Holy Bible

Webster's Bible

Old Testament

Genesis

Chapter 1

¹In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. ²And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep: and the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. ³And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. ⁴And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. ⁵And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night: and the evening and the morning were the first day. ⁶And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. ⁷And God made the firmament; and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. ⁸And God called the firmament Heaven: and the evening and the morning were the second day. ⁹And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. ¹⁰And God called the dry land Earth, and the collection of waters he called Seas: and God saw that it was good. ¹¹And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit-tree yielding fruit after its kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. ¹²And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after its kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after its kind: and God saw that it was good. ¹³And the evening and the morning were the third day. ¹⁴And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven, to divide the day from the night: and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years. ¹⁵And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven, to give light upon the earth: and it was so. ¹⁶And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. ¹⁷And God set them in the firmament of the heaven, to give light upon the earth. ¹⁸And to rule over the day, and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good. ¹⁹And the evening and the morning were the fourth day. ²⁰And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. ²¹And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good. ²²And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. ²³And the evening and the morning were the fifth day. ²⁴And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and the creeping animal, and the beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. ²⁵And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every animal that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good. ²⁶And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping animal that creepeth upon the earth. ²⁷So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. ²⁸And God blessed them, and God said to them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living animal that moveth upon the earth. ²⁹And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for food. ³⁰And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every animal that creepeth upon the earth, in which is life, I have given every green herb for food: and it was so. ³¹And God saw every thing that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

Chapter 2

¹Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. ²And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. ³And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made. ⁴These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens. ⁵And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain on the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground. ⁶But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground. ⁷And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. ⁸And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. ⁹And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. ¹⁰And a river went out of Eden to water the garden: and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads. ¹¹The name of the first is Pison, which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; ¹²And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx-stone. ¹³And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same that compasseth the whole land of Cush. ¹⁴And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: which floweth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates. ¹⁵And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden, to dress it, and to keep it. ¹⁶And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: ¹⁷But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest of it thou shalt surely die. ¹⁸And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone: I will make him a help meet for him. ¹⁹And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them; and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was its name. ²⁰And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowls of the air, and to every beast of the field: but for Adam there was not found a help meet for him. ²¹And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept; and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. ²²And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, he made woman, and brought her to the man. ²³And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of man. ²⁴Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they shall be one flesh. ²⁵And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

Chapter 3

¹Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made: and he said to the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? ²And the woman said to the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: ³But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. ⁴And the serpent said to the woman, Ye shall not surely die: ⁵For God doth know, that in the day ye eat of it, then your eyes shall be opened: and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. ⁶And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise; she took of its fruit, and ate, and gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. ⁷And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked: and they sewed fig-leaves together, and made for themselves aprons. ⁸And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. ⁹And the LORD God called to Adam, and said to him, Where art thou? ¹⁰And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden: and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. ¹¹And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree of which I commanded thee, that thou shouldest not eat? ¹²And the man said, The woman, whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate. ¹³And the LORD God said to the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I ate. ¹⁴And the LORD God said to the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field: upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: ¹⁵And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed: it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. ¹⁶To the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children: and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. ¹⁷And to Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened to the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; ¹⁸Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; ¹⁹In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou shalt return to the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and to dust shalt thou return. ²⁰And Adam called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all living. ²¹For Adam also and for his wife the LORD God made coats of skins, and clothed them. ²²And the LORD God said, Behold, the man hath become as one of us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he should put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: ²³Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from which he was taken. ²⁴So he drove out the man: and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubim, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

Chapter 4

¹And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bore Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD. ²And she again bore his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. ³And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering to the LORD. ⁴And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock, and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect to Abel, and to his offering: ⁵But to Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. ⁶And the LORD said to Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? ⁷If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And to thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him. ⁸And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him. ⁹And the LORD said to Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper? ¹⁰And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth to me from the ground. ¹¹And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand; ¹²When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield to thee its strength: A fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth. ¹³And Cain said to the LORD, My punishment is greater than I can bear. ¹⁴Behold, thou hast driven me this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it will come to pass, that every one that findeth me will slay me. ¹⁵And the LORD said to him, Therefore whoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him seven-fold. And the LORD set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him. ¹⁶And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden. ¹⁷And Cain knew his wife, and she conceived, and bore Enoch: and he built a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son Enoch. ¹⁸And to Enoch was born Irad: and Irad begat Mehujael: and Mehujael begat Methusael: and Methusael begat Lamech. ¹⁹And Lamech took to him two wives: the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah. ²⁰And Adah bore Jabal: he was the father of such as dwell in tents, and of such as have cattle. ²¹And his brother's name was Jubal: he was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ. ²²And Zillah, she also bore Tubalcain, an instructor of every artificer in brass and iron: and the sister of Tubalcain was Naamah. ²³And Lamech said to his wives, Adah and Zillah, Hear my voice, ye wives of Lamech, hearken to my speech: for I have slain a man to my wounding, and a young man to my hurt. ²⁴If Cain shall be avenged seven-fold, truly Lamech seventy and seven-fold. ²⁵And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son, and called his name Seth: For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew. ²⁶And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the LORD.

Chapter 5

¹This is the book of the generations of Adam: In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him: ²Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created. ³And Adam lived a hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth: ⁴And the days of Adam after he had begotten Seth were eight hundred years: and he begat sons and daughters: ⁵And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died. ⁶And Seth lived a hundred and five years, and begat Enos: ⁷And Seth lived after he begat Enos eight hundred and seven years, and begat sons and daughters: ⁸And all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years; and he died. ⁹And Enos lived ninety years, and begat Cainan. ¹⁰And Enos lived after he begat Cainan eight hundred and fifteen years, and begat sons and daughters: ¹¹And all the days of Enos were nine hundred and five years; and he died. ¹²And Cainan lived seventy years, and begat Mahalaleel: ¹³And Cainan lived after he begat Mahalaleel eight hundred and forty years, and begat sons and daughters: ¹⁴And all the days of Cainan were nine hundred and ten years; and he died. ¹⁵And Mahalaleel lived sixty and five years, and begat Jared: ¹⁶And Mahalaleel lived after he begat Jared eight hundred and thirty years, and begat sons and daughters: ¹⁷And all the days of Mahalaleel were eight hundred ninety and five years; and he died. ¹⁸And Jared lived a hundred sixty and two years, and he begat Enoch: ¹⁹And Jared lived after he begat Enoch eight hundred years, and begat sons and daughters: ²⁰And all the days of Jared were nine hundred sixty and two years; and he died. ²¹And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah: ²²And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters: ²³And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years: ²⁴And Enoch walked with God, and he was not: for God took him. ²⁵And Methuselah lived a hundred eighty and seven years, and begat Lamech: ²⁶And Methuselah lived after he begat Lamech seven hundred eighty and two years, and begat sons and daughters: ²⁷And all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred sixty and nine years; and he died. ²⁸And Lamech lived a hundred eighty and two years; and begat a son: ²⁹And he called his name Noah, saying, This same shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the LORD hath cursed. ³⁰And Lamech lived after he begat Noah five hundred ninety and five years, and begat sons and daughters: ³¹And all the days of Lamech were seven hundred seventy and seven years; and he died. ³²And Noah was five hundred years old: and Noah begat Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

Chapter 6

¹And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them, ²That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all whom they chose. ³And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be a hundred and twenty years. ⁴There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to them: the same became mighty men, who were of old, men of renown. ⁵And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. ⁶And the LORD repented that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. ⁷And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created, from the face of the earth, both man and beast, and the creeping animal, and the fowls of the air; for I repent that I have made them. ⁸But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. ⁹These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man, and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God. ¹⁰And Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. ¹¹The earth also was corrupt before God; and the earth was filled with violence. ¹²And God looked upon the earth, and behold, it was corrupt: for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. ¹³And God said to Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them: and behold, I will destroy them with the earth. ¹⁴Make thee an ark of gopher-wood: rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch. ¹⁵And this is the fashion in which thou shalt make it: the length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits. ¹⁶A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in its side: with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it. ¹⁷And behold, I, even I do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, in which is the breath of life, from under heaven: and every thing that is on the earth shall die. ¹⁸But with thee will I establish my covenant: and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons' wives with thee. ¹⁹And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee: they shall be male and female. ²⁰Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping animal of the earth after its kind, two of every sort shall come to thee, to keep them alive. ²¹And take thou to thee of all food that is eaten, and thou shalt gather it to thee; and it shall be for food for thee, and for them. ²²Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he.

Chapter 7

¹And the LORD said to Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark: for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation. ²Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female. ³Of fowls of the air also by sevens, the male and the female; to keep seed alive on the face of all the earth. ⁴For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights: and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from the face of the earth. ⁵And Noah did according to all that the LORD commanded him. ⁶And Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters was on the earth. ⁷And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood. ⁸Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of every animal that creepeth upon the earth; ⁹There went in two and two to Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded Noah. ¹⁰And it came to pass after seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth. ¹¹In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened. ¹²And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights. ¹³In the same day entered Noah, and Shem, and Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah's wife, and the three wives of his sons with them, into the ark. ¹⁴They, and every beast after his kind, and all the cattle after their kind, and every creeping animal that creepeth upon the earth after his kind, and every fowl after his kind, every bird of every sort. ¹⁵And they went in to Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh, in which is the breath of life. ¹⁶And they that entered, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the LORD shut him in. ¹⁷And the flood was forty days upon the earth: and the waters increased, and bore up the ark, and it was lifted above the earth. ¹⁸And the waters prevailed, and were increased greatly upon the earth: and the ark moved upon the face of the waters. ¹⁹And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the high hills that were under the whole heaven were covered. ²⁰Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail: and the mountains were covered. ²¹And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping animal that creepeth upon the earth, and every man: ²²All in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was on the dry land, died. ²³And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping animals, and the fowl of heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth; and Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark. ²⁴And the waters prevailed upon the earth a hundred and fifty days.

Chapter 8

¹And God remembered Noah, and every living animal, and all the cattle that were with him in the ark: and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters were checked. ²The fountains also of the deep, and the windows of heaven were stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained; ³And the waters returned from off the earth continually: and after the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters were abated. ⁴And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat. ⁵And the waters decreased continually, till the tenth month: in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, were the tops of the mountains seen. ⁶And it came to pass at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made: ⁷And he sent forth a raven, which went forth to and fro, till the waters were dried from off the earth. ⁸Also he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters were abated from off the face of the ground; ⁹But the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned to him into the ark; for the waters were on the face of the whole earth. Then he put forth his hand, and took her, and pulled her in to him into the ark. ¹⁰And he stayed yet other seven days, and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark; ¹¹And the dove came in to him in the evening, and lo, in her mouth was an olive-leaf plucked off: So Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth. ¹²And he stayed yet other seven days, and sent forth the dove; which returned not again to him any more. ¹³And it came to pass in the six hundredth and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried from off the earth: and Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and behold, the face of the ground was dry. ¹⁴And in the second month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, was the earth dried. ¹⁵And God spoke to Noah, saying, ¹⁶Go forth from the ark, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons' wives with thee. ¹⁷Bring forth with thee every living animal that is with thee, of all flesh, of fowl, and of cattle, and of every creeping animal that creepeth upon the earth; that they may breed abundantly on the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth. ¹⁸And Noah went forth, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him: ¹⁹Every beast, every creeping animal, and every fowl, and whatsoever creepeth upon the earth, after their kinds, went out of the ark. ²⁰And Noah built an altar to the LORD, and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt-offerings on the altar. ²¹And the LORD smelled a sweet savor; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth: neither will I again smite any more every living animal as I have done. ²²While the earth remaineth, seed-time and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.

Chapter 9

¹And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth. ²And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth on the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered. ³Every moving thing that liveth shall be food for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things: ⁴But flesh with the life of it, which is its blood, shall ye not eat. ⁵And surely your blood of your lives will I require: at the hand of every beast will I require it: and at the hand of man, at the hand of every man's brother will I require the life of man. ⁶Whoever sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man. ⁷And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply, bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein. ⁸And God spoke to Noah, and to his sons with him, saying, ⁹And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you; ¹⁰And with every living creature that is with you, of the fowl, of the cattle, and of every beast of the earth with you, from all that go out of the ark, to every beast of the earth. ¹¹And I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth. ¹²And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations. ¹³I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. ¹⁴And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud: ¹⁵And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. ¹⁶And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth. ¹⁷And God said to Noah, This is the token of the covenant which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth. ¹⁸And the sons of Noah that went forth from the ark, were Shem, and Ham, and Japheth: and Ham was the father of Canaan. ¹⁹These three were the sons of Noah: and from them was the whole earth overspread. ²⁰And Noah began to be a husbandman, and he planted a vineyard: ²¹And he drank the wine, and was drunken, and he was uncovered within his tent. ²²And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without. ²³And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father: and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father's nakedness. ²⁴And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done to him. ²⁵And he said, Cursed be Canaan, a servant of servants shall he be to his brethren. ²⁶And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant. ²⁷God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant. ²⁸And Noah lived after the flood three hundred and fifty years. ²⁹And all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years: and he died.

Chapter 10

¹Now these are the generations of the sons of Noah; Shem, Ham, and Japheth: and to them were sons born after the flood. ²The sons of Japheth; Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras. ³And the sons of Gomer; Ashkenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah. ⁴And the sons of Javan; Elishah, and Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim. ⁵By these were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands; every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations. ⁶And the sons of Ham; Cush, and Mizraim, and Phut, and Canaan. ⁷And the sons of Cush; Seba, and Havilah, and Sabtah, and Raamah, and Sabtecha; and the sons of Raamah, Sheba, and Dedan. ⁸And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth. ⁹He was a mighty hunter before the LORD: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD. ¹⁰And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. ¹¹Out of that land went forth Ashur, and built Nineveh, and the city Rehoboth, and Calah, ¹²And Resen between Nineveh and Calah: the same is a great city. ¹³And Mizraim begat Ludim, and Anamim, and Lehabim, and Naphtuhim. ¹⁴And Pathrusim, and Casluhim, (out of whom came Philistim,) and Caphtorim. ¹⁵And Canaan begat Sidon his first-born, and Heth, ¹⁶And the Jebusite, and the Emorite, and the Girgasite, ¹⁷And the Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Sinite, ¹⁸And the Arvadite, and the Zemarite, and the Hamathite: and afterward were the families of the Canaanites dispersed. ¹⁹And the border of the Canaanites was from Sidon, as thou comest to Gerar, to Gaza; as thou goest to Sodom and Gomorrah, and Admah, and Zeboim, even to Lashah. ²⁰These are the sons of Ham, after their families, after their tongues, in their countries, and in their nations. ²¹To Shem also, the father of all the children of Eber, the brother of Japheth the elder, even to him were children born. ²²The children of Shem; Elam, and Ashur, and Arphaxad, and Lud, and Aram. ²³And the children of Aram; Uz, and Hul, and Gether, and Mash. ²⁴And Arphaxad begat Salah; and Salah begat Eber. ²⁵And to Eber were born two sons: the name of one was Peleg, for in his days was the earth divided; and his brother's name was Joktan. ²⁶And Joktan begat Almodad, and Sheleph, and Hazarmaveth, and Jerah, ²⁷And Hadoram, and Uzal, and Diklah. ²⁸And Obal, and Abimael, and Sheba, ²⁹And Ophir, and Havilah, and Jobab: all these were the sons of Joktan. ³⁰And their dwelling was from Mesha, as thou goest to Sephar, a mount of the east. ³¹These are the sons of Shem, after their families, after their tongues, in their lands, after their nations. ³²These are the families of the sons of Noah after their generations, in their nations: and by these were the nations divided in the earth after the flood.

Chapter 11

¹And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech. ²And it came to pass as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there. ³And they said one to another, come, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for mortar. ⁴And they said, come, let us build us a city, and a tower, whose top may reach to heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we should be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth. ⁵And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men were building. ⁶And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. ⁷Come, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech. ⁸So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city. ⁹Therefore is the name of it called Babel, because the LORD there confounded the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth. ¹⁰These are the generations of Shem: Shem was a hundred years old, and begat Arphaxad two years after the flood: ¹¹And Shem lived after he begat Arphaxad five hundred years, and begat sons and daughters. ¹²And Arphaxad lived five and thirty years, and begat Salah. ¹³And Arphaxad lived after he begat Salah four hundred and three years, and begat sons and daughters. ¹⁴And Salah lived thirty years, and begat Eber: ¹⁵And Salah lived after he begat Eber four hundred and three years, and begat sons and daughters. ¹⁶And Eber lived four and thirty years, and begat Peleg: ¹⁷And Eber lived after he begat Peleg four hundred and thirty years, and begat sons and daughters. ¹⁸And Peleg lived thirty years, and begat Reu: ¹⁹And Peleg lived after he begat Reu two hundred and nine years, and begat sons and daughters. ²⁰And Reu lived two and thirty years, and begat Serug. ²¹And Reu lived after he begat Serug two hundred and seven years, and begat sons and daughters. ²²And Serug lived thirty years, and begat Nahor: ²³And Serug lived after he begat Nahor two hundred years, and begat sons and daughters. ²⁴And Nahor lived nine and twenty years, and begat Terah. ²⁵And Nahor lived after he begat Terah a hundred and nineteen years, and begat sons and daughters. ²⁶And Terah lived seventy years, and begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran. ²⁷Now these are the generations of Terah: Terah begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran: and Haran begat Lot. ²⁸And Haran died before his father Terah, in the land of his nativity, in Ur of the Chaldees. ²⁹And Abram and Nahor took them wives: the name of Abram's wife was Sarai; and the name of Nahor's wife Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah, and the father of Iscah. ³⁰But Sarai was barren; she had no child. ³¹And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son's son, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram's wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came to Haran, and dwelt there. ³²And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years: and Terah died in Haran.

Chapter 12

¹Now the LORD had said to Abram, Depart from thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, to a land that I will show thee: ²And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: ³And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. ⁴So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken to him, and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed from Haran. ⁵And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went to go forth into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came. ⁶And Abram passed through the land to the place of Sichem, to the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land. ⁷And the LORD appeared to Abram, and said, To thy seed will I give this land: and there he erected an altar to the LORD, who appeared to him. ⁸And he removed from thence to a mountain on the east of Beth-el, and pitched his tent, having Beth-el on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he erected an altar to the LORD, and called upon the name of the LORD. ⁹And Abram journeyed, going on still towards the south. ¹⁰And there was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt to dwell there; for the famine was grievous in the land. ¹¹And it came to pass, when he had come near to enter into Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, Behold now, I know that thou art a fair woman to look upon: ¹²Therefore it will come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they will say, This is his wife: and they will kill me, but they will save thee alive. ¹³Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister: that it may be well with me for thy sake; and my soul shall live because of thee. ¹⁴And it came to pass, that when Abram had come into Egypt, the Egyptians beheld the woman that she was very fair. ¹⁵The princes also of Pharaoh saw her, and commended her before Pharaoh: and the woman was taken into Pharaoh's house. ¹⁶And he treated Abram well for her sake: and he had sheep, and oxen, and he-asses, and men-servants, and maid-servants, and she-asses, and camels. ¹⁷And the LORD afflicted Pharaoh and his house with great plagues, because of Sarai, Abram's wife. ¹⁸And Pharaoh called Abram, and said, What is this that thou hast done to me? why didst thou not tell me that she is thy wife? ¹⁹Why saidst thou, She is my sister? so I might have taken her to me for a wife: now therefore behold thy wife, take her, and go thy way. ²⁰And Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him: and they sent him away, and his wife, and all that he had.

Chapter 13

¹And Abram returned from Egypt, he, and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the south. ²And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold. ³And he went on his journeys from the south even to Beth-el, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Beth-el and Hai; ⁴To the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first: and there Abram called on the name of the LORD. ⁵And Lot also, who went with Abram, had flocks, and herds, and tents. ⁶And the land was not able to bear them, that they might dwell together: for their substance was great, so that they could not dwell together. ⁷And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram's cattle and the herdmen of Lot's cattle: and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelt then in the land. ⁸And Abram said to Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we are brethren. ⁹Is not the whole land before thee? Separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou wilt depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left. ¹⁰And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest to Zoar. ¹¹Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other. ¹²Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelt in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent towards Sodom. ¹³But the men of Sodom were wicked, and sinners before the LORD, exceedingly. ¹⁴And the LORD said to Abram, after Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art, northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: ¹⁵For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever. ¹⁶And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered. ¹⁷Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it to thee. ¹⁸Then Abram removed his tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar to the LORD.

Chapter 14

¹And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel, king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations; ²That these made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, and Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela, which is Zoar. ³All these were joined together in the vale of Siddim, which is the salt sea. ⁴Twelve years they served Chedorlaomer, and in the thirteenth year they rebelled. ⁵And in the fourteenth year came Chedorlaomer, and the kings that were with him, and smote the Rephaims in Ashteroth Karnaim, and the Zuzims in Ham, and the Emins in Shaveh Kiriathaim, ⁶And the Horites in their mount Seir, to El-paran, which is by the wilderness. ⁷And they returned, and came to En-mishpat, which is Kadesh, and smote all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites, that dwelt in Hazezontamar. ⁸And there went out the king of Sodom, and the king of Gomorrah, and the king of Admah, and the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela, (the same is Zoar;) and they joined battle with them in the vale of Siddim; ⁹With Chedorlaomer the king of Elam, and with Tidal king of nations, and Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar; four kings with five. ¹⁰And the vale of Siddim was full of slime-pits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and fell there: and they that remained fled to the mountain. ¹¹And they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their provisions, and went their way. ¹²And they took Lot, Abram's brother's son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed. ¹³And there came one that had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew; for he dwelt in the plain of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol, and brother of Aner: and these were confederate with Abram. ¹⁴And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his trained servants, born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them to Dan. ¹⁵And he divided himself against them, he and his servants by night, and smote them, and pursued them to Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus. ¹⁶And he brought back all the goods, and also brought again his brother Lot, and his goods, and the women also, and the people. ¹⁷And the king of Sodom went out to meet him after his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer, and of the kings that were with him, at the valley of Shaveh, which is the king's dale. ¹⁸And Melchisedek, king of Salem, brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God. ¹⁹And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: ²⁰And blessed be the most high God, who hath delivered thy enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all. ²¹And the king of Sodom said to Abram, Give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself. ²²And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lifted my hand to the LORD, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth, ²³That I will not take from a thread even to a shoe-latchet, and that I will not take any thing that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich: ²⁴Save only that which the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men who went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion.

Chapter 15

¹After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward. ²And Abram said, Lord GOD, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus? ³And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and lo, one born in my house is my heir. ⁴And behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, This shall not be thy heir; but he that shall come forth out of thy own bowels shall be thy heir. ⁵And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now towards heaven, and tell the stars, if thou art able to number them: and he said to him, So shall thy seed be. ⁶And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness. ⁷And he said to him, I am the LORD that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it. ⁸And he said, Lord GOD, by what shall I know that I shall inherit it? ⁹And he said to him, Take me a heifer of three years old, and a she-goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtle-dove, and a young pigeon. ¹⁰And he took to him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another: but the birds he did not divide. ¹¹And when the fowls came down upon the carcases, Abram drove them away. ¹²And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and lo, a horror of great darkness fell upon him. ¹³And he said to Abram, Know certainly that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; ¹⁴And also that nation which they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance. ¹⁵And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age. ¹⁶But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full. ¹⁷And it came to pass, that when the sun had gone down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces. ¹⁸In that same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, To thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates: ¹⁹The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites, ²⁰And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims, ²¹And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.

Chapter 16

¹Now Sarai, Abram's wife, bore him no children: and she had a handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar. ²And Sarai said to Abram, Behold, now, the LORD hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee go in to my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai. ³And Sarai, Abram's wife, took Hagar her maid, the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife. ⁴And he went in to Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes. ⁵And Sarai said to Abram, my wrong be upon thee: I have given my maid into thy bosom; and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes: the LORD judge between me and thee. ⁶But Abram said to Sarai, Behold, thy maid is in thy hand; do to her as it pleaseth thee. And when Sarai dealt hardly with her, she fled from her face. ⁷And the angel of the LORD found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur. ⁸And he said, Hagar, Sarai's maid, whence camest thou? and whither wilt thou go? And she said, I flee from the face of my mistress Sarai. ⁹And the angel of the LORD said to her, Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands. ¹⁰And the angel of the LORD said to her, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude. ¹¹And the angel of the LORD said to her, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the LORD hath heard thy affliction. ¹²And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren. ¹³And she called the name of the LORD that spoke to her, Thou God seest me: for she said, Have I also here looked after him that seeth me? ¹⁴Wherefore the well was called Beer-la-hai-roi; behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered. ¹⁵And Hagar bore Abram a son: and Abram called his son's name, which Hagar bore, Ishmael. ¹⁶And Abram was eighty six years old, when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.

Chapter 17

¹And when Abram was ninety and nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said to him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. ²And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly. ³And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying, ⁴As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. ⁵Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee. ⁶And I will make thee exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of thee; and kings shall proceed from thee. ⁷And I will establish my covenant between me and thee, and thy seed after thee, in their generations, for an everlasting covenant; to be a God to thee and to thy seed after thee. ⁸And I will give to thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land in which thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God. ⁹And God said to Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee, in their generations. ¹⁰This is my covenant, which ye shall keep between me and you, and thy seed after thee; Every male-child among you shall be circumcised. ¹¹And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you. ¹²And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every male-child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, who is not of thy seed. ¹³He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. ¹⁴And the uncircumcised male-child, whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant. ¹⁵And God said to Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be. ¹⁶And I will bless her, and give thee a son also by her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall proceed from her. ¹⁷Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born to him that is a hundred years old? and shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear? ¹⁸And Abraham said to God, O that Ishmael might live before thee! ¹⁹And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him. ²⁰And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation. ²¹But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to thee at this set time in the next year. ²²And he ceased talking with him, and God went up from Abraham. ²³And Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all that were born in his house, and all that were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham's house; and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin, in the same day, as God had said to him. ²⁴And Abraham was ninety and nine years old, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. ²⁵And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. ²⁶In the same day was Abraham circumcised, and Ishmael his son. ²⁷And all the men of his house, born in the house, and bought with money of the stranger, were circumcised with him.

Chapter 18

¹And the LORD appeared to him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day; ²And he lifted up his eyes and looked, and lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground, ³And said, My Lord, if now I have found favor in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant: ⁴Let a little water, I pray you, be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree: ⁵And I will bring a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts; after that you shall pass on: for therefore are ye come to your servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast said. ⁶And Abraham hastened into the tent to Sarah, and said, Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes upon the hearth. ⁷And Abraham ran to the herd, and brought a calf tender and good, and gave it to a young man; and he hasted to dress it. ⁸And he took butter, and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree, and they ate. ⁹And they said to him, Where is Sarah thy wife? And he said, Behold, in the tent. ¹⁰And he said, I will certainly return to thee according to the time of life; and lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him. ¹¹Now Abraham and Sarah were old and far advanced in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. ¹²Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am become old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also? ¹³And the LORD said to Abraham, Why did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I certainly bear a child, who am old? ¹⁴Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return to thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son. ¹⁵Then Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not; for she was afraid. And he said, Nay; but thou didst laugh. ¹⁶And the men rose up from thence, and looked toward Sodom: and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way. ¹⁷And the LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do; ¹⁸Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? ¹⁹For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they will keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him. ²⁰And the LORD said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous; ²¹I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come to me; and if not, I will know. ²²And the men turned their faces from thence, and went towards Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the LORD. ²³And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked? ²⁴Peradventure there are fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are in it? ²⁵That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? ²⁶And the LORD said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes. ²⁷And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I, who am dust and ashes, have taken upon me to speak to the Lord. ²⁸Peradventure there will lack five of the fifty righteous: wilt thou destroy all the city for lack of five? And he said, If I find there forty and five, I will not destroy it. ²⁹And he spoke to him yet again, and said, Peradventure there will be forty found there. And he said, I will not do it for forty's sake. ³⁰And he said, Oh, let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Peradventure there will thirty be found there. And he said, I will not do it, if I find thirty there. ³¹And he said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak to the Lord: Peradventure there will be twenty found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for twenty's sake. ³²And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure ten will be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for ten's sake. ³³And the LORD went his way, as soon as he had left communing with Abraham: and Abraham returned to his place.

Chapter 19

¹And there came two angels to Sodom at evening; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom; and Lot seeing them, rose to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face towards the ground; ²And he said, Behold now, my lords, turn, I pray you, into your servant's house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise early, and go on your ways. And they said, Nay; but we will abide in the street all night. ³And he urged them greatly; and they turned in to him, and entered into his house; and he made them a feast, and baked unleavened bread, and they ate. ⁴But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, surrounded the house, both old and young, all the people from every quarter: ⁵And they called to Lot, and said to him, Where are the men who came in to thee this night? bring them out to us, that we may know them. ⁶And Lot went out at the door to them, and shut the door after him, ⁷And said, I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly. ⁸Behold now, I have two daughters who have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out to you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes: only to these men do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof. ⁹And they said, Stand back. And they said again, This one man came in to sojourn, and he will needs be a judge: Now will we deal worse with thee than with them. And they pressed hard upon the man, Lot, and came near to break the door. ¹⁰But the men put forth their hand, and pulled Lot into the house to them, and shut the door. ¹¹And they smote the men that were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great: so that they wearied themselves to find the door. ¹²And the men said to Lot, Hast thou here any besides? son-in-law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whatever thou hast in the city, bring them out of this place: ¹³For we will destroy this place, because the cry of them has become great before the face of the LORD; and the LORD hath sent us to destroy it. ¹⁴And Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who married his daughters, and said, Arise, depart from this place; for the LORD will destroy this city: but he seemed to his sons-in-law as one that mocked. ¹⁵And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters who are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city. ¹⁶And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters: the LORD being merciful to him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city. ¹⁷And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life: look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain: escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed. ¹⁸And Lot said to them, Oh, not so, my Lord! ¹⁹Behold now, thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast shown to me in saving my life: and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil should take me, and I die: ²⁰Behold now, this city is near to flee to, and it is a small one: Oh, let me escape thither! (Is it not a small one?) and my soul shall live. ²¹And he said to him, See, I have accepted thee concerning this thing also, that I will not overthrow this city, for which thou hast spoken. ²²Haste thee, escape thither: for I cannot do any thing till thou hast come thither: therefore the name of the city was called Zoar. ²³The sun had risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar. ²⁴Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven; ²⁵And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground. ²⁶But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt. ²⁷And Abraham rose early in the morning, to the place were he stood before the LORD: ²⁸And he looked towards Sodom and Gomorrah, and towards all the land of the plain, and beheld, and lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace. ²⁹And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in which Lot dwelt. ³⁰And Lot went up from Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him; for he feared to dwell in Zoar: and he dwelt in a cave, he, and his two daughters. ³¹And the first-born said to the younger, Our father is old, and there is not a man on the earth to come in to us after the manner of all the earth: ³²Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father. ³³And they made their father drink wine that night: and the first-born went in and lay with her father; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose. ³⁴And it came to pass on the morrow that the first born said to the younger, Behold, I lay yesternight with my father; let us make him drink wine this night also; and go thou in, and lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father. ³⁵And they made their father drink wine that night also: and the younger arose and lay with him; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose. ³⁶Thus were both the daughters of Lot with child by their father. ³⁷And the first-born bore a son, and called his name Moab: the same is the father of the Moabites to this day. ³⁸And the younger, she also bore a son, and called his name Ben-ammi: the same is the father of the children of Ammon to this day.

Chapter 20

¹And Abraham journeyed from thence towards the south country, and dwelt between Kadash and Shur, and sojourned in Gerar. ²And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, she is my sister: And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah. ³But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, Behold, thou art but a dead man, on account of the woman whom thou hast taken: for she is a man's wife. ⁴But Abimelech had not come near her: and he said, Lord, wilt thou also slay a righteous nation? ⁵Said he not to me, She is my sister? and she, even she herself said, He is my brother: in the integrity of my heart, and innocence of my hands have I done this. ⁶And God said to him in a dream, Yea, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart; for I also withheld thee from sinning against me: therefore I suffered thee not to touch her. ⁷Now therefore restore to the man his wife, for he is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live: and if thou shalt not restore her, know thou that thou shalt surely die, thou and all that are thine. ⁸Therefore Abimelech rose early in the morning, and called all his servants, and told all these things in their ears: and the men were greatly afraid. ⁹Then Abimelech called Abraham, and said to him, What has thou done to us? and in what have I offended thee, that thou hast brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? thou hast done deeds to me that ought not to be done. ¹⁰And Abimelech said to Abraham, What sawest thou, that thou hast done this thing? ¹¹And Abraham said, Because I thought, surely the fear of God is not in this place; and they will slay me for my wife's sake. ¹²And yet indeed she is my sister: she is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife. ¹³And it came to pass, when God caused me to wander from my father's house, that I said to her, This is thy kindness which thou shalt show to me; At every place whither we shall come, say of me, He is my brother. ¹⁴And Abimelech took sheep, and oxen, and men-servants, and women-servants, and gave them to Abraham, and restored to him Sarah his wife. ¹⁵And Abimelech said, Behold, my land is before thee: dwell where it pleaseth thee. ¹⁶And to Sarah he said, Behold, I have given thy brother a thousand pieces of silver: behold, he is to thee a covering of the eyes, to all that are with thee, and with all other: thus she was reproved. ¹⁷So Abraham prayed to God: and God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his maid-servants, and they bore children. ¹⁸For the LORD had made barren all the females of the house of Abimelech, because of Sarah, Abraham's wife.

Chapter 21

¹And the LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did to Sarah as he had spoken. ²For Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. ³And Abraham called the name of his son that was born to him, whom Sarah bore to him, Isaac. ⁴And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac, being eight days old, as God had commanded him. ⁵And Abraham was a hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born to him. ⁶And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me. ⁷And she said, Who would have said to Abraham, that Sarah shall nurse children? for I have borne him a son in his old age. ⁸And the child grew, and was weaned: and Abraham made a great feast the day that Isaac was weaned. ⁹And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had borne to Abraham, mocking. ¹⁰Wherefore, she said to Abraham, Cast out this bond-woman, and her son: for the son of this bond-woman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac. ¹¹And the thing was very grievous in Abraham's sight, because of his son. ¹²And God said to Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight, because of the lad, and because of thy bond-woman; in all that Sarah hath said to thee, hearken to her voice: for in Isaac shall thy seed be called. ¹³And also of the son of the bond-woman will I make a nation, because he is thy seed. ¹⁴And Abraham rose early in the morning, and took bread, and a bottle of water, and gave it to Hagar (putting it on her shoulder) and the child, and sent her away; and she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beer-sheba. ¹⁵And the water was spent in the bottle, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs. ¹⁶And she went, and sat her down over against him, a good way off, as it were a bow-shot: for she said, Let me not see the death of the child. And she sat over against him, and raised her voice, and wept. ¹⁷And God heard the voice of the lad: and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said to her, What aileth thee, Hagar? fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is. ¹⁸Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thy hand: for I will make him a great nation. ¹⁹And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water: and she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink. ²⁰And God was with the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer. ²¹And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran: and his mother took for him a wife out of the land of Egypt. ²²And it came to pass at that time, that Abimelech, and Phichol the chief captain of his host, spoke to Abraham, saying, God is with thee in all that thou doest: ²³Now therefore swear to me here by God, that thou wilt not deal falsely with me, nor with my son, nor with my son's son: but according to the kindness that I have done to thee, thou shalt do to me, and to the land in which thou hast sojourned. ²⁴And Abraham said, I will swear. ²⁵And Abraham reproved Abimelech, because of a well of water, which Abimelech's servants had violently taken away. ²⁶And Abimelech said, I know not who hath done this thing: neither didst thou tell me, neither yet have I heard of it, but to-day. ²⁷And Abraham took sheep and oxen, and gave them to Abimelech: and both of them made a covenant. ²⁸And Abraham set seven ewe-lambs of the flock by themselves. ²⁹And Abimelech said to Abraham, What mean these seven ewe-lambs, which thou hast set by themselves? ³⁰And he said, For these seven ewe-lambs shalt thou take from my hand, that they may be a witness to me, that I have digged this well. ³¹Wherefore he called that place Beer-sheba: because there they swore both of them. ³²Thus they made a covenant at Beer-sheba: Then Abimelech arose, and Phichol the chief captain of his host, and they returned into the land of the Philistines. ³³And Abraham planted a grove in Beer-sheba, and called there on the name of the LORD, the everlasting God. ³⁴And Abraham sojourned in the land of the Philistines many days.

Chapter 22

¹And it came to pass after these things, that God tempted Abraham, and said to him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. ²And he said, Take now thy son, thy only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and go into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt-offering upon one of the mountains which I will name to thee. ³And Abraham rose early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and cleft the wood for the burnt-offering, and rose and went to the place which God had named to him. ⁴Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off. ⁵And Abraham said to his young men, Abide you here with the ass, and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and return to you. ⁶And Abraham took the wood of the burnt-offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife: and they went both of them together. ⁷And Isaac spoke to Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt-offering? ⁸And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt-offering: so they went both of them together. ⁹And they came to the place which God had named to him; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order; and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood. ¹⁰And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. ¹¹And the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham. And he said, Here am I. ¹²And he said, Lay not thy hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing to him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld from me thy son, thy only son. ¹³And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold, behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: And Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him for a burnt-offering in the stead of his son. ¹⁴And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-jireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it will be seen. ¹⁵And the angel of the LORD called to Abraham from heaven the second time, ¹⁶And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thy only son: ¹⁷That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven, and as the sand which is on the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; ¹⁸And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed: because thou hast obeyed my voice. ¹⁹So Abraham returned to his young men, and they rose and went together to Beer-sheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beer-sheba. ²⁰And it came to pass after these things, that it was told to Abraham, saying, Behold, Milcah, she hath also borne children to thy brother Nahor; ²¹Huz his first-born, and Buz his brother, and Kemuel the father of Aram, ²²And Chesed, and Hazo, and Pildash, and Jidlaph, and Bethuel. ²³And Bethuel begat Rebekah: these eight Milcah bore to Nahor Abraham's brother. ²⁴And his concubine, whose name was Reumah, she bore also Tebah, and Gaham, and Thahash, and Maachah.

Chapter 23

¹And Sarah was a hundred and twenty-seven years old: these were the years of the life of Sarah. ²And Sarah died in Kirjath-arba; the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan: And Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her. ³And Abraham stood up from before his dead, and spoke to the sons of Heth, saying, ⁴I am a stranger and a sojourner with you; give me a possession of a burying-place with you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight. ⁵And the children of Heth answered Abraham, saying to him, ⁶Hear us, my lord; thou art a mighty prince among us: in the choice of our sepulchers bury thy dead: none of us will withhold from thee his sepulcher, but that thou mayest bury thy dead. ⁷And Abraham stood up and bowed himself to the people of the land, to the children of Heth. ⁸And he communed with them, saying, If it is your mind that I should bury my dead out of my sight, hear me, and entreat for me to Ephron the son of Zohar, ⁹That he may give me the cave of Machpelah, which he hath, which is in the end of his field; for as much money as it is worth he shall give it me, for a possession of a burying-place among you. ¹⁰And Ephron dwelt among the children of Heth. And Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the audience of the children of Heth, of all that entered the gates of his city, saying, ¹¹Nay, my lord, hear me: the field give I to thee, and the cave that is in it, I give it to thee; in the presence of the sons of my people I give it to thee: bury thy dead. ¹²And Abraham bowed himself before the people of the land. ¹³And he spoke to Ephron in the audience of the people of the land, saying, But if thou wilt give it, I pray thee, hear me: I will give thee money for the field: take it of me, and I will bury my dead there. ¹⁴And Ephron answered Abraham, saying to him, ¹⁵My lord, hearken to me: the land is worth four hundred shekels of silver; what is that betwixt me and thee? bury therefore thy dead. ¹⁶And Abraham hearkened to Ephron; and Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver which he had named in the audience of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, current money with the merchant. ¹⁷And the field of Ephron, which was in Machpelah, which was before Mamre, the field and the cave which was in it, and all the trees that were in the field, that were in all the borders round about, were made sure ¹⁸To Abraham for a possession in the presence of the children of Heth, before all that entered the gate of his city. ¹⁹And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah, before Mamre: the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan. ²⁰And the field, and the cave that is in it were made sure to Abraham for a possession of a burying-place, by the sons of Heth.

Chapter 24

¹And Abraham was old and far advanced in age: and the LORD had blessed Abraham in all things. ²And Abraham said to his eldest servant of his house, that ruled over all that he had, Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh: ³And I will make thee swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that thou wilt not take a wife for my son of the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I dwell: ⁴But thou shalt go to my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son Isaac. ⁵And the servant said to him, It may be the woman will not be willing to follow me to this land: must I needs bring thy son again to the land from whence thou camest? ⁶And Abraham said to him, Beware that thou bring not my son thither again. ⁷The LORD God of heaven, who took me from my father's house, and from the land of my kindred, and who spoke to me, and who swore to me, saying, To thy seed I will give this land: he will send his angel before thee, and thou shalt take a wife for my son from thence. ⁸And if the woman shall not be willing to follow thee, then thou shalt be clear from this my oath; only bring not my son thither again. ⁹And the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and swore to him concerning that matter. ¹⁰And the servant took ten camels, of the camels of his master, and departed; (for all the goods of his master were in his hands:) and he arose, and went to Mesopotamia, to the city of Nahor. ¹¹And he made his camels to kneel down without the city by a well of water, at the time of the evening, the time when women go out to draw water: ¹²And he said, O LORD God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, prosper me this day, and show kindness to my master Abraham. ¹³Behold, I stand here by the well of water; and the daughters of the men of the city come out to draw water: ¹⁴And let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say, Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink; and she shall say, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: let the same be she that thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac; and by that shall I know that thou hast shown kindness to my master. ¹⁵And it came to pass before he had done speaking, that behold, Rebekah came out, who was born to Bethuel son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, with her pitcher upon her shoulder. ¹⁶And the damsel was very fair to look upon, a virgin, neither had any man known her: and she went down to the well, and filled her pitcher, and came up. ¹⁷And the servant ran to meet her, and said, Let me, I pray thee, drink a little water from thy pitcher. ¹⁸And she said, Drink, my lord. And she hasted, and let down her pitcher upon her hand, and gave him drink. ¹⁹And when she had done giving him drink, she said, I will draw water for thy camels also, till they have done drinking. ²⁰And she hasted, and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran again to the well to draw water, and drew for all his camels. ²¹And the man, wondering at her, held his peace, to know whether the LORD had made his journey prosperous, or not. ²²And it came to pass as the camels had done drinking, that the man took a golden ear-ring of half a shekel weight, and two bracelets for her hands of ten shekels weight of gold; ²³And said, Whose daughter art thou? tell me, I pray thee: is there room in thy father's house for us to lodge in? ²⁴And she said to him, I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, whom she bore to Nahor. ²⁵She said moreover to him, We have both straw and provender enough, and room to lodge in. ²⁶And the man bowed his head, and worshipped the LORD. ²⁷And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of my master Abraham, who hath not left my master destitute of his mercy and his truth: I being in the way, the LORD led me to the house of my master's brethren. ²⁸And the damsel ran, and told these things to her mother's house. ²⁹And Rebekah had a brother, and his name was Laban: and Laban ran out to the man, to the well. ³⁰And it came to pass when he saw the ear-ring and bracelets upon his sister's hands, and when he heard the words of Rebekah his sister, saying, Thus spoke the man to me; that he came to the man; and behold, he stood by the camels at the well. ³¹And he said, Come in, thou blessed of the LORD; why standest thou without? for I have prepared the house, and room for the camels. ³²And the man came into the house: and he ungirded his camels, and gave straw and provender for the camels, and water to wash his feet, and the men's feet that were with him. ³³And there was set food before him to eat: but he said, I will not eat, until I have told my errand. And he said, Speak on. ³⁴And he said, I am Abraham's servant. ³⁵And the LORD hath blessed my master greatly, and he is become great: and he hath given him flocks, and herds, and silver, and gold, and men-servants, and maid-servants, and camels, and asses. ³⁶And Sarah, my master's wife, bore a son to my master when she was old: and to him hath he given all that he hath. ³⁷And my master made me swear, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife for my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell: ³⁸But thou shalt go to my father's house, and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son. ³⁹And I said to my master, It may be the woman will not follow me. ⁴⁰And he said to me, The LORD, before whom I walk, will send his angel with thee, and prosper thy way; and thou shalt take a wife for my son of my kindred, and of my father's house. ⁴¹Then shalt thou be clear from this my oath, when thou comest to my kindred; and if they give not thee one, thou shalt be clear from my oath. ⁴²And I came this day to the well, and said, O LORD God of my master Abraham, if now thou dost prosper my way which I go: ⁴³Behold, I stand by the well of water; and it shall come to pass, that when the virgin cometh forth to draw water, and I say to her, Give me, I pray thee, a little water of thy pitcher to drink; ⁴⁴And she saith to me, Both drink thou, and I will also draw for thy camels: let the same be the woman whom the LORD hath pointed out for my master's son. ⁴⁵And before I had done speaking in my heart, behold, Rebekah came forth with her pitcher on her shoulder; and she went down to the well, and drew water: and I said to her, Let me drink, I pray thee. ⁴⁶And she made haste, and let down her pitcher from her shoulder, and said, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: so I drank, and she made the camels drink also. ⁴⁷And I asked her, and said, Whose daughter art thou? And she said, The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor's son, whom Milcah bore to him: and I put the ear-ring upon her face, and the bracelets upon her hands. ⁴⁸And I bowed my head, and worshipped the LORD, and blessed the LORD God of my master Abraham, who had led me in the right way to take my master's brother's daughter for his son. ⁴⁹And now if you will deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me; and if not, tell me; that I may turn to the right hand, or to the left. ⁵⁰Then Laban and Bethuel answered, and said, The thing proceedeth from the LORD: we cannot speak to thee bad or good. ⁵¹Behold, Rebekah is before thee, take her, and go, and let her be thy master's son's wife, as the LORD hath spoken. ⁵²And it came to pass, that when Abraham's servant heard their words, he worshipped the LORD, bowing himself to the earth. ⁵³And the servant brought forth jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment, and gave them to Rebekah: He gave also to her brother and to her mother precious things. ⁵⁴And they ate and drank, he and the men that were with him, and tarried all night; and they rose in the morning, and he said, Send me away to my master. ⁵⁵And her brother and her mother said, Let the damsel abide with us a few days, at the least ten; after that she shall go. ⁵⁶And he said to them, Hinder me not, seeing the LORD hath prospered my way: send me away, that I may go to my master. ⁵⁷And they said, We will call the damsel, and inquire at her mouth. ⁵⁸And they called Rebekah, and said to her, Wilt thou go with this man? And she said, I will go. ⁵⁹And they sent away Rebekah their sister, and her nurse, and Abraham's servant, and his men. ⁶⁰And they blessed Rebekah, and said to her, Thou art our sister, be thou the mother of thousands of millions, and let thy seed possess the gate of those who hate them. ⁶¹And Rebekah arose, and her damsels, and they rode upon the camels, and followed the man: and the servant took Rebekah, and went his way. ⁶²And Isaac came from the way of the well Lahai-roi; for he dwelt in the south country. ⁶³And Isaac went out to meditate in the field at evening: and he lifted up his eyes, and saw, and behold, the camels were coming. ⁶⁴And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she alighted from the camel. ⁶⁵For she had said to the servant, What man is this that walketh in the field to meet us? And the servant had said, It is my master: therefore she took a vail and covered herself. ⁶⁶And the servant told Isaac all things that he had done. ⁶⁷And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her: and Isaac was comforted after his mother's death.

Chapter 25

¹Then again Abraham took a wife, and her name was Keturah. ²And she bore him Zimran, and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah. ³And Jokshan begat Sheba, and Dedan. And the sons of Dedan were Asshurim, and Letushim and Leummim. ⁴And the sons of Midian; Ephah, and Epher, and Hanoch, and Abidah, and Eldaah. All these were the children of Keturah. ⁵And Abraham gave all that he had to Isaac. ⁶But to the sons of the concubines which Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts, and sent them away from Isaac his son (while he yet lived) eastward, to the east country. ⁷And these are the days of the years of Abraham's life which he lived, a hundred and seventy five years. ⁸Then Abraham expired, and died in a good old age, an old man, and full of years; and was gathered to his people. ⁹And his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, which is before Mamre; ¹⁰The field which Abraham purchased of the sons of Heth: there was Abraham buried, and Sarah his wife. ¹¹And it came to pass after the death of Abraham, that God blessed his son Isaac: and Isaac dwelt by the well Lahai-roi. ¹²Now these are the generations of Ishmael, Abraham's son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah's handmaid, bore to Abraham. ¹³And these are the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names, according to their generations: The first-born of Ishmael, Nebajoth; and Kedar, and Adbeel, and Mibsam, ¹⁴And Mishma, and Dumah, and Massa, ¹⁵Hadar, and Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah: ¹⁶These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names, by their towns, and by their castles; twelve princes according to their nations. ¹⁷And these are the years of the life of Ishmael; a hundred and thirty and seven years: and he expired and died, and was gathered to his people. ¹⁸And they dwelt from Havilah to Shur, that is before Egypt, as thou goest towards Assyria: and he died in the presence of all his brethren. ¹⁹And these are the generations of Isaac, Abraham's son: Abraham begat Isaac: ²⁰And Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah to wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padan-aram, the sister to Laban the Syrian. ²¹And Isaac entreated the LORD for his wife, because she was barren: and the LORD was entreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived. ²²And the children struggled together within her: and she said, If it is so, why am I thus? And she went to inquire of the LORD. ²³And the LORD said to her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels: and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger. ²⁴And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb. ²⁵And the first was born red, all over like a hairy garment: and they called his name Esau. ²⁶And after that his brother was born, and his hand took hold on Esau's heel; and his name was called Jacob: and Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them. ²⁷And the boys grew: and Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a plain man dwelling in tents. ²⁸And Isaac loved Esau, because he ate of his venison: but Rebekah loved Jacob. ²⁹And Jacob boiled pottage: and Esau came from the field, and he was faint. ³⁰And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage; for I am faint: therefore was his name called Edom. ³¹And Jacob said, Sell to me this day thy birth-right. ³²And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birth-right bring to me? ³³And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he swore to him: and he sold his birth-right to Jacob. ³⁴Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentiles; and he ate and drank, and rose and went his way: thus Esau despised his birth-right.

Chapter 26

¹And there was a famine in the land, besides the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines to Gerar. ²And the LORD appeared to him, and said, Go not down into Egypt: dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of. ³Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee: for to thee, and to thy seed I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham thy father; ⁴And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give to thy seed all these countries: and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed: ⁵Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws. ⁶And Isaac dwelt in Gerar: ⁷And the men of the place asked him of his wife; and he said, She is my sister: for he feared to say, She is my wife; lest, said he, the men of the place should kill me for Rebekah; because she was fair to look upon. ⁸And it came to pass when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out at a window, and saw, and behold, Isaac was sporting with Rebekah his wife. ⁹And Abimelech called Isaac, and said, Behold, surely she is thy wife: and how saidst thou, She is my sister? and Isaac said to him, Because I said, Lest I should die on her account. ¹⁰And Abimelech said, What is this thou hast done to us? one of the people might lightly have lain with thy wife, and thou wouldst have brought guiltiness upon us. ¹¹And Abimelech charged all his people, saying, He that toucheth this man or his wife shall surely be put to death. ¹²Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year a hundred-fold: and the LORD blessed him: ¹³And the man became great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great: ¹⁴For he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and very many servants: And the Philistines envied him. ¹⁵For all the wells which his father's servants had digged in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines had stopped them, and filled them with earth. ¹⁶And Abimelech said to Isaac, Go from us: for thou art much mightier than we. ¹⁷And Isaac departed thence, and pitched his tent in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there. ¹⁸And Isaac digged again the wells of water which they had digged in the days of Abraham his father; for the Philistines had stopped them after the death of Abraham: and he called their names after the names by which his father had called them. ¹⁹And Isaac's servants digged in the valley, and found there a well of springing water. ²⁰And the herdmen of Gerar contended with Isaac's herdmen, saying, The water is ours: and he called the name of the well Esek; because they strove with him. ²¹And they digged another well, and contended for that also: and he called the name of it Sitnah. ²²And he removed from thence, and digged another well; and for that they did not contend: and he called the name of it Rehoboth; and he said, For now the LORD hath made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land. ²³And he went up from thence to Beer-sheba. ²⁴And the LORD appeared to him the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham's sake. ²⁵And he built an altar there, and called upon the name of the LORD, and pitched his tent there: and there Isaac's servants digged a well. ²⁶Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar, and Ahuzzath one of his friends, and Phichol the chief captain of his army. ²⁷And Isaac said to them, Why come ye to me, seeing ye hate me, and have sent me away from you? ²⁸And they said, We saw certainly that the LORD was with thee: and we said, Let there be now an oath betwixt us, even betwixt us and thee, and let us make a covenant with thee; ²⁹That thou wilt do us no hurt, as we have not touched thee, and as we have done to thee nothing but good, and have sent thee away in peace: thou art now the blessed of the LORD. ³⁰And he made them a feast, and they ate and drank. ³¹And they rose betimes in the morning, and swore one to another: and Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace. ³²And it came to pass the same day, that Isaac's servants came and told him concerning the well which they had digged, and said to him, We have found water. ³³And he called it Shebah: therefore the name of the city is Beer-sheba to this day. ³⁴And Esau was forty years old when he took for a wife Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Bashemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite: ³⁵Who were a grief of mind to Isaac and Rebekah.

Chapter 27

¹And it came to pass, that when Isaac was old, and his eyes were dim, so that he could not see, he called Esau his eldest son, and said to him, My son: and he said to him, Behold, here am I. ²And he said, Behold now, I am old, I know not the day of my death: ³Now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field, and take me some venison; ⁴And make me savory meat, such as I love, and bring it to me, that I may eat; that my soul may bless thee before I die. ⁵And Rebekah heard when Isaac spoke to Esau his son; and Esau went to the field to hunt for venison, and to bring it. ⁶And Rebekah spoke to Jacob her son, saying, Behold, I heard thy father speak to Esau thy brother, saying, ⁷Bring me venison, and make me savory meat, that I may eat, and bless thee before the LORD, before my death. ⁸Now therefore, my son, obey my voice, according to that which I command thee. ⁹Go now to the flock, and bring me from thence two good kids of the goats; and I will make them savory meat for thy father, such as he loveth: ¹⁰And thou shalt bring it to thy father, that he may eat, and that he may bless thee before his death. ¹¹And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, Behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man: ¹²My father perhaps will feel me, and I shall seem to him as a deceiver; and I shall bring a curse upon me, and not a blessing. ¹³And his mother said to him, upon me be thy curse, my son; only obey my voice, and go, bring them to me. ¹⁴And he went, and took, and brought them to his mother: and his mother made savory meat, such as his father loved. ¹⁵And Rebekah took goodly raiment of her eldest son Esau, which was with her in the house, and put it upon Jacob her younger son: ¹⁶And she put the skins of the kids of the goats on his hands, and on the smooth part of his neck: ¹⁷And she gave the savory meat, and the bread which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob. ¹⁸And he came to his father, and said, My father: And he said, Here am I; who art thou, my son? ¹⁹And Jacob said to his father, I am Esau thy first-born; I have done according as thou badest me: arise, I pray thee, sit and eat of my venison, that thy soul may bless me. ²⁰And Isaac said to his son, How is it that thou hast found it so quickly, my son? And he said, Because the LORD thy God brought it to me. ²¹And Isaac said to Jacob, Come near, I pray thee, that I may feel thee, my son, whether thou art my very son Esau, or not. ²²And Jacob went near to Isaac his father; and he felt him, and said, The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau. ²³And he discerned him not, because his hands were hairy, as his brother Esau's hands: So he blessed him. ²⁴And he said, Art thou my very son Esau? And he said, I am. ²⁵And he said, bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son's venison, that my soul may bless thee. And he brought it near to him, and he ate: and he brought him wine, and he drank. ²⁶And his father Isaac said to him, Come near now, and kiss me, my son. ²⁷And he came near, and kissed him: and he smelled the smell of his raiment, and blessed him, and said, See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the LORD hath blessed: ²⁸Therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine: ²⁹Let people serve thee, and nations bow down to thee; be lord over thy brethren, and let thy mother's sons bow down to thee: cursed be every one that curseth thee, and blessed be he that blesseth thee. ³⁰And it came to pass, as soon as Isaac had made an end of blessing Jacob, and Jacob had yet scarcely gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting. ³¹And he also had made savory meat, and brought it to his father; and said to his father, Let my father arise, and eat of his son's venison, that thy soul may bless me. ³²And Isaac his father said to him, Who art thou? And he said, I am thy son, thy first-born Esau. ³³And Isaac trembled exceedingly, and said, Who? where is he that hath taken venison, and brought it me, and I have eaten of all before thou camest, and have blessed him? yea, and he shall be blessed. ³⁴And when Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with a great and exceedingly bitter cry, and said to his father, Bless me, even me also, O my father. ³⁵And he said, Thy brother came with subtilty, and hath taken away thy blessing. ³⁶And he said, Is he not rightly named Jacob? for he hath supplanted me twice: he took away my birth-right; and behold, now he hath taken away my blessing. And he said, Hast thou not reserved a blessing for me? ³⁷And Isaac answered and said to Esau, Behold, I have made him thy lord, and all his brethren have I given to him for servants; and with corn and wine have I sustained him: and what shall I do now to thee, my son? ³⁸And Esau said to his father, Hast thou but one blessing, my father? bless me, even me also, O my father. And Esau lifted up his voice, and wept. ³⁹And Isaac his father answered, and said to him, Behold, thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above; ⁴⁰And by thy sword shalt thou live, and shalt serve thy brother: and it shall come to pass when thou shalt have the dominion, that thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck. ⁴¹And Esau hated Jacob, because of the blessing with which his father blessed him: and Esau said in his heart, The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then will I slay my brother Jacob. ⁴²And these words of Esau her elder son were told to Rebekah: and she sent and called Jacob her younger son, and said to him, Behold, thy brother Esau, as concerning thee, doth comfort himself, purposing to kill thee. ⁴³Now therefore, my son, obey my voice: and arise, flee thou to Laban my brother to Haran; ⁴⁴And tarry with him a few days, until thy brother's fury shall turn away; ⁴⁵Till thy brother's anger shall turn away from thee, and he shall forget that which thou hast done to him: then I will send, and bring thee from thence. Why should I be deprived also of you both in one day? ⁴⁶And Rebekah said to Isaac, I am weary of my life, because of the daughters of Heth: if Jacob shall take a wife of the daughters of Heth, such as these who are of the daughters of the land, what good will my life do me?

Chapter 28

¹And Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him, and charged him, and said to him, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan. ²Arise, go to Padan-aram, to the house of Bethuel thy mother's father; and take thee a wife from thence of the daughters of Laban thy mother's brother. ³And God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a multitude of people; ⁴And give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee, and to thy seed with thee; that thou mayest inherit the land in which thou art a stranger, which God gave to Abraham. ⁵And Isaac sent away Jacob: and he went to Padan-aram, to Laban, son of Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob's and Esau's mother. ⁶When Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob, and sent him away to Padan-aram, to take him a wife from thence; and that as he blessed him, he gave him a charge, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan; ⁷And that Jacob obeyed his father, and his mother, and was gone to Padan-aram; ⁸And Esau seeing that the daughters of Canaan pleased not Isaac his father; ⁹Then went Esau to Ishmael, and took to the wives which he had, Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael Abraham's son, the sister of Nebajoth, to be his wife. ¹⁰And Jacob went out from Beer-sheba, and went towards Haran. ¹¹And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set: and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep. ¹²And he dreamed, and behold, a ladder set upon the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold, the angels of God ascending and descending on it. ¹³And behold, the LORD stood above it, and said, I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land on which thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed. ¹⁴And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth; and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. ¹⁵And behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land: for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have declared to thee. ¹⁶And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the LORD is in this place; and I knew it not. ¹⁷And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is no other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven. ¹⁸And Jacob rose early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil on the top of it. ¹⁹And he called the name of that place Beth-el: but the name of that city was called Luz at the first. ²⁰And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, ²¹So that I come again to my father's house in peace; then shall the LORD be my God: ²²And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's house: and of all that thou shalt give me, I will surely give the tenth to thee.

Chapter 29

¹Then Jacob went on his journey, and came into the land of the people of the east. ²And he looked, and behold, a well in the field, and lo, there were three flocks of sheep lying by it; for out of that well they watered the flocks: and a great stone was upon the well's mouth. ³And thither were all the flocks gathered: and they rolled the stone from the well's mouth and watered the sheep, and put the stone again upon the well's mouth in its place. ⁴And Jacob said to them, My brethren, whence are ye? And they said, We are from Haran. ⁵And he said to them, Know ye Laban the son of Nahor? and they said, We know him. ⁶And he said to them, Is he well? And they said, He is well: and behold, Rachel his daughter cometh with the sheep. ⁷And he said, Lo, it is yet high day, neither is it time that the cattle should be collected: water ye the sheep, and go and feed them. ⁸And they said, We cannot, until all the flocks are collected, and till they roll the stone from the well's mouth; then we water the sheep. ⁹And while he was yet speaking with them, Rachel came with her father's sheep: for she kept them. ¹⁰And it came to pass, when Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of Laban his mother's brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother's brother; that Jacob went near, and rolled the stone from the well's mouth, and watered the flock of Laban his mother's brother. ¹¹And Jacob kissed Rachel, and lifted up his voice, and wept. ¹²And Jacob told Rachel that he was her father's brother, and that he was Rebekah's son; and she ran and told her father. ¹³And it came to pass when Laban heard the tidings of Jacob his sister's son, that he ran to meet him, and embraced him, and kissed him, and brought him to his house. And he told Laban all these things. ¹⁴And Laban said to him, Surely thou art my bone and my flesh: and he abode with him the space of a month. ¹⁵And Laban said to Jacob, Because thou art my brother, shouldest thou therefore serve me for naught? tell me, what shall thy wages be? ¹⁶And Laban had two daughters: the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. ¹⁷Leah was tender-eyed, but Rachel was beautiful and well-favored. ¹⁸And Jacob loved Rachel; and said, I will serve thee seven years for Rachel thy younger daughter. ¹⁹And Laban said, It is better that I give her to thee, than that I should give her to another man: abide with me. ²⁰And Jacob served seven years for Rachel; and they seemed to him but a few days, for the love he had to her. ²¹And Jacob said to Laban, Give me my wife (for my days are fulfilled) that I may go in to her. ²²And Laban assembled all the men of the place, and made a feast. ²³And it came to pass in the evening, that he took Leah his daughter, and brought her to him; and he went in to her. ²⁴And Laban gave to his daughter Leah, Zilpah his maid for a handmaid. ²⁵And it came to pass, that in the morning, behold, it was Leah: and he said to Laban, What is this thou hast done to me? did I not serve with thee for Rachel? why then hast thou deceived me? ²⁶And Laban said, it must not be so done in our country, to give the younger before the first-born. ²⁷Fulfill her week, and we will give thee this also, for the service which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years. ²⁸And Jacob did so, and fulfilled her week: and he gave him Rachel, his daughter, for a wife also. ²⁹And Laban gave to Rachel, his daughter, Bilhah, his handmaid, to be her maid. ³⁰And he went in also to Rachel, and he loved also Rachel more than Leah, and served with him yet seven other years. ³¹And when the LORD saw that Leah was hated, he made her fruitful: but Rachel was barren. ³²And Leah conceived, and bore a son, and she called his name Reuben: for she said, Surely the LORD hath looked upon my affliction; now therefore my husband will love me. ³³And she conceived again, and bore a son; and said, Because the LORD hath heard that I was hated, he hath therefore given me this son also: and she called his name Simeon. ³⁴And she conceived again, and bore a son; and said, Now this time will my husband adhere to me, because I have borne him three sons: therefore was his name called Levi. ³⁵And she conceived again, and bore a son: and she said, Now will I praise the LORD: therefore she called his name Judah, and left bearing.

Chapter 30

¹And when Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister; and said to Jacob, Give me children, or else I die. ²And Jacob's anger was kindled against Rachel; and he said, Am I in God's stead, who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb? ³And she said, Behold, my maid Bilhah, go in to her; and she shall bear upon my knees, that I may also have children by her. ⁴And she gave him Bilhah, her handmaid, for a wife: and Jacob went in to her. ⁵And Bilhah conceived, and bore Jacob a son. ⁶And Rachel said, God hath judged me, and hath also heard my voice, and hath given me a son: therefore she called his name Dan. ⁷And Bilhah, Rachel's maid, conceived again, and bore Jacob a second son. ⁸And Rachel said, With great wrestlings have I wrestled with my sister, and I have prevailed: and she called his name Naphtali. ⁹When Leah saw that she had left bearing, she took Zilpah, her maid, and gave her Jacob for a wife. ¹⁰And Zilpah, Leah's maid, bore Jacob a son. ¹¹And Leah said, A troop cometh: and she called his name Gad. ¹²And Zilpah, Leah's maid, bore Jacob a second son. ¹³And Leah said, Happy am I, for the daughters will call me blessed: and she called his name Asher. ¹⁴And Reuben went, in the days of wheat-harvest, and found mandrakes in the field, and brought them to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, Give me, I pray thee, of thy son's mandrakes. ¹⁵And she said to her, Is it a small matter that thou hast taken my husband? and wouldest thou take away my son's mandrakes also? And Rachel said, Therefore he shall lie with thee to-night for thy son's mandrakes. ¹⁶And Jacob came from the field in the evening, and Leah went out to meet him, and said, Thou must come in to me; for surely I have hired thee with my son's mandrakes. And he lay with her that night. ¹⁷And God hearkened to Leah, and she conceived, and bore Jacob the fifth son. ¹⁸And Leah said, God hath given me my hire, because I have given my maiden to my husband: and she called his name Issachar. ¹⁹And Leah conceived again, and bore Jacob the sixth son. ²⁰And Leah said, God hath endowed me with a good dower; now will my husband dwell with me, because I have borne him six sons: and she called his name Zebulun. ²¹And afterwards she bore a daughter, and called her name Dinah. ²²And God remembered Rachel, and God hearkened to her, and rendered her fruitful. ²³And she conceived, and bore a son; and said, God hath taken away my reproach: ²⁴And she called his name Joseph; and said, The LORD will add to me another son. ²⁵And it came to pass, when Rachel had borne Joseph, that Jacob said to Laban, Send me away, that I may go to my own place, and to my country. ²⁶Give me my wives and my children, for whom I have served thee, and let me go: for thou knowest my service which I have done thee. ²⁷And Laban said to him, I pray thee, if I have found favor in thine eyes, tarry: for I have learned by experience, that the LORD hath blessed me for thy sake. ²⁸And he said, Appoint me thy wages, and I will give it. ²⁹And he said to him, Thou knowest how I have served thee, and how thy cattle were with me. ³⁰For it was little which thou hadst before I came, and it is now increased to a multitude; and the LORD hath blessed thee since my coming: and now when shall I provide for my own house also? ³¹And he said, What shall I give thee? And Jacob said, Thou shalt not give me any thing; if thou wilt do this thing for me, I will again feed and keep thy flock: ³²I will pass through all thy flock to-day, removing from thence all the speckled and spotted cattle, and all the brown cattle among the sheep, and the spotted and speckled among the goats: and of such shall be my hire. ³³So shall my righteousness answer for me in time to come, when it shall come for my hire before thy face: every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats, and brown among the sheep, that shall be accounted stolen with me. ³⁴And Laban said, Behold, I would it might be according to thy word. ³⁵And he removed that day the he-goats that were ring-streaked and spotted, and all the she-goats that were speckled and spotted; every one that had some white in it, and all the brown among the sheep, and gave them into the hands of his sons. ³⁶And he set three days' journey between himself and Jacob: and Jacob fed the rest of Laban's flocks. ³⁷And Jacob took to him rods of green poplar, and of the hazel and chesnut-tree; and peeled white streaks in them, and made the white appear which was in the rods. ³⁸And he set the rods, which he had peeled, before the flocks in the gutters in the watering-troughs, when the flocks came to drink, that they should conceive when they came to drink. ³⁹And the flocks conceived before the rods, and brought forth cattle ring-streaked, speckled, and spotted. ⁴⁰And Jacob separated the lambs, and set the faces of the flocks towards the ring-streaked, and all the brown in the flock of Laban: and he put his own flocks by themselves, and put them not with Laban's cattle. ⁴¹And it came to pass, whenever the stronger cattle conceived, that Jacob laid the rods before the eyes of the cattle in the gutters, that they might conceive among the rods. ⁴²But when the cattle were feeble, he put them not in: so the feebler were Laban's, and the stronger Jacob's. ⁴³And the man increased exceedingly, and had many cattle, and maid-servants, and men-servants, and camels, and asses.

Chapter 31

¹And he heard the words of Laban's sons, saying, Jacob hath taken away all that was our father's; and of that which was our father's hath he obtained all this glory. ²And Jacob beheld the countenance of Laban, and behold, it was not towards him as before. ³And the LORD said to Jacob, Return to the land of thy fathers, and to thy kindred; and I will be with thee. ⁴And Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah into the field to his flock, ⁵And said to them, I see your father's countenance, that it is not towards me as before: but the God of my father hath been with me. ⁶And ye know that with all my power I have served your father. ⁷And your father hath deceived me, and changed my wages ten times: but God suffered him not to hurt me. ⁸If he said thus, The speckled shall be thy wages; then all the cattle bore speckled: and if he said thus, The ring-streaked shall be thy hire; then all the cattle bore ring-streaked. ⁹Thus God hath taken away the cattle of your father, and given them to me. ¹⁰And it came to pass at the time that the cattle conceived, that I lifted up my eyes, and saw in a dream, and behold, the rams which leaped upon the cattle were ring-streaked, speckled, and grizzled. ¹¹And the angel of God spoke to me in a dream, saying, Jacob: And I said, Here am I. ¹²And he said, Lift up now thy eyes and see, all the rams which leap upon the cattle are ring-streaked, speckled, and grizzled: for I have seen all that Laban doeth to thee. ¹³I am the God of Beth-el, where thou anointedst the pillar, and where thou vowedst to me a vow: now arise, depart from this land, and return to the land of thy kindred. ¹⁴And Rachel and Leah answered, and said to him, Is there yet any portion or inheritance for us in our father's house? ¹⁵Are we not counted by him strangers; for he hath sold us, and hath quite consumed also our money. ¹⁶For all the riches which God hath taken from our father, that is ours, and our children's: now then whatever God hath said to thee, do. ¹⁷Then Jacob arose, and set his sons and his wives upon camels; ¹⁸And he carried away all his cattle, and all his goods which he had gained, the cattle of his getting, which he had gained in Padan-aram; to go to Isaac, his father, in the land of Canaan. ¹⁹And Laban went to shear his sheep; and Rachel had stolen the images that were her father's. ²⁰And Jacob stole away unawares to Laban the Syrian, in that he told him not that he was about to depart. ²¹So he fled with all that he had; and he arose, and passed over the river, and set his face towards the mount Gilead. ²²And it was told Laban on the third day that Jacob had fled. ²³And he took his brethren with him, and pursued after him seven days' journey: and they overtook him in the mount Gilead. ²⁴And God came to Laban, the Syrian, in a dream by night, and said to him, Take heed that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad. ²⁵Then Laban overtook Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the mount: and Laban, with his brethren, pitched in the mount of Gilead. ²⁶And Laban said to Jacob, What hast thou done, that thou hast stolen away unawares to me, and carried away my daughters, as captives taken with the sword? ²⁷Why didst thou flee away secretly, and steal away from me, and didst not tell me, that I might have sent thee away with mirth, and with songs, with tabret, and with harp? ²⁸And hast not suffered me to kiss my sons, and my daughters? thou hast now done foolishly in so doing. ²⁹It is in the power of my hand to do you hurt: but the God of your father spoke to me yesternight, saying, Take thou heed that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad. ³⁰And now, though thou wouldest needs be gone, because thou didst earnestly long after thy father's house; yet why hast thou stolen my gods? ³¹And Jacob answered and said to Laban, Because I was afraid: for I said, It may be thou wouldest take thy daughters from me by force. ³²With whomsoever thou findest thy gods, let him not live: before our brethren discern thou what is thine with me, and take it to thee: for Jacob knew not that Rachel had stolen them. ³³And Laban went into Jacob's tent, and into Leah's tent, and into the two maid-servants' tents; but he found them not. Then he went out of Leah's tent, and entered into Rachel's tent. ³⁴Now Rachel had taken the images, and put them in the camel's furniture, and sat upon them. And Laban searched all the tent, but found them not. ³⁵And she said to her father, Let it not displease my lord that I cannot rise up before thee; for the custom of women is upon me. And he searched, but found not the images. ³⁶And Jacob was wroth, and chid with Laban: and Jacob answered, and said to Laban, What is my trespass? what is my sin, that thou hast so eagerly pursued after me? ³⁷Whereas thou hast searched all my stuff, what hast thou found of all thy household-stuff? set it here before my brethren, and thy brethren, that they may judge betwixt us both. ³⁸These twenty years have I been with thee: thy ewes and thy she-goats have not cast their young, and the rams of thy flock have I not eaten. ³⁹That which was torn by beasts, I brought not to thee; I bore the loss of it; of my hand didst thou require it, whether stolen by day, or stolen by night. ⁴⁰Thus I was; in the day the drouth consumed me, and the frost by night; and my sleep departed from my eyes. ⁴¹Thus have I been twenty years in thy house: I served thee fourteen years for thy two daughters, and six years for thy cattle: and thou hast changed my wages ten times. ⁴²Except the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac had been with me, surely thou hadst now sent me away empty. God hath seen my affliction, and the labor of my hands, and rebuked thee yesternight. ⁴³And Laban answered, and said to Jacob, These daughters are my daughters, and these children are my children, and these cattle are my cattle, and all that thou seest is mine; and what can I do this day to these my daughters, or to their children which they have borne? ⁴⁴Now therefore come thou, let us make a covenant, I and thou; and let it be for a witness between me and thee. ⁴⁵And Jacob took a stone, and set it up for a pillar. ⁴⁶And Jacob said to his brethren, Gather stones; and they took stones, and made a heap: and they ate there upon the heap. ⁴⁷And Laban called it Jegar-sahadutha: but Jacob called it Galeed: ⁴⁸And Laban said, This heap is a witness between me and thee this day. Therefore was the name of it called Galeed: ⁴⁹And Mizpah; for he said, The LORD watch between me and thee, when we are absent one from another. ⁵⁰If thou shalt afflict my daughters, or if thou shalt take other wives besides my daughters; no man is with us; See, God is witness betwixt me and thee. ⁵¹And Laban said to Jacob, Behold this heap, and behold this pillar, which I have cast betwixt me and thee; ⁵²This heap be witness, and this pillar be witness, that I will not pass over this heap to thee, and that thou shalt not pass over this heap and this pillar to me, for harm. ⁵³The God of Abraham, and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge betwixt us. And Jacob swore by the fear of his father Isaac. ⁵⁴Then Jacob offered sacrifice upon the mount, and called his brethren to eat bread: and they ate bread, and tarried all night in the mount. ⁵⁵And early in the morning Laban arose, and kissed his sons and his daughters, and blessed them: and Laban departed, and returned to his place.

Chapter 32

¹And Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him. ²And when Jacob saw them, he said, This is God's host: and he called the name of that place Mahanaim. ³And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother, to the land of Seir, the country of Edom. ⁴And he commanded them, saying, Thus shall ye speak to my lord Esau: Thy servant Jacob saith thus, I have sojourned with Laban, and stayed there till now: ⁵And I have oxen, and asses, flocks, and men-servants, and women-servants: and I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find grace in thy sight. ⁶And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, We came to thy brother Esau, and also he is coming to meet thee, and four hundred men with him. ⁷Then Jacob was greatly afraid, and distressed: and he divided the people that were with him, and the flocks, and herds, and camels, into two bands; ⁸And said, If Esau shall come to the one company, and smite it, then the other company which is left, will escape. ⁹And Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, the LORD who saidst to me, Return to thy country, and to thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee; ¹⁰I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast shown to thy servant: for with my staff I passed over this Jordan, and now I am become two bands. ¹¹Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau: for I fear him, lest he shall come and smite me, and the mother with the children. ¹²And thou saidst, I will surely do thee good, and make thy seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude. ¹³And he lodged there that same night; and took of that which came to his hand a present for Esau, his brother; ¹⁴Two hundred she-goats, and twenty he-goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, ¹⁵Thirty milch camels with their colts, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty she-asses and ten foals. ¹⁶And he delivered them into the hand of his servants, every drove by themselves; and said to his servants, Pass over before me, and put a space betwixt drove and drove. ¹⁷And he commanded the foremost, saying, When Esau, my brother, meeteth thee, and asketh thee, saying, Whose art thou? and whither goest thou? and whose are these before thee? ¹⁸Then thou shalt say, They are thy servant Jacob's: it is a present sent to my lord Esau: and behold also he is behind us. ¹⁹And so he commanded the second, and the third, and all that followed the droves, saying, In this manner shall ye speak to Esau, when ye find him. ²⁰And say ye moreover, Behold, thy servant Jacob is behind us. For he said, I will appease him with the present that goeth before me, and afterward I will see his face; peradventure he will accept of me. ²¹So the present went over before him; and he himself lodged that night in the company. ²²And he arose that night, and took his two wives, and his two women-servants, and his eleven sons, and passed over the ford Jabbok. ²³And he took them, and sent them over the brook, and sent over that which he had. ²⁴And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him, until the breaking of the day. ²⁵And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh: and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him. ²⁶And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh; And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me. ²⁷And he said to him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob. ²⁸And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God, and with men, and hast prevailed. ²⁹And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name: And he said, why is it that thou dost ask after my name? and he blessed him there. ³⁰And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved. ³¹And as he passed over Penuel the sun rose upon him, and he halted upon his thigh. ³²Therefore the children of Israel eat not of the sinew which shrunk, which is upon the hollow of the thigh, to this day; because he touched the hollow of Jacob's thigh in the sinew that shrunk.

Chapter 33

¹And Jacob lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, Esau came, and with him four hundred men. And he divided the children to Leah, and to Rachel, and to the two handmaids. ²And he put the handmaids and their children foremost, and Leah and her children after, and Rachel and Joseph hindermost. ³And he passed on before them, and bowed himself to the ground seven times, till he came near to his brother. ⁴And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him: and they wept. ⁵And he lifted up his eyes, and saw the women and the children, and said, Who are those with thee? And he said, The children which God hath graciously given to thy servant. ⁶Then the handmaidens came near, they and their children, and they bowed themselves. ⁷And Leah also with her children came near, and bowed themselves; and after came Joseph near and Rachel, and they bowed themselves. ⁸And he said, What meanest thou by all this drove which I met? And he said, these are to find grace in the sight of my lord. ⁹And Esau said, I have enough, my brother; keep what thou hast to thyself. ¹⁰And Jacob said, Nay, I pray thee, if now I have found grace in thy sight, then receive my present at my hand: for therefore I have seen thy face, as though I had seen the face of God, and thou hast been pleased with me. ¹¹Take, I pray thee, my blessing that is brought to thee; because God hath dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough: and he urged him, and he took it. ¹²And he said, Let us take our journey, and let us go, and I will go before thee. ¹³And he said to him, My lord knoweth that the children are tender, and the flocks and herds with young are with me, and if men should over-drive them one day, all the flock will die. ¹⁴Let my lord, I pray thee, pass over before his servant: and I will lead on slowly, according as the cattle that go before me, and the children are able to endure; until I come to my lord to Seir. ¹⁵And Esau said, Let me now leave with thee some of the people that are with me: And he said, What needeth it? Let me find grace in the sight of my lord. ¹⁶So Esau returned that day on his way to Seir. ¹⁷And Jacob journeyed to Succoth, and built him a house, and made booths for his cattle: therefore the name of the place is called Succoth. ¹⁸And Jacob came to Shalem, a city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Padan-aram; and pitched his tent before the city. ¹⁹And he bought a part of a field, where he had spread his tent, at the hand of the children of Hamor, Shechem's father, for a hundred pieces of money. ²⁰And he erected there an altar, and called it El-elohe-Israel.

Chapter 34

¹And Dinah the daughter of Leah, which she bore to Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land. ²And when Shechem, the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he took her, and lay with her, and defiled her. ³And his soul cleaved to Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the damsel, and spoke kindly to the damsel. ⁴And Shechem spoke to his father Hamor, saying, Get me this damsel for a wife. ⁵And Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah his daughter (now his sons were with his cattle in the field:) and Jacob held his peace till they had come. ⁶And Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to commune with him. ⁷And the sons of Jacob came from the field when they heard it: and the men were grieved, and they were very wroth, because he had wrought folly in Israel, in lying with Jacob's daughter; which thing ought not to be done. ⁸And Hamor communed with them, saying, The soul of my son Shechem longeth for your daughter: I pray you give her to him for a wife. ⁹And make ye marriages with us: give your daughters to us, and take our daughters to you. ¹⁰And ye shall dwell with us: and the land shall be before you; dwell and trade ye therein, and get you possessions therein. ¹¹And Shechem said to her father, and to her brethren, Let me find favor in your eyes, and what ye shall say to me, I will give. ¹²Ask me never so much dower and gift, and I will give according as ye shall say to me: but give me the damsel for a wife. ¹³And the sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father deceitfully, and said, (because he had defiled Dinah their sister,) ¹⁴And they said to them, We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one that is uncircumcised: for that would be a reproach to us: ¹⁵But in this will we consent to you: If ye will be as we are, that every male of you shall be circumcised; ¹⁶Then will we give our daughters to you, and we will take your daughters to us, and we will dwell with you, and we will become one people. ¹⁷But if ye will not hearken to us, to be circumcised; then will we take our daughter, and we will be gone. ¹⁸And their words pleased Hamor, and Shechem Hamor's son. ¹⁹And the young man deferred not to do the thing, because he had delight in Jacob's daughter: and he was more honorable than all the house of his father. ²⁰And Hamor and Shechem his son came to the gate of their city, and communed with the men of their city, saying, ²¹These men are peaceable with us, therefore let them dwell in the land, and trade therein: for the land, behold, it is large enough for them: let us take their daughters to us for wives, and let us give them our daughters. ²²Only herein, will the men consent to us to dwell with us, to be one people, if every male among us shall be circumcised, as they are circumcised. ²³Will not their cattle, and their substance, and every beast of theirs be ours? only let us consent to them, and they will dwell with us. ²⁴And to Hamor and to Shechem his son hearkened all that went out of the gate of his city: and every male was circumcised, all that went out of the gate of his city. ²⁵And it came to pass on the third day, when they were sore, that two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brethren, took each man his sword, and came upon the city boldly, and slew all the males. ²⁶And they slew Hamor and Shechem his son with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah out of Shechem's house, and went out. ²⁷The sons of Jacob came upon the slain, and spoiled the city; because they had defiled their sister. ²⁸They took their sheep, and their oxen, and their asses, and that which was in the city, and that which was in the field. ²⁹And all their wealth, and all their little ones, and their wives they took captive, and spoiled even all that was in the house. ³⁰And Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, Ye have troubled me to make me odious among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites, and the Perizzites: and I being few in number, they will assemble themselves against me, and slay me, and I shall be destroyed, I and my house. ³¹And they said, Should he deal with our sister, as with a harlot?

Chapter 35

¹And God said to Jacob, Arise, go up to Beth-el, and dwell there: and make there an altar to God, who appeared to thee when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother. ²Then Jacob said to his household, and to all that were with him, Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments: ³And let us arise, and go up to Beth-el; and I will make there an altar to God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and was with me in the way which I went. ⁴And they gave to Jacob all the strange gods which were in their hand, and the ear-rings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem. ⁵And they journeyed: and the terror of God was on the cities that were round them, and they did not pursue after the sons of Jacob. ⁶So Jacob came to Luz, which is in the land of Canaan (that is Beth-el) he and all the people that were with him. ⁷And he erected there an altar, and called the place El-beth-el; because there God appeared to him, when he fled from the face of his brother. ⁸But Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, died, and she was buried beneath Beth-el, under an oak: and the name of it was called Allon-bachuth. ⁹And God appeared to Jacob again when he came out of Padan-aram; and blessed him. ¹⁰And God said to him, Thy name is Jacob: thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name; and he called his name Israel. ¹¹And God said to him, I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a multitude of nations shall spring from thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins. ¹²And the land which I gave to Abraham and Isaac, to thee I will give it, and to thy seed after thee will I give the land. ¹³And God went up from him, in the place where he talked with him. ¹⁴And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he talked with him, even a pillar of stone: and he poured a drink-offering thereon, and he poured oil thereon. ¹⁵And Jacob called the name of the place where God spoke with him, Beth-el. ¹⁶And they journeyed from Beth-el; and there was but a little way to come to Ephrath: and Rachel travailed, and she had hard labor. ¹⁷And it came to pass when she was in hard labor, that the midwife said to her, Fear not; thou shalt have this son also. ¹⁸And it came to pass as her soul was in departing (for she died) that she called his name Ben-oni: but his father called him Benjamin. ¹⁹And Rachel died, and was buried in the way to Ephrath, which is Beth-lehem. ²⁰And Jacob set a pillar on her grave: that is the pillar of Rachel's grave to this day. ²¹And Israel journeyed, and spread his tent beyond the tower of Edar. ²²And it came to pass, when Israel dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father's concubine: and Israel heard it. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve: ²³The sons of Leah; Reuben, Jacob's first-born, and Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Zebulun: ²⁴The sons of Rachel; Joseph, and Benjamin: ²⁵And the sons of Bilhah, Rachel's handmaid; Dan, and Naphtali: ²⁶And the sons of Zilpah, Leah's handmaid; Gad, and Asher. These are the sons of Jacob, who were born to him in Padan-aram. ²⁷And Jacob came to Isaac his father to Mamre, to the city of Arbah (which is Hebron) where Abraham and Isaac sojourned. ²⁸And the days of Isaac were a hundred and eighty years. ²⁹And Isaac expired and died, and was gathered to his people, being old and full of days; and his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.

Chapter 36

¹Now these are the generations of Esau, who is Edom. ²Esau took his wives of the daughters of Canaan; Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Aholibamah the daughter of Anah the daughter of Zibeon the Hivite; ³And Bashemath, Ishmael's daughter, sister of Nebajoth. ⁴And Adah bore to Esau, Eliphaz; and Bashemath bore Reuel; ⁵And Aholibamah bore Jeush, and Jaalam, and Korah: These are the sons of Esau, who were born to him in the land of Canaan. ⁶And Esau took his wives, and his sons, and his daughters, and all the persons of his house, and his cattle, and all his beasts, and all his substance which he had acquired in the land of Canaan; and went into the country from the face of his brother Jacob. ⁷For their riches were more than that they might dwell together: and the land wherein they were strangers could not sustain them, because of their cattle. ⁸Thus dwelt Esau in mount Seir: Esau is Edom. ⁹And these are the generations of Esau the father of the Edomites, in mount Seir: ¹⁰These are the names of Esau's sons; Eliphaz the son of Adah the wife of Esau, Reuel the son of Bashemath the wife of Esau. ¹¹And the sons of Eliphaz were, Teman, Omar, Zepho, and Gatam, and Kenaz. ¹²And Timna was concubine to Eliphaz Esau's son; and she bore to Eliphaz Amalek: these were the sons of Adah Esau's wife. ¹³And these are the sons of Reuel; Nahath, and Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah: these were the sons of Bashemath Esau's wife. ¹⁴And these were the sons of Aholibamah, the daughter of Anah, the daughter of Zibeon Esau's wife: and she bore to Esau, Jeush, and Jaalam, and Korah. ¹⁵These were dukes of the sons of Esau: the sons of Eliphaz the first-born son of Esau; duke Teman, duke Omar, duke Zepho, duke Kenaz, ¹⁶Duke Korah, duke Gatam, and duke Amalek: these are the dukes, descendants of Eliphaz, in the land of Edom: these were the sons of Adah. ¹⁷And these are the sons of Reuel Esau's son; duke Nahath, duke Zerah, duke Shammah, duke Mizzah: these are the dukes, descendants of Reuel, in the land of Edom: these are the sons of Bashemath Esau's wife. ¹⁸And these are the sons of Aholibamah Esau's wife; duke Jeush, duke Jaalam, duke Korah: these were the dukes, descendants of Aholibamah the daughter of Anah Esau's wife. ¹⁹These are the sons of Esau (who is Edom) and these are their dukes. ²⁰These are the sons of Seir the Horite, who inhabited the land; Lotan, and Shobal, and Zibeon, and Anah. ²¹And Dishon, and Ezer, and Dishan: these are the dukes of the Horites, the children of Seir in the land of Edom. ²²And the children of Lotan were Hori, and Heman: and Lotan's sister was Timna. ²³And the children of Shobal were these; Alvan, and Manahath, and Ebal, Shepho, and Onam. ²⁴And these are the children of Zibeon; both Ajah and Anah; this was that Anah that found the mules in the wilderness, as he fed the asses of Zibeon his father. ²⁵And the children of Anah were these; Dishon, and Aholibamah the daughter of Anah. ²⁶And these are the children of Dishon; Hemdan, and Eshban, and Ithran, and Cheran. ²⁷The children of Ezer are these; Bilhan, and Zaavan, and Achan. ²⁸The children of Dishan are these; Uz, and Aran. ²⁹These are the dukes, descendants of the Horites; duke Lotan, duke Shobal, duke Zibeon, duke Anah, ³⁰Duke Dishon, duke Ezer, duke Dishan; these are the dukes, descendants of Hori, among their dukes in the land of Seir. ³¹And these are the kings that reigned in the land of Edom, before there reigned any king over the children of Israel. ³²And Bela the son of Beor reigned in Edom: and the name of his city was Dinhabah. ³³And Bela died, and Jobab the son of Zerah of Bozrah reigned in his stead. ³⁴And Jobab died, and Husham of the land of Temani reigned in his stead. ³⁵And Husham died, and Hadad the son of Bedad (who smote Midian in the field of Moab) reigned in his stead: and the name of his city was Avith. ³⁶And Hadad died, and Samlah of Masrekah reigned in his stead. ³⁷And Samlah died, and Saul of Rehoboth by the river reigned in his stead. ³⁸And Saul died, and Baal-hanan the son of Achbor reigned in his stead. ³⁹And Baal-hanan the son of Achbor died, and Hadar reigned in his stead; and the name of his city was Pau; and his wife's name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, the daughter of Mezahab. ⁴⁰And these are the names of the dukes, descendants of Esau, according to their families, after their places, by their names; duke Timnah, duke Alvah, duke Jetheth, ⁴¹Duke Aholibamah, duke Elah, duke Pinon, ⁴²Duke Kenaz, duke Teman, duke Mibzar. ⁴³Duke Magdiel, duke Iram; these are the dukes of Edom, according to their habitations, in the land of their possession: he is Esau the father of the Edomites.

Chapter 37

¹And Jacob dwelt in the land in which his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan. ²These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren, and the lad was with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives: and Joseph brought to his father their evil report. ³Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colors. ⁴And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably to him. ⁵And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it to his brethren: and they hated him yet the more. ⁶And he said to them, Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed: ⁷For behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and behold, your sheaves stood around and made obeisance to my sheaf. ⁸And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? and they hated him yet the more for his dreams and for his words. ⁹And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it to his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more: and behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me. ¹⁰And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said to him, what is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth? ¹¹And his brethren envied him; but his father observed the saying. ¹²And his brethren went to feed their father's flock in Shechem. ¹³And Israel said to Joseph, Do not thy brethren feed the flock in Shechem? Come, and I will send thee to them. And he said to him, Here am I. ¹⁴And he said to him, Go, I pray thee, see whether it is well with thy brethren, and well with the flocks; and bring me word again. So he sent him from the vale of Hebron, and he came to Shechem. ¹⁵And a certain man found him, and behold he was wandering in the field: and the man asked him, saying, What seekest thou? ¹⁶And he said, I seek my brethren: tell me, I pray thee, where they feed their flocks. ¹⁷And the man said, They have departed hence: for I heard them say, Let us go to Dothan. And Joseph went after his brethren and found them in Dothan. ¹⁸And when they saw him afar off, even before he came near to them, they conspired against him to slay him. ¹⁹And they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer is coming. ²⁰Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into some pit; and we will say, Some evil beast hath devoured him; and we shall see what will become of his dreams. ²¹And Reuben heard it, and he delivered him from their hands: and said, Let us not kill him. ²²And Reuben said to them, Shed no blood; cast him into this pit that is in the wilderness, and lay no hand upon him; that he might deliver him from their hands, to bring him back to his father. ²³And it came to pass when Joseph had come to his brethren, that they stripped Joseph of his coat, his coat of many colors that was on him. ²⁴And they took him, and cast him into a pit: and the pit was empty; there was no water in it. ²⁵And they sat down to eat bread: and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and behold, a company of Ishmaelites came from Gilead, with their camels bearing spicery, and balm, and myrrh, going to carry them down to Egypt. ²⁶And Judah said to his brethren, What profit is it if we slay our brother, and conceal his blood. ²⁷Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother, our flesh: and his brethren were content. ²⁸Then there passed by Midianites, merchants; and they drew and lifted Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver: and they brought Joseph into Egypt. ²⁹And Reuben returned to the pit; and behold, Joseph was not in the pit: and he rent his clothes. ³⁰And he returned to his brethren, and said, The child is not: and I, whither shall I go? ³¹And they took Joseph's coat, and killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the coat in the blood: ³²And they sent the coat of many colors, and they brought it to their father; and said, This have we found: know now whether it is thy son's coat or not. ³³And he knew it, and said, It is my son's coat; an evil beast hath devoured him: Joseph is without doubt rent in pieces. ³⁴And Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth on his loins, and mourned for his son many days. ³⁵And all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted; and he said, For I will go down into the grave to my son mourning: Thus his father wept for him. ³⁶And the Midianites sold him into Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh's, and captain of the guard.

Chapter 38

¹And it came to pass at that time, that Judah went down from his brethren, and turned in to a certain Adullamite, whose name was Hirah. ²And Judah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite, whose name was Shuah; and he took her, and went in to her. ³And she conceived, and bore a son; and he called his name Er. ⁴And she conceived again, and bore a son; and she called his name Onan. ⁵And she yet again conceived, and bore a son; and called his name Shelah: and he was at Chezib, when she bore him. ⁶And Judah took a wife for Er his first-born, whose name was Tamar. ⁷And Er, Judah's first-born, was wicked in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD slew him. ⁸And Judah said to Onan, Go in to thy brother's wife, and marry her, and raise up seed to thy brother. ⁹And Onan knew that the seed would not be his: and it came to pass, when he went in to his brother's wife, that he frustrated the purpose, lest he should give seed to his brother. ¹⁰And the thing which he did displeased the LORD: wherefore he slew him also. ¹¹Then said Judah to Tamar his daughter-in-law, Remain a widow at thy father's house, till Shelah my son shall be grown; (for he said, Lest perhaps he die also as his brethren did:) and Tamar went and dwelt in her father's house. ¹²And in process of time, the daughter of Shuah Judah's wife died: and Judah was comforted, and went up to his sheep-shearers to Timnath, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite. ¹³And it was told to Tamar, saying, Behold, thy father-in-law goeth up to Timnath, to shear his sheep. ¹⁴And she put off from her, her widow's garments, and covered her with a vail, and wrapped herself, and sat in an open place, which is by the way to Timnath: for she saw that Shelah was grown, and she was not given to him for a wife. ¹⁵When Judah saw her, he thought her to be a harlot; because she had covered her face. ¹⁶And he turned to her by the way, and said, Come, I pray thee, let me have access to thee; (for he knew not that she was his daughter-in-law:) and she said, What wilt thou give me, that thou mayst have access to me? ¹⁷And he said, I will send thee a kid from the flock: and she said, Wilt thou give me a pledge, till thou sendest it? ¹⁸And he said, What pledge shall I give thee? and she said, Thy signet, and thy bracelets, and thy staff that is in thy hand: and he gave them to her, and came in to her, and she conceived by him. ¹⁹And she arose and went her way and laid by her vail from her, and put on the garments of her widowhood. ²⁰And Judah sent the kid by the hand of his friend the Adullamite, to receive his pledge from the woman's hand: but he found her not. ²¹Then he asked the men of that place, saying, where is the harlot that was openly by the way-side? and they said, There was no harlot in this place. ²²And he returned to Judah, and said, I cannot find her; and also the men of the place said, that there was no harlot in this place. ²³And Judah said, Let her take it to her, lest we be shamed: behold, I sent this kid, and thou hast not found her. ²⁴And it came to pass about three months after, that it was told to Judah, saying, Tamar thy daughter-in-law hath played the harlot; and also, behold she is with child by lewdness: and Judah said, Bring her forth, and let her be burnt. ²⁵When she was brought forth, she sent to her father-in-law, saying, By the man whose these are, am I with child: and she said, Discern, I pray thee, whose are these, the signet, and bracelets, and staff. ²⁶And Judah acknowledged them, and said She hath been more righteous than I; because that I gave her not to Shelah my son: and he knew her again no more. ²⁷And it came to pass in the time of her travail, that behold, twins were in her womb. ²⁸And it came to pass when she travailed, that the one put out his hand; and the midwife took and bound upon his hand a scarlet thread, saying, This came out first. ²⁹And it came to pass as he drew back his hand, that behold, his brother came out; and she said, How hast thou broken forth? this breach be upon thee: therefore his name was called Pharez. ³⁰And afterwards came out his brother that had the scarlet thread upon his hand; and his name was called Zarah.

Chapter 39

¹And Joseph was brought down to Egypt: and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him of the hands of the Ishmaelites, who had brought him down thither. ²And the LORD was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man: and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. ³And his master saw that the LORD was with him, and that the LORD made all that he did to prosper in his hand. ⁴And Joseph found grace in his sight, and he served him: and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand. ⁵And it came to pass from the time that he had made him overseer in his house, and over all that he had, that the LORD blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake: and the blessing of the LORD was on all that he had in the house, and in the field. ⁶And he left all that he had in Joseph's hand; and he knew not aught he had, save the bread which he ate; and Joseph was a goodly person, and well favored. ⁷And it came to pass after these things, that his master's wife cast her eyes upon Joseph: and she said, Lie with me. ⁸But he refused, and said to his master's wife, Behold, my master knoweth not what is with me in the house, and he hath committed all that he hath to my hand: ⁹There is none greater in his house than I; neither hath he kept back any thing from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God? ¹⁰And it came to pass, as she spoke to Joseph day by day, that he hearkened not to her, to lie by her, or to be with her. ¹¹And it came to pass, about this time, that Joseph went into the house to do his business; and there was none of the men of the house there within. ¹²And she caught him by his garment, saying, Lie with me: and he left his garment in her hand, and fled, and went out. ¹³And it came to pass, when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand, and had fled forth, ¹⁴That she called to the men of her house, and spoke to them, saying, See, he hath brought in a Hebrew to us to mock us: he came in to me to lie with me, and I cried with a loud voice: ¹⁵And it came to pass, when he heard that I raised my voice and cried, that he left his garment with me, and fled, and went out. ¹⁶And she laid up his garment by her until his lord came home. ¹⁷And she spoke to him according to these words, saying, The Hebrew servant, which thou hast brought to us, came in to me to mock me. ¹⁸And it came to pass, as I raised my voice and cried, that he left his garment with me, and fled. ¹⁹And it came to pass, when his master heard the words of his wife, which she spoke to him, saying, After this manner did thy servant to me; that his wrath was kindled. ²⁰And Joseph's master took him, and put him into the prison, a place where the king's prisoners were bound: and he was there in the prison. ²¹But the LORD was with Joseph, and showed him mercy, and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. ²²And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph's hand all the prisoners that were in the prison; and whatever they did there, was done by him. ²³The keeper of the prison looked not to any thing that was under his hand; because the LORD was with him: and that which he did the LORD made it to prosper.

Chapter 40

¹And it came to pass after these things, that the butler of the king of Egypt and his baker had offended their lord the king of Egypt. ²And Pharaoh was wroth with two of his officers, with the chief of the butlers, and with the chief of the bakers. ³And he put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, into the prison, the place where Joseph was bound. ⁴And the captain of the guard charged Joseph with them, and he served them; and they continued a season in custody. ⁵And they dreamed a dream both of them, each man his dream in one night, each man according to the interpretation of his dream; the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were bound in the prison. ⁶And Joseph came to them in the morning, and looked upon them, and behold, they were sad. ⁷And he asked Pharaoh's officers that were with him in the ward of his lord's house, saying, Why look ye so sad to-day? ⁸And they said to him, We have dreamed a dream, and there is no interpreter of it. And Joseph said to them, Do not interpretations belong to God? tell me them, I pray you. ⁹And the chief butler told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, In my dream, behold, a vine was before me; ¹⁰And on the vine were three branches: and it was as though it budded, and its blossoms shot forth; and its clusters brought forth ripe grapes: ¹¹And Pharaoh's cup was in my hand: and I took the grapes, and pressed them into Pharaoh's cup, and I gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand. ¹²And Joseph said to him, This is the interpretation of it: The three branches are three days; ¹³Yet within three days shall Pharaoh lift up thy head, and restore thee to thy place: and thou shalt deliver Pharaoh's cup into his hand, after the former manner when thou wast his butler. ¹⁴But think on me when it shall be well with thee, and show kindness to me, I pray thee, and make mention of me to Pharaoh, and bring me out of this house: ¹⁵For indeed I was stolen away from the land of the Hebrews: and here also have I done nothing that they should put me into the dungeon. ¹⁶When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was good, he said to Joseph, I also was in my dream, and behold, I had three white baskets on my head: ¹⁷And in the uppermost basket there was of all manner of bake-meats for Pharaoh; and the birds ate them out of the basket upon my head. ¹⁸And Joseph answered, and said, This is the interpretation of it: The three baskets are three days: ¹⁹Yet within three days shall Pharaoh lift up thy head from off thee, and shall hang thee on a tree; and the birds shall eat thy flesh from off thee. ²⁰And it came to pass the third day, which was Pharaoh's birth-day, that he made a feast to all his servants: and he lifted up the head of the chief butler and of the chief baker among his servants. ²¹And he restored the chief butler to his butlership again; and he gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand: ²²But he hanged the chief baker: as Joseph had interpreted to them. ²³Yet the chief butler did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.

Chapter 41

¹And it came to pass at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh dreamed: and behold, he stood by the river. ²And behold, there came up out of the river seven well-favored cows and fat-fleshed; and they fed in a meadow. ³And behold, seven other cows came up after them out of the river, ill-favored and lean-fleshed; and stood by the other cows upon the brink of the river. ⁴And the ill-favored and lean-fleshed cows ate up the seven well-favored and fat cows. So Pharaoh awoke. ⁵And he slept and dreamed the second time: and behold, seven ears of corn came up upon one stalk, rank and good. ⁶And behold, seven thin ears and blasted with the east wind sprung up after them. ⁷And the seven thin ears devoured the seven rank and full ears. And Pharaoh awoke, and behold, it was a dream. ⁸And it came to pass in the morning, that his spirit was troubled; and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt, and all the wise men thereof: and Pharaoh told them his dream; but there was none that could interpret them to Pharaoh. ⁹Then spoke the chief butler to Pharaoh, saying, I do remember my faults this day: ¹⁰Pharaoh was wroth with his servants, and put me in custody in the captain of the guard's house, both me, and the chief baker: ¹¹And we dreamed a dream in one night, I and he: we dreamed each man according to the interpretation of his dream. ¹²And there was there with us a young man, a Hebrew, servant to the captain of the guard; and we told him, and he interpreted to us our dreams; to each man according to his dream he interpreted. ¹³And it came to pass, as he interpreted to us, so it was: me he restored to my office, and him he hanged. ¹⁴Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they brought him hastily out of the dungeon: and he shaved himself, and changed his raiment, and came before Pharaoh. ¹⁵And Pharaoh said to Joseph, I have dreamed a dream, and there is none that can interpret it: and I have heard it said of thee, that thou canst understand a dream to interpret it. ¹⁶And Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, It is not in me: God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace. ¹⁷And Pharaoh said to Joseph, In my dream, behold, I stood upon the bank of the river: ¹⁸And behold, there came out of the river seven cows, fat-fleshed, and well-favored; and they fed in a meadow: ¹⁹And behold, seven other cows came out after them, poor, and very ill-favored, and lean-fleshed, such as I never saw in all the land of Egypt for badness: ²⁰And the lean and the ill-favored cows ate up the first seven fat cows: ²¹And when they had eaten them up, it could not be known that they had eaten them; but they were still ill-favored, as at the beginning. So I awoke. ²²And I saw in my dream, and behold, seven ears came up on one stalk, full and good: ²³And behold, seven ears, withered, thin, and blasted with the east wind, sprung up after them: ²⁴And the thin ears devoured the seven good ears: and I told this to the magicians; but there was none that could explain it to me. ²⁵And Joseph said to Pharaoh, The dream of Pharaoh is one; God hath showed Pharaoh what he is about to do. ²⁶The seven good cows are seven years; and the seven good ears are seven years: the dream is one. ²⁷And the seven thin and ill-favored cows that came up after them are seven years; and the seven empty ears blasted with the east wind will be seven years of famine. ²⁸This is the thing which I have spoken to Pharaoh: What God is about to do he showeth to Pharaoh. ²⁹Behold, there come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt: ³⁰And there shall arise after them seven years of famine; and all the plenty shall be forgotten in the land of Egypt; and the famine shall consume the land; ³¹And the plenty shall not be known in the land by reason of the famine following: for it will be very grievous. ³²And for that the dream was doubled to Pharaoh twice; it is because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass. ³³Now therefore let Pharaoh look out a man discreet and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt. ³⁴Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint officers over the land, and take up the fifth part of the land of Egypt in the seven plenteous years. ³⁵And let them gather all the food of those good years that come, and lay up corn under the hand of Pharaoh; and let them keep food in the cities. ³⁶And that food shall be for store to the land against the seven years of famine, which shall be in the land of Egypt; that the land may not perish through the famine. ³⁷And the thing was good in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of all his servants. ³⁸And Pharaoh said to his servants, Can we find such a man as this is, a man in whom the spirit of God is? ³⁹And Pharaoh said to Joseph, Forasmuch as God hath shown thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou art: ⁴⁰Thou shalt be over my house, and according to thy word shall all my people be ruled: only in the throne will I be greater than thou. ⁴¹And Pharaoh said to Joseph, See, I have set thee over all the land of Egypt. ⁴²And Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand, and put it upon Joseph's hand, and arrayed him in vestures of fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck; ⁴³And he made him to ride in the second chariot which he had: and they cried before him, Bow the knee: and he made him ruler over all the land of Egypt. ⁴⁴And Pharaoh said to Joseph, I am Pharaoh, and without thee shall no man lift up his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt. ⁴⁵And Pharaoh called Joseph's name Zaphnath-paaneah; and he gave him for a wife Asenath the daughter of Poti-pherah priest of On: and Joseph went over all the land of Egypt. ⁴⁶And Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt: and Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went throughout all the land of Egypt. ⁴⁷And in the seven plenteous years the earth brought forth by handfulls. ⁴⁸And he gathered all the food of the seven years which were in the land of Egypt, and laid up the food in the cities: the food of the field which was around every city, he laid up in the same. ⁴⁹And Joseph gathered corn as the sand of the sea, very much, until he left numbering; for it was without number. ⁵⁰And to Joseph were born two sons before the years of famine came: which Asenath the daughter of Poti-pherah priest of On bore to him. ⁵¹And Joseph called the name of the first-born Manasseh: For God, said he, hath made me forget all my toil, and all my father's house. ⁵²And the name of the second called he Ephraim: for God hath caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction. ⁵³And the seven years of plenteousness that was in the land of Egypt, were ended. ⁵⁴And the seven years of dearth began to come, according as Joseph had said: and the dearth was in all lands; but in all the land of Egypt there was bread. ⁵⁵And when all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread: and Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, Go to Joseph; what he saith to you, do. ⁵⁶And the famine was over all the face of the earth; and Joseph opened all the store-houses, and sold to the Egyptians; and the famine became severe in the land of Egypt. ⁵⁷And all countries came into Egypt to Joseph to buy corn; because the famine was distressing in all lands.

Chapter 42

¹Now when Jacob saw that there was corn in Egypt, Jacob said to his sons, Why do ye look one upon another? ²And he said, Behold, I have heard that there is corn in Egypt: go down thither, and buy for us from thence; that we may live, and not die. ³And Joseph's ten brethren went down to buy corn in Egypt. ⁴But Benjamin, Joseph's brother, Jacob sent not with his brethren: for he said, Lest perhaps mischief shall befall him. ⁵And the sons of Israel came to buy corn among those that came: for the famine was in the land of Canaan. ⁶And Joseph was the governor over the land, and he it was that sold to all the people of the land: and Joseph's brethren came, and bowed themselves before him with their faces to the earth. ⁷And Joseph saw his brethren, and he knew them, but made himself strange to them, and spoke roughly to them; and he said to them, Whence come ye? And they said, From the land of Canaan to buy food. ⁸And Joseph knew his brethren, but they knew not him. ⁹And Joseph remembered the dreams which he dreamed of them, and said to them, Ye are spies; to see the nakedness of the land have ye come. ¹⁰And they said to him, No, my lord, but to buy food have thy servants come. ¹¹We are all one man's sons; we are true men; thy servants are no spies. ¹²And he said to them, No, but to see the nakedness of the land have ye come. ¹³And they said, Thy servants are twelve brethren, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and behold, the youngest is this day with our father, and one is not. ¹⁴And Joseph said to them, That is what I spoke to you, saying, Ye are spies: ¹⁵By this ye shall be proved: By the life of Pharaoh ye shall not go forth hence, except your youngest brother shall come hither. ¹⁶Send one of you, and let him bring your brother, and ye shall be kept in prison, that your words may be proved, whether there is any truth in you: or else by the life of Pharaoh surely ye are spies. ¹⁷And he put them all together into custody three days. ¹⁸And Joseph said to them the third day, This do, and live; for I fear God: ¹⁹If ye are true men, let one of your brethren be bound in the house of your prison: go ye, carry corn for the famine of your houses: ²⁰But bring your youngest brother to me; so shall your words be verified, and ye shall not die. And they did so. ²¹And they said one to another, We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us. ²²And Reuben answered them, saying, Did I not speak to you, saying, Do not sin against the young man; and ye would not hear? therefore behold also his blood is required. ²³And they knew not that Joseph understood them; for he spoke to them by an interpreter. ²⁴And he turned himself away from them, and wept; and returned to them again, and communed with them, and took from them Simeon, and bound him before their eyes. ²⁵Then Joseph commanded to fill their sacks with corn, and to restore every man's money into his sack, and to give them provision for the way: and thus did he to them. ²⁶And they loaded their asses with the corn, and departed thence. ²⁷And as one of them opened his sack to give his ass provender in the inn, he espied his money: for behold, it was in his sack's mouth. ²⁸And he said to his brethren, My money is restored; and see it is even in my sack: and their heart failed them, and they were afraid, saying one to another, What is this that God hath done to us? ²⁹And they came to Jacob their father to the land of Canaan, and told him all that befell them, saying, ³⁰The man who is the lord of the land, spoke roughly to us, and took us for spies of the country. ³¹And we said to him, We are true men; we are no spies: ³²We are twelve brethren, sons of our father: one is not, and the youngest is this day with our father in the land of Canaan. ³³And the man, the lord of the country, said to us, By this shall I know that ye are true men: leave one of your brethren here with me, and take food for the famine of your households, and depart: ³⁴And bring your youngest brother to me: then shall I know that ye are no spies, but that ye are true men: then will I deliver to you your brother, and ye shall traffick in the land. ³⁵And it came to pass as they emptied their sacks, that behold, every man's bundle of money was in his sack; and when they and their father saw the bundles of money, they were afraid. ³⁶And Jacob their father said to them, Me have ye bereaved: Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin away: all these things are against me. ³⁷And Reuben spoke to his father, saying, Slay my two sons, if I bring him not to thee: deliver him into my hand, and I will bring him to thee again. ³⁸And he said, My son shall not go down with you; for his brother is dead, and he is left alone: if mischief shall befall him by the way in which ye go, then will ye bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave. ³⁹\43:1\And the famine was severe in the land.

Chapter 43

¹\43:2\And it came to pass, when they had consumed the corn which they had brought from Egypt, their father said to them, Go again, buy us a little food. ²\43:3\And Judah spoke to him, saying, The man did solemnly protest to us, saying, Ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you. ³\43:4\If thou wilt send our brother with us, we will go down and buy thee food: ⁴\43:5\But if thou wilt not send him, we will not go down, for the man said to us, Ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you. ⁵\43:6\And Israel said, Why dealt ye so ill with me, as to tell the man whether ye had yet a brother? ⁶\43:7\And they said, The man asked us strictly concerning our state, and our kindred, saying, Is your father yet alive? have ye another brother? and we told him according to the tenor of these words: Could we certainly know that he would say, Bring your brother down? ⁷\43:8\And Judah said to Israel, his father, Send the lad with me, and we will arise and go; that we may live, and not die, both we, and thou, and also our little ones. ⁸\43:9\I will be surety for him; of my hand shalt thou require him: if I bring him not to thee, and set him before thee, then let me bear the blame for ever: ⁹\43:10\For except we had delayed, surely now we had returned this second time. ¹⁰\43:11\And their father Israel said to them, If it must be so now, do this; take of the best fruits in the land in your vessels, and carry to the man a present, a little balm, and a little honey, spices, and myrrh, nuts, and almonds: ¹¹\43:12\And take double money in your hand; and the money that was returned in the mouth of your sacks, carry it again in your hand; it may be it was an oversight: ¹²\43:13\Take also your brother, and arise, go again to the man: ¹³\43:14\And God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may send away your other brother, and Benjamin: If I be bereaved, I am bereaved. ¹⁴\43:15\And the men took that present, and they took double money in their hand, and Benjamin; and arose, and went down to Egypt, and stood before Joseph. ¹⁵\43:16\And when Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the ruler of his house, Bring these men home, and slay, and make ready: for these men shall dine with me at noon. ¹⁶\43:17\And the man did as Joseph commanded: and the man brought the men into Joseph's house. ¹⁷\43:18\And the men were afraid, because they were brought into Joseph's house; and they said, Because of the money that was returned in our sacks at the first time, are we brought in; that he may seek occasion against us, and fall upon us, and take us for bond-men, and our asses. ¹⁸\43:19\And they came near to the steward of Joseph's house, and they communed with him at the door of the house, ¹⁹\43:20\And said, O sir, we came down indeed at the first time to buy food: ²⁰\43:21\And it came to pass, when we came to the inn, that we opened our sacks, and behold, every man's money was in the mouth of his sack, our money in full weight: and we have brought it again in our hand. ²¹\43:22\And other money have we brought down in our hands to buy food: we cannot tell who put our money in our sacks. ²²\43:23\And he said, Peace be to you, fear not: your God, and the God of your father, hath given you treasure in your sacks: I had your money. And he brought Simeon out to them. ²³\43:24\And the man brought the men into Joseph's house, and gave them water, and they washed their feet; and he gave their asses provender. ²⁴\43:25\And they made ready the present against Joseph should come at noon: for they heard that they should eat bread there. ²⁵\43:26\And when Joseph came home, they brought him the present which was in their hand into the house, and bowed themselves to him to the earth. ²⁶\43:27\And he asked them of their welfare, and said, Is your father well, the old man of whom ye spoke? Is he yet alive? ²⁷\43:28\And they answered, Thy servant, our father, is in good health, he is yet alive: and they bowed their heads and made obeisance. ²⁸\43:29\And he lifted up his eyes, and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother's son, and said, Is this your younger brother, of whom ye spoke to me? And he said, God be gracious to thee, my son. ²⁹\43:30\And Joseph made haste; for his bowels yearned towards his brother: and he sought where to weep; and he entered into his chamber, and wept there. ³⁰\43:31\And he washed his face, and went out, and refrained himself, and said, Set on bread. ³¹\43:32\And they set on for him by himself, and for them by themselves, and for the Egyptians who ate with him, by themselves; because the Egyptians might not eat bread with the Hebrews; for that is an abomination to the Egyptians. ³²\43:33\And they sat before him, the first-born according to his birth-right, and the youngest according to his youth: and the men wondered one at another. ³³\43:34\And he took and sent messes to them from before him: but Benjamin's mess was five times so much as any of theirs. And they drank, and were merry with him.

Chapter 44

¹And he commanded the steward of his house, saying, Fill the men's sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put every man's money in his sack's mouth. ²And put my cup, the silver cup, in the sack's mouth of the youngest, and his corn money: and he did according to the word that Joseph had spoken. ³As soon as the morning was light, the men were sent away, they, and their asses. ⁴And when they had gone out of the city, and were not yet far off, Joseph said to his steward, Arise, follow after the men; and when thou dost overtake them, say to them, Why have ye rewarded evil for good? ⁵Is not this the cup in which my lord drinketh, and by which indeed he divineth? ye have done evil in so doing. ⁶And he overtook them, and he spoke to them these same words. ⁷And they said to him, Why saith my lord these words? Far be it from us that thy servants should do according to this thing: ⁸Behold, the money which we found in our sacks' mouths, we brought again to thee from the land of Canaan: how then should we steal from thy lord's house silver or gold? ⁹With whom soever of thy servants it shall be found, both let him die, and we also will be my lord's bond-men. ¹⁰And he said, Now also let it be according to your words: he with whom it shall be found, shall be my servant; and ye shall be blameless. ¹¹Then they speedily took down every man his sack to the ground, and opened every man his sack. ¹²And he searched, and began at the eldest, and left at the youngest: and the cup was found in Benjamin's sack. ¹³Then they rent their clothes, and loaded every man his ass, and returned to the city. ¹⁴And Judah and his brethren came to Joseph's house, (for he was yet there:) and they fell before him on the ground. ¹⁵And Joseph said to them, What deed is this that ye have done? knew ye not that such a man as I can certainly divine? ¹⁶And Judah said, What shall we say to my lord? what shall we speak? or how shall we clear ourselves? God hath found out the iniquity of thy servants: behold we are my lord's servants, both we, and he also with whom the cup is found. ¹⁷And he said, Far be it from me that I should do so: the man in whose hand the cup is found, he shall be my servant; and as for you, go in peace to your father. ¹⁸Then Judah came near to him, and said, Oh my lord, let thy servant, I pray thee, speak a word in my lord's ears, and let not thy anger burn against thy servant; for thou art even as Pharaoh. ¹⁹My lord asked his servants, saying, Have ye a father, or a brother? ²⁰And we said to my lord, We have a father, an old man, and a child of his old age, a little one: and his brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother, and his father loveth him. ²¹And thou saidst to thy servants, Bring him down to me, that I may set my eyes upon him. ²²And we said to my lord, The lad cannot leave his father; for if he should leave his father, his father would die. ²³And thou saidst to thy servants, Except your youngest brother shall come down with you, ye shall see my face no more. ²⁴And it came to pass, when we came to thy servant, my father, we told him the words of my lord. ²⁵And our father said, Go again; buy us a little food. ²⁶And we said, We cannot go down: if our youngest brother shall be with us, then will we go down; for we may not see the man's face, except our youngest brother shall be with us. ²⁷And thy servant my father, said to us, Ye know that my wife bore me two sons: ²⁸And the one went out from me, and I said, Surely he is torn in pieces; and I have not seen him since: ²⁹And if ye take this also from me, and mischief shall befall him, ye will bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave. ³⁰Now therefore, when I come to thy servant my father, and the lad is not with us; (seeing that his life is bound up in the lad's life) ³¹It shall come to pass, when he seeth that the lad is not with us, that he will die: and thy servants will bring down the gray hairs of thy servant our father, with sorrow to the grave. ³²For thy servant became surety for the lad to my father, saying, If I bring him not to thee, then I will bear the blame to my father for ever. ³³Now therefore, I pray thee, let thy servant abide instead of the lad, a bond-man to my lord; and let the lad return with his brethren. ³⁴For how shall I return to my father, and the lad be not with me? lest perhaps I see the evil that shall come on my father.

Chapter 45

¹Then Joseph could not refrain himself before all them that stood by him; and he cried, Cause every man to go out from me: and there stood no man with him, while Joseph made himself known to his brethren. ²And he wept aloud; and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard. ³And Joseph said to his brethren, I am Joseph; doth my father yet live? And his brethren could not answer him; for they were troubled at his presence. ⁴And Joseph said to his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you: and they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt. ⁵Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither; for God sent me before you to preserve life. ⁶For these two years hath the famine been in the land: and yet there are five years, in which there shall neither be tillage nor harvest. ⁷And God sent me before you, to preserve for you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. ⁸So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt. ⁹Haste ye, and return to my father, and say to him, Thus saith thy son Joseph, God hath made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me; delay not: ¹⁰And thou shalt dwell in the land of Goshen, and thou shalt be near to me, thou, and thy children, and thy children's children, and thy flocks, and thy herds, and all that thou hast: ¹¹And there will I nourish thee, (for yet there are five years of famine,) lest thou, and thy household, and all that thou hast, should come to poverty. ¹²And behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that it is my mouth that speaketh to you. ¹³And ye shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt, and of all that ye have seen: and ye shall haste, and bring down my father hither. ¹⁴And he fell upon his brother Benjamin's neck, and wept; and Benjamin wept upon his neck. ¹⁵Moreover, he kissed all his brethren, and wept upon them: and after that his brethren talked with him. ¹⁶And the fame of this was heard in Pharaoh's house, saying, Joseph's brethren are come: and it pleased Pharaoh well, and his servants. ¹⁷And Pharaoh said to Joseph, Say to thy brethren, This do ye; load your beasts, and go, return to the land of Canaan; ¹⁸And take your father, and your households, and come to me: and I will give you the good of the land of Egypt, and ye shall eat the fat of the land. ¹⁹Now thou art commanded, this do ye; take for yourselves wagons from the land of Egypt for your little ones, and for your wives, and bring your father, and come. ²⁰Also regard not your furniture; for the good of all the land of Egypt is yours. ²¹And the children of Israel did so: and Joseph gave them wagons, according to the commandment of Pharaoh, and gave them provision for the way. ²²To all of them he gave each man changes of raiment: but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver, and five changes of raiment. ²³And to his father he sent after this manner; ten asses laden with the good things of Egypt, and ten she-asses laden with corn and bread and meat, for his father by the way. ²⁴So he sent his brethren away, and they departed: and he said to them, See that ye contend not by the way. ²⁵And they went up from Egypt, and came into the land of Canaan, to Jacob their father, ²⁶And told him, saying, Joseph is yet alive, and he is governor over all the land of Egypt. And Jacob's heart fainted, for he believed them not. ²⁷And they told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said to them: and when he saw the wagons which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their father revived: ²⁸And Israel said, It is enough; Joseph my son is yet alive: I will go and see him before I die.

Chapter 46

¹And Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to Beer-sheba, and offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. ²And God spoke to Israel in the visions of the night, and said, Jacob, Jacob: and he said, Here am I. ³And he said, I am God, the God of thy father: fear not to go down into Egypt; for I will there make of thee a great nation: ⁴I will go down with thee into Egypt; and I will also surely bring thee up again: and Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes. ⁵And Jacob rose up from Beer-sheba: and the sons of Israel carried Jacob their father, and their little ones, and their wives, in the wagons which Pharaoh had sent to carry him. ⁶And they took their cattle, and their goods which they had acquired in the land of Canaan, and came into Egypt, Jacob, and all his seed with him: ⁷His sons, and his sons' sons with him, his daughters, and his sons' daughters, and all his seed brought he with him into Egypt. ⁸And these are the names of the children of Israel, who came into Egypt, Jacob and his sons: Reuben, Jacob's first-born. ⁹And the sons of Reuben; Hanoch, and Phallu, and Hezron, and Carmi. ¹⁰And the sons of Simeon; Jemuel, and Jamin, and Ohad, and Jachin, and Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanitish woman. ¹¹And the sons of Levi; Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. ¹²And the sons of Judah; Er, and Onan, and Shelah, and Pharez, and Zerah: but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan. And the sons of Pharez were Hezron, and Hamul. ¹³And the sons of Issachar; Tola, and Phuvah, and Job, and Shimron. ¹⁴And the sons of Zebulun; Sered, and Elon, and Jahleel. ¹⁵These are the sons of Leah, which she bore to Jacob in Padan-aram, with his daughter Dinah: all the souls of his sons and his daughters were thirty and three. ¹⁶And the sons of Gad; Ziphion, and Haggai, Shuni, and Ezbon, Eri, and Arodi, and Areli. ¹⁷And the sons of Asher; Jimnah, and Ishuah, and Isui, and Beriah, and Serah their sister. And the sons of Beriah; Heber, and Malchiel. ¹⁸These are the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter: and these she bore to Jacob, even sixteen souls. ¹⁹The sons of Rachel Jacob's wife; Joseph, and Benjamin. ²⁰And to Joseph in the land of Egypt were born Manasseh and Ephraim, whom Asenath the daughter of Poti-pherah priest of On bore to him. ²¹And the sons of Benjamin were Belah, and Becher, and Ashbel, Gera, and Naaman, Ehi, and Rosh, Muppim, and Huppim, and Ard. ²²These are the sons of Rachel, who were born to Jacob; all the souls were fourteen. ²³And the sons of Dan; Hushim. ²⁴And the sons of Naphtali; Jahzeel, and Guni, and Jezer, and Shillem. ²⁵These are the sons of Bilhah, whom Laban gave to Rachel his daughter, and she bore these to Jacob: all the souls were seven. ²⁶All the souls that came with Jacob into Egypt, who came out of his loins, besides Jacob's sons' wives, all the souls were sixty and six. ²⁷And the sons of Joseph who were born to him in Egypt, were two souls: all the souls of the house of Jacob, who came into Egypt, were seventy. ²⁸And he sent Judah before him to Joseph, to direct his face to Goshen; and they came into the land of Goshen. ²⁹And Joseph made ready his chariot, and went to meet Israel his father to Goshen; and presented himself to him: and he fell on his neck, and wept on his neck a good while. ³⁰And Israel said to Joseph, Now let me die, since I have seen thy face, because thou art yet alive. ³¹And Joseph said to his brethren, and to his father's house, I will go up, and show Pharaoh, and say to him, My brethren, and my father's house, who were in the land of Canaan are come to me. ³²And the men are shepherds, for their employment hath been to feed cattle; and they have brought their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have. ³³And it shall come to pass, when Pharaoh shall call you, and shall say, What is your occupation? ³⁴That ye shall say, The occupation of thy servants hath been about cattle from our youth even until now, both we, and also our fathers: that ye may dwell in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians.

Chapter 47

¹Then Joseph came and told Pharaoh, and said, My father and my brethren, and their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have, have come from the land of Canaan; and behold, they are in the land of Goshen. ²And he took some of his brethren, even five men, and presented them to Pharaoh. ³And Pharaoh said to his brethren, What is your occupation? And they said to Pharaoh, Thy servants are shepherds, both we, and also our fathers. ⁴They said moreover to Pharaoh, We have come to sojourn in the land: for thy servants have no pasture for their flocks, for the famine is severe in the land of Canaan: now therefore, we pray thee, let thy servants dwell in the land of Goshen. ⁵And Pharaoh spoke to Joseph, saying, Thy father and thy brethren have come to thee: ⁶The land of Egypt is before thee; in the best of the land make thy father and brethren to dwell; in the land of Goshen let them dwell; and if thou knowest any men of activity among them, then make them rulers over my cattle. ⁷And Joseph brought in Jacob his father, and set him before Pharaoh: and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. ⁸And Pharaoh said to Jacob, How old art thou? ⁹And Jacob said to Pharaoh, The days of the years of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty years: few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, nor have they attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage. ¹⁰And Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from before Pharaoh. ¹¹And Joseph placed his father and his brethren, and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded. ¹²And Joseph nourished his father, and his brethren, and all his father's household, with bread according to their families. ¹³And there was no bread in all the land; for the famine was very distressing, so that the land of Egypt, and all the land of Canaan, fainted by reason of the famine. ¹⁴And Joseph gathered all the money that was found in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, for the corn which they bought: and Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh's house. ¹⁵And when money failed in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came to Joseph, and said, Give us bread: for why should we die in thy presence: for the money faileth. ¹⁶And Joseph said, Give your cattle; and I will give you for your cattle, if money hath failed. ¹⁷And they brought their cattle to Joseph: and Joseph gave them bread in exchange for horses, and for the flocks, and for the cattle of the herds, and for the asses; and he fed them with bread, for all their cattle, for that year. ¹⁸When that year was ended, they came to him the second year, and said to him, We will not hide from my lord, how that our money is spent; my lord also hath our herds of cattle; there is not aught left in the sight of my lord, but our bodies and our lands: ¹⁹Why shall we die before thy eyes, both we and our land? buy us and our land for bread, and we and our land will be servants to Pharaoh: and give us seed, that we may live, and not die, that the land be not desolate. ²⁰And Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh; for the Egyptians sold every man his field, because the famine prevailed over them: so the land became Pharaoh's. ²¹And as for the people, he removed them to cities from one end of the borders of Egypt even to the other end thereof. ²²Only the land of the priests bought he not; for the priests had a portion assigned them by Pharaoh, and ate their portion which Pharaoh gave them: wherefore they sold not their lands. ²³Then Joseph said to the people, Behold, I have bought you this day and your land for Pharaoh: lo, here is seed for you, and ye shall sow the land. ²⁴And it shall come to pass in the increase, that ye shall give the fifth part to Pharaoh, and four parts shall be your own, for seed of the field, and for your food, and for them of your households, and for food for your little ones. ²⁵And they said, Thou hast saved our lives: let us find grace in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh's servants. ²⁶And Joseph made it a law over the land of Egypt to this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth part; except the land of the priests only, which became not Pharaoh's. ²⁷And Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen; and they had possessions in it and grew, and multiplied exceedingly. ²⁸And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years: so the whole age of Jacob was a hundred and forty seven years. ²⁹And the time drew nigh that Israel must die: and he called his son Joseph, and said to him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me; bury me not, I pray thee, in Egypt: ³⁰But I will lie with my fathers, and thou shalt carry me out of Egypt, and bury me in their burying-place. And he said, I will do as thou hast said. ³¹And he said, Swear to me: and he swore to him. And Israel bowed himself upon the bed's head.

Chapter 48

¹And it came to pass after these things, that one told Joseph, Behold, thy father is sick: and he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. ²And one told Jacob, and said, Behold, thy son Joseph cometh to thee: and Israel strengthened himself, and sat upon the bed. ³And Jacob said to Joseph, God Almighty appeared to me at Luz, in the land of Canaan, and blessed me, ⁴And said to me, Behold I will make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, and I will make of thee a multitude of people; and will give this land to thy seed after thee, for an everlasting possession. ⁵And now, thy two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, who were born to thee in the land of Egypt, before I came to thee into Egypt, are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine. ⁶And thy issue, which thou begettest after them, shall be thine, and shall be called after the name of their brethren in their inheritance. ⁷And as for me, when I came from Padan, Rachel died by me in the land of Canaan, in the way, when yet there was but a little way to come to Ephrath: and I buried her there in the way of Ephrath, the same is Beth-lehem. ⁸And Israel beheld Joseph's sons, and said, Who are these? ⁹And Joseph said to his father, They are my sons, whom God hath given me in this place. And he said, Bring them, I pray thee, to me, and I will bless them. ¹⁰(Now the eyes of Israel were dim for age, so that he could not see:) And he brought them near to him; and he kissed them, and embraced them. ¹¹And Israel said to Joseph, I had not thought to see thy face: and lo, God hath shown me also thy seed. ¹²And Joseph brought them out from between his knees, and he bowed himself with his face to the earth. ¹³And Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand towards Israel's left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand towards Israel's right hand, and brought them near to him. ¹⁴And Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid it upon Ephraim's head, who was the younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh's head, guiding his hands by design; for Manasseh was the first-born. ¹⁵And he blessed Joseph, and said, God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God who hath fed me all my life long to this day, ¹⁶The angel who hath redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac: and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth. ¹⁷And when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him: and he lifted his father's hand, to remove it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's head. ¹⁸And Joseph said to his father, Not so, my father; for this is the first-born; put thy right hand upon his head. ¹⁹And his father refused, and said, I know it, my son, I know it; he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great; but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations. ²⁰And he blessed them that day, saying, In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh: and he set Ephraim before Manasseh. ²¹And Israel said to Joseph, Behold, I die; but God shall be with you, and bring you again to the land of your fathers. ²²Moreover I have given to thee one portion above thy brethren, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow.

Chapter 49

¹And Jacob called to his sons, and said, Assemble yourselves, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days. ²Assemble yourselves, and hear, ye sons of Jacob: and hearken to Israel your father. ³Reuben, thou art my first-born, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellence of dignity, and the excellence of power: ⁴Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel; because thou wentest up to thy father's bed; then defiledst thou it; he went up to my couch. ⁵Simeon and Levi are brethren: instruments of cruelty are in, their habitations. ⁶O my soul, come not thou into their secret; to their assembly, my honor, be not thou united: for in their anger they slew a man, and in their self-will they digged down a wall. ⁷Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce: and their wrath, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel. ⁸Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise; thy hand shall be on the neck of thy enemies: thy father's children shall bow down before thee. ⁹Judah is a lion's whelp; from the prey, my son, thou hast gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion: who shall rouse him up? ¹⁰The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh shall come: and to him shall be the gathering of the people. ¹¹Binding his foal to the vine, and his ass's colt to the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes: ¹²His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk. ¹³Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea; and he shall be for a haven of ships; and his border shall be to Zidon. ¹⁴Issachar is a strong ass, couching down between two burdens: ¹⁵And he saw that rest was good, and the land that it was pleasant; and bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant to tribute. ¹⁶Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel. ¹⁷Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse-heels, so that his rider shall fall backward. ¹⁸I have waited for thy salvation O LORD. ¹⁹Gad, a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last. ²⁰Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties. ²¹Naphtali is a hind let loose: he giveth goodly words. ²²Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall: ²³The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him: ²⁴But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob: from thence is the shepherd the stone of Israel: ²⁵Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee, and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth beneath, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb: ²⁶The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors to the utmost bound of the everlasting hills; they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren. ²⁷Benjamin shall raven as a wolf: in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil. ²⁸All these are the twelve tribes of Israel: and this is it which their father spoke to them, and blessed them; every one according to his blessing he blessed them. ²⁹And he charged them, and said to them, I am to be gathered to my people: bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite. ³⁰In the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field of Ephron the Hittite for a possession of a burying-place. ³¹(There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah,) ³²The purchase of the field and of the cave that is in it, was from the children of Heth. ³³And when Jacob had made an end of commanding his sons, he drew his feet into the bed, and expired, and was gathered to his people.

Chapter 50

¹And Joseph fell upon his father's face, and wept upon him, and kissed him. ²And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father: and the physicians embalmed Israel. ³And forty days were fulfilled for him; (for so are fulfilled the days of those who are embalmed:) and the Egyptians mourned for him seventy days. ⁴And when the days of his mourning were past, Joseph spoke to the house of Pharaoh, saying, If now I have found grace in your eyes, speak, I pray you, in the ears of Pharaoh, saying, ⁵My father made me swear, saying, Lo, I die: in my grave which I have digged for me in the land of Canaan, there shalt thou bury me. Now therefore let me go, I pray thee, and bury my father, and I will come again. ⁶And Pharaoh said, Go up, and bury thy father, according as he made thee swear. ⁷And Joseph went up to bury his father: and with him went all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his house, and all the elders of the land of Egypt, ⁸And all the house of Joseph, and his brethren, and his father's house: only their little ones, and their flocks, and their herds they left in the land of Goshen. ⁹And there went with him both chariots and horsemen: and it was a very great company. ¹⁰And they came to the threshing-floor of Atad, which is beyond Jordan, and there they mourned with a great and very sore lamentation: and he made a mourning for his father seven days. ¹¹And when the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning in the floor of Atad, they said, This is a grievous mourning to the Egyptians: wherefore the name of it was called Abel-mizraim, which is beyond Jordan. ¹²And his sons did to him according as he commanded them: ¹³For his sons carried him into the land of Canaan, and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, which Abraham bought with the field for a possession of a burying-place of Ephron the Hittite, before Mamre. ¹⁴And Joseph returned to Egypt, he and his brethren, and all that went up with him to bury his father, after he had buried his father. ¹⁵And when Joseph's brethren saw that their father was dead, they said, Joseph will perhaps hate us, and will certainly requite us all the evil which we did to him. ¹⁶And they sent messengers to Joseph, saying, Thy father commanded before he died, saying, ¹⁷So shall ye say to Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren, and their sin; for they did to thee evil: and now, we pray thee, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spoke to him. ¹⁸And his brethren also went and fell down before his face: and they said, Behold, we are thy servants. ¹⁹And Joseph said to them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God? ²⁰But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it for good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save many people alive. ²¹Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spoke kindly to them. ²²And Joseph dwelt in Egypt, he, and his father's house: and Joseph lived a hundred and ten years. ²³And Joseph saw Ephraim's children of the third generation: the children also of Machir, the son of Manasseh, were brought up upon Joseph's knees. ²⁴And Joseph said to his brethren, I die: and God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land, to the land which he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. ²⁵And Joseph took an oath of the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones from hence. ²⁶So Joseph died, being a hundred and ten years old: and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.

Exodus

Chapter 1

¹Now these are the names of the children of Israel, who came into Egypt; every man and his household came with Jacob. ²Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, ³Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin, ⁴Dan, and Naphtali, Gad, and Asher. ⁵And all the souls that descended from Jacob, were seventy souls: for Joseph was in Egypt already. ⁶And Joseph died, and all his brethren, and all that generation. ⁷And the children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and became exceeding mighty; and the land was filled with them. ⁸Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who knew not Joseph. ⁹And he said to his people, Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we. ¹⁰Come, let us deal wisely with them: lest they multiply, and it shall come to pass, that when there falleth out any war, they will join with our enemies, and fight against us, and depart from the land. ¹¹Therefore they set over them task-masters, to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh treasure-cities, Pithom, and Raamses. ¹²But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were grieved because of the children of Israel. ¹³And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigor. ¹⁴And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in mortar, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field: all their service in which they made them serve, was with rigor. ¹⁵And the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives (of which the name of one was Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah:) ¹⁶And he said, When ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see them upon the stools; if it shall be a son, then ye shall kill him; but if it shall be a daughter, then she shall live. ¹⁷But the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the male-children alive. ¹⁸And the king of Egypt called for the midwives, and said to them, Why have ye done this thing, and have saved the male-children alive? ¹⁹And the midwives said to Pharaoh, Because the Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women: for they are lively, and are delivered ere the midwives come in to them. ²⁰Therefore God dealt well with the midwives: and the people multiplied, and became very mighty. ²¹And it came to pass, because the midwives feared God, that he made them houses. ²²And Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river, and every daughter ye shall save alive.

Chapter 2

¹And there went a man of the house of Levi, and married a daughter of Levi. ²And the woman conceived, and bore a son: and when she saw him that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months. ³And when she could no longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child therein; and she laid it in the flags by the river's brink. ⁴And his sister stood afar off, to know what would be done to him. ⁵And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to wash herself at the river, and her maidens walked along by the river's side: and when she saw the ark among the flags, she sent her maid to fetch it. ⁶And when she had opened it, she saw the child: and behold, the babe wept. And she had compassion on him, and said, This is one of the Hebrews' children. ⁷Then said his sister to Pharaoh's daughter, Shall I go, and call to thee a nurse of the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for thee? ⁸And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, Go. And the maid went and called the child's mother. ⁹And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, Take this child away and nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages. And the woman took the child and nursed it. ¹⁰And the child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son. And she called his name Moses: and she said, Because I drew him out of the water. ¹¹And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out to his brethren, and looked on their burdens: and he spied an Egyptian smiting a Hebrew, one of his brethren. ¹²And he looked this way and that way, and when he saw that there was no man, he slew the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand. ¹³And when he went out the second day, behold, two men of the Hebrews strove together: and he said to him that did the wrong, Why smitest thou thy fellow? ¹⁴And he said, Who made thee a prince and a judge over us? intendest thou to kill me, as thou killedst the Egyptian? And Moses feared, and said, Surely this thing is known. ¹⁵Now when Pharaoh heard this thing, he sought to slay Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh, and dwelt in the land of Midian: and he sat down by a well. ¹⁶Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters: and they came and drew water, and filled the troughs to water their father's flock. ¹⁷And the shepherds came and drove them away: but Moses stood up and helped them, and watered their flock. ¹⁸And when they came to Reuel their father, he said, How is it that you are come so soon to day? ¹⁹And they said, An Egyptian delivered us from the hand of the shepherds, and also drew water enough for us, and watered the flock. ²⁰And he said to his daughters, And where is he? why is it that ye have left the man? call him, that he may eat bread. ²¹And Moses was content to dwell with the man: and he gave Moses Zipporah his daughter. ²²And she bore him a son, and he called his name Gershom: for he said, I have been a stranger in a strange land. ²³And it came to pass in process of time, that the king of Egypt died: and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried; and their cry ascended to God, by reason of the bondage. ²⁴And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. ²⁵And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God had respect to them.

Chapter 3

¹Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb. ²And the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. ³And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. ⁴And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I. ⁵And he said, Approach not hither: put off thy shoes from thy feet, for the place on which thou standest is holy ground. ⁶Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face: for he was afraid to look upon God. ⁷And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their task-masters; for I know their sorrows; ⁸And I am come down to deliver them from the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them out of that land, to a good land, and a large, to a land flowing with milk and honey; to the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites. ⁹Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come to me: and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. ¹⁰Come now therefore, and I will send thee to Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt. ¹¹And Moses said to God, Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt? ¹²And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token to thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain. ¹³And Moses said to God, Behold, when I come to the children of Israel, and shall say to them, The God of your fathers hath sent me to you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? What shall I say to them? ¹⁴And God said to Moses, I AM THAT I AM: And he said, Thus shalt thou say to the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me to you. ¹⁵And God said, moreover, to Moses, Thus shalt thou say to the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me to you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial to all generations. ¹⁶Go and assemble the elders of Israel, and say to them, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared to me, saying, I have surely visited you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt. ¹⁷And I have said, I will bring you out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, to a land flowing with milk and honey. ¹⁸And they shall hearken to thy voice: and thou shalt come, thou and the elders of Israel, to the king of Egypt, and ye shall say to him, The LORD God of the Hebrews hath met with us: and now let us go (we beseech thee) three days journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God. ¹⁹And I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not by a mighty hand. ²⁰And I will stretch out my hand, and smite Egypt with all my wonders which I will do in the midst thereof: and after that he will let you go. ²¹And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians: and it shall come to pass, that when ye go, ye shall not go empty: ²²But every woman shall borrow of her neighbor, and of her that dwelleth in her house, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment: and ye shall put them upon your sons, and upon your daughters: and ye shall spoil the Egyptians.

Chapter 4

¹And Moses answered and said, But behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken to my voice: for they will say, The LORD hath not appeared to thee. ²And the LORD said to him, What is that in thy hand? And he said, A rod. ³And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent: and Moses fled from before it. ⁴And the LORD said to Moses, Put forth thy hand, and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand: ⁵That they may believe that the LORD God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared to thee. ⁶And the LORD said furthermore to him, Put now thy hand into thy bosom. And he put his hand into his bosom: and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous as snow. ⁷And he said, Put thy hand into thy bosom again. And he put his hand into his bosom again, and drew it out of his bosom, and behold, it was turned again as his other flesh. ⁸And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe thee, neither hearken to the voice of the first sign, that they will believe the voice of the latter sign. ⁹And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe also these two signs, neither hearken to thy voice, that thou shalt take of the water of the river, and pour it upon the dry land: and the water which thou takest out of the river shall become blood upon the dry land. ¹⁰And Moses said to the LORD, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoke to thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue. ¹¹And the LORD said to him, Who hath made man's mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD. ¹²Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say. ¹³And he said, O my Lord, send, I pray thee, by the hand of him whom thou wilt send. ¹⁴And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses, and he said, Is not Aaron the Levite thy brother? I know that he can speak well. And also behold, he cometh forth to meet thee: and when he seeth thee, he will be glad in his heart. ¹⁵And thou shalt speak to him, and put words in his mouth: and I will be with thy mouth, and with his mouth, and will teach you what ye shall do. ¹⁶And he shall speak for thee to the people: and he shall be, even he shall be to thee instead of a mouth, and thou shalt be to him instead of God. ¹⁷And thou shalt take this rod in thy hand, with which thou shalt perform signs. ¹⁸And Moses went and returned to Jethro his father-in-law, and said to him, Let me go, I pray thee, and return to my brethren who are in Egypt, and see whether they are yet alive. And Jethro said to Moses, Go in peace. ¹⁹And the LORD said to Moses in Midian, Go, return into Egypt; for all the men are dead who sought thy life. ²⁰And Moses took his wife, and his sons, and set them upon an ass, and he returned to the land of Egypt. And Moses took the rod of God in his hand. ²¹And the LORD said to Moses, When thou goest to return into Egypt, see that thou perform all those wonders before Pharaoh which I have put in thy hand: but I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go. ²²And thou shalt say to Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my first-born. ²³And I say to thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou shalt refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy first-born. ²⁴And it came to pass by the way in the inn, that the LORD met him, and sought to kill him. ²⁵Then Zipporah took a sharp stone, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet, and said, Surely a bloody husband art thou to me. ²⁶So he let him go: then she said, A bloody husband thou art, because of the circumcision. ²⁷And the LORD said to Aaron, Go into the wilderness to meet Moses. And he went, and met him in the mount of God, and kissed him. ²⁸And Moses told Aaron all the words of the LORD who had sent him, and all the signs which he had commanded him. ²⁹And Moses and Aaron went, and assembled all the elders of the children of Israel: ³⁰And Aaron spoke all the words which the LORD had spoken to Moses, and performed the signs in the sight of the people. ³¹And the people believed: and when they heard that the LORD had visited the children of Israel, and that he had looked upon their affliction, then they bowed their heads, and worshiped.

Chapter 5

¹And afterward Moses and Aaron went in, and told Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast to me in the wilderness. ²And Pharaoh said, Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the LORD, neither will I let Israel go. ³And they said, The God of the Hebrews hath met with us: let us go, we pray thee, three days' journey into the desert, and sacrifice to the LORD our God; lest he fall upon us with pestilence, or with the sword. ⁴And the king of Egypt said to them, Why do ye, Moses and Aaron, hinder the people from their works; go you to your burdens. ⁵And Pharaoh said, Behold, the people of the land now are many, and ye make them rest from their burdens. ⁶And Pharaoh commanded the same day the task-masters of the people, and their officers, saying, ⁷Ye shall no more give the people straw to make brick, as heretofore; let them go and gather straw for themselves. ⁸And the number of the bricks which they made heretofore, ye shall lay upon them; ye shall not diminish aught thereof; for they are idle: therefore they cry, saying, Let us go and sacrifice to our God. ⁹Let more work be laid upon the men, that they may labor therein: and let them not regard vain words. ¹⁰And the task-masters of the people went out, and their officers, and they spoke to the people, saying, Thus saith Pharaoh, I will not give you straw. ¹¹Go ye, get you straw where ye can find it: yet not aught of your work shall be diminished. ¹²So the people were scattered abroad throughout all the land of Egypt, to gather stubble instead of straw. ¹³And the task-masters hastened them, saying, Fulfill your works, your daily tasks, as when there was straw. ¹⁴And the officers of the children of Israel, which Pharaoh's task-masters had set over them, were beaten, and demanded, Why have ye not fulfilled your task in making brick, both yesterday and to-day, as heretofore? ¹⁵Then the officers of the children of Israel came and cried to Pharaoh, saying, Why dealest thou thus with thy servants? ¹⁶There is no straw given to thy servants, and they say to us, Make brick: and behold, thy servants are beaten; but the fault is in thy own people. ¹⁷But he said, Ye are idle, ye are idle: therefore ye say, Let us go, and do sacrifice to the LORD. ¹⁸Go therefore now, and work; for there shall no straw be given you, yet shall ye deliver the number of bricks. ¹⁹And the officers of the children of Israel saw that they were in evil case, after it was said, Ye shall not diminish aught from your bricks of your daily task. ²⁰And they met Moses and Aaron, who stood in the way, as they came forth from Pharaoh: ²¹And they said to them, The LORD look upon you, and judge; because ye have made our savor to be abhorred in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his servants, to put a sword in their hands to slay us. ²²And Moses returned to the LORD, and said, Lord, why hast thou so ill treated this people? why is it that thou hast sent me? ²³For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in thy name, he hath done evil to this people; neither hast thou delivered thy people at all.

Chapter 6

¹Then the LORD said to Moses, Now shalt thou see what I will do to Pharaoh; for with a strong hand shall he let them go, and with a strong hand shall he drive them from his land. ²And God spoke to Moses, and said to him, I am the LORD: ³And I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them. ⁴And I have also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, in which they were strangers. ⁵And I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel, whom the Egyptians keep in bondage: and I have remembered my covenant. ⁶Wherefore say to the children of Israel, I am the LORD, and I will bring you from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with out-stretched arm, and with great judgments: ⁷And I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God: and ye shall know that I am the LORD your God, who bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. ⁸And I will bring you into the land, concerning which I swore to give it to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; and I will give it to you for a heritage: I am the LORD. ⁹And Moses spoke so to the children of Israel: but they hearkened not to Moses, by reason of anguish of spirit, and cruel bondage. ¹⁰And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ¹¹Go in, speak to Pharaoh, king of Egypt, that he let the children of Israel depart from his land. ¹²And Moses spoke before the LORD, saying, Behold, the children of Israel have not hearkened to me; how then shall Pharaoh hear me, who am of uncircumcised lips? ¹³And the LORD spoke to Moses, and to Aaron, and gave them a charge to the children of Israel, and to Pharaoh, king of Egypt, to bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt. ¹⁴These are the heads of their father's houses: The sons of Reuben the first-born of Israel; Hanoch, and Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi: these are the families of Reuben. ¹⁵And the sons of Simeon; Jemuel, and Jamin, and Ohad, and Jachin, and Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanitish woman: these are the families of Simeon. ¹⁶And these are the names of the sons of Levi, according to their generations; Gershon, and Kohath, and Merari. And the years of the life of Levi were a hundred and thirty-seven years. ¹⁷The sons of Gershon; Libni, and Shimi, according to their families. ¹⁸And the sons of Kohath; Amram, and Izhar, and Hebron, and Uzziel: and the years of the life of Kohath were a hundred and thirty-three years. ¹⁹And the sons of Merari; Mahali and Mushi: these are the families of Levi, according to their generations. ²⁰And Amram took him Jochebed, his father's sister, for a wife; and she bore him Aaron and Moses. And the years of the life of Amram were a hundred and thirty-seven years. ²¹And the sons of Izhar; Korah, and Nepheg, and Zichri. ²²And the sons of Uzziel; Mishael, and Elzaphan, and Zithri. ²³And Aaron took him Elisheba daughter of Amminadab, sister of Naashon, for a wife; and she bore him Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. ²⁴And the sons of Korah; Assir, and Elkanah, and Abiasaph: these are the families of the Korhites. ²⁵And Eleazar, Aaron's son, took him one of the daughters of Putiel for a wife; and she bore to him Phinehas: these are the heads of the fathers of the Levites, according to their families. ²⁶These are that Aaron and Moses, to whom the LORD said, Bring out the children of Israel from the land of Egypt according to their armies. ²⁷These are they who spoke to Pharaoh, king of Egypt, to bring out the children of Israel from Egypt: these are that Moses and Aaron. ²⁸And it came to pass, on the day when the LORD spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt, ²⁹That the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, I am the LORD: speak thou to Pharaoh, king of Egypt, all that I say to thee. ³⁰And Moses said before the LORD, Behold, I am of uncircumcised lips, and how shall Pharaoh hearken to me?

Chapter 7

¹And the LORD said to Moses, See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh: and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet. ²Thou shalt speak all that I command thee: and Aaron thy brother shall speak to Pharaoh, that he send the children of Israel out of his land. ³And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt. ⁴But Pharaoh shall not hearken to you, that I may lay my hand upon Egypt, and bring forth my armies, my people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt, by great judgments. ⁵And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I stretch forth my hand upon Egypt, and bring out the children of Israel from among them. ⁶And Moses and Aaron did as the LORD commanded them, so did they. ⁷And Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron eighty and three years old, when they spoke to Pharaoh. ⁸And the LORD spoke to Moses, and to Aaron, saying, ⁹When Pharaoh shall speak to you, saying, Show a miracle for you: then thou shalt say to Aaron, Take thy rod, and cast it before Pharaoh, and it shall become a serpent. ¹⁰And Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh, and they did so as the LORD had commanded: And Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh, and before his servants, and it became a serpent. ¹¹Then Pharaoh also called the wise-men, and the sorcerers: now the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments. ¹²For they cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents: but Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods. ¹³And he hardened Pharaoh's heart that he hearkened not to them; as the LORD had said. ¹⁴And the LORD said to Moses, Pharaoh's heart is hardened; he refuseth to let the people go. ¹⁵Go to Pharaoh in the morning; lo, he goeth out to the water, and thou shalt stand by the river's brink against he cometh; and the rod which was turned to a serpent shalt thou take in thy hand. ¹⁶And thou shalt say to him, The LORD God of the Hebrews hath sent me to thee, saying, Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness: and behold, hitherto thou wouldest not hear. ¹⁷Thus saith the LORD, In this thou shalt know that I am the LORD: behold, I will smite with the rod that is in my hand upon the waters which are in the river, and they shall be turned to blood. ¹⁸And the fish that is in the river shall die, and the river shall be offensive in smell; and the Egyptians shall lothe to drink of the water of the river. ¹⁹And the LORD spoke to Moses, Say to Aaron, Take thy rod, and stretch out thy hand upon the waters of Egypt, upon their streams, upon their rivers, and upon their ponds, and upon all their pools of water, that they may become blood: and that there may be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood, and in vessels of stone. ²⁰And Moses and Aaron did so, as the LORD commanded; and he lifted up the rod and smote the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh, and in the sight of his servants; and all the waters that were in the river were turned into blood. ²¹And the fish that was in the river died; and the river was offensive in smell, and the Egyptians could not drink of the water of the river; and there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt. ²²And the magicians of Egypt did so with their enchantments: and Pharaoh's heart was hardened, neither did he hearken to them; as the LORD had said. ²³And Pharaoh turned and went into his house, neither did he regard this also. ²⁴And all the Egyptians digged round about the river for water to drink; for they could not drink of the water of the river. ²⁵And seven days were fulfilled after that the LORD had smitten the river.

Chapter 8

¹And the LORD spoke to Moses, Go to Pharaoh, and say to him, Thus saith the LORD, Let my people go that they may serve me. ²And if thou shalt refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all thy borders with frogs: ³And the river shall bring forth frogs abundantly, which shall go up and come into thy house, and into thy bed-chamber, and upon thy bed, and into the house of thy servants, and upon thy people, and into thy ovens, and into thy kneading troughs: ⁴And the frogs shall come up both on thee, and upon thy people, and upon all thy servants. ⁵And the LORD spoke to Moses, Say to Aaron, Stretch forth thy hand with thy rod over the streams, over the rivers, and over the ponds, and cause frogs to come up on the land of Egypt. ⁶And Aaron stretched his hand over the waters of Egypt; and the frogs came up, and covered the land of Egypt. ⁷And the magicians did so with their enchantments, and brought up frogs upon the land of Egypt. ⁸Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, Entreat the LORD that he may take away the frogs from me, and from my people: and I will let the people go, that they may do sacrifice to the LORD. ⁹And Moses said to Pharaoh, Glory over me: when shall I entreat for thee, and for thy servants, and for thy people, to destroy the frogs from thee, and thy houses, that they may remain in the river only? ¹⁰And he said, To-morrow. And he said, Be it according to thy word; that thou mayest know that there is none like the LORD our God. ¹¹And the frogs shall depart from thee, and from thy houses, and from thy servants, and from thy people; they shall remain in the river only. ¹²And Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh: and Moses cried to the LORD, because of the frogs which he had brought against Pharaoh. ¹³And the LORD did according to the word of Moses: and the frogs died out of the houses, out of the villages, and out of the fields. ¹⁴And they gathered them into heaps: and the land was offensive in smell. ¹⁵But when Pharaoh saw that there was respit, he hardened his heart, and hearkened not to them, as the LORD had said. ¹⁶And the LORD said to Moses, Say to Aaron, Stretch out thy rod, and smite the dust of the land, that it may become lice throughout all the land of Egypt. ¹⁷And they did so: for Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod, and smote the dust of the earth, and it became lice in man and in beast; all the dust of the land became lice throughout all the land of Egypt. ¹⁸And the magicians did so with their inchantments to bring forth lice, but they could not: so there were lice upon man and upon beast. ¹⁹Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, This is the finger of God: and Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he hearkened not to them; as the LORD had said. ²⁰And the LORD said to Moses, Rise early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh; (lo, he cometh forth to the water) and say to him, Thus saith the LORD, Let my people go, that they may serve me. ²¹Else, if thou wilt not let my people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies upon thee, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people, and into thy houses: and the houses of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms of flies, and also the ground on which they are. ²²And I will sever in that day the land of Goshen, in which my people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there; to the end thou mayest know that I am the LORD in the midst of the earth. ²³And I will put a division between my people and thy people: to-morrow shall this sign be. ²⁴And the LORD did so: and there came a grievous swarm of flies into the house of Pharaoh, and into his servants' houses, and into all the land of Egypt: the land was corrupted by reason of the swarm of flies. ²⁵And Pharaoh called for Moses, and for Aaron, and said, Go ye, sacrifice to your God in the land. ²⁶And Moses said, It is not meet so to do; for we shall sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians to the LORD our God: Lo, shall we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, and will they not stone us? ²⁷We will go three days' journey into the wilderness, and sacrifice to the LORD our God as he shall command us. ²⁸And Pharaoh said, I will let you go, that ye may sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness; only ye shall not go very far away: entreat for me. ²⁹And Moses said, Behold, I go out from thee, and I will entreat the LORD that the swarms of flies may depart from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people, to-morrow: but let not Pharaoh deal deceitfully any more, in not letting the people go to sacrifice to the LORD. ³⁰And Moses went out from Pharaoh, and entreated the LORD: ³¹And the LORD did according to the word of Moses; and he removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people; there remained not one. ³²And Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time also, neither would he let the people go.

Chapter 9

¹Then the LORD said to Moses, Go in to Pharaoh, and tell him, Thus saith the LORD God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me. ²For if thou shalt refuse to let them go, and wilt hold them still, ³Behold, the hand of the LORD is upon thy cattle which are in the field, upon the horses, upon the asses, upon the camels, upon the oxen, and upon the sheep: there shall be a very grievous murrain. ⁴And the LORD shall sever between the cattle of Israel, and the cattle of Egypt: and there shall nothing die of all that belongs to the children of Israel. ⁵And the LORD appointed a set time, saying, To-morrow the LORD will do this thing in the land. ⁶And the LORD did that thing on the morrow, and all the cattle of Egypt died: but of the cattle of the children of Israel died not one. ⁷And Pharaoh sent, and behold, there was not one of the cattle of the Israelites dead. And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people go. ⁸And the LORD said to Moses and to Aaron, Take to you handfuls of ashes of the furnace, and let Moses sprinkle it towards heaven in the sight of Pharaoh. ⁹And it shall become small dust in all the land of Egypt, and shall be a boil breaking forth with blains upon man, and upon beast, throughout all the land of Egypt. ¹⁰And they took ashes of the furnace, and stood before Pharaoh; and Moses sprinkled it towards heaven; and it became a boil breaking forth with blains upon man, and upon beast. ¹¹And the magicians could not stand before Moses, because of the boil: for the boil was upon the magicians, and upon all the Egyptians. ¹²And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he hearkened not to them; as the LORD had spoke to Moses. ¹³And the LORD said to Moses, Rise early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh, and say to him, Thus saith the LORD God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me. ¹⁴For I will at this time send all my plagues upon thy heart, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people: that thou mayest know that there is none like me in all the earth. ¹⁵For now I will stretch out my hand, that I may smite thee and thy people with pestilence; and thou shalt be cut off from the earth. ¹⁶And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, to show in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth. ¹⁷As yet dost thou exalt thyself against my people, that thou wilt not let them go? ¹⁸Behold, to-morrow about this time I will cause it to rain a very grievous hail, such as hath not been in Egypt since its foundation even until now. ¹⁹Send therefore now, and gather thy cattle, and all that thou hast in the field: for upon every man and beast which shall be found in the field, and shall not be brought home, the hail shall come down upon them, and they shall die. ²⁰He that feared the word of the LORD, among the servants of Pharaoh, made his servants and his cattle flee into the houses: ²¹And he that regarded not the word of the LORD, left his servants and his cattle in the field. ²²And the LORD said to Moses, Stretch forth thy hand towards heaven, that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt, upon man, and upon beast, and upon every herb of the field, throughout the land of Egypt. ²³And Moses stretched forth his rod towards heaven, and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and the fire ran along upon the ground: and the LORD rained hail upon the land of Egypt. ²⁴So there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, very grievous, such as there had been none like it in all the land of Egypt, since it became a nation. ²⁵And the hail smote, throughout all the land of Egypt, all that was in the field, both man and beast, and the hail smote every herb of the field and broke every tree of the field. ²⁶Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, there was no hail. ²⁷And Pharaoh sent, and called for Moses and Aaron, and said to them, I have sinned this time: the LORD is righteous, and I and my people are wicked. ²⁸Entreat the LORD (for it is enough) that there be no more mighty thunderings and hail; and I will let you go, and ye shall stay no longer. ²⁹And Moses said to him, As soon as I am gone out of the city, I will spread abroad my hands to the LORD; and the thunder shall cease, neither shall there be any more hail; that thou mayest know how that the earth is the LORD'S. ³⁰But as for thee and thy servants, I know that ye will not yet fear the LORD God. ³¹And the flax and the barley were smitten: for the barley was in the ear, and the flax was bolled. ³²But the wheat and the rye were not smitten; for they were not grown up. ³³And Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh, and spread abroad his hands to the LORD: and the thunders and hail ceased, and the rain was not poured upon the earth. ³⁴And when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunders had ceased, he sinned yet more, and hardened his heart, he and his servants. ³⁵And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, neither would he let the children of Israel go; as the LORD had spoken by Moses.

Chapter 10

¹And the LORD said to Moses, Go in to Pharaoh: for I have hardened his heart, and the heart of his servants; that I might show these my signs before him: ²And that thou mayest tell in the ears of thy son, and of thy son's son, what things I have wrought in Egypt, and my signs which I have done among them; that ye may know how that I am the LORD. ³And Moses and Aaron came in to Pharaoh, and said to him, Thus saith the LORD God of the Hebrews, How long wilt thou refuse to humble thyself before me? Let my people go, that they may serve me. ⁴Else, if thou shalt refuse to let my people go, behold, to-morrow will I bring the locusts into thy border: ⁵And they shall cover the face of the earth, that one cannot be able to see the earth: and they shall eat the residue of that which hath escaped, which remaineth to you from the hail, and shall eat every tree which groweth for you out of the field: ⁶And they shall fill thy houses, and the houses of all thy servants, and the houses of all the Egyptians; which neither thy fathers, nor thy fathers' fathers have seen, since the day that they were upon the earth to this day. And he turned himself, and went out from Pharaoh. ⁷And Pharaoh's servants said to him, How long shall this man be a snare to us? Let the men go, that they may serve the LORD their God: knowest thou not yet that Egypt is destroyed? ⁸And Moses and Aaron were brought again to Pharaoh: and he said to them, Go, serve the LORD your God: but who are they that shall go? ⁹And Moses said, We will go with our young and with our old, with our sons and with our daughters, with our flocks and with our herds will we go; for we must hold a feast to the LORD. ¹⁰And he said to them, Let the LORD be so with you, as I will let you go, and your little ones: look to it; for evil is before you. ¹¹Not so: go now ye that are men, and serve the LORD; for that you desired. And they were driven out from Pharaoh's presence. ¹²And the LORD said to Moses, Stretch out thy hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, that they may come upon the land of Egypt, and eat every herb of the land, even all that the hail hath left. ¹³And Moses stretched forth his rod over the land of Egypt, and the LORD brought an east wind upon the land all that day, and all that night: and when it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts. ¹⁴And the locusts went up over all the land of Egypt, and rested in all the borders of Egypt: very grievous were they; before them there were no such locusts as they, neither after them will be such. ¹⁵For they covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened; and they ate every herb of the land, and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left: and there remained not any green thing on the trees, or in the herbs of the field, through all the land of Egypt. ¹⁶Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron in haste; and he said, I have sinned against the LORD your God, and against you. ¹⁷Now therefore forgive, I pray thee, my sin only this once, and entreat the LORD your God that he may take away from me this death only. ¹⁸And he went out from Pharaoh, and entreated the LORD. ¹⁹And the LORD turned a mighty strong west wind which took away the locusts, and cast them into the Red sea: there remained not one locust in all the borders of Egypt. ²⁰But the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart, so that he would not let the children of Israel go. ²¹And the LORD said to Moses, Stretch out thy hand towards heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even darkness which may be felt. ²²And Moses stretched forth his hand towards heaven: and there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days: ²³They saw not one another, neither rose any from his place for three days: but all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings. ²⁴And Pharaoh called to Moses, and said, Go ye, serve the LORD; only let your flocks and your herds be stayed: let your little ones also go with you. ²⁵And Moses said, Thou must give us also sacrifices, and burnt-offerings, that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God. ²⁶Our cattle also shall go with us; there shall not a hoof be left behind; for of them must we take to serve the LORD our God; and we know not with what we must serve the LORD, until we come thither. ²⁷But the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he would not let them go. ²⁸And Pharaoh said to him, Depart from me, take heed to thyself, see my face no more: for in that day thou seest my face, thou shalt die. ²⁹And Moses said, Thou hast spoken well, I will see thy face again no more.

Chapter 11

¹And the LORD said to Moses, Yet will I bring one plague more upon Pharaoh, and upon Egypt; afterwards he will let you go hence: when he shall let you go, he shall surely thrust you out hence altogether. ²Speak now in the ears of the people, and let every man borrow of his neighbor, and every woman of her neighbor, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold. ³And the LORD gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover, the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh's servants, and in the sight of the people. ⁴And Moses said, Thus saith the LORD, About midnight will I go out into the midst of Egypt: ⁵And all the first-born in the land of Egypt shall die, from the first-born of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, even to the first-born of the maid-servant that is behind the mill; and all the first-born of beasts. ⁶And there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there hath been none like it, nor shall be like it any more. ⁷But against any of the children of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue, against man or beast: that ye may know how the LORD doth put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel. ⁸And all these thy servants shall come down to me, and bow down themselves to me, saying, Depart thou, and all the people that follow thee; and after that I will depart: and he went out from Pharaoh in a great anger. ⁹And the LORD said to Moses, Pharaoh will not hearken to you; that my wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt. ¹⁰And Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh; and the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart, so that he would not let the children of Israel depart from his land.

Chapter 12

¹And the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, ²This month shall be to you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you. ³Speak ye to all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for a house: ⁴And if the household shall be too small for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next to his house take it according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb. ⁵Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it from the sheep or from the goats: ⁶And ye shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. ⁷And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side-posts, and on the upper door-post of the houses, in which they shall eat it. ⁸And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roasted with fire; and unleavened bread, and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. ⁹Eat not of it raw, nor boiled at all with water, but roasted with fire; its head with its legs, and with its entrails. ¹⁰And ye shall let nothing of it remain till the morning: and that which remaineth of it till the morning ye shall burn with fire. ¹¹And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand: and ye shall eat it in haste; it is the LORD'S passover. ¹²For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the first-born in the land of Egypt, both man and beast: and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD. ¹³And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt. ¹⁴And this day shall be to you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the LORD throughout your generations: ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever. ¹⁵Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses: for whoever eateth leavened bread, from the first day till the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel. ¹⁶And in the first day there shall be a holy convocation, and in the seventh day there shall be a holy convocation to you: no manner of work shall be done in them, save that which every man must eat, that only may be done by you. ¹⁷And ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread; for in this same day have I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt: therefore shall ye observe this day in your generations by an ordinance for ever. ¹⁸In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at evening, ye shall eat unleavened bread, till the one and twentieth day of the month at evening. ¹⁹Seven days shall there be no leaven found in your houses: for whoever eateth that which is leavened, even that soul shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he shall be a stranger, or born in the land. ²⁰Ye shall eat nothing leavened: in all your habitations shall ye eat unleavened bread. ²¹Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said to them, Draw out, and take you a lamb, according to your families, and kill the passover. ²²And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two side-posts with the blood that is in the basin: and none of you shall go out at the door of his house till the morning. ²³For the LORD will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side-posts, the LORD will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in to your houses to smite you. ²⁴And ye shall observe this thing for an ordinance to thee and to thy sons for ever. ²⁵And it shall come to pass, when ye shall have come to the land which the LORD will give you, according as he hath promised, that ye shall keep this service. ²⁶And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say to you, What mean you by this service? ²⁷That ye shall say, It is the sacrifice of the LORD'S passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses. And the people bowed the head and worshiped. ²⁸And the children of Israel went away, and did as the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron, so did they. ²⁹And it came to pass, that at midnight the LORD smote all the first-born in the land of Egypt, from the first-born of Pharaoh that sat on his throne, to the first-born of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the first-born of cattle. ³⁰And Pharaoh rose in the night, he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt: for there was not a house where there was not one dead. ³¹And he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, Arise, and depart from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel: and go, serve the LORD, as ye have said. ³²Also take your flocks and your herds, as ye have said, and be gone: and bless me also. ³³And the Egyptians were urgent upon the people, that they might send them out of the land in haste; for they said, We are all dead men. ³⁴And the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneading troughs being bound up in their clothes upon their shoulders. ³⁵And the children of Israel did according to the word of Moses: and they borrowed of the Egyptians jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment. ³⁶And the LORD gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they lent to them such things as they requested: and they spoiled the Egyptians. ³⁷And the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand on foot that were men, besides children. ³⁸And a mixed multitude went up also with them; and flocks, and herds, even very many cattle. ³⁹And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they brought from Egypt, for it was not leavened: because they were driven from Egypt, and could not tarry, neither had they prepared for themselves any victuals. ⁴⁰Now the sojourning of the children of Israel who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years. ⁴¹And it came to pass, at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, even the same day it came to pass, that all the hosts of the LORD departed from the land of Egypt. ⁴²It is a night to be much observed to the LORD, for bringing them out from the land of Egypt: this is that night of the LORD to be observed by all the children of Israel in their generations. ⁴³And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, This is the ordinance of the passover: there shall no stranger eat of it. ⁴⁴But every man's servant that is bought for money, when thou hast circumcised him, then shall he eat of it. ⁴⁵A foreigner, and a hired servant shall not eat of it. ⁴⁶In one house shall it be eaten; thou shalt not carry aught of the flesh abroad out of the house: neither shall ye break a bone of it. ⁴⁷All the congregation of Israel shall keep it. ⁴⁸And when a stranger shall sojourn with thee, and will keep the passover to the LORD, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as one that is born in the land: for no uncircumcised person shall eat of it. ⁴⁹One law shall be to him that is home-born, and to the stranger that sojourneth among you. ⁵⁰Thus did all the children of Israel; as the LORD commanded Moses and Aaron, so did they. ⁵¹And it came to pass the same day, that the LORD brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their armies.

Chapter 13

¹And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ²Sanctify to me all the first-born, whatever openeth the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and of beast: it is mine. ³And Moses said to the people, Remember this day, in which ye came out from Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand the LORD brought you out from this place: there shall no leavened bread be eaten. ⁴This day ye came out in the month Abib. ⁵And it shall be when the LORD shall bring thee into the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which he swore to thy fathers to give thee, a land flowing with milk and honey; that thou shalt keep this service in this month. ⁶Seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread, and in the seventh day shall be a feast to the LORD. ⁷Unleavened bread shall be eaten seven days: and there shall no leavened bread be seen with thee, neither shall there be leaven seen with thee in all thy quarters. ⁸And thou shalt show thy son in that day, saying, This is done because of that which the LORD did to me when I came forth out of Egypt. ⁹And it shall be for a sign to thee upon thy hand, and for a memorial between thy eyes; that the LORD'S law may be in thy mouth: for with a strong hand hath the LORD brought thee out of Egypt. ¹⁰Thou shalt therefore keep this ordinance in its season from year to year. ¹¹And it shall be when the LORD shall bring thee into the land of the Canaanites, as he swore to thee and to thy fathers, and shall give it to thee, ¹²That thou shall set apart to the LORD all that openeth the matrix; and every firstling that cometh of a beast which thou hast, the males shall be the LORD'S. ¹³And every firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb; and if thou wilt not redeem it, then thou shalt break his neck: and all the first-born of man among thy children shalt thou redeem. ¹⁴And it shall be when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What is this? that thou shalt say to him, By strength of hand the LORD brought us out from Egypt, from the house of bondage: ¹⁵And it came to pass, when Pharaoh would hardly let us go, that the LORD slew all the first-born in the land of Egypt, both the first-born of man, and the first-born of beasts: therefore I sacrifice to the LORD all that openeth the matrix, being males; but all the first-born of my children I redeem. ¹⁶And it shall be for a token upon thy hand, and for frontlets between thy eyes: for by strength of hand the LORD brought us forth out of Egypt. ¹⁷And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God led them not through the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near, for God said, Lest peradventure the people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt. ¹⁸But God led the people about, through the way of the wilderness of the Red Sea: and the children of Israel went up harnassed from the land of Egypt. ¹⁹And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him: for he had strictly sworn the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you; and ye shall carry up my bones hence with you. ²⁰And they took their journey from Succoth, and encamped in Etham, in the edge of the wilderness. ²¹And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them in the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light: to go by day and night. ²²He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.

Chapter 14

¹And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ²Speak to the children of Israel, that they turn and encamp before Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, over against Baal-zephon: before it shall ye encamp by the sea. ³For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, They are entangled in the land, the wilderness hath shut them in. ⁴And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, that he shall follow them; and I will be honored upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host; that the Egyptians may know that I am the LORD. And they did so. ⁵And it was told to the king of Egypt that the people fled: and the heart of Pharaoh and of his servants was turned against the people, and they said, Why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us? ⁶And he made ready his chariot, and took his people with him: ⁷And he took six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt, and captains over every one of them. ⁸And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the children of Israel: and the children of Israel went out with a high hand. ⁹But the Egyptians pursued them (all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, and his horsemen, and his army) and overtook them encamping by the sea, beside Pi-hahiroth, before Baal-zephon. ¹⁰And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians marched after them; and they were greatly afraid; and the children of Israel cried to the LORD. ¹¹And they said to Moses, Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why hast thou dealt thus with us, to conduct us out of Egypt? ¹²Is not this the word that we told thee in Egypt, Saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness. ¹³And Moses said to the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will show to you to-day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to-day, ye shall see them again no more for ever. ¹⁴The LORD will fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace. ¹⁵And the LORD said to Moses, Why criest thou to me? Speak to the children of Israel, that they go forward: ¹⁶But lift thou thy rod, and stretch out thy hand over the sea, and divide it; and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea. ¹⁷And I, behold I, will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them: and I will get me honor upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host, upon his chariots and upon his horsemen. ¹⁸And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I have gotten me honor upon Pharaoh, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen. ¹⁹And the angel of God, who went before the camp of Israel, removed, and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them: ²⁰And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night. ²¹And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. ²²And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand, and on their left. ²³And the Egyptians pursued, and went in after them to the midst of the sea, even all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. ²⁴And it came to pass, that, in the morning-watch, the LORD looked to the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire, and of the cloud, and troubled the host of the Egyptians, ²⁵And took off their chariot-wheels, and made them to move heavily, so that the Egyptians said, Let us flee from the face of Israel; for the LORD fighteth for them against the Egyptians. ²⁶And the LORD said to Moses, Stretch out thy hand over the sea, that the waters may come again upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen. ²⁷And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its strength when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled against it; and the LORD overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. ²⁸And the waters returned, and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and all the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them; there remained not so much as one of them. ²⁹But the children of Israel walked upon dry land in the midst of the sea; and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand, and on their left. ³⁰Thus the LORD saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians: and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea-shore. ³¹And Israel saw that great work which the LORD did upon the Egyptians: and the people feared the LORD, and believed the LORD, and his servant Moses.

Chapter 15

¹Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song to the LORD, and spoke, saying, I will sing to the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea. ²The LORD is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him a habitation; my father's God, and I will exalt him. ³The LORD is a man of war: the LORD is his name. ⁴Pharaoh's chariots and his host hath he cast into the sea: his chosen captains also are drowned in the Red sea. ⁵The depths have covered them: they sunk to the bottom as a stone. ⁶Thy right hand, O LORD, is become glorious in power: thy right hand, O LORD, hath dashed in pieces the enemy. ⁷And in the greatness of thy excellence thou hast overthrown them that rose up against thee: thou sentest forth thy wrath, which consumed them as stubble. ⁸And with the blast of thy nostrils the waters were collected, the floods stood upright as a heap, and the depths were congealed in the heart of the sea. ⁹The enemy said, I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; my lust shall be satisfied upon them; I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them. ¹⁰Thou didst blow with thy wind, the sea covered them: they sunk as lead in the mighty waters. ¹¹Who is like to thee, O LORD, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders! ¹²Thou stretchedst out thy right hand, the earth swallowed them. ¹³Thou in thy mercy hast led forth the people which thou hast redeemed: thou hast guided them in thy strength to thy holy habitation. ¹⁴The people shall hear, and be afraid: sorrow shall take hold on the inhabitants of Palestina. ¹⁵Then the dukes of Edom shall be amazed; the mighty men of Moab, trembling shall take hold upon them; all the inhabitants of Canaan shall melt away. ¹⁶Fear and dread shall fall upon them; by the greatness of thy arm they shall be as still as a stone; till thy people pass over, O LORD, till the people pass over, which thou hast purchased. ¹⁷Thou shalt bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of thy inheritance, in the place, O LORD, which thou hast made for thee to dwell in; in the sanctuary, O Lord. which thy hands have established. ¹⁸The LORD shall reign for ever and ever. ¹⁹For the horse of Pharaoh went in with his chariots and with his horsemen into the sea, and the LORD brought again the waters of the sea upon them; but the children of Israel went on dry land in the midst of the sea. ²⁰And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her, with timbrels, and with dances. ²¹And Miriam answered them, Sing ye to the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea. ²²So Moses brought Israel from the Red sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness, and found no water. ²³And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah; for they were bitter: therefore the name of it was called Marah. ²⁴And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink? ²⁵And he cried to the LORD; and the LORD showed him a tree, which he cast into the waters, and the waters were made sweet: there he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them, ²⁶And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes; I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians; for I am the LORD that healeth thee. ²⁷And they came to Elim, where were twelve wells of water, and seventy palm-trees: and they encamped there by the waters.

Chapter 16

¹And they took their journey from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departure from the land of Egypt. ²And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. ³And the children of Israel said to them, O that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh-pots, and when we did eat bread to the full: for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger. ⁴Then said the LORD to Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or not. ⁵And it shall come to pass, that on the sixth day they shall prepare that which they bring in; and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily. ⁶And Moses and Aaron said to all the children of Israel, At evening, then ye shall know that the LORD hath brought you out from the land of Egypt: ⁷And in the morning, then ye shall see the glory of the LORD; for that he heareth your murmurings against the LORD: And what are we, that ye murmur against us? ⁸And Moses said, This shall be when the LORD shall give you in the evening flesh to eat, and in the morning bread to the full; for that the LORD heareth your murmurings which ye murmur against him: And what are we? your murmurings are not against us, but against the LORD. ⁹And Moses spoke to Aaron, Say to all the congregation of the children of Israel, Come near before the LORD: for he hath heard your murmurings. ¹⁰And it came to pass, as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the children of Israel, that they looked towards the wilderness, and behold, the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud. ¹¹And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ¹²I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel; Speak to them, saying, At evening ye shall eat flesh, and in the morning ye shall be filled with bread: and ye shall know that I am the LORD your God. ¹³And it came to pass, that at evening the quails came up, and covered the camp: and in the morning the dew lay around the host. ¹⁴And when the dew that lay was gone up, behold, upon the face of the wilderness there lay a small round thing, as small as the hoar frost on the ground: ¹⁵And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna: for they knew not what it was. And Moses said to them, This is the bread which the LORD hath given you to eat. ¹⁶This is the thing which the LORD hath commanded, Gather of it every man according to his eating: an omer for every man according to the number of your persons, take ye every man for them who are in his tents. ¹⁷And the children of Israel did so, and gathered, some more, some less. ¹⁸And when they measured it with an omer, he that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack: they gathered every man according to his eating. ¹⁹And Moses said, Let no man leave of it till the morning. ²⁰Notwithstanding, they hearkened not to Moses; but some of them left of it until the morning, and it bred worms, and became offensive; and Moses was wroth with them. ²¹And they gathered it every morning, every man according to his eating: and when the sun became hot, it melted. ²²And it came to pass, that on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for one man: and all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses. ²³And he said to them, This is that which the LORD hath said, To-morrow is the rest of the holy sabbath to the LORD: bake that which ye will bake to-day, and boil that ye will boil; and that which remaineth over, lay up for you to be kept until the morning. ²⁴And they laid it up till the morning, as Moses ordered: and it did not putrefy, neither was there any worm therein. ²⁵And Moses said, Eat that to-day; for to-day is a sabbath to the LORD; to-day ye will not find it in the field. ²⁶Six days ye shall gather it; but on the seventh day, which is the sabbath, in it there will be none. ²⁷And it came to pass, that some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather, and they found none. ²⁸And the LORD said to Moses, How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws? ²⁹See, for that the LORD hath given you the sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days: abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day. ³⁰So the people rested on the seventh day. ³¹And the house of Israel called its name Manna: and it was like coriander-seed, white; and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey. ³²And Moses said, This is the thing which the LORD commanded, Fill an omer of it to be kept for your generations; that they may see the bread with which I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you forth from the land of Egypt. ³³And Moses said to Aaron, Take a pot, and put an omer full of manna therein, and lay it up before the LORD, to be kept for your generations. ³⁴As the LORD commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the Testimony, to be kept. ³⁵And the children of Israel ate manna forty years, until they came to a land inhabited: they ate manna, until they came to the borders of the land of Canaan. ³⁶Now an omer is the tenth part of an ephah.

Chapter 17

¹And all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin, after their journeys, according to the commandment of the LORD, and encamped in Rephidim: and there was no water for the people to drink. ²Wherefore the people contended with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said to them, Why chide you with me? why do ye tempt the LORD? ³And the people thirsted there for water; and the people murmured against Moses, and said, Why is this that thou hast brought us out of Egypt to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst? ⁴And Moses cried to the LORD, saying, What shall I do to this people? they are almost ready to stone me. ⁵And the LORD said to Moses, Go on before the people, and take with thee of the elders of Israel: and thy rod, with which thou smotest the river, take in thy hand, and go. ⁶Behold, I will stand before thee there on the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and water shall come out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. ⁷And he called the name of the place Massah, and Meribah, because of the chiding of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the LORD, saying, Is the LORD among us, or not? ⁸Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim. ⁹And Moses said to Joshua, Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek: to-morrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in my hand. ¹⁰So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek: and Moses, Aaron, and Hur, went up to the top of the hill. ¹¹And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. ¹²But Moses's hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat upon it: and Aaron and Hur supported his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. ¹³And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword. ¹⁴And the LORD said to Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: for I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. ¹⁵And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it JEHOVAH-nissi: ¹⁶For he said, Because the LORD hath sworn that the LORD will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.

Chapter 18

¹When Jethro the priest of Midian, Moses's father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses, and for Israel his people, and that the LORD had brought Israel out of Egypt: ²Then Jethro, Moses's father-in-law, took Zipporah Moses's wife, after he had sent her back, ³And her two sons; of which the name of the one was Gershom; (for he said, I have been an alien in a strange land:) ⁴And the name of the other was Eliezer; (for the God of my father, said he, was my help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh:) ⁵And Jethro, Moses's father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife to Moses into the wilderness, where he encamped at the mount of God: ⁶And he said to Moses, I thy father-in-law Jethro have come to thee, and thy wife, and her two sons with her. ⁷And Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, and did obeisance, and kissed him: and they asked each other of their welfare: and they came into the tent. ⁸And Moses told his father-in-law all that the LORD had done to Pharaoh, and to the Egyptians for Israel's sake, and all the travail that had come upon them by the way, and how the LORD delivered them. ⁹And Jethro rejoiced for all the goodness which the LORD had done to Israel, whom he had delivered out of the hand of the Egyptians. ¹⁰And Jethro said, Blessed be the LORD, who hath delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of Pharaoh, who hath delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians. ¹¹Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods: for in the thing in which they dealt proudly, he was above them. ¹²And Jethro, Moses's father-in-law, took a burnt-offering and sacrifices for God: and Aaron came, and all the elders of Israel to eat bread with Moses's father-in-law before God. ¹³And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses sat to judge the people: and the people stood by Moses from the morning to the evening. ¹⁴And when Moses's father-in-law saw all that he did to the people, he said, What is this thing that thou doest to the people? Why sittest thou thyself alone, and all the people stand by thee from morning to evening? ¹⁵And Moses said to his father-in-law, Because the people come to me to inquire of God: ¹⁶When they have a matter, they come to me, and I judge between one and another, and I make them know the statutes of God, and his laws. ¹⁷And Moses's father-in-law said to him, The thing that thou doest is not good. ¹⁸Thou wilt surely wear away, both thou, and this people that is with thee: for this thing is too heavy for thee; thou art not able to perform it thyself alone. ¹⁹Hearken now to my voice, I will give thee counsel, and God shall be with thee: Be thou for the people toward God, that thou mayest bring the causes to God: ²⁰And thou shalt teach them ordinances and laws, and shalt show them the way in which they must walk, and the work that they must do. ²¹Moreover, thou shalt provide out of all the people, able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens: ²²And let them judge the people at all seasons: and it shall be, that every great matter they shall bring to thee, but every small matter they shall judge: So shall it be easier for thyself, and they shall bear the burden with thee. ²³If thou shalt do this thing, and God command thee so, then thou shalt be able to endure, and all this people shall also go to their place in peace. ²⁴So Moses hearkened to the voice of his father-in-law, and did all that he had said. ²⁵And Moses chose able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people, rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. ²⁶And they judged the people at all seasons: the hard causes they brought to Moses, but every small matter they judged themselves. ²⁷And Moses let his father-in-law depart; and he went his way into his own land.

Chapter 19

¹In the third month, when the children of Israel had gone forth from the land of Egypt, the same day they came into the wilderness of Sinai. ²For they had departed from Rephidim, and had come to the desert of Sinai, and had pitched in the wilderness; and there Israel encamped before the mount. ³And Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel; ⁴Ye have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings, and brought you to myself. ⁵Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure to me above all people: for all the earth is mine: ⁶And ye shall be to me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak to the children of Israel. ⁷And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which the LORD commanded him. ⁸And all the people answered together, and said, All that the LORD hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people to the LORD. ⁹And the LORD said to Moses, Lo, I come to thee in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with thee, and believe thee for ever. And Moses told the words of the people to the LORD. ¹⁰And the LORD said to Moses, Go to the people, and sanctify them to-day and to-morrow, and let them wash their clothes, ¹¹And be ready against the third day: for on the third day the LORD will come down in the sight of all the people upon mount Sinai. ¹²And thou shalt set bounds to the people round about, saying, Take heed to yourselves, that ye go not up upon the mount, or touch the border of it: whoever toucheth the mount shall be surely put to death: ¹³There shall not a hand touch it, but he shall surely be stoned or shot through: whether it be beast or man, it shall not live: when the trumpet soundeth long, they shall come up to the mount. ¹⁴And Moses went down from the mount to the people, and sanctified the people; and they washed their clothes. ¹⁵And he said to the people, Be ready against the third day: come not at your wives. ¹⁶And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that were in the camp trembled. ¹⁷And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with God; and they stood at the nether part of the mount. ¹⁸And mount Sinai was altogether in a smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire: and the smoke of it ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount trembled greatly. ¹⁹And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long, and grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him by a voice. ²⁰And the LORD came down upon mount Sinai, on the top of the mount: and the LORD called Moses to the top of the mount; and Moses went up. ²¹And the LORD said to Moses, Go down, charge the people, lest they break through to the LORD to gaze, and many of them perish. ²²And let the priests also who come near to the LORD, sanctify themselves, lest the LORD break forth upon them. ²³And Moses said to the LORD, The people cannot come up to mount Sinai: for thou chargedst us, saying, Set bounds about the mount, and sanctify it. ²⁴And the LORD said to him, Away, go down, and thou shalt come up, thou, and Aaron with thee: But let not the priests and the people break through, to come up to the LORD, lest he break forth upon them. ²⁵So Moses went down to the people, and spoke to them.

Chapter 20

¹And God spoke all these words, saying, ²I am the LORD thy God, who have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. ³Thou shalt have no other gods before me. ⁴Thou shalt not make to thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: ⁵Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; ⁶And showing mercy to thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments. ⁷Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain: for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. ⁸Remember the sabbath-day to keep it holy. ⁹Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work: ¹⁰But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: ¹¹For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath-day, and hallowed it. ¹²Honor thy father and thy mother; that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. ¹³Thou shalt not kill. ¹⁴Thou shalt not commit adultery. ¹⁵Thou shalt not steal. ¹⁶Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor. ¹⁷Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his man-servant, nor his maid-servant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbor's. ¹⁸And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off. ¹⁹And they said to Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die. ²⁰And Moses said to the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not. ²¹And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was. ²²And the LORD said to Moses, Thus thou shalt say to the children of Israel; Ye have seen that I have talked with you from heaven. ²³Ye shall not make with me gods of silver, neither shall ye make to you gods of gold. ²⁴An altar of earth thou shalt make to me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt-offerings, and thy peace-offerings, thy sheep, and thy oxen: in all places where I record my name I will come to thee, and I will bless thee. ²⁵And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone: for if thou shalt lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it. ²⁶Neither shalt thou go up by steps to my altar, that thy nakedness be not discovered thereon.

Chapter 21

¹Now these are the judgments which thou shalt set before them. ²If thou shalt buy a Hebrew servant, six years he shall serve: and in the seventh he shall depart free for nothing. ³If he came in by himself, he shall depart by himself: if he was married, then his wife shall depart with him. ⁴If his master hath given him a wife, and she hath borne him sons or daughters; the wife and her children shall be her master's, and he shall depart by himself. ⁵And if the servant shall plainly say, I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not depart free: ⁶Then his master shall bring him to the judges; he shall also bring him to the door, or to the door-post: and his master shall bore his ear through with an awl; and he shall serve him for ever. ⁷And if a man shall sell his daughter to be a maid-servant, she shall not depart as the men-servants do. ⁸If she shall not please her master, who hath betrothed her to himself, then shall he let her be redeemed: to sell her to a strange nation he shall have no power, seeing he hath dealt deceitfully with her. ⁹And if he hath betrothed her to his son, he shall deal with her after the manner of daughters. ¹⁰If he shall take him another wife; her food, her raiment, and her duty of marriage shall he not diminish. ¹¹And if he shall not perform these three to her, then shall she depart free without money. ¹²He that smiteth a man, so that he dieth, shall be surely put to death. ¹³And if a man shall not lie in wait, but God shall deliver him into his hand; then I will appoint thee a place whither he shall flee. ¹⁴But if a man shall come presumptuously upon his neighbor, to slay him with guile; thou shalt take him from my altar, that he may die. ¹⁵And he that smiteth his father, or his mother, shall be surely put to death. ¹⁶And he that stealeth a man, and selleth him, or if he shall be found in his hand, he shall surely be put to death. ¹⁷And he that curseth his father, or his mother, shall surely be put to death. ¹⁸And if men contend together, and one shall smite another with a stone, or with his fist, and he shall not die, but keep his bed: ¹⁹If he shall rise again, and walk abroad upon his staff, then shall he that smote him be quit: only he shall pay for the loss of his time, and shall cause him to be thoroughly healed. ²⁰And if a man shall smite his servant, or his maid, with a rod, and he shall die under his hand; he shall be surely punished. ²¹Notwithstanding, if he shall continue a day or two, he shall not be punished; for he is his money. ²²If men shall contend, and hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit shall depart from her, and yet no mischief follow: he shall be surely punished, according as the woman's husband will lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges determine. ²³And if any mischief shall follow, then thou shalt give life for life, ²⁴Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, ²⁵Burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe. ²⁶And if a man shall smite the eye of his servant, or the eye of his maid, that it shall perish; he shall let him go free for his eye's sake. ²⁷And if he shall smite out his man-servant's tooth, or his maid-servant's tooth; he shall let him go free for his tooth's sake. ²⁸If an ox shall gore a man or a woman, that they die: then the ox shall be surely stoned, and his flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall be quit. ²⁹But if the ox was accustomed to push with his horn in time past, and it hath been testified to his owner, and he hath not restrained him, but that he hath killed a man or a woman; the ox shall be stoned, and his owner also shall be put to death. ³⁰If there shall be laid on him a sum of money, then he shall give for the ransom of his life whatever is laid upon him. ³¹Whether he hath gored a son, or hath gored a daughter, according to this judgment shall it be done to him. ³²If the ox shall push a man-servant, or maid-servant; he shall give to their master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned. ³³And if a man shall open a pit, or if a man shall dig a pit, and not cover it, and an ox or an ass shall fall into it; ³⁴The owner of the pit shall make compensation, and give money to the owner of them; and the dead beast shall be his. ³⁵And if one man's ox shall hurt another's that he shall die, then they shall sell the live ox, and divide the money of it, and the dead ox also they shall divide. ³⁶Or if it shall be known that the ox hath used to push in time past, and his owner hath not restrained him; he shall surely pay ox for ox, and the dead shall be his own.

Chapter 22

¹If a man shall steal an ox, or a sheep, and kill it, or sell it; he shall restore five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep. ²If a thief shall be found breaking through, and be smitten that he die, there shall no blood be shed for him. ³If the sun shall have risen upon him, there shall be blood shed for him: for he should make full restitution; if he have nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft. ⁴If the theft shall be certainly found in his hand alive, whether an ox, or ass, or sheep; he shall restore double. ⁵If a man shall cause a field or vineyard to be eaten, and shall put in his beast, and shall feed in another man's field: of the best of his own field, and of the best of his own vineyard shall he make restitution. ⁶If fire shall break out, and catch in thorns, so that the stacks of corn, or the standing corn, or the field shall be consumed; he that kindled the fire shall surely make restitution. ⁷If a man shall deliver to his neighbor money or stuff to keep, and it be stolen out of the man's house; if the thief shall be found, let him pay double. ⁸If the thief shall not be found, then the master of the house shall be brought to the judges, to see whether he hath put his hand to his neighbor's goods. ⁹For all manner of trespass, whether it be for ox, for ass, for sheep, for raiment, or for any manner of lost thing which another challengeth to be his: the cause of both parties shall come before the judges; and he whom the judges shall condemn, shall pay double to his neighbor. ¹⁰If a man shall deliver to his neighbor an ass, or an ox, or a sheep, or any beast to keep; and it shall die, or be hurt, or driven away, no man seeing it: ¹¹Then shall an oath of the LORD be between them both, that he hath not put his hand to his neighbor's goods; and the owner of it shall accept of it, and he shall not make restitution. ¹²And if it shall be stolen from him, he shall make restitution to the owner of it. ¹³If it shall be torn in pieces; then let him bring it for witness, and he shall not make good that which was torn. ¹⁴And if a man shall borrow aught of his neighbor, and it shall be hurt, or die, the owner of it being not with it, he shall surely make it good. ¹⁵But if the owner of it shall be with it, he shall not make it good: if it be a hired thing, it came for his hire. ¹⁶And if a man shall entice a maid that is not betrothed, and lie with her, he shall surely endow her to be his wife. ¹⁷If her father shall utterly refuse to give her to him, he shall pay money according to the dower of virgins. ¹⁸Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live. ¹⁹Whoever lieth with a beast shall surely be put to death. ²⁰He that sacrificeth to any god, save to the LORD only, he shall be utterly destroyed. ²¹Thou shalt neither vex a stranger, nor oppress him; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt. ²²Ye shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child. ²³If thou shalt afflict them in any wise, and they cry at all to me, I will surely hear their cry: ²⁴And my wrath shall wax hot, and I will kill you with the sword; and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless. ²⁵If thou shalt lend money to any of my people that is poor by thee, thou shalt not be to him as a usurer, neither shalt thou lay upon him usury. ²⁶If thou shalt at all take thy neighbor's raiment to pledge, thou shalt deliver it to him by the setting of the sun. ²⁷For that is his only covering, it is his raiment for his skin: wherein shall he sleep? and it shall come to pass, when he crieth to me, that I will hear; for I am gracious. ²⁸Thou shalt not revile the gods, nor curse the ruler of thy people. ²⁹Thou shalt not delay to offer the first of thy ripe fruits, and of thy liquors: the first-born of thy sons shalt thou give to me. ³⁰Likewise shalt thou do with thy oxen, and with thy sheep: seven days it shall be with his dam; on the eighth day thou shalt give it to me. ³¹And ye shall be holy men to me: neither shall ye eat any flesh that is torn of beasts in the field; ye shall cast it to the dogs.

Chapter 23

¹Thou shalt not raise a false report: put not thy hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness. ²Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil; neither shalt thou speak in a cause to decline after many to wrest judgment: ³Neither shalt thou countenance a poor man in his cause. ⁴If thou shalt meet thy enemy's ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring it back to him again. ⁵If thou shalt see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under his burden, and wouldest forbear to help him, thou shalt surely help with him. ⁶Thou shalt not wrest the judgment of thy poor in his cause. ⁷Keep thee far from a false matter; and the innocent and righteous slay thou not: for I will not justify the wicked. ⁸And thou shalt take no gift: for the gift blindeth the wise, and perverteth the words of the righteous. ⁹Also thou shalt not oppress a stranger; for ye know the heart of a stranger, seeing ye were strangers in the land of Egypt. ¹⁰And six years thou shalt sow thy land, and shalt gather in the fruits thereof: ¹¹But the seventh year thou shalt let it rest and lie still; that the poor of thy people may eat: and what they leave, the beasts of the field shall eat. In like manner thou shalt deal with thy vineyard, and with thy olive-yard. ¹²Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest: that thy ox and thy ass may rest, and the son of thy handmaid, and the stranger, may be refreshed. ¹³And in all things that I have said to you be circumspect: and make no mention of the names of other gods, neither let it be heard from thy mouth. ¹⁴Three times thou shalt keep a feast to me in the year. ¹⁵Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread: (thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee, in the time appointed of the month Abib; for in it thou camest out from Egypt: and none shall appear before me empty:) ¹⁶And the feast of harvest, the first-fruits of thy labors, which thou hast sown in the field: and the feast of in-gathering, which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labors out of the field. ¹⁷Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before the Lord GOD. ¹⁸Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread; neither shall the fat of my sacrifice remain until the morning. ¹⁹The first of the first-fruits of thy land thou shalt bring into the house of the LORD thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk. ²⁰Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared. ²¹Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for my name is in him. ²²But if thou shalt indeed obey his voice, and do all that I speak; then I will be an enemy to thy enemies, and an adversary to thy adversaries. ²³For my Angel shall go before thee, and bring thee in to the Amorites, and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites; and I will cut them off. ²⁴Thou shalt not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do after their works: but thou shalt utterly overthrow them, and quite break down their images. ²⁵And ye shall serve the LORD your God, and he will bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee. ²⁶There shall nothing cast their young, nor be barren, in thy land: I will complete the number of thy days. ²⁷I will send my fear before thee, and will destroy all the people to whom thou shalt come, and I will make all thy enemies turn their backs to thee. ²⁸And I will send hornets before thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite from before thee. ²⁹I will not drive them out from before thee in one year; lest the land should become desolate, and the beast of the field should multiply against thee. ³⁰By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, until thou shalt be increased and inherit the land. ³¹And I will set thy bounds from the Red sea even to the sea of the Philistines, and from the desert to the river: for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand; and thou shalt drive them out before thee. ³²Thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor with their gods. ³³They shall not dwell in thy land, lest they make thee to sin against me: for if thou shalt serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to thee.

Chapter 24

¹And he said to Moses, Come up to the LORD, thou, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and worship ye afar off. ²And Moses alone shall come near the LORD: but they shall not come nigh; neither shall the people go up with him. ³And Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD, and all the judgments: and all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which the LORD hath said will we perform. ⁴And Moses wrote all the words of the LORD, and rose early in the morning, and built an altar under the hill, and twelve pillars according to the twelve tribes of Israel. ⁵And he sent young men of the children of Israel, who offered burnt-offerings, and sacrificed peace-offerings of oxen to the LORD. ⁶And Moses took half of the blood, and put it in basins; and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar. ⁷And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the LORD hath said will we do, and be obedient. ⁸And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold, the blood of the covenant, which the LORD hath made with you concerning all these words. ⁹Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel: ¹⁰And they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire-stone, and as it were the body of heaven in its clearness. ¹¹And upon the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand: also they saw God, and ate and drank. ¹²And the LORD said to Moses, Come up to me on the mount, and be there: and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayst teach them. ¹³And Moses rose up, and his minister Joshua: and Moses went up upon the mount of God. ¹⁴And he said to the elders, Tarry ye here for us, until we come again to you: and behold, Aaron and Hur are with you: if any man hath any matters to do, let him come to them. ¹⁵And Moses went up upon the mount, and a cloud covered the mount. ¹⁶And the glory of the LORD abode upon mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days: and the seventh day he called to Moses from the midst of the cloud. ¹⁷And the sight of the glory of the LORD was like devouring fire on the top of the mount, in the eyes of the children of Israel. ¹⁸And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and ascended the mount: and Moses was on the mount forty days and forty nights.

Chapter 25

¹And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ²Speak to the children of Israel, that they bring me an offering: of every man that giveth it willingly with his heart ye shall take my offering. ³And this is the offering which ye shall take of them; gold, and silver and brass, ⁴And blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats' hair. ⁵And rams' skins dyed red, and badgers' skins, and shittim wood. ⁶Oil for the light, spices for anointing oil, and for sweet incense, ⁷Onyx stones, and stones to be set in the ephod, and in the breast-plate. ⁸And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them. ⁹According to all that I show thee after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all its instruments, even so shall ye make it. ¹⁰And they shall make an ark of shittim wood: two cubits and a half shall be its length, and a cubit and a half its breadth, and a cubit and a half its hight. ¹¹And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, within and without shalt thou overlay it, and shalt make upon it a crown of gold around it. ¹²And thou shalt cast four rings of gold for it, and put them in its four corners; and two rings shall be in the one side of it, and two rings in the other side of it. ¹³And thou shalt make staffs of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold. ¹⁴And thou shalt put the staffs into the rings by the sides of the ark, that the ark may be borne with them. ¹⁵The staffs shall be in the rings of the ark: they shall not be taken from it. ¹⁶And thou shalt put into the ark the testimony which I shall give thee. ¹⁷And thou shalt make a mercy-seat of pure gold: two cubits and a half shall be its length, and a cubit and a half its breadth. ¹⁸And thou shalt make two cherubim of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them, in the two ends of the mercy-seat. ¹⁹And make one cherub on the one end, and the other cherub on the other end: even of the mercy-seat shall ye make the cherubim on its two ends. ²⁰And the cherubim shall stretch forth their wings on high, covering the mercy-seat with their wings, and their faces shall look one to another; towards the mercy-seat shall the faces of the cherubim be. ²¹And thou shalt put the mercy-seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee. ²²And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy-seat, from between the two cherubim which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment to the children of Israel. ²³Thou shalt also make a table of shittim wood: its length shall be two cubits, and its breadth a cubit, and its hight a cubit and a half. ²⁴And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, and make to it a crown of gold around it. ²⁵And thou shalt make to it a border of an hand-breadth around it, and thou shalt make a golden crown to its border around it. ²⁶And thou shalt make for it four rings of gold, and put the rings in the four corners that are on its four feet. ²⁷Over against the border shall the rings be for places of the staffs to bear the table. ²⁸And thou shalt make the staffs of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold, that the table may be borne with them. ²⁹And thou shalt make its dishes, and its spoons, and its covers, and its bowls, to cover it with: of pure gold shalt thou make them. ³⁰And thou shalt set upon the table show-bread before me always. ³¹And thou shalt make a candlestick of pure gold: of beaten work shall the candlestick be made: its shaft, and its branches, its bowls, its knobs, and its flowers, shall be of the same. ³²And six branches shall extend from the sides of it; three branches of the candlestick from the one side, and three branches of the candlestick from the other side: ³³Three bowls made like to almonds, with a knob and a flower in one branch; and three bowls made like almonds in the other branch, with a knob and a flower: so in the six branches that project from the candlestick. ³⁴And in the candlesticks shall be four bowls made like to almonds, with their knobs and their flowers. ³⁵And there shall be a knob under two branches of the same, and a knob under two branches of the same, and a knob under two branches of the same, according to the six branches that project from the candlestick. ³⁶Their knobs and their branches shall be of the same: all of it shall be one beaten work of pure gold. ³⁷And thou shalt make its seven lamps: and they shall light its lamps, that they may give light over against it. ³⁸And its tongs, and its snuff-dishes, shall be of pure gold. ³⁹Of a talent of pure gold shall he make it, with all these vessels. ⁴⁰And look that thou make them after their pattern, which was shown thee on the mount.

Chapter 26

¹Moreover, thou shalt make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet: with cherubim of curious work shalt thou make them. ²The length of one curtain shall be eight and twenty cubits, and the breadth of one curtain four cubits: and every one of the curtains shall have one measure. ³The five curtains shall be coupled together one to another; and other five curtains shall be coupled one to another. ⁴And thou shalt make loops of blue upon the edge of the one curtain from the selvedge in the coupling; and likewise shalt thou make in the uttermost edge of another curtain, in the coupling of the second. ⁵Fifty loops shalt thou make in the one curtain, and fifty loops shalt thou make in the edge of the curtain that is in the coupling of the second; that the loops may take hold one of another. ⁶And thou shalt make fifty buttons of gold, and couple the curtains together with the buttons: and it shall be one tabernacle. ⁷And thou shalt make curtains of goats' hair to be a covering upon the tabernacle: eleven curtains shalt thou make. ⁸The length of one curtain shall be thirty cubits, and the breadth of one curtain four cubits: and the eleven curtains shall be all of one measure. ⁹And thou shalt couple five curtains by themselves, and six curtains by themselves, and shalt double the sixth curtain in the front of the tabernacle. ¹⁰And thou shalt make fifty loops on the edge of the one curtain that is outmost in the coupling, and fifty loops in the edge of the curtain which coupleth the second. ¹¹And thou shalt make fifty buttons of brass, and put the buttons into the loops, and couple the tent together, that it may be one. ¹²And the remnant that remaineth of the curtains of the tent, the half curtain that remaineth, shall hang over the backside of the tabernacle. ¹³And a cubit on the one side, and a cubit on the other side of that which remaineth in the length of the curtains of the tent, shall hang over the sides of the tabernacle on this side and on that side, to cover it. ¹⁴And thou shalt make a covering for the tent, of rams' skins dyed red, and a covering above of badgers' skins. ¹⁵And thou shalt make boards for the tabernacle of shittim wood standing up. ¹⁶Ten cubits shall be the length of a board, and a cubit and a half shall be the breadth of one board. ¹⁷Two tenons shall there be in one board, set in order one against another: thus shalt thou make for all the boards of the tabernacle. ¹⁸And thou shalt make the boards for the tabernacle, twenty boards on the south side southward. ¹⁹And thou shalt make forty sockets of silver under the twenty boards; two sockets under one board for its two tenons, and two sockets under another board for its two tenons. ²⁰And for the second side of the tabernacle on the north side there shall be twenty boards: ²¹And their forty sockets of silver; two sockets under one board, and two sockets under another board. ²²And for the sides of the tabernacle westward thou shalt make six boards. ²³And two boards shalt thou make for the corners of the tabernacle in the two sides. ²⁴And they shall be coupled together beneath, and they shall be coupled together above the head of it to one ring: thus shall it be for them both; they shall be for the two corners. ²⁵And they shall be eight boards, and their sockets of silver, sixteen sockets; two sockets under one board, and two sockets under another board. ²⁶And thou shalt make bars of shittim wood; five for the boards of the one side of the tabernacle, ²⁷And five bars for the boards of the other side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the boards of the side of the tabernacle, for the two sides westward. ²⁸And the middle bar in the midst of the boards shall reach from end to end. ²⁹And thou shalt overlay the boards with gold, and make their rings of gold for places for the bars; and thou shalt overlay the bars with gold. ³⁰And thou shalt rear up the tabernacle according to the fashion thereof which was shown thee on the mount. ³¹And thou shalt make a vail of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen of curious work: with cherubim shall it be made. ³²And thou shalt hang it upon four pillars of shittim wood overlaid with gold: their hooks shall be of gold, upon the four sockets of silver. ³³And thou shalt hang the vail under the buttons, that thou mayst bring in thither within the vail the ark of the testimony: and the vail shall divide to you between the holy place and the most holy. ³⁴And thou shalt put the mercy-seat upon the ark of the testimony, in the most holy place. ³⁵And thou shalt set the table without the vail, and the candlestick over against the table on the side of the tabernacle towards the south: and thou shalt put the table on the north side. ³⁶And thou shalt make a hanging for the door of the tent, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, wrought with needle work. ³⁷And thou shalt make for the hanging five pillars of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold, and their hooks shall be of gold: and thou shalt cast five sockets of brass for them.

Chapter 27

¹And thou shalt make an altar of shittim wood, five cubits long, and five cubits broad; the altar shall be foursquare: and its hight shall be three cubits. ²And thou shalt make the horns of it upon the four corners thereof: its horns shall be of the same: and thou shalt overlay it with brass. ³And thou shalt make its pans to receive its ashes, and its shovels, and its basins, and its flesh-hooks, and its fire-pans: all its vessels thou shalt make of brass. ⁴And thou shalt make for it a grate of net-work of brass; and upon the net shalt thou make four brazen rings in its four corners. ⁵And thou shalt put it under the compass of the altar beneath, that the net may be even to the midst of the altar. ⁶And thou shalt make staffs for the altar, staffs of shittim wood, and overlay them with brass. ⁷And the staffs shall be put into the rings, and the staffs shall be upon the two sides of the altar, to bear it. ⁸Hollow with boards shalt thou make it: as it was shown thee on the mount, so shall they make it. ⁹And thou shalt make the court of the tabernacle: for the south side southward there shall be hangings for the court of fine twined linen of a hundred cubits long for one side: ¹⁰And its twenty pillars and their twenty sockets shall be of brass: the hooks of the pillars and their fillets shall be of silver. ¹¹And likewise for the north side in length there shall be hangings of a hundred cubits long, and its twenty pillars and their twenty sockets of brass: the hooks of the pillars and their fillets of silver. ¹²And for the breadth of the court on the west side shall be hangings of fifty cubits: their pillars ten, and their sockets ten. ¹³And the breadth of the court on the east side eastward shall be fifty cubits. ¹⁴The hangings of one side of the gate shall be fifteen cubits: their pillars three, and their sockets three. ¹⁵And on the other side shall be hangings, fifteen cubits: their pillars three, and their sockets three. ¹⁶And for the gate of the court shall be a hanging of twenty cubits, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, wrought with needle-work: and their pillars shall be four, and their sockets four. ¹⁷All the pillars around the court shall be filleted with silver: their hooks shall be of silver, and their sockets of brass. ¹⁸The length of the court shall be a hundred cubits, and the breadth fifty every where, and the hight five cubits of fine twined linen, and their sockets of brass. ¹⁹All the vessels of the tabernacle in all the service thereof, and all the pins thereof, and all the pins of the court, shall be of brass. ²⁰And thou shalt command the children of Israel, that they bring the pure olive-oil beaten for the light, to cause the lamp to burn always. ²¹In the tabernacle of the congregation without the vail, which is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall order it from evening to morning before the LORD: It shall be a statute for ever to their generations on the behalf of the children of Israel.

Chapter 28

¹And take thou to thee Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister to me in the priest's office, even Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron's sons. ²And thou shalt make holy garments for Aaron thy brother, for glory and for beauty. ³And thou shalt speak to all that are wise in heart, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they may make Aaron's garments to consecrate him, that he may minister to me in the priest's office. ⁴And these are the garments which they shall make; a breast-plate, and an ephod, and a robe, and a broidered coat, a miter, and a girdle; and they shall make holy garments for Aaron thy brother, and his sons, that he may minister to me in the priest's office. ⁵And they shall take gold, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen. ⁶And they shall make the ephod of gold, of blue, and of purple, of scarlet, and fine twined linen, with curious work. ⁷It shall have the two shoulder-pieces thereof joined at the two edges thereof; and so it shall be joined together. ⁸And the curious girdle of the ephod, which is upon it, shall be of the same, according to its work; even of gold, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen. ⁹And thou shalt take two onyx stones, and engrave on them the names of the children of Israel: ¹⁰Six of their names on one stone, and the six names of the rest on the other stone, according to their birth. ¹¹With the work of an engraver in stone, like the engravings of a signet, shalt thou engrave the two stones with the names of the children of Israel: thou shalt make them to be set in ouches of gold. ¹²And thou shalt put the two stones upon the shoulders of the ephod for stones of memorial to the children of Israel: and Aaron shall bear their names before the LORD upon his two shoulders for a memorial. ¹³And thou shalt make ouches of gold; ¹⁴And two chains of pure gold at the ends; of wreathed work shalt thou make them, and fasten the wreathed chains to the ouches. ¹⁵And thou shalt make the breast-plate of judgment with curious work; after the work of the ephod thou shalt make it; of gold, of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine twined linen shalt thou make it. ¹⁶Foursquare it shall be, being doubled; a span shall be its length, and a span shall be its breadth. ¹⁷And thou shalt set in it settings of stones, even four rows of stones: the first row shall be a sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle: this shall be the first row. ¹⁸And the second row shall be an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond. ¹⁹And the third row a ligure, an agate, and an amethyst. ²⁰And the fourth row a beryl, and an onyx, and a jasper: they shall be set in gold in their inclosings. ²¹And the stones shall be with the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to their names, like the engravings of a signet; every one with his name shall they be according to the twelve tribes. ²²And thou shalt make upon the breast-plate chains at the ends of wreathed work of pure gold. ²³And thou shalt make upon the breast-plate two rings of gold, and shalt put the two rings on the two ends of the breast-plate. ²⁴And thou shalt put the two wreathed chains of gold in the two rings which are on the ends of the breast-plate. ²⁵And the other two ends of the two wreathed chains thou shalt fasten in the two ouches, and put them on the shoulder-pieces of the ephod before it. ²⁶And thou shalt make two rings of gold, and thou shalt put them upon the two ends of the breast-plate in its border, which is in the side of the ephod inward. ²⁷And two other rings of gold thou shalt make, and shalt put them on the two sides of the ephod underneath, towards the forepart of it, over against the other coupling thereof, above the curious girdle of the ephod. ²⁸And they shall bind the breast-plate by its rings to the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, that it may be above the curious girdle of the ephod, and that the breast-plate be not loosed from the ephod. ²⁹And Aaron shall bear the names of the children of Israel in the breast-plate of judgment upon his heart, when he entereth into the holy place, for a memorial before the LORD continually. ³⁰And thou shalt put in the breast-plate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim; and they shall be upon Aaron's heart, when he goeth in before the LORD: and Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel upon his heart before the LORD continually. ³¹And thou shalt make the robe of the ephod all of blue. ³²And there shall be a hole in the top of it, in the midst of it: it shall have a binding of woven work round about the hole of it, as the hole of an habergeon, that it be not rent. ³³And beneath, upon the hem of it thou shalt make pomegranates of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, round about its hem; and bells of gold between them around it. ³⁴A golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, upon the hem of the robe around it. ³⁵And it shall be upon Aaron, to minister: and his sound shall be heard when he goeth in to the holy place before the LORD, and when he cometh out; that he may not die. ³⁶And thou shalt make a plate of pure gold, and engrave upon it, like the engravings of a signet, HOLINESS TO THE LORD. ³⁷And thou shalt put it on a blue lace, that it may be upon the miter; upon the front of the miter it shall be. ³⁸And it shall be upon Aaron's forehead, that Aaron may bear the iniquity of the holy things, which the children of Israel shall hallow in all their holy gifts; and it shall be always upon his forehead, that they may be accepted before the LORD. ³⁹And thou shalt embroider the coat of fine linen, and thou shalt make the miter of fine linen, and thou shalt make the girdle of needle-work. ⁴⁰And for Aaron's sons thou shalt make coats, and thou shalt make for them girdles, and bonnets shalt thou make for them, for glory and for beauty. ⁴¹And thou shalt put them upon Aaron thy brother, and on his sons with him: and shalt anoint them, and consecrate them, and sanctify them, that they may minister to me in the priest's office. ⁴²And thou shalt make them linen breeches to cover their nakedness: from the loins even to the thighs they shall reach: ⁴³And they shall be upon Aaron, and upon his sons, when they enter in to the tabernacle of the congregation, or when they come near to the altar to minister in the holy place; that they bear not iniquity, and die. It shall be a statute for ever to him, and to his seed after him.

Chapter 29

¹And this is the thing that thou shalt do to them to hallow them, to minister to me in the priest's office: Take one young bullock, and two rams without blemish, ²And unleavened bread, and cakes unleavened tempered with oil, and wafers unleavened anointed with oil; of wheat flour shalt thou make them. ³And thou shalt put them into one basket, and bring them in the basket, with the bullock and the two rams. ⁴And Aaron and his sons thou shalt bring to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and shalt wash them with water. ⁵And thou shalt take the garments, and put upon Aaron, the coat, and the robe of the ephod, and the ephod, and the breast-plate, and gird him with the curious girdle of the ephod: ⁶And thou shalt put the miter upon his head, and put the holy crown upon the miter. ⁷Then shalt thou take the anointing oil, and pour it upon his head, and anoint him. ⁸And thou shalt bring his sons, and put coats upon them. ⁹And thou shalt gird them with girdles (Aaron and his sons) and put the bonnets on them; and the priest's office shall be theirs for a perpetual statute: and thou shalt consecrate Aaron and his sons. ¹⁰And thou shalt cause a bullock to be brought before the tabernacle of the congregation; and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the bullock. ¹¹And thou shalt kill the bullock before the LORD, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. ¹²And thou shalt take of the blood of the bullock, and put it upon the horns of the altar with thy finger, and pour all the blood beside the bottom of the altar. ¹³And thou shalt take all the fat that covereth the inwards, and the caul that is above the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and burn them upon the altar. ¹⁴But the flesh of the bullock, and his skin, and his dung shalt thou burn with fire without the camp: it is a sin-offering. ¹⁵Thou shalt also take one ram; and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the ram. ¹⁶And thou shalt slay the ram, and thou shalt take his blood, and sprinkle it around upon the altar. ¹⁷And thou shalt cut the ram in pieces, and wash the inwards of him, and his legs, and put them to his pieces, and to his head. ¹⁸And thou shalt burn the whole ram upon the altar: it is a burnt-offering to the LORD: it is a sweet savor, an offering made by fire to the LORD. ¹⁹And thou shalt take the other ram; and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the ram. ²⁰Then shalt thou kill the ram, and take of his blood, and put it upon the tip of the right ear of Aaron, and upon the tip of the right ear of his sons, and upon the thumb of their right hand, and upon the great toe of their right foot, and sprinkle the blood upon the altar round about. ²¹And thou shalt take of the blood that is upon the altar, and of the anointing oil, and sprinkle it upon Aaron, and upon his garments, and upon his sons, and upon the garments of his sons with him: and he shall be hallowed, and his garments, and his sons, and his sons garments with him. ²²Also thou shalt take of the ram the fat and the rump, and the fat that covereth the inwards, and the caul above the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and the right shoulder; for it is a ram of consecration: ²³And one loaf of bread, and one cake of oiled bread, and one wafer out of the basket of the unleavened bread, that is before the LORD. ²⁴And thou shalt put all in the hands of Aaron, and in the hands of his sons; and shalt wave them for a wave-offering before the LORD. ²⁵And thou shalt receive them from their hands, and burn them upon the altar for a burnt-offering, for a sweet savor before the LORD: it is an offering made by fire to the LORD. ²⁶And thou shalt take the breast of the ram of Aaron's consecration, and wave it for a wave-offering before the LORD: and it shall be thy part. ²⁷And thou shalt sanctify the breast of the wave-offering, and the shoulder of the heave-offering, which is waved, and which is heaved up of the ram of the consecration, even of that which is for Aaron, and of that which is for his sons: ²⁸And it shall be Aaron's and his sons' by a statute for ever, from the children of Israel: for it is a heave-offering: and it shall be a heave-offering from the children of Israel of the sacrifice of their peace-offerings, even their heave-offering to the LORD. ²⁹And the holy garments of Aaron shall be his sons' after him, to be anointed therein, and to be consecrated in them. ³⁰And that son, that is priest in his stead, shall put them on seven days, when he cometh into the tabernacle of the congregation to minister in the holy place. ³¹And thou shalt take the ram of the consecration, and seethe his flesh in the holy place. ³²And Aaron and his sons shall eat the flesh of the ram, and the bread that is in the basket, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. ³³And they shall eat those things with which the atonement was made, to consecrate and to sanctify them: but a stranger shall not eat of them, because they are holy. ³⁴And if aught of the flesh of the consecration, or of the bread, shall remain till the morning, then thou shalt burn the remainder with fire: it shall not be eaten, because it is holy. ³⁵And thus shalt thou do to Aaron, and to his sons, according to all things which I have commanded thee: seven days shalt thou consecrate them. ³⁶And thou shalt offer every day a bullock for a sin-offering for atonement; and thou shalt cleanse the altar, when thou hast made an atonement for it, and thou shalt anoint it, to sanctify it. ³⁷Seven days thou shalt make an atonement for the altar, and sanctify it; and it shall be an altar most holy: whatever toucheth the altar shall be holy. ³⁸Now this is that which thou shalt offer upon the altar; two lambs of the first year, day by day continually. ³⁹The one lamb thou shalt offer in the morning; and the other lamb thou shalt offer at evening. ⁴⁰And with the one lamb a tenth-portion of flour mingled with the fourth part of a hin of beaten oil; and the fourth part of a hin of wine for a drink-offering. ⁴¹And the other lamb thou shalt offer at evening, and shalt do thereto according to the meat-offering of the morning, and according to the drink-offering thereof, for a sweet savor, an offering made by fire to the LORD. ⁴²This shall be a continual burnt-offering throughout your generations at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD: where I will meet you to speak there to thee. ⁴³And there I will meet with the children of Israel, and the tabernacle shall be sanctified by my glory. ⁴⁴And I will sanctify the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar: I will sanctify also both Aaron and his sons, to minister to me in the priest's office. ⁴⁵And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will be their God. ⁴⁶And they shall know that I am the LORD their God, that brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, that I may dwell among them: I am the LORD their God.

Chapter 30

¹And thou shalt make an altar to burn incense upon: of shittim wood shalt thou make it. ²A cubit shall be its length, and a cubit its breadth; foursquare shall it be; and two cubits shall be its hight: its horns shall be of the same. ³And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, its top, and its sides round about, and its horns; and thou shalt make to it a crown of gold round about. ⁴And two golden rings shalt thou make to it under the crown of it, by its two corners, upon the two sides of it shalt thou make it; and they shall be for places for the staffs to bear it with. ⁵And thou shalt make the staffs of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold. ⁶And thou shalt put it before the vail that is by the ark of the testimony, before the mercy-seat that is over the testimony, where I will meet with thee. ⁷And Aaron shall burn upon it sweet incense every morning: when he dresseth the lamps, he shall burn incense upon it. ⁸And when Aaron lighteth the lamps at evening, he shall burn incense upon it; a perpetual incense before the LORD, throughout your generations. ⁹Ye shall offer no strange incense upon it, nor burnt-sacrifice, nor meat-offering; neither shall ye pour drink-offering upon it. ¹⁰And Aaron shall make an atonement upon the horns of it once in a year, with the blood of the sin-offering of atonements: once in a year shall he make atonement upon it throughout your generations: it is most holy to the LORD. ¹¹And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ¹²When thou takest the sum of the children of Israel after their number, then shall they give every man a ransom for his soul to the LORD, when thou numberest them: that there may be no plague among them, when thou numberest them. ¹³This they shall give, every one that passeth among them that are numbered, half a shekel, after the shekel of the sanctuary: (a shekel is twenty gerahs:) a half shekel shall be the offering of the LORD. ¹⁴Every one that passeth among them that are numbered from twenty years old and above, shall give an offering to the LORD. ¹⁵The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, when they give an offering to the LORD to make an atonement for your souls. ¹⁶And thou shalt take the atonement-money of the children of Israel, and shalt appoint it for the service of the tabernacle of the congregation; that it may be a memorial to the children of Israel before the LORD, to make an atonement for your souls. ¹⁷And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ¹⁸Thou shalt also make a laver of brass, and its foot also of brass, to wash in: and thou shalt put it between the tabernacle of the congregation and the altar, and thou shalt put water therein. ¹⁹For Aaron and their sons shall wash their hands and their feet thereat: ²⁰When they go into the tabernacle of the congregation, they shall wash with water, that they die not: or when they come near to the altar to minister, to burn offering made by fire to the LORD. ²¹So they shall wash their hands and their feet, that they die not: and it shall be a statute for ever to them, even to him and to his seed throughout their generations. ²²Moreover the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ²³Take thou also to thee principal spices, of pure myrrh five hundred shekels, and of sweet cinnamon half as much, even two hundred and fifty shekels, and of sweet calamus two hundred and fifty shekels, ²⁴And of cassia five hundred shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary, and of olive-oil a hin: ²⁵And thou shalt make it an oil of holy ointment, an ointment compound after the art of the apothecary: it shall be a holy anointing oil. ²⁶And thou shalt anoint the tabernacle of the congregation with it, and the ark of the testimony, ²⁷And the table and all its vessels, and the candlestick and its vessels, and the altar of incense, ²⁸And the altar of burnt-offering with all its vessels, and the laver and its foot. ²⁹And thou shalt sanctify them, that they may be most holy: whatever toucheth them shall be holy. ³⁰And thou shalt anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may minister to me in the priest's office. ³¹And thou shalt speak to the children of Israel, saying, This shall be a holy anointing oil to me, throughout your generations. ³²Upon man's flesh shall it not be poured, neither shall ye make any other like it, after the composition of it: it is holy, and it shall be holy to you. ³³Whoever compoundeth any like it, or whoever putteth any of it upon a stranger, shall even be cut off from his people. ³⁴And the LORD said to Moses, Take to thee sweet spices, stacte, and onycha, and galbanum; these sweet spices with pure frankincense: of each shall there be a like weight: ³⁵And thou shalt make it a perfume, a confection after the art of the apothecary, tempered together, pure and holy: ³⁶And thou shalt beat some of it very small, and put of it before the testimony in the tabernacle of the congregation, where I will meet with thee: it shall be to you most holy: ³⁷And as for the perfume which thou shalt make, ye shall not make to yourselves according to its composition: it shall be to thee holy for the LORD. ³⁸Whoever shall make the like to that, to smell thereto, shall even be cut off from his people.

Chapter 31

¹And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ²See, I have called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah: ³And I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, ⁴To devise curious works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, ⁵And in cutting of stones to set them, and in carving of timber, to work in all manner of workmanship. ⁶And I, behold, I have given with him Aholiab the son of Ahisamach of the tribe of Dan; and in the hearts of all that are wise-hearted I have put wisdom; that they may make all that I have commanded thee: ⁷The tabernacle of the congregation, and the ark of the testimony, and the mercy-seat that is upon it, and all the furniture of the tabernacle, ⁸And the table and its furniture, and the pure candlestick with all its furniture, and the altar of incense, ⁹And the altar of burnt-offering, with all its furniture, and the laver and its foot, ¹⁰And the clothes of service, and the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, to minister in the priest's office, ¹¹And the anointing oil, and sweet incense for the holy place: according to all that I have commanded thee, shall they do. ¹²And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ¹³Speak thou also to the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you. ¹⁴Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore: for it is holy to you. Every one that profaneth it shall surely be put to death: for whoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. ¹⁵Six days may work be done, but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD: whoever doeth any work in the sabbath-day, he shall surely be put to death. ¹⁶Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. ¹⁷It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed. ¹⁸And to Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, he gave two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.

Chapter 32

¹And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mount, the people assembled themselves to Aaron, and said to him, Arise, make us gods which shall go before us: for as for this Moses, the man that brought us out of the land of Egypt, we know not what is become of him. ²And Aaron said to them, Break off the golden ear-rings which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them to me. ³And all the people broke off the golden ear-rings which were in their ears, and brought them to Aaron. ⁴And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These are thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt. ⁵And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To-morrow is a feast to the LORD. ⁶And they rose early on the morrow, and offered burnt-offerings, and brought peace-offerings: and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play. ⁷And the LORD said to Moses, Go, go down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves: ⁸They have turned aside quickly from the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshiped it, and have sacrificed to it, and said, These are thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt. ⁹And the LORD said to Moses, I have seen this people, and behold it is a stiff-necked people: ¹⁰Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation. ¹¹And Moses besought the LORD his God, and said, LORD, why [] thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast [] forth from the land of Egypt, with great power, and with [] mighty hand? ¹²Why should the Egyptians speak and say, For evil did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from thy fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people. ¹³Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel thy servants, to whom thou sworest by thine own self, and saidst to them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give to your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever. ¹⁴And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do to his people. ¹⁵And Moses turned, and went down from the mount, and the two tables of the testimony were in his hand: the tables were written on both their sides; on the one side and on the other were they written. ¹⁶And the tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tables. ¹⁷And when Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, There is a noise of war in the camp. ¹⁸And he said, It is not the voice of them that shout for mastery, neither is it the voice of them that cry for being overcome: but the noise of them that sing do I hear. ¹⁹And it came to pass as soon as he came nigh to the camp, that he saw the calf, and the dancing: and Moses's anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables from his hands, and broke them beneath the mount. ²⁰And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and strewed it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it. ²¹And Moses said to Aaron, What did this people to thee, that thou hast brought so great a sin upon them? ²²And Aaron said, Let not the anger of my lord wax hot: thou knowest the people that they are set on mischief. ²³For they said to me, Make us gods which shall go before us: for as for this Moses, the man that brought us out of the land of Egypt, we know not what is become of him. ²⁴And I said to them, Whoever hath any gold, let them break it off: So they gave it to me: then I cast it into the fire, and there came out this calf. ²⁵And when Moses saw that the people were naked (for Aaron had made them naked to their shame, among their enemies:) ²⁶Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who is on the LORD'S side? let him come to me. And all the sons of Levi assembled themselves to him. ²⁷And he said to them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Put every man his sword by his side, and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbor. ²⁸And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men. ²⁹For Moses had said, Consecrate yourselves to-day to the LORD, even every man upon his son, and upon his brother; that he may bestow upon you a blessing this day. ³⁰And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses said to the people, Ye have sinned a great sin: and now I will go up to the LORD; it may be I shall make an atonement for your sin. ³¹And Moses returned to the LORD, and said, Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold. ³²Yet now, if thou wilt, forgive their sin: and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written. ³³And the LORD said to Moses, Whoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book. ³⁴Therefore now go, lead the people to the place of which I have spoken to thee: Behold, my angel shall go before thee: Nevertheless, in the day when I visit, I will visit their sin upon them. ³⁵And the LORD afflicted the people, because they made the calf which Aaron made.

Chapter 33

¹And the LORD said to Moses, Depart and go up hence, thou and the people which thou hast conducted from the land of Egypt, to the land which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, to thy seed will I give it: ²And I will send an angel before thee; and I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite: ³To a land flowing with milk and honey: for I will not go up in the midst of thee; for thou art a stiff-necked people: lest I consume thee in the way. ⁴And when the people heard these evil tidings, they mourned: and no man put on him his ornaments. ⁵For the LORD had said to Moses, Say to the children of Israel, Ye are a stiff-necked people: I will come up into the midst of thee in a moment, and consume thee: therefore now put off thy ornaments from thee, that I may know what to do to thee. ⁶And the children of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments, by the mount Horeb. ⁷And Moses took the tabernacle, and pitched it without the camp far from the camp, and called it the Tabernacle of the congregation. And it came to pass, that every one who sought the LORD, went out to the tabernacle of the congregation, which was without the camp. ⁸And it came to pass when Moses went out to the tabernacle, that all the people rose, and stood every man at his tent-door, and looked after Moses, until he had gone into the tabernacle. ⁹And it came to pass, as Moses entered into the tabernacle, the cloudy pillar descended, and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the LORD talked with Moses. ¹⁰And all the people saw the cloudy pillar stand at the tabernacle door: and all the people rose and worshiped, every man in his tent-door. ¹¹And the LORD spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaketh to his friend. And he turned again into the camp; but his servant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle. ¹²And Moses said to the LORD, See, thou sayest to me, Bring up this people: and thou hast not let me know whom thou wilt send with me. Yet thou hast said, I know thee by name, and thou hast also found grace in my sight. ¹³Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, show me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people. ¹⁴And he said, My presence shall attend thee, and I will give thee rest. ¹⁵And he said to him, If thy presence shall not attend me, conduct us not hence. ¹⁶For wherein shall it be known here that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight? Is it not in that thou goest with us? So shall we be separated, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth. ¹⁷And the LORD said to Moses, I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken: for thou hast found grace in my sight, and I know thee by name. ¹⁸And he said, I beseech thee, show me thy glory. ¹⁹And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. ²⁰And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live. ²¹And the LORD said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock: ²²And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a cleft of the rock: and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by: ²³And I will take away my hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen.

Chapter 34

¹And the LORD said to Moses, Hew thee two tables of stone like the first; and I will write upon these tables the words that were in the first tables which thou didst break. ²And be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning to mount Sinai, and present thyself there to me on the top of the mount. ³And no man shall come up with thee, neither let any man be seen throughout all the mount: neither let the flocks nor herds feed before that mount. ⁴And he hewed two tables of stone, like the first; and Moses rose up early in the morning, and went up to mount Sinai, as the LORD had commanded him, and took in his hand the two tables of stone. ⁵And the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. ⁶And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth. ⁷Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, to the third and to the fourth generation. ⁸And Moses made haste, and bowed his head towards the earth, and worshiped. ⁹And he said, If now I have found grace in thy sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I pray thee, go among us (for it is a stiff-necked people) and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for thy inheritance. ¹⁰And he said, Behold, I make a covenant: before all thy people I will do wonders, such as have not been done in all the earth, nor in any nation: and all the people among which thou art, shall see the work of the LORD: for it is a terrible thing that I will do with thee. ¹¹Observe thou that which I command thee this day: Behold, I drive out before thee the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite. ¹²Take heed to thyself, lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land whither thou goest, lest it be for a snare in the midst of thee: ¹³But ye shall destroy their altars, break their images, and cut down their groves. ¹⁴For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God: ¹⁵Lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they go astray after their gods, and do sacrifice to their gods, and one call thee, and thou eat of his sacrifice; ¹⁶And thou take of their daughters to thy sons, and their daughters go astray after their gods, and make thy sons go astray after their gods. ¹⁷Thou shalt make thee no molten gods. ¹⁸The feast of unleavened bread shalt thou keep. Seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread, as I commanded thee, in the time of the month Abib: for in the month Abib thou camest out of from Egypt. ¹⁹Every first-born is mine: and every firstling among thy cattle, whether ox or sheep, that is male. ²⁰But the firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb: and if thou shalt not redeem him, then shalt thou break his neck. All the first-born of thy sons thou shalt redeem. And none shall appear before me empty. ²¹Six days thou shalt work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest: in time of plowing and in harvest thou shalt rest. ²²And thou shalt observe the feast of weeks, of the first-fruits of wheat-harvest, and the feast of in-gathering at the year's end. ²³Thrice in the year shall all your male children appear before the Lord GOD, the God of Israel. ²⁴For I will drive out the nations before thee, and enlarge thy borders: neither shall any man desire thy land, when thou shalt go up to appear before the LORD thy God, thrice in the year. ²⁵Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leaven, neither shall the sacrifice of the feast of the passover be left until the morning. ²⁶The first of the first-fruits of thy land thou shalt bring to the house of the LORD thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk. ²⁷And the LORD said to Moses, Write thou these words: for after the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with thee, and with Israel. ²⁸And he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he neither ate bread nor drank water: and he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments. ²⁹And it came to pass when Moses came down from mount Sinai (with the two tables of testimony in Moses's hand, when he came down from the mount) that Moses knew not that the skin of his face shone, while he talked with him. ³⁰And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come nigh him. ³¹And Moses called to them; and Aaron and all the rulers of the congregation returned to him; and Moses talked with them. ³²And afterward all the children of Israel came nigh: and he gave them in commandment all that the LORD had spoken with him in mount Sinai. ³³And till Moses had done speaking with them, he put a vail on his face. ³⁴But when Moses went in before the LORD to speak with him, he took the vail off, until he came out. And he came out and spoke to the children of Israel that which he was commanded. ³⁵And the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses's face shone: and Moses put the vail upon his face again, until he went in to speak with him.

Chapter 35

¹And Moses assembled all the congregation of the children of Israel, and said to them, These are the words which the LORD hath commanded, that ye should do them. ²Six days shall work be done; but on the seventh day there shall be to you a holy day, a sabbath of rest to the LORD: whoever doth work therein shall be put to death. ³Ye shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations upon the sabbath-day. ⁴And Moses spoke to all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying, This is the thing which the LORD commanded, saying, ⁵Take ye from among you an offering to the LORD: whoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it, an offering of the LORD; gold, and silver, and brass, ⁶And blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats' hair, ⁷And rams' skins dyed red, and badgers' skins, and shittim wood, ⁸And oil for the light, and spices for anointing oil, and for the sweet incense, ⁹And onyx stones, and stones to be set for the ephod, and for the breast-plate. ¹⁰And every wise-hearted among you shall come, and make all that the LORD hath commanded; ¹¹The tabernacle, its tent, and its covering, its buttons, and its boards, its bars, its pillars, and its sockets, ¹²The ark, and its staffs, with the mercy-seat, and the vail of the covering, ¹³The table, and its staffs, and all its vessels, and the show-bread, ¹⁴The candlestick also for the light, and its furniture, and its lamps, with the oil for the light, ¹⁵And the incense-altar, and its staffs, and the anointing oil, and the sweet incense, and the hanging for the door at the entrance of the tabernacle, ¹⁶The altar of burnt-offering, with its brazen grate, its staffs, and all its vessels, the laver and its foot, ¹⁷The hangings of the court, its pillars, and their sockets, and the hanging for the door of the court, ¹⁸The pins of the tabernacle, and the pins of the court, and their cords, ¹⁹The clothes of service, to do service in the holy place, the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, to minister in the priest's office. ²⁰And all the congregation of the children of Israel departed from the presence of Moses. ²¹And they came, every one whose heart excited him, and every one whom his spirit made willing, and they brought the LORD'S offering to the work of the tabernacle of the congregation, and for all his service, and for the holy garments. ²²And they came, both men and women, as many as were willing-hearted, and brought bracelets, and ear-rings, and rings, and tablets, all jewels of gold; and every man that offered, offered an offering of gold to the LORD. ²³And every man, with whom was found blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats' hair, and red skins of rams, and badgers' skins, brought them. ²⁴Every one that offered an offering of silver and brass brought the LORD'S offering: and every man with whom was found shittim wood for any work of the service, brought it. ²⁵And all the women that were wise-hearted spun with their hands, and brought that which they had spun, both of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine linen. ²⁶And all the women whose heart moved them in wisdom spun goats' hair. ²⁷And the rulers brought onyx stones, and stones to be set, for the ephod, and for the breast-plate; ²⁸And spice, and oil for the light, and for the anointing oil, and for the sweet incense. ²⁹The children of Israel brought a willing offering to the LORD, every man and woman, whose heart made them willing to bring for all manner of work, which the LORD had commanded to be made by the hand of Moses. ³⁰And Moses said to the children of Israel, See, the LORD hath called by name Bezaleel, the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah; ³¹And he hath filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship; ³²And to devise curious works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, ³³And in the cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of wood, to make any manner of curious work. ³⁴And he hath put in his heart that he may teach, both he and Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. ³⁵Them hath he filled with wisdom of heart, to work all manner of work, of the engraver, and of the skillful workmen, and of the embroiderer, in blue, and in purple, in scarlet, and in fine linen, and of the weaver, even of them that do any work, and of those that devise curious work.

Chapter 36

¹Then wrought Bezaleel and Aholiab, and every wise-hearted man, in whom the LORD put wisdom and understanding, to know how to work all manner of work for the service of the sanctuary, according to all that the LORD had commanded. ²And Moses called Bezaleel and Aholiab, and every wise-hearted man, in whose heart the LORD had put wisdom, even every one whose heart excited him to come to the work to do it: ³And they received from Moses all the offering which the children of Israel had brought for the work of the service of the sanctuary, to make it. And they brought yet to him free-offerings every morning. ⁴And all the wise men, that wrought all the work of the sanctuary, came every man from his work which they made. ⁵And they spoke to Moses, saying, The people bring much more than enough for the service of the work, which the LORD commanded to make. ⁶And Moses gave commandment, and they caused it to be proclaimed throughout the camp, saying, Let neither man nor woman make any more work for the offering of the sanctuary. So the people were restrained from bringing. ⁷For the stuff they had was sufficient for all the work to make it, and too much. ⁸And every wise-hearted man among them that wrought the work of the tabernacle made ten curtains of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet: he made them with cherubim of curious work. ⁹The length of one curtain was twenty and eight cubits, and the breadth of one curtain four cubits: the curtains were all of one size. ¹⁰And he coupled the five curtains one to another: and the other five curtains he coupled one to another. ¹¹And he made loops of blue on the edge of one curtain from the selvedge in the coupling: likewise he made in the extremity of another curtain, in the coupling of the second. ¹²Fifty loops he made in one curtain, and fifty loops he made in the edge of the curtain which was in the coupling of the second: the loops held one curtain to another. ¹³And he made fifty buttons of gold, and coupled the curtains one to another with the buttons. So it became one tabernacle. ¹⁴And he made curtains of goats' hair for the tent over the tabernacle: eleven curtains he made them. ¹⁵The length of one curtain was thirty cubits, and four cubits was the breadth of one curtain: the eleven curtains were of one size. ¹⁶And he coupled five curtains by themselves, and six curtains by themselves. ¹⁷And he made fifty loops upon the outermost edge of the curtain in the coupling, and fifty loops made he upon the edge of the curtain which coupleth the second. ¹⁸And he made fifty buttons of brass to couple the tent together, that it might be one. ¹⁹And he made a covering for the tent of rams' skins dyed red, and a covering of badgers' skins above that. ²⁰And he made boards for the tabernacle of shittim wood, standing up. ²¹The length of a board was ten cubits, and the breadth of a board one cubit and a half. ²²One board had two tenons, equally distant one from another; thus did he make for all the boards of the tabernacle. ²³And he made boards for the tabernacle; twenty boards for the south side southward: ²⁴And forty sockets of silver he made under the twenty boards; two sockets under one board for its two tenons, and two sockets under another board for its two tenons. ²⁵And for the other side of the tabernacle which is towards the north corner, he made twenty boards. ²⁶And their forty sockets of silver; two sockets under one board, and two sockets under another board. ²⁷And for the sides of the tabernacle westward he made six boards. ²⁸And two boards he made for the corners of the tabernacle in the two sides. ²⁹And they were coupled beneath, and coupled together at the head thereof, to one ring: thus he did to both of them in both the corners. ³⁰And there were eight boards; and their sockets were sixteen sockets of silver, under every board two sockets. ³¹And he made bars of shittim wood; five for the boards of the one side of the tabernacle, ³²And five bars for the boards of the other side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the boards of the tabernacle for the sides westward. ³³And he made the middle bar to shoot through the boards from the one end to the other. ³⁴And he overlaid the boards with gold, and made their rings of gold to be places for the bars, and overlaid the bars with gold. ³⁵And he made a vail of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen: with cherubim he made it of curious work. ³⁶And he made to it four pillars of shittim wood, and overlaid them with gold: their hooks were of gold; and he cast for them four sockets of silver. ³⁷And he made a hanging for the tabernacle-door of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, of needle-work; ³⁸And the five pillars of it, with their hooks: and he overlaid their capitals and their fillets with gold: but their five sockets were of brass.

Chapter 37

¹And Bezaleel made the ark of shittim wood: two cubits and a half was the length of it, and a cubit and a half the breadth of it, and a cubit and a half the hight of it: ²And he overlaid it with pure gold within and without, and made a crown of gold to it round about. ³And he cast for it four rings of gold, to be set by the four corners of it; even two rings upon the one side of it, and two rings upon the other side of it. ⁴And he made staffs of shittim wood, and overlaid them with gold. ⁵And he put the staffs into the rings by the sides of the ark, to bear the ark. ⁶And he made the mercy-seat of pure gold: two cubits and a half was the length of it, and one cubit and a half the breadth of it. ⁷And he made two cherubim of gold, beaten out of one piece he made them, on the two ends of the mercy-seat; ⁸One cherub on the end on this side, and another cherub on the other end on that side: out of the mercy-seat made he the cherubim on the two ends of it. ⁹And the cherubim spread out their wings on high, and covered with their wings over the mercy-seat, with their faces one to another; even towards the mercy-seat were the faces of the cherubim. ¹⁰And he made the table of shittim wood: two cubits was its length, and a cubit its breadth, and a cubit and a half its hight: ¹¹And he overlaid it with pure gold, and made to it a crown of gold round about. ¹²Also he made to it a border of a hand-breadth round about; and made a crown of gold for its border round about. ¹³And he cast for it four rings of gold, and put the rings upon the four corners that were in its four feet. ¹⁴Over against the border were the rings, the places for the staffs, to bear the table. ¹⁵And he made the staffs of shittim wood, and overlaid them with gold, to bear the table. ¹⁶And he made the vessels which were upon the table, its dishes, and its spoons, and its bowls, and its covers to cover with, of pure gold. ¹⁷And he made the candlestick of pure gold; of beaten work he made the candlestick; its shaft, and its branch, its bowls, its knobs, and its flowers were of the same: ¹⁸And six branches proceeding from its sides; three branches of the candlestick from the one side of it, and three branches of the candlestick from the other side of it. ¹⁹Three bowls made after the fashion of almonds in one branch, a knob and a flower; and three bowls made like almonds in another branch, a knob and a flower: so throughout the six branches proceeding from the candlestick. ²⁰And in the candlestick were four bowls made like almonds, its knobs, and its flowers: ²¹And a knob under two branches of the same, and a knob under two branches of the same, and a knob under two branches of the same, according to the six branches proceeding from it. ²²Their knobs and their branches were of the same: all of it was one beaten work of pure gold. ²³And he made its seven lamps, and its snuffers, and its snuff-dishes, of pure gold. ²⁴Of a talent of pure gold he made it, and all its vessels. ²⁵And he made the incense-altar of shittim wood: the length of it was a cubit, and the breadth of it a cubit; it was foursquare; and two cubits was the hight of it; the horns of it were of the same. ²⁶And he overlaid it with pure gold, both the top of it, and its sides round about, and its horns: also he made to it a crown of gold round about. ²⁷And he made two rings of gold for it under its crown, by the two corners of it, upon its two sides, to be places for the staffs to bear it with. ²⁸And he made the staffs of shittim wood, and overlaid them with gold. ²⁹And he made the holy anointing oil, and the pure incense of sweet spices, according to the work of the apothecary.

Chapter 38

¹And he made the altar of burnt-offering of shittim wood: five cubits was the length of it, and five cubits the breadth of it; it was foursquare; and its hight was three cubits. ²And he made its horns on the four corners of it; its horns were of the same: and he overlaid it with brass. ³And he made all the vessels of the altar, the pots, and the shovels, and the basins, and the flesh-hooks, and the fire-pans: all the vessels of it he made of brass. ⁴And he made for the altar a brazen grate of net-work under the compass of it beneath to the midst of it. ⁵And he cast four rings for the four ends of the grate of brass, to be places for the staffs. ⁶And he made the staffs of shittim wood, and overlaid them with brass. ⁷And he put the staffs into the rings on the sides of the altar, to bear it with; he made the altar hollow with boards. ⁸And he made the laver of brass, and the foot of it of brass, of the looking-glasses of the women assembling, who assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. ⁹And he made the court: on the south side southward the hangings of the court were of fine twined linen, a hundred cubits: ¹⁰Their pillars were twenty, and their brazen sockets twenty; the hooks of the pillars, and their fillets, were of silver. ¹¹And for the north side, the hangings were a hundred cubits, their pillars were twenty, and their sockets of brass twenty: the hooks of the pillars, and their filets, of silver. ¹²And for the west side were hangings of fifty cubits, their pillars ten, and their sockets ten; the hooks of the pillars, and their fillets, of silver. ¹³And for the east side eastward fifty cubits. ¹⁴The hangings of the one side of the gate were fifteen cubits; their pillars three, and their sockets three. ¹⁵And for the other side of the court-gate, on this hand and that hand, were hangings of fifteen cubits; their pillars three, and their sockets three. ¹⁶All the hangings of the court round about were of fine twined linen. ¹⁷And the sockets for the pillars were of brass; the hooks of the pillars, and their fillets, of silver; and the overlaying of their capitals of silver; and all the pillars of the court were filleted with silver. ¹⁸And the hanging for the gate of the court was needle-work, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen: and twenty cubits was the length, and the hight in the breadth was five cubits, answerable to the hangings of the court. ¹⁹And their pillars were four, and their sockets of brass four; their hooks of silver, and the overlaying of their capitals and their fillets of silver. ²⁰And all the pins of the tabernacle, and of the court round about, were of brass. ²¹This is the sum of the tabernacle, even of the tabernacle of testimony, as it was counted, according to the commandment of Moses, for the service of the Levites, by the hand of Ithamar, son to Aaron the priest. ²²And Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made all that the LORD commanded Moses. ²³And with him was Aholiab, son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, an engraver, and a skillful workman, and an embroiderer in blue, and in purple, and in scarlet, and fine linen. ²⁴All the gold that was occupied for the work in all the work of the holy place, even the gold of the offering, was twenty and nine talents, and seven hundred and thirty shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary. ²⁵And the silver of them that were numbered of the congregation was a hundred talents, and a thousand seven hundred and seventy five shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary: ²⁶A bekah for every man, that is, half a shekel, after the shekel of the sanctuary, for every one that went to be numbered, from twenty years old and upward, for six hundred thousand and three thousand and five hundred and fifty men. ²⁷And of the hundred talents of silver were cast the sockets of the sanctuary, and the sockets of the vail; a hundred sockets of the hundred talents, a talent for a socket. ²⁸And of the thousand seven hundred seventy and five shekels he made hooks for the pillars, and overlaid their capitals, and filleted them. ²⁹And the brass of the offering was seventy talents, and two thousand and four hundred shekels. ³⁰And with this he made the sockets to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and the brazen altar, and the brazen grate for it, and all the vessels of the altar, ³¹And the sockets of the court round about, and the sockets of the court gate, and all the pins of the tabernacle, and all the pins of the court round about.

Chapter 39

¹And of the blue, and purple, and scarlet, they made clothes of service, to do service in the holy place, and made the holy garments for Aaron; as the LORD commanded Moses. ²And he made the ephod of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen. ³And they beat the gold into thin plates, and cut it into wires, to work it in the blue, and in the purple, and in the scarlet, and in the fine linen, with curious work. ⁴They made shoulder-pieces for it, to couple it together: by the two edges was it coupled together. ⁵And the curious girdle of his ephod, that was upon it, was of the same, according to the work thereof; of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen; as the LORD commanded Moses. ⁶And they wrought onyx stones inclosed in ouches of gold, graven as signets are graven, with the names of the children of Israel. ⁷And he put them on the shoulders of the ephod, that they should be stones for a memorial to the children of Israel; as the LORD commanded Moses. ⁸And he made the breast-plate of curious work, like the work of the ephod; of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen. ⁹It was foursquare; they made the breast-plate double: a span was the length of it, and a span the breadth of it, being doubled. ¹⁰And they set in it four rows of stones: the first row was a sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle: this was the first row. ¹¹And the second row, an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond. ¹²And the third row, a ligure, an agate, and an amethyst. ¹³And the fourth row, a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper: they were inclosed in ouches of gold in their inclosings. ¹⁴And the stones were according to the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to their names, like the engravings of a signet, every one with his name, according to the twelve tribes. ¹⁵And they made upon the breast-plate chains at the ends, of wreathed work of pure gold. ¹⁶And they made two ouches of gold, and two gold rings, and put the two rings in the two ends of the breast-plate. ¹⁷And they put the two wreathed chains of gold in the two rings on the ends of the breast-plate. ¹⁸And the two ends of the two wreathed chains they fastened in the two ouches, and put them on the shoulder-pieces of the ephod, before it. ¹⁹And they made two rings of gold, and put them on the two ends of the breast-plate, upon the border of it, which was on the side of the ephod inward. ²⁰And they made two other golden rings, and put them on the two sides of the ephod underneath, towards the forepart of it, over against the other coupling thereof, above the curious girdle of the ephod: ²¹And they bound the breast-plate by its rings to the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, that it might be above the curious girdle of the ephod, and that the breast-plate might not be loosed from the ephod; as the LORD commanded Moses. ²²And he made the robe of the ephod of woven work, all of blue. ²³And there was a hole in the midst of the robe, as the hole of an habergeon, with a band around the hole, that it should not rend. ²⁴And they made upon the hems of the robe pomegranates of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and twined linen. ²⁵And they made bells of pure gold, and put the bells between the pomegranates upon the hem of the robe, around between the pomegranates; ²⁶A bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate, around the hem of the robe to minister in; as the LORD commanded Moses. ²⁷And they made coats of fine linen, of woven work, for Aaron and for his sons, ²⁸And a miter of fine linen, and goodly bonnets of fine linen, and linen breeches of fine twined linen, ²⁹And a girdle of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, of needle-work; as the LORD commanded Moses. ³⁰And they made the plate of the holy crown of pure gold, and wrote upon it a writing, like to the engravings of a signet, HOLINESS TO THE LORD. ³¹And they tied to it a lace of blue, to fasten it on high upon the miter; as the LORD commanded Moses. ³²Thus was all the work of the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation finished: and the children of Israel did according to all that the LORD commanded Moses, so did they. ³³And they brought the tabernacle to Moses, the tent, and all its furniture, its buttons, its boards, its bars, and its pillars, and its sockets, ³⁴And the covering of rams' skins dyed red, and the covering of badgers' skins, and the vail of the covering, ³⁵The ark of the testimony, and its staffs, and the mercy-seat, ³⁶The table, and all its vessels, and the show-bread, ³⁷The pure candlestick, with its lamps, even with the lamps to be set in order, and all its vessels, and the oil for light, ³⁸And the golden altar, and the anointing oil, and the sweet incense, and the hanging for the tabernacle-door, ³⁹The brazen altar, and its grate of brass, its staffs, and all its vessels, the laver and its foot, ⁴⁰The hangings of the court, its pillars, and its sockets, and the hanging for the court-gate, its cords, and its pins, and all the vessels of the service of the tabernacle, for the tent of the congregation, ⁴¹The clothes of service to do service in the holy place, and the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and his sons' garments, to minister in the priest's office. ⁴²According to all that the LORD commanded Moses, so the children of Israel made all the work. ⁴³And Moses looked upon all the work, and behold, they had done it as the LORD had commanded, even so had they done it: and Moses blessed them.

Chapter 40

¹And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ²On the first day of the first month shalt thou set up the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation. ³And thou shalt put in it the ark of the testimony, and cover the ark with the vail. ⁴And thou shalt bring in the table, and set in order the things that are to be set in order upon it; and thou shalt bring in the candlestick, and light its lamps. ⁵And thou shalt set the altar of gold for the incense before the ark of the testimony, and put the hanging of the door to the tabernacle. ⁶And thou shalt set the altar of the, burnt-offering before the door of the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation. ⁷And thou shalt set the laver between the tent of the congregation and the altar, and shalt put water in it. ⁸And thou shalt set up the court round about, and hang up the hanging at the court-gate. ⁹And thou shalt take the anointing oil, and anoint the tabernacle, and all that is in it, and shalt hallow it, and all its vessels: and it shall be holy. ¹⁰And thou shalt anoint the altar of the burnt-offering and all its vessels, and sanctify the altar: and it shall be an altar most holy. ¹¹And thou shalt anoint the laver and its foot, and sanctify it. ¹²And thou shalt bring Aaron and his sons to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and wash them with water. ¹³And thou shalt put upon Aaron the holy garments, and anoint him, and sanctify him; that he may minister to me in the priest's office. ¹⁴And thou shalt bring his sons, and clothe them with coats: ¹⁵And thou shalt anoint them, as thou didst anoint their father, that they may minister to me in the priest's office: for their anointing shall surely be an everlasting priesthood throughout their generations. ¹⁶Thus did Moses; according to all that the LORD commanded him, so did he. ¹⁷And it came to pass in the first month, in the second year, on the first day of the month, that the tabernacle was reared up. ¹⁸And Moses reared up the tabernacle, and fastened its sockets, and set up its boards, and put in its bars, and reared up its pillars. ¹⁹And he spread abroad the tent over the tabernacle, and put the covering of the tent above upon it; as the LORD commanded Moses. ²⁰And he took and put the testimony into the ark, and set the staffs on the ark, and put the mercy-seat above upon the ark: ²¹And he brought the ark into the tabernacle, and set up the vail of the covering, and covered the ark of the testimony; as the LORD commanded Moses. ²²And he put the table in the tent of the congregation, upon the side of the tabernacle northward, without the vail. ²³And he set the bread in order upon it before the LORD; as the LORD had commanded Moses. ²⁴And he put the candlestick in the tent of the congregation, over against the table, on the side of the tabernacle southward. ²⁵And he lighted the lamps before the LORD, as the LORD commanded Moses. ²⁶And he put the golden altar in the tent of the congregation, before the vail: ²⁷And he burnt sweet incense on it; as the LORD commanded Moses. ²⁸And he set up the hanging at the door of the tabernacle. ²⁹And he put the altar of burnt-offering by the door of the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation, and offered upon it the burnt-offering, and the meat-offering; as the LORD commanded Moses. ³⁰And he set the laver between the tent of the congregation and the altar, and put water there, to wash with. ³¹And Moses, and Aaron, and his sons, washed their hands and their feet thereat: ³²When they went into the tent of the congregation, and when they came near to the altar, they washed; as the LORD commanded Moses. ³³And he reared up the court round about the tabernacle and the altar, and set up the hanging of the court-gate: so Moses finished the work. ³⁴Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. ³⁵And Moses was not able to enter into the tent of the congregation, because the cloud abode upon it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. ³⁶And when the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the children of Israel went onward in all their journeys: ³⁷But if the cloud was not taken up, then they journeyed not till the day that it was taken up. ³⁸For the cloud of the LORD was upon the tabernacle by day, and fire was on it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys.

Leviticus

Chapter 1

¹And the LORD called to Moses, and spoke to him out of the tabernacle of the congregation, saying, ²Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, If any man of you shall bring an offering to the LORD, ye shall bring your offering of the cattle, even of the herd, and of the flock. ³If his offering shall be a burnt-sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish: he shall offer it of his own voluntary will at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD. ⁴And he shall put his hand upon the head of the burnt-offering; and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him. ⁵And he shall kill the bullock before the LORD: and the priests, Aaron's sons, shall bring the blood, and sprinkle the blood around upon the altar that is by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. ⁶And he shall flay the burnt-offering, and cut it into its pieces, ⁷And the sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire upon the altar, and lay the wood in order upon the fire. ⁸And the priests, Aaron's sons, shall lay the parts, the head, and the fat, in order upon the wood that is on the fire which is upon the altar. ⁹But his inwards and his legs shall he wash in water: and the priest shall burn all on the altar, to be a burnt-sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savor to the LORD. ¹⁰And if his offering be of the flocks, namely, of the sheep, or of the goats, for a burnt-sacrifice; he shall bring it a male without blemish. ¹¹And he shall kill it on the side of the altar northward before the LORD: and the priests, Aaron's sons, shall sprinkle his blood around upon the altar: ¹²And he shall cut it into its pieces, with its head and its fat: and the priest shall lay them in order on the wood that is on the fire which is upon the altar: ¹³But he shall wash the inwards and the legs with water: and the priest shall bring it all, and burn it upon the altar: it is a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savor to the LORD. ¹⁴And if the burnt sacrifice for his offering to the LORD shall be of fowls, then he shall bring his offering of turtle doves, or of young pigeons. ¹⁵And the priest shall bring it to the altar, and wring off its head, and burn it on the altar: and its blood shall be wrung out at the side of the altar: ¹⁶And he shall pluck away its crop with its feathers, and cast it beside the altar on the east part, by the place of the ashes: ¹⁷And he shall cleave it with its wings, but shall not divide it asunder: and the priest shall burn it upon the altar, upon the wood that is upon the fire: it is a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savor to the LORD.

Chapter 2

¹And when any will offer a meat-offering to the LORD, his offering shall be of fine flour; and he shall pour oil upon it, and put frankincense upon it. ²And he shall bring it to Aaron's sons the priests: and he shall take out of it his handful of its flour, and of its oil, with all its frankincense; and the priest shall burn the memorial of it upon the altar, to be an offering made by fire, of a sweet savor to the LORD: ³And the remnant of the meat-offering shall be Aaron's and his sons': it is a thing most holy of the offerings of the LORD made by fire. ⁴And if thou shalt bring an oblation of a meat-offering baked in the oven, it shall be unleavened cakes of fine flour mingled with oil, or unleavened wafers anointed with oil. ⁵And if thy oblation shall be a meat-offering baked in a pan, it shall be of fine flour unleavened, mingled with oil. ⁶Thou shalt part it in pieces, and pour oil upon it: it is a meat-offering. ⁷And if thy oblation shall be a meat-offering baked in the frying-pan, it shall be made of fine flour with oil. ⁸And thou shalt bring the meat-offering that is made of these things to the LORD: and when it is presented to the priest, he shall bring it to the altar. ⁹And the priest shall take from the meat-offering a memorial of it, and shall burn it upon the altar: it is an offering made by fire, of a sweet savor to the LORD. ¹⁰And that which is left of the meat-offering shall be Aaron's and his sons': it is a thing most holy, of the offerings of the LORD made by fire. ¹¹No meat-offering which ye shall bring to the LORD shall be made with leaven: for ye shall burn no leaven, nor any honey, in any offering of the LORD made by fire. ¹²As for the oblation of the first-fruits, ye shall offer them to the LORD: but they shall not be burnt on the altar for a sweet savor. ¹³And every oblation of thy meat-offering shalt thou season with salt: neither shalt thou suffer the salt of the covenant of thy God to be lacking from thy meat-offering: with all thy offerings thou shalt offer salt. ¹⁴And if thou shalt offer a meat-offering of thy first-fruits to the LORD, thou shalt offer for the meat-offering of thy first-fruits, green ears of corn dried by the fire, even corn beaten out of full ears. ¹⁵And thou shalt put oil upon it, and lay frankincense upon it: it is a meat-offering. ¹⁶And the priest shall burn the memorial of it, part of its beaten corn, and part of its oil, with all its frankincense: it is an offering made by fire to the LORD.

Chapter 3

¹And if his oblation shall be a sacrifice of peace-offering, if he shall offer it of the herd, whether a male or female; he shall offer it without blemish before the LORD. ²And he shall lay his hand upon the head of his offering, and kill it at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and Aaron's sons the priests shall sprinkle the blood upon the altar round about. ³And he shall offer of the sacrifice of the peace-offering, an offering made by fire to the LORD; the fat that covereth the inwards, and all the fat that is upon the inwards, ⁴And the two kidneys, and the fat that is on them, which is by the flanks, and the caul above the liver, with the kidneys, it shall he take away. ⁵And Aaron's sons shall burn it on the altar, upon the burnt-sacrifice which is upon the wood that is on the fire: it is an offering made by fire, of a sweet savor to the LORD. ⁶And if his offering for a sacrifice of peace-offering to the LORD shall be of the flock, male or female; he shall offer it without blemish. ⁷If he shall offer a lamb for his offering, then shall he offer it before the LORD. ⁸And he shall lay his hand upon the head of his offering, and kill it before the tabernacle of the congregation: and Aaron's sons shall sprinkle the blood of it around upon the altar. ⁹And he shall offer of the sacrifice of the peace-offering an offering made by fire to the LORD: its fat, and the whole rump, that shall he take off hard by the back-bone; and the fat that covereth the inwards, and all the fat that is upon the inwards, ¹⁰And the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, which is by the flanks, and the caul above the liver, with the kidneys, that shall he take away. ¹¹And the priest shall burn it upon the altar: it is the food of the offering made by fire to the LORD. ¹²And if his offering shall be a goat, then he shall offer it before the LORD. ¹³And he shall lay his hand upon the head of it, and kill it before the tabernacle of the congregation: and the sons of Aaron shall sprinkle its blood upon the altar round about. ¹⁴And he shall offer of it his offering, even an offering made by fire to the LORD; the fat that covereth the inwards, and all the fat that is upon the inwards, ¹⁵And the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, which is by the flanks, and the caul above the liver, with the kidneys, that shall he take away. ¹⁶And the priest shall burn them upon the altar: it is the food of the offering made by fire for a sweet savor: all the fat is the LORD'S. ¹⁷It shall be a perpetual statute for your generations throughout all your dwellings, that ye eat neither fat nor blood.

Chapter 4

¹And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ²Speak to the children of Israel, saying, If a soul shall sin through ignorance against any of the commandments of the LORD concerning things which ought not to be done, and shall violate any of them: ³If the priest that is anointed shall sin according to the sin of the people; then let him bring, for his sin which he hath sinned, a young bullock without blemish to the LORD for a sin-offering. ⁴And he shall bring the bullock to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD; and shall lay his hand upon the bullock's head, and kill the bullock before the LORD. ⁵And the priest that is anointed shall take of the bullock's blood, and bring it to the tabernacle of the congregation: ⁶And the priest shall dip his finger in the blood, and sprinkle of the blood seven times before the LORD, before the vail of the sanctuary. ⁷And the priest shall put some of the blood upon the horns of the altar of sweet incense before the LORD, which is in the tabernacle of the congregation; and shall pour all the blood of the bullock at the bottom of the altar of the burnt-offering, which is at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. ⁸And he shall take off from it all the fat of the bullock for the sin-offering; the fat that covereth the inwards, and all the fat that is upon the inwards, ⁹And the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, which is by the flanks, and the caul above the liver, with the kidneys, that shall he take away, ¹⁰As it was taken off from the bullock of the sacrifice of peace-offerings: and the priest shall burn them upon the altar of the burnt-offering. ¹¹And the skin of the bullock, and all his flesh, with his head, and with his legs, and his inwards, and his dung, ¹²Even the whole bullock shall he carry forth without the camp to a clean place, where the ashes are poured out, and burn him on the wood with fire: where the ashes are poured out shall he be burnt. ¹³And if the whole congregation of Israel shall sin through ignorance, and the thing be hid from the eyes of the assembly, and they have done somewhat against any of the commandments of the LORD concerning things which should not be done, and are guilty; ¹⁴When the sin which they have sinned against it is known, then the congregation shall offer a young bullock for the sin, and bring him before the tabernacle of the congregation. ¹⁵And the elders of the congregation shall lay their hands upon the head of the bullock before the LORD: and the bullock shall be killed before the LORD. ¹⁶And the priest that is anointed shall bring of the bullock's blood to the tabernacle of the congregation: ¹⁷And the priest shall dip his finger in some of the blood, and sprinkle it seven times before the LORD, even before the vail. ¹⁸And he shall put some of the blood upon the horns of the altar which is before the LORD, that is in the tabernacle of the congregation, and shall pour out all the blood at the bottom of the altar of the burnt-offering, which is at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. ¹⁹And he shall take all his fat from him, and burn it upon the altar. ²⁰And he shall do with the bullock as he did with the bullock for a sin-offering, so shall he do with this: and the priest shall make an atonement for them, and it shall be forgiven them. ²¹And he shall carry forth the bullock without the camp, and burn him as he burned the first bullock: it is a sin-offering for the congregation. ²²When a ruler hath sinned, and done somewhat through ignorance against any of the commandments of the LORD his God concerning things which should not be done, and is guilty; ²³Or if his sin, in which he hath sinned, shall come to his knowledge; he shall bring his offering, a kid of the goats, a male without blemish: ²⁴And he shall lay his hand upon the head of the goat, and kill it in the place where they kill the burnt-offering before the LORD: it is a sin-offering. ²⁵And the priest shall take of the blood of the sin-offering with his finger, and put it upon the horns of the altar of burnt-offering, and shall pour out his blood at the bottom of the altar of burnt-offering. ²⁶And he shall burn all his fat upon the altar, as the fat of the sacrifice of peace-offerings: and the priest shall make an atonement for him as concerning his sin, and it shall be forgiven him. ²⁷And if any one of the common people shall sin through ignorance, while he doeth somewhat against any of the commandments of the LORD concerning things which ought not to be done, and be guilty; ²⁸Or if his sin which he hath sinned shall come to his knowledge: then he shall bring his offering, a kid of the goats, a female without blemish, for his sin which he hath sinned. ²⁹And he shall lay his hand upon the head of the sin-offering, and slay the sin-offering in the place of the burnt-offering. ³⁰And the priest shall take of the blood of it with his finger, and put it upon the horns of the altar of burnt-offering, and shall pour out all the blood thereof at the bottom of the altar. ³¹And he shall take away all its fat, as the fat is taken away from off the sacrifice of peace-offerings; and the priest shall burn it upon the altar for a sweet savor to the LORD; and the priest shall make an atonement for him, and it shall be forgiven him. ³²And if he shall bring a lamb for a sin-offering, he shall bring it a female without blemish. ³³And he shall lay his hand upon the head of the sin-offering, and slay it for a sin-offering in the place where they kill the burnt-offering. ³⁴And the priest shall take of the blood of the sin-offering with his finger, and put it upon the horns of the altar of burnt-offering, and shall pour out all the blood of it at the bottom of the altar: ³⁵And he shall take away all its fat, as the fat of the lamb is taken away from the sacrifice of the peace-offerings; and the priest shall burn them upon the altar, according to the offerings made by fire to the LORD: and the priest shall make an atonement for his sin that he hath committed, and it shall be forgiven him.

Chapter 5

¹And if a soul shall sin, and hear the voice of swearing, and be a witness, whether he hath seen or known of it; if he doth not utter it, then he shall bear his iniquity. ²Or if a soul shall touch any unclean thing, whether a carcass of an unclean beast, or a carcass of unclean cattle, or the carcass of unclean creeping animals, and it shall be hidden from him; he also shall be unclean, and guilty. ³Or if he shall touch the uncleanness of man, whatever uncleanness it may be that a man shall be defiled with, and it be hid from him; when he knoweth of it, then he shall be guilty. ⁴Or if a soul shall swear, pronouncing with his lips to do evil, or to do good, whatever it may be, that a man shall pronounce with an oath, and it be hid from him; when he knoweth of it, then he shall be guilty in one of these. ⁵And it shall be, when he shall be guilty in one of these things, that he shall confess that he hath sinned in that thing: ⁶And he shall bring his trespass-offering to the LORD for his sin which he hath sinned, a female from the flock, a lamb or a kid of the goats, for a sin-offering; and the priest shall make an atonement for him concerning his sin. ⁷And if he shall not be able to bring a lamb, then he shall bring for his trespass which he hath committed, two turtle-doves, or two young pigeons, to the LORD; one for a sin-offering, and the other for a burnt-offering. ⁸And he shall bring them to the priest, who shall offer that which is for the sin-offering first, and wring off his head from his neck, but shall not divide it asunder: ⁹And he shall sprinkle of the blood of the sin-offering upon the side of the altar; and the rest of the blood shall be wrung out at the bottom of the altar: it is a sin-offering. ¹⁰And he shall offer the second for a burnt-offering, according to the manner: and the priest shall make an atonement for him for his sin which he hath sinned, and it shall be forgiven him. ¹¹But if he shall not be able to bring two turtle-doves, or two young pigeons; then he that sinned shall bring for his offering the tenth part of an ephah of fine flour for a sin-offering; he shall put no oil upon it, neither shall he put any frankincense upon it: for it is a sin-offering. ¹²Then shall he bring it to the priest, and the priest shall take his handful of it, even a memorial of it, and burn it on the altar, according to the offerings made by fire to the LORD: it is a sin-offering. ¹³And the priest shall make an atonement for him as concerning his sin that he hath sinned in one of these, and it shall be forgiven him: and the remnant shall be the priest's, as a meat-offering. ¹⁴And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ¹⁵If a soul shall commit a trespass, and sin through ignorance, in the holy things of the LORD; then he shall bring for his trespass to the LORD a ram without blemish out of the flocks, with thy estimation by shekels of silver, after the shekel of the sanctuary, for a trespass-offering: ¹⁶And he shall make amends for the harm that he hath done in the holy thing, and shall add to it the fifth part, and give it to the priest: and the priest shall make an atonement for him with the ram of the trespass-offering, and it shall be forgiven him. ¹⁷And if a soul shall sin, and commit any of these things which are forbidden to be done by the commandments of the LORD; though he knew it not, yet is he guilty, and shall bear his iniquity. ¹⁸And he shall bring a ram without blemish out of the flock, with thy estimation, for a trespass-offering to the priest; and the priest shall make an atonement for him concerning his ignorance wherein he erred and knew it not, and it shall be forgiven him. ¹⁹It is a trespass-offering: he hath certainly trespassed against the LORD. ²⁰\6:1\And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ²¹\6:2\If a soul shall sin, and commit a trespass against the LORD, and lie to his neighbor, in that which was delivered him to keep, or in fellowship, or in a thing taken away by violence, or hath deceived his neighbor; ²²\6:3\Or hath found that which was lost, and lieth concerning it, and sweareth falsely; in any of all these that a man doeth, sinning therein: ²³\6:4\Then it shall be, because he hath sinned, and is guilty, that he shall restore that which he took by force, or the thing which he obtained by deceit, or that which was delivered him to keep, or the lost thing which he found, ²⁴\6:5\Or all that about which he hath sworn falsely; he shall even restore it in the principal, and shall add to it the fifth part more, and give it to him to whom it appertaineth, in the day of his trespass-offering. ²⁵\6:6\And he shall bring his trespass-offering to the LORD, a ram without blemish out of the flock, with thy estimation, for a trespass-offering, to the priest: ²⁶\6:7\And the priest shall make an atonement for him before the LORD: and it shall be forgiven him for any thing of all that he hath done in trespassing therein.

Chapter 6

¹\6:8\And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ²\6:9\Command Aaron and his sons, saying, This is the law of the burnt-offering: It is the burnt-offering, because of the burning upon the altar all night until the morning, and the fire of the altar shall be burning in it. ³\6:10\And the priest shall put on his linen garment, and his linen breeches shall he put upon his flesh, and take up the ashes which the fire hath consumed with the burnt-offering on the altar, and he shall put them beside the altar. ⁴\6:11\And he shall put off his garments, and put on other garments, and carry forth the ashes without the camp to a clean place. ⁵\6:12\And the fire upon the altar shall be burning on it; it shall not be extinguished: and the priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and lay the burnt-offering in order upon it; and he shall burn on it the fat of the peace-offerings. ⁶\6:13\The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out. ⁷\6:14\And this is the law of the meat-offering: the sons of Aaron shall offer it before the LORD, before the altar. ⁸\6:15\And he shall take of it his handful, of the flour of the meat-offering, and of the oil thereof, and all the frankincense which is upon the meat-offering, and shall burn it upon the altar for a sweet savor, even the memorial of it, to the LORD. ⁹\6:16\And the remainder of it shall Aaron and his sons eat: with unleavened bread shall it be eaten in the holy place; in the court of the tabernacle of the congregation they shall eat it. ¹⁰\6:17\It shall not be baked with leaven. I have given it to them for their portion of my offerings made by fire; It is most holy, as is the sin-offering, and as the trespass-offering. ¹¹\6:18\All the males among the children of Aaron shall eat of it. It shall be a statute for ever in your generations concerning the offerings of the LORD made by fire: every one that toucheth them shall be holy. ¹²\6:19\And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ¹³\6:20\This is the offering of Aaron and of his sons, which they shall offer to the LORD in the day when he is anointed; the tenth part of an ephah of fine flour for a meat-offering perpetual, half of it in the morning, and half of it at night. ¹⁴\6:21\In a pan it shall be made with oil; and when it is baked, thou shalt bring it in: and the baked pieces of the meat-offering shalt thou offer for a sweet savor to the LORD. ¹⁵\6:22\And the priest of his sons that is anointed in his stead shall offer it: it is a statute for ever to the LORD; it shall be wholly burnt. ¹⁶\6:23\For every meat-offering for the priest shall be wholly burnt: it shall not be eaten. ¹⁷\6:24\And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ¹⁸\6:25\Speak to Aaron and to his sons, saying, This is the law of the sin-offering: In the place where the burnt-offering is killed shall the sin-offering be killed before the LORD: it is most holy. ¹⁹\6:26\The priest that offereth it for sin shall eat it: in the holy place shall it be eaten, in the court of the tabernacle of the congregation. ²⁰\6:27\Whatever shall touch the flesh of it shall be holy: and when there is sprinkled of its blood upon any garment, thou shalt wash that on which it was sprinkled in the holy place. ²¹\6:28\But the earthen vessel in which it is boiled shall be broken: and if it shall be boiled in a brazen pot, it shall be both scoured, and rinsed in water. ²²\6:29\All the males among the priests shall eat of it: it is most holy. ²³\6:30\And no sin-offering, of which any of the blood is brought into the tabernacle of the congregation to make reconciliation in the holy place, shall be eaten: it shall be burnt in the fire.

Chapter 7

¹Likewise this is the law of the trespass-offering: it is most holy. ²In the place where they kill the burnt-offering shall they kill the trespass-offering: and the blood of it shall he sprinkle around upon the altar. ³And he shall offer of it all its fat; the rump, and the fat that covereth the inwards, ⁴And the two kidneys, and the fat that is on them, which is by the flanks, and the caul that is above the liver, with the kidneys, that shall he take away: ⁵And the priest shall burn them upon the altar for an offering made by fire to the LORD: it is a trespass-offering. ⁶Every male among the priests shall eat of it: it shall be eaten in the holy place: it is most holy. ⁷As the sin-offering is, so is the trespass-offering: there is one law for them: the priest that maketh atonement with it shall have it. ⁸And the priest that offereth any man's burnt-offering, even the priest shall have to himself the skin of the burnt-offering which he hath offered. ⁹And all the meat-offering that is baked in the oven, and all that is dressed in the frying-pan, and in the pan, shall be the priest's that offereth it. ¹⁰And every meat-offering mingled with oil, and dry, shall all the sons of Aaron have, one as much as another. ¹¹And this is the law of the sacrifice of peace-offerings, which he shall offer to the LORD. ¹²If he shall offer it for a thanksgiving, then he shall offer with the sacrifice of thanksgiving unleavened cakes mingled with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil, and cakes mingled with oil, of fine flour, fried. ¹³Besides the cakes, he shall offer for his offering, leavened bread, with the sacrifice of thanksgiving of his peace-offerings. ¹⁴And of it he shall offer one out of the whole oblation for a heave-offering to the LORD, and it shall be the priest's that sprinkleth the blood of the peace-offerings. ¹⁵And the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace-offerings for thanksgiving shall be eaten the same day that it is offered; he shall not leave any of it until the morning. ¹⁶But if the sacrifice of his offering shall be a vow or a voluntary offering, it shall be eaten the same day that he offereth his sacrifice: and on the morrow also the remainder of it shall be eaten: ¹⁷But the remainder of the flesh of the sacrifice on the third day shall be burnt with fire. ¹⁸And if any of the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace-offerings shall be eaten at all on the third day, it shall not be accepted, neither shall it be imputed to him that offereth it; it shall be an abomination, and the soul that eateth of it shall bear his iniquity. ¹⁹And the flesh that toucheth any unclean thing shall not be eaten; it shall be burnt with fire: and as for the flesh, all that shall be clean shall eat of it. ²⁰But the soul that eateth of the flesh of the sacrifice of peace-offerings that pertain to the LORD, having his uncleanness upon him, even that soul shall be cut off from his people. ²¹Moreover, the soul that shall touch any unclean thing, as the uncleanness of man, or any unclean beast, or any abominable unclean thing, and eat of the flesh of the sacrifice of peace-offerings which pertain to the LORD, even that soul shall be cut off from his people. ²²And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ²³Speak to the children of Israel, saying, Ye shall eat no manner of fat, of ox, or of sheep, or of goat. ²⁴And the fat of the beast that dieth of itself, and the fat of that which is torn with beasts, may be used for any other purpose; but ye shall in no wise eat of it. ²⁵For whoever eateth the fat of the beast, of which men offer an offering made by fire to the LORD, even the soul that eateth it shall be cut off from his people. ²⁶Moreover, ye shall eat no manner of blood, whether of fowl or of beast, in any of your dwellings. ²⁷Whatever soul it may be that eateth any manner of blood, even that soul shall be cut off from his people. ²⁸And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ²⁹Speak to the children of Israel, saying, He that offereth the sacrifice of his peace-offerings to the LORD, shall bring his oblation to the LORD of the sacrifice of his peace-offerings. ³⁰His own hands shall bring the offerings of the LORD made by fire, the fat with the breast, that shall he bring, that the breast may be waved for a wave-offering before the LORD. ³¹And the priest shall burn the fat upon the altar: but the breast shall be Aaron's and his sons'. ³²And the right shoulder shall ye give to the priest for a heave-offering of the sacrifices of your peace-offerings. ³³He among the sons' of Aaron that offereth the blood of the peace-offerings, and the fat, shall have the right shoulder for his part. ³⁴For the wave-breast and the heave-shoulder have I taken of the children of Israel from off the sacrifices of their peace-offerings, and have given them to Aaron the priest, and to his sons, by a statute for ever, from among the children of Israel. ³⁵This is the portion of the anointing of Aaron, and of the anointing of his sons, out of the offerings of the LORD made by fire, in the day when he presented them to minister to the LORD in the priest's office; ³⁶Which the LORD commanded to be given to them by the children of Israel, in the day that he anointed them, by a statute for ever throughout their generations. ³⁷This is the law of the burnt-offering, of the meat-offering, and of the sin-offering, and of the trespass-offering, and of the consecrations, and of the sacrifice of the Peace-offerings; ³⁸Which the LORD commanded Moses in mount Sinai, in the day that he commanded the children of Israel to offer their oblations to the LORD, in the wilderness of Sinai.

Chapter 8

¹And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ²Take Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments, and the anointing oil, and a bullock for the sin-offering, and two rams, and a basket of unleavened bread; ³And assemble thou all the congregation to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. ⁴And Moses did as the LORD commanded him; and the assembly was gathered to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. ⁵And Moses said to the congregation, This is the thing which the LORD commanded to be done. ⁶And Moses brought Aaron and his sons, and washed them with water. ⁷And he put upon him the coat, and girded him with the girdle, and clothed him with the robe, and put the ephod upon him, and he girded him with the curious girdle of the ephod, and bound it to him with it. ⁸And he put the breast-plate upon him: also he put in the breast-plate the Urim and the Thummim. ⁹And he put the miter upon his head; also upon the miter, even upon his front, did he put the golden plate, the holy crown; as the LORD commanded Moses. ¹⁰And Moses took the anointing oil, and anointed the tabernacle and all that was in it, and sanctified them. ¹¹And he sprinkled part of it upon the altar seven times, and anointed the altar and all its vessels, both the laver and its foot, to sanctify them. ¹²And he poured of the anointing oil upon Aaron's head, and anointed him, to sanctify him. ¹³And Moses brought Aaron's sons, and put coats upon them, and girded them with girdles, and put bonnets upon them; as the LORD commanded Moses. ¹⁴And he brought the bullock for the sin-offering: and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the bullock for the sin-offering. ¹⁵And he slew it; and Moses took the blood, and put it upon the horns of the altar round about with his finger, and purified the altar, and poured the blood at the bottom of the altar, and sanctified it, to make reconciliation upon it. ¹⁶And he took all the fat that was upon the inwards, and the caul above the liver, and the two kidneys, and their fat, and Moses burned it upon the altar. ¹⁷But the bullock, and his hide, his flesh, and his dung, he burnt with fire without the camp; as the LORD commanded Moses. ¹⁸And he brought the ram for the burnt-offering: and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the ram. ¹⁹And he killed it; and Moses sprinkled the blood upon the altar round about. ²⁰And he cut the ram into pieces; and Moses burnt the head, and the pieces, and the fat. ²¹And he washed the inwards and the legs in water; and Moses burnt the whole ram upon the altar: it was a burnt-sacrifice for a sweet savor, and an offering made by fire to the LORD; as the LORD commanded Moses. ²²And he brought the other ram, the ram of consecration: and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the ram. ²³And he slew it; and Moses took of its blood, and put it upon the tip of Aaron's right ear, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot. ²⁴And he brought Aaron's sons, and Moses put of the blood upon the tip of their right ear, and upon the thumbs of their right hands, and upon the great toes of their right feet: and Moses sprinkled the blood upon the altar round about. ²⁵And he took the fat, and the rump, and all the fat that was upon the inwards, and the caul above the liver, and the two kidneys, and their fat, and the right shoulder: ²⁶And out of the basket of unleavened bread, that was before the LORD, he took one unleavened cake, and a cake of oiled bread, and one wafer, and put them on the fat, and upon the right shoulder: ²⁷And he put all upon Aaron's hands, and upon his sons' hands, and waved them for a wave-offering before the LORD. ²⁸And Moses took them from off their hands, and burnt them on the altar upon the burnt-offering: they were consecrations for a sweet savor: it is an offering made by fire to the LORD. ²⁹And Moses took the breast, and waved it for a wave-offering before the LORD: for of the ram of consecration it was Moses's part; as the LORD commanded Moses. ³⁰And Moses took of the anointing oil, and of the blood which was upon the altar, and sprinkled it upon Aaron, and upon his garments, and upon his sons, and upon his sons' garments with him; and sanctified Aaron, and his garments, and his sons, and his sons' garments with him. ³¹And Moses said to Aaron and to his sons, Boil the flesh at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation; and there eat it with the bread that is in the basket of consecrations, as I commanded, saying, Aaron and his sons shall eat it. ³²And that which remaineth of the flesh and of the bread shall ye burn with fire. ³³And ye shall not go out of the door of the tabernacle of the congregation in seven days, until the days of your consecration shall be at an end: for seven days shall he consecrate you. ³⁴As he hath done this day, so the LORD hath commanded to do, to make an atonement for you. ³⁵Therefore shall ye abide at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation day and night seven days, and keep the charge of the LORD, that ye die not: for so I am commanded. ³⁶So Aaron and his sons did all things which the LORD commanded by the hand of Moses.

Chapter 9

¹And it came to pass on the eighth day, that Moses called Aaron and his sons, and the elders of Israel; ²And he said to Aaron, Take thee a young calf for a sin-offering, and a ram for a burnt-offering, without blemish, and offer them before the LORD. ³And to the children of Israel thou shalt speak, saying, Take ye a kid of the goats for a sin-offering; and a calf and a lamb, both of the first year, without blemish, for a burnt-offering; ⁴Also a bullock and a ram for peace-offerings, to sacrifice before the LORD; and a meat-offering mingled with oil: for to-day the LORD will appear to you. ⁵And they brought that which Moses commanded before the tabernacle of the congregation: and all the congregation drew near and stood before the LORD. ⁶And Moses said, This is the thing which the LORD commanded that ye should do: and the glory of the LORD shall appear to you. ⁷And Moses said to Aaron, Go to the altar, and offer thy sin-offering, and thy burnt-offering, and make an atonement for thyself, and for the people: and offer the offering of the people, and make an atonement for them; as the LORD commanded. ⁸Aaron therefore went to the altar, and slew the calf of the sin-offering, which was for himself. ⁹And the sons of Aaron brought the blood to him: and he dipped his finger in the blood, and put it upon the horns of the altar, and poured out the blood at the bottom of the altar: ¹⁰But the fat, and the kidneys, and the caul above the liver of the sin-offering, he burnt upon the altar; as the LORD commanded Moses. ¹¹And the flesh and the hide he burnt with fire without the camp. ¹²And he slew the burnt-offering; and Aaron's sons presented to him the blood, which he sprinkled around upon the altar. ¹³And they presented the burnt-offering to him, with the pieces of it, and the head: and he burnt them upon the altar. ¹⁴And he washed the inwards and the legs, and burnt them upon the burnt-offering on the altar. ¹⁵And he brought the people's offering, and took the goat, which was the sin-offering for the people, and slew it, and offered it for sin, as the first. ¹⁶And he brought the burnt-offering, and offered it according to the manner. ¹⁷And he brought the meat-offering, and took a handful of it, and burnt it upon the altar, beside the burnt-sacrifice of the morning. ¹⁸He slew also the bullock and the ram for a sacrifice of peace-offerings, which was for the people: and Aaron's sons presented to him the blood, which he sprinkled around upon the altar, ¹⁹And the fat of the bullock, and of the ram, the rump, and that which covereth the inwards, and the kidneys, and the caul above the liver: ²⁰And they put the fat upon the breasts, and he burnt the fat upon the altar: ²¹And the breasts and the right shoulder Aaron waved for a wave-offering before the LORD; as Moses commanded. ²²And Aaron lifted up his hand towards the people, and blessed them; and came down from offering the sin-offering, and the burnt-offering, and peace-offerings. ²³And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of the congregation, and came out, and blessed the people: and the glory of the LORD appeared to all the people. ²⁴And there came out a fire from before the LORD, and consumed upon the altar the burnt-offering and the fat: which, when all the people saw, they shouted, and fell on their faces.

Chapter 10

¹And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took each of them his censer, and put fire in it, and put incense on it, and offered strange fire before the LORD, which he commanded them not. ²And there went out fire from the LORD, and devoured them, and they died before the LORD. ³Then Moses said to Aaron, This is what the LORD spoke, saying, I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me, and before all the people I will be glorified. And Aaron held his peace. ⁴And Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel the uncle of Aaron, and said to them, Come near, carry your brethren from before the sanctuary out of the camp. ⁵So they went near, and carried them in their coats out of the camp; as Moses had said. ⁶And Moses said to Aaron, and to Eleazar and to Ithamar, his sons, Uncover not your heads, neither rend your clothes; lest ye die, and lest wrath come upon all the people: but let your brethren, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning which the LORD hath kindled. ⁷And ye shall not go out from the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: for the anointing oil of the LORD is upon you. And they did according to the word of Moses. ⁸And the LORD spoke to Aaron, saying, ⁹Do not drink wine nor strong drink, thou, nor thy sons with thee, when ye go into the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations: ¹⁰And that ye may make a difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean; ¹¹And that ye may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the LORD hath spoken to them by the hand of Moses. ¹²And Moses spoke to Aaron, and to Eleazar and to Ithamar, his sons that were left, Take the meat-offering that remaineth of the offerings of the LORD made by fire, and eat it without leaven beside the altar: for it is most holy: ¹³And ye shall eat it in the holy place, because it is thy due, and thy sons' due, of the sacrifices of the LORD made by fire: for so I am commanded. ¹⁴And the wave-breast and heave-shoulder shall ye eat in a clean place; thou, and thy sons, and thy daughters with thee: for they are thy due, and thy sons' due, which are given out of the sacrifices of peace-offerings of the children of Israel. ¹⁵The heave-shoulder and the wave-breast shall they bring, with the offerings made by fire of the fat, to wave it for a wave-offering before the LORD; and it shall be thine, and thy sons' with thee, by a statute for ever; as the LORD hath commanded. ¹⁶And Moses diligently sought the goat of the sin-offering, and behold, it was burnt: and he was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, the sons of Aaron who were left alive, saying, ¹⁷Why have ye not eaten the sin-offering in the holy place, seeing it is most holy, and God hath given it you to bear the iniquity of the congregation, to make atonement for them before the LORD? ¹⁸Behold, the blood of it was not brought within the holy place: ye should indeed have eaten it in the holy place, as I commanded. ¹⁹And Aaron said to Moses, Behold, this day have they offered their sin-offering, and their burnt-offering before the LORD; and such things have befallen me: and if I had eaten the sin-offering to day, would it have been accepted in the sight of the LORD? ²⁰And when Moses heard that, he was content.

Chapter 11

¹And the LORD spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying to them. ²Speak to the children of Israel, saying, These are the beasts which ye may eat among all the beasts that are on the earth. ³Whatever parteth the hoof, and is cloven-footed, and cheweth the cud among the beasts, that shall ye eat. ⁴Nevertheless, these shall ye not eat, of them that chew the cud, or of them that divide the hoof: the camel, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean to you. ⁵And the coney, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean to you. ⁶And the hare, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof: he is unclean to you. ⁷And the swine, though he divideth the hoof, and is cloven-footed, yet he cheweth not the cud; he is unclean to you. ⁸Of their flesh shall ye not eat, and their carcass shall ye not touch; they are unclean to you. ⁹These shall ye eat, of all that are in the waters: whatever hath fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, them shall ye eat. ¹⁰And all that have not fins nor scales in the seas, and in the rivers, of all that move in the waters, and of any living animal which is in the waters, they shall be an abomination to you: ¹¹They shall be even an abomination to you; ye shall not eat of their flesh, but ye shall have their carcasses in abomination. ¹²Whatever hath no fins nor scales in the waters, that shall be an abomination to you. ¹³And these are they which ye shall have in abomination among the fowls; they shall not be eaten, they are an abomination: the eagle, and the ossifrage, and the ospray, ¹⁴And the vultur, and the kite after his kind; ¹⁵Every raven after his kind; ¹⁶And the owl, and the night-hawk, and the cuckow, and the hawk after his kind, ¹⁷And the little owl, and the cormorant, and the great owl, ¹⁸And the swan, and the pelican, and the gier-eagle, ¹⁹And the stork, and the heron after her kind, and the lapwing, and the bat. ²⁰All fowls that creep, going upon all four, shall be an abomination to you. ²¹Yet these may ye eat, of every flying creeping animal that goeth upon all four, which have legs above their feet, to leap with upon the earth; ²²Even these of them ye may eat; the locust after its kind, and the bald locust after its kind, and the beetle after its kind, and the grasshopper after its kind. ²³But all other flying creeping animals, which have four feet, shall be an abomination to you. ²⁴And for these ye shall be unclean: whoever toucheth the carcass of them shall be unclean until the evening. ²⁵And whoever beareth aught of the carcass of them shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the evening. ²⁶The carcasses of every beast which divideth the hoof, and is not cloven-footed, nor cheweth the cud, are unclean to you: every one that toucheth them shall be unclean. ²⁷And whatever goeth upon its paws, among all manner of beasts that go on all four, those are unclean to you: whoever toucheth their carcass shall be unclean until the evening. ²⁸And he that beareth the carcass of them shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the evening: they are unclean to you. ²⁹These also shall be unclean to you among the creeping animals that creep upon the earth; the weasel, and the mouse, and the tortoise, after its kind, ³⁰And the ferret and the chameleon, and the lizard, and the snail, and the mole. ³¹These are unclean to you among all that creep: whoever doth touch them, when they are dead, shall be unclean until the evening. ³²And upon whatever any of them, when they are dead, doth fall, it shall be unclean; whether it is any vessel of wood, or raiment, or skin, or sack, whatever vessel it is, in which any work is done, it must be put into water, and it shall be unclean until the evening; so it shall be cleansed. ³³And every earthen vessel, into which any of them falleth, whatever is in it shall be unclean; and ye shall break it. ³⁴Of all meat which may be eaten, that on which such water cometh shall be unclean: and all drink that may be drank in every such vessel, shall be unclean. ³⁵And every thing on which any part of their carcass falleth, shall be unclean; whether an oven, or ranges for pots, they shall be broken down: for they are unclean, and shall be unclean to you. ³⁶Nevertheless, a fountain or pit, in which there is plenty of water, shall be clean: but that which toucheth their carcass shall be unclean. ³⁷And if any part of their carcass shall fall upon any sowing-seed which is to be sown, it shall be clean. ³⁸But if any water shall be put upon the seed, and any part of their carcass shall fall on it, it shall be unclean to you. ³⁹And if any beast, of which ye may eat, shall die; he that toucheth its carcass shall be unclean until the evening. ⁴⁰And he that eateth of its carcass shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the evening; he also that beareth its carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening. ⁴¹And every creeping animal that creepeth upon the earth shall be an abomination; it shall not be eaten. ⁴²Whatever goeth upon the belly, and whatever goeth upon all four, or whatever hath more feet among all creeping animals that creep upon the earth, them ye shall not eat; for they are an abomination. ⁴³Ye shall not make your selves abominable with any creeping animal that creepeth, neither shall ye make yourselves unclean with them, that ye should be defiled by them. ⁴⁴For I am the LORD your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy: neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of creeping animal that creepeth upon the earth. ⁴⁵For I am the LORD that bringeth you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy. ⁴⁶This is the law of the beasts, and of the fowl, and of every living creature that moveth in the waters, and of every creature that creepeth upon the earth; ⁴⁷To make a difference between the unclean and the clean, and between the beast that may be eaten and the beast that may not be eaten.

Chapter 12

¹And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ²Speak to the children of Israel, saying, If a woman hath conceived seed, and borne a male-child; then she shall be unclean seven days; according to the days of the separation for her infirmity shall she be unclean. ³And in the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. ⁴And she shall then continue in the blood of her purifying three and thirty days: she shall touch no hallowed thing, nor come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purifying be fulfilled. ⁵But if she shall bear a female-child, then she shall be unclean two weeks, as in her separation: and she shall continue in the blood of her purifying sixty six days. ⁶And when the days of her purifying are fulfilled, for a son, or for a daughter, she shall bring a lamb of the first year for a burnt-offering, and a young pigeon, or a turtle-dove, for a sin-offering, to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, to the priest; ⁷Who shall offer it before the LORD, and make an atonement for her; and she shall be cleansed from the issue of her blood. This is the law for her that hath borne a male or a female. ⁸And if she shall not be able to bring a lamb, then she shall bring two turtles, or two young pigeons; the one for the burnt-offering, and the other for a sin-offering: and the priest shall make an atonement for her, and she shall be clean.

Chapter 13

¹And the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, ²When a man shall have in the skin of his flesh a rising, a scab, or bright spot, and it be in the skin of his flesh like the plague of leprosy; then he shall be brought to Aaron the priest, or to one of his sons the priests: ³And the priest shall look on the plague in the skin of the flesh: and when the hair in the plague is turned white, and the plague in sight is deeper than the skin of his flesh, it is a plague of leprosy: and the priest shall look on him, and pronounce him unclean. ⁴If the bright spot is white in the skin of his flesh, and in sight, not deeper than the skin, and the hair of it not turned white; then the priest shall shut up him that hath the plague seven days: ⁵And the priest shall look on him the seventh day: and behold, if the plague in his sight is at a stay, and the plague spreadeth not in the skin; then the priest shall shut him up seven days more: ⁶And the priest shall look on him again the seventh day: and behold, if the plague is somewhat dark, and the plague spreadeth not in the skin, the priest shall pronounce him clean: it is but a scab: and he shall wash his clothes, and be clean. ⁷But if the scab shall spread much in the skin, after he hath been seen by the priest for his cleansing, he shall be seen by the priest again: ⁸And if the priest shall see, that behold, the scab spreadeth in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean: it is a leprosy. ⁹When the plague of leprosy is in a man, then he shall be brought to the priest: ¹⁰And the priest shall see him: and behold, if the rising is white in the skin, and it hath turned the hair white, and there is raw flesh in the rising; ¹¹It is an old leprosy in the skin of his flesh, and the priest shall pronounce him unclean, and shall not shut him up; for he is unclean. ¹²And if a leprosy shall break out in the skin, and the leprosy shall cover all the skin of him that hath the plague from his head even to his foot, wherever the priest looketh; ¹³Then the priest shall consider: and behold, if the leprosy hath covered all his flesh, he shall pronounce him clean that hath the plague: it is all turned white: he is clean. ¹⁴But when raw flesh appeareth in him, he shall be unclean. ¹⁵And the priest shall see the raw flesh, and pronounce him to be unclean: for the raw flesh is unclean: it is a leprosy. ¹⁶Or if the raw flesh shall turn again, and be changed into white, he shall come to the priest; ¹⁷And the priest shall see him: and behold, if the plague is turned into white: then the priest shall pronounce him clean that hath the plague: he is clean. ¹⁸The flesh also, in which, even in the skin of it, was a boil, and is healed, ¹⁹And in the place of the boil there shall be a white rising, or a bright spot, white, and somewhat reddish, and it be showed to the priest; ²⁰And if, when the priest seeth it, behold, it is in sight lower than the skin, and the hair of it is turned white; the priest shall pronounce him unclean: it is a plague of leprosy broken out of the boil. ²¹But if the priest shall look on it, and behold, there are no white hairs in it, and if it is not lower than the skin, but somewhat dark; then the priest shall shut him up seven days: ²²And if it hath spread much in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean: it is a plague. ²³But if the bright spot shall stay in its place, and not spread, it is a burning boil; and the priest shall pronounce him clean. ²⁴Or if there is any flesh, in the skin of which there is a hot burning, and the live flesh that burneth hath a white bright spot, somewhat reddish or white; ²⁵Then the priest shall look upon it: and behold, if the hair in the bright spot is turned white, and it is in sight deeper than the skin: it is a leprosy broken out of the burning: wherefore the priest shall pronounce him unclean: it is the plague of leprosy. ²⁶But if the priest shall look on it, and behold, there is no white hair in the bright spot, and it is no lower than the other skin, but is somewhat dark; then the priest shall shut him up seven days: ²⁷And the priest shall look upon him the seventh day: and if it is spread much in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean: it is the plague of leprosy, ²⁸And if the bright spot shall stay in its place, and not spread in the skin, but be somewhat dark; it is a rising of the burning, and the priest shall pronounce him clean: for it is an inflammation of the burning. ²⁹If a man or woman shall have a plague upon the head or the beard; ³⁰Then the priest shall see the plague: and behold, if it is in sight deeper than the skin, and there is in it a yellow thin hair; then the priest shall pronounce him unclean: it is a dry scall, even a leprosy upon the head or beard. ³¹And if the priest shall look on the plague of the scall, and behold, it is not in sight deeper than the skin, and no black hair in it; then the priest shall shut up him that hath the plague of the scall seven days: ³²And in the seventh day the priest shall look on the plague: and behold, if the scall spreadeth not, and there is in it no yellow hair, and the scall is not in sight deeper than the skin; ³³He shall be shaven, but the scall shall he not shave; and the priest shall shut up him that hath the scall seven days more: ³⁴And in the seventh day the priest shall look on the scall: and behold, if the scall is not spread in the skin, nor is in sight deeper than the skin; then the priest shall pronounce him clean: and he shall wash his clothes, and be clean. ³⁵But if the scall shall spread much in the skin after his cleansing; ³⁶Then the priest shall look on him: and behold, if the scall is spread in the skin, the priest shall not seek for yellow hair; he is unclean. ³⁷But if the scall shall be in his sight at a stay, and there is black hair grown in it; the scall is healed, he is clean: and the priest shall pronounce him clean. ³⁸If a man also or a woman shall have in the skin of their flesh bright spots, even white bright spots; ³⁹Then the priest shall look: and behold, if the bright spots in the skin of their flesh are darkish white; it is a freckled spot that groweth in the skin; he is clean. ⁴⁰And the man whose hair hath fallen off his head, he is bald; yet is he clean. ⁴¹And he that hath his hair fallen off from the part of his head towards his face, he is forehead-bald; yet is he clean. ⁴²And if there is in the bald head, or bald forehead, a white reddish sore; it is a leprosy sprung up on his bald head, or his bald forehead. ⁴³Then the priest shall look upon it: and behold, if the rising of the sore is white reddish on his bald head, or on his bald forehead, as the leprosy appeareth in the skin of the flesh; ⁴⁴He is a leprous man, he is unclean: the priest shall pronounce him utterly unclean; his plague is in his head. ⁴⁵And the leper in whom the plague is, his clothes shall be rent, and his head bare, and he shall put a covering upon his upper lip, and shall cry, Unclean, unclean. ⁴⁶All the days in which the plague shall be in him he shall be defiled; he is unclean: he shall dwell alone, without the camp shall his habitation be. ⁴⁷The garment also that the plague of leprosy is in, whether a woolen garment, or a linen garment; ⁴⁸Whether in the warp, or woof, of linen, or of woolen: whether in a skin, or in any thing made of skin: ⁴⁹And if the plague is greenish or reddish in the garment, or in the skin, either in the warp, or in the woof, or in any thing of skin: it is a plague of leprosy, and shall be shown to the priest: ⁵⁰And the priest shall look upon the plague, and shut up that which hath the plague seven days: ⁵¹And he shall look on the plague on the seventh day: if the plague is spread in the garment, either in the warp, or in the woof, or in a skin, or in any work that is made of skin: the plague is a fretting leprosy; it is unclean. ⁵²He shall therefore burn that garment, whether warp or woof, in woolen or in linen, or any thing of skin, in which the plague is: for it is a fretting leprosy; it shall be burnt in the fire. ⁵³And if the priest shall look, and behold, the plague is not spread in the garment, either in the warp or in the woof, or in any thing of skin; ⁵⁴Then the priest shall command that they wash the thing in which the plague is, and he shall shut it up seven days more: ⁵⁵And the priest shall look on the plague after it is washed: and behold, if the plague hath not changed its color, and the plague hath not spread; it is unclean; thou shalt burn it in the fire; it is fret inward, whether it is bare within or without. ⁵⁶And if the priest shall look, and behold, the plague is somewhat dark after the washing of it; then he shall rend it out of the garment, or out of the skin, or out of the warp, or out of the woof: ⁵⁷And if it shall appear still in the garment, either in the warp, or in the woof, or in any thing of skin; it is a spreading plague: thou shalt burn that in which the plague is, with fire. ⁵⁸And the garment, either warp, or woof, or whatever thing of skin it is, which thou shalt wash, if the plague hath departed from them, then it shall be washed the second time, and shall be clean. ⁵⁹This is the law of the plague of leprosy in a garment of woolen or linen, either in the warp or woof, or any thing of skins, to pronounce it clean, or to pronounce it unclean.

Chapter 14

¹And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ²This shall be the law of the leper in the day of his cleansing: He shall be brought to the priest: ³And the priest shall go forth out of the camp: and the priest shall look, and behold, if the plague of leprosy is healed in the leper; ⁴Then shall the priest command to take for him that is to be cleansed two birds alive, and clean, and cedar-wood, and scarlet, and hyssop. ⁵And the priest shall command that one of the birds be killed in an earthen vessel, over running water. ⁶As for the living bird, he shall take it, and the cedar-wood, and the scarlet, and the hyssop, and shall dip them, and the living bird, in the blood of the bird that was killed over the running water. ⁷And he shall sprinkle upon him that is to be cleansed from the leprosy seven times, and shall pronounce him clean, and shall let the living bird loose into the open field. ⁸And he that is to be cleansed shall wash his clothes, and shave off all his hair, and wash himself in water, that he may be clean: and after that he shall come into the camp, and shall tarry abroad out of his tent seven days. ⁹But it shall be on the seventh day, that he shall shave all his hair off his head, and his beard, and his eye-brows, even all his hair he shall shave off; and he shall wash his clothes, also he shall wash his flesh in water, and he shall be clean. ¹⁰And on the eighth day he shall take two he-lambs without blemish, and one ewe-lamb of the first year without blemish, and three tenth-parts of fine flour for a meat-offering, mingled with oil, and one log of oil. ¹¹And the priest that maketh him clean, shall present the man that is to be made clean, and those things, before the LORD, at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. ¹²And the priest shall take one he-lamb, and offer him for a trespass-offering, and the log of oil, and wave them for a wave-offering before the LORD. ¹³And he shall slay the lamb in the place where he shall kill the sin-offering and the burnt-offering, in the holy-place: for as the sin-offering is the priest's, so is the trespass-offering: it is most holy. ¹⁴And the priest shall take some of the blood of the trespass-offering, and the priest shall put it upon the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot. ¹⁵And the priest shall take some of the log of oil, and pour it into the palm of his own left hand: ¹⁶And the priest shall dip his right finger in the oil that is in his left hand, and shall sprinkle of the oil with his finger seven times before the LORD. ¹⁷And of the rest of the oil that is in his hand, shall the priest put upon the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot, upon the blood of the trespass-offering. ¹⁸And the remnant of the oil that is in the priest's hand he shall pour upon the head of him that is to be cleansed: and the priest shall make an atonement for him before the LORD. ¹⁹And the priest shall offer the sin-offering, and make an atonement for him that is to be cleansed from his uncleanness; and afterward he shall kill the burnt-offering. ²⁰And the priest shall offer the burnt-offering, and the meat-offering upon the altar: and the priest shall make an atonement for him, and he shall be clean. ²¹And if he is poor, and cannot get so much; then he shall take one lamb for a trespass-offering to be waved, to make an atonement for him, and one tenth-part of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat-offering, and a log of oil; ²²And two turtle-doves, or two young pigeons, such as he is able to get; and the one shall be a sin-offering, and the other a burnt-offering. ²³And he shall bring them on the eighth day for his cleansing to the priest, to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, before the LORD. ²⁴And the priest shall take the lamb of the trespass-offering, and the log of oil, and the priest shall wave them for a wave-offering before the LORD. ²⁵And he shall kill the lamb of the trespass-offering, and the priest shall take some of the blood of the trespass-offering, and put it upon the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot. ²⁶And the priest shall pour of the oil into the palm of his own left hand. ²⁷And the priest shall sprinkle with his right finger some of the oil that is in his left hand seven times before the LORD: ²⁸And the priest shall put of the oil that is in his hand upon the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot, upon the place of the blood of the trespass-offering. ²⁹And the rest of the oil that is in the priest's hand he shall put upon the head of him that is to be cleansed, to make an atonement for him before the LORD. ³⁰And he shall offer one of the turtle-doves, or of the young pigeons, such as he can get; ³¹Even such as he is able to get, the one for a sin-offering, and the other for a burnt-offering, with the meat-offering. And the priest shall make an atonement for him that is to be cleansed, before the LORD. ³²This is the law of him in whom is the plague of leprosy, whose hand is not able to get that which pertaineth to his cleansing. ³³And the LORD spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, ³⁴When ye shall have come into the land of Canaan, which I give to you for a possession, and I put the plague of leprosy in a house of the land of your possession; ³⁵And he that owneth the house shall come and tell the priest, saying, it seemeth to me there is as it were a plague in the house: ³⁶Then the priest shall command that they empty the house, before the priest shall enter to see the plague, that all that is in the house may not be made unclean; and afterward the priest shall go in to see the house: ³⁷And he shall look on the plague, and behold, if the plague is in the walls of the house, with hollow streaks, greenish, or reddish, which in sight are lower than the wall; ³⁸Then the priest shall go out of the house to the door of the house, and shut up the house seven days: ³⁹And the priest shall come again the seventh day, and shall look; and behold, if the plague is spread in the walls of the house; ⁴⁰Then the priest shall command that they take away the stones in which the plague is, and they shall cast them into an unclean place without the city: ⁴¹And he shall cause the house to be scraped within on all sides, and they shall pour out the dust that they scrape off without the city into an unclean place: ⁴²And they shall take other stones, and put them in the place of those stones; and he shall take other mortar, and shall plaster the house. ⁴³And if the plague shall return, and break out in the house, after that he hath taken away the stones, and after he hath scraped the house, and after it is plastered; ⁴⁴Then the priest shall come and look; and behold, if the plague is spread in the house, it is a fretting leprosy in the house: it is unclean. ⁴⁵And he shall break down the house, its stones, and its timber, and all the mortar of the house: and he shall carry them forth out of the city to an unclean place. ⁴⁶Moreover, he that goeth into the house all the while that it is shut up, shall be unclean until the evening. ⁴⁷And he that lieth in the house shall wash his clothes: and he that eateth in the house shall wash his clothes. ⁴⁸And if the priest shall come in, and look upon it, and behold, the plague hath not spread in the house, after the house was plastered: then the priest shall pronounce the house clean, because the plague is healed. ⁴⁹And he shall take to cleanse the house two birds, and cedar-wood, and scarlet, and hyssop: ⁵⁰And he shall kill one of the birds in an earthen vessel, over running water: ⁵¹And he shall take the cedar-wood, and the hyssop, and the scarlet, and the living bird, and dip them in the blood of the slain bird, and in the running water, and sprinkle the house seven times: ⁵²And he shall cleanse the house with the blood of the bird, and with the running water, and with the living bird, and with the cedar wood, and with the hyssop, and with the scarlet: ⁵³But he shall let go the living bird out of the city into the open fields, and make an atonement for the house: and it shall be clean. ⁵⁴This is the law for all manner of plague of leprosy, and scall, ⁵⁵And for the leprosy of a garment, and of a house, ⁵⁶And for a rising, and for a scab, and for a bright spot: ⁵⁷To teach when it is unclean, and when it is clean: this is the law of leprosy.

Chapter 15

¹And the LORD spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, ²Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, When any man hath a running issue out of his flesh, because of his issue he is unclean. ³And this shall be his uncleanness in his issue: whether his flesh shall run with his issue, or his flesh be stopped from his issue, it is his uncleanness. ⁴Every bed on which he lieth that hath the issue, is unclean: and every thing on which he sitteth, shall be unclean. ⁵And whoever toucheth his bed, shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the evening. ⁶And he that sitteth on any thing on which he sat that hath the issue, shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the evening. ⁷And he that toucheth the flesh of him that hath the issue, shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the evening. ⁸And if he that hath the issue shall spit upon him that is clean; then he shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the evening. ⁹And whatever saddle he rideth upon that hath the issue, shall be unclean. ¹⁰And whoever toucheth any thing that was under him shall be unclean until the evening; and he that beareth any of those things, shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the evening. ¹¹And whomsoever he toucheth that hath the issue (and hath not rinsed his hands in water) he shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the evening. ¹²And the vessel of earth that he toucheth who hath the issue, shall be broken: and every vessel of wood shall be rinsed in water. ¹³And when he that hath an issue is cleansed of his issue; then he shall number to himself seven days for his cleansing, and wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in running water, and shall be clean. ¹⁴And on the eighth day he shall take to him two turtle-doves, or two young pigeons, and come before the LORD to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and give them to the priest: ¹⁵And the priest shall offer them, the one for a sin-offering, and the other for a burnt-offering; and the priest shall make an atonement for him before the LORD for his issue. ¹⁶And if any man's seed of copulation shall go from him, then he shall wash all his flesh in water, and be unclean until the evening. ¹⁷And every garment, and every skin on which is the seed of copulation, shall be washed with water, and be unclean until the evening. ¹⁸The woman also with whom man shall lie with seed of copulation, they shall both bathe themselves in water, and be unclean until the evening. ¹⁹And if a woman shall have an issue, and her issue in her flesh be blood, she shall be put apart seven days: and whoever toucheth her shall be unclean until the evening. ²⁰And every thing that she lieth upon in her separation shall be unclean: every thing also that she sitteth upon shall be unclean. ²¹And whoever toucheth her bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the evening. ²²And whoever toucheth any thing that she sat upon shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the evening. ²³And if it be on her bed, or on any thing on which she sitteth, when he toucheth it, he shall be unclean until the evening. ²⁴And if any man shall lie with her at all, and her flowers be upon him, he shall be unclean seven days: and all the bed on which he lieth shall be unclean. ²⁵And if a woman shall have an issue of her blood many days out of the time of her separation, or if it shall run beyond the time of her separation; all the days of the issue of her uncleanness shall be as the days of her separation: she shall be unclean. ²⁶Every bed on which she lieth all the days of her issue shall be to her as the bed of her separation: and whatever she sitteth upon shall be unclean as the uncleanness of her separation. ²⁷And whoever toucheth those things shall be unclean, and shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the evening. ²⁸But if she shall be cleansed of her issue, then she shall number to herself seven days, and after that she shall be clean. ²⁹And on the eighth day she shall take to her two turtles, or two young pigeons, and bring them to the priest, to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. ³⁰And the priest shall offer the one for a sin-offering, and the other for a burnt-offering; and the priest shall make an atonement for her before the LORD for the issue of her uncleanness. ³¹Thus shall ye separate the children of Israel from their uncleanness: that they die not in their uncleanness, when they defile my tabernacle that is among them. ³²This is the law of him that hath an issue, and of him whose seed goeth from him, and he is defiled therewith. ³³And of her that is sick of her flowers, and of him that hath an issue, of the man and of the woman, and of him that lieth with her that is unclean.

Chapter 16

¹And the LORD spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they offered before the LORD, and died: ²And the LORD said to Moses, Speak to Aaron thy brother, that he come not at all times into the holy place within the vail, before the mercy-seat, which is upon the ark; that he may not die: for I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy-seat. ³Thus shall Aaron come into the holy place: with a young bullock for a sin-offering, and a ram for a burnt-offering. ⁴He shall put on the holy linen coat, and he shall have the linen breeches upon his flesh, and shall be girded with the linen girdle, and with the linen miter shall he be attired: these are holy garments; therefore shall he wash his flesh in water, and so put them on. ⁵And he shall take of the congregation of the children of Israel two kids of the goats for a sin-offering, and one ram for a burnt-offering. ⁶And Aaron shall offer his bullock of the sin-offering, which is for himself, and make an atonement for himself, and for his house. ⁷And he shall take the two goats, and present them before the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. ⁸And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the LORD, and the other lot for the scape-goat. ⁹And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the LORD'S lot fell, and offer him for a sin-offering. ¹⁰But the goat on which the lot fell to be the scape-goat, shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make an atonement with him, and to let him go for a scape-goat into the wilderness. ¹¹And Aaron shall bring the bullock of the sin-offering, which is for himself, and shall make an atonement for himself, and for his house, and shall kill the bullock of the sin-offering which is for himself: ¹²And he shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire from off the altar before the LORD, and his hands full of sweet incense beaten small, and bring it within the vail: ¹³And he shall put the incense upon the fire before the LORD, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy-seat that is upon the testimony, that he may not die. ¹⁴And he shall take of the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it with his finger upon the mercy-seat eastward: and before the mercy-seat shall he sprinkle of the blood with his finger seven times. ¹⁵Then shall he kill the goat of the sin-offering that is for the people, and bring his blood within the vail, and do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the mercy-seat, and before the mercy-seat: ¹⁶And he shall make an atonement for the holy place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions in all their sins: and so shall he do for the tabernacle of the congregation that remaineth among them in the midst of their uncleanness. ¹⁷And there shall be no man in the tabernacle of the congregation when he goeth in to make an atonement in the holy place, until he shall come out, and shall have made an atonement for himself, and for his household, and for all the congregation of Israel. ¹⁸And he shall go out to the altar that is before the LORD, and make an atonement for it; and shall take of the blood of the bullock, and of the blood of the goat, and put it upon the horns of the altar round about. ¹⁹And he shall sprinkle of the blood upon it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it, and hallow it from the uncleanness of the children of Israel. ²⁰And when he hath made an end of reconciling the holy place, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar, he shall bring the live goat: ²¹And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness: ²²And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities to a land not inhabited: and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness. ²³And Aaron shall come into the tabernacle of the congregation, and shall put off the linen garments which he put on when he went into the holy place, and shall leave them there: ²⁴And he shall wash his flesh with water in the holy place, and put on his garments, and come forth, and offer his burnt-offering, and the burnt-offering of the people, and make an atonement for himself, and for the people. ²⁵And the fat of the sin-offering shall he burn upon the altar. ²⁶And he that let go the goat for the scape-goat shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward come into the camp. ²⁷And the bullock for the sin-offering, and the goat for the sin-offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the holy place, shall one carry forth without the camp; and they shall burn in the fire their skins, and their flesh, and their dung. ²⁸And he that burneth them shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp. ²⁹And this shall be a statute for ever to you: that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, ye shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger that sojourneth among you: ³⁰For on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before the LORD. ³¹It shall be a sabbath of rest to you, and ye shall afflict your souls by a statute for ever. ³²And the priest whom he shall anoint, and whom he shall consecrate to minister in the priest's office in his father's stead, shall make the atonement, and shall put on the linen clothes, even the holy garments: ³³And he shall make an atonement for the holy sanctuary, and he shall make an atonement for the tabernacle of the congregation, and for the altar: and he shall make an atonement for the priests, and for all the people of the congregation. ³⁴And this shall be an everlasting statute to you, to make an atonement for the children of Israel for all their sins once a year. And he did as the LORD commanded Moses.

Chapter 17

¹And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ²Speak to Aaron, and to his sons, and to all the children of Israel, and say to them, This is the thing which the LORD hath commanded, saying, ³Whatever man there may be of the house of Israel, that killeth an ox, or lamb, or goat in the camp, or that killeth it out of the camp, ⁴And bringeth it not to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, to offer an offering to the LORD before the tabernacle of the LORD; blood shall be imputed to that man; he hath shed blood; and that man shall be cut off from among his people: ⁵To the end that the children of Israel may bring their sacrifices which they offer in the open field, even that they may bring them to the LORD, to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, to the priest, and offer them for peace-offerings to the LORD. ⁶And the priest shall sprinkle the blood upon the altar of the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and burn the fat for a sweet savor to the LORD. ⁷And they shall no more offer their sacrifices to idols, with which they have committed idolatry: This shall be a statute for ever to them throughout their generations. ⁸And thou shalt say to them, Whatever man there may be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers which sojourn among you, that offereth a burnt-offering or sacrifice, ⁹And bringeth it not to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, to offer it to the LORD; even that man shall be cut off from among his people. ¹⁰And whatever man there may be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, that eateth any manner of blood; I will even set my face against that soul that eateth blood, and will cut him off from among his people. ¹¹For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar, to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul. ¹²Therefore I said to the children of Israel, No soul of you shall eat blood, neither shall any stranger that sojourneth among you eat blood. ¹³And whatever man there may be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, who hunteth and catcheth any beast or fowl that may be eaten; he shall even pour out its blood, and cover it with dust. ¹⁴For it is the life of all flesh, the blood of it is for the life of it; therefore I said to the children of Israel, Ye shall eat the blood of no manner of flesh: for the life of all flesh is its blood: whoever eateth it shall be cut off. ¹⁵And every soul that eateth that which died of itself, or that which was torn with beasts, (whether it is one of your own country, or a stranger) he shall both wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the evening; then shall he be clean. ¹⁶But if he doth not wash them, nor bathe his flesh; then he shall bear his iniquity.

Chapter 18

¹And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ²Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, I am the LORD your God. ³After the doings of the land of Egypt in which ye dwelt, shall ye not do: and after the doings of the land of Canaan whither I bring you, shall ye not do: neither shall ye walk in their ordinances. ⁴Ye shall perform my judgments, and keep my ordinances, to walk in them; I am the LORD your God. ⁵Ye shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgments: which if a man doeth, he shall live in them: I am the LORD. ⁶None of you shall approach to any that is near of kin to him, to uncover their nakedness: I am the LORD. ⁷The nakedness of thy father, or the nakedness of thy mother, shalt thou not uncover: she is thy mother, thou shalt not uncover her nakedness. ⁸The nakedness of thy father's wife shalt thou not uncover: it is thy father's nakedness. ⁹The nakedness of thy sister, the daughter of thy father, or daughter of thy mother, whether born at home, or born abroad, even their nakedness thou shalt not uncover. ¹⁰The nakedness of thy son's daughter, or of thy daughter's daughter, even their nakedness thou shalt not uncover: for theirs is thy own nakedness. ¹¹The nakedness of thy father's wife's daughter, begotten by thy father, (she is thy sister) thou shalt not uncover her nakedness. ¹²Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father's sister: she is thy father's near kinswoman. ¹³Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy mother's sister: for she is thy mother's near kinswoman. ¹⁴Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father's brother, thou shalt not approach to his wife: she is thy aunt. ¹⁵Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy daughter-in-law: she is thy son's wife, thou shalt not uncover her nakedness. ¹⁶Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy brother's wife: it is thy brother's nakedness. ¹⁷Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of a woman and her daughter, neither shalt thou take her son's daughter, or her daughter's daughter, to uncover her nakedness; for they are her near kinswomen: it is wickedness. ¹⁸Neither shalt thou take a wife to her sister, to vex her, to uncover her nakedness besides the other in her life-time. ¹⁹Also thou shalt not approach to a woman to uncover her nakedness, as long as she is put apart for her uncleanness. ²⁰Moreover, thou shalt not lie carnally with thy neighbor's wife, to defile thyself with her. ²¹And thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass through the fire to Molech, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD. ²²Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination. ²³Neither shalt thou lie with any beast to defile thyself therewith: neither shall any woman stand before a beast to lie down thereto: it is confusion. ²⁴Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things; for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out before you: ²⁵And the land is defiled: therefore I do visit its iniquity upon it, and the land itself vomiteth out her inhabitants. ²⁶Ye shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations; neither any of your own nation, nor any stranger that sojourneth among you. ²⁷(For all these abominations have the men of the land done, who were before you, and the land is defiled;) ²⁸That the land may not vomit you out also, when ye defile it, as it vomited out the nations that were before you. ²⁹For whoever shall commit any of these abominations, even the souls that commit them shall be cut off from among their people. ³⁰Therefore shall ye keep my ordinance, that ye commit not any one of these abominable customs, which were committed before you, and that ye defile not yourselves in them; I am the LORD your God.

Chapter 19

¹And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ²Speak to all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say to them, Ye shall be holy: for I the LORD your God am holy. ³Ye shall fear every man his mother and his father, and keep my sabbaths: I am the LORD your God. ⁴Turn ye not to idols, nor make to yourselves molten gods: I am the LORD your God. ⁵And if ye offer a sacrifice of peace-offerings to the LORD, ye shall offer it at your own will. ⁶It shall be eaten the same day ye offer it, and on the morrow: and if aught shall remain until the third day, it shall be burnt in the fire. ⁷And if it shall be eaten at all on the third day, it is abominable; it shall not be accepted. ⁸Therefore every one that eateth it shall bear his iniquity, because he hath profaned the hallowed thing of the LORD; and that soul shall be cut off from among his people. ⁹And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleanings of thy harvest. ¹⁰And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather every grape of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and stranger: I am the LORD your God. ¹¹Ye shall not steal, neither deal falsely, neither lie one to another. ¹²And ye shall not swear by my name falsely, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD. ¹³Thou shalt not defraud thy neighbor, neither rob him: the wages of him that is hired shall not abide with thee all night until the morning. ¹⁴Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumbling-block before the blind, but shalt fear thy God: I am the LORD. ¹⁵Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment; thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty: but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbor. ¹⁶Thou shalt not go up and down as a tale-bearer among thy people; neither shalt thou stand against the blood of thy neighbor; I am the LORD. ¹⁷Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thy heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbor, and not suffer sin upon him. ¹⁸Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself; I am the LORD. ¹⁹Ye shall keep my statutes. Thou shalt not let thy cattle engender with a diverse kind: Thou shalt not sow thy field with mingled seed: neither shall a garment mingled of linen and woolen come upon thee. ²⁰And whoever lieth carnally with a woman that is a bond-maid betrothed to a husband, and not at all redeemed, nor freedom given her; she shall be scourged: they shall not be put to death, because she was not free. ²¹And he shall bring his trespass-offering to the LORD, to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, even a ram for a trespass-offering. ²²And the priest shall make an atonement for him with the ram of the trespass-offering before the LORD for his sin which he hath done; and the sin which he hath done shall be forgiven him. ²³And when ye shall come into the land, and shall have planted all manner of trees for food; then ye shall count its fruit as uncircumcised: three years shall it be as uncircumcised to you: it shall not be eaten of. ²⁴But in the fourth year all its fruit shall be holy to praise the LORD with. ²⁵And in the fifth year shall ye eat of its fruit, that it may yield to you its increase: I am the LORD your God. ²⁶Ye shall not eat any thing with the blood: neither shall ye use enchantment, nor observe times. ²⁷Ye shall not round the corners of your heads, neither shalt thou mar the corners of thy beard. ²⁸Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the LORD. ²⁹Do not prostitute thy daughter to cause her to be a harlot: lest the land should fall to lewdness, and the land become full of wickedness. ³⁰Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary: I am the LORD. ³¹Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God. ³²Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honor the face of the old man, and fear thy God: I am the LORD. ³³And if a stranger shall sojourn with thee in your land, ye shall not oppress him. ³⁴But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be to you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God. ³⁵Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment, in weight, in measure of length or of capacity. ³⁶Just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin shall ye have: I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt. ³⁷Therefore shall ye observe all my statutes, and all my judgments, and do them: I am the LORD.

Chapter 20

¹And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ²Again thou shalt say to the children of Israel, Whoever he be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn in Israel, that giveth any of his seed to Molech, he shall surely be put to death: the people of the land shall stone him with stones. ³And I will set my face against that man, and will cut him off from among his people; because he hath given of his seed to Molech, to defile my sanctuary, and to profane my holy name. ⁴And if the people of the land do any ways hide their eyes from the man, when he giveth of his seed to Molech, and kill him not; ⁵Then I will set my face against that man, and against his family, and will cut him off, and all that go astray after him, to commit lewdness with Molech from among their people. ⁶And the soul that turneth after such as have familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go astray after them, I will even set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people. ⁷Sanctify yourselves therefore and be ye holy: for I am the LORD your God. ⁸And ye shall keep my statutes, and do them: I am the LORD who sanctify you. ⁹For every one that curseth his father or his mother, shall surely be put to death: he hath cursed his father or his mother; his blood shall be upon him. ¹⁰And the man that committeth adultery with another man's wife, even he that committeth adultery with his neighbor's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death. ¹¹And the man that lieth with his father's wife hath uncovered his father's nakedness; both of them shall surely be put to death: their blood shall be upon them. ¹²And if a man shall lie with his daughter-in-law, both of them shall surely be put to death: they have wrought confusion; their blood shall be upon them. ¹³If a man also shall lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them. ¹⁴And if a man shall take a wife and her mother, it is wickedness: they shall be burnt with fire, both he and they: that there be no wickedness among you. ¹⁵And if a man shall lie with a beast, he shall surely be put to death: and ye shall slay the beast. ¹⁶And if a woman shall approach to any beast, and lie down thereto, thou shalt kill the woman and the beast; they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them. ¹⁷And if a man shall take his sister, his father's daughter, or his mother's daughter, and see her nakedness, and she see his nakedness; it is a wicked thing; and they shall be cut off in the sight of their people: he hath uncovered his sister's nakedness; he shall bear his iniquity. ¹⁸And if a man shall lie with a woman having her sickness, and shall uncover her nakedness; he hath discovered her fountain, and she hath uncovered the fountain of her blood: and both of them shall be cut off from among their people. ¹⁹And thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy mother's sister, nor of thy father's sister: for he uncovereth his near kin: they shall bear their iniquity. ²⁰And if a man shall lie with his uncle's wife, he hath uncovered his uncle's nakedness: they shall bear their sin; they shall die childless. ²¹And if a man shall take his brother's wife, it is an unclean thing: he hath uncovered his brother's nakedness; they shall be childless. ²²Ye shall therefore keep all my statutes, and all my judgments, and do them: that the land whither I bring you to dwell therein, may not vomit you out. ²³And ye shall not walk in the manners of the nations which I cast out before you: for they committed all these things, and therefore I abhorred them. ²⁴But I have said to you, Ye shall inherit their land, and I will give it to you to possess it, a land that floweth with milk and honey: I am the LORD your God, who have separated you from other people. ²⁵Ye shall therefore distinguish between clean beasts and unclean, and between unclean fowls and clean: and ye shall not make your souls abominable by beast or by fowl, or by any manner of living animal that creepeth on the ground, which I have separated from you as unclean. ²⁶And ye shall be holy to me: for I the LORD am holy, and have severed you from other people, that ye should be mine. ²⁷A man also or a woman that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death: they shall stone them with stones: their blood shall be upon them.

Chapter 21

¹And the LORD said to Moses, Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them, There shall none be defiled for the dead among his people: ²But for his kin, that is near to him, that is, for his mother, and for his father, and for his son, and for his daughter, and for his brother, ³And for his sister a virgin, that is nigh to him, who hath had no husband: for her he may be defiled. ⁴But he shall not defile himself, being a chief man among his people, to profane himself. ⁵They shall not make baldness upon their head, neither shall they shave off the corner of their beard, nor make any cuttings in their flesh. ⁶They shall be holy to their God, and not profane the name of their God: for the offerings of the LORD made by fire, and the bread of their God they do offer: therefore they shall be holy. ⁷They shall not take a wife that is a lewd woman, or profane; neither shall they take a woman put away from her husband: for he is holy to his God. ⁸Thou shalt sanctify him therefore, for he offereth the bread of thy God: he shall be holy to thee: for I the LORD, who sanctify you, am holy. ⁹And the daughter of any priest, if she shall profane herself by lewdness, she profaneth her father: she shall be burnt with fire. ¹⁰And he that is the high priest among his brethren, upon whose head the anointing oil was poured, and that is consecrated to put on the garments, shall not uncover his head, nor rend his clothes; ¹¹Neither shall he go in to any dead body, nor defile himself for his father, or for his mother; ¹²Neither shall he go out of the sanctuary, nor profane the sanctuary of his God; for the crown of the anointing oil of his God is upon him: I am the LORD. ¹³And he shall take a wife in her virginity. ¹⁴A widow, or a divorced woman, or profane, or a harlot, these shall he not take: but he shall take a virgin of his own people for a wife. ¹⁵Neither shall he profane his seed among his people: for I the LORD do sanctify him. ¹⁶And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ¹⁷Speak to Aaron, saying, whoever he may be of thy seed in their generations that hath any blemish, let him not approach to offer the bread of his God: ¹⁸For whatever man he may be that hath a blemish, he shall not approach: a blind man, or a lame, or he that hath a flat nose, or any thing superfluous, ¹⁹Or a man that is broken-footed, or broken-handed, ²⁰Or crooked-backed, or a dwarf, or that hath a blemish in his eye, or be scurvy, or scabbed, or hath his peculiar members broken: ²¹No man of the seed of Aaron the priest, that hath a blemish, shall come nigh to offer the offerings of the LORD made by fire; he hath a blemish, he shall not come nigh to offer the bread of his God. ²²He shall eat the bread of his God, both of the most holy, and of the holy. ²³Only he shall not go in to the vail, nor come nigh to the altar, because he hath a blemish; that he may not profane my sanctuaries: for I the LORD do sanctify them. ²⁴And Moses told it to Aaron, and to his sons, and to all the children of Israel.

Chapter 22

¹And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ²Speak to Aaron and to his sons, that they separate themselves from the holy things of the children of Israel, and that they profane not my holy name in those things which they hallow to me: I am the LORD. ³Say to them, Whoever he may be of all your seed among your generations, that approacheth the holy things, which the children of Israel hallow to the LORD, having his uncleanness upon him, that soul shall be cut off from my presence: I am the LORD. ⁴Whatever man of the seed of Aaron is a leper, or hath a running issue; he shall not eat of the holy things, until he is clean. And whoever toucheth any thing that is unclean by the dead, or a man whose seed goeth from him; ⁵Or whoever toucheth any creeping animal, by which he may be made unclean, or a man of whom he may take uncleanness, whatever uncleanness he hath: ⁶The soul which hath touched any such shall be unclean until evening, and shall not eat of the holy things, unless he shall wash his flesh with water. ⁷And when the sun is set, he shall be clean, and shall afterward eat of the holy things, because it is his food. ⁸That which dieth of itself, or is torn by beasts, he shall not eat to defile himself with it: I am the LORD. ⁹They shall therefore keep my ordinance, lest they bear sin for it, and die therefore, if they profane it: I the LORD do sanctify them. ¹⁰There shall no stranger eat of the holy thing: a sojourner of the priest, or a hired servant, shall not eat of the holy thing. ¹¹But if the priest shall buy any soul with his money, he shall eat of it, and he that is born in his house: they shall eat of his meat. ¹²If the priest's daughter also shall be married to a stranger, she may not eat of an offering of the holy things. ¹³But if the priest's daughter shall be a widow, or divorced, and shall have no child, and have returned to her father's house, as in her youth, she shall eat of her father's meat; but there shall no stranger eat of it. ¹⁴And if a man shall eat of the holy thing unknowingly, then he shall put to it the fifth part, and shall give it to the priest, with the holy thing. ¹⁵And they shall not profane the holy things of the children of Israel which they offer to the LORD; ¹⁶Or suffer them to bear the iniquity of trespass, when they eat their holy things: for I the LORD do sanctify them. ¹⁷And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ¹⁸Speak to Aaron, and to his sons, and to all the children of Israel, and say to them, Whoever he may be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers in Israel, that will offer his oblation for all his vows, and for all his free-will-offerings, which they will offer to the LORD for a burnt-offering: ¹⁹Ye shall offer at your own will a male without blemish of the beeves, of the sheep, or of the goats. ²⁰But whatever hath a blemish, that shall ye not offer: for it shall not be acceptable for you. ²¹And whoever offereth a sacrifice of peace-offerings to the LORD to accomplish his vow, or a free-will-offering in beeves, or sheep, it shall be perfect to be accepted: there shall be in it no blemish. ²²Blind, or broken, or maimed, or having a wen, or scurvy, or scabbed, ye shall not offer these to the LORD, nor make an offering by fire of them upon the altar to the LORD. ²³Either a bullock, or a lamb that hath any thing superfluous or lacking in his parts, that mayest thou offer for a free-will-offering; but for a vow it shall not be accepted. ²⁴Ye shall not offer to the LORD that which is bruised, or crushed, or broken, or cut; neither shall ye make any offering thereof in your land. ²⁵Neither from a stranger's hand shall ye offer the bread of your God of any of these; because their corruption is in them, and blemishes are in them: they shall not be accepted for you. ²⁶And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ²⁷When a bullock, or a sheep, or a goat is brought forth, then it shall be seven days under the dam; and from the eighth day and thenceforth it shall be accepted for an offering made by fire to the LORD. ²⁸And whether it is cow, or ewe, ye shall not kill it and her young both in one day. ²⁹And when ye will offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving to the LORD, offer it at your own will. ³⁰On the same day it shall be eaten up, ye shall leave none of it until the morrow: I am the LORD. ³¹Therefore shall ye keep my commandments, and do them: I am the LORD. ³²Neither shall ye profane my holy name; but I will be hallowed among the children of Israel: I am the LORD who hallow you, ³³That brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I am the LORD.

Chapter 23

¹And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ²Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, Concerning the feasts of the LORD, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are my feasts. ³Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the sabbath of rest, a holy convocation: ye shall do no work in it: it is the sabbath of the LORD in all your dwellings. ⁴These are the feasts of the LORD, holy convocations, which ye shall proclaim in their seasons. ⁵In the fourteenth day of the first month at evening is the LORD'S passover. ⁶And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread to the LORD, seven days ye must eat unleavened bread. ⁷In the first day ye shall have a holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work in it. ⁸But ye shall offer an offering made by fire to the LORD seven days: in the seventh day is a holy convocation, ye shall do no servile work in it. ⁹And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ¹⁰Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, When ye shall have come into the land which I give to you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the first-fruits of your harvest to the priest: ¹¹And he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, to be accepted for you: on the morrow after the sabbath the priest shall wave it. ¹²And ye shall offer, that day when ye wave the sheaf, a he-lamb without blemish of the first year for a burnt-offering to the LORD. ¹³And the meat-offering thereof shall be two tenth-parts of fine flour mingled with oil, an offering made by fire to the LORD for a sweet savor: and the drink-offering thereof shall be of wine, the fourth part of a hin. ¹⁴And ye shall eat neither bread, nor parched corn, nor green ears, until the same day that ye have brought an offering to your God: It shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. ¹⁵And ye shall count to you from the morrow after the sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave-offering; seven sabbaths shall be complete: ¹⁶Even to the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat-offering to the LORD. ¹⁷Ye shall bring out of your habitations two wave-loaves of two tenth-parts: they shall be of fine flour, they shall be baked with leaven, they are the first-fruits to the LORD. ¹⁸And ye shall offer with the bread seven lambs without blemish of the first year, and one young bullock, and two rams: they shall be for a burnt-offering to the LORD, with their meat-offering, and their drink offerings, even an offering made by fire of a sweet savor to the LORD. ¹⁹Then ye shall sacrifice one kid of the goats for a sin-offering, and two lambs of the first year for a sacrifice of peace-offerings. ²⁰And the priest shall wave them with the bread of the first-fruits for a wave-offering before the LORD, with the two lambs: they shall be holy to the LORD for the priest. ²¹And ye shall proclaim on the same day, that it may be a holy convocation to you: ye shall do no servile work in it. it shall be a statute for ever in all your dwellings throughout your generations. ²²And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not make clean riddance of the corners of thy field when thou reapest, neither shalt thou gather any gleaning of thy harvest: thou shalt leave them to the poor, and to the stranger: I am the LORD your God. ²³And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ²⁴Speak to the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation. ²⁵Ye shall do no servile work in it; but ye shall offer an offering made by fire to the LORD. ²⁶And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ²⁷Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement; it shall be a holy convocation to you, and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire to the LORD. ²⁸And ye shall do no work in that same day; for it is a day of atonement, to make an atonement for you before the LORD your God. ²⁹For whatever soul it may be that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from among his people. ³⁰And whatever soul it may be that doeth any work in that same day, the same soul will I destroy from among his people. ³¹Ye shall do no manner of work. It shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. ³²It shall be to you a sabbath of rest, and ye shall afflict your souls in the ninth day of the month at evening: from evening to evening shall ye celebrate your sabbath. ³³And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ³⁴Speak to the children of Israel, saying, The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of tabernacles for seven days to the LORD. ³⁵On the first day shall be a holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work in it. ³⁶Seven days ye shall offer an offering made by fire to the LORD: on the eighth day shall be a holy convocation to you, and ye shall offer an offering made by fire to the LORD: it is a solemn assembly; and ye shall do no servile work in it. ³⁷These are the feasts of the LORD, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to offer an offering made by fire to the LORD, a burnt-offering, and a meat-offering, a sacrifice, and drink-offerings, every thing upon its day: ³⁸Beside the sabbaths of the LORD, and beside your gifts, and beside all your vows, and beside all your free-will-offerings, which ye give to the LORD. ³⁹Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast to the LORD seven days: on the first day shall be a sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a sabbath. ⁴⁰And ye shall take you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm-trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and ye shall rejoice before the LORD your God seven days. ⁴¹And ye shall keep it a feast to the LORD seven days in the year. It shall be a statute for ever in your generations; ye shall celebrate it in the seventh month. ⁴²Ye shall dwell in booths seven days: all that are Israelites born shall dwell in booths: ⁴³That your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God. ⁴⁴And Moses declared to the children of Israel the feasts of the LORD.

Chapter 24

¹And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ²Command the children of Israel, that they bring to thee pure olive oil beaten for the light, to cause the lamps to burn continually. ³Without the vail of the testimony, in the tabernacle of the congregation, shall Aaron order it from the evening to the morning before the LORD continually: It shall be a statute for ever in your generations. ⁴Ye shall order the lamps upon the pure candlestick before the LORD continually. ⁵And thou shalt take fine flour, and bake twelve cakes of it: two tenth-parts shall be in one cake. ⁶And thou shalt set them in two rows, six in a row, upon the pure table before the LORD. ⁷And thou shalt put pure frankincense upon each row, that it may be on the bread for a memorial, even an offering made by fire to the LORD. ⁸Every sabbath he shall set it in order before the LORD continually, being taken from the children of Israel by an everlasting covenant. ⁹And it shall be Aaron's and his sons'; and they shall eat it in the holy place: for it is most holy to him of the offerings of the LORD made by fire by a perpetual statute. ¹⁰And the son of an Israelitish woman whose father was an Egyptian, went out among the children of Israel; and this son of the Israelitish woman and a man of Israel strove together in the camp; ¹¹And the Israelitish woman's son blasphemed the name of the LORD, and cursed: and they brought him to Moses: (and his mother's name was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan:) ¹²And they put him in custody, that the mind of the LORD might be shown to them. ¹³And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ¹⁴Bring forth him that hath cursed without the camp; and let all that heard him lay their hands upon his head, and let all the congregation stone him. ¹⁵And thou shalt speak to the children of Israel, saying, Whoever curseth his God shall bear his sin. ¹⁶And he that blasphemeth the name of the LORD, he shall surely be put to death, and all the congregation shall certainly stone him: as well the stranger, as he that is born in the land, when he blasphemeth the name of the LORD, shall be put to death. ¹⁷And he that killeth any man shall surely be put to death. ¹⁸And he that killeth a beast shall make it good; beast for beast. ¹⁹And if a man shall cause a blemish in his neighbor; as he hath done, so shall it be done to him; ²⁰Breach for breach, eye for eye, tooth for tooth: as he hath caused a blemish in a man, so shall it be done to him. ²¹And he that killeth a beast, he shall restore it: and he that killeth a man, he shall be put to death. ²²Ye shall have one manner of law, as well for the stranger, as for one of your own country: for I am the LORD your God. ²³And Moses spoke to the children of Israel, that they should bring forth him that had cursed out of the camp, and stone him with stones: and the children of Israel did as the LORD commanded Moses.

Chapter 25

¹And the LORD spoke to Moses in mount Sinai, saying, ²Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, When ye come into the land which I give you, then shall the land keep a sabbath to the LORD. ³Six years thou shalt sow thy field, and six years thou shalt prune thy vineyard, and gather in the fruit thereof; ⁴But in the seventh year shall be a sabbath of rest to the land, a sabbath for the LORD: thou shalt neither sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard. ⁵That which groweth of its own accord of thy harvest, thou shalt not reap, neither gather the grapes of thy vine undressed: for it is a year of rest to the land. ⁶And the sabbath of the land shall be food for you; for thee, and for thy servant, and for thy maid, and for thy hired servant, and for thy stranger that sojourneth with thee, ⁷And for thy cattle, and for the beast that are in thy land, shall all the increase of it be food. ⁸And thou shalt number seven sabbaths of years to thee, seven times seven years; and the space of the seven sabbaths of years shall be to thee forty and nine years. ⁹Then shalt thou cause the trumpet of the jubilee to sound, on the tenth day of the seventh month, in the day of atonement shall ye make the trumpet sound throughout all your land. ¹⁰And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land to all its inhabitants: it shall be a jubilee to you; and ye shall return every man to his possession, and ye shall return every man to his family. ¹¹A jubilee shall that fiftieth year be to you: ye shall not sow, neither reap that which groweth of itself in it, nor gather the grapes in it of thy vine undressed. ¹²For it is the jubilee; it shall be holy to you: ye shall eat the increase of it out of the field. ¹³In the year of this jubilee ye shall return every man to his possession. ¹⁴And if thou shalt sell aught to thy neighbor, or buy aught of thy neighbor's hand, ye shall not oppress one another: ¹⁵According to the number of years after the jubilee thou shalt buy of thy neighbor, and according to the number of years of the fruits he shall sell to thee: ¹⁶According to the multitude of years thou shalt increase the price of it, and according to the fewness of years thou shalt diminish the price of it: for according to the number of the years of the fruits doth he sell to thee. ¹⁷Ye shall not therefore oppress one another; but thou shalt fear thy God: for I am the LORD your God. ¹⁸Wherefore ye shall do my statutes, and keep my judgments, and do them; and ye shall dwell in the land in safety. ¹⁹And the land shall yield her fruit, and ye shall eat your fill, and dwell in it in safety. ²⁰And if ye shall say, What shall we eat the seventh year? behold, we shall not sow nor gather in our increase: ²¹Then I will command my blessing upon you in the sixth year, and it shall bring forth fruit for three years. ²²And ye shall sow the eighth year, and eat of old fruit until the ninth year; until its fruits come in ye shall eat of the old store. ²³The land shall not be sold for ever; for the land is mine, for ye are strangers and sojourners with me. ²⁴And in all the land of your possession ye shall grant a redemption for the land. ²⁵If thy brother shall have become poor, and have sold some of his possession, and if any of his kin shall come to redeem it, then shall he redeem that which his brother sold. ²⁶And if the man shall have none to redeem it, and himself be able to redeem it; ²⁷Then let him count the years of the sale of it, and restore the overplus to the man to whom he sold it; that he may return to his possession. ²⁸But if he shall not be able to restore it to him, then that which is sold shall remain in the hand of him that hath bought it until the year of jubilee: and in the jubilee it shall go out, and he shall return to his possession. ²⁹And if a man shall sell a dwelling-house in a walled city, then he may redeem it within a whole year after it is sold: within a full year may he redeem it. ³⁰And if it shall not be redeemed within the space of a full year, then the house that is in the walled city shall be established for ever to him that bought it, throughout his generations: it shall not go out in the jubilee, ³¹But the houses of the villages which have no walls around them, shall be counted as the fields of the country: they may be redeemed, and they shall go out in the jubilee. ³²Notwithstanding the cities of the Levites, and the houses of the cities of their possession, may the Levites redeem at any time. ³³And if a man shall purchase of the Levites, then the house that was sold, and the city of his possession shall go out in the year of jubilee; for the houses of the cities of the Levites are their possession among the children of Israel. ³⁴But the field of the suburbs of their cities may not be sold, for it is their perpetual possession. ³⁵And if thy brother shall have become poor, and fallen in decay with thee; then thou shalt relieve him: yea, though he may be a stranger, or a sojourner; that he may live with thee. ³⁶Take thou no interest of him, or increase; but fear thy God; that thy brother may live with thee. ³⁷Thou shalt not give him thy money upon interest, nor lend him thy victuals for increase. ³⁸I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan, and to be your God. ³⁹And if thy brother that dwelleth by thee shall have become poor, and be sold to thee; thou shalt not compel him to serve as a bond servant: ⁴⁰But as a hired servant, and as a sojourner he shall be with thee, and shall serve thee to the year of jubilee. ⁴¹And then shall he depart from thee, both he and his children with him, and shall return to his own family, and to the possession of his fathers shall he return. ⁴²For they are my servants, which I brought out of the land of Egypt; they shall not be sold as bond-men. ⁴³Thou shalt not rule over him with rigor, but shalt fear thy God. ⁴⁴Both thy bond-men, and thy bond-maids, which thou shalt have, shall be of the heathen that are around you; of them shall ye buy bond-men and bond-maids. ⁴⁵Moreover of the children of the strangers that sojourn among you, of them shall ye buy, and of their families that are with you, which they begat in your land: and they shall be your possession. ⁴⁶And ye shall take them as an inheritance for your children after you, to inherit them for a possession, they shall be your bond-men for ever: but over your brethren the children of Israel, ye shall not rule one over another with rigor. ⁴⁷And if a sojourner or a stranger shall become rich by thee, and thy brother that dwelleth by him shall become poor, and sell himself to the stranger or sojourner by thee, or to the stock of the stranger's family: ⁴⁸After that he is sold he may be redeemed again; one of his brethren may redeem him: ⁴⁹Either his uncle, or his uncle's son may redeem him, or any that is nigh of kin to him of his family, may redeem him; or if he is able, he may redeem himself. ⁵⁰And he shall reckon with him that bought him, from the year that he was sold to him, to the year of jubilee: and the price of his sale shall be according to the number of years, according to the time of a hired servant shall it be with him. ⁵¹If there shall be yet many years behind, according to them he shall give again the price of his redemption out of the money that he was bought for. ⁵²And if there shall remain but few years to the year of jubilee, then he shall count with him, and according to his years shall he give him again the price of his redemption. ⁵³And as a yearly hired servant shall he be with him: and the other shall not rule with rigor over him in thy sight. ⁵⁴And if he shall not be redeemed in these years, then he shall go out in the year of jubilee, both he, and his children with him. ⁵⁵For to me the children of Israel are servants, they are my servants whom I brought out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.

Chapter 26

¹Ye shall make you no idols nor graven image, neither rear you up a standing image, neither shall ye set up any image of stone in your land, to bow down to it: for I am the LORD your God. ²Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary: I am the LORD. ³If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them; ⁴Then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit: ⁵And your threshing shall reach to the vintage, and the vintage shall reach to the sowing time; and ye shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely. ⁶And I will give peace in the land, and ye shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid: and I will rid the land of evil beasts, neither shall the sword go through your land. ⁷And ye shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword. ⁸And five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight: and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword. ⁹For I will have respect to you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, and establish my covenant with you. ¹⁰And ye shall eat old store, and bring forth the old because of the new. ¹¹And I will set my tabernacle among you: and my soul shall not abhor you. ¹²And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and ye shall be my people. ¹³I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that ye should not be their bond-men, and I have broken the bands of your yoke, and made you go upright. ¹⁴But if ye will not hearken to me, and will not do all these commandments; ¹⁵And if ye shall despise my statutes, or if your soul shall abhor my judgments, so that ye will not do all my commandments, but that ye break my covenant: ¹⁶I also will do this to you, I will even appoint over you terror, consumption, and the burning ague, that shall consume the eyes, and cause sorrow of heart: and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it. ¹⁷And I will set my face against you, and ye shall be slain before your enemies: they that hate you shall reign over you, and ye shall flee when none pursueth you. ¹⁸And if ye will not yet for all this hearken to me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins. ¹⁹And I will break the pride of your power; and I will make your heaven as iron, and your earth as brass: ²⁰And your strength shall be spent in vain: for your land shall not yield her increase, neither shall the trees of the land yield their fruits. ²¹And if ye shall walk contrary to me, and will not hearken to me, I will bring seven times more plagues upon you according to your sins. ²²I will also send wild beasts among you, which shall rob you of your children, and destroy your cattle, and make you few in number, and your high-ways shall be desolate. ²³And if ye will not be reformed by me by these things, but will walk contrary to me; ²⁴Then will I also walk contrary to you, and I will punish you yet seven times for your sins. ²⁵And I will bring a sword upon you, that shall avenge the quarrel of my covenant: and when ye are gathered within your cities, I will send the pestilence among you: and ye shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy. ²⁶And when I have broke the staff of your bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall deliver you your bread again by weight: and ye shall eat, and not be satisfied. ²⁷And if ye will not for all this hearken to me, but walk contrary to me; ²⁸Then I will walk contrary to you also in fury; and I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your sins. ²⁹And ye shall eat the flesh of your sons, and the flesh of your daughters shall ye eat. ³⁰And I will destroy your high places, and cut down your images, and cast your carcasses upon the carcasses of your idols, and my soul shall abhor you. ³¹And I will make your cities waste, and bring your sanctuaries to desolation, and I will not smell the savor of your sweet odors. ³²And I will bring the land into desolation: and your enemies who dwell in it shall be astonished at it. ³³And I will scatter you among the heathen, and will draw out a sword after you: and your land shall be desolate, and your cities waste. ³⁴Then shall the land enjoy its sabbaths, as long as it lieth desolate, and ye are in your enemies' land; even then shall the land rest, and enjoy its sabbaths. ³⁵As long as it lieth desolate, it shall rest; because it did not rest in your sabbaths, when ye dwelt upon it. ³⁶And upon them that are left alive of you, I will send a faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies; and the sound of a shaken leaf shall chase them; and they shall flee, as fleeing from a sword; and they shall fall, when none pursueth. ³⁷And they shall fall one upon another, as it were before a sword, when none pursueth: and ye shall have no power to stand before your enemies. ³⁸And ye shall perish among the heathen, and the land of your enemies shall eat you up. ³⁹And they that are left of you shall pine away in their iniquity in your enemies' lands; and also in the iniquities of their fathers shall they pine away with them. ⁴⁰If they shall confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers, with their trespass which they trespassed against me, and that also they have walked contrary to me; ⁴¹And that I also have walked contrary to them, and have brought them into the land of their enemies; if then their uncircumcised hearts shall be humbled, and they then accept of the punishment of their iniquity: ⁴²Then will I remember my covenant with Jacob, and also my covenant with Isaac, and also my covenant with Abraham will I remember; and I will remember the land. ⁴³The land also shall be left by them, and shall enjoy her sabbaths, while she lieth desolate without them: and they shall accept of the punishment of their iniquity; because, even because they despised my judgments, and because their soul abhorred my statutes. ⁴⁴And yet for all that, when they shall be in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break my covenant with them; for I am the LORD their God. ⁴⁵But I will for their sakes remember the covenant of their ancestors, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the heathen, that I might be their God: I am the LORD. ⁴⁶These are the statutes, and judgments, and laws, which the LORD made between him and the children of Israel in mount Sinai by the hand of Moses.

Chapter 27

¹And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ²Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, When a man shall make a singular vow, the persons shall be for the LORD, by thy estimation. ³And thy estimation shall be, of the male from twenty years old even to sixty years old, even thy estimation shall be fifty shekels of silver, after the shekel of the sanctuary. ⁴And if it shall be a female, then thy estimation shall be thirty shekels. ⁵And if it shall be from five years old even to twenty years old, then thy estimation shall be of the male twenty shekels, and for the female ten shekels. ⁶And if it shall be from a month old even to five years old, then thy estimation shall be of the male five shekels of silver, and for the female thy estimation shall be three shekels of silver. ⁷And if it shall be from sixty years old and above; if a male, then thy estimation shall be fifteen shekels, and for the female ten shekels. ⁸But if he shall be poorer than thy estimation, then he shall present himself before the priest, and the priest shall value him: according to his ability that vowed shall the priest value him. ⁹And if it shall be a beast of which men bring an offering to the LORD, all that any man giveth of such to the LORD shall be holy. ¹⁰He shall not alter it, nor change it, a good for a bad, or a bad for a good: and if he shall at all change beast for beast, then it and the exchange of it shall be holy. ¹¹And if it shall be any unclean beast, of which they do not offer a sacrifice to the LORD, then he shall present the beast before the priest: ¹²And the priest shall value it, whether it be good or bad: as thou valuest it, who art the priest, so shall it be. ¹³But if he will at all redeem it, then he shall add a fifth part of it to thy estimation. ¹⁴And when a man shall sanctify his house to be holy to the LORD, then the priest shall estimate it, whether it is good or bad: as the priest shall estimate it, so shall it stand. ¹⁵And if he that sanctified it will redeem his house, then he shall add the fifth part of the money of thy estimation to it, and it shall be his. ¹⁶And if a man shall sanctify to the LORD some part of a field of his possession, then thy estimation shall be according to the seed of it: a homer of barley seed shall be valued at fifty shekels of silver. ¹⁷If he shall sanctify his field from the year of jubilee, according to thy estimation it shall stand. ¹⁸But if he shall sanctify his field after the jubilee, then the priest shall reckon to him the money according to the years that remain, even to the year of the jubilee, and it shall be abated from thy estimation. ¹⁹And if he that sanctified the field will in any wise redeem it, then he shall add the fifth part of the money of thy estimation to it, and it shall be assured to him. ²⁰And if he will not redeem the field, or if he shall have sold the field to another man, it shall not be redeemed any more. ²¹But the field, when it goeth out in the jubilee, shall be holy to the LORD, as a field devoted: the possession of it shall be the priest's. ²²And if a man shall sanctify to the LORD a field which he hath bought, which is not of the fields of his possession; ²³Then the priest shall reckon to him the worth of thy estimation, even to the year of the jubilee, and he shall give thy estimation in that day, as a holy thing to the LORD. ²⁴In the year of the jubilee, the field shall return to him of whom it was bought, even to him to whom the possession of the land belonged. ²⁵And all thy estimations shall be according to the shekel of the sanctuary: twenty gerahs shall be the shekel. ²⁶Only the firstling of the beasts, which should be the LORD'S firstling, no man shall sanctify it; whether ox, or sheep: it is the LORD'S. ²⁷And if it shall be of an unclean beast, then he shall redeem it, according to thy estimation, and shall add to it a fifth part of it: or if it shall be not redeemed, then it shall be sold according to thy estimation. ²⁸Notwithstanding, no devoted thing that a man shall devote to the LORD of all that he hath, both of man and beast, and of the field of his possession, shall be sold or redeemed: every devoted thing is most holy to the LORD. ²⁹None devoted, which shall be devoted by men, shall be redeemed: but shall surely be put to death. ³⁰And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD'S: it is holy to the LORD. ³¹And if a man will at all redeem aught of his tithes, he shall add to it the fifth part of it. ³²And concerning the tithe of the herd, or of the flock, even of whatever passeth under the rod, the tenth shall be holy to the LORD. ³³He shall not search whether it is good or bad, neither shall he change it: and if he shall change it at all, then both it and the change of it shall be holy; it shall not be redeemed. ³⁴These are the commandments which the LORD commanded Moses for the children of Israel in mount Sinai.

Numbers

Chapter 1

¹And the LORD spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the tabernacle of the congregation, on the first day of the second month, in the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying, ²Take ye the sum of all the congregation of the children of Israel, after their families by the house of their fathers, with the number of their names, every male by their poll: ³From twenty years old and upward, all that are able to go forth to war in Israel; thou and Aaron shall number them by their armies. ⁴And with you there shall be a man of every tribe; every one head of the house of his fathers. ⁵And these are the names of the men that shall stand with you: Of the tribe of Reuben; Elizur the son of Shedeur. ⁶Of Simeon; Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai. ⁷Of Judah; Nahshon the son of Amminadab. ⁸Of Issachar; Nethaneel the son of Zuar. ⁹Of Zebulun; Eliab the son of Helon. ¹⁰Of the children of Joseph: of Ephraim; Elishama the son of Ammihud; of Manasseh; Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur. ¹¹Of Benjamin; Abidan the son of Gideoni. ¹²Of Dan; Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai. ¹³Of Asher; Pagiel the son of Ocran. ¹⁴Of Gad; Eliasaph the son of Deuel. ¹⁵Of Naphtali; Ahira the son of Enan. ¹⁶These were the renowned of the congregation, princes of the tribes of their fathers, heads of thousands in Israel. ¹⁷And Moses and Aaron took these men who are expressed by their names: ¹⁸And they assembled all the congregation on the first day of the second month, and they declared their pedigrees after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, by their polls. ¹⁹As the LORD commanded Moses, so he numbered them in the wilderness of Sinai. ²⁰And the children of Reuben, Israel's eldest son, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, by their polls, every male from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war; ²¹Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Reuben, were forty and six thousand and five hundred. ²²Of the children of Simeon, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, those that were numbered of them according to the number of the names, by their polls, every male from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war; ²³Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Simeon, were fifty and nine thousand and three hundred. ²⁴Of the children of Gad, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war; ²⁵Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Gad, were forty and five thousand six hundred and fifty. ²⁶Of the children of Judah, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war; ²⁷Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Judah, were seventy and four thousand and six hundred. ²⁸Of the children of Issachar, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war; ²⁹Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Issachar, were fifty and four thousand and four hundred. ³⁰Of the children of Zebulun, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war; ³¹Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Zebulun, were fifty and seven thousand and four hundred. ³²Of the children of Joseph, namely, of the children of Ephraim, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war; ³³Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Ephraim, were forty thousand and five hundred. ³⁴Of the children of Manasseh, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war; ³⁵Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Manasseh, were thirty and two thousand and two hundred. ³⁶Of the children of Benjamin, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war; ³⁷Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Benjamin, were thirty and five thousand and four hundred. ³⁸Of the children of Dan, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war; ³⁹Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Dan, were sixty and two thousand and seven hundred. ⁴⁰Of the children of Asher, by their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war; ⁴¹Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Asher, were forty and one thousand and five hundred. ⁴²Of the children of Naphtali, throughout their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war; ⁴³Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Naphtali, were fifty and three thousand and four hundred. ⁴⁴These are those that were numbered, which Moses and Aaron numbered, and the princes of Israel, being twelve men: each one was for the house of his fathers. ⁴⁵So were all those that were numbered of the children of Israel, by the house of their fathers, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war in Israel; ⁴⁶Even all they that were numbered, were six hundred thousand and three thousand and five hundred and fifty. ⁴⁷But the Levites, after the tribe of their fathers, were not numbered among them. ⁴⁸For the LORD had spoken to Moses, saying, ⁴⁹Only thou shalt not number the tribe of Levi, neither take the sum of them among the children of Israel: ⁵⁰But thou shalt appoint the Levites over the tabernacle of testimony, and over all its vessels, and over all things that belong to it: they shall bear the tabernacle, and all its vessels, and they shall minister to it, and shall encamp around the tabernacle. ⁵¹And when the tabernacle moveth forward, the Levites shall take it down; and when the tabernacle is to be pitched, the Levites shall set it up: and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death. ⁵²And the children of Israel shall pitch their tents every man by his own camp, and every man by his own standard, throughout their hosts. ⁵³But the Levites shall pitch around the tabernacle of testimony; that there may be no wrath upon the congregation of the children of Israel: and the Levites shall keep the charge of the tabernacle of testimony. ⁵⁴And the children of Israel did according to all that the LORD commanded Moses, so did they.

Chapter 2

¹And the LORD spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, ²Every man of the children of Israel shall pitch by his own standard, with the ensign of their father's house: far off about the tabernacle of the congregation shall they pitch. ³And on the east side towards the rising of the sun shall they of the standard of the camp of Judah pitch throughout their armies: and Nahshon the son of Amminadab shall be captain of the children of Judah. ⁴And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were seventy and four thousand and six hundred. ⁵And those that shall pitch next to him, shall be the tribe of Issachar: and Nethaneel the son of Zuar shall be captain of the children of Issachar. ⁶And his host, and those that were numbered of it, were fifty and four thousand and four hundred. ⁷Then the tribe of Zebulun: and Eliab the son of Helon shall be captain of the children of Zebulun. ⁸And his host, and those that were numbered of it, were fifty and seven thousand and four hundred. ⁹All that were numbered in the camp of Judah were a hundred thousand and eighty thousand and six thousand and four hundred throughout their armies: these shall first move forward. ¹⁰On the south side shall be the standard of the camp of Reuben according to their armies: and the captain of the children of Reuben shall be Elizur the son of Shedeur. ¹¹And his host, and those that were numbered of it were forty and six thousand and five hundred. ¹²And those who pitch by him shall be the tribe of Simeon: and the captain of the children of Simeon shall be Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai. ¹³And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were fifty and nine thousand and three hundred. ¹⁴Then the tribe of Gad: and the captain of the sons of Gad shall be Eliasaph the son of Reuel. ¹⁵And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were forty and five thousand and six hundred and fifty. ¹⁶All that were numbered in the camp of Reuben were a hundred thousand and fifty and one thousand and four hundred and fifty, throughout their armies: and they shall move forward in the second rank. ¹⁷Then the tabernacle of the congregation shall move forward with the camp of the Levites, in the midst of the camp: as they encamp, so shall they move forward, every man in his place by their standards. ¹⁸On the west side shall be the standard of the camp of Ephraim, according to their armies: and the captain of the sons of Ephraim shall be Elishama the son of Ammihud. ¹⁹And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were forty thousand and five hundred. ²⁰And by him shall be the tribe of Manasseh: and the captain of the children of Manasseh shall be Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur. ²¹And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were thirty and two thousand and two hundred. ²²Then the tribe of Benjamin: and the captain of the sons of Benjamin shall be Abidan the son of Gideoni. ²³And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were thirty and five thousand and four hundred. ²⁴All that were numbered of the camp of Ephraim, were a hundred thousand and eight thousand and a hundred, throughout their armies: and they shall go forward in the third rank. ²⁵The standard of the camp of Dan shall be on the north side by their armies: and the captain of the children of Dan shall be Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai. ²⁶And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were sixty and two thousand and seven hundred. ²⁷And those that encamp by him shall be the tribe of Asher: and the captain of the children of Asher shall be Pagiel the son of Ocran. ²⁸And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were forty and one thousand and five hundred. ²⁹Then the tribe of Naphtali: and the captain of the children of Naphtali shall be Ahira the son of Enan. ³⁰And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were fifty and three thousand and four hundred. ³¹All they that were numbered in the camp of Dan were a hundred thousand and fifty and seven thousand and six hundred: they shall go hindmost with their standards. ³²These are those who were numbered of the children of Israel by the house of their fathers. All those that were numbered of the camps throughout their hosts, were six hundred thousand and three thousand and five hundred and fifty. ³³But the Levites were not numbered among the children of Israel; as the LORD commanded Moses. ³⁴And the children of Israel did according to all that the LORD commanded Moses: so they pitched by their standards, and so they moved forward, every one after their families, according to the house of their fathers.

Chapter 3

¹These also are the generations of Aaron and Moses, in the day that the LORD spoke with Moses in mount Sinai. ²And these are the names of the sons of Aaron; Nadab the first-born, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. ³These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the priests who were anointed, whom he consecrated to minister in the priest's office. ⁴And Nadab and Abihu died before the LORD, when they offered strange fire before the LORD, in the wilderness of Sinai, and they had no children: and Eleazar and Ithamar ministered in the priest's office in the sight of Aaron their father. ⁵And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ⁶Bring the tribe of Levi near, and present them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister to him. ⁷And they shall keep his charge, and the charge of the whole congregation before the tabernacle of the congregation, to do the service of the tabernacle. ⁸And they shall keep all the instruments of the tabernacle of the congregation, and the charge of the children of Israel, to do the service of the tabernacle. ⁹And thou shalt give the Levites to Aaron and to his sons: they are wholly given to him out of the children of Israel. ¹⁰And thou shalt appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall wait on their priest's office: and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death. ¹¹And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ¹²And I, behold, I have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel, instead of all the first-born that openeth the matrix among the children of Israel: therefore the Levites shall be mine; ¹³Because all the first-born are mine; for on the day that I smote all the first-born in the land of Egypt, I hallowed to me all the first-born in Israel, both man and beast: mine they shall be: I am the LORD. ¹⁴And the LORD spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, saying, ¹⁵Number the children of Levi after the house of their fathers, by their families: every male from a month old and upward shalt thou number them. ¹⁶And Moses numbered them according to the word of the LORD, as he was commanded. ¹⁷And these were the sons of Levi, by their names; Gershon, and Kohath, and Merari. ¹⁸And these are the names of the sons of Gershon by their families; Libni, and Shimei. ¹⁹And the sons of Kohath by their families; Amram, and Izehar, Hebron, and Uzziel. ²⁰And the sons of Merari by their families; Mahli, and Mushi: these are the families of the Levites, according to the house of their fathers. ²¹Of Gershon was the family of the Libnites, and the family of the Shimites: these are the families of the Gershonites. ²²Those that were numbered of them, according to the number of all the males, from a month old and upward, even those that were numbered of them, were seven thousand and five hundred. ²³The families of the Gershonites shall pitch behind the tabernacle westward. ²⁴And the chief of the house of the father of the Gershonites shall be Eliasaph the son of Lael. ²⁵And the charge of the sons of Gershon in the tabernacle of the congregation shall be the tabernacle, and the tent, its covering, and the hanging for the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, ²⁶And the hangings of the court, and the curtain for the door of the court, which is by the tabernacle, and by the altar round about, and the cords of it, for all the service of it. ²⁷And of Kohath was the family of the Amramites, and the family of the Izharites, and the family of the Hebronites, and the family of the Uzzielites: these are the families of the Kohathites. ²⁸In the number of all the males from a month old and upward, were eight thousand and six hundred, keeping the charge of the sanctuary. ²⁹The families of the sons of Kohath shall pitch on the side of the tabernacle southward. ³⁰And the chief of the house of the father of the families of the Kohathites shall be Elizaphan the son of Uzziel. ³¹And their charge shall be the ark, and the table, and the candlestick, and the altars, and the vessels of the sanctuary with which they minister, and the hanging, and all the service of it. ³²And Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest shall be chief over the chief of the Levites, and have the oversight of them that keep the charge of the sanctuary. ³³Of Merari was the family of the Mahlites, and the family of the Mushites: these are the families of Merari. ³⁴And those that were numbered of them, according to the number of all the males from a month old and upward, were six thousand and two hundred. ³⁵And the chief of the house of the father of the families of Merari was Zuriel the son of Abihail: these shall pitch on the side of the tabernacle northward. ³⁶And under the custody and charge of the sons of Merari shall be the boards of the tabernacle, and its bars, and its pillars, and its sockets, and all its vessels, and all that serveth to it. ³⁷And the pillars of the court round about, and their sockets, and their pins, and their cords. ³⁸But those that encamp before the tabernacle towards the east, even before the tabernacle of the congregation eastward shall be Moses and Aaron, and his sons, keeping the charge of the sanctuary, for the charge of the children of Israel; and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death. ³⁹All that were numbered of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron numbered at the commandment of the LORD, throughout their families, all the males from a month old and upward, were twenty and two thousand. ⁴⁰And the LORD said to Moses, number all the first-born of the males of the children of Israel, from a month old and upward, and take the number of their names. ⁴¹And thou shalt take the Levites for me (I am the LORD) instead of all the first-born among the children of Israel; and the cattle of the Levites, instead of all the firstlings among the cattle of the children of Israel. ⁴²And Moses numbered, as the LORD commanded him, all the first-born among the children of Israel. ⁴³And all the first-born males by the number of names, from a month old and upward, of those that were numbered of them, were twenty and two thousand two hundred and seventy and three. ⁴⁴And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ⁴⁵Take the Levites instead of all the first-born among the children of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of their cattle; and the Levites shall be mine: I am the LORD. ⁴⁶And for those that are to be redeemed of the two hundred and seventy and three, of the first-born of the children of Israel, which are more than the Levites: ⁴⁷Thou shalt even take five shekels apiece by the poll, after the shekel of the sanctuary shalt thou take them: the shekel is twenty gerahs. ⁴⁸And thou shalt give to Aaron and to his sons the money, with which the odd number of them is to be redeemed. ⁴⁹And Moses took the redemption-money of them that were over and above them that were redeemed by the Levites: ⁵⁰Of the first-born of the children of Israel he took the money; a thousand three hundred and sixty and five shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary. ⁵¹And Moses gave the money of them that were redeemed to Aaron, and to his sons, according to the word of the LORD, as the LORD commanded Moses.

Chapter 4

¹And the LORD spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, ²Take the sum of the sons of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, after their families, by the house of their fathers; ³From thirty years old and upward, even until fifty years old, all that enter into the host, to do the work in the tabernacle of the congregation. ⁴This shall be the service of the sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of the congregation, about the most holy things. ⁵And when the camp moveth forward, Aaron shall come, and his sons, and they shall take down the covering vail, and cover the ark of testimony with it: ⁶And shall put on it the covering of badgers' skins, and shall spread over it a cloth wholly of blue, and shall put in the staffs of it. ⁷And upon the table of show-bread they shall spread a cloth of blue, and put on it the dishes, and the spoons, and the bowls, and covers to cover with: and the continual bread shall be upon it. ⁸And they shall spread upon them a cloth of scarlet, and cover the same with a covering of badgers' skins, and shall put in the staffs of it. ⁹And they shall take a cloth of blue, and cover the candlestick of the light, and its lamps, and its tongs, and its snuff-dishes, and all its oil vessels, with which they minister to it: ¹⁰And they shall put it, and all its vessels, within a covering of badgers' skins, and shall put it upon a bar. ¹¹And upon the golden altar they shall spread a cloth of blue, and cover it with a covering of badgers' skins, and shall put to it its staffs. ¹²And they shall take all the instruments of ministry, with which they minister in the sanctuary, and put them in a cloth of blue, and cover them with a covering of badgers' skins, and shall put them on a bar. ¹³And they shall take away the ashes from the altar, and spread a purple cloth upon it: ¹⁴And they shall put upon it all its vessels, with which they minister about it, even the censers, the flesh-hooks, and the shovels, and the basins, all the vessels of the altar; and they shall spread upon it a covering of badgers' skins, and put to it its staffs. ¹⁵And when Aaron and his sons have made an end of covering the sanctuary, and all the vessels of the sanctuary, as the camp is to move forward; after that, the sons of Kohath shall come to bear it: but they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die. These things are the burden of the sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of the congregation. ¹⁶And to the office of Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest pertain the oil for the light, and the sweet incense, and the daily meat-offering, and the anointing oil, and the oversight of all the tabernacle, and of all that is in it, in the sanctuary, and in its vessels. ¹⁷And the LORD spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, ¹⁸Cut ye not off the tribe of the families of the Kohathites from among the Levites: ¹⁹But thus do to them, that they may live, and not die, when they approach to the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in, and appoint them every one to his service and to his burden: ²⁰But they shall not go in to see when the holy things are covered, lest they die. ²¹And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ²²Take also the sum of the sons of Gershon, throughout the house of their fathers, by their families; ²³From thirty years old and upward until fifty years old shalt thou number them; all that enter in to perform the service, to do the work in the tabernacle of the congregation. ²⁴This is the service of the families of the Gershonites, to serve, and for burdens: ²⁵And they shall bear the curtains of the tabernacle, and the tabernacle of the congregation, its covering, and the covering of the badgers' skins that is above upon it, and the hanging for the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, ²⁶And the hangings of the court, and the hanging for the door of the gate of the court, which is by the tabernacle and by the altar round about, and their cords, and all the instruments of their service, and all that is made for them: so shall they serve. ²⁷At the appointment of Aaron and his sons shall be all the service of the sons of the Gershonites, in all their burdens, and in all their service: and ye shall appoint to them in charge all their burdens. ²⁸This is the service of the families of the sons of Gershon in the tabernacle of the congregation: and their charge shall be under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest. ²⁹As for the sons of Merari, thou shalt number them after their families, by the house of their fathers; ³⁰From thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old shalt thou number them, every one that entereth into the service, to do the work of the tabernacle of the congregation. ³¹And this is the charge of their burden, according to all their service in the tabernacle of the congregation; the boards of the tabernacle, and its bars, and its pillars, and its sockets, ³²And the pillars of the court round about, and their sockets, and their pins, and their cords, with all their instruments, and with all their service: and by name ye shall reckon the instruments of the charge of their burden. ³³This is the service of the families of the sons of Merari, according to all their service, in the tabernacle of the congregation, under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest. ³⁴And Moses and Aaron and the chief of the congregation numbered the sons of the Kohathites after their families, and after the house of their fathers, ³⁵From thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old, every one that entereth into the service, for the work in the tabernacle of the congregation: ³⁶And those that were numbered of them by their families were two thousand seven hundred and fifty. ³⁷These were they that were numbered of the families of the Kohathites, all that might do service in the tabernacle of the congregation, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the commandment of the LORD by the hand of Moses. ³⁸And those that were numbered of the sons of Gershon, throughout their families, and by the house of their fathers, ³⁹From thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old, every one that entereth into the service, for the work in the tabernacle of the congregation, ⁴⁰Even those that were numbered of them, throughout their families, by the house of their fathers, were two thousand and six hundred and thirty. ⁴¹These are they that were numbered of the families of the sons of Gershon, of all that might do service in the tabernacle of the congregation, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the commandment of the LORD. ⁴²And those that were numbered of the families of the sons of Merari, throughout their families, by the house of their fathers, ⁴³From thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old, every one that entereth into the service for the work in the tabernacle of the congregation, ⁴⁴Even those that were numbered of them after their families, were three thousand and two hundred. ⁴⁵These are those that were numbered of the families of the sons of Merari, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the word of the LORD by the hand of Moses. ⁴⁶All those that were numbered of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron and the chief of Israel numbered, after their families, and after the house of their fathers, ⁴⁷From thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old, every one that came to do the service of the ministry, and the service of the burden in the tabernacle of the congregation, ⁴⁸Even those that were numbered of them, were eight thousand and five hundred and eighty. ⁴⁹According to the commandment of the LORD they were numbered by the hand of Moses, every one according to his service, and according to his burden: thus were they numbered by him, as the LORD commanded Moses.

Chapter 5

¹And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ²Command the children of Israel, that they put out of the camp every leper, and every one that hath an issue, and whoever is defiled by the dead: ³Both male and female shall ye put out, without the camp shall ye put them; that they defile not their camps, in the midst of which I dwell. ⁴And the children of Israel did so, and put them out without the camp: as the LORD spoke to Moses, so did the children of Israel. ⁵And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ⁶Speak to the children of Israel, When a man or woman shall commit any sin that men commit, to do a trespass against the LORD, and that person shall be guilty; ⁷Then they shall confess their sin which they have done: and he shall recompense his trespass with the principal of it, and add to it the fifth part of it, and give it to him against whom he hath trespassed. ⁸But if the man shall have no kinsman to recompense the trespass to, let the trespass be recompensed to the LORD, even to the priest; besides the ram of the atonement, by which an atonement shall be made for him. ⁹And every offering of all the holy things of the children of Israel, which they bring to the priest, shall be his. ¹⁰And every man's hallowed things shall be his: whatever any man giveth to the priest, it shall be his. ¹¹And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ¹²Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, If any man's wife shall go astray, and commit a trespass against him, ¹³And a man shall lie with her carnally, and it shall be hid from the eyes of her husband, and be kept close, and she be defiled, and there be no witness against her, neither she be taken with the manner; ¹⁴And the spirit of jealousy shall come upon him, and he be jealous of his wife, and she be defiled: or if the spirit of jealousy shall come upon him, and he be jealous of his wife, and she be not defiled: ¹⁵Then shall the man bring his wife to the priest, and he shall bring her offering for her, the tenth part of an ephah of barley-meal; he shall pour no oil upon it, nor put frankincense upon it; for it is an offering of jealousy, an offering of memorial, bringing iniquity to remembrance. ¹⁶And the priest shall bring her near, and set her before the LORD: ¹⁷And the priest shall take holy water in an earthen vessel; and of the dust that is on the floor of the tabernacle the priest shall take, and put it into the water: ¹⁸And the priest shall set the woman before the LORD, and uncover the woman's head, and put the offering of memorial in her hands, which is the jealousy-offering: and the priest shall have in his hand the bitter water that causeth the curse: ¹⁹And the priest shall charge her by an oath, and say to the woman, If no man hath lain with thee, and if thou hast not gone aside to uncleanness with another instead of thy husband, be thou free from this bitter water that causeth the curse: ²⁰But if thou hast gone aside to another instead of thy husband, and if thou art defiled, and some man hath lain with thee besides thy husband: ²¹Then the priest shall charge the woman with an oath of cursing, and the priest shall say to the woman, The LORD make thee a curse and an oath among thy people, when the LORD doth make thy thigh to perish, and thy belly to swell; ²²And this water that causeth the curse shall go into thy bowels, to make thy belly to swell, and thy thigh to perish. And the woman shall say, Amen, amen. ²³And the priest shall write these curses in a book, and he shall blot them out with the bitter water: ²⁴And he shall cause the woman to drink the bitter water that causeth the curse: and the water that causeth the curse shall enter into her, and become bitter. ²⁵Then the priest shall take the jealousy-offering out of the woman's hand, and shall wave the offering before the LORD, and offer it upon the altar: ²⁶And the priest shall take a handful of the offering, even the memorial of it, and burn it upon the altar, and afterward shall cause the woman to drink the water. ²⁷And when he hath made her to drink the water, then it shall come to pass, that, if she is defiled, and hath done trespass against her husband, that the water that causeth the curse shall enter into her, and become bitter, and her belly shall swell, and her thigh shall perish: and the woman shall be a curse among her people. ²⁸And if the woman is not defiled, but is clean; then she shall be free, and shall conceive seed. ²⁹This is the law of jealousies, when a wife goeth astray to another instead of her husband, and is defiled; ³⁰Or when the spirit of jealousy cometh upon him, and he is jealous over his wife, and shall set the woman before the LORD, and the priest shall execute upon her all this law. ³¹Then shall the man be guiltless from iniquity, and this woman shall bear her iniquity.

Chapter 6

¹And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ²Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, When either man or woman shall separate themselves to vow a vow of a Nazarite, to separate themselves to the LORD. ³He shall separate himself from wine and strong drink, and shall drink no vinegar of wine, or vinegar of strong drink, neither shall he drink any liquor of grapes, nor eat moist grapes, or dried. ⁴All the days of his separation shall he eat nothing that is made of the vine-tree, from the kernels even to the husk. ⁵All the days of the vow of his separation there shall no razor come upon his head: until the days shall be fulfilled, in which he separateth himself to the LORD, he shall be holy, and shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow. ⁶All the days that he separateth himself to the LORD, he shall come at no dead body. ⁷He shall not make himself unclean for his father, or for his mother, for his brother, or for his sister, when they die: because the consecration of his God is upon his head. ⁸All the days of his separation he is holy to the LORD. ⁹And if any man shall die very suddenly by him, and he hath defiled the head of his consecration; then he shall shave his head in the day of his cleansing, on the seventh day shall he shave it. ¹⁰And on the eighth day he shall bring two turtles, or two young pigeons, to the priest, to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: ¹¹And the priest shall offer the one for a sin-offering, and the other for a burnt-offering, and make an atonement for him, for that he sinned by the dead, and shall hallow his head that same day. ¹²And he shall consecrate to the LORD the days of his separation, and shall bring a lamb of the first year for a trespass-offering: but the days that were before shall be lost, because his separation was defiled. ¹³And this is the law of the Nazarite, when the days of his separation are fulfilled: he shall be brought to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: ¹⁴And he shall offer his offering to the LORD, one he-lamb of the first year without blemish for a burnt-offering, and one ewe-lamb of the first year without blemish for a sin-offering, and one ram without blemish for peace-offerings, ¹⁵And a basket of unleavened bread, cakes of fine flour mingled with oil, and wafers of unleavened bread anointed with oil, and their meat-offering and their drink-offerings. ¹⁶And the priest shall bring them before the LORD, and shall offer his sin-offering, and his burnt-offering: ¹⁷And he shall offer the ram for a sacrifice of peace-offerings to the LORD, with the basket of unleavened bread: the priest shall offer also his meat-offering, and his drink-offering. ¹⁸And the Nazarite shall shave the head of his separation at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and shall take the hair of the head of his separation, and put it in the fire which is under the sacrifice of the peace-offerings. ¹⁹And the priest shall take the boiled shoulder of the ram, and one unleavened cake out of the basket, and one unleavened wafer, and shall put them upon the hands of the Nazarite, after the hair of his separation is shaven: ²⁰And the priest shall wave them for a wave-offering before the LORD: this is holy for the priest, with the wave-breast, and heave-shoulder: and after that, the Nazarite may drink wine. ²¹This is the law of the Nazarite who hath vowed, and of his offering to the LORD for his separation, besides that which his hand shall get: according to the vow which he vowed, so he must do after the law of his separation. ²²And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ²³Speak to Aaron and to his sons, saying, On this wise ye shall bless the children of Israel, saying to them, ²⁴The LORD bless thee, and keep thee: ²⁵The LORD make his face to shine upon thee, and be gracious to thee: ²⁶The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace. ²⁷And they shall put my name upon the children of Israel, and I will bless them.

Chapter 7

¹And it came to pass on the day that Moses had fully set up the tabernacle, and had anointed it, and sanctified it, and all its instruments, both the altar and all its vessels, and had anointed them, and sanctified them; ²That the princes of Israel, heads of the house of their fathers, who were the princes of the tribes, and were over them that were numbered, offered: ³And they brought their offering before the LORD, six covered wagons, and twelve oxen; a wagon for two of the princes, and for each one an ox: and they brought them before the tabernacle. ⁴And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ⁵Take it of them, that they may be to perform the service of the tabernacle of the congregation; and thou shalt give them to the Levites, to every man according to his service. ⁶And Moses took the wagons and the oxen, and gave them to the Levites. ⁷Two wagons and four oxen he gave to the sons of Gershon, according to their service: ⁸And four wagons and eight oxen he gave to the sons of Merari, according to their service, under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest. ⁹But to the sons of Kohath he gave none: because the service of the sanctuary belonging to them was that they should bear upon their shoulders. ¹⁰And the princes offered for dedicating the altar in the day that it was anointed, even the princes offered their offering before the altar. ¹¹And the LORD said to Moses, They shall offer their offering, each prince on his day, for the dedicating of the altar. ¹²And he that offered his offering the first day was Nahshon the son of Amminadab, of the tribe of Judah: ¹³And his offering was one silver charger, the weight of which was a hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them were full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat-offering: ¹⁴One spoon of ten shekels of gold, full of incense: ¹⁵One young bullock, one ram, one lamb of the first year, for a burnt-offering: ¹⁶One kid of the goats for a sin-offering: ¹⁷And for a sacrifice of peace-offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he-goats, five lambs of the first year; this was the offering of Nahshon the son of Amminadab. ¹⁸On the second day Nethaneel the son of Zuar, prince of Issachar, offered. ¹⁹He offered for his offering one silver charger, the weight of which was a hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat-offering: ²⁰One spoon of gold of ten shekels, full of incense: ²¹One young bullock, one ram, one lamb of the first year, for a burnt-offering: ²²One kid of the goats for a sin-offering: ²³And for a sacrifice of peace-offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he-goats, five lambs of the first year: this was the offering of Nethaneel the son of Zuar. ²⁴On the third day Eliab the son of Helon, prince of the children of Zebulun, offered: ²⁵His offering was one silver charger, the weight of which was a hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat-offering: ²⁶One golden spoon of ten shekels, full of incense: ²⁷One young bullock, one ram, one lamb of the first year, for a burnt-offering: ²⁸One kid of the goats for a sin-offering: ²⁹And for a sacrifice of peace-offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he-goats, five lambs of the first year: this was the offering of Eliab the son of Helon. ³⁰On the fourth day Elizur the son of Shedeur, prince of the children of Reuben, offered: ³¹His offering was one silver charger, of the weight of a hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat-offering: ³²One golden spoon of ten shekels, full of incense: ³³One young bullock, one ram, one lamb of the first year, for a burnt-offering: ³⁴One kid of the goats for a sin-offering: ³⁵And for a sacrifice of peace-offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he-goats, five lambs of the first year: this was the offering of Elizur the son of Shedeur. ³⁶On the fifth day Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai, prince of the children of Simeon, offered: ³⁷His offering was one silver charger, the weight of which was a hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat-offering: ³⁸One golden spoon of ten shekels, full of incense: ³⁹One young bullock, one ram, one lamb of the first year, for a burnt-offering: ⁴⁰One kid of the goats for a sin-offering: ⁴¹And for a sacrifice of peace-offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he-goats, five lambs of the first year: this was the offering of Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai. ⁴²On the sixth day Eliasaph the son of Deuel, prince of the children of Gad, offered: ⁴³His offering was one silver charger, of the weight of a hundred and thirty shekels, a silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat-offering: ⁴⁴One golden spoon of ten shekels, full of incense: ⁴⁵One young bullock, one ram, one lamb of the first year, for a burnt-offering: ⁴⁶One kid of the goats for a sin-offering: ⁴⁷And for a sacrifice of peace-offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he-goats, five lambs of the first year: this was the offering of Eliasaph the son of Deuel. ⁴⁸On the seventh day Elishama the son of Ammihud, prince of the children of Ephraim, offered: ⁴⁹His offering was one silver charger, the weight of which was a hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat-offering: ⁵⁰One golden spoon of ten shekels, full of incense: ⁵¹One young bullock, one ram, one lamb of the first year, for a burnt-offering: ⁵²One kid of the goats for a sin-offering: ⁵³And for a sacrifice of peace-offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he-goats, five lambs of the first year: this was the offering of Elishama the son of Ammihud. ⁵⁴On the eighth day offered Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur, prince of the children of Manasseh: ⁵⁵His offering was one silver charger of the weight of a hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat-offering: ⁵⁶One golden spoon of ten shekels, full of incense: ⁵⁷One young bullock, one ram, one lamb of the first year, for a burnt-offering: ⁵⁸One kid of the goats for a sin-offering: ⁵⁹And for a sacrifice of peace-offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he-goats, five lambs of the first year: this was the offering of Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur. ⁶⁰On the ninth day Abidan the son of Gideoni, prince of the children of Benjamin, offered: ⁶¹His offering was one silver charger, the weight of which was a hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat-offering: ⁶²One golden spoon of ten shekels, full of incense: ⁶³One young bullock, one ram, one lamb of the first year, for a burnt-offering: ⁶⁴One kid of the goats for a sin-offering: ⁶⁵And for a sacrifice of peace-offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he-goats, five lambs of the first year: this was the offering of Abidan the son of Gideoni. ⁶⁶On the tenth day Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai, prince of the children of Dan, offered: ⁶⁷His offering was one silver charger, the weight of which was a hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat-offering: ⁶⁸One golden spoon of ten shekels, full of incense: ⁶⁹One young bullock, one ram, one lamb of the first year, for a burnt-offering: ⁷⁰One kid of the goats for a sin-offering: ⁷¹And for a sacrifice of peace-offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he-goats, five lambs of the first year: this was the offering of Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai. ⁷²On the eleventh day Pagiel the son of Ocran, prince of the children of Asher, offered: ⁷³His offering was one silver charger, the weight of which was a hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat-offering: ⁷⁴One golden spoon of ten shekels, full of incense: ⁷⁵One young bullock, one ram, one lamb of the first year, for a burnt-offering: ⁷⁶One kid of the goats for a sin-offering: ⁷⁷And for a sacrifice of peace-offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he-goats, five lambs of the first year: this was the offering of Pagiel the son of Ocran. ⁷⁸On the twelfth day Ahira the son of Enan, prince of the children of Naphtali, offered: ⁷⁹His offering was one silver charger, the weight of which was a hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat-offering: ⁸⁰One golden spoon of ten shekels, full of incense: ⁸¹One young bullock, one ram, one lamb of the first year, for a burnt-offering: ⁸²One kid of the goats for a sin-offering: ⁸³And for a sacrifice of peace-offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he-goats, five lambs of the first year: this was the offering of Ahira the son of Enan. ⁸⁴This was the dedication of the altar (in the day when it was anointed) by the princes of Israel: twelve chargers of silver, twelve silver bowls, twelve spoons of gold: ⁸⁵Each charger of silver weighing a hundred and thirty shekels, each bowl seventy: all the silver vessels weighed two thousand and four hundred shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary: ⁸⁶The golden spoons were twelve, full of incense, weighing ten shekels apiece, after the shekel of the sanctuary: all the gold of the spoons was a hundred and twenty shekels. ⁸⁷All the oxen for the burnt-offering were twelve bullocks, the rams twelve, the lambs of the first year twelve, with their meat-offering: and the kids of the goats for sin-offering, twelve. ⁸⁸And all the oxen for the sacrifice of the peace-offerings were twenty and four bullocks, the rams sixty, the he-goats sixty, the lambs of the first year sixty. This was the dedication of the altar, after it was anointed. ⁸⁹And when Moses had entered into the tabernacle of the congregation to speak with him, then he heard the voice of one speaking to him from off the mercy-seat that was upon the ark of testimony, from between the two cherubim: and he spoke to him.

Chapter 8

¹And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ²Speak to Aaron, and say to him, When thou lightest the lamps, the seven lamps shall give light over against the candlestick. ³And Aaron did so; he lighted the lamps of it over against the candlestick, as the LORD commanded Moses. ⁴And this work of the candlestick was of beaten gold, to its shaft, to the flowers of it, was beaten work: according to the pattern which the LORD had showed Moses, so he made the candlestick. ⁵And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ⁶Take the Levites from among the children of Israel, and cleanse them. ⁷And thus shalt thou do to them, to cleanse them: Sprinkle water of purifying upon them, and let them shave all their flesh, and let them wash their clothes, and so make themselves clean. ⁸Then let them take a young bullock with his meat-offering, even fine flour mingled with oil, and another young bullock shalt thou take for a sin-offering. ⁹And thou shalt bring the Levites before the tabernacle of the congregation: and thou shalt convene the whole assembly of the children of Israel: ¹⁰And thou shalt bring the Levites before the LORD: and the children of Israel shall put their hands upon the Levites: ¹¹And Aaron shall offer the Levites before the LORD for an offering of the children of Israel, that they may execute the service of the LORD. ¹²And the Levites shall lay their hands upon the heads of the bullocks: and thou shalt offer the one for a sin-offering, and the other for a burnt-offering, to the LORD, to make an atonement for the Levites. ¹³And thou shalt set the Levites before Aaron, and before his sons, and offer them for an offering to the LORD. ¹⁴Thus shalt thou separate the Levites from among the children of Israel: and the Levites shall be mine. ¹⁵And after that shall the Levites go in to perform the service of the tabernacle of the congregation: and thou shalt cleanse them, and offer them for an offering. ¹⁶For they are wholly given to me from among the children of Israel; instead of such as open every womb, even instead of the first-born of all the children of Israel, have I taken them to me. ¹⁷For all the first born of the children of Israel are mine, both man and beast: on the day that I smote every first-born in the land of Egypt I sanctified them for myself. ¹⁸And I have taken the Levites for all the first-born of the children of Israel. ¹⁹And I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and to his sons from among the children of Israel, to do the service of the children of Israel in the tabernacle of the congregation, and to make an atonement for the children of Israel: that there may be no plague among the children of Israel, when the children of Israel come nigh to the sanctuary. ²⁰And Moses, and Aaron, and all the congregation of the children of Israel, did to the Levites according to all that the LORD commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so did the children of Israel to them. ²¹And the Levites were purified, and they washed their clothes; and Aaron offered them as an offering before the LORD; and Aaron made an atonement for them to cleanse them. ²²And after that went the Levites in to perform their service in the tabernacle of the congregation before Aaron, and before his sons: as the LORD had commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so did they to them. ²³And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ²⁴This is it that belongeth to the Levites: from twenty and five years old and upward they shall go in to wait upon the service of the tabernacle of the congregation: ²⁵And from the age of fifty years they shall cease waiting upon the service of it, and shall serve no more: ²⁶But shall minister with their brethren in the tabernacle of the congregation, to keep the charge, and shall do no service. Thus shalt thou do to the Levites concerning their charge.

Chapter 9

¹And the LORD spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the first month of the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying, ²Let the children of Israel also keep the passover at its appointed season. ³In the fourteenth day of this month, at evening, ye shall keep it in its appointed season: according to all its rites, and according to all its ceremonies, shall ye keep it. ⁴And Moses spoke to the children of Israel, that they should keep the passover. ⁵And they kept the passover on the fourteenth day of the first month at evening in the wilderness of Sinai: according to all that the LORD commanded Moses, so did the children of Israel. ⁶And there were certain men, who were defiled by the dead body of a man, that they could not keep the passover on that day: and they came before Moses and before Aaron on that day: ⁷And those men said to him, We are defiled by the dead body of a man: why are we kept back, that we may not offer an offering of the LORD in its appointed season among the children of Israel? ⁸And Moses said to them, Stand still, and I will hear what the LORD will command concerning you. ⁹And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ¹⁰Speak to the children of Israel, saying, If any man of you or of your posterity shall be unclean by reason of a dead body, or be in a journey afar off, yet he shall keep the passover to the LORD. ¹¹The fourteenth day of the second month at evening, they shall keep it, and eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. ¹²They shall leave none of it to the morning, nor break any bone of it: according to all the ordinances of the passover they shall keep it. ¹³But the man that is clean, and is not in a journey, and forbeareth to keep the passover, even the same soul shall be cut off from among his people: because he brought not the offering of the LORD in its appointed season, that man shall bear his sin. ¹⁴And if a stranger shall sojourn among you, and will keep the passover to the LORD; according to the ordinance of the passover, and according to the manner of it, so shall he do: ye shall have one ordinance both for the stranger, and for him that was born in the land. ¹⁵And on the day that the tabernacle was erected the cloud covered the tabernacle, namely, the tent of the testimony: and at evening there was upon the tabernacle as it were the appearance of fire, until the morning. ¹⁶So it was always; the cloud covered it by day, and the appearance of fire by night. ¹⁷And when the cloud was taken up from the tabernacle, then after that the children of Israel journeyed: and in the place where the cloud abode, there the children of Israel pitched their tents. ¹⁸At the commandment of the LORD the children of Israel journeyed, and at the commandment of the LORD they encamped: as long as the cloud abode upon the tabernacle they rested in their tents. ¹⁹And when the cloud tarried long upon the tabernacle many days, then the children of Israel kept the charge of the LORD, and journeyed not. ²⁰And so it was, when the cloud was a few days upon the tabernacle; according to the commandment of the LORD they abode in their tents, and according to the commandment of the LORD they journeyed. ²¹And so it was, when the cloud abode from evening to the morning, and that the cloud was taken up in the morning, then they journeyed: whether it was by day or by night that the cloud was taken up, they journeyed. ²²Or whether it was two days, or a month, or a year, that the cloud tarried upon the tabernacle, remaining upon it, the children of Israel abode in their tents, and journeyed not: but when it was taken up, they journeyed. ²³At the commandment of the LORD they rested in the tents, and at the commandment of the LORD they journeyed: they kept the charge of the LORD, at the commandment of the LORD by the hand of Moses.

Chapter 10

¹And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ²Make thee two trumpets of silver; of a whole piece shalt thou make them; that thou mayest use them for the calling of the assembly, and for the journeying of the camps. ³And when they shall blow with them, all the assembly shall assemble themselves to thee at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. ⁴And if they blow but with one trumpet, then the princes, who are heads of the thousands of Israel, shall assemble themselves to thee. ⁵When ye blow an alarm, then the camps that lie on the east parts shall go forward. ⁶When ye blow an alarm the second time, then the camps that lie on the south side shall take their journey: they shall blow an alarm for their journeys. ⁷But when the congregation is to be convened, ye shall blow, but ye shall not sound an alarm. ⁸And the sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow with the trumpets; and they shall be to you for an ordinance for ever throughout your generations. ⁹And if ye go to war in your land against the enemy that oppresseth you, then ye shall blow an alarm with the trumpets; and ye shall be remembered before the LORD your God, and ye shall be saved from your enemies. ¹⁰Also in the day of your gladness, and in your solemn days, and in the beginnings of your months, ye shall blow with the trumpets over your burnt-offerings, and over the sacrifices of your peace-offerings; that they may be to you for a memorial before your God: I am the LORD your God. ¹¹And it came to pass on the twentieth day of the second month, in the second year, that the cloud was taken up from off the tabernacle of the testimony. ¹²And the children of Israel took their journeys from the wilderness of Sinai; and the cloud rested in the wilderness of Paran. ¹³And they first took their journey according to the commandment of the LORD by the hand of Moses. ¹⁴In the first place went the standard of the camp of the children of Judah according to their armies: and over his host was Nahshon the son of Amminadab. ¹⁵And over the host of the tribe of the children of Issachar was Nethaneel the son of Zuar. ¹⁶And over the host of the tribe of the children of Zebulun was Eliab the son of Helon. ¹⁷And the tabernacle was taken down; and the sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari moved forward, bearing the tabernacle. ¹⁸And the standard of the camp of Reuben moved forward according to their armies: and over his host was Elizur the son of Shedeur. ¹⁹And over the host of the tribe of the children of Simeon was Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai. ²⁰And over the host of the tribe of the children of Gad was Eliasaph the son of Deuel. ²¹And the Kohathites moved forward, bearing the sanctuary: and the other set up the tabernacle against they came. ²²And the standard of the camp of the children of Ephraim moved forward according to their armies: and over his host was Elishama the son of Ammihud. ²³And over the host of the tribe of the children of Manasseh was Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur. ²⁴And over the host of the tribe of the children of Benjamin was Abidan the son of Gideoni. ²⁵And the standard of the camp of the children of Dan moved forward, which was the rear-ward of all the camps throughout their hosts: and over his host was Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai. ²⁶And over the host of the tribe of the children of Asher was Pagiel the son of Ocran. ²⁷And over the host of the tribe of the children of Naphtali was Ahira the son of Enan. ²⁸Thus were the journeyings of the children of Israel according to their armies, when they moved forward. ²⁹And Moses said to Hobab, the son of Raguel the Midianite, Moses's father-in-law, We are journeying to the place of which the LORD said, I will give it to you: come thou with us, and we will do thee good: for the LORD hath spoken good concerning Israel. ³⁰And he said to him, I will not go; but I will depart to my own land, and to my kindred. ³¹And he said, Leave us not, I pray thee; forasmuch as thou knowest how we are to encamp in the wilderness, and thou mayest be to us instead of eyes. ³²And it shall be, if thou wilt go with us, yea, it shall be, that what goodness the LORD shall do to us, the same will we do to thee. ³³And they departed from the mount of the LORD three days' journey: and the ark of the covenant of the LORD went before them in the three days' journey, to seek a resting-place for them. ³⁴And the cloud of the LORD was upon them by day, when they went out of the camp. ³⁵And it came to pass, when the ark moved forward, that Moses said, Arise, LORD, and let thy enemies be scattered; and let them that hate thee flee before thee. ³⁶And when it rested, he said, Return, O LORD, to the many thousands of Israel.

Chapter 11

¹And when the people complained, it displeased the LORD; and the LORD heard it: and his anger was kindled; and the fire of the LORD burnt among them, and consumed them that were in the uttermost parts of the camp. ²And the people cried to Moses; and when Moses prayed to the LORD, the fire was quenched. ³And he called the name of the place Taberah; because the fire of the LORD burnt among them. ⁴And the mixed multitude that was among them fell to lusting: and the children of Israel also wept again, and said, Who shall give us flesh to eat? ⁵We remember the fish which we ate in Egypt freely: the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlic: ⁶But now our soul is dried away; there is nothing at all, besides this manna, before our eyes. ⁷And the manna was as coriander-seed, and the color of it as the color of bdellium. ⁸And the people went about, and gathered it and ground it in mills, or beat it in a mortar, and baked it in pans, and made cakes of it: and the taste of it was as the taste of fresh oil. ⁹And when the dew fell upon the camp in the night, the manna fell upon it. ¹⁰Then Moses heard the people weeping throughout their families, every man in the door of his tent: and the anger of the LORD was kindled greatly: Moses also was displeased. ¹¹And Moses said to the LORD, Why hast thou afflicted thy servant? and why have I not found favor in thy sight, that thou layest the burden of all this people upon me? ¹²Have I conceived all this people? have I begotten them, that thou shouldest say to me, Carry them in thy bosom, as a nursing-father beareth the sucking child, to the land which thou sworest to their fathers? ¹³Whence should I have flesh to give to all this people? for they weep to me, saying, Give us flesh, that we may eat. ¹⁴I am not able to bear all this people alone, because it is too heavy for me. ¹⁵And if thou dealest thus with me, kill me, I pray thee, out of hand, if I have found favor in thy sight; and let me not see my wretchedness. ¹⁶And the LORD said to Moses, Gather to me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom thou knowest to be the elders of the people, and officers over them; and bring them to the tabernacle of the congregation, that they may stand there with thee. ¹⁷And I will come down and talk with thee there: and I will take of the spirit which is upon thee, and will put it upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with thee, that thou mayest not bear it thyself alone. ¹⁸And say thou to the people, Sanctify yourselves against to-morrow, and ye shall eat flesh; for ye have wept in the ears of the LORD, saying, Who shall give us flesh to eat? for it was well with us in Egypt: therefore the LORD will give you flesh, and ye shall eat. ¹⁹Ye shall not eat one day, nor two days, nor five days, neither ten days, nor twenty days; ²⁰But even a whole month, until it shall come out at your nostrils, and it be lothsome to you; because ye have despised the LORD who is among you, and have wept before him, saying, Why came we forth out of Egypt? ²¹And Moses said, The people among whom I am, are six hundred thousand footmen; and thou hast said, I will give them flesh, that they may eat a whole month. ²²Shall the flocks and the herds be slain for them, to suffice for them? or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered for them, to suffice for them? ²³And the LORD said to Moses, Is the LORD'S hand shortened? thou shalt see now whether my word shall come to pass to thee, or not. ²⁴And Moses went out, and told the people the words of the LORD, and gathered the seventy men of the elders of the people, and set them around the tabernacle. ²⁵And the LORD came down in a cloud, and spoke to him, and took of the spirit that was upon him, and gave it to the seventy elders: and it came to pass, that when the spirit rested upon them; they prophesied, and did not cease. ²⁶But there remained two of the men in the camp, the name of the one was Eldad, and the name of the other Medad: and the spirit rested upon them, and they were of them that were described, but went not out to the tabernacle: and they prophesied in the camp. ²⁷And there ran a young man, and told Moses, and said, Eldad and Medad do prophesy in the camp. ²⁸And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Moses, one of his young men, answered and said, My lord, Moses, forbid them. ²⁹And Moses said to him, Enviest thou for my sake? I would that all the LORD'S people were prophets, and that the LORD would put his spirit upon them. ³⁰And Moses withdrew into the camp, he and the elders of Israel. ³¹And there went forth a wind from the LORD, and brought quails from the sea, and let them fall by the camp, as it were a day's journey on this side, and as it were a day's journey on the other side, around the camp, and as it were two cubits high upon the face of the earth. ³²And the people stood up all that day, and all that night, and all the next day, and they gathered the quails: he that gathered least gathered ten homers: and they spread them all abroad for themselves around the camp. ³³And while the flesh was yet between their teeth, ere it was chewed, the wrath of the LORD was kindled against the people, and the LORD smote the people with a very great plague. ³⁴And he called the name of that place Kibroth-hattaavah: because there they buried the people that lusted. ³⁵And the people journeyed from Kibroth-hattaavah to Hazeroth: and abode at Hazeroth.

Chapter 12

¹And Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married: for he had married a Cushite woman. ²And they said, Hath the LORD indeed spoke only by Moses? hath he not spoke also by us? And the LORD heard it. ³(Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men who were upon the face of the earth.) ⁴And the LORD spoke suddenly to Moses, and to Aaron, and to Miriam, Come out ye three to the tabernacle of the congregation. And they three came out. ⁵And the LORD came down in the pillar of the cloud, and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam: and they both came forth. ⁶And he said, Hear now my words: If there is a prophet among you, I the LORD will make myself known to him in a vision, and will speak to him in a dream. ⁷My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all my house. ⁸With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the LORD shall he behold: why then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses? ⁹And the anger of the LORD was kindled against them; and he departed. ¹⁰And the cloud departed from off the tabernacle; and behold, Miriam became leprous, white as snow: and Aaron looked upon Miriam, and behold, she was leprous. ¹¹And Aaron said to Moses, Alas, my lord, I beseech thee, lay not the sin upon us, in which we have done foolishly, and in which we have sinned. ¹²Let her not be as one dead, of whom the flesh is half consumed at the time of his birth. ¹³And Moses cried to the LORD, saying, Heal her now, O God, I beseech thee. ¹⁴And the LORD said to Moses, If her father had but spit in her face, should she not be ashamed seven days? let her be shut out from the camp seven days, and after that let her be received again. ¹⁵And Miriam was shut out from the camp seven days: and the people journeyed not till Miriam was brought in again. ¹⁶And afterward the people removed from Hazeroth, and encamped in the wilderness of Paran.

Chapter 13

¹And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ²Send thou men, that they may search the land of Canaan, which I give to the children of Israel: of every tribe of their fathers shall ye send a man, every one a ruler among them. ³And Moses, by the commandment of the LORD, sent them from the wilderness of Paran: all those men were heads of the children of Israel. ⁴And these were their names: Of the tribe of Reuben, Shammua the son of Zaccur. ⁵Of the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat the son of Hori. ⁶Of the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh. ⁷Of the tribe of Issachar, Igal the son of Joseph. ⁸Of the tribe of Ephraim, Oshea the son of Nun. ⁹Of the tribe of Benjamin, Palti the son of Raphu. ¹⁰Of the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel the son of Sodi. ¹¹Of the tribe of Joseph, namely, of the tribe of Manassah, Gaddi the son of Susi. ¹²Of the tribe of Dan, Ammiel the son of Gemalli. ¹³Of the tribe of Asher, Sethur the son of Michael. ¹⁴Of the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi the son of Vophsi. ¹⁵Of the tribe of Gad, Geuel the son of Machi. ¹⁶These are the names of the men whom Moses sent to explore the land. And Moses called Oshea the son of Nun Jehoshua. ¹⁷And Moses sent them to explore the land of Canaan, and said to them, Go ye up this way southward, and ascend the mountain: ¹⁸And see the land, what it is; and the people that dwell therein, whether they are strong or weak, few or many; ¹⁹And what the land is that they dwell in, whether it is good or bad; and what cities they are that they dwell in, whether in tents, or in strong holds; ²⁰And what the land is, whether it is fertile or barren, whether there is wood in it, or not. And be ye of good courage, and bring of the fruit of the land. Now the time was the time of the first ripe grapes. ²¹So they went up, and searched the land from the wilderness of Zin to Rehob, as men come to Hamath. ²²And they ascended by the south, and came to Hebron; where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the children of Anak, were. (Now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.) ²³And they came to the brook of Eshcol, and cut down from thence a branch with one cluster of grapes, and they bore it between two upon a staff; and they brought of the pomegranates, and of the figs. ²⁴The place was called the brook Eshcol, because of the cluster of grapes which the children of Israel cut down from thence. ²⁵And they returned from exploring the land after forty days. ²⁶And they went and came to Moses, and to Aaron, and to all the congregation of the children of Israel, to the wilderness of Paran, to Kadesh; and brought back word to them, and to all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land. ²⁷And they told him, and said, We came to the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it. ²⁸Nevertheless, the people are strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled, and very great: and moreover, we saw the children of Anak there. ²⁹The Amalekites dwell in the land of the south: and the Hittites, and the Jebusites, and the Amorites, dwell in the mountains: and the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and by the coast of Jordan. ³⁰And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it. ³¹But the men that went up with him said, We are not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we. ³²And they brought an evil report of the land which they had searched to the children of Israel, saying, The land through which we have passed to search it, is a land that eateth up its inhabitants; and all the people that we saw in it, are men of a great stature. ³³And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, who come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.

Chapter 14

¹And all the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried; and the people wept that night. ²And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron: and the whole congregation said to them, O that we had died in the land of Egypt! or O that we had died in this wilderness! ³And why hath the LORD brought us to this land, to fall by the sword, that our wives and our children should be a prey? were it not better for us to return into Egypt? ⁴And they said one to another, Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt. ⁵Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the children of Israel. ⁶And Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were of them that searched the land, rent their clothes: ⁷And they spoke to all the company of the children of Israel, saying, The land, which we passed through to search it, is an exceeding good land. ⁸If the LORD delighteth in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it to us; a land which floweth with milk and honey. ⁹Only rebel not ye against the LORD, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defense has departed from them, and the LORD is with us: fear them not. ¹⁰But all the congregation required to stone them with stones: and the glory of the LORD appeared in the tabernacle of the congregation before all the children of Israel. ¹¹And the LORD said to Moses, How long will this people provoke me? and how long will it be ere they believe me, for all the signs which I have shown among them? ¹²I will smite them with the pestilence, and disinherit them, and will make of thee a greater nation and mightier than they. ¹³And Moses said to the LORD, Then the Egyptians will hear it, (for thou broughtest up this people in thy might from among them;) ¹⁴And they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land: for they have heard that thou LORD art among this people, that thou LORD art seen face to face, and that thy cloud standeth over them, and that thou goest before them, by day-time in a pillar of a cloud, and in a pillar of fire by night. ¹⁵Now if thou shalt kill all this people as one man, then the nations which have heard the fame of thee will speak, saying, ¹⁶Because the LORD was not able to bring this people into the land which he swore to them, therefore he hath slain them in the wilderness. ¹⁷And now, I beseech thee, let the power of my Lord be great, according as thou hast spoken, saying, ¹⁸The LORD is long-suffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generation. ¹⁹Pardon, I beseech thee, the iniquity of this people according to the greatness of thy mercy, and as thou hast forgiven this people, from Egypt, even until now. ²⁰And the LORD said, I have pardoned according to thy word: ²¹But as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD. ²²Because all those men who have seen my glory, and my miracles, which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted me now these ten times, and have not hearkened to my voice; ²³Surely they shall not see the land which I swore to their fathers, neither shall any of them that provoked me see it: ²⁴But my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and hath followed me fully, him will I bring into the land into which he went; and his seed shall possess it. ²⁵(Now the Amalekites, and the Canaanites dwelt in the valley.) To-morrow turn you, and pass into the wilderness, by the way of the Red sea. ²⁶And the LORD spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, ²⁷How long shall I bear with this evil congregation, which murmur against me? I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel, which they murmur against me. ²⁸Say to them, As truly as I live, saith the LORD, as ye have spoken in my ears, so will I do to you: ²⁹Your carcasses shall fall in this wilderness; and all that were numbered of you, according to your whole number, from twenty years old and upward, who have murmured against me, ³⁰Doubtless ye shall not come into the land concerning which I swore to make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun. ³¹But your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, them will I bring in, and they shall know the land which ye have despised. ³²But as for you, your carcasses, they shall fall in this wilderness. ³³And your children shall wander in the wilderness forty years, and bear your lewd deeds, until your carcasses shall be wasted in the wilderness. ³⁴After the number of the days in which ye searched the land, even forty days (each day for a year) shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty years, and ye shall know my breach of promise. ³⁵I the LORD have said, I will surely do it to all this evil congregation, that are gathered against me: in this wilderness, they shall be consumed, and there they shall die. ³⁶And the men whom Moses sent to search the land, who returned, and made all the congregation to murmur against him, by bringing a slander upon the land, ³⁷Even those men that brought the evil report upon the land, died by the plague before the LORD. ³⁸But Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were of the men that went to search the land, lived still. ³⁹And Moses told these sayings to all the children of Israel: and the people mourned greatly. ⁴⁰And they rose early in the morning, and ascended to the top of the mountain, saying, Lo, we are here, and will go up to the place which the LORD hath promised: for we have sinned. ⁴¹And Moses said, Why now do ye transgress the commandment of the LORD? but it shall not prosper. ⁴²Go not up, for the LORD is not among you; that ye be not smitten before your enemies. ⁴³For the Amalekites and the Canaanites are there before you, and ye shall fall by the sword: because ye are turned away from the LORD, therefore the LORD will not be with you. ⁴⁴But they presumed to go up to the hill-top: nevertheless the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and Moses, departed not out of the camp. ⁴⁵Then the Amalekites came down, and the Canaanites which dwelt in that hill, and smote them, and discomfited them, even to Hormah.

Chapter 15

¹And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ²Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, When ye shall have come into the land of your habitations, which I give to you, ³And will make an offering by fire to the LORD, a burnt-offering, or a sacrifice in performing a vow, or in a free-will-offering, or in your solemn feasts, to make a sweet savor to the LORD, of the herd, or of the flock: ⁴Then shall he that offereth his offering to the LORD bring a meat-offering of a tenth part of flour mingled with the fourth part of a hin of oil. ⁵And the fourth part of a hin of wine for a drink-offering shalt thou prepare with the burnt-offering or sacrifice, for one lamb. ⁶Or for a ram, thou shalt prepare for a meat-offering two tenth parts of flour mingled with the third part of a hin of oil. ⁷And for a drink-offering thou shalt offer the third part of a hin of wine, for a sweet savor to the LORD. ⁸And when thou preparest a bullock for a burnt-offering, or for a sacrifice in performing a vow, or peace-offerings to the LORD: ⁹Then shall he bring with a bullock a meat-offering of three tenth parts of flour mingled with half a hin of oil. ¹⁰And thou shalt bring for a drink-offering half a hin of wine, for an offering made by fire, of a sweet savor to the LORD: ¹¹Thus shall it be done for one bullock, or for one ram, or for a lamb, or a kid. ¹²According to the number that ye shall prepare, so shall ye do to every one according to their number. ¹³All that are born in the country shall do these things after this manner, in offering an offering made by fire, of a sweet savor to the LORD. ¹⁴And if a stranger shall sojourn with you, or whoever shall be among you in your generations, and will offer an offering made by fire, of a sweet savor to the LORD; as ye do, so he shall do. ¹⁵One ordinance shall be both for you of the congregation, and also for the stranger that sojourneth with you, an ordinance for ever in your generations: as ye are, so shall the stranger be before the LORD. ¹⁶One law and one manner shall be for you, and for the stranger that sojourneth with you. ¹⁷And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ¹⁸Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, When ye come into the land whither I bring you, ¹⁹Then it shall be, that when ye eat of the bread of the land, ye shall offer up a heave-offering to the LORD. ²⁰Ye shall offer a cake of the first of your dough for a heave-offering: as ye do the heave-offering of the threshing-floor, so shall ye heave it. ²¹Of the first of your dough ye shall give to the LORD a heave-offering in your generations. ²²And if ye have erred, and not observed all these commandments which the LORD hath spoken to Moses, ²³Even all that the LORD hath commanded you by the hand of Moses, from the day that the LORD commanded Moses, and henceforward among your generations; ²⁴Then it shall be, if aught shall be committed by ignorance without the knowledge of the congregation, that all the congregation shall offer one young bullock for a burnt-offering, for a sweet savor to the LORD, with his meat-offering, and his drink-offering, according to the manner, and one kid of the goats for a sin-offering. ²⁵And the priest shall make an atonement for all the congregation of the children of Israel, and it shall be forgiven them; for it is ignorance: and they shall bring their offering, a sacrifice made by fire to the LORD, and their sin-offering before the LORD, for their ignorance: ²⁶And it shall be forgiven all the congregation of the children of Israel, and the stranger that sojourneth among them; seeing all the people were in ignorance. ²⁷And if any soul shall sin through ignorance, then he shall bring a she-goat of the first year for a sin-offering. ²⁸And the priest shall make an atonement for the soul that sinneth ignorantly, when he sinneth by ignorance before the LORD, to make an atonement for him; and it shall be forgiven him. ²⁹Ye shall have one law for him that sinneth through ignorance, both for him that is born among the children of Israel, and for the stranger that sojourneth among them. ³⁰But the soul that doeth aught presumptuously, whether he be born in the land, or a stranger, the same reproacheth the LORD; and that soul shall be cut off from among his people. ³¹Because he hath despised the word of the LORD, and hath broken his commandment, that soul shall utterly be cut off; his iniquity shall be upon him. ³²And while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man that gathered sticks upon the sabbath-day. ³³And they that found him gathering sticks brought him to Moses and Aaron, and to all the congregation. ³⁴And they put him in custody, because it was not declared what should be done to him. ³⁵And the LORD said to Moses, The man shall surely be put to death: all the congregation shall stone him with stones without the camp. ³⁶And all the congregation brought him without the camp, and stoned him with stones, and he died; as the LORD commanded Moses. ³⁷And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ³⁸Speak to the children of Israel, and bid them that they make them fringes on the borders of their garments throughout their generations, and that they put upon the fringe of the borders a ribin of blue: ³⁹And it shall be to you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the LORD, and do them; and that ye seek not after your own heart and your own eyes, after which ye use to go astray: ⁴⁰That ye may remember, and do all my commandments, and be holy to your God. ⁴¹I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I am the LORD your God.

Chapter 16

¹Now Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men: ²And they rose up before Moses, with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown: ³And they assembled themselves against Moses and against Aaron, and said to them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them: why then do ye raise yourselves above the congregation of the LORD? ⁴And when Moses heard it, he fell upon his face: ⁵And he spoke to Korah and to all his company, saying, Even to-morrow the LORD will show who are his, and who is holy; and will cause him to come near to him: even him whom he hath chosen will he cause to come near to him. ⁶This do; Take you censers, Korah, and all his company; ⁷And put fire in them, and put incense in them before the LORD to-morrow: and it shall be that the man whom the LORD doth choose, he shall be holy: ye take too much upon you, ye sons of Levi. ⁸And Moses said to Korah, Hear, I pray you, ye sons of Levi: ⁹Seemeth it but a small thing to you, that the God of Israel hath separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to himself to do the service of the tabernacle of the LORD, and to stand before the congregation to minister to them? ¹⁰And he hath brought thee near to him, and all thy brethren the sons of Levi with thee: and seek ye the priesthood also? ¹¹For which cause both thou and all thy company are assembled against the LORD: and what is Aaron, that ye murmur against him? ¹²And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab: who said, We will not come up: ¹³Is it a small thing that thou hast brought us out of a land that floweth with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, except thou make thyself altogether a prince over us? ¹⁴Moreover, thou hast not brought us into a land that floweth with milk and honey, or given us inheritance of fields and vineyards: wilt thou put out the eyes of these men? we will not come up. ¹⁵And Moses was very wroth, and said to the LORD, Respect not thou their offering: I have not taken one ass from them, neither have I hurt one of them. ¹⁶And Moses said to Korah, Be thou and all thy company before the LORD, thou, and they, and Aaron, to-morrow: ¹⁷And take every man his censer, and put incense in them, and bring ye before the LORD every man his censer, two hundred and fifty censers; thou also and Aaron each of you his censer. ¹⁸And they took every man his censer, and put fire in them, and laid incense on them, and stood in the door of the tabernacle of the congregation with Moses and Aaron. ¹⁹And Korah gathered all the congregation against them to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and the glory of the LORD appeared to all the congregation. ²⁰And the LORD spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, ²¹Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment. ²²And they fell upon their faces, and said, O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and wilt thou be wroth with all the congregation? ²³And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ²⁴Speak to the congregation, saying, Withdraw yourselves from about the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. ²⁵And Moses rose up, and went to Dathan and Abiram; and the elders of Israel followed him. ²⁶And he spoke to the congregation, saying, Depart, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest ye be consumed in all their sins. ²⁷So they withdrew from the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, on every side: and Dathan and Abiram came out, and stood in the door of their tents, and their wives, and their sons, and their little children. ²⁸And Moses said, by this ye shall know that the LORD hath sent me to do all these works: for I have not done them of my own mind. ²⁹If these men shall die the common death of all men, or if they be visited after the visitation of all men; then the LORD hath not sent me. ³⁰But if the LORD shall make a new thing, and the earth shall open her mouth, and swallow them up, with all that appertain to them, and they go down quick into the pit; then ye shall understand that these men have provoked the LORD. ³¹And it came to pass, as he had made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground cleaved asunder that was under them: ³²And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained to Korah, and all their goods. ³³They, and all that appertained to them went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed upon them: and they perished from among the congregation. ³⁴And all Israel that were round about them, fled at the cry of them: for they said, Lest the earth swallow us up also. ³⁵And there came out a fire from the LORD, and consumed the two hundred and fifty men that offered incense. ³⁶And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ³⁷Speak to Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, that he take up the censers out of the burning, and scatter thou the fire yonder; for they are hallowed. ³⁸The censers of these sinners against their own souls, let them make them broad plates for a covering of the altar: for they offered them before the LORD, therefore they are hallowed: and they shall be a sign to the children of Israel. ³⁹And Eleazar the priest took the brazen censers, with which they that were burnt had offered; and they were made broad plates for a covering of the altar: ⁴⁰To be a memorial to the children of Israel, that no stranger, who is not of the seed of Aaron, should come near to offer incense before the LORD; that he may not be as Korah, and as his company: as the LORD said to him by the hand of Moses. ⁴¹But on the morrow all the congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron, saying, Ye have killed the people of the LORD. ⁴²And it came to pass when the congregation was gathered against Moses and against Aaron, that they looked towards the tabernacle of the congregation: and behold, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the LORD appeared. ⁴³And Moses and Aaron came before the tabernacle of the congregation. ⁴⁴And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ⁴⁵Remove from among this congregation, that I may consume them as in a moment. And they fell upon their faces. ⁴⁶And Moses said to Aaron, Take a censer, and put fire in it from off the altar, and put on incense, and go quickly to the congregation, and make an atonement for them: for there is wrath gone out from the LORD; the plague is begun. ⁴⁷And Aaron took as Moses commanded, and ran into the midst of the congregation; and behold, the plague was begun among the people: and he put on incense, and made an atonement for the people. ⁴⁸And he stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stayed. ⁴⁹Now they that died in the plague were fourteen thousand and seven hundred, besides them that died about the matter of Korah. ⁵⁰And Aaron returned to Moses at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and the plague was stayed.

Chapter 17

¹And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ²Speak to the children of Israel, and take of every one of them a rod according to the house of their fathers, of all their princes according to the house of their fathers, twelve rods: write thou every man's name upon his rod. ³And thou shalt write Aaron's name upon the rod of Levi: for one rod shall be for the head of the house of their fathers. ⁴And thou shalt lay them in the tabernacle of the congregation before the testimony, where I will meet with you. ⁵And it shall come to pass, that the man's rod, whom I shall choose, shall blossom: and I will make to cease from me the murmurings of the children of Israel, by which they murmur against you. ⁶And Moses spoke to the children of Israel, and every one of their princes gave him a rod apiece, for each prince one, according to their fathers' houses, even twelve rods: and the rod of Aaron was among their rods. ⁷And Moses laid the rods before the LORD in the tabernacle of witness. ⁸And it came to pass, that on the morrow Moses went into the tabernacle of witness; and behold, the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi had budded, and brought forth buds, and bloomed blossoms, and yielded almonds. ⁹And Moses brought out all the rods from before the LORD to all the children of Israel: and they looked, and took every man his rod. ¹⁰And the LORD said to Moses, Bring Aaron's rod again, before the testimony, to be kept for a token against the rebels; and thou shalt quite take away their murmurings from me, that they die not. ¹¹And Moses did so: as the LORD commanded him, so did he. ¹²And the children of Israel spoke to Moses, saying, Behold, we die, we perish, we all perish. ¹³Whoever approacheth the tabernacle of the LORD shall die: shall we be consumed with dying?

Chapter 18

¹And the LORD said to Aaron, Thou and thy sons and thy father's house with thee shall bear the iniquity of the sanctuary: and thou and thy sons with thee shall bear the iniquity of your priesthood. ²And thy brethren also of the tribe of Levi, the tribe of thy father, bring thou with thee, that they may be joined to thee, and minister to thee: but thou and thy sons with thee shall minister before the tabernacle of witness. ³And they shall keep thy charge, and the charge of all the tabernacle: only they shall not come nigh the vessels of the sanctuary and the altar, that neither they, nor ye also, die. ⁴And they shall be joined to thee, and keep the charge of the tabernacle of the congregation, for all the service of the tabernacle: and a stranger shall not come nigh to you. ⁵And ye shall keep the charge of the sanctuary, and the charge of the altar: that there be no wrath any more upon the children of Israel. ⁶And I, behold, I have taken your brethren the Levites from among the children of Israel: to you they are given as a gift for the LORD, to do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation. ⁷Therefore thou and thy sons with thee shall keep your priest's office for every thing of the altar, and within the vail; and ye shall serve: I have given your priest's office to you as a service of gift: and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death. ⁸And the LORD spoke to Aaron, Behold, I also have given thee the charge of my heave-offerings of all the hallowed things of the children of Israel; to thee have I given them by reason of the anointing, and to thy sons, by an ordinance for ever. ⁹This shall be thine of the most holy things reserved from the fire: every oblation of theirs, every meat-offering of theirs, and every sin-offering of theirs, and every trespass-offering of theirs, which they shall render to me, shall be most holy for thee and for thy sons. ¹⁰In the most holy place shalt thou eat it; every male shall eat it: it shall be holy to thee. ¹¹And this is thine; the heave-offering of their gift, with all the wave-offerings of the children of Israel: I have given them to thee, and to thy sons, and to thy daughters with thee, by a statute for ever: every one that is clean in thy house shall eat of it. ¹²All the best of the oil, and all the best of the wine, and of the wheat, the first-fruits of them which they shall offer to the LORD, them have I given to thee. ¹³And whatever is first ripe in the land, which they shall bring to the LORD, shall be thine; every one that is clean in thy house shall eat of it. ¹⁴Every thing devoted in Israel shall be thine. ¹⁵Every thing that openeth the matrix in all flesh, which they bring to the LORD, whether of men or beast, shall be thine: nevertheless, the first born of man shalt thou surely redeem, and the firstling of unclean beasts shalt thou redeem. ¹⁶And those that are to be redeemed from a month old shalt thou redeem, according to thy estimation, for the money of five shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary, which is twenty gerahs. ¹⁷But the firstling of a cow, or the firstling of a sheep, or the firstling of a goat, thou shalt not redeem; they are holy: thou shalt sprinkle their blood upon the altar, and shalt burn their fat for an offering made by fire, for a sweet savor to the LORD. ¹⁸And the flesh of them shall be thine, as the wave-breast and as the right shoulder are thine ¹⁹All the heave-offerings of the holy things, which the children of Israel offer to the LORD, have I given to thee, and to thy sons and thy daughters with thee, by a statute for ever: it is a covenant of salt for ever before the LORD to thee and to thy seed with thee. ²⁰And the LORD spoke to Aaron, Thou shalt have no inheritance in their land, neither shalt thou have any part among them: I am thy part and thy inheritance among the children of Israel. ²¹And behold, I have given the children of Levi all the tenth in Israel for an inheritance, for their service which they serve, even the service of the tabernacle of the congregation. ²²Neither must the children of Israel henceforth come nigh the tabernacle of the congregation, lest they bear sin, and die. ²³But the Levites shall do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation, and they shall bear their iniquity: It shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations, that among the children of Israel they have no inheritance. ²⁴But the tithes of the children of Israel, which they offer as a heave-offering to the LORD, I have given to the Levites to inherit: therefore I have said to them, Among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance. ²⁵And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ²⁶Thus speak to the Levites, and say to them, When ye take of the children of Israel the tithes which I have given you from them for your inheritance, then ye shall offer up a heave-offering of it for the LORD, even a tenth part of the tithe. ²⁷And this your heave-offering shall be reckoned to you, as though it were the corn of the threshing-floor, and as the fullness of the wine-press. ²⁸Thus ye also shall offer a heave-offering to the LORD of all your tithes which ye receive of the children of Israel; and ye shall give of them the LORD'S heave-offering to Aaron the priest. ²⁹Out of all your gifts ye shall offer every heave-offering of the LORD, of all the best of it, even its hallowed part out of it. ³⁰Therefore thou shalt say to them, When ye have heaved from it the best of it, then it shall be counted to the Levites as the increase of the threshing-floor, and as the increase of the wine-press. ³¹And ye shall eat it in every place, ye and your households: for it is your reward for your service in the tabernacle of the congregation. ³²And ye shall bear no sin by reason of it, when ye have heaved from it the best of it: neither shall ye pollute the holy things of the children of Israel, lest ye die.

Chapter 19

¹And the LORD spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, ²This is the ordinance of the law which the LORD hath commanded, saying, Speak to the children of Israel, that they bring thee a red heifer without spot, in which is no blemish, and upon which never came a yoke: ³And ye shall give her to Eleazar the priest, that he may bring her forth without the camp, and one shall slay her before his face: ⁴And Eleazar the priest shall take of her blood with his finger, and sprinkle of her blood directly before the tabernacle of the congregation seven times: ⁵And one shall burn the heifer in his sight; her skin, and her flesh, and her blood, with her dung, shall he burn: ⁶And the priest shall take cedar-wood, and hyssop, and scarlet, and cast it into the midst of the burning of the heifer. ⁷Then the priest shall wash his clothes, and he shall bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp, and the priest shall be unclean until the evening. ⁸And he that burneth her shall wash his clothes in water, and bathe his flesh in water, and shall be unclean until the evening. ⁹And a man that is clean shall gather the ashes of the heifer, and lay them without the camp in a clean place, and it shall be kept for the congregation of the children of Israel, for a water of separation: it is a purification for sin. ¹⁰And he that gathereth the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the evening: and it shall be to the children of Israel, and to the stranger that sojourneth among them, for a statute for ever. ¹¹He that toucheth the dead body of any man shall be unclean seven days. ¹²He shall purify himself with it on the third day, and on the seventh day he shall be clean: but if he shall not purify himself the third day, then the seventh day he shall not be clean. ¹³Whoever toucheth the dead body of any man that is dead, and purifieth not himself, defileth the tabernacle of the LORD; and that soul shall be cut off from Israel: because the water of separation was not sprinkled upon him, he shall be unclean; his uncleanness is yet upon him. ¹⁴This is the law, when a man dieth in a tent: all that come into the tent, and all that is in the tent, shall be unclean seven days. ¹⁵And every open vessel, which hath no covering bound upon it, is unclean. ¹⁶And whoever toucheth one that is slain with a sword in the open fields, or a dead body, or a bone of a man, or a grave, shall be unclean seven days. ¹⁷And for an unclean person they shall take of the ashes of the burnt heifer of purification for sin, and running water shall be put to it in a vessel: ¹⁸And a clean person shall take hyssop, and dip it in the water, and sprinkle it upon the tent, and upon all the vessels, and upon the persons that were there, and upon him that touched a bone, or one slain, or one dead, or a grave: ¹⁹And the clean person shall sprinkle upon the unclean on the third day, and on the seventh day: and on the seventh day he shall purify himself, and wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and shall be clean at evening. ²⁰But the man that shall be unclean, and shall not purify himself, that soul shall be cut off from among the congregation, because he hath defiled the sanctuary of the LORD: the water of separation hath not been sprinkled upon him: he is unclean. ²¹And it shall be a perpetual statute to them, that he that sprinkleth the water of separation shall wash his clothes; and he that toucheth the water of separation shall be unclean until the evening. ²²And whatever the unclean person toucheth shall be unclean; and the soul that toucheth it shall be unclean until the evening.

Chapter 20

¹Then came the children of Israel, even the whole congregation, into the desert of Zin in the first month; and the people abode in Kadesh; and Miriam died there, and was buried there. ²And there was no water for the congregation: and they assembled themselves against Moses and against Aaron. ³And the people chid with Moses, and spoke, saying, O that we had died when our brethren died before the LORD! ⁴And why have ye brought the congregation of the LORD into this wilderness, that we and our cattle should die there? ⁵And why have ye conducted us from Egypt, to bring us to this evil place? it is no place of seed, or of figs, or of vines, or of pomegranates; neither is there any water to drink. ⁶And Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and they fell upon their faces: and the glory of the LORD appeared to them. ⁷And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ⁸Take the rod, and convene thou the assembly, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye to the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth its water, and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock: so thou shalt give drink to the congregation and their beasts. ⁹And Moses took the rod from before the LORD, as he commanded him. ¹⁰And Moses and Aaron assembled the congregation before the rock, and he said to them, Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock? ¹¹And Moses lifted his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also. ¹²And the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them. ¹³This is the water of Meribah; because the children of Israel strove with the LORD, and he was sanctified in them. ¹⁴And Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom, Thus saith thy brother Israel, Thou knowest all the travail that hath befallen us: ¹⁵How our fathers went down into Egypt, and we have dwelt in Egypt a long time; and the Egyptians afflicted us, and our fathers: ¹⁶And when we cried to the LORD, he heard our voice, and sent an angel, and hath brought us forth from Egypt: and behold, we are in Kadesh, a city in the uttermost of thy border: ¹⁷Let us pass, I pray thee, through thy country: we will not pass through the fields, or through the vineyards, neither will we drink of the water of the wells: we will go by the king's high-way, we will not turn to the right hand nor to the left, until we have passed thy borders. ¹⁸And Edom said to him, Thou shalt not pass by me, lest I come out against thee with the sword. ¹⁹And the children of Israel said to him, We will go by the highway: and if I and my cattle drink of thy water, then I will pay for it: I will only, without doing any thing else, go through on my feet. ²⁰And he said, Thou shalt not go through. And Edom came out against him with many people, and with a strong hand. ²¹Thus Edom refused to give Israel passage through his border: wherefore Israel turned away from him. ²²And the children of Israel, even the whole congregation, journeyed from Kadesh, and came to mount Hor. ²³And the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron in mount Hor, by the coast of the land of Edom, saying, ²⁴Aaron shall be gathered to his people: for he shall not enter into the land which I have given to the children of Israel, because ye rebelled against my word at the water of Meribah. ²⁵Take Aaron and Eleazar his son, and bring them up to mount Hor: ²⁶And strip Aaron of his garments, and put them upon Eleazar his son: and Aaron shall be gathered to his people, and shall die there. ²⁷And Moses did as the LORD commanded: and they ascended mount Hor in the sight of all the congregation. ²⁸And Moses stripped Aaron of his garments, and put them upon Eleazar his son; and Aaron died there on the top of the mount: and Moses and Eleazar came down from the mount. ²⁹And when all the congregation saw that Aaron was dead, they mourned for Aaron thirty days, even all the house of Israel.

Chapter 21

¹And when king Arad the Canaanite, who dwelt in the south, heard that Israel came by the way of the spies; then he fought against Israel, and took some of them prisoners. ²And Israel vowed a vow to the LORD, and said, If thou wilt indeed deliver this people into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities. ³And the LORD hearkened to the voice of Israel, and delivered up the Canaanites; and they utterly destroyed them and their cities: and he called the name of the place Hormah. ⁴And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way of the Red sea, to compass the land of Edom: and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way. ⁵And the people spoke against God, and against Moses, Why have ye brought us out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul lotheth this light bread. ⁶And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many people of Israel died. ⁷Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD, and against thee; pray to the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people. ⁸And the LORD said to Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. ⁹And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived. ¹⁰And the children of Israel moved forward, and pitched in Oboth. ¹¹And they journeyed from Oboth, and pitched at Ije-abarim, in the wilderness which is before Moab, towards the sun-rising. ¹²From thence they removed, and pitched in the valley of Zared. ¹³From thence they removed, and pitched on the other side of Arnon, which is in the wilderness that cometh out of the coasts of the Amorites: for Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites. ¹⁴Wherefore it is said in the book of the wars of the LORD, What he did in the Red sea, and in the brooks of Arnon, ¹⁵And at the stream of the brooks that goeth down to the dwelling of Ar, and lieth upon the border of Moab. ¹⁶And from thence they went to Beer: that is the well of which the LORD spoke to Moses, Assemble the people, and I will give them water. ¹⁷Then Israel sung this song, Spring up, O well; sing ye to it: ¹⁸The princes digged the well, the nobles of the people digged it, by the direction of the lawgiver, with their staffs. And from the wilderness they went to Mattanah: ¹⁹And from Mattanah to Nahaliel: and from Nahaliel to Bamoth: ²⁰And from Bamoth in the valley, that is in the country of Moab, to the top of Pisgah, which looketh towards Jeshimon. ²¹And Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, saying, ²²Let me pass through thy land: we will not turn into the fields, or into the vineyards; we will not drink of the waters of the well: but we will go along by the king's high-way, until we have past thy borders. ²³And Sihon would not suffer Israel to pass through his border: but Sihon collected all his people, and went out against Israel into the wilderness: and he came to Jahaz, and fought against Israel: ²⁴And Israel smote him with the edge of the sword, and possessed his land from Arnon to Jabbok, even to the children of Ammon: for the border of the children of Ammon was strong. ²⁵And Israel took all these cities: and Israel dwelt in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon, and in all its villages. ²⁶For Heshbon was the city of Sihon the king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab, and taken all his land out of his hand, even to Arnon. ²⁷Wherefore they that speak in proverbs say, Come into Heshbon, let the city of Sihon be built and prepared. ²⁸For there has a fire gone out of Heshbon, a flame from the city of Sihon: it hath consumed Ar of Moab, and the lords of the high places of Arnon. ²⁹Woe to thee, Moab! thou art undone, O people of Chemosh: he hath given his sons that escaped, and his daughters, into captivity to Sihon king of the Amorites. ³⁰We have shot at them; Heshbon has perished even to Dibon, and we have laid them waste even to Nophah, which reacheth to Medeba. ³¹Thus Israel dwelt in the land of the Amorites. ³²And Moses sent to explore Jaazer, and they took its villages, and drove out the Amorites that were there. ³³And they turned and went up by the way of Bashan: and Og the king of Bashan went out against them, he, and all his people, to the battle at Edrei. ³⁴And the LORD said to Moses, Fear him not: for I have delivered him into thy hand, and all his people, and his land; and thou shalt do to him as thou didst to Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt at Heshbon. ³⁵So they smote him, and his sons, and all his people, until there was none left to him alive: and they possessed his land.

Chapter 22

¹And the children of Israel moved forward, and pitched in the plains of Moab on this side of Jordan by Jericho. ²And Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites. ³And Moab was greatly afraid of the people, because they were many: and Moab was distressed because of the children of Israel. ⁴And Moab said to the elders of Midian, Now shall this company lick up all that are around us, as the ox licketh up the grass of the field. And Balak the son of Zippor was king of the Moabites at that time. ⁵He sent messengers therefore to Balaam the son of Beor to Pethor, which is by the river of the land of the children of his people, to call him, saying, Behold, there has a people come out from Egypt: behold, they cover the face of the earth, and they abide over against me: ⁶Come now therefore, I pray thee, Curse for me this people; for they are too mighty for me: it may be I shall prevail, that we may smite them, and that I may drive them out of the land: for I know that he whom thou blessest is blessed, and he whom thou cursest is cursed. ⁷And the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the rewards of divination in their hand; and they came to Balaam, and spoke to him the words of Balak. ⁸And he said to them, Lodge here this night, and I will bring you word again, as the LORD shall speak to me: and the princes of Moab abode with Balaam. ⁹And God came to Balaam, and said, What men are these with thee? ¹⁰And Balaam said to God, Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, hath sent to me, saying, ¹¹Behold, there has a people come out of Egypt, which covereth the face of the earth: come now, curse them for me: it may be I shall be able to overcome them, and drive them out. ¹²And God said to Balaam, Thou shalt not go with them; thou shalt not curse the people: for they are blessed. ¹³And Balaam rose in the morning, and said to the princes of Balak, Depart into your land: for the LORD refuseth to give me leave to go with you. ¹⁴And the princes of Moab rose up, and they went to Balak, and said, Balaam refuseth to come with us. ¹⁵And Balak sent yet again princes, more, and more honorable than they. ¹⁶And they came to Balaam, and said to him, Thus saith Balak the son of Zippor, Let nothing, I pray thee, hinder thee from coming to me: ¹⁷For I will promote thee to very great honor, and I will do whatever thou sayest to me: come therefore, I pray thee, curse this people for me. ¹⁸And Balaam answered and said to the servants of Balak, If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the word of the LORD my God, to do less or more. ¹⁹Now therefore, I pray you, tarry ye also here this night, that I may know what the LORD will say to me more. ²⁰And God came to Balaam at night, and said to him, If the men come to call thee, rise and go with them; but yet the word which I shall say to thee, that shalt thou perform. ²¹And Balaam rose in the morning, and saddled his ass, and went with the princes of Moab. ²²And God's anger was kindled because he went: and the angel of the LORD stood in the way for an adversary against him. Now he was riding upon his ass, and his two servants were with him. ²³And the ass saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and the ass turned aside out of the way, and went into the field: and Balaam smote the ass, to turn her into the way. ²⁴But the angel of the LORD stood in a path of the vineyards, a wall being on this side, and a wall on that side. ²⁵And when the ass saw the angel of the LORD, she thrust herself against the wall, and crushed Balaam's foot against the wall: and he smote her again. ²⁶And the angel of the LORD went further, and stood in a narrow place, where was no way to turn either to the right hand or to the left. ²⁷And when the ass saw the angel of the LORD, she fell down under Balaam: and Balaam's anger was kindled, and he smote the ass with a staff. ²⁸And the LORD opened the mouth of the ass, and she said to Balaam, What have I done to thee, that thou hast smitten me these three times? ²⁹And Balaam said to the ass, Because thou hast mocked me: I would there were a sword in my hand, for now would I kill thee. ³⁰And the ass said to Balaam, Am not I thy ass, upon which thou hast rid ever since I was thine to this day? was I ever wont to do so to thee? And he said, Nay. ³¹Then the LORD opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and he bowed down his head, and fell flat on his face. ³²And the angel of the LORD said to him, Why hast thou smitten thy ass these three times? behold, I went out to withstand thee, because thy way is perverse before me: ³³And the ass saw me, and turned from me these three times: unless she had turned from me, surely now also I had slain thee, and saved her alive. ³⁴And Balaam said to the angel of the LORD, I have sinned; for I knew not that thou stoodest in the way against me: now therefore, if it displeaseth thee, I will return again. ³⁵And the angel of the LORD said to Balaam, Go with the men: but only the word that I shall speak to thee, that thou shalt speak: So Balaam went with the princes of Balak. ³⁶And when Balak heard that Balaam had come, he went out to meet him to a city of Moab, which is in the border of Arnon, which is in the utmost limit. ³⁷And Balak said to Balaam, Did I not earnestly send to thee to call thee? why camest thou not to me? am I not able indeed to promote thee to honor? ³⁸And Balaam said to Balak, Lo, I have come to thee: have I now any power at all to say any thing? the word that God putteth in my mouth, that shall I speak. ³⁹And Balaam went with Balak, and they came to Kirjath-huzoth. ⁴⁰And Balak offered oxen and sheep, and sent to Balaam, and to the princes that were with him. ⁴¹And it came to pass on the morrow, that Balak took Balaam, and conducted him to the high places of Baal, that thence he might see the utmost part of the people.

Chapter 23

¹And Balaam said to Balak, Build me here seven altars, and prepare me here seven oxen and seven rams. ²And Balak did as Balaam had spoken; and Balak and Balaam offered on every altar a bullock and a ram. ³And Balaam said to Balak, Stand by thy burnt-offering, and I will go: it may be the LORD will come to meet me: and whatever he showeth me I will tell thee. And he went to a high place. ⁴And God met Balaam: and he said to him, I have prepared seven altars, and I have offered upon every altar a bullock and a ram. ⁵And the LORD put a word in Balaam's mouth, and said, Return to Balak, and thus thou shalt speak. ⁶And he returned to him and lo, he stood by his burnt-sacrifice, he, and all the princes of Moab. ⁷And he took up his parable, and said, Balak the king of Moab hath brought me from Aram, out of the mountains of the east, saying, Come, curse Jacob for me, and come, defy Israel. ⁸How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed? or how shall I defy, whom the LORD hath not defied? ⁹For from the top of the rocks I see him, and from the hills I behold him: lo, the people shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations. ¹⁰Who can count the dust of Jacob, and the number of the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his! ¹¹And Balak said to Balaam, What hast thou done to me? I took thee to curse my enemies, and behold, thou hast blessed them altogether. ¹²And he answered and said, Must I not take heed to speak that which the LORD hath put in my mouth? ¹³And Balak said to him, Come, I pray thee, with me to another place, from whence thou mayest see them: thou shalt see but the utmost part of them, and shalt not see them all: and from thence curse them for me. ¹⁴And he brought him into the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and built seven altars, and offered a bullock and a ram on every altar. ¹⁵And he said to Balak, Stand here by thy burnt-offering, while I meet the LORD yonder. ¹⁶And the LORD met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and said, Go again to Balak, and say thus. ¹⁷And when he came to him, behold, he stood by his burnt-offering, and the princes of Moab with him. And Balak said to him, What hath the LORD spoken? ¹⁸And he took up his parable, and said, Rise, Balak, and hear; hearken to me, thou son of Zippor: ¹⁹God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoke, and shall he not make it good? ²⁰Behold, I have received commandment to bless: and he hath blessed, and I cannot reverse it. ²¹He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel; the LORD his God is with him, and the shout of a king is among them. ²²God brought them out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of a unicorn. ²³Surely there is no enchantment against Jacob, neither is there any divination against Israel: according to this time it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel, What hath God wrought! ²⁴Behold, the people shall rise up as a great lion, and lift up himself as a young lion: he shall not lie down until he shall eat of the prey, and drink the blood of the slain. ²⁵And Balak said to Balaam, Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all. ²⁶But Balaam answered and said to Balak, Did I not tell thee, saying, All that the LORD speaketh, that I must do? ²⁷And Balak said to Balaam, Come, I pray thee, I will bring thee to another place; perhaps it will please God that thou mayest from thence curse them for me. ²⁸And Balak brought Balaam to the top of Peor, that looketh towards Jeshimon. ²⁹And Balaam said to Balak, Build me here seven altars, and prepare me here seven bullocks and seven rams. ³⁰And Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered a bullock and a ram on every altar.

Chapter 24

¹And when Balaam saw that it pleased the LORD to bless Israel, he went not, as at other times, to seek for enchantments, but he set his face toward the wilderness. ²And Balaam lifted up his eyes, and he saw Israel abiding in his tents according to their tribes, and the spirit of God came upon him. ³And he took up his parable, and said, Balaam the son of Beor hath said, and the man whose eyes are open hath said: ⁴He hath said, who heard the words of God, who saw the vision of the Almighty, falling into a trance, but having his eyes open: ⁵How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy tabernacles, O Israel! ⁶As the valleys are they spread forth, as gardens by the river's side, as the trees of lign-aloes which the LORD hath planted, and as cedar-trees beside the waters. ⁷He shall pour the water out of his buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters, and his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted. ⁸God brought him forth from Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of a unicorn: he shall eat up the nations his enemies, and shall break their bones, and pierce them through with his arrows. ⁹He couched, he lay down as a lion, and as a great lion: who shall rouse him? Blessed is he that blesseth thee, and cursed is he that curseth thee. ¹⁰And Balak's anger was kindled against Balaam, and he smote his hands together: and Balak said to Balaam, I called thee to curse my enemies, and behold, thou hast altogether blessed them these three times. ¹¹Therefore now flee thou to thy place: I thought to promote thee to great honor; but lo, the LORD hath kept thee back from honor. ¹²And Balaam said to Balak, Did I not speak also to thy messengers whom thou sentest to me, saying, ¹³If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the commandment of the LORD, to do either good or bad of my own mind; but what the LORD saith, that will I speak? ¹⁴And now, behold, I go to my people: come therefore, I will advertise thee what this people will do to thy people in the latter days. ¹⁵And he took up his parable, and said, Balaam the son of Beor hath said, and the man whose eyes are open hath said: ¹⁶He hath said, who heard the words of God, and knew the knowledge of the Most High, who saw the vision of the Almighty, falling into a trance, but having his eyes open: ¹⁷I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Scepter shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth. ¹⁸And Edom shall be a possession, Seir also shall be a possession for his enemies; and Israel shall do valiantly. ¹⁹Out of Jacob shall come he that shall have dominion, and shall destroy him that remaineth of the city. ²⁰And when he looked on Amalek, he took up his parable, and said, Amalek was the first of the nations, but his latter end shall be that he shall perish for ever. ²¹And he looked on the Kenites, and took up his parable, and said, Strong is thy dwelling-place, and thou puttest thy nest in a rock. ²²Nevertheless, the Kenite shall be wasted, until Asher shall carry thee away captive. ²³And he took up his parable, and said, Alas, who shall live when God doeth this! ²⁴And ships shall come from the coast of Chittim, and shall afflict Ashur, and shall afflict Eber, and he also shall perish for ever. ²⁵And Balaam arose, and went and returned to his place: and Balak also went his way.

Chapter 25

¹And Israel abode in Shittim, and the people began to commit lewdness with the daughters of Moab. ²And they called the people to the sacrifices of their gods: and the people ate, and bowed down to their gods. ³And Israel joined himself to Baal-peor: and the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel. ⁴And the LORD said to Moses, Take all the heads of the people, and hang them up before the LORD against the sun, that the fierce anger of the LORD may be turned away from Israel. ⁵And Moses said to the judges of Israel, Slay ye every one his men that were joined to Baal-peor. ⁶And, behold, one of the children of Israel came and brought to his brethren a Midianitish woman in the sight of Moses, and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel, who were weeping before the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. ⁷And when Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose from among the congregation, and took a javelin in his hand; ⁸And he went after the man of Israel into the tent, and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her belly: So the plague was stayed from the children of Israel. ⁹And those that died in the plague were twenty and four thousand. ¹⁰And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ¹¹Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, hath turned my wrath away from the children of Israel, (while he was zealous for my sake among them,) that I consumed not the children of Israel in my jealousy. ¹²Wherefore say, Behold, I give to him my covenant of peace. ¹³And he shall have it, and his seed after him, even the covenant of an everlasting priesthood; because he was zealous for his God, and made an atonement for the children of Israel. ¹⁴Now the name of the Israelite that was slain, even that was slain with the Midianitish woman, was Zimri, the son of Salu, a prince of a chief house among the Simeonites. ¹⁵And the name of the Midianitish woman that was slain was Cozbi the daughter of Zur; he was head over a people, and of a chief house in Midian. ¹⁶And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ¹⁷Distress the Midianites, and smite them: ¹⁸For they distress you with their wiles, with which they have beguiled you in the matter of Peor, and in the matter of Cozbi, the daughter of a prince of Midian their sister, who was slain in the day of the plague for Peor's sake.

Chapter 26

¹And it came to pass after the plague, that the LORD spoke to Moses, and to Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, saying, ²Take the sum of all the congregation of the children of Israel, from twenty years old and upward, throughout their fathers' house, all that are able to go to war in Israel. ³And Moses and Eleazar the priest spoke with them in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho, saying, ⁴Take the sum of the people, from twenty years old and upward; as the LORD commanded Moses and the children of Israel, who went forth from the land of Egypt. ⁵Reuben the eldest son of Israel: the children of Reuben; Hanoch, of whom cometh the family of the Hanochites: Of Phallu, the family of the Phalluites: ⁶Of Hezron, the family of the Hezronites: of Carmi, the family of the Carmites. ⁷These are the families of the Reubenites: and they that were numbered of them were forty and three thousand and seven hundred and thirty. ⁸And the sons of Phallu; Eliab. ⁹And the sons of Eliab; Nemuel, and Dathan, and Abiram. This is that Dathan and Abiram, who were famous in the congregation, who strove against Moses and against Aaron in the company of Korah, when they strove against the LORD: ¹⁰And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up together with Korah, when that company died, when the fire devoured two hundred and fifty men: and they became a sign. ¹¹Notwithstanding the children of Korah died not. ¹²The sons of Simeon after their families: of Nemuel, the family of the Nemuelites: of Jamin, the family of the Jaminites: of Jachin, the family of the Jachinites: ¹³Of Zerah, the family of the Zarhites: of Shaul, the family of the Shaulites. ¹⁴These are the families of the Simeonites, twenty and two thousand and two hundred. ¹⁵The children of Gad after their families: of Zephon, the family of the Zephonites: of Haggai, the family of the Haggites: of Shuni, the family of the Shunites: ¹⁶Of Ozni, the family of the Oznites: of Eri, the family of the Erites: ¹⁷Of Arod, the family of the Arodites: of Areli, the family of the Arelites. ¹⁸These are the families of the children of Gad, according to those that were numbered of them, forty thousand and five hundred. ¹⁹The sons of Judah were Er and Onan: and Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan. ²⁰And the sons of Judah after their families were; of Shelah, the family of the Shelanites: of Pharez, the family of the Pharezites: of Zerah, the family of the Zarhites. ²¹And the sons of Pharez were; of Hezron, the family of the Hezronites: of Hamul, the family of the Hamulites. ²²These are the families of Judah according to those that were numbered of them, seventy six thousand and five hundred. ²³Of the sons of Issachar after their families: of Tola, the family of the Tolaites: of Pua, the family of the Punites: ²⁴Of Jashub, the family of the Jashubites: of Shimron, the family of the Shimronites. ²⁵These are the families of Issachar according to those that were numbered of them, sixty four thousand and three hundred. ²⁶Of the sons of Zebulun after their families: of Sered, the family of the Sardites: of Elon, the family of the Elonites: of Jahleel, the family of the Jahleelites. ²⁷These are the families of the Zebulunites according to those that were numbered of them, sixty thousand and five hundred. ²⁸The sons of Joseph after their families were Manasseh and Ephraim. ²⁹Of the sons of Manasseh: of Machir, the family of the Machirites: and Machir begat Gilead: of Gilead come the family of the Gileadites. ³⁰These are the sons of Gilead: of Jeezer, the family of the Jeezerites: of Helek, the family of the Helekites: ³¹And of Asriel, the family of the Asrielites: and of Shechem, the family of the Shechemites: ³²And of Shemida, the family of the Shemidaites: and of Hepher, the family of the Hepherites. ³³And Zelophehad the son of Hepher had no sons, but daughters: and the names of the daughters of Zelophehad were Mahlah, and Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. ³⁴These are the families of Manasseh, and those that were numbered of them, fifty and two thousand and seven hundred. ³⁵These are the sons of Ephraim after their families: of Shuthelah, the family of the Shuthalhites: of Becher, the family of the Bachrites: of Tahan, the family of the Tahanites. ³⁶And these are the sons of Shuthelah: of Eran, the family of the Eranites. ³⁷These are the families of the sons of Ephraim according to those that were numbered of them, thirty and two thousand and five hundred. These are the sons of Joseph after their families. ³⁸The sons of Benjamin after their families: of Bela, the family of the Belaites: of Ashbel, the family of the Ashbelites: of Ahiram, the family of the Ahiramites: ³⁹Of Shupham, the family of the Shuphamites: of Hupham, the family of the Huphamites. ⁴⁰And the sons of Bela were Ard and Naaman: of Ard, the family of the Ardites: and of Naaman, the family of the Naamites. ⁴¹These are the sons of Benjamin after their families: and they that were numbered of them were forty and five thousand and six hundred. ⁴²These are the sons of Dan after their families: of Shuham, the family of the Shuhamites. These are the families of Dan after their families. ⁴³All the families of the Shuhamites according to those that were numbered of them were sixty and four thousand and four hundred. ⁴⁴Of the children of Asher after their families: of Jimna, the family of the Jimnites: of Jesui, the family of the Jesuites: of Beriah, the family of the Beriites. ⁴⁵Of the sons of Beriah: of Heber, the family of the Heberites: of Malchiel, the family of the Malchielites. ⁴⁶And the name of the daughter of Asher was Sarah. ⁴⁷These are the families of the sons of Asher according to those that were numbered of them; who were fifty and three thousand and four hundred. ⁴⁸Of the sons of Naphtali after their families: of Jahzeel, the family of the Jahzeelites: of Guni, the family of the Gunites: ⁴⁹Of Jezer, the family of the Jezerites: of Shillem, the family of the Shillemites. ⁵⁰These are the families of Naphtali according to their families: and they that were numbered of them, were forty and five thousand and four hundred. ⁵¹These were the numbered of the children of Israel, six hundred thousand and a thousand seven hundred and thirty. ⁵²And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ⁵³To these the land shall be divided for an inheritance, according to the number of names. ⁵⁴To many thou shalt give the more inheritance, and to few thou shalt give the less inheritance: to every one shall his inheritance be given, according to those that were numbered of him. ⁵⁵Notwithstanding, the land shall be divided by lot: according to the names of the tribes of their fathers they shall inherit. ⁵⁶According to the lot shall the possession of it be divided between many and few. ⁵⁷And these are they that were numbered of the Levites after their families: of Gershon, the family of the Gershonites: of Kohath, the family of the Kohathites: of Merari, the family of the Merarites. ⁵⁸These are the families of the Levites: the family of the Libnites, the family of the Hebronites, the family of the Mahlites, the family of the Mushites, the family of the Korathites. And Kohath begat Amram. ⁵⁹And the name of Amram's wife was Jochebed, the daughter of Levi, whom her mother bore to Levi in Egypt: and she bore to Amram Aaron and Moses, and Miriam their sister. ⁶⁰And to Aaron was born Nadab, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. ⁶¹And Nadab and Abihu died, when they offered strange fire before the LORD. ⁶²And those that were numbered of them were twenty and three thousand, all males from a month old and upward: for they were not numbered among the children of Israel, because there was no inheritance given them among the children of Israel. ⁶³These are they that were numbered by Moses and Eleazar the priest, who numbered the children of Israel in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho. ⁶⁴But among these there was not a man of them whom Moses and Aaron the priest numbered, when they numbered the children of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai. ⁶⁵For the LORD had said of them, They shall surely die in the wilderness. And there was not left a man of them, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun.

Chapter 27

¹Then came the daughters of Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of Manasseh the son of Joseph: and these are the names of his daughters; Mahlah, Noah, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and Tirzah. ²And they stood before Moses, and before Eleazar the priest, and before the princes, and all the congregation, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, saying, ³Our father died in the wilderness, and he was not in the company of them that assembled themselves against the LORD in the company of Korah; but died in his own sin, and had no sons. ⁴Why should the name of our father be done away from among his family, because he hath no son? Give to us therefore a possession among the brethren of our father. ⁵And Moses brought their cause before the LORD. ⁶And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ⁷The daughters of Zelophehad speak what is right: thou shalt surely give them a possession of an inheritance among their father's brethren; and thou shalt cause the inheritance of their father to pass to them. ⁸And thou shalt speak to the children of Israel, saying, If a man shall die, and have no son, then ye shall cause his inheritance to pass to his daughter. ⁹And if he shall have no daughter, then ye shall give his inheritance to his brethren. ¹⁰And if he shall have no brethren, then ye shall give his inheritance to his father's brethren. ¹¹And if his father shall have no brethren, then ye shall give inheritance to his kinsman that is next to him of his family, and he shall possess it: and it shall be to the children of Israel a statute of judgment, as the LORD commanded Moses. ¹²And the LORD said to Moses, Ascend this mount Abarim, and see the land which I have given to the children of Israel. ¹³And when thou hast seen it, thou also shalt be gathered to thy people, as Aaron thy brother was gathered. ¹⁴For ye rebelled against my commandment in the desert of Zin, in the strife of the congregation, to sanctify me at the water before their eyes: that is the water of Meribah in Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin. ¹⁵And Moses spoke to the LORD, saying, ¹⁶Let the LORD, the God of the spirits of all flesh, set a man over the congregation. ¹⁷Who may go out before them, and who may go in before them, and who may lead them out, and who may bring them in; that the congregation of the LORD be not as sheep which have no shepherd. ¹⁸And the LORD said to Moses, Take to thee Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit, and lay thy hand upon him; ¹⁹And set him before Eleazar the priest, and before all the congregation: and give him a charge in their sight. ²⁰And thou shalt put some of thy honor upon him, that all the congregation of the children of Israel may be obedient. ²¹And he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall ask counsel for him after the judgment of Urim before the LORD: at his word shall they go out, and at his word they shall come in, both he, and all the children of Israel with him, even all the congregation. ²²And Moses did as the LORD commanded him: and he took Joshua, and set him before Eleazar the priest, and before all the congregation: ²³And he laid his hands upon him, and gave him a charge, as the LORD commanded by the hand of Moses.

Chapter 28

¹And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ²Command the children of Israel, and say to them, My offering, and my bread for my sacrifices made by fire, for a sweet savor to me, shall ye observe to offer to me in their due season. ³And thou shalt say to them, This is the offering made by fire which ye shall offer to the LORD; two lambs of the first year without spot day by day, for a continual burnt-offering. ⁴The one lamb shalt thou offer in the morning, and the other lamb shalt thou offer at evening. ⁵And a tenth part of an ephah of flour for a meat-offering, mingled with a fourth part of a hin of beaten oil. ⁶It is a continual burnt-offering, which was ordained in mount Sinai for a sweet savor, a sacrifice made by fire to the LORD. ⁷And the drink-offering of it shall be the fourth part of a hin for the one lamb: in the holy place shalt thou cause the strong wine to be poured to the LORD for a drink-offering. ⁸And the other lamb shalt thou offer at evening; as the meat-offering of the morning, and as the drink-offering of it, thou shalt offer it, a sacrifice made by fire, of a sweet savor to the LORD. ⁹And on the sabbath-day two lambs of the first year without spot, and two tenth-parts of flour for a meat-offering, mingled with oil, and its drink-offering. ¹⁰This is the burnt-offering of every sabbath, besides the continual burnt-offering, and his drink-offering. ¹¹And in the beginnings of your months ye shall offer a burnt-offering to the LORD; two young bullocks, and one ram, seven lambs of the first year without spot; ¹²And three tenth-parts of flour for a meat-offering, mingled with oil, for one bullock; and two tenth-parts of flour for a meat-offering, mingled with oil, for one ram; ¹³And a several tenth-part of flour mingled with oil for a meat-offering to one lamb, for a burnt-offering of a sweet savor, a sacrifice made by fire to the LORD. ¹⁴And their drink-offering shall be half a hin of wine to a bullock, and the third part of a hin to a ram, and a fourth part of a hin to a lamb: this is the burnt-offering of every month throughout the months of the year. ¹⁵And one kid of the goats for a sin-offering to the LORD shall be offered, besides the continual burnt-offering, and his drink-offering. ¹⁶And on the fourteenth day of the first month is the passover of the LORD. ¹⁷And on the fifteenth day of this month is the feast: seven days shall unleavened bread be eaten. ¹⁸On the first day shall be a holy convocation; in it ye shall do no manner of servile work. ¹⁹But ye shall offer a sacrifice made by fire for a burnt-offering to the LORD; two young bullocks, and one ram, and seven lambs of the first year: they shall be to you without blemish: ²⁰And their meat-offering shall be of flour mingled with oil: three tenth-parts shall ye offer for a bullock, and two tenth-parts for a ram; ²¹A several tenth-part shalt thou offer for every lamb, throughout the seven lambs: ²²And one goat for a sin-offering, to make an atonement for you. ²³Ye shall offer these besides the burnt-offering in the morning, which is for a continual burnt-offering. ²⁴After this manner ye shall offer daily throughout the seven days, the food of the sacrifice made by fire, of a sweet savor to the LORD: it shall be offered besides the continual burnt-offering, and his drink-offering. ²⁵And on the seventh day ye shall have a holy convocation; ye shall do no servile work. ²⁶Also in the day of the first-fruits, when ye bring a new meat-offering to the LORD, after your weeks are ended, ye shall have a holy convocation; ye shall do no servile work: ²⁷But ye shall offer the burnt-offering for a sweet savor to the LORD; two young bullocks, one ram, seven lambs of the first year; ²⁸And their meat-offering of flour mingled with oil, three tenth-parts to one bullock, two tenth-parts to one ram, ²⁹A several tenth part to one lamb, throughout the seven lambs; ³⁰And one kid of the goats, to make an atonement for you. ³¹Ye shall offer them besides the continual burnt-offering and his meat-offering (they shall be to you without blemish) and their drink-offerings.

Chapter 29

¹And in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, ye shall have a holy convocation; ye shall do no servile work: it is a day of blowing the trumpets to you. ²And ye shall offer a burnt-offering for a sweet savor to the LORD; one young bullock, one ram, and seven lambs of the first year without blemish: ³And their meat-offering shall be of flour mingled with oil, three tenth-parts for a bullock, and two tenth-parts for a ram, ⁴And one tenth-part for one lamb, throughout the seven lambs: ⁵And one kid of the goats for a sin-offering, to make an atonement for you: ⁶Besides the burnt-offering of the month, and his meat-offering, and the daily burnt-offering, and his meat-offering, and their drink-offerings, according to their manner, for a sweet savor, a sacrifice made by fire to the LORD. ⁷And ye shall have on the tenth day of this seventh month a holy convocation; and ye shall afflict your souls: in it ye shall not do any work. ⁸But ye shall offer a burnt-offering to the LORD for a sweet savor; one young bullock, one ram, and seven lambs of the first year; they shall be to you without blemish: ⁹And their meat-offering shall be of flour mingled with oil, three tenth-parts to a bullock, and two tenth-parts to one ram, ¹⁰A several tenth-part for one lamb, throughout the seven lambs: ¹¹One kid of the goats for a sin-offering; besides the sin-offering of atonement, and the continual burnt-offering, and the meat-offering of it, and their drink-offerings. ¹²And on the fifteenth day of the seventh month ye shall have a holy convocation; ye shall do no servile work, and ye shall keep a feast to the LORD seven days: ¹³And ye shall offer a burnt-offering, a sacrifice made by fire, of a sweet savor to the LORD; thirteen young bullocks, two rams, and fourteen lambs of the first year; they shall be without blemish: ¹⁴And their meat-offering shall be of flour mingled with oil, three tenth-parts to every bullock of the thirteen bullocks, two tenth-parts to each ram of the two rams, ¹⁵And a several tenth-part to each lamb of the fourteen lambs: ¹⁶And one kid of the goats for a sin-offering; besides the continual burnt-offering, his meat-offering, and his drink-offering. ¹⁷And on the second day ye shall offer twelve young bullocks, two rams, fourteen lambs of the first year without spot: ¹⁸And their meat-offering and their drink-offerings for the bullocks, for the rams, and for the lambs, shall be according to their number, after the manner: ¹⁹And one kid of the goats for a sin-offering; besides the continual burnt-offering, and its meat-offering, and their drink-offerings. ²⁰And on the third day eleven bullocks, two rams, fourteen lambs of the first year without blemish; ²¹And their meat-offering and their drink-offerings for the bullocks, for the rams, and for the lambs, shall be according to their number, after the manner: ²²And one goat for a sin-offering; besides the continual burnt-offering, and its meat-offering, and its drink-offering. ²³And on the fourth day ten bullocks, two rams, and fourteen lambs of the first year without blemish: ²⁴Their meat-offering and their drink-offerings for the bullocks, for the rams, and for the lambs, shall be according to their number, after the manner. ²⁵And one kid of the goats for a sin-offering; besides the continual burnt-offering, its meat-offering, and its drink-offering. ²⁶And on the fifth day nine bullocks, two rams, and fourteen lambs of the first year without spot: ²⁷And their meat-offering and their drink-offerings for the bullocks, for the rams, and for the lambs, shall be according to their number, after the manner: ²⁸And one goat for a sin-offering; besides the continual burnt-offering, and its meat-offering, and its drink-offering. ²⁹And on the sixth day eight bullocks, two rams, and fourteen lambs of the first year without blemish: ³⁰And their meat-offering and their drink-offerings for the bullocks, for the rams, and for the lambs, shall be according to their number, after the manner: ³¹And one goat for a sin-offering; besides the continual burnt-offering, its meat-offering, and its drink-offering. ³²And on the seventh day seven bullocks, two rams, and fourteen lambs of the first year without blemish: ³³And their meat-offering and their drink-offerings for the bullocks, for the rams, and for the the lambs, shall be according to their number, after the manner: ³⁴And one goat for a sin-offering: besides the continual burnt-offering, its meat-offering, and its drink-offering. ³⁵On the eighth day ye shall have a solemn assembly: in it ye shall do no servile work. ³⁶But ye shall offer a burnt-offering, a sacrifice made by fire, of a sweet savor to the LORD: one bullock, one ram, seven lambs of the first year without blemish: ³⁷Their meat-offering and their drink-offerings for the bullock, for the ram, and for the lambs, shall be according to their number, after the manner: ³⁸And one goat for a sin-offering; besides the continual burnt-offering, and its meat-offering, and its drink-offering. ³⁹These things ye shall do to the LORD in your set feasts, besides your vows, and your free-will-offerings, for your burnt-offerings, and for your meat-offerings, and for your drink-offerings, and for your peace-offerings.

Chapter 30

¹\29:40\And Moses told the children of Israel according to all that the LORD commanded Moses. ²\30:1\And Moses spoke to the heads of the tribes concerning the children of Israel, saying, This is the thing which the LORD hath commanded. ³\30:2\If a man shall vow a vow to the LORD, or swear an oath to bind his soul with a bond; he shall not break his word; he shall do according to all that proceedeth out of his mouth. ⁴\30:3\If a woman also shall vow a vow to the LORD, and bind herself by a bond, being in her father's house in her youth; ⁵\30:4\And her father shall hear her vow, and her bond with which she hath bound her soul, and her father shall hold his peace at her: then all her vows shall stand, and every bond with which she hath bound her soul shall stand. ⁶\30:5\But if her father shall disallow her in the day that he heareth; not any of her vows or of her bonds with which she hath bound her soul shall stand: and the LORD shall forgive her, because her father disallowed her. ⁷\30:6\And if she had a husband when she vowed, or uttered aught from her lips, with which she bound her soul; ⁸\30:7\And her husband heard it, and held his peace at her in the day that he heard it: then her vows shall stand, and her bonds with which she bound her soul shall stand. ⁹\30:8\But if her husband disallowed her on the day that he heard it; then he shall make of no effect her vow which she vowed, and that which she uttered with her lips, with which she bound her soul: and the LORD shall forgive her. ¹⁰\30:9\But every vow of a widow, and of her that is divorced, with which they have bound their souls, shall stand against her. ¹¹\30:10\And if she vowed in her husband's house, or bound her soul by a bond with an oath; ¹²\30:11\And her husband heard it, and held his peace at her, and disallowed her not: then all her vows shall stand, and every bond with which she bound her soul shall stand. ¹³\30:12\But if her husband hath utterly made them void on the day he heard them; then whatever proceeded out of her lips concerning her vows, or concerning the bond of her soul, shall not stand: her husband hath made them void; and the LORD shall forgive her. ¹⁴\30:13\Every vow, and every binding oath to afflict the soul, her husband may establish it, or her husband may make it void. ¹⁵\30:14\But if her husband altogether holds his peace at her from day to day; then he establisheth all her vows, or all her bonds, which are upon her: he confirmeth them, because he held his peace at her in the day that he heard them. ¹⁶\30:15\But if he shall any way make them void after that he hath heard them; then he shall bear her iniquity. ¹⁷\30:16\These are the statutes which the LORD commanded Moses, between a man and his wife, between the father and his daughter, being yet in her youth in her father's house.

Chapter 31

¹And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ²Avenge the children of Israel of the Midianites: afterward shalt thou be gathered to thy people. ³And Moses spoke to the people, saying, Arm some of yourselves for the war, and let them go against the Midianites, and avenge the LORD on Midian. ⁴Of every tribe a thousand, throughout all the tribes of Israel, shall ye send to the war. ⁵So there were delivered out of the thousands of Israel, a thousand of every tribe, twelve thousand armed for war. ⁶And Moses sent them to the war, a thousand of every tribe, them and Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, to the war, with the holy instruments, and the trumpets to blow in his hand. ⁷And they warred against the Midianites, as the LORD commanded Moses; and they slew all the males. ⁸And they slew the kings of Midian, besides the rest of them that were slain; namely, Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, five kings of Midian: Balaam also the son of Beor they slew with the sword. ⁹And the children of Israel took all the women of Midian captives, and their little ones, and took the spoil of all their cattle, and all their flocks, and all their goods. ¹⁰And they burnt all their cities in which they dwelt, and all their goodly castles, with fire. ¹¹And they took all the spoil, and all the prey, both of men and of beasts. ¹²And they brought the captives, and the prey, and the spoil to Moses and Eleazar the priest, and to the congregation of the children of Israel, to the camp at the plains of Moab, which are by Jordan near Jericho. ¹³And Moses, and Eleazar the priest, and all the princes of the congregation, went forth to meet them without the camp. ¹⁴And Moses was wroth with the officers of the host, with the captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, who came from the battle. ¹⁵And Moses said to them, Have ye saved all the women alive? ¹⁶Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against the LORD, in the matter of Peor, and there was a plague among the congregation of the LORD. ¹⁷Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him. ¹⁸But all the female children, that have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves. ¹⁹And do ye abide without the camp seven days: whoever hath killed any person, and whoever hath touched any slain, purify both yourselves and your captives on the third day, and on the seventh day. ²⁰And purify all your raiment, and all that is made of skins, and all work of goats' hair, and all things made of wood. ²¹And Eleazar the priest said to the men of war who went to the battle, This is the ordinance of the law which the LORD commanded Moses; ²²Only the gold, and the silver, the brass, the iron, the tin, and the lead, ²³Every thing that may abide the fire, ye shall make it go through the fire, and it shall be clean: nevertheless it shall be purified with the water of separation: and all that abideth not the fire ye shall make go through the water. ²⁴And ye shall wash your clothes on the seventh day, and ye shall be clean, and afterward ye shall come into the camp. ²⁵And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ²⁶Take the sum of the prey that was taken, both of man and of beast, thou, and Eleazar the priest, and the chief fathers of the congregation: ²⁷And divide the prey into two parts; between them that took the war upon them, who went out to battle, and between all the congregation: ²⁸And levy a tribute to the LORD of the men of war who went out to battle: one soul of five hundred, both of the persons, and of the beeves, and of the asses, and of the sheep: ²⁹Take it of their half, and give it to Eleazar the priest, for a heave-offering of the LORD. ³⁰And of the children of Israel's half, thou shalt take one portion of fifty, of the persons, of the beeves, of the asses, and of the flocks, of all manner of beasts, and give them to the Levites, who keep the charge of the tabernacle of the LORD. ³¹And Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the LORD commanded Moses. ³²And the booty, being the rest of the prey which the men of war had taken, was six hundred thousand and seventy thousand and five thousand sheep, ³³And seventy two thousand beeves, ³⁴And sixty one thousand asses, ³⁵And thirty and two thousand persons in all, of women that had not known man by lying with him. ³⁶And the half which was the portion of them that went out to war, was in number three hundred thousand and seven and thirty thousand and five hundred sheep: ³⁷And the LORD'S tribute of the sheep was six hundred and seventy five. ³⁸And the beeves were thirty and six thousand; of which the LORD'S tribute was seventy two. ³⁹And the asses were thirty thousand and five hundred; of which the LORD'S tribute was sixty one. ⁴⁰And the persons were sixteen thousand, of which the LORD'S tribute was thirty and two persons. ⁴¹And Moses gave the tribute, which was the LORD'S heave-offering, to Eleazar the priest, as the LORD commanded Moses. ⁴²And of the children of Israel's half, which Moses divided from the men that warred, ⁴³(Now the half that pertained to the congregation was three hundred thousand and thirty thousand and seven thousand and five hundred sheep, ⁴⁴And thirty and six thousand beeves, ⁴⁵And thirty thousand asses and five hundred, ⁴⁶And sixteen thousand persons;) ⁴⁷Even of the children of Israel's half, Moses took one portion of fifty, both of man and of beast, and gave them to the Levites, who kept the charge of the tabernacle of the LORD; as the LORD commanded Moses. ⁴⁸And the officers who were over thousands of the hosts, the captains of thousands, and captains of hundreds, came near to Moses: ⁴⁹And they said to Moses, Thy servants have taken the sum of the men of war who are under our charge, and there lacketh not one man of us. ⁵⁰We have therefore brought an oblation for the LORD, what every man hath obtained of jewels of gold, chains, and bracelets, rings, ear-rings, and tablets, to make an atonement for our souls before the LORD. ⁵¹And Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold of them, even all wrought jewels. ⁵²And all the gold of the offering that they offered to the LORD, of the captains of thousands, and of the captains of hundreds, was sixteen thousand seven hundred and fifty shekels. ⁵³(For the men of war had taken spoil, every man for himself.) ⁵⁴And Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold of the captains of thousands, and of hundreds, and brought it into the tabernacle of the congregation, for a memorial for the children of Israel before the LORD.

Chapter 32

¹Now the children of Reuben and the children of Gad had a very great multitude of cattle: and when they saw the land of Jazer, and the land of Gilead, that behold, the place was a place for cattle; ²The children of Gad and the children of Reuben came and spoke to Moses, and to Eleazar the priest, and to the princes of the congregation, saying, ³Ataroth, and Dibon, and Jazer, and Nimrah, and Heshbon, and Elealeh, and Shebam, and Nebo, and Beon, ⁴Even the country which the LORD smote before the congregation of Israel, is a land for cattle, and thy servants have cattle: ⁵Wherefore, said they, if we have found grace in thy sight, let this land be given to thy servants for a possession, and bring us not over Jordan. ⁶And Moses said to the children of Gad and to the children of Reuben, Shall your brethren go to war, and shall ye sit here? ⁷And why discourage ye the heart of the children of Israel from going over into the land which the LORD hath given them? ⁸Thus did your fathers, when I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to see the land. ⁹For when they went up to the valley of Eshcol, and saw the land, they discouraged the heart of the children of Israel, that they should not go into the land which the LORD had given them. ¹⁰And the LORD'S anger was kindled the same time, and he swore, saying, ¹¹Surely none of the men that came up from Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; because they have not wholly followed me: ¹²Save Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite, and Joshua the son of Nun: for they have wholly followed the LORD. ¹³And the LORD'S anger was kindled against Israel, and he made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation that had done evil in the sight of the LORD was consumed. ¹⁴And behold, ye have risen up in your fathers' stead, an increase of sinful men, to augment yet the fierce anger of the LORD towards Israel. ¹⁵For if ye turn away from after him, he will yet again leave them in the wilderness; and he will destroy all this people. ¹⁶And they came near to him, and said, We will build sheep-folds here for our cattle, and cities for our little ones: ¹⁷But we ourselves will go ready armed before the children of Israel, until we have brought them to their place: and our little ones shall dwell in the fortified cities, because of the inhabitants of the land. ¹⁸We will not return to our houses, until the children of Israel have inherited every man his inheritance. ¹⁹For we will not inherit with them on the other side of Jordan, or forward; because our inheritance hath fallen to us on this side of Jordan eastward. ²⁰And Moses said to them, If ye will do this thing, if ye will go armed before the LORD to war, ²¹And will go all of you armed over Jordan before the LORD, until he hath driven out his enemies from before him, ²²And the land shall be subdued before the LORD: then afterward ye shall return, and be guiltless before the LORD, and before Israel; and this land shall be your possession before the LORD. ²³But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out. ²⁴Build you cities for your little ones, and folds for your sheep; and do that which hath proceeded out of your mouth. ²⁵And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben spoke to Moses, saying, Thy servants will do as my lord commandeth. ²⁶Our little ones, our wives, our flocks, and all our cattle, shall be there in the cities of Gilead: ²⁷But thy servants will pass over, every man armed for war, before the LORD to battle, as my lord saith. ²⁸So concerning them Moses commanded Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, and the chief fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel: ²⁹And Moses said to them, If the children of Gad and the children of Reuben will pass with you over Jordan, every man armed for battle, before the LORD, and the land shall be subdued before you; then ye shall give them the land of Gilead for a possession: ³⁰But if they will not pass over with you armed, they shall have possessions among you in the land of Canaan. ³¹And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben answered, saying, As the LORD hath said to thy servants, so will we do. ³²We will pass over armed before the LORD into the land of Canaan, that the possession of our inheritance on this side Jordan may be ours. ³³And Moses gave to them, even to the children of Gad, and to the children of Reuben, and to half the tribe of Manasseh the son of Joseph, the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, and the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, the land, with its cities in the borders, even the cities of the country around. ³⁴And the children of Gad built Dibon, and Ataroth, and Aroer, ³⁵And Atroth, Shophan, and Jaazer, and Jogbehah, ³⁶And Beth-nimrah, and Beth-haran, fortified cities: and folds for sheep. ³⁷And the children of Reuben built Heshbon, and Elealeh, and Kirjathaim, ³⁸And Nebo, and Baal-meon, (their names being changed,) and Shibmah: and gave other names to the cities which they built. ³⁹And the children of Machir the son of Manasseh went to Gilead, and took it, and dispossessed the Amorite who was in it. ⁴⁰And Moses gave Gilead to Machir the son of Manasseh; and he dwelt in it. ⁴¹And Jair the son of Manasseh went and took its small towns, and called them Havoth-jair. ⁴²And Nobah went and took Kenath, and its villages, and called it Nobah, after his own name.

Chapter 33

¹These are the journeys of the children of Israel, who went forth from the land of Egypt with their armies under the hand of Moses and Aaron. ²And Moses wrote their goings out according to their journeys by the commandment of the LORD: and these are their journeys according to their goings out. ³And they departed from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month; on the morrow after the passover the children of Israel went out with a high hand in the sight of all the Egyptians. ⁴For the Egyptians buried all their first-born, whom the LORD had smitten among them: upon their gods also the LORD executed judgments. ⁵And the children of Israel removed from Rameses, and encamped in Succoth. ⁶And they departed from Succoth, and encamped in Etham, which is in the edge of the wilderness. ⁷And they removed from Etham, and turned again to Pi-hahiroth, which is before Baal-zephon: and they encamped before Migdol. ⁸And they departed from before Pi-hahiroth, and passed through the midst of the sea into the wilderness, and went three days' journey in the wilderness of Etham, and encamped in Marah. ⁹And they removed from Marah, and came to Elim: and in Elim were twelve fountains of water, and seventy palm-trees; and they encamped there. ¹⁰And they removed from Elim, and encamped by the Red sea. ¹¹And they removed from the Red sea, and encamped in the wilderness of Sin. ¹²And they took their journey out of the wilderness of Sin, and encamped in Dophkah. ¹³And they departed from Dophkah, and encamped in Alush. ¹⁴And they removed from Alush, and encamped at Rephidim, where was no water for the people to drink. ¹⁵And they departed from Rephidim, and encamped in the wilderness of Sinai. ¹⁶And they removed from the desert of Sinai, and encamped at Kibroth-hattaavah. ¹⁷And they departed from Kibroth-hattaavah, and encamped at Hazeroth. ¹⁸And they departed from Hazeroth, and encamped in Rithmah. ¹⁹And they departed from Rithmah, and encamped at Rimmon-parez. ²⁰And they departed from Rimmon-parez, and encamped in Libnah. ²¹And they removed from Libnah, and encamped at Rissah. ²²And they journeyed from Rissah, and encamped in Kehelathah. ²³And they went from Kehelathah, and encamped in mount Shapher. ²⁴And they removed from mount Shapher, and encamped in Haradah. ²⁵And they removed from Haradah, and encamped in Makheloth. ²⁶And they removed from Makheloth, and encamped at Tahath. ²⁷And they departed from Tahath, and encamped at Tarah. ²⁸And they removed from Tarah, and encamped in Mithcah. ²⁹And they went from Mithcah, and encamped in Hashmonah. ³⁰And they departed from Hashmonah, and encamped at Moseroth. ³¹And they departed from Moseroth, and encamped in Bene-jaakan. ³²And they removed from Bene-jaakan, and encamped at Hor-hagidgad. ³³And they went from Hor-hagidgad, and encamped in Jotbathah. ³⁴And they removed from Jotbathah, and encamped at Ebronah. ³⁵And they departed from Ebronah, and encamped at Ezion-gaber. ³⁶And they removed from Ezion-gaber, and encamped in the wilderness of Zin, which is Kadesh. ³⁷And they removed from Kadesh, and encamped in mount Hor, in the edge of the land of Edom. ³⁸And Aaron the priest ascended mount Hor at the commandment of the LORD, and died there, in the fortieth year after the children of Israel departed from the land of Egypt, in the first day of the fifth month. ³⁹And Aaron was a hundred and twenty and three years old when he died in mount Hor. ⁴⁰And king Arad the Canaanite who dwelt in the south in the land of Canaan, heard of the coming of the children of Israel. ⁴¹And they departed from mount Hor, and encamped in Zalmonah. ⁴²And they departed from Zalmonah, and encamped in Punon. ⁴³And they departed from Punon, and encamped in Oboth. ⁴⁴And they departed from Oboth, and encamped in Ije-abarim, in the border of Moab. ⁴⁵And they departed from Iim, and encamped in Dibon-gad. ⁴⁶And they removed from Dibon-gad, and encamped in Almon-diblathaim. ⁴⁷And they removed from Almon-diblathaim, and encamped on the mountains of Abarim, before Nebo. ⁴⁸And they departed from the mountains of Abarim, and encamped in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho. ⁴⁹And they encamped by Jordan, from Beth-jeshimoth even to Abel-shittim in the plains of Moab. ⁵⁰And the LORD spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho, saying, ⁵¹Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, When ye have passed over Jordan into the land of Canaan; ⁵²Then ye shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and destroy all their pictures, and destroy all their molten images, and quite demolish all their high places: ⁵³And ye shall dispossess the inhabitants of the land, and dwell in it; for I have given you the land to possess it. ⁵⁴And ye shall divide the land by lot for an inheritance among your families: to the more ye shall give the more inheritance, and to the fewer ye shall give the less inheritance: every man's inheritance shall be in the place where his lot falleth; according to the tribes of your fathers ye shall inherit. ⁵⁵But if ye will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you; then it shall come to pass, that those which ye let remain of them shall be prickles in your eyes, and thorns in your sides, and shall harass you in the land in which ye dwell. ⁵⁶Moreover, it shall come to pass, that I shall do to you as I thought to do to them.

Chapter 34

¹And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ²Command the children of Israel, and say to them, When ye come into the land of Canaan; (this is the land that shall fall to you for an inheritance, even the land of Canaan with its borders.) ³Then your south quarter shall be from the wilderness of Zin along by the border of Edom, and your south border shall be the outmost coast of the salt sea eastward: ⁴And your border shall turn from the south to the ascent of Akrabbim, and pass on to Zin: its limit shall be from the south to Kadesh-barnea, and shall go on to Hazar-addar, and pass on to Azmon: ⁵And the border shall form a circuit from Azmon to the river of Egypt, and the limits of it shall be at the sea. ⁶And as for the western border, ye shall even have the great sea for a border: this shall be your west border. ⁷And this shall be your north border: from the great sea ye shall designate for you mount Hor: ⁸From mount Hor ye shall designate your border to the entrance of Hamath; and the limits of the border shall be at Zedad: ⁹And the border shall go on to Ziphron, and the limits of it shall be at Hazar-enan: this shall be your north border. ¹⁰And ye shall designate your east border from Hazar-enan to Shepham: ¹¹And the limit shall go down from Shepham to Riblah, on the east side of Ain; and the border shall descend, and shall reach to the side of the sea of Chinnereth eastward: ¹²And the border shall go down to Jordan, and the limits of it shall be at the salt sea: This shall be your land with its limits on all sides. ¹³And Moses commanded the children of Israel, saying, This is the land which ye shall inherit by lot, which the LORD commanded to give to the nine tribes, and to the half tribe: ¹⁴For the tribe of the children of Reuben, according to the house of their fathers, and the tribe of the children of Gad according to the house of their fathers, have received their inheritance; and half the tribe of Manasseh have received their inheritance: ¹⁵The two tribes and the half tribe have received their inheritance on this side of Jordan near Jericho eastward, towards the sun-rising. ¹⁶And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ¹⁷These are the names of the men who shall divide the land to you: Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun. ¹⁸And ye shall take one prince of every tribe, to divide the land by inheritance. ¹⁹And the names of the men are these: of the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh. ²⁰And of the tribe of the children of Simeon, Shemuel the son of Ammihud. ²¹Of the tribe of Benjamin, Elidad the son of Chislon. ²²And the prince of the tribe of the children of Dan, Bukki the son of Jogli. ²³The prince of the children of Joseph, for the tribe of the children of Manasseh, Hanniel the son of Ephod. ²⁴And the prince of the tribe of the children of Ephraim, Kemuel the son of Shiphtan. ²⁵And the prince of the tribe of the children of Zebulun, Elizaphan the son of Parnach. ²⁶And the prince of the tribe of the children of Issachar, Paltiel the son of Azzan. ²⁷And the prince of the tribe of the children of Asher, Ahihud the son of Shelomi. ²⁸And the prince of the tribe of the children of Naphtali, Pedahel the son of Ammihud. ²⁹These are they whom the LORD commanded to divide the inheritance to the children of Israel in the land of Canaan.

Chapter 35

¹And the LORD spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho, saying, ²Command the children of Israel, that they give to the Levites of the inheritance of their possession cities to dwell in; and ye shall give also to the Levites suburbs for the cities around them. ³And they shall have the cities to dwell in; and the suburbs of them shall be for their cattle, and for their goods, and for all their beasts. ⁴And the suburbs of the cities which ye shall give to the Levites, shall reach from the wall of the city and outward a thousand cubits on all sides. ⁵And ye shall measure from without the city on the east side two thousand cubits, and on the south side two thousand cubits, and on the west side two thousand cubits, and on the north side two thousand cubits; and the city shall be in the midst: this shall be to them the suburbs of the cities. ⁶And among the cities which ye shall give to the Levites there shall be six cities for refuge, which ye shall appoint for the man-slayer, that he may flee thither: and to them ye shall add forty and two cities. ⁷So all the cities which ye shall give to the Levites shall be forty and eight cities: them shall ye give with their suburbs. ⁸And the cities which ye shall give shall be of the possession of the children of Israel: from them that have many ye shall give many; but from them that have few ye shall give few: every one shall give of his cities to the Levites according to his inheritance which he inheriteth. ⁹And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ¹⁰Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, When ye have passed over Jordan into the land of Canaan; ¹¹Then ye shall appoint for you cities to be cities of refuge for you; that the slayer may flee thither, who killeth any person at unawares. ¹²And they shall be to you cities for refuge from the avenger; that the man-slayer may not die, until he stands before the congregation in judgment. ¹³And of these cities which ye shall give, six cities shall ye have for refuge. ¹⁴Ye shall give three cities on this side of Jordan, and three cities shall ye give in the land of Canaan, which shall be cities of refuge. ¹⁵These six cities shall be a refuge, both for the children of Israel, and for the stranger, and for the sojourner among them: that every one that killeth any person unawares may flee thither. ¹⁶And if he shall smite him with an instrument of iron, so that he shall die, he is a murderer: the murderer shall surely be put to death. ¹⁷And if he shall smite him by throwing a stone, by which he may die, and he shall die, he is a murderer: the murderer shall surely be put to death. ¹⁸Or if he shall smite him with a hand-weapon of wood, with which he may die, and he shall die, he is a murderer: the murderer shall surely be put to death. ¹⁹The avenger of blood himself shall slay the murderer: when he meeteth him, he shall slay him. ²⁰But if he shall thrust him of hatred, or hurl at him by laying in wait, that he die. ²¹Or in enmity shall smite him with his hand, that he die: he that smote him shall surely be put to death; for he is a murderer: the avenger of blood shall slay the murderer, when he meeteth him. ²²But if he shall thrust him suddenly without enmity, or shall have cast upon him any thing without laying in wait, ²³Or with any stone, by which a man may die, seeing him not, and shall cast it upon him, that he die, and was not his enemy, neither sought his harm: ²⁴Then the congregation shall judge between the slayer and the avenger of blood according to these judgments: ²⁵And the congregation shall deliver the slayer out of the hand of the avenger of blood, and the congregation shall restore him to the city of his refuge, whither he had fled: and he shall abide in it to the death of the high priest, who was anointed with the holy oil. ²⁶But if the slayer shall at any time come without the border of the city of his refuge, whither he had fled; ²⁷And the avenger of blood find him without the borders of the city of his refuge, and the avenger of blood shall kill the slayer; he shall not be guilty of blood: ²⁸Because he should have remained in the city of his refuge until the death of the high priest: but after the death of the high priest the slayer shall return into the land of his possession. ²⁹So these things shall be for a statute of judgment to you throughout your generations in all your dwellings. ³⁰Whoever killeth any person, the murderer shall be put to death by the mouth of witnesses: but one witness shall not testify against any person to cause him to die. ³¹Moreover, ye shall take no satisfaction for the life of a murderer, who is guilty of death: but he shall be surely put to death. ³²And ye shall take no satisfaction for him that hath fled to the city of his refuge, that he should come again to dwell in the land, until the death of the priest. ³³So ye shall not pollute the land in which ye are: for blood it defileth the land: and the land cannot be cleansed of the blood that is shed in it, but by the blood of him that shed it. ³⁴Defile not therefore the land which ye shall inhabit, in which I dwell: for I the LORD dwell among the children of Israel.

Chapter 36

¹And the chief fathers of the families of the children of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of the sons of Joseph, came near, and spoke before Moses, and before the princes, the chief fathers of the children of Israel: ²And they said, The LORD commanded my lord to give the land for an inheritance by lot to the children of Israel: and my lord was commanded by the LORD to give the inheritance of Zelophehad our brother to his daughters. ³And if they shall be married to any of the sons of the other tribes of the children of Israel, then will their inheritance be taken from the inheritance of our fathers, and will be put to the inheritance of the tribe into which they are received: so it will be taken from the lot of our inheritance. ⁴And when the jubilee of the children of Israel shall be, then will their inheritance be put to the inheritance of the tribe into which they are received: so shall their inheritance be taken away from the inheritance of the tribe of our fathers. ⁵And Moses commanded the children of Israel according to the word of the LORD, saying, The tribe of the sons of Joseph hath said well. ⁶This is the thing which the LORD doth command concerning the daughters of Zelophehad, saying, Let them marry to whom they think best; only to the family of the tribe of their father shall they marry. ⁷So shall not the inheritance of the children of Israel remove from tribe to tribe: for every one of the children of Israel shall keep himself to the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers. ⁸And every daughter, that possesseth an inheritance in any tribe of the children of Israel, shall be wife to one of the family of the tribe of her father, that the children of Israel may enjoy every man the inheritance of his fathers. ⁹Neither shall the inheritance remove from one tribe to another tribe; but every one of the tribes of the children of Israel shall keep himself to his own inheritance. ¹⁰Even as the LORD commanded Moses, so did the daughters of Zelophehad: ¹¹For Mahlah, Tirzah, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and Noah, the daughters of Zelophehad, were married to their father's brothers' sons: ¹²And they were married into the families of the sons of Manasseh the son of Joseph, and their inheritance remained in the tribe of the family of their father. ¹³These are the commandments and the judgments, which the LORD commanded by the hand of Moses to the children of Israel in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho.

Deuteronomy

Chapter 1

¹These are the words which Moses spoke to all Israel on the east side of Jordan in the wilderness, in the plain over against Suf, between Paran, and Tophel, and Laban, and Hazeroth, and Dizahab. ²(There are eleven days journey from Horeb by the way of mount Seir to Kadesh-barnea.) ³And it came to pass in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, that Moses spoke to the children of Israel, according to all that the LORD had given him in commandment to them; ⁴After he had slain Sihon the king of the Amorites, who dwelt in Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, who dwelt at Astaroth in Edrei: ⁵On the east side of Jordan, in the land of Moab, began Moses to declare this law, saying, ⁶The LORD our God spoke to us in Horeb, saying, Ye have dwelt long enough in this mount: ⁷Turn you, and take your journey, and go to the mount of the Amorites, and to all the places nigh to it, in the plain, on the hills, and in the vale, and in the south, and by the sea-side, to the land of the Canaanites, and to Lebanon, to the great river, the river Euphrates. ⁸Behold, I have set the land before you: go in and possess the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give to them and to their seed after them. ⁹And I spoke to you at that time, saying, I am not able to bear you myself alone: ¹⁰The LORD your God hath multiplied you, and behold, ye are this day as the stars of heaven for multitude. ¹¹(The LORD God of your fathers make you a thousand times so many more as ye are, and bless you, as he hath promised you!) ¹²How can I alone bear your encumbrance, and your burden, and your strife? ¹³Take ye wise men, and understanding, and known among your tribes, and I will make them rulers over you. ¹⁴And ye answered me, and said, The thing which thou hast spoken is good for us to do. ¹⁵So I took the chief of your tribes, wise men, and known, and made them heads over you, captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, and captains over fifties, and captains over tens, and officers among your tribes. ¹⁶And I charged your judges at that time, saying, Hear the causes between your brethren, and judge righteously between every man and his brother, and the stranger that is with him. ¹⁷Ye shall not respect persons in judgment; but ye shall hear the small as well as the great; ye shall not be afraid of the face of man; for the judgment is God's: and the cause that is too hard for you, bring to me, and I will hear it. ¹⁸And I commanded you at that time all the things which ye should do. ¹⁹And when we departed from Horeb, we went through all that great and terrible wilderness, which ye saw by the way of the mountain of the Amorites, as the LORD our God commanded us; and we came to Kadesh-barnea. ²⁰And I said to you, Ye have come to the mountain of the Amorites, which the LORD our God doth give to us. ²¹Behold, the LORD thy God hath set the land before thee: go up and possess it, as the LORD God of thy fathers hath said to thee; fear not, neither be discouraged. ²²And ye came near to me every one of you, and said, We will send men before us, and they shall explore the land for us, and bring us word again by what way we must go up, and into what cities we shall come. ²³And the saying pleased me well: and I took twelve men of you, one of a tribe: ²⁴And they turned and ascended the mountain, and came to the valley of Eshcol, and explored it. ²⁵And they took of the fruit of the land in their hands, and brought it down to us, and brought us word again, and said, It is a good land which the LORD our God doth give us. ²⁶Notwithstanding, ye would not go up, but rebelled against the commandment of the LORD your God: ²⁷And ye murmured in your tents, and said, Because the LORD hated us, he hath brought us forth from the land of Egypt, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us. ²⁸Whither shall we go up? our brethren have discouraged our heart, saying, The people are greater and taller than we; the cities are great and walled up to heaven; and moreover, we have seen the sons of the Anakims there. ²⁹Then I said to you, Dread not, neither be afraid of them. ³⁰The LORD your God who goeth before you; he shall fight for you, according to all that he did for you in Egypt before your eyes; ³¹And in the wilderness, where thou hast seen how the LORD thy God bore thee, as a man doth bear his son, in all the way that ye went, until ye came into this place. ³²Yet in this thing ye did not believe the LORD your God, ³³Who went in the way before you, to search out for you a place to pitch your tents in, in fire by night, to show you by what way ye should go, and in a cloud by day. ³⁴And the LORD heard the voice of your words, and was wroth, and swore, saying, ³⁵Surely there shall not one of these men of this evil generation see that good land, which I swore to give to your fathers, ³⁶Save Caleb the son of Jephunneh; he shall see it, and to him will I give the land that he hath trod upon, and to his children, because he hath wholly followed the LORD. ³⁷Also the LORD was angry with me for your sakes, saying, Thou also shalt not go in thither. ³⁸But Joshua the son of Nun, who standeth before thee, he shall go in thither. Encourage him: for he shall cause Israel to inherit it. ³⁹Moreover, your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, and your children, which in that day had no knowledge between good and evil, they shall go in thither, and to them will I give it, and they shall possess it. ⁴⁰But as for you, turn ye, and take your journey into the wilderness by the way of the Red sea. ⁴¹Then ye answered and said to me, We have sinned against the LORD, we will go up and fight, according to all that the LORD our God commanded us. And when ye had girded on every man his weapons of war, ye were ready to ascend the hill. ⁴²And the LORD said to me, Say to them, Go not up, neither fight; for I am not among you; lest ye be smitten before your enemies. ⁴³So I spoke to you; and ye would not hear, but rebelled against the commandment of the LORD, and presumptuously ascended the hill. ⁴⁴And the Amorites, who dwelt on that mountain, came out against you, and chased you, as bees do, and destroyed you in Seir, even to Hormah. ⁴⁵And ye returned and wept before the LORD; but the LORD would not hearken to your voice, nor give ear to you. ⁴⁶So ye abode in Kadesh many days, according to the days that ye abode there.

Chapter 2

¹Then we turned, and took our journey into the wilderness by the way of the Red sea, as the LORD spoke to me: and we compassed mount Seir many days. ²And the LORD spoke to me, saying, ³Ye have compassed this mountain long enough: turn you northward. ⁴And command thou the people, saying, Ye are to pass through the border of your brethren the children of Esau, who dwell in Seir; and they will be afraid of you: therefore take ye good heed to yourselves: ⁵Meddle not with them; for I will not give you of their land, no, not so much as a foot-breadth; because I have given mount Seir to Esau for a possession. ⁶Ye shall buy food of them for money, that ye may eat; and ye shall also buy water of them for money, that ye may drink. ⁷For the LORD thy God hath blessed thee in all the works of thy hand: he knoweth thy walking through this great wilderness: these forty years the LORD thy God hath been with thee: thou hast lacked nothing. ⁸And when we passed by from our brethren the children of Esau, who dwelt in Seir, through the way of the plain from Elath, and from Ezion-gaber, we turned and passed by the way of the wilderness of Moab. ⁹And the LORD said to me, Distress not the Moabites, neither contend with them in battle: for I will not give thee of their land for a possession; because I have given Ar to the children of Lot for a possession. ¹⁰(The Emims dwelt in it in times past, a people great, and many, and tall as the Anakims; ¹¹Who also were accounted giants, as the Anakims; but the Moabites call them Emims. ¹²The Horims also dwelt formerly in Seir, but the children of Esau succeeded them, when they had destroyed them from before them, and dwelt in their stead; as Israel did to the land of his possession, which the LORD gave to them.) ¹³Now rise, said I, and pass over the brook Zered: and we went over the brook Zered. ¹⁴And the space in which we came from Kadesh-barnea, until we passed the brook Zered, was thirty and eight years; until all the generation of the men of war were wasted from among the host, as the LORD swore to them. ¹⁵For indeed the hand of the LORD was against them, to destroy them from among the host, until they were consumed. ¹⁶So it came to pass, when all the men of war were consumed and dead from among the people, ¹⁷That the LORD spoke to me, saying, ¹⁸Thou art to pass over through Ar, the coast of Moab, this day: ¹⁹And when thou comest nigh over against the children of Ammon, distress them not, nor meddle with them: for I will not give thee of the land of the children of Ammon any possession; because I have given it to the children of Lot for a possession. ²⁰(That also was accounted a land of giants: giants dwelt in it in old time; and the Ammonites call them Zamzummims; ²¹A people great, and many, and tall as the Anakims; but the LORD destroyed them before them; and they succeeded them, and dwelt in their stead: ²²As he did to the children of Esau, who dwelt in Seir, when he destroyed the Horims from before them; and they succeeded them, and dwelt in their stead even to this day: ²³And the Avims who dwelt in Hazerim even to Azzah, the Caphtorims, who came forth from Caphtor, destroyed them, and dwelt in their stead.) ²⁴Arise ye, take your journey, and pass over the river Arnon: behold, I have given into thy hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land: begin to possess it, and contend with him in battle. ²⁵This day will I begin to put the dread of thee and the fear of thee upon the nations that are under the whole heaven, who shall hear report of thee, and shall tremble, and be in anguish because of thee. ²⁶And I sent messengers from the wilderness of Kedemoth to Sihon king of Heshbon with words of peace, saying, ²⁷Let me pass through thy land: I will go along by the highway, I will neither turn to the right hand nor to the left. ²⁸Thou shalt sell me food for money, that I may eat; and give me water for money, that I may drink: only I will pass through on my feet; ²⁹(As the children of Esau who dwell in Seir, and the Moabites who dwell in Ar, did to me;) until I shall pass over Jordan into the land which the LORD our God giveth us. ³⁰But Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us pass by him: for the LORD thy God hardened his spirit, and made his heart obstinate, that he might deliver him into thy hand, as appeareth this day. ³¹And the LORD said to me, Behold, I have begun to give Sihon and his land before thee: begin to possess, that thou mayest inherit his land. ³²Then Sihon came out against us, he and all his people, to fight at Jahaz. ³³And the LORD our God delivered him before us; and we smote him, and his sons, and all his people. ³⁴And we took all his cities at that time, and utterly destroyed the men, and the women, and the little ones of every city, we left none to remain. ³⁵Only the cattle we took for a prey to ourselves, and the spoil of the cities which we took. ³⁶From Aroer, which is by the brink of the river of Arnon, and from the city that is by the river, even to Gilead, there was not one city too strong for us: the LORD our God delivered all to us: ³⁷Only to the land of the children of Ammon thou camest not, nor to any place of the river Jabbok, nor to the cities on the mountains, nor to whatever the LORD our God forbad us.

Chapter 3

¹Then we turned, and went up the way to Bashan: and Og the king of Bashan came out against us, he and all his people, to battle at Edrei. ²And the LORD said to me, Fear him not: for I will deliver him, and all his people, and his land, into thy hand; and thou shalt do to him as thou didst to Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt at Heshbon. ³So the LORD our God delivered into our hands Og also the king of Bashan, and all his people: and we smote him until none was left to him remaining. ⁴And we took all his cities at that time, there was not a city which we took not from them, sixty cities, all the region of Argob, the kingdom of Og in Bashan. ⁵All these cities were fortified with high walls, gates, and bars; besides unwalled towns a great number. ⁶And we utterly destroyed them, as we did to Sihon king of Heshbon, utterly destroying the men, women, and children of every city. ⁷But all the cattle, and the spoil of the cities, we took for a prey to ourselves. ⁸And we took at that time out of the hand of the two kings of the Amorites the land that was on this side of Jordan, from the river of Arnon to mount Hermon; ⁹(Which Hermon the Sidonians call Sirion; and the Amorites call it Shenir;) ¹⁰All the cities of the plain, and all Gilead, and all Bashan, to Salchah and Edrei, cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan. ¹¹For only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of giants; behold, his bedstead was a bedstead of iron; is it not in Rabbath of the children of Ammon? nine cubits was the length of it, and four cubits the breadth of it, after the cubit of a man. ¹²And this land, which we possessed at that time, from Aroer, which is by the river Arnon, and half mount Gilead, and its cities, I gave to the Reubenites and to the Gadites. ¹³And the rest of Gilead, and all Bashan, being the kingdom of Og, I gave to the half-tribe of Manasseh; all the region of Argob, with all Bashan, which was called the land of giants. ¹⁴Jair the son of Manasseh took all the country of Argob, to the borders of Geshuri, and Maachathi; and called them after his own name, Bashan-havoth-jair, to this day. ¹⁵And I gave Gilead to Machir. ¹⁶And to the Reubenites and to the Gadites I gave from Gilead even to the river Arnon half the valley, and the border even to the river Jabbok, which is the border of the children of Ammon: ¹⁷The plain also, and Jordan, and the coast of it, from Chinnereth even to the sea of the plain, even the salt-sea, under Ashdoth-pisgah eastward. ¹⁸And I commanded you at that time, saying, The LORD your God hath given you this land to possess it; ye shall pass over armed before your brethren the children of Israel, all that are meet for the war. ¹⁹But your wives, and your little ones, and your cattle, (for I know that ye have many cattle,) shall abide in your cities which I have given you; ²⁰Until the LORD shall have given rest to your brethren, as well as to you, and until they also possess the land which the LORD your God hath given them beyond Jordan: and then shall ye return every man to his possession which I have given you. ²¹And I commanded Joshua at that time, saying, Thy eyes have seen all that the LORD your God hath done to these two kings: so shall the LORD do to all the kingdoms whither thou passest. ²²Ye shall not fear them: for the LORD your God he shall fight for you. ²³And I besought the LORD at that time, saying, ²⁴O Lord GOD, thou hast begun to show thy servant thy greatness, and thy mighty hand: for what God is there in heaven or in earth, that can do according to thy works, and according to thy might? ²⁵I pray thee, let me go over, and see the good land that is beyond Jordan, that goodly mountain, and Lebanon. ²⁶But the LORD was wroth with me for your sakes, and would not hear me: and the LORD said to me, Let it suffice thee; speak no more to me of this matter. ²⁷Ascend to the top of Pisgah, and lift up thy eyes westward, and northward, and southward, and eastward, and behold with thy eyes: for thou shalt not go over this Jordan. ²⁸But charge Joshua, and encourage him, and strengthen him: for he shall go over before this people, and he shall cause them to inherit the land which thou shalt see. ²⁹So we abode in the valley over against Beth-peor.

Chapter 4

¹Now therefore hearken, O Israel, to the statutes and to the judgments, which I teach you, to do them, that ye may live, and go in and possess the land which the LORD God of your fathers giveth you. ²Ye shall not add to the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish aught from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you. ³Your eyes have seen what the LORD did because of Baal-peor: for all the men that followed Baal-peor, the LORD thy God hath destroyed them from among you. ⁴But ye who adhered to the LORD your God, are alive every one of you this day. ⁵Behold, I have taught you statutes, and judgments, even as the LORD my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it. ⁶Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which will hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people. ⁷For what nation is there so great, which hath God so nigh to them, as the LORD our God is in all things that we call upon him for? ⁸And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day? ⁹Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou shouldst forget the things which thy eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them to thy sons, and thy sons' sons: ¹⁰Specially the day that thou stoodest before the LORD thy God in Horeb, when the LORD said to me, Assemble the people to me, and I will make them hear my words, that they may learn to fear me all the days that they shall live upon the earth, and that they may teach their children. ¹¹And ye came near and stood under the mountain; and the mountain burned with fire to the midst of heaven, with darkness, clouds, and thick darkness. ¹²And the LORD spoke to you out of the midst of the fire: ye heard the voice of the words, but saw no similitude; only ye heard a voice. ¹³And he declared to you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone. ¹⁴And the LORD commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and judgments, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go over to possess it. ¹⁵Take ye therefore good heed to yourselves; for ye saw no manner of similitude on the day that the LORD spoke to you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire; ¹⁶Lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make to you a graven image, the similitude of any figure, the likeness of male or female, ¹⁷The likeness of any beast that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged fowl that flieth in the air, ¹⁸The likeness of any thing that creepeth on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the waters beneath the earth: ¹⁹And lest thou shouldst lift up thy eyes to heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldst be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the LORD thy God hath divided to all nations under the whole heaven. ²⁰But the LORD hath taken you, and brought you out of the iron furnace, even from Egypt, to be to him a people of inheritance, as ye are this day. ²¹Furthermore the LORD was angry with me for your sakes, and swore that I should not go over Jordan, and that I should not enter that good land which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance: ²²But I must die in this land, I must not go over Jordan: but ye shall go over, and possess that good land. ²³Take heed to yourselves, lest ye forget the covenant of the LORD your God, which he made with you, and make you a graven image, or the likeness of any thing which the LORD thy God hath forbidden thee. ²⁴For the LORD thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God. ²⁵When thou shalt beget children, and children's children, and ye shall have remained long in the land, and shall corrupt yourselves, and make a graven image, or the likeness of any thing, and shall do evil in the sight of the LORD thy God, to provoke him to anger: ²⁶I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that ye shall soon utterly perish from the land to which ye go over Jordan to possess it; ye shall not prolong your days upon it, but shall be utterly destroyed. ²⁷And the LORD shall scatter you among the nations, and ye shall be left few in number among the heathen, whither the LORD shall lead you. ²⁸And there ye shall serve gods, the work of men's hands, wood and stone, which neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell. ²⁹But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou shalt seek him with all thy heart, and with all thy soul. ³⁰When thou art in tribulation, and all these things have come upon thee, even in the latter days, if thou shalt turn to the LORD thy God, and shalt be obedient to his voice; ³¹(For the LORD thy God is a merciful God;) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers, which he swore to them. ³²For ask now of the days that are past, which were before thee, since the day that God created man upon the earth, and ask from the one side of heaven to the other, whether there hath been any such thing as this great thing is, or hath been heard like it? ³³Did ever people hear the voice of God speaking from the midst of the fire, as thou hast heard, and live? ³⁴Or hath God essayed to go and take him a nation from the midst of another nation, by temptations, by signs, and by wonders, and by war, and by a mighty hand, and by an out-stretched arm, and by great terrors, according to all that the LORD your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes? ³⁵To thee it was shown, that thou mightest know that the LORD he is God; there is none besides him. ³⁶Out of heaven he made thee to hear his voice, that he might instruct thee; and upon earth he showed thee his great fire; and thou heardst his words from the midst of the fire. ³⁷And because he loved thy fathers, therefore he chose their seed after them, and brought thee out of Egypt in his sight with his mighty power. ³⁸To drive out nations from before thee, greater and mightier than thou art, to bring thee in, to give thee their land for an inheritance, as it is this day. ³⁹Know therefore this day, and consider it in thy heart, that the LORD he is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath: there is none else. ⁴⁰Thou shalt keep therefore his statutes and his commandments which I command thee this day, that it may be well with thee, and with thy children after thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy days upon the earth, which the LORD thy God giveth thee, for ever. ⁴¹Then Moses set apart three cities on the side of Jordan, towards the sun-rising; ⁴²That the slayer might flee thither, who should kill his neighbor unawares, and when he had not hated him in times past; and that fleeing to one of these cities he might live: ⁴³Namely, Bezer in the wilderness, in the plain country, of the Reubenites; and Ramoth in Gilead, of the Gadites; and Golan in Bashan, of the Manassites. ⁴⁴And this is the law which Moses set before the children of Israel. ⁴⁵These are the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which Moses spoke to the children of Israel, after they came forth from Egypt, ⁴⁶On the east side of Jordan, in the valley over against Beth-Peor, in the land of Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt at Heshbon, whom Moses and the children of Israel smote, after they had come forth from Egypt: ⁴⁷And they possessed his land, and the land of Og king of Bashan, two kings of the Amorites, who were on the side of Jordan, towards the sun-rising; ⁴⁸From Aroer, which is by the bank of the river Arnon, even to mount Sion, which is Hermon, ⁴⁹And all the plain on the side of Jordan eastward, even to the sea of the plain, under the springs of Pisgah.

Chapter 5

¹And Moses called all Israel, and said to them, Hear, O Israel, the statutes and judgments which I speak in your ears this day, that ye may learn them, and keep, and do them. ²The LORD our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. ³The LORD made not this covenant with our fathers, but with us, even us, who are all of us here alive this day. ⁴The LORD talked with you face to face on the mount, from the midst of the fire, ⁵(I stood between the LORD and you at that time, to show you the word of the LORD: for ye were afraid by reason of the fire, and went not up upon the mount;) saying, ⁶I am the LORD thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. ⁷Thou shalt have no other gods before me. ⁸Thou shalt not make for thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the waters beneath the earth: ⁹Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generation of them that hate me, ¹⁰And showing mercy to thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments. ¹¹Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain: for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. ¹²Keep the sabbath-day to sanctify it, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee. ¹³Six days thou shalt labor, and do all thy work: ¹⁴But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thy ox, nor thy ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy man-servant and thy maid-servant may rest as well as thou. ¹⁵And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the LORD thy God brought thee out thence with a mighty hand and by an out-stretched arm: therefore the LORD thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath-day. ¹⁶Honor thy father and thy mother, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee; that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may be well with thee, in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. ¹⁷Thou shalt not kill. ¹⁸Neither shalt thou commit adultery. ¹⁹Neither shalt thou steal. ²⁰Neither shalt thou bear false witness against thy neighbor. ²¹Neither shalt thou desire thy neighbor's wife, neither shalt thou covet thy neighbor's house, his field, or his man-servant, or his maid-servant, his ox, or his ass, or any thing that is thy neighbor's. ²²These words the LORD spoke to all your assembly on the mount from the midst of the fire, of the cloud, and of the thick darkness, with a great voice: and he added no more. And he wrote them in two tables of stone, and delivered them to me. ²³And it came to pass, when ye heard the voice from the midst of the darkness, (for the mountain did burn with fire,) that ye came near to me, even all the heads of your tribes, and your elders; ²⁴And ye said, Behold, the LORD our God hath shown us his glory and his greatness, and we have heard his voice from the midst of the fire: we have seen this day that God doth talk with man, and he liveth. ²⁵Now therefore why should we die? for this great fire will consume us: if we hear the voice of the LORD our God any more, then we shall die. ²⁶For who is there of all flesh that hath heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived? ²⁷Go thou near, and hear all that the LORD our God shall say; and speak thou to us all that the LORD our God shall speak to thee; and we will hear it, and do it. ²⁸And the LORD heard the voice of your words, when ye spoke to me; and the LORD said to me, I have heard the voice of the words of this people, which they have spoke to thee: they have well said all that they have spoken. ²⁹O that there were such a heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever! ³⁰Go, say to them, Return to your tents again. ³¹But as for thee, stand thou here by me, and I will speak to thee all the commandments, and the statutes, and the judgments, which thou shalt teach them, that they may do them in the land which I give them to possess it. ³²Ye shall observe to do therefore as the LORD your God hath commanded you: ye shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. ³³Ye shall walk in all the ways which the LORD your God hath commanded you, that ye may live, and that it may be well with you, and that ye may prolong your days in the land which ye shall possess.

Chapter 6

¹Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments which the LORD your God commanded to teach you, that ye may do them in the land whither ye go to possess it: ²That thou mayst fear the LORD thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son's son, all the days of thy life: and that thy days may be prolonged. ³Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the LORD God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey. ⁴Hear, O Israel: the LORD our God is one LORD: ⁵And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. ⁶And these words which I command thee this day, shall be in thy heart: ⁷And thou shalt teach them diligently to thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thy house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. ⁸And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thy hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thy eyes. ⁹And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates. ¹⁰And it shall be, when the LORD thy God shall have brought thee into the land which he swore to thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee great and goodly cities, which thou didst not build, ¹¹And houses full of all good things, which thou didst not fill, and wells digged, which thou didst not dig, vineyards and olive-trees, which thou didst not plant; when thou shalt have eaten and be full; ¹²Then beware lest thou shouldst forget the LORD, who brought thee forth from the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. ¹³Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name. ¹⁴Ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the people which are around you; ¹⁵(For the LORD thy God is a jealous God among you) lest the anger of the LORD thy God should be kindled against thee, and destroy thee from off the face of the earth. ¹⁶Ye shall not tempt the LORD your God, as ye tempted him in Massah. ¹⁷Ye shall diligently keep the commandments of the LORD your God, and his testimonies, and his statutes, which he hath commanded thee. ¹⁸And thou shalt do that which is right and good in the sight of the LORD: that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest go in and possess the good land which the LORD swore to thy fathers, ¹⁹To cast out all thy enemies from before thee, as the LORD hath spoken. ²⁰And when thy son shall ask thee in time to come, saying, What mean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD our God hath commanded you? ²¹Then thou shalt say to thy son, We were Pharoah's bond-men in Egypt: and the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand: ²²And the LORD showed signs and wonders, great and distressing, upon Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his household, before our eyes: ²³And he brought us out from thence, that he might bring us in, to give us the land which he swore to our fathers. ²⁴And the LORD commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the LORD our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as it is at this day. ²⁵And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the LORD our God, as he hath commanded us.

Chapter 7

¹When the LORD thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it, and hath cast out many nations before thee, the Hittites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Perrizites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than thou; ²And when the LORD thy God shall deliver them before thee, thou shalt smite them and utterly destroy them, thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor show mercy to them: ³Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give to his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take to thy son. ⁴For they will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of the LORD be kindled against you, and destroy thee suddenly. ⁵But thus shall ye deal with them; ye shall destroy their altars, and break down their images, and cut down their groves, and burn their graven images with fire. ⁶For thou art a holy people to the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people to himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth. ⁷The LORD did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people: ⁸But because the LORD loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn to your fathers, hath the LORD brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you from the house of bond-men, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. ⁹Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God, who keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations: ¹⁰And repayeth them that hate him to their face, to destroy them: he will not be slack to him that hateth him, he will repay him to his face. ¹¹Thou shalt therefore keep the commandments, and the statutes, and the judgments, which I command thee this day, to do them. ¹²Wherefore it shall come to pass, if ye hearken to these judgments, and keep, and do them, that the LORD thy God will keep to thee the covenant and the mercy which he swore to thy fathers: ¹³And he will love thee, and bless thee, and multiply thee: he will also bless thy children, and the fruit of thy land, thy corn, and thy wine, and thy oil, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep, in the land which he swore to thy fathers to give thee. ¹⁴Thou shalt be blessed above all people: there shall not be male or female barren among you, or among your cattle. ¹⁵And the LORD will take away from thee all sickness, and will put none of the evil diseases of Egypt (which thou knowest) upon thee; but will lay them upon all them that hate thee. ¹⁶And thou shalt consume all the people which the LORD thy God shall deliver to thee; thy eye shall have no pity upon them: neither shalt thou serve their gods; for that will be a snare to thee. ¹⁷If thou shalt say in thy heart, These nations are more than I, how can I dispossess them? ¹⁸Thou shalt not be afraid of them: but shalt well remember what the LORD thy God did to Pharaoh, and to all Egypt; ¹⁹The great temptations which thy eyes saw, and the signs, and the wonders, and the mighty hand, and the out-stretched arm, by which the LORD thy God brought thee out: so shall the LORD thy God do to all the people of whom thou art afraid. ²⁰Moreover, the LORD thy God will send the hornet among them, until they that are left, and hide themselves from thee, shall be destroyed. ²¹Thou shalt not be affrighted at them: for the LORD thy God is among you, a mighty God and terrible. ²²And the LORD thy God will drive out those nations before thee by little and little: thou mayest not consume them at once, lest the beasts of the field increase upon thee. ²³But the LORD thy God shall deliver them to thee, and shall destroy them with a mighty destruction, until they are destroyed. ²⁴And he shall deliver their kings into thy hand, and thou shalt destroy their name from under heaven: there shall no man be able to stand before thee, until thou shalt have destroyed them. ²⁵The graven images of their gods shall ye burn with fire: thou shalt not desire the silver or gold that is on them, nor take it to thee, lest thou shouldst be snared in it: for it is an abomination to the LORD thy God. ²⁶Neither shalt thou bring an abomination into thy house, lest thou shouldst be a cursed thing like it: but thou shalt utterly detest it, and thou shalt utterly abhor it; for it is a cursed thing.

Chapter 8

¹All the commandments which I command thee this day shall ye observe to do, that ye may live, and multiply, and go in and possess the land which the LORD swore to your fathers. ²And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God hath led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thy heart, whether thou wouldst keep his commandments, or not. ³And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live. ⁴Thy raiment hath not become old upon thee, neither hath thy foot swelled these forty years. ⁵Thou shalt also consider in thy heart, that as a man chasteneth his son, so the LORD thy God chasteneth thee. ⁶Therefore thou shalt keep the commandments of the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to fear him. ⁷For the LORD thy God bringeth thee into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains, and depths that spring out of valleys and hills; ⁸A land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig-trees, and pomegranates, a land of olive-oil, and honey; ⁹A land in which thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, thou shalt not lack any thing in it, a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest dig brass. ¹⁰When thou hast eaten and art full, then thou shalt bless the LORD thy God for the good land which he hath given thee. ¹¹Beware that thou forget not the LORD thy God, in not keeping his commandments, and his judgments, and his statutes, which I command thee this day: ¹²Lest when thou hast eaten, and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt in them; ¹³And when thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold are increased, and all that thou hast is increased; ¹⁴Then thy heart shall be lifted up, and thou shalt forget the LORD thy God (who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage;) ¹⁵Who led thee through that great and terrible wilderness, in which were fiery serpents, and scorpions, and drouth, where there was no water; who brought thee forth water out of the rock of flint; ¹⁶Who fed thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers knew not, that he might humble thee, and that he might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end. ¹⁷And thou shalt say in thy heart, My power and the might of my hand hath gotten me this wealth. ¹⁸But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he swore to thy fathers, as it is this day. ¹⁹And it shall be, if thou shalt at all forget the LORD thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them, I testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish. ²⁰As the nations which the LORD destroyeth before your face, so shall ye perish; because ye would not be obedient to the voice of the LORD your God.

Chapter 9

¹Hear, O Israel: Thou art to pass over Jordan this day, to go in to possess nations greater and mightier than thyself, cities great and fortified up to heaven, ²A people great and tall, the children of the Anakims, whom thou knowest, and of whom thou hast heard it said, Who can stand before the children of Anak! ³Understand therefore this day, that the LORD thy God is he who goeth over before thee; as a consuming fire he shall destroy them, and he shall bring them down before thy face: so shalt thou drive them out, and destroy them quickly, as the LORD hath said to thee. ⁴Speak not thou in thy heart, after that the LORD thy God hath cast them out from before thee, saying, For my righteousness the LORD hath brought me in to possess this land: but for the wickedness of these nations the LORD doth drive them out from before thee. ⁵Not for thy righteousness, or for the uprightness of thy heart dost thou go to possess their land: but for the wickedness of these nations, the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee, and that he may perform the word which the LORD swore to thy fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. ⁶Understand therefore, that the LORD thy God giveth thee not this good land to possess it for thy righteousness; for thou art a stiff-necked people. ⁷Remember, and forget not, how thou provokedst the LORD thy God to wrath in the wilderness: from the day that thou didst depart from the land of Egypt, until ye came to this place, ye have been rebellious against the LORD. ⁸Also in Horeb ye provoked the LORD to wrath, so that the LORD was angry with you to have destroyed you. ⁹When I ascended the mount, to receive the tables of stone, even the tables of the covenant which the LORD made with you, then I abode in the mount forty days and forty nights, I neither ate bread, nor drank water: ¹⁰And the LORD delivered to me two tables of stone written with the finger of God; and on them was written according to all the words which the LORD spoke with you in the mount, from the midst of the fire, in the day of the assembly. ¹¹And it came to pass at the end of forty days and forty nights, that the LORD gave me the two tables of stone, even the tables of the covenant. ¹²And the LORD said to me, Arise, go down quickly from hence; for thy people which thou hast brought forth out of Egypt have corrupted themselves; they are quickly turned aside from the way which I commanded them; they have made them a molten image. ¹³Furthermore, the LORD spoke to me, saying, I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people: ¹⁴Let me alone, that I may destroy them, and blot out their name from under heaven: and I will make of thee a nation mightier and greater than they. ¹⁵So I turned and came down from the mount, and the mount burned with fire: and the two tables of the covenant were in my two hands. ¹⁶And I looked, and behold, ye had sinned against the LORD your God, and had made you a molten calf: ye had turned aside quickly from the way which the LORD had commanded you. ¹⁷And I took the two tables, and cast them out of my two hands, and broke them before your eyes. ¹⁸And I fell down before the LORD, as at the first, forty days and forty nights: I neither ate bread, nor drank water, because of all your sins which ye sinned, in doing wickedly in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger. ¹⁹(For I was afraid of the anger and hot displeasure with which the LORD was wroth against you to destroy you.) But the LORD hearkened to me at that time also. ²⁰And the LORD was very angry with Aaron to have destroyed him: and I prayed for Aaron also at the same time. ²¹And I took your sin, the calf which ye had made, and burnt it with fire, and stamped it, and ground it very small, even until it was as small as dust: and I cast the dust of it into the brook that descended from the mount. ²²And at Taberah, and at Massah, and Kibroth-hattaavah, ye provoked the LORD to wrath. ²³Likewise when the LORD sent you from Kadesh-barnea, saying, Go up and possess the land which I have given you; then ye rebelled against the commandment of the LORD your God, and ye believed him not, nor hearkened to his voice. ²⁴Ye have been rebellious against the LORD from the day that I knew you. ²⁵Thus I fell down before the LORD forty days and forty nights, as I fell down at the first; because the LORD had said he would destroy you. ²⁶I prayed therefore to the LORD, and said, O Lord GOD, destroy not thy people and thy inheritance, which thou hast redeemed through thy greatness, which thou hast brought forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand. ²⁷Remember thy servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; look not to the stubbornness of this people, nor to their wickedness, nor to their sin: ²⁸Lest the land from which thou hast brought us should say, Because the LORD was not able to bring them into the land which he promised them, and because he hated them, he hath brought them out to slay them in the wilderness. ²⁹Yet they are thy people and thy inheritance which thou hast brought out by thy mighty power and by thy out-stretched arm.

Chapter 10

¹At that time the LORD said to me, Hew thee two tables of stone like the first, and come up to me upon the mount, and make thee an ark of wood. ²And I will write on the tables the words that were in the first tables which thou didst break, and thou shalt put them in the ark. ³And I made an ark of shittim wood, and hewed two tables of stone like the first, and ascended the mount, having the two tables in my hand. ⁴And he wrote on the tables according to the first writing, the ten commandments, which the LORD spoke to you in the mount, from the midst of the fire, in the day of the assembly: and the LORD gave them to me. ⁵And I turned myself and came down from the mount, and put the tables in the ark which I had made; and there they are, as the LORD commanded me. ⁶And the children of Israel took their journey from Beeroth of the children of Jakan to Mosira: there Aaron died, and there he was buried; and Eleazar his son ministered in the priest's office in his stead. ⁷From thence they journeyed to Gudgodah; and from Gudgodah to Jotbath, a land of rivers of waters. ⁸At that time the LORD separated the tribe of Levi, to bear the ark of the covenant of the LORD, to stand before the LORD to minister to him, and to bless in his name, to this day. ⁹Wherefore Levi hath no part nor inheritance with his brethren; the LORD is his inheritance, according as the LORD thy God promised him. ¹⁰And I stayed in the mount, according to the first-time, forty days and forty nights; and the LORD hearkened to me at that time also, and the LORD would not destroy thee. ¹¹And the LORD said to me, Arise, take thy journey before the people, that they may go in and possess the land, which I swore to their fathers to give to them. ¹²And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, ¹³To keep the commandments of the LORD, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good? ¹⁴Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens belongeth to the LORD thy God, the earth also, with all that it contains. ¹⁵Only the LORD had a delight in thy fathers to love them, and he chose their seed after them, even you above all people, as it is this day. ¹⁶Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiff-necked. ¹⁷For the LORD your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, who regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward: ¹⁸He executeth the judgment of the fatherless and widow, and loveth the stranger, in giving him food and raiment. ¹⁹Love ye therefore the stranger: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt. ²⁰Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God; him shalt thou serve, and to him shalt thou cleave, and swear by his name. ²¹He is thy praise, and he is thy God, that hath done for thee these great and terrible things which thy eyes have seen. ²²Thy fathers went down into Egypt with seventy persons; and now the LORD thy God hath made thee as the stars of heaven for multitude.

Chapter 11

¹Therefore thou shalt love the LORD thy God, and keep his charge, and his statutes, and his judgments, and his commandments, always. ²And know ye this day: for I speak not with your children who have not known, and who have not seen the chastisement of the LORD your God, his greatness, his mighty hand, and his out-stretched arm, ³And his miracles, and his acts, which he did in the midst of Egypt, to Pharaoh the king of Egypt, and to all his land; ⁴And what he did to the army of Egypt, to their horses, and to their chariots; how he made the water of the Red sea to overflow them as they pursued after you, and how the LORD hath destroyed them to this day; ⁵And what he did to you in the wilderness, until ye came to this place; ⁶And what he did to Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, the son of Reuben: how the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their households, and their tents, and all the substance that was in their possession, in the midst of all Israel: ⁷But your eyes have seen all the great acts of the LORD which he did. ⁸Therefore shall ye keep all the commandments which I command you this day, that ye may be strong, and go in and possess the land, whither ye go to possess it; ⁹And that ye may prolong your days in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers to give to them, and to their seed, a land that floweth with milk and honey. ¹⁰For the land, whither thou goest in to possess it, is not as the land of Egypt, from whence ye came out, where thou didst sow thy seed, and water it with thy foot, as a garden of herbs: ¹¹But the land, whither ye go to possess it, is a land of hills and valleys, and drinketh water of the rain of heaven: ¹²A land which the LORD thy God careth for: the eyes of the LORD thy God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year even to the end of the year. ¹³And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently to my commandments which I command you this day, to love the LORD your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul, ¹⁴That I will give you the rain of your land in its due season, the former rain and the latter rain, that thou mayest gather in thy corn, and thy wine and thy oil. ¹⁵And I will give grass in thy fields for thy cattle, that thou mayest eat and be full. ¹⁶Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them; ¹⁷And then the LORD'S wrath shall be kindled against you, and he shall shut up the heaven, that there shall be no rain, and the land shall not yield her fruit; and lest ye perish quickly from off the good land which the LORD giveth you. ¹⁸Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes. ¹⁹And ye shall teach them to your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thy house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. ²⁰And thou shalt write them upon the door posts of thy house, and upon thy gates: ²¹That your days may be multiplied, and the days of your children, in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers to give to them, as the days of heaven upon the earth. ²²For if ye shall diligently keep all these commandments which I command you, to do them, to love the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, and to cleave to him; ²³Then will the LORD drive out all these nations from before you, and ye shall possess greater nations and mightier than yourselves. ²⁴Every place on which the soles of your feet shall tread shall be yours: from the wilderness, and Lebanon, from the river, the river Euphrates, even to the uttermost sea shall your limit be. ²⁵There shall no man be able to stand before you: for the LORD your God shall lay the fear of you, and the dread of you upon all the land that ye shall tread upon, as he hath said to you. ²⁶Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse: ²⁷A blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you this day; ²⁸And a curse, if ye will not obey the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn aside from the way which I command you this day, to go after other gods which ye have not known. ²⁹And it shall come to pass when the LORD thy God hath brought thee in to the land whither thou goest to possess it, that thou shalt put the blessing upon mount Gerizim, and the curse upon mount Ebal. ³⁰Are they not on the other side of Jordan, by the way where the sun goeth down in the land of the Canaanites, who dwell in the plain over against Gilgal, beside the plains of Moreh? ³¹For ye shall pass over Jordan to go in to possess the land which the LORD your God giveth you, and ye shall possess it, and dwell in it. ³²And ye shall observe to do all the statutes and judgments which I set before you this day.

Chapter 12

¹These are the statutes and judgments which ye shall observe to do in the land which the LORD God of thy fathers giveth thee to possess it, all the days that ye live upon the earth. ²Ye shall utterly destroy all the places in which the nations which ye shall possess served their gods, upon the high mountains, and upon the hills, and under every green tree: ³And ye shall overthrow their altars, and break their pillars, and burn their groves with fire; and ye shall hew down the graven images of their gods, and destroy the names of them out of that place. ⁴Ye shall not do so to the LORD your God. ⁵But the place which the LORD your God shall choose out of all your tribes to put his name there, even his habitation shall ye seek, and thither thou shalt come: ⁶And thither ye shall bring your burnt-offerings, and your sacrifices, and your tithes, and heave-offerings of your hand, and your vows, and your free-will-offerings, and the firstlings of your herds, and of your flocks: ⁷And there ye shall eat before the LORD your God, and ye shall rejoice in all that ye put your hand to, ye and your households, in which the LORD thy God hath blessed thee. ⁸Ye shall not do after all the things that we do here this day, every man whatever is right in his own eyes. ⁹For ye are not as yet come to the rest and to the inheritance which the LORD your God giveth you. ¹⁰But when ye go over Jordan, and dwell in the land which the LORD your God giveth you to inherit, and when he giveth you rest from all your enemies on every side, so that ye dwell in safety: ¹¹Then there shall be a place which the LORD your God shall choose to cause his name to dwell there; thither shall ye bring all that I command you; your burnt-offerings, and your sacrifices, your tithes, and the heave-offering of your hand, and all your choice vows which ye vow to the LORD: ¹²And ye shall rejoice before the LORD your God, ye, and your sons, and your daughters, and your men-servants, and your maid-servants, and the Levite that is within your gates; forasmuch as he hath no part nor inheritance with you. ¹³Take heed to thyself that thou offer not thy burnt-offerings in every place that thou seest: ¹⁴But in the place which the LORD shall choose in one of thy tribes, there thou shalt offer thy burnt-offerings, and there thou shalt do all that I command thee. ¹⁵Notwithstanding, thou mayest kill and eat flesh in all thy gates, whatever thy soul desireth, according to the blessing of the LORD thy God which he hath given thee: the unclean and the clean may eat of it as of the roebuck, and as of the hart. ¹⁶Only ye shall not eat the blood; ye shall pour it upon the earth as water. ¹⁷Thou mayest not eat within thy gates the tithe of thy corn, or of thy wine, or of thy oil, or the firstlings of thy herds or of thy flock, nor any of thy vows which thou vowest, nor thy free-will-offerings, or heave-offering of thy hand: ¹⁸But thou must eat them before the LORD thy God in the place which the LORD thy God shall choose, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy man-servant, and thy maid-servant, and the Levite that is within thy gates: and thou shalt rejoice before the LORD thy God in all that thou puttest thine hands to. ¹⁹Take heed to thyself that thou forsake not the Levite as long as thou livest upon the earth. ²⁰When the LORD thy God shall enlarge thy border, as he hath promised thee, and thou shalt say, I will eat flesh, because thy soul longeth to eat flesh; thou mayest eat flesh, whatever thy soul desireth. ²¹If the place which the LORD thy God hath chosen to put his name there, shall be too far from thee, then thou shalt kill of thy herd and of thy flock, which the LORD hath given thee, as I have commanded thee, and thou shalt eat in thy gates whatever thy soul desireth. ²²Even as the roebuck and the hart is eaten, so thou shalt eat them: the unclean and the clean shall eat of them alike. ²³Only be sure that thou eat not the blood: for the blood is the life; and thou mayest not eat the life with the flesh. ²⁴Thou shalt not eat it: thou shalt pour it upon the earth as water. ²⁵Thou shalt not eat it; that it may be well with thee, and with thy children after thee, when thou shalt do that which is right in the sight of the LORD. ²⁶Only thy holy things which thou hast, and thy vows, thou shalt take, and go to the place which the LORD shall choose: ²⁷And thou shalt offer thy burnt-offerings, the flesh and the blood, upon the altar of the LORD thy God: and the blood of thy sacrifices shall be poured out upon the altar of the LORD thy God, and thou shalt eat the flesh. ²⁸Observe and hear all these words which I command thee, that it may be well with thee, and with thy children after thee for ever, when thou doest that which is good and right in the sight of the LORD thy God. ²⁹When the LORD thy God shall cut off the nations from before thee, whither thou goest to possess them, and thou succeedest them, and dwellest in their land; ³⁰Take heed to thyself that thou be not snared by following them, after that they are destroyed from before thee; and that thou inquire not after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? even so will I do likewise. ³¹Thou shalt not do so to the LORD thy God; for every abomination to the LORD which he hateth have they done to their gods; for even their sons and their daughters they have burnt in the fire to their gods. ³²Whatever thing I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add to it, nor diminish from it.

Chapter 13

¹If there shall arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and give thee a sign or a wonder. ²And the sign or the wonder shall come to pass, of which he spoke to thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them; ³Thou shalt not hearken to the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. ⁴Ye shall walk after the LORD your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave to him. ⁵And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death; because he hath spoken to turn you away from the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you from the house of bondage, to thrust thee out of the way which the LORD thy God commanded thee to walk in. So shalt thou remove the evil from the midst of thee. ⁶If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, who is as thy own soul, shall entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy fathers; ⁷Namely, of the gods of the people who are around you, nigh to thee, or far off from thee, from one end of the earth even to the other end of the earth; ⁸Thou shalt not consent to him, nor hearken to him; neither shall thy eye pity him, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him: ⁹But thou shalt surely kill him; thy hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people. ¹⁰And thou shalt stone him with stones that he shall die; because he hath sought to thrust thee away from the LORD thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt from the house of bondage. ¹¹And all Israel shall hear, and fear, and shall do no more any such wickedness as this is, among you. ¹²If thou shalt hear, in one of thy cities, which the LORD thy God hath given thee to dwell there, saying, ¹³Certain men, the children of Belial, have gone out from among you, and have withdrawn the inhabitants of their city, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which ye have not known; ¹⁴Then shalt thou inquire, and make search, and ask diligently; and behold, if it is truth, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought among you; ¹⁵Thou shalt surely smite the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, destroying it utterly, and all that is in it, and its cattle, with the edge of the sword. ¹⁶And thou shalt gather all the spoil of it into the midst of its street, and shalt burn with fire the city, and all the spoil of it every whit, for the LORD thy God: and it shall be a heap forever; it shalt not be built again. ¹⁷And there shall cleave naught of the cursed thing to thy hand: that the LORD may turn from the fierceness of his anger, and show thee mercy, and have compassion upon thee, and multiply thee, as he hath sworn to thy fathers; ¹⁸When thou shalt hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep all his commandments which I command thee this day, to do that which is right in the eyes of the LORD thy God.

Chapter 14

¹Ye are the children of the LORD your God: ye shall not cut yourselves, nor make any baldness between your eyes for the dead. ²For thou art a holy people to the LORD thy God, and the LORD hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people to himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth. ³Thou shalt not eat any abominable thing. ⁴These are the beasts which ye shall eat: the ox, the sheep, and the goat, ⁵The hart, and the roebuck, and the fallow-deer, and the wild-goat, and the pygarg, and the wild ox, and the chamois. ⁶And every beast that parteth the hoof, and cleaveth the cleft into two claws, and cheweth the cud among the beasts, that ye shall eat. ⁷Nevertheless, these ye shall not eat, of them that chew the cud, or of them that divide the cloven hoof; the camel, and the hare, and the coney: for they chew the cud, but divide not the hoof; therefore they are unclean to you. ⁸And the swine, because it divideth the hoof, yet cheweth not the cud, is unclean to you: ye shall not eat of their flesh, nor touch their dead carcass. ⁹These ye shall eat, of all that are in the waters: all that have fins and scales shall ye eat: ¹⁰And whatever hath not fins and scales ye may not eat; it is unclean to you. ¹¹Of all clean birds ye shall eat. ¹²But these are they of which ye shall not eat: the eagle, and the ossifrage, and the ospray, ¹³And the glede, and the kite, and the vultur after his kind, ¹⁴And every raven after his kind, ¹⁵And the owl, and the night-hawk, and the cuckow, and the hawk after his kind, ¹⁶The little owl, and the great owl, and the swan, ¹⁷And the pelican, and the gier-eagle, and the cormorant, ¹⁸And the stork, and the heron after her kind, and the lapwing, and the bat. ¹⁹And every creeping animal that flieth is unclean to you: they shall not be eaten. ²⁰But of all clean fowls ye may eat. ²¹Ye shall not eat of any thing that dieth of itself: thou shalt give it to the stranger that is in thy gates, that he may eat it; or thou mayest sell it to an alien: for thou art a holy people to the LORD thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk. ²²Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed, that the field bringeth forth year by year. ²³And thou shalt eat before the LORD thy God, in the place which he shall choose to place his name there, the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thy oil, and the firstlings of thy herds and of thy flocks; that thou mayest learn to fear the LORD thy God always. ²⁴And if the way is too long for thee, so that thou art not able to carry it; or if the place is too far from thee, which the LORD thy God shall choose to set his name there, when the LORD thy God hath blessed thee: ²⁵Then shalt thou turn it into money, and bind up the money in thy hand, and shalt go to the place which the LORD thy God shall choose: ²⁶And thou shalt bestow that money for whatever thy soul desireth, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatever thy soul desireth: and thou shalt eat there before the LORD thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou, and thy household. ²⁷And the Levite that is within thy gates, thou shalt not forsake him; for he hath no part nor inheritance with thee. ²⁸At the end of three years thou shalt bring forth all the tithe of thy increase the same year, and shalt lay it up within thy gates: ²⁹And the Levite, (because he hath no part nor inheritance with thee) and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, who are within thy gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied; that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all the work of thy hand which thou doest.

Chapter 15

¹At the end of every seven years thou shalt make a release. ²And this is the manner of the release: Every creditor that lendeth aught to his neighbor shall release it; he shall not exact it of his neighbor, or of his brother; because it is called the LORD'S release. ³Of a foreigner thou mayest exact it again: but that which is thine with thy brother thy hand shall release: ⁴Save when there shall be no poor among you; for the LORD shall greatly bless thee in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance to possess it: ⁵Only if thou shalt carefully hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all these commandments which I command thee this day. ⁶For the LORD thy God shall bless thee, as he promised thee: and thou shalt lend to many nations, but thou shalt not borrow; and thou shalt reign over many nations, but they shall not reign over thee. ⁷If there shall be among you a poor man of one of thy brethren within any of thy gates in thy land which the LORD the God giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thy heart, nor shut thy hand from thy poor brother: ⁸But thou shalt open thy hand wide to him, and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need, in that which he wanteth. ⁹Beware that there be not a thought in thy wicked heart, saying, The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand; and thy eye shall be evil against thy poor brother, and thou shalt give him naught; and he shall cry to the LORD against thee, and it shall be sin to thee. ¹⁰Thou shalt surely give him, and thy heart shall not be grieved when thou givest to him: because that for this thing the LORD thy God shall bless thee in all thy works, and in all that thou puttest thy hand to. ¹¹For the poor shall never cease from the land: therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt open thy hand wide to thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy land. ¹²And if thy brother, a Hebrew man, or a Hebrew woman, shall be sold to thee, and serve thee six years; then in the seventh year thou shalt let him go free from thee. ¹³And when thou sendest him out free from thee, thou shalt not let him depart empty: ¹⁴Thou shalt furnish him liberally out of thy flock, and out of thy floor, and out of thy wine-press: of that with which the LORD thy God hath blessed thee thou shalt give to him. ¹⁵And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bond-man in the land of Egypt, and the LORD thy God redeemed thee: therefore I command thee this thing this day. ¹⁶And it shall be, if he shall say to thee, I will not leave thee; because he loveth thee and thy house, because he is well with thee; ¹⁷Then thou shalt take an awl, and thrust it through his ear into the door, and he shall be thy servant for ever. And also to thy maid-servant thou shalt do likewise. ¹⁸It shall not seem hard to thee, when thou sendest him away free from thee; for he hath been of double the worth of a hired servant to thee, in serving thee six years: and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in all that thou doest. ¹⁹All the firstling males that come of thy herd and of thy flock thou shalt sanctify to the LORD thy God: thou shalt do no work with the firstling of thy bullock, nor shear the firstling of thy sheep. ²⁰Thou shalt eat it before the LORD thy God year by year in the place which the LORD shall choose, thou and thy household. ²¹And if there is any blemish in it, as if it is lame, or blind, or hath any ill blemish, thou shalt not sacrifice it to the LORD thy God. ²²Thou shalt eat it within thy gates: the unclean and the clean person shall eat it alike, as the roebuck, and as the hart. ²³Only thou shalt not eat its blood; thou shalt pour it upon the ground as water.

Chapter 16

¹Observe the month Abib, and keep the passover to the LORD thy God: for in the month of Abib the LORD thy God brought thee forth from Egypt by night. ²Thou shalt therefore sacrifice the passover to the LORD thy God, of the flock and the herd, in the place which the LORD shall choose to place his name there. ³Thou shalt eat no leavened bread with it; seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread with it, even the bread of affliction; for thou camest forth from the land of Egypt in haste: that thou mayest remember the day when thou camest forth from the land of Egypt, all the days of thy life. ⁴And there shall be no leavened bread seen with thee in all thy borders seven days; neither shall there any thing of the flesh, which thou didst sacrifice the first day at evening, remain all night until the morning. ⁵Thou mayest not sacrifice the passover within any of thy gates, which the LORD thy God giveth thee. ⁶But at the place which the LORD thy God shall choose to place his name in, there thou shalt sacrifice the passover at evening, at the setting of the sun, at the time of thy departure from Egypt. ⁷And thou shalt roast and eat it in the place which the LORD thy God shall choose: and thou shalt turn in the morning, and go to thy tents. ⁸Six days thou shalt eat unleavened bread: and on the seventh day shall be a solemn assembly to the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt do no work. ⁹Seven weeks shalt thou number to thee: begin to number the seven weeks from the time when thou beginnest to put the sickle to the corn. ¹⁰And thou shalt keep the feast of weeks to the LORD thy God with a tribute of a free-will-offering of thy hand, which thou shalt give to the LORD thy God, according as the LORD thy God hath blessed thee: ¹¹And thou shalt rejoice before the LORD thy God, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy man-servant, and thy maid-servant, and the Levite that is within thy gates, and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are among you, in the place which the LORD thy God hath chosen to place his name there. ¹²And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bond-man in Egypt: and thou shalt observe and do these statutes. ¹³Thou shalt observe the feast of tabernacles seven days, after that thou hast gathered in thy corn, and thy wine. ¹⁴And thou shalt rejoice in thy feast, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy man-servant, and thy maid-servant, and the Levite, the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are within thy gates: ¹⁵Seven days shalt thou keep a solemn feast to the LORD thy God in the place which the LORD shall choose: because the LORD thy God shall bless thee in all thy increase, and in all the works of thy hands, therefore thou shalt surely rejoice. ¹⁶Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose; in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles: and they shall not appear before the LORD empty: ¹⁷Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the LORD thy God which he hath given thee. ¹⁸Judges and officers shalt thou make thee in all thy gates, which the LORD thy God giveth thee, throughout thy tribes: and they shall judge the people with just judgment. ¹⁹Thou shalt not wrest judgment; thou shalt not respect persons, neither take a gift; for a gift doth blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the words of the righteous. ²⁰That which is altogether just shalt thou follow, that thou mayest live, and inherit the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. ²¹Thou shalt not plant thee a grove of any trees near to the altar of the LORD thy God, which thou shalt make for thee. ²²Neither shalt thou set thee up any image; which the LORD thy God hateth.

Chapter 17

¹Thou shalt not sacrifice to the LORD thy God any bullock, or sheep, in which is blemish, or any evil favoredness: for that is an abomination to the LORD thy God. ²If there shall be found among you, within any of thy gates which the LORD thy God giveth thee, man or woman that hath wrought wickedness in the sight of of the LORD thy God, in transgressing his covenant, ³And hath gone and served other gods, and worshiped them, either the sun, or moon, or any of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded; ⁴And it shall be told thee, and thou hast heard of it, and inquired diligently, and behold, it is true, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought in Israel: ⁵Then shalt thou bring forth to thy gates that man or that woman, who have committed that wicked thing, even that man or that woman, and shalt stone them with stones, till they die. ⁶At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that is worthy of death be put to death; but at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death. ⁷The hands of the witnesses shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people. So thou shalt remove the evil from among you. ⁸If there shall arise a matter too hard for thee in judgment, between blood and blood, between plea and plea, and between stroke and stroke, being matters of controversy within thy gates: then shalt thou arise, and go up to the place which the LORD thy God shall choose; ⁹And thou shalt come to the priests the Levites, and to the judge that shall be in those days, and inquire; and they shall show thee the sentence of judgment: ¹⁰And thou shalt do according to the sentence, which they of that place which the LORD shall choose shall show thee; and thou shalt observe to do according to all that they inform thee: ¹¹According to the sentence of the law which they shall teach thee, and according to the judgment which they shall tell thee, thou shalt do: thou shalt not decline from the sentence which they shall show thee, to the right hand, nor to the left. ¹²And the man that will do presumptuously, and will not hearken to the priest that standeth to minister there before the LORD thy God, or to the judge, even that man shall die: and thou shalt remove the evil from Israel. ¹³And all the people shall hear, and fear, and do no more presumptuously. ¹⁴When thou art come into the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, and shalt possess it, and shalt dwell in it, and shalt say, I will set a king over me, like as all the nations that are about me; ¹⁵Thou shalt in any wise set him king over thee whom the LORD thy God shall choose: one from among thy brethren shalt thou set king over thee: thou mayest not set a stranger over thee, who is not thy brother. ¹⁶But he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he should multiply horses: forasmuch as the LORD hath said to you, ye shall henceforth return no more that way. ¹⁷Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart may turn not away: neither shall he greatly accumulate to himself silver and gold. ¹⁸And it shall be when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book out of that which is before the priests the Levites. ¹⁹And it shall be with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life: that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them: ²⁰That his heart may not be lifted above his brethren, and that he may not turn aside from the commandment to the right hand or to the left: to the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he, and his children, in the midst of Israel.

Chapter 18

¹The priests the Levites, and all the tribe of Levi, shall have no part nor inheritance with Israel: they shall eat the offerings of the LORD made by fire, and his inheritance. ²Therefore shall they have no inheritance among their brethren: the LORD is their inheritance, as he hath said to them. ³And this shall be the priest's due from the people, from them that offer a sacrifice, whether ox or sheep; and they shall give to the priest the shoulder, and the two cheeks, and the maw. ⁴The first-fruit also of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thy oil, and the first of the fleece of thy sheep, shalt thou give him. ⁵For the LORD thy God hath chosen him out of all thy tribes, to stand to minister in the name of the LORD, him and his sons for ever. ⁶And if a Levite shall come from any of thy gates out of all Israel, where he sojourned, and come with all the desire of his mind to the place which the LORD shall choose; ⁷Then he shall minister in the name of the LORD his God, as all his brethren the Levites do, who stand there before the LORD. ⁸They shall have like portions to eat, beside that which cometh of the sale of his patrimony. ⁹When thou art come into the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations. ¹⁰There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, ¹¹Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. ¹²For all that do these things are an abomination to the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee. ¹³Thou shalt be perfect with the LORD thy God. ¹⁴For these nations, which thou shalt possess, hearkened to observers of times, and to diviners: but as for thee, the LORD thy God hath not suffered thee so to do. ¹⁵The LORD thy God will raise up to thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like to me; to him ye shall hearken. ¹⁶According to all that thou desiredst of the LORD thy God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God, neither let me see this great fire any more, that I may not die. ¹⁷And the LORD said to me, They have well spoken of that which they have spoken. ¹⁸I will raise up to them a prophet from among their brethren, like thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak to them all that I shall command him. ¹⁹And it shall come to pass, that whoever will not hearken to my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him. ²⁰But the prophet, who shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die. ²¹And if thou shalt say in thy heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken? ²²When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing doth not follow, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.

Chapter 19

¹When the LORD thy God hath cut off the nations, whose land the LORD thy God giveth thee, and thou succeedest them, and dwellest in their cities, and in their houses; ²Thou shalt separate three cities for thee in the midst of thy land which the LORD thy God giveth thee to possess it. ³Thou shalt prepare thee a way, and divide the limits of thy land which the LORD thy God giveth thee to inherit, into three parts, that every slayer may flee thither. ⁴And this is the case of the slayer, who shall flee thither, that he may live: Whoever killeth his neighbor ignorantly, whom he hated not in time past; ⁵As when a man goeth into the wood with his neighbor to hew wood, and his hand maketh a stroke with the ax to cut down the tree, and the head slippeth from the helve, and falleth upon his neighbor, that he dieth: he shall flee to one of these cities, and live: ⁶Lest the avenger of blood shall pursue the slayer, while his heart is hot, and overtake him, because the way is long, and slay him; whereas he was not worthy of death, inasmuch as he hated him not in time past. ⁷Wherefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt separate three cities for thee. ⁸And if the LORD thy God shall enlarge thy limits, as he hath sworn to thy fathers, and give thee all the land which he promised to give to thy fathers; ⁹If thou shalt keep all these commandments to do them, which I command thee this day, to love the LORD thy God, and to walk ever in his ways; then shalt thou add three cities more for thee, besides these three: ¹⁰That innocent blood may not be shed in thy land, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, and so blood be upon thee. ¹¹But if any man shall hate his neighbor, and lie in wait for him, and rise up against him, and smite him mortally, that he dieth, and he shall flee into one of these cities: ¹²Then the elders of his city shall send and bring him thence, and deliver him into the hand of the avenger of blood, that he may die. ¹³Thy eye shall not pity him, but thou shall remove the guilt of innocent blood from Israel, that it may be well with thee. ¹⁴Thou shalt not remove thy neighbor's landmark, which they of old time have set in thy inheritance, which thou shalt inherit in the land that the LORD thy God giveth thee to possess it. ¹⁵One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth; at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established. ¹⁶If a false witness shall rise up against any man to testify against him that which is wrong; ¹⁷Then both the men between whom the controversy is shall stand before the LORD, before the priests, and the judges, who shall be in those days; ¹⁸And the judges shall make diligent inquisition: and behold, if the witness is a false witness, and hath testified falsely against his brother; ¹⁹Then shall ye do to him, as he had thought to do to his brother: so shalt thou remove the evil from among you. ²⁰And those who remain shall hear, and fear, and shall henceforth commit no more any such evil among you. ²¹And thy eye shall not pity; but life shall go for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.

Chapter 20

¹When thou goest out to battle against thy enemies, and seest horses, and chariots, and a people more than thou, be not afraid of them: for the LORD thy God is with thee, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt. ²And it shall be when ye are come nigh to the battle, that the priest shall approach and speak to the people, ³And shall say to them, Hear, O Israel, ye approach this day to battle against your enemies: let not your hearts faint, fear not, and do not tremble, neither be ye terrified because of them; ⁴For the LORD your God is he that goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you. ⁵And the officers shall speak to the people, saying, What man is there that hath built a new house, and hath not dedicated it? let him go and return to his house, lest he should die in the battle, and another man should dedicate it. ⁶And what man is he that hath planted a vineyard, and hath not yet eaten of it? let him also go and return to his house, lest he should die in the battle, and another man should eat of it. ⁷And what man is there that hath betrothed a wife, and hath not taken her? let him go and return to his house, lest he should die in battle, and another man should take her. ⁸And the officers shall speak further to the people, and they shall say, What man is there that is fearful and faint-hearted? let him go and return to his house, lest his brethren's heart should faint as well as his heart. ⁹And it shall be, when the officers have made an end of speaking to the people, that they shall make captains of the armies to lead the people. ¹⁰When thou comest nigh to a city to fight against it, then proclaim peace to it. ¹¹And it shall be, if it shall make thee answer of peace, and open to thee, then it shall be, that all the people that are found therein, shall be tributaries to thee, and they shall serve thee. ¹²And if it will make no peace with thee, but will make war against thee, then thou shalt besiege it: ¹³And when the LORD thy God hath delivered it into thy hands, thou shalt smite every male of it with the edge of the sword: ¹⁴But the women, and the little ones, and the cattle, and all that is in the city, even all the spoil of it, shalt thou take to thyself: and thou shalt eat the spoil of thy enemies, which the LORD thy God hath given thee. ¹⁵Thus shalt thou do to all the cities which are very distant from thee, which are not of the cities of these nations. ¹⁶But of the cities of these people which the LORD thy God doth give thee for an inheritance, thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth: ¹⁷But thou shalt utterly destroy them, namely, the Hittites, and the Amorites, the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee: ¹⁸That they may not teach you to do after all their abominations which they have done to their gods; so would ye sin against the LORD your God. ¹⁹When thou shalt besiege a city a long time in making war against it to take it, thou shalt not destroy the trees of it by forcing an ax against them; for thou mayest eat of them: and thou shalt not cut them down (for the tree of the field is man's life) to employ them in the siege: ²⁰Only the trees which thou knowest that they are not trees for food, thou shalt destroy and cut them down; and thou shalt build bulwarks against the city that maketh war with thee, until it shall be subdued.

Chapter 21

¹If one shall be found slain in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee to possess it, lying in the field, and it be not known who hath slain him: ²Then thy elders and thy judges shall come forth, and they shall measure to the cities which are around him that is slain: ³And it shall be that the city which is next to the slain man, even the elders of that city shall take a heifer which hath not been wrought with, and which hath not drawn in the yoke; ⁴And the elders of that city shall bring down the heifer to a rough valley, which is neither tilled nor sown, and shall strike off the heifer's neck there in the valley; ⁵And the priests the sons of Levi shall come near (for them the LORD thy God hath chosen to minister to him, and to bless in the name of the LORD) and by their word shall every controversy and every stroke be tried; ⁶And all the elders of that city that are next to the slain man, shall wash their hands over the heifer that is beheaded in the valley: ⁷And they shall answer and say, Our hands have not shed this blood, neither have our eyes seen it. ⁸Be merciful, O LORD, to thy people Israel, whom thou hast redeemed, and lay not innocent blood to the charge of thy people Israel. And the blood shall be forgiven them. ⁹So shalt thou remove the guilt of innocent blood from among you, when thou shalt do that which is right in the sight of the LORD. ¹⁰When thou goest forth to war against thy enemies, and the LORD thy God hath delivered them into thy hands, and thou hast taken them captive, ¹¹And thou seest among the captives a beautiful woman, and hast a desire to her, that thou wouldest have her for thy wife: ¹²Then thou shalt bring her home to thy house, and she shall shave her head, and pare her nails: ¹³And she shall put off from her the raiment of her captivity, and shall remain in thy house, and bewail her father and her mother a full month: and after that, thou shalt go in to her, and be her husband, and she shall be thy wife. ¹⁴And it shall be, if thou shalt have no delight in her, then thou shalt let her go whither she will; but thou shalt not sell her at all for money; thou shalt not make merchandise of her, because thou hast humbled her. ¹⁵If a man shall have two wives, one beloved, and another hated, and they have borne him children, both the beloved and the hated; and if the first-born son be hers that was hated: ¹⁶Then it shall be, when he maketh his sons to inherit that which he hath, that he may not prefer the son of the beloved first-born, before the son of the hated, which is indeed the first-born: ¹⁷But he shall acknowledge the son of the hated for the first-born, by giving him a double portion of all that he hath: for he is the beginning of his strength; the right of the first-born is his. ¹⁸If a man shall have a stubborn and rebellious son, who will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and who, when they have chastened him, will not hearken to them: ¹⁹Then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out to the elders of his city, and to the gate of his place; ²⁰And they shall say to the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard. ²¹And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he may die: so shalt thou remove evil from among you, and all Israel shall hear, and fear. ²²And if a man shall have committed a sin worthy of death, and he must be put to death, and thou shalt hang him on a tree: ²³His body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day; (for he that is hanged is accursed of God;) that thy land may not be defiled, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.

Chapter 22

¹Thou shalt not see thy brother's ox or his sheep go astray, and hide thyself from them: thou shalt in any case bring them again to thy brother. ²And if thy brother shall not be nigh to thee, or if thou shalt not know him, then thou shalt bring it to thy own house, and it shall be with thee until thy brother shall seek after it, and thou shalt restore it to him again. ³In like manner shalt thou do with his ass; and so shalt thou do with his raiment; and with all lost things of thy brother's, which he hath lost, and thou hast found, shalt thou do likewise: thou mayest not hide thyself. ⁴Thou shalt not see thy brother's ass or his ox fall down by the way, and hide thyself from them: thou shalt surely help him to lift them up again. ⁵A woman shall not wear that which pertaineth to a man, neither shall a man put on a woman's garment: for all that do so are abomination to the LORD thy God. ⁶If a bird's nest shall chance to be before thee in the way on any tree, or on the ground, whether with young ones, or eggs, and the dam sitting upon the young, or upon the eggs, thou shalt not take the dam with the young: ⁷But thou shalt in any wise let the dam go, and take the young to thee; that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy days. ⁸When thou buildest a new house, then thou shalt make a battlement for thy roof, that thou mayest not bring blood upon thy house, if any man shall fall from thence. ⁹Thou shalt not sow thy vineyard with divers seeds: lest the fruit of thy seed which thou hast sown, and the fruit of thy vineyard, should be defiled. ¹⁰Thou shalt not plow with an ox and an ass together. ¹¹Thou shalt not wear a garment of divers sorts, as of woolen and linen together. ¹²Thou shalt make thee fringes upon the four quarters of thy vesture, with which thou coverest thyself. ¹³If any man shall take a wife, and go in to her, and hate her, ¹⁴And give occasions of speech against her, and bring an evil name upon her, and say, I took this woman, and when I came to her, I found her not a maid: ¹⁵Then shall the father of the damsel, and her mother, take and bring forth the tokens of the damsel's virginity to the elders of the city in the gate: ¹⁶And the damsel's father shall say to the elders, I gave my daughter to this man for a wife, and he hateth her, ¹⁷And lo, he hath given occasions of speech against her, saying, I found not thy daughter a maid; and yet these are the tokens of my daughter's virginity. And they shall spread the cloth before the elders of the city. ¹⁸And the elders of that city shall take that man and chastise him; ¹⁹And they shall amerce him in a hundred shekels of silver, and give them to the father of the damsel, because he hath brought an evil name upon a virgin of Israel: and she shall be his wife; he may not put her away all his days. ²⁰But if this thing shall be true, and the tokens of virginity be not found for the damsel: ²¹Then they shall bring out the damsel to the door of her father's house, and the men of her city shall stone her with stones that she may die: because she hath wrought folly in Israel, to be guilty of lewdness in her father's house: so shalt thou remove evil from among you. ²²If a man shall be found lying with a woman married to a husband, then they shall both of them die, both the man that lay with the woman, and the woman: so shalt thou remove evil from Israel. ²³If a damsel that is a virgin shall be betrothed to a husband, and a man shall find her in the city, and lie with her; ²⁴Then ye shall bring them both out to the gate of that city, and ye shall stone them with stones that they may die; the damsel, because she cried not, being in the city; and the man, because he hath humbled his neighbor's wife: so thou shalt remove evil from among you. ²⁵But if a man shall find a betrothed damsel in the field, and the man shall force her, and lie with her; then the man only that lay with her shall die: ²⁶But to the damsel thou shalt do nothing; there is in the damsel no sin worthy of death: for as when a man riseth against his neighbor, and slayeth him, even so is this matter: ²⁷For he found her in the field, and the betrothed damsel cried, and there was none to save her. ²⁸If a man shall find a damsel that is a virgin, who is not betrothed, and lay hold on her, and lie with her, and they be found; ²⁹Then the man that lay with her shall give to the damsel's father fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife; because he hath humbled her, he may not put her away all his days. ³⁰A man shall not take his father's wife, nor discover his father's skirt.

Chapter 23

¹He that is wounded or mutilated in his secrets, shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD. ²A bastard shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD; even to his tenth generation shall he not enter into the congregation of the LORD. ³An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD; even to their tenth generation shall they not enter into the congregation of the LORD for ever: ⁴Because they met you not with bread and with water in the way, when ye came forth from Egypt; and because they hired against thee Balaam the son of Beor of Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse thee. ⁵Nevertheless, the LORD thy God would not hearken to Balaam: but the LORD thy God turned the curse into a blessing to thee, because the LORD thy God loved thee. ⁶Thou shalt not seek their peace, nor their prosperity all thy days for ever. ⁷Thou shalt not abhor an Edomite, for he is thy brother: thou shalt not abhor an Egyptian, because thou wast a stranger in his land. ⁸The children that are begotten by them shall enter into the congregation of the LORD in their third generation. ⁹When the host goeth forth against thy enemies, then keep thee from every wicked thing. ¹⁰If there shall be among you any man that is not clean by reason of uncleanness that chanceth to him by night, then shall he go abroad out of the camp, he shall not come within the camp: ¹¹But it shall be, when evening cometh on, he shall wash himself with water: and when the sun is down, he shall come into the camp again. ¹²Thou shalt have a place also without the camp, whither thou shalt go forth abroad: ¹³And thou shalt have a paddle upon thy weapon: and it shall be when thou wilt ease thyself abroad, thou shalt dig with it, and shalt turn back, and cover that which cometh from thee: ¹⁴For the LORD thy God walketh in the midst of thy camp, to deliver thee, and to give up thy enemies before thee; therefore shall thy camp be holy: that he may see no unclean thing in thee, and turn away from thee. ¹⁵Thou shalt not deliver to his master the servant who hath escaped from his master to thee: ¹⁶He shall dwell with thee, even among you in that place which he shall choose in one of thy gates where it pleaseth him best: thou shalt not oppress him. ¹⁷There shall be no harlot of the daughters of Israel, nor a sodomite of the sons of Israel. ¹⁸Thou shalt not bring the hire of a harlot, or the price of a dog into the house of the LORD thy God for any vow: for even both these are abomination to the LORD thy God. ¹⁹Thou shalt not lend upon interest to thy brother; interest of money, interest of victuals, interest of any thing that is lent upon interest: ²⁰To a stranger thou mayest lend upon interest; but to thy brother thou shalt not lend upon interest; that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all that thou settest thy hand to in the land whither thou goest to possess it. ²¹When thou shalt vow a vow to the LORD thy God, thou shalt not defer to pay it: for the LORD thy God will surely require it of thee; and it would be sin in thee. ²²But if thou shalt forbear to vow, it shall be no sin in thee. ²³That which is uttered by thy lips thou shalt keep and perform; even a free-will-offering, according as thou hast vowed to the LORD thy God, which thou hast promised with thy mouth. ²⁴When thou comest into thy neighbor's vineyard, then thou mayest satisfy thy appetite with grapes at thy own pleasure; but thou shalt not put any in thy vessel. ²⁵When thou comest into the standing-corn of thy neighbor, then thou mayest pluck the ears with thy hand: but thou shalt not move a sickle to thy neighbor's standing-corn.

Chapter 24

¹When a man hath taken a wife, and married her, and it shall come to pass that she findeth no favor in his eyes, because he hath found some uncleanness in her: then let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house. ²And when she hath departed from his house, she may go and be another man's wife. ³And if the latter husband shall hate her, and write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house; or if the latter husband shall die, who took her to be his wife; ⁴Her former husband who sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife, after that she is defiled; for that is abomination before the LORD: and thou shalt not cause the land to sin, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance. ⁵When a man hath newly taken a wife, he shall not go out to war, neither shall he be charged with any business: but he shall be free at home one year, and shall cheer his wife which he hath taken. ⁶No man shall take the nether or the upper millstone for a pledge: for he taketh a man's life for a pledge. ⁷If a man shall be found stealing any of his brethren of the children of Israel, and shall make merchandise of him, or sell him; then that thief shall die; and thou shalt remove evil from among you. ⁸Take heed in the plague of leprosy, that thou observe diligently, and do according to all that the priests the Levites shall teach you: as I commanded them, so ye shall observe to do. ⁹Remember what the LORD thy God did to Miriam by the way, after that ye come forth from Egypt. ¹⁰When thou dost lend thy brother any thing, thou shalt not go into his house to take his pledge: ¹¹Thou shalt stand abroad, and the man to whom thou dost lend shall bring out the pledge abroad to thee: ¹²And if the man is poor, thou shalt not sleep with his pledge: ¹³In any case thou shalt deliver to him the pledge again when the sun goeth down, that he may sleep in his own raiment, and bless thee; and it shall be righteousness to thee before the LORD thy God. ¹⁴Thou shalt not oppress a hired servant that is poor and needy, whether he is of thy brethren, or of thy strangers that are in thy land within thy gates: ¹⁵At his day thou shalt give him his hire, neither shall the sun go down upon it, for he is poor, and setteth his heart upon it: lest he should cry against thee to the LORD, and it be sin to thee. ¹⁶The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers: every man shall be put to death for his own sin. ¹⁷Thou shalt not pervert the judgment of the stranger, nor of the fatherless, nor take a widow's raiment for a pledge: ¹⁸But thou shalt remember that thou wast a bond-man in Egypt, and the LORD thy God redeemed thee thence: therefore I command thee to do this thing. ¹⁹When thou cuttest down thy harvest in thy field, and hast forgot a sheaf in the field, thou shalt not go again to fetch it: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow: that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all the work of thy hands. ²⁰When thou beatest thy olive-tree, thou shalt not go over the boughs again: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow. ²¹When thou gatherest the grapes of thy vineyard, thou shalt not glean it afterward: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow. ²²And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bond-man in the land of Egypt: therefore I command thee to do this thing.

Chapter 25

¹If there shall be a controversy between men, and they come to judgment, that the judges may judge them; then they shall justify the righteous, and condemn the wicked. ²And it shall be, if the wicked man be worthy to be beaten, that the judge shall cause him to lie down, and to be beaten before his face, according to his fault, by a certain number. ³Forty stripes he may give him, and not exceed: lest if he should exceed, and beat him above these with many stripes, then thy brother should seem vile to thee. ⁴Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the corn. ⁵If brethren shall dwell together, and one of them shall die and have no child, the wife of the dead shall not marry without to a stranger: her husband's brother shall go in to her, and take her to him for a wife, and perform the duty of a husband's brother to her. ⁶And it shall be, that the first-born which she beareth, shall succeed in the name of his brother who is dead, that his name may not become extinct in Israel. ⁷And if the man shall not like to take his brother's wife, then let his brother's wife go up to the gate to the elders, and say, My husband's brother refuseth to raise up to his brother a name in Israel, he will not perform the duty of my husband's brother. ⁸Then the elders of his city shall call him, and speak to him: and if he shall stand to it, and say, I like not to take her, ⁹Then shall his brother's wife come to him in the presence of the elders, and loose his shoe from off his foot, and spit in his face, and shall answer and say, So shall it be done to that man that will not build up his brother's house. ¹⁰And his name shall be called in Israel, The house of him that hath his shoe loosed. ¹¹When men strive together one with another, and the wife of the one draweth near to deliver her husband from the hand of him that smiteth him, and putteth forth her hand, and taketh him by the secrets: ¹²Then thou shalt cut off her hand, thy eye shall not pity her. ¹³Thou shalt not have in thy bag divers weights, a great and a small: ¹⁴Thou shalt not have in thy house divers measures, a great and a small: ¹⁵But thou shalt have a perfect and just weight, a perfect and just measure shalt thou have; that thy days may be lengthened in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. ¹⁶For all that do such things, and all that do unrighteously, are an abomination to the LORD thy God. ¹⁷Remember what Amalek did to thee by the way, when ye had come forth from Egypt; ¹⁸How he met thee by the way, and smote the hindmost of thee, even all that were feeble behind thee, when thou wast faint and weary; and he feared not God. ¹⁹Therefore it shall be, when the LORD thy God hath given thee rest from all thy enemies on all sides, in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance to possess it, that thou shalt blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven; thou shalt not forget it.

Chapter 26

¹And it shall be, when thou hast come in to the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, and possessest it, and dwellest therein; ²That thou shalt take of the first of all the fruit of the earth, which thou shalt bring of thy land that the LORD thy God giveth thee, and shalt put it in a basket, and shalt go to the place which the LORD thy God shall choose to place his name there. ³And thou shalt go to the priest that shall be in those days, and say to him, I profess this day to the LORD thy God, that I have come to the country which the LORD swore to our fathers to give us. ⁴And the priest shall take the basket from thy hand, and set it down before the altar of the LORD thy God. ⁵And thou shalt speak and say before the LORD thy God, A Syrian ready to perish was my father, and he went down to Egypt, and sojourned there with a few, and became there a nation, great, mighty, and populous: ⁶And the Egyptians ill-treated us, and afflicted us, and laid upon us hard bondage: ⁷And when we cried to the LORD God of our fathers, the LORD heard our voice, and looked on our affliction, and our labor, and our oppression: ⁸And the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand, and with an out-stretched arm, and with great terribleness, and with signs, and with wonders; ⁹And he hath brought us into this place, and hath given us this land, even a land that floweth with milk and honey. ¹⁰And now, behold, I have brought the first-fruits of the land, which thou, O LORD, hast given me: and thou shalt set it before the LORD thy God, and worship before the LORD thy God: ¹¹And thou shalt rejoice in every good thing which the LORD thy God hath given to thee, and to thy house, thou, and the Levite, and the stranger that is among you. ¹²When thou hast made an end of tithing all the tithes of thy increase the third year, which is the year of tithing, and hast given it to the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat within thy gates, and be filled: ¹³Then thou shalt say before the LORD thy God, I have brought away the hallowed things out of my house, and also have given them to the Levite, and to the stranger, to the fatherless, and to the widow, according to all thy commandments which thou hast commanded me: I have not transgressed thy commandments, neither have I forgotten them: ¹⁴I have not eaten of it in my mourning, neither have I taken away aught of it for any unclean use, nor given aught of it for the dead: but I have hearkened to the voice of the LORD my God, and have done according to all that thou hast commanded me. ¹⁵Look down from thy holy habitation, from heaven, and bless thy people Israel, and the land which thou hast given us, as thou didst swear to our fathers, a land that floweth with milk and honey. ¹⁶This day the LORD thy God hath commanded thee to perform these statutes and judgments: thou shalt therefore keep and do them with all thy heart, and with all thy soul. ¹⁷Thou hast avouched the LORD this day to be thy God, and to walk in his ways, and to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and to hearken to his voice: ¹⁸And the LORD hath avouched thee this day to be his peculiar people, as he hath promised thee, and that thou shouldst keep all his commandments; ¹⁹And to make thee high above all nations which he hath made, in praise, and in name, and in honor; and that thou mayest be a holy people to the LORD thy God, as he hath spoken.

Chapter 27

¹And Moses with the elders of Israel commanded the people, saying, Keep all the commandments which I command you this day. ²And it shall be on the day when ye shall pass over Jordan to the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, that thou shalt set thee up great stones, and plaster them with plaster: ³And thou shalt write upon them all the words of this law, when thou hast passed over, that thou mayest enter in to the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, a land that floweth with milk and honey; as the LORD God of thy fathers hath promised thee. ⁴Therefore it shall be when ye have gone over Jordan, that ye shall set up these stones, which I command you this day, in mount Ebal, and thou shalt plaster them with plaster. ⁵And there shalt thou build an altar to the LORD thy God, an altar of stones: thou shalt not lift up any iron tool upon them. ⁶Thou shalt build the altar of the LORD thy God of whole stones: and thou shalt offer on it burnt-offerings to the LORD thy God. ⁷And thou shalt offer peace-offerings, and shalt eat there, and rejoice before the LORD thy God. ⁸And thou shalt write upon the stones all the words of this law, very plainly. ⁹And Moses and the priests the Levites spoke to all Israel, saying, Take heed and hearken, O Israel, this day thou art become the people of the LORD thy God. ¹⁰Thou shalt therefore obey the voice of the LORD thy God, and do his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day. ¹¹And Moses charged the people the same day, saying, ¹²These shall stand upon mount Gerizim to bless the people, when ye have come over Jordan; Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Joseph, and Benjamin: ¹³And these shall stand upon mount Ebal to curse; Reuben, Gad, and Asher, and Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali. ¹⁴And the Levites shall speak, and say to all the men of Israel with a loud voice, ¹⁵Cursed be the man that maketh any graven or molten image, an abomination to the LORD, the work of the hands of the artificer, and putteth it in a secret place: and all the people shall answer, and say Amen. ¹⁶Cursed be he that setteth light by his father or his mother: and all the people shall say, Amen. ¹⁷Cursed be he that removeth his neighbor's landmark: and all the people shall say, Amen. ¹⁸Cursed be he that maketh the blind to wander out of the way: and all the people shall say, Amen. ¹⁹Cursed be he that perverteth the judgment of the stranger, fatherless, and widow: and all the people shall say, Amen. ²⁰Cursed be he that lieth with his father's wife; because he uncovereth his father's skirt: and all the people shall say, Amen. ²¹Cursed be he that lieth with any manner of beast: and all the people shall say, Amen. ²²Cursed be he that lieth with his sister, the daughter of his father, or the daughter of his mother: and all the people shall say, Amen. ²³Cursed be he that lieth with his mother-in-law: and all the people shall say, Amen. ²⁴Cursed be he that smiteth his neighbor secretly: and all the people shall say, Amen. ²⁵Cursed be he that taketh reward to slay an innocent person: and all the people shall say, Amen. ²⁶Cursed be he that confirmeth not all the words of this law to do them: and all the people shall say, Amen.

Chapter 28

¹And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently to the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day; that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: ²And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God. ³Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field. ⁴Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy cattle, and the flocks of thy sheep. ⁵Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store. ⁶Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out. ⁷The LORD shall cause thy enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways. ⁸The LORD shall command the blessing upon thee in thy store-houses, and in all that thou settest thy hand to: and he shall bless thee in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. ⁹The LORD shall establish thee a holy people to himself, as he hath sworn to thee, if thou shalt keep the commandments of the LORD thy God, and walk in his ways. ¹⁰And all the people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the LORD; and they shall be afraid of thee. ¹¹And the LORD shall make thee to abound in goods, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy ground, in the land which the LORD swore to thy fathers to give thee. ¹²The LORD shall open to thee his good treasure, the heaven to give rain to thy land in its season, and to bless all the work of thy hand: and thou shalt lend to many nations, and thou shalt not borrow. ¹³And the LORD shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if thou shalt hearken to the commandments of the LORD thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them: ¹⁴And thou shalt not go aside from any of the words which I command thee this day, to the right hand or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them. ¹⁵But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee: ¹⁶Cursed shalt thou be in the city, and cursed shalt thou be in the field. ¹⁷Cursed shall be thy basket and thy store. ¹⁸Cursed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy land, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep. ¹⁹Cursed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and cursed shalt thou be when thou goest out. ²⁰The LORD shall send upon thee cursing, vexation, and rebuke, in all that thou undertakest to perform, until thou shalt be destroyed, and until thou shalt perish quickly; because of the wickedness of thy doings by which thou hast forsaken me. ²¹The LORD shall make the pestilence cleave to thee, until he shall have consumed thee from off the land, whither thou goest to possess it. ²²The LORD shall smite thee with a consumption, and with a fever, and with an inflammation, and with an extreme burning, and with the sword, and with blasting, and with mildew: and they shall pursue thee until thou dost perish. ²³And thy heaven that is over thy head shall be brass, and the earth that is under thee shall be iron. ²⁴The LORD shall make the rain of thy land powder and dust: from heaven shall it come down upon thee, until thou art destroyed. ²⁵The LORD shall cause thee to be smitten before thy enemies: thou shalt go out one way against them, and flee seven ways before them; and shalt be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth. ²⁶And thy carcass shall be food to all fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the earth, and no man shall drive them away. ²⁷The LORD will smite thee with the botch of Egypt, and with the emerods, and with the scab, and with the itch, of which thou canst not be healed. ²⁸The LORD shall smite thee with the madness, and blindness, and astonishment of heart: ²⁹And thou shalt grope at noon-day, as the blind gropeth in darkness, and thou shalt not prosper in thy ways: and thou shalt be only oppressed and spoiled evermore, and no man shall save thee. ³⁰Thou shalt betroth a wife, and another man shall lie with her: thou shalt build a house, and thou shalt not dwell in it: thou shalt plant a vineyard, and shalt not gather the grapes of it. ³¹Thy ox shall be slain before thy eyes, and thou shalt not eat of it: thy ass shall be violently taken away from before thy face, and shall not be restored to thee: thy sheep shall be given to thy enemies, and thou shalt have none to rescue them. ³²Thy sons and thy daughters shall be given to another people, and thy eyes shall look, and fail with longing for them all the day long: and there shall be no might in thy hand. ³³The fruit of thy land, and all thy labors, shall be eaten by a nation which thou knowest not: and thou shalt be only oppressed and crushed always: ³⁴So that thou shalt be mad for the sight of thy eyes which thou shalt see. ³⁵The LORD shall smite thee in the knees, and in the legs, with a sore botch that cannot be healed, from the sole of thy foot to the top of thy head. ³⁶The LORD shall bring thee, and thy king which thou shalt set over thee, to a nation which neither thou nor thy fathers have known; and there shalt thou serve other gods, wood and stone. ³⁷And thou shalt become an astonishment, a proverb, and a by-word, among all nations whither the LORD shall lead thee. ³⁸Thou shalt carry much seed into the field, and shalt gather but little: for the locust shall consume it. ³⁹Thou shalt plant vineyards and dress them, but shalt neither drink of the wine, nor gather the grapes: for the worm shall eat them. ⁴⁰Thou shalt have olive-trees throughout all thy coasts, but thou shalt not anoint thyself with the oil: for thy olive shall cast its fruit. ⁴¹Thou shalt beget sons and daughters, but thou shalt not enjoy them: for they shall go into captivity. ⁴²All thy trees and fruit of thy land shall the locust consume. ⁴³The stranger that is within thee shall rise above thee very high; and thou shalt come down very low. ⁴⁴He shall lend to thee, and thou shalt not lend to him: he shall be the head, and thou shalt be the tail. ⁴⁵Moreover, all these curses shall come upon thee, and shall pursue thee, and overtake thee, till thou art destroyed: because thou hearkenedst not to the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which he commanded thee: ⁴⁶And they shall be upon thee for a sign and for a wonder, and upon thy seed for ever. ⁴⁷Because thou didst not serve the LORD thy God with joyfulness and with gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things: ⁴⁸Therefore shalt thou serve thy enemies which the LORD shall send against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all things: and he shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck, until he hath destroyed thee. ⁴⁹The LORD shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flieth, a nation whose language thou shalt not understand: ⁵⁰A nation of fierce countenance, which shall not regard the person of the old, nor show favor to the young: ⁵¹And he shall eat the fruit of thy cattle, and the fruit of thy land, until thou art destroyed: which also shall not leave thee either corn, wine, or oil, or the increase of thy cattle, or flocks of thy sheep, until he hath destroyed thee. ⁵²And he shall besiege thee in all thy gates, until thy high and fortified walls come down, in which thou didst trust, throughout all thy land; and he shall besiege thee in all thy gates throughout all thy land which the LORD thy God hath given thee. ⁵³And thou shalt eat the fruit of thy own body, the flesh of thy sons and of thy daughters which the LORD thy God hath given thee, in the siege and in the straitness with which thy enemies shall distress thee: ⁵⁴So that the man that is tender among you, and very delicate, his eye shall be evil towards his brother, and towards the wife of his bosom, and towards the remnant of his children whom he shall leave: ⁵⁵So that he will not give to any of them of the flesh of his children whom he shall eat: because he hath nothing left him in the siege and in the straitness with which thy enemies shall distress thee in all thy gates. ⁵⁶The tender and delicate woman among you, who would not venture to set the sole of her foot upon the ground for delicateness and tenderness, her eye shall be evil towards the husband of her bosom, and towards her son, and towards her daughter, ⁵⁷And towards her young one, her own offspring, and towards her children which she shall bear: for she shall eat them for want of all things secretly in the siege and straitness with which thy enemy shall distress thee in thy gates. ⁵⁸If thou wilt not observe to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that thou mayest fear this glorious and fearful name, THE LORD THY GOD; ⁵⁹Then the LORD will make thy plagues wonderful, and the plagues of thy seed, even great plagues, and of long continuance, and severe sicknesses, and of long continuance. ⁶⁰Moreover, he will bring upon thee all the diseases of Egypt, of which thou wast afraid; and they shall cleave to thee. ⁶¹Also every sickness, and every plague which is not written in the book of this law, them will the LORD bring upon thee, until thou art destroyed. ⁶²And ye shall be left few in number, whereas ye were as the stars of heaven for multitude; because thou wouldst not obey the voice of the LORD thy God. ⁶³And it shall come to pass, that as the LORD rejoiced over you to do you good, and to multiply you; so the LORD will rejoice over you to destroy you, and to bring you to naught; and ye shall be plucked from off the land whither thou goest to possess it. ⁶⁴And the LORD shall scatter thee among all people from the one end of the earth even to the other; and there thou shalt serve other gods, which neither thou nor thy fathers have known, even wood and stone. ⁶⁵And among these nations shalt thou find no ease, neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest: but the LORD shall give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind: ⁶⁶And thy life shall hang in doubt before thee; and thou shalt fear day and night, and shalt have no assurance of thy life: ⁶⁷In the morning thou shalt say, O that it were evening, and at evening thou shalt say, O that it were morning! for the fear of thy heart with which thou shalt fear, and for the sight of thy eyes which thou shalt see. ⁶⁸And the LORD shall bring thee into Egypt again with ships, by the way of which I have said to thee, Thou shalt see it no more again: and there ye shall be sold to your enemies for bond-men and bond-women, and no man shall buy you.

Chapter 29

¹These are the words of the covenant which the LORD commanded Moses to make with the children of Israel in the land of Moab, besides the covenant which he made with them in Horeb. ²And Moses called to all Israel, and said to them, Ye have seen all that the LORD did before your eyes in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh, and to all his servants, and to all his land; ³The great temptations which thy eyes have seen, the signs, and those great miracles: ⁴Yet the LORD hath not given you a heart to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, to this day. ⁵And I have led you forty years in the wilderness: your clothes have not become old upon you, and thy shoe hath not become old upon thy foot. ⁶Ye have not eaten bread, neither have ye drank wine or strong drink: that ye might know that I am the LORD your God. ⁷And when ye came to this place, Sihon the king of Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, came out against us to battle, and we smote them: ⁸And we took their land, and gave it for an inheritance to the Reubenites, and to the Gadites, and to the half-tribe of Manasseh. ⁹Keep therefore the words of this covenant, and do them, that ye may prosper in all that ye do. ¹⁰Ye stand this day all of you before the LORD your God; your captains of your tribes, your elders, and your officers, with all the men of Israel, ¹¹Your little ones, your wives, and thy stranger that is in thy camp, from the hewer of thy wood to the drawer of thy water: ¹²That thou shouldst enter into covenant with the LORD thy God, and into his oath, which the LORD thy God maketh with thee this day: ¹³That he may establish thee to-day for a people to himself, and that he may be to thee a God, as he hath said to thee, and as he hath sworn to thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. ¹⁴Neither with you only do I make this covenant and this oath; ¹⁵But with him that standeth here with us this day before the LORD our God, and also with him that is not here with us this day: ¹⁶(For ye know how we have dwelt in the land of Egypt; and how we came through the nations which ye passed by; ¹⁷And ye have seen their abominations, and their idols, wood and stone, silver and gold, which were among them:) ¹⁸Lest there should be among you man, or woman, or family, or tribe, whose heart turneth away this day from the LORD our God, to go and serve the gods of these nations; lest there should be among you a root that beareth gall and wormwood; ¹⁹And it should come to pass, when he heareth the words of this curse, that he should bless himself in his heart, saying, I shall have peace, though I walk in the imagination of my heart, to add drunkenness to thirst: ²⁰The LORD will not spare him, but then the anger of the LORD and his jealousy shall smoke against that man, and all the curses that are written in this book shall lie upon him, and the LORD shall blot out his name from under heaven. ²¹And the LORD shall separate him to evil out of all the tribes of Israel according to all the curses of the covenant that are written in this book of the law: ²²So that the generation to come of your children that shall arise after you, and the stranger that shall come from a distant land, shall say, when they see the plagues of that land, and the sicknesses which the LORD hath laid upon it; ²³And that the whole land of it is brimstone, and salt, and burning, that it is not sown, nor doth it bear, nor doth any grass grow in it, like the overthrow of Sodom, and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim, which the LORD overthrew in his anger and in his wrath: ²⁴Even all the nations shall say, Why hath the LORD done thus to this land? what meaneth the heat of this great anger? ²⁵Then men shall say, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD God of their fathers, which he made with them when he brought them forth from the land of Egypt: ²⁶For they went and served other gods, and worshiped them, gods which they knew not, and which he had not given to them: ²⁷And the anger of the LORD was kindled against this land, to bring upon it all the curses that are written in this book: ²⁸And the LORD rooted them out of their land in anger and in wrath, and in great indignation, and cast them into another land, as it is this day. ²⁹The secret things belong to the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong to us, and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.

Chapter 30

¹And it shall come to pass, when all these things have come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt call them to mind among all the nations whither the LORD thy God hath driven thee, ²And shalt return to the LORD thy God, and shalt obey his voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thy heart, and with all thy soul; ³That then the LORD thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations whither the LORD thy God hath scattered thee. ⁴If any of thine shall be driven out to the outmost parts of heaven, from thence will the LORD thy God gather thee, and from thence will he bring thee: ⁵And the LORD thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it: and he will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers. ⁶And the LORD thy God will circumcise thy heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live. ⁷And the LORD thy God will put all these curses upon thy enemies, and on them that hate thee, who persecuted thee. ⁸And thou shalt return and obey the voice of the LORD, and do all his commandments which I command thee this day. ⁹And the LORD thy God will make thee to abound in every work of thy hand, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy land, for good: for the LORD will again rejoice over thee for good, as he rejoiced over thy fathers: ¹⁰If thou shalt hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which are written in this book of the law, and if thou shalt turn to the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul. ¹¹For this commandment which I command thee this day, it is not hid from thee, neither is it far off. ¹²It is not in heaven, that thou shouldst say, Who shall ascend for us to heaven, and bring it to us, that we may hear it, and do it? ¹³Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldst say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it to us, that we may hear it, and do it? ¹⁴But the word is very nigh to thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it. ¹⁵See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil; ¹⁶In that I command thee this day to love the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments, and his statutes, and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it. ¹⁷But if thy heart shall turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them; ¹⁸I denounce to you this day, that ye shall surely perish, and that ye shall not prolong your days upon the land, whither thou passest over Jordan to go to possess it. ¹⁹I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live: ²⁰That thou mayest love the LORD thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave to him (for he is thy life, and the length of thy days) that thou mayest dwell in the land which the LORD swore to thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.

Chapter 31

¹And Moses went and spoke these words to all Israel. ²And he said to them, I am a hundred and twenty years old this day; I can no more go out and come in: also the LORD hath said to me, thou shalt not go over this Jordan. ³The LORD thy God, he will go over before thee, and he will destroy these nations from before thee, and thou shalt possess them: and Joshua he shall go over before thee, as the LORD hath said. ⁴And the LORD shall do to them as he did to Sihon, and to Og, kings of the Amorites, and to the land of them, whom he destroyed. ⁵And the LORD shall give them up before your face, that ye may do to them according to all the commandments which I have commanded you. ⁶Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee, he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. ⁷And Moses called to Joshua, and said to him in the sight of all Israel, Be strong and of a good courage: for thou must go with this people to the land which the LORD hath sworn to their fathers to give them; and thou shalt cause them to inherit it. ⁸And the LORD, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed. ⁹And Moses wrote this law, and delivered it to the priests the sons of Levi, who bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and to all the elders of Israel. ¹⁰And Moses commanded them, saying, At the end of every seven years, in the solemnity of the year of release, in the feast of tabernacles, ¹¹When all Israel is come to appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose, thou shalt read this law before all Israel in their hearing. ¹²Convene the people, men, and women, and children, and thy stranger that is within thy gates, that they may hear, and that they may learn, and fear the LORD your God, and observe to do all the words of this law: ¹³And that their children who have not known any thing, may hear, and learn to fear the LORD your God, as long as ye live in the land whither ye go over Jordan to possess it. ¹⁴And the LORD said to Moses, Behold, thy days approach that thou must die: call Joshua, and present yourselves in the tabernacle of the congregation, that I may give him a charge. And Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves in the tabernacle of the congregation. ¹⁵And the LORD appeared in the tabernacle in a pillar of a cloud; and the pillar of the cloud stood over the door of the tabernacle. ¹⁶And the LORD said to Moses, Behold, thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, and this people will rise up, and commit idolatry with the gods of the strangers of the land, whither they go to be among them, and will forsake me, and break my covenant which I have made with them. ¹⁷Then my anger shall be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide my face from them, and they shall be devoured, and many evils and troubles shall befall them, so that they will say in that day, Have not these evils come upon us, because our God is not among us? ¹⁸And I will surely hide my face in that day for all the evils which they shall have wrought, in that they are turned to other gods. ¹⁹Now therefore write ye this song for you, and teach it to the children of Israel: put it in their mouths, that this song may be a witness for me against the children of Israel. ²⁰For when I shall have brought them into the land which I swore to their fathers, that floweth with milk and honey; and they shall have eaten and filled themselves, and waxed fat; then will they turn to other gods, and serve them, and provoke me, and break my covenant. ²¹And it shall come to pass, when many evils and troubles have befallen them, that this song shall testify against them as a witness: for it shall not be forgotten out of the mouths of their seed: for I know their imagination which they form, even now, before I have brought them into the land which I swore. ²²Moses therefore wrote this song the same day, and taught it to the children of Israel. ²³And he gave Joshua the son of Nun a charge, and said, Be strong and of a good courage: for thou shalt bring the children of Israel into the land which I swore to them: and I will be with thee. ²⁴And it came to pass, when Moses had made an end of writing the words of this law in a book, until they were finished, ²⁵That Moses commanded the Levites who bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD, saying, ²⁶Take this book of the law, and put it in the side of the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, that it may be there for a witness against thee. ²⁷For I know thy rebellion, and thy stiff neck: behold, while I am yet alive with you this day, ye have been rebellious against the LORD; and how much more after my death? ²⁸Assemble to me all the elders of your tribes, and your officers, that I may speak these words in their ears, and call heaven and earth to record against them. ²⁹For I know that after my death ye will utterly corrupt yourselves, and turn aside from the way which I have commanded you; and evil will befall you in the latter days; because ye will do evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger through the work of your hands. ³⁰And Moses spoke in the ears of all the congregation of Israel the words of this song until they were ended.

Chapter 32

¹Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth. ²My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distill as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass: ³Because I will publish the name of the LORD: ascribe ye greatness to our God. ⁴He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity: just and right is he. ⁵They have corrupted themselves, their spot is not the spot of his children: they are a perverse and crooked generation. ⁶Do ye thus requite the LORD, O foolish people and unwise? is not he thy father that hath bought thee? hath he not made thee, and established thee? ⁷Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations: ask thy father, and he will show thee; thy elders, and they will tell thee. ⁸When the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel. ⁹For the LORD'S portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance. ¹⁰He found him in a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness; he led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye. ¹¹As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings; ¹²So the LORD alone did lead him, and there was no strange God with him. ¹³He made him ride on the high places of the earth, that he might eat the increase of the fields; and he made him to suck honey out of the rock, and oil out of the flinty rock; ¹⁴Butter of cows, and milk of sheep, with fat of lambs, and rams of the breed of Bashan, and goats, with the fat of kidneys of wheat; and thou didst drink the pure blood of the grape. ¹⁵But Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked: thou hast waxed fat, thou art grown thick, thou art covered with fatness; then he forsook God who made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation. ¹⁶They provoked him to jealousy with strange gods, with abominations they provoked him to anger. ¹⁷They sacrificed to devils, not to God; to gods which they knew not, to new gods that came newly up, whom your fathers feared not. ¹⁸Of the Rock that begat thee thou art unmindful, and hast forgotten God that formed thee. ¹⁹And when the LORD saw it, he abhorred them, because of the provoking of his sons, and of his daughters. ²⁰And he said, I will hide my face from them, I will see what their end will be: for they are a very froward generation, children in whom is no faith. ²¹They have moved me to jealousy with that which is not God; they have provoked me to anger with their vanities: and I will move them to jealousy with those who are not a people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation. ²²For a fire is kindled in my anger, and shall burn to the lowest hell, and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains. ²³I will heap mischiefs upon them; I will spend my arrows upon them. ²⁴They shall be burnt with hunger, and devoured with burning heat, and with bitter destruction: I will also send the teeth of beasts upon them, with the poison of serpents of the dust. ²⁵The sword without, and terror within, shall destroy both the young man and the virgin, the suckling also with the man of gray hairs. ²⁶I said, I would scatter them into corners, I would make the remembrance of them to cease from among men; ²⁷Were it not that I feared the wrath of the enemy, lest their adversaries should behave themselves strangely, and lest they should say, Our hand is high, and the LORD hath not done all this. ²⁸For they are a nation void of counsel, neither is there any understanding in them. ²⁹O that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end! ³⁰How should one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight, except their Rock had sold them, and the LORD had shut them up? ³¹For their rock is not as our Rock, even our enemies themselves being judges: ³²For their vine is of the vine of Sodom, and of the fields of Gomorrah: their grapes are grapes of gall, their clusters are bitter: ³³Their wine is the poison of dragons, and the cruel venom of asps. ³⁴Is not this laid up in store with me, and sealed up among my treasures? ³⁵To me belongeth vengeance, and recompense; their foot shall slide in due time: for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste. ³⁶For the LORD shall judge his people, and repent for his servants: when he seeth that their power is gone, and there is none shut up, or left. ³⁷And he shall say, Where are their gods, their rock in whom they trusted, ³⁸Which ate the fat of their sacrifices, and drank the wine of their drink-offerings? let them rise up and help you, and be your protection. ³⁹See now that I, even I am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand. ⁴⁰For I lift up my hand to heaven, and say, I live for ever. ⁴¹If I shall whet my glittering sword, and my hand take hold on judgment; I will render vengeance to my enemies, and will reward them that hate me. ⁴²I will make my arrows drunk with blood, and my sword shall devour flesh; and that with the blood of the slain and of the captives from the beginning of revenges upon the enemy. ⁴³Rejoice, O ye nations, with his people: for he will avenge the blood of his servants, and will render vengeance to his adversaries, and will be merciful to his land, and to his people. ⁴⁴And Moses came and spoke all the words of this song in the ears of the people, he and Hoshea the son of Nun. ⁴⁵And Moses made an end of speaking all these words to all Israel; ⁴⁶And he said to them, Set your hearts to all the words which I testify among you this day, which ye shall command your children to observe to do, all the words of this law. ⁴⁷For it is not a vain thing for you: because it is your life; and through this thing ye shall prolong your days in the land whither ye go over Jordan to possess it. ⁴⁸And the LORD spoke to Moses that same day, saying, ⁴⁹Ascend this mountain Abarim, to mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, that is over against Jericho; and behold the land of Canaan which I give to the children of Israel for a Possession: ⁵⁰And die in the mount whither thou goest, and be gathered to thy people; as Aaron thy brother died in mount Hor, and was gathered to his people: ⁵¹Because ye trespassed against me among the children of Israel at the waters of Meribah-Kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin; because ye sanctified me not in the midst of the children of Israel. ⁵²Yet thou shalt see the land before thee, but thou shalt not go thither to the land which I give the children of Israel.

Chapter 33

¹And this is the with which Moses, the man of God, blessed the children of Israel before his death. ²And he said, the LORD came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir to them; he shined forth from mount Paran, and he came with ten thousands of saints: from his right hand went a fiery law for them. ³Yea, he loved the people; all his saints are in thy hand: and they sat down at thy feet; every one shall receive of thy words. ⁴Moses commanded us a law; even the inheritance of the congregation of Jacob. ⁵And he was king in Jeshurun, when the heads of the people and the tribes of Israel were assembled. ⁶Let Reuben live, and not die; and let not his men be few. ⁷And this is the blessing of Judah: and he said, Hear, LORD, the voice of Judah, and bring him to his people: let his hands be sufficient for him, and be thou a help to him from his enemies. ⁸And of Levi he said, Let thy Thummim and thy Urim be with thy holy one, whom thou didst prove at Massah, and with whom thou didst strive at the waters of Meribah; ⁹Who said to his father and to his mother, I have not seen him, neither did he acknowledge his brethren, nor know his own children: for they have observed thy word, and kept thy covenant. ¹⁰They shall teach Jacob thy judgments, and Israel thy law; they shall put incense before thee, and whole burnt sacrifice upon thy altar. ¹¹Bless, LORD, his substance, and accept the work of his hands: smite through the loins of them that rise against him, and of them that hate him, that they rise not again. ¹²And of Benjamin he said, The beloved of the LORD shall dwell in safety by him; and the LORD shall cover him all the day long, and he shall dwell between his shoulders. ¹³And of Joseph he said, Blessed of the LORD be his land, for the precious things of heaven, for the dew, and for the deep that coucheth beneath, ¹⁴And for the precious fruits brought forth by the sun, and for the precious things put forth by the moon, ¹⁵And for the chief things of the ancient mountains, and for the precious things of the lasting hills, ¹⁶And for the precious things of the earth and fullness of it, and for the good will of him that dwelt in the bush; let the blessing come upon the head of Joseph, and upon the top of the head of him that was separated from his brethren. ¹⁷His glory is like the firstling of his bullock, and his horns are like the horns of unicorns: with them he shall push the people together to the ends of the earth: and they are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Manasseh. ¹⁸And of Zebulun he said, Rejoice, Zebulun, in thy going out; and Issachar, in thy tents. ¹⁹They shall call the people to the mountain; there they shall offer sacrifices of righteousness: for they shall suck of the abundance of the seas, and of treasures hid in the sand. ²⁰And of Gad he said: Blessed be he that enlargeth Gad: he dwelleth as a lion, and teareth the arm with the crown of the head. ²¹And he provided the first part for himself, because there, in a portion of the lawgiver, was he seated: and he came with the heads of the people, he executed the justice of the LORD, and his judgments with Israel. ²²And of Dan he said, Dan is a lion's whelp: he shall leap from Bashan. ²³And of Naphtali he said, O Naphtali, satisfied with favor, and full with the blessing of the LORD: possess thou the west and the south. ²⁴And of Asher he said, Let Asher be blessed with children; let him be acceptable to his brethren, and let him dip his foot in oil. ²⁵Thy shoes shall be iron and brass; and as thy days, so shall thy strength be. ²⁶There is none like to the God of Jeshurun, who rideth upon the heaven in thy help, and in his excellence on the sky. ²⁷The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms: and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee, and shall say, Destroy them. ²⁸Israel then shall dwell in safety alone; the fountain of Jacob shall be upon a land of corn and wine, also his heavens shall drop down dew. ²⁹Happy art thou, O Israel: who is like to thee, O people saved by the LORD, the shield of thy help, and who is the sword of thy excellence! and thy enemies shall be found liars to thee; and thou shalt tread upon their high places.

Chapter 34

¹And Moses went up from the plains of Moab, upon the mountain of Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, that is over against Jericho: and the LORD showed him all the land of Gilead, to Dan, ²And all Naphtali, and the land of Ephraim, and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah, to the utmost sea, ³And the south, and the plain of the valley of Jericho, the city of palm-trees, to Zoar. ⁴And the LORD said to him, This is the land which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, I will give it to thy seed: I have caused thee to see it with thy eyes, but thou shalt not go over thither. ⁵So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD. ⁶And he buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Beth-peor: but no man knoweth of his sepulcher to this day. ⁷And Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated. ⁸And the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days: so the days of weeping and mourning for Moses were ended. ⁹And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom; for Moses had laid his hands upon him: and the children of Israel hearkened to him, and did as the LORD commanded Moses. ¹⁰And there arose not a prophet afterwards in Israel like to Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face, ¹¹In all the signs and the wonders which the LORD sent him to do in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh, and to all his servants, and to all his land, ¹²And in all that mighty hand, and in all the great terror which Moses showed in the sight of all Israel.

Joshua

Chapter 1

¹Now after the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, it came to pass, that the LORD spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses's minister, saying, ²Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, to the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel. ³Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given to you, as I said to Moses. ⁴From the wilderness and this Lebanon even to the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and to the great sea towards the setting of the sun, shall be your border. ⁵There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. ⁶Be strong and of a good courage: for to this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. ⁷Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest. ⁸This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate in it day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. ⁹Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest. ¹⁰Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying, ¹¹Pass through the host, and command the people, saying, Prepare you provisions; for within three days ye shall pass over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land which the LORD your God giveth you to possess it. ¹²And to the Reubenites, and to the Gadites, and to half the tribe of Manasseh, spoke Joshua, saying, ¹³Remember the word which Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, saying, The LORD your God hath given you rest, and hath given you this land. ¹⁴Your wives, your little ones, and your cattle shall remain in the land which Moses gave you on this side of Jordan; but ye shall pass before your brethren armed, all the mighty men of valor, and help them; ¹⁵Until the LORD shall have given your brethren rest, as he hath given you, and they also have possessed the land which the LORD your God giveth them: then ye shall return to the land of your possession, and enjoy it, which Moses the LORD'S servant gave you on this side of Jordan towards the sun-rising. ¹⁶And they answered Joshua, saying, All that thou commandest us, we will do, and whithersoever thou sendest us, we will go. ¹⁷According as we hearkened to Moses in all things, so will we hearken to thee: only the LORD thy God be with thee, as he was with Moses. ¹⁸Every one that doth rebel against thy commandment, and will not hearken to thy words in all that thou commandest him, shall be put to death: only be strong and of a good courage.

Chapter 2

¹And Joshua the son of Nun sent from Shittim two men to spy secretly, saying, Go, view the land, even Jericho. And they went, and came into the house of a harlot, named Rahab, and lodged there. ²And it was told the king of Jericho, saying, Behold, there came men in hither to-night of the children of Israel, to search out the country. ³And the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying, Bring forth the men that have come to thee, who have entered into thy house: for they have come to search out all the country. ⁴And the woman took the two men, and hid them, and said thus, There came men to me, but I knew not whence they were: ⁵And it came to pass about the time of shutting the gate, when it was dark, that the men went out: whither the men went, I know not: pursue after them quickly; for ye will overtake them. ⁶But she had brought them up to the roof of the house, and hid them with the stalks of flax, which she had laid in order upon the roof. ⁷And the men pursued them the way to Jordan to the fords: and as soon as they who pursued them had gone out, they shut the gate. ⁸And before they had lain down, she came up to them upon the roof; ⁹And she said to the men, I know that the LORD hath given you the land, and that your terror hath fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you. ¹⁰For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did to the two kings of the Amorites, that were on the other side of Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed. ¹¹And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you: for the LORD your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath. ¹²Now therefore, I pray you, swear to me by the LORD, since I have showed you kindness, that ye will also show kindness to my father's house, and give me a true token: ¹³And that ye will save alive my father, and my mother, and my brethren, and my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death. ¹⁴And the men answered her, Our life for yours, if ye utter not this our business. And it shall be, when the LORD hath given us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with thee. ¹⁵Then she let them down by a cord through the window: for her house was upon the town-wall, and she dwelt upon the wall. ¹⁶And she said to them, Depart to the mountain, lest the pursuers meet you; and hide yourselves there three days, until the pursuers have returned: and afterward ye may go your way. ¹⁷And the men said to her, We will be blameless of this thy oath which thou hast made us swear. ¹⁸Behold, when we come into the land, thou shalt bind this line of scarlet thread in the window by which thou didst let us down: and thou shalt bring thy father, and thy mother, and thy brethren, and all thy father's household home to thee. ¹⁹And it shall be, that whoever shall go out of the doors of thy house into the street, his blood shall be upon his head, and we will be guiltless: and whoever shall be with thee in the house, his blood shall be on our head, if any hand be upon him. ²⁰And if thou shalt utter this our business, then we will be quit of thy oath which thou hast made us to swear. ²¹And she said, According to your words, so be it. And she sent them away, and they departed: and she bound the scarlet line in the window. ²²And they went, and came to the mountain, and abode there three days, until the pursuers had returned: and the pursuers sought them throughout all the way, but found them not. ²³So the two men returned, and descended from the mountain, and passed over, and came to Joshua the son of Nun, and told him all things that befell them: ²⁴And they said to Joshua, Truly the LORD hath delivered into our hands all the land; for even all the inhabitants of the country do faint because of us.

Chapter 3

¹And Joshua rose early in the morning; and they removed from Shittim, and came to Jordan, he and all the children of Israel, and lodged there before they passed over. ²And it came to pass after three days, that the officers went through the host; ³And they commanded the people, saying, When ye see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, and the priests the Levites bearing it, then ye shall remove from your place, and go after it. ⁴Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure: come not near to it, that ye may know the way by which ye must go: for ye have not passed this way heretofore. ⁵And Joshua said to the people, Sanctify yourselves: for to-morrow the LORD will do wonders among you. ⁶And Joshua spoke to the priests, saying, Take up the ark of the covenant, and pass over before the people. And they took up the ark of the covenant, and went before the people. ⁷And the LORD said to Joshua, This day will I begin to magnify thee in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee. ⁸And thou shalt command the priests that bear the ark of the covenant, saying, When ye have come to the brink of the water of Jordan, ye shall stand still in Jordan. ⁹And Joshua said to the children of Israel, Come hither, and hear the words of the LORD your God. ¹⁰And Joshua said, By this ye shall know that the living God is among you, and that he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Hivites, and the Perizzites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Jebusites. ¹¹Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth passeth over before you into Jordan. ¹²Now therefore take you twelve men out of the tribes of Israel, out of every tribe a man. ¹³And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests that bear the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of Jordan, that the waters of Jordan shall be cut off from the waters that come down from above; and they shall stand in a heap. ¹⁴And it came to pass, when the people removed from their tents to pass over Jordan, and the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people; ¹⁵And as they that bore the ark had come to Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bore the ark were dipped in the brim of the water, (for Jordan overfloweth all its banks all the time of harvest,) ¹⁶That the waters which came down from above stood and rose up in a heap very far from the city Adam, that is beside Zaretan; and those that came down towards the sea of the plain, even the salt sea, failed, and were cut off: and the people passed over right against Jericho. ¹⁷And the priests that bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan, and all the Israelites passed over on dry ground, until all the people had passed quite over Jordan.

Chapter 4

¹And it came to pass, when all the people had quite passed over Jordan, that the LORD spoke to Joshua, saying, ²Take you twelve men from the people, from every tribe a man, ³And command ye them, saying, Take you hence out of the midst of Jordan, from the place where the priests' feet stood firm, twelve stones, and ye shall carry them over with you, and leave them in the lodging-place where ye shall lodge this night. ⁴Then Joshua called the twelve men, whom he had prepared of the children of Israel, of every tribe a man: ⁵And Joshua said to them, Pass over before the ark of the LORD your God into the midst of Jordan, and take ye up every man of you a stone upon his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel: ⁶That this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean ye by these stones? ⁷Then ye shall answer them, That the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD; when it passed over Jordan, the waters of Jordan were cut off: and these stones shall be for a memorial to the children of Israel for ever. ⁸And the children of Israel did so as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones from the midst of Jordan, as the the LORD commanded Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, and carried them over with them to the place where they lodged, and laid them down there. ⁹And Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests who bore the ark of the covenant stood: and they are there to this day. ¹⁰For the priests who bore the ark stood in the midst of Jordan, until every thing was finished that the LORD commanded Joshua to speak to the people, according to all that Moses commanded Joshua: and the people hasted and passed over. ¹¹And it came to pass, when all the people had quite passed over, that the ark of the LORD passed over, and the priests in the presence of the people. ¹²And the children of Reuben, and the children of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh, passed over armed before the children of Israel, as Moses directed them: ¹³About forty thousand prepared for war passed over before the LORD to battle, to the plains of Jericho. ¹⁴On that day the LORD magnified Joshua in the sight of all Israel, and they feared him, as they feared Moses, all the days of his life. ¹⁵And the LORD spoke to Joshua, saying, ¹⁶Command the priests that bear the ark of the testimony, that they come up out of Jordan. ¹⁷Joshua therefore commanded the priests, saying, Come ye up out of Jordan. ¹⁸And it came to pass, when the priests that bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD had come up out of the midst of Jordan, and the soles of the priests' feet were lifted up upon the dry land, that the waters of Jordan returned to their place, and flowed over all its banks, as they did before. ¹⁹And the people came up out of Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and encamped in Gilgal, in the east border of Jericho. ²⁰And those twelve stones which they took out of Jordan, did Joshua set up in Gilgal. ²¹And he spoke to the children of Israel, saying, When your children shall ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean these stones? ²²Then ye shall let your children know, saying, Israel came over this Jordan on dry land. ²³For the LORD your God dried up the waters of Jordan from before you, until ye had passed over, as the LORD your God did to the Red sea, which he dried up from before us, until we had gone over: ²⁴That all the people of the earth might know the hand of the LORD that it is mighty: that ye might fear the LORD your God for ever.

Chapter 5

¹And it came to pass, when all the kings of the Amorites who were on the side of Jordan westward, and all the kings of the Canaanites who were by the sea, heard that the LORD had dried up the waters of Jordan from before the children of Israel, until we had passed over, that their heart melted; neither was there spirit in them any more, because of the children of Israel. ²At that time the LORD said to Joshua, Make thee sharp knives, and circumcise again the children of Israel the second time. ³And Joshua made him sharp knives, and circumcised the children of Israel at the hill of the foreskins. ⁴And this is the cause why Joshua did circumcise: All the people that came out of Egypt, that were males, even all the men of war died in the wilderness by the way, after they came out of Egypt. ⁵Now all the people that came out were circumcised; but all the people that were born in the wilderness by the way as they came forth from Egypt, them they had not circumcised. ⁶For the children of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, till all the people that were men of war who came out of Egypt were consumed, because they obeyed not the voice of the LORD: to whom the LORD swore that he would not show them the land which the LORD swore to their fathers that he would give us, a land that floweth with milk and honey. ⁷And their children, whom he raised up in their stead, them Joshua circumcised: for they were uncircumcised, because they had not circumcised them by the way. ⁸And it came to pass when they had done circumcising all the people, that they abode in their places in the camp, till they were whole. ⁹And the LORD said to Joshua, This day have I rolled away the reproach of Egypt from off you: Wherefore the name of the place is called Gilgal to this day. ¹⁰And the children of Israel encamped in Gilgal, and kept the passover on the fourteenth day of the month at evening in the plains of Jericho. ¹¹And they ate of the old corn of the land on the morrow after the passover, unleavened cakes, and parched corn in the same day. ¹²And the manna ceased on the morrow after they had eaten of the old corn of the land; neither had the children of Israel manna any more; but they ate of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year. ¹³And it came to pass when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went to him, and said to him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries? ¹⁴And he said, No; but as captain of the host of the LORD am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and worshiped, and said to him, What saith my lord to his servant? ¹⁵And the captain of the LORD'S host said to Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot, for the place on which thou standest is holy: and Joshua did so.

Chapter 6

¹Now Jericho was closely shut up because of the children of Israel: none went out, and none came in. ²And the LORD said to Joshua, See, I have given into thy hand Jericho, and its king, and the mighty men of valor. ³And ye shall compass the city, all ye men of war, and go round the city once: thus shalt thou do six days. ⁴And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams' horns: and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets. ⁵And it shall come to pass, that when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, and when ye hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout: and the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall ascend every man straight before him. ⁶And Joshua the son of Nun called the priests, and said to them, Take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests bear seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark of the LORD. ⁷And he said to the people, Pass on, and compass the city, and let him that is armed pass on before the ark of the LORD. ⁸And it came to pass, when Joshua had spoken to the people, that the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams' horns passed on before the LORD, and blew with the trumpets: and the ark of the covenant of the LORD followed them. ⁹And the armed men went before the priests that blew with the trumpets, and the rear-guard came after the ark, the priests going on, and blowing with the trumpets. ¹⁰And Joshua had commanded the people, saying, Ye shall not shout, nor make any noise with your voice, neither shall any word proceed from your mouth, until the day I bid you shout, then shall ye shout. ¹¹So the ark of the LORD compassed the city, going about it once: and they came into the camp, and lodged in the camp. ¹²And Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests took up the ark of the LORD. ¹³And seven priests bearing seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark of the LORD went on continually, and blew with the trumpets: and the armed men went before them; but the rear-guard came after the ark of the LORD, the priests going on, and blowing with the trumpets. ¹⁴And the second day they compassed the city once, and returned into the camp. So they did six days. ¹⁵And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they rose early about the dawning of the day, and compassed the city after the same manner seven times: only on that day they compassed the city seven times. ¹⁶And it came to pass at the seventh time, when the priests blew with the trumpets, Joshua said to the people, Shout; for the LORD hath given you the city. ¹⁷And the city shall be accursed, even it, and all that are in it, to the LORD: only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all that are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent. ¹⁸And ye, in any wise keep yourselves from the accursed thing, lest ye make yourselves accursed, when ye take of the accursed thing, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it. ¹⁹But all the silver, and gold, and vessels of brass and iron, are consecrated to the LORD: they shall come into the treasury of the LORD. ²⁰So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets: and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city. ²¹And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox, and sheep, and ass, with the edge of the sword. ²²But Joshua had said to the two men that spied out the country, Go into the harlot's house, and bring out thence the woman, and all that she hath, as ye swore to her. ²³And the young men that were spies went in, and brought out Rahab, and her father, and her mother, and her brethren, and all that she had; and they brought out all her kindred, and left them without the camp of Israel. ²⁴And they burnt the city with fire, and all that was in it: only the silver, and the gold, and the vessels of brass and of iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the LORD. ²⁵And Joshua saved Rahab the harlot alive, and her father's household, and all that she had; and she dwelleth in Israel even to this day; because she hid the messengers which Joshua sent to spy out Jericho. ²⁶And Joshua adjured them at that time, saying, Cursed be the man before the LORD, that riseth up and buildeth this city Jericho: he shall lay its foundation in his first-born, and in his youngest son shall he set up the gates of it. ²⁷So the LORD was with Joshua; and his fame was noised throughout all the country.

Chapter 7

¹But the children of Israel committed a trespass in the accursed thing: for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed thing: and the anger of the LORD was kindled against the children of Israel. ²And Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is beside Beth-aven, on the east side of Beth-el, and spoke to them, saying, Go up and view the country. And the men went up and viewed Ai. ³And they returned to Joshua, and said to him, Let not all the people go up; but let about two or three thousand men go up and smite Ai; and make not all the people to labor thither; for they are but few. ⁴So there went up thither of the people about three thousand men: and they fled before the men of Ai. ⁵And the men of Ai smote of them about thirty and six men: for they chased them from before the gate even to Shebarim, and smote them in the going down: wherefore the hearts of the people melted, and became as water. ⁶And Joshua rent his clothes, and fell to the earth upon his face before the ark of the LORD until the evening, he and the elders of Israel, and put dust upon their heads. ⁷And Joshua said, Alas, O Lord GOD, why hast thou at all brought this people over Jordan, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? O that we had been content, and dwelt on the other side of Jordan. ⁸O Lord, what shall I say, when Israel turn their backs before their enemies! ⁹For the Canaanites, and all the inhabitants of the land will hear of it, and will environ us, and cut off our name from the earth: and what wilt thou do to thy great name? ¹⁰And the LORD said to Joshua, Arise; Why liest thou thus upon thy face? ¹¹Israel hath sinned, and they have also transgressed my covenant which I commanded them: for they have even taken of the accursed thing, and have also stolen, and dissembled also, and they have put it even among their own goods. ¹²Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they were accursed: neither will I be with you any more, except ye destroy the accursed from among you. ¹³Rise, sanctify the people, and say, Sanctify yourselves against to-morrow: for thus saith the LORD God of Israel, There is an accursed thing in the midst of thee, O Israel: thou canst not stand before thy enemies, until ye take away the accursed thing from among you. ¹⁴In the morning therefore ye shall be brought according to your tribes: and it shall be, that the tribe which the LORD taketh shall come according to their families: and the family which the LORD shall take shall come by households; and the household which the LORD shall take shall come man by man. ¹⁵And it shall be, that he that is taken with the accursed thing shall be burnt with fire, he and all that he hath: because he hath transgressed the covenant of the LORD, and because he hath wrought folly in Israel. ¹⁶So Joshua rose early in the morning, and brought Israel by their tribes; and the tribe of Judah was taken: ¹⁷And he brought the family of Judah; and he took the family of the Zarhites: and he brought the family of the Zarhites man by man; and Zabdi was taken: ¹⁸And he brought his household man by man; and Achan the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken. ¹⁹And Joshua said to Achan, My son, give, I pray thee, glory to the LORD God of Israel, and make confession to him; and tell me now what thou hast done, hide it not from me. ²⁰And Achan answered Joshua, and said, Indeed I have sinned against the LORD God of Israel, and thus and thus have I done. ²¹When I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them, and behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it. ²²So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent, and behold, it was hid in his tent, and the silver under it. ²³And they took them from the midst of the tent, and brought them to Joshua, and to all the children of Israel, and laid them out before the LORD. ²⁴And Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, and the silver, and the garment, and the wedge of gold, and his sons, and his daughters, and his oxen, and his asses, and his sheep, and his tent, and all that he had: and they brought them to the valley of Achor. ²⁵And Joshua said, why hast thou troubled us? the LORD shall trouble thee this day. And all Israel stoned him with stones, and burned them with fire, after they had stoned them with stones. ²⁶And they raised over him a great heap of stones to this day. So the LORD turned from the fierceness of his anger: wherefore the name of that place was called the valley of Achor to this day.

Chapter 8

¹And the LORD said to Joshua, Fear not, neither be thou dismayed: take all the people of war with thee, and arise, go up to Ai: see, I have given into thy hand the king of Ai, and his people, and his city, and his land: ²And thou shalt do to Ai and her king, as thou didst to Jericho and her king: only its spoil, and its cattle, shall ye take for a prey to yourselves: lay thee an ambush for the city behind it. ³So Joshua arose, and all the people of war, to go up against Ai: and Joshua chose out thirty thousand mighty men of valor, and sent them away by night. ⁴And he commanded them, saying, Behold, ye shall lie in wait against the city, even behind the city: go not very far from the city, but be ye all ready: ⁵And I, and all the people that are with me, will approach to the city: and it shall come to pass when they come out against us, as at the first, that we will flee before them, ⁶(For they will come out after us) till we have drawn them from the city; for they will say, They flee before us, as at the first: therefore we will flee before them. ⁷Then ye shall rise from the ambush and seize upon the city: for the LORD your God will deliver it into your hand, ⁸And it shall be when ye have taken the city, that ye shall set the city on fire: according to the commandment of the LORD shall ye do. See, I have commanded you. ⁹Joshua therefore sent them forth; and they went to lie in ambush, and abode between Beth-el and Ai, on the west side of Ai: but Joshua lodged that night among the people. ¹⁰And Joshua rose early in the morning, and numbered the people, and went up, he and the elders of Israel, before the people to Ai. ¹¹And all the people, even the people of war that were with him, went up, and drew nigh, and came before the city, and pitched on the north side of Ai: now there was a valley between them and Ai. ¹²And he took about five thousand men; and set them to lie in ambush between Beth-el and Ai, on the west side of the city. ¹³And when they had set the people, even all the host that was on the north of the city, and their liers in wait on the west of the city, Joshua went that night into the midst of the valley. ¹⁴And it came to pass when the king of Ai saw it, that they hasted and rose early, and the men of the city went out against Israel to battle, he and all his people, at a time appointed, before the plain: but he knew not that there were liers in ambush against him behind the city. ¹⁵And Joshua and all Israel made as if they were beaten before them, and fled by the way of the wilderness. ¹⁶And all the people that were in Ai were called together to pursue them: and they pursued Joshua, and were drawn away from the city. ¹⁷And there was not a man left in Ai, or Beth-el that went not out after Israel: and they left the city open, and pursued Israel. ¹⁸And the LORD said to Joshua, Stretch out the spear that is in thy hand towards Ai; for I will give it into thy hand. And Joshua stretched out the spear that he had in his hand towards the city. ¹⁹And the ambush arose quickly out of their place, and they ran as soon as he had stretched out his hand: and they entered into the city, and took it, and hasted, and set the city on fire. ²⁰And when the men of Ai looked behind them, they saw, and behold, the smoke of the city ascended to heaven, and they had no power to flee this way or that way: and the people that fled to the wilderness turned back upon the pursuers. ²¹And when Joshua and all Israel saw that the ambush had taken the city, and that the smoke of the city ascended, then they turned again and slew the men of Ai. ²²And the other issued out of the city against them; so they were in the midst of Israel, some on this side, and some on that side: and they smote them, so that they let none of them remain or escape. ²³And the king of Ai they took alive, and brought him to Joshua. ²⁴And it came to pass when Israel had made an end of slaying all the inhabitants of Ai in the field, in the wilderness in which they chased them, and when they had all fallen on the edge of the sword, until they were consumed, that all the Israelites returned to Ai, and smote it with the edge of the sword. ²⁵And so it was, that all that fell that day, both of men and women, were twelve thousand, even all the men of Ai. ²⁶For Joshua drew not his hand back with which he stretched out the spear, until he had utterly destroyed all the inhabitants of Ai. ²⁷Only the cattle and the spoil of that city Israel took for a prey to themselves, according to the word of the LORD which he commanded Joshua. ²⁸And Joshua burnt Ai, and made it a heap for ever, even a desolation to this day. ²⁹And the king of Ai he hanged on a tree until evening: and as soon as the sun was down, Joshua commanded that they should take his carcass down from the tree, and cast it at the entering of the gate of the city, and raise upon it a great heap of stones, that remaineth to this day. ³⁰Then Joshua built an altar to the LORD God of Israel in mount Ebal, ³¹As Moses the servant of the LORD commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the book of the law of Moses, an altar of whole stones, over which no man hath lifted up any iron: and they offered upon it burnt-offerings to the LORD, and sacrificed peace-offerings. ³²And he wrote there upon the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he wrote in the presence of the children of Israel. ³³And all Israel, and their elders, and officers, and their judges, stood on this side of the ark, and on that side, before the priests the Levites, who bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD, as well the stranger, as he that was born among them; half of them over against mount Gerizim, and half of them over against mount Ebal; as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded before, that they should bless the people of Israel. ³⁴And afterward he read all the words of the law, the blessings and cursings, according to all that is written in the book of the law. ³⁵There was not a word of all that Moses commanded, which Joshua read not before all the congregation of Israel, with the women, and the little ones, and the strangers that were conversant among them.

Chapter 9

¹And it came to pass, when all the kings who were on this side Jordan, in the hills, and in the valleys, and in all the coasts of the great sea over against Lebanon, the Hittite, and the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite heard these things, ²That they assembled themselves, to fight with Joshua and with Israel, with one accord. ³And when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and to Ai, ⁴They did work craftily, and went and made as if they had been embassadors, and took old sacks upon their asses, and wine-bottles, old, and rent, and bound up; ⁵And old shoes and patched upon their feet, and old garments upon them; and all the bread of their provision was dry and moldy. ⁶And they went to Joshua to the camp at Gilgal, and said to him, and to the men of Israel, We have come from a far country: now therefore make ye a league with us. ⁷And the men of Israel said to the Hivites, It may be ye dwell among us; and how shall we make a league with you? ⁸And they said to Joshua, we are thy servants. And Joshua said to them, Who are ye? and whence come ye? ⁹And they said to him, From a very far country thy servants have come because of the name of the LORD thy God: for we have heard the fame of him, and all that he did in Egypt, ¹⁰And all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites, that were beyond Jordan, to Sihon king of Heshbon, and to Og king of Bashan, who was at Ashtaroth. ¹¹Wherefore our elders, and all the inhabitants of our country spoke to us, saying, Take provisions with you for the journey, and go to meet them, and say to them, We are your servants: therefore now make ye a league with us: ¹²This our bread we took hot for our provision out of our houses on the day we came forth to go to you; but now, behold, it is dry, and it is moldy: ¹³And these bottles of wine which we filled, were new, and behold, they are rent: and these our garments and our shoes are become old by reason of the very long journey. ¹⁴And the men took of their provisions, and asked not counsel at the mouth of the LORD. ¹⁵And Joshua made peace with them, and made a league with them, to let them live: and the princes of the congregation swore to them. ¹⁶And it came to pass at the end of three days after they had made a league with them, that they heard that they were their neighbors, and that they dwelt among them. ¹⁷And the children of Israel journeyed, and came to their cities on the third day. Now their cities were Gibeon, and Chephirah, and Beeroth, and Kirjath-jearim. ¹⁸And the children of Israel smote them not, because the princes of the congregation had sworn to them by the LORD God of Israel. And all the congregation murmured against the princes. ¹⁹But all the princes said to all the congregation, We have sworn to them by the LORD God of Israel: now therefore we may not touch them. ²⁰This we will do to them; we will even let them live, lest wrath be upon us, because of the oath which we swore to them. ²¹And the princes said to them, Let them live; but let them be hewers of wood, and drawers of water to all the congregation; as the princes had promised them. ²²And Joshua called for them, and he spoke to them, saying, Why have ye deceived us, saying, We are very far from you; when ye dwell among us? ²³Now therefore ye are cursed, and there shall none of you be freed from being bond-men, and hewers of wood and drawers of water for the house of my God. ²⁴And they answered Joshua, and said, Because it was certainly told thy servants, how the LORD thy God commanded his servant Moses to give you all the land, and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land from before you, therefore we were greatly afraid for our lives because of you, and have done this thing. ²⁵And now, behold, we are in thy hand: do as it seemeth good and right to thee to do to us, ²⁶And so did he to them, and delivered them out of the hand of the children of Israel, that they slew them not. ²⁷And Joshua made them that day hewers of wood and drawers of water for the congregation, and for the altar of the LORD, even to this day, in the place which he should choose.

Chapter 10

¹Now it came to pass, when Adoni-zedec king of Jerusalem had heard how Joshua had taken Ai, and had utterly destroyed it; as he had done to Jericho and her king, so he had done to Ai and her king; and how the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel, and were among them; ²That they feared greatly, because Gibeon was a great city, as one of the royal cities, and because it was greater than Ai, and all the men of it were mighty. ³Wherefore Adoni-zedec king of Jerusalem sent to Hoham king of Hebron, and to Piram king of Jarmuth, and to Japhia king of Lachish, and to Debir king of Eglon, saying, ⁴Come up to me, and help me, that we may smite Gibeon: for it hath made peace with Joshua and with the children of Israel. ⁵Therefore the five kings of the Amorites, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, the king of Eglon, assembled themselves, and went up, they and all their hosts, and encamped before Gibeon, and made war against it. ⁶And the men of Gibeon sent to Joshua to the camp at Gilgal, saying, Slack not thy hand from thy servants; come up to us quickly, and save us, and help us: for all the kings of the Amorites that dwell in the mountains, are assembled against us. ⁷So Joshua ascended from Gilgal, he, and all the people of war with him, and all the mighty men of valor. ⁸And the LORD said to Joshua, Fear them not: for I have delivered them into thy hand; there shall not a man of them stand before thee. ⁹Joshua therefore came to them suddenly, and went up from Gilgal all night. ¹⁰And the LORD discomfited them before Israel, and slew them with a great slaughter at Gibeon, and chased them along the way that goeth up to Beth-horon, and smote them to Azekah, and to Makkedah. ¹¹And it came to pass as they fled from before Israel, and were in the descent to Beth-horon, that the LORD cast down great stones from heaven upon them to Azekah, and they died: they were more who died with hailstones than they whom the children of Israel slew with the sword. ¹²Then spoke Joshua to the LORD in the day when the LORD delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon, and thou Moon, in the valley of Ajalon. ¹³And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day. ¹⁴And there was no day like that before it or after it, that the LORD hearkened to the voice of a man: for the LORD fought for Israel. ¹⁵And Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to the camp at Gilgal. ¹⁶But these five kings fled, and hid themselves in a cave at Makkedah. ¹⁷And it was told Joshua, saying, The five kings are found hid in a cave at Makkedah. ¹⁸And Joshua said, Roll great stones upon the mouth of the cave, and set men by it to keep them: ¹⁹And stay you not, but pursue your enemies, and smite the hindmost of them; suffer them not to enter into their cities: for the LORD your God hath delivered them into your hand. ²⁰And it came to pass, when Joshua and the children of Israel had made an end of slaying them with a very great slaughter, till they were consumed, that the rest who remained of them entered into fortified cities. ²¹And all the people returned to the camp to Joshua at Makkedah in peace: none moved his tongue against any of the children of Israel. ²²Then said Joshua, Open the mouth of the cave, and bring those five kings to me out of the cave. ²³And they did so, and brought those five kings to him out of the cave, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon. ²⁴And it came to pass, when they brought out those kings to Joshua, that Joshua called for all the men of Israel, and said to the captains of the men of war who went with him, Come near, put your feet upon the necks of these kings. And they came near, and put their feet upon the necks of them. ²⁵And Joshua said to them, Fear not, nor be dismayed, be strong and of good courage: for thus shall the LORD do to all your enemies against whom ye fight. ²⁶And afterward Joshua smote them, and slew them, and hanged them on five trees: and they were hanging upon the trees until the evening. ²⁷And it came to pass at the time of the setting of the sun, that Joshua commanded, and they took them down from the trees, and cast them into the cave in which they had been hid, and laid great stones upon the cave's mouth, which remain until this very day. ²⁸And that day Joshua took Makkedah, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and the king of it he utterly destroyed, them, and all the souls that were in it; he let none remain: and he did to the king of Makkedah as he did to the king of Jericho. ²⁹Then Joshua passed from Makkedah, and all Israel with him, to Libnah, and fought against Libnah: ³⁰And the LORD delivered it also, and its king, into the hand of Israel; and he smote it with the edge of the sword, and all the souls that were in it; he let none remain in it; but did to the king of it as he did to the king of Jericho. ³¹And Joshua passed from Libnah, and all Israel with him, to Lachish, and encamped against it, and fought against it: ³²And the LORD delivered Lachish into the hand of Israel, who took it on the second day, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and all the souls that were in it, according to all that he had done to Libnah. ³³Then Horam king of Gezer came up to help Lachish; and Joshua smote him and his people, until he had left him none remaining. ³⁴And from Lachish Joshua passed to Eglon, and all Israel with him; and they encamped against it, and fought against it: ³⁵And they took it on that day, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and all the souls that were in it he utterly destroyed that day, according to all that he had done to Lachish. ³⁶And Joshua went up from Eglon, and all Israel with him, to Hebron; and they fought against it: ³⁷And they took it, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and its king, and all its cities, and all the souls that were in them; he left none remaining (according to all that he had done to Eglon) but destroyed it utterly, and all the souls that were in it. ³⁸And Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to Debir; and fought against it: ³⁹And he took it, and its king, and all its cities, and they smote them with the edge of the sword, and utterly destroyed all the souls that were in them; he left none remaining: as he had done to Hebron, so he did to Debir, and to its king; as he had done also to Libnah, and to its king. ⁴⁰So Joshua smote all the country of the hills, and of the south, and of the vale, and of the springs, and all their kings: he left none remaining, but utterly destroyed all that breathed, as the LORD God of Israel commanded. ⁴¹And Joshua smote them from Kadesh-barnea even to Gaza, and all the country of Goshen, even to Gibeon. ⁴²And all these kings and their land did Joshua take at one time; because the LORD God of Israel fought for Israel. ⁴³And Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to the camp in Gilgal.

Chapter 11

¹And it came to pass, when Jabin king of Hazor had heard those things, that he sent to Jobab king of Madon, and to the king of Shimron, and to the king Achshaph, ²And to the kings that were on the north of the mountains, and of the plains south of Cinneroth, and in the valley, and in the borders of Dor on the west, ³And to the Canaanite on the east and on the west, and to the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Jebusite in the mountains, and to the Hivite under Hermon in the land of Mizpeh. ⁴And they went out, they and all their hosts with them, many people, even as the sand that is upon the sea-shore in multitude, with horses and chariots very numerous. ⁵And when all these kings were met together, they came and encamped together at the waters of Merom, to fight against Israel. ⁶And the LORD said to Joshua, Be not afraid because of them: for to-morrow about this time will I deliver them up all slain before Israel: thou shalt hough their horses, and burn their chariots with fire. ⁷So Joshua came, and all the people of war with him, against them by the waters of Merom suddenly, and they fell upon them. ⁸And the LORD delivered them into the hand of Israel, who smote them, and chased them to great Zidon, and to Misrephoth-maim, and to the valley of Mizpeh eastward; and they smote them, until they left to them none remaining. ⁹And Joshua did to them as the LORD bade him: he houghed their horses, and burnt their chariots with fire. ¹⁰And Joshua at that time turned back, and took Hazor, and smote its king with the sword: for Hazor before-time was the head of all those kingdoms. ¹¹And they smote all the souls that were in it with the edge of the sword, utterly destroying them: there was not any left to breathe: and he burnt Hazor with fire. ¹²And all the cities of those kings, and all the kings of them, Joshua took, and smote them with the edge of the sword, and he utterly destroyed them, as Moses the servant of the LORD commanded. ¹³But as for the cities that stood still in their strength, Israel burned none of them, save Hazor only; that did Joshua burn. ¹⁴And all the spoil of these cities, and the cattle, the children of Israel took for a prey to themselves: but every man they smote with the edge of the sword, until they had destroyed them, neither left they any to breathe. ¹⁵As the LORD commanded Moses his servant, so did Moses command Joshua, and so did Joshua: he left nothing undone of all that the LORD commanded Moses. ¹⁶So Joshua took all that land, the hills, and all the south country, and all the land of Goshen, and the valley, and the plain, and the mountain of Israel, and the valley of the same; ¹⁷Even from the mount Halak, that goeth up to Seir, even to Baal-gad, in the valley of Lebanon under mount Hermon: and all their kings he took, and smote them, and slew them. ¹⁸Joshua made war a long time with all those kings. ¹⁹There was not a city that made peace with the children of Israel, save the Hivites the inhabitants of Gibeon: all other they took in battle. ²⁰For it was of the LORD to harden their hearts, that they should come against Israel in battle, that he might destroy them utterly, and that they might have no favor, but that he might destroy them, as the LORD commanded Moses. ²¹And at that time came Joshua and cut off the Anakims from the mountains, from Hebron, from Debir, from Anab, and from all the mountains of Judah, and from all the mountains of Israel: Joshua destroyed them utterly with their cities. ²²There was none of the Anakims left in the land of the children of Israel: only in Gaza, in Gath, and in Ashdod, there remained. ²³So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the LORD said to Moses, and Joshua gave it for an inheritance to Israel according to their divisions by their tribes. And the land rested from war.

Chapter 12

¹Now these are the kings of the land, whom the children of Israel smote, and possessed their land on the other side of Jordan towards the rising of the sun, from the river Arnon, to mount Hermon, and all the plain on the east: ²Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt in Heshbon, and ruled from Aroer, which is upon the bank of the river Arnon, and from the middle of the river, and from half Gilead, even to the river Jabbok, which is the border of the children of Ammon; ³And from the plain to the sea of Cinneroth on the east, and to the sea of the plain, even the salt sea on the east, the way to Beth-jeshimoth; and from the south, under Ashdoth-pisgah: ⁴And the coast of Og king of Bashan, who was of the remnant of the giants, that dwelt at Ashtaroth and at Edrei, ⁵And reigned in mount Hermon, and in Salcah, and in all Bashan, to the border of the Geshurites, and the Maachathites, and half Gilead, the border of Sihon king of Heshbon. ⁶Them did Moses the servant of the LORD, and the children of Israel smite: and Moses the servant of the LORD gave it for a possession to the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. ⁷And these are the kings of the country whom Joshua and the children of Israel smote on this side of Jordan on the west, from Baal-gad in the valley of Lebanon, even to the mount Halak that goeth up to Seir; which Joshua gave to the tribes of Israel for a possession according to their divisions; ⁸In the mountains, and in the valleys, and in the plains, and in the springs, and in the wilderness, and in the south country; the Hittites, the Amorites, and the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites: ⁹The king of Jericho one; the king of Ai, which is beside Beth-el, one; ¹⁰The king of Jerusalem, one; the king of Hebron, one; ¹¹The king of Jarmuth, one; the king of Lachish, one; ¹²The king of Eglon, one; the king of Gezer, one; ¹³The king of Debir, one; the king of Geder, one; ¹⁴The king of Hormah, one; the king of Arad, one; ¹⁵The king of Libnah, one; the king of Adullam, one; ¹⁶The king of Makkedah, one; the king of Beth-el, one; ¹⁷The king of Tappuah, one; the king of Hepher, one; ¹⁸The king of Aphek, one; the king of Lasharon, one; ¹⁹The king of Madon, one; the king of Hazor, one; ²⁰The king of Shimron-meron, one; the king of Achshaph, one; ²¹The king of Taanach, one; the king of Megiddo, one; ²²The king of Kedesh, one; the king of Jokneam of Carmel, one; ²³The king of Dor in the border of Dor, one; the king of the nations of Gilgal, one; ²⁴The king of Tirzah, one: all the kings thirty and one.

Chapter 13

¹Now Joshua was old and advanced in years; and the LORD said to him Thou art old and advanced in years, and there remaineth yet very much land to be possessed. ²This is the land that yet remaineth: all the borders of the Philistines, and all Geshuri, ³From Sihor, which is before Egypt, even to the borders of Ekron northward, which is counted to the Canaanite: five lords of the Philistines; the Gazathites, and the Ashdothites, the Eshkalonites, the Gittites, and the Ekronites; also the Avites: ⁴From the south all the land of the Canaanites, and Mearah that is beside the Sidonians, to Aphek to the borders of the Amorites: ⁵And the land of the Giblites, and all Lebanon towards the sun-rising, from Baal-gad under mount Hermon to the entering into Hamath. ⁶And the inhabitants of the hill-country from Lebanon to Misrephoth-maim, and all the Sidonians, them will I drive out from before the children of Israel: only divide thou it by lot to the Israelites for an inheritance, as I have commanded thee. ⁷Now therefore divide this land for an inheritance to the nine tribes, and the half tribe of Manasseh, ⁸With whom the Reubenites and the Gadites have received their inheritance, which Moses gave them, beyond Jordan eastward, even as Moses the servant of the LORD gave them. ⁹From Aroer that is upon the bank of the river Arnon, and the city that is in the midst of the river, and all the plain of Medeba to Dibon; ¹⁰And all the cities of Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon, to the border of the children of Ammon; ¹¹And Gilead, and the border of the Geshurites and Maachathites, and all mount Hermon, and all Bashan to Salcah; ¹²All the kingdom of Og in Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth and in Edrei, who remained of the remnant of the giants. For these did Moses smite, and cast them out. ¹³Nevertheless, the children of Israel expelled not the Geshurites, nor the Maachathites: but the Geshurites and the Maachathites dwell among the Israelites until this day. ¹⁴Only to the tribe of Levi he gave no inheritance; the sacrifices of the LORD God of Israel made by fire are their inheritance, as he said to them. ¹⁵And Moses gave to the tribe of the children of Reuben inheritance according to their families. ¹⁶And their border was from Aroer that is on the bank of the river Arnon, and the city that is in the midst of the river, and all the plain by Medeba; ¹⁷Heshbon, and all her cities that are in the plain; Dibon, and Bamoth-baal, and Beth-baal-meon, ¹⁸And Jahaza, and Kedemoth, and Mephaath, ¹⁹And Kirjathaim, and Sibmah, and Zareth-shahar in the mount of the valley, ²⁰And Beth-peor, and Ashdoth-pisgah, and Beth-jeshimoth, ²¹And all the cities of the plain, and all the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon, whom Moses smote with the princes of Midian, Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, dukes of Sihon, dwelling in the country. ²²Balaam also the son of Beor, the sooth-sayer, did the children of Israel slay with the sword, among them that were slain by them. ²³And the border of the children of Reuben was Jordan, and its border. This was the inheritance of the children of Reuben after their families, the cities and their villages. ²⁴And Moses gave inheritance to the tribe of Gad, even to the children of Gad according to their families. ²⁵And their border was Jazer, and all the cities of Gilead, and half the land of the children of Ammon, to Aroer that is before Rabbah; ²⁶And from Heshbon to Ramath-mizpeh, and Betonim; and from Mahanaim to the border of Debir; ²⁷And in the valley, Beth-aram, and Beth-nimrah, and Succoth, and Zaphon, the rest of the kingdom of Sihon king of Heshbon, Jordan and its border, even to the edge of the sea of Cinneroth, on the other side of Jordan eastward. ²⁸This is the inheritance of the children of Gad after their families, the cities, and their villages. ²⁹And Moses gave inheritance to the half-tribe of Manasseh: and this was the possession of the half-tribe of the children of Manasseh by their families. ³⁰And their border was from Mahanaim, all Bashan, all the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, and all the towns of Jair, which are in Bashan, sixty cities: ³¹And half Gilead, and Ashtaroth, and Edrei, cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan, were pertaining to the children of Machir the son of Manasseh, even to the one half of the children of Machir by their families. ³²These are the countries which Moses distributed for inheritance in the plains of Moab, on the other side of Jordan by Jericho eastward. ³³But to the tribe of Levi Moses gave not any inheritance: the LORD God of Israel was their inheritance, as he said to them.

Chapter 14

¹And these are the countries which the children of Israel inherited in the land of Canaan, which Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel distributed for inheritance to them. ²By lot was their inheritance, as the LORD commanded by the hand of Moses, for the nine tribes, and for the half-tribe. ³For Moses had given the inheritance of two tribes and a half-tribe on the other side of Jordan: but to the Levites he gave no inheritance among them. ⁴For the children of Joseph were two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim: therefore they gave no part to the Levites in the land, save cities to dwell in, with their suburbs for their cattle, and for their substance. ⁵As the LORD commanded Moses, so the children of Israel did, and they divided the land. ⁶Then the children of Judah came to Joshua in Gilgal: and Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite said to him, Thou knowest the thing that the LORD said to Moses the man of God concerning me and thee in Kadesh-barnea. ⁷Forty years old was I when Moses the servant of the LORD sent me from Kadesh-barnea to explore the land; and I brought him word again as it was in my heart. ⁸Nevertheless, my brethren that went up with me made the heart of the people melt: but I wholly followed the LORD my God. ⁹And Moses swore on that day, saying, Surely the land on which thy feet have trodden shall be thy inheritance, and thy children's for ever; because thou hast wholly followed the LORD my God. ¹⁰And now, behold, the LORD hath kept me alive, as he said, these forty and five years, even since the LORD spoke this word to Moses, while the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness: and now, lo, I am this day eighty five years old. ¹¹As yet I am as strong this day, as I was in the day that Moses sent me: as my strength was then, even so is my strength now, for war, both to go out, and to come in. ¹²Now therefore give me this mountain, of which the LORD spoke in that day; for thou heardest in that day how the Anakims were there, and that the cities were great and fortified: if the LORD will be with me, then I shall be able to drive them out, as the LORD said. ¹³And Joshua blessed him, and gave to Caleb the son of Jephunneh Hebron for an inheritance. ¹⁴Hebron therefore became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite to this day; because that he wholly followed the LORD God of Israel. ¹⁵And the name of Hebron before was Kirjath-arba; which Arba was a great man among the Anakims. And the land had rest from war.

Chapter 15

¹This then was the lot of the tribe of the children of Judah by their families; even to the border of Edom, the wilderness of Zin southward was the uttermost part of the south border. ²And their south border was from the shore of the salt-sea, from the bay that looketh southward: ³And it went out to the south side to Maaleh-acrabbim, and passed along to Zin, and ascended on the south side to Kadesh-barnea, and passed along to Hezron, and went up to Adar, and fetched a compass to Karkaa: ⁴From thence it passed towards Azmon, and went out to the river of Egypt; and the limits of that border were at the sea: this shall be your south limit. ⁵And the east border was the salt-sea, even to the end of Jordan: and their border in the north quarter was from the bay of the sea, at the uttermost part of Jordan: ⁶And the border went up to Beth-hogla, and passed along by the north of Beth-arabah; and the border went up to the stone of Bohan the son of Reuben: ⁷And the border went up towards Debir from the valley of Achor, and so northward looking towards Gilgal, that is before the going up to Adummim, which is on the south side of the river: and the border passed towards the waters of En-shemesh, and the borders of it were at En-rogel: ⁸And the border went up by the valley of the son of Hinnom, to the south side of the Jebusite; the same is Jerusalem: and the border went up to the top of the mountain that lieth before the valley of Hinnom westward, which is at the end of the valley of the giants northward: ⁹And the border was drawn from the top of the hill to the fountain of the water of Nephtoah, and went out to the cities of mount Ephron; and the border was drawn to Baalah, which is Kirjath-jearim: ¹⁰And the border compassed from Baalah westward to mount Seir, and passed along to the side of mount Jearim (which is Chesalon) on the north side, and went down to Beth-shemesh, and passed on to Timnah: ¹¹And the border went out to the side of Ekron northward: and the border was drawn to Shicron, and passed along to mount Baalah, and went out to Jabneel; and the terminations of the border were at the sea. ¹²And the west border was to the great sea, and its coast: this is the border of the children of Judah round about, according to their families. ¹³And to Caleb the son of Jephunneh he gave a part among the children of Judah, according to the commandment of the LORD to Joshua, even the city of Arba the father of Anak, which city is Hebron. ¹⁴And Caleb drove thence the three sons of Anak, Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai, the children of Anak. ¹⁵And he went up thence to the inhabitants of Debir: and the name of Debir before was Kirjath-sepher. ¹⁶And Caleb said, He that smiteth Kirjath-sepher, and taketh it, to him will I give Achsah my daughter for a wife. ¹⁷And Othniel the son of Kenaz, the brother of Caleb, took it: and he gave him Achsah his daughter for a wife. ¹⁸And it came to pass, as she came to him, that she moved him to ask of her father a field. And she lighted off her ass; and Caleb said to her, What wouldst thou? ¹⁹Who answered, Give me a blessing; for thou hast given me a south land, give me also springs of water. And he gave her the upper springs, and the nether springs. ²⁰This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Judah according to their families. ²¹And the uttermost cities of the tribe of the children of Judah towards the border of Edom southward were Kabzeel, and Eder, and Jagur, ²²And Kinah, and Dimonah, and Adadah, ²³And Kedesh, and Hazor, and Ithnan, ²⁴Ziph, and Telem, and Bealoth, ²⁵And Hazor, Hadattah, and Kerioth, and Hezron, which is Hazor, ²⁶Aman, and Shema, and Moladah, ²⁷And Hazar-gaddah, and Heshmon, and Beth-palet, ²⁸And Hazar-shual, and Beer-sheba, and Bizjothjah, ²⁹Baalah, and Iim, and Azem, ³⁰And Eltolad, and Chesil, and Hormah, ³¹And Ziglag, and Madmannah, and Sansannah, ³²And Lebaoth, and Shilhim, and Ain, and Rimmon: all the cities are twenty and nine, with their villages: ³³And in the valley, Eshtaol, and Zoreah, and Ashnah, ³⁴And Zanoah, and En-gannim, Tappuah, and Enam, ³⁵Jarmuth, and Adullam, Socoh, and Azekah, ³⁶And Sharaim, and Adithaim, and Gederah, and Gederothaim; fourteen cities with their villages: ³⁷Zenan, and Hadashah, and Migdalgad, ³⁸And Dilean, and Mizpeh, and Joktheel, ³⁹Lachish, and Bozkath, and Eglon, ⁴⁰And Cabbon, and Lahman, and Kithlish, ⁴¹And Gederoth, Beth-dagon, and Naamah, and Makkedah; sixteen cities with their villages: ⁴²Libnah, and Ether, and Ashan, ⁴³And Jiphtah, and Ashnah, and Nezib, ⁴⁴And Keilah, and Achzib, and Mareshah; nine cities with their villages: ⁴⁵Ekron, with her towns and her villages: ⁴⁶From Ekron even to the sea, all that lay near Ashdod, with their villages: ⁴⁷Ashdod, with her towns and her villages; Gaza, with her towns and her villages, to the river of Egypt, and the great sea, and its border: ⁴⁸And in the mountains, Shamir, and Jattir, and Socoh, ⁴⁹And Dannah, and Kirjath-sannah, which is Debir, ⁵⁰And Anab, and Eshtemoh, and Anim, ⁵¹And Goshen, and Holon, and Giloh: eleven cities with their villages: ⁵²Arab, and Dumah, and Eshean, ⁵³And Janum, and Beth-tappuah, and Aphekah, ⁵⁴And Humtah, and Kirjath-arba (which is Hebron) and Zior; nine cities with their villages: ⁵⁵Maon, Carmel, and Ziph, and Juttah, ⁵⁶And Jezreel, and Jokdeam, and Zanoah, ⁵⁷Cain, Gibeah, and Timnah; ten cities with their villages: ⁵⁸Halhul, Beth-zur, and Gedor, ⁵⁹And Maarath, and Beth-anoth, and Eltekon; six cities with their villages: ⁶⁰Kirjath-baal (which is Kirjath-jearim) and Rabbah; two cities with their villages: ⁶¹In the wilderness, Beth-arabah, Middin, and Secacah, ⁶²And Nibshan, and the city of Salt, and En-gedi; six cities with their villages. ⁶³As for the Jebusites, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the children of Judah could not expel them: but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Judah at Jerusalem to this day.

Chapter 16

¹And the lot of the children of Joseph fell from Jordan by Jericho, to the water of Jericho on the east, to the wilderness that goeth up from Jericho throughout mount Beth-el, ²And goeth out from Beth-el to Luz, and passeth along to the borders of Archi to Ataroth, ³And goeth down westward to the border of Japhleti, to the border of Beth-horon the nether, and to Gezer: and the limits of it are at the sea. ⁴So the children of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim, took their inheritance. ⁵And the border of the children of Ephraim according to their families was thus: even the border of their inheritance on the east side was Ataroth-adar, to Beth-horon the upper: ⁶And the border went out towards the sea to Michmethah on the north side; and the border went about eastward to Taanath-shiloh, and passed by it on the east to Janohah; ⁷And it went down from Janohah to Ataroth, and to Naarath, and came to Jericho, and terminated at Jordan. ⁸The border went out from Tappuah westward to the river Kanah; and the limits of it were at the sea. This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Ephraim by their families. ⁹And the separate cities for the children of Ephraim were among the inheritance of the children of Manasseh, all the cities with their villages. ¹⁰And they did not expel the Canaanites that dwelt in Gezer: but the Canaanites dwell among the Ephraimites to this day, and serve under tribute.

Chapter 17

¹There was also a lot for the tribe of Manasseh; for he was the first-born of Joseph; to wit, for Machir the first-born of Manasseh, the father of Gilead: because he was a man of war, therefore he had Gilead and Bashan. ²There was also a lot for the rest of the children of Manasseh by their families; for the children of Abiezer, and for the children of Helek, and for the children of Asriel, and for the children of Shechem, and for the children of Hepher, and for the children of Shemida: these were the male children of Manasseh the son of Joseph by their families. ³But Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, had no sons, but daughters: and these are the names of his daughters, Mahlah, and Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. ⁴And they came near before Eleazar the priest, and before Joshua the son of Nun, and before the princes, saying, The LORD commanded Moses to give us an inheritance among our brethren: therefore according to the commandment of the LORD he gave them an inheritance among the brethren of their father. ⁵And there fell ten portions to Manasseh, besides the land of Gilead and Bashan, which were on the other side of Jordan; ⁶Because the daughters of Manasseh had an inheritance among his sons: and the rest of Manasseh's sons had the land of Gilead. ⁷And the border of Manasseh was from Asher to Michmethah, that lieth before Shechem; and the border went along on the right hand to the inhabitants of En-tappuah. ⁸Now Manasseh had the land of Tappuah: but Tappuah on the border of Manasseh belonged to the children of Ephraim; ⁹And the border descended to the river Kanah, southward of the river. These cities of Ephraim are among the cities of Manasseh: the border of Manasseh also was on the north side of the river, and the limits of it were at the sea: ¹⁰Southward it was Ephraim's, and northward it was Manasseh's, and the sea is his border; and they met together in Asher on the north, and in Issachar on the east. ¹¹And Manasseh had in Issachar and in Asher Beth-shean and its towns, and Ibleam and its towns, and the inhabitants of Dor and its towns, and the inhabitants of En-dor and its towns, and the inhabitants of Tanach and its towns, and the inhabitants of Megiddo and its towns, even three countries. ¹²Yet the children of Manasseh could not expel the inhabitants of those cities; but the Canaanites would dwell in that land. ¹³Yet it came to pass, when the children of Israel had become strong, that they subjected the Canaanites to tribute; but did not utterly expel them. ¹⁴And the children of Joseph spoke to Joshua, saying, Why hast thou given me but one lot and one portion to inherit, seeing I am a great people, forasmuch as the LORD hath hitherto blessed me? ¹⁵And Joshua answered them, If thou art a great people, then go up to the wood, and cut down for thyself there in the land of the Perizzites and of the giants, if mount Ephraim is too narrow for thee. ¹⁶And the children of Joseph said, The hill is not enough for us: and all the Canaanites that dwell in the land of the valley have chariots of iron, both they who are of Beth-shean and its towns, and they who are of the valley of Jezreel. ¹⁷And Joshua spoke to the house of Joseph, even to Ephraim and to Manasseh, saying, Thou art a great people, and hast great power: thou shalt not have one lot only: ¹⁸But the mountain shall be thine; for it is a wood, and thou shalt cut it down: and the limits of it shall be thine: for thou shalt drive out the Canaanites, though they have iron chariots, and though they are strong.

Chapter 18

¹And the whole congregation of the children of Israel assembled at Shiloh, and set up the tabernacle of the congregation there: and the land was subdued before them. ²And there remained among the children of Israel seven tribes, which had not yet received their inheritance. ³And Joshua said to the children of Israel, How long are ye slack to go to possess the land which the LORD God of your fathers hath given you? ⁴Select from among you three men for each tribe: and I will send them, and they shall rise, and go through the land, and describe it according to the inheritance of them, and they shall come again to me. ⁵And they shall divide it into seven parts: Judah shall abide in their border on the south, and the house of Joseph shall abide in their borders on the north. ⁶Ye shall therefore describe the land in seven parts, and bring the description hither to me, that I may cast lots for you here before the LORD our God. ⁷But the Levites have no part among you; for the priesthood of the LORD is their inheritance. And Gad, and Reuben, and half the tribe of Manasseh, have received their inheritance beyond Jordan on the east, which Moses the servant of the LORD gave them. ⁸And the men arose, and departed: and Joshua charged them that went to describe the land, saying, Go, and walk through the land, and describe it, and come again to me, that I may here cast lots for you before the LORD in Shiloh. ⁹And the men went and passed through the land, and described it by cities in seven parts in a book, and came again, to Joshua to the host at Shiloh. ¹⁰And Joshua cast lots for them in Shiloh before the LORD: and there Joshua divided the land to the children of Israel according to their divisions. ¹¹And the lot of the tribe of the children of Benjamin came up according to their families: and the border of their lot came forth between the children of Judah and the children of Joseph. ¹²And their border on the north side was from Jordan; and the border went up to the side of Jericho on the north side, and went up through the mountains westward; and the limits of it were at the wilderness of Beth-aven. ¹³And the border went over from thence towards Luz, to the side of Luz (which is Beth-el) southward; and the border descended to Ataroth-adar, near the hill that lieth on the south side of the nether Beth-horon. ¹⁴And the border was drawn thence, and compassed the corner of the sea southward, from the hill that lieth before Beth-horon southward; and the limits of it were at Kirjath-baal (which is Kirjath-jearim) a city of the children of Judah. This was the west quarter. ¹⁵And the south quarter was from the end of Kirjah-jearim, and the border went out on the west, and went out to the well of waters of Nephtoah: ¹⁶And the border came down to the end of the mountain that lieth before the valley of the son of Hinnom, and which is in the valley of the giants on the north, and descended to the valley of Hinnom, to the side of Jebusi on the south, and descended to En-rogel, ¹⁷And was drawn from the north, and went forth to En-shemesh, and went forth towards Geliloth, which is over against the going up of Adummim, and descended to the stone of Bohan the son of Reuben, ¹⁸And passed along towards the side over against Arabah northward, and went down to Arabah: ¹⁹And the border passed along to the side of Beth-hoglah northward: and the limits of the border were at the north bay of the salt sea at the south end of Jordan. This was the south border. ²⁰And Jordan was the border of it on the east side. This was the inheritance of the children of Benjamin, by the limits of it round about, according to their families. ²¹Now the cities of the tribe of the children of Benjamin, according to their families, were Jericho, and Beth-hoglah, and the valley of Keziz, ²²And Beth-arabah, and Zemaraim, and Beth-el, ²³And Avim, and Parah, and Ophrah, ²⁴And Chephar-haamonai, and Ophni, and Gaba; twelve cities with their villages: ²⁵Gibeon, and Ramah, and Beeroth, ²⁶And Mizpeh, and Chephirah, and Mozah, ²⁷And Rekem, and Irpeel, and Taralah, ²⁸And Zelah, Eleph, and Jebusi, (which is Jerusalem) Gibeath, and Kirjath; fourteen cities with their villages. This is the inheritance of the children of Benjamin according to their families.

Chapter 19

¹And the second lot came forth to Simeon, even for the tribe of the children of Simeon according to their families: and their inheritance was within the inheritance of the children of Judah. ²And they had in their inheritance, Beer-sheba, and Sheba, and Moladah. ³And Hazar-shual, and Balah, and Azem, ⁴And Eltolad, and Bethul, and Hormah, ⁵And Ziklag, and Beth-marcaboth, and Hazar-susah, ⁶And Beth-lebaoth, and Sheruhen; thirteen cities and their villages: ⁷Ain, Remmon, and Ether, and Ashan; four cities and their villages: ⁸And all the villages that were around these cities to Baalath-beer, Ramath of the south. This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Simeon according to their families. ⁹Out of the portion of the children of Judah was the inheritance of the children of Simeon: for the part of the children of Judah was too much for them: therefore the children of Simeon had their inheritance within the inheritance of them. ¹⁰And the third lot came up for the children of Zebulun according to their families: and the border of their inheritance was to Sarid: ¹¹And their border went up towards the sea, and Maralah, and reached to Dabbasheth, and reached to the river that is before Jokneam, ¹²And turned from Sarid eastward, towards the sun-rising, to the border of Chisloth-tabor, and then goeth out to Daberath, and goeth up to Japhia, ¹³And from thence passeth along on the east to Gittah-hepher, to Ittah-kazin, and goeth out to Remmon-methoar to Neah; ¹⁴And the border compasseth it on the north side to Hannathon: and the limits of it are in the valley of Jiphthah-el: ¹⁵And Kattath, and Nahallal, and Shimron, and Idalah, and Beth-lehem; twelve cities with their villages. ¹⁶This is the inheritance of the children of Zebulun according to their families, these cities with their villages. ¹⁷And the fourth lot came out to Issachar, for the children of Issachar according to their families. ¹⁸And their border was towards Jezreel, and Chesulloth, and Shunem, ¹⁹And Hapharaim, and Shihon, and Anaharath, ²⁰And Rabbith, and Kishion, and Abez, ²¹And Remeth, and En-gannim, and En-haddah, and Beth-pazzez; ²²And the border reacheth to Tabor, and Shahazimah, and Beth-shemesh, and the limits of their border were at Jordan: sixteen cities with their villages. ²³This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Issachar according to their families, the cities and their villages. ²⁴And the fifth lot came out for the tribe of the children of Asher according to their families. ²⁵And their border was Helkath, and Hali, and Beten, and Achshaph, ²⁶And Alammelech, and Amad, and Misheal; and reacheth to Carmel westward, and to Shihor-libnath; ²⁷And turneth towards the sun-rising to Beth-dagon, and reacheth to Zebulun, and to the valley of Jiphthah-el towards the north side of Beth-emek, and Neiel, and goeth out to Cabul on the left hand, ²⁸And Hebron, and Rehob, and Hammon, and Kanah, even to great Zidon; ²⁹And then the border turneth to Ramah, and to the strong city Tyre; and the border turneth to Hosah: and the limits of it are at the sea from the coast to Achzib: ³⁰Ummah also, and Aphek, and Rehob: twenty and two cities with their villages. ³¹This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Asher according to their families, these cities with their villages. ³²The sixth lot came out to the children of Naphtali, even for the children of Naphtali according to their families. ³³And their border was from Heleph, from Allon to Zaanannim, and Adami, Nekeb, and Jabneel, to Lakum; and the limits thereof were at Jordan: ³⁴And then the border turneth westward to Aznoth-tabor, and goeth out from thence to Hukkok, and reacheth to Zebulun on the south side, and reacheth to Asher on the west side, and to Judah upon Jordan towards the sun-rising. ³⁵And the fortified cities are Ziddim, Zer, and Hammath, Rakkath, and Chinnereth, ³⁶And Adamah, and Ramah, and Hazor, ³⁷And Kedesh, and Edrei, and En-hazor, ³⁸And Iron, and Migdal-el, Horem, and Beth-anath, and Beth-shemesh; nineteen cities with their villages. ³⁹This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Naphtali according to their families, the cities and their villages. ⁴⁰And the seventh lot came out for the tribe of the children of Dan according to their families. ⁴¹And the border of their inheritance was Zorah, and Eshtaol, and Ir-shemesh, ⁴²And Shaalabbim, and Ajalon, and Jethlah, ⁴³And Elon, and Thimnathah, and Ekron, ⁴⁴And Eltekeh, and Gibbethon, and Baalath, ⁴⁵And Jehud, and Bene-berak, and Gath-rimmon, ⁴⁶And Me-jarkon, and Rakkon, with the border before Japho. ⁴⁷And the border of the children of Dan, went out too little for them: therefore the children of Dan went up to fight against Leshem, and took it, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and possessed it, and dwelt in it, and called Leshem, Dan, after the name of Dan their father. ⁴⁸This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Dan according to their families, these cities with their villages. ⁴⁹When they had made an end of dividing the land for inheritance by their borders, the children of Israel gave an inheritance to Joshua the son of Nun among them: ⁵⁰According to the word of the LORD they gave him the city which he asked, even Timnath-serah in mount Ephraim: and he built the city, and dwelt in it. ⁵¹These are the inheritances which Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel, divided for an inheritance by lot in Shiloh before the LORD, at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. So they made an end of dividing the country.

Chapter 20

¹The LORD also spoke to Joshua, saying, ²Speak to the children of Israel, saying, Appoint for you cities of refuge, of which I spoke to you by the hand of Moses: ³That the slayer that killeth any person unawares and ignorantly, may flee thither: and they shall be your refuge from the avenger of blood. ⁴And when he that doth flee to one of those cities shall stand at the entering of the gate of the city, and shall declare his cause in the ears of the elders of that city, they shall take him into the city to them, and give him a place, that he may dwell among them. ⁵And if the avenger of blood shall pursue him, then they shall not deliver the slayer into his hand; because he smote his neighbor ignorantly, and had not hated him before. ⁶And he shall dwell in that city, until he shall stand before the congregation for judgment, and until the death of the high-priest that shall be in those days: then shall the slayer return, and come to his own city, and to his own house, to the city from whence he fled. ⁷And they appointed Kedesh in Galilee in mount Naphtali, and Shechem in mount Ephraim, and Kirjath-arba, (which is Hebron) in the mountain of Judah. ⁸And on the other side of Jordan by Jericho eastward, they assigned Bezer in the wilderness upon the plain out of the tribe of Reuben, and Ramoth in Gilead out of the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan out of the tribe of Manasseh. ⁹These were the cities appointed for all the children of Israel, and for the stranger sojourning among them, that whoever should kill any person unawares might flee thither, and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood, until he stood before the congregation.

Chapter 21

¹Then came near the heads of the fathers of the Levites to Eleazar the priest, and to Joshua the son of Nun, and to the heads of the fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel; ²And they spoke to them at Shiloh in the land of Canaan, saying, the LORD commanded by the hand of Moses to give us cities to dwell in, with their suburbs for our cattle. ³And the children of Israel gave to the Levites out of their inheritance, at the commandment of the LORD, these cities and their suburbs. ⁴And the lot came out for the families of the Kohathites: and the children of Aaron the priest, who were of the Levites, had by lot out of the tribe of Judah, and out of the tribe of Simeon, and out of the tribe of Benjamin, thirteen cities. ⁵And the rest of the children of Kohath had by lot out of the families of the tribe of Ephraim, and out of the tribe of Dan, and out of the half-tribe of Manasseh, ten cities. ⁶And the children of Gershon had by lot out of the families of the tribe of Issachar, and out of the tribe of Asher, and out of the tribe of Naphtali, and out of the half-tribe of Manasseh in Bashan, thirteen cities. ⁷The children of Merari by their families had out of the tribe of Reuben, and out of the tribe of Gad, and out of the tribe of Zebulun, twelve cities. ⁸And the children of Israel gave by lot to the Levites these cities with their suburbs, as the LORD commanded by the hand of Moses. ⁹And they gave out of the tribe of the children of Judah, and out of the tribe of the children of Simeon, these cities which are here mentioned by name, ¹⁰Which the children of Aaron, being of the families of the Kohathites, who were of the children of Levi, had: for theirs was the first lot. ¹¹And they gave them the city of Arba the father of Anak (which city is Hebron) in the hill-country of Judah, with its suburbs round it. ¹²But the fields of the city, and its villages, they gave to Caleb the son of Jephunneh for his possession. ¹³Thus they gave to the children of Aaron the priest, Hebron with its suburbs, to be a city of refuge for the slayer; and Libnah with its suburbs, ¹⁴And Jattir with its suburbs, and Eshtemoa with its suburbs, ¹⁵And Holon with its suburbs, and Debir with its suburbs, ¹⁶And Ain with its suburbs, and Juttah with its suburbs, and Beth-shemesh with its suburbs; nine cities out of those two tribes. ¹⁷And out of the tribe of Benjamin, Gibeon with its suburbs, Geba with its suburbs, ¹⁸Anathoth with its suburbs, and Almon with its suburbs; four cities. ¹⁹All the cities of the children of Aaron, the priests, were thirteen cities with their suburbs. ²⁰And the families of the children of Kohath, the Levites who remained of the children of Kohath, even they had the cities of their lot out of the tribe of Ephraim. ²¹For they gave them Shechem with its suburbs in mount Ephraim, to be a city of refuge for the slayer; and Gezer with its suburbs, ²²And Kibzaim with its suburbs, and Beth-horon with its suburbs; four cities. ²³And out of the tribe of Dan, Eltekeh with its suburbs, Gibbethon with its suburbs, ²⁴Ajalon with its suburbs, Gath-rimmon with its suburbs; four cities. ²⁵And out of the half-tribe of Manasseh, Taanach with its suburbs, and Gath-rimmon with its suburbs; two cities. ²⁶All the cities were ten with their suburbs, for the families of the children of Kohath that remained. ²⁷And to the children of Gershon, of the families of the Levites, out of the other half-tribe of Manasseh they gave Golan in Bashan with its suburbs, to be a city of refuge for the slayer, and Beesh-terah with its suburbs; two cities. ²⁸And out of the tribe of Issachar, Kishon with its suburbs, Dabareh with its suburbs, ²⁹Jarmuth with its suburbs, En-gannim with its suburbs; four cities. ³⁰And out of the tribe of Asher, Mishal with its suburbs, Abdon with its suburbs, ³¹Helkath with its suburbs, and Rehob with its suburbs; four cities. ³²And out of the tribe of Naphtali, Kedesh in Galilee with its suburbs, to be a city of refuge for the slayer; and Hammoth-dor with its suburbs, and Kartan with its suburbs; three cities. ³³All the cities of the Gershonites, according to their families, were thirteen cities with their suburbs. ³⁴And to the families of the children of Merari, the rest of the Levites, out of the tribe of Zebulun, Jokneam with its suburbs, and Kartah with its suburbs, ³⁵Dimnah with its suburbs, Nahalal with its suburbs; four cities. ³⁶And out of the tribe of Reuben, Bezer with its suburbs, and Jahazah with its suburbs, ³⁷Kedemoth with its suburbs, and Mephaath with its suburbs; four cities. ³⁸And out of the tribe of Gad, Ramoth in Gilead with its suburbs to be a city of refuge for the slayer; and Mahanaim with its suburbs, ³⁹Heshbon with its suburbs, Jazer with its suburbs; four cities in all. ⁴⁰So all the cities for the children of Merari by their families, which were remaining of the families of the Levites, were by their lot twelve cities. ⁴¹All the cities of the Levites within the possession of the children of Israel were forty and eight cities with their suburbs. ⁴²These cities were every one with their suburbs around them. Thus were all these cities. ⁴³And the LORD gave to Israel all the land which he swore to give to their fathers: and they possessed it, and dwelt in it. ⁴⁴And the LORD gave them rest on all sides, according to all that he swore to their fathers: and there stood not a man of all their enemies before them; the LORD delivered all their enemies into their hand. ⁴⁵There failed not aught of any good thing which the LORD had spoken to the house of Israel; all came to pass.

Chapter 22

¹Then Joshua called the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, ²And said to them, Ye have kept all that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, and have obeyed my voice in all that I commanded you: ³Ye have not left your brethren these many days to this day, but have kept the charge of the commandment of the LORD your God. ⁴And now the LORD your God hath given rest to your brethren, as he promised them: therefore now return ye, and go to your tents, and to the land of your possession, which Moses the servant of the LORD gave you on the other side of Jordan. ⁵But take diligent heed to perform the commandment and the law, which Moses the servant of the LORD charged you, to love the LORD your God, and to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and to cleave to him, and to serve him with all your heart, and with all your soul. ⁶So Joshua blessed them and sent them away; and they went to their tents. ⁷Now to the one half of the tribe of Manasseh Moses had given possession in Bashan: but to the other half of it gave Joshua among their brethren on this side of Jordan westward. And when Joshua sent them away also to their tents, then he blessed them, ⁸And he spoke to them, saying, Return with much riches to your tents, and with very many cattle, with silver, and with gold, and with brass, and with iron, and with very much raiment: divide the spoil of your enemies with your brethren. ⁹And the children of Reuben, and the children of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh returned, and departed from the children of Israel out of Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan, to go to the country of Gilead, to the land of their possession, of which they were possessed, according to the word of the LORD by the hand of Moses. ¹⁰And when they came to the borders of Jordan, that are in the land of Canaan, the children of Reuben, and the children of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh built there an altar by Jordan, a great altar to the sight. ¹¹And the children of Israel heard it said, Behold, the children of Reuben, and the children of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, have built an altar over against the land of Canaan, in the borders of Jordan, at the passage of the children of Israel. ¹²And when the children of Israel heard of it, the whole congregation of the children of Israel assembled at Shiloh, to go up to war against them. ¹³And the children of Israel sent to the children of Reuben, and to the children of Gad, and to the half-tribe of Manasseh into the land of Gilead, Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, ¹⁴And with him ten princes, of each chief house a prince throughout all the tribes of Israel; and each one was a head of the house of their fathers among the thousands of Israel. ¹⁵And they came to the children of Reuben, and to the children of Gad, and to the half-tribe of Manasseh, to the land of Gilead, and they spoke with them, saying, ¹⁶Thus saith the whole congregation of the LORD, What trespass is this that ye have committed against the God of Israel, to turn away this day from following the LORD, in that ye have built you an altar, that ye might rebel this day against the LORD? ¹⁷Is the iniquity of Peor too little for us, from which we are not cleansed until this day, although there was a plague in the congregation of the LORD, ¹⁸But that ye must turn away this day from following the LORD? and it will be, seeing ye rebel to-day against the LORD, that to-morrow he will be wroth with the whole congregation of Israel. ¹⁹Not withstanding, if the land of your possession is unclean, then pass ye over to the land of the possession of the LORD, in which the LORD'S tabernacle dwelleth, and take possession among us: but rebel not against the LORD, nor rebel against us, in building you an altar besides the altar of the LORD our God. ²⁰Did not Achan the son of Zerah commit a trespass in the accursed thing, and wrath fall on all the congregation of Israel? and that man perished not alone in his iniquity. ²¹Then the children of Reuben, and the children of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh answered, and said to the heads of the thousands of Israel, ²²The LORD God of gods, the LORD God of gods, he knoweth, and Israel he shall know; if it is in rebellion, or if in transgression against the LORD, (save us not this day,) ²³That we have built us an altar to turn from following the LORD, or if to offer on it burnt-offering, or meat-offering, or if to offer peace-offerings on it, let the LORD himself require it; ²⁴And if we have not rather done it for fear of this thing, saying, In time to come your children may speak to our children, saying, What have ye to do with the LORD God of Israel? ²⁵For the LORD hath made Jordan a boundary between us and you, ye children of Reuben and children of Gad; ye have no part in the LORD. So shall your children make our children cease from fearing the LORD. ²⁶Therefore we said, Let us now prepare to build us an altar, not for burnt-offering, nor for sacrifice: ²⁷But that it may be a witness between us, and you, and our generations after us, that we may do the service of the LORD before him with our burnt-offerings, and with our sacrifices, and with our peace-offerings; that your children may not say to our children in time to come, Ye have no part in the LORD. ²⁸Therefore said we, that it shall be, when they shall so say to us or to our generations in time to come, that we may say, Behold the pattern of the altar of the LORD, which our fathers made, not for burnt-offerings, nor for sacrifices; but it is a witness between us and you. ²⁹Far be it from us that we should rebel against the LORD, and turn this day from following the LORD, to build an altar for burnt-offerings, for meat-offerings, or for sacrifices, besides the altar of the LORD our God that is before his tabernacle. ³⁰And when Phinehas the priest, and the princes of the congregation, and heads of the thousands of Israel who were with him, heard the words that the children of Reuben, and the children of Gad, and the children of Manasseh spoke, it pleased them. ³¹And Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest said to the children of Reuben, and to the children of Gad, and to the children of Manasseh, This day we perceive that the LORD is among us, because ye have not committed this trespass against the LORD: now ye have delivered the children of Israel out of the hand of the LORD. ³²And Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, and the princes, returned from the children of Reuben, and from the children of Gad, from the land of Gilead, to the land of Canaan, to the children of Israel, and brought them word again. ³³And the thing pleased the children of Israel; and the children of Israel blessed God, and did not intend to go up against them in battle, to destroy the land in which the children of Reuben and Gad dwelt. ³⁴And the children of Reuben and the children of Gad called the altar Ed: for it shall be a witness between us that the LORD is God.

Chapter 23

¹And it came to pass, a long time after that the LORD had given rest to Israel from all their enemies on all sides, that Joshua became old and advanced in age. ²And Joshua called for all Israel, and for their elders, and for their heads, and for their judges, and for their officers, and said to them, I am old and advanced in age: ³And ye have seen all that the LORD your God hath done to all these nations because of you; for the LORD your God is he that hath fought for you. ⁴Behold, I have divided to you by lot these nations that remain, to be an inheritance for your tribes, from Jordan, with all the nations that I have cut off, even to the great sea westward. ⁵And the LORD your God, he shall expel them from before you, and drive them from your sight; and ye shall possess their land, as the LORD your God hath promised to you. ⁶Be ye therefore very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, that ye turn not aside from it to the right hand or to the left; ⁷That ye come not among these nations, these that remain among you; neither make mention of the name of their gods, nor cause to swear by them, neither serve them, nor bow yourselves to them: ⁸But cleave to the LORD your God, as ye have done to this day. ⁹For the LORD hath driven out from before you great nations and strong: but as for you, no man hath been able to stand before you to this day. ¹⁰One man of you shall chase a thousand: for the LORD your God, he it is that fighteth for you, as he hath promised you. ¹¹Take good heed therefore to yourselves, that ye love the LORD your God. ¹²Else if ye do in any wise go back, and cleave to the remnant of these nations, even these that remain among you, and shall make marriages with them, and associate with them, and they with you: ¹³Know for a certainty that the LORD your God will no more drive out any of these nations from before you; but they shall be snares and traps to you, and scourges in your sides, and thorns in your eyes, until ye perish from off this good land which the LORD your God hath given you. ¹⁴And behold, this day I am going the way of all the earth; and ye know in all your hearts and in all your souls, that not one thing hath failed of all the good things which the LORD your God spoke concerning you: all are come to pass to you, and not one thing hath failed of it. ¹⁵Therefore it shall come to pass, that as all good things are come upon you, which the LORD your God promised you; so shall the LORD bring upon you all evil things, until he hath destroyed you from off this good land which the LORD your God hath given you. ¹⁶When ye have transgressed the covenant of the LORD your God, which he commanded you, and have gone and served other gods, and bowed yourselves to them; then shall the anger of the LORD be kindled against you, and ye shall perish quickly from off the good land which he hath given to you.

Chapter 24

¹And Joshua convened all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and called for the elders of Israel, and for their heads, and for their judges, and for their officers; and they presented themselves before God. ²And Joshua said to all the people, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood in old time, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nahor: and they served other gods. ³And I took your father Abraham from the other side of the flood, and led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his seed, and gave him Isaac. ⁴And I gave to Isaac Jacob and Esau: and I gave to Esau mount Seir, to possess it; but Jacob and his children went down into Egypt. ⁵I sent Moses also and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt, according to that which I did among them: and afterward I brought you out. ⁶And I brought your fathers out of Egypt: and ye came to the sea; and the Egyptians pursued after your fathers with chariots and horsemen to the Red sea. ⁷And when they cried to the LORD, he put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and brought the sea upon them, and covered them; and your eyes have seen what I have done in Egypt: and ye dwelt in the wilderness a long season. ⁸And I brought you into the land of the Amorites, who dwelt on the other side of Jordan, and they fought with you: and I gave them into your hand, that ye might possess their land; and I destroyed them from before you. ⁹Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and warred against Israel, and sent and called Balaam the son of Beor to curse you: ¹⁰But I would not hearken to Balaam; therefore he blessed you still: so I delivered you out of his hand. ¹¹And ye went over Jordan, and came to Jericho: and the men of Jericho fought against you, the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, and I delivered them into your hand. ¹²And I sent the hornet before you, which drove them out from before you, even the two kings of the Amorites; but not with thy sword, nor with thy bow. ¹³And I have given you a land for which ye did not labor, and cities which ye built not, and ye dwell in them; of the vineyards and olive-yards which ye planted not do ye eat. ¹⁴Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD. ¹⁵And if it seemeth evil to you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD. ¹⁶And the people answered, and said, Be it far from us that we should forsake the LORD, to serve other gods; ¹⁷For the LORD our God, he it is that brought us, and our fathers, out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and who did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way in which we went, and among all the people through whom we passed: ¹⁸And the LORD drove out from before us all the people, even the Amorites who dwelt in the land: therefore will we also serve the LORD; for he is our God. ¹⁹And Joshua said to the people, Ye cannot serve the LORD: for he is a holy God; he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions, nor your sins. ²⁰If ye forsake the LORD, and serve strange gods, then he will turn and do you hurt, and consume you, after that he hath done you good. ²¹And the people said to Joshua, No; but we will serve the LORD. ²²And Joshua said to the people, Ye are witnesses against yourselves that ye have chosen you the LORD, to serve him. And they said, We are witnesses. ²³Now therefore put away (said he) the strange gods which are among you, and incline your heart to the LORD God of Israel. ²⁴And the people said to Joshua, The LORD our God will we serve, and his voice will we obey. ²⁵So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and set them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem. ²⁶And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God, and took a great stone, and set it up there under an oak that was by the sanctuary of the LORD. ²⁷And Joshua said to all the people, Behold, this stone shall be a witness to us; for it hath heard all the words of the LORD which he spoke to us, it shall be therefore a witness to you, lest ye deny your God. ²⁸So Joshua let the people depart, every man to his inheritance. ²⁹And it came to pass after these things, that Joshua the son of Nun the servant of the LORD died, being a hundred and ten years old. ³⁰And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnath-serah, which is in mount Ephraim, on the north side of the hill of Gaash. ³¹And Israel served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, and who had known all the works of the LORD that he had done for Israel. ³²And the bones of Joseph which the children of Israel brought out of Egypt, they buried in Shechem, in a parcel of ground which Jacob bought of the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for a hundred pieces of silver; and it became the inheritance of the children of Joseph. ³³And Eleazar the son of Aaron died; and they buried him in a hill that pertained to Phinehas his son, which was given him in mount Ephraim.

Judges

Chapter 1

¹Now after the death of Joshua it came to pass, that the children of Israel asked the LORD, saying, Who shall go up for us against the Canaanites first to fight against them? ²And the LORD said, Judah shall go up: behold, I have delivered the land into his hand. ³And Judah said to Simeon his brother, Come up with me into my lot, that we may fight against the Canaanites; and I likewise will go with thee into thy lot. So Simeon went with him. ⁴And Judah went up, and the LORD delivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand: and they slew of them in Bezek ten thousand men. ⁵And they found Adoni-bezek in Bezek: and they fought against him, and they slew the Canaanites and the Perizzites. ⁶But Adoni-bezek fled; and they pursued him, and caught him, and cut off his thumbs and his great toes. ⁷And Adoni-bezek said, seventy kings, having their thumbs and their great toes cut off, gathered their food under my table; as I have done, so God hath requited me. And they brought him to Jerusalem, and there he died. ⁸(Now the children of Judah had fought against Jerusalem, and had taken it, and smitten it with the edge of the sword, and set the city on fire.) ⁹And afterward the children of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites that dwelt on the mountain, and in the south, and in the valley. ¹⁰And Judah went against the Canaanites that dwelt in Hebron: (now the name of Hebron before was Kirjath-arba:) and they slew Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai. ¹¹And from thence he went against the inhabitants of Debir: and the name of Debir before was Kirjath-sepher: ¹²And Caleb said, He that smiteth Kirjath-sepher, and taketh it, to him will I give Achsah my daughter for a wife. ¹³And Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother, took it: and he gave him Achsah his daughter for a wife. ¹⁴And it came to pass, when she came to him, that she moved him to ask of her father a field: and she lighted from off her ass; and Caleb said to her, What wilt thou? ¹⁵And she said to him, Give me a blessing: for thou hast given me a south land; give me also springs of water. And Caleb gave her the upper springs, and the nether springs. ¹⁶And the children of the Kenite, Moses's father-in-law, went up out of the city of palm-trees with the children of Judah into the wilderness of Judah, which lieth in the south of Arad; and they went and dwelt among the people. ¹⁷And Judah went with Simeon his brother, and they slew the Canaanites that inhabited Zephath, and utterly destroyed it. And the name of the city was called Hormah. ¹⁸Also Judah took Gaza with its border, and Askelon with its border, and Ekron with its border. ¹⁹And the LORD was with Judah; and he drove out the inhabitants of the mountain; but could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of iron. ²⁰And they gave Hebron to Caleb, as Moses said: and he expelled thence the three sons of Anak. ²¹And the children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites that inhabited Jerusalem; but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day. ²²And the house of Joseph, they also went up against Beth-el: and the LORD was with them. ²³And the house of Joseph sent to explore Beth-el. Now the name of the city before was Luz. ²⁴And the spies saw a man coming out of the city, and they said to him, Show us, we pray thee, the entrance into the city, and we will show thee mercy. ²⁵And when he showed them the entrance into the city, they smote the city with the edge of the sword: but they let go the man and all his family. ²⁶And the man went into the land of the Hittites, and built a city, and called the name of it Luz: which is its name to this day. ²⁷Neither did Manasseh expel the inhabitants of Beth-shean and its towns, nor Tanach and its towns, nor the inhabitants of Dor and its towns, nor the inhabitants of Ibleam and its towns, nor the inhabitants of Megiddo and its towns; but the Canaanites would dwell in that land. ²⁸And it came to pass when Israel was strong, that they subjected the Canaanites to tribute, and did not utterly expel them. ²⁹Neither did Ephraim expel the Canaanites that dwelt in Gezer; but the Canaanites dwelt in Gezer among them. ³⁰Neither did Zebulun expel the inhabitants of Kitron, nor the inhabitants of Nahalol; but the Canaanites dwelt among them, and became tributaries. ³¹Neither did Asher expel the inhabitants of Accho, nor the inhabitants of Zidon, nor of Ahlab, nor of Achzib, nor of Helbah, nor of Aphik, nor of Rehob: ³²But the Asherites dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land: for they did not expel them. ³³Neither did Naphtali expel the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh, nor the inhabitants of Beth-anath; but he dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land: nevertheless, the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and of Beth-anath became tributaries to them. ³⁴And the Amorites forced the children of Dan to the mountain: for they would not suffer them to come down to the valley: ³⁵But the Amorites would dwell in mount Heres in Ajalon, and in Shaalbim: yet the hand of the house of Joseph prevailed, so that they became tributaries. ³⁶And the border of the Amorites was from the ascent to Akrabbim, from the rock, and upward.

Chapter 2

¹And an angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, I made you to depart from Egypt, and have brought you to the land which I swore to your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you. ²And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall throw down their altars: but ye have not obeyed my voice: why have ye done this? ³Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare to you. ⁴And it came to pass, when the angel of the LORD spoke these words to all the children of Israel, that the people lifted up their voice, and wept. ⁵And they called the name of that place Bochim: and they sacrificed there to the LORD. ⁶And when Joshua had let the people go, the children of Israel went every man to his inheritance to possess the land. ⁷And the people served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the LORD, that he did for Israel. ⁸And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being a hundred and ten years old. ⁹And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the mount of Ephraim, on the north side of the hill Gaash. ¹⁰And also all that generation were gathered to their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel. ¹¹And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim: ¹²And they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were around them, and bowed themselves to them, and provoked the LORD to anger. ¹³And they forsook the LORD, and served Baal and Ashtaroth. ¹⁴And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them, and he sold them into the hands of their enemies around, so that they could not any longer stand before their enemies. ¹⁵Whithersoever they went out, the hand of the LORD was against them for evil, as the LORD had said, and as the LORD had sworn to them: and they were greatly distressed. ¹⁶Nevertheless the LORD raised up judges, who delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them. ¹⁷And yet they would not hearken to their judges, but they went astray after other gods, and bowed themselves to them: they turned quickly out of the way which their fathers walked in, obeying the commandments of the LORD; but they did not so. ¹⁸And when the LORD raised up judges for them, then the LORD was with the judge, and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge: (for the LORD repented because of their groanings by reason of them that oppressed them and burdened them.) ¹⁹And it came to pass, when the judge was dead, that they returned, and corrupted themselves more than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them, and to bow down to them; they ceased not from their own doings, nor from their stubborn way. ²⁰And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel; and he said, Because that this people hath transgressed my covenant which I commanded their fathers, and have not hearkened to my voice; ²¹I also will not henceforth drive out from before them any of the nations which Joshua left when he died: ²²That through them I may prove Israel, whether they will keep the way of the LORD to walk in it, as their fathers kept it, or not. ²³Therefore the LORD left those nations, without driving them out speedily, neither did he deliver them into the hand of Joshua.

Chapter 3

¹Now these are the nations which the LORD left, to prove Israel by them, (even as many of Israel as had not known all the wars of Canaan; ²Only that the generations of the children of Israel might know to teach them war, at the least such as before knew nothing of it;) ³Namely, five lords of the Philistines, and all the Canaanites, and the Sidonians, and the Hivites that dwelt on mount Lebanon, from mount Baal-hermon to the entrance of Hamath. ⁴And they were to prove Israel by them, to know whether they would hearken to the commandments of the LORD, which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses. ⁵And the children of Israel dwelt among the Canaanites, Hittites, and Amorites, and Perizzites, and Hivites, and Jebusites: ⁶And they took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their daughters to their sons, and served their gods. ⁷And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and forgot the LORD their God, and served Baalim, and the groves. ⁸Therefore the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of Chushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia: and the children of Israel served Chushan-rishathaim eight years. ⁹And when the children of Israel cried to the LORD, the LORD raised up a deliverer to the children of Israel, who delivered them, even Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother. ¹⁰And the Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he judged Israel, and went out to war: and the LORD delivered Chushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand; and his hand prevailed against Chushan-rishathaim. ¹¹And the land had rest forty years: and Othniel the son of Kenaz died. ¹²And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD: and the LORD strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done evil in the sight of the LORD. ¹³And he gathered to him the children of Ammon and Amalek, and went and smote Israel, and possessed the city of palm-trees. ¹⁴So the children of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years. ¹⁵But when the children of Israel cried to the LORD, the LORD raised them up a deliverer, Ehud the son of Gera, a Benjaminite, a man left-handed: and by him the children of Israel sent a present to Eglon king of Moab. ¹⁶But Ehud made him a dagger which had two edges, of a cubit length; and he girded it under his raiment upon his right thigh. ¹⁷And he brought the present to Eglon king of Moab: and Eglon was a very fat man. ¹⁸And when he had made an end to offer the present, he sent away the people that bore the present. ¹⁹But he himself turned again from the quarries that were by Gilgal, and said, I have a secret errand to thee, O king: who said, Keep silence. And all that stood by him went out from him. ²⁰And Ehud came to him; and he was sitting in a summer-parlor, which he had for himself alone: and Ehud said, I have a message from God to thee. And he arose from his seat. ²¹And Ehud put forth his left hand, and took the dagger from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly: ²²And the haft also entered after the blade: and the fat closed upon the blade, so that he could not draw the dagger out of his belly; and the dirt came out. ²³Then Ehud went forth through the porch, and shut the doors of the parlor upon him, and locked them. ²⁴When he had gone out, his servants came; and when they saw that, behold, the doors of the parlor were locked, they said, Surely he covereth his feet in his summer-chamber. ²⁵And they tarried till they were ashamed: and behold, he opened not the doors of the parlor, therefore they took a key and opened them: and behold, their lord lay dead on the earth. ²⁶And Ehud escaped while they tarried; and passed beyond the quarries, and escaped to Seirath. ²⁷And it came to pass when he had come, that he blew a trumpet in the mountain of Ephraim, and the children of Israel went down with him from the mount, and he before them. ²⁸And he said to them, Follow me: for the LORD hath delivered your enemies the Moabites into your hand. And they went down after him, and took the fords of Jordan towards Moab, and suffered not a man to pass over. ²⁹And they slew of Moab at that time about ten thousand men, all lusty, and all men of valor: and there escaped not a man. ³⁰So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel: and the land had rest eighty years. ³¹And after him was Shamgar the son of Anath, who slew of the Philistines six hundred men with an ox-goad; and he also delivered Israel.

Chapter 4

¹And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD, after Ehud was dead. ²And the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan that reigned in Hazor, the captain of whose host was Sisera, who dwelt in Harosheth of the Gentiles. ³And the children of Israel cried to the LORD; for he had nine hundred chariots of iron; and twenty years he mightily oppressed the children of Israel. ⁴And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that time. ⁵And she dwelt under the palm-tree of Deborah, between Ramah and Beth-el in mount Ephraim: and the children of Israel came up to her for judgment. ⁶And she sent and called Barak the son of Abinoam from Kedesh-naphtali, and said to him, Hath not the LORD God of Israel commanded, saying, Go, and draw towards mount Tabor, and take with thee ten thousand men of the children of Naphtali, and of the children of Zebulun? ⁷And I will draw to thee, to the river Kishon, Sisera the captain of Jabin's army, with his chariots and his multitude; and I will deliver him into thy hand. ⁸And Barak said to her, if thou wilt go with me, then I will go: but if thou wilt not go with me, then I will not go. ⁹And she said, I will surely go with thee: notwithstanding the journey that thou takest shall not be for thy honor; for the LORD will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman. And Deborah arose, and went with Barak to Kedesh. ¹⁰And Barak called Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh; and he went up with ten thousand men at his feet: and Deborah went up with him. ¹¹Now Heber the Kenite, who was of the children of Hobab the father-in-law of Moses, had severed himself from the Kenites, and pitched his tent to the plain of Zaanaim, which is by Kedesh. ¹²And they showed Sisera that Barak the son of Abinoam had gone up to mount Tabor. ¹³And Sisera collected all his chariots, even nine hundred chariots of iron, and all the people that were with him, from Harosheth of the Gentiles to the river of Kishon. ¹⁴And Deborah said to Barak, Arise, for this is the day in which the LORD hath delivered Sisera into thy hand: hath not the LORD gone out before thee? So Barak went down from mount Tabor, and ten thousand men after him. ¹⁵And the LORD discomfited Sisera, and all his chariots, and all his host, with the edge of the sword before Barak; so that Sisera alighted from his chariot, and fled away on his feet. ¹⁶But Barak pursued the chariots, and the host, to Harosheth of the Gentiles: and all the host of Sisera fell upon the edge of the sword; and there was not a man left. ¹⁷Howbeit, Sisera fled away on his feet to the tent of Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite: for there was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite. ¹⁸And Jael went out to meet Sisera, and said to him, Turn in, my lord, turn in to me; fear not. And when he had turned in to her into the tent, she covered him with a mantle. ¹⁹And he said to her, Give me, I pray thee, a little water to drink; for I am thirsty. And she opened a bottle of milk, and gave him drink, and covered him. ²⁰Again he said to her, stand in the door of the tent, and it shall be, when any man doth come and inquire of thee, and say, Is there any man here? that thou shalt say, No. ²¹Then Jael, Heber's wife, took a nail of the tent, and took a hammer in her hand, and went softly to him, and smote the nail into his temples, and fastened it into the ground: for he was fast asleep, and weary. So he died. ²²And behold, as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael came out to meet him, and said to him, Come, and I will show thee the man whom thou seekest. And when he came into her tent, behold, Sisera lay dead, and the nail was in his temples. ²³So God subdued on that day Jabin the king of Canaan before the children of Israel. ²⁴And the hand of the children of Israel prospered, and prevailed against Jabin the king of Canaan, until they had destroyed Jabin king of Canaan.

Chapter 5

¹Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam on that day, saying, ²Praise ye the LORD for the avenging of Israel, when the people willingly offered themselves. ³Hear, O ye kings; give ear, O ye princes; I, even I, will sing to the LORD; I will sing praise to the LORD God of Israel. ⁴LORD, when thou wentest out of Seir, when thou marchedst out of the field of Edom, the earth trembled, and the heavens dropped, the clouds also dropped water. ⁵The mountains melted from before the LORD, even that Sinai from before the LORD God of Israel. ⁶In the days of Shamgar the son of Anath, in the days of Jael, the highways were unoccupied, and the travelers walked through by-ways. ⁷The inhabitants of the villages ceased, they ceased in Israel, until that I Deborah arose, that I arose a mother in Israel. ⁸They chose new gods; then was war in the gates: was there a shield or spear seen among forty thousand in Israel? ⁹My heart is towards the governors of Israel that offered themselves willingly among the people: Bless ye the LORD. ¹⁰Speak, ye that ride on white asses, ye that sit in judgment, and walk by the way. ¹¹They that are delivered from the noise of archers in the places of drawing water, there shall they rehearse the righteous acts of the LORD, even the righteous acts towards the inhabitants of his villages in Israel: then shall the people of the LORD go down to the gates. ¹²Awake, awake, Deborah; awake, awake, utter a song: arise, Barak, and lead thy captivity captive, thou son of Abinoam. ¹³Then he made him that remaineth have dominion over the nobles among the people: the LORD made me have dominion over the mighty. ¹⁴Out of Ephraim was there a root of them against Amalek; after thee, Benjamin, among thy people; out of Machir came down governors, and out of Zebulun they that handle the pen of the writer. ¹⁵And the princes of Issachar were with Deborah: even Issachar, and also Barak: he was sent on foot into the valley. For the divisions of Reuben there were great thoughts of heart. ¹⁶Why abodest thou among the sheep-folds, to hear the bleatings of the flocks? For the divisions of Reuben there were great searchings of heart. ¹⁷Gilead abode beyond Jordan: and why did Dan remain in ships? Asher continued on the sea-shore, and abode in his breaches. ¹⁸Zebulun and Naphtali were a people that jeoparded their lives to death in the high places of the field. ¹⁹The kings came and fought, then fought the kings of Canaan in Tanach by the waters of Megiddo; they took no gain of money. ²⁰They fought from heaven; the stars in their courses fought against Sisera. ²¹The river of Kishon swept them away, that ancient river, the river Kishon. O my soul, thou hast trodden down strength. ²²Then were the horse's hoofs broken by the means of the prancings, the prancings of their mighty ones. ²³Curse ye Meroz, said the angel of the LORD, curse ye bitterly its inhabitants; because they came not to the help of the LORD, to the help of the LORD against the mighty. ²⁴Blessed above women shall Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite be, blessed shall she be above women in the tent. ²⁵He asked water, and she gave him milk; she brought forth butter in a lordly dish. ²⁶She put her hand to the nail, and her right hand to the workmen's hammer; and with the hammer she smote Sisera, she smote off his head, when she had pierced and struck through his temples. ²⁷At her feet he bowed, he fell, he lay down: at her feet he bowed, he fell: where he bowed, there he fell down dead. ²⁸The mother of Sisera looked out at a window, and cried through the lattice, Why is his chariot so long in coming? why tarry the wheels of his chariots? ²⁹Her wise ladies answered her, yes, she returned answer to herself. ³⁰Have they not found; have they not divided the prey; to every man a damsel or two; to Sisera a prey of divers colors, a prey of divers colors of needle-work, of divers colors of needle-work on both sides, meet for the necks of them that take the spoil? ³¹So let all thy enemies perish, O LORD: but let them that love him be as the sun when he goeth forth in his might. And the land had rest forty years.

Chapter 6

¹And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD: and the LORD delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years. ²And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel: and because of the Midianites the children of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains, and caves, and strong holds. ³And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east, even they came up against them; ⁴And they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth, till thou comest to Gaza; and left no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass. ⁵For they came up with their cattle, and their tents, and they came as grasshoppers for multitude; for both they and their camels were without number: and they entered into the land to destroy it. ⁶And Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites; and the children of Israel cried to the LORD. ⁷And it came to pass, when the children of Israel cried to the LORD because of the Midianites, ⁸That the LORD sent a prophet to the children of Israel, who said to them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I brought you up from Egypt, and brought you forth from the house of bondage; ⁹And I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians, and from the hand of all that oppressed you, and drove them out from before you, and gave you their land; ¹⁰And I said to you, I am the LORD your God; fear not the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but ye have not obeyed my voice. ¹¹And there came an angel of the LORD, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained to Joash the Abi-ezrite: and his son Gideon thrashed wheat by the wine-press, to hide it from the Midianites. ¹²And the angel of the LORD appeared to him, and said to him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valor. ¹³And Gideon said to him, O my Lord, if the LORD is with us, why then hath all this befallen us? and where are all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt? but now the LORD hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites. ¹⁴And the LORD looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee? ¹⁵And he said to him, O my Lord, by what means shall I save Israel? behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house. ¹⁶And the LORD said to him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man. ¹⁷And he said to him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, then show me a sign that thou talkest with me. ¹⁸Depart not hence, I pray thee, until I come to thee, and bring forth my present, and set it before thee. And he said, I will tarry until thou comest again. ¹⁹And Gideon went in, and made ready a kid, and unleavened cakes of an ephah of flour: the flesh he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot, and brought it out to him under the oak, and presented it. ²⁰And the angel of God said to him, Take the flesh and the unleavened cakes, and lay them upon this rock, and pour out the broth. And he did so. ²¹Then the angel of the LORD put forth the end of the staff that was in his hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes; and there rose fire out of the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes. Then the angel of the LORD departed from his sight. ²²And when Gideon perceived that he was an angel of the LORD, Gideon said, Alas, O Lord GOD! for because I have seen an angel of the LORD face to face. ²³And the LORD said to him, Peace be to thee; fear not: thou shalt not die. ²⁴Then Gideon built an altar there to the LORD, and called it Jehovah-shalom: to this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abi-ezrites. ²⁵And it came to pass the same night, that the LORD said to him, Take thy father's young bullock, even the second bullock of seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal that thy father hath, and cut down the grove that is by it: ²⁶And build an altar to the LORD thy God upon the top of this rock, in the ordered place, and take the second bullock, and offer a burnt-sacrifice with the wood of the grove which thou shalt cut down. ²⁷Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as the LORD had said to him: and so it was, because he feared his father's household, and the men of the city, that he could not do it by day, that he did it by night. ²⁸And when the men of the city arose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was cast down, and the grove was cut down that was by it, and the second bullock was offered upon the altar that was built. ²⁹And they said one to another, Who hath done this thing? And when they inquired and asked, they said, Gideon the son of Joash hath done this thing. ³⁰Then the men of the city said to Joash, Bring out thy son, that he may die: because he hath cast down the altar of Baal, and because he hath cut down the grove that was by it. ³¹And Joash said to all that stood against him, Will ye plead for Baal? will ye save him? he that will plead for him, let him be put to death whilst it is yet morning: if he is a god, let him plead for himself, because one hath cast down his altar. ³²Therefore on that day he called him Jerubbaal, saying, Let Baal plead against him, because he hath thrown down his altar. ³³Then all the Midianites, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east were assembled, and went over, and encamped in the valley of Jezreel. ³⁴But the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet; and Abiezer was called after him. ³⁵And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh; who also was called after him: and he sent messengers to Asher, and to Zebulun, and to Naphtali; and they came up to meet them. ³⁶And Gideon said to God, If thou wilt save Israel by my hand, as thou hast said, ³⁷Behold, I will put a fleece of wool on the floor; and if the dew shall be on the fleece only, and it shall be dry upon all the earth besides, then shall I know that thou wilt save Israel by my hand, as thou hast said. ³⁸And it was so: for he rose early on the morrow, and pressed the fleece, and wrung the dew out of the fleece, a bowl-full of water. ³⁹And Gideon said to God, Let not thy anger be hot against me, and I will speak but this once: Let me make trial, I pray thee, but this once with the fleece; let it now be dry only upon the fleece, and upon all the ground let there be dew. ⁴⁰And God did so that night: for it was dry upon the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground.

Chapter 7

¹Then Jerubbaal (who is Gideon) and all the people that were with him, rose early, and encamped beside the well of Harod: so that the host of the Midianites were on the north side of them by the hill of Moreh, in the valley. ²And the LORD said to Gideon, The people that are with thee are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, My own hand hath saved me. ³Now therefore, proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, Whoever is fearful and afraid, let him return and depart early from mount Gilead. And there returned of the people twenty and two thousand; and there remained ten thousand. ⁴And the LORD said to Gideon, The people are yet too many; bring them down to the water, and I will try them for thee there; and it shall be, that of whom I say to thee, This shall go with thee, the same shall go with thee; and of whomsoever I say to thee, This shall not go with thee, the same shall not go. ⁵So he brought down the people to the water: and the LORD said to Gideon, Every one that lappeth of the water with his tongue as a dog lappeth, him shalt thou set by himself; likewise every one that boweth down upon his knees to drink. ⁶And the number of them that lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, were three hundred men: but all the rest of the people bowed down upon their knees to drink water. ⁷And the LORD said to Gideon, By the three hundred men that lapped will I save you, and deliver the Midianites into thy hand: and let all the other people go every man to his place. ⁸So the people took victuals in their hand, and their trumpets: and he sent of all the rest of Israel every man to his tent, and retained those three hundred men. And the host of Midian was beneath him in the valley. ⁹And it came to pass the same night, that the LORD said to him, Arise, go down to the host; for I have delivered it into thy hand. ¹⁰But if thou fearest to go down, go thou with Phurah thy servant down to the host: ¹¹And thou shalt hear what they say; and afterward shall thy hands be strengthened to go down to the host. Then went he down with Phurah his servant to the outside of the armed men that were in the host. ¹²And the Midianites, and the Amalekites, and all the children of the east, lay along in the valley like grasshoppers for multitude; and their camels were without number, as the sand by the sea side for multitude. ¹³And when Gideon had come, behold, there was a man that told a dream to his fellow, and said, Behold, I dreamed a dream, and lo, a cake of barley-bread rolled into the host of Midian, and came to a tent, and smote it that it fell, and overturned it that the tent lay along. ¹⁴And his fellow answered, and said, This is nothing else save the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel: for into his hand hath God delivered Midian, and all the host. ¹⁵And it was so, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream, and its interpretation, that he worshiped, and returned to the host of Israel, and said, Arise; for the LORD hath delivered into your hand the host of Midian. ¹⁶And he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put a trumpet in every man's hand, with empty pitchers, and lamps within the pitchers. ¹⁷And he said to them, Look on me, and do likewise: and behold, when I come to the outside of the camp, it shall be that as I do, so shall ye do. ¹⁸When I blow with a trumpet, I and all that are with me, then blow ye the trumpets also on every side of all the camp, and say, The sword of the LORD, and of Gideon. ¹⁹So Gideon, and the hundred men that were with him, came to the outside of the camp in the beginning of the middle watch; and they had but newly set the watch: and they blew the trumpets, and broke the pitchers that were in their hands. ²⁰And the three companies blew the trumpets, and broke the pitchers, and held the lamps in their left hands, and the trumpets in their right hands to blow with: and they cried, The sword of the LORD, and of Gideon. ²¹And they stood every man in his place around the camp; and all the host ran, and cried, and fled. ²²And the three hundred blew the trumpets, and the LORD set every man's sword against his fellow, even throughout all the host: and the host fled to Beth-shittah in Zereroth, and to the border of Abel-meholah, to Tabbath. ²³And the men of Israel assembled out of Naphtali, and out of Asher, and out of all Manasseh, and pursued the Midianites. ²⁴And Gideon sent messengers throughout all mount Ephraim, saying, Come down against the Midianites, and take before them the waters to Beth-barah and Jordan. Then all the men of Ephraim assembled, and took the waters to Beth-barah and Jordan. ²⁵And they took two princes of the Midianites, Oreb and Zeeb; and they slew Oreb upon the rock Oreb, and Zeeb they slew at the wine-press of Zeeb, and pursued Midian, and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon on the other side of Jordan.

Chapter 8

¹And the men of Ephraim said to him, Why hast thou treated us thus, that thou calledst us not when thou wentest to fight with the Midianites? and they chid with him sharply. ²And he said to them, What have I done now in comparison of you? Is not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abiezer? ³God hath delivered into your hands the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb: and what was I able to do in comparison of you? Then, when he had said that, their anger towards him abated. ⁴And Gideon came to Jordan, and passed over, he, and the three hundred men that were with him, faint, yet pursuing them. ⁵And he said to the men of Succoth, Give, I pray you, loaves of bread to the people that follow me: for they are faint, and I am pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, kings of Midian. ⁶And the princes of Succoth said, Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in thy hand, that we should give bread to thy army? ⁷And Gideon said, Therefore when the LORD hath delivered Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, then I will tear your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers. ⁸And he went up thence to Penuel, and spoke to them likewise: and the men of Penuel answered him as the men of Succoth had answered him. ⁹And he spoke also to the men of Penuel, saying, When I come again in peace, I will break down this tower. ¹⁰Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor, and their hosts with them, about fifteen thousand men, all that were left of all the hosts of the children of the east: for there fell a hundred and twenty thousand men that drew sword. ¹¹And Gideon went up by the way of them that dwelt in tents on the east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and smote the host: for the host was secure. ¹²And when Zebah and Zalmunna fled, he pursued them, and took the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and discomfited all the host. ¹³And Gideon the son of Joash returned from battle before the sun had risen, ¹⁴And caught a young man of the men of Succoth, and inquired of him: and he described to him the princes of Succoth, and its elders, even seventy seven men. ¹⁵And he came to the men of Succoth, and said, Behold Zebah and Zalmunna, with whom ye upbraided me, saying, Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in thy hand, that we should give bread to thy men that are weary? ¹⁶And he took the elders of the city, and thorns of the wilderness, and briers, and with them he taught the men of Succoth. ¹⁷And he beat down the tower of Penuel, and slew the men of the city. ¹⁸Then said he to Zebah and Zalmunna, What manner of men were they whom ye slew at Tabor? And they answered, As thou art, so were they; each one resembled the children of a king. ¹⁹And he said, They were my brethren, even the sons of my mother: as the LORD liveth, if ye had saved them alive, I would not slay you. ²⁰And he said to Jether his first-born, Arise, and slay them. But the youth drew not his sword: for he feared, because he was yet a youth. ²¹Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, Rise thou, and fall upon us: for as the man is, so is his strength. And Gideon arose, and slew Zebah and Zalmunna, and took away the ornaments that were on their camels' necks. ²²Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, Rule thou over us, both thou, and thy son, and thy son's son also: for thou hast delivered us from the hand of Midian. ²³And Gideon said to them, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: the LORD shall rule over you. ²⁴And Gideon said to them, I would desire a request of you, that you would give me every man the ear-rings of his prey. (For they had golden ear-rings, because they were Ishmaelites.) ²⁵And they answered, We will willingly give them. And they spread a garment, and cast into it every man the ear-rings of his prey. ²⁶And the weight of the golden ear-rings that he requested, was a thousand and seven hundred shekels of gold; besides ornaments, and collars, and purple raiment that was on the kings of Midian, and besides the chains that were about their camels' necks. ²⁷And Gideon made of it an ephod, and put it in his city, even in Ophrah: and all Israel went thither astray after it: which thing became a snare to Gideon, and to his house. ²⁸Thus was Midian subdued before the children of Israel, so that they raised their heads no more. And the country was in quietness forty years in the days of Gideon. ²⁹And Jerubbaal the son of Joash went and dwelt in his own house. ³⁰And Gideon had seventy sons of his body begotten: for he had many wives. ³¹And his concubine that was in Shechem, she also bore him a son, whose name he called Abimelech. ³²And Gideon the son of Joash died in a good old age, and was buried in the sepulcher of Joash his father, in Ophrah of the Abi-ezrites. ³³And it came to pass as soon as Gideon was dead, that the children of Israel turned again, and went astray after Baalim, and made Baal-berith their god. ³⁴And the children of Israel remembered not the LORD their God, who had delivered them from the hands of all their enemies on every side: ³⁵Neither showed they kindness to the house of Jerubbaal, namely Gideon, according to all the goodness which he had shown to Israel.

Chapter 9

¹And Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem to his mother's brethren, and communed with them, and with all the family of the house of his mother's father, saying, ²Speak, I pray you, in the ears of all the men of Shechem, Which is better for you, either that all the sons of Jerubbaal, which are seventy persons, should reign over you, or that one should reign over you? remember also that I am your bone and your flesh. ³And his mother's brethren spoke of him in the ears of all the men of Shechem all these words: and their hearts inclined to follow Abimelech; for they said, He is our brother. ⁴And they gave him seventy pieces of silver out of the house of Baal-berith, with which Abimelech hired vain and light persons, who followed him. ⁵And he went to his father's house at Ophrah, and slew his brethren the sons of Jerubbaal, being seventy persons, upon one stone; notwithstanding, yet Jotham the youngest son of Jerubbaal was left; for he hid himself. ⁶And all the men of Shechem assembled, and all the house of Millo, and went and made Abimelech king, by the plain of the pillar that was in Shechem. ⁷And when they told it to Jotham, he went and stood in the top of mount Gerizim, and lifted up his voice and cried, and said to them, Hearken to me, ye men of Shechem, that God may hearken to you. ⁸The trees went forth on a time to anoint a king over them; and they said to the olive-tree, Reign thou over us. ⁹But the olive-tree said to them, Should I leave my fatness, with which by me they honor God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees? ¹⁰And the trees said to the fig-tree, Come thou, and reign over us. ¹¹But the fig-tree said to them, Should I forsake my sweetness, and my good fruit, and go to be promoted over the trees? ¹²Then said the trees to the vine, Come thou, and reign over us. ¹³And the vine said to them, Should I leave my wine, which cheereth God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees? ¹⁴Then said all the trees to the bramble, Come thou, and reign over us. ¹⁵And the bramble said to the trees, If in truth ye anoint me king over you, then come and put your trust in my shadow: and if not, let fire come out of the bramble, and devour the cedars of Lebanon. ¹⁶Now therefore, if ye have done truly and sincerely, in that ye have made Abimelech king, and if ye have dealt well with Jerubbaal and his house, and have done to him according to the deserving of his hands: ¹⁷(For my father fought for you, and adventured his life far, and delivered you from the hand of Midian: ¹⁸And ye have risen up against my father's house this day, and have slain his sons, seventy persons, upon one stone, and have made Abimelech, the son of his maid-servant, king over the men of Shechem, because he is your brother:) ¹⁹If ye then have dealt truly and sincerely with Jerubbaal and with his house this day, then rejoice ye in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you: ²⁰But if not, let fire come out from Abimelech, and devour the men of Shechem, and the house of Millo; and let fire come out from the men of Shechem, and from the house of Millo, and devour Abimelech. ²¹And Jotham ran away, and fled, and went to Beer, and dwelt there, for fear of Abimelech his brother. ²²When Abimelech had reigned three years over Israel, ²³Then God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the men of Shechem; and the men of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech: ²⁴That the cruelty done to the seventy sons of Jerubbaal might come, and their blood be laid upon Abimelech their brother who slew them, and upon the men of Shechem who aided him in the killing of his brethren. ²⁵And the men of Shechem set liers in wait for him on the top of the mountains, and they robbed all that came along that way by them: and it was told Abimelech. ²⁶And Gaal the son of Ebed came with his brethren, and went over to Shechem: and the men of Shechem put their confidence in him. ²⁷And they went out into the fields, and gathered their vineyards, and trod the grapes, and made merry, and went into the house of their god, and ate and drank, and cursed Abimelech. ²⁸And Gaal the son of Ebed said, Who is Abimelech, and who is Shechem, that we should serve him; is not he the son of Jerubbaal? and Zebul his officer? Serve the men of Hamor the father of Shechem: for why should we serve him? ²⁹And would that this people were under my hand! then would I remove Abimelech. And he said to Abimelech, Increase thy army, and come out. ³⁰And when Zebul the ruler of the city heard the words of Gaal the son of Ebed, his anger was kindled. ³¹And he sent messengers to Abimelech privately, saying, Behold, Gaal the son of Ebed, and his brethren, are come to Shechem; and behold, they fortify the city against thee. ³²Now therefore rise by night, thou, and the people that are with thee, and lie in wait in the field: ³³And it shall be, that in the morning, as soon as the sun hath risen, thou shalt rise early, and attack the city: and behold, when he and the people that are with him come out against thee, then mayest thou do to them as thou shalt find occasion. ³⁴And Abimelech rose, and all the people that were with him, by night, and they laid wait against Shechem in four companies. ³⁵And Gaal the son of Ebed went out, and stood in the entrance of the gate of the city: and Abimelech rose, and the people that were with him, from lying in wait. ³⁶And when Gaal saw the people, he said to Zebul, Behold, there come people down from the top of the mountains. And Zebul said to him, Thou seest the shadow of the mountains as if they were men. ³⁷And Gaal spoke again, and said, See, there come people down by the middle of the land, and another company come along by the plain of Meonenim. ³⁸Then said Zebul to him, Where is now thy mouth, with which thou saidst, Who is Abimelech, that we should serve him? are not these the people that thou hast despised? go out, I pray now, and fight with them. ³⁹And Gaal went out before the men of Shechem, and fought with Abimelech. ⁴⁰And Abimelech chased him, and he fled before him, and many were overthrown and wounded, even to the entrance of the gate. ⁴¹And Abimelech dwelt at Arumah: and Zebul thrust out Gaal and his brethren, that they should not dwell in Shechem. ⁴²And it came to pass on the morrow, that the people went out into the field; and they told Abimelech. ⁴³And he took the people, and divided them into three companies, and laid wait in the field, and looked, and behold, the people had come out of the city; and he rose up against them, and smote them. ⁴⁴And Abimelech, and the company that was with him, rushed forward, and stood in the entrance of the gate of the city: and the two other companies ran upon all the people that were in the fields, and slew them. ⁴⁵And Abimelech fought against the city all that day; and he took the city, and slew the people that were in it, and beat down the city, and sowed it with salt. ⁴⁶And when all the men of the tower of Shechem heard that, they entered into a hold of the house of the god Berith. ⁴⁷And it was told to Abimelech, that all the men of the tower of Shechem were assembled. ⁴⁸And Abimelech ascended mount Zalmon, he and all the people that were with him; and Abimelech took an ax in his hand, and cut down a bough from the trees, and took it, and laid it on his shoulder, and said to the people that were with him, What ye have seen me do, make haste, and do as I have done. ⁴⁹And all the people likewise cut down every man his bough, and followed Abimelech, and put them to the hold, and set the hold on fire upon them: so that all the men of the tower of Shechem died also, about a thousand men and women. ⁵⁰Then went Abimelech to Thebez, and encamped against Thebez, and took it. ⁵¹But there was a strong tower within the city, and thither fled all the men and women, and all they of the city, and shut it after them, and ascended to the top of the tower. ⁵²And Abimelech came to the tower, and fought against it, and came near to the door of the tower to burn it with fire. ⁵³And a certain woman cast a piece of of a millstone upon Abimelech's head, and broke his skull. ⁵⁴Then he called hastily to the young man his armor-bearer, and said to him, Draw thy sword, and slay me, that men say not of me, A woman slew him. And his young man thrust him through, and he died. ⁵⁵And when the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead, they departed every man to his place. ⁵⁶Thus God rendered the wickedness of Abimelech, which he did to his father, in slaying his seventy brethren: ⁵⁷And all the evil of the men of Shechem did God render upon their heads: and upon them came the curse of Jotham the son of Jerubbaal.

Chapter 10

¹And after Abimelech there arose to defend Israel Tola the son of Puah, the son of Dodo, a man of Issachar; and he dwelt in Shamir in mount Ephraim. ²And he judged Israel twenty and three years, and died, and was buried in Shamir. ³And after him arose Jair, a Gileadite, and judged Israel twenty and two years. ⁴And he had thirty sons that rode on thirty ass colts, and they had thirty cities, which are called Havoth-jair to this day, which are in the land of Gilead. ⁵And Jair died, and was buried in Camon. ⁶And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim, and Ashtaroth, and the gods of Syria, and the gods of Zidon, and the gods of Moab, and the gods of the children of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines, and forsook the LORD, and served not him. ⁷And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he sold them into the hands of the Philistines, and into the hands of the children of Ammon. ⁸And that year they harassed and oppressed the children of Israel eighteen years, all the children of Israel that were on the other side of Jordan in the land of the Amorites, which is in Gilead. ⁹Moreover, the children of Ammon passed over Jordan, to fight also against Judah, and against Benjamin, and against the house of Ephraim; so that Israel was greatly distressed. ¹⁰And the children of Israel cried to the LORD, saying, We have sinned against thee, both because we have forsaken our God, and also served Baalim. ¹¹And the LORD said to the children of Israel, Did not I deliver you from the Egyptians, and from the Amorites, from the children of Ammon, and from the Philistines? ¹²The Zidonians also, and the Amalekites, and the Maonites oppressed you; and ye cried to me, and I delivered you out of their hand. ¹³Yet ye have forsaken me, and served other gods: wherefore I will deliver you no more. ¹⁴Go and cry to the gods which ye have chosen; let them deliver you in the time of your tribulation. ¹⁵And the children of Israel said to the LORD, We have sinned: do thou to us whatever seemeth good to thee; deliver us only, we pray thee, this day. ¹⁶And they put away the strange gods from among them, and served the LORD: and his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel. ¹⁷Then the children of Ammon were assembled, and encamped in Gilead. And the children of Israel assembled themselves, and encamped in Mizpeh. ¹⁸And the people and princes of Gilead said one to another, What man is he that will begin to fight against the children of Ammon? he shall be head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.

Chapter 11

¹Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valor, and he was the son of a harlot: and Gilead begat Jephthah. ²And Gilead's wife bore him sons; and his wife's sons grew up, and they thrust out Jephthah, and said to him, Thou shalt not inherit in our father's house; for thou art the son of a strange woman. ³Then Jephthah fled from his brethren, and dwelt in the land of Tob: and there were gathered vain men to Jephthah, and they went out with him. ⁴And it came to pass in process of time, that the children of Ammon made war against Israel. ⁵And it was so, that when the children of Ammon made war against Israel, the elders of Gilead went to bring Jephthah out of the land of Tob: ⁶And they said to Jephthah, Come, and be our captain, that we may fight with the children of Ammon. ⁷And Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, Did ye not hate me, and expel me from my father's house; and why have ye come to me now when ye are in distress? ⁸And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, Therefore we turn again to thee now, that thou mayest go with us, and fight against the children of Ammon, and be our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead. ⁹And Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, If ye bring me home again to fight against the children of Ammon, and the LORD deliver them before me, shall I be your head? ¹⁰And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, The LORD be a witness between us, if we do not so according to thy words. ¹¹Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and captain over them: and Jephthah uttered all his words before the LORD in Mizpeh. ¹²And Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the children of Ammon, saying, What hast thou to do with me, that thou hast come against me to fight in my land? ¹³And the king of the children of Ammon answered to the messengers of Jephthah, Because Israel took away my land, when they came out of Egypt, from Arnon even to Jabbok, and to Jordan: now therefore restore those lands again peaceably. ¹⁴And Jephthah sent messengers again to the king of the children of Ammon: ¹⁵And said to him, Thus saith Jephthah, Israel took not away the land of Moab, nor the land of the children of Ammon: ¹⁶But when Israel came up from Egypt, and walked through the wilderness to the Red sea, and came to Kadesh; ¹⁷Then Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, Let me, I pray thee, pass through thy land: but the king of Edom would not hearken to it. And in like manner they sent to the king of Moab; but he would not consent. And Israel abode in Kadesh. ¹⁸Then they went along through the wilderness, and compassed the land of Edom, and the land of Moab, and came by the east side of the land of Moab, and pitched on the other side of Arnon, but came not within the border of Moab: for Arnon was the border of Moab. ¹⁹And Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, the king of Heshbon; and Israel said to him, Let us pass, we pray thee, through thy land to my place. ²⁰But Sihon trusted not Israel to pass through his border: but Sihon collected all his people, and encamped in Jahaz, and fought against Israel. ²¹And the LORD God of Israel delivered Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel, and they smote them: so Israel possessed all the land of the Amorites, the inhabitants of that country. ²²And they possessed all the borders of the Amorites, from Arnon even to Jabbok, and from the wilderness even to Jordan. ²³So now the LORD God of Israel hath dispossessed the Amorites from before his people Israel, and shouldst thou possess it? ²⁴Wilt not thou possess that which Chemosh thy god giveth thee to possess? So whomsoever the LORD our God shall drive out from before us, them will we possess. ²⁵And now art thou any thing better than Balak the son of Zippor king of Moab? did he ever strive against Israel, or did he ever fight against them, ²⁶While Israel dwelt in Heshbon and her towns, and in Aroer and her towns, and in all the cities that are along by the borders of Arnon, three hundred years? why therefore did ye not recover them within that time? ²⁷Wherefore I have not sinned against thee, but thou doest me wrong to war against me: the LORD the Judge be judge this day between the children of Israel and the children of Ammon. ²⁸But, the king of the children of Ammon hearkened not to the words of Jephthah which he sent him. ²⁹Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah, and he passed over Gilead, and Manasseh, and passed over Mizpeh of Gilead, and from Mizpeh of Gilead he passed over to the children of Ammon. ³⁰And Jephthah vowed a vow to the LORD, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into my hands, ³¹Then it shall be, that whatever cometh out of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be the LORD'S, and I will offer it for a burnt-offering. ³²So Jephthah passed over to the children of Ammon to fight against them; and the LORD delivered them into his hands. ³³And he smote them from Aroer even till thou comest to Minnith, even twenty cities, and to the plain of the vineyards, with a very great slaughter. Thus the children of Ammon were subdued before the children of Israel. ³⁴And Jephthah came to Mizpeh to his house, and behold, his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances: and she was his only child; beside her he had neither son nor daughter. ³⁵And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent his clothes, and said Alas, my daughter! thou hast brought me very low, and thou art one of them that trouble me: for I have opened my mouth to the LORD, and I cannot go back. ³⁶And she said to him, My father, if thou hast opened thy mouth to the LORD, do to me according to that which hath proceeded out of thy mouth; forasmuch as the LORD hath taken vengeance for thee of thy enemies, even of the children of Ammon. ³⁷And she said to her father, Let this thing be done for me: Let me alone two months, that I may go up and down upon the mountains, and bewail my virginity, I and my fellows. ³⁸And he said, Go. And he sent her away for two months: and she went with her companions, and bewailed her virginity upon the mountains. ³⁹And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she returned to her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed: and she knew no man. And it was a custom in Israel, ⁴⁰That the daughters of Israel went yearly to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in a year.

Chapter 12

¹And the men of Ephraim assembled, and went northward, and said to Jephthah, Why didst thou pass over to fight against the children of Ammon, and didst not call us to go with thee; we will burn thy house upon thee with fire. ²And Jephthah said to them, I and my people were at great strife with the children of Ammon; and when I called you, ye delivered me not out of their hands. ³And when I saw that ye delivered me not, I put my life in my hands, and passed over against the children of Ammon, and the LORD delivered them into my hand: why then have ye come up to me this day, to fight against me? ⁴Then Jephthah collected all the men of Gilead, and fought with Ephraim: and the men of Gilead smote Ephraim, because they said, Ye Gileadites are fugitives of Ephraim among the Ephraimites, and among the Manassites. ⁵And the Gileadites took the passages of Jordan before the Ephraimites: and it was so, that when those Ephraimites who had escaped, said, Let me go over; that the men of Gilead said to him, Art thou an Ephraimite? If he said, No; ⁶Then said they to him, Say now Shibboleth: and he said Sibboleth: for he could not frame to pronounce it right. Then they took him, and slew him at the passages of Jordan. And there fell at that time of the Ephraimites forty and two thousand. ⁷And Jephthah judged Israel six years: then died Jephthah the Gileadite, and was buried in one of the cities of Gilead. ⁸And after him Ibzan of Beth-lehem judged Israel. ⁹And he had thirty sons and thirty daughters whom he sent abroad, and took in thirty daughters from abroad for his sons: and he judged Israel seven years. ¹⁰Then died Ibzan, and was buried at Beth-lehem. ¹¹And after him Elon, a Zebulonite, judged Israel, and he judged Israel ten years. ¹²And Elon the Zebulonite died, and was buried in Ajalon in the country of Zebulun. ¹³And after him Abdon the son of Hillel, a Pirathonite, judged Israel. ¹⁴And he had forty sons and thirty nephews, that rode on seventy ass colts: and he judged Israel eight years. ¹⁵And Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite died, and was buried in Pirathon in the land of Ephraim, in the mount of the Amalekites.

Chapter 13

¹And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD delivered them into the hand of the Philistines forty years. ²And there was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren, and bore not. ³And the angel of the LORD appeared to the woman, and said to her, Behold, now, thou art barren, and bearest not: but thou shalt conceive, and bear a son. ⁴Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine, nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing: ⁵For lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite to God from his birth: and he shall begin to deliver Israel from the hand of the Philistines. ⁶Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, A man of God came to me, and his countenance was like the countenance of an angel of God, very terrible: but I asked him not whence he was, neither did he tell me his name: ⁷But he said to me, Behold, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and now drink no wine nor strong drink, neither eat any unclean thing: for the child shall be a Nazarite to God from his birth to the day of his death. ⁸Then Manoah entreated the LORD, and said, O my Lord, let the man of God, whom thou didst send come again to us, and teach us what we shall do to the child that shall be born. ⁹And God hearkened to the voice of Manoah; and the angel of God came again to the woman as she sat in the field: but Manoah her husband was not with her. ¹⁰And the woman made haste, and ran, and showed her husband, and said to him, Behold, the man hath appeared to me, that came to me the other day. ¹¹And Manoah arose, and went after his wife, and came to the man, and said to him, Art thou the man that didst speak to the woman? And he said, I am. ¹²And Manoah said, Now let thy words come to pass. How shall we order the child, and how shall we do to him? ¹³And the angel of the LORD said to Manoah, Of all that I said to the woman, let her beware. ¹⁴She may not eat of any thing that cometh of the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing; all that I commanded her let her observe. ¹⁵And Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, I pray thee, let us detain thee, until we shall have made ready a kid for thee. ¹⁶And the angel of the LORD said to Manoah, Though thou shouldst detain me, I will not eat of thy bread: and if thou wilt offer a burnt-offering, thou must offer it to the LORD. For Manoah knew not that he was an angel of the LORD. ¹⁷And Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, What is thy name, that when thy sayings come to pass, we may do thee honor? ¹⁸And the angel of the LORD said to him, why askest thou thus after my name, seeing it is secret? ¹⁹So Manoah took a kid, with a meat-offering, and offered it upon a rock to the LORD; and the angel did wonderously, and Manoah and his wife looked on. ²⁰For it came to pass, when the flame ascended towards heaven from off the altar, that the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame of the altar. And Manoah and his wife looked on it, and fell on their faces to the ground. ²¹But the angel of the LORD did no more appear to Manoah and to his wife. Then Manoah knew that he was an angel of the LORD. ²²And Manoah said to his wife, We shall surely die, because we have seen God. ²³But his wife said to him, If the LORD were pleased to kill us, he would not have received a burnt-offering and a meat-offering at our hands, neither would he have showed us all these things, nor would, as at this time, have told us such things as these. ²⁴And the woman bore a son, and called his name Samson. And the child grew, and the LORD blessed him. ²⁵And the Spirit of the LORD began to move him at times in the camp of Dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.

Chapter 14

¹And Samson went down to Timnath, and saw a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines. ²And he came up, and told his father and his mother, and said, I have seen a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines: now therefore get her for me for a wife. ³Then his father and his mother said to him, Is there not a woman among the daughters of thy brethren, or among all my people, that thou goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines? And Samson said to his father, Get her for me; for she pleaseth me well. ⁴But his father and his mother knew not that it was of the LORD, that he sought an occasion against the Philistines: for at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel. ⁵Then went Samson down, and his father and his mother, to Timnath, and came to the vineyards of Timnath: and behold, a young lion roared against him. ⁶And the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and he rent him as he would have rent a kid, and he had nothing in his hand: but he told not his father or his mother what he had done. ⁷And he went down, and talked with the woman; and she pleased Samson well. ⁸And after a time he returned to take her, and he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion: and behold, there was a swarm of bees and honey in the carcass of the lion. ⁹And he took of it in his hands, and went on eating, and came to his father and mother, and he gave them, and they ate: but he told them not that he had taken the honey out of the carcass of the lion. ¹⁰So his father went down to the woman: and Samson made there a feast; for so used the young men to do. ¹¹And it came to pass, when they saw him, that they brought thirty companions to be with him. ¹²And Samson said to them, I will now propose a riddle to you: if ye can certainly declare it me within the seven days of the feast, and find it out, then I will give you thirty sheets and thirty change of garments: ¹³But if ye cannot declare it to me, then shall ye give me thirty sheets and thirty change of garments. And they said to him, propose thy riddle, that we may hear it. ¹⁴And he said to them, Out of the eater came forth food, and out of the strong came forth sweetness. And they could not in three days expound the riddle. ¹⁵And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they said to Samson's wife, Entice thy husband, that he may declare to us the riddle, lest we burn thee and thy father's house with fire: have ye called us to take what we possess? is it not so? ¹⁶And Samson's wife wept before him, and said, Thou dost but hate me, and lovest me not: thou hast proposed a riddle to the children of my people, and hast not told it to me. And he said to her, Behold, I have not told it to my father nor to my mother, and shall I tell it to thee? ¹⁷And she wept before him the seven days, while their feast lasted: and it came to pass on the seventh day, that he told her, because she urged him: and she told the riddle to the children of her people. ¹⁸And the men of the city said to him on the seventh day before the sun went down, What is sweeter than honey? and what is stronger than a lion? And he said to them, If ye had not plowed with my heifer, ye had not found out my riddle. ¹⁹And the Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he went down to Ashkelon, and slew thirty men of them, and took their spoil, and gave change of garments to them who expounded the riddle. And his anger was kindled, and he went up to his father's house. ²⁰But Samson's wife was given to his companion, whom he had used as his friend.

Chapter 15

¹But it came to pass after a while, in the time of wheat-harvest, that Samson visited his wife with a kid; and he said, I will go in to my wife into the chamber. But her father would not suffer him to go in. ²And her father said, I verily thought that thou hadst utterly hated her; therefore I gave her to thy companion: is not her younger sister fairer than she? take her, I pray thee, instead of her. ³And Samson said concerning them, Now shall I be more blameless than the Philistines, though I do them a displeasure. ⁴And Samson went and caught three hundred foxes, and took fire-brands, and turned tail to tail, and put a fire-brand in the midst between two tails. ⁵And when he had set the brands on fire, he let them go into the standing corn of the Philistines, and burnt up both the shocks and also the standing corn, with the vineyards and olives. ⁶Then the Philistines said, Who hath done this? And they answered, Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnite, because he had taken his wife, and given her to his companion. And the Philistines came up, and burnt her and her father with fire. ⁷And Samson said to them, Though ye have done this, yet will I be avenged of you, and after that I will cease. ⁸And he smote them hip and thigh with a great slaughter. And he went down and dwelt in the top of the rock Etam. ⁹Then the Philistines went up, and encamped in Judah, and spread themselves in Lehi. ¹⁰And the men of Judah said, Why have ye come up against us? And they answered, We have come to bind Samson, to do to him as he hath done to us. ¹¹Then three thousand men of Judah went to the top of the rock Etam, and said to Samson, Knowest thou not that the Philistines are rulers over us? what is this that thou hast done to us? And he said to them, As they did to me, so have I done to them. ¹²And they said to him, We have come down to bind thee, that we may deliver thee into the hand of the Philistines. And Samson said to them, Swear to me, that ye will not fall upon me yourselves. ¹³And they spoke to him, saying, No; but we will bind thee fast, and deliver thee into their hand: but surely we will not kill thee. And they bound him with two new cords, and brought him up from the rock. ¹⁴And when he came to Lehi, the Philistines shouted against him: and the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and the cords that were upon his arms became as flax that was burnt with fire, and his bands loosed from off his the hands. ¹⁵And he found a fresh jaw-bone of an ass, and put forth his hand, and took it, and slew a thousand men with it. ¹⁶And Samson said, With the jaw-bone of an ass, heaps upon heaps, with the jaw of an ass have I slain a thousand men. ¹⁷And it came to pass when he had made an end of speaking, that he cast away the jaw-bone out of his hand, and called that place Ramath-lehi. ¹⁸And he was very thirsty, and called on the LORD, and said, Thou hast given this great deliverance into the hand of thy servant: and now shall I die by thirst, and fall into the hand of the uncircumcised? ¹⁹But God cleaved a hollow place that was in the jaw, and there came water out of it; and when he had drank, his spirit came again, and he revived. Wherefore he called the name of it En-hakkore, which is in Lehi to this day. ²⁰And he judged Israel, in the days of the Philistines, twenty years.

Chapter 16

¹Then went Samson to Gaza, and saw there a harlot, and went in to her. ²And it was told the Gazites, saying, Samson is come hither. And they encompassed him, and laid wait for him all night in the gate of the city, and were quiet all the night, saying, In the morning when it is day we shall kill him. ³And Samson lay till midnight, and arose at midnight, and took the doors of the gate of the city, and the two posts, and went away with them, bar and all, and put them upon his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of a hill that is before Hebron. ⁴And it came to pass afterward, that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. ⁵And the lords of the Philistines came to her, and said to her, Entice him, and see in what his great strength lieth, and by what means we may prevail against him, that we may bind him to afflict him: and we will give thee every one of us eleven hundred pieces of silver. ⁶And Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray thee, in what thy great strength lieth, and with what thou mayest be bound to afflict thee. ⁷And Samson said to her, If they bind me with seven green withs, that were never dried, then shall I be weak, and be as another man. ⁸Then the lords of the Philistines brought to her seven green withs, which had not been dried, and she bound him with them. ⁹(Now there were men lying in wait, abiding with her in the chamber.) And she said to him, The Philistines are upon thee, Samson. And he broke the withs as a thread of tow is broken when it toucheth the fire. So his strength was not known. ¹⁰And Delilah said to Samson, Behold, thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: now tell me, I pray thee, with what thou mayest be bound. ¹¹And he said to her, If they bind me fast with new ropes that never were used, then shall I be weak, and be as another man. ¹²Delilah therefore took new ropes, and bound him with them, and said to him, The Philistines are upon thee, Samson. (And there were liers in wait abiding in the chamber.) And he broke them from off his arms like a thread. ¹³And Delilah said to Samson, hitherto thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: tell me with what thou mayest be bound. And he said to her, If thou weavest the seven locks of my head with the web. ¹⁴And she fastened it with the pin, and said to him, The Philistines are upon thee, Samson. And he awaked out of his sleep, and went away with the pin of the beam, and with the web. ¹⁵And she said to him, How canst thou say, I love thee, when thy heart is not with me? Thou hast mocked me these three times, and hast not told me in what thy great strength lieth. ¹⁶And it came to pass when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, so that his soul was vexed to death; ¹⁷That he told her all his heart, and said to her, There hath not come a razor upon my head; for I have been a Nazarite to God from my birth: if I be shaved, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man. ¹⁸And when Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, Come up this once, for he hath disclosed to me all his heart. Then the lords of the Philistines came up to her and brought money in their hand. ¹⁹And she made him sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head; and she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him. ²⁰And she said, the Philistines are upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself. And he knew not that the LORD had departed from him. ²¹But the Philistines took him and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he did grind in the prison-house. ²²However the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaved. ²³Then the lords of the Philistines assembled to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god, and to rejoice: for they said, Our god hath delivered Samson our enemy into our hand. ²⁴And when the people saw him, they praised their god: for they said, Our god hath delivered into our hands our enemy, and the destroyer of our country; who slew many of us. ²⁵And it came to pass, when their hearts were merry, that they said, Call for Samson that he may make us sport. And they called for Samson out of the prison-house; and he made them sport: and they set him between the pillars. ²⁶And Samson said to the lad that held him by the hand, Suffer me that I may feel the pillars upon which the house standeth, that I may lean upon them. ²⁷Now the house was full of men and women: and all the lords of the Philistines were there: and there were upon the roof about three thousand men and women, that beheld while Samson made sport. ²⁸And Samson called to the LORD, and said, O Lord GOD, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes. ²⁹And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood, and on which it was supported, of the one with his right hand, and of the other with his left. ³⁰And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were in it. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life. ³¹Then his brethren and all the house of his father came down, and took him, and brought him up, and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the burying-place of Manoah his father. And he judged Israel twenty years.

Chapter 17

¹And there was a man of mount Ephraim, whose name was Micah. ²And he said to his mother, The eleven hundred shekels of silver that were taken from thee, about which thou didst curse, and speak of also in my ears, behold, the silver is with me; I took it. And his mother said, Blessed be thou of the LORD, my son. ³And when he had restored the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother, his mother said, I had wholly dedicated the silver to the LORD from my hand for my son, to make a graven image and a molten image: now therefore I will restore it to thee. ⁴Yet he restored the money to his mother; and his mother took two hundred shekels of silver, and gave them to the founder, who made of it a graven image and a molten image: and they were in the house of Micah. ⁵And the man Micah had a house of gods, and made an ephod, and teraphim, and consecrated one of his sons, who became his priest. ⁶In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes. ⁷And there was a young man out of Beth-lehem-judah of the family of Judah, who was a Levite, and he sojourned there. ⁸And the man departed out of the city from Beth-lehem-judah, to sojourn where he could find a place: and he came to mount Ephraim to the house of Micah, as he journeyed. ⁹And Micah said to him, Whence comest thou? And he said to him, I am a Levite of Beth-lehem-judah, and I go to sojourn where I may find a place. ¹⁰And Micah said to him, Dwell with me, and be to me a father and a priest, and I will give thee ten shekels of silver by the year, and a suit of apparel, and thy victuals. So the Levite went in. ¹¹And the Levite was content to dwell with the man; and the young man was to him as one of his sons. ¹²And Micah consecrated the Levite; and the young man became his priest, and was in the house of Micah. ¹³Then said Micah, Now I know that the LORD will do me good, seeing I have a Levite for my priest.

Chapter 18

¹In those days there was no king in Israel: and in those days the tribe of the Danites sought for themselves an inheritance to dwell in; for to that day all their inheritance had not fallen to them among the tribes of Israel. ²And the children of Dan sent of their family five men from their borders, men of valor, from Zorah, and from Eshtaol, to explore the land, and to search it; and they said to them, Go, search the land: who when they came to mount Ephraim, to the house of Micah, they lodged there. ³When they were by the house of Micah, they knew the voice of the young man the Levite: and they turned in thither, and said to him, Who brought thee hither? and what makest thou in this place? and what hast thou here? ⁴And he said to them, Thus and thus dealeth Micah with me, and hath hired me, and I am his priest. ⁵And they said to him, Ask counsel, we pray thee, of God, that we may know whether our way which we go shall be prosperous. ⁶And the priest said to them, Go in peace: before the LORD is your way in which ye go. ⁷Then the five men departed, and came to Laish, and saw the people that were in it, how they dwelt careless, after the manner of the Zidonians, quiet and secure; and there was no magistrate in the land, that might put them to shame in any thing; and they were far from the Zidonians, and had no business with any man. ⁸And they came to their brethren to Zorah and Eshtaol: and their brethren said to them, What say ye? ⁹And they said, Arise, that we may go up against them: for we have seen the land, and behold, it is very good: and are ye still? be not slothful to go, and to enter to possess the land. ¹⁰When ye go, ye shall come to a people secure, and to a large land: for God hath given it into your hands; a place where there is no want of any thing that is on the earth. ¹¹And there went from thence of the family of the Danites, out of Zorah and out of Eshtaol, six hundred men appointed with weapons of war. ¹²And they went up, and encamped in Kirjath-jearim, in Judah: wherefore they called that place Mahaneh-dan to this day: behold, it is behind Kirjath-jearim. ¹³And they passed thence to mount Ephraim, and came to the house of Micah. ¹⁴Then answered the five men that went to explore the country of Laish, and said to their brethren, Do ye know that there is in these houses an ephod, and teraphim, and a graven image, and a molten image? now therefore consider what ye have to do. ¹⁵And they turned thitherward, and came to the house of the young man the Levite, even to the house of Micah, and saluted him. ¹⁶And the six hundred men appointed with their weapons of war, who were of the children of Dan, stood by the entrance of the gate. ¹⁷And the five men that went to explore the land went up, and came in thither, and took the graven image, and the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image: and the priest stood in the entrance of the gate with the six hundred men that were appointed with weapons of war. ¹⁸And these went into Micah's house, and brought the carved image, the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image. Then said the priest to them, What do ye? ¹⁹And they said to him, Hold thy peace, lay thy hand upon thy mouth, and go with us, and be to us a father and a priest: Is it better for thee to be a priest to the house of one man, or that thou shouldst be a priest to a tribe and a family in Israel? ²⁰And the priest's heart was glad, and he took the ephod, and the teraphim, and the graven image, and went in the midst of the people. ²¹So they turned and departed, and put the little ones, and the cattle, and the furniture before them. ²²And when they were a good way from the house of Micah, the men that were in the houses near to Micah's house were collected, and overtook the children of Dan. ²³And they cried to the children of Dan. And they turned their faces, and said to Micah, What aileth thee, that thou comest with such a company? ²⁴And he said, Ye have taken away my gods which I made, and the priest, and ye have gone away: and what have I more? and what is this that ye say to me, What aileth thee? ²⁵And the children of Dan said to him, Let not thy voice be heard among us, lest angry fellows rush upon thee, and thou lose thy life, with the lives of thy household. ²⁶And the children of Dan departed: and when Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back to his house. ²⁷And they took the things which Micah had made, and the priest which he had, and came to Laish, to a people that were at quiet and secure: and they smote them with the edge of the sword, and burnt the city with fire. ²⁸And there was no deliverer, because it was far from Zidon, and they had no business with any man; and it was in the valley that lieth by Beth-rehob. And they built a city and dwelt in it. ²⁹And they called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father, who was born to Israel: but the name of the city was Laish at the first. ³⁰And the children of Dan set up the graven image: and Jonathan, the son of Gershom, the son of Manasseh, he and his sons were priests to the tribe of Dan until the day of the captivity of the land. ³¹And they set up for themselves Micah's graven image which he made, all the time that the house of God was in Shiloh.

Chapter 19

¹And it came to pass in those days, when there was no king in Israel, that there was a certain Levite dwelling on the side of mount Ephraim, who took to him a concubine out of Beth-lehem-judah. ²And his concubine played the harlot against him, and went away from him to her father's house to Beth-lehem-judah, and was there four whole months. ³And her husband arose, and went after her, to speak kindly to her, and to bring her again, having his servant with him, and a couple of asses: and she brought him into her father's house: and when the father of the damsel saw him, he rejoiced to meet him. ⁴And his father-in-law, the damsel's father, retained him; and he abode with him three days: so they ate and drank, and lodged there. ⁵And it came to pass on the fourth day, when they arose early in the morning, that he arose to depart: and the damsel's father said to his son-in-law, Comfort thy heart with a morsel of bread, and afterward depart. ⁶And they sat down, and ate and drank both of them together: for the damsel's father had said to the man, Be content, I pray thee, and tarry all night, and let thy heart be merry. ⁷And when the man rose to depart, his father-in-law urged him: therefore he lodged there again. ⁸And he arose early in the morning on the fifth day to depart: and the damsel's father said, Comfort thy heart, I pray thee. And they tarried until afternoon, and they ate both of them. ⁹And when the man arose to depart, he, and his concubine, and his servant, his father-in-law, the damsel's father, said to him, Behold now the day draweth towards evening, I pray you tarry all night: behold, the day is coming to an end, lodge here, that thy heart may be merry; and to-morrow get you early on your way, that thou mayest go home. ¹⁰But the man would not tarry that night, but he arose and departed, and came over against Jebus, which is Jerusalem; and there were with him two asses saddled, his concubine also was with him. ¹¹And when they were by Jebus, the day was far spent; and the servant said to his master, Come, I pray thee, and let us turn in to this city of the Jebusites, and lodge in it. ¹²And his master said to him, We will not turn aside hither into the city of a stranger, that is not of the children of Israel; we will pass over to Gibeah. ¹³And he said to his servant, Come, and let us draw near to one of these places to lodge all night, in Gibeah, or in Ramah. ¹⁴And they passed on and went their way; and the sun went down upon them when they were by Gibeah, which belongeth to Benjamin. ¹⁵And they turned aside thither, to go in and to lodge in Gibeah: and when he went in, he sat down in a street of the city: for there was no man that took them into his house to lodge. ¹⁶And, behold, there came an old man from his work out of the field at evening, who was also of mount Ephraim; and he dwelt in Gibeah: but the men of the place were Benjaminites. ¹⁷And when he had lifted up his eyes, he saw a way-faring man in the street of the city: and the old man said, Whither goest thou? and whence comest thou? ¹⁸And he said to him, We are passing from Beth-lehem-Judah towards the side of mount Ephraim; from thence am I: and I went to Beth-lehem-judah, but I am now going to the house of the LORD; and there is no man that receiveth me into his house. ¹⁹Yet there is both straw and provender for our asses; and there is bread and wine also for me, and for thy handmaid, and for the young man which is with thy servants: there is no want of any thing: ²⁰And the old man said, Peace be with thee; however, let all thy wants lie upon me; only lodge not in the street. ²¹So he brought him into his house, and gave provender to the asses: and they washed their feet and ate and drank. ²²Now as they were making their hearts merry, behold, the men of the city, certain sons of Belial, beset the house on all sides, and beat at the door, and spoke to the master of the house, the old man, saying, Bring forth the man that came into thy house, that we may know him. ²³And the man, the master of the house, went out to them, and said to them, Nay, my brethren, nay, I pray you, do not so wickedly; seeing that this man is come into my house, do not this folly. ²⁴Behold, here is my daughter, a maiden, and his concubine; them I will bring out now, and humble ye them, and do with them what seemeth good to you: but to this man do not so vile a thing. ²⁵But the men would not hearken to him: so the man took his concubine, and brought her forth to them; and they knew her, and abused her all the night until the morning: and when the day began to spring, they let her go. ²⁶Then came the woman in the dawning of the day, and fell down at the door of the man's house where her lord was, till it was light. ²⁷And her lord rose in the morning, and opened the doors of the house, and went out to go his way: and behold, the woman his concubine had fallen down at the door of the house, and her hands were upon the threshhold. ²⁸And he said to her, Rise, and let us be going. But none answered. Then the man took her upon an ass, and the man rose, and went to his place. ²⁹And when he was come into his house, he took a knife, and laid hold on his concubine, and divided her, with her bones, into twelve pieces, and sent her into all the borders of Israel. ³⁰And it was so, that all that saw it, said, There hath been no such deed done nor seen from the day that the children of Israel came from the land of Egypt to this day: consider of it, take advice, and speak your minds.

Chapter 20

¹Then all the children of Israel went out, and the congregation was assembled as one man, from Dan even to Beer-sheba, with the land of Gilead, to the LORD in Mizpeh. ²And the chief of all the people, even of all the tribes of Israel, presented themselves in the assembly of the people of God, four hundred thousand footmen that drew sword. ³(Now the children of Benjamin heard that the children of Israel were gone up to Mizpeh.) Then said the children of Israel, Tell us, how was this wickedness? ⁴And the Levite, the husband of the woman that was slain, answered and said, I came into Gibeah that belongeth to Benjamin, I and my concubine, to lodge. ⁵And the men of Gibeah rose against me, and surrounded the house upon me by night, and thought to have slain me: and my concubine have they forced, that she is dead. ⁶And I took my concubine, and cut her in pieces, and sent her throughout all the country of the inheritance of Israel: for they have committed lewdness and folly in Israel. ⁷Behold, ye are all children of Israel; give here your advice and counsel. ⁸And all the people arose as one man, saying, We will not any of us go to his tent, neither will we any of us turn into his house: ⁹But now this shall be the thing which we will do to Gibeah: we will go up by lot against it; ¹⁰And we will take ten men of a hundred throughout all the tribes of Israel, and a hundred of a thousand, and a thousand out of ten thousand, to fetch provisions for the people, that they may do, when they come to Gibeah of Benjamin, according to all the folly that they have wrought in Israel. ¹¹So all the men of Israel were gathered against the city, knit together as one man. ¹²And the tribes of Israel sent men through all the tribe of Benjamin, saying, What wickedness is this that is done among you? ¹³Now therefore deliver us the men, the children of Belial, who are in Gibeah, that we may put them to death, and banish evil from Israel. But the children of Benjamin would not hearken to the voice of their brethren, the children of Israel: ¹⁴But the children of Benjamin assembled out of the cities to Gibeah, to go out to battle against the children of Israel. ¹⁵And the children of Benjamin were numbered at that time out of the cities twenty and six thousand men that drew sword, besides the inhabitants of Gibeah, who were numbered seven hundred chosen men. ¹⁶Among all this people there were seven hundred chosen men left-handed; every one could sling stones to a hair-breadth, and not miss. ¹⁷And the men of Israel, besides Benjamin, were numbered four hundred thousand men that drew sword: all these were men of war. ¹⁸And the children of Israel arose, and went up to the house of God, and asked counsel of God, and said, Which of us shall go up first to the battle against the children of Benjamin? And the LORD said, Judah shall go up first. ¹⁹And the children of Israel rose in the morning, and encamped against Gibeah. ²⁰And the men of Israel went out to battle against Benjamin; and the men of Israel put themselves in array to fight against them at Gibeah. ²¹And the children of Benjamin came forth from Gibeah, and destroyed down to the ground of the Israelites that day twenty and two thousand men. ²²And the people the men of Israel encouraged themselves, and set their battle again in array in the place where they put themselves in array the first day. ²³(And the children of Israel went up and wept before the LORD until evening, and asked counsel of the LORD, saying, Shall I go up again to battle against the children of Benjamin my brother? And the LORD said, Go up against him.) ²⁴And the children of Israel came near against the children of Benjamin the second day. ²⁵And Benjamin went forth against them out of Gibeah the second day, and destroyed down to the ground of the children of Israel again eighteen thousand men; all these drew the sword. ²⁶Then all the children of Israel, and all the people, went up, and came to the house of God, and wept, and sat there before the LORD, and fasted that day until evening, and offered burnt-offerings and peace-offerings before the LORD. ²⁷And the children of Israel inquired of the LORD, (for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days, ²⁸And Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, stood before it in those days,) saying, Shall I yet again go out to battle against the children of Benjamin my brother, or shall I cease? And the LORD said, Go up; for to-morrow I will deliver them into thy hand. ²⁹And Israel set liers in wait around Gibeah. ³⁰And the children of Israel went up against the children of Benjamin on the third day, and put themselves in array against Gibeah, as at other times. ³¹And the children of Benjamin went out against the people, and were drawn away from the city; and they began to smite of the people, and kill, as at other times, in the highways, of which one goeth up to the house of God, and the other to Gibeah in the field, about thirty men of Israel. ³²And the children of Benjamin said, They are smitten down before us, as at the first. But the children of Israel said, Let us flee, and draw them from the city to the highways. ³³And all the men of Israel rose out of their place, and put themselves in array at Baal-tamar: and the liers in wait of Israel came forth out of their places, even out of the meadows of Gibeah. ³⁴And there came against Gibeah ten thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and the battle was severe: but they knew not that evil was near them. ³⁵And the LORD smote Benjamin before Israel: and the children of Israel destroyed of the Benjaminites that day twenty and five thousand and a hundred men: all these drew the sword. ³⁶So the children of Benjamin saw that they were smitten: for the men of Israel gave place to the Benjaminites, because they trusted to the liers in wait which they had set beside Gibeah. ³⁷And the liers in wait hasted, and rushed upon Gibeah; and the liers in wait drew themselves along, and smote all the city with the edge of the sword. ³⁸Now there was an appointed sign between the men of Israel and the liers in wait, that they should make a great flame with smoke to rise from the city. ³⁹And when the men of Israel retired in the battle, Benjamin began to smite and kill of the men of Israel about thirty persons: for they said, Surely they are smitten down before us, as in the first battle. ⁴⁰But when the flame began to rise from the city with a pillar of smoke, the Benjaminites looked behind them, and behold, the flame of the city ascended to heaven. ⁴¹And when the men of Israel turned again, the men of Benjamin were amazed: for they saw that evil had come upon them. ⁴²Therefore they turned their backs before the men of Israel to the way of the wilderness; but the battle overtook them; and them who came out of the cities they destroyed in the midst of them. ⁴³Thus they inclosed the Benjaminites on all sides, and chased them, and trod them down with ease over against Gibeah towards the sun-rising. ⁴⁴And there fell of Benjamin eighteen thousand men; all these were men of valor. ⁴⁵And they turned and fled towards the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon: and they gleaned of them in the highways five thousand men; and pursued hard after them to Gidom, and slew two thousand men of them. ⁴⁶So that all who fell that day of Benjamin were twenty and five thousand men that drew the sword; all these were men of valor. ⁴⁷But six hundred men turned and fled to the wilderness to the rock Rimmon, and abode in the rock Rimmon four months. ⁴⁸And the men of Israel turned again upon the children of Benjamin, and smote them with the edge of the sword, as well the men of every city, as the beast, and all that came to hand: also they set on fire all the cities that they came to.

Chapter 21

¹Now the men of Israel had sworn in Mizpeh, saying, There shall not any of us give his daughter to Benjamin for a wife. ²And the people came to the house of God, and abode there till evening before God, and lifted up their voices, and wept bitterly; ³And said, O LORD God of Israel, why is this come to pass in Israel, that there should be to-day one tribe lacking in Israel? ⁴And it came to pass on the morrow, that the people rose early, and built there an altar, and offered burnt-offerings, and peace-offerings. ⁵And the children of Israel said, Who is there among all the tribes of Israel that came not up with the congregation to the LORD? For they had made a great oath concerning him that came not up to the LORD to Mizpeh, saying, He shall surely be put to death. ⁶And the children of Israel repented for Benjamin their brother, and said, There is one tribe cut off from Israel this day. ⁷How shall we do for wives for them that remain, seeing we have sworn by the LORD, that we will not give them of our daughters for wives? ⁸And they said, What one is there of the tribes of Israel that came not up to Mizpeh to the LORD? and behold, there came none to the camp from Jabesh-gilead to the assembly. ⁹For the people were numbered, and behold, there were none of the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead there. ¹⁰And the congregation sent thither twelve thousand men of the most valiant, and commanded them, saying, Go and smite the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead with the edge of the sword, with the women and the children. ¹¹And this is the thing that ye shall do, Ye shall utterly destroy every male, and every woman that hath lain by man. ¹²And they found among the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead four hundred young virgins that had known no man by lying with any male: and they brought them to the camp to Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan. ¹³And the whole congregation sent some to speak to the children of Benjamin that were in the rock Rimmon, and to call peaceably to them. ¹⁴And Benjamin came again at that time; and they gave them wives which they had saved alive of the women of Jabesh-gilead: and yet so they sufficed them not. ¹⁵And the people repented for Benjamin, because the LORD had made a breach in the tribes of Israel. ¹⁶Then the elders of the congregation said, How shall we do for wives for them that remain, seeing the women are destroyed out of Benjamin? ¹⁷And they said, There must be an inheritance for them that have escaped of Benjamin, that a tribe be not destroyed out of Israel. ¹⁸But, we may not give them wives of our daughters: for the children of Israel have sworn, saying, Cursed be he that giveth a wife to Benjamin. ¹⁹Then they said, Behold, there is a feast of the LORD in Shiloh yearly in a place which is on the north side of Beth-el, on the east side of the highway that goeth up from Beth-el to Shechem, and on the south of Lebonah. ²⁰Therefore they commanded the children of Benjamin, saying, Go, and lie in wait in the vineyards; ²¹And see, and behold, if the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in dances, then come ye out of the vineyards, and catch you every man his wife of the daughters of Shiloh, and go to the land of Benjamin. ²²And it shall be, when their fathers or their brethren come to us to complain, that we will say to them, Be favorable to them for our sakes: because we reserved not to each man his wife in the war: for ye did not give to them at this time, that ye should be guilty. ²³And the children of Benjamin did so, and took them wives, according to their number, of them that danced, whom they caught: and they went and returned to their inheritance, and repaired the cities and dwelt in them. ²⁴And the children of Israel departed thence at that time, every man to his tribe and to his family, and they went from thence every man to his inheritance. ²⁵In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.

Ruth

Chapter 1

¹Now it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Beth-lehem-judah went to dwell in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons. ²And the name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife Naomi, and the name of his two sons Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Beth-lehem-judah. And they came into the country of Moab, and continued there. ³And Elimelech Naomi's husband died; and she was left, and her two sons. ⁴And they took to themselves wives of the women of Moab; the name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth: and they dwelt there about ten years. ⁵And Mahlon and Chilion died also both of them; and the woman was left by her two sons and her husband. ⁶Then she arose with her daughters-in-law, that she might return from the country of Moab: for she had heard in the country of Moab how that the LORD had visited his people in giving them bread. ⁷Wherefore she went forth from the place where she was, and her two daughters-in-law with her; and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah. ⁸And Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, Go, return each to her mother's house: the LORD deal kindly with you, as ye have dealt with the dead, and with me. ⁹The LORD grant you that ye may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband. Then she kissed them; and they lifted up their voice, and wept. ¹⁰And they said to her, surely we will return with thee to thy people. ¹¹And Naomi said, Turn again, my daughters: why will ye go with me? shall I bear more sons, that they may be your husbands? ¹²Turn again, my daughters, go your way; for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say, I have hope, if I should have a husband also to-night, and should also bear sons; ¹³Would ye wait for them till they should be grown? would ye stay for them from having husbands? nay, my daughters; for it grieveth me much for your sakes, that the hand of the LORD has gone out against me. ¹⁴And they lifted up their voice, and wept again. And Orpah kissed her mother-in-law; but Ruth cleaved to her. ¹⁵And she said, Behold, thy sister-in-law hath gone back to her people, and to her gods: return thou after thy sister-in-law. ¹⁶And Ruth said, Entreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God: ¹⁷Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the LORD do so to me, and more also, if aught but death shall part thee and me. ¹⁸When she saw that she was steadfastly resolved to go with her, then she left speaking to her. ¹⁹So they two went until they came to Beth-lehem. And it came to pass, when they had come to Beth-lehem, that all the city was moved about them, and they said, Is this Naomi? ²⁰And she said to them, Call me not Naomi, call me Mara: for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me. ²¹I went out full, and the LORD hath brought me home again empty: why then call ye me Naomi, seeing the LORD hath testified against me, and the Almighty hath afflicted me? ²²So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess her daughter-in-law with her, who returned from the country of Moab: and they came to Beth-lehem in the beginning of barley-harvest.

Chapter 2

¹And Naomi had a kinsman of her husband's, a mighty man of wealth, of the family of Elimelech; and his name was Boaz. ²And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, Let me now go to the field, and glean ears of corn after him in whose sight I shall find grace. And she said to her, Go, my daughter. ³And she went, and came, and gleaned in the field after the reapers: and her lot was to light on a part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the kindred of Elimelech. ⁴And behold, Boaz came from Beth-lehem, and said to the reapers, The LORD be with you. And they answered him, The LORD bless thee. ⁵Then said Boaz to his servant that was set over the reapers, Whose damsel is this? ⁶And the servant that was set over the reapers answered and said, It is the Moabitish damsel that came back with Naomi from the country of Moab: ⁷And she said, I pray you, let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves: so she came, and hath continued even from the morning until now, that she tarried a little in the house. ⁸Then said Boaz to Ruth, Hearest thou not, my daughter? Go not to glean in another field, neither go from hence, but abide here fast by my maidens: ⁹Let thy eyes be on the field that they are reaping, and go thou after them: have I not charged the young men that they shall not touch thee? and when thou art thirsty go to the vessels, and drink of that which the young men have drawn. ¹⁰Then she fell on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, and said to him, Why have I found grace in thy eyes, that thou shouldst take knowledge of me, seeing I am a stranger? ¹¹And Boaz answered and said to her, It hath fully been shown to me, all that thou hast done to thy mother-in-law since the death of thy husband: and how thou hast left thy father and thy mother, and the land of thy nativity, and hast come to a people which thou knewest not heretofore. ¹²The LORD recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the LORD God of Israel, under whose wings thou hast come to trust. ¹³Then she said, Let me find favor in thy sight, my lord; for that thou hast comforted me, and for that thou hast spoken kindly to thy handmaid, though I am not like to one of thy handmaidens. ¹⁴And Boaz said to her, At meal-time come thou hither, and eat of the bread, and dip thy morsel in the vinegar. And she sat beside the reapers: and he reached her parched corn, and she ate, and was satisfied, and left. ¹⁵And when she had risen to glean, Boaz commanded his young men, saying, Let her glean even among the sheaves, and reproach her not: ¹⁶And let fall also some of the handfuls of purpose for her, and leave them, that she may glean them, and rebuke her not. ¹⁷So she gleaned in the field until evening, and beat out that which she had gleaned: and it was about an ephah of barley. ¹⁸And she took it, and went into the city: and her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned: and she brought forth, and gave to her what she had reserved after she was satisfied. ¹⁹And her mother-in-law said to her, Where hast thou gleaned to-day? and where hast thou labored? blessed be he that took knowledge of thee. And she showed her mother-in-law with whom she had wrought, and said, The man's name with whom I wrought to-day is Boaz. ²⁰And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, Blessed be he of the LORD, who hath not left off his kindness to the living and to the dead. And Naomi said to her, The man is near of kin to us, one of our next kinsmen. ²¹And Ruth the Moabitess said, He said to me also, Thou shalt keep fast by my young men, until they have ended all my harvest. ²²And Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, It is good, my daughter, that thou shouldst go out with his maidens, that they meet thee not in any other field. ²³So she kept fast by the maidens of Boaz to glean to the end of barley-harvest and of wheat-harvest; and dwelt with her mother-in-law.

Chapter 3

¹Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, My daughter, shall I not seek rest for thee, that it may be well with thee? ²And now is not Boaz of our kindred, with whose maidens thou wast? Behold, he winnoweth barley to-night in the threshing-floor. ³Wash thyself therefore, and anoint thee, and put thy raiment upon thee, and go down to the floor: but make not thyself known to the man, until he shall have done eating and drinking. ⁴And it shall be when he lieth down, that thou shalt mark the place where he shall lie, and thou shalt go in, and uncover his feet, and lay thee down; and he will tell thee what thou shalt do. ⁵And she said to her, All that thou sayest to me I will do. ⁶And she went down to the floor, and did according to all that her mother-in-law bade her. ⁷And when Boaz had eaten and drank, and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of corn: and she came softly, and uncovered his feet, and laid herself down. ⁸And it came to pass at midnight, that the man was afraid, and turned himself: and behold, a woman lay at his feet. ⁹And he said, Who art thou? And she answered, I am Ruth thy handmaid: spread therefore thy skirt over thy handmaid; for thou art a near kinsman. ¹⁰And he said, Blessed be thou of the LORD, my daughter: for thou hast shown more kindness in the latter end than at the beginning, inasmuch as thou didst not follow young men, whether poor or rich. ¹¹And now, my daughter, fear not; I will do to thee all that thou requirest: for all the city of my people doth know that thou art a virtuous woman. ¹²And now it is true that I am thy near kinsman: yet there is a kinsman nearer than I. ¹³Tarry this night, and it shall be in the morning, that if he will perform to thee the part of a kinsman, well; let him do the kinsman's part: but if he will not do the part of a kinsman to thee, then will I do the part of a kinsman to thee, as the LORD liveth: lie down until the morning. ¹⁴And she lay at his feet until the morning: and she rose before one could know another. And he said, Let it not be known that a woman came to the floor. ¹⁵Also he said, Bring the vail that thou hast upon thee, and hold it. And when she held it, he measured six measures of barley, and laid it on her: and she went into the city. ¹⁶And when she came to her mother-in-law, she said, Who art thou, my daughter? And she told her all that the man had done to her. ¹⁷And she said, These six measures of barley he gave me; for he said to me, Go not empty to thy mother-in-law. ¹⁸Then said she, Sit still, my daughter, until thou knowest how the matter will fall: for the man will not be in rest, until he hath finished the thing this day.

Chapter 4

¹Then Boaz went up to the gate, and sat down there: and behold, the kinsman of whom Boaz spoke came by; to whom he said, Ho, such a one! turn aside, sit down here. And he turned aside, and sat down. ²And he took ten men of the elders of the city, and said, Sit ye down here. And they sat down. ³And he said to the kinsman, Naomi, that has come again out of the country of Moab, selleth a parcel of land, which was our brother Elimelech's: ⁴And I thought to advertise thee, saying, Buy it before the inhabitants, and before the elders of my people. If thou wilt redeem it, redeem it: but if thou wilt not redeem it, then tell me, that I may know: for there is none to redeem it besides thee; and I am after thee. And he said, I will redeem it. ⁵Then said Boaz, What day thou buyest the field of the hand of Naomi, thou must buy it also of Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance. ⁶And the kinsman said, I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I mar my own inheritance: redeem thou my right to thyself; for I cannot redeem it. ⁷Now this was the manner in former time in Israel concerning redeeming and concerning changing, for confirming all things; a man plucked off his shoe, and gave it to his neighbor: and this was a testimony in Israel. ⁸Therefore the kinsman said to Boaz, Buy it for thyself. So he drew off his shoe. ⁹And Boaz said to the elders, and to all the people, Ye are witnesses this day, that I have bought all that was Elimelech's, and all that was Chilion's and Mahlon's, of the hand of Naomi. ¹⁰Moreover, Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of Mahlon, have I purchased to be my wife, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance, that the name of the dead be not cut off from among his brethren, and from the gate of his place: ye are witnesses this day. ¹¹And all the people that were in the gate, and the elders said, We are witnesses. The LORD make the woman that hath come into thy house like Rachel and like Leah, which two did build the house of Israel: and do thou worthily in Ephratah, and be famous in Beth-lehem: ¹²And let thy house be like the house of Pharez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, of the seed which the LORD shall give thee of this young woman. ¹³So Boaz took Ruth, and she was his wife: and when he went in to her, the LORD gave her conception, and she bore a son. ¹⁴And the women said to Naomi, Blessed be the LORD, who hath not left thee this day without a kinsman, that his name may be famous in Israel. ¹⁵And he shall be to thee a restorer of thy life, and a nourisher of thy old age: for thy daughter-in-law, who loveth thee, who is better to thee than seven sons, hath borne him. ¹⁶And Naomi took the child, and laid it in her bosom, and became its nurse. ¹⁷And the women, her neighbors, gave it a name, saying, There is a son born to Naomi; and they called his name Obed: he is the father of Jesse, the father of David. ¹⁸Now these are the generations of Pharez: Pharez begat Hezron, ¹⁹And Hezron begat Ram, and Ram begat Amminadab, ²⁰And Amminadab begat Nahshon, and Nahshon begat Salmon, ²¹And Salmon begat Boaz, and Boaz begat Obed, ²²And Obed begat Jesse, and Jesse begat David.

1 Samuel

Chapter 1

¹Now there was a certain man of Ramathaim-zophim, of mount Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephrathite: ²And he had two wives; the name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah: and Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children. ³And this man went up from his city yearly to worship and to sacrifice to the LORD of hosts in Shiloh. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, the priests of the LORD, were there. ⁴And when the time was that Elkanah offered, he gave to Peninnah his wife, and to all her sons and her daughters, portions: ⁵But to Hannah he gave a worthy portion; for he loved Hannah; but the LORD had rendered her barren. ⁶And her adversary also provoked her greatly, to make her fret, because the LORD had made her barren. ⁷And as he did so year by year, when she went up to the house of the LORD, so she provoked her; therefore she wept, and did not eat. ⁸Then said Elkanah her husband to her, Hannah, why weepest thou? and why eatest thou not? and why is thy heart grieved? am not I better to thee than ten sons? ⁹So Hannah rose after they had eaten in Shiloh, and after they had drank. Now Eli the priest sat upon a seat by a post of the temple of the LORD. ¹⁰And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed to the LORD, and wept bitterly. ¹¹And she vowed a vow, and said, O LORD of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thy handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thy handmaid, but wilt give to thy handmaid a male child, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head. ¹²And it came to pass, as she continued praying before the LORD, that Eli observed her mouth. ¹³Now Hannah spoke in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard: therefore Eli thought she had been drunken. ¹⁴And Eli said to her, How long wilt thou be drunken? put away thy wine from thee. ¹⁵And Hannah answered and said, No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit: I have drank neither wine nor strong drink, but have poured out my soul before the LORD. ¹⁶Count not thy handmaid for a daughter of Belial: for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief have I spoken hitherto. ¹⁷Then Eli answered and said, Go in peace: and the God of Israel grant thee thy petition that thou hast asked of him. ¹⁸And she said, Let thy handmaid find grace in thy sight. So the woman went her way, and did eat, and her countenance was no more sad. ¹⁹And they rose in the morning early, and worshiped before the LORD, and returned, and came to their house to Ramah: and Elkanah knew Hannah his wife; and the LORD remembered her. ²⁰Wherefore it came to pass, when the time had arrived, after Hannah had conceived, that she bore a son, and called his name Samuel, saying, Because I have asked him of the LORD. ²¹And the man Elkanah, and all his house, went up to offer to the LORD the yearly sacrifice, and his vow. ²²But Hannah went not up; for she said to her husband, I will not go up until the child is weaned, and then I will bring him, that he may appear before the LORD, and there abide for ever. ²³And Elkanah her husband said to her, Do what seemeth to thee good; tarry until thou hast weaned him; only the LORD establish his word. So the woman abode, and nursed her son until she weaned him. ²⁴And when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, with three bullocks, and one ephah of flour, and a bottle of wine, and brought him to the house of the LORD in Shiloh: and the child was young. ²⁵And they slew a bullock, and brought the child to Eli. ²⁶And she said, O my lord, as thy soul liveth, my lord, I am the woman that stood by thee here, praying to the LORD. ²⁷For this child I prayed; and the LORD hath given me my petition which I asked of him: ²⁸Therefore also I have lent him to the LORD; as long as he liveth he shall be lent to the LORD. And he worshiped the LORD there.

Chapter 2

¹And Hannah prayed, and said, My heart rejoiceth in the LORD, my horn is exalted in the LORD; my mouth is enlarged over my enemies; because I rejoice in thy salvation. ²There is none holy as the LORD: for there is none besides thee: neither is there any rock like our God. ³Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogance come out of your mouth: for the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed. ⁴The bows of the mighty men are broken, and they that stumbled are girded with strength. ⁵They that were full have hired out themselves for bread; and they that were hungry ceased: so that the barren hath borne seven; and she that hath many children is become feeble. ⁶The LORD killeth, and maketh alive: he bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up. ⁷The LORD maketh poor, and maketh rich: he bringeth low, and lifteth up. ⁸He raiseth the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the LORD'S, and he hath set the world upon them. ⁹He will keep the feet of his saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness; for by strength shall no man prevail. ¹⁰The adversaries of the LORD shall be broken to pieces; out of heaven shall he thunder upon them: the LORD shall judge the ends of the earth; and he shall give strength to his king, and exalt the horn of his anointed. ¹¹And Elkanah went to Ramah to his house. And the child ministered to the LORD before Eli the priest. ¹²Now the sons of Eli were sons of Belial; they knew not the LORD. ¹³And the priest's custom with the people was, that, when any man offered sacrifice, the priest's servant came, while the flesh was in seething, with a flesh-hook of three teeth in his hand; ¹⁴And he struck it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; all that the flesh-hook brought up the priest took for himself. So they did in Shiloh to all the Israelites that came thither. ¹⁵Also before they burnt the fat, the priest's servant came, and said to the man that sacrificed, Give flesh to roast for the priest; for he will not have boiled flesh of thee, but raw. ¹⁶And if any man said to him, Let them not fail to burn the fat presently, and then take as much as thy soul desireth; then he would answer him, No; but thou shalt give it to me now: and if not, I will take it by force. ¹⁷Wherefore the sin of the young men was very great before the LORD: for men abhorred the offering of the LORD. ¹⁸But Samuel ministered before the LORD, being a child, girded with a linen ephod. ¹⁹Moreover his mother made him a little coat, and brought it to him from year to year, when she came up with her husband, to offer the yearly sacrifice. ²⁰And Eli blessed Elkanah and his wife, and said, The LORD give thee issue of this woman for the loan which is lent to the LORD. And they went to their own home. ²¹And the LORD visited Hannah, so that she conceived, and bore three sons and two daughters. And the child Samuel grew before the LORD. ²²Now Eli was very old, and heard all that his sons did to all Israel; and how they lay with the women that assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. ²³And he said to them, Why do ye such things? for I hear of your evil dealings by all this people. ²⁴No, my sons; for it is no good report that I hear: ye make the LORD'S people to transgress. ²⁵If one man shall sin against another, the judge shall judge him: but if a man shall sin against the LORD, who shall entreat for him? Notwithstanding they hearkened not to the voice of their father, because the LORD would slay them. ²⁶And the child Samuel continued to grow, and was in favor both with the LORD, and also with men. ²⁷And there came a man of God to Eli, and said to him, Thus saith the LORD, Did I plainly appear to the house of thy father, when they were in Egypt in Pharaoh's house? ²⁸And did I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to offer upon my altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod before me? and did I give to the house of thy father all the offerings made by fire of the children of Israel? ²⁹Wherefore kick ye at my sacrifice and at my offering, which I have commanded in my habitation; and honorest thy sons above me, to make yourselves fat with the chiefest of all the offerings of Israel my people? ³⁰Wherefore the LORD God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father should walk before me for ever: but now the LORD saith, Be it far from me; for them that honor me I will honor, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed. ³¹Behold, the days come, that I will cut off thy arm, and the arm of thy father's house, that there shall not be an old man in thy house. ³²And thou shalt see an enemy in my habitation, in all the wealth which God shall give Israel: and there shall not be an old man in thy house for ever. ³³And the man of thine, whom I shall not cut off from my altar, shall be to consume thy eyes, and to grieve thy heart: and all the increase of thy house shall die in the flower of their age. ³⁴And this shall be a sign to thee, that shall come upon thy two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas: in one day they shall die both of them. ³⁵And I will raise me up a faithful priest, that shall do according to that which is in my heart and in my mind: and I will build him a sure house; and he shall walk before my Anointed for ever. ³⁶And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left in thy house, shall come and crouch to him for a piece of silver and a morsel of bread, and shall say, Put me, I pray thee, into one of the priest's offices, that I may eat a piece of bread.

Chapter 3

¹And the child Samuel ministered to the LORD before Eli. And the word of the LORD was precious in those days; there was no open vision. ²And it came to pass at that time, when Eli was laid down in his place, and his eyes began to grow dim, that he could not see; ³And ere the lamp of God went out in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was, and Samuel was laid down to sleep; ⁴That the LORD called Samuel: and he answered, Here am I. ⁵And he ran to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou calledst me. And he said, I called not; lie down again. And he went and lay down. ⁶And the LORD called yet again, Samuel. And Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And he answered, I called not, my son; lie down again. ⁷Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, neither was the word of the LORD yet revealed to him. ⁸And the LORD called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And Eli perceived that the LORD had called the child. ⁹Therefore Eli said to Samuel, Go, lie down: and it shall be, if he should call thee, that thou shalt say, Speak, LORD; for thy servant heareth. So Samuel went and lay down in his place. ¹⁰And the LORD came, and stood and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth. ¹¹And the LORD said to Samuel, Behold, I will do a thing in Israel, at which both the ears of every one that heareth it shall tingle. ¹²In that day I will perform against Eli all things which I have spoken concerning his house: when I begin, I will also make an end. ¹³For I have told him, that I will judge his house for ever, for the iniquity which he knoweth: because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not. ¹⁴And therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli, that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be purged with sacrifice nor offering for ever. ¹⁵And Samuel lay until the morning, and opened the doors of the house of the LORD: and Samuel feared to show Eli the vision. ¹⁶Then Eli called Samuel, and said, Samuel, my son. And he answered, Here am I. ¹⁷And he said, What is the thing that the LORD hath said to thee? I pray thee hide it not from me: God do so to thee, and more also, if thou shalt hide any thing from me, of all the things that he said to thee. ¹⁸And Samuel told him every whit, and hid nothing from him. And he said, It is the LORD: let him do what seemeth him good. ¹⁹And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him, and let none of his words fall to the ground. ²⁰And all Israel, from Dan even to Beer-sheba, knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of the LORD. ²¹And the LORD appeared again in Shiloh: for the LORD revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the LORD.

Chapter 4

¹And the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out against the Philistines to battle, and encamped beside Eben-ezer: and the Philistines encamped in Aphek. ²And the Philistines put themselves in array against Israel: and when they joined battle, Israel was smitten before the Philistines: and they slew of the army in the field about four thousand men. ³And when the people had come into the camp, the elders of Israel said, Why hath the LORD smitten us to-day before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of Shiloh to us, that when it cometh among us, it may save us from the hand of our enemies. ⁴So the people sent to Shiloh, that they might bring from thence the ark of the covenant of the LORD of hosts, who dwelleth between the cherubim: and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God. ⁵And when the ark of the covenant of the LORD came into the camp, all Israel shouted with a great shout, so that the earth resounded. ⁶And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they said, What meaneth the noise of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews? And they understood that the ark of the LORD had come into the camp. ⁷And the Philistines were afraid, for they said, God hath come into the camp. And they said, Woe to us! for there hath not been such a thing heretofore. ⁸Woe to us! Who shall deliver us out of the hand of these mighty Gods? these are the Gods that smote the Egyptians with all the plagues in the wilderness. ⁹Be strong, and acquit yourselves like men, O ye Philistines, that ye may not be servants to the Hebrews, as they have been to you: acquit yourselves like men, and fight. ¹⁰And the Philistines fought, and Israel was smitten, and they fled every man into his tent: and there was a very great slaughter, for there fell of Israel thirty thousand footmen. ¹¹And the ark of God was taken; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were slain. ¹²And there ran a man of Benjamin out of the army, and came to Shiloh the same day with his clothes rent, and with earth upon his head. ¹³And when he came, lo, Eli sat upon a seat by the way-side watching: for his heart trembled for the ark of God. And when the man came into the city, and told it, all the city cried out. ¹⁴And when Eli heard the noise of the crying, he said, What meaneth the noise of this tumult? And the man came in hastily, and told Eli. ¹⁵Now Eli was ninety and eight years old; and his eyes were dim, that he could not see. ¹⁶And the man said to Eli, I am he that came out of the army, and I fled to-day out of the army. And he said, What is there done, my son? ¹⁷And the messenger answered and said, Israel hath fled before the Philistines, and there hath been also a great slaughter among the people, and thy two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God is taken. ¹⁸And it came to pass, when he made mention of the ark of God, that he fell from off the seat backward by the side of the gate, and his neck broke, and he died: for he was an old man, and heavy. And he had judged Israel forty years. ¹⁹And his daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was with child near to be delivered: and when she heard the tidings that the ark of God was taken, and that her father-in-law, and her husband were dead, she bowed herself, and travailed; for her pains came upon her. ²⁰And about the time of her death, the women that stood by her said to her, Fear not; for thou hast borne a son. But she answered not, neither did she regard it. ²¹And she named the child I-chabod, saying, The glory hath departed from Israel. (Because the ark of God was taken, and because of her father-in-law and her husband.) ²²And she said, The glory hath departed from Israel: for the ark of God is taken.

Chapter 5

¹And the Philistines took the ark of God, and brought it from Eben-ezer to Ashdod. ²When the Philistines took the ark of God, they brought it into the house of Dagon, and set it by Dagon. ³And when they of Ashdod arose early on the morrow, behold, Dagon had fallen upon his face to the earth before the ark of the LORD. And they took Dagon, and set him in his place again. ⁴And when they arose early on the morrow morning, behold, Dagon had fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of the LORD: and the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands were cut off upon the threshhold; only the stump of Dagon was left to him. ⁵Therefore neither the priests of Dagon, nor any that come into Dagon's house, tread on the threshhold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day. ⁶But the hand of the LORD was heavy upon them of Ashdod, and he destroyed them, and smote them with emerods, even Ashdod, and its borders. ⁷And when the men of Ashdod saw that it was so, they said, The ark of the God of Israel shall not abide with us: for his hand is severe upon us, and upon Dagon our god. ⁸They sent therefore, and gathered all the lords of the Philistines to them, and said, What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel? And they answered, Let the ark of the God of Israel be carried about to Gath. And they carried the ark of the God of Israel thither. ⁹And it was so, that after they had carried it thither, the hand of the LORD was against the city with a very great destruction: and he smote the men of the city both small and great, and they had emerods in their secret parts. ¹⁰Therefore they sent the ark of God to Ekron. And it came to pass as the ark of God came to Ekron, that the Ekronites cried out, saying, They have brought about the ark of the God of Israel to us, to slay us and our people. ¹¹So they sent and convened all the lords of the Philistines, and said, Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it go again to its own place, that it slay us not, and our people: for there was a deadly destruction throughout all the city; the hand of God was very heavy there. ¹²And the men that died not, were smitten with the emerods: and the cry of the city went up to heaven.

Chapter 6

¹And the ark of the LORD was in the country of the Philistines seven months. ²And the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying, What shall we do to the ark of the LORD? tell us with what we shall send it to its place. ³And they said, If ye send away the ark of the God of Israel, send it not empty; but in any wise return him a trespass-offering: then ye will be healed, and it will be known to you why his hand is not removed from you. ⁴Then said they, What shall be the trespass-offering which we shall return to him? They answered, Five golden emerods, and five golden mice, according to the number of the lords of the Philistines: for one plague was on you all, and on your lords. ⁵Wherefore ye shall make images of your emerods, and images of your mice that mar the land; and ye shall give glory to the God of Israel: it may be he will lighten his hand from off you, and from off your gods, and from off your land. ⁶Why then do ye harden your hearts, as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? when he had wrought wonderfully among them, did they not let the people go, and they departed? ⁷Now therefore make a new cart, and take two milch-cows on which there hath come no yoke, and tie the cows to the cart, and bring their calves home from them: ⁸And take the ark of the LORD, and lay it upon the cart; and put the jewels of gold which ye return to him for a trespass-offering, in a coffer by its side; and send it away, that it may go. ⁹And see, if it goeth up by the way of his own coast to Beth-shemesh, then he hath done us this great evil: but if not, then we shall know, that it is not his hand that smote us; it was a chance that happened to us. ¹⁰And the men did so; and took two milch cows, and tied them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home: ¹¹And they laid the ark of the LORD upon the cart, and the coffer with the mice of gold and the images of their emerods. ¹²And the cows took the straight way to the way of Beth-shemesh, and went along the highway, lowing as they went, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left; and the lords of the Philistines went after them to the border of Beth-shemesh. ¹³And they of Beth-shemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley: and they lifted up their eyes, and saw the ark, and rejoiced to see it. ¹⁴And the cart came into the field of Joshua, a Beth-shemite, and stood there, where there was a great stone: and they cleaved the wood of the cart, and offered the cows a burnt-offering to the LORD. ¹⁵And the Levites took down the ark of the LORD, and the coffer that was with it, in which were the jewels of gold, and put them on the great stone: and the men of Beth-shemesh offered burnt-offerings and sacrificed sacrifices the same day to the LORD. ¹⁶And when the five lords of the Philistines had seen it, they returned to Ekron the same day. ¹⁷And these are the golden emerods which the Philistines returned for a trespass-offering to the LORD; for Ashdod one, for Gaza one, for Askelon one, for Gath one, for Ekron one; ¹⁸And the golden mice, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords, both of fortified cities, and of country villages, even to the great stone of Abel, on which they set down the ark of the LORD: which stone remaineth to this day in the field of Joshua the Beth-shemite. ¹⁹And he smote the men of Beth-shemesh, because they had looked into the ark of the LORD, even he smote of the people fifty thousand and seventy men: and the people lamented, because the LORD had smitten many of the people with a great slaughter. ²⁰And the men of Beth-shemesh said, Who is able to stand before this holy LORD God? and to whom shall he go up from us? ²¹And they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kirjath-jearim, saying, The Philistines have brought again the ark of the LORD; come ye down, and bring it up to you.

Chapter 7

¹And the men of Kirjath-jearim came, and brought up the ark of the LORD, and brought it into the house of Abinadab on the hill, and sanctified Eleazar his son to keep the ark of the LORD. ²And it came to pass, while the ark abode in Kirjath-jearim, that the time was long; for it was twenty years: and all the house of Israel lamented after the LORD. ³And Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, If ye do return to the LORD with all your hearts, then put away the strange gods, and Ashtaroth, from among you, and prepare your hearts to the LORD, and serve him only: and he will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines. ⁴Then the children of Israel put away Baalim, and Ashtaroth, and served the LORD only. ⁵And Samuel said, Gather all Israel to Mizpeh, and I will pray for you to the LORD. ⁶And they assembled at Mizpeh, and drew water, and poured it out before the LORD, and fasted on that day, and there said, We have sinned against the LORD. And Samuel judged the children of Israel in Mizpeh. ⁷And when the Philistines heard that the children of Israel were assembled at Mizpeh, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the children of Israel heard it, they were afraid of the Philistines. ⁸And the children of Israel said to Samuel, Cease not to cry to the LORD our God for us, that he will save us from the hand of the Philistines. ⁹And Samuel took a sucking lamb, and offered it for a burnt-offering wholly to the LORD: and Samuel cried to the LORD for Israel; and the LORD heard him. ¹⁰And as Samuel was offering the burnt-offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel: but the LORD thundered with a great thunder on that day upon the Philistines, and discomfited them; and they were smitten before Israel. ¹¹And the men of Israel went out of Mizpeh, and pursued the Philistines, and smote them, until they came under Beth-car. ¹²Then Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpeh and Shen, and called the name of it Eben-ezer, saying, Hitherto hath the LORD helped us. ¹³So the Philistines were subdued, and they came no more into the borders of Israel: and the hand of the LORD was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel. ¹⁴And the cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron even to Gath; and the borders of it did Israel deliver from the hands of the Philistines: and there was peace between Israel and the Amorites. ¹⁵And Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life. ¹⁶And he went from year to year in circuit to Beth-el, and Gilgal, and Mizpeh, and judged Israel in all those places. ¹⁷And his return was to Ramah; for there was his house; and there he judged Israel; and there he built an altar to the LORD.

Chapter 8

¹And it came to pass, when Samuel was old, that he made his sons judges over Israel. ²Now the name of his first-born was Joel; and the name of his second, Abiah: they were judges in Beer-sheba. ³And his sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted judgment. ⁴Then all the elders of Israel assembled, and came to Samuel to Ramah, ⁵And said to him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations. ⁶But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us: and Samuel prayed to the LORD. ⁷And the LORD said to Samuel, Hearken to the voice of the people in all that they say to thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them. ⁸According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them out of Egypt even to this day, by which they have forsaken me, and served other gods, so do they also to thee. ⁹Now therefore hearken to their voice: yet protest solemnly to them, and show them the manner of the king that will reign over them. ¹⁰And Samuel told all the words of the LORD to the people that asked of him a king. ¹¹And he said, This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some will run before his chariots. ¹²And he will appoint him captains over thousands, and captains over fifties; and will set them to till his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and instruments of his chariots. ¹³And he will take your daughters to be confectioneries, and to be cooks, and to be bakers. ¹⁴And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your olive-yards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants. ¹⁵And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants. ¹⁶And he will take your men-servants, and your maid-servants, and your most choice young men, and your asses, and put them to his work. ¹⁷He will take the tenth of your sheep: and ye will be his servants. ¹⁸And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen for yourselves; and the LORD will not hear you in that day. ¹⁹Nevertheless, the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, No; but we will have a king over us; ²⁰That we also may be like all the nations; and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles. ²¹And Samuel heard all the words of the people, and he rehearsed them in the ears of the LORD. ²²And the LORD said to Samuel, Hearken to their voice, and make them a king. And Samuel said to the men of Israel, Go ye every man to his city.

Chapter 9

¹Now there was a man of Benjamin, whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Bechorath, the son of Aphiah, a Benjaminite, a mighty man of power. ²And he had a son, whose name was Saul, a choice young man, and a goodly: and there was not among the children of Israel a more handsome person than he: from his shoulders and upward he was higher than any of the people. ³And the asses of Kish, Saul's father, were lost. And Kish said to Saul his son, Take now one of the servants with thee, and arise, go seek the asses. ⁴And he passed through mount Ephraim, and passed through the land of Shalisha, but they found them not: then they passed through the land of Shalim, and there they were not: and he passed through the land of the Benjaminites, but they found them not. ⁵And when they had come to the land of Zuf, Saul said to his servant that was with him, Come, and let us return; lest my father leave caring for the asses, and be anxious for us. ⁶And he said to him, Behold now, there is in this city a man of God, and he is an honorable man; all that he saith cometh surely to pass: now let us go thither; it may be he can show us our way that we should go. ⁷Then said Saul to his servant, But behold, if we go, what shall we bring to the man? for the bread is spent in our vessels, and there is not a present to bring to the man of God: what have we? ⁸And the servant answered Saul again, and said, Behold, I have here at hand the fourth part of a shekel of silver: that will I give to the man of God, to tell us our way. ⁹(Formerly in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, thus he spoke, Come, and let us go to the seer: for he that is now called a Prophet was formerly called a Seer.) ¹⁰Then said Saul to his servant, Well said; come, let us go: so they went to the city where the man of God was. ¹¹And as they went up the hill to the city, they found young maidens going out to draw water, and said to them, Is the seer here? ¹²And they answered them, and said, He is; behold, he is before you: make haste now, for he came to-day to the city; for there is a sacrifice of the people to-day in the high place: ¹³As soon as ye shall enter the city, ye will straightway find him, before he goeth up to the high place to eat: for the people will not eat until he cometh, because he doth bless the sacrifice; and afterwards they eat that are invited. Now therefore go up: for about this time ye will find him. ¹⁴And they went up into the city: and when they had come into the city, behold, Samuel came out meeting them, to go up to the high place. ¹⁵Now the LORD had told Samuel in his ear a day before Saul came, saying, ¹⁶To-morrow about this time I will send thee a man out of the land of Benjamin, and thou shalt anoint him to be captain over my people Israel, that he may save my people from the hand of the Philistines: for I have looked upon my people, because their cry has come to me. ¹⁷And when Samuel saw Saul, the LORD said to him, Behold the man of whom I spoke to thee! this same shall reign over my people. ¹⁸Then Saul drew near to Samuel in the gate, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, where the seer's house is. ¹⁹And Samuel answered Saul, and said, I am the seer: go up before me to the high place; for ye shall eat with me to-day, and to-morrow I will let thee go, and will tell thee all that is in thy heart. ²⁰And as for thy asses that were lost three days ago, set not thy mind on them; for they are found. And on whom is all the desire of Israel? Is it not on thee, and on all thy father's house? ²¹And Saul answered and said, Am not I a Benjaminite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel? and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? Why then speakest thou so to me? ²²And Samuel took Saul, and his servant, and brought them into the parlor, and made them sit in the chief place among them that were invited, who were about thirty persons. ²³And Samuel said to the cook, Bring the portion which I gave thee, of which I said to thee, Set it by thee. ²⁴And the cook took up the shoulder, and that which was upon it, and set it before Saul. And Samuel said, Behold that which is left! set it before thee, and eat; for to this time hath it been kept for thee since I said, I have invited the people. So Saul ate with Samuel that day. ²⁵And when they had come down from the high place into the city, Samuel communed with Saul upon the top of the house. ²⁶And they rose early: and it came to pass about the spring of the day, that Samuel called Saul to the top of the house, saying, Arise, that I may send thee away. And Saul arose, and they went out both of them, he and Samuel, abroad. ²⁷And as they were going down to the end of the city, Samuel said to Saul, Bid the servant pass on before us, (and he passed on,) but stand thou still a while, that I may show thee the word of God.

Chapter 10

¹Then Samuel took a vial of oil, and poured it upon his head, and kissed him, and said, Is it not because the LORD hath anointed thee to be captain over his inheritance? ²When thou hast departed from me to-day, then thou shalt find two men by Rachel's sepulcher in the border of Benjamin at Zelzah; and they will say to thee, The asses which thou wentest to seek are found: and lo, thy father hath left the care of the asses, and sorroweth for you, saying, What shall I do for my son? ³Then shalt thou go on forward from thence, and thou shalt come to the plain of Tabor, and there shall meet thee three men going up to God to Beth-el, one carrying three kids, and another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a bottle of wine: ⁴And they will salute thee, and give thee two loaves of bread; which thou shalt receive from their hands. ⁵After that thou shalt come to the hill of God, where is the garrison of the Philistines: and it shall come to pass, when thou hast come thither to the city, that thou shalt meet a company of prophets coming down from the high place with a psaltery, and a tabret, and a pipe, and a harp before them; and they will prophesy: ⁶And the Spirit of the LORD will come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and shalt be turned into another man. ⁷And let it be, when these signs have come to thee, that thou do as occasion shall serve thee; for God is with thee. ⁸And thou shalt go down before me to Gilgal; and behold, I will come down to thee, to offer burnt-offerings, and to sacrifice sacrifices of peace-offerings: seven days shalt thou tarry, till I come to thee, and show thee what thou shalt do. ⁹And it was so, that when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, God gave him another heart: and all those signs came to pass that day. ¹⁰And when they came thither to the hill, behold, a company of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them. ¹¹And it came to pass when all that formerly knew him saw, that, behold, he prophesied among the prophets, then the people said one to another, What is this that hath come to the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets? ¹²And one of the same place answered and said, But who is their father? Therefore it became a proverb, Is Saul also among the prophets? ¹³And when he had made an end of prophesying, he came to the high place. ¹⁴And Saul's uncle said to him and to his servant, Whither went ye? And he said, To seek the asses: and when we saw that they were no where, we came to Samuel. ¹⁵And Saul's uncle said, Tell me, I pray thee, What Samuel said to you. ¹⁶And Saul said to his uncle, He told us plainly that the asses were found. But of the matter of the kingdom, of which Samuel spoke, he told him not. ¹⁷And Samuel called the people together to the LORD to Mizpeh; ¹⁸And said to the children of Israel, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I brought Israel out of Egypt, and delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all kingdoms, and of them that oppressed you: ¹⁹And ye have this day rejected your God, who himself saved you out of all your adversities, and your tribulations; and ye have said to him, No, but set a king over us. Now therefore present yourselves before the LORD by your tribes, and by your thousands. ²⁰And when Samuel had caused all the tribes of Israel to come near, the tribe of Benjamin was taken. ²¹When he had caused the tribe of Benjamin to come near by their families, the family of Matri was taken, and Saul the son of Kish was taken: and when they sought him, he could not be found. ²²Therefore they inquired of the LORD further, if the man would yet come thither. And the LORD answered, Behold, he hath hid himself among the stuff. ²³And they ran and brought him thence: and when he stood among the people, he was higher than any of the people from his shoulders and upward. ²⁴And Samuel said to all the people, See ye him whom the LORD hath chosen, that there is none like him among all the people? And all the people shouted, and said, God save the king. ²⁵Then Samuel told the people the manner of the kingdom, and wrote it in a book, and laid it up before the LORD. And Samuel sent all the people away, every man to his house. ²⁶And Saul also went home to Gibeah; and there went with him a band of men, whose hearts God had touched. ²⁷But the children of Belial said, How shall this man save us? And they despised him, and brought him no presents. But he held his peace.

Chapter 11

¹Then Nahash the Ammonite came up, and encamped against Jabesh-gilead: and all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, Make a covenant with us, and we will serve thee. ²And Nahash the Ammonite answered them, On this condition will I make a covenant with you, that I may thrust out all your right eyes, and lay it for a reproach upon all Israel. ³And the elders of Jabesh said to him, Give us seven days respit, that we may send messengers to all the borders of Israel: and then, if there is no man to save us, we will come out to thee. ⁴Then came the messengers to Gibeah of Saul, and told the tidings in the ears of the people; and all the people lifted up their voices, and wept. ⁵And behold, Saul came after the herd out of the field; and Saul said, What aileth the people that they weep? And they told him the tidings of the men of Jabesh. ⁶And the Spirit of God came upon Saul when he heard those tidings, and his anger was kindled greatly. ⁷And he took a yoke of oxen, and hewed them in pieces, and sent them throughout all the borders of Israel by the hands of messengers, saying, Whoever cometh not forth after Saul and after Samuel, so shall it be done to his oxen. And the fear of the LORD fell on the people, and they came out with one consent. ⁸And when he numbered them in Bezek, the children of Israel were three hundred thousand, and the men of Judah thirty thousand. ⁹And they said to the messengers that came, thus shall ye say to the men of Jabesh-gilead, To-morrow by the time the sun is hot, ye shall have help. And the messengers came and showed it to the men of Jabesh; and they were glad. ¹⁰Therefore the men of Jabesh said, To-morrow we will come out to you, and ye shall do with us all that seemeth good to you. ¹¹And it was so on the morrow, that Saul disposed the people in three companies; and they came into the midst of the host in the morning-watch, and slew the Ammonites until the heat of the day: and it came to pass, that they who remained were scattered, so that two of them were not left together. ¹²And the people said to Samuel, Who is he that said, Shall Saul reign over us? bring the men, that we may put them to death. ¹³And Saul said, There shall not a man be put to death this day: for to-day the LORD hath wrought salvation in Israel. ¹⁴Then said Samuel to the people, Come, and let us go to Gilgal, and renew the kingdom there. ¹⁵And all the people went to Gilgal; and there they made Saul king before the LORD in Gilgal: and there they sacrificed sacrifices of peace-offerings before the LORD; and there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly.

Chapter 12

¹And Samuel said to all Israel, behold, I have hearkened to your voice in all that ye said to me, and have made a king over you. ²And now, behold, the king walketh before you: and I am old and gray-headed; and behold, my sons are with you: and I have walked before you from my childhood to this day. ³Behold, here I am: witness against me before the LORD, and before his anointed; whose ox have I taken? or whose ass have I taken? or whom have I defrauded? whom have I oppressed? or from whose hand have I received any bribe to blind my eyes with it? and I will restore it you. ⁴And they said thou hast not defrauded us, nor oppressed us, neither hast thou taken aught from any man's hand. ⁵And he said to them, The LORD is witness against you, and his anointed is witness this day, that ye have not found aught in my hand. And they answered, He is witness. ⁶And Samuel said to the people, It is the LORD that advanced Moses and Aaron, and that brought your fathers out of the land of Egypt. ⁷Now therefore stand still, that I may reason with you before the LORD of all the righteous acts of the LORD, which he did to you and to your fathers. ⁸When Jacob had come into Egypt, and your fathers cried to the LORD, then the LORD sent Moses and Aaron, who brought forth your fathers from Egypt, and made them dwell in this place. ⁹And when they forgot the LORD their God, he sold them into the hand of Sisera, captain of the host of Hazor, and into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab, and they fought against them. ¹⁰And they cried to the LORD, and said, We have sinned, because we have forsaken the LORD, and have served Baalim and Ashtaroth: but now deliver us from the hand of our enemies, and we will serve thee. ¹¹And the LORD sent Jerubbaal and Bedan, and Jephthah, and Samuel, and delivered you from the hand of your enemies on every side, and ye dwelt safe. ¹²And when ye saw that Nahash the king of the children of Ammon came against you, ye said to me, No; but a king shall reign over us: when the LORD your God was your king. ¹³Now therefore, behold the king whom ye have chosen, and whom ye have desired! and behold, the LORD hath set a king over you. ¹⁴If ye will fear the LORD, and serve him, and obey his voice, and not rebel against the commandment of the LORD, then shall both ye, and also the king that reigneth over you continue following the LORD your God. ¹⁵But if ye will not obey the voice of the LORD, but rebel against the commandment of the LORD, then shall the hand of the LORD be against you, as it was against your fathers. ¹⁶Now therefore stand and see this great thing, which the LORD will do before your eyes. ¹⁷Is it not wheat-harvest to-day? I will call to the LORD, and he will send thunder and rain; that ye may perceive and see that your wickedness is great, which ye have done in the sight of the LORD, in asking you a king. ¹⁸So Samuel called to the LORD; and the LORD sent thunder and rain that day: and all the people greatly feared the LORD and Samuel. ¹⁹And all the people said to Samuel, Pray for thy servants to the LORD thy God, that we die not: for we have added to all our sins this evil, to ask us a king. ²⁰And Samuel said to the people, Fear not: ye have done all this wickedness: yet turn not aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart; ²¹And turn ye not aside: for then would ye go after vain things, which cannot profit nor deliver; for they are vain. ²²For the LORD will not forsake his people for his great name's sake: because it hath pleased the LORD to make you his people. ²³Moreover as for me, Far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you: but I will teach you the good and the right way: ²⁴Only fear the LORD, and serve him in truth with all your heart: for consider how great things he hath done for you. ²⁵But if ye shall still do wickedly, ye will be consumed, both ye and your king.

Chapter 13

¹Saul reigned one year; and when he had reigned two years over Israel, ²Saul chose him three thousand men of Israel; of which two thousand were with Saul in Michmash and in mount Beth-el, and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin: and the rest of the people he sent every man to his tent. ³And Jonathan smote the garrison of the Philistines that was in Geba; and the Philistines heard of it. And Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, Let the Hebrews hear. ⁴And all Israel heard it said that Saul had smitten a garrison of the Philistines, and that Israel also was had in abomination with the Philistines: and the people were called together after Saul to Gilgal. ⁵And the Philistines assembled to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots, and six thousand horsemen, and people as the sand which is on the sea shore in multitude: and they came up, and encamped in Michmash, eastward from Beth-aven. ⁶When the men of Israel saw that they were in a strait (for the people were distressed) then the people hid themselves in caves, and in thickets, and in rocks, and in high places, and in pits. ⁷And some of the Hebrews went over Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. As for Saul, he was yet in Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling. ⁸And he tarried seven days, according to the set time that Samuel had appointed: but Samuel came not to Gilgal; and the people were scattered from him. ⁹And Saul said, Bring hither a burnt-offering to me, and peace-offerings. And he offered the burnt-offering. ¹⁰And it came to pass, that as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt-offering, behold, Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him, that he might salute him. ¹¹And Samuel said, What hast thou done? And Saul said, Because I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that thou camest not within the days appointed, and that the Philistines assembled at Michmash; ¹²Therefore said I, the Philistines will now come down upon me to Gilgal, and I have not made supplication to the LORD; I forced myself therefore, and offered a burnt-offering. ¹³And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of the LORD thy God, which he commanded thee: for now would the LORD have established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever. ¹⁴But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the LORD hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the LORD hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the LORD commanded thee. ¹⁵And Samuel arose, and went up from Gilgal to Gibeah of Benjamin. And Saul numbered the people that were present with him, about six hundred men. ¹⁶And Saul, and Jonathan his son, and the people that were present with them, abode in Gibeah of Benjamin: but the Philistines encamped in Michmash. ¹⁷And the spoilers came out of the camp of the Philistines in three companies: one company turned to the way that leadeth to Ophrah, to the land of Shual: ¹⁸And another company turned the way to Beth-horon: and another company turned to the way of the border that looketh to the valley of Zeboim towards the wilderness. ¹⁹Now there was no smith found throughout all the land of Israel: (for the Philistines said, Lest the Hebrews make them swords or spears:) ²⁰But all the Israelites went down to the Philistines, to sharpen every man his share, and his colter, and his ax, and his mattock. ²¹Yet they had a file for the mattocks, and for the colters, and for the forks, and for the axes, and to sharpen the goads. ²²So it came to pass in the day of battle, that there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people that were with Saul and Jonathan: but with Saul and with Jonathan his son was there found. ²³And the garrison of the Philistines went out to the passage of Michmash.

Chapter 14

¹Now it came to pass upon a day, that Jonathan, the son of Saul, said to the young man that bore his armor, Come, and let us go over to the garrison of the Philistines, that is on the other side. But he told not his father. ²And Saul tarried in the uttermost part of Gibeah under a pomegranate tree which is in Migron: and the people that were with him were about six hundred men; ³And Ahiah, the son of Ahitub, I-chabod's brother, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the LORD'S priest in Shiloh, wearing an ephod. And the people knew not that Jonathan was gone. ⁴And between the passages by which Jonathan sought to go over to the garrison of the Philistines, there was a sharp rock on the one side, and a sharp rock on the other side: and the name of the one was Bozez, and the name of the other Seneh. ⁵The front of the one was situated northward over against Michmash, and the other southward over against Gibeah. ⁶And Jonathan said to the young man that bore his armor, Come, and let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised: it may be that the LORD will work for us: for there is no restraint to the LORD to save by many or by few. ⁷And his armor-bearer said to him, Do all that is in thy heart: turn thee; behold, I am with thee according to thy heart. ⁸Then said Jonathan, Behold, we will pass over to these men, and we will discover ourselves to them. ⁹If they say thus to us, Tarry until we come to you; then we will stand still in our place, and will not go up to them. ¹⁰But if they say thus, Come up to us; then we will go up: for the LORD hath delivered them into our hand; and this shall be a sign to us. ¹¹And both of them discovered themselves to the garrison of the Philistines: and the Philistines said, Behold, the Hebrews come forth out of the holes where they had hid themselves. ¹²And the men of the garrison answered Jonathan and his armor-bearer, and said, Come up to us, and we will show you a thing. And Jonathan said to his armor-bearer, Come up after me: for the LORD hath delivered them into the hand of Israel. ¹³And Jonathan climbed up upon his hands and upon his feet, and his armor-bearer after him: and they fell before Jonathan; and his armor-bearer slew after him. ¹⁴And that first slaughter, which Jonathan and his armor-bearer made, was about twenty men, within as it were a half-acre of land, which a yoke of oxen might plow. ¹⁵And there was trembling in the host, in the field, and among all the people: the garrison, and the spoilers, they also trembled, and the earth quaked: so it was a very great trembling. ¹⁶And the watchmen of Saul in Gibeah of Benjamin looked; and behold, the multitude melted away, and they went on beating down one another. ¹⁷Then said Saul to the people that were with him, Number now, and see who is gone from us. And when they had numbered, behold, Jonathan and his armor-bearer were not there. ¹⁸And Saul said to Ahiah, Bring hither the ark of God. For the ark of God was at that time with the children of Israel. ¹⁹And it came to pass while Saul talked to the priest, that the noise that was in the host of the Philistines went on, and increased: and Saul said to the priest, Withdraw thy hand. ²⁰And Saul and all the people that were with him assembled themselves, and they came to the battle: and behold, every man's sword was against his fellow, and there was a very great discomfiture. ²¹Moreover the Hebrews that were with the Philistines before that time, who went up with them into the camp from the country around, even they also turned to be with the Israelites that were with Saul and Jonathan. ²²Likewise all the men of Israel who had hid themselves in mount Ephraim, when they heard that the Philistines fled, even they also followed hard after them in the battle. ²³So the LORD saved Israel that day: and the battle passed over to Beth-aven. ²⁴And the men of Israel were distressed that day: for Saul had adjured the people, saying, Cursed be the man that eateth any food until evening, that I may be avenged on my enemies. So none of the people tasted any food. ²⁵And all they of the land came to a wood; and there was honey upon the ground. ²⁶And when the people had come into the wood, behold, the honey dropped; but no man put his hand to his mouth: for the people feared the oath. ²⁷But Jonathan heard not when his father charged the people with the oath: wherefore he put forth the end of the rod that was in his hand, and dipped it in a honey-comb, and put his hand to his mouth; and his eyes were enlightened. ²⁸Then answered one of the people, and said, Thy father strictly charged the people with an oath, saying, Cursed be the man that eateth any food this day. And the people were faint. ²⁹Then said Jonathan, My father hath troubled the land: see, I pray you, how my eyes have been enlightened, because I tasted a little of this honey. ³⁰How much more, if haply the people had eaten freely to-day of the spoil of their enemies which they found? for had there not been now a much greater slaughter among the Philistines? ³¹And they smote the Philistines that day from Michmash to Ajalon: and the people were very faint. ³²And the people flew upon the spoil, and took sheep and oxen, and calves, and slew them on the ground: and the people ate them with the blood. ³³Then they told Saul, saying, Behold, the people sin against the LORD, in that they eat with the blood. And he said, Ye have transgressed: roll a great stone to me this day. ³⁴And Saul said, Disperse yourselves among the people, and say to them, Bring me hither every man his ox, and every man his sheep, and slay them here, and eat; and sin not against the LORD in eating with the blood. And all the people brought every man his ox with him that night, and slew them there. ³⁵And Saul built an altar to the LORD: the same was the first altar that he built to the LORD: ³⁶And Saul said, Let us go down after the Philistines by night, and spoil them until the morning light, and let us not leave a man of them. And they said, Do whatever seemeth good to thee. Then said the priest, Let us draw near hither to God. ³⁷And Saul asked counsel of God, Shall I go down after the Philistines? wilt thou deliver them into the hand of Israel? But he answered him not that day. ³⁸And Saul said, Draw ye near hither all the chief of the people: and know and see wherein this sin hath been this day. ³⁹For as the LORD liveth, who saveth Israel, though it is in Jonathan my son, he shall surely die. But there was not a man among all the people that answered him. ⁴⁰Then said he to all Israel, Be ye on one side, and I and Jonathan my son will be on the other side. And the people said to Saul, Do what seemeth good to thee. ⁴¹Therefore Saul said to the LORD God of Israel, Give a perfect lot. And Saul and Jonathan were taken: but the people escaped. ⁴²And Saul said, Cast lots between me and Jonathan my son. And Jonathan was taken. ⁴³Then Saul said to Jonathan, Tell me what thou hast done. And Jonathan told him, and said, I did but taste a little honey with the end of the rod that was in my hand, and, lo, I must die. ⁴⁴And Saul answered, God do so, and more also: for thou shalt surely die, Jonathan. ⁴⁵And the people said to Saul, Shall Jonathan die, who hath wrought this great salvation in Israel? By no means: as the LORD liveth, there shall not one hair of his head fall to the ground; for he hath wrought with God this day. So the people rescued Jonathan, that he died not. ⁴⁶Then Saul went up from following the Philistines: and the Philistines went to their own place. ⁴⁷So Saul took the kingdom over Israel, and fought against all his enemies on every side, against Moab, and against the children of Ammon, and against Edom, and against the kings of Zobah, and against the Philistines: and whithersoever he turned himself, he harassed them. ⁴⁸And he gathered a host, and smote the Amalekites, and delivered Israel from the hands of them that spoiled them. ⁴⁹Now the sons of Saul were Jonathan, and Ishui, and Melchi-shua: and the names of his two daughters were these; the name of the first-born Merab, and the name of the younger Michal: ⁵⁰And the name of Saul's wife was Ahinoam, the daughter of Ahimaaz: and the name of the captain of his host was Abner, the son of Ner, Saul's uncle. ⁵¹And Kish was the father of Saul; and Ner the father of Abner was the son of Abiel. ⁵²And there was violent war against the Philistines all the days of Saul: and when Saul saw any strong man, or any valiant man, he took him to himself.

Chapter 15

¹Samuel also said to Saul, the LORD sent me to anoint thee to be king over his people, over Israel: now therefore hearken thou to the voice of the words of the LORD. ²Thus saith the LORD of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt. ³Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass. ⁴And Saul assembled the people, and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand footmen, and ten thousand men of Judah. ⁵And Saul came to a city of Amalek, and laid wait in the valley. ⁶And Saul said to the Kenites, Go, depart, withdraw yourselves from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them: for ye showed kindness to all the children of Israel when they came up from Egypt. So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites. ⁷And Saul smote the Amalekites from Havilah, until thou comest to Shur, that is over against Egypt. ⁸And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword. ⁹But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them: but every thing that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly. ¹⁰Then came the word of the LORD to Samuel, saying, ¹¹I repent that I have set up Saul to be king: for he is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments. And it grieved Samuel; and he cried to the LORD all night. ¹²And when Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning, it was told Samuel, saying, Saul came to Carmel, and behold, he set him up a place, and has gone about, and passed on, and gone down to Gilgal. ¹³And Samuel came to Saul: and Saul said to him, Blessed be thou of the LORD: I have performed the commandment of the LORD. ¹⁴And Samuel said, What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear? ¹⁵And Saul said, They have brought them from the Amalekites: for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice to the LORD thy God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed. ¹⁶Then Samuel said to Saul, Stay, and I will tell thee what the LORD hath said to me this night. And he said to him, Say on. ¹⁷And Samuel said, When thou wast little in thy own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the LORD anointed thee king over Israel? ¹⁸And the LORD sent thee on a journey, and said, Go, and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed. ¹⁹Why then didst thou not obey the voice of the LORD, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the LORD? ²⁰And Saul said to Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and have gone the way which the LORD sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. ²¹But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice to the LORD thy God in Gilgal. ²²And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt-offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. ²³For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king. ²⁴And Saul said to Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD, and thy words; because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice. ²⁵Now therefore, I pray thee, pardon my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship the LORD. ²⁶And Samuel said to Saul, I will not return with thee: for thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD hath rejected thee from being king over Israel. ²⁷And as Samuel turned about to depart, he laid hold upon the skirt of his mantle, and it rent. ²⁸And Samuel said to him, The LORD hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbor of thine, that is better than thou. ²⁹And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for he is not a man, that he should repent. ³⁰Then he said, I have sinned: yet honor me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn again with me, that I may worship the LORD thy God. ³¹So Samuel turned again after Saul; and Saul worshiped the LORD. ³²Then said Samuel, Bring ye hither to me Agag the king of the Amalekites. And Agag came to him delicately. And Agag said, Surely the bitterness of death is past. ³³And Samuel said, As thy sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among women. And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the LORD in Gilgal. ³⁴Then Samuel went to Ramah; and Saul went up to his house to Gibeah of Saul. ³⁵And Samuel came no more to see Saul until the day of his death: nevertheless Samuel mourned for Saul: and the LORD repented that he had made Saul king over Israel.

Chapter 16

¹And the LORD said to Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? fill thy horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Beth-lehemite: for I have provided me a king among his sons. ²And Samuel said, How can I go? if Saul shall hear it, he will kill me. And the LORD said, Take a heifer with thee, and say, I have come to sacrifice to the LORD. ³And call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show thee what thou shalt do: and thou shalt anoint to me him whom I name to thee. ⁴And Samuel did that which the LORD spoke, and came to Beth-lehem. And the elders of the town trembled at his coming, and said, Comest thou peaceably? ⁵And he said, Peaceably: I have come to sacrifice to the LORD: sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice. And he sanctified Jesse and his sons, and called them to the sacrifice. ⁶And it came to pass when they had come, that he looked on Eliab, and said, Surely the LORD'S anointed is before him. ⁷But the LORD said to Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the hight of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart. ⁸Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, Neither hath the LORD chosen this. ⁹Then Jesse made Shammah to pass by. And he said, Neither hath the LORD chosen this. ¹⁰Again, Jesse made seven of his sons to pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, The LORD hath not chosen these. ¹¹And Samuel said to Jesse, Are here all thy children? And he said, There remaineth yet the youngest, and behold, he keepeth the sheep. And Samuel said to Jesse, Send and bring him: for we will not sit down till he hath come hither. ¹²And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and also of a beautiful countenance, and a good appearance. And the LORD said, Arise, anoint him: for this is he. ¹³Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel arose, and went to Ramah. ¹⁴But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him. ¹⁵And Saul's servants said to him, Behold now, an evil spirit from God troubleth thee. ¹⁶Let our lord now command thy servants, who are before thee, to seek a man who is a skillful player on a harp: and it shall come to pass, when the evil spirit from God is upon thee, that he will play with his hand, and thou wilt be well. ¹⁷And Saul said to his servants, Provide me now a man that can play well, and bring him to me. ¹⁸Then answered one of the servants, and said, Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Beth-lehemite, that is skillful in playing, and a mighty valiant man, and a man of war, and prudent in matters, and a comely person, and the LORD is with him. ¹⁹Wherefore Saul sent messengers to Jesse, and said, Send to me David thy son, who is with the sheep. ²⁰And Jesse took an ass laden with bread, and a bottle of wine, and a kid, and sent them by David his son to Saul. ²¹And David came to Saul, and stood before him: and he loved him greatly; and he became his armor-bearer. ²²And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, Let David, I pray thee, stand before me; for he hath found favor in my sight. ²³And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took a harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him.

Chapter 17

¹Now the Philistines collected their armies to battle, and were assembled at Shochoh, which belongeth to Judah, and encamped between Shochoh and Azekah, in Ephes-dammim. ²And Saul and the men of Israel were assembled and encamped by the valley of Elah, and they set the battle in array against the Philistines. ³And the Philistines stood on a mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on a mountain on the other side: and there was a valley between them. ⁴And there went out a champion from the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose hight was six cubits and a span. ⁵And he had a helmet of brass upon his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail; and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of brass. ⁶And he had greaves of brass upon his legs, and a target of brass between his shoulders. ⁷And the staff of his spear was like a weaver's beam; and his spear's head weighed six hundred shekels of iron: and one bearing a shield went before him. ⁸And he stood and cried to the armies of Israel, and said to them, Why have ye come out to set your battle in array? am not I a Philistine, and ye servants to Saul? choose you a man for you, and let him come down to me. ⁹If he shall be able to fight with me, and to kill me, then will we be your servants: but if I shall prevail against him, and kill him, then shall ye be our servants, and serve us. ¹⁰And the Philistine said, I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together. ¹¹When Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, they were dismayed, and greatly afraid. ¹²Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Beth-lehem-judah, whose name was Jesse; and he had eight sons: and the man went among men for an old man in the days of Saul. ¹³And the three eldest sons of Jesse went and followed Saul to the battle: and the names of his three sons that went to the battle were Eliab the first-born, and next to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah. ¹⁴And David was the youngest: and the three eldest followed Saul. ¹⁵But David went and returned from Saul to feed his father's sheep at Beth-lehem. ¹⁶And the Philistine drew near morning and evening, and presented himself forty days. ¹⁷And Jesse said to David his son, Take now for thy brethren an ephah of this parched corn, and these ten loaves, and run to the camp to thy brethren; ¹⁸And carry these ten cheeses to the captain of their thousand, and see how thy brethren fare, and take their pledge. ¹⁹Now Saul, and they, and all the men of Israel, were in the valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines. ²⁰And David rose early in the morning, and left the sheep with a keeper, and took, and went, as Jesse had commanded him; and he came to the trench, as the host was going forth to the fight, and shouted for the battle. ²¹For Israel and the Philistines had put the battle in array, army against army. ²²And David left his furniture in the hand of the keeper of the vessels, and ran into the army, and came and saluted his brethren. ²³And as he talked with them, behold, there came up the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, from the armies of the Philistines, and spoke according to the same words: and David heard them. ²⁴And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him, and were exceedingly afraid. ²⁵And the men of Israel said, Have ye seen this man that hath come up? surely to defy Israel hath he come: and it shall be, that the man who shall kill him, the king will enrich him with great riches, and will give him his daughter, and make his father's house free in Israel. ²⁶And David spoke to the men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the reproach from Israel? for who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God? ²⁷And the people answered him after this manner, saying, So shall it be done to the man that killeth him. ²⁸And Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spoke to the men; and Eliab's anger was kindled against David, and he said, Why camest thou down hither? and with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride, and the naughtiness of thy heart; for thou art come down that thou mayest see the battle. ²⁹And David said, What have I now done? Is there not a cause? ³⁰And he turned from him towards another, and spoke after the same manner: and the people answered him again after the former manner. ³¹And when the words were heard which David spoke, they rehearsed them before Saul: and he sent for him. ³²And David said to Saul, Let no man's heart fail because of him; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine. ³³And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him: for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth. ³⁴And David said to Saul, Thy servant kept his father's sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock: ³⁵And I went after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him. ³⁶Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God. ³⁷David said moreover, The LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said to David, Go, and the LORD be with thee. ³⁸And Saul armed David with his armor, and he put a helmet of brass upon his head; also he armed him with a coat of mail. ³⁹And David girded his sword upon his armor, and he essayed to go; for he had not proved it. And David said to Saul, I cannot go with these, for I have not proved them. And David put them off from him. ⁴⁰And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd's bag which he had, even in a scrip; and his sling was in his hand; and he drew near to the Philistine. ⁴¹And the Philistine advanced and drew near to David; and the man that bore the shield went before him. ⁴²And when the Philistine looked about, and saw David, he disdained him: for he was a youth, and ruddy, and of a fair countenance. ⁴³And the Philistine said to David, Am I a dog, that thou comest to me with staffs? and the Philistine cursed David by his gods. ⁴⁴And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give thy flesh to the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the field. ⁴⁵Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. ⁴⁶This day will the LORD deliver thee into my hand; and I will smite thee, and take thy head from thee; and I will give the carcasses of the host of the Philistines this day to the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. ⁴⁷And all this assembly shall know that the LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the LORD'S, and he will give you into our hands. ⁴⁸And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and came and drew nigh to meet David, that David hasted, and ran towards the army to meet the Philistine. ⁴⁹And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and hurled it with his sling, and smote the Philistine in his forehead, that the stone sunk into his forehead; and he fell upon his face to the earth. ⁵⁰So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him; but there was no sword in the hand of David. ⁵¹Therefore David ran and stood upon the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it out of its sheath, and slew him, and cut off his head with it. And when the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they fled. ⁵²And the men of Israel and of Judah arose, and shouted, and pursued the Philistines to the entrance of the valley, and to the gates of Ekron. And the wounded of the Philistines fell down by the way to Shaaraim, even to Gath, and to Ekron. ⁵³And the children of Israel returned from chasing the Philistines, and they plundered their tents. ⁵⁴And David took the head of the Philistine, and brought it to Jerusalem; but he put his armor in his tent. ⁵⁵And when Saul saw David go forth against the Philistine, he said to Abner the captain of the host, Abner, whose son is this youth? And Abner said, As thy soul liveth, O king, I cannot tell. ⁵⁶And the king said, Inquire thou whose son the stripling is. ⁵⁷And as David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, Abner took him, and brought him before Saul with the head of the Philistine in his hand. ⁵⁸And Saul said to him, Whose son art thou, thou young man? And David answered, I am the son of thy servant Jesse the Beth-lehemite.

Chapter 18

¹And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking to Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. ²And Saul took him that day, and would let him go no more home to his father's house. ³Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul. ⁴And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was upon him, and gave it to David, and his garments, even to his sword, and to his bow, and to his girdle. ⁵And David went out whithersoever Saul sent him, and behaved himself wisely: and Saul set him over the men of war, and he was accepted in the sight of all the people, and also in the sight of Saul's servants. ⁶And it came to pass as they came, when David had returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, that the women came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet king Saul, with tabrets, with joy, and with instruments of music. ⁷And the women answered one another as they played, and said, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands. ⁸And Saul was very wroth, and the saying displeased him; and he said, They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed thousands; and what can he have more but the kingdom? ⁹And Saul eyed David from that day and forward. ¹⁰And it came to pass on the morrow, that the evil spirit from God came upon Saul, and he prophesied in the midst of the house: and David played with his hand, as at other times: and there was a javelin in Saul's hand. ¹¹And Saul cast the javelin; for he said, I will smite David even to the wall. And David escaped from his presence twice. ¹²And Saul was afraid of David, because the LORD was with him, and had departed from Saul. ¹³Therefore Saul removed him from him, and made him his captain over a thousand; and he went out and came in before the people. ¹⁴And David behaved himself wisely in all his ways; and the LORD was with him. ¹⁵Wherefore when Saul saw that he behaved himself very wisely, he was afraid of him. ¹⁶But all Israel and Judah loved David, because he went out and came in before them. ¹⁷And Saul said to David, Behold, my elder daughter Merab, her will I give thee for a wife: only be thou valiant for me, and fight the LORD'S battles. For Saul said, Let not my hand be upon him, but let the hand of the Philistines be upon him. ¹⁸And David said to Saul, Who am I? and what is my life, or my father's family in Israel, that I should be son-in-law to the king? ¹⁹But it came to pass at the time when Merab Saul's daughter should have been given to David, that she was given to Adriel the Meholathite to wife. ²⁰And Michal Saul's daughter loved David: and they told Saul, and the thing pleased him. ²¹And Saul said, I will give her to him, that she may be a snare to him, and that the hand of the Philistines may be against him. Wherefore Saul said to David, Thou shalt this day be my son-in-law, in the one of the two. ²²And Saul commanded his servants, saying, Commune with David secretly, and say, Behold, the king hath delight in thee, and all his servants love thee: now therefore be the king's son-in-law. ²³And Saul's servants spoke those words in the ears of David. And David said, Seemeth it to you a light thing to be a king's son-in-law, seeing that I am a poor man, and lightly esteemed? ²⁴And the servants of Saul told him, saying, On this manner spoke David. ²⁵And Saul said, Thus shall ye say to David, The king desireth not any dower, but a hundred foreskins of the Philistines, to be avenged of the king's enemies. But Saul thought to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines. ²⁶And when his servants told David these words, it pleased David well to be the king's son-in-law: and the days had not expired. ²⁷Wherefore David arose and went, he and his men, and slew of the Philistines two hundred men; and David brought their foreskins, and they gave them in full number to the king, that he might be the king's son-in-law. And Saul gave him Michal his daughter for a wife. ²⁸And Saul saw and knew that the LORD was with David, and that Michal, Saul's daughter, loved him. ²⁹And Saul was yet the more afraid of David; and Saul became David's enemy continually. ³⁰Then the princes of the Philistines went forth: and it came to pass after they went forth, that David behaved himself more wisely than all the servants of Saul; so that his name was much esteemed.

Chapter 19

¹And Saul spoke to Jonathan his son, and to all his servants, that they should kill David. ²But Jonathan, Saul's son, delighted much in David: and Jonathan told David, saying, Saul my father seeketh to kill thee: now, therefore, I pray thee, take heed to thyself until the morning, and abide in a secret place, and hide thyself: ³And I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where thou art, and I will commune with my father of thee; and what I see, that I will tell thee. ⁴And Jonathan spoke good of David to Saul his father, and said to him, Let not the king sin against his servant, against David; because he hath not sinned against thee, and because his works have been toward thee very good: ⁵For he put his life in his hand, and slew the Philistine, and the LORD wrought a great salvation for all Israel: thou sawest it, and didst rejoice: Why then wilt thou sin against innocent blood, to slay David without a cause? ⁶And Saul hearkened to the voice of Jonathan: and Saul swore, As the LORD liveth, he shall not be slain. ⁷And Jonathan called David, and Jonathan showed him all those things. And Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence, as in times past. ⁸And there was war again: and David went out, and fought with the Philistines, and slew them with a great slaughter; and they fled from him. ⁹And the evil spirit from the LORD was upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his javelin in his hand: and David played with his hand. ¹⁰And Saul sought to smite David even to the wall with the javelin; but he slipped away from Saul's presence, and he smote the javelin into the wall: and David fled, and escaped that night. ¹¹Saul also sent messengers to David's house, to watch him, and to slay him in the morning: and Michal, David's wife, told him, saying, If thou dost not save thy life to-night, to-morrow thou wilt be slain. ¹²So Michal let David down through a window: and he went, and fled, and escaped. ¹³And Michal took an image, and laid it in the bed, and put a pillow of goat's hair for his bolster, and covered it with a cloth. ¹⁴And when Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, He is sick. ¹⁵And Saul sent the messengers again to see David, saying, Bring him to me in the bed, that I may slay him. ¹⁶And when the messengers had come in, behold, there was an image in the bed, with a pillow of goat's hair for his bolster. ¹⁷And Saul said to Michal, Why hast thou deceived me so, and sent away my enemy, that he has escaped? And Michal answered Saul, He said to me, Let me go; why should I kill thee? ¹⁸So David fled, and escaped, and came to Samuel to Ramah, and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and dwelt in Naioth. ¹⁹And it was told to Saul, saying, Behold, David is at Naioth in Ramah. ²⁰And Saul sent messengers to take David: and when they saw the company of the prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing as appointed over them, the Spirit of God was upon the messengers of Saul, and they also prophesied. ²¹And when it was told Saul, he sent other messengers, and they prophesied likewise. And Saul sent messengers again the third time, and they prophesied also. ²²Then he went also to Ramah, and came to a great well that is in Sechu: and he asked and said, Where are Samuel and David? And one said, Behold, they are at Naioth in Ramah. ²³And he went thither to Naioth in Ramah: and the Spirit of God was upon him also, and he went on, and prophesied, until he came to Naioth in Ramah. ²⁴And he stripped off his clothes also, and prophesied before Samuel in like manner, and lay down naked all that day and all that night. Wherefore they say, Is Saul also among the prophets?

Chapter 20

¹And David fled from Naioth in Ramah, and came and said before Jonathan, What have I done? what is my iniquity? and what is my sin before thy father, that he seeketh my life? ²And he said to him, Far be it from thee; thou shalt not die: behold, my father will do nothing, either great or small, but that he will show it to me: and why should my father hide this thing from me? it is not so. ³And David swore moreover, and said, Thy father certainly knoweth that I have found grace in thy eyes; and he saith, Let not Jonathan know this, lest he should be grieved: But truly as the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, there is but a step between me and death. ⁴Then said Jonathan to David, Whatever thy soul desireth, I will even do it for thee. ⁵And David said to Jonathan, Behold, to morrow is the new-moon, and I should not fail to sit with the king at meat: but let me go, that I may hide myself in the field to the third day at evening. ⁶If thy father shall at all miss me, then say, David earnestly asked leave of me, that he might run to Beth-lehem his city: for there is a yearly sacrifice there for all the family. ⁷If he shall say thus, It is well; thy servant will have peace: but if he shall be very wroth, then be sure that evil is determined by him. ⁸Therefore thou shalt deal kindly with thy servant; for thou hast brought thy servant into a covenant of the LORD with thee: notwithstanding, if there is in me iniquity, slay me thyself; for why shouldst thou bring me to thy father? ⁹And Jonathan said, Far be it from thee: for if I knew certainly that evil is determined by my father to come upon thee, then would not I tell it thee? ¹⁰Then said David to Jonathan, Who shall tell me? or what if thy father shall answer thee roughly? ¹¹And Jonathan said to David, Come, and let us go out into the field. And they went out both of them into the field. ¹²And Jonathan said to David, O LORD God of Israel, when I have sounded my father about to-morrow any time, or the third day, and behold, if there be good towards David, and I then send not to thee, and show it thee; ¹³The LORD do so and much more to Jonathan: but if it shall please my father to do thee evil, then I will show it to thee, and send thee away, that thou mayest go in peace: and the LORD be with thee, as he hath been with my father. ¹⁴And thou shalt, not only while yet I live, show me the kindness of the LORD, that I may not die: ¹⁵But also thou shalt not withdraw thy kindness from my house for ever: no, not when the LORD hath cut off the enemies of David every one from the face of the earth. ¹⁶So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, Let the LORD even require it at the hand of David's enemies. ¹⁷And Jonathan caused David to swear again, because he loved him: for he loved him as he loved his own soul. ¹⁸Then Jonathan said to David, To-morrow is the new-moon: and thou wilt be missed, because thy seat will be empty. ¹⁹And when thou hast stayed three days, then thou shalt go down quickly, and come to the place where thou didst hide thyself when the business was in hand, and shalt remain by the stone Ezel. ²⁰And I will shoot three arrows on the side of it, as though I shot at a mark. ²¹And behold, I will send a lad, saying, Go, find the arrows. If I expressly say to the lad, Behold, the arrows are on this side of thee, take them; then come thou: for there is peace to thee, and no hurt; as the LORD liveth. ²²But if I say thus to the young man, Behold, the arrows are beyond thee; go thy way: for the LORD hath sent thee away. ²³And as to the matter which thou and I have spoken of, behold, the LORD be between thee and me for ever. ²⁴So David hid himself in the field: and when the new-moon had come, the king sat down to eat food. ²⁵And the king sat upon his seat, as at other times, even upon a seat by the wall: and Jonathan arose, and Abner sat by Saul's side, and David's place was empty. ²⁶Nevertheless Saul spoke not any thing that day: for he thought, Something hath befallen him, he is not clean; surely he is not clean. ²⁷And it came to pass on the morrow, which was the second day of the month, that David's place was empty: and Saul said to Jonathan his son, Why cometh not the son of Jesse to eat, neither yesterday, nor to-day? ²⁸And Jonathan answered Saul, David earnestly asked leave of me to go to Beth-lehem: ²⁹And he said, Let me go, I pray thee; for our family hath a sacrifice in the city; and my brother he hath commanded me to be there: and now if I have found favor in thy eyes, let me get away, I pray thee, and see my brethren. Therefore he cometh not to the king's table. ³⁰Then Saul's anger was kindled against Jonathan, and he said to him, Thou son of the perverse rebellious woman, do not I know that thou hast chosen the son of Jesse to thy own confusion, and to the confusion of thy mother's nakedness? ³¹For as long as the son of Jesse liveth upon the earth, thou shalt not be established, nor thy kingdom. Wherefore now send and bring him to me, for he shall surely die. ³²And Jonathan answered Saul his father, and said to him, Why shall he be slain? what hath he done? ³³And Saul cast a javelin at him to smite him: by which Jonathan knew that it was determined by his father to slay David. ³⁴So Jonathan arose from the table in fierce anger, and ate no food the second day of the month: for he was grieved for David, because his father had done him shame. ³⁵And it came to pass in the morning, that Jonathan went out into the field at the time appointed with David, and a little lad with him. ³⁶And he said to his lad, Run, find now the arrows which I shoot. And as the lad ran, he shot an arrow, beyond him. ³⁷And when the lad had come to the place of the arrow which Jonathan had shot, Jonathan cried after the lad, and said, Is not the arrow beyond thee? ³⁸And Jonathan cried after the lad, Make speed, haste, stay not. And Jonathan's lad gathered up the arrows, and came to his master. ³⁹But the lad knew not any thing: only Jonathan and David knew the matter. ⁴⁰And Jonathan gave his arms to his lad, and said to him, Go, carry them to the city. ⁴¹And as soon as the lad was gone, David arose out of a place towards the south, and fell on his face to the ground, and bowed himself three times: and they kissed one another, and wept one with another, until David exceeded. ⁴²And Jonathan said to David, Go in peace, forasmuch as we have sworn both of us in the name of the LORD, saying, The LORD be between me and thee, and between my seed and thy seed for ever.\ ⁴³\20:42\And he arose and departed: and Jonathan went into the city.

Chapter 21

¹Then came David to Nob to Ahimelech the priest: and Ahimelech was afraid at the meeting of David, and said to him, Why art thou alone, and no man with thee? ²And David said to Ahimelech the priest, The king hath commanded me a business, and hath said to me, Let no man know any thing of the business about which I send thee, and what I have commanded thee: and I have appointed my servants to such and such a place. ³Now therefore what is under thy hand? give me five loaves of bread in my hand, or what there is present. ⁴And the priest answered David, and said, There is no common bread under my hand, but there is hallowed bread; if the young men have kept themselves at least from women. ⁵And David answered the priest, and said to him, Of a truth women have been kept from us about these three days, since I came out, and the vessels of the young men are holy, and the bread is in a manner common, yes, though it were sanctified this day in the vessel. ⁶So the priest gave him hallowed bread: for there was no bread there but the show-bread, that was taken from before the LORD, to put hot bread in the day when it was taken away. ⁷Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the LORD; and his name was Doeg, an Edomite, the chief of the herdmen that belonged to Saul. ⁸And David said to Ahimelech, And is there not here under thy hand a spear or sword? for I have neither brought my sword nor my weapons with me, because the king's business required haste. ⁹And the priest said, The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom thou slewest in the valley of Elah, behold, it is here wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod: if thou wilt take that, take it: for there is no other save that here. And David said, There is none like that; give it to me. ¹⁰And David arose, and fled that day for fear of Saul, and went to Achish the king of Gath. ¹¹And the servants of Achish said to him, Is not this David the king of the land? did they not sing one to another of him in dances, saying, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands? ¹²And David laid up these words in his heart, and was greatly afraid of Achish the king of Gath. ¹³And he changed his behavior before them, and feigned himself mad in their hands, and scrabbled on the doors of the gate, and let his spittle fall down upon his beard. ¹⁴Then said Achish to his servants, Lo, ye see the man is mad: why then have ye brought him to me? ¹⁵Have I need of mad-men, that ye have brought this man to play the mad-man in my presence? shall this man come into my house?

Chapter 22

¹David therefore departed thence, and escaped to the cave Adullam: and when his brethren and all his father's house heard it, they went down thither to him. ²And every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was discontented, resorted to him; and he became a captain over them: and there were with him about four hundred men. ³And David went thence to Mizpeh of Moab: and he said to the king of Moab, Let my father and my mother, I pray thee, come forth, and be with you, till I know what God will do for me. ⁴And he brought them before the king of Moab: and they dwelt with him all the while that David was in the hold. ⁵And the prophet Gad said to David, Abide not in the hold; depart, and come into the land of Judah. Then David departed, and came into the forest of Hareth. ⁶When Saul heard that David was discovered, and the men that were with him, (now Saul abode in Gibeah under a tree in Ramah, having his spear in his hand, and all his servants were standing about him;) ⁷Then Saul said to his servants that stood about him, Hear now, ye Benjaminites; will the son of Jesse give every one of you fields and vineyards, and make you all captains of thousands, and captains of hundreds; ⁸That all of you have conspired against me, and there is none that showeth me that my son hath made a league with the son of Jesse, and there is none of you that is sorry for me, or showeth to me that my son hath stirred up my servant against me, to lie in wait, as at this day? ⁹Then answered Doeg the Edomite, who was set over the servants of Saul, and said, I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub. ¹⁰And he inquired of the LORD for him, and gave him victuals, and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine. ¹¹Then the king sent to call Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his father's house, the priests that were in Nob: and they came all of them to the king. ¹²And Saul said, Hear now, thou son of Ahitub. And he answered, Here I am, my lord. ¹³And Saul said to him, Why have ye conspired against me, thou and the son of Jesse, in that thou hast given him bread, and a sword, and hast inquired of God for him, that he should rise against me, to lie in wait, as at this day? ¹⁴Then Ahimelech answered the king, and said, And who is so faithful among all thy servants as David, who is the king's son-in-law, and goeth at thy bidding, and is honorable in thy house? ¹⁵Did I then begin to inquire of God for him? be it far from me. Let not the king impute any thing to his servant, nor to all the house of my father: for thy servant knew nothing of all this, less or more. ¹⁶And the king said, Thou shalt surely die, Ahimelech, thou, and all thy father's house. ¹⁷And the king said to the footmen that stood about him, Turn, and slay the priests of the LORD: because their hand also is with David, and because they knew when he fled, and did not show it to me. But the servants of the king would not put forth their hand to fall upon the priests of the LORD. ¹⁸And the king said to Doeg, Turn thou, and fall upon the priests. And Doeg the Edomite turned, and he fell upon the priests, and slew on that day eighty and five persons that wore a linen ephod. ¹⁹And Nob, the city of the priests, he smote with the edge of the sword, both men and women, children and sucklings, and oxen, and asses, and sheep, with the edge of the sword. ²⁰And one of the sons of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped, and fled after David. ²¹And Abiathar showed David that Saul had slain the LORD'S priests. ²²And David said to Abiathar, I knew that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul: I have occasioned the death of all the persons of thy father's house. ²³Abide thou with me, fear not: for he that seeketh my life seeketh thy life: but with me thou shalt be in safeguard.

Chapter 23

¹Then they told David, saying, Behold, the Philistines fight against Keilah, and they rob the threshing-floors. ²Therefore David inquired of the LORD, saying, Shall I go and smite these Philistines? And the LORD said to David, Go, and smite the Philistines, and save Keilah. ³And David's men said to him, Behold, we are afraid here in Judah: how much more then if we come to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines? ⁴Then David inquired of the LORD yet again. And the LORD answered him and said, Arise, go down to Keilah; for I will deliver the Philistines into thy hand. ⁵So David and his men went to Keilah, and fought with the Philistines, and brought away their cattle, and smote them with a great slaughter. So David saved the inhabitants of Keilah. ⁶And it came to pass, when Abiathar the son of Ahimelech fled to David to Keilah, that he came down with an ephod in his hand. ⁷And it was told to Saul that David had come to Keilah. And Saul said, God hath delivered him into my hand; for he is shut in, by entering into a town that hath gates and bars. ⁸And Saul called all the people together to war, to go down to Keilah, to besiege David and his men. ⁹And David knew that Saul secretly plotted mischief against him; and he said to Abiathar the priest, Bring hither the ephod. ¹⁰Then said David, O LORD God of Israel, thy servant hath certainly heard that Saul seeketh to come to Keilah, to destroy the city for my sake. ¹¹Will the men of Keilah deliver me up into his hand? will Saul come down as thy servant hath heard? O LORD God of Israel, I beseech thee, tell thy servant. And the LORD said, He will come down. ¹²Then said David, Will the men of Keilah deliver me and my men into the hand of Saul? And the LORD said, They will deliver thee up. ¹³Then David and his men who were about six hundred, arose and departed from Keilah, and went whithersoever they could go. And it was told Saul that David had escaped from Keilah: and he forbore to go forth. ¹⁴And David abode in the wilderness in strong holds, and remained in a mountain in the wilderness of Ziph. And Saul sought him every day, but God delivered him not into his hand. ¹⁵And David saw that Saul had come out to seek his life: and David was in the wilderness of Ziph in a wood. ¹⁶And Jonathan Saul's son arose, and went to David into the wood, and strengthened his hand in God. ¹⁷And he said to him, Fear not: for the hand of Saul my father shall not find thee; and thou wilt be king over Israel, and I shall be next to thee; and that also Saul my father knoweth. ¹⁸And they two made a covenant before the LORD: and David abode in the wood, and Jonathan went to his house. ¹⁹Then came up the Ziphites to Saul to Gibeah, saying, Doth not David hide himself with us in strong holds in the wood, in the hill of Hachilah, which is on the south of Jeshimon? ²⁰Now therefore, O king, come down according to all the desire of thy soul to come down; and our part shall be to deliver him into the king's hand. ²¹And Saul said, Blessed be ye of the LORD; for ye have compassion on me. ²²Go, I pray you, prepare yet, and know, and see his place where his haunt is, and who hath seen him there: for it is told to me that he dealeth very subtilly. ²³See therefore, and take knowledge of all the lurking-places where he hideth himself, and come ye again to me with the certainty, and I will go with you: and it shall come to pass, if he is in the land, that I will search him out throughout all the thousands of Judah. ²⁴And they arose, and went to Ziph before Saul: but David and his men were in the wilderness of Maon, in the plain on the south of Jeshimon. ²⁵Saul also and his men went to seek him. And they told David: wherefore he came down into a rock, and abode in the wilderness of Maon. And when Saul heard that, he pursued after David in the wilderness of Maon. ²⁶And Saul went on this side of the mountain, and David and his men on that side of the mountain: and David made haste to get away for fear of Saul; for Saul and his men compassed David and his men around to take them. ²⁷But there came a messenger to Saul, saying, Haste thee, and come; for the Philistines have invaded the land. ²⁸Wherefore Saul returned from pursuing after David, and went against the Philistines: therefore they called that place Sela-hammah-lekoth.

Chapter 24

¹\23:29\Then David went up from thence, and dwelt in strong holds at En-gedi. ²\24:1\And it came to pass, when Saul had returned from following the Philistines, that it was told to him, saying, Behold, David is in the wilderness of En-gedi. ³\24:2\Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and went to seek David and his men upon the rocks of the wild goats. ⁴\24:3\And he came to the sheep-cotes by the way, where was a cave; and Saul went in to cover his feet: and David and his men remained in the sides of the cave. ⁵\24:4\And the men of David said to him, Behold the day of which the LORD said to thee, Behold, I will deliver thy enemy into thy hand, that thou mayest do to him as it shall seem good to thee. Then David arose, and privately cut off the skirt of Saul's robe. ⁶\24:5\And it came to pass afterward, that David's heart smote him, because he had cut off Saul's skirt. ⁷\24:6\And he said to his men, The LORD forbid that I should do this thing to my master, the LORD'S anointed, to stretch forth my hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the LORD. ⁸\24:7\So David restrained his servants with these words, and suffered them not to rise against Saul. But Saul rose out of the cave, and went on his way. ⁹\24:8\David also rose afterward, and went out of the cave, and cried after Saul, saying, My lord the king. And when Saul looked behind him, David stooped with his face to the earth, and bowed himself. ¹⁰\24:9\And David said to Saul, Why hearest thou men's words, saying, Behold, David seeketh thy hurt? ¹¹\24:10\Behold, this day thy eyes have seen how the LORD hath delivered thee to-day into my hand in the cave; and some bade me kill thee: but my eye spared thee; and I said, I will not put forth my hand against my lord; for he is the LORD'S anointed. ¹²\24:11\Moreover, my father, see, yes, see the skirt of thy robe in my hand: for in that I cut off the skirt of thy robe, and killed thee not, know thou and see that there is neither evil nor transgression in my hand, and I have not sinned against thee; yet thou huntest my soul to take it. ¹³\24:12\The LORD judge between me and thee, and the LORD avenge me of thee: but my hand shall not be upon thee. ¹⁴\24:13\As saith the proverb of the ancients, Wickedness proceedeth from the wicked: but my hand shall not be upon thee. ¹⁵\24:14\After whom is the king of Israel come out? after whom dost thou pursue? after a dead dog, after a flea? ¹⁶\24:15\The LORD therefore be judge, and judge between me and thee, and see, and plead my cause, and deliver me out of thy hand. ¹⁷\24:16\And it came to pass when David had made an end of speaking these words to Saul, that Saul said, Is this thy voice, my son David? And Saul lifted up his voice, and wept. ¹⁸\24:17\And he said to David, thou art more righteous than I: for thou hast rewarded me with good, whereas I have rewarded thee with evil. ¹⁹\24:18\And thou hast showed this day how thou hast dealt with me; forasmuch as when the LORD had delivered me into thy hand, thou didst not kill me. ²⁰\24:19\For if a man findeth his enemy, will he let him go away well? wherefore the LORD reward thee with good, for what thou hast done to me this day. ²¹\24:20\And now, behold, I know well that thou wilt surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel will be established in thy hand. ²²\24:21\Swear now therefore to me by the LORD, that thou wilt not cut off my seed after me, and that thou wilt not destroy my name out of my father's house. ²³\24:22\And David swore to Saul. And Saul went home; but David and his men repaired to the hold.

Chapter 25

¹And Samuel died; and all the Israelites assembled, and lamented him, and buried him in his house at Ramah. And David arose, and went down to the wilderness of Paran. ²And there was a man in Maon, whose possessions were in Carmel; and the man was very great, and he had three thousand sheep, and a thousand goats: and he was shearing his sheep in Carmel. ³Now the name of the man was Nabal; and the name of his wife Abigail: and she was a woman of good understanding, and of a beautiful countenance: but the man was churlish and evil in his doings; and he was of the house of Caleb. ⁴And David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing his sheep. ⁵And David sent ten young men, and David said to the young men, Go up to Carmel, and go to Nabal, and greet him in my name: ⁶And thus shall ye say to him that liveth in prosperity, Peace be both to thee, and peace be to thy house, and peace be to all that thou hast. ⁷And now I have heard that thou hast shearers: now thy shepherds who were with us, we hurt them not, neither was there aught missing to them, all the while they were in Carmel. ⁸Ask thy young men, and they will show thee. Wherefore let the young men find favor in thy eyes: for we come in a good day: give, I pray thee, whatever cometh to thy hand, to thy servants, and to thy son David. ⁹And when David's young men came, they spoke to Nabal in the name of David, according to all these words, and ceased. ¹⁰And Nabal answered David's servants, and said, Who is David? and who is the son of Jesse? there are many servants in these days that break away every man from his master. ¹¹Shall I then take my bread, and my water, and my flesh that I have killed for my shearers, and give it to men, whom I know not whence they are? ¹²So David's young men turned their way, and went again, and came and told him all these sayings. ¹³And David said to his men, Gird ye on every man his sword. And they girded on every man his sword; and David also girded on his sword: and there went up after David about four hundred men; and two hundred abode by the goods. ¹⁴But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal's wife, saying, Behold, David sent messengers from the wilderness to salute our master; and he railed at them. ¹⁵But the men were very good to us, and we were not hurt, neither missed we any thing, as long as we were conversant with them, when we were in the fields: ¹⁶They were a wall to us both by night and day, all the while we were with them keeping the sheep. ¹⁷Now therefore know and consider what thou wilt do: for evil is determined against our master, and against all his household: for he is such a son of Belial, that a man cannot speak to him. ¹⁸Then Abigail made haste, and took two hundred loaves, and two bottles of wine, and five sheep ready dressed, and five measures of parched corn, and a hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs, and laid them on asses. ¹⁹And she said to her servants, Go on before me; behold, I come after you. But she told not her husband Nabal. ²⁰And it was so, as she rode on the ass, that she came down by the covert of the hill, and behold, David and his men came down over against her; and she met them. ²¹(Now David had said, Surely in vain have I kept all that this man hath in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that pertained to him: and he hath requited me evil for good. ²²So and more also do God to the enemies of David, if I leave of all that pertain to him by the morning light any male person.) ²³And when Abigail saw David, she hasted, and lighted off the ass, and fell before David on her face, and bowed herself to the ground. ²⁴And fell at his feet, and said, Upon me, my lord, upon me let this iniquity be: and let thy handmaid, I pray thee, speak in thy audience, and hear the words of thy handmaid. ²⁵Let not my lord, I pray thee, regard this man of Belial, even Nabal; for as his name is, so is he; Nabal is his name, and folly is with him: but I thy handmaid saw not the young men of my lord, whom thou didst send. ²⁶Now therefore, my lord, as the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, seeing the LORD hath withheld thee from coming to shed blood, and from avenging thyself with thy own hand, now let thy enemies, and they that seek evil to my lord, be as Nabal. ²⁷And now this blessing which thy handmaid hath brought to my lord, let it even be given to the young men that follow my lord. ²⁸I pray thee, forgive the trespass of thy handmaid: for the LORD will certainly make my lord a sure house; because my lord fighteth the battles of the LORD, and evil hath not been found in thee all thy days. ²⁹Yet a man hath risen to pursue thee, and to seek thy soul: but the soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of life with the LORD thy God; and the souls of thy enemies, them shall he sling out, as from the middle of a sling. ³⁰And it will come to pass, when the LORD shall have done to my lord according to all the good that he hath spoken concerning thee, and shall have appointed thee ruler over Israel; ³¹That this will be no grief to thee, nor offense of heart to my lord, either that thou hast shed blood without cause, or that my lord hath avenged himself: but when the LORD shall have dealt well with my lord, then remember thy handmaid. ³²And David said to Abigail, Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, who sent thee this day to meet me: ³³And blessed be thy advice, and blessed be thou, who hast kept me this day from coming to shed blood, and from avenging myself with my own hand. ³⁴For in very deed, as the LORD God of Israel liveth, who hath kept me back from hurting thee, except thou hadst hasted and come to meet me, surely there had not been left to Nabal by the morning light any male person. ³⁵So David received from her hand that which she had brought him, and said to her, Return in peace to thy house; see, I have hearkened to thy voice, and have accepted thy person. ³⁶And Abigail came to Nabal; and behold, he held a feast in his house, like the feast of a king; and Nabal's heart was merry within him, for he was very drunken: Therefore she told him nothing, less or more, until the morning light. ³⁷But it came to pass in the morning, when the wine had left Nabal, and his wife had told him these things, that his heart died within him, and he became as a stone. ³⁸And it came to pass about ten days after, that the LORD smote Nabal, that he died. ³⁹And when David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, Blessed be the LORD, that hath pleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and hath kept his servant from evil: for the LORD hath returned the wickedness of Nabal upon his own head. And David sent and communed with Abigail, to take her to himself for a wife. ⁴⁰And when the servants of David had come to Abigail to Carmel, they spoke to her, saying, David hath sent us to thee, to take thee to him for a wife. ⁴¹And she arose, and bowed herself on her face to the earth, and said, Behold, let thy handmaid be a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord. ⁴²And Abigail hasted, and arose, and rode upon an ass, with five damsels of hers that went after her; and she went after the messengers of David, and became his wife. ⁴³David also took Ahinoam of Jezreel; and they were also both of them his wives. ⁴⁴But Saul had given Michal his daughter, David's wife, to Phalti the son of Laish, who was of Gallim.

Chapter 26

¹And the Ziphites came to Saul to Gibeah, saying, Doth not David hide himself in the hill of Hachilah, which is before Jeshimon? ²Then Saul arose, and went down to the wilderness of Ziph, having three thousand chosen men of Israel with him, to seek David in the wilderness of Ziph. ³And Saul pitched in the hill of Hachilah, which is before Jeshimon, by the way. But David abode in the wilderness, and he saw that Saul came after him into the wilderness. ⁴David therefore sent out spies, and understood that Saul had come in very deed. ⁵And David arose, and came to the place where Saul had encamped; and David beheld the place where Saul lay, and Abner, the son of Ner, the captain of his host: and Saul lay in the trench, and the people pitched around him. ⁶Then answered David, and said to Ahimelech the Hittite, and to Abishai, the son of Zeruiah, brother to Joab, saying, Who will go down with me to Saul to the camp? And Abishai said, I will go down with thee. ⁷So David and Abishai came to the people by night, and behold, Saul lay sleeping within the trench, and his spear stuck in the ground at his bolster: but Abner and the people lay about him. ⁸Then said Abishai to David, God hath delivered thy enemy into thy hand this day; now therefore let me smite him, I pray thee, with the spear, even to the earth at once, and I will not smite him the second time. ⁹And David said to Abishai, Destroy him not; for who can stretch forth his hand against the LORD'S anointed and be guiltless? ¹⁰David said furthermore, As the LORD liveth, the LORD will smite him; or his day will come to die; or he will descend into battle and perish. ¹¹The LORD forbid that I should stretch forth my hand against the LORD'S anointed: but, I pray thee, take thou now the spear that is at his bolster, and the cruse of water, and let us go. ¹²So David took the spear and the cruse of water from Saul's bolster; and they departed, and no man saw it, nor knew it, neither awaked: for they were all asleep: because a deep sleep from the LORD had fallen upon them. ¹³Then David went over to the other side, and stood on the top of a hill afar off; a great space being between them: ¹⁴And David cried to the people, and to Abner the son of Ner, saying, Answerest thou not, Abner? Then Abner answered and said, Who art thou that criest to the king? ¹⁵And David said to Abner, Art not thou a valiant man? and who is like to thee in Israel? why then hast thou not kept thy lord the king? for there came in one of the people to destroy the king thy lord. ¹⁶This thing is not good that thou hast done. As the LORD liveth, ye are worthy to die, because ye have not kept your master the LORD'S anointed. And now see where the king's spear is, and the cruse of water that was at his bolster. ¹⁷And Saul knew David's voice, and said, Is this thy voice, my son David? and David said, It is my voice, my lord, O king. ¹⁸And he said, Why doth my lord thus pursue his servant? for what have I done? or what evil is in my hand? ¹⁹Now therefore, I pray thee, let my lord the king hear the words of his servant. If the LORD hath stirred thee up against me, let him accept an offering: but if they are the children of men, cursed be they before the LORD; for they have driven me out this day from abiding in the inheritance of the LORD, saying, Go, serve other gods. ²⁰Now therefore, let not my blood fall to the earth before the face of the LORD: for the king of Israel hath come out to seek a flea, as when one doth hunt a partridge in the mountains. ²¹Then said Saul, I have sinned: return, my son David: for I will no more do thee harm, because my soul was precious in thy eyes this day: behold I have played the fool, and have erred exceedingly. ²²And David answered and said, Behold the king's spear! and let one of the young men come over and take it. ²³The LORD render to every man his righteousness and his faithfulness: for the LORD delivered thee into my hand to-day, but I would not stretch forth my hand against the LORD'S anointed. ²⁴And behold, as thy life was precious this day in my eyes, so let my life be precious in the eyes of the LORD, and let him deliver me out of all tribulation. ²⁵Then Saul said to David, Blessed be thou, my son David: thou shalt both do great things, and also shalt still prevail. So David went on his way, and Saul returned to his place.

Chapter 27

¹And David said in his heart, I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul: there is nothing better for me than that I should speedily escape into the land of the Philistines; and Saul will despair of me, to seek me any more in any border of Israel; so shall I escape from his hand. ²And David arose, and he passed over with the six hundred men that were with him to Achish, the son of Maoch, king of Gath. ³And David dwelt with Achish at Gath, he and his men, every man with his household, even David with his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the Carmelitess Nabal's wife. ⁴And it was told to Saul that David had fled to Gath: and he sought no more again for him. ⁵And David said to Achish, If I have now found grace in thy eyes, let them give me a place in some town in the country, that I may dwell there: for why should thy servant dwell in the royal city with thee? ⁶Then Achish gave him Ziklag that day: wherefore Ziklag pertaineth to the kings of Judah to this day. ⁷And the time that David dwelt in the country of the Philistines was a full year and four months. ⁸And David and his men went up, and invaded the Geshurites, and the Gezrites, and the Amalekites: for those nations were of old the inhabitants of the land, as thou goest to Shur, even to the land of Egypt. ⁹And David smote the land, and left neither man nor woman alive, and took away the sheep, and the oxen, and the asses, and the camels, and the apparel, and returned, and came to Achish. ¹⁰And Achish said, Whither have ye made a road to-day? And David said, Against the south of Judah, and against the south of the Jerahmeelites, and against the south of the Kenites. ¹¹And David saved neither man nor woman alive, to bring tidings to Gath, saying, Lest they should inform against us, saying, So did David, and so will be his manner all the while he dwelleth in the country of the Philistines. ¹²And Achish believed David, saying, He hath made his people Israel utterly to abhor him; therefore he shall be my servant for ever.

Chapter 28

¹And it came to pass in those days, that the Philistines collected their armies for warfare, to fight with Israel. And Achish said to David, Know thou assuredly, that thou shalt go out with me to battle, thou and thy men. ²And David said to Achish, Surely thou shalt know what thy servant can do. And Achish said to David, Therefore will I make thee keeper of my head for ever. ³Now Samuel was dead, and all Israel had lamented him, and buried him in Ramah, even in his own city. And Saul had put away those that had familiar spirits, and the wizards, out of the land. ⁴And the Philistines assembled, and came and encamped in Shunem: and Saul collected all Israel, and they encamped in Gilboa. ⁵And when Saul saw the host of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart greatly trembled. ⁶And when Saul inquired of the LORD, the LORD answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets. ⁷Then said Saul to his servants, seek me a woman that hath a familiar spirit, that I may go to her, and inquire of her. And his servants said to him, Behold, there is a woman that hath a familiar spirit at En-dor. ⁸And Saul disguised himself, and put on other raiment, and he went, and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night: and he said, I pray thee, divine to me by the familiar spirit, and bring up for me whom I shall name to thee. ⁹And the woman said to him, Behold, thou knowest what Saul hath done, how he hath cut off those that have familiar spirits, and the wizards, out of the land: Why then layest thou a snare for my life, to cause me to die? ¹⁰And Saul swore to her by the LORD, saying, As the LORD liveth, there shall no punishment happen to thee for this thing. ¹¹Then said the woman, whom shall I bring up to thee? And he said, Bring me up Samuel. ¹²And when the woman saw Samuel, she cried with a loud voice: and the woman spoke to Saul, saying, Why hast thou deceived me? for thou art Saul. ¹³And the king said to her be not afraid: for what sawest thou? And the woman said to Saul, I saw gods ascending out of the earth. ¹⁴And he said to her, What is his form? And she said, An old man cometh up; and he is covered with a mantle. And Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and he stooped with his face to the ground, and bowed himself. ¹⁵And Samuel said to Saul, Why hast thou disquieted me, to bring me up? And Saul answered, I am grievously distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God hath departed from me, and answereth me no more, neither by prophets, nor by dreams: therefore I have called thee, that thou mayest make known to me what I shall do. ¹⁶Then said Samuel, Why then dost thou ask of me, seeing the LORD hath departed from thee, and hath become thy enemy? ¹⁷And the LORD hath done to him, as he spoke by me: for the LORD hath rent the kingdom out of thy hand, and given it to thy neighbor, even to David: ¹⁸Because thou didst not obey the voice of the LORD, nor execute his fierce wrath upon Amalek, therefore hath the LORD done this thing to thee this day. ¹⁹Moreover, the LORD will also deliver Israel with thee into the hand of the Philistines: and to-morrow shalt thou and thy sons be with me: the LORD also shall deliver the host of Israel into the hand of the Philistines. ²⁰Then Saul fell immediately all along on the earth, and was exceedingly afraid, because of the words of Samuel: and there was no strength in him; for he had eaten no bread all the day, nor all the night. ²¹And the woman came to Saul, and saw that he was greatly troubled, and said to him, Behold, thy handmaid hath obeyed thy voice, and I have put my life in my hand, and have hearkened to thy words, which thou didst speak ²²Now therefore, I pray thee, hearken thou also to the voice of thy handmaid, and let me set a morsel of bread before thee; and eat, that thou mayest have strength, when thou goest on thy way. ²³But he refused, and said, I will not eat. But his servants, together with the woman, compelled him; and he hearkened to their voice. So he arose from the earth, and sat upon the bed. ²⁴And the woman had a fat calf in the house: and she hasted and killed it, and took flour, and kneaded it, and baked unleavened bread of it. ²⁵And she brought it before Saul, and before his servants; and they ate. Then they arose and went away that night.

Chapter 29

¹Now the Philistines collected all their armies to Aphek: and the Israelites encamped by a fountain which is in Jezreel. ²And the lords of the Philistines passed on by hundreds, and by thousands: but David and his men passed on in the rear with Achish. ³Then said the princes of the Philistines, What do these Hebrews here? And Achish said to the princes of the Philistines, Is not this David, the servant of Saul the king of Israel, who hath been with me these days, or these years, and I have found no fault in him since he fell to me to this day? ⁴And the princes of the Philistines were wroth with him; and the princes of the Philistines said to him, Make this man return, that he may go again to his place which thou hast appointed him, and let him not go down with us to battle, lest in the battle he should be an adversary to us: for with what would he reconcile himself to his master? would it not be with the heads of these men? ⁵Is not this David, of whom they sung one to another in dances, saying, Saul slew his thousands, and David his ten thousands? ⁶Then Achish called David, and said to him, Surely, as the LORD liveth, thou hast been upright, and thy going out and thy coming in with me in the host is good in my sight: for I have not found evil in thee from the day of thy coming to me to this day: nevertheless the lords favor thee not. ⁷Therefore now return, and go in peace, that thou displease not the lords of the Philistines. ⁸And David said to Achish, But what have I done? and what hast thou found in thy servant, so long as I have been with thee to this day, that I may not go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king. ⁹And Achish answered and said to David, I know that thou art good in my sight, as an angel of God: notwithstanding, the princes of the Philistines have said, He shall not go up with us to the battle. ¹⁰Wherefore now rise early in the morning with thy master's servants that are come with thee: and as soon as ye shall have risen early in the morning, and have light, depart. ¹¹So David and his men rose early to depart in the morning, to return into the land of the Philistines. And the Philistines went up to Jezreel.

Chapter 30

¹And it came to pass, when David and his men were come to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the south, and Ziklag, and smitten Ziklag, and burned it with fire; ²And had taken the women captives that were in it, they slew not any, either great or small, but carried them away, and went on their way. ³So David and his men came to the city, and behold, it was burned with fire; and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, were taken captives. ⁴Then David and the people that were with him, lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep. ⁵And David's two wives were taken captives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite. ⁶And David was greatly distressed: for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons, and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God. ⁷And David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech's son, I pray thee bring me hither the ephod. And Abiathar brought thither the ephod to David. ⁸And David inquired of the LORD, saying, Shall I pursue this troop? shall I overtake them? And he answered him, Pursue; for thou shalt surely overtake them, and without fail recover all. ⁹So David went, he and the six hundred men that were with him, and came to the brook Besor, where those that were left behind remained. ¹⁰But David pursued, he and four hundred men: for two hundred abode behind, who were so faint that they could not go over the brook Besor. ¹¹And they found an Egyptian in the field, and brought him to David, and gave him bread, and he ate; and they made him drink water; ¹²And they gave him a piece of a cake of figs, and two clusters of raisins: and when he had eaten, his spirit came again to him: for he had eaten no bread, nor drank any water, three days and three nights. ¹³And David said to him, To whom belongest thou? and whence art thou? And he said, I am a young man of Egypt, servant to an Amalekite; and my master left me, because three days ago I fell sick. ¹⁴We made an invasion upon the south of the Cherethites, and upon the coast which belongeth to Judah, and upon the south of Caleb; and we burned Ziklag with fire. ¹⁵And David said to him, Canst thou conduct me down to this company? And he said, Swear to me by God, that thou wilt neither kill me, nor deliver me into the hands of my master, and I will lead thee down to this company. ¹⁶And when he had conducted him down, behold, they were spread abroad upon all the earth, eating and drinking, and dancing, because of all the great spoil that they had taken from the land of the Philistines, and from the land of Judah. ¹⁷And David smote them from the twilight even to the evening of the next day: and there escaped not a man of them, save four hundred young men, who rode upon camels, and fled. ¹⁸And David recovered all that the Amalekites had carried away: and David rescued his two wives. ¹⁹And there was nothing lacking to them, neither small nor great, neither sons nor daughters, neither spoil, nor any thing that they had taken to them: David recovered all. ²⁰And David took all the flocks and the herds, which they drove before those other cattle, and said, This is David's spoil. ²¹And David came to the two hundred men, who were so faint that they could not follow David, whom they had made also to abide at the brook Besor: and they went forth to meet David, and to meet the people that were with him: and when David came near to the people, he saluted them. ²²Then answered all the wicked men, and men of Belial, of those that went with David, and said, Because they went not with us, we will not give them aught of the spoil that we have recovered, save to every man his wife and his children, that they may lead them away, and depart. ²³Then said David, Ye shall not do so, my brethren, with that which the LORD hath given us, who hath preserved us, and delivered the company that came against us into our hand. ²⁴For who will hearken to you in this matter? but as his part is that goeth down to the battle, so shall his part be that tarrieth by the goods: they shall part alike. ²⁵And it was so from that day forward, that he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel to this day. ²⁶And when David came to Ziklag, he sent of the spoil to the elders of Judah, even to his friends, saying, Behold a present for you, of the spoil of the enemies of the LORD; ²⁷To them who were in Beth-el, and to them who were in south Ramoth, and to them who were in Jattir, ²⁸And to them who were in Aroer, and to them who were in Siphmoth, and to them who were in Eshtemoa, ²⁹And to them who were in Rachal, and to them who were in the cities of the Jerahmeelites, and to them who were in the cities of the Kenites, ³⁰And to them who were in Hormah, and to them who were in Chor-ashan, and to them who were in Athach, ³¹And to them who were in Hebron, and to all the places where David himself and his men were accustomed to resort.

Chapter 31

¹Now the Philistines fought against Israel: and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell down slain in mount Gilboa. ²And the Philistines followed hard upon Saul and upon his sons; and the Philistines slew Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Malchi-shua, Saul's sons. ³And the battle was severe against Saul, and the archers hit him; and he was severely wounded by the archers. ⁴Then said Saul to his armor-bearer, Draw thy sword, and thrust me through with it; lest these uncircumcised should come and thrust me through, and abuse me. But his armor-bearer would not; for he was exceedingly afraid. Therefore Saul took a sword, and fell upon it. ⁵And when his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he fell likewise upon his sword, and died with him. ⁶So Saul died, and his three sons, and his armor-bearer, and all his men, that same day together. ⁷And when the men of Israel that were on the other side of the valley, and they that were on the other side of Jordan, saw that the men of Israel fled, and that Saul and his sons were dead, they forsook the cities, and fled; and the Philistines came and dwelt in them. ⁸And it came to pass on the morrow, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, that they found Saul and his three sons fallen in mount Gilboa. ⁹And they cut off his head, and stripped off his armor, and sent into the land of the Philistines round about, to publish it in the house of their idols, and among the people. ¹⁰And they put his armor in the house of Ashtaroth: and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth-shan. ¹¹And when the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard of that which the Philistines had done to Saul, ¹²All the valiant men arose, and went all night, and took the body of Saul, and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-shan, and came to Jabesh, and burnt them there. ¹³And they took their bones, and buried them under a tree at Jabesh, and fasted seven days.

2 Samuel

Chapter 1

¹Now it came to pass after the death of Saul, when David had returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites, and David had abode two days in Ziklag; ²It came even to pass on the third day, that behold, a man came out of the camp from Saul with his clothes rent, and earth upon his head: and so it was, when he came to David, that he fell to the earth, and did obeisance. ³And David said to him, From whence comest thou? And he said to him, Out of the camp of Israel have I escaped. ⁴And David said to him, How went the matter? I pray thee, tell me. And he answered, That the people have fled from the battle, and many of the people also have fallen, and are dead; and Saul and Jonathan his son are dead also. ⁵And David said to the young man that told him, How knowest thou that Saul and Jonathan his son are dead? ⁶And the young man that told him said, As I happened by chance upon mount Gilboa, behold, Saul leaned upon his spear; and lo, the chariots and horsemen followed hard after him. ⁷And when he looked behind him, he saw me, and called to me. And I answered, Here am I. ⁸And he said to me, Who art thou? And I answered him, I am an Amalekite. ⁹He said to me again, Stand, I pray thee, upon me, and slay me: for anguish is come upon me, because my life is yet whole in me. ¹⁰So I stood upon him, and slew him, because I was sure that he could not live after that he had fallen: and I took the crown that was upon his head, and the bracelet that was on his arm, and have brought them hither to my lord. ¹¹Then David took hold on his clothes, and rent them; and likewise all the men that were with him: ¹²And they mourned and wept, and fasted until evening, for Saul and for Jonathan his son, and for the people of the LORD, and for the house of Israel; because they had fallen by the sword. ¹³And David said to the young man that told him, Whence art thou? And he answered, I am the son of a stranger, an Amalekite. ¹⁴And David said to him, How wast thou not afraid to stretch forth thy hand to destroy the LORD'S anointed? ¹⁵And David called one of the young men, and said, Go near, and fall upon him. And he smote him that he died. ¹⁶And David said to him, Thy blood be upon thy head; for thy mouth hath testified against thee, saying, I have slain the LORD'S anointed. ¹⁷And David lamented with this lamentation over Saul, and over Jonathan his son: ¹⁸(Also he bade them teach the children of Judah the use of the bow: behold, it is written in the book of Jasher.) ¹⁹The beauty of Israel is slain upon thy high places: how are the mighty fallen! ²⁰Tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Askelon; lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph. ²¹Ye mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew, neither rain upon you, nor fields of offerings: for there the shield of the mighty is vilely cast away, the shield of Saul, as though he had not been anointed with oil. ²²From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty, the bow of Jonathan turned not back, and the sword of Saul returned not empty. ²³Saul and Jonathan were lovely and pleasant in their lives, and in their death they were not divided: they were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions. ²⁴Ye daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, who clothed you in scarlet, with other delights, who put ornaments of gold upon your apparel. ²⁵How are the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle! O Jonathan thou wast slain in thy high places. ²⁶I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan: very pleasant hast thou been to me: thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women. ²⁷How have the mighty fallen, and the weapons of war perished!

Chapter 2

¹And it came to pass after this, that David inquired of the LORD, saying, Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah? And the LORD said to him, Go up. And David said, Whither shall I go up? And he said, To Hebron. ²So David went up thither, and his two wives also, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail, Nabal's wife the Carmelite. ³And his men that were with him did David bring up, every man with his household: and they dwelt in the cities of Hebron. ⁴And the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah. And they told David, saying, That the men of Jabesh-gilead were they that buried Saul. ⁵And David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh-gilead, and said to them, Blessed be ye of the LORD, that ye have shown this kindness to your lord, even to Saul, and have buried him. ⁶And now the LORD show kindness and truth to you: and I also will requite you this kindness, because ye have done this thing. ⁷Therefore now let your hands be strengthened, and be ye valiant: for your master Saul is dead, and also the house of Judah have anointed me king over them. ⁸But Abner the son of Ner, captain of Saul's host, took Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, and brought him over to Mahanaim; ⁹And he made him king over Gilead, and over the Ashurites, and over Jezreel, and over Ephraim, and over Benjamin, and over all Israel. ¹⁰Ish-bosheth, Saul's son, was forty years old when he began to reign over Israel, and he reigned two years: but the house of Judah followed David. ¹¹And the time that David was king in Hebron, over the house of Judah, was seven years and six months. ¹²And Abner the son of Ner, and the servants of Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon. ¹³And Joab the son of Zeruiah, and the servants of David went out, and met together by the pool of Gibeon: and they sat down, the one on the one side of the pool, and the other on the other side of the pool. ¹⁴And Abner said to Joab, Let the young men now arise, and play before us. And Joab said, Let them arise. ¹⁵Then there arose, and went over by number twelve of Benjamin, who pertained to Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, and twelve of the servants of David. ¹⁶And they caught every one his fellow by the head, and thrust his sword in his fellow's side: so they fell down together: wherefore that place was called Helkath-hazzurim, which is in Gibeon. ¹⁷And there was a very severe battle that day; and Abner was defeated, and the men of Israel, before the servants of David. ¹⁸And there were three sons of Zeruiah there, Joab, and Abishai, and Asahel: and Asahel was as light of foot as a wild roe. ¹⁹And Asahel pursued after Abner; and in going he turned not to the right hand nor to the left from following Abner. ²⁰Then Abner looked behind him, and said, Art thou Asahel? And he answered, I am. ²¹And Abner said to him, Turn thee aside to thy right hand or to thy left, and lay hold on one of the young men, and take to thee his armor. But Asahel would not turn aside from following him. ²²And Abner said again to Asahel, Turn thee aside from following me: Why should I smite thee to the ground? how then should I hold up my face to Joab thy brother? ²³But he refused to turn aside: wherefore Abner with the hinder end of the spear smote him under the fifth rib, that the spear came out behind him; and he fell down there, and died in the same place: and it came to pass, that as many as came to the place where Asahel fell down and died, stood still. ²⁴Joab also, and Abishai pursued Abner: and the sun went down when they had come to the hill of Ammah, that lieth before Giah by the way of the wilderness of Gibeon. ²⁵And the children of Benjamin assembled themselves after Abner, and became one troop, and stood on the top of a hill. ²⁶Then Abner called to Joab, and said, Shall the sword devour for ever? knowest thou not that it will be bitterness in the latter end? how long shall it be then, ere thou wilt bid the people return from following their brethren? ²⁷And Joab said, As God liveth, unless thou hadst spoken, surely then in the morning the people had gone up every one from following his brother. ²⁸So Joab blew a trumpet, and all the people stood still, and pursued Israel no more, neither fought they any more. ²⁹And Abner and his men walked all that night through the plain, and passed over Jordan, and went through all Bithron, and they came to Mahanaim. ³⁰And Joab returned from following Abner: and when he had assembled all the people, there lacked of David's servants nineteen men, and Asahel. ³¹But the servants of David had smitten of Benjamin, and of Abner's men, so that three hundred and sixty men died. ³²And they took up Asahel, and buried him in the sepulcher of his father, which was in Beth-lehem. And Joab and his men went all night, and they came to Hebron at break of day.

Chapter 3

¹Now there was long war between the house of Saul and the house of David: but David grew stronger and stronger, and the house of Saul became weaker and weaker. ²And to David were sons born in Hebron: and his first-born was Amnon, of Ahinoam the Jezreelitess; ³And his second, Chileab, of Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite; and the third, Absalom the son of Maacah, the daughter of Talmai king of Geshur; ⁴And the fourth, Adonijah the son of Haggith; and the fifth, Shephatiah the son of Abital; ⁵And the sixth, Ithream, by Eglah David's wife. These were born to David in Hebron. ⁶And it came to pass, while there was war between the house of Saul and the house of David, that Abner made himself strong for the house of Saul. ⁷And Saul had a concubine, whose name was Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah: and Ish-bosheth said to Abner, Why hast thou gone in to my father's concubine? ⁸Then was Abner very wroth for the words of Ish-bosheth, and said, Am I a dog's head, who against Judah do show kindness this day to the house of Saul thy father, to his brethren, and to his friends, and have not delivered thee into the hand of David, that thou chargest me to-day with a fault concerning this woman? ⁹So do God to Abner, and more also, except, as the LORD hath sworn to David, even so I do to him; ¹⁰To translate the kingdom from the house of Saul, and to set up the throne of David over Israel and over Judah, from Dan even to Beer-sheba. ¹¹And he could not answer Abner a word again, because he feared him. ¹²And Abner sent messengers to David on his behalf, saying, Whose is the land? saying also, Make thy league with me, and behold, my hand shall be with thee, to bring about all Israel to thee. ¹³And he said, Well; I will make a league with thee: but one thing I require of thee, that is, Thou shalt not see my face, except thou shalt first bring Michal, Saul's daughter, when thou comest to see my face. ¹⁴And David sent messengers to Ish-bosheth, Saul's son, saying, Deliver to me my wife Michal, whom I espoused to me for a hundred foreskins of the Philistines. ¹⁵And Ish-bosheth sent, and took her from her husband, even from Phaltiel the son of Laish. ¹⁶And her husband went with her, weeping behind her to Bahurim. Then said Abner to him, Go, return. And he returned. ¹⁷And Abner had communication with the elders of Israel, saying, Ye sought for David in times past to be king over you: ¹⁸Now then do it: for the LORD hath spoken of David, saying, By the hand of my servant David I will save my people Israel from the hand of the Philistines, and from the hand of all their enemies. ¹⁹And Abner also spoke in the ears of Benjamin: and Abner went also to speak in the ears of David in Hebron all that seemed good to Israel, and that seemed good to the whole house of Benjamin. ²⁰So Abner came to David in Hebron, and twenty men with him: and David made Abner and the men that were with him, a feast. ²¹And Abner said to David, I will arise and go, and will gather all Israel to my lord the king, that they may make a league with thee, and that thou mayest reign over all that thy heart desireth. And David sent Abner away; and he went in peace. ²²And behold, the servants of David and Joab came from pursuing a troop, and brought in a great spoil with them: but Abner was not with David in Hebron; for he had sent him away, and he had gone in peace. ²³When Joab and all the host that was with him had come, they told Joab, saying, Abner the son of Ner came to the king, and he hath sent him away, and he hath gone in peace. ²⁴Then Joab came to the king, and said, What hast thou done? behold, Abner came to thee; why is it that thou hast sent him away, and he is quite gone? ²⁵Thou knowest Abner the son of Ner, that he came to deceive thee, and to know thy going-out and thy coming-in, and to know all that thou doest. ²⁶And when Joab had come out from David, he sent messengers after Abner, who brought him again from the well of Sirah: but David knew it not. ²⁷And when Abner had returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside in the gate to speak with him quietly, and smote him there under the fifth rib that he died, for the blood of Asahel his brother. ²⁸And afterward when David heard it, he said, I and my kingdom are guiltless before the LORD for ever from the blood of Abner the son of Ner: ²⁹Let it rest on the head of Joab, and on all his father's house; and let there not fail from the house of Joab one that hath an issue, or that is a leper, or that leaneth on a staff, or that falleth on the sword, or that lacketh bread. ³⁰So Joab and Abishai his brother slew Abner, because he had slain their brother Asahel at Gibeon in the battle. ³¹And David said to Joab, and to all the people that were with him, Rend your clothes, and gird you with sackcloth, and mourn before Abner. And king David himself followed the bier. ³²And they buried Abner in Hebron: and the king lifted up his voice and wept at the grave of Abner; and all the people wept. ³³And the king lamented over Abner, and said, Died Abner as a fool dieth? ³⁴Thy hands were not bound, nor thy feet put into fetters: as a man falleth before wicked men, so fellest thou. And all the people wept again over him. ³⁵And when all the people came to cause David to eat food while it was yet day, David swore, saying, So do God to me, and more also, If I taste bread or aught else, till the sun is down. ³⁶And all the people took notice of it, and it pleased them: as what ever the king did pleased all the people. ³⁷For all the people and all Israel understood that day that it was not of the king to slay Abner the son of Ner. ³⁸And the king said to his servants, Know ye not that there hath a prince and a great man fallen this day in Israel? ³⁹And I am this day weak, though anointed king; and these men the sons of Zeruiah are too hard for me. The LORD shall reward the doer of evil according to his wickedness.

Chapter 4

¹And when Saul's son heard that Abner was dead in Hebron, his hands were feeble, and all the Israelites were troubled. ²And Saul's son had two men that were captains of bands: the name of the one was Baanah, and the name of the other Rechab, the sons of Rimmon a Beerothite, of the children of Benjamin: (For Beeroth also was reckoned to Benjamin: ³And the Beerothites fled to Gittaim, and have been sojourners there until this day.) ⁴And Jonathan, Saul's son, had a son that was lame of his feet: he was five years old when the tidings came of Saul and Jonathan out of Jezreel, and his nurse took him up, and fled: and it came to pass, as she made haste to flee, that he fell, and became lame. And his name was Mephibosheth. ⁵And the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, Rechab and Baanah, went, and came about the heat of the day to the house of Ish-bosheth, who lay on a bed at noon. ⁶And they came thither into the midst of the house, as though they would have fetched wheat; and they smote him under the fifth rib: and Rechab and Baanah his brother escaped. ⁷For when they came into the house, he lay on his bed in his bed-chamber, and they smote him, and slew him, and beheaded him, and took his head, and went away through the plain all night. ⁸And they brought the head of Ish-bosheth to David to Hebron, and said to the king, Behold the head of Ish-bosheth the son of Saul thy enemy, who sought thy life; and the LORD hath avenged my lord the king this day of Saul and of his seed. ⁹And David answered Rechab and Baanah his brother, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, and said to them, As the LORD liveth, who hath redeemed my soul out of all adversity, ¹⁰When one told me, saying, Behold, Saul is dead, (thinking to have brought good tidings,) I took hold of him, and slew him in Ziklag, who thought that I would have given him a reward for his tidings: ¹¹How much more, when wicked men have slain a righteous person in his own house upon his bed? shall I not therefore now require his blood of your hand, and take you away from the earth? ¹²And David commanded his young men, and they slew them, and cut off their hands and their feet, and hanged them over the pool in Hebron. But they took the head of Ish-bosheth, and buried it in the sepulcher of Abner in Hebron.

Chapter 5

¹Then came all the tribes of Israel to David to Hebron, and spoke, saying, Behold, we are thy bone and thy flesh. ²Also in time past, when Saul was king over us, thou wast he that leddest out and broughtest in Israel: and the LORD said to thee, Thou shalt feed my people Israel, and thou shalt be a captain over Israel. ³So all the elders of Israel came to the king to Hebron; and king David made a league with them in Hebron before the LORD: and they anointed David king over Israel. ⁴David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years. ⁵In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months: and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty and three years over all Israel and Judah. ⁶And the king and his men went to Jerusalem to the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land: who spoke to David, saying, Except thou shalt take away the blind and the lame, thou shalt not come in hither: thinking, David cannot come in hither. ⁷Nevertheless, David took the strong hold of Zion: the same is the city of David. ⁸And David said on that day, Whoever getteth up to the gutter, and smiteth the Jebusites, and the lame and the blind, that are hated by David's soul, he shall be chief and captain: Wherefore they said, The blind and the lame shall not come into the house. ⁹So David dwelt in the fort, and called it the city of David. And David built around from Millo and inward. ¹⁰And David went on, and grew great, and the LORD God of hosts was with him. ¹¹And Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and cedar-trees, and carpenters, and masons: and they built David a house. ¹²And David perceived that the LORD had established him king over Israel, and that he had exalted his kingdom for his people Israel's sake. ¹³And David took him more concubines and wives out of Jerusalem, after he had come from Hebron: and there were yet sons and daughters born to David. ¹⁴And these are the names of those that were born to him in Jerusalem; Shammuah, and Shobab, and Nathan, and Solomon, ¹⁵Ibhar also, and Elishua, and Nepheg, and Japhia, ¹⁶And Elishama, and Eliada, and Eliphalet. ¹⁷But when the Philistines heard that they had anointed David king over Israel, all the Philistines came up to seek David; and David heard of it, and went down to the hold. ¹⁸The Philistines also came and spread themselves in the valley of Rephaim. ¹⁹And David inquired of the LORD, saying, Shall I go up to the Philistines? wilt thou deliver them into my hand? And the LORD said to David, Go up: for I will doubtless deliver the Philistines into thy hand. ²⁰And David came to Baal-perazim, and David smote them there, and said, The LORD hath broken forth upon my enemies before me, as the breach of waters. Therefore he called the name of that place Baal-perazim. ²¹And there they left their images, and David and his men burned them. ²²And the Philistines came yet again, and spread themselves in the valley of Rephaim. ²³And when David inquired of the LORD, he said, Thou shalt not go up: but fetch a compass behind them, and come upon them over against the mulberry-trees. ²⁴And let it be, when thou hearest the sound of a going in the tops of the mulberry-trees, that then thou shalt bestir thyself: for then shall the LORD go out before thee, to smite the host of the Philistines. ²⁵And David did so as the LORD had commanded him; and smote the Philistines from Geba until thou comest to Gazer.

Chapter 6

¹Again, David assembled all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand, ²And David arose, and went with all the people that were with him from Baale of Judah, to bring up from thence the ark of God, whose name is called by the name of the LORD of hosts that dwelleth between the cherubim. ³And they set the ark of God upon a new cart, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab that was in Gibeah: and Uzzah and Ahio the sons of Abinadab drove the new cart. ⁴And they brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was at Gibeah, accompanying the ark of God: and Ahio went before the ark. ⁵And David and all the house of Israel played before the LORD on all manner of instruments made of fir wood, even on harps, and on psalteries, and on timbrels, and on cornets, and on cymbals. ⁶And when they came to Nachon's threshing-floor, Uzzah put forth his hand to the ark of God, and took hold of it: for the oxen shook it. ⁷And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Uzzah, and God smote him there for his error; and there he died by the ark of God. ⁸And David was displeased, because the LORD had made a breach upon Uzzah: and he called the name of the place Perez-uzzah to this day. ⁹And David was afraid of the LORD that day, and said, How shall the ark of the LORD come to me? ¹⁰So David would not remove the ark of the LORD to him into the city of David: but David carried it aside into the house of Obed-edom the Gittite. ¹¹And the ark of the LORD continued in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite three months: and the LORD blessed Obed-edom and all his household. ¹²And it was told king David, saying, The LORD hath blessed the house of Obed-edom, and all that pertaineth to him, because of the ark of God. So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom into the city of David with gladness. ¹³And it was so, that when they that bore the ark of the LORD had gone six paces, he sacrificed oxen and fatlings. ¹⁴And David danced before the LORD with all his might; and David was girded with a linen ephod. ¹⁵So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet. ¹⁶And as the ark of the LORD came into the city of David, Michal, Saul's daughter, looked through a window, and saw king David leaping and dancing before the LORD; and she despised him in her heart. ¹⁷And they brought in the ark of the LORD, and set it in its place, in the midst of the tabernacle that David had pitched for it: and David offered burnt-offerings and peace-offerings before the LORD. ¹⁸And as soon as David had made an end of offering burnt-offerings and peace-offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD of hosts. ¹⁹And he dealt among all the people, even among the whole multitude of Israel, as well to the women as men, to every one a cake of bread, and a good piece of flesh, and a flagon of wine. So all the people departed every one to his house. ²⁰Then David returned to bless his household. And Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David, and said, How glorious was the king of Israel to-day, who uncovered himself to-day in the eyes of the handmaids of his servants, as one of the vain fellows shamelessly uncovereth himself! ²¹And David said to Michal, It was before the LORD, who chose me before thy father, and before all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the LORD, over Israel: therefore will I play before the LORD. ²²And I shall yet be more vile than thus, and shall be base in my own sight: and by the maid-servants which thou hast spoken of, by them shall I be had in honor. ²³Therefore Michal the daughter of Saul had no child until the day of her death.

Chapter 7

¹And it came to pass, when the king sat in his house, and the LORD had given him rest around from all his enemies; ²That the king said to Nathan the prophet, See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwelleth within curtains. ³And Nathan said to the king, Go, do all that is in thy heart: for the LORD is with thee. ⁴And it came to pass that night, that the word of the LORD came to Nathan, saying, ⁵Go and tell my servant David, Thus saith the LORD, Wilt thou build me a house for me to dwell in? ⁶Whereas I have not dwelt in any house since the time that I brought the children of Israel out of Egypt, even to this day, but have walked in a tent, and in a tabernacle. ⁷In all the places in which I have walked with all the children of Israel have I spoken a word with any of the tribes of Israel, whom I commanded to feed my people Israel, saying, Why do ye not build me a house of cedar? ⁸Now therefore so shalt thou say to my servant David, thus saith the LORD of hosts, I took thee from the sheep-cote, from following the sheep, to be ruler over my people, over Israel: ⁹And I was with thee whithersoever thou wentest, and have cut off all thy enemies out of thy sight, and have made thee a great name, like to the name of the great men that are in the earth. ¹⁰Moreover, I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own, and move no more; neither shall the children of wickedness afflict them any more, as formerly. ¹¹And as since the time that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel, and have caused thee to rest from all thy enemies. Also the LORD telleth thee that he will make thee a house. ¹²And when thy days shall be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. ¹³He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom for ever. ¹⁴I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he shall commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men: ¹⁵But my mercy shall not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee. ¹⁶And thy house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever. ¹⁷According to all these words, and according to all this vision, so did Nathan speak to David. ¹⁸Then king David went in, and sat before the LORD, and he said, Who am I, O Lord GOD? and what is my house, that thou hast brought me hitherto; ¹⁹And this was yet a small thing in thy sight, O Lord GOD; but thou hast spoken also of thy servant's house for a great while to come. And is this the manner of man, O Lord GOD? ²⁰And what can David say more to thee? for thou, Lord GOD, knowest thy servant. ²¹For thy word's sake, and according to thy own heart, hast thou done all these great things, to make thy servant know them. ²²Wherefore thou art great, O LORD God: for there is none like thee, neither is there any God besides thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears. ²³And what one nation in the earth is like thy people, even like Israel, whom God went to redeem for a people to himself, and to make him a name, and to do for you great things and terrible, for thy land, before thy people which thou redeemedst to thee from Egypt, from the nations and their gods? ²⁴For thou hast confirmed to thyself thy people Israel to be a people to thee for ever: and thou, LORD, art become their God. ²⁵And now, O LORD God, the word that thou hast spoken concerning thy servant, and concerning his house, establish it for ever, and do as thou hast said. ²⁶And let thy name be magnified for ever, saying, The LORD of hosts is the God over Israel: and let the house of thy servant David be established before thee. ²⁷For thou, O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, hast revealed to thy servant, saying, I will build thee a house: therefore hath thy servant found in his heart to pray this prayer to thee. ²⁸And now, O Lord GOD, thou art that God, and thy words are true, and thou hast promised this goodness to thy servant: ²⁹Therefore now let it please thee to bless the house of thy servant, that it may continue for ever before thee: for thou, O Lord GOD, hast spoken it: and with thy blessing let the house of thy servant be blessed for ever.

Chapter 8

¹And after this it came to pass, that David smote the Philistines, and subdued them: and David took Metheg-ammah out of the hand of the Philistines. ²And he smote Moab, and measured them with a line, casting them down to the ground; even with two lines he measured to put to death, and with one full line to keep alive. And so the Moabites became David's servants, and brought gifts. ³David smote also Hadadezer, the son of Rehob, king of Zobah, as he went to recover his border at the river Euphrates. ⁴And David took from him a thousand chariots, and seven hundred horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen: and David houghed all the chariot-horses, but reserved of them for a hundred chariots. ⁵And when the Syrians of Damascus came to succor Hadadezer king of Zobah, David slew of the Syrians two and twenty thousand men. ⁶Then David put garrisons in Syria of Damascus: and the Syrians became servants to David, and brought gifts. And the LORD preserved David whithersoever he went. ⁷And David took the shields of gold that were on the servants of Hadadezer, and brought them to Jerusalem. ⁸And from Betah, and from Berothai, cities of Hadadezer, king David took very much brass. ⁹When Toi king of Hamath heard that David had smitten all the host of Hadadezer, ¹⁰Then Toi sent Joram his son to king David, to salute him, and to bless him, because he had fought against Hadadezer, and smitten him: (for Hadadezer had wars with Toi) and Joram brought with him vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and vessels of brass: ¹¹Which also king David dedicated to the LORD, with the silver and gold that he had dedicated of all nations which he subdued; ¹²Of Syria, and of Moab, and of the children of Ammon, and of the Philistines, and of Amalek, and of the spoil of Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of Zobah. ¹³And David made him a name when he returned from smiting of the Syrians in the valley of Salt, being eighteen thousand men. ¹⁴And he put garrisons in Edom; throughout all Edom he put garrisons, and all they of Edom became David's servants. And the LORD preserved David whithersoever he went. ¹⁵And David reigned over all Israel; and David executed judgment and justice to all his people. ¹⁶And Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the host; and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder; ¹⁷And Zadok the son of Ahitub, and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar, were the priests: and Seraiah was the scribe; ¹⁸And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over both the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and David's sons were chief rulers.

Chapter 9

¹And David said, Is there yet any that is left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan's sake? ²And there was of the house of Saul a servant whose name was Ziba. And when they had called him to David, the king said to him, Art thou Ziba? And he said, Thy servant is he. ³And the king said, Is there not yet any of the house of Saul, that I may show the kindness of God to him? and Ziba said to the king, Jonathan hath yet a son, who is lame in his feet. ⁴And the king said to him, Where is he? And Ziba said to the king, Behold, he is in the house of Machir, the son of Ammiel, in Lo-debar. ⁵Then king David sent, and brought him from the house of Machir, the son of Ammiel, from Lo-debar. ⁶Now when Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, had come to David, he fell on his face, and did reverence. And David said, Mephibosheth. And he answered, Behold thy servant! ⁷And David said to him, Fear not: for I will surely show thee kindness for the sake of Jonathan thy father, and will restore thee all the land of Saul thy father; and thou shalt eat bread at my table continually. ⁸And he bowed himself, and said, What is thy servant, that thou shouldst look upon such a dead dog as I am? ⁹Then the king called to Ziba, Saul's servant, and said to him, I have given to thy master's son all that pertained to Saul, and to all his house. ¹⁰Thou therefore, and thy sons, and thy servants, shall till the land for him, and thou shalt bring in the fruits, that thy master's son may have food to eat: but Mephibosheth thy master's son shall eat bread always at my table. Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants. ¹¹Then said Ziba to the king, According to all that my lord the king hath commanded his servant, so shall thy servant do. As for Mephibosheth, said the king, he shall eat at my table, as one of the king's sons. ¹²And Mephibosheth had a young son, whose name was Micah. And all that dwelt in the house of Ziba were servants to Mephibosheth. ¹³So Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem: for he ate continually at the king's table; and was lame in both his feet.

Chapter 10

¹And it came to pass after this, that the king of the children of Ammon died, and Hanun his son reigned in his stead. ²Then said David, I will show kindness to Hanun the son of Nahash, as his father showed kindness to me. And David sent to comfort him by the hand of his servants for his father. And David's servants came into the land of the children of Ammon. ³And the princes of the children of Ammon said to Hanun their lord, Thinkest thou that David doth honor thy father, that he hath sent comforters to thee? hath not David rather sent his servants to thee, to search the city, and to spy it out, and to overthrow it? ⁴Wherefore Hanun took David's servants, and shaved off the one half of their beards, and cut off their garments in the middle, even to their buttocks, and sent them away. ⁵When they told it to David, he sent to meet them, because the men were greatly ashamed. And the king said, Tarry at Jericho until your beards are grown, and then return. ⁶And when the children of Ammon saw that they had made themselves odious before David, the children of Ammon sent and hired the Syrians of Beth-rehob, and the Syrians of Zoba, twenty thousand footmen, and of king Maacah a thousand men, and of Ish-tob twelve thousand men. ⁷And when David heard of it, he sent Joab, and all the host of the mighty men. ⁸And the children of Ammon came out, and put the battle in array at the entrance of the gate: and the Syrians of Zoba, and of Rehob, and Ish-tob, and Maacah, were by themselves in the field. ⁹When Joab saw that the front of the battle was against him before and behind, he selected of all the choice men of Israel, and put them in array against the Syrians: ¹⁰And the rest of the people he delivered into the hand of Abishai his brother, that he might put them in array against the children of Ammon. ¹¹And he said, If the Syrians shall be too strong for me, then thou shalt help me: but if the children of Ammon shall be too strong for thee, then I will come and help thee. ¹²Be of good courage, and let us play the men for our people, and for the cities of our God: and the LORD do that which seemeth him good. ¹³And Joab and the people that were with him drew near to the battle against the Syrians: and they fled before him. ¹⁴And when the children of Ammon saw that the Syrians had fled, then fled they also before Abishai, and entered into the city. So Joab returned from the children of Ammon, and came to Jerusalem. ¹⁵And when the Syrians saw that they were smitten before Israel, they assembled themselves. ¹⁶And Hadarezer sent, and brought out the Syrians that were beyond the river: and they came to Helam; and Shobach the captain of the host of Hadarezer went before them. ¹⁷And when it was told David, he assembled all Israel, and passed over Jordan, and came to Helam. And the Syrians set themselves in array against David, and fought with him. ¹⁸And the Syrians fled before Israel; and David slew the men of seven hundred chariots of the Syrians, and forty thousand horsemen, and smote Shobach the captain of their host, who died there. ¹⁹And when all the kings that were servants to Hadarezer saw that they were smitten before Israel, they made peace with Israel, and served them. So the Syrians feared to help the children of Ammon any more.

Chapter 11

¹And it came to pass, after the year had expired, at the time when kings go forth to battle, that David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the children of Ammon, and destroyed Rabbah. But David tarried still at Jerusalem. ²And it came to pass in an evening, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king's house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon. ³And David sent and inquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bath-sheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite? ⁴And David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in to him, and he lay with her; for she was purified from her uncleanness: and she returned to her house. ⁵And the woman conceived, and sent and told David, and said, I am with child. ⁶And David sent to Joab, saying, Send me Uriah the Hittite. And Joab sent Uriah to David. ⁷And when Uriah had come to him, David inquired of him how Joab did, and how the people did, and how the war prospered. ⁸And David said to Uriah, Go down to thy house, and wash thy feet. And Uriah departed out of the king's house, and there followed him a mess of meat from the king. ⁹But Uriah slept at the door of the king's house with all the servants of his lord, and went not down to his house. ¹⁰And when they had told David, saying, Uriah went not down to his house, David said to Uriah, Camest thou not from thy journey? why then didst thou not go down to thy house? ¹¹And Uriah said to David, The ark, and Israel, and Judah, abide in tents; and my lord Joab, and the servants of my lord are encamped in the open fields; shall I then go into my house, to eat and to drink, and to lie with my wife? as thou livest, and as thy soul liveth, I will not do this thing. ¹²And David said to Uriah, Tarry here to-day also, and to-morrow I will let thee depart. So Uriah abode in Jerusalem that day and the morrow. ¹³And when David had called him, he ate and drank before him; and he made him drunk: and at evening he went out to lie on his bed with the servants of his lord, but went not down to his house. ¹⁴And it came to pass in the morning, that David wrote a letter to Joab, and sent it by the hand of Uriah. ¹⁵And he wrote in the letter, saying, Set ye Uriah in the front of the hottest battle, and retire ye from him, that he may be smitten, and die. ¹⁶And it came to pass, when Joab observed the city, that he assigned Uriah to a place where he knew that valiant men were. ¹⁷And the men of the city went out, and fought with Joab: and there fell some of the people of the servants of David; and Uriah the Hittite died also. ¹⁸Then Joab sent and told David all the things concerning the war; ¹⁹And charged the messenger, saying, When thou hast made an end of telling the matters of the war to the king, ²⁰And if the king's wrath shall rise, and he shall say to thee, Why approached ye so nigh to the city for the fight? knew ye not that they would shoot from the wall? ²¹Who smote Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth? did not a woman cast a piece of a millstone upon him from the wall, that he died in Thebez? why went ye nigh the wall? then say thou, Thy servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also. ²²So the messenger went, and came and showed David all that Joab had sent him for. ²³And the messenger said to David, Surely the men prevailed against us, and came out to us into the field, and we were upon them even to the entrance of the gate. ²⁴And the shooters shot from off the wall upon thy servants: and some of the king's servants are dead, and thy servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also. ²⁵Then David said to the messenger, Thus shalt thou say to Joab, Let not this thing displease thee, for the sword devoureth one as well as another: make thy battle more strong against the city, and overthrow it: and encourage thou him. ²⁶And when the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she mourned for her husband. ²⁷And when the mourning was past, David sent and brought her to his house, and she became his wife, and bore him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the LORD.

Chapter 12

¹And the LORD sent Nathan to David. And he came to him, and said to him, There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor. ²The rich man had very numerous flocks and herds: ³But the poor man had nothing save one little ewe-lamb, which he had bought and nourished: and it grew up together with him, and with his children: it fed of his own meat, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was to him as a daughter. ⁴And there came a traveler to the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd, to dress for the way-faring man that had come to him; but took the poor man's lamb, and dressed it for the man that had come to him. ⁵And David's anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, As the LORD liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely die: ⁶And he shall restore the lamb four-fold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity. ⁷And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee from the hand of Saul; ⁸And I gave thee thy master's house, and thy master's wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given to thee such and such things. ⁹Why hast thou despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon. ¹⁰Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thy house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife. ¹¹Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thy own house, and I will take thy wives before thy eyes, and give them to thy neighbor, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun. ¹²For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun. ¹³And David said to Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD. And Nathan said to David, The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die. ¹⁴But, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also that is born to thee shall surely die. ¹⁵And Nathan departed to his house. And the LORD struck the child that Uriah's wife bore to David, and it was very sick. ¹⁶David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night upon the earth. ¹⁷And the elders of his house arose, and went to him, to raise him from the earth: but he would not, neither did he eat bread with them. ¹⁸And it came to pass on the seventh day, that the child died. And the servants of David feared to tell him that the child was dead: for they said, Behold while the child was yet alive, we spoke to him, and he would not hearken to our voice: how will he then be grieved, if we tell him that the child is dead? ¹⁹But when David saw that his servants whispered, David perceived that the child was dead: therefore David said to his servants, Is the child dead? And they said, He is dead. ²⁰Then David arose from the earth, and washed, and anointed himself, and changed his apparel, and came into the house of the LORD, and worshiped: then he came to his own house; and when he required, they set bread before him, and he ate. ²¹Then said his servants to him, What thing is this that thou hast done? thou didst fast and weep for the child, while it was alive; but after the child was dead, thou didst rise and eat bread. ²²And he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted, and wept: for I said, Who can tell whether GOD will be gracious to me, that the child may live? ²³But 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. ²⁴And David comforted Bath-sheba his wife, and went in to her, and lay with her: and she bore a son, and he called his name Solomon: and the LORD loved him. ²⁵And he sent by the hand of Nathan the prophet; and he called his name Jedidiah, because of the LORD. ²⁶And Joab fought against Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and took the royal city. ²⁷And Joab sent messengers to David, and said, I have fought against Rabbah, and have taken the city of waters. ²⁸Now therefore collect the rest of the people, and encamp against the city, and take it: lest I take the city, and it be called after my name. ²⁹And David collected all the people, and went to Rabbah, and fought against it, and took it. ³⁰And he took their king's crown from off his head, the weight of which was a talent of gold with the precious stones: and it was set on David's head. And he brought forth the spoil of the city in great abundance. ³¹And he brought forth the people that were in it, and put them under saws, and under harrows of iron, and under axes of iron, and made them pass through the brick-kiln: and thus he did to all the cities of the children of Ammon. So David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.

Chapter 13

¹And it came to pass after this, that Absalom the son of David had a fair sister, whose name was Tamar; and Amnon the son of David loved her. ²And Amnon was so afflicted, that he fell sick for his sister Tamar; for she was a virgin; and Amnon thought it hard for him to do any thing to her. ³But Amnon had a friend, whose name was Jonadab, the son of Shimeah David's brother: and Jonadab was a very subtil man. ⁴And he said to him, Why art thou, being the king's son, pining from day to day? wilt thou not tell me? And Amnon said to him, I love Tamar, my brother Absalom's sister. ⁵And Jonadab said to him, Lay thee down on thy bed, and make thyself sick: and when thy father cometh to see thee, say to him, I pray thee, let my sister Tamar come, and give me food, and dress the food in my sight, that I may see it, and eat it at her hand. ⁶So Amnon lay down and made himself sick: and when the king came to see him, Amnon said to the king, I pray thee, let Tamar my sister come, and make for me a couple of cakes in my sight, that I may eat at her hand. ⁷Then David sent home to Tamar, saying, Go now to thy brother Amnon's house, and dress meat for him. ⁸So Tamar went to her brother Amnon's house; and he was laid down. And she took flour, and kneaded it, and made cakes in his sight, and baked the cakes. ⁹And she took a pan, and poured them out before him; but he refused to eat. And Amnon said, Have out all men from me. And they went out every man from him. ¹⁰And Amnon said to Tamar, Bring the food into the chamber, that I may eat from thy hand. And Tamar took the cakes which she had made, and brought them into the chamber to Amnon her brother. ¹¹And when she had brought them to him to eat, he took hold of her, and said to her, Come, lie with me, my sister. ¹²And she answered him, Nay, my brother, do not force me; for no such thing ought to be done in Israel: do not thou this folly. ¹³And I, whither shall I cause my shame to go? and as for thee, thou wilt be as one of the fools in Israel. Now therefore, I pray thee, speak to the king; for he will not withhold me from thee. ¹⁴Howbeit, he would not hearken to her voice: but being stronger than she, forced her, and lay with her. ¹⁵Then Amnon hated her exceedingly; so that the hatred with which he hated her was greater than the love with which he had loved her. And Amnon said to her, Arise, be gone. ¹⁶And she said to him, There is no cause: this evil in sending me away is greater than the other that thou didst to me. But he would not hearken to her. ¹⁷Then he called his servant that ministered to him, and said, Put now this woman out from me, and bolt the door after her. ¹⁸And she had a garment of divers colors upon her: for with such robes were the king's daughters that were virgins appareled. Then his servant brought her out, and bolted the door after her. ¹⁹And Tamar put ashes on her head, and rent her garment of divers colors that was on her, and laid her hand on her head, and went on crying. ²⁰And Absalom her brother said to her, Hath Amnon thy brother been with thee? but hold now thy peace, my sister: he is thy brother; regard not this thing. So Tamar remained desolate in her brother Absalom's house. ²¹But when king David heard of all these things, he was very wroth. ²²And Absalom spoke to his brother Amnon neither good nor bad: for Absalom hated Amnon, because he had forced his sister Tamar. ²³And it came to pass after two full years, that Absalom had sheep-shearers in Baal-hazor, which is beside Ephraim: and Absalom invited all the king's sons. ²⁴And Absalom came to the king, and said, Behold now, thy servant hath sheep-shearers; let the king, I beseech thee, and his servants go with thy servant. ²⁵And the king said to Absalom, Nay, my son, let us not all now go, lest we be chargeable to thee. And he pressed him: yet he would not go, but blessed him. ²⁶Then said Absalom, If not, I pray thee, let my brother Amnon go with us. And the king said to him, Why should he go with thee? ²⁷But Absalom pressed him that he should let Amnon and all the king's sons go with him. ²⁸Now Absalom had commanded his servants, saying, Mark ye now when Amnon's heart is merry with wine, and when I say to you, Smite Amnon; then kill him, fear not: have I not commanded you? be courageous, and be valiant. ²⁹And the servants of Absalom did to Amnon as Absalom had commanded. Then all the king's sons arose, and every man rode upon his mule, and fled. ³⁰And it came to pass, while they were in the way, that information came to David, saying, Absalom hath slain all the king's sons, and there is not one of them left. ³¹Then the king arose, and tore his garments, and lay on the earth; and all his servants stood by with their clothes rent. ³²And Jonadab, the son of Shimeah David's brother, answered and said, Let not my lord suppose that they have slain all the young men the king's sons; for Amnon only is dead: for by the appointment of Absalom this hath been determined from the day that he forced his sister Tamar. ³³Now therefore let not my lord the king take the thing to his heart, to think that all the king's sons are dead: for Amnon only is dead. ³⁴But Absalom fled. And the young man that kept the watch lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold, there came many people by the way of the hillside behind him. ³⁵And Jonadab said to the king, Behold, the king's sons come; as thy servant said, so it is. ³⁶And it came to pass, as soon as he had made an end of speaking, that behold, the king's sons came, and lifted up their voice and wept: and the king also and all his servants wept exceedingly. ³⁷But Absalom fled, and went to Talmai, the son of Ammihud, king of Geshur. And David mourned for his son every day. ³⁸So Absalom fled, and went to Geshur, and was there three years. ³⁹And the soul of king David longed to go forth to Absalom: for he was comforted concerning Amnon, seeing he was dead.

Chapter 14

¹Now Joab the son of Zeruiah perceived that the king's heart was towards Absalom. ²And Joab sent to Tekoah, and brought thence a wise woman, and said to her, I pray thee, feign thyself to be a mourner, and put on now mourning apparel, and anoint not thyself with oil, but be as a woman that had a long time mourned for the dead: ³And come to the king, and speak in this manner to him. So Joab put the words in her mouth. ⁴And when the woman of Tekoah spoke to the king, she fell on her face to the ground, and did obeisance, and said, Help, O king. ⁵And the king said to her, What aileth thee? And she answered, I am indeed a widow woman, and my husband is dead. ⁶And thy handmaid had two sons, and they two strove together in the field, and there was none to part them, but the one smote the other and slew him. ⁷And behold, the whole family hath risen against thy handmaid, and they said, Deliver him that smote his brother, that we may kill him, for the life of his brother whom he slew; and we will destroy the heir also: and so they will quench my coal which is left, and will not leave to my husband neither name nor remainder upon the earth. ⁸And the king said to the woman, Go to thy house, and I will give charge concerning thee. ⁹And the woman of Tekoah said to the king, My lord, O king, the iniquity be on me, and on my father's house: and the king and his throne be guiltless. ¹⁰And the king said, Whoever saith aught to thee, bring him to me, and he shall not touch thee any more. ¹¹Then said she, I pray thee, let the king remember the LORD thy God, that thou wouldest not suffer the revengers of blood to destroy any more, lest they destroy my son. And he said, As the LORD liveth, there shall not one hair of thy son fall to the earth. ¹²Then the woman said, Let thy handmaid, I pray thee, speak one word to my lord the king. And he said, Say on. ¹³And the woman said, Why then hast thou thought such a thing against the people of God? for the king doth speak this thing as one who is faulty, in that the king doth not bring home again his banished. ¹⁴For we must needs die, and are as water spilt on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again; neither doth God respect any person: yet doth he devise means, that his banished be not expelled from him. ¹⁵Now therefore that I have come to speak of this thing to my lord the king, it is because the people have made me afraid: and thy handmaid said, I will now speak to the king; it may be that the king will perform the request of his handmaid. ¹⁶For the king will hear, to deliver his handmaid from the hand of the man that would destroy me and my son together out of the inheritance of God. ¹⁷Then thy handmaid said, The word of my lord the king, will now be comfortable: for as an angel of God, so is my lord the king to discern good and bad: therefore the LORD thy God will be with thee. ¹⁸Then the king answered and said to the woman, Hide not from me, I pray thee, the thing that I shall ask thee. And the woman said, Let my lord the king now speak. ¹⁹And the king said, Is not the hand of Joab with thee in all this? And the woman answered and said, As thy soul liveth, my lord the king, none can turn to the right hand or to the left from aught that my lord the king hath spoken: for thy servant Joab, he bade me, and he put all these words in the mouth of thy handmaid: ²⁰To bring about this form of speech hath thy servant Joab done this thing: and my lord is wise, according to the wisdom of an angel of God, to know all things that are on the earth. ²¹And the king said to Joab, Behold now, I have done this thing: go therefore, bring the young man Absalom again. ²²And Joab fell to the ground on his face, and bowed himself, and thanked the king: and Joab said, To-day thy servant knoweth that I have found grace in thy sight, my lord, O king, in that the king hath fulfilled the request of his servant. ²³So Joab arose and went to Geshur, and brought Absalom to Jerusalem. ²⁴And the king said, Let him turn to his own house, and let him not see my face. So Absalom returned to his own house, and saw not the king's face. ²⁵But in all Israel there was none to be so much praised as Absalom for his beauty: from the sole of his foot even to the crown of his head there was no blemish in him. ²⁶And when he polled his head, (for it was at every year's end that he polled it: because the hair was heavy on him, therefore he polled it:) he weighed the hair of his head at two hundred shekels after the king's weight. ²⁷And to Absalom there were born three sons, and one daughter, whose name was Tamar: she was a woman of a fair countenance. ²⁸So Absalom dwelt two full years in Jerusalem, and saw not the king's face. ²⁹Therefore Absalom sent for Joab, that he might send him to the king; but he would not come to him: and when he sent again the second time, he would not come. ³⁰Therefore he said to his servants, See, Joab's field is near mine, and he hath barley there; go and set it on fire. And Absalom's servants set the field on fire. ³¹Then Joab arose, and came to Absalom, to his house, and said to him, Why have thy servants set my field on fire? ³²And Absalom answered Joab, Behold, I sent to thee, saying, Come hither, that I may send thee to the king, to say, Why am I come from Geshur? it had been good for me had I been there still: now therefore let me see the king's face; and if there is any iniquity in me, let him kill me. ³³So Joab came to the king, and told him: and when he had called for Absalom, he came to the king, and bowed himself on his face to the ground before the king: and the king kissed Absalom.

Chapter 15

¹And it came to pass after this, that Absalom prepared him chariots and horses, and fifty men to run before him. ²And Absalom rose early, and stood beside the way of the gate: and it was so, that when any man that had a controversy came to the king for judgment, then Absalom called to him, and said, Of what city art thou? And he said, Thy servant is one of the tribes of Israel. ³And Absalom said to him, See, thy matters are good and right; but there is no man deputed by the king to hear thee. ⁴Absalom said moreover, Oh that I were made judge in the land, that every man who hath any suit or cause might come to me, and I would do him justice! ⁵And it was so, that when any man came nigh to him to do him obeisance, he put forth his hand, and took him, and kissed him. ⁶And in this manner did Absalom to all Israel that came to the king for judgment: so Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel. ⁷And it came to pass after forty years, that Absalom said to the king, I pray thee, let me go and pay my vow, which I have vowed to the LORD, in Hebron. ⁸For thy servant vowed a vow while I abode at Geshur in Syria, saying, If the LORD shall bring me again indeed to Jerusalem, then I will serve the LORD. ⁹And the king said to him, Go in peace, So he arose, and went to Hebron. ¹⁰But Absalom sent spies throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, As soon as ye hear the sound of the trumpet, then ye shall say, Absalom reigneth in Hebron. ¹¹And with Absalom went two hundred men from Jerusalem, that were called; and they went in their simplicity, and they knew not any thing. ¹²And Absalom sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David's counselor, from his city, even from Giloh, while he offered sacrifices. And the conspiracy was strong; for the people increased continually with Absalom. ¹³And there came a messenger to David, saying, The hearts of the men of Israel are after Absalom. ¹⁴And David said to all his servants that were with him at Jerusalem, Arise, and let us flee; for we shall not else escape from Absalom: make speed to depart, lest he should overtake us suddenly, and bring evil upon us, and smite the city with the edge of the sword. ¹⁵And the king's servants said to the king, Behold, thy servants are ready to do whatever my lord the king shall appoint. ¹⁶And the king went forth, and all his household after him. And the king left ten women who were concubines to keep the house. ¹⁷And the king went forth, and all the people after him, and tarried in a place that was far off. ¹⁸And all his servants passed on by his side; and all the Cherethites, and all the Pelethites, and all the Gittites, six hundred men who came after him from Gath, passed on before the king. ¹⁹Then said the king to Ittai the Gittite, Why goest thou also with us? return to thy place, and abide with the king; for thou art a stranger, and also an exile. ²⁰Whereas thou camest but yesterday, should I this day make thee go up and down with us? seeing I go whither I may; return thou, and take back thy brethren: mercy and truth be with thee. ²¹And Ittai answered the king, and said, As the LORD liveth, and as my lord the king liveth, surely in what place my lord the king shall be, whether in death or life, even there also will thy servant be. ²²And David said to Ittai, Go and pass over. And Ittai the Gittite passed over, and all his men, and all the little ones that were with him. ²³And all the country wept with a loud voice, and all the people passed over: the king also himself passed over the brook Kidron, and all the people passed over, towards the way of the wilderness. ²⁴And lo, Zadok also, and all the Levites were with him bearing the ark of the covenant of God: and they set down the ark of God; and Abiathar went up, until all the people had done passing out of the city. ²⁵And the king said to Zadok, Carry back the ark of God into the city: if I shall find favor in the eyes of the LORD, he will bring me again, and show me both it, and his habitation: ²⁶But if he shall thus say, I have no delight in thee; behold, here am I, let him do to me as seemeth good to him. ²⁷The king said also to Zadok the priest, Art not thou a seer? return into the city in peace, and your two sons with you, Ahimaaz thy son, and Jonathan the son of Abiathar. ²⁸See, I will tarry in the plain of the wilderness, until word shall come from you to certify me. ²⁹Zadok therefore and Abiathar carried the ark of God again to Jerusalem: and they tarried there. ³⁰And David went up by the ascent of mount Olivet, and wept as he went, and had his head covered, and he went barefoot: and all the people that were with him covered every man his head, and they went up, weeping as they went. ³¹And one told David, saying, Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom. And David said, O LORD, I pray thee, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness. ³²And it came to pass, that when David had come to the top of the mount, where he worshiped God, behold, Hushai the Archite came to meet him with his coat rent, and earth upon his head; ³³To whom David said, If thou shalt pass on with me, then thou wilt be a burden to me: ³⁴But if thou shalt return to the city, and say to Absalom, I will be thy servant, O king; as I have been thy father's servant hitherto, so will I now also be thy servant: then mayest thou for me defeat the counsel of Ahithophel. ³⁵And hast thou not there with thee Zadok and Abiathar the priests? therefore it shall be, that whatever thing thou shalt hear out of the king's house, thou shalt tell it to Zadok and Abiathar the priests. ³⁶Behold, they have there with them their two sons, Ahimaaz Zadok's son, and Jonathan Abiathar's son; and by them ye shall send to me every thing that ye can hear. ³⁷So Hushai David's friend came into the city, and Absalom came into Jerusalem.

Chapter 16

¹And when David was a little past the top of the hill, behold, Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth met him, with a couple of asses saddled, and upon them two hundred loaves of bread, and a hundred bunches of raisins, and a hundred of summer fruits, and a bottle of wine. ²And the king said to Ziba, What meanest thou by these? And Ziba said, The asses are for the king's household to ride on; and the bread and summer fruit for the young men to eat; and the wine, that such as are faint in the wilderness may drink. ³And the king said, And where is thy master's son? And Ziba said to the king, Behold, he abideth at Jerusalem: for he said, To-day shall the house of Israel restore to me the kingdom of my father. ⁴Then said the king to Ziba, Behold, thine are all that pertained to Mephibosheth. And Ziba said, I humbly beseech thee that I may find grace in thy sight, my lord, O king. ⁵And when king David came to Bahurim, behold, thence came out a man of the family of the house of Saul, whose name was Shimei, the son of Gera: he came forth, and cursed still as he came. ⁶And he cast stones at David, and at all the servants of king David: and all the people and all the mighty men were on his right hand and on his left. ⁷And thus said Shimei when he cursed, Come out, come out, thou bloody man, and thou man of Belial: ⁸The LORD hath returned upon thee all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose stead thou hast reigned; and the LORD hath delivered the kingdom into the hand of Absalom thy son: and behold, thou art taken in thy mischief, because thou art a bloody man. ⁹Then said Abishai the son of Zeruiah to the king, Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? let me go over, I pray thee, and take off his head. ¹⁰And the king said, What have I to do with you, ye sons of Zeruiah? so let him curse, because the LORD hath said to him, Curse David. Who shall then say, Why hast thou done so? ¹¹And David said to Abishai, and to all his servants, Behold, my son, who came forth from my bowels, seeketh my life: how much more now may this Benjaminite do it? let him alone, and let him curse; for the LORD hath bidden him. ¹²It may be that the LORD will look on my affliction, and that the LORD will requite me good for his cursing this day. ¹³And as David and his men went by the way, Shimei went along on the hill's side over against him, and cursed as he went, and threw stones at him, and cast dust. ¹⁴And the king, and all the people that were with him, came weary, and refreshed themselves there. ¹⁵And Absalom, and all the people the men of Israel, came to Jerusalem, and Ahithophel with him. ¹⁶And it came to pass, when Hushai the Archite, David's friend, had come to Absalom, that Hushai said to Absalom, God save the king, God save the king. ¹⁷And Absalom said to Hushai, Is this thy kindness to thy friend? why wentest thou not with thy friend? ¹⁸And Hushai said to Absalom, Nay; but whom the LORD, and this people, and all the men of Israel choose, his will I be, and with him will I abide. ¹⁹And again, whom should I serve? should I not serve in the presence of his son? as I have served in thy father's presence, so will I be in thy presence. ²⁰Then said Absalom to Ahithophel, Give counsel among you what we shall do. ²¹And Ahithophel said to Absalom, Go in to thy father's concubines, which he hath left to keep the house; and all Israel shall hear that thou art abhorred by thy father: then shall the hands of all that are with thee be strong. ²²So they spread Absalom a tent upon the top of the house; and Absalom went in to his father's concubines in the sight of all Israel. ²³And the counsel of Ahithophel, which he counseled in those days, was as if a man had inquired at the oracle of God: so was all the counsel of Ahithophel both with David and with Absalom.

Chapter 17

¹Moreover Ahithophel said to Absalom, Let me now choose out twelve thousand men, and I will arise and pursue after David this night; ²And I will come upon him while he is weary and weak-handed, and will make him afraid: and all the people that are with him shall flee; and I will smite the king only: ³And I will bring back all the people to thee: the man whom thou seekest is as if all returned: so all the people shall be in peace. ⁴And the saying, pleased Absalom well, and all the elders of Israel. ⁵Then said Absalom, Call now Hushai the Archite also, and let us hear likewise what he saith. ⁶And when Hushai had come to Absalom, Absalom spoke to him, saying, Ahithophel hath spoken after this manner: shall we do after his saying? if not, speak thou. ⁷And Hushai said to Absalom, The counsel that Ahithophel hath given, is not good at this time. ⁸For, said Hushai, thou knowest thy father and his men, that they are mighty men, and they are chafed in their minds, as a bear robbed of her whelps in the field: and thy father is a man of war, and will not lodge with the people. ⁹Behold, he is hid now in some pit, or in some other place: and it will come to pass, when some of them are overthrown at the first, that whosoever heareth it will say, There is a slaughter among the people that follow Absalom. ¹⁰And he also that is valiant, whose heart is as the heart of a lion, will utterly melt: for all Israel knoweth that thy father is a mighty man, and they who are with him are valiant men. ¹¹Therefore I counsel that all Israel should be generally gathered to thee, from Dan even to Beer-sheba, as the sand that is by the sea for multitude; and that thou shouldst go to battle in thy own person. ¹²So shall we come upon him in some place where he shall be found, and we will light upon him as the dew falleth on the ground: and of him and of all the men that are with him there shall not be left so much as one. ¹³Moreover, if he shall have entered into a city, then shall all Israel bring ropes to that city, and we will draw it into the river, until there is not one small stone found there. ¹⁴And Absalom and all the men of Israel said, The counsel of Hushai the Archite is better than the counsel of Ahithophel. For the LORD had appointed to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, to the intent that the LORD might bring evil upon Absalom. ¹⁵Then said Hushai to Zadok and to Abiathar the priests, Thus and thus did Ahithophel counsel Absalom and the elders of Israel; and thus and thus have I counseled. ¹⁶Now therefore send quickly, and tell David, saying, Lodge not this night in the plains of the wilderness, but speedily pass over; lest the king be swallowed up, and all the people that are with him. ¹⁷Now Jonathan and Ahimaaz stayed by En-rogel; for they might not be seen to come into the city: and a maid servant went and told them; and they went and told king David. ¹⁸Nevertheless, a lad saw them, and told Absalom: but they went both of them away quickly, and came to the house of a man in Bahurim, who had a well in his court; into which they descended. ¹⁹And the woman took and spread a covering over the well's mouth, and spread ground corn upon it; and the thing was not known. ²⁰And when Absalom's servants came to the woman to the house, they said, Where is Ahimaaz and Jonathan? And the woman said to them, they have gone over the brook of water. And when they had sought and could not find them, they returned to Jerusalem. ²¹And it came to pass, after they had departed, that they came out of the well, and went and told king David, and said to David, Arise, and pass quickly over the water: for thus hath Ahithophel counseled against you. ²²Then David arose, and all the people that were with him, and they passed over Jordan: by the morning light there lacked not one of them that had not gone over Jordan. ²³And when Ahithophel saw that his counsel was not followed, he saddled his ass, and arose, and went home to his house, to his city, and put his household in order, and hanged himself, and died. and was buried in the sepulcher of his father. ²⁴Then David came to Mahanaim. And Absalom passed over Jordan, he and all the men of Israel with him. ²⁵And Absalom made Amasa captain of the host instead of Joab: which Amasa was a man's son, whose name was Ithra, an Israelite, that went in to Abigail the daughter of Nahash, sister to Zeruiah, Joab's mother. ²⁶So Israel and Absalom encamped in the land of Gilead. ²⁷And it came to pass, when David had come to Mahanaim, that Shobi the son of Nahash of Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and Machir the son of Ammiel of Lo-debar, and Barzillai the Gileadite of Rogelim, ²⁸Brought beds, and basins, and earthen vessels, and wheat, and barley, and flour, and parched corn, and beans, and lentils, and parched pulse, ²⁹And honey, and butter, and sheep, and cheese of cows, for David, and for the people that were with him, to eat: for they said, The people are hungry, and weary, and thirsty, in the wilderness.

Chapter 18

¹And David numbered the people that were with him, and set over them captains of thousands and captains of hundreds. ²And David sent forth a third part of the people under the hand of Joab, and a third part under the hand of Abishai the son of Zeruiah, Joab's brother, and a third part under the hand of Ittai the Gittite. And the king said to the people, I will surely go forth with you myself also. ³But the people answered, Thou shalt not go forth: for if we flee away, they will not care for us; neither if half of us die, will they care for us: but now thou art worth ten thousand of us: therefore now it is better that thou shouldst succor us out of the city. ⁴And the king said to them, What seemeth to you best I will do. And the king stood by the gate side, and all the people came out by hundreds and by thousands. ⁵And the king commanded Joab and Abishai and Ittai, saying, Deal gently for my sake with the young man, even with Absalom. And all the people heard when the king gave all the captains charge concerning Absalom. ⁶So the people went out into the field against Israel: and the battle was in the wood of Ephraim; ⁷Where the people of Israel were slain before the servants of David, and there was there a great slaughter that day of twenty thousand men. ⁸For the battle was there scattered over the face of all the country: and the wood devoured more people that day than the sword devoured. ⁹And Absalom met the servants of David. And Absalom rode upon a mule, and the mule went under the thick boughs of a great oak, and his head caught hold of the oak, and he was suspended between the heaven and the earth; and the mule that was under him went away. ¹⁰And a certain man saw it, and told Joab, and said, Behold, I saw Absalom hanging in an oak. ¹¹And Joab said to the man that told him, And behold, thou sawest him, and why didst thou not smite him there to the ground? and I would have given thee ten shekels of silver, and a girdle. ¹²And the man said to Joab, Though I should receive a thousand shekels of silver in my hand, yet would I not put forth my hand against the king's son: for in our hearing the king charged thee and Abishai and Ittai, saying, Beware that none touch the young man Absalom. ¹³Otherwise I should have wrought falsehood against my own life: for there is no matter hid from the king, and thou thyself wouldst have set thyself against me. ¹⁴Then said Joab, I may not tarry thus with thee. And he took three darts in his hand, and thrust them through the heart of Absalom, while he was yet alive in the midst of the oak. ¹⁵And ten young men that bore Joab's armor compassed about and smote Absalom, and slew him. ¹⁶And Joab blew the trumpet, and the people returned from pursuing Israel: for Joab restrained the people. ¹⁷And they took Absalom, and cast him into a great pit in the wood, and laid a very great heap of stones upon him: and all Israel fled every one to his tent. ¹⁸Now Absalom in his life-time had taken and raised for himself a pillar, which is in the king's dale: for he said, I have no son to keep my name in remembrance: and he called the pillar after his own name: and it is called to this day, Absalom's place. ¹⁹Then said Ahimaaz the son of Zadok, Let me now run, and inform the king, how the LORD hath avenged himself of his enemies. ²⁰And Joab said to him, Thou shalt not bear tidings this day, but thou shalt bear tidings another day: but this day thou shalt bear no tidings, because the king's son is dead. ²¹Then said Joab to Cushi, Go, tell the king what thou hast seen. And Cushi bowed himself to Joab, and ran. ²²Then said Ahimaaz the son of Zadok yet again to Joab, But however, let me also, I pray thee, run after Cushi. And Joab said, Why wilt thou run, my son, seeing that thou hast no tidings ready? ²³But however, said he, let me run. And he said to him, Run. Then Ahimaaz ran by the way of the plain, and outran Cushi. ²⁴And David sat between the two gates: and the watchman went up to the roof over the gate to the wall, and lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold a man running alone. ²⁵And the watchman called, and told the king. And the king said, If he is alone there is tidings in his mouth. And he came apace, and drew near. ²⁶And the watchman saw another man running: and the watchman called to the porter, and said, Behold another man running alone. And the king said, He also bringeth tidings. ²⁷And the watchman said, I think the running of the foremost is like the running of Ahimaaz the son of Zadok. And the king said, He is a good man, and cometh with good news. ²⁸And Ahimaaz called, and said to the king, All is well. And he fell down to the earth upon his face before the king, and said, Blessed be the LORD thy God, who hath delivered up the men that raised their hand against my lord the king. ²⁹And the king said, Is the young man Absalom safe? And Ahimaaz answered, When Joab sent the king's servant, and me thy servant, I saw a great tumult, but I knew not what it was. ³⁰And the king said to him, Turn aside, and stand here. And he turned aside, and stood still. ³¹And behold, Cushi came; and Cushi said, Tidings, my lord the king: for the LORD hath avenged thee this day of all them that rose up against thee. ³²And the king said to Cushi, Is the young man Absalom safe? And Cushi answered, May the enemies of my lord the king, and all that rise against thee to do thee hurt, be as that young man is. ³³And the king was much moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept: and as he went, thus he said, O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! O that I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son!

Chapter 19

¹And it was told to Joab, Behold, the king weepeth and mourneth for Absalom. ²And the victory that day was turned into mourning to all the people: for the people heard it said that day how the king was grieved for his son. ³And the people withdrew by stealth that day into the city, as people being ashamed steal away when they flee in battle. ⁴But the king covered his face, and the king cried with a loud voice, O my son Absalom, O Absalom, my son, my son! ⁵And Joab came into the house to the king, and said, thou hast shamed this day the faces of all thy servants, who this day have saved thy life, and the lives of thy sons and of thy daughters, and the lives of thy wives, and the lives of thy concubines; ⁶In that thou lovest thy enemies, and hatest thy friends. For thou hast declared this day, that thou regardest neither princes nor servants: for this day I perceive, that if Absalom had lived, and all we had died this day, then it had pleased thee well. ⁷Now therefore arise, go forth, and speak comfortably to thy servants: for I swear by the LORD, if thou shalt not go forth, there will not tarry one with thee this night: and that will be worse to thee than all the evil that hath befallen thee from thy youth until now. ⁸Then the king rose, and sat in the gate. And they told to all the people, saying, Behold, the king doth sit in the gate. And all the people came before the king: for Israel had fled every man to his tent. ⁹And all the people were at strife throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, The king saved us from the hand of our enemies, and he delivered us from the hand of the Philistines; and now he hath fled out of the land for Absalom. ¹⁰And Absalom, whom we anointed over us, is dead in battle. Now therefore why speak ye not a word of bringing the king back? ¹¹And king David sent to Zadok and to Abiathar the priests, saying, Speak to the elders of Judah, saying, Why are ye the last to bring the king back to his house? seeing the speech of all Israel is come to the king, even to his house. ¹²Ye are my brethren, ye are my bones and my flesh: why then are ye the last to bring back the king? ¹³And say ye to Amasa, Art thou not of my bone, and of my flesh? God do so to me, and more also, if thou be not captain of the host before me continually in the room of Joab. ¹⁴And he bowed the heart of all the men of Judah, even as the heart of one man; so that they sent this word to the king, Return thou, and all thy servants. ¹⁵So the king returned, and came to Jordan. And Judah came to Gilgal, to go to meet the king, to conduct the king over Jordan. ¹⁶And Shimei the son of Gera, a Benjaminite, who was of Bahurim, hasted and came down with the men of Judah to meet king David. ¹⁷And there were a thousand men of Benjamin with him, and Ziba the servant of the house of Saul, and his fifteen sons and his twenty servants with him; and they went over Jordan before the king. ¹⁸And there went over a ferry-boat to carry over the king's household, and to do what he thought good. And Shimei the son of Gera fell down before the king, as he came over Jordan; ¹⁹And said to the king, Let not my lord impute iniquity to me, neither do thou remember that which thy servant did perversely the day that my lord the king went out of Jerusalem, that the king should take it to his heart. ²⁰For thy servant doth know that I have sinned: therefore behold, I have come the first this day of all the house of Joseph to go down to meet my lord the king. ²¹But Abishai the son of Zeruiah answered and said, Shall not Shimei be put to death for this, because he cursed the LORD'S anointed? ²²And David said, What have I to do with you, ye sons of Zeruiah, that ye should this day be adversaries to me? shall there any man be put to death this day in Israel? for do not I know that I am this day king over Israel? ²³Therefore the king said to Shimei, Thou shalt not die. And the king swore to him. ²⁴And Mephibosheth the son of Saul came down to meet the king, and had neither dressed his feet, nor trimmed his beard, nor washed his clothes, from the day the king departed until the day he came again in peace. ²⁵And it came to pass, when he had come to Jerusalem to meet the king, that the king said to him, Why didst thou not go with me, Mephibosheth? ²⁶And he answered, My lord, O king, my servant deceived me: for thy servant said, I will saddle me an ass, that I may ride on it, and go to the king; because thy servant is lame. ²⁷And he hath slandered thy servant to my lord the king; but my lord the king is as an angel of God: do therefore what is good in thy eyes. ²⁸For all of my father's house were but dead men before my lord the king: yet didst thou set thy servant among them that ate at thy own table. What right therefore have I yet to cry any more to the king? ²⁹And the king said to him, Why speakest thou any more of thy matters? I have said, Thou and Ziba divide the land. ³⁰And Mephibosheth said to the king, Yes, let him take all, forasmuch as my lord the king hath come again in peace to his own house. ³¹And Barzillai the Gileadite came down from Rogelim, and went over Jordan with the king, to conduct him over Jordan. ³²Now Barzillai was a very aged man, even eighty years old: and he had provided the king with sustenance while he lay at Mahanaim: for he was a very great man. ³³And the king said to Barzillai, Come thou over with me, and I will feed thee with me in Jerusalem. ³⁴And Barzillai said to the king, How long have I to live, that I should go up with the king to Jerusalem? ³⁵I am this day eighty years old: and can I discern between good and evil? can thy servant taste what I eat or what I drink? can I hear any more the voice of singing-men and singing-women? why then should thy servant be yet a burden to my lord the king? ³⁶Thy servant will go a little way over Jordan with the king: and why should the king recompense me with such a reward? ³⁷Let thy servant, I pray thee, return again, that I may die in my own city, and be buried by the grave of my father and of my mother. But behold thy servant Chimham; let him go over with my lord the king; and do to him what shall seem good to thee. ³⁸And the king answered, Chimham shall go over with me, and I will do to him that which shall seem good to thee: and whatever thou shalt require of me, that will I do for thee. ³⁹And all the people went over Jordan. And when the king had come over, the king kissed Barzillai, and blessed him; and he returned to his own place. ⁴⁰Then the king went on to Gilgal, and Chimham went on with him: and all the people of Judah conducted the king, and also half the people of Israel. ⁴¹And behold, all the men of Israel came to the king, and said to him, Why have our brethren the men of Judah stolen thee away, and have brought the king, and his household, and all David's men with him, over Jordan? ⁴²And all the men of Judah answered the men of Israel, Because the king is near of kin to us: why then are ye angry for this matter? have we eaten at all at the king's cost? or hath he given us any gift? ⁴³And the men of Israel answered the men of Judah, and said, We have ten parts in the king, and we have also more right in David than ye: why then did ye despise us, that our advice should not be first had in bringing back our king? And the words of the men of Judah were fiercer than the words of the men of Israel.

Chapter 20

¹And there happened to be there a man of Belial, whose name was Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjaminite: and he blew a trumpet, and said, We have no part in David, neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: every man to his tents, O Israel. ²So every man of Israel, withdrawing from David, followed Sheba the son of Bichri: but the men of Judah adhered to their king, from Jordan even to Jerusalem. ³And David came to his house at Jerusalem; and the king took the ten women his concubines, whom he had left to keep the house, and put them in custody, and fed them, but went not in to them. So they were shut up to the day of their death, living in widowhood. ⁴Then said the king to Amasa, Assemble to me the men of Judah within three days, and be thou here present. ⁵So Amasa went to assemble the men of Judah: but he tarried longer than the set time which he had appointed him. ⁶And David said to Abishai, Now shall Sheba the son of Bichri do us more harm than did Absalom: take thou thy lord's servants, and pursue him, lest he get for himself fortified cities, and escape us. ⁷And there went out after him Joab's men, and the Cherethites, and the Pelethites, and all the mighty men: and they went out of Jerusalem, to pursue after Sheba the son of Bichri. ⁸When they were at the great stone which is in Gibeon, Amasa went before them. And Joab's garment that he had put on was girded to him, and upon it a girdle with a sword fastened upon his loins in its sheath; and as he went forth it fell out. ⁹And Joab said to Amasa, Art thou in health, my brother? And Joab took Amasa by the beard with the right hand to kiss him. ¹⁰But Amasa took no heed to the sword that was in Joab's hand: so he smote him in the fifth rib, and shed out his bowels to the ground, and struck him not again; and he died. So Joab and Abishai his brother pursued after Sheba the son of Bichri. ¹¹And one of Joab's men stood by him, and said, He that favoreth Joab, and he that is for David, let him go after Joab. ¹²And Amasa wallowed in blood in the midst of the highway. And when the man saw that all the people stood still, he removed Amasa out of the highway into the field, and cast a cloth upon him, when he saw that every one that came by him stood still. ¹³When he was removed out of the highway, all the people went on after Joab, to pursue after Sheba the son of Bichri. ¹⁴And he went through all the tribes of Israel to Abel, and to Beth-maachah, and all the Berites: and they were assembled, and went also after him. ¹⁵And they came and besieged him in Abel of Beth-maachah, and they cast up a bank against the city, and it stood in the trench: and all the people that were with Joab battered the wall, to throw it down. ¹⁶Then cried a wise woman out of the city, Hear, hear; say, I pray you, to Joab, Come near hither, that I may speak with thee. ¹⁷And when he was come near to her, the woman said, Art thou Joab? And he answered, I am he. Then she said to him, Hear the words of thy handmaid. And he answered, I do hear. ¹⁸Then she spoke, saying, They were wont to speak in old time, saying, They will surely ask counsel at Abel: and so they ended the matter. ¹⁹I am one of them that are peaceable and faithful in Israel: thou seekest to destroy a city and a mother in Israel: why wilt thou swallow up the inheritance of the LORD? ²⁰And Joab answered and said, Far be it, far be it from me, that I should swallow up or destroy. ²¹The matter is not so: but a man of mount Ephraim, Sheba the son of Bichri by name, hath lifted up his hand against the king, even against David: deliver him only, and I will depart from the city. And the woman said to Joab, Behold, his head shall be thrown to thee over the wall. ²²Then the woman went to all the people in her wisdom. And they cut off the head of Sheba the son of Bichri, and cast it out to Joab. And he blew a trumpet, and they retired from the city, every man to his tent. And Joab returned to Jerusalem to the king. ²³Now Joab was over all the host of Israel: and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and over the Pelethites: ²⁴And Adoram was over the tribute: and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder: ²⁵And Sheva was scribe: and Zadok and Abiathar were the priests: ²⁶And Ira also the Jairite was a chief ruler about David.

Chapter 21

¹Then there was a famine in the days of David three years, year after year; and David inquired of the LORD. And the LORD answered, It is for Saul, and for his bloody house, because he slew the Gibeonites. ²And the king called the Gibeonites, and said to them; (now the Gibeonites were not of the children of Israel, but of the remnant of the Amorites; and the children of Israel had sworn to them: and Saul sought to slay them, in his zeal to the children of Israel and Judah.) ³Wherefore David said to the Gibeonites, What shall I do for you? and with what shall I make the atonement, that ye may bless the inheritance of the LORD? ⁴And the Gibeonites said to him, We will have no silver nor gold of Saul, nor of his house; neither for us shalt thou kill any man in Israel. And he said, What ye shall say, that will I do for you. ⁵And they answered the king, The man that consumed us, and that devised against us that we should be destroyed from remaining within the borders of Israel, ⁶Let seven men of his sons be delivered to us, and we will hang them up to the LORD in Gibeah of Saul, whom the LORD chose. And the king said, I will give them. ⁷But the king spared Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, because of the LORD'S oath that was between them, between David and Jonathan the son of Saul. ⁸But the king took the two sons of Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, whom she bore to Saul, Armoni and Mephibosheth; and the five sons of Michal the daughter of Saul, whom she brought up for Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite: ⁹And he delivered them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they hanged them on the hill before the LORD: and they fell all seven together, and were put to death in the days of harvest, in the first days, in the beginning of barley harvest. ¹⁰And Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth, and spread it for her upon the rock, from the beginning of harvest until water dropped upon them out of heaven, and suffered neither the birds of the air to rest on them by day, nor the beasts of the field by night. ¹¹And it was told David what Rizpah the daughter of Aiah the concubine of Saul had done. ¹²And David went and took the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son from the men of Jabesh-gilead, who had stolen them from the street of Beth-shan, where the Philistines had hanged them, when the Philistines had slain Saul in Gilboa: ¹³And he brought up from thence the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son; and they gathered the bones of them that were hanged. ¹⁴And the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son they buried in the country of Benjamin in Zelah, in the sepulcher of Kish his father: and they performed all that the king commanded. And after that God was entreated for the land. ¹⁵Moreover, the Philistines had yet war again with Israel; and David went down, and his servants with him, and fought against the Philistines: and David became faint. ¹⁶And Ishbi-benob, who was of the sons of the giant, the weight of whose spear was three hundred shekels of brass in weight, he being girded with a new sword, thought to have slain David. ¹⁷But Abishai the son of Zeruiah succored him, and smote the Philistine, and killed him. Then the men of David swore to him, saying, Thou shalt go out no more with us to battle, that thou mayest not extinguish the light of Israel. ¹⁸And it came to pass after this, that there was again a battle with the Philistines at Gob: then Sibbechai the Hushathite slew Saph, who was of the sons of the giant. ¹⁹And there was again a battle in Gob with the Philistines, where Elhanan the son of Jaareoregim, a Beth-lehemite, slew the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the staff of whose spear was like a weaver's beam. ²⁰And there was yet a battle in Gath, where was a man of great stature, that had on every hand six fingers, and on every foot six toes, four and twenty in number; and he also was born to the giant. ²¹And when he defied Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimeah the brother of David slew him. ²²These four were born to the giant in Gath, and fell by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants.

Chapter 22

¹And David spoke to the LORD the words of this song in the day that the LORD had delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul: ²And he said, The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; ³The God of my rock; in him will I trust: he is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my preserver; thou savest me from violence. ⁴I will call on the LORD, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from my enemies. ⁵When the waves of death compassed me, the floods of ungodly-men made me afraid; ⁶The sorrows of hell encompassed me; the snares of death seized me; ⁷In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried to my God: and he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry entered into his ears. ⁸Then the earth shook and trembled: the foundations of heaven moved and shook, because he was wroth. ⁹There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it. ¹⁰He bowed the heavens also, and came down; and darkness was under his feet. ¹¹And he rode upon a cherub, and flew: and he was seen upon the wings of the wind. ¹²And he made darkness pavilions around him, dark waters, and thick clouds of the skies. ¹³Through the brightness before him were coals of fire kindled. ¹⁴The LORD thundered from heaven, and the most High uttered his voice. ¹⁵And he sent out arrows, and scattered them; lightning, and discomfited them. ¹⁶And the channels of the sea appeared, the foundations of the world were laid open, at the rebuking of the LORD, at the blast of the breath of his nostrils. ¹⁷He sent from above, he took me; he drew me out of many waters; ¹⁸He delivered me from my strong enemy, from them that hated me: for they were too strong for me. ¹⁹They fell upon me in the day of my calamity: but the LORD was my support. ²⁰He brought me forth also into a large place: he delivered me, because he delighted in me. ²¹The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness: according to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me. ²²For I have kept the ways of the LORD, and have not wickedly departed from my God. ²³For all his judgments were before me: and as for his statutes, I did not depart from them. ²⁴I was also upright before him, and have kept myself from my iniquity. ²⁵Therefore the LORD hath recompensed me according to my righteousness; according to my cleanness in his eye-sight. ²⁶With the merciful thou wilt show thyself merciful, and with the upright man thou wilt show thyself upright. ²⁷With the pure thou wilt show thyself pure; and with the froward thou wilt contend. ²⁸And the afflicted people thou wilt save: but thy eyes are upon the haughty, that thou mayest bring them down. ²⁹For thou art my lamp, O LORD: and the LORD will lighten my darkness. ³⁰For by thee I have run through a troop: by my God have I leaped over a wall. ³¹As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all them that trust in him. ³²For who is God, save the LORD? and who is a rock, save our God? ³³God is my strength and power: and he maketh my way perfect. ³⁴He maketh my feet like hinds' feet: and setteth me upon my high places. ³⁵He teacheth my hands to war; so that a bow of steel is broken by my arms. ³⁶Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation: and thy gentleness hath made me great. ³⁷Thou hast enlarged my steps under me; so that my feet have not slipped. ³⁸I have pursued my enemies, and destroyed them; and turned not again until I had consumed them. ³⁹And I have consumed them, and wounded them, that they could not arise: yea, they have fallen under my feet. ⁴⁰For thou hast girded me with strength to battle: them that rose up against me hast thou subdued under me. ⁴¹Thou hast also given me the necks of my enemies, that I might destroy them that hate me. ⁴²They looked, but there was none to save; even to the LORD, but he answered them not. ⁴³Then I beat them as small as the dust of the earth, I stamped them as the mire of the street, and spread them abroad. ⁴⁴Thou also hast delivered me from the strivings of my people, thou hast kept me to be head of the heathen: a people which I knew not shall serve me. ⁴⁵Strangers shall submit themselves to me: as soon as they hear, they shall be obedient to me. ⁴⁶Strangers shall fade away, and they shall tremble from their close places. ⁴⁷The LORD liveth; and blessed be my rock; and exalted be the God of the rock of my salvation. ⁴⁸It is God that avengeth me, and that bringeth down the people under me, ⁴⁹And that bringeth me forth from my enemies: thou also hast lifted me up on high above them that rose up against me: thou hast delivered me from the violent man. ⁵⁰Therefore I will give thanks to thee, O LORD, among the heathen, and I will sing praises to thy name. ⁵¹He is the tower of salvation for his king: and he showeth mercy to his anointed, to David, and to his seed for evermore.

Chapter 23

¹Now these are the last words of David. David the son of Jesse said, and the man who was raised on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, and the sweet psalmist of Israel, said, ²The Spirit of the LORD spoke by me, and his word was on my tongue. ³The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spoke to me, He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God. ⁴And he shall be as the light of the morning, when the sun riseth, even a morning without clouds; as the tender grass springing out of the earth by clear shining after rain. ⁵Although my house is not so with God; yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things, and sure: for this is all my salvation, and all my desire, although he maketh it not to grow. ⁶But the sons of Belial shall be all of them as thorns thrust away, because they cannot be taken with hands: ⁷But the man that shall touch them must be fenced with iron and the staff of a spear; and they shall be utterly burned with fire in the same place. ⁸These are the names of the mighty men whom David had: The Tachmonite that sat in the seat, chief among the captains; the same was Adino the Eznite: he lifted up his spear against eight hundred, whom he slew at one time. ⁹And after him was Eleazar the son of Dodo the Ahohite, one of the three mighty men with David, when they defied the Philistines that were there assembled to battle, and the men of Israel had gone away: ¹⁰He arose, and smote the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand adhered to the sword: and the LORD wrought a great victory that day; and the people returned after him only to plunder. ¹¹And after him was Shammah the son of Agee the Hararite. And the Philistines were collected into a troop, where was a piece of ground full of lentils: and the people fled from the Philistines. ¹²But he stood in the midst of the ground, and defended it, and slew the Philistines: and the LORD wrought a great victory. ¹³And three of the thirty chiefs went down, and came to David in the harvest time to the cave of Adullam: and the troop of the Philistines encamped in the valley of Rephaim. ¹⁴And David was then in a hold, and the garrison of the Philistines was then in Beth-lehem. ¹⁵And David longed, and said, Oh that one would give me drink of the water of the well of Beth-lehem, which is by the gate! ¹⁶And the three mighty men broke through the host of the Philistines, and drew water out of the well of Beth-lehem, that was by the gate, and took it, and brought it to David: nevertheless he would not drink of it, but poured it out to the LORD. ¹⁷And he said, Be it far from me, O LORD, that I should do this: is not this the blood of the men that went in jeopardy of their lives? therefore he would not drink it. These things did these three mighty men. ¹⁸And Abishai, the brother of Joab, the son of Zeruiah, was chief among three. And he lifted up his spear against three hundred, and slew them, and had the name among three. ¹⁹Was he not most honorable of three? therefore he was their captain: yet he attained not to the first three. ²⁰And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man, of Kabzeel, who had done many acts, he slew two lion-like men of Moab: he went down also and slew a lion in the midst of a pit in time of snow: ²¹And he slew an Egyptian, a goodly man: and the Egyptian had a spear in his hand; but he went down to him with a staff, and plucked the spear out of the Egyptian's hand, and slew him with his own spear. ²²These things did Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and had a name among three mighty men. ²³He was more honorable than the thirty, but he attained not to the first three. And David set him over his guard. ²⁴Asahel the brother of Joab was one of the thirty; Elhanan the son of Dodo of Beth-lehem, ²⁵Shammah the Harodite, Elika the Harodite, ²⁶Helez the Paltite, Ira the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite, ²⁷Abiezer the Anethothite, Mebunnai the Hushathite, ²⁸Zalmon the Ahohite, Maharai the Netophathite, ²⁹Heleb the son of Baanah, a Netophathite, Ittai the son of Ribai out of Gibeah of the children of Benjamin, ³⁰Benaiah the Pirathonite, Hiddai of the brooks of Gaash, ³¹Abi-albon the Arbathite, Azmaveth the Barhumite, ³²Eliahba the Shaalbonite, of the sons of Jashen, Jonathan, ³³Shammah the Hararite, Ahiam the son of Sharar the Hararite, ³⁴Eliphelet the son of Ahasbai, the son of the Maachathite, Eliam the son of Ahithophel the Gilonite, ³⁵Hezrai the Carmelite, Paarai the Arbite, ³⁶Igal the son of Nathan of Zobah, Bani, the Gadite, ³⁷Zelek the Ammonite, Naharai the Beerothite, armor-bearer to Joab the son of Zeruiah, ³⁸Ira an Ithrite, Gareb an Ithrite, ³⁹Uriah the Hittite: thirty and seven in all.

Chapter 24

¹And again the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he moved David against them to say, Go number Israel and Judah. ²For the king said to Joab the captain of the host, who was with him, Go now through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan even to Beer-sheba, and number ye the people, that I may know the number of the people. ³And Joab said to the king, Now the LORD thy God add to the people, how many soever they may be, a hundred-fold, and that the eyes of my lord the king may see it: but why doth my lord the king delight in this thing? ⁴Notwithstanding the king's word prevailed against Joab, and against the captains of the host. And Joab and the captains of the host went out from the presence of the king, to number the people of Israel. ⁵And they passed over Jordan, and pitched in Aroer, on the right side of the city that lieth in the midst of the river of Gad, and towards Jazer: ⁶Then they came to Gilead, and to the land of Tahtim-hodshi; and they came to Dan-jaan, and about to Zidon, ⁷And came to the strong hold of Tyre, and to all the cities of the Hivites, and of the Canaanites: and they went out to the south of Judah, even to Beer-sheba. ⁸So when they had gone through all the land, they came to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days. ⁹And Joab presented the sum of the number of the people to the king: and there were in Israel eight hundred thousand valiant men that drew the sword; and the men of Judah were five hundred thousand men. ¹⁰And David's heart smote him after that he had numbered the people. And David said to the LORD, I have sinned greatly in what I have done: and now, I beseech thee, O LORD, take away the iniquity of thy servant; for I have done very foolishly. ¹¹For when David had risen in the morning, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Gad, David's seer, saying, ¹²Go and say to David, Thus saith the LORD, I offer thee three things; choose thee one of them, that I may do it to thee. ¹³So Gad came to David, and told him, and said to him, Shall seven years of famine come upon thee in thy land? or wilt thou flee three months before thy enemies, while they pursue thee? or that there be three days' pestilence in thy land? Now consider, and see what answer I shall return to him that sent me. ¹⁴And David said to Gad, I am in a great strait: let us fall now into the hand of the LORD; for his mercies are great: and let me not fall into the hand of man. ¹⁵So the LORD sent a pestilence upon Israel from the morning even to the time appointed: and there died of the people from Dan even to Beer-sheba seventy thousand men. ¹⁶And when the angel stretched out his hand upon Jerusalem to destroy it, the LORD repented of the evil, and said to the angel that destroyed the people, It is enough: stay now thy hand. And the angel of the LORD was by the threshing-place of Araunah the Jebusite. ¹⁷And David spoke to the LORD when he saw the angel that smote the people, and said, Lo, I have sinned, and I have done wickedly: but these sheep, what have they done? let thy hand, I pray thee, be against me, and against my father's house. ¹⁸And Gad came that day to David, and said to him, Go up, rear an altar to the LORD in the threshing-floor of Araunah the Jebusite. ¹⁹And David, according to the saying of Gad, went up as the LORD commanded. ²⁰And Araunah looked, and saw the king and his servants coming towards him: And Araunah went out, and bowed himself before the king on his face upon the ground. ²¹And Araunah said, Why is my lord the king come to his servant? And David said, To buy the threshing-floor of thee, to build an altar to the LORD, that the plague may be stayed from the people. ²²And Araunah said to David, Let my lord the king take and offer up what seemeth good to him: behold, here are oxen for burnt-sacrifice, and threshing-instruments and other instruments of the oxen for wood. ²³All these things did Araunah, as a king, give to the king. And Araunah said to the king, The LORD thy God accept thee. ²⁴And the king said to Araunah, No; but I will surely buy it of thee at a price: neither will I offer burnt-offerings to the LORD my God of that which doth cost me nothing. So David bought the threshing-floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver. ²⁵And David built there an altar to the LORD, and offered burnt-offerings and peace-offerings. So the LORD was entreated for the land, and the plague was stayed from Israel.

1 Kings

Chapter 1

¹Now king David was old and advanced in years; and they covered him with clothes, but he got no heat. ²Wherefore his servants said to him, Let there be sought for my lord the king a young virgin: and let her stand before the king, and let her cherish him, and let her lie in thy bosom, that my lord the king may get heat. ³So they sought for a fair damsel throughout all the borders of Israel, and found Abishag a Shunamite, and brought her to the king. ⁴And the damsel was very fair, and cherished the king, and ministered to him: but the king knew her not. ⁵Then Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, I will be king: and he prepared him chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him. ⁶And his father had not displeased him at any time in saying, Why hast thou done so? and he also was a very goodly man; and his mother bore him after Absalom. ⁷And he conferred with Joab the son of Zeruiah, and with Abiathar the priest: and they following Adonijah, helped him. ⁸But Zadok the priest, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and Nathan the prophet, and Shimei, and Rei, and the mighty men who belonged to David, were not with Adonijah. ⁹And Adonijah slew sheep, and oxen, and fat cattle, by the stone of Zoheleth, which is by En-rogel, and called all his brethren the king's sons, and all the men of Judah the king's servants: ¹⁰But Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah, and the mighty men, and Solomon his brother, he called not. ¹¹Wherefore Nathan spoke to Bath-sheba the mother of Solomon, saying, Hast thou not heard that Adonijah the son of Haggith doth reign, and David our lord knoweth it not? ¹²Now therefore come, let me, I pray thee, give thee counsel, that thou mayest save thy own life, and the life of thy son Solomon. ¹³Go, and enter in to king David, and say to him, Didst not thou, my lord, O king, swear to thy handmaid, saying, Assuredly Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne? why then doth Adonijah reign? ¹⁴Behold, while thou art yet talking there with the king, I will also come in after thee, and confirm thy words. ¹⁵And Bath-sheba went to the king into the chamber: and the king was very old; and Abishag the Shunamite ministered to the king. ¹⁶And Bath-sheba bowed, and did obeisance to the king. And the king said, What wouldst thou? ¹⁷And she said to him, My lord, thou didst swear by the LORD thy God to thy handmaid, saying, Assuredly Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne. ¹⁸And now, behold, Adonijah reigneth; and now, my lord the king, thou knowest it not: ¹⁹And he hath slain oxen, and fat cattle, and sheep in abundance, and hath called all the sons of the king, and Abiathar the priest, and Joab the captain of the host: but Solomon thy servant hath he not called. ²⁰And thou, my lord, O king, the eyes of all Israel are upon thee, that thou shouldst tell them who shall sit on the throne of my lord the king after him. ²¹Otherwise it shall come to pass, when my lord the king shall sleep with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon shall be counted offenders. ²²And lo, while she was yet talking with the king, Nathan the prophet also came in. ²³And they told the king, saying, Behold, Nathan the prophet. And when he had come in before the king, he bowed himself before the king with his face to the ground. ²⁴And Nathan said, My lord, O king, hast thou said, Adonijah shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne? ²⁵For he hath gone down this day, and hath slain oxen, and fat cattle, and sheep in abundance, and hath called all the king's sons, and the captains of the host, and Abiathar the priest; and behold, they eat and drink before him, and say, God save king Adonijah. ²⁶But me, even me thy servant, and Zadok the priest, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and thy servant Solomon, hath he not called. ²⁷Is this thing done by my lord the king, and thou hast not shown it to thy servant, who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him? ²⁸Then king David answered and said, Call me Bath-sheba. And she came into the king's presence, and stood before the king. ²⁹And the king swore, and said, As the LORD liveth, that hath redeemed my soul out of all distress, ³⁰Even as I swore to thee by the LORD God of Israel, saying, Assuredly Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne in my stead; even so will I certainly do this day. ³¹Then Bath-sheba bowed with her face to the earth, and did reverence to the king, and said, Let my lord king David live for ever. ³²And king David said, Call me Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada. And they came before the king. ³³The king also said to them, Take with you the servants of your lord, and cause Solomon my son to ride upon my own mule, and bring him down to Gihon: ³⁴And let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him there king over Israel: and blow ye with the trumpet, and say, God save king Solomon. ³⁵Then ye shall come up after him, that he may come and sit upon my throne; for he shall be king in my stead: and I have appointed him to be ruler over Israel and over Judah. ³⁶And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada answered the king, and said, Amen: the LORD God of my lord the king say so too. ³⁷As the LORD hath been with my lord the king, even so let him be with Solomon, and make his throne greater than the throne of my lord king David. ³⁸So Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites, and the Pelethites, went down, and caused Solomon to ride upon king David's mule, and brought him to Gihon. ³⁹And Zadok the priest took a horn of oil out of the tabernacle, and anointed Solomon. And they blew the trumpet; and all the people said, God save king Solomon. ⁴⁰And all the people came up after him, and the people piped with pipes, and rejoiced with great joy, so that the earth rent with the sound of them. ⁴¹And Adonijah and all the guests that were with him heard it as they had made an end of eating. And when Joab heard the sound of the trumpet, he said, Why is this noise of the city being in an uproar? ⁴²And while he yet spoke, behold, Jonathan the son of Abiathar the priest came: and Adonijah said to him, Come in; for thou art a valiant man, and bringest good tidings. ⁴³And Jonathan answered and said to Adonijah, Verily our lord king David hath made Solomon king. ⁴⁴And the king hath sent with him Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites, and the Pelethites, and they have caused him to ride upon the king's mule: ⁴⁵And Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him king in Gihon: and they have come from thence rejoicing, so that the city resounded. This is the noise that ye have heard. ⁴⁶And also Solomon sitteth on the throne of the kingdom. ⁴⁷And moreover the king's servants came to bless our lord king David, saying, God make the name of Solomon better than thy name, and make his throne greater than thy throne. And the king bowed himself upon the bed. ⁴⁸And also thus said the king, Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, who hath given one to sit on my throne this day, my eyes even seeing it. ⁴⁹And all the guests that were with Adonijah were afraid, and arose, and went every man his way. ⁵⁰And Adonijah feared because of Solomon, and arose, and went, and caught hold on the horns of the altar. ⁵¹And it was told Solomon, saying, Behold, Adonijah feareth king Solomon: for lo, he hath caught hold on the horns of the altar, saying, Let king Solomon swear to me to-day that he will not slay his servant with the sword. ⁵²And Solomon said, If he will show himself a worthy man, there shall not a hair of him fall to the earth: but if wickedness shall be found in him, he shall die. ⁵³So king Solomon sent, and they brought him down from the altar. And he came and bowed himself to king Solomon: and Solomon said to him, Go to thy house.

Chapter 2

¹Now the days of David drew nigh that he should die; and he charged Solomon his son, saying, ²I go the way of all the earth: be thou strong therefore, and show thyself a man; ³And keep the charge of the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest thyself. ⁴That the LORD may continue his word which he spoke concerning me, saying, If thy children take heed to their way, to walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail thee (said he) a man on the throne of Israel. ⁵Moreover, thou knowest also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, and what he did to the two captains of the armies of Israel, to Abner the son of Ner, and to Amasa the son of Jether, whom he slew, and shed the blood of war in peace, and put the blood of war upon his girdle that was about his loins, and in his shoes that were on his feet. ⁶Do therefore according to thy wisdom, and let not his hoary head go down to the grave in peace. ⁷But show kindness to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be of those that eat at thy table: for so they came to me when I fled because of Absalom thy brother. ⁸And behold, thou hast with thee Shimei the son of Gera, a Benjaminite of Bahurim, who cursed me with a grievous curse in the day when I went to Mahanaim: but he came down to meet me at Jordan, and I swore to him by the LORD, saying, I will not put thee to death with the sword. ⁹Now therefore hold him not guiltless: for thou art a wise man, and knowest what thou oughtest to do to him; but his hoary head do thou bring down to the grave with blood. ¹⁰So David slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David. ¹¹And the days that David reigned over Israel were forty years: seven years reigned he in Hebron, and thirty and three years reigned he in Jerusalem. ¹²Then Solomon was seated upon the throne of David his father; and his kingdom was established greatly. ¹³And Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bath-sheba the mother of Solomon. And she said, Comest thou peaceably? and he said, Peaceably. ¹⁴He said moreover, I have somewhat to say to thee. And she said, Say on. ¹⁵And he said, Thou knowest that the kingdom was mine, and that all Israel set their faces on me, that I should reign: but the kingdom is turned about, and hath become my brother's: for it was his from the LORD. ¹⁶And now I ask one petition of thee, deny me not. And she said to him, Say on. ¹⁷And he said, Speak, I pray thee, to Solomon the king, (for he will not say to thee no,) that he give me Abishag the Shunamite for a wife. ¹⁸And Bath-sheba said, Well; I will speak for thee to the king. ¹⁹Bath-sheba therefore went to king Solomon, to speak to him for Adonijah. And the king rose up to meet her, and bowed himself to her, and sat down on his throne, and caused a seat to be set for the king's mother; and she sat on his right hand. ²⁰Then she said, I desire one small petition of thee; I pray thee, deny me not. And the king said to her, Ask on, my mother: for I will not deny thee. ²¹And she said, Let Abishag the Shunamite be given to Adonijah thy brother for a wife. ²²And king Solomon answered and said to his mother, And why dost thou ask Abishag the Shunamite for Adonijah? ask for him the kingdom also; for he is my elder brother; even for him, and for Abiathar the priest, and for Joab the son of Zeruiah. ²³Then king Solomon swore by the LORD, saying, God do so to me, and more also, if Adonijah hath not spoken this word against his own life. ²⁴Now therefore, as the LORD liveth, who hath established me, and set me on the throne of David my father, and who hath made me a house, as he promised, Adonijah shall be put to death this day. ²⁵And king Solomon sent by the hand of Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; and he fell upon him that he died. ²⁶And to Abiathar the priest said the king, Depart to Anathoth, to thy own fields; for thou art worthy of death: but I will not at this time put thee to death, because thou didst bear the ark of the Lord GOD before David my father, and because thou hast been afflicted in all in which my father was afflicted. ²⁷So Solomon removed Abiathar from being priest to the LORD; that he might fulfill the word of the LORD, which he spoke concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh. ²⁸Then tidings came to Joab: for Joab had turned after Adonijah, though he turned not after Absalom. And Joab fled to the tabernacle of the LORD, and caught hold on the horns of the altar. ²⁹And it was told to king Solomon that Joab had fled to the tabernacle of the LORD; and behold, he is by the altar. Then Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying, Go, fall upon him. ³⁰And Benaiah came to the tabernacle of the LORD, and said to him, Thus saith the king, Come forth. And he said, No; but I will die here. And Benaiah brought the king word again, saying, Thus said Joab, and thus he answered me. ³¹And the king said to him, Do as he hath said, and fall upon him, and bury him; that thou mayest take away the innocent blood which Joab shed, from me, and from the house of my father. ³²And the LORD shall return his blood upon his own head, who fell upon two men more righteous and better than he, and slew them with the sword, my father David not knowing of it, to wit, Abner the son of Ner captain of the host of Israel, and Amasa the son of Jether, captain of the host of Judah. ³³Their blood shall therefore return upon the head of Joab, and upon the head of his seed for ever: but upon David, and upon his seed, and upon his house, and upon his throne, shall there be peace forever from the LORD. ³⁴So Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went, and fell upon him, and slew him: and he was buried in his own house in the wilderness. ³⁵And the king put Benaiah the son of Jehoiada in his room over the army: and Zadok the priest the king put in the room of Abiathar. ³⁶And the king sent and called for Shimei, and said to him, Build thee a house in Jerusalem, and dwell there, and go not forth thence to any place whatever. ³⁷For it shall be, that on the day thou shalt go out, and pass over the brook Kidron, thou shalt know for certain that thou shalt surely die: thy blood shall be upon thy own head. ³⁸And Shimei said to the king, The saying is good: as my lord the king hath said, so will thy servant do. And Shimei dwelt in Jerusalem many days. ³⁹And it came to pass at the end of three years, that two of the servants of Shimei ran away to Achish son of Maachah king of Gath: and they told Shimei, saying, behold, thy servants are in Gath. ⁴⁰And Shimei arose, and saddled his ass, and went to Gath to Achish to seek his servants: and Shimei went and brought his servants from Gath. ⁴¹And it was told to Solomon that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath, and had returned. ⁴²And the king sent and called for Shimei, and said to him, Did I not make thee to swear by the LORD, and protest to thee, saying, Know for a certain, on the day thou goest out, and walkest any where abroad, that thou shalt surely die? and thou saidst to me, The word that I have heard is good. ⁴³Why then hast thou not kept the oath of the LORD, and the commandment that I have charged thee with? ⁴⁴The king said moreover to Shimei, Thou knowest all the wickedness which thy heart is privy to, that thou didst to David my father: therefore the LORD will return thy wickedness upon thy own head; ⁴⁵And king Solomon shall be blessed, and the throne of David shall be established before the LORD for ever. ⁴⁶So the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; who went out, and fell upon him, that he died. And the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon.

Chapter 3

¹And Solomon made affinity with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh's daughter, and brought her into the city of David, until he had made an end of building his own house, and the house of the LORD, and the wall of Jerusalem on every side. ²Only the people sacrificed in high places, because there was no house built to the name of the LORD, until those days. ³And Solomon loved the LORD, walking in the statutes of David his father: only he sacrificed and burnt incense in high places. ⁴And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there; for that was the great high place: a thousand burnt-offerings did Solomon offer upon that altar. ⁵In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee. ⁶And Solomon said, Thou hast shown to thy servant David my father great mercy, according as he walked before thee in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with thee; and thou hast kept for him this great kindness, that thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. ⁷And now, O LORD my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in. ⁸And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude. ⁹Give therefore to thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people? ¹⁰And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing. ¹¹And God said to him, Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life; neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thy enemies: but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment; ¹²Behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there hath been none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like to thee. ¹³And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches, and honor: so that there shall not be any among the kings like to thee all thy days, ¹⁴And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days. ¹⁵And Solomon awoke; and behold, it was a dream. And he came to Jerusalem, and stood before the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and offered up burnt-offerings, and offered peace-offerings, and made a feast to all his servants. ¹⁶Then came there two women, that were harlots, to the king, and stood before him. ¹⁷And the one woman said, O my lord, I and this woman dwell in one house; and I was delivered of a child with her in the house. ¹⁸And it came to pass the third day after I was delivered, that this woman was delivered also: and we were together; there was no stranger with us in the house, save us two in the house. ¹⁹And this woman's child died in the night; because she overlaid it. ²⁰And she arose at midnight, and took my son from beside me, while thy handmaid slept, and laid it in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom. ²¹And when I rose in the morning to nurse my child, behold, it was dead: but when I had considered it in the morning, behold, it was not my son, which I bore. ²²And the other woman said, No; but the living is my son, and the dead is thy son. And this said, No; but the dead is thy son, and the living is my son. Thus they spoke before the king. ²³Then said the king, The one saith, This is my son that liveth, and thy son is the dead; and the other saith, No; but thy son is the dead, and my son is the living. ²⁴And the king said, Bring me a sword. And they brought a sword before the king. ²⁵And the king said, Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other. ²⁶Then spoke the woman whose the living child was to the king, for her bowels yearned upon her son, and she said, O my lord, give her the living child, and in no wise slay it. But the other said, Let it be neither mine nor thine, but divide it. ²⁷Then the king answered and said, Give her the living child, and in no wise slay it: she is the mother of it. ²⁸And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had judged; and they feared the king: for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him, to do judgment.

Chapter 4

¹So king Solomon was king over all Israel. ²And these were the princes which he had; Azariah the son of Zadok the priest, ³Elihoreph and Ahiah, the sons of Shisha, scribes; Jehosaphat the son of Ahilud, the recorder. ⁴And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the army: and Zadok and Abiathar were the priests: ⁵And Azariah the son of Nathan was over the officers: and Zabud the son of Nathan was principal officer, and the king's friend: ⁶And Ahishar was over the household: and Adoniram the son of Abda was over the tribute. ⁷And Solomon had twelve officers over all Israel, who provided victuals for the king and his household: each man his month in a year made provision. ⁸And these are their names: The son of Hur, in mount Ephraim: ⁹The son of Dekar, in Makaz, and in Shaalbim, and Beth-shemesh, and Elon-beth-hanan: ¹⁰The son of Hesed, in Aruboth; to him pertained Sochoh, and all the land of Hepher: ¹¹The son of Abinadab, in all the region of Dor; who had Taphath the daughter of Solomon for a wife: ¹²Baana the son of Ahilud; to him pertained Taanach and Megiddo, and all Beth-shean, which is by Zartanah beneath Jezreel, from Beth-shean to Abel-meholah, even to the place that is beyond Jokneam: ¹³The son of Geber, in Ramoth-gilead; to him pertained the towns of Jair the son of Manasseh, which are in Gilead; to him also pertained the region of Argob, which is in Bashan, sixty great cities with walls and brazen bars: ¹⁴Ahinadab the son of Iddo had Mahanaim: ¹⁵Ahimaaz was in Naphtali; he also took Basmath the daughter of Solomon for a wife: ¹⁶Baanah the son of Hushai was in Asher and in Aloth: ¹⁷Jehoshaphat the son of Paruah, in Issachar: ¹⁸Shimei the son of Elah, in Benjamin: ¹⁹Geber the son of Uri was in the country of Gilead, in the country of Sihon king of the Amorites, and of Og king of Bashan; and he was the only officer who was in the land. ²⁰Judah and Israel were many, as the sand which is by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking, and making merry. ²¹And Solomon reigned over all kingdoms from the river to the land of the Philistines, and to the border of Egypt: they brought presents, and served Solomon all the days of his life. ²²And Solomon's provision for one day was thirty measures of fine flour, and sixty measures of meal. ²³Ten fat oxen, and twenty oxen out of the pastures, and a hundred sheep, besides harts, and roebucks, and fallow-deer, and fatted fowls. ²⁴For he had dominion over all the region on this side the river, from Tiphsah even to Azzah, over all the kings on this side of the river: and he had peace on all sides around him. ²⁵And Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every man under his vine and under his fig-tree, from Dan even to Beer-sheba, all the days of Solomon. ²⁶And Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen. ²⁷And those officers provided victuals for king Solomon, and for all that came to king Solomon's table, every man in his month: they lacked nothing. ²⁸Barley also and straw for the horses and dromedaries they brought to the place where the officers were, every man according to his charge. ²⁹And God gave Solomon great wisdom and understanding, and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the sea-shore. ³⁰And Solomon's wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east country, and all the wisdom of Egypt. ³¹For he was wiser than all men; than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, and Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol: and his fame was in all the surrounding nations. ³²And he spoke three thousand proverbs: and his songs were a thousand and five. ³³And he spoke of trees, from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon even to the hyssop that springeth out of the wall: he spoke also of beasts, and of fowls, and of creeping animals, and of fishes. ³⁴And there came of all people to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all kings of the earth, who had heard of his wisdom.

Chapter 5

¹And Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon; for he had heard that they had anointed him king in the room of his father: for Hiram was ever a lover of David. ²And Solomon sent to Hiram, saying, ³Thou knowest how that David my father could not build a house to the name of the LORD his God, for the wars which were about him on every side, until the LORD put them under the soles of his feet. ⁴But now the LORD my God hath given me rest on every side, so that there is neither adversary nor evil occurrent. ⁵And behold, I purpose to build a house to the name of the LORD my God, as the LORD spoke to David my father, saying, Thy son, whom I will set upon thy throne in thy room, he shall build a house to my name. ⁶Now therefore command thou, that they hew me cedar trees out of Lebanon; and my servants shall be with thy servants: and to thee will I give hire for thy servants according to all that thou shalt appoint: for thou knowest that there is not among us any that is skilled in hewing timber like the Sidonians. ⁷And it came to pass, when Hiram heard the words of Solomon, that he rejoiced greatly, and said, Blessed be the LORD this day, who hath given to David a wise son over this great people. ⁸And Hiram sent to Solomon, saying, I have considered the things which thou sentest to me for: and I will perform all thy desire concerning timber of cedar, and concerning timber of fir. ⁹My servants shall bring them down from Lebanon to the sea: and I will convey them by sea in floats to the place that thou shalt appoint me, and will cause them to be discharged there, and thou shalt receive them: and thou shalt accomplish my desire, in giving food for my household. ¹⁰So Hiram gave Solomon cedar trees and fir trees according to all his desire. ¹¹And Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand measures of wheat for food to his household, and twenty measures of pure oil: thus gave Solomon to Hiram year by year. ¹²And the LORD gave Solomon wisdom, as he promised him: and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon; and they two made a league together. ¹³And king Solomon raised a levy out of all Israel; and the levy was thirty thousand men. ¹⁴And he sent them to Lebanon ten thousand a month by courses; a month they were in Lebanon, and two months at home. And Adoniram was over the levy. ¹⁵And Solomon had seventy thousand that bore burdens, and eighty thousand hewers in the mountains; ¹⁶Besides the chief of Solomon's officers who were over the work, three thousand and three hundred, who ruled over the people that wrought in the work. ¹⁷And the king commanded, and they brought great stones, costly stones, and hewed stones, to lay the foundation of the house. ¹⁸And Solomon's builders, and Hiram's builders did hew them, and the stone-squarers: so they prepared timber and stones to build the house.

Chapter 6

¹And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel had come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month of Zif, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the LORD. ²And the house which king Solomon built for the LORD, the length of it was sixty cubits, and the breadth of it twenty cubits, and the hight of it thirty cubits. ³And the porch before the temple of the house, twenty cubits was the length of it, according to the breadth of the house; and ten cubits was the breadth of it, before the house. ⁴And for the house he made windows of narrow lights. ⁵And against the wall of the house he built chambers round about, against the walls of the house round about, both of the temple and of the oracle: and he made chambers round about: ⁶The nethermost chamber was five cubits broad, and the middle was six cubits broad, and the third was seven cubits broad: for without in the wall of the house he made narrowed rests round about, that the beams should not be fastened in the walls of the house. ⁷And the house, when it was in building, was built of stone made ready before it was brought thither; so that there was neither hammer nor ax nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in building. ⁸The door for the middle chamber was in the right side of the house: and they went up with winding stairs into the middle chamber, and out of the middle into the third; ⁹So he built the house and finished it; and covered the house with beams and boards of cedar. ¹⁰And then he built chambers against all the house, five cubits high: and they rested on the house with timber of cedar. ¹¹And the word of the LORD came to Solomon, saying, ¹²Concerning this house which thou art in building, if thou wilt walk in my statutes, and execute my judgments, and keep all my commandments to walk in them; then will I perform my word with thee, which I spoke to David thy father: ¹³And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake my people Israel. ¹⁴So Solomon built the house, and finished it. ¹⁵And he built the walls of the house within with boards of cedar, both the floor of the house, and the walls of the ceiling: and he covered them on the inside with wood, and covered the floor of the house with planks of fir. ¹⁶And he built twenty cubits on the sides of the house, both the floor and the walls with boards of cedar: he even built them for it within, even for the oracle, even for the most holy place. ¹⁷And the house, that is, the temple before it, was forty cubits long. ¹⁸And the cedar of the house within was carved with knobs and open flowers: all was cedar; there was no stone seen. ¹⁹And the oracle he prepared in the house within, to set there the ark of the covenant of the LORD. ²⁰And the oracle in the forepart was twenty cubits in length, and twenty cubits in breadth, and twenty cubits in the hight of it, and he overlaid it with pure gold; and so covered the altar which was of cedar. ²¹So Solomon overlaid the house within with pure gold: and he made a partition by the chains of gold before the oracle; and he overlaid it with gold. ²²And the whole house he overlaid with gold, until he had finished all the house: also the whole altar that was by the oracle he overlaid with gold. ²³And within the oracle he made two cherubim of olive tree, each ten cubits high. ²⁴And five cubits was the one wing of the cherub, and five cubits the other wing of the cherub: from the uttermost part of the one wing to the uttermost part of the other were ten cubits. ²⁵And the other cherub was ten cubits: both the cherubim were of one measure and one size. ²⁶The hight of the one cherub was ten cubits, and so was it of the other cherub. ²⁷And he set the cherubim within the inner house: and they stretched forth the wings of the cherubim, so that the wing of the one touched the one wall, and the wing of the other cherub touched the other wall; and their wings touched one another in the midst of the house. ²⁸And he overlaid the cherubim with gold. ²⁹And he carved all the walls of the house around with carved figures of cherubim, and palm trees, and open flowers, within and without. ³⁰And the floor of the house he overlaid with gold, within and without. ³¹And for the entrance of the oracle he made doors of olive tree: the lintel and side-posts were a fifth part of the wall. ³²The two doors also were of olive tree; and he carved upon them carvings of cherubim, and palm trees, and open flowers, and overlaid them with gold, and spread gold upon the cherubim, and upon the palm trees. ³³So also he made for the door of the temple posts of olive tree a fourth part of the wall. ³⁴And the two doors were of fir tree: the two leaves of the one door were folding, and the two leaves of the other door were folding. ³⁵And he carved thereon cherubim, and palm trees, and open flowers; and covered them with gold, fitted upon the carved work. ³⁶And he built the inner court with three rows of hewn stone, and a row of cedar beams. ³⁷In the fourth year was the foundation of the house of the LORD laid, in the month Zif: ³⁸And in the eleventh year, in the month Bul (which is the eighth month) was the house finished throughout all its parts, and according to all the fashion of it. So was he seven years in building it.

Chapter 7

¹But Solomon was building his own house thirteen years, and he finished all his house. ²He built also the house of the forest of Lebanon; its length was a hundred cubits, and its breadth fifty cubits, and its hight thirty cubits, upon four rows of cedar pillars, with cedar beams upon the pillars. ³And it was covered with cedar above upon the beams, that lay on forty-five pillars, fifteen in a row. ⁴And there were windows in three rows, and light was against light in three ranks. ⁵And all the doors and posts were square, with the windows: and light was against light in three ranks. ⁶And he made a porch of pillars; its length was fifty cubits, and its breadth thirty cubits: and the porch was before them: and the other pillars and the thick beams were before them. ⁷Then he made a porch for the throne where he might judge, even the porch of judgment: and it was covered with cedar from one side of the floor to the other. ⁸And his house where he dwelt had another court within the porch, which was of the like work. Solomon made also a house for Pharaoh's daughter, whom he had married, like to this porch. ⁹All these were of costly stones, according to the measures of hewn stones, sawed with saws, within and without, even from the foundation to the coping, and so on the outside towards the great court. ¹⁰And the foundation was of costly stones, even great stones; stones of ten cubits, and stones of eight cubits. ¹¹And above were costly stones, after the measures of hewn stones, and cedars. ¹²And the great court around was with three rows of hewn stones, and a row of cedar beams, both for the inner court of the house of the LORD, and for the porch of the house. ¹³And king Solomon sent and brought Hiram out of Tyre. ¹⁴He was a widow's son of the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in brass: and he was filled with wisdom, and understanding, and ingenious to work all works in brass. And he came to king Solomon, and wrought all his work. ¹⁵For he cast two pillars of brass, each of eighteen cubits high: and a line of twelve cubits did encompass each of them. ¹⁶And he made two capitals of molten brass, to set upon the tops of the pillars: the hight of the one capital was five cubits, and the hight of the other capital was five cubits: ¹⁷And nets of checker-work, and wreaths of chain-work, for the capitals which were upon the top of the pillars; seven for the one capital, and seven for the other capital. ¹⁸And he made the pillars, and two rows around upon the one net-work, to cover the capitals that were upon the top, with pomegranates: and so he did for the other capital. ¹⁹And the capitals that were upon the top of the pillars were of lily-work in the porch, four cubits. ²⁰And the capitals upon the two pillars had pomegranates also above, over against the belly which was by the net-work: and the pomegranates were two hundred in rows around upon the other capital. ²¹And he set up the pillars in the porch of the temple: and he set up the right pillar, and called its name Jachin: and he set up the left pillar, and called its name Boaz. ²²And upon the top of the pillars was lily-work: so was the work of the pillars finished. ²³And he made a molten sea, ten cubits from the one brim to the other: it was entirely round, and its hight was five cubits: and a line of thirty cubits encompassed it. ²⁴And under the brim of it around there were knobs compassing it, ten in a cubit, compassing the sea around: the knobs were cast in two rows, when it was cast. ²⁵It stood upon twelve oxen, three looking towards the north, and three looking towards the west, and three looking towards the south, and three looking towards the east: and the sea was set above upon them, and all their hinder parts were inward. ²⁶And it was a hand-breadth thick, and its brim was wrought like the brim of a cup, with flowers of lilies: it contained two thousand baths. ²⁷And he made ten bases of brass; four cubits was the length of one base, and four cubits the breadth of it, and three cubits the hight of it. ²⁸And the work of the bases was in this manner: They had borders, and the borders were between the ledges: ²⁹And on the borders that were between the ledges were lions, oxen, and cherubim: and upon the ledges there was a base above: and beneath the lions and oxen were certain additions made of thin work. ³⁰And every base had four brazen wheels, and plates of brass: and the four corners of it had undersetters: under the laver were undersetters molten, at the side of every addition. ³¹And the mouth of it within the capital and above was a cubit: but the mouth of it was round after the work of the base, a cubit and a half: and also upon the mouth of it were gravings with their borders, foursquare, not round. ³²And under the borders were four wheels; and the axletrees of the wheels were joined to the base: and the hight of a wheel was a cubit and half a cubit. ³³And the work of the wheels was like the work of a chariot wheel: their axletrees, and their naves, and their fellies, and their spokes, were all molten. ³⁴And there were four undersetters to the four corners of one base: and the undersetters were of the very base itself. ³⁵And in the top of the base was there a round compass of half a cubit high: and on the top of the base its ledges and its borders were of the same. ³⁶For on the plates of its ledges, and on its borders, he graved cherubim, lions, and palm trees, according to the proportion of every one, and additions around. ³⁷After this manner he made the ten bases: all of them had one casting, one measure, and one size. ³⁸Then he made ten lavers of brass: one laver contained forty baths: and every laver was four cubits: and upon every one of the ten bases one laver. ³⁹And he put five bases on the right side of the house, and five on the left side of the house: and he set the sea on the right side of the house eastward over against the south. ⁴⁰And Hiram made the lavers, and the shovels, and the basins. So Hiram made an end of doing all the work that he executed for king Solomon for the house of the LORD: ⁴¹The two pillars, and the two bowls of the capitals that were on the top of the two pillars; and the two net-works, to cover the two bowls of the capitals which were upon the top of the pillars; ⁴²And four hundred pomegranates for the two net-works, even two rows of pomegranates for one net-work, to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were upon the pillars; ⁴³And the ten bases, and ten lavers on the bases; ⁴⁴And one sea, and twelve oxen under the sea; ⁴⁵And the pots, and the shovels, and the basins: and all these vessels which Hiram made to king Solomon for the house of the LORD, were of bright brass. ⁴⁶In the plain of Jordan did the king cast them, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zarthan. ⁴⁷And Solomon left all the vessels unweighed, because they were very numerous: neither was the weight of the brass ascertained. ⁴⁸And Solomon made all the vessels that pertained to the house of the LORD: the altar of gold, and the table of gold, upon which was the show-bread, ⁴⁹And the candlesticks of pure gold, five on the right side, and five on the left, before the oracle, with the flowers, and the lamps, and the tongs of gold, ⁵⁰And the bowls, and the snuffers, and the basins, and the spoons, and the censers of pure gold; and the hinges of gold, both for the doors of the inner house, the most holy place, and for the doors of the house, to wit, of the temple. ⁵¹So was ended all the work that king Solomon made for the house of the LORD. And Solomon brought in the things which David his father had dedicated; even the silver, and the gold, and the vessels, he placed among the treasures of the house of the LORD.

Chapter 8

¹Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the chief of the fathers of the children of Israel, to king Solomon in Jerusalem, that they might bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of the city of David, which is Zion. ²And all the men of Israel assembled themselves to king Solomon at the feast in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month. ³And all the elders of Israel came, and the priests took up the ark. ⁴And they brought the ark of the LORD, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and all the holy vessels that were in the tabernacle, even those did the priests and the Levites bring. ⁵And king Solomon, and all the congregation of Israel, that were assembled to him, were with him before the ark, sacrificing sheep and oxen, that could not be told nor numbered for multitude. ⁶And the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the LORD to its place, into the oracle of the house, to the most holy place, even under the wings of the cherubim. ⁷For the cherubim spread forth their two wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubim covered the ark and the staffs thereof above. ⁸And they drew out the staffs, that the ends of the staffs were seen out in the holy place before the oracle, and they were not seen without: and there they are to this day. ⁹There was nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone, which Moses deposited there at Horeb, when the LORD made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt. ¹⁰And it came to pass, when the priests had come out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the LORD, ¹¹So that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of the LORD. ¹²Then spoke Solomon, The LORD said that he would dwell in the thick darkness. ¹³I have surely built thee a house to dwell in, a settled place for thee to abide in for ever. ¹⁴And the king turned his face about, and blessed all the congregation of Israel: and all the congregation of Israel were standing. ¹⁵And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, who spoke with his mouth to David my father, and hath with his hand fulfilled it, saying, ¹⁶Since the day that I brought forth my people Israel from Egypt, I have chosen no city out of all the tribes of Israel to build a house, that my name might be therein; but I chose David to be over my people Israel. ¹⁷And it was in the heart of David my father to build a house for the name of the LORD God of Israel. ¹⁸And the LORD said to David my father, Whereas it was in thy heart to build a house to my name, thou didst well that it was in thy heart. ¹⁹Nevertheless, thou shalt not build the house; but thy son that shall come forth out of thy loins, he shall build the house to my name. ²⁰And the LORD hath performed his word that he spoke, and I have risen in the room of David my father, and sit on the throne of Israel, as the LORD promised, and have built a house for the name of the LORD God of Israel. ²¹And I have set there a place for the ark, in which is the covenant of the LORD, which he made with our fathers, when he brought them from the land of Egypt. ²²And Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands towards Heaven: ²³And he said, LORD God of Israel, there is no God like thee, in heaven above, or on earth beneath, who keepest covenant and mercy with thy servants that walk before thee with all their heart. ²⁴Who hast kept with thy servant David my father that which thou didst promise him: thou didst speak also with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled it with thy hand, as it is this day. ²⁵Therefore now, LORD God of Israel, keep with thy servant David my father that which thou didst promise him, saying, There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit on the throne of Israel; provided thy children take heed to their way, that they walk before me as thou hast walked before me. ²⁶And now, O God of Israel, let thy word, I pray thee, be verified, which thou didst speak to thy servant David my father. ²⁷But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have built? ²⁸Yet have thou respect to the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O LORD my God, to hearken to the cry and to the prayer, which thy servant prayeth before thee this day: ²⁹That thy eyes may be open towards this house night and day, even towards the place of which thou hast said, My name shall be there: that thou mayest hearken to the prayer which thy servant shall make towards this place. ³⁰And hearken thou to the supplication of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, when they shall pray towards this place: and hear thou in heaven thy dwelling-place: and when thou hearest, forgive. ³¹If any man shall trespass against his neighbor, and an oath be laid upon him to cause him to swear, and the oath come before thy altar in this house: ³²Then hear thou in heaven, and do, and judge thy servants, condemning the wicked, to bring his way upon his head; and justifying the righteous, to give him according to his righteousness. ³³When thy people Israel shall be smitten before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee, and shall turn again to thee, and confess thy name, and pray, and make supplication to thee in this house: ³⁴Then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them again to the land which thou gavest to their fathers. ³⁵When heaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee; if they pray towards this place, and confess thy name, and turn from their sin, when thou afflictest them: ³⁶Then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy servants, and of thy people Israel, that thou mayest teach them the good way in which they should walk, and give rain upon thy land, which thou hast given to thy people for an inheritance. ³⁷If there shall be in the land famine, if there shall be pestilence, blasting, mildew, locust, or if there shall be caterpillar; if their enemy shall besiege them in the land of their cities, whatever plague, whatever sickness there shall be; ³⁸Whatever prayer and supplication shall be made by any man, or by all thy people Israel, who shall know every man the plague of his own heart, and spread forth his hands towards this house: ³⁹Then hear thou in heaven thy dwelling-place, and forgive, and do, and give to every man according to his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou, even thou only, knowest the hearts of all the children of men;) ⁴⁰That they may fear thee all the days that they live in the land which thou gavest to our fathers. ⁴¹Moreover, concerning a stranger, that is not of thy people Israel, but cometh out of a far country for thy name's sake; ⁴²(For they shall hear of thy great name, and of thy strong hand, and of thy out-stretched arm;) when he shall come and pray towards this house; ⁴³Hear thou in heaven thy dwelling-place, and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for: that all people of the earth may know thy name, to fear thee, as do thy people Israel; and that they may know that this house which I have built is called by thy name. ⁴⁴If thy people go out to battle against their enemy, whithersoever thou shalt send them, and shall pray to the LORD towards the city which thou hast chosen, and towards the house that I have built for thy name: ⁴⁵Then hear thou in heaven their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause. ⁴⁶If they shall sin against thee, (for there is no man that sinneth not,) and thou shalt be angry with them, and deliver them to the enemy, so that they carry them away captives to the land of the enemy, far or near; ⁴⁷Yet if they shall bethink themselves in the land whither they were carried captives, and repent and make supplication to thee in the land of them that carried them captives, saying, We have sinned, and have done perversely, we have committed wickedness; ⁴⁸And so return to thee with all their heart, and with all their soul, in the land of their enemies, who led them away captive, and pray to thee towards their land, which thou gavest to their fathers, the city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for thy name: ⁴⁹Then hear thou their prayer and their supplication in heaven thy dwelling-place, and maintain their cause, ⁵⁰And forgive thy people that have sinned against thee, and all their transgressions in which they have transgressed against thee, and give them compassion before them who carried them captive, that they may have compassion on them: ⁵¹For they are thy people, and thy inheritance, which thou broughtest out of Egypt, from the midst of the furnace of iron: ⁵²That thy eyes may be open to the supplication of thy servant, and to the supplication of thy people Israel, to hearken to them in all their supplications to thee. ⁵³For thou didst separate them from among all the people of the earth, to be thy inheritance, as thou didst speak by the hand of Moses thy servant, when thou broughtest our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord GOD. ⁵⁴And it was so, that when Solomon had made an end of praying all this prayer and supplication to the LORD, he arose from before the altar of the LORD, from kneeling on his knees, with his hands spread up to heaven. ⁵⁵And he stood, and blessed all the congregation of Israel with a loud voice, saying, ⁵⁶Blessed be the LORD, that hath given rest to his people Israel, according to all that he promised: there hath not failed one word of all his good promise, which he promised by the hand of Moses his servant. ⁵⁷The LORD our God be with us, as he was with our fathers: let him not leave us, nor forsake us: ⁵⁸That he may incline our hearts to him, to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and his statutes, and his judgments, which he commanded our fathers. ⁵⁹And let these my words with which I have made supplication before the LORD, be nigh to the LORD our God day and night, that he may maintain the cause of his servant, and the cause of his people Israel at all times, as the matter shall require: ⁶⁰That all the people of the earth may know, that the LORD is God, and that there is none else. ⁶¹Let your heart therefore be perfect with the LORD our God, to walk in his statutes, and to keep his commandments, as at this day. ⁶²And the king, and all Israel with him, offered sacrifice before the LORD. ⁶³And Solomon offered a sacrifice of peace-offerings, which he offered to the LORD, two and twenty thousand oxen, and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the children of Israel dedicated the house of the LORD. ⁶⁴The same day did the king consecrate the middle of the court that was before the house of the LORD: for there he offered burnt-offerings, and meat-offerings, and the fat of the peace-offerings: because the brazen altar that was before the LORD was too little to receive the burnt-offerings, and meat-offerings, and the fat of the peace-offerings. ⁶⁵And at that time Solomon held a feast, and all Israel with him, a great congregation, from the entrance into Hamath to the river of Egypt, before the LORD our God, seven days and seven days, even fourteen days. ⁶⁶On the eighth day he sent the people away: and they blessed the king, and went to their tents joyful and glad of heart for all the goodness that the LORD had done for David his servant, and for Israel his people.

Chapter 9

¹And it came to pass, when Solomon had finished the building of the house of the LORD, and the king's house, and all Solomon's desire which he was pleased to perform, ²That the LORD appeared to Solomon the second time, as he had appeared to him at Gibeon. ³And the LORD said to him, I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication that thou hast made before me: I have hallowed this house, which thou hast built, to put my name there for ever; and my eyes and my heart shall be there perpetually. ⁴And if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, in integrity of heart, and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded thee, and wilt keep my statutes and my judgments: ⁵Then I will establish the throne of thy kingdom upon Israel for ever, as I promised to David thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man upon the throne of Israel. ⁶But if ye shall at all turn from following me, ye or your children, and will not keep my commandments and my statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods, and worship them: ⁷Then will I cut off Israel from the land which I have given them; and this house which I have hallowed for my name, will I cast out of my sight; and Israel shall be a proverb and a by-word among all people: ⁸And at this house which is high, every one that passeth by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss; and they shall say, Why hath the LORD done thus to this land, and to this house? ⁹And they shall answer, Because they forsook the LORD their God, who brought forth their fathers from the land of Egypt, and have taken hold upon other gods, and have worshiped them, and served them: therefore hath the LORD brought upon them all this evil. ¹⁰And it came to pass at the end of twenty years, when Solomon had built the two houses, the house of the LORD, and the king's house, ¹¹(Now Hiram the king of Tyre had furnished Solomon with cedar trees and fir trees, and with gold, according to all his desire,) that then king Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee. ¹²And Hiram came out from Tyre to see the cities which Solomon had given him; and they pleased him not. ¹³And he said, What cities are these which thou hast given me, my brother? And he called them the land of Cabul to this day. ¹⁴And Hiram sent to the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold. ¹⁵And this is the reason of the levy which king Solomon raised, to build the house of the LORD, and his own house, and Millo, and the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor, and Megiddo, and Gezer. ¹⁶For Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up, and taken Gezer, and burnt it with fire, and slain the Canaanites that dwelt in the city, and given it for a present to his daughter, Solomon's wife. ¹⁷And Solomon built Gezer, and Beth-horon the nether, ¹⁸And Baalath, and Tadmor in the wilderness, in the land, ¹⁹And all the cities of store that Solomon had, and cities for his chariots, and cities for his horsemen, and that which Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, and in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion. ²⁰And all the people that were left of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, who were not of the children of Israel, ²¹Their children that were left after them in the land, whom the children of Israel also were not able utterly to destroy, upon those did Solomon levy a tribute of bond-service to this day. ²²But of the children of Israel did Solomon make no bond-men: but they were men of war, and his servants, and his princes, and his captains, and rulers of his chariots, and his horsemen. ²³These were the chief of the officers that were over Solomon's work, five hundred and fifty, who bore rule over the people that wrought in the work. ²⁴But Pharaoh's daughter came up from the city of David to her house which Solomon had built for her: then he built Millo. ²⁵And three times in a year did Solomon offer burnt-offerings and peace-offerings upon the altar which he built to the LORD, and he burnt incense upon the altar that was before the LORD. So he finished the house. ²⁶And king Solomon made a navy of ships in Ezion-geber, which is beside Eloth, on the shore of the Red Sea, in the land of Edom. ²⁷And Hiram sent in the navy his servants, shipmen that had knowledge of the sea, with the servants of Solomon. ²⁸And they came to Ophir, and imported from thence gold, four hundred and twenty talents, and brought it to king Solomon.

Chapter 10

¹And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to prove him with hard questions. ²And she came to Jerusalem with a very great train, with camels that bore spices, and very much gold, and precious stones: and when she had come to Solomon, she communed with him of all that was in her heart. ³And Solomon told her all her questions: there was not any thing hid from the king, which he told her not. ⁴And when the queen of Sheba had seen all Solomon's wisdom, and the house that he had built, ⁵And the provisions of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the attendance of his ministers, and their apparel, and his cup-bearers, and his ascent by which he went up to the house of the LORD; there was no more spirit in her. ⁶And she said to the king, It was a true report that I heard in my own land of thy acts and of thy wisdom. ⁷Howbeit, I believed not the words, until I came, and my eyes had seen it: and behold, the half was not told me: thy wisdom and prosperity exceed the fame which I heard. ⁸Happy are thy men, happy are these thy servants, who stand continually before thee, and that hear thy wisdom. ⁹Blessed be the LORD thy God, who delighted in thee, to set thee on the throne of Israel: because the LORD loved Israel for ever, therefore he made thee king, to do judgment and justice. ¹⁰And she gave the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold, and of spices a very great quantity, and precious stones: there came no more such abundance of spices as these which the queen of Sheba gave to king Solomon. ¹¹And the navy also of Hiram, that brought gold from Ophir, brought in from Ophir great plenty of almug trees, and precious stones. ¹²And the king made of the almug trees pillars for the house of the LORD, and for the king's house, harps also and psalteries for singers: there came no such almug-trees, nor have they been seen to this day. ¹³And king Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatever she asked, besides that which Solomon gave her of his royal bounty. So she turned and went to her own country, she and her servants. ¹⁴Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred and sixty six talents of gold, ¹⁵Besides what he had of the merchants, and of the traffic of the spice-merchants, and of all the kings of Arabia, and of the governors of the country. ¹⁶And king Solomon made two hundred targets of beaten gold: six hundred shekels of gold went to one target. ¹⁷And he made three hundred shields of beaten gold; three pounds of gold went to one shield: and the king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon. ¹⁸Moreover, the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with the best gold. ¹⁹The throne had six steps, and the top of the throne was round behind: and there were stays on either side on the place of the seat, and two lions stood beside the stays. ²⁰And twelve lions stood there on the one side and on the other upon the six steps: there was not the like made in any kingdom. ²¹And all king Solomon's drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were of pure gold; none were of silver: it was nothing accounted of in the days of Solomon. ²²For the king had at sea a navy of Tharshish with the navy of Hiram: once in three years came the navy of Tharshish, bringing gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks. ²³So king Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth for riches and for wisdom. ²⁴And all the earth sought to Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart. ²⁵And they brought every man his present, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and garments, and armor, and spices, horses, and mules, a rate year by year. ²⁶And Solomon collected chariots and horsemen: and he had a thousand and four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, whom he bestowed in the cities for chariots, and with the king at Jerusalem. ²⁷And the king made silver to be in Jerusalem as stones, and cedars he made to be as the sycamore trees that are in the vale, for abundance. ²⁸And Solomon had horses brought from Egypt, and linen yarn: the king's merchants received the linen yarn at a price. ²⁹And a chariot came up and went out of Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty: and so for all the kings of the Hittites, and for the kings of Syria, did they bring them out by their means.

Chapter 11

¹But king Solomon loved many foreign women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites; ²Of the nations concerning which the LORD said to the children of Israel, Ye shall not go in to them, neither shall they come in to you: for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods: Solomon cleaved to these in love. ³And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart. ⁴For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father. ⁵For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. ⁶And Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD, and went not fully after the LORD, as did David his father. ⁷Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon. ⁸And likewise did he for all his foreign wives, who burnt incense and sacrificed to their gods. ⁹And the LORD was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the LORD God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice, ¹⁰And had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods: but he kept not that which the LORD commanded. ¹¹Wherefore the LORD said to Solomon, Forasmuch as this is done by thee, and thou hast not kept my covenant and my statutes which I have commanded thee, I will surely rend the kingdom from thee, and will give it to thy servant. ¹²Notwithstanding, in thy days, I will not do it, for David thy father's sake: but I will rend it out of the hand of thy son. ¹³Yet, I will not rend away all the kingdom; but will give one tribe to thy son for David my servant's sake, and for Jerusalem's sake which I have chosen. ¹⁴And the LORD stirred up an adversary to Solomon, Hadad the Edomite: he was of the king's seed in Edom. ¹⁵For it came to pass, when David was in Edom, and Joab the captain of the host had gone up to bury the slain, after he had smitten every male in Edom; ¹⁶(For six months did Joab remain there with all Israel, until he had cut off every male in Edom:) ¹⁷That Hadad fled, he and certain Edomites of his father's servants with him, to go into Egypt; Hadad being yet a little child. ¹⁸And they arose out of Midian, and came to Paran: and they took men with them from Paran, and they came to Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt; who gave him a house, and appointed him victuals, and gave him land. ¹⁹And Hadad found great favor in the sight of Pharaoh, so that he gave him for a wife the sister of his own wife, the sister of Tahpenes the queen. ²⁰And the sister of Tahpenes bore him Genubath his son, whom Tahpenes weaned in Pharaoh's house: and Genubath was in Pharaoh's household among the sons of Pharaoh. ²¹And when Hadad heard in Egypt that David slept with his fathers, and that Joab the captain of the host was dead, Hadad said to Pharaoh, Let me depart, that I may go to my own country. ²²Then Pharaoh said to him, But what hast thou lacked with me, that, behold, thou seekest to go to thy own country? And he answered, Nothing: yet, in any wise let me go. ²³And God stirred him up another adversary, Rezon the son of Eliadah, who fled from his lord Hadadezer king of Zobah: ²⁴And he gathered men to him, and became captain over a band, when David slew them of Zobah: and they went to Damascus, and dwelt in it, and reigned in Damascus. ²⁵And he was an adversary to Israel all the days of Solomon, besides the mischief that Hadad did: and he abhorred Israel, and reigned over Syria. ²⁶And Jeroboam the son of Nebat, an Ephrathite of Zereda, Solomon's servant, whose mother's name was Zeruah, a widow woman, even he raised his hand against the king. ²⁷And this was the cause why he raised his hand against the king: Solomon built Millo, and repaired the breaches of the city of David his father. ²⁸And the man Jeroboam was a mighty man of valor: and Solomon, seeing the young man that he was industrious, he made him ruler over all the charge of the house of Joseph. ²⁹And it came to pass at that time when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, that the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him in the way; and he had clad himself with a new garment; and they two were alone in the field: ³⁰And Ahijah caught the new garment that was on him, and rent it in twelve pieces: ³¹And he said to Jeroboam, Take thee ten pieces: for thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, Behold, I will rend the kingdom from the hand of Solomon, and will give ten tribes to thee: ³²(But he shall have one tribe for my servant David's sake, and for Jerusalem's sake, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel:) ³³Because they have forsaken me, and have worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the children of Ammon, and have not walked in my ways, to do that which is right in my eyes, and to keep my statutes and my judgments, as did David his father. ³⁴Yet I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand: but I will make him prince all the days of his life for David my servant's sake, whom I chose, because he kept my commandments and my statutes: ³⁵But I will take the kingdom out of his son's hand, and will give it to thee, even ten tribes. ³⁶And to his son will I give one tribe, that David my servant may have a light always before me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen for me to put my name there. ³⁷And I will take thee, and thou shalt reign according to all that thy soul desireth, and shalt be king over Israel. ³⁸And it shall be, if thou wilt hearken to all that I command thee, and wilt walk in my ways, and do right in my sight, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did; that I will be with thee, and build thee a sure house, as I built for David, and will give Israel to thee. ³⁹And I will for this afflict the seed of David, but not for ever. ⁴⁰Solomon sought therefore to kill Jeroboam. And Jeroboam arose, and fled into Egypt, to Shishak king of Egypt, and was in Egypt until the death of Solomon. ⁴¹And the rest of the acts of Solomon, and all that he did, and his wisdom, are they not written in the book of the acts of Solomon? ⁴²And the time that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel was forty years. ⁴³And Solomon slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David his father: and Rehoboam his son reigned in his stead.

Chapter 12

¹And Rehoboam went to Shechem: for all Israel had come to Shechem to make him king. ²And it came to pass, when Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who was yet in Egypt, heard of it, (for he had fled from the presence of king Solomon, and Jeroboam dwelt in Egypt;) ³That they sent and called him. And Jeroboam and all the congregation of Israel came, and spoke to Rehoboam, saying, ⁴Thy father made our yoke grievous: now therefore make thou the grievous service of thy father, and his heavy yoke which he put upon us, lighter, and we will serve thee. ⁵And he said to them, Depart yet for three days, then come again to me. And the people departed. ⁶And king Rehoboam consulted with the old men that stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived, and said, How do ye advise that I may answer this people? ⁷And they spoke to him, saying, If thou wilt be a servant to this people this day, and wilt serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will be thy servants for ever. ⁸But he forsook the counsel of the old men, which they had given him, and consulted with the young men that had grown up with him, and who stood before him: ⁹And he said to them, What counsel give ye that we may answer this people, who have spoken to me, saying, Make the yoke which thy father did put upon us lighter? ¹⁰And the young men that had grown up with him spoke to him, saying, Thus shalt thou speak to this people who spoke to thee, saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy, but make thou it lighter to us; thus shalt thou say to them, My little finger shall be thicker than my father's loins. ¹¹And now whereas my father burdened you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke: my father hath chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions. ¹²So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king had appointed, saying, Come to me again the third day. ¹³And the king answered the people roughly, and forsook the old men's counsel that they gave him; ¹⁴And spoke to them after the counsel of the young men, saying, My father made your yoke heavy, and I will add to your yoke: my father also chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions. ¹⁵Wherefore the king hearkened not to the people; for the cause was from the LORD, that he might perform his saying, which the LORD spoke by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat. ¹⁶So when all Israel saw that the king hearkened not to them, the people answered the king, saying, What portion have we in David? neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: to your tents, O Israel: now see to thy own house, David. So Israel departed to their tents. ¹⁷But as for the children of Israel who dwelt in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them. ¹⁸Then king Rehoboam sent Adoram, who was over the tribute; and all Israel stoned him with stones, that he died. Therefore king Rehoboam made speed to enter his chariot, to flee to Jerusalem. ¹⁹So Israel rebelled against the house of David to this day. ²⁰And it came to pass when all Israel heard that Jeroboam had come again, that they sent and called him to the congregation, and made him king over all Israel: there was none that followed the house of David, but the tribe of Judah only. ²¹And when Rehoboam had come to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah, with the tribe of Benjamin, a hundred and eighty thousand chosen men, who were warriors, to fight against the house of Israel, to bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam the son of Solomon. ²²But the word of God came to Shemaiah the man of God, saying, ²³Speak to Rehoboam the son of Solomon king of Judah, and to all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the remnant of the people, saying, ²⁴Thus saith the LORD, Ye shall not go up, nor fight against your brethren the children of Israel: return every man to his house; for this thing is from me. They hearkened therefore to the word of the LORD, and returned to depart, according to the word of the LORD. ²⁵Then Jeroboam built Shechem in mount Ephraim, and dwelt in it, and went out from thence, and built Penuel. ²⁶And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David: ²⁷If this people go up to perform sacrifice in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again to their lord, even to Rehoboam king of Judah, and they shall kill me, and return to Rehoboam king of Judah. ²⁸Upon which the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and said to them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt. ²⁹And he set the one in Beth-el, and the other he placed in Dan. ³⁰And this thing became a sin: for the people went to worship before the one, even to Dan. ³¹And he made a house of high places, and made priests of the lowest of the people, who were not of the sons of Levi. ³²And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like the feast that is in Judah, and he offered upon the altar. So did he in Beth-el, sacrificing to the calves that he had made: and he placed in Beth-el the priests of the high places which he had made. ³³So he offered upon the altar which he had made in Beth-el the fifteenth day of the eighth month, even in the month which he had devised of his own heart; and ordained a feast to the children of Israel: and he offered upon the altar, and burnt incense.

Chapter 13

¹And behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the LORD to Beth-el: and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense. ²And he cried against the altar in the word of the LORD, and said, O altar, altar, thus saith the LORD; Behold, a child shall be born to the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he offer the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men's bones shall be burnt upon thee. ³And he gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the sign which the LORD hath spoken; Behold, the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out. ⁴And it came to pass when king Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of God, who had cried against the altar in Beth-el, that he put forth his hand from the altar, saying, Lay hold on him. And his hand, which he put forth against him, dried up, so that he could not draw it to him again. ⁵The altar also was rent, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the LORD. ⁶And the king answered and said to the man of God, Entreat now the face of the LORD thy God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored to me again. And the man of God besought the LORD, and the king's hand was restored to him again, and became as it was before. ⁷And the king said to the man of God, Come home with me, and refresh thyself, and I will give thee a reward. ⁸And the man of God said to the king, If thou wilt give me half thy house, I will not go in with thee, neither will I eat bread nor drink water in this place: ⁹For so was it charged me by the word of the LORD, saying, Eat no bread, nor drink water, nor turn again by the same way that thou camest. ¹⁰So he went another way, and returned not by the way that he came to Beth-el. ¹¹Now there dwelt an old prophet in Beth-el; and his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Beth-el: the words which he had spoken to the king, them they told also to their father. ¹²And their father said to them, What way went he? for his sons had seen what way the man of God went, who came from Judah. ¹³And he said to his sons, Saddle me the ass. So they saddled him the ass: and he rode upon it. ¹⁴And went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak: and he said to him, Art thou the man of God that camest from Judah? And he said, I am. ¹⁵Then he said to him, Come home with me, and eat bread. ¹⁶And he said, I may not return with thee, nor go in with thee: neither will I eat bread nor drink water with thee in this place: ¹⁷For it was said to me by the word of the LORD, Thou shalt eat no bread nor drink water there, nor turn again to go by the way that thou camest. ¹⁸He said to him, I am a prophet also as thou art; and an angel spoke to me by the word of the LORD, saying, Bring him back with thee into thy house, that he may eat bread and drink water. But he lied to him. ¹⁹So he went back with him, and ate bread in his house, and drank water. ²⁰And it came to pass, as they sat at the table, that the word of the LORD came to the prophet that brought him back: ²¹And he cried to the man of God that came from Judah, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Forasmuch as thou hast disobeyed the mouth of the LORD, and hast not kept the commandment which the LORD thy God commanded thee, ²²But hast returned, and hast eaten bread and drank water in the place, of which the LORD said to thee, Eat no bread, and drink no water; thy carcass shall not come to the sepulcher of thy fathers. ²³And it came to pass, after he had eaten bread, and after he had drank, that he saddled for him the ass, to wit, for the prophet whom he had brought back. ²⁴And when he had gone, a lion met him by the way, and slew him: and his carcass was cast in the way, and the ass stood by it, the lion also stood by the carcass. ²⁵And behold, men passed by, and saw the carcass cast in the way, and the lion standing by the carcass: and they came and told it in the city where the old prophet dwelt. ²⁶And when the prophet that brought him back from the way heard of it, he said, It is the man of God, who was disobedient to the word of the LORD: therefore the LORD hath delivered him to the lion, which hath torn him, and slain him, according to the word of the LORD, which he spoke to him. ²⁷And he spoke to his sons, saying, Saddle me the ass. And they saddled him. ²⁸And he went and found his carcass cast in the way, and the ass and the lion standing by the carcass: the lion had not eaten the carcass, nor torn the ass. ²⁹And the prophet took up the carcass of the man of God, and laid it upon the ass, and brought it back: and the old prophet came to the city, to mourn and to bury him. ³⁰And he laid his carcass in his own grave; and they mourned over him, saying, Alas, my brother! ³¹And it came to pass, after he had buried him, that he spoke to his sons, saying, When I am dead, then bury me in the sepulcher in which the man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones: ³²For the saying which he cried by the word of the LORD against the altar in Beth-el, and against all the houses of the high places which are in the cities of Samaria, shall surely come to pass. ³³After this thing Jeroboam returned not from his evil way, but made again of the lowest of the people priests of the high places: whoever would, he consecrated him, and he became one of the priests of the high places. ³⁴And this thing became sin to the house of Jeroboam, even to cut it off, and to destroy it from the face of the earth.

Chapter 14

¹At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam fell sick. ²And Jeroboam said to his wife, Arise, I pray thee, and disguise thyself, that thou mayest not be known to be the wife of Jeroboam; and go to Shiloh: behold, there is Ahijah the prophet, who told me that I should be king over this people. ³And take with thee ten loaves, and cracknels, and a cruse of honey, and go to him: he will tell thee what shall become of the child. ⁴And Jeroboam's wife did so, and arose, and went to Shiloh, and came to the house of Ahijah. But Ahijah could not see; for his eyes were set by reason of his age. ⁵And the LORD said to Ahijah, Behold, the wife of Jeroboam cometh to ask a thing of thee for her son; for he is sick: thus and thus shalt thou say to her: for it shall be, when she cometh in, that she will feign herself to be another woman. ⁶And it was so, when Ahijah heard the sound of her feet, as she came in at the door, that he said, Come in, thou wife of Jeroboam; why feignest thou thyself to be another? for I am sent to thee with heavy tidings. ⁷Go, tell Jeroboam, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Forasmuch as I exalted thee from among the people, and made thee prince over my people Israel, ⁸And rent the kingdom away from the house of David, and gave it to thee: and yet thou hast not been as my servant David, who kept my commandments, and who followed me with all his heart, to do that only which was right in my eyes; ⁹But hast done evil above all that were before thee: for thou hast gone and made thee other gods, and molten images, to provoke me to anger, and hast cast me behind thy back: ¹⁰Therefore behold, I will bring evil upon the house of Jeroboam, and will cut off from Jeroboam the males, and him that is shut up and left in Israel, and will take away the remnant of the house of Jeroboam, as a man taketh away dung, till it is all gone. ¹¹Him that dieth of Jeroboam in the city shall the dogs eat; and him that dieth in the field shall the fowls of the air eat: for the LORD hath spoken it. ¹²Arise thou therefore, depart to thy own house: and when thy feet enter into the city, the child shall die. ¹³And all Israel shall mourn for him, and bury him: for he only of Jeroboam shall come to the grave, because in him there is found some good thing towards the LORD God of Israel in the house of Jeroboam. ¹⁴Moreover, the LORD shall raise him up a king over Israel, who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam that day: but what? even now. ¹⁵For the LORD will smite Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water, and he will root up Israel out of this good land, which he gave to their fathers, and will scatter them beyond the river, because they have made their groves, provoking the LORD to anger. ¹⁶And he will give up Israel because of the sins of Jeroboam, who sinned, and who made Israel to sin. ¹⁷And Jeroboam's wife arose, and departed, and came to Tirzah: and when she came to the threshhold of the door, the child died; ¹⁸And they buried him; and all Israel mourned for him, according to the word of the LORD, which he spoke by the hand of his servant Ahijah the prophet. ¹⁹And the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, how he warred, and how he reigned, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. ²⁰And the days which Jeroboam reigned were two and twenty years: and he slept with his fathers, and Nadab his son reigned in his stead. ²¹And Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was forty and one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the LORD chose out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there. And his mother's name was Naamah an Ammonitess. ²²And Judah did evil in the sight of the LORD, and they provoked him to jealousy with their sins which they had committed, above all that their fathers had done. ²³For they also built for themselves high places, and images and groves, on every high hill, and under every green tree. ²⁴And there were also sodomites in the land: and they did according to all the abominations of the nations which the LORD cast out before the children of Israel. ²⁵And it came to pass in the fifth year of king Rehoboam, that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem: ²⁶And he took away the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king's house; he even took away all; and he took away all the shields of gold which Solomon had made. ²⁷And king Rehoboam made in their stead brazen shields, and committed them to the hands of the chief of the guard, who kept the door of the king's house. ²⁸And it was so, when the king went into the house of the LORD, that the guard bore them, and brought them back into the guard chamber. ²⁹Now the rest of the acts of Rehoboam, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? ³⁰And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all their days. ³¹And Rehoboam slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David. And his mother's name was Naamah an Ammonitess. And Abijam his son reigned in his stead.

Chapter 15

¹Now in the eighteenth year of king Jeroboam the son of Nebat reigned Abijam over Judah. ²Three years he reigned in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Maachah, the daughter of Abishalom. ³And he walked in all the sins of his father, which he had done before him: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father. ⁴Nevertheless, for David's sake the LORD his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem, to set up his son after him, and to establish Jerusalem: ⁵Because David did that which was right in the eyes of the LORD, and turned not aside from any thing that he commanded him all the days of his life, save only in the matter of Uriah the Hittite. ⁶And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the days of his life. ⁷Now the rest of the acts of Abijam, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? And there was war between Abijam and Jeroboam. ⁸And Abijam slept with his fathers; and they buried him in the city of David: and Asa his son reigned in his stead. ⁹And in the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel reigned Asa over Judah. ¹⁰And forty and one years reigned he in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Maachah, the daughter of Abishalom. ¹¹And Asa did that which was right in the eyes of the LORD, as did David his father. ¹²And he banished the sodomites from the land, and removed all the idols that his fathers had made. ¹³And also Maachah his mother, even her he removed from being queen, because she had made an idol in a grove; and Asa destroyed her idol, and burnt it by the brook Kidron. ¹⁴But the high places were not removed: nevertheless Asa's heart was perfect with the LORD all his days. ¹⁵And he brought the things which his father had dedicated, and the things which himself had dedicated, into the house of the LORD, silver, and gold, and vessels. ¹⁶And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days. ¹⁷And Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah, and built Ramah, that he might not suffer any to go out or come in to Asa king of Judah. ¹⁸Then Asa took all the silver and the gold that were left in the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king's house, and delivered them into the hand of his servants: and king Asa sent them to Ben-hadad, the son of Tabrimon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, that dwelt at Damascus, saying, ¹⁹There is a league between me and thee, and between my father and thy father: behold, I have sent to thee a present of silver and gold; come and break thy league with Baasha king of Israel, that he may depart from me. ²⁰So Ben-hadad hearkened to king Asa, and sent the captains of the armies which he had against the cities of Israel, and smote Ijon, and Dan, and Abel-beth-maachah, and all Cinneroth, with all the land of Naphtali. ²¹And it came to pass, when Baasha heard of it, that he left off building of Ramah, and dwelt in Tirzah. ²²Then king Asa made a proclamation throughout all Judah; none was exempted: and they took away the stones of Ramah, and its timber, with which Baasha had built it; and king Asa built with them Geba of Benjamin, and Mizpah. ²³The rest of all the acts of Asa, and all his might, and all that he did, and the cities which he built, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? Nevertheless in the time of his old age he was diseased in his feet. ²⁴And Asa slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father: and Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his stead. ²⁵And Nadab the son of Jeroboam began to reign over Israel in the second year of Asa king of Judah, and reigned over Israel two years. ²⁶And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the way of his father, and in his sin with which he made Israel to sin. ²⁷And Baasha the son of Ahijah, of the house of Issachar, conspired against him; and Baasha smote him at Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines; for Nadab and all Israel laid siege to Gibbethon. ²⁸Even in the third year of Asa king of Judah did Baasha slay him, and reigned in his stead. ²⁹And it came to pass, when he reigned, that he smote all the house of Jeroboam; he left not to Jeroboam any that breathed, until he had destroyed him, according to the saying of the LORD, which he spoke by his servant Ahijah the Shilonite: ³⁰Because of the sins of Jeroboam which he sinned, and which he made Israel sin, by his provocation with which he provoked the LORD God of Israel to anger. ³¹Now the rest of the acts of Nadab, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? ³²And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days. ³³In the third year of Asa king of Judah began Baasha the son of Ahijah to reign over all Israel in Tirzah, twenty and four years. ³⁴And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin with which he made Israel to sin.

Chapter 16

¹Then the word of the LORD came to Jehu the son of Hanani against Baasha, saying, ²Forasmuch as I exalted thee from the dust, and made thee prince over my people Israel; and thou hast walked in the way of Jeroboam, and hast made my people Israel to sin, to provoke me to anger with their sins; ³Behold, I will take away the posterity of Baasha, and the posterity of his house; and will make thy house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat. ⁴Him that dieth of Baasha in the city shall the dogs eat; and him that dieth of his in the fields shall the fowls of the air eat. ⁵Now the rest of the acts of Baasha, and what he did, and his might, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? ⁶So Baasha slept with his fathers, and was buried in Tirzah: and Elah his son reigned in his stead. ⁷And also by the hand of the prophet Jehu the son of Hanani came the word of the LORD against Baasha, and against his house, even for all the evil that he did in the sight of the LORD, in provoking him to anger with the work of his hands, in being like the house of Jeroboam; and because he killed him. ⁸In the twenty and sixth year of Asa king of Judah began Elah the son of Baasha to reign over Israel in Tirzah, two years. ⁹And his servant Zimri, captain of half his chariots, conspired against him, as he was in Tirzah, drinking himself drunk in the house of Arza steward of his house in Tirzah. ¹⁰And Zimri went in and smote him, and killed him, in the twenty and seventh year of Asa king of Judah, and reigned in his stead. ¹¹And it came to pass, when he began to reign, as soon as he sat on his throne, that he slew all the house of Baasha: he left him not one male, neither of his kinsman, nor of his friends. ¹²Thus did Zimri destroy all the house of Baasha, according to the word of the LORD, which he spoke against Baasha, by Jehu the prophet, ¹³For all the sins of Baasha, and the sins of Elah his son, by which they sinned, and by which they made Israel to sin, in provoking the LORD God of Israel to anger with their vanities. ¹⁴Now the rest of the acts of Elah, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? ¹⁵In the twenty and seventh year of Asa king of Judah did Zimri reign seven days in Tirzah. And the people were encamped against Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines. ¹⁶And the people that were encamped heard it said, Zimri hath conspired, and hath also slain the king: wherefore all Israel made Omri, the captain of the host, king over Israel that day in the camp. ¹⁷And Omri went up from Gibbethon, and all Israel with him, and they besieged Tirzah. ¹⁸And it came to pass, when Zimri saw that the city was taken, that he went into the palace of the king's house, and burnt the king's house over him with fire, and died, ¹⁹For his sins which he sinned in doing evil in the sight of the LORD, in walking in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin which he did, to make Israel to sin. ²⁰Now the rest of the acts of Zimri, and his treason that he wrought, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? ²¹Then were the people of Israel divided into two parts: half of the people followed Tibni the son of Ginath, to make him king; and half followed Omri. ²²But the people that followed Omri prevailed against the people that followed Tibni the son of Ginath: so Tibni died, and Omri reigned. ²³In the thirty and first year of Asa king of Judah began Omri to reign over Israel, twelve years: six years reigned he in Tirzah. ²⁴And he bought the hill Samaria of Shemer for two talents of silver, and built on the hill, and called the name of the city which he built, after the name of Shemer, owner of the hill, Samaria. ²⁵But Omri wrought evil in the eyes of the LORD, and did worse than all that were before him. ²⁶For he walked in all the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and in his sin with which he made Israel to sin, to provoke the LORD God of Israel to anger with their vanities. ²⁷Now the rest of the acts of Omri which he did, and his might that he showed, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? ²⁸So Omri slept with his fathers, and was buried in Samaria: and Ahab his son reigned in his stead. ²⁹And in the thirty and eighth year of Asa king of Judah began Ahab the son of Omri to reign over Israel: and Ahab the son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria twenty and two years. ³⁰And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the LORD above all that were before him. ³¹And it came to pass, as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took to wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Zidonians, and went and served Baal, and worshiped him. ³²And he erected an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he had built in Samaria. ³³And Ahab made a grove; and Ahab did more to provoke the LORD God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him. ³⁴In his days Hiel the Beth-elite built Jericho: he laid the foundation of it in Abiram his first-born, and set up the gates of it in his youngest son Segub, according to the word of the LORD, which he spoke by Joshua the son of Nun.

Chapter 17

¹And Elijah the Tishbite who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, As the LORD God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word. ²And the word of the LORD came to him, saying, ³Depart hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. ⁴And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there. ⁵So he went and did according to the word of the LORD: for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. ⁶And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook. ⁷And it came to pass after a while, that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land. ⁸And the word of the LORD came to him, saying, ⁹Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee. ¹⁰So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering sticks: and he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink. ¹¹And as she was going to bring it, he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thy hand. ¹²And she said, As the LORD thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but a handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die. ¹³And Elijah said to her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me of it a little cake first, and bring it to me, and afterward make for thee and for thy son. ¹⁴For thus saith the LORD God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the LORD sendeth rain upon the earth. ¹⁵And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days. ¹⁶And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD, which he spoke by Elijah. ¹⁷And it came to pass after these things that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick; and his sickness was so severe, that there was no breath left in him. ¹⁸And she said to Elijah, What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? art thou come to me to call my sin to remembrance, and to slay my son? ¹⁹And he said to her, Give me thy son. And he took him out of her bosom, and carried him up into a loft, where he abode, and laid him upon his own bed. ²⁰And he cried to the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, hast thou also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son? ²¹And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried to the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, I pray thee, let this child's soul come into him again. ²²And the LORD heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived. ²³And Elijah took the child, and brought him down from the chamber into the house, and delivered him to his mother: and Elijah said, See, thy son liveth. ²⁴And the woman said to Elijah, Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in thy mouth is truth.

Chapter 18

¹And it came to pass after many days, that the word of the LORD came to Elijah in the third year, saying, Go, show thyself to Ahab; and I will send rain upon the earth. ²And Elijah went to show himself to Ahab. And there was a grievous famine in Samaria. ³And Ahab called Obadiah who was the governor of his house. (Now Obadiah feared the LORD greatly: ⁴For it was so, when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the LORD, that Obadiah took a hundred prophets, and hid them by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water.) ⁵And Ahab said to Obadiah, Go into the land, to all fountains of water, and to all brooks: it may be we may find grass to save the horses and mules alive, that we lose not all the beasts. ⁶So they divided the land between them to pass throughout it: Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself. ⁷And as Obadiah was in the way, behold, Elijah met him: and he knew him, and fell on his face, and said, Art thou that my lord Elijah? ⁸And he answered him, I am: go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here. ⁹And he said, What have I sinned, that thou wouldest deliver thy servant into the hand of Ahab to slay me? ¹⁰As the LORD thy God liveth, there is no nation nor kingdom, whither my lord hath not sent to seek thee: and when they said, He is not there; he took an oath of the kingdom and nation, that they found thee not. ¹¹And now thou sayest, Go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here. ¹²And it will come to pass, as soon as I have gone from thee, that the Spirit of the LORD will carry thee whither I know not; and so when I come and tell Ahab, and he cannot find thee, he will slay me: but I thy servant fear the LORD from my youth. ¹³Was it not told my lord what I did when Jezebel slew the prophets of the LORD, how I hid a hundred men of the LORD'S prophets by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water? ¹⁴And now thou sayest, Go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here: and he will slay me. ¹⁵And Elijah said, As the LORD of hosts liveth, before whom I stand, I will surely show myself to him to-day. ¹⁶So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him; and Ahab went to meet Elijah. ¹⁷And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said to him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel? ¹⁸And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father's house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the LORD, and thou hast followed Baalim. ¹⁹Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel to mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the groves four hundred, who eat at Jezebel's table. ²⁰So Ahab sent to all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets to mount Carmel. ²¹And Elijah came to all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD is God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word. ²²Then said Elijah to the people, I even I only, remain a prophet of the LORD; but Baal's prophet's are four hundred and fifty men. ²³Let them therefore give us two bullocks; and let them choose one bullock for themselves, and cut it in pieces, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under: and I will dress the other bullock, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under: ²⁴And call ye on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the LORD: and the God that answereth by fire, let him be God. And all the people answered and said, It is well spoken. ²⁵And Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, Choose you one bullock for yourselves, and dress it first; for ye are many; and call on the name of your gods, but put no fire under. ²⁶And they took the bullock which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, nor any that answered. And they leaped upon the altar which was made. ²⁷And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he sleepeth, and must be awaked. ²⁸And they cried aloud, and cut themselves after their manner with knives and lancets, till the blood gushed out upon them. ²⁹And it came to pass, when mid-day was past, and they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that there was neither voice, nor any to answer, nor any that regarded. ³⁰And Elijah said to all the people, Come near to me. And all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the LORD that was broken down. ³¹And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD came, saying, Israel shall be thy name: ³²And with the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD: and he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two measures of seed. ³³And he put the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid him on the wood, and said, Fill four barrels with water, and pour it on the burnt-sacrifice, and on the wood. ³⁴And he said, Do it the second time. And they did it the second time. And he said, Do it the third time. And they did it the third time. ³⁵And the water ran around the altar; and he filled the trench also with water. ³⁶And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word. ³⁷Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the LORD God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again. ³⁸Then the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt-sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. ³⁹And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The LORD, he is the God; the LORD, he is the God. ⁴⁰And Elijah said to them, Take the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape. And they took them: and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there. ⁴¹And Elijah said to Ahab, Go up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain. ⁴²So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he cast himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees, ⁴³And said to his servant, Go up now, look towards the sea. And he went up and looked, and said, There is nothing. And he said, Go again seven times. ⁴⁴And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man's hand. And he said, Go up, say to Ahab, Prepare thy chariot, and go down, that the rain may not hinder thee. ⁴⁵And it came to pass in the mean while, that the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode, and went to Jezreel. ⁴⁶And the hand of the LORD was on Elijah; and he girded his loins, and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.

Chapter 19

¹And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had slain all the prophets with the sword. ²Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by to-morrow about this time. ³And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beer-sheba, which belongeth to Judah, and left his servant there. ⁴But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper-tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers. ⁵And as he lay and slept under a juniper-tree, behold, then an angel touched him, and said to him, Arise and eat. ⁶And he looked, and behold, there was a cake baked on the coals, and a cruse of water at his head. And he ate and drank, and laid himself down again. ⁷And the angel of the LORD came again the second time, and touched him, and said, Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for thee. ⁸And he arose, and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb the mount of God. ⁹And he came thither to a cave, and lodged there; and behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and he said to him, What doest thou here, Elijah? ¹⁰And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thy altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, I only, am left; and they seek my life to take it away. ¹¹And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and broke in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake: ¹²And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice. ¹³And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah? ¹⁴And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: because the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thy altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away. ¹⁵And the LORD said to him, Go, return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus: and when thou comest, anoint Hazael to be king over Syria: ¹⁶And Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel: and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room. ¹⁷And it shall come to pass, that him that escapeth the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay: and him that escapeth from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay. ¹⁸Yet I have left to me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him. ¹⁹So he departed thence, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth: and Elijah passed by him, and cast his mantle upon him. ²⁰And he left the oxen, and ran after Elijah, and said, Let me, I pray thee, kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow thee. And he said to him, Go back again: for what have I done to thee? ²¹And he returned back from him, and took a yoke of oxen, and slew them, and boiled their flesh with the instruments of the oxen, and gave to the people, and they ate. Then he arose, and went after Elijah, and ministered to him.

Chapter 20

¹And Ben-hadad the king of Syria collected all his army: and there were thirty and two kings with him, and horses, and chariots: and he went up and besieged Samaria, and warred against it. ²And he sent messengers to Ahab king of Israel into the city, and said to him, Thus saith Ben-hadad, ³Thy silver and thy gold is mine; thy wives also and thy children, even the most comely, are mine. ⁴And the king of Israel answered and said, My lord, O king, according to thy saying, I am thine, and all that I have. ⁵And the messengers came again, and said, Thus speaketh Ben-hadad, saying, Although I have sent to thee, saying, Thou shalt deliver to me thy silver, and thy gold, and thy wives, and thy children; ⁶Yet I will send my servants to thee to-morrow about this time, and they shall search thy house, and the houses of thy servants; and it shall be, that whatever is pleasant in thy eyes, they shall take it in their hand, and carry it away. ⁷Then the king of Israel called all the elders of the land, and said, Mark, I pray you, and see how this man seeketh mischief: for he sent to me for my wives, and for my children, and for my silver, and for my gold, and I denied him not. ⁸And all the elders and all the people said to him, Hearken not to him, nor consent. ⁹Wherefore he said to the messengers of Ben-hadad, Tell my lord the king, All that thou didst send for to thy servant at the first, I will do: but this thing I may not do. And the messengers departed, and brought him word again. ¹⁰And Ben-hadad sent to him, and said, The gods do so to me, and more also, if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for handfuls for all the people that follow me. ¹¹And the king of Israel answered and said, Tell him, Let not him that girdeth on his harness boast himself as he that putteth it off. ¹²And it came to pass, when Ben-hadad heard this message as he was drinking, he and the kings in the pavilions, that he said to his servants, Set yourselves in array. And they set themselves in array against the city. ¹³And behold, there came a prophet to Ahab king of Israel, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Hast thou seen all this great multitude? behold, I will deliver it into thy hand this day; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD. ¹⁴And Ahab said, By whom? And he said, Thus saith the LORD, Even by the young men of the princes of the provinces. Then he said, Who shall order the battle? And he answered, Thou. ¹⁵Then he numbered the young men of the princes of the provinces, and they were two hundred and thirty two: and after them he numbered all the people, even all the children of Israel, being seven thousand. ¹⁶And they went out at noon. But Ben-hadad was drinking himself drunk in the pavilions, he and the kings, the thirty and two kings that helped him. ¹⁷And the young men of the princes of the provinces went out first; and Ben-hadad sent out, and they told him, saying, There are men come out of Samaria. ¹⁸And he said, Whether they have come out for peace, take them alive; or whether they have come out for war, take them alive. ¹⁹So these young men of the princes of the provinces came out of the city, and the army which followed them. ²⁰And they slew every one his man: and the Syrians fled; and Israel pursued them: and Ben-hadad the king of Syria escaped on a horse with the horsemen. ²¹And the king of Israel went out, and smote the horses and chariots, and slew the Syrians with a great slaughter. ²²And the prophet came to the king of Israel, and said to him, Go, strengthen thyself, and mark, and see what thou doest: for at the return of the year the king of Syria will come up against thee. ²³And the servants of the king of Syria said to him, Their gods are gods of the hills; therefore they were stronger than we; but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they. ²⁴And do this thing, Take the kings away, every man out of his place, and put captains in their rooms: ²⁵And number thee an army, like the army that thou hast lost, horse for horse, and chariot for chariot: and we will fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they. And he hearkened to their voice, and did so. ²⁶And it came to pass at the return of the year, that Ben-hadad numbered the Syrians, and went up to Aphek, to fight against Israel. ²⁷And the children of Israel were numbered, and were all present, and went against them: and the children of Israel encamped before them like two little flocks of kids; but the Syrians filled the country. ²⁸And there came a man of God, and spoke to the king of Israel, and said, Thus saith the LORD, Because the Syrians have said, The LORD is God of the hills, but he is not God of the valleys, therefore will I deliver all this great multitude into thy hand, and ye shall know that I am the LORD. ²⁹And they encamped one over against the other seven days. And so it was, that in the seventh day the battle was joined: and the children of Israel slew of the Syrians a hundred thousand footmen in one day. ³⁰But the rest fled to Aphek, into the city; and there a wall fell upon twenty and seven thousand of the men that were left. And Ben-hadad fled, and came into the city, into an inner chamber. ³¹And his servants said to him, Behold now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings: let us, I pray thee, put sackcloth on our loins, and ropes upon our heads, and go out to the king of Israel: it may be he will save thy life. ³²So they girded sackcloth on their loins, and put ropes on their heads, and came to the king of Israel, and said, Thy servant Ben-hadad saith, I pray thee, let me live. And he said, Is he yet alive? he is my brother. ³³Now the men diligently observed whether any thing would come from him, and did hastily catch it: and they said, Thy brother Ben-hadad. Then he said, Go ye, bring him. Then Ben-hadad came forth to him; and he caused him to come up into the chariot. ³⁴And Ben-hadad said to him, The cities, which my father took from thy father, I will restore; and thou shalt make streets for thee in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria. Then said Ahab, I will send thee away with this covenant. So he made a covenant with him, and sent him away. ³⁵And a certain man of the sons of the prophets said to his neighbor in the word of the LORD, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man refused to smite him. ³⁶Then said he to him, Because thou hast not obeyed the voice of the LORD, behold, as soon as thou hast departed from me, a lion will slay thee. And as soon as he had departed from him, a lion found him, and slew him. ³⁷Then he found another man, and said, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man smote him, so that in smiting he wounded him. ³⁸So the prophet departed, and waited for the king by the way, and disguised himself with ashes upon his face. ³⁹And as the king passed by, he cried to the king: and he said, Thy servant went out into the midst of the battle; and behold, a man turned aside, and brought a man to me, and said, Keep this man: if by any means he shall be missing, then shall thy life be for his life, or else thou shalt pay a talent of silver. ⁴⁰And as thy servant was busy here and there, he was gone. And the king of Israel said to him, So shall thy judgment be; thyself hast decided it. ⁴¹And he hasted, and took the ashes away from his face; and the king of Israel discerned him that he was of the prophets. ⁴²And he said to him, Thus saith the LORD, Because thou hast let go out of thy hand a man whom I appointed to utter destruction, therefore thy life shall go for his life, and thy people for his people. ⁴³And the king of Israel went to his house heavy and displeased, and came to Samaria.

Chapter 21

¹And it came to pass after these things, that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard, which was in Jezreel, hard by the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. ²And Ahab spoke to Naboth, saying, Give me thy vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs, because it is near to my house: and I will give thee for it a better vineyard than it; or if it seemeth good to thee, I will give thee the worth of it in money. ³And Naboth said to Ahab, The LORD forbid it me, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers to thee. ⁴And Ahab came into his house heavy and displeased, because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him: for he had said, I will not give thee the inheritance of my fathers. And he laid himself down upon his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no bread. ⁵But Jezebel his wife came to him, and said to him, Why is thy spirit so sad, that thou eatest no bread? ⁶And he said to her, Because I spoke to Naboth the Jezreelite, and said to him, Give me thy vineyard for money; or else, if it pleaseth thee, I will give thee another vineyard for it: and he answered, I will not give thee my vineyard. ⁷And Jezebel his wife said to him, Dost thou now govern the kingdom of Israel? arise, and eat bread, and let thy heart be merry: I will give thee the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite. ⁸So she wrote letters in Ahab's name, and sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters to the elders and to the nobles that were in his city, dwelling with Naboth. ⁹And she wrote in the letters, saying, Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people: ¹⁰And set two men, sons of Belial, before him, to bear witness against him, saying, Thou didst blaspheme God and the king. And then carry him out, and stone him, that he may die. ¹¹And the men of his city, even the elders and the nobles who were the inhabitants in his city, did as Jezebel had sent to them, and as it was written in the letters which she had sent to them. ¹²They proclaimed a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people. ¹³And there came in two men, children of Belial, and sat before him: and the men of Belial witnessed against him, even against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, Naboth blasphemed God and the king. Then they carried him forth out of the city, and stoned him with stones, that he died. ¹⁴Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, Naboth is stoned, and is dead. ¹⁵And it came to pass, when Jezebel heard that Naboth was stoned, and was dead, that Jezebel said to Ahab, Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give thee for money: for Naboth is not alive, but dead. ¹⁶And it came to pass, when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, that Ahab arose to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it. ¹⁷And the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, ¹⁸Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who is in Samaria: behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, whither he is gone down to possess it. ¹⁹And thou shalt speak to him, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Hast thou killed, and also taken possession? And thou shalt speak to him, saying, Thus saith the LORD, In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine. ²⁰And Ahab said to Elijah, Hast thou found me, O my enemy? And he answered, I have found thee: because thou hast sold thyself to work evil in the sight of the LORD. ²¹Behold, I will bring evil upon thee, and will take away thy posterity, and will cut off from Ahab the males, and him that is shut up and left in Israel, ²²And will make thy house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, for the provocation with which thou hast provoked me to anger, and made Israel to sin. ²³And of Jezebel also spoke the LORD, saying, the dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel. ²⁴Him that dieth of Ahab in the city the dogs shall eat; and him that dieth in the field shall the fowls of the air eat. ²⁵But there was none like Ahab, who sold himself to work wickedness in the sight of the LORD, whom Jezebel his wife instigated. ²⁶And he did very abominably in following idols, according to all things as did the Amorites, whom the LORD cast out before the children of Israel. ²⁷And it came to pass, when Ahab heard those words, that he rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly. ²⁸And the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, ²⁹Seest thou how Ahab humbleth himself before me? because he humbleth himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his days: but in his son's days will I bring the evil upon his house.

Chapter 22

¹And they continued three years without war between Syria and Israel. ²And it came to pass in the third year, that Jehoshaphat the king of Judah came down to the king of Israel. ³And the king of Israel said to his servants, Know ye that Ramoth in Gilead is ours, and we are still, and take it not out of the hand of the king of Syria? ⁴And he said to Jehoshaphat, Wilt thou go with me to battle to Ramoth-gilead? And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, I am as thou art, my people as thy people, my horses as thy horses. ⁵And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, Inquire, I pray thee, at the word of the LORD to-day. ⁶Then the king of Israel assembled the prophets, about four hundred men, and said to them, Shall I go against Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall I forbear? And they said, Go up; for the Lord will deliver it into the hand of the king. ⁷And Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the LORD besides, that we may inquire of him? ⁸And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may inquire of the LORD: but I hate him; for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so. ⁹Then the king of Israel called an officer, and said, Hasten hither Micaiah the son of Imlah. ¹⁰And the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah sat each on his throne, having put on their robes, in a void place in the entrance of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets prophesied before them. ¹¹And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made him horns of iron: and he said, Thus saith the LORD, With these shalt thou push the Syrians, until thou hast consumed them. ¹²And all the prophets prophesied so, saying, Go up to Ramoth-gilead, and prosper: for the LORD will deliver it into the king's hand. ¹³And the messenger that went to call Micaiah, spoke to him, saying, Behold now, the words of the prophets declare good to the king with one mouth: let thy word, I pray thee, be like the word of one of them, and speak that which is good. ¹⁴And Micaiah said, As the LORD liveth, what the LORD saith to me, that will I speak. ¹⁵So he came to the king. And the king said to him, Micaiah, shall we go against Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall we forbear? And he answered him, Go, and prosper: for the LORD will deliver it into the hand of the king. ¹⁶And the king said to him, How many times shall I adjure thee that thou tell me nothing but that which is true in the name of the LORD? ¹⁷And he said, I saw all Israel scattered upon the hills, as sheep that have not a shepherd: and the LORD said, These have no master: let them return every man to his house in peace. ¹⁸And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, Did I not tell thee that he would prophesy no good concerning me, but evil? ¹⁹And he said, Hear thou therefore the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left. ²⁰And the LORD said, Who shall persuade Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead? And one said in this manner, and another said in that manner. ²¹And there came forth a spirit, and stood before the LORD, and said, I will persuade him. ²²And the LORD said to him, With what? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets? And he said, Thou shalt persuade him, and prevail also: go forth, and do so. ²³Now therefore, behold, the LORD hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the LORD hath spoken evil concerning thee. ²⁴But Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah went near, and smote Micaiah on the cheek, and said, Which way went the Spirit of the LORD from me to speak to thee? ²⁵And Micaiah said, Behold, thou shalt see in that day, when thou shalt go into an inner chamber to hide thyself. ²⁶And the king of Israel said, Take Micaiah, and carry him back to Amon the governor of the city, and to Joash the king's son; ²⁷And say, Thus saith the king, Put this man in the prison, and feed him with bread of affliction, and with water of affliction, until I come in peace. ²⁸And Micaiah said, If thou shalt return at all in peace, the LORD hath not spoken by me. And he said, Hearken, O people, every one of you. ²⁹So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramoth-gilead. ³⁰And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, I will disguise myself, and enter into the battle; but put thou on thy robes. And the king of Israel disguised himself, and went into the battle. ³¹But the king of Syria commanded his thirty and two captains that had rule over his chariots, saying, Fight neither with small nor great, save only with the king of Israel. ³²And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, Surely it is the king of Israel. And they turned aside to fight against him: and Jehoshaphat cried out. ³³And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots perceived that it was not the king of Israel, that they turned back from pursuing him. ³⁴And a certain man drew a bow at a venture, and smote the king of Israel between the joints of the harness: wherefore he said to the driver of his chariot, Turn thy hand, and carry me out of the host; for I am wounded. ³⁵And the battle increased that day: and the king was stayed up in his chariot against the Syrians, and died at evening: and the blood ran out of the wound into the midst of the chariot. ³⁶And there went a proclamation throughout the host about the setting of the sun, saying, Every man to his city, and every man to his own country. ³⁷So the king died, and was brought to Samaria; and they buried the king in Samaria. ³⁸And one washed the chariot in the pool of Samaria; and the dogs licked up his blood; and they washed his armor; according to the word of the LORD which he spoke. ³⁹Now the rest of the acts of Ahab, and all that he did, and the ivory house which he made, and all the cities that he built, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? ⁴⁰So Ahab slept with his fathers; and Ahaziah his son reigned in his stead. ⁴¹And Jehoshaphat the son of Asa began to reign over Judah in the fourth year of Ahab king of Israel. ⁴²Jehoshaphat was thirty and five years old when he began to reign; and he reigned twenty and five years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi. ⁴³And he walked in all the way of Asa his father; he turned not aside from it, doing that which was right in the eyes of the LORD:\ ⁴⁴\22:43\nevertheless the high places were not taken away; for the people offered and burnt incense yet in the high places. ⁴⁵\22:44\And Jehoshaphat made peace with the king of Israel. ⁴⁶\22:45\Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, and his might that he showed, and how he warred, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? ⁴⁷\22:46\And the remnant of the sodomites, which remained in the days of his father Asa, he removed from the land. ⁴⁸\22:47\There was then no king in Edom: a deputy was king. ⁴⁹\22:48\Jehoshaphat made ships of Tharshish to go to Ophir for gold: but they went not; for the ships were broken at Ezion-geber. ⁵⁰\22:49\Then said Ahaziah the son of Ahab to Jehoshaphat, Let my servants go with thy servants in the ships. But Jehoshaphat would not. ⁵¹\22:50\And Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father: and Jehoram his son reigned in his stead. ⁵²\22:51\Ahaziah the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned two years over Israel. ⁵³\22:52\And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the way of his father, and in the way of his mother, and in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin: ⁵⁴\22:53\For he served Baal, and worshiped him, and provoked to anger the LORD God of Israel, according to all that his father had done.

2 Kings

Chapter 1

¹Then Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab. ²And Ahaziah fell down through a lattice in his upper chamber that was in Samaria, and was sick: and he sent messengers, and said to them, Go, inquire of Baal-zebub the god of Ekron, whether I shall recover from this disease. ³But the angel of the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite, Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say to them, Is it not because there is not a God in Israel, that ye go to inquire of Baal-zebub the god of Ekron? ⁴Now therefore thus saith the LORD, Thou shalt not come down from that bed on which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die. And Elijah departed. ⁵And when the messengers turned back to him, he said to them, Why have ye now returned? ⁶And they said to him, There came up a man to meet us, and said to us, Go, turn again to the king that sent you, and say to him, Thus saith the LORD, Is it not because there is not a God in Israel, that thou sendest to inquire of Baal-zebub the god of Ekron? therefore thou shalt not come down from that bed on which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die. ⁷And he said to them, What manner of man was he who came up to meet you, and told you these words? ⁸And they answered him, He was a hairy man, and girt with a girdle of leather about his loins. And he said, It is Elijah the Tishbite. ⁹Then the king sent to him a captain of fifty with his fifty. And he went up to him: and behold, he sat on the top of a hill. And he spoke to him, Thou man of God, the king hath said, Come down. ¹⁰And Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty, If I am a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And there came down fire from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty. ¹¹Again also he sent to him another captain of fifty with his fifty. And he answered and said to him, O man of God, thus hath the king said, Come down quickly. ¹²And Elijah answered and said to them, If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And the fire of God came down from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty. ¹³And he sent again a captain of the third fifty with his fifty. And the third captain of fifty went up, and came and fell on his knees before Elijah, and besought him, and said to him, O man of God, I pray thee, let my life, and the life of these fifty thy servants, be precious in thy sight. ¹⁴Behold, there came fire down from heaven, and burnt up the two captains of the former fifties with their fifties: therefore let my life now be precious in thy sight. ¹⁵And the angel of the LORD said to Elijah, Go down with him: be not afraid of him. And he arose, and went down with him to the king. ¹⁶And he said to him, Thus saith the LORD, Forasmuch as thou hast sent messengers to inquire of Baal-zebub the god of Ekron, is it not because there is no God in Israel to inquire of his word? therefore thou shalt not come down off that bed on which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die. ¹⁷So he died according to the word of the LORD which Elijah had spoken. And Jehoram reigned in his stead in the second year of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah; because he had no son. ¹⁸Now the rest of the acts of Ahaziah which he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

Chapter 2

¹And it came to pass, when the LORD would take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal. ²And Elijah said to Elisha, Tarry here, I pray thee; for the LORD hath sent me to Beth-el. And Elisha said, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they went down to Beth-el. ³And the sons of the prophets that were at Beth-el came forth to Elisha, and said to him, Knowest thou that the LORD will take away thy master from thy head to-day? And he said, Yes, I know it; hold ye your peace. ⁴And Elijah said to him, Elisha, tarry here, I pray thee; for the LORD hath sent me to Jericho. And he said, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they came to Jericho. ⁵And the sons of the prophets that were at Jericho came to Elisha, and said to him, Knowest thou that the LORD will take away thy master from thy head to-day? And he answered, Yes, I know it; hold ye your peace. ⁶And Elijah said to him, Tarry here, I pray thee; for the LORD hath sent me to Jordan. And he said, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And they two went on. ⁷And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went, and stood to view afar off: and they two stood by Jordan. ⁸And Elijah took his mantle, and wrapped it together, and smote the waters, and they were divided hither and thither, so that they two went over on dry ground. ⁹And it came to pass, when they had gone over, that Elijah said to Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I am taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me. ¹⁰And he said, Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou shalt see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so to thee; but if not, it shall not be so. ¹¹And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. ¹²And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces. ¹³He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of Jordan; ¹⁴And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is the LORD God of Elijah? And when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither: and Elisha went over. ¹⁵And when the sons of the prophets who were to view at Jericho, saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him. ¹⁶And they said to him, Behold now, there are with thy servants fifty strong men; let them go, we pray thee, and seek thy master: lest perhaps the Spirit of the LORD hath taken him up, and cast him upon some mountain, or into some valley. And he said, Ye shall not send. ¹⁷And when they urged him till he was ashamed, he said, Send. They sent therefore fifty men; and they sought three days, but found him not. ¹⁸And when they came again to him, (for he tarried at Jericho,) he said to them, Did I not say to you, Go not? ¹⁹And the men of the city said to Elisha, Behold, I pray thee, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord seeth: but the water is bad, and the ground barren. ²⁰And he said, Bring me a new cruse, and put salt therein. And they brought it to him. ²¹And he went forth to the spring of the waters, and cast the salt in there, and said, Thus saith the LORD, I have healed these waters; there shall not be from thence any more death or barren land. ²²So the waters were healed to this day, according to the saying of Elisha which he spoke. ²³And he went up from thence to Beth-el: and as he was going up by the way, there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said to him, Go up, thou bald-head; go up, thou bald-head. ²⁴And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the LORD. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tore forty and two children of them. ²⁵And he went from thence to mount Carmel, and from thence he returned to Samaria.

Chapter 3

¹Now Jehoram the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned twelve years. ²And he wrought evil in the sight of the LORD; but not like his father, and like his mother: for he put away the image of Baal that his father had made. ³Nevertheless, he cleaved to the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin; he departed not therefrom. ⁴And Mesha king of Moab was a sheep-master, and rendered to the king of Israel a hundred thousand lambs, and a hundred thousand rams, with the wool. ⁵But it came to pass, when Ahab was dead, that the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel. ⁶And king Jehoram went out of Samaria the same time, and numbered all Israel. ⁷And he went and sent to Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, saying, The king of Moab hath rebelled against me: wilt thou go with me against Moab to battle? And he said, I will go: I am as thou art, my people as thy people, and my horses as thy horses. ⁸And he said, which way shall we go up? And he answered, The way through the wilderness of Edom. ⁹So the king of Israel went, and the king of Judah, and the king of Edom: and they fetched a compass of seven days' journey: and there was no water for the army, and for the cattle that followed them. ¹⁰And the king of Israel said, Alas! that the LORD hath called these three kings together, to deliver them into the hand of Moab! ¹¹But Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the LORD, that we may inquire of the LORD by him? And one of the king of Israel's servants answered and said, Here is Elisha the son of Shaphat, who poured water on the hands of Elijah. ¹²And Jehoshaphat said, The word of the LORD is with him. So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him. ¹³And Elisha said to the king of Israel, What have I to do with thee? go to the prophets of thy father, and to the prophets of thy mother. And the king of Israel said to him, No: for the LORD hath called these three kings together, to deliver them into the hand of Moab. ¹⁴And Elisha said, As the LORD of hosts liveth, before whom I stand, surely, were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, I would not look towards thee, nor see thee. ¹⁵But now bring me a minstrel. And it came to pass, when the minstrel played, that the hand of the LORD came upon him. ¹⁶And he said, Thus saith the LORD, Make this valley full of ditches. ¹⁷For thus saith the LORD, Ye shall not see wind, neither shall ye see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water, that ye may drink, both ye, and your cattle, and your beasts. ¹⁸And this is but a light thing in the sight of the LORD: he will deliver the Moabites also into your hand. ¹⁹And ye shall smite every fortified city, and every choice city, and shall fell every good tree, and stop all wells of water, and mar every good piece of land with stones. ²⁰And it came to pass in the morning, when the meat-offering was offered, that behold, there came water by the way of Edom, and the country was filled with water. ²¹And when all the Moabites heard that the kings were come up to fight against them, they gathered all that were able to put on armor, and upward, and stood in the border. ²²And they rose early in the morning, and the sun shone upon the water, and the Moabites saw the water on the other side as red as blood: ²³And they said, This is blood: the kings are surely slain, and they have smitten one another: now therefore, Moab, to the spoil. ²⁴And when they came to the camp of Israel, the Israelites rose and smote the Moabites, so that they fled before them: but they went forward smiting the Moabites, even in their country. ²⁵And they beat down the cities, and on every good piece of land cast every man his stone, and filled it; and they stopped all the wells of water, and felled all the good trees: only in Kirhara-seth they left the stones of it; but the slingers went about it, and smote it. ²⁶And when the king of Moab saw that the battle was too severe for him, he took with him seven hundred men that drew swords, to break through to the king of Edom: but they could not. ²⁷Then he took his eldest son that was to reign in his stead, and offered him for a burnt-offering upon the wall. And there was great indignation against Israel: And they departed from him, and returned to their own land.

Chapter 4

¹Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets to Elisha, saying, Thy servant my husband is dead; and thou knowest that thy servant feared the LORD: and the creditor hath come to take to him my two sons to be bond-men. ²And Elisha said to her, What shall I do for thee? tell me, what hast thou in the house? And she said, Thy handmaid hath not any thing in the house, save a pot of oil. ³Then he said, Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbors, even empty vessels; borrow not a few. ⁴And when thou hast come in, thou shalt shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and shalt pour out into all those vessels, and thou shalt set aside that which is full. ⁵So she went from him, and shut the door upon her and upon her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured out. ⁶And it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said to her son, Bring me yet a vessel. And he said to her, There is not a vessel more. And the oil stayed. ⁷Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, Go, sell the oil, and pay thy debt, and live thou and thy children on the remainder. ⁸And it fell on a day, that Elisha passed to Shunem, where was a distinguished woman; and she constrained him to eat bread. And so it was, that as oft as he passed by, he turned in thither to eat bread. ⁹And she said to her husband, Behold now, I perceive that this is a holy man of God, who passeth by us continually. ¹⁰Let us make a little chamber, I pray thee, on the wall; and let us set for him there a bed, and a table, and a stool, and a candlestick: and it shall be, when he cometh to us, that he shall turn in thither. ¹¹And it fell on a day, that he came thither, and he turned into the chamber, and lay there. ¹²And he said to Gehazi his servant, Call this Shunamite. And when he had called her, she stood before him. ¹³And he said to him, Say now to her, Behold, thou hast been careful for us with all this care; what is to be done for thee? wouldst thou be spoken for to the king, or to the captain of the host? And she answered, I dwell among my own people. ¹⁴And he said, What then is to be done for her? And Gehazi answered, Verily she hath no child, and her husband is old. ¹⁵And he said, Call her. And when he had called her, she stood in the door. ¹⁶And he said, About this season, according to the time of life, thou shalt embrace a son. And she said, No, my lord, thou man of God, do not lie to thy handmaid. ¹⁷And the woman conceived, and bore a son at that season that Elisha had said to her, according to the time of life. ¹⁸And when the child was grown, it happened on a day, that he went out to his father to the reapers. ¹⁹And he said to his father, My head, my head. And he said to a lad, Carry him to his mother. ²⁰And when he had taken him, and brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees till noon, and then died. ²¹And she went up, and laid him on the bed of the man of God, and shut the door upon him, and went out. ²²And she called to her husband, and said, Send me, I pray thee, one of the young men, and one of the asses, that I may run to the man of God, and come again. ²³And he said, Why wilt thou go to him to-day? it is neither new-moon, nor sabbath. And she said, It shall be well. ²⁴Then she saddled an ass, and said to her servant, Drive, and go forward; slack not thy riding for me, except I bid thee. ²⁵So she went and came to the man of God to mount Carmel. And it came to pass, when the man of God saw her afar off, that he said to Gehazi his servant, Behold, yonder is that Shunamite: ²⁶Run now, I pray thee, to meet her, and say to her, Is it well with thee? Is it well with thy husband? Is it well with the child? and she answered, It is well. ²⁷And when she came to the man of God to the hill, she caught him by the feet: but Gehazi came near to thrust her away. And the man of God said, Let her alone; for her soul is sorrowful within her: and the LORD hath hid it from me, and hath not told me? ²⁸Then she said, Did I ask a son from my lord? did I not say, Do not deceive me. ²⁹Then he said to Gehazi, Gird up thy loins and take my staff in thy hand, and go thy way: and if thou shalt meet any man, salute him not; and if any shall salute thee, answer him not again: and lay my staff upon the face of the child. ³⁰And the mother of the child said, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And he arose, and followed her. ³¹And Gehazi passed on before them, and laid the staff upon the face of the child; but there was neither voice, nor hearing. Wherefore he went again to meet him, and told him, saying, The child is not awaked. ³²And when Elisha had come into the house, behold, the child was dead, and laid upon his bed. ³³He went in therefore, and shut the door upon them both, and prayed to the LORD. ³⁴And he went up, and lay upon the child, and put his mouth upon his mouth, and his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon his hands: and he stretched himself upon the child; and the flesh of the child became warm. ³⁵Then he returned, and walked in the house to and fro; and went up, and stretched himself upon him: and the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes. ³⁶And he called Gehazi, and said, Call this Shunamite. So he called her. And when she had come in to him, he said, Take up thy son. ³⁷Then she went in, and fell at his feet, and bowed herself to the ground, and took up her son, and went out. ³⁸And Elisha came again to Gilgal. And there was a dearth in the land; and the sons of the prophets were sitting before him: and he said to his servant, Set on the great pot, and boil pottage for the sons of the prophets. ³⁹And one went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine, and gathered from it wild gourds his lap full, and came and shred them into the pot of pottage: for they knew them not. ⁴⁰So they poured out for the men to eat. And it came to pass, as they were eating of the pottage, that they cried out, and said, O thou man of God, there is death in the pot. And they could not eat of it. ⁴¹But he said, Then bring meal. And he cast it into the pot; and he said, Pour out for the people, that they may eat. And there was no harm in the pot. ⁴²And there came a man from Baal-shalisha, and brought the man of God bread of the first fruits, twenty loaves of barley, and full ears of corn in its husk. And he said, Give to the people, that they may eat. ⁴³And his servitor said, What, should I set this before a hundred men? He said again, Give the people, that they may eat: for thus saith the LORD, They shall eat, and shall leave of it. ⁴⁴So he set it before them, and they ate, and left of it, according to the word of the LORD.

Chapter 5

¹Now Naaman, captain of the army of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honorable, because by him the LORD had given deliverance to Syria: he was also a mighty man in valor, but he was a leper. ²And the Syrians had gone out by companies, and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid; and she waited on Naaman's wife. ³And she said to her mistress, I would that my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy. ⁴And one went in, and told his lord, saying, Thus and thus said the maid that is of the land of Israel. ⁵And the king of Syria said, Come, go, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel. And he departed, and took with him ten talents of silver, and six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of raiment. ⁶And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, saying, Now when this letter hath come to thee, behold, I have with this sent Naaman my servant to thee, that thou mayest recover him of his leprosy. ⁷And it came to pass, when the king of Israel had read the letter, that he rent his clothes, and said, Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man doth send to me to recover a man of his leprosy? wherefore consider, I pray you, and see how he seeketh a quarrel against me. ⁸And it was so, when Elisha the man of God had heard that the king of Israel had rent his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, Why hast thou rent thy clothes? let him come now to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel. ⁹So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariot, and stood at the door of the house of Elisha. ¹⁰And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean. ¹¹But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the LORD his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper. ¹²Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage. ¹³And his servants came near, and spoke to him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldst thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean? ¹⁴Then he went down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean. ¹⁵And he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and came and stood before him: and he said, Behold, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel: now therefore, I pray thee, take a blessing from thy servant. ¹⁶But he said, As the LORD liveth, before whom I stand, I will receive none. And he urged him to take it; but he refused. ¹⁷And Naaman said, Shall there not then, I pray thee, be given to thy servant two mules burden of earth? for thy servant will henceforth offer neither burnt-offering nor sacrifice to other gods, but to the LORD. ¹⁸In this thing the LORD pardon thy servant, that when my master goeth into the house of Rimmon to worship there, and he leaneth on my hand, and I bow myself in the house of Rimmon: when I bow down myself in the house of Rimmon, the LORD pardon thy servant in this thing. ¹⁹And he said to him, Go in peace. So he departed from him a little way. ²⁰But Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, Behold, my master hath spared Naaman this Syrian, in not receiving at his hands that which he brought: but as the LORD liveth, I will run after him, and take somewhat from him. ²¹So Gehazi followed after Naaman. And when Naaman saw him running after him, he lighted down from the chariot to meet him, and said, Is all well? ²²And he said, All is well. My master hath sent me, saying, Behold, even now there have come to me from mount Ephraim two young men of the sons of the prophets: give them, I pray thee, a talent of silver, and two changes of garments. ²³And Naaman said, Be content, take two talents. And he urged him, and bound two talents of silver in two bags, with two changes of garments, and laid them upon two of his servants; and they bore them before him. ²⁴And when he came to the tower, he took them from their hand, and bestowed them in the house: and he let the men go, and they departed. ²⁵But he went in, and stood before his master: and Elisha said to him, Whence comest thou Gehazi? and he said, Thy servant went no whither. ²⁶And he said to him, Went not my heart with thee, when the man turned again from his chariot to meet thee? Is it a time to receive money, and to receive garments, and olive-yards, and vineyards, and sheep, and oxen, and men-servants, and maid-servants? ²⁷The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall cleave to thee, and to thy seed for ever. And he went out from his presence a leper as white as snow.

Chapter 6

¹And the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, Behold now, the place where we dwell with thee is too narrow for us. ²Let us go, we pray thee, to Jordan, and take thence every man a beam, and let us make us a place there, where we may dwell. And he answered, Go ye. ³And one said, Be content, I pray thee, and go with thy servants. And he answered, I will go. ⁴So he went with them. And when they came to Jordan, they cut down wood. ⁵But as one was felling a beam, the ax head fell into the water: and he cried, and said, Alas, master! for it was borrowed. ⁶And the man of God said, Where fell it? And he showed him the place. And he cut down a stick, and cast it in thither; and the iron floated. ⁷Therefore said he, Take it up to thee. And he put out his hand, and took it. ⁸Then the king of Syria warred against Israel, and took counsel with his servants, saying, In such and such a place shall be my camp. ⁹And the man of God sent to the king of Israel, saying, Beware that thou pass not such a place; for thither the Syrians have come down. ¹⁰And the king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God told him and warned him of, and saved himself there, not once nor twice. ¹¹Therefore the heart of the king of Syria was greatly troubled for this thing; and he called his servants, and said to them, Will ye not show me which of us is for the king of Israel? ¹²And one of his servants said, None, my lord, O king: but Elisha, the prophet that is in Israel, telleth the king of Israel the words that thou speakest in thy bed-chamber. ¹³And he said, Go, and spy where he is, that I may send and bring him. And it was told him, saying, Behold, he is in Dothan. ¹⁴Therefore he sent thither horses, and chariots, and a great host: and they came by night, and encompassed the city. ¹⁵And when the servant of the man of God had risen early, and gone forth, behold, a host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said to him, Alas, my master! how shall we do? ¹⁶And he answered, Fear not: for they that are with us are more than they that are with them. ¹⁷And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire around Elisha. ¹⁸And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed to the LORD, and said, Smite this people, I pray thee, with blindness. And he smote them with blindness according to the word of Elisha. ¹⁹And Elisha said to them, This is not the way, neither is this the city: follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom ye seek. But he led them to Samaria. ²⁰And it came to pass, when they had come into Samaria, that Elisha said, LORD, open the eyes of these men, that they may see. And the LORD opened their eyes, and they saw; and behold, they were in the midst of Samaria. ²¹And the king of Israel said to Elisha, when he saw them, My father, shall I smite them? shall I smite them? ²²And he answered, Thou shalt not smite them: wouldst thou smite those whom thou hast taken captive with thy sword and with thy bow? set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink, and go to their master. ²³And he prepared great provision for them: and when they had eaten and drank, he sent them away, and they went to their master. So the bands of Syria came no more into the land of Israel. ²⁴And it came to pass after this, that Ben-hadad king of Syria gathered all his army, and went up, and besieged Samaria. ²⁵And there was a great famine in Samaria: and behold, they besieged it, until an ass's head was sold for eighty pieces of silver, and the fourth part of a cab of dove's dung for five pieces of silver. ²⁶And as the king of Israel was passing by upon the wall, there cried a woman to him, saying, Help, my lord, O king. ²⁷And he said, If the LORD doth not help thee, whence shall I help thee? out of the barn-floor, or out of the wine-press? ²⁸And the king said to her, What aileth thee? and she answered, This woman said to me, Give thy son, that we may eat him to-day, and we will eat my son to-morrow. ²⁹So we boiled my son, and ate him: and I said to her on the next day, Give thy son, that we may eat him: and she hath hid her son. ³⁰And it came to pass, when the king heard the words of the woman, that he rent his clothes; and he passed by upon the wall, and the people looked, and behold, he had sackcloth within upon his flesh. ³¹Then he said, God do so and more also to me, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat shall stand on him this day. ³²But Elisha sat in his house, and the elders sat with him; and the king sent a man from before him: but ere the messenger came to him, he said to the elders, See ye how this son of a murderer hath sent to take away my head? look, when the messenger cometh, shut the door, and hold him fast at the door: is not the sound of his master's feet behind him? ³³And while he yet talked with them, behold, the messenger came down to him: and he said, Behold, this evil is from the LORD; what should I wait for the LORD any longer?

Chapter 7

¹Then Elisha said, Hear ye the word of the LORD; Thus saith the LORD, To-morrow about this time shall a measure of fine flour be sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, in the gate of Samaria. ²Then a lord on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God, and said, Behold, if the LORD would make windows in heaven, might this thing be? And he said, Behold, thou shalt see it with thy eyes, but shalt not eat of it. ³And there were four leprous men at the entrance of the gate: and they said one to another, Why sit we here until we die? ⁴If we say, We will enter into the city, then the famine is in the city, and we shall die there: and if we sit still here, we die also. Now therefore come, and let us fall to the army of the Syrians: if they save us alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall but die. ⁵And they rose in the twilight to go to the camp of the Syrians: and when they had come to the uttermost part of the camp of Syria, behold, there was no man there. ⁶For the Lord had made the army of the Syrians to hear a noise of chariots, and a noise of horses, even the noise of a great army: and they said one to another, Lo, the king of Israel hath hired against us the kings of the Hittites, and the kings of the Egyptians, to come upon us. ⁷Wherefore they arose and fled in the twilight, and left their tents, and their horses, and their asses, even the camp as it was, and fled for their life. ⁸And when these lepers came to the uttermost part of the camp, they went into one tent, and ate and drank, and carried thence silver, and gold, and raiment, and went and hid it; and came again, and entered into another tent, and carried thence also, and went and hid it. ⁹Then they said one to another, We do not well: this day is a day of good tidings, and we hold our peace: if we tarry till the morning light, some mischief will come upon us: now therefore come, that we may go and tell the king's household. ¹⁰So they came and called to the porter of the city: and they told him, saying, We came to the camp of the Syrians, and behold, there was no man there, neither voice of man, but horses tied, and asses tied, and the tents as they were. ¹¹And he called the porters; and they told it to the king's house within. ¹²And the king arose in the night, and said to his servants, I will now show you what the Syrians have done to us. They know that we are hungry; therefore they have gone out of the camp, to hide themselves in the field, saying, When they come out of the city, we shall take them alive, and get into the city. ¹³And one of his servants answered and said, Let some take, I pray thee, five of the horses that remain, which are left in the city, (behold, they are as all the multitude of Israel that are left in it: behold, I say, they are even as all the multitude of the Israelites that are consumed:) and let us send and see. ¹⁴They took therefore two chariot horses; and the king sent after the host of the Syrians, saying, Go and see. ¹⁵And they went after them to Jordan: and lo, all the way was full of garments and vessels, which the Syrians had cast away in their haste. And the messengers returned, and told the king. ¹⁶And the people went out, and plundered the tents of the Syrians. So a measure of fine flour was sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, according to the word of the LORD. ¹⁷And the king appointed the lord on whose hand he leaned to have the charge of the gate: and the people trod upon him in the gate, and he died, as the man of God had said, who spoke when the king came down to him. ¹⁸And it came to pass as the man of God had spoken to the king, saying, Two measures of barley for a shekel, and a measure of fine flour for a shekel, shall be to-morrow about this time in the gate of Samaria: ¹⁹And that lord answered the man of God, and said, Now, behold, if the LORD should make windows in heaven, might such a thing be? And he said, Behold, thou shalt see it with thy eyes, but shalt not eat of it. ²⁰And so it happened to him: for the people trod upon him in the gate, and he died.

Chapter 8

¹Then Elisha spoke to the woman, whose son he had restored to life, saying, Arise, and go thou and thy household, and sojourn wherever thou canst sojourn: for the LORD hath called for a famine; and it shall also come upon the land seven years. ²And the woman arose, and did according to the saying of the man of God: and she went with her household, and sojourned in the land of the Philistines seven years. ³And it came to pass at the seven years' end, that the woman returned from the land of the Philistines: and she went forth to cry to the king for her house, and for her land. ⁴And the king talked with Gehazi the servant of the man of God, saying, Tell me, I pray thee, all the great things that Elisha hath done. ⁵And it came to pass, as he was telling the king how he had restored a dead body to life, that behold, the woman, whose son he had restored to life, cried to the king for her house and for her land. And Gehazi said, My lord, O king, this is the woman, and this is her son, whom Elisha restored to life. ⁶And when the king asked the woman, she told him. So the king appointed to her a certain officer, saying, Restore all that was hers, and all the fruits of the field since the day that she left the land even till now. ⁷And Elisha came to Damascus; and Ben-hadad the king of Syria was sick; and it was told to him, saying, The man of God hath come hither. ⁸And the king said to Hazael, Take a present in thy hand, and go, meet the man of God, and inquire of the LORD by him, saying, Shall I recover of this disease? ⁹So Hazael went to meet him, and took a present with him, even of every good thing of Damascus, forty camels burden, and came and stood before him, and said, Thy son Ben-hadad king of Syria hath sent me to thee, saying, Shall I recover of this disease? ¹⁰And Elisha said to him, Go, say to him, Thou mayest certainly recover: but the LORD hath showed me, that he shall surely die. ¹¹And he settled his countenance steadfastly, until he was ashamed: and the man of God wept. ¹²And Hazael said, Why weepeth my lord? And he answered, Because I know the evil that thou wilt do to the children of Israel: their strong holds wilt thou set on fire, and their young men wilt thou slay with the sword, and wilt dash their children, and rip up their women with child. ¹³And Hazael said, But what, is thy servant a dog, that he should do this great thing? And Elisha answered, The LORD hath shown me that thou wilt be king over Syria. ¹⁴So he departed from Elisha, and came to his master; who said to him, What said Elisha to thee? And he answered, He told me that thou shouldest surely recover. ¹⁵And it came to pass on the morrow, that he took a thick cloth, and dipped it in water, and spread it on his face, so that he died: and Hazael reigned in his stead. ¹⁶And in the fifth year of Joram the son of Ahab king of Israel, Jehoshaphat being then king of Judah, Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah began to reign. ¹⁷Thirty and two years old was he when he began to reign; and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. ¹⁸And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as did the house of Ahab: for the daughter of Ahab was his wife: and he did evil in the sight of the LORD. ¹⁹Yet the LORD would not destroy Judah, for David his servant's sake, as he promised him to give him always a light, and to his children. ²⁰In his days Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah, and made a king over themselves. ²¹So Joram went over to Zair, and all the chariots with him: and he rose by night, and smote the Edomites who encompassed him, and the captains of the chariots: and the people fled into their tents. ²²Yet Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah to this day. Then Libnah revolted at the same time. ²³And the rest of the acts of Joram, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? ²⁴And Joram slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers, in the city of David; and Ahaziah his son reigned in his stead. ²⁵In the twelfth year of Joram the son of Ahab king of Israel did Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah begin to reign. ²⁶Two and twenty years old was Ahaziah when he began to reign; and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Athaliah, the daughter of Omri king of Israel. ²⁷And he walked in the way of the house of Ahab, and did evil in the sight of the LORD, as did the house of Ahab: for he was the son-in-law of the house of Ahab. ²⁸And he went with Joram the son of Ahab to the war against Hazael king of Syria in Ramoth-gilead; and the Syrians wounded Joram. ²⁹And king Joram went back to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which the Syrians had given him at Ramah, when he fought against Hazael king of Syria. And Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to see Joram the son of Ahab in Jezreel, because he was sick.

Chapter 9

¹And Elisha the prophet called one of the children of the prophets, and said to him, Gird up thy loins, and take this box of oil in thy hand, and go to Ramoth-gilead: ²And when thou comest thither, look out there Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi, and go in, and make him arise up from among his brethren, and carry him to an inner chamber; ³Then take the box of oil, and pour it on his head, and say, Thus saith the LORD, I have anointed thee king over Israel. Then open the door, and flee, and tarry not. ⁴So the young man, even the young man the prophet, went to Ramoth-gilead. ⁵And when he came, behold, the captains of the host were sitting; and he said, I have an errand to thee, O captain. And Jehu said, To which of us all? And he said, To thee, O captain. ⁶And he arose, and went into the house; and he poured the oil on his head, and said to him, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I have anointed thee king over the people of the LORD, even over Israel. ⁷And thou shalt smite the house of Ahab thy master, that I may avenge the blood of my servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the LORD, at the hand of Jezebel. ⁸For the whole house of Ahab shall perish: and I will cut off from Ahab the males, and him that is shut up and left in Israel: ⁹And I will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah: ¹⁰And the dogs shall eat Jezebel in the portion of Jezreel, and there shall be none to bury her. And he opened the door, and fled. ¹¹Then Jehu came forth to the servants of his lord: and one said to him, Is all well? Why came this mad man to thee? And he said to them, Ye know the man, and his communication. ¹²And they said, It is false; tell us now. And he said, Thus and thus he spoke to me, saying, Thus saith the LORD, I have anointed thee king over Israel. ¹³Then they hasted, and took every man his garment, and put it under him on the top of the stairs, and blew with trumpets, saying, Jehu is king. ¹⁴So Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi conspired against Joram. (Now Joram had kept Ramoth-gilead, he and all Israel, because of Hazael king of Syria. ¹⁵But king Joram had returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which the Syrians had given him, when he fought with Hazael king of Syria.) And Jehu said, If it is your minds, then let none go forth nor escape from the city to go to tell it in Jezreel. ¹⁶So Jehu rode in a chariot, and went to Jezreel; for Joram lay there. And Ahaziah king of Judah had come down to see Joram. ¹⁷And there stood a watchman on the tower in Jezreel, and he spied the company of Jehu as he came, and said, I see a company. And Joram said, Take a horseman, and send to meet them, and let him say, Is it peace? ¹⁸So there went one on horseback to meet him, and said, Thus saith the king, Is it peace? And Jehu said, What hast thou to do with peace? turn thee behind me. And the watchman told, saying, The messenger came to them, but he doth not return. ¹⁹Then he sent out a second on horseback, who came to them, and said, Thus saith the king, Is it peace? And Jehu answered, What hast thou to do with peace? turn thee behind me. ²⁰And the watchman told, saying, He came even to them, and doth not return? and the driving is like the driving of Jehu the son of Nimshi; for he driveth furiously. ²¹And Joram said, Make ready. And his chariot was made ready. And Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah went out, each in his chariot, and they went out against Jehu, and met him in the portion of Naboth the Jezreelite. ²²And it came to pass, when Joram saw Jehu, that he said, Is it peace, Jehu? And he answered, What peace, so long as the lewd acts of thy mother Jezebel and her witchcrafts are so many? ²³And Joram turned his hands, and fled, and said to Ahaziah, There is treachery, O Ahaziah. ²⁴And Jehu drew a bow with his full strength, and smote Jehoram between his arms, and the arrow went out at his heart, and he sunk down in his chariot. ²⁵Then said Jehu to Bidkar his captain, Take up, and cast him into the portion of the field of Naboth the Jezreelite; for remember how that, when I and thou rode together after Ahab his father, the LORD laid this burden upon him; ²⁶Surely I saw yesterday the blood of Naboth, and the blood of his sons, saith the LORD; and I will requite thee in this plat, saith the LORD. Now therefore take and cast him into the plat of ground, according to the word of the LORD. ²⁷But when Ahaziah the king of Judah saw this, he fled by the way of the garden house. And Jehu followed him, and said, Smite him also in the chariot. And they did so at the going up to Gur, which is by Ibleam. And he fled to Megiddo, and died there. ²⁸And his servants carried him in a chariot to Jerusalem, and buried him in his sepulcher with his fathers in the city of David. ²⁹And in the eleventh year of Joram the son of Ahab began Ahaziah to reign over Judah. ³⁰And when Jehu had come to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it; and she painted her face, and adorned her head, and looked out at a window. ³¹And as Jehu entered the gate, she said, Had Zimri peace, who slew his master? ³²And he lifted up his face to the window, and said, Who is on my side? who? And there looked out to him two or three eunuchs. ³³And he said, Throw her down. So they threw her down: and some of her blood was sprinkled on the wall, and on the horses: and he trod her under foot. ³⁴And when he had come in, he ate, and drank, and said, Go, see now this cursed woman, and bury her: for she is a king's daughter. ³⁵And they went to bury her: but they found no more of her than the skull, and the feet, and the palms of her hands. ³⁶Wherefore they came again, and told him. And he said, This is the word of the LORD, which he spoke by his servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, In the portion of Jezreel shall dogs eat the flesh of Jezebel: ³⁷And the carcass of Jezebel shall be as dung upon the face of the field in the portion of Jezreel; so that they shall not say, This is Jezebel.

Chapter 10

¹And Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. And Jehu wrote letters, and sent to Samaria, to the rulers of Jezreel, to the elders, and to them that brought up Ahab's children, saying, ²Now as soon as this letter cometh to you, seeing your master's sons are with you, and there are with you chariots and horses, a fortified city also, and armor; ³Look out the best and meetest of your master's sons, and set him on his father's throne, and fight for your master's house. ⁴But they were exceedingly afraid, and said, Behold, two kings stood not before him: how then shall we stand? ⁵And he that was over the house, and he that was over the city, the elders also, and those who brought up the children, sent to Jehu, saying, We are thy servants, and will do all that thou shalt bid us; we will not make any king: do thou that which is good in thy eyes. ⁶Then he wrote a letter the second time to them, saying, if ye are mine, and if ye will hearken to my voice, take ye the heads of the men your master's sons, and come to me to Jezreel by to-morrow this time. Now the king's sons being seventy persons, were with the great men of the city, who brought them up. ⁷And it came to pass, when the letter came to them, that they took the king's sons, and slew seventy persons, and put their heads in baskets, and sent them to him to Jezreel. ⁸And there came a messenger, and told him, saying, They have brought the heads of the king's sons. And he said, Lay ye them in two heaps at the entrance of the gate until the morning. ⁹And it came to pass in the morning, that he went out, and stood, and said to all the people, Ye are righteous: behold, I conspired against my master, and slew him: but who slew all these? ¹⁰Know now that there shall fall to the earth nothing of the word of the LORD, which the LORD spoke concerning the house of Ahab; for the LORD hath done that which he spoke by his servant Elijah. ¹¹So Jehu slew all that remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel, and all his great men, and his kinsmen, and his priests, until he left him none remaining. ¹²And he arose and departed, and came to Samaria. And as he was at the shearing-house in the way, ¹³Jehu met with the brethren of Ahaziah king of Judah, and said, Who are ye? And they answered, We are the brethren of Ahaziah; and we go down to salute the children of the king and the children of the queen. ¹⁴And he said, Take them alive. And they took them alive, and slew them at the pit of the shearing-house, even two and forty men; neither left he any of them. ¹⁵And when he had departed thence, he lighted on Jehonadab the son of Rechab coming to meet him: and he saluted him, and said to him, Is thy heart right, as my heart is with thy heart; And Jehonadab answered, It is. If it is, give me thy hand. And he gave him his hand; and he took him up to him into the chariot. ¹⁶And he said, Come with me, and see my zeal for the LORD. So they made him ride in his chariot. ¹⁷And when he came to Samaria, he slew all that remained to Ahab in Samaria, till he had destroyed him, according to the saying of the LORD, which he spoke to Elijah. ¹⁸And Jehu convened all the people, and said to them, Ahab served Baal a little; but Jehu shall serve him much. ¹⁹Now therefore call to me all the prophets of Baal, all his servants, and all his priests; let none be wanting: for I have a great sacrifice to do to Baal: whoever shall be wanting, he shall not live. But Jehu did it in subtilty, to the intent that he might destroy the worshipers of Baal. ²⁰And Jehu said, Proclaim a solemn assembly for Baal. And they proclaimed it. ²¹And Jehu sent through all Israel: and all the worshipers of Baal came, so that there was not a man left that came not. And they came into the house of Baal; and the house of Baal was full from one end to another. ²²And he said to him that was over the vestry, Bring forth vestments for all the worshipers of Baal. And he brought them forth vestments. ²³And Jehu went, and Jehonadab the son of Rechab, into the house of Baal, and said to the worshipers of Baal, Search, and look that there are here with you none of the servants of the LORD, but the worshipers of Baal only. ²⁴And when they went in to offer sacrifices and burnt-offerings, Jehu appointed eighty men without, and said, If any of the men whom I have brought into your hands escape, he that letteth him go, his life shall be for the life of him. ²⁵And it came to pass, as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt-offering, that Jehu said to the guard and to the captains, Go in, and slay them; let none come forth. And they smote them with the edge of the sword; and the guard and the captains cast them out, and went to the city of the house of Baal. ²⁶And they brought forth the images out of the house of Baal, and burned them. ²⁷And they broke down the image of Baal, and broke down the house of Baal, and made it a draught-house to this day. ²⁸Thus Jehu destroyed Baal out of Israel. ²⁹Yet from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, Jehu departed not from after them, to wit, the golden calves that were in Beth-el, and that were in Dan. ³⁰And the LORD said to Jehu, Because thou hast done well in executing that which is right in my eyes, and hast done to the house of Ahab according to all that was in my heart, thy children of the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel. ³¹But Jehu took no heed to walk in the law of the LORD God of Israel with all his heart: for he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam, who made Israel to sin. ³²In those days the LORD began to cut Israel short: and Hazael smote them in all the borders of Israel; ³³From Jordan eastward, all the land of Gilead, the Gadites, and the Reubenites, and the Manassites, from Aroer, which is by the river Arnon, even Gilead and Bashan. ³⁴Now the rest of the acts of Jehu, and all that he did, and all his might, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? ³⁵And Jehu slept with his fathers: and they buried him in Samaria. And Jehoahaz his son reigned in his stead. ³⁶And the time that Jehu reigned over Israel in Samaria was twenty and eight years.

Chapter 11

¹And when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the seed royal. ²But Jehosheba, the daughter of king Joram, sister of Ahaziah, took Joash the the son of Ahaziah, and stole him from among the king's sons who were slain; and they hid him, even him and his nurse, in the bed-chamber, from Athaliah, so that he was not slain. ³And he was with her hid in the house of the LORD six years. And Athaliah reigned over the land. ⁴And in the seventh year Jehoiada sent and took the rulers over hundreds, with the captains and the guard, and brought them to him into the house of the LORD, and made a covenant with them, and took an oath of them in the house of the LORD, and showed them the king's son. ⁵And he commanded them, saying, This is the thing that ye shall do; A third part of you that enter in on the sabbath shall even be keepers of the watch of the king's house; ⁶And a third part shall be at the gate of Sur; and a third part at the gate behind the guard: so shall ye keep the watch of the house, that it be not broken down. ⁷And two parts of all you that go forth on the sabbath, even they shall keep the watch of the house of the LORD about the king. ⁸And ye shall compass the king around, every man with his weapons in his hand: and he that cometh within the ranges, let him be slain. And be ye with the king as he goeth out and as he cometh in. ⁹And the captains over the hundreds did according to all things that Jehoiada the priest commanded: and they took every man his men that were to come in on the sabbath, with them that should go out on the sabbath, and came to Jehoiada the priest. ¹⁰And to the captains over hundreds the priest gave king David's spears and shields, that were in the temple of the LORD. ¹¹And the guard stood, every man with his weapons in his hand, around the king, from the right corner of the temple to the left corner of the temple, along by the altar and the temple. ¹²And he brought forth the king's son, and put the crown upon him, and gave him the testimony; and they made him king, and anointed him; and they clapped their hands, and said, God save the king. ¹³And when Athaliah heard the noise of the guard and of the people, she came to the people into the temple of the LORD. ¹⁴And when she looked, behold, the king stood by a pillar, as the manner was, and the princes and the trumpeters by the king, and all the people of the land rejoiced, and blew with trumpets. And Athaliah rent her clothes, and cried, Treason, treason. ¹⁵But Jehoiada the priest commanded the captains of the hundreds, the officers of the host, and said to them, Have her forth without the ranges: and him that followeth her kill with the sword. For the priest had said, Let her not be slain in the house of the LORD. ¹⁶And they laid hands on her; and she went by the way by which the horses came into the king's house: and there was she slain. ¹⁷And Jehoiada made a covenant between the LORD and the king and the people, that they should be the LORD'S people; between the king also and the people. ¹⁸And all the people of the land went into the house of Baal, and broke it down; his altars and his images they broke wholly in pieces, and slew Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars. And the priest appointed officers over the the house of the LORD. ¹⁹And he took the rulers over hundreds, and the captains, and the guard, and all the people of the land; and they brought down the king from the house of the LORD, and came by the way of the gate of the guard to the king's house. And he sat on the throne of the kings. ²⁰And all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was in quiet: and they slew Athaliah with the sword beside the king's house. ²¹Seven years old was Jehoash when he began to reign.

Chapter 12

¹In the seventh year of Jehu, Jehoash began to reign; and forty years reigned he in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Zibiah of Beer-sheba. ²And Jehoash did that which was right in the sight of the LORD all his days wherein Jehoiada the priest instructed him. ³But the high places were not taken away: the people still sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places. ⁴And Jehoash said to the priests, All the money of the dedicated things that is brought into the house of the LORD, even the money of every one that passeth the account, the money that every man is set at, and all the money that cometh into any man's heart to bring into the house of the LORD, ⁵Let the priests take it to them, every man of his acquaintance: and let them repair the breaches of the house, wherever any breach shall be found. ⁶But it was so, that in the three and twentieth year of king Jehoash the priests had not repaired the breaches of the house. ⁷Then king Jehoash called for Jehoiada the priest, and the other priests, and said to them, Why repair ye not the breaches of the house? now therefore receive no more money of your acquaintance, but deliver it for the breaches of the house. ⁸And the priests consented to receive no more money of the people, neither to repair the breaches of the house. ⁹But Jehoiada the priest took a chest, and bored a hole in the lid of it, and set it beside the altar, on the right side as one cometh into the house of the LORD: and the priests that kept the door put in it all the money that was brought into the house of the LORD. ¹⁰And it was so, when they saw that there was much money in the chest, that the king's scribe and the high priest came up, and they put up in bags, and counted the money that was found in the house of the LORD. ¹¹And they gave the money, being counted, into the hands of them that did the work, that had the oversight of the house of the LORD: and they laid it out to the carpenters and builders, that wrought upon the house of the LORD, ¹²And to masons, and hewers of stone, and to buy timber and hewed stone to repair the breaches of the house of the LORD, and for all that was laid out for the house to repair it. ¹³Yet, there were not made for the house of the LORD bowls of silver, snuffers, basons, trumpets, any vessels of gold, or vessels of silver, of the money that was brought into the house of the LORD: ¹⁴But they gave that to the workmen, and repaired with it the house of the LORD. ¹⁵Moreover, they reckoned not with the men, into whose hand they delivered the money to be bestowed on workmen: for they dealt faithfully. ¹⁶The trespass-money and sin-money was not brought into the house of the LORD: it was the priests'. ¹⁷Then Hazael king of Syria went up, and fought against Gath, and took it; and Hazael set his face to go up to Jerusalem. ¹⁸And Jehoash king of Judah took all the hallowed things that Jehoshaphat, and Jehoram, and Ahaziah, his fathers, kings of Judah, had dedicated, and his own hallowed things, and all the gold that was found in the treasures of the house of the LORD, and in the king's house, and sent it to Hazael king of Syria: and he went away from Jerusalem. ¹⁹And the rest of the acts of Joash, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? ²⁰And his servants arose, and made a conspiracy, and slew Joash in the house of Millo, which goeth down to Silla. ²¹For Jozachar the son of Shimeath, and Jehozabad the son of Shomer, his servants, smote him, and he died; and they buried him with his fathers in the city of David: And Amaziah his son reigned in his stead.

Chapter 13

¹In the three and twentieth year of Joash the son of Ahaziah king of Judah, Jehoahaz the son of Jehu began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and reigned seventeen years. ²And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, and followed the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin; he departed not therefrom. ³And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he delivered them into the hand of Hazael king of Syria, and into the hand of Ben-hadad the son of Hazael, all their days. ⁴And Jehoahaz besought the LORD, and the LORD hearkened to him: for he saw the oppression of Israel, because the king of Syria oppressed them. ⁵(And the LORD gave Israel a savior, so that they went out from under the hand of the Syrians: and the children of Israel dwelt in their tents, as formerly. ⁶Nevertheless they departed not from the sins of the house of Jeroboam, who made Israel sin, but walked in them: and there remained the grove also in Samaria.) ⁷Neither did he leave of the people to Jehoahaz but fifty horsemen, and ten chariots, and ten thousand footmen; for the king of Syria had destroyed them, and had made them like the dust by threshing. ⁸Now the rest of the acts of Jehoahaz, and all that he did, and his might, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? ⁹And Jehoahaz slept with his fathers; and they buried him in Samaria: and Joash his son reigned in his stead. ¹⁰In the thirty and seventh year of Joash king of Judah began Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz to reign over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned sixteen years. ¹¹And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD: he departed not from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin: but he walked in them. ¹²And the rest of the acts of Joash, and all that he did, and his might with which he fought against Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? ¹³And Joash slept with his fathers; and Jeroboam sat upon his throne: and Joash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel. ¹⁴Now Elisha had fallen sick of his disease of which he died. And Joash the king of Israel came down to him, and wept over his face, and said, O my father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. ¹⁵And Elisha said to him, Take bow and arrows. And he took to him bow and arrows. ¹⁶And he said to the king of Israel, Put thy hand upon the bow. And he put his hand upon it: and Elisha put his hands upon the king's hands. ¹⁷And he said, Open the window eastward. And he opened it. Then Elisha said, Shoot. And he shot. And he said, The arrow of the LORD'S deliverance, and the arrow of deliverance from Syria: for thou shalt smite the Syrians in Aphek, till thou hast consumed them. ¹⁸And he said, Take the arrows. And he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, Smite upon the ground. And he smote thrice, and ceased. ¹⁹And the man of God was wroth with him, and said, Thou shouldst have smitten five or six times; then hadst thou smitten Syria till thou hadst consumed it: whereas now thou shalt smite Syria but thrice. ²⁰And Elisha died, and they buried him. And the bands of the Moabites invaded the land at the coming in of the year. ²¹And it came to pass, as they were burying a man, that behold, they spied a band of men; and they cast the man into the sepulcher of Elisha: and when the man was let down, and touched the bones of Elisha, he revived, and stood on his feet. ²²But Hazael king of Syria oppressed Israel all the days of Jehoahaz. ²³And the LORD was gracious to them, and had compassion on them, and had respect to them, because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and would not destroy them, neither did he as yet reject them from his presence. ²⁴So Hazael king of Syria died; and Ben-hadad his son reigned in his stead. ²⁵And Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz took again from the hand of Ben-hadad the son of Hazael the cities, which he had taken from the hand of Jehoahaz his father by war. Three times Joash defeated him, and recovered the cities of Israel.

Chapter 14

¹In the second year of Joash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel, reigned Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah. ²He was twenty and five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Jehoaddan of Jerusalem. ³And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, yet not like David his father: he did according to all things as Joash his father did. ⁴But, the high places were not taken away: as yet the people sacrificed, and burnt incense on the high places. ⁵And it came to pass, as soon as the kingdom was confirmed in his hand, that he slew his servants who had slain the king his father. ⁶But the children of the murderers he slew not: according to that which is written in the book of the law of Moses, in which the LORD commanded, saying, The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, nor the children be put to death for the fathers; but every man shall be put to death for his own sin. ⁷He slew of Edom in the valley of Salt ten thousand, and took Selah by war, and called the name of it Joktheel to this day. ⁸Then Amaziah sent messengers to Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz son of Jehu king of Israel, saying, Come, let us look one another in the face. ⁹And Jehoash the king of Israel sent to Amaziah king of Judah, saying, The thistle that was in Lebanon sent to the cedar that was in Lebanon, saying, Give thy daughter to my son for a wife: and there passed by a wild beast that was in Lebanon, and trod down the thistle. ¹⁰Thou hast indeed smitten Edom, and thy heart hath lifted thee up: glory of this, and tarry at home: for why shouldst thou meddle to thy hurt, that thou shouldst fall, even thou, and Judah with thee? ¹¹But Amaziah would not hear. Therefore Jehoash king of Israel went up: and he and Amaziah king of Judah looked one another in the face at Beth-shemesh, which belongeth to Judah. ¹²And Judah was defeated before Israel; and they fled every man to their tents. ¹³And Jehoash king of Israel took Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Jehoash the son of Ahaziah, at Beth-shemesh, and came to Jerusalem, and broke down the wall of Jerusalem from the gate of Ephraim to the corner gate, four hundred cubits. ¹⁴And he took all the gold and silver, and all the vessels found in the house of the LORD, and in the treasures of the king's house, and hostages, and returned to Samaria. ¹⁵Now the rest of the acts of Jehoash which he did, and his might, and how he fought with Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? ¹⁶And Jehoash slept with his fathers, and was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel; and Jeroboam his son reigned in his stead. ¹⁷And Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah lived after the death of Jehoash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel fifteen years. ¹⁸And the rest of the acts of Amaziah, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? ¹⁹Now they made a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem: and he fled to Lachish; but they sent after him to Lachish, and slew him there. ²⁰And they brought him on horses: and he was buried at Jerusalem with his fathers in the city of David. ²¹And all the people of Judah took Azariah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king instead of his father Amaziah. ²²He built Elath, and restored it to Judah, after that the king slept with his fathers. ²³In the fifteenth year of Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah, Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel, began to reign in Samaria, and reigned forty and one years. ²⁴And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD: he departed not from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin. ²⁵He restored the border of Israel from the entering of Hamath to the sea of the plain, according to the word of the LORD God of Israel, which he spoke by the hand of his servant Jonah, the son of Amittai, the prophet, who was of Gath-hepher. ²⁶For the LORD saw the affliction of Israel, that it was very bitter: for there was not any shut up, nor any left, nor any helper for Israel. ²⁷And the LORD said not that he would blot out the name of Israel from under heaven: but he saved them by the hand of Jeroboam the son of Joash. ²⁸Now the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, and all that he did, and his might, how he warred, and how he recovered Damascus, and Hamath, which belonged to Judah, for Israel, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? ²⁹And Jeroboam slept with his fathers, even with the kings of Israel; and Zachariah his son reigned in his stead.

Chapter 15

¹In the twenty and seventh year of Jeroboam king of Israel began Azariah son of Amaziah king of Judah to reign. ²Sixteen years old was he when he began to reign, and he reigned two and fifty years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Jecholiah of Jerusalem. ³And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father Amaziah had done; ⁴Save that the high places were not removed: the people sacrificed and burnt incense still on the high places. ⁵And the LORD smote the king, so that he was a leper to the day of his death, and dwelt in a separate house. And Jotham the king's son was over the house, judging the people of the land. ⁶And the rest of the acts of Azariah, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? ⁷So Azariah slept with his fathers; and they buried him with his fathers in the city of David: and Jotham his son reigned in his stead. ⁸In the thirty and eighth year of Azariah king of Judah did Zachariah the son of Jeroboam reign over Israel in Samaria six months. ⁹And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, as his fathers had done: he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin. ¹⁰And Shallum the son of Jabesh conspired against him, and smote him before the people, and slew him, and reigned in his stead. ¹¹And the rest of the acts of Zachariah, behold they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. ¹²This was the word of the LORD which he spoke to Jehu, saying, Thy sons shall sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation. And so it came to pass. ¹³Shallum the son of Jabesh began to reign in the nine and thirtieth year of Uzziah king of Judah; and he reigned a full month in Samaria. ¹⁴For Menahem the son of Gadi went up from Tirzah, and came to Samaria, and smote Shallum the son of Jabesh in Samaria, and slew him, and reigned in his stead. ¹⁵And the rest of the acts of Shallum, and his conspiracy which he made, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. ¹⁶Then Menahem smote Tiphsah, and all that were in it, and the borders of it from Tirzah: because they opened not to him, therefore he smote it; and all the women in it that were with child he ripped up. ¹⁷In the nine and thirtieth year of Azariah king of Judah began Menahem the son of Gadi to reign over Israel, and reigned ten years in Samaria. ¹⁸And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD: he departed not all his days from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin. ¹⁹And Pul the king of Assyria came against the land: and Menahem gave Pul a thousand talents of silver, that his hand might be with him to confirm the kingdom in his hand. ²⁰And Menahem exacted the money of Israel, even of all the mighty men of wealth, of each man fifty shekels of silver, to give to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria turned back, and stayed not there in the land. ²¹And the rest of the acts of Menahem, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? ²²And Menahem slept with his fathers; and Pekahiah his son reigned in his stead. ²³In the fiftieth year of Azariah king of Judah, Pekahiah the son of Menahem began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and reigned two years. ²⁴And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD: he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin. ²⁵But Pekah the son of Remaliah, a captain of his, conspired against him, and smote him in Samaria, in the palace of the king's house, with Argob and Arieh, and with him fifty men of the Gileadites: and he killed him, and reigned in his room. ²⁶And the rest of the acts of Pekahiah, and all that he did, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. ²⁷In the two and fiftieth year of Azariah king of Judah, Pekah the son of Remaliah began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and reigned twenty years. ²⁸And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD: he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin. ²⁹In the days of Pekah king of Israel came Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, and took Ijon, and Abel-beth-maachah, and Janoah, and Kedesh, and Hazor, and Gilead, and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali, and carried them captive to Assyria. ³⁰And Hoshea the son of Elah made a conspiracy against Pekah the son of Remaliah, and smote him, and slew him, and reigned in his stead, in the twentieth year of Jotham the son of Uzziah. ³¹And the rest of the acts of Pekah, and all that he did, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. ³²In the second year of Pekah the son of Remaliah king of Israel, began Jotham the son of Uzziah king of Judah to reign. ³³Five and twenty years old was he when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Jerusha, the daughter of Zadok. ³⁴And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD: he did according to all that his father Uzziah had done. ³⁵Yet, the high places were not removed: the people sacrificed and burned incense still in the high places. He built the higher gate of the house of the LORD. ³⁶Now the rest of the acts of Jotham, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? ³⁷In those days the LORD began to send against Judah, Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah. ³⁸And Jotham slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father: And Ahaz his son reigned in his stead.

Chapter 16

¹In the seventeenth year of Pekah the son of Remaliah Ahaz the son of Jotham king of Judah began to reign. ²Twenty years old was Ahaz when he began to reign, and reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem, and did not that which was right in the sight of the LORD his God, like David his father. ³But he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, and even made his son to pass through the fire, according to the abominations of the heathen, whom the LORD cast out from before the children of Israel. ⁴And he sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places, and on the hills, and under every green tree. ⁵Then Rezin king of Syria and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel came up to Jerusalem to war: and they besieged Ahaz, but could not overcome him. ⁶At that time Rezin king of Syria recovered Elath to Syria, and drove the Jews from Elath: and the Syrians came to Elath, and have dwelt there to this day. ⁷So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, saying, I am thy servant and thy son: come up, and save me from the hand of the king of Syria, and from the hand of the king of Israel, who rise up against me. ⁸And Ahaz took the silver and gold that was found in the house of the LORD, and in the treasures of the king's house, and sent it for a present to the king of Assyria. ⁹And the king of Assyria hearkened to him: for the king of Assyria went up against Damascus, and took it, and carried the people of it captive to Kir, and slew Rezin. ¹⁰And king Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, and saw an altar that was at Damascus: and king Ahaz sent to Urijah the priest the fashion of the altar, and the pattern of it, according to all the workmanship of it. ¹¹And Urijah the priest built an altar according to all that king Ahaz had sent from Damascus: so Urijah the priest made it against king Ahaz came from Damascus. ¹²And when the king had come from Damascus, the king saw the altar: and the king approached to the altar, and offered on it. ¹³And he burnt his burnt-offering and his meat-offering, and poured his drink-offering, and sprinkled the blood of his peace-offerings upon the altar. ¹⁴And he brought also the brazen altar, which was before the LORD, from the front of the house, from between the altar and the house of the LORD, and put it on the north side of the altar. ¹⁵And king Ahaz commanded Urijah the priest, saying, Upon the great altar burn the morning burnt-offering, and the evening meat-offering, and the king's burnt-sacrifice, and his meat-offering, with the burnt-offering of all the people of the land, and their meat-offering, and their drink-offerings; and sprinkle upon it all the blood of the burnt-offering, and all the blood of the sacrifice: and the brazen altar shall be for me to inquire by. ¹⁶Thus did Urijah the priest, according to all that king Ahaz commanded. ¹⁷And king Ahaz cut off the borders of the bases, and removed the laver from off them; and took down the sea from off the brazen oxen that were under it, and put it upon a pavement of stones. ¹⁸And the covert for the sabbath that they had built in the house, and the king's entry without, he turned from the house of the LORD for the king of Assyria. ¹⁹Now the rest of the acts of Ahaz which he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? ²⁰And Ahaz slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David: and Hezekiah his son reigned in his stead.

Chapter 17

¹In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah began Hoshea the son of Elah to reign in Samaria over Israel nine years. ²And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, but not as the kings of Israel that were before him. ³Against him came up Shalmaneser king of Assyria; and Hoshea became his servant, and gave him presents. ⁴And the king of Assyria found conspiracy in Hoshea: for he had sent messengers to So king of Egypt, and brought no present to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year: therefore the king of Assyria shut him up, and bound him in prison. ⁵Then the king of Assyria came up throughout all the land, and went up to Samaria, and besieged it three years. ⁶In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria took Samaria, and carried Israel away into Assyria, and placed them in Halah and in Habor by the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes. ⁷For so it was, that the children of Israel had sinned against the LORD their God, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt, from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and had feared other gods, ⁸And walked in the statutes of the heathen, whom the LORD cast out from before the children of Israel, and of the kings of Israel which they had made. ⁹And the children of Israel did secretly things that were not right against the LORD their God, and they built for themselves high places in all their cities, from the tower of the watchmen to the fortified city. ¹⁰And they set up for themselves images and groves on every high hill, and under every green tree: ¹¹And there they burnt incense on all the high places, as did the heathen whom the LORD carried away before them; and wrought wicked things to provoke the LORD to anger: ¹²For they served idols, of which the LORD had said to them, Ye shall not do this thing. ¹³Yet the LORD testified against Israel, and against Judah, by all the prophets, and by all the seers, saying, Turn ye from your evil ways, and keep my commandments and my statutes, according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you by my servants the prophets. ¹⁴Notwithstanding, they would not hear, but hardened their necks, like the neck of their fathers, that did not believe in the LORD their God. ¹⁵And they rejected his statutes, and his covenant that he made with their fathers, and his testimonies which he testified against them; and they followed vanity, and became vain, and went after the heathen that were around them, concerning whom the LORD had charged them, that they should not do like them. ¹⁶And they left all the commandments of the LORD their God, and made for themselves molten images, even two calves, and made a grove, and worshiped all the host of heaven, and served Baal. ¹⁷And they caused their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire, and used divination and enchantments, and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger. ¹⁸Therefore the LORD was very angry with Israel, and removed them out of his sight: there was none left but the tribe of Judah only. ¹⁹Also Judah kept not the commandments of the LORD their God, but walked in the statutes of Israel which they made. ²⁰And the LORD rejected all the seed of Israel, and afflicted them, and delivered them into the hand of spoilers, until he had cast them out of his sight. ²¹For he rent Israel from the house of David; and they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king: and Jeroboam drove Israel from following the LORD, and made them sin a great sin. ²²For the children of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did; they departed not from them; ²³Until the LORD removed Israel out of his sight, as he had said by all his servants the prophets. So was Israel carried away out of their own land to Assyria to this day. ²⁴And the king of Assyria brought men from Babylon, and from Cuthah, and from Ava, and from Hamath, and from Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel: and they possessed Samaria, and dwelt in its cities. ²⁵And so it was at the beginning of their dwelling there, that they feared not the LORD: therefore the LORD sent lions among them, which slew some of them. ²⁶Wherefore they spoke to the king of Assyria, saying, The nations which thou hast removed, and placed in the cities of Samaria, know not the manner of the God of the land: therefore he hath sent lions among them, and behold, they slay them, because they know not the manner of the God of the land. ²⁷Then the king of Assyria commanded, saying, Carry thither one of the priests whom ye brought from thence; and let them go and dwell there, and let him teach them the manner of the God of the land. ²⁸Then one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria came and dwelt in Beth-el, and taught them how they should fear the LORD. ²⁹Yet, every nation made gods of their own, and put them in the houses of the high places which the Samaritans had made, every nation in their cities in which they dwelt. ³⁰And the men of Babylon made Succoth-benoth, and the men of Cuth made Nergal, and the men of Hamath made Ashima, ³¹And the Avites made Nibhaz and Tartak, and the Sepharvites burnt their children in the fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim. ³²So they feared the LORD, and made to themselves of the lowest of them priests of the high places, who sacrificed for them in the houses of the high places. ³³They feared the LORD, and served their own gods, after the manner of the nations whom they carried away from thence. ³⁴To this day they do after the former manners: they fear not the LORD, neither do they after their statutes, or after their ordinances, or after the law and commandment which the LORD commanded the children of Jacob, whom he named Israel; ³⁵With whom the LORD had made a covenant, and charged them, saying, Ye shall not fear other gods, nor bow yourselves to them, nor serve them, nor sacrifice to them: ³⁶But the LORD, who brought you out of the land of Egypt with great power and an out-stretched arm, him shall ye fear, and him shall ye worship, and to him shall ye do sacrifice. ³⁷And the statutes, and the ordinances, and the law, and the commandment which he wrote for you, ye shall observe to do for evermore; and ye shall not fear other gods. ³⁸And the covenant that I have made with you ye shall not forget; neither shall ye fear other gods. ³⁹But the LORD your God ye shall fear; and he will deliver you out of the hand of all your enemies. ⁴⁰Yet they did not hearken, but they did after their former manner. ⁴¹So these nations feared the LORD, and served their graven images, both their children, and their children's children: as did their fathers, so do they to this day.

Chapter 18

¹Now it came to pass in the third year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, that Hezekiah the son of Ahaz king of Judah began to reign. ²Twenty and five years old was he when he began to reign; and he reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem. His mother's name also was Abi, the daughter of Zachariah. ³And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that David his father did. ⁴He removed the high places, and broke the images, and cut down the groves, and broke in pieces the brazen serpent that Moses had made: for till those days the children of Israel burnt incense to it: and he called it Nehushtan. ⁵He trusted in the LORD God of Israel; so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor any that were before him. ⁶For he cleaved to the LORD, and departed not from following him, but kept his commandments, which the LORD commanded Moses. ⁷And the LORD was with him; and he prospered whithersoever he went forth: and he rebelled against the king of Assyria, and served him not. ⁸He smote the Philistines, even to Gaza, and its borders, from the tower of the watchmen to the fortified city. ⁹And it came to pass in the fourth year of king Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, that Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against Samaria, and besieged it. ¹⁰And at the end of three years they took it: even in the sixth year of Hezekiah, that is the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel, Samaria was taken. ¹¹And the king of Assyria carried away Israel to Assyria, and put them in Halah and in Habor by the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes: ¹²Because they obeyed not the voice of the LORD their God, but transgressed his covenant, and all that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded, and would not hear them, nor do them. ¹³Now in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah, and took them. ¹⁴And Hezekiah king of Judah sent to the king of Assyria to Lachish, saying, I have offended; return from me: that which thou puttest on me I will bear. And the king of Assyria appointed to Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold. ¹⁵And Hezekiah gave him all the silver that was found in the house of the LORD, and in the treasures of the king's house. ¹⁶At that time did Hezekiah cut off the gold from the doors of the temple of the LORD, and from the pillars which Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid, and gave it to the king of Assyria. ¹⁷And the king of Assyria sent Tartan and Rab-saris and Rab-shakeh from Lachish to king Hezekiah with a great army against Jerusalem: and they went up, and came to Jerusalem: and when they had come up, they came and stood by the conduit of the upper pool, which is in the highway of the fuller's field. ¹⁸And when they had called to the king, there came out to them Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph the recorder. ¹⁹And Rab-shakeh said to them, Speak ye now to Hezekiah, Thus saith the great king, the king of Assyria, What confidence is this in which thou trustest? ²⁰Thou sayest, but they are but vain words, I have counsel and strength for the war. Now in whom dost thou trust, that thou rebellest against me? ²¹Now behold, thou trustest upon the staff of this bruised reed, even upon Egypt, on which if a man leaneth, it will go into his hand, and pierce it: so is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all that trust on him. ²²But if ye say to me, We trust in the LORD our God: is not that he whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah hath taken away, and hath said to Judah and Jerusalem, Ye shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem? ²³Now therefore, I pray thee, give pledges to my lord the king of Assyria, and I will deliver thee two thousand horses, if thou shalt be able on thy part to set riders upon them. ²⁴How then wilt thou turn away the face of one captain of the least of my master's servants, and put thy trust on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen? ²⁵Have I now come up without the LORD against this place to destroy it? The LORD said to me, Go up against this land, and destroy it. ²⁶Then said Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, and Shebna and Joah, to Rab-shakeh, Speak, I pray thee, to thy servants in the Syrian language; for we understand it: and talk not with us in the Jews language in the ears of the people that are on the wall. ²⁷But Rab-shakeh said to them, Hath my master sent me to thy master, and to thee, to speak these words? hath he not sent me to the men who sit on the wall, that they may feed on their vilest excretions with you? ²⁸Then Rab-shakeh stood and cried with a loud voice in the Jews language, and spoke, saying, Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria: ²⁹Thus saith the king, Let not Hezekiah deceive you: for he shall not be able to deliver you out of his hand: ³⁰Neither let Hezekiah make you trust in the LORD, saying, The LORD will surely deliver us, and this city shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria. ³¹Hearken not to Hezekiah: for thus saith the king of Assyria, Make an agreement with me by a present, and come out to me, and then eat ye every man of his own vine, and every one of his fig-tree, and drink ye every one the waters of his cistern: ³²Until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of corn and wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive-oil and of honey, that ye may live, and not die: and hearken not to Hezekiah, when he persuadeth you, saying, The LORD will deliver us. ³³Hath any of the gods of the nations delivered at all his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria? ³⁴Where are the gods of Hamath, and of Arpad? where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivah? have they delivered Samaria out of my hand? ³⁵Who are they among all the gods of the countries, that have delivered their country out of my hand, that the LORD should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand? ³⁶But the people held their peace, and answered him not a word: for the king's commandment was, saying, Answer him not. ³⁷Then came Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph the recorder, to Hezekiah with their clothes rent, and told him the words of Rab-shakeh.

Chapter 19

¹And it came to pass, when king Hezekiah heard it, that he rent his clothes, and covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the LORD. ²And he sent Eliakim, who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz. ³And they said to him, Thus saith Hezekiah, This day is a day of trouble, and of rebuke, and blasphemy: for the children have come to the birth, and there is not strength to bring forth. ⁴It may be the LORD thy God will hear all the words of Rab-shakeh, whom the king of Assyria his master hath sent to reproach the living God; and will reprove the words which the LORD thy God hath heard: wherefore lift up thy prayer for the remnant that are left. ⁵So the servants of king Hezekiah came to Isaiah. ⁶And Isaiah said to them, Thus shall ye say to your master, Thus saith the LORD, Be not afraid of the words which thou hast heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me. ⁷Behold, I will send a blast upon him, and he shall hear a rumor, and shall return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land. ⁸So Rab-shakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria warring against Libnah: for he had heard that he had departed from Lachish. ⁹And when he heard it said of Tirhakah king of Cush, Behold, he hath come out to fight against thee: he sent messengers again to Hezekiah, saying, ¹⁰Thus shall ye speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying, Let not thy God in whom thou trustest deceive thee, saying, Jerusalem shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria. ¹¹Behold, thou hast heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands, by destroying them utterly: and shalt thou be delivered? ¹²Have the gods of the nations delivered them which my fathers have destroyed; as Gozan and Haran, and Rezeph, and the children of Eden who were in Thelasar? ¹³Where is the king of Hamath, and the king of Arpad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, of Hena, and Ivah? ¹⁴And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it: and Hezekiah went up into the house of the LORD, and spread it before the LORD. ¹⁵And Hezekiah prayed before the LORD, and said, O LORD God of Israel, who dwellest between the cherubim, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; thou hast made heaven and earth. ¹⁶LORD, bow down thy ear, and hear: open, LORD, thy eyes, and see: and hear the words of Sennacherib, who hath sent him to reproach the living God. ¹⁷Of a truth, LORD, the kings of Assyria have destroyed the nations and their lands, ¹⁸And have cast their gods into the fire: for they were no gods, but the work of men's hands, wood and stone: therefore they have destroyed them. ¹⁹Now therefore, O LORD our God, I beseech thee, save thou us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the LORD God, even thou only. ²⁰Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, That which thou hast prayed to me against Sennacherib king of Assyria I have heard. ²¹This is the word that the LORD hath spoken concerning him; The virgin the daughter of Zion hath despised thee, and laughed thee to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head at thee. ²²Whom hast thou reproached and blasphemed? and against whom hast thou exalted thy voice, and lifted up thy eyes on high: even against the Holy One of Israel. ²³By thy messengers thou hast reproached the Lord, and hast said, With the multitude of my chariots I am come up to the hight of the mountains, to the sides of Lebanon, and will cut down its tall cedar trees, and its choice fir trees: and I will enter into the lodgings of his borders, and into the forest of his Carmel. ²⁴I have digged and drank strange waters, and with the sole of my feet have I dried up all the rivers of besieged places. ²⁵Hast thou not heard long ago how I have done it, and of ancient times that I have formed it? now have I brought it to pass, that thou shouldst be to lay waste fortified cities in ruinous heaps. ²⁶Therefore their inhabitants were of small power, they were dismayed and confounded; they were as the grass of the field, and as the green herb, as the grass on the house-tops, and as corn blasted before it is grown up. ²⁷But I know thy abode, and thy going out, and thy coming in, and thy rage against me. ²⁸Because thy rage against me and thy tumult is come up into my ears, therefore I will put my hook in thy nose, and my bridle in thy lips, and I will turn thee back by the way by which thou camest. ²⁹And this shall be a sign to thee, Ye shall eat this year such things as grow of themselves, and in the second year that which springeth of the same; and in the third year sow ye, and reap, and plant vineyards, and eat the fruits of it. ³⁰And the remnant that hath escaped of the house of Judah shall yet again take root downward, and bear fruit upward. ³¹For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and they that escape from mount Zion: the zeal of the LORD of hosts shall do this. ³²Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shield, nor cast a bank against it. ³³By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and shall not come into this city, saith the LORD. ³⁴For I will defend this city, to save it, for my own sake, and for my servant David's sake. ³⁵And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the LORD went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and eighty five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses. ³⁶So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned, and dwelt at Nineveh. ³⁷And it came to pass, as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons smote him with the sword: and they escaped into the land of Armenia. And Esar-haddon his son reigned in his stead.

Chapter 20

¹In those days was Hezekiah sick to death. And the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him, and said to him, Thus saith the LORD, Set thy house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live. ²Then he turned his face to the wall, and prayed to the LORD, saying, ³I beseech thee, O LORD, remember now how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept grievously. ⁴And it came to pass, before Isaiah had gone out into the middle court, that the word of the LORD came to him, saying, ⁵Turn again, and tell Hezekiah the captain of my people, Thus saith the LORD, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee: on the third day thou shalt go up to the house of the LORD. ⁶And I will add to thy days fifteen years; and I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for my own sake, and for my servant David's sake. ⁷And Isaiah said, Take a lump of figs. And they took and laid it on the boil, and he recovered. ⁸And Hezekiah said to Isaiah, What shall be the sign that the LORD will heal me, and that I shall go up into the house of the LORD the third day? ⁹And Isaiah said, This sign shalt thou have of the LORD, that the LORD will do the thing that he hath spoken: shall the shadow go forward ten degrees, or go back ten degrees? ¹⁰And Hezekiah answered, It is a light thing for the shadow to go forward ten degrees: no, but let the shadow return backward ten degrees. ¹¹And Isaiah the prophet cried to the LORD: and he brought the shadow ten degrees backward, by which it had gone down on the dial of Ahaz. ¹²At that time Berodach-baladan, the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah: for he had heard that Hezekiah had been sick. ¹³And Hezekiah hearkened to them, and showed them all the house of his precious things, the silver, and the gold, and the spices, and the precious ointment, and all the house of his armor, and all that was found in his treasures: there was nothing in his house, nor in all his dominion, that Hezekiah showed them not. ¹⁴Then came Isaiah the prophet to king Hezekiah, and said to him, What said these men? and from whence came they to thee? And Hezekiah said, They have come from a far country even from Babylon. ¹⁵And he said, What have they seen in thy house? And Hezekiah answered, All the things that are in my house have they seen: there is nothing among my treasures that I have not shown them. ¹⁶And Isaiah said to Hezekiah, Hear the word of the LORD. ¹⁷Behold, the days come, that all that is in thy house, and that which thy fathers have laid up in store to this day, shall be carried into Babylon: nothing shall be left, saith the LORD. ¹⁸And of thy sons that shall issue from thee, which thou shalt beget, shall they take away; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon. ¹⁹Then said Hezekiah to Isaiah, Good is the word of the LORD which thou hast spoken. And he said, Is it not good, if peace and truth shall be in my days? ²⁰And the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, and all his might, and how he made a pool, and a conduit, and brought water into the city, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? ²¹And Hezekiah slept with his fathers: and Manasseh his son reigned in his stead.

Chapter 21

¹Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty and five years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Hephzi-bah. ²And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, after the abominations of the heathen, whom the LORD cast out before the children of Israel. ³For he built again the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; and he reared altars for Baal, and made a grove, as did Ahab king of Israel; and worshiped all the host of heaven, and served them. ⁴And he built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD said, In Jerusalem will I put my name. ⁵And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD. ⁶And he made his son pass through the fire, and observed times, and used enchantments, and dealt with familiar spirits and wizards: he committed much wickedness in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger. ⁷And he set a graven image of the grove that he had made in the house, of which the LORD said to David, and to Solomon his son, In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all tribes of Israel, will I put my name for ever: ⁸Neither will I make the feet of Israel move any more out of the land which I gave their fathers; only if they will observe to do according to all that I have commanded them, and according to all the law that my servant Moses commanded them. ⁹But they hearkened not: and Manasseh seduced them to do more evil than did the nations whom the LORD destroyed before the children of Israel. ¹⁰And the LORD spoke by his servants the prophets, saying, ¹¹Because Manasseh king of Judah hath done these abominations, and hath done wickedly above all that the Amorites did, who were before him, and hath made Judah also to sin with his idols: ¹²Therefore thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Behold, I am bringing such evil upon Jerusalem and Judah, that whoever heareth of it, both his ears shall tingle. ¹³And I will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria, and the plummet of the house of Ahab: and I will wipe Jerusalem as a man wipeth a dish, wiping it, and turning it upside down. ¹⁴And I will forsake the remnant of my inheritance, and deliver them into the hand of their enemies; and they shall become a prey and a spoil to all their enemies; ¹⁵Because they have done that which was evil in my sight, and have provoked me to anger, since the day their fathers came out of Egypt, even to this day. ¹⁶Moreover, Manasseh shed innocent blood very much, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another; besides his sin with which he made Judah to sin, in doing evil in the sight of the LORD. ¹⁷Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, and all that he did, and his sin that he sinned, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? ¹⁸And Manasseh slept with his fathers, and was buried in the garden of his own house, in the garden of Uzza: and Amon his son reigned in his stead. ¹⁹Amon was twenty and two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Meshullemeth, the daughter of Haruz of Jotbah. ²⁰And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, as his father Manasseh did. ²¹And he walked in all the way that his father walked in, and served the idols that his father served, and worshiped them: ²²And he forsook the LORD God of his fathers, and walked not in the way of the LORD. ²³And the servants of Amon conspired against him, and slew the king in his own house. ²⁴And the people of the land slew all them that had conspired against king Amon; and the people of the land made Josiah his son king in his stead. ²⁵Now the rest of the acts of Amon which he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? ²⁶And he was buried in his sepulcher in the garden of Uzza: and Josiah his son reigned in his stead.

Chapter 22

¹Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty and one years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Jedidah the daughter of Adaiah of Boscath. ²And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, and walked in all the way of David his father, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left. ³And it came to pass in the eighteenth year of king Josiah, that the king sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, the son of Meshullam, the scribe, to the house of the LORD, saying, ⁴Go to Hilkiah the high priest, that he may sum the silver which is brought into the house of the LORD, which the keepers of the door have gathered from the people: ⁵And let them deliver it into the hand of the doers of the work, that have the oversight of the house of the LORD: and let them give it to the doers of the work, which is in the house of the LORD, to repair the breaches of the house, ⁶To carpenters, and builders, and masons, and to buy timber, and hewn stone to repair the house. ⁷But there was no reckoning made with them of the money that was delivered into their hand, because they dealt faithfully. ⁸And Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the scribe, I have found the book of the law in the house of the LORD. And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it. ⁹And Shaphan the scribe came to the king, and brought the king word again, and said, Thy servants have gathered the money that was found in the house, and have delivered it into the hand of them that do the work, that have the oversight of the house of the LORD. ¹⁰And Shaphan the scribe showed the king, saying, Hilkiah the priest hath delivered me a book. And Shaphan read it before the king. ¹¹And it came to pass, when the king had heard the words of the book of the law, that he rent his clothes. ¹²And the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Achbor the son of Michaiah, and Shaphan the scribe, and Asahiah a servant of the king's, saying, ¹³Go ye, inquire of the LORD for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that is found: for great is the wrath of the LORD that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not hearkened to the words of this book, to do according to all that which is written concerning us. ¹⁴So Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam, and Achbor, and Shaphan, and Asahiah, went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe; (now she dwelt in Jerusalem in the college;) and they communed with her. ¹⁵And she said to them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Tell the man that sent you to me, ¹⁶Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, and upon its inhabitants, even all the words of the book which the king of Judah hath read: ¹⁷Because they have forsaken me, and have burned incense to other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the works of their hands; therefore my wrath shall be kindled against this place and shall not be quenched. ¹⁸But to the king of Judah who sent you to inquire of the LORD, thus shall ye say to him, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, concerning the words which thou hast heard; ¹⁹Because thy heart was tender, and thou hast humbled thyself before the LORD, when thou heardest what I spoke against this place, and against its inhabitants, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and hast rent thy clothes, and wept before me; I also have heard thee, saith the LORD. ²⁰Behold therefore, I will gather thee to thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered into thy grave in peace; and thy eyes shall not see all the evil which I will bring upon this place. And they brought the king word again.

Chapter 23

¹And the king sent, and they gathered to him all the elders of Judah and of Jerusalem. ²And the king went up into the house of the LORD, and all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with him, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the people, both small and great: and he read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant which was found in the house of the LORD. ³And the king stood by a pillar, and made a covenant before the LORD, to walk after the LORD, and to keep his commandments, and his testimonies, and his statutes, with all their heart and all their soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people stood to the covenant. ⁴And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, and the priests of the second order, and the keepers of the door, to bring forth out of the temple of the LORD all the vessels that were made for Baal, and for the grove, and for all the host of heaven: and he burned them without Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron, and carried the ashes of them to Beth-el. ⁵And he put down the idolatrous priests, whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense in the high places in the cities of Judah, and in the places around Jerusalem; them also that burned incense to Baal, to the sun, and to the moon, and to the planets, and to all the host of heaven. ⁶And he brought out the grove from the house of the LORD, without Jerusalem, to the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron, and stamped it small to powder, and cast the powder of it upon the graves of the children of the people. ⁷And he broke down the houses of the sodomites that were by the house of the LORD, where the women wove hangings for the grove. ⁸And he brought all the priests out of the cities of Judah, and defiled the high places where the priests had burnt incense, from Geba to Beer-sheba, and broke down the high places of the gates that were in the entrance of the gate of Joshua the governor of the city, which were on a man's left hand at the gate of the city. ⁹Nevertheless, the priests of the high places came not up to the altar of the LORD in Jerusalem, but they ate of the unleavened bread among their brethren. ¹⁰And he defiled Topheth, which is in the valley of the children of Hinnom, that no man might make his son or his daughter to pass through the fire to Molech. ¹¹And he took away the horses that the kings of Judah had given to the sun, at the entrance of the house of the LORD, by the chamber of Nathan-melech the chamberlain, which was in the suburbs, and burned the chariots of the sun with fire. ¹²And the altars that were on the top of the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars which Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of the LORD, did the king beat down, and broke them down from thence, and cast the dust of them into the brook Kidron. ¹³And the high places that were before Jerusalem, which were on the right hand of the mount of corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Zidonians, and for Chemosh the abomination of the Moabites, and for Milcom the abomination of the children of Ammon, did the king defile. ¹⁴And he broke in pieces the images, and cut down the groves, and filled their places with the bones of men. ¹⁵Moreover, the altar that was at Beth-el, and the high place which Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, had made, both that altar and the high place he broke down, and burned the high place, and stamped it small to powder, and burned the grove. ¹⁶And as Josiah turned himself, he espied the sepulchers that were there on the mount, and sent, and took the bones out of the sepulchers, and burned them upon the altar, and polluted it, according to the word of the LORD which the man of God proclaimed, who proclaimed these words. ¹⁷Then he said, What title is that which I see? And the men of the city told him, It is the sepulcher of the man of God, who came from Judah, and proclaimed these things that thou hast done against the altar of Beth-el. ¹⁸And he said, Let him alone; let no man move his bones. So they let his bones alone, with the bones of the prophet that came out of Samaria. ¹⁹And all the houses also of the high places that were in the cities of Samaria, which the kings of Israel had made to provoke the LORD to anger, Josiah took away, and did to them according to all the acts that he had done in Beth-el. ²⁰And he slew all the priests of the high places, that were there upon the altars, and burnt men's bones upon them, and returned to Jerusalem. ²¹And the king commanded all the people, saying, Keep the passover to the LORD your God, as it is written in the book of this covenant. ²²Surely there was not held such a passover from the days of the judges that judged Israel, nor in all the days of the kings of Israel, nor of the kings of Judah. ²³But in the eighteenth year of king Josiah, in which this passover was held to the LORD in Jerusalem. ²⁴Moreover the workers with familiar spirits, and the wizards, and the images, and the idols, and all the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, did Josiah put away, that he might perform the words of the law which were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of the LORD. ²⁵And like him was there no king before him, that turned to the LORD with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; neither after him arose there any like him. ²⁶Notwithstanding, the LORD turned not from the fierceness of his great wrath, with which his anger was kindled against Judah, because of all the provocations by which Manasseh had provoked him. ²⁷And the LORD said, I will remove Judah also out of my sight, as I have removed Israel, and will reject this city Jerusalem which I have chosen, and the house of which I said, My name shall be there. ²⁸Now the rest of the acts of Josiah, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? ²⁹In his days Pharaoh-nechoh king of Egypt went up against the king of Assyria to the river Euphrates: and king Josiah went against him; and he slew him at Megiddo, when he had seen him. ³⁰And his servants carried him in a chariot dead from Megiddo, and brought him to Jerusalem, and buried him in his own sepulcher. And the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah and anointed him, and made him king in his father's stead. ³¹Jehoahaz was twenty and three years old when he began to reign; and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. ³²And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his fathers had done. ³³And Pharaoh-nechoh put him in bands at Riblah in the land of Hamath, that he might not reign in Jerusalem; and subjected the land to a tribute of a hundred talents of silver, and a talent of gold. ³⁴And Pharaoh-nechoh made Eliakim the son of Josiah king in the room of Josiah his father, and turned his name to Jehoiakim, and took Jehoahaz away: and he came to Egypt and died there. ³⁵And Jehoiakim gave the silver and the gold to Pharaoh; but he taxed the land to give the money according to the commandment of Pharaoh: he exacted the silver and the gold from the people of the land, from every one according to his taxation, to give it to Pharaoh-nechoh. ³⁶Jehoiakim was twenty and five years old when he began to reign; and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Zebudah, the daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah. ³⁷And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his fathers had done.

Chapter 24

¹In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant three years: then he turned and rebelled against him. ²And the LORD sent against him bands of the Chaldees, and bands of the Syrians, and bands of the Moabites, and bands of the children of Ammon, and sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the LORD, which he spoke by his servants the prophets. ³Surely at the commandment of the LORD came this upon Judah, to remove them out of his sight, for the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he did; ⁴And also for the innocent blood that he shed: for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood; which the LORD would not pardon. ⁵Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? ⁶So Jehoiakim slept with his fathers: and Jehoiachin his son reigned in his stead. ⁷And the king of Egypt came not again any more out of his land: for the king of Babylon had taken from the river of Egypt to the river Euphrates all that pertained to the king of Egypt. ⁸Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. And his mother's name was Nehushta, the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem. ⁹And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father had done. ¹⁰At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against Jerusalem, and the city was besieged. ¹¹And Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came against the city, and his servants besieged it. ¹²And Jehoiachin the king of Judah went out to the king of Babylon, he, and his mother, and his servants, and his princes, and his officers: and the king of Babylon took him in the eighth year of his reign. ¹³And he carried out thence all the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king's house, and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold which Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of the LORD, as the LORD had said. ¹⁴And he carried away all Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all the mighty men of valor, even ten thousand captives, and all the artificers, and smiths: none remained, save the poorest sort of the people of the land. ¹⁵And he carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon, and the king's mother, and the king's wives, and his officers, and the mighty of the land, those carried he into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon. ¹⁶And all the men of might, even seven thousand, and artificers and smiths a thousand, all that were strong and apt for war, even them the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon. ¹⁷And the king of Babylon made Mattaniah his father's brother king in his stead, and changed his name to Zedekiah. ¹⁸Zedekiah was twenty and one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. ¹⁹And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that Jehoiakim had done. ²⁰For through the anger of the LORD it came to pass in Jerusalem and Judah, until he had cast them out from his presence, that Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.

Chapter 25

¹And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he, and all his army, against Jerusalem, and encamped against it; and they built forts against it on all sides. ²And the city was besieged to the eleventh year of king Zedekiah. ³And on the ninth day of the fourth month the famine prevailed in the city, and there was no bread for the people of the land. ⁴And the city was broken up, and all the men of war fled by night by the way of the gate between two walls, which is by the king's garden: (now the Chaldees were against the city on all sides:) and the king went the way towards the plain. ⁵And the army of the Chaldees pursued the king, and overtook him in the plains of Jericho: and all his army were scattered from him. ⁶So they took the king, and brought him to the king of Babylon to Riblah; and they gave judgment upon him. ⁷And they slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him with fetters of brass, and carried him to Babylon. ⁸And in the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month, which is the nineteenth year of king Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, came Nebuzar-adan, captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, to Jerusalem: ⁹And he burnt the house of the LORD, and the king's house, and all the houses of Jerusalem, and every great man's house he burnt with fire. ¹⁰And all the army of the Chaldees, that were with the captain of the guard, broke down the walls of Jerusalem on all sides. ¹¹Now the rest of the people that were left in the city, and the fugitives that fell away to the king of Babylon, with the remnant of the multitude, did Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard carry away. ¹²But the captain of the guard left of the poor of the land to be vine-dressers and husbandmen. ¹³And the pillars of brass that were in the house of the LORD, and the bases, and the brazen sea that was in the house of the LORD, did the Chaldees break in pieces, and carried the brass of them to Babylon. ¹⁴And the pots, and the shovels, and the snuffers, and the spoons, and all the vessels of brass with which they ministered, they took away. ¹⁵And the fire-pans, and the bowls, and such things as were of gold, in gold, and of silver, in silver, the captain of the guard took away. ¹⁶The two pillars, one sea, and the bases which Solomon had made for the house of the LORD; the brass of all these vessels was without weight. ¹⁷The hight of the one pillar was eighteen cubits, and the capital upon it was brass: and the hight of the capital three cubits; and the wreathen work, and pomegranates upon the capital around, all of brass: and like to these had the second pillar with wreathen work. ¹⁸And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the door: ¹⁹And out of the city he took an officer that was set over the men of war, and five men of them that were in the king's presence, who were found in the city, and the principal scribe of the host, who mustered the people of the land, and sixty men of the people of the land that were found in the city: ²⁰And Nebuzar-adan captain of the guard took these, and brought them to the king of Babylon to Riblah: ²¹And the king of Babylon smote them, and slew them at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah was carried away out of their land. ²²And as for the people that remained in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left, even over them he made Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, ruler. ²³And when all the captains of the armies, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah governor, there came to Gedaliah to Mizpah, even Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan the son of Careah, and Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah the son of Maachathite, they and their men. ²⁴And Gedaliah swore to them, and to their men, and said to them, Fear not to be the servants of the Chaldees: dwell in the land, and serve the king of Babylon; and it shall be well with you. ²⁵But it came to pass in the seventh month, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the seed royal, came, and ten men with him, and smote Gedaliah, that he died, and the Jews and the Chaldees that were with him at Mizpah. ²⁶And all the people, both small and great, and the captains of the armies, arose, and came to Egypt: for they were afraid of the Chaldees. ²⁷And it came to pass in the seven and thirtieth year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, that Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the year that he began to reign, lifted up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah out of prison; ²⁸And he spoke kindly to him, and set his throne above the throne of the kings that were with him in Babylon; ²⁹And changed his prison garments: and he ate bread continually before him all the days of his life. ³⁰And his allowance was a continual allowance given him by the king, a daily rate for every day, all the days of his life.

1 Chronicles

Chapter 1

¹Adam, Sheth, Enosh, ²Kenan, Mahalaleel, Jered, ³Henoch, Methuselah, Lamech, ⁴Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. ⁵The sons of Japheth; Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras. ⁶And the sons of Gomer; Ashchenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah. ⁷And the sons of Javan; Elisha, and Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim. ⁸The sons of Ham; Cush, and Mizraim, Put, and Canaan. ⁹And the sons of Cush; Seba, and Havilah, and Sabta, and Raamah, and Sabtecha. And the sons of Raamah; Sheba, and Dedan. ¹⁰And Cush begat Nimrod. He began to be mighty upon the earth. ¹¹And Mizraim begat Ludim, and Anamim, and Lehabim, and Naphtuhim, ¹²And Pathrusim, and Casluhim, (of whom came the Philistines,) and Caphthorim. ¹³And Canaan begat Zidon his first-born, and Heth, ¹⁴The Jebusite also, and the Amorite, and the Girgashite, ¹⁵And the Hivite, and the Archite, and the Sinite, ¹⁶And the Arvadite, and the Zemarite, and the Hamathite. ¹⁷The sons of Shem; Elam, and Asshur, and Arphaxad, and Lud, and Aram, and Uz, and Hul, and Gether, and Meshech. ¹⁸And Arphaxad begat Shelah, and Shelah begat Eber. ¹⁹And to Eber were born two sons: the name of the one was Peleg; because in his days the earth was divided: and his brother's name was Joktan. ²⁰And Joktan begat Almodad, and Sheleph, and Hazarmaveth, and Jerah, ²¹Hadoram also, and Uzal, and Diklah, ²²And Ebal, and Abimael, and Sheba, ²³And Ophir, and Havilah, and Jobab. All these were the sons of Joktan. ²⁴Shem, Arphaxad, Shelah, ²⁵Eber, Peleg, Reu, ²⁶Serug, Nahor, Terah, ²⁷Abram; the same is Abraham. ²⁸The sons of Abraham; Isaac, and Ishmael. ²⁹These are their generations. The first-born of Ishmael, Nebaioth; then Kedar, and Adbeel, and Mibsam, ³⁰Mishma, and Dumah, Massa, Hadad, and Tema, ³¹Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. These are the sons of Ishmael. ³²Now the sons of Keturah, Abraham's concubine: she bore Zimran, and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah. And the sons of Jokshan; Sheba, and Dedan. ³³And the sons of Midian; Ephah, and Epher, and Henoch, and Abida, and Eldaah. All these are the sons of Keturah, ³⁴And Abraham begat Isaac. The sons of Isaac; Esau and Israel. ³⁵The sons of Esau; Eliphaz, Reuel, and Jeush, and Jaalam, and Korah. ³⁶The sons of Eliphaz; Teman, and Omar, Zephi, and Gatam, Kenaz, and Timna, and Amalek. ³⁷The sons of Reuel; Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. ³⁸And the sons of Seir; Lotan, and Shobal, and Zibeon, and Anah, and Dishon, and Ezar, and Dishan. ³⁹And the sons of Lotan; Hori, and Homam: and Timna was Lotan's sister. ⁴⁰The sons of Shobal; Alian, and Manahath, and Ebal, Shephi, and Onam. And the sons of Zibeon; Aiah, and Anah. ⁴¹The sons of Anah; Dishon. And the sons of Dishon; Amram, and Eshban, and Ithran, and Cheran. ⁴²The sons of Ezer; Bilhan, and Zavan, and Jakan. The sons of Dishan; Uz, and Aran. ⁴³Now these are the kings that reigned in the land of Edom before any king reigned over the children of Israel; Bela the son of Beor: and the name of his city was Dinhabah. ⁴⁴And when Bela was dead Jobab the son of Zera of Bozrah reigned in his stead. ⁴⁵And when Jobab was dead, Husham of the land of the Temanites reigned in his stead. ⁴⁶And when Husham was dead, Hadad the son of Bedad, who smote Midian in the field of Moab, reigned in his stead: and the name of his city was Avith. ⁴⁷And when Hadad was dead, Samlah of Masrekah reigned in his stead. ⁴⁸And when Samlah was dead, Shaul of Rehoboth by the river reigned in his stead. ⁴⁹And when Shaul was dead, Baal-hanan the son of Achbor reigned in his stead. ⁵⁰And when Baal-hanan was dead, Hadad reigned in his stead: and the name of his city was Pai; and his wife's name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, the daughter of Mezahab. ⁵¹Hadad died also. And the dukes of Edom were; duke Timna, duke Aliah, duke Jetheth, ⁵²Duke Aholibamah, duke Elah, duke Pinon, ⁵³Duke Kenaz, duke Teman, duke Mibzar, ⁵⁴Duke Magdiel, duke Iram. These are the dukes of Edom.

Chapter 2

¹These are the sons of Israel; Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun, ²Dan, Joseph, and Benjamin, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher. ³The sons of Judah; Er, and Onan, and Shelah: which three were born to him of the daughter of Shua the Canaanitess. And Er, the first-born of Judah, was evil in the sight of the LORD; and he slew him. ⁴And Tamar his daughter-in-law bore him Pharez and Zerah. All the sons of Judah were five. ⁵The sons of Pharez; Hezron, and Hamul. ⁶And the sons of Zerah; Zimri, and Ethan, and Heman, and Calcol, and Dara: five of them in all. ⁷And the sons of Carmi; Achar, the troubler of Israel, who transgressed in the thing accursed. ⁸And the sons of Ethan; Azariah. ⁹The sons also of Hezron, that were born to him; Jerahmeel, and Ram, and Chelubai. ¹⁰And Ram begat Amminadab; and Amminadab begat Nahshon, prince of the children of Judah; ¹¹And Nahshon begat Salma, and Salma begat Boaz, ¹²And Boaz begat Obed, and Obed begat Jesse, ¹³And Jesse begat his first-born Eliab, and Abinadab the second, and Shimma the third, ¹⁴Nethaneel the fourth, Raddai the fifth, ¹⁵Ozem the sixth, David the seventh: ¹⁶Whose sisters were Zeruiah, and Abigail. And the sons of Zeruiah; Abishai, and Joab, and Asahel, three. ¹⁷And Abigail bore Amasa: and the father of Amasa was Jether the Ishmaelite. ¹⁸And Caleb the son of Hezron begat children of Azubah his wife, and of Jerioth: her sons are these; Jesher, and Shobab, and Ardon. ¹⁹And when Azubah was dead, Caleb took to him Ephrath, who bore to him Hur, ²⁰And Hur begat Uri, and Uri begat Bezaleel. ²¹And afterward Hezron went in to the daughter of Machir the father of Gilead, whom he married when he was sixty years old; and she bore him Segub. ²²And Segub begat Jair, who had three and twenty cities in the land of Gilead. ²³And he took Geshur, and Aram, with the towns of Jair, from them, with Kenath and its towns, even sixty cities. All these belonged to the sons of Machir, the father of Gilead. ²⁴And after that Hezron was dead in Caleb-ephratah, then Abiah Hezron's wife bore him Ashur the father of Tekoa. ²⁵And the sons of Jerahmeel the first-born of Hezron were, Ram the first-born, and Bunah, and Oren, and Ozem, and Ahijah. ²⁶Jerahmeel had also another wife, whose name was Atarah; she was the mother of Onam. ²⁷And the sons of Ram the first-born of Jerahmeel were, Maaz, and Jamin, and Eker. ²⁸And the sons of Onam were, Shammai, and Jada. And the sons of Shammai; Nadab, and Abishur. ²⁹And the name of the wife of Abishur was Abihail; and she bore him Ahban, and Molid. ³⁰And the sons of Nadab; Seled, and Appaim: but Seled died without children. ³¹And the sons of Appaim; Ishi. And the sons of Ishi; Sheshan. And the children of Sheshan; Ahlai. ³²And the sons of Jada the brother of Shammai; Jether, and Jonathan: and Jether died without children. ³³And the sons of Jonathan; Peleth, and Zaza. These were the sons of Jerahmeel. ³⁴Now Sheshan had no sons, but daughters. And Sheshan had a servant, an Egyptian, whose name was Jarha. ³⁵And Sheshan gave his daughter to Jarha his servant for a wife; and she bore him Attai. ³⁶And Attai begat Nathan, and Nathan begat Zabad, ³⁷And Zabad begat Ephlal, and Ephlal begat Obed, ³⁸And Obed begat Jehu, and Jehu begat Azariah, ³⁹And Azariah begat Helez, and Helez begat Eleasah, ⁴⁰And Eleasah begat Sisamai, and Sisamai begat Shallum, ⁴¹And Shallum begat Jekamiah, and Jekamiah begat Elishama. ⁴²Now the sons of Caleb the brother of Jerahmeel were, Mesha his first-born, who was the father of Ziph; and the sons of Mareshah the father of Hebron. ⁴³And the sons of Hebron; Korah, and Tappuah, and Rekem, and Shema. ⁴⁴And Shema begat Raham, the father of Jorkoam: and Rekem begat Shammai. ⁴⁵And the son of Shammai was Maon: and Maon was the father of Beth-zur. ⁴⁶And Ephah, Caleb's concubine, bore Haran, and Moza, and Gazez: and Haran begat Gazez. ⁴⁷And the sons of Jahdai; Regem, and Jotham, and Geshan, and Pelet, and Ephah, and Shaaph. ⁴⁸Maachah, Caleb's concubine, bore Sheber, and Tirhanah. ⁴⁹She bore also Shaaph the father of Madmannah, Sheva the father of Machbenah, and the father of Gibea: and the daughter of Caleb was Achsah. ⁵⁰These were the sons of Caleb the son of Hur, the first-born of Ephratah; Shobal the father of Kirjath-jearim, ⁵¹Salma the father of Beth-lehem, Hareph the father of Beth-gader. ⁵²And Shobal the father of Kirjath-jearim had sons; Haroeh, and half of the Manahethites. ⁵³And the families of Kirjath-jearim; the Ithrites, and the Puhites, and the Shumathites, and the Mishraites; of them came the Zereathites, and the Eshtaulites. ⁵⁴The sons of Salma; Beth-lehem, and the Netophathites, Ataroth, the house of Joab, and half of the Menahethites, the Zorites. ⁵⁵And the families of the scribes who dwelt at Jabez; the Tirathites, the Shimeathites, and Suchathites. These are the Kenites that came of Hemath, the father of the house of Rechab.

Chapter 3

¹Now these were the sons of David, who were born to him in Hebron; the first-born Amnon, of Ahinoam the Jezreelitess; the second Daniel, of Abigail the Carmelitess: ²The third, Absalom the son of Maachah the daughter of Talmai king of Geshur: the fourth, Adonijah the son of Haggith: ³The fifth, Shephatiah of Abital: the sixth, Ithream by Eglah his wife. ⁴These six were born to him in Hebron; and there he reigned seven years and six months: and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty and three years. ⁵And these were born to him in Jerusalem; Shimea, and Shobab, and Nathan, and Solomon, four, of Bath-shua the daughter of Ammiel: ⁶Ibhar also, and Elishama, and Eliphelet, ⁷And Nogah, and Nepheg, and Japhia, ⁸And Elishama, and Eliada, and Eliphelet, nine. ⁹These were all the sons of David, besides the sons of the concubines, and Tamar their sister. ¹⁰And Solomon's son was Rehoboam, Abia his son, Asa his son, Jehoshaphat his son, ¹¹Joram his son, Ahaziah his son, Joash his son, ¹²Amaziah his son, Azariah his son, Jotham his son, ¹³Ahaz his son, Hezekiah his son, Manasseh his son, ¹⁴Amon his son, Josiah his son. ¹⁵And the sons of Josiah were, the first-born Johanan, the second Jehoiakim, the third Zedekiah, the fourth Shallum. ¹⁶And the sons of Jehoiakim; Jeconiah his son, Zedekiah his son. ¹⁷And the sons of Jeconiah; Assir, Salathiel his son. ¹⁸Malchiram also, and Pedaiah, and Shenazar, Jecamiah, Hoshama, and Nedabiah. ¹⁹And the sons of Pedaiah were, Zerubbabel, and Shimei: and the sons of Zerubbabel; Meshullam, and Hananiah, and Shelomith their sister: ²⁰And Hashubah, and Ohel, and Berechiah, and Hasadiah, and Jushab-hesed, five. ²¹And the sons of Hananiah; Pelatiah, and Jesaiah: the sons of Rephaiah, the sons of Arnan, the sons of Obadiah, the sons of Shechaniah. ²²And the sons of Shechaniah; Shemaiah; and the sons of Shemaiah; Hattush, and Igeal, and Bariah, and Neariah, and Shaphat, six. ²³And the sons of Neariah; Elioenai, and Hezekiah, and Azrikam, three. ²⁴And the sons of Elioenai were, Hodaiah, and Eliashib, and Pelaiah, and Akkub, and Johanan, and Delaiah, and Anani, seven.

Chapter 4

¹The sons of Judah; Pharez, Hezron, and Carmi, and Hur, and Shobal. ²And Reaiah the son of Shobal begat Jahath; and Jahath begat Ahumai, and Lahad. These are the families of the Zorathites. ³And these were of the father of Etam; Jezreel, and Ishma, and Idbash: and the name of their sister was Hazelelponi: ⁴And Penuel the father of Gedor, and Ezer the father of Hushah. These are the sons of Hur, the first-born of Ephratah, the father of Beth-lehem. ⁵And Ashur the father of Tekoa had two wives, Helah and Naarah. ⁶And Naarah bore him Ahuzam, and Hepher, and Temeni, and Haahashtari. These were the sons of Naarah. ⁷And the sons of Helah were, Zereth, and Jezoar, and Ethnan. ⁸And Coz begat Anub, and Zobebah, and the families of Aharhel the son of Harum. ⁹And Jabez was more honorable than his brethren: and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, Because I bore him with sorrow. ¹⁰And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that thou wouldst bless me indeed, and enlarge my border, and that thy hand might be with me, and that thou wouldst keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested. ¹¹And Chelub the brother of Shuah begat Mehir, who was the father of Eshton. ¹²And Eshton begat Beth-rapha, and Paseah, and Tehinnah the father of Ir-nahash. These are the men of Rechah. ¹³And the sons of Kenaz; Othniel, and Seraiah: and the sons of Othniel; Hathath. ¹⁴And Meonothai begat Ophrah: and Seraiah begat Joab, the father of the valley of Charashim; for they were artificers. ¹⁵And the sons of Caleb the son of Jephunneh; Iru, Elah, and Naam: and the sons of Elah, even Kenaz. ¹⁶And the sons of Jehaleleel; Ziph, and Ziphah, Tiria, and Asareel. ¹⁷And the sons of Ezra were, Jethur, and Mered, and Epher, and Jalon: and she bore Miriam, and Shammai, and Ishbah the father of Eshtemoa. ¹⁸And his wife Jehudijah bore Jered the father of Gedor, and Heber the father of Socho, and Jekuthiel the father of Zanoah. And these are the sons of Bithiah the daughter of Pharaoh whom Mered took. ¹⁹And the sons of his wife Hodiah the sister of Naham, the father of Keilah the Garmite, and Eshtemoa the Maachathite. ²⁰And the sons of Shimon were, Amnon, and Rinnah, Ben-hanan, and Tilon. And the sons of Ishi were, Zoheth, and Benzoheth. ²¹The sons of Shelah the son of Judah were, Er the father of Lecah, and Laadah the father of Mareshah, and the families of the house of them that wrought fine linen, of the house of Ashbea, ²²And Jokim, and the men of Chozeba, and Joash, and Saraph, who had the dominion in Moab, and Jashubi-lehem. And these are ancient things. ²³These were the potters, and those that dwelt among plants and hedges: there they dwelt with the king for his work. ²⁴The sons of Simeon were Nemuel, and Jamin, Jarib, Zerah, and Shaul: ²⁵Shallum his son, Mibsam his son, Mishma his son. ²⁶And the sons of Mishma; Hamuel his son, Zacchur his son, Shimei his son. ²⁷And Shimei had sixteen sons and six daughters; but his brethren had not many children, neither did all their family multiply, like the children of Judah. ²⁸And they dwelt at Beer-sheba, and Moladah, and Hazar-shual, ²⁹And at Bilhah, and at Ezem, and at Tolad, ³⁰And at Bethuel, and at Hormah, and at Ziklag, ³¹And at Beth-marcaboth, and Hazar-susim, and at Beth-birei, and at Shaaraim. These were their cities to the reign of David. ³²And their villages were, Etam, and Ain, Rimmon, and Tochen, and Ashan, five cities: ³³And all their villages that were around the same cities to Baal. These were their habitations, and their genealogy. ³⁴And Meshobab, and Jamlech, and Joshah the son of Amaziah, ³⁵And Joel, and Jehu the son of Josibiah, the son of Seraiah, the son of Asiel, ³⁶And Elioenai, and Jaakobah, and Jeshohaiah, and Asaiah, and Adiel, and Jesimiel, and Benaiah, ³⁷And Ziza the son of Shiphi, the son of Allon, the son of Jedaiah, the son of Shimri, the son of Shemaiah; ³⁸These mentioned by their names were princes in their families: and the house of their fathers increased greatly. ³⁹And they went to the entrance of Gedor, even to the east side of the valley, to seek pasture for their flocks. ⁴⁰And they found rich pasture and good, and the land was wide, and quiet, and peaceable; for they of Ham had dwelt there of old. ⁴¹And these written by name came in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and smote their tents, and the habitations that were found there, and destroyed them utterly to this day, and dwelt in their room: because there was pasture there for their flocks. ⁴²And some of them, even of the sons of Simeon, five hundred men, went to mount Seir, having for their captains Pelatiah, and Neariah, and Rephaiah, and Uzziel, the sons of Ishi. ⁴³And they smote the rest of the Amalekites that had escaped, and have dwelt there to this day.

Chapter 5

¹Now the sons of Reuben the first-born of Israel, (for he was the first-born; but, forasmuch as he defiled his father's bed, his birth-right was given to the sons of Joseph the son of Israel: and the genealogy is not to be reckoned after the birth-right. ²For Judah prevailed above his brethren, and of him came the chief ruler; but the birth-right was Joseph's:) ³The sons, I say, of Reuben the first-born of Israel were, Hanoch, and Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi. ⁴The sons of Joel; Shemaiah his son, Gog his son, Shimei his son, ⁵Micah his son, Reaia his son, Baal his son, ⁶Beerah his son, whom Tilgath-pilneser king of Assyria carried away captive: he was prince of the Reubenites. ⁷And his brethren by their families, when the genealogy of their generations was reckoned, were the chief, Jeiel, and Zechariah, ⁸And Bela the son of Azaz, the son of Shema, the son of Joel, who dwelt in Aroer, even to Nebo, and Baal-meon: ⁹And eastward he inhabited to the entrance of the wilderness from the river Euphrates: because their cattle were multiplied in the land of Gilead. ¹⁰And in the days of Saul they made war with the Hagarites, who fell by their hand: and they dwelt in their tents throughout all the east land of Gilead. ¹¹And the children of Gad dwelt over against them, in the land of Bashan to Salcah: ¹²Joel the chief, and Shapham the next, and Jaanai, and Shaphat in Bashan. ¹³And their brethren of the house of their fathers were, Michael, and Meshullam, and Sheba, and Jorai, and Jachan, and Zia, and Heber, seven. ¹⁴These are the children of Abihail the son of Huri, the son of Jaroah, the son of Gilead, the son of Michael, the son of Jeshishai, the son of Jahdo, the son of Buz; ¹⁵Ahi the son of Abdiel, the son of Guni, chief of the house of their fathers. ¹⁶And they dwelt in Gilead in Bashan, and in its towns, and in all the suburbs of Sharon, upon their borders. ¹⁷All these were reckoned by genealogies in the days of Jotham king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam king of Israel. ¹⁸The sons of Reuben, and the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh, of valiant men, men able to bear buckler and sword, and to shoot with bow, and skillful in war, were four and forty thousand seven hundred and sixty, that went out to the war. ¹⁹And they made war with the Hagarites, with Jetur, and Nephish, and Nodab. ²⁰And they were helped against them, and the Hagarites were delivered into their hand, and all that were with them: for they cried to God in the battle, and he was entreated by them; because they put their trust in him. ²¹And they took away their cattle; of their camels fifty thousand, and of sheep two hundred and fifty thousand, and of asses two thousand, and of men a hundred thousand. ²²For there fell down many slain, because the war was of God. And they dwelt in their steads until the captivity. ²³And the children of the half tribe of Manasseh dwelt in the land: they increased from Bashan to Baal-hermon and Senir, and to mount Hermon. ²⁴And these were the heads of the house of their fathers, even Epher, and Ishi, and Eliel, and Azriel, and Jeremiah, and Hodaviah, and Jahdiel, mighty men of valor, famous men, and heads of the house of their fathers. ²⁵And they transgressed against the God of their fathers, and went astray after the gods of the people of the land, whom God destroyed before them. ²⁶And the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria, and the spirit of Tilgath-pilneser king of Assyria, and he carried them away, even the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh, and brought them to Halah, and Habor, and Hara, and to the river Gozan, to this day.

Chapter 6

¹The sons of Levi; Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. ²And the sons of Kohath; Amram, Izhar, and Hebron, and Uzziel. ³And the children of Amram; Aaron, and Moses, and Miriam. The sons also of Aaron; Nadab, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. ⁴Eleazar begat Phinehas, Phinehas begat Abishua, ⁵And Abishua begat Bukki, and Bukki begat Uzzi, ⁶And Uzzi begat Zerahiah, and Zerahiah begat Meraioth, ⁷Meraioth begat Amariah, and Amariah begat Ahitub, ⁸And Ahitub begat Zadok, and Zadok begat Ahimaaz, ⁹And Ahimaaz begat Azariah, and Azariah begat Johanan, ¹⁰And Johanan begat Azariah, (he it is that executed the priest's office in the temple that Solomon built in Jerusalem:) ¹¹And Azariah begat Amariah, and Amariah begat Ahitub, ¹²And Ahitub begat Zadok, and Zadok begat Shallum, ¹³And Shallum begat Hilkiah, and Hilkiah begat Azariah, ¹⁴And Azariah begat Seraiah, and Seraiah begat Jehozadak, ¹⁵And Jehozadak went into captivity, when the LORD carried away Judah and Jerusalem by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar. ¹⁶The sons of Levi; Gershom, Kohath, and Merari. ¹⁷And these are the names of the sons of Gershom; Libni, and Shimei. ¹⁸And the sons of Kohath were, Amram, and Izhar, and Hebron, and Uzziel. ¹⁹The sons of Merari; Mahli, and Mushi. And these are the families of the Levites according to their fathers. ²⁰Of Gershom; Libni his son, Jahath his son, Zimmah his son, ²¹Joah his son, Iddo his son, Zerah his son, Jeaterai his son. ²²The sons of Kohath; Amminadab his son, Korah his son, Assir his son, ²³Elkanah his son, and Ebiasaph his son, and Assir his son, ²⁴Tahath his son, Uriel his son, Uzziah his son, and Shaul his son. ²⁵And the sons of Elkanah; Amasai, and Ahimoth. ²⁶As for Elkanah: the sons of Elkanah; Zophai his son, and Nahath his son, ²⁷Eliab his son, Jeroham his son, Elkanah his son. ²⁸And the sons of Samuel; the first-born Vashni, and Abiah. ²⁹The sons of Merari; Mahli, Libni his son, Shimei his son, Uzza his son, ³⁰Shimea his son, Haggiah his son, Asaiah his son. ³¹And these are they whom David set over the service of song in the house of the LORD, after that the ark had rest. ³²And they ministered before the dwelling-place of the tabernacle of the congregation with singing, until Solomon had built the house of the LORD in Jerusalem: and then they waited on their office, according to their order. ³³And these are they that waited with their children. Of the sons of the Kohathites: Heman a singer, the son of Joel, the son of Shemuel, ³⁴The son of Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Eliel, the son of Toah, ³⁵The son of Zuph, the son of Elkanah, the son of Mahath, the son of Amasai, ³⁶The son of Elkanah, the son of Joel, the son of Azariah, the son of Zephaniah, ³⁷The son of Tahath, the son of Assir, the son of Ebiasaph, the son of Korah, ³⁸The son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, the son of Israel. ³⁹And his brother Asaph, who stood on his right hand, even Asaph the son of Berechiah, the son of Shimea, ⁴⁰The son of Michael, the son of Baaseiah, the son of Malchiah, ⁴¹The son of Ethni, the son of Zerah, the son of Adaiah, ⁴²The son of Ethan, the son of Zimmah, the son of Shimei, ⁴³The son of Jahath, the son of Gershom, the son of Levi. ⁴⁴And their brethren the sons of Merari stood on the left hand: Ethan the son of Kishi, the son of Abdi, the son of Malluch, ⁴⁵The son of Hashabiah, the son of Amaziah, the son of Hilkiah, ⁴⁶The son of Amzi, the son of Bani, the son of Shamer, ⁴⁷The son of Mahli, the son of Mushi, the son of Merari, the son of Levi. ⁴⁸Their brethren also the Levites were appointed to all manner of service of the tabernacle of the house of God. ⁴⁹But Aaron and his sons offered upon the altar of the burnt-offering, and on the altar of incense, and were appointed for all the work of the place most holy, and to make an atonement for Israel, according to all that Moses the servant of God had commanded. ⁵⁰And these are the sons of Aaron; Eleazar his son, Phinehas his son, Abishua his son, ⁵¹Bukki his son, Uzzi his son, Zerahiah his son, ⁵²Meraioth his son, Amariah his son, Ahitub his son, ⁵³Zadok his son, Ahimaaz his son. ⁵⁴Now these are their dwelling-places throughout their castles in their limits, of the sons of Aaron, of the families of the Kohathites: for theirs was the lot. ⁵⁵And they gave them Hebron in the land of Judah, and its suburbs around it. ⁵⁶But the fields of the city, and its villages, they gave to Caleb the son of Jephunneh. ⁵⁷And to the sons of Aaron they gave the cities of Judah, namely, Hebron, the city of refuge, and Libnah with its suburbs, and Jattir, and Eshtemoa, with their suburbs, ⁵⁸And Hilen with its suburbs, Debir with its suburbs, ⁵⁹And Ashan with its suburbs, and Beth-shemesh with its suburbs: ⁶⁰And out of the tribe of Benjamin; Geba with its suburbs, and Alemeth with its suburbs, and Anathoth with its suburbs. All their cities throughout their families were thirteen cities. ⁶¹And to the sons of Kohath who were left of the family of that tribe, were cities given out of the half tribe, namely, out of the half tribe of Manasseh, by lot, ten cities. ⁶²And to the sons of Gershom throughout their families were given out of the tribe of Issachar, and out of the tribe of Asher, and out of the tribe of Naphtali, and out of the tribe of Manasseh in Bashan, thirteen cities. ⁶³To the sons of Merari were given by lot, throughout their families, out of the tribe of Reuben, and out of the tribe of Gad, and out of the tribe of Zebulun, twelve cities. ⁶⁴And the children of Israel gave to the Levites these cities with their suburbs. ⁶⁵And they gave by lot out of the tribe of the children of Judah, and out of the tribe of the children of Simeon, and out of the tribe of the children of Benjamin, these cities, which are called by their names. ⁶⁶And the residue of the families of the sons of Kohath had cities of their borders out of the tribe of Ephraim. ⁶⁷And they gave to them, of the cities of refuge, Shechem in mount Ephraim with its suburbs; they gave also Gezer with its suburbs, ⁶⁸And Jokmeam with its suburbs, and Beth-horon with its suburbs, ⁶⁹And Ajalon with its suburbs, and Gath-rimmon with its suburbs: ⁷⁰And out of the half tribe of Manasseh; Aner with its suburbs, and Bileam with its suburbs, for the family of the remnant of the sons of Kohath. ⁷¹To the sons of Gershom were given out of the family of the half tribe of Manasseh, Golan in Bashan with its suburbs, and Ashtaroth with its suburbs: ⁷²And out of the tribe of Issachar; Kedesh with its suburbs, Daberath with its suburbs, ⁷³And Ramoth with its suburbs, and Anem with its suburbs: ⁷⁴And out of the tribe of Asher; Mashal with its suburbs, and Abdon with its suburbs, ⁷⁵And Hukok with its suburbs, and Rehob with its suburbs: ⁷⁶And out of the tribe of Naphtali: Kedesh in Galilee with its suburbs, and Hammon with its suburbs, and Kirjathaim with its suburbs. ⁷⁷To the rest of the children of Merari were given out of the tribe of Zebulun, Rimmon with its suburbs, Tabor with its suburbs: ⁷⁸And on the other side of Jordan by Jericho, on the east side of Jordan, were given them out of the tribe of Reuben, Bezer in the wilderness with its suburbs, and Jahzah with its suburbs, ⁷⁹Kedemoth also with its suburbs, and Mephaath with its suburbs: ⁸⁰And out of the tribe of Gad; Ramoth in Gilead with its suburbs, and Mahanaim with its suburbs, ⁸¹And Heshbon with its suburbs, and Jazer with its suburbs.

Chapter 7

¹Now the sons of Issachar, were, Tola, and Puah, Jashub, and Shimron, four. ²And the sons of Tola; Uzzi, and Rephaiah, and Jeriel, and Jahmai, and Jibsam, and Shemuel, heads of their father's house, to wit, of Tola: they were valiant men of might in their generations; whose number was in the days of David two and twenty thousand and six hundred. ³And the sons of Uzzi; Izrahiah: and the sons of Izrahiah; Michael, and Obadiah, and Joel, Ishaiah, five: all of them chief men. ⁴And with them, by their generations, after the house of their fathers, were bands of soldiers for war, six and thirty thousand men: for they had many wives and sons. ⁵And their brethren among all the families of Issachar were valiant men of might, reckoned in all by their genealogies eighty and seven thousand. ⁶The sons of Benjamin; Bela, and Becher, and Jediael, three. ⁷And the sons of Bela; Ezbon, and Uzzi, and Uzziel, and Jerimoth, and Iri, five; heads of the house of their fathers, mighty men of valor; and were reckoned by their genealogies twenty and two thousand and thirty and four. ⁸And the sons of Becher; Zemira, and Joash, and Eliezer, and Elioenai, and Omri, and Jerimoth, and Abiah, and Anathoth, and Alameth. All these are the sons of Becher. ⁹And the number of them, after their genealogy by their generations, heads of the house of their fathers, mighty men of valor, was twenty thousand and two hundred. ¹⁰The sons also of Jediael; Bilhan: and the sons of Bilhan; Jeush, and Benjamin, and Ehud, and Chenaanah, and Zethan, and Tharshish, and Ahishahar. ¹¹All these the sons of Jediael, by the heads of their fathers, mighty men of valor, were seventeen thousand and two hundred soldiers, fit to go out for war and battle. ¹²Shuppim also, and Huppim, the children of Ir, and Hushim, the sons of Aher. ¹³The sons of Naphtali; Jahziel, and Guni, and Jezer, and Shallum, the sons of Bilhah. ¹⁴The sons of Manasseh; Ashriel, whom she bore: (but his concubine the Aramitess bore Machir the father of Gilead: ¹⁵And Machir took for a wife the sister of Huppim and Shuppim, whose sister's name was Maachah;) and the name of the second was Zelophehad: and Zelophehad had daughters. ¹⁶And Maachah the wife of Machir bore a son, and she called his name Peresh; and the name of his brother was Sheresh; and his sons were Ulam, and Rakem. ¹⁷And the sons of Ulam; Bedan. These were the sons of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh. ¹⁸And his sister Hammoleketh bore Ishod, and Abiezer, and Mahalah. ¹⁹And the sons of Shemida were, Ahian, and Shechem, and Likhi, and Aniam. ²⁰And the sons of Ephraim; Shuthelah, and Bered his son, and Tahath his son, and Eladah his son, and Tahath his son, ²¹And Zabad his son, and Shuthelah his son, and Ezer, and Elead, whom the men of Gath that were born in that land slew, because they came down to take away their cattle. ²²And Ephraim their father mourned many days, and his brethren came to comfort him. ²³And when he went in to his wife, she conceived and bore a son, and he called his name Beriah, because it went evil with his house. ²⁴(And his daughter was Sherah, who built Beth-horon the nether, and the upper, and Uzzen-sherah.) ²⁵And Rephah was his son, also Resheph, and Telah his son, and Tahan his son, ²⁶Laadan his son, Ammihud his son, Elishama his son, ²⁷Non his son, Jehoshua his son. ²⁸And their possessions and habitations were, Beth-el, and its towns, and eastward Naaram, and westward Gezer, with its towns; Shechem also and its towns, to Gaza and its towns: ²⁹And by the borders of the children of Manasseh, Beth-shean and its towns, Taanach and its towns, Megiddo and its towns, Dor and its towns. In these dwelt the children of Joseph the son of Israel. ³⁰The sons of Asher; Imnah, and Isuah, and Ishua, and Beriah, and Serah their sister. ³¹And the sons of Beriah; Heber, and Malchiel, who is the father of Birzavith. ³²And Heber begat Japhlet, and Shomer, and Hotham, and Shua their sister. ³³And the sons of Japhlet; Pasach, and Bimhal, and Ashvath. These are the children of Japhlet. ³⁴And the sons of Shamer; Ahi, and Rohgah, Jehubbah, and Aram. ³⁵And the sons of his brother Helem; Zophah, and Imna, and Shelesh, and Amal. ³⁶The sons of Zophah; Suah, and Harnepher, and Shual, and Beri, and Imrah, ³⁷Bezer, and Hod, and Shamma, and Shilshah, and Ithran, and Beera. ³⁸And the sons of Jether; Jephunneh, and Pispah, and Ara. ³⁹And the sons of Ulla; Arah, and Haniel, and Rezia. ⁴⁰All these were the children of Asher, heads of their father's house, choice and mighty men of valor, chief of the princes. And the number throughout the genealogy of them that were fit for war and for battle was twenty and six thousand men.

Chapter 8

¹Now Benjamin begat Bela his first-born, Ashbel the second, and Aharah the third. ²Nohah the fourth, and Rapha the fifth. ³And the sons of Bela were Addar, and Gera, and Abihud, ⁴And Abishua, and Naaman, and Ahoah, ⁵And Gera, and Shephuphan, and Huram. ⁶And these are the sons of Ehud: these are the heads of the fathers of the inhabitants of Geba, and they removed them to Manahath: ⁷And Naaman, and Ahiah, and Gera, he removed them, and begat Uzza, and Ahihud. ⁸And Shaharaim begat children in the country of Moab, after he had sent them away; Hushim and Baara were his wives. ⁹And he begat of Hodesh his wife, Jobab, and Zibia, and Mesha, and Malcham, ¹⁰And Jeuz, and Shachia, and Mirma. These were his sons, heads of the fathers. ¹¹And of Hushim he begat Ahitub, and Elpaal. ¹²The sons of Elpaal; Eber, and Misham, and Shamed, who built Ono, and Lod, with its town: ¹³Beriah also, and Shema, who were heads of the fathers of the inhabitants of Ajalon, who drove away the inhabitants of Gath: ¹⁴And Ahio, Shashak, and Jeremoth, ¹⁵And Zebadiah, and Arad, and Ader, ¹⁶And Michael, and Ispah, and Joha, the sons of Beriah; ¹⁷And Zebadiah, and Meshullam, and Hezeki, and Heber, ¹⁸Ishmerai also, and Jezliah, and Jobab, the sons of Elpaal; ¹⁹And Jakim, and Zichri, and Zabdi, ²⁰And Elienai, and Zilthai, and Eliel, ²¹And Adaiah, and Beraiah, and Shimrath, the sons of Shimhi; ²²And Ishpan, and Heber, and Eliel, ²³And Abdon, and Zichri, and Hanan, ²⁴And Hananiah, and Elam, and Antothijah, ²⁵And Iphedeiah, and Penuel, the sons of Shashak; ²⁶And Shamsherai, and Shehariah, and Athaliah, ²⁷And Jaresiah, and Eliah, and Zichri, the sons of Jeroham. ²⁸These were heads of the fathers, by their generations, chief men. These dwelt in Jerusalem. ²⁹And at Gibeon dwelt the father of Gibeon; whose wife's name was Maachah: ³⁰And his first-born son Abdon, and Zur, and Kish, and Baal, and Nadab, ³¹And Gedor, and Ahio, and Zacher. ³²And Mikloth begat Shimeah. And these also dwelt with their brethren in Jerusalem, over against them. ³³And Ner begat Kish, and Kish begat Saul, and Saul begat Jonathan, and Malchi-shua, and Abinadab, and Esh-baal. ³⁴And the son of Jonathan was Merib-baal; and Merib-baal begat Micah. ³⁵And the sons of Micah were, Pithon, and Melech, and Tarea, and Ahaz. ³⁶And Ahaz begat Jehoadah; and Jehoadah begat Alemeth, and Azmaveth, and Zimri; and Zimri begat Moza, ³⁷And Moza begat Bineah: Rapha was his son, Eleasah his son, Azel his son: ³⁸And Azel had six sons, whose names are these, Azrikam, Bocheru, and Ishmael, and Sheariah, and Obadiah, and Hanan. All these were the sons of Azel. ³⁹And the sons of Eshek his brother were, Ulam his first-born, Jehush the second, and Eliphelet the third. ⁴⁰And the sons of Ulam were mighty men of valor, archers, and had many sons, and sons' sons a hundred and fifty. All these are of the sons of Benjamin.

Chapter 9

¹So all Israel were reckoned by genealogies; and behold, they were written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah, who were carried away to Babylon for their transgression. ²Now the first inhabitants that dwelt in their possessions in their cities were, the Israelites, the priests, Levites, and the Nethinims. ³And in Jerusalem dwelt of the children of Judah, and of the children of Benjamin, and of the children of Ephraim, and Manasseh; ⁴Uthai the son of Ammihud, the son of Omri, the son of Imri, the son of Bani, of the children of Pharez the son of Judah. ⁵And of the Shilonites; Asaiah the first-born, and his sons. ⁶And of the sons of Zerah; Jeuel, and their brethren, six hundred and ninety. ⁷And of the sons of Benjamin; Sallu the son of Meshullam, the son of Hodaviah, the son of Hasenuah, ⁸And Ibneiah the son of Jeroham, and Elah the son of Uzzi, the son of Michri, and Meshullam the son of Shephatiah, the son of Reuel, the son of Ibnijah; ⁹And their brethren, according to their generations, nine hundred and fifty and six. All these men were chief of the fathers in the house of their fathers. ¹⁰And of the priests; Jedaiah, and Jehoiarib, and Jachin, ¹¹And Azariah the son of Hilkiah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Zadok, the son of Meraioth, the son of Ahitub, the ruler of the house of God; ¹²And Adaiah the son of Jeroham, the son of Pashur, the son of Malchijah, and Maasiai the son of Adiel, the son of Jahzerah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Meshillemith, the son of Immer; ¹³And their brethren, heads of the house of their fathers, a thousand and seven hundred and sixty; very able men for the work of the service of the house of God. ¹⁴And of the Levites; Shemaiah the son of Hasshub, the son of Azrikam, the son of Hashabiah, of the sons of Merari; ¹⁵And Bakbakkar, Heresh, and Galal, and Mattaniah the son of Micah, the son of Zichri, the son of Asaph; ¹⁶And Obadiah the son of Shemaiah, the son of Galal, the son of Jeduthun, and Berechiah the son of Asa, the son of Elkanah, that dwelt in the villages of the Netophathites. ¹⁷And the porters were Shallum, and Akkub, and Talmon, and Ahiman, and their brethren: Shallum was the chief; ¹⁸Who hitherto waited in the king's gate eastward: they were porters in the companies of the children of Levi. ¹⁹And Shallum the son of Kore, the son of Ebiasaph, the son of Korah, and his brethren of the house of his father, the Korahites, were over the work of the service, keepers of the gates of the tabernacle: and their fathers, being over the host of the LORD, were keepers of the entry. ²⁰And Phinehas the son of Eleazar was the ruler over them in time past, and the LORD was with him. ²¹And Zechariah the son of Meshelemiah was porter of the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. ²²All these who were chosen to be porters in the gates were two hundred and twelve. These were reckoned by their genealogy in their villages, whom David and Samuel the seer ordained in their set office. ²³So they and their children had the oversight of the gates of the house of the LORD, namely, the house of the tabernacle, by wards. ²⁴In four quarters were the porters, towards the east, west, north and south. ²⁵And their brethren, who were in their villages, were to come after seven days from time to time with them. ²⁶For these Levites, the four chief porters, were in their set office, and were over the chambers and treasuries of the house of God. ²⁷And they lodged about the house of God, because the charge was upon them, and the opening of it every morning pertained to them. ²⁸And certain of them had the charge of the ministering vessels, that they should bring them in and out by number. ²⁹Some of them also were appointed to oversee the vessels, and all the instruments of the sanctuary, and the fine flour, and the wine, and the oil, and the frankincense, and the spices. ³⁰And some of the sons of the priests made the ointment of the spices. ³¹And Mattithiah, one of the Levites, who was the first-born of Shallum the Korahite, had the set office over the things that were made in the pans. ³²And others of their brethren, of the sons of the Kohathites, were over the show-bread, to prepare it every sabbath. ³³And these are the singers, chief of the fathers of the Levites, who remaining in the chambers were free: for they were employed in that work day and night. ³⁴These chief fathers of the Levites were chief throughout their generations; these dwelt at Jerusalem. ³⁵And in Gibeon dwelt the father of Gibeon, Jehiel, whose wife's name was Maachah: ³⁶And his first-born son Abdon, then Zur, and Kish, and Baal, and Ner, and Nadab, ³⁷And Gedor, and Ahio, and Zechariah, and Mikloth. ³⁸And Mikloth begat Shimeam. And they also dwelt with their brethren at Jerusalem, over against their brethren. ³⁹And Ner begat Kish; and Kish begat Saul; and Saul begat Jonathan, and Malchi-shua, and Abinadab, and Esh-baal. ⁴⁰And the son of Jonathan was Merib-baal: and Merib-baal begat Micah. ⁴¹And the sons of Micah were, Pithon, and Melech, and Tahrea, and Ahaz. ⁴²And Ahaz begat Jarah; and Jarah begat Alemeth, and Azmaveth, and Zimri; and Zimri begat Moza; ⁴³And Moza begat Binea; and Rephaiah his son, Eleasah his son, Azel his son. ⁴⁴And Azel had six sons, whose names are these, Azrikam, Bocheru, and Ishmael, and Sheariah, and Obadiah, and Hanan: these were the sons of Azel.

Chapter 10

¹Now the Philistines fought against Israel; and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell down slain in mount Gilboa. ²And the Philistines followed hard after Saul, and after his sons; and the Philistines slew Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Malchi-shua, the sons of Saul. ³And the battle prevailed against Saul, and the archers hit him, and he was wounded by the archers. ⁴Then said Saul to his armor-bearer, Draw thy sword, and thrust me through therewith; lest these uncircumcised come and abuse me. But his armor-bearer would not; for he was greatly afraid. So Saul took a sword, and fell upon it. ⁵And when his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he fell likewise on the sword, and died. ⁶So Saul died, and his three sons, and all his house died together. ⁷And when all the men of Israel that were in the valley saw that they fled, and that Saul and his sons were dead, then they forsook their cities, and fled: and the Philistines came and dwelt in them. ⁸And it came to pass on the morrow, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, that they found Saul and his sons fallen in mount Gilboa. ⁹And when they had stripped him, they took his head, and his armor, and sent into the land of the Philistines around, to carry tidings to their idols, and to the people. ¹⁰And they put his armor in the house of their gods, and fastened his head in the temple of Dagon. ¹¹And when all Jabesh-gilead heard all that the Philistines had done to Saul, ¹²They arose, all the valiant men, and took away the body of Saul, and the bodies of his sons, and brought them to Jabesh, and buried their bones under the oak in Jabesh, and fasted seven days. ¹³So Saul died for his transgression which he committed against the LORD, even against the word of the LORD, which he kept not, and also for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to inquire of it; ¹⁴And inquired not of the LORD: therefore he slew him, and turned the kingdom to David the son of Jesse.

Chapter 11

¹Then all Israel gathered themselves to David to Hebron, saying, Behold, we are thy bone and thy flesh. ²And moreover in time past, even when Saul was king, thou wast he that leddest out and broughtest in Israel: and the LORD thy God said to thee, Thou shalt feed my people Israel, and thou shalt be ruler over my people Israel. ³Therefore came all the elders of Israel to the king to Hebron; and David made a covenant with them in Hebron before the LORD; and they anointed David king over Israel, according to the word of the LORD by Samuel. ⁴And David and all Israel went to Jerusalem, which is Jebus; where the Jebusites were, the inhabitants of the land. ⁵And the inhabitants of Jebus said to David, Thou shalt not come hither. Nevertheless David took the castle of Zion, which is the city of David. ⁶And David said, Whoever smiteth the Jebusites first shall be chief and captain. So Joab the son of Zeruiah went up first, and was chief. ⁷And David dwelt in the castle; therefore they called it, The city of David. ⁸And he built the city around, even from Millo around: and Joab repaired the rest of the city. ⁹So David became greater and greater: for the LORD of hosts was with him. ¹⁰These also are the chief of the mighty men whom David had, who strengthened themselves with him in his kingdom, and with all Israel, to make him king according to the word of the LORD concerning Israel. ¹¹And this is the number of the mighty men whom David had; Jashobeam a Hachmonite, the chief of the captains: he lifted his spear against three hundred slain by him at one time. ¹²And after him was Eleazar the son of Dodo, the Ahohite, who was one of the three mighties. ¹³He was with David at Pas-dammim, and there the Philistines were gathered to battle, where was a parcel of ground full of barley; and the people fled from before the Philistines. ¹⁴And they set themselves in the midst of that parcel, and delivered it, and slew the Philistines; and the LORD saved them by a great deliverance. ¹⁵Now three of the thirty captains went down to the rock to David, into the cave of Adullam; and the host of the Philistines encamped in the valley of Rephaim. ¹⁶And David was then in the hold, and the Philistines' garrison was then at Beth-lehem. ¹⁷And David longed, and said, Oh that one would give me drink of the water of the well of Beth-lehem, that is at the gate! ¹⁸And the three broke through the host of the Philistines, and drew water out of the well of Beth-lehem, that was by the gate, and took it, and brought it to David: but David would not drink of it, but poured it out to the LORD, ¹⁹And said, My God forbid it me, that I should do this thing: shall I drink the blood of these men that have put their lives in jeopardy? for with the jeopardy of their lives they brought it. Therefore he would not drink it. These things did these three mightiest. ²⁰And Abishai the brother of Joab, he was chief of the three: for lifting his spear against three hundred, he slew them, and had a name among the three. ²¹Of the three, he was more honorable than the two; for he was their captain: but he attained not to the first three. ²²Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man of Kabzeel, who had done many acts; he slew two lion-like men of Moab: also he went down and slew a lion in a pit in a snowy day. ²³And he slew an Egyptian, a man of great stature, five cubits high; and in the Egyptian's hand was a spear like a weaver's beam; and he went down to him with a staff, and plucked the spear out of the Egyptian's hand, and slew him with his own spear. ²⁴These things did Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and had the name among the three mighties. ²⁵Behold, he was honorable among the thirty, but attained not to the first three: and David set him over his guard. ²⁶Also the valiant men of the armies were, Asahel the brother of Joab, Elhanan the son of Dodo of Beth-lehem, ²⁷Shammoth the Harorite, Helez the Pelonite, ²⁸Ira the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite, Abiezer the Antothite, ²⁹Sibbecai the Hushathite, Ilai the Ahohite, ³⁰Maharai the Netophathite, Heled the son of Baanah the Netophathite, ³¹Ithai the son of Ribai of Gibeah, that pertained to the children of Benjamin, Benaiah the Pirathonite, ³²Hurai of the brooks of Gaash, Abiel the Arbathite, ³³Azmaveth the Baharumite, Eliahba the Shaalbonite, ³⁴The sons of Hashem the Gizonite, Jonathan the son of Shage the Hararite, ³⁵Ahiam the son of Sacar the Hararite, Eliphel the son of Ur, ³⁶Hepher the Mecherathite, Ahijah the Pelonite, ³⁷Hezro the Carmelite, Naarai the son of Ezbai, ³⁸Joel the brother of Nathan, Mibhar the son of Haggeri, ³⁹Zelek the Ammonite, Naharai the Berothite, the armor-bearer of Joab the son of Zeruiah, ⁴⁰Ira the Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite, ⁴¹Uriah the Hittite, Zabad the son of Ahlai, ⁴²Adina the son of Shiza the Reubenite, a captain of the Reubenites, and thirty with him, ⁴³Hanan the son of Maachah, and Joshaphat the Mithnite, ⁴⁴Uzzia the Ashterathite, Shama and Jehiel the sons of Hothan the Aroerite, ⁴⁵Jediael the son of Shimri, and Joha his brother, the Tizite, ⁴⁶Eliel the Mehavite, and Jeribai, and Joshaviah, the sons of Elnaam, and Ithmah the Moabite, ⁴⁷Eliel, and Obed, and Jasiel the Mesobaite.

Chapter 12

¹Now these are they that came to David to Ziklag, while he yet kept himself close because of Saul the son of Kish: and they were among the mighty men, helpers of the war. ²They were armed with bows, and could use both the right hand and the left in hurling stones, and shooting arrows from a bow, even of Saul's brethren of Benjamin. ³The chief was Ahiezer, then Joash, the sons of Shemaah the Gibeathite; and Jeziel, and Pelet, the sons of Azmaveth; and Berachah, and Jehu the Antothite, ⁴And Ismaiah the Gibeonite, a mighty man among the thirty, and over the thirty; and Jeremiah, and Jahaziel, and Johanan, and Josabad the Gederathite, ⁵Eluzai, and Jerimoth, and Bealiah, and Shemariah, and Shephatiah the Haruphite, ⁶Elkanah, and Jesiah, and Azareel, and Joezer, and Jashobeam, the Korhites. ⁷And Joelah, and Zebadiah, the sons of Jeroham of Gedor. ⁸And of the Gadites there separated themselves to David in the hold in the wilderness men of might, and men of war fit for the battle, that could handle shield and buckler, whose faces were like the faces of lions, and were as swift as the roes upon the mountains; ⁹Ezer the first, Obadiah the second, Eliab the third, ¹⁰Mishmannah the fourth, Jeremiah the fifth, ¹¹Attai the sixth, Eliel the seventh, ¹²Johanan the eighth, Elzabad the ninth, ¹³Jeremiah the tenth, Machbanai the eleventh. ¹⁴These were of the sons of Gad, captains of the host: one of the least was over a hundred, and the greatest over a thousand. ¹⁵These are they that went over Jordan in the first month, when it had overflowed all its banks; and they put to flight all them of the valleys, both towards the east, and towards the west. ¹⁶And there came of the children of Benjamin and Judah to the hold to David. ¹⁷And David went out to meet them, and answered and said to them, If ye have come peaceably to me to help me, my heart shall be knit to you: but if ye have come to betray me to my enemies, seeing there is no wrong in my hands, the God of our fathers look on it, and rebuke it. ¹⁸Then the spirit came upon Amasai, who was chief of the captains, and he said, Thine are we, David, and on thy side, thou son of Jesse: peace, peace be to thee, and peace be to thy helpers; for thy God helpeth thee. Then David received them, and made them captains of the band. ¹⁹And there fell some of Manasseh to David, when he came with the Philistines against Saul to battle: but they helped them not: for the lords of the Philistines upon advisement sent him away, saying, He will fall to his master Saul to the jeopardy of our heads. ²⁰And as he went to Ziklag, there fell to him of Manasseh, Adnah, and Jozabad, and Jediael, and Michael, and Jozabad, and Elihu, and Zilthai, captains of the thousands that were of Manasseh. ²¹And they helped David against the band of the rovers: for they were all mighty men of valor, and were captains in the host. ²²For at that time day by day there came to David to help him, until it was a great host, like the host of God. ²³And these are the numbers of the bands that were ready armed to the war, and came to David to Hebron, to turn the kingdom of Saul to him, according to the word of the LORD. ²⁴The children of Judah that bore shield and spear were six thousand and eight hundred, ready armed for war. ²⁵Of the children of Simeon, mighty men of valor for war, seven thousand and one hundred. ²⁶Of the children of Levi four thousand and six hundred. ²⁷And Jehoiada was the leader of the Aaronites, and with him were three thousand and seven hundred; ²⁸And Zadok, a young man mighty of valor, and of his father's house twenty and two captains. ²⁹And of the children of Benjamin, the kindred of Saul, three thousand: for hitherto the greatest part of them had kept the ward of the house of Saul. ³⁰And of the children of Ephraim twenty thousand and eight hundred, mighty men of valor, famous throughout the house of their fathers. ³¹And of the half tribe of Manasseh eighteen thousand, who were expressed by name, to come and make David king. ³²And of the children of Issachar, who were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do; the heads of them were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their command. ³³Of Zebulun, such as went forth to battle, expert in war, with all instruments of war, fifty thousand, who could keep rank: they were not of double heart. ³⁴And of Naphtali a thousand captains, and with them with shield and spear thirty and seven thousand. ³⁵And of the Danites expert in war twenty and eight thousand and six hundred. ³⁶And of Asher, such as went forth to battle, expert in war, forty thousand. ³⁷And on the other side of Jordan, of the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and of the half tribe of Manasseh, with all manner of instruments of war for the battle, a hundred and twenty thousand. ³⁸All these men of war, that could keep rank, came with a perfect heart to Hebron, to make David king over all Israel: and all the rest also of Israel were of one heart to make David king. ³⁹And there they were with David three days, eating and drinking: for their brethren had prepared for them. ⁴⁰Moreover, they that were nigh them, even to Issachar, and Zebulun, and Naphtali, brought bread on asses, and on camels, and on mules, and on oxen, and provision, meal, cakes of figs, and bunches of raisins, and wine, and oil, and oxen, and sheep abundantly: for there was joy in Israel.

Chapter 13

¹And David consulted with the captains of thousands, and of hundreds, and with every leader. ²And David said to all the congregation of Israel, If it seemeth good to you, and that it is of the LORD our God, let us send abroad to our brethren every where, that are left in all the land of Israel, and with them also to the priests and Levites who are in their cities and suburbs, that they may assemble to us: ³And let us bring again to us the ark of our God: for we inquired not at it in the days of Saul. ⁴And all the congregation said that they would do so: for the thing was right in the eyes of all the people. ⁵So David assembled all Israel, from Shihor of Egypt even to the entrance of Hemath, to bring the ark of God from Kirjath-jearim. ⁶And David went up, and all Israel, to Baalah, that is, to Kirjath-jearim, which belonged to Judah, to bring up thence the ark of God the LORD, that dwelleth between the cherubim, whose name is called on it. ⁷And they carried the ark of God in a new cart out of the house of Abinadab: and Uzza and Ahio drove the cart. ⁸And David and all Israel played before God with all their might, and with singing, and with harps, and with psalteries, and with timbrels, and with cymbals, and with trumpets. ⁹And when they came to the threshing-floor of Chidon, Uzza put forth his hand to hold the ark; for the oxen stumbled. ¹⁰And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Uzza, and he smote him, because he put his hand to the ark: and there he died before God. ¹¹And David was displeased, because the LORD had made a breach upon Uzza: wherefore that place is called Perez-uzza to this day. ¹²And David was afraid of God that day, saying, How shall I bring the ark of God home to me? ¹³So David brought not the ark to himself to the city of David, but carried it aside into the house of Obed-edom the Gittite. ¹⁴And the ark of God remained with the family of Obed-edom in his house three months. And the LORD blessed the house of Obed-edom, and all that he had.

Chapter 14

¹Now Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and timber of cedars, with masons and carpenters, to build him a house. ²And David perceived that the LORD had confirmed him king over Israel, for his kingdom was exalted on high, because of his people Israel. ³And David took more wives at Jerusalem: and David begat more sons and daughters. ⁴Now these are the names of his children which he had in Jerusalem; Shammua, and Shobab, Nathan, and Solomon, ⁵And Ibhar, and Elishua, and Elpalet, ⁶And Nogah, and Nepheg, and Japhia, ⁷And Elishama, and Beeliada, and Eliphalet. ⁸And when the Philistines heard that David was anointed king over all Israel, all the Philistines went up to seek David. And David heard of it, and went out against them. ⁹And the Philistines came and spread themselves in the valley of Rephaim. ¹⁰And David inquired of God, saying, Shall I go up against the Philistines? and wilt thou deliver them into my hand? And the LORD said to him, Go up; for I will deliver them into thy hand. ¹¹So they came up to Baal-perazim; and David smote them there. Then David said, God hath broken in upon my enemies by my hand like the breaking forth of waters: therefore they called the name of that place Baal-perazim. ¹²And when they had left their gods there, David gave a commandment, and they were burned with fire. ¹³And the Philistines yet again spread themselves abroad in the valley. ¹⁴Therefore David inquired again of God: and God said to him, Go not up after them; turn away from them, and come upon them over against the mulberry trees. ¹⁵And it shall be, when thou shalt hear a sound of going in the tops of the mulberry trees, then thou shalt go out to battle: for God hath gone forth before thee to smite the host of the Philistines. ¹⁶David therefore did as God commanded him: and they smote the host of the Philistines from Gibeon even to Gazer. ¹⁷And the fame of David went out into all lands; and the LORD brought the fear of him upon all nations.

Chapter 15

¹And David made him houses in the city of David, and prepared a place for the ark of God, and pitched for it a tent. ²Then David said, None ought to carry the ark of God but the Levites: for them hath the LORD chosen to carry the ark of God, and to minister to him for ever. ³And David assembled all Israel to Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the LORD to its place, which he had prepared for it. ⁴And David assembled the children of Aaron, and the Levites: ⁵Of the sons of Kohath; Uriel the chief, and his brethren a hundred and twenty: ⁶Of the sons of Merari; Asaiah the chief, and his brethren two hundred and twenty: ⁷Of the sons of Gershom; Joel the chief, and his brethren a hundred and thirty: ⁸Of the sons of Elizaphan; Shemaiah the chief, and his brethren two hundred: ⁹Of the sons of Hebron; Eliel the chief, and his brethren eighty: ¹⁰Of the sons of Uzziel: Amminadab the chief, and his brethren a hundred and twelve. ¹¹And David called for Zadok and Abiathar the priests, and for the Levites, for Uriel, Asaiah, and Joel, Shemaiah, and Eliel, and Amminadab, ¹²And said to them, Ye are the chief of the fathers of the Levites: sanctify yourselves, both ye and your brethren, that ye may bring up the ark of the LORD God of Israel to the place that I have prepared for it. ¹³For because ye did it not at the first, the LORD our God made a breach upon us, for that we sought him not after the due order. ¹⁴So the priests and the Levites sanctified themselves to bring up the ark of the LORD God of Israel. ¹⁵And the children of the Levites bore the ark of God upon their shoulders with the staffs on it, as Moses commanded, according to the word of the LORD. ¹⁶And David spoke to the chief of the Levites to appoint their brethren to be the singers with instruments of music, psalteries, and harps, and cymbals, sounding, by lifting up the voice with joy. ¹⁷So the Levites appointed Heman the son of Joel; and of his brethren, Asaph the son of Berechiah; and of the sons of Merari their brethren, Ethan the son of Kushaiah; ¹⁸And with them their brethren of the second degree, Zechariah, Ben, and Jaaziel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Unni, Eliab, and Benaiah, and Maaseiah, and Mattithiah, and Elipheleh, and Mikneiah, and Obed-edom, and Jeiel, the porters. ¹⁹So the singers, Heman, Asaph, and Ethan, were appointed to sound with cymbals of brass; ²⁰And Zechariah, and Aziel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Unni, and Eliab, and Maaseiah, and Benaiah, with psalteries on Alamoth; ²¹And Mattithiah, and Elipheleh, and Mikneiah, and Obed-edom, and Jeiel, and Azaziah, with harps on the Sheminith to excel. ²²And Chenaniah, chief of the Levites, was for song: he instructed about the song, because he was skillful. ²³And Berechiah and Elkanah were door-keepers for the ark. ²⁴And Shebaniah, and Jehoshaphat, and Nethaneel, and Amasai, and Zechariah, and Benaiah, and Eliezer the priests, did blow with the trumpets before the ark of God: and Obed-edom and Jehiah were door-keepers for the ark. ²⁵So David and the elders of Israel, and the captains over thousands, went to bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD from the house of Obed-edom with joy. ²⁶And it came to pass, when God helped the Levites that bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD, that they offered seven bullocks and seven rams. ²⁷And David was clothed with a robe of fine linen, and all the Levites that bore the ark, and the singers, and Chenaniah the master of the song with the singers: David also had upon him an ephod of linen. ²⁸Thus all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of the LORD with shouting, and with sound of the cornet, and with trumpets, and with cymbals, making a noise with psalteries and harps. ²⁹And it came to pass, as the ark of the covenant of the LORD came to the city of David, that Michal the daughter of Saul, looking out at a window, saw king David dancing and playing: and she despised him in her heart.

Chapter 16

¹So they brought the ark of God, and set it in the midst of the tent that David had pitched for it: and they offered burnt-sacrifices and peace-offerings before God. ²And when David had made an end of offering the burnt-offerings and the peace-offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD. ³And he dealt to every one of Israel, both man and woman, to every one a loaf of bread, and a good piece of flesh, and a flagon of wine. ⁴And he appointed certain of the Levites to minister before the ark of the LORD, and to record, and to thank and praise the LORD God of Israel: ⁵Asaph the chief, and next to him Zechariah, Jeiel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Mattithiah, and Eliab, and Benaiah, and Obed-edom: and Jeiel with psalteries and with harps; but Asaph made a sound with cymbals; ⁶Benaiah also and Jahaziel the priests with trumpets continually before the ark of the covenant of God. ⁷Then on that day David delivered first this psalm to thank the LORD into the hand of Asaph and his brethren. ⁸Give thanks to the LORD, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the people. ⁹Sing to him, sing psalms to him, talk ye of all his wonderous works. ¹⁰Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the LORD. ¹¹Seek the LORD and his strength, seek his face continually. ¹²Remember his wonderful works that he hath done, his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth; ¹³O ye seed of Israel his servant, ye children of Jacob, his chosen ones. ¹⁴He is the LORD our God; his judgments are in all the earth. ¹⁵Be ye mindful always of his covenant; the word which he commanded to a thousand generations; ¹⁶Even of the covenant which he made with Abraham, and of his oath to Isaac; ¹⁷And which he confirmed to Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant, ¹⁸Saying, To thee will I give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance; ¹⁹When ye were but few, even a few, and strangers in it. ²⁰And when they went from nation to nation, and from one kingdom to another people; ²¹He suffered no man to do them wrong: yea, he reproved kings for their sakes, ²²Saying, Touch not my anointed, and do my prophets no harm. ²³Sing to the LORD, all the earth; show forth from day to day his salvation. ²⁴Declare his glory among the heathen; his wonderful works among all nations. ²⁵For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised: he also is to be feared above all gods. ²⁶For all the gods of the people are idols: but the LORD made the heavens. ²⁷Glory and honor are in his presence; strength and gladness are in his place. ²⁸Give to the LORD, ye kindreds of the people, give to the LORD glory and strength. ²⁹Give to the LORD the glory due to his name: bring an offering, and come before him: worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness. ³⁰Fear before him, all the earth: the world also shall be stable, that it be not moved. ³¹Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice: and let men say among the nations, The LORD reigneth. ³²Let the sea roar, and the fullness thereof: let the fields rejoice, and all that is therein. ³³Then shall the trees of the wood sing at the presence of the LORD, because he cometh to judge the earth. ³⁴O give thanks to the LORD; for he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever. ³⁵And say ye, Save us, O God of our salvation, and gather us together, and deliver us from the heathen, that we may give thanks to thy holy name, and glory in thy praise. ³⁶Blessed be the LORD God of Israel for ever and ever. And all the people said, Amen, and praised the LORD. ³⁷So he left there before the ark of the covenant of the LORD Asaph and his brethren, to minister before the ark continually, as every day's work required: ³⁸And Obed-edom with their brethren, sixty and eight; Obed-edom also the son of Jeduthun and Hosah to be porters: ³⁹And Zadok the priest, and his brethren the priests, before the tabernacle of the LORD in the high place that was at Gibeon, ⁴⁰To offer burnt-offerings to the LORD upon the altar of the burnt-offering continually morning and evening, and to do according to all that is written in the law of the LORD, which he commanded Israel; ⁴¹And with them Heman and Jeduthun, and the rest that were chosen, who were expressed by name, to give thanks to the LORD, because his mercy endureth for ever; ⁴²And with them Heman and Jeduthun with trumpets and cymbals for those that should make a sound, and with musical instruments of God. And the sons of Jeduthun were porters. ⁴³And all the people departed every man to his house: and David returned to bless his house.

Chapter 17

¹Now it came to pass, as David sat in his house, that David said to Nathan the prophet, Lo, I dwell in a house of cedars, but the ark of the covenant of the LORD remaineth under curtains. ²Then Nathan said to David, Do all that is in thy heart; for God is with thee. ³And it came to pass the same night, that the word of God came to Nathan, saying, ⁴Go and tell David my servant, Thus saith the LORD, Thou shalt not build me a house to dwell in: ⁵For I have not dwelt in a house since the day that I brought up Israel to this day; but have gone from tent to tent, and from one tabernacle to another. ⁶Wherever I have walked with all Israel, have I spoken a word to any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to feed my people, saying, Why have ye not built me a house of cedars? ⁷Now therefore thus shalt thou say to my servant David, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, I took thee from the sheep-cote, even from following the sheep, that thou shouldst be ruler over my people Israel: ⁸And I have been with thee whithersoever thou hast walked, and have cut off all thy enemies from before thee, and have made thee a name like the name of the great men that are in the earth. ⁹Also I will ordain a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, and they shall dwell in their place, and shall be moved no more; neither shall the children of wickedness waste them any more, as at the beginning. ¹⁰And since the time that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel. Moreover, I will subdue all thy enemies. Furthermore, I tell thee that the LORD will build thee a house. ¹¹And it shall come to pass, when thy days shall be ended that thou must go to be with thy fathers, that I will raise up thy seed after thee, who shall be of thy sons; and I will establish his kingdom. ¹²He shall build me a house, and I will establish his throne for ever. ¹³I will be his father, and he shall be my son: and I will not take my mercy away from him, as I took it from him that was before thee: ¹⁴But I will settle him in my house and in my kingdom for ever: and his throne shall be established for evermore. ¹⁵According to all these words, and according to all this vision, so did Nathan speak to David. ¹⁶And David the king came and sat before the LORD, and said, Who am I, O LORD God, and what is my house, that thou hast brought me hitherto? ¹⁷And yet this was a small thing in thy eyes, O God; for thou hast also spoken of thy servant's house for a great while to come, and hast regarded me according to the estate of a man of high degree, O LORD God. ¹⁸What can David speak more to thee for the honor of thy servant? for thou knowest thy servant. ¹⁹O LORD, for thy servant's sake, and according to thy own heart, hast thou done all this greatness, in making known all these great things. ²⁰O LORD, there is none like thee, neither is there any God besides thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears. ²¹And what one nation in the earth is like thy people Israel, whom God went to redeem to be his own people, to make thee a name of greatness and terribleness, by driving out nations from before thy people, whom thou hast redeemed out of Egypt? ²²For thy people Israel didst thou make thy own people for ever; and thou, LORD, becamest their God. ²³Therefore now, LORD, Let the thing that thou hast spoken concerning thy servant and concerning his house be established for ever, and do as thou hast said. ²⁴Let it even be established, that thy name may be magnified for ever, saying, The LORD of hosts is the God of Israel, even a God to Israel: and let the house of David thy servant be established before thee. ²⁵For thou, O my God, hast told thy servant that thou wilt build him a house: therefore thy servant hath found in his heart to pray before thee. ²⁶And now, LORD, thou art God, and hast promised this goodness to thy servant: ²⁷Now therefore let it please thee to bless the house of thy servant, that it may be before thee for ever: for thou blessest, O LORD, and it shall be blessed for ever.

Chapter 18

¹Now after this it came to pass that David smote the Philistines, and subdued them, and took Gath and its towns out of the hand of the Philistines. ²And he smote Moab; and the Moabites became David's servants, and brought gifts. ³And David smote Hadarezer king of Zobah to Hamath, as he went to establish his dominion by the river Euphrates. ⁴And David took from him a thousand chariots, and seven thousand horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen: David also houghed all the chariot-horses, but reserved of them a hundred chariots. ⁵And when the Syrians of Damascus came to help Hadarezer king of Zobah, David slew of the Syrians two and twenty thousand men. ⁶Then David put garrisons in Syria-damascus; and the Syrians became David's servants, and brought gifts. Thus the LORD preserved David whithersoever he went. ⁷And David took the shields of gold that were on the servants of Hadarezer, and brought them to Jerusalem. ⁸Likewise from Tibhath, and from Chun, cities of Hadarezer, David brought very much brass, with which Solomon made the brazen sea, and the pillars, and the vessels of brass. ⁹Now when Tou king of Hamath heard how David had smitten all the host of Hadarezer king of Zobah; ¹⁰He sent Hadoram his son to king David to inquire of his welfare, and to congratulate him, because he had fought against Hadarezer, and smitten him; (for Hadarezer had warred with Tou;) and with him all manner of vessels of gold, and silver, and brass. ¹¹Them also king David dedicated to the LORD, with the silver and the gold that he brought from all these nations; from Edom, and from Moab, and from the children of Ammon, and from the Philistines, and from Amalek. ¹²Moreover, Abishai the son of Zeruiah slew of the Edomites in the valley of salt eighteen thousand. ¹³And he put garrisons in Edom; and all the Edomites became David's servants. Thus the LORD preserved David whithersoever he went. ¹⁴So David reigned over all Israel, and executed judgment and justice among all his people. ¹⁵And Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the host; and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud, recorder; ¹⁶And Zadok the son of Ahitub, and Abimelech the son of Abiathar, were the priests; and Shavsha was scribe; ¹⁷And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and the sons of David were chief about the king.

Chapter 19

¹Now it came to pass after this, that Nahash the king of the children of Ammon died, and his son reigned in his stead. ²And David said, I will show kindness to Hanun the son of Nahash, because his father showed kindness to me. And David sent messengers to comfort him concerning his father. So the servants of David came into the land of the children of Ammon to Hanun, to comfort him. ³But the princes of the children of Ammon said to Hanun, Thinkest thou that David doth honor thy father, that he hath sent comforters to thee? are not his servants come to thee to search, and to overthrow, and to explore the land? ⁴Wherefore Hanun took David's servants, and shaved them, and cut off their garments in the midst hard by their buttocks, and sent them away. ⁵Then there went certain, and told David how the men were served. And he sent to meet them: for the men were greatly ashamed. And the king said, Tarry at Jericho until your beards are grown, and then return. ⁶And when the children of Ammon saw that they had made themselves odious to David, Hanun and the children of Ammon sent a thousand talents of silver to hire them chariots and horsemen out of Mesopotamia, and out of Syria-maachah, and out of Zobah. ⁷So they hired thirty and two thousand chariots, and the king of Maachah and his people, who came and encamped before Medeba. And the children of Ammon assembled from their cities, and came to battle. ⁸And when David heard of it, he sent Joab, and all the host of the mighty men. ⁹And the children of Ammon came out, and put the battle in array before the gate of the city: and the kings that had come were by themselves in the field. ¹⁰Now when Joab saw that the battle was set against him before and behind, he selected all the choice of Israel, and put them in array against the Syrians. ¹¹And the rest of the people he delivered to the hand of Abishai his brother, and they set themselves in array against the children of Ammon. ¹²And he said, If the Syrians shall be too strong for me, then thou shalt help me: but if the children of Ammon shall be too strong for thee, then I will help thee. ¹³Be of good courage, and let us behave ourselves valiantly for our people, and for the cities of our God: and let the LORD do that which is good in his sight. ¹⁴So Joab and the people that were with him drew nigh before the Syrians to the battle; and they fled before him. ¹⁵And when the children of Ammon saw that the Syrians had fled, they likewise fled before Abishai his brother, and entered into the city. Then Joab came to Jerusalem. ¹⁶And when the Syrians saw that they were defeated before Israel, they sent messengers, and drew forth the Syrians that were beyond the river: and Shophach the captain of the host of Hadarezer went before them. ¹⁷And it was told to David; and he gathered all Israel, and passed over Jordan, and came upon them, and set the battle in array against them. So when David had put the battle in array against the Syrians, they fought with him. ¹⁸But the Syrians fled before Israel; and David slew of the Syrians seven thousand men who fought in chariots, and forty thousand footmen, and killed Shophach the captain of the host. ¹⁹And when the servants of Hadarezer saw that they were defeated before Israel, they made peace with David, and became his servants: neither would the Syrians help the children of Ammon any more.

Chapter 20

¹And it came to pass, that after the year had expired, at the time that kings go out to battle, Joab led forth the power of the army, and wasted the country of the children of Ammon, and came and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried at Jerusalem. And Joab smote Rabbah, and destroyed it. ²And David took the crown of their king from his head, and found it to weigh a talent of gold, and there were precious stones in it; and it was set upon David's head: and he brought also a great quantity of spoil out of the city. ³And he brought out the people that were in it, and cut them with saws, and with harrows of iron, and with axes. Even so David dealt with all the cities of the children of Ammon. And David and all the people returned to Jerusalem. ⁴And it came to pass after this, that there arose war at Gezer with the Philistines: at which time Sibbechai the Hushathite slew Sippai, that was of the children of the giant: and they were subdued. ⁵And there was war again with the Philistines; and Elhanan the son of Jair slew Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite, whose spear-staff was like a weaver's beam. ⁶And yet again there was war at Gath, where was a man of great stature, whose fingers and toes were four and twenty, six on each hand, and six on each foot: and he also was the son of the giant. ⁷But when he defied Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimea, David's brother, slew him. ⁸These were born to the giant in Gath; and they fell by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants.

Chapter 21

¹And Satan stood up against Israel, and incited David to number Israel. ²And David said to Joab and to the rulers of the people, Go, number Israel from Beer-sheba even to Dan; and bring the number of them to me, that I may know it. ³And Joab answered, the LORD make his people a hundred times more numerous than they are: but, my lord the king, are they not all my lord's servants? why then doth my lord require this thing? why will he be a cause of trespass to Israel? ⁴Nevertheless the king's word prevailed against Joab. Wherefore Joab departed, and went throughout all Israel, and came to Jerusalem. ⁵And Joab gave the sum of the number of the people to David. And all they of Israel were a thousand thousand and a hundred thousand men that drew sword: and Judah was four hundred and seventy thousand men that drew sword. ⁶But Levi and Benjamin he counted not among them: for the king's word was abominable to Joab. ⁷And God was displeased with this thing, therefore he smote Israel. ⁸And David said to God, I have sinned greatly, because I have done this thing: but now, I beseech thee, do away the iniquity of thy servant; for I have done very foolishly. ⁹And the LORD spoke to Gad, David's seer, saying, ¹⁰Go and tell David, saying, Thus saith the LORD, I offer thee three things; choose thee one of them, that I may do it to thee. ¹¹So Gad came to David, and said to him, Thus saith the LORD, Choose thee ¹²Either three years' famine; or three months to be destroyed before thy foes, while the sword of thy enemies overtaketh thee; or else three days the sword of the LORD, even the pestilence, in the land, and the angel of the LORD destroying throughout all the borders of Israel. Now therefore advise thyself what word I shall bring again to him that sent me. ¹³And David said to Gad, I am in a great strait: let me fall now into the hand of the LORD; for very great are his mercies: but let me not fall into the hand of man. ¹⁴So the LORD sent pestilence upon Israel: and there fell of Israel seventy thousand men. ¹⁵And God sent an angel to Jerusalem to destroy it: and as he was destroying, the LORD beheld, and he repented of the evil, and said to the angel that destroyed, It is enough, stay now thy hand. And the angel of the LORD stood by the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite. ¹⁶And David lifted up his eyes, and saw the angel of the LORD stand between the earth and the heaven, having a drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders of Israel, who were clothed in sackcloth, fell upon their faces. ¹⁷And David said to God, Is it not I that commanded the people to be numbered? even I it is that have sinned and done evil indeed; but as for these sheep, what have they done? let thy hand, I pray thee, O LORD my God, be on me, and on my father's house; but not on thy people, that they should be afflicted. ¹⁸Then the angel of the LORD commanded Gad to say to David, that David should go up, and erect an altar to the LORD in the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite. ¹⁹And David went up at the saying of Gad, which he spoke in the name of the LORD. ²⁰And Ornan turned back, and saw the angel; and his four sons with him hid themselves. Now Ornan was threshing wheat. ²¹And as David came to Ornan, Ornan looked, and saw David, and went out of the threshing-floor, and bowed himself to David with his face to the ground. ²²Then David said to Ornan, Grant me the place of this threshing-floor, that I may build an altar in it to the LORD: thou shalt grant it to me for the full price: that the plague may be stayed from the people. ²³And Ornan said to David, Take it to thee, and let my lord the king do that which is good in his eyes: lo, I give thee the oxen also for burnt-offerings, and the threshing instruments for wood, and the wheat for the meat-offering; I give it all. ²⁴And king David said to Ornan, No; but I will verily buy it for the full price: for I will not take that which is thine for the LORD, nor offer burnt-offerings without cost. ²⁵So David gave to Ornan for the place six hundred shekels of gold by weight. ²⁶And David built there an altar to the LORD, and offered burnt-offerings and peace-offerings, and called upon the LORD; and he answered him from heaven by fire upon the altar of burnt-offering. ²⁷And the LORD commanded the angel; and he put up his sword again into its sheath. ²⁸At that time when David saw that the LORD had answered him in the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite, then he sacrificed there. ²⁹For the tabernacle of the LORD, which Moses made in the wilderness, and the altar of the burnt-offering, were at that season in the high place at Gibeon. ³⁰But David could not go before it to inquire of God: for he was afraid because of the sword of the angel of the LORD.

Chapter 22

¹Then David said, This is the house of the LORD God, and this is the altar of the burnt-offering for Israel. ²And David commanded to assemble the strangers that were in the land of Israel; and he set masons to hew wrought stones to build the house of God. ³And David prepared iron in abundance for the nails for the doors of the gates, and for the joinings; and brass in abundance without weight; ⁴Also cedar trees in abundance: for the Zidonians and they of Tyre brought much cedar wood to David. ⁵And David said, Solomon my son is young and tender, and the house that is to be built for the LORD must be very magnificent, of fame and of glory throughout all countries: I will therefore now make preparation for it. So David made abundant preparation before his death. ⁶Then he called for Solomon his son, and charged him to build a house for the LORD God of Israel. ⁷And David said to Solomon, My son, as for me, it was in my mind to build a house to the name of the LORD my God: ⁸But the word of the LORD came to me, saying, Thou hast shed blood abundantly, and hast made great wars: thou shalt not build a house to my name, because thou hast shed much blood upon the earth in my sight. ⁹Behold, a son shall be born to thee, who shall be a man of rest; and I will give him rest from all his enemies around: for his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quietness to Israel in his days. ¹⁰He shall build a house for my name; and he shall be my son, and I will be his father; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel for ever. ¹¹Now, my son, the LORD be with thee; and prosper thou, and build the house of the LORD thy God, as he hath said of thee. ¹²Only the LORD give thee wisdom and understanding, and give thee charge concerning Israel, that thou mayest keep the law of the LORD thy God. ¹³Then shalt thou prosper, if thou shalt take heed to fulfill the statutes and judgments which the LORD charged Moses with concerning Israel: be strong, and of good courage; dread not, nor be dismayed. ¹⁴Now behold, in my trouble I have prepared for the house of the LORD a hundred thousand talents of gold, and a thousand thousand talents of silver; and of brass and iron without weight; for it is in abundance: timber also and stone have I prepared; and thou mayest add to them. ¹⁵Moreover, there are workmen with thee in great numbers, hewers and workers of stone and timber, and all manner of skillful men for every manner of work. ¹⁶Of the gold, the silver, and the brass, and the iron, there is no number. Arise therefore, and be doing, and the LORD be with thee. ¹⁷David also commanded all the princes of Israel to help Solomon his son, saying, ¹⁸Is not the LORD your God with you? and hath he not given you rest on every side? for he hath given the inhabitants of the land into my hand; and the land is subdued before the LORD, and before his people. ¹⁹Now set your heart and your soul to seek the LORD your God; arise, therefore, and build ye the sanctuary of the LORD God, to bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and the holy vessels of God, into the house that is to be built to the name of the LORD.

Chapter 23

¹So when David was old and full of days, he made Solomon his son king over Israel. ²And he assembled all the princes of Israel, with the priests and the Levites. ³Now the Levites were numbered from the age of thirty years and upward: and their number by their polls, man by man, was thirty and eight thousand. ⁴Of which, twenty and four thousand were to oversee the work of the house of the LORD; and six thousand were officers and judges: ⁵Moreover, four thousand were porters; and four thousand praised the LORD with the instruments which I made, said David, to praise with them. ⁶And David divided them into courses among the sons of Levi, namely, Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. ⁷Of the Gershonites, were, Laadan and Shimei. ⁸The sons of Laadan: the chief was Jehiel, and Zetham, and Joel, three. ⁹The sons of Shimei; Shelomith, and Haziel, and Haran, three. These were the chief of the fathers of Laadan. ¹⁰And the sons of Shimei were, Jahath, Zina, and Jeush and Beriah. These four were the sons of Shimei. ¹¹And Jahath was the chief, and Zizah the second: but Jeush and Beriah had not many sons; therefore they were in one reckoning, according to their father's house. ¹²The sons of Kohath; Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel, four. ¹³The sons of Amram; Aaron and Moses: and Aaron was separated, that he should sanctify the most holy things, he and his sons for ever, to burn incense before the LORD, to minister to him, and to bless in his name for ever. ¹⁴Now concerning Moses the man of God, his sons were named of the tribe of Levi. ¹⁵The sons of Moses were, Gershom, and Eliezer. ¹⁶Of the sons of Gershom; Shebuel was the chief. ¹⁷And the sons of Eliezer were, Rehabiah the chief. And Eliezer had no other sons; but the sons of Rehabiah were very many. ¹⁸Of the sons of Izhar; Shelomith the chief. ¹⁹Of the sons of Hebron; Jeriah the first, Amariah the second, Jehaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth. ²⁰Of the sons of Uzziel; Micah the first, and Jesiah the second. ²¹The sons of Merari; Mahli, and Mushi. The sons of Mahli; Eleazar, and Kish. ²²And Eleazar died, and had no sons, but daughters: and their brethren the sons of Kish took them. ²³The sons of Mushi; Mahli, and Eder, and Jeremoth, three. ²⁴These were the sons of Levi after the house of their fathers; even the chief of the fathers, as they were counted by number of names by their polls, that did the work for the service of the house of the LORD, from the age of twenty years and upward. ²⁵For David said, The LORD God of Israel hath given rest to his people, that they may dwell in Jerusalem for ever; ²⁶And also to the Levites: they shall no more carry the tabernacle, nor any vessels of it for its service. ²⁷For by the last words of David the Levites were numbered from twenty years old and above: ²⁸Because their office was to wait on the sons of Aaron for the service of the house of the LORD, in the courts, and in the chambers, and in the purifying of all holy things, and the work of the service of the house of God; ²⁹Both for the show-bread, and for the fine flour for meat-offering, and for the unleavened cakes, and for that which is baked in the pan, and for that which is fried, and for all manner of measure and size; ³⁰And to stand every morning to thank and praise the LORD, and likewise at evening; ³¹And to offer all burnt-sacrifices to the LORD on the sabbaths, in the new moons, and on the set feasts, by number, according to the order commanded to them, continually before the LORD: ³²And that they should keep the charge of the tabernacle of the congregation, and the charge of the holy place, and the charge of the sons of Aaron their brethren, in the service of the house of the LORD.

Chapter 24

¹Now these are the divisions of the sons of Aaron. The sons of Aaron; Nadab, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. ²But Nadab and Abihu died before their father, and had no children: therefore Eleazar and Ithamar executed the priests' office. ³And David distributed them, both Zadok of the sons of Eleazar, and Ahimelech of the sons of Ithamar, according to their offices in their service. ⁴And there were more chief men found of the sons of Eleazar than of the sons of Ithamar; and thus were they divided. Among the sons of Eleazar there were sixteen chief men of the house of their fathers, and eight among the sons of Ithamar according to the house of their fathers. ⁵Thus were they divided by lot, one sort with another; for the governors of the sanctuary, and governors of the house of God, were of the sons of Eleazar, and of the sons of Ithamar. ⁶And Shemaiah the son of Nethaneel the scribe, one of the Levites, wrote them before the king, and the princes, and Zadok the priest, and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar, and before the chief of the fathers of the priests and Levites: one principal household being taken for Eleazar, and one taken for Ithamar. ⁷Now the first lot came forth 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 Jeshuah, the tenth to Shecaniah, ¹²The eleventh to Eliashib, the twelfth to Jakim, ¹³The thirteenth to Huppah, the fourteenth to Jeshebeab, ¹⁴The fifteenth to Bilgah, the sixteenth to Immer, ¹⁵The seventeenth to Hezer, the eighteenth to Aphses, ¹⁶The nineteenth to Pethahiah, the twentieth to Jehezekel, ¹⁷The one and twentieth to Jachin, the two and twentieth to Gamul, ¹⁸The three and twentieth to Delaiah, the four and twentieth to Maaziah. ¹⁹These were the orderings of them in their service to come into the house of the LORD, according to their manner, under Aaron their father, as the LORD God of Israel had commanded him. ²⁰And the rest of the sons of Levi were these: Of the sons of Amram; Shubael: of the sons of Shubael; Jehdeiah. ²¹Concerning Rehabiah: of the sons of Rehabiah, the first was Isshiah. ²²Of the Izharites; Shelomoth: of the sons of Shelomoth; Jahath. ²³And the sons of Hebron; Jeriah the first, Amariah the second, Jehaziel the third, Jekameam the fourth. ²⁴Of the sons of Uzziel; Michah: of the sons of Michah; Shamir. ²⁵The brother of Michah was Isshiah: of the sons of Isshiah; Zechariah. ²⁶The sons of Merari were Mahli, and Mushi: the sons of Jaaziah; Beno. ²⁷The sons of Merari by Jaaziah; Beno, and Shoham, and Zaccur, and Ibri. ²⁸Of Mahli came Eleazar, who had no sons. ²⁹Concerning Kish: the son of Kish was Jerahmeel. ³⁰The sons also of Mushi; Mahli, and Eder, and Jerimoth. These were the sons of the Levites after the house of their fathers. ³¹These likewise cast lots over against their brethren the sons of Aaron in the presence of David the king, and Zadok, and Ahimelech, and the chief of the fathers of the priests and Levites, even the principal fathers over against their younger brethren.

Chapter 25

¹Moreover David and the captains of the host separated to the service of the sons of Asaph, and of Heman, and of Jeduthun, who should prophesy with harps, with psalteries, and with cymbals: and the number of the workmen according to their service was: ²Of the sons of Asaph; Zaccur, and Joseph, and Nethaniah, and Asarelah, the sons of Asaph under the hands of Asaph, who prophesied according to the order of the king. ³Of Jeduthun: the sons of Jeduthun; Gedaliah, and Zeri, and Jeshaiah, Hashabiah, and Mattithiah, six, under the hands of their father Jeduthun, who prophesied with a harp, to give thanks and to praise the LORD. ⁴Of Heman: the sons of Heman; Bukkiah, Mattaniah, Uzziel, Shebuel, and Jerimoth, Hananiah, Hanani, Eliathah, Giddalti, and Romamti-ezer, Joshbekashah, Mallothi, Hothir, and Mahazioth: ⁵All these were the sons of Heman the king's seer in the words of God, to lift up the horn. And God gave to Heman fourteen sons and three daughters. ⁶All these were under the hands of their father for song in the house of the LORD, with cymbals, psalteries, and harps, for the service of the house of God, according to the king's order to Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman. ⁷So the number of them, with their brethren that were instructed in the songs of the LORD, even all that were skillful, was two hundred and eighty eight. ⁸And they cast lots, ward against ward, as well the small as the great, the teacher as the scholar. ⁹Now the first lot came forth for Asaph to Joseph: the second to Gedaliah, who with his brethren and sons were twelve: ¹⁰The third to Zaccur, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve: ¹¹The fourth to Izri, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve: ¹²The fifth to Nethaniah, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve: ¹³The sixth to Bukkiah, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve: ¹⁴The seventh to Jesharelah, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve: ¹⁵The eighth to Jeshaiah, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve: ¹⁶The ninth to Mattaniah, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve: ¹⁷The tenth to Shimei, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve: ¹⁸The eleventh to Azareel, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve: ¹⁹The twelfth to Hashabiah, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve: ²⁰The thirteenth to Shubael, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve: ²¹The fourteenth to Mattithiah, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve: ²²The fifteenth to Jeremoth, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve: ²³The sixteenth to Hananiah, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve: ²⁴The seventeenth to Joshbekashah, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve: ²⁵The eighteenth to Hanani, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve: ²⁶The nineteenth to Mallothi, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve: ²⁷The twentieth to Eliathah, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve: ²⁸The one and twentieth to Hothir, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve: ²⁹The two and twentieth to Giddalti, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve: ³⁰The three and twentieth to Mahazioth, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve: ³¹The four and twentieth to Romamti-ezer, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve.

Chapter 26

¹Concerning the divisions of the porters: Of the Korhites was Meshelemiah the son of Kore, of the sons of Asaph. ²And the sons of Meshelemiah were, Zechariah the first-born, Jediael the second, Zebadiah the third, Jathniel the fourth, ³Elam the fifth, Jehohanan the sixth, Elioenai the seventh. ⁴Moreover the sons of Obed-edom were, Shemaiah the first-born, Jehozabad the second, Joah the third, and Sacar the fourth, and Nethaneel the fifth, ⁵Ammiel the sixth, Issachar the seventh, Peulthai the eighth: for God blessed him. ⁶Also to Shemaiah his son were sons born, that ruled throughout the house of their father: for they were mighty men of valor. ⁷The sons of Shemaiah; Othni, and Rephael, and Obed, Elzabad, whose brethren were strong men, Elihu, and Semachiah. ⁸All these of the sons of Obed-edom: they and their sons and their brethren, able men for strength for the service, were sixty and two of Obed-edom. ⁹And Meshelemiah had sons and brethren, strong men, eighteen. ¹⁰Also Hosah of the children of Merari, had sons; Simri the chief, (for though he was not the first-born, yet his father made him the chief;) ¹¹Hilkiah the second, Tebaliah the third, Zechariah the fourth: all the sons and brethren of Hosah were thirteen. ¹²Among these were the divisions of the porters, even among the chief men, having wards one against another, to minister in the house of the LORD. ¹³And they cast lots, as well the small as the great, according to the house of their fathers, for every gate. ¹⁴And the lot eastward fell to Shelemiah. Then for Zechariah his son, a wise counselor, they cast lots; and his lot came out northward. ¹⁵To obed-edom southward; and to his sons the house of Asuppim. ¹⁶To Shuppim and Hosah the lot came forth westward, with the gate Shallecheth, by the way of the ascent, ward against ward. ¹⁷Eastward were six Levites, northward four a day, southward four a day, and towards Asuppim, two and two. ¹⁸At Parbar westward, four at the causey, and two at Parbar. ¹⁹These are the divisions of the porters among the sons of Kore, and among the sons of Merari. ²⁰And of the Levites, Ahijah was over the treasures of the house of God, and over the treasures of the dedicated things. ²¹As concerning the sons of Laadan; the sons of the Gershonite Laadan, chief fathers, even of Laadan the Gershonite, were Jehieli. ²²The sons of Jehieli; Zetham, and Joel his brother, who were over the treasures of the house of the LORD. ²³Of the Amramites, and the Izharites, the Hebronites, and the Uzzielites: ²⁴And Shebuel the son of Gershom, the son of Moses, was ruler of the treasures. ²⁵And his brethren by Eliezer; Rehabiah his son, and Jeshaiah his son, and Joram his son, and Zichri his son, and Shelomith his son. ²⁶Which Shelomith and his brethren were over all the treasures of the dedicated things, which David the king, and the chief fathers, the captains over thousands and hundreds, and the captains of the host, had dedicated. ²⁷Out of the spoils won in battles did they dedicate to maintain the house of the LORD. ²⁸And all that Samuel the seer, and Saul the son of Kish, and Abner the son of Ner, and Joab the son of Zeruiah, had dedicated; and whoever had dedicated any thing, it was under the hand of Shelomith, and of his brethren. ²⁹Of the Izharites, Chenaniah and his sons were for the outward business over Israel, for officers and judges. ³⁰And of the Hebronites, Hashabiah and his brethren, men of valor, a thousand and seven hundred, were officers among them of Israel on this side of Jordan westward in all the business of the LORD, and in the service of the king. ³¹Among the Hebronites was Jerijah the chief, even among the Hebronites, according to the generations of his fathers. In the fortieth year of the reign of David they were sought for, and there were found among them mighty men of valor at Jazer of Gilead. ³²And his brethren, men of valor, were two thousand and seven hundred chief fathers, whom king David made rulers over the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, for every matter pertaining to God, and affairs of the king.

Chapter 27

¹Now the children of Israel after their number, to wit, the chief fathers, and captains of thousands and hundreds, and their officers that served the king in any matter of the courses, which came in and went out month by month throughout all the months of the year, of every course were twenty and four thousand. ²Over the first course for the first month was Jashobeam the son of Zabdiel: and in his course were twenty and four thousand. ³Of the children of Perez, was the chief of all the captains of the host for the first month. ⁴And over the course of the second month was Dodai an Ahohite, and of his course was Mikloth also the ruler: in his course likewise were twenty and four thousand. ⁵The third captain of the host for the third month was Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, a chief priest: and in his course were twenty and four thousand. ⁶This is that Benaiah, who was mighty among the thirty, and above the thirty: and in his course was Ammizabad his son. ⁷The fourth captain for the fourth month was Asahel the brother of Joab, and Zebadiah his son after him: and in his course were twenty and four thousand. ⁸The fifth captain for the fifth month was Shamhuth the Izrahite: and in his course were twenty and four thousand. ⁹The sixth captain for the sixth month was Ira the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite: and in his course were twenty and four thousand. ¹⁰The seventh captain for the seventh month was Helez the Pelonite, of the children of Ephraim: and in his course were twenty and four thousand. ¹¹The eighth captain for the eighth month was Sibbecai the Hushathite, of the Zarhites: and in his course were twenty and four thousand. ¹²The ninth captain for the ninth month was Abiezer the Anetothite, of the Benjaminites: and in his course were twenty and four thousand. ¹³The tenth captain for the tenth month was Maharai the Netophathite, of the Zarhites: and in his course were twenty and four thousand. ¹⁴The eleventh captain for the eleventh month was Benaiah the Pirathonite, of the children of Ephraim: and in his course were twenty and four thousand. ¹⁵The twelfth captain for the twelfth month was Heldai the Netophathite, of Othniel: and in his course were twenty and four thousand. ¹⁶Furthermore over the tribes of Israel: the ruler of the Reubenites was Eliezer the son of Zichri: of the Simeonites, Shephatiah the son of Maachah: ¹⁷Of the Levites, Hashabiah the son of Kemuel: of the Aaronites, Zadok: ¹⁸Of Judah, Elihu, one of the brethren of David: of Issachar, Omri the son of Michael: ¹⁹Of Zebulun, Ishmaiah the son of Obadiah: of Naphtali, Jerimoth the son of Azriel: ²⁰Of the children of Ephraim, Hoshea the son of Azaziah: of the half tribe of Manasseh, Joel the son of Pedaiah: ²¹Of the half tribe of Manasseh in Gilead, Iddo the son of Zechariah: of Benjamin, Jaasiel the son of Abner: ²²Of Dan, Azareel the son of Jeroham. These were the princes of the tribes of Israel. ²³But David took not the number of them from twenty years old and under: because the LORD had said he would increase Israel like to the stars of the heavens. ²⁴Joab the son of Zeruiah began to number, but he finished not, because there fell wrath for it against Israel; neither was the number put in the account of the chronicles of king David. ²⁵And over the king's treasures was Azmaveth the son of Adiel: and over the store-houses in the fields, in the cities, and in the villages, and in the castles, was Jehonathan the son of Uzziah: ²⁶And over them that did the work of the field for tillage of the ground was Ezri the son of Chelub: ²⁷And over the vineyards was Shimei the Ramathite: over the increase of the vineyards for the wine cellars was Zabdi the Shiphmite: ²⁸And over the olive trees and the sycamore trees that were in the low plains was Baal-hanan the Gederite: and over the cellars of oil was Joash: ²⁹And over the herds that fed in Sharon was Shitrai the Sharonite: and over the herds that were in the valleys was Shaphat the son of Adlai: ³⁰Over the camels also was Obil the Ishmaelite: and over the asses was Jehdeiah the Meronothite: ³¹And over the flocks was Jaziz the Hagerite. All these were the rulers of the substance which was king David's. ³²Also Jonathan, David's uncle, was a counselor, a wise man, and a scribe: and Jehiel the son of Hachmoni was with the king's sons: ³³And Ahithophel was the king's counselor: and Hushai the Archite was the king's companion: ³⁴And after Ahithophel was Jehoiada the son of Benaiah, and Abiathar: and the general of the king's army was Joab.

Chapter 28

¹And David assembled all the princes of Israel, the princes of the tribes, and the captains of the companies that ministered to the king by course, and the captains over the thousands, and captains over the hundreds, and the stewards over all the substance and possession of the king, and of his sons, with the officers, and with the mighty men, and with all the valiant men to Jerusalem. ²Then David the king stood upon his feet, and said, Hear me, my brethren, and my people: As for me, I had in my heart to build a house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and for the footstool of our God, and had made ready for the building: ³But God said to me, Thou shalt not build a house for my name, because thou hast been a man of war, and hast shed blood. ⁴However the LORD God of Israel chose me before all the house of my father to be king over Israel for ever: for he hath chosen Judah to be the ruler; and of the house of Judah, the house of my father; and among the sons of my father he approved me to make me king over all Israel: ⁵And of all my sons, (for the LORD hath given me many sons,) he hath chosen Solomon my son to sit upon the throne of the kingdom of the LORD over Israel. ⁶And he said to me, Solomon thy son, he shall build my house and my courts: for I have chosen him to be my son, and I will be his father. ⁷Moreover I will establish his kingdom for ever, if he shall be constant to do my commandments and my judgments, as at this day. ⁸Now therefore in the sight of all Israel the congregation of the LORD, and in the audience of our God, keep and seek for all the commandments of the LORD your God: that ye may possess this good land, and leave it for an inheritance for your children after you for ever. ⁹And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart, and with a willing mind: for the LORD searcheth all hearts and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou shalt seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou shalt forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever. ¹⁰Take heed now; for the LORD hath chosen thee to build a house for the sanctuary: be strong, and do it. ¹¹Then David gave to Solomon his son the pattern of the porch, and of the houses of it, and of its treasuries, and of its upper chambers, and of its inner parlors, and of the place of the mercy-seat, ¹²And the pattern of all that he had by the spirit, of the courts of the house of the LORD, and of all the chambers around, of the treasuries of the house of God, and of the treasuries of the dedicated things: ¹³Also for the courses of the priests and the Levites, and for all the work of the service of the house of the LORD, and for all the vessels of service in the house of the LORD. ¹⁴He gave of gold by weight for things of gold, for all instruments of all manner of service; silver also for all instruments of silver by weight, for all instruments of every kind of service: ¹⁵Even the weight for the candlesticks of gold, and for their lamps of gold, by weight for every candlestick, and for its lamps: and for the candlesticks of silver by weight, both for the candlestick, and also for its lamps, according to the use of every candlestick. ¹⁶And by weight he gave gold for the tables of show-bread, for every table; and likewise silver for the tables of silver: ¹⁷Also pure gold for the flesh-hooks, and the bowls, and the cups: and for the golden basins he gave gold by weight for every basin; and likewise silver by weight for every basin of silver: ¹⁸And for the altar of incense refined gold by weight; and gold for the pattern of the chariot of the cherubim, that spread out their wings, and covered the ark of the covenant of the LORD. ¹⁹All this, said David, the LORD made me understand in writing by his hand upon me, even all the works of this pattern. ²⁰And David said to Solomon his son, Be strong, and of good courage, and do it: fear not, nor be dismayed, for the LORD God, even my God, will be with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee, until thou hast finished all the work for the service of the house of the LORD. ²¹And behold, the courses of the priests and the Levites, even they shall be with thee for all the service of the house of God: and there shall be with thee for all manner of workmanship every willing skillful man, for any manner of service: also the princes and all the people will be wholly at thy command.

Chapter 29

¹Furthermore David the king said to all the congregation, Solomon my son, whom alone God hath chosen, is yet young and tender, and the work is great: for the palace is not for man, but for the LORD God. ²Now I have prepared with all my might for the house of my God the gold for things to he made of gold, and the silver for things of silver, and the brass for things of brass, the iron for things of iron, and wood for things of wood; onyx-stones, and stones to be set, glittering stones, and of divers colors, and all manner of precious stones, and marble stones in abundance. ³Moreover, because I have set my affection to the house of my God, I have of my own possessions, of gold and silver, which I have given to the house of my God, over and above all that I have prepared for the holy house, ⁴Even three thousand talents of gold, of the gold of Ophir, and seven thousand talents of refined silver, to overlay the walls of the houses: ⁵The gold for things of gold, and the silver for things of silver, and for all manner of work to be made by the hands of artificers. And who then is willing to consecrate his service this day to the LORD? ⁶Then the chief of the fathers and princes of the tribes of Israel, and the captains of thousands and of hundreds, with the rulers over the king's work, offered willingly, ⁷And gave for the service of the house of God of gold five thousand talents and ten thousand drams, and of silver ten thousand talents, and of brass eighteen thousand talents, and one hundred thousand talents of iron. ⁸And they with whom precious stones were found gave them to the treasure of the house of the LORD, by the hand of Jehiel the Gershonite. ⁹Then the people rejoiced, for that they offered willingly, because with perfect heart they offered willingly to the LORD: and David the king also rejoiced with great joy. ¹⁰Wherefore David blessed the LORD before all the congregation: and David said, Blessed be thou, LORD God of Israel our father, for ever and ever. ¹¹Thine, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and on the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exalted as head above all. ¹²Both riches and honor come from thee, and thou reignest over all; and in thy hand is power and might; and in thy hand it is to make great, and to give strength to all. ¹³Now therefore, our God, we thank thee, and praise thy glorious name. ¹⁴But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? for all things come from thee, and of thy own have we given thee. ¹⁵For we are strangers before thee, and sojourners, as were all our fathers: our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is no abiding. ¹⁶O LORD our God, all this store that we have prepared to build thee a house for thy holy name cometh from thy hand, and is all thy own. ¹⁷I know also, my God, that thou triest the heart, and hast pleasure in uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of my heart I have willingly offered all these things: and now have I seen with joy thy people, who are present here, to offer willingly to thee. ¹⁸O LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, our fathers, keep this for ever in the imagination of the thoughts of the heart of thy people, and prepare their heart to thee: ¹⁹And give to Solomon my son a perfect heart, to keep thy commandments, thy testimonies, and thy statutes, and to do all these things, and to build the palace, for which I have made provision. ²⁰And David said to all the congregation, Now bless the LORD your God. And all the congregation blessed the LORD God of their fathers, and bowed their heads, and worshiped the LORD, and the king. ²¹And they sacrificed sacrifices to the LORD, and offered burnt-offerings to the LORD, on the morrow after that day, even a thousand bullocks, a thousand rams, and a thousand lambs, with their drink-offerings, and sacrifices in abundance for all Israel: ²²And ate and drank before the LORD on that day with great gladness. And they made Solomon the son of David king the second time, and anointed him to the LORD to be the chief governor, and Zadok to be priest. ²³Then Solomon sat on the throne of the LORD as king instead of David his father, and prospered; and all Israel obeyed him. ²⁴And all the princes, and the mighty men, and all the sons likewise of king David, submitted themselves to Solomon the king. ²⁵And the LORD magnified Solomon exceedingly in the sight of all Israel, and bestowed upon him such royal majesty as had not been on any king before him in Israel. ²⁶Thus David the son of Jesse reigned over all Israel. ²⁷And the time that he reigned over Israel was forty years; seven years he reigned in Hebron, and thirty and three years he reigned in Jerusalem. ²⁸And he died in a good old age, full of days, riches, and honor: and Solomon his son reigned in his stead. ²⁹Now the acts of David the king, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of Samuel the seer, and in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the book of Gad the seer, ³⁰With all his reign and his might, and the times that went over him, and over Israel, and over all the kingdoms of the countries.

2 Chronicles

Chapter 1

¹And Solomon the son of David was strengthened in his kingdom, and the LORD his God was with him, and magnified him exceedingly. ²Then Solomon spoke to all Israel, to the captains of thousands and of hundreds, and to the judges, and to every governor in all Israel, the chief of the fathers. ³So Solomon, and all the congregation with him, went to the high place that was at Gibeon: for there was the tabernacle of the congregation of God, which Moses the servant of the LORD had made in the wilderness. ⁴But the ark of God David had brought up from Kirjath-jearim to the place which David had prepared for it: for he had pitched a tent for it at Jerusalem. ⁵Moreover the brazen altar, that Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, had made, he put before the tabernacle of the LORD: and Solomon and the congregation sought to it. ⁶And Solomon went up thither to the brazen altar before the LORD, which was at the tabernacle of the congregation, and offered a thousand burnt-offerings upon it. ⁷In that night God appeared to Solomon, and said to him, Ask what I shall give thee. ⁸And Solomon said to God, Thou hast shown great mercy to David my father, and hast made me to reign in his stead. ⁹Now, O LORD God, let thy promise to David my father be established: for thou hast made me king over a people like the dust of the earth in multitude. ¹⁰Give me now wisdom and knowledge, that I may go out and come in before this people: for who can judge this thy great people? ¹¹And God said to Solomon, Because this was in thy heart, and thou hast not asked riches, wealth, or honor, nor the life of thy enemies, neither yet hast asked long life; but hast asked wisdom and knowledge for thyself, that thou mayest judge my people, over whom I have made thee king: ¹²Wisdom and knowledge are granted to thee; and I will give thee riches, and wealth, and honor, such as none of the kings have had that have been before thee, neither shall there any after thee have the like. ¹³Then Solomon came from his journey to the high place that was at Gibeon to Jerusalem, from before the tabernacle of the congregation, and reigned over Israel. ¹⁴And Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen: and he had a thousand and four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, which he placed in the chariot cities, and with the king at Jerusalem. ¹⁵And the king made silver and gold at Jerusalem as plenteous as stones, and cedar trees made he as the sycamore trees that are in the vale for abundance. ¹⁶And Solomon had horses brought out of Egypt, and linen yarn: the king's merchants received the linen yarn at a price. ¹⁷And they fetched up, and brought out of Egypt a chariot for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty: and so they brought out horses for all the kings of the Hittites, and for the kings of Syria, by their means.

Chapter 2

¹And Solomon determined to build a house for the name of the LORD, and a house for his kingdom. ²And Solomon numbered out seventy thousand men to bear burdens, and eighty thousand to hew in the mountain, and three thousand and six hundred to oversee them. ³And Solomon sent to Huram the king of Tyre, saying, As thou didst deal with David my father, and didst send him cedars to build him a house to dwell in it, even so deal with me. ⁴Behold, I build a house to the name of the LORD my God, to dedicate it to him, and to burn before him sweet incense, and for the continual show-bread, and for the burnt-offerings morning and evening, on the sabbaths, and on the new moons, and on the solemn feasts of the LORD our God. This is an ordinance for ever to Israel. ⁵And the house which I build is great: for great is our God above all gods. ⁶But who is able to build him a house, seeing the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain him? who am I then that I should build him a house, save only to burn sacrifice before him? ⁷Send me now therefore a man skillful to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, and in iron, and in purple, and crimson, and blue, and that hath skill to grave with the skillful men that are with me in Judah and in Jerusalem, whom David my father provided. ⁸Send me also cedar trees, fir trees, and algum trees out of Lebanon: for I know that thy servants have skill to cut timber in Lebanon; and behold, my servants shall be with thy servants, ⁹Even to prepare me timber in abundance: for the house which I am about to build shall be wonderfully great. ¹⁰And behold, I will give to thy servants, the hewers that cut timber, twenty thousand measures of beaten wheat, and twenty thousand measures of barley, and twenty thousand baths of wine, and twenty thousand baths of oil. ¹¹Then Huram the king of Tyre answered in writing, which he sent to Solomon, Because the LORD hath loved his people, he hath made thee king over them. ¹²Huram said moreover, Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, that made heaven and earth, who hath given to David the king a wise son, endued with prudence and understanding, that may build a house for the LORD, and a house for his kingdom. ¹³And now I have sent a skillful man, endued with understanding, of Huram my father's, ¹⁴The son of a woman of the daughters of Dan, and his father was a man of Tyre, skillful to work in gold, and in silver, in brass, in iron, in stone, and in timber, in purple, in blue, and in fine linen, and in crimson; also to engrave any manner of engraving, and to find out every device which shall be put to him, with thy skillful men, and with the skillful men of my lord David thy father. ¹⁵Now therefore the wheat, and the barley, the oil, and the wine which my lord hath spoken of, let him send to his servants; ¹⁶And we will cut wood out of Lebanon, as much as thou shalt need: and we will bring it to thee in floats by sea to Joppa; and thou mayest convey it to Jerusalem. ¹⁷And Solomon numbered all the strangers that were in the land of Israel, after the numbering with which David his father had numbered them; and they were found a hundred and fifty thousand and three thousand and six hundred. ¹⁸And he set seventy thousand of them to be bearers of burdens, and eighty thousand to be hewers in the mountain, and three thousand and six hundred overseers to set the people to work.

Chapter 3

¹Then Solomon began to build the house of the LORD at Jerusalem in mount Moriah, where the LORD appeared to David his father, in the place that David had prepared in the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite. ²And he began to build in the second day of the second month, in the fourth year of his reign. ³Now these are the things in which Solomon was instructed for the building of the house of God. The length by cubits after the first measure was sixty cubits, and the breadth twenty cubits. ⁴And the porch that was in the front of the house, the length of it was according to the breadth of the house, twenty cubits, and the hight was a hundred and twenty: and he overlaid it within with pure gold. ⁵And the greater house he cieled with fir tree, which he overlaid with fine gold, and set on it palm trees and chains. ⁶And he garnished the house with precious stones for beauty: and the gold was gold of Parvaim. ⁷He overlaid also the house, the beams, the posts, and the walls of it, and the doors of it, with gold; and engraved cherubim on the walls. ⁸And he made the most holy house, the length of which was according to the breadth of the house, twenty cubits, and the breadth of it twenty cubits: and he overlaid it with fine gold, amounting to six hundred talents. ⁹And the weight of the nails was fifty shekels of gold. And he overlaid the upper chambers with gold. ¹⁰And in the most holy house he made two cherubim of image work, and overlaid them with gold. ¹¹And the wings of the cherubim were twenty cubits long: one wing of the one cherub was five cubits, reaching to the wall of the house: and the other wing was likewise five cubits, reaching to the wing of the other cherub. ¹²And one wing of the other cherub was five cubits, reaching to the wall of the house: and the other wing was five cubits also, joining to the wing of the other cherub. ¹³The wings of these cherubim spread themselves forth twenty cubits: and they stood on their feet, and their faces were inward. ¹⁴And he made the vail of blue, and purple, and crimson, and fine linen, and wrought cherubim upon it. ¹⁵Also he made before the house two pillars of thirty and five cubits high, and the capital that was on the top of each of them was five cubits. ¹⁶And he made chains, as in the oracle, and put them on the heads of the pillars; and made a hundred pomegranates, and put them on the chains. ¹⁷And he erected the pillars before the temple, one on the right hand, and the other on the left; and called the name of that on the right hand Jachin, and the name of that on the left Boaz.

Chapter 4

¹Moreover he made an altar of brass, twenty cubits the length of it, and twenty cubits the breadth of it, and ten cubits the hight of it. ²Also he made a molten sea of ten cubits from brim to brim, round in compass, and five cubits the hight of it; and a line of thirty cubits encompassed it. ³And under it was the similitude of oxen, which encompassed it: ten in a cubit, encompassing the sea. Two rows of oxen were cast, when it was cast. ⁴It stood upon twelve oxen, three looking towards the north, and three looking towards the west, and three looking towards the south, and three looking towards the east: and the sea was set above upon them, and all their hinder parts were inward. ⁵And the thickness of it was a hand-breadth, and the brim of it like the work of the brim of a cup, with flowers of lilies; and it received and held three thousand baths. ⁶He made also ten lavers, and put five on the right hand, and five on the left, to wash in them: such things as they offered for the burnt-offering they washed in them; but the sea was for the priests to wash in. ⁷And he made ten candlesticks of gold according to their form, and set them in the temple, five on the right hand, and five on the left. ⁸He made also ten tables, and placed them in the temple, five on the right side, and five on the left. And he made a hundred basins of gold. ⁹Furthermore he made the court of the priests, and the great court, and doors for the court, and overlaid the doors of them with brass. ¹⁰And he set the sea on the right side of the east end, over against the south. ¹¹And Huram made the pots, and the shovels, and the basins. And Huram finished the work that he was to make for king Solomon for the house of God; ¹²To wit, the two pillars, and the pommels, and the capitals which were on the top of the two pillars, and the two wreaths to cover the two pommels of the capitals which were on the top of the pillars; ¹³And four hundred pomegranates on the two wreaths; two rows of pomegranates on each wreath, to cover the two pommels of the capitals which were upon the pillars. ¹⁴He made also bases, and lavers he made upon the bases; ¹⁵One sea, and twelve oxen under it. ¹⁶The pots also, and the shovels, and the flesh-hooks, and all their instruments, did Huram his father make to king Solomon for the house of the LORD of bright brass. ¹⁷In the plain of Jordan did the king cast them, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zeredathah. ¹⁸Thus Solomon made all these vessels in great abundance: for the weight of the brass could not be ascertained. ¹⁹And Solomon made all the vessels that were for the house of God, the golden altar also, and the tables on which the show-bread was set; ²⁰Moreover the candlesticks with their lamps, that they should burn after the manner before the oracle, of pure gold; ²¹And the flowers, and the lamps, and the tongs, made he of gold, and that perfect gold; ²²And the snuffers, and the basins, and the spoons, and the censers, of pure gold: and the entry of the house, the inner doors of it for the most holy place, and the doors of the house of the temple, were of gold.

Chapter 5

¹Thus all the work that Solomon made for the house of the LORD was finished: and Solomon brought in all the things that David his father had dedicated; and the silver, and the gold, and all the instruments, he put among the treasures of the house of God. ²Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the chief of the fathers of the children of Israel, to Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD from the city of David, which is Zion. ³Wherefore all the men of Israel assembled themselves to the king in the feast which was in the seventh month. ⁴And all the elders of Israel came; and the Levites took up the ark. ⁵And they brought up the ark, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and all the holy vessels that were in the tabernacle, these did the priests and the Levites bring up. ⁶Also king Solomon, and all the congregation of Israel that were assembled to him before the ark, sacrificed sheep and oxen, which could not be told nor numbered for multitude. ⁷And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the LORD to its place, to the oracle of the house, into the most holy place, even under the wings of the cherubim: ⁸For the cherubim spread forth their wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubim covered the ark, and the staffs of it above. ⁹And they drew out the staffs of the ark, that the ends of the staffs were seen from the ark before the oracle; but they were not seen without. And there it is to this day. ¹⁰There was nothing in the ark save the two tables which Moses put in it at Horeb, when the LORD made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of Egypt. ¹¹And it came to pass, when the priests had come out of the holy place: (for all the priests that were present were sanctified, and did not then wait by course: ¹²Also the Levites who were the singers, all of them of Asaph, of Heman, of Jeduthun, with their sons and their brethren; being arrayed in white linen, having cymbals and psalteries and harps, stood at the east end of the altar, and with them a hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets:) ¹³It came even to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the LORD; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the LORD, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the LORD; ¹⁴So that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of God.

Chapter 6

¹Then said Solomon, The LORD hath said that he would dwell in the thick darkness. ²But I have built a house of habitation for thee, and a place for thy dwelling for ever. ³And the king turned his face, and blessed the whole congregation of Israel: and all the congregation of Israel stood. ⁴And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, who hath with his hands fulfilled that which he spoke with his mouth to my father David, saying, ⁵Since the day that I brought forth my people from the land of Egypt I chose no city among all the tribes of Israel to build a house in, that my name might be there; neither chose I any man to be a ruler over my people Israel: ⁶But I have chosen Jerusalem, that my name might be there; and have chosen David to be over my people Israel. ⁷Now it was in the heart of David my father to build a house for the name of the LORD God of Israel: ⁸But the LORD said to David my father, Forasmuch as it was in thy heart to build a house for my name, thou didst well in that it was in thy heart; ⁹Notwithstanding thou shalt not build the house; but thy son who shall come forth out of thy loins, he shall build the house for my name. ¹⁰The LORD therefore hath performed his word that he hath spoken; for I am raised up in the room of David my father, and am set on the throne of Israel, as the LORD promised, and have built the house for the name of the LORD God of Israel. ¹¹And in it have I put the ark, in which is the covenant of the LORD, that he made with the children of Israel. ¹²And he stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands: ¹³(For Solomon had made a brazen scaffold, of five cubits long, and five cubits broad, and three cubits high, and had set it in the midst of the court: and upon it he stood, and kneeled upon his knees before all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands towards heaven,) ¹⁴And said, O LORD God of Israel, there is no God like thee in the heaven, nor on the earth; who keepest covenant, and showest mercy to thy servants, that walk before thee with all their hearts: ¹⁵Thou who hast kept with thy servant David my father that which thou hast promised him; and hast spoken with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled it with thy hand, as it is this day. ¹⁶Now therefore, O LORD God of Israel, keep with thy servant David my father that which thou hast promised him, saying, There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit upon the throne of Israel; provided thy children take heed to their way to walk in my law, as thou hast walked before me. ¹⁷Now then, O LORD God of Israel, let thy word be verified, which thou hast spoken to thy servant David. ¹⁸But will God in very deed dwell with men on the earth? behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house which I have built! ¹⁹Have respect therefore to the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O LORD my God, to hearken to the cry and the prayer which thy servant prayeth before thee: ²⁰That thy eyes may be open upon this house day and night, upon the place of which thou hast said, that thou wouldst put thy name there; to hearken to the prayer which thy servant prayeth towards this place. ²¹Hearken therefore to the supplications of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, which they shall make towards this place: hear thou from thy dwelling-place, even from heaven; and when thou hearest, forgive. ²²If a man shall sin against his neighbor, and an oath be laid upon him to make him swear, and the oath shall come before thy altar in this house; ²³Then hear thou from heaven, and do, and judge thy servants, by requiting the wicked, by recompensing his way upon his own head; and by justifying the righteous, by giving him according to his righteousness. ²⁴And if thy people Israel shall be put to the worse before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee; and shall return and confess thy name, and pray and make supplication before thee in this house; ²⁵Then hear thou from the heavens, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them again to the land which thou gavest to them and to their fathers. ²⁶When the heaven is shut, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee; yet if they pray towards this place, and confess thy name, and turn from their sin, when thou dost afflict them; ²⁷Then hear thou from heaven, and forgive the sin of thy servants, and of thy people Israel, when thou hast taught them the good way in which they should walk; and send rain upon thy land, which thou hast given to thy people for an inheritance. ²⁸If there shall be dearth in the land, if there be pestilence, if there be blasting, or mildew, locusts, or caterpillars; if their enemies shall besiege them in the cities of their land; whatever calamity, or whatever sickness there be: ²⁹Then whatever prayer, or whatever supplication shall be made by any man, or by all the people of Israel, when every one shall know his own calamity, and his own grief, and shall spread forth his hands in this house: ³⁰Then hear thou from heaven thy dwelling-place, and forgive, and render to every man according to all his ways, whose heart thou knowest (for thou only knowest the hearts of the children of men:) ³¹That they may fear thee, to walk in thy ways, so long as they live in the land which thou gavest to our fathers. ³²Moreover concerning the stranger, who is not of thy people Israel, but hath come from a distant country for thy great name's sake, and thy mighty hand, and thy out-stretched arm; if they come and pray in this house; ³³Then hear thou from the heavens, even from thy dwelling-place, and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for; that all people of the earth may know thy name, and fear thee, as do thy people Israel, and may know that this house which I have built is called by thy name. ³⁴If thy people go out to war against their enemies by the way that thou shalt send them, and they pray to thee towards this city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for thy name; ³⁵Then hear thou from the heavens their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause. ³⁶If they sin against thee, (for there is no man who sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them over before their enemies, and they carry them away captives to a land far off or near; ³⁷Yet if they bethink themselves in the land whither they are carried captive, and turn and pray to thee in the land of their captivity, saying, We have sinned, we have done amiss, and have dealt wickedly; ³⁸If they return to thee with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their captivity, whither they have carried them captives, and pray towards their land which thou gavest to their fathers, and towards the city which thou hast chosen, and towards the house which I have built for thy name: ³⁹Then hear thou from the heavens, even from thy dwelling-place, their prayer and their supplications, and maintain their cause, and forgive thy people who have sinned against thee. ⁴⁰Now, my God, let, I beseech thee, thy eyes be open, and let thy ears be attentive to the prayer that is made in this place. ⁴¹Now therefore arise, O LORD God, into thy resting-place, thou, and the ark of thy strength: let thy priests, O LORD God, be clothed with salvation, and let thy saints rejoice in goodness. ⁴²O LORD God, turn not away the face of thy anointed: remember the mercies of David thy servant.

Chapter 7

¹Now when Solomon had made an end of praying, the fire came down from heaven, and consumed the burnt-offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the LORD filled the house. ²And the priests could not enter into the house of the LORD, because the glory of the LORD had filled the LORD'S house. ³And when all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the LORD upon the house, they bowed themselves with their faces to the ground upon the pavement, and worshiped, and praised the LORD, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever. ⁴Then the king and all the people offered sacrifices before the LORD. ⁵And king Solomon offered a sacrifice of twenty and two thousand oxen, and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep: so the king and all the people dedicated the house of God. ⁶And the priests waited on their offices: the Levites also with instruments of music of the LORD, which David the king had made to praise the LORD, because his mercy endureth for ever, when David praised by their ministry; and the priests sounded trumpets before them, and all Israel stood. ⁷Moreover Solomon hallowed the middle of the court that was before the house of the LORD: for there he offered burnt-offerings, and the fat of the peace-offerings, because the brazen altar which Solomon had made was not able to receive the burnt-offerings, and the meat-offerings, and the fat. ⁸Also at the same time Solomon kept the feast seven days, and all Israel with him, a very great congregation, from the entrance of Hamath to the river of Egypt. ⁹And on the eighth day they made a solemn assembly: for they kept the dedication of the altar seven days, and the feast seven days. ¹⁰And on the three and twentieth day of the seventh month he sent the people away to their tents, glad and merry in heart for the goodness that the LORD had shown to David, and to Solomon, and to Israel his people. ¹¹Thus Solomon finished the house of the LORD, and the king's house: and all that came into Solomon's heart to make in the house of the LORD, and in his own house, he prosperously effected. ¹²And the LORD appeared to Solomon by night, and said to him, I have heard thy prayer, and have chosen this place to myself for a house of sacrifice. ¹³If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people; ¹⁴If my people, who are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. ¹⁵Now my eyes shall be open, and my ears attentive to the prayer that is made in this place. ¹⁶For now have I chosen and sanctified this house, that my name may be there for ever: and my eyes and my heart shall be there perpetually. ¹⁷And as for thee, if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, and do according to all that I have commanded thee, and shalt observe my statutes and my judgments; ¹⁸Then will I establish the throne of thy kingdom, according as I have covenanted with David thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man to be ruler in Israel. ¹⁹But if ye turn away, and forsake my statutes and my commandments, which I have set before you, and shall go and serve other gods, and worship them; ²⁰Then will I pluck them up by the roots out of my land which I have given them; and this house, which I have sanctified for my name, will I cast out of my sight, and will make it to be a proverb and a by-word among all nations. ²¹And this house, which is high, shall be an astonishment to every one that passeth by it; so that he shall say, Why hath the LORD done thus to this land, and to this house? ²²And it shall be answered, Because they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and laid hold on other gods, and worshiped them, and served them: therefore hath he brought all this evil upon them.

Chapter 8

¹And it came to pass at the end of twenty years, wherein Solomon had built the house of the LORD, and his own house, ²That the cities which Huram had restored to Solomon, Solomon built them, and caused the children of Israel to dwell there. ³And Solomon went to Hamath-zobah, and prevailed against it. ⁴And he built Tadmor in the wilderness, and all the store cities, which he built in Hamath. ⁵Also he built Beth-horon the upper, and Beth-horon the nether, fortified cities, with walls, gates, and bars; ⁶And Baalath, and all the store cities that Solomon had, and all the chariot cities, and the cities of the horsemen, and all that Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, and in Lebanon, and throughout all the land of his dominion. ⁷As for all the people that were left of the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, who were not of Israel, ⁸But of their children, who were left after them in the land, whom the children of Israel consumed not, them did Solomon make to pay tribute until this day. ⁹But of the children of Israel did Solomon make no servants for his work; but they were men of war, and chief of his captains, and captains of his chariots and horsemen. ¹⁰And these were the chief of king Solomon's officers, even two hundred and fifty, that bore rule over the people. ¹¹And Solomon brought up the daughter of Pharaoh from the city of David to the house that he had built for her: for he said, My wife shall not dwell in the house of David king of Israel, because the places are holy, to which the ark of the LORD hath come. ¹²Then Solomon offered burnt-offerings to the LORD on the altar of the LORD, which he had built before the porch, ¹³Even after a certain rate every day, offering according to the commandment of Moses, on the sabbaths, and on the new moons, and on the solemn feasts, three times in the year, even in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles. ¹⁴And he appointed, according to the order of David his father, the courses of the priests to their service, and the Levites to their charges, to praise and minister before the priests, as the duty of every day required: the porters also by their courses at every gate: for so had David the man of God commanded. ¹⁵And they departed not from the commandment of the king to the priests and Levites concerning any matter, or concerning the treasures. ¹⁶Now all the work of Solomon was prepared to the day of the foundation of the house of the LORD, and until it was finished. So the house of the LORD was perfected. ¹⁷Then went Solomon to Ezion-geber, and to Eloth, at the sea side in the land of Edom. ¹⁸And Huram sent to him by the hands of his servants, ships, and servants that had knowledge of the sea; and they went with the servants of Solomon to Ophir, and took thence four hundred and fifty talents of gold, and brought them to king Solomon.

Chapter 9

¹And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to prove Solomon with hard questions at Jerusalem, with a very great company, and camels that bore spices, and gold in abundance, and precious stones: and when she had come to Solomon, she communed with him of all that was in her heart. ²And Solomon told her all her questions: and there was nothing hid from Solomon which he told her not. ³And when the queen of Sheba had seen the wisdom of Solomon, and the house that he had built, ⁴And the provisions of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the attendance of his ministers, and their apparel; his cup-bearers also, and their apparel; and his ascent by which he went up into the house of the LORD; there was no more spirit in her. ⁵And she said to the king, It was a true report which I heard in my own land of thy acts, and of thy wisdom: ⁶Yet, I believed not their words, until I came, and my eyes had seen it: and behold, the one half of the greatness of thy wisdom was not told to me: for thou exceedest the fame that I heard. ⁷Happy are thy men, and happy are these thy servants, who stand continually before thee, and hear thy wisdom. ⁸Blessed be the LORD thy God, who delighted in thee to set thee on his throne, to be king for the LORD thy God: because thy God loved Israel, to establish them for ever, therefore he made thee king over them, to do judgment and justice. ⁹And she gave the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold, and of spices great abundance, and precious stones: neither was there any such spice as the queen of Sheba gave to king Solomon. ¹⁰And the servants also of Huram, and the servants of Solomon, who brought gold from Ophir, brought algum trees and precious stones. ¹¹And the king made of the algum trees terraces to the house of the LORD, and to the king's palace, and harps and psalteries for singers: and there were none such seen before in the land of Judah. ¹²And king Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatever she asked, besides that which she had brought to the king. So she turned, and went away to her own land, she and her servants. ¹³Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred and sixty and six talents of gold; ¹⁴Besides that which chapmen and merchants brought. And all the kings of Arabia and governors of the country brought gold and silver to Solomon. ¹⁵And king Solomon made two hundred targets of beaten gold: six hundred shekels of beaten gold went to one target. ¹⁶And three hundred shields made he of beaten gold: three hundred shekels of gold went to one shield. And the king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon. ¹⁷Moreover, the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with pure gold. ¹⁸And there were six steps to the throne, with a footstool of gold, which were fastened to the throne, and stays on each side of the sitting-place, and two lions standing by the stays: ¹⁹And twelve lions stood there on the one side and on the other upon the six steps. There was not the like made in any kingdom. ²⁰And all the drinking vessels of king Solomon were of gold, and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were of pure gold: none were of silver; it was not any thing accounted of in the days of Solomon. ²¹For the king's ships went to Tarshish with the servants of Huram: once every three years came the ships of Tarshish bringing gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks. ²²And king Solomon surpassed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom. ²³And all the kings of the earth sought the presence of Solomon, to hear his wisdom, that God had put in his heart. ²⁴And they brought every man his present, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and raiment, harness, and spices, horses, and mules, a rate year by year. ²⁵And Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen; whom he bestowed in the chariot cities, and with the king at Jerusalem. ²⁶And he reigned over all the kings from the river even to the land of the Philistines, and to the border of Egypt. ²⁷And the king made silver in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar trees he made as the sycamore trees that are in the low plains in abundance. ²⁸And they brought to Solomon horses from Egypt, and from all lands. ²⁹Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, first and last, are they not written in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of Iddo the seer against Jeroboam the son of Nebat? ³⁰And Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years. ³¹And Solomon slept with his fathers, and he was buried in the city of David his father: and Rehoboam his son reigned in his stead.

Chapter 10

¹And Rehoboam went to Shechem: for to Shechem had all Israel come to make him king. ²And it came to pass, when Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who was in Egypt, whither he had fled from the presence of Solomon the king, heard it, that Jeroboam returned from Egypt. ³And they sent and called him. So Jeroboam and all Israel came and spoke to Rehoboam, saying, ⁴Thy father made our yoke grievous: now therefore ease thou somewhat the grievous servitude of thy father, and his heavy yoke that he put upon us, and we will serve thee. ⁵And he said to them, Come again to me after three days. And the people departed. ⁶And king Rehoboam took counsel with the old men that had stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived, saying, What counsel give ye me to return answer to this people? ⁷And they spoke to him, saying, If thou wilt be kind to this people, and please them, and speak good words to them, they will be thy servants for ever. ⁸But he forsook the counsel which the old men gave him, and took counsel with the young men that were brought up with him, that stood before him. ⁹And he said to them, What advice give ye, that we may return answer to this people, who have spoken to me, saying, Ease somewhat the yoke that thy father put upon us? ¹⁰And the young men that were brought up with him, spoke to him, saying, Thus shalt thou answer the people that spoke to thee, saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy, but make thou it somewhat lighter for us; thus shalt thou say to them, My little finger shall be thicker than my father's loins. ¹¹For whereas my father put a heavy yoke upon you, I will put more to your yoke: my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions. ¹²So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam on the third day, as the king directed, saying, Come again to me on the third day. ¹³And the king answered them roughly; and king Rehoboam forsook the counsel of the old men, ¹⁴And answered them after the advice of the young men, saying, My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to it; my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions. ¹⁵So the king hearkened not to the people: for the cause was of God, that the LORD might perform his word, which he spoke by the hand of Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat. ¹⁶And when all Israel saw that the king would not hearken to them, the people answered the king, saying, What portion have we in David? and we have no inheritance in the son of Jesse: every man to your tents, O Israel: and now, David, see to thy own house. So all Israel went to their tents. ¹⁷But as for the children of Israel that dwelt in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them. ¹⁸Then king Rehoboam sent Hadoram that was over the tribute; and the children of Israel stoned him with stones, that he died. But king Rehoboam made speed to get into his chariot, to flee to Jerusalem. ¹⁹And Israel rebelled against the house of David to this day.

Chapter 11

¹And when Rehoboam had come to Jerusalem, he gathered of the house of Judah and Benjamin a hundred and eighty thousand chosen men who were warriors, to fight against Israel, that he might bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam. ²But the word of the LORD came to Shemaiah the man of God, saying, ³Speak to Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all Israel in Judah and Benjamin, saying, ⁴Thus saith the LORD, Ye shall not go up, nor fight against your brethren: return every man to his house: for this thing is done by me. And they obeyed the words of the LORD, and returned from going against Jeroboam. ⁵And Rehoboam dwelt in Jerusalem, and built cities for defense in Judah. ⁶He built even Beth-lehem, and Etam, and Tekoa, ⁷And Beth-zur, and Shocho, and Adullam, ⁸And Gath, and Mareshah, and Ziph, ⁹And Adoraim, and Lachish, and Azekah, ¹⁰And Zorah, and Ajalon, and Hebron, which are in Judah and in Benjamin, fortified cities. ¹¹And he fortified the strong holds, and put captains in them, and store of provisions, and of oil and wine. ¹²And in every several city he put shields and spears, and made them exceeding strong, having Judah and Benjamin on his side. ¹³And the priests and the Levites that were in all Israel resorted to him from all their borders. ¹⁴For the Levites left their suburbs and their possession, and came to Judah and Jerusalem: for Jeroboam and his sons had cast them off from executing the priest's office to the LORD: ¹⁵And he ordained him priests for the high places, and for the devils, and for the calves which he had made. ¹⁶And after them out of all the tribes of Israel, such as set their hearts to seek the LORD God of Israel came to Jerusalem, to sacrifice to the LORD God of their fathers. ¹⁷So they strengthened the kingdom of Judah, and made Rehoboam the son of Solomon strong, three years: for three years they walked in the way of David and Solomon. ¹⁸And Rehoboam took to himself Mahalath the daughter of Jerimoth the son of David for a wife, and Abihail the daughter of Eliab the son of Jesse; ¹⁹Who bore him children, Jeush, and Shamariah, and Zaham. ²⁰And after her he took Maachah the daughter of Absalom; who bore him Abijah, and Attai, and Ziza, and Shelomith. ²¹And Rehoboam loved Maachah the daughter of Absalom above all his wives and his concubines: (for he took eighteen wives, and sixty concubines; and begat twenty and eight sons, and sixty daughters.) ²²And Rehoboam made Abijah the son of Maachah the chief, to be ruler among his brethren: for he thought to make him king. ²³And he dealt wisely, and dispersed of all his children throughout all the countries of Judah and Benjamin, to every fortified city: and he gave them provisions in abundance. And he desired many wives.

Chapter 12

¹And it came to pass, when Rehoboam had established the kingdom, and had strengthened himself, he forsook the law of the LORD, and all Israel with him. ²And it came to pass, that in the fifth year of king Rehoboam, Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, because they had transgressed against the LORD, ³With twelve hundred chariots, and sixty thousand horsemen: and the people were without number that came with him out of Egypt; the Lubims, the Sukkiims, and the Cushites. ⁴And he took the fortified cities which pertained to Judah, and came to Jerusalem. ⁵Then came Shemaiah the prophet to Rehoboam, and to the princes of Judah, that were assembled at Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said to them, Thus saith the LORD, Ye have forsaken me, and therefore have I also left you in the hand of Shishak. ⁶Upon which the princes of Israel, and the king humbled themselves; and they said, The LORD is righteous. ⁷And when the LORD saw that they humbled themselves, the word of the LORD came to Shemaiah, saying, They have humbled themselves; therefore I will not destroy them, but I will grant them some deliverance; and my wrath shall not be poured out upon Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak. ⁸Nevertheless they shall be his servants; that they may know my service, and the service of the kingdoms of the countries. ⁹So Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, and took away the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king's house; he took all: he carried away also the shields of gold which Solomon had made. ¹⁰Instead of which, king Rehoboam made shields of brass, and committed them to the hands of the chief of the guard, that kept the entrance of the king's house. ¹¹And when the king entered into the house of the LORD, the guard came and conveyed them, and brought them again into the guard-chamber. ¹²And when he humbled himself, the wrath of the LORD turned from him, that he would not destroy him altogether: and also in Judah things went well. ¹³So king Rehoboam strengthened himself in Jerusalem, and reigned: for Rehoboam was one and forty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the LORD had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there. And his mother's name was Naamah an Ammonitess. ¹⁴And he did evil, because he prepared not his heart to seek the LORD. ¹⁵Now the acts of Rehoboam, first and last, are they not written in the book of Shemaiah the prophet, and of Iddo the seer, concerning genealogies? And there were wars between Rehoboam and Jeroboam continually. ¹⁶And Rehoboam slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David: and Abijah his son reigned in his stead.

Chapter 13

¹Now in the eighteenth year of king Jeroboam began Abijah to reign over Judah. ²He reigned three years in Jerusalem. His mother's name also was Michaiah the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah. And there was war between Abijah and Jeroboam. ³And Abijah set the battle in array with an army of valiant men of war, even four hundred thousand chosen men: Jeroboam also set the battle in array against him with eight hundred thousand chosen men, being mighty men of valor. ⁴And Abijah stood upon mount Zemaraim, which is in mount Ephraim, and said, Hear me, thou Jeroboam, and all Israel; ⁵Ought ye not to know that the LORD God of Israel gave the kingdom over Israel to David for ever, even to him and to his sons by a covenant of salt? ⁶Yet Jeroboam the son of Nebat the servant of Solomon the son of David, hath risen up, and hath rebelled against his lord. ⁷And there are gathered to him vain men, the children of Belial, and they have strengthened themselves against Rehoboam the son of Solomon, when Rehoboam was young and tender-hearted, and could not withstand them. ⁸And now ye think to withstand the kingdom of the LORD in the hand of the sons of David; and ye are a great multitude, and there are with you golden calves, which Jeroboam made you for gods. ⁹Have ye not cast out the priests of the LORD, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and have made for you priests after the manner of the nations of other lands? so that whoever cometh to consecrate himself with a young bullock and seven rams, the same may be a priest of them that are no gods. ¹⁰But as for us, the LORD is our God, and we have not forsaken him; and the priests, who minister to the LORD, are the sons of Aaron, and the Levites wait upon their business: ¹¹And they burn to the LORD every morning and every evening burnt-sacrifices and sweet incense: the show-bread also they set in order upon the pure table; and the candlestick of gold with its lamps to burn every evening: for we keep the charge of the LORD our God; but ye have forsaken him. ¹²And behold, God himself is with us for our captain, and his priests with sounding trumpets to cry alarm against you. O children of Israel, fight ye not against the LORD God of your fathers; for ye will not prosper. ¹³But Jeroboam caused an ambush to come about behind them: so they were before Judah, and the ambush was behind them. ¹⁴And when Judah looked back, behold, the battle was before and behind: and they cried to the LORD, and the priests sounded with the trumpets. ¹⁵Then the men of Judah gave a shout: and as the men of Judah shouted, it came to pass, that God smote Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah. ¹⁶And the children of Israel fled before Judah: and God delivered them into their hand. ¹⁷And Abijah and his people slew them with a great slaughter: so there fell down slain of Israel five hundred thousand chosen men. ¹⁸Thus the children of Israel were brought under at that time, and the children of Judah prevailed, because they relied upon the LORD God of their fathers. ¹⁹And Abijah pursued Jeroboam, and took cities from him, Beth-el with its towns, and Jeshanah with its towns, and Ephron with its towns. ²⁰Neither did Jeroboam recover strength again in the days of Abijah: and the LORD struck him, and he died. ²¹But Abijah became mighty, and married fourteen wives, and begat twenty and two sons, and sixteen daughters. ²²And the rest of the acts of Abijah, and his ways, and his sayings, are written in the story of the prophet Iddo.

Chapter 14

¹So Abijah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David: and Asa his son reigned in his stead. In his days the land was quiet ten years. ²And Asa did that which was good and right in the eyes of the LORD his God: ³For he took away the altars of the strange gods, and the high places, and broke down the images, and cut down the groves: ⁴And commanded Judah to seek the LORD God of their fathers, and to do the law and the commandment. ⁵Also he took away out of all the cities of Judah the high places and the images: and the kingdom was quiet before him. ⁶And he built fortified cities in Judah: for the land had rest, and he had no war in those years; because the LORD had given him rest. ⁷Therefore he said to Judah, Let us build these cities, and make about them walls, and towers, gates, and bars, while the land is yet before us; because we have sought the LORD our God, we have sought him, and he hath given us rest on every side. So they built, and prospered. ⁸And Asa had an army of men that bore targets and spears, out of Judah three hundred thousand; and out of Benjamin, that bore shields and drew bows, two hundred and eighty thousand: all these were mighty men of valor. ⁹And there came out against them Zerah the Cushite, with a host of a thousand thousand, and three hundred chariots; and came to Mareshah. ¹⁰Then Asa went out against him, and they set the battle in array in the valley of Zephathath at Mareshah. ¹¹And Asa cried to the LORD his God, and said, LORD, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many, or with them that have no power: help us, O LORD our God; for we rest on thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude. O LORD, thou art our God; let not man prevail against thee. ¹²So the LORD smote the Cushites before Asa, and before Judah; and the Cushites fled. ¹³And Asa and the people that were with him pursued them to Gerar: and the Cushites were overthrown, that they could not recover themselves; for they were destroyed before the LORD, and before his host; and they carried away very much spoil. ¹⁴And they smote all the cities about Gerar; for the fear of the LORD came upon them: and they plundered all the cities; for there was exceeding much spoil in them. ¹⁵They smote also the tents of cattle, and carried away sheep and camels in abundance, and returned to Jerusalem.

Chapter 15

¹And the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded: ²And he went out to meet Asa, and said to him, Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; The LORD is with you, while ye are with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you. ³Now for a long season Israel hath been without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law. ⁴But when they in their trouble returned to the LORD God of Israel, and sought him, he was found by them. ⁵And in those times there was no peace to him that went out, nor to him that came in, but great vexations were upon all the inhabitants of the countries. ⁶And nation was destroyed by nation, and city by city: for God troubled them with all adversity. ⁷Be ye strong therefore, and let not your hands be weak; for your work shall be rewarded. ⁸And when Asa heard these words, and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he took courage, and put away the abominable idols out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and out of the cities which he had taken from mount Ephraim, and renewed the altar of the LORD, that was before the porch of the LORD. ⁹And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and the strangers with them out of Ephraim and Manasseh, and out of Simeon: for they resorted to him out of Israel in multitudes, when they saw that the LORD his God was with him. ¹⁰So they assembled at Jerusalem in the third month, in the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa. ¹¹And they offered to the LORD at the same time, of the spoil which they had brought, seven hundred oxen and seven thousand sheep. ¹²And they entered into a covenant to seek the LORD God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul; ¹³That whoever would not seek the LORD God of Israel should be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman. ¹⁴And they swore to the LORD with a loud voice, and with shouting, and with trumpets, and with cornets. ¹⁵And all Judah rejoiced at the oath: for they had sworn with all their heart, and sought him with their whole desire; and he was found by them: and the LORD gave them rest on all sides. ¹⁶And also concerning Maachah the mother of Asa the king, he removed her from being queen, because she had made an idol in a grove: and Asa cut down her idol, and stamped it, and burnt it at the brook Kidron. ¹⁷But the high places were not taken away out of Israel: nevertheless the heart of Asa was perfect all his days. ¹⁸And he brought into the house of God the things that his father had dedicated, and that he himself had dedicated, silver, and gold, and vessels. ¹⁹And there was no more war until the five and thirtieth year of the reign of Asa.

Chapter 16

¹In the six and thirtieth year of the reign of Asa Baasha king of Israel came against Judah, and built Ramah, to the intent that he might let none go out or come in to Asa king of Judah. ²Then Asa brought silver and gold out of the treasures of the house of the LORD and of the king's house, and sent to Ben-hadad king of Syria, that dwelt at Damascus, saying, ³There is a league between me and thee, as there was between my father and thy father: behold, I have sent thee silver and gold; go, break thy league with Baasha king of Israel, that he may depart from me. ⁴And Ben-hadad hearkened to king Asa, and sent the captains of his armies against the cities of Israel; and they smote Ijon, and Dan, and Abelmaim, and all the store cities of Naphtali. ⁵And it came to pass, when Baasha heard it, that he left off the building of Ramah, and let his work cease. ⁶Then Asa the king took all Judah; and they carried away the stones of Ramah, and the timber of it, with which Baasha was building, and he built with it Geba and Mizpah. ⁷And at that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah, and said to him, Because thou hast relied on the king of Syria, and not relied on the LORD thy God, therefore hath the host of the king of Syria escaped out of thy hand. ⁸Were not the Cushites and the Lubims a numerous army, with very many chariots and horsemen? yet, because thou didst rely on the LORD, he delivered them into thy hand. ⁹For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect towards him. In this thou hast done foolishly: therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars. ¹⁰Then Asa was wroth with the seer, and put him in a prison house; for he was in a rage with him because of this thing. And Asa oppressed some of the people the same time. ¹¹And behold, the acts of Asa, first and last, lo, they are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. ¹²And Asa in the thirty and ninth year of his reign was diseased in his feet, until his disease was exceedingly severe: yet in his disease he sought not to the LORD, but to the physicians. ¹³And Asa slept with his fathers, and died in the one and fortieth year of his reign. ¹⁴And they buried him in his own sepulchers which he had made for himself in the city of David, and laid him in the bed which was filled with sweet odors and divers kinds of spices prepared by the apothecaries' art: and they made a very great burning for him.

Chapter 17

¹And Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his stead, and strengthened himself against Israel. ²And he placed forces in all the fortified cities of Judah, and set garrisons in the land of Judah, and in the cities of Ephraim, which Asa his father had taken. ³And the LORD was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the first ways of his father David, and sought not to Baalim; ⁴But sought to the LORD God of his father, and walked in his commandments, and not after the doings of Israel. ⁵Therefore the LORD established the kingdom in his hand: and all Judah brought to Jehoshaphat presents; and he had riches and honor in abundance. ⁶And his heart was lifted up in the ways of the LORD: moreover he took away the high places and groves out of Judah. ⁷Also in the third year of his reign he sent to his princes, even to Ben-hail, and to Obadiah, and to Zechariah, and to Nethaneel, and to Michaiah, to teach in the cities of Judah. ⁸And with them he sent Levites, even Shemaiah, and Nethaniah, and Zebadiah, and Asahel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehonathan, and Adonijah, and Tobijah, and Tob-adonijah, Levites; and with them Elishama and Jehoram, priests. ⁹And they taught in Judah, and had the book of the law of the LORD with them, and went about throughout all the cities of Judah, and taught the people. ¹⁰And the fear of the LORD fell upon all the kingdoms of the lands that were around Judah, so that they made no war against Jehoshaphat. ¹¹Also some of the Philistines brought Jehoshaphat presents, and tribute silver; and the Arabians brought him flocks, seven thousand and seven hundred rams, and seven thousand and seven hundred he-goats. ¹²And Jehoshaphat became exceedingly great; and he built in Judah castles, and cities of store. ¹³And he had much business in the cities of Judah: and the men of war, mighty men of valor, were in Jerusalem. ¹⁴And these are the numbers of them according to the house of their fathers: of Judah, the captains of thousands; Adnah the chief, and with him mighty men of valor three hundred thousand. ¹⁵And next to him was Jehohanan the captain, and with him two hundred and eighty thousand. ¹⁶And next to him was Amasiah the son of Zichri, who willingly offered himself to the LORD; and with him two hundred thousand mighty men of valor. ¹⁷And of Benjamin; Eliada a mighty man of valor, and with him armed men with bow and shield two hundred thousand. ¹⁸And next to him was Jehozabad, and with him a hundred and eighty thousand ready prepared for the war. ¹⁹These waited on the king, besides those whom the king put in the fortified cities throughout all Judah.

Chapter 18

¹Now Jehoshaphat had riches and honor in abundance, and joined affinity with Ahab. ²And after certain years he went down to Ahab to Samaria. And Ahab killed sheep and oxen for him in abundance, and for the people that he had with him, and persuaded him to go up with him to Ramoth-gilead. ³And Ahab king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat king of Judah, Wilt thou go with me to Ramoth-gilead? And he answered him, I am as thou art, and my people as thy people; and we will be with thee in the war. ⁴And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, Inquire, I pray thee, at the word of the LORD to-day. ⁵Therefore the king of Israel collected of prophets four hundred men, and said to them, Shall we go to Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall I forbear? And they said, Go up; for God will deliver it into the king's hand. ⁶But Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the LORD besides, that we may inquire of him? ⁷And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man, by whom we may inquire of the LORD: but I hate him; for he never prophesieth good to me, but always evil: the same is Micaiah the son of Imla. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so. ⁸And the king of Israel called for one of his officers, and said, Bring quickly Micaiah the son of Imla. ⁹And the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah sat each of them on his throne, clothed in their robes, and they sat in a void place at the entrance of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets prophesied before them. ¹⁰And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah had made him horns of iron, and said, Thus saith the LORD, With these thou shalt push Syria until they shall be consumed. ¹¹And all the prophets prophesied so, saying, Go up to Ramoth-gilead, and prosper: for the LORD will deliver it into the hand of the king. ¹²And the messenger that went to call Micaiah spoke to him, saying, Behold, the words of the prophets declare good to the king with one consent; let thy word therefore, I pray thee, be like one of theirs, and speak thou good. ¹³And Micaiah said, As the LORD liveth, even what my God saith, that will I speak. ¹⁴And when he had come to the king, the king said to him, Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall I forbear? And he said, Go ye up, and prosper, and they shall be delivered into your hand. ¹⁵And the king said to him, How many times shall I adjure thee that thou say nothing but the truth to me in the name of the LORD? ¹⁶Then he said, I saw all Israel scattered upon the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd: and the LORD said, These have no master; let them return therefore every man to his house in peace. ¹⁷And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, Did I not tell thee that he would not prophesy good to me, but evil? ¹⁸Again he said, Therefore hear the word of the LORD; I saw the LORD sitting upon his throne, and all the host of heaven standing on his right hand and on his left. ¹⁹And the LORD said, Who shall entice Ahab king of Israel, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead? And one spoke saying after this manner, and another saying after that manner. ²⁰Then there came out a spirit, and stood before the LORD, and said, I will entice him. And the LORD said to him, With what? ²¹And he said, I will go out, and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And the LORD said, Thou shalt entice him, and thou shalt also prevail: go out and do even so. ²²Now therefore, behold, the LORD hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of these thy prophets, and the LORD hath spoken evil against thee. ²³Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah came near, and smote Micaiah upon the cheek, and said, Which way went the spirit of the LORD from me to speak to thee? ²⁴And Micaiah said, Behold, thou shalt see on that day when thou shalt go into an inner chamber to hide thyself. ²⁵Then the king of Israel said, Take ye Micaiah, and carry him back to Amon the governor of the city, and to Joash the king's son; ²⁶And say, Thus saith the king, Put this man in the prison, and feed him with bread of affliction and with water of affliction, until I return in peace. ²⁷And Micaiah said, If thou shalt certainly return in peace, then hath not the LORD spoken by me. And he said, Hearken, all ye people. ²⁸So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramoth-gilead. ²⁹And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, I will disguise myself, and will go to the battle; but put thou on thy robes. So the king of Israel disguised himself; and they went to the battle. ³⁰Now the king of Syria had commanded the captains of the chariots that were with him, saying, Fight ye not with small or great, save only with the king of Israel. ³¹And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, It is the king of Israel. Therefore they compassed about him to fight: but Jehoshaphat cried out, and the LORD helped him; and God moved them to depart from him. ³²For it came to pass, that when the captains of the chariots perceived that it was not the king of Israel, they turned back again from pursuing him. ³³And a certain man drew a bow at a venture, and smote the king of Israel between the joints of the harness: therefore he said to his chariot-man, Turn thy hand, that thou mayest carry me out of the host; for I am wounded. ³⁴And the battle increased that day: yet the king of Israel supported himself in his chariot against the Syrians until the evening: and about the time of the sun setting he died.

Chapter 19

¹And Jehoshaphat the king of Judah returned to his house in peace to Jerusalem. ²And Jehu the son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him, and said to king Jehoshaphat, Shouldst thou help the ungodly, and love them that hate the LORD? therefore is wrath upon thee from before the LORD. ³Nevertheless, there are good things found in thee, in that thou hast taken away the groves out of the land, and hast prepared thy heart to seek God. ⁴And Jehoshaphat dwelt at Jerusalem: and he went out again through the people from Beer-sheba to mount Ephraim, and brought them back to the LORD God of their fathers. ⁵And he set judges in the land throughout all the fortified cities of Judah, city by city, ⁶And said to the judges, Take heed what ye do: for ye judge not for man, but for the LORD, who is with you in the judgment. ⁷Wherefore now let the fear of the LORD be upon you; take heed and do it: for there is no iniquity with the LORD our God, nor respect of persons, nor taking of gifts. ⁸Moreover, in Jerusalem did Jehoshaphat set of the Levites, and of the priests, and of the chief of the fathers of Israel, for the judgment of the LORD, and for controversies, when they returned to Jerusalem. ⁹And he charged them, saying, Thus shall ye do in the fear of the LORD, faithfully, and with a perfect heart. ¹⁰And whatever cause shall come to you of your brethren that dwell in their cities, between blood and blood, between law and commandment, statutes and judgments, ye shall even warn them that they trespass not against the LORD, and so wrath come upon you, and upon your brethren: this do, and ye shall not trespass. ¹¹And behold, Amariah the chief priest is over you in all matters of the LORD; and Zebadiah the son of Ishmael, the ruler of the house of Judah, for all the king's matters: also the Levites shall be officers before you. Deal courageously, and the LORD will be with the good.

Chapter 20

¹It came to pass after this also, that the children of Moab, and the children of Ammon, and with them others besides the Ammonites, came against Jehoshaphat to battle. ²Then there came some that told Jehoshaphat, saying, There cometh a great multitude against thee from beyond the sea on this side of Syria; and behold, they are in Hazazon-tamar, which is En-gedi. ³And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. ⁴And Judah assembled, to ask help of the LORD: even from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the LORD. ⁵And Jehoshaphat stood in the congregation of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the LORD, before the new court, ⁶And said, O LORD God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven? and rulest thou not over all the kingdoms of the heathen? and in thy hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee? ⁷Art not thou our God, who didst drive out the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel, and give it to the seed of Abraham thy friend for ever? ⁸And they dwelt in it, and have built thee a sanctuary in it for thy name, saying, ⁹If, when evil cometh upon us, as the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we stand before this house, and in thy presence, (for thy name is in this house,) and cry to thee in our affliction, then thou wilt hear and help. ¹⁰And now, behold, the children of Ammon and Moab and mount Seir, whom thou wouldst not let Israel invade, when they came from the land of Egypt, but they turned from them, and destroyed them not; ¹¹Behold, I say, how they reward us, to come to cast us out of thy possession, which thou hast given us to inherit. ¹²O our God, wilt thou not judge them? for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee. ¹³And all Judah stood before the LORD, with their little ones, their wives, and their children. ¹⁴Then upon Jehaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, came the Spirit of the LORD in the midst of the congregation; ¹⁵And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the LORD to you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God's. ¹⁶To-morrow go ye down against them: behold, they come up by the cliff of Ziz; and ye shall find them at the end of the brook, before the wilderness of Jeruel. ¹⁷Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the LORD with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; to-morrow go out against them: for the LORD will be with you. ¹⁸And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground: and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the LORD, worshiping the LORD. ¹⁹And the Levites, of the children of the Kohathites, and of the children of the Korhites, stood up to praise the LORD God of Israel with a loud voice on high. ²⁰And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; Believe in the LORD your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper. ²¹And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers to the LORD, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the LORD; for his mercy endureth for ever. ²²And when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushes against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, who were come against Judah; and they were smitten. ²³For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them: and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy another. ²⁴And when Judah came towards the watch-tower in the wilderness, they looked to the multitude, and behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and none escaped. ²⁵And when Jehoshaphat and his people came to take away the spoil of them, they found among them in abundance both riches with the dead bodies, and precious jewels, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away: and they were three days in gathering the spoil, it was so much. ²⁶And on the fourth day they assembled themselves in the valley of Berachah; for there they blessed the LORD: therefore the name of the same place hath been called, The valley of Berachah, to this day. ²⁷Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, and Jehoshaphat in the front of them, to go again to Jerusalem with joy; for the LORD had made them to rejoice over their enemies. ²⁸And they came to Jerusalem with psalteries and harps and trumpets to the house of the LORD. ²⁹And the fear of God was on all the kingdoms of those countries, when they had heard that the LORD fought against the enemies of Israel. ³⁰So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet: for his God gave him rest on all sides. ³¹And Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah: he was thirty and five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty and five years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi. ³²And he walked in the way of Asa his father, and departed not from it, doing that which was right in the sight of the LORD. ³³But the high places were not taken away: for as yet the people had not prepared their hearts to the God of their fathers. ³⁴Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of Jehu the son of Hanani, who is mentioned in the book of the kings of Israel. ³⁵And after this Jehoshaphat king of Judah joined himself with Ahaziah king of Israel, who did very wickedly: ³⁶And he joined himself with him to make ships to go to Tarshish: and they made the ships in Ezion-geber. ³⁷Then Eliezer the son of Dodavah of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, Because thou hast joined thyself with Ahaziah, the LORD hath broken thy works. And the ships were broken, that they were not able to go to Tarshish.

Chapter 21

¹Now Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David. And Jehoram his son reigned in his stead. ²And he had brethren the sons of Jehoshaphat, Azariah, and Jehiel, and Zechariah, and Azariah, and Michael, Shephatiah: all these were the sons of Jehoshaphat king of Israel. ³And their father gave them great gifts of silver, and of gold, and of precious things, with fortified cities in Judah: but the kingdom he gave to Jehoram; because he was the first-born. ⁴Now when Jehoram had risen to the kingdom of his father, he strengthened himself, and slew all his brethren with the sword, and divers also of the princes of Israel. ⁵Jehoram was thirty and two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. ⁶And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as did the house of Ahab: for he had the daughter of Ahab for a wife: and he wrought that which was evil in the eyes of the LORD. ⁷Yet the LORD would not destroy the house of David, because of the covenant that he had made with David, and as he promised to give a light to him and to his sons for ever. ⁸In his days the Edomites revolted from under the dominion of Judah, and made themselves a king. ⁹Then Jehoram went forth with his princes, and all his chariots with him: and he rose by night, and smote the Edomites who encompassed him, and the captains of the chariots. ¹⁰So the Edomites revolted from under the hand of Judah to this day. The same time also did Libnah revolt from under his hand; because he had forsaken the LORD God of his fathers. ¹¹Moreover, he made high places in the mountains of Judah, and caused the inhabitants of Jerusalem to commit fornication, and compelled Judah to do the same. ¹²And there came a writing to him from Elijah the prophet, saying, Thus saith the LORD God of David thy father, Because thou hast not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat thy father, nor in the ways of Asa king of Judah, ¹³But hast walked in the way of the kings of Israel, and hast made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to commit idolatry, like the idolatries of the house of Ahab, and also hast slain thy brethren of thy father's house, who were better than thyself: ¹⁴Behold, with a great plague will the LORD smite thy people, and thy children, and thy wives, and all thy goods: ¹⁵And thou shalt have great sickness by disease of thy bowels, until thy bowels fall out by reason of the sickness day by day. ¹⁶Moreover, the LORD stirred up against Jehoram the spirit of the Philistines, and of the Arabians, that were near the Cushites. ¹⁷And they came up into Judah, and broke into it, and carried away all the substance that was found in the king's house, and his sons also, and his wives; so that there was not a son left to him, save Jehoahaz the youngest of his sons. ¹⁸And after all this the LORD smote him in his bowels with an incurable disease. ¹⁹And it came to pass, that in process of time, after the end of two years, his bowels fell out by reason of his sickness: so he died of severe diseases. And his people made no burning for him, like the burning of his fathers. ²⁰Thirty and two years old was he when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem, eight years, and departed without being desired: yet they buried him in the city of David, but not in the sepulchers of the kings.

Chapter 22

¹And the inhabitants of Jerusalem made Ahaziah his youngest son king in his stead: for the band of men that came with the Arabians to the camp had slain all the eldest. So Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah reigned. ²Forty and two years old was Ahaziah when he began to reign, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother's name also was Athaliah the daughter of Omri. ³He also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab: for his mother was his counselor to do wickedly. ⁴Wherefore he did evil in the sight of the LORD like the house of Ahab: for they were his counselors, after the death of his father, to his destruction. ⁵He walked also after their counsel, and went with Jehoram the son of Ahab king of Israel to war against Hazael king of Syria at Ramoth-gilead: and the Syrians smote Joram. ⁶And he returned to be healed in Jezreel because of the wounds which were given him at Ramah, when he fought with Hazael king of Syria. And Azariah the son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to see Jehoram the son of Ahab at Jezreel, because he was sick. ⁷And the destruction of Ahaziah was from God by coming to Joram: for when he had come, he went out with Jehoram against Jehu the son of Nimshi, whom the LORD had anointed to cut off the house of Ahab. ⁸And it came to pass, that when Jehu was executing judgment upon the house of Ahab, and found the princes of Judah, and the sons of the brethren of Ahaziah, that ministered to Ahaziah, he slew them. ⁹And he sought Ahaziah: and they caught him, (for he was hid in Samaria,) and brought him to Jehu: and when they had slain him, they buried him: Because, said they, he is the son of Jehoshaphat, who sought the LORD with all his heart. So the house of Ahaziah had no power to retain the kingdom. ¹⁰But when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose, and destroyed all the seed royal of the house of Judah. ¹¹But Jehoshabeath, the daughter of the king, took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him from among the king's sons that were slain, and put him and his nurse in a bed chamber. So Jehoshabeath, the daughter of king Jehoram, the wife of Jehoiada the priest, (for she was the sister of Ahaziah,) hid him from Athaliah, so that she slew him not. ¹²And he was with them hid in the house of God six years: and Athaliah reigned over the land.

Chapter 23

¹And in the seventh year Jehoiada strengthened himself, and took the captains of hundreds, Azariah the son of Jeroham, and Ishmael the son of Jehohanan, and Azariah the son of Obed, and Maaseiah the son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat the son of Zichri, into covenant with him. ²And they went about in Judah, and gathered the Levites out of all the cities of Judah, and the chief of the fathers of Israel, and they came to Jerusalem. ³And all the congregation made a covenant with the king in the house of God. And he said to them, Behold, the king's son shall reign, as the LORD hath said of the sons of David. ⁴This is the thing that ye shall do: A third part of you entering on the sabbath, of the priests, and of the Levites, shall be porters of the doors; ⁵And a third part shall be at the king's house; and a third part at the gate of the foundation: and all the people shall be in the courts of the house of the LORD. ⁶But let none come into the house of the LORD, save the priests, and they that minister of the Levites; they shall go in, for they are holy: but all the people shall keep the watch of the LORD. ⁷And the Levites shall encompass the king, every man with his weapons in his hand; and whoever else cometh into the house, he shall be put to death: but be ye with the king when he cometh in, and when he goeth out. ⁸So the Levites and all Judah did according to all things that Jehoiada the priest had commanded, and took every man his men that were to come in on the sabbath, with them that were to go out on the sabbath: for Jehoiada the priest dismissed not the courses. ⁹Moreover, Jehoiada the priest delivered to the captains of hundreds, spears, and bucklers, and shields, that had been king David's, which were in the house of God. ¹⁰And he set all the people, every man having his weapon in his hand, from the right side of the temple to the left side of the temple, along by the altar and the temple, by the king on all sides. ¹¹Then they brought out the king's son, and put upon him the crown, and gave him the testimony, and made him king. And Jehoiada and his sons anointed him, and said, God save the king. ¹²Now when Athaliah heard the noise of the people running and praising the king, she came to the people into the house of the LORD: ¹³And she looked, and behold, the king stood at his pillar at the entrance, and the princes and the trumpets by the king: and all the people of the land rejoiced, and sounded with trumpets, also the singers with instruments of music, and such as taught to sing praise. Then Athaliah rent her clothes, and said, Treason, treason. ¹⁴Then Jehoiada the priest brought out the captains of hundreds that were set over the host, and said to them, Have her forth without the ranges: and whoever followeth her, let him be slain with the sword. For the priest said, Slay her not in the house of the LORD. ¹⁵So they laid hands on her; and when she had come to the entrance of the horse gate by the king's house, they slew her there. ¹⁶And Jehoiada made a covenant between him, and between all the people, and between the king, that they should be the LORD'S people. ¹⁷Then all the people went to the house of Baal, and broke it down, and broke his altars and his images in pieces, and slew Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars. ¹⁸Also Jehoiada appointed the offices of the house of the LORD by the hand of the priests the Levites, whom David had distributed in the house of the LORD, to offer the burnt-offerings of the LORD, as it is written in the law of Moses, with rejoicing and with singing, as it was ordained by David. ¹⁹And he set the porters at the gates of the house of the LORD, that none who was unclean in any thing should enter. ²⁰And he took the captains of hundreds, and the nobles, and the governors of the people, and all the people of the land, and brought down the king from the house of the LORD: and they came through the high gate into the king's house, and set the king upon the throne of the kingdom. ²¹And all the people of the land rejoiced: and the city was quiet, after they had slain Athaliah with the sword.

Chapter 24

¹Joash was seven years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. His mother's name also was Zibiah of Beer-sheba. ²And Joash did that which was right in the sight of the LORD all the days of Jehoiada the priest. ³And Jehoiada took for him two wives; and he begat sons and daughters. ⁴And it came to pass after this, that Joash was minded to repair the house of the LORD. ⁵And he convened the priests and the Levites, and said to them, Go out to the cities of Judah, and gather from all Israel money to repair the house of your God from year to year, and see that ye hasten the matter. But the Levites hastened it not. ⁶And the king called for Jehoiada the chief, and said to him, Why hast thou not required of the Levites to bring in out of Judah and out of Jerusalem the collection, according to the commandment of Moses the servant of the LORD, and of the congregation of Israel, for the tabernacle of witness? ⁷For the sons of Athaliah that wicked woman, had broken up the house of God; and also all the dedicated things of the house of the LORD they bestowed upon Baalim. ⁸And at the king's commandment they made a chest, and set it without at the gate of the house of the LORD. ⁹And they made a proclamation through Judah and Jerusalem, to bring in to the LORD the collection that Moses the servant of God laid upon Israel in the wilderness. ¹⁰And all the princes and all the people rejoiced, and brought in, and cast into the chest, until they had made an end. ¹¹Now it came to pass, that at the time the chest was brought to the king's office by the hand of the Levites, and when they saw that there was much money, the king's scribe and the high priest's officer came and emptied the chest, and took it, and carried it to its place again. Thus they did day by day, and collected money in abundance. ¹²And the king and Jehoiada gave it to such as did the work of the service of the house of the LORD, and hired masons and carpenters to repair the house of the LORD, and also such as wrought iron and brass to mend the house of the LORD. ¹³So the workmen wrought, and the work was perfected by them, and they set the house of God in its state, and strengthened it. ¹⁴And when they had finished it, they brought the rest of the money before the king and Jehoiada, of which were made vessels for the house of the LORD, even vessels to minister, and to offer with, and spoons, and vessels of gold and silver. And they offered burnt-offerings in the house of the LORD continually all the days of Jehoiada. ¹⁵But Jehoiada grew old, and was full of days when he died; a hundred and thirty years old was he when he died. ¹⁶And they buried him in the city of David among the kings, because he had done good in Israel, both towards God, and towards his house. ¹⁷Now after the death of Jehoiada came the princes of Judah, and made obeisance to the king. Then the king hearkened to them. ¹⁸And they left the house of the LORD God of their fathers, and served groves and idols: and wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for this their trespass. ¹⁹Yet he sent prophets to them, to bring them again to the LORD; and they testified against them: but they would not give ear. ²⁰And the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, who stood above the people, and said to them, Thus saith God, Why transgress ye the commandments of the LORD, that ye cannot prosper? because ye have forsaken the LORD, he hath also forsaken you. ²¹And they conspired against him, and stoned him with stones at the commandment of the king in the court of the house of the LORD. ²²Thus Joash the king remembered not the kindness which Jehoiada his father had done to him, but slew his son. And when he died, he said, The LORD look upon it, and require it. ²³And it came to pass at the end of the year, that the army of Syria came up against him: and they came to Judah and Jerusalem, and destroyed all the princes of the people from among the people, and sent all the spoil of them to the king of Damascus. ²⁴For the army of the Syrians came with a small company of men, and the LORD delivered a very great host into their hand, because they had forsaken the LORD God of their fathers. So they executed judgment against Joash. ²⁵And when they had departed from him, (for they left him in great diseases,) his own servants conspired against him for the blood of the sons of Jehoiada the priest, and slew him on his bed, and he died: and they buried him in the city of David, but they buried him not in the sepulchers of the kings. ²⁶And these are they that conspired against him; Zabad the son of Shimeath an Ammonitess, and Jehozabad the son of Shimrith a Moabitess. ²⁷Now concerning his sons, and the greatness of the burdens laid upon him, and the repairing of the house of God, behold, they are written in the story of the book of the kings. And Amaziah his son reigned in his stead.

Chapter 25

¹Amaziah was twenty and five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Jehoaddan of Jerusalem. ²And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, but not with a perfect heart. ³Now it came to pass, when the kingdom was established to him, that he slew his servants that had killed the king his father. ⁴But he slew not their children, but did as it is written in the law of the book of Moses, where the LORD commanded, saying, The fathers shall not die for the children, neither shall the children die for the fathers, but every man shall die for his own sin. ⁵Moreover, Amaziah assembled Judah, and made them captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, according to the houses of their fathers, throughout all Judah and Benjamin: and he numbered them from twenty years old and above, and found them three hundred thousand choice men, able to go forth to war, that could handle spear and shield. ⁶He hired also a hundred thousand mighty men of valor out of Israel for a hundred talents of silver. ⁷But there came a man of God to him, saying, O king, let not the army of Israel go with thee; for the LORD is not with Israel, to wit, with all the children of Ephraim. ⁸But if thou wilt go, do it, be strong for the battle: God will make thee fall before the enemy: for God hath power to help, and to cast down. ⁹And Amaziah said to the man of God, But what shall we do for the hundred talents which I have given to the army of Israel? And the man of God answered, The LORD is able to give thee much more than this. ¹⁰Then Amaziah separated them, to wit, the army that had come to him out of Ephraim, to go home again: wherefore their anger was greatly kindled against Judah, and they returned home in great anger. ¹¹And Amaziah strengthened himself, and led forth his people, and went to the valley of salt, and smote of the children of Seir ten thousand. ¹²And other ten thousand left alive the children of Judah carried away captive, and brought them to the top of the rock, and cast them down from the top of the rock, that they were all broken in pieces. ¹³But the soldiers of the army whom Amaziah sent back, that they should not go with him to battle, fell upon the cities of Judah, from Samaria even to Beth-horon, and smote three thousand of them, and took much spoil. ¹⁴Now it came to pass, after that Amaziah had come from the slaughter of the Edomites, that he brought the gods of the children of Seir, and set them up to be his gods, and bowed himself before them, and burned incense to them. ¹⁵Wherefore the anger of the LORD was kindled against Amaziah, and he sent to him a prophet, who said to him, Why hast thou sought after the gods of the people, which could not deliver their own people out of thy hand? ¹⁶And it came to pass, as he talked with him, that the king said to him, Art thou made of the king's council? forbear? why shouldst thou be smitten? Then the prophet forbore, and said, I know that God hath determined to destroy thee, because thou hast done this, and hast not hearkened to my counsel. ¹⁷Then Amaziah king of Judah took advice, and sent to Joash, the son of Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, Come, let us see one another in the face. ¹⁸And Joash king of Israel sent to Amaziah king of Judah, saying, The thistle that was in Lebanon sent to the cedar that was in Lebanon, saying, Give thy daughter to my son for a wife: and there passed by a wild beast that was in Lebanon, and trod down the thistle. ¹⁹Thou sayest, Lo, thou hast smitten the Edomites; and thy heart lifteth thee up to boast: abide now at home; why shouldst thou meddle to thy hurt, that thou shouldst fall, even thou, and Judah with thee? ²⁰But Amaziah would not hear; for it came from God, that he might deliver them into the hand of their enemies, because they sought after the gods of Edom. ²¹So Joash the king of Israel went up; and they saw one another in the face, both he and Amaziah king of Judah, at Beth-shemesh, which belongeth to Judah. ²²And Judah was defeated before Israel, and they fled every man to his tent. ²³And Joash the king of Israel took Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Joash, the son of Jehoahaz, at Beth-shemesh, and brought him to Jerusalem, and broke down the wall of Jerusalem from the gate of Ephraim to the corner gate, four hundred cubits. ²⁴And he took all the gold and the silver, and all the vessels that were found in the house of God with Obed-edom, and the treasures of the king's house, the hostages also, and returned to Samaria. ²⁵And Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah, lived after the death of Joash, son of Jehoahaz king of Israel, fifteen years. ²⁶Now the rest of the acts of Amaziah, first and last, behold, are they not written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel? ²⁷Now after the time that Amaziah turned away from following the LORD, they made a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem; and he fled to Lachish: but they sent to Lachish after him, and slew him there. ²⁸And they brought him upon horses, and buried him with his fathers in the city of Judah.

Chapter 26

¹Then all the people of Judah took Uzziah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king in the room of his father Amaziah. ²He built Eloth, and restored it to Judah, after the king slept with his fathers. ³Sixteen years old was Uzziah when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty and two years in Jerusalem. His mother's name also was Jecoliah of Jerusalem. ⁴And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father Amaziah did. ⁵And he sought God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding in the visions of God: and, as long as he sought the LORD, God made him to prosper. ⁶And he went forth and warred against the Philistines, and broke down the wall of Gath, and the wall of Jabneh, and the wall of Ashdod, and built cities about Ashdod, and among the Philistines. ⁷And God helped him against the Philistines, and against the Arabians that dwelt in Gur-baal, and the Mehunims. ⁸And the Ammonites gave gifts to Uzziah: and his name spread abroad even to the entrance of Egypt: for he strengthened himself exceedingly. ⁹Moreover, Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the corner gate, and at the valley gate, and at the turning of the wall, and fortified them. ¹⁰Also he built towers in the desert, and digged many wells: for he had many cattle, both in the low country, and in the plains: husbandmen also, and vine-dressers in the mountains, and in Carmel: for he loved husbandry. ¹¹Moreover, Uzziah had an army of fighting men, that went out to war, by bands, according to the number of their account by the hand of Jeiel the scribe and Maaseiah the ruler, under the hand of Hananiah, one of the king's captains. ¹²The whole number of the chief of the fathers of the mighty men of valor were two thousand and six hundred. ¹³And under their hand was an army, three hundred thousand and seven thousand and five hundred, that made war with mighty power, to help the king against the enemy. ¹⁴And Uzziah prepared for them throughout all the army, shields, and spears, and helmets, and habergeons, and bows, and slings to cast stones. ¹⁵And he made in Jerusalem engines, invented by skillful men, to be on the towers and upon the bulwarks, to shoot arrows and great stones. And his name spread far abroad; for he was helped in a wonderful manner, till he was strong. ¹⁶But when he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction: for he transgressed against the LORD his God, and went into the temple of the LORD to burn incense upon the altar of incense. ¹⁷And Azariah the priest went in after him, and with him eighty priests of the LORD, that were valiant men: ¹⁸And they withstood Uzziah the king, and said to him, It appertaineth not to thee, Uzziah, to burn incense to the LORD, but to the priests the sons of Aaron, that are consecrated to burn incense: go out of the sanctuary; for thou hast trespassed; neither will it be for thy honor from the LORD God. ¹⁹Then Uzziah was wroth, and had a censer in his hand to burn incense: and while he was wroth with the priests, the leprosy even rose up in his forehead before the priests in the house of the LORD, from beside the incense altar. ²⁰And Azariah the chief priest, and all the priests looked upon him, and behold, he was leprous in his forehead, and they thrust him out from thence; yea, himself hasted also to go out, because the LORD had smitten him. ²¹And Uzziah the king was a leper to the day of his death, and dwelt in a separate house, being a leper; for he was cut off from the house of the LORD: and Jotham his son was over the king's house, judging the people of the land. ²²Now the rest of the acts of Uzziah, first and last, were written by Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amos. ²³So Uzziah slept with his fathers, and they buried him with his fathers in the field of the burial which belonged to the kings; for they said, He is a leper: and Jotham his son reigned in his stead.

Chapter 27

¹Jotham was twenty and five years old when he began to reign and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. His mother's name also was Jerushah, the daughter of Zadok. ²And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father Uzziah did: yet, he entered not into the temple of the LORD. And the people did yet corruptly. ³He built the high gate of the house of the LORD, and on the wall of Ophel he built much. ⁴Moreover, he built cities in the mountains of Judah, and in the forests he built castles and towers. ⁵He fought also with the king of the Ammonites, and prevailed against them. And the children of Ammon gave him the same year a hundred talents of silver, and ten thousand measures of wheat, and ten thousand of barley. So much did the children of Ammon pay to him, both the second year, and the third. ⁶So Jotham became mighty, because he prepared his ways before the LORD his God. ⁷Now the rest of the acts of Jotham, and all his wars, and his ways, see, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah. ⁸He was five and twenty years old when he began to reign, and reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. ⁹And Jotham slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David: and Ahaz his son reigned in his stead.

Chapter 28

¹Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem: but he did not that which was right in the sight of the LORD, like David his father: ²For he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, and made also molten images for Baalim. ³Moreover, he burnt incense in the valley of the son of Hinnom, and burnt his children in the fire, after the abominations of the heathen whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel. ⁴He sacrificed also and burnt incense in the high places, and on the hills, and under every green tree. ⁵Wherefore the LORD his God delivered him into the hand of the king of Syria; and they smote him, and carried away a great multitude of them captives, and brought them to Damascus. And he was also delivered into the hand of the king of Israel, who smote him with a great slaughter. ⁶For Pekah the son of Remaliah slew in Judah a hundred and twenty thousand in one day, who were all valiant men; because they had forsaken the LORD God of their fathers. ⁷And Zichri, a mighty man of Ephraim, slew Maaseiah the king's son, and Azrikam the governor of the house, and Elkanah that was next to the king. ⁸And the children of Israel carried away captive of their brethren two hundred thousand, women, sons, and daughters, and also took away much spoil from them, and brought the spoil to Samaria. ⁹But a prophet of the LORD was there, whose name was Oded: and he went out before the army that came to Samaria, and said to them, Behold, because the LORD God of your fathers was wroth with Judah, he hath delivered them into your hand, and ye have slain them in a rage that reacheth to heaven. ¹⁰And now ye purpose to keep under the children of Judah and Jerusalem for bond-men and bond-women to you: but are there not with you, even with you, sins against the LORD your God? ¹¹Now hear me therefore, and deliver the captives again, which ye have taken captive of your brethren: for the fierce wrath of the LORD is upon you. ¹²Then certain of the heads of the children of Ephraim, Azariah the son of Johanan, Berechiah the son of Meshillemoth, and Jehizkiah the son of Shallum, and Amasa the son of Hadlai, stood up against them that came from the war. ¹³And said to them, Ye shall not bring in the captives hither: for whereas we have offended against the LORD already, ye intend to add more to our sins and to our trespass: for our trespass is great, and there is fierce wrath against Israel. ¹⁴So the armed men left the captives and the spoil before the princes and all the congregation. ¹⁵And the men who were expressed by name arose, and took the captives, and with the spoil clothed all that were naked among them, and arrayed them, and shod them, and gave them to eat and to drink, and anointed them, and carried all the feeble of them upon asses, and brought them to Jericho, the city of palm trees, to their brethren: then they returned to Samaria. ¹⁶At that time king Ahaz sent to the kings of Assyria to help him. ¹⁷For again the Edomites had come and smitten Judah, and carried away captives. ¹⁸The Philistines also had invaded the cities of the low country, and of the south of Judah, and had taken Beth-shemesh, and Ajalon, and Gederoth, and Shocho with its villages, and Timnah with its villages, Gimzo also and its villages: and they dwelt there. ¹⁹For the LORD brought Judah low because of Ahaz king of Israel: for he made Judah naked, and greatly transgressed against the LORD. ²⁰And Tilgath-pilneser king of Assyria came to him, and distressed him, but strengthened him not. ²¹For Ahaz took away a portion from the house of the LORD, and from the house of the king, and of the princes, and gave it to the king of Assyria: but he helped him not. ²²And in the time of his distress he trespassed yet more against the LORD: this is that king Ahaz. ²³For he sacrificed to the gods of Damascus, which smote him: and he said, Because the gods of the kings of Syria help them, therefore will I sacrifice to them, that they may help me. But they were the ruin of him, and of all Israel. ²⁴And Ahaz collected the vessels of the house of God, and cut in pieces the vessels of the house of God, and shut up the doors of the house of the LORD, and he made for himself altars in every corner of Jerusalem. ²⁵And in every several city of Judah he made high places to burn incense to other gods, and provoked to anger the LORD God of his fathers. ²⁶Now the rest of his acts and of all his ways, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. ²⁷And Ahaz slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city, even in Jerusalem: but they brought him not into the sepulchers of the kings of Israel: and Hezekiah his son reigned in his stead.

Chapter 29

¹Hezekiah began to reign when he was five and twenty years old, and he reigned nine and twenty years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Abijah the daughter of Zechariah. ²And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that David his father had done. ³He, in the first year of his reign, in the first month, opened the doors of the house of the LORD, and repaired them. ⁴And he brought in the priests and the Levites, and assembled them in the east street, ⁵And said to them, Hear me, ye Levites, sanctify now yourselves, and sanctify the house of the LORD God of your fathers, and carry forth the filthiness out of the holy place. ⁶For our fathers have trespassed, and done that which was evil in the eyes of the LORD our God, and have forsaken him, and have turned away their faces from the habitation of the LORD, and turned their backs. ⁷Also they have shut up the doors of the porch, and put out the lamps, and have not burned incense nor offered burnt-offerings in the holy place to the God of Israel. ⁸Wherefore the wrath of the LORD hath been upon Judah and Jerusalem, and he hath delivered them to trouble, to astonishment, and to hissing, as ye see with your eyes. ⁹For lo, our fathers have fallen by the sword, and our sons and our daughters and our wives are in captivity for this. ¹⁰Now it is in my heart to make a covenant with the LORD God of Israel, that his fierce wrath may turn away from us. ¹¹My sons, be not now negligent: for the LORD hath chosen you to stand before him, to serve him, and that ye should minister to him, and burn incense. ¹²Then the Levites arose, Mahath the son of Amasai, and Joel the son of Azariah, of the sons of the Kohathites: and of the sons of Merari, Kish the son of Abdi, and Azariah the son of Jehalelel: and of the Gershonites; Joah the son of Zimmah, and Eden the son of Joah: ¹³And of the sons of Elizaphan; Shimri, and Jeiel: and of the sons of Asaph; Zechariah, and Mattaniah: ¹⁴And of the sons of Heman; Jehiel, and Shimei: and of the sons of Jeduthun; Shemaiah, and Uzziel. ¹⁵And they assembled their brethren, and sanctified themselves, and came, according to the commandment of the king, by the words of the LORD, to cleanse the house of the LORD. ¹⁶And the priests went into the inner part of the house of the LORD, to cleanse it, and brought out all the uncleanness that they found in the temple of the LORD into the court of the house of the LORD. And the Levites took it, to carry it out abroad into the brook Kidron. ¹⁷Now they began on the first day of the first month to sanctify, and on the eighth day of the month they came to the porch of the LORD: so they sanctified the house of the LORD in eight days; and on the sixteenth day of the first month they made an end. ¹⁸Then they went in to Hezekiah the king, and said, We have cleansed all the house of the LORD, and the altar of burnt-offering, with all its vessels, and the show-bread table, with all its vessels. ¹⁹Moreover all the vessels, which king Ahaz in his reign cast away in his transgression, have we prepared and sanctified, and behold, they are before the altar of the LORD. ²⁰Then Hezekiah the king rose early, and convened the rulers of the city, and went up to the house of the LORD. ²¹And they brought seven bullocks, and seven rams, and seven lambs, and seven he-goats, for a sin-offering for the kingdom, and for the sanctuary, and for Judah. And he commanded the priests the sons of Aaron to offer them on the altar of the LORD. ²²So they killed the bullocks, and the priests received the blood, and sprinkled it on the altar: likewise, when they had killed the rams, they sprinkled the blood upon the altar: they killed also the lambs, and they sprinkled the blood upon the altar. ²³And they brought forth the he-goats for the sin-offering before the king and the congregation; and they laid their hands upon them: ²⁴And the priests killed them, and they made reconciliation with their blood upon the altar, to make an atonement for all Israel: for the king commanded that the burnt-offering and the sin-offering should be made for all Israel. ²⁵And he set the Levites in the house of the LORD with cymbals, with psalteries, and with harps, according to the commandment of David, and of Gad the king's seer, and Nathan the prophet: for so was the commandment of the LORD by his prophets. ²⁶And the Levites stood with the instruments of David, and the priests with the trumpets. ²⁷And Hezekiah commanded to offer the burnt-offering upon the altar. And when the burnt-offering began, the song of the LORD began also with the trumpets, and with the instruments ordained by David king of Israel. ²⁸And all the congregation worshiped, and the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded: and all this continued until the burnt-offering was finished. ²⁹And when they had made an end of offering, the king and all that were present with him bowed themselves, and worshiped. ³⁰Moreover, Hezekiah the king and the princes commanded the Levites to sing praise to the LORD, with the words of David, and of Asaph the seer. And they sang praises with gladness, and they bowed their heads and worshiped. ³¹Then Hezekiah answered and said, Now ye have consecrated yourselves to the LORD, come near and bring sacrifices and thank-offerings into the house of the LORD. And the congregation brought in sacrifices and thank-offerings; and, as many as were of a free heart, burnt-offerings. ³²And the number of the burnt-offerings, which the congregation brought, was seventy bullocks, a hundred rams: and two hundred lambs: all these were for a burnt-offering to the LORD. ³³And the consecrated things were six hundred oxen and three thousand sheep. ³⁴But the priests were too few, so that they could not flay all the burnt-offerings: wherefore their brethren the Levites helped them, till the work was ended, and until the other priests had sanctified themselves: for the Levites were more upright in heart to sanctify themselves than the priests. ³⁵And also the burnt-offerings were in abundance, with the fat of the peace-offerings, and the drink-offerings for every burnt-offering. So the service of the house of the LORD was set in order. ³⁶And Hezekiah rejoiced, and all the people, that God had prepared the people: for the thing was done suddenly.

Chapter 30

¹And Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah, and wrote letters also to Ephraim and Manasseh, that they should come to the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, to keep the passover to the LORD God of Israel. ²For the king had taken counsel, and his princes, and all the congregation in Jerusalem, to keep the passover in the second month. ³For they could not keep it at that time, because the priests had not sanctified themselves sufficiently, neither had the people assembled themselves at Jerusalem. ⁴And the thing pleased the king and all the congregation. ⁵So they established a decree to make proclamation throughout all Israel, from Beer-sheba even to Dan, that they should come to keep the passover to the LORD God of Israel at Jerusalem: for they had not done it of a long time in the manner as it was written. ⁶So the posts went with the letters from the king and his princes throughout all Israel and Judah, and according to the commandment of the king, saying, Ye children of Israel, turn again to the LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, and he will return to the remnant of you that have escaped from the hand of the kings of Assyria. ⁷And be not ye like your fathers, and like your brethren, who trespassed against the LORD God of their fathers, who therefore gave them up to desolation, as ye see. ⁸Now be ye not stiff-necked, as your fathers were, but yield yourselves to the LORD, and enter into his sanctuary, which he hath sanctified for ever: and serve the LORD your God, that the fierceness of his wrath may turn away from you. ⁹For if ye turn again to the LORD, your brethren and your children will find compassion before them that lead them captive, so that they will return into this land: for the LORD your God is gracious and merciful, and will not turn away his face from you, if ye return to him. ¹⁰So the posts passed from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh even to Zebulun: but they laughed them to scorn, and mocked them. ¹¹Nevertheless, divers of Asher and Manasseh and of Zebulun humbled themselves, and came to Jerusalem. ¹²Also in Judah the hand of God was to give them one heart to do the commandment of the king and of the princes, by the word of the LORD. ¹³And there assembled at Jerusalem many people to keep the feast of unleavened bread in the second month, a very great congregation. ¹⁴And they arose and took away the altars that were in Jerusalem, and all the altars for incense they took away, and cast them into the brook Kidron. ¹⁵Then they killed the passover on the fourteenth day of the second month: and the priests and the Levites were ashamed, and sanctified themselves, and brought in the burnt-offerings into the house of the LORD. ¹⁶And they stood in their place after their manner, according to the law of Moses the man of God: the priests sprinkled the blood, which they received from the hand of the Levites. ¹⁷For there were many in the congregation that were not sanctified: therefore the Levites had the charge of the killing of the passovers for every one that was not clean, to sanctify them to the LORD. ¹⁸For a multitude of the people, even many of Ephraim, and Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves, yet they ate the passover otherwise than it was written. But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, The good LORD pardon every one, ¹⁹That prepareth his heart to seek God, the LORD God of his fathers, though he is not cleansed according to the purification of the sanctuary. ²⁰And the LORD hearkened to Hezekiah, and healed the people. ²¹And the children of Israel that were present at Jerusalem kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days with great gladness: and the Levites and the priests praised the LORD day by day, singing with loud instruments to the LORD. ²²And Hezekiah spoke comfortably to all the Levites that taught the good knowledge of the LORD: and they ate throughout the feast seven days, offering peace-offerings, and making confession to the LORD God of their fathers. ²³And the whole assembly took counsel to keep other seven days: and they kept other seven days with gladness. ²⁴For Hezekiah king of Judah gave to the congregation a thousand bullocks and seven thousand sheep; and the princes gave to the congregation a thousand bullocks and ten thousand sheep: and a great number of priests sanctified themselves. ²⁵And all the congregation of Judah, with the priests and the Levites, and all the congregation that came out of Israel, and the strangers that came from the land of Israel, and that dwelt in Judah, rejoiced. ²⁶So there was great joy in Jerusalem: for since the time of Solomon the son of David king of Israel there was not the like in Jerusalem. ²⁷Then the priests the Levites arose and blessed the people: and their voice was heard, and their prayer ascended to his holy dwelling-place, even to heaven.

Chapter 31

¹Now when all this was finished, all Israel that were present went out to the cities of Judah, and broke the images in pieces, and cut down the groves, and threw down the high places and the altars out of all Judah and Benjamin, in Ephraim also and Manasseh, until they had utterly destroyed them all. Then all the children of Israel returned every man to his possession into their own cities. ²And Hezekiah appointed the courses of the priests and the Levites after their courses, every man according to his service, the priests and Levites for burnt-offerings and for peace-offerings, to minister, and to give thanks, and to praise in the gates of the tents of the LORD. ³He appointed also the king's portion of his substance for the burnt-offerings, to wit, for the morning and evening burnt-offerings, and the burnt-offerings for the sabbaths, and for the new-moons, and for the set feasts, as it is written in the law of the LORD. ⁴Moreover, he commanded the people that dwelt in Jerusalem to give the portion of the priests and the Levites, that they might be encouraged in the law of the LORD. ⁵And as soon as the commandment came abroad, the children of Israel brought in abundance the first-fruits of corn, wine, and oil, and honey, and of all the increase of the field; and the tithe of all things they brought in abundantly. ⁶And the children of Israel and Judah, that dwelt in the cities of Judah, they also brought in the tithe of oxen and sheep, and the tithe of holy things which were consecrated to the LORD their God, and laid them by heaps. ⁷In the third month they began to lay the foundation of the heaps, and finished them in the seventh month. ⁸And when Hezekiah and the princes came and saw the heaps, they blessed the LORD, and his people Israel. ⁹Then Hezekiah questioned with the priests and the Levites concerning the heaps. ¹⁰And Azariah the chief priest of the house of Zadok answered him, and said, Since the people began to bring the offerings into the house of the LORD, we have had enough to eat, and have left plenty: for the LORD hath blessed his people; and that which is left is this great abundance. ¹¹Then Hezekiah commanded to prepare chambers in the house of the LORD; and they prepared them, ¹²And brought in the offerings and the tithes, and the dedicated things faithfully: over which Conaniah the Levite was ruler, and Shimei his brother was the next. ¹³And Jehiel, and Azaziah, and Nahath, and Asahel, and Jerimoth, and Jozabad, and Eliel, and Ismachiah, and Mahath, and Benaiah, were overseers under the hand of Conaniah and Shimei his brother, at the commandment of Hezekiah the king, and Azariah the ruler of the house of God. ¹⁴And Kore the son of Imnah the Levite, the porter towards the east, was over the free-will-offerings of God, to distribute the oblations of the LORD, and the most holy things. ¹⁵And next him were Eden, and Miniamin, and Jeshua, and Shemaiah, Amariah, and Shecaniah, in the cities of the priests, in their set office, to give to their brethren by courses, as well to the great as to the small: ¹⁶Besides their genealogy of males, from three years old and upward, even to every one that entereth into the house of the LORD, his daily portion for their service in their charges according to their courses; ¹⁷Both to the genealogy of the priests by the house of their fathers, and the Levites from twenty years old and upward, in their charges, by their courses; ¹⁸And to the genealogy of all their little ones, their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, through all the congregation: for in their set office they sanctified themselves in holiness: ¹⁹Also of the sons of Aaron the priests, who were in the fields of the suburbs of their cities, in every several city, the men that were expressed by name, to give portions to all the males among the priests, and to all that were reckoned by genealogies among the Levites. ²⁰And thus did Hezekiah throughout all Judah, and performed that which was good and right and truth before the LORD his God. ²¹And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law, and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart, and prospered.

Chapter 32

¹After these things, and their establishment, Sennacherib king of Assyria came, and entered into Judah, and encamped against the fortified cities, and thought to win them for himself. ²And when Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had come, and that he purposed to fight against Jerusalem, ³He took counsel with his princes and his mighty men to stop the waters of the fountains which were without the city: and they helped him. ⁴So there were assembled many people, who stopped all the fountains, and the brook that ran through the midst of the land, saying, Why should the kings of Assyria come, and find much water? ⁵Also he strengthened himself, and built up all the wall that was broken, and raised it up to the towers, and another wall without, and repaired Millo in the city of David, and made darts and shields in abundance. ⁶And he set captains of war over the people, and assembled them to him in the street of the gate of the city, and encouraged them, saying, ⁷Be strong and courageous, be not afraid nor dismayed for the king of Assyria, nor for all the multitude that is with him: for there are more with us than with him: ⁸With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the LORD our God to help us, and to fight our battles. And the people rested themselves upon the words of Hezekiah king of Judah. ⁹After this Sennacherib king of Assyria sent his servants to Jerusalem, (but he himself laid siege against Lachish, and all his power with him,) to Hezekiah king of Judah, and to all Judah that were at Jerusalem, saying, ¹⁰Thus saith Sennacherib king of Assyria, On what do ye trust, that ye abide in the siege in Jerusalem? ¹¹Doth not Hezekiah persuade you to give over yourselves to die by famine and by thirst, saying, The LORD our God will deliver us out of the hand of the king of Assyria? ¹²Hath not the same Hezekiah taken away his high places and his altars, and commanded Judah and Jerusalem, saying, Ye shall worship before one altar, and burn incense upon it? ¹³Know ye not what I and my fathers have done to all the people of other lands? were the gods of the nations of those lands any ways able to deliver their lands out of my hand? ¹⁴Who was there among all the gods of those nations that my fathers utterly destroyed, that could deliver his people out of my hand, that your God should be able to deliver you out of my hand? ¹⁵Now therefore let not Hezekiah deceive you, nor persuade you in this manner, neither yet believe him: for no god of any nation or kingdom hath been able to deliver his people out of my hand, and out of the hand of my fathers: how much less shall your God deliver you out of my hand? ¹⁶And his servants spoke yet more against the LORD God, and against his servant Hezekiah. ¹⁷He wrote also letters to rail at the LORD God of Israel, and to speak against him, saying, As the gods of the nations of other lands have not delivered their people out of my hand, so shall not the God of Hezekiah deliver his people out of my hand. ¹⁸Then they cried with a loud voice in the Jews' speech to the people of Jerusalem that were on the wall, to affright them, and to fill them with consternation; that they might take the city. ¹⁹And they spoke against the God of Jerusalem, as against the gods of the people of the earth, the work of the hands of man. ²⁰And for this cause Hezekiah the king, and the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz, prayed and cried to heaven. ²¹And the LORD sent an angel, who cut off all the mighty men of valor, and the leaders and captains in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned with shame of face to his own land. And when he had come into the house of his god, they that came forth from his own bowels slew him there with the sword. ²²Thus the LORD saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib the king of Assyria, and from the hand of all others, and guided them on every side. ²³And many brought gifts to the LORD to Jerusalem, and presents to Hezekiah king of Judah: so that from thenceforth he was magnified in the sight of all nations. ²⁴In those days Hezekiah was sick and near to death, and he prayed to the LORD: and he spoke to him, and he gave him a sign. ²⁵But Hezekiah rendered not again according to the benefit done to him; for his heart was lifted up: therefore there was wrath upon him, and upon Judah and Jerusalem. ²⁶Notwithstanding, Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the LORD came not upon them in the days of Hezekiah. ²⁷And Hezekiah had very great riches and honor: and he made himself treasuries for silver, and for gold, and for precious stones, and for spices, and for shields, and for all manner of pleasant jewels: ²⁸Store-houses also for the increase of corn, and wine, and oil; and stalls for all manner of beasts, and cotes for flocks. ²⁹Moreover, he provided for himself cities, and possessions of flocks and herds in abundance: for God had given him substance in great abundance. ³⁰This same Hezekiah also stopped the upper watercourse of Gihon, and brought it straight down to the west side of the city of David. And Hezekiah prospered in all his works. ³¹But, in the business of the embassadors of the princes of Babylon, who sent to him to inquire of the wonder that was done in the land, God left him, to try him, that he might know all that was in his heart. ³²Now the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, and his goodness, behold, they are written in the vision of Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, and in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. ³³And Hezekiah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the chief of the sepulchers of the sons of David: and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem did him honor at his death: and Manasseh his son reigned in his stead.

Chapter 33

¹Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty and five years in Jerusalem: ²But did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, like the abominations of the heathen, whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel. ³For he built again the high places which Hezekiah his father had broken down; and he reared up altars for Baalim, and made groves, and worshiped all the host of heaven, and served them. ⁴Also he built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD had said, In Jerusalem shall my name be for ever. ⁵And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD. ⁶And he caused his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom: also he observed times, and used enchantments, and used witchcraft, and dealt with a familiar spirit, and with wizards: he wrought much evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger. ⁷And he set a carved image, the idol which he had made, in the house of God, of which God had said to David and to Solomon his son, In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen before all the tribes of Israel, will I put my name for ever: ⁸Neither will I any more remove the foot of Israel from the land which I have appointed for your fathers; provided they will take heed to do all that I have commanded them, according to the whole law and the statutes and the ordinances by the hand of Moses. ⁹So Manasseh made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to err, and to do worse than the heathen, whom the LORD had destroyed before the children of Israel. ¹⁰And the LORD spoke to Manasseh, and to his people: but they would not hearken. ¹¹Wherefore the LORD brought upon them the captains of the army of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh among the thorns, and bound him with fetters, and carried him to Babylon. ¹²And when he was in affliction, he besought the LORD his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers, ¹³And prayed to him: and he was entreated by him, and heard his supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD he is God. ¹⁴Now after this, he built a wall without the city of David, on the west side of Gihon, in the valley, even to the entrance at the fish-gate, and compassed about Ophel, and raised it up a very great highth, and put captains of war in all the fortified cities of Judah. ¹⁵And he took away the strange gods, and the idol out of the house of the LORD, and all the altars that he had built in the mount of the house of the LORD, and in Jerusalem, and cast them out of the city. ¹⁶And he repaired the altar of the LORD, and sacrificed on it peace-offerings and thank-offerings, and commanded Judah to serve the LORD God of Israel. ¹⁷Nevertheless, the people sacrificed still in the high places, yet to the LORD their God only. ¹⁸Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, and his prayer to his God, and the words of the seers that spoke to him in the name of the LORD God of Israel, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel. ¹⁹His prayer also, and how God was entreated by him, and all his sin, and his trespass, and the places in which he built high places, and set up groves and graven images, before he was humbled: behold, they are written among the sayings of the seers. ²⁰So Manasseh slept with his fathers, and they buried him in his own house: and Amon his son reigned in his stead. ²¹Amon was two and twenty years old when he began to reign, and reigned two years in Jerusalem. ²²But he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, as did Manasseh his father: for Amon sacrificed to all the carved images which Manasseh his father had made, and served them; ²³And humbled not himself before the LORD, as Manasseh his father had humbled himself; but Amon trespassed more and more. ²⁴And his servants conspired against him, and slew him in his own house. ²⁵But the people of the land slew all them that had conspired against king Amon; and the people of the land made Josiah his son king in his stead.

Chapter 34

¹Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem one and thirty years. ²And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the ways of David his father, and declined neither to the right hand, nor to the left. ³For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet young, he began to seek after the God of David his father: and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem from the high places, and the groves, and the carved images, and the molten images. ⁴And they broke down the altars of Baalim in his presence; and the images, that were on high above them, he cut down; and the groves, and the carved images, and the molten images, he broke in pieces, and made dust of them and strewed it upon the graves of them that had sacrificed to them. ⁵And he burnt the bones of the priests upon their altars, and cleansed Judah and Jerusalem. ⁶And so did he in the cities of Manasseh, and Ephraim, and Simeon, even to Naphtali, with their mattocks around. ⁷And when he had broken down the altars and the groves, and had beaten the graven images into powder, and cut down all the idols throughout all the land of Israel, he returned to Jerusalem. ⁸Now in the eighteenth year of his reign, when he had purged the land, and the house, he sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, and Maaseiah the governor of the city, and Joah the son of Joahaz the recorder, to repair the house of the LORD his God. ⁹And when they came to Hilkiah the high priest, they delivered the money that was brought into the house of God, which the Levites that kept the doors had collected from the hand of Manasseh and Ephraim, and from all the remnant of Israel, and from all Judah and Benjamin; and they returned to Jerusalem. ¹⁰And they put it in the hand of the workmen that had the oversight of the house of the LORD, and they gave it to the workmen that wrought in the house of the LORD, to repair and mend the house: ¹¹Even to the artificers and builders they gave it, to buy hewn stone, and timber for couplings, and to floor the houses which the kings of Judah had destroyed. ¹²And the men did the work faithfully: and the overseers of them were Jahath and Obadiah, the Levites, of the sons of Merari; and Zechariah and Meshullam, of the sons of the Kohathites, to superintend it; and others of the Levites, all that had skill in instruments of music. ¹³Also they were over the bearers of burdens, and were overseers of all that wrought the work in any manner of service: and of the Levites there were scribes, and officers, and porters. ¹⁴And when they brought out the money that was brought into the house of the LORD, Hilkiah the priest found the book of the law of the LORD given by Moses. ¹⁵And Hilkiah answered and said to Shaphan the scribe, I have found the book of the law in the house of the LORD. And Hilkiah delivered the book to Shaphan. ¹⁶And Shaphan carried the book to the king, and brought the king word back again, saying, All that was committed to thy servants, they perform. ¹⁷And they have collected the money that was found in the house of the LORD, and have delivered it into the hand of the overseers, and to the hand of the workmen. ¹⁸Then Shaphan the scribe told the king, saying, Hilkiah the priest hath given me a book. And Shaphan read it before the king. ¹⁹And it came to pass, when the king had heard the words of the law, that he rent his clothes. ²⁰And the king commanded Hilkiah, and Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Abdon the son of Micah, and Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah a servant of the king's, saying, ²¹Go, inquire of the LORD for me, and for them that are left in Israel, and in Judah, concerning the words of the book that is found: for great is the wrath of the LORD that is poured out upon us, because our fathers have not kept the word of the LORD, to do after all that is written in this book. ²²And Hilkiah, and they that the king had appointed, went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvath, the son of Hasrah, keeper of the wardrobe; (now she dwelt in Jerusalem in the college:) and they spoke to her to that effect. ²³And she answered them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Tell ye the man that sent you to me. ²⁴Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, and upon its inhabitants, even all the curses that are written in the book which they have read before the king of Judah: ²⁵Because they have forsaken me, and have burned incense to other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the works of their hands; therefore my wrath shall be poured out upon this place, and shall not be quenched. ²⁶And as for the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the LORD, so shall ye say to him, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel concerning the words which thou hast heard; ²⁷Because thy heart was tender, and thou didst humble thyself before God, when thou didst hear his words against this place, and against its inhabitants, and didst humble thyself before me, and didst rend thy clothes, and weep before me; I have even heard thee also, saith the LORD. ²⁸Behold, I will gather thee to thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered to thy grave in peace, neither shall thy eyes see all the evil that I will bring upon this place, and upon the inhabitants of the same. So they brought the king word again. ²⁹Then the king sent and convened all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. ³⁰And the king went into the house of the LORD, and all the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the priests, and the Levites, and all the people, great and small: and he read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant that was found in the house of the LORD. ³¹And the king stood in his place, and made a covenant before the LORD, to walk after the LORD, and to keep his commandments, and his testimonies, and his statutes, with all his heart, and with all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant which are written in this book. ³²And he caused all that were present in Jerusalem and Benjamin, to stand to it. And the inhabitants of Jerusalem did according to the covenant of God, the God of their fathers. ³³And Josiah took away all the abominations out of all the countries that pertained to the children of Israel, and made all that were present in Israel, to serve, even to serve the LORD their God. And all his days they departed not from following the LORD, the God of their fathers.

Chapter 35

¹Moreover, Josiah kept a passover to the LORD in Jerusalem: and they killed the passover on the fourteenth day of the first month. ²And he set the priests in their charges, and encouraged them to the service of the house of the LORD, ³And said to the Levites that taught all Israel, who were holy to the LORD, Put the holy ark in the house which Solomon the son of David king of Israel built; it shall not be a burden upon your shoulders: serve now the LORD your God, and his people Israel, ⁴And prepare yourselves by the houses of your fathers after your courses, according to the writing of David king of Israel, and according to the writing of Solomon his son. ⁵And stand in the holy place according to the divisions of the families of the fathers of your brethren the people, and after the division of the families of the Levites. ⁶So kill the passover, and sanctify yourselves, and prepare your brethren, that they may do according to the word of the LORD by the hand of Moses. ⁷And Josiah gave to the people, of the flock, lambs and kids, all for the passover-offerings, for all that were present, to the number of thirty thousand, and three thousand bullocks: these were of the king's substance. ⁸And his princes gave willingly to the people, to the priests, and to the Levites: Hilkiah and Zechariah and Jehiel, rulers of the house of God, gave to the priests for the passover-offerings two thousand and six hundred small cattle, and three hundred oxen. ⁹Conaniah also, and Shemaiah, and Nethaneel, his brethren, and Hashabiah and Jehiel and Jozabad, chief of the Levites, gave to the Levites for passover-offerings five thousand small cattle, and five hundred oxen. ¹⁰So the service was prepared, and the priests stood in their place, and the Levites in their courses, according to the king's commandment. ¹¹And they killed the passover, and the priests sprinkled the blood from their hands, and the Levites flayed them. ¹²And they removed the burnt-offerings, that they might give according to the divisions of the families of the people, to offer to the LORD, as it is written in the book of Moses. And so did they with the oxen. ¹³And they roasted the passover with fire according to the ordinance: but the other holy offerings they boiled in pots, and in caldrons, and in pans, and divided them speedily among all the people. ¹⁴And afterwards they made ready for themselves, and for the priests: because the priests the sons of Aaron were busied in offering burnt-offerings and the fat until night; therefore the Levites prepared for themselves, and for the priests the sons of Aaron. ¹⁵And the singers the sons of Asaph were in their place, according to the commandment of David, and Asaph, and Heman, and Jeduthun the king's seer; and the porters waited at every gate; they might not depart from their service; for their brethren the Levites prepared for them. ¹⁶So all the service of the LORD was prepared the same day, to keep the passover, and to offer burnt-offerings upon the altar of the LORD, according to the commandment of king Josiah. ¹⁷And the children of Israel that were present kept the passover at that time, and the feast of unleavened bread seven days. ¹⁸And there was no passover like that kept in Israel from the days of Samuel the prophet; neither did all the kings of Israel keep such a passover as Josiah kept, and the priests, and the Levites, and all Judah and Israel that were present, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. ¹⁹In the eighteenth year of the reign of Josiah was this passover kept. ²⁰After all this, when Josiah had prepared the temple, Necho king of Egypt came up to fight against Charchemish by Euphrates: and Josiah went out against him. ²¹But he sent embassadors to him, saying, What have I to do with thee, thou king of Judah? I come not against thee this day, but against the house with which I have war: for God commanded me to make haste: forbear thee from meddling with God, who is with me, that he may not destroy thee. ²²Nevertheless Josiah would not turn his face from him, but disguised himself that he might fight with him, and hearkened not to the words of Necho from the mouth of God, and came to fight in the valley of Megiddo. ²³And the archers shot at king Josiah; and the king said to his servants, Have me away; for I am severely wounded. ²⁴His servants therefore took him out of that chariot, and put him in the second chariot that he had; and they brought him to Jerusalem, and he died, and was buried in one of the sepulchers of his fathers. And all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah. ²⁵And Jeremiah lamented for Josiah: and all the singing men and the singing women have spoken of Josiah in their lamentations to this day, and made them an ordinance in Israel: and behold, they are written in the lamentations. ²⁶Now the rest of the acts of Josiah, and his goodness, according to that which was written in the law of the LORD, ²⁷And his deeds, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah.

Chapter 36

¹Then the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, and made him king in his father's stead in Jerusalem. ²Jehoahaz was twenty and three years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. ³And the king of Egypt deposed him at Jerusalem, and condemned the land in a hundred talents of silver, and a talent of gold. ⁴And the king of Egypt made Eliakim his brother king over Judah and Jerusalem, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. And Necho took Jehoahaz his brother, and carried him to Egypt. ⁵Jehoiakim was twenty and five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem: and he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD his God. ⁶Against him came up Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and bound him in fetters, to carry him to Babylon. ⁷Nebuchadnezzar also carried of the vessels of the house of the LORD to Babylon, and put them in his temple at Babylon. ⁸Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, and his abominations which he did, and that which was found in him, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah. And Jehoiachin his son reigned in his stead. ⁹Jehoiachin was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem: and he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD. ¹⁰And when the year had expired, king Nebuchadnezzar sent, and brought him to Babylon, with the goodly vessels of the house of the LORD, and made Zedekiah his brother king over Judah and Jerusalem. ¹¹Zedekiah was one and twenty years old when he began to reign, and reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. ¹²And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD his God, and humbled not himself before Jeremiah the prophet speaking from the mouth of the LORD. ¹³And he also rebelled against king Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear by God: but he stiffened his neck, and hardened his heart from turning to the LORD God of Israel. ¹⁴Moreover, all the chief of the priests, and the people, transgressed very much after all the abominations of the heathen; and polluted the house of the LORD which he had hallowed in Jerusalem. ¹⁵And the LORD God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers, rising up betimes, and sending; because he had compassion on his people, and on his dwelling-place: ¹⁶But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against his people, till there was no remedy. ¹⁷Therefore he brought upon them the king of the Chaldees, who slew their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion upon young man or maiden, old man, or him that stooped for age: he gave them all into his hand. ¹⁸And all the vessels of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king, and of his princes; all these he brought to Babylon. ¹⁹And they burnt the house of God, and broke down the wall of Jerusalem, and burnt all its palaces with fire, and destroyed all its goodly vessels. ²⁰And them that had escaped from the sword he carried away to Babylon; where they were servants to him and his sons until the reign of the kingdom of Persia. ²¹To fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her sabbaths: for as long as she lay desolate she kept sabbath, to fulfill seventy years. ²²Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD spoken by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying, ²³Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth hath the LORD God of heaven given me; and he hath charged me to build him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all his people? The LORD his God be with him, and let him go up.

Ezra

Chapter 1

¹Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying, ²Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The LORD God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. ³Who is there among you of all his people? his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of the LORD God of Israel, (he is the God,) who is in Jerusalem. ⁴And whoever remaineth in any place where he sojourneth, let the men of his place help him with silver, and with gold, and with goods, and with beasts, besides the free-will-offering for the house of God that is in Jerusalem. ⁵Then arose the chief of the fathers of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests, and the Levites, with all them whose spirit God had raised, to go up to build the house of the LORD which is in Jerusalem. ⁶And all they that were about them strengthened their hands with vessels of silver, with gold, with goods, and with beasts, and with precious things, besides all that was willingly offered. ⁷Also Cyrus the king brought forth the vessels of the house of the LORD, which Nebuchadnezzar had brought from Jerusalem, and had put them in the house of his gods; ⁸Even those did Cyrus king of Persia bring forth by the hand of Mithredath the treasurer, and numbered them to Sheshbazzar, the prince of Judah. ⁹And this is the number of them: thirty chargers of gold, a thousand chargers of silver, nine and twenty knives, ¹⁰Thirty basins of gold, silver basins of a second sort four hundred and ten, and other vessels a thousand. ¹¹All the vessels of gold and of silver were five thousand and four hundred. All these did Sheshbazzar bring with them of the captivity that were brought from Babylon to Jerusalem.

Chapter 2

¹Now these are the children of the province that went up from the captivity, of those who had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away to Babylon, and came again to Jerusalem and Judah, every one to his city; ²Who came with Zerubbabel: Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mizpar, Bigvai, Rehum, Baanah. The number of the men of the people of Israel: ³The children of Parosh, two thousand a hundred seventy and two. ⁴The children of Shephatiah, three hundred seventy and two. ⁵The children of Arah, seven hundred seventy and five. ⁶The children of Pahath-moab, of the children of Jeshua and Joab, two thousand eight hundred and twelve. ⁷The children of Elam, a thousand two hundred fifty and four. ⁸The children of Zattu, nine hundred forty and five. ⁹The children of Zaccai, seven hundred and sixty. ¹⁰The children of Bani, six hundred forty and two. ¹¹The children of Bebai, six hundred twenty and three. ¹²The children of Azgad, a thousand two hundred twenty and two. ¹³The children of Adonikam, six hundred sixty and six. ¹⁴The children of Bigvai, two thousand fifty and six. ¹⁵The children of Adin, four hundred fifty and four. ¹⁶The children of Ater of Hezekiah, ninety and eight. ¹⁷The children of Bezai, three hundred twenty and three. ¹⁸The children of Jorah, an hundred and twelve. ¹⁹The children of Hashum, two hundred twenty and three. ²⁰The children of Gibbar, ninety and five. ²¹The children of Beth-lehem, a hundred twenty and three. ²²The men of Netophah, fifty and six. ²³The men of Anathoth, a hundred twenty and eight. ²⁴The children of Azmaveth, forty and two. ²⁵The children of Kirjath-arim, Chephirah, and Beeroth, seven hundred and forty and three. ²⁶The children of Ramah and Gaba, six hundred twenty and one. ²⁷The men of Michmas, a hundred twenty and two. ²⁸The men of Beth-el and Ai, two hundred twenty and three. ²⁹The children of Nebo, fifty and two. ³⁰The children of Magbish, a hundred fifty and six. ³¹The children of the other Elam, a thousand two hundred fifty and four. ³²The children of Harim, three hundred and twenty. ³³The children of Lod, Hadid, and Ono, seven hundred twenty and five. ³⁴The children of Jericho, three hundred forty and five. ³⁵The children of Senaah, three thousand and six hundred and thirty. ³⁶The priests: the children of Jedaiah, of the house of Jeshua, nine hundred seventy and three. ³⁷The children of Immer, a thousand fifty and two. ³⁸The children of Pashur, a thousand two hundred forty and seven. ³⁹The children of Harim, a thousand and seventeen. ⁴⁰The Levites: the children of Jeshua and Kadmiel, of the children of Hodaviah, seventy and four. ⁴¹The singers: the children of Asaph, a hundred twenty and eight. ⁴²The children of the porters: the children of Shallum, the children of Ater, the children of Talmon, the children of Akkub, the children of Hatita, the children of Shobai, in all a hundred thirty and nine. ⁴³The Nethinims: the children of Ziha, the children of Hasupha, the children of Tabbaoth, ⁴⁴The children of Keros, the children of Siaha, the children of Padon, ⁴⁵The children of Lebanah, the children of Hagabah, the children of Akkub, ⁴⁶The children of Hagab, the children of Shalmai, the children of Hanan, ⁴⁷The children of Giddel, the children of Gahar, the children of Reaiah, ⁴⁸The children of Rezin, the children of Nekoda, the children of Gazzam, ⁴⁹The children of Uzza, the children of Paseah, the children of Besai, ⁵⁰The children of Asnah, the children of Mehunim, the children of Nephusim, ⁵¹The children of Bakbuk, the children of Hakupha, the children of Harhur, ⁵²The children of Bazluth, the children of Mehida, the children of Harsha, ⁵³The children of Barkos, the children of Sisera, the children of Thamah, ⁵⁴The children of Neziah, the children of Hatipha. ⁵⁵The children of Solomon's servants: the children of Sotai, the children of Sophereth, the children of Peruda, ⁵⁶The children of Jaalah, the children of Darkon, the children of Giddel, ⁵⁷The children of Shephatiah, the children of Hattil, the children of Pochereth of Zebaim, the children of Ami. ⁵⁸All the Nethinims, and the children of Solomon's servants, were three hundred ninety and two. ⁵⁹And these were they who went up from Tel-melah, Tel-harsa, Cherub, Addan, and Immer: but they could not show their fathers' house, and their seed, whether they were of Israel: ⁶⁰The children of Delaiah, the children of Tobiah, the children of Nekoda, six hundred fifty and two. ⁶¹And of the children of the priests: the children of Habaiah, the children of Koz, the children of Barzillai: who took a wife of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite, and was called after their name: ⁶²These sought their register among those that were reckoned by genealogy, but they were not found: therefore were they, as polluted, put from the priesthood. ⁶³And the Tirshatha said to them, that they should not eat of the most holy things, till there stood up a priest with Urim and with Thummim. ⁶⁴The whole congregation together was forty and two thousand three hundred and sixty, ⁶⁵Besides their servants and their maids, of whom there were seven thousand three hundred thirty and seven: and there were among them two hundred singing-men and singing-women. ⁶⁶Their horses were seven hundred thirty and six; their mules, two hundred forty and five; ⁶⁷Their camels, four hundred thirty and five; their asses, six thousand seven hundred and twenty. ⁶⁸And some of the chief of the fathers, when they came to the house of the LORD which is at Jerusalem, offered freely for the house of God to set it up in its place: ⁶⁹They gave after their ability to the treasure of the work sixty and one thousand drams of gold, and five thousand pounds of silver, and one hundred priests garments. ⁷⁰So the priests, and the Levites, and some of the people, and the singers, and the porters, and the Nethinims, dwelt in their cities, and all Israel in their cities.

Chapter 3

¹And when the seventh month had come, and the children of Israel were in the cities, the people assembled themselves as one man at Jerusalem. ²Then stood up Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and his brethren the priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and his brethren, and built the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt-offerings on it as it is written in the law of Moses the man of God. ³And they set the altar upon its bases; for fear was upon them because of the people of those countries: and they offered burnt-offerings on it to the LORD, even burnt-offerings morning and evening. ⁴They kept also the feast of tabernacles, as it is written, and offered the daily burnt-offerings by number, according to the custom, as the duty of every day required; ⁵And afterward offered the continual burnt-offering, both of the new moons, and of all the set feasts of the LORD that were consecrated, and of every one that willingly offered a free-will-offering to the LORD. ⁶From the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt-offerings to the LORD. But the foundation of the temple of the LORD was not yet laid. ⁷They gave money also to the masons, and to the carpenters; and provisions, and drink, and oil, to them of Zidon, and to them of Tyre, to bring cedar trees from Lebanon to the sea of Joppa, according to the grant that they had of Cyrus king of Persia. ⁸Now in the second year of their coming to the house of God at Jerusalem, in the second month, began Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and the remnant of their brethren the priests and the Levites, and all they that had come out of the captivity to Jerusalem; and appointed the Levites, from twenty years old and upward, to set forward the work of the house of the LORD. ⁹Then stood Jeshua with his sons and his brethren, Kadmiel and his sons, the sons of Judah, together, to set forward the workmen in the house of God: the sons of Henadad, with their sons and their brethren the Levites. ¹⁰And when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD, they set the priests in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites the sons of Asaph with cymbals, to praise the LORD, after the ordinance of David king of Israel. ¹¹And they sang together by course in praising and giving thanks to the LORD; because he is good, for his mercy endureth for ever towards Israel. And all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid. ¹²But many of the priests and Levites and chief of the fathers, old men, that had seen the first house, when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, wept with a loud voice; and many shouted aloud for joy: ¹³So that the people could not discern the noise of the shout of the joy from the noise of the weeping of the people: for the people shouted with a loud shout, and the noise was heard afar off.

Chapter 4

¹Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the children of the captivity were building the temple to the LORD God of Israel; ²Then they came to Zerubbabel, and to the chief of the fathers, and said to them, Let us build with you: for we seek your God, as ye do; and we do sacrifice to him since the days of Esar-haddon king of Assur, who brought us up hither. ³But Zerubbabel, and Jeshua, and the rest of the chief of the fathers of Israel, said to them, Ye have nothing to do with us to build a house to our God; but we ourselves together will build to the LORD God of Israel, as king Cyrus the king of Persia hath commanded us. ⁴Then the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Judah, and troubled them in building, ⁵And hired counselors against them, to frustrate their purpose, all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia. ⁶And in the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, they wrote to him an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem. ⁷And in the days of Artaxerxes wrote Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of their companions to Artaxerxes king of Persia, and the writing of the letter was written in the Syrian language, and interpreted in the Syrian language. ⁸Rehum the chancellor and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to Artaxerxes the king in this sort: ⁹Then wrote Rehum the chancellor, and Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their companions; the Dianites, the Apharsathchites, the Tarpelites, the Apharsites, the Archevites, the Babylonians, the Susanchites, the Dehavites, and the Elamites, ¹⁰And the rest of the nations whom the great and noble Asnapper brought over, and set in the cities of Samaria, and the rest that are on this side of the river, and at such a time. ¹¹This is the copy of the letter that they sent to him, even to Artaxerxes the king: Thy servants the men on this side of the river, and at such a time. ¹²Be it known to the king, that the Jews who came from thee to us are come to Jerusalem, building the rebellious and the noxious city, and have set up its walls, and joined the foundations. ¹³Be it known now to the king, that, if this city shall be built, and the walls set up again, then they will not pay toll, tribute, and custom, and so thou wilt endamage the revenue of the kings. ¹⁴Now because we have maintenance from the king's palace, and it was not meet for us to see the king's dishonor, therefore have we sent and certified the king; ¹⁵That search may be made in the book of the records of thy fathers: so wilt thou find in the book of the records, and know that this city is a rebellious city, and hurtful to kings and provinces, and that they have moved sedition within the same of old time: for which cause was this city destroyed. ¹⁶We certify the king that, if this city shall be built again, and its walls set up, by this means thou wilt have no portion on this side of the river. ¹⁷Then the king sent an answer to Rehum the chancellor, and to Shimshai the scribe, and to the rest of their companions that dwell in Samaria, and to the rest beyond the river, Peace, and at such a time. ¹⁸The letter which ye sent to us hath been plainly read before me. ¹⁹And I commanded, and search hath been made, and it is found that this city of old time hath made insurrection against kings, and that rebellion and sedition have been made in it. ²⁰There have also been mighty kings over Jerusalem, who have ruled over all countries beyond the river; and toll, tribute, and custom, was paid to them. ²¹Give ye now commandment to cause these men to cease, and that this city be not built, until another commandment shall be given from me. ²²Take heed now that ye fail not to do this: why should damage grow to the hurt of the kings? ²³Now when the copy of king Artaxerxes' letter was read before Rehum, and Shimshai the scribe, and their companions, they went up in haste to Jerusalem to the Jews, and made them to cease by force and power. ²⁴Then ceased the work of the house of God which is at Jerusalem. So it ceased until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.

Chapter 5

¹Then the prophets, Haggai the prophet, and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews that were in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, even to them. ²Then rose up Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and began to build the house of God which is at Jerusalem: and with them were the prophets of God helping them. ³At the same time came to them Tatnai, governor on this side of the river, and Shethar-boznai, and their companions, and said thus to them, Who hath commanded you to build this house, and to make up this wall? ⁴Then said we to them after this manner, What are the names of the men that make this building? ⁵But the eye of their God was upon the elders of the Jews, that they could not cause them to cease, till the matter came to Darius: and then they returned answer by letter concerning this matter. ⁶The copy of the letter that Tatnai, governor on this side of the river, and Shethar-boznai, and his companions the Apharsachites, who were on this side of the river, sent to Darius the king: ⁷They sent a letter to him, in which was written thus; To Darius the king, all peace. ⁸Be it known to the king, that we went into the province of Judea, to the house of the great God, which is built with great stones, and timber is laid in the walls, and this work proceedeth rapidly, and prospereth in their hands. ⁹Then we asked those elders, and said to them thus, Who commanded you to build this house, and to erect these walls? ¹⁰We asked their names also, to certify thee, that we might write the names of the men that were the chief of them. ¹¹And thus they returned us answer, saying, We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and build the house that was erected these many years ago, which a great king of Israel built and set up. ¹²But after that our fathers had provoked the God of heaven to wrath, he gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this house, and carried the people away into Babylon. ¹³But in the first year of Cyrus the king of Babylon, the same king Cyrus made a decree to build this house of God. ¹⁴And the vessels also of gold and silver of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took out of the temple that was in Jerusalem, and brought them into the temple of Babylon, those did Cyrus the king take out of the temple of Babylon, and they were delivered to one, whose name was Sheshbazzar, whom he had made governor; ¹⁵And said to him, Take these vessels, go, carry them into the temple that is in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be built in its place. ¹⁶Then came the same Sheshbazzar, and laid the foundation of the house of God which is in Jerusalem: and since that time even until now hath it been in building, and yet it is not finished. ¹⁷Now therefore, if it seemeth good to the king, let there be search made in the king's treasure-house, which is there at Babylon, whether it is so, that a decree was made by Cyrus the king to build this house of God at Jerusalem, and let the king send his pleasure to us concerning this matter.

Chapter 6

¹Then Darius the king made a decree, and search was made in the house of the rolls, where the treasures were laid up in Babylon. ²And there was found at Achmetha, in the palace that is in the province of the Medes, a roll, and in it was a record thus written: ³In the first year of Cyrus the king, the same Cyrus the king made a decree concerning the house of God at Jerusalem, Let the house be built, the place where they offered sacrifices, and let the foundations of it be strongly laid; the hight of it sixty cubits, and the breadth of it sixty cubits; ⁴With three rows of great stones, and a row of new timber: and let the expenses be given out of the king's house: ⁵And also let the golden and silver vessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took out of the temple which is at Jerusalem, and brought to Babylon, be restored, and brought again to the temple which is at Jerusalem, every one to its place, and place them in the house of God. ⁶Now therefore, Tatnai governor beyond the river, Shethar-boznai, and your companions the Apharsachites, who are beyond the river, be ye far from thence: ⁷Let the work of this house of God alone; let the governor of the Jews, and the elders of the Jews, build this house of God in its place. ⁸Moreover, I make a decree what ye shall do to the elders of these Jews for the building of this house of God: that of the king's goods, even of the tribute beyond the river, forthwith expenses be given to these men, that they be not hindered. ⁹And that which they have need of, both young bullocks, and rams, and lambs, for the burnt-offerings of the God of heaven, wheat, salt, wine, and oil, according to the appointment of the priests who are at Jerusalem, let it be given to them day by day without fail: ¹⁰That they may offer sacrifices of sweet savors to the God of heaven, and pray for the life of the king, and of his sons. ¹¹Also I have made a decree, that whoever shall alter this word, let timber be pulled down from his house, and being set up, let him be hanged upon it; and let his house be made a dunghill for this. ¹²And the God that hath caused his name to dwell there destroy all kings and people, that shall attempt to alter and to destroy this house of God which is at Jerusalem. I Darius have made a decree; let it be done with speed. ¹³Then Tatnai governor on this side the river, Shethar-boznai, and their companions, according to that which Darius the king had sent, so they did speedily. ¹⁴And the elders of the Jews built, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they built, and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia. ¹⁵And this house was finished on the third day of the month Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king. ¹⁶And the children of Israel, the priests, and the Levites, and the rest of the children of the captivity, kept the dedication of this house of God with joy, ¹⁷And offered at the dedication of this house of God a hundred bullocks, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs; and for a sin-offering for all Israel, twelve he-goats, according to the number of the tribes of Israel. ¹⁸And they set the priests in their divisions, and the Levites in their courses, for the service of God, who is at Jerusalem; as it is written in the book of Moses. ¹⁹And the children of the captivity kept the passover upon the fourteenth day of the first month. ²⁰For the priests and the Levites were purified together, all of them were pure, and they killed the passover for all the children of the captivity, and for their brethren the priests, and for themselves. ²¹And the children of Israel, who had returned from captivity, and all such as had separated themselves to them from the filthiness of the heathen of the land, to seek the LORD God of Israel, did eat, ²²And kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days with joy: for the LORD had made them joyful, and turned the heart of the king of Assyria to them, to strengthen their hands in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel.

Chapter 7

¹Now after these things, in the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra the son of Seraiah, the son of Azariah, the son of Hilkiah, ²The son of Shallum, the son of Zadok, the son of Ahitub, ³The son of Amariah, the son of Azariah, the son of Meraioth, ⁴The son of Zerahiah, the son of Uzzi, the son of Bukki, ⁵The son of Abishua, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the chief priest: ⁶This Ezra went from Babylon; and he was a ready scribe in the law of Moses, which the LORD God of Israel had given: and the king granted him all his request, according to the hand of the LORD his God upon him. ⁷And there went some of the children of Israel, and of the priests, and the Levites, and the singers, and the porters, and the Nethinims, to Jerusalem, in the seventh year of Artaxerxes the king. ⁸And he came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was in the seventh year of the king. ⁹For upon the first day of the first month he began to go from Babylon, and on the first day of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, according to the good hand of his God upon him. ¹⁰For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the LORD, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments. ¹¹Now this is the copy of the letter that the king Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priest, the scribe, even a scribe of the words of the commandments of the LORD, and of his statutes to Israel. ¹²Artaxerxes, king of kings, To Ezra the priest, a scribe of the law of the God of heaven, perfect peace, and at such a time. ¹³I make a decree, that all they of the people of Israel, and of his priests and Levites, in my realm, who are disposed of their own free will to go to Jerusalem, go with thee. ¹⁴Forasmuch as thou art sent by the king, and by his seven counselors, to inquire concerning Judah and Jerusalem, according to the law of thy God which is in thy hand; ¹⁵And to carry the silver and gold, which the king and his counselors have freely offered to the God of Israel, whose habitation is in Jerusalem, ¹⁶And all the silver and gold that thou canst find in all the province of Babylon, with the free-will-offering of the people, and of the priests, offering willingly for the house of their God which is in Jerusalem: ¹⁷That thou mayest buy speedily with this money bullocks, rams, lambs, with their meat-offerings and their drink-offerings, and offer them upon the altar of the house of your God which is in Jerusalem. ¹⁸And whatever shall seem good to thee, and to thy brethren, to do with the rest of the silver and gold, that do after the will of your God. ¹⁹The vessels also that are given thee for the service of the house of thy God, those deliver thou before the God of Jerusalem. ²⁰And whatever more shall be needful for the house of thy God, which thou shalt have occasion to bestow, bestow it out of the king's treasure-house. ²¹And I, even I Artaxerxes the king, do make a decree to all the treasurers who are beyond the river, that whatever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven, shall require of you, it be done speedily, ²²To a hundred talents of silver, and to a hundred measures of wheat, and to a hundred baths of wine, and to a hundred baths of oil, and salt without prescribing how much. ²³Whatever is commanded by the God of heaven, let it be diligently done for the house of the God of heaven: for why should there be wrath against the realm of the king and his sons? ²⁴Also we certify you, that concerning any of the priests and Levites, singers, porters, Nethinims, or ministers of this house of God, it shall not be lawful to impose toll, tribute, or custom upon them. ²⁵And thou, Ezra, after the wisdom of thy God, that is in thy hand, set magistrates and judges, who may judge all the people that are beyond the river, all such as know the laws of thy God; and teach ye them that know them not. ²⁶And whoever will not do the law of thy God, and the law of the king, let judgment be executed speedily upon him, whether it be to death, or to banishment, or to confiscation of goods, or to imprisonment. ²⁷Blessed be the LORD God of our fathers, who hath put such a thing as this in the king's heart, to beautify the house of the LORD which is in Jerusalem: ²⁸And hath extended mercy to me before the king, and his counselors, and before all the king's mighty princes. And I was strengthened as the hand of the LORD my God was upon me, and I assembled out of Israel chief men to go up with me.

Chapter 8

¹These are now the chief of their fathers, and this is the genealogy of them that went up with me from Babylon, in the reign of Artaxerxes the king. ²Of the sons of Phinehas; Gershom: of the sons of Ithamar; Daniel: of the sons of David; Hattush. ³Of the sons of Shechaniah, of the sons of Pharosh; Zechariah: and with him were reckoned by genealogy of the males a hundred and fifty. ⁴Of the sons of Pahath-moab; Elihoenai the son of Zerahiah, and with him two hundred males. ⁵Of the sons of Shechaniah; the son of Jahaziel, and with him three hundred males. ⁶Of the sons also of Adin; Ebed the son of Jonathan, and with him fifty males. ⁷And of the sons of Elam; Jeshaiah the son of Athaliah, and with him seventy males. ⁸And of the sons of Shephatiah; Zebadiah the son of Michael, and with him eighty males. ⁹Of the sons of Joab; Obadiah the son of Jehiel, and with him two hundred and eighteen males. ¹⁰And of the sons of Shelomith; the son of Josiphiah, and with him a hundred and sixty males. ¹¹And of the sons of Bebai; Zechariah the son of Bebai, and with him twenty and eight males. ¹²And of the sons of Azgad; Johanan the son of Hakkatan, and with him a hundred and ten males. ¹³And of the last sons of Adonikam, whose names are these, Eliphelet, Jeiel, and Shemaiah, and with them sixty males. ¹⁴Of the sons also of Bigvai; Uthai, and Zabbud, and with them seventy males. ¹⁵And I assembled them at the river that runneth to Ahava; and there we abode in tents three days: and I viewed the people, and the priests, and found there none of the sons of Levi. ¹⁶Then sent I for Eliezer, for Ariel, for Shemaiah, and for Elnathan, and for Jarib, and for Elnathan, and for Nathan, and for Zechariah, and for Meshullam, chief men; also for Joiarib, and for Elnathan, men of understanding. ¹⁷And I sent them with commandment to Iddo the chief at the place Casiphia, and I told them what they should say to Iddo, and to his brethren the Nethinims, at the place Casiphia, that they should bring to us ministers for the house of our God. ¹⁸And by the good hand of our God upon us they brought us a man of understanding, of the sons of Mahli, the son of Levi, the son of Israel; and Sherebiah, with his sons and his brethren, eighteen; ¹⁹And Hashabiah, and with him Jeshaiah of the sons of Merari, his brethren and their sons, twenty; ²⁰Also of the Nethinims, whom David and the princes had appointed for the service of the Levites, two hundred and twenty Nethinims: all of them were expressed by name. ²¹Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might afflict ourselves before our God, to seek of him a right way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance. ²²For I was ashamed to require of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy in the way: because we had spoken to the king, saying, The hand of our God is upon all them for good that seek him; but his power and his wrath is against all them that forsake him. ²³So we fasted and besought our God for this: and he was entreated by us. ²⁴Then I separated twelve of the chief of the priests, Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brethren with them, ²⁵And weighed to them the silver, and the gold, and the vessels, even the offering of the house of our God, which the king, and his counselors, and his lords, and all Israel there present, had offered: ²⁶I even weighed to their hand six hundred and fifty talents of silver, and silver vessels a hundred talents, and of gold a hundred talents; ²⁷Also twenty basins of gold, of a thousand drams; and two vessels of fine copper, precious as gold. ²⁸And I said to them, Ye are holy to the LORD; the vessels are holy also; and the silver and the gold are a free-will-offering to the LORD God of your fathers. ²⁹Watch ye, and keep them, until ye weigh them, before the chief of the priests and the Levites, and chief of the fathers of Israel, at Jerusalem, in the chambers of the house of the LORD. ³⁰So the priests and the Levites took the weight of the silver, and the gold, and the vessels, to bring them to Jerusalem to the house of our God. ³¹Then we departed from the river Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month, to go to Jerusalem: and the hand of our God was upon us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy, and of such as lay in wait by the way. ³²And we came to Jerusalem, and abode there three days. ³³Now on the fourth day was the silver and the gold and the vessels weighed in the house of our God by the hand of Meremoth the son of Uriah the priest; and with him was Eleazar the son of Phinehas; and with them was Jozabad the son of Jeshua, and Noadiah the son of Binnui, Levites; ³⁴By number and by weight of every one: and all the weight was written at that time. ³⁵Also the children of those that had been carried away, who had come out of the captivity, offered burnt-offerings to the God of Israel, twelve bullocks for all Israel, ninety and six rams, seventy and seven lambs, twelve he-goats for a sin-offering: all this was a burnt-offering to the LORD. ³⁶And they delivered the king's commissions to the king's lieutenants, and to the governors on this side of the river: and they furthered the people, and the house of God.

Chapter 9

¹Now when these things were done, the princes came to me, saying, The people of Israel, and the priests, and the Levites, have not separated themselves from the people of the lands, doing according to their abominations, even of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites. ²For they have taken of their daughters for themselves, and for their sons: so that the holy seed have mingled themselves with the people of those lands: yea, the hand of the princes and rulers hath been chief in this trespass. ³And when I heard this thing, I rent my garment and my mantle, and plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard, and sat down confounded. ⁴Then were assembled to me every one that trembled at the words of the God of Israel, because of the transgression of those that had been carried away; and I sat confounded until the evening sacrifice. ⁵And at the evening sacrifice I arose from my heaviness; and having rent my garment and my mantle, I fell upon my knees, and spread out my hands to the LORD my God, ⁶And said, O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee, my God: for our iniquities are increased over our head, and our trespass is grown up to the heavens. ⁷Since the days of our fathers have we been in a great trespass to this day; and for our iniquities have we, our kings, and our priests, been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, and to a spoil, and to confusion of face, as it is this day. ⁸And now for a little space grace hath been shown from the LORD our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a nail in his holy place, that our God may lighten our eyes, and give us a little reviving in our bondage. ⁹For we were bond-men; yet our God hath not forsaken us in our bondage, but hath extended mercy to us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to give us a reviving, to set up the house of our God, and to repair the desolations of it, and to give us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem. ¹⁰And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? for we have forsaken thy commandments, ¹¹Which thou hast commanded by thy servants the prophets, saying, The land, to which ye go to possess it, is an unclean land with the filthiness of the people of the lands, with their abominations, which have filled it from one end to another with their uncleanness. ¹²Now therefore give not your daughters to their sons, neither take their daughters to your sons, nor seek their peace or their wealth for ever: that ye may be strong, and eat the good of the land, and leave it for an inheritance to your children for ever. ¹³And after all that hath come upon us for our evil deeds, and for our great trespass, seeing that thou our God hast punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and hast given us such deliverance as this; ¹⁴Should we again break thy commandments, and join in affinity with the people of these abominations? wouldst thou not be angry with us till thou hadst consumed us, so that there should be no remnant nor escaping? ¹⁵O LORD God of Israel, thou art righteous: for we having escaped, remain yet, as it is this day: behold, we are before thee in our trespasses: for we cannot stand before thee because of this.

Chapter 10

¹Now when Ezra had prayed, and when he had confessed, weeping and casting himself down before the house of God, there assembled to him out of Israel a very great congregation of men and women and children: for the people wept very bitterly. ²And Shechaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, answered and said to Ezra, We have trespassed against our God, and have taken foreign wives of the people of the land: yet now there is hope in Israel concerning this thing. ³Now therefore let us make a covenant with our God to put away all the wives, and such as are born of them, according to the counsel of my lord, and of those that tremble at the commandment of our God; and let it be done according to the law. ⁴Arise; for this matter belongeth to thee: we also will be with thee: be of good courage, and do it. ⁵Then arose Ezra, and made the chief priests, the Levites, and all Israel, to swear that they would do according to this word. And they swore. ⁶Then Ezra arose from before the house of God, and went into the chamber of Johanan the son of Eliashib: and when he came thither, he ate no bread, nor drank water: for he mourned because of the transgression of them that had been carried away. ⁷And they made proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem to all the children of the captivity, that they should assemble at Jerusalem; ⁸And that whoever would not come within three days, according to the counsel of the princes and the elders, all his substance should be forfeited, and himself separated from the congregation of those that had been carried away. ⁹Then all the men of Judah and Benjamin assembled at Jerusalem within three days. It was the ninth month, and the twentieth day of the month; and all the people sat in the street of the house of God, trembling because of this matter, and for the great rain. ¹⁰And Ezra the priest stood up, and said to them, Ye have transgressed, and have taken foreign wives to increase the trespass of Israel. ¹¹Now therefore make confession to the LORD God of your fathers, and do his pleasure: and separate yourselves from the people of the land, and from the foreign wives. ¹²Then all the congregation answered and said with a loud voice, As thou hast said, so must we do. ¹³But the people are many, and it is a time of much rain, and we are not able to stand abroad, neither is this a work of one day or two: for we are many that have transgressed in this thing. ¹⁴Let now our rulers of all the congregation stand, and let all them who have taken foreign wives in our cities come at appointed times, and with them the elders of every city, and its judges, until the fierce wrath of our God for this matter shall be turned from us. ¹⁵Only Jonathan the son of Asahel and Jahaziah the son of Tikvah were employed about this matter: and Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite helped them. ¹⁶And the children of the captivity did so. And Ezra the priest, with certain chief of the fathers, after the house of their fathers, and all of them by their names, were separated, and sat down in the first day of the tenth month to examine the matter. ¹⁷And they made an end with all the men that had taken foreign wives by the first day of the first month. ¹⁸And among the sons of the priests there were found that had taken foreign wives: namely, of the sons of Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and his brethren; Maaseiah, and Eliezer, and Jarib, and Gedaliah. ¹⁹And they gave their hands that they would put away their wives; and being guilty, they offered a ram of the flock for their trespass. ²⁰And of the sons of Immer; Hanani, and Zebadiah. ²¹And of the sons of Harim; Maaseiah, and Elijah, and Shemaiah, and Jehiel, and Uzziah. ²²And of the sons of Pashur; Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethaneel, Jozabad, and Elasah. ²³Also of the Levites; Jozabad, and Shimei, and Kelaiah (the same is Kelita,) Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer. ²⁴Of the singers also; Eliashib: and of the porters; Shallum, and Telem, and Uri. ²⁵Moreover, of Israel: of the sons of Parosh; Ramiah, and Jeziah, and Malchiah, and Miamin, and Eleazar, and Malchijah, and Benaiah. ²⁶And of the sons of Elam; Mattaniah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, and Abdi, and Jeremoth, and Eliah. ²⁷And of the sons of Zattu; Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah, and Jeremoth, and Zabad, and Aziza. ²⁸Of the sons also of Bebai; Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai, and Athlai. ²⁹And of the sons of Bani; Meshullam, Malluch, and Adaiah, Jashub, and Sheal, and Ramoth. ³⁰And of the sons of Pahath-moab; Adna, and Chelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezaleel, and Binnui, and Manasseh. ³¹And of the sons of Harim; Eliezer, Ishijah, Malchiah, Shemaiah, Shimeon, ³²Benjamin, Malluch, and Shemariah. ³³Of the sons of Hashum; Mattenai, Mattathah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh, and Shimei. ³⁴Of the sons of Bani; Maadai, Amram, and Uel, ³⁵Benaiah, Bedeiah, Chelluh, ³⁶Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib, ³⁷Mattaniah, Mattenai, and Jaasau, ³⁸And Bani, and Binnui, Shimei, ³⁹And Shelemiah, and Nathan, and Adaiah, ⁴⁰Machnadebai, Shashai, Sharai, ⁴¹Azareel, and Shelemiah, Shemariah, ⁴²Shallum, Amariah, and Joseph. ⁴³Of the sons of Nebo; Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Jadau, and Joel, Benaiah. ⁴⁴All these had taken foreign wives: and some of them had wives by whom they had children.

Nehemiah

Chapter 1

¹The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. And it came to pass in the month Chisleu, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the palace, ²That Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and certain men of Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, who were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem. ³And they said to me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and its gates are burned with fire. ⁴And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven, ⁵And said, I beseech thee, O LORD God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments: ⁶Let thy ear now be attentive, and thy eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father's house have sinned. ⁷We have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which thou commandedst thy servant Moses. ⁸Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses, saying, If ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations: ⁹But if ye turn to me, and keep my commandments, and do them; though there were of you driven to the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them to the place that I have chosen to set my name there. ¹⁰Now these are thy servants and thy people, whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power, and by thy strong hand. ¹¹O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thy ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who desire to fear thy name: and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. For I was the king's cup-bearer.

Chapter 2

¹And it came to pass in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, that wine was before him: and I took up the wine, and gave it to the king. Now I had not before been sad in his presence. ²Wherefore the king said to me, Why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou art not sick? this is nothing but sorrow of heart. Then I was very greatly afraid, ³And said to the king, Let the king live for ever: why should not my countenance be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers' sepulchers, lieth waste, and its gates are consumed with fire? ⁴Then the king said to me, For what dost thou make request? So I prayed to the God of heaven. ⁵And I said to the king, If it should please the king, and if thy servant hath found favor in thy sight, that thou wouldst send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers' sepulchers, that I may build it. ⁶And the king said to me, (the queen also sitting by him,) For how long shall thy journey be? and when wilt thou return? So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time. ⁷Moreover, I said to the king, If it should please the king, let letters be given me to the governors beyond the river, that they may convey me over till I come into Judah: ⁸And a letter to Asaph the keeper of the king's forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the palace which appertained to the house, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall enter. And the king granted me, according to the good hand of my God upon me. ⁹Then I came to the governors beyond the river, and gave them the king's letters. Now the king had sent captains of the army and horsemen with me. ¹⁰When Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, heard of it, it grieved them exceedingly that there had come a man to seek the welfare of the children of Israel. ¹¹So I came to Jerusalem, and was there three days. ¹²And I arose in the night, I and some few men with me; neither told I any man what my God had put in my heart to do at Jerusalem: neither was there any beast with me, save the beast that I rode upon. ¹³And I went out by night by the gate of the valley, even before the dragon-well, and to the dung-port, and viewed the walls of Jerusalem, which were broken down, and their gates were consumed with fire. ¹⁴Then I went on to the gate of the fountain, and to the king's pool: but there was no place for the beast that was under me to pass. ¹⁵Then I went up in the night by the brook, and viewed the wall, and turned back, and entered by the gate of the valley, and so returned. ¹⁶And the rulers knew not whither I went, or what I did; neither had I as yet told it to the Jews, nor to the priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the rulers, nor to the rest that did the work. ¹⁷Then said I to them, Ye see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lieth waste, and its gates are burned with fire: come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we may be no more a reproach. ¹⁸Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me; as also the king's words that he had spoken to me. And they said, Let us rise and build. So they strengthened their hands for this good work. ¹⁹But when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, heard it, they laughed us to scorn, and despised us, and said, What is this thing that ye do? will ye rebel against the king? ²⁰Then I answered them, and said to them, The God of heaven, he will prosper us; therefore we his servants will arise and build: but ye have no portion, nor right, nor memorial, in Jerusalem.

Chapter 3

¹Then Eliashib the high priest arose with his brethren the priests, and they built the sheep-gate; they sanctified it, and set up the doors of it; even to the tower of Meah they sanctified it, to the tower of Hananeel. ²And next to him built the men of Jericho. And next to them built Zaccur the son of Imri. ³But the fish-gate did the sons of Hassenaah build, who also laid its beams, and set up its doors, its locks and its bars. ⁴And next to them repaired Meremoth the son of Urijah, the son of Koz. And next to them repaired Meshullam the son of Berechiah, the son of Meshezabeel. And next to them repaired Zadok the son of Baana. ⁵And next to them the Tekoites repaired; but their nobles put not their necks to the work of their Lord. ⁶Moreover, the old gate repaired Jehoiada the son of Paseah, and Meshullam the son of Besodeiah; they laid its beams, and set up its doors, and its locks, and its bars. ⁷And next to them repaired Melatiah the Gibeonite, and Jadon the Meronothite, the men of Gibeon, and of Mizpah, to the throne of the governor on this side of the river. ⁸Next to him repaired Uzziel the son of Harhaiah, of the goldsmiths. Next to him also repaired Hananiah the son of one of the apothecaries, and they fortified Jerusalem to the broad wall. ⁹And next to them repaired Rephaiah the son of Hur, the ruler of the half part of Jerusalem. ¹⁰And next to them repaired Jedaiah the son of Harumaph, even over against his house. And next to him repaired Hattush the son of Hashabniah. ¹¹Malchijah the son of Harim, and Hashub the son of Pahath-moab, repaired the other piece, and the tower of the furnaces. ¹²And next to him repaired Shallum the son of Halohesh, the ruler of the half part of Jerusalem, he and his daughters. ¹³The valley-gate repaired Hanun, and the inhabitants of Zanoah; they built it, and set up its doors, its locks, and its bars, and a thousand cubits on the wall to the dung-gate. ¹⁴But the dung-gate repaired Malchiah the son of Rechab, the ruler of part of Beth-haccerem; he built it, and set up its doors, its locks, and its bars. ¹⁵But the gate of the fountain repaired Shallun the son of Col-hozeh, the ruler of part of Mizpah; he built it, and covered it, and set up its doors, its locks, and its bars, and the wall of the pool of Siloah by the king's garden, and to the stairs that go down from the city of David. ¹⁶After him repaired Nehemiah the son of Azbuk, the ruler of the half part of Beth-zur, to the place over against the sepulchers of David, and to the pool that was made, and to the house of the mighty. ¹⁷After him repaired the Levites Rehum the son of Bani. Next to him repaired Hashabiah the ruler of the half part of Keilah, in his part. ¹⁸After him repaired their brethren, Bavai the son of Henadad, the ruler of the half part of Keilah. ¹⁹And next to him repaired Ezer the son of Jeshua, the ruler of Mizpah, another piece over against the ascent to the armory, at the turning of the wall. ²⁰After him Baruch the son of Zabbai, earnestly repaired the other piece, from the turning of the wall to the door of the house of Eliashib the high priest. ²¹After him repaired Meremoth the son of Urijah the son of Koz another piece, from the door of the house of Eliashib, even to the end of the house of Eliashib. ²²And after him repaired the priests, the men of the plain. ²³After him repaired Benjamin and Hashub, over against their house. After him repaired Azariah, the son of Maaseiah, the son of Ananiah, by his house. ²⁴After him repaired Binnui, the son of Henadad, another piece, from the house of Azariah to the turning of the wall, even to the corner. ²⁵Palal, the son of Uzai, over against the turning of the wall, and the tower which lieth out from the king's high house, that was by the court of the prison. After him Pedaiah, the son of Parosh. ²⁶Moreover, the Nethinims dwelt in Ophel, to the place over against the water-gate towards the east, and the projecting tower. ²⁷After them the Tekoites repaired another piece, over against the great projecting tower, even to the wall of Ophel. ²⁸From above the horse-gate repaired the priests, every one over against his house. ²⁹After them repaired Zadok the son of Immer over against his house. After him repaired also Shemaiah the son of Shechaniah, the keeper of the east gate. ³⁰After him repaired Hananiah the son of Shelemiah, and Hanun the sixth son of Zalaph, another piece. After him repaired Meshullam the son of Berechiah over against his chamber. ³¹After him repaired Malchiah the goldsmith's son, to the place of the Nethinims, and of the merchants, over against the gate Miphkad, and to the ascent of the corner. ³²And between the ascent of the corner to the sheep-gate repaired the goldsmiths and the merchants.

Chapter 4

¹But it came to pass that when Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, he was wroth, and took great indignation, and mocked the Jews. ²And he spoke before his brethren, and the army of Samaria, and said, What do these feeble Jews? will they fortify themselves? will they sacrifice? will they make an end in a day? will they revive the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish which are burned? ³Now Tobiah the Ammonite was by him, and he said, Even that which they build, if a fox should go up, he would even break down their stone wall. ⁴Hear, O our God; for we are despised: and turn their reproach upon their own head, and give them for a prey in the land of captivity: ⁵And cover not their iniquity, and let not their sin be blotted out from before thee: for they have provoked thee to anger before the builders. ⁶So we built the wall; and all the wall was joined together to the half of it, for the people had a mind to work. ⁷But it came to pass, when Sanballat, and Tobiah, and the Arabians, and the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites, heard that the walls of Jerusalem were set up, and that the breaches began to be stopped, then they were very wroth, ⁸And conspired all of them together to come and to fight against Jerusalem, and to hinder it. ⁹Nevertheless we made our prayer to our God, and set a watch against them day and night, because of them. ¹⁰And Judah said, The strength of the bearers of burdens is decayed, and there is much rubbish; so that we are not able to build the wall. ¹¹And our adversaries said, They shall not know, neither see, till we come in the midst among them, and slay them, and cause the work to cease. ¹²And it came to pass, that when the Jews who dwelt by them came, they said to us ten times, From all places whence ye shall return to us they will be upon you. ¹³Therefore I set in the lower places behind the wall, and on the higher places, I even set the people after their families with their swords, their spears, and their bows. ¹⁴And I looked, and arose, and said to the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, Be ye not afraid of them: remember the Lord who is great and terrible, and fight for your brethren, your sons, and your daughters, your wives, and your houses. ¹⁵And it came to pass, when our enemies heard that it was known to us, and God had brought their counsel to naught, that we returned all of us to the wall, every one to his work. ¹⁶And it came to pass, from that time forth, that the half of my servants wrought in the work, and the other half of them held both the spears, the shields, and the bows, and the habergeons; and the rulers were behind all the house of Judah. ¹⁷They who built on the wall, and they that bore burdens, with those that laded, every one with one of his hands wrought in the work, and with the other hand held a weapon. ¹⁸For the builders, every one had his sword girded by his side, and so built. And he that sounded the trumpet was by me. ¹⁹And I said to the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, The work is great and large, and we are separated upon the wall, one far from another. ²⁰In what place therefore ye hear the sound of the trumpet, resort ye thither to us: our God will fight for us. ²¹So we labored in the work: and half of them held the spears from the rising of the morning till the stars appeared. ²²Likewise at the same time said I to the people, Let every one with his servant lodge within Jerusalem, that in the night they may be a guard to us, and labor in the day. ²³So neither I, nor my brethren, nor my servants, nor the men of the guard who followed me, none of us put off our clothes, saving that every one put them off for washing.

Chapter 5

¹And there was a great cry of the people and of their wives against their brethren the Jews. ²For there were that said, We, our sons, and our daughters, are many: therefore we take up corn for them, that we may eat, and live. ³Some also there were that said, We have mortgaged our lands, vineyards, and houses, that we might buy corn, because of the dearth. ⁴There were also that said, We have borrowed money for the king's tribute, and that upon our lands and vineyards. ⁵Yet now our flesh is as the flesh of our brethren, our children as their children: and lo, we bring into bondage our sons and our daughters to be servants, and some of our daughters are brought to bondage already: neither is it in our power to redeem them; for other men have our lands and vineyards. ⁶And I was very angry when I heard their cry and these words. ⁷Then I consulted with myself, and I rebuked the nobles, and the rulers, and said to them, Ye exact interest, every one of his brother. And I set a great assembly against them. ⁸And I said to them, We after our ability have redeemed our brethren the Jews, who were sold to the heathen; and will ye even sell your brethren? or shall they be sold to us? Then they held their peace, and found nothing to answer. ⁹Also I said, That is not good which ye do: ought ye not to walk in the fear of our God because of the reproach of the heathen our enemies? ¹⁰I likewise, my brethren, and my servants, might exact of them money and corn: I pray you, let us leave off this usury. ¹¹Restore, I pray you, to them, even this day, their lands, their vineyards, their olive-yards, and their houses, also the hundredth part of the money, and of the corn, the wine, and the oil, that ye exact of them. ¹²Then said they, We will restore them, and will require nothing of them; so will we do as thou sayest. Then I called the priests, and took an oath of them, that they would do according to this promise. ¹³Also I shook my lap, and said, So God shake out every man from his house, and from his labor, that performeth not this promise, even thus be he shaken out, and emptied. And all the congregation said, Amen, and praised the LORD. And the people did according to this promise. ¹⁴Moreover, from the time that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year even to the two and thirtieth year of Artaxerxes the king, that is, twelve years, I and my brethren have not eaten the bread of the governor. ¹⁵But the former governors, that had been before me were chargeable to the people, and had taken of them bread and wine, besides forty shekels of silver; yes, even their servants bore rule over the people: but so did not I, because of the fear of God. ¹⁶Yea, also I continued in the work of this wall, neither bought we any land: and all my servants were gathered thither to the work. ¹⁷Moreover, there were at my table a hundred and fifty of the Jews and rulers, besides those that came to us from among the heathen that were about us. ¹⁸Now that which was prepared for me daily was one ox and six choice sheep; also fowls were prepared for me, and once in ten days an abundance of all sorts of wine: yet for all this I required not the bread of the governor, because the bondage was heavy upon this people. ¹⁹Think upon me, my God, for good, according to all that I have done for this people.

Chapter 6

¹Now it came to pass, when Sanballat, and Tobiah, and Geshem the Arabian, and the rest of our enemies, heard that I had built the wall, and that there was no breach left in it, (though at that time I had not set up the doors upon the gates;) ²That Sanballat and Geshem sent to me, saying, Come, let us meet together in some one of the villages in the plain of Ono. But they thought to do me mischief. ³And I sent messengers to them, saying, I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down: why should the work cease, whilst I leave it, and come down to you? ⁴Yet they sent to me four times after this sort; and I answered them after the same manner. ⁵Then Sanballat sent his servant to me in like manner the fifth time with an open letter in his hand; ⁶In which was written, It is reported among the heathen, and Gashmu saith it, that thou and the Jews think to rebel: for which cause thou buildest the wall that thou mayest be their king, according to these words. ⁷And thou hast also appointed prophets to preach of thee at Jerusalem, saying, There is a king in Judah: and now shall it be reported to the king according to these words. Come now therefore, and let us take counsel together. ⁸Then I sent to him, saying, There are no such things done as thou sayest, but thou feignest them out of thy own heart. ⁹For they all made us afraid, saying, Their hands shall be weakened from the work, that it may not be done. Now therefore, O God, strengthen my hands. ¹⁰Afterward I came to the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah the son of Mehetabeel, who was shut up; and he said, Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple, and let us shut the doors of the temple: for they will come to slay thee; yea, in the night will they come to slay thee. ¹¹And I said, Should such a man as I flee? and who is there, that, being as I am, would go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in. ¹²And lo, I perceived that God had not sent him; but that he pronounced this prophecy against me: for Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. ¹³Therefore was he hired, that I should be afraid, and do so, and sin, and that they might have matter for an evil report, that they might reproach me. ¹⁴My God, think thou upon Tobiah and Sanballat according to these their works, and on the prophetess Noadiah, and the rest of the prophets, that would have put me in fear. ¹⁵So the wall was finished in the twenty and fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty and two days. ¹⁶And it came to pass, that when all our enemies heard of it, and all the heathen that were about us saw these things, they were much cast down in their own eyes: for they perceived that this work was wrought by our God. ¹⁷Moreover, in those days the nobles of Judah sent many letters to Tobiah, and the letters of Tobiah came to them. ¹⁸For there were many in Judah sworn to him, because he was the son-in-law of Shechaniah the son of Arah; and his son Johanan had taken the daughter of Meshullam the son of Berechiah. ¹⁹Also they reported his good deeds before me, and uttered my words to him. And Tobiah sent letters to put me in fear.

Chapter 7

¹Now it came to pass, when the wall was built, and I had set up the doors, and the porters and the singers and the Levites were appointed, ²That I gave my brother Hanani, and Hananiah the ruler of the palace, charge over Jerusalem: for he was a faithful man, and feared God above many. ³And I said to them, Let not the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun shall be hot; and while they stand by, let them shut the doors, and bar them: and appoint watches of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, every one in his watch, and every one to be over against his house. ⁴Now the city was large and great: but the people in it were few, and the houses were not built. ⁵And my God put into my heart to assemble the nobles, and the rulers, and the people, that they might be reckoned by genealogy. And I found a register of the genealogy of them who came up at the first, and found written in it, ⁶These are the children of the province, that went up out of the captivity, of those that had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away, and came again to Jerusalem and to Judah, every one to his city; ⁷Who came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum, Baanah. The number, I say, of the men of the people of Israel was this; ⁸The children of Parosh, two thousand a hundred and seventy two. ⁹The children of Shephatiah, three hundred and seventy two. ¹⁰The children of Arah, six hundred and fifty two. ¹¹The children of Pahath-moab, of the children of Jeshua and Joab, two thousand and eight hundred and eighteen. ¹²The children of Elam, a thousand two hundred and fifty four. ¹³The children of Zattu, eight hundred and forty five. ¹⁴The children of Zaccai, seven hundred and sixty. ¹⁵The children of Binnui, six hundred and forty eight. ¹⁶The children of Bebai, six hundred and twenty eight. ¹⁷The children of Azgad, two thousand three hundred and twenty two. ¹⁸The children of Adonikam, six hundred and sixty seven. ¹⁹The children of Bigvai, two thousand and sixty seven. ²⁰The children of Adin, six hundred and fifty five. ²¹The children of Ater of Hezekiah, ninety eight. ²²The children of Hashum, three hundred and twenty eight. ²³The children of Bezai, three hundred and twenty four. ²⁴The children of Hariph, a hundred and twelve. ²⁵The children of Gibeon, ninety five. ²⁶The men of Beth-lehem and Netophah, a hundred and eighty eight. ²⁷The men of Anathoth, a hundred and twenty eight. ²⁸The men of Beth-azmaveth, forty two. ²⁹The men of Kirjath-jearim, Chephirah, and Beeroth, seven hundred and forty three. ³⁰The men of Ramah and Gaba, six hundred and twenty one. ³¹The men of Michmas, a hundred and twenty two. ³²The men of Beth-el and Ai, a hundred and twenty three. ³³The men of the other Nebo, fifty two. ³⁴The children of the other Elam, a thousand two hundred and fifty four. ³⁵The children of Harim, three hundred and twenty. ³⁶The children of Jericho, three hundred and forty five. ³⁷The children of Lod, Hadid, and Ono, seven hundred and twenty one. ³⁸The children of Senaah, three thousand nine hundred and thirty. ³⁹The priests: the children of Jedaiah, of the house of Jeshua, nine hundred and seventy three. ⁴⁰The children of Immer, a thousand and fifty two. ⁴¹The children of Pashur, a thousand two hundred and forty seven. ⁴²The children of Harim, a thousand and seventeen. ⁴³The Levites: the children of Jeshua, of Kadmiel, and of the children of Hodevah, seventy four. ⁴⁴The singers: the children of Asaph, a hundred and forty eight. ⁴⁵The porters: the children of Shallum, the children of Ater, the children of Talmon, the children of Akkub, the children of Hatita, the children of Shobai, a hundred and thirty eight. ⁴⁶The Nethinims: the children of Ziha, the children of Hashupha, the children of Tabbaoth, ⁴⁷The children of Keros, the children of Sia, the children of Padon, ⁴⁸The children of Lebana, the children of Hagaba, the children of Shalmai, ⁴⁹The children of Hanan, the children of Giddel, the children of Gahar, ⁵⁰The children of Reaiah, the children of Rezin, the children of Nekoda, ⁵¹The children of Gazzam, the children of Uzza, the children of Phaseah, ⁵²The children of Besai, the children of Meunim, the children of Nephishesim, ⁵³The children of Bakbuk, the children of Hakupha, the children of Harhur, ⁵⁴The children of Bazlith, the children of Mehida, the children of Harsha, ⁵⁵The children of Barkos, the children of Sisera, the children of Tamah, ⁵⁶The children of Neziah, the children of Hatipha. ⁵⁷The children of Solomon's servants: the children of Sotai, the children of Sophereth, the children of Perida, ⁵⁸The children of Jaala, the children of Darkon, the children of Giddel, ⁵⁹The children of Shephatiah, the children of Hattil, the children of Pochereth of Zebaim, the children of Amon. ⁶⁰All the Nethinims, and the children of Solomon's servants, were three hundred and ninety two. ⁶¹And these were they who went up also from Tel-mela, Tel-haresha, Cherub, Addon, and Immer: but they could not show their fathers house, nor their seed, whether they were of Israel. ⁶²The children of Delaiah, the children of Tobiah, the children of Nekoda, six hundred and forty two. ⁶³And of the priests: the children of Habaiah, the children of Koz, the children of Barzillai, who took one of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite for a wife, and was called after their name. ⁶⁴These sought their register among those that were reckoned by genealogy, but it was not found: therefore were they, as polluted, put from the priesthood. ⁶⁵And the Tirshatha said to them, that they should not eat of the most holy things, till there should stand up a priest with Urim and Thummim. ⁶⁶The whole congregation together was forty two thousand three hundred and sixty. ⁶⁷Besides their man-servants and their maid-servants, of whom there were seven thousand three hundred and thirty seven: and they had two hundred and forty five singing-men and singing-women. ⁶⁸Their horses, seven hundred and thirty six: their mules, two hundred and forty five: ⁶⁹Their camels, four hundred and thirty five: six thousand seven hundred and twenty asses. ⁷⁰And some of the chief of the fathers gave to the work. The Tirshatha gave to the treasure a thousand drams of gold, fifty basins, five hundred and thirty priests' garments. ⁷¹And some of the chief of the fathers gave to the treasure of the work, twenty thousand drams of gold, and two thousand and two hundred pounds of silver. ⁷²And that which the rest of the people gave was twenty thousand drams of gold, and two thousand pounds of silver, and sixty seven priests' garments. ⁷³So the priests, and the Levites, and the porters, and the singers, and some of the people, and the Nethinims, and all Israel, dwelt in their cities; and when the seventh month came, the children of Israel were in their cities.

Chapter 8

¹And all the people assembled as one man in the street that was before the water-gate; and they spoke to Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the LORD had commanded to Israel. ²And Ezra the priest brought the law before the congregation both of men and women, and all that could hear with understanding, upon the first day of the seventh month. ³And he read therein before the street that was before the water-gate from the morning until mid-day, before the men and the women, and those that could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive to the book of the law. ⁴And Ezra the scribe stood upon a pulpit of wood, which they had made for the purpose; and beside him stood Mattithiah, and Shema, and Anaiah, and Urijah, and Hilkiah, and Maaseiah, on his right hand; and on his left hand, Pedaiah, and Mishael, and Malchiah, and Hashum, and Hashbadana, Zechariah, and Meshullam. ⁵And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people; (for he was above all the people;) and when he opened it, all the people stood up: ⁶And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting their hands: and they bowed their heads, and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground. ⁷Also Jeshua, and Bani, and Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodijah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites, caused the people to understand the law: and the people stood in their place. ⁸So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading. ⁹And Nehemiah, who is the Tirshatha, and Ezra the priest, the scribe, and the Levites that taught the people, said to all the people, This day is holy to the LORD your God; mourn not, nor weep. For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the law. ¹⁰Then he said to them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions to them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy to our Lord: neither be ye sad; for the joy of the LORD is your strength. ¹¹So the Levites stilled all the people, saying, Hold your peace, for the day is holy; neither be ye grieved. ¹²And all the people went their way to eat, and to drink, and to send portions, and to make great mirth, because they had understood the words that were declared to them. ¹³And on the second day were assembled the chief of the fathers of all the people, the priests, and the Levites, to Ezra the scribe, even to understand the words of the law. ¹⁴And they found written in the law which the LORD had commanded by Moses, that the children of Israel should dwell in booths in the feast of the seventh month: ¹⁵And that they should publish and proclaim in all their cities, and in Jerusalem, saying, Go forth to the mount, and fetch olive branches, and pine branches, and myrtle branches, and palm branches, and branches of thick trees, to make booths, as it is written. ¹⁶So the people went forth, and brought them, and made themselves booths, every one upon the roof of his house, and in their courts, and in the courts of the house of God, and in the street of the water-gate, and in the street of the gate of Ephraim. ¹⁷And all the congregation of them that had returned from the captivity made booths, and sat under the booths: for since the days of Jeshua the son of Nun to that day, had not the children of Israel done so. And there was very great gladness. ¹⁸Also day by day, from the first day to the last day, he read in the book of the law of God. And they kept the feast seven days; and on the eighth day was a solemn assembly, according to the manner.

Chapter 9

¹Now in the twenty and fourth day of this month the children of Israel were assembled with fasting, and with sackclothes, and earth upon them. ²And the seed of Israel separated themselves from all strangers, and stood and confessed their sins, and the iniquities of their fathers. ³And they stood up in their place, and read in the book of the law of the LORD their God one fourth part of the day; and another fourth part they confessed, and worshiped the LORD their God. ⁴Then stood upon the stairs, of the Levites, Jeshua, and Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani, and cried with a loud voice to the LORD their God. ⁵Then the Levites, Jeshua, and Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabniah, Sherebiah, Hodijah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah, said, Stand up and bless the LORD your God for ever and ever: and blessed be thy glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise. ⁶Thou, even thou, art LORD alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all things that are in it, the seas, and all that is in them, and thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven worshipeth thee. ⁷Thou art the LORD the God, who chosest Abram, and broughtest him forth from Ur of the Chaldees, and gavest him the name of Abraham; ⁸And foundest his heart faithful before thee, and madest a covenant with him, to give the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Jebusites, and the Girgashites, to give it, I say, to his seed, and hast performed thy words; for thou art righteous: ⁹And thou sawest the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, and heardest their cry by the Red sea; ¹⁰And shewedst signs and wonders upon Pharaoh, and on all his servants, and on all the people of his land: for thou knewest that they dealt proudly against them. So didst thou get thee a name, as it is this day. ¹¹And thou didst divide the sea before them, so that they went through the midst of the sea on the dry land; and their persecutors thou threwest into the deeps, as a stone into the mighty waters. ¹²Moreover, thou leddest them in the day by a cloudy pillar; and in the night by a pillar of fire, to give them light in the way in which they should go. ¹³Thou camest down also upon mount Sinai, and spokest with them from heaven, and gavest them right judgments, and true laws, good statutes and commandments: ¹⁴And madest known to them thy holy sabbath, and commandedst them precepts, statutes, and laws, by the hand of Moses thy servant: ¹⁵And gavest them bread from heaven for their hunger, and broughtest forth water for them out of the rock for their thirst, and promisedst them that they should go in to possess the land which thou hadst sworn to give them. ¹⁶But they and our fathers dealt proudly, and hardened their necks, and hearkened not to thy commandments, ¹⁷And refused to obey, neither were mindful of thy wonders that thou didst perform among them; but hardened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage: but thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and forsookest them not. ¹⁸Yea, when they had made them a molten calf, and said, This is thy God that brought thee out of Egypt, and had wrought great provocations; ¹⁹Yet thou in thy manifold mercies forsookest them not in the wilderness: the pillar of the cloud departed not from them by day, to lead them in the way; neither the pillar of fire by night, to show them light, and the way in which they should go. ²⁰Thou gavest also thy good spirit to instruct them, and withheldest not thy manna from their mouth, and gavest them water for their thirst. ²¹Yea, forty years didst thou sustain them in the wilderness, so that they lacked nothing; their clothes grew not old, and their feet swelled not. ²²Moreover, thou gavest them kingdoms and nations, and didst divide them into corners: so they possessed the land of Sihon, and the land of the king of Heshbon, and the land of Og king of Bashan. ²³Their children also multipliedst thou as the stars of heaven, and broughtest them into the land, concerning which thou hadst promised to their fathers, that they should go in to possess it. ²⁴So the children went in and possessed the land, and thou subduedst before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, and gavest them into their hands, with their kings, and the people of the land, that they might do with them as they would. ²⁵And they took strong cities, and a fat land, and possessed houses full of all goods, wells digged, vineyards and olive-yards, and fruit trees in abundance: so they ate and were filled, and became fat, and delighted themselves in thy great goodness. ²⁶Nevertheless, they were disobedient, and rebelled against thee, and cast thy law behind their backs, and slew thy prophets who testified against them to turn them to thee, and they wrought great provocations. ²⁷Therefore thou deliveredst them into the hand of their enemies, who distressed them: and in the time of their trouble, when they cried to thee, thou hearedest them from heaven; and according to thy manifold mercies thou gavest them deliverers, who saved them out of the hand of their enemies. ²⁸But after they had rest, they did evil again before thee: therefore thou leftest them in the hand of their enemies, so that they had the dominion over them: yet when they returned and cried to thee, thou hearedest them from heaven; and many times didst thou deliver them according to thy mercies; ²⁹And testifiedst against them, that thou mightest bring them again to thy law: yet they dealt proudly, and hearkened not to thy commandments, but sinned against thy judgments, (which if a man doeth, he shall live in them:) and withdrew the shoulder, and hardened their neck, and would not hear. ³⁰Yet many years didst thou forbear over them, and testifiedst against them by thy spirit in thy prophets: yet would they not give ear: therefore thou gavest them into the hand of the people of the lands. ³¹Nevertheless, for thy great mercies' sake thou didst not utterly consume them, nor forsake them; for thou art a gracious and merciful God. ³²Now therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and the terrible God, who keepest covenant and mercy, let not all the trouble seem little before thee, that hath come upon us, on our kings, on our princes, and on our priests, and on our prophets, and on our fathers, and on all thy people, since the time of the kings of Assyria to this day. ³³But thou art just in all that is brought upon us; for thou hast done right, but we have done wickedly: ³⁴Neither have our kings, our princes, our priests, nor our fathers, kept thy law, nor hearkened to thy commandments and thy testimonies, with which thou didst testify against them. ³⁵For they have not served thee in their kingdom, and in thy great goodness that thou gavest them, and in the large and fat land which thou gavest before them, neither turned they from their wicked works. ³⁶Behold, we are servants this day, and for the land that thou gavest to our fathers to eat the fruit of it and the good of it, behold, we are servants in it: ³⁷And it yieldeth much increase to the kings whom thou hast set over us because of our sins: also they have dominion over our bodies, and over our cattle, at their pleasure, and we are in great distress. ³⁸And because of all this we make a sure covenant, and write it; and our princes, Levites, and priests, set their seals to it.

Chapter 10

¹Now those that sealed were, Nehemiah, the Tirshatha, the son of Hachaliah, and Zidkijah, ²Seraiah, Azariah, Jeremiah, ³Pashur, Amariah, Malchijah, ⁴Hattush, Shebaniah, Malluch, ⁵Harim, Meremoth, Obadiah, ⁶Daniel, Ginnethon, Baruch, ⁷Meshullam, Abijah, Mijamin, ⁸Maaziah, Bilgai, Shemaiah: these were the priests. ⁹And the Levites: both Jeshua the son of Azaniah, Binnui of the sons of Henadad, Kadmiel; ¹⁰And their brethren, Shebaniah, Hodijah, Kelita, Pelaiah, Hanan, ¹¹Micha, Rehob, Hashabiah, ¹²Zaccur, Sherebiah, Shebaniah, ¹³Hodijah, Bani, Beninu, ¹⁴The chief of the people; Parosh, Pahath-moab, Elam, Zatthu, Bani, ¹⁵Bunni, Azgad, Bebai, ¹⁶Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin, ¹⁷Ater, Hizkijah, Azzur, ¹⁸Hodijah, Hashum, Bezai, ¹⁹Hariph, Anathoth, Nebai, ²⁰Magpiash, Meshullam, Hezir, ²¹Meshezabeel, Zadok, Jaddua, ²²Pelatiah, Hanan, Anaiah, ²³Hoshea, Hananiah, Hashub, ²⁴Hallohesh, Pileha, Shobek, ²⁵Rehum, Hashabnah, Maaseiah, ²⁶And Ahijah, Hanan, Anan, ²⁷Malluch, Harim, Baanah. ²⁸And the rest of the people, the priests, the Levites, the porters, the singers, the Nethinims, and all they that had separated themselves from the people of the lands to the law of God, their wives, their sons, and their daughters, every one having knowledge, and having understanding; ²⁹They united with their brethren, their nobles, and entered into a curse, and into an oath, to walk in God's law, which was given by Moses the servant of God, and to observe and do all the commandments of the LORD our Lord, and his judgments and his statutes; ³⁰And that we would not give our daughters to the people of the land, nor take their daughters for our sons: ³¹And if the people of the land should bring wares or any provisions on the sabbath day to sell, that we would not buy it of them on the sabbath, or on the holy day: and that we would leave the seventh year, and the exaction of every debt. ³²Also we made ordinances for us, to charge ourselves yearly with the third part of a shekel for the service of the house of our God; ³³For the show-bread, and for the continual meat-offering, and for the continual burnt-offering, of the sabbaths, of the new moons, for the set feasts, and for the holy things, and for the sin-offerings to make an atonement for Israel, and for all the work of the house of our God. ³⁴And we cast the lots among the priests, the Levites, and the people, for the wood-offering, to bring it into the house of our God, after the houses of our fathers, at times appointed year by year, to burn upon the altar of the LORD our God, as it is written in the law: ³⁵And to bring the first-fruits of our ground, and the first-fruits of all fruit of all trees, year by year, to the house of the LORD: ³⁶Also the first-born of our sons, and of our cattle, as it is written in the law, and the firstlings of our herds and of our flocks, to bring to the house of our God, to the priests that minister in the house of our God: ³⁷And that we should bring the first-fruits of our dough, and our offerings, and the fruit of all manner of trees, of wine and of oil, to the priests, to the chambers of the house of our God; and the tithes of our ground to the Levites, that the same Levites might have the tithes in all the cities of our tillage. ³⁸And the priest the son of Aaron shall be with the Levites, when the Levites take tithes: and the Levites shall bring up the tenth of the tithes to the house of our God, to the chambers, into the treasure house. ³⁹For the children of Israel and the children of Levi shall bring the offering of the corn, of the new wine, and the oil, to the chambers, where are the vessels of the sanctuary, and the priests that minister, and the porters, and the singers: and we will not forsake the house of our God.

Chapter 11

¹And the rulers of the people dwelt at Jerusalem: the rest of the people also cast lots, to bring one of ten to dwell in Jerusalem the holy city, and nine parts to dwell in other cities. ²And the people blessed all the men that willingly offered themselves to dwell at Jerusalem. ³Now these are the chief of the province that dwelt in Jerusalem: but in the cities of Judah dwelt every one in his possession in their cities, to wit, Israel, the priests, and the Levites, and the Nethinims, and the children of Solomon's servants. ⁴And at Jerusalem dwelt certain of the children of Judah, and of the children of Benjamin. Of the children of Judah; Athaiah the son of Uzziah, the son of Zechariah, the son of Amariah, the son of Shephatiah, the son of Mahalaleel, of the children of Perez; ⁵And Maaseiah the son of Baruch, the son of Col-hozeh, the son of Hazaiah, the son of Adaiah, the son of Joiarib, the son of Zechariah, the son of Shiloni. ⁶All the sons of Perez that dwelt at Jerusalem were four hundred sixty and eight valiant men. ⁷And these are the sons of Benjamin; Sallu the son of Meshullam, the son of Joed, the son of Pedaiah, the son of Kolaiah, the son of Maaseiah, the son of Ithiel, the son of Jesaiah. ⁸And after him, Gabbai, Sallai, nine hundred twenty and eight. ⁹And Joel the son of Zichri was their overseer: and Judah the son of Senuah was second over the city. ¹⁰Of the priests: Jedaiah the son of Joiarib, Jachin. ¹¹Seraiah the son of Hilkiah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Zadok, the son of Meraioth, the son of Ahitub, was the ruler of the house of God. ¹²And their brethren that performed the work of the house were eight hundred twenty and two: and Adaiah the son of Jeroham, the son of Pelaliah, the son of Amzi, the son of Zechariah, the son of Pashur, the son of Malchiah, ¹³And his brethren, chief of the fathers, two hundred forty and two: and Amashai the son of Azareel, the son of Ahasai, the son of Meshillemoth, the son of Immer, ¹⁴And their brethren, mighty men of valor, a hundred twenty and eight: and their overseer was Zabdiel, the son of one of the great men. ¹⁵Also of the Levites: Shemaiah the son of Hashub, the son of Azrikam, the son of Hashabiah, the son of Bunni; ¹⁶And Shabbethai and Jozabad, of the chief of the Levites, had the oversight of the outward business of the house of God. ¹⁷And Mattaniah the son of Micha, the son of Zabdi, the son of Asaph, was the principal to begin the thanksgiving in prayer: and Bakbukiah the second among his brethren, and Abda the son of Shammua, the son of Galal, the son of Jeduthun. ¹⁸All the Levites in the holy city were two hundred and eighty four. ¹⁹Moreover the porters, Akkub, Talmon, and their brethren that kept the gates, were an hundred and seventy two. ²⁰And the residue of Israel, of the priests, and the Levites, were in all the cities of Judah every one in his inheritance. ²¹But the Nethinims dwelt in Ophel: and Ziha and Gispa were over the Nethinims. ²²The overseer also of the Levites at Jerusalem was Uzzi the son of Bani, the son of Hashabiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Micha. Of the sons of Asaph, the singers were over the business of the house of God. ²³For it was the king's commandment concerning them, that a certain portion should be for the singers, due for every day. ²⁴And Pethahiah the son of Meshezabeel, of the children of Zerah the son of Judah was at the king's hand in all matters concerning the people. ²⁵And for the villages, with their fields, some of the children of Judah dwelt at Kirjath-arba, and in its villages, and at Dibon, and in its villages, and at Jekabzeel, and in its villages, ²⁶And at Jeshua, and at Moladah, and at Beth-phelet, ²⁷And at Hazar-shual, and at Beer-sheba, and in its villages, ²⁸And at Ziklag, and at Mekonah, and in its villages, ²⁹And at En-rimmon, and at Zareah, and at Jarmuth, ³⁰Zanoah, Adullam, and in their villages, at Lachish, and its fields, at Azekah, and in its villages. And they dwelt from Beer-sheba to the valley of Hinnom. ³¹The children also of Benjamin from Geba dwelt at Michmash, and Aija, and Beth-el, and in their villages. ³²And at Anathoth, Nob, Ananiah, ³³Hazor, Ramah, Gittaim, ³⁴Hadid, Zeboim, Neballat, ³⁵Lod, and Ono, the valley of artificers. ³⁶And of the Levites were divisions in Judah, and in Benjamin.

Chapter 12

¹Now these are the priests and the Levites that went up with Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua: Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra, ²Amariah, Malluch, Hattush, ³Shechaniah, Rehum, Meremoth, ⁴Iddo, Ginnetho, Abijah, ⁵Miamin, Maadiah, Bilgah, ⁶Shemaiah, and Joiarib, Jedaiah, ⁷Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah, Jedaiah. These were the chief of the priests and of their brethren in the days of Jeshua. ⁸Moreover the Levites: Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, and Mattaniah, who was over the thanksgiving, he and his brethren. ⁹Also Bakbukiah and Unni, their brethren, were over against them in the watches. ¹⁰And Jeshua begat Joiakim, Joiakim also begat Eliashib, and Eliashib begat Joiada, ¹¹And Joiada begat Jonathan, and Jonathan begat Jaddua. ¹²And in the days of Joiakim were priests, the chief of the fathers: of Seraiah, Meraiah; of Jeremiah, Hananiah; ¹³Of Ezra, Meshullam; of Amariah, Jehohanan; ¹⁴Of Melicu, Jonathan; of Shebaniah, Joseph; ¹⁵Of Harim, Adna; of Meraioth, Helkai; ¹⁶Of Iddo, Zechariah; of Ginnethon, Meshullam; ¹⁷Of Abijah, Zichri; of Miniamin, of Moadiah, Piltai; ¹⁸Of Bilgah, Shammua; of Shemaiah, Jehonathan; ¹⁹And of Joiarib, Mattenai; of Jedaiah, Uzzi; ²⁰Of Sallai, Kallai; of Amok, Eber; ²¹Of Hilkiah, Hashabiah; of Jedaiah, Nethaneel. ²²The Levites in the days of Eliashib, Joiada, and Johanan, and Jaddua, were recorded chief of the fathers: also the priests, to the reign of Darius the Persian. ²³The sons of Levi, the chief of the fathers, were written in the book of the chronicles, even till the days of Johanan the son of Eliashib. ²⁴And the chief of the Levites: Hashabiah, Sherebiah, and Jeshua the son of Kadmiel, with their brethren over against them, to praise and to give thanks according to the commandment of David the man of God, ward over against ward. ²⁵Mattaniah, and Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon, Akkub, were porters keeping the ward at the threshholds of the gates. ²⁶These were in the days of Joiakim the son of Jeshua, the son of Jozadak, and in the days of Nehemiah the governor, and of Ezra the priest, the scribe. ²⁷And at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought the Levites out of all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem, to keep the dedication with gladness, both with thanksgivings, and with singing, with cymbals, psalteries, and with harps. ²⁸And the sons of the singers assembled, both out of the plain country around Jerusalem, and from the villages of Netophathi; ²⁹Also from the house of Gilgal, and from the fields of Geba and Azmaveth: for the singers had built them villages around Jerusalem. ³⁰And the priests and the Levites purified themselves, and purified the people, and the gates, and the wall. ³¹Then I brought up the princes of Judah upon the wall, and appointed two great companies of them that gave thanks, of which one went on the right hand upon the wall towards the dung-gate: ³²And after them went Hoshaiah, and half of the princes of Judah, ³³And Azariah, Ezra, and Meshullam, ³⁴Judah, and Benjamin, and Shemaiah, and Jeremiah, ³⁵And certain of the priests' sons with trumpets; namely, Zechariah the son of Jonathan, the son of Shemaiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Michaiah, the son of Zaccur, the son of Asaph: ³⁶And his brethren, Shemaiah, and Azarael, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethaneel, and Judah, Hanani, with the musical instruments of David the man of God, and Ezra the scribe before them. ³⁷And at the fountain-gate, which was over against them, they went up by the stairs of the city of David, at the ascent of the wall, above the house of David, even to the water-gate eastward. ³⁸And the other company of them that gave thanks went over against them, and I after them, and the half of the people upon the wall, from beyond the tower of the furnaces even to the broad wall; ³⁹And from above the gate of Ephraim, and above the old gate, and above the fish-gate, and the tower of Hananeel, and the tower of Meah, even to the sheep-gate: and they stood still in the prison-gate. ⁴⁰So stood the two companies of them that gave thanks in the house of God, and I, and the half of the rulers with me: ⁴¹And the priests; Eliakim, Maaseiah, Miniamin, Michaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah, and Hananiah, with trumpets; ⁴²And Maaseiah, and Shemaiah, and Eleazar, and Uzzi, and Jehohanan, and Malchijah, and Elam, and Ezer. And the singers sang loud, with Jezrahiah their overseer. ⁴³Also that day they offered great sacrifices, and rejoiced: for God had made them rejoice with great joy: the wives also and the children rejoiced: so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard even afar off. ⁴⁴And at that time were some appointed over the chambers for the treasures, for the offerings, for the first-fruits, and for the tithes, to gather into them out of the fields of the cities the portions of the law for the priests and Levites: for Judah rejoiced for the priests and for the Levites that waited. ⁴⁵And both the singers and the porters kept the ward of their God, and the ward of the purification, according to the commandment of David, and of Solomon his son. ⁴⁶For in the days of David, and Asaph of old there were chief of the singers, and songs of praise and thanksgiving to God. ⁴⁷And all Israel in the days of Zerubbabel, and in the days of Nehemiah, gave the portions of the singers and the porters, every day his portion: and they sanctified holy things to the Levites; and the Levites sanctified them to the children of Aaron.

Chapter 13

¹On that day they read in the book of Moses in the audience of the people; and therein was found written, that the Ammonite and the Moabite should not come into the congregation of God for ever: ²Because they met not the children of Israel with bread and with water, but hired Baalam against them, that he should curse them: but our God turned the curse into a blessing. ³Now it came to pass, when they had heard the law, that they separated from Israel all the mixed multitude. ⁴And before this, Eliashib the priest, having the oversight of the chamber of the house of our God, was allied to Tobiah: ⁵And he had prepared for him a great chamber, where formerly they laid the meat-offerings, the frankincense, and the vessels, and the tithes of the corn, the new wine, and the oil, which was commanded to be given to the Levites, and the singers, and the porters; and the offerings of the priests. ⁶But in all this time I was not at Jerusalem: for in the two and thirtieth year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon I came to the king, and after certain days I obtained leave of the king: ⁷And I came to Jerusalem, and understood of the evil that Eliashib did for Tobiah, in preparing for him a chamber in the courts of the house of God. ⁸And it grieved me greatly: therefore I cast forth all the household stuff of Tobiah out of the chamber. ⁹Then I commanded, and they cleansed the chambers: and thither I brought again the vessels of the house of God, with the meat-offering and the frankincense. ¹⁰And I perceived that the portions of the Levites had not been given them: for the Levites and the singers, that did the work, had fled every one to his field. ¹¹Then I contended with the rulers, and said, Why is the house of God forsaken? and I assembled them, and set them in their place. ¹²Then all Judah brought the tithe of the corn and the new wine and the oil to the treasuries. ¹³And I made treasurers over the treasuries, Shelemiah the priest, and Zadok the scribe, and of the Levites, Pedaiah: and next to them was Hanan the son of Zaccur, the son of Mattaniah: for they were accounted faithful; and their office was to distribute to their brethren. ¹⁴Remember me, O my God, concerning this, and wipe not out my good deeds that I have done for the house of my God, and for its offices. ¹⁵In those days I saw in Judah some treading wine presses on the sabbath, and bringing in sheaves, and lading asses; as also wine, grapes, and figs, and all manner of burdens, which they brought into Jerusalem on the sabbath day: and I testified against them in the day in which they sold provisions. ¹⁶There dwelt men of Tyre also therein, who brought fish, and all manner of wares, and sold on the sabbath to the children of Judah, and in Jerusalem. ¹⁷Then I contended with the nobles of Judah, and said to them, What evil thing is this that ye do, and profane the sabbath day? ¹⁸Did not your fathers thus, and did not our God bring all this evil upon us, and upon this city? yet ye bring more wrath upon Israel by profaning the sabbath. ¹⁹And it came to pass, that, when the gates of Jerusalem began to be dark before the sabbath, I commanded that the gates should be shut, and charged that they should not be opened till after the sabbath: and I set some of my servants at the gates, that there should no burden be brought in on the sabbath day. ²⁰So the merchants and sellers of all kind of wares lodged without Jerusalem once or twice. ²¹Then I testified against them, and said to them, Why lodge ye about the wall? if ye do so again, I will lay hands on you. From that time forth they came no more on the sabbath. ²²And I commanded the Levites, that they should cleanse themselves, and that they should come and keep the gates, to sanctify the sabbath day. Remember me, O my God, concerning this also, and spare me according to the greatness of thy mercy. ²³In those days also I saw Jews that had married wives of Ashdod, of Ammon, and of Moab: ²⁴And their children spoke half in the speech of Ashdod, and could not speak in the Jews language, but according to the language of each people. ²⁵And I contended with them, and cursed them, and smote certain of them, and plucked off their hair, and made them swear by God, saying, Ye shall not give your daughters to their sons, nor take their daughters to your sons, or for yourselves. ²⁶Did not Solomon king of Israel sin by these things? yet among many nations was there no king like him, who was beloved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel: nevertheless even him did outlandish women cause to sin. ²⁷Shall we then hearken to you to do all this great evil, to transgress against our God in marrying foreign wives? ²⁸And one of the sons of Joiada, the son of Eliashib the high priest, was son-in-law to Sanballat the Horonite: therefore I chased him from me. ²⁹Remember them, O my God, because they have defiled the priesthood, and the covenant of the priesthood and of the Levites. ³⁰Thus I cleansed them from all strangers, and appointed the wards of the priests and the Levites, every one in his business; ³¹And for the wood-offering, at times appointed, and for the first-fruits. Remember me, O my God, for good.

Esther

Chapter 1

¹Now it came to pass in the days of Ahasuerus, (this is Ahasuerus who reigned from India even to Cush, over a hundred and seven and twenty provinces:) ²That in those days, when the king Ahasuerus sat on the throne of his kingdom, which was in Shushan the palace, ³In the third year of his reign, he made a feast to all his princes and his servants; the power of Persia and Media, the nobles and princes of the provinces, being before him: ⁴When he showed the riches of his glorious kingdom and the honor of his excellent majesty many days, even a hundred and eighty days. ⁵And when these days had expired, the king made a feast for all the people that were present in Shushan the palace, both for great and small, seven days, in the court of the garden of the king's palace; ⁶Where were white, green, and blue hangings, fastened with cords of fine linen and purple to silver rings and pillars of marble: the beds were of gold and silver, upon a pavement of red, and blue, and white, and black marble. ⁷And they gave them drink in vessels of gold, (the vessels being diverse one from another,) and royal wine in abundance, according to the state of the king. ⁸And the drinking was according to the law; none constrained: for so the king had appointed to all the officers of his house, that they should do according to every man's pleasure. ⁹Also Vashti the queen made a feast for the women in the royal house which belonged to king Ahasuerus. ¹⁰On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he commanded Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, and Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas, the seven chamberlains that served in the presence of Ahasuerus the king, ¹¹To bring Vashti the queen before the king with the crown royal, to show the people and the princes her beauty: for she was fair to look on. ¹²But the queen Vashti refused to come at the king's commandment by his chamberlains: therefore was the king very wroth, and his anger burned in him. ¹³Then the king said to the wise men, who knew the times, (for so was the king's manner towards all that knew law and judgment: ¹⁴And the next to him was Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan, the seven princes of Persia and Media, who saw the king's face, and who sat the first in the kingdom;) ¹⁵What shall we do to the queen Vashti according to law, because she hath not performed the commandment of the king Ahasuerus by the chamberlains? ¹⁶And Memucan answered before the king and the princes, Vashti the queen hath not done wrong to the king only, but also to all the princes, and to all the people that are in all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus. ¹⁷For this deed of the queen will come abroad to all women, so that they will despise their husbands in their eyes, when it shall be reported, The king Ahasuerus commanded Vashti the queen to be brought in before him, but she came not. ¹⁸Likewise will the ladies of Persia and Media say this day to all the king's princes, who have heard of the deed of the queen. Thus will there arise too much contempt and wrath. ¹⁹If it pleaseth the king, let a royal commandment go from him, and let it be written among the laws of the Persians and the Medes, that it be not altered, That Vashti come no more before king Ahasuerus; and let the king give her royal estate to another that is better than she. ²⁰And when the king's decree which he shall make shall be published throughout all his empire, (for it is great,) all the wives will give to their husbands honor, both to great and small. ²¹And the saying pleased the king and the princes; and the king did according to the word of Memucan: ²²For he sent letters into all the king's provinces, into every province according to the writing of it, and to every people after their language, that every man should bear rule in his own house, and that it should be published according to the language of every people.

Chapter 2

¹After these things, when the wrath of king Ahasuerus was appeased, he remembered Vashti, and what she had done, and what was decreed against her. ²Then said the king's servants that ministered to him, Let there be fair young virgins sought for the king: ³And let the king appoint officers in all the provinces of his kingdom, that they may collect all the fair young virgins to Shushan the palace, to the house of the women, into the custody of Hege the king's chamberlain, keeper of the women; and let their things for purification be given them: ⁴And let the maiden who pleaseth the king be queen instead of Vashti. And the thing pleased the king; and he did so. ⁵Now in Shushan the palace there was a certain Jew, whose name was Mordecai, the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjaminite; ⁶Who had been carried away from Jerusalem with the captivity which had been carried away with Jeconiah king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away. ⁷And he brought up Hadassah, that is, Esther, his uncle's daughter: for she had neither father nor mother, and the maid was fair and beautiful; whom Mordecai, when her father and mother were dead, took for his own daughter. ⁸So it came to pass, when the king's commandment and his decree were heard, and when many maidens were assembled at Shushan the palace, to the custody of Hegai, that Esther was brought also to the king's house, to the custody of Hegai, keeper of the women. ⁹And the maiden pleased him, and she obtained kindness from him; and he speedily gave her her things for purification, with such things as belonged to her, and seven maidens who were meet to be given her, out of the king's house: and he preferred her and her maids to the best place of the house of the women. ¹⁰Esther had not showed her people nor her kindred: for Mordecai had charged her that she should not show it. ¹¹And Mordecai walked every day before the court of the women's house, to know how Esther did, and what would become of her. ¹²Now when every maid's turn had come to go in to king Ahasuerus, after that she had been twelve months, according to the manner of the women, (for so were the days of their purifications accomplished, to wit, six months with oil of myrrh, and six months with sweet odors, and with other things for the purifying of the women;) ¹³Then thus came every maiden to the king; whatever she desired was given her to go with her out of the house of the women to the king's house. ¹⁴In the evening she went, and on the morrow she returned into the second house of the women, to the custody of Shaashgaz, the king's chamberlain, who kept the concubines: she came in to the king no more, except that the king delighted in her, and she was called by name. ¹⁵Now when the turn of Esther, the daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai, who had taken her for his daughter, had come to go in to the king, she required nothing but what Hegai the king's chamberlain, the keeper of the women, appointed. And Esther obtained favor in the sight of all them that looked upon her. ¹⁶So Esther was taken to king Ahasuerus into his house royal in the tenth month, which is the month Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign. ¹⁷And the king loved Esther above all the women, and she obtained grace and favor in his sight more than all the virgins; so that he set the royal crown upon her head, and made her queen instead of Vashti. ¹⁸Then the king made a great feast to all his princes and his servants, even Esther's feast; and he made a release to the provinces, and gave gifts, according to the state of the king. ¹⁹And when the virgins were assembled the second time, then Mordecai sat in the king's gate. ²⁰Esther had not yet showed her kindred, nor her people; as Mordecai had charged her: for Esther performed the commandment of Mordecai, as when she was brought up with him. ²¹In those days, while Mordecai sat in the king's gate, two of the king's chamberlains, Bigthan and Teresh, of those who kept the door, were wroth, and sought to lay hand on the king Ahasuerus. ²²And the thing was known to Mordecai, who told it to Esther the queen; and Esther certified the king of it in Mordecai's name. ²³And when inquisition was made of the matter, it was discovered; therefore they were both hanged on a tree: and it was written in the book of the chronicles before the king.

Chapter 3

¹After these things king Ahasuerus promoted Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and advanced him, and set his seat above all the princes that were with him. ²And all the king's servants that were in the king's gate, bowed, and reverenced Haman; for the king had so commanded concerning him. But Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence. ³Then the king's servants who were in the king's gate, said to Mordecai, Why dost thou transgress the king's commandment? ⁴Now it came to pass, when they spoke daily to him, and he hearkened not to them, that they told Haman, to see whether Mordecai's matters would stand: for he had told them that he was a Jew. ⁵And when Haman saw that Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence, then was Haman full of wrath. ⁶And he scorned to lay hands on Mordecai alone; for they had shown him the people of Mordecai: wherefore Haman sought to destroy all the Jews that were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus, even the people of Mordecai. ⁷In the first month, (that is, the month Nisan,) in the twelfth year of king Ahasuerus, they cast Pur, that is, the lot, before Haman from day to day, and from month to month, to the twelfth month, that is, the month Adar. ⁸And Haman said to king Ahasuerus, There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the people in all the provinces of thy kingdom; and their laws are diverse from all people; neither keep they the king's laws: therefore it is not for the king's profit to suffer them. ⁹If it shall please the king, let it be written that they may be destroyed: and I will pay ten thousand talents of silver to the hands of those that have the charge of the business, to bring it into the king's treasuries. ¹⁰And the king took his ring from his hand, and gave it to Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the Jews enemy. ¹¹And the king said to Haman, The silver is given to thee, the people also, to do with them as it seemeth good to thee. ¹²Then were the king's scribes called on the thirteenth day of the first month, and there was written according to all that Haman had commanded to the king's lieutenants, and to the governors that were over every province, and to the rulers of every people of every province, according to the writing of it, and to every people after their language; in the name of king Ahasuerus was it written, and sealed with the king's ring. ¹³And the letters were sent by posts into all the king's provinces, to destroy, to kill, and to cause to perish, all Jews, both young and old, little children and women, in one day, even upon the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar, and to take the spoil of them for a prey. ¹⁴The copy of the writing for a commandment to be given in every province, was published to all people, that they should be ready against that day. ¹⁵The posts departed, being hastened by the king's commandment, and the decree was given in Shushan the palace. And the king and Haman sat down to drink; but the city Shushan was perplexed.

Chapter 4

¹When Mordecai perceived all that was done, Mordecai rent his clothes, and put on sackcloth with ashes, and went out into the midst of the city, and cried with a loud and a bitter cry; ²And came even before the king's gate: for none might enter into the king's gate clothed with sackcloth. ³And in every province whithersoever the king's commandment and his decree came, there was great mourning among the Jews, and fasting, and weeping, and wailing; and many lay in sackcloth and ashes. ⁴So Esther's maids and her chamberlains came and told it to her. Then was the queen exceedingly grieved; and she sent raiment to clothe Mordecai, and to take away his sackcloth from him: but he received it not. ⁵Then called Esther for Hatach, one of the king's chamberlains, whom he had appointed to attend upon her, and gave him a commandment to Mordecai, to know what it was, and why it was. ⁶So Hatach went forth to Mordecai, to the street of the city, which was before the king's gate. ⁷And Mordecai told him all that had happened to him, and of the sum of the money that Haman had promised to pay to the king's treasuries for the Jews, to destroy them. ⁸Also he gave him the copy of the writing of the decree that was given at Shushan to destroy them, to show it to Esther, and to declare it to her, and to charge her that she should go in to the king, to make supplication to him, and to make request before him for her people. ⁹And Hatach came and told Esther the words of Mordecai. ¹⁰Again Esther spoke to Hatach, and gave him commandment to Mordecai; ¹¹All the king's servants, and the people of the king's provinces, do know, that whoever, whether man or woman, shall come to the king into the inner court, who is not called, there is one law of his to put him to death, except him to whom the king shall hold out the golden scepter, that he may live: but I have not been called to come in to the king these thirty days. ¹²And they told to Mordecai Esther's words. ¹³Then Mordecai commanded to answer Esther, Think not with thyself that thou shalt escape in the king's house more than all the Jews. ¹⁴For if thou shalt altogether hold thy peace at this time, then will there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father's house will be destroyed: and who knoweth, whether thou hast come to the kingdom for such a time as this? ¹⁵Then Esther bade them return Mordecai this answer, ¹⁶Go, assemble all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and so will I go in to the king, which is not according to the law; and if I perish, I perish. ¹⁷So Mordecai went his way, and did according to all that Esther had commanded him.

Chapter 5

¹Now it came to pass on the third day, that Esther put on her royal apparel, and stood in the inner court of the king's house, over against the king's house: and the king sat upon his royal throne in the royal house, over against the gate of the house. ²And it was so, when the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, that she obtained favor in his sight: and the king held out to Esther the golden scepter that was in his hand. So Esther drew near, and touched the top of the scepter. ³Then said the king to her, What wilt thou, queen Esther? and what is thy request? it shall be even given thee to the half of the kingdom. ⁴And Esther answered, If it shall seem good to the king, let the king and Haman come this day to the banquet that I have prepared for him. ⁵Then the king said, Cause Haman to make haste, that he may do as Esther hath said. So the king and Haman came to the banquet that Esther had prepared. ⁶And the king said to Esther at the banquet of wine, What is thy petition? and it shall be granted thee: and what is thy request? even to the half of the kingdom it shall be performed. ⁷Then answered Esther, and said, My petition and my request is: ⁸If I have found favor in the sight of the king, and if it shall please the king to grant my petition, and to perform my request, let the king and Haman come to the banquet that I shall prepare for them, and I will do to-morrow as the king hath said. ⁹Then went Haman forth that day joyful and with a glad heart: but when Haman saw Mordecai in the king's gate, that he stood not up, nor moved for him, he was full of indignation against Mordecai. ¹⁰Nevertheless, Haman refrained himself: and when he came home, he sent and called for his friends, and Zeresh his wife. ¹¹And Haman told them of the glory of his riches, and the multitude of his children, and all the things in which the king had promoted him, and how he had advanced him above the princes and servants of the king. ¹²Haman said moreover, Yes, Esther the queen let no man come in with the king to the banquet that she had prepared but myself; and to-morrow I am invited to her also with the king. ¹³Yet all this availeth me nothing, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king's gate. ¹⁴Then said Zeresh his wife and all his friends to him, Let a gallows be made fifty cubits high, and to-morrow speak thou to the king that Mordecai may be hanged upon it: then go thou in merrily with the king to the banquet. And the thing pleased Haman; and he caused the gallows to be made.

Chapter 6

¹In that night the king could not sleep, and he commanded to bring the book of records of the chronicles; and they were read before the king. ²And it was found written, that Mordecai had informed of Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king's chamberlains, the keepers of the door, who sought to lay hand on the king Ahasuerus. ³And the king said, What honor and dignity hath been done to Mordecai for this? Then said the king's servants that ministered to him, There is nothing done for him. ⁴And the king said, Who is in the court? Now Haman had come into the outward court of the king's house, to speak to the king to hang Mordecai on the gallows that he had prepared for him. ⁵And the king's servants said to him, Behold, Haman standeth in the court. And the king said, Let him come in. ⁶So Haman came in. And the king said to him, What shall be done to the man whom the king delighteth to honor? Now Haman thought in his heart, To whom would the king delight to do honor more than to myself? ⁷And Haman answered the king, For the man whom the king delighteth to honor, ⁸Let the royal apparel be brought which the king useth to wear, and the horse that the king rideth upon, and the crown royal which is set upon his head: ⁹And let this apparel and horse be delivered to the hand of one of the king's most noble princes, that they may array the man whom the king delighteth to honor, and bring him on horseback through the street of the city, and proclaim before him, Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delighteth to honor. ¹⁰Then the king said to Haman, Make haste, and take the apparel and the horse, as thou hast said, and do even so to Mordecai the Jew, that sitteth at the king's gate: let nothing fail of all that thou hast spoken. ¹¹Then Haman took the apparel and the horse, and arrayed Mordecai, and brought him on horseback through the street of the city, and proclaimed before him, Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delighteth to honor. ¹²And Mordecai came again to the king's gate. But Haman hasted to his house mourning, and having his head covered. ¹³And Haman told Zeresh his wife and all his friends every thing that had befallen him. Then said his wise men and Zeresh his wife to him, If Mordecai is of the seed of the Jews, before whom thou hast begun to fall, thou wilt not prevail against him, but wilt surely fall before him. ¹⁴And while they were yet talking with him, came the king's chamberlains, and hasted to bring Haman to the banquet that Esther had prepared.

Chapter 7

¹So the king and Haman came to banquet with Esther the queen. ²And the king said again to Esther on the second day at the banquet of wine, What is thy petition, queen Esther? and it shall be granted thee: and what is thy request? and it shall be performed, even to the half of the kingdom. ³Then Esther the queen answered and said, If I have found favor in thy sight, O king, and if it shall please the king, let my life be given me at my petition, and my people at my request: ⁴For we are sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be slain, and to perish. But if we had been sold for bond-men and bond-women, I had held my tongue, although the enemy could not countervail the king's damage. ⁵Then the king Ahasuerus answered and said to Esther the queen, Who is he, and where is he, that durst presume in his heart to do so? ⁶And Esther said, The adversary and enemy is this wicked Haman. Then Haman was afraid before the king and the queen. ⁷And the king arising from the banquet of wine in his wrath went into the palace-garden: and Haman stood up to make request for his life to Esther the queen; for he saw that there was evil determined against him by the king. ⁸Then the king returned out of the palace-garden into the place of the banquet of wine; and Haman had fallen upon the bed on which Esther was. Then said the king, Will he force the queen also before me in the house? As the word went out of the king's mouth, they covered Haman's face. ⁹And Harbonah, one of the chamberlains, said before the king, Behold also, the gallows fifty cubits high, which Haman had made for Mordecai, who had spoken good for the king, standeth in the house of Haman. Then the king said, Hang him upon it. ¹⁰So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then was the king's wrath pacified.

Chapter 8

¹On that day the king Ahasuerus gave the house of Haman, the Jews' enemy, to Esther the queen. And Mordecai came before the king; for Esther had told what he was to her. ²And the king took off his ring which he had taken from Haman, and gave it to Mordecai. And Esther set Mordecai over the house of Haman. ³And Esther spoke yet again before the king, and fell down at his feet, and besought him with tears to put away the mischief of Haman the Agagite, and his device that he had devised against the Jews. ⁴Then the king held out the golden scepter towards Esther. So Esther arose, and stood before the king, ⁵And said, If it shall please the king, and if I have found favor in his sight, and the thing shall seem right before the king, and I am pleasing in his eyes, let it be written to reverse the letters devised by Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, which he wrote to destroy the Jews who are in all the king's provinces: ⁶For how can I endure to see the evil that will come to my people? or how can I endure to see the destruction of my kindred? ⁷Then the king Ahasuerus said to Esther the queen and to Mordecai the Jew, Behold, I have given Esther the house of Haman, and him they have hanged upon the gallows, because he laid his hand upon the Jews. ⁸Write ye also for the Jews, as it pleaseth you, in the king's name, and seal it with the king's ring: for the writing which is written in the king's name, and sealed with the king's ring, no man may reverse. ⁹Then were the king's scribes called at that time in the third month, that is, the month Sivan, on the three and twentieth day of it; and it was written, according to all that Mordecai commanded, to the Jews, and to the lieutenants, and the deputies and rulers of the provinces which are from India to Cush, a hundred twenty and seven provinces, to every province according to the writing of it, and to every people after their language, and to the Jews according to their writing, and according to their language. ¹⁰And he wrote in the king Ahasuerus's name, and sealed it with the king's ring, and sent letters by posts on horseback, and riders on mules, camels, and young dromedaries: ¹¹In which the king granted the Jews who were in every city to assemble, and to stand for their life, to destroy, to slay, and to cause to perish, all the power of the people and province that would assault them, both little ones and women, and to take the spoil of them for a prey, ¹²Upon one day in all the provinces of king Ahasuerus, namely, upon the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar, ¹³The copy of the writing for a commandment, to be given in every province was published to all people, and that the Jews should be ready against that day to avenge themselves on their enemies. ¹⁴So the posts that rode upon mules and camels went out, being hastened and pressed on by the king's commandment. And the decree was given at Shushan the palace. ¹⁵And Mordecai went out from the presence of the king in royal apparel of blue and white, and with a great crown of gold, and with a garment of fine linen and purple: and the city of Shushan rejoiced, and was glad: ¹⁶The Jews had light, and gladness, and joy, and honor. ¹⁷And in every province, and in every city, whithersoever the king's commandment and his decree came, the Jews had joy and gladness, a feast and a good day. And many of the people of the land became Jews; for the fear of the Jews fell upon them.

Chapter 9

¹Now in the twelfth month, that is, the month Adar, on the thirteenth day of the same, when the king's commandment and his decree drew near to be put in execution, in the day that the enemies of the Jews hoped to have power over them, (though it was turned to the contrary, that the Jews had rule over them that hated them;) ²The Jews assembled in their cities throughout all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus, to lay hand on such as sought their hurt: and no man could withstand them; for the fear of them fell upon all people. ³And all the rulers of the provinces, and the lieutenants, and the deputies, and officers of the king helped the Jews; because the fear of Mordecai fell upon them. ⁴For Mordecai was great in the king's house, and his fame went out throughout all the provinces: for this man Mordecai became greater and greater. ⁵Thus the Jews smote all their enemies with the stroke of the sword, and slaughter, and destruction, and did what they would to those that hated them. ⁶And in Shushan the palace the Jews slew and destroyed five hundred men. ⁷And Parshandatha, and Dalphon, and Aspatha, ⁸And Poratha, and Adalia, and Aridatha, ⁹And Parmashta, and Arisai, and Aridai, and Vajezatha, ¹⁰The ten sons of Haman the son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews, they slew; but on the spoil they laid not their hand. ¹¹On that day the number of those that were slain in Shushan the palace was brought before the king. ¹²And the king said to Esther the queen, the Jews have slain and destroyed five hundred men in Shushan the palace, and the ten sons of Haman; what have they done in the rest of the king's provinces? now what is thy petition? and it shall be granted thee: or what is thy request further? and it shall be done. ¹³Then said Esther, If it shall please the king, let it be granted to the Jews who are in Shushan to do to-morrow also according to this day's decree, and let Haman's ten sons be hanged upon the gallows. ¹⁴And the king commanded it so to be done: and the decree was given at Shushan; and they hanged Haman's ten sons. ¹⁵For the Jews that were in Shushan assembled on the fourteenth day also of the month Adar, and slew three hundred men at Shushan; but on the prey they laid not their hand. ¹⁶But the other Jews that were in the king's provinces assembled, and stood for their lives, and had rest from their enemies, and slew of their foes seventy and five thousand, (but they laid not their hands on the prey.) ¹⁷On the thirteenth day of the month Adar; and on the fourteenth day of the same they rested, and made it a day of feasting and gladness. ¹⁸But the Jews that were at Shushan assembled on the thirteenth day of the month, and on the fourteenth of it: and on the fifteenth day of the same they rested, and made it a day of feasting and gladness. ¹⁹Therefore the Jews of the villages, that dwelt in the unwalled towns, made the fourteenth day of the month Adar a day of gladness and feasting, and a good day, and of sending portions one to another. ²⁰And Mordecai wrote these things, and sent letters to all the Jews that were in all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus, both nigh and far, ²¹To establish this among them, that they should keep the fourteenth day of the month Adar, and the fifteenth day of the same, yearly, ²²As the days in which the Jews rested from their enemies, and the month which was turned to them from sorrow to joy, and from mourning into a good day, that they should make them days of feasting and joy, and of sending portions one to another, and gifts to the poor. ²³And the Jews undertook to do as they had begun, and as Mordecai had written to them; ²⁴Because Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had devised against the Jews to destroy them, and had cast Pur, that is, the lot, to consume them, and to destroy them; ²⁵But when Esther came before the king, he commanded by letters that his wicked device, which he devised against the Jews, should return upon his own head, and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows. ²⁶Wherefore they called these days Purim after the name of Pur. Therefore for all the words of this letter, and of that which they had seen concerning this matter, and which had come to them, ²⁷The Jews ordained, and took upon them, and upon their seed, and upon all such as joined themselves to them, so as it should not fail, that they would keep these two days according to their writing, and according to their appointed time every year; ²⁸And that these days should be remembered and kept throughout every generation, every family, every province, and every city; and that these days of Purim should not fail from among the Jews, nor the memorial of them perish from their seed. ²⁹Then Esther the queen, the daughter of Abihail, and Mordecai the Jew, wrote with all authority, to confirm this second letter of Purim. ³⁰And he sent the letters to all the Jews, to the hundred twenty and seven provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, with words of peace and truth, ³¹To confirm these days of Purim in their times appointed, according as Mordecai the Jew and Esther the queen had enjoined them, and as they had decreed for themselves and for their seed, the matters of the fastings and their cry. ³²And the decree of Esther confirmed these matters of Purim; and it was written in the book.

Chapter 10

¹And the king Ahasuerus laid a tribute upon the land, and upon the isles of the sea. ²And all the acts of his power and of his might, and the declaration of the greatness of Mordecai, to which the king advanced him, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia? ³For Mordecai the Jew was next to king Ahasuerus, and great among the Jews, and accepted by the multitude of his brethren, seeking the wealth of his people, and speaking peace to all his seed.

Job

Chapter 1

¹There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and shunned evil. ²And there were born to him seven sons and three daughters. ³His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she-asses, and a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the east. ⁴And his sons went and feasted in their houses, every one his day; and sent and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them. ⁵And it was so, when the days of their feasting were ended, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose early in the morning, and offered burnt-offerings according to the number of them all; for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually. ⁶Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them. ⁷And the LORD said to Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down upon it. ⁸And the LORD said to Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and shunneth evil? ⁹Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for naught? ¹⁰Hast not thou made a hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land. ¹¹But put forth thy hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face. ¹²And the LORD said to Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thy hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD. ¹³And there was a day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house: ¹⁴And there came a messenger to Job, and said, The oxen were plowing, and the asses feeding beside them: ¹⁵And the Sabeans fell upon them, and took them away; yes, they have slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only have escaped alone to tell thee. ¹⁶While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The fire of God hath fallen from heaven, and hath burned up the sheep and the servants, and consumed them; and I only have escaped alone to tell thee. ¹⁷While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The Chaldeans made three bands, and fell upon the camels, and have carried them away, yes, and slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only have escaped alone to tell thee. ¹⁸While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, Thy sons and thy daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house: ¹⁹And behold, there came a great wind from the wilderness, and smote the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young men, and they are dead; and I only have escaped alone to tell thee. ²⁰Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell upon the ground, and worshiped, ²¹And said, Naked came I from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: The LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD. ²²In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.

Chapter 2

¹Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the LORD. ²And the LORD said to Satan, Whence comest thou? and Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down upon it. ³And the LORD said to Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and shunneth evil? and still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause. ⁴And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for skin, even, all that a man hath will he give for his life. ⁵But put forth thy hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face. ⁶And the LORD said to Satan, Behold, he is in thy hand; but save his life. ⁷So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot to his crown. ⁸And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself with it; and he sat down among the ashes. ⁹Then said his wife to him, Dost thou still retain thy integrity? curse God, and die. ¹⁰But he said to her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips. ¹¹Now when Job's three friends heard of all this evil that had come upon him, they came every one from his own place; Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite; for they had made an appointment together to come to mourn with him, and to comfort him. ¹²And when they lifted up their eyes afar off, and knew him not, they raised their voice, and wept; and they rent every one his mantle, and sprinkled dust upon their heads towards heaven. ¹³So they sat down with him upon the ground seven days and seven nights, and none spoke a word to him: for they saw that his grief was very great.

Chapter 3

¹After this Job opened his mouth, and cursed his day. ²And Job spoke, and said, ³Let the day perish in which I was born, and the night in which it was said, There is a mail child conceived. ⁴Let that day be darkness; let not God regard it from above, neither let the light shine upon it. ⁵Let darkness and the shades of death stain it; let a cloud dwell upon it; let the blackness of the day terrify it. ⁶As for that night, let darkness seize upon it; let it not be joined to the days of the year, let it not come into the number of the months. ⁷Lo, let that night be solitary, let no joyful voice come therein. ⁸Let them curse it that curse the day, who are ready to raise up their mourning. ⁹Let the stars of its twilight be dark; let it look for light, but have none; neither let it see the dawning of the day: ¹⁰Because it prevented not my birth, nor hid sorrow from my eyes. ¹¹Why died I not from the womb? why did I not expire at the time of my birth? ¹²Why did the knees receive me? or why the breasts that I should be nursed? ¹³For now should I have lain still and been quiet, I should have slept: then had I been at rest, ¹⁴With kings and counselors of the earth, who built desolate places for themselves; ¹⁵Or with princes that had gold, who filled their houses with silver: ¹⁶Or as a hidden untimely birth I had not been; as infants which never saw light. ¹⁷There the wicked cease from troubling; and there the weary are at rest. ¹⁸There the prisoners rest together; they hear not the voice of the oppressor. ¹⁹The small and great are there; and the servant is free from his master. ²⁰Why is light given to him that is in misery, and life to the bitter in soul; ²¹Who long for death, but it cometh not; and dig for it more than for hid treasures; ²²Who rejoice exceedingly, and are glad, when they can find the grave? ²³Why is light given to a man whose way is hid, and whom God hath hedged in? ²⁴For my sighing cometh before I eat, and my roarings are poured out like the waters. ²⁵For the thing which I greatly feared hath come upon me, and that which I dreaded hath come to me. ²⁶I was not in safety, neither had I rest, neither was I quiet; yet trouble came.

Chapter 4

¹Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said, ²If we essay to commune with thee, wilt thou be grieved? but who can refrain from speaking? ³Behold, thou hast instructed many, and thou hast strengthened the weak hands. ⁴Thy words have upheld him that was falling, and thou hast strengthened the feeble knees. ⁵But now it hath come upon thee, and thou faintest; it toucheth thee, and thou art troubled. ⁶Is not this thy fear, thy confidence, thy hope, and the uprightness of thy ways? ⁷Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished, being innocent? or where were the righteous cut off; ⁸Even as I have seen, they that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same. ⁹By the blast of God they perish, and by the breath of his nostrils are they consumed. ¹⁰The roaring of the lion, and the voice of the fierce lion, and the teeth of the young lions, are broken. ¹¹The old lion perisheth for lack of prey, and the stout lion's whelps are scattered abroad. ¹²Now a thing was secretly brought to me, and my ear received a small sound of it. ¹³In thoughts from the visions of the night, when deep sleep falleth on men. ¹⁴Fear came upon me, and trembling, which made all my bones to shake. ¹⁵Then a spirit passed before my face; the hair of my flesh stood up: ¹⁶It stood still, but I could not discern its form: an image was before my eyes, there was silence, and I heard a voice, saying, ¹⁷Shall mortal man be more just than God? shall a man be more pure than his maker? ¹⁸Behold, he put no trust in his servants; and his angels he charged with folly: ¹⁹How much less in them that dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, who are crushed before the moth? ²⁰They are destroyed from morning to evening: they perish for ever without any regarding it. ²¹Doth not their excellence which is in them depart? they die, even without wisdom.

Chapter 5

¹Call now, if there is any that will answer thee; and to which of the saints wilt thou turn? ²For wrath killeth the foolish man, and envy slayeth the silly one. ³I have seen the foolish taking root: but suddenly I cursed his habitation. ⁴His children are far from safety, and they are crushed in the gate, neither is there any to deliver them. ⁵Whose harvest the hungry eateth up, and taketh it even out of the thorns, and the robber swalloweth up their substance. ⁶Although affliction cometh not forth from the dust, neither doth trouble spring out of the ground; ⁷Yet man is born to trouble, as the sparks fly upward. ⁸I would seek to God, and to God would I commit my cause: ⁹Who doeth great things and unsearchable; wonderful things without number: ¹⁰Who giveth rain upon the earth, and sendeth waters upon the fields: ¹¹To set on high those that are low: that those who mourn may be exalted to safety. ¹²He disappointeth the devices of the crafty, so that their hands cannot perform their enterprise. ¹³He taketh the wise in their own craftiness: and the counsel of the froward is carried headlong. ¹⁴They meet with darkness in the day-time, and grope in the noon-day as in the night. ¹⁵But he saveth the poor from the sword, from their mouth, and from the hand of the mighty. ¹⁶So the poor hath hope, and iniquity stoppeth her mouth. ¹⁷Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty: ¹⁸For he maketh sore, and bindeth up: he woundeth, and his hands make whole. ¹⁹He will deliver thee in six troubles: yea, in seven there shall no evil touch thee. ²⁰In famine he will redeem thee from death: and in war from the power of the sword. ²¹Thou shalt be hid from the scourge of the tongue: neither shalt thou be afraid of destruction when it cometh. ²²At destruction and famine thou shalt laugh: neither shalt thou be afraid of the beasts of the earth. ²³For thou shalt be in league with the stones of the field: and the beasts of the field shall be at peace with thee. ²⁴And thou shalt know that thy tabernacle will be in peace; and thou shalt visit thy habitation, and shalt not sin. ²⁵Thou shalt know also that thy seed will be great, and thy offspring as the grass of the earth. ²⁶Thou shalt come to thy grave in a full age, as a shock of corn cometh in in its season. ²⁷Lo this, we have searched it, so it is; hear it, and know thou it for thy good.

Chapter 6

¹But Job answered and said, ²Oh that my grief were thoroughly weighed, and my calamity laid in the balances together! ³For now it would be heavier than the sand of the sea: therefore my words are swallowed up. ⁴For the arrows of the Almighty are within me, the poison of which drinketh up my spirit: the terrors of God set themselves in array against me. ⁵Doth the wild ass bray when he hath grass? or loweth the ox over his fodder? ⁶Can that which is unsavory be eaten without salt? or is there any taste in the white of an egg? ⁷The things that my soul refused to touch are as my sorrowful food. ⁸Oh that I might have my request; and that God would grant me the thing that I long for! ⁹Even that it would please God to destroy me; that he would let loose his hand, and cut me off! ¹⁰Then should I yet have comfort; yes, I would harden myself in sorrow: let him not spare; for I have not concealed the words of the Holy One. ¹¹What is my strength, that I should hope? and what is my end, that I should prolong my life? ¹²Is my strength the strength of stones? or is my flesh of brass? ¹³Is not my help in me? and is wisdom driven quite from me? ¹⁴To him that is afflicted pity should be shown from his friend; but he forsaketh the fear of the Almighty. ¹⁵My brethren have dealt deceitfully as a brook, and as the stream of brooks they pass away; ¹⁶Which are blackish by reason of the ice, and in which the snow is hid: ¹⁷In the time when they become warm, they vanish: when it is hot, they are consumed out of their place. ¹⁸The paths of their way are turned aside; they go to nothing, and perish. ¹⁹The troops of Tema looked, the companies of Sheba waited for them. ²⁰They were confounded because they had hoped; they came thither, and were ashamed. ²¹For now ye are nothing: ye see my casting down, and are afraid. ²²Did I say, Bring to me? or Give a reward for me of your substance? ²³Or, Deliver me from the enemy's hand? or, Redeem me from the hand of the mighty? ²⁴Teach me, and I will hold my tongue: and cause me to understand in what I have erred. ²⁵How forcible are right words! but what doth your arguing reprove? ²⁶Do ye imagine to reprove words, and the speeches of one that is desperate, which are as wind? ²⁷Yes, ye overwhelm the fatherless, and ye dig a pit for your friend. ²⁸Now therefore be content, look upon me; for it is evident to you if I lie. ²⁹Return, I pray you, let it not be iniquity; yes, return again, my righteousness is in it. ³⁰Is there iniquity in my tongue? cannot my taste discern perverse things?

Chapter 7

¹Is there not an appointed time to man upon earth? are not his days also like the days of a hireling? ²As a servant earnestly desireth the shadow, and as a hireling looketh for the reward of his work; ³So am I made to possess months of vanity, and wearisome nights are appointed to me. ⁴When I lie down, I say, When shall I arise, and the night be gone? and I am full of tossings to and fro to the dawning of the day. ⁵My flesh is clothed with worms and clods of dust; my skin is broken and become lothsome. ⁶My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle, and are spent without hope. ⁷O remember that my life is wind: my eye will no more see good. ⁸The eye of him that hath seen me shall see me no more: thy eyes are upon me, and I am not. ⁹As the cloud is consumed and vanisheth away: so he that goeth down to the grave shall come up no more. ¹⁰He shall return no more to his house, neither shall his place know him any more. ¹¹Therefore I will not restrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul. ¹²Am I a sea, or a whale, that thou settest a watch over me? ¹³When I say, My bed shall comfort me, my couch shall ease my complaint; ¹⁴Then thou scarest me with dreams, and terrifiest me through visions: ¹⁵So that my soul chooseth strangling, and death rather than my life. ¹⁶I lothe it; I would not live always: let me alone; for my days are vanity. ¹⁷What is man, that thou shouldst magnify him? and that thou shouldst set thy heart upon him? ¹⁸And that thou shouldst visit him every morning, and try him every moment? ¹⁹How long wilt thou not depart from me, nor let me alone till I swallow my spittle? ²⁰I have sinned; what shall I do to thee, O thou preserver of men? why hast thou set me as a mark against thee, so that I am a burden to myself? ²¹And why dost thou not pardon my transgression, and take away my iniquity? for now shall I sleep in the dust; and thou shalt seek me in the morning, but I shall not be.

Chapter 8

¹Then answered Bildad the Shuhite, and said, ²How long wilt thou speak these things? and how long shall the words of thy mouth be like a strong wind? ³Doth God pervert judgment; or doth the Almighty pervert justice? ⁴If thy children have sinned against him, and he hath cast them away for their transgression; ⁵If thou wouldst seek to God betimes, and make thy supplication to the Almighty; ⁶If thou wert pure and upright; surely now he would awake for thee, and make the habitation of thy righteousness prosperous. ⁷Though thy beginning was small, yet thy latter end would greatly increase. ⁸For inquire, I pray thee, of the former age, and prepare thyself to the search of their fathers: ⁹(For we are but of yesterday, and know nothing, because our days upon earth are a shadow:) ¹⁰Will they not teach thee, and tell thee, and utter words out of their heart? ¹¹Can the rush grow without mire? can the flag grow without water? ¹²Whilst it is yet in its greenness, and not cut down, it withereth before any other herb. ¹³So are the paths of all that forget God; and the hypocrite's hope shall perish: ¹⁴Whose hope shall be cut off, and whose trust shall be a spider's web. ¹⁵He shall lean upon his house, but it shall not stand: he shall hold it fast, but it shall not endure. ¹⁶He is green before the sun, and his branch shooteth forth in his garden. ¹⁷His roots are wrapped about the heap, and seeth the place of stones. ¹⁸If he shall destroy him from his place, then it shall deny him, saying, I have not seen thee. ¹⁹Behold, this is the joy of his way, and out of the earth shall others grow. ²⁰Behold, God will not cast away a perfect man, neither will he help the evil doers: ²¹Till he shall fill thy mouth with laughing, and thy lips with rejoicing. ²²They that hate thee shall be clothed with shame; and the dwelling place of the wicked shall come to naught.

Chapter 9

¹Then Job answered and said, ²I know it to be so of a truth: but how should man be just with God? ³If he will contend with him, he cannot answer him one of a thousand. ⁴He is wise in heart, and mighty in strength: who hath hardened himself against him, and hath prospered? ⁵Who removeth the mountains, and they know not: who overturneth them in his anger. ⁶Who shaketh the earth out of her place, and its pillars tremble. ⁷Who commandeth the sun, and it riseth not; and sealeth up the stars. ⁸Who alone spreadeth out the heavens, and treadeth upon the waves of the sea. ⁹Who maketh Arcturus, Orion, and Pleiades, and the chambers of the south. ¹⁰Who doeth great things past finding out; yes, and wonders without number. ¹¹Lo, he goeth by me, and I see him not: he passeth on also, but I perceive him not. ¹²Behold, he taketh away, who can hinder him? who will say to him, What doest thou? ¹³If God will not withdraw his anger, the proud helpers do stoop under him. ¹⁴How much less shall I answer him, and choose out my words to reason with him? ¹⁵Whom, though I were righteous, yet would I not answer, but I would make supplication to my judge. ¹⁶If I had called, and he had answered me; yet I would not believe that he had hearkened to my voice. ¹⁷For he breaketh me with a tempest, and multiplieth my wounds without cause. ¹⁸He will not suffer me to take my breath, but filleth me with bitterness. ¹⁹If I speak of strength, lo, he is strong: and if of judgment, who shall set me a time to plead? ²⁰If I justify myself, my own mouth will condemn me: if I say, I am perfect, that also will prove me perverse. ²¹Though I were perfect, yet would I not know my soul: I would despise my life. ²²This is one thing, therefore I said it, he destroyeth the perfect and the wicked. ²³If the scourge shall slay suddenly, he will laugh at the trial of the innocent. ²⁴The earth is given into the hand of the wicked: he covereth the faces of its judges; if not, where, and who is he? ²⁵Now my days are swifter than a post: they flee away, they see no good. ²⁶They are passed away as the swift ships: as the eagle that hasteth to the prey. ²⁷If I say, I will forget my complaint, I will leave off my heaviness, and comfort myself: ²⁸I am afraid of all my sorrows, I know that thou wilt not hold me innocent. ²⁹If I am wicked, why then do I labor in vain? ³⁰If I wash myself with snow water, and make my hands never so clean; ³¹Yet wilt thou plunge me in the ditch, and my own clothes shall abhor me. ³²For he is not a man, as I am, that I should answer him, and we should come together in judgment. ³³Neither is there any judge between us, that might lay his hand upon us both. ³⁴Let him take away his rod from me, and let not his fear terrify me: ³⁵Then would I speak, and not fear him; but it is not so with me.

Chapter 10

¹My soul is weary of my life; I will leave my complaint upon myself; I will speak in the bitterness of my soul. ²I will say to God, Do not condemn me; show me why thou contendest with me. ³Is it good to thee that thou shouldst oppress, that thou shouldst despise the work of thy hands, and shine upon the counsel of the wicked? ⁴Hast thou eyes of flesh? or seest thou as man seeth? ⁵Are thy days as the days of man? are thy years as man's days, ⁶That thou inquirest after my iniquity, and searchest after my sin? ⁷Thou knowest that I am not wicked; and there is none that can deliver out of thy hand. ⁸Thy hands have made me and fashioned me in all my parts; yet thou dost destroy me. ⁹Remember, I beseech thee, that thou hast made me as the clay; and wilt thou bring me into dust again? ¹⁰Hast thou not poured me out as milk, and curdled me like cheese? ¹¹Thou hast clothed me with skin and flesh, and hast fenced me with bones and sinews. ¹²Thou hast granted me life and favor, and thy visitation hath preserved my spirit. ¹³And these things hast thou hid in thy heart: I know that this is with thee. ¹⁴If I sin, then thou markest me, and thou wilt not acquit me from my iniquity. ¹⁵If I be wicked, woe to me; and if I be righteous, yet will I not lift up my head. I am full of confusion; therefore see thou my affliction; ¹⁶For it increaseth. Thou huntest me as a fierce lion: and again thou showest thyself wonderful upon me. ¹⁷Thou renewest thy witnesses against me, and increasest thy indignation upon me; changes and war are against me. ¹⁸Why then hast thou brought me forth from the womb? O that I had expired, and no eye had seen me! ¹⁹I should have been as though I had not been; I should have been carried from the womb to the grave. ²⁰Are not my days few? cease then, and let me alone, that I may take comfort a little, ²¹Before I go whence I shall not return, even to the land of darkness, and the shades of death; ²²A land of darkness, as darkness itself; and of the shades of death, without any order, and where the light is as darkness.

Chapter 11

¹Then answered Zophar the Naamathite, and said, ²Should not the multitude of words be answered? and should a man full of talk be justified? ³Should thy falsehoods make men hold their peace? and when thou mockest, shall no man make thee ashamed? ⁴For thou hast said, My doctrine is pure, and I am clean in thy eyes. ⁵But Oh that God would speak, and open his lips against thee; ⁶And that he would show thee the secrets of wisdom, that they are double to that which is! Know therefore that God exacteth of thee less than thy iniquity deserveth. ⁷Canst thou by searching find out God? canst thou find out the Almighty to perfection? ⁸It is as high as heaven; what canst thou do? deeper than hell; what canst thou know? ⁹The measure of it is longer than the earth, and broader than the sea. ¹⁰If he shall cut off, and shut up, or gather together, then who can hinder him? ¹¹For he knoweth vain men: he seeth wickedness also; will he not then consider it? ¹²For vain man would be wise, though man is born like a wild ass's colt. ¹³If thou preparest thy heart, and stretchest out thy hands towards him; ¹⁴If iniquity is in thy hand, put it far away, and let not wickedness dwell in thy tabernacles. ¹⁵For then shalt thou lift up thy face without spot; yes, thou shalt be steadfast, and shalt not fear: ¹⁶Because thou shalt forget thy misery, and remember it as waters that pass away: ¹⁷And thy age shall be clearer than the noon-day: thou shalt shine forth, thou shalt be as the morning. ¹⁸And thou shalt be secure, because there is hope; yes, thou shalt dig about thee, and thou shalt take thy rest in safety. ¹⁹Also thou shalt lie down, and none shall make thee afraid; yes, many shall make suit to thee. ²⁰But the eyes of the wicked shall fail, and they shall not escape, and their hope shall be as the expiration of the breath.

Chapter 12

¹And Job answered and said, ²No doubt but ye are the people, and wisdom shall die with you. ³But I have understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to you: yes, who knoweth not such things as these? ⁴I am as one mocked by his neighbor, who calleth upon God, and he answereth him: the just upright man is derided. ⁵He that is ready to slip with his feet is as a lamp despised in the thought of him that is at ease. ⁶The tabernacles of robbers prosper, and they that provoke God are secure; into whose hand God bringeth abundantly. ⁷But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee: ⁸Or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee: and the fishes of the sea shall declare to thee. ⁹Who knoweth not in all these that the hand of the LORD hath wrought this? ¹⁰In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind. ¹¹Doth not the ear try words? and the mouth taste its food? ¹²With the ancient is wisdom; and in length of days understanding. ¹³With him is wisdom and strength, he hath counsel and understanding. ¹⁴Behold, he breaketh down, and it cannot be built again: he shutteth up a man, and there can be no opening. ¹⁵Behold, he withholdeth the waters, and they dry up: also he sendeth them out, and they overturn the earth. ¹⁶With him is strength and wisdom: the deceived and the deceiver are his. ¹⁷He leadeth counselors away spoiled, and maketh the judges fools. ¹⁸He looseth the bond of kings, and girdeth their loins with a girdle. ¹⁹He leadeth princes away spoiled, and overthroweth the mighty. ²⁰He removeth away the speech of the trusty, and taketh away the understanding of the aged. ²¹He poureth contempt upon princes, and weakeneth the strength of the mighty. ²²He revealeth deep things out of darkness, and bringeth to light the shades of death. ²³He increaseth nations, and destroyeth them: he enlargeth nations, and straiteneth them again. ²⁴He taketh away the heart of the chief of the people of the earth, and causeth them to wander in a wilderness where there is no way. ²⁵They grope in the dark without light, and he maketh them to stagger like a drunken man.

Chapter 13

¹Lo, my eye hath seen all this, my ear hath heard and understood it. ²What ye know, the same do I know also: I am not inferior to you. ³Surely I would speak to the Almighty, and I desire to reason with God. ⁴But ye are forgers of lies, ye are all physicians of no value. ⁵O that ye would altogether hold your peace and it would be your wisdom. ⁶Hear now my reasoning, and hearken to the pleadings of my lips. ⁷Will ye speak wickedly for God? and talk deceitfully for him? ⁸Will ye accept his person? will ye contend for God? ⁹Is it good that he should search you out? or as one man mocketh another, do ye so mock him? ¹⁰He will surely reprove you, if ye do secretly accept persons. ¹¹Shall not his excellence make you afraid? and his dread fall upon you? ¹²Your remembrances are like to ashes, your bodies to bodies of clay. ¹³Hold your peace, let me alone, that I may speak, and let come on me what will. ¹⁴Why do I take my flesh in my teeth, and put my life in my hand? ¹⁵Though he shall slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain my own ways before him. ¹⁶He also shall be my salvation: for a hypocrite shall not come before him. ¹⁷Hear diligently my speech, and my declaration with your ears. ¹⁸Behold now, I have ordered my cause; I know that I shall be justified. ¹⁹Who is he that will plead with me? for now, if I hold my tongue, I shall expire. ²⁰Only do not two things to me: then will I not hide myself from thee. ²¹Withdraw thy hand far from me: and let not thy dread make me afraid. ²²Then call thou, and I will answer: or let me speak, and answer thou me. ²³How many are my iniquities and sins? make me to know my transgression and my sin. ²⁴Why hidest thou thy face, and holdest me for thy enemy? ²⁵Wilt thou break a leaf driven to and fro? and wilt thou pursue the dry stubble? ²⁶For thou writest bitter things against me, and makest me to possess the iniquities of my youth. ²⁷Thou puttest my feet also in the stocks, and lookest narrowly to all my paths; thou settest a print upon the heels of my feet. ²⁸And he, as a rotten thing, consumeth, as a garment that is moth-eaten.

Chapter 14

¹Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble. ²He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down: he fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not. ³And dost thou open thy eyes upon such one, and bring me into judgment with thee? ⁴Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one. ⁵Seeing his days are determined, the number of his months is with thee, thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass; ⁶Turn from him, that he may rest, till he shall accomplish, as a hireling, his day. ⁷For there is hope of a tree, if it is cut down, that it will sprout again, and that its tender branch will not cease. ⁸Though its root shall become old in the earth, and its stock die in the ground; ⁹Yet through the scent of water it will bud, and bring forth boughs like a plant. ¹⁰But man dieth, and wasteth away: yes, man yieldeth his breath, and where is he? ¹¹As the waters fail from the sea, and the flood decayeth and drieth up: ¹²So man lieth down, and riseth not: till the heavens shall be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep. ¹³O that thou wouldst hide me in the grave, that thou wouldst keep me secret, until thy wrath is past, that thou wouldst appoint me a set time, and remember me! ¹⁴If a man dieth, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change shall come. ¹⁵Thou shalt call, and I will answer thee: thou wilt have a desire to the work of thy hands. ¹⁶For now thou numberest my steps: dost thou not watch over my sin? ¹⁷My transgression is sealed up in a bag, and thou sewest up my iniquity. ¹⁸And surely the mountain falling cometh to naught, and the rock is removed out of its place. ¹⁹The waters wear the stones: thou washest away the things which grow out of the dust of the earth; and thou destroyest the hope of man. ²⁰Thou prevailest for ever against him, and he passeth: thou changest his countenance, and sendest him away. ²¹His sons come to honor, and he knoweth it not; and they are brought low, but he perceiveth it not of them. ²²But his flesh upon him shall have pain, and his soul within him shall mourn.

Chapter 15

¹Then answered Eliphaz the Temanite, and said, ²Should a wise men utter vain knowledge, and fill his belly with the east wind? ³Should he reason with unprofitable talk? or with speeches with which he can do no good? ⁴Yes, thou castest off fear, and restrainest prayer before God. ⁵For thy mouth uttereth thy iniquity, and thou choosest the tongue of the crafty. ⁶Thy own mouth condemneth thee, and not I: yes, thy own lips testify against thee. ⁷Art thou the first man that was born? or wast thou made before the hills? ⁸Hast thou heard the secret of God? and dost thou restrain wisdom to thyself? ⁹What knowest thou that we know not? what understandest thou, which is not in us? ¹⁰With us are both the gray headed and very aged men, much older than thy father. ¹¹Are the consolations of God small with thee? is there any secret thing with thee? ¹²Why doth thy heart carry thee away? and what do thy eyes wink at, ¹³That thou turnest thy spirit against God, and lettest such words go out of thy mouth? ¹⁴What is man, that he should be clean? and he who is born of a woman, that he should be righteous? ¹⁵Behold, he putteth no trust in his saints; yes, the heavens are not clean in his sight. ¹⁶How much more abominable and filthy is man, who drinketh iniquity like water? ¹⁷I will show thee, hear me; and that which I have seen, I will declare; ¹⁸Which wise men have told from their fathers, and have not hid it: ¹⁹To whom alone the earth was given, and no stranger passed among them. ²⁰The wicked man travaileth with pain all his days, and the number of years is hidden to the oppressor. ²¹A dreadful sound is in his ears: in prosperity the destroyer shall come upon him. ²²He believeth not that he shall return out of darkness, and he is waited for by the sword. ²³He wandereth abroad for bread, saying, Where is it? he knoweth that the day of darkness is ready at his hand. ²⁴Trouble and anguish shall make him afraid; they shall prevail against him, as a king ready to the battle. ²⁵For he stretcheth out his hand against God, and strengtheneth himself against the Almighty. ²⁶He runneth upon him, even on his neck, upon the thick bosses of his bucklers: ²⁷Because he covereth his face with his fatness, and maketh collops of fat on his flanks. ²⁸And he dwelleth in desolate cities, and in houses which no man inhabiteth, which are ready to become heaps. ²⁹He shall not be rich, neither shall his substance continue, neither shall he prolong the perfection of it upon the earth. ³⁰He shall not depart out of darkness; the flame shall dry up his branches, and by the breath of his mouth shall he go away. ³¹Let not him that is deceived trust in vanity: for vanity shall be his recompense. ³²It shall be accomplished before his time, and his branch shall not be green. ³³He shall shake off his unripe grape as the vine, and shall cast off his flower as the olive. ³⁴For the congregation of hypocrites shall be desolate, and fire shall consume the tabernacles of bribery. ³⁵They conceive mischief, and bring forth vanity, and their belly prepareth deceit.

Chapter 16

¹Then Job answered and said, ²I have heard many such things: miserable comforters are ye all. ³Shall vain words have an end? or what emboldeneth thee that thou answerest? ⁴I also could speak as ye do: if your soul were in my soul's stead, I could heap up words against you, and shake my head at you. ⁵But I would strengthen you with my mouth and the moving of my lips should assuage your grief. ⁶Though I speak, my grief is not assuaged: and though I forbear, what am I eased? ⁷But now he hath made me weary: thou hast made desolate all my company. ⁸And thou hast filled me with wrinkles, which is a witness against me: and my leanness rising up in me beareth witness to my face. ⁹He teareth me in his wrath, who hateth me: he gnasheth upon me with his teeth; my enemy sharpeneth his eyes upon me. ¹⁰They have gaped upon me with their mouth; they have smitten me upon the cheek reproachfully; they have gathered themselves against me. ¹¹God hath delivered me to the ungodly, and turned me over into the hands of the wicked. ¹²I was at ease, but he hath broken me asunder: he hath also taken me by my neck, and shaken me to pieces, and set me up for his mark. ¹³His archers encompass me; he cleaveth my reins asunder, and doth not spare; he poureth out my gall upon the ground. ¹⁴He breaketh me with breach upon breach, he runneth upon me like a giant. ¹⁵I have sewed sackcloth upon my skin, and defiled my horn in the dust. ¹⁶My face is foul with weeping, and on my eyelids are the shades of death; ¹⁷Not for any injustice in my hands: also my prayer is pure. ¹⁸O earth, cover not thou my blood, and let my cry have no place. ¹⁹Also now, behold, my witness is in heaven, and my record is on high. ²⁰My friends scorn me: but my eye poureth out tears to God. ²¹O that one might plead for a man with God, as a man pleadeth for his neighbor! ²²When a few years are come, then I shall go the way whence I shall not return.

Chapter 17

¹My breath is corrupt, my days are extinct, the graves are ready for me. ²Are there not mockers with me? and doth not my eye continue in their provocation? ³Lay down now, put me in a surety with thee; who is he that will strike hands with me? ⁴For thou hast hid their heart from understanding: therefore shalt thou not exalt them. ⁵He that speaketh flattery to his friends, even the eyes of his children shall fail. ⁶He hath made me also a by-word of the people; and in former time I was as a tabret. ⁷My eye also is dim by reason of sorrow, and all my members are as a shade. ⁸Upright men shall be astonished at this, and the innocent shall stir up himself against the hypocrite. ⁹The righteous also shall hold on his way, and he that hath clean hands shall be stronger and stronger. ¹⁰But as for you all, do ye return, and come now: for I cannot find one wise man among you. ¹¹My days are past, my purposes are broken off, even the thoughts of my heart. ¹²They change the night into day: the light is short because of darkness. ¹³If I wait, the grave is my house: I have made my bed in the darkness. ¹⁴I have said to corruption, Thou art my father: to the worm, Thou art my mother, and my sister. ¹⁵And where is now my hope? as for my hope, who will see it? ¹⁶They shall go down to the bars of the pit, when our rest together is in the dust.

Chapter 18

¹Then answered Bildad the Shuhite, and said, ²How long will it be ere ye make an end of words? mark, and afterwards we will speak. ³Why are we counted as beasts, and reputed vile in your sight? ⁴He teareth himself in his anger: shall the earth be forsaken for thee? and shall the rock be removed out of its place? ⁵Yes, the light of the wicked shall be put out, and the spark of his fire shall not shine. ⁶The light shall be dark in his tabernacle, and his candle shall be put out with him. ⁷The steps of his strength shall be straitened, and his own counsel shall cast him down. ⁸For he is cast into a net by his own feet, and he walketh upon a snare. ⁹The gin shall take him by the heel, and the robber shall prevail against him. ¹⁰The snare is laid for him in the ground, and a trap for him in the way. ¹¹Terrors shall make him afraid on every side, and shall drive him to his feet. ¹²His strength shall be hunger-bitten, and destruction shall be ready at his side. ¹³It shall devour the strength of his skin: even the first-born of death shall devour his strength. ¹⁴His confidence shall be rooted out of his tabernacle, and it shall bring him to the king of terrors. ¹⁵It shall dwell in his tabernacle, because it is none of his: brimstone shall be scattered upon his habitation. ¹⁶His roots shall be dried up beneath, and above shall his branch be cut off. ¹⁷His remembrance shall perish from the earth, and he shall have no name in the street. ¹⁸He shall be driven from light into darkness, and chased out of the world. ¹⁹He shall neither have son nor nephew among his people, nor any remaining in his dwellings. ²⁰They that come after him shall be astonished at his day, as they that went before were affrighted. ²¹Surely such are the dwellings of the wicked, and this is the place of him that knoweth not God.

Chapter 19

¹Then Job answered and said, ²How long will ye vex my soul, and break me in pieces with words? ³These ten times have ye reproached me: ye are not ashamed that ye make yourselves strange to me. ⁴And be it indeed that I have erred, my error remaineth with myself. ⁵If indeed ye will magnify yourselves against me, and plead against me my reproach: ⁶Know now that God hath overthrown me, and hath encompassed me with his net. ⁷Behold, I cry out of wrong, but I am not heard: I cry aloud, but there is no judgment. ⁸He hath fenced up my way that I cannot pass, and he hath set darkness in my paths. ⁹He hath stripped me of my glory, and taken the crown from my head. ¹⁰He hath destroyed me on every side, and I am gone: and my hope hath he removed like a tree. ¹¹He hath also kindled his wrath against me, and he counteth me to him as one of his enemies. ¹²His troops come together, and raise up their way against me, and encamp around my tabernacle. ¹³He hath put my brethren far from me, and my acquaintance are verily estranged from me. ¹⁴My kinsmen have failed, and my familiar friends have forgotten me. ¹⁵They that dwell in my house, and my maids, count me for a stranger: I am an alien in their sight. ¹⁶I called my servant, and he gave me no answer; I entreated him with my mouth. ¹⁷My breath is strange to my wife, though I entreated for the children's sake of my own body. ¹⁸Yes, young children despised me; I arose, and they spoke against me. ¹⁹All my intimate friends abhorred me: and they whom I loved are turned against me. ²⁰My bone cleaveth to my skin and to my flesh, and I have escaped with the skin of my teeth. ²¹Have pity upon me, have pity upon me, O ye my friends; for the hand of God hath touched me. ²²Why do ye persecute me as God, and are not satisfied with my flesh? ²³Oh that my words were now written! oh that they were printed in a book! ²⁴That they were graven with an iron pen in lead, in the rock for ever! ²⁵For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he will stand at the latter day upon the earth: ²⁶And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: ²⁷Whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me. ²⁸But ye would say, Why persecute we him, seeing the root of the matter is found in me? ²⁹Be ye afraid of the sword: for wrath bringeth the punishments of the sword, that ye may know there is a judgment.

Chapter 20

¹Then answered Zophar the Naamathite, and said, ²Therefore do my thoughts cause me to answer, and for this I make haste. ³I have heard the check of my reproach, and the spirit of my understanding causeth me to answer. ⁴Knowest thou not this of old, since man was placed upon earth, ⁵That the triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment? ⁶Though his excellence shall mount up to the heavens, and his head reach to the clouds; ⁷Yet he shall perish for ever like his own dung: they who have seen him shall say, Where is he? ⁸He shall fly away as a dream, and will not be found: yea, he shall be chased away as a vision of the night. ⁹The eye also which saw him shall see him no more; neither shall his place any more behold him. ¹⁰His children shall seek to please the poor, and his hands shall restore their goods. ¹¹His bones are full of the sin of his youth, which shall lie down with him in the dust. ¹²Though wickedness may be sweet in his mouth, though he may hide it under his tongue; ¹³Though he may spare it, and forsake it not; but keep it still within his mouth: ¹⁴Yet his food in his bowels is turned, it is the gall of asps within him. ¹⁵He hath swallowed down riches, and he shall vomit them up again: God shall cast them out of his belly. ¹⁶He shall suck the poison of asps: the viper's tongue shall slay him. ¹⁷He shall not see the river, the floods, the brooks of honey and buttermilk. ¹⁸That which he labored for shall he restore, and shall not swallow it: according to his substance shall the restitution be, and he shall not rejoice in it. ¹⁹Because he hath oppressed and hath forsaken the poor; because he hath violently taken away a house which he did not build. ²⁰Surely he shall not feel quietness in his belly, he shall not save of that which he desired. ²¹There shall none of his food be left; therefore shall no man look for his goods. ²²In the fullness of his sufficiency he shall be in straits: every hand of the wicked shall come upon him. ²³When he is about to fill his belly, God shall cast the fury of his wrath upon him, and shall rain it upon him while he is eating. ²⁴He shall flee from the iron weapon, and the bow of steel shall strike him through. ²⁵It is drawn, and cometh out of the body; yes, the glittering sword cometh out of his gall: terrors are upon him. ²⁶All darkness shall be hid in his secret places: a fire not blown shall consume him; it shall go ill with him that is left in his tabernacle. ²⁷The heaven shall reveal his iniquity; and the earth shall rise up against him. ²⁸The increase of his house shall depart, and his goods shall flow away in the day of his wrath. ²⁹This is the portion of a wicked man from God, and the heritage appointed to him by God.

Chapter 21

¹But Job answered and said, ²Hear diligently my speech, and let this be your consolations. ³Suffer me that I may speak; and after I have spoken, mock on. ⁴As for me, is my complaint to man? and if it were so, why should not my spirit be troubled? ⁵Mark me, and be astonished, and lay your hand upon your mouth. ⁶Even when I remember I am afraid, and trembling taketh hold on my flesh. ⁷Why do the wicked live, become old, and, are mighty in power? ⁸Their seed is established in their sight with them, and their offspring before their eyes. ⁹Their houses are safe from fear, neither is the rod of God upon them. ¹⁰Their bull gendereth, and faileth not; their cow calveth, and casteth not her calf. ¹¹They send forth their little ones like a flock, and their children dance. ¹²They take the timbrel and harp, and rejoice at the sound of the organ. ¹³They spend their days in wealth, and in a moment go down to the grave. ¹⁴Therefore they say to God, Depart from us; for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways. ¹⁵What is the Almighty, that we should serve him? and what profit should we have, if we pray to him? ¹⁶Lo, their good is not in their hand: the counsel of the wicked is far from me. ¹⁷How oft is the candle of the wicked put out? and how oft cometh their destruction upon them? God distributeth sorrows in his anger. ¹⁸They are as stubble before the wind, and as chaff that the storm carrieth away. ¹⁹God layeth up his iniquity for his children: he rewardeth him, and he shall know it. ²⁰His eyes shall see his destruction, and he shall drink of the wrath of the Almighty. ²¹For what pleasure hath he in his house after him, when the number of his months is cut off in the midst? ²²Shall any teach God knowledge? seeing he judgeth those that are high. ²³One dieth in his full strength, being wholly at ease and quiet. ²⁴His breasts are full of milk, and his bones are moistened with marrow. ²⁵And another dieth in the bitterness of his soul, and never eateth with pleasure. ²⁶They shall lie down alike in the dust, and the worms shall cover them. ²⁷Behold, I know your thoughts, and the devices which ye wrongfully imagine against me. ²⁸For ye say, Where is the house of the prince? and where are the dwelling places of the wicked? ²⁹Have ye not asked them that go by the way? and do ye not know their tokens, ³⁰That the wicked is reserved to the day of destruction? they will be brought forth to the day of wrath. ³¹Who shall declare his way to his face? and who shall repay him what he hath done? ³²Yet he shall be brought to the grave, and shall remain in the tomb. ³³The clods of the valley will be sweet to him, and every man will draw after him, as there are innumerable before him. ³⁴How then comfort ye me in vain, seeing in your answers there remaineth falsehood?

Chapter 22

¹Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said, ²Can a man be profitable to God, as he that is wise may be profitable to himself? ³Is it any pleasure to the Almighty, that thou art righteous? or is it gain to him, that thou makest thy ways perfect? ⁴Will he reprove thee for fear of thee? will he enter with thee into judgment? ⁵Is not thy wickedness great? and thy iniquities infinite? ⁶For thou hast taken a pledge from thy brother for naught, and stripped the naked of their clothing. ⁷Thou hast not given water to the weary to drink, and thou hast withheld bread from the hungry. ⁸But as for the mighty man, he had the earth; and the honorable man dwelt in it. ⁹Thou hast sent widows away empty, and the arms of the fatherless have been broken. ¹⁰Therefore snares are around thee, and sudden fear troubleth thee; ¹¹Or darkness, that thou canst not see; and abundance of waters cover thee. ¹²Is not God in the hight of heaven? and behold the hight of the stars, how high they are! ¹³And thou sayest, How doth God know? can he judge through the dark cloud? ¹⁴Thick clouds are a covering to him, that he seeth not; and he walketh in the circuit of heaven. ¹⁵Hast thou marked the old way which wicked men have trodden? ¹⁶Who were cut down out of time, whose foundation was overflowed with a flood! ¹⁷Who said to God, depart from us: and what can the Almighty do for them! ¹⁸Yet he filled their houses with good things: but the counsel of the wicked is far from me. ¹⁹The righteous see it, and are glad: and the innocent deride them. ²⁰Whereas our substance is not cut down, but the remnant of them the fire consumeth. ²¹Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace: by this good shall come to thee. ²²Receive, I pray thee, the law from his mouth, and lay up his words in thy heart. ²³If thou shalt return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up, thou shalt put away iniquity far from thy tabernacles. ²⁴Then shalt thou lay up gold as dust, and the gold of Ophir as the stones of the brooks. ²⁵Yea, the Almighty shall be thy defense and thou shalt have plenty of silver. ²⁶For then shalt thou have thy delight in the Almighty, and shalt lift up thy face to God. ²⁷Thou shalt make thy prayer to him, and he shall hear thee, and thou shalt pay thy vows. ²⁸Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established to thee: and the light shall shine upon thy ways. ²⁹When men are cast down, then thou shalt say, There is exaltation; and he shall save the humble person. ³⁰He shall deliver the island of the innocent: and it is delivered by the pureness of thy hands.

Chapter 23

¹Then Job answered and said, ²Even to-day is my complaint bitter: my stroke is heavier than my groaning. ³Oh that I knew where I might find him! that I might come even to his seat! ⁴I would order my cause before him, and fill my mouth with arguments. ⁵I would know the words which he would answer me, and understand what he would say to me. ⁶Would he plead against me with his great power? No; but he would put strength in me. ⁷There the righteous might dispute with him; so should I be delivered for ever from my judge. ⁸Behold, I go forward, but he is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive him: ⁹On the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold him: he hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him: ¹⁰But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold. ¹¹My foot hath held his steps, his way have I kept, and not declined. ¹²Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food. ¹³But he is in one mind, and who can turn him? and what his soul desireth, even that he doeth. ¹⁴For he performeth the thing that is appointed for me: and many such things are with him. ¹⁵Therefore am I troubled at his presence: when I consider, I am afraid of him. ¹⁶For God maketh my heart soft, and the Almighty troubleth me: ¹⁷Because I was not cut off before the darkness, neither hath he covered the darkness from my face.

Chapter 24

¹Why, seeing times are not hid from the Almighty, do they that know him not see his days? ²Some remove the landmarks: they violently take away flocks, and their feed. ³They drive away the ass of the fatherless, they take the widow's ox for a pledge. ⁴They turn the needy out of the way: the poor of the earth hide themselves together. ⁵Behold, as wild asses in the desert, they go forth to their work; rising betimes for a prey: the wilderness yieldeth food for them and for their children. ⁶They reap every one his corn in the field: and they gather the vintage of the wicked. ⁷They cause the naked to lodge without clothing, that they have no covering in the cold. ⁸They are wet with the showers of the mountains, and embrace the rock for want of a shelter. ⁹They pluck the fatherless from the breast, and take a pledge of the poor. ¹⁰They cause him to go naked without clothing, and they take away the sheaf from the hungry; ¹¹Who make oil within their walls, and tread their wine-presses, and suffer thirst. ¹²Men groan from out of the city, and the soul of the wounded crieth out: yet God layeth not folly to them. ¹³They are of those that rebel against the light; they know not its ways, nor abide in its paths. ¹⁴The murderer rising with the light killeth the poor and needy, and in the night is as a thief. ¹⁵The eye also of the adulterer waiteth for the twilight, saying, No eye shall see me: and disguiseth his face. ¹⁶In the dark they dig through houses, which they had marked for themselves in the day-time: they know not the light. ¹⁷For the morning is to them even as the shades of death: if one knoweth them, they are in the terrors of the shades of death. ¹⁸He is swift as the waters; their portion is cursed in the earth: he beholdeth not the way of the vineyards. ¹⁹Drouth and heat consume the snow-waters: so doth the grave those who have sinned. ²⁰The womb shall forget him; the worm shall feed sweetly on him; he shall be no more remembered; and wickedness shall be broken as a tree. ²¹He oppresseth the barren that beareth not: and doeth not good to the widow. ²²He draweth also the mighty with his power: he riseth up, and no man is sure of life. ²³Though it is given him to be in safety, on which he resteth; yet his eyes are upon their ways. ²⁴They are exalted for a little while, but are gone and brought low; they are taken out of the way as all others, and cut off as the tops of the ears of corn. ²⁵And if it is not so now, who will make me a liar, and make my speech of no worth?

Chapter 25

¹Then answered Bildad the Shuhite, and said, ²Dominion and fear are with him, he maketh peace in his high places. ³Is there any number of his armies? and upon whom doth not his light arise? ⁴How then can man be justified with God? or how can he be clean that is born of a woman? ⁵Behold even to the moon, and it shineth not; and the stars are not pure in his sight. ⁶How much less man, that is a worm; and the son of man, who is a worm?

Chapter 26

¹But Job answered and said, ²How hast thou helped him that is without power? how savest thou the arm that hath no strength? ³How hast thou counseled him that hath no wisdom? and how hast thou abundantly declared the thing as it is? ⁴To whom hast thou uttered words? and whose spirit came from thee? ⁵Dead things are formed from under the waters, and the inhabitants thereof. ⁶Hell is naked before him, and destruction hath no covering. ⁷He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing. ⁸He bindeth up the waters in his thick clouds; and the cloud is not rent under them. ⁹He holdeth back the face of his throne, and spreadeth his cloud upon it. ¹⁰He hath encompassed the waters with bounds, until the day and night come to an end. ¹¹The pillars of heaven tremble and are astonished at his reproof. ¹²He divideth the sea by his power, and by his understanding he smiteth through the proud. ¹³By his spirit he hath garnished the heavens; his hand hath formed the crooked serpent. ¹⁴Lo, these are parts of his ways: but how little a portion is heard of him? but the thunder of his power who can understand?

Chapter 27

¹Moreover, Job continued his parable, and said, ²As God liveth, who hath taken away my judgment; and the Almighty who hath afflicted my soul; ³All the while my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils; ⁴My lips shall not speak wickedness, nor my tongue utter deceit. ⁵Far be it from me that I should justify you: till I die I will not remove my integrity from me. ⁶My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go: my heart shall not reproach me so long as I live. ⁷Let my enemy be as the wicked, and he that riseth up against me as the unrighteous. ⁸For what is the hope of the hypocrite, though he hath gained, when God taketh away his soul? ⁹Will God hear his cry when trouble cometh upon him? ¹⁰Will he delight himself in the Almighty? will he always call upon God? ¹¹I will teach you by the hand of God: that which is with the Almighty will I not conceal. ¹²Behold, all ye yourselves have seen it; why then are ye thus altogether vain? ¹³This is the portion of a wicked man with God, and the heritage of oppressors, which they shall receive of the Almighty. ¹⁴If his children are multiplied, it is for the sword: and his offspring shall not be satisfied with bread. ¹⁵Those that remain of him shall be buried in death: and his widows shall not weep. ¹⁶Though he should heap up silver as the dust, and prepare raiment as the clay? ¹⁷He may prepare it, but the just shall put it on, and the innocent shall divide the silver. ¹⁸He buildeth his house as a moth, and as a booth that the keeper maketh. ¹⁹The rich man shall lie down, but he shall not be gathered: he openeth his eyes, and he is not. ²⁰Terrors take hold on him as waters, a tempest stealeth him away in the night. ²¹The east wind carrieth him away, and he departeth: and as a storm hurleth him out of his place. ²²For God shall cast upon him, and not spare: he would fain flee out of his hand. ²³Men shall clap their hands at him, and shall hiss him out of his place.

Chapter 28

¹Surely there is a vein for the silver, and a place for gold where they fine it. ²Iron is taken out of the earth, and brass is melted out of the stone. ³He setteth an end to darkness, and searcheth out all perfection: the stones of darkness, and the shades of death. ⁴The flood breaketh out from the inhabitant: even the waters forgotten by the foot: they are dried up, they have gone away from men. ⁵As for the earth, out of it cometh bread: and under it is turned up as it were fire. ⁶The stones of it are the place of sapphires: and it hath dust of gold. ⁷There is a path which no fowl knoweth, and which the vultur's eye hath not seen: ⁸The lion's whelps have not trodden it, nor the fierce lion passed by it. ⁹He putteth forth his hand upon the rock; he overturneth the mountains by the roots. ¹⁰He cutteth out rivers among the rocks; and his eye seeth every precious thing. ¹¹He bindeth the floods from overflowing; and the thing that is hid he bringeth forth to light. ¹²But where shall wisdom be found? and where is the place of understanding? ¹³Man knoweth not the price of it; neither is it found in the land of the living. ¹⁴The depth saith, It is not in me: and the sea saith, It is not with me. ¹⁵It cannot be obtained for gold, neither shall silver be weighed for the price of it. ¹⁶It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, with the precious onyx, or the sapphire. ¹⁷The gold and the crystal cannot equal it: and the exchange of it shall not be for jewels of fine gold. ¹⁸No mention shall be made of coral, or of pearls: for the price of wisdom is above rubies. ¹⁹The topaz of Cush shall not equal it, neither shall it be valued with pure gold. ²⁰Whence then cometh wisdom? and where is the place of understanding? ²¹Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all living, and kept close from the fowls of the air. ²²Destruction and death say, We have heard the fame of it with our ears. ²³God understandeth the way of it, and he knoweth its place. ²⁴For he looketh to the ends of the earth, and seeth under the whole heaven; ²⁵To make the weight for the winds; and he weigheth the waters by measure. ²⁶When he made a decree for the rain, and a way for the lightning of the thunder: ²⁷Then did he see it, and declare it; he prepared it, yea, and searched it out. ²⁸And to man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.

Chapter 29

¹Moreover, Job continued his parable, and said, ²Oh that I were as in months past, as in the days when God preserved me; ³When his candle shined upon my head, and when by his light I walked through darkness; ⁴As I was in the days of my youth, when the secret of God was upon my tabernacle; ⁵When the Almighty was yet with me, when my children were about me; ⁶When I washed my steps with butter, and the rock poured me out rivers of oil; ⁷When I went out to the gate through the city, when I prepared my seat in the street! ⁸The young men saw me, and hid themselves: and the aged arose, and stood up. ⁹The princes refrained talking, and laid their hand on their mouth. ¹⁰The nobles held their peace, and their tongue cleaved to the roof of their mouth. ¹¹When the ear heard me, then it blessed me; and when the eye saw me, it gave witness to me: ¹²Because I delivered the poor that cried, and the fatherless, and him that had none to help him. ¹³The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me: and I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy. ¹⁴I put on righteousness, and it clothed me: my judgment was as a robe and a diadem. ¹⁵I was eyes to the blind, and feet was I to the lame. ¹⁶I was a father to the poor: and the cause which I knew not I searched out. ¹⁷And I broke the jaws of the wicked, and plucked the spoil out of his teeth. ¹⁸Then I said, I shall die in my nest, and I shall multiply my days as the sand. ¹⁹My root was spread out by the waters, and the dew lay all night upon my branch. ²⁰My glory was fresh in me, and my bow was renewed in my hand. ²¹To me men gave ear, and waited, and kept silence at my counsel. ²²After my words they spoke not again; and my speech dropped upon them. ²³And they waited for me as for the rain; and they opened their mouth wide as for the latter rain. ²⁴If I laughed on them, they believed it not; and the light of my countenance they cast not down. ²⁵I chose out their way, and sat chief, and dwelt as a king in the army, as one that comforteth the mourners.

Chapter 30

¹But now they that are younger than I, have me in derision, whose fathers I would have disdained to set with the dogs of my flock. ²Yes, to what might the strength of their hands profit me, in whom old age had perished? ³For want and famine they were solitary; fleeing into the wilderness in former time desolate and waste. ⁴Who cut up mallows by the bushes, and juniper roots for their food. ⁵They were driven forth from among men, (they cried after them, as after a thief;) ⁶To dwell in the clefts of the valleys, in caves of the earth, and in the rocks. ⁷Among the bushes they brayed; under the nettles they were collected. ⁸They were children of fools, yes, children of base men: they were viler than the earth. ⁹And now I am their song, yes, I am their by-word. ¹⁰They abhor me, they flee far from me, and spare not to spit in my face. ¹¹Because he hath loosed my cord, and afflicted me, they have also let loose the bridle before me. ¹²Upon my right hand rise the youth; they push away my feet, and they raise up against me the ways of their destruction. ¹³They mar my path, they set forward my calamity, they have no helper. ¹⁴They came upon me as a wide breaking in of waters: in the desolation they rolled themselves upon me. ¹⁵Terrors are turned upon me: they pursue my soul as the wind: and my welfare passeth away as a cloud. ¹⁶And now my soul is poured out upon me; the days of affliction have taken hold upon me. ¹⁷My bones are pierced in me in the night season: and my sinews take no rest. ¹⁸By the great force of my disease is my garment changed: it bindeth me about as the collar of my coat. ¹⁹He hath cast me into the mire, and I have become like dust and ashes. ²⁰I cry to thee, and thou dost not hear me: I stand up, and thou regardest me not. ²¹Thou hast become cruel to me: with thy strong hand thou opposest thyself against me. ²²Thou liftest me up to the wind; thou causest me to ride upon it, and dissolvest my substance. ²³For I know that thou wilt bring me to death, and to the house appointed for all living. ²⁴Yet he will not stretch out his hand to the grave, though they cry in his destruction. ²⁵Did not I weep for him that was in trouble? was not my soul grieved for the poor? ²⁶When I looked for good, then evil came: and when I waited for light, there came darkness. ²⁷My bowels boiled, and rested not: the days of affliction came upon me. ²⁸I went mourning without the sun: I stood up, and I cried in the congregation. ²⁹I am a brother to dragons, and a companion to owls. ³⁰My skin is black upon me, and my bones are burned with heat. ³¹My harp also is turned to mourning, and my organ into the voice of them that weep.

Chapter 31

¹I Made a covenant with my eyes; why then should I think upon a maid? ²For what portion of God is there from above? and what inheritance of the Almighty from on high? ³Is not destruction to the wicked? and a strange punishment to the workers of iniquity? ⁴Doth not he see my ways, and count all my steps? ⁵If I have walked with vanity, or if my foot hath hasted to deceit; ⁶Let me be weighed in an even balance, that God may know my integrity. ⁷If my step hath turned out of the way, and my heart walked after my eyes, and if any blot hath cleaved to my hands; ⁸Then let me sow, and let another eat; yes, let my offspring be rooted out. ⁹If my heart hath been deceived by a woman, or if I have laid wait at my neighbor's door; ¹⁰Then let my wife grind to another, and let others bow down upon her. ¹¹For this is a hainous crime; yea, it is an iniquity to be punished by the judges. ¹²For it is a fire that consumeth to destruction, and would root out all my increase. ¹³If I despised the cause of my man-servant or of my maid-servant, when they contended with me; ¹⁴What then shall I do when God riseth up? and when he visiteth, what shall I answer him? ¹⁵Did not he that made me in the womb make him? and did not one fashion us in the womb? ¹⁶If I have withheld the poor from their desire, or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail; ¹⁷Or have eaten my morsel myself alone, and the fatherless hath not eaten of it; ¹⁸(For from my youth he was brought up with me, as with a father, and I have guided her from my mother's womb;) ¹⁹If I have seen any perish for want of clothing, or any poor without covering; ²⁰If his loins have not blessed me, and if he hath not been warmed with the fleece of my sheep; ²¹If I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless, when I saw my help in the gate: ²²Then let my arm fall from my shoulder-blade, and my arm be broken from the bone. ²³For destruction from God was a terror to me, and by reason of his highness I could not endure. ²⁴If I have made gold my hope, or have said to the fine gold, Thou art my confidence; ²⁵If I have rejoiced because my wealth was great, and because my hand had gained much; ²⁶If I have beheld the sun when it shined, or the moon walking in brightness; ²⁷And my heart hath been secretly enticed, or my mouth hath kissed my hand: ²⁸This also were an iniquity to be punished by the judge: for I should have denied the God that is above. ²⁹If I have rejoiced at the destruction of him that hated me, or have lifted up myself when evil found him: ³⁰Neither have I suffered my mouth to sin by wishing a curse to his soul. ³¹If the men of my tabernacle have not said, Oh that we had of his flesh! we cannot be satisfied. ³²The stranger did not lodge in the street: but I opened my doors to the traveler. ³³If I have covered my transgressions as Adam, by hiding my iniquity in my bosom: ³⁴Did I fear a great multitude, or did the contempt of families terrify me, that I kept silence, and went not out of the door? ³⁵Oh that one would hear me! behold, my desire is, that the Almighty would answer me, and that my adversary had written a book. ³⁶Surely I would take it upon my shoulder, and bind it as a crown to me. ³⁷I would declare to him the number of my steps; as a prince would I go near to him. ³⁸If my land crieth against me, or its furrows likewise complain; ³⁹If I have eaten the fruits of it without money, or have caused its owners to lose their life: ⁴⁰Let thistles grow instead of wheat, and cockle instead of barley. The words of Job are ended.

Chapter 32

¹So these three men ceased to answer Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes. ²Then was kindled the wrath of Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the kindred of Ram: against Job was his wrath kindled, because he justified himself rather than God. ³Also against his three friends was his wrath kindled, because they had found no answer, and yet had condemned Job. ⁴Now Elihu had waited till Job had spoken because they were older than he. ⁵When Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of these three men, then his wrath was kindled. ⁶And Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite answered and said, I am young, and ye are very old; wherefore I was afraid, and durst not show you my opinion. ⁷I said, Days should speak, and multitude of years should teach wisdom. ⁸But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding. ⁹Great men are not always wise: neither do the aged understand judgment. ¹⁰Therefore I said, Hearken to me; I also will show my opinion. ¹¹Behold, I waited for your words; I gave ear to your reasons, whilst ye searched out what to say. ¹²Yes, I attended to you, and behold, there was none of you that convinced Job, or that answered his words: ¹³Lest ye should say, We have found out wisdom: God thrusteth him down, not man. ¹⁴Now he hath not directed his words against me: neither will I answer him with your speeches. ¹⁵They were amazed, they answered no more: they left off speaking. ¹⁶When I had waited, (for they spoke not, but stood still, and answered no more;) ¹⁷I said, I will answer also my part, I also will show my opinion. ¹⁸For I am full of matter, the spirit within me constraineth me. ¹⁹Behold, my belly is as wine which hath no vent; it is ready to burst like new bottles. ²⁰I will speak, that I may be refreshed: I will open my lips and answer. ²¹Let me not, I pray you, accept any man's person, neither let me give flattering titles to man. ²²For I know not to give flattering titles; in so doing, my Maker would soon take me away.

Chapter 33

¹Wherefore, Job, I pray thee, hear my speeches, and hearken to all my words. ²Behold, now I have opened my mouth, my tongue hath spoken in my mouth. ³My words shall be of the uprightness of my heart: and my lips shall utter knowledge clearly. ⁴The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life. ⁵If thou canst answer me, set thy words in order before me, stand up. ⁶Behold, I am according to thy wish in God's stead: I also am formed out of the clay. ⁷Behold, my terror shall not make thee afraid, neither shall my hand be heavy upon thee. ⁸Surely thou hast spoken in my hearing, and I have heard the voice of thy words, saying, ⁹I am clean without transgression, I am innocent; neither is there iniquity in me. ¹⁰Behold, he findeth occasions against me, he counteth me for his enemy, ¹¹He putteth my feet in the stocks, he marketh all my paths. ¹²Behold, in this thou art not just: I will answer thee, that God is greater than man. ¹³Why dost thou strive against him? for he giveth not account of any of his matters. ¹⁴For God speaketh once, yes twice, yet man perceiveth it not. ¹⁵In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falleth upon men, in slumberings upon the bed; ¹⁶Then he openeth the ears of men, and sealeth their instruction, ¹⁷That he may withdraw man from his purpose, and hide pride from man. ¹⁸He keepeth back his soul from the pit, and his life from perishing by the sword. ¹⁹He is chastened also with pain upon his bed, and the multitude of his bones with strong pain: ²⁰So that his life abhorreth bread, and his soul dainty food. ²¹His flesh is consumed away, that it cannot be seen; and his bones that were not seen stick out. ²²Yes, his soul draweth near to the grave, and his life to the destroyers. ²³If there is a messenger with him, an interpreter, one among a thousand, to show to man his uprightness: ²⁴Then he is gracious to him, and saith, Deliver him from going down to the pit: I have found a ransom. ²⁵His flesh shall be fresher than a child's: he will return to the days of his youth: ²⁶He shall pray to God, and he will be favorable to him: and he shall see his face with joy: for he will render to man his righteousness. ²⁷He looketh upon men, and if any shall say, I have sinned, and perverted that which was right, and it profited me not; ²⁸He will deliver his soul from going into the pit, and his life shall see the light. ²⁹Lo, all these things God often worketh with man, ³⁰To bring back his soul from the pit, to be enlightened with the light of the living. ³¹Mark well, O Job, hearken to me: hold thy peace, and I will speak. ³²If thou hast any thing to say, answer me: speak, for I desire to justify thee. ³³If not, hearken to me: hold thy peace, and I shall teach thee wisdom.

Chapter 34

¹Furthermore Elihu answered and said, ²Hear my words, O ye wise men; and give ear to me, ye that have knowledge. ³For the ear trieth words, as the mouth tasteth food. ⁴Let us choose to us judgment: let us know among ourselves what is good. ⁵For Job hath said, I am righteous: and God hath taken away my judgment. ⁶Should I lie against my right? my wound is incurable without transgression. ⁷What man is like Job, who drinketh up scorning like water? ⁸Who goeth in company with the workers of iniquity, and walketh with wicked men. ⁹For he hath said, It profiteth a man nothing that he should delight himself with God. ¹⁰Therefore hearken to me, ye men of understanding: far be it from God, that he should do wickedness; and from the Almighty, that he should commit iniquity. ¹¹For the work of a man he shall render to him, and cause every man to find according to his ways. ¹²Yes, surely God will not do wickedly, neither will the Almighty pervert judgment. ¹³Who hath given him a charge over the earth? or who hath disposed the whole world? ¹⁴If he should set his heart upon man, if he should gather to himself his spirit and his breath; ¹⁵All flesh would perish together, and man would turn again to dust. ¹⁶If now thou hast understanding, hear this: hearken to the voice of my words. ¹⁷Shall even he that hateth right govern? and wilt thou condemn him that is most just? ¹⁸Is it fit to say to a king, Thou art wicked? and to princes, Ye are ungodly? ¹⁹How much less to him that accepteth not the persons of princes, nor regardeth the rich more than the poor? for they all are the work of his hands. ²⁰In a moment they shall die, and the people shall be troubled at midnight, and pass away: and the mighty shall be taken away without hand. ²¹For his eyes are upon the ways of man, and he seeth all his goings. ²²There is no darkness, nor shadow of death, where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves. ²³For he will not lay upon man more than right; that he should enter into judgment with God. ²⁴He shall break in pieces mighty men without number, and set others in their stead. ²⁵Therefore he knoweth their works, and he overturneth them in the night, so that they are destroyed. ²⁶He striketh them as wicked men in the open sight of others; ²⁷Because they turned back from him, and would not consider any of his ways: ²⁸So that they cause the cry of the poor to come to him, and he heareth the cry of the afflicted. ²⁹When he giveth quietness, who then can make trouble? and when he hideth his face, who then can behold him? whether it be done against a nation, or against a man only: ³⁰That the hypocrite may not reign, lest the people should be ensnared. ³¹Surely it is meet to be said to God, I have borne chastisement, I will not offend any more: ³²That which I see not teach thou me: if I have done iniquity, I will do no more. ³³Should it be according to thy mind? he will recompense it, whether thou shalt refuse, or whether thou shalt choose; and not I: therefore speak what thou knowest. ³⁴Let men of understanding tell me, and let a wise man hearken to me. ³⁵Job hath spoken without knowledge, and his words were without wisdom. ³⁶My desire is that Job may be tried to the end, because of his answers for wicked men. ³⁷For he addeth rebellion to his sin, he clappeth his hands among us, and multiplieth his words against God.

Chapter 35

¹Elihu spoke moreover, and said, ²Thinkest thou this to be right, that thou saidst, My righteousness is more than God's? ³For thou saidst, What advantage will it be to thee? and, What profit shall I have, if I be cleansed from my sin? ⁴I will answer thee, and thy companions with thee. ⁵Look to the heavens, and see; and behold the clouds which are higher than thou. ⁶If thou sinnest, what doest thou against him? or if thy transgressions are multiplied, what doest thou to him? ⁷If thou art righteous, what givest thou to him? or what receiveth he from thy hand? ⁸Thy wickedness may hurt a man as thou art: and thy righteousness may profit the son of man. ⁹By reason of the multitude of oppressions they make the oppressed to cry: they cry out by reason of the arm of the mighty. ¹⁰But none saith, Where is God my maker, who giveth songs in the night; ¹¹Who teacheth us more than the beasts of the earth, and maketh us wiser than the fowls of heaven? ¹²There they cry, but none giveth answer, because of the pride of evil men. ¹³Surely God will not hear vanity, neither will the Almighty regard it. ¹⁴Although thou sayest thou shalt not see him, yet judgment is before him; therefore trust thou in him. ¹⁵But now, because it is not so, he hath visited in his anger; yet he knoweth it not in great extremity: ¹⁶Therefore doth Job open his mouth in vain; he multiplieth words without knowledge.

Chapter 36

¹Elihu also proceeded, and said, ²Suffer me a little, and I will show thee that I have yet to speak on God's behalf. ³I will bring my knowledge from afar, and will ascribe righteousness to my Maker. ⁴For truly my words shall not be false: he that is perfect in knowledge is with thee. ⁵Behold, God is mighty, and despiseth not any: he is mighty in strength and wisdom. ⁶He preserveth not the life of the wicked: but giveth right to the poor. ⁷He withdraweth not his eyes from the righteous: but with kings are they on the throne; yes, he doth establish them for ever, and they are exalted. ⁸And if they are bound in fetters, and are held in cords of affliction; ⁹Then he showeth them their work, and their transgressions that they have exceeded. ¹⁰He openeth also their ear to discipline, and commandeth that they return from iniquity. ¹¹If they obey and serve him, they shall spend their days in prosperity, and their years in pleasures. ¹²But if they obey not, they shall perish by the sword, and they shall die without knowledge. ¹³But the hypocrites in heart heap up wrath: they cry not when he bindeth them. ¹⁴They die in youth, and their life is among the unclean. ¹⁵He delivereth the poor in his affliction, and openeth their ears in oppression. ¹⁶Even so would he have removed thee out of the strait into a broad place, where there is no straitness; and that which should be set on thy table would be full of fatness. ¹⁷But thou hast fulfilled the judgment of the wicked: judgment and justice take hold on thee. ¹⁸Because there is wrath, beware lest he take thee away with his stroke: then a great ransom cannot deliver thee. ¹⁹Will he esteem thy riches? no, not gold, nor all the forces of strength. ²⁰Desire not the night, when people are cut off in their place. ²¹Take heed, regard not iniquity: for this hast thou chosen rather than affliction. ²²Behold, God exalteth by his power: who teacheth like him? ²³Who hath enjoined him his way? or who can say, Thou hast wrought iniquity? ²⁴Remember that thou magnify his work, which men behold. ²⁵Every man may see it; man may behold it afar off. ²⁶Behold, God is great, and we know him not, neither can the number of his years be searched out. ²⁷For he maketh small the drops of water: they pour down rain according to the vapor of it. ²⁸Which the clouds do drop and distill upon man abundantly. ²⁹Also can any understand the spreadings of the clouds, or the noise of his tabernacle? ³⁰Behold, he spreadeth his light upon it, and covereth the bottom of the sea. ³¹For by them he judgeth the people; he giveth food in abundance. ³²With clouds he covereth the light; and commandeth it not to shine by the intervening cloud. ³³The noise of it showeth concerning it, the cattle also concerning the vapor.

Chapter 37

¹At this also my heart trembleth, and is moved out of its place. ²Hear attentively the noise of his voice, and the sound that goeth out of his mouth. ³He directeth it under the whole heaven, and his lightning to the ends of the earth. ⁴After it a voice roareth: he thundereth with the voice of his excellence; and he will not stay them when his voice is heard. ⁵God thundereth marvelously with his voice; great things he doeth, which we cannot comprehend. ⁶For he saith to the snow, Be thou on the earth; likewise to the small rain, and to the great rain of his strength. ⁷He sealeth up the hand of every man; that all men may know his work. ⁸Then the beasts go into dens, and remain in their places. ⁹From the south cometh the whirlwind: and cold from the north. ¹⁰By the breath of God frost is given: and the breadth of the waters is straitened. ¹¹Also by watering he wearieth the thick cloud: he scattereth his bright cloud: ¹²And it is turned around by his counsels: that they may do whatever he commandeth them upon the face of the world on the earth. ¹³He causeth it to come, whether for correction, or for his land, or for mercy. ¹⁴Hearken to this, O Job: stand still, and consider the wondrous works of God. ¹⁵Dost thou know when God disposed them, and caused the light of his cloud to shine? ¹⁶Dost thou know the balancings of the clouds, the wondrous works of him who is perfect in knowledge? ¹⁷How thy garments are warm, when he quieteth the earth by the south wind? ¹⁸Hast thou with him spread out the sky which is strong, and as a molten looking-glass? ¹⁹Teach us what we shall say to him; for we cannot order our speech by reason of darkness. ²⁰Shall it be told him that I speak? If a man shall speak, surely he will be swallowed up. ²¹And now men see not the bright light which is in the clouds: but the wind passeth, and cleanseth them. ²²Fair weather cometh from the north: with God is terrible majesty. ²³Touching the Almighty, we cannot find him out: he is excellent in power, and in judgment, and in abundance of justice: he will not afflict. ²⁴Men therefore fear him: he respecteth not any that are wise of heart.

Chapter 38

¹Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said, ²Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge? ³Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me. ⁴Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding. ⁵Who hath laid the measures of it, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it? ⁶Upon what are the foundations of it fastened? or who laid its corner stone; ⁷When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy? ⁸Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it broke forth, as if it had issued out of the womb? ⁹When I made a cloud its garment, and thick darkness a swaddling band for it, ¹⁰And broke up for it my decreed place, and set bars and doors, ¹¹And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further: and here shall thy proud waves be stayed. ¹²Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days; and caused the day-spring to know its place; ¹³That it might take hold of the ends of earth, that the wicked might be shaken out of it? ¹⁴It is turned as clay to the seal; and they stand as a garment. ¹⁵And from the wicked their light is withheld, and the high arm shall be broken. ¹⁶Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea? or hast thou walked in the search of the depth? ¹⁷Have the gates of death been opened to thee? or hast thou seen the doors of the shades of death? ¹⁸Hast thou perceived the breadth of the earth? declare if thou knowest it all. ¹⁹Where is the way where light dwelleth? and as for darkness, where is its place, ²⁰That thou shouldest take it to its bound, and that thou shouldest know the paths to its house? ²¹Knowest thou it, because thou wast then born? or because the number of thy days is great? ²²Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow? or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail, ²³Which I have reserved against the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war? ²⁴By what way is the light parted, which scattereth the east wind upon the earth? ²⁵Who hath divided a watercourse for the overflowing of waters, or a way for the lightning of thunder; ²⁶To cause it to rain on the earth, where no man is; on the wilderness in which there is no man; ²⁷To satisfy the desolate and waste ground; and to cause the bud of the tender herb to spring forth? ²⁸Hath the rain a father? or who hath begotten the drops of the dew? ²⁹Out of whose womb came the ice? and the hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it? ³⁰The waters are hid as with a stone, and the face of the deep is frozen. ³¹Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion? ³²Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth in its season? or canst thou guide Arcturus with its sons? ³³Knowest thou the ordinances of heaven? canst thou set its dominion on the earth? ³⁴Canst thou lift thy voice to the clouds, that abundance of waters may cover thee? ³⁵Canst thou send lightnings, that they may go, and say to thee, Here we are? ³⁶Who hath put wisdom in the inward parts? or who hath given understanding to the heart? ³⁷Who can number the clouds in wisdom? or who can stay the bottles of heaven, ³⁸When the dust groweth into hardness, and the clods cleave fast together?

Chapter 39

¹\38:39\Wilt thou hunt the prey for the lion? or fill the appetite of the young lions, ²\38:40\When they couch in their dens, and abide in the covert to lie in wait? ³\38:41\Who provideth for the raven his food? when his young ones cry to God, they wander for want of food. ⁴\39:1\Knowest thou the time when the wild goats of the rock bring forth? or canst thou mark when the hinds do calve? ⁵\39:2\Canst thou number the months that they fulfill? or knowest thou the time when they bring forth? ⁶\39:3\They bow themselves, they bring forth their young ones, they cast out their sorrows. ⁷\39:4\Their young ones are in good liking, they grow up with corn; they go forth, and return not to them. ⁸\39:5\Who hath sent out the wild ass free? or who hath loosed the bands of the wild ass? ⁹\39:6\Whose house I have made the wilderness, and the barren land his dwellings. ¹⁰\39:7\He scorneth the multitude of the city, neither regardeth he the crying of the driver. ¹¹\39:8\The range of the mountains is his pasture, and he searcheth after every green thing. ¹²\39:9\Will the unicorn be willing to serve thee, or abide by thy crib? ¹³\39:10\Canst thou bind the unicorn with his band in the furrow? or will he harrow the valleys after thee? ¹⁴\39:11\Wilt thou trust him, because his strength is great? or wilt thou leave thy labor to him? ¹⁵\39:12\Wilt thou believe him, that he will bring home thy seed, and gather it into thy barn? ¹⁶\39:13\Gavest thou the goodly wings to the peacocks? or wings and feathers to the ostrich! ¹⁷\39:14\Which leaveth her eggs in the earth, and warmeth them in the dust, ¹⁸\39:15\And forgetteth that the foot may crush them, or that the wild beast may break them. ¹⁹\39:16\She is hardened against her young ones, as though they were not hers: her labor is in vain without fear; ²⁰\39:17\Because God hath withheld wisdom from her, neither hath he imparted to her understanding. ²¹\39:18\When she lifteth herself on high, she scorneth the horse and his rider. ²²\39:19\Hast thou given the horse strength? hast thou clothed his neck with thunder? ²³\39:20\Canst thou make him afraid as a grasshopper? the glory of his nostrils is terrible. ²⁴\39:21\He paweth in the valley, and rejoiceth in his strength: he goeth on to meet the armed men. ²⁵\39:22\He mocketh at fear, and is not affrighted; neither turneth he back from the sword. ²⁶\39:23\The quiver rattleth against him, the glittering spear and the shield. ²⁷\39:24\He swalloweth the ground with fierceness and rage: neither believeth he that it is the sound of the trumpet. ²⁸\39:25\He saith among the trumpets, Ha, ha; and he smelleth the battle afar off, the thunder of the captains, and the shouting. ²⁹\39:26\Doth the hawk fly by thy wisdom, and stretch her wings towards the south? ³⁰\39:27\Doth the eagle mount up at thy command, and make her nest on high? ³¹\39:28\She dwelleth and abideth on the rock, upon the crag of the rock, and the strong place. ³²\39:29\From thence she seeketh the prey, and her eyes behold afar off. ³³\39:30\Her young ones also suck up blood: and where the slain are, there is she. ³⁴\40:1\Moreover, the LORD answered Job, and said, ³⁵\40:2\Shall he that contendeth with the Almighty instruct him? he that reproveth God, let him answer it. ³⁶\40:3\Then Job answered the LORD, and said, ³⁷\40:4\Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer thee? I will lay my hand upon my mouth. ³⁸\40:5\Once have I spoken; but I will not answer: yes, twice; but I will proceed no further.

Chapter 40

¹\40:6\Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said, ²\40:7\Gird up thy loins now like a man: I will demand of thee, and declare thou to me. ³\40:8\Wilt thou also disannul my judgment? wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be righteous? ⁴\40:9\Hast thou an arm like God? or canst thou thunder with a voice like his? ⁵\40:10\Deck thyself now with majesty and excellence; and array thyself with glory and beauty. ⁶\40:11\Cast abroad the rage of thy wrath: and behold every one that is proud, and abase him. ⁷\40:12\Look on every one that is proud, and bring him low; and tread down the wicked in their place. ⁸\40:13\Hide them in the dust together; bind their faces in secret. ⁹\40:14\Then will I also confess to thee that thy own right hand can save thee. ¹⁰\40:15\Behold now behemoth, which I made with thee; he eateth grass as an ox. ¹¹\40:16\Lo now, his strength is in his loins, and his force is in the navel of his belly. ¹²\40:17\He moveth his tail like a cedar: the sinews of his male organs are wrapped together. ¹³\40:18\His bones are as strong pieces of brass; his bones are like bars of iron. ¹⁴\40:19\He is the chief of the ways of God: he that made him can make his sword to approach him. ¹⁵\40:20\Surely the mountains bring him forth food, where all the beasts of the field play. ¹⁶\40:21\He lieth under the shady trees, in the covert of the reed, and fens. ¹⁷\40:22\The shady trees cover him with their shadow; the willows of the brook encompass him. ¹⁸\40:23\Behold, he drinketh up a river, and hasteth not: he trusteth that he can draw up Jordan into his mouth. ¹⁹\40:24\He taketh it with his eyes: his nose pierceth through snares. ²⁰\41:1\Canst thou draw out leviathan with a hook? or his tongue with a cord which thou lettest down? ²¹\41:2\Canst thou put a hook into his nose? or bore his jaw through with a thorn? ²²\41:3\Will he make many supplications to thee? will he speak soft words to thee? ²³\41:4\Will he make a covenant with thee? wilt thou take him for a servant for ever? ²⁴\41:5\Wilt thou play with him as with a bird? or wilt thou bind him for thy maidens? ²⁵\41:6\Shall the companions make a banquet of him? shall they part him among the merchants. ²⁶\41:7\Canst thou fill his skin with barbed irons? or his head with fish spears? ²⁷\41:8\Lay thy hand upon him, remember the battle, do no more. ²⁸\41:9\Behold, the hope of him is in vain: shall not one be cast down even at the sight of him?

Chapter 41

¹\41:10\None is so fierce that he dare rouse him: who then is able to stand before me? ²\41:11\Who hath first benefited me, that I should repay him? whatever is under the whole heaven is mine. ³\41:12\I will not conceal his parts, nor his power, nor his comely proportion. ⁴\41:13\Who can discover the face of his garment? or who can come to him with his double bridle? ⁵\41:14\Who can open the doors of his face? his teeth are terrible around. ⁶\41:15\His scales are his pride, shut together as with a close seal. ⁷\41:16\One is so near to another, that no air can come between them. ⁸\41:17\They are joined one to another, they stick together, that they cannot be sundered. ⁹\41:18\His sneezings flash light, and his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning. ¹⁰\41:19\Out of his mouth go burning lamps, and sparks of fire dart forth. ¹¹\41:20\Out of his nostrils issueth smoke, as out of a seething pot or caldron. ¹²\41:21\His breath kindleth coals, and a flame issueth from his mouth. ¹³\41:22\In his neck remaineth strength, and sorrow is turned into joy before him. ¹⁴\41:23\The flakes of his flesh are joined together: they are firm in themselves; they cannot be moved. ¹⁵\41:24\His heart is as firm as a stone; yes, as hard as a piece of the nether millstone. ¹⁶\41:25\When he raiseth himself, the mighty are afraid: by reason of breakings they purify themselves. ¹⁷\41:26\The sword of him that attacketh him cannot hold: the spear, the dart, nor the habergeon. ¹⁸\41:27\He esteemeth iron as straw, and brass as rotten wood. ¹⁹\41:28\The arrow cannot make him flee: sling-stones are turned with him into stubble. ²⁰\41:29\Darts are counted as stubble: he laugheth at the shaking of a spear. ²¹\41:30\Sharp stones are under him: he spreadeth sharp pointed things upon the mire. ²²\41:31\He maketh the deep to boil like a pot: he maketh the sea like a pot of ointment. ²³\41:32\He maketh a path to shine after him; one would think the deep to be hoary. ²⁴\41:33\Upon earth there is not his like, who is made without fear. ²⁵\41:34\He beholdeth all high things: he is a king over all the children of pride.

Chapter 42

¹Then Job answered the LORD, and said, ²I know that thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withheld from thee. ³Who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge? therefore have I uttered that which I understood not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not. ⁴Hear, I beseech thee, and I will speak: I will ask of thee, and declare thou to me. ⁵I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now my eye seeth thee. ⁶Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes. ⁷And it was so, that after the LORD had spoken these words to Job, the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite, My wrath is kindled against thee, and against thy two friends: for ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job hath. ⁸Therefore take to you now seven bullocks and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer for yourselves a burnt-offering; and my servant Job shall pray for you: for him will I accept: lest I deal with you after your folly, in that ye have not spoken of me the thing which is right, like my servant Job. ⁹So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went, and did according as the LORD commanded them: the LORD also accepted Job. ¹⁰And the LORD turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before. ¹¹Then came there to him all his brethren, and all his sisters, and all they that had been of his acquaintance before, and ate bread with him in his house: and they condoled with him, and comforted him over all the evil that the LORD had brought upon him: every man also gave him a piece of money, and every one an ear-ring of gold. ¹²So the LORD blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning: for he had fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she asses. ¹³He had also seven sons, and three daughters. ¹⁴And he called the name of the first, Jemima; and the name of the second, Kezia; and the name of the third, Keren-happuch. ¹⁵And in all the land were no women found so fair as the daughters of Job: and their father gave them inheritance among their brethren. ¹⁶After this Job lived a hundred and forty years, and saw his sons, and his sons' sons, even four generations. ¹⁷So Job died, being old and full of days.

Psalms

Chapter 1

¹Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of scoffers. ²But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. ³And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth its fruit in season; its leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he doeth shall prosper. ⁴The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. ⁵Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. ⁶For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

Chapter 2

¹Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? ²The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying, ³Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. ⁴He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. ⁵Then shall he speak to them in his wrath, and trouble them in his sore displeasure. ⁶Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. ⁷I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said to me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. ⁸Ask of me, and I will give thee the heathen for thy inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. ⁹Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. ¹⁰Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth. ¹¹Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. ¹²Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.

Chapter 3

¹+ ²\3:1\A Psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son. LORD, how are they multiplied that trouble me? many are they that rise up against me. ³\3:2\Many there are who say of my soul, There is no help for him in God. Selah. ⁴\3:3\But thou, O LORD, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of my head. ⁵\3:4\I cried to the LORD with my voice, and he heard me from his holy hill. Selah. ⁶\3:5\I laid me down and slept; I awaked; for the LORD sustained me. ⁷\3:6\I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people, that have set themselves against me on all sides. ⁸\3:7\Arise, O LORD; save me, O my God: for thou hast smitten all my enemies upon the cheek bone; thou hast broken the teeth of the ungodly. ⁹\3:8\Salvation belongeth to the LORD: thy blessing is upon thy people. Selah.

Chapter 4

¹+ ²\4:1\To the chief Musician on Neginoth, A Psalm of David. Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness: thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress; have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer. ³\4:2\O ye sons of men, how long will ye turn my glory into shame? how long will ye love vanity, and seek after falsehood? Selah. ⁴\4:3\But know that the LORD hath set apart him that is godly for himself: the LORD will hear when I call to him. ⁵\4:4\Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah. ⁶\4:5\Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the LORD. ⁷\4:6\There are many that say, Who will show us any good? LORD, lift thou upon us the light of thy countenance. ⁸\4:7\Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time when their corn and their wine increased. ⁹\4:8\I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep; for thou only, LORD, makest me dwell in safety.

Chapter 5

¹+ ²\5:1\To the chief Musician upon Nehiloth, A Psalm of David. Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my meditation. ³\5:2\Hearken to the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for to thee will I pray. ⁴\5:3\My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer to thee, and will look up. ⁵\5:4\For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee. ⁶\5:5\The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity. ⁷\5:6\Thou shalt destroy them that speak falsehood: the LORD will abhor the bloody and deceitful man. ⁸\5:7\But as for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy: and in thy fear will I worship towards thy holy temple. ⁹\5:8\Lead me, O LORD, in thy righteousness, because of my enemies; make thy way straight before my face. ¹⁰\5:9\For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is very wickedness; their throat is an open sepulcher; they flatter with their tongue. ¹¹\5:10\Destroy thou them, O God; let them fall by their own counsels; cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions; for they have rebelled against thee. ¹²\5:11\But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee. ¹³\5:12\For thou, LORD, wilt bless the righteous; with favor wilt thou compass him as with a shield.

Chapter 6

¹+ ²\6:1\To the chief Musician on Neginoth upon Sheminith, A Psalm of David. O LORD, rebuke me not in thy anger, neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure. ³\6:2\Have mercy upon me, O LORD; for I am weak: O LORD, heal me; for my bones are agitated. ⁴\6:3\My soul is also greatly disquieted: but thou, O LORD, how long? ⁵\6:4\Return, O LORD, deliver my soul: Oh save me for thy mercies sake. ⁶\6:5\For in death there is no remembrance of thee: in the grave who will give thee thanks? ⁷\6:6\I am weary with my groaning; all the night I make my bed to swim; I water my couch with my tears. ⁸\6:7\My eye is consumed because of grief; it groweth old because of all my enemies. ⁹\6:8\Depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity; for the LORD hath heard the voice of my weeping. ¹⁰\6:9\The LORD hath heard my supplication; the LORD will receive my prayer. ¹¹\6:10\Let all my enemies be ashamed and greatly disquieted: let them return and be suddenly ashamed.

Chapter 7

¹+ ²\7:1\Shiggaion of David, which he sang to the LORD, concerning the words of Cush the Benjaminite. O LORD my God, in thee do I put my trust: save me from all them that persecute me, and deliver me: ³\7:2\Lest he tear my soul like a lion, rending it in pieces, while there is none to deliver. ⁴\7:3\O LORD my God, if I have done this; if there is iniquity in my hands; ⁵\7:4\If I have rewarded evil to him that was at peace with me; (yes, I have delivered him that without cause is my enemy:) ⁶\7:5\Let the enemy persecute my soul, and take it; yes, let him tread down my life upon the earth, and lay my honor in the dust. Selah. ⁷\7:6\Arise, O LORD, in thy anger, lift up thyself because of the rage of my enemies: and awake for me to the judgment that thou hast commanded. ⁸\7:7\So shall the congregation of the people encompass thee: for their sakes therefore return thou on high. ⁹\7:8\The LORD shall judge the people: judge me, O LORD, according to my righteousness, and according to my integrity that is in me. ¹⁰\7:9\Oh let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end; but establish the just: for the righteous God trieth the hearts and reins. ¹¹\7:10\My defense is from God, who saveth the upright in heart. ¹²\7:11\God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day. ¹³\7:12\If he turn not, he will whet his sword; he hath bent his bow, and made it ready. ¹⁴\7:13\He hath also prepared for him the instruments of death; he ordaineth his arrows against the persecutors. ¹⁵\7:14\Behold, he travaileth with iniquity, and hath conceived mischief, and brought forth falsehood. ¹⁶\7:15\He made a pit, and digged it, and hath fallen into the ditch which he made. ¹⁷\7:16\His mischief shall return upon his own head, and his violent dealing shall come down upon his own pate. ¹⁸\7:17\I will praise the LORD according to his righteousness: and will sing praise to the name of the LORD most high.

Chapter 8

¹+ ²\8:1\To the chief Musician upon Gittith, A Psalm of David. O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens. ³\8:2\Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thy enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger. ⁴\8:3\When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers; the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; ⁵\8:4\What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? ⁶\8:5\For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honor. ⁷\8:6\Thou hast made him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet: ⁸\8:7\All sheep and oxen, yes, and the beasts of the field; ⁹\8:8\The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatever passeth through the paths of the seas. ¹⁰\8:9\O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!

Chapter 9

¹+ ²\9:1\To the chief Musician upon Muthlabben, A Psalm of David. I will praise thee, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will show forth all thy wonderful works. ³\9:2\I will be glad and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy name, O thou most High. ⁴\9:3\When my enemies are turned back, they shall fall and perish at thy presence. ⁵\9:4\For thou hast maintained my right and my cause; thou sattest on the throne judging right. ⁶\9:5\Thou hast rebuked the heathen, thou hast destroyed the wicked, thou hast put out their name for ever and ever. ⁷\9:6\O thou enemy, destructions are come to a perpetual end: and thou hast destroyed cities; their memorial hath perished with them. ⁸\9:7\But the LORD shall endure for ever: he hath prepared his throne for judgment. ⁹\9:8\And he shall judge the world in righteousness, he shall minister judgment to the people in uprightness. ¹⁰\9:9\The LORD also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. ¹¹\9:10\And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek thee. ¹²\9:11\Sing praises to the LORD, who dwelleth in Zion: declare among the people his doings. ¹³\9:12\When he maketh inquisition for blood, he remembereth them: he forgetteth not the cry of the humble. ¹⁴\9:13\Have mercy upon me, O LORD; consider my trouble which I suffer from them that hate me, thou that liftest me up from the gates of death: ¹⁵\9:14\That I may show forth all thy praise in the gates of the daughter of Zion: I will rejoice in thy salvation. ¹⁶\9:15\The heathen are sunk down in the pit that they made: in the net which they hid is their own foot taken. ¹⁷\9:16\The LORD is known by the judgment which he executeth: the wicked is snared in the work of his own hands. Higgaion. Selah. ¹⁸\9:17\The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God. ¹⁹\9:18\For the needy shall not always be forgotten: the expectation of the poor shall not perish for ever. ²⁰\9:19\Arise, O LORD; let not man prevail: let the heathen be judged in thy sight. ²¹\9:20\Put them in fear, O LORD: that the nations may know themselves to be but men. Selah.

Chapter 10

¹Why standest thou afar off, O LORD? why hidest thou thyself in times of trouble? ²The wicked in his pride doth persecute the poor: let them be taken in the devices that they have imagined. ³For the wicked boasteth of his heart's desire, and blesseth the covetous, whom the LORD abhorreth. ⁴The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts. ⁵His ways are always grievous; thy judgments are far above out of his sight: as for all his enemies, he puffeth at them. ⁶He hath said in his heart, I shall not be moved: for I shall never be in adversity. ⁷His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and fraud: under his tongue is mischief and vanity. ⁸He sitteth in the lurking places of the villages: in the secret places doth he murder the innocent: his eyes are privily set against the poor. ⁹He lieth in wait secretly as a lion in his den: he lieth in wait to catch the poor: he doth catch the poor, when he draweth him into his net. ¹⁰He croucheth, and humbleth himself, that the poor may fall by his strong ones. ¹¹He hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten: he hideth his face; he will never see it. ¹²Arise, O LORD; O God, lift up thy hand: forget not the humble. ¹³Why doth the wicked contemn God? he hath said in his heart, Thou wilt not require it. ¹⁴Thou hast seen it; for thou beholdest mischief and spite, to requite it with thy hand: the poor committeth himself to thee; thou art the helper of the fatherless. ¹⁵Break thou the arm of the wicked and the evil man: seek out his wickedness till thou shalt find none. ¹⁶The LORD is King for ever and ever: the heathen have perished out of his land. ¹⁷LORD, thou hast heard the desire of the humble: thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thy ear to hear: ¹⁸To judge the fatherless and the oppressed, that the man of the earth may no more oppress.

Chapter 11

¹To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. In the LORD I put my trust: how say ye to my soul, Flee as a bird to your mountain? ²For lo, the wicked bend their bow, they make ready their arrow upon the string, that they may privily shoot at the upright in heart. ³If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do? ⁴The LORD is in his holy temple, the LORD'S throne is in heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try the children of men. ⁵The LORD trieth the righteous: but the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth. ⁶Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and a horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup. ⁷For the righteous LORD loveth righteousness; his countenance beholdeth the upright.

Chapter 12

¹+ ²\12:1\To the chief Musician upon Sheminith. A Psalm of David. Help, LORD; for the godly man ceaseth; for the faithful fail from among the children of men. ³\12:2\They speak vanity every one with his neighbor: with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak. ⁴\12:3\The LORD shall cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that speaketh proud things: ⁵\12:4\Who have said, With our tongue will we prevail; our lips are our own: who is lord over us? ⁶\12:5\For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now will I arise, saith the LORD; I will set him in safety from him that puffeth at him. ⁷\12:6\The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. ⁸\12:7\Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever. ⁹\12:8\The wicked walk on every side, when the vilest men are exalted.

Chapter 13

¹To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. How long wilt thou forget me, O LORD? for ever? how long wilt thou hide thy face from me? ²How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily? how long shall my enemy be exalted over me? ³Consider and hear me, O LORD my God: lighten my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death; ⁴Lest my enemy say, I have prevailed against him; and those that trouble me rejoice when I am moved. ⁵But I have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation. ⁶I will sing to the LORD, because he hath dealt bountifully with me.

Chapter 14

¹To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good. ²The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. ³They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one. ⁴Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge? who eat up my people as they eat bread, and call not upon the LORD. ⁵There were they in great fear: for God is in the generation of the righteous. ⁶Ye have shamed the counsel of the poor, because the LORD is his refuge. ⁷Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion! when the LORD bringeth back the captivity of his people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad.

Chapter 15

¹A Psalm of David. LORD, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill? ²He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart. ³He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbor, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbor. ⁴In whose eyes a vile person is contemned; but he honoreth them that fear the LORD. He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not. ⁵He that putteth not out his money to usury, nor taketh reward against the innocent. He that doeth these things shall never be moved.

Chapter 16

¹Michtam of David. Preserve me, O God: for in thee do I put my trust. ²O my soul, thou hast said to the LORD, Thou art my Lord: my goodness extendeth not to thee; ³But to the saints that are in the earth, and to the excellent, in whom is all my delight. ⁴Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another god: their drink-offerings of blood will I not offer, nor take their names into my lips. ⁵The LORD is the portion of my inheritance and of my cup: thou maintainest my lot. ⁶The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; yes, I have a goodly heritage. ⁷I will bless the LORD, who hath given me counsel: my reins also instruct me in the night season. ⁸I have set the LORD always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. ⁹Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope. ¹⁰For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thy Holy One to see corruption. ¹¹Thou wilt show me the path of life: in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand are pleasures for evermore.

Chapter 17

¹A Prayer of David. Hear the right, O LORD, attend to my cry, give ear to my prayer, that goeth not out of feigned lips. ²Let my sentence come forth from thy presence; let thy eyes behold the things that are equal. ³Thou hast proved my heart; thou hast visited me in the night; thou hast tried me, and shalt find nothing; I have purposed that my mouth shall not transgress. ⁴Concerning the works of men, by the word of thy lips I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer. ⁵Uphold my goings in thy paths, that my footsteps slip not. ⁶I have called upon thee, for thou wilt hear me, O God: incline thy ear to me, and hear my speech. ⁷Show thy wonderful loving-kindness, O thou that savest by thy right hand them who put their trust in thee from those that rise up against them. ⁸Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shade of thy wings. ⁹From the wicked that oppress me, from my deadly enemies, who encompass me, ¹⁰They are inclosed in their own fat: with their mouth they speak proudly. ¹¹They have now compassed us in our steps: they have set their eyes bowing down to the earth; ¹²Like as a lion that is greedy of his prey, and as it were a young lion lurking in secret places. ¹³Arise, O LORD disappoint him, cast him down: deliver my soul from the wicked, who is thy sword: ¹⁴From men who are thy hand, O LORD, from men of the world, who have their portion in this life, and whose belly thou fillest with thy hid treasure: they are full of children, and leave the rest of their substance to their babes. ¹⁵As for me, I shall behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness.

Chapter 18

¹+ ²\18:1\To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, the servant of the LORD, who spoke to the LORD the words of this song in the day that the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul: And he said, I will love thee, O LORD, my strength. ³\18:2\The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. ⁴\18:3\I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from my enemies. ⁵\18:4\The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid. ⁶\18:5\The sorrows of hell encompassed me: the snares of death seized me. ⁷\18:6\In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried to my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears. ⁸\18:7\Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken, because he was wroth. ⁹\18:8\There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it. ¹⁰\18:9\He bowed the heavens also, and came down: and darkness was under his feet. ¹¹\18:10\And he rode upon a cherub, and flew; yes, he flew upon the wings of the wind. ¹²\18:11\He made darkness his secret place; his pavilion around him were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies. ¹³\18:12\At the brightness that was before him his thick clouds passed, hail stones and coals of fire. ¹⁴\18:13\The LORD also thundered in the heavens, and the Highest gave his voice; hail stones and coals of fire. ¹⁵\18:14\Yes, he sent out his arrows, and scattered them; and he shot out lightnings, and discomfited them. ¹⁶\18:15\Then the channels of waters were seen, and the foundations of the world were uncovered at thy rebuke, O LORD, at the blast of the breath of thy nostrils. ¹⁷\18:16\He sent from above, he took me, he drew me out of many waters. ¹⁸\18:17\He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them who hated me: for they were too strong for me. ¹⁹\18:18\They attacked me in the day of my calamity: but the LORD was my stay. ²⁰\18:19\He brought me forth also in a large place; he delivered me, because he delighted in me. ²¹\18:20\The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me. ²²\18:21\For I have kept the ways of the LORD, and have not wickedly departed from my God. ²³\18:22\For all his judgments were before me, and I did not put away his statutes from me. ²⁴\18:23\I was also upright before him, and I kept myself from my iniquity. ²⁵\18:24\Therefore hath the LORD recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight. ²⁶\18:25\With the merciful thou wilt show thyself merciful; with an upright man thou wilt show thyself upright; ²⁷\18:26\With the pure thou wilt show thyself pure; and with the froward thou wilt contend. ²⁸\18:27\For thou wilt save the afflicted people; but wilt bring down high looks. ²⁹\18:28\For thou wilt light my candle: the LORD my God will enlighten my darkness. ³⁰\18:29\For by thee I have run through a troop; and by my God have I leaped over a wall. ³¹\18:30\As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him. ³²\18:31\For who is God save the LORD? or who is a rock save our God? ³³\18:32\It is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect. ³⁴\18:33\He maketh my feet like hinds' feet, and setteth me upon my high places. ³⁵\18:34\He teacheth my hands to war, so that a bow of steel is broken by my arms. ³⁶\18:35\Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation: and thy right hand hath held me up and thy gentleness hath made me great. ³⁷\18:36\Thou hast enlarged my steps under me, that my feet did not slip. ³⁸\18:37\I have pursued my enemies, and overtaken them: neither did I turn again till they were consumed. ³⁹\18:38\I have wounded them that they were not able to rise: they have fallen under my feet. ⁴⁰\18:39\For thou hast girded me with strength to battle: thou hast subdued under me those that rose up against me. ⁴¹\18:40\Thou hast also given me the necks of my enemies; that I might destroy them that hate me. ⁴²\18:41\They cried, but there was none to save them: even to the LORD, but he answered them not. ⁴³\18:42\Then I beat them small as the dust before the wind: I cast them out as the dirt in the streets. ⁴⁴\18:43\Thou hast delivered me from the strivings of the people; and thou hast made me the head of the heathen: a people whom I have not known shall serve me. ⁴⁵\18:44\As soon as they hear of me, they shall obey me: the strangers shall submit themselves to me. ⁴⁶\18:45\The strangers shall fade away, and be afraid from their close places. ⁴⁷\18:46\The LORD liveth; and blessed be my rock; and let the God of my salvation be exalted. ⁴⁸\18:47\It is God that avengeth me, and subdueth the people under me. ⁴⁹\18:48\He delivereth me from my enemies: yes, thou liftest me up above those that rise up against me: thou hast delivered me from the violent man. ⁵⁰\18:49\Therefore will I give thanks to thee, O LORD, among the heathen, and sing praises to thy name. ⁵¹\18:50\He giveth great deliverance to his king; and showeth mercy to his anointed, to David, and to his seed for ever.

Chapter 19

¹+ ²\19:1\To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth the work of his hands. ³\19:2\Day to day uttereth speech, and night to night showeth knowledge. ⁴\19:3\There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard. ⁵\19:4\Their line hath gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun, ⁶\19:5\Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race. ⁷\19:6\His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit to the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from his heat. ⁸\19:7\The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. ⁹\19:8\The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. ¹⁰\19:9\The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. ¹¹\19:10\More to be desired are they than gold, yes, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honey-comb. ¹²\19:11\Moreover, by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward. ¹³\19:12\Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults. ¹⁴\19:13\Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression. ¹⁵\19:14\Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.

Chapter 20

¹+ ²\20:1\To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. The LORD hear thee in the day of trouble; the name of the God of Jacob defend thee. ³\20:2\Send thee help from the sanctuary, and strengthen thee out of Zion. ⁴\20:3\Remember all thy offerings, and accept thy burnt-sacrifice. Selah. ⁵\20:4\Grant thee according to thy own heart, and fulfill all thy counsel. ⁶\20:5\We will rejoice in thy salvation, and in the name of our God we will set up our banners: the LORD fulfill all thy petitions. ⁷\20:6\Now I know that the LORD saveth his anointed; he will hear him from his holy heaven with the saving strength of his right hand. ⁸\20:7\Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God. ⁹\20:8\They are brought down and fallen: but we are raised, and stand upright. ¹⁰\20:9\Save, LORD: let the king hear us when we call.

Chapter 21

¹+ ²\21:1\To the chief Musician, a Psalm of David. The king shall joy in thy strength, O LORD; and in thy salvation how greatly shall he rejoice! ³\21:2\Thou hast given him his heart's desire, and hast not withheld the request of his lips. Selah. ⁴\21:3\For thou hast met him with the blessings of goodness: thou hast set a crown of pure gold on his head. ⁵\21:4\He asked life of thee, and thou gavest it to him, even length of days for ever and ever. ⁶\21:5\His glory is great in thy salvation: honor and majesty hast thou laid upon him. ⁷\21:6\For thou hast made him most blessed for ever: thou hast made him exceeding glad with thy countenance. ⁸\21:7\For the king trusteth in the LORD, and through the mercy of the most High he shall not be moved. ⁹\21:8\Thy hand shall find out all thy enemies: thy right hand shall find out those that hate thee. ¹⁰\21:9\Thou shalt make them as a fiery oven in the time of thy anger: the LORD shall swallow them up in his wrath, and the fire shall devour them. ¹¹\21:10\Their fruit shalt thou destroy from the earth, and their seed from among the children of men. ¹²\21:11\For they intended evil against thee: they imagined a mischievous device, which they are not able to perform. ¹³\21:12\Therefore shalt thou make them turn their back, when thou shalt make ready thy arrows upon thy strings against the face of them. ¹⁴\21:13\Be thou exalted, LORD, in thy own strength: so will we sing and praise thy power.

Chapter 22

¹+ ²\22:1\To the chief Musician upon Aijeleth Shahar, A Psalm of David. My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring? ³\22:2\O my God, I cry in the day-time, but thou hearest not; and in the night season, and am not silent. ⁴\22:3\But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel. ⁵\22:4\Our fathers trusted in thee: they trusted, and thou didst deliver them. ⁶\22:5\They cried to thee, and were delivered: they trusted in thee, and were not confounded. ⁷\22:6\But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised by the people. ⁸\22:7\All they that see me deride me: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, ⁹\22:8\He trusted on the LORD that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him. ¹⁰\22:9\But thou art he that brought me forth into life: thou didst make me hope when I was upon my mother's breasts. ¹¹\22:10\I was cast upon thee from my birth: thou art my God from the time I was born. ¹²\22:11\Be not far from me; for trouble is near; for there is none to help. ¹³\22:12\Many bulls have compassed me: strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round. ¹⁴\22:13\They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion. ¹⁵\22:14\I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels. ¹⁶\22:15\My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death. ¹⁷\22:16\For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet. ¹⁸\22:17\I may number all my bones: they look and stare upon me. ¹⁹\22:18\They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture. ²⁰\22:19\But be not thou far from me, O LORD: O my strength, haste thee to help me. ²¹\22:20\Deliver my soul from the sword; my darling from the power of the dog. ²²\22:21\Save me from the lion's mouth: for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns. ²³\22:22\I will declare thy name to my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee. ²⁴\22:23\Ye that fear the LORD, praise him; all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him; and fear him, all ye the seed of Israel. ²⁵\22:24\For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither hath he hid his face from him; but when he cried to him, he heard. ²⁶\22:25\My praise shall be of thee in the great congregation: I will pay my vows before them that fear him. ²⁷\22:26\The meek shall eat and be satisfied: they shall praise the LORD that seek him: your heart shall live for ever. ²⁸\22:27\All the ends of the world shall remember and turn to the LORD: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee. ²⁹\22:28\For the kingdom is the LORD'S: and he is the governor among the nations. ³⁰\22:29\All they that are fat upon earth shall eat and worship: all they that go down to the dust shall bow before him: and none can keep alive his own soul. ³¹\22:30\A seed shall serve him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation. ³²\22:31\They shall come, and shall declare his righteousness to a people that shall be born, that he hath done this.

Chapter 23

¹A Psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. ²He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. ³He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. ⁴Yes, though I walk through the valley of the shades of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. ⁵Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of my enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. ⁶Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

Chapter 24

¹A Psalm of David. The earth is the LORD'S, and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. ²For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods. ³Who shall ascend upon the hill of the LORD? and who shall stand in his holy place? ⁴He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul to vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. ⁵He shall receive the blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the God of his salvation. ⁶This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek thy face, O Jacob. Selah. ⁷Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lifted up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. ⁸Who is this King of glory? the LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle. ⁹Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. ¹⁰Who is this King of glory? the LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory. Selah.

Chapter 25

¹A Psalm of David. To thee, O LORD, do I lift up my soul. ²O my God, I trust in thee: let me not be ashamed, let not my enemies triumph over me, ³Also, let none that wait on thee be ashamed: let them be ashamed who transgress without cause. ⁴Show me thy ways, O LORD; teach me thy paths. ⁵Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day. ⁶Remember, O LORD, thy tender mercies and thy loving kindnesses; for they have been ever of old. ⁷Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: according to thy mercy remember thou me for thy goodness' sake, O LORD. ⁸Good and upright is the LORD: therefore will he teach sinners in the way. ⁹The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way. ¹⁰All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth to such as keep his covenant and his testimonies. ¹¹For thy name's sake, O LORD, pardon my iniquity; for it is great. ¹²What man is he that feareth the LORD? him shall he teach in the way that he shall choose. ¹³His soul shall dwell at ease; and his seed shall inherit the earth. ¹⁴The secret of the LORD is with them that fear him; and he will show them his covenant. ¹⁵My eyes are ever towards the LORD; for he will pluck my feet out of the net. ¹⁶Turn thee to me, and have mercy upon me; for I am desolate and afflicted. ¹⁷The troubles of my heart are enlarged: O bring thou me out of my distresses. ¹⁸Look upon my affliction and my pain; and forgive all my sins. ¹⁹Consider my enemies, for they are many; and they hate me with cruel hatred. ²⁰O keep my soul, and deliver me: let me not be ashamed; for I put my trust in thee. ²¹Let integrity and uprightness preserve me; for I wait on thee. ²²Redeem Israel, O God, out of all his troubles.

Chapter 26

¹A Psalm of David. Judge me, O LORD; for I have walked in my integrity: I have trusted also in the LORD; therefore I shall not slide. ²Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; try my reins and my heart. ³For thy loving-kindness is before my eyes: and I have walked in thy truth. ⁴I have not sat with vain persons, neither will I go in with dissemblers. ⁵I have hated the congregation of evil doers; and will not sit with the wicked. ⁶I will wash my hands in innocence: so will I compass thy altar, O LORD: ⁷That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all thy wondrous works. ⁸LORD, I have loved the habitation of thy house, and the place where thy honor dwelleth. ⁹Gather not my soul with sinners, nor my life with bloody men: ¹⁰In whose hands is mischief, and 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 standeth in an even place: in the congregations will I bless the LORD.

Chapter 27

¹A Psalm of David. The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? ²When the wicked, even my enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell. ³Though a host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident. ⁴One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in his temple. ⁵For in the time of trouble he will hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle will he hide me; he will set me up upon a rock. ⁶And now shall my head be lifted above my enemies around me: therefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the LORD. ⁷Hear, O LORD, when I cry with my voice: have mercy also upon me, and answer me. ⁸When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said to thee, Thy face, LORD, will I seek. ⁹Hide not thy face from me; put not thy servant away in anger: thou hast been my help; leave me not, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation. ¹⁰When my father and my mother forsake me, then the LORD will take me up. ¹¹Teach me thy way, O LORD, and lead me in a plain path, because of my enemies. ¹²Deliver me not over to the will of my enemies: for false witnesses have risen against me, and such as breathe out cruelty. ¹³I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. ¹⁴Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he will strengthen thy heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.

Chapter 28

¹A Psalm of David. To thee will I cry, O LORD my rock; be not silent to me: lest, if thou shouldst be silent to me, I should become like them that go down into the pit. ²Hear the voice of my supplications, when I cry to thee, when I lift my hands towards thy holy oracle. ³Draw me not away with the wicked, and with the workers of iniquity, who speak peace to their neighbors, but mischief is in their hearts. ⁴Give them according to their deeds, and according to the wickedness of their endeavors: give them after the work of their hands; render to them their desert. ⁵Because they regard not the works of the LORD, nor the operation of his hands, he will destroy them, and not build them up. ⁶Blessed be the LORD, because he hath heard the voice of my supplications. ⁷The LORD is my strength, and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him. ⁸The LORD is their strength, and he is the saving strength of his anointed. ⁹Save thy people, and bless thy inheritance: feed them also, and lift them up for ever.

Chapter 29

¹A Psalm of David. Give to the LORD, O ye mighty, give to the LORD glory and strength. ²Give to the LORD, the glory due to his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness. ³The voice of the LORD is upon the waters: the God of glory thundereth: the LORD is upon many waters. ⁴The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is full of majesty. ⁵The voice of the LORD breaketh the cedars; yes, the LORD breaketh the cedars of Lebanon. ⁶He maketh them also to skip like a calf; Lebanon and Sirion like a young unicorn. ⁷The voice of the LORD divideth the flames of fire. ⁸The voice of the LORD shaketh the wilderness; the LORD shaketh the wilderness of Kadesh. ⁹The voice of the LORD maketh the hinds to calve, and maketh bare the forests: and in his temple doth every one speak of his glory. ¹⁰The LORD sitteth upon the flood; yes, the LORD sitteth king for ever. ¹¹The LORD will give strength to his people; the LORD will bless his people with peace.

Chapter 30

¹+ ²\30:1\A Psalm and Song, at the dedication of the house of David. I will extol thee, O LORD; for thou hast lifted me up, and hast not made my foes to rejoice over me. ³\30:2\O LORD my God, I cried to thee, and thou hast healed me. ⁴\30:3\O LORD, thou hast brought up my soul from the grave: thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit. ⁵\30:4\Sing to the LORD, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness. ⁶\30:5\For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favor is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. ⁷\30:6\And in my prosperity I said, I shall never be moved. ⁸\30:7\LORD, by thy favor thou hast made my mountain to stand strong: thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled. ⁹\30:8\I cried to thee, O LORD; and to the LORD I made supplication. ¹⁰\30:9\What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit? Shall the dust praise thee? shall it declare thy truth? ¹¹\30:10\Hear, O LORD, and have mercy upon me: LORD, be thou my helper. ¹²\30:11\Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness; ¹³\30:12\To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks to thee for ever.

Chapter 31

¹+ ²\31:1\To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. In thee, O LORD, do I put my trust; let me never be ashamed: deliver me in thy righteousness. ³\31:2\Bow down thy ear to me; deliver me speedily: be thou my strong rock, for a house of defense to save me. ⁴\31:3\For thou art my rock and my fortress; therefore for thy name's sake lead me, and guide me. ⁵\31:4\Pull me out of the net that they have laid privily for me: for thou art my strength. ⁶\31:5\Into thy hand I commit my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O LORD God of truth. ⁷\31:6\I have hated them that regard lying vanities: but I trust in the LORD. ⁸\31:7\I will be glad and rejoice in thy mercy: for thou hast considered my trouble; thou hast known my soul in adversities; ⁹\31:8\And hast not shut me up into the hand of the enemy: thou hast set my foot in a large room. ¹⁰\31:9\Have mercy upon me, O LORD, for I am in trouble: my eye is consumed with grief, yes, my soul and my belly. ¹¹\31:10\For my life is spent with grief, and my years with sighing: my strength faileth because of my iniquity, and my bones are consumed. ¹²\31:11\I was a reproach among all my enemies, but especially among my neighbors, and a fear to my acquaintance: they that saw me without fled from me. ¹³\31:12\I am forgotten as a dead man out of mind: I am like a broken vessel. ¹⁴\31:13\For I have heard the slander of many: fear was on every side: while they took counsel together against me, they devised to take away my life. ¹⁵\31:14\But I trusted in thee, O LORD: I said, Thou art my God. ¹⁶\31:15\My times are in thy hand: deliver me from the hand of my enemies, and from them that persecute me. ¹⁷\31:16\Make thy face to shine upon thy servant: save me for thy mercies' sake. ¹⁸\31:17\Let me not be ashamed, O LORD; for I have called upon thee: let the wicked be ashamed, and let them be silent in the grave. ¹⁹\31:18\Let the lying lips be put to silence; which speak grievous things proudly and contemptuously against the righteous. ²⁰\31:19\Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee; which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men! ²¹\31:20\Thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy presence from the pride of man: thou shalt keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues. ²²\31:21\Blessed be the LORD: for he hath showed me his wonderful kindness in a strong city. ²³\31:22\For I said in my haste, I am cut off from before thy eyes: nevertheless thou heardest the voice of my supplications when I cried to thee. ²⁴\31:23\O love the LORD, all ye his saints: for the LORD preserveth the faithful, and plentifully rewardeth the proud doer. ²⁵\31:24\Be of good courage, and he will strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the LORD.

Chapter 32

¹A Psalm of David, Maschil. Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. ²Blessed is the man to whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile. ³When I kept silence, my bones became old through my roaring all the day long. ⁴For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture is turned into the drouth of summer. Selah. ⁵I acknowledged my sin to thee, and my iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions to the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah. ⁶For this shall every one that is godly pray to thee in a time when thou mayest be found: surely in the floods of great waters they shall not come nigh to him. ⁷Thou art my hiding place; thou wilt preserve me from trouble; thou wilt compass me about with songs of deliverance. Selah. ⁸I will instruct thee, and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with my eye. ⁹Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding: whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle, lest they come near to thee. ¹⁰Many sorrows shall be to the wicked: but he that trusteth in the LORD, mercy shall encompass him. ¹¹Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart.

Chapter 33

¹Rejoice in the LORD, O ye righteous: for praise is comely for the upright. ²Praise the LORD with harp: sing to him with the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings. ³Sing to him a new song; play skillfully with a loud noise. ⁴For the word of the LORD is right; and all his works are done in truth. ⁵He loveth righteousness and judgment: the earth is full of the goodness of the LORD. ⁶By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth. ⁷He gathereth the waters of the sea together as a heap: he layeth up the depth in store-houses. ⁸Let all the earth fear the LORD: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him. ⁹For he spoke, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast. ¹⁰The LORD bringeth the counsel of the heathen to naught: he maketh the devices of the people of no effect. ¹¹The counsel of the LORD standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations. ¹²Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance. ¹³The LORD looketh from heaven; he beholdeth all the sons of men. ¹⁴From the place of his habitation he looketh upon all the inhabitants of the earth. ¹⁵He fashioneth their hearts alike; he considereth all their works. ¹⁶There is no king saved by the multitude of a host: a mighty man is not delivered by much strength. ¹⁷A horse is a vain thing for safety: neither shall he deliver any by his great strength. ¹⁸Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy; ¹⁹To deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine. ²⁰Our soul waiteth for the LORD: he is our help and our shield. ²¹For our heart shall rejoice in him, because we have trusted in his holy name. ²²Let thy mercy, O LORD, be upon us, according as we hope in thee.

Chapter 34

¹+ ²\34:1\A Psalm of David, when he changed his behavior before Abimelech; who drove him away, and he departed. I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth. ³\34:2\My soul shall make her boast in the LORD: the humble shall hear of it and be glad. ⁴\34:3\O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together. ⁵\34:4\I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. ⁶\34:5\They looked to him, and were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed. ⁷\34:6\This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. ⁸\34:7\The angel of the LORD encampeth around them that fear him, and delivereth them. ⁹\34:8\O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him. ¹⁰\34:9\O fear the LORD, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him. ¹¹\34:10\The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing. ¹²\34:11\Come, ye children, hearken to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD. ¹³\34:12\What man is he that desireth life, and loveth many days, that he may see good? ¹⁴\34:13\Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile. ¹⁵\34:14\Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it. ¹⁶\34:15\The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears are open to their cry. ¹⁷\34:16\The face of the LORD is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. ¹⁸\34:17\The righteous cry, and the LORD heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles. ¹⁹\34:18\The LORD is nigh to them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as are of a contrite spirit. ²⁰\34:19\Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all. ²¹\34:20\He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken. ²²\34:21\Evil shall slay the wicked: and they that hate the righteous shall be desolate. ²³\34:22\The LORD redeemeth the soul of his servants: and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate.

Chapter 35

¹A Psalm of David. Plead my cause, O LORD, with them that strive with me: fight against them that fight against me. ²Take hold of shield and buckler, and stand up for my help. ³Draw out also the spear, and stop the way against them that persecute me: say to my soul, I am thy salvation. ⁴Let them be confounded and put to shame that seek after my soul: let them be turned back and brought to confusion that devise my hurt. ⁵Let them be as chaff before the wind: and let the angel of the LORD chase them. ⁶Let their way be dark and slippery: and let the angel of the LORD persecute them. ⁷For without cause they have hid for me their net in a pit, which without cause they have digged for my soul. ⁸Let destruction come upon him at unawares; and let his net that he hath hid catch himself: into that very destruction let him fall. ⁹And my soul shall be joyful in the LORD: it shall rejoice in his salvation. ¹⁰All my bones shall say, LORD, who is like thee, who deliverest the poor from him that is too strong for him, even the poor and the needy from him that spoileth him? ¹¹False witnesses arose; they laid to my charge things that I knew not. ¹²They rewarded me evil for good to the spoiling of my soul. ¹³But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth: I humbled my soul with fasting; and my prayer returned into my own bosom. ¹⁴I behaved myself as though he had been my friend or brother: I bowed down heavily, as one that mourneth for his mother. ¹⁵But in my adversity they rejoiced, and assembled themselves: yes, the abjects assembled themselves against me, and I knew it not; they did tear me, and ceased not: ¹⁶With hypocritical mockers in feasts, they gnashed upon me with their teeth. ¹⁷Lord, how long wilt thou look on? rescue my soul from their destructions, my darling from the lions. ¹⁸I will give thee thanks in the great congregation: I will praise thee among many people. ¹⁹Let not them that are my enemies wrongfully rejoice over me: neither let them wink with the eye that hate me without a cause. ²⁰For they speak not peace: but they devise deceitful matters against them that are quiet in the land. ²¹Yes, they opened their mouth wide against me, and said, Aha, aha, our eye hath seen it. ²²This thou hast seen, O LORD: keep not silence: O Lord, be not far from me. ²³Stir up thyself, and awake to my judgment, even to my cause, my God and my Lord. ²⁴Judge me, O LORD my God, according to thy righteousness; and let them not rejoice over me. ²⁵Let them not say in their hearts, Ah, so would we have it: let them not say, We have swallowed him up. ²⁶Let them be ashamed and brought to confusion together that rejoice at my hurt: let them be clothed with shame and dishonor that magnify themselves against me. ²⁷Let them shout for joy, and be glad, that favor my righteous cause: yes, let them say continually, Let the LORD be magnified, who hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servant. ²⁸And my tongue shall speak of thy righteousness and of thy praise all the day long.

Chapter 36

¹+ ²\36:1\To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David the servant of the LORD. The transgression of the wicked saith within my heart, that there is no fear of God before his eyes. ³\36:2\For he flattereth himself in his own eyes, until his iniquity is found to be hateful. ⁴\36:3\The words of his mouth are iniquity and deceit: he hath ceased to be wise, and to do good. ⁵\36:4\He deviseth mischief upon his bed; he setteth himself in a way that is not good; he abhorreth not evil. ⁶\36:5\Thy mercy, O LORD, is in the heavens; and thy faithfulness reacheth to the clouds. ⁷\36:6\Thy righteousness is like the great mountains; thy judgments are a great deep: O LORD, thou preservest man and beast. ⁸\36:7\How excellent is thy loving-kindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings. ⁹\36:8\They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures. ¹⁰\36:9\For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light. ¹¹\36:10\O continue thy loving-kindness to them that know thee; and thy righteousness to the upright in heart. ¹²\36:11\Let not the foot of pride come against me, and let not the hand of the wicked remove me. ¹³\36:12\There are the workers of iniquity fallen: they are cast down, and shall not be able to rise.

Chapter 37

¹A Psalm of David. Fret not thyself because of evil doers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. ²For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb. ³Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. ⁴Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he will give thee the desires of thy heart. ⁵Commit thy way to the LORD; trust also in him; and he will bring it to pass. ⁶And he will bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noon-day. ⁷Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass. ⁸Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil. ⁹For evil doers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth. ¹⁰For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yes, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be. ¹¹But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. ¹²The wicked plotteth against the just, and gnasheth upon him with his teeth. ¹³The Lord will laugh at him: for he seeth that his day is coming. ¹⁴The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow, to cast down the poor and needy, and to slay such as are of upright deportment. ¹⁵Their sword shall enter into their own heart, and their bows shall be broken. ¹⁶A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked. ¹⁷For the arms of the wicked shall be broken: but the LORD upholdeth the righteous. ¹⁸The LORD knoweth the days of the upright: and their inheritance shall be for ever. ¹⁹They shall not be ashamed in the evil time: and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied. ²⁰But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the LORD shall be as the fat of lambs: they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away. ²¹The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again: but the righteous showeth mercy, and giveth. ²²For such as are blessed by him shall inherit the earth; and they that are cursed by him shall be cut off. ²³The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way. ²⁴Though he should fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand. ²⁵I have been young, and now am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. ²⁶He is ever merciful, and lendeth; and his seed is blessed. ²⁷Depart from evil, and do good; and dwell for evermore. ²⁸For the LORD loveth judgment, and forsaketh not his saints; they are preserved for ever: but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off. ²⁹The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein for ever. ³⁰The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom, and his tongue talketh of judgment. ³¹The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide. ³²The wicked watcheth the righteous, and seeketh to slay him. ³³The LORD will not leave him in his hand, nor condemn him when he is judged. ³⁴Wait on the LORD, and keep his way, and he will exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it. ³⁵I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay tree. ³⁶Yet he passed away, and lo, he was not: yes, I sought him, but he could not be found. ³⁷Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace. ³⁸But the transgressors shall be destroyed together: the end of the wicked shall be cut off. ³⁹But the salvation of the righteous is of the LORD: he is their strength in the time of trouble. ⁴⁰And the LORD will help them, and deliver them: he will deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in him.

Chapter 38

¹+ ²\38:1\A Psalm of David, to bring to remembrance. O LORD, rebuke me not in thy wrath: neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure. ³\38:2\For thy arrows stick fast in me, and thy hand falleth heavy upon me. ⁴\38:3\There is no soundness in my flesh because of thy anger; neither is there any rest in my bones because of my sin. ⁵\38:4\For my iniquities have gone over my head: as a heavy burden they are too heavy for me. ⁶\38:5\My wounds are offensive, and are corrupt because of my foolishness. ⁷\38:6\I am troubled; I am bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long. ⁸\38:7\For my loins are filled with a lothsome disease: and there is no soundness in my flesh. ⁹\38:8\I am feeble and grievously broken: I have roared by reason of the disquietness of my heart. ¹⁰\38:9\Lord, all my desire is before thee; and my groaning is not hid from thee. ¹¹\38:10\My heart panteth, my strength faileth me: as for the light of my eyes, that also is gone from me. ¹²\38:11\My lovers and my friends stand aloof from my affliction; and my kinsmen stand afar off. ¹³\38:12\They also that seek after my life lay snares for me: and they that seek my hurt speak mischievous things, and imagine deceits all the day long. ¹⁴\38:13\But I, as a deaf man, heard not; and I was as a dumb man that openeth not his mouth. ¹⁵\38:14\Thus I was as a man that heareth not, and in whose mouth are no reproofs. ¹⁶\38:15\For in thee, O LORD, do I hope: thou wilt hear, O Lord my God. ¹⁷\38:16\For I said, Hear me, lest otherwise they should rejoice over me: when my foot slippeth, they magnify themselves against me. ¹⁸\38:17\For I am ready to halt, and my sorrow is continually before me. ¹⁹\38:18\For I will declare my iniquity; I will be sorry for my sin. ²⁰\38:19\But my enemies are lively, and they are strong: and they that hate me wrongfully are multiplied. ²¹\38:20\They also that render evil for good are my adversaries; because I follow the thing that is good. ²²\38:21\Forsake me not, O LORD: O my God, be not far from me. ²³\38:22\Make haste to help me, O Lord my salvation.

Chapter 39

¹+ ²\39:1\To the chief Musician, even to Jeduthun, A Psalm of David. I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue: I will keep my mouth with a bridle, while the wicked is before me. ³\39:2\I was dumb with silence, I held my peace, even from good; and my sorrow was stirred. ⁴\39:3\My heart was hot within me, while I was musing the fire burned: then I spoke with my tongue. ⁵\39:4\LORD, make me to know my end, and the measure of my days, what it is; that I may know how frail I am. ⁶\39:5\Behold, thou hast made my days as a hand-breadth; and my age is as nothing before thee: verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Selah. ⁷\39:6\Surely every man walketh in a vain show: surely they are disquieted in vain: he heapeth up riches, and knoweth not who shall gather them. ⁸\39:7\And now, Lord, what wait I for? my hope is in thee. ⁹\39:8\Deliver me from all my transgressions: make me not the reproach of the foolish. ¹⁰\39:9\I was dumb, I opened not my mouth; because thou didst it. ¹¹\39:10\Remove thy stroke away from me; I am consumed by the blow of thy hand. ¹²\39:11\When thou with rebukes dost correct man for iniquity, thou makest his beauty to consume away like a moth: surely every man is vanity. Selah. ¹³\39:12\Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear to my cry; hold not thy peace at my tears: for I am a stranger with thee, and a sojourner, as all my fathers were. ¹⁴\39:13\O spare me, that I may recover strength, before I go hence, and be no more.

Chapter 40

¹+ ²\40:1\To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined to me, and heard my cry. ³\40:2\He brought me up also out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. ⁴\40:3\And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise to our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD. ⁵\40:4\Blessed is that man that maketh the LORD his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies. ⁶\40:5\Many, O LORD, my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which are toward us, they cannot be reckoned up in order to thee: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered. ⁷\40:6\Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; my ears hast thou opened: burnt-offering and sin-offering hast thou not required. ⁸\40:7\Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me, ⁹\40:8\I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart. ¹⁰\40:9\I have preached righteousness in the great congregation: lo, I have not refrained my lips, O LORD, thou knowest. ¹¹\40:10\I have not hid thy righteousness within my heart; I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation: I have not concealed thy loving-kindness and thy truth from the great congregation. ¹²\40:11\Withhold not thou thy tender mercies from me, O LORD: let thy loving-kindness and thy truth continually preserve me. ¹³\40:12\For innumerable evils have encompassed me: my iniquities have taken hold upon me, so that I am not able to look up; they are more than the hairs of my head: therefore my heart faileth me. ¹⁴\40:13\Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me: O LORD, make haste to help me. ¹⁵\40:14\Let them be ashamed and confounded together that seek after my soul to destroy it; let them be driven backward and put to shame that wish me evil. ¹⁶\40:15\Let them be desolate for a reward of their shame that say to me, Aha, aha. ¹⁷\40:16\Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: let such as love thy salvation say continually, The LORD be magnified. ¹⁸\40:17\But I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinketh upon me: thou art my help and my deliverer; make no delay, O my God.

Chapter 41

¹+ ²\41:1\To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the LORD will deliver him in the time of trouble. ³\41:2\The LORD will preserve him, and keep him alive; and he shall be blessed upon the earth: and thou wilt not deliver him to the will of his enemies. ⁴\41:3\The LORD will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing: thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness. ⁵\41:4\I said, LORD, be merciful to me: heal my soul; for I have sinned against thee. ⁶\41:5\My enemies speak evil of me, When shall he die, and his name perish? ⁷\41:6\And if he cometh to see me, he speaketh vanity: his heart gathereth iniquity to itself; when he goeth abroad, he telleth it. ⁸\41:7\All that hate me whisper together against me: against me do they devise my hurt. ⁹\41:8\An evil disease, say they, cleaveth fast to him: and now that he lieth he shall rise no more. ¹⁰\41:9\Yes, my own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, who ate of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me. ¹¹\41:10\But thou, O LORD, be merciful to me, and raise me up, that I may requite them. ¹²\41:11\By this I know that thou favorest me, because my enemy doth not triumph over me. ¹³\41:12\And as for me, thou upholdest me in my integrity, and settest me before thy face for ever. ¹⁴\41:13\Blessed be the LORD God of Israel from everlasting, and to everlasting. Amen, and amen.

Chapter 42

¹+ ²\42:1\To the chief Musician, Maschil, for the sons of Korah. As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so my soul panteth after thee, O God. ³\42:2\My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God? ⁴\42:3\My tears have been my food day and night, while they continually say to me, Where is thy God? ⁵\42:4\When I remember these things, I pour out my soul in me: for I had gone with the multitude, I went with them to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept holy-day. ⁶\42:5\Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance. ⁷\42:6\O my God, my soul is cast down within me: therefore will I remember thee from the land of Jordan, and of the Hermonites, from the hill Mizar. ⁸\42:7\Deep calleth to deep at the noise of thy water-spouts: all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me. ⁹\42:8\Yet the LORD will command his loving-kindness in the day-time, and in the night his song shall be with me, and my prayer to the God of my life. ¹⁰\42:9\I will say to God my rock, Why hast thou forgotten me? why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy? ¹¹\42:10\As with a sword in my bones, my enemies reproach me; while they say daily to me, Where is thy God? ¹²\42:11\Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.

Chapter 43

¹Judge me, O God, and plead my cause against an ungodly nation: O deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man. ²For thou art the God of my strength: why dost thou cast me off? why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy? ³O send out thy light and thy truth: let them lead me; let them bring me to thy holy hill, and to thy tabernacles. ⁴Then will I go to the altar of God, to God, my exceeding joy: yes, upon the harp will I praise thee, O God my God. ⁵Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.

Chapter 44

¹+ ²\44:1\To the chief Musician for the sons of Korah, Maschil. We have heard with our ears, O God, our fathers have told us, what work thou didst in their days, in the times of old. ³\44:2\How thou didst drive out the heathen with thy hand, and didst plant them; how thou didst afflict the people, and cast them out. ⁴\44:3\For they obtained not the land in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them: but thy right hand, and thy arm, and the light of thy countenance, because thou hadst a favor to them. ⁵\44:4\Thou art my King, O God: command deliverances for Jacob. ⁶\44:5\Through thee will we push down our enemies: through thy name we will tread them under that rise up against us. ⁷\44:6\For I will not trust in my bow, neither shall my sword save me. ⁸\44:7\But thou hast saved us from our enemies, and hast put them to shame that hated us. ⁹\44:8\In God we boast all the day long, and praise thy name for ever. Selah. ¹⁰\44:9\But thou hast cast off, and put us to shame; and goest not forth with our armies. ¹¹\44:10\Thou makest us to turn back from the enemy: and they who hate us plunder for themselves. ¹²\44:11\Thou hast given us like sheep appointed for food; and hast scattered us among the heathen. ¹³\44:12\Thou sellest thy people for naught, and dost not increase thy wealth by their price. ¹⁴\44:13\Thou makest us a reproach to our neighbors, a scorn and a derision to them that are around us. ¹⁵\44:14\Thou makest us a by-word among the heathen, a shaking of the head among the people. ¹⁶\44:15\My confusion is continually before me, and the shame of my face hath covered me, ¹⁷\44:16\For the voice of him that reproacheth and blasphemeth; by reason of the enemy and avenger. ¹⁸\44:17\All this is come upon us; yet we have not forgotten thee, neither have we dealt falsely in thy covenant. ¹⁹\44:18\Our heart is not turned back, neither have our steps declined from thy way; ²⁰\44:19\Though thou hast severely broke us in the place of dragons, and covered us with the shades of death. ²¹\44:20\If we have forgotten the name of our God, or stretched out our hands to a strange god; ²²\44:21\Will not God search out this? for he knoweth the secrets of the heart. ²³\44:22\Yes, for thy sake are we killed all the day long; we are counted as sheep for the slaughter. ²⁴\44:23\Awake, why sleepest thou, O Lord? arise, cast us not off for ever. ²⁵\44:24\Why hidest thou thy face, and forgettest our affliction and our oppression? ²⁶\44:25\For our soul is bowed down to the dust: our belly cleaveth to the earth. ²⁷\44:26\Arise for our help, and redeem us for thy mercies' sake.

Chapter 45

¹+ ²\45:1\To the chief Musician upon Shoshannim, for the sons of Korah, Maschil, A Song of loves. My heart is inditing a good matter: I speak of the things which I have made concerning the king: my tongue is the pen of a ready writer. ³\45:2\Thou art fairer than the children of men: grace is poured into thy lips: therefore God hath blessed thee for ever. ⁴\45:3\Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O most mighty, with thy glory and thy majesty. ⁵\45:4\And in thy majesty ride prosperously because of truth and meekness and righteousness; and thy right hand shall teach thee terrible things. ⁶\45:5\Thy arrows are sharp in the heart of the king's enemies; by which the people fall under thee. ⁷\45:6\Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the scepter of thy kingdom is a scepter of justice. ⁸\45:7\Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. ⁹\45:8\All thy garments smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia, out of the ivory palaces, by which they have made thee glad. ¹⁰\45:9\Kings daughters were among thy honorable women: upon thy right hand stood the queen in gold of Ophir. ¹¹\45:10\Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline thy ear; forget also thy own people, and thy father's house; ¹²\45:11\So shall the king greatly desire thy beauty: for he is thy lord; and worship thou him. ¹³\45:12\And the daughter of Tyre shall be there with a gift; even the rich among the people shall entreat thy favor. ¹⁴\45:13\The king's daughter is all glorious within: her clothing is of wrought gold. ¹⁵\45:14\She shall be brought to the king in raiment of needle-work: the virgins her companions that follow her shall be brought to thee. ¹⁶\45:15\With gladness and rejoicing shall they be brought: they shall enter into the king's palace. ¹⁷\45:16\Instead of thy fathers shall be thy children, whom thou mayest make princes in all the earth. ¹⁸\45:17\I will make thy name to be remembered in all generations: therefore shall the people praise thee for ever and ever.

Chapter 46

¹+ ²\46:1\To the chief Musician for the sons of Korah, A Song upon Alamoth. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. ³\46:2\Therefore will we not fear, though the earth shall be removed, and though the mountains shall be carried into the midst of the sea; ⁴\46:3\Though its waters shall roar and be disturbed, though the mountains shake with the swelling of it. Selah. ⁵\46:4\There is a river, the streams of which shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High. ⁶\46:5\God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early. ⁷\46:6\The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved: he uttered his voice, the earth melted. ⁸\46:7\The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah. ⁹\46:8\Come, behold the works of the LORD, what desolations he hath made in the earth. ¹⁰\46:9\He maketh wars to cease to the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear asunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire. ¹¹\46:10\Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. ¹²\46:11\The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.

Chapter 47

¹+ ²\47:1\To the chief Musician, A Psalm for the sons of Korah. O clap your hands, all ye people; shout to God with the voice of triumph. ³\47:2\For the LORD most high is terrible; he is a great King over all the earth. ⁴\47:3\He shall subdue the people under us, and the nations under our feet. ⁵\47:4\He shall choose our inheritance for us, the excellence of Jacob whom he loved. Selah. ⁶\47:5\God is gone up with a shout, the LORD with the sound of a trumpet. ⁷\47:6\Sing praises to God, sing praises: sing praises to our King, sing praises. ⁸\47:7\For God is the King of all the earth: sing ye praises with understanding. ⁹\47:8\God reigneth over the heathen: God sitteth upon the throne of his holiness. ¹⁰\47:9\The princes of the people are assembled, even the people of the God of Abraham: for the shields of the earth belong to God: he is greatly exalted.

Chapter 48

¹+ ²\48:1\A Song and Psalm for the sons of Korah. Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness. ³\48:2\Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King. ⁴\48:3\God is known in her palaces for a refuge. ⁵\48:4\For lo, the kings were assembled, they passed by together. ⁶\48:5\They saw it, and so they wondered; they were troubled, and hasted away. ⁷\48:6\Fear took hold upon them there, and pain, as of a woman in travail. ⁸\48:7\Thou breakest the ships of Tarshish with an east wind. ⁹\48:8\As we have heard, so have we seen in the city of the LORD of hosts, in the city of our God: God will establish it for ever. Selah. ¹⁰\48:9\We have thought of thy loving-kindness, O God, in the midst of thy temple. ¹¹\48:10\According to thy name, O God, so is thy praise to the ends of the earth: thy right hand is full of righteousness. ¹²\48:11\Let mount Zion rejoice, let the daughters of Judah be glad, because of thy judgments. ¹³\48:12\Walk about Zion, and go round her: number her towers. ¹⁴\48:13\Mark ye well her bulwarks, consider her palaces; that ye may tell it to the generation following. ¹⁵\48:14\For this God is our God for ever and ever: he will be our guide even to death.

Chapter 49

¹+ ²\49:1\To the chief Musician, A Psalm for the sons of Korah. Hear this, all ye people; give ear, all ye inhabitants of the world: ³\49:2\Both low and high, rich and poor together. ⁴\49:3\My mouth shall speak of wisdom; and the meditation of my heart shall be of understanding. ⁵\49:4\I will incline my ear to a parable: I will open my dark saying upon the harp. ⁶\49:5\Why should I fear in the days of evil, when the iniquity of my heels shall encompass me? ⁷\49:6\They that trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches; ⁸\49:7\None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him: ⁹\49:8\(For the redemption of their soul is precious, and it ceaseth for ever:) ¹⁰\49:9\That he should still live for ever, and not see corruption. ¹¹\49:10\For he seeth that wise men die, likewise the fool and the brutish person perish, and leave their wealth to others. ¹²\49:11\Their inward thought is, that their houses shall continue for ever, and their dwelling places to all generations; they call their lands after their own names. ¹³\49:12\Nevertheless man being in honor abideth not: he is like the beasts that perish. ¹⁴\49:13\This their way is their folly: yet their posterity approve their sayings. Selah. ¹⁵\49:14\Like sheep they are laid in the grave; death shall feed on them; and the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning; and their beauty shall consume in the grave from their dwelling. ¹⁶\49:15\But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave: for he shall receive me. Selah. ¹⁷\49:16\Be not thou afraid when one is made rich, when the glory of his house is increased; ¹⁸\49:17\For when he dieth he shall carry nothing away: his glory shall not descend after him. ¹⁹\49:18\Though while he lived he blessed his soul: and men will praise thee, when thou doest well to thyself. ²⁰\49:19\He shall go to the generation of his fathers; they shall never see light. ²¹\49:20\Man that is in honor, and understandeth not, is like the beasts that perish.

Chapter 50

¹A Psalm of Asaph. The mighty God, even the LORD, hath spoken, and called the earth from the rising to the setting of the sun. ²Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined. ³Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour before him, and it shall be very tempestuous around him. ⁴He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that he may judge his people. ⁵Gather my saints together to me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice. ⁶And the heavens shall declare his righteousness: for God is judge himself. Selah. ⁷Hear, O my people, and I will speak; O Israel, and I will testify against thee: I am God, even thy God. ⁸I will not reprove thee for thy sacrifices or thy burnt-offerings, to have been continually before me. ⁹I will take no bullock out of thy house, nor he-goats out of thy folds. ¹⁰For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills. ¹¹I know all the fowls of the mountains: and the wild beasts of the field are mine. ¹²If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fullness thereof. ¹³Will I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats? ¹⁴Offer to God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows to the Most High: ¹⁵And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me. ¹⁶But to the wicked God saith, What hast thou to do to declare my statutes, or that thou shouldest take my covenant in thy mouth? ¹⁷Seeing thou hatest instruction, and castest my words behind thee. ¹⁸When thou sawest a thief, then thou consentedst with him, and hast been partaker with adulterers. ¹⁹Thou givest thy mouth to evil, and thy tongue frameth deceit. ²⁰Thou sittest and speakest against thy brother; thou slanderest thy own mother's son. ²¹These things hast thou done, and I kept silence; thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself: but I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes. ²²Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver. ²³Whoever offereth praise glorifieth me: and to him that ordereth his deportment aright will I show the salvation of God.

Chapter 51

¹+ ²+ ³\51:1\To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came to him, after he had gone in to Bath-sheba. Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy loving-kindness: according to the multitude of thy tender mercies, blot out my transgressions. ⁴\51:2\Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. ⁵\51:3\For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. ⁶\51:4\Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mayest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest. ⁷\51:5\Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me. ⁸\51:6\Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom. ⁹\51:7\Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. ¹⁰\51:8\Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. ¹¹\51:9\Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. ¹²\51:10\Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. ¹³\51:11\Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. ¹⁴\51:12\Restore to me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. ¹⁵\51:13\Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted to thee. ¹⁶\51:14\Deliver me from blood-guiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness. ¹⁷\51:15\O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall show forth thy praise. ¹⁸\51:16\For thou desirest not sacrifice: else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt-offering. ¹⁹\51:17\The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. ²⁰\51:18\Do good in thy good pleasure to Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem. ²¹\51:19\Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt-offering and whole burnt-offering: then shall they offer bullocks upon thy altar.

Chapter 52

¹+ ²+ ³\52:1\To the chief Musician, Maschil, A Psalm of David, when Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul, and said to him, David is come to the house of Ahimelech. Why boastest thou thyself in mischief, O mighty man? the goodness of God endureth continually. ⁴\52:2\Thy tongue deviseth mischiefs; like a sharp razor, working deceitfully. ⁵\52:3\Thou lovest evil more than good; and lying rather than to speak righteousness. Selah. ⁶\52:4\Thou lovest all devouring words, O thou deceitful tongue. ⁷\52:5\God shall likewise destroy thee for ever, he shall take thee away, and pluck thee out of thy dwelling-place, and root thee out of the land of the living. Selah. ⁸\52:6\The righteous also shall see, and fear, and shall laugh at him: ⁹\52:7\Lo, this is the man that made not God his strength; but trusted in the abundance of his riches, and strengthened himself in his wickedness. ¹⁰\52:8\But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God: I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever. ¹¹\52:9\I will praise thee for ever, because thou hast done it: and I will wait on thy name; for it is good before thy saints.

Chapter 53

¹+ ²\53:1\To the chief Musician upon Mahalath, Maschil, A Psalm of David. The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, and have done abominable iniquity: there is none that doeth good. ³\53:2\God looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, that did seek God. ⁴\53:3\Every one of them is gone back: they are altogether become filthy; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. ⁵\53:4\Have the workers of iniquity no knowledge? who eat up my people as they eat bread! they have not called upon God. ⁶\53:5\There they were in great fear, where no fear was: for God hath scattered the bones of him that encampeth against thee: thou hast put them to shame, because God hath despised them. ⁷\53:6\O that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion! when God bringeth back the captivity of his people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad.

Chapter 54

¹+ ²+ ³\54:1\To the chief Musician on Neginoth, Maschil, A Psalm of David, when the Ziphims came and said to Saul, Doth not David hide himself with us? Save me, O God, by thy name, and judge me by thy strength. ⁴\54:2\Hear my prayer, O God; give ear to the words of my mouth. ⁵\54:3\For strangers have risen up against me, and oppressors seek after my soul: they have not set God before them. Selah. ⁶\54:4\Behold, God is my helper: the Lord is with them that uphold my soul. ⁷\54:5\He will reward evil to my enemies; cut them off in thy truth. ⁸\54:6\I will freely sacrifice to thee: I will praise thy name, O LORD; for it is good. ⁹\54:7\For he hath delivered me out of all trouble: and my eye hath seen its desire upon my enemies.

Chapter 55

¹+ ²\55:1\To the chief Musician on Neginoth, Maschil, A Psalm of David. Give ear to my prayer, O God; and hide not thyself from my supplication. ³\55:2\Attend to me, and hear me: I mourn in my complaint, and make a noise; ⁴\55:3\Because of the voice of the enemy, because of the oppression of the wicked: for they cast iniquity upon me, and in wrath they hate me. ⁵\55:4\My heart is severely pained within me: and the terrors of death have fallen upon me. ⁶\55:5\Fearfulness and trembling have come upon me, and horror hath overwhelmed me. ⁷\55:6\And I said, O that I had wings like a dove! for then I would fly away, and be at rest. ⁸\55:7\Lo, then I would wander far off, and remain in the wilderness. Selah. ⁹\55:8\I would hasten my escape from the windy storm and tempest. ¹⁰\55:9\Destroy, O Lord, and divide their tongues: for I have seen violence and strife in the city. ¹¹\55:10\Day and night they go about it upon its walls: mischief also and sorrow are in the midst of it. ¹²\55:11\Wickedness is in the midst of it: deceit and guile depart not from her streets. ¹³\55:12\For it was not an enemy that reproached me; then I could have borne it: neither was it he that hated me that magnified himself against me; then I would have hid myself from him: ¹⁴\55:13\But it was thou, a man my equal, my guide, and my acquaintance. ¹⁵\55:14\We took sweet counsel together, and walked to the house of God in company. ¹⁶\55:15\Let death seize upon them, and let them go down quick into hell: for wickedness is in their dwellings, and among them. ¹⁷\55:16\As for me, I will call upon God: and the LORD will save me. ¹⁸\55:17\Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he will hear my voice. ¹⁹\55:18\He hath delivered my soul in peace from the battle that was against me: for there were many with me. ²⁰\55:19\God will hear and afflict them, even he that abideth of old. Selah. Because they have no changes, therefore they fear not God. ²¹\55:20\He hath put forth his hands against such as are at peace with him: he hath broken his covenant. ²²\55:21\The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, but war was in his heart: his words were softer than oil, yet were they drawn swords. ²³\55:22\Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he will sustain thee: he will never suffer the righteous to be moved. ²⁴\55:23\But thou, O God, wilt bring them down into the pit of destruction: bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their days; but I will trust in thee.

Chapter 56

¹+ ²\56:1\To the chief Musician upon Jonathelem-rechokim, Michtam of David, when the Philistines took him in Gath. Be merciful to me, O God: for man would swallow me up; he fighting daily oppresseth me. ³\56:2\My enemies would daily swallow me up: for they are many that fight against me, O thou Most High. ⁴\56:3\In the time when I am afraid, I will trust in thee. ⁵\56:4\In God I will praise his word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do to me. ⁶\56:5\Every day they wrest my words: all their thoughts are against me for evil. ⁷\56:6\They assemble themselves, they hide themselves, they mark my steps, when they wait for my soul. ⁸\56:7\Shall they escape by iniquity; in thy anger cast down the people, O God. ⁹\56:8\Thou numberest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book? ¹⁰\56:9\When I cry to thee, then shall my enemies turn back: this I know; for God is for me. ¹¹\56:10\In God will I praise his word: in the LORD will I praise his word. ¹²\56:11\In God have I put my trust: I will not be afraid what man can do to me. ¹³\56:12\Thy vows are upon me, O God: I will render praises to thee. ¹⁴\56:13\For thou hast delivered my soul from death: wilt thou not deliver my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living?

Chapter 57

¹+ ²\57:1\To the chief Musician, Al-taschith, Michtam of David, when he fled from Saul in the cave. Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me: for my soul trusteth in thee: yes, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities are overpast. ³\57:2\I will cry to God most high; to God that performeth all things for me. ⁴\57:3\He shall send from heaven, and save me from the reproach of him that would swallow me up. Selah. God shall send forth his mercy and his truth. ⁵\57:4\My soul is among lions: and I lie even among them that are set on fire, even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword. ⁶\57:5\Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; let thy glory be above all the earth. ⁷\57:6\They have prepared a net for my steps; my soul is bowed down: they have digged a pit before me, into the midst of which they have fallen themselves. Selah. ⁸\57:7\My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise. ⁹\57:8\Awake, my glory; awake, psaltery and harp: I myself will awake early. ¹⁰\57:9\I will praise thee, O Lord, among the people: I will sing to thee among the nations. ¹¹\57:10\For thy mercy is great to the heavens, and thy truth to the clouds. ¹²\57:11\Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens: let thy glory be above all the earth.

Chapter 58

¹+ ²\58:1\To the chief Musician, Al-taschith, Michtam of David. Do ye indeed speak righteousness, O congregation? do ye judge uprightly, O ye sons of men? ³\58:2\Yes, in heart ye work wickedness; ye weigh the violence of your hands in the earth. ⁴\58:3\The wicked are estranged from their birth: they go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies. ⁵\58:4\Their poison is like the poison of a serpent: they are like the deaf adder that stoppeth her ear; ⁶\58:5\Which will not hearken to the voice of charmers, charming never so wisely. ⁷\58:6\Break their teeth, O God, in their mouth: break out the great teeth of the young lions, O LORD. ⁸\58:7\Let them melt away as waters which run continually: when he bendeth his bow to shoot his arrows, let them be as cut in pieces. ⁹\58:8\As a snail which melteth, let every one of them pass away: like the untimely birth of a woman, that they may not see the sun. ¹⁰\58:9\Before your pots can feel the thorns, he shall take them away as with a whirlwind, both living, and in his wrath. ¹¹\58:10\The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance: he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked. ¹²\58:11\So that a man shall say, Verily there is a reward for the righteous: verily he is a God that judgeth in the earth.

Chapter 59

¹+ ²\59:1\To the chief Musician, Al-taschith, Michtam of David; when Saul sent, and they watched the house to kill him. Deliver me from my enemies, O my God: defend me from them that rise up against me. ³\59:2\Deliver me from the workers of iniquity, and save me from bloody men. ⁴\59:3\For lo, they lie in wait for my soul: the mighty are gathered against me; not for my transgression, nor for my sin, O LORD. ⁵\59:4\They run and prepare themselves without my fault: awake to help me, and behold. ⁶\59:5\Thou therefore, O LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel, awake to visit all the heathen: be not merciful to any wicked transgressors. Selah. ⁷\59:6\They return at evening: they make a noise like a dog, and go about the city. ⁸\59:7\Behold, they belch out with their mouth: swords are in their lips: for who, say they, doth hear? ⁹\59:8\But thou, O LORD, shalt laugh at them; thou shalt have all the heathen in derision. ¹⁰\59:9\Because of his strength will I wait upon thee: for God is my defense. ¹¹\59:10\The God of my mercy will succor me: God will let me see my desire upon my enemies. ¹²\59:11\Slay them not, lest my people forget: scatter them by thy power; and bring them down, O Lord our shield. ¹³\59:12\For the sin of their mouth and the words of their lips let them even be taken in their pride: and for cursing and lying which they speak. ¹⁴\59:13\Consume them in wrath, consume them, that they may not be: and let them know that God ruleth in Jacob to the ends of the earth. Selah. ¹⁵\59:14\And at evening let them return; and let them make a noise like a dog, and go about the city. ¹⁶\59:15\Let them wander up and down for food, and grudge if they are not satisfied. ¹⁷\59:16\But I will sing of thy power; yes, I will sing aloud of thy mercy in the morning: for thou hast been my defense and refuge in the day of my trouble. ¹⁸\59:17\To thee, O my strength, will I sing: for God is my defense, and the God of my mercy.

Chapter 60

¹+ ²+ ³\60:1\To the chief Musician upon Shushan-eduth, Michtam of David, to teach; when he strove with Aram-naharaim and with Aram-zobah, when Joab returned, and smote of Edom in the valley of salt twelve thousand. O God, thou hast cast us off, thou hast scattered us, thou hast been displeased; O turn thyself to us again. ⁴\60:2\Thou hast made the earth to tremble; thou hast broken it: heal its breaches; for it shaketh. ⁵\60:3\Thou hast shown thy people hard things: thou hast made us to drink the wine of astonishment. ⁶\60:4\Thou hast given a banner to them that fear thee, that it may be displayed because of the truth. Selah. ⁷\60:5\That thy beloved may be delivered; save with thy right hand, and hear me. ⁸\60:6\God hath spoken in his holiness; I will rejoice, I will divide Shechem, and measure out the valley of Succoth. ⁹\60:7\Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine; Ephraim also is the strength of my head; Judah is my lawgiver; ¹⁰\60:8\Moab is my washpot; over Edom will I cast out my shoe: Philistia, triumph thou because of me. ¹¹\60:9\Who will bring me into the strong city? who will lead me into Edom? ¹²\60:10\Wilt thou not, O God, who hadst cast us off? and thou, O God, who didst not go out with our armies? ¹³\60:11\Give us help from trouble: for vain is the help of man. ¹⁴\60:12\Through God we shall do valiantly: for he will tread down our enemies.

Chapter 61

¹+ ²\61:1\To the chief Musician upon Neginah, A Psalm of David. Hear my cry, O God; attend to my prayer. ³\61:2\From the end of the earth will I cry to thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I. ⁴\61:3\For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy. ⁵\61:4\I will abide in thy tabernacle for ever: I will trust in the covert of thy wings. Selah. ⁶\61:5\For thou, O God, hast heard my vows: thou hast given me the heritage of those that fear thy name. ⁷\61:6\Thou wilt prolong the king's life: and his years as many generations. ⁸\61:7\He shall abide before God for ever: O prepare mercy and truth, which may preserve him. ⁹\61:8\So will I sing praise to thy name for ever, that I may daily perform my vows.

Chapter 62

¹+ ²\62:1\To the chief Musician, to Jeduthun, A Psalm of David. Truly my soul waiteth upon God: from him cometh my salvation. ³\62:2\He only is my rock and my salvation; he is my defense; I shall not be greatly moved. ⁴\62:3\How long will ye imagine mischief against a man? ye shall be slain all of you: as a bowing wall shall ye be, and as a tottering fence. ⁵\62:4\They only consult to cast him down from his excellence: they delight in lies: they bless with their mouth, but they curse inwardly. Selah. ⁶\62:5\My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him. ⁷\62:6\He only is my rock and my salvation: he is my defense; I shall not be moved. ⁸\62:7\In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God. ⁹\62:8\Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah. ¹⁰\62:9\Surely men of low degree are vanity, and men of high degree are a lie: to be laid in the balance, they are altogether lighter than vanity. ¹¹\62:10\Trust not in oppression, and become not vain in robbery: if riches increase, set not your heart upon them. ¹²\62:11\God hath spoken once; twice have I heard this; that power belongeth to God. ¹³\62:12\Also to thee, O Lord, belongeth mercy: for thou renderest to every man according to his work.

Chapter 63

¹+ ²\63:1\A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah. O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; ³\63:2\To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary. ⁴\63:3\Because thy loving-kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee. ⁵\63:4\Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name. ⁶\63:5\My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips: ⁷\63:6\When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches. ⁸\63:7\Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice. ⁹\63:8\My soul followeth hard after thee: thy right hand upholdeth me. ¹⁰\63:9\But those that seek my soul to destroy it, shall go into the lower parts of the earth. ¹¹\63:10\They shall fall by the sword: they shall be a portion for foxes. ¹²\63:11\But the king shall rejoice in God; every one that sweareth by him shall glory: but the mouth of them that speak lies shall be stopped.

Chapter 64

¹+ ²\64:1\To the chief Musician, a Psalm of David. Hear my voice, O God, in my prayer: preserve my life from fear of the enemy. ³\64:2\Hide me from the secret counsel of the wicked; from the insurrection of the workers of iniquity: ⁴\64:3\Who whet their tongue like a sword, and bend their bows to shoot their arrows, even bitter words: ⁵\64:4\That they may shoot in secret at the perfect: suddenly do they shoot at him, and fear not. ⁶\64:5\They encourage themselves in an evil matter: they commune of laying snares privily; they say, Who will see them? ⁷\64:6\They search out iniquities; they accomplish a diligent search: both the inward thought of every one of them, and the heart, is deep. ⁸\64:7\But God shall shoot at them with an arrow; suddenly shall they be wounded. ⁹\64:8\So they shall make their own tongue to fall upon themselves: all that see them shall flee away. ¹⁰\64:9\And all men shall fear, and shall declare the work of God; for they shall wisely consider of his doing. ¹¹\64:10\The righteous shall be glad in the LORD, and shall trust in him; and all the upright in heart shall glory.

Chapter 65

¹+ ²\65:1\To the chief Musician, A Psalm and Song of David. Praise waiteth for thee, O God, in Zion: and to thee shall the vow be performed. ³\65:2\O thou that hearest prayer, to thee shall all flesh come. ⁴\65:3\Iniquities prevail against me: as for our transgressions, thou shalt purge them away. ⁵\65:4\Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest to approach to thee, that he may dwell in thy courts: we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple. ⁶\65:5\By terrible things in righteousness wilt thou answer us, O God of our salvation; who art the confidence of all the ends of the earth, and of them that are afar off upon the sea: ⁷\65:6\Who by his strength setteth fast the mountains; being girded with power: ⁸\65:7\Who stilleth the noise of the seas, the noise of their waves, and the tumult of the people. ⁹\65:8\They also that dwell in the uttermost parts are afraid at thy tokens: thou makest the outgoings of the morning and evening to rejoice. ¹⁰\65:9\Thou visitest the earth, and waterest it: thou greatly enrichest it with the river of God, which is full of water: thou preparest them corn, when thou hast so provided for it. ¹¹\65:10\Thou waterest the ridges of it abundantly: thou settlest the furrows of it: thou makest it soft with showers: thou blessest the springing of it. ¹²\65:11\Thou crownest the year with thy goodness; and thy paths drop fatness. ¹³\65:12\They drop upon the pastures of the wilderness: and the little hills rejoice on every side. ¹⁴\65:13\The pastures are clothed with flocks; the valleys also are covered over with corn; they shout for joy, they also sing.

Chapter 66

¹To the chief Musician, A Song or Psalm. Make a joyful noise to God, all ye lands: ²Sing forth the honor of his name: make his praise glorious. ³Say to God, How terrible art thou in thy works! through the greatness of thy power shall thy enemies submit themselves to thee. ⁴All the earth shall worship thee, and shall sing to thee; they shall sing to thy name. Selah. ⁵Come and see the works of God: he is terrible in his doing towards the children of men. ⁶He turned the sea into dry land: they went through the flood on foot: there we rejoiced in him. ⁷He ruleth by his power for ever; his eyes behold the nations: let not the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah. ⁸O bless our God, ye people, and make the voice of his praise to be heard: ⁹Who holdeth our soul in life, and suffereth not our feet to be moved. ¹⁰For thou, O God, hast proved us: thou hast tried us, as silver is tried. ¹¹Thou hast brought us into the net; thou hast laid affliction upon our loins. ¹²Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water: but thou broughtest us out into a wealthy place. ¹³I will go into thy house with burnt-offerings: I will pay thee my vows, ¹⁴Which my lips have uttered, and my mouth hath spoken, when I was in trouble. ¹⁵I will offer to thee burnt-sacrifices of fatlings, with the incense of rams; I will offer bullocks with goats. Selah. ¹⁶Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul. ¹⁷I cried to him with my mouth, and he was extolled with my tongue. ¹⁸If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me: ¹⁹But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer. ²⁰Blessed be God, who hath not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy from me.

Chapter 67

¹+ ²\67:1\To the chief Musician on Neginoth, A Psalm or Song. God be merciful to us, and bless us; and cause his face to shine upon us. Selah. ³\67:2\That thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving health among all nations. ⁴\67:3\Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee. ⁵\67:4\O let the nations be glad and sing for joy: for thou shalt judge the people righteously, and govern the nations upon earth. Selah. ⁶\67:5\Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee. ⁷\67:6\Then shall the earth yield her increase; and God, even our own God, will bless us. ⁸\67:7\God will bless us, and all the ends of the earth shall fear him.

Chapter 68

¹+ ²\68:1\To the chief Musician, A Psalm or Song of David. Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered: let them also that hate him flee before him. ³\68:2\As smoke is driven away, so drive them away: as wax melteth before the fire, so let the wicked perish at the presence of God. ⁴\68:3\But let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice before God: yes, let them exceedingly rejoice. ⁵\68:4\Sing to God, sing praises to his name: extol him that rideth upon the heavens by his name JAH, and rejoice before him. ⁶\68:5\A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows, is God in his holy habitation. ⁷\68:6\God setteth the solitary in families: he bringeth out those who are bound with chains: but the rebellious dwell in a dry land. ⁸\68:7\O God, when thou wentest forth before thy people, when thou didst march through the wilderness; Selah: ⁹\68:8\The earth shook, the heavens also dropped at the presence of God: even Sinai itself was moved at the presence of God, the God of Israel. ¹⁰\68:9\Thou, O God, didst send a plentiful rain, by which thou didst confirm thy inheritance, when it was weary. ¹¹\68:10\Thy congregation hath dwelt therein: thou, O God, hast prepared of thy goodness for the poor. ¹²\68:11\The Lord gave the word: great was the company of those that published it. ¹³\68:12\Kings of armies fled apace: and she that tarried at home divided the spoil. ¹⁴\68:13\Though ye have lain among the pots, yet shall ye be as the wings of a dove covered with silver, and her feathers with yellow gold. ¹⁵\68:14\When the Almighty scattered kings in it, it was white as snow in Salmon. ¹⁶\68:15\The hill of God is as the hill of Bashan; a high hill as the hill of Bashan. ¹⁷\68:16\Why leap ye, ye lofty hills? this is the hill which God desireth to dwell in; yes, the LORD will dwell in it for ever. ¹⁸\68:17\The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels: the Lord is among them, as in Sinai, in the holy place. ¹⁹\68:18\Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: thou hast received gifts for men; yes, for the rebellious also, that the LORD God might dwell among them. ²⁰\68:19\Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah. ²¹\68:20\He that is our God is the God of salvation; and to GOD the Lord belong the issues from death. ²²\68:21\But God will wound the head of his enemies, and the hairy scalp of such one as goeth on still in his trespasses. ²³\68:22\The Lord said, I will bring again from Bashan, I will bring my people again from the depths of the sea. ²⁴\68:23\That thy foot may be dipped in the blood of thy enemies, and the tongue of thy dogs in the same. ²⁵\68:24\They have seen thy goings, O God; even the goings of my God, my King, in the sanctuary. ²⁶\68:25\The singers went before, the players on instruments followed after; among them were the damsels playing with timbrels. ²⁷\68:26\Bless ye God in the congregations, even the Lord, from the fountain of Israel. ²⁸\68:27\There is little Benjamin with their ruler, the princes of Judah and their counsel, the princes of Zebulun, and the princes of Naphtali. ²⁹\68:28\Thy God hath commanded thy strength: strengthen, O God, that which thou hast wrought for us. ³⁰\68:29\Because of thy temple at Jerusalem shall kings bring presents to thee. ³¹\68:30\Rebuke the company of spearmen, the multitude of the bulls, with the calves of the people, till every one shall submit himself with pieces of silver: scatter thou the people that delight in war. ³²\68:31\Princes shall come out of Egypt; Cush shall soon stretch out her hands to God. ³³\68:32\Sing to God, ye kingdoms of the earth; O sing praises to the Lord; Selah: ³⁴\68:33\To him that rideth upon the heavens of heavens, which were of old; lo, he doth send out his voice, and that a mighty voice. ³⁵\68:34\Ascribe ye strength to God: his excellence is over Israel, and his strength is in the clouds. ³⁶\68:35\O God, thou art terrible out of thy holy places: the God of Israel is he that giveth strength and power to his people. Blessed be God.

Chapter 69

¹+ ²\69:1\To the chief Musician upon Shoshannim, A Psalm of David. Save me, O God; for the waters are come in to my soul. ³\69:2\I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing: I am come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me. ⁴\69:3\I am weary of my crying: my throat is dried: my eyes fail while I wait for my God. ⁵\69:4\They that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head: they that would destroy me, being my enemies wrongfully, are mighty: then I restored that which I took not away. ⁶\69:5\O God, thou knowest my foolishness; and my sins are not hid from thee. ⁷\69:6\Let not them that wait on thee, O Lord GOD of hosts, be ashamed for my sake: let not those that seek thee be confounded for my sake, O God of Israel. ⁸\69:7\Because for thy sake I have borne reproach; shame hath covered my face. ⁹\69:8\I am become a stranger to my brethren, and an alien to my mother's children. ¹⁰\69:9\For the zeal of thy house hath eaten me up; and the reproaches of them that reproached thee have fallen upon me. ¹¹\69:10\When I wept, and chastened my soul with fasting, that was to my reproach. ¹²\69:11\I made sackcloth also my garment; and I became a proverb to them. ¹³\69:12\They that sit in the gate speak against me; and I was the song of the drunkards. ¹⁴\69:13\But as for me, my prayer is to thee, O LORD, in an acceptable time: O God, in the multitude of thy mercy hear me, in the truth of thy salvation. ¹⁵\69:14\Deliver me out of the mire, and let me not sink: let me be delivered from them that hate me, and out of the deep waters. ¹⁶\69:15\Let not the water-flood overflow me, neither let the deep swallow me up, and let not the pit shut her mouth upon me. ¹⁷\69:16\Hear me, O LORD; for thy loving-kindness is good: turn to me according to the multitude of thy tender mercies. ¹⁸\69:17\And hide not thy face from thy servant; for I am in trouble: hear me speedily. ¹⁹\69:18\Draw nigh to my soul, and redeem it: deliver me because of my enemies. ²⁰\69:19\Thou hast known my reproach, and my shame, and my dishonor: my adversaries are all before thee. ²¹\69:20\Reproach hath broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness: and I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none. ²²\69:21\They gave me also gall for my food; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. ²³\69:22\Let their table become a snare before them: and that which should have been for their welfare, let it become a trap. ²⁴\69:23\Let their eyes be darkened, that they see not; and make their loins continually to shake. ²⁵\69:24\Pour out thy indignation upon them, and let thy wrathful anger take hold of them. ²⁶\69:25\Let their habitation be desolate; and let none dwell in their tents. ²⁷\69:26\For they persecute him whom thou hast smitten; and they talk to the grief of those whom thou hast wounded. ²⁸\69:27\Add iniquity to their iniquity: and let them not come into thy righteousness. ²⁹\69:28\Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not be written with the righteous. ³⁰\69:29\But I am poor and sorrowful: let thy salvation, O God, set me up on high. ³¹\69:30\I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving. ³²\69:31\This also shall please the LORD better than an ox or bullock that hath horns and hoofs. ³³\69:32\The humble shall see this, and be glad: and your heart shall live that seek God. ³⁴\69:33\For the LORD heareth the poor, and despiseth not his prisoners. ³⁵\69:34\Let the heaven and earth praise him, the seas, and every thing that moveth therein. ³⁶\69:35\For God will save Zion, and will build the cities of Judah: that they may dwell there, and have it in possession. ³⁷\69:36\The seed also of his servants shall inherit it: and they that love his name shall dwell therein.

Chapter 70

¹+ ²\70:1\To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David to bring to remembrance. Make haste, O God, to deliver me; make haste to help me, O LORD. ³\70:2\Let them be ashamed and confounded that seek after my soul: let them be turned backward, and put to confusion, that desire my hurt. ⁴\70:3\Let them be turned back for a reward of their shame that say, Aha, aha. ⁵\70:4\Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: and let such as love thy salvation say continually, Let God be magnified. ⁶\70:5\But I am poor and needy: make haste to me, O God: thou art my help and my deliverer; O LORD, make no delay.

Chapter 71

¹In thee, O LORD, do I put my trust: let me never be put to confusion. ²Deliver me in thy righteousness, and cause me to escape: incline thy ear to me, and save me. ³Be thou my strong habitation, to which I may continually resort: thou hast given commandment to save me; for thou art my rock and my fortress. ⁴Deliver me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked, from the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man. ⁵For thou art my hope, O Lord GOD: thou art my trust from my youth. ⁶By thee have I been sustained from my birth: thou art he that brought me into life: my praise shall be continually of thee. ⁷I am as a wonder to many; but thou art my strong refuge. ⁸Let my mouth be filled with thy praise and with thy honor all the day. ⁹Cast me not off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength faileth. ¹⁰For my enemies speak against me; and they that lay wait for my soul take counsel together, ¹¹Saying, God hath forsaken him: persecute and take him; for there is none to deliver him. ¹²O God, be not far from me: O my God, make haste for my help. ¹³Let them be confounded and consumed that are adversaries to my soul; let them be covered with reproach and dishonor that seek my hurt. ¹⁴But I will hope continually, and will yet praise thee more and more. ¹⁵My mouth shall show forth thy righteousness and thy salvation all the day; for I know not the numbers thereof. ¹⁶I will go in the strength of the Lord GOD: I will make mention of thy righteousness, even of thine only. ¹⁷O God, thou hast taught me from my youth: and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works. ¹⁸Now also when I am old and gray-headed, O God, forsake me not; until I have shown thy strength to this generation, and thy power to every one that is to come. ¹⁹Thy righteousness also, O God, is very high, who hast done great things: O God, who is like to thee! ²⁰Thou, who hast shown me great and severe troubles, wilt revive me again, and wilt bring me again from the depths of the earth. ²¹Thou wilt increase my greatness, and comfort me on every side. ²²I will also praise thee with the psaltery, even thy truth, O my God: to thee will I sing with the harp, O thou Holy One of Israel. ²³My lips shall greatly rejoice when I sing to thee; and my soul, which thou hast redeemed. ²⁴My tongue also shall talk of thy righteousness all the day long: for they are confounded, for they are brought to shame, that seek my hurt.

Chapter 72

¹A Psalm for Solomon. Give the king thy judgments, O God, and thy righteousness to the king's son. ²He shall judge thy people with righteousness, and thy poor with judgment. ³The mountains shall bring peace to the people, and the little hills, by righteousness. ⁴He shall judge the poor of the people, he shall save the children of the needy, and shall break in pieces the oppressor. ⁵They shall fear thee as long as the sun and moon endure, throughout all generations. ⁶He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass: as showers that water the earth. ⁷In his days shall the righteous flourish; and abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth. ⁸He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth. ⁹They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him; and his enemies shall lick the dust. ¹⁰The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents: the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts. ¹¹Yes, all kings shall fall down before him: all nations shall serve him. ¹²For he shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him that hath no helper. ¹³He shall spare the poor and needy, and shall save the souls of the needy. ¹⁴He shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence: and precious shall be their blood in his sight. ¹⁵And he shall live, and to him shall be given of the gold of Sheba: prayer also shall be made for him continually; and daily shall he be praised. ¹⁶There shall be a handful of corn in the earth upon the top of the mountains; the fruit of it shall shake like Lebanon: and they of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth. ¹⁷His name shall endure for ever: his name shall be continued as long as the sun: and men shall be blessed in him: all nations shall call him blessed. ¹⁸Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel, who only doeth wondrous things. ¹⁹And blessed be his glorious name for ever: and let the whole earth be filled with his glory; Amen, and amen. ²⁰The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.

Chapter 73

¹A Psalm of Asaph. Truly God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean heart. ²But as for me, my feet were almost gone; my steps had well nigh slipped. ³For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. ⁴For there are no bands in their death: but their strength is firm. ⁵They are not in trouble as other men; neither are they afflicted like other men. ⁶Therefore pride encompasseth them as a chain; violence covereth them as a garment. ⁷Their eyes stand out with fatness: they have more than heart could wish. ⁸They are corrupt, and speak wickedly concerning oppression: they speak loftily. ⁹They set their mouth against the heavens, and their tongue walketh through the earth. ¹⁰Therefore his people return hither: and waters of a full cup are wrung out to them. ¹¹And they say, How doth God know? and is there knowledge in the Most High? ¹²Behold, these are the ungodly, who prosper in the world; they increase in riches. ¹³Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocence. ¹⁴For all the day long have I been afflicted, and chastened every morning. ¹⁵If I say, I will speak thus; behold, I should offend against the generation of thy children. ¹⁶When I thought to know this, it was too painful for me; ¹⁷Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I understood their end. ¹⁸Surely thou didst set them in slippery places: thou didst cast them down into destruction. ¹⁹How are they brought into desolation, as in a moment! they are utterly consumed with terrors. ²⁰As a dream when one awaketh; so, O Lord, when thou awakest, thou wilt despise their image. ²¹Thus my heart was grieved, and I was pricked in my reins. ²²So foolish was I, and ignorant: I was as a beast before thee. ²³Nevertheless I am continually with thee: thou hast held me by my right hand. ²⁴Thou wilt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. ²⁵Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire besides thee. ²⁶My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever. ²⁷For lo, they that are far from thee shall perish: thou hast destroyed all them that go astray from thee. ²⁸But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, that I may declare all thy works.

Chapter 74

¹Maschil of Asaph. O God, why hast thou cast us off for ever? why doth thy anger smoke against the sheep of thy pasture? ²Remember thy congregation, which thou hast purchased of old: the rod of thy inheritance, which thou hast redeemed; this mount Zion, in which thou hast dwelt. ³Lift up thy feet to the perpetual desolations; even all that the enemy hath done wickedly in the sanctuary. ⁴Thy enemies roar in the midst of thy congregations; they set up their ensigns for signs. ⁵A man was famous according as he had lifted up axes upon the thick trees. ⁶But now they break down the carved work of it at once with axes and hammers. ⁷They have cast fire into thy sanctuary, they have defiled by casting down the dwelling-place of thy name to the ground. ⁸They said in their hearts, Let us destroy them together: they have burned up all the synagogues of God in the land. ⁹We see not our signs: there is no more any prophet: neither is there among us any that knoweth how long. ¹⁰O God, how long shall the adversary reproach? shall the enemy blaspheme thy name for ever? ¹¹Why withdrawest thou thy hand, even thy right hand? pluck it out of thy bosom. ¹²For God is my King of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth. ¹³Thou didst divide the sea by thy strength: thou didst break the heads of the dragons in the waters. ¹⁴Thou didst break the head of leviathan in pieces, and didst give him to be food to the people inhabiting the wilderness. ¹⁵Thou didst cleave the fountain and the flood: thou didst dry up mighty rivers. ¹⁶The day is thine, the night also is thine: thou hast prepared the light and the sun. ¹⁷Thou hast set all the borders of the earth: thou hast made summer and winter. ¹⁸Remember this, the enemy hath reproached, O LORD, and the foolish people have blasphemed thy name. ¹⁹O deliver not the soul of thy turtle dove to the multitude of the wicked: forget not the congregation of thy poor for ever. ²⁰Have respect to the covenant: for the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty. ²¹O let not the oppressed return ashamed: let the poor and needy praise thy name. ²²Arise, O God, plead thy own cause: remember how the foolish man reproacheth thee daily. ²³Forget not the voice of thy enemies: the tumult of those that rise against thee increaseth continually.

Chapter 75

¹+ ²\75:1\To the chief Musician, Al-taschith, A Psalm or Song of Asaph. To thee, O God, do we give thanks, to thee do we give thanks: for that thy name is near, thy wondrous works declare. ³\75:2\When I shall receive the congregation I will judge uprightly. ⁴\75:3\The earth and all its inhabitants are dissolved: I bear up the pillars of it. Selah. ⁵\75:4\I said to the fools, Deal not foolishly; and to the wicked, Lift not up the horn: ⁶\75:5\Lift not up your horn on high: speak not with a stiff neck. ⁷\75:6\For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. ⁸\75:7\But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another. ⁹\75:8\For in the hand of the LORD there is a cup, and the wine is red; it is full of mixture, and he poureth out of the same: but the dregs of it all the wicked of the earth shall wring them out, and drink them. ¹⁰\75:9\But I will declare for ever; I will sing praises to the God of Jacob. ¹¹\75:10\All the horns of the wicked also will I cut off; but the horns of the righteous shall be exalted.

Chapter 76

¹+ ²\76:1\To the chief Musician on Neginoth, A Psalm or Song of Asaph. In Judah is God known: his name is great in Israel. ³\76:2\In Salem also is his tabernacle, and his dwelling place in Zion. ⁴\76:3\There he broke the arrows of the bow, the shield, and the sword, and the battle. Selah. ⁵\76:4\Thou art more glorious and excellent than the mountains of prey. ⁶\76:5\The stout-hearted are spoiled, they have slept their sleep: and none of the men of might have found their hands. ⁷\76:6\At thy rebuke, O God of Jacob, both the chariot and horse are cast into a dead sleep. ⁸\76:7\Thou, even thou, art to be feared: and who may stand in thy sight when once thou art angry? ⁹\76:8\Thou didst cause judgment to be heard from heaven; the earth feared, and was still, ¹⁰\76:9\When God arose to judgment, to save all the meek of the earth. Selah. ¹¹\76:10\Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee: the remainder of wrath wilt thou restrain. ¹²\76:11\Vow, and pay to the LORD your God: let all that are about him bring presents to him that ought to be feared. ¹³\76:12\He shall cut off the spirit of princes: he is terrible to the kings of the earth.

Chapter 77

¹+ ²\77:1\To the chief Musician, to Jeduthun, A Psalm of Asaph. I cried to God with my voice, even to God with my voice; and he gave ear to me. ³\77:2\In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord: my sore ran in the night, and ceased not: my soul refused to be comforted. ⁴\77:3\I remembered God, and was troubled: I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed. Selah. ⁵\77:4\Thou holdest my eyes waking: I am so troubled that I cannot speak. ⁶\77:5\I have considered the days of old, the years of ancient times. ⁷\77:6\I call to remembrance my song in the night: I commune with my own heart: and my spirit made diligent search. ⁸\77:7\Will the Lord cast off for ever? and will he be favorable no more? ⁹\77:8\Is his mercy wholly gone for ever? doth his promise fail for evermore? ¹⁰\77:9\Hath God forgotten to be gracious? hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies? Selah. ¹¹\77:10\And I said, This is my infirmity: but I will remember the years of the right hand of the Most High. ¹²\77:11\I will remember the works of the LORD: surely I will remember thy wonders of old. ¹³\77:12\I will meditate also of all thy work, and talk of thy doings. ¹⁴\77:13\Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary: who is so great a God as our God! ¹⁵\77:14\Thou art the God that doest wonders: thou hast declared thy strength among the people. ¹⁶\77:15\Thou hast with thy arm redeemed thy people, the sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah. ¹⁷\77:16\The waters saw thee, O God, the waters saw thee; they were afraid: the depths also were disturbed. ¹⁸\77:17\The clouds poured out water: the skies sent out a sound: thy arrows also went abroad. ¹⁹\77:18\The voice of thy thunder was in the heaven: the lightnings lightened the world: the earth trembled and shook. ²⁰\77:19\Thy way is in the sea, and thy path in the great waters, and thy footsteps are not known. ²¹\77:20\Thou leddest thy people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

Chapter 78

¹Maschil of Asaph. Give ear, O my people, to my law: incline your ear to the words of my mouth. ²I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old: ³Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us. ⁴We will not hide them from their children, showing to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done. ⁵For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children: ⁶That the generation to come might know them, even the children who should be born; who should arise and declare them to their children: ⁷That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments: ⁸And might not be as their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation; a generation that set not their heart aright, and whose spirit was not steadfast with God. ⁹The children of Ephraim, being armed, and carrying bows, turned back in the day of battle. ¹⁰They kept not the covenant of God, and refused to walk in his law; ¹¹And forgot his works, and his wonders that he had shown them. ¹²Marvelous things did he in the sight of their fathers, in the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan. ¹³He divided the sea, and caused them to pass through; and he made the waters to stand as a heap. ¹⁴In the day-time also he led them with a cloud, and all the night with a light of fire. ¹⁵He cleaved the rocks in the wilderness, and gave them drink as out of the great depths. ¹⁶He brought streams also out of the rock, and caused waters to run down like rivers. ¹⁷And they sinned yet more against him by provoking the Most High in the wilderness. ¹⁸And they tempted God in their heart by asking food for their desire. ¹⁹Yes, they spoke against God; they said, Can God furnish a table in the wilderness? ²⁰Behold, he smote the rock, that the waters gushed out, and the streams overflowed; can he give bread also? can he provide flesh for his people? ²¹Therefore the LORD heard this, and was wroth: so a fire was kindled against Jacob, and anger also came up against Israel; ²²Because they believed not in God, and trusted not in his salvation: ²³Though he had commanded the clouds from above, and opened the doors of heaven, ²⁴And had rained down manna upon them to eat, and had given them of the corn of heaven. ²⁵Man ate angels' food: he sent them food to the full. ²⁶He caused an east wind to blow in the heaven: and by his power he brought in the south wind. ²⁷He rained flesh also upon them as dust, and feathered fowls like as the sand of the sea: ²⁸And he let it fall in the midst of their camp, around their habitations. ²⁹So they ate, and were well filled: for he gave them their own desire; ³⁰They were not estranged from their desire: but while their meat was yet in their mouths, ³¹The wrath of God came upon them, and slew the fattest of them, and smote down the chosen men of Israel. ³²For all this they sinned still, and believed not for his wondrous works. ³³Therefore their days did he consume in vanity, and their years in trouble. ³⁴When he slew them, then they sought him: and they returned and inquired early after God. ³⁵And they remembered that God was their rock, and the high God their redeemer. ³⁶Nevertheless they flattered him with their mouth, and they lied to him with their tongues. ³⁷For their heart was not right with him, neither were they steadfast in his covenant. ³⁸But he, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, and destroyed them not: yes, many a time he turned his anger away, and did not stir up all his wrath. ³⁹For he remembered that they were but flesh; a wind that passeth away, and cometh not again. ⁴⁰How oft did they provoke him in the wilderness, and grieve him in the desert! ⁴¹Yes, they turned back and tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel. ⁴²They remembered not his hand, nor the day when he delivered them from the enemy. ⁴³How he had wrought his signs in Egypt, and his wonders in the field of Zoan: ⁴⁴And had turned their rivers into blood; and their floods, that they could not drink. ⁴⁵He sent divers sorts of flies among them, which devoured them; and frogs, which destroyed them. ⁴⁶He gave also their increase to the caterpillar, and their labor to the locust. ⁴⁷He destroyed their vines with hail, and their sycamore trees with frost. ⁴⁸He gave up their cattle also to the hail, and their flocks to hot thunderbolts. ⁴⁹He cast upon them the fierceness of his anger, wrath, and indignation, and trouble, by sending evil angels among them. ⁵⁰He made a way to his anger; he spared not their soul from death, but gave their life over to the pestilence; ⁵¹And smote all the first-born in Egypt; the chief of their strength in the tabernacles of Ham: ⁵²But made his own people to go forth like sheep, and guided them in the wilderness like a flock. ⁵³And he led them on safely, so that they feared not: but the sea overwhelmed their enemies. ⁵⁴And he brought them to the border of his sanctuary, even to this mountain, which his right hand had purchased. ⁵⁵He cast out the heathen also before them, and divided them an inheritance by line, and made the tribes of Israel to dwell in their tents. ⁵⁶Yet they tempted and provoked the most high God, and kept not his testimonies: ⁵⁷But turned back, and dealt unfaithfully like their fathers: they were turned aside like a deceitful bow. ⁵⁸For they provoked him to anger with their high places, and moved him to jealousy with their graven images. ⁵⁹When God heard this, he was wroth, and greatly abhorred Israel: ⁶⁰So that he forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh, the tent which he placed among men; ⁶¹And delivered his strength into captivity, and his glory into the enemy's hand. ⁶²He gave over his people also to the sword; and was wroth with his inheritance. ⁶³The fire consumed their young men; and their maidens were not given to marriage. ⁶⁴Their priests fell by the sword; and their widows made no lamentation. ⁶⁵Then the Lord awaked as one out of sleep, and like a mighty man that shouteth by reason of wine. ⁶⁶And he smote his enemies in the hinder part: he put them to a perpetual reproach. ⁶⁷Moreover he refused the tabernacle of Joseph, and chose not the tribe of Ephraim: ⁶⁸But chose the tribe of Judah, the mount Zion which he loved. ⁶⁹And he built his sanctuary like high palaces, like the earth which he hath established for ever. ⁷⁰He chose David also his servant, and took him from the sheep-folds: ⁷¹From following the ewes great with young he brought him to feed Jacob his people, and Israel his inheritance. ⁷²So he fed them according to the integrity of his heart; and guided them by the skillfulness of his hands.

Chapter 79

¹A Psalm of Asaph. O God, the heathen have come into thy inheritance; thy holy temple have they defiled; they have laid Jerusalem on heaps. ²The dead bodies of thy servants have they given to be food to the fowls of the heaven, the flesh of thy saints, to the beasts of the earth. ³Their blood have they shed like water around Jerusalem; and there was none to bury them. ⁴We have become a reproach to our neighbors, a scorn and derision to them that are around us. ⁵How long, LORD? wilt thou be angry for ever? shall thy jealousy burn like fire? ⁶Pour out thy wrath upon the heathen that have not known thee, and upon the kingdoms that have not called upon thy name. ⁷For they have devoured Jacob, and laid waste his dwelling-place. ⁸O remember not against us former iniquities: let thy tender mercies speedily succor us: for we are brought very low. ⁹Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of thy name: and deliver us, and purge away our sins, for thy name's sake. ¹⁰Why should the heathen say, Where is their God? let him be known among the heathen in our sight by avenging the blood of thy servants which is shed. ¹¹Let the sighing of the prisoner come before thee; according to the greatness of thy power preserve thou those that are appointed to die; ¹²And render to our neighbors seven-fold into their bosom their reproach, with which they have reproached thee, O Lord. ¹³So we thy people and sheep of thy pasture will give thee thanks for ever: we will show forth thy praise to all generations.

Chapter 80

¹+ ²\80:1\To the chief Musician upon Shoshannim Eduth, A Psalm of Asaph. Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, thou that leadest Joseph like a flock; thou that dwellest between the cherubim, shine forth. ³\80:2\Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh stir up thy strength, and come and save us. ⁴\80:3\Turn us again, O God, and cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved. ⁵\80:4\O LORD God of hosts, how long wilt thou be angry against the prayer of thy people? ⁶\80:5\Thou feedest them with the bread of tears; and givest them tears to drink in great measure. ⁷\80:6\Thou makest us a strife to our neighbors: and our enemies laugh among themselves. ⁸\80:7\Turn us again, O God of hosts, and cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved. ⁹\80:8\Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt: thou hast cast out the heathen, and planted it. ¹⁰\80:9\Thou preparedst room before it, and didst cause it to take deep root, and it filled the land. ¹¹\80:10\The hills were covered with the shade of it, and its boughs were like the goodly cedars. ¹²\80:11\She sent out her boughs to the sea, and her branches to the river. ¹³\80:12\Why hast thou then broke down her hedges, so that all they who pass by the way do pluck her? ¹⁴\80:13\The boar from the wood doth waste it, and the wild beast of the field doth devour it. ¹⁵\80:14\Return, we beseech thee, O God of hosts: look down from heaven, and behold, and visit this vine; ¹⁶\80:15\And the vineyard which thy right hand planted, and the branch that thou madest strong for thyself. ¹⁷\80:16\It is burnt with fire, it is cut down: they perish at the rebuke of thy countenance. ¹⁸\80:17\Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand, upon the son of man whom thou madest strong for thyself. ¹⁹\80:18\So will we not go back from thee: revive us, and we will call upon thy name. ²⁰\80:19\Turn us again, O LORD God of hosts, cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.

Chapter 81

¹+ ²\81:1\To the chief Musician upon Gittith, A Psalm of Asaph. Sing aloud to God our strength: make a joyful noise to the God of Jacob. ³\81:2\Take a psalm, and bring hither the timbrel, the pleasant harp with the psaltery. ⁴\81:3\Blow the trumpet in the new moon, in the time appointed, on our solemn feast day. ⁵\81:4\For this was a statute for Israel, and a law of the God of Jacob. ⁶\81:5\This he ordained in Joseph for a testimony, when he went out through the land of Egypt: where I heard a language that I understood not. ⁷\81:6\I removed his shoulder from the burden: his hands were delivered from the pots. ⁸\81:7\Thou calledst in trouble, and I delivered thee; I answered thee in the secret place of thunder: I proved thee at the waters of Meribah. Selah. ⁹\81:8\Hear, O my people, and I will testify to thee; O Israel, if thou wilt hearken to me; ¹⁰\81:9\There shall no strange god be in thee; neither shalt thou worship any strange god. ¹¹\81:10\I am the LORD thy God who brought thee out of the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it. ¹²\81:11\But my people would not hearken to my voice; and Israel would not obey me. ¹³\81:12\So I gave them up to their own hearts lust: and they walked in their own counsels. ¹⁴\81:13\O that my people had hearkened to me, and Israel had walked in my ways! ¹⁵\81:14\I should soon have subdued their enemies, and turned my hand against their adversaries. ¹⁶\81:15\The haters of the LORD should have submitted themselves to him: and their time should have endured for ever. ¹⁷\81:16\He would have fed them also with the finest of the wheat: and with honey out of the rock I should have satisfied thee.

Chapter 82

¹A Psalm of Asaph. God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the gods. ²How long will ye judge unjustly, and accept the persons of the wicked? Selah. ³Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy. ⁴Deliver the poor and needy: deliver them from the hand of the wicked. ⁵They know not, neither will they understand; they walk on in darkness: all the foundations of the earth are out of course. ⁶I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the Most High. ⁷But ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes. ⁸Arise, O God, judge the earth: for thou wilt inherit all nations.

Chapter 83

¹+ ²\83:1\A song, or Psalm of Asaph. Keep not thou silence, O God: hold not thy peace, and be not still, O God. ³\83:2\For lo, thy enemies make a tumult: and they that hate thee have lifted up the head. ⁴\83:3\They have taken crafty counsel against thy people, and consulted against thy hidden ones. ⁵\83:4\They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance. ⁶\83:5\For they have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee, ⁷\83:6\The tabernacles of Edom, and the Ishmaelites; of Moab, and the Hagarenes; ⁸\83:7\Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek; the Philistines with the inhabitants of Tyre; ⁹\83:8\Assur also is joined with them: they have helped the children of Lot. Selah. ¹⁰\83:9\Do to them as to the Midianites; as to Sisera, as to Jabin, at the brook of Kison: ¹¹\83:10\Who perished at En-dor: they became as dung for the earth. ¹²\83:11\Make their nobles like Oreb, and like Zeeb: yes, all their princes as Zebah, and as Zalmunna: ¹³\83:12\Who said, Let us take to ourselves the houses of God in possession. ¹⁴\83:13\O my God, make them like a wheel; as the stubble before the wind. ¹⁵\83:14\As the fire burneth a wood, and as the flame setteth the mountains on fire; ¹⁶\83:15\So persecute them with thy tempest, and make them afraid with thy storm. ¹⁷\83:16\Fill their faces with shame; that they may seek thy name, O LORD. ¹⁸\83:17\Let them be confounded and troubled for ever; yes, let them be put to shame, and perish: ¹⁹\83:18\That men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth.

Chapter 84

¹+ ²\84:1\To the chief Musician upon Gittith, A Psalm for the sons of Korah. How amiable are thy tabernacles, O LORD of hosts! ³\84:2\My soul longeth, and even fainteth for the courts of the LORD: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God. ⁴\84:3\Yes, the sparrow hath found a house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even thy altars, O LORD of hosts, my King, and my God. ⁵\84:4\Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: they will be still praising thee. Selah. ⁶\84:5\Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways of them. ⁷\84:6\Who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well; the rain also filleth the pools. ⁸\84:7\They go from strength to strength, every one of them in Zion appeareth before God. ⁹\84:8\O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer: give ear, O God of Jacob. Selah. ¹⁰\84:9\Behold, O God our shield, and look upon the face of thy anointed. ¹¹\84:10\For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a door-keeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness. ¹²\84:11\For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. ¹³\84:12\O LORD of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee.

Chapter 85

¹+ ²\85:1\To the chief Musician, A Psalm for the sons of Korah. LORD, thou hast been favorable to thy land: thou hast brought back the captivity of Jacob. ³\85:2\Thou hast forgiven the iniquity of thy people, thou hast covered all their sin. Selah. ⁴\85:3\Thou hast taken away all thy wrath; thou hast turned thyself from the fierceness of thy anger. ⁵\85:4\Turn us, O God of our salvation, and cause thy anger towards us to cease. ⁶\85:5\Wilt thou be angry with us for ever? wilt thou draw out thy anger to all generations? ⁷\85:6\Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee? ⁸\85:7\Show us thy mercy, O LORD, and grant us thy salvation. ⁹\85:8\I will hear what God the LORD will speak: for he will speak peace to his people, and to his saints: but let them not turn again to folly. ¹⁰\85:9\Surely his salvation is nigh them that fear him; that glory may dwell in our land. ¹¹\85:10\Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other. ¹²\85:11\Truth shall spring out of the earth; and righteousness shall look down from heaven. ¹³\85:12\Yes, the LORD will give that which is good; and our land shall yield her increase. ¹⁴\85:13\Righteousness shall go before him; and shall set us in the way of his steps.

Chapter 86

¹A Prayer of David. Bow down thy ear, O LORD, hear me: for I am poor and needy. ²Preserve my soul; for I am holy: O thou my God, save thy servant that trusteth in thee. ³Be merciful to me, O Lord: for I cry to thee daily. ⁴Rejoice the soul of thy servant: for to thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul. ⁵For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and abundant in mercy to all them that call upon thee. ⁶Give ear, O LORD, to my prayer; and attend to the voice of my supplications. ⁷In the day of my trouble I will call upon thee: for thou wilt answer me. ⁸Among the gods there is none like thee, O Lord; neither are there any works like thy works. ⁹All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee, O Lord; and shall glorify thy name. ¹⁰For thou art great, and doest wondrous things: thou art God alone. ¹¹Teach me thy way, O LORD; I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name. ¹²I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart: and I will glorify thy name for evermore. ¹³For great is thy mercy towards me: and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell. ¹⁴O God, the proud have risen against me, and the assemblies of violent men have sought after my soul; and have not set thee before them. ¹⁵But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious; long-suffering, and abundant in mercy and truth. ¹⁶O turn to me, and have mercy upon me; give thy strength to thy servant, and save the son of thy handmaid. ¹⁷Show me a token for good; that they who hate me may see it, and be ashamed: because thou, LORD, hast helped me, and comforted me.

Chapter 87

¹A Psalm or Song for the sons of Korah. His foundation is in the holy mountains. ²The LORD loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob. ³Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God. Selah. ⁴I will make mention of Rahab and Babylon to them that know me: behold Philistia, and Tyre, with Cush; this man was born there. ⁵And of Zion it shall be said, This and that man was born in her: and the Highest himself shall establish her. ⁶The LORD shall count, when he writeth up the people, that this man was born there. Selah. ⁷As well the singers as the players on instruments shall be there: all my springs are in thee.

Chapter 88

¹+ ²\88:1\A Song or Psalm for the sons of Korah, to the chief Musician upon Mahalath Leannoth, Maschil of Heman the Ezrahite. O LORD God of my salvation, I have cried day and night before thee: ³\88:2\Let my prayer come before thee: incline thy ear to my cry; ⁴\88:3\For my soul is full of troubles: and my life draweth nigh to the grave. ⁵\88:4\I am counted with them that go down into the pit: I am as a man that hath no strength: ⁶\88:5\Free among the dead, like the slain that lie in the grave, whom thou rememberest no more: and they are cut off from thy hand. ⁷\88:6\Thou hast laid me in the lowest pit, in darkness, in the deeps. ⁸\88:7\Thy wrath lieth hard upon me, and thou hast afflicted me with all thy waves. Selah. ⁹\88:8\Thou hast put away my acquaintance far from me; thou hast made me an abomination to them: I am shut up, and I cannot come forth. ¹⁰\88:9\My eye mourneth by reason of affliction: LORD, I have called daily upon thee, I have stretched out my hands to thee. ¹¹\88:10\Wilt thou show wonders to the dead? shall the dead arise and praise thee? Selah. ¹²\88:11\Shall thy loving-kindness be declared in the grave? or thy faithfulness in destruction? ¹³\88:12\Shall thy wonders be known in the dark? and thy righteousness in the land of forgetfulness? ¹⁴\88:13\But to thee have I cried, O LORD; and in the morning shall my prayer come before thee. ¹⁵\88:14\LORD, why castest thou off my soul? why hidest thou thy face from me? ¹⁶\88:15\I am afflicted and ready to die from my youth up: while I suffer thy terrors I am distracted. ¹⁷\88:16\Thy fierce wrath goeth over me; thy terrors have cut me off. ¹⁸\88:17\They came around me daily like water; they encompassed me together. ¹⁹\88:18\Lover and friend hast thou put far from me, and my acquaintance into darkness.

Chapter 89

¹+ ²\89:1\Maschil of Ethan the Ezrahite. I will sing of the mercies of the LORD for ever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations. ³\89:2\For I have said, Mercy shall be built up for ever: thy faithfulness wilt thou establish in the very heavens. ⁴\89:3\I have made a covenant with my chosen, I have sworn to David my servant, ⁵\89:4\Thy seed will I establish for ever, and build up thy throne to all generations. Selah. ⁶\89:5\And the heavens shall praise thy wonders, O LORD; thy faithfulness also in the congregation of the saints. ⁷\89:6\For who in the heaven can be compared to the LORD? who among the sons of the mighty can be likened to the LORD? ⁸\89:7\God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence by all them that are about him. ⁹\89:8\O LORD God of hosts, who is a strong LORD like to thee? or to thy faithfulness around thee? ¹⁰\89:9\Thou rulest the raging of the sea: when its waves arise, thou stillest them. ¹¹\89:10\Thou hast broken Rahab in pieces, as one that is slain; thou hast scattered thy enemies with thy strong arm. ¹²\89:11\The heavens are thine, the earth also is thine: as for the world, and the fullness of it, thou hast founded them. ¹³\89:12\The north and the south thou hast created them: Tabor and Hermon shall rejoice in thy name. ¹⁴\89:13\Thou hast a mighty arm: strong is thy hand, and high is thy right hand. ¹⁵\89:14\Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne: mercy and truth shall go before thy face. ¹⁶\89:15\Blessed are the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O LORD, in the light of thy countenance. ¹⁷\89:16\In thy name shall they rejoice all the day: and in thy righteousness shall they be exalted. ¹⁸\89:17\For thou art the glory of their strength: and in thy favor our horn shall be exalted. ¹⁹\89:18\For the LORD is our defense; and the Holy One of Israel is our king. ²⁰\89:19\Then thou didst speak in vision to thy holy one, and say, I have laid help upon one that is mighty; I have exalted one chosen out of the people. ²¹\89:20\I have found David my servant; with my holy oil have I anointed him: ²²\89:21\With whom my hand shall be established: my arm also shall strengthen him. ²³\89:22\The enemy shall not exact upon him; nor the son of wickedness afflict him. ²⁴\89:23\And I will beat down his foes before his face, and afflict them that hate him. ²⁵\89:24\But my faithfulness and my mercy shall be with him: and in my name shall his horn be exalted. ²⁶\89:25\I will set his hand also in the sea, and his right hand in the rivers. ²⁷\89:26\He shall cry to me, Thou art my father, my God, and the rock of my salvation. ²⁸\89:27\Also I will make him my first-born, higher than the kings of the earth. ²⁹\89:28\My mercy will I keep for him for evermore, and my covenant shall stand fast with him. ³⁰\89:29\His seed also will I make to endure for ever, and his throne as the days of heaven. ³¹\89:30\If his children forsake my law, and walk not in my judgments; ³²\89:31\If they break my statutes, and keep not my commandments; ³³\89:32\Then will I visit their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes. ³⁴\89:33\Nevertheless my loving-kindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness to fail. ³⁵\89:34\My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that hath gone out of my lips. ³⁶\89:35\Once have I sworn by my holiness that I will not lie to David. ³⁷\89:36\His seed shall endure for ever, and his throne as the sun before me. ³⁸\89:37\It shall be established for ever as the moon, and as a faithful witness in heaven. Selah. ³⁹\89:38\But thou hast cast off and abhorred, thou hast been wroth with thy anointed. ⁴⁰\89:39\Thou hast made void the covenant of thy servant: thou hast profaned his crown by casting it to the ground. ⁴¹\89:40\Thou hast broken down all his hedges; thou hast brought his strong holds to ruin. ⁴²\89:41\All that pass by the way plunder him: he is a reproach to his neighbors. ⁴³\89:42\Thou hast set up the right hand of his adversaries; thou hast made all his enemies to rejoice. ⁴⁴\89:43\Thou hast also turned the edge of his sword, and hast not made him to stand in the battle. ⁴⁵\89:44\Thou hast made his glory to cease, and cast his throne down to the ground. ⁴⁶\89:45\The days of his youth hast thou shortened: thou hast covered him with shame. Selah. ⁴⁷\89:46\How long, LORD, wilt thou hide thyself? for ever? shall thy wrath burn like fire? ⁴⁸\89:47\Remember how short my time is: why hast thou made all men in vain? ⁴⁹\89:48\What man is he that liveth, and shall not see death? shall he deliver his soul from the hand of the grave? Selah. ⁵⁰\89:49\Lord, where are thy former loving-kindnesses, which thou didst swear to David in thy truth? ⁵¹\89:50\Remember, Lord, the reproach of thy servants; how I do bear in my bosom the reproach of all the mighty people; ⁵²\89:51\With which thy enemies have reproached, O LORD; with which they have reproached the footsteps of thy anointed ⁵³\89:52\Blessed be the LORD for evermore. Amen and amen.

Chapter 90

¹A prayer of Moses the man of God. Lord, thou hast been our dwelling-place in all generations. ²Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God. ³Thou turnest man to destruction; and sayest, Return, ye children of men. ⁴For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night. ⁵Thou carriest them away as with a flood; they are as a sleep; in the morning they are like grass which groweth. ⁶In the morning it flourisheth, and groweth; in the evening it is cut down, and withereth. ⁷For we are consumed by thy anger, and by thy wrath are we troubled. ⁸Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, our secret sins in the light of thy countenance. ⁹For all our days are passed away in thy wrath: we spend our years, as a tale that is told. ¹⁰The days of our years are seventy years; and if by reason of strength they are eighty years, yet is their strength labor and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away. ¹¹Who knoweth the power of thy anger? even according to thy fear, so is thy wrath. ¹²So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts to wisdom. ¹³Return, O LORD, how long? and repent thou concerning thy servants. ¹⁴O satisfy us early with thy mercy; that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. ¹⁵Make us glad according to the days in which thou hast afflicted us, and the years in which we have seen evil. ¹⁶Let thy work appear to thy servants, and thy glory to their children. ¹⁷And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us: and establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yes, the work of our hands establish thou it.

Chapter 91

¹He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. ²I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. ³Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. ⁴He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. ⁵Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; ⁶Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noon-day. ⁷A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. ⁸Only with thy eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked. ⁹Because thou hast made the LORD who is my refuge, even the Most High, thy habitation; ¹⁰There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. ¹¹For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. ¹²They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. ¹³Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet. ¹⁴Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. ¹⁵He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honor him. ¹⁶With long life will I satisfy him, and show him my salvation.

Chapter 92

¹+ ²\92:1\A Psalm or Song for the sabbath day. It is a good thing to give thanks to the LORD, and to sing praises to thy name, O Most High. ³\92:2\To show forth thy loving-kindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night. ⁴\92:3\Upon an instrument of ten strings, and upon the psaltery; upon the harp with a solemn sound. ⁵\92:4\For thou, LORD, hast made me glad through thy work: I will triumph in the works of thy hands. ⁶\92:5\O LORD, how great are thy works! and thy thoughts are very deep. ⁷\92:6\A brutish man knoweth not; neither doth a fool understand this. ⁸\92:7\When the wicked spring as the grass, and when all the workers of iniquity do flourish; it is that they shall be destroyed for ever: ⁹\92:8\But thou, LORD, art most high for evermore. ¹⁰\92:9\For lo, thy enemies, O LORD, for lo, thy enemies shall perish; all the workers of iniquity shall be scattered. ¹¹\92:10\But my horn shalt thou exalt like the horn of an unicorn: I shall be anointed with fresh oil. ¹²\92:11\My eye also shall see my desire on my enemies, and my ears shall hear my desire of the wicked that rise up against me. ¹³\92:12\The righteous shall flourish like the palm-tree; he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. ¹⁴\92:13\Those that are planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God. ¹⁵\92:14\They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing; ¹⁶\92:15\To show that the LORD is upright: he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.

Chapter 93

¹The LORD reigneth, he is clothed with majesty; the LORD is clothed with strength, with which he hath girded himself: the world also is established, that it cannot be moved. ²Thy throne is established of old: thou art from everlasting. ³The floods have lifted up, O LORD, the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift their waves. ⁴The LORD on high is mightier than the noise of many waters, yes, than the mighty waves of the sea. ⁵Thy testimonies are very sure: holiness becometh thy house, O LORD, for ever.

Chapter 94

¹O LORD God, to whom vengeance belongeth; O God, to whom vengeance belongeth, show thyself. ²Lift up thyself, thou judge of the earth: render a reward to the proud. ³LORD, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked triumph? ⁴How long shall they utter and speak hard things? and all the workers of iniquity boast themselves? ⁵They break in pieces thy people, O LORD, and afflict thy heritage. ⁶They slay the widow and the stranger, and murder the fatherless. ⁷Yet they say, The LORD will not see, neither will the God of Jacob regard it. ⁸Understand, ye brutish among the people: and ye fools, when will ye be wise? ⁹He that planted the ear, shall he not hear? he that formed the eye, shall he not see? ¹⁰He that chastiseth the heathen, shall he not correct? he that teacheth man knowledge, shall he not know? ¹¹The LORD knoweth the thoughts of man, that they are vanity. ¹²Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest, O LORD, and teachest him out of thy law; ¹³That thou mayest give him rest from the days of adversity, until the pit be digged for the wicked. ¹⁴For the LORD will not cast off his people, neither will he forsake his inheritance. ¹⁵But judgment shall return to righteousness: and all the upright in heart shall follow it. ¹⁶Who will rise up for me against the evil-doers? or who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity? ¹⁷Unless the LORD had been my help, my soul had almost dwelt in silence. ¹⁸When I said, My foot slippeth; thy mercy, O LORD, held me up. ¹⁹In the multitude of my thoughts within me, thy comforts delight my soul. ²⁰Shall the throne of iniquity have fellowship with thee, which frameth mischief by a law? ²¹They assemble themselves against the soul of the righteous, and condemn the innocent blood. ²²But the LORD is my defense; and my God is the rock of my refuge. ²³And he will bring upon them their own iniquity, and will cut them off in their own wickedness; yes, the LORD our God will cut them off.

Chapter 95

¹O come, let us sing to the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. ²Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise to him with psalms. ³For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods. ⁴In his hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is his also. ⁵The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land. ⁶O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker. ⁷For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. To-day, if ye will hear his voice, ⁸Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness: ⁹When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my work. ¹⁰Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said, It is a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known my ways: ¹¹To whom I swore in my wrath, that they should not enter into my rest.

Chapter 96

¹O sing to the LORD a new song: sing to the LORD, all the earth. ²Sing to the LORD, bless his name; show forth his salvation from day to day. ³Declare his glory among the heathen, his wonders among all people. ⁴For the LORD is great, and greatly to be praised: he is to be feared above all gods. ⁵For all the gods of the nations are idols: but the LORD made the heavens. ⁶Honor and majesty are before him: strength and beauty are in his sanctuary. ⁷Give to the LORD, O ye kindreds of the people, give to the LORD glory and strength. ⁸Give to the LORD the glory due to his name: bring an offering, and come into his courts. ⁹O worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness: fear before him, all the earth. ¹⁰Say among the heathen that the LORD reigneth: the world also shall be established that it shall not be moved: he will judge the people righteously. ¹¹Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the sea roar, and the fullness of it. ¹²Let the field be joyful, and all that is in it: then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice before the LORD: ¹³For he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth: he will judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth.

Chapter 97

¹The LORD reigneth; let the earth rejoice; let the multitude of isles be glad. ²Clouds and darkness surround him: righteousness and judgment are the habitation of his throne. ³A fire goeth before him, and burneth up his enemies round about. ⁴His lightnings enlightened the world: the earth saw, and trembled. ⁵The hills melted like wax at the presence of the LORD, at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth. ⁶The heavens declare his righteousness, and all the people see his glory. ⁷Confounded be all they that serve graven images, that boast themselves of idols; worship him, all ye gods. ⁸Zion heard, and was glad; and the daughters of Judah rejoiced because of thy judgments, O LORD. ⁹For thou, LORD, art high above all the earth: thou art exalted far above all gods. ¹⁰Ye that love the LORD, hate evil: he preserveth the souls of his saints; he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked. ¹¹Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart. ¹²Rejoice in the LORD, ye righteous; and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.

Chapter 98

¹A Psalm. O sing to the LORD a new song; for he hath done marvelous things: his right hand, and his holy arm, hath gotten him the victory. ²The LORD hath made known his salvation: his righteousness hath he openly shown in the sight of the heathen. ³He hath remembered his mercy and his truth towards the house of Israel: all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. ⁴Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise. ⁵Sing to the LORD with the harp; with the harp, and the voice of a psalm. ⁶With trumpets and sound of cornet make a joyful noise before the LORD, the King. ⁷Let the sea roar, and the fullness of it, the world, and they that dwell therein. ⁸Let the floods clap their hands: let the hills be joyful together ⁹Before the LORD; for he cometh to judge the earth: with righteousness will he judge the world, and the people with equity.

Chapter 99

¹The LORD reigneth; let the people tremble: he setteth between the cherubim; let the earth be moved. ²The LORD is great in Zion; and he is high above all people. ³Let them praise thy great and terrible name; for it is holy. ⁴The king's strength also loveth judgment; thou dost establish equity, thou executest judgment and righteousness in Jacob. ⁵Exalt ye the LORD our God, and worship at his footstool; for he is holy. ⁶Moses and Aaron among his priests, and Samuel among them that call upon his name; they called upon the LORD, and he answered them. ⁷He spoke to them in the cloudy pillar: they kept his testimonies, and the ordinance that he gave them. ⁸Thou didst answer them, O LORD our God: thou wast a God that forgavest them, though thou tookest vengeance of their inventions. ⁹Exalt the LORD our God, and worship at his holy hill; for the LORD our God is holy.

Chapter 100

¹A Psalm of praise. Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all ye lands. ²Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing. ³Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. ⁴Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful to him, and bless his name. ⁵For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.

Chapter 101

¹A Psalm of David. I will sing of mercy and judgment: to thee, O LORD, will I sing. ²I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way. O when wilt thou come to me? I will walk within my house with a perfect heart. ³I will set no wicked thing before my eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me. ⁴A froward heart shall depart from me: I will not know a wicked person. ⁵Whoever privily slandereth his neighbor, him will I cut off: him that hath a high look and a proud heart I will not suffer. ⁶My eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me: he that walketh in a perfect way, he shall serve me. ⁷He that worketh deceit shall not dwell within my house: he that telleth lies shall not tarry in my sight. ⁸I will early destroy all the wicked of the land; that I may cut off all who practice wickedness from the city of the LORD.

Chapter 102

¹+ ²\102:1\A Prayer of the afflicted, when he is overwhelmed, and poureth out his complaint before the LORD. Hear my prayer, O LORD, and let my cry come to thee. ³\102:2\Hide not thy face from me in the day when I am in trouble; incline thy ear to me: in the day when I call, answer me speedily. ⁴\102:3\For my days are consumed like smoke, and my bones are burned as an hearth. ⁵\102:4\My heart is smitten, and withered like grass; so that I forget to eat my bread. ⁶\102:5\By reason of the voice of my groaning, my bones cleave to my skin. ⁷\102:6\I am like a pelican of the wilderness: I am like an owl of the desert. ⁸\102:7\I watch, and am as a sparrow alone upon the house top. ⁹\102:8\My enemies reproach me all the day; and they that are enraged against me are sworn against me. ¹⁰\102:9\For I have eaten ashes like bread, and mingled my drink with weeping, ¹¹\102:10\Because of thy indignation and thy wrath: for thou hast lifted me up, and cast me down. ¹²\102:11\My days are like a shadow that declineth; and I am withered like grass. ¹³\102:12\But thou, O LORD, shalt endure for ever; and thy remembrance to all generations. ¹⁴\102:13\Thou shalt arise, and have mercy upon Zion: for the time to favor her, yes, the set time, is come. ¹⁵\102:14\For thy servants take pleasure in her stones, and favor the dust thereof. ¹⁶\102:15\So the heathen shall fear the name of the LORD: and all the kings of the earth thy glory. ¹⁷\102:16\When the LORD shall build up Zion, he will appear in his glory. ¹⁸\102:17\He will regard the prayer of the destitute, and not despise their prayer. ¹⁹\102:18\This shall be written for the generation to come: and the people which shall be created shall praise the LORD. ²⁰\102:19\For he hath looked down from the hight of his sanctuary; from heaven hath the LORD beheld the earth; ²¹\102:20\To hear the groaning of the prisoner; to loose those that are appointed to death; ²²\102:21\To declare the name of the LORD in Zion, and his praise in Jerusalem; ²³\102:22\When the people are assembled, and the kingdoms, to serve the LORD. ²⁴\102:23\He weakened my strength in the way; he shortened my days. ²⁵\102:24\I said, O my God, take me not away in the midst of my days: thy years are throughout all generations. ²⁶\102:25\Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands. ²⁷\102:26\They shall perish, but thou wilt endure: yes, all of them shall grow old like a garment; as a vesture wilt thou change them, and they shall be changed: ²⁸\102:27\But thou art the same, and thy years will have no end. ²⁹\102:28\The children of thy servants shall continue, and their seed shall be established before thee.

Chapter 103

¹A Psalm of David. Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. ²Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: ³Who forgiveth all thy iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; ⁴Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with loving-kindness and tender mercies; ⁵Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's. ⁶The LORD executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed. ⁷He made known his ways to Moses, his acts to the children of Israel. ⁸The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abundant in mercy. ⁹He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever. ¹⁰He hath not dealt with us according to our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. ¹¹For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy towards them that fear him. ¹²As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. ¹³Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him. ¹⁴For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust. ¹⁵As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth. ¹⁶For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and its place shall know it no more. ¹⁷But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness to children's children; ¹⁸To such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them. ¹⁹The LORD hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all. ²⁰Bless the LORD, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening to the voice of his word. ²¹Bless ye the LORD, all ye his hosts; ye ministers of his, that do his pleasure. ²²Bless the LORD, all his works in all places of his dominion: bless the LORD, O my soul.

Chapter 104

¹Bless the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, thou art very great; thou art clothed with honor and majesty. ²Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment: who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain: ³Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters: who maketh the clouds his chariot: who walketh upon the wings of the wind: ⁴Who maketh his angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire: ⁵Who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed for ever. ⁶Thou coveredst it with the deep as with a garment: the waters stood above the mountains. ⁷At thy rebuke they fled; at the voice of thy thunder they hasted away. ⁸They go up by the mountains; they go down by the valleys to the place which thou hast founded for them. ⁹Thou hast set a bound that they may not pass over; that they turn not again to cover the earth. ¹⁰He sendeth the springs into the valleys, which run among the hills. ¹¹They give drink to every beast of the field: the wild asses quench their thirst. ¹²By them shall the fowls of the heaven have their habitation, which sing among the branches. ¹³He watereth the hills from his chambers: the earth is satisfied with the fruit of thy works. ¹⁴He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man: that he may bring forth food out of the earth; ¹⁵And wine that maketh glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine, and bread which strengtheneth man's heart. ¹⁶The trees of the LORD are full of sap; the cedars of Lebanon, which he hath planted; ¹⁷Where the birds make their nests: as for the stork, the fir-trees are her house. ¹⁸The high hills are a refuge for the wild goats; and the rocks for the conies. ¹⁹He appointeth the moon for seasons: the sun knoweth his going down. ²⁰Thou makest darkness, and it is night: in which all the beasts of the forest do creep forth. ²¹The young lions roar after their prey, and seek their food from God. ²²The sun ariseth, they collect, and lay themselves down in their dens. ²³Man goeth forth to his work and to his labor until the evening. ²⁴O LORD, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches. ²⁵So is this great and wide sea, in which are creeping animals innumerable, both small and great beasts. ²⁶There go the ships: there is that leviathan, which thou hast made to play therein. ²⁷These wait all upon thee; that thou mayest give them their food in due season. ²⁸That which thou givest them, they gather: thou openest thy hand, they are filled with good. ²⁹Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled: thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust. ³⁰Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth. ³¹The glory of the LORD shall endure for ever: the LORD shall rejoice in his works. ³²He looketh on the earth, and it trembleth: he toucheth the hills, and they smoke. ³³I will sing to the LORD as long as I live: I will sing praise to my God while I have my being. ³⁴My meditation of him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the LORD. ³⁵Let sinners be consumed out of the earth, and let the wicked be no more. Bless thou the LORD, O my soul. Praise ye the LORD.

Chapter 105

¹O give thanks to the LORD; call upon his name: make known his deeds among the people. ²Sing to him, sing psalms to him: talk ye of all his wondrous works. ³Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the LORD. ⁴Seek the LORD, and his strength: seek his face evermore. ⁵Remember his wonderful works that he hath done; his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth; ⁶O ye seed of Abraham his servant, ye children of Jacob his chosen. ⁷He is the LORD our God: his judgments are in all the earth. ⁸He hath remembered his covenant for ever, the word which he commanded to a thousand generations. ⁹Which covenant he made with Abraham, and his oath to Isaac; ¹⁰And confirmed the same to Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant: ¹¹Saying, To thee will I give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance: ¹²When they were a few men in number; yes, very few, and strangers in it. ¹³When they went from one nation to another, from one kingdom to another people; ¹⁴He suffered no man to do them wrong: yes, he reproved kings for their sakes; ¹⁵Saying, Touch not my anointed, and do my prophets no harm. ¹⁶Moreover he called for a famine upon the land: he broke the whole staff of bread. ¹⁷He sent a man before them, even Joseph, who was sold for a servant: ¹⁸Whose feet they hurt with fetters: he was laid in iron: ¹⁹Until the time that his word came: the word of the LORD tried him. ²⁰The king sent and loosed him; even the ruler of the people, and let him go free. ²¹He made him lord of his house, and ruler of all his substance: ²²To bind his princes at his pleasure; and teach his senators wisdom. ²³Israel also came into Egypt; and Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham. ²⁴And he increased his people greatly; and made them stronger than their enemies. ²⁵He turned their heart to hate his people, to deal subtilly with his servants. ²⁶He sent Moses his servant; and Aaron whom he had chosen. ²⁷They showed his signs among them, and wonders in the land of Ham. ²⁸He sent darkness, and made it dark; and they rebelled not against his word. ²⁹He turned their waters into blood, and slew their fish. ³⁰Their land brought forth frogs in abundance, in the chambers of their kings. ³¹He spoke, and there came divers sorts of flies, and lice in all their borders. ³²He gave them hail for rain, and flaming fire in their land. ³³He smote their vines also and their fig-trees; and broke the trees of their borders. ³⁴He spoke, and the locusts came, and caterpillars, and that without number, ³⁵And ate up all the herbs in their land, and devoured the fruit of their ground. ³⁶He smote also all the first-born in their land, the chief of all their strength. ³⁷He brought them forth also with silver and gold: and there was not one feeble person among their tribes. ³⁸Egypt was glad when they departed: for the fear of them fell upon them. ³⁹He spread a cloud for a covering; and fire to give light in the night. ⁴⁰The people asked, and he brought quails, and satisfied them with the bread of heaven. ⁴¹He opened the rock, and the waters gushed out; they ran in the dry places like a river. ⁴²For he remembered his holy promise, and Abraham his servant. ⁴³And he brought forth his people with joy, and his chosen with gladness: ⁴⁴And gave them the lands of the heathen: and they inherited the labor of the people; ⁴⁵That they might observe his statutes, and keep his laws. Praise ye the LORD.

Chapter 106

¹Praise ye the LORD. O give thanks to the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. ²Who can utter the mighty acts of the LORD? who can show forth all his praise? ³Blessed are they that keep judgment, and he that doeth righteousness at all times. ⁴Remember me, O LORD, with the favor that thou bearest to thy people: O visit me with thy salvation; ⁵That I may see the good of thy chosen, that I may rejoice in the gladness of thy nation, that I may glory with thy inheritance. ⁶We have sinned with our fathers, we have committed iniquity, we have done wickedly. ⁷Our fathers understood not thy wonders in Egypt; they remembered not the multitude of thy mercies; but provoked him at the sea, even at the Red sea. ⁸Nevertheless he saved them for his name's sake, that he might make his mighty power to be known. ⁹He rebuked the Red sea also, and it was dried up: so he led them through the depths, as through the wilderness. ¹⁰And he saved them from the hand of him that hated them, and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy. ¹¹And the waters covered their enemies: there was not one of them left. ¹²Then they believed his words; they sang his praise. ¹³They soon forgot his works; they waited not for his counsel: ¹⁴But lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, and tempted God in the desert. ¹⁵And he gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul. ¹⁶They envied Moses also in the camp, and Aaron the saint of the LORD. ¹⁷The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan, and covered the company of Abiram. ¹⁸And a fire was kindled in their company; the flame burned up the wicked. ¹⁹They made a calf in Horeb, and worshiped the molten image. ²⁰Thus they changed their glory into the similitude of an ox that eateth grass. ²¹They forgot God their savior, who had done great things in Egypt; ²²Wondrous works in the land of Ham, and terrible things by the Red sea. ²³Therefore he said that he would destroy them, had not Moses his chosen stood before him in the breach, to turn away his wrath, lest he should destroy them. ²⁴Yes, they despised the pleasant land, they believed not his word: ²⁵But murmured in their tents, and hearkened not to the voice of the LORD. ²⁶Therefore he lifted up his hand against them, to overthrow them in the wilderness: ²⁷To overthrow their seed also among the nations, and to scatter them in the lands. ²⁸They joined themselves also to Baal-peor, and ate the sacrifices of the dead. ²⁹Thus they provoked him to anger with their inventions: and the plague broke in upon them. ³⁰Then stood up Phinehas, and executed judgment: and so the plague was stayed. ³¹And that was counted to him for righteousness to all generations for ever. ³²They angered him also at the waters of strife, so that it went ill with Moses for their sakes: ³³Because they provoked his spirit, so that he spoke unadvisedly with his lips. ³⁴They did not destroy the nations, concerning whom the LORD commanded them: ³⁵But were mingled among the heathen, and learned their works. ³⁶And they served their idols: which were a snare to them. ³⁷Yes, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons, ³⁸And shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and of their daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan: and the land was polluted with blood. ³⁹Thus were they defiled with their own works, and went astray with their own inventions. ⁴⁰Therefore was the wrath of the LORD kindled against his people, insomuch that he abhorred his own inheritance. ⁴¹And he gave them into the hand of the heathen; and they that hated them ruled over them. ⁴²Their enemies also oppressed them, and they were brought into subjection under their hand. ⁴³Many times did he deliver them; but they provoked him with their counsel; and were brought low for their iniquity. ⁴⁴Nevertheless he regarded their affliction, when he heard their cry: ⁴⁵And he remembered for them his covenant, and repented according to the multitude of his mercies. ⁴⁶He made them also to be pitied by all those that carried them captives. ⁴⁷Save us, O LORD our God, and gather us from among the heathen, to give thanks to thy holy name, and to triumph in thy praise. ⁴⁸Blessed be the LORD God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting: and let all the people say, Amen. Praise ye the LORD.

Chapter 107

¹O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever. ²Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy; ³And gathered them out of the lands, from the east, and from the west, from the north, and from the south. ⁴They wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way; they found no city to dwell in. ⁵Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them. ⁶Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses. ⁷And he led them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city of habitation. ⁸Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! ⁹For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness. ¹⁰Such as sit in darkness and in the shades of death, being bound in affliction and iron; ¹¹Because they rebelled against the words of God, and contemned the counsel of the Most High: ¹²Therefore he brought down their heart with labor; they fell down, and there was none to help. ¹³Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he saved them out of their distresses. ¹⁴He brought them out of darkness and the shades of death, and broke their bands asunder. ¹⁵Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! ¹⁶For he hath broken the gates of brass, and cut the bars of iron asunder. ¹⁷Fools, because of their transgression, and because of their iniquities, are afflicted. ¹⁸Their soul abhorreth all manner of food; and they draw near to the gates of death. ¹⁹Then they cry to the LORD in their trouble, he saveth them out of their distresses. ²⁰He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions. ²¹Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! ²²And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his works with rejoicing. ²³They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business on great waters; ²⁴These see the works of the LORD, and his wonders in the deep. ²⁵For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up its waves. ²⁶They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble. ²⁷They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wit's end. ²⁸Then they cry to the LORD in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses. ²⁹He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves of the sea are still. ³⁰Then are they glad because they are quiet; so he bringeth them to their desired haven. ³¹Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! ³²Let them exalt him also in the congregation of the people, and praise him in the assembly of the elders. ³³He turneth rivers into a wilderness, and the water-springs into dry ground; ³⁴A fruitful land into barrenness, for the wickedness of them that dwell in it. ³⁵He turneth the wilderness into a standing water, and dry ground into water-springs. ³⁶And there he maketh the hungry to dwell, that they may prepare a city for habitation; ³⁷And sow the fields, and plant vineyards, which may yield fruits of increase. ³⁸He blesseth them also, so that they are multiplied greatly; and suffereth not their cattle to decrease. ³⁹Again, they are diminished and brought low through oppression, affliction, and sorrow. ⁴⁰He poureth contempt upon princes, and causeth them to wander in the wilderness, where there is no way. ⁴¹Yet he setteth the poor on high from affliction, and maketh him families like a flock. ⁴²The righteous shall see it, and rejoice: and all iniquity shall stop her mouth. ⁴³Whoever is wise, and will observe these things, even they shall understand the loving-kindness of the LORD.

Chapter 108

¹+ ²\108:1\A Song or Psalm of David. O God, my heart is fixed; I will sing and give praise, even with my glory. ³\108:2\Awake, psaltery and harp: I myself will awake early. ⁴\108:3\I will praise thee, O LORD, among the people: and I will sing praises to thee among the nations. ⁵\108:4\For thy mercy is great above the heavens: and thy truth reacheth to the clouds. ⁶\108:5\Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens: and thy glory above all the earth; ⁷\108:6\That thy beloved may be delivered: save with thy right hand, and answer me. ⁸\108:7\God hath spoken in his holiness; I will rejoice, I will divide Shechem, and measure out the valley of Succoth. ⁹\108:8\Gilead is mine; Manasseh is mine; Ephraim also is the strength of my head; Judah is my lawgiver; ¹⁰\108:9\Moab is my washpot; over Edom will I cast out my shoe; over Philistia will I triumph. ¹¹\108:10\Who will bring me into the strong city: who will lead me into Edom? ¹²\108:11\Wilt not thou, O God, who hast cast us off? and wilt not thou, O God, go forth with our armies? ¹³\108:12\Give us help from trouble: for vain is the help of man. ¹⁴\108:13\Through God we shall do valiantly: for he will tread down our enemies.

Chapter 109

¹To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. Hold not thy peace, O God of my praise; ²For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful are opened against me: they have spoken against me with a lying tongue. ³They encompassed me also with words of hatred; and fought against me without a cause. ⁴For my love they are my adversaries: but I give myself to prayer. ⁵And they have rewarded me evil for good, and hatred for my love. ⁶Set thou a wicked man over him: and let Satan stand at his right hand. ⁷When he shall be judged, let him be condemned: and let his prayer become sin. ⁸Let his days be few; and let another take his office. ⁹Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow. ¹⁰Let his children be continually vagabonds, and beg: let them seek their bread also out of their desolate places. ¹¹Let the extortioner catch all that he hath; and let strangers spoil his labor. ¹²Let there be none to extend mercy to him: neither let there be any to favor his fatherless children. ¹³Let his posterity be cut off; and in the generation following let their name be blotted out. ¹⁴Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered with the LORD; and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out. ¹⁵Let them be before the LORD continually, that he may cut off the memory of them from the earth. ¹⁶Because that he remembered not to show mercy, but persecuted the poor and needy man, that he might even slay the broken in heart. ¹⁷As he loved cursing, so let it come to him: as he delighted not in blessing, so let it be far from him. ¹⁸As he clothed himself with cursing like as with his garment, so let it come into his bowels like water, and like oil into his bones. ¹⁹Let it be to him as the garment which covereth him, and for a girdle with which he is girded continually. ²⁰Let this be the reward of my adversaries from the LORD, and of them that speak evil against my soul. ²¹But do thou for me, O GOD the Lord, for thy name's sake: because thy mercy is good, deliver thou me. ²²For I am poor and needy, and my heart is wounded within me. ²³I am gone like the shadow when it declineth: I am tossed up and down as the locust. ²⁴My knees are weak through fasting; and my flesh faileth of fatness. ²⁵I became also a reproach to them: when they looked upon me they shook their heads. ²⁶Help me, O LORD my God: O save me according to thy mercy: ²⁷That they may know that this is thy hand; that thou, LORD, hast done it. ²⁸Let them curse, but bless thou: when they arise, let them be ashamed; but let thy servant rejoice. ²⁹Let my adversaries be clothed with shame, and let them cover themselves with their own confusion, as with a mantle. ³⁰I will greatly praise the LORD with my mouth; yes, I will praise him among the multitude. ³¹For he will stand at the right hand of the poor, to save him from those that condemn his soul.

Chapter 110

¹A Psalm of David. The LORD said to my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thy enemies thy footstool. ²The LORD will send the rod of thy strength out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thy enemies. ³Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness: from the womb of the morning, thou hast the dew of thy youth. ⁴The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedek. ⁵The Lord at thy right hand will strike through kings in the day of his wrath. ⁶He will judge among the heathen, he will fill the places with the dead bodies; he will wound the heads over many countries. ⁷He will drink of the brook in the way: therefore will he lift up the head.

Chapter 111

¹Praise ye the LORD. I will praise the LORD with my whole heart, in the assembly of the upright, and in the congregation. ²The works of the LORD are great, sought out by all them that have pleasure in them. ³His work is honorable and glorious: and his righteousness endureth for ever. ⁴He hath made his wonderful works to be remembered: the LORD is gracious and full of compassion. ⁵He hath given food to them that fear him: he will ever be mindful of his covenant. ⁶He hath shown his people the power of his works, that he may give them the heritage of the heathen. ⁷The works of his hands are verity and judgment; all his commandments are sure. ⁸They stand fast for ever and ever, and are done in truth and uprightness. ⁹He sent redemption to his people: he hath commanded his covenant for ever: holy and reverend is his name. ¹⁰The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever.

Chapter 112

¹Praise ye the LORD. Blessed is the man that feareth the LORD, that delighteth greatly in his commandments. ²His seed shall be mighty upon earth: the generation of the upright shall be blessed. ³Wealth and riches shall be in his house: and his righteousness endureth for ever. ⁴To the upright there ariseth light in darkness: he is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous. ⁵A good man showeth favor, and lendeth: he will guide his affairs with discretion. ⁶Surely he shall not be moved for ever: the righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance. ⁷He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the LORD. ⁸His heart is established, he shall not be afraid, until he seeth his desire upon his enemies. ⁹He hath dispersed, he hath given to the poor; his righteousness endureth for ever; his horn shall be exalted with honor. ¹⁰The wicked shall see it, and be grieved; he shall gnash with his teeth, and melt away: the desire of the wicked shall perish.

Chapter 113

¹Praise ye the LORD. Praise, O ye servants of the LORD, praise the name of the LORD. ²Blessed be the name of the LORD from this time forth and for evermore. ³From the rising of the sun to the going down of the same the LORD'S name is to be praised. ⁴The LORD is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens. ⁵Who is like to the LORD our God, who dwelleth on high. ⁶Who humbleth himself to behold the things that are in heaven, and in the earth! ⁷He raiseth the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the needy out of the dunghill; ⁸That he may set him with princes, even with the princes of his people. ⁹He maketh the barren woman to keep house, and to be a joyful mother of children. Praise ye the LORD.

Chapter 114

¹When Israel went out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of a foreign language; ²Judah was his sanctuary, and Israel his dominion. ³The sea saw it, and fled: Jordan was driven back. ⁴The mountains skipped like rams, and the little hills like lambs. ⁵What ailed thee, O thou sea, that thou fleddest? thou Jordan, that thou wast driven back? ⁶Ye mountains, that ye skipped like rams; and ye little hills, like lambs? ⁷Tremble, thou earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob; ⁸Who turned the rock into a standing water, the flint into a fountain of waters.

Chapter 115

¹Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth's sake. ²Why should the heathen say, Where is now their God? ³But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatever he pleased. ⁴Their idols are silver and gold; the work of men's hands. ⁵They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not: ⁶They have ears, but they hear not: noses have they, but they smell not: ⁷They have hands, but they handle not: feet have they, but they walk not: neither speak they through their throat. ⁸They that make them are like them; so is every one that trusteth in them. ⁹O Israel, trust thou in the LORD: he is their help and their shield. ¹⁰O house of Aaron, trust in the LORD: he is their help and their shield. ¹¹Ye that fear the LORD, trust in the LORD: he is their help and their shield. ¹²The LORD hath been mindful of us: he will bless us; he will bless the house of Israel; he will bless the house of Aaron. ¹³He will bless them that fear the LORD, both small and great. ¹⁴The LORD will increase you more and more, you and your children. ¹⁵Ye are blessed of the LORD who made heaven and earth. ¹⁶The heaven, even the heavens, are the LORD'S: but the earth hath he given to the children of men. ¹⁷The dead praise not the LORD, neither any that go down into silence. ¹⁸But we will bless the LORD from this time forth and for ever. Praise the LORD.

Chapter 116

¹I love the LORD, because he hath heard my voice and my supplications. ²Because he hath inclined his ear to me, therefore will I call upon him as long as I live. ³The sorrows of death encompassed me, and the pains of hell came upon me: I found trouble and sorrow. ⁴Then I called upon the name of the LORD; O LORD, I beseech thee, deliver my soul. ⁵Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; yes, our God is merciful. ⁶The LORD preserveth the simple: I was brought low, and he helped me. ⁷Return to thy rest, O my soul; for the LORD hath dealt bountifully with thee. ⁸For thou hast delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, and my feet from falling. ⁹I will walk before the LORD in the land of the living. ¹⁰I believed, therefore have I spoken: I was greatly afflicted: ¹¹I said in my haste, All men are liars. ¹²What shall I render to the LORD for all his benefits towards me? ¹³I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the LORD. ¹⁴I will pay my vows to the LORD now in the presence of all his people. ¹⁵Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints. ¹⁶O LORD, truly I am thy servant; I am thy servant, the son of thy handmaid: thou hast loosed my bonds. ¹⁷I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the LORD. ¹⁸I will pay my vows to the LORD now in the presence of all his people, ¹⁹In the courts of the LORD'S house, in the midst of thee, O Jerusalem. Praise ye the LORD.

Chapter 117

¹O praise the LORD, all ye nations: praise him, all ye people. ²For his merciful kindness is great towards us: and the truth of the LORD endureth for ever. Praise ye the LORD.

Chapter 118

¹O give thanks to the LORD; for he is good: because his mercy endureth for ever. ²Let Israel now say, that his mercy endureth for ever. ³Let the house of Aaron now say, that his mercy endureth for ever. ⁴Let them now that fear the LORD say, that his mercy endureth for ever. ⁵I called upon the LORD in distress: the LORD answered me, and set me in a large place. ⁶The LORD is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do to me? ⁷The LORD taketh my part with them that help me: therefore shall I see my desire upon them that hate me. ⁸It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man. ⁹It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes. ¹⁰All nations encompassed me: but in the name of the LORD will I destroy them. ¹¹They encompassed me; yes, they encompassed me: but in the name of the LORD I will destroy them. ¹²They encompassed me like bees; they are quenched as the fire of thorns: for in the name of the LORD I will destroy them. ¹³Thou hast violently thrust at me that I might fall: but the LORD helped me. ¹⁴The LORD is my strength and song, and is become my salvation. ¹⁵The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tabernacles of the righteous: the right hand of the LORD doeth valiantly. ¹⁶The right hand of the LORD is exalted: the right hand of the LORD doeth valiantly. ¹⁷I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the LORD. ¹⁸The LORD hath chastened me severely: but he hath not given me over to death. ¹⁹Open to me the gates of righteousness: I will enter them, and I will praise the LORD: ²⁰This gate of the LORD, into which the righteous shall enter. ²¹I will praise thee: for thou hast heard me, and art become my salvation. ²²The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner. ²³This is the LORD'S doing; it is wonderful in our eyes. ²⁴This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. ²⁵Save now, I beseech thee, O LORD: O LORD, I beseech thee, send now prosperity. ²⁶Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the LORD: we have blessed you out of the house of the LORD. ²⁷God is the LORD, who hath shown us light: bind the sacrifice with cords, even to the horns of the altar. ²⁸Thou art my God, and I will praise thee: thou art my God, I will exalt thee. ²⁹O give thanks to the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.

Chapter 119

¹ALEPH. Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the LORD. ²Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart. ³They also do no iniquity: they walk in his ways. ⁴Thou hast commanded us to keep thy precepts diligently. ⁵O that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes! ⁶Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect to all thy commandments. ⁷I will praise thee with uprightness of heart, when I shall have learned thy righteous judgments. ⁸I will keep thy statutes: O forsake me not utterly. ⁹BETH. Wherewith shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed to it, according to thy word. ¹⁰With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments. ¹¹Thy word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against thee. ¹²Blessed art thou, O LORD: teach me thy statutes. ¹³With my lips have I declared all the judgments of thy mouth. ¹⁴I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies, as much as in all riches. ¹⁵I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect to thy ways. ¹⁶I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word. ¹⁷GIMEL. Deal bountifully with thy servant, that I may live, and keep thy word. ¹⁸Open thou my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law. ¹⁹I am a stranger in the earth: hide not thy commandments from me. ²⁰My soul breaketh for the longing that it hath to thy judgments at all times. ²¹Thou hast rebuked the proud that are cursed, who do err from thy commandments. ²²Remove from me reproach and contempt; for I have kept thy testimonies. ²³Princes also did sit and speak against me: but thy servant did meditate in thy statutes. ²⁴Thy testimonies also are my delight, and my counselors. ²⁵DALETH. My soul cleaveth to the dust: revive thou me according to thy word. ²⁶I have declared my ways, and thou heardest me: teach me thy statutes. ²⁷Make me to understand the way of thy precepts: so shall I talk of thy wondrous works. ²⁸My soul melteth for heaviness: strengthen thou me according to thy word. ²⁹Remove from me the way of lying: and grant me thy law graciously. ³⁰I have chosen the way of truth: thy judgments have I laid before me. ³¹I have adhered to thy testimonies: O LORD, put me not to shame. ³²I will run the way of thy commandments, when thou shalt enlarge my heart. ³³HE. Teach me, O LORD, the way of thy statutes; and I shall keep it to the end. ³⁴Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy law; yes, I shall observe it with my whole heart. ³⁵Make me to go in the path of thy commandments; for in that do I delight. ³⁶Incline my heart to thy testimonies, and not to covetousness. ³⁷Turn away my eyes from beholding vanity; and revive thou me in thy way. ³⁸Establish thy word to thy servant, who is devoted to thy fear. ³⁹Turn away my reproach which I fear: for thy judgments are good. ⁴⁰Behold, I have longed after thy precepts: revive me in thy righteousness. ⁴¹VAU. Let thy mercies come also to me, O LORD, even thy salvation, according to thy word. ⁴²So shall I have with which to answer him that reproacheth me: for I trust in thy word. ⁴³And take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth; for I have hoped in thy judgments. ⁴⁴So shall I keep thy law continually for ever and ever. ⁴⁵And I will walk at liberty: for I seek thy precepts. ⁴⁶I will speak of thy testimonies also before kings, and will not be ashamed. ⁴⁷And I will delight myself in thy commandments, which I have loved. ⁴⁸My hands also will I lift to thy commandments, which I have loved; and I will meditate in thy statutes. ⁴⁹ZAIN. Remember the word to thy servant, upon which thou hast caused me to hope. ⁵⁰This is my comfort in my affliction: for thy word hath revived me. ⁵¹The proud have had me greatly in derision: yet I have not declined from thy law. ⁵²I remembered thy judgments of old, O LORD; and have comforted myself. ⁵³Horror hath taken hold upon me because of the wicked that forsake thy law. ⁵⁴Thy statutes have been my songs in the house of my pilgrimage. ⁵⁵I have remembered thy name, O LORD, in the night, and have kept thy law. ⁵⁶This I had, because I kept thy precepts. ⁵⁷CHETH. Thou art my portion, O LORD: I have said that I would keep thy words. ⁵⁸I entreated thy favor with my whole heart: be merciful to me according to thy word. ⁵⁹I thought on my ways, and turned my feet to thy testimonies. ⁶⁰I made haste, and delayed not to keep thy commandments. ⁶¹The bands of the wicked have robbed me: but I have not forgotten thy law. ⁶²At midnight I will rise to give thanks to thee, because of thy righteous judgments. ⁶³I am a companion of all them that fear thee, and of them that keep thy precepts. ⁶⁴The earth, O LORD, is full of thy mercy: teach me thy statutes. ⁶⁵TETH. Thou hast dealt well with thy servant, O LORD, according to thy word. ⁶⁶Teach me good judgment and knowledge: for I have believed thy commandments. ⁶⁷Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now have I kept thy word. ⁶⁸Thou art good, and doest good; teach me thy statutes. ⁶⁹The proud have forged a lie against me: but I will keep thy precepts with my whole heart. ⁷⁰Their heart is as gross as fat; but I delight in thy law. ⁷¹It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes. ⁷²The law of thy mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver. ⁷³JOD. Thy hands have made me and fashioned me: give me understanding, that I may learn thy commandments. ⁷⁴They that fear thee will be glad when they see me; because I have hoped in thy word. ⁷⁵I know, O LORD, that thy judgments are right, and that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me. ⁷⁶Let, I pray thee, thy merciful kindness be for my comfort, according to thy word to thy servant. ⁷⁷Let thy tender mercies come to me, that I may live: for thy law is my delight. ⁷⁸Let the proud be ashamed; for they dealt perversely with me without a cause: but I will meditate in thy precepts. ⁷⁹Let those that fear thee turn to me, and those that have known thy testimonies. ⁸⁰Let my heart be sound in thy statutes; that I may not be ashamed. ⁸¹CAPH. My soul fainteth for thy salvation: but I hope in thy word. ⁸²My eyes fail for thy word, saying, When wilt thou comfort me? ⁸³For I am become like a bottle in the smoke; yet I do not forget thy statutes. ⁸⁴How many are the days of thy servant? when wilt thou execute judgment on them that persecute me? ⁸⁵The proud have digged pits for me, which are not according to thy law. ⁸⁶All thy commandments are faithful: they persecute me wrongfully; help thou me. ⁸⁷They had almost consumed me upon earth; but I forsook not thy precepts. ⁸⁸Revive me after thy loving-kindness; so shall I keep the testimony of thy mouth. ⁸⁹LAMED. For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven. ⁹⁰Thy faithfulness is to all generations: thou hast established the earth, and it abideth. ⁹¹They continue this day according to thy ordinances: for all are thy servants. ⁹²Unless thy law had been my delights, I should then have perished in my affliction. ⁹³I will never forget thy precepts: for with them thou hast revived me. ⁹⁴I am thine, save me; for I have sought thy precepts. ⁹⁵The wicked have waited for me to destroy me: but I will consider thy testimonies. ⁹⁶I have seen an end of all perfection: but thy commandment is exceeding broad. ⁹⁷MEM. O how I love thy law! it is my meditation all the day. ⁹⁸Thou through thy commandments hast made me wiser than my enemies: for they are ever with me. ⁹⁹I have more understanding than all my teachers: for thy testimonies are my meditation. ¹⁰⁰I understand more than the ancients, because I keep thy precepts. ¹⁰¹I have refrained my feet from every evil way, that I might keep thy word. ¹⁰²I have not departed from thy judgments: for thou hast taught me. ¹⁰³How sweet are thy words to my taste! yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth! ¹⁰⁴Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way. ¹⁰⁵NUN. Thy word is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path. ¹⁰⁶I have sworn, and I will perform it, that I will keep thy righteous judgments. ¹⁰⁷I am afflicted very much: revive me, O LORD, according to thy word. ¹⁰⁸Accept, I beseech thee, the free-will-offerings of my mouth, O LORD, and teach me thy judgments. ¹⁰⁹My soul is continually in my hand: yet I do not forget thy law. ¹¹⁰The wicked have laid a snare for me: yet I erred not from thy precepts. ¹¹¹Thy testimonies have I taken as an heritage for ever: for they are the rejoicing of my heart. ¹¹²I have inclined my heart to perform thy statutes always, even to the end. ¹¹³SAMECH. I hate vain thoughts: but thy law do I love. ¹¹⁴Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word. ¹¹⁵Depart from me, ye evil-doers: for I will keep the commandments of my God. ¹¹⁶Uphold me according to thy word, that I may live: and let me not be ashamed of my hope. ¹¹⁷Support me, and I shall be safe: and I will have respect to thy statutes continually. ¹¹⁸Thou hast trodden down all them that err from thy statutes: for their deceit is falsehood. ¹¹⁹Thou puttest away all the wicked of the earth like dross: therefore I love thy testimonies. ¹²⁰My flesh trembleth for fear of thee; and I am afraid of thy judgments. ¹²¹AIN. I have done judgment and justice; leave me not to my oppressors. ¹²²Be surety for thy servant for good: let not the proud oppress me. ¹²³My eyes fail for thy salvation, and for the word of thy righteousness. ¹²⁴Deal with thy servant according to thy mercy, and teach me thy statutes. ¹²⁵I am thy servant; give me understanding, that I may know thy testimonies. ¹²⁶It is time for thee, LORD, to work: for they have made void thy law. ¹²⁷Therefore I love thy commandments above gold; yes, above fine gold. ¹²⁸Therefore I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right; and I hate every false way. ¹²⁹PE. Thy testimonies are wonderful: therefore doth my soul keep them. ¹³⁰The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding to the simple. ¹³¹I opened my mouth, and panted: for I longed for thy commandments. ¹³²Look thou upon me, and be merciful to me, as thou usest to do to those that love thy name. ¹³³Order my steps in thy word: and let not any iniquity have dominion over me. ¹³⁴Deliver me from the oppression of man: so will I keep thy precepts. ¹³⁵Make thy face to shine upon thy servant: and teach me thy statutes. ¹³⁶Rivers of waters run down my eyes, because they keep not thy law. ¹³⁷TSADDI. Righteous art thou, O LORD, and upright are thy judgments. ¹³⁸Thy testimonies that thou hast commanded are righteous and very faithful. ¹³⁹My zeal hath consumed me; because my enemies have forgotten thy words. ¹⁴⁰Thy word is very pure: therefore thy servant loveth it. ¹⁴¹I am small and despised: yet I do not forget thy precepts. ¹⁴²Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and thy law is the truth. ¹⁴³Trouble and anguish have taken hold on me: yet thy commandments are my delights. ¹⁴⁴The righteousness of thy testimonies is everlasting: give me understanding, and I shall live. ¹⁴⁵KOPH. I cried with my whole heart; hear me, O LORD: I will keep thy statutes. ¹⁴⁶I cried to thee; save me, and I shall keep thy testimonies. ¹⁴⁷I came before the dawning of the morning, and cried: I hoped in thy word. ¹⁴⁸My eyes anticipated the night watches, that I might meditate in thy word. ¹⁴⁹Hear my voice, according to thy loving-kindness: O LORD, revive me according to thy judgment. ¹⁵⁰They draw nigh that follow after mischief: they are far from thy law. ¹⁵¹Thou art near, O LORD; and all thy commandments are truth. ¹⁵²Concerning thy testimonies, I have known of old that thou hast founded them for ever. ¹⁵³RESH. Consider my affliction, and deliver me: for I do not forget thy law. ¹⁵⁴Plead my cause, and deliver me: revive me according to thy word. ¹⁵⁵Salvation is far from the wicked: for they seek not thy statutes. ¹⁵⁶Great are thy tender mercies, O LORD: revive me according to thy judgments. ¹⁵⁷Many are my persecutors and my enemies; yet I do not decline from thy testimonies. ¹⁵⁸I beheld the transgressors, and was grieved; because they kept not thy word. ¹⁵⁹Consider how I love thy precepts: revive me, O LORD, according to thy loving-kindness. ¹⁶⁰Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever. ¹⁶¹SCHIN. Princes have persecuted me without a cause; but my heart standeth in awe of thy word. ¹⁶²I rejoice at thy word, as one that findeth great spoil. ¹⁶³I hate and abhor lying: but thy law do I love. ¹⁶⁴Seven times a day do I praise thee, because of thy righteous judgments. ¹⁶⁵Great peace have they who love thy law: and nothing shall cause them to stumble. ¹⁶⁶LORD, I have hoped for thy salvation, and performed thy commandments. ¹⁶⁷My soul hath kept thy testimonies; and I love them exceedingly. ¹⁶⁸I have kept thy precepts and thy testimonies: for all my ways are before thee. ¹⁶⁹TAU. Let my cry come near before thee, O LORD: give me understanding according to thy word. ¹⁷⁰Let my supplication come before thee: deliver me according to thy word. ¹⁷¹My lips shall utter praise, when thou hast taught me thy statutes. ¹⁷²My tongue shall speak of thy word: for all thy commandments are righteousness. ¹⁷³Let thy hand help me; for I have chosen thy precepts. ¹⁷⁴I have longed for thy salvation, O LORD; and thy law is my delight. ¹⁷⁵Let my soul live, and it shall praise thee; and let thy judgments help me. ¹⁷⁶I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek thy servant; for I do not forget thy commandments.

Chapter 120

¹A Song of degrees. In my distress I cried to the LORD, and he heard me. ²Deliver my soul, O LORD, from lying lips, and from a deceitful tongue. ³What shall be given to thee? or what shall be done to thee, thou false tongue? ⁴Sharp arrows of the mighty, with coals of juniper. ⁵Woe is me, that I sojourn in Mesech, that I dwell in the tents of Kedar! ⁶My soul hath long dwelt with him that hateth peace. ⁷I am for peace: but when I speak, they are for war.

Chapter 121

¹A Song of degrees. I will lift up my eyes to the hills, from whence cometh my help. ²My help cometh from the LORD, who made heaven and earth. ³He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber. ⁴Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. ⁵The LORD is thy keeper: the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand. ⁶The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. ⁷The LORD will preserve thee from all evil: he will preserve thy soul. ⁸The LORD will preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for ever.

Chapter 122

¹A Song of degrees of David. I was glad when they said to me, Let us go into the house of the LORD. ²Our feet shall stand within thy gates, O Jerusalem. ³Jerusalem is built as a city that is compact together: ⁴Whither the tribes go up, the tribes of the LORD, to the testimony of Israel, to give thanks to the name of the LORD. ⁵For there are set thrones of judgment, the thrones of the house of David. ⁶Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee. ⁷Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity within thy palaces. ⁸For my brethren and companions' sake, I will now say, Peace be within thee. ⁹Because of the house of the LORD our God I will seek thy good.

Chapter 123

¹A Song of degrees. To thee I raise my eyes, O thou that dwellest in the heavens. ²Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their masters, and as the eyes of a maiden to the hand of her mistress; so our eyes wait upon the LORD our God, until he shall have mercy upon us. ³Have mercy upon us, O LORD, have mercy upon us; for we are exceedingly filled with contempt. ⁴Our soul is exceedingly filled with the scorning of those that are at ease, and with the contempt of the proud.

Chapter 124

¹A Song of degrees of David. If it had not been the LORD who was on our side, now may Israel say; ²If it had not been the LORD who was on our side, when men rose up against us: ³Then they had swallowed us up quick, when their wrath was kindled against us: ⁴Then the waters had overwhelmed us, the stream had gone over our soul: ⁵Then the proud waters had gone over our soul. ⁶Blessed be the LORD, who hath not given us as a prey to their teeth. ⁷Our soul hath escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers: the snare is broken, and we have escaped. ⁸Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth.

Chapter 125

¹A Song of degrees. They that trust in the LORD, shall be as mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever. ²As the mountains are round Jerusalem, so the LORD is around his people from henceforth even for ever. ³For the rod of the wicked shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous; lest the righteous put forth their hands to iniquity. ⁴Do good, O LORD, to those that are good, and to them that are upright in their hearts. ⁵As for such as turn aside to their crooked ways, the LORD shall lead them forth with the workers of iniquity: but peace shall be upon Israel.

Chapter 126

¹A Song of degrees. When the LORD turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream. ²Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing: then said they among the heathen, The LORD hath done great things for them. ³The LORD hath done great things for us; of which we are glad. ⁴Turn again our captivity, O LORD, as the streams in the south. ⁵They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. ⁶He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless return with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.

Chapter 127

¹A Song of degrees for Solomon. Except the LORD shall build the house, they labor in vain that build it: except the LORD shall keep the city, the watchman waketh in vain. ²It is vain for you to rise early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep. ³Lo, children are a heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. ⁴As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man: so are children of the youth. ⁵Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.

Chapter 128

¹A Song of degrees. Blessed is every one that feareth the LORD; that walketh in his ways. ²For thou shalt eat the labor of thy hands: happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee. ³Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thy house: thy children like olive plants around thy table. ⁴Behold, that thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the LORD. ⁵The LORD shall bless thee out of Zion: and thou shalt see the good of Jerusalem all the days of thy life. ⁶Yes, thou shalt see thy children's children, and peace upon Israel.

Chapter 129

¹A Song of degrees. Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth, may Israel now say: ²Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth: yet they have not prevailed against me. ³The plowers plowed upon my back: they made long their furrows. ⁴The LORD is righteous: he hath cut asunder the cords of the wicked. ⁵Let them all be confounded and turned back that hate Zion. ⁶Let them be as the grass upon the house-tops, which withereth before it groweth up: ⁷With which the mower filleth not his hand; nor he that bindeth sheaves, his bosom. ⁸Neither do they who go by, say, The blessing of the LORD be upon you: we bless you in the name of the LORD.

Chapter 130

¹A Song of degrees. Out of the depths have I cried to thee, O LORD. ²Lord, hear my voice: let thy ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications. ³If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? ⁴But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared. ⁵I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope. ⁶My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning: I say, more than they that watch for the morning. ⁷Let Israel hope in the LORD: for with the LORD there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption. ⁸And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.

Chapter 131

¹A Song of degrees of David. LORD, my heart is not haughty, nor my eyes lofty: neither do I exercise myself in great matters, or in things too high for me. ²Surely I have behaved and quieted myself as a child that is weaned by his mother: my soul is even as a weaned child. ³Let Israel hope in the LORD from henceforth and for ever.

Chapter 132

¹A Song of degrees. LORD, remember David and all his afflictions; ²How he swore to the LORD, and vowed to the mighty God of Jacob; ³Surely I will not come into the tabernacle of my house, nor go up into my bed; ⁴I will not give sleep to my eyes, or slumber to my eyelids, ⁵Until I find a place for the LORD, a habitation for the mighty God of Jacob. ⁶Lo, we heard of it at Ephratah: we found it in the fields of the wood. ⁷We will go into his tabernacles: we will worship at his footstool. ⁸Arise, O LORD, into thy rest; thou, and the ark of thy strength. ⁹Let thy priests be clothed with righteousness; and let thy saints shout for joy. ¹⁰For thy servant David's sake turn not away the face of thy anointed. ¹¹The LORD hath sworn in truth to David; he will not turn from it; Of the fruit of thy body will I set upon thy throne. ¹²If thy children will keep my covenant and my testimony that I shall teach them; their children also shall sit upon thy throne for ever. ¹³For the LORD hath chosen Zion; he hath desired it for his habitation. ¹⁴This is my rest for ever: here will I dwell; for I have desired it. ¹⁵I will abundantly bless her provision: I will satisfy her poor with bread. ¹⁶I will also clothe her priests with salvation, and her saints shall shout aloud for joy. ¹⁷There will I make the horn of David to bud, I have ordained a lamp for my anointed. ¹⁸His enemies will I clothe with shame: but upon himself shall his crown flourish.

Chapter 133

¹A Song of degrees of David. Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! ²It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard: that went down to the skirts of his garment; ³As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the LORD commanded the blessing, even life for ever.

Chapter 134

¹A Song of degrees. Behold, bless ye the LORD, all ye servants of the LORD, who by night stand in the house of the LORD. ²Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the LORD. ³The LORD that made heaven and earth bless thee out of Zion.

Chapter 135

¹Praise ye the LORD. Praise ye the name of the LORD; praise him, O ye servants of the LORD. ²Ye that stand in the house of the LORD, in the courts of the house of our God, ³Praise the LORD; for the LORD is good; sing praises to his name; for it is pleasant. ⁴For the LORD hath chosen Jacob to himself, and Israel for his peculiar treasure. ⁵For I know that the LORD is great, and that our Lord is above all gods. ⁶Whatever the LORD pleased, that did he in heaven, and in earth, in the seas, and all deep places. ⁷He causeth the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings for the rain; he bringeth the wind out of his treasuries. ⁸Who smote the first-born of Egypt, both of man and beast. ⁹Who sent tokens and wonders into the midst of thee, O Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his servants. ¹⁰Who smote great nations, and slew mighty kings; ¹¹Sihon king of the Amorites, and Og king of Bashan, and all the kingdoms of Canaan: ¹²And gave their land for a heritage, a heritage to Israel his people. ¹³Thy name, O LORD, endureth for ever; and thy memorial, O LORD, throughout all generations. ¹⁴For the LORD will judge his people, and he will repent concerning his servants. ¹⁵The idols of the heathen are silver and gold, the work of men's hands. ¹⁶They have mouths, but they speak not; eyes have they, but they see not. ¹⁷They have ears, but they hear not; neither is there any breath in their mouths. ¹⁸They that make them are like them: so is every one that trusteth in them. ¹⁹Bless the LORD, O house of Israel: bless the LORD, O house of Aaron: ²⁰Bless the LORD, O house of Levi: ye that fear the LORD, bless the LORD. ²¹Blessed be the LORD out of Zion, who dwelleth at Jerusalem. Praise ye the LORD.

Chapter 136

¹O give thanks to the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. ²O give thanks to the God of gods: for his mercy endureth for ever. ³O give thanks to the Lord of lords: for his mercy endureth for ever. ⁴To him who alone doeth great wonders: for his mercy endureth for ever. ⁵To him that by wisdom made the heavens: for his mercy endureth for ever. ⁶To him that stretched out the earth above the waters: for his mercy endureth for ever. ⁷To him that made great lights: for his mercy endureth for ever: ⁸The sun to rule by day: for his mercy endureth for ever: ⁹The moon and stars to rule by night: for his mercy endureth for ever. ¹⁰To him that smote Egypt in their first-born: for his mercy endureth for ever: ¹¹And brought out Israel from among them: for his mercy endureth for ever: ¹²With a strong hand, and with an out-stretched arm: for his mercy endureth for ever. ¹³To him who divided the Red sea into parts: for his mercy endureth for ever. ¹⁴And made Israel to pass through the midst of it: for his mercy endureth for ever: ¹⁵But overthrew Pharaoh and his army in the Red sea: for his mercy endureth for ever. ¹⁶To him who led his people through the wilderness: for his mercy endureth for ever. ¹⁷To him who smote great kings: for his mercy endureth for ever: ¹⁸And slew famous kings: for his mercy endureth for ever. ¹⁹Sihon king of the Amorites: for his mercy endureth for ever: ²⁰And Og king of Bashan: for his mercy endureth for ever: ²¹And gave their land for a heritage: for his mercy endureth for ever: ²²Even a heritage to Israel his servant: for his mercy endureth for ever. ²³Who remembered us in our low estate: for his mercy endureth for ever: ²⁴And hath redeemed us from our enemies: for his mercy endureth for ever. ²⁵Who giveth food to all flesh: for his mercy endureth for ever. ²⁶O give thanks to the God of heaven: for his mercy endureth for ever.

Chapter 137

¹By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yes, we wept, when we remembered Zion. ²We hung our harps upon the willows in the midst of it. ³For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion. ⁴How shall we sing the LORD'S song in a foreign land? ⁵If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her skill. ⁶If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy. ⁷Remember, O LORD, the children of Edom in the day of Jerusalem; who said, Raze it, raze it, even to its foundation. ⁸O daughter of Babylon, who art to be destroyed; happy shall he be, that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us. ⁹Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones.

Chapter 138

¹A Psalm of David. I will praise thee with my whole heart: before the gods will I sing praise to thee. ²I will worship towards thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy loving-kindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name. ³In the day when I cried thou didst answer me, and strengthen me with strength in my soul. ⁴All the kings of the earth shall praise thee, O LORD, when they hear the words of thy mouth. ⁵Yes, they shall sing in the ways of the LORD: for great is the glory of the LORD. ⁶Though the LORD is high, yet hath he respect to the lowly: but the proud he knoweth afar off. ⁷Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt revive me: thou wilt stretch forth thy hand against the wrath of my enemies, and thy right hand will save me. ⁸The LORD will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O LORD, endureth for ever: forsake not the works thy own hands.

Chapter 139

¹To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me. ²Thou knowest my down-sitting and my up rising, thou understandest my thought afar off. ³Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. ⁴For there is not a word on my tongue, but lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether. ⁵Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thy hand upon me. ⁶Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain to it. ⁷Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? ⁸If I ascend into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. ⁹If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; ¹⁰Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. ¹¹If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. ¹²Yes, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee. ¹³For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb. ¹⁴I will praise thee: for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: wonderful are thy works; and that my soul well knoweth. ¹⁵My substance was not hid from thee when I was made in secret, and curiously formed in the lowest parts of the earth. ¹⁶Thy eyes saw my substance, yet being imperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them. ¹⁷How precious also are thy thoughts to me, O God! how great is the sum of them! ¹⁸If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee. ¹⁹Surely thou wilt slay the wicked, O God: depart from me therefore, ye bloody men. ²⁰For they speak against thee wickedly, and thy enemies take thy name in vain. ²¹Do not I hate them, O LORD, that hate thee? and am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee? ²²I hate them with perfect hatred: I count them my enemies. ²³Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my thoughts: ²⁴And see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

Chapter 140

¹+ ²\140:1\To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. Deliver me, O LORD, from the evil man: preserve me from the violent man; ³\140:2\Who imagine mischiefs in their heart; continually are they assembled for war. ⁴\140:3\They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent; adder's poison is under their lips. Selah. ⁵\140:4\Keep me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked; preserve me from the violent man; who have purposed to overthrow my goings. ⁶\140:5\The proud have hid a snare for me, and cords; they have spread a net by the way side: they have set gins for me. Selah. ⁷\140:6\I said to the LORD, Thou art my God: hear the voice of my supplications, O LORD. ⁸\140:7\O GOD the Lord, the strength of my salvation, thou hast covered my head in the day of battle. ⁹\140:8\Grant not, O LORD, the desires of the wicked: further not his wicked device; lest they exalt themselves. Selah. ¹⁰\140:9\As for the head of those that encompass me, let the mischief of their own lips cover them. ¹¹\140:10\Let burning coals fall upon them: let them be cast into the fire; into deep pits, that they rise not again. ¹²\140:11\Let not an evil speaker be established on the earth: evil shall hunt the violent man to overthrow him. ¹³\140:12\I know that the LORD will maintain the cause of the afflicted, and the right of the poor. ¹⁴\140:13\Surely the righteous shall give thanks to thy name: the upright shall dwell in thy presence.

Chapter 141

¹A Psalm of David. LORD, I cry to thee: make haste to me; give ear to my voice, when I cry to thee. ²Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice. ³Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips. ⁴Incline not my heart to any evil thing, to practice wicked works with men that work iniquity: and let me not eat of their dainties. ⁵Let the righteous smite me; it shall be a kindness: and let him reprove me; it shall be an excellent oil, which shall not break my head: for yet my prayer also shall be in their calamities. ⁶When their judges are overthrown in stony places, they shall hear my words; for they are sweet. ⁷Our bones are scattered at the grave's mouth, as when one cutteth and cleaveth wood upon the earth. ⁸But my eyes are to thee, O GOD the Lord: in thee is my trust; leave not my soul destitute. ⁹Keep me from the snare which they have laid for me, and the gins of the workers of iniquity. ¹⁰Let the wicked fall into their own nets, whilst I escape.

Chapter 142

¹+ ²\142:1\Maschil of David; a prayer when he was in the cave. I cried to the LORD with my voice; with my voice to the LORD I made my supplication. ³\142:2\I poured out my complaint before him; I showed before him my trouble. ⁴\142:3\When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then thou knewest my path. In the way in which I walked have they privily laid a snare for me. ⁵\142:4\I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was no man that would know me: refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul. ⁶\142:5\I cried to thee, O LORD: I said, Thou art my refuge and my portion in the land of the living. ⁷\142:6\Attend to my cry; for I am brought very low: deliver me from my persecutors; for they are stronger than I. ⁸\142:7\Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise thy name: the righteous shall encompass me; for thou wilt deal bountifully with me.

Chapter 143

¹A Psalm of David. Hear my prayer, O LORD, give ear to my supplications: in thy faithfulness answer me, and in thy righteousness. ²And enter not into judgment with thy servant: for in thy sight shall no man living be justified. ³For the enemy hath persecuted my soul; he hath smitten my life down to the ground; he hath made me to dwell in darkness, as those that have been long dead. ⁴Therefore is my spirit overwhelmed within me; my heart within me is desolate. ⁵I remember the days of old, I meditate on all thy works; I muse on the work of thy hands. ⁶I stretch forth my hands to thee: my soul thirsteth after thee, as a thirsty land. Selah. ⁷Hear me speedily, O LORD: my spirit faileth: hide not thy face from me, lest I be like them that go down into the pit. ⁸Cause me to hear thy loving-kindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way in which I should walk; for I lift up my soul to thee. ⁹Deliver me, O LORD, from my enemies: I flee to thee to hide me. ¹⁰Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God: thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness. ¹¹Revive me, O LORD, for thy name's sake: for thy righteousness' sake bring my soul out of trouble. ¹²And of thy mercy cut off my enemies, and destroy all them that afflict my soul: for I am thy servant.

Chapter 144

¹A Psalm of David. Blessed be the LORD my strength, who teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight; ²My goodness, and my fortress; my high tower, and my deliverer; my shield, and he in whom I trust; who subdueth my people under me. ³LORD, what is man, that thou takest knowledge of him! or the son of man, that thou makest account of him! ⁴Man is like to vanity: his days are as a shadow that passeth away. ⁵Bow thy heavens, O LORD, and come down: touch the mountains, and they shall smoke. ⁶Cast forth lightning, and scatter them: shoot thy arrows, and destroy them. ⁷Send thy hand from above; rid me, and deliver me out of great waters, from the hand of strange children; ⁸Whose mouth speaketh vanity, and their right hand is a right hand of falsehood. ⁹I will sing a new song to thee, O God: upon a psaltery and an instrument of ten strings will I sing praises to thee. ¹⁰It is he that giveth salvation to kings: who delivereth David his servant from the hurtful sword. ¹¹Rid me, and deliver me from the hand of strange children, whose mouth speaketh vanity, and their right hand is a right hand of falsehood: ¹²That our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth; that our daughters may be as corner stones, polished after the similitude of a palace: ¹³That our granaries may be full, affording all manner of store; that our sheep may bring forth thousands and ten thousands in our streets: ¹⁴That our oxen may be strong to labor; that there be no breaking in, nor going out; that there be no complaining in our streets. ¹⁵Happy is that people, that is in such a case: yes, happy is that people, whose God is the LORD.

Chapter 145

¹David's Psalm of praise. I will extol thee, my God, O king; and I will bless thy name for ever and ever. ²Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever. ³Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable. ⁴One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts. ⁵I will speak of the glorious honor of thy majesty, and of thy wondrous works. ⁶And men shall speak of the might of thy terrible acts: and I will declare thy greatness. ⁷They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness, and shall sing of thy righteousness. ⁸The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy. ⁹The LORD is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works. ¹⁰All thy works shall praise thee, O LORD; and thy saints shall bless thee. ¹¹They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power; ¹²To make known to the sons of men his mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of his kingdom. ¹³Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations. ¹⁴The LORD upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that are bowed down. ¹⁵The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their food in due season. ¹⁶Thou openest thy hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living creature. ¹⁷The LORD is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works. ¹⁸The LORD is nigh to all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth. ¹⁹He will fulfill the desire of them that fear him: he also will hear their cry, and will save them. ²⁰The LORD preserveth all them that love him: but all the wicked will he destroy. ²¹My mouth shall speak the praise of the LORD: and let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever.

Chapter 146

¹Praise ye the LORD. Praise the LORD, O my soul. ²While I live will I praise the LORD: I will sing praises to my God while I have any being. ³Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help. ⁴His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish. ⁵Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the LORD his God: ⁶Who made heaven, and earth, the sea, and all that is in them: who keepeth truth for ever: ⁷Who executeth judgment for the oppressed: who giveth food to the hungry. The LORD looseth the prisoners: ⁸The LORD openeth the eyes of the blind: the LORD raiseth them that are bowed down: the LORD loveth the righteous: ⁹The LORD preserveth the strangers; he relieveth the fatherless and widow: but the way of the wicked he turneth upside down. ¹⁰The LORD will reign for ever, even thy God, O Zion, to all generations. Praise ye the LORD.

Chapter 147

¹Praise ye the LORD: for it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant; and praise is comely. ²The LORD buildeth up Jerusalem: he gathereth together the outcasts of Israel. ³He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds. ⁴He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names. ⁵Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite. ⁶The LORD lifteth up the meek: he casteth the wicked down to the ground. ⁷Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving; sing praise upon the harp to our God: ⁸Who covereth the heaven with clouds, who prepareth rain for the earth, who maketh grass to grow upon the mountains. ⁹He giveth to the beast his food, and to the young ravens which cry. ¹⁰He delighteth not in the strength of the horse: he taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man. ¹¹The LORD taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy. ¹²Praise the LORD, O Jerusalem; praise thy God, O Zion. ¹³For he hath strengthened the bars of thy gates; he hath blessed thy children within thee. ¹⁴He maketh peace in thy borders, and filleth thee with the finest of the wheat. ¹⁵He sendeth forth his commandment upon earth: his word runneth very swiftly. ¹⁶He giveth snow like wool: he scattereth the hoar-frost like ashes. ¹⁷He casteth forth his ice like morsels: who can stand before his cold? ¹⁸He sendeth out his word, and melteth them: he causeth his wind to blow, and the waters flow. ¹⁹He showeth his word to Jacob, his statutes and his judgments to Israel. ²⁰He hath not dealt so with any nation: and as for his judgments, they have not known them. Praise ye the LORD.

Chapter 148

¹Praise ye the LORD. Praise ye the LORD from the heavens: praise him in the hights. ²Praise ye him, all his angels: praise ye him, all his hosts. ³Praise ye him, sun and moon: praise him, all ye stars of light. ⁴Praise him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that are above the heavens. ⁵Let them praise the name of the LORD: for he commanded, and they were created. ⁶He hath also established them for ever and ever: he hath made a decree which shall not pass. ⁷Praise the LORD from the earth, ye dragons, and all deeps: ⁸Fire, and hail; snow, and vapors; stormy wind fulfilling his word: ⁹Mountains, and all hills; fruitful trees, and all cedars: ¹⁰Beasts, and all cattle; creeping animals, and flying fowl: ¹¹Kings of the earth, and all people; princes, and all judges of the earth: ¹²Both young men, and maidens; old men, and children: ¹³Let them praise the name of the LORD: for his name alone is excellent; his glory is above the earth and heaven. ¹⁴He also exalteth the horn of his people, the praise of all his saints; even of the children of Israel, a people near to him. Praise ye the LORD.

Chapter 149

¹Praise ye the LORD. Sing to the LORD a new song, and his praise in the congregation of saints. ²Let Israel rejoice in him that made him: let the children of Zion be joyful in their King. ³Let them praise his name in the dance: let them sing praises to him with the timbrel and harp: ⁴For the LORD taketh pleasure in his people: he will beautify the meek with salvation. ⁵Let the saints be joyful in glory: let them sing aloud upon their beds. ⁶Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand; ⁷To execute vengeance upon the heathen, and punishments upon the people; ⁸To bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron; ⁹To execute upon them the judgment written: this honor have all his saints. Praise ye the LORD.

Chapter 150

¹Praise ye the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power. ²Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness. ³Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp. ⁴Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs. ⁵Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals. ⁶Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD.

Proverbs

Chapter 1

¹The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel; ²To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding; ³To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity; ⁴To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion. ⁵A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain to wise counsels: ⁶To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings. ⁷The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction. ⁸My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother: ⁹For they shalt be an ornament of grace to thy head, and chains about thy neck. ¹⁰My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not. ¹¹If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for blood, let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause: ¹²Let us swallow them up alive as the grave; and whole, as those that go down into the pit: ¹³We shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our houses with spoil: ¹⁴Cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one purse: ¹⁵My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path: ¹⁶For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood. ¹⁷Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird. ¹⁸And they lay wait for their own blood; they lurk privily for their own lives. ¹⁹So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain; who taketh away the life of its owners. ²⁰Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets: ²¹She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words, saying, ²²How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge? ²³Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit to you, I will make known to you my words. ²⁴Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; ²⁵But ye have set at naught all my counsel, and rejected my reproof: ²⁶I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; ²⁷When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. ²⁸Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me: ²⁹For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD: ³⁰They rejected my counsel: they despised all my reproof. ³¹Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices. ³²For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them. ³³But whoever hearkeneth to me shall dwell in safety, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.

Chapter 2

¹My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee; ²So that thou incline thy ear to wisdom, and apply thy heart to understanding; ³Yes, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; ⁴If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; ⁵Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God. ⁶For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. ⁷He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly. ⁸He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints. ⁹Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; and every good path. ¹⁰When wisdom entereth into thy heart, and knowledge is pleasant to thy soul; ¹¹Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee: ¹²To deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaketh froward things; ¹³Who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness; ¹⁴Who rejoice to do evil, and delight in the frowardness of the wicked; ¹⁵Whose ways are crooked, and they froward in their paths: ¹⁶To deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger who flattereth with her words; ¹⁷Who forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God. ¹⁸For her house inclineth to death, and her paths to the dead. ¹⁹None that go to her return again, neither do they take hold of the paths of life. ²⁰That thou mayest walk in the way of good men, and keep the paths of the righteous. ²¹For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it. ²²But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it.

Chapter 3

¹My son, forget not my law; but let thy heart keep my commandments; ²For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee. ³Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thy heart: ⁴So shalt thou find favor and good understanding in the sight of God and man. ⁵Trust in the LORD with all thy heart; and lean not to thy own understanding. ⁶In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he will direct thy paths. ⁷Be not wise in thy own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil. ⁸It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones. ⁹Honor the LORD with thy substance, and with the first-fruits of all thy increase: ¹⁰So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine. ¹¹My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of his correction: ¹²For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth. ¹³Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding. ¹⁴For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain of it than fine gold. ¹⁵She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared to her. ¹⁶Length of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and honor. ¹⁷Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. ¹⁸She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her. ¹⁹The LORD by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath he established the heavens. ²⁰By his knowledge the depths are broken up, and the clouds drop down the dew. ²¹My son, let not them depart from thy eyes: keep sound wisdom and discretion: ²²So shall they be life to thy soul, and grace to thy neck. ²³Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble. ²⁴When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: but thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet. ²⁵Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh. ²⁶For the LORD will be thy confidence, and will keep thy foot from being taken. ²⁷Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thy hand to do it. ²⁸Say not to thy neighbor, Go, and come again, and to-morrow I will give; when thou hast it by thee. ²⁹Devise not evil against thy neighbor, seeing he dwelleth securely by thee. ³⁰Strive not with a man without cause, if he hath done thee no harm. ³¹Envy thou not the oppressor, and choose none of his ways. ³²For the froward is abomination to the LORD: but his secret is with the righteous. ³³The curse of the LORD is in the house of the wicked: but he blesseth the habitation of the just. ³⁴Surely he scorneth the scorners: but he giveth grace to the lowly. ³⁵The wise shall inherit glory: but shame shall be the promotion of fools.

Chapter 4

¹Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know understanding. ²For I give you good doctrine, forsake ye not my law. ³For I was my father's son, tender and only beloved in the sight of my mother. ⁴He taught me also, and said to me, Let thy heart retain my words: keep my commandments, and live. ⁵Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth. ⁶Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee: love her, and she shall keep thee. ⁷Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding. ⁸Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honor, when thou dost embrace her. ⁹She shall give to thy head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee. ¹⁰Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings; and the years of thy life shall be many. ¹¹I have taught thee in the way of wisdom; I have led thee in right paths. ¹²When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened; and when thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble. ¹³Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go: keep her; for she is thy life. ¹⁴Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men. ¹⁵Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away. ¹⁶For they sleep not, except they have done mischief; and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall. ¹⁷For they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence. ¹⁸But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more to the perfect day. ¹⁹The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble. ²⁰My son, attend to my words; incline thy ear to my sayings. ²¹Let them not depart from thy eyes; keep them in the midst of thy heart. ²²For they are life to those that find them, and health to all their flesh. ²³Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. ²⁴Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee. ²⁵Let thy eyes look right on, and let thy eyelids look straight before thee. ²⁶Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established. ²⁷Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil.

Chapter 5

¹My son, attend to my wisdom, and bow thy ear to my understanding: ²That thou mayest regard discretion, and that thy lips may keep knowledge. ³For the lips of a strange woman drop as a honey-comb, and her mouth is smoother than oil: ⁴But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword. ⁵Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell. ⁶Lest thou shouldst ponder the path of life, her ways are movable, that thou canst not know them. ⁷Hear me now therefore, O ye children, and depart not from the words of my mouth. ⁸Remove thy way far from her, and come not nigh the door of her house: ⁹Lest thou give thy honor to others, and thy years to the cruel: ¹⁰Lest strangers be filled with thy wealth; and thy labors be in the house of a stranger; ¹¹And thou mourn at the last, when thy flesh and thy body are consumed, ¹²And say, How have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof; ¹³And have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor inclined my ear to them that instructed me! ¹⁴I was almost in all evil in the midst of the congregation and assembly. ¹⁵Drink waters out of thy own cistern, and running waters out of thy own well. ¹⁶Let thy fountains be dispersed abroad, and rivers of waters in the streets. ¹⁷Let them be only thy own, and not for strangers with thee. ¹⁸Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth. ¹⁹Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe; let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; and be thou ravished always with her love. ²⁰And why wilt thou, my son, be ravished with a strange woman, and embrace the bosom of a stranger? ²¹For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD, and he pondereth all his goings. ²²His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be held with the cords of his sins. ²³He shall die without instruction; and in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.

Chapter 6

¹My son, if thou art surety for thy friend, if thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger, ²Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth. ³Do this now, my son, and deliver thyself, when thou art come into the hand of thy friend; go, humble thyself, and make sure thy friend. ⁴Give not sleep to thy eyes, nor slumber to thy eyelids. ⁵Deliver thyself as a roe from the hand of the hunter, and as a bird from the hand of the fowler. ⁶Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: ⁷Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, ⁸Provideth her provisions in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest. ⁹How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep? ¹⁰Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: ¹¹So shall thy poverty come as one that traveleth, and thy want as an armed man. ¹²A naughty person, a wicked man, walketh with a froward mouth. ¹³He winketh with his eyes, he speaketh with his feet, he teacheth with his fingers; ¹⁴Frowardness is in his heart, he deviseth mischief continually; he soweth discord. ¹⁵Therefore shall his calamity come suddenly; suddenly shall he be broken without remedy. ¹⁶These six things doth the LORD hate: yes, seven are an abomination to him: ¹⁷A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood. ¹⁸A heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that are swift in running to mischief, ¹⁹A false witness that speaketh lies, and him that soweth discord among brethren. ²⁰My son, keep thy father's commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother: ²¹Bind them continually upon thy heart, and tie them about thy neck. ²²When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee. ²³For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life: ²⁴To keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman. ²⁵Lust not after her beauty in thy heart; neither let her take thee with her eyelids. ²⁶For by means of a lewd woman a man is brought to a piece of bread: and the adulteress will hunt for the precious life. ²⁷Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned? ²⁸Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned? ²⁹So he that goeth in to his neighbor's wife; whoever toucheth her shall not be innocent. ³⁰Men do not despise a thief, if he stealeth to satisfy his soul when he is hungry; ³¹But if he is found, he shall restore seven-fold; he shall give all the substance of his house. ³²But whoever committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul. ³³A wound and dishonor shall he get; and his reproach shall not be wiped away. ³⁴For jealousy is the rage of a man: therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance. ³⁵He will not regard any ransom; neither will he rest content, though thou givest many gifts.

Chapter 7

¹My son, keep my words, and lay up my commandments with thee. ²Keep my commandments, and live; and my law as the apple of thy eye. ³Bind them upon thy fingers, write them upon the table of thy heart. ⁴Say to wisdom, Thou art my sister; and call understanding thy kinswoman: ⁵That they may keep thee from the strange woman, from the stranger which flattereth with her words. ⁶For at the window of my house I looked through my casement, ⁷And beheld among the simple ones, I discerned among the youths, a young man void of understanding, ⁸Passing through the street near her corner; and he went the way to her house. ⁹In the twilight, in the evening, in the black and dark night: ¹⁰And behold, there met him a woman with the attire of a harlot, and subtil of heart. ¹¹(She is loud and stubborn; her feet abide not in her house: ¹²Now is she without, now in the streets, and lieth in wait at every corner.) ¹³So she caught him, and kissed him, and with an impudent face said to him, ¹⁴I have peace-offerings with me; this day have I paid my vows. ¹⁵Therefore I came forth to meet thee, diligently to seek thy face, and I have found thee. ¹⁶I have decked my bed with coverings of tapestry, with carved works, with fine linen of Egypt. ¹⁷I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon. ¹⁸Come, let us take our fill of love until the morning: let us solace ourselves with loves. ¹⁹For the good-man is not at home, he is gone a long journey: ²⁰He hath taken a bag of money with him, and will come home at the day appointed. ²¹With her much fair speech she caused him to yield, with the flattering of her lips she impelled him. ²²He goeth after her quickly, as an ox goeth to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the stocks; ²³Till a dart striketh through his liver; as a bird hasteth to the snare, and knoweth not that it is for his life. ²⁴Now therefore hearken to me, O ye children, and attend to the words of my mouth. ²⁵Let not thy heart decline to her ways, go not astray in her paths. ²⁶For she hath cast down many wounded: yes, many strong men have been slain by her. ²⁷Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death.

Chapter 8

¹Doth not wisdom cry? and understanding put forth her voice? ²She standeth on the top of high places, by the way in the places of the paths. ³She crieth at the gates, at the entry of the city, at the entrance of the doors. ⁴To you, O men, I call; and my voice is to the sons of man. ⁵O ye simple, understand wisdom: and ye fools, be ye of an understanding heart. ⁶Hear; for I will speak of excellent things; and the opening of my lips shall be right things. ⁷For my mouth shall speak truth; and wickedness is an abomination to my lips. ⁸All the words of my mouth are in righteousness; there is nothing froward or perverse in them. ⁹They are all plain to him that understandeth, and right to them that find knowledge. ¹⁰Receive my instruction, and not silver; and knowledge rather than choice gold. ¹¹For wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it. ¹²I wisdom dwell with prudence, and find out knowledge of ingenious inventions. ¹³The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogance, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate. ¹⁴Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom: I am understanding; I have strength. ¹⁵By me kings reign, and princes decree justice. ¹⁶By me princes rule, and nobles, even all the judges of the earth. ¹⁷I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me. ¹⁸Riches and honor are with me; durable riches and righteousness. ¹⁹My fruit is better than gold, yes, than fine gold; and my revenue than choice silver. ²⁰I lead in the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of judgment. ²¹That I may cause those that love me to inherit substance; and I will fill their treasures. ²²The LORD possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old. ²³I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was. ²⁴When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water. ²⁵Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth. ²⁶While as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust of the world. ²⁷When he prepared the heavens, I was there: when he set a compass upon the face of the depth: ²⁸When he established the clouds above: when he strengthened the fountains of the deep: ²⁹When he gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass his commandment: when he appointed the foundations of the earth: ³⁰Then I was by him, as one brought up with him: and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him; ³¹Rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth; and my delights were with the sons of men. ³²Now therefore hearken to me, O ye children: for blessed are they that keep my ways. ³³Hear instruction, and be wise, and refuse it not. ³⁴Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors. ³⁵For whoever findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favor from the LORD. ³⁶But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate me love death.

Chapter 9

¹Wisdom hath built her house, she hath hewn out her seven pillars: ²She hath killed her beasts; she hath mingled her wine; she hath also furnished her table. ³She hath sent forth her maidens: she crieth upon the highest places of the city, ⁴Whoever is simple, let him turn in hither: as for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him, ⁵Come, eat of my bread, and drink of the wine which I have mingled. ⁶Forsake the foolish, and live; and go in the way of understanding. ⁷He that reproveth a scorner, getteth to himself shame: and he that rebuketh a wicked man getteth himself a blot. ⁸Reprove not a scorner, lest he shall hate thee: rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee. ⁹Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser: teach a just man, and he will increase in learning. ¹⁰The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding. ¹¹For by me thy days shall be multiplied, and the years of thy life shall be increased. ¹²If thou art wise, thou shalt be wise for thyself: but if thou scornest, thou alone shalt bear it. ¹³A foolish woman is clamorous: she is simple, and knoweth nothing. ¹⁴For she sitteth at the door of her house, on a seat in the high places of the city, ¹⁵To call passengers who go right on their ways: ¹⁶Whoever is simple, let him turn in hither: and as for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him, ¹⁷Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant. ¹⁸But he knoweth not that the dead are there; and that her guests are in the depths of hell.

Chapter 10

¹The proverbs of Solomon. A wise son maketh a glad father: but a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother. ²Treasures of wickedness profit nothing: but righteousness delivereth from death. ³The LORD will not suffer the soul of the righteous to famish: but he casteth away the substance of the wicked. ⁴He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand: but the hand of the diligent maketh rich. ⁵He that gathereth in summer is a wise son: but he that sleepeth in harvest is a son that causeth shame. ⁶Blessings are upon the head of the just: but violence covereth the mouth of the wicked. ⁷The memory of the just is blessed: but the name of the wicked shall perish. ⁸The wise in heart will receive commandments: but a prating fool shall fall. ⁹He that walketh uprightly walketh surely: but he that perverteth his ways shall be known. ¹⁰He that winketh with the eye causeth sorrow: but a prating fool shall fall. ¹¹The mouth of a righteous man is a well of life: but violence covereth the mouth of the wicked. ¹²Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all sins. ¹³In the lips of him that hath understanding wisdom is found: but a rod is for the back of him that is void of understanding. ¹⁴Wise men lay up knowledge: but the mouth of the foolish is near destruction. ¹⁵The rich man's wealth is his strong city: the destruction of the poor is their poverty. ¹⁶The labor of the righteous tendeth to life: the fruit of the wicked to sin. ¹⁷He is in the way of life that keepeth instruction: but he that refuseth reproof erreth. ¹⁸He that hideth hatred with lying lips, and he that uttereth a slander, is a fool. ¹⁹In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin: but he that restraineth his lips is wise. ²⁰The tongue of the just is as choice silver: the heart of the wicked is little worth. ²¹The lips of the righteous feed many: but fools die for want of wisdom. ²²The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it. ²³It is as sport to a fool to do mischief: but a man of understanding hath wisdom. ²⁴The fear of the wicked, it shall come upon him: but the desire of the righteous shall be granted. ²⁵As the whirlwind passeth, so is the wicked no more: but the righteous is an everlasting foundation. ²⁶As vinegar to the teeth, and as smoke to the eyes, so is the sluggard to them that send him. ²⁷The fear of the LORD prolongeth days: but the years of the wicked shall be shortened. ²⁸The hope of the righteous shall be gladness: but the expectation of the wicked shall perish. ²⁹The way of the LORD is strength to the upright: but destruction shall be to the workers of iniquity. ³⁰The righteous shall never be removed: but the wicked shall not inhabit the earth. ³¹The mouth of the just bringeth forth wisdom: but the froward tongue shall be cut out. ³²The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable: but the mouth of the wicked speaketh frowardness.

Chapter 11

¹A false balance is abomination to the LORD: but a just weight is his delight. ²When pride cometh, then cometh shame: but with the lowly is wisdom. ³The integrity of the upright shall guide them: but the perverseness of transgressors shall destroy them. ⁴Riches profit not in the day of wrath: but righteousness delivereth from death. ⁵The righteousness of the perfect shall direct his way: but the wicked shall fall by his own wickedness. ⁶The righteousness of the upright shall deliver them: but transgressors shall be taken in their own naughtiness. ⁷When a wicked man dieth, his expectation shall perish: and the hope of unjust men perisheth. ⁸The righteous is delivered out of trouble, and the wicked cometh in his stead. ⁹A hypocrite with his mouth destroyeth his neighbor: but through knowledge shall the just be delivered. ¹⁰When the righteous prosper, the city rejoiceth: and when the wicked perish, there is shouting. ¹¹By the blessing of the upright the city is exalted: but it is overthrown by the mouth of the wicked. ¹²He that is void of wisdom despiseth his neighbor: but a man of understanding holdeth his peace. ¹³A tale-bearer revealeth secrets: but he that is of a faithful spirit concealeth the matter. ¹⁴Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counselors there is safety. ¹⁵He that is surety for a stranger shall smart for it: and he that hateth suretiship is sure. ¹⁶A gracious woman retaineth honor: and strong men retain riches. ¹⁷The merciful man doeth good to his own soul: but he that is cruel troubleth his own flesh. ¹⁸The wicked worketh a deceitful work: but to him that soweth righteousness shall be a sure reward. ¹⁹As righteousness tendeth to life: so he that pursueth evil pursueth it to his own death. ²⁰They that are of a froward heart are abomination to the LORD: but such as are upright in their way are his delight. ²¹Though hand join in hand, the wicked shall not be unpunished: but the seed of the righteous shall be delivered. ²²As a jewel of gold in a swine's snout, so is a fair woman who is without discretion. ²³The desire of the righteous is only good: but the expectation of the wicked is wrath. ²⁴There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty. ²⁵The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself. ²⁶He that withholdeth corn, the people shall curse him: but blessing shall be upon the head of him that selleth it. ²⁷He that diligently seeketh good procureth favor: but he that seeketh mischief, it shall come to him. ²⁸He that trusteth in his riches shall fall: but the righteous shall flourish as a branch. ²⁹He that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind: and the fool shall be servant to the wise of heart. ³⁰The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise. ³¹Behold, the righteous shall be recompensed upon the earth: much more the wicked and the sinner.

Chapter 12

¹Whoever loveth instruction loveth knowledge: but he that hateth reproof is brutish. ²A good man obtaineth favor from the LORD: but a man of wicked devices he will condemn. ³A man shall not be established by wickedness: but the root of the righteous shall not be moved. ⁴A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband: but she that maketh ashamed is as rottenness in his bones. ⁵The thoughts of the righteous are right: but the counsels of the wicked are deceit. ⁶The words of the wicked are to lie in wait for blood: but the mouth of the upright shall deliver them. ⁷The wicked are overthrown, and are not: but the house of the righteous shall stand. ⁸A man shall be commended according to his wisdom: but he that is of a perverse heart shall be despised. ⁹He that is despised, and hath a servant, is better than he that honoreth himself, and is destitute of bread. ¹⁰A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast: but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel. ¹¹He that tilleth his land shall be satisfied with bread: but he that followeth vain persons is void of understanding. ¹²The wicked desireth the net of evil men: but the root of the righteous yieldeth fruit. ¹³The wicked is snared by the transgression of his lips: but the just shall come out of trouble. ¹⁴A man shall be satisfied with good by the fruit of his mouth: and the recompense of a man's hands shall be rendered to him. ¹⁵The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth to counsel is wise. ¹⁶A fool's wrath is presently known: but a prudent man covereth shame. ¹⁷He that speaketh truth showeth forth righteousness: but a false witness, deceit. ¹⁸There is that speaketh like the piercings of a sword: but the tongue of the wise is health. ¹⁹The lip of truth shall be established for ever: but a lying tongue is but for a moment. ²⁰Deceit is in the heart of them that imagine evil: but to the counselors of peace is joy. ²¹There shall no evil happen to the just: but the wicked shall be filled with mischief. ²²Lying lips are abomination to the LORD: but they that deal truly are his delight. ²³A prudent man concealeth knowledge: but the heart of fools proclaimeth foolishness. ²⁴The hand of the diligent shall bear rule: but the slothful shall be under tribute. ²⁵Heaviness in the heart of man depresseth it: but a good word maketh it glad. ²⁶The righteous is more excellent than his neighbor: but the way of the wicked seduceth them. ²⁷The slothful man roasteth not that which he took in hunting: but the substance of a diligent man is precious. ²⁸In the way of righteousness is life; and in the path of it there is no death.

Chapter 13

¹A wise son heareth his father's instruction: but a scorner heareth not rebuke. ²A man shall eat good by the fruit of his mouth: but the soul of the transgressors shall eat violence. ³He that keepeth his mouth keepeth his life: but he that openeth wide his lips shall have destruction. ⁴The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing: but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat. ⁵A righteous man hateth lying: but a wicked man is lothsome, and cometh to shame. ⁶Righteousness keepeth him that is upright in the way: but wickedness overthroweth the sinner. ⁷There is that maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing: there is that maketh himself poor, yet hath great riches. ⁸The ransom of a man's life is his riches: but the poor heareth not rebuke. ⁹The light of the righteous rejoiceth: but the lamp of the wicked shall be extinguished. ¹⁰Only by pride cometh contention: but with the well-advised is wisdom. ¹¹Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished: but he that gathereth by labor shall increase. ¹²Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life. ¹³Whoever despiseth the word shall be destroyed: but he that feareth the commandment shall be rewarded. ¹⁴The law of the wise is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death. ¹⁵Good understanding giveth favor: but the way of transgressors is hard. ¹⁶Every prudent man dealeth with knowledge: but a fool layeth open his folly. ¹⁷A wicked messenger falleth into mischief: but a faithful embassador is health. ¹⁸Poverty and shame shall be to him that refuseth instruction: but he that regardeth reproof shall be honored. ¹⁹The desire accomplished is sweet to the soul: but it is abomination to fools to depart from evil. ²⁰He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed. ²¹Evil pursueth sinners: but to the righteous good shall be repaid. ²²A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children's children: and the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just. ²³Much food is in the tillage of the poor: but there is that is destroyed for want of judgment. ²⁴He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes. ²⁵The righteous eateth to the satisfying of his soul: but the belly of the wicked shall want.

Chapter 14

¹Every wise woman buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands. ²He that walketh in his uprightness feareth the LORD: but he that is perverse in his ways despiseth him. ³In the mouth of the foolish is a rod of pride: but the lips of the wise shall preserve them. ⁴Where no oxen are, the crib is clean: but much increase is by the strength of the ox. ⁵A faithful witness will not lie: but a false witness will utter lies. ⁶A scorner seeketh wisdom, and findeth it not: but knowledge is easy to him that understandeth. ⁷Go from the presence of a foolish man, when thou perceivest not in him the lips of knowledge. ⁸The wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way: but the folly of fools is deceit. ⁹Fools make a mock at sin: but among the righteous there is favor. ¹⁰The heart knoweth its own bitterness; and a stranger doth not intermeddle with its joy. ¹¹The house of the wicked shall be overthrown: but the tabernacle of the upright shall flourish. ¹²There is a way which seemeth right to a man, but the end of it are the ways of death. ¹³Even in laughter the heart is sorrowful; and the end of that mirth is heaviness. ¹⁴The backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways: and a good man shall be satisfied from himself. ¹⁵The simple believeth every word: but the prudent man looketh well to his going. ¹⁶A wise man feareth, and departeth from evil: but the fool rageth, and is confident. ¹⁷He that is soon angry dealeth foolishly: and a man of wicked devices is hated. ¹⁸The simple inherit folly: but the prudent are crowned with knowledge. ¹⁹The evil bow before the good; and the wicked at the gates of the righteous. ²⁰The poor is hated even by his own neighbor: but the rich hath many friends. ²¹He that despiseth his neighbor sinneth: but he that hath mercy on the poor, happy is he. ²²Do they not err that devise evil? but mercy and truth shall be to them that devise good. ²³In all labor there is profit: but the talk of the lips tendeth only to penury. ²⁴The crown of the wise is their riches: but the foolishness of fools is folly. ²⁵A true witness delivereth souls: but a deceitful witness speaketh lies. ²⁶In the fear of the LORD is strong confidence: and his children shall have a place of refuge. ²⁷The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death. ²⁸In the multitude of people is the king's honor: but in the want of people is the destruction of the prince. ²⁹He that is slow to wrath is of great understanding: but he that is hasty of spirit exalteth folly. ³⁰A sound heart is the life of the flesh: but envy the rottenness of the bones. ³¹He that oppresseth the poor reproacheth his Maker: but he that honoreth him hath mercy on the poor. ³²The wicked is driven away in his wickedness: but the righteous hath hope in his death. ³³Wisdom resteth in the heart of him that hath understanding: but that which is in the midst of fools is made known. ³⁴Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people. ³⁵The king's favor is towards a wise servant: but his wrath is against him that causeth shame.

Chapter 15

¹A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger. ²The tongue of the wise useth knowledge aright: but the mouth of fools poureth out foolishness. ³The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good. ⁴A wholesome tongue is a tree of life: but perverseness in it is a breach in the spirit. ⁵A fool despiseth his father's instruction: but he that regardeth reproof is prudent. ⁶In the house of the righteous is much treasure: but in the revenues of the wicked is trouble. ⁷The lips of the wise diffuse knowledge: but the heart of the foolish doeth not so. ⁸The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD: but the prayer of the upright is his delight. ⁹The way of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD; but he loveth him that followeth after righteousness. ¹⁰Correction is grievous to him that forsaketh the way: and he that hateth reproof shall die. ¹¹Hell and destruction are before the LORD: how much more then the hearts of the children of men? ¹²A scorner loveth not one that reproveth him: neither will he go to the wise. ¹³A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance: but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken. ¹⁴The heart of him that hath understanding seeketh knowledge: but the mouth of fools feedeth on foolishness. ¹⁵All the days of the afflicted are evil: but he that is of a merry heart hath a continual feast. ¹⁶Better is little with the fear of the LORD, than great treasure and trouble with it. ¹⁷Better is a dinner of herbs where love is, than a stalled ox and hatred with it. ¹⁸A wrathful man stirreth up strife: but he that is slow to anger appeaseth strife. ¹⁹The way of the slothful man is as a hedge of thorns: but the way of the righteous is made plain. ²⁰A wise son maketh a glad father: but a foolish man despiseth his mother. ²¹Folly is joy to him that is destitute of wisdom: but a man of understanding walketh uprightly. ²²Without counsel purposes are disappointed: but in the multitude of counselors they are established. ²³A man hath joy by the answer of his mouth: and a word spoken in due season, how good it is! ²⁴The way of life is above to the wise, that he may depart from hell beneath. ²⁵The LORD will destroy the house of the proud: but he will establish the border of the widow. ²⁶The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the LORD: but the words of the pure are pleasant words. ²⁷He that is greedy of gain troubleth his own house; but he that hateth gifts shall live. ²⁸The heart of the righteous studieth to answer: but the mouth of the wicked poureth out evil things. ²⁹The LORD is far from the wicked: but he heareth the prayer of the righteous. ³⁰The light of the eyes rejoiceth the heart; and a good report maketh the bones fat. ³¹The ear that heareth the reproof of life abideth among the wise. ³²He that refuseth instruction despiseth his own soul: but he that heareth reproof getteth understanding. ³³The fear of the LORD is the instruction of wisdom: and before honor is humility.

Chapter 16

¹The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, are from the LORD. ²All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the LORD weigheth the spirits. ³Commit thy works to the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established. ⁴The LORD hath made all things for himself: yes, even the wicked for the day of evil. ⁵Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD: though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished. ⁶By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the LORD men depart from evil. ⁷When a man's ways please the LORD, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him. ⁸Better is a little with righteousness, than great revenues without right. ⁹A man's heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps. ¹⁰A divine sentence is in the lips of the king: his mouth transgresseth not in judgment. ¹¹A just weight and balance are the LORD'S: all the weights of the bag are his work. ¹²It is an abomination to kings to commit wickedness: for the throne is established by righteousness. ¹³Righteous lips are the delight of kings; and they love him that speaketh right. ¹⁴The wrath of a king is as messengers of death: but a wise man will pacify it. ¹⁵In the light of a king's countenance is life; and his favor is as a cloud of the latter rain. ¹⁶How much better is it to get wisdom than gold? and to get understanding rather to be chosen than silver? ¹⁷The highway of the upright is to depart from evil: he that keepeth his way preserveth his soul. ¹⁸Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. ¹⁹Better it is to be of a humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud. ²⁰He that handleth a matter wisely shall find good: and whoever trusteth in the LORD, happy is he. ²¹The wise in heart shall be called prudent: and the sweetness of the lips increaseth learning. ²²Understanding is a well-spring of life to him that hath it: but the instruction of fools is folly. ²³The heart of the wise teacheth his mouth, and addeth learning to his lips. ²⁴Pleasant words are as a honey-comb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones. ²⁵There is a way that seemeth right to a man, but the end of it is the ways of death. ²⁶He that laboreth laboreth for himself; for his mouth craveth it of him. ²⁷An ungodly man diggeth up evil: and in his lips there is as a burning fire. ²⁸A froward man soweth strife: and a whisperer separateth chief friends. ²⁹A violent man enticeth his neighbor, and leadeth him into the way that is not good. ³⁰He shutteth his eyes to devise froward things: moving his lips he bringeth evil to pass. ³¹The hoary head is a crown of glory, if it is found in the way of righteousness. ³²He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit, than he that taketh a city. ³³The lot is cast into the lap: but the whole disposing of it is from the LORD.

Chapter 17

¹Better is a dry morsel, and quietness with it, than a house full of sacrifices with strife. ²A wise servant shall have rule over a son that causeth shame, and shall have part of the inheritance among the brethren. ³The fining-pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold: but the LORD trieth the hearts. ⁴A wicked doer giveth heed to false lips: and a liar giveth ear to a naughty tongue. ⁵He that mocketh the poor reproacheth his Maker; and he that is glad at calamities shall not be unpunished. ⁶Children's children are the crown of old men; and the glory of children is their fathers. ⁷Excellent speech becometh not a fool: much less do lying lips a prince. ⁸A gift is as a precious stone in the eyes of him that hath it: whithersoever it turneth, it prospereth. ⁹He that covereth a transgression seeketh love; but he that repeateth a matter separateth very friends. ¹⁰A reproof entereth more into a wise man than a hundred stripes into a fool. ¹¹An evil man seeketh only rebellion: therefore a cruel messenger shall be sent against him. ¹²Let a bear robbed of her whelps meet a man, rather than a fool in his folly. ¹³Whoever rewardeth evil for good, evil shall not depart from his house. ¹⁴The beginning of strife is as when one letteth out water: therefore withdraw from contention, before it be meddled with. ¹⁵He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just, even they both are abomination to the LORD. ¹⁶Why is there a price in the hand of a fool to get wisdom, seeing he hath no heart to it? ¹⁷A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity. ¹⁸A man void of understanding striketh hands, and becometh surety in the presence of his friend. ¹⁹He loveth transgression that loveth strife: and he that exalteth his gate seeketh destruction. ²⁰He that hath a froward heart findeth no good: and he that hath a perverse tongue falleth into mischief. ²¹He that begetteth a fool doeth it to his sorrow: and the father of a fool hath no joy. ²²A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones. ²³A wicked man taketh a gift out of the bosom to pervert the ways of judgment. ²⁴Wisdom is before him that hath understanding; but the eyes of a fool are in the ends of the earth. ²⁵A foolish son is a grief to his father, and bitterness to her that bore him. ²⁶Also to punish the just is not good, nor to strike princes for equity. ²⁷He that hath knowledge spareth his words: and a man of understanding is of an excellent spirit. ²⁸Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise: and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding.

Chapter 18

¹Through desire a man, having separated himself, seeketh and intermeddleth with all wisdom. ²A fool hath no delight in understanding, but that his heart may reveal itself. ³When the wicked cometh, then cometh also contempt, and with ignominy reproach. ⁴The words of a man's mouth are as deep waters, and the well-spring of wisdom as a flowing brook. ⁵It is not good to accept the person of the wicked, to overthrow the righteous in judgment. ⁶A fool's lips enter into contention, and his mouth calleth for strokes. ⁷A fool's mouth is his destruction, and his lips are the snare of his soul. ⁸The words of a tale-bearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly. ⁹He also that is slothful in his work is brother to him that is a great waster. ¹⁰The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe. ¹¹The rich man's wealth is his strong city, and as a high wall in his own conceit. ¹²Before destruction the heart of man is haughty, and before honor is humility. ¹³He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame to him. ¹⁴The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity; but a wounded spirit who can bear? ¹⁵The heart of the prudent getteth knowledge; and the ear of the wise seeketh knowledge. ¹⁶A man's gift maketh room for him, and bringeth him before great men. ¹⁷He that is first in his own cause seemeth just; but his neighbor cometh and searcheth him. ¹⁸The lot causeth contentions to cease, and parteth between the mighty. ¹⁹A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city: and their contentions are like the bars of a castle. ²⁰A man's belly shall be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth; and with the increase of his lips shall he be filled. ²¹Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit of it. ²²Whoever findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favor from the LORD. ²³The poor useth entreaties; but the rich answereth roughly. ²⁴A man that hath friends must show himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.

Chapter 19

¹Better is the poor that walketh in his integrity, than he that is perverse in his lips, and is a fool. ²Also, that the soul be without knowledge, it is not good; and he that hasteth with his feet sinneth. ³The foolishness of man perverteth his way: and his heart fretteth against the LORD. ⁴Wealth maketh many friends; but the poor is separated from his neighbor. ⁵A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall not escape. ⁶Many will entreat the favor of the prince: and every man is a friend to him that giveth gifts. ⁷All the brethren of the poor do hate him: how much more do his friends go far from him? he pursueth them with words, yet they are wanting to him. ⁸He that getteth wisdom loveth his own soul: he that keepeth understanding shall find good. ⁹A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall perish. ¹⁰Delight is not seemly for a fool; much less for a servant to have rule over princes. ¹¹The discretion of a man deferreth his anger; and it is his glory to pass over a transgression. ¹²The king's wrath is as the roaring of a lion; but his favor is as dew upon the grass. ¹³A foolish son is the calamity of his father: and the contentions of a wife are a continual dropping. ¹⁴House and riches are the inheritance of fathers: and a prudent wife is from the LORD. ¹⁵Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep; and an idle soul shall suffer hunger. ¹⁶He that keepeth the commandment keepeth his own soul; but he that despiseth his ways shall die. ¹⁷He that hath pity upon the poor, lendeth to the LORD; and that which he hath given will he pay him again. ¹⁸Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying. ¹⁹A man of great wrath shall suffer punishment: for if thou deliver him, yet thou must do it again. ²⁰Hear counsel, and receive instruction, that thou mayest be wise in thy latter end. ²¹There are many devices in a man's heart; nevertheless the counsel of the LORD, that shall stand. ²²The desire of a man is his kindness: and a poor man is better than a liar. ²³The fear of the LORD tendeth to life: and he that hath it shall abide satisfied; he shall not be visited with evil. ²⁴A slothful man hideth his hand in his bosom, and will not so much as bring it to his mouth again. ²⁵Smite a scorner and the simple will beware: and reprove one that hath understanding, and he will understand knowledge. ²⁶He that wasteth his father, and chaseth away his mother, is a son that causeth shame, and bringeth reproach. ²⁷Cease, my son, to hear the instruction that causeth to err from the words of knowledge. ²⁸An ungodly witness scorneth judgment: and the mouth of the wicked devoureth iniquity. ²⁹Judgments are prepared for scorners, and stripes for the back of fools.

Chapter 20

¹Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whoever is deceived by it is not wise. ²The fear of a king is as the roaring of a lion: whoever provoketh him to anger sinneth against his own soul. ³It is an honor for a man to cease from strife: but every fool will be meddling. ⁴The sluggard will not plow by reason of the cold; therefore shall he beg in harvest, and have nothing. ⁵Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water; but a man of understanding will draw it out. ⁶Most men will proclaim every one his own goodness: but a faithful man who can find? ⁷The just man walketh in his integrity: his children are blessed after him. ⁸A king that sitteth on the throne of judgment scattereth away all evil with his eyes. ⁹Who can say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin? ¹⁰Divers weights, and divers measures, both of them are alike abomination to the LORD. ¹¹Even a child is known by his doings, whether his work is pure, and whether it is right. ¹²The hearing ear, and the seeing eye, the LORD hath made even both of them. ¹³Love not sleep, lest thou come to poverty; open thy eyes, and thou shalt be satisfied with bread. ¹⁴It is naught, it is naught, saith the buyer: but when he is gone, then he boasteth. ¹⁵There is gold, and a multitude of rubies: but the lips of knowledge are a precious jewel. ¹⁶Take his garment that is surety for a stranger: and take a pledge of him for a strange woman. ¹⁷Bread of deceit is sweet to a man; but afterwards his mouth shall be filled with gravel. ¹⁸Every purpose is established by counsel: and with good advice make war. ¹⁹He that goeth about as a tale-bearer revealeth secrets; therefore meddle not with him that flattereth with his lips. ²⁰Whoever curseth his father or his mother, his lamp shall be put out in obscure darkness. ²¹An inheritance may be gotten hastily at the beginning; but the end of it shall not be blessed. ²²Say not thou, I will recompense evil; but wait on the LORD, and he shall save thee. ²³Divers weights are an abomination to the LORD; and a false balance is not good. ²⁴Man's goings are of the LORD; how can a man then understand his own way? ²⁵It is a snare to the man who devoureth that which is holy, and after vows to make inquiry. ²⁶A wise king scatterreth the wicked, and bringeth the wheel over them. ²⁷The spirit of man is the candle of the LORD, searching all the inward parts of the belly. ²⁸Mercy and truth preserve the king: and his throne is upheld by mercy. ²⁹The glory of young men is their strength: and the beauty of old men is the gray head. ³⁰The blueness of a wound cleanseth away evil: so do stripes the inward parts of the belly.

Chapter 21

¹The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will. ²Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the LORD pondereth the hearts. ³To do justice and judgment is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice. ⁴A high look, and a proud heart, and the plowing of the wicked, is sin. ⁵The thoughts of the diligent tend only to plenteousness; but of every one that is hasty only to want. ⁶The getting of treasures by a lying tongue is a vanity tossed to and fro by them that seek death. ⁷The robbery of the wicked shall destroy them; because they refuse to do judgment. ⁸The way of man is froward and strange: but as for the pure, his work is right. ⁹It is better to dwell in a corner of the house-top, than with a brawling woman in a wide house. ¹⁰The soul of the wicked desireth evil: his neighbor findeth no favor in his eyes. ¹¹When the scorner is punished, the simple is made wise: and when the wise is instructed, he receiveth knowledge. ¹²The righteous man wisely considereth the house of the wicked: but God overthroweth the wicked for their wickedness. ¹³Whoever stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard. ¹⁴A gift in secret pacifieth anger: and a reward in the bosom, strong wrath. ¹⁵It is joy to the just to do judgment: but destruction shall be to the workers of iniquity. ¹⁶The man that wandereth out of the way of understanding shall remain in the congregation of the dead. ¹⁷He that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man: he that loveth wine and oil shall not be rich. ¹⁸The wicked shall be a ransom for the righteous, and the transgressor for the upright. ¹⁹It is better to dwell in the wilderness, than with a contentious and an angry woman. ²⁰There is a treasure to be desired, and oil in the dwelling of the wise; but a foolish man spendeth it up. ²¹He that followeth after righteousness and mercy findeth life, righteousness, and honor. ²²A wise man scaleth the city of the mighty, and casteth down the strength of its confidence. ²³Whoever keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles. ²⁴Proud and haughty scorner is his name, who dealeth in proud wrath. ²⁵The desire of the slothful killeth him; for his hands refuse to labor. ²⁶He coveteth greedily all the day long: but the righteous giveth and spareth not. ²⁷The sacrifice of the wicked is abomination: how much more, when he bringeth it with a wicked mind? ²⁸A false witness shall perish: but the man that heareth speaketh constantly. ²⁹A wicked man hardeneth his face: but as for the upright, he directeth his way. ³⁰There is no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against the LORD. ³¹The horse is prepared against the day of battle: but safety is from the LORD.

Chapter 22

¹A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favor rather than silver and gold. ²The rich and poor meet together: the LORD is the maker of them all. ³A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished. ⁴By humility and the fear of the LORD are riches, and honor, and life. ⁵Thorns and snares are in the way of the froward: he that doth keep his soul shall be far from them. ⁶Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. ⁷The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender. ⁸He that soweth iniquity shall reap vanity: and the rod of his anger shall fail. ⁹He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed; for he giveth of his bread to the poor. ¹⁰Cast out the scorner, and contention shall end; yes, strife and reproach shall cease. ¹¹He that loveth pureness of heart, for the grace of his lips the king shall be his friend. ¹²The eyes of the LORD preserve knowledge, and he overthroweth the words of the transgressor. ¹³The slothful man saith, There is a lion without, I shall be slain in the streets. ¹⁴The mouth of strange women is a deep pit: he that is abhorred by the LORD shall fall therein. ¹⁵Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him. ¹⁶He that oppresseth the poor to increase his riches, and he that giveth to the rich, shall surely come to want. ¹⁷Bow down thy ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply thy heart to my knowledge. ¹⁸For it is a pleasant thing if thou keepest them within thee; they shall withal be fitted in thy lips. ¹⁹That thy trust may be in the LORD, I have made known to thee this day, even to thee. ²⁰Have not I written to thee excellent things in counsels and knowledge, ²¹That I might make thee know the certainty of the words of truth; that thou mightest answer the words of truth to them that send to thee? ²²Rob not the poor, because he is poor: neither oppress the afflicted in the gate: ²³For the LORD will plead their cause, and spoil the soul of those that spoiled them. ²⁴Make no friendship with an angry man; and with a furious man thou shalt not go: ²⁵Lest thou learn his ways, and get a snare to thy soul. ²⁶Be not thou one of them that strike hands, or of them that are sureties for debts. ²⁷If thou hast nothing to pay, why should he take away thy bed from under thee? ²⁸Remove not the ancient landmark, which thy fathers have set. ²⁹Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men.

Chapter 23

¹When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, consider diligently what is before thee: ²And put a knife to thy throat, if thou art a man given to appetite. ³Be not desirous of his dainties: for they are deceitful food. ⁴Labor not to be rich: cease from thy own wisdom. ⁵Wilt thou set thy eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make to themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle towards heaven. ⁶Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainties: ⁷For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee. ⁸The morsel which thou hast eaten shalt thou vomit up, and lose thy sweet words. ⁹Speak not in the ears of a fool: for he will despise the wisdom of thy words. ¹⁰Remove not the old landmark; and enter not into the fields of the fatherless: ¹¹For their redeemer is mighty; he will plead their cause with thee. ¹²Apply thy heart to instruction, and thy ears to the words of knowledge. ¹³Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die. ¹⁴Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell. ¹⁵My son, if thy heart be wise, my heart shall rejoice, even mine. ¹⁶Yes, my reins shall rejoice, when thy lips speak right things. ¹⁷Let not thy heart envy sinners: but be thou in the fear of the LORD all the day long. ¹⁸For surely there is an end; and thy expectation shall not be cut off. ¹⁹Hear thou, my son, and be wise, and guide thy heart in the way. ²⁰Be not among wine-bibbers; among riotous eaters of flesh: ²¹For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags. ²²Hearken to thy father that begat thee, and despise not thy mother when she is old. ²³Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding. ²⁴The father of the righteous shall greatly rejoice: and he that begetteth a wise child shall have joy of him. ²⁵Thy father and thy mother shall be glad, and she that bore thee shall rejoice. ²⁶My son, give me thy heart, and let thy eyes observe my ways. ²⁷For a lewd woman is a deep ditch; and a strange woman is a narrow pit. ²⁸She also lieth in wait as for a prey, and increaseth the transgressors among men. ²⁹Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes? ³⁰They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine. ³¹Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth its color in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. ³²At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder. ³³Thy eyes shall behold strange women, and thy heart shall utter perverse things. ³⁴And thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea, or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast. ³⁵They have stricken me, wilt thou say, and I was not sick; they have beaten me, and I felt it not: when shall I awake? I will seek it yet again.

Chapter 24

¹Be not thou envious against evil men, neither desire to be with them. ²For their heart studieth destruction, and their lips talk of mischief. ³Through wisdom is a house built; and by understanding it is established: ⁴And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches. ⁵A wise man is strong; and a man of knowledge increaseth strength. ⁶For by wise counsel thou shalt make thy war: and in multitude of counselors there is safety. ⁷Wisdom is too high for a fool: he openeth not his mouth in the gate. ⁸He that deviseth to do evil shall be called a mischievous person. ⁹The thought of foolishness is sin: and the scorner is an abomination to men. ¹⁰If thou faintest in the day of adversity, thy strength is small. ¹¹If thou forbearest to deliver them that are drawn to death, and those that are ready to be slain; ¹²If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not; doth not he that pondereth the heart consider it? and he that keepeth thy soul, doth not he know it? and will not he render to every man according to his works? ¹³My son, eat thou honey, because it is good; and the honey-comb, which is sweet to thy taste: ¹⁴So shall the knowledge of wisdom be to thy soul: when thou hast found it, then there shall be a reward, and thy expectation shall not be cut off. ¹⁵Lay not wait, O wicked man, against the dwelling of the righteous; destroy not his resting-place: ¹⁶For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief. ¹⁷Rejoice not when thy enemy falleth, and let not thy heart be glad when he stumbleth: ¹⁸Lest the LORD see it, and it displease him, and he turn away his wrath from him. ¹⁹Fret not thyself because of evil men, neither be thou envious at the wicked; ²⁰For there shall be no reward to the evil man; the candle of the wicked shall be extinguished. ²¹My son, fear thou the LORD and the king: and meddle not with them that are given to change: ²²For their calamity shall rise suddenly; and who knoweth the ruin of them both? ²³These things also belong to the wise. It is not good to have respect of persons in judgment. ²⁴He that saith to the wicked, Thou art righteous; him shall the people curse, nations shall abhor him: ²⁵But to them that rebuke him shall be delight, and a good blessing shall come upon them. ²⁶Every man shall kiss his lips that giveth a right answer. ²⁷Prepare thy work without, and make it fit for thyself in the field; and afterwards build thy house. ²⁸Be not a witness against thy neighbor without cause; and deceive not with thy lips. ²⁹Say not, I will do so to him as he hath done to me: I will render to the man according to his work. ³⁰I went by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding; ³¹And lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered the face of it, and its stone wall was broken down. ³²Then I saw, and considered it well: I looked upon it, and received instruction. ³³Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: ³⁴So shall thy poverty come as one that traveleth; and thy want as an armed man.

Chapter 25

¹These are also proverbs of Solomon, which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied out. ²It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honor of kings is to search out a matter. ³The heaven for hight, and the earth for depth, and the heart of kings is unsearchable. ⁴Take away the dross from the silver, and there shall come forth a vessel for the finer. ⁵Take away the wicked from before the king, and his throne shall be established in righteousness. ⁶Put not forth thyself in the presence of the king, and stand not in the place of great men: ⁷For better it is that it be said to thee, Come up hither; than that thou shouldst be put lower in the presence of the prince whom thy eyes have seen. ⁸Go not forth hastily to strive, lest thou know not what to do in the end thereof, when thy neighbor hath put thee to shame. ⁹Debate thy cause with thy neighbor himself; and reveal not a secret to another: ¹⁰Lest he that heareth it put thee to shame, and thy infamy turn not away. ¹¹A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver. ¹²As an ear-ring of gold, and an ornament of fine gold, so is a wise reprover upon an obedient ear. ¹³As the cold of snow in the time of harvest, so is a faithful messenger to them that send him: for he refresheth the soul of his masters. ¹⁴Whoever boasteth himself of a false gift is like clouds and wind without rain. ¹⁵By long forbearing is a prince persuaded, and a soft tongue breaketh the bone. ¹⁶Hast thou found honey? eat so much as is sufficient for thee, lest thou be filled with it, and vomit it. ¹⁷Withdraw thy foot from thy neighbor's house; lest he be weary of thee, and so hate thee. ¹⁸A man that beareth false witness against his neighbor is a maul, and a sword, and a sharp arrow. ¹⁹Confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble is like a broken tooth, and a foot out of joint. ²⁰As he that taketh away a garment in cold weather, and as vinegar upon nitre; so is he that singeth songs to a heavy heart. ²¹If thy enemy shall hunger, give him bread to eat; and if he shall thirst, give him water to drink: ²²For thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head, and the LORD will reward thee. ²³The north wind driveth away rain: so doth an angry countenance a backbiting tongue. ²⁴It is better to dwell in a corner of the house-top, than with a brawling woman and in a wide house. ²⁵As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country. ²⁶A righteous man falling down before the wicked is as a turbid fountain, and a corrupt spring. ²⁷It is not good to eat much honey: so for men to search their own glory is not glory. ²⁸He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls.

Chapter 26

¹As snow in summer, and as rain in harvest; so honor is not seemly for a fool. ²As the bird by wandering, as the swallow by flying, so the curse causeless shall not come. ³A whip for the horse, a bridle for the ass, and a rod for the fool's back. ⁴Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou also be like him. ⁵Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit. ⁶He that sendeth a message by the hand of a fool cutteth off the feet, and drinketh damage. ⁷The legs of the lame are not equal: so is a parable in the mouth of fools. ⁸As he that bindeth a stone in a sling, so is he that giveth honor to a fool. ⁹As a thorn goeth up into the hand of a drunkard, so is a parable in the mouth of fools. ¹⁰The great God that formed all things both rewardeth the fool, and rewardeth transgressors. ¹¹As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly. ¹²Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit? there is more hope of a fool than of him. ¹³The slothful man saith, There is a lion in the way; a lion is in the streets. ¹⁴As the door turneth upon its hinges, so doth the slothful upon his bed. ¹⁵The slothful hideth his hand in his bosom; it grieveth him to bring it again to his mouth. ¹⁶The sluggard is wiser in his own conceit than seven men that can render a reason. ¹⁷He that passeth by, and meddleth with strife belonging not to him, is like one that taketh a dog by the ears. ¹⁸As a mad man who casteth fire-brands, arrows, and death, ¹⁹So is the man that deceiveth his neighbor, and saith, Am not I in sport? ²⁰Where no wood is, there the fire goeth out: so where there is no tale-bearer, the strife ceaseth. ²¹As coals are to burning coals, and wood to fire; so is a contentious man to kindle strife. ²²The words of a tale-bearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly. ²³Burning lips and a wicked heart are like a potsherd covered with silver dross. ²⁴He that hateth dissembleth with his lips, and layeth up deceit within him; ²⁵When he speaketh fair, believe him not: for there are seven abominations in his heart. ²⁶Whose hatred is covered by deceit, his wickedness shall be shown before the whole congregation. ²⁷Whoever diggeth a pit shall fall into it: and he that rolleth a stone, it will return upon him. ²⁸A lying tongue hateth those that are afflicted by it; and a flattering mouth worketh ruin.

Chapter 27

¹Boast not thyself of to-morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth. ²Let another man praise thee, and not thy own mouth; a stranger, and not thy own lips. ³A stone is heavy, and the sand weighty; but a fool's wrath is heavier than both. ⁴Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous; but who is able to stand before envy? ⁵Open rebuke is better than secret love. ⁶Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful. ⁷The full soul lotheth a honey-comb; but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet. ⁸As a bird that wandereth from her nest, so is a man that wandereth from his place. ⁹Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart: so doth the sweetness of a man's friend by hearty counsel. ¹⁰Thy own friend, and thy father's friend, forsake not; neither go into thy brother's house in the day of thy calamity: for better is a neighbor that is near, than a brother far off. ¹¹My son, be wise, and make my heart glad, that I may answer him that reproacheth me. ¹²A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself; but the simple pass on, and are punished. ¹³Take his garment that is surety for a stranger, and take a pledge of him for a strange woman. ¹⁴He that blesseth his friend with a loud voice, rising early in the morning, it shall be counted a curse to him. ¹⁵A continual dropping in a very rainy day and a contentious woman are alike. ¹⁶Whoever hideth her hideth the wind, and the ointment of his right hand which bewrayeth itself. ¹⁷Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend. ¹⁸He that keepeth the fig-tree shall eat the fruit of it: so he that waiteth on his master shall be honored. ¹⁹As in water face answereth to face, so the heart of man to man. ²⁰Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied. ²¹As the fining-pot for silver, and the furnace for gold; so is a man to his praise. ²²Though thou shouldst bray a fool in a mortar among wheat with a pestle, yet his foolishness will not depart from him. ²³Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds. ²⁴For riches are not for ever: and doth the crown endure to every generation? ²⁵The plant appeareth, and the tender grass showeth itself, and herbs of the mountains are gathered. ²⁶The lambs are for thy clothing, and the goats are the price of the field. ²⁷And thou shalt have goats milk enough for thy food, for the food of thy household, and for maintenance for thy maidens.

Chapter 28

¹The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion. ²For the transgression of a land many are its princes: but by a man of understanding and knowledge the state thereof shall be prolonged. ³A poor man that oppresseth the poor is like a sweeping rain which leaveth no food. ⁴They that forsake the law praise the wicked: but such as keep the law contend with them. ⁵Evil men understand not judgment: but they that seek the LORD understand all things. ⁶Better is the poor that walketh in his uprightness, than he that is perverse in his ways, though he is rich. ⁷He who keepeth the law is a wise son: but he that is a companion of riotous men shameth his father. ⁸He that by usury and unjust gain increaseth his substance, he shall gather it for him that will pity the poor. ⁹He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination. ¹⁰Whoever causeth the righteous to go astray in an evil way, he shall fall himself into his own pit: but the upright shall have good things in possession. ¹¹The rich man is wise in his own conceit; but the poor man that hath understanding searcheth him out. ¹²When righteous men rejoice, there is great glory: but when the wicked rise, a man is hidden. ¹³He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but he who confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy. ¹⁴Happy is the man that feareth always: but he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief. ¹⁵As a roaring lion, and a ranging bear; so is a wicked ruler over the poor people. ¹⁶The prince that wanteth understanding is also a great oppressor: but he that hateth covetousness shall prolong his days. ¹⁷A man that doeth violence to the blood of any person shall flee to the pit; let no man stay him. ¹⁸He who walketh uprightly shall be saved: but he that is perverse in his ways shall fall at once. ¹⁹He that tilleth his land shall have plenty of bread: but he that followeth after vain persons shall have poverty enough. ²⁰A faithful man shall abound with blessings: but he that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent. ²¹To have respect of persons is not good: for, for a piece of bread that man will transgress. ²²He that hasteth to be rich hath an evil eye, and considereth not that poverty shall come upon him. ²³He that rebuketh a man afterward shall find more favor than he that flattereth with the tongue. ²⁴He that robbeth his father or his mother, and saith, It is no transgression; the same is the companion of a destroyer. ²⁵He that is of a proud heart stirreth up strife: but he that putteth his trust in the LORD shall be made fat. ²⁶He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoever walketh wisely, he shall be delivered. ²⁷He that giveth to the poor shall not want: but he that hideth his eyes shall have many a curse. ²⁸When the wicked rise, men hide themselves: but when they perish, the righteous increase.

Chapter 29

¹He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy. ²When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn. ³He that loveth wisdom rejoiceth his father: but he that keepeth company with harlots spendeth his substance. ⁴The king by judgment establisheth the land: but he that receiveth gifts overthroweth it. ⁵A man that flattereth his neighbor spreadeth a net for his feet. ⁶In the transgression of an evil man there is a snare: but the righteous doth sing and rejoice. ⁷The righteous considereth the cause of the poor: but the wicked regardeth not to know it. ⁸Scornful men bring a city into a snare: but wise men turn away wrath. ⁹If a wise man contendeth with a foolish man, whether he rageth or laugheth, there is no rest. ¹⁰The blood-thirsty hate the upright: but the just seek his soul. ¹¹A fool uttereth all his mind: but a wise man keepeth it in till afterwards. ¹²If a ruler hearkeneth to lies, all his servants are wicked. ¹³The poor and the deceitful man meet together: the LORD enlighteneth both their eyes. ¹⁴The king that faithfully judgeth the poor, his throne shall be established for ever. ¹⁵The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame. ¹⁶When the wicked are multiplied, transgression increaseth: but the righteous shall see their fall. ¹⁷Correct thy son, and he shall give thee rest; yes, he shall give delight to thy soul. ¹⁸Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he. ¹⁹A servant will not be corrected by words: for though he understandeth, he will not answer. ²⁰Seest thou a man that is hasty in his words? there is more hope of a fool than of him. ²¹He that delicately bringeth up his servant from a child shall have him at length become his son. ²²An angry man stirreth up strife, and a furious man aboundeth in transgression. ²³A man's pride shall bring him low: but honor shall uphold the humble in spirit. ²⁴Whoever is partner with a thief, hateth his own soul: he heareth cursing, and discloseth it not. ²⁵The fear of man bringeth a snare: but he who putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe. ²⁶Many seek the ruler's favor; but every man's judgment cometh from the LORD. ²⁷An unjust man is an abomination to the just: and he that is upright in the way is abomination to the wicked.

Chapter 30

¹The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, even the prophecy: the man spoke to Ithiel, even to Ithiel and Ucal, ²Surely I am more brutish than any man, and have not the understanding of a man. ³I neither learned wisdom, nor have the knowledge of the holy. ⁴Who hath ascended into heaven, or descended? who hath gathered the wind in his fists? who hath bound the waters in a garment? who hath established all the ends of the earth? what is his name, and what is his son's name, if thou canst tell? ⁵Every word of God is pure: he is a shield to them that put their trust in him. ⁶Add thou not to his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar. ⁷Two things have I required of thee; deny them not to me before I die: ⁸Remove far from me vanity and lies; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me: ⁹Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the LORD? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain. ¹⁰Accuse not a servant to his master, lest he curse thee, and thou be found guilty. ¹¹There is a generation that curseth their father, and doth not bless their mother. ¹²There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet are not washed from their filthiness. ¹³There is a generation, O how lofty are their eyes! and their eyelids are lifted up. ¹⁴There is a generation, whose teeth are as swords, and their jaw-teeth as knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from among men. ¹⁵The horse-leech hath two daughters, crying, Give, give. There are three things that are never satisfied, yes, four things say not, It is enough: ¹⁶The grave; and the barren womb; the earth that is not filled with water; and the fire that saith not, It is enough. ¹⁷The eye that mocketh at its father, and despiseth to obey its mother, the ravens of the valley shall pick it out, and the young eagles shall eat it. ¹⁸There are three things which are too wonderful for me, yes, four which I know not: ¹⁹The way of an eagle in the air; the way of a serpent upon a rock; the way of a ship in the midst of the sea; and the way of a man with a maid. ²⁰Such is the way of an adulterous woman; she eateth, and wipeth her mouth, and saith, I have done no wickedness. ²¹For three things the earth is disquieted, and for four which it cannot bear: ²²For a servant when he reigneth; and a fool when he is filled with food. ²³For an odious woman when she is married; and a handmaid that is heir to her mistress. ²⁴There are four things which are little upon the earth, but they are very wise: ²⁵The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their food in the summer; ²⁶The conies are but a feeble people, yet they make their houses in the rocks; ²⁷The locusts have no king, yet go they forth all of them by bands; ²⁸The spider taketh hold with her hands, and is in king's palaces. ²⁹There are three things which go well, yes, four are comely in going: ³⁰A lion, which is strongest among beasts, and turneth not away for any; ³¹A greyhound; a he-goat also; and a king, against whom there is no rising up. ³²If thou hast done foolishly in lifting up thyself, or if thou hast thought evil, lay thy hand upon thy mouth. ³³Surely the churning of milk bringeth forth butter, and the wringing of the nose bringeth forth blood: so the forcing of wrath bringeth forth strife.

Chapter 31

¹The words of king Lemuel, the prophecy that his mother taught him. ²What, my son? and what, the son of my womb? and what, the son of my vows? ³Give not thy strength to women, nor thy ways to that which destroyeth kings. ⁴It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink: ⁵Lest they drink, and forget the law, and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted. ⁶Give strong drink to him that is ready to perish, and wine to those that are of heavy hearts. ⁷Let him drink, and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more. ⁸Open thy mouth for the dumb in the cause of all such as are appointed to destruction. ⁹Open thy mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy. ¹⁰Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies. ¹¹The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil. ¹²She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life. ¹³She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands. ¹⁴She is like the merchant's ships; she bringeth her food from afar. ¹⁵She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth food to her household, and a portion to her maidens. ¹⁶She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard. ¹⁷She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms. ¹⁸She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night. ¹⁹She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff. ²⁰She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yes, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy. ²¹She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet. ²²She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple. ²³Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land. ²⁴She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; and delivereth girdles to the merchant. ²⁵Strength and honor are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come. ²⁶She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and on her tongue is the law of kindness. ²⁷She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness. ²⁸Her children rise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her. ²⁹Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all. ³⁰Favor is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised. ³¹Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.

Ecclesiastes

Chapter 1

¹The words of the preacher, the son of David, king of Jerusalem. ²Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity. ³What profit hath a man of all his labor, which he taketh under the sun? ⁴One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever. ⁵The sun also riseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose. ⁶The wind goeth towards the south, and turneth about to the north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to its circuits. ⁷All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; to the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again. ⁸All things are full of labor; man cannot utter it: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing. ⁹The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. ¹⁰Is there any thing of which it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us. ¹¹There is no remembrance of former things; neither shall there be any remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come after. ¹²I the preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem. ¹³And I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven: this grievous labor hath God given to the sons of man to be exercised with it. ¹⁴I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit. ¹⁵That which is crooked cannot be made straight: and that which is wanting cannot be numbered. ¹⁶I communed with my own heart, saying, Lo, I have come to great estate, and have gained more wisdom than all they that have been before me in Jerusalem: and my heart had great experience of wisdom and knowledge. ¹⁷And I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly: I perceived that this also is vexation of spirit. ¹⁸For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.

Chapter 2

¹I said in my heart, Come now, I will prove thee with mirth, therefore enjoy pleasure: and behold, this also is vanity. ²I said of laughter, It is mad: and of mirth, What doeth it? ³I sought in my heart, to give myself to wine, yet acquainting my heart with wisdom; and to lay hold on folly, till I might see what was that good for the sons of men, which they should do under the heaven all the days of their life. ⁴I made me great works; I built me houses; I planted me vineyards: ⁵I made me gardens and orchards, and I planted trees in them of all kind of fruits: ⁶I made me pools of water, to water with them the wood that bringeth forth trees: ⁷I procured me servants and maidens, and had servants born in my house; also I had great possessions of great and small cattle above all that were in Jerusalem before me: ⁸I gathered me also silver and gold, and the peculiar treasure of kings, and of the provinces: I procured me men-singers and women-singers, and the delights of the sons of men, as musical instruments, and of all sorts. ⁹So I was great, and increased more than all that were before me in Jerusalem: also my wisdom remained with me. ¹⁰And whatever my eyes desired I kept not from them, I withheld not my heart from any joy; for my heart rejoiced in all my labor: and this was my portion of all my labor. ¹¹Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labor that I had labored to do: and behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun. ¹²And I turned myself to behold wisdom, and madness, and folly: for what can the man do that cometh after the king? even that which hath been already done. ¹³Then I saw that wisdom excelleth folly, as far as light excelleth darkness. ¹⁴The wise man's eyes are in his head; but the fool walketh in darkness: and I myself perceived also that one event happeneth to them all. ¹⁵Then said I in my heart, As it happeneth to the fool, so it happeneth even to me; and why was I then more wise? Then I said in my heart, that this also is vanity. ¹⁶For there is no remembrance of the wise more than of the fool for ever; seeing that which now is in the days to come shall all be forgotten. And how dieth the wise man? as the fool. ¹⁷Therefore I hated life; because the work that is wrought under the sun is grievous to me: for all is vanity and vexation of spirit. ¹⁸Yes, I hated all my labor which I had taken under the sun: because I should leave it to the man that shall be after me. ¹⁹And who knoweth whether he shall be a wise man or a fool? yet shall he have rule over all my labor in which I have labored, and in which I have showed myself wise under the sun. This is also vanity. ²⁰Therefore I went about to cause my heart to despair of all the labor which I took under the sun. ²¹For there is a man whose labor is in wisdom, and in knowledge, and in equity; yet to a man that hath not labored in it, shall he leave it for his portion. This also is vanity and a great evil. ²²For what hath man of all his labor, and of the vexation of his heart, in which he hath labored under the sun? ²³For all his days are sorrows, and his labor grief; yes, his heart taketh not rest in the night. This is also vanity. ²⁴There is nothing better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labor. This also I saw, that it was from the hand of God. ²⁵For who can eat, or who else can hasten to it more than I? ²⁶For God giveth to a man who is good in his sight, wisdom, and knowledge, and joy: but to the sinner he giveth toil, to gather, and to amass, that he may give to him that is good before God. This also is vanity and vexation of spirit.

Chapter 3

¹To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: ²A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; ³A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; ⁴A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; ⁵A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; ⁶A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; ⁷A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; ⁸A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace. ⁹What profit hath he that worketh in that in which he laboreth? ¹⁰I have seen the labor, which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it. ¹¹He hath made every thing beautiful in its time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end. ¹²I know that there is no good in them, but for a man to rejoice, and to do good in his life. ¹³And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labor, it is the gift of God. ¹⁴I know that, whatever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be added to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him. ¹⁵That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already been; and God requireth that which is past. ¹⁶And moreover I saw under the sun the place of judgment, that wickedness was there; and the place of righteousness, that iniquity was there. ¹⁷I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the wicked: for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work. ¹⁸I said in my heart concerning the state of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts. ¹⁹For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yes, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no pre-eminence above a beast: for all is vanity. ²⁰All go to one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again. ²¹Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth? ²²Wherefore I perceive that there is nothing better, than that a man should rejoice in his own works; for that is his portion: for who shall bring him to see what shall be after him?

Chapter 4

¹So I returned, and considered all the oppressions that are done under the sun: and behold the tears of such as were oppressed, and they had no comforter; and on the side of their oppressors there was power; but they had no comforter. ²Wherefore I praised the dead who are already dead more than the living who are yet alive. ³Yes, better is he than both they, who hath not yet been, who hath not seen the evil work that is done under the sun. ⁴Again, I considered all labor, and every right work, that for this a man is envied by his neighbor. This is also vanity and vexation of spirit. ⁵The fool foldeth his hands together, and eateth his own flesh. ⁶Better is a handful with quietness, than both the hands full with toil and vexation of spirit. ⁷Then I returned, and I saw vanity under the sun. ⁸There is one alone, and there is not a second; yes, he hath neither child nor brother: yet is there no end of all his labor; neither is his eye satisfied with riches; neither saith he, For whom do I labor, and bereave my soul of good? This is also vanity, yes, it is a grievous labor. ⁹Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labor. ¹⁰For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him to rise. ¹¹Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone? ¹²And if one prevaileth against him, two shall withstand him; and a three-fold cord is not quickly broken. ¹³Better is a poor and a wise child, than an old and foolish king, who will no more be admonished. ¹⁴For out of prison he cometh to reign; whereas also he that is born in his kingdom becometh poor. ¹⁵I considered all the living who walk under the sun, with the second child that shall stand up in his stead. ¹⁶There is no end of all the people, even of all that have been before them: they also that come after shall not rejoice in him. Surely this also is vanity and vexation of spirit. ¹⁷\5:1\Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil.

Chapter 5

¹\5:2\Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thy heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few. ²\5:3\For a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a fool's voice is known by a multitude of words. ³\5:4\When thou vowest a vow to God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed. ⁴\5:5\Better is it that thou shouldst not vow, than that thou shouldst vow and not pay. ⁵\5:6\Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say thou before the angel, that it was an error: why should God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of thy hands? ⁶\5:7\For in the multitude of dreams and many words there are also divers vanities: but fear thou God. ⁷\5:8\If thou seest the oppression of the poor, and violent perversion of judgment and justice in a province, wonder not at the matter: for he that is higher than the highest regardeth; and there are higher than they. ⁸\5:9\Moreover, the profit of the earth is for all: the king himself is served by the field. ⁹\5:10\He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity. ¹⁰\5:11\When goods increase, they are increased that eat them: and what good is there to the owners of them, saving the beholding of them with their eyes? ¹¹\5:12\The sleep of a laboring man is sweet, whether he eateth little or much: but the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep. ¹²\5:13\There is a grievous evil which I have seen under the sun, namely, riches kept for the owners of them to their hurt. ¹³\5:14\But those riches perish by evil labor: and he begetteth a son, and there is nothing in his hand. ¹⁴\5:15\As he came into the world, naked shall he return to go as he came, and shall take nothing of his labor, which he may carry away in his hand. ¹⁵\5:16\And this also is a grievous evil, that in all points as he came, so shall he go: and what profit hath he that hath labored for the wind? ¹⁶\5:17\All his days also he eateth in darkness, and he hath much sorrow and wrath with his sickness. ¹⁷\5:18\Behold that which I have seen: it is good and comely for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labor that he taketh under the sun all the days of his life, which God giveth him: for it is his portion. ¹⁸\5:19\Every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth, and hath given him power to eat of it, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labor; this is the gift of God. ¹⁹\5:20\For he shall not much remember the days of his life; because God answereth him in the joy of his heart.

Chapter 6

¹There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is common among men: ²A man to whom God hath given riches, wealth, and honor, so that he wanteth nothing for his soul of all that he desireth, yet God giveth him not power to eat of it, but a stranger eateth it: this is vanity, and it is an evil disease. ³If a man begetteth a hundred children, and liveth many years, so that the days of his years are many, and his soul is not filled with good, and also that he hath no burial; I say, that an untimely birth is better than he. ⁴For he cometh with vanity, and departeth in darkness, and his name shall be covered with darkness. ⁵Moreover he hath not seen the sun, nor known any thing: this hath more rest than the other. ⁶Yes, though he liveth a thousand years twice told, yet hath he seen no good: do not all go to one place? ⁷All the labor of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled. ⁸For what hath the wise more than the fool? what hath the poor, that knoweth to walk before the living? ⁹Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire: this is also vanity and vexation of spirit. ¹⁰That which hath been is named already, and it is known that it is man: neither may he contend with him that is mightier than he. ¹¹Seeing there are many things that increase vanity, what is man the better? ¹²For who knoweth what is good for man in this life, all the days of his vain life which he spendeth as a shadow? for who can tell a man what shall be after him under the sun?

Chapter 7

¹A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one's birth. ²It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart. ³Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better. ⁴The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth. ⁵It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise, than for a man to hear the song of fools. ⁶For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fool: this also is vanity. ⁷Surely oppression maketh a wise man mad; and a gift destroyeth the heart. ⁸Better is the end of a thing than its beginning: and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit. ⁹Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger resteth in the bosom of fools. ¹⁰Say not thou, What is the cause that the former days were better than these? for thou dost not inquire wisely concerning this. ¹¹Wisdom is good with an inheritance: and by it there is profit to them that see the sun. ¹²For wisdom is a defense, and money is a defense: but the excellence of knowledge is, that wisdom giveth life to them that have it. ¹³Consider the work of God: for who can make that straight, which he hath made crooked? ¹⁴In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity consider: God also hath set the one over against the other, to the end that man should find nothing after him. ¹⁵All things have I seen in the days of my vanity: there is a just man that perisheth in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man that prolongeth his life in his wickedness. ¹⁶Be not righteous over much; neither make thyself over wise: why shouldst thou destroy thyself? ¹⁷Be not over much wicked, neither be thou foolish: why shouldst thou die before thy time? ¹⁸It is good that thou shouldst take hold of this; yes, also from this withdraw not thy hand: for he that feareth God shall escape from them all. ¹⁹Wisdom strengtheneth the wise more than ten mighty men who are in the city. ²⁰For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not. ²¹Also take no heed to all words that are spoken; lest thou hear thy servant curse thee: ²²For often also thy own heart knoweth that thou thyself likewise hast cursed others. ²³All this have I proved by wisdom: I said, I will be wise; but it was far from me. ²⁴That which is far off, and exceedingly deep, who can find it out? ²⁵I applied my heart to know, and to search, and to seek out wisdom, and the reason of things, and to know the wickedness of folly, even of foolishness and madness: ²⁶And I find more bitter than death the woman whose heart is snares and nets, and her hands as bands: whoever pleaseth God shall escape from her; but the sinner shall be taken by her. ²⁷Behold, this have I found, saith the preacher, counting one by one, to find out the account: ²⁸Which yet my soul seeketh, but I find not: one man among a thousand have I found; but a woman among all those have I not found. ²⁹Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions.

Chapter 8

¹Who is as the wise man? and who knoweth the interpretation of a thing? a man's wisdom maketh his face to shine, and the boldness of his face shall be changed. ²I counsel thee to keep the king's commandment, and that in regard of the oath of God. ³Be not hasty to go out of his sight: stand not in an evil thing; for he doeth whatever pleaseth him. ⁴Where the word of a king is, there is power: and who may say to him, what doest thou? ⁵He who keepeth the commandment shall feel no evil thing: and a wise man's heart discerneth both time and judgment. ⁶Because to every purpose there is time and judgment, therefore the misery of man is great upon him. ⁷For he knoweth not that which shall be: for who can tell him when it shall be? ⁸There is no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit; neither hath he power in the day of death: and there is no discharge in that war; neither shall wickedness deliver those that are given to it. ⁹All this have I seen, and applied my heart to every work that is done under the sun: there is a time in which one man ruleth over another to his own hurt. ¹⁰And so I saw the wicked buried, who had come and gone from the place of the holy, and they were forgotten in the city where they had so done: this is also vanity. ¹¹Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil. ¹²Though a sinner doeth evil a hundred times, and his days are prolonged, yet surely I know that it will be well with them that fear God, who fear before him: ¹³But it will not be well with the wicked, neither will he prolong his days, which are as a shadow; because he feareth not before God. ¹⁴There is a vanity which is done upon the earth; that there are just men, to whom it happeneth according to the work of the wicked; again, there are wicked men, to whom it happeneth according to the work of the righteous: I said that this also is vanity. ¹⁵Then I commended mirth, because a man hath no better thing under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be merry: for that shall abide with him of his labor the days of his life, which God giveth him under the sun. ¹⁶When I applied my heart to know wisdom, and to see the business that is done upon the earth: (for also there is that neither day nor night seeth sleep with his eyes:) ¹⁷Then I beheld all the work of God, that a man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun: because though a man may labor to seek it out, yet he shall not find it; yes further; though a wise man thinketh to know it, yet shall he not be able to find it.

Chapter 9

¹For all this I considered in my heart even to declare all this, that the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God: no man knoweth either love or hatred by all that is before them. ²All things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean, and to the unclean; to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not: as is the good, so is the sinner; and he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath. ³This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that there is one event to all: yes, also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead. ⁴For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope: for a living dog is better than a dead lion. ⁵For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. ⁶Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, hath now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun. ⁷Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart; for God now accepteth thy works. ⁸Let thy garments be always white; and let thy head lack no ointment. ⁹Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life of thy vanity, which he hath given thee under the sun, all the days of thy vanity: for that is thy portion in this life, and in thy labor which thou takest under the sun. ¹⁰Whatever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest. ¹¹I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favor to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all. ¹²For man also knoweth not his time: as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare; so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them. ¹³This wisdom have I seen also under the sun, and it seemed to me great: ¹⁴There was a little city, and few men within it; and there came a great king against it, and besieged it, and built great bulwarks against it: ¹⁵Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city; yet no man remembered that same poor man. ¹⁶Then said I, wisdom is better than strength: nevertheless the poor man's wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard. ¹⁷The words of wise men are heard in quiet more than the cry of him that ruleth among fools. ¹⁸Wisdom is better than weapons of war: but one sinner destroyeth much good.

Chapter 10

¹Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth an offensive odor: so doth a little folly him that is in reputation for wisdom and honor. ²A wise man's heart is at his right hand; but a fool's heart is at his left. ³Also, when he that is a fool walketh by the way, his wisdom faileth him, and he saith to every one that he is a fool. ⁴If the spirit of the ruler riseth against thee, leave not thy place; for yielding pacifieth great offenses. ⁵There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, as an error which proceedeth from the ruler: ⁶Folly is set in great dignity, and the rich sit in low place. ⁷I have seen servants upon horses, and princes walking as servants upon the earth. ⁸He that diggeth a pit shall fall into it; and whoever breaketh a hedge, a serpent shall bite him. ⁹Whoever removeth stones shall be hurt by them; and he that cleaveth wood shall be endangered by it. ¹⁰If the iron is blunt, and he doth not whet the edge, then must he use more strength: but wisdom is profitable to direct. ¹¹Surely the serpent will bite without enchantment; and a babbler is no better. ¹²The words of a wise man's mouth are gracious; but the lips of a fool will swallow up himself. ¹³The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness: and the end of his talk is mischievous madness. ¹⁴A fool also is full of words: a man cannot tell what shall be; and what shall be after him, who can tell him? ¹⁵The labor of the foolish wearieth every one of them, because he knoweth not how to go to the city. ¹⁶Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child, and thy princes eat in the morning! ¹⁷Blessed art thou, O land, when thy king is the son of nobles, and thy princes eat in due season, for strength, and not for drunkenness! ¹⁸By much slothfulness the building decayeth; and through idleness of the hands the house droppeth through. ¹⁹A feast is made for laughter, and wine maketh merry: but money answereth all things. ²⁰Curse not the king, no not in thy thought; and curse not the rich in thy bed-chamber: for a bird of the air will carry the voice, and that which hath wings will tell the matter.

Chapter 11

¹Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days. ²Give a portion to seven, and also to eight; for thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth. ³If the clouds are full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth: and if the tree falleth towards the south, or towards the north, in the place where the tree falleth, there it shall be. ⁴He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap. ⁵As thou knowest not what is the way of the spirit, nor the structure of the parts of conception in her that is with child: even so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh all. ⁶In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thy hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good. ⁷Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun: ⁸But if a man shall live many years, and rejoice in them all; yet let him remember the days of darkness; for they shall be many. All that cometh is vanity. ⁹Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thy heart, and in the sight of thy eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment. ¹⁰Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh: for childhood and youth are vanity.

Chapter 12

¹Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them; ²While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, are not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain: ³In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows shall be darkened, ⁴And the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding shall be low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of music shall be brought low. ⁵Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets: ⁶Or ever the silver cord shall be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern. ⁷Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return to God who gave it. ⁸Vanity of vanities saith the preacher; all is vanity. ⁹And moreover, because the preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge: yes, he gave good heed, and sought out, and set in order many proverbs. ¹⁰The preacher sought to find out acceptable words: and that which was written was upright, even words of truth. ¹¹The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies, which are given from one shepherd. ¹²And further, by these, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh. ¹³Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. ¹⁴For God will bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it is good, or whether it is evil.

Song of Solomon

Chapter 1

¹The song of songs, which is Solomon's. ²Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth: for thy love is better than wine. ³Because of the savor of thy good ointments thy name is as ointment poured forth, therefore do the virgins love thee. ⁴Draw me, we will run after thee: the king hath brought me into his chambers; we will be glad and rejoice in thee, we will remember thy love more than wine: the upright love thee. ⁵I am black, but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon. ⁶Look not upon me, because I am black, because the sun hath looked upon me: my mother's children were angry with me; they made me the keeper of the vineyards; but my own vineyard have I not kept. ⁷Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest, where thou makest thy flock to rest at noon: for why should I be as one that turneth aside by the flocks of thy companions? ⁸If thou knowest not, O thou fairest among women, go forth by the footsteps of the flock, and feed thy kids beside the shepherds tents. ⁹I have compared thee, O my love, to a company of horses in Pharaoh's chariots. ¹⁰Thy cheeks are comely with rows of jewels, thy neck with chains of gold. ¹¹We will make for thee borders of gold with studs of silver. ¹²While the king sitteth at his table, my spikenard sendeth forth its smell. ¹³A bundle of myrrh is my well beloved to me; he shall lie all night betwixt my breasts. ¹⁴My beloved is to me as a cluster of camphor in the vineyards of En-gedi. ¹⁵Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair; thou hast doves' eyes. ¹⁶Behold, thou art fair, my beloved, yes, pleasant: also our bed is green. ¹⁷The beams of our house are cedar, and our rafters of fir.

Chapter 2

¹I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys. ²As the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters. ³As the apple-tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste. ⁴He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love. ⁵Stay me with flagons, comfort me with apples: for I am sick with love. ⁶His left hand is under my head, and his right hand doth embrace me. ⁷I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not, nor awake my love, till he please. ⁸The voice of my beloved! behold, he cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills. ⁹My beloved is like a roe, or a young hart: behold, he standeth behind our wall, he looketh forth at the windows, showing himself through the lattice. ¹⁰My beloved spoke, and said to me, Rise, my love, my fair one, and come away. ¹¹For lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone. ¹²The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land; ¹³The fig-tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away. ¹⁴O my dove, that art in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs, let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice; for sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely. ¹⁵Take for us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes. ¹⁶My beloved is mine, and I am his: he feedeth among the lilies. ¹⁷Until the day shall break, and the shadows flee away, turn, my beloved, and be thou like a roe or a young hart upon the mountains of Bether.

Chapter 3

¹By night on my bed I sought him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not. ²I will rise now, and go about the city in the streets, and in the broad ways I will seek him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not. ³The watchmen that go about the city found me: to whom I said, Saw ye him whom my soul loveth? ⁴It was but a little that I passed from them, but I found him whom my soul loveth: I held him, and would not let him go, until I had brought him into my mother's house, and into the chamber of her that conceived me. ⁵I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he please. ⁶Who is this that cometh out of the wilderness like pillars of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all powders of the merchant? ⁷Behold his bed, which is Solomon's; sixty valiant men are about it, of the valiant of Israel. ⁸They all hold swords, being expert in war: every man hath his sword upon his thigh because of fear in the night. ⁹King Solomon made himself a chariot of the wood of Lebanon. ¹⁰He made its pillars of silver, the bottom of it of gold, the covering of it of purple, the midst of it being paved with love, for the daughters of Jerusalem. ¹¹Go forth, O ye daughters of Zion, and behold king Solomon with the crown with which his mother crowned him in the day of his espousals, and in the day of the gladness of his heart.

Chapter 4

¹Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair; thou hast doves' eyes within thy locks: thy hair is as a flock of goats, that appear from mount Gilead. ²Thy teeth are like a flock of sheep that are even shorn, which came up from the washing; all of which bear twins, and none is barren among them. ³Thy lips are like a thread of scarlet, and thy speech is comely: thy temples are like a piece of pomegranate within thy locks. ⁴Thy neck is like the tower of David built for an armory, on which hang a thousand bucklers, all shields of mighty men. ⁵Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins, which feed among the lilies. ⁶Until the day shall break, and the shadows flee away, I will repair to the mountain of myrrh, and to the hill of frankincense. ⁷Thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee. ⁸Come with me from Lebanon, my spouse, with me from Lebanon: look from the top of Amana, from the top of Shenir and Hermon, from the lions' dens, from the mountains of the leopards. ⁹Thou hast ravished my heart, my sister, my spouse; thou hast ravished my heart with one of thy eyes, with one chain of thy neck. ¹⁰How fair is thy love, my sister, my spouse! how much better is thy love than wine! and the smell of thy ointments than all spices! ¹¹Thy lips, O my spouse, drop as the honey-comb; honey and milk are under thy tongue; and the smell of thy garments is like the smell of Lebanon. ¹²A garden inclosed is my sister, my spouse; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed. ¹³Thy plants are an orchard of pomegranates, with pleasant fruits; camphor, with spikenard, ¹⁴Spikenard and saffron; calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense; myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices: ¹⁵A fountain of gardens, a well of living waters, and streams from Lebanon. ¹⁶Awake, O north wind; and come, thou south; blow upon my garden, that its spices may flow out. Let my beloved come into his garden, and eat his pleasant fruits.

Chapter 5

¹I have come into my garden, my sister, my spouse: I have gathered my myrrh, with my spice; I have eaten my honey-comb with my honey; I have drank my wine with my milk: eat, O friends; drink, yes, drink abundantly, O beloved. ²I sleep, but my heart waketh: it is the voice of my beloved that knocketh, saying, Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled: for my head is filled with dew, and my locks with the drops of the night. ³I have put off my coat; how shall I put it on? I have washed my feet; how shall I defile them? ⁴My beloved put in his hand by the hole of the door, and my bowels were moved for him. ⁵I rose up to open to my beloved: and my hands dropped with myrrh, and my fingers with sweet-smelling myrrh, upon the handles of the lock. ⁶I opened to my beloved; but my beloved had withdrawn himself, and was gone: my soul failed when he spoke: I sought him, but I could not find him; I called him, but he gave me no answer. ⁷The watchmen that went about the city found me, they smote me, they wounded me; the keepers of the walls took away my vail from me. ⁸I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if ye find my beloved, that ye tell him, that I am sick with love. ⁹What is thy beloved more than another beloved, O thou fairest among women? what is thy beloved more than another beloved, that thou dost so charge us? ¹⁰My beloved is white and ruddy, the chief among ten thousand. ¹¹His head is as the most fine gold, his locks are bushy, and black as a raven. ¹²His eyes are as the eyes of doves by the rivers of waters, washed with milk, and fitly set. ¹³His cheeks are as a bed of spices, as sweet flowers: his lips like lilies, dropping sweet-smelling myrrh. ¹⁴His hands are as gold rings set with the beryl: his belly is as bright ivory overlaid with sapphires. ¹⁵His legs are as pillars of marble, set upon sockets of fine gold: his countenance is as Lebanon, excellent as the cedars. ¹⁶His mouth is most sweet: yes, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.

Chapter 6

¹Whither is thy beloved gone, O thou fairest among women? whither is thy beloved turned aside? that we may seek him with thee. ²My beloved is gone down into his garden, to the beds of spices, to feed in the gardens, and to gather lilies. ³I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine: he feedeth among the lilies. ⁴Thou art beautiful, O my love, as Tirzah, comely as Jerusalem, terrible as an army with banners. ⁵Turn away thy eyes from me, for they have overcome me: thy hair is as a flock of goats that appear from Gilead. ⁶Thy teeth are as a flock of sheep which go up from the washing, of which every one beareth twins, and there is not one barren among them. ⁷As a piece of pomegranate are thy temples within thy locks. ⁸There are sixty queens, and eighty concubines, and virgins without number. ⁹My dove, my undefiled is but one; she is the only one of her mother, she is the choice one of her that bore her. The daughters saw her, and blessed her; yes, the queens and the concubines, and they praised her. ¹⁰Who is she that looketh forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners? ¹¹I went down into the garden of nuts to see the fruits of the valley, and to see whether the vine flourished, and the pomegranates budded. ¹²Or ere I was aware, my soul made me like the chariots of Amminadib. ¹³Return, return, O Shulamite; return, return, that we may look upon thee. What will ye see in the Shulamite? As it were the company of two armies.

Chapter 7

¹How beautiful are thy feet with shoes, O prince's daughter! the joints of thy thighs are like jewels, the work of the hands of a skillful workman. ²Thy navel is like a round goblet, which wanteth not liquor: thy belly is like a heap of wheat set about with lilies. ³Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins. ⁴Thy neck is as a tower of ivory; thy eyes like the fish-pools in Heshbon, by the gate of Bath-rabbim: thy nose is as the tower of Lebanon which looketh towards Damascus. ⁵Thy head upon thee is like Carmel, and the hair of thy head like purple; the king is held in the galleries. ⁶How fair and how pleasant art thou, O love, for delights! ⁷This thy stature is like to a palm tree, and thy breasts to clusters of grapes. ⁸I said, I will go up to the palm tree, I will take hold of its boughs: now also thy breasts shall be as clusters of the vine, and the smell of thy nose like apples; ⁹And the roof of thy mouth like the best wine for my beloved, that goeth down sweetly, causing the lips of those that are asleep to speak. ¹⁰I am my beloved's, and his desire is towards me. ¹¹Come, my beloved, let us go forth into the field; let us lodge in the villages. ¹²Let us get up early to the vineyards; let us see if the vine flourisheth, whether the tender grape appeareth, and the pomegranates bud forth: there will I give thee my loves. ¹³The mandrakes give a smell, and at our gates are all manner of pleasant fruits, new and old, which I have laid up for thee, O my beloved.

Chapter 8

¹O that thou wert as my brother, that was nourished at the breasts of my mother! when I should find thee without, I would kiss thee; yes, I should not be despised. ²I would lead thee, and bring thee into my mother's house, who would instruct me: I would cause thee to drink of spiced wine of the juice of my pomegranate. ³His left hand should be under my head, and his right hand should embrace me. ⁴I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, that ye stir not, nor awake my love, until he please. ⁵Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved? I raised thee up under the apple-tree: there thy mother brought thee forth: there she brought thee forth that bore thee. ⁶Set me as a seal upon thy heart, as a seal upon thy arm: for love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals of it are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame. ⁷Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it: if a man would give all the substance of his house for love, it would utterly be contemned. ⁸We have a little sister, and she hath no breasts: what shall we do for our sister in the day when she shall be spoken for? ⁹If she is a wall, we will build upon her a palace of silver: and if she is a door, we will inclose her with boards of cedar. ¹⁰I am a wall, and my breasts like towers: then was I in his eyes as one that found favor. ¹¹Solomon had a vineyard at Baal-hamon; he let out the vineyard to keepers; every one for the fruit of it was to bring a thousand pieces of silver. ¹²My vineyard which is mine, is before me: thou, O Solomon, must have a thousand, and those that keep the fruit of it two hundred. ¹³Thou that dwellest in the gardens, the companions hearken to thy voice: cause me to hear it. ¹⁴Make haste, my beloved, and be thou like a roe or a young hart upon the mountains of spices.

Isaiah

Chapter 1

¹The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. ²Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me. ³The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider. ⁴Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evil-doers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel to anger, they are gone away backward. ⁵Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. ⁶From the sole of the foot even to the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment. ⁷Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire: your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers. ⁸And the daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city. ⁹Except the LORD of hosts had left to us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom; we should have been like Gomorrah. ¹⁰Hear the word of the LORD, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear to the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah. ¹¹To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to me? saith the LORD: I am full of the burnt-offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he-goats. ¹²When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread my courts? ¹³Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination to me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot endure; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting. ¹⁴Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble to me; I am weary to bear them. ¹⁵And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide my eyes from you: yes, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood. ¹⁶Wash ye, make yourselves clean; put away the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil; ¹⁷Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. ¹⁸Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins are as scarlet, they shall be white as snow, though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool. ¹⁹If ye are willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: ²⁰But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it. ²¹How is the faithful city become a harlot! it was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers. ²²Thy silver is become dross, thy wine mixed with water: ²³Thy princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves: every one loveth gifts, and followeth after rewards: they judge not the fatherless, neither doth the cause of the widow come to them. ²⁴Therefore saith the Lord, the LORD of hosts, the mighty One of Israel, Ah, I will ease me of my adversaries, and avenge me of my enemies: ²⁵And I will turn my hand upon thee, and thoroughly purge away thy dross, and take away all thy tin: ²⁶And I will restore thy judges as at the first, and thy counselors as at the beginning: afterward thou shalt be called, The city of righteousness, the faithful city. ²⁷Zion shall be redeemed with judgment, and her converts with righteousness. ²⁸And the destruction of the transgressors and of the sinners shall be together, and they that forsake the LORD shall be consumed. ²⁹For they shall be ashamed of the oaks which ye have desired, and ye shall be confounded for the gardens that ye have chosen. ³⁰For ye shall be as an oak whose leaf fadeth, and as a garden that hath no water. ³¹And the strong shall be as tow, and the maker of it as a spark, and they shall both burn together, and none shall quench them.

Chapter 2

¹The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. ²And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mount of the LORD'S house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow to it. ³And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. ⁴And he will judge among the nations, and will rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plow-shares, and their spears into pruning-hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. ⁵O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the LORD. ⁶Therefore thou hast forsaken thy people the house of Jacob, because they are replenished from the east, and are sooth-sayers like the Philistines, and they please themselves in the children of strangers. ⁷Their land also is full of silver and gold, neither is there any end of their treasures; their land is also full of horses, neither is there any end of their chariots: ⁸Their land also is full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made: ⁹And the mean man boweth down, and the great man humbleth himself: therefore forgive them not. ¹⁰Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty. ¹¹The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be abased, and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day. ¹²For the day of the LORD of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low: ¹³And upon all the cedars of Lebanon, that are high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan, ¹⁴And upon all the high mountains, and upon all the hills that are lifted up, ¹⁵And upon every high tower, and upon every fortified wall, ¹⁶And upon all the ships of Tarshish, and upon all pleasant pictures. ¹⁷And the loftiness of man shall be abased, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low: and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day. ¹⁸And the idols he will utterly abolish. ¹⁹And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth. ²⁰In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats; ²¹To go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth. ²²Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of?

Chapter 3

¹For behold, the Lord, the LORD of hosts, doth take away from Jerusalem and from Judah the rod and the staff, the whole support of bread, and the whole support of water, ²The mighty man, and the man of war, the judge, and the prophet, and the prudent, and the ancient, ³The captain of fifty, and the honorable man, and the counselor, and the skillful artificer, and the eloquent orator. ⁴And I will give children to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them. ⁵And the people shall be oppressed, every one by another, and every one by his neighbor: the child shall behave himself proudly against the elder, and the base against the honorable. ⁶When a man shall take hold of his brother of the house of his father, saying, Thou hast clothing, be thou our ruler, and let this ruin be under thy hand: ⁷In that day shall he swear, saying, I will not be a healer; for in my house is neither bread nor clothing: make me not a ruler of the people. ⁸For Jerusalem is ruined, and Judah is fallen: because their tongue and their doings are against the LORD, to provoke the eyes of his glory. ⁹The show of their countenance doth witness against them; and they declare their sin as Sodom, they hide it not. Woe to their soul! for they have rewarded evil to themselves. ¹⁰Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him: for they shall eat the fruit of their doings. ¹¹Woe to the wicked! it shall be ill with him: for the reward of his hands shall be given him. ¹²As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they who lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths. ¹³The LORD standeth up to plead, and standeth to judge the people. ¹⁴The LORD will enter into judgment with the elders of his people, and with their princes: for ye have eaten up the vineyard; the spoil of the poor is in your houses. ¹⁵What mean ye that ye beat my people to pieces, and grind the faces of the poor? saith the Lord GOD of hosts. ¹⁶Moreover the LORD saith, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with extended necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with their feet: ¹⁷Therefore the Lord will smite with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, and the LORD will uncover their secret parts. ¹⁸In that day the Lord will take away the show of their tinkling ornaments about their feet, and their cauls, and their round tires like the moon. ¹⁹The chains, and the bracelets, and the mufflers, ²⁰The bonnets, and the ornaments of the legs, and the head-bands, and the tablets, and the ear-rings, ²¹The rings, and nose-jewels, ²²The changeable suits of apparel, and the mantles, and the wimples, and the crisping-pins, ²³The glasses, and the fine linen, and the hoods, and the vails. ²⁴And it shall come to pass, that instead of sweet smell there shall be an offensive odor; and instead of a girdle a rent; and instead of well set hair baldness; and instead of a stomacher a girding of sackcloth; and burning instead of beauty. ²⁵Thy men shall fall by the sword, and thy mighty in the war. ²⁶And her gates shall lament and mourn; and she being desolate, shall sit upon the ground.

Chapter 4

¹And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach. ²In that day shall the branch of the LORD be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that have escaped of Israel. ³And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem: ⁴When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst of it by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning. ⁵And the LORD will create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for upon all the glory shall be a defense. ⁶And there shall be a tabernacle for a shade in the day time from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a covert from storm and from rain.

Chapter 5

¹Now will I sing to my well-beloved a song of my beloved concerning his vineyard. My well-beloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill: ²And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones of it, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a wine-press therein: and he expected that it would bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes. ³And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard. ⁴What more could have been done to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? Why, when I expected that it would bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes? ⁵And now come; I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away its hedge, and it shall be eaten up; and break down the wall of it, and it shall be trodden down: ⁶And I will lay it waste: it shall not be pruned, nor digged; but there shall come up briers and thorns: I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it. ⁷For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry. ⁸Woe to them that join house to house, that lay field to field, till there is no place, that they may be placed alone in the midst of the earth! ⁹In my ears said the LORD of hosts, Of a truth many houses shall be desolate, even great and fair, without inhabitant. ¹⁰Yes, ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath, and the seed of a homer shall yield an ephah. ¹¹Woe to them that rise early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that continue until night, till wine inflameth them! ¹²And the harp, and the viol, the tabret, and pipe, and wine, are in their feasts: but they regard not the work of the LORD, neither consider the operation of his hands. ¹³Therefore my people have gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge: and their honorable men are famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst. ¹⁴Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure: and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it. ¹⁵And the mean man shall be brought down, and the mighty man shall be humbled, and the eyes of the lofty shall be abased. ¹⁶But the LORD of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, and God that is holy shall be sanctified in righteousness. ¹⁷Then shall the lambs feed after their manner, and the waste places of the fat ones shall strangers eat. ¹⁸Woe to them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as it were with a cart-rope: ¹⁹That say, Let him make speed, and hasten his work, that we may see it: and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw nigh and come, that we may know it! ²⁰Woe to them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! ²¹Woe to them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight! ²²Woe to them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink: ²³Who justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him! ²⁴Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust: because they have cast away the law of the LORD of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel. ²⁵Therefore is the anger of the LORD kindled against his people, and he hath stretched forth his hand against them, and hath smitten them: and the hills trembled, and their carcasses were torn in the midst of the streets. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still. ²⁶And he will lift up an ensign to the nations from afar, and will hiss to them from the end of the earth: and behold, they shall come with speed swiftly: ²⁷None shall be weary nor stumble among them; none shall slumber nor sleep; neither shall the girdle of their loins be loosed, nor the latchet of their shoes be broken: ²⁸Whose arrows are sharp, and all their bows bent, their horses' hoofs shall be counted like flint, and their wheels like a whirlwind: ²⁹Their roaring shall be like a lion, they shall roar like young lions: yes, they shall roar, and lay hold of the prey, and shall carry it away safe, and none shall deliver it. ³⁰And in that day they shall roar against them like the roaring of the sea: and if one looketh to the land, behold darkness and sorrow, and the light is darkened in its heavens.

Chapter 6

¹In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and elevated, and his train filled the temple. ²Above it stood seraphim: each one had six wings; with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. ³And one cried to another, and said, Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. ⁴And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. ⁵Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts. ⁶Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: ⁷And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thy iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. ⁸Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me. ⁹And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. ¹⁰Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed. ¹¹Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities shall be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate; ¹²And the LORD shall have removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land. ¹³But yet in it shall be a tenth, and it shall return, and shall be eaten: as a teil-tree, and as an oak whose substance is in them, when they cast their leaves: so the holy seed shall be the substance of it.

Chapter 7

¹And it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up towards Jerusalem to war against it, but could not prevail against it. ²And it was told the house of David, saying, Syria is confederate with Ephraim. And his heart was moved, and the heart of his people, as the trees of the wood are moved with the wind. ³Then said the LORD to Isaiah, Go forth now to meet Ahaz, thou, and Shear-jashub thy son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the fuller's field; ⁴And say to him, Take heed, and be quiet; fear not, neither be faint-hearted for the two tails of these smoking fire-brands, for the fierce anger of Rezin with Syria, and of the son of Remaliah. ⁵Because Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah, have taken evil counsel against thee, saying, ⁶Let us go up against Judah, and harass it, and let us make a breach therein for us, and set a king in the midst of it, even the son of Tabeal: ⁷Thus saith the Lord GOD, It shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass. ⁸For the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin; and within sixty five years shall Ephraim be broken, that it be not a people. ⁹And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remaliah's son. If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established. ¹⁰Moreover, the LORD spoke again to Ahaz, saying, ¹¹Ask thee a sign from the LORD thy God; ask it either in the depth, or in the hight above. ¹²But Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt the LORD. ¹³And he said, Hear ye now, O house of David? Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will ye weary my God also? ¹⁴Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. ¹⁵Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good. ¹⁶For before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken by both her kings. ¹⁷The LORD will bring upon thee, and upon thy people, and upon thy father's house, days that have not come, from the day that Ephraim departed from Judah; even the king of Assyria. ¹⁸And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD will hiss for the fly that is in the uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria. ¹⁹And they shall come, and shall rest all of them in the desolate valleys, and in the holes of the rocks, and upon all thorns, and upon all bushes. ²⁰In the same day will the Lord shave with a razor that is hired, namely, by them beyond the river, by the king of Assyria, the head, and the hair of the feet: and it shall also consume the beard. ²¹And it shall come to pass in that day, that a man shall nourish a young cow, and two sheep; ²²And it shall come to pass, for the abundance of milk that they shall give, he shall eat butter: for butter and honey shall every one eat that is left in the land. ²³And it shall come to pass in that day, that every place shall be, where there were a thousand vines at a thousand pieces of silver, it shall even be for briers and thorns. ²⁴With arrows and with bows shall men come thither; because all the land shall become briers and thorns. ²⁵And on all hills that shall be digged with the mattock, there shall not come thither the fear of briers and thorns: but it shall be for the sending forth of oxen, and for the treading of lesser cattle.

Chapter 8

¹Moreover, the LORD said to me, Take thee a great roll, and write in it with a man's pen concerning Maher-shalal-hash-baz. ²And I took to me faithful witnesses to record, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah. ³And I went to the prophetess; and she conceived, and bore a son. Then said the LORD to me, Call his name Maher-shalal-hash-baz. ⁴For before the child shall have knowledge to cry, My father, and my mother, the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be taken away before the king of Assyria. ⁵The LORD spoke also to me again, saying, ⁶Forasmuch as this people refuseth the waters of Shiloah that flow gently, and rejoice in Rezin and Remaliah's son; ⁷Now therefore, behold, the Lord bringeth up upon them the waters of the river, strong and many, even the king of Assyria, and all his glory: and he shall come up over all its channels, and go over all its banks: ⁸And he shall pass through Judah; he shall overflow and go over, he shall reach even to the neck; and the extension of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel. ⁹Associate yourselves, O ye people, and ye shall be broken in pieces; and give ear, all ye of far countries: gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces; gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces. ¹⁰Take counsel together, and it shall come to naught; speak the word, and it shall not stand: for God is with us. ¹¹For the LORD spoke thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying, ¹²Say ye not, A confederacy, to all them to whom this people shall say, A confederacy; neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid. ¹³Sanctify the LORD of hosts himself; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. ¹⁴And he will be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offense to both the houses of Israel, for a trap and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. ¹⁵And many among them shall stumble, and fall, and be broken, and be insnared, and be taken. ¹⁶Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples. ¹⁷And I will wait upon the LORD, that hideth his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him. ¹⁸Behold, I and the children whom the LORD hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the LORD of hosts, who dwelleth in mount Zion. ¹⁹And when they shall say to you, Seek to them that have familiar spirits, and to wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek to their God? for the living to the dead? ²⁰To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them. ²¹And they shall pass through it, distressed and hungry: and it shall come to pass, that when they shall be hungry, they shall fret themselves, and curse their king and their God, and look upward. ²²And they shall look to the earth; and behold trouble and darkness, dimness of anguish; and they shall be driven to darkness.

Chapter 9

¹Nevertheless the dimness shall not be such as was in her distress, when at the first he lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun, and the land of Naphtali, and afterward did more grievously afflict her by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the nations. ²The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shades of death, upon them hath the light shined. ³Thou hast multiplied the nation, and not increased the joy: they joy before thee according to the joy in harvest, and as men rejoice when they divide the spoil. ⁴For thou hast broken the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, as in the day of Midian. ⁵For every battle of the warrior is with confused noise, and garments rolled in blood; but this shall be with burning and fuel of fire. ⁶For to us a child is born, to us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. ⁷Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this. ⁸The Lord sent a word into Jacob, and it hath lighted upon Israel. ⁹And all the people shall know, even Ephraim and the inhabitant of Samaria, that say in the pride and stoutness of heart, ¹⁰The bricks have fallen down, but we will build with hewn stones; the sycamores are cut down, but we will change them into cedars. ¹¹Therefore the LORD will set up the adversaries of Rezin against him, and join his enemies together; ¹²The Syrians before, and the Philistines behind; and they shall devour Israel with open mouth. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still. ¹³For the people turn not to him that smiteth them, neither do they seek the LORD of hosts. ¹⁴Therefore the LORD will cut off from Israel head and tail, branch and rush, in one day. ¹⁵The ancient and honorable, he is the head; and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail. ¹⁶For the leaders of this people cause them to err; and they that are led by them are destroyed. ¹⁷Therefore the Lord will have no joy in their young men, neither will have mercy on their fatherless and widows: for every one is a hypocrite and an evil-doer, and every mouth speaketh folly. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still. ¹⁸For wickedness burneth as the fire: it shall devour the briers and thorns, and shall kindle in the thickets of the forest, and they shall mount up like the rising of smoke. ¹⁹Through the wrath of the LORD of hosts is the land darkened, and the people shall be as the fuel of the fire: no man shall spare his brother. ²⁰And he shall snatch on the right hand, and be hungry; and he shall eat on the left hand, and they shall not be satisfied: they shall eat every man the flesh of his own arm: ²¹Manasseh, Ephraim; and Ephraim, Manasseh: and they together shall be against Judah. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.

Chapter 10

¹Woe to them that decree unrighteous decrees, and that write grievousness which they have prescribed; ²To turn aside the needy from judgment, and to take away the right from the poor of my people, that widows may be their prey, and that they may rob the fatherless! ³And what will ye do in the day of visitation, and in the desolation which shall come from far? to whom will ye flee for help? and where will ye leave your glory? ⁴Without me they shall bow down under the prisoners, and they shall fall under the slain. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still. ⁵O Assyrian, the rod of my anger, and the staff in their hand is my indignation. ⁶I will send him against a hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets. ⁷Howbeit he meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so; but it is in his heart to destroy and cut off nations not a few. ⁸For he saith, Are not my princes altogether kings? ⁹Is not Calno as Carchemish? is not Hamath as Arpad? is not Samaria as Damascus? ¹⁰As my hand hath found the kingdoms of the idols, and whose graven images excelled them of Jerusalem and of Samaria; ¹¹Shall I not, as I have done to Samaria and her idols, so do to Jerusalem and her idols? ¹²Wherefore it shall come to pass, that when the Lord hath performed his whole work upon mount Zion and on Jerusalem, I will punish the fruit of the stout heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his high looks. ¹³For he saith, By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom; for I am prudent: and I have removed the bounds of the people, and have robbed their treasures, and I have put down the inhabitants like a valiant man: ¹⁴And my hand hath found as a nest the riches of the people: and as one gathereth eggs that are left, have I gathered all the earth; and there was none that moved the wing, or opened the mouth, or peeped. ¹⁵Shall the ax boast itself against him that heweth with it? or shall the saw magnify itself against him that moveth it? as if the rod should shake itself against them that lift it, or as if the staff should lift itself, as if it were no wood. ¹⁶Therefore will the Lord, the LORD of hosts, send among his fat ones leanness; and under his glory he will kindle a burning like the burning of a fire. ¹⁷And the light of Israel shall be for a fire, and his Holy One for a flame: and it shall burn and devour his thorns and his briers in one day; ¹⁸And shall consume the glory of his forest, and of his fruitful field, both soul and body: and they shall be as when a standard-bearer fainteth. ¹⁹And the rest of the trees of his forest shall be few, that a child may write them. ²⁰And it shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant of Israel, and such as have escaped of the house of Jacob, shall no more again lean upon him that smote them; but shall lean upon the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. ²¹The remnant shall return, even the remnant of Jacob, to the mighty God. ²²For though thy people Israel be as the sand of the sea, yet a remnant of them shall return: the consumption decreed shall overflow with righteousness. ²³For the Lord GOD of hosts will make a consumption, even determined, in the midst of all the land. ²⁴Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD of hosts, O my people that dwellest in Zion, be not afraid of the Assyrian: he shall smite thee with a rod, and shall lift up his staff against thee, after the manner of Egypt. ²⁵For yet a very little while, and the indignation shall cease, and my anger in their destruction. ²⁶And the LORD of hosts will raise up a scourge for him according to the slaughter of Midian at the rock of Oreb: and as his rod was upon the sea, so shall he lift it up after the manner of Egypt. ²⁷And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing. ²⁸He is come to Aiath, he is passed to Migron; at Michmash he hath laid up his furniture. ²⁹They have gone over the passage: they have taken up their lodging at Geba; Ramah is afraid; Gibeah of Saul hath fled. ³⁰Lift up thy voice, O daughter of Gallim: cause it to be heard to Laish, O poor Anathoth. ³¹Madmenah is removed; the inhabitants of Gebim gather themselves to flee. ³²As yet shall he remain at Nob that day: he shall shake his hand against the mount of the daughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem. ³³Behold, the Lord, the LORD of hosts will lop the bough with terror: and the high ones of stature shall be hewn down, and the haughty shall be humbled. ³⁴And he shall cut down the thickets of the forests with iron, and Lebanon shall fall by a mighty one.

Chapter 11

¹And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots: ²And the spirit of the LORD will rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD; ³And will make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and he will not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: ⁴But with righteousness will he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he will smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips will he slay the wicked. ⁵And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins. ⁶The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. ⁷And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. ⁸And the suckling child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the den of the basilisk. ⁹They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea. ¹⁰And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious. ¹¹And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord will set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the isles of the sea. ¹²And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. ¹³The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not distress Ephraim. ¹⁴But they shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines towards the west; they shall spoil them of the east together: they shall lay their hand upon Edom and Moab; and the children of Ammon shall obey them. ¹⁵And the LORD will utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his mighty wind will he shake his hand over the river, and will smite it in the seven streams, and make men go over dry shod. ¹⁶And there shall be a highway for the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria; as it was to Israel in the day that he came up from the land of Egypt.

Chapter 12

¹And in that day thou shalt say, O LORD, I will praise thee: though thou wast angry with me, thy anger is turned away, and thou hast comforted me. ²Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation. ³Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation. ⁴And in that day shall ye say, Praise the LORD, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people, make mention that his name is exalted. ⁵Sing to the LORD; for he hath done excellent things: this is known in all the earth. ⁶Cry aloud and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion: for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.