the day of your power, in holy array. Out of the womb of the morning, you have the dew of your youth. ⁴ Yahweh has sworn, and will not change his mind: “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.” ⁵ The Lord is at your right hand. He will crush kings in the day of his wrath. ⁶ He will judge among the nations. He will heap up dead bodies. He will crush the ruler of the whole earth. ⁷ He will drink of the brook on the way; therefore he will lift up his head. Psalms Book 5 Chapter 111 ¹ Praise Yah! I will give thanks to Yahweh with my whole heart, in the council of the upright, and in the congregation. ² Yahweh’s works are great, pondered by all those who delight in them. ³ His work is honor and majesty. His righteousness endures forever. ⁴ He has caused his wonderful works to be remembered. Yahweh is gracious and merciful. ⁵ He has given food to those who fear him. He always remembers his covenant.

ook on the way; therefore he will lift up his head. Psalms Book 5 Chapter 111 ¹ Praise Yah! I will give thanks to Yahweh with my whole heart, in the council of the upright, and in the congregation. ² Yahweh’s works are great, pondered by all those who delight in them. ³ His work is honor and majesty. His righteousness endures forever. ⁴ He has caused his wonderful works to be remembered. Yahweh is gracious and merciful. ⁵ He has given food to those who fear him. He always remembers his covenant. ⁶ He has shown his people the power of his works, in giving them the heritage of the nations. ⁷ The works of his hands are truth and justice. All his precepts are sure. ⁸ They are established forever and ever. They are done in truth and uprightness.

569 ⁹ He has sent redemption to his people. He has ordained his covenant forever. His name is holy and awesome! ¹⁰ The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of wisdom. All those who do his work have a good understanding. His praise endures forever! Psalms Book 5 Chapter 112 ¹ Praise Yah! Blessed is the man who fears Yahweh, who delights greatly in his commandments. ² His offspring will be mighty in the land. The generation of the upright will be blessed. ³ Wealth and riches are in his house. His righteousness endures forever. ⁴ Light dawns in the darkness for the upright, gracious, merciful, and righteous. ⁵ It is well with the man who deals graciously and lends. He will maintain his cause in judgment. ⁶ For he will never be shaken. The righteous will be remembered forever. ⁷ He will not be afraid of evil news. His heart is steadfast, trusting in Yahweh. ⁸ His heart is established. He will not be afraid in the end when he sees his adversaries. ⁹ He has dispersed, he has given to the poor. His righteousness endures forever. His horn will be exalted with honor. ¹⁰ The wicked will see it, and be grieved. He shall gnash with his teeth, and melt away. The desire of the wicked will perish. Psalms Book 5 Chapter 113 ¹ Praise Yah! Praise, you servants of Yahweh, praise Yahweh’s name. ² Blessed be Yahweh’s name, from this time forward and forever more. ³ From the rising of the sun to its going down, Yahweh’s name is to be praised. ⁴ Yahweh is high above all nations, his glory above the heavens. ⁵ Who is like Yahweh, our God, who has his seat on high, ⁶ who stoops down to see in heaven and in the earth? ⁷ He raises up the poor out of the dust, and lifts up the needy from the ash heap, ⁸ that he may set him with princes, even with the princes of his people. ⁹ He settles the barren woman in her home as a joyful mother of children. Praise Yah! Psalms Book 5 Chapter 114 ¹ When Israel went out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of foreign language, ² Judah became his sanctuary, Israel his dominion. ³ The sea saw it, and fled. The Jordan was driven back. ⁴ The mountains skipped like rams, the little hills like lambs. ⁵ What was it, you sea, that you fled? You Jordan, that you turned back? ⁶ You mountains, that you skipped like rams? You little hills, like lambs? ⁷ Tremble, you earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob, ⁸ who turned the rock into a pool of water, the flint into a spring of waters. Psalms Book 5 Chapter 115 ¹ Not to us, Yahweh, not to us, but to your name give glory, for your loving kindness, and for your truth’s sake. ² Why should the nations say, “Where is their God, now?” ³ But our God is in the heavens. He does whatever he pleases. ⁴ Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands. ⁵ They have mouths, but they don’t speak. They have eyes, but they don’t see. ⁶ They have ears, but they don’t hear. They have noses, but they don’t smell. ⁷ They have hands, but they don’t feel. They have feet, but they don’t walk, neither do they speak through their throat. ⁸ Those who make them will be like them; yes, everyone who trusts in them. ⁹ Israel, trust in Yahweh! He is their help and their shield. ¹⁰ House of Aaron, trust in Yahweh! He is their help and their shield. ¹¹ You who fear Yahweh, trust in Yahweh! He is their help and their shield. ¹² Yahweh remembers us. He will bless us. He will bless the house of Israel. He will bless the house of Aaron. ¹³ He will bless those who fear Yahweh, both small and great. ¹⁴ May Yahweh increase you more and more, you and your children. ¹⁵ Blessed are you by Yahweh, who made heaven and earth. ¹⁶ The heavens are Yahweh’s heavens, but he has given the earth to the children of men. ¹⁷ The dead don’t praise Yah, nor any who go down into silence, ¹⁸ but we will bless Yah, from this time forward and forever

570 more. Praise Yah! Psalms Book 5 Chapter 116 ¹ I love Yahweh, because he listens to my voice, and my cries for mercy. ² Because he has turned his ear to me, therefore I will call on him as long as I live. ³ The cords of death surrounded me, the pains of Sheol got a hold of me. I found trouble and sorrow. ⁴ Then I called on Yahweh’s name: “Yahweh, I beg you, deliver my soul.” ⁵ Yahweh is gracious and righteous. Yes, our God is merciful. ⁶ Yahweh preserves the simple. I was brought low, and he saved me. ⁷ Return to your rest, my soul, for Yahweh has dealt bountifully with you. ⁸ For you have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, and my feet from falling. ⁹ I will walk before Yahweh in the land of the living. ¹⁰ I believed, therefore I said, “I was greatly afflicted.” ¹¹ I said in my haste, “All people are liars.” ¹² What will I give to Yahweh for all his benefits toward me? ¹³ I will take the cup of salvation, and call on Yahweh’s name. ¹⁴ I will pay my vows to Yahweh, yes, in the presence of all his people. ¹⁵ Precious in Yahweh’s sight is the death of his saints. ¹⁶ Yahweh, truly I am your servant. I am your servant, the son of your servant girl. You have freed me from my chains. ¹⁷ I will offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call on Yahweh’s name. ¹⁸ I will pay my vows to Yahweh, yes, in the presence of all his people, ¹⁹ in the courts of Yahweh’s house, in the middle of you, Jerusalem. Praise Yah! Psalms Book 5 Chapter 117 ¹ Praise Yahweh, all you nations! Extol him, all you peoples! ² For his loving kindness is great toward us. Yahweh’s faithfulness endures forever. Praise Yah! Psalms Book 5 Chapter 118 ¹ Give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever. ² Let Israel now say that his loving kindness endures forever. ³ Let the house of Aaron now say that his loving kindness endures forever. ⁴ Now let those who fear Yahweh say that his loving kindness endures forever. ⁵ Out of my distress, I called on Yah. Yah answered me with freedom. ⁶ Yahweh is on my side. I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? ⁷ Yahweh is on my side among those who help me. Therefore I will look in triumph at those who hate me. ⁸ It is better to take refuge in Yahweh, than to put confidence in man. ⁹ It is better to take refuge in Yahweh, than to put confidence in princes. ¹⁰ All the nations surrounded me, but in Yahweh’s name I cut them off. ¹¹ They surrounded me, yes, they surrounded me. In Yahweh’s name I indeed cut them off. ¹² They surrounded me like bees. They are quenched like the burning thorns. In Yahweh’s name I cut them off. ¹³ You pushed me back hard, to make me fall, but Yahweh helped me. ¹⁴ Yah is my strength and song. He has become my salvation. ¹⁵ The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tents of the righteous. “The right hand of Yahweh does valiantly. ¹⁶ The right hand of Yahweh is exalted! The right hand of Yahweh does valiantly!” ¹⁷ I will not die, but live, and declare Yah’s works. ¹⁸ Yah has punished me severely, but he has not given me over to death. ¹⁹ Open to me the gates of righteousness. I will enter into them. I will give thanks to Yah. ²⁰ This is the gate of Yahweh; the righteous will enter into it. ²¹ I will give thanks to you, for you have answered me, and have become my salvation. ²² The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. ²³ This is Yahweh’s doing. It is marvelous in our eyes. ²⁴ This is the day that Yahweh has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it! ²⁵ Save us now, we beg you, Yahweh! Yahweh, we beg you, send prosperity now. ²⁶ Blessed is he who comes in Yahweh’s name! We have blessed you out of Yahweh’s house. ²⁷ Yahweh is God, and he has given us light. Bind the sacrifice with cords, even to the horns of the altar. ²⁸ You are my God, and I will give thanks to you. You are my God, I will exalt you. ²⁹ Oh give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever.

571 Psalms Book 5 Chapter 119 ¹ Blessed are those whose ways are blameless, who walk according to Yahweh’s law. ² Blessed are those who keep his statutes, who seek him with their whole heart. ³ Yes, they do nothing wrong. They walk in his ways. ⁴ You have commanded your precepts, that we should fully obey them. ⁵ Oh that my ways were steadfast to obey your statutes! ⁶ Then I wouldn’t be disappointed, when I consider all of your commandments. ⁷ I will give thanks to you with uprightness of heart, when I learn your righteous judgments. ⁸ I will observe your statutes. Don’t utterly forsake me. BETH ⁹ How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word. ¹⁰ With my whole heart I have sought you. Don’t let me wander from your commandments. ¹¹ I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. ¹² Blessed are you, Yahweh. Teach me your statutes. ¹³ With my lips, I have declared all the ordinances of your mouth. ¹⁴ I have rejoiced in the way of your testimonies, as much as in all riches. ¹⁵ I will meditate on your precepts, and consider your ways. ¹⁶ I will delight myself in your statutes. I will not forget your word. GIMEL ¹⁷ Do good to your servant. I will live and I will obey your word. ¹⁸ Open my eyes, that I may see wondrous things out of your law. ¹⁹ I am a stranger on the earth. Don’t hide your commandments from me. ²⁰ My soul is consumed with longing for your ordinances at all times. ²¹ You have rebuked the proud who are cursed, who wander from your commandments. ²² Take reproach and contempt away from me, for I have kept your statutes. ²³ Though princes sit and slander me, your servant will meditate on your statutes. ²⁴ Indeed your statutes are my delight, and my counselors. DALETH ²⁵ My soul is laid low in the dust. Revive me according to your word! ²⁶ I declared my ways, and you answered me. Teach me your statutes. ²⁷ Let me understand the teaching of your precepts! Then I will meditate on your wondrous works. ²⁸ My soul is weary with sorrow; strengthen me according to your word. ²⁹ Keep me from the way of deceit. Grant me your law graciously! ³⁰ I have chosen the way of truth. I have set your ordinances before me. ³¹ I cling to your statutes, Yahweh. Don’t let me be disappointed. ³² I run in the path of your commandments, for you have set my heart free. HE ³³ Teach me, Yahweh, the way of your statutes. I will keep them to the end. ³⁴ Give me understanding, and I will keep your law. Yes, I will obey it with my whole heart. ³⁵ Direct me in the path of your commandments, for I delight in them. ³⁶ Turn my heart toward your statutes, not toward selfish gain. ³⁷ Turn my eyes away from looking at worthless things. Revive me in your ways. ³⁸ Fulfill your promise to your servant, that you may be feared. ³⁹ Take away my disgrace that I dread, for your ordinances are good. ⁴⁰ Behold, I long for your precepts! Revive me in your righteousness. VAV ⁴¹ Let your loving kindness also come to me, Yahweh, your salvation, according to your word. ⁴² So I will have an answer for him who reproaches me, for I trust in your word. ⁴³ Don’t snatch the word of truth out of my mouth, for I put my hope in your ordinances. ⁴⁴ So I will obey your law continually, forever and ever. ⁴⁵ I will walk in liberty, for I have sought your precepts. ⁴⁶ I will also speak of your statutes before kings, and will not be disappointed. ⁴⁷ I will delight myself in your commandments, because I love them. ⁴⁸ I reach out my hands for your commandments, which I love. I will meditate on your statutes. ZAYIN ⁴⁹ Remember your word to your servant, because you gave me hope. ⁵⁰ This is my comfort in my affliction, for your word has revived me. ⁵¹ The arrogant mock me excessively, but I don’t swerve from your law. ⁵² I remember your ordinances of old, Yahweh, and have comforted myself. ⁵³ Indignation has taken hold on me, because of the wicked who forsake your law. ⁵⁴ Your statutes have been my songs in the house where I live.

for your commandments, which I love. I will meditate on your statutes. ZAYIN ⁴⁹ Remember your word to your servant, because you gave me hope. ⁵⁰ This is my comfort in my affliction, for your word has revived me. ⁵¹ The arrogant mock me excessively, but I don’t swerve from your law. ⁵² I remember your ordinances of old, Yahweh, and have comforted myself. ⁵³ Indignation has taken hold on me, because of the wicked who forsake your law. ⁵⁴ Your statutes have been my songs in the house where I live. ⁵⁵ I have remembered your name, Yahweh, in the night, and I obey your law. ⁵⁶ This is my way, that I keep your precepts. HETH ⁵⁷ Yahweh is my portion. I promised to obey your words. ⁵⁸ I sought your favor with my whole heart. Be merciful to me according to your word. ⁵⁹ I considered my ways, and turned my steps to your statutes. ⁶⁰ I will hurry, and not delay, to obey your commandments. ⁶¹ The ropes of the wicked

572 bind me, but I won’t forget your law. ⁶² At midnight I will rise to give thanks to you, because of your righteous ordinances. ⁶³ I am a friend of all those who fear you, of those who observe your precepts. ⁶⁴ The earth is full of your loving kindness, Yahweh. Teach me your statutes. TETH ⁶⁵ You have treated your servant well, according to your word, Yahweh. ⁶⁶ Teach me good judgment and knowledge, for I believe in your commandments. ⁶⁷ Before I was afflicted, I went astray; but now I observe your word. ⁶⁸ You are good, and do good. Teach me your statutes. ⁶⁹ The proud have smeared a lie upon me. With my whole heart, I will keep your precepts. ⁷⁰ Their heart is as callous as the fat, but I delight in your law. ⁷¹ It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I may learn your statutes. ⁷² The law of your mouth is better to me than thousands of pieces of gold and silver. YODH ⁷³ Your hands have made me and formed me. Give me understanding, that I may learn your commandments. ⁷⁴ Those who fear you will see me and be glad, because I have put my hope in your word. ⁷⁵ Yahweh, I know that your judgments are righteous, that in faithfulness you have afflicted me. ⁷⁶ Please let your loving kindness be for my comfort, according to your word to your servant. ⁷⁷ Let your tender mercies come to me, that I may live; for your law is my delight. ⁷⁸ Let the proud be disappointed, for they have overthrown me wrongfully. I will meditate on your precepts. ⁷⁹ Let those who fear you turn to me. They will know your statutes. ⁸⁰ Let my heart be blameless toward your decrees, that I may not be disappointed. KAPF ⁸¹ My soul faints for your salvation. I hope in your word. ⁸² My eyes fail for your word. I say, “When will you comfort me?” ⁸³ For I have become like a wineskin in the smoke. I don’t forget your statutes. ⁸⁴ How many are the days of your servant? When will you execute judgment on those who persecute me? ⁸⁵ The proud have dug pits for me, contrary to your law. ⁸⁶ All of your commandments are faithful. They persecute me wrongfully. Help me! ⁸⁷ They had almost wiped me from the earth, but I didn’t forsake your precepts. ⁸⁸ Preserve my life according to your loving kindness, so I will obey the statutes of your mouth. LAMEDH ⁸⁹ Yahweh, your word is settled in heaven forever. ⁹⁰ Your faithfulness is to all generations. You have established the earth, and it remains. ⁹¹ Your laws remain to this day, for all things serve you. ⁹² Unless your law had been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction. ⁹³ I will never forget your precepts, for with them, you have revived me. ⁹⁴ I am yours. Save me, for I have sought your precepts. ⁹⁵ The wicked have waited for me, to destroy me. I will consider your statutes. ⁹⁶ I have seen a limit to all perfection, but your commands are boundless. MEM ⁹⁷ How I love your law! It is my meditation all day. ⁹⁸ Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies, for your commandments are always with me. ⁹⁹ I have more understanding than all my teachers, for your testimonies are my meditation. ¹⁰⁰ I understand more than the aged, because I have kept your precepts. ¹⁰¹ I have kept my feet from every evil way, that I might observe your word. ¹⁰² I have not turned away from your ordinances, for you have taught me. ¹⁰³ How sweet are your promises to my taste, more than honey to my mouth! ¹⁰⁴ Through your precepts, I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way. NUN ¹⁰⁵ Your word is a lamp to my feet, and a light for my path. ¹⁰⁶ I have sworn, and have confirmed it, that I will obey your righteous ordinances. ¹⁰⁷ I am afflicted very much. Revive me, Yahweh, according to your word. ¹⁰⁸ Accept, I beg you, the willing offerings of my mouth. Yahweh, teach me your ordinances. ¹⁰⁹ My soul is continually in my hand, yet I won’t forget your law. ¹¹⁰ The wicked have laid a snare for me, yet I haven’t gone astray from your precepts. ¹¹¹ I have taken your testimonies as a heritage forever, for they are the joy of my heart.

ath. ¹⁰⁶ I have sworn, and have confirmed it, that I will obey your righteous ordinances. ¹⁰⁷ I am afflicted very much. Revive me, Yahweh, according to your word. ¹⁰⁸ Accept, I beg you, the willing offerings of my mouth. Yahweh, teach me your ordinances. ¹⁰⁹ My soul is continually in my hand, yet I won’t forget your law. ¹¹⁰ The wicked have laid a snare for me, yet I haven’t gone astray from your precepts. ¹¹¹ I have taken your testimonies as a heritage forever, for they are the joy of my heart. ¹¹² I have set my heart to perform your statutes forever, even to the end. SAMEKH¹¹³ I hate double-minded men, but I love your law. ¹¹⁴ You are my hiding place and my shield. I hope in your word. ¹¹⁵ Depart from me, you evildoers, that I may keep the commandments of my God. ¹¹⁶ Uphold me according to your word, that I may live. Let me not be ashamed of my hope. ¹¹⁷ Hold me up, and I will be safe, and will have respect for your statutes continually. ¹¹⁸ You reject all those who stray from your statutes, for their deceit is in vain. ¹¹⁹ You put away all the wicked of the earth like dross. Therefore

573 I love your testimonies. ¹²⁰ My flesh trembles for fear of you. I am afraid of your judgments. AYIN¹²¹ I have done what is just and righteous. Don’t leave me to my oppressors. ¹²² Ensure your servant’s well-being. Don’t let the proud oppress me. ¹²³ My eyes fail looking for your salvation, for your righteous word. ¹²⁴ Deal with your servant according to your loving kindness. Teach me your statutes. ¹²⁵ I am your servant. Give me understanding, that I may know your testimonies. ¹²⁶ It is time to act, Yahweh, for they break your law. ¹²⁷ Therefore I love your commandments more than gold, yes, more than pure gold. ¹²⁸ Therefore I consider all of your precepts to be right. I hate every false way. PE¹²⁹ Your testimonies are wonderful, therefore my soul keeps them. ¹³⁰ The entrance of your words gives light. It gives understanding to the simple. ¹³¹ I opened my mouth wide and panted, for I longed for your commandments. ¹³² Turn to me, and have mercy on me, as you always do to those who love your name. ¹³³ Establish my footsteps in your word. Don’t let any iniquity have dominion over me. ¹³⁴ Redeem me from the oppression of man, so I will observe your precepts. ¹³⁵ Make your face shine on your servant. Teach me your statutes. ¹³⁶ Streams of tears run down my eyes, because they don’t observe your law. TZADHE¹³⁷ You are righteous, Yahweh. Your judgments are upright. ¹³⁸ You have commanded your statutes in righteousness. They are fully trustworthy. ¹³⁹ My zeal wears me out, because my enemies ignore your words. ¹⁴⁰ Your promises have been thoroughly tested, and your servant loves them. ¹⁴¹ I am small and despised. I don’t forget your precepts. ¹⁴² Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness. Your law is truth. ¹⁴³ Trouble and anguish have taken hold of me. Your commandments are my delight. ¹⁴⁴ Your testimonies are righteous forever. Give me understanding, that I may live. QOPH ¹⁴⁵ I have called with my whole heart. Answer me, Yahweh! I will keep your statutes. ¹⁴⁶ I have called to you. Save me! I will obey your statutes. ¹⁴⁷ I rise before dawn and cry for help. I put my hope in your words. ¹⁴⁸ My eyes stay open through the night watches, that I might meditate on your word. ¹⁴⁹ Hear my voice according to your loving kindness. Revive me, Yahweh, according to your ordinances. ¹⁵⁰ They draw near who follow after wickedness. They are far from your law. ¹⁵¹ You are near, Yahweh. All your commandments are truth. ¹⁵² Of old I have known from your testimonies, that you have founded them forever. RESH ¹⁵³ Consider my affliction, and deliver me, for I don’t forget your law. ¹⁵⁴ Plead my cause, and redeem me! Revive me according to your promise. ¹⁵⁵ Salvation is far from the wicked, for they don’t seek your statutes. ¹⁵⁶ Great are your tender mercies, Yahweh. Revive me according to your ordinances. ¹⁵⁷ Many are my persecutors and my adversaries. I haven’t swerved from your testimonies. ¹⁵⁸ I look at the faithless with loathing, because they don’t observe your word. ¹⁵⁹ Consider how I love your precepts. Revive me, Yahweh, according to your loving kindness. ¹⁶⁰ All of your words are truth. Every one of your righteous ordinances endures forever. SIN AND SHIN¹⁶¹ Princes have persecuted me without a cause, but my heart stands in awe of your words. ¹⁶² I rejoice at your word, as one who finds great plunder. ¹⁶³ I hate and abhor falsehood. I love your law. ¹⁶⁴ Seven times a day, I praise you, because of your righteous ordinances. ¹⁶⁵ Those who love your law have great peace. Nothing causes them to stumble. ¹⁶⁶ I have hoped for your salvation, Yahweh. I have done your commandments. ¹⁶⁷ My soul has observed your testimonies. I love them exceedingly. ¹⁶⁸ I have obeyed your precepts and your testimonies, for all my ways are before you. TAV¹⁶⁹ Let my cry come before you, Yahweh. Give me understanding according to your word. ¹⁷⁰ Let my supplication come before you. Deliver me according to your word.

your righteous ordinances. ¹⁶⁵ Those who love your law have great peace. Nothing causes them to stumble. ¹⁶⁶ I have hoped for your salvation, Yahweh. I have done your commandments. ¹⁶⁷ My soul has observed your testimonies. I love them exceedingly. ¹⁶⁸ I have obeyed your precepts and your testimonies, for all my ways are before you. TAV¹⁶⁹ Let my cry come before you, Yahweh. Give me understanding according to your word. ¹⁷⁰ Let my supplication come before you. Deliver me according to your word. ¹⁷¹ Let my lips utter praise, for you teach me your statutes. ¹⁷² Let my tongue sing of your word, for all your commandments are righteousness. ¹⁷³ Let your hand be ready to help me, for I have chosen your precepts. ¹⁷⁴ I have longed for your salvation, Yahweh. Your law is my delight. ¹⁷⁵ Let my soul live, that I may praise you. Let your ordinances help me. ¹⁷⁶ I have gone astray like a lost sheep. Seek your servant, for I don’t forget your commandments.

574 Psalms Book 5 Chapter 120 ¹ In my distress, I cried to Yahweh. He answered me. ² Deliver my soul, Yahweh, from lying lips, from a deceitful tongue. ³ What will be given to you, and what will be done more to you, you deceitful tongue? ⁴ Sharp arrows of the mighty, with coals of juniper. ⁵ Woe is me, that I live in Meshech, that I dwell among the tents of Kedar! ⁶ My soul has had her dwelling too long with him who hates peace. ⁷ I am for peace, but when I speak, they are for war. Psalms Book 5 Chapter 121 ¹ I will lift up my eyes to the hills. Where does my help come from? ² My help comes from Yahweh, who made heaven and earth. ³ He will not allow your foot to be moved. He who keeps you will not slumber. ⁴ Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. ⁵ Yahweh is your keeper. Yahweh is your shade on your right hand. ⁶ The sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. ⁷ Yahweh will keep you from all evil. He will keep your soul. ⁸ Yahweh will keep your going out and your coming in, from this time forward, and forever more. Psalms Book 5 Chapter 122 ¹ I was glad when they said to me, “Let’s go to Yahweh’s house!” ² Our feet are standing within your gates, Jerusalem! ³ Jerusalem is built as a city that is compact together, ⁴ where the tribes go up, even Yah’s tribes, according to an ordinance for Israel, to give thanks to Yahweh’s name. ⁵ For there are set thrones for judgment, the thrones of David’s house. ⁶ Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Those who love you will prosper. ⁷ Peace be within your walls, and prosperity within your palaces. ⁸ For my brothers’ and companions’ sakes, I will now say, “Peace be within you.” ⁹ For the sake of the house of Yahweh our God, I will seek your good. Psalms Book 5 Chapter 123 ¹ I lift up my eyes to you, you who sit in the heavens. ² Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to Yahweh, our God, until he has mercy on us. ³ Have mercy on us, Yahweh, have mercy on us, for we have endured much contempt. ⁴ Our soul is exceedingly filled with the scoffing of those who are at ease, with the contempt of the proud. Psalms Book 5 Chapter 124 ¹ If it had not been Yahweh who was on our side, let Israel now say, ² if it had not been Yahweh who was on our side, when men rose up against us, ³ then they would have swallowed us up alive, when their wrath was kindled against us, ⁴ then the waters would have overwhelmed us, the stream would have gone over our soul. ⁵ Then the proud waters would have gone over our soul. ⁶ Blessed be Yahweh, who has not given us as a prey to their teeth. ⁷ Our soul has escaped like a bird out of the fowler’s snare. The snare is broken, and we have escaped. ⁸ Our help is in Yahweh’s name, who made heaven and earth. Psalms Book 5 Chapter 125 ¹ Those who trust in Yahweh are as Mount Zion, which can’t be moved, but remains forever. ² As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so Yahweh surrounds his people from this time forward and forever more. ³ For the scepter of wickedness won’t remain over the allotment of the righteous, so that the righteous won’t use their hands to do evil. ⁴ Do good, Yahweh, to those who are good, to those who are upright in their hearts. ⁵ But as for those who turn away to their crooked ways, Yahweh will lead them away with the workers of iniquity. Peace be on Israel.

575 Psalms Book 5 Chapter 126 ¹ When Yahweh brought back those who returned to Zion, we were like those who dream. ² Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing. Then they said among the nations, “Yahweh has done great things for them.” ³ Yahweh has done great things for us, and we are glad. ⁴ Restore our fortunes again, Yahweh, like the streams in the Negev. ⁵ Those who sow in tears will reap in joy. ⁶ He who goes out weeping, carrying seed for sowing, will certainly come again with joy, carrying his sheaves. Psalms Book 5 Chapter 127 ¹ Unless Yahweh builds the house, they who build it labor in vain. Unless Yahweh watches over the city, the watchman guards it in vain. ² It is vain for you to rise up early, to stay up late, eating the bread of toil, for he gives sleep to his loved ones. ³ Behold, children are a heritage of Yahweh. The fruit of the womb is his reward. ⁴ As arrows in the hand of a mighty man, so are the children of youth. ⁵ Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them. They won’t be disappointed when they speak with their enemies in the gate. Psalms Book 5 Chapter 128 ¹ Blessed is everyone who fears Yahweh, who walks in his ways. ² For you will eat the labor of your hands. You will be happy, and it will be well with you. ³ Your wife will be as a fruitful vine in the innermost parts of your house, your children like olive shoots around your table. ⁴ Behold, this is how the man who fears Yahweh is blessed. ⁵ May Yahweh bless you out of Zion, and may you see the good of Jerusalem all the days of your life. ⁶ Yes, may you see your children’s children. Peace be upon Israel. Psalms Book 5 Chapter 129 ¹ Many times they have afflicted me from my youth up. Let Israel now say: ² many times they have afflicted me from my youth up, yet they have not prevailed against me. ³ The plowers plowed on my back. They made their furrows long. ⁴ Yahweh is righteous. He has cut apart the cords of the wicked. ⁵ Let them be disappointed and turned backward, all those who hate Zion. ⁶ Let them be as the grass on the housetops, which withers before it grows up, ⁷ with which the reaper doesn’t fill his hand, nor he who binds sheaves, his bosom. ⁸ Neither do those who go by say, “The blessing of Yahweh be on you. We bless you in Yahweh’s name.” Psalms Book 5 Chapter 130 ¹ Out of the depths I have cried to you, Yahweh. ² Lord, hear my voice. Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my petitions. ³ If you, Yah, kept a record of sins, Lord, who could stand? ⁴ But there is forgiveness with you, therefore you are feared. ⁵ I wait for Yahweh. My soul waits. I hope in his word. ⁶ My soul longs for the Lord more than watchmen long for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning. ⁷ Israel, hope in Yahweh, for there is loving kindness with Yahweh. Abundant redemption is with him. ⁸ He will redeem Israel from all their sins. Psalms Book 5 Chapter 131 ¹ Yahweh, my heart isn’t arrogant, nor my eyes lofty; nor do I concern myself with great matters, or things too wonderful for me. ² Surely I have stilled and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with his mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me. ³ Israel, hope in Yahweh, from this time forward and forever more. Psalms Book 5 Chapter 132

576 ¹ Yahweh, remember David and all his affliction, ² how he swore to Yahweh, and vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob: ³ “Surely I will not come into the structure of my house, nor go up into my bed; ⁴ I will not give sleep to my eyes, or slumber to my eyelids, ⁵ until I find out a place for Yahweh, a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob.” ⁶ Behold, we heard of it in Ephrathah. We found it in the field of Jaar. ⁷ “We will go into his dwelling place. We will worship at his footstool.” ⁸ Arise, Yahweh, into your resting place, you, and the ark of your strength. ⁹ Let your priests be clothed with righteousness. Let your saints shout for joy! ¹⁰ For your servant David’s sake, don’t turn away the face of your anointed one. ¹¹ Yahweh has sworn to David in truth. He will not turn from it: “I will set the fruit of your body on your throne. ¹² If your children will keep my covenant, my testimony that I will teach them, their children also will sit on your throne forever more.” ¹³ For Yahweh has chosen Zion. He has desired it for his habitation. ¹⁴ “This is my resting place forever. I will live here, for I have desired it. ¹⁵ I will abundantly bless her provision. I will satisfy her poor with bread. ¹⁶ I will also clothe her priests with salvation. Her saints will shout aloud for joy. ¹⁷ I will make the horn of David to bud there. I have ordained a lamp for my anointed. ¹⁸ I will clothe his enemies with shame, but on himself, his crown will shine.” Psalms Book 5 Chapter 133 ¹ See how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to live together in unity! ² It is like the precious oil on the head, that ran down on the beard, even Aaron’s beard, that came down on the edge of his robes, ³ like the dew of Hermon, that comes down on the hills of Zion; for there Yahweh gives the blessing, even life forever more. Psalms Book 5 Chapter 134 ¹ Look! Praise Yahweh, all you servants of Yahweh, who stand by night in Yahweh’s house! ² Lift up your hands in the sanctuary. Praise Yahweh! ³ May Yahweh bless you from Zion, even he who made heaven and earth. Psalms Book 5 Chapter 135 ¹ Praise Yah! Praise Yahweh’s name! Praise him, you servants of Yahweh, ² you who stand in Yahweh’s house, in the courts of our God’s house. ³ Praise Yah, for Yahweh is good. Sing praises to his name, for that is pleasant. ⁴ For Yah has chosen Jacob for himself, Israel for his own possession. ⁵ For I know that Yahweh is great, that our Lord is above all gods. ⁶ Whatever Yahweh pleased, that he has done, in heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all deeps. ⁷ He causes the clouds to rise from the ends of the earth. He makes lightnings with the rain. He brings the wind out of his treasuries. ⁸ He struck the firstborn of Egypt, both of man and animal. ⁹ He sent signs and wonders into the middle of you, Egypt, on Pharaoh, and on all his servants. ¹⁰ He struck many nations, and killed mighty kings— ¹¹ Sihon king of the Amorites, Og king of Bashan, and all the kingdoms of Canaan— ¹² and gave their land for a heritage, a heritage to Israel, his people. ¹³ Your name, Yahweh, endures forever; your renown, Yahweh, throughout all generations. ¹⁴ For Yahweh will judge his people and have compassion on his servants. ¹⁵ The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands. ¹⁶ They have mouths, but they can’t speak. They have eyes, but they can’t see. ¹⁷ They have ears, but they can’t hear, neither is there any breath in their mouths. ¹⁸ Those who make them will be like them, yes, everyone who trusts in them. ¹⁹ House of Israel, praise Yahweh! House of Aaron, praise Yahweh! ²⁰ House of Levi, praise Yahweh! You who fear Yahweh, praise Yahweh! ²¹ Blessed be Yahweh from Zion, who dwells in Jerusalem. Praise Yah! Psalms Book 5 Chapter 136

577 ¹ Give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever. ² Give thanks to the God of gods, for his loving kindness endures forever. ³ Give thanks to the Lord of lords, for his loving kindness endures forever; ⁴ to him who alone does great wonders, for his loving kindness endures forever; ⁵ to him who by understanding made the heavens, for his loving kindness endures forever; ⁶ to him who spread out the earth above the waters, for his loving kindness endures forever; ⁷ to him who made the great lights, for his loving kindness endures forever; ⁸ the sun to rule by day, for his loving kindness endures forever; ⁹ the moon and stars to rule by night, for his loving kindness endures forever; ¹⁰ to him who struck down the Egyptian firstborn, for his loving kindness endures forever; ¹¹ and brought out Israel from among them, for his loving kindness end ures forever; ¹² with a strong hand, and with an outstretched arm, for his loving kindness endures forever; ¹³ to him who divided the Red Sea apart, for his loving kindness endures forever; ¹⁴ and made Israel to pass through the middle of it, for his loving kindness endures forever; ¹⁵ but overthrew Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea, for his loving kindness endures forever; ¹⁶ to him who led his people through the wilderness, for his loving kindness endures forever; ¹⁷ to him who struck great kings, for his loving kindness endures forever; ¹⁸ and killed mighty kings, for his loving kindness endures forever; ¹⁹ Sihon king of the Amorites, for his loving kindness endures forever; ²⁰ Og king of Bashan, for his loving kindness endures forever; ²¹ and gave their land as an inheritance, for his loving kindness endures forever; ²² even a heritage to Israel his servant, for his loving kindness endures forever; ²³ who remembered us in our low estate, for his loving kindness endures forever; ²⁴ and has delivered us from our adversaries, for his loving kindness endures forever; ²⁵ who gives food to every creature, for his loving kindness endures forever. ²⁶ Oh give thanks to the God of heaven, for his loving kindness endures forever. Psalms Book 5 Chapter 137 ¹ By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down. Yes, we wept, when we remembered Zion. ² On the willows in that land, we hung up our harps. ³ For there, those who led us captive asked us for songs. Those who tormented us demanded songs of joy: “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!” ⁴ How can we sing Yahweh’s song in a foreign land? ⁵ If I forget you, Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its skill. ⁶ Let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth if I don’t remember you, if I don’t prefer Jerusalem above my chief joy. ⁷ Remember, Yahweh, against the children of Edom in the day of Jerusalem, who said, “Raze it! Raze it even to its foundation!” ⁸ Daughter of Babylon, doomed to destruction, he will be happy who repays you, as you have done to us. ⁹ Happy shall he be, who takes and dashes your little ones against the rock. Psalms Book 5 Chapter 138 ¹ I will give you thanks with my whole heart. Before the gods, I will sing praises to you. ² I will bow down toward your holy temple, and give thanks to your name for your loving kindness and for your truth; for you have exalted your name and your word above all. ³ In the day that I called, you answered me. You encouraged me with strength in my soul. ⁴ All the kings of the earth will give you thanks, Yahweh, for they have heard the words of your mouth. ⁵ Yes, they will sing of the ways of Yahweh, for Yahweh’s glory is great! ⁶ For though Yahweh is high, yet he looks after the lowly; but he knows the proud from afar. ⁷ Though I walk in the middle of trouble, you will revive me. You will stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies. Your right hand will save me. ⁸ Yahweh will fulfill that which concerns me. Your loving kindness, Yahweh, endures forever. Don’t forsake the works of your own hands. Psalms Book 5 Chapter 139 ¹ Yahweh, you have searched me, and you know me.

of Yahweh, for Yahweh’s glory is great! ⁶ For though Yahweh is high, yet he looks after the lowly; but he knows the proud from afar. ⁷ Though I walk in the middle of trouble, you will revive me. You will stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies. Your right hand will save me. ⁸ Yahweh will fulfill that which concerns me. Your loving kindness, Yahweh, endures forever. Don’t forsake the works of your own hands. Psalms Book 5 Chapter 139 ¹ Yahweh, you have searched me, and you know me. ² You know my sitting down and my rising

578 up. You perceive my thoughts from afar. ³ You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways. ⁴ For there is not a word on my tongue, but behold, Yahweh, you know it altogether. ⁵ You hem me in behind and before. You laid your hand on me. ⁶ This knowledge is beyond me. It’s lofty. I can’t attain it. ⁷ Where could I go from your Spirit? Or where could I flee from your presence? ⁸ If I ascend up into heaven, you are there. If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, you are there! ⁹ If I take the wings of the dawn, and settle in the uttermost parts of the sea, ¹⁰ even there your hand will lead me, and your right hand will hold me. ¹¹ If I say, “Surely the darkness will overwhelm me. The light around me will be night,” ¹² even the darkness doesn’t hide from you, but the night shines as the day. The darkness is like light to you. ¹³ For you formed my inmost being. You knit me together in my mother’s womb. ¹⁴ I will give thanks to you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful. My soul knows that very well. ¹⁵ My frame wasn’t hidden from you, when I was made in secret, woven together in the depths of the earth. ¹⁶ Your eyes saw my body. In your book they were all written, the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there were none of them. ¹⁷ How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is their sum! ¹⁸ If I would count them, they are more in number than the sand. When I wake up, I am still with you. ¹⁹ If only you, God, would kill the wicked. Get away from me, you bloodthirsty men! ²⁰ For they speak against you wickedly. Your enemies take your name in vain. ²¹ Yahweh, don’t I hate those who hate you? Am I not grieved with those who rise up against you? ²² I hate them with perfect hatred. They have become my enemies. ²³ Search me, God, and know my heart. Try me, and know my thoughts. ²⁴ See if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way. Psalms Book 5 Chapter 140 ¹ Deliver me, Yahweh, from evil men. Preserve me from violent men: ² those who devise mischief in their hearts. They continually gather themselves together for war. ³ They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent. Viper’s poison is under their lips. Selah. ⁴ Yahweh, keep me from the hands of the wicked. Preserve me from the violent men who have determined to trip my feet. ⁵ The proud have hidden a snare for me, they have spread the cords of a net by the path. They have set traps for me. Selah. ⁶ I said to Yahweh, “You are my God.” Listen to the cry of my petitions, Yahweh. ⁷ Yahweh, the Lord, the strength of my salvation, you have covered my head in the day of battle. ⁸ Yahweh, don’t grant the desires of the wicked. Don’t let their evil plans succeed, or they will become proud. Selah. ⁹ As for the head of those who surround me, let the mischief of their own lips cover them. ¹⁰ Let burning coals fall on them. Let them be thrown into the fire, into miry pits, from where they never rise. ¹¹ An evil speaker won’t be established in the earth. Evil will hunt the violent man to overthrow him. ¹² I know that Yahweh will maintain the cause of the afflicted, and justice for the needy. ¹³ Surely the righteous will give thanks to your name. The upright will dwell in your presence. Psalms Book 5 Chapter 141 ¹ Yahweh, I have called on you. Come to me quickly! Listen to my voice when I call to you. ² Let my prayer be set before you like incense; the lifting up of my hands like the evening sacrifice. ³ Set a watch, Yahweh, before my mouth. Keep the door of my lips. ⁴ Don’t incline my heart to any evil thing, to practice deeds of wickedness with men who work iniquity. Don’t let me eat of their delicacies. ⁵ Let the righteous strike me, it is kindness; let him reprove me, it is like oil on the head; don’t let my head refuse it; Yet my prayer is always against evil deeds. ⁶ Their judges are thrown down by the sides of the rock. They will hear my words, for they are well spoken.

ening sacrifice. ³ Set a watch, Yahweh, before my mouth. Keep the door of my lips. ⁴ Don’t incline my heart to any evil thing, to practice deeds of wickedness with men who work iniquity. Don’t let me eat of their delicacies. ⁵ Let the righteous strike me, it is kindness; let him reprove me, it is like oil on the head; don’t let my head refuse it; Yet my prayer is always against evil deeds. ⁶ Their judges are thrown down by the sides of the rock. They will hear my words, for they are well spoken. ⁷ “As when one plows and breaks up the earth, our bones are scattered at the mouth of Sheol.” ⁸ For my eyes are on you, Yahweh, the Lord. I take refuge in you. Don’t leave my soul destitute. ⁹ Keep me from the

579 snare which they have laid for me, from the traps of the workers of iniquity. ¹⁰ Let the wicked fall together into their own nets while I pass by. Psalms Book 5 Chapter 142 ¹ I cry with my voice to Yahweh. With my voice, I ask Yahweh for mercy. ² I pour out my complaint before him. I tell him my troubles. ³ When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, you knew my route. On the path in which I walk, they have hidden a snare for me. ⁴ Look on my right, and see; for there is no one who is concerned for me. Refuge has fled from me. No one cares for my soul. ⁵ I cried to you, Yahweh. I said, “You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.” ⁶ Listen to my cry, for I am in desperate need. Deliver me from my persecutors, for they are too strong for me. ⁷ Bring my soul out of prison, that I may give thanks to your name. The righteous will surround me, for you will be good to me. Psalms Book 5 Chapter 143 ¹ Hear my prayer, Yahweh. Listen to my petitions. In your faithfulness and righteousness, relieve me. ² Don’t enter into judgment with your servant, for in your sight no man living is righteous. ³ For the enemy pursues my soul. He has struck my life down to the ground. He has made me live in dark places, as those who have been long dead. ⁴ Therefore my spirit is overwhelmed within me. My heart within me is desolate. ⁵ I remember the days of old. I meditate on all your doings. I contemplate the work of your hands. ⁶ I spread out my hands to you. My soul thirsts for you, like a parched land. Selah. ⁷ Hurry to answer me, Yahweh. My spirit fails. Don’t hide your face from me, so that I don’t become like those who go down into the pit. ⁸ Cause me to hear your loving kindness in the morning, for I trust in you. Cause me to know the way in which I should walk, for I lift up my soul to you. ⁹ Deliver me, Yahweh, from my enemies. I flee to you to hide me. ¹⁰ Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. Your Spirit is good. Lead me in the land of uprightness. ¹¹ Revive me, Yahweh, for your name’s sake. In your righteousness, bring my soul out of trouble. ¹² In your loving kindness, cut off my enemies, and destroy all those who afflict my soul, for I am your servant. Psalms Book 5 Chapter 144 ¹ Blessed be Yahweh, my rock, who trains my hands to war, and my fingers to battle— ² my loving kindness, my fortress, my high tower, my deliverer, my shield, and he in whom I take refuge, who subdues my people under me. ³ Yahweh, what is man, that you care for him? Or the son of man, that you think of him? ⁴ Man is like a breath. His days are like a shadow that passes away. ⁵ Part your heavens, Yahweh, and come down. Touch the mountains, and they will smoke. ⁶ Throw out lightning, and scatter them. Send out your arrows, and rout them. ⁷ Stretch out your hand from above, rescue me, and deliver me out of great waters, out of the hands of foreigners, ⁸ whose mouths speak deceit, whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood. ⁹ I will sing a new song to you, God. On a ten-stringed lyre, I will sing praises to you. ¹⁰ You are he who gives salvation to kings, who rescues David, his servant, from the deadly sword. ¹¹ Rescue me, and deliver me out of the hands of foreigners, whose mouths speak deceit, whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood. ¹² Then our sons will be like well-nurtured plants, our daughters like pillars carved to adorn a palace. ¹³ Our barns are full, filled with all kinds of provision. Our sheep produce thousands and ten thousands in our fields. ¹⁴ Our oxen will pull heavy loads. There is no breaking in, and no going away, and no outcry in our streets. ¹⁵ Happy are the people who are in such a situation. Happy are the people whose God is Yahweh. Psalms Book 5 Chapter 145

580 ¹ I will exalt you, my God, the King. I will praise your name forever and ever. ² Every day I will praise you. I will extol your name forever and ever. ³ Great is Yahweh, and greatly to be praised! His greatness is unsearchable. ⁴ One generation will commend your works to another, and will declare your mighty acts. ⁵ I will meditate on the glorious majesty of your honor, on your wondrous works. ⁶ Men will speak of the might of your awesome acts. I will declare your greatness. ⁷ They will utter the memory of your great goodness, and will sing of your righteousness. ⁸ Yahweh is gracious, merciful, slow to anger, and of great loving kindness. ⁹ Yahweh is good to all. His tender mercies are over all his works. ¹⁰ All your works will give thanks to you, Yahweh. Your saints will extol you. ¹¹ They will speak of the glory of your kingdom, and talk about your power, ¹² to make known to the sons of men his mighty acts, the glory of the majesty of his kingdom. ¹³ Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. Your dominion endures throughout all generations. Yahweh is faithful in all his words, and loving in all his deeds. ¹⁴ Yahweh upholds all who fall, and raises up all those who are bowed down. ¹⁵ The eyes of all wait for you. You give them their food in due season. ¹⁶ You open your hand, and satisfy the desire of every living thing. ¹⁷ Yahweh is righteous in all his ways, and gracious in all his works. ¹⁸ Yahweh is near to all those who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. ¹⁹ He will fulfill the desire of those who fear him. He also will hear their cry, and will save them. ²⁰ Yahweh preserves all those who love him, but he will destroy all the wicked. ²¹ My mouth will speak the praise of Yahweh. Let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever. Psalms Book 5 Chapter 146 ¹ Praise Yah! Praise Yahweh, my soul. ² While I live, I will praise Yahweh. I will sing praises to my God as long as I exist. ³ Don’t put your trust in princes, in a son of man in whom there is no help. ⁴ His spirit departs, and he returns to the earth. In that very day, his thoughts perish. ⁵ Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in Yahweh, his God, ⁶ who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them; who keeps truth forever; ⁷ who executes justice for the oppressed; who gives food to the hungry. Yahweh frees the prisoners. ⁸ Yahweh opens the eyes of the blind. Yahweh raises up those who are bowed down. Yahweh loves the righteous. ⁹ Yahweh preserves the foreigners. He upholds the fatherless and widow, but he turns the way of the wicked upside down. ¹⁰ Yahweh will reign forever; your God, O Zion, to all generations. Praise Yah! Psalms Book 5 Chapter 147 ¹ Praise Yah, for it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant and fitting to praise him. ² Yahweh builds up Jerusalem. He gathers together the outcasts of Israel. ³ He heals the broken in heart, and binds up their wounds. ⁴ He counts the number of the stars. He calls them all by their names. ⁵ Great is our Lord, and mighty in power. His understanding is infinite. ⁶ Yahweh upholds the humble. He brings the wicked down to the ground. ⁷ Sing to Yahweh with thanksgiving. Sing praises on the harp to our God, ⁸ who covers the sky with clouds, who prepares rain for the earth, who makes grass grow on the mountains. ⁹ He provides food for the livestock, and for the young ravens when they call. ¹⁰ He doesn’t delight in the strength of the horse. He takes no pleasure in the legs of a man. ¹¹ Yahweh takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his loving kindness. ¹² Praise Yahweh, Jerusalem! Praise your God, Zion! ¹³ For he has strengthened the bars of your gates. He has blessed your children within you. ¹⁴ He makes peace in your borders. He fills you with the finest of the wheat. ¹⁵ He sends out his commandment to the earth. His word runs very swiftly. ¹⁶ He gives snow like wool, and scatters frost like ashes. ¹⁷ He hurls down his hail like pebbles.

legs of a man. ¹¹ Yahweh takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his loving kindness. ¹² Praise Yahweh, Jerusalem! Praise your God, Zion! ¹³ For he has strengthened the bars of your gates. He has blessed your children within you. ¹⁴ He makes peace in your borders. He fills you with the finest of the wheat. ¹⁵ He sends out his commandment to the earth. His word runs very swiftly. ¹⁶ He gives snow like wool, and scatters frost like ashes. ¹⁷ He hurls down his hail like pebbles. Who can stand before his cold? ¹⁸ He sends out his word, and melts them. He causes his wind to blow, and the waters flow. ¹⁹ He shows his word to Jacob, his statutes and his ordinances to Israel. ²⁰ He has not done this for just any nation. They don’t know his ordinances.

581 Praise Yah! Psalms Book 5 Chapter 148 ¹ Praise Yah! Praise Yahweh from the heavens! Praise him in the heights! ² Praise him, all his angels! Praise him, all his army! ³ Praise him, sun and moon! Praise him, all you shining stars! ⁴ Praise him, you heavens of heavens, you waters that are above the heavens. ⁵ Let them praise Yahweh’s name, for he commanded, and they were created. ⁶ He has also established them forever and ever. He has made a decree which will not pass away. ⁷ Praise Yahweh from the earth, you great sea creatures, and all depths, ⁸ lightning and hail, snow and clouds, stormy wind, fulfilling his word, ⁹ mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars, ¹⁰ wild animals and all livestock, small creatures and flying birds, ¹¹ kings of the earth and all peoples, princes and all judges of the earth, ¹² both young men and maidens, old men and children. ¹³ Let them praise Yahweh’s name, for his name alone is exalted. His glory is above the earth and the heavens. ¹⁴ He has lifted up the horn of his people, the praise of all his saints, even of the children of Israel, a people near to him. Praise Yah! Psalms Book 5 Chapter 149 ¹ Praise Yahweh! Sing to Yahweh a new song, his praise in the assembly of the saints. ² Let Israel rejoice in him who made them. Let the children of Zion be joyful in their King. ³ Let them praise his name in the dance! Let them sing praises to him with tambourine and harp! ⁴ For Yahweh takes pleasure in his people. He crowns the humble with salvation. ⁵ Let the saints rejoice in honor. Let them sing for joy on their beds. ⁶ May the high praises of God be in their mouths, and a two- edged sword in their hand, ⁷ to execute vengeance on the nations, and punishments on the peoples; ⁸ to bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron; ⁹ to execute on them the written judgment. All his saints have this honor. Praise Yah! Psalms Book 5 Chapter 150 ¹ Praise Yah! Praise God in his sanctuary! Praise him in his heavens for his acts of power! ² Praise him for his mighty acts! Praise him according to his excellent greatness! ³ Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet! Praise him with harp and lyre! ⁴ Praise him with tambourine and dancing! Praise him with stringed instruments and flute! ⁵ Praise him with loud cymbals! Praise him with resounding cymbals! ⁶ Let everything that has breath praise Yah! Praise Yah! Psalm 151 Psalm 151 This Psalm is a genuine one of David, though extra, composed when he fought in single combat with Goliath. 1 I was small among my brothers, and youngest in my father’s house. I tended my father’s sheep. 2 My hands formed a musical instrument, and my fingers tuned a lyre. 3 Who shall tell my Lord? The Lord himself, he himself hears. 4 He sent forth his angel and took me from my father’s sheep, and he anointed me with his anointing oil. 5 My brothers were handsome and tall; but the Lord didn’t take pleasure in them. 6 I went out to meet the Philistine, and he cursed me by his idols. 7 But I drew his own sword and beheaded him, and removed reproach from the children of Israel.

582 Proverbs Proverbs Chapter 1 ¹ The Proverbs of Solomon, the son of David, king of Israel: ² That men may appreciate wisdom and discipline, may understand words of intelligence; ³ May receive training in wise conduct, in what is right, just and honest; ⁴ That resourcefulness may be imparted to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion. ⁵ A wise man by hearing them will advance in learning, an intelligent man will gain sound guidance, ⁶ That he may comprehend proverb and parable, the words of the wise and their riddles. ⁷ The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; wisdom and instruction fools despise. ⁸ Hear, my son, your father's instruction, and reject not your mother's teaching; ⁹ A graceful diadem will they be for your head; a torque for your neck. ¹⁰ My son, should sinners entice you, ¹¹ and say, "Come along with us! Let us lie in wait for the honest man, let us, unprovoked, set a trap for the innocent; ¹² Let us swallow them up, as the nether world does, alive, in the prime of life, like those who go down to the pit! ¹³ All kinds of precious wealth shall we gain, we shall fill our houses with booty; ¹⁴ Cast in your lot with us, we shall all have one purse!" ¹⁵ My son, walk not in the way with them, hold back your foot from their path! ¹⁶ (For their feet run to evil, they hasten to shed blood.) ¹⁷ It is in vain that a net is spread before the eyes of any bird - ¹⁸ These men lie in wait for their own blood, they set a trap for their own lives. ¹⁹ This is the fate of everyone greedy of loot: unlawful gain takes away the life of him who acquires it. ²⁰ Wisdom cries aloud in the street, in the open squares she raises her voice; ²¹ Down the crowded ways she calls out, at the city gates she utters her words: ²² "How long, you simple ones, will you love inanity, ²³ how long will you turn away at my reproof? Lo! I will pour out to you my spirit, I will acquaint you with my words. ²⁴ "Because I called and you refused, I extended my hand and no one took notice; ²⁵ Because you disdained all my counsel, and my reproof you ignored - ²⁶ I, in my turn, will laugh at your doom; I will mock when terror overtakes you; ²⁷ When terror comes upon you like a storm, and your doom approaches like a whirlwind; when distress and anguish befall you. ²⁸ "Then they call me, but I answer not; they seek me, but find me not; ²⁹ Because they hated knowledge, and chose not the fear of the LORD; ³⁰ They ignored my counsel, they spurned all my reproof; And in their arrogance they preferred arrogance, and like fools they hated knowledge: ³¹ "Now they must eat the fruit of their own way, and with their own devices be glutted. ³² For the self-will of the simple kills them, the smugness of fools destroys them. ³³ But he who obeys me dwells in security, in peace, without fear of harm." Proverbs Chapter 2 ¹ My son, if you receive my words and treasure my commands, ² Turning your ear to wisdom, inclining your heart to understanding; ³ Yes, if you call to intelligence, and to understanding raise your voice; ⁴ If you seek her like silver, and like hidden treasures search her out: ⁵ Then will you understand the fear of the LORD; the knowledge of God you will find; ⁶ For the LORD gives wisdom, from his mouth come knowledge and understanding; ⁷ He has counsel in store for the upright, he is the shield of those who walk honestly, ⁸ Guarding the paths of justice, protecting the way of his pious ones.

g your heart to understanding; ³ Yes, if you call to intelligence, and to understanding raise your voice; ⁴ If you seek her like silver, and like hidden treasures search her out: ⁵ Then will you understand the fear of the LORD; the knowledge of God you will find; ⁶ For the LORD gives wisdom, from his mouth come knowledge and understanding; ⁷ He has counsel in store for the upright, he is the shield of those who walk honestly, ⁸ Guarding the paths of justice, protecting the way of his pious ones. ⁹ Then you will understand rectitude and justice, honesty, every good path; ¹⁰ For wisdom will enter your heart, knowledge will please your soul, ¹¹ Discretion will watch over you, understanding will guard you; ¹² Saving you from the way of evil men, from men of perverse speech, ¹³ Who leave the straight paths to walk in the way of darkness, ¹⁴ Who delight in doing evil, rejoice in perversity; ¹⁵ Whose ways are crooked, and devious their paths; ¹⁶ Saving you from the wife of another, from the adulteress with her smooth words, ¹⁷ Who forsakes the companion of her youth and forgets the pact with her God; ¹⁸ For her path sinks down to death, and her

583 footsteps lead to the shades; ¹⁹ None who enter thereon come back again, or gain the paths of life. ²⁰ Thus you may walk in the way of good men, and keep to the paths of the just. ²¹ For the upright will dwell in the land, the honest will remain in it; ²² But the wicked will be cut off from the land, the faithless will be rooted out of it. Proverbs Chapter 3 ¹ My son, forget not my teaching, keep in mind my commands; ² For many days, and years of life, and peace, will they bring you. ³ Let not kindness and fidelity leave you; bind them around your neck; ⁴ Then will you win favor and good esteem before God and man. ⁵ Trust in the LORD with all your heart, on your own intelligence rely not; ⁶ In all your ways be mindful of him, and he will make straight your paths. ⁷ Be not wise in your own eyes, fear the LORD and turn away from evil; ⁸ This will mean health for your flesh and vigor for your bones. ⁹ Honor the LORD with your wealth, with first fruits of all your produce; ¹⁰ Then will your barns be filled with grain, with new wine your vats will overflow. ¹¹ The discipline of the LORD, my son, disdain not; spurn not his reproof; ¹² For whom the LORD loves he reproves, and he chastises the son he favors. ¹³ Happy the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding! ¹⁴ For her profit is better than profit in silver, and better than gold is her revenue; ¹⁵ She is more precious than corals, and none of your choice possessions can compare with her. ¹⁶ Long life is in her right hand, in her left are riches and honor; ¹⁷ Her ways are pleasant ways, and all her paths are peace; ¹⁸ She is a tree of life to those who grasp her, and he is happy who holds her fast. ¹⁹ The LORD by wisdom founded the earth, established the heavens by understanding; ²⁰ By his knowledge the depths break open, and the clouds drop down dew. ²¹ My son, let not these slip out of your sight: keep advice and counsel in view; ²² So will they be life to your soul, and an adornment for your neck. ²³ Then you may securely go your way; your foot will never stumble; ²⁴ When you lie down, you need not be afraid, when you rest, your sleep will be sweet. ²⁵ Be not afraid of sudden terror, of the ruin of the wicked when it comes; ²⁶ For the LORD will be your confidence, and will keep your foot from the snare. ²⁷ Refuse no one the good on which he has a claim when it is in your power to do it for him. ²⁸ Say not to your neighbor, "Go, and come again, tomorrow I will give," when you can give at once. ²⁹ Plot no evil against your neighbor, against him who lives at peace with you. ³⁰ Quarrel not with a man without cause, with one who has done you no harm. ³¹ Envy not the lawless man and choose none of his ways: ³² To the LORD the perverse man is an abomination, but with the upright is his friendship. ³³ The curse of the LORD is on the house of the wicked, but the dwelling of the just he blesses; ³⁴ When he is dealing with the arrogant, he is stern, but to the humble he shows kindness. ³⁵ Honor is the possession of wise men, but fools inherit shame. Proverbs Chapter 4 ¹ Hear, O children, a father's instruction, be attentive, that you may gain understanding! ² Yes, excellent advice I give you; my teaching do not forsake. ³ When I was my father's child, frail, yet the darling of my mother, ⁴ He taught me, and said to me: "Let your heart hold fast my words: keep my commands, that you may live! ⁵ Get wisdom, get understanding! Do not forget or turn aside from the words I utter. ⁶ Forsake her not, and she will preserve you; love her, and she will safeguard you; ⁷ The beginning of wisdom is: get wisdom; at the cost of all you have, get understanding. ⁸ Extol her, and she will exalt you; she will bring you honors if you embrace her; ⁹ She will put on your head a graceful diadem; a glorious crown will she bestow on you." ¹⁰ Hear, my son, and receive my words, and the years of your life shall be many. ¹¹ On the way of wisdom I direct you, I lead you on straightforward paths.

Forsake her not, and she will preserve you; love her, and she will safeguard you; ⁷ The beginning of wisdom is: get wisdom; at the cost of all you have, get understanding. ⁸ Extol her, and she will exalt you; she will bring you honors if you embrace her; ⁹ She will put on your head a graceful diadem; a glorious crown will she bestow on you." ¹⁰ Hear, my son, and receive my words, and the years of your life shall be many. ¹¹ On the way of wisdom I direct you, I lead you on straightforward paths. ¹² When you walk, your step will not be impeded, and should you run, you will not stumble. ¹³ Hold fast to instruction, never let her go; keep her, for she is your life. ¹⁴ The path of the wicked enter not, walk not on the way of evil men; ¹⁵ Shun

584 it, cross it not, turn aside from it, and pass on. ¹⁶ For they cannot rest unless they have done evil; to have made no one stumble steals away their sleep. ¹⁷ For they eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence. ¹⁸ But the path of the just is like shining light, that grows in brilliance till perfect day. ¹⁹ The way of the wicked is like darkness; they know not on what they stumble. ²⁰ My son, to my words be attentive, to my sayings incline your ear; ²¹ Let them not slip out of your sight, keep them within your heart; ²² For they are life to those who find them, to man's whole being they are health. ²³ With closest custody, guard your heart, for in it are the sources of life. ²⁴ Put away from you dishonest talk, deceitful speech put far from you. ²⁵ Let your eyes look straight ahead and your glance be directly forward. ²⁶ Survey the path for your feet, and let all your ways be sure. ²⁷ Turn neither to right nor to left, keep your foot far from evil. Proverbs Chapter 5 ¹ My son, to my wisdom be attentive, to my knowledge incline your ear, ² That discretion may watch over you, and understanding may guard you. ³ The lips of an adulteress drip with honey, and her mouth is smoother than oil; ⁴ But in the end she is as bitter as wormwood, as sharp as a two-edged sword. ⁵ Her feet go down to death, to the nether world her steps attain; ⁶ Lest you see before you the road to life, her paths will ramble, you know not where. ⁷ So now, O children, listen to me, go not astray from the words of my mouth. ⁸ Keep your way far from her, approach not the door of her house, ⁹ Lest you give your honor to others, and your years to a merciless one; ¹⁰ Lest strangers have their fill of your wealth, your hard-won earnings go to an alien's house; ¹¹ And you groan in the end, when your flesh and your body are consumed; ¹² And you say, "Oh, why did I hate instruction, and my heart spurn reproof! ¹³ Why did I not listen to the voice of my teachers, nor to my instructors incline my ear! ¹⁴ I have all but come to utter ruin, condemned by the public assembly!" ¹⁵ Drink water from your own cistern, running water from your own well. ¹⁶ How may your water sources be dispersed abroad, streams of water in the streets? ¹⁷ Let your fountain be yours alone, not one shared with strangers; ¹⁸ And have joy of the wife of your youth, ¹⁹ your lovely hind, your graceful doe. Her love will invigorate you always, through her love you will flourish continually, ²⁰ Why then, my son, should you go astray for another's wife and accept the embraces of an adulteress? ²¹ For each man's ways are plain to the LORD'S sight; all their paths he surveys; ²² By his own iniquities the wicked man will be caught, in the meshes of his own sin he will be held fast; ²³ He will die from lack of discipline, through the greatness of his folly he will be lost. Proverbs Chapter 6 ¹ My son, if you have become surety to your neighbor, given your hand in pledge to another, ² You have been snared by the utterance of your lips, caught by the words of your mouth; ³ So do this, my son, to free yourself, since you have fallen into your neighbor's power: Go, hurry, stir up your neighbor! ⁴ Give no sleep to your eyes, nor slumber to your eyelids; ⁵ Free yourself as a gazelle from the snare, or as a bird from the hand of the fowler. ⁶ Go to the ant, O sluggard, study her ways and learn wisdom; ⁷ For though she has no chief, no commander or ruler, ⁸ She procures her food in the summer, stores up her provisions in the harvest. ⁹ How long, O sluggard, will you rest? when will you rise from your sleep? ¹⁰ A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the arms to rest— ¹¹ Then will poverty come upon you like a highwayman, and want like an armed man. ¹² A scoundrel, a villain, is he who deals in crooked talk. ¹³ He winks his eyes, shuffles his feet, makes signs with his fingers; ¹⁴ He has perversity in his heart, is always plotting evil, sows discord.

er food in the summer, stores up her provisions in the harvest. ⁹ How long, O sluggard, will you rest? when will you rise from your sleep? ¹⁰ A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the arms to rest— ¹¹ Then will poverty come upon you like a highwayman, and want like an armed man. ¹² A scoundrel, a villain, is he who deals in crooked talk. ¹³ He winks his eyes, shuffles his feet, makes signs with his fingers; ¹⁴ He has perversity in his heart, is always plotting evil, sows discord. ¹⁵ Therefore suddenly ruin comes upon him; in an instant he is crushed beyond cure. ¹⁶ There are six things the LORD hates, yes, seven are an abomination to him; ¹⁷ Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood; ¹⁸ A heart that plots wicked schemes, feet that run swiftly to

585 evil, ¹⁹ The false witness who utters lies, and he who sows discord among brothers. ²⁰ Observe, my son, your father's bidding, and reject not your mother's teaching; ²¹ Keep them fastened over your heart always, put them around your neck; ²² When you walk, they will guide you; when you lie down, they will watch over you; when you wake, they will converse with you. ²³ For the bidding is a lamp, and the teaching a light, and a way to life are the reproofs of discipline; ²⁴ To keep you from your neighbor's wife, from the smooth tongue of the adulteress. ²⁵ Lust not in your heart after her beauty, let her not captivate you with her glance! ²⁶ For the price of a loose woman may be scarcely a loaf of bread, But if she is married, she is a trap for your precious life. ²⁷ Can a man take fire to his bosom, and his garments not be burned? ²⁸ Or can a man walk on live coals, and his feet not be scorched? ²⁹ So with him who goes in to his neighbor's wife—none who touches her shall go unpunished. ³⁰ Men despise not the thief if he steals to satisfy his appetite when he is hungry; ³¹ Yet if he be caught he must pay back sevenfold; all the wealth of his house he may yield up. ³² But he who commits adultery is a fool; he who would destroy himself does it. ³³ A degrading beating will he get, and his disgrace will not be wiped away; ³⁴ For vindictive is the husband's wrath, he will have no pity on the day of vengeance; ³⁵ He will not consider any restitution, nor be satisfied with the greatest gifts. Proverbs Chapter 7 ¹ My son, keep my words, and treasure my commands. ² Keep my commands and live, my teaching as the apple of your eye; ³ Bind them on your fingers, write them on the tablet of your heart. ⁴ Say to Wisdom, "You are my sister!" call Understanding, "Friend!" ⁵ That they may keep you from another's wife, from the adulteress with her smooth words. ⁶ For at the window of my house, through my lattice I looked out— ⁷ And I saw among the simple ones, I observed among the young men, a youth with no sense, ⁸ Going along the street near the corner, then walking in the direction of her house— ⁹ In the twilight, at dusk of day, at the time of the dark of night. ¹⁰ And lo! the woman comes to meet him, robed like a harlot, with secret designs— ¹¹ She is fickle and unruly, in her home her feet cannot rest; ¹² Now she is in the streets, now in the open squares, and at every corner she lurks in ambush 13 When she seizes him, she kisses him, and with an impudent look says to him: 14 "I owed peace offerings, and today I have fulfilled my vows; 15 So I came out to meet you, to look for you, and I have found you! 16 With coverlets I have spread my couch, with brocaded cloths of Egyptian linen; 17 I have sprinkled my bed with myrrh, with aloes, and with cinnamon. 18 "Come, let us drink our fill of love, until morning, let us feast on love! 19 For my husband is not at home, he has gone on a long journey; 20 A bag of money he took with him, not till the full moon will he return home." 21 She wins him over by her repeated urging, with her smooth lips she leads him astray; 22 He follows her stupidly, like an ox that is led to slaughter; Like a stag that minces toward the net, 23 till an arrow pierces its liver; Like a bird that rushes into a snare, unaware that its life is at stake. 24 So now, O children, listen to me, be attentive to the words of my mouth! 25 Let not your heart turn to her ways, go not astray in her paths; 26 For many are those she has struck down dead, numerous, those she has slain. 27 Her house is made up of ways to the nether world, leading down into the chambers of death. Proverbs Chapter 8 ¹ Does not Wisdom call, and Understanding raise her voice? ² On the top of the heights along the road, at the crossroads she takes her stand; ³ By the gates at the approaches of the city, in the entryways she cries aloud: ⁴ "To you, O men, I call; my appeal is to the children of men. ⁵ You simple ones, gain resource, you fools, gain sense.

uck down dead, numerous, those she has slain. 27 Her house is made up of ways to the nether world, leading down into the chambers of death. Proverbs Chapter 8 ¹ Does not Wisdom call, and Understanding raise her voice? ² On the top of the heights along the road, at the crossroads she takes her stand; ³ By the gates at the approaches of the city, in the entryways she cries aloud: ⁴ "To you, O men, I call; my appeal is to the children of men. ⁵ You simple ones, gain resource, you fools, gain sense. ⁶ Give heed! for noble things I speak; honesty opens my lips. ⁷ Yes, the truth my mouth recounts, but wickedness my lips abhor. ⁸ Sincere are all the words of my mouth, no one of them is wily or crooked; ⁹ All of them are plain to the man of

586 intelligence, and right to those who attain knowledge. ¹⁰ Receive my instruction in preference to silver, and knowledge rather than choice gold. ¹¹ (For Wisdom is better than corals, and no choice possessions can compare with her.) ¹² I, Wisdom, dwell with experience, and judicious knowledge I attain. ¹³ (The fear of the LORD is to hate evil;) Pride, arrogance, the evil way, and the perverse mouth I hate. ¹⁴ Mine are counsel and advice; Mine is strength; I am understanding. ¹⁵ By me kings reign, and lawgivers establish justice; ¹⁶ By me princes govern, and nobles; all the rulers of earth. ¹⁷ Those who love me I also love, and those who seek me find me. ¹⁸ With me are riches and honor, enduring wealth and prosperity. ¹⁹ My fruit is better than gold, yes, than pure gold, and my revenue than choice silver. ²⁰ On the way of duty I walk, along the paths of justice, ²¹ Granting wealth to those who love me, and filling their treasuries. ²² The LORD begot me, the first-born of his ways, the forerunner of his prodigies of long ago; ²³ From of old I was poured forth, at the first, before the earth. ²⁴ When there were no depths I was brought forth, when there were no fountains or springs of water; ²⁵ Before the mountains were settled into place, before the hills, I was brought forth; ²⁶ While as yet the earth and the fields were not made, nor the first clods of the world. ²⁷ When he established the heavens I was there, when he marked out the vault over the face of the deep; ²⁸ When he made firm the skies above, when he fixed fast the foundations of the earth; ²⁹ When he set for the sea its limit, so that the waters should not transgress his command; ³⁰ Then was I beside him as his craftsman, and I was his delight day by day, Playing before him all the while, ³¹ playing on the surface of his earth; and I found delight in the sons of men. ³² So now, O children, listen to me; ³³ instruction and wisdom do not reject! Happy the man who obeys me, and happy those who keep my ways, ³⁴ Happy the man watching daily at my gates, waiting at my doorposts; ³⁵ For he who finds me finds life, and wins favor from the LORD; ³⁶ But he who misses me harms himself; all who hate me love death." Proverbs Chapter 9 ¹ Wisdom has built her house, she has set up her seven columns; ² She has dressed her meat, mixed her wine, yes, she has spread her table. ³ She has sent out her maidens; she calls from the heights out over the city: ⁴ "Let whoever is simple turn in here; to him who lacks understanding, I say, ⁵ Come, eat of my food, and drink of the wine I have mixed! ⁶ Forsake foolishness that you may live; advance in the way of understanding. ¹¹ For by me your days will be multiplied and the years of your life increased." ⁷ He who corrects an arrogant man earns insult; and he who reproves a wicked man incurs opprobrium. ⁸ Reprove not an arrogant man, lest he hate you; reprove a wise man, and he will love you. ⁹ Instruct a wise man, and he becomes still wiser; teach a just man, and he advances in learning. ¹⁰ The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the LORD, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. ¹² If you are wise, it is to your own advantage; and if you are arrogant, you alone shall bear it. ¹³ The woman Folly is fickle, she is inane, and knows nothing. ¹⁴ She sits at the door of her house upon a seat on the city heights, ¹⁵ Calling to passers-by as they go on their straight way: ¹⁶ "Let whoever is simple turn in here, or who lacks understanding; for to him I say, ¹⁷ Stolen water is sweet, and bread gotten secretly is pleasing!" ¹⁸ Little he knows that the shades are there, that in the depths of the nether world are her guests! Proverbs Chapter 10 ¹ The Proverbs of Solomon: A wise son makes his father glad, but a foolish son is a grief to his mother. ² Ill-gotten treasures profit nothing, but virtue saves from death. ³ The LORD permits not the just to hunger, but the craving of the wicked he thwarts.

in here, or who lacks understanding; for to him I say, ¹⁷ Stolen water is sweet, and bread gotten secretly is pleasing!" ¹⁸ Little he knows that the shades are there, that in the depths of the nether world are her guests! Proverbs Chapter 10 ¹ The Proverbs of Solomon: A wise son makes his father glad, but a foolish son is a grief to his mother. ² Ill-gotten treasures profit nothing, but virtue saves from death. ³ The LORD permits not the just to hunger, but the craving of the wicked he thwarts. ⁴ The slack hand impoverishes, but the hand of the diligent enriches. ⁵ A son who fills the granaries in summer is a credit; a son who slumbers during harvest, a disgrace. ⁶ Blessings are for the head of the just, but a rod for the back of the fool. ⁷ The memory of the just will be blessed, but the name of the wicked will rot. ⁸ A wise

587 man heeds commands, but a prating fool will be overthrown. ⁹ He who walks honestly walks securely, but he whose ways are crooked will fare badly. ¹⁰ He who winks at a fault causes trouble, but he who frankly reproves promotes peace. ¹¹ A fountain of life is the mouth of the just, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence. ¹² Hatred stirs up disputes, but love covers all offenses. ¹³ On the lips of the intelligent is found wisdom, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence. ¹⁴ Wise men store up knowledge, but the mouth of a fool is imminent ruin. ¹⁵ The rich man's wealth is his strong city; the ruination of the lowly is their poverty. ¹⁶ The just man's recompense leads to life, the gains of the wicked, to sin. ¹⁷ A path to life is his who heeds admonition, but he who disregards reproof goes astray. ¹⁸ It is the lips of the liar that conceal hostility; but he who spreads accusations is a fool. ¹⁹ Where words are many, sin is not wanting; but he who restrains his lips does well. ²⁰ Like choice silver is the just man's tongue; the heart of the wicked is of little worth. ²¹ The just man's lips nourish many, but fools die for want of sense. ²² It is the LORD'S blessing that brings wealth, and no effort can substitute for it. ²³ Crime is the entertainment of the fool; so is wisdom for the man of sense. ²⁴ What the wicked man fears will befall him, but the desire of the just will be granted. ²⁵ When the tempest passes, the wicked man is no more; but the just man is established forever. ²⁶ As vinegar to the teeth, and smoke to the eyes, is the sluggard to those who use him as a messenger. ²⁷ The fear of the LORD prolongs life, but the years of the wicked are brief. ²⁸ The hope of the just brings them joy, but the expectation of the wicked comes to nought. ²⁹ The LORD is a stronghold to him who walks honestly, but to evildoers, their downfall. ³⁰ The just man will never be disturbed, but the wicked will not abide in the land. ³¹ The mouth of the just yields wisdom, but the perverse tongue will be cut off. ³² The lips of the just know how to please, but the mouth of the wicked, how to pervert. Proverbs Chapter 11 ¹ False scales are an abomination to the LORD, but a full weight is his delight. ² When pride comes, disgrace comes; but with the humble is wisdom. ³ The honesty of the upright guides them; the faithless are ruined by their duplicity. ⁴ Wealth is useless on the day of wrath, but virtue saves from death. ⁵ The honest man's virtue makes his way straight, but by his wickedness the wicked man falls. ⁶ The virtue of the upright saves them, but the faithless are caught in their own intrigue. ⁷ When a wicked man dies his hope perishes, and what is expected from strength comes to nought. ⁸ The just man escapes trouble, and the wicked man falls into it in his stead. ⁹ With his mouth the impious man would ruin his neighbor, but through their knowledge the just make their escape. ¹⁰ When the just prosper, the city rejoices; and when the wicked perish, there is jubilation. ¹¹ Through the blessing of the righteous the city is exalted, but through the mouth of the wicked it is overthrown. ¹² He who reviles his neighbor has no sense, but the intelligent man keeps silent. ¹³ A newsmonger reveals secrets, but a trustworthy man keeps a confidence. ¹⁴ For lack of guidance a people falls; security lies in many counselors. ¹⁵ He is in a bad way who becomes surety for another, but he who hates giving pledges is safe. ¹⁶ A gracious woman wins esteem, but she who hates virtue is covered with shame. The slothful become impoverished, but the diligent gain wealth. ¹⁷ A kindly man benefits himself, but a merciless man harms himself. ¹⁸ The wicked man makes empty profits, but he who sows virtue has a sure reward. ¹⁹ Virtue directs toward life, but he who pursues evil does so to his death. ²⁰ The depraved in heart are an abomination to the LORD, but those who walk blamelessly are his delight.

giving pledges is safe. ¹⁶ A gracious woman wins esteem, but she who hates virtue is covered with shame. The slothful become impoverished, but the diligent gain wealth. ¹⁷ A kindly man benefits himself, but a merciless man harms himself. ¹⁸ The wicked man makes empty profits, but he who sows virtue has a sure reward. ¹⁹ Virtue directs toward life, but he who pursues evil does so to his death. ²⁰ The depraved in heart are an abomination to the LORD, but those who walk blamelessly are his delight. ²¹ Truly the evil man shall not go unpunished, but those who are just shall escape. ²² Like a golden ring in a swine's snout is a beautiful woman with a rebellious disposition. ²³ The desire of the just ends only in good; the expectation of the wicked is wrath. ²⁴ One man is lavish yet grows still richer; another is too sparing, yet is the poorer. ²⁵ He who confers benefits will be amply enriched, and he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed. ²⁶ Him who monopolizes grain, the people curse, but blessings

588 upon the head of him who distributes it! ²⁷ He who seeks the good commands favor, but he who pursues evil will have evil befall him. ²⁸ He who trusts in his riches will fall, but like green leaves the just flourish. ²⁹ He who upsets his household has empty air for a heritage; and the fool will become slave to the wise man. ³⁰ The fruit of virtue is a tree of life, but violence takes lives away. ³¹ If the just man is punished on earth, how much more the wicked and the sinner! Proverbs Chapter 12 ¹ He who loves correction loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid. ² The good man wins favor from the LORD, but the schemer is condemned by him. ³ No man is built up by wickedness, but the root of the just will never be disturbed. ⁴ A worthy wife is the crown of her husband, but a disgraceful one is like rot in his bones. ⁵ The plans of the just are legitimate; the designs of the wicked are deceitful. ⁶ The words of the wicked are a deadly ambush, but the speech of the upright saves them. ⁷ The wicked are overthrown and are no more, but the house of the just stands firm. ⁸ According to his good sense a man is praised, but one with a warped mind is despised. ⁹ Better a lowly man who supports himself than one of assumed importance who lacks bread. ¹⁰ The just man takes care of his beast, but the heart of the wicked is merciless. ¹¹ He who tills his own land has food in plenty, but he who follows idle pursuits is a fool. ¹² The stronghold of evil men will be demolished, but the root of the just is enduring. ¹³ In the sin of his lips the evil man is ensnared, but the just comes free of trouble. ¹⁴ From the fruit of his words a man has his fill of good things, and the work of his hands comes back to reward him. ¹⁵ The way of the fool seems right in his own eyes, but he who listens to advice is wise. ¹⁶ The fool immediately shows his anger, but the shrewd man passes over an insult. ¹⁷ He tells the truth who states what he is sure of, but a lying witness speaks deceitfully. ¹⁸ The prating of some men is like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise is healing. ¹⁹ Truthful lips endure forever, the lying tongue, for only a moment. ²⁰ Deceit is in the hands of those who plot evil, but those who counsel peace have joy. ²¹ No harm befalls the just, but the wicked are overwhelmed with misfortune. ²² Lying lips are an abomination to the LORD, but those who are truthful are his delight. ²³ A shrewd man conceals his knowledge, but the hearts of fools gush forth folly. ²⁴ The diligent hand will govern, but the slothful will be enslaved. ²⁵ Anxiety in a man's heart depresses it, but a kindly word makes it glad. ²⁶ The just man surpasses his neighbor, but the way of the wicked leads them astray. ²⁷ The slothful man catches not his prey, but the wealth of the diligent man is great. ²⁸ In the path of justice there is life, but the abominable way leads to death. Proverbs Chapter 13 ¹ A wise son loves correction, but the senseless one heeds no rebuke. ² From the fruit of his words a man eats good things, but the treacherous one craves violence. ³ He who guards his mouth protects his life; to open wide one's lips brings downfall. ⁴ The soul of the sluggard craves in vain, but the diligent soul is amply satisfied. ⁵ Anything deceitful the just man hates, but the wicked brings shame and disgrace. ⁶ Virtue guards one who walks honestly, but the downfall of the wicked is sin. ⁷ One man pretends to be rich, yet has nothing; another pretends to be poor, yet has great wealth. ⁸ A man's riches serve as ransom for his life, but the poor man heeds no rebuke. ⁹ The light of the just shines gaily, but the lamp of the wicked goes out. ¹⁰ The stupid man sows discord by his insolence, but with those who take counsel is wisdom. ¹¹ Wealth quickly gotten dwindles away, but amassed little by little, it grows. ¹² Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a wish fulfilled is a tree of life.

man pretends to be rich, yet has nothing; another pretends to be poor, yet has great wealth. ⁸ A man's riches serve as ransom for his life, but the poor man heeds no rebuke. ⁹ The light of the just shines gaily, but the lamp of the wicked goes out. ¹⁰ The stupid man sows discord by his insolence, but with those who take counsel is wisdom. ¹¹ Wealth quickly gotten dwindles away, but amassed little by little, it grows. ¹² Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a wish fulfilled is a tree of life. ¹³ He who despises the word must pay for it, but he who reveres the commandment will be rewarded. ¹⁴ The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life, that a man may avoid the snares of death. ¹⁵ Good sense brings favor, but the way of the faithless is their ruin. ¹⁶ The shrewd man does everything with prudence, but the fool peddles folly. ¹⁷ A wicked messenger brings on

589 disaster, but a trustworthy envoy is a healing remedy. ¹⁸ Poverty and shame befall the man who disregards correction, but he who heeds reproof is honored. ¹⁹ Lust indulged starves the soul, but fools hate to turn from evil. ²⁰ Walk with wise men and you will become wise, but the companion of fools will fare badly. ²¹ Misfortune pursues sinners, but the just shall be recompensed with good. ²² The good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children, but the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the just. ²³ A lawsuit devours the tillage of the poor, but some men perish for lack of a law court. ²⁴ He who spares his rod hates his son, but he who loves him takes care to chastise him. ²⁵ When the just man eats, his hunger is appeased; but the belly of the wicked suffers want. Proverbs Chapter 14 ¹ Wisdom builds her house, but Folly tears hers down with her own hands. ² He who walks uprightly fears the LORD, but he who is devious in his ways spurns him. ³ In the mouth of the fool is a rod for his back, but the lips of the wise preserve them. ⁴ Where there are no oxen, the crib remains empty; but large crops come through the strength of the bull. ⁵ A truthful witness does not lie, but a false witness utters lies. ⁶ The senseless man seeks in vain for wisdom, but knowledge is easy to the man of intelligence. ⁷ To avoid the foolish man, take steps! But knowing lips one meets with by surprise. ⁸ The shrewd man's wisdom gives him knowledge of his way, but the folly of fools is their deception. ⁹ Guilt lodges in the tents of the arrogant, but favor in the house of the just. ¹⁰ The heart knows its own bitterness, and in its joy no one else shares. ¹¹ The house of the wicked will be destroyed, but the tent of the upright will flourish. ¹² Sometimes a way seems right to a man, but the end of it leads to death! ¹³ Even in laughter the heart may be sad, and the end of joy may be sorrow. ¹⁴ The scoundrel suffers the consequences of his ways, and the good man reaps the fruit of his paths. ¹⁵ The simpleton believes everything, but the shrewd man measures his steps. ¹⁶ The wise man is cautious and shuns evil; the fool is reckless and sure of himself. ¹⁷ The quick-tempered man makes a fool of himself, but the prudent man is at peace. ¹⁸ The adornment of simpletons is folly, but shrewd men gain the crown of knowledge. ¹⁹ Evil men must bow down before the good, and the wicked, at the gates of the just. ²⁰ Even by his neighbor the poor man is hated, but the friends of the rich are many. ²¹ He sins who despises the hungry; but happy is he who is kind to the poor! ²² Do not those who plot evil go astray? But those intent on good gain kindness and constancy. ²³ In all labor there is profit, but mere talk tends only to penury. ²⁴ The crown of the wise is resourcefulness; the diadem of fools is folly. ²⁵ The truthful witness saves lives, but he who utters lies is a betrayer. ²⁶ In the fear of the LORD is a strong defense; even for one's children he will be a refuge. ²⁷ The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, that a man may avoid the snares of death. ²⁸ In many subjects lies the glory of the king; but if his people are few, it is the prince's ruin. ²⁹ The patient man shows much good sense, but the quick-tempered man displays folly at its height. ³⁰ A tranquil mind gives life to the body, but jealousy rots the bones. ³¹ He who oppresses the poor blasphemes his Maker, but he who is kind to the needy glorifies him. ³² The wicked man is overthrown by his wickedness, but the just man finds a refuge in his honesty. ³³ In the heart of the intelligent wisdom abides, but in the bosom of fools it is unknown. ³⁴ Virtue exalts a nation, but sin is a people's disgrace. ³⁵ The king favors the intelligent servant, but the worthless one incurs his wrath. Proverbs Chapter 15 ¹ A mild answer calms wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. ² The tongue of the wise pours out knowledge, but the mouth of fools spurts forth folly.

The wicked man is overthrown by his wickedness, but the just man finds a refuge in his honesty. ³³ In the heart of the intelligent wisdom abides, but in the bosom of fools it is unknown. ³⁴ Virtue exalts a nation, but sin is a people's disgrace. ³⁵ The king favors the intelligent servant, but the worthless one incurs his wrath. Proverbs Chapter 15 ¹ A mild answer calms wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. ² The tongue of the wise pours out knowledge, but the mouth of fools spurts forth folly. ³ The eyes of the LORD are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good. ⁴ A soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse one crushes the spirit. ⁵ The fool spurns his father's admonition, but prudent is he who heeds reproof. ⁶ In the house of the just there are ample resources, but the earnings of the wicked are in turmoil.

590 ⁷ The lips of the wise disseminate knowledge, but the heart of fools is perverted. ⁸ The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD, but the prayer of the upright is his delight. ⁹ The way of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD, but he loves the man who pursues virtue. ¹⁰ Severe punishment is in store for the man who goes astray; he who hates reproof will die. ¹¹ The nether world and the abyss lie open before the LORD; how much more the hearts of men! ¹² The senseless man loves not to be reproved; to wise men he will not go. ¹³ A glad heart lights up the face, but by mental anguish the spirit is broken. ¹⁴ The mind of the intelligent man seeks knowledge, but the mouth of fools feeds on folly. ¹⁵ Every day is miserable for the depressed, but a lighthearted man has a continual feast. ¹⁶ Better a little with fear of the LORD than a great fortune with anxiety. ¹⁷ Better a dish of herbs where love is than a fatted ox and hatred with it. ¹⁸ An ill-tempered man stirs up strife, but a patient man allays discord. ¹⁹ The way of the sluggard is hemmed in as with thorns, but the path of the diligent is a highway. ²⁰ A wise son makes his father glad, but a fool of a man despises his mother. ²¹ Folly is joy to the senseless man, but the man of understanding goes the straight way. ²² Plans fail when there is no counsel, but they succeed when counselors are many. ²³ There is joy for a man in his utterance; a word in season, how good it is! ²⁴ The path of life leads the prudent man upward, that he may avoid the nether world below. ²⁵ The LORD overturns the house of the proud, but he preserves intact the widow's landmark. ²⁶ The wicked man's schemes are an abomination to the LORD, but the pure speak what is pleasing to him. ²⁷ He who is greedy of gain brings ruin on his own house, but he who hates bribes will live. ²⁸ The just man weighs well his utterance, but the mouth of the wicked pours out evil. ²⁹ The LORD is far from the wicked, but the prayer of the just he hears. ³⁰ A cheerful glance brings joy to the heart; good news invigorates the bones. ³¹ He who listens to salutary reproof will abide among the wise. ³² He who rejects admonition despises his own soul, but he who heeds reproof gains understanding. ³³ The fear of the LORD is training for wisdom, and humility goes before honors. Proverbs Chapter 16 ¹ Man may make plans in his heart, but what the tongue utters is from the LORD. ² All the ways of a man may be pure in his own eyes, but it is the LORD who proves the spirit. ³ Entrust your works to the LORD, and your plans will succeed. ⁴ The LORD has made everything for his own ends, even the wicked for the evil day. ⁵ Every proud man is an abomination to the LORD; I assure you that he will not go unpunished. ⁶ By kindness and piety guilt is expiated, and by the fear of the LORD man avoids evil. ⁷ When the LORD is pleased with a man's ways, he makes even his enemies be at peace with him. ⁸ Better a little with virtue, than a large income with injustice. ⁹ In his mind a man plans his course, but the LORD directs his steps. ¹⁰ The king's lips are an oracle; no judgment he pronounces is false. ¹¹ Balance and scales belong to the LORD; all the weights used with them are his concern. ¹² Kings have a horror of wrongdoing, for by righteousness the throne endures. ¹³ The king takes delight in honest lips, and the man who speaks what is right he loves. ¹⁴ The king's wrath is like messengers of death, but a wise man can pacify it. ¹⁵ In the light of the king's countenance is life, and his favor is like a rain cloud in spring. ¹⁶ How much better to acquire wisdom than gold! To acquire understanding is more desirable than silver. ¹⁷ The path of the upright avoids misfortune; he who pays attention to his way safeguards his life. ¹⁸ Pride goes before disaster, and a haughty spirit before a fall. ¹⁹ It is better to be humble with the meek than to share plunder with the proud.

messengers of death, but a wise man can pacify it. ¹⁵ In the light of the king's countenance is life, and his favor is like a rain cloud in spring. ¹⁶ How much better to acquire wisdom than gold! To acquire understanding is more desirable than silver. ¹⁷ The path of the upright avoids misfortune; he who pays attention to his way safeguards his life. ¹⁸ Pride goes before disaster, and a haughty spirit before a fall. ¹⁹ It is better to be humble with the meek than to share plunder with the proud. ²⁰ He who plans a thing will be successful; happy is he who trusts in the LORD! ²¹ The wise man is esteemed for his discernment, yet pleasing speech increases his persuasiveness. ²² Good sense is a fountain of life to its possessor, but folly brings chastisement on fools. ²³ The mind of the wise man makes him eloquent, and augments the persuasiveness of his lips. ²⁴ Pleasing words are a honeycomb, sweet to the taste and healthful to the body. ²⁵ Sometimes a way seems right to a man, but the end of it leads to death! ²⁶ The laborer's appetite

591 labors for him, for his mouth urges him on. ²⁷ A scoundrel is a furnace of evil, and on his lips there is a scorching fire. ²⁸ An intriguer sows discord, and a talebearer separates bosom friends. ²⁹ A lawless man allures his neighbor, and leads him into a way that is not good. ³⁰ He who winks his eye is plotting trickery; he who compresses his lips has mischief ready. ³¹ Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is gained by virtuous living. ³² A patient man is better than a warrior, and he who rules his temper, than he who takes a city. ³³ When the lot is cast into the lap, its decision depends entirely on the LORD. Proverbs Chapter 17 ¹ Better a dry crust with peace than a house full of feasting with strife. ² An intelligent servant will rule over a worthless son, and will share the inheritance with the brothers. ³ The crucible for silver, and the furnace for gold, but the tester of hearts is the LORD. ⁴ The evil man gives heed to wicked lips, and listens to falsehood from a mischievous tongue. ⁵ He who mocks the poor blasphemes his Maker; he who is glad at calamity will not go unpunished. ⁶ Grandchildren are the crown of old men, and the glory of children is their parentage. ⁷ Fine words are out of place in a fool; how much more, lying words in a noble! ⁸ A man who has a bribe to offer rates it a magic stone; at every turn it brings him success. ⁹ He who covers up a misdeed fosters friendship, but he who gossips about it separates friends. ¹⁰ A single reprimand does more for a man of intelligence than a hundred lashes for a fool. ¹¹ On rebellion alone is the wicked man bent, but a merciless messenger will be sent against him. ¹² Face a bear robbed of her cubs, but never a fool in his folly! ¹³ If a man returns evil for good, from his house evil will not depart. ¹⁴ The start of strife is like the opening of a dam; therefore, check a quarrel before it begins! ¹⁵ He who condones the wicked, he who condemns the just, are both an abomination to the LORD. ¹⁶ Of what use in the fool's hand are the means to buy wisdom, since he has no mind for it? ¹⁷ He who is a friend is always a friend, and a brother is born for the time of stress. ¹⁸ Senseless is the man who gives his hand in pledge, who becomes surety for his neighbor. ¹⁹ He who loves strife loves guilt; he who builds his gate high courts disaster. ²⁰ He who is perverse in heart finds no good, and a double-tongued man falls into trouble. ²¹ To be a fool's parent is grief for a man; the father of a numskull has no joy. ²² A joyful heart is the health of the body, but a depressed spirit dries up the bones. ²³ The wicked man accepts a concealed bribe to pervert the course of justice. ²⁴ The man of intelligence fixes his gaze on wisdom, but the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth. ²⁵ A foolish son is vexation to his father, and bitter sorrow to her who bore him. ²⁶ It is wrong to fine an innocent man, but beyond reason to scourge princes. ²⁷ He who spares his words is truly wise, and he who is chary of speech is a man of intelligence. ²⁸ Even a fool, if he keeps silent, is considered wise; if he closes his lips, intelligent. Proverbs Chapter 18 ¹ In estrangement one seeks pretexts: with all persistence he picks a quarrel. ² The fool takes no delight in understanding, but rather in displaying what he thinks. ³ With wickedness comes contempt, and with disgrace comes scorn. ⁴ The words from a man's mouth are deep waters, but the source of wisdom is a flowing brook. ⁵ It is not good to be partial to the guilty, and so to reject a rightful claim. ⁶ The fool's lips lead him into strife, and his mouth provokes a beating. ⁷ The fool's mouth is his ruin; his lips are a snare to his life. ⁸ The words of a talebearer are like dainty morsels that sink into one's inmost being. ⁹ The man who is slack in his work is own brother to the man who is destructive. ¹⁰ The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the just man runs to it and is safe.

e of wisdom is a flowing brook. ⁵ It is not good to be partial to the guilty, and so to reject a rightful claim. ⁶ The fool's lips lead him into strife, and his mouth provokes a beating. ⁷ The fool's mouth is his ruin; his lips are a snare to his life. ⁸ The words of a talebearer are like dainty morsels that sink into one's inmost being. ⁹ The man who is slack in his work is own brother to the man who is destructive. ¹⁰ The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the just man runs to it and is safe. ¹¹ The rich man's wealth is his strong city; he fancies it a high wall. ¹² Before his downfall a man's heart is haughty, but humility goes before honors. ¹³ He who answers before he hears—his is the folly and the shame. ¹⁴ A man's spirit sustains him in infirmity—but a broken

592 spirit who can bear? ¹⁵ The mind of the intelligent gains knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge. ¹⁶ A man's gift clears the way for him, and gains him access to great men. ¹⁷ The man who pleads his case first seems to be in the right; then his opponent comes and puts him to the test. ¹⁸ The lot puts an end to disputes, and is decisive in a controversy between the mighty. ¹⁹ A brother is a better defense than a strong city, and a friend is like the bars of a castle. ²⁰ From the fruit of his mouth a man has his fill; with the yield of his lips he sates himself. ²¹ Death and life are in the power of the tongue; those who make it a friend shall eat its fruit. ²² He who finds a wife finds happiness; it is a favor he receives from the LORD. ²³ The poor man implores, but the rich man answers harshly. ²⁴ Some friends bring ruin on us, but a true friend is more loyal than a brother. Proverbs Chapter 19 ¹ Better a poor man who walks in his integrity than he who is crooked in his ways and rich. ² Without knowledge even zeal is not good; and he who acts hastily, blunders. ³ A man's own folly upsets his way, but his heart is resentful against the LORD. ⁴ Wealth adds many friends, but the friend of the poor man deserts him. ⁵ The false witness will not go unpunished, and he who utters lies will not escape. ⁶ Many curry favor with a noble; all are friends of the man who has something to give. ⁷ All the poor man's brothers hate him; how much more do his friends shun him! ⁸ He who gains intelligence is his own best friend; he who keeps understanding will be successful. ⁹ The false witness will not go unpunished, and he who utters lies will perish. ¹⁰ Luxury is not befitting a fool; much less should a slave rule over princes. ¹¹ It is good sense in a man to be slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense. ¹² The king's wrath is like the roaring of a lion, but his favor, like dew on the grass. ¹³ The foolish son is ruin to his father, and the nagging of a wife is a persistent leak. ¹⁴ Home and possessions are an inheritance from parents, but a prudent wife is from the LORD. ¹⁵ Laziness plunges a man into deep sleep, and the sluggard must go hungry. ¹⁶ He who keeps the precept keeps his life, but the despiser of the word will die. ¹⁷ He who has compassion on the poor lends to the LORD, and he will repay him for his good deed. ¹⁸ Chastise your son, for in this there is hope; but do not desire his death. ¹⁹ The man of violent temper pays the penalty; even if you rescue him, you will have it to do again. ²⁰ Listen to counsel and receive instruction, that you may eventually become wise. ²¹ Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the decision of the LORD that endures. ²² From a man's greed comes his shame; rather be a poor man than a liar. ²³ The fear of the LORD is an aid to life; one eats and sleeps without being visited by misfortune. ²⁴ The sluggard loses his hand in the dish; he will not even lift it to his mouth. ²⁵ If you beat an arrogant man, the simple learn a lesson; if you rebuke an intelligent man, he gains knowledge. ²⁶ He who mistreats his father, or drives away his mother, is a worthless and disgraceful son. ²⁷ If a son ceases to hear instruction, he wanders from words of knowledge. ²⁸ An unprincipled witness perverts justice, and the mouth of the wicked pours out iniquity. ²⁹ Rods are prepared for the arrogant, and blows for the backs of fools. Proverbs Chapter 20 ¹ Wine is arrogant, strong drink is riotous; none who goes astray for it is wise. ² The dread of the king is as when a lion roars; he who incurs his anger forfeits his life. ³ It is honorable for a man to shun strife, while every fool starts a quarrel. ⁴ In seedtime the sluggard plows not; when he looks for the harvest, it is not there. ⁵ The intention in the human heart is like water far below the surface, but the man of intelligence draws it forth. ⁶ Many are declared to be men of virtue: but who can find one worthy of trust?

is riotous; none who goes astray for it is wise. ² The dread of the king is as when a lion roars; he who incurs his anger forfeits his life. ³ It is honorable for a man to shun strife, while every fool starts a quarrel. ⁴ In seedtime the sluggard plows not; when he looks for the harvest, it is not there. ⁵ The intention in the human heart is like water far below the surface, but the man of intelligence draws it forth. ⁶ Many are declared to be men of virtue: but who can find one worthy of trust? ⁷ When a man walks in integrity and justice, happy are his children after him! ⁸ A king seated on the throne of judgment dispels all evil with his glance. ⁹ Who can say, "I have made my heart clean, I am cleansed of my sin"? ¹⁰ Varying weights, varying

593 measures, are both an abomination to the LORD. ¹¹ Even by his manners the child betrays whether his conduct is innocent and right. ¹² The ear that hears, and the eye that sees—the LORD has made them both. ¹³ Love not sleep, lest you be reduced to poverty; eyes wide open mean abundant food. ¹⁴ "Bad, bad!" says the buyer; but once he has gone his way, he boasts. ¹⁵ Like gold or a wealth of corals, wise lips are a precious ornament. ¹⁶ Take his garment who becomes surety for another, and for strangers yield it up! ¹⁷ The bread of deceit is sweet to a man, but afterward his mouth will be filled with gravel. ¹⁸ Plans made after advice succeed; so with wise guidance wage your war. ¹⁹ A newsmonger reveals secrets; so have nothing to do with a babbler! ²⁰ If one curses his father or mother, his lamp will go out at the coming of darkness. ²¹ Possessions gained hastily at the outset will in the end not be blessed. ²² Say not, "I will repay evil!" Trust in the LORD and he will help you. ²³ Varying weights are an abomination to the LORD, and false scales are not good. ²⁴ Man's steps are from the LORD; how, then, can a man understand his way? ²⁵ Rashly to pledge a sacred gift is a trap for a man, or to regret a vow once made. ²⁶ A wise king winnows the wicked, and threshes them under the cartwheel. ²⁷ A lamp from the LORD is the breath of man; it searches through all his inmost being. ²⁸ Kindness and piety safeguard the king, and he upholds his throne by justice. ²⁹ The glory of young men is their strength, and the dignity of old men is gray hair. ³⁰ Evil is cleansed away by bloody lashes, and a scourging to the inmost being. Proverbs Chapter 21 ¹ Like a stream is the king's heart in the hand of the LORD; wherever it pleases him, he directs it. ² All the ways of a man may be right in his own eyes, but it is the LORD who proves hearts. ³ To do what is right and just is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice. ⁴ Haughty eyes and a proud heart—the tillage of the wicked is sin. ⁵ The plans of the diligent are sure of profit, but all rash haste leads certainly to poverty. ⁶ He who makes a fortune by a lying tongue is chasing a bubble over deadly snares. ⁷ The oppression of the wicked will sweep them away, because they refuse to do what is right. ⁸ The way of the culprit is crooked, but the conduct of the innocent is right. ⁹ It is better to dwell in a corner of the housetop than in a roomy house with a quarrelsome woman. ¹⁰ The soul of the wicked man desires evil; his neighbor finds no pity in his eyes. ¹¹ When the arrogant man is punished, the simple are the wiser; when the wise man is instructed, he gains knowledge. ¹² The just man appraises the house of the wicked: there is one who brings down the wicked to ruin. ¹³ He who shuts his ear to the cry of the poor will himself also call and not be heard. ¹⁴ A secret gift allays anger, and a concealed present, violent wrath. ¹⁵ To practice justice is a joy for the just, but terror for evildoers. ¹⁶ The man who strays from the way of good sense will abide in the assembly of the shades. ¹⁷ He who loves pleasure will suffer want; he who loves wine and perfume will not be rich. ¹⁸ The wicked man serves as ransom for the just, and the faithless man for the righteous. ¹⁹ It is better to dwell in a wilderness than with a quarrelsome and vexatious wife. ²⁰ Precious treasure remains in the house of the wise, but the fool consumes it. ²¹ He who pursues justice and kindness will find life and honor. ²² The wise man storms a city of the mighty, and overthrows the stronghold in which it trusts. ²³ He who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps himself from trouble. ²⁴ Arrogant is the name for the man of overbearing pride who acts with scornful effrontery. ²⁵ The sluggard's propensity slays him, for his hands refuse to work. ²⁶ Some are consumed with avarice all the day, but the just man gives unsparingly.

but the fool consumes it. ²¹ He who pursues justice and kindness will find life and honor. ²² The wise man storms a city of the mighty, and overthrows the stronghold in which it trusts. ²³ He who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps himself from trouble. ²⁴ Arrogant is the name for the man of overbearing pride who acts with scornful effrontery. ²⁵ The sluggard's propensity slays him, for his hands refuse to work. ²⁶ Some are consumed with avarice all the day, but the just man gives unsparingly. ²⁷ The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination, the more so when they offer it with a bad intention. ²⁸ The false witness will perish, but he who listens will finally have his say. ²⁹ The wicked man is brazenfaced, but the upright man pays heed to his ways. ³⁰ There is no wisdom, no understanding, no counsel, against the LORD. ³¹ The horse is equipped for the day of battle, but victory is the LORD'S.

594 Proverbs Chapter 22 ¹ A good name is more desirable than great riches, and high esteem than gold and silver. ² Rich and poor have a common bond: the LORD is the maker of them all. ³ The shrewd man perceives evil and hides, while simpletons continue on and suffer the penalty. ⁴ The reward of humility and fear of the LORD is riches, honor, and life. ⁵ Thorns and snares are on the path of the crooked; he who would safeguard his life will shun them. ⁶ Train a boy in the way he should go; even when he is old, he will not swerve from it. ⁷ The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is the slave of the lender. ⁸ He who sows iniquity reaps calamity, and the rod destroys his labors. ⁹ The kindly man will be blessed, for he gives of his sustenance to the poor. ¹⁰ Expel the arrogant man and discord goes out; strife and insult cease. ¹¹ The LORD loves the pure of heart; the man of winning speech has the king for his friend. ¹² The eyes of the LORD safeguard knowledge, but he defeats the projects of the faithless. ¹³ The sluggard says, "A lion is outside; in the streets, I might be slain." ¹⁴ The mouth of the adulteress is a deep pit; he with whom the LORD is angry will fall into it. ¹⁵ Folly is close to the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline will drive it far from him. ¹⁶ He who oppresses the poor to enrich himself will yield up his gains to the rich as sheer loss. ¹⁷ Incline your ear, and hear my words, and apply your heart to my doctrine; ¹⁸ For it will be well if you keep them in your bosom, if they all are ready on your lips. ¹⁹ That your trust may be in the LORD, I make known to you the words of Amen-em-Ope. ²⁰ Have I not written for you the "Thirty," with counsels and knowledge, ²¹ To teach you truly how to give a dependable report to one who sends you? ²² Injure not the poor because they are poor, nor crush the needy at the gate; ²³ For the LORD will defend their cause, and will plunder the lives of those who plunder them. ²⁴ Be not friendly with a hotheaded man, nor the companion of a wrathful man, ²⁵ Lest you learn his ways, and get yourself into a snare. ²⁶ Be not one of those who give their hand in pledge, of those who become surety for debts; ²⁷ For if you have not the means to pay, your bed will be taken from under you. ²⁸ Remove not the ancient landmark which your fathers set up. ²⁹ You see a man skilled at his work? He will stand in the presence of kings; he will not stand in the presence of obscure men. Proverbs Chapter 23 ¹ When you sit down to dine with a ruler, keep in mind who is before you; ² And put a knife to your throat if you have a ravenous appetite. ³ Do not desire his delicacies; they are deceitful food. ⁴ Toil not to gain wealth, cease to be concerned about it; ⁵ While your glance flits to it, it is gone! For assuredly it grows wings, like the eagle that flies toward heaven. ⁶ Do not take food with a grudging man, and do not desire his dainties; ⁷ For in his greed he is like a storm. "Eat and drink," he says to you, though his heart is not with you; ⁸ The little you have eaten you will vomit up, and you will have wasted your agreeable words. ⁹ Speak not for the fool's hearing; he will despise the wisdom of your words. ¹⁰ Remove not the ancient landmark, nor invade the fields of orphans; ¹¹ For their redeemer is strong; he will defend their cause against you. ¹² Apply your heart to instruction, and your ears to words of knowledge. ¹³ Withhold not chastisement from a boy; if you beat him with the rod, he will not die. ¹⁴ Beat him with the rod, and you will save him from the nether world. ¹⁵ My son, if your heart be wise, my own heart also will rejoice; ¹⁶ And my inmost being will exult, when your lips speak what is right. ¹⁷ Let not your heart emulate sinners, but be zealous for the fear of the LORD always; ¹⁸ For you will surely have a future, and your hope will not be cut off. ¹⁹ Hear, my son, and be wise, and guide your heart in the right way.

ment from a boy; if you beat him with the rod, he will not die. ¹⁴ Beat him with the rod, and you will save him from the nether world. ¹⁵ My son, if your heart be wise, my own heart also will rejoice; ¹⁶ And my inmost being will exult, when your lips speak what is right. ¹⁷ Let not your heart emulate sinners, but be zealous for the fear of the LORD always; ¹⁸ For you will surely have a future, and your hope will not be cut off. ¹⁹ Hear, my son, and be wise, and guide your heart in the right way. ²⁰ Consort not with winebibbers, nor with those who eat meat to excess; ²¹ For the drunkard and the glutton come to poverty, and torpor clothes a man in rags. ²² Listen to your father who begot you, and despise not your mother when she is old. ²³ Get the truth, and sell it not - wisdom, instruction and

595 understanding. ²⁴ The father of a just man will exult with glee; he who begets a wise son will have joy in him. ²⁵ Let your father and mother have joy; let her who bore you exult. ²⁶ My son, give me your heart, and let your eyes keep to my ways. ²⁷ For the harlot is a deep ditch, and the adulteress a narrow pit; ²⁸ Yes, she lies in wait like a robber, and increases the faithless among men. ²⁹ Who scream? Who shriek? Who have strife? Who have anxiety? Who have wounds for nothing? Who have black eyes? ³⁰ Those who linger long over wine, those who engage in trials of blended wine. ³¹ Look not on the wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the glass. It goes down smoothly; ³² But in the end it bites like a serpent, or like a poisonous adder. ³³ Your eyes behold strange sights, and your heart utters disordered thoughts; ³⁴ You are like one now lying in the depths of the sea, now sprawled at the top of the mast. ³⁵ "They struck me, but it pained me not; They beat me, but I felt it not; When shall I awake to seek wine once again?" Proverbs Chapter 24 ¹ Be not emulous of evil men, and desire not to be with them; ² For their hearts plot violence, and their lips speak of foul play. ³ By wisdom is a house built, by understanding is it made firm; ⁴ And by knowledge are its rooms filled with every precious and pleasing possession. ⁵ A wise man is more powerful than a strong man, and a man of knowledge than a man of might; ⁶ For it is by wise guidance that you wage your war, and the victory is due to a wealth of counselors. ⁷ For a fool, to be silent is wisdom; not to open his mouth at the gate. ⁸ He who plots evil doing—men call him an intriguer. ⁹ Beyond intrigue and folly and sin, it is arrogance that men find abominable. ¹⁰ If you remain indifferent in time of adversity, your strength will depart from you. ¹¹ Rescue those who are being dragged to death, and from those tottering to execution withdraw not. ¹² If you say, "I know not this man!" does not he who tests hearts perceive it? He who guards your life knows it, and he will repay each one according to his deeds. ¹³ If you eat honey, my son, because it is good, if virgin honey is sweet to your taste; ¹⁴ Such, you must know, is wisdom to your soul. If you find it, you will have a future, and your hope will not be cut off. ¹⁵ Lie not in wait against the home of the just man, ravage not his dwelling place; ¹⁶ For the just man falls seven times and rises again, but the wicked stumble to ruin. ¹⁷ Rejoice not when your enemy falls, and when he stumbles, let not your heart exult, ¹⁸ Lest the LORD see it, be displeased with you, and withdraw his wrath from your enemy. ¹⁹ Be not provoked with evildoers, nor envious of the wicked; ²⁰ For the evil man has no future, the lamp of the wicked will be put out. ²¹ My son, fear the LORD and the king; have nothing to do with those who rebel against them; ²² For suddenly arises the destruction they send, and the ruin from either one, who can measure? ²³ These also are sayings of the wise: To show partiality in judgment is not good. ²⁴ He who says to the wicked man, "You are just"—men will curse him, people will denounce him; ²⁵ But those who convict the evildoer will fare well, and on them will come the blessing of prosperity. ²⁶ He gives a kiss on the lips who makes an honest reply. ²⁷ Complete your outdoor tasks, and arrange your work in the field; afterward you can establish your house. ²⁸ Be not a witness against your neighbor without just cause, thus committing folly with your lips. ²⁹ Say not, "As he did to me, so will I do to him; I will repay the man according to his deeds." ³⁰ I passed by the field of the sluggard, by the vineyard of the man without sense; ³¹ And behold! it was all overgrown with thistles; its surface was covered with nettles, and its stone wall broken down.

te your outdoor tasks, and arrange your work in the field; afterward you can establish your house. ²⁸ Be not a witness against your neighbor without just cause, thus committing folly with your lips. ²⁹ Say not, "As he did to me, so will I do to him; I will repay the man according to his deeds." ³⁰ I passed by the field of the sluggard, by the vineyard of the man without sense; ³¹ And behold! it was all overgrown with thistles; its surface was covered with nettles, and its stone wall broken down. ³² And as I gazed at it, I reflected; I saw and learned the lesson: ³³ A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the arms to rest— ³⁴ Then will poverty come upon you like a highwayman, and want like an armed man. Proverbs Chapter 25 ¹ These also are proverbs of Solomon. The men of Hezekiah, king of Judah, transmitted them. ² God has glory in what he conceals, kings have glory in what they fathom. ³ As the heavens in

596 height, and the earth in depth, the heart of kings is unfathomable. ⁴ Remove the dross from silver, and it comes forth perfectly purified; ⁵ Remove the wicked from the presence of the king, and his throne is made firm through righteousness. ⁶ Claim no honor in the king's presence, nor occupy the place of great men; ⁷ For it is better that you be told, "Come up closer!" than that you be humbled before the prince. ⁸ What your eyes have seen bring not forth hastily against an opponent; For what will you do later on when your neighbor puts you to shame? ⁹ Discuss your case with your neighbor, but another man's secret do not disclose; ¹⁰ Lest, hearing it, he reproach you, and your ill repute cease not. ¹¹ Like golden apples in silver settings are words spoken at the proper time. ¹² Like a golden earring, or a necklace of fine gold, is a wise reprover to an obedient ear. ¹³ Like the coolness of snow in the heat of the harvest is a faithful messenger for the one who sends him. (He refreshes the soul of his master.) ¹⁴ Like clouds and wind when no rain follows is the man who boastfully promises what he never gives. ¹⁵ By patience is a ruler persuaded, and a soft tongue will break a bone. ¹⁶ If you find honey, eat only what you need, lest you become glutted with it and vomit it up. ¹⁷ Let your foot be seldom in your neighbor's house, lest he have more than enough of you, and hate you. ¹⁸ Like a club, or a sword, or a sharp arrow, is the man who bears false witness against his neighbor. ¹⁹ Like an infected tooth or an unsteady foot is (dependence on) a faithless man in time of trouble. ²⁰ Like a moth in clothing, or a maggot in wood, sorrow gnaws at the human heart. ²¹ If your enemy be hungry, give him food to eat, if he be thirsty, give him to drink; ²² For live coals you will heap on his head, and the LORD will vindicate you. ²³ The north wind brings rain, and a backbiting tongue an angry countenance. ²⁴ It is better to dwell in a corner of the housetop than in a roomy house with a quarrelsome woman. ²⁵ Like cool water to one faint from thirst is good news from a far country. ²⁶ Like a troubled fountain or a polluted spring is a just man who gives way before the wicked. ²⁷ To eat too much honey is not good; nor to seek honor after honor. ²⁸ Like an open city with no defenses is the man with no check on his feelings. Proverbs Chapter 26 ¹ Like snow in summer, or rain in harvest, honor for a fool is out of place. ² Like the sparrow in its flitting, like the swallow in its flight, a curse uncalled-for arrives nowhere. ³ The whip for the horse, the bridle for the ass, and the rod for the back of fools. ⁴ Answer not the fool according to his folly, lest you too become like him. ⁵ Answer the fool according to his folly, lest he become wise in his own eyes. ⁶ He cuts off his feet, he drinks down violence, who sends messages by a fool. ⁷ A proverb in the mouth of a fool hangs limp, like crippled legs. ⁸ Like one who entangles the stone in the sling is he who gives honor to a fool. ⁹ Like a thorn stick brandished by the hand of a drunkard is a proverb in the mouth of fools. ¹⁰ Like an archer wounding all who pass by is he who hires a drunken fool. ¹¹ As the dog returns to his vomit, so the fool repeats his folly. ¹² You see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him. ¹³ The sluggard says, "There is a lion in the street, a lion in the middle of the square!" ¹⁴ The door turns on its hinges, the sluggard, on his bed! ¹⁵ The sluggard loses his hand in the dish; he is too weary to lift it to his mouth. ¹⁶ The sluggard imagines himself wiser than seven men who answer with good sense. ¹⁷ Like the man who seizes a passing dog by the ears is he who meddles in a quarrel not his own. ¹⁸ Like a crazed archer scattering firebrands and deadly arrows ¹⁹ Is the man who deceives his neighbor, and then says, "I was only joking." ²⁰ For lack of wood, the fire dies out; and when there is no talebearer, strife subsides.

bed! ¹⁵ The sluggard loses his hand in the dish; he is too weary to lift it to his mouth. ¹⁶ The sluggard imagines himself wiser than seven men who answer with good sense. ¹⁷ Like the man who seizes a passing dog by the ears is he who meddles in a quarrel not his own. ¹⁸ Like a crazed archer scattering firebrands and deadly arrows ¹⁹ Is the man who deceives his neighbor, and then says, "I was only joking." ²⁰ For lack of wood, the fire dies out; and when there is no talebearer, strife subsides. ²¹ What a bellows is to live coals, what wood is to fire, such is a contentious man in enkindling strife. ²² The words of a talebearer are like dainty morsels that sink into one's inmost being. ²³ Like a glazed finish on earthenware are smooth lips with a wicked heart. ²⁴ With his lips an enemy pretends, but in his inmost being he maintains deceit; ²⁵ When he speaks graciously, trust him not, for seven abominations are in his heart. ²⁶ A man may conceal hatred under

597 dissimulation, but his malice will be revealed in the assembly. ²⁷ He who digs a pit falls into it; and a stone comes back upon him who rolls it. ²⁸ The lying tongue is its owner's enemy, and the flattering mouth works ruin. Proverbs Chapter 27 ¹ Boast not of tomorrow, for you know not what any day may bring forth. ² Let another praise you—not your own mouth; someone else—not your own lips. ³ Stone is heavy, and sand a burden, but a fool's provocation is heavier than both. ⁴ Anger is relentless, and wrath overwhelming—but before jealousy who can stand? ⁵ Better is an open rebuke than a love that remains hidden. ⁶ Wounds from a friend may be accepted as well meant, but the greetings of an enemy one prays against. ⁷ One who is full tramples on virgin honey, but to the man who is hungry, any bitter thing is sweet. ⁸ Like a bird that is far from its nest is a man who is far from his home. ⁹ Perfume and incense gladden the heart, but by grief the soul is torn asunder. ¹⁰ Your own friend and your father's friend forsake not; but if ruin befalls you, enter not a kinsman's house. Better is a neighbor near at hand than a brother far away. ¹¹ If you are wise, my son, you will gladden my heart, and I will be able to rebut him who taunts me. ¹² The shrewd man perceives evil and hides; simpletons continue on and suffer the penalty. ¹³ Take his garment who becomes surety for another, and for the sake of a stranger, yield it up! ¹⁴ When one greets his neighbor with a loud voice in the early morning, a curse can be laid to his charge. ¹⁵ For a persistent leak on a rainy day, the match is a quarrelsome woman. ¹⁶ He who keeps her stores up a stormwind; he cannot tell north from south. ¹⁷ As iron sharpens iron, so man sharpens his fellow man. ¹⁸ He who tends a fig tree eats its fruit, and he who is attentive to his master will be enriched. ¹⁹ As one face differs from another, so does one human heart from another. ²⁰ The nether world and the abyss are never satisfied; so too the eyes of men. ²¹ As the crucible tests silver and the furnace gold, so a man is tested by the praise he receives. ²² Though you should pound the fool to bits with the pestle, amid the grits in a mortar, his folly would not go out of him. ²³ Take good care of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds; ²⁴ For wealth lasts not forever, nor even a crown from age to age. ²⁵ When the grass is taken away and the aftergrowth appears, and the mountain greens are gathered in, ²⁶ The lambs will provide you with clothing, and the goats will bring the price of a field, ²⁷ And there will be ample goat's milk to supply you, to supply your household, and maintenance for your maidens. Proverbs Chapter 28 ¹ The wicked man flees although no one pursues him; but the just man, like a lion, feels sure of himself. ² If a land is rebellious, its princes will be many; but with a prudent man, it knows security. ³ A rich man who oppresses the poor is like a devastating rain that leaves no food. ⁴ Those who abandon the law praise the wicked man, but those who keep the law war against him. ⁵ Evil men understand nothing of justice, but those who seek the LORD understand all. ⁶ Better a poor man who walks in his integrity than he who is crooked in his ways and rich. ⁷ He who keeps the law is a wise son, but the gluttons' companion disgraces his father. ⁸ He who increases his wealth by interest and overcharge gathers it for him who is kind to the poor. ⁹ When one turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination. ¹⁰ He who seduces the upright into an evil way will himself fall into his own pit. (And blameless men will gain prosperity.) ¹¹ The rich man is wise in his own eyes, but a poor man who is intelligent sees through him. ¹² When the just are triumphant, there is great jubilation; but when the wicked gain preeminence, people hide. ¹³ He who conceals his sins prospers not, but he who confesses and forsakes them obtains mercy.

turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination. ¹⁰ He who seduces the upright into an evil way will himself fall into his own pit. (And blameless men will gain prosperity.) ¹¹ The rich man is wise in his own eyes, but a poor man who is intelligent sees through him. ¹² When the just are triumphant, there is great jubilation; but when the wicked gain preeminence, people hide. ¹³ He who conceals his sins prospers not, but he who confesses and forsakes them obtains mercy. ¹⁴ Happy the man who is always on his guard; but he who hardens his heart will fall into evil. ¹⁵ Like a roaring lion or a ravenous bear is a wicked ruler over a poor people. ¹⁶ The less prudent the prince, the more his deeds oppress. He who hates ill-gotten gain prolongs his days. ¹⁷ Though a

598 man burdened with human blood were to flee to the grave, none should support him. ¹⁸ He who walks uprightly is safe, but he whose ways are crooked falls into the pit. ¹⁹ He who cultivates his land will have plenty of food, but from idle pursuits a man has his fill of poverty. ²⁰ The trustworthy man will be richly blessed; he who is in haste to grow rich will not go unpunished. ²¹ To show partiality is never good: for even a morsel of bread a man may do wrong. ²² The avaricious man is perturbed about his wealth, and he knows not when want will come upon him. ²³ He who rebukes a man gets more thanks in the end than one with a flattering tongue. ²⁴ He who defrauds father or mother and calls it no sin is a partner of the brigand. ²⁵ The greedy man stirs up disputes, but he who trusts in the LORD will prosper. ²⁶ He who trusts in himself is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom is safe. ²⁷ He who gives to the poor suffers no want, but he who ignores them gets many a curse. ²⁸ When the wicked gain pre-eminence, other men hide; but at their fall, the just flourish. Proverbs Chapter 29 ¹ The man who remains stiff-necked and hates rebuke will be crushed suddenly beyond cure. ² When the just prevail, the people rejoice; but when the wicked rule, the people groan. ³ He who loves wisdom makes his father glad, but he who consorts with harlots squanders his wealth. ⁴ By justice a king gives stability to the land; but he who imposes heavy taxes ruins it. ⁵ The man who flatters his neighbor is spreading a net under his feet. ⁶ The wicked man steps into a snare, but the just man runs on joyfully. ⁷ The just man has a care for the rights of the poor; the wicked man has no such concern. ⁸ Arrogant men set the city ablaze, but wise men calm the fury. ⁹ If a wise man disputes with a fool, he may rage or laugh but can have no peace. ¹⁰ Bloodthirsty men hate the honest man, but the upright show concern for his life. ¹¹ The fool gives vent to all his anger; but by biding his time, the wise man calms it. ¹² If a ruler listens to lying words, his servants all become wicked. ¹³ The poor and the oppressor have a common bond: the LORD gives light to the eyes of both. ¹⁴ If a king is zealous for the rights of the poor, his throne stands firm forever. ¹⁵ The rod of correction gives wisdom, but a boy left to his whims disgraces his mother. ¹⁶ When the wicked prevail, crime increases; but their downfall the just will behold. ¹⁷ Correct your son, and he will bring you comfort, and give delight to your soul. ¹⁸ Without prophecy the people become demoralized; but happy is he who keeps the law. ¹⁹ By words no servant can be trained; for he understands what is said, but obeys not. ²⁰ Do you see a man hasty in his words? More can be hoped for from a fool! ²¹ If a man pampers his servant from childhood, he will turn out to be stubborn. ²² An ill-tempered man stirs up disputes, and a hotheaded man is the cause of many sins. ²³ Man's pride causes his humiliation, but he who is humble of spirit obtains honor. ²⁴ The accomplice of a thief is his own enemy: he hears himself put under a curse, yet discloses nothing. ²⁵ The fear of man brings a snare, but he who trusts in the LORD is safe. ²⁶ Many curry favor with the ruler, but the rights of each are from the LORD. ²⁷ The evildoer is an abomination to the just, and he who walks uprightly is an abomination to the wicked. Proverbs Chapter 30 ¹ The words of Agur, son of Jakeh the Massaite: The pronouncement of mortal man: "I am not God; I am not God, that I should prevail. ² Why, I am the most stupid of men, and have not even human intelligence; ³ Neither have I learned wisdom, nor have I the knowledge of the Holy One. ⁴ Who has gone up to heaven and come down again - who has cupped the wind in his hands? Who has bound up the waters in a cloak - who has marked out all the ends of the earth?

mination to the wicked. Proverbs Chapter 30 ¹ The words of Agur, son of Jakeh the Massaite: The pronouncement of mortal man: "I am not God; I am not God, that I should prevail. ² Why, I am the most stupid of men, and have not even human intelligence; ³ Neither have I learned wisdom, nor have I the knowledge of the Holy One. ⁴ Who has gone up to heaven and come down again - who has cupped the wind in his hands? Who has bound up the waters in a cloak - who has marked out all the ends of the earth? What is his name, what is his son's name, if you know it?" ⁵ Every word of God is tested; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. ⁶ Add nothing to his words, lest he reprove you, and you be exposed as a deceiver. ⁷ Two things I ask of you, deny them not to me before I die: ⁸ Put falsehood and lying far from me, give me neither poverty nor riches; (provide me only with the food I need;) ⁹ Lest, being

599 full, I deny you, saying, "Who is the LORD?" Or, being in want, I steal, and profane the name of my God. ¹⁰ Slander not a servant to his master, lest he curse you, and you have to pay the penalty. ¹¹ There is a group of people that curses its father, and blesses not its mother. ¹² There is a group that is pure in its own eyes, yet is not purged of its filth. ¹³ There is a group - how haughty their eyes! how overbearing their glance! ¹⁴ There is a group whose incisors are swords, whose teeth are knives, Devouring the needy from the earth, and the poor from among men. ¹⁵ The two daughters of the leech are, "Give, Give." Three things are never satisfied, four never say, "Enough!" ¹⁶ The nether world, and the barren womb; the earth, that is never saturated with water, and fire, that never says, "Enough!" ¹⁷ The eye that mocks a father, or scorns an aged mother, Will be plucked out by the ravens in the valley; the young eagles will devour it. ¹⁸ Three things are too wonderful for me, yes, four I cannot understand: ¹⁹ The way of an eagle in the air, the way of a serpent upon a rock, The way of a ship on the high seas, and the way of a man with a maiden. ²⁰ Such is the way of an adulterous woman: she eats, wipes her mouth, and says, "I have done no wrong." ²¹ Under three things the earth trembles, yes, under four it cannot bear up: ²² Under a slave when he becomes king, and a fool when he is glutted with food; ²³ Under an odious woman when she is wed, and a maidservant when she displaces her mistress. ²⁴ Four things are among the smallest on the earth, and yet are exceedingly wise: ²⁵ Ants - a species not strong, yet they store up their food in the summer; ²⁶ Rock-badgers - a species not mighty, yet they make their home in the crags; ²⁷ Locusts - they have no king, yet they migrate all in array; ²⁸ Lizards - you can catch them with your hands, yet they find their way into king's palaces. ²⁹ Three things are stately in their stride, yes, four are stately in their carriage: ³⁰ The lion, mightiest of beasts, who retreats before nothing; ³¹ The strutting cock, and the he-goat, and the king at the head of his people. ³² If you have foolishly been proud or presumptuous - put your hand on your mouth; ³³ For the stirring of milk brings forth curds, and the stirring of anger brings forth blood. Proverbs Chapter 31 ¹ The words of Lemuel, king of Massa. The advice which his mother gave him: ² What, my son, my first-born! what, O son of my womb; what, O son of my vows! ³ Give not your vigor to women, nor your strength to those who ruin kings. ⁴ It is not for kings, O Lemuel, not for kings to drink wine; strong drink is not for princes! ⁵ Lest in drinking they forget what the law decrees, and violate the rights of all who are in need. ⁶ Give strong drink to one who is perishing, and wine to the sorely depressed; ⁷ When they drink, they will forget their misery, and think no more of their burdens. ⁸ Open your mouth in behalf of the dumb, and for the rights of the destitute; ⁹ Open your mouth, decree what is just, defend the needy and the poor! ¹⁰ When one finds a worthy wife, her value is far beyond pearls. ¹¹ Her husband, entrusting his heart to her, has an unfailing prize. ¹² She brings him good, and not evil, all the days of her life. ¹³ She obtains wool and flax and makes cloth with skillful hands. ¹⁴ Like merchant ships, she secures her provisions from afar. ¹⁵ She rises while it is still night, and distributes food to her household. ¹⁶ She picks out a field to purchase; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard. ¹⁷ She is girt about with strength, and sturdy are her arms. ¹⁸ She enjoys the success of her dealings; at night her lamp is undimmed. ¹⁹ She puts her hands to the distaff, and her fingers ply the spindle. ²⁰ She reaches out her hands to the poor, and extends her arms to the needy.

Like merchant ships, she secures her provisions from afar. ¹⁵ She rises while it is still night, and distributes food to her household. ¹⁶ She picks out a field to purchase; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard. ¹⁷ She is girt about with strength, and sturdy are her arms. ¹⁸ She enjoys the success of her dealings; at night her lamp is undimmed. ¹⁹ She puts her hands to the distaff, and her fingers ply the spindle. ²⁰ She reaches out her hands to the poor, and extends her arms to the needy. ²¹ She fears not the snow for her household; all her charges are doubly clothed. ²² She makes her own coverlets; fine linen and purple are her clothing. ²³ Her husband is prominent at the city gates as he sits with the elders of the land. ²⁴ She makes garments and sells them, and stocks the merchants with belts. ²⁵ She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs at the days to come. ²⁶ She opens her mouth in wisdom, and on her tongue is kindly counsel. ²⁷ She watches the conduct of her household, and eats not her food in idleness. ²⁸ Her children rise up and praise her; her husband, too, extols her: ²⁹ "Many are the women of proven

600 worth, but you have excelled them all." ³⁰ Charm is deceptive and beauty fleeting; the woman who fears the LORD is to be praised. ³¹ Give her a reward of her labors, and let her works praise her at the city gates. Ecclesiastes Ecclesiastes Chapter 1 ¹ The words of David's son, Qoheleth, king in Jerusalem: ² Vanity of vanities, says Qoheleth, vanity of vanities! All things are vanity! ³ What profit has man from all the labor which he toils at under the sun? ⁴ One generation passes and another comes, but the world forever stays. ⁵ The sun rises and the sun goes down; then it presses on to the place where it rises. ⁶ Blowing now toward the south, then toward the north, the wind turns again and again, resuming its rounds. ⁷ All rivers go to the sea, yet never does the sea become full. To the place where they go, the rivers keep on going. ⁸ All speech is labored; there is nothing man can say. The eye is not satisfied with seeing nor is the ear filled with hearing. ⁹ What has been, that will be; what has been done, that will be done. Nothing is new under the sun. ¹⁰ Even the thing of which we say, "See, this is new!" has already existed in the ages that preceded us. ¹¹ There is no remembrance of the men of old; nor of those to come will there be any remembrance among those who come after them. ¹² I, Qoheleth, was king over Israel in Jerusalem, ¹³ and I applied my mind to search and investigate in wisdom all things that are done under the sun. A thankless task God has appointed for men to be busied about. ¹⁴ I have seen all things that are done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a chase after wind. ¹⁵ What is crooked cannot be made straight, and what is missing cannot be supplied. ¹⁶ Though I said to myself, "Behold, I have become great and stored up wisdom beyond all who were before me in Jerusalem, and my mind has broad experience of wisdom and knowledge"; ¹⁷ yet when I applied my mind to know wisdom and knowledge, madness and folly, I learned that this also is a chase after wind. ¹⁸ For in much wisdom there is much sorrow, and he who stores up knowledge stores up grief. Ecclesiastes Chapter 2 ¹ I said to myself, "Come, now, let me try you with pleasure and the enjoyment of good things." But behold, this too was vanity. ² Of laughter I said: "Mad!" and of mirth: "What good does this do?" ³ I thought of beguiling my senses with wine, though my mind was concerned with wisdom, and of taking up folly, until I should understand what is best for men to do under the heavens during the limited days of their life. ⁴ I undertook great works; I built myself houses and planted vineyards; ⁵ I made gardens and parks, and set out in them fruit trees of all sorts. ⁶ And I constructed for myself reservoirs to water a flourishing woodland. ⁷ I acquired male and female slaves, and slaves were born in my house. I also had growing herds of cattle and flocks of sheep, more than all who had been before me in Jerusalem. ⁸ I amassed for myself silver and gold, and the wealth of kings and provinces. I got for myself male and female singers and all human luxuries. ⁹ I became great, and I stored up more than all others before me in Jerusalem; my wisdom, too, stayed with me. ¹⁰ Nothing that my eyes desired did I deny them, nor did I deprive myself of any joy, but my heart rejoiced in the fruit of all my toil. This was my share for all my toil. ¹¹ But when I turned to all the works that my hands had wrought, and to the toil at which I had taken such pains, behold! all was vanity and a chase after wind, with nothing gained under the sun. ¹² For what will the man do who is to come after the king? What men have already done! I went on to the consideration of wisdom, madness and folly. ¹³ And I saw that wisdom has the advantage over folly as much as light has the advantage over darkness. ¹⁴ The wise man has eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. Yet I knew that one lot befalls both of them. ¹⁵ So I said to myself, if

601 the fool's lot is to befall me also, why then should I be wise? Where is the profit for me? And I concluded in my heart that this too is vanity. ¹⁶ Neither of the wise man nor of the fool will there be an abiding remembrance, for in days to come both will have been forgotten. How is it that the wise man dies as well as the fool! ¹⁷ Therefore I loathed life, since for me the work that is done under the sun is evil; for all is vanity and a chase after wind. ¹⁸ And I detested all the fruits of my labor under the sun, because I must leave them to a man who is to come after me. ¹⁹ And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will have control over all the fruits of my wise labor under the sun. This also is vanity. ²⁰ So my feelings turned to despair of all the fruits of my labor under the sun. ²¹ For here is a man who has labored with wisdom and knowledge and skill, and to another, who has not labored over it, he must leave his property. This also is vanity and a great misfortune. ²² For what profit comes to a man from all the toil and anxiety of heart with which he has labored under the sun? ²³ All his days sorrow and grief are his occupation; even at night his mind is not at rest. This also is vanity. ²⁴ There is nothing better for man than to eat and drink and provide himself with good things by his labors. Even this, I realized, is from the hand of God. ²⁵ For who can eat or drink apart from him? ²⁶ For to whatever man he sees fit he gives wisdom and knowledge and joy; but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering possessions to be given to whatever man God sees fit. This also is vanity and a chase after wind. Ecclesiastes Chapter 3 ¹ There is an appointed time for everything, and a time for every affair under the heavens. ² A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to uproot the plant. ³ A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to tear down, and a time to build. ⁴ A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance. ⁵ A time to scatter stones, and a time to gather them; a time to embrace, and a time to be far from embraces. ⁶ A time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away. ⁷ A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to be silent, and a time to speak. ⁸ A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace. ⁹ What advantage has the worker from his toil? ¹⁰ I have considered the task which God has appointed for men to be busied about. ¹¹ He has made everything appropriate to its time, and has put the timeless into their hearts, without men's ever discovering, from beginning to end, the work which God has done. ¹² I recognized that there is nothing better than to be glad and to do well during life. ¹³ For every man, moreover, to eat and drink and enjoy the fruit of all his labor is a gift of God. ¹⁴ I recognized that whatever God does will endure forever; there is no adding to it, or taking from it. Thus has God done that he may be revered. ¹⁵ What now is has already been; what is to be, already is; and God restores what would otherwise be displaced. ¹⁶ And still under the sun in the judgment place I saw wickedness, and in the seat of justice, iniquity. ¹⁷ And I said to myself, both the just and the wicked God will judge, since there is a time for every affair and on every work a judgment. ¹⁸ I said to myself: As for the children of men, it is God's way of testing them and of showing that they are in themselves like beasts. ¹⁹ For the lot of man and of beast is one lot; the one dies as well as the other. Both have the same life-breath, and man has no advantage over the beast; but all is vanity. ²⁰ Both go to the same place; both were made from the dust, and to the dust they both return. ²¹ Who knows if the life-breath of the children of men goes upward and the life-breath of beasts goes earthward? ²² And I saw that there is nothing better for a man than to rejoice in his work; for this is his lot.

lves like beasts. ¹⁹ For the lot of man and of beast is one lot; the one dies as well as the other. Both have the same life-breath, and man has no advantage over the beast; but all is vanity. ²⁰ Both go to the same place; both were made from the dust, and to the dust they both return. ²¹ Who knows if the life-breath of the children of men goes upward and the life-breath of beasts goes earthward? ²² And I saw that there is nothing better for a man than to rejoice in his work; for this is his lot. Who will let him see what is to come after him? Ecclesiastes Chapter 4 ¹ Again I considered all the oppressions that take place under the sun: the tears of the victims with none to comfort them! From the hand of their oppressors comes violence, and there is none to comfort them! ² And those now dead, I declared more fortunate in death than are the living to be

602 still alive. ³ And better off than both is the yet unborn, who has not seen the wicked work that is done under the sun. ⁴ Then I saw that all toil and skillful work is the rivalry of one man for another. This also is vanity and a chase after wind. ⁵ "The fool folds his arms and consumes his own flesh" - ⁶ Better is one handful with tranquility than two with toil and a chase after wind! ⁷ Again I found this vanity under the sun: ⁸ a solitary man with no companion; with neither son nor brother. Yet there is no end to all his toil, and riches do not satisfy his greed. "For whom do I toil and deprive myself of good things?" This also is vanity and a worthless task. ⁹ Two are better than one: they get a good wage for their labor. ¹⁰ If the one falls, the other will lift up his companion. Woe to the solitary man! For if he should fall, he has no one to lift him up. ¹¹ So also, if two sleep together, they keep each other warm. How can one alone keep warm? ¹² Where a lone man may be overcome, two together can resist. A three-ply cord is not easily broken. ¹³ Better is a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who no longer knows caution; ¹⁴ for from a prison house one comes forth to rule, since even in his royalty he was poor at birth. ¹⁵ Then I saw all those who are to live and move about under the sun with the heir apparent who will succeed to his place. ¹⁶ There is no end to all these people, to all over whom he takes precedence; yet the later generations will not applaud him. This also is vanity and a chase after wind. ¹⁷ Guard your step when you go to the house of God. Let your approach be obedience, rather than the fools' offering of sacrifice; for they know not how to keep from doing evil. Ecclesiastes Chapter 5 ¹ Be not hasty in your utterance and let not your heart be quick to make a promise in God's presence. God is in heaven and you are on earth; therefore let your words be few. ² For nightmares come with many cares, and a fool's utterance with many words. ³ When you make a vow to God, delay not its fulfillment. For God has no pleasure in fools; fulfill what you have vowed. ⁴ You had better not make a vow than make it and not fulfill it. ⁵ Let not your utterances make you guilty, and say not before his representative, "It was a mistake," lest God be angered by such words and destroy the works of your hands. ⁶ Rather, fear God! ⁷ If you see oppression of the poor, and violation of rights and justice in the realm, do not be shocked by the fact, for the high official has another higher than he watching him and above these are others higher still. ⁸ Yet an advantage for a country in every respect is a king for the arable land. ⁹ The covetous man is never satisfied with money, and the lover of wealth reaps no fruit from it; so this too is vanity. ¹⁰ Where there are great riches, there are also many to devour them. Of what use are they to the owner except to feast his eyes upon? ¹¹ Sleep is sweet to the laboring man, whether he eats little or much, but the rich man's abundance allows him no sleep. ¹² This is a grievous evil which I have seen under the sun: riches kept by their owner to his hurt. ¹³ Should the riches be lost through some misfortune, he may have a son when he is without means. ¹⁴ As he came forth from his mother's womb, so again shall he depart, naked as he came, having nothing from his labor that he can carry in his hand. ¹⁵ This too is a grievous evil, that he goes just as he came. What then does it profit him to toil for wind? ¹⁶ All the days of his life are passed in gloom and sorrow, under great vexation, sickness, and wrath. ¹⁷ Here is what I recognize as good: it is well for a man to eat and drink and enjoy all the fruits of his labor under the sun during the limited days of the life which God gives him; for this is his lot.

art, naked as he came, having nothing from his labor that he can carry in his hand. ¹⁵ This too is a grievous evil, that he goes just as he came. What then does it profit him to toil for wind? ¹⁶ All the days of his life are passed in gloom and sorrow, under great vexation, sickness, and wrath. ¹⁷ Here is what I recognize as good: it is well for a man to eat and drink and enjoy all the fruits of his labor under the sun during the limited days of the life which God gives him; for this is his lot. ¹⁸ Any man to whom God gives riches and property, and grants power to partake of them, so that he receives his lot and finds joy in the fruits of his toil, has a gift from God. ¹⁹ For he will hardly dwell on the shortness of his life, because God lets him busy himself with the joy of his heart. Ecclesiastes Chapter 6 ¹ There is another evil which I have seen under the sun, and it weighs heavily upon man: ² there

603 is the man to whom God gives riches and property and honor, so that he lacks none of all the things he craves; yet God does not grant him power to partake of them, but a stranger devours them. This is vanity and a dire plague. ³ Should a man have a hundred children and live many years, no matter to what great age, still if he has not the full benefit of his goods, or if he is deprived of burial, of this man I proclaim that the child born dead is more fortunate than he. ⁴ Though it came in vain and goes into darkness and its name is enveloped in darkness; ⁵ though it has not seen or known the sun, yet the dead child is at rest rather than such a man. ⁶ Should he live twice a thousand years and not enjoy his goods, do not both go to the same place? ⁷ All man's toil is for his mouth, yet his desire is not fulfilled. ⁸ For what advantage has the wise man over the fool, or what advantage has the poor man in knowing how to conduct himself in life? ⁹ "What the eyes see is better than what the desires wander after." This also is vanity and a chase after wind. ¹⁰ Whatever is, was long ago given its name, and the nature of man is known, and that he cannot contend in judgment with one who is stronger than he. ¹¹ For though there are many sayings that multiply vanity, what profit is there for a man? ¹² For who knows what is good for a man in life, the limited days of his vain life (which God has made like a shadow)? Because—who is there to tell a man what will come after him under the sun? Ecclesiastes Chapter 7 ¹ A good name is better than good ointment, and the day of death than the day of birth. ² It is better to go to the house of mourning than to the house of feasting, for that is the end of every man, and the living should take it to heart. ³ Sorrow is better than laughter, because when the face is sad the heart grows wiser. ⁴ The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth. ⁵ It is better to hearken to the wise man's rebuke than to hearken to the song of fools; ⁶ for as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the fool's laughter. ⁷ For oppression can make a fool of a wise man, and a bribe corrupts the heart. ⁸ Better is the end of speech than its beginning; better is the patient spirit than the lofty spirit. ⁹ Do not in spirit become quickly discontented, for discontent lodges in the bosom of a fool. ¹⁰ Do not say: How is it that former times were better than these? For it is not in wisdom that you ask about this. ¹¹ Wisdom and an inheritance are good, and an advantage to those that see the sun. ¹² For the protection of wisdom is as the protection of money; and the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of its owner. ¹³ Consider the work of God. Who can make straight what he has made crooked? ¹⁴ On a good day enjoy good things, and on an evil day consider: Both the one and the other God has made, so that man cannot find fault with him in anything. ¹⁵ I have seen all manner of things in my vain days: a just man perishing in his justice, and a wicked one surviving in his wickedness. ¹⁶ "Be not just to excess, and be not overwise, lest you be ruined. ¹⁷ Be not wicked to excess, and be not foolish. Why should you die before your time?" ¹⁸ It is good to hold to this rule, and not to let that one go; but he who fears God will win through at all events. ¹⁹ Wisdom is a better defense for the wise man than would be ten princes in the city, ²⁰ yet there is no man on earth so just as to do good and never sin. ²¹ Do not give heed to every word that is spoken lest you hear your servant speaking ill of you, ²² for you know in your heart that you have many times spoken ill of others. ²³ All these things I probed in wisdom. I said, "I will acquire wisdom"; but it was beyond me. ²⁴ What exists is far-reaching; it is deep, very deep: who can find it out?

¹⁹ Wisdom is a better defense for the wise man than would be ten princes in the city, ²⁰ yet there is no man on earth so just as to do good and never sin. ²¹ Do not give heed to every word that is spoken lest you hear your servant speaking ill of you, ²² for you know in your heart that you have many times spoken ill of others. ²³ All these things I probed in wisdom. I said, "I will acquire wisdom"; but it was beyond me. ²⁴ What exists is far-reaching; it is deep, very deep: who can find it out? ²⁵ I turned my thoughts toward knowledge; I sought and pursued wisdom and reason, and I recognized that wickedness is foolish and folly is madness. ²⁶ More bitter than death I find the woman who is a hunter's trap, whose heart is a snare and whose hands are prison bonds. He who is pleasing to God will escape her, but the sinner will be entrapped by her. ²⁷ Behold, this have I found, says Qoheleth, adding one thing to another that I might discover the answer ²⁸ which my soul still seeks and has not found: One man out of a thousand have I come upon, but a woman

604 among them all I have not found. ²⁹ Behold, only this have I found out: God made mankind straight, but men have had recourse to many calculations. Ecclesiastes Chapter 8 ¹ Who is like the wise man, and who knows the explanation of things? A man's wisdom illumines his face, but an impudent look is resented. ² Observe the precept of the king, and in view of your oath to God, ³ be not hasty to withdraw from the king; do not join in with a base plot, for he does whatever he pleases, ⁴ because his word is sovereign, and who can say to him, "What are you doing?" ⁵ He who keeps the commandment experiences no evil, and the wise man's heart knows times and judgments; ⁶ for there is a time and a judgment for everything. Yet it is a great affliction for man ⁷ that he is ignorant of what is to come; for who will make known to him how it will be? ⁸ There is no man who is master of the breath of life so as to retain it, and none has mastery of the day of death. There is no exemption from the struggle, nor are the wicked saved by their wickedness. ⁹ All these things I considered and I applied my mind to every work that is done under the sun, while one man tyrannizes over another to his hurt. ¹⁰ Meanwhile I saw wicked men approach and enter; and as they left the sacred place, they were praised in the city for what they had done. This also is vanity. ¹¹ Because the sentence against evildoers is not promptly executed, therefore the hearts of men are filled with the desire to commit evil, ¹² because the sinner does evil a hundred times and survives. Though indeed I know that it shall be well with those who fear God, for their reverence toward him; ¹³ and that it shall not be well with the wicked man, and he shall not prolong his shadowy days, for his lack of reverence toward God. ¹⁴ This is a vanity which occurs on earth: there are just men treated as though they had done evil and wicked men treated as though they had done justly. This, too, I say is vanity. ¹⁵ Therefore I commend mirth, because there is nothing good for man under the sun except eating and drinking and mirth: for this is the accompaniment of his toil during the limited days of the life which God gives him under the sun. ¹⁶ When I applied my heart to know wisdom and to observe what is done on earth, ¹⁷ I recognized that man is unable to find out all God's work that is done under the sun, even though neither by day nor by night do his eyes find rest in sleep. However much man toils in searching, he does not find it out; and even if the wise man says that he knows, he is unable to find it out. Ecclesiastes Chapter 9 ¹ All this I have kept in mind and recognized: the just, the wise, and their deeds are in the hand of God. Love from hatred man cannot tell; both appear equally vain, ² in that there is the same lot for all, for the just and the wicked, for the good and the bad, for the clean and the unclean, for him who offers sacrifice and him who does not. As it is for the good man, so it is for the sinner; as it is for him who swears rashly, so it is for him who fears an oath. ³ Among all the things that happen under the sun, this is the worst, that things turn out the same for all. Hence the minds of men are filled with evil, and madness is in their hearts during life; and afterward they go to the dead. ⁴ Indeed, for any among the living there is hope; a live dog is better off than a dead lion. ⁵ For the living know that they are to die, but the dead no longer know anything. There is no further recompense for them, because all memory of them is lost. ⁶ For them, love and hatred and rivalry have long since perished. They will never again have part in anything that is done under the sun. ⁷ Go, eat your bread with joy and drink your wine with a merry heart, because it is now that God favors your works. ⁸ At all times let your garments be white, and spare not the perfume for your head.

on. ⁵ For the living know that they are to die, but the dead no longer know anything. There is no further recompense for them, because all memory of them is lost. ⁶ For them, love and hatred and rivalry have long since perished. They will never again have part in anything that is done under the sun. ⁷ Go, eat your bread with joy and drink your wine with a merry heart, because it is now that God favors your works. ⁸ At all times let your garments be white, and spare not the perfume for your head. ⁹ Enjoy life with the wife whom you love, all the days of the fleeting life that is granted you under the sun. This is your lot in life, for the toil of your labors under the sun. ¹⁰ Anything you can turn your hand to, do with what power you have; for there will be no work, nor reason, nor knowledge, nor wisdom in the nether world where you are going. ¹¹ Again I saw under the sun

605 that the race is not won by the swift, nor the battle by the valiant, nor a livelihood by the wise, nor riches by the shrewd, nor favor by the experts; for a time of calamity comes to all alike. ¹² Man no more knows his own time than fish taken in the fatal net, or birds trapped in the snare; like these the children of men are caught when the evil time falls suddenly upon them. ¹³ On the other hand I saw this wise deed under the sun, which I thought sublime. ¹⁴ Against a small city with few men in it advanced a mighty king, who surrounded it and threw up great siegeworks about it. ¹⁵ But in the city lived a man who, though poor, was wise, and he delivered it through his wisdom. Yet no one remembered this poor man. ¹⁶ Though I had said, "Wisdom is better than force," yet the wisdom of the poor man is despised and his words go unheeded. ¹⁷ The quiet words of the wise are better heeded than the shout of a ruler of fools. ¹⁸ A fly that dies can spoil the perfumer's ointment, and a single slip can ruin much that is good. Ecclesiastes Chapter 10 ¹ More weighty than wisdom or wealth is a little folly! ² The wise man's understanding turns him to his right; the fool's understanding turns him to his left. ³ When the fool walks through the street, in his lack of understanding he calls everything foolish. ⁴ Should the anger of the ruler burst upon you, forsake not your place; for mildness abates great offenses. ⁵ I have seen under the sun another evil, like a mistake that proceeds from the ruler: ⁶ a fool put in a lofty position while the rich sit in lowly places. ⁷ I have seen slaves on horseback, while princes walked on the ground like slaves. ⁸ He who digs a pit may fall into it, and he who breaks through a wall may be bitten by a serpent. ⁹ He who moves stones may be hurt by them, and he who chops wood is in danger from it. ¹⁰ If the iron becomes dull, though at first he made easy progress, he must increase his efforts; but the craftsman has the advantage of his skill. ¹¹ If the serpent bites because it has not been charmed, then there is no advantage for the charmer. ¹² Words from the wise man's mouth win favor, but the fool's lips consume him. ¹³ The beginning of his words is folly, and the end of his talk is utter madness; ¹⁴ yet the fool multiplies words. Man knows not what is to come, for who can tell him what is to come after him? ¹⁵ When will the fool be weary of his labor, he who knows not the way to the city? ¹⁶ Woe to you, O land, whose king was a servant, and whose princes dine in the morning! ¹⁷ Blessed are you, O land, whose king is of noble birth, and whose princes dine at the right time (for vigor and not in drinking bouts). ¹⁸ When hands are lazy, the rafters sag; when hands are slack, the house leaks. ¹⁹ Bread and oil call forth merriment and wine makes the living glad, but money answers for everything. ²⁰ Even in your thoughts do not make light of the king, nor in the privacy of your bedroom revile the rich. Because the birds of the air may carry your voice, a winged creature may tell what you say. Ecclesiastes Chapter 11 ¹ Cast your bread upon the waters; after a long time you may find it again. ² Make seven or eight portions; you know not what misfortune may come upon the earth. ³ When the clouds are full, they pour out rain upon the earth. Whether a tree falls to the south or to the north, wherever it falls, there shall it lie. ⁴ One who pays heed to the wind will not sow, and one who watches the clouds will never reap. ⁵ Just as you know not how the breath of life fashions the human frame in the mother's womb, so you know not the work of God which he is accomplishing in the universe. ⁶ In the morning sow your seed, and at evening let not your hand be idle: for you know not which of the two will be successful, or whether both alike will turn out well. ⁷ Light is sweet! and it is pleasant for the eyes to see the sun.

e. ⁴ One who pays heed to the wind will not sow, and one who watches the clouds will never reap. ⁵ Just as you know not how the breath of life fashions the human frame in the mother's womb, so you know not the work of God which he is accomplishing in the universe. ⁶ In the morning sow your seed, and at evening let not your hand be idle: for you know not which of the two will be successful, or whether both alike will turn out well. ⁷ Light is sweet! and it is pleasant for the eyes to see the sun. ⁸ However many years a man may live, let him, as he enjoys them all, remember that the days of darkness will be many. All that is to come is vanity. ⁹ Rejoice, O young man, while you are young and let your heart be glad in the days of your youth. Follow the ways of your heart, the vision of your eyes; yet understand that as regards all this God will bring

606 you to judgment. ¹⁰ Ward off grief from your heart and put away trouble from your presence, though the dawn of youth is fleeting. Ecclesiastes Chapter 12 ¹ Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years approach of which you will say, "I have no pleasure in them"; ² before the sun is darkened, and the light, and the moon, and the stars, while the clouds return after the rain; ³ when the guardians of the house tremble, and the strong men are bent, and the grinders are idle because they are few, and they who look through the windows grow blind; ⁴ when the doors to the street are shut, and the sound of the mill is low; when one waits for the chirp of a bird, but all the daughters of song are suppressed; ⁵ and one fears heights, and perils in the street; when the almond tree blooms, and the locust grows sluggish and the caper berry is without effect, because man goes to his lasting home, and mourners go about the streets; ⁶ before the silver cord is snapped and the golden bowl is broken, and the pitcher is shattered at the spring, and the broken pulley falls into the well, ⁷ and the dust returns to the earth as it once was, and the life breath returns to God who gave it. ⁸ Vanity of vanities, says Qoheleth, all things are vanity! ⁹ Besides being wise, Qoheleth taught the people knowledge, and weighed, scrutinized and arranged many proverbs. ¹⁰ Qoheleth sought to find pleasing sayings, and to write down true sayings with precision. ¹¹ The sayings of the wise are like goads; like fixed spikes are the topics given by one collector. ¹² As to more than these, my son, beware. Of the making of many books there is no end, and in much study there is weariness for the flesh. ¹³ The last word, when all is heard: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is man's all; ¹⁴ because God will bring to judgment every work, with all its hidden qualities, whether good or bad. The Song of Songs The Song of Songs Chapter 1 ¹ The Song of songs, which is Solomon’s. B ² Let him kiss me with kisses of his mouth! More delightful is your love than wine! ³ Your name spoken is a spreading perfume—that is why the maidens love you. ⁴ Draw me!— D We will follow you eagerly! B Bring me, O king, to your chambers. D With you we rejoice and exult, we extol your love; it is beyond wine: how rightly you are loved! ⁵ B I am as dark—but lovely, O daughters of Jerusalem—As the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Salma. ⁶ Do not stare at me because I am swarthy, because the sun has burned me. My brothers have been angry with me; they charged me with the care of the vineyards: my own vineyard I have not cared for. ⁷ Tell me, you whom my heart loves, where you pasture your flock, where you give them rest at midday, Lest I be found wandering after the flocks of your companions. ⁸ G If you do not know, O most beautiful among women, Follow the tracks of the flock and pasture the young ones near the shepherds' camps. ⁹ To the steeds of Pharaoh's chariots would I liken you, my beloved: ¹⁰ Your cheeks lovely in pendants, your neck in jewels. ¹¹ We will make pendants of gold for you, and silver ornaments. ¹² B For the king's banquet my nard gives forth its fragrance. ¹³ My lover is for me a sachet of myrrh to rest in my bosom. ¹⁴ My lover is for me a cluster of henna from the vineyards of Engedi. ¹⁵ G Ah, you are beautiful, my beloved, ah, you are beautiful; your eyes are doves! ¹⁶ B Ah, you are beautiful, my lover—yes, you are lovely. Our couch, too, is verdant; ¹⁷ the beams of our house are cedars, our rafters, cypresses. Caption: The marginal letters indicate the speakers of the verses: • B: Bride - The beloved woman expressing her love for the bridegroom. • D: Daughters of Jerusalem - A chorus commenting on and supporting the bride's feelings.

607 • G: Bridegroom - The beloved man responding to the bride's affection. The Song of Songs Chapter 2 ¹ I am a flower of Sharon, a lily of the valley. ² G As a lily among thorns, so is my beloved among women. ³ B As an apple tree among the trees of the woods, so is my lover among men. I delight to rest in his shadow, and his fruit is sweet to my mouth. ⁴ B He brings me into the banquet hall and his emblem over me is love. ⁵ Strengthen me with raisin cakes, refresh me with apples, for I am faint with love. ⁶ His left hand is under my head and his right arm embraces me. ⁷ B I adjure you, daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles and hinds of the field, Do not arouse, do not stir up love before its own time. ⁸ B Hark! my lover—here he comes springing across the mountains, leaping across the hills. ⁹ My lover is like a gazelle or a young stag. Here he stands behind our wall, gazing through the windows, peering through the lattices. ¹⁰ My lover speaks; he says to me, "Arise, my beloved, my beautiful one, and come! ¹¹ For see, the winter is past, the rains are over and gone. ¹² The flowers appear on the earth, the time of pruning the vines has come, and the song of the dove is heard in our land. ¹³ The fig tree puts forth its figs, and the vines, in bloom, give forth fragrance. Arise, my beloved, my beautiful one, and come! ¹⁴ G O my dove in the clefts of the rock, in the secret recesses of the cliff, Let me see you, let me hear your voice, For your voice is sweet, and you are lovely." ¹⁵ B Catch us the foxes, the little foxes that damage the vineyards; for our vineyards are in bloom! ¹⁶ My lover belongs to me and I to him; he browses among the lilies. ¹⁷ B Until the day breathes cool and the shadows lengthen, roam, my lover, Like a gazelle or a young stag upon the mountains of Bether. Caption: The marginal letters indicate the speakers of the verses: • B: Bride - The beloved woman expressing her love for the bridegroom. • G: Bridegroom - The beloved man responding to the bride's affection. The Song of Songs Chapter 3 ¹ B On my bed at night I sought him whom my heart loves—I sought him but I did not find him. ² I will rise then and go about the city; in the streets and crossings I will seek him whom my heart loves. I sought him but I did not find him. ³ The watchmen came upon me as they made their rounds of the city: Have you seen him whom my heart loves? ⁴ I had hardly left them when I found him whom my heart loves. I took hold of him and would not let him go till I should bring him to the home of my mother, to the room of my parent. ⁵ I adjure you, daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles and hinds of the field, do not arouse, do not stir up love before its own time. ⁶ D What is this coming up from the desert, like a column of smoke laden with myrrh, with frankincense, and with the perfume of every exotic dust? ⁷ Ah, it is the litter of Solomon; sixty valiant men surround it, of the valiant men of Israel: ⁸ All of them expert with the sword, skilled in battle, each with his sword at his side against danger in the watches of the night. ⁹ King Solomon made himself a carriage of wood from Lebanon. ¹⁰ He made its columns of silver, its roof of gold, its seat of purple cloth, its framework inlaid with ivory. ¹¹ Daughters of Jerusalem, come forth and look upon King Solomon in the crown with which his mother has crowned him on the day of his marriage, on the day of the joy of his heart. Caption: The marginal letters indicate the speakers of the verses: • B: Bride - The beloved woman expressing her love for the bridegroom. • D: Daughters of Jerusalem - The chorus of women observing and commenting on the love between the bride and bridegroom. The Song of Songs Chapter 4

608 ¹ G Ah, you are beautiful, my beloved, ah, you are beautiful! Your eyes are doves behind your veil. Your hair is like a flock of goats streaming down the mountains of Gilead. ² Your teeth are like a flock of ewes to be shorn, which come up from the washing, all of them big with twins, none of them thin and barren. ³ Your lips are like a scarlet strand; your mouth is lovely. Your cheek is like a half-pomegranate behind your veil. ⁴ Your neck is like David's tower girt with battlements; a thousand bucklers hang upon it, all the shields of valiant men. ⁵ Your breasts are like twin fawns, the young of a gazelle that browse among the lilies. ⁶ Until the day breathes cool and the shadows lengthen, I will go to the mountain of myrrh, to the hill of incense. ⁷ You are all-beautiful, my beloved, and there is no blemish in you. ⁸ Come from Lebanon, my bride, come from Lebanon, come! Descend from the top of Amana, from the top of Senir and Hermon, from the haunts of lions, from the leopards' mountains. ⁹ You have ravished my heart, my sister, my bride; you have ravished my heart with one glance of your eyes, with one bead of your necklace. ¹⁰ How beautiful is your love, my sister, my bride, how much more delightful is your love than wine, and the fragrance of your ointments than all spices! ¹¹ Your lips drip honey, my bride, sweetmeats and milk are under your tongue; and the fragrance of your garments is the fragrance of Lebanon. ¹² G You are an enclosed garden, my sister, my bride, an enclosed garden, a fountain sealed. ¹³ You are a park that puts forth pomegranates, with all choice fruits; ¹⁴ nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, with all kinds of incense; myrrh and aloes, with all the finest spices. ¹⁵ You are a garden fountain, a well of water flowing fresh from Lebanon. ¹⁶ Arise, north wind! Come, south wind! blow upon my garden that its perfumes may spread abroad. B Let my lover come to his garden and eat its choice fruits. Caption: The marginal letters indicate the speakers of the verses: • B: Bride - The beloved woman expressing her love for the bridegroom. • G: Bridegroom - The beloved man expressing his admiration and love for the bride. The Song of Songs Chapter 5 ¹ G I have come to my garden, my sister, my bride; I gather my myrrh and my spices, I eat my honey and my sweetmeats, I drink my wine and my milk. D Eat, friends; drink! Drink freely of love! ² B I was sleeping, but my heart kept vigil; I heard my lover knocking: "Open to me, my sister, my beloved, my dove, my perfect one! For my head is wet with dew, my locks with the moisture of the night." ³ I have taken off my robe, am I then to put it on? I have bathed my feet, am I then to soil them? ⁴ My lover put his hand through the opening; my heart trembled within me, and I grew faint when he spoke. ⁵ I rose to open to my lover, with my hands dripping myrrh: With my fingers dripping choice myrrh upon the fittings of the lock. ⁶ I opened to my lover—but my lover had departed, gone. I sought him but I did not find him; I called to him but he did not answer me. ⁷ B The watchmen came upon me as they made their rounds of the city; they struck me, and wounded me, and took my mantle from me, the guardians of the walls. ⁸ I adjure you, daughters of Jerusalem, if you find my lover—what shall you tell him?—that I am faint with love. ⁹ D How does your lover differ from any other, O most beautiful among women? How does your lover differ from any other, that you adjure us so? ¹⁰ B My lover is radiant and ruddy; he stands out among thousands. ¹¹ His head is pure gold; his locks are palm fronds, black as the raven. ¹² His eyes are like doves beside running waters, his teeth would seem bathed in milk, and are set like jewels. ¹³ His cheeks are like beds of spice with ripening aromatic herbs. His lips are red blossoms; they drip choice myrrh. ¹⁴ His arms are rods of gold adorned with chrysolites. His body is a work of ivory covered with sapphires.

that you adjure us so? ¹⁰ B My lover is radiant and ruddy; he stands out among thousands. ¹¹ His head is pure gold; his locks are palm fronds, black as the raven. ¹² His eyes are like doves beside running waters, his teeth would seem bathed in milk, and are set like jewels. ¹³ His cheeks are like beds of spice with ripening aromatic herbs. His lips are red blossoms; they drip choice myrrh. ¹⁴ His arms are rods of gold adorned with chrysolites. His body is a work of ivory covered with sapphires. ¹⁵ His legs are columns of marble resting on golden bases. His stature is like the trees on Lebanon, imposing as the cedars. ¹⁶ His mouth is sweetness itself; he is all delight. Such is my lover, and such my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.

609 Caption: The marginal letters indicate the speakers of the verses: • B: Bride - The beloved woman expressing her love for the bridegroom. • D: Daughters of Jerusalem - The chorus of women addressing the bride. • G: Bridegroom - The beloved man expressing his admiration and love for the bride. The Song of Songs Chapter 6 ¹ D Where has your lover gone, O most beautiful among women? Where has your lover gone that we may seek him with you? ² B My lover has come down to his garden, to the beds of spice, to browse in the garden and to gather lilies. ³ My lover belongs to me and I to him; he browses among the lilies. ⁴ G You are as beautiful as Tirzah, my beloved, as lovely as Jerusalem, as awe-inspiring as bannered troops. ⁵ Turn your eyes from me, for they torment me. Your hair is like a flock of goats streaming down from Gilead. ⁶ Your teeth are like a flock of ewes which come up from the washing, all of them big with twins, none of them thin and barren. ⁷ Your cheek is like a half- pomegranate behind your veil. ⁸ There are sixty queens, eighty concubines, and maidens without number— ⁹ one alone is my dove, my perfect one, her mother's chosen, the dear one of her parent. The daughters saw her and declared her fortunate, the queens and concubines, and they sang her praises; ¹⁰ D Who is this that comes forth like the dawn, as beautiful as the moon, as resplendent as the sun, as awe-inspiring as bannered troops? ¹¹ B I came down to the nut garden to look at the fresh growth of the valley, to see if the vines were in bloom, if the pomegranates had blossomed. ¹² Before I knew it, my heart had made me the blessed one of my kinswomen. Caption: The marginal letters indicate the speakers of the verses: • B: Bride - The beloved woman expressing her love for the bridegroom. • D: Daughters of Jerusalem - The chorus of women addressing the bride. • G: Bridegroom - The beloved man expressing his admiration and love for the bride. The Song of Songs Chapter 7 ¹ D Turn, turn, O Shulammite, turn, turn, that we may look at you! B Why would you look at the Shulammite as at the dance of the two companies? ² D How beautiful are your feet in sandals, O prince's daughter! Your rounded thighs are like jewels, the handiwork of an artist. ³ Your navel is a round bowl that should never lack for mixed wine. Your body is a heap of wheat encircled with lilies. ⁴ Your breasts are like twin fawns, the young of a gazelle. ⁵ Your neck is like a tower of ivory. Your eyes are like the pools in Heshbon by the gate of Bath-rabbim. Your nose is like the tower on Lebanon that looks toward Damascus. ⁶ You head rises like Carmel; your hair is like draperies of purple; a king is held captive in its tresses. ⁷ G How beautiful you are, how pleasing, my love, my delight! ⁸ Your very figure is like a palm tree, your breasts are like clusters. ⁹ I said: I will climb the palm tree, I will take hold of its branches. Now let your breasts be like clusters of the vine and the fragrance of your breath like apples, ¹⁰ And your mouth like an excellent wine - B that flows smoothly for my lover, spreading over the lips and the teeth. ¹¹ I belong to my lover and for me he yearns. ¹² Come, my lover, let us go forth to the fields and spend the night among the villages. ¹³ Let us go early to the vineyards, and see if the vines are in bloom, if the buds have opened, if the pomegranates have blossomed; there will I give you my love. ¹⁴ The mandrakes give forth fragrance, and at our doors are all choice fruits; both fresh and mellowed fruits, my lover, I have kept in store for you. Caption: The marginal letters indicate the speakers of the verses: • B: Bride - The beloved woman expressing her love for the bridegroom. • D: Daughters of Jerusalem - The chorus of women addressing the bride.

610 • G: Bridegroom - The beloved man expressing his admiration and love for the bride. The Song of Songs Chapter 8 ¹ Oh, that you were my brother, nursed at my mother's breasts! If I met you out of doors, I would kiss you and none would taunt me. ² I would lead you, bring you in to the home of my mother. There you would teach me to give you spiced wine to drink and pomegranate juice. ³ His left hand is under my head and his right arm embraces me. ⁴ I adjure you, daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles and hinds of the field, do not arouse, do not stir up love, before its own time. ⁵ D Who is this coming up from the desert, leaning upon her lover? G Under the apple tree I awakened you; it was there that your mother conceived you, it was there that your parent conceived. ⁶ B Set me as a seal on your heart, as a seal on your arm; for stern as death is love, relentless as the nether world is devotion; its flames are a blazing fire. ⁷ Deep waters cannot quench love, nor floods sweep it away. Were one to offer all he owns to purchase love, he would be roundly mocked. ⁸ "Our sister is little and she has no breasts as yet. What shall we do for our sister when her courtship begins? ⁹ If she is a wall, we will build upon it a silver parapet; if she is a door, we will reinforce it with a cedar plank." ¹⁰ I am a wall, and my breasts are like towers. So now in his eyes I have become one to be welcomed. ¹¹ B Solomon had a vineyard at Baal-hamon; he gave over the vineyard to caretakers. For its fruit, one would have to pay a thousand silver pieces. ¹² My vineyard is at my own disposal; the thousand pieces are for you, O Solomon, and two hundred for the caretakers of its fruit. ¹³ G O garden-dweller, my friends are listening for your voice, let me hear it! ¹⁴ B Be swift, my lover, like a gazelle or a young stag on the mountains of spices! Caption: The marginal letters indicate the speakers of the verses: • B: Bride - The beloved woman expressing her love for the bridegroom. • D: Daughters of Jerusalem - The chorus of women addressing the bride. • G: Bridegroom - The beloved man expressing his admiration and love for the bride. The Wisdom of Solomon The Wisdom of Solomon Chapter 1 ¹ Love justice, you who judge the earth; think of the LORD in goodness, and seek him in integrity of heart; ² Because he is found by those who test him not, and he manifests himself to those who do not disbelieve him. ³ For perverse counsels separate a man from God, and his power, put to the proof, rebukes the foolhardy; ⁴ Because into a soul that plots evil wisdom enters not, nor dwells she in a body under debt of sin. ⁵ For the holy spirit of discipline flees deceit and withdraws from senseless counsels; and when injustice occurs it is rebuked. ⁶ For wisdom is a kindly spirit, yet she acquits not the blasphemer of his guilty lips; because God is the witness of his inmost self and the sure observer of his heart and the listener to his tongue. ⁷ For the spirit of the LORD fills the world, is all-embracing, and knows what man says. ⁸ Therefore no one who utters wicked things can go unnoticed, nor will chastising condemnation pass him by. ⁹ For the devices of the wicked man shall be scrutinized, and the sound of his words shall reach the LORD, for the chastisement of his transgressions; ¹⁰ Because a jealous ear hearkens to everything, and discordant grumblings are no secret. ¹¹ Therefore guard against profitless grumbling, and from calumny withhold your tongues; for a stealthy utterance does not go unpunished, and a lying mouth slays the soul. ¹² Court not death by your erring way of life, nor draw to yourselves destruction by the works of your hands. ¹³ Because God did not make death, nor does he rejoice in the destruction of the living. ¹⁴ For he fashioned all things that they might have being; and the creatures of the world are wholesome, and there is not a destructive drug among them nor any domain of the nether world

611 on earth, ¹⁵ For justice is undying. ¹⁶ It was the wicked who with hands and words invited death, considered it a friend, and pined for it, and made a covenant with it, because they deserve to be in its possession. The Wisdom of Solomon Chapter 2 ¹ They who said among themselves, thinking not aright: "Brief and troublous is our lifetime; neither is there any remedy for man's dying, nor is anyone known to have come back from the nether world. ² For haphazard were we born, and hereafter we shall be as though we had not been; because the breath in our nostrils is a smoke and reason is a spark at the beating of our hearts, ³ and when this is quenched, our body will be ashes and our spirit will be poured abroad like unresisting air. ⁴ Even our name will be forgotten in time, and no one will recall our deeds. So our life will pass away like the traces of a cloud, and will be dispersed like a mist pursued by the sun's rays and overpowered by its heat. ⁵ For our lifetime is the passing of a shadow; and our dying cannot be deferred because it is fixed with a seal; and no one returns. ⁶ Come, therefore, let us enjoy the good things that are real, and use the freshness of creation avidly. ⁷ Let us have our fill of costly wine and perfumes, and let no springtime blossom pass us by; ⁸ let us crown ourselves with rosebuds ere they wither. ⁹ Let no meadow be free from our wantonness; everywhere let us leave tokens of our rejoicing, for this our portion is, and this our lot. ¹⁰ Let us oppress the needy just man; let us neither spare the widow nor revere the old man for his hair grown white with time. ¹¹ But let our strength be our norm of justice; for weakness proves itself useless. ¹² Let us beset the just one, because he is obnoxious to us; he sets himself against our doings, reproaches us for transgressions of the law and charges us with violations of our training. ¹³ He professes to have knowledge of God and styles himself a child of the LORD. ¹⁴ To us he is the censure of our thoughts; merely to see him is a hardship for us, ¹⁵ because his life is not like other men's, and different are his ways. ¹⁶ He judges us debased; he holds aloof from our paths as from things impure. He calls blest the destiny of the just and boasts that God is his Father. ¹⁷ Let us see whether his words be true; let us find out what will happen to him. ¹⁸ For if the just one be the son of God, he will defend him and deliver him from the hand of his foes. ¹⁹ With revilement and torture let us put him to the test that we may have proof of his gentleness and try his patience. ²⁰ Let us condemn him to a shameful death; for according to his own words, God will take care of him." ²¹ These were their thoughts, but they erred; for their wickedness blinded them, ²² and they knew not the hidden counsels of God; neither did they count on a recompense of holiness nor discern the innocent souls' reward. ²³ For God formed man to be imperishable; the image of his own nature he made him. ²⁴ But by the envy of the devil, death entered the world, and they who are in his possession experience it. The Wisdom of Solomon Chapter 3 ¹ But the souls of the just are in the hand of God, and no torment shall touch them. ² They seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead; and their passing away was thought an affliction ³ and their going forth from us, utter destruction. But they are in peace. ⁴ For if before men, indeed, they be punished, yet is their hope full of immortality; ⁵ chastised a little, they shall be greatly blessed, because God tried them and found them worthy of himself. ⁶ As gold in the furnace, he proved them, and as sacrificial offerings he took them to himself. ⁷ In the time of their visitation they shall shine, and shall dart about as sparks through stubble; ⁸ they shall judge nations and rule over peoples, and the LORD shall be their King forever.

ey are in peace. ⁴ For if before men, indeed, they be punished, yet is their hope full of immortality; ⁵ chastised a little, they shall be greatly blessed, because God tried them and found them worthy of himself. ⁶ As gold in the furnace, he proved them, and as sacrificial offerings he took them to himself. ⁷ In the time of their visitation they shall shine, and shall dart about as sparks through stubble; ⁸ they shall judge nations and rule over peoples, and the LORD shall be their King forever. ⁹ Those who trust in him shall understand truth, and the faithful shall abide with him in love: because grace and mercy are with his holy ones, and his care is with the elect. ¹⁰ But the wicked shall receive a punishment to match their thoughts, since they neglected justice and forsook the LORD. ¹¹ For he who despises wisdom and instruction

612 is doomed. Vain is their hope, fruitless are their labors, and worthless are their works. ¹² Their wives are foolish and their children wicked; accursed is their brood. ¹³ Yes, blessed is she who, childless and undefiled, knew not transgression of the marriage bed; she shall bear fruit at the visitation of souls. ¹⁴ So also the eunuch whose hand wrought no misdeed, who held no wicked thoughts against the LORD—for he shall be given fidelity's choice reward and a more gratifying heritage in the LORD'S temple. ¹⁵ For the fruit of noble struggles is a glorious one; and unfailing is the root of understanding. ¹⁶ But the children of adulterers will remain without issue, and the progeny of an unlawful bed will disappear. ¹⁷ For should they attain long life, they will be held in no esteem, and dishonored will their old age be at last; ¹⁸ while should they die abruptly, they have no hope nor comfort in the day of scrutiny; ¹⁹ for dire is the end of the wicked generation. The Wisdom of Solomon Chapter 4 ¹ Better is childlessness with virtue; for immortal is its memory: because both by God is it acknowledged, and by men. ² When it is present men imitate it, and they long for it when it is gone; and forever it marches crowned in triumph, victorious in unsullied deeds of valor. ³ But the numerous progeny of the wicked shall be of no avail; their spurious offshoots shall not strike deep root nor take firm hold. ⁴ For even though their branches flourish for a time, they are unsteady and shall be rocked by the wind and, by the violence of the winds, uprooted; ⁵ their twigs shall be broken off untimely, and their fruit be useless, unripe for eating, and fit for nothing. ⁶ For children born of lawless unions give evidence of the wickedness of their parents, when they are examined. ⁷ But the just man, though he die early, shall be at rest. ⁸ For the age that is honorable comes not with the passing of time, nor can it be measured in terms of years. ⁹ Rather, understanding is the hoary crown for men, and an unsullied life, the attainment of old age. ¹⁰ He who pleased God was loved; he who lived among sinners was transported. ¹¹ Snatched away, lest wickedness pervert his mind or deceit beguile his soul; ¹² for the witchery of paltry things obscures what is right and the whirl of desire transforms the innocent mind. ¹³ Having become perfect in a short while, he reached the fullness of a long career; ¹⁴ for his soul was pleasing to the LORD, therefore he sped him out of the midst of wickedness. But the people saw and did not understand, nor did they take this into account. ¹⁵ Yes, the just man dead condemns the sinful who live, and youth swiftly completed condemns the many years of the wicked man grown old. ¹⁶ For they see the death of the wise man and do not understand what the LORD intended for him, or why he made him secure. ¹⁷ They see, and hold him in contempt; but the LORD laughs them to scorn. ¹⁸ And they shall afterward become dishonored corpses and an unceasing mockery among the dead. For he shall strike them down speechless and prostrate and rock them to their foundations; they shall be utterly laid waste and shall be in grief and their memory shall perish. ¹⁹ Fearful shall they come, at the counting up of their sins, and their lawless deeds shall convict them to their face. The Wisdom of Solomon Chapter 5 ¹ Then shall the just one with great assurance confront his oppressors who set at nought his labors. ² Seeing this, they shall be shaken with dreadful fear, and amazed at the unlooked-for salvation. ³ They shall say among themselves, rueful and groaning through anguish of spirit: "This is he whom once we held as a laughingstock and as a type for mockery, ⁴ fools that we were! His life we accounted madness, and his death dishonored. ⁵ See how he is accounted among the sons of God; how his lot is with the saints!

just one with great assurance confront his oppressors who set at nought his labors. ² Seeing this, they shall be shaken with dreadful fear, and amazed at the unlooked-for salvation. ³ They shall say among themselves, rueful and groaning through anguish of spirit: "This is he whom once we held as a laughingstock and as a type for mockery, ⁴ fools that we were! His life we accounted madness, and his death dishonored. ⁵ See how he is accounted among the sons of God; how his lot is with the saints! ⁶ We, then, have strayed from the way of truth, and the light of justice did not shine for us, and the sun did not rise for us. ⁷ We had our fill of the ways of mischief and of ruin; we journeyed through impassable deserts, but the way of the LORD we knew not. ⁸ What did our pride avail us? What have wealth and its boastfulness afforded us? ⁹ All of them passed like a shadow and like a fleeting rumor; ¹⁰ Like a ship traversing the heaving water, of which, when

613 it has passed, no trace can be found, no path of its keel in the waves. ¹¹ Or like a bird flying through the air; no evidence of its course is to be found - But the fluid air, lashed by the beat of pinions, and cleft by the rushing force of speeding wings, is traversed: and afterward no mark of passage can be found in it. ¹² Or as, when an arrow has been shot at a mark, the parted air straightway flows together again so that none discerns the way it went through - ¹³ Even so we, once born, abruptly came to nought and held no sign of virtue to display, but were consumed in our wickedness." ¹⁴ Yes, the hope of the wicked is like thistledown borne on the wind, and like fine, tempest-driven foam; like smoke scattered by the wind, and like the passing memory of the nomad camping for a single day. ¹⁵ But the just live forever, and in the LORD is their recompense, and the thought of them is with the Most High. ¹⁶ Therefore shall they receive the splendid crown, the beauteous diadem, from the hand of the LORD - for he shall shelter them with his right hand, and protect them with his arm. ¹⁷ He shall take his zeal for armor and he shall arm creation to requite the enemy; ¹⁸ He shall don justice for a breastplate and shall wear sure judgment for a helmet; ¹⁹ He shall take invincible rectitude as a shield ²⁰ and whet his sudden anger for a sword, and the universe shall war with him against the foolhardy. ²¹ Well-aimed shafts of lightnings shall go forth and from the clouds as from a well-drawn bow shall leap to the mark; ²² and as from his sling, wrathful hailstones shall be hurled. The water of the sea shall be enraged against them and the streams shall abruptly overflow; ²³ A mighty wind shall confront them and a tempest winnow them out; thus lawlessness shall lay the whole earth waste and evildoing overturn the thrones of potentates. The Wisdom of Solomon Chapter 6 ¹ Hear, therefore, kings, and understand; learn, you magistrates of the earth's expanse! ² Hearken, you who are in power over the multitude and lord it over throngs of peoples! ³ Because authority was given you by the LORD and sovereignty by the Most High, who shall probe your works and scrutinize your counsels! ⁴¹ Because, though you were ministers of his kingdom, you judged not rightly, and did not keep the law, nor walk according to the will of God, ⁵ Terribly and swiftly shall he come against you, because judgment is stern for the exalted - ⁶ For the lowly may be pardoned out of mercy but the mighty shall be mightily put to the test. ⁷ For the Lord of all shows no partiality, nor does he fear greatness, because he himself made the great as well as the small, and he provides for all alike; ⁸ but for those in power a rigorous scrutiny impends. ⁹ To you, therefore, O princes, are my words addressed that you may learn wisdom and that you may not sin. ¹⁰² For those who keep the holy precepts hallowed shall be found holy, and those learned in them will have ready a response. ¹¹ Desire therefore my words; long for them and you shall be instructed. ¹² Resplendent and unfading is Wisdom, and she is readily perceived by those who love her, and found by those who seek her. ¹³ She hastens to make herself known in anticipation of men's desire; ¹⁴ he who watches for her at dawn shall not be disappointed, for he shall find her sitting by his gate. ¹⁵ For taking thought of her is the perfection of prudence, and he who for her sake keeps vigil shall quickly be free from care; ¹⁶ Because she makes her own rounds, seeking those worthy of her, and graciously appears to them in the ways, and meets them with all solicitude. ¹⁷ For the first step toward discipline is a very earnest desire for her; then, care for discipline is love of her; ¹⁸ love means the keeping of her laws; to observe her laws is the basis for incorruptibility; ¹⁹ and incorruptibility makes one close to God; ²⁰ thus the desire for Wisdom leads up to a kingdom.

eeps vigil shall quickly be free from care; ¹⁶ Because she makes her own rounds, seeking those worthy of her, and graciously appears to them in the ways, and meets them with all solicitude. ¹⁷ For the first step toward discipline is a very earnest desire for her; then, care for discipline is love of her; ¹⁸ love means the keeping of her laws; to observe her laws is the basis for incorruptibility; ¹⁹ and incorruptibility makes one close to God; ²⁰ thus the desire for Wisdom leads up to a kingdom. ²¹ If, then, you find pleasure in throne and scepter, you princes of the peoples, honor Wisdom, that you may reign as kings forever. ²² Now what wisdom is, and how she came to be I shall relate; and I shall hide no secrets from you, but from the very beginning I shall search out and bring to light knowledge of her, nor shall I diverge from the truth. ²³ Neither shall I admit consuming jealousy to my company, because that can have no fellowship with Wisdom. ²⁴ A great number of wise men

614 is the safety of the world, and a prudent king, the stability of his people; ²⁵ so take instruction from my words, to your profit. The Wisdom of Solomon Chapter 7 ¹ I too am a mortal man, the same as all the rest, and a descendant of the first man formed on earth. And in my mother's womb I was molded into flesh, ² in a ten-months' period-body and blood, from the seed of man, and the pleasure that accompanies marriage. ³ And I too, when born, inhaled the common air, and fell upon the kindred earth; wailing, I uttered that first sound common to all. ⁴ In swaddling clothes and with constant care I was nurtured. ⁵ For no king has any different origin or birth, ⁶ but one is the entry into life for all; and in one same way they leave it. ⁷ Therefore I prayed, and prudence was given me; I pleaded and the spirit of Wisdom came to me. ⁸ I preferred her to scepter and throne, and deemed riches nothing in comparison with her, ⁹ nor did I liken any priceless gem to her; because all gold, in view of her, is a little sand, and before her, silver is to be accounted mire. ¹⁰ Beyond health and comeliness I loved her, and I chose to have her rather than the light, because the splendor of her never yields to sleep. ¹¹ Yet all good things together came to me in her company, and countless riches at her hands; ¹² and I rejoiced in them all, because Wisdom is their leader, though I had not known that she is the mother of these. ¹³ Simply I learned about her, and ungrudgingly do I share—her riches I do not hide away; ¹⁴ for to men she is an unfailing treasure; those who gain this treasure win the friendship of God, to whom the gifts they have from discipline commend them. ¹⁵ Now God grant I speak suitably and value these endowments at their worth: for he is the guide of Wisdom and the director of the wise. ¹⁶ For both we and our words are in his hand, as well as all prudence and knowledge of crafts. ¹⁷ For he gave me sound knowledge of existing things, that I might know the organization of the universe and the force of its elements, ¹⁸ the beginning and the end and the midpoint of times, the changes in the sun's course and the variations of the seasons. ¹⁹ Cycles of years, positions of the stars, ²⁰ natures of animals, tempers of beasts, powers of the winds and thoughts of men, uses of plants and virtues of roots— ²¹ such things as are hidden I learned and such as are plain; ²² for Wisdom, the artificer of all, taught me. For in her is a spirit intelligent, holy, unique, manifold, subtle, agile, clear, unstained, certain, not baneful, loving the good, keen, unhampered, beneficent, ²³ kindly, firm, secure, tranquil, all-powerful, all-seeing, and pervading all spirits, though they be intelligent, pure and very subtle. ²⁴ For Wisdom is mobile beyond all motion, and she penetrates and pervades all things by reason of her purity. ²⁵ For she is an aura of the might of God and a pure effusion of the glory of the Almighty; therefore nought that is sullied enters into her. ²⁶ For she is the refulgence of eternal light, the spotless mirror of the power of God, the image of his goodness. ²⁷ And she, who is one, can do all things, and renews everything while herself perduring; and passing into holy souls from age to age, she produces friends of God and prophets. ²⁸ For there is nought God loves, be it not one who dwells with Wisdom. ²⁹ For she is fairer than the sun and surpasses every constellation of the stars. Compared to light, she takes precedence; ³⁰ for that, indeed, night supplants, but wickedness prevails not over Wisdom. The Wisdom of Solomon Chapter 8 ¹ Indeed, she reaches from end to end mightily and governs all things well. ² Her I loved and sought after from my youth; I sought to take her for my bride and was enamored of her beauty. ³ She adds to nobility the splendor of companionship with God; even the LORD of all loved her. ⁴ For she is instructress in the understanding of God, the selector of his works.

t, she takes precedence; ³⁰ for that, indeed, night supplants, but wickedness prevails not over Wisdom. The Wisdom of Solomon Chapter 8 ¹ Indeed, she reaches from end to end mightily and governs all things well. ² Her I loved and sought after from my youth; I sought to take her for my bride and was enamored of her beauty. ³ She adds to nobility the splendor of companionship with God; even the LORD of all loved her. ⁴ For she is instructress in the understanding of God, the selector of his works. ⁵ And if riches be a desirable possession in life, what is more rich than Wisdom, who produces all things? ⁶ And if prudence renders service, who in the world is a better craftsman than she? ⁷ Or if one loves justice, the fruits of her works are virtues; for she teaches moderation and prudence, justice and fortitude,

615 and nothing in life is more useful for men than these. ⁸ Or again, if one yearns for copious learning, she knows the things of old, and infers those yet to come. She understands the turns of phrases and the solutions of riddles; signs and wonders she knows in advance and the outcome of times and ages. ⁹ So I determined to take her to live with me, knowing that she would be my counselor while all was well, and my comfort in care and grief. ¹⁰ For her sake I should have glory among the masses, and esteem from the elders, though I be but a youth. ¹¹ I should become keen in judgment, and should be a marvel before rulers. ¹² They would abide my silence and attend my utterance; and as I spoke on further, they would place their hands upon their mouths. ¹³ For her sake I should have immortality and leave to those after me an everlasting memory. ¹⁴ I should govern peoples, and nations would be my subjects— ¹⁵ terrible princes, hearing of me, would be afraid; in the assembly I should appear noble, and in war courageous. ¹⁶ Within my dwelling, I should take my repose beside her; for association with her involves no bitterness and living with her no grief, but rather joy and gladness. ¹⁷ Thinking thus within myself, and reflecting in my heart that there is immortality in kinship with Wisdom, ¹⁸ and good pleasure in her friendship, and unfailing riches in the works of her hands, and that in frequenting her society there is prudence, and fair renown in sharing her discourses, I went about seeking to take her for my own. ¹⁹ Now, I was a well-favored child, and I came by a noble nature; ²⁰ or rather, being noble, I attained an unsullied body. ²¹ And knowing that I could not otherwise possess her except God gave it—and this, too, was prudence, to know whose is the gift—I went to the LORD and besought him, and said with all my heart: The Wisdom of Solomon Chapter 9 1 God of my fathers, LORD of mercy. you who have made all things by your word 2 And in your wisdom have established man to rule the creatures produced by you, 3 To govern the world in holiness and justice, and to render judgment in integrity of heart: 4 Give me Wisdom, the attendant at your throne, and reject me not from among your children; 5 For I am your servant, the son of your handmaid, a man weak and short-lived and lacking in comprehension of judgment and of laws. 6 Indeed, though one be perfect among the sons of men, if Wisdom, who comes from you, be not with him, he shall be held in no esteem. 7 You have chosen me king over your people and magistrate for your sons and daughters. 8 You have bid me build a temple on your holy mountain and an altar in the city that is your dwelling place, a copy of the holy tabernacle which you had established from of old. 9 Now with you is Wisdom, who knows your works and was present when you made the world; Who understands what is pleasing in your eyes and what is conformable with your commands. 10 Send her forth from your holy heavens and from your glorious throne dispatch her that she may be with me and work with me, that I may know what is your pleasure. 11 For she knows and understands all things, and will guide me discreetly in my affairs and safeguard me by her glory; 12 Thus my deeds will be acceptable, and I shall judge your people justly and be worthy of my father's throne. 13 For what man knows God's counsel, or who can conceive what our LORD intends? 14 For the deliberations of mortals are timid, and unsure are our plans. 15 For the corruptible body burdens the soul and the earthen shelter weighs down the mind that has many concerns. 16 And scarce do we guess the things on earth, and what is within our grasp we find with difficulty; but when things are in heaven, who can search them out? 17 Or who ever knew your counsel, except you had given Wisdom and sent your holy spirit from on high?

's counsel, or who can conceive what our LORD intends? 14 For the deliberations of mortals are timid, and unsure are our plans. 15 For the corruptible body burdens the soul and the earthen shelter weighs down the mind that has many concerns. 16 And scarce do we guess the things on earth, and what is within our grasp we find with difficulty; but when things are in heaven, who can search them out? 17 Or who ever knew your counsel, except you had given Wisdom and sent your holy spirit from on high? 18 And thus were the paths of those on earth made straight, and men learned what was your pleasure, and were saved by Wisdom. The Wisdom of Solomon Chapter 10 ¹ She preserved the first-formed father of the world when he alone had been created; And she

616 raised him up from his fall, ² and gave him power to rule all things. ³ But when the unjust man withdrew from her in his anger, he perished through his fratricidal wrath. ⁴ When on his account the earth was flooded, Wisdom again saved it, piloting the just man on frailest wood. ⁵ She, when the nations were sunk in universal wickedness, knew the just man, kept him blameless before God, and preserved him resolute against pity for his child. ⁶ She delivered the just man from among the wicked who were being destroyed, when he fled as fire descended upon Pentapolis— ⁷ Where as a testimony to its wickedness, there yet remain a smoking desert, Plants bearing fruit that never ripens, and the tomb of a disbelieving soul, a standing pillar of salt. ⁸ For those who forsook Wisdom first were bereft of knowledge of the right, And then they left mankind a memorial of their folly—so that they could not even be hidden in their fall. ⁹ But Wisdom delivered from tribulations those who served her. ¹⁰ She, when the just man fled from his brother's anger, guided him in direct ways, Showed him the kingdom of God and gave him knowledge of holy things; She prospered him in his labors and made abundant the fruit of his works, ¹¹ Stood by him against the greed of his defrauders, and enriched him; ¹² She preserved him from foes, and secured him against ambush, And she gave him the prize for his stern struggle that he might know that devotion to God is mightier than all else. ¹³ She did not abandon the just man when he was sold, but delivered him from sin. ¹⁴ She went down with him into the dungeon, and did not desert him in his bonds, Until she brought him the scepter of royalty and authority over his oppressors, Showed those who had defamed him false, and gave him eternal glory. ¹⁵ The holy people and blameless race—it was she who delivered them from the nation that oppressed them. ¹⁶ She entered the soul of the LORD'S servant, and withstood fearsome kings with signs and portents; ¹⁷ she gave the holy ones the recompense of their labors, Conducted them by a wondrous road, and became a shelter for them by day and a starry flame by night. ¹⁸ She took them across the Red Sea and brought them through the deep waters— ¹⁹ But their enemies she overwhelmed, and cast them up from the bottom of the depths. ²⁰ Therefore the just despoiled the wicked; and they sang, O LORD, your holy name ²¹ Because Wisdom opened the mouths of the dumb, and gave ready speech to infants. The Wisdom of Solomon Chapter 11 ¹ She made their affairs prosper through the holy prophet. ² They journeyed through the uninhabited desert, and in solitudes they pitched their tents; ³ they withstood enemies and took vengeance on their foes. ⁴ When they thirsted, they called upon you, and water was given them from the sheer rock, assuagement for their thirst from the hard stone. ⁵ For by the things through which their foes were punished they in their need were benefited. ⁶ Instead of a spring, when the perennial river was troubled with impure blood ⁷ as a rebuke to the decree for the slaying of infants, You gave them abundant water in an unhoped-for way, ⁸ once you had shown by the thirst they then had how you punished their adversaries. ⁹ For when they had been tried, though only mildly chastised, they recognized how the wicked, condemned in anger, were being tormented. ¹⁰ Both those afar off and those close by were afflicted: the latter you tested, admonishing them as a father; the former as a stern king you probed and condemned. ¹¹ For a twofold grief took hold of them and a groaning at the remembrance of the ones who had departed. ¹² For when they heard that the cause of their own torments was a benefit to these others, they recognized the Lord. ¹³ Him who of old had been cast out in exposure they indeed mockingly rejected; but in the end of events, they marveled at him, since their thirst proved unlike that of the just.

tter you tested, admonishing them as a father; the former as a stern king you probed and condemned. ¹¹ For a twofold grief took hold of them and a groaning at the remembrance of the ones who had departed. ¹² For when they heard that the cause of their own torments was a benefit to these others, they recognized the Lord. ¹³ Him who of old had been cast out in exposure they indeed mockingly rejected; but in the end of events, they marveled at him, since their thirst proved unlike that of the just. ¹⁴ And in return for their senseless, wicked thoughts, which misled them into worshiping dumb serpents and worthless insects, You sent upon them swarms of dumb creatures for vengeance; ¹⁵ that they might recognize that a man is punished by the very things through which he sins. ¹⁶ For not without means was your almighty hand, that had fashioned the universe from formless matter, to send upon them a drove of bears or fierce lions, ¹⁷ Or new-created, wrathful, unknown beasts to

617 breathe forth fiery breath, Or pour out roaring smoke, or flash terrible sparks from their eyes. ¹⁸ Not only could these attack and completely destroy them; even their frightful appearance itself could slay. ¹⁹ Even without these, they could have been killed at a single blast, pursued by retribution and winnowed out by your mighty spirit; But you have disposed all things by measure and number and weight. ²⁰ For with you great strength abides always; who can resist the might of your arm? ²¹ Indeed, before you the whole universe is as a grain from a balance, or a drop of morning dew come down upon the earth. ²² But you have mercy on all, because you can do all things; and you overlook the sins of men that they may repent. ²³ For you love all things that are and loathe nothing that you have made; for what you hated, you would not have fashioned. ²⁴ And how could a thing remain, unless you willed it; or be preserved, had it not been called forth by you? ²⁵ But you spare all things, because they are yours, O LORD and lover of souls. The Wisdom of Solomon Chapter 12 ¹ For your imperishable spirit is in all things! ² Therefore you rebuke offenders little by little, warn them, and remind them of the sins they are committing, that they may abandon their wickedness and believe in you, O LORD! ³ For truly, the ancient inhabitants of your holy land, ⁴ whom you hated for deeds most odious—works of witchcraft and impious sacrifices; ⁵ a cannibal feast of human flesh and blood from the midst of...—these merciless murderers of children, ⁶ and parents who took with their own hands defenseless lives, you willed to destroy by the hands of our fathers, ⁷ that the land that is dearest of all to you might receive a worthy colony of God's children. ⁸ But even these, as they were men, you spared, and sent wasps as forerunners of your army that they might exterminate them by degrees. ⁹ Not that you were without power to have the wicked vanquished in battle by the just, or wiped out at once by terrible beasts or by one decisive word; ¹⁰ but condemning them bit by bit, you gave them space for repentance. You were not unaware that their race was wicked and their malice ingrained, and that their dispositions would never change; ¹¹ for they were a race accursed from the beginning. Neither out of fear for anyone did you grant amnesty for their sins. ¹² For who can say to you, "What have you done?" or who can oppose your decree? Or when peoples perish, who can challenge you, their maker; or who can come into your presence as vindicator of unjust men? ¹³ For neither is there any god besides you who have the care of all, that you need show you have not unjustly condemned; ¹⁴ nor can any king or prince confront you on behalf of those you have punished. ¹⁵ But as you are just, you govern all things justly; you regard it as unworthy of your power to punish one who has incurred no blame. ¹⁶ For your might is the source of justice; your mastery over all things makes you lenient to all. ¹⁷ For you show your might when the perfection of your power is disbelieved; and in those who know you, you rebuke temerity. ¹⁸ But though you are master of might, you judge with clemency, and with much lenience you govern us; for power, whenever you will, attends you. ¹⁹ And you taught your people, by these deeds, that those who are just must be kind; and you gave your sons good ground for hope that you would permit repentance for their sins. ²⁰ For these were enemies of your servants, doomed to death; yet, while you punished them with such solicitude and pleading, granting time and opportunity to abandon wickedness, ²¹ with what exactitude you judged your sons, to whose fathers you gave the sworn covenants of goodly promises! ²² Us, therefore, you chastise, and our enemies with a thousand blows you punish, that we may think earnestly of your goodness when we judge, and, when being judged, may look for mercy.

pentance for their sins. ²⁰ For these were enemies of your servants, doomed to death; yet, while you punished them with such solicitude and pleading, granting time and opportunity to abandon wickedness, ²¹ with what exactitude you judged your sons, to whose fathers you gave the sworn covenants of goodly promises! ²² Us, therefore, you chastise, and our enemies with a thousand blows you punish, that we may think earnestly of your goodness when we judge, and, when being judged, may look for mercy. ²³ Hence those unjust also, who lived a life of folly, you tormented through their own abominations. ²⁴ For they went far astray in the paths of error, taking for gods the worthless and disgusting among beasts, deceived like senseless infants. ²⁵ Therefore, as though upon unreasoning children, you sent your judgment on them as a mockery; ²⁶ but they who took no heed of punishment, which was but child's play, were to experience a condemnation worthy of God. ²⁷ For in the things

618 through which they suffered distress, since they were tortured by the very things they deemed gods, they saw and recognized the true God whom before they had refused to know; with this, their final condemnation came upon them. The Wisdom of Solomon Chapter 13 ¹ For all men were by natur foolish who were in ignorance of God, and who from the good things seen did not succeed in knowing Him who is, and from studying the works did not discern the artisan; ² but either fire, or wind, or the swift air, or the circuit of the stars, or the mighty water, or the luminaries of heaven, the governors of the world, they considered gods. ³ Now if out of joy in their beauty they thought them gods, let them know how far more excellent is the Lord than these; for the original source of beauty fashioned them. ⁴ Or if they were struck by their might and energy, let them from these things realize how much more powerful is He who made them. ⁵ For from the greatness and the beauty of created things their original author, by analogy, is seen. ⁶ But yet, for these the blame is less; for they indeed have gone astray perhaps, though they seek God and wish to find Him. ⁷ For they search busily among His works, but are distracted by what they see, because the things seen are fair. ⁸ But again, not even these are pardonable. ⁹ For if they so far succeeded in knowledge that they could speculate about the world, how did they not more quickly find its Lord? ¹⁰ But doomed are they, and in dead things are their hopes, who termed gods things made by human hands: gold and silver, the product of art, and likenesses of beasts, or useless stone, the work of an ancient hand. ¹¹ A carpenter may saw out a suitable tree and skillfully scrape off all its bark, and deftly plying his art, produce something fit for daily use, ¹² and use up the refuse from his handiwork in preparing his food, and have his fill; ¹³ then the good-for-nothing refuse from these remnants, crooked wood grown full of knots, he takes and carves to occupy his spare time. This wood he models with listless skill, and patterns it on the image of a man ¹⁴ or makes it resemble some worthless beast. When he has daubed it with red and crimsoned its surface with red stain, and daubed over every blemish in it, ¹⁵ he makes a fitting shrine for it and puts it on the wall, fastening it with a nail. ¹⁶ Thus lest it fall down he provides for it, knowing that it cannot help itself; for, truly, it is an image and needs help. ¹⁷ But when he prays about his goods or marriage or children, he is not ashamed to address the thing without a soul. And for vigor he invokes the powerless; ¹⁸ and for life he entreats the dead; and for aid he beseeches the wholly incompetent, and about travel, something that cannot even walk. ¹⁹ And for profit in business and success with his hands, he asks facility of a thing with hands completely inert. The Wisdom of Solomon Chapter 14 ¹ Again, one preparing for a voyage and about to traverse the wild waves cries out to wood more unsound than the boat that bears him. ² For the urge for profits devised this latter, and Wisdom the artificer produced it. ³ But your providence, O Father! guides it, for you have furnished even in the sea a road, and through the waves a steady path, ⁴ showing that you can save from any danger, so that even one without skill may embark. ⁵ But you will that the products of your Wisdom be not idle; therefore men trust their lives even to frailest wood, and have been safe crossing the surge on a raft. ⁶ For of old, when the proud giants were being destroyed, the hope of the universe, who took refuge on a raft, left to the world a future for his race, under the guidance of your hand. ⁷ For blest is the wood through which justice comes about; ⁸ but the handmade idol is accursed, and its maker as well: he for having produced it, and it, because though corruptible, it was termed a god.

ot idle; therefore men trust their lives even to frailest wood, and have been safe crossing the surge on a raft. ⁶ For of old, when the proud giants were being destroyed, the hope of the universe, who took refuge on a raft, left to the world a future for his race, under the guidance of your hand. ⁷ For blest is the wood through which justice comes about; ⁸ but the handmade idol is accursed, and its maker as well: he for having produced it, and it, because though corruptible, it was termed a god. ⁹ Equally odious to God are the evildoer and his evil deed; ¹⁰ and the thing made shall be punished with its contriver. ¹¹ Therefore upon even the idols of the nations shall a visitation come, since they have become abominable amid God's works, snares for the souls of men and a trap for the feet of the senseless. ¹² For the source of wantonness is the devising of idols;

619 and their invention was a corruption of life. ¹³ For in the beginning they were not, nor shall they continue forever; ¹⁴ for by the vanity of men they came into the world, and therefore a sudden end is devised for them. ¹⁵ For a father, afflicted with untimely mourning, made an image of the child so quickly taken from him, and now honored as a god what was formerly a dead man and handed down to his subjects mysteries and sacrifices. ¹⁶ Then, in time, the impious practice gained strength and was observed as law, and graven things were worshiped by princely decrees. ¹⁷ Men who lived so far away that they could not honor him in his presence copied the appearance of the distant king and made a public image of him they wished to honor, out of zeal to flatter him when absent, as though present. ¹⁸ And to promote this observance among those to whom it was strange, the artisan's ambition provided a stimulus. ¹⁹ For he, mayhap in his determination to please the ruler, labored over the likeness to the best of his skill; ²⁰ and the masses, drawn by the charm of the workmanship, soon thought he should be worshiped who shortly before was honored as a man. ²¹ And this became a snare for mankind, that men enslaved to either grief or tyranny conferred the incommunicable Name on stocks and stones. ²² Then it was not enough for them to err in their knowledge of God; but even though they live in a great war of ignorance, they call such evils peace. ²³ For while they celebrate either child-slaying sacrifices or clandestine mysteries, or frenzied carousals in unheard-of rites, ²⁴ they no longer safeguard either lives or pure wedlock; but each either waylays and kills his neighbor, or aggrieves him by adultery. ²⁵ And all is confusion—blood and murder, theft and guile, corruption, faithlessness, turmoil, perjury, ²⁶ disturbance of good men, neglect of gratitude, besmirching of souls, unnatural lust, disorder in marriage, adultery, and shamelessness. ²⁷ For the worship of infamous idols is the reason and source and extremity of all evil. ²⁸ For they either go mad with enjoyment, or prophesy lies, or live lawlessly, or lightly forswear themselves. ²⁹ For as their trust is in soulless idols, they expect no harm when they have sworn falsely. ³⁰ But on both counts shall justice overtake them: because they thought ill of God and devoted themselves to idols, and because they deliberately swore false oaths, despising piety. ³¹ For not the might of those that are sworn by but the retribution of sinners ever follows upon the transgression of the wicked. The Wisdom of Solomon Chapter 15 ¹ But you, our God, are good and true, slow to anger, and governing all with mercy. ² For even if we sin, we are yours, and know your might; but we will not sin, knowing that we belong to you. ³ For to know you well is complete justice, and to know your might is the root of immortality. ⁴ For neither did the evil creation of men's fancy deceive us, nor the fruitless labor of painters, a form smeared with varied colors, ⁵ the sight of which arouses yearning in the senseless man, till he longs for the inanimate form of a dead image. ⁶ Lovers of evil things, and worthy of such hopes are they who make them and long for them and worship them. ⁷ For truly the potter, laboriously working the soft earth, molds for our service each several article: Both the vessels that serve for clean purposes and their opposites, all alike; as to what shall be the use of each vessel of either class the worker in clay is the judge. ⁸ And with misspent toil he molds a meaningless god from the selfsame clay; though he himself shortly before was made from the earth and after a little, is to go whence he was taken, when the life that was lent him is demanded back. ⁹ But his concern is not that he is to die nor that his span of life is brief; rather, he vies with goldsmiths and silversmiths and emulates molders of bronze, and takes pride in modeling counterfeits. ¹⁰ Ashes his heart is!

her class the worker in clay is the judge. ⁸ And with misspent toil he molds a meaningless god from the selfsame clay; though he himself shortly before was made from the earth and after a little, is to go whence he was taken, when the life that was lent him is demanded back. ⁹ But his concern is not that he is to die nor that his span of life is brief; rather, he vies with goldsmiths and silversmiths and emulates molders of bronze, and takes pride in modeling counterfeits. ¹⁰ Ashes his heart is! More worthless than earth is his hope, and more ignoble than clay his life; ¹¹ because he knew not the one who fashioned him, and breathed into him a quickening soul, and infused a vital spirit. ¹² Instead, he esteemed our life a plaything, and our span of life a holiday for gain; "For one must," says he, "make profit every way, be it even out of evil." ¹³ For this man more than any knows that he is sinning, when out of earthen stuff he creates fragile vessels and idols alike. ¹⁴ But all quite

620 senseless, and worse than childish in mind, are the enemies of your people who enslaved them. ¹⁵ For they esteemed all the idols of the nations gods, which have no use of the eyes for vision, nor nostrils to snuff the air, nor ears to hear, nor fingers on their hands for feeling; even their feet are useless to walk with. ¹⁶ For a man made them; one whose spirit has been lent him fashioned them. For no man succeeds in fashioning a god like himself; ¹⁷ being mortal, he makes a dead thing with his lawless hands. For he is better than the things he worships; he at least lives, but never they. ¹⁸ And besides, they worship the most loathsome beasts — for compared as to folly, these are worse than the rest, ¹⁹ nor for their looks are they good or desirable beasts, but they have escaped both the approval of God and his blessing. The Wisdom of Solomon Chapter 16 ¹ Therefore they were fittingly punished by similar creatures, and were tormented by a swarm of insects. ² Instead of this punishment, you benefited your people with a novel dish, the delight they craved, by providing quail for their food; ³ that those others, when they desired food, since the creatures sent to plague them were so loathsome, should be turned from even the craving of necessities, while these, after a brief period of privation, partook of a novel dish. ⁴ For upon those oppressors, inexorable want had to come; but these needed only be shown how their enemies were being tormented. ⁵ For when the dire venom of beasts came upon them and they were dying from the bite of crooked serpents, your anger endured not to the end. ⁶ But as a warning, for a short time they were terrorized, though they had a sign of salvation, to remind them of the precept of your law. ⁷ For he who turned toward it was saved, not by what he saw, but by you, the savior of all. ⁸ And by this also you convinced our foes that you are he who delivers from all evil. ⁹ For the bites of locusts and of flies slew them, and no remedy was found to save their lives because they deserved to be punished by such means; ¹⁰ but not even the fangs of poisonous reptiles overcame your sons, for your mercy brought the antidote to heal them. ¹¹ For as a reminder of your injunctions, they were stung, and swiftly they were saved, lest they should fall into deep forgetfulness and become unresponsive to your beneficence. ¹² For indeed, neither herb nor application cured them, but your all-healing word, O LORD! ¹³ For you have dominion over life and death; you lead down to the gates of the nether world, and lead back. ¹⁴ Man, however, slays in his malice, but when the spirit has come away, it does not return, nor can he bring back the soul once it is confined. ¹⁵ But your hand none can escape. ¹⁶ For the wicked who refused to know you were punished by the might of your arm, pursued by unwonted rains and hailstorms and unremitting downpours, and consumed by fire. ¹⁷ For against all expectation, in water which quenches anything, the fire grew more active; for the universe fights on behalf of the just. ¹⁸ For now the flame was tempered so that the beasts might not be burnt up that were sent upon the wicked, but that these might see and know they were struck by the judgment of God; ¹⁹ and again, even in the water, fire blazed beyond its strength so as to consume the produce of the wicked land. ²⁰ Instead of this, you nourished your people with food of angels and furnished them bread from heaven, ready to hand, untoiled-for, endowed with all delights and conforming to every taste. ²¹ For this substance of yours revealed your sweetness toward your children, and serving the desire of him who received it, was blended to whatever flavor each one wished. ²² Yet snow and ice withstood fire and were not melted, that they might know that their enemies' fruits were consumed by a fire that blazed in the hail and flashed lightning in the rain.

th food of angels and furnished them bread from heaven, ready to hand, untoiled-for, endowed with all delights and conforming to every taste. ²¹ For this substance of yours revealed your sweetness toward your children, and serving the desire of him who received it, was blended to whatever flavor each one wished. ²² Yet snow and ice withstood fire and were not melted, that they might know that their enemies' fruits were consumed by a fire that blazed in the hail and flashed lightning in the rain. ²³ But this fire, again, that the just might be nourished, forgot even its proper strength; ²⁴ for your creation, serving you, its maker, grows tense for punishment against the wicked, but is relaxed in benefit for those who trust in you. ²⁵ Therefore at that very time, transformed in all sorts of ways, it was serving your all- nourishing bounty according to what they needed and desired; ²⁶ that your sons whom you loved might learn, O LORD, that it is not the various kinds of fruits that nourish man, but it is your word

621 that preserves those who believe you! ²⁷ For what was not destroyed by fire, when merely warmed by a momentary sunbeam, melted; ²⁸ so that men might know that one must give you thanks before the sunrise, and turn to you at daybreak. ²⁹ For the hope of the ingrate melts like a wintry frost and runs off like useless water. The Wisdom of Solomon Chapter 17 ¹ For great are your judgments, and hardly to be described; therefore the unruly souls were wrong. ² For when the lawless thought to enslave the holy nation, shackled with darkness, fettered by the long night, they lay confined beneath their own roofs as exiles from the eternal providence. ³ For they who supposed their secret sins were hid under the dark veil of oblivion were scattered in fearful trembling, terrified by apparitions. ⁴ For not even their inner chambers kept them fearless, for crashing sounds on all sides terrified them, and mute phantoms with somber looks appeared. ⁵ No force, even of fire, was able to give light, nor did the flaming brilliance of the stars succeed in lighting up that gloomy night. ⁶ But only intermittent, fearful fires flashed through upon them; and in their terror, they thought beholding these was worse than the times when that sight was no longer to be seen. ⁷ And mockeries of the magic art were in readiness, and a jeering reproof of their vaunted shrewdness. ⁸ For they who undertook to banish fears and terrors from the sick soul themselves sickened with a ridiculous fear. ⁹ For even though no monstrous thing frightened them, they shook at the passing of insects and the hissing of reptiles, ¹⁰ and perished trembling, reluctant to face even the air that they could nowhere escape. ¹¹ For wickedness, of its nature cowardly, testifies in its own condemnation, and because of a distressed conscience, always magnifies misfortunes. ¹² For fear is nought but the surrender of the helps that come from reason; ¹³ and the more one's expectation is of itself uncertain, the more one makes of not knowing the cause that brings on torment. ¹⁴ So they, during that night, powerless though it was, that had come upon them from the recesses of a powerless nether world, while all sleeping the same sleep, ¹⁵ were partly smitten by fearsome apparitions and partly stricken by their souls' surrender; for fear came upon them, sudden and unexpected. ¹⁶ Thus, then, whoever was there fell into that unbarred prison and was kept confined. ¹⁷ For whether one was a farmer, or a shepherd, or a worker at tasks in the wasteland, taken unawares, he served out the inescapable sentence; ¹⁸ for all were bound by the one bond of darkness. And were it only the whistling wind, or the melodious song of birds in the spreading branches, or the steady sound of rushing water, ¹⁹ or the rude crash of overthrown rocks, or the unseen gallop of bounding animals, or the roaring cry of the fiercest beasts, or an echo resounding from the hollow of the hills, these sounds, inspiring terror, paralyzed them. ²⁰ For the whole world shone with brilliant light and continued its works without interruption; ²¹ over them alone was spread oppressive night, an image of the darkness that next should come upon them; yet they were to themselves more burdensome than the darkness. The Wisdom of Solomon Chapter 18 ¹ But your holy ones had very great light; and those others, who heard their voices but did not see their forms, since now they themselves had suffered, called them blessed. ² And because they who formerly had been wronged did not harm them, they thanked them and pleaded with them, for the sake of the difference between them. ³ Instead of this, you furnished the flaming pillar which was a guide on the unknown way, and the mild sun for an honorable migration. ⁴ For those deserved to be deprived of light and imprisoned by darkness, who had kept your sons confined through whom the imperishable light of the law was to be given to the world.

uffered, called them blessed. ² And because they who formerly had been wronged did not harm them, they thanked them and pleaded with them, for the sake of the difference between them. ³ Instead of this, you furnished the flaming pillar which was a guide on the unknown way, and the mild sun for an honorable migration. ⁴ For those deserved to be deprived of light and imprisoned by darkness, who had kept your sons confined through whom the imperishable light of the law was to be given to the world. ⁵ When they determined to put to death the infants of the holy ones, and when a single boy had been cast forth but saved, as a reproof you carried off their multitude of sons and made them perish all at once in the mighty water. ⁶ That night was known beforehand to our fathers, that, with sure knowledge of

622 the oaths in which they put their faith, they might have courage. ⁷ Your people awaited the salvation of the just and the destruction of their foes. ⁸ For when you punished our adversaries, in this you glorified us whom you had summoned. ⁹ For in secret the holy children of the good were offering sacrifice and putting into effect with one accord the divine institution, that your holy ones should share alike the same good things and dangers, having previously sung the praises of the fathers. ¹⁰ But the discordant cry of their enemies responded, and the piteous wail of mourning for children was borne to them. ¹¹ And the slave was smitten with the same retribution as his master; even the plebeian suffered the same as the king. ¹² And all alike by a single death had countless dead; for the living were not even sufficient for the burial, since at a single instant their nobler offspring were destroyed. ¹³ For though they disbelieved at every turn on account of sorceries, at the destruction of the first-born they acknowledged that the people was God's son. ¹⁴ For when peaceful stillness compassed everything and the night in its swift course was half spent, ¹⁵ your all-powerful word from heaven's royal throne bounded, a fierce warrior, into the doomed land, ¹⁶ bearing the sharp sword of your inexorable decree. And as he alighted, he filled every place with death; he still reached to heaven while he stood upon the earth. ¹⁷ Then, forthwith, visions in horrible dreams perturbed them and unexpected fears assailed them; ¹⁸ and cast half- dead, one here, another there, each was revealing the reason for his dying. ¹⁹ For the dreams that disturbed them had proclaimed this beforehand, lest they perish unaware of why they suffered ill. ²⁰ But the trial of death touched at one time even the just, and in the desert a plague struck the multitude; yet not for long did the anger last. ²¹ For the blameless man hastened to be their champion, bearing the weapon of his special office, prayer and the propitiation of incense; he withstood the wrath and put a stop to the calamity, showing that he was your servant. ²² And he overcame the bitterness not by bodily strength, not by force of arms; but by word he overcame the smiter, recalling the sworn covenants with their fathers. ²³ For when corpses had already fallen one on another in heaps, he stood in the midst and checked the anger and cut off the way to the living. ²⁴ For on his full-length robe was the whole world, and the glories of the fathers were carved in four rows upon the stones, and your grandeur was on the crown upon his head. ²⁵ To these names the destroyer yielded, and these he feared; for the mere trial of anger was enough. The Wisdom of Solomon Chapter 19 ¹ But the wicked, merciless wrath assailed until the end. For he knew beforehand what they were yet to do: ² that though they themselves had agreed to the departure and had anxiously sent them on their way, they would regret it and pursue them. ³ For while they were still engaged in funeral rites and were mourning at the burials of the dead, they adopted another senseless plan; and those whom they had sent away with entreaty, they pursued as fugitives. ⁴ For a compulsion suited to this ending drew them on, and made them forgetful of what had befallen them, that they might fill out the torments of their punishment, ⁵ and your people might experience a glorious journey while those others met an extraordinary death. ⁶ For all creation, in its several kinds, was being made over anew, serving its natural laws, that your children might be preserved unharmed. ⁷ The cloud overshadowed their camp; and out of what had before been water, dry land was seen emerging: out of the Red Sea an unimpeded road, and a grassy plain out of the mighty flood. ⁸ Over this crossed the whole nation sheltered by your hand, after they beheld stupendous wonders. ⁹ For they ranged about like horses, and bounded about like lambs, praising you, O LORD!

ion, in its several kinds, was being made over anew, serving its natural laws, that your children might be preserved unharmed. ⁷ The cloud overshadowed their camp; and out of what had before been water, dry land was seen emerging: out of the Red Sea an unimpeded road, and a grassy plain out of the mighty flood. ⁸ Over this crossed the whole nation sheltered by your hand, after they beheld stupendous wonders. ⁹ For they ranged about like horses, and bounded about like lambs, praising you, O LORD! their deliverer. ¹⁰ For they were still mindful of what had happened in their sojourn: how instead of the young of animals the land brought forth gnats, and instead of fishes the river swarmed with countless frogs. ¹¹ And later they saw also a new kind of bird when, prompted by desire, they asked for pleasant foods; ¹² for to appease them quail came to them from the sea. ¹³ And the punishments came upon the sinners only after forewarnings from the violence of the thunderbolts.

623 For they justly suffered for their own misdeeds, since indeed they treated their guests with the more grievous hatred. ¹⁴ For those others did not receive unfamiliar visitors, but these were enslaving beneficent guests. ¹⁵ And not that only; but what punishment was to be theirs since they received strangers unwillingly! ¹⁶ Yet these, after welcoming them with festivities, oppressed with awful toils those who now shared with them the same rights. ¹⁷ And they were struck with blindness, as those others had been at the portals of the just—when, surrounded by yawning darkness, each sought the entrance of his own gate. ¹⁸ For the elements, in variable harmony among themselves, like strings of the harp, produce new melody, while the flow of music steadily persists. And this can be perceived exactly from a review of what took place. ¹⁹ For land creatures were changed into water creatures, and those that swam went over onto the land. ²⁰ Fire in water maintained its own strength, and water forgot its quenching nature; ²¹ flames, by contrast, neither consumed the flesh of the perishable animals that went about in them, nor melted the icelike, quick-melting kind of ambrosial food. ²² For every way, O LORD! you magnified and glorified your people; unfailing, you stood by them in every time and circumstance. Sirach Sirach Chapter 1 ¹ All wisdom comes from the LORD and with him it remains forever. ² The sand of the seashore, the drops of rain, the days of eternity: who can number these? ³ Heaven's height, earth's breadth, the depths of the abyss: who can explore these? ⁴ Before all things else wisdom was created; and prudent understanding, from eternity. ⁵ To whom has wisdom's root been revealed? Who knows her subtleties? ⁶ There is but one, wise and truly awe-inspiring, seated upon his throne: ⁷ It is the LORD; he created her, has seen her and taken note of her. ⁸ He has poured her forth upon all his works, upon every living thing according to his bounty; he has lavished her upon his friends. ⁹ Fear of the LORD is glory and splendor, gladness and a festive crown. ¹⁰ Fear of the LORD warms the heart, giving gladness and joy and length of days. ¹¹ He who fears the LORD will have a happy end; even on the day of his death he will be blessed. ¹² The beginning of wisdom is fear of the LORD, which is formed with the faithful in the womb. ¹³ With devoted men was she created from of old, and with their children her beneficence abides. ¹⁴ Fullness of wisdom is fear of the LORD; she inebriates men with her fruits. ¹⁵ Her entire house she fills with choice foods, her granaries with her harvest. ¹⁶ Wisdom's garland is fear of the LORD, with blossoms of peace and perfect health. ¹⁷ Knowledge and full understanding she showers down; she heightens the glory of those who possess her. ¹⁸ The root of wisdom is fear of the LORD; her branches are length of days. ¹⁹ One cannot justify unjust anger; anger plunges a man to his downfall. ²⁰ A patient man need stand firm but for a time, and then contentment comes back to him. ²¹ For a while he holds back his words, then the lips of many herald his wisdom. ²² Among wisdom's treasures is the paragon of prudence; but fear of the LORD is an abomination to the sinner. ²³ If you desire wisdom, keep the commandments, and the LORD will bestow her upon you; ²⁴ For fear of the LORD is wisdom and culture; loyal humility is his delight. ²⁵ Be not faithless to the fear of the LORD, nor approach it with duplicity of heart. ²⁶ Play not the hypocrite before men; over your lips keep watch. ²⁷ Exalt not yourself lest you fall and bring upon you dishonor; ²⁸ For then the LORD will reveal your secrets and publicly cast you down, ²⁹ Because you approached the fear of the LORD with your heart full of guile. Sirach Chapter 2 ¹ My son, when you come to serve the LORD, prepare yourself for trials. ² Be sincere of heart and steadfast, undisturbed in time of adversity. ³ Cling to him, forsake him not; thus will your future

624 be great. ⁴ Accept whatever befalls you, in crushing misfortune be patient; ⁵ For in fire gold is tested, and worthy men in the crucible of humiliation. ⁶ Trust God and he will help you; make straight your ways and hope in him. ⁷ You who fear the LORD, wait for his mercy, turn not away lest you fall. ⁸ You who fear the LORD, trust him, and your reward will not be lost. ⁹ You who fear the LORD, hope for good things, for lasting joy and mercy. ¹⁰ Study the generations long past and understand; has anyone hoped in the LORD and been disappointed? Has anyone persevered in his fear and been forsaken? has anyone called upon him and been rebuffed? ¹¹ Compassionate and merciful is the LORD; he forgives sins, he saves in time of trouble. ¹² Woe to craven hearts and drooping hands, to the sinner who treads a double path! ¹³ Woe to the faint of heart who trust not, who therefore will have no shelter! ¹⁴ Woe to you who have lost hope! what will you do at the visitation of the LORD? ¹⁵ Those who fear the LORD disobey not his words; those who love him keep his ways. ¹⁶ Those who fear the LORD seek to please him, those who love him are filled with his law. ¹⁷ Those who fear the LORD prepare their hearts and humble themselves before him. ¹⁸ Let us fall into the hands of the LORD and not into the hands of men, for equal to his majesty is the mercy that he shows. Sirach Chapter 3 ¹ Children, pay heed to a father's right; do so that you may live. ² For the LORD sets a father in honor over his children; a mother's authority he confirms over her sons. ³ He who honors his father atones for sins; ⁴ he stores up riches who reveres his mother. ⁵ He who honors his father is gladdened by children, and when he prays he is heard. ⁶ He who reveres his father will live a long life; he obeys the LORD who brings comfort to his mother. ⁷ He who fears the LORD honors his father, and serves his parents as rulers. ⁸ In word and deed honor your father that his blessing may come upon you; ⁹ For a father's blessing gives a family firm roots, but a mother's curse uproots the growing plant. ¹⁰ Glory not in your father's shame, for his shame is no glory to you! ¹¹ His father's honor is a man's glory; disgrace for her children, a mother's shame. ¹² My son, take care of your father when he is old; grieve him not as long as he lives. ¹³ Even if his mind fail, be considerate with him; revile him not in the fullness of your strength. ¹⁴ For kindness to a father will not be forgotten, it will serve as a sin offering—it will take lasting root. ¹⁵ In time of tribulation it will be recalled to your advantage, like warmth upon frost it will melt away your sins. ¹⁶ A blasphemer is he who despises his father; accursed of his Creator, he who angers his mother. ¹⁷ My son, conduct your affairs with humility, and you will be loved more than a giver of gifts. ¹⁸ Humble yourself the more, the greater you are, and you will find favor with God. ¹⁹ For great is the power of God; by the humble he is glorified. ²⁰ What is too sublime for you, seek not, into things beyond your strength search not. ²¹ What is committed to you, attend to; for what is hidden is not your concern. ²² With what is too much for you meddle not, when shown things beyond human understanding. ²³ Their own opinion has misled many, and false reasoning unbalanced their judgment. ²⁴ Where the pupil of the eye is missing, there is no light, and where there is no knowledge, there is no wisdom. ²⁵ A stubborn man will fare badly in the end, and he who loves danger will perish in it. ²⁶ A stubborn man will be burdened with sorrow; a sinner will heap sin upon sin. ²⁷ For the affliction of the proud man there is no cure; he is the offshoot of an evil plant. ²⁸ The mind of a sage appreciates proverbs, and an attentive ear is the wise man's joy. ²⁹ Water quenches a flaming fire, and alms atone for sins.

e eye is missing, there is no light, and where there is no knowledge, there is no wisdom. ²⁵ A stubborn man will fare badly in the end, and he who loves danger will perish in it. ²⁶ A stubborn man will be burdened with sorrow; a sinner will heap sin upon sin. ²⁷ For the affliction of the proud man there is no cure; he is the offshoot of an evil plant. ²⁸ The mind of a sage appreciates proverbs, and an attentive ear is the wise man's joy. ²⁹ Water quenches a flaming fire, and alms atone for sins. ³⁰ He who does a kindness is remembered afterward; when he falls, he finds a support. Sirach Chapter 4 ¹ My son, rob not the poor man of his livelihood; force not the eyes of the needy to turn away. ² A hungry man grieve not, a needy man anger not; ³ Do not exasperate the downtrodden; delay not

625 to give to the needy. ⁴ A beggar in distress do not reject; avert not your face from the poor. ⁵ From the needy turn not your eyes, give no man reason to curse you; ⁶ For if in the bitterness of his soul he curse you, his Creator will hear his prayer. ⁷ Endear yourself to the assembly; before a ruler bow your head. ⁸ Give a hearing to the poor man, and return his greeting with courtesy; ⁹ Deliver the oppressed from the hand of the oppressor; let not justice be repugnant to you. ¹⁰ To the fatherless be as a father, and help their mother as a husband would; Thus will you be like a son to the Most High, and he will be more tender to you than a mother. ¹¹ Wisdom instructs her children and admonishes those who seek her. ¹² He who loves her loves life; those who seek her out win her favor. ¹³ He who holds her fast inherits glory; wherever he dwells, the LORD bestows blessings. ¹⁴ Those who serve her serve the Holy One; those who love her the LORD loves. ¹⁵ He who obeys her judges nations; he who hearkens to her dwells in her inmost chambers. ¹⁶ If one trusts her, he will possess her; his descendants too will inherit her. ¹⁷ She walks with him as a stranger, and at first she puts him to the test; Fear and dread she brings upon him and tries him with her discipline; With her precepts she puts him to the proof, until his heart is fully with her. ¹⁸ Then she comes back to bring him happiness and reveal her secrets to him. ¹⁹ But if he fails her, she will abandon him and deliver him into the hands of despoilers. ²⁰ Use your time well; guard yourself from evil, and bring upon yourself no shame. ²¹ There is a sense of shame laden with guilt, and a shame that merits honor and respect. ²² Show no favoritism to your own discredit; let no one intimidate you to your own downfall. ²³ Refrain not from speaking at the proper time, and hide not away your wisdom; ²⁴ For it is through speech that wisdom becomes known, and knowledge through the tongue's rejoinder. ²⁵ Never gainsay the truth, and struggle not against the rushing stream. ²⁶ Be not ashamed to acknowledge your guilt, but of your ignorance rather be ashamed. ²⁷ Do not abase yourself before an impious man, nor refuse to do so before rulers. ²⁸ Even to the death fight for truth, and the LORD your God will battle for you. ²⁹ Be not surly in your speech, nor lazy and slack in your deeds. ³⁰ Be not a lion at home, nor sly and suspicious at work. ³¹ Let not your hand be open to receive and clenched when it is time to give. Sirach Chapter 5 ¹ Rely not on your wealth; say not: "I have the power." ² Rely not on your strength in following the desires of your heart. ³ Say not: "Who can prevail against me?" for the LORD will exact the punishment. ⁴ Say not: "I have sinned, yet what has befallen me?" for the LORD bides his time. ⁵ Of forgiveness be not overconfident, adding sin upon sin. ⁶ Say not: "Great is his mercy; my many sins he will forgive." ⁷ For mercy and anger alike are with him; upon the wicked alights his wrath. ⁸ Delay not your conversion to the LORD, put it not off from day to day; ⁹ For suddenly his wrath flames forth; at the time of vengeance, you will be destroyed. ¹⁰ Rely not upon deceitful wealth, for it will be no help on the day of wrath. ¹¹ Winnow not in every wind, and start not off in every direction. ¹² Be consistent in your thoughts; steadfast be your words. ¹³ Be swift to hear, but slow to answer. ¹⁴ If you have the knowledge, answer your neighbor; if not, put your hand over your mouth. ¹⁵ Honor and dishonor through talking! A man's tongue can be his downfall.

⁹ For suddenly his wrath flames forth; at the time of vengeance, you will be destroyed. ¹⁰ Rely not upon deceitful wealth, for it will be no help on the day of wrath. ¹¹ Winnow not in every wind, and start not off in every direction. ¹² Be consistent in your thoughts; steadfast be your words. ¹³ Be swift to hear, but slow to answer. ¹⁴ If you have the knowledge, answer your neighbor; if not, put your hand over your mouth. ¹⁵ Honor and dishonor through talking! A man's tongue can be his downfall. ¹⁶ Be not called a detractor; use not your tongue for calumny; ¹⁷ For shame has been created for the thief, and the reproach of his neighbor for the double-tongued. Sirach Chapter 6 ¹ Say nothing harmful, small or great; be not a foe instead of a friend; A bad name and disgrace will you acquire: "That for the evil man with double tongue!" ² Fall not into the grip of desire, lest, like fire, it consume your strength; ³ Your leaves it will eat, your fruits destroy, and you will be left a dry tree, ⁴ For contumacious desire destroys its owner and makes him the sport of his enemies.

626 ⁵ A kind mouth multiplies friends, and gracious lips prompt friendly greetings. ⁶ Let your acquaintances be many, but one in a thousand your confidant. ⁷ When you gain a friend, first test him, and be not too ready to trust him. ⁸ For one sort of friend is a friend when it suits him, but he will not be with you in time of distress. ⁹ Another is a friend who becomes an enemy, and tells of the quarrel to your shame. ¹⁰ Another is a friend, a boon companion, who will not be with you when sorrow comes. ¹¹ When things go well, he is your other self, and lords it over your servants; ¹² But if you are brought low, he turns against you and avoids meeting you. ¹³ Keep away from your enemies; be on your guard with your friends. ¹⁴ A faithful friend is a sturdy shelter; he who finds one finds a treasure. ¹⁵ A faithful friend is beyond price, no sum can balance his worth. ¹⁶ A faithful friend is a life-saving remedy, such as he who fears God finds; ¹⁷ For he who fears God behaves accordingly, and his friend will be like himself. ¹⁸ My son, from your youth embrace discipline; thus will you find wisdom with graying hair. ¹⁹ As though plowing and sowing, draw close to her; then await her bountiful crops. ²⁰ For in cultivating her you will labor but little, and soon you will eat of her fruits. ²¹ How irksome she is to the unruly! The fool cannot abide her. ²² She will be like a burdensome stone to test him, and he will not delay in casting her aside. ²³ For discipline is like her name, she is not accessible to many. ²⁴ Listen, my son, and heed my advice; refuse not my counsel. ²⁵ Put your feet into her fetters, and your neck under her yoke. ²⁶ Stoop your shoulders and carry her and be not irked at her bonds. ²⁷ With all your soul draw close to her; with all your strength keep her ways. ²⁸ Search her out, discover her; seek her and you will find her. Then when you have her, do not let her go; ²⁹ Thus will you afterward find rest in her, and she will become your joy. ³⁰ Her fetters will be your throne of majesty; her bonds, your purple cord. ³¹ You will wear her as your robe of glory, bear her as your splendid crown. ³² My son, if you wish, you can be taught; if you apply yourself, you will be shrewd. ³³ If you are willing to listen, you will learn; if you give heed, you will be wise. ³⁴ Frequent the company of the elders; whoever is wise, stay close to him. ³⁵ Be eager to hear every godly discourse; let no wise saying escape you. ³⁶ If you see a man of prudence, seek him out; let your feet wear away his doorstep! ³⁷ Reflect on the precepts of the LORD, let his commandments be your constant meditation; Then he will enlighten your mind, and the wisdom you desire he will grant. Sirach Chapter 7 ¹ Do no evil, and evil will not overtake you; ² avoid wickedness, and it will turn aside from you. ³ Sow not in the furrows of injustice, lest you harvest it sevenfold. ⁴ Seek not from the LORD authority, nor from the king a place of honor. ⁵ Parade not your justice before the Lord, and before the king flaunt not your wisdom. ⁶ Seek not to become a judge if you have not strength to root out crime, Or you will show favor to the ruler and mar your integrity. ⁷ Be guilty of no evil before the city's populace, nor disgrace yourself before the assembly. ⁸ Do not plot to repeat a sin; not even for one will you go unpunished. ⁹ Say not: "He will appreciate my many gifts; the Most High will accept my offerings." ¹⁰ Be not impatient in prayers, and neglect not the giving of alms. ¹¹ Laugh not at an embittered man; be mindful of him who exalts and humbles. ¹² Plot no mischief against your brother, nor against your friend and companion. ¹³ Delight not in telling lie after lie, for it never results in good. ¹⁴ Thrust not yourself into the deliberations of princes, and repeat not the words of your prayer. ¹⁵ Hate not laborious tasks, nor farming, which was ordained by the Most High.

ill accept my offerings." ¹⁰ Be not impatient in prayers, and neglect not the giving of alms. ¹¹ Laugh not at an embittered man; be mindful of him who exalts and humbles. ¹² Plot no mischief against your brother, nor against your friend and companion. ¹³ Delight not in telling lie after lie, for it never results in good. ¹⁴ Thrust not yourself into the deliberations of princes, and repeat not the words of your prayer. ¹⁵ Hate not laborious tasks, nor farming, which was ordained by the Most High. ¹⁶ Do not esteem yourself better than your fellows; remember, his wrath will not delay. ¹⁷ More and more, humble your pride; what awaits man is worms. ¹⁸ Barter not a friend for money, nor a dear brother for the gold of Ophir. ¹⁹ Dismiss not a sensible wife; a gracious wife is more precious than corals. ²⁰ Mistreat not a servant who faithfully serves, nor a laborer who devotes himself to his task. ²¹ Let a wise servant be dear to you as your own self; refuse him not his freedom. ²² If you have livestock, look after them; if they are dependable, keep them. ²³ If you

627 have sons, chastise them; bend their necks from childhood. ²⁴ If you have daughters, keep them chaste, and be not indulgent to them. ²⁵ Giving your daughter in marriage ends a great task; but give her to a worthy man. ²⁶ If you have a wife, let her not seem odious to you; but where there is ill-feeling, trust her not. ²⁷ With your whole heart honor your father; your mother's birthpangs forget not. ²⁸ Remember, of these parents you were born; what can you give them for all they gave you? ²⁹ With all your soul, fear God, revere his priests. ³⁰ With all your strength, love your Creator, forsake not his ministers. ³¹ Honor God and respect the priest; give him his portion as you have been commanded: First fruits and contributions, due sacrifices and holy offerings. ³² To the poor man also extend your hand, that your blessing may be complete; ³³ Be generous to all the living, and withhold not your kindness from the dead. ³⁴ Avoid not those who weep, but mourn with those who mourn; ³⁵ Neglect not to visit the sick - for these things you will be loved. ³⁶ In whatever you do, remember your last days, and you will never sin. Sirach Chapter 8 ¹ Contend not with an influential man, lest you fall into his power. ² Quarrel not with a rich man, lest he pay out the price of your downfall; for gold has dazzled many, and perverts the character of princes. ³ Dispute not with a man of railing speech, heap no wood upon his fire. ⁴ Be not too familiar with an unruly man, lest he speak ill of your forebears. ⁵ Shame not a repentant sinner; remember, we all are guilty. ⁶ Insult no man when he is old, for some of us, too, will grow old. ⁷ Rejoice not when a man dies; remember, we are all to die. ⁸ Spurn not the discourse of the wise, but acquaint yourself with their proverbs; from them you will acquire the training to serve in the presence of princes. ⁹ Reject not the tradition of old men which they have learned from their fathers; from it you will obtain the knowledge how to answer in time of need. ¹⁰ Kindle not the coals of a sinner, lest you be consumed in his flaming fire. ¹¹ Let not the impious man intimidate you; it will set him in ambush against you. ¹² Lend not to one more powerful than yourself; and whatever you lend, count it as lost. ¹³ Go not surety beyond your means; think any pledge a debt you must pay. ¹⁴ Contend not at law with a judge, for he will settle it according to his whim. ¹⁵ Travel not with a ruthless man, lest he weigh you down with calamity; for he will go his own way straight, and through his folly you will perish with him. ¹⁶ Provoke no quarrel with a quick- tempered man, nor ride with him through the desert, for bloodshed is nothing to him; when there is no one to help you, he will destroy you. ¹⁷ Take no counsel with a fool, for he can keep nothing to himself. ¹⁸ Before a stranger do nothing that should be kept secret, for you know not what it will engender. ¹⁹ Open your heart to no man, and banish not your happiness. Sirach Chapter 9 ¹ Be not jealous of the wife of your bosom, lest you teach her to do evil against you. ² Give no woman power over you to trample upon your dignity. ³ Be not intimate with a strange woman, lest you fall into her snares. ⁴ With a singing girl be not familiar, lest you be caught in her wiles. ⁵ Entertain no thoughts against a virgin, lest you be enmeshed in damages for her. ⁶ Give not yourself to harlots, lest you surrender your inheritance. ⁷ Gaze not about the lanes of the city and wander not through its squares; ⁸ Avert your eyes from a comely woman; gaze not upon the beauty of another's wife—through woman's beauty many perish, for lust for it burns like fire. ⁹ With a married woman dine not, recline not at table to drink by her side, lest your heart be drawn to her and you go down in blood to the grave. ¹⁰ Discard not an old friend, for the new one cannot equal him. A new friend is like new wine which you drink with pleasure only when it has aged.

e lanes of the city and wander not through its squares; ⁸ Avert your eyes from a comely woman; gaze not upon the beauty of another's wife—through woman's beauty many perish, for lust for it burns like fire. ⁹ With a married woman dine not, recline not at table to drink by her side, lest your heart be drawn to her and you go down in blood to the grave. ¹⁰ Discard not an old friend, for the new one cannot equal him. A new friend is like new wine which you drink with pleasure only when it has aged. ¹¹ Envy not a sinner's fame, for you know not what disaster awaits him. ¹² Rejoice not at a proud man's success; remember he will not reach death unpunished. ¹³ Keep far from the man who has power to kill, and you will not be filled with the dread of death. But if you approach him, offend him not,

628 lest he take away your life; know that you are stepping among snares and walking over a net. ¹⁴ As best you can, take your neighbors' measure, and associate with the wise. ¹⁵ With the learned be intimate; let all your conversation be about the law of the LORD. ¹⁶ Have just men for your table companions; in the fear of God be your glory. ¹⁷ Skilled artisans are esteemed for their deftness; but the ruler of his people is the skilled sage. ¹⁸ Feared in the city is the man of railing speech, and he who talks rashly is hated. Sirach Chapter 10 ¹ A wise magistrate lends stability to his people, and the government of a prudent man is well ordered. ² As the people's judge, so are his ministers; as the head of a city, its inhabitants. ³ A wanton king destroys his people, but a city grows through the wisdom of its princes. ⁴ Sovereignty over the earth is in the hand of God, who raises up on it the man of the hour; ⁵ Sovereignty over every man is in the hand of God, who imparts his majesty to the ruler. ⁶ No matter the wrong, do no violence to your neighbor, and do not walk the path of arrogance. ⁷ Odious to the LORD and to men is arrogance, and the sin of oppression they both hate. ⁸ Dominion is transferred from one people to another because of the violence of the arrogant. ⁹ Why are dust and ashes proud? Even during life man's body decays; ¹⁰ A slight illness—the doctor jests, a king today—tomorrow he is dead. ¹¹ When a man dies, he inherits corruption; worms and gnats and maggots. ¹² The beginning of pride is man's stubbornness in withdrawing his heart from his Maker; ¹³ For pride is the reservoir of sin, a source which runs over with vice; because of it God sends unheard-of afflictions and brings men to utter ruin. ¹⁴ The thrones of the arrogant God overturns and establishes the lowly in their stead. ¹⁵ The roots of the proud God plucks up, to plant the humble in their place: ¹⁶ He breaks down their stem to the level of the ground, then digs their roots from the earth. ¹⁷ The traces of the proud God sweeps away and effaces the memory of them from the earth. ¹⁸ Insolence is not allotted to a man, nor stubborn anger to one born of woman. ¹⁹ Whose offspring can be in honor? Those of men. Which offspring are in honor? Those who fear God. Whose offspring can be in disgrace? Those of men. Which offspring are in disgrace? Those who transgress the commandments. ²⁰ Among brethren their leader is in honor; he who fears God is in honor among his people. ²¹ Be it tenant or wayfarer, alien or pauper, his glory is the fear of the LORD. ²² It is not just to despise a man who is wise but poor, nor proper to honor any sinner. ²³ The prince, the ruler, the judge are in honor; but none is greater than he who fears God. ²⁴ When free men serve a prudent slave, the wise man does not complain. ²⁵ Flaunt not your wisdom in managing your affairs, and boast not in your time of need. ²⁶ Better the worker who has plenty of everything than the boaster who is without bread. ²⁷ My son, with humility have self-esteem; prize yourself as you deserve. ²⁸ Who will acquit him who condemns himself? Who will honor him who discredits himself? ²⁹ The poor man is honored for his wisdom as the rich man is honored for his wealth; ³⁰ Honored in poverty, how much more so in wealth! Dishonored in wealth, in poverty how much the more! Sirach Chapter 11 ¹ The poor man's wisdom lifts his head high and sets him among princes. ² Praise not a man for his looks; despise not a man for his appearance. ³ Least is the bee among winged things, but she reaps the choicest of all harvests. ⁴ Mock not the worn cloak and jibe at no man's bitter day: For strange are the works of the LORD, hidden from men his deeds. ⁵ The oppressed often rise to a throne, and some that none would consider wear a crown. ⁶ The exalted often fall into utter disgrace; the honored are given into enemy hands. ⁷ Before investigating, find no fault; examine first, then criticize.

is looks; despise not a man for his appearance. ³ Least is the bee among winged things, but she reaps the choicest of all harvests. ⁴ Mock not the worn cloak and jibe at no man's bitter day: For strange are the works of the LORD, hidden from men his deeds. ⁵ The oppressed often rise to a throne, and some that none would consider wear a crown. ⁶ The exalted often fall into utter disgrace; the honored are given into enemy hands. ⁷ Before investigating, find no fault; examine first, then criticize. ⁸ Before hearing, answer not, and interrupt no one in the middle of his speech. ⁹ Dispute not about what is not your concern; in the strife of the arrogant take no part. ¹⁰ My son,

629 why increase your cares, since he who is avid for wealth will not be blameless? Even if you run after it, you will never overtake it; however you seek it, you will not find it. ¹¹ One may toil and struggle and drive, and fall short all the more. ¹² Another goes his way a weakling and a failure, with little strength and great misery—yet the eyes of the LORD look favorably upon him; he raises him free of the vile dust, ¹³ lifts up his head and exalts him to the amazement of the many. ¹⁴ Good and evil, life and death, poverty and riches, are from the LORD. ¹⁵ Wisdom and understanding and knowledge of affairs, love and virtuous paths are from the LORD. ¹⁶ Error and darkness were formed with sinners from their birth, and evil grows old with evildoers. ¹⁷ The LORD'S gift remains with the just; his favor brings continued success. ¹⁸ A man may become rich through a miser's life, and this is his allotted reward: ¹⁹ When he says: "I have found rest, now I will feast on my possessions," he does not know how long it will be till he dies and leaves them to others. ²⁰ My son, hold fast to your duty, busy yourself with it, grow old while doing your task. ²¹ Admire not how sinners live, but trust in the LORD and wait for his light; for it is easy with the LORD suddenly, in an instant, to make a poor man rich. ²² God's blessing is the lot of the just man, and in due time his hopes bear fruit. ²³ Say not: "What do I need? What further pleasure can be mine?" ²⁴ Say not: "I am independent. What harm can come to me now?" ²⁵ The day of prosperity makes one forget adversity; the day of adversity makes one forget prosperity. ²⁶ For it is easy with the LORD on the day of death to repay man according to his deeds. ²⁷ A moment's affliction brings forgetfulness of past delights; when a man dies, his life is revealed. ²⁸ Call no man happy before his death, for by how he ends, a man is known. ²⁹ Bring not every man into your house, for many are the snares of the crafty one; ³⁰ though he seem like a bird confined in a cage, yet like a spy he will pick out the weak spots. ³¹ The talebearer turns good into evil; with a spark he sets many coals afire. ³² The evil man lies in wait for blood, and plots against your choicest possessions. ³³ Avoid a wicked man, for he breeds only evil, lest you incur a lasting stain. ³⁴ Lodge a stranger with you, and he will subvert your course, and make a stranger of you to your own household. Sirach Chapter 12 ¹ If you do good, know for whom you are doing it, and your kindness will have its effect. ² Do good to the just man and reward will be yours, if not from him, from the LORD. ³ No good comes to him who gives comfort to the wicked, nor is it an act of mercy that he does. ⁴ Give to the good man, refuse the sinner; refresh the downtrodden, give nothing to the proud man. ⁵ No arms for combat should you give him, lest he use them against yourself; ⁶ with twofold evil you will meet for every good deed you do for him. ⁷ The Most High himself hates sinners, and upon the wicked he takes vengeance. ⁸ In our prosperity we cannot know our friends; in adversity an enemy will not remain concealed. ⁹ When a man is successful even his enemy is friendly; in adversity even his friend disappears. ¹⁰ Never trust your enemy, for his wickedness is like corrosion in bronze. ¹¹ Even though he acts humbly and peaceably toward you, take care to be on your guard against him. Rub him as one polishes a brazen mirror, and you will find that there is still corrosion. ¹² Let him not stand near you, lest he oust you and take your place. Let him not sit at your right hand, lest he then demand your seat, and in the end you appreciate my advice, when you groan with regret, as I warned you. ¹³ Who pities a snake charmer when he is bitten, or anyone who goes near a wild beast? ¹⁴ So is it with the companion of the proud man, who is involved in his sins: ¹⁵ While you stand firm, he makes no bold move; but if you slip, he cannot hold back.

t there is still corrosion. ¹² Let him not stand near you, lest he oust you and take your place. Let him not sit at your right hand, lest he then demand your seat, and in the end you appreciate my advice, when you groan with regret, as I warned you. ¹³ Who pities a snake charmer when he is bitten, or anyone who goes near a wild beast? ¹⁴ So is it with the companion of the proud man, who is involved in his sins: ¹⁵ While you stand firm, he makes no bold move; but if you slip, he cannot hold back. ¹⁶ With his lips an enemy speaks sweetly, but in his heart he schemes to plunge you into the abyss. Though your enemy has tears in his eyes, if given the chance, he will never have enough of your blood. ¹⁷ If evil comes upon you, you will find him at hand; feigning to help, he will trip you up, ¹⁸ then he will nod his head and clap his hands and hiss repeatedly, and show his true face.

630 Sirach Chapter 13 ¹ He who touches pitch blackens his hand; he who associates with an impious man learns his ways. ² Bear no burden too heavy for you; go with no one greater or wealthier than yourself. How can the earthen pot go with the metal cauldron? When they knock together, the pot will be smashed: ³ The rich man does wrong and boasts of it, the poor man is wronged and begs forgiveness. ⁴ As long as the rich man can use you he will enslave you, but when you are exhausted, he will abandon you. ⁵ As long as you have anything he will speak fair words to you, and with smiles he will win your confidence; ⁶ When he needs something from you he will cajole you, then without regret he will impoverish you. ⁷ While it serves his purpose he will beguile you, then twice or three times he will terrify you; when later he sees you he will pass you by, and shake his head over you. ⁸ Guard against being presumptuous; be not as those who lack sense. ⁹ When invited by a man of influence, keep your distance; then he will urge you all the more. ¹⁰ Be not bold with him lest you be rebuffed, but keep not too far away lest you be forgotten. ¹¹ Engage not freely in discussion with him, trust not his many words; for by prolonged talk he will test you, and though smiling he will probe you. ¹² Mercilessly he will make of you a laughingstock, and will not refrain from injury or chains. ¹³ Be on your guard and take care never to accompany men of violence. ¹⁴ Every living thing loves its own kind, every man a man like himself. ¹⁵ Every being is drawn to its own kind; with his own kind every man associates. ¹⁶ Is a wolf ever allied with a lamb? So it is with the sinner and the just. ¹⁷ Can there be peace between the hyena and the dog? Or between the rich and the poor can there be peace? ¹⁸ Lion's prey are the wild asses of the desert; so too the poor are feeding grounds for the rich. ¹⁹ A proud man abhors lowliness; so does the rich man abhor the poor. ²⁰ When a rich man stumbles he is supported by a friend; when a poor man trips he is pushed down by a friend. ²¹ Many are the supporters for a rich man when he speaks; though what he says is odious, it wins approval. When a poor man speaks they make sport of him; he speaks wisely and no attention is paid him. ²² A rich man speaks and all are silent, his wisdom they extol to the clouds. A poor man speaks and they say: "Who is that?" If he slips they cast him down. ²³ Wealth is good when there is no sin; but poverty is evil by the standards of the proud. ²⁴ The heart of a man changes his countenance, either for good or for evil. ²⁵ The sign of a good heart is a cheerful countenance; withdrawn and perplexed is the laborious schemer. Sirach Chapter 14 ¹ Happy the man whose mouth brings him no grief, who is not stung by remorse for sin. ² Happy the man whose conscience does not reproach him, who has not lost hope. ³ Wealth ill becomes the mean man; and to the miser, of what use is gold? ⁴ What he denies himself he collects for others, and in his possessions a stranger will revel. ⁵ To whom will he be generous who is stingy with himself and does not enjoy what is his own? ⁶ None is more stingy than he who is stingy with himself; he punishes his own miserliness. ⁷ If ever he is generous, it is by mistake; and in the end he displays his greed. ⁸ In the miser's opinion his share is too small; ⁹ he refuses his neighbor and brings ruin on himself. ¹⁰ The miser's eye is rapacious for bread, but on his own table he sets it stale. ¹¹ My son, use freely whatever you have and enjoy it as best you can; ¹² Remember that death does not tarry, nor have you been told the grave's appointed time. ¹³ Before you die, be good to your friend, and give him a share in what you possess. ¹⁴ Deprive not yourself of present good things, let no choice portion escape you. ¹⁵ Will you not leave your riches to others, and your earnings to be divided by lot?

mself. ¹⁰ The miser's eye is rapacious for bread, but on his own table he sets it stale. ¹¹ My son, use freely whatever you have and enjoy it as best you can; ¹² Remember that death does not tarry, nor have you been told the grave's appointed time. ¹³ Before you die, be good to your friend, and give him a share in what you possess. ¹⁴ Deprive not yourself of present good things, let no choice portion escape you. ¹⁵ Will you not leave your riches to others, and your earnings to be divided by lot? ¹⁶ Give, take, and treat yourself well, for in the nether world there are no joys to seek. ¹⁷ All flesh grows old, like a garment; the age-old law is: All must die. ¹⁸ As with the leaves that grow on a vigorous tree: one falls off and another sprouts - So with the generations of flesh and blood: one dies and another is born. ¹⁹ All man's works will perish in

631 decay, and his handiwork will follow after him. ²⁰ Happy the man who meditates on wisdom, and reflects on knowledge; ²¹ Who ponders her ways in his heart, and understands her paths; ²² Who pursues her like a scout, and lies in wait at her entry way; ²³ Who peeps through her windows, and listens at her doors; ²⁴ Who encamps near her house, and fastens his tent pegs next to her walls; ²⁵ Who pitches his tent beside her, and lives as her welcome neighbor; ²⁶ Who builds his nest in her leafage, and lodges in her branches; ²⁷ Who takes shelter with her from the heat, and dwells in her home. Sirach Chapter 15 ¹ He who fears the LORD will do this; he who is practiced in the law will come to wisdom. ² Motherlike she will meet him, like a young bride she will embrace him, ³ Nourish him with the bread of understanding, and give him the water of learning to drink. ⁴ He will lean upon her and not fall, he will trust in her and not be put to shame. ⁵ She will exalt him above his fellows; in the assembly she will make him eloquent. ⁶ Joy and gladness he will find, an everlasting name inherit. ⁷ Worthless men will not attain to her, haughty men will not behold her. ⁸ Far from the impious is she, not to be spoken of by liars. ⁹ Unseemly is praise on a sinner's lips, for it is not accorded to him by God. ¹⁰ But praise is offered by the wise man's tongue; its rightful steward will proclaim it. ¹¹ Say not: "It was God's doing that I fell away"; for what he hates he does not do. ¹² Say not: "It was he who set me astray"; for he has no need of wicked man. ¹³ Abominable wickedness the LORD hates, he does not let it befall those who fear him. ¹⁴ When God, in the beginning, created man, he made him subject to his own free choice. ¹⁵ If you choose you can keep the commandments; it is loyalty to do his will. ¹⁶ There are set before you fire and water; to whichever you choose, stretch forth your hand. ¹⁷ Before man are life and death, whichever he chooses shall be given him. ¹⁸ Immense is the wisdom of the LORD; he is mighty in power, and all-seeing. ¹⁹ The eyes of God see all he has made; he understands man's every deed. ²⁰ No man does he command to sin, to none does he give strength for lies. Sirach Chapter 16 ¹ Desire not a brood of worthless children, nor rejoice in wicked offspring. ² Many though they be, exult not in them if they have not the fear of the LORD. ³ Count not on their length of life, have no hope in their future. For one can be better than a thousand; rather die childless than have godless children! ⁴ Through one wise man can a city be peopled; through a clan of rebels it becomes desolate. ⁵ Many such things has my eye seen, even more than these has my ear heard. ⁶ Against a sinful band fire is enkindled, upon a godless people wrath flames out. ⁷ He forgave not the leaders of old who rebelled long ago in their might; ⁸ He spared not the neighbors of Lot whom he detested for their pride; ⁹ Nor did he spare the doomed people who were uprooted because of their sin; ¹⁰ Nor the six hundred thousand foot soldiers who perished for the impiety of their hearts. ¹¹ And had there been but one stiffnecked man, it were a wonder had he gone unpunished. For mercy and anger alike are with him who remits and forgives, though on the wicked alights his wrath. ¹² Great as his mercy is his punishment; he judges men, each according to his deeds. ¹³ A criminal does not escape with his plunder; a just man's hope God does not leave unfulfilled. ¹⁴ Whoever does good has his reward, which each receives according to his deeds. ¹⁵ Say not: "I am hidden from God; in heaven who remembers me? Among so many people I cannot be known; what am I in the world of spirits? ¹⁶ Behold, the heavens, the heaven of heavens, the earth and the abyss tremble at his visitation; ¹⁷ The roots of the mountains, the earth's foundations, at his mere glance, quiver and quake. ¹⁸ Of me, therefore, he will take no thought; with my ways who will concern himself?

led. ¹⁴ Whoever does good has his reward, which each receives according to his deeds. ¹⁵ Say not: "I am hidden from God; in heaven who remembers me? Among so many people I cannot be known; what am I in the world of spirits? ¹⁶ Behold, the heavens, the heaven of heavens, the earth and the abyss tremble at his visitation; ¹⁷ The roots of the mountains, the earth's foundations, at his mere glance, quiver and quake. ¹⁸ Of me, therefore, he will take no thought; with my ways who will concern himself? ¹⁹ If I sin, no eye will see me; if all in secret I am disloyal, who is to know? ²⁰ Who tells him of just deeds and what could I expect for doing my duty?" ²¹ Such are the thoughts of senseless

632 men, which only the foolish knave will think. ²² Hearken to me, my son, take my advice, apply your mind to my words, ²³ While I propose measured wisdom, and impart accurate knowledge. ²⁴ When at the first God created his works and, as he made them, assigned their tasks, ²⁵ He ordered for all time what they were to do and their domains from generation to generation. They were not to hunger, nor grow weary, nor ever cease from their tasks. ²⁶ Not one should ever crowd its neighbor, nor should they ever disobey his word. ²⁷ Then the LORD looked upon the earth, and filled it with his blessings. ²⁸ Its surface he covered with all manner of life which must return into it again. Sirach Chapter 17 ¹ The LORD from the earth created man, and in his own image he made him. ² Limited days of life he gives him and makes him return to earth again. ³ He endows man with a strength of his own, and with power over all things else on earth. ⁴ He puts the fear of him in all flesh, and gives him rule over beasts and birds. ⁵ He forms men's tongues and eyes and ears, and imparts to them an understanding heart. ⁶ With wisdom and knowledge he fills them; good and evil he shows them. ⁷ He looks with favor upon their hearts, and shows them his glorious works, ⁸ That they may describe the wonders of his deeds and praise his holy name. ⁹ He has set before them knowledge, a law of life as their inheritance; ¹⁰ An everlasting covenant he has made with them, his commandments he has revealed to them. ¹¹ His majestic glory their eyes beheld, his glorious voice their ears heard. ¹² He says to them, "Avoid all evil"; each of them he gives precepts about his fellow men. ¹³ Their ways are ever known to him, they cannot be hidden from his eyes. ¹⁴ Over every nation he places a ruler, but the LORD'S own portion is Israel. ¹⁵ All their actions are clear as the sun to him, his eyes are ever upon their ways. ¹⁶ Their wickedness cannot be hidden from him; all of their sins are before the LORD. ¹⁷ A man's goodness God cherishes like a signet ring, a man's virtue, like the apple of his eye. ¹⁸ Later he will rise up and repay them, and requite each one of them as they deserve. ¹⁹ But to the penitent he provides a way back, he encourages those who are losing hope! ²⁰ Return to the LORD and give up sin, pray to him and make your offenses few. ²¹ Turn again to the Most High and away from sin, hate intensely what he loathes; ²² Who in the nether world can glorify the Most High in place of the living who offer their praise? ²³ No more can the dead give praise than those who have never lived; they glorify the LORD who are alive and well. ²⁴ How great the mercy of the LORD, his forgiveness of those who return to him! ²⁵ The like cannot be found in men, for not immortal is any son of man. ²⁶ Is anything brighter than the sun? Yet it can be eclipsed. How obscure then the thoughts of flesh and blood! ²⁷ God watches over the hosts of highest heaven, while all men are dust and ashes. Sirach Chapter 18 ¹ The Eternal is the judge of all things without exception; the LORD alone is just. ² Whom has he made equal to describing his works, and who can probe his mighty deeds? ³ Who can measure his majestic power, or exhaust the tale of his mercies? ⁴ One cannot lessen, nor increase, nor penetrate the wonders of the LORD. ⁵ When a man ends he is only beginning, and when he stops he is still bewildered. ⁶ What is man, of what worth is he? the good, the evil in him, what are these? ⁷ The sum of a man's days is great if it reaches a hundred years: ⁸ Like a drop of sea water, like a grain of sand, so are these few years among the days of eternity. ⁹ That is why the LORD is patient with men and showers upon them his mercy. ¹⁰ He sees and understands that their death is grievous, and so he forgives them all the more.

. ⁵ When a man ends he is only beginning, and when he stops he is still bewildered. ⁶ What is man, of what worth is he? the good, the evil in him, what are these? ⁷ The sum of a man's days is great if it reaches a hundred years: ⁸ Like a drop of sea water, like a grain of sand, so are these few years among the days of eternity. ⁹ That is why the LORD is patient with men and showers upon them his mercy. ¹⁰ He sees and understands that their death is grievous, and so he forgives them all the more. ¹¹ Man may be merciful to his fellow man, but the LORD'S mercy reaches all flesh, ¹² Reproving, admonishing, teaching, as a shepherd guides his flock; ¹³ Merciful to those who accept his guidance, who are diligent in his precepts. ¹⁴ My son, to your charity add no reproach, nor spoil any gift by harsh words. ¹⁵ Like dew that abates a burning wind,

633 so does a word improve a gift. ¹⁶ Sometimes the word means more than the gift; both are offered by a kindly man. ¹⁷ Only a fool upbraids before giving; a grudging gift wears out the expectant eyes. ¹⁸ Be informed before speaking; before sickness prepare the cure. ¹⁹ Before you are judged, seek merit for yourself, and at the time of visitation you will have a ransom. ²⁰ Before you have fallen, humble yourself; when you have sinned, show repentance. ²¹ Delay not to forsake sins, neglect it not till you are in distress. ²² Let nothing prevent the prompt payment of your vows; wait not to fulfill them when you are dying. ²³ Before making a vow have the means to fulfill it; be not one who tries the LORD. ²⁴ Think of wrath and the day of death, the time of vengeance when he will hide his face. ²⁵ Remember the time of hunger in the time of plenty, poverty and want in the day of wealth. ²⁶ Between morning and evening the weather changes; before the LORD all things are fleeting. ²⁷ A wise man is circumspect in all things; when sin is rife he keeps himself from wrongdoing. ²⁸ Any learned man should make wisdom known, and he who attains to her should declare her praise; ²⁹ Those trained in her words must show their wisdom, dispensing sound proverbs like life-giving waters. ³⁰ Go not after your lusts, but keep your desires in check. ³¹ If you satisfy your lustful appetites they will make you the sport of your enemies. ³² Have no joy in the pleasures of a moment which bring on poverty redoubled; ³³ Become not a glutton and a winebibber with nothing in your purse. Sirach Chapter 19 ¹ He who does so grows no richer; he who wastes the little he has will be stripped bare. ² Wine and women make the mind giddy, and the companion of harlots becomes reckless. ³ He who lightly trusts in them has no sense, and he who strays after them sins against his own life. ⁴ Rottenness and worms will possess him, for contumacious desire destroys its owner. ⁵ He who gloats over evil will meet with evil, and he who repeats an evil report has no sense. ⁶ Never repeat gossip, and you will not be reviled. ⁷ Tell nothing to friend or foe; if you have a fault, reveal it not, ⁸ For he who hears it will hold it against you, and in time become your enemy. ⁹ Let anything you hear die within you; be assured it will not make you burst. ¹⁰ When a fool hears something, he is in labor, like a woman giving birth to a child. ¹¹ Like an arrow lodged in a man's thigh is gossip in the breast of a fool. ¹² Admonish your friend - he may not have done it; and if he did, that he may not do it again. ¹³ Admonish your neighbor - he may not have said it; and if he did, that he may not say it again. ¹⁴ Admonish your friend - often it may be slander; every story you must not believe. ¹⁵ Then, too, a man can slip and not mean it; who has not sinned with his tongue? ¹⁶ Admonish your neighbor before you break with him; thus will you fulfill the law of the Most High. ¹⁷ All wisdom is fear of the LORD; perfect wisdom is the fulfillment of the law. ¹⁸ The knowledge of wickedness is not wisdom, nor is there prudence in the counsel of sinners. ¹⁹ There is a shrewdness that is detestable, while the simple man may be free from sin. ²⁰ There are those with little understanding who fear God, and those of great intelligence who violate the law. ²¹ There is a shrewdness keen but dishonest, which by duplicity wins a judgment. ²² There is the wicked man who is bowed in grief, but is full of guile within; ²³ He bows his head and feigns not to hear, but when not observed, he will take advantage of you: ²⁴ Even though his lack of strength keeps him from sinning, when he finds the opportunity, he will do harm. ²⁵ One can tell a man by his appearance; a wise man is known as such when first met. ²⁶ A man's attire, his hearty laughter and his gait, proclaim him for what he is. Sirach Chapter 20 ¹ An admonition can be inopportune, and a man may be wise to hold his peace.

ef, but is full of guile within; ²³ He bows his head and feigns not to hear, but when not observed, he will take advantage of you: ²⁴ Even though his lack of strength keeps him from sinning, when he finds the opportunity, he will do harm. ²⁵ One can tell a man by his appearance; a wise man is known as such when first met. ²⁶ A man's attire, his hearty laughter and his gait, proclaim him for what he is. Sirach Chapter 20 ¹ An admonition can be inopportune, and a man may be wise to hold his peace. ² It is much better to admonish than to lose one's temper, for one who admits his fault will be kept from disgrace. ³ Like a eunuch lusting for intimacy with a maiden is he who does right under compulsion. ⁴ One

634 man is silent and is thought wise, another is talkative and is disliked. ⁵ One man is silent because he has nothing to say; another is silent, biding his time. ⁶ A wise man is silent till the right time comes, but a boasting fool ignores the proper time. ⁷ He who talks too much is detested; he who pretends to authority is hated. ⁸ Some misfortunes bring success; some things gained are a man's loss. ⁹ Some gifts do one no good, and some must be paid back double. ¹⁰ Humiliation can follow fame, while from obscurity a man can lift up his head. ¹¹ A man may buy much for little, but pay for it seven times over. ¹² A wise man makes himself popular by a few words, but fools pour forth their blandishments in vain. ¹³ A gift from a rogue will do you no good, for in his eyes his one gift is equal to seven. ¹⁴ He gives little and criticizes often, and like a crier he shouts aloud. He lends today, he asks it back tomorrow; hateful indeed is such a man. ¹⁵ A fool has no friends, nor thanks for his generosity. ¹⁶ Those who eat his bread have an evil tongue. How many times they laugh him to scorn! ¹⁷ A fall to the ground is less sudden than a slip of the tongue; that is why the downfall of the wicked comes so quickly. ¹⁸ Insipid food is the untimely tale; the unruly are always ready to offer it. ¹⁹ A proverb when spoken by a fool is unwelcome, for he does not utter it at the proper time. ²⁰ A man through want may be unable to sin, yet in this tranquility he cannot rest. ²¹ One may lose his life through shame, and perish through a fool's intimidation. ²² A man makes a promise to a friend out of shame, and has him for his enemy needlessly. ²³ A lie is a foul blot in a man, yet it is constantly on the lips of the unruly. ²⁴ Better a thief than an inveterate liar, yet both will suffer disgrace. ²⁵ A liar's way leads to dishonor, his shame remains ever with him. ²⁶ A wise man advances himself by his words, a prudent man pleases the great. ²⁷ He who works his land has abundant crops, he who pleases the great is pardoned his faults. ²⁸ Favors and gifts blind the eyes; like a muzzle over the mouth they silence reproof. ²⁹ Hidden wisdom and unseen treasure—of what value is either? ³⁰ Better the man who hides his folly than the one who hides his wisdom. Sirach Chapter 21 ¹ My son, if you have sinned, do so no more, and for your past sins pray to be forgiven. ² Flee from sin as from a serpent, that will bite you if you go near it; its teeth are lion's teeth, destroying the souls of men. ³ Every offense is a two-edged sword; when it cuts, there can be no healing. ⁴ Violence and arrogance wipe out wealth; so too a proud man's home is destroyed. ⁵ Prayer from a poor man's lips is heard at once, and justice is quickly granted him. ⁶ He who hates correction walks the sinner's path, but he who fears the LORD repents in his heart. ⁷ Widely known is the boastful speaker, but the wise man knows his own faults. ⁸ He who builds his house with another's money is collecting stones for his funeral mound. ⁹ A band of criminals is like a bundle of tow; they will end in a flaming fire. ¹⁰ The path of sinners is smooth stones that end in the depths of the nether world. ¹¹ He who keeps the law controls his impulses; he who is perfect in fear of the LORD has wisdom. ¹² He can never be taught who is not shrewd, but one form of shrewdness is thoroughly bitter. ¹³ A wise man's knowledge wells up in a flood, and his counsel, like a living spring. ¹⁴ A fool's mind is like a broken jar—no knowledge at all can it hold. ¹⁵ When an intelligent man hears words of wisdom, he approves them and adds to them; the wanton hears them with scorn and casts them behind his back. ¹⁶ A fool's chatter is like a load on a journey, but there is charm to be found upon the lips of the wise. ¹⁷ The views of a prudent man are sought in an assembly, and his words are considered with care. ¹⁸ Like a house in ruins is wisdom to a fool; the stupid man knows it only as inscrutable words.

ike a broken jar—no knowledge at all can it hold. ¹⁵ When an intelligent man hears words of wisdom, he approves them and adds to them; the wanton hears them with scorn and casts them behind his back. ¹⁶ A fool's chatter is like a load on a journey, but there is charm to be found upon the lips of the wise. ¹⁷ The views of a prudent man are sought in an assembly, and his words are considered with care. ¹⁸ Like a house in ruins is wisdom to a fool; the stupid man knows it only as inscrutable words. ¹⁹ Like fetters on the legs is learning to a fool, like a manacle on his right hand. ²⁰ A fool raises his voice in laughter, but the prudent man at the most smiles gently. ²¹ Like a chain of gold is learning to a wise man, like a bracelet on his right arm. ²² The fool steps boldly into a house, while the well-bred man remains outside. ²³ A boor peeps through the doorway of a house, but a cultured man keeps his glance cast down. ²⁴ It is rude for

635 one to listen at a door; a cultured man would be overwhelmed by the disgrace of it. ²⁵ The lips of the impious talk of what is not their concern, but the words of the prudent are carefully weighed. ²⁶ Fools' thoughts are in their mouths, wise men's words are in their hearts. ²⁷ When a godless man curses his adversary, he really curses himself. ²⁸ A slanderer besmirches himself and is hated by his neighbors. Sirach Chapter 22 ¹ The sluggard is like a stone in the mud; everyone hisses at his disgrace. ² The sluggard is like a lump of dung; whoever touches him wipes his hands. ³ An unruly child is a disgrace to its father; if it be a daughter she brings him to poverty. ⁴ A thoughtful daughter becomes a treasure to her husband, a shameless one is her father's grief. ⁵ A hussy shames her father and her husband; by both she is despised. ⁶ Like a song in time of mourning is inopportune talk, but lashes and discipline are at all times wisdom. ⁷ Teaching a fool is like gluing a broken pot, or like disturbing a man in the depths of sleep; ⁸ He talks with a slumberer who talks with a fool, for when it is over, he will say, "What was that?" ⁹ Weep over the dead man, for his light has gone out; weep over the fool, for sense has left him. ¹⁰ Weep but a little over the dead man, for he is at rest; but worse than death is the life of a fool. ¹¹ Seven days of mourning for the dead, but for the wicked fool a whole lifetime. ¹² Speak but seldom with the stupid man, be not the companion of a brute; ¹³ Beware of him lest you have trouble and be spattered when he shakes himself; Turn away from him and you will find rest and not be wearied by his lack of sense. ¹⁴ What is heavier than lead, and what is its name but "Fool"? ¹⁵ Sand and salt and an iron mass are easier to bear than a stupid man. ¹⁶ Masonry bonded with wooden beams is not loosened by an earthquake; Neither is a resolve constructed with careful deliberation shaken in a moment of fear. ¹⁷ A resolve that is backed by prudent understanding is like the polished surface of a smooth wall. ¹⁸ Small stones lying on an open height will not remain when the wind blows; Neither can a timid resolve based on foolish plans withstand fear of any kind. ¹⁹ One who jabs the eye brings tears: he who pierces the heart bares its feelings. ²⁰ He who throws stones at birds drives them away, and he who insults a friend breaks up the friendship. ²¹ Should you draw a sword against a friend, despair not, it can be undone. ²² Should you speak sharply to a friend, fear not, you can be reconciled. But a contemptuous insult, a confidence broken, or a treacherous attack will drive away any friend. ²³ Make fast friends with a man while he is poor; thus will you enjoy his prosperity with him. In time of trouble remain true to him, so as to share in his inheritance when it comes. ²⁴ Before flames burst forth an oven smokes; so does abuse come before bloodshed. ²⁵ From a friend in need of support no one need hide in shame; ²⁶ But from him who brings harm to his friend all will stand aloof who hear of it. ²⁷ Who will set a guard over my mouth, and upon my lips an effective seal, That I may not fail through them, that my tongue may not destroy me? Sirach Chapter 23 ¹ LORD, Father and Master of my life, permit me not to fall by them! ² Who will apply the lash to my thoughts, to my mind the rod of discipline, That my failings may not be spared, nor the sins of my heart overlooked; ³ Lest my failings increase, and my sins be multiplied; Lest I succumb to my foes, and my enemy rejoice over me? ⁴ LORD, Father and God of my life, abandon me not into their control! ⁵ A brazen look allow me not; ward off passion from my heart, ⁶ Let not the lustful cravings of the flesh master me, surrender me not to shameless desires. ⁷ Give heed, my children, to the instruction that I pronounce, for he who keeps it will not be enslaved. ⁸ Through his lips is the sinner ensnared; the railer and the arrogant man fall thereby.

my sins be multiplied; Lest I succumb to my foes, and my enemy rejoice over me? ⁴ LORD, Father and God of my life, abandon me not into their control! ⁵ A brazen look allow me not; ward off passion from my heart, ⁶ Let not the lustful cravings of the flesh master me, surrender me not to shameless desires. ⁷ Give heed, my children, to the instruction that I pronounce, for he who keeps it will not be enslaved. ⁸ Through his lips is the sinner ensnared; the railer and the arrogant man fall thereby. ⁹ Let not your mouth form the habit of swearing, or becoming too familiar with the Holy Name. ¹⁰ Just as a slave that is constantly under scrutiny will not be without welts, So one who swears continually by the Holy

636 Name will not remain free from sin. ¹¹ A man who often swears heaps up obligations; the scourge will never be far from his house. If he swears in error, he incurs guilt; if he neglects his obligation, his sin is doubly great. If he swears without reason he cannot be found just, and all his house will suffer affliction. ¹² There are words which merit death; may they never be heard among Jacob's heirs. For all such words are foreign to the devout, who do not wallow in sin. ¹³ Let not your mouth become used to coarse talk, for in it lies sinful matter. ¹⁴ Keep your father and mother in mind when you sit among the mighty, Lest in their presence you commit a blunder and disgrace your upbringing, By wishing you had never been born or cursing the day of your birth. ¹⁵ A man who has the habit of abusive language will never mature in character as long as he lives. ¹⁶ Two types of men multiply sins, a third draws down wrath; For burning passion is a blazing fire, not to be quenched till it burns itself out: A man given to sins of the flesh, who never stops until the fire breaks forth; ¹⁷ The rake to whom all bread is sweet and who is never through till he dies; ¹⁸ And the man who dishonors his marriage bed and says to himself "Who can see me? Darkness surrounds me, walls hide me; no one sees me; why should I fear to sin?" Of the Most High he is not mindful, ¹⁹ fearing only the eyes of men; He does not understand that the eyes of the LORD, ten thousand times brighter than the sun, Observe every step a man takes and peer into hidden corners. ²⁰ He who knows all things before they exist still knows them all after they are made. ²¹ Such a man will be punished in the streets of the city; when he least expects it, he will be apprehended. ²² So also with the woman who is unfaithful to her husband and offers as heir her son by a stranger. ²³ First, she has disobeyed the law of the Most High; secondly, she has wronged her husband; Thirdly, in her wanton adultery she has borne children by another man. ²⁴ Such a woman will be dragged before the assembly, and her punishment will extend to her children; ²⁵ Her children will not take root; her branches will not bring forth fruit. ²⁶ She will leave an accursed memory; her disgrace will never be blotted out. ²⁷ Thus all who dwell on the earth shall know, and all who inhabit the world shall understand, That nothing is better than the fear of the LORD, nothing more salutary than to obey his commandments. Sirach Chapter 24 ¹ Wisdom sings her own praises, before her own people she proclaims her glory; ² In the assembly of the Most High she opens her mouth, in the presence of his hosts she declares her worth: ³ "From the mouth of the Most High I came forth, and mistlike covered the earth. ⁴ In the highest heavens did I dwell, my throne on a pillar of cloud. ⁵ The vault of heaven I compassed alone, through the deep abyss I wandered. ⁶ Over waves of the sea, over all the land, over every people and nation I held sway. ⁷ Among all these I sought a resting place; in whose inheritance should I abide? ⁸ "Then the Creator of all gave me his command, and he who formed me chose the spot for my tent, Saying, 'In Jacob make your dwelling, in Israel your inheritance.' ⁹ Before all ages, in the beginning, he created me, and through all ages I shall not cease to be. ¹⁰ In the holy tent I ministered before him, and in Zion I fixed my abode. ¹¹ Thus in the chosen city he has given me rest, in Jerusalem is my domain. ¹² I have struck root among the glorious people, in the portion of the LORD, his heritage. ¹³ "Like a cedar on Lebanon I am raised aloft, like a cypress on Mount Hermon, ¹⁴ Like a palm tree in En-gedi, like a rosebush in Jericho, Like a fair olive tree in the field, like a plane tree growing beside the water. ¹⁵ Like cinnamon, or fragrant balm, or precious myrrh, I give forth perfume; Like galbanum and onycha and sweet spices, like the odor of incense in the holy place.

n Jerusalem is my domain. ¹² I have struck root among the glorious people, in the portion of the LORD, his heritage. ¹³ "Like a cedar on Lebanon I am raised aloft, like a cypress on Mount Hermon, ¹⁴ Like a palm tree in En-gedi, like a rosebush in Jericho, Like a fair olive tree in the field, like a plane tree growing beside the water. ¹⁵ Like cinnamon, or fragrant balm, or precious myrrh, I give forth perfume; Like galbanum and onycha and sweet spices, like the odor of incense in the holy place. ¹⁶ I spread out my branches like a terebinth, my branches so bright and so graceful. ¹⁷ I bud forth delights like the vine, my blossoms become fruit fair and rich. ¹⁸ Come to me, all you that yearn for me, and be filled with my fruits; ¹⁹ You will remember me as sweeter than honey, better to have than the honeycomb. ²⁰ He who eats of me will hunger still, he who drinks of me will thirst for more; ²¹ He who obeys me will not be put to shame, he who serves me will never fail." ²² All this is true

637 of the book of the Most High's covenant, the law which Moses commanded us as an inheritance for the community of Jacob. ²³ It overflows, like the Pishon, with wisdom - like the Tigris in the days of the new fruits. ²⁴ It runs over, like the Euphrates, with understanding, like the Jordan at harvest time. ²⁵ It sparkles like the Nile with knowledge, like the Gihon at vintage time. ²⁶ The first man never finished comprehending wisdom, nor will the last succeed in fathoming her. ²⁷ For deeper than the sea are her thoughts; her counsels, than the great abyss. ²⁸ Now I, like a rivulet from her stream, channeling the waters into a garden, ²⁹ Said to myself, "I will water my plants, my flower bed I will drench"; And suddenly this rivulet of mine became a river, then this stream of mine, a sea. ³⁰ Thus do I send my teachings forth shining like the dawn, to become known afar off. ³¹ Thus do I pour out instruction like prophecy and bestow it on generations to come. Sirach Chapter 25 ¹ With three things I am delighted, for they are pleasing to the LORD and to men: Harmony among brethren, friendship among neighbors, and the mutual love of husband and wife. ² Three kinds of men I hate; their manner of life I loathe indeed: A proud pauper, a rich dissembler, and an old man lecherous in his dotage. ³ What you have not saved in your youth, how will you acquire in your old age? ⁴ How becoming to the gray-haired is judgment, and a knowledge of counsel to those on in years! ⁵ How becoming to the aged is wisdom, understanding and prudence to the venerable! ⁶ The crown of old men is wide experience; their glory, the fear of the LORD. ⁷ There are nine who come to my mind as blessed, a tenth whom my tongue proclaims: The man who finds joy in his children, and he who lives to see his enemies' downfall. ⁸ Happy is he who dwells with a sensible wife, and he who plows not like a donkey yoked with an ox. Happy is he who sins not with his tongue, and he who serves not his inferior. ⁹ Happy is he who finds a friend and he who speaks to attentive ears. ¹⁰ He who finds wisdom is great indeed, but not greater than he who fears the LORD. ¹¹ Fear of the LORD surpasses all else. Its possessor is beyond compare. ¹² Worst of all wounds is that of the heart, worst of all evils is that of a woman. ¹³ Worst of all sufferings is that from one's foes, worst of all vengeance is that of one's enemies: ¹⁴ No poison worse than that of a serpent, no venom greater than that of a woman. ¹⁵ With a dragon or a lion I would rather dwell than live with an evil woman. ¹⁶ Wickedness changes a woman's looks, and makes her sullen as a female bear. ¹⁷ When her husband sits among his neighbors, a bitter sigh escapes him unawares. ¹⁸ There is scarce any evil like that in a woman; may she fall to the lot of the sinner! ¹⁹ Like a sandy hill to aged feet is a railing wife to a quiet man. ²⁰ Stumble not through woman's beauty, nor be greedy for her wealth; ²¹ The man is a slave, in disgrace and shame, when a wife supports her husband. ²² Depressed mind, saddened face, broken heart - this from an evil wife. Feeble hands and quaking knees - from a wife who brings no happiness to her husband. ²³ In woman was sin's beginning, and because of her we all die. ²⁴ Allow water no outlet, and be not indulgent to an erring wife. ²⁵ If she walks not by your side, cut her away from you. Sirach Chapter 26 ¹ Happy the husband of a good wife, twice-lengthened are his days; ² A worthy wife brings joy to her husband, peaceful and full is his life. ³ A good wife is a generous gift bestowed upon him who fears the LORD; ⁴ Be he rich or poor, his heart is content, and a smile is ever on his face. ⁵ There are three things at which my heart quakes, a fourth before which I quail: Though false charges in public, trial before all the people, and lying testimony are harder to bear than death, ⁶ A jealous wife is heartache and mourning and a scourging tongue like the other three.

worthy wife brings joy to her husband, peaceful and full is his life. ³ A good wife is a generous gift bestowed upon him who fears the LORD; ⁴ Be he rich or poor, his heart is content, and a smile is ever on his face. ⁵ There are three things at which my heart quakes, a fourth before which I quail: Though false charges in public, trial before all the people, and lying testimony are harder to bear than death, ⁶ A jealous wife is heartache and mourning and a scourging tongue like the other three. ⁷ A bad wife is a chafing yoke; he who marries her seizes a scorpion. ⁸ A drunken wife arouses great anger, for she does not hide her shame. ⁹ By her eyelids and her haughty stare an unchaste wife can be recognized. ¹⁰ Keep a strict watch over an unruly wife, lest, finding an opportunity, she make use

638 of it; ¹¹ Follow close if her eyes are bold, and be not surprised if she betrays you: ¹² As a thirsty traveler with eager mouth drinks from any water that he finds, So she settles down before every tent peg and opens her quiver for every arrow. ¹³ A gracious wife delights her husband, her thoughtfulness puts flesh on his bones; ¹⁴ A gift from the LORD is her governed speech, and her firm virtue is of surpassing worth. ¹⁵ Choicest of blessings is a modest wife, priceless her chaste person. ¹⁶ Like the sun rising in the LORD'S heavens, the beauty of a virtuous wife is the radiance of her home. ¹⁷ Like the light which shines above the holy lampstand, are her beauty of face and graceful figure. ¹⁸ Golden columns on silver bases are her shapely limbs and steady feet. ¹⁹ These two bring grief to my heart, and the third arouses my horror: A wealthy man reduced to want; illustrious men held in contempt; And the man who passes from justice to sin, for whom the LORD makes ready the sword. ²⁰ A merchant can hardly remain upright, nor a shopkeeper free from sin. Sirach Chapter 27 ¹ For the sake of profit many sin, and the struggle for wealth blinds the eyes. ² Like a peg driven between fitted stones, between buying and selling sin is wedged in. ³ Unless you earnestly hold fast to the fear of the LORD, suddenly your house will be thrown down. ⁴ When a sieve is shaken, the husks appear; so do a man's faults when he speaks. ⁵ As the test of what the potter molds is in the furnace, so in his conversation is the test of a man. ⁶ The fruit of a tree shows the care it has had; so too does a man's speech disclose the bent of his mind. ⁷ Praise no man before he speaks, for it is then that men are tested. ⁸ If you strive after justice you will attain it, and put it on like a splendid robe. ⁹ Birds nest with their own kind, and fidelity comes to those who live by it. ¹⁰ As a lion crouches in wait for prey, so do sins for evildoers. ¹¹ Ever wise are the discourses of the devout, but the godless man, like the moon, is inconstant. ¹² Limit the time you spend among fools, but frequent the company of thoughtful men. ¹³ The conversation of the wicked is offensive, their laughter is wanton guilt. ¹⁴ Their oath-filled talk makes the hair stand on end, their brawls make one stop one's ears. ¹⁵ Wrangling among the haughty ends in bloodshed, their cursing is painful to hear. ¹⁶ He who betrays a secret cannot be trusted, he will never find an intimate friend. ¹⁷ Cherish your friend, keep faith with him; but if you betray his confidence, follow him not; ¹⁸ For as an enemy might kill a man, you have killed your neighbor's friendship. ¹⁹ Like a bird released from the hand, you have let your friend go and cannot recapture him; ²⁰ Follow him not, for he is far away, he has fled like a gazelle from the trap. ²¹ A wound can be bound up, and an insult forgiven, but he who betrays secrets does hopeless damage. ²² He who has shifty eyes plots mischief and no one can ward him off; ²³ In your presence he uses honeyed talk, and admires your every word, But later he changes his tone and twists your words to your ruin. ²⁴ There is nothing that I hate so much, and the LORD hates him as well. ²⁵ As a stone falls back on him who throws it up, so a blow struck in treachery injures more than one. ²⁶ As he who digs a pit falls into it, and he who lays a snare is caught in it, ²⁷ Whoever does harm will be involved in it without knowing how it came upon him. ²⁸ Mockery and abuse will be the lot of the proud, and vengeance lies in wait for them like a lion. ²⁹ The trap seizes those who rejoice in pitfalls, and pain will consume them before they die; ³⁰ Wrath and anger are hateful things, yet the sinner hugs them tight. Sirach Chapter 28 ¹ The vengeful will suffer the LORD'S vengeance, for he remembers their sins in detail. ² Forgive your neighbor's injustice; then when you pray, your own sins will be forgiven.

it without knowing how it came upon him. ²⁸ Mockery and abuse will be the lot of the proud, and vengeance lies in wait for them like a lion. ²⁹ The trap seizes those who rejoice in pitfalls, and pain will consume them before they die; ³⁰ Wrath and anger are hateful things, yet the sinner hugs them tight. Sirach Chapter 28 ¹ The vengeful will suffer the LORD'S vengeance, for he remembers their sins in detail. ² Forgive your neighbor's injustice; then when you pray, your own sins will be forgiven. ³ Should a man nourish anger against his fellows and expect healing from the LORD? ⁴ Should a man refuse mercy to his fellows, yet seek pardon for his own sins? ⁵ If he who is but flesh cherishes wrath, who will forgive his sins? ⁶ Remember your last days, set enmity aside; remember death and decay, and cease from sin! ⁷ Think of the commandments, hate not your neighbor; of the Most High's

639 covenant, and overlook faults. ⁸ Avoid strife and your sins will be fewer, for a quarrelsome man kindles disputes, ⁹ Commits the sin of disrupting friendship and sows discord among those at peace. ¹⁰ The more wood, the greater the fire, the more underlying it, the fiercer the fight; The greater a man's strength, the sterner his anger, the greater his power, the greater his wrath. ¹¹ Pitch and resin make fires flare up, and insistent quarrels provoke bloodshed. ¹² If you blow upon a spark, it quickens into flame, if you spit on it, it dies out; yet both you do with your mouth! ¹³ Cursed be gossips and the double-tongued, for they destroy the peace of many. ¹⁴ A meddlesome tongue subverts many, and makes them refugees among the peoples; It destroys walled cities, and overthrows powerful dynasties. ¹⁵ A meddlesome tongue can drive virtuous women from their homes and rob them of the fruit of their toil; ¹⁶ Whoever heeds it has no rest, nor can he dwell in peace. ¹⁷ A blow from a whip raises a welt, but a blow from the tongue smashes bones; ¹⁸ Many have fallen by the edge of the sword, but not as many as by the tongue. ¹⁹ Happy he who is sheltered from it, and has not endured its wrath; Who has not borne its yoke nor been fettered with its chain; ²⁰ For its yoke is a yoke of iron and its chains are chains of bronze! ²¹ Dire is the death it inflicts, besides which even the nether world is a gain; ²² It will not take hold among the just nor scorch them in its flame, ²³ But those who forsake the LORD will fall victims to it, as it burns among them unquenchably! It will hurl itself against them like a lion; like a panther, it will tear them to pieces. ²⁴ As you hedge round your vineyard with thorns, set barred doors over your mouth; ²⁵ As you seal up your silver and gold, so balance and weigh your words. ²⁶ Take care not to slip by your tongue and fall victim to your foe waiting in ambush. Sirach Chapter 29 ¹ He does a kindness who lends to his neighbor, and he fulfills the precepts who holds out a helping hand. ² Lend to your neighbor in his hour of need, and pay back your neighbor when a loan falls due; ³ Keep your promise, be honest with him, and you will always come by what you need. ⁴ Many a man who asks for a loan adds to the burdens of those who help him; ⁵ When he borrows, he kisses the lender's hand and speaks with respect of his creditor's wealth; But when payment is due he disappoints him and says he is helpless to meet the claim. ⁶ If the lender is able to recover barely half, he considers this an achievement; If not, he is cheated of his wealth and acquires an enemy at no extra charge; With curses and insults the borrower pays him back, with abuse instead of honor. ⁷ Many refuse to lend, not out of meanness, but from fear of being cheated. ⁸ To a poor man, however, be generous; keep him not waiting for your alms; ⁹ Because of the precept, help the needy, and in their want, do not send them away empty-handed. ¹⁰ Spend your money for your brother and friend, and hide it not under a stone to perish; ¹¹ Dispose of your treasure as the Most High commands, for that will profit you more than the gold. ¹² Store up almsgiving in your treasure house, and it will save you from every evil; ¹³ Better than a stout shield and a sturdy spear it will fight for you against the foe. ¹⁴ A good man goes surety for his neighbor, and only the shameless would play him false; ¹⁵ Forget not the kindness of your backer, for he offers his very life for you. ¹⁶ The wicked turn a pledge on their behalf into misfortune, and the ingrate abandons his protector; ¹⁷ Going surety has ruined many prosperous men and tossed them about like waves of the sea, ¹⁸ Has exiled men of prominence and sent them wandering through foreign lands. ¹⁹ The sinner through surety comes to grief, and he who undertakes too much falls into lawsuits. ²⁰ Go surety for your neighbor according to your means, but take care lest you fall thereby.

, for he offers his very life for you. ¹⁶ The wicked turn a pledge on their behalf into misfortune, and the ingrate abandons his protector; ¹⁷ Going surety has ruined many prosperous men and tossed them about like waves of the sea, ¹⁸ Has exiled men of prominence and sent them wandering through foreign lands. ¹⁹ The sinner through surety comes to grief, and he who undertakes too much falls into lawsuits. ²⁰ Go surety for your neighbor according to your means, but take care lest you fall thereby. ²¹ Life's prime needs are water, bread, and clothing, a house, too, for decent privacy. ²² Better a poor man's fare under the shadow of one's own roof than sumptuous banquets among strangers. ²³ Be it little or much, be content with what you have, and pay no heed to him who would disparage your home; ²⁴ A miserable life it is to go from house to house, for as a guest you dare not open your mouth. ²⁵ The visitor has no thanks for filling the cups; besides, you will hear these bitter words: ²⁶ "Come

640 here, stranger, set the table, give me to eat the food you have! ²⁷ Away, stranger, for one more worthy; for my brother's visit I need the room!" ²⁸ Painful things to a sensitive man are abuse at home and insults from his creditors. Sirach Chapter 30 ¹ He who loves his son chastises him often, that he may be his joy when he grows up. ² He who disciplines his son will benefit from him, and boast of him among his intimates. ³ He who educates his son makes his enemy jealous, and shows his delight in him among his friends. ⁴ At the father's death, he will seem not dead, since he leaves after him one like himself, ⁵ Whom he looks upon through life with joy, and even in death, without regret: ⁶ The avenger he leaves against his foes, and the one to repay his friends with kindness. ⁷ He who spoils his son will have wounds to bandage, and will quake inwardly at every outcry. ⁸ A colt untamed turns out stubborn; a son left to himself grows up unruly. ⁹ Pamper your child and he will be a terror for you, indulge him and he will bring you grief. ¹⁰ Share not in his frivolity lest you share in his sorrow, when finally your teeth are clenched in remorse. ¹¹ Give him not his own way in his youth, and close not your eyes to his follies. ¹² Bend him to the yoke when he is young, thrash his sides while he is still small, lest he become stubborn, disobey you, and leave you disconsolate. ¹³ Discipline your son, make heavy his yoke, lest his folly humiliate you. ¹⁴ Better a poor man strong and robust, than a rich man with wasted frame. ¹⁵ More precious than gold is health and well-being, contentment of spirit than coral. ¹⁶ No treasure greater than a healthy body; no happiness, than a joyful heart! ¹⁷ Preferable is death to a bitter life, unending sleep to constant illness. ¹⁸ Dainties set before one who cannot eat are like the offerings placed before a tomb. ¹⁹ What good is an offering to an idol that can neither taste nor smell? ²⁰ So it is with the afflicted man who groans at the good things his eyes behold! ²¹ Do not give in to sadness, torment not yourself with brooding; ²² Gladness of heart is the very life of man, cheerfulness prolongs his days. ²³ Distract yourself, renew your courage, drive resentment far away from you; for worry has brought death to many, nor is there aught to be gained from resentment. ²⁴ Envy and anger shorten one's life, worry brings on premature old age. ²⁵ One who is cheerful and gay while at table benefits from his food. Sirach Chapter 31 ¹ Keeping watch over riches wastes the flesh, and the care of wealth drives away rest. ² Concern for one's livelihood banishes slumber; more than a serious illness it disturbs repose. ³ The rich man labors to pile up wealth, and his only rest is wanton pleasure; ⁴ The poor man toils for a meager subsistence, and if ever he rests, he finds himself in want. ⁵ The lover of gold will not be free from sin, for he who pursues wealth is led astray by it. ⁶ Many have been ensnared by gold, though destruction lay before their eyes; ⁷ It is a stumbling block to those who are avid for it, a snare for every fool. ⁸ Happy the rich man found without fault, who turns not aside after gain! ⁹ Who is he, that we may praise him? he, of all his kindred, has done wonders, ¹⁰ For he has been tested by gold and come off safe, and this remains his glory; He could have sinned but did not, could have done evil but would not, ¹¹ So that his possessions are secure, and the assembly recounts his praises. ¹² If you are dining with a great man, bring not a greedy gullet to his table, Nor cry out, "How much food there is here!" ¹³ Remember that gluttony is evil. No creature is greedier than the eye: therefore it weeps for any cause. ¹⁴ Recognize that your neighbor feels as you do, and keep in mind your own dislikes: ¹⁵ Toward what he eyes, do not put out a hand; nor reach when he does for the same dish. ¹⁶ Behave at table like a favored guest, and be not greedy, lest you be despised.

s his praises. ¹² If you are dining with a great man, bring not a greedy gullet to his table, Nor cry out, "How much food there is here!" ¹³ Remember that gluttony is evil. No creature is greedier than the eye: therefore it weeps for any cause. ¹⁴ Recognize that your neighbor feels as you do, and keep in mind your own dislikes: ¹⁵ Toward what he eyes, do not put out a hand; nor reach when he does for the same dish. ¹⁶ Behave at table like a favored guest, and be not greedy, lest you be despised. ¹⁷ Be the first to stop, as befits good manners; gorge not yourself, lest you give offense. ¹⁸ If there are many with you at table, be not the first to reach out your hand. ¹⁹ Does not a little suffice for a well-bred man? When he lies down, it is without discomfort. ²⁰ Distress

641 and anguish and loss of sleep, and restless tossing for the glutton! Moderate eating ensures sound slumber and a clear mind next day on rising. ²¹ If perforce you have eaten too much, once you have emptied your stomach, you will have relief. ²² Listen to me, my son, and scorn me not; later you will find my advice good. In whatever you do, be moderate, and no sickness will befall you. ²³ On a man generous with food, blessings are invoked, and this testimony to his goodness is lasting; ²⁴ He who is miserly with food is denounced in public, and this testimony to his stinginess is lasting. ²⁵ Let not wine-drinking be the proof of your strength, for wine has been the ruin of many. ²⁶ As the furnace probes the work of the smith, so does wine the hearts of the insolent. ²⁷ Wine is very life to man if taken in moderation. Does he really live who lacks the wine which was created for his joy? ²⁸ Joy of heart, good cheer and merriment are wine drunk freely at the proper time. ²⁹ Headache, bitterness and disgrace is wine drunk amid anger and strife. ³⁰ More and more wine is a snare for the fool; it lessens his strength and multiplies his wounds. ³¹ Rebuke not your neighbor when wine is served, nor put him to shame while he is merry; Use no harsh words with him and distress him not in the presence of others. Sirach Chapter 32 ¹ If you are chosen to preside at dinner, be not puffed up, but with the guests be as one of themselves; Take care of them first before you sit down; ² when you have fulfilled your duty, then take your place, to share in their joy and win praise for your hospitality. ³ Being older, you may talk; that is only your right, but temper your wisdom, not to disturb the singing. ⁴ When wine is present, do not pour out discourse, and flaunt not your wisdom at the wrong time. ⁵ Like a seal of carnelian in a setting of gold is a concert when wine is served. ⁶ Like a gold mounting with an emerald seal is string music with delicious wine. ⁷ Young man, speak only when necessary, when they have asked you more than once; ⁸ Be brief, but say much in those few words, be like the wise man, taciturn. ⁹ When among your elders be not forward, and with officials be not too insistent. ¹⁰ Like the lightning that flashes before a storm is the esteem that shines on modesty. ¹¹ When it is time to leave, tarry not; be off for home! There take your ease, ¹² And there enjoy doing as you wish, but without sin or words of pride. ¹³ Above all, give praise to your Creator, who showers his favors upon you. ¹⁴ He who would find God must accept discipline; he who seeks him obtains his request. ¹⁵ He who studies the law masters it, but the hypocrite finds it a trap. ¹⁶ His judgment is sound who fears the LORD; out of obscurity he draws forth a clear plan. ¹⁷ The sinner turns aside reproof and distorts the law to suit his purpose. ¹⁸ The thoughtful man will not neglect direction; the proud and insolent man is deterred by nothing. ¹⁹ Do nothing without counsel, and then you need have no regrets. ²⁰ Go not on a way that is set with snares, and let not the same thing trip you twice. ²¹ Be not too sure even of smooth roads, ²² be careful on all your paths. ²³ Whatever you do, be on your guard, for in this way you will keep the commandments. ²⁴ He who keeps the law preserves himself; and he who trusts in the LORD shall not be put to shame. Sirach Chapter 33 ¹ No evil can harm the man who fears the LORD; through trials, again and again he is safe. ² He who hates the law is without wisdom, and is tossed about like a boat in a storm. ³ The prudent man trusts in the word of the LORD, and the law is dependable for him as a divine oracle. ⁴ Prepare your words and you will be listened to; draw upon your training, and then give your answer. ⁵ Like the wheel of a cart is the mind of a fool; his thoughts revolve in circles. ⁶ A fickle friend is like the stallion that neighs, no matter who the rider.

ORD; through trials, again and again he is safe. ² He who hates the law is without wisdom, and is tossed about like a boat in a storm. ³ The prudent man trusts in the word of the LORD, and the law is dependable for him as a divine oracle. ⁴ Prepare your words and you will be listened to; draw upon your training, and then give your answer. ⁵ Like the wheel of a cart is the mind of a fool; his thoughts revolve in circles. ⁶ A fickle friend is like the stallion that neighs, no matter who the rider. ⁷ Why is one day more important than another, when it is the sun that lights up every day? ⁸ It is due to the LORD'S wisdom that they differ; it is through him the seasons and feasts come and go. ⁹ Some he dignifies and sanctifies, and others he lists as ordinary days. ¹⁰ So too, all men are of clay, for from earth man was formed; ¹¹ Yet with his great

642 knowledge the LORD makes men unlike; in different paths he has them walk. ¹² Some he blesses and makes great, some he sanctifies and draws to himself. Others he curses and brings low, and expels them from their place. ¹³ Like clay in the hands of a potter, to be molded according to his pleasure, so are men in the hands of their Creator, to be assigned by him their function. ¹⁴ As evil contrasts with good, and death with life, so are sinners in contrast with the just; ¹⁵ See now all the works of the Most High: they come in pairs, the one the opposite of the other. ¹⁶ Now I am the last to keep vigil, like a gleaner after the vintage; ¹⁷ Since by the LORD'S blessing I have made progress till like a vintager I have filled my wine press, ¹⁸ I would inform you that not for myself only have I toiled, but for every seeker after wisdom. ¹⁹ Listen to me, O leaders of the multitude; O rulers of the assembly, give ear! ²⁰ Let neither son nor wife, neither brother nor friend, have power over you as long as you live. ²¹ While breath of life is still in you, let no man have dominion over you. Give not to another your wealth, lest then you have to plead with him; ²² Far better that your children plead with you than that you should look to their generosity. ²³ Keep control over all your affairs; let no one tarnish your glory. ²⁴ When your few days reach their limit, at the time of death distribute your inheritance. ²⁵ Fodder and whip and loads for an ass; the yoke and harness and the rod of his master. ²⁶ Food, correction and work for a slave; and for a wicked slave, punishment in the stocks. ²⁷ Make a slave work and he will look for his rest; let his hands be idle and he will seek to be free. ²⁸ Force him to work that he be not idle, for idleness is an apt teacher of mischief. ²⁹ Put him to work, for that is what befits him; if he becomes unruly, load him with chains. ³⁰ But never lord it over any human being, and do nothing unjust. ³¹ If you have but one slave, treat him like yourself, for you have acquired him with your life's blood; ³² If you have but one slave, deal with him as a brother, for you need him as you need your life: ³³ If you mistreat him and he runs away, in what direction will you look for him? Sirach Chapter 34 ¹ Empty and false are the hopes of the senseless, and fools are borne aloft by dreams. ² Like a man who catches at shadows or chases the wind, is the one who believes in dreams. ³ What is seen in dreams is to reality what the reflection of a face is to the face itself. ⁴ Can the unclean produce the clean? can the liar ever speak the truth? ⁵ Divination, omens and dreams all are unreal; what you already expect, the mind depicts. ⁶ Unless it be a vision specially sent by the Most High, fix not your heart on it; ⁷ For dreams have led many astray, and those who believed in them have perished. ⁸ The law is fulfilled without fail, and perfect wisdom is found in the mouth of the faithful man. ⁹ A man with training gains wide knowledge; a man of experience speaks sense. ¹⁰ One never put to the proof knows little, whereas with travel a man adds to his resourcefulness. ¹¹ I have seen much in my travels, learned more than ever I could say. ¹² Often I was in danger of death, but by these attainments I was saved. ¹³ Lively is the courage of those who fear the LORD, for they put their hope in their savior; ¹⁴ He who fears the LORD is never alarmed, never afraid; for the LORD is his hope. ¹⁵ Happy the soul that fears the LORD! In whom does he trust, and who is his support? ¹⁶ The eyes of the LORD are upon those who love him; he is their mighty shield and strong support, a shelter from the heat, a shade from the noonday sun, a guard against stumbling, a help against falling. ¹⁷ He buoys up the spirits, brings a sparkle to the eyes, gives health and life and blessing. ¹⁸ Tainted his gifts who offers in sacrifice ill-gotten goods! Mock presents from the lawless win not God's favor.

¹⁵ Happy the soul that fears the LORD! In whom does he trust, and who is his support? ¹⁶ The eyes of the LORD are upon those who love him; he is their mighty shield and strong support, a shelter from the heat, a shade from the noonday sun, a guard against stumbling, a help against falling. ¹⁷ He buoys up the spirits, brings a sparkle to the eyes, gives health and life and blessing. ¹⁸ Tainted his gifts who offers in sacrifice ill-gotten goods! Mock presents from the lawless win not God's favor. ¹⁹ The Most High approves not the gifts of the godless, nor for their many sacrifices does he forgive their sins. ²⁰ Like the man who slays a son in his father's presence is he who offers sacrifice from the possessions of the poor. ²¹ The bread of charity is life itself for the needy; he who withholds it is a man of blood. ²² He slays his neighbor who deprives him of his living: he sheds blood who denies the laborer his wages. ²³ If one man builds up and another tears down, what do they gain but trouble? ²⁴ If one man prays and another curses, whose voice will the

643 LORD hear? ²⁵ If a man again touches a corpse after he has bathed, what did he gain by the purification? ²⁶ So with a man who fasts for his sins, but then goes and commits them again: who will hear his prayer, and what has he gained by his mortification? Sirach Chapter 35 ¹ To keep the law is a great oblation, and he who observes the commandments sacrifices a peace offering. ² In works of charity one offers fine flour, and when he gives alms he presents his sacrifice of praise. ³ To refrain from evil pleases the LORD, and to avoid injustice is an atonement. ⁴ Appear not before the LORD empty-handed, for all that you offer is in fulfillment of the precepts. ⁵ The just man's offering enriches the altar and rises as a sweet odor before the Most High. ⁶ The just man's sacrifice is most pleasing, nor will it ever be forgotten. ⁷ In generous spirit pay homage to the LORD, be not sparing of freewill gifts. ⁸ With each contribution show a cheerful countenance, and pay your tithes in a spirit of joy. ⁹ Give to the Most High as he has given to you, generously, according to your means. ¹⁰ For the LORD is one who always repays, and he will give back to you sevenfold. ¹¹ But offer no bribes, these he does not accept! Trust not in sacrifice of the fruits of extortion, ¹² For he is a God of justice, who knows no favorites. ¹³ Though not unduly partial toward the weak, yet he hears the cry of the oppressed. ¹⁴ He is not deaf to the wail of the orphan, nor to the widow when she pours out her complaint; ¹⁵ Do not the tears that stream down her cheek cry out against him that causes them to fall? ¹⁶ He who serves God willingly is heard; his petition reaches the heavens. ¹⁷ The prayer of the lowly pierces the clouds; it does not rest till it reaches its goal, ¹⁸ Nor will it withdraw till the Most High responds, judges justly and affirms the right. ¹⁹ God indeed will not delay, and like a warrior, will not be still ²⁰ Till he breaks the backs of the merciless and wreaks vengeance upon the proud; ²¹ Till he destroys the haughty root and branch, and smashes the scepter of the wicked; ²² Till he requites mankind according to its deeds, and repays men according to their thoughts; ²³ Till he defends the cause of his people, and gladdens them by his mercy. ²⁴ Welcome is his mercy in time of distress as rain clouds in time of drought. Sirach Chapter 36 ¹ Come to our aid, O God of the universe, and put all the nations in dread of you! ² Raise your hand against the heathen, that they may realize your power. ³ As you have used us to show them your holiness, so now use them to show us your glory. ⁴ Thus they will know, as we know, that there is no God but you. ⁵ Give new signs and work new wonders; show forth the splendor of your right hand and arm; ⁶ Rouse your anger, pour out wrath, humble the enemy, scatter the foe. ⁷ Hasten the day, bring on the time; ⁹ crush the heads of the hostile rulers. ⁸ Let raging fire consume the fugitive, and your people's oppressors meet destruction. ¹⁰ Gather all the tribes of Jacob, that they may inherit the land as of old, ¹¹ Show mercy to the people called by your name; Israel, whom you named your first-born. ¹² Take pity on your holy city, Jerusalem, your dwelling place. ¹³ Fill Zion with your majesty, your temple with your glory. ¹⁴ Give evidence of your deeds of old; fulfill the prophecies spoken in your name, ¹⁵ Reward those who have hoped in you, and let your prophets be proved true. ¹⁶ Hear the prayer of your servants, for you are ever gracious to your people; ¹⁷ Thus it will be known to the very ends of the earth that you are the eternal God. ¹⁸ The throat can swallow any food, yet some foods are more agreeable than others; ¹⁹ As the palate tests meat by its savor, so does a keen mind insincere words. ²⁰ A deceitful character causes grief, but an experienced man can turn the tables on him.

r name, ¹⁵ Reward those who have hoped in you, and let your prophets be proved true. ¹⁶ Hear the prayer of your servants, for you are ever gracious to your people; ¹⁷ Thus it will be known to the very ends of the earth that you are the eternal God. ¹⁸ The throat can swallow any food, yet some foods are more agreeable than others; ¹⁹ As the palate tests meat by its savor, so does a keen mind insincere words. ²⁰ A deceitful character causes grief, but an experienced man can turn the tables on him. ²¹ Though any man may be accepted as a husband, yet one girl will be more suitable than another: ²² A woman's beauty makes her husband's face light up, for it surpasses all else that charms the eye; ²³ And if, besides, her speech is kindly, his lot is beyond that of mortal men. ²⁴ A wife is her husband's richest treasure, a helpmate, a

644 steadying column. ²⁵ A vineyard with no hedge will be overrun; a man with no wife becomes a homeless wanderer. ²⁶ Who will trust an armed band that shifts from city to city? ²⁷ Or a man who has no nest, but lodges where night overtakes him? Sirach Chapter 37 ¹ Every friend declares his friendship, but there are friends who are friends in name only. ² Is it not a sorrow unto death when your bosom companion becomes your enemy? ³ "Alas, my companion! Why were you created to blanket the earth with deceit?" ⁴ A false friend will share your joys, but in time of trouble he stands afar off. ⁵ A true friend will fight with you against the foe, against your enemies he will be your shield-bearer. ⁶ Forget not your comrade during the battle, and neglect him not when you distribute your spoils. ⁷ Every counselor points out a way, but some counsel ways of their own; ⁸ Be on the alert when one proffers advice, find out first of all what he wants. For he may be thinking of himself alone; why should the profit fall to him? ⁹ He may tell you how good your way will be, and then stand by to watch your misfortune. ¹⁰ Seek no advice from one who regards you with hostility; from those who envy you, keep your intentions hidden. ¹¹ Speak not to a woman about her rival, nor to a coward about war, to a merchant about business, to a buyer about value, to a miser about generosity, to a cruel man about mercy, to a lazy man about work, to a seasonal laborer about the harvest, to an idle slave about a great task: pay no attention to any advice they give. ¹² Instead, associate with a religious man, who you are sure keeps the commandments; Who is like-minded with yourself and will feel for you if you fall. ¹³ Then, too, heed your own heart's counsel; for what have you that you can depend on more? ¹⁴ A man's conscience can tell him his situation better than seven watchmen in a lofty tower. ¹⁵ Most important of all, pray to God to set your feet in the path of truth. ¹⁶ A word is the source of every deed; a thought, of every act. ¹⁷ The root of all conduct is the mind; four branches it shoots forth: ¹⁸ Good and evil, death and life, their absolute mistress is the tongue. ¹⁹ A man may be wise and benefit many, yet be of no use to himself. ²⁰ Though a man may be wise, if his words are rejected he will be deprived of all enjoyment. ²¹ When a man is wise to his own advantage, the fruits of his knowledge are seen in his own person; ²² When a man is wise to his people's advantage, the fruits of his knowledge are enduring: ²³ Limited are the days of one man's life, but the life of Israel is days without number. ²⁴ One wise for himself has full enjoyment, and all who see him praise him; ²⁵ One wise for his people wins a heritage of glory, and his name endures forever. ²⁶ My son, while you are well, govern your appetite so that you allow it not what is bad for you; ²⁷ For not every food is good for everyone, nor is everything suited to every taste. ²⁸ Be not drawn after every enjoyment, neither become a glutton for choice foods, ²⁹ For sickness comes with overeating, and gluttony brings on biliousness. ³⁰ Through lack of self-control many have died, but the abstemious man prolongs his life. Sirach Chapter 38 ¹ Hold the physician in honor, for he is essential to you, and God it was who established his profession. ² From God the doctor has his wisdom, and the king provides for his sustenance. ³ His knowledge makes the doctor distinguished, and gives him access to those in authority. ⁴ God makes the earth yield healing herbs which the prudent man should not neglect; ⁵ Was not the water sweetened by a twig that men might learn his power? ⁶ He endows men with the knowledge to glory in his mighty works, ⁷ Through which the doctor eases pain and the druggist prepares his medicines; ⁸ Thus God's creative work continues without cease in its efficacy on the surface of the earth.

sustenance. ³ His knowledge makes the doctor distinguished, and gives him access to those in authority. ⁴ God makes the earth yield healing herbs which the prudent man should not neglect; ⁵ Was not the water sweetened by a twig that men might learn his power? ⁶ He endows men with the knowledge to glory in his mighty works, ⁷ Through which the doctor eases pain and the druggist prepares his medicines; ⁸ Thus God's creative work continues without cease in its efficacy on the surface of the earth. ⁹ My son, when you are ill, delay not, but pray to God, who will heal you: ¹⁰ Flee wickedness; let your hands be just, cleanse your heart of every sin; ¹¹ Offer your sweet-smelling oblation and petition, a rich offering according to your means. ¹² Then give the doctor his place lest he leave;

645 for you need him too. ¹³ There are times that give him an advantage, ¹⁴ and he too beseeches God that his diagnosis may be correct and his treatment bring about a cure. ¹⁵ He who is a sinner toward his Maker will be defiant toward the doctor. ¹⁶ My son, shed tears for one who is dead with wailing and bitter lament; as is only proper, prepare the body, absent not yourself from his burial: ¹⁷ Weeping bitterly, mourning fully, pay your tribute of sorrow, as he deserves, ¹⁸ One or two days, to prevent gossip; then compose yourself after your grief, ¹⁹ For grief can bring on an extremity and heartache destroy one's health. ²⁰ Turn not your thoughts to him again; cease to recall him; think rather of the end. ²¹ Recall him not, for there is no hope of his return; it will not help him, but will do you harm. ²² Remember that his fate will also be yours; for him it was yesterday, for you today. ²³ With the departed dead, let memory fade; rally your courage, once the soul has left. ²⁴ The scribe's profession increases his wisdom; whoever is free from toil can become a wise man. ²⁵ How can he become learned who guides the plow, who thrills in wielding the goad like a lance, who guides the ox and urges on the bullock, and whose every concern is for cattle? ²⁶ His care is for plowing furrows, and he keeps a watch on the beasts in the stalls. ²⁷ So with every engraver and designer who, laboring night and day, fashions carved seals, and whose concern is to vary the pattern. His care is to produce a vivid impression, and he keeps watch till he finishes his design. ²⁸ So with the smith standing near his anvil, forging crude iron. The heat from the fire sears his flesh, yet he toils away in the furnace heat. The clang of the hammer deafens his ears, his eyes are fixed on the tool he is shaping. His care is to finish his work, and he keeps watch till he perfects it in detail. ²⁹ So with the potter sitting at his labor, revolving the wheel with his feet. He is always concerned for his products, and turns them out in quantity. ³⁰ With his hands he molds the clay, and with his feet softens it. His care is for proper coloring, and he keeps watch on the fire of his kiln. ³¹ All these men are skilled with their hands, each one an expert at his own task; ³² Without them no city could be lived in, and wherever they stay, they need not hunger. ³³ They do not occupy the judge's bench, nor are they prominent in the assembly; they set forth no decisions or judgments, nor are they found among the rulers; ³⁴ Yet they maintain God's ancient handiwork, and their concern is for exercise of their skill. Sirach Chapter 39 ¹ How different the man who devotes himself to the study of the law of the Most High! He explores the wisdom of the men of old and occupies himself with the prophecies; ² He treasures the discourses of famous men, and goes to the heart of involved sayings; ³ He studies obscure parables, and is busied with the hidden meanings of the sages. ⁴ He is in attendance on the great, and has entrance to the ruler. ⁵ He travels among the peoples of foreign lands to learn what is good and evil among men. ⁶ His care is to seek the LORD, his Maker, to petition the Most High, to open his lips in prayer, to ask pardon for his sins. Then, if it pleases the LORD Almighty, he will be filled with the spirit of understanding; He will pour forth his words of wisdom and in prayer give thanks to the LORD, ⁷ Who will direct his knowledge and his counsel, as he meditates upon his mysteries. ⁸ He will show the wisdom of what he has learned and glory in the law of the LORD'S covenant. ⁹ Many will praise his understanding; his fame can never be effaced; Unfading will be his memory, through all generations his name will live; ¹⁰ Peoples will speak of his wisdom, and in assembly sing his praises. ¹¹ While he lives he is one out of a thousand, and when he dies his renown will not cease. ¹² Once more I will set forth my theme to shine like the moon in its fullness!

tes upon his mysteries. ⁸ He will show the wisdom of what he has learned and glory in the law of the LORD'S covenant. ⁹ Many will praise his understanding; his fame can never be effaced; Unfading will be his memory, through all generations his name will live; ¹⁰ Peoples will speak of his wisdom, and in assembly sing his praises. ¹¹ While he lives he is one out of a thousand, and when he dies his renown will not cease. ¹² Once more I will set forth my theme to shine like the moon in its fullness! ¹³ Listen, my faithful children: open up your petals, like roses planted near running waters; ¹⁴ Send up the sweet odor of incense, break forth in blossoms like the lily. Send up the sweet odor of your hymn of praise; bless the LORD for all he has done! ¹⁵ Proclaim the greatness of his name, loudly sing his praises, with music on the harp and all stringed instruments; sing out with joy as you proclaim: ¹⁶ The works of God are all of them good; in its own time every need is supplied. ¹⁷ At his word

646 the waters become still as in a flask; he had but to speak and the reservoirs were made. ¹⁸ He has but to command and his will is done; nothing can limit his achievement. ¹⁹ The works of all mankind are present to him; not a thing escapes his eye. ²⁰ His gaze spans all the ages; to him there is nothing unexpected. ²¹ No cause then to say: "What is the purpose of this?" Everything is chosen to satisfy a need. ²² His blessing overflows like the Nile; like the Euphrates it enriches the surface of the earth. ²³ Again, his wrath expels the nations and turns fertile land into a salt marsh. ²⁴ For the virtuous his paths are level, to the haughty they are steep; ²⁵ Good things for the good he provided from the beginning, but for the wicked good things and bad. ²⁶ Chief of all needs for human life are water and fire, iron and salt, the heart of the wheat, milk and honey, the blood of the grape, and oil, and cloth; ²⁷ For the good all these are good, but for the wicked they turn out evil. ²⁸ There are storm winds created to punish, which in their fury can dislodge mountains; when destruction must be, they hurl all their force and appease the anger of their Maker. ²⁹ In his treasury also, kept for the proper time, are fire and hail, famine, disease, ³⁰ ravenous beasts, scorpions, vipers, and the avenging sword to exterminate the wicked; ³¹ In doing his bidding they rejoice, in their assignments they disobey not his command. ³² So from the first I took my stand, and wrote down as my theme: ³³ The works of God are all of them good; every need when it comes he fills. ³⁴ No cause then to say: "This is not as good as that"; for each shows its worth at the proper time. ³⁵ So now with full joy of heart proclaim and bless the name of the Holy One. Sirach Chapter 40 ¹ A great anxiety has God allotted, and a heavy yoke, to the sons of men; from the day one leaves his mother's womb to the day he returns to the mother of all the living, ² his thoughts, the fear in his heart, and his troubled forebodings till the day he dies— ³ whether he sits on a lofty throne or grovels in dust and ashes, ⁴ whether he bears a splendid crown or is wrapped in the coarsest of cloaks— ⁵ are of wrath and envy, trouble and dread, terror of death, fury and strife. Even when he lies on his bed to rest, his cares at night disturb his sleep. ⁶ So short is his rest it seems like none, till in his dreams he struggles as he did by day, terrified by what his mind's eye sees, like a fugitive being pursued; ⁷ as he reaches safety, he wakes up astonished that there was nothing to fear. ⁸ So it is with all flesh, with man and with beast, but for sinners seven times more. ⁹ Plague and bloodshed, wrath and the sword, plunder and ruin, famine and death: ¹⁰ for the wicked, these were created evil, and it is they who bring on destruction. ¹¹ All that is of earth returns to earth, and what is from above returns above. ¹² All that comes from bribes or injustice will be wiped out, but loyalty remains for ages. ¹³ Wealth out of wickedness is like a wadi in spate: like a mighty stream with lightning and thunder, ¹⁴ which, in its rising, rolls along the stones, but suddenly, once and for all, comes to an end. ¹⁵ The offshoot of violence will not flourish, for the root of the godless is on sheer rock; ¹⁶ or they are like reeds on the riverbank, withered before all other plants; ¹⁷ but goodness will never be cut off, and justice endures forever. Wealth or wages can make life sweet, but better than either is finding a treasure. ¹⁸ A child or a city will preserve one's name, but better than either, attaining wisdom. ¹⁹ Sheepfolds and orchards bring flourishing health; but better than either, a devoted wife; ²⁰ wine and music delight the soul, but better than either, conjugal love. ²¹ The flute and the harp offer sweet melody, but better than either, a voice that is true. ²² Charm and beauty delight the eye, but better than either, the flowers of the field.

n make life sweet, but better than either is finding a treasure. ¹⁸ A child or a city will preserve one's name, but better than either, attaining wisdom. ¹⁹ Sheepfolds and orchards bring flourishing health; but better than either, a devoted wife; ²⁰ wine and music delight the soul, but better than either, conjugal love. ²¹ The flute and the harp offer sweet melody, but better than either, a voice that is true. ²² Charm and beauty delight the eye, but better than either, the flowers of the field. ²³ A friend, a neighbor, are timely guides, but better than either, a prudent wife. ²⁴ A brother, a helper, for times of stress; but better than either, charity that rescues. ²⁵ Gold and silver make one's way secure, but better than either, sound judgment. ²⁶ Wealth and vigor build up confidence, but better than either, fear of God. Fear of the LORD leaves nothing wanting; he who has it need seek no other support: ²⁷ the fear of God is a paradise of blessings; its canopy, all that is glorious. ²⁸ My son, live not the life of a beggar, better to die than to beg; ²⁹ when one has to look to another's

647 table, his life is not really a life. His neighbor's delicacies bring revulsion of spirit to one who understands inward feelings: ³⁰ in the mouth of the shameless man begging is sweet, but within him it burns like fire. Sirach Chapter 41 ¹ O death! how bitter the thought of you for the man at peace amid his possessions, for the man unruffled and always successful, who still can enjoy life's pleasures. ² O death! how welcome your sentence to the weak man of failing strength, tottering and always rebuffed, with no more sight, with vanished hope. ³ Fear not death's decree for you; remember, it embraces those before you, and those after. ⁴ Thus God has ordained for all flesh; why then should you reject the will of the Most High? Whether one has lived a thousand years, a hundred, or ten, in the nether world he has no claim on life. ⁵ A reprobate line are the children of sinners, and witless offspring are in the homes of the wicked. ⁶ Their dominion is lost to sinners' children, and reproach abides with their descendants. ⁷ Children curse their wicked father, for they suffer disgrace through him. ⁸ Woe to you, O sinful men, who forsake the law of the Most High. ⁹ If you have children, calamity will seize them; you will beget them only for groaning. When you stumble, there is lasting joy; at death, you become a curse. ¹⁰ Whatever is of nought returns to nought, so too the godless from void to void. ¹¹ Man's body is a fleeting thing, but a virtuous name will never be annihilated. ¹² Have a care for your name, for it will stand by you better than precious treasures in the thousands; ¹³ The boon of life is for limited days, but a good name, for days without number. ¹⁴ My children, heed my instruction about shame; judge of disgrace only according to my rules, for it is not always well to be ashamed, nor is it always the proper thing to blush: ¹⁵ Before father and mother be ashamed of immorality, before master and mistress, of falsehood; ¹⁶ Before prince and ruler, of flattery; before the public assembly, of crime; ¹⁷ Before friend and companion, of disloyalty, and of breaking an oath or agreement. ¹⁸ Be ashamed of theft from the people where you settle, and of stretching out your elbow when you dine; ¹⁹ Of refusing to give when asked, of defrauding another of his appointed share, ²⁰ Of failing to return a greeting, and of rebuffing a friend; ²¹ Of gazing at a married woman, and of entertaining thoughts about another's wife; of trifling with a servant girl you have, and of violating her couch; ²² Of using harsh words with friends, and of following up your gifts with insults; ²³ Of repeating what you hear, and of betraying secrets— ²⁴ these are the things you should rightly avoid as shameful if you would be looked upon by everyone with favor. Sirach Chapter 42 ¹ But of these things be not ashamed, lest you sin through human respect: ² Of the law of the Most High and his precepts, or of the sentence to be passed upon the sinful; ³ Of sharing the expenses of a business or a journey, or of dividing an inheritance or property; ⁴ Of accuracy of scales and balances, or of tested measures and weights; ⁵ Of acquiring much or little, or of bargaining in dealing with a merchant; of constant training of children, or of beating the sides of a disloyal servant; ⁶ Of a seal to keep an erring wife at home, or of a lock placed where there are many hands; ⁷ Of numbering every deposit, or of recording all that is given or received; ⁸ Of chastisement of the silly and the foolish, or of the aged and infirm answering for wanton conduct. Thus you will be truly cautious and recognized by all men as discreet. ⁹ A daughter is a treasure that keeps her father wakeful, and worry over her drives away rest: lest she pass her prime unmarried, or when she is married, lest she be disliked; ¹⁰ While unmarried, lest she be seduced, or, as a wife, lest she prove unfaithful; lest she conceive in her father's home, or be sterile in that of her husband.

sement of the silly and the foolish, or of the aged and infirm answering for wanton conduct. Thus you will be truly cautious and recognized by all men as discreet. ⁹ A daughter is a treasure that keeps her father wakeful, and worry over her drives away rest: lest she pass her prime unmarried, or when she is married, lest she be disliked; ¹⁰ While unmarried, lest she be seduced, or, as a wife, lest she prove unfaithful; lest she conceive in her father's home, or be sterile in that of her husband. ¹¹ Keep a close watch on your daughter, lest she make you the sport of your enemies, a byword in the city, a reproach among the people, an object of derision in public gatherings. See that there is no lattice in her room, no place that overlooks the approaches to the house. ¹² Let her not parade her

648 charms before men, or spend her time with married women; ¹³ For just as moths come from garments, so harm to women comes from women: ¹⁴ Better a man's harshness than a woman's indulgence, and a frightened daughter than any disgrace. ¹⁵ Now will I recall God's works; what I have seen, I will describe. At God's word were his works brought into being; they do his will as he has ordained for them. ¹⁶ As the rising sun is clear to all, so the glory of the LORD fills all his works; ¹⁷ Yet even God's holy ones must fail in recounting the wonders of the LORD, though God has given these, his hosts, the strength to stand firm before his glory. ¹⁸ He plumbs the depths and penetrates the heart; their innermost being he understands. The Most High possesses all knowledge, and sees from of old the things that are to come: ¹⁹ He makes known the past and the future, and reveals the deepest secrets. ²⁰ No understanding does he lack; no single thing escapes him. ²¹ Perennial is his almighty wisdom; he is from all eternity one and the same, ²² With nothing added, nothing taken away; no need of a counselor for him! ²³ How beautiful are all his works! even to the spark and the fleeting vision! ²⁴ The universe lives and abides forever; to meet each need, each creature is preserved. ²⁵ All of them differ, one from another, yet none of them has he made in vain, for each in turn, as it comes, is good; can one ever see enough of their splendor? Sirach Chapter 43 ¹ The clear vault of the sky shines forth like heaven itself, a vision of glory. ² The orb of the sun, resplendent at its rising: what a wonderful work of the Most High! ³ At noon it seethes the surface of the earth, and who can bear its fiery heat? ⁴ Like a blazing furnace of solid metal, it sets the mountains aflame with its rays; by its fiery darts the land is consumed; the eyes are dazzled by its light. ⁵ Great indeed is the LORD who made it, at whose orders it urges on its steeds. ⁶ The moon, too, that marks the changing times, governing the seasons, their lasting sign, ⁷ by which we know the feast days and fixed dates, this light-giver which wanes in its course: ⁸ as its name says, each month it renews itself; how wondrous in this change! ⁹ The beauty, the glory, of the heavens are the stars that adorn with their sparkling the heights of God, ¹⁰ at whose command they keep their place and never relax in their vigils. A weapon against the flood waters stored on high, lighting up the firmament by its brilliance, ¹¹ Behold the rainbow! Then bless its Maker, for majestic indeed is its splendor; ¹² it spans the heavens with its glory, this bow bent by the mighty hand of God. ¹³ His rebuke marks out the path for the lightning, and speeds the arrows of his judgment to their goal. ¹⁴ At it the storehouse is opened, and like vultures the clouds hurry forth. ¹⁵ In his majesty he gives the storm its power and breaks off the hailstones. ¹⁶ The thunder of his voice makes the earth writhe; before his might the mountains quake. ¹⁷ A word from him drives on the south wind, the angry north wind, the hurricane, and the storm. ¹⁸ He sprinkles the snow like fluttering birds; it comes to settle like swarms of locusts. ¹⁹ Its shining whiteness blinds the eyes, the mind is baffled by its steady fall. ²⁰ He scatters frost like so much salt; it shines like blossoms on the thornbush. ²¹ Cold northern blasts he sends that turn the ponds to lumps of ice. He freezes over every body of water, and clothes each pool with a coat of mail. ²² When the mountain growth is scorched with heat, and the flowering plains as though by flames, ²³ the dripping clouds restore them all, and the scattered dew enriches the parched land. ²⁴ His is the plan that calms the deep, and plants the islands in the sea. ²⁵ Those who go down to the sea tell part of its story, and when we hear them we are thunderstruck; ²⁶ in it are his creatures, stupendous, amazing, all kinds of life, and the monsters of the deep.

d clothes each pool with a coat of mail. ²² When the mountain growth is scorched with heat, and the flowering plains as though by flames, ²³ the dripping clouds restore them all, and the scattered dew enriches the parched land. ²⁴ His is the plan that calms the deep, and plants the islands in the sea. ²⁵ Those who go down to the sea tell part of its story, and when we hear them we are thunderstruck; ²⁶ in it are his creatures, stupendous, amazing, all kinds of life, and the monsters of the deep. ²⁷ For him each messenger succeeds, and at his bidding accomplishes his will. ²⁸ More than this we need not add; let the last word be, he is all in all! ²⁹ Let us praise him the more, since we cannot fathom him, for greater is he than all his works; ³⁰ awful indeed is the LORD'S majesty, and wonderful is his power. ³¹ Lift up your voices to glorify the LORD, though he is still beyond your power to praise; ³² extol him with renewed strength, and weary not, though you cannot reach the end: ³³ for who can see him and describe him? or who can

649 praise him as he is? ³⁴ Beyond these, many things lie hid; only a few of his works have we seen. ³⁵ It is the LORD who has made all things, and to those who fear him he gives wisdom. Sirach Chapter 44 ¹ Now will I praise those godly men, our ancestors, each in his own time: ² The abounding glory of the Most High's portion, his own part, since the days of old. Subduers of the land in kingly fashion, men of renown for their might, ³ or counselors in their prudence, or seers of all things in prophecy; ⁴ resolute princes of the folk, and governors with their staves; authors skilled in composition, and forgers of epigrams with their spikes; ⁵ composers of melodious psalms, or discoursers on lyric themes; ⁶ stalwart men, solidly established and at peace in their own estates— ⁷ all these were glorious in their time, each illustrious in his day. ⁸ Some of them have left behind a name and men recount their praiseworthy deeds; ⁹ but of others there is no memory, for when they ceased, they ceased. And they are as though they had not lived, they and their children after them. ¹⁰ Yet these also were godly men whose virtues have not been forgotten; ¹¹ their wealth remains in their families, their heritage with their descendants; ¹² through God's covenant with them their family endures, their posterity, for their sake. ¹³ And for all time their progeny will endure, their glory will never be blotted out; ¹⁴ their bodies are peacefully laid away, but their name lives on and on. ¹⁵ At gatherings their wisdom is retold, and the assembly proclaims their praise. ¹⁶ ENOCH walked with the LORD and was taken up, that succeeding generations might learn by his example. ¹⁷ NOAH, found just and perfect, renewed the race in the time of devastation. Because of his worth there were survivors, and with a sign to him the deluge ended; ¹⁸ a lasting agreement was made with him, that never should all flesh be destroyed. ¹⁹ ABRAHAM, father of many peoples, kept his glory without stain: ²⁰ He observed the precepts of the Most High, and entered into an agreement with him; in his own flesh he incised the ordinance, and when tested he was found loyal. ²¹ For this reason, God promised him with an oath that in his descendants the nations would be blessed, that he would make him numerous as the grains of dust, and exalt his posterity like the stars; ²² that he would give them an inheritance from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth. And for ISAAC he renewed the same promise because of Abraham, his father. ²³ The covenant with all his forebears was confirmed, and the blessing rested upon the head of JACOB. God acknowledged him as the first-born, and gave him his inheritance. He fixed the boundaries for his tribes, and their division into twelve. Sirach Chapter 45 ¹ From him was to spring the man who won the favor of all: Dear to God and men, Moses, whose memory is held in benediction. ² God's honor devolved upon him, and the Lord strengthened him with fearful powers; ³ God wrought swift miracles at his words and sustained him in the king's presence. He gave him the commandments for his people, and revealed to him his glory. ⁴ For his trustworthiness and meekness God selected him from all mankind; ⁵ He permitted him to hear his voice, and led him into the cloud, where, face to face, he gave him the commandments, the law of life and understanding, that he might teach his precepts to Jacob, his judgments and decrees to Israel. ⁶ He raised up also, like Moses in holiness, his brother Aaron, of the tribe of Levi.

ined him in the king's presence. He gave him the commandments for his people, and revealed to him his glory. ⁴ For his trustworthiness and meekness God selected him from all mankind; ⁵ He permitted him to hear his voice, and led him into the cloud, where, face to face, he gave him the commandments, the law of life and understanding, that he might teach his precepts to Jacob, his judgments and decrees to Israel. ⁶ He raised up also, like Moses in holiness, his brother Aaron, of the tribe of Levi. ⁷ He made him perpetual in his office when he bestowed on him the priesthood of his people; he established him in honor and crowned him with lofty majesty; ⁸ he clothed him with splendid apparel, and adorned him with the glorious vestments: breeches and tunic and robe with pomegranates around the hem, ⁹ and a rustle of bells round about, through whose pleasing sound at each step he would be heard within the sanctuary, and the children of his race would be remembered; ¹⁰ the sacred vestments of gold, of violet, and of crimson, wrought with embroidery; the breastpiece for decision, the ephod and cincture ¹¹ with scarlet yarn, the work of the weaver;

650 precious stones with seal engravings in golden settings, the work of the jeweler, to commemorate in incised letters each of the tribes of Israel; ¹² on his turban the diadem of gold, its plate wrought with the insignia of holiness, majestic, glorious, renowned for splendor, a delight to the eyes, beauty supreme. ¹³ Before him, no one was adorned with these, nor may they ever be worn by any except his sons and them alone, generation after generation, for all time. ¹⁴ His cereal offering is wholly burnt with the established sacrifice twice each day; ¹⁵ for Moses ordained him and anointed him with the holy oil, in a lasting covenant with him and with his family, as permanent as the heavens, that he should serve God in his priesthood and bless his people in his name. ¹⁶ He chose him from all mankind to offer holocausts and choice offerings, to burn sacrifices of sweet odor for a memorial, and to atone for the people of Israel. ¹⁷ He gave to him his laws, and authority to prescribe and to judge: to teach the precepts to his people, and the ritual to the descendants of Israel. ¹⁸ Men of other families were inflamed against him, were jealous of him in the desert, the followers of Dathan and Abiram, and the band of Korah in their defiance. ¹⁹ But the Lord saw this and became angry, he destroyed them in his burning wrath. He brought down upon them a miracle, and consumed them with his flaming fire. ²⁰ Then he increased the glory of Aaron and bestowed upon him his inheritance: the sacred offerings he allotted to him, with the showbread as his portion; ²¹ the oblations of the Lord are his food, a gift to him and his descendants. ²² But he holds no land among the people nor shares with them their heritage; for the Lord himself is his portion, his inheritance in the midst of Israel. ²³ Phinehas too, the son of Eleazar, was the courageous third of his line when, zealous for the God of all, he met the crisis of his people and, at the prompting of his noble heart, atoned for the children of Israel. ²⁴ Therefore on him again God conferred the right, in a covenant of friendship, to provide for the sanctuary, so that he and his descendants should possess the high priesthood forever. ²⁵ For even his covenant with David, the son of Jesse of the tribe of Judah, was an individual heritage through one son alone; but the heritage of Aaron is for all his descendants. ²⁶ And now bless the Lord who has crowned you with glory! May he grant you wisdom of heart to govern his people in justice, lest their welfare should ever be forgotten, or your authority, throughout all time. Sirach Chapter 46 ¹ Valiant leader was JOSHUA, son of Nun, assistant to Moses in the prophetic office, formed to be, as his name implies, the great savior of God's chosen ones, to punish the enemy and to win the inheritance for Israel. ² What glory was his when he raised his arm, to brandish his javelin against the city! ³ And who could withstand him when he fought the battles of the LORD? ⁴ Did he not by his power stop the sun, so that one day became two? ⁵ He called upon the Most High God when his enemies beset him on all sides, and God Most High gave answer to him in hailstones of tremendous power, ⁶ which he rained down upon the hostile army till on the slope he destroyed the foe; that all the doomed nations might know that the LORD was watching over his people's battles. ⁷ And because he was a devoted follower of God and in Moses' lifetime showed himself loyal, he and CALEB, son of Jephunneh, when they opposed the rebel assembly, averted God's anger from the people and suppressed the wicked complaint. ⁸ Because of this, they were the only two spared from the six hundred thousand infantry, to lead the people into their inheritance, the land flowing with milk and honey.

e; that all the doomed nations might know that the LORD was watching over his people's battles. ⁷ And because he was a devoted follower of God and in Moses' lifetime showed himself loyal, he and CALEB, son of Jephunneh, when they opposed the rebel assembly, averted God's anger from the people and suppressed the wicked complaint. ⁸ Because of this, they were the only two spared from the six hundred thousand infantry, to lead the people into their inheritance, the land flowing with milk and honey. ⁹ And the strength he gave to Caleb remained with him even in his old age till he won his way onto the summits of the land; his family too received an inheritance, ¹⁰ that all the people of Jacob might know how good it is to be a devoted follower of the LORD. ¹¹ The JUDGES, too, each one of them, whose hearts were not deceived, who did not abandon God: may their memory be ever blessed, ¹² their bones return to life from their resting place, and their

651 names receive fresh luster in their children! ¹³ Beloved of his people, dear to his Maker, dedicated from his mother's womb, consecrated to the LORD as a prophet, was SAMUEL, the judge and priest. At God's word he established the kingdom and anointed princes to rule the people. ¹⁴ By the law of the LORD he judged the nation, when he visited the encampments of Jacob. ¹⁵ As a trustworthy prophet he was sought out and his words proved him true as a seer. ¹⁶ He, too, called upon God, and offered him a suckling lamb; ¹⁷ then the LORD thundered forth from heaven, and the tremendous roar of his voice was heard. ¹⁸ He brought low the rulers of the enemy and destroyed all the lords of the Philistines. ¹⁹ When Samuel approached the end of his life, he testified before the LORD and his anointed prince, "No bribe or secret gift have I taken from any man!" and no one dared gainsay him. ²⁰ Even when he lay buried, his guidance was sought; he made known to the king his fate, and from the grave he raised his voice as a prophet, to put an end to wickedness. Sirach Chapter 47 ¹ After him came NATHAN who served in the presence of David. ² Like the choice fat of the sacred offerings, so was DAVID in Israel. ³ He made sport of lions as though they were kids, and of bears, like lambs of the flock. ⁴ As a youth he slew the giant and wiped out the people's disgrace, when his hand let fly the slingstone that crushed the pride of Goliath. ⁵ Since he called upon the Most High God, who gave strength to his right arm to defeat the skilled warrior and raise up the might of his people, ⁶ therefore the women sang his praises and ascribed to him tens of thousands. When he assumed the royal crown, he battled ⁷ and subdued the enemy on every side. He destroyed the hostile Philistines and shattered their power till our own day. ⁸ With his every deed he offered thanks to God Most High, in words of praise. With his whole being he loved his Maker and daily had his praises sung; ⁹ He added beauty to the feasts and solemnized the seasons of each year with string music before the altar, providing sweet melody for the psalms, ¹⁰ so that when the Holy Name was praised, before daybreak the sanctuary would resound. ¹¹ The LORD forgave him his sins and exalted his strength forever; He conferred on him the rights of royalty and established his throne in Israel. ¹² Because of his merits he had as his successor a wise son, who lived in security: ¹³ SOLOMON reigned during an era of peace, for God made tranquil all his borders. He built a house to the name of God, and established a lasting sanctuary. ¹⁴ How wise you were when you were young, overflowing with instruction, like the Nile in flood! ¹⁵ Your understanding covered the whole earth, and, like a sea, filled it with knowledge. ¹⁶ Your fame reached distant coasts, and their peoples came to hear you; ¹⁷ With song and story and riddle, and with your answers, you astounded the nations. ¹⁸ You were called by that glorious name which was conferred upon Israel. ¹⁹ Gold you gathered like so much iron, you heaped up silver as though it were lead; ²⁰ But you abandoned yourself to women and gave them dominion over your body. ²¹ You brought dishonor upon your reputation, shame upon your marriage, wrath upon your descendants, and groaning upon your domain; ²² Thus two governments came into being, when in Ephraim kingship was usurped. ²³ But God does not withdraw his mercy, nor permit even one of his promises to fail. He does not uproot the posterity of his chosen one, nor destroy the offspring of his friend. So he gave to Jacob a remnant, to David a root from his own family. ²⁴ Solomon finally slept with his fathers, and left behind him one of his sons, expansive in folly, limited in sense, REHOBOAM, who by his policy made the people rebel; until one arose who should not be remembered, the sinner who led Israel into sin, who brought ruin to Ephraim ²⁵ and caused them to be exiled from their land.

es to fail. He does not uproot the posterity of his chosen one, nor destroy the offspring of his friend. So he gave to Jacob a remnant, to David a root from his own family. ²⁴ Solomon finally slept with his fathers, and left behind him one of his sons, expansive in folly, limited in sense, REHOBOAM, who by his policy made the people rebel; until one arose who should not be remembered, the sinner who led Israel into sin, who brought ruin to Ephraim ²⁵ and caused them to be exiled from their land. Their sinfulness grew more and more, and they lent themselves to every evil. Sirach Chapter 48

652 ¹ Till like a fire there appeared the prophet whose words were as a flaming furnace. ² Their staff of bread he shattered, in his zeal he reduced them to straits; ³ By God's word he shut up the heavens and three times brought down fire. ⁴ How awesome are you, ELIJAH! Whose glory is equal to yours? ⁵ You brought a dead man back to life from the nether world, by the will of the LORD. ⁶ You sent kings down to destruction, and nobles, from their beds of sickness. ⁷ You heard threats at Sinai, at Horeb avenging judgments. ⁸ You anointed kings who should inflict vengeance, and a prophet as your successor. ⁹ You were taken aloft in a whirlwind, in a chariot with fiery horses. ¹⁰ You are destined, it is written, in time to come to put an end to wrath before the day of the LORD, to turn back the hearts of fathers toward their sons, and to reestablish the tribes of Jacob. ¹¹ Blessed is he who shall have seen you before he dies, ¹² O ELIJAH, enveloped in the whirlwind! Then ELISHA, filled with a twofold portion of his spirit, wrought many marvels by his mere word. During his lifetime he feared no one, nor was any man able to intimidate his will. ¹³ Nothing was beyond his power; beneath him flesh was brought back into life. ¹⁴ In life he performed wonders, and after death, marvelous deeds. ¹⁵ Despite all this the people did not repent, nor did they give up their sins, until they were rooted out of their land and scattered all over the earth. But Judah remained, a tiny people, with its rulers from the house of David. ¹⁶ Some of these did what was right, but others were extremely sinful. ¹⁷ HEZEKIAH fortified his city and had water brought into it; with iron tools he cut through the rock and he built reservoirs for water. ¹⁸ During his reign Sennacherib led an invasion and sent his adjutant; he shook his fist at Zion and blasphemed God in his pride. ¹⁹ The people's hearts melted within them, and they were in anguish like that of childbirth. ²⁰ But they called upon the Most High God and lifted up their hands to him; he heard the prayer they uttered, and saved them through ISAIAH. ²¹ God struck the camp of the Assyrians and routed them with a plague. ²² For Hezekiah did what was right and held fast to the paths of David, as ordered by the illustrious prophet Isaiah, who saw the truth in visions. ²³ In his lifetime he turned back the sun and prolonged the life of the king. ²⁴ By his powerful spirit he looked into the future and consoled the mourners of Zion; ²⁵ He foretold what should be till the end of time, hidden things yet to be fulfilled. Sirach Chapter 49 ¹ The name JOSIAH is like blended incense, made lasting by a skilled perfumer. Precious is his memory, like honey to the taste, like music at a banquet. ² For he grieved over our betrayals, and destroyed the abominable idols. ³ He turned to God with his whole heart, and, though times were evil, he practiced virtue. ⁴ Except for David, Hezekiah, and Josiah, they all were wicked; they abandoned the Law of the Most High, these kings of Judah, right to the very end. ⁵ So he gave over their power to others, their glory to a foolish foreign nation ⁶ who burned the holy city and left its streets desolate, as JEREMIAH had foretold; ⁷ for they had treated him badly who even in the womb had been made a prophet, to root out, pull down, and destroy, and then to build and to plant. ⁸ EZEKIEL beheld the vision and described the different creatures of the chariot; ⁹ he also referred to JOB, who always persevered in the right path. ¹⁰ Then, too, the TWELVE PROPHETS—may their bones return to life from their resting place!—gave new strength to Jacob and saved him by their faith and hope. ¹¹ How can we fittingly praise ZERUBBABEL, who was like a signet ring on God's right hand, ¹² and Jeshua, Jozadak's son? In their time they built the house of God; they erected the holy temple, destined for everlasting glory. ¹³ Extolled be the memory of NEHEMIAH!

e chariot; ⁹ he also referred to JOB, who always persevered in the right path. ¹⁰ Then, too, the TWELVE PROPHETS—may their bones return to life from their resting place!—gave new strength to Jacob and saved him by their faith and hope. ¹¹ How can we fittingly praise ZERUBBABEL, who was like a signet ring on God's right hand, ¹² and Jeshua, Jozadak's son? In their time they built the house of God; they erected the holy temple, destined for everlasting glory. ¹³ Extolled be the memory of NEHEMIAH! He rebuilt our ruined walls, restored our shattered defenses, and set up gates and bars. ¹⁴ Few on earth have been made the equal of ENOCH, for he was taken up bodily. ¹⁵ Was ever a man born like JOSEPH? Even his dead body was provided for. ¹⁶ Glorious, too, were SHEM, SETH, and ENOS; but beyond that of any living being was the splendor of ADAM.

653 Sirach Chapter 50 ¹ The greatest among his brethren, the glory of his people, was SIMON the priest**, son of Jochanan, in whose time the house of God was renovated, in whose days the temple was reinforced. ² In his time also the wall was built with powerful turrets for the temple precincts; ³ in his time the reservoir was dug, the pool with a vastness like the sea's. ⁴ He protected his people against brigands and strengthened his city against the enemy. ⁵ How splendid he was as he appeared from the tent, as he came from within the veil! ⁶ Like a star shining among the clouds, like the full moon at the holyday season; ⁷ like the sun shining upon the temple, like the rainbow appearing in the cloudy sky; ⁸ like the blossoms on the branches in springtime, like a lily on the banks of a stream; like the trees of Lebanon in summer, ⁹ like the fire of incense at the sacrifice; like a vessel of beaten gold, studded with precious stones; ¹⁰ like a luxuriant olive tree thick with fruit, like a cypress standing against the clouds; ¹¹ vested in his magnificent robes, and wearing his garments of splendor, as he ascended the glorious altar and lent majesty to the court of the sanctuary. ¹² When he received the sundered victims from the priests while he stood before the sacrificial wood, his brethren ringed him about like a garland, like a stand of cedars on Lebanon; ¹³ all the sons of Aaron in their dignity clustered around him like poplars, with the offerings to the LORD in their hands, in the presence of the whole assembly of Israel. ¹⁴ Once he had completed the services at the altar with the arranging of the sacrifices for the Most High, ¹⁵ and had stretched forth his hand for the cup, to offer blood of the grape, and poured it out at the foot of the altar, a sweet-smelling odor to the Most High God, ¹⁶ the sons of Aaron would sound a blast, the priests, on their trumpets of beaten metal; a blast to resound mightily as a reminder before the Most High. ¹⁷ Then all the people with one accord would quickly fall prostrate to the ground in adoration before the Most High, before the Holy One of Israel. ¹⁸ Then hymns would re-echo, and over the throng sweet strains of praise resound. ¹⁹ All the people of the land would shout for joy, praying to the Merciful One, as the high priest completed the services at the altar by presenting to God the sacrifice due; ²⁰ then coming down he would raise his hands over all the congregation of Israel. The blessing of the LORD would be upon his lips, the name of the LORD would be his glory. ²¹ Then again the people would lie prostrate to receive from him the blessing of the Most High. ²² And now, bless the God of all, who has done wondrous things on earth; who fosters men's growth from their mother's womb, and fashions them according to his will! ²³ May he grant you joy of heart and may peace abide among you; ²⁴ may his goodness toward us endure in Israel as long as the heavens are above. ²⁵ My whole being loathes two nations, the third is not even a people: ²⁶ those who live in Seir and Philistia, and the degenerate folk who dwell in Shechem. ²⁷ Wise instruction, appropriate proverbs, I have written in this book, I, **Jesus, son of Eleazar, son of Sirach**, as they gushed forth from my heart's understanding. ²⁸ Happy the man who meditates upon these things, wise the man who takes them to heart! ²⁹ If he puts them into practice, he can cope with anything, for the fear of the LORD is his lamp. Sirach Chapter 51 ¹ I give you thanks, O God of my father; I praise you, O God my savior! I will make known your name, refuge of my life; ² you have been my helper against my adversaries.

I have written in this book, I, **Jesus, son of Eleazar, son of Sirach**, as they gushed forth from my heart's understanding. ²⁸ Happy the man who meditates upon these things, wise the man who takes them to heart! ²⁹ If he puts them into practice, he can cope with anything, for the fear of the LORD is his lamp. Sirach Chapter 51 ¹ I give you thanks, O God of my father; I praise you, O God my savior! I will make known your name, refuge of my life; ² you have been my helper against my adversaries. You have saved me from death, and kept back my body from the pit, from the clutches of the nether world you have snatched my feet; ³ you have delivered me, in your great mercy, from the scourge of a slanderous tongue, and from lips that went over to falsehood; from the snare of those who watched for my downfall, and from the power of those who sought my life; from many a danger you have saved me, ⁴ from flames that hemmed me in on every side; from the midst of unremitting fire, ⁵ from the deep belly of the nether world; from deceiving lips and painters of lies, ⁶ from the arrows of

654 dishonest tongues. I was at the point of death, my soul was nearing the depths of the nether world; ⁷ I turned every way, but there was no one to help me, I looked for one to sustain me, but could find no one. ⁸ But then I remembered the mercies of the LORD, his kindness through ages past; for he saves those who take refuge in him, and rescues them from every evil. ⁹ So I raised my voice from the very earth, from the gates of the nether world, my cry. ¹⁰ I called out: O Lord, you are my father, you are my champion and my savior; do not abandon me in time of trouble, in the midst of storms and dangers. ¹¹ I will ever praise your name and be constant in my prayers to you. Thereupon the LORD heard my voice, he listened to my appeal; ¹² He saved me from evil of every kind and preserved me in time of trouble. For this reason I thank him and I praise him; I bless the name of the LORD. ¹³ When I was young and innocent, I sought wisdom. ¹⁴ She came to me in her beauty, and until the end I will cultivate her. ¹⁵ As the blossoms yielded to ripening grapes, the heart's joy, my feet kept to the level path because from earliest youth I was familiar with her. ¹⁶ In the short time I paid heed, I met with great instruction. ¹⁷ Since in this way I have profited, I will give my teacher grateful praise. ¹⁸ I became resolutely devoted to her—the good I persistently strove for. ¹⁹ I burned with desire for her, never turning back. I became preoccupied with her, never weary of extolling her. My hand opened her gate and I came to know her secrets. ²⁰ For her I purified my hands; in cleanness I attained to her. At first acquaintance with her, I gained understanding such that I will never forsake her. ²¹ My whole being was stirred as I learned about her; therefore I have made her my prize possession. ²² The LORD has granted me my lips as a reward, and my tongue will declare his praises. ²³ Come aside to me, you untutored, and take up lodging in the house of instruction; ²⁴ How long will you be deprived of wisdom's food, how long will you endure such bitter thirst? ²⁵ I open my mouth and speak of her: gain, at no cost, wisdom for yourselves. ²⁶ Submit your neck to her yoke, that your mind may accept her teaching. For she is close to those who seek her, and the one who is in earnest finds her. ²⁷ See for yourselves! I have labored only a little, but have found much. ²⁸ Acquire but a little instruction; you will win silver and gold through her. ²⁹ Let your spirits rejoice in the mercy of God, and be not ashamed to give him praise. ³⁰ Work at your tasks in due season, and in his own time God will give you your reward. Prophetic Books Major Prophets Isaiah Isaiah Chapter 1 ¹ The vision which Isaiah, son of Amoz, had concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. ² Hear, O heavens, and listen, O earth, for the LORD speaks: Sons have I raised and reared, but they have disowned me! ³ An ox knows its owner, and an ass, its master's manger; but Israel does not know, my people has not understood. ⁴ Ah! sinful nation, people laden with wickedness, evil race, corrupt children! They have forsaken the LORD, spurned the Holy One of Israel, apostatized. ⁵ Where would you yet be struck, you that rebel again and again? The whole head is sick, the whole heart faint. ⁶ From the sole of the foot to the head there is no sound spot: Wound and welt and gaping gash, not drained, or bandaged, or eased with salve. ⁷ Your country is waste, your cities burnt with fire; your land before your eyes strangers devour—a waste, like Sodom overthrown. ⁸ And daughter Zion is left like a hut in a vineyard, like a shed in a melon patch, like a city blockaded. ⁹ Unless the LORD of hosts had left us a scanty remnant, we had become as Sodom, we should be like Gomorrah. ¹⁰ Hear the word of

655 the LORD, princes of Sodom! Listen to the instruction of our God, people of Gomorrah! ¹¹ What care I for the number of your sacrifices? says the LORD. I have had enough of whole-burnt rams and fat of fatlings; in the blood of calves, lambs, and goats I find no pleasure. ¹² When you come in to visit me, who asks these things of you? ¹³ Trample my courts no more! Bring no more worthless offerings; your incense is loathsome to me. New moon and sabbath, calling of assemblies, octaves with wickedness: these I cannot bear. ¹⁴ Your new moons and festivals I detest; they weigh me down, I tire of the load. ¹⁵ When you spread out your hands, I close my eyes to you; though you pray the more, I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood! ¹⁶ Wash yourselves clean! Put away your misdeeds from before my eyes; cease doing evil; ¹⁷ learn to do good. Make justice your aim: redress the wronged, hear the orphan's plea, defend the widow. ¹⁸ Come now, let us set things right, says the LORD: Though your sins be like scarlet, they may become white as snow; though they be crimson red, they may become white as wool. ¹⁹ If you are willing, and obey, you shall eat the good things of the land; ²⁰ but if you refuse and resist, the sword shall consume you: for the mouth of the LORD has spoken! ²¹ How has she turned adulteress, the faithful city, so upright! Justice used to lodge within her, but now, murderers. ²² Your silver is turned to dross, your wine is mixed with water. ²³ Your princes are rebels and comrades of thieves; each one of them loves a bribe and looks for gifts. The fatherless they defend not, and the widow's plea does not reach them. ²⁴ Now, therefore, says the Lord, the LORD of hosts, the Mighty One of Israel: Ah! I will take vengeance on my foes and fully repay my enemies! ²⁵ I will turn my hand against you, and refine your dross in the furnace, removing all your alloy. ²⁶ I will restore your judges as at first, and your counselors as in the beginning; after that you shall be called city of justice, faithful city. ²⁷ Zion shall be redeemed by judgment, and her repentant ones by justice. ²⁸ Rebels and sinners alike shall be crushed, those who desert the LORD shall be consumed. ²⁹ You shall be ashamed of the terebinths which you prized, and blush for the groves which you chose. ³⁰ You shall become like a tree with falling leaves, like a garden that has no water. ³¹ The strong man shall turn to tow, and his work shall become a spark; both shall burn together, and there shall be none to quench the flames. Isaiah Chapter 2 ¹ This is what Isaiah, son of Amoz, saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. ² In days to come, the mountain of the LORD's house shall be established as the highest mountain and raised above the hills. All nations shall stream toward it; ³ many peoples shall come and say: "Come, let us climb the LORD's mountain, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may instruct us in his ways, and we may walk in his paths." For from Zion shall go forth instruction, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. ⁴ He shall judge between the nations, and impose terms on many peoples. They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; one nation shall not raise the sword against another, nor shall they train for war again. ⁵ O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the LORD! ⁶ You have abandoned your people, the house of Jacob, because they are filled with fortunetellers and soothsayers, like the Philistines; they covenant with strangers. ⁷ Their land is full of silver and gold, and there is no end to their treasures; their land is full of horses, and there is no end to their chariots. ⁸ Their land is full of idols; they worship the works of their hands, that which their fingers have made. ⁹ But man is abased, each one brought low. (Do not pardon them!) ¹⁰ Get behind the rocks, hide in the dust, from the terror of the LORD and the splendor of his majesty!

ellers and soothsayers, like the Philistines; they covenant with strangers. ⁷ Their land is full of silver and gold, and there is no end to their treasures; their land is full of horses, and there is no end to their chariots. ⁸ Their land is full of idols; they worship the works of their hands, that which their fingers have made. ⁹ But man is abased, each one brought low. (Do not pardon them!) ¹⁰ Get behind the rocks, hide in the dust, from the terror of the LORD and the splendor of his majesty! ¹¹ The haughty eyes of man will be lowered, the arrogance of men will be abased, and the LORD alone will be exalted, on that day. ¹² For the LORD of hosts will have his day against all that is proud and arrogant, all that is high, and it will be brought low; ¹³ Yes, against all the cedars of Lebanon and all the oaks of Bashan, ¹⁴ against all the lofty mountains and all the high hills, ¹⁵ against every lofty tower and every fortified wall, ¹⁶ against all the ships

656 of Tarshish and all stately vessels. ¹⁷ Human pride will be abased, the arrogance of men brought low, and the LORD alone will be exalted, on that day. ¹⁸ The idols will perish forever. ¹⁹ Men will go into caves in the rocks and into holes in the earth, from the terror of the LORD and the splendor of his majesty, when he arises to overawe the earth. ²⁰ On that day men will throw to the moles and the bats the idols of silver and gold which they made for worship. ²¹ They go into caverns in the rocks and into crevices in the cliffs, from the terror of the LORD and the splendor of his majesty, when he arises to overawe the earth. ²² As for you, let man alone, in whose nostrils is but a breath; for what is he worth? Isaiah Chapter 3 ¹ The Lord, the LORD of hosts, shall take away from Jerusalem and from Judah support and prop (all supplies of bread and water): ² Hero and warrior, judge and prophet, fortune-teller and elder, ³ The captain of fifty and the nobleman, counselor, skilled magician, and expert charmer. ⁴ I will make striplings their princes; the fickle shall govern them, ⁵ And the people shall oppress one another, yes, every man his neighbor. The child shall be bold toward the elder, and the base toward the honorable. ⁶ When a man seizes his brother in his father's house, saying, "You have clothes! Be our ruler, and take in hand this ruin!" — ⁷ Then shall he answer in that day: "I will not undertake to cure this, when in my own house there is no bread or clothing! You shall not make me ruler of the people." ⁸ Jerusalem is crumbling, Judah is falling; for their speech and their deeds are before the LORD, a provocation in the sight of his majesty. ⁹ Their very look bears witness against them; their sin like Sodom they vaunt, they hide it not. Woe to them! they deal out evil to themselves. ¹⁰ Happy the just, for it will be well with them, the fruit of their works they will eat. ¹¹ Woe to the wicked man! All goes ill, with the work of his hands he will be repaid. ¹² My people — a babe in arms will be their tyrant, and women will rule them! O my people, your leaders mislead, they destroy the paths you should follow. ¹³ The LORD rises to accuse, standing to try his people. ¹⁴ The Lord enters into judgment with his people's elders and princes: It is you who have devoured the vineyard; the loot wrested from the poor is in your houses. ¹⁵ What do you mean by crushing my people, and grinding down the poor when they look to you? says the Lord, the GOD of hosts. ¹⁶ The LORD said: Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with necks outstretched, ogling and mincing as they go, their anklets tinkling with every step, ¹⁷ The Lord shall cover the scalps of Zion's daughters with scabs, and the LORD shall bare their heads. ¹⁸ On that day the LORD will do away with the finery of the anklets, sunbursts, and crescents; ¹⁹ the pendants, bracelets, and veils; ²⁰ the headdresses, bangles, cinctures, perfume boxes, and amulets; ²¹ the signet rings, and the nose rings; ²² the court dresses, wraps, cloaks, and purses; ²³ the mirrors, linen tunics, turbans, and shawls. ²⁴ Instead of perfume there will be stench, instead of the girdle, a rope, and for the coiffure, baldness; for the rich gown, a sackcloth skirt. Then, instead of beauty: ²⁵ Your men will fall by the sword, and your champions, in war; ²⁶ Her gates will lament and mourn, as the city sits desolate on the ground. Isaiah Chapter 4 ¹ Seven women will take hold of one man on that day, saying: "We will eat our own food and wear our own clothing; only let your name be given us, put an end to our disgrace!" ² On that day, the branch of the LORD will be luster and glory, and the fruit of the earth will be honor and splendor for the survivors of Israel. ³ He who remains in Zion and he that is left in Jerusalem will be called holy: every one marked down for life in Jerusalem.

the city sits desolate on the ground. Isaiah Chapter 4 ¹ Seven women will take hold of one man on that day, saying: "We will eat our own food and wear our own clothing; only let your name be given us, put an end to our disgrace!" ² On that day, the branch of the LORD will be luster and glory, and the fruit of the earth will be honor and splendor for the survivors of Israel. ³ He who remains in Zion and he that is left in Jerusalem will be called holy: every one marked down for life in Jerusalem. ⁴ When the Lord washes away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and purges Jerusalem's blood from her midst with a blast of searing judgment, ⁵ then will the LORD create, over the whole site of Mount Zion and over her place of assembly, a smoking cloud by day and a light of flaming fire by night. ⁶ For over all, his glory will be shelter

657 and protection: shade from the parching heat of day, refuge and cover from storm and rain. Isaiah Chapter 5 ¹ Let me now sing of my friend, my friend's song concerning his vineyard. My friend had a vineyard on a fertile hillside; ² He spaded it, cleared it of stones, and planted the choicest vines; within it, he built a watchtower, and hewed out a wine press. Then he looked for the crop of grapes, but what it yielded was wild grapes. ³ Now, inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard: ⁴ What more was there to do for my vineyard that I had not done? Why, when I looked for the crop of grapes, did it bring forth wild grapes? ⁵ Now, I will let you know what I mean to do to my vineyard: Take away its hedge, give it to grazing, break through its wall, let it be trampled! ⁶ Yes, I will make it a ruin: it shall not be pruned or hoed, but overgrown with thorns and briers; I will command the clouds not to send rain upon it. ⁷ The vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are his cherished plant; He looked for judgment, but see, bloodshed! for justice, but hark, the outcry! ⁸ Woe to you who join house to house, who connect field with field, till no room remains, and you are left to dwell alone in the midst of the land! ⁹ In my hearing the LORD of hosts has sworn: Many houses shall be in ruins, large ones and fine, with no one to live in them. ¹⁰ Ten acres of vineyard shall yield but one liquid measure, and a homer of seed shall yield but an ephah. ¹¹ Woe to those who demand strong drink as soon as they rise in the morning, and linger into the night while wine inflames them! ¹² With harp and lyre, timbrel and flute, they feast on wine; but what the LORD does, they regard not, the work of his hands they see not. ¹³ Therefore my people go into exile because they do not understand; their nobles die of hunger, and their masses are parched with thirst. ¹⁴ Therefore the nether world enlarges its throat and opens its maw without limit; down go their nobility and their masses, their throngs and their revelry. ¹⁵ Men shall be abased, each one brought low, and the eyes of the haughty lowered, ¹⁶ But the LORD of hosts shall be exalted by his judgment, and God the Holy shall be shown holy by his justice. ¹⁷ Lambs shall graze there at pasture, and kids shall eat in the ruins of the rich. ¹⁸ Woe to those who tug at guilt with cords of perversity, and at sin as if with cart ropes! ¹⁹ To those who say, "Let him make haste and speed his work, that we may see it; on with the plan of the Holy One of Israel! let it come to pass, that we may know it!" ²⁰ Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil, who change darkness into light, and light into darkness, who change bitter into sweet, and sweet into bitter! ²¹ Woe to those who are wise in their own sight, and prudent in their own esteem! ²² Woe to the champions at drinking wine, the valiant at mixing strong drink! ²³ To those who acquit the guilty for bribes, and deprive the just man of his rights! ²⁴ Therefore, as the tongue of fire licks up stubble, as dry grass shrivels in the flame, even so their root shall become rotten and their blossom scatter like dust; for they have spurned the law of the LORD of hosts and scorned the word of the Holy One of Israel. ²⁵ Therefore the wrath of the LORD blazes against his people, he raises his hand to strike them; when the mountains quake, their corpses shall be like refuse in the streets. For all this, his wrath is not turned back, and his hand is still outstretched. ²⁶ He will give a signal to a far-off nation, and whistle to them from the ends of the earth; speedily and promptly will they come. ²⁷ None of them will stumble with weariness, none will slumber, and none will sleep. None will have his waist belt loose, nor the thong of his sandal broken. ²⁸ Their arrows are sharp, and all their bows are bent. The hoofs of their horses seem like flint, and their chariot wheels like the hurricane.

his wrath is not turned back, and his hand is still outstretched. ²⁶ He will give a signal to a far-off nation, and whistle to them from the ends of the earth; speedily and promptly will they come. ²⁷ None of them will stumble with weariness, none will slumber, and none will sleep. None will have his waist belt loose, nor the thong of his sandal broken. ²⁸ Their arrows are sharp, and all their bows are bent. The hoofs of their horses seem like flint, and their chariot wheels like the hurricane. ²⁹ Their roar is that of the lion, like the lion's whelps they roar; they growl and seize the prey, they carry it off and none will rescue it. ³⁰ They will roar over it, on that day, with a roaring like that of the sea. Isaiah Chapter 6 ¹ In the year King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne, with the train of

658 his garment filling the temple. ² Seraphim were stationed above; each of them had six wings: with two they veiled their faces, with two they veiled their feet, and with two they hovered aloft. ³ "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts!" they cried one to the other. "All the earth is filled with his glory!" ⁴ At the sound of that cry, the frame of the door shook and the house was filled with smoke. ⁵ Then I said, "Woe is me, I am doomed! For I am a man of unclean lips, living among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!" ⁶ Then one of the seraphim flew to me, holding an ember which he had taken with tongs from the altar. ⁷ He touched my mouth with it. "See," he said, "now that this has touched your lips, your wickedness is removed, your sin purged." ⁸ Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?" "Here I am," I said; "send me!" ⁹ And he replied: Go and say to this people: Listen carefully, but you shall not understand! Look intently, but you shall know nothing! ¹⁰ You are to make the heart of this people sluggish, to dull their ears and close their eyes; Else their eyes will see, their ears hear, their heart understand, and they will turn and be healed. ¹¹ "How long, O Lord?" I asked. And he replied: Until the cities are desolate, without inhabitants, houses, without a man, and the earth is a desolate waste. ¹² Until the LORD removes men far away, and the land is abandoned more and more. ¹³ If there be still a tenth part in it, then this in turn shall be laid waste; as with a terebinth or an oak whose trunk remains when its leaves have fallen. (Holy offspring is the trunk.) Isaiah Chapter 7 ¹ In the days of Ahaz, king of Judah, son of Jotham, son of Uzziah, Rezin, king of Aram, and Pekah, king of Israel, son of Remaliah, went up to attack Jerusalem, but they were not able to conquer it. ² When word came to the house of David that Aram was encamped in Ephraim, the heart of the king and heart of the people trembled, as the trees of the forest tremble in the wind. ³ Then the LORD said to Isaiah: Go out to meet Ahaz, you and your son Shear-jashub, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool, on the highway of the fuller's field, ⁴ and say to him: Take care you remain tranquil and do not fear; let not your courage fail before these two stumps of smoldering brands (the blazing anger of Rezin and the Arameans, and of the son of Remaliah), ⁵ because of the mischief that Aram (Ephraim and the son of Remaliah) plots against you, saying, ⁶ "Let us go up and tear Judah asunder, make it our own by force, and appoint the son of Tabeel king there." ⁷ Thus says the LORD: This shall not stand, it shall not be! ⁸ Damascus is the capital of Aram, and Rezin the head of Damascus; Samaria is the capital of Ephraim, and Remaliah's son the head of Samaria. ⁹ But within sixty years and five, Ephraim shall be crushed, no longer a nation. Unless your faith is firm you shall not be firm! ¹⁰ Again the LORD spoke to Ahaz: ¹¹ Ask for a sign from the LORD, your God; let it be deep as the nether world, or high as the sky! ¹² But Ahaz answered, "I will not ask! I will not tempt the LORD!" ¹³ Then he said: Listen, O house of David! Is it not enough for you to weary men, must you also weary my God? ¹⁴ Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign: the virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel. ¹⁵ He shall be living on curds and honey by the time he learns to reject the bad and choose the good. ¹⁶ For before the child learns to reject the bad and choose the good, the land of those two kings whom you dread shall be deserted. ¹⁷ The LORD shall bring upon you and your people and your father's house days worse than any since Ephraim seceded from Judah. (This means the king of Assyria.) ¹⁸ On that day the LORD shall whistle for the fly that is in the farthest streams of Egypt, and for the bee in the land of Assyria.

urds and honey by the time he learns to reject the bad and choose the good. ¹⁶ For before the child learns to reject the bad and choose the good, the land of those two kings whom you dread shall be deserted. ¹⁷ The LORD shall bring upon you and your people and your father's house days worse than any since Ephraim seceded from Judah. (This means the king of Assyria.) ¹⁸ On that day the LORD shall whistle for the fly that is in the farthest streams of Egypt, and for the bee in the land of Assyria. ¹⁹ All of them shall come and settle in the steep ravines and in the rocky clefts, on all thornbushes and in all pastures. ²⁰ On that day the LORD shall shave with the razor hired from across the River (with the king of Assyria) the head, and the hair between the legs. It shall also shave off the beard. ²¹ On that day a man shall keep a heifer or a couple of sheep, ²² and from their abundant yield of milk he shall live on curds; curds and honey shall be the food of all who remain in the land. ²³ On that day every place where there used to be a thousand

659 vines, worth a thousand pieces of silver, shall be turned to briers and thorns. ²⁴ Men shall go there with bow and arrows; for all the country shall be briers and thorns. ²⁵ For fear of briers and thorns you shall not go upon any mountainside which used to be hoed with the mattock; they shall be grazing land for cattle and shall be trampled upon by sheep. Isaiah Chapter 8 ¹ The LORD said to me: Take a large cylinder-seal, and inscribe on it in ordinary letters: "Belonging to Maher-shalal-hash-baz." ² And I took reliable witnesses, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah, son of Jeberechiah. ³ Then I went to the prophetess and she conceived and bore a son. The LORD said to me: Name him Maher-shalal-hash-baz, ⁴ for before the child knows how to call his father or mother by name, the wealth of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be carried off by the king of Assyria. ⁵ Again the LORD spoke to me: ⁶ Because this people has rejected the waters of Shiloah that flow gently, and melts with fear before the loftiness of Rezin and Remaliah's son, ⁷ Therefore the LORD raises against them the waters of the River, great and mighty (the king of Assyria and all his power). It shall rise above all its channels, and overflow all its banks; ⁸ It shall pass into Judah, and flood it all throughout: up to the neck it shall reach; It shall spread its wings the full width of your land, Immanuel! ⁹ Know, O peoples, and be appalled! Give ear, all you distant lands! Arm, but be crushed! Arm, but be crushed! ¹⁰ Form a plan, and it shall be thwarted; make a resolve, and it shall not be carried out, for "With us is God!" ¹¹ For thus said the LORD to me, taking hold of me and warning me not to walk in the way of this people: ¹² Call not alliance what this people calls alliance, and fear not, nor stand in awe of what they fear. ¹³ But with the LORD of hosts make your alliance—for him be your fear and your awe. ¹⁴ Yet he shall be a snare, an obstacle and a stumbling stone to both the houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to those who dwell in Jerusalem; ¹⁵ And many among them shall stumble and fall, broken, snared, and captured. ¹⁶ The record is to be folded and the sealed instruction kept among my disciples. ¹⁷ For I will trust in the LORD, who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob; yes, I will wait for him. ¹⁸ Look at me and the children whom the Lord has given me: we are signs and portents in Israel from the LORD of hosts who dwells on Mount Zion. ¹⁹ And when they say to you, "Inquire of mediums and fortune-tellers (who chirp and mutter!); should not a people inquire of their gods, apply to the dead on behalf of the living?"—²⁰ then this document will furnish its instruction. That kind of thing they will surely say. ²¹ First he degraded the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali; but in the end he has glorified the seaward road, the land West of the Jordan, the District of the Gentiles. Anguish has taken wing, dispelled is darkness; for there is no gloom where but now there was distress. Isaiah Chapter 9 ¹The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; Upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shone. ²You have brought them abundant joy and great rejoicing, As they rejoice before you as at the harvest, as men make merry when dividing spoils. ³For the yoke that burdened them, the pole on their shoulder, And the rod of their taskmaster you have smashed, as on the day of Midian. ⁴For every boot that tramped in battle, every cloak rolled in blood, will be burned as fuel for flames. ⁵For a child is born to us, a son is given us; upon his shoulder dominion rests. They name him Wonder-Counselor, God-Hero, Father-Forever, Prince of Peace. ⁶His dominion is vast and forever peaceful, From David's throne, and over his kingdom, which he confirms and sustains By judgment and justice, both now and forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this!

ashed, as on the day of Midian. ⁴For every boot that tramped in battle, every cloak rolled in blood, will be burned as fuel for flames. ⁵For a child is born to us, a son is given us; upon his shoulder dominion rests. They name him Wonder-Counselor, God-Hero, Father-Forever, Prince of Peace. ⁶His dominion is vast and forever peaceful, From David's throne, and over his kingdom, which he confirms and sustains By judgment and justice, both now and forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this! ⁷The Lord has sent word against Jacob, it falls upon Israel; ⁸And all the people know it, Ephraim and those who dwell in Samaria, those who say in arrogance and pride of heart, ⁹"Bricks have fallen, but we will build with cut stone; Sycamores are felled, but we will replace them with cedars." ¹⁰But

660 the LORD raises up their foes against them and stirs up their enemies to action: ¹¹Aram on the east and the Philistines on the west devour Israel with open mouth. For all this, his wrath is not turned back, and his hand is still outstretched! ¹²The people do not turn to him who struck them, nor seek the LORD of hosts. ¹³So the LORD severs from Israel head and tail, palm branch and reed in one day. ¹⁴(The elder and the noble are the head, the prophet who teaches falsehood is the tail.) ¹⁵The leaders of this people mislead them and those to be led are engulfed. ¹⁶For this reason, the Lord does not spare their young men, and their orphans and widows he does not pity; They are wholly profaned and sinful, and every mouth gives vent to folly. For all this, his wrath is not turned back, his hand is still outstretched! ¹⁷For wickedness burns like fire, devouring brier and thorn; It kindles the forest thickets, which go up in columns of smoke. ¹⁸At the wrath of the LORD of hosts the land quakes, and the people are like fuel for fire; No man spares his brother, each devours the flesh of his neighbor. ¹⁹Though they hack on the right, they are hungry; though they eat on the left, they are not filled. ²⁰Manasseh devours Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh; together they turn on Judah. For all this, his wrath is not turned back, his hand is still outstretched! Isaiah Chapter 10 ¹Woe to those who enact unjust statutes and who write oppressive decrees, ²Depriving the needy of judgment and robbing my people's poor of their rights, Making widows their plunder, and orphans their prey! ³What will you do on the day of punishment, when ruin comes from afar? To whom will you flee for help? Where will you leave your wealth, ⁴Lest it sink beneath the captive or fall beneath the slain? For all this, his wrath is not turned back, his hand is still outstretched! ⁵Woe to Assyria! My rod in anger, my staff in wrath. ⁶Against an impious nation I send him, and against a people under my wrath I order him to seize plunder, carry off loot, and tread them down like the mud of the streets. ⁷But this is not what he intends, nor does he have this in mind; Rather, it is in his heart to destroy, to make an end of nations not a few. ⁸"Are not my commanders all kings?" he says, ⁹"Is not Calno like Carchemish, Or Hamath like Arpad, or Samaria like Damascus? ¹⁰Just as my hand reached out to idolatrous kingdoms that had more images than Jerusalem and Samaria, ¹¹Just as I treated Samaria and her idols, shall I not do to Jerusalem and her graven images?" ¹²But when the LORD has brought to an end all his work on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, I will punish the utterance of the king of Assyria's proud heart, and the boastfulness of his haughty eyes. For he says: ¹³"By my own power I have done it, and by my wisdom, for I am shrewd. I have moved the boundaries of peoples, their treasures I have pillaged, and, like a giant, I have put down the enthroned. ¹⁴My hand has seized like a nest the riches of nations; As one takes eggs left alone, so I took in all the earth; No one fluttered a wing, or opened a mouth, or chirped!" ¹⁵Will the axe boast against him who hews with it? Will the saw exalt itself above him who wields it? As if a rod could sway him who lifts it, or a staff him who is not wood! ¹⁶Therefore the Lord, the LORD of hosts, will send among his fat ones leanness, And instead of his glory there will be kindling like the kindling of fire. ¹⁷The Light of Israel will become a fire, Israel's Holy One a flame, That burns and consumes his briers and his thorns in a single day. ¹⁸His splendid forests and orchards will be consumed, soul and body; ¹⁹And the remnant of the trees in his forest will be so few, Like poles set up for signals, that any boy can record them. ²⁰On that day, The remnant of Israel, the survivors of the house of Jacob, will no more lean upon him who struck them; But they lean upon the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth.

ght of Israel will become a fire, Israel's Holy One a flame, That burns and consumes his briers and his thorns in a single day. ¹⁸His splendid forests and orchards will be consumed, soul and body; ¹⁹And the remnant of the trees in his forest will be so few, Like poles set up for signals, that any boy can record them. ²⁰On that day, The remnant of Israel, the survivors of the house of Jacob, will no more lean upon him who struck them; But they lean upon the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. ²¹A remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to the mighty God. ²²For though your people, O Israel, were like the sand of the sea, Only a remnant of them will return; their destruction is decreed as overwhelming justice demands. ²³Yes, the destruction he has decreed, the Lord, the GOD of hosts, will carry out within the whole land. ²⁴Therefore thus says the Lord, the GOD of hosts: O my people, who dwell in Zion, do not fear the Assyrian, though he strikes you with a rod, and raises his staff against you. ²⁵For only a brief

661 moment more, and my anger shall be over; but them I will destroy in wrath. ²⁶Then the LORD of hosts will raise against them a scourge such as struck Midian at the rock of Oreb; and he will raise his staff over the sea as he did against Egypt. ²⁷On that day, His burden shall be taken from your shoulder, and his yoke shattered from your neck. He has come up from the direction of Rimmon, ²⁸he has reached Aiath, passed through Migron, at Michmash his supplies are stored. ²⁹They cross the ravine: "We will spend the night at Geba." Ramah is in terror, Gibeah of Saul has fled. ³⁰Cry and shriek, O daughter of Gallim! Hearken, Laishah! Answer her, Anathoth! ³¹Madmenah is in flight, the inhabitants of Gebim seek refuge. ³²Even today he will halt at Nob, he will shake his fist at the mount of daughter Zion, the hill of Jerusalem! ³³Behold, the Lord, the LORD of hosts, lops off the boughs with terrible violence; The tall of stature are felled, and the lofty ones brought low; ³⁴The forest thickets are felled with the axe, and Lebanon in its splendor falls. Isaiah Chapter 11 ¹But a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom. ²The spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him: a spirit of wisdom and of understanding, a spirit of counsel and of strength, a spirit of knowledge and of fear of the LORD, ³and his delight shall be the fear of the LORD. Not by appearance shall he judge, nor by hearsay shall he decide, ⁴But he shall judge the poor with justice, and decide aright for the land's afflicted. He shall strike the ruthless with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked. ⁵Justice shall be the band around his waist, and faithfulness a belt upon his hips. ⁶Then the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; the calf and the young lion shall browse together, with a little child to guide them. ⁷The cow and the bear shall be neighbors, together their young shall rest; the lion shall eat hay like the ox. ⁸The baby shall play by the cobra's den, and the child lay his hand on the adder's lair. ⁹There shall be no harm or ruin on all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be filled with knowledge of the LORD, as water covers the sea. ¹⁰On that day, The root of Jesse, set up as a signal for the nations, The Gentiles shall seek out, for his dwelling shall be glorious. ¹¹On that day, The Lord shall again take it in hand to reclaim the remnant of his people that is left from Assyria and Egypt, Pathros, Ethiopia, and Elam, Shinar, Hamath, and the isles of the sea. ¹²He shall raise a signal to the nations and gather the outcasts of Israel; the dispersed of Judah he shall assemble from the four corners of the earth. ¹³The envy of Ephraim shall pass away, and the rivalry of Judah be removed; Ephraim shall not be jealous of Judah, and Judah shall not be hostile to Ephraim; ¹⁴But they shall swoop down on the foothills of the Philistines to the west, together they shall plunder the Kedemites; Edom and Moab shall be their possessions, and the Ammonites their subjects. ¹⁵The LORD shall dry up the tongue of the Sea of Egypt, and wave his hand over the Euphrates in his fierce anger and shatter it into seven streamlets, so that it can be crossed in sandals. ¹⁶There shall be a highway for the remnant of his people that is left from Assyria, as there was for Israel when he came up from the land of Egypt. Isaiah Chapter 12 ¹On that day, you will say: I give you thanks, O LORD; though you have been angry with me, your anger has abated, and you have consoled me. ²God indeed is my savior; I am confident and unafraid. My strength and my courage is the LORD, and he has been my savior. ³With joy you will draw water at the fountain of salvation, ⁴and say on that day: Give thanks to the LORD, acclaim his name; among the nations make known his deeds, proclaim how exalted is his name.

om the land of Egypt. Isaiah Chapter 12 ¹On that day, you will say: I give you thanks, O LORD; though you have been angry with me, your anger has abated, and you have consoled me. ²God indeed is my savior; I am confident and unafraid. My strength and my courage is the LORD, and he has been my savior. ³With joy you will draw water at the fountain of salvation, ⁴and say on that day: Give thanks to the LORD, acclaim his name; among the nations make known his deeds, proclaim how exalted is his name. ⁵Sing praise to the LORD for his glorious achievement; let this be known throughout all the earth. ⁶Shout with exultation, O city of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel! Isaiah Chapter 13

662 ¹An oracle concerning Babylon; a vision of Isaiah, son of Amoz. ²Upon the bare mountains set up a signal; cry out to them, wave for them to enter the gates of the volunteers. ³I have commanded my dedicated soldiers, I have summoned my warriors, eager and bold to carry out my anger. ⁴Listen! the rumble on the mountains: that of an immense throng! Listen! the noise of kingdoms, nations assembled! The LORD of hosts is mustering an army for battle. ⁵They come from a far-off country, and from the end of the heavens, the LORD and the instruments of his wrath, to destroy all the land. ⁶Howl, for the day of the LORD is near; as destruction from the Almighty it comes. ⁷Therefore all hands fall helpless, the bows of the young men fall from their hands. Every man's heart melts ⁸in terror. Pangs and sorrows take hold of them, like a woman in labor they writhe; they look aghast at each other, their faces aflame. ⁹Lo, the day of the LORD comes, cruel, with wrath and burning anger; to lay waste the land and destroy the sinners within it! ¹⁰The stars and constellations of the heavens send forth no light; the sun is dark when it rises, and the light of the moon does not shine. ¹¹Thus I will punish the world for its evil and the wicked for their guilt. I will put an end to the pride of the arrogant, the insolence of tyrants I will humble. ¹²I will make mortals more rare than pure gold, men, than gold of Ophir. ¹³For this I will make the heavens tremble and the earth shall be shaken from its place, at the wrath of the LORD of hosts on the day of his burning anger. ¹⁴Like a hunted gazelle, or a flock that no one gathers, every man shall turn to his kindred and flee to his own land. ¹⁵Everyone who is caught shall be run through; to a man, they shall fall by the sword. ¹⁶Their infants shall be dashed to pieces in their sight; their houses shall be plundered and their wives ravished. ¹⁷I am stirring up against them the Medes, who think nothing of silver and take no delight in gold. ¹⁸The fruit of the womb they shall not spare, nor shall they have eyes of pity for children. ¹⁹And Babylon, the jewel of kingdoms, the glory and pride of the Chaldeans, shall be overthrown by God like Sodom and like Gomorrah. ²⁰She shall never be inhabited, nor dwelt in, from age to age; the Arab shall not pitch his tent there, nor shepherds couch their flocks. ²¹But wildcats shall rest there and owls shall fill the houses; there ostriches shall dwell, and satyrs shall dance. ²²Desert beasts shall howl in her castles, and jackals in her luxurious palaces. Her time is near at hand and her days shall not be prolonged. Isaiah Chapter 14 ¹When the LORD has pity on Jacob and again chooses Israel and settles them on their own soil, the aliens will join them and be counted with the house of Jacob. ²The house of Israel will take them and bring them along to its place, and possess them as male and female slaves on the Lord's soil, making captives of its captors and ruling over its oppressors. ³On the day the LORD relieves you of sorrow and unrest and the hard service in which you have been enslaved, ⁴you will take up this taunt-song against the king of Babylon: How the oppressor has reached his end! How the turmoil is stilled! ⁵The LORD has broken the rod of the wicked, the staff of the tyrants ⁶that struck the peoples in wrath, relentless blows; that beat down the nations in anger, with oppression unchecked. ⁷The whole earth rests peacefully, song breaks forth; ⁸the very cypresses rejoice over you, and the cedars of Lebanon: "Now that you are laid to rest, there will be none to cut us down." ⁹The nether world below is all astir preparing for your coming; it awakens the shades to greet you, all the leaders of the earth; it has the kings of all nations rise from their thrones. ¹⁰All of them speak out and say to you, "You too have become weak like us, you are the same as we." ¹¹Down to the nether world your pomp is brought, the music of your harps.

forth; ⁸the very cypresses rejoice over you, and the cedars of Lebanon: "Now that you are laid to rest, there will be none to cut us down." ⁹The nether world below is all astir preparing for your coming; it awakens the shades to greet you, all the leaders of the earth; it has the kings of all nations rise from their thrones. ¹⁰All of them speak out and say to you, "You too have become weak like us, you are the same as we." ¹¹Down to the nether world your pomp is brought, the music of your harps. The couch beneath you is the maggot, your covering, the worm. ¹²How have you fallen from the heavens, O morning star, son of the dawn! How are you cut down to the ground, you who mowed down the nations! ¹³You said in your heart: "I will scale the heavens; above the stars of God I will set up my throne; I will take my seat on the Mount of Assembly, in the recesses of the North. ¹⁴I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will be like the Most High!" ¹⁵Yet down to the nether world you go to the recesses of

663 the pit! ¹⁶When they see you, they will stare, pondering over you: "Is this the man who made the earth tremble, and kingdoms quake? ¹⁷Who made the world a desert, razed its cities, and gave his captives no release?" ¹⁸All the kings of the nations lie in glory, each in his own tomb; ¹⁹but you are cast forth without burial, loathsome and corrupt, clothed as those slain at sword-point, a trampled corpse. Going down to the pavement of the pit, ²⁰you will never be one with them in the grave. For you have ruined your land, you have slain your people! Let him not be named forever, that scion of an evil race! ²¹Make ready to slaughter his sons for the guilt of their fathers; lest they rise and possess the earth, and fill the breadth of the world with tyrants. ²²I will rise up against them, says the LORD of hosts, and cut off from Babylon name and remnant, progeny and offspring, says the LORD. ²³I will make it a haunt of hoot owls and a marshland; I will sweep it with the broom of destruction, says the LORD of hosts. ²⁴The LORD of hosts has sworn: As I have resolved, so shall it be; as I have proposed, so shall it stand: ²⁵I will break the Assyrian in my land and trample him on my mountains. ²¹He shall pass through it hard-pressed and hungry, and in his hunger he shall become enraged, and curse his king and his gods. He shall look upward, but there shall be strict darkness without any dawn; ²²he shall gaze at the earth, but there shall be distress and darkness, with the light blacked out by its clouds. ²⁵Then his yoke shall be removed from them, and his burden from their shoulder. ²⁶This is the plan proposed for the whole earth, and this the hand outstretched over all nations. ²⁷The LORD of hosts has planned; who can thwart him? His hand is stretched out; who can turn it back? ²⁸In the year that King Ahaz died, there came this oracle: ²⁹Rejoice not, O Philistia, not a man of you, that the rod which smote you is broken; for out of the serpent's root shall come an adder, its fruit shall be a flying saraph. ³⁰In my pastures the poor shall eat, and the needy lie down in safety; but I will kill your root with famine that shall slay even your remnant. ³¹Howl, O gate; cry out, O city! Philistia, all of you melts away! For there comes a smoke from the north, without a straggler in the ranks. ³²What will one answer the messengers of the nation? "The LORD has established Zion, and in her the afflicted of his people find refuge." Isaiah Chapter 15 ¹Oracle on Moab: Laid waste in a night, Ar of Moab is destroyed; laid waste in a night, Kir of Moab is destroyed. ²Up goes daughter Dibon to the high places to weep; over Nebo and over Medeba, Moab wails. Every head is shaved, every beard sheared off. ³In the streets they wear sackcloth, lamenting and weeping; on the rooftops and in the squares, everyone wails. ⁴Heshbon and Elealeh cry out, they are heard as far as Jahaz. At this the loins of Moab tremble, his soul quivers within him. ⁵The heart of Moab cries out, his fugitives reach Zoar (Eglath-shelishiyah). The ascent of Luhith they climb weeping; on the way to Horonaim they utter rending cries. ⁶The waters of Nimrim have become a waste; the grass is withered, new growth is gone, nothing is green. ⁷So now whatever they have acquired or stored away they carry across the Gorge of the Poplars, ⁸for the cry has gone round the land of Moab; as far as Eglaim the wailing, and to Beer-elim, the wail. ⁹The waters of Dimon are filled with blood, but I will bring still more upon Dimon: lions for those who are fleeing from Moab and for those who remain in the land! Isaiah Chapter 16 ¹Send them forth, hugging the earth like reptiles, from Sela across the desert, to the mount of daughter Zion. ²Like flushed birds, like startled nestlings, are the daughters of Moab at the fords of the Arnon. ³Offer counsel, take their part: at high noon let your shadow be like the night, to hide the outcasts, to conceal the fugitives.

are filled with blood, but I will bring still more upon Dimon: lions for those who are fleeing from Moab and for those who remain in the land! Isaiah Chapter 16 ¹Send them forth, hugging the earth like reptiles, from Sela across the desert, to the mount of daughter Zion. ²Like flushed birds, like startled nestlings, are the daughters of Moab at the fords of the Arnon. ³Offer counsel, take their part: at high noon let your shadow be like the night, to hide the outcasts, to conceal the fugitives. ⁴Let the outcasts of Moab live with you, be their shelter from the destroyer. When the struggle is ended, the ruin complete, and they have done with trampling the land, ⁵a throne shall be set up in mercy, and on it shall sit in fidelity (in David's tent)

664 a judge upholding right and prompt to do justice. ⁶We have heard of the pride of Moab, how very proud he is, with his haughty, arrogant insolence that his empty words do not match. ⁷Therefore Moab wails for Moab, everywhere they wail; for the raisin cakes of Kir-hareseth they sigh, stricken with grief. ⁸The terraced slopes of Heshbon languish, the vines of Sibmah, whose clusters overpowered the lords of nations, while they reached as far as Jazer and scattered over the desert, and whose branches spread forth and extended over the sea. ⁹Therefore I weep with Jazer for the vines of Sibmah; I water you with tears, Heshbon and Elealeh; for on your summer fruits and harvests the battle cry has fallen. ¹⁰From the orchards are taken away joy and gladness, in the vineyards there is no singing, no shout of joy; in the wine presses no one treads grapes, the vintage shout is stilled. ¹¹Therefore for Moab my breast moans like a lyre, and my heart for Kir-hareseth. ¹²When Moab grows weary on the high places, he shall enter his sanctuary to pray, but it shall avail him nothing. ¹³This is the word the LORD spoke against Moab in times past. ¹⁴But now the LORD has spoken: In three years, like those of a hireling, the glory of Moab shall be degraded despite all its great multitude; there shall be a remnant, very small and weak. Isaiah Chapter 17 ¹ Oracle on Damascus: Lo, Damascus shall cease to be a city and become a ruin; ² her cities shall be forever abandoned, given over to flocks to lie in undisturbed. ³ The fortress shall be lost to Ephraim and the kingdom to Damascus; the remnant of Aram shall have the same glory as the Israelites, says the LORD of hosts. ⁴ On that day, the glory of Jacob shall fade, and his full body grow thin, ⁵ like the reaper's mere armful of stalks when he gathers the standing grain; or as when one gleans the ears in the Valley of Rephaim. ⁶ Only a scattering of grapes shall be left! As when an olive tree has been beaten, two or three olives remain at the very top, four or five on its fruitful branches, says the LORD, the God of Israel. ⁷ On that day man shall look to his maker, his eyes turned toward the Holy One of Israel. ⁸ He shall not look to the altars, his handiwork, nor shall he regard what his fingers have made: the sacred poles or the incense stands. ⁹ On that day his strong cities shall be like those abandoned by the Hivites and Amorites when faced with the children of Israel: they shall be laid waste. ¹⁰ For you have forgotten God, your savior, and remembered not the Rock, your strength. Therefore, though you plant your pagan plants and set out your foreign vine slips, ¹¹ though you make them grow the day you plant them and make your sprouts blossom on the next morning, the harvest shall disappear on the day of the grievous blow, the incurable blight. ¹² Ah! the roaring of many peoples that roar like the roar of the seas! The surging of nations that surge like the surging of mighty waves! ¹³ But God shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far away; windswept, like chaff on the mountains, like tumbleweed in a storm. ¹⁴ In the evening, they spread terror, before morning, they are gone! Such is the portion of those who despoil us, the lot of those who plunder us. Isaiah Chapter 18 ¹ Ah, land of buzzing insects, beyond the rivers of Ethiopia,² sending ambassadors by sea, in papyrus boats on the waters! Go, swift messengers, to a nation tall and bronzed, to a people dreaded near and far, a nation strong and conquering, whose land is washed by rivers. ³ All you who inhabit the world, who dwell on earth, when the signal is raised on the mountain, look! When the trumpet blows, listen! ⁴ For thus says the LORD to me: I will quietly look on from where I dwell, like the glowing heat of sunshine, like a cloud of dew at harvest time.

thiopia,² sending ambassadors by sea, in papyrus boats on the waters! Go, swift messengers, to a nation tall and bronzed, to a people dreaded near and far, a nation strong and conquering, whose land is washed by rivers. ³ All you who inhabit the world, who dwell on earth, when the signal is raised on the mountain, look! When the trumpet blows, listen! ⁴ For thus says the LORD to me: I will quietly look on from where I dwell, like the glowing heat of sunshine, like a cloud of dew at harvest time. ⁵ Before the vintage, when the flowering is ended, and the blooms are succeeded by ripening grapes, then comes the cutting of branches with pruning hooks and the discarding of the lopped-off shoots. ⁶ They shall all be left to the mountain birds of prey, and to the beasts in the land; the birds of prey shall summer on them, and on them all the beasts of the earth shall winter. ⁷ Then will gifts be brought

665 to the LORD of hosts from a people tall and bronzed, from a people dreaded near and far, a nation strong and conquering, whose land is washed by rivers—to Mount Zion where dwells the name of the LORD of hosts. Isaiah Chapter 19 ¹ Oracle on Egypt: See, the LORD is riding on a swift cloud on his way to Egypt; the idols of Egypt tremble before him, the hearts of the Egyptians melt within them. ² I will rouse Egypt against Egypt: brother will war against brother, neighbor against neighbor, city against city, kingdom against kingdom. ³ The courage of the Egyptians ebbs away within them, and I will bring to nought their counsel; they shall consult idols and charmers, ghosts and spirits. ⁴ I will deliver Egypt into the power of a cruel master, a harsh king who shall rule over them, says the Lord, the LORD of hosts. ⁵ The waters shall be drained from the sea, the river shall shrivel and dry up; ⁶ its streams shall become foul, and the canals of Egypt shall dwindle and dry up. Reeds and rushes shall wither away, ⁷ and bulrushes on the bank of the Nile; all the sown land along the Nile shall dry up and blow away, and be no more. ⁸ The fishermen shall mourn and lament, all who cast hook in the Nile; those who spread their nets in the water shall pine away. ⁹ The linen-workers shall be disappointed, the combers and weavers shall turn pale; ¹⁰ the spinners shall be crushed, all the hired laborers shall be despondent. ¹¹ Utter fools are the princes of Zoan! The wisest of Pharaoh's advisers give stupid counsel. How can you say to Pharaoh, "I am a disciple of wise men, of ancient kings"? ¹² Where then are your wise men? Let them tell you and make known what the LORD of hosts has planned against Egypt. ¹³ The princes of Zoan have become fools, the princes of Memphis have been deceived. The chiefs of her tribes have led Egypt astray. ¹⁴ The LORD has prepared among them a spirit of dizziness, and they have made Egypt stagger in whatever she does, as a drunkard staggers in his vomit. ¹⁵ Egypt shall have no work to do for head or tail, palm branch or reed. ¹⁶ On that day the Egyptians shall be like women, trembling with fear, because of the LORD of hosts shaking his fist at them. ¹⁷ And the land of Judah shall be a terror to the Egyptians. Every time they remember Judah, they shall stand in dread because of the plan which the LORD of hosts has in mind for them. ¹⁸ On that day there shall be five cities in the land of Egypt speaking the language of Canaan and swearing by the LORD of hosts; one shall be called "City of the Sun." ¹⁹ On that day there shall be an altar to the LORD in the land of Egypt, and a sacred pillar to the LORD near the boundary. ²⁰ It shall be a sign and a witness to the LORD of hosts in the land of Egypt, when they cry out to the LORD against their oppressors, and he sends them a savior to defend and deliver them. ²¹ The LORD shall make himself known to Egypt, and the Egyptians shall know the LORD in that day; they shall offer sacrifices and oblations, and fulfill the vows they make to the LORD. ²² Although the LORD shall smite Egypt severely, he shall heal them; they shall turn to the LORD and he shall be won over and heal them. ²³ On that day there shall be a highway from Egypt to Assyria; the Assyrians shall enter Egypt, and the Egyptians enter Assyria, and Egypt shall serve Assyria. ²⁴ On that day Israel shall be a third party with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the land, ²⁵ when the LORD of hosts blesses it: "Blessed be my people Egypt, and the work of my hands Assyria, and my inheritance, Israel." Isaiah Chapter 20 ¹ In the year the general sent by Sargon, king of Assyria, fought against Ashdod and captured it, ² the LORD gave a warning through Isaiah, the son of Amoz: "Go and take off the sackcloth from your waist, and remove the sandals from your feet." This he did, walking naked and barefoot.

party with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the land, ²⁵ when the LORD of hosts blesses it: "Blessed be my people Egypt, and the work of my hands Assyria, and my inheritance, Israel." Isaiah Chapter 20 ¹ In the year the general sent by Sargon, king of Assyria, fought against Ashdod and captured it, ² the LORD gave a warning through Isaiah, the son of Amoz: "Go and take off the sackcloth from your waist, and remove the sandals from your feet." This he did, walking naked and barefoot. ³ Then the LORD said: "Just as my servant Isaiah has gone naked and barefoot for three years as a sign and portent against Egypt and Ethiopia, ⁴ so shall the king of Assyria lead away captives from Egypt, and exiles from Ethiopia, young and old, naked and barefoot, with buttocks uncovered (the

666 shame of Egypt)." ⁵ They shall be dismayed and ashamed because of Ethiopia, their hope, and because of Egypt, their boast. ⁶ The inhabitants of this coastland shall say on that day, "Look at our hope! We have fled here for help and deliverance from the king of Assyria; where can we flee now?" Isaiah Chapter 21 ¹ Oracle on the wastelands by the sea: Like whirlwinds sweeping in waves through the Negeb, there comes from the desert, from the fearful land, ² A cruel sight, revealed to me: the traitor betrays, the despoiler spoils. "Go up, Elam; besiege, O Media; I will put an end to all groaning!" ³ Therefore my loins are filled with anguish, pangs have seized me like those of a woman in labor; I am too bewildered to hear, too dismayed to look. ⁴ My mind reels, shuddering assails me; My yearning for twilight has turned into dread. ⁵ They set the table, spread out the rugs; they eat, they drink. Rise up, O princes, oil the shield! ⁶ For thus says my Lord to me: Go, station a watchman, let him tell what he sees. ⁷ If he sees a chariot, a pair of horses, someone riding an ass, someone riding a camel, then let him pay heed, very close heed. ⁸ Then the watchman cried, "On the watchtower, O my Lord, I stand constantly by day; And I stay at my post through all the watches of the night. ⁹ Here he comes now: a single chariot, a pair of horses; He calls out and says, 'Fallen, fallen is Babylon, and all the images of her gods are smashed to the ground.'" ¹⁰ O my people who have been threshed, beaten on my threshing floor! What I have heard from the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, I have announced to you. ¹¹ Oracle on Edom: They call to me from Seir, "Watchman, how much longer the night? Watchman, how much longer the night?" ¹² The watchman replies, "Morning has come, and again night. If you will ask, ask; come back again." ¹³ Oracle on Arabia: In the thicket in the nomad country spend the night, O caravans of Dedanites. ¹⁴ Meet the thirsty, bring them water; you who dwell in the land of Tema, greet the fugitives with bread. ¹⁵ They flee from the sword, from the whetted sword, from the taut bow, from the fury of battle. ¹⁶ For thus says the Lord to me: In another year, like those of a hireling, all the glory of Kedar shall come to an end. ¹⁷ Few of Kedar's stalwart archers shall remain, for the LORD, the God of Israel, has spoken. Isaiah Chapter 22 ¹ Oracle of the Valley of Vision: What is the matter with you now, that you have gone up, all of you, to the housetops, ² O city full of noise and chaos, O wanton town! Your slain are not slain with the sword, nor killed in battle. ³ All your leaders fled away together, fled afar off; All who were in you were captured together, captured without the use of a bow. ⁴ At this I say: Turn away from me, let me weep bitterly; Do not try to comfort me for the ruin of the daughter of my people. ⁵ It is a day of panic, rout, and confusion, from the Lord, the GOD of hosts, in the Valley of Vision. Walls crash; they cry for help to the mountains. ⁶ Elam takes up the quivers, Aram mounts the horses, and Kir uncovers the shields. ⁷ Your choice valleys are filled with chariots, and horses are posted at the gates, ⁸ and shelter over Judah is removed. On that day you looked to the weapons in the House of the Forest; ⁹ you saw that the breaches in the City of David were many; you collected the water of the lower pool. ¹⁰ You numbered the houses of Jerusalem, tearing some down to strengthen the wall; ¹¹ you made a reservoir between the two walls for the water of the old pool. But you did not look to the city's Maker, nor did you consider him who built it long ago. ¹² On that day the Lord, the GOD of hosts, called on you to weep and mourn, to shave your head and put on sackcloth. ¹³ But look!

se of the Forest; ⁹ you saw that the breaches in the City of David were many; you collected the water of the lower pool. ¹⁰ You numbered the houses of Jerusalem, tearing some down to strengthen the wall; ¹¹ you made a reservoir between the two walls for the water of the old pool. But you did not look to the city's Maker, nor did you consider him who built it long ago. ¹² On that day the Lord, the GOD of hosts, called on you to weep and mourn, to shave your head and put on sackcloth. ¹³ But look! you feast and celebrate, you slaughter oxen and butcher sheep, You eat meat and drink wine: "Eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!" ¹⁴ This reaches the ears of the LORD of hosts: You shall not be pardoned this wickedness till you die, says the Lord, the GOD of hosts. ¹⁵ Thus says the Lord, the GOD of hosts: Up, go to that official, Shebna, master of

667 the palace, ¹⁶ who has hewn for himself a sepulcher on a height and carved his tomb in the rock: "What are you doing here, and what people have you here, that here you have hewn for yourself a tomb?" ¹⁷ The LORD shall hurl you down headlong, mortal man! He shall grip you firmly ¹⁸ and roll you up and toss you like a ball into an open land to perish there, you and the chariots you glory in, you disgrace to your master's house! ¹⁹ I will thrust you from your office and pull you down from your station. ²⁰ On that day I will summon my servant Eliakim, son of Hilkiah; ²¹ I will clothe him with your robe, and gird him with your sash, and give over to him your authority. He shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah. ²² I will place the key of the House of David on his shoulder; when he opens, no one shall shut, when he shuts, no one shall open. ²³ I will fix him like a peg in a sure spot, to be a place of honor for his family; ²⁴ On him shall hang all the glory of his family: descendants and offspring, all the little dishes, from bowls to jugs. ²⁵ On that day, says the LORD of hosts, the peg fixed in a sure spot shall give way, break off and fall, and the weight that hung on it shall be done away with; for the LORD has spoken. Isaiah Chapter 23 ¹ Oracle on Tyre: Wail, O ships of Tarshish, for your port is destroyed; from the land of the Kittim, the news reaches them. ² Silence! you who dwell on the coast, you merchants of Sidon, whose messengers crossed the sea ³ over the deep waters. The grain of Shihor, the harvest of the Nile, was her revenue, and she the merchant among nations. ⁴ Shame, O Sidon, fortress on the sea, for the sea has spoken: "I have not been in labor, nor given birth, nor raised young men, nor reared virgins." ⁵ When it is heard in Egypt they shall be in anguish at the news of Tyre. ⁶ Pass over to Tarshish, wailing, you who dwell on the coast! ⁷ Is this your wanton city, whose origin is from old, whose feet have taken her to dwell in distant lands? ⁸ Who has planned such a thing against Tyre, the bestower of crowns, whose merchants are princes, whose traders are the earth's honored men? ⁹ The LORD of hosts has planned it, to disgrace all pride of majesty, to degrade all the earth's honored men. ¹⁰ Cross to your own land, O ship of Tarshish; the harbor is no more. ¹¹ His hand he stretches out over the sea, he shakes kingdoms; the LORD has ordered the destruction of Canaan's strongholds. ¹² You shall exult no more, he says, you who are now oppressed, virgin daughter Sidon. Arise, pass over to the Kittim, even there you shall find no rest. ¹³ (This people is the land of the Chaldeans, not Assyria.) She whom the impious founded, setting up towers for her, has had her castles destroyed, and has been turned into a ruin. ¹⁴ Lament, O ships of Tarshish, for your haven is destroyed. ¹⁵ On that day, Tyre shall be forgotten for seventy years. With the days of another king, at the end of seventy years, it shall be for Tyre as in the song about the harlot: ¹⁶ Take a harp, go about the city, O forgotten harlot; pluck the strings skillfully, sing many songs, that they may remember you. ¹⁷ At the end of the seventy years the LORD shall visit Tyre. She shall return to her hire and deal with all the world's kingdoms on the face of the earth. ¹⁸ But her merchandise and her hire shall be sacred to the LORD. It shall not be stored up or laid away, but from her merchandise those who dwell before the LORD shall eat their fill and clothe themselves in choice attire. Isaiah Chapter 24 ¹ Lo, the LORD empties the land and lays it waste; he turns it upside down, scattering its inhabitants: ² Layman and priest alike, servant and master, the maid as her mistress, the buyer as the seller, the lender as the borrower, the creditor as the debtor. ³ The earth is utterly laid waste, utterly stripped, for the LORD has decreed this thing.

up or laid away, but from her merchandise those who dwell before the LORD shall eat their fill and clothe themselves in choice attire. Isaiah Chapter 24 ¹ Lo, the LORD empties the land and lays it waste; he turns it upside down, scattering its inhabitants: ² Layman and priest alike, servant and master, the maid as her mistress, the buyer as the seller, the lender as the borrower, the creditor as the debtor. ³ The earth is utterly laid waste, utterly stripped, for the LORD has decreed this thing. ⁴ The earth mourns and fades, the world languishes and fades; both heaven and earth languish. ⁵ The earth is polluted because of its inhabitants, who have transgressed laws, violated statutes, broken the ancient covenant. ⁶ Therefore a curse devours the earth, and its inhabitants pay for their guilt; therefore they who

668 dwell on earth turn pale, and few men are left. ⁷ The wine mourns, the vine languishes, all the merry-hearted groan. ⁸ Stilled are the cheerful timbrels, ended the shouts of the jubilant, stilled is the cheerful harp. ⁹ They cannot sing and drink wine; strong drink is bitter to those who partake of it. ¹⁰ Broken down is the city of chaos, shut against entry, every house. ¹¹ In the streets they cry out for lack of wine; all joy has disappeared and cheer has left the land. ¹² In the city nothing remains but ruin; its gates are battered and desolate. ¹³ Thus it is within the land, and among the peoples, as with an olive tree after it is beaten, as with a gleaning when the vintage is done. ¹⁴ These lift up their voice in acclaim; from the sea they proclaim the majesty of the LORD: ¹⁵ "For this, in the coastlands, give glory to the LORD! In the coastlands of the sea, to the name of the LORD, the God of Israel!" ¹⁶ From the end of the earth we hear songs: "Splendor to the Just One!" But I said, "I am wasted, wasted away. Woe is me! The traitors betray: with treachery have the traitors betrayed! ¹⁷ Terror, pit, and trap are upon you, inhabitant of the earth; ¹⁸ He who flees at the sound of terror will fall into the pit; he who climbs out of the pit will be caught in the trap. For the windows on high will be opened and the foundations of the earth will shake. ¹⁹ The earth will burst asunder, the earth will be shaken apart, the earth will be convulsed. ²⁰ The earth will reel like a drunkard, and it will sway like a hut; its rebellion will weigh it down, until it falls, never to rise again." ²¹ On that day the LORD will punish the host of the heavens in the heavens, and the kings of the earth on the earth. ²² They will be gathered together like prisoners into a pit; they will be shut up in a dungeon, and after many days they will be punished. ²³ Then the moon will blush and the sun grow pale, for the LORD of hosts will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, glorious in the sight of his elders. Isaiah Chapter 25 ¹ O LORD, you are my God, I will extol you and praise your name; for you have fulfilled your wonderful plans of old, faithful and true. ² For you have made the city a heap, the fortified city a ruin; the castle of the insolent is a city no more, nor ever to be rebuilt. ³ Therefore a strong people will honor you, fierce nations will fear you. ⁴ For you are a refuge to the poor, a refuge to the needy in distress; shelter from the rain, shade from the heat. As with the cold rain, ⁵ as with the desert heat, even so you quell the uproar of the wanton. ⁶ On this mountain the LORD of hosts will provide for all peoples a feast of rich food and choice wines, juicy, rich food and pure, choice wines. ⁷ On this mountain he will destroy the veil that veils all peoples, the web that is woven over all nations; ⁸ he will destroy death forever. The Lord GOD will wipe away the tears from all faces; the reproach of his people he will remove from the whole earth; for the LORD has spoken. ⁹ On that day it will be said: "Behold our God, to whom we looked to save us! This is the LORD for whom we looked; let us rejoice and be glad that he has saved us!" ¹⁰ For the hand of the LORD will rest on this mountain, but Moab will be trodden down as a straw is trodden down in the mire. ¹¹ He will stretch forth his hands in Moab as a swimmer extends his hands to swim; he will bring low their pride as his hands sweep over them. ¹² The high-walled fortress he will raze, and strike it down level with the earth, with the very dust. Isaiah Chapter 26 ¹ On that day they will sing this song in the land of Judah: "A strong city have we; he sets up walls and ramparts to protect us. ² Open up the gates to let in a nation that is just, one that keeps faith. ³ A nation of firm purpose you keep in peace; in peace, for its trust in you." ⁴ Trust in the LORD forever! For the LORD is an eternal Rock.

ide as his hands sweep over them. ¹² The high-walled fortress he will raze, and strike it down level with the earth, with the very dust. Isaiah Chapter 26 ¹ On that day they will sing this song in the land of Judah: "A strong city have we; he sets up walls and ramparts to protect us. ² Open up the gates to let in a nation that is just, one that keeps faith. ³ A nation of firm purpose you keep in peace; in peace, for its trust in you." ⁴ Trust in the LORD forever! For the LORD is an eternal Rock. ⁵ He humbles those in high places, and the lofty city he brings down; he tumbles it to the ground, levels it with the dust. ⁶ It is trampled underfoot by the needy, by the footsteps of the poor. ⁷ The way of the just is smooth; the path of the just you make level. ⁸ Yes, for your way and your judgments, O LORD, we look to you; your name and your title

669 are the desire of our souls. ⁹ My soul yearns for you in the night, yes, my spirit within me keeps vigil for you; when your judgment dawns upon the earth, the world's inhabitants learn justice. ¹⁰ The wicked man, spared, does not learn justice; in an upright land he acts perversely, and sees not the majesty of the LORD. ¹¹ O LORD, your hand is uplifted, but they behold it not; let them be shamed when they see your zeal for your people: let the fire prepared for your enemies consume them. ¹² O LORD, you mete out peace to us, for it is you who have accomplished all we have done. ¹³ O LORD, our God, other lords than you have ruled us; it is from you only that we can call upon your name. ¹⁴ Dead they are, they have no life, shades that cannot rise; for you have punished and destroyed them, and wiped out all memory of them. ¹⁵ You have increased the nation, O LORD, increased the nation to your own glory, and extended far all the borders of the land. ¹⁶ O LORD, oppressed by your punishment, we cried out in anguish under your chastising. ¹⁷ As a woman about to give birth writhes and cries out in her pains, so were we in your presence, O LORD. ¹⁸ We conceived and writhed in pain, giving birth to wind; salvation we have not achieved for the earth, the inhabitants of the world cannot bring it forth. ¹⁹ But your dead shall live, their corpses shall rise; awake and sing, you who lie in the dust. For your dew is a dew of light, and the land of shades gives birth. ²⁰ Go, my people, enter your chambers, and close your doors behind you; hide yourselves for a brief moment, until the wrath is past. ²¹ See, the LORD goes forth from his place, to punish the wickedness of the earth's inhabitants; the earth will reveal the blood upon her, and no longer conceal her slain. Isaiah Chapter 27 ¹ On that day, the LORD will punish with his cruel, great, and strong sword, Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan the coiled serpent; and he will slay the dragon that is in the sea. ² On that day— sing about the pleasant vineyard! ³ I, the LORD, am its keeper; I water it every moment. Lest anyone harm it, night and day I guard it. ⁴ I am not angry, but if I were to find briers and thorns, I would march against them in battle and burn them all. ⁸ Expunging and expelling, I would strive against them, carrying them off with my cruel wind in a time of storm. ⁶ In days to come, Jacob shall take root, Israel shall sprout and blossom, covering all the world with fruit. ⁷ Is he to be smitten as his smiter was smitten? Or slain as his slayer was slain? ⁵ Or shall he cling to me for refuge? He must make peace with me; peace shall he make with me! ⁹ This, then, shall be the expiation of Jacob's guilt, this the whole fruit of the removal of his sin: He shall pulverize all the stones of the altars like pieces of chalk; no sacred poles or incense altars shall stand. ¹⁰ For the fortified city shall be desolate, an abandoned pasture, a forsaken wilderness where calves shall browse and lie. Its boughs shall be destroyed, ¹¹ its branches shall wither and be broken off, and women shall come to build a fire with them. This is not an understanding people; therefore, their maker shall not spare them, nor shall he who formed them have mercy on them. ¹² On that day, the LORD shall beat out the grain between the Euphrates and the Wadi of Egypt, and you shall be gleaned one by one, O sons of Israel. ¹³ On that day, a great trumpet shall blow, and the lost in the land of Assyria and the outcasts in the land of Egypt shall come and worship the LORD on the holy mountain in Jerusalem. Isaiah Chapter 28 ¹ Woe to the majestic garland of the drunkard Ephraim, to the fading blooms of his glorious beauty, on the head of him who is stupefied with wine.

¹² On that day, the LORD shall beat out the grain between the Euphrates and the Wadi of Egypt, and you shall be gleaned one by one, O sons of Israel. ¹³ On that day, a great trumpet shall blow, and the lost in the land of Assyria and the outcasts in the land of Egypt shall come and worship the LORD on the holy mountain in Jerusalem. Isaiah Chapter 28 ¹ Woe to the majestic garland of the drunkard Ephraim, to the fading blooms of his glorious beauty, on the head of him who is stupefied with wine. ² Behold, the LORD has a strong one and a mighty, who, like a downpour of hail, a destructive storm, like a flood of water, great and overflowing, levels to the ground with violence; ³ with feet that will trample the majestic garland of the drunkard Ephraim. ⁴ The fading blooms of his glorious beauty on the head of the fertile valley will be like an early fig before summer: when a man sees it, he picks and swallows it at once.

670 ⁵ On that day the LORD of hosts will be a glorious crown and a brilliant diadem to the remnant of his people, ⁶ a spirit of justice to him who sits in judgment, and strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate. ⁷ But these also stagger from wine and stumble from strong drink: priest and prophet stagger from strong drink, overpowered by wine; led astray by strong drink, staggering in their visions, tottering when giving judgment. ⁸ Yes, all the tables are covered with filthy vomit, with no place left clean. ⁹ "To whom would he impart knowledge? To whom would he convey the message? To those just weaned from milk, those taken from the breast? ¹⁰ For he says, 'Command on command, command on command, rule on rule, rule on rule, here a little, there a little!'" ¹¹ Yes, with stammering lips and in a strange language he will speak to this people ¹² to whom he said: This is the resting place, give rest to the weary; here is repose—but they would not listen. ¹³ So for them, the word of the LORD shall be: "Command on command, command on command, rule on rule, rule on rule, here a little, there a little!" So that when they walk, they stumble backward, broken, ensnared, and captured. ¹⁴ Therefore, hear the word of the LORD, you arrogant, who rule this people in Jerusalem: ¹⁵ because you say, "We have made a covenant with death, and with the nether world we have made a pact; when the overwhelming scourge passes, it will not reach us; for we have made lies our refuge, and in falsehood we have found a hiding place,"— ¹⁶ therefore, thus says the Lord GOD: See, I am laying a stone in Zion, a stone that has been tested, a precious cornerstone as a sure foundation; he who puts his faith in it shall not be shaken. ¹⁷ I will make of right a measuring line, of justice a level—hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and waters shall flood the hiding place. ¹⁸ Your covenant with death shall be canceled, and your pact with the nether world shall not stand. When the overwhelming scourge passes, you shall be trampled down by it. ¹⁹ Whenever it passes, it shall take you; morning after morning it shall pass, by day and by night; terror alone shall convey the message. ²⁰ For the bed shall be too short to stretch out in, and the cover too narrow to wrap in. ²¹ For the LORD shall rise up as on Mount Perazim, bestir himself as in the Valley of Gibeon, to carry out his work, his singular work, to perform his deed, his strange deed. ²² Now, be arrogant no more lest your bonds be tightened, for I have heard from the Lord, the GOD of hosts, the destruction decreed for the whole earth. ²³ Give ear and hear my voice, pay attention and listen to what I say: ²⁴ Is the plowman forever plowing, always loosening and harrowing his land for planting? ²⁵ When he has leveled the surface, does he not scatter gith and sow cumin, put in wheat and barley, with spelt as its border? ²⁶ He has learned this rule, instructed by his God. ²⁷ Gith is not threshed with a sledge, nor does a cartwheel roll over cumin. But gith is beaten out with a staff, and cumin crushed for food with a rod. ²⁸ No, he does not thresh it unendingly, nor does he crush it with his noisy cartwheels and horses. ²⁹ This too comes from the LORD of hosts; wonderful is his counsel and great his wisdom. Isaiah Chapter 29 ¹ Woe to Ariel, Ariel, the city where David encamped! Add year to year, let the feasts come round. ² But I will bring distress upon Ariel, with mourning and grief. You shall be to me like Ariel, ³ I will encamp like David against you; I will encircle you with outposts and set up siege works against you. ⁴ Prostrate you shall speak from the earth, and from the base dust your words shall come. Your voice shall be like a ghost's from the earth, and your words like chirping from the dust. ⁵ The horde of your arrogant shall be like fine dust, the horde of the tyrants like flying chaff.

come round. ² But I will bring distress upon Ariel, with mourning and grief. You shall be to me like Ariel, ³ I will encamp like David against you; I will encircle you with outposts and set up siege works against you. ⁴ Prostrate you shall speak from the earth, and from the base dust your words shall come. Your voice shall be like a ghost's from the earth, and your words like chirping from the dust. ⁵ The horde of your arrogant shall be like fine dust, the horde of the tyrants like flying chaff. Then suddenly, in an instant, ⁶ you shall be visited by the LORD of hosts, with thunder, earthquake, and great noise, whirlwind, storm, and the flame of consuming fire. ⁷ Then like a dream, a vision in the night, shall be the horde of all the nations who war against Ariel with all the earthworks of her besiegers. ⁸ As when a hungry man dreams he is eating and awakens with an empty stomach, or when a thirsty man dreams he is drinking and awakens faint and dry, so shall the horde of all the nations be, who make war against Zion. ⁹ Be irresolute, stupefied; blind yourselves and stay blind!

671 Be drunk, but not from wine, stagger, but not from strong drink! ¹⁰ For the LORD has poured out on you a spirit of deep sleep. He has shut your eyes (the prophets) and covered your heads (the seers). ¹¹ For you the revelation of all this has become like the words of a sealed scroll. When it is handed to one who can read, with the request, "Read this," he replies, "I cannot; it is sealed." ¹² When it is handed to one who cannot read, with the request, "Read this," he replies, "I cannot read." ¹³ The Lord said: Since this people draws near with words only and honors me with their lips alone, though their hearts are far from me, and their reverence for me has become routine observance of the precepts of men, ¹⁴ therefore I will again deal with this people in surprising and wondrous fashion: The wisdom of its wise men shall perish and the understanding of its prudent men be hid. ¹⁵ Woe to those who would hide their plans too deep for the LORD! Who work in the dark, saying, "Who sees us, or who knows us?" ¹⁶ Your perversity is as though the potter were taken to be the clay: As though what is made should say of its maker, "He made me not!" Or the vessel should say of the potter, "He does not understand." ¹⁷ But a very little while, and Lebanon shall be changed into an orchard, and the orchard be regarded as a forest! ¹⁸ On that day the deaf shall hear the words of a book; and out of gloom and darkness, the eyes of the blind shall see. ¹⁹ The lowly will ever find joy in the LORD, and the poor rejoice in the Holy One of Israel. ²⁰ For the tyrant will be no more and the arrogant will have gone; all who are alert to do evil will be cut off, ²¹ those whose mere word condemns a man, who ensnare his defender at the gate, and leave the just man with an empty claim. ²² Therefore thus says the LORD, the God of the house of Jacob, who redeemed Abraham: Now Jacob shall have nothing to be ashamed of, nor shall his face grow pale. ²³ When his children see the work of my hands in his midst, they shall keep my name holy; they shall reverence the Holy One of Jacob, and be in awe of the God of Israel. ²⁴ Those who err in spirit shall acquire understanding, and those who find fault shall receive instruction. Isaiah Chapter 30 ¹ Woe to the rebellious children, says the LORD, who carry out plans that are not mine, who weave webs that are not inspired by me, adding sin upon sin. ² They go down to Egypt, but my counsel they do not seek. They find their strength in Pharaoh's protection and take refuge in Egypt's shadow; ³ Pharaoh's protection shall be your shame, and refuge in Egypt's shadow your disgrace. ⁴ When their princes are at Zoan and their messengers reach Hanes, ⁵ all shall be ashamed of a people that gain them nothing, neither help nor benefit, but only shame and reproach. ⁶ (Oracle on the Beasts of the Negeb) Through the distressed and troubled land of the lioness and roaring lion, of the viper and flying saraph, they carry their riches on the backs of asses and their treasures on the humps of camels to a people good for nothing, ⁷ to Egypt whose help is futile and vain. Therefore I call her "Rahab quelled." ⁸ Now come, write it on a tablet they can keep, inscribe it in a record; that it may be in future days an eternal witness: ⁹ This is a rebellious people, deceitful children, children who refuse to obey the law of the LORD. ¹⁰ They say to the seers, "Have no visions"; to the prophets, "Do not descry for us what is right; speak flatteries to us, conjure up illusions. ¹¹ Out of the way! Out of our path! Let us hear no more of the Holy One of Israel." ¹² Therefore, thus says the Holy One of Israel: Because you reject this word, and put your trust in what is crooked and devious, and depend on it, ¹³ this guilt of yours shall be like a descending rift bulging out in a high wall whose crash comes suddenly, in an instant.

¹⁰ They say to the seers, "Have no visions"; to the prophets, "Do not descry for us what is right; speak flatteries to us, conjure up illusions. ¹¹ Out of the way! Out of our path! Let us hear no more of the Holy One of Israel." ¹² Therefore, thus says the Holy One of Israel: Because you reject this word, and put your trust in what is crooked and devious, and depend on it, ¹³ this guilt of yours shall be like a descending rift bulging out in a high wall whose crash comes suddenly, in an instant. ¹⁴ It crashes like a potter's jar smashed beyond rescue, and among its fragments cannot be found a sherd to scoop fire from the hearth or dip water from the cistern. ¹⁵ For thus said the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel: By waiting and by calm you shall be saved, in quiet and in trust your strength lies. But this you did not wish. ¹⁶ "No," you said, "Upon horses we will flee." —Very well, flee! "Upon swift steeds we will ride." —Not so swift as your pursuers. ¹⁷ A thousand shall tremble at the threat of one; if five threaten you, you shall flee, until you are left like a flagstaff on the mountaintop, like a flag on the

672 hill. ¹⁸ Yet the LORD is waiting to show you favor, and he rises to pity you; for the LORD is a God of justice: blessed are all who wait for him! ¹⁹ O people of Zion, who dwell in Jerusalem, no more will you weep; he will be gracious to you when you cry out, as soon as he hears he will answer you. ²⁰ The Lord will give you the bread you need and the water for which you thirst. No longer will your Teacher hide himself, but with your own eyes you shall see your Teacher, ²¹ while from behind, a voice shall sound in your ears: "This is the way; walk in it," when you would turn to the right or to the left. ²² And you shall consider unclean your silver-plated idols and your gold- covered images; you shall throw them away like filthy rags to which you say, "Begone!" ²³ He will give rain for the seed that you sow in the ground, and the wheat that the soil produces will be rich and abundant. On that day your cattle will graze in spacious meadows; ²⁴ the oxen and the asses that till the ground will eat silage tossed to them with shovel and pitchfork. ²⁵ Upon every high mountain and lofty hill there will be streams of running water. On the day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall, ²⁶ the light of the moon will be like that of the sun and the light of the sun will be seven times greater (like the light of seven days). On the day the LORD binds up the wounds of his people, he will heal the bruises left by his blows. ²⁷ See the name of the LORD coming from afar in burning wrath, with lowering clouds! His lips are filled with fury, his tongue is like a consuming fire; ²⁸ his breath, like a flood in a ravine that reaches suddenly to the neck, will winnow the nations with a destructive winnowing, and with repeated winnowings will he battle against them (and a bridle on the jaws of the peoples to send them astray). ²⁹ You will sing as on a night when a feast is observed, and be merry of heart, as one marching along with a flute toward the mountain of the LORD, toward the Rock of Israel, accompanied by the timbrels and lyres. ³⁰ The LORD will make his glorious voice heard, and let it be seen how his arm descends in raging fury and flame of consuming fire, in driving storm and hail. ³¹ When the LORD speaks, Assyria will be shattered, as he strikes with the rod; ³² while at every sweep of the rod which the LORD will bring down on him in punishment, ³³ for the pyre has long been ready, prepared for the king; broad and deep it is piled with dry grass and wood in abundance, and the breath of the LORD, like a stream of sulfur, will set it afire. Isaiah Chapter 31 ¹ Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who depend upon horses: who put their trust in chariots because of their number, and in horsemen because of their combined power, but look not to the Holy One of Israel nor seek the LORD! ² Yet he too is wise and will bring disaster; he will not turn from what he has threatened to do. He will rise up against the house of the wicked and against those who help evildoers. ³ The Egyptians are men, not God, their horses are flesh, not spirit; when the LORD stretches forth his hand, the helper shall stumble, the one helped shall fall, and both of them shall perish together. ⁴ Thus says the LORD to me: As a lion or a lion cub growling over its prey, with a band of shepherds assembled against it, is neither frightened by their shouts nor disturbed by their noise, so shall the LORD of hosts come down to wage war upon the mountain and hill of Zion. ⁵ Like hovering birds, so the LORD of hosts shall shield Jerusalem, to protect and deliver, to spare and rescue it. ⁶ Return, O children of Israel, to him whom you have utterly deserted. ⁷ On that day each one of you shall spurn his sinful idols of silver and gold, which he made with his hands. ⁸ Assyria shall fall by a sword not wielded by man, no mortal sword shall devour him; he shall flee before the sword, and his young men shall be impressed as laborers.

upon the mountain and hill of Zion. ⁵ Like hovering birds, so the LORD of hosts shall shield Jerusalem, to protect and deliver, to spare and rescue it. ⁶ Return, O children of Israel, to him whom you have utterly deserted. ⁷ On that day each one of you shall spurn his sinful idols of silver and gold, which he made with his hands. ⁸ Assyria shall fall by a sword not wielded by man, no mortal sword shall devour him; he shall flee before the sword, and his young men shall be impressed as laborers. ¹ He shall rush past his crag in panic, and his princes shall flee in terror from his standard, says the LORD who has a fire in Zion and a furnace in Jerusalem. Isaiah Chapter 32 ¹ See, a king will reign justly and princes will rule rightly. ² Each of them will be a shelter from the

673 wind, a retreat from the rain. They will be like streams of water in a dry country, like the shade of a great rock in a parched land. ³ The eyes of those who see will not be closed; the ears of those who hear will be attentive. ⁴ The flighty will become wise and capable, and the stutterers will speak fluently and clearly. ⁵ No more will the fool be called noble, nor the trickster be considered honorable. ⁶ For the fool speaks foolishly, planning evil in his heart: how to do wickedness, to speak perversely against the LORD, to let the hungry go empty and the thirsty be without drink. ⁷ And the trickster uses wicked trickery, planning crimes: how to ruin the poor with lies, and the needy when they plead their case. ⁸ But the noble man plans noble things, and by noble things he stands. ⁹ O complacent ladies, rise up and hear my voice, overconfident women, give heed to my words. ¹⁰ In a little more than a year, you overconfident ones will be shaken; the vintage will fail, there will be no harvest. ¹¹ Tremble, you who are complacent! Shudder, you who are overconfident! Strip yourselves bare, with only a loincloth to cover you. ¹² Beat your breasts for the pleasant fields, the fruitful vine, ¹³ and the soil of my people, overgrown with thorns and briers; for all the joyful houses, the wanton city. ¹⁴ Yes, the castle will be forsaken, the noisy city deserted. ¹⁵ Down it comes, as trees come down in the forest! The city will be utterly laid low. Hill and tower will become wasteland forever for wild asses to frolic in, and flocks to pasture, ¹⁶ until the spirit from on high is poured out on us. Then will the desert become an orchard and the orchard be regarded as a forest. ¹⁷ Right will dwell in the desert and justice abide in the orchard. ¹⁸ Justice will bring about peace; right will produce calm and security. ¹⁹ My people will live in peaceful country, in secure dwellings and quiet resting places. ²⁰ Happy are you who sow beside every stream, and let the ox and the ass go freely! Isaiah Chapter 33 ¹ Woe, O destroyer never destroyed, O traitor never betrayed! When you finish destroying, you will be destroyed; when wearied with betraying, you will be betrayed. ² O LORD, have pity on us, for you we wait. Be our strength every morning, our salvation in time of trouble! ³ At the roaring sound, peoples flee; when you rise in your majesty, nations are scattered. ⁴ Men gather spoil as caterpillars are gathered up; they rush upon it like the onrush of locusts. ⁵ The LORD is exalted, enthroned on high; he fills Zion with right and justice. ⁶ That which makes her seasons lasting, the riches that save her, are wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the LORD is her treasure. ⁷ See, the men of Ariel cry out in the streets, the messengers of Shalem weep bitterly. ⁸ The highways are desolate, travelers have quit the paths, covenants are broken, their terms are spurned; yet no man gives it a thought. ⁹ The country languishes in mourning, Lebanon withers with shame; Sharon is like the steppe, Bashan and Carmel are stripped bare. ¹⁰ Now will I rise up, says the LORD, now will I be exalted, now be lifted up. ¹¹ You conceive dry grass, bring forth stubble; my spirit shall consume you like fire. ¹² The peoples shall be as in a limekiln, like brushwood cut down for burning in the fire. ¹³ Hear, you who are far off, what I have done; you who are near, acknowledge my might. ¹⁴ On Zion sinners are in dread, trembling grips the impious: "Who of us can live with the consuming fire? Who of us can live with the everlasting flames?" ¹⁵ He who practices virtue and speaks honestly, who spurns what is gained by oppression, brushing his hands free of contact with a bribe, stopping his ears lest he hear of bloodshed, closing his eyes lest he look on evil – ¹⁶ He shall dwell on the heights, his stronghold shall be the rocky fastness, his food and drink in steady supply. ¹⁷ Your eyes will see a king in his splendor, they will look upon a vast land.

can live with the consuming fire? Who of us can live with the everlasting flames?" ¹⁵ He who practices virtue and speaks honestly, who spurns what is gained by oppression, brushing his hands free of contact with a bribe, stopping his ears lest he hear of bloodshed, closing his eyes lest he look on evil – ¹⁶ He shall dwell on the heights, his stronghold shall be the rocky fastness, his food and drink in steady supply. ¹⁷ Your eyes will see a king in his splendor, they will look upon a vast land. ¹⁸ Your mind will dwell on the terror: "Where is he who counted, where is he who weighed? Where is he who counted the towers?" ¹⁹ To the people of alien tongue you will look no more, the people of obscure speech, stammering in a language not understood. ²⁰ Look to Zion, the city of our festivals; let your eyes see Jerusalem as a quiet abode, a tent not to be struck, whose pegs will never be pulled up, nor any of its ropes severed. ²¹ Indeed the LORD will be there with us, majestic; yes,

674 the LORD our judge, the LORD our lawgiver, the LORD our king, he it is who will save us. ²² In a place of rivers and wide streams on which no boat is rowed, where no majestic ship passes, ²³ the rigging hangs slack; it cannot hold the mast in place, nor keep the sail spread out. Then the blind will divide great spoils and the lame will carry off the loot. ²⁴ No one who dwells there will say, "I am sick"; the people who live there will be forgiven their guilt. Isaiah Chapter 34 ¹ Come near, O nations, and hear; be attentive, O peoples! Let the earth and what fills it listen, the world and all it produces. ² The LORD is angry with all the nations and is wrathful against all their host; he has doomed them and given them over to slaughter. ³ Their slain shall be cast out, their corpses shall send up a stench; the mountains shall run with their blood, ⁴ and all the hills shall rot; the heavens shall be rolled up like a scroll, and all their host shall wither away, as the leaf wilts on the vine, or as the fig withers on the tree. ⁵ When my sword has drunk its fill in the heavens, lo, it shall come down in judgment upon Edom, a people I have doomed. ⁶ The LORD has a sword filled with blood, greasy with fat, with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of rams' kidneys; for the LORD has a sacrifice in Bozrah, a great slaughter in the land of Edom. ⁷ Wild oxen shall be struck down with fatlings, and bullocks with bulls; their land shall be soaked with blood, and their earth greasy with fat. ⁸ For the LORD has a day of vengeance, a year of requital by Zion's defender. ⁹ Edom's streams shall be changed into pitch and her earth into sulphur, and her land shall become burning pitch; ¹⁰ night and day it shall not be quenched, its smoke shall rise forever. From generation to generation she shall lie waste, never again shall anyone pass through her. ¹¹ But the desert owl and hoot owl shall possess her, the screech owl and raven shall dwell in her. The LORD will measure her with line and plummet to be an empty waste for satyrs to dwell in. ¹² Her nobles shall be no more, nor shall kings be proclaimed there; all her princes are gone. ¹³ Her castles shall be overgrown with thorns, her fortresses with thistles and briers. She shall become an abode for jackals and a haunt for ostriches. ¹⁴ Wildcats shall meet with desert beasts, satyrs shall call to one another; there shall the lilith repose, and find for herself a place to rest. ¹⁵ There the hoot owl shall nest and lay eggs, hatch them out and gather them in her shadow; there shall the kites assemble, none shall be missing its mate. ¹⁶ Look in the book of the LORD and read: No one of these shall be lacking, for the mouth of the LORD has ordered it, and his spirit shall gather them there. ¹⁷ It is he who casts the lot for them, and with his hands he marks off their shares of her; they shall possess her forever, and dwell there from generation to generation. Isaiah Chapter 35 ¹ The desert and the parched land will exult; the steppe will rejoice and bloom. ² They will bloom with abundant flowers, and rejoice with joyful song. The glory of Lebanon will be given to them, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon; they will see the glory of the LORD, the splendor of our God. ³ Strengthen the hands that are feeble, make firm the knees that are weak, ⁴ say to those whose hearts are frightened: Be strong, fear not! Here is your God, he comes with vindication; with divine recompense he comes to save you. ⁵ Then will the eyes of the blind be opened, the ears of the deaf be cleared; ⁶ then will the lame leap like a stag, then the tongue of the dumb will sing. Streams will burst forth in the desert, and rivers in the steppe. ⁷ The burning sands will become pools, and the thirsty ground, springs of water; the abode where jackals lurk will be a marsh for the reed and papyrus. ⁸ A highway will be there, called the holy way; no one unclean may pass over it, nor fools go astray on it.

comes to save you. ⁵ Then will the eyes of the blind be opened, the ears of the deaf be cleared; ⁶ then will the lame leap like a stag, then the tongue of the dumb will sing. Streams will burst forth in the desert, and rivers in the steppe. ⁷ The burning sands will become pools, and the thirsty ground, springs of water; the abode where jackals lurk will be a marsh for the reed and papyrus. ⁸ A highway will be there, called the holy way; no one unclean may pass over it, nor fools go astray on it. ⁹ No lion will be there, nor beast of prey go up to be met upon it. It is for those with a journey to make, and on it the redeemed will walk. ¹⁰ Those whom the LORD has ransomed will return and enter Zion singing, crowned with everlasting joy; they will meet with joy and gladness, sorrow and mourning will flee.

675 Isaiah Chapter 36 ¹ In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib, king of Assyria, went on an expedition against all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them. ² From Lachish, the king of Assyria sent his commander with a great army to King Hezekiah in Jerusalem. When he stopped at the conduit of the upper pool, on the highway of the fuller's field, ³ there came out to him the master of the palace, Eliakim, son of Hilkiah, and Shebna the scribe, and the herald Joah, son of Asaph. ⁴ The commander said to them, "Tell King Hezekiah: Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria, 'On what do you base this confidence of yours? ⁵ Do you think mere words substitute for strategy and might in war? On whom, then, do you rely, that you rebel against me? ⁶ This Egypt, the staff on which you rely, is in fact a broken reed which pierces the hand of anyone who leans on it. That is what Pharaoh, king of Egypt, is to all who rely on him. ⁷ But if you say to me: "We rely on the LORD, our God," is not he the one whose high places and altars Hezekiah removed, commanding Judah and Jerusalem to worship before this altar?' ⁸ 'Now, make a wager with my lord the king of Assyria: "I will give you two thousand horses, if you can put riders on them."' ⁹ How then can you repulse even one of the least servants of my lord? And yet you rely on Egypt for chariots and horsemen! ¹⁰ 'Was it without the LORD'S will that I have come up to destroy this land? The LORD said to me, "Go up and destroy that land!"' ¹¹ Then Eliakim and Shebna and Joah said to the commander, "Please speak to your servants in Aramaic; we understand it. Do not speak to us in Judean within earshot of the people who are on the wall." ¹² But the commander replied, "Was it to you and your master that my lord sent me to speak these words? Was it not rather to the men sitting on the wall, who, with you, will have to eat their own excrement and drink their own urine?" ¹³ Then the commander stepped forward and cried out in a loud voice in Judean, "Listen to the words of the great king, the king of Assyria. ¹⁴ Thus says the king: 'Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, since he cannot deliver you. ¹⁵ Let not Hezekiah induce you to rely on the LORD, saying, "The LORD will surely save us; this city will not be handed over to the king of Assyria."' ¹⁶ Do not listen to Hezekiah, for the king of Assyria says: 'Make peace with me and surrender! Then each of you will eat of his own vine and of his own fig tree, and drink the water of his own cistern, ¹⁷ until I come to take you to a land like your own, a land of grain and wine, of bread and vineyards. ¹⁸ Do not let Hezekiah seduce you by saying, "The LORD will save us." Has any of the gods of the nations ever rescued his land from the hand of the king of Assyria? ¹⁹ Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? Where are the gods of Samaria? Have they saved Samaria from my hand? ²⁰ Which of all the gods of these lands ever rescued his land from my hand? Will the LORD then save Jerusalem from my hand?'" ²¹ But they remained silent and did not answer him one word, for the king had ordered them not to answer him. ²² Then the master of the palace, Eliakim, son of Hilkiah, Shebna the scribe, and the herald Joah, son of Asaph, came to Hezekiah with their garments torn, and reported to him what the commander had said. Isaiah Chapter 37 ¹ When King Hezekiah heard this, he tore his garments, wrapped himself in sackcloth, and went into the temple of the LORD. ² He sent Eliakim, the master of the palace, and Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, wrapped in sackcloth, to tell the prophet Isaiah, son of Amoz: ³ "Thus says Hezekiah: 'This is a day of distress, of rebuke, and of disgrace. Children are at the point of birth, but there is no strength to bring them forth.

to him what the commander had said. Isaiah Chapter 37 ¹ When King Hezekiah heard this, he tore his garments, wrapped himself in sackcloth, and went into the temple of the LORD. ² He sent Eliakim, the master of the palace, and Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, wrapped in sackcloth, to tell the prophet Isaiah, son of Amoz: ³ "Thus says Hezekiah: 'This is a day of distress, of rebuke, and of disgrace. Children are at the point of birth, but there is no strength to bring them forth. ⁴ Perhaps the LORD, your God, will hear the words of the commander, whom his master, the king of Assyria, sent to taunt the living God, and will rebuke him for the words which the LORD, your God, has heard. Send up a prayer for the remnant that is here.'" ⁵ When the servants of King Hezekiah had come to Isaiah, ⁶ he said to

676 them: "Tell this to your master: 'Thus says the LORD: Do not be frightened by the words you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me. ⁷ I am about to put in him such a spirit that, when he hears a certain report, he will return to his own land, and there I will cause him to fall by the sword.'" ⁸ When the commander returned to Lachish and heard that the king of Assyria had left there, he found him besieging Libnah. ⁹ The king of Assyria heard a report that Tirhakah, king of Ethiopia, had come out to fight against him. Again he sent envoys to Hezekiah with this message: "Thus shall you say to Hezekiah, king of Judah: ¹⁰ 'Do not let your God on whom you rely deceive you by saying that Jerusalem will not be handed over to the king of Assyria. ¹¹ You yourself have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the countries: They doomed them! Will you, then, be saved? ¹² Did the gods of the nations whom my fathers destroyed save them? Gozen, Haran, Rezeph, and the Edenites in Telassar? ¹³ Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, or a king of the cities of Sepharvaim, Hena or Ivvah?'" ¹⁴ Hezekiah took the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it; then he went up to the temple of the LORD, and spreading it out before him, ¹⁵ he prayed to the LORD: ¹⁶ "O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, enthroned upon the cherubim! You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made the heavens and the earth. ¹⁷ Incline your ear, O LORD, and listen! Open your eyes, O LORD, and see! Hear all the words of the letter that Sennacherib sent to taunt the living God. ¹⁸ Truly, O LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the nations and their lands, ¹⁹ and cast their gods into the fire; they destroyed them because they were not gods but the work of human hands, wood and stone. ²⁰ Therefore, O LORD, our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, O LORD, alone are God." ²¹ Then Isaiah, son of Amoz, sent this message to Hezekiah: Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: In answer to your prayer for help against Sennacherib, king of Assyria, ²² this is the word the LORD has spoken concerning him: She despises you, laughs you to scorn, the virgin daughter Zion; Behind you she wags her head, daughter Jerusalem. ²³ Whom have you insulted and blasphemed, against whom have you raised your voice and lifted up your eyes on high? Against the Holy One of Israel! ²⁴ Through your servants you have insulted the Lord: You said, "With my many chariots I climbed the mountain heights, the recesses of Lebanon; I cut down its lofty cedars, its choice cypresses; I reached the remotest heights, its forest park. ²⁵ I dug wells and drank water in foreign lands; I dried up with the soles of my feet all the rivers of Egypt. ²⁶ Have you not heard? Long ago I prepared it, from days of old I planned it, now I have brought it to pass: that you should reduce fortified cities into heaps of ruins, ²⁷ while their inhabitants, shorn of power, are dismayed and ashamed, becoming like the plants of the field, like the green growth, like the scorched grass on the housetops. ²⁸ I am aware whether you stand or sit; I know whether you come or go, and also your rage against me. ²⁹ Because of your rage against me and your fury which has reached my ears, I will put my hook in your nose and my bit in your mouth, and make you return the way you came. ³⁰ This shall be a sign for you: this year you shall eat the aftergrowth, next year, what grows of itself; but in the third year, sow and reap, plant vineyards and eat their fruit! ³¹ The remaining survivors of the house of Judah shall again strike root below and bear fruit above. ³² For out of Jerusalem shall come a remnant, and from Mount Zion, survivors. The zeal of the LORD of hosts shall do this.

I will put my hook in your nose and my bit in your mouth, and make you return the way you came. ³⁰ This shall be a sign for you: this year you shall eat the aftergrowth, next year, what grows of itself; but in the third year, sow and reap, plant vineyards and eat their fruit! ³¹ The remaining survivors of the house of Judah shall again strike root below and bear fruit above. ³² For out of Jerusalem shall come a remnant, and from Mount Zion, survivors. The zeal of the LORD of hosts shall do this. ³³ Therefore, thus says the LORD concerning the king of Assyria: He shall not reach this city, nor shoot an arrow at it, nor come before it with a shield, nor cast up siegeworks against it. ³⁴ He shall return by the same way he came, without entering the city, says the LORD. ³⁵ I will shield and save this city for my own sake, and for the sake of my servant David. ³⁶ The angel of the LORD went forth and struck down one hundred and eighty-five thousand in the Assyrian camp. Early the next morning, there they were, all the corpses of the dead. ³⁷ So Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, broke camp and went back home to Nineveh. ³⁸ When he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer slew him with the sword and fled into the land of

677 Ararat. His son Esarhaddon reigned in his stead. Isaiah Chapter 38 ¹ In those days, when Hezekiah was mortally ill, the prophet Isaiah, son of Amoz, came and said to him: "Thus says the LORD: Put your house in order, for you are about to die; you shall not recover." ² Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD: ³ "O LORD, remember how faithfully and wholeheartedly I conducted myself in your presence, doing what was pleasing to you!" And Hezekiah wept bitterly. ⁴ Then the word of the LORD came to Isaiah: ⁵ "Go, tell Hezekiah: Thus says the LORD, the God of your father David: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears. I will heal you: in three days you shall go up to the LORD'S temple; I will add fifteen years to your life. ⁶ I will rescue you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria; I will be a shield to this city." ²¹ Isaiah then ordered a poultice of figs to be taken and applied to the boil, that he might recover. ²² Then Hezekiah asked, "What is the sign that I shall go up to the temple of the LORD?" ⁷ Isaiah answered: "This will be the sign for you from the LORD that he will do what he has promised: ⁸ See, I will make the shadow cast by the sun on the stairway to the terrace of Ahaz go back the ten steps it has advanced." So the sun came back the ten steps it had advanced. ⁹ The song of Hezekiah, king of Judah, after he had been sick and had recovered from his illness: ¹⁰ "Once I said, 'In the noontime of life I must depart! To the gates of the nether world I shall be consigned for the rest of my years.' ¹¹ I said, 'I shall see the LORD no more in the land of the living. No longer shall I behold my fellow men among those who dwell in the world.' ¹² My dwelling, like a shepherd's tent, is struck down and borne away from me; You have folded up my life, like a weaver who severs the last thread. Day and night you give me over to torment; ¹³ I cry out until the dawn. Like a lion, he breaks all my bones; day and night you give me over to torment. ¹⁴ Like a swallow, I utter shrill cries; I moan like a dove. My eyes grow weak, gazing heavenward: O Lord, I am in straits; be my surety! ¹⁵ What am I to say or tell him? He has done it! I shall go on through all my years despite the bitterness of my soul. ¹⁶ Those live whom the LORD protects; yours is the life of my spirit. You have given me health and life; ¹⁷ thus is my bitterness transformed into peace. You have preserved my life from the pit of destruction when you cast behind your back all my sins. ¹⁸ For it is not the nether world that gives you thanks, nor death that praises you; neither do those who go down into the pit await your kindness. ¹⁹ The living, the living give you thanks, as I do today. Fathers declare to their sons, O God, your faithfulness. ²⁰ The LORD is our savior; we shall sing to stringed instruments in the house of the LORD all the days of our life." Isaiah Chapter 39 ¹ At that time, when Merodach-baladan, son of Baladan, king of Babylon, heard that Hezekiah had recovered from his sickness, he sent letters and gifts to him. ² Hezekiah was pleased with this, and therefore showed the messengers his treasury—the silver and gold, the spices and fine oil, his whole armory, and everything in his storerooms. There was nothing in his house or in his whole realm that he did not show them. ³ Then Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezekiah and asked him, "What did these men say to you? Where did they come from?" Hezekiah answered, "They came to me from a distant land, from Babylon." ⁴ "What did they see in your house?" he asked. Hezekiah replied, "They saw everything in my house; there is nothing in my storerooms that I did not show them." ⁵ Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, "Hear the word of the LORD of hosts: ⁶ Behold, the days shall come when all that is in your house, and everything that your fathers have stored up until this day, shall be carried off to Babylon; nothing shall be left, says the LORD.

?" Hezekiah answered, "They came to me from a distant land, from Babylon." ⁴ "What did they see in your house?" he asked. Hezekiah replied, "They saw everything in my house; there is nothing in my storerooms that I did not show them." ⁵ Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, "Hear the word of the LORD of hosts: ⁶ Behold, the days shall come when all that is in your house, and everything that your fathers have stored up until this day, shall be carried off to Babylon; nothing shall be left, says the LORD. ⁷ Some of your own bodily descendants shall be taken and made servants in the palace of the king of Babylon." ⁸ Hezekiah replied to Isaiah, "The word of the LORD which you have spoken is favorable." For he thought, "There will be peace and security in my lifetime."

678 Isaiah Chapter 40 ¹ Comfort, give comfort to my people, says your God. ² Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her service is at an end, her guilt is expiated; indeed, she has received from the hand of the LORD double for all her sins. ³ A voice cries out: In the desert prepare the way of the LORD! Make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God! ⁴ Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill shall be made low; the rugged land shall be made a plain, the rough country, a broad valley. ⁵ Then the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all mankind shall see it together; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken. ⁶ A voice says, "Cry out!" I answer, "What shall I cry out?" "All mankind is grass, and all their glory like the flower of the field. ⁷ The grass withers, the flower wilts, when the breath of the LORD blows upon it. (So then, the people is the grass.) ⁸ Though the grass withers and the flower wilts, the word of our God stands forever." ⁹ Go up onto a high mountain, Zion, herald of glad tidings; cry out at the top of your voice, Jerusalem, herald of good news! Fear not to cry out and say to the cities of Judah: Here is your God! ¹⁰ Here comes with power the Lord GOD, who rules by his strong arm; here is his reward with him, his recompense before him. ¹¹ Like a shepherd he feeds his flock; in his arms he gathers the lambs, carrying them in his bosom, and leading the ewes with care. ¹² Who has cupped in his hand the waters of the sea, and marked off the heavens with a span? Who has held in a measure the dust of the earth, weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance? ¹³ Who has directed the spirit of the LORD, or has instructed him as his counselor? ¹⁴ Whom did he consult to gain knowledge? Who taught him the path of judgment, or showed him the way of understanding? ¹⁵ Behold, the nations count as a drop in the bucket, as dust on the scales; the coastlands weigh no more than powder. ¹⁶ Lebanon would not suffice for fuel, nor its animals be enough for holocausts. ¹⁷ Before him all the nations are as nought, as nothing and void he accounts them. ¹⁸ To whom can you liken God? With what equal can you confront him? ¹⁹ An idol, cast by a craftsman, which the smith plates with gold and fits with silver chains? ²⁰ Mulberry wood, the choice portion which a skilled craftsman picks out for himself, choosing timber that will not rot, to set up an idol that will not be unsteady? ²¹ Do you not know? Have you not heard? Was it not foretold you from the beginning? Have you not understood since the earth was founded? ²² He sits enthroned above the vault of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; he stretches out the heavens like a veil, spreads them out like a tent to dwell in. ²³ He brings princes to nought and makes the rulers of the earth as nothing. ²⁴ Scarcely are they planted or sown, scarcely is their stem rooted in the earth, when he breathes upon them and they wither, and the stormwind carries them away like straw. ²⁵ To whom can you liken me as an equal? says the Holy One. ²⁶ Lift up your eyes on high and see who has created these: he leads out their army and numbers them, calling them all by name. By his great might and the strength of his power not one of them is missing! ²⁷ Why, O Jacob, do you say, and declare, O Israel, "My way is hidden from the LORD, and my right is disregarded by my God"? ²⁸ Do you not know or have you not heard? The LORD is the eternal God, creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint nor grow weary, and his knowledge is beyond scrutiny. ²⁹ He gives strength to the fainting; for the weak he makes vigor abound. ³⁰ Though young men faint and grow weary, and youths stagger and fall, ³¹ they that hope in the LORD will renew their strength, they will soar as with eagles' wings; they will run and not grow weary, walk and not grow faint. Isaiah Chapter 41 ¹ Keep silence before me, O coastlands; you peoples, wait for my words!

God, creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint nor grow weary, and his knowledge is beyond scrutiny. ²⁹ He gives strength to the fainting; for the weak he makes vigor abound. ³⁰ Though young men faint and grow weary, and youths stagger and fall, ³¹ they that hope in the LORD will renew their strength, they will soar as with eagles' wings; they will run and not grow weary, walk and not grow faint. Isaiah Chapter 41 ¹ Keep silence before me, O coastlands; you peoples, wait for my words! Let them draw near and speak; let us come together for judgment. ² Who has stirred up from the East the champion of justice, and summoned him to be his attendant? To him he delivers the nations and subdues the kings; with his sword he reduces them to dust, with his bow, to driven straw. ³ He pursues them,

679 passing on without loss, by a path his feet do not even tread. ⁴ Who has performed these deeds? He who has called forth the generations since the beginning. I, the LORD, am the first, and with the last I will also be. ⁵ The coastlands see, and fear; the ends of the earth tremble: these things are near, they come to pass. ⁶ They help one another; one says to the other, "Courage!" ⁷ The craftsman encourages the goldsmith, the one who beats with the hammer, him who strikes on the anvil; He says the soldering is good, and he fastens it with nails to steady it. ⁸ But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, offspring of Abraham my friend—⁹ you whom I have taken from the ends of the earth and summoned from its far-off places, you whom I have called my servant, whom I have chosen and will not cast off—¹⁰ fear not, I am with you; be not dismayed; I am your God. I will strengthen you, and help you, and uphold you with my right hand of justice. ¹¹ Yes, all shall be put to shame and disgrace who vent their anger against you; those shall perish and come to nought who offer resistance. ¹² You shall seek out, but shall not find, those who strive against you; they shall be as nothing at all who do battle with you. ¹³ For I am the LORD, your God, who grasp your right hand; it is I who say to you, "Fear not, I will help you." ¹⁴ Fear not, O worm Jacob, O maggot Israel; I will help you, says the LORD; your redeemer is the Holy One of Israel. ¹⁵ I will make of you a threshing sledge, sharp, new, and double-edged, to thresh the mountains and crush them, to make the hills like chaff. ¹⁶ When you winnow them, the wind shall carry them off and the storm shall scatter them. But you shall rejoice in the LORD, and glory in the Holy One of Israel. ¹⁷ The afflicted and the needy seek water in vain, their tongues are parched with thirst. I, the LORD, will answer them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. ¹⁸ I will open up rivers on the bare heights, and fountains in the broad valleys; I will turn the desert into a marshland, and the dry ground into springs of water. ¹⁹ I will plant in the desert the cedar, acacia, myrtle, and olive; I will set in the wasteland the cypress, together with the plane tree and the pine, ²⁰ that all may see and know, observe and understand, that the hand of the LORD has done this, the Holy One of Israel has created it. ²¹ Present your case, says the LORD; bring forward your reasons, says the King of Jacob. ²² Let them come near and foretell to us what it is that shall happen! What are the things of long ago? Tell us, that we may reflect on them and know their outcome; or declare to us the things to come! ²³ Foretell the things that shall come afterward, that we may know that you are gods! Do something, good or evil, that will put us in awe and in fear. ²⁴ Why, you are nothing and your work is nought! To choose you is an abomination. ²⁵ I have stirred up one from the north, and he comes; from the east I summon him by name; he shall trample the rulers down like red earth, as the potter treads the clay. ²⁶ Who announced this from the beginning, that we might know; beforehand, that we might say it is true? Not one of you foretold it, not one spoke; no one heard you say, ²⁷ "The first news for Zion: they are coming now," or, "For Jerusalem I will pick out a bearer of the glad tidings." ²⁸ When I look, there is not one, no one of them to give counsel, to make an answer when I question them. ²⁹ Ah, all of them are nothing, their works are nought, their idols are empty wind! Isaiah Chapter 42 ¹ Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one with whom I am pleased, upon whom I have put my spirit; he shall bring forth justice to the nations, ² not crying out, not shouting, not making his voice heard in the street. ³ A bruised reed he shall not break, and a smoldering wick he shall not quench, ⁴ until he establishes justice on the earth; the coastlands will wait for his teaching.

them. ²⁹ Ah, all of them are nothing, their works are nought, their idols are empty wind! Isaiah Chapter 42 ¹ Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one with whom I am pleased, upon whom I have put my spirit; he shall bring forth justice to the nations, ² not crying out, not shouting, not making his voice heard in the street. ³ A bruised reed he shall not break, and a smoldering wick he shall not quench, ⁴ until he establishes justice on the earth; the coastlands will wait for his teaching. ⁵ Thus says God, the LORD, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spreads out the earth with its crops, who gives breath to its people and spirit to those who walk on it: ⁶ I, the LORD, have called you for the victory of justice, I have grasped you by the hand; I formed you, and set you as a covenant of the people, a light for the nations, ⁷ to open the eyes of the blind, to bring out prisoners from confinement, and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness. ⁸ I am the LORD,

680 this is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to idols. ⁹ See, the earlier things have come to pass, new ones I now foretell; before they spring into being, I announce them to you. ¹⁰ Sing to the LORD a new song, his praise from the end of the earth: let the sea and what fills it resound, the coastlands, and those who dwell in them. ¹¹ Let the steppe and its cities cry out, the villages where Kedar dwells; let the inhabitants of Sela exult, and shout from the top of the mountains. ¹² Let them give glory to the LORD, and utter his praise in the coastlands. ¹³ The LORD goes forth like a hero, like a warrior he stirs up his ardor; he shouts out his battle cry, against his enemies he shows his might: ¹⁴ I have looked away, and kept silence, I have said nothing, holding myself in; but now, I cry out as a woman in labor, gasping and panting. ¹⁵ I will lay waste mountains and hills, all their herbage I will dry up; I will turn the rivers into marshes, and the marshes I will dry up. ¹⁶ I will lead the blind on their journey; by paths unknown I will guide them. I will turn darkness into light before them, and make crooked ways straight. These things I do for them, and I will not forsake them. ¹⁷ They shall be turned back in utter shame who trust in idols, who say to molten images, "You are our gods." ¹⁸ You who are deaf, listen, you who are blind, look and see! ¹⁹ Who is blind but my servant, or deaf like the messenger I send? ²⁰ You see many things without taking note; your ears are open, but without hearing. ²¹ Though it pleased the LORD in his justice to make his law great and glorious, ²² this is a people despoiled and plundered, all of them trapped in holes, hidden away in prisons. They are taken as booty, with no one to rescue them, as spoil, with no one to demand their return. ²³ Who of you gives ear to this? Who listens and pays heed for the time to come? ²⁴ Who was it that gave Jacob to be plundered, Israel to the despoilers? Was it not the LORD, against whom we have sinned? In his ways they refused to walk, his law they disobeyed. ²⁵ So he poured out wrath upon them, his anger, and the fury of battle; it blazed round about them, yet they did not realize, it burned them, but they took it not to heart. Isaiah Chapter 43 ¹ But now, thus says the LORD, who created you, O Jacob, and formed you, O Israel: Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name: you are mine. ² When you pass through the water, I will be with you; in the rivers, you shall not drown. When you walk through fire, you shall not be burned; the flames shall not consume you. ³ For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your savior. I give Egypt as your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba in return for you. ⁴ Because you are precious in my eyes and glorious, and because I love you, I give men in return for you and peoples in exchange for your life. ⁵ Fear not, for I am with you; from the east I will bring back your descendants, from the west I will gather you. ⁶ I will say to the north: Give them up! and to the south: Hold not back! Bring back my sons from afar, and my daughters from the ends of the earth: ⁷ Everyone who is named as mine, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made. ⁸ Lead out the people who are blind though they have eyes, who are deaf though they have ears. ⁹ Let all the nations gather together, let the peoples assemble! Who among them could have revealed this, or foretold to us the earlier things? Let them produce witnesses to prove themselves right, that one may hear and say, "It is true!" ¹⁰ You are my witnesses, says the LORD, my servants whom I have chosen to know and believe in me and understand that it is I. Before me no god was formed, and after me there shall be none. ¹¹ It is I, I the LORD; there is no savior but me. ¹² It is I who foretold, I who saved; I made it known, not any strange god among you; you are my witnesses, says the LORD.

his, or foretold to us the earlier things? Let them produce witnesses to prove themselves right, that one may hear and say, "It is true!" ¹⁰ You are my witnesses, says the LORD, my servants whom I have chosen to know and believe in me and understand that it is I. Before me no god was formed, and after me there shall be none. ¹¹ It is I, I the LORD; there is no savior but me. ¹² It is I who foretold, I who saved; I made it known, not any strange god among you; you are my witnesses, says the LORD. I am God, ¹³ yes, from eternity I am He; there is none who can deliver from my hand: who can countermand what I do? ¹⁴ Thus says the LORD, your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: For your sakes I send to Babylon; I will lower all the bars, and the Chaldeans shall cry out in lamentation. ¹⁵ I am the LORD, your Holy One, the creator of Israel, your King. ¹⁶ Thus says the LORD, who opens a way in the sea and a path in the mighty waters, ¹⁷ who leads out chariots and horsemen, a powerful army, till they lie prostrate together, never to rise, snuffed out and quenched

681 like a wick. ¹⁸ Remember not the events of the past, the things of long ago consider not; ¹⁹ See, I am doing something new! Now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? In the desert, I make a way, in the wasteland, rivers. ²⁰ Wild beasts honor me, jackals and ostriches, for I put water in the desert and rivers in the wasteland for my chosen people to drink, ²¹ the people whom I formed for myself, that they might announce my praise. ²² Yet you did not call upon me, O Jacob, for you grew weary of me, O Israel. ²³ You did not bring me sheep for your holocausts, nor honor me with your sacrifices. I did not exact from you the service of offerings, nor weary you for frankincense. ²⁴ You did not buy me sweet cane for money, nor fill me with the fat of your sacrifices; instead, you burdened me with your sins, and wearied me with your crimes. ²⁵ It is I, I, who wipe out, for my own sake, your offenses; your sins I remember no more. ²⁶ Would you have me remember, have us come to trial? Speak up, prove your innocence! ²⁷ Your first father sinned; your spokesmen rebelled against me ²⁸ till I repudiated the holy gates, put Jacob under the ban, and exposed Israel to scorn. Isaiah Chapter 44 ¹ Hear then, O Jacob, my servant, Israel, whom I have chosen. ² Thus says the LORD who made you, your help, who formed you from the womb: Fear not, O Jacob, my servant, the darling whom I have chosen. ³ I will pour out water upon the thirsty ground, and streams upon the dry land; I will pour out my spirit upon your offspring, and my blessing upon your descendants. ⁴ They shall spring up amid the verdure like poplars beside the flowing waters. ⁵ One shall say, "I am the LORD'S," another shall be named after Jacob, and this one shall write on his hand, "The LORD'S," and Israel shall be his surname. ⁶ Thus says the LORD, Israel's King and redeemer, the LORD of hosts: I am the first and I am the last; there is no God but me. ⁷ Who is like me? Let him stand up and speak, make it evident, and confront me with it. Who of old announced future events? Let them foretell to us the things to come. ⁸ Fear not, be not troubled: did I not announce and foretell it long ago? You are my witnesses! Is there a God or any Rock besides me? ⁹ Idol makers all amount to nothing, and their precious works are of no avail, as they themselves give witness. To their shame, they neither see nor know anything; and they are more deaf than men are. ¹⁰ Indeed, all the associates of anyone who forms a god, or casts an idol to no purpose, will be put to shame; ¹¹ they will all assemble and stand forth, to be reduced to fear and shame. ¹² The smith fashions an iron image, works it over the coals, shapes it with hammers, and forges it with his strong arm. He is hungry and weak, drinks no water and becomes exhausted. ¹³ The carpenter stretches a line and marks with a stylus the outline of an idol. He shapes it with a plane and measures it off with a compass, making it like a man in appearance and dignity, to occupy a shrine. ¹⁴ He cuts down cedars, takes a holm or an oak, and lays hold of other trees of the forest, which the Lord had planted and the rain made grow ¹⁵ to serve man for fuel. With a part of their wood he warms himself, or makes a fire for baking bread; but with another part he makes a god which he adores, an idol which he worships. ¹⁶ Half of it he burns in the fire, and on its embers he roasts his meat; he eats what he has roasted until he is full, and then warms himself and says, "Ah! I am warm, I feel the fire." ¹⁷ Of what remains he makes a god, his idol, and prostrate before it in worship, he implores it, "Rescue me, for you are my god." ¹⁸ The idols have neither knowledge nor reason; their eyes are coated so that they cannot see, and their hearts so that they cannot understand. ¹⁹ Yet he does not reflect, nor have the intelligence and sense to say, "Half of the wood I burned in the fire, and on its embers I baked bread and roasted meat which I ate.

himself and says, "Ah! I am warm, I feel the fire." ¹⁷ Of what remains he makes a god, his idol, and prostrate before it in worship, he implores it, "Rescue me, for you are my god." ¹⁸ The idols have neither knowledge nor reason; their eyes are coated so that they cannot see, and their hearts so that they cannot understand. ¹⁹ Yet he does not reflect, nor have the intelligence and sense to say, "Half of the wood I burned in the fire, and on its embers I baked bread and roasted meat which I ate. Shall I then make an abomination out of the rest, or worship a block of wood?" ²⁰ He is chasing ashes—a thing that cannot save itself when the flame consumes it; yet he does not say, "Is not this thing in my right hand a fraud?" ²¹ Remember this, O Jacob, you, O Israel, who are my servant! I formed you to be a servant to me; O Israel, by me you shall never be forgotten: ²² I have brushed away your offenses

682 like a cloud, your sins like a mist; return to me, for I have redeemed you. ²³ Raise a glad cry, you heavens: the LORD has done this; shout, you depths of the earth. Break forth, you mountains, into song, you forest, with all your trees. For the LORD has redeemed Jacob, and shows his glory through Israel. ²⁴ Thus says the LORD, your redeemer, who formed you from the womb: I am the LORD, who made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens; when I spread out the earth, who was with me? ²⁵ It is I who bring to nought the omens of liars, who make fools of diviners; I turn wise men back and make their knowledge foolish. ²⁶ It is I who confirm the words of my servants, I carry out the plan announced by my messengers; I say to Jerusalem: Be inhabited; to the cities of Judah: Be rebuilt; I will raise up their ruins. ²⁷ It is I who said to the deep: Be dry; I will dry up your wellsprings. ²⁸ I say of Cyrus: My shepherd, who fulfills my every wish; He shall say of Jerusalem, "Let her be rebuilt," and of the temple, "Let its foundations be laid." Isaiah Chapter 45 ¹ Thus says the LORD to his anointed, Cyrus, whose right hand I grasp, subduing nations before him and making kings run in his service, opening doors before him and leaving the gates unbarred: ² I will go before you and level the mountains; bronze doors I will shatter, and iron bars I will snap. ³ I will give you treasures out of the darkness, and riches that have been hidden away, that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who calls you by your name. ⁴ For the sake of Jacob, my servant, of Israel my chosen one, I have called you by your name, giving you a title, though you knew me not. ⁵ I am the LORD and there is no other, there is no God besides me. It is I who arm you, though you know me not, ⁶ so that toward the rising and the setting of the sun men may know that there is none besides me. I am the LORD, there is no other; ⁷ I form the light and create the darkness, I make well-being and create woe; I, the LORD, do all these things. ⁸ Let justice descend, O heavens, like dew from above, like gentle rain let the skies drop it down. Let the earth open and salvation bud forth; let justice also spring up! I, the LORD, have created this. ⁹ Woe to him who contends with his Maker; a potsherd among potsherds of the earth! Dare the clay say to its modeler, "What are you doing?" or, "What you are making has no hands"? ¹⁰ Woe to him who asks a father, "What are you begetting?" or a woman, "What are you giving birth to?" ¹¹ Thus says the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, his maker: You question me about my children, or prescribe the work of my hands for me! ¹² It was I who made the earth and created mankind upon it; it was my hands that stretched out the heavens; I gave the order to all their host. ¹³ It was I who stirred up one for the triumph of justice; all his ways I make level. He shall rebuild my city and let my exiles go free without price or ransom, says the LORD of hosts. ¹⁴ Thus says the LORD: The earnings of Egypt, the gain of Ethiopia, and the Sabeans, tall of stature, shall come over to you and belong to you; they shall follow you, coming in chains. Before you they shall fall prostrate, saying in prayer: "With you only is God, and nowhere else; the gods are nought." ¹⁵ Truly with you God is hidden, the God of Israel, the savior! ¹⁶ Those are put to shame and disgrace who vent their anger against him; those go in disgrace who carve images. ¹⁷ Israel, you are saved by the LORD, saved forever! You shall never be put to shame or disgrace in future ages. ¹⁸ For thus says the LORD, the creator of the heavens, who is God, the designer and maker of the earth who established it, not creating it to be a waste, but designing it to be lived in: I am the LORD, and there is no other.

you God is hidden, the God of Israel, the savior! ¹⁶ Those are put to shame and disgrace who vent their anger against him; those go in disgrace who carve images. ¹⁷ Israel, you are saved by the LORD, saved forever! You shall never be put to shame or disgrace in future ages. ¹⁸ For thus says the LORD, the creator of the heavens, who is God, the designer and maker of the earth who established it, not creating it to be a waste, but designing it to be lived in: I am the LORD, and there is no other. ¹⁹ I have not spoken from hiding nor from some dark place of the earth, and I have not said to the descendants of Jacob, "Look for me in an empty waste." I, the LORD, promise justice, I foretell what is right. ²⁰ Come and assemble, gather together, you fugitives from among the gentiles! They are without knowledge who bear wooden idols and pray to gods that cannot save. ²¹ Come here and declare in counsel together: Who announced this from the beginning and foretold it from of old? Was it not I, the LORD, besides whom there is no other God? There is no just and saving God but me. ²² Turn to me and be safe, all you ends of the earth, for I am God;

683 there is no other! ²³ By myself I swear, uttering my just decree and my unalterable word: To me every knee shall bend; by me every tongue shall swear, ²⁴ saying, "Only in the LORD are just deeds and power. Before him in shame shall come all who vent their anger against him. ²⁵ In the LORD shall be the vindication and the glory of all the descendants of Israel." Isaiah Chapter 46 ¹ Bel bows down, Nebo stoops, their idols are upon beasts and cattle; they must be borne up on shoulders, carried as burdens by the weary. ² They stoop and bow down together; unable to save those who bear them, they too go into captivity. ³ Hear me, O house of Jacob, all who remain of the house of Israel, my burden since your birth, whom I have carried from your infancy. ⁴ Even to your old age I am the same, even when your hair is gray I will bear you; it is I who have done this, I who will continue, and I who will carry you to safety. ⁵ Whom would you compare me with, as an equal, or match me against, as though we were alike? ⁶ There are those who pour out gold from a purse and weigh out silver on the scales; then they hire a goldsmith to make it into a god before which they fall down in worship. ⁷ They lift it to their shoulders to carry; when they set it in place again, it stays, and does not move from the spot. Although they cry out to it, it cannot answer; it delivers no one from distress. ⁸ Remember this and be firm, bear it well in mind, you rebels; remember the former things, those long ago: ⁹ I am God, there is no other; I am God, there is none like me. ¹⁰ At the beginning I foretell the outcome; in advance, things not yet done. I say that my plan shall stand, I accomplish my every purpose. ¹¹ I call from the east a bird of prey, from a distant land, one to carry out my plan. Yes, I have spoken, I will accomplish it; I have planned it, and I will do it. ¹² Listen to me, you fainthearted, you who seem far from the victory of justice: ¹³ I am bringing on my justice, it is not far off, my salvation shall not tarry; I will put salvation within Zion, and give to Israel my glory. Isaiah Chapter 47 ¹ Come down, sit in the dust, O virgin daughter Babylon; sit on the ground, dethroned, O daughter of the Chaldeans. No longer shall you be called dainty and delicate. ² Take the millstone and grind flour, remove your veil; strip off your train, bare your legs, pass through the streams. ³ Your nakedness shall be uncovered and your shame be seen; I will take vengeance, I will yield to no entreaty, says our redeemer, ⁴ whose name is the LORD of hosts, the Holy One of Israel. ⁵ Go into darkness and sit in silence, O daughter of the Chaldeans, no longer shall you be called sovereign mistress of kingdoms. ⁶ Angry at my people, I profaned my inheritance, and I gave them into your hand; but you showed them no mercy, and upon old men you laid a very heavy yoke. ⁷ You said, "I shall remain always, a sovereign mistress forever!" But you did not lay these things to heart, you disregarded their outcome. ⁸ Now hear this, voluptuous one, enthroned securely, saying to yourself, "I, and no one else! I shall never be a widow, or suffer the loss of my children" - ⁹ Both these things shall come to you suddenly, in a single day: complete bereavement and widowhood shall come upon you for your many sorceries and the great number of your spells; ¹⁰ because you felt secure in your wickedness, and said, "No one sees me." Your wisdom and your knowledge led you astray, and you said to yourself, "I, and no one else!" ¹¹ But upon you shall come evil you will not know how to predict; disaster shall befall you which you cannot allay. Suddenly there shall come upon you ruin which you will not expect. ¹² Keep up, now, your spells and your many sorceries. Perhaps you can make them avail, perhaps you can strike terror!

great number of your spells; ¹⁰ because you felt secure in your wickedness, and said, "No one sees me." Your wisdom and your knowledge led you astray, and you said to yourself, "I, and no one else!" ¹¹ But upon you shall come evil you will not know how to predict; disaster shall befall you which you cannot allay. Suddenly there shall come upon you ruin which you will not expect. ¹² Keep up, now, your spells and your many sorceries. Perhaps you can make them avail, perhaps you can strike terror! ¹³ You wearied yourself with many consultations, at which you toiled from your youth; let the astrologers stand forth to save you, the stargazers who forecast at each new moon what would happen to you. ¹⁴ Lo, they are like stubble, fire consumes them; they cannot save themselves from the spreading flames. This is no warming ember, no fire to sit before. ¹⁵ Thus do your wizards serve you with whom you have

684 toiled from your youth; each wanders his own way, with none to save you. Isaiah Chapter 48 ¹ Hear this, O house of Jacob, called by the name Israel, sprung from the stock of Judah, you who swear by the name of the LORD and invoke the God of Israel without sincerity or justice, ² though you are named after the holy city and rely on the God of Israel, whose name is the LORD of hosts. ³ Things of the past I foretold long ago, they went forth from my mouth, I let you hear of them; then suddenly I took action and they came to be. ⁴ Because I know that you are stubborn and that your neck is an iron sinew and your forehead bronze, ⁵ I foretold them to you of old; before they took place I let you hear of them, that you might not say, "My idol did them, my statue, my molten image commanded them." ⁶ Now that you have heard, look at all this; must you not admit it? From now on I announce new things to you, hidden events of which you knew not. ⁷ Now, not long ago, they are brought into being, and beforetime you did not hear of them, so that you cannot claim to have known them; ⁸ You neither heard nor knew, they did not reach your ears beforehand. Yes, I know you are utterly treacherous, a rebel you were called from birth. ⁹ For the sake of my name I restrain my anger, for the sake of my renown I hold it back from you, lest I should destroy you. ¹⁰ See, I have refined you like silver, tested you in the furnace of affliction. ¹¹ For my sake, for my own sake, I do this; why should I suffer profanation? My glory I will not give to another. ¹² Listen to me, Jacob, Israel, whom I named! I, it is I who am the first, and also the last am I. ¹³ Yes, my hand laid the foundations of the earth; my right hand spread out the heavens. When I call them, they stand forth at once. ¹⁴ All of you assemble and listen: Who among you foretold these things? The LORD'S friend shall do his will against Babylon and the progeny of Chaldea. ¹⁵ I myself have spoken, I have called him, I have brought him, and his way succeeds! ¹⁶ Come near to me and hear this! Not from the beginning did I speak it in secret; At the time it comes to pass, I am present: "Now the Lord GOD has sent me, and his spirit." ¹⁷ Thus says the LORD, your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: I, the LORD, your God, teach you what is for your good, and lead you on the way you should go. ¹⁸ If you would hearken to my commandments, your prosperity would be like a river, and your vindication like the waves of the sea; ¹⁹ Your descendants would be like the sand, and those born of your stock like its grains, their name never cut off or blotted out from my presence. ²⁰ Go forth from Babylon, flee from Chaldea! With shouts of joy proclaim this, make it known; publish it to the ends of the earth, and say, "The LORD has redeemed his servant Jacob. ²¹ They did not thirst when he led them through dry lands; Water from the rock he set flowing for them; he cleft the rock, and waters welled forth." ²² (There is no peace for the wicked, says the LORD.) Isaiah Chapter 49 ¹ Hear me, O coastlands, listen, O distant peoples. The LORD called me from birth, from my mother's womb he gave me my name. ² He made of me a sharp-edged sword and concealed me in the shadow of his arm. He made me a polished arrow, in his quiver he hid me. ³ You are my servant, he said to me, Israel, through whom I show my glory. ⁴ Though I thought I had toiled in vain, and for nothing, uselessly, spent my strength, yet my reward is with the LORD, my recompense is with my God. ⁵ For now the LORD has spoken who formed me as his servant from the womb, that Jacob may be brought back to him and Israel gathered to him; and I am made glorious in the sight of the LORD, and my God is now my strength! ⁶ It is too little, he says, for you to be my servant, to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and restore the survivors of Israel; I will make you a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.

yet my reward is with the LORD, my recompense is with my God. ⁵ For now the LORD has spoken who formed me as his servant from the womb, that Jacob may be brought back to him and Israel gathered to him; and I am made glorious in the sight of the LORD, and my God is now my strength! ⁶ It is too little, he says, for you to be my servant, to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and restore the survivors of Israel; I will make you a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth. ⁷ Thus says the LORD, the redeemer and the Holy One of Israel, to the one despised, whom the nations abhor, the slave of rulers: When kings see you, they shall stand up, and princes shall prostrate themselves

685 because of the LORD who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel who has chosen you. ⁸ Thus says the LORD: In a time of favor I answer you, on the day of salvation I help you, to restore the land and allot the desolate heritages, ⁹ saying to the prisoners: Come out! To those in darkness: Show yourselves! Along the ways they shall find pasture, on every bare height shall their pastures be. ¹⁰ They shall not hunger or thirst, nor shall the scorching wind or the sun strike them; for he who pities them leads them and guides them beside springs of water. ¹¹ I will cut a road through all my mountains, and make my highways level. ¹² See, some shall come from afar, others from the north and the west, and some from the land of Syene. ¹³ Sing out, O heavens, and rejoice, O earth, break forth into song, you mountains. For the LORD comforts his people and shows mercy to his afflicted. ¹⁴ But Zion said, "The LORD has forsaken me; my Lord has forgotten me." ¹⁵ Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb? Even should she forget, I will never forget you. ¹⁶ See, upon the palms of my hands I have written your name; your walls are ever before me. ¹⁷ Your rebuilders make haste, as those who tore you down and laid you waste go forth from you; ¹⁸ Look about and see, they are all gathering and coming to you. As I live, says the LORD, you shall be arrayed with them all as with adornments, like a bride you shall fasten them on you. ¹⁹ Though you were waste and desolate, a land of ruins, now you shall be too small for your inhabitants, while those who swallowed you up will be far away. ²⁰ The children whom you had lost shall yet say to you, "This place is too small for me, make room for me to live in." ²¹ You shall ask yourself: "Who has borne me these? I was bereft and barren (exiled and repudiated); who has reared them? I was left all alone; where then do these come from?" ²² Thus says the Lord GOD: See, I will lift up my hand to the nations, and raise my signal to the peoples; they shall bring your sons in their arms, and your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders. ²³ Kings shall be your foster fathers, their princesses your nurses; bowing to the ground, they shall worship you and lick the dust at your feet. Then you shall know that I am the LORD, and those who hope in me shall never be disappointed. ²⁴ Thus says the LORD: Can booty be taken from a warrior? or captives be rescued from a tyrant? ²⁵ Yes, captives can be taken from a warrior, and booty be rescued from a tyrant; those who oppose you I will oppose, and your sons I will save. ²⁶ I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh, and they shall be drunk with their own blood as with the juice of the grape. All mankind shall know that I, the LORD, am your savior, your redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob. Isaiah Chapter 50 ¹ Thus says the LORD: Where is the bill of divorce with which I dismissed your mother? Or to which of my creditors have I sold you? It was for your sins that you were sold, for your crimes that your mother was dismissed. ² Why was no one there when I came? Why did no one answer when I called? Is my hand too short to ransom? Have I not the strength to deliver? Lo, with my rebuke I dry up the sea, I turn rivers into a desert; their fish rot for lack of water, and die of thirst. ³ I clothe the heavens in mourning, and make sackcloth their vesture. ⁴ The Lord GOD has given me a well-trained tongue, that I might know how to speak to the weary a word that will rouse them. Morning after morning he opens my ear that I may hear; ⁵ And I have not rebelled, have not turned back. ⁶ I gave my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who plucked my beard; my face I did not shield from buffets and spitting. ⁷ The Lord GOD is my help, therefore I am not disgraced; I have set my face like flint, knowing that I shall not be put to shame. ⁸ He is near who upholds my right; if anyone wishes to oppose me, let us appear together.

ak to the weary a word that will rouse them. Morning after morning he opens my ear that I may hear; ⁵ And I have not rebelled, have not turned back. ⁶ I gave my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who plucked my beard; my face I did not shield from buffets and spitting. ⁷ The Lord GOD is my help, therefore I am not disgraced; I have set my face like flint, knowing that I shall not be put to shame. ⁸ He is near who upholds my right; if anyone wishes to oppose me, let us appear together. Who disputes my right? Let him confront me. ⁹ See, the Lord GOD is my help; who will prove me wrong? Lo, they will all wear out like cloth, the moth will eat them up. ¹⁰ Who among you fears the LORD, heeds his servant's voice, and walks in darkness without any light, trusting in the name of the LORD and relying on his God? ¹¹ All of you kindle flames and carry about you fiery darts; walk by the light of your own fire and

686 by the flares you have burnt! This is your fate from my hand: you shall lie down in a place of pain. Isaiah Chapter 51 ¹ Listen to me, you who pursue justice, who seek the LORD; look to the rock from which you were hewn, to the pit from which you were quarried. ² Look to Abraham, your father, and to Sarah, who gave you birth; when he was but one I called him, I blessed him and made him many. ³ Yes, the LORD shall comfort Zion and have pity on all her ruins; her deserts he shall make like Eden, her wasteland like the garden of the LORD; joy and gladness shall be found in her, thanksgiving and the sound of song. ⁴ Be attentive to me, my people; my folk, give ear to me. For law shall go forth from my presence, and my judgment, as the light of the peoples. ⁵ I will make my justice come speedily; my salvation shall go forth and my arm shall judge the nations. In me shall the coastlands hope, and my arm they shall await. ⁶ Raise your eyes to the heavens, and look at the earth below; though the heavens grow thin like smoke, the earth wears out like a garment and its inhabitants die like flies, my salvation shall remain forever, and my justice shall never be dismayed. ⁷ Hear me, you who know justice, you people who have my teaching at heart: fear not the reproach of men, be not dismayed at their revilings. ⁸ They shall be like a garment eaten by moths, like wool consumed by grubs; but my justice shall remain forever and my salvation for all generations. ⁹ Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the LORD! Awake as in the days of old, in ages long ago! Was it not you who crushed Rahab, you who pierced the dragon? ¹⁰ Was it not you who dried up the sea, the waters of the great deep, who made the depths of the sea into a way for the redeemed to pass over? ¹¹ Those whom the LORD has ransomed will return and enter Zion singing, crowned with everlasting joy; they will meet with joy and gladness, sorrow and mourning will flee. ¹² I, it is I who comfort you. Can you then fear mortal man, who is human only, to be looked upon as grass, ¹³ and forget the LORD, your maker, who stretched out the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth? All the day you are in constant dread of the fury of the oppressor; but when he sets himself to destroy, what is there of the oppressor's fury? ¹⁴ The oppressed shall soon be released; they shall not die and go down into the pit, nor shall they want for bread. ¹⁵ For I am the LORD, your God, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar; the LORD of hosts by name. ¹⁶ I have put my words into your mouth and shielded you in the shadow of my hand, I, who stretched out the heavens, who laid the foundations of the earth, who say to Zion: You are my people. ¹⁷ Awake, awake! Arise, O Jerusalem, you who drank at the LORD'S hand the cup of his wrath; who drained to the dregs the bowl of staggering! ¹⁸ She has no one to guide her of all the sons she bore; she has no one to grasp her by the hand, of all the sons she reared! ¹⁹ Your misfortunes are double; who is there to condole with you? Desolation and destruction, famine and sword! Who is there to comfort you? ²⁰ Your sons lie helpless at every street corner like antelopes in a net. They are filled with the wrath of the LORD, the rebuke of your God. ²¹ But now, hear this, O afflicted one, drunk, but not with wine, ²² thus says the LORD, your Master, your God, who defends his people: See, I am taking from your hand the cup of staggering; the bowl of my wrath you shall no longer drink. ²³ I will put it into the hands of your tormentors, those who ordered you to bow down, that they might walk over you, while you offered your back like the ground, like the street for them to walk on. Isaiah Chapter 52 ¹ Awake, awake! Put on your strength, O Zion; put on your glorious garments, O Jerusalem, holy city. No longer shall the uncircumcised or the unclean enter you. ² Shake off the dust, ascend to the throne, Jerusalem; loose the bonds from your neck, O captive daughter Zion!

er drink. ²³ I will put it into the hands of your tormentors, those who ordered you to bow down, that they might walk over you, while you offered your back like the ground, like the street for them to walk on. Isaiah Chapter 52 ¹ Awake, awake! Put on your strength, O Zion; put on your glorious garments, O Jerusalem, holy city. No longer shall the uncircumcised or the unclean enter you. ² Shake off the dust, ascend to the throne, Jerusalem; loose the bonds from your neck, O captive daughter Zion! ³ For thus says the LORD: You were sold for nothing, and without money you shall be redeemed. ⁴ Thus says the Lord GOD: To Egypt in the beginning my people went down, to sojourn there; Assyria, too,

687 oppressed them for nought. ⁵ But now, what am I to do here? says the LORD. My people have been taken away without redress; their rulers make a boast of it, says the LORD; all the day my name is constantly reviled. ⁶ Therefore on that day my people shall know my renown, that it is I who have foretold it. Here I am! ⁷ How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings glad tidings, announcing peace, bearing good news, announcing salvation, and saying to Zion, "Your God is King!" ⁸ Hark! Your watchmen raise a cry, together they shout for joy, for they see directly, before their eyes, the LORD restoring Zion. ⁹ Break out together in song, O ruins of Jerusalem! For the LORD comforts his people, he redeems Jerusalem. ¹⁰ The LORD has bared his holy arm in the sight of all the nations; all the ends of the earth will behold the salvation of our God. ¹¹ Depart, depart, come forth from there, touch nothing unclean! Out from there! Purify yourselves, you who carry the vessels of the LORD. ¹² Yet not in fearful haste will you come out, nor leave in headlong flight, for the LORD comes before you, and your rear guard is the God of Israel. ¹³ See, my servant shall prosper, he shall be raised high and greatly exalted. ¹⁴ Even as many were amazed at him—so marred was his look beyond that of man, and his appearance beyond that of mortals— ¹⁵ so shall he startle many nations, because of him kings shall stand speechless; for those who have not been told shall see, those who have not heard shall ponder it. Isaiah Chapter 53 ¹ Who would believe what we have heard? To whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? ² He grew up like a sapling before him, like a shoot from the parched earth; there was in him no stately bearing to make us look at him, nor appearance that would attract us to him. ³ He was spurned and avoided by men, a man of suffering, accustomed to infirmity, one of those from whom men hide their faces, spurned, and we held him in no esteem. ⁴ Yet it was our infirmities that he bore, our sufferings that he endured, while we thought of him as stricken, as one smitten by God and afflicted. ⁵ But he was pierced for our offenses, crushed for our sins; upon him was the chastisement that makes us whole, by his stripes we were healed. ⁶ We had all gone astray like sheep, each following his own way; but the LORD laid upon him the guilt of us all. ⁷ Though he was harshly treated, he submitted and opened not his mouth; like a lamb led to the slaughter or a sheep before the shearers, he was silent and opened not his mouth. ⁸ Oppressed and condemned, he was taken away, and who would have thought any more of his destiny? When he was cut off from the land of the living, and smitten for the sin of his people, ⁹ a grave was assigned him among the wicked and a burial place with evildoers, though he had done no wrong nor spoken any falsehood. ¹⁰ But the LORD was pleased to crush him in infirmity. If he gives his life as an offering for sin, he shall see his descendants in a long life, and the will of the LORD shall be accomplished through him. ¹¹ Because of his affliction he shall see the light in fullness of days; through his suffering, my servant shall justify many, and their guilt he shall bear. ¹² Therefore I will give him his portion among the great, and he shall divide the spoils with the mighty, because he surrendered himself to death and was counted among the wicked; and he shall take away the sins of many, and win pardon for their offenses. Isaiah Chapter 54 ¹ Raise a glad cry, you barren one who did not bear, break forth in jubilant song, you who were not in labor, for more numerous are the children of the deserted wife than the children of her who has a husband, says the LORD. ² Enlarge the space for your tent, spread out your tent cloths unsparingly; lengthen your ropes and make firm your stakes.

endered himself to death and was counted among the wicked; and he shall take away the sins of many, and win pardon for their offenses. Isaiah Chapter 54 ¹ Raise a glad cry, you barren one who did not bear, break forth in jubilant song, you who were not in labor, for more numerous are the children of the deserted wife than the children of her who has a husband, says the LORD. ² Enlarge the space for your tent, spread out your tent cloths unsparingly; lengthen your ropes and make firm your stakes. ³ For you shall spread abroad to the right and to the left; your descendants shall dispossess the nations and shall people the desolate cities. ⁴ Fear not, you shall not be put to shame; you need not blush, for you shall not be disgraced. The shame of your youth you shall forget, the reproach of your widowhood no longer remember.

688 ⁵ For he who has become your husband is your Maker; his name is the LORD of hosts; your redeemer is the Holy One of Israel, called God of all the earth. ⁶ The LORD calls you back, like a wife forsaken and grieved in spirit, a wife married in youth and then cast off, says your God. ⁷ For a brief moment I abandoned you, but with great tenderness I will take you back. ⁸ In an outburst of wrath, for a moment I hid my face from you; but with enduring love I take pity on you, says the LORD, your redeemer. ⁹ This is for me like the days of Noah, when I swore that the waters of Noah should never again deluge the earth; so I have sworn not to be angry with you, or to rebuke you. ¹⁰ Though the mountains leave their place and the hills be shaken, my love shall never leave you nor my covenant of peace be shaken, says the LORD, who has mercy on you. ¹¹ O afflicted one, storm-battered and unconsoled, I lay your pavements in carnelians, and your foundations in sapphires; ¹² I will make your battlements of rubies, your gates of carbuncles, and all your walls of precious stones. ¹³ All your sons shall be taught by the LORD, and great shall be the peace of your children. ¹⁴ In justice shall you be established, far from the fear of oppression, where destruction cannot come near you. ¹⁵ Should there be any attack, it shall not be of my making; whoever attacks you shall fall before you. ¹⁶ Lo, I have created the craftsman who blows on the burning coals and forges weapons as his work; it is I also who have created the destroyer to work havoc. ¹⁷ No weapon fashioned against you shall prevail; every tongue you shall prove false that launches an accusation against you. This is the lot of the servants of the LORD, their vindication from me, says the LORD. Isaiah Chapter 55 ¹ All you who are thirsty, come to the water! You who have no money, come, receive grain and eat; come, without paying and without cost, drink wine and milk! ² Why spend your money for what is not bread; your wages for what fails to satisfy? Heed me, and you shall eat well, you shall delight in rich fare. ³ Come to me heedfully, listen, that you may have life. I will renew with you the everlasting covenant, the benefits assured to David. ⁴ As I made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander of nations, ⁵ so shall you summon a nation you knew not, and nations that knew you not shall run to you, because of the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, who has glorified you. ⁶ Seek the LORD while he may be found, call him while he is near. ⁷ Let the scoundrel forsake his way, and the wicked man his thoughts; let him turn to the LORD for mercy; to our God, who is generous in forgiving. ⁸ For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the LORD. ⁹ As high as the heavens are above the earth, so high are my ways above your ways and my thoughts above your thoughts. ¹⁰ For just as from the heavens the rain and snow come down and do not return there till they have watered the earth, making it fertile and fruitful, giving seed to him who sows and bread to him who eats, ¹¹ so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; it shall not return to me void, but shall do my will, achieving the end for which I sent it. ¹² Yes, in joy you shall depart, in peace you shall be brought back; mountains and hills shall break out in song before you, and all the trees of the countryside shall clap their hands. ¹³ In place of the thornbush, the cypress shall grow, instead of nettles, the myrtle. This shall be to the LORD'S renown, an everlasting imperishable sign. Isaiah Chapter 56 ¹ Thus says the LORD: Observe what is right, do what is just; for my salvation is about to come, my justice, about to be revealed. ² Happy is the man who does this, the son of man who holds to it; who keeps the sabbath free from profanation, and his hand from any evildoing.

he trees of the countryside shall clap their hands. ¹³ In place of the thornbush, the cypress shall grow, instead of nettles, the myrtle. This shall be to the LORD'S renown, an everlasting imperishable sign. Isaiah Chapter 56 ¹ Thus says the LORD: Observe what is right, do what is just; for my salvation is about to come, my justice, about to be revealed. ² Happy is the man who does this, the son of man who holds to it; who keeps the sabbath free from profanation, and his hand from any evildoing. ³ Let not the foreigner say, when he would join himself to the LORD, "The LORD will surely exclude me from his people"; nor let the eunuch say, "See, I am a dry tree." ⁴ For thus says the LORD: To the eunuchs who observe my sabbaths and choose what pleases me and hold fast to my covenant, ⁵ I

689 will give, in my house and within my walls, a monument and a name better than sons and daughters; an eternal, imperishable name will I give them. ⁶ And the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD, ministering to him, loving the name of the LORD, and becoming his servants—all who keep the sabbath free from profanation and hold to my covenant, ⁷ them I will bring to my holy mountain and make joyful in my house of prayer; their holocausts and sacrifices will be acceptable on my altar, for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples. ⁸ Thus says the Lord GOD, who gathers the dispersed of Israel: Others will I gather to him besides those already gathered. ⁹ All you wild beasts of the field, come and eat, all you beasts in the forest! ¹⁰ My watchmen are blind, all of them unaware; they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; dreaming as they lie there, loving their sleep. ¹¹ They are relentless dogs, they know not when they have enough. These are the shepherds who know no discretion; each of them goes his own way, every one of them to his own gain: ¹² "Come, I will fetch some wine; let us carouse with strong drink, and tomorrow will be like today, or even greater." Isaiah Chapter 57 ¹ The just man perishes, but no one takes it to heart; devout men are swept away, with no one giving it a thought. Though he is taken away from the presence of evil, the just man ² enters into peace; there is rest on his couch for the sincere, straightforward man. ³ But you, draw near, you sons of a sorceress, adulterous, wanton race! ⁴ Of whom do you make sport, at whom do you open wide your mouth, and put out your tongue? Are you not rebellious children, a worthless race; ⁵ you who are in heat among the terebinths, under every green tree; you who immolate children in the wadies, behind the crevices in the cliffs? ⁶ Among the smooth stones of the wadi is your portion, these are your lot; to these you poured out libations, and brought offerings. Should I decide not to punish these things? ⁷ Upon a high and lofty mountain you made your bed, and there you went up to offer sacrifice. ⁸ Behind the door and the doorpost you placed your indecent symbol. Deserting me, you spread out your high, wide bed; and of those whose embraces you love you carved the symbol and gazed upon it ⁹ while you approached the king with scented oil, and multiplied your perfumes; while you sent your ambassadors far away, down even to the nether world. ¹⁰ Though worn out by your many misdeeds, you never said, "It is hopeless"; new strength you found, and so you did not weaken. ¹¹ Of whom were you afraid? Whom did you fear, that you became false and did not remember me or give me any thought? Was I to remain silent and unseeing, so that you would not have me to fear? ¹² I will expose your justice and your works; ¹³ they shall not help you when you cry out, nor save you in your distress. All these the wind shall carry off, the breeze shall bear away; but he who takes refuge in me shall inherit the land, and possess my holy mountain. ¹⁴ Build up, build up, prepare the way, remove the stumbling blocks from my people's path. ¹⁵ For thus says he who is high and exalted, living eternally, whose name is the Holy One: On high I dwell, and in holiness, and with the crushed and dejected in spirit, to revive the spirits of the dejected, to revive the hearts of the crushed. ¹⁶ I will not accuse forever, nor always be angry; for their spirits would faint before me, the souls that I have made. ¹⁷ Because of their wicked avarice I was angry, and struck them, hiding myself in wrath, as they went their own rebellious way. ¹⁸ I saw their ways, but I will heal them and lead them; I will give full comfort to them and to those who mourn for them, ¹⁹ I, the Creator, who gave them life. Peace, peace to the far and the near, says the LORD; and I will heal them. ²⁰ But the wicked are like the tossing sea which cannot be calmed, and its waters cast up mud and filth.

e, the souls that I have made. ¹⁷ Because of their wicked avarice I was angry, and struck them, hiding myself in wrath, as they went their own rebellious way. ¹⁸ I saw their ways, but I will heal them and lead them; I will give full comfort to them and to those who mourn for them, ¹⁹ I, the Creator, who gave them life. Peace, peace to the far and the near, says the LORD; and I will heal them. ²⁰ But the wicked are like the tossing sea which cannot be calmed, and its waters cast up mud and filth. ²¹ No peace for the wicked! says my God. Isaiah Chapter 58 ¹ Cry out full-throated and unsparingly, lift up your voice like a trumpet blast; tell my people their

690 wickedness, and the house of Jacob their sins. ² They seek me day after day, and desire to know my ways, like a nation that has done what is just and not abandoned the law of their God; they ask me to declare what is due them, pleased to gain access to God. ³ "Why do we fast, and you do not see it? Afflict ourselves, and you take no note of it?" Lo, on your fast day you carry out your own pursuits, and drive all your laborers. ⁴ Yes, your fast ends in quarreling and fighting, striking with wicked claw. Would that today you might fast so as to make your voice heard on high! ⁵ Is this the manner of fasting I wish, of keeping a day of penance: that a man bow his head like a reed, and lie in sackcloth and ashes? Do you call this a fast, a day acceptable to the LORD? ⁶ This, rather, is the fasting that I wish: releasing those bound unjustly, untying the thongs of the yoke; setting free the oppressed, breaking every yoke; ⁷ sharing your bread with the hungry, sheltering the oppressed and the homeless; clothing the naked when you see them, and not turning your back on your own. ⁸ Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your wound shall quickly be healed; your vindication shall go before you, and the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard. ⁹ Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer; you shall cry for help, and he will say: Here I am! If you remove from your midst oppression, false accusation, and malicious speech; ¹⁰ if you bestow your bread on the hungry and satisfy the afflicted; then light shall rise for you in the darkness, and the gloom shall become for you like midday. ¹¹ Then the LORD will guide you always and give you plenty even on the parched land. He will renew your strength, and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring whose water never fails. ¹² The ancient ruins shall be rebuilt for your sake, and the foundations from ages past you shall raise up; "Repairer of the breach," they shall call you, "Restorer of ruined homesteads." ¹³ If you hold back your foot on the sabbath from following your own pursuits on my holy day; if you call the sabbath a delight, and the LORD'S holy day honorable; if you honor it by not following your ways, seeking your own interests, or speaking with malice – ¹⁴ then you shall delight in the LORD, and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; I will nourish you with the heritage of Jacob, your father, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken. Isaiah Chapter 59 ¹ Lo, the hand of the LORD is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. ² Rather, it is your crimes that separate you from your God, it is your sins that make him hide his face so that he will not hear you. ³ For your hands are stained with blood, your fingers with guilt; your lips speak falsehood, and your tongue utters deceit. ⁴ No one brings suit justly, no one pleads truthfully; they trust in emptiness and tell lies; they conceive mischief and bring forth malice. ⁵ They hatch adders' eggs, and weave spiders' webs: whoever eats their eggs will die, if one of them is pressed, it will hatch as a viper. ⁶ Their webs cannot serve as clothing, nor can they cover themselves with their works. Their works are evil works, and deeds of violence come from their hands. ⁷ Their feet run to evil, and they are quick to shed innocent blood; their thoughts are destructive thoughts, plunder and ruin are on their highways. ⁸ The way of peace they know not, and there is nothing that is right in their paths; their ways they have made crooked, whoever treads them knows no peace. ⁹ That is why right is far from us and justice does not reach us. We look for light, and lo, darkness; for brightness, but we walk in gloom! ¹⁰ Like blind men we grope along the wall, like people without eyes we feel our way. We stumble at midday as at dusk, in Stygian darkness, like the dead. ¹¹ We all growl like bears, like doves we moan without ceasing. We look for right, but it is not there; for salvation, and it is far from us.

ays they have made crooked, whoever treads them knows no peace. ⁹ That is why right is far from us and justice does not reach us. We look for light, and lo, darkness; for brightness, but we walk in gloom! ¹⁰ Like blind men we grope along the wall, like people without eyes we feel our way. We stumble at midday as at dusk, in Stygian darkness, like the dead. ¹¹ We all growl like bears, like doves we moan without ceasing. We look for right, but it is not there; for salvation, and it is far from us. ¹² For our offenses before you are many, our sins bear witness against us. Yes, our offenses are present to us, and our crimes we know: ¹³ transgressing, and denying the LORD, turning back from following our God, threatening outrage, and apostasy, uttering words of falsehood the heart has conceived. ¹⁴ Right is repelled, and justice stands far off; for truth stumbles in the public square, uprightness cannot enter. ¹⁵ Honesty is lacking, and the man who turns from evil is despoiled. The LORD saw this, and was aggrieved that right did not

691 exist. ¹⁶ He saw that there was no one, and was appalled that there was none to intervene; so his own arm brought about the victory, and his justice lent him its support. ¹⁷ He put on justice as his breastplate, salvation as the helmet on his head; he clothed himself with garments of vengeance, wrapped himself in a mantle of zeal. ¹⁸ He repays his enemies their deserts, and requites his foes with wrath. ¹⁹ Those in the west shall fear the name of the LORD, and those in the east, his glory; for it shall come like a pent-up river which the breath of the LORD drives on. ²⁰ He shall come to Zion a redeemer to those of Jacob who turn from sin, says the LORD. ²¹ This is the covenant with them which I myself have made, says the LORD: My spirit which is upon you and my words that I have put into your mouth shall never leave your mouth, nor the mouths of your children nor the mouths of your children's children from now on and forever, says the LORD. Isaiah Chapter 60 ¹ Rise up in splendor! Your light has come, the glory of the Lord shines upon you. ² See, darkness covers the earth, and thick clouds cover the peoples; but upon you the LORD shines, and over you appears his glory. ³ Nations shall walk by your light, and kings by your shining radiance. ⁴ Raise your eyes and look about; they all gather and come to you: your sons come from afar, and your daughters in the arms of their nurses. ⁵ Then you shall be radiant at what you see, your heart shall throb and overflow, for the riches of the sea shall be emptied out before you, the wealth of nations shall be brought to you. ⁶ Caravans of camels shall fill you, dromedaries from Midian and Ephah; all from Sheba shall come bearing gold and frankincense, and proclaiming the praises of the LORD. ⁷ All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered for you, the rams of Nebaioth shall be your sacrifices; they will be acceptable offerings on my altar, and I will enhance the splendor of my house. ⁸ What are these that fly along like clouds, like doves to their cotes? ⁹ All the vessels of the sea are assembled, with the ships of Tarshish in the lead, to bring your children from afar with their silver and gold, in the name of the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, who has glorified you. ¹⁰ Foreigners shall rebuild your walls, and their kings shall be your attendants; though I struck you in my wrath, yet in my good will I have shown you mercy. ¹¹ Your gates shall stand open constantly; day and night they shall not be closed but shall admit to you the wealth of nations, and their kings, in the vanguard. ¹² For the people or kingdom shall perish that does not serve you; those nations shall be utterly destroyed. ¹³ The glory of Lebanon shall come to you: the cypress, the plane, and the pine, to bring beauty to my sanctuary, and glory to the place where I set my feet. ¹⁴ The children of your oppressors shall come, bowing low before you; all those who despised you shall fall prostrate at your feet. They shall call you "City of the LORD," "Zion of the Holy One of Israel." ¹⁵ Once you were forsaken, hated, and unvisited, now I will make you the pride of the ages, a joy to generation after generation. ¹⁶ You shall suck the milk of nations and be nursed at royal breasts; you shall know that I, the LORD, am your savior, your redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob. ¹⁷ In place of bronze I will bring gold, instead of iron, silver; in place of wood, bronze, instead of stones, iron; I will appoint peace your governor, and justice your ruler. ¹⁸ No longer shall violence be heard of in your land, or plunder and ruin within your boundaries. You shall call your walls "Salvation" and your gates "Praise." ¹⁹ No longer shall the sun be your light by day, nor the brightness of the moon shine upon you at night; the LORD shall be your light forever, your God shall be your glory. ²⁰ No longer shall your sun go down, or your moon withdraw, for the LORD will be your light forever, and the days of your mourning shall be at an end.

ice your ruler. ¹⁸ No longer shall violence be heard of in your land, or plunder and ruin within your boundaries. You shall call your walls "Salvation" and your gates "Praise." ¹⁹ No longer shall the sun be your light by day, nor the brightness of the moon shine upon you at night; the LORD shall be your light forever, your God shall be your glory. ²⁰ No longer shall your sun go down, or your moon withdraw, for the LORD will be your light forever, and the days of your mourning shall be at an end. ²¹ Your people shall all be just; they shall always possess the land. They, the bud of my planting, my handiwork to show my glory. ²² The smallest shall become a thousand, the youngest, a mighty nation; I, the LORD, will swiftly accomplish these things when their time comes. Isaiah Chapter 61

692 ¹ The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me; He has sent me to bring glad tidings to the lowly, to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and release to the prisoners, ² to announce a year of favor from the LORD and a day of vindication by our God, to comfort all who mourn; ³ to place on those who mourn in Zion a diadem instead of ashes, to give them oil of gladness in place of mourning, a glorious mantle instead of a listless spirit. They will be called oaks of justice, planted by the LORD to show his glory. ⁴ They shall rebuild the ancient ruins, the former wastes they shall raise up, and restore the ruined cities, desolate now for generations. ⁵ Strangers shall stand ready to pasture your flocks, foreigners shall be your farmers and vinedressers. ⁶ You yourselves shall be named priests of the LORD, ministers of our God you shall be called. You shall eat the wealth of the nations and boast of riches from them. ⁷ Since their shame was double and disgrace and spittle were their portion, they shall have a double inheritance in their land, everlasting joy shall be theirs. ⁸ For I, the LORD, love what is right, I hate robbery and injustice; I will give them their recompense faithfully, a lasting covenant I will make with them. ⁹ Their descendants shall be renowned among the nations, and their offspring among the peoples; all who see them shall acknowledge them as a race the LORD has blessed. ¹⁰ I rejoice heartily in the LORD, in my God is the joy of my soul; for he has clothed me with a robe of salvation, and wrapped me in a mantle of justice, like a bridegroom adorned with a diadem, like a bride bedecked with her jewels. ¹¹ As the earth brings forth its plants, and a garden makes its growth spring up, so will the Lord GOD make justice and praise spring up before all the nations. Isaiah Chapter 62 ¹ For Zion's sake I will not be silent, for Jerusalem's sake I will not be quiet, until her vindication shines forth like the dawn and her victory like a burning torch. ² Nations shall behold your vindication, and all kings your glory; you shall be called by a new name pronounced by the mouth of the LORD. ³ You shall be a glorious crown in the hand of the LORD, a royal diadem held by your God. ⁴ No more shall men call you "Forsaken," or your land "Desolate," but you shall be called "My Delight," and your land "Espoused." For the LORD delights in you, and makes your land his spouse. ⁵ As a young man marries a virgin, your Builder shall marry you; and as a bridegroom rejoices in his bride, so shall your God rejoice in you. ⁶ Upon your walls, O Jerusalem, I have stationed watchmen; never, by day or by night, shall they be silent. O you who are to remind the LORD, take no rest ⁷ and give no rest to him, until he re-establishes Jerusalem and makes of it the pride of the earth. ⁸ The LORD has sworn by his right hand and by his mighty arm: No more will I give your grain as food to your enemies; nor shall foreigners drink your wine, for which you toiled. ⁹ But you who harvest the grain shall eat it, and you shall praise the LORD; you who gather the grapes shall drink the wine in the courts of my sanctuary. ¹⁰ Pass through, pass through the gates, prepare the way for the people; build up, build up the highway, clear it of stones, raise up a standard over the nations. ¹¹ See, the LORD proclaims to the ends of the earth: Say to daughter Zion, your savior comes! Here is his reward with him, his recompense before him. ¹² They shall be called the holy people, the redeemed of the LORD, and you shall be called "Frequented," a city that is not forsaken. Isaiah Chapter 63 ¹ Who is this that comes from Edom, in crimsoned garments, from Bozrah—this one arrayed in majesty, marching in the greatness of his strength? "It is I, I who announce vindication, I who am mighty to save." ² Why is your apparel red, and your garments like those of the wine presser?

r comes! Here is his reward with him, his recompense before him. ¹² They shall be called the holy people, the redeemed of the LORD, and you shall be called "Frequented," a city that is not forsaken. Isaiah Chapter 63 ¹ Who is this that comes from Edom, in crimsoned garments, from Bozrah—this one arrayed in majesty, marching in the greatness of his strength? "It is I, I who announce vindication, I who am mighty to save." ² Why is your apparel red, and your garments like those of the wine presser? ³ "The wine press I have trodden alone, and of my people there was no one with me. I trod them in my anger, and trampled them down in my wrath; their blood spurted on my garments; all my

693 apparel I stained. ⁴ For the day of vengeance was in my heart, my year for redeeming was at hand. ⁵ I looked about, but there was no one to help, I was appalled that there was no one to lend support; so my own arm brought about the victory and my own wrath lent me its support. ⁶ I trampled down the peoples in my anger, I crushed them in my wrath, and I let their blood run out upon the ground." ⁷ The favors of the LORD I will recall, the glorious deeds of the LORD, because of all he has done for us; for he is good to the house of Israel, he has favored us according to his mercy and his great kindness. ⁸ He said: They are indeed my people, children who are not disloyal; so he became their savior ⁹ in their every affliction. It was not a messenger or an angel, but he himself who saved them. Because of his love and pity he redeemed them himself, lifting them and carrying them all the days of old. ¹⁰ But they rebelled, and grieved his holy spirit; so he turned on them like an enemy, and fought against them. ¹¹ Then they remembered the days of old and Moses, his servant; where is he who brought up out of the sea the shepherd of his flock? Where is he who put his holy spirit in their midst; ¹² whose glorious arm was the guide at Moses' right; who divided the waters before them, winning for himself eternal renown; ¹³ who led them without stumbling through the depths like horses in the open country, ¹⁴ like cattle going down into the plain, the spirit of the LORD guiding them? Thus you led your people, bringing glory to your name. ¹⁵ Look down from heaven and regard us from your holy and glorious palace! Where is your zealous care and your might, your surge of pity and your mercy? O Lord, hold not back, ¹⁶ for you are our father. Were Abraham not to know us, nor Israel to acknowledge us, you, LORD, are our father, our redeemer you are named forever. ¹⁷ Why do you let us wander, O LORD, from your ways, and harden our hearts so that we fear you not? Return for the sake of your servants, the tribes of your heritage. ¹⁸ Why have the wicked invaded your holy place, why have our enemies trampled your sanctuary? ¹⁹ Too long have we been like those you do not rule, who do not bear your name. Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down, with the mountains quaking before you. Isaiah Chapter 64 ¹ As when brushwood is set ablaze, or fire makes the water boil! Thus your name would be made known to your enemies and the nations would tremble before you, ² While you wrought awesome deeds we could not hope for, ³ such as they had not heard of from of old. No ear has ever heard, no eye ever seen, any God but you doing such deeds for those who wait for him. ⁴ Would that you might meet us doing right, that we were mindful of you in our ways! Behold, you are angry, and we are sinful; ⁵ all of us have become like unclean men, all our good deeds are like polluted rags; we have all withered like leaves, and our guilt carries us away like the wind. ⁶ There is none who calls upon your name, who rouses himself to cling to you; for you have hidden your face from us and have delivered us up to our guilt. ⁷ Yet, O LORD, you are our father; we are the clay and you the potter: we are all the work of your hands. ⁸ Be not so very angry, LORD, keep not our guilt forever in mind; look upon us, who are all your people. ⁹ Your holy cities have become a desert, Zion is a desert, Jerusalem a waste. ¹⁰ Our holy and glorious temple in which our fathers praised you has been burned with fire; all that was dear to us is laid waste. ¹¹ Can you hold back, O LORD, after all this? Can you remain silent, and afflict us so severely? Isaiah Chapter 65 ¹ I was ready to respond to those who asked me not, to be found by those who sought me not. I said: Here I am! Here I am! To a nation that did not call upon my name.

ur people. ⁹ Your holy cities have become a desert, Zion is a desert, Jerusalem a waste. ¹⁰ Our holy and glorious temple in which our fathers praised you has been burned with fire; all that was dear to us is laid waste. ¹¹ Can you hold back, O LORD, after all this? Can you remain silent, and afflict us so severely? Isaiah Chapter 65 ¹ I was ready to respond to those who asked me not, to be found by those who sought me not. I said: Here I am! Here I am! To a nation that did not call upon my name. ² I have stretched out my hands all the day to a rebellious people, who walk in evil paths and follow their own thoughts, ³ People who provoke me continually, to my face, offering sacrifices in the groves and burning incense on bricks, ⁴ Living among the graves and spending the night in caverns, eating swine's flesh, with carrion broth in their dishes, ⁵ Crying out, "Hold back, do not touch me; I am too sacred

694 for you!" These things enkindle my wrath, a fire that burns all the day. ⁶ Lo, before me it stands written; I will not be quiet until I have paid in full ⁷ your crimes and the crimes of your fathers as well, says the LORD. Since they burned incense on the mountains, and disgraced me on the hills, I will at once pour out in full measure their recompense into their laps. ⁸ Thus says the LORD: When the juice is pressed from grapes, men say, "Do not discard them, for there is still good in them"; thus will I do with my servants: I will not discard them all; ⁹ From Jacob I will save offspring, from Judah, those who are to inherit my mountains; my chosen ones shall inherit the land, my servants shall dwell there. ¹⁰ Sharon shall be a pasture for the flocks and the valley of Achor a resting place for the cattle of my people who have sought me. ¹¹ But you who forsake the LORD, forgetting my holy mountain, you who spread a table for Fortune and fill cups of blended wine for Destiny, ¹² You I will destine for the sword; you shall all go down in slaughter. Since I called and you did not answer, I spoke and you did not listen, but did what was evil in my sight and preferred things which displease me, ¹³ therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Lo, my servants shall eat, but you shall go hungry; my servants shall drink, but you shall be thirsty; my servants shall rejoice, but you shall be put to shame; ¹⁴ My servants shall shout for joy of heart, but you shall cry out for grief of heart and howl for anguish of spirit. ¹⁵ The Lord GOD shall slay you, and the name you leave shall be used by my chosen ones for cursing; but my servants shall be called by another name. ¹⁶ By which he will be blessed on whom a blessing is invoked in the land; he who takes an oath in the land shall swear by the God of truth; for the hardships of the past shall be forgotten, and hidden from my eyes. ¹⁷ Lo, I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; the things of the past shall not be remembered or come to mind. ¹⁸ Instead, there shall always be rejoicing and happiness in what I create; for I create Jerusalem to be a joy and its people to be a delight; ¹⁹ I will rejoice in Jerusalem and exult in my people. No longer shall the sound of weeping be heard there, or the sound of crying; ²⁰ No longer shall there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not round out his full lifetime; he dies a mere youth who reaches but a hundred years, and he who fails of a hundred shall be thought accursed. ²¹ They shall live in the houses they build, and eat the fruit of the vineyards they plant; ²² They shall not build houses for others to live in, or plant for others to eat. As the years of a tree, so the years of my people; and my chosen ones shall long enjoy the produce of their hands. ²³ They shall not toil in vain, nor beget children for sudden destruction; for a race blessed by the LORD are they and their offspring. ²⁴ Before they call, I will answer; while they are yet speaking, I will hearken to them. ²⁵ The wolf and the lamb shall graze alike, and the lion shall eat hay like the ox (but the serpent's food shall be dust). None shall hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain, says the LORD. Isaiah Chapter 66 ¹ Thus says the LORD: The heavens are my throne, the earth is my footstool. What kind of house can you build for me; what is to be my resting place? ² My hand made all these things when all of them came to be, says the LORD. This is the one whom I approve: the lowly and afflicted man who trembles at my word. ³ Merely slaughtering an ox is like slaying a man; sacrificing a lamb, like breaking a dog's neck; bringing a cereal offering, like offering swine's blood; burning incense, like paying homage to an idol. Since these have chosen their own ways and taken pleasure in their own abominations, ⁴ I in turn will choose ruthless treatment for them and bring upon them what they fear.