The Holy Bible

THE OLD TESTAMENT

THE BOOK OF GENESIS

This book is so called from its treating of the GENERATION, that is, of the creation and the beginning of the world. The Hebrews call it BERESITH, from the Word with which it begins. It contains not only the history of the Creation of the world; but also an account of its progress during the space of 2369 years, that is, until the death of JOSEPH.

Genesis Chapter 1

God createth Heaven and Earth, and all things therein, in six days.

1:1. In the beginning God created heaven, and earth.

1:2. And the earth was void and empty, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the spirit of God moved over the waters.

1:3. And God said: Be light made. And light was made.

1:4. And God saw the light that it was good; and he divided the light from the darkness.

1:5. And he called the light Day, and the darkness Night; and there was evening and morning one day.

1:6. And God said: Let there be a firmament made amidst the waters: and let it divide the waters from the waters.

A firmament. . .By this name is here understood the whole space between the earth, and the highest stars. The lower part of which divideth the waters that are upon the earth, from those that are above in the clouds.

1:7. And God made a firmament, and divided the waters that were under the firmament, from those that were above the firmament, and it was so.

1:8. And God called the firmament, Heaven; and the evening and morning were the second day.

1:9. God also said; Let the waters that are under the heaven, be gathered together into one place: and let the dry land appear. And it was so done.

1:10. And God called the dry land, Earth; and the gathering together of the waters, he called Seas. And God saw that it was good.

1:11. And he said: let the earth bring forth green herb, and such as may seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after its kind, which may have seed in itself upon the earth. And it was so done.

1:12. And the earth brought forth the green herb, and such as yieldeth seed according to its kind, and the tree that beareth fruit, having seed each one according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

1:13. And the evening and the morning were the third day.

1:14. And God said: Let there be lights made in the firmament of heaven, to divide the day and the night, and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years:

1:15. To shine in the firmament of heaven, and to give light upon the earth, and it was so done.

1:16. And God made two great lights: a greater light to rule the day; and a lesser light to rule the night: and the stars.

Two great lights. . .God created on the first day, light, which being moved from east to west, by its rising and setting, made morning and evening. But on the fourth day he ordered and distributed this light, and made the sun, moon, and stars. The moon, though much less than the stars, is here called a great light, from its giving a far greater light to the earth than any of them.

1:17. And he set them in the firmament of heaven to shine upon the earth.

1:18. And to rule the day and the night, and to divide the light and the darkness. And God saw that it was good.

1:19. And the evening and morning were the fourth day.

1:20. God also said: let the waters bring forth the creeping creature having life, and the fowl that may fly over the earth under the firmament of heaven.

1:21. And God created the great whales, and every living and moving creature, which the waters brought forth, according to their kinds, and every winged fowl according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

1:22. And he blessed them, saying: Increase and multiply, and fill the waters of the sea: and let the birds be multiplied upon the earth.

1:23. And the evening and morning were the fifth day.

1:24. And God said: Let the earth bring forth the living creature in its kind, cattle and creeping things, and beasts of the earth, according to their kinds. And it was so done.

1:25. And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds, and cattle, and every thing that creepeth on the earth after its kind. And God saw that it was good.

1:26. And he said: Let us make man to our image and likeness: and let him have dominion over the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the air, and the beasts, and the whole earth, and every creeping creature that moveth upon the earth.

Let us make man to our image. . .This image of God in man, is not in the body, but in the soul; which is a spiritual substance, endued with understanding and free will. God speaketh here in the plural number, to insinuate the plurality of persons in the Deity.

1:27. And God created man to his own image: to the image of God he created him: male and female he created them.

1:28. And God blessed them, saying: Increase and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it, and rule over the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the air, and all living creatures that move upon the earth.

Increase and multiply. . .This is not a precept, as some Protestant controvertists would have it, but a blessing, rendering them fruitful; for God had said the same words to the fishes, and birds, (ver. 22) who were incapable of receiving a precept.

1:29. And God said: Behold I have given you every herb bearing seed upon the earth, and all trees that have in themselves seed of their own kind, to be your meat:

1:30. And to all beasts of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to all that move upon the earth, and wherein there is life, that they may have to feed upon. And it was so done.

1:31. And God saw all the things that he had made, and they were very good. And the evening and morning were the sixth day.

Genesis Chapter 2

God resteth on the seventh day and blesseth it. The earthly paradise, in which God placeth man. He commandeth him not to eat of the tree of knowledge. And formeth a woman of his rib.

2:1. So the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the furniture of them.

2:2. And 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 done.

He rested, etc. . .That is, he ceased to make or create any new kinds of things. Though, as our Lord tells us, John 5.17, “He still worketh”, viz., by conserving and governing all things, and creating souls.

2:3. And he blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.

2:4. These are the generations of the heaven and the earth, when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the heaven and the earth:

2:5. And every plant of the field before it sprung up in the earth, and every herb of the ground before it grew: for the Lord God had not rained upon the earth; and there was not a man to till the earth.

2:6. But a spring rose out of the earth, watering all the surface of the earth.

2:7. And the Lord God formed man of the slime of the earth: and breathed into his face the breath of life, and man became a living soul.

2:8. And the Lord God had planted a paradise of pleasure from the beginning: wherein he placed man whom he had formed.

2:9. And the Lord God brought forth of the ground all manner of trees, fair to behold, and pleasant to eat of: the tree of life also in the midst of paradise: and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

The tree of life. . .So called because it had that quality, that by eating of the fruit of it, man would have been preserved in a constant state of health, vigour, and strength, and would not have died at all. The tree of knowledge. . .To which the deceitful serpent falsely attributed the power of imparting a superior kind of knowledge, beyond that which God was pleased to give.

2:10. And a river went out of the place of pleasure to water paradise, which from thence is divided into four heads.

2:11. The name of the one is Phison: that is it which compasseth all the land of Hevilath, where gold groweth.

2:12. And the gold of that land is very good: there is found bdellium, and the onyx stone.

2:13. And the name of the second river is Gehon: the same is it that compasseth all the land of Ethiopia.

2:14. And the name of the third river is Tigris: the same passeth along by the Assyrians. And the fourth river is Euphrates.

2:15. And the Lord God took man, and put him into the paradise of pleasure, to dress it, and to keep it.

2:16. And he commanded him, saying: Of every tree of paradise thou shalt eat:

2:17. But of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat. For in what day soever thou shalt eat of it, thou shalt die the death.

2:18. And the Lord God said: It is not good for man to be alone: let us make him a help like unto himself.

2:19. And the Lord God having formed out of the ground all the beasts of the earth, and all the fowls of the air, brought them to Adam to see what he would call them: for whatsoever Adam called any living creature the same is its name.

2:20. And Adam called all the beasts by their names, and all the fowls of the air, and all the cattle of the field: but for Adam there was not found a helper like himself.

2:21. Then the Lord God cast a deep sleep upon Adam: and when he was fast asleep, he took one of his ribs, and filled up flesh for it.

2:22. And the Lord God built the rib which he took from Adam into a woman: and brought her to Adam.

2:23. And Adam said: This now is bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called woman, because she was taken out of man.

2:24. Wherefore a man shall leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they shall be two in one flesh.

2:25. And they were both naked: to wit, Adam and his wife: and were not ashamed.

Genesis Chapter 3

The serpent’s craft. The fall of our first parents. Their punishment. The promise of a Redeemer.

3:1. Now the serpent was more subtle than any of the beasts of the earth which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman: Why hath God commanded you, that you should not eat of every tree of paradise?

3:2. And the woman answered him, saying: Of the fruit of the trees that are in paradise we do eat:

3:3. But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of paradise, God hath commanded us that we should not eat; and that we should not touch it, lest perhaps we die.

3:4. And the serpent said to the woman: No, you shall not die the death.

3:5. For God doth know that in what day soever you shall eat thereof, your eyes shall be opened: and you shall be as Gods, knowing good and evil.

3:6. And the woman saw that the tree was good to eat, and fair to the eyes, and delightful to behold: and she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave to her husband, who did eat.

3:7. And the eyes of them both were opened: and when they perceived themselves to be naked, they sewed together fig leaves, and made themselves aprons.

And the eyes, etc. . .Not that they were blind before, (for the woman saw that the tree was fair to the eyes, ver. 6.) nor yet that their eyes were opened to any more perfect knowledge of good; but only to the unhappy experience of having lost the good of original grace and innocence, and incurred the dreadful evil of sin. From whence followed a shame of their being naked; which they minded not before; because being now stript of original grace, they quickly began to be subject to the shameful rebellions of the flesh.

3:8. And when they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in paradise at the afternoon air, Adam and his wife hid themselves from the face of the Lord God, amidst the trees of paradise.

3:9. And the Lord God called Adam, and said to him: Where art thou?

3:10. And he said: I heard thy voice in paradise; and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.

3:11. And he said to him: And who hath told thee that thou wast naked, but that thou hast eaten of the tree whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldst not eat?

3:12. And Adam said: The woman, whom thou gavest me to be my companion, gave me of the tree, and I did eat.

3:13. And the Lord God said to the woman: Why hast thou done this? And she answered: The serpent deceived me, and I did eat.

3:14. And the Lord God said to the serpent: Because thou hast done this thing, thou art cursed among all cattle, and beasts of the earth: upon thy breast shalt thou go, and earth shalt thou eat all the days of thy life.

3:15. I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed: she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel.

She shall crush. . .Ipsa, the woman; so divers of the fathers read this place, conformably to the Latin: others read it ipsum, viz., the seed. The sense is the same: for it is by her seed, Jesus Christ, that the woman crushes the serpent’s head.

3:16. To the woman also he said: I will multiply thy sorrows, and thy conceptions: in sorrow shalt thou bring forth children, and thou shalt be under thy husband’s power, and he shall have dominion over thee.

3:17. And to Adam he said: Because thou hast hearkened to the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee, that thou shouldst not eat, cursed is the earth in thy work: with labour and toil shalt thou eat thereof all the days of thy life.

3:18. Thorns and thistles shall it bring forth to thee, and thou shalt eat the herbs of the earth.

3:19. In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread till thou return to the earth out of which thou wast taken: for dust thou art, and into dust thou shalt return.

3:20. And Adam called the name of his wife Eve: because she was the mother of all the living.

3:21. And the Lord God made for Adam and his wife garments of skins, and clothed them.

3:22. And he said: Behold Adam is become as one of us, knowing good and evil: now therefore lest perhaps he put forth his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever.

Behold Adam, etc. . .This was spoken by way of reproaching him with his pride, in affecting a knowledge that might make him like to God.

3:23. And the Lord God sent him out of the paradise of pleasure, to till the earth from which he was taken.

3:24. And he cast out Adam: and placed before the paradise of pleasure Cherubims, and a flaming sword, turning every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

Genesis Chapter 4

The history of Cain and Abel.

4:1. And Adam knew Eve his wife; who conceived and brought forth Cain, saying: I have gotten a man through God.

4:2. And again she brought forth his brother Abel. And Abel was a shepherd, and Cain a husbandman.

4:3. And it came to pass after many days, that Cain offered, of the fruits of the earth, gifts to the Lord.

4:4. Abel also offered of the firstlings of his flock, and of their fat: and the Lord had respect to Abel, and to his offerings.

Had respect. . .That is, shewed his acceptance of his sacrifice (as coming from a heart full of devotion): and that, as we may suppose, by some visible token, such as sending fire from heaven upon his offerings.

4:5. But to Cain and his offerings he had no respect: and Cain was exceeding angry, and his countenance fell.

4:6. And the Lord said to him: Why art thou angry? and why is thy countenance fallen?

4:7. If thou do well, shalt thou not receive? but if ill, shall not sin forthwith be present at the door? but the lust thereof shall be under thee, and thou shalt have dominion over it.

4:8. And Cain said to Abel his brother: Let us go forth abroad. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel, and slew him.

4:9. And the Lord said to Cain: Where is thy brother Abel? And he answered: I know not: am I my brother’s keeper?

4:10. And he said to him: What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth to me from the earth.

4:11. Now therefore cursed shalt thou be upon the earth, which hath opened her mouth and received the blood of thy brother at thy hand.

4:12. When thou shalt till it, it shall not yield to thee its fruit: a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be upon the earth.

4:13. And Cain said to the Lord: My iniquity is greater than that I may deserve pardon.

4:14. Behold thou dost cast me out this day from the face of the earth, and from thy face I shall be hid, and I shall be a vagabond and a fugitive on the earth: every one therefore that findeth me, shall kill me.

Every one that findeth me shall kill me. . .His guilty conscience made him fear his own brothers and nephews; of whom, by this time, there might be a good number upon the earth; which had now endured near 130 years; as may be gathered from Gen. 5.3, compared with chap. 4.25, though in the compendious account given in the scriptures, only Cain and Abel are mentioned.

4:15. And the Lord said to him: No, it shall not so be: but whosoever shall kill Cain, shall be punished sevenfold. And the Lord set a mark upon Cain, that whosoever found him should not kill him.

Set a mark, etc. . .The more common opinion of the interpreters of holy writ supposes this mark to have been a trembling of the body; or a horror and consternation in his countenance.

4:16. And Cain went out from the face of the Lord, and dwelt as a fugitive on the earth at the east side of Eden.

4:17. And Cain knew his wife, and she conceived, and brought forth Henoch: and he built a city, and called the name thereof by the name of his son Henoch.

His wife. . .She was a daughter of Adam, and Cain’s own sister; God dispensing with such marriages in the beginning of the world, as mankind could not otherwise be propagated. He built a city, viz. . .In process of time, when his race was multiplied, so as to be numerous enough to people it. For in the many hundred years he lived, his race might be multiplied even to millions.

4:18. And Henoch begot Irad, and Irad begot Maviael, and Maviael begot Mathusael, and Mathusael begot Lamech,

4:19. Who took two wives: the name of the one was Ada, and the name of the other Sella.

4:20. And Ada brought forth Jabel: who was the father of such as dwell in tents, and of herdsmen.

4:21. And his brother’s name was Jubal: he was the father of them that play upon the harp and the organs.

4:22. Sella also brought forth Tubalcain, who was a hammerer and artificer in every work of brass and iron. And the sister of Tubalcain was Noema.

4:23. And Lamech said to his wives Ada and Sella: Hear my voice, ye wives of Lamech, hearken to my speech: for I have slain a man to the wounding of myself, and a stripling to my own bruising.

I have slain a man, etc. . .It is the tradition of the Hebrews, that Lamech in hunting slew Cain, mistaking him for a wild beast; and that having discovered what he had done, he beat so unmercifully the youth, by whom he was led into that mistake, that he died of the blows.

4:24. Sevenfold vengeance shall be taken for Cain: but for Lamech seventy times sevenfold.

4:25. Adam also knew his wife again: and she brought forth a son, and called his name Seth, saying: God hath given me another seed for Abel, whom Cain slew.

4:26. But to Seth also was born a son, whom he called Enos: this man began to call upon the name of the Lord.

Began to call upon, etc. . .Not that Adam and Seth had not called upon God, before the birth of Enos; but that Enos used more solemnity in the worship and invocation of God.

Genesis Chapter 5

The genealogy, age, and death of the Patriarchs, from Adam to Noe. The translation of Henoch.

5:1. This is the book of the generation of Adam. In the day that God created man, he made him to the likeness of God.

5:2. He created them male and female; and blessed them: and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created.

5:3. And Adam lived a hundred and thirty years, and begot a son to his own image and likeness, and called his name Seth.

5:4. And the days of Adam, after he begot Seth, were eight hundred years: and he begot sons and daughters.

5:5. And all the time that Adam lived, came to nine hundred and thirty years, and he died.

5:6. Seth also lived a hundred and five years, and begot Enos.

5:7. And Seth lived after he begot Enos, eight hundred and seven years, and begot sons and daughters.

5:8. And all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years, and he died.

5:9. And Enos lived ninety years, and begot Cainan.

5:10. After whose birth he lived eight hundred and fifteen years, and begot sons and daughters.

5:11. And all the days of Enos were nine hundred and five years, and he died.

5:12. And Cainan lived seventy years, and begot Malaleel.

5:13. And Cainan lived after he begot Malaleel, eight hundred and forty years, and begot sons and daughters.

5:14. And all the days of Cainan were nine hundred and ten years, and he died.

5:15. And Malaleel lived sixty-five years and begot Jared.

5:16. And Malaleel lived after he begot Jared, eight hundred and thirty years, and begot sons and daughters.

5:17. And all the days of Malaleel were eight hundred and ninety-five years, and he died.

5:18. And Jared lived a hundred and sixty-two years, and begot Henoch.

5:19. And Jared lived after he begot Henoch, eight hundred years, and begot sons and daughters.

5:20. And all the days of Jared were nine hundred and sixty-two years, and he died.

5:21. And Henoch lived sixty-five years, and begot Mathusala.

5:22. And Henoch walked with God: and lived after he begot Mathusala, three hundred years, and begot sons and daughters.

5:23. And all the days of Henoch were three hundred and sixty-five years.

5:24. And he walked with God, and was seen no more: because God took him.

5:25. And Mathusala lived a hundred and eighty-seven years, and begot Lamech.

5:26. And Mathlusala lived after he begot Lamech, seven hundred and eighty-two years, and begot sons and daughters.

5:27. And all the days of Mathusala were nine hundred and sixty-nine years, and he died.

5:28. And Lamech lived a hundred and eighty-two years, and begot a son.

5:29. And he called his name Noe, saying: This same shall comfort us from the works and labours of our hands on the earth, which the Lord hath cursed.

5:30. And Lamech lived after he begot Noe, five hundred and ninety-five years, and begot sons and daughters.

5:31. And all the days of Lamech came to seven hundred and seventy-seven years, and he died. And Noe, when he was five hundred years old, begot Sem, Cham, and Japheth.

Genesis Chapter 6

Man’s sin is the cause of the deluge. Noe is commanded to build the ark.

6:1. And after that men began to be multiplied upon the earth, and daughters were born to them,

6:2. The sons of God seeing the daughters of men, that they were fair, took to themselves wives of all which they chose.

The sons of God. . .The descendants of Seth and Enos are here called sons of God from their religion and piety: whereas the ungodly race of Cain, who by their carnal affections lay grovelling upon the earth, are called the children of men. The unhappy consequence of the former marrying with the latter, ought to be a warning to Christians to be very circumspect in their marriages; and not to suffer themselves to be determined in their choice by their carnal passion, to the prejudice of virtue or religion.

6:3. And God said: My spirit shall not remain in man for ever, because he is flesh, and his days shall be a hundred and twenty years.

His days shall be, etc. . .The meaning is, that man’s days, which before the flood were usually 900 years, should now be reduced to 120 years. Or rather, that God would allow men this term of 120 years, for their repentance and conversion, before he would send the deluge.

6:4. Now giants were upon the earth in those days. For after the sons of God went in to the daughters of men, and they brought forth children, these are the mighty men of old, men of renown.

Giants. . .It is likely the generality of men before the flood were of a gigantic stature in comparison with what men now are. But these here spoken of are called giants, as being not only tall in stature, but violent and savage in their dispositions, and mere monsters of cruelty and lust.

6:5. And God seeing that the wickedness of men was great on the earth, and that all the thought of their heart was bent upon evil at all times,

6:6. It repented him that he had made man on the earth. And being touched inwardly with sorrow of heart,

It repented him, etc. . .God, who is unchangeable, is not capable of repentance, grief, or any other passion. But these expressions are used to declare the enormity of the sins of men, which was so provoking as to determine their Creator to destroy these his creatures, whom before he had so much favoured.

6:7. He said: I will destroy man, whom I have created, from the face of the earth, from man even to beasts, from the creeping thing even to the fowls of the air, for it repenteth me that I have made them.

6:8. But Noe found grace before the Lord.

6:9. These are the generations of Noe: Noe was a just and perfect man in his generations, he walked with God.

6:10. And he begot three sons, Sem, Cham, and Japheth.

6:11. And the earth was corrupted before God, and was filled with iniquity.

6:12. And when God had seen that the earth was corrupted (for all flesh had corrupted its way upon the earth),

6:13. He said to Noe: The end of all flesh is come before me, the earth is filled with iniquity through them, and I will destroy them with the earth.

6:14. Make thee an ark of timber planks: thou shalt make little rooms in the ark, and thou shalt pitch it within and without.

6:15. And thus shalt thou 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.

Three hundred cubits, etc. . .The ark, according to the dimensions here set down, contained four hundred and fifty thousand square cubits; which was more than enough to contain all the kinds of living creatures, with all necessary provisions: even supposing the cubits here spoken of to have been only a foot and a half each, which was the least kind of cubits.

6:16. Thou shalt make a window in the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish the top of it: and the door of the ark thou shalt set in the side: with lower, middle chambers, and third stories shalt thou make it.

6:17. Behold, I will bring the waters of a great flood upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life under heaven. All things that are in the earth shall be consumed.

6:18. And I will establish my covenant with thee, and thou shalt enter into the ark, thou and thy sons, and thy wife, and the wives of thy sons with thee.

6:19. And of every living creature of all flesh, thou shalt bring two of a sort into the ark, that they may live with thee: of the male sex, and the female.

6:20. Of fowls according to their kind, and of beasts in their kind, and of every thing that creepeth on the earth according to its kind: two of every sort shall go in with thee, that they may live.

6:21. Thou shalt take unto thee of all food that may be eaten, and thou shalt lay it up with thee: and it shall be food for thee and them.

6:22. And Noe did all things which God commanded him.

Genesis Chapter 7

Noe with his family go into the ark. The deluge overflows the earth.

7:1. And the Lord said to him: Go in, thou and all thy house, into the ark: for thee I have seen just before me in this generation.

7:2. Of all clean beasts take seven and seven, the male and the female.

Of all clean. . .The distinction of clean and unclean beasts appears to have been made before the law of Moses, which was not promulgated till the year of the world 2514.

7:3. But of the beasts that are unclean two and two, the male and the female. Of the fowls also of the air seven and seven, the male and the female: that seed may be saved upon the face of the whole earth.

7:4. For yet a while, and after seven days, I will rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights: and I will destroy every substance that I have made, from the face of the earth.

7:5. And Noe did all things which the Lord had commanded him.

7:6. And he was six hundred years old, when the waters of the flood overflowed the earth.

7:7. And Noe went in and his sons, his wife and the wives of his sons with him into the ark, because of the waters of the flood.

7:8. And of beasts clean and unclean, and of fowls, and of every thing that moveth upon the earth,

7:9. Two and two went in to Noe into the ark, male and female, as the Lord had commanded Noe.

7:10. And after the seven days were passed, the waters of the flood overflowed the earth.

7:11. In the six hundredth year of the life of Noe, in the second month, in the seventeenth day of the month, all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the floodgates of heaven were opened:

7:12. And the rain fell upon the earth forty days and forty nights.

7:13. In the selfsame day Noe, and Sem, and Cham, and Japheth, his sons: his wife, and the three wives of his sons with them, went into the ark.

7:14. They and every beast according to its kind, and all the cattle in their kind, and every thing that moveth upon the earth, according to its kind, and every fowl according to its kind, all birds, and all that fly,

7:15. Went in to Noe into the ark, two and two of all flesh, wherein was the breath of life.

7:16. And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the Lord shut him in on the outside.

7:17. And the flood was forty days upon the earth: and the waters increased, and lifted up the ark on high from the earth.

7:18. For they overflowed exceedingly: and filled all on the face of the earth: and the ark was carried upon the waters.

7:19. And the waters prevailed beyond measure upon the earth: and all the high mountains under the whole heaven were covered.

7:20. The water was fifteen cubits higher than the mountains which it covered.

7:21. And all flesh was destroyed that moved upon the earth, both of fowl and of cattle, and of beasts, and of all creeping things that creep upon the earth: and all men.

7:22. And all things wherein there is the breath of life on the earth, died.

7:23. And he destroyed all the substance that was upon the earth, from man even to beast, and the creeping things and fowls of the air: and they were destroyed from the earth: and Noe only remained, and they that were with him in the ark.

7:24. And the waters prevailed upon the earth a hundred and fifty days.

Genesis Chapter 8

The deluge ceaseth. Noe goeth out of the ark, and offereth a sacrifice. God’s covenant to him.

8:1. And God remembered Noe, and all the living creatures, and all the cattle which were with him in the ark, and brought a wind upon the earth, and the waters were abated:

8:2. The fountains also of the deep, and the floodgates of heaven, were shut up, and the rain from heaven was restrained.

8:3. And the waters returned from off the earth going and coming: and they began to be abated after a hundred and fifty days.

8:4. And the ark rested in the seventh month, the seven and twentieth day of the month, upon the mountains of Armenia.

8:5. And the waters were going and decreasing until the tenth month: for in the tenth month, the first day of the month, the tops of the mountains appeared.

8:6. And after that forty days were passed, Noe opening the window of the ark, which he had made, sent forth a raven:

8:7. Which went forth and did not return, till the waters were dried up upon the earth.

Did not return. . .The raven did not return into the ark; but (as it may be gathered from the Hebrew) went to and fro; sometimes going to the mountains, where it found carcasses to feed on: and other times returning, to rest upon the top of the ark.

8:8. He sent forth also a dove after him, to see if the waters had now ceased upon the face of the earth.

8:9. But she not finding where her foot might rest, returned to him into the ark: for the waters were upon the whole earth: and he put forth his hand, and caught her, and brought her into the ark.

8:10. And having waited yet seven other days, he again sent forth the dove out of the ark.

8:11. And she came to him in the evening carrying a bough of an olive tree, with green leaves, in her mouth. Noe therefore understood that the waters were ceased upon the earth.

8:12. And he stayed yet other seven days: and he sent forth the dove, which returned not any more unto him.

8:13. Therefore in the six hundredth and first year, the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were lessened upon the earth, and Noe opening the covering of the ark, looked, and saw that the face of the earth was dried.

8:14. In the second month, the seven and twentieth day of the month, the earth was dried.

8:15. And God spoke to Noe, saying:

8:16. Go out of the ark, thou and thy wife, thy sons and the wives of thy sons with thee.

8:17. All living things that are with thee of all flesh, as well in fowls as in beasts, and all creeping things that creep upon the earth, bring out with thee, and go ye upon the earth: increase and multiply upon it.

8:18. So Noe went out, he and his sons: his wife, and the wives of his sons with him.

8:19. And all living things, and cattle, and creeping things that creep upon the earth, according to their kinds went out of the ark.

8:20. And Noe built an altar unto the Lord: and taking of all cattle and fowls that were clean, offered holocausts upon the altar.

Holocausts,. . .or whole burnt offerings. In which the whole victim was consumed by fire upon God’s altar, and no part was reserved for the use of priest or people.

8:21. And the Lord smelled a sweet savour, and said: I will no more curse the earth for the sake of man: for the imagination and thought of man’s heart are prone to evil from his youth: therefore I will no more destroy every living soul as I have done.

Smelled, etc. . .A figurative expression, denoting that God was well pleased with the sacrifices which his servant offered.

8:22. All the days of the earth, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, night and day, shall not cease.

Genesis Chapter 9

God blesseth Noe: forbiddeth blood, and promiseth never more to destroy the world by water. The blessing of Sem and Japheth.

9:1. And God blessed Noe and his sons. And he said to them: Increase, and multiply, and fill the earth.

9:2. And let the fear and dread of you be upon all the beasts of the earth, and upon all the fowls of the air, and all that move upon the earth: all the fishes of the sea are delivered into your hand.

9:3. And every thing that moveth, and liveth shall be meat for you: even as the green herbs have I delivered them all to you:

9:4. Saving that flesh with blood you shall not eat.

9:5. For I will require the blood of your lives at the hand of every beast, and at the hand of man, at the hand of every man, and of his brother, will I require the life of man.

9:6. Whosoever shall shed man’s blood, his blood shall be shed: for man was made to the image of God.

9:7. But increase you and multiply, and go upon the earth and fill it.

9:8. Thus also said God to Noe, and to his sons with him:

9:9. Behold I will establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you:

9:10. And with every living soul that is with you, as well in all birds, as in cattle and beasts of the earth, that are come forth out of the ark, and in all the beasts of the earth.

9:11. I will establish my covenant with you, and all flesh shall be no more destroyed with the waters of a flood, neither shall there be from henceforth a flood to waste the earth.

9:12. And God said: This is the sign of the covenant which I give between me and you, and to every living soul that is with you, for perpetual generations.

9:13. I will set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be the sign of a covenant between me and between the earth.

9:14. And when I shall cover the sky with clouds, my bow shall appear in the clouds:

9:15. And I will remember my covenant with you, and with every living soul that beareth flesh: and there shall no more be waters of a flood to destroy all flesh.

9:16. And the bow shall be in the clouds, and I shall see it, and shall remember the everlasting covenant, that was made between God and every living soul of all flesh which is upon the earth.

9:17. And God said to Noe: This shall be the sign of the covenant, which I have established, between me and all flesh upon the earth.

9:18. And the sons of Noe, who came out of the ark, were Sem, Cham, and Japheth: and Cham is the father of Chanaan.

9:19. These three are the sons of Noe: and from these was all mankind spread over the whole earth.

9:20. And Noe a husbandman began to till the ground, and planted a vineyard.

9:21. And drinking of the wine was made drunk, and was uncovered in his tent.

Drunk. . .Noe by the judgment of the fathers was not guilty of sin, in being overcome by wine: because he knew not the strength of it.

9:22. Which when Cham the father of Chanaan had seen, to wit, that his father’s nakedness was uncovered, he told it to his two brethren without.

9:23. But Sem and Japheth put a cloak upon their shoulders, and going backward, covered the nakedness of their father: and their faces were turned away, and they saw not their father’s nakedness.

Covered the nakedness. . .Thus, as St. Gregory takes notice L. 35; Moral. c. 22, we ought to cover the nakedness, that is, the sins, of our spiritual parents and superiors.

9:24. And Noe awaking from the wine, when he had learned what his younger son had done to him,

9:25. He said: Cursed be Chanaan, a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.

Cursed be Chanaan. . .The curses, as well as the blessings, of the patriarchs, were prophetical: And this in particular is here recorded by Moses, for the children of Israel, who were to possess the land of Chanaan. But why should Chanaan be cursed for his father’s faults? The Hebrews answer, that he being then a boy, was the first that saw his grandfather’s nakedness, and told his father Cham of it; and joined with him in laughing at it: which drew upon him, rather than upon the rest of the children of Cham, this prophetical curse.

9:26. And he said: Blessed be the Lord God of Sem, be Chanaan his servant.

9:27. May God enlarge Japheth, and may he dwell in the tents of Sem, and Chanaan be his servant.

9:28. And Noe lived after the flood three hundred and fifty years.

9:29. And all his days were in the whole nine hundred and fifty years: and he died.

Genesis Chapter 10

The genealogy of the children of Noe, by whom the world was peopled after the flood.

10:1. These are the generations of the sons of Noe: Sem, Cham, and Japheth: and unto them sons were born after the flood.

10:2. The sons of Japheth: Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Thubal, and Mosoch, and Thiras.

10:3. And the sons of Gomer: Ascenez and Riphath and Thogorma.

10:4. And the sons of Javan: Elisa and Tharsis, Cetthim and Dodanim.

10:5. By these were divided the islands of the Gentiles in their lands, every one according to his tongue and their families in their nations.

The islands. . .So the Hebrews called all the remote countries, to which they went by ships from Judea, to Greece, Italy, Spain, etc.

10:6. And the Sons of Cham: Chus, and Mesram, and Phuth, and Chanaan.

10:7. And the sons of Chus: Saba, and Hevila, and Sabatha, and Regma, and Sabatacha. The sons of Regma: Saba, and Dadan.

10:8. Now Chus begot Nemrod: he began to be mighty on the earth.

10:9. And he was a stout hunter before the Lord. Hence came a proverb: Even as Nemrod the stout hunter before the Lord.

A stout hunter. . .Not of beasts but of men: whom by violence and tyranny he brought under his dominion. And such he was, not only in the opinion of men, but before the Lord, that is, in his sight who cannot be deceived.

10:10. And the beginning of his kingdom was Babylon, and Arach, and Achad, and Chalanne in the land of Sennaar.

10:11. Out of that land came forth Assur, and built Ninive, and the streets of the city, and Chale.

10:12. Resen also between Ninive and Chale: this is the great city.

10:13. And Mesraim begot Ludim, and Anamim and Laabim, Nephthuim.

10:14. And Phetrusim, and Chasluim; of whom came forth the Philistines, and the Capthorim.

10:15. And Chanaan begot Sidon his firstborn, the Hethite,

10:16. And the Jebusite, and the Amorrhite, and the Gergesite.

10:17. The Hevite and Aracite: the Sinite,

10:18. And the Aradian, the Samarite, and the Hamathite: and afterwards the families of the Chanaanites were spread abroad.

10:19. And the limits of Chanaan were from Sidon as one comes to Gerara even to Gaza, until thou enter Sodom and Gomorrha, and Adama, and Seboim even to Lesa.

10:20. These are the children of Cham in their kindreds and tongues, and generations, and lands, and nations.

10:21. Of Sem also the father of all the children of Heber, the elder brother of Japheth, sons were born.

10:22. The sons of Sem: Elam and Assur, and Arphaxad, and Lud, and Aram.

10:23. The sons of Aram: Us, and Hull, and Gether; and Mes.

10:24. But Arphaxad begot Sale, of whom was born Heber.

10:25. And to Heber were born two sons: the name of the one was Phaleg, because in his days was the earth divided: and his brother’s name Jectan.

10:26. Which Jectan begot Elmodad, and Saleph, and Asarmoth, Jare,

10:27. And Aduram, and Uzal, and Decla,

10:28. And Ebal, and Abimael, Saba,

10:29. And Ophir, and Hevila, and Jobab. All these were the sons of Jectan.

10:30. And their dwelling was from Messa as we go on as far as Sephar, a mountain in the east.

10:31. These are the children of Sem according to their kindreds and tongues, and countries in their nations.

10:32. These are the families of Noe, according to their people and nations. By these were the nations divided on the earth after the flood.

Genesis Chapter 11

The tower of Babel. The confusion of tongues. The genealogy of Sem down to Abram.

11:1. And the earth was of one tongue, and of the same speech.

11:2. And when they removed from the east, they found a plain in the land of Sennaar, and dwelt in it.

11:3. And each one said to his neighbour: Come let us make brick, and bake them with fire. And they had brick instead of stones, and slime instead of mortar:

11:4. And they said: Come, let us make a city and a tower, the top whereof may reach to heaven; and let us make our name famous before we be scattered abroad into all lands.

11:5. And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of Adam were building.

11:6. And he said: Behold, it is one people, and all have one tongue: and they have begun to do this, neither will they leave off from their designs, till they accomplish them in deed.

11:7. Come ye, therefore, let us go down, and there confound their tongue, that they may not understand one another’s speech.

11:8. And so the Lord scattered them from that place into all lands, and they ceased to build the city.

11:9. And therefore the name thereof was called Babel, because there the language of the whole earth was confounded: and from thence the Lord scattered them abroad upon the face of all countries.

Babel. . .That is, confusion.

11:10. These are the generations of Sem: Sem was a hundred years old when he begot Arphaxad, two years after the flood.

11:11. And Sem lived after he begot Arphaxad, five hundred years, and begot sons and daughters.

11:12. And Arphaxad lived thirty-five years, and begot Sale.

11:13. And Arphaxad lived after he begot Sale, three hundred and three years, and begot sons and daughters.

11:14. Sale also lived thirty years, and begot Heber.

11:15. And Sale lived after he begot Heber, four hundred and three years: and begot sons and daughters.

11:16. And Heber lived thirty-four years, and begot Phaleg.

11:17. And Heber lived after he begot Phaleg, four hundred and thirty years: and begot sons and daughters.

11:18. Phaleg also lived thirty years, and begot Reu.

11:19. And Phaleg lived after he begot Reu, two hundred and nine years, and begot sons and daughters.

11:20. And Reu lived thirty-two years, and begot Sarug.

11:21. And Reu lived after he begot Sarug, two hundred and seven years, and begot sons and daughters.

11:22. And Sarug lived thirty years, and begot Nachor.

11:23. And Sarug lived after he begot Nachor, two hundred years, and begot sons and daughters.

11:24. And Nachor lived nine and twenty years, and begot Thare.

11:25. And Nachor lived after he begot Thare, a hundred and nineteen years, and begot sons and daughters.

11:26. And Thare lived seventy years, and begot Abram, and Nachor, and Aran.

11:27. And these are the generations of Thare: Thare begot Abram, Nachor, and Aran. And Aran begot Lot.

11:28. And Aran died before Thare his father, in the land of his nativity in Ur of the Chaldees.

11:29. And Abram and Nachor married wives: the name of Abram’s wife was Sarai: and the name of Nachor’s wife, Melcha, the daughter of Aran, father of Melcha and father of Jescha.

11:30. And Sarai was barren, and had no children.

11:31. And Thare took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Aran, his son’s son, and Sarai his daughter in law, the wife of Abram his son, and brought them out of Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Chanaan: and they came as far as Haran, and dwelt there.

11:32. And the days of Thare were two hundred and five years, and he died in Haran.

Genesis Chapter 12

The call of Abram, and the promise made to him. He sojourneth in Chanaan, and then by occasion of a famine, goeth down to Egypt.

12:1. And the Lord said to Abram: Go forth out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and out of thy father’s house, and come into the land which I shall shew thee.

12:2. And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and magnify thy name, and thou shalt be blessed.

12:3. I will bless them that bless thee, and curse them that curse thee, and IN THEE shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed.

12:4. So Abram went out as the Lord had commanded him, and Lot went with him: Abram was seventy-five years old when he went forth from Haran.

12:5. And he took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all the substance which they had gathered, and the souls which they had gotten in Haran: and they went out to go into the land of Chanaan. And when they were come into it,

12:6. Abram passed through the country unto the place of Sichem, as far as the noble vale: now the Chanaanite was at that time in the land.

12:7. And the Lord appeared to Abram, and said to him: To thy seed will I give this land. And he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him.

12:8. And passing on from thence to a mountain, that was on the east side of Bethel, he there pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east: he built there also an altar to the Lord, and called upon his name.

12:9. And Abram went forward, going and proceeding on to the south.

12:10. And there came a famine in the country: and Abram went down into Egypt, to sojourn there: for the famine was very grievous in the land.

12:11. And when he was near to enter into Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife: I know that thou art a beautiful woman:

12:12. And that when the Egyptians shall see thee, they will say: She is his wife: and they will kill me, and keep thee.

12:13. Say, therefore, I pray thee, that thou art my sister: that I may be well used for thee, and that my soul may live for thy sake.

My sister. . .This was no lie; because she was his niece, being daughter to his brother Aran, and therefore, in the style of the Hebrews, she might truly be called his sister, as Lot is called Abram’s brother, Gen. 14.14. See Gen. 20.12.

12:14. And when Abram was come into Egypt, the Egyptians saw the woman that she was very beautiful.

12:15. And the princes told Pharao, and praised her before him: and the woman was taken into the house of Pharao.

12:16. And they used 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.

12:17. But the Lord scourged Pharao and his house with most grievous stripes for Sarai, Abram’s wife.

12:18. And Pharao called Abram, and said to him: What is this that thou hast done to me? Why didst thou not tell me that she was thy wife?

12:19. For what cause didst thou say, she was thy sister, that I might take her to my wife? Now therefore there is thy wife, take her, and go thy way.

12:20. And Pharao gave his men orders concerning Abram: and they led him away and his wife, and all that he had.

Genesis Chapter 13

Abram and Lot part from each other. God’s promise to Abram.

13:1. And Abram went up out of Egypt, he and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him into the south.

13:2. And he was very rich in possession of gold and silver.

13:3. And he returned by the way, that he came, from the south to Bethel, to the place where before he had pitched his tent between Bethel and Hai,

13:4. In the place of the altar which he had made before, and there he called upon the name of the Lord.

13:5. But Lot also, who was with Abram, had flocks of sheep, and herds of beasts, and tents.

13:6. Neither was the land able to bear them, that they might dwell together: for their substance was great, and they could not dwell together.

13:7. Whereupon also there arose a strife between the herdsmen of Abram and of Lot. And at that time the Chanaanite and the Pherezite dwelled in that country.

13:8. Abram therefore said to Lot: Let there be no quarrel, I beseech thee, between me and thee, and between my herdsmen and thy herdsmen: for we are brethren.

13:9. Behold the whole land is before thee: depart from me, I pray thee: if thou wilt go to the left hand, I will take the right: if thou choose the right hand, I will pass to the left.

13:10. And Lot lifting up his eyes, saw all the country about the Jordan, which was watered throughout, before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrha, as the paradise of the Lord, and like Egypt as one comes to Segor.

13:11. And Lot chose to himself the country about the Jordan, and he departed from the east: and they were separated one brother from the other.

13:12. Abram dwelt in the land of Chanaan: and Lot abode in the towns, that were about the Jordan, and dwelt in Sodom.

13:13. And the men of Sodom were very wicked, and sinners before the face of the Lord beyond measure.

13:14. And the Lord said to Abram, after Lot was separated from him: Lift up thy eyes, and look from the place wherein thou now art, to the north and to the south, to the east and to the west.

13:15. All the land which thou seest, I will give to thee, and to thy seed for ever.

13:16. And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: if any man be able to number the dust of the earth, he shall be able to number thy seed also.

13:17. Arise and walk through the land in the length, and the breadth thereof: for I will give it to thee.

13:18. So Abram removing his tent, came, and dwelt by the vale of Mambre, which is in Hebron: and he built there an altar to the Lord.

Genesis Chapter 14

The expedition of the four kings; the victory of Abram; he is blessed by Melchisedech.

14:1. And it came to pass at that time, that Amraphel, king of Sennaar, and Arioch, king of Pontus, and Chodorlahomor, king of the Elamites, and Thadal, king of nations,

14:2. Made war against Bara, king of Sodom, and against Bersa, king of Gomorrha, and against Sennaab, king of Adama, and against Semeber, king of Seboim, and against the king of Bala, which is Segor.

14:3. All these came together into the woodland vale, which now is the salt sea.

14:4. For they had served Chodorlahomor twelve years, and in the thirteenth year they revolted from him.

14:5. And in the fourteenth year came Chodorlahomor, and the kings that were with him: and they smote the Raphaim in Astarothcarnaim, and the Zuzim with them, and the Emim in Save of Cariathaim.

14:6. And the Chorreans in the mountains of Seir, even to the plains of Pharan, which is in the wilderness.

14:7. And they returned, and came to the fountain of Misphat, the same is Cades: and they smote all the country of the Amalecites, and the Amorrhean that dwelt in Asasonthamar.

14:8. And the king of Sodom, and the king of Gomorrha, and the king of Adama, and the king of Seboim, and the king of Bala, which is Segor, went out: and they set themselves against them in battle array, in the woodland vale:

14:9. To wit, against Chodorlahomor king of the Elamites, and Thadal king of nations, and Amraphel king of Sennaar, and Arioch king of Pontus: four kings against five.

14:10. Now the woodland vale had many pits of slime. And the king of Sodom, and the king of Gomorrha turned their backs, and were overthrown there: and they that remained, fled to the mountain.

Of slime. Bituminis. . .This was a kind of pitch, which served for mortar in the building of Babel, Gen. 11.3, and was used by Noe in pitching the ark.

14:11. And they took all the substance of the Sodomites, and Gomorrhites, and all their victuals, and went their way:

14:12. And Lot also, the son of Abram’s brother, who dwelt in Sodom, and his substance.

14:13. And behold one, that had escaped, told Abram the Hebrew, who dwelt in the vale of Mambre the Amorrhite, the brother of Escol, and the brother of Aner: for these had made a league with Abram.

14:14. Which when Abram had heard, to wit, that his brother Lot was taken, he numbered of the servants born in his house, three hundred and eighteen, well appointed: and pursued them to Dan.

14:15. And dividing his company, he rushed upon them in the night, and defeated them: and pursued them as far as Hoba, which is on the left hand of Damascus.

14:16. And he brought back all the substance, and Lot his brother, with his substance, the women also, and the people.

14:17. And the king of Sodom went out to meet him, after he returned from the slaughter of Chodorlahomor, and of the kings that were with him in the vale of Save, which is the king’s vale.

14:18. But Melchisedech, the king of Salem, bringing forth bread and wine, for he was the priest of the most high God,

14:19. Blessed him, and said: Blessed be Abram by the most high God, who created heaven and earth.

14:20. And blessed be the most high God, by whose protection, the enemies are in thy hands. And he gave him the tithes of all.

14:21. And the king of Sodom said to Abram: Give me the persons, and the rest take to thyself.

14:22. And he answered him: I lift up my hand to the Lord God the most high, the possessor of heaven and earth,

14:23. That from the very woof thread unto the shoe latchet, I will not take of any things that are thine, lest thou say: I have enriched Abram.

14:24. Except such things as the young men have eaten, and the shares of the men that came with me, Aner, Escol, and Mambre: these shall take their shares.

Genesis Chapter 15

God promiseth seed to Abram. His faith, sacrifice and vision.

15:1. Now when these things were done, the word of the Lord came to Abram by a vision, saying: Fear not, Abram, I am thy protector, and thy reward exceeding great.

15:2. And Abram said: Lord God, what wilt thou give me? I shall go without children: and the son of the steward of my house is this Damascus Eliezer.

15:3. And Abram added: But to me thou hast not given seed: and lo my servant born in my house, shall be my heir.

15:4. And immediately the word of the Lord came to him, saying : He shall not be thy heir: but he that shall come out of thy bowels, him shalt thou have for thy heir.

15:5. And he brought him forth abroad, and said to him: Look up to heaven and number the stars if thou canst. And he said to him: So shall thy seed be.

15:6. Abram believed God, and it was reputed to him unto justice.

15:7. And he said to him: I am the Lord who brought thee out from Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land, and that thou mightest possess it.

15:8. But he said: Lord God, whereby may I know that I shall possess it?

15:9. And the Lord answered, and said: Take me a cow of three years old, and a she-goat of three years. and a ram of three years, a turtle also, and a pigeon.

15:10. And he took all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid the two pieces of each one against the other: but the birds he divided not.

15:11. And the fowls came down upon the carcasses, and Abram drove them away.

15:12. And when the sun was setting, a deep sleep fell upon Abram, and a great and darksome horror seized upon him.

15:13. And it was said unto him: Know thou beforehand that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land not their own, and they shall bring them under bondage, and afflict them four hundred years.

15:14. But I will judge the nation which they shall serve, and after this they shall come out with great substance.

15:15. And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace, and be buried in a good old age.

15:16. But in the fourth generation they shall return hither: for as yet the iniquities of the Amorrhites are not at the full until this present time.

15:17. And when the sun was set, there arose a dark mist, and there appeared a smoking furnace, and a lamp of fire passing between those divisions.

15:18. That day God made a covenant with Abram, saying: To thy seed will I give this land, from the river to Egypt even to the great river Euphrates.

15:19. The Cineans, and Cenezites, the Cedmonites,

15:20. And the Hethites, and the Pherezites, the Raphaim also,

15:21. And the Amorrhites, and the Chanaanites, and the Gergesites, and the Jebusites.

Genesis Chapter 16

Abram marrieth Agar, who bringeth forth Ismael.

16:1. Now Sarai, the wife of Abram, had brought forth no children: but having a handmaid, an Egyptian, named Agar,

16:2. She said to her husband: Behold, the Lord hath restrained me from bearing: go in unto my handmaid, it may be I may have children of her at least. And when he agreed to her request,

16:3. She took Agar the Egyptian her handmaid, ten years after they first dwelt in the land of Chanaan, and gave her to her husband to wife.

To wife. . .Plurality of wives, though contrary to the primitive institution of marriage, Gen. 2.24, was by divine dispensation allowed to the patriarchs: which allowance seems to have continued during the time of the law of Moses. But Christ our Lord reduced marriage to its primitive institution. Matt. 19.

16:4. And he went in to her. But she perceiving that she was with child, despised her mistress.

16:5. And Sarai said to Abram: Thou dost unjustly with me: I gave my handmaid into thy bosom, and she perceiving herself to be with child, despiseth me. The Lord judge between me and thee.

16:6. And Abram made answer, and said to her: Behold thy handmaid is in thy own hand, use her as it pleaseth thee. And when Sarai afflicted her, she ran away.

16:7. And the angel of the Lord having found her, by a fountain of water in the wilderness, which is in the way to Sur in the desert,

16:8. He said to her: Agar, handmaid of Sarai, whence comest thou? and whither goest thou? And she answered: I flee from the face of Sarai, my mistress.

16:9. And the angel of the Lord said to her: Return to thy mistress, and humble thyself under her hand.

16:10. And again he said: I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, and it shall not be numbered for multitude.

16:11. And again: Behold, said he, thou art with child, and thou shalt bring forth a son: and thou shalt call his name Ismael, because the Lord hath heard thy affliction.

16:12. He shall be a wild man: his hand will be against all men, and all men’s hands against him: and he shall pitch his tents over against all his brethren.

16:13. And she called the name of the Lord that spoke unto her: Thou the God who hast seen me. For she said: Verily, here have I seen the hinder parts of him that seeth me.

16:14. Therefore she called that well, the well of him that liveth and seeth me. The same is between Cades and Barad.

16:15. And Agar brought forth a son to Abram: who called his name Ismael.

16:16. Abram was four score and six years old when Agar brought him forth Ismael.

Genesis Chapter 17

The Covenant of circumcision.

17:1. And after he began to be ninety and nine years old, the Lord appeared to him: and said unto him: I am the Almighty God: walk before me, and be perfect.

17:2. And I will make my covenant between me and thee: and I will multiply thee exceedingly.

17:3. Abram fell flat on his face.

17:4. And God said to him: I am, and my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations.

17:5. Neither shall thy name be called any more Abram: but thou shalt be called Abraham: because I have made thee a father of many nations.

Abram. . .in the Hebrew, signifies a high father: but Abraham, the father of the multitude; Sarai signifies my Lady, but Sara absolutely Lady.

17:6. And I will make thee increase exceedingly, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee.

17:7. And I will establish my covenant between me and thee, and between thy seed after thee in their generations, by a perpetual covenant: to be a God to thee, and to thy seed after thee.

17:8. And I will give to thee, and to thy seed, the land of thy sojournment, all the land of Chanaan, for a perpetual possession, and I will be their God.

17:9. Again God said to Abraham: And thou therefore shalt keep my covenant, and thy seed after thee in their generations.

17:10. This is my covenant which you shall observe between me and you, and thy seed after thee: All the male-kind of you shall be circumcised.

17:11. And you shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, that it may be for a sign of the covenant between me and you.

17:12. An infant of eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every manchild in your generations: he that is born in the house, as well as the bought servant, shall be circumcised, and whosoever is not of your stock:

17:13. And my covenant shall be in your flesh for a perpetual covenant.

17:14. The male whose flesh of his foreskin shall not be circumcised, that soul shall be destroyed out of his people: because he hath broken my covenant.

17:15. God said also to Abraham: Sarai thy wife thou shalt not call Sarai, but Sara.

17:16. And I will bless her, and of her I will give thee a son, whom I will bless, and he shall become nations, and kings of people shall spring from him.

17:17. Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, saying in his heart: Shall a son, thinkest thou, be born to him that is a hundred years old? and shall Sara that is ninety years old bring forth?

17:18. And he said to God: O that Ismael may live before thee.

17:19. And God said to Abraham: Sara thy wife shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name Isaac, and I will establish my covenant with him for a perpetual covenant, and with his seed after him.

17:20. And as for Ismael I have also heard thee. Behold, I will bless him, and increase, and multiply him exceedingly: he shall beget twelve chiefs, and I will make him a great nation.

17:21. But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sara shall bring forth to thee at this time in the next year.

17:22. And when he had left off speaking with him, God went up from Abraham.

17:23. And Abraham took Ismael his son, and all that were born in his house: and all whom he had bought, every male among the men of his house: and he circumcised the flesh of their foreskin forthwith the very same day, as God had commanded him.

17:24. Abraham was ninety and nine years old, when he circumcised the flesh of his foreskin.

17:25. And Ismael his son was full thirteen years old at the time of his circumcision.

17:26. The self-same day was Abraham circumcised and Ismael his son.

17:27. And all the men of his house, as well they that were born in his house, as the bought servants and strangers, were circumcised with him.

Genesis Chapter 18

Angels are entertained by Abraham. They foretell the birth of Isaac. Abraham’s prayer for the men of Sodom.

18:1. And the Lord appeared to him in the vale of Mambre as he was sitting at the door of his tent, in the very heat of the day.

18:2. And when he had lifted up his eyes, there appeared to him three men standing near to him: and as soon as he saw them, he ran to meet them from the door of his tent, and adored down to the ground.

18:3. And he said: Lord, if I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away from thy servant.

18:4. But I will fetch a little water, and wash ye your feet, and rest ye under the tree.

18:5. And I will set a morsel of bread, and strengthen ye your heart, afterwards you shall pass on: for therefore are you come aside to your servant. And they said: Do as thou hast spoken.

18:6. Abraham made haste into the tent to Sara, and said to her: Make haste, temper together three measures of flour, and make cakes upon the hearth.

18:7. And he himself ran to the herd, and took from thence a calf, very tender and very good, and gave it to a young man, who made haste and boiled it.

18:8. He took also butter and milk, and the calf which he had boiled, and set before them: but he stood by them under the tree.

18:9. And when they had eaten, they said to him: Where is Sara thy wife? He answered: Lo she is in the tent.

18:10. And he said to him: I will return and come to thee at this time, life accompanying, and Sara, thy wife, shall have a son. Which when Sara heard, she laughed behind the door of the tent.

18:11. Now they were both old, and far advanced in years, and it had ceased to be with Sara after the manner of women.

18:12. And she laughed secretly, saying: After I am grown old, and my lord is an old man, shall I give myself to pleasure?

18:13. And the Lord said to Abraham: Why did Sara laugh, saying: Shall I, who am an old woman, bear a child indeed?

18:14. Is there any thing hard to God? According to appointment I will return to thee at this same time, life accompanying, and Sara shall have a son.

18:15. Sara denied, saying: I did not laugh: for she was afraid. But the Lord said: Nay; but thou didst laugh.

18:16. And when the men rose up from thence, they turned their eyes towards Sodom: and Abraham walked with them, bringing them on the way.

18:17. And the Lord said: Can I hide from Abraham what I am about to do:

18:18. Seeing he shall become a great and mighty nation, and in him all the nations of the earth shall be blessed?

18:19. For I know that he will command his children, and his household after him, to keep the way of the Lord, and do judgment and justice: that for Abraham’s sake, the Lord may bring to effect all the things he hath spoken unto him.

18:20. And the Lord said: The cry of Sodom and Gomorrha is multiplied, and their sin is become exceedingly grievous.

18:21. I will go down and see whether they have done according to the cry that is come to me; or whether it be not so, that I may know.

I will go down, etc. . .The Lord here accommodates his discourse to the way of speaking and acting amongst men; for he knoweth all things, and needeth not to go anywhere for information. Note here, that two of the three angels went away immediately for Sodom; whilst the third, who represented the Lord, remained with Abraham.

18:22. And they turned themselves from thence, and went their way to Sodom: but Abraham as yet stood before the Lord.

18:23. And drawing nigh, he said: Wilt thou destroy the just with the wicked?

18:24. If there be fifty just men in the city, shall they perish withal? and wilt thou not spare that place for the sake of the fifty just, if they be therein?

18:25. Far be it from thee to do this thing, and to slay the just with the wicked, and for the just to be in like case as the wicked; this is not beseeming thee: thou who judgest all the earth, wilt not make this judgment.

18:26. And the Lord said to him: If I find in Sodom fifty just within the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake.

18:27. And Abraham answered, and said: Seeing I have once begun, I will speak to my Lord, whereas I am dust and ashes.

18:28. What if there be five less than fifty just persons? wilt thou for five and forty destroy the whole city: And he said: I will not destroy it, if I find five and forty.

18:29. And again he said to him: But if forty be found there, what wilt thou do? He said: I will not destroy it for the sake of forty.

18:30. Lord, saith he, be not angry, I beseech thee, if I speak: What if thirty shall be found there? He answered: I will not do it, if I find thirty there.

18:31. Seeing, saith he, I have once begun, I will speak to my Lord: What if twenty be found there? He said: I will not destroy it for the sake of twenty.

18:32. I beseech thee, saith he, be not angry, Lord, if I speak yet once more: What if ten shall be found there? And he said: I will not destroy it for the sake of ten.

18:33. And the Lord departed, after he had left speaking to Abraham: and Abraham returned to his place.

Genesis Chapter 19

Lot, entertaining Angels in his house, is delivered from Sodom, which is destroyed: his wife for looking back is turned into a statue of salt.

19:1. And the two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of the city. And seeing them, he rose up and went to meet them: and worshipped prostrate to the ground.

19:2. And said: I beseech you, my lords, turn in to the house of your servant, and lodge there: wash your feet, and in the morning you shall go on your way. And they said: No, but we will abide in the street.

19:3. He pressed them very much to turn in unto him: and when they were come into his house, he made them a feast, and baked unleavened bread, and they ate:

19:4. But before they went to bed, the men of the city beset the house, both young and old, all the people together.

19:5. And they called Lot, and said to him: Where are the men that came in to thee at night? bring them out hither, that we may know them:

19:6. Lot went out to them, and shut the door after him, and said:

19:7. Do not so, I beseech you, my brethren, do not commit this evil.

19:8. I have two daughters who, as yet, have not known man; I will bring them out to you, and abuse you them as it shall please you, so that you do no evil to these men, because they are come in under the shadow of my roof.

19:9. But they said: Get thee back thither. And again: Thou camest in, said they, as a stranger, was it to be a judge? therefore we will afflict thee more than them. And they pressed very violently upon Lot: and they were even at the point of breaking open the doors.

19:10. And behold the men put out their hand, and drew in Lot unto them, and shut the door.

19:11. And them, that were without, they struck with blindness from the least to the greatest, so that they could not find the door.

19:12. And they said to Lot: Hast thou here any of thine? son in law, or sons, or daughters, all that are thine bring them out of this city:

19:13. For we will destroy this place, because their cry is grown loud before the Lord, who hath sent us to destroy them.

19:14. So Lot went out, and spoke to his sons in law that were to have his daughters, and said: Arise: get you out of this place, because the Lord will destroy this city. And he seemed to them to speak as it were in jest.

19:15. And when it was morning, the angels pressed him, saying: Arise, take thy wife, and the two daughters that thou hast: lest thou also perish in the wickedness of the city.

19:16. And as he lingered, they took his hand, and the hand of his wife, and of his two daughters, because the Lord spared him.

19:17. And they brought him forth, and set him without the city: and there they spoke to him, saying: Save thy life: look not back, neither stay thou in all the country about: but save thy self in the mountain, lest thou be also consumed.

19:18. And Lot said to them: I beseech thee, my Lord,

19:19. Because thy servant hath found grace before thee, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast shewn to me, in saving my life, and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil seize me, and I die.

19:20. There is this city here at hand, to which I may flee, it is a little one, and I shall be saved in it: is it not a little one, and my soul shall live?

19:21. And he said to him: Behold also in this, I have heard thy prayers, not to destroy the city for which thou hast spoken.

19:22. Make haste, and be saved there: because I cannot do any thing till thou go in thither. Therefore the name of that city was called Segor.

Segor. . .That is, a little one.

19:23. The sun was risen upon the earth, and Lot entered into Segor.

19:24. And the Lord rained upon Sodom and Gomorrha brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven.

19:25. And he destroyed these cities, and all the country about, all the inhabitants of the cities, and all things that spring from the earth.

19:26. And his wife looking behind her, was turned into a statue of salt.

And his wife. . .As a standing memorial to the servants of God to proceed in virtue, and not to look back to vice or its allurements.

19:27. And Abraham got up early in the morning, and in the place where he had stood before with the Lord:

19:28. He looked towards Sodom and Gomorrha, and the whole land of that country: and he saw the ashes rise up from the earth as the smoke of a furnace.

19:29. Now when God destroyed the cities of that country, remembering Abraham, he delivered Lot out of the destruction of the cities wherein he had dwelt.

19:30. And Lot went up out of Segor, and abode in the mountain, and his two daughters with him (for he was afraid to stay in Segor) and he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters with him.

19:31. And the elder said to the younger: Our father is old, and there is no man left on the earth, to come in unto us after the manner of the whole earth.

19:32. Come, let us make him drunk with wine, and let us lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father.

19:33. And they made their father drink wine that night: and the elder went in, and lay with her father: but he perceived not, neither when his daughter lay down, nor when she rose up.

19:34. And the next day the elder said to the younger: Behold I lay last night with my father, let us make him drink wine also to night, and thou shalt lie with him, that we may save seed of our father.

19:35. They made their father drink wine that night also, and the younger daughter went in, and lay with him: and neither then did he perceive when she lay down, nor when she rose up.

19:36. So the two daughters of Lot were with child by their father.

19:37. And the elder bore a son, and she called his name Moab: he is the father of the Moabites unto this day.

19:38. The younger also bore a son, and she called his name Ammon; that is, the son of my people: he is the father of the Ammonites unto this day.

Genesis Chapter 20

Abraham sojourned in Gerara: Sara is taken into king Abimelech’s house, but by God’s commandment is restored untouched.

20:1. Abraham removed from thence to the south country, and dwelt between Cades and Sur, and sojourned in Gerara.

20:2. And he said of Sara his wife: She is my sister. So Abimelech the king of Gerara sent, and took her.

20:3. And God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and he said to him: Lo thou shalt die for the woman that thou hast taken: for she hath a husband.

20:4. Now Abimelech had not touched her, and he said: Lord, wilt thou slay a nation that is ignorant and just?

20:5. Did not he say to me: She is my sister: and she say, He is my brother? in the simplicity of my heart, and cleanness of my hands have I done this.

20:6. And God said to him: And I know that thou didst it with a sincere heart: and therefore I withheld thee from sinning against me, and I suffered thee not to touch her.

20:7. Now therefore restore the man his wife, for he is a prophet: and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live: but if thou wilt not restore her, know that thou shalt surely die, thou and all that are thine.

20:8. And Abimelech forthwith rising up in the night, called all his servants: and spoke all these words in their hearing, and all the men were exceedingly afraid.

20:9. And Abimelech called also for Abraham, and said to him: What hast thou done to us? what have we offended thee in, that thou hast brought upon me and upon my kingdom a great sin? thou hast done to us what thou oughtest not to do.

20:10. And again he expostulated with him, and said: What sawest thou, that thou hast done this?

20:11. Abraham answered: I thought with myself, saying: Perhaps there is not the fear of God in this place: and they will kill me for the sake of my wife:

20:12. Howbeit, otherwise also she is truly my sister, the daughter of my father, and not the daughter of my mother, and I took her to wife.

20:13. And after God brought me out of my father’s house, I said to her: Thou shalt do me this kindness: In every place, to which we shall come, thou shalt say that I am thy brother.

20:14. And Abimelech took sheep and oxen, and servants and handmaids, and gave to Abraham: and restored to him Sara his wife,

20:15. And said: The land is before you, dwell wheresoever it shall please thee.

20:16. And to Sara he said: Behold I have given thy brother a thousand pieces of silver, this shall serve thee for a covering of thy eyes to all that are with thee, and whithersoever thou shalt go: and remember thou wast taken.

20:17. And when Abraham prayed, God healed Abimelech and his wife, and his handmaids, and they bore children:

20:18. For the Lord had closed up every womb of the house of Abimelech, on account of Sara, Abraham’s wife.

Genesis Chapter 21

Isaac is born. Agar and Ismael are cast forth.

21:1. And the Lord visited Sara, as he had promised: and fulfilled what he had spoken.

21:2. And she conceived and bore a son in her old age, at the time that God had foretold her.

21:3. And Abraham called the name of his son, whom Sara bore him, Isaac.

Isaac. . .This word signifies laughter.

21:4. And he circumcised him the eighth day, as God had commanded him,

21:5. When he was a hundred years old: for at this age of his father, was Isaac born.

21:6. And Sara said: God hath made a laughter for me: whosoever shall hear of it will laugh with me.

21:7. And again she said: Who would believe that Abraham should hear that Sara gave suck to a son, whom she bore to him in his old age?

21:8. And the child grew, and was weaned: and Abraham made a great feast on the day of his weaning.

21:9. And when Sara had seen the son of Agar, the Egyptian, playing with Isaac, her son, she said to Abraham:

21:10. Cast out this bondwoman and her son; for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with my son Isaac.

21:11. Abraham took this grievously for his son.

21:12. And God said to him: Let it not seem grievous to thee for the boy, and for thy bondwoman: in all that Sara hath said to thee, hearken to her voice: for in Isaac shall thy seed be called.

21:13. But I will make the son also of the bondwoman a great nation, because he is thy seed.

21:14. So Abraham rose up in the morning, and taking bread and a bottle of water, put it upon her shoulder, and delivered the boy, and sent her away. And she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Bersabee.

21:15. And when the water in the bottle was spent, she cast the boy under one of the trees that were there.

21:16. And she went her way, and sat over against him a great way off, as far as a bow can carry, for she said: I will not see the boy die: and sitting over against, she lifted up her voice and wept.

21:17. And God heard the voice of the boy: and an angel of God called to Agar from heaven, saying: What art thou doing, Agar? fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the boy, from the place wherein he is.

21:18. Arise, take up the boy, and hold him by the hand, for I will make him a great nation.

21:19. And God opened her eyes: and she saw a well of water, and went and filled the bottle, and gave the boy to drink.

21:20. And God was with him: and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became a young man, an archer.

21:21. And he dwelt in the wilderness of Pharan, and his mother took a wife for him out of the land of Egypt.

21:22. At the same time Abimelech, and Phicol the general of his army, said to Abraham: God is with thee in all that thou dost.

21:23. Swear therefore by God, that thou wilt not hurt me, nor my posterity, nor my stock: but according to the kindness that I have done to thee, thou shalt do to me, and to the land wherein thou hast lived a stranger.

21:24. And Abraham said: I will swear.

21:25. And he reproved Abimelech for a well of water, which his servants had taken away by force.

21:26. And Abimelech answered: I knew not who did this thing: and thou didst not tell me, and I heard not of it till today.

21:27. Then Abraham took sheep and oxen, and gave them to Abimelech: and both of them made a league.

21:28. And Abraham set apart seven ewelambs of the flock.

21:29. And Abimelech said to him: What mean these seven ewelambs which thou hast set apart?

21:30. But he said: Thou shalt take seven ewelambs at my hand: that they may be a testimony for me, that I dug this well.

21:31. Therefore that place was called Bersabee; because there both of them did swear.

Bersabee. . .That is, the well of oath.

21:32. And they made a league for the well of oath.

21:33. And Abimelech and Phicol, the general of his army, arose and returned to the land of the Palestines. But Abraham planted a grove in Bersabee, and there called upon the name of the Lord God eternal.

21:34. And he was a sojourner in the land of the Palestines many days.

Genesis Chapter 22

The faith and obedience of Abraham is proved in his readiness to sacrifice his son Isaac. He is stayed from the act by an angel. Former promises are renewed to him. His brother Nachor’s issue.

22:1. After these things, God tempted Abraham, and said to him: Abraham, Abraham. And he answered: Here I am.

God tempted, etc. . .God tempteth no man to evil, James 1.13; but by trial and experiment maketh known to the world, and to ourselves, what we are, as here by this trial the singular faith and obedience of Abraham was made manifest.

22:2. He said to him: Take thy only begotten son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and go into the land of vision; and there thou shalt offer him for an holocaust upon one of the mountains which I will shew thee.

22:3. So Abraham rising up in the night, saddled his ass, and took with him two young men, and Isaac his son: and when he had cut wood for the holocaust, he went his way to the place which God had commanded him.

22:4. And on the third day, lifting up his eyes, he saw the place afar off.

22:5. And he said to his young men: Stay you here with the ass; I and the boy will go with speed as far as yonder, and after we have worshipped, will return to you.

22:6. And he took the wood for the holocaust, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he himself carried in his hands fire and a sword. And as they two went on together,

22:7. Isaac said to his father: My father. And he answered: What wilt thou, son? Behold, saith he, fire and wood: where is the victim for the holocaust?

22:8. And Abraham said: God will provide himself a victim for an holocaust, my son. So they went on together.

22:9. And they came to the place which God had shewn him, where he built an altar, and laid the wood in order upon it; and when he had bound Isaac his son, he laid him on the altar upon the pile of wood.

22:10. And he put forth his hand, and took the sword, to sacrifice his son.

22:11. And behold, an angel of the Lord from heaven called to him, saying: Abraham, Abraham. And he answered: Here I am.

22:12. And he said to him: Lay not thy hand upon the boy, neither do thou any thing to him: now I know that thou fearest God, and hast not spared thy only begotten son for my sake.

22:13. Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw behind his back a ram, amongst the briers, sticking fast by the horns, which he took and offered for a holocaust instead of his son.

22:14. And he called the name of that place, The Lord seeth. Whereupon, even to this day, it is said: In the mountain the Lord will see.

22:15. And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven, saying:

22:16. By my own self have I sworn, saith the Lord: because thou hast done this thing, and hast not spared thy only begotten son for my sake:

22:17. I will bless thee, and I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven, and as the sand that is by the sea shore; thy seed shall possess the gates of their enemies.

22:18. And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because thou hast obeyed my voice.

22:19. Abraham returned to his young men, and they went to Bersabee together, and he dwelt there.

22:20. After these things, it was told Abraham, that Melcha also had borne children to Nachor his brother.

22:21. Hus, the firstborn, and Buz, his brother, and Camuel the father of the Syrians,

22:22. And Cased, and Azau, and Pheldas, and Jedlaph,

22:23. And Bathuel, of whom was born Rebecca: these eight did Melcha bear to Nachor, Abraham’s brother.

22:24. And his concubine, named Roma, bore Tabee, and Gaham, and Tahas, and Maacha.

Genesis Chapter 23

Sara’s death and burial in the field bought of Ephron.

23:1. And Sara lived a hundred and twenty-seven years.

23:2. And she died in the city of Arbee which is Hebron, in the land of Chanaan: and Abraham came to mourn and weep for her.

23:3. And after he rose up from the funeral obsequies, he spoke to the children of Heth, saying:

23:4. I am a stranger and sojourner among you: give me the right of a burying place with you, that I may bury my dead.

23:5. The children of Heth answered, saying:

23:6. My lord, hear us, thou art a prince of God among us: bury thy dead in our principal sepulchres: and no man shall have power to hinder thee from burying thy dead in his sepulchre.

23:7. Abraham rose up, and bowed down to the people of the land, to wit, the children of Heth:

Bowed down to the people. . .Adoravit, literally adored. But this word here, as well as in many other places in the Latin scriptures, is used to signify only an inferior honour and reverence paid to men, expressed by a bowing down of the body.

23:8. And said to them: If it please your soul that I should bury my dead, hear me, and intercede for me to Ephron the son of Seor.

23:9. That he may give me the double cave, which he hath in the end of his field: For as much money as it is worth he shall give it me before you, for a possession of a burying place.

23:10. Now Ephron dwelt in the midst of the children of Heth. And Ephron made answer to Abraham in the hearing of all that went in at the gate of the city, saying:

23:11. Let it not be so, my lord, but do thou rather hearken to what I say: The field I deliver to thee, and the cave that is therein; in the presence of the children of my people, bury thy dead.

23:12. Abraham bowed down before the people of the land.

23:13. And he spoke to Ephron, in the presence of the people: I beseech thee to hear me: I will give money for the field; take it, and so will I bury my dead in it.

23:14. And Ephron answered:

23:15. My lord, hear me. The ground which thou desirest, is worth four hundred sicles of silver: this is the price between me and thee: but what is this? bury thy dead.

23:16. And when Abraham had heard this, he weighed out the money that Ephron had asked, in the hearing of the children of Heth, four hundred sicles of silver, of common current money.

23:17. And the field that before was Ephron’s, wherein was the double cave, looking towards Mambre, both it and the cave, and all the trees thereof, in all its limits round about,

23:18. Was made sure to Abraham for a possession, in the sight of the children of Heth, and of all that went in at the gate of his city.

23:19. And so Abraham buried Sara, his wife, in the double cave of the field, that looked towards Mambre, this is Hebron in the land of Chanaan.

23:20. And the field was made sure to Abraham, and the cave that was in it, for a possession to bury in, by the children of Heth.

Genesis Chapter 24

Abraham’s servant, sent by him into Mesopotamia, bringeth from thence Rebecca, who is married to Isaac.

24:1. Now Abraham was old, and advanced in age; and the Lord had blessed him in all things.

24:2. And he said to the elder servant of his house, who was ruler over all he had: Put thy hand under my thigh,

24:3. That I may make thee swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and earth, that thou take not a wife for my son, of the daughters of the Chanaanites, among whom I dwell:

24:4. But that thou go to my own country and kindred, and take a wife from thence for my son Isaac.

24:5. The servant answered: If the woman will not come with me into this land, must I bring thy son back again to the place from whence thou camest out?

24:6. And Abraham said: Beware thou never bring my son back again thither.

24:7. The Lord God of heaven, who took me out of my father’s house, and out of my native country, who spoke to me, and swore to me, saying: To thy seed will I give this land: he will send his angel before thee, and thou shalt take from thence a wife for my son.

He will send his angel before thee. . .This shows that the Hebrews believed that God gave them guardian angels for their protection.

24:8. But if the woman will not follow thee, thou shalt not be bound by the oath: only bring not my son back thither again.

24:9. The servant, therefore, put his hand under the thigh of Abraham, his lord, and swore to him upon his word.

24:10. And he took ten camels of his master’s herd, and departed, carrying something of all his goods with him, and he set forward and went on to Mesopotamia, to the city of Nachor.

24:11. And when he had made the camels lie down without the town, near a well of water, in the evening, at the time when women are wont to come out to draw water, he said:

24:12. O Lord, the God of my master, Abraham, meet me today, I beseech thee, and shew kindness to my master, Abraham.

24:13. Behold, I stand nigh the spring of water, and the daughters of the inhabitants of this city will come out to draw water:

24:14. Now, therefore, the maid to whom I shall say: Let down thy pitcher that I may drink: and she shall answer, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: let it be the same whom thou hast provided for thy servant Isaac: and by this, I shall understand that thou hast shewn kindness to my master.

24:15. He had not yet ended these words within himself, and behold Rebecca came out, the daughter of Bathuel, son of Melcha, wife to Nachor the brother of Abraham, having a pitcher on her shoulder:

24:16. An exceeding comely maid, and a most beautiful virgin, and not known to man: and she went down to the spring, and filled her pitcher, and was coming back.

24:17. And the servant ran to meet her, and said: Give me a little water to drink of thy pitcher.

24:18. And she answered: Drink, my lord. And quickly she let down the pitcher upon her arm, and gave him drink.

24:19. And when he had drunk, she said: I will draw water for thy camels also, till they all drink.

24:20. And pouring out the pitcher into the troughs, she ran back to the well to draw water; and having drawn, she gave to all the camels.

24:21. But he musing, beheld her with silence, desirous to know whether the Lord had made his journey prosperous or not.

24:22. And after that the camels had drunk, the man took out golden earrings, weighing two sicles; and as many bracelets, of ten sicles weight.

24:23. And he said to her: Whose daughter art thou? tell me: is there any place in thy father’s house to lodge?

24:24. And she answered: I am the daughter of Bathuel, the son of Melcha, whom she bore to Nachor.

24:25. And she said, moreover, to him: We have good store of both straw and hay, and a large place to lodge in.

24:26. The man bowed himself down, and adored the Lord,

24:27. Saying: Blessed be the Lord God of my master Abraham, who hath not taken away his mercy and truth from my master, and hath brought me the straight way into the house of my master’s brother.

24:28. Then the maid ran, and told in her mother’s house all that she had heard.

24:29. And Rebecca had a brother, named Laban, who went out in haste to the man, to the well.

24:30. And when he had seen the earrings and bracelets in his sister’s hands, and had heard all that she related, saying, Thus and thus the man spoke to me: he came to the man who stood by the camels, and near to the spring of water,

24:31. And said to him: Come in, thou blessed of the Lord; why standest thou without? I have prepared the house, and a place for the camels.

24:32. And he brought him into his lodging; and he unharnessed the camels, and gave straw and hay, and water to wash his feet, and the feet of the men that were come with him.

24:33. And bread was set before him. But he said: I will not eat, till I tell my message. He answered him: Speak.

24:34. And he said: I am the servant of Abraham:

24:35. And the Lord hath blessed my master wonderfully, and he is become great: and he hath given him sheep and oxen, silver and gold, men servants and women servants, camels and asses.

24:36. And Sara, my master’s wife, hath borne my master a son in her old age, and he hath given him all that he had.

24:37. And my master made me swear, saying: Thou shalt not take a wife for my son of the Chanaanites, in whose land I dwell:

24:38. But thou shalt go to my father’s house, and shalt take a wife of my own kindred for my son:

24:39. But I answered my master: What if the woman will not come with me?

24:40. The Lord, said he, in whose sight I walk, will send his angel with thee, and will direct thy way: and thou shalt take a wife for my son of my own kindred, and of my father’s house.

24:41. But thou shalt be clear from my curse, when thou shalt come to my kindred, if they will not give thee one.

24:42. And I came today to the well of water, and said: O Lord God of my master, Abraham, if thou hast prospered my way, wherein I now walk,

24:43. Behold, I stand by the well of water, and the virgin, that shall come out to draw water, who shall hear me say: Give me a little water to drink of thy pitcher:

24:44. And shall say to me: Both drink thou, and I will also draw for thy camels: let the same be the woman, whom the Lord hath prepared for my master’s son.

24:45. And whilst I pondered these things secretly with myself, Rebecca appeared, coming with a pitcher, which she carried on her shoulder: and she went down to the well and drew water. And I said to her: Give me a little to drink.

24:46. And she speedily let down the pitcher from her shoulder, and said to me: Both drink thou, and to thy camels I will give drink. I drank, and she watered the camels.

24:47. And I asked her, and said: Whose daughter art thou? And she answered: I am the daughter of Bathuel, the son of Nachor, whom Melcha bore to him. So I put earrings on her to adorn her face, and I put bracelets on her hands.

24:48. And falling down, I adored the Lord, blessing the Lord God of my master, Abraham, who hath brought me the straight way to take the daughter of my master’s brother for his son.

24:49. Wherefore, if you do according to mercy and truth with my master, tell me: but if it please you otherwise, tell me that also, that I may go to the right hand, or to the left.

24:50. And Laban and Bathuel answered: The word hath proceeded from the Lord: we cannot speak any other thing to thee but his pleasure.

24:51. Behold, Rebecca is before thee, take her and go thy way, and let her be the wife of thy master’s son, as the Lord hath spoken.

24:52. Which when Abraham’s servant heard, falling down to the ground, he adored the Lord.

24:53. And bringing forth vessels of silver and gold, and garments, he gave them to Rebecca, for a present. He offered gifts also to her brothers, and to her mother.

24:54. And a banquet was made, and they ate and drank together, and lodged there. And in the morning, the servant arose, and said: Let me depart, that I may go to my master.

24:55. And her brother and mother answered: Let the maid stay, at least, ten days with us, and afterwards she shall depart.

24:56. Stay me not, said he, because the Lord hath prospered my way: send me away, that I may go to my master.

24:57. And they said: Let us call the maid, and ask her will.

Let us call the maid, and ask her will. . .Not as to her marriage, as she had already consented, but of her quitting her parents and going to her husband.

24:58. And they called her, and when she was come, they asked: Wilt thou go with this man? She said: I will go.

24:59. So they sent her away, and her nurse, and Abraham’s servant, and his company.

24:60. Wishing prosperity to their sister, and saying: Thou art our sister, mayst thou increase to thousands of thousands; and may thy seed possess the gates of their enemies.

24:61. So Rebecca and her maids, being set upon camels, followed the man: who with speed returned to his master.

24:62. At the same time, Isaac was walking along the way to the well which is called Of the living and the seeing: for he dwelt in the south country:

24:63. And he was gone forth to meditate in the field, the day being now well spent: and when he had lifted up his eyes, he saw camels coming afar off.

24:64. Rebecca also, when she saw Isaac, lighted off the camel,

24:65. And said to the servant: Who is that man who cometh towards us along the field? And he said to her: That man is my master. But she quickly took her cloak, and covered herself.

24:66. And the servant told Isaac all that he had done.

24:67. Who brought her into the tent of Sara his mother, and took her to wife: and he loved her so much, that it moderated the sorrow which was occasioned by his mother’s death.

Genesis Chapter 25

Abraham’s children by Cetura; his death and that of Ismael. Isaac hath Esau and Jacob twins. Esau selleth his first birthright to Jacob.

25:1. And Abraham married another wife named Cetura:

25:2. Who bore him Zamram, and Jecsan, and Madan, and Madian, and Jesboc, and Sue.

25:3. Jecsan also begot Saba, and Dadan. The children of Dadan were Assurim, and Latusim, and Loomim.

25:4. But of Madian was born Epha, and Opher, and Henoch, and Abida, and Eldaa: all these were the children of Cetura.

25:5. And Abraham gave all his possessions to Isaac:

25:6. And to the children of the concubines he gave gifts, and separated them from Isaac his son, while he yet lived, to the east country.

Concubines. . .Agar and Cetura are here called concubines, (though they were lawful wives, and in other places are so called,) because they were of an inferior degree, and such in scripture are usually called concubines.

25:7. And the days of Abraham’s life were a hundred and seventy-five years.

25:8. And decaying he died in a good old age, and having lived a long time, and being full of days: and was gathered to his people.

25:9. And Isaac and Ismael his sons buried him in the double cave, which was situated in the field of Ephron the son of Seor the Hethite, over against Mambre,

25:10. Which he had bought of the children of Heth: there was he buried, and Sara his wife.

25:11. And after his death, God blessed Isaac his son, who dwelt by the well named Of the living and seeing.

25:12. These are the generations of Ismael the son of Abraham, whom Agar the Egyptian, Sara’s servant, bore unto him:

25:13. And these are the names of his children according to their calling and generations. The firstborn of Ismael was Nabajoth, then Cedar, and Adbeel, and Mabsam,

25:14. And Masma, and Duma, and Massa,

25:15. Hadar, and Thema, and Jethur, and Naphis, and Cedma.

25:16. These are the sons of Ismael: and these are their names by their castles and towns, twelve princes of their tribes.

25:17. And the years of Ismael’s life were a hundred and thirty-seven, and decaying he died, and was gathered unto his people.

25:18. And he dwelt from Hevila as far as Sur, which looketh towards Egypt, to them that go towards the Assyrians. He died in the presence of all his brethren.

25:19. These also are the generations of Isaac the son of Abraham: Abraham begot Isaac:

25:20. Who when he was forty years old, took to wife Rebecca the daughter of Bathuel the Syrian of Mesopotamia, sister to Laban.

25:21. And Isaac besought the Lord for his wife, because she was barren: and he heard him, and made Rebecca to conceive.

25:22. But the children struggled in her womb, and she said: If it were to be so with me, what need was there to conceive? And she went to consult the Lord.

25:23. And he answering, said: Two nations are in thy womb, and two peoples shall be divided out of thy womb, and one people shall overcome the other, and the elder shall serve the younger.

25:24. And when her time was come to be delivered, behold twins were found in her womb.

25:25. He that came forth first was red, and hairy like a skin: and his name was called Esau. Immediately the other coming forth, held his brother’s foot in his hand: and therefore he was called Jacob.

25:26. Isaac was threescore years old when the children were born unto him.

25:27. And when they were grown up, Esau became a skilful hunter, and a husbandman: but Jacob, a plain man, dwelt in tents.

25:28. Isaac loved Esau, because he ate of his hunting: and Rebecca loved Jacob.

25:29. And Jacob boiled pottage: to whom Esau, coming faint out of the field,

25:30. Said: Give me of this red pottage, for I am exceeding faint. For which reason his name was called Edom.

25:31. And Jacob said to him: Sell me thy first birthright.

25:32. He answered: Lo I die, what will the first birthright avail me?

25:33. Jacob said: Swear therefore to me. Esau swore to him, and sold his first birthright.

25:34. And so taking bread and the pottage of lentils, he ate, and drank, and went on his way; making little account of having sold his first birthright.

Genesis Chapter 26

Isaac sojourneth in Gerara, where God reneweth to him the promise made to Abraham. King Abimelech maketh league with him.

26:1. And when a famine came in the land, after that barrenness which had happened in the days of Abraham, Isaac went to Abimelech, king of the Palestines, to Gerara.

26:2. And the Lord appeared to him, and said: Go not down into Egypt, but stay in the land that I shall tell thee.

26:3. And sojourn in it, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee: for to thee and to thy seed I will give all these countries, to fulfil the oath which I swore to Abraham thy father.

26:4. And I will multiply thy seed like the stars of heaven: and I will give to thy posterity all these countries: and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.

26:5. Because Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my precepts and commandments, and observed my ceremonies and laws.

26:6. So Isaac abode in Gerara.

26:7. And when he was asked by the men of that place, concerning his wife, he answered: She is my sister: for he was afraid to confess that she was his wife, thinking lest perhaps they would kill him because of her beauty.

26:8. And when very many days were passed, and he abode there, Abimelech, king of the Palestines, looking out through a window, saw him playing with Rebecca, his wife.

26:9. And calling for him, he said: It is evident she is thy wife: why didst thou feign her to be thy sister? He answered: I feared lest I should die for her sake.

26:10. And Abimelech said: Why hast thou deceived us? Some man of the people might have lain with thy wife, and thou hadst brought upon us a great sin. And he commanded all the people, saying:

26:11. He that shall touch this man’s wife, shall surely be put to death.

26:12. And Isaac sowed in that land, and he found that same year a hundredfold: and the Lord blessed him.

26:13. And the man was enriched, and he went on prospering and increasing, till he became exceeding great.

26:14. And he had possessions of sheep and of herds, and a very great family. Wherefore the Palestines envying him,

26:15. Stopped up at that time all the wells, that the servants of his father, Abraham, had digged, filling them up with earth:

26:16. Insomuch that Abimelech himself said to Isaac: Depart from us, for thou art become much mightier than we.

26:17. So he departed, and came to the torrent of Gerara, to dwell there:

26:18. And he digged again other wells, which the servants of his father, Abraham, had digged, and which, after his death, the Philistines had of old stopped up: and he called them by the same names, by which his father before had called them.

26:19. And they digged in the torrent, and found living water:

Torrent. . .That is, a channel where sometimes a torrent or violent stream had run.

26:20. But there also the herdsmen of Gerara strove against the herdsmen of Isaac, saying: It is our water. Wherefore he called the name of the well, on occasion of that which had happened, Calumny.

26:21. And they digged also another; and for that they quarrelled likewise, and he called the name of it, Enmity.

26:22. Going forward from thence, he digged another well, for which they contended not; therefore he called the name thereof, Latitude, saying: Now hath the Lord given us room, and made us to increase upon the earth.

Latitude. . .That is, wideness, or room.

26:23. And he went up from that place to Bersabee,

26:24. Where the Lord appeared to him that same night, saying: I am the God of Abraham thy father, do not fear, for I am with thee: I will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham’s sake.

26:25. And he built there an altar: and called upon the name of the Lord, and pitched his tent; and commanded his servants to dig a well.

26:26. To which place when Abimelech, and Ochozath his friend, and Phicol chief captain of his soldiers, came from Gerara,

26:27. Isaac said to them: Why are ye come to me, a man whom you hate, and have thrust out from you?

26:28. And they answered: We saw that the Lord is with thee, and therefore we said: Let there be an oath between us, and let us make a covenant,

26:29. That thou do us no harm, as we on our part have touched nothing of thine, nor have done any thing to hurt thee; but with peace have sent thee away, increased with the blessing of the Lord.

26:30. And he made them a feast, and after they had eaten and drunk:

26:31. Arising in the morning, they swore one to another: and Isaac sent them away peaceably to their own home.

26:32. And behold, the same day the servants of Isaac came, telling him of a well which they had digged, and saying: We have found water.

26:33. Whereupon he called it Abundance: and the name of the city was called Bersabee, even to this day.

26:34. And Esau being forty years old, married wives, Judith, the daughter of Beeri, the Hethite, and Basemath, the daughter of Elon, of the same place.

26:35. And they both offended the mind of Isaac and Rebecca.

Genesis Chapter 27

Jacob, by him mother’s counsel, obtaineth his father’s blessing instead of Esau. And by her is advised to fly to his uncle Laban.

27:1. Now Isaac was old, and his eyes were dim, and he could not see: and he called Esau, his elder son, and said to him: My son? And he answered: Here I am.

27:2. And his father said to him, Thou seest that I am old, and know not the day of my death.

27:3. Take thy arms, thy quiver, and bow, and go abroad; and when thou hast taken something by hunting,

27:4. Make me a savoury meat thereof, as thou knowest I like, and bring it that I may eat: and my soul may bless thee, before I die.

27:5. And when Rebecca had heard this, and he was gone into the field to fulfil his father’s commandment,

27:6. She said to her son Jacob: I heard thy father talking with Esau, thy brother, and saying to him:

27:7. Bring me of thy hunting, and make me meats that I may eat, and bless thee in the sight of the Lord, before I die.

27:8. Now therefore, my son, follow my counsel:

27:9. And go thy way to the flock, bring me two kids of the best, that I may make of them meat for thy father, such as he gladly eateth.

27:10. Which when thou hast brought in, and he hath eaten, he may bless thee before he die.

27:11. And he answered her: Thou knowest that Esau, my brother, is a hairy man, and I am smooth:

27:12. If my father should feel me, and perceive it, I fear lest he will think I would have mocked him, and I shall bring upon me a curse instead of a blessing.

27:13. And his mother said to him: Upon me be this curse, my son: only hear thou my voice, and go, fetch me the things which I have said.

27:14. He went, and brought, and gave them to his mother. She dressed meats, such as she knew his father liked.

27:15. And she put on him very good garments of Esau, which she had at home with her:

27:16. And the little skins of the kids she put about his hands, and covered the bare of his neck.

27:17. And she gave him the savoury meat, and delivered him bread that she had baked.

27:18. Which when he had carried in, he said: My father? But he answered: I hear. Who art thou, my son?

27:19. And Jacob said: I am Esau, thy firstborn: I have done as thou didst command me: arise, sit and eat of my venison, that thy soul may bless me.

I am Esau thy firstborn. . .St. Augustine (L. Contra mendacium, c. 10), treating at large upon this place, excuseth Jacob from a lie, because this whole passage was mysterious, as relating to the preference which was afterwards to be given to the Gentiles before the carnal Jews, which Jacob by prophetic light might understand. So far is certain, that the first birthright, both by divine election and by Esau’s free cession belonged to Jacob: so that if there were any lie in the case, it could be no more than an officious and venial one.

27:20. And Isaac said to his son: How couldst thou find it so quickly, my son? He answered: It was the will of God, that what I sought came quickly in my way:

27:21. And Isaac said: Come hither, that I may feel thee, my son, and may prove whether thou be my son Esau, or no.

27:22. He came near to his father, and when he had felt him, Isaac said: The voice indeed is the voice of Jacob; but the hands, are the hands of Esau.

27:23. And he knew him not, because his hairy hands made him like to the elder. Then blessing him,

27:24. He said: Art thou my son Esau? He answered: I am.

27:25. Then he said: Bring me the meats of thy hunting, my son, that my soul may bless thee. And when they were brought, and he had eaten, he offered him wine also, which after he had drunk,

27:26. He said to him: Come near me, and give me a kiss, my son.

27:27. He came near, and kissed him. And immediately as he smelled the fragrant smell of his garments, blessing him, he said: Behold, the smell of my son is as the smell of a plentiful field, which the Lord hath blessed.

27:28. God give thee of the dew of heaven, and of the fatness of the earth, abundance of corn and wine.

27:29. And let peoples serve thee, and tribes worship thee: be thou lord of thy brethren, and let thy mother’s children bow down before thee. Cursed be he that curseth thee: and let him that blesseth thee be filled with blessings.

27:30. Isaac had scarce ended his words, when, Jacob being now gone out abroad, Esau came,

27:31. And brought in to his father meats, made of what he had taken in hunting, saying: Arise, my father, and eat of thy son’s venison; that thy soul may bless me.

27:32. And Isaac said to him: Why! who art thou? He answered: I am thy firstborn son, Esau.

27:33. Isaac was struck with fear, and astonished exceedingly; and wondering beyond what can be believed, said: Who is he then that even now brought me venison that he had taken, and I ate of all before thou camest? and I have blessed him, and he shall be blessed.

27:34. Esau having heard his father’s words, roared out with a great cry; and, being in a consternation, said: Bless me also, my father.

27:35. And he said: Thy brother came deceitfully and got thy blessing.

27:36. But he said again: Rightly is his name called Jacob; for he hath supplanted me lo this second time: My birthright he took away before, and now this second time he hath stolen away my blessing. And again he said to his father: Hast thou not reserved me also a blessing?

Jacob. . .That is, a supplanter.

27:37. Isaac answered: I have appointed him thy lord, and have made all his brethren his servants: I have established him with corn and wine, and after this, what shall I do more for thee, my son?

27:38. And Esau said to him: Hast thou only one blessing, father? I beseech thee bless me also. And when he wept with a loud cry,

27:39. Isaac being moved, said to him: In the fat of the earth, and in the dew of heaven from above,

27:40. Shall thy blessing be. Thou shalt live by the sword, and shalt serve thy brother: and the time shall come, when thou shalt shake off and loose his yoke from thy neck.

27:41. Esau therefore always hated Jacob, for the blessing wherewith his father had blessed him; and he said in his heart: The days will come of the mourning for my father, and I will kill my brother Jacob.

27:42. These things were told to Rebecca: and she sent and called Jacob, her son, and said to him: Behold Esau, thy brother, threateneth to kill thee.

27:43. Now therefore, my son, hear my voice, arise and flee to Laban, my brother, to Haran:

27:44. And thou shalt dwell with him a few days, till the wrath of thy brother be assuaged,

27:45. And his indignation cease, and he forget the things thou hast done to him: afterwards I will send, and bring thee from thence hither. Why shall I be deprived of both my sons in one day?

27:46. And Rebecca said to Isaac: I am weary of my life, because of the daughters of Heth: if Jacob take a wife of the stock of this land, I choose not to live.

Genesis Chapter 28

Jacob’s journey to Mesopotamia: his vision and vow.

28:1. And Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him, and charged him, saying: Take not a wife of the stock of Chanaan:

28:2. But go, and take a journey to Mesopotamia of Syria, to the house of Bathuel, thy mother’s father, and take thee a wife thence of the daughters of Laban, thy uncle.

28:3. And God almighty bless thee, and make thee to increase and multiply thee: that thou mayst be a multitude of people.

28:4. And give the blessings of Araham to thee, and to thy seed after thee: that thou mayst possess the land of thy sojournment, which he promised to thy grandfather.

28:5. And when Isaac had sent him away, he took his journey and went to Mesopotamia of Syria, to Laban, the son of Bathuel, the Syrian, brother to Rebecca, his mother.

28:6. And Esau seeing that his father had blessed Jacob, and had sent him into Mesopotamia of Syria, to marry a wife thence; and that after the blessing he had charged him, saying: Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Chanaan:

28:7. And that Jacob obeying his parents, was gone into Syria:

28:8. Experiencing also, that his father was not well pleased with the daughters of Chanaan:

28:9. He went to Ismael, and took to wife, besides them he had before, Maheleth, the daughter of Ismael, Abraham’s son, the sister of Nabajoth.

28:10. But Jacob being departed from Bersabee, went on to Haran.

28:11. And when he was come to a certain place, and would rest in it after sunset, he took of the stones that lay there, and putting under his head, slept in the same place.

28:12. And he saw in his sleep a ladder standing upon the earth, and the top thereof touching heaven: the angels also of God ascending and descending by it.

28:13. And the Lord leaning upon the ladder saying to him: I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: The land, wherein thou sleepest, I will give to thee and to thy seed.

28:14. And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth: thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and IN THEE and thy seed, all the tribes of the earth SHALL BE BLESSED.

28:15. And I will be thy keeper whithersoever thou goest, and will bring thee back into this land: neither will I leave thee, till I shall have accomplished all that I have said.

28:16. And when Jacob awaked out of sleep, he said: Indeed the Lord is in this place, and I knew it not.

28:17. And trembling, he said: How terrible is this place? this is no other but the house of God, and the gate of heaven.

28:18. And Jacob arising in the morning, took the stone which he had laid under his head, and set it up for a title, pouring oil upon the top of it.

28:19. And he called the name of the city Bethel, which before was called Luza.

Bethel. . .This name signifies the house of God.

28:20. And he made a vow, saying: If God shall be with me, and shall keep me in the way, by which I walk, and shall give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on,

28:21. And I shall return prosperously to my father’s house: the Lord shall be my God:

28:22. And this stone, which I have set up for a title, shall be called the house of God: and of all things that thou shalt give to me, I will offer tithes to thee.

Genesis Chapter 29

Jacob serveth Laban seven years for Rachel: but is deceived with Lia: he afterwards marrieth Rachel. Lia bears him four sons.

29:1. Then Jacob went on in his journey, and came into the east country.

29:2. And he saw a well in the field, and three flocks of sheep lying by it: for the beasts were watered out of it, and the mouth thereof was closed with a great stone.

29:3. And the custom was, when all the sheep were gathered together, to roll away the stone, and after the sheep were watered, to put it on the mouth of the well again.

29:4. And he said to the shepherds: Brethren, whence are you? They answered: Of Haran.

29:5. And he asked them, saying: Know you Laban, the son of Nachor? They said: We know him.

29:6. He said: Is he in health? He is in health, say they: and behold, Rachel, his daughter, cometh with his flock.

29:7. And Jacob said: There is yet much day remaining, neither is it time to bring the flocks into the folds again: first give the sheep drink, and so lead them back to feed.

29:8. They answered: We cannot, till all the cattle be gathered together, and we remove the stone from the well’s mouth, that we may water the flocks.

29:9. They were yet speaking, and behold Rachel came with her father’s sheep; for she fed the flock.

29:10. And when Jacob saw her, and knew her to be his cousin german, and that they were the sheep of Laban, his uncle: he removed the stone wherewith the well was closed.

29:11. And having watered the flock, he kissed her: and lifting up his voice wept.

29:12. And he told her that he was her father’s brother, and the son of Rebecca: but she went in haste and told her father.

29:13. Who, when he heard that Jacob his sister’s son was come, ran forth to meet him: and embracing him, and heartily kissing him, brought him into his house. And when he had heard the causes of his journey,

29:14. He answered: Thou art my bone and my flesh. And after the days of one month were expired,

29:15. He said to him: Because thou art my brother, shalt thou serve me without wages? Tell me what wages thou wilt have.

29:16. Now he had two daughters, the name of the elder was Lia; and the younger was called Rachel.

29:17. But Lia was blear-eyed: Rachel was well favoured, and of a beautiful countenance.

29:18. And Jacob being in love with her, said: I will serve thee seven years for Rachel, thy younger daughter.

29:19. Laban answered: It is better that I give her to thee than to another man; stay with me.

29:20. So Jacob served seven years for Rachel: and they seemed but a few days, because of the greatness of his love.

29:21. And he said to Laban: Give me my wife; for now the time is fulfilled, that I may go in unto her.

29:22. And he, having invited a great number of his friends to the feast, made the marriage.

29:23. And at night he brought in Lia, his daughter, to him,

29:24. Giving his daughter a handmaid, named Zelpha. Now when Jacob had gone in to her according to custom, when morning was come he saw it was Lia.

29:25. And he said to his father-in-law: What is it that thou didst mean to do? did not I serve thee for Rachel? why hast thou deceived me?

29:26. Laban answered: It is not the custom in this place, to give the younger in marriage first.

29:27. Make up the week of days of this match: and I will give thee her also, for the service that thou shalt render me other seven years.

29:28. He yielded to his pleasure: and after the week was past, he married Rachel:

29:29. To whom her father gave Bala, for her servant.

29:30. And having at length obtained the marriage he wished for, he preferred the love of the latter before the former, and served with him other seven years.

29:31. And the Lord seeing that he despised Lia, opened her womb, but her sister remained barren.

29:32. And she conceived and bore a son, and called his name Ruben, saying: The Lord saw my affliction: now my husband will love me.

29:33. And again she conceived and bore a son, and said: Because the Lord heard that I was despised, he hath given this also to me: and she called his name Simeon.

29:34. And she conceived the third time, and bore another son, and said: Now also my husband will be joined to me, because I have borne him three sons: and therefore she called his name Levi.

29:35. The fourth time she conceived and bore a son, and said: Now will I praise the Lord: and for this she called him Juda. And she left bearing.

Genesis Chapter 30

Rachel, being barren, delivereth her handmaid to Jacob; she beareth two sons. Lia ceasing to bear, giveth also her handmaid, and she beareth two more. Then Lia beareth other two sons and one daughter. Rachel beareth Joseph. Jacob, desirous to return home, is hired to stay for a certain part of the flock’s increase, whereby he becometh exceeding rich.

30:1. And Rachel seeing herself without children, envied her sister, and said to her husband: Give me children, otherwise I shall die.

30:2. And Jacob being angry with her, answered: Am I as God, who hath deprived thee of the fruit of thy womb?

30:3. But she said: I have here my servant Bala: go in unto her, that she may bear upon my knees, and I may have children by her.

30:4. And she gave him Bala in marriage: who,

30:5. When her husband had gone in unto her, conceived and bore a son.

30:6. And Rachel said: The Lord hath judged for me, and hath heard my voice, giving me a son; and therefore she called his name Dan.

30:7. And again Bala conceived, and bore another,

30:8. For whom Rachel said: God hath compared me with my sister, and I have prevailed: and she called him Nephthali.

30:9. Lia perceiving that she had left of bearing, gave Zelpha, her handmaid, to her husband.

30:10. And when she had conceived, and brought forth a son,

30:11. She said: Happily. And therefore called his name Gad.

30:12. Zelpha also bore another.

30:13. And Lia said: This is for my happiness: for women will call me blessed. Therefore she called him Aser.

30:14. And Ruben going out in the time of the wheat harvest into the field, found mandrakes: which he brought to his mother Lia. And Rachel said: Give me part of thy son’s mandrakes.

30:15. She answered: Dost thou think it a small matter, that thou hast taken my husband from me, unless thou take also my son’s mandrakes? Rachel said: He shall sleep with thee this night, for thy son’s mandrakes.

30:16. And when Jacob returned at even from the field, Lia went out to meet him, and said: Thou shalt come in unto me, because I have hired thee for my son’s mandrakes. And he slept with her that night.

30:17. And God heard her prayers; and she conceived: and bore a fifth son:

30:18. And said: God hath given me a reward, because I gave my handmaid to my husband. And she called his name Issachar.

30:19. And Lia conceived again, and bore the sixth son,

30:20. And said: God hath endowed me with a good dowry; this turn also my husband will be with me, because I have borne him six sons: and therefore she called his name Zabulon.

30:21. After whom she bore a daughter, named Dina.

30:22. The Lord also remembering Rachel, heard her, and opened her womb.

30:23. And she conceived, and bore a son, saying: God hath taken away my reproach.

30:24. And she called his name Joseph: saying: The Lord give me also another son.

30:25. And when Joseph was born, Jacob said to his father-in-law: Send me away, that I may return into my country, and to my land.

30:26. Give me my wives, and my children, for whom I have served thee, that I may depart: thou knowest the service that I have rendered thee.

30:27. Laban said to him: Let me find favour in thy sight: I have learned, by experience, that God hath blessed me for thy sake.

30:28. Appoint thy wages which I shall give thee.

30:29. But he answered: Thou knowest how I have served thee, and how great thy possession hath been in my hands.

30:30. Thou hadst but little before I came to thee, and now thou art become rich: and the Lord hath blessed thee at my coming. It is reasonable, therefore, that I should now provide also for my own house.

30:31. And Laban said: What shall I give thee? But he said: I require nothing; but if thou wilt do what I demand, I will feed and keep thy sheep again.

30:32. Go round through all thy flocks, and separate all the sheep of divers colours, and speckled; and all that is brown and spotted, and of divers colours, as well among the sheep as among the goats, shall be my wages.

30:33. And my justice shall answer for me tomorrow before thee, when the time of the bargain shall come; and all that is not of divers colours, and spotted, and brown, as well among the sheep as among the goats, shall accuse me of theft.

30:34. And Laban said: I like well what thou demandest.

30:35. And he separated the same day the she-goats, and the sheep, and the he-goats, and the rams of divers colours, and spotted; and all the flock of one colour, that is, of white and black fleece, he delivered into the hands of his sons.

30:36. And he set the space of three days journey betwixt himself and his son-in-law, who fed the rest of his flock.

30:37. And Jacob took green rods of poplar, and of almond, and of plane-trees, and pilled them in part: so when the bark was taken off, in the parts that were pilled, there appeared whiteness: but the parts that were whole, remained green: and by this means the colour was divers.

30:38. And he put them in the troughs, where the water was poured out; that when the flocks should come to drink, they might have the rods before their eyes, and in the sight of them might conceive.

30:39. And it came to pass, that in the very heat of coition, the sheep beheld the rods, and brought forth spotted, and of divers colours, and speckled.

30:40. And Jacob separated the flock, and put the rods in the troughs before the eyes of the rams; and all the white and the black were Laban’s, and the rest were Jacob’s, when the flocks were separated one from the other.

30:41. So when the ewes went first to ram, Jacob put the rods in the troughs of water before the eyes of the rams, and of the ewes, that they might conceive while they were looking upon them.

30:42. But when the later coming was, and the last conceiving, he did not put them. And those that were lateward, became Laban’s; and they of the first time, Jacob’s.

30:43. And the man was enriched exceedingly, and he had many flocks, maid-servants and men-servants, camels and asses.

Genesis Chapter 31

Jacob’s departure: he is pursued and overtaken by Laban. They make a covenant.

31:1. But after that he had heard the words of the sons of Laban, saying: Jacob hath taken away all that was our father’s, and being enriched by his substance is become great.

31:2. And perceiving also, that Laban’s countenance was not towards him as yesterday and the other day.

31:3. Especially the Lord saying to him: Return into the land of thy fathers and to thy kindred, and I will be with thee.

31:4. He sent, and called Rachel and Lia into the field, where he fed the flocks,

31:5. And said to them: I see your father’s countenance is not towards me as yesterday and the other day: but the God of my father hath been with me.

31:6. And you know that I have served your father to the uttermost of my power.

31:7. Yea your father hath also overreached me, and hath changed my wages ten times: and yet God hath not suffered him to hurt me.

31:8. If at any time, he said: The speckled shall be thy wages: all the sheep brought forth speckled: but when he said on the contrary: Thou shalt take all the white one for thy wages: all the flocks brought forth white ones.

31:9. And God hath taken your father’s substance, and given it to me.

31:10. For after the time came of the ewes conceiving, I lifted up my eyes, and saw in my sleep, that the males which leaped upon the females were of divers colours, and spotted, and speckled.

31:11. And the angel of God said to me in my sleep: Jacob. And I answered: Here I am.

31:12. And he said: Lift up thy eyes, and see that all the males leaping upon the females, are of divers colours, spotted and speckled. For I have seen all that Laban hath done to thee.

31:13. I am the God of Bethel, where thou didst anoint the stone, and make a vow to me. Now therefore arise, and go out of this land, and return into thy native country.

31:14. And Rachel and Lia answered: Have we any thing left among the goods and inheritance of our father’s house?

31:15. Hath he not counted us as strangers, and sold us, and eaten up the price of us?

31:16. But God hath taken our father’s riches, and delivered them to us, and to our children: wherefore, do all that God hath commanded thee.

31:17. Then Jacob rose up, and having set his children and wives upon camels, went his way.

31:18. And he took all his substance, and flocks, and whatsoever he had gotten in Mesopotamia, and went forward to Isaac, his father, to the land of Chanaan.

31:19. At that time Laban was gone to shear his sheep, and Rachel stole away her father’s idols.

Her father’s idols. . .By this it appears that Laban was an idolater; and some of the fathers are of opinion that Rachel stole away these idols to withdraw him from idolatry, removing the occasion of his sin.

31:20. And Jacob would not confess to his father-in-law that he was flying away.

31:21. And when he was gone, together with all that belonged to him, and having passed the river, was going on towards mount Galaad,

31:22. It was told Laban on the third day, that Jacob fled.

31:23. And he took his brethren with him, and pursued after him seven days; and overtook him in the mount of Galaad.

31:24. And he saw in a dream God, saying to him: Take heed thou speak not any thing harshly against Jacob.

31:25. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the mountain: and when he, with his brethren, had overtaken him, he pitched his tent in the same mount of Galaad.

31:26. And he said to Jacob: Why hast thou done thus, to carry away, without my knowledge, my daughters as captives taken with the sword?

31:27. Why wouldst thou run away privately, and not acquaint me, that I might have brought thee on the way with joy, and with songs, and with timbrels, and with harps?

31:28. Thou hast not suffered me to kiss my sons and daughters; thou hast done foolishly; and now indeed,

31:29. It is in my power to return thee evil; but the God of your father said to me yesterday: Take heed thou speak not any thing harshly against Jacob.

31:30. Suppose thou didst desire to go to thy friends, and hadst a longing after thy father’s house: why hast thou stolen away my gods?

31:31. Jacob answered: That I departed unknown to thee, it was for fear lest thou wouldst take away thy daughters by force.

31:32. But, whereas, thou chargest me with theft: with whomsoever thou shalt find thy gods, let him be slain before our brethren. Search, and if thou find any of thy things with me, take them away. Now when he said this, he knew not that Rachel had stolen the idols.

31:33. So Laban went into the tent of Jacob, and of Lia, and of both the handmaids, and found them not. And when he was entered into Rachel’s tent,

31:34. She, in haste, hid the idols under the camel’s furniture, and sat upon them: and when he had searched all the tent, and found nothing,

31:35. She said: Let not my lord be angry that I cannot rise up before thee, because it has now happened to me according to the custom of women. So his careful search was in vain.

31:36. And Jacob being angry, said in a chiding manner: For what fault of mine, and for what offence on my part hast thou so hotly pursued me,

31:37. And searched all my household stuff? What hast thou found of all the substance of thy house? lay it here before my brethren, and thy brethren, and let them judge between me and thee.

31:38. Have I, therefore, been with thee twenty years? thy ewes and goats were not barren, the rams of thy flocks I did not eat:

31:39. Neither did I shew thee that which the beast had torn; I made good all the damage: whatsoever was lost by theft, thou didst exact it of me:

31:40. Day and night was I parched with heat, and with frost, and sleep departed from my eyes.

31:41. And in this manner have I served thee in thy house twenty years, fourteen for thy daughters, and six for thy flocks: thou hast changed also my wages ten times.

31:42. Unless the God of my father, Abraham, and the fear of Isaac, had stood by me, peradventure now thou hadst sent me away naked: God beheld my affliction and the labour of my hands, and rebuked thee yesterday.

31:43. Laban answered him: The daughters are mine, and the children, and thy flocks, and all things that thou seest are mine: what can I do to my children, and grandchildren?

31:44. Come, therefore, let us enter into a league; that it may be for a testimony between me and thee.

31:45. And Jacob took a stone, and set it up for a title.

31:46. And he said to his brethren: Bring hither stones. And they, gathering stones together, made a heap, and they ate upon it.

31:47. And Laban called it, The witness heap; and Jacob, The hillock of testimony: each of them according to the propriety of his language.

31:48. And Laban said: This heap shall be a witness between me and thee this day, and therefore the name thereof was called Galaad, that is, The witness heap.

31:49. The Lord behold and judge between us, when we shall be gone one from the other.

31:50. If thou afflict my daughters, and if thou bring in other wives over them: none is witness of our speech but God, who is present and beholdeth.

31:51. And he said again to Jacob: Behold this heap, and the stone which I have set up between me and thee,

31:52. Shall be a witness: this heap, I say, and the stone, be they for a testimony, if either I shall pass beyond it going towards thee, or thou shalt pass beyond it thinking harm to me.

31:53. The God of Abraham, and the God of Nachor, the God of their father, judge between us. And Jacob swore by the fear of his father Isaac:

31:54. And after he had offered sacrifices in the mountain, he called his brethren to eat bread. And when they had eaten, they lodged there:

31:55. But Laban arose in the night, and kissed his sons and daughters, and blessed them: and returned to his place.

Genesis Chapter 32

Jacob’s vision of angels; his message and presents to Esau; his wrestling with an angel.

32:1. Jacob also went on the journey he had begun: and the angels of God met him.

32:2. And when he saw them, he said: These are the camps of God, and he called the name of that place Mahanaim, that is, Camps.

32:3. And he sent messengers before him to Esau, his brother, to the land of Seir, to the country of Edom:

32:4. And he commanded them, saying: Thus shall ye speak to my lord Esau: Thus saith thy brother Jacob: I have sojourned with Laban, and have been with him until this day:

32:5. I have oxen, and asses, and sheep, and menservants, and womenservants: and now I send a message to my lord, that I may find favour in thy sight.

32:6. And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying: We came to Esau, thy brother, and behold he cometh with speed to meet thee with four hundred men.

32:7. Then Jacob was greatly afraid; and in his fear divided the people that was with him, and the flocks, and the sheep, and the oxen, and the camels, into two companies,

32:8. Saying: If Esau come to one company, and destroy it, the other company that is left, shall escape.

32:9. And Jacob said: O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac: O Lord who saidst to me, Return to thy land, and to the place of thy birth, and I will do well for thee.

32:10. I am not worthy of the least of all thy mercies, and of thy truth which thou hast fulfilled to thy servant. With my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I return with two companies.

32:11. Deliver me from the hand of my brother Esau, for I am greatly afraid of him; lest perhaps he come, and kill the mother with the children.

32:12. Thou didst say, that thou wouldst do well by me, and multiply my seed like the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.

32:13. And when he had slept there that night, he set apart, of the things which he had, presents for his brother Esau,

32:14. Two hundred she-goats, twenty he-goats, two hundred ewes, and twenty rams,

32:15. Thirty milch camels with their colts, forty kine, and twenty bulls, twenty she-asses, and ten of their foals.

32:16. And he sent them by the hands of his servants, every drove by itself, and he said to his servants: Go before me, and let there be a space between drove and drove.

32:17. And he commanded the first, saying: If thou meet my brother Esau, and he ask thee: Whose art thou? or whither goest thou? or whose are these before thee?

32:18. Thou shalt answer: Thy servant Jacob’s: he hath sent them as a present to my lord Esau; and he cometh after us.

32:19. In like manner he commanded the second, and the third, and all that followed the droves, saying: Speak ye the same words to Esau, when ye find him.

32:20. And ye shall add: Thy servant Jacob himself also followeth after us; for he said: I will appease him with the presents that go before, and afterwards I will see him, perhaps he will be gracious to me.

32:21. So the presents went before him, but himself lodged that night in the camp.

32:22. And rising early, he took his two wives and his two handmaids, with his eleven sons, and passed over the ford of Jaboc.

32:23. And when all things were brought over that belonged to him,

32:24. He remained alone; and behold, a man wrestled with him till morning.

A man, etc. . .This was an angel in human shape, as we learn from Osee 12.4. He is called God, ver. 28 and 30, because he represented the person of the Son of God. This wrestling, in which Jacob, assisted by God, was a match for an angel, was so ordered (ver. 28,) that he might learn by this experiment of the divine assistance, that neither Esau, nor any other man, should have power to hurt him.—It was also spiritual, as appeareth by his earnest prayer, urging and at last obtaining the angel’s blessing.

32:25. And when he saw that he could not overcome him, he touched the sinew of his thigh, and forthwith it shrank.

32:26. And he said to him: Let me go, for it is break of day. He answered: I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.

32:27. And he said: What is thy name? He answered: Jacob.

32:28. But he said: Thy name shall not be called Jacob, but Israel; for if thou hast been strong against God, how much more shalt thou prevail against men?

32:29. Jacob asked him: Tell me by what name art thou called? He answered: Why dost thou ask my name? And he blessed him in the same place.

32:30. And Jacob called the name of the place Phanuel, saying: I have seen God face to face, and my soul has been saved.

Phanuel. . .This word signifies the face of God, or the sight, or seeing of God.

32:31. And immediately the sun rose upon him, after he was past Phanuel; but he halted on his foot.

32:32. Therefore the children of Israel, unto this day, eat not the sinew, that shrank in Jacob’s thigh: because he touched the sinew of his thigh and it shrank.

Genesis Chapter 33

Jacob and Esau meet: Jacob goeth to Salem, where he raiseth an altar.

33:1. And Jacob lifting up his eyes, saw Esau coming, and with him four hundred men: and he divided the children of Lia and of Rachel, and of the two handmaids.

33:2. And he put both the handmaids and their children foremost: and Lia and her children in the second place: and Rachel and Joseph last.

33:3. And he went forward and bowed down with his face to the ground seven times, until his brother came near.

33:4. Then Esau ran to meet his brother, and embraced him: and clasping him fast about the neck, and kissing him, wept.

33:5. And lifting up his eyes, he saw the women and their children, and said: What mean these? And do they belong to thee? He answered: They are the children which God hath given to me, thy servant.

33:6. Then the handmaids and their children came near and bowed themselves.

33:7. Lia also, with her children, came near and bowed down in like manner; and last of all, Joseph and Rachel bowed down.

33:8. And Esau said: What are the droves that I met? He answered: That I might find favour before my lord.

33:9. But he said: I have plenty, my brother, keep what is thine for thyself.

33:10. And Jacob said: Do not so I beseech thee, but if I have found favour in thy eyes, receive a little present at my hands: for I have seen thy face, as if I should have seen the countenance of God: be gracious to me,

33:11. And take the blessing which I have brought thee, and which God hath given me, who giveth all things. He took it with much ado at his brother’s earnest pressing him,

33:12. And said: Let us go on together, and I will accompany thee in thy journey.

33:13. And Jacob said: My lord, thou knowest that I have with me tender children, and sheep, and kine with young: which if I should cause to be overdriven, in one day all the flocks will die.

33:14. May it please my lord to go before his servant: and I will follow softly after him, as I shall see my children to be able, until I come to my lord in Seir.

33:15. Esau answered: I beseech thee, that some of the people, at least, who are with me, may stay to accompany thee in the way. And he said: There is no necessity: I want nothing else but only to find favour, my lord, in thy sight.

33:16. So Esau returned that day, the way that he came, to Seir.

33:17. And Jacob came to Socoth: where having built a house, and pitched tents, he called the name of the place Socoth, that is, Tents.

33:18. And he passed over to Salem, a city of the Sichemites, which is in the land of Chanaan, after he returned from Mesopotamia of Syria: and he dwelt by the town.

33:19. And he bought that part of the field, in which he pitched his tents, of the children of Hemor, the father of Sichem, for a hundred lambs.

33:20. And raising an altar there, he invoked upon it the most mighty God of Israel.

Genesis Chapter 34

Dina is ravished, for which the Sichemites are destroyed.

34:1. And Dina the daughter of Lia went out to see the women of that country.

34:2. And when Sichem the son of Hemor the Hevite, the prince of that land, saw her, he was in love with her: and took her away, and lay with her, ravishing the virgin.

34:3. And his soul was fast knit unto her; and whereas she was sad, he comforted her with sweet words.

34:4. And going to Hemor his father, he said: Get me this damsel to wife.

34:5. But when Jacob had heard this, his sons being absent, and employed in feeding the cattle, he held his peace till they came back.

34:6. And when Hemor the father of Sichem was come out to speak to Jacob,

34:7. Behold his sons came from the field: and hearing what had passed, they were exceeding angry, because he had done a foul thing in Israel, and committed an unlawful act, in ravishing Jacob’s daughter.

34:8. And Hemor spoke to them: The soul of my son Sichem has a longing for your daughter: give her him to wife:

34:9. And let us contract marriages one with another: give us your daughters, and take you our daughters.

34:10. And dwell with us: the land is at your command, till, trade, and possess it.

34:11. Sichem also said to her father and to her brethren: Let me find favour in your sight, and whatsoever you shall appoint I will give:

34:12. Raise the dowry, and ask gifts, and I will gladly give what you shall demand: only give me this damsel to wife.

34:13. The sons of Jacob answered Sichem and his father deceitfully, being enraged at the deflowering of their sister:

Deceitfully. . .The sons of Jacob, on this occasion, were guilty of a grievous sin, as well by falsely pretending religion, as by excess of revenge: though otherwise their zeal against so foul a crime was commendable.

34:14. We cannot do what you demand, nor give our sister to one that is uncircumcised; which with us is unlawful and abominable.

34:15. But in this we may be allied with you, if you will be like us, and all the male sex among you be circumcised:

34:16. Then will we mutually give and take your daughters, and ours; and we will dwell with you, and will be one people:

34:17. But if you will not be circumcised, we will take our daughter and depart.

34:18. Their offer pleased Hemor, and Sichem, his son:

34:19. And the young man made no delay, but forthwith fulfilled what was required: for he loved the damsel exceedingly, and he was the greatest man in all his father’s house.

34:20. And going into the gate of the city, they spoke to the people:

34:21. These men are peaceable, and are willing to dwell with us: let them trade in the land, and till it, which being large and wide wanteth men to till it: we shall take their daughters for wives, and we will give them ours.

34:22. One thing there is for which so great a good is deferred: We must circumcise every male among us, following the manner of the nation.

34:23. And their substance, and cattle, and all that they possess, shall be ours; only in this let us condescend, and by dwelling together, we shall make one people.

34:24. And they all agreed, and circumcised all the males.

34:25. And behold the third day, when the pain of the wound was greatest: two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, the brothers of Dina, taking their swords, entered boldly into the city and slew all the men.

34:26. And they killed also Hemor and Sichem, and took away their sister Dina out of Sichem’s house.

34:27. And when they were gone out, the other sons of Jacob came upon the slain; and plundered the city in revenge of the rape.

34:28. And they took their sheep, and their herds, and their asses, wasting all they had in their houses and in their fields.

34:29. And their children and wives they took captive.

34:30. And when they had boldly perpetrated these things, Jacob said to Simeon and Levi: You have troubled me, and made me hateful to the Chanaanites and Pherezites, the inhabitants of this land. We are few: they will gather themselves together and kill me; and both I, and my house shall be destroyed.

34:31. They answered: Should they abuse our sister as a strumpet?

Genesis Chapter 35

Jacob purgeth his family from idols: goeth by God’s commandment to Bethel, and there buildeth an altar. God appearing again to Jacob blesseth him, and changeth his name into Israel. Rachel dieth in childbirth. Isaac also dieth.

35:1. In the mean time God said to Jacob: Arise and go up to Bethel, and dwell there, and make there an altar to God, who appeared to thee when thou didst flee from Esau, thy brother.

35:2. And Jacob having called together all his household, said: Cast away the strange gods that are among you, and be cleansed, and change your garments.

35:3. Arise, and let us go up to Bethel, that we may make there an altar to God; who heard me in the day of my affliction, and accompained me in my journey.

35:4. So they gave him all the strange gods they had, and the earrings which were in their ears: and he buried them under the turpentine tree, that is behind the city of Sichem.

35:5. And when they were departed, the terror of God fell upon all the cities round about, and they durst not pursue after them as they went away.

35:6. And Jacob came to Luza, which is in the land of Chanaan, surnamed Bethel: he and all the people that were with him.

35:7. And he built there an altar, and called the name of that place, The house of God: for there God appeared to him when he fled from his brother.

35:8. At the same time Debora, the nurse of Rebecca, died, and was buried at the foot of Bethel, under an oak, and the name of that place was called, The oak of weeping.

35:9. And God appeared again to Jacob, after he returned from Mesopotamia of Syria, and he blessed him,

35:10. Saying: Thou shalt not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name. And he called him Israel.

Israel. . .This name signifieth one that prevaileth with God.

35:11. And said to him: I am God almighty, increase thou and be multiplied. Nations and peoples of nations shall be from thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins.

35:12. And the land which I gave to Abraham and Isaac, I will give to thee, and to thy seed after thee.

35:13. And he departed from him.

35:14. But he set up a monument of stone, in the place where God had spoken to him: pouring drink-offerings upon it, and pouring oil thereon:

35:15. And calling the name of that place Bethel.

35:16. And going forth from thence, he came in the spring time to the land which leadeth to Ephrata: wherein when Rachel was in travail,

35:17. By reason of her hard labour, she began to be in danger, and the midwife said to her: Fear not, for thou shalt have this son also.

35:18. And when her soul was departing for pain, and death was now at hand, she called the name of her son Benoni, that is, the son of my pain: but his father called him Benjamin, that is, the son of the right hand.

35:19. So Rachel died, and was buried in the highway that leadeth to Ephrata, this is Bethlehem.

35:20. And Jacob erected a pillar over her sepulchre: this is the pillar of Rachel’s monument, to this day.

35:21. Departing thence, he pitched his tent beyond the Flock tower.

35:22. And when he dwelt in that country, Ruben went, and slept with Bala the concubine of his father: which he was not ignorant of. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve.

The concubine. . .She was his lawful wife; but, according to the style of the Hebrews, is called concubine, because of her servile extraction.

35:23. The sons of Lia: Ruben the first born, and Simeon, and Levi, and Juda, and Issachar, and Zabulon.

35:24. The sons of Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin.

35:25. The sons of Bala, Rachel’s handmaid: Dan and Nephthali.

35:26. The sons of Zelpha, Lia’s handmaid: Gad and Aser: these are the sons of Jacob, that were born to him in Mesopotamia of Syria.

35:27. And he came to Isaac his father in Mambre, the city of Arbee, this is Hebron: wherein Abraham and Isaac sojourned.

35:28. And the days of Isaac were a hundred and eighty years.

35:29. And being spent with age he died, and was gathered to his people, being old and full of days: and his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.

Genesis Chapter 36

Esau with his wives and children parteth from Jacob. An account of his descendants, and of the first kings of Edom.

36:1. And these are the generations of Esau, the same is Edom.

36:2. Esau took wives of the daughters of Chanaan: Ada the daughter of Elon the Hethite, and Oolibama the daughter of Ana, the daughter of Sebeon the Hevite:

Ada. . .These wives of Esau are called by other names, Gen. 26. But it was very common amongst the ancients for the same persons to have two names, as Esau himself was also called Edom.

36:3. And Basemath, the daughter of Ismael, sister of Nabajoth.

36:4. And Ada bore Eliphaz: Basemath bore Rahuel.

36:5. Oolibama bore Jehus, and Ihelon, and Core. These are the sons of Esau, that were born to him in the land of Chanaan.

36:6. And Esau took his wives, and his sons and daughters, and every soul of his house, and his substance, and cattle, and all that he was able to acquire in the land of Chanaan: and went into another country, and departed from his brother Jacob.

36:7. For they were exceeding rich, and could not dwell together: neither was the land in which they sojourned able to bear them, for the multitude of their flocks.

36:8. And Esau dwelt in mount Seir: he is Edom.

36:9. And these are the generations of Esau, the father of Edom, in mount Seir.

36:10. And these the names of his sons: Eliphaz the son of Ada, the wife of Esau: and Rahuel, the son of Basemath, his wife.

36:11. And Eliphaz had sons: Theman, Omar, Sepho, and Gatham and Cenez.

36:12. And Thamna was the concubine of Eliphaz, the son of Esau: and she bore him Amalech. These are the sons of Ada, the wife of Esau.

36:13. And the sons of Rahuel were Nahath and Zara, Samma and Meza. These were the sons of Basemath, the wife of Esau.

36:14. And these were the sons of Oolibama, the daughter of Ana, the daughter of Sebeon, the wife of Esau, whom she bore to him, Jehus, and Ihelon, and Core.

36:15. These were dukes of the sons of Esau: the sons of Eliphaz, the firstborn of Esau: duke Theman, duke Omar, duke Sepho, duke Cenez,

36:16. Duke Core, duke Gatham, duke Amalech: these are the sons of Eliphaz, in the land of Edom, and these the sons of Ada.

36:17. And these were the sons of Rahuel, the son of Esau: duke Nahath, duke Zara, duke Samma, duke Meza. And these are the dukes of Rahuel, in the land of Edom: these the sons of Basemath, the wife of Esau.

36:18. And these the sons of Oolibama, the wife of Esau: duke Jehus, duke Ihelon, duke Core. These are the dukes of Oolibama, the daughter of Ana, and wife of Esau.

36:19. These are the sons of Esau, and these the dukes of them: the same is Edom.

36:20. These are the sons of Seir, the Horrite, the inhabitants of the land: Lotan, and Sobal, and Sebeon, and Ana,

36:21. And Dison, and Eser, and Disan. These are dukes of the Horrites, the sons of Seir, in the land of Edom.

36:22. And Lotan had sons: Hori and Heman. And the sister of Lotan was Thamna.

36:23. And these the sons of Sobal: Alvan, and Manahat, and Ebal, and Sepho, and Onam.

36:24. And these the sons of Sebeon: Aia and Ana. This is Ana that found the hot waters in the wilderness, when he fed the asses of Sebeon, his father:

36:25. And he had a son Dison, and a daughter Oolibama.

36:26. And these were the sons of Dison: Hamdan, and Eseban, and Jethram, and Charan.

36:27. These also were the sons of Eser: Balaan, and Zavan, and Acan.

36:28. And Dison had sons: Hus and Aram.

36:29. These were dukes of the Horrites: duke Lotan, duke Sobal, duke Sebeon, duke Ana,

36:30. Duke Dison, duke Eser, duke Disan: these were dukes of the Horrites that ruled in the land of Seir.

36:31. And the kings that ruled in the land of Edom, before the children of Israel had a king, were these:

36:32. Bela the son of Beor, and the name of his city Denaba.

36:33. And Bela died, and Jobab, the son of Zara, of Bosra, reigned in his stead.

36:34. And when Jobab was dead, Husam, of the land of the Themanites, reigned in his stead.

36:35. And after his death, Adad, the son of Badad, reigned in his stead, who defeated the Madianites in the country of Moab; and the name of his city was Avith.

36:36. And when Adad was dead, there reigned in his stead, Semla, of Masreca.

36:37. And he being dead, Saul, of the river Rohoboth, reigned in his stead.

36:38. And when he also was dead, Balanan, the son of Achobor, succeeded to the kingdom.

36:39. This man also being dead, Adar reigned in his place; and the name of his city was Phau: and his wife was called Meetabel, the daughter of Matred, daughter of Mezaab.

36:40. And these are the names of the dukes of Esau in their kindreds, and places, and callings: duke Thamna, duke Alva, duke Jetheth,

36:41. Duke Oolibama, duke Ela, duke Phinon,

36:42. Duke Cenez, duke Theman, duke Mabsar,

36:43. Duke Magdiel, duke Hiram: these are the dukes of Edom dwelling in the land of their government; the same is Esau, the father of the Edomites.

Genesis Chapter 37

Joseph’s dreams: he is sold by his brethren, and carried into Egypt.

37:1. And Jacob dwelt in the land of Chanaan, wherein his father sojourned.

37:2. And these are his generations: Joseph, when he was sixteen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren, being but a boy: and he was with the sons of Bala and of Zelpha his father’s wives: and he accused his brethren to his father of a most wicked crime.

37:3. Now Israel loved Joseph above all his sons, because he had him in his old age: and he made him a coat of divers colours.

37:4. And his brethren seeing that he was loved by his father, more than all his sons, hated him, and could not speak peaceably to him.

37:5. Now it fell out also that he told his brethren a dream, that he had dreamed: which occasioned them to hate him the more.

A dream. . .These dreams of Joseph were prophetical, and sent from God; as were also those which he interpreted, Gen. 40. and 41.; otherwise generally speaking, the observing of dreams is condemned in the Scripture, as superstitious and sinful. See Deut. 18.10; Eccli. 34.2,3.

37:6. And he said to them: Hear my dream which I dreamed.

37:7. I thought we were binding sheaves in the field: and my sheaf arose as it were, and stood, and your sheaves standing about bowed down before my sheaf.

37:8. His brethren answered: Shalt thou be our king? or shall we be subject to thy dominion? Therefore this matter of his dreams and words ministered nourishment to their envy and hatred.

37:9. He dreamed also another dream, which he told his brethren, saying: I saw in a dream, as it were the sun, and the moon, and eleven stars worshipping me.

37:10. And when he had told this to his father, and brethren, his father rebuked him and said: What meaneth this dream that thou hast dreamed? shall I and thy mother, and thy brethren worship thee upon the earth?

Worship. . .This word is not used here to signify divine worship, but an inferior veneration, expressed by the bowing of the body, and that, according to the manner of the eastern nations, down to the ground.

37:11. His brethren therefore envied him: but his father considered the thing with himself.

37:12. And when his brethren abode in Sechem, feeding their father’s flocks,

37:13. Israel said to him: Thy brethren feed the sheep in Sichem: come, I will send thee to them. And when he answered:

37:14. I am ready: he said to him: Go, and see if all things be well with thy brethren, and the cattle: and bring me word again what is doing. So being sent from the vale of Hebron, he came to Sichem:

37:15. And a man found him there wandering in the field, and asked what he sought.

37:16. But he answered: I seek my brethren, tell me where they feed the flocks.

37:17. And the man said to him: They are departed from this place: for I heard them say: Let us go to Dothain. And Joseph went forward after his brethren, and found them in Dothain.

37:18. And when they saw him afar off, before he came nigh them, they thought to kill him:

37:19. And said one to another: Behold the dreamer cometh.

37:20. Come, let us kill him, and cast him into some old pit: and we will say: Some evil beast hath devoured him: and then it shall appear what his dreams avail him:

37:21. And Ruben hearing this, endeavoured to deliver him out of their hands, and said:

37:22. Do not take away his life, nor shed his blood: but cast him into this pit, that is in the wilderness, and keep your hands harmless: now he said this, being desirous to deliver him out of their hands and to restore him to his father.

37:23. And as soon as he came to his brethren, they forthwith stript him of his outside coat, that was of divers colours:

37:24. And cast him into an old pit where there was not water.

37:25. And sitting down to eat bread, they saw some Ismaelites on their way coming from Galaad, with their camels, carrying spices, and balm, and myrrh to Egypt.

37:26. And Juda said to his brethren: What will it profit us to kill our brother, and conceal his blood?

37:27. It is better that he be sold to the Ismaelites, and that our hands be not defiled: for he is our brother and our flesh. His brethren agreed to his words.

37:28. And when the Madianite merchants passed by, they drew him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ismaelites, for twenty pieces of silver: and they led him into Egypt.

37:29. And Ruben returning to the pit, found not the boy:

37:30. And rending his garments he went to his brethren, and said: The boy doth not appear, and whither shall I go?

37:31. And they took his coat, and dipped it in the blood of a kid, which they had killed:

37:32. Sending some to carry it to their father, and to say: This we have found: see whether it be thy son’s coat, or not.

37:33. And the father acknowledging it, said: It is my son’s coat, an evil wild beast hath eaten him, a beast hath devoured Joseph.

37:34. And tearing his garments, he put on sackcloth, mourning for his son a long time.

37:35. And all his children being gathered together to comfort their father in his sorrow, he would not receive comfort, but said: I will go down to my son into hell, mourning. And whilst he continued weeping,

Into hell. . .That is, into limbo, the place where the souls of the just were received before the death of our Redeemer. For allowing that the word hell sometimes is taken for the grave, it cannot be so taken in this place; since Jacob did not believe his son to be in the grave, (whom he supposed to be devoured by a wild beast,) and therefore could not mean to go down to him thither: but certainly meant the place of rest where he believed his soul to be.

37:36. The Madianites sold Joseph in Egypt to Putiphar, an eunuch of Pharao, captain of the soldiers.

An eunuch. . .This word sometimes signifies a chamberlain, courtier, or officer of the king: and so it is taken in this place.

Genesis Chapter 38

The sons of Juda: the death of Her and Onan: the birth of Phares and Zara.

38:1. At that time Juda went down from his brethren, and turned in to a certain Odollamite, named Hiras.

38:2. And he saw there the daughter of a man of Chanaan, called Sue: and taking her to wife, he went in unto her.

38:3. And she conceived, and bore a son, and called his name Her.

38:4. And conceiving again, she bore a son, and called him Onan.

38:5. She bore also a third: whom she called Sela. After whose birth, she ceased to bear any more.

38:6. And Juda took a wife for Her, his first born, whose name was Thamar.

38:7. And Her, the first born of Juda, was wicked in the sight of the Lord: and was slain by him.

38:8. Juda, therefore, said to Onan his son: Go in to thy brother’s wife and marry her, that thou mayst raise seed to thy brother.

38:9. He knowing that the children should not be his, when he went in to his brother’s wife, he spilled his seed upon the ground, lest children should be born in his brother’s name.

38:10. And therefore the Lord slew him, because he did a detestable thing:

38:11. Wherefore Juda said to Thamar his daughter-in-law: Remain a widow in thy father’s house, till Sela my son grow up: for he was afraid lest he also might die, as his brethren did. She went her way, and dwelt in her father’s house.

38:12. And after many days were past: the daughter of Sue the wife of Juda died: and when he had taken comfort after his mourning, he went up to Thamnas, to the shearers of his sheep, he and Hiras the Odollamite, the shepherd of his flock.

38:13. And it was told Thamar that her father-in-law was come up to Thamnas to shear his sheep.

38:14. And she put off the garments of her widowhood, and took a veil: and changing her dress, sat in the cross way, that leadeth to Thamnas: because Sela was grown up, and she had not been married to him.

38:15. When Juda saw her, he thought she was a harlot: for she had covered her face, lest she should be known.

38:16. And going to her, he said: Suffer me to lie with thee: for he knew her not to be his daughter-in-law. And she answered: What wilt thou give me to enjoy my company?

38:17. He said: I will send thee a kid out of the flock. And when she said again: I will suffer what thou wilt, if thou give me a pledge, till thou send what thou promisest.

38:18. Juda said: What wilt thou have for a pledge? She answered: Thy ring and bracelet, and the staff which thou holdest in thy hand. The woman therefore at one copulation conceived.

38:19. And she arose and went her way: and putting off the apparel which she had taken, put on the garments of her widowhood.

38:20. And Juda sent a kid by his shepherd, the Odollamite, that he might receive the pledge again, which he had given to the woman: but he, not finding her,

38:21. Asked the men of that place: Where is the woman that sat in the cross way? And when they all made answer: There was no harlot in this place,

38:22. He returned to Juda, and said to him: I have not found her; moreover, the men of that place said to me, that there never sat a harlot there.

38:23. Juda said: Let her take it to herself, surely she cannot charge us with a lie, I sent the kid which I promised: and thou didst not find her.

38:24. And behold, after three months, they told Juda, saying: Thamar, thy daughter-in-law, hath played the harlot, and she appeareth to have a big belly. And Juda said: Bring her out that she may be burnt.

38:25. But when she was led to execution, she sent to her father in law, saying: By the man, to whom these things belong, I am with child. See whose ring, and bracelet, and staff this is.

38:26. But he acknowledging the gifts, said: She is juster than I: because I did not give her to Sela, my son. However he knew her no more.

38:27. And when she was ready to be brought to bed, there appeared twins in her womb: and in the very delivery of the infants, one put forth a hand, whereon the midwife tied a scarlet thread, saying:

38:28. This shall come forth the first.

38:29. But he drawing back his hand, the other came forth: and the woman said: Why is the partition divided for thee? and therefore called his name Phares.

Phares. . .That is, a breach or division.

38:30. Afterwards his brother came out, on whose hand was the scarlet thread: and she called his name Zara.

Genesis Chapter 39

Joseph hath charge of his master’s house: rejecteth his mistress’s solicitations: is falsely accused by her, and cast into prison, where he hath the charge of all the prisoners.

39:1. And Joseph was brought into Egypt, and Putiphar, an eunuch of Pharao, chief captain of the army, an Egyptian, bought him of the Ismaelites, by whom he was brought.

39:2. And the Lord was with him, and he was a prosperous man in all things: and he dwelt in his master’s house:

39:3. Who knew very well that the Lord was with him, and made all that he did to prosper in his hand.

39:4. And Joseph found favour in the sight of his master, and ministered to him: and being set over all by him, he governed the house committed to him, and all things that were delivered to him:

39:5. And the Lord blessed the house of the Egyptian for Joseph’s sake, and multiplied all his substance, both at home and in the fields.

39:6. Neither knew he any other thing, but the bread which he ate. And Joseph was of a beautiful countenance, and comely to behold.

39:7. And after many days, his mistress cast her eyes on Joseph, and said: Lie with me.

39:8. But he in no wise consenting to that wicked act said to her: Behold, my master hath delivered all things to me, and knoweth not what he hath in his own house:

39:9. Neither is there any thing which is not in my power, or that he hath not delivered to me, but thee, who art his wife; how then can I do this wicked thing, and sin against my God?

39:10. With such words as these day by day, both the woman was importunate with the young man, and he refused the adultery.

39:11. Now it happened on a certain day, that Joseph went into the house, and was doing some business, without any man with him:

39:12. And she catching the skirt of his garment, said: Lie with me. But he leaving the garment in her hand, fled, and went out.

39:13. And when the woman saw the garment in her hands, and herself disregarded,

39:14. She called to her the men of her house, and said to them: See, he hath brought in a Hebrew, to abuse us: he came in to me, to lie with me; and when I cried out,

39:15. And he heard my voice, he left the garment that I held, and got him out.

39:16. For a proof therefore of her fidelity, she kept the garment, and shewed it to her husband when he returned home:

A proof of her fidelity. . .or an argument to gain credit, argumentum fidei.

39:17. And said: The Hebrew servant, whom thou hast brought, came to me to abuse me.

39:18. And when he heard me cry, he left the garment which I held, and fled out.

39:19. His master hearing these things, and giving too much credit to his wife’s words, was very angry,

39:20. And cast Joseph into the prison, where the king’s prisoners were kept, and he was there shut up.

39:21. But the Lord was with Joseph, and having mercy upon him gave him favour in the sight of the chief keeper of the prison:

39:22. Who delivered into his hand all the prisoners that were kept in custody: and whatsoever was done, was under him.

39:23. Neither did he himself know any thing, having committed all things to him: for the Lord was with him, and made all that he did to prosper.

Genesis Chapter 40

Joseph interpreteth the dreams of two of Pharao’s servants in prison: the event declareth the interpretations to be true, but Joseph is forgotten.

40:1. After this, it came to pass, that two eunuchs, the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt, offended their lord.

40:2. And Pharao being angry with them, (now the one was chief butler, the other chief baker,)

40:3. He sent them to the prison of the commander of the soldiers, in which Joseph also was prisoner.

40:4. But the keeper of the prison delivered them to Joseph, and he served them. Some little time passed, and they were kept in custody.

40:5. And they both dreamed a dream the same night, according to the interpretation agreeing to themselves:

40:6. And when Joseph was come into them in the morning, and saw them sad,

40:7. He asked them, saying: Why is your countenance sadder today than usual?

40:8. They answered: We have dreamed a dream, and there is nobody to interpret it to us. And Joseph said to them: Doth not interpretation belong to God? Tell me what you have dreamed:

Doth not interpretation belong to God?. . .When dreams are from God, as these were, the interpretation of them is a gift of God. But the generality of dreams are not of this sort; but either proceed from the natural complexions and dispositions of persons, or the roving of their imaginations in the day on such objects as they are much affected with, or from their mind being disturbed with cares and troubles, and oppressed with bodily infirmities: or they are suggested by evil spirits, to flatter, or to terrify weak minds, in order to gain belief, and so draw them into error or superstition; or at least to trouble them in their sleep, whom they cannot move when they are awake: so that the general rule, with regard to dreams, is not to observe them, nor to give any credit to them.

40:9. The chief butler first told his dream: I saw before me a vine,

40:10. On which were three branches, which by little and little sent out buds, and after the blossoms brought forth ripe grapes:

40:11. And the cup of Pharao was in my hand: and I took the grapes, and pressed them into the cup which I held, and I gave the cup to Pharao.

40:12. Joseph answered: This is the interpretation of the dream: The three branches, are yet three days:

40:13. After which Pharao will remember thy service, and will restore thee to thy former place: and thou shalt present him the cup according to thy office, as before thou was wont to do.

40:14. Only remember me when it shall be well with thee, and do me this kindness: to put Pharao in mind to take me out of this prison:

40:15. For I was stolen away out of the land of the Hebrews, and here without any fault was cast into the dungeon.

40:16. The chief baker seeing that he had wisely interpreted the dream, said: I also dreamed a dream, That I had three baskets of meal upon my head:

40:17. And that in one basket which was uppermost, I carried all meats that are made by the art of baking, and that the birds ate out of it.

40:18. Joseph answered: This is the interpretation of the dream: The three baskets, are yet three days:

40:19. After which Pharao will take thy head from thee, and hang thee on a cross, and the birds shall tear thy flesh.

40:20. The third day after this was the birthday of Pharao: and he made a great feast for his servants, and at the banquet remembered the chief butler, and the chief baker.

40:21. And he restored the one to his place, to present him the cup:

40:22. The other he hanged on a gibbet, that the truth of the interpreter might be shewn.

40:23. But the chief butler, when things prospered with him, forgot his interpreter.

Genesis Chapter 41

Joseph interpreteth the two dreams of Pharao: he is made ruler over all Egypt.

41:1. After two years Pharao had a dream. He thought he stood by the river,

41:2. Out of which came up seven kine, very beautiful and fat: and they fed in marshy places.

41:3. Other seven also came up out of the river, ill-favoured, and lean fleshed: and they fed on the very bank of the river, in green places:

41:4. And they devoured them, whose bodies were very beautiful and well conditioned. So Pharao awoke.

41:5. He slept again, and dreamed another dream: Seven ears of corn came up upon one stalk full and fair:

41:6. Then seven other ears sprung up thin and blasted,

41:7. And devoured all the beauty of the former. Pharao awaked after his rest:

41:8. And when morning was come, being struck with fear, he sent to all the interpreters of Egypt, and to all the wise men: and they being called for, he told them his dream, and there was not any one that could interpret it.

41:9. Then at length the chief butler remembering, said: I confess my sin:

41:10. The king being angry with his servants, commanded me and the chief baker to be cast into the prison of the captain of the soldiers.

41:11. Where in one night both of us dreamed a dream foreboding things to come.

41:12. There was there a young man a Hebrew, servant to the same captain of the soldiers: to whom we told our dreams,

41:13. And we heard what afterwards the event of the thing proved to be so. For I was restored to my office: and he was hanged upon a gibbet.

41:14. Forthwith at the king’s command Joseph was brought out of the prison, and they shaved him: and changing his apparel brought him in to him.

41:15. And he said to him: I have dreamed dreams, and there is no one that can expound them: Now I have heard that thou art very wise at interpreting them:

41:16. Joseph answered: Without me, God shall give Pharao a prosperous answer.

41:17. So Pharao told what he had dreamed: Methought I stood upon the bank of the river,

41:18. And seven kine came up out of the river, exceeding beautiful and full of flesh: and they grazed on green places in a marshy pasture.

41:19. And behold, there followed these, other seven kine, so very ill-favoured and lean, that I never saw the like in the land of Egypt:

41:20. And they devoured and consumed the former,

41:21. And yet gave no mark of their being full: but were as lean and ill-favoured as before. I awoke, and then fell asleep again,

41:22. And dreamed a dream: Seven ears of corn grew up upon one stalk, full and very fair.

41:23. Other seven also thin and blasted, sprung of the stalk:

41:24. And they devoured the beauty of the former: I told this dream to the conjecturers, and there is no man that can expound it.

41:25. Joseph answered: The king’s dream is one: God hath shewn to Pharao what he is about to do.

41:26. The seven beautiful kine, and the seven full ears, are seven years of plenty: and both contain the same meaning of the dream.

41:27. And the seven lean and thin kine that came up after them, and the seven thin ears that were blasted with the burning wind, are seven years of famine to come:

41:28. Which shall be fulfilled in this order.

41:29. Behold, there shall come seven years of great plenty in the whole land of Egypt:

41:30. After which shall follow other seven years of so great scarcity, that all the abundance before shall be forgotten: for the famine shall consume all the land,

41:31. And the greatness of the scarcity shall destroy the greatness of the plenty.

41:32. And for that thou didst see the second time a dream pertaining to the same thing: it is a token of the certainty, and that the word of God cometh to pass, and is fulfilled speedily.

41:33. Now therefore let the king provide a wise and industrious man, and make him ruler over the land of Egypt:

41:34. That he may appoint overseers over all the countries: and gather into barns the fifth part of the fruits, during the seven fruitful years,

41:35. That shall now presently ensue: and let all the corn be laid up, under Pharao’s hands, and be reserved in the cities.

41:36. And let it be in readiness, against the famine of seven years to come, which shall oppress Egypt, and the land shall not be consumed with scarcity.

41:37. The counsel pleased Pharao, and all his servants.

41:38. And he said to them: Can we find such another man, that is full of the spirit of God?

41:39. He said therefore to Joseph: Seeing God hath shewn thee all that thou hast said, can I find one wiser and one like unto thee?

41:40. Thou shalt be over my house, and at the commandment of thy mouth all the people shall obey: only in the kingly throne will I be above thee.

41:41. And again Pharao said to Joseph: Behold, I have appointed thee over the whole land of Egypt.

41:42. And he took his ring from his own hand, and gave it into his hand: and he put upon him a robe of silk, and put a chain of gold about his neck.

41:43. And he made him go up into his second chariot, the crier proclaiming that all should bow their knee before him, and that they should know he was made governor over the whole land of Egypt.

41:44. And the king said to Joseph: I am Pharao: without thy commandment no man shall move hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.

41:45. And he turned his name, and called him in the Egyptian tongue the saviour of the world. And he gave him to wife Aseneth, the daughter of Putiphare, priest of Heliopolis. Then Joseph went out to the land of Egypt.

The saviour of the world. . .Zaphnah paaneah.

41:46. (Now he was thirty years old when he stood before king Pharao), and he went round all the countries of Egypt.

41:47. And the fruitfulness of the seven years came: and the corn being bound up into sheaves, was gathered together into the barns of Egypt.

41:48. And all the abundance of grain was laid up in every city.

41:49. And there was so great abundance of wheat, that it was equal to the sand of the sea, and the plenty exceeded measure.

41:50. And before the famine came, Joseph had two sons born: whom Aseneth, the daughter of Putiphare, priest of Heliopolis, bore unto him.

41:51. And he called the name of the firstborn Manasses, saying: God hath made me to forget all my labours, and my father’s house.

Manasses. . .That is, oblivion, or forgetting.

41:52. And he named the second Ephraim, saying: God hath made me to grow in the land of my poverty.

Ephraim. . .That is, fruitful, or growing.

41:53. Now when the seven years of plenty that had been in Egypt were passed:

41:54. The seven years of scarcity, which Joseph had foretold, began to come: and the famine prevailed in the whole world, but there was bread in all the land of Egypt.

41:55. And when there also they began to be famished, the people cried to Pharao, for food. And he said to them: Go to Joseph: and do all that he shall say to you.

41:56. And the famine increased daily in all the land: and Joseph opened all the barns, and sold to the Egyptians: for the famine had oppressed them also.

41:57. And all provinces came into Egypt, to buy food, and to seek some relief of their want.

Genesis Chapter 42

Jacob sendeth his ten sons to buy corn in Egypt. Their treatment by Joseph.

42:1. And Jacob hearing that food was sold in Egypt, said to his sons: Why are ye careless?

42:2. I have heard that wheat is sold in Egypt: Go ye down, and buy us necessaries, that we may live, and not be consumed with want.

42:3. So the ten brethren of Joseph went down, to buy corn in Egypt:

42:4. Whilst Benjamin was kept at home by Jacob, who said to his brethren: Lest perhaps he take any harm in the journey.

42:5. And they entered into the land of Egypt with others that went to buy. For the famine was in the land of Chanaan.

42:6. And Joseph was governor in the land of Egypt, and corn was sold by his direction to the people. And when his brethren had bowed down to him,

42:7. And he knew them, he spoke as it were to strangers, somewhat roughly, asking them: Whence came you? They answered: From the land of Chanaan, to buy necessaries of life.

42:8. And though he knew his brethren, he was not known by them.

42:9. And remembering the dreams, which formerly he had dreamed, he said to them: You are spies. You are come to view the weaker parts of the land.

You are spies. . .This he said by way of examining them, to see what they would answer.

42:10. But they said: It is not so, my lord; but thy servants are come to buy food.

42:11. We are all the sons of one man: we are come as peaceable men, neither do thy servants go about any evil.

42:12. And he answered them: It is otherwise: you are come to consider the unfenced parts of this land.

42:13. But they said: We thy servants are twelve brethren, the sons of one man in the land of Chanaan: the youngest is with our father, the other is not living.

42:14. He saith, This is it that I said: You are spies.

42:15. I shall now presently try what you are: by the health of Pharao, you shall not depart hence, until your youngest brother come.

42:16. Send one of you to fetch him: and you shall be in prison, till what you have said be proved, whether it be true or false: or else by the health of Pharao you are spies.

Or else by the health of Pharao you are spies. . .That is, if these things you say be proved false, you are to be held for spies for your lying, and shall be treated as such. Joseph dealt in this manner with his brethren, to bring them by the means of affliction to a sense of their former sin, and a sincere repentance for it.

42:17. So he put them in prison three days.

42:18. And the third day he brought them out of prison, and said: Do as I have said, and you shall live: for I fear God.

42:19. If you be peaceable men, let one of your brethren be bound in prison: and go ye your ways, and carry the corn that you have bought, unto your houses.

42:20. And bring your youngest brother to me, that I may find your words to be true, and you may not die. They did as he had said.

42:21. And they talked one to another: We deserve to suffer these things, because we have sinned against our brother, seeing the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear: therefore is this affliction come upon us.

42:22. And Ruben, one of them, said: Did not I say to you: Do not sin against the boy; and you would not hear me? Behold his blood is required.

42:23. And they knew not that Joseph understood, because he spoke to them by an interpreter.

42:24. And he turned himself away a little while, and wept: and returning, he spoke to them.

42:25. And taking Simeon, and binding him in their presence, he commanded his servants to fill their sacks with wheat, and to put every man’s money again in their sacks, and to give them besides provisions for the way: and they did so.

42:26. But they having loaded their asses with the corn went their way.

42:27. And one of them opening his sack, to give his beast provender in the inn, saw the money in the sack’s mouth,

42:28. And said to his brethren: My money is given me again; behold it is in the sack. And they were astonished, and troubled, and said to one another: What is this that God hath done unto us?

42:29. And they came to Jacob their father in the land of Chanaan, and they told him all things that had befallen them, saying:

42:30. The lord of the land spoke roughly to us, and took us to be spies of the country.

42:31. And we answered him: We are peaceable men, and we mean no plot.

42:32. We are twelve brethren born of one father: one is not living, the youngest is with our father in the land of Chanaan.

42:33. And he said to us: Hereby shall I know that you are peaceable men: Leave one of your brethren with me, and take ye necessary provision for your houses, and go your ways,

42:34. And bring your youngest brother to me, that I may know you are not spies: and you may receive this man again, that is kept in prison: and afterwards may have leave to buy what you will.

42:35. When they had told this, they poured out their corn, and every man found his money tied in the mouth of his sack: and all being astonished together,

42:36. Their father Jacob said: You have made me to be without children: Joseph is not living, Simeon is kept in bonds, and Benjamin you will take away: all these evils are fallen upon me.

42:37. And Ruben answered him: Kill my two sons, if I bring him not again to thee: deliver him into my hand, and I will restore him to thee.

42:38. But he said: My son shall not go down with you: his brother is dead, and he is left alone: if any mischief befall him in the land to which you go, you will bring down my grey hairs with sorrow to hell.

To hell. . .That is, to that place, where the souls then remained, as above, chapter 37. ver. 35.

Genesis Chapter 43

The sons of Jacob go again into Egypt with Benjamin. They are entertained by Joseph.

43:1. In the mean time the famine was heavy upon all the land.

43:2. And when they had eaten up all the corn, which they had brought out of Egypt, Jacob said to his sons: Go again, and buy us a little food.

43:3. Juda answered: The man declared unto us with the attestation of an oath, saying: You shall not see my face, unless you bring your youngest brother with you.

43:4. If therefore thou wilt send him with us, we will set out together, and will buy necessaries for thee.

43:5. But if thou wilt not, we will not go: for the man, as we have often said, declared unto us, saying: You shall not see my face without your youngest brother.

43:6. Israel said to them: You have done this for my misery, in that you told him you had also another brother.

43:7. But they answered: The man asked us in order concerning our kindred: if our father lived: if we had a brother: and we answered him regularly, according to what he demanded: could we know that he would say: Bring hither your brother with you?

43:8. And Juda said to his father: Send the boy with me, that we may set forward, and may live: lest both we and our children perish.

43:9. I take the boy upon me, require him at my hand: unless I bring him again, and restore him to thee, I will be guilty of sin against thee for ever.

43:10. If delay had not been made, we had been here again the second time.

43:11. Then Israel said to them: If it must needs be so, do what you will: take of the best fruits of the land in your vessels, and carry down presents to the man, a little balm, and honey, and storax, myrrh, turpentine, and almonds.

Balm. . .Literally rosin, resinae; but here by that name is meant balm.

43:12. And take with you double money, and carry back what you found in your sacks, lest perhaps it was done by mistake.

43:13. And take also your brother, and go to the man.

43:14. And may my almighty God make him favourable to you: and send back with you your brother, whom he keepeth, and this Benjamin: and as for me I shall be desolate without children.

43:15. So the men took the presents, and double money, and Benjamin: and went down into Egypt, and stood before Joseph.

43:16. And when he had seen them, and Benjamin with them, he commanded the steward of his house, saying: Bring in the men into the house, and kill victims, and prepare a feast: because they shall eat with me at noon.

43:17. He did as he was commanded, and brought the men into the house.

43:18. And they being much afraid, said there one to another: Because of the money, which we carried back the first time in our sacks, we are brought in: that he may bring upon us a false accusation, and by violence make slaves of us and our asses.

43:19. Wherefore, going up to the steward of the house, at the door,

43:20. They said: Sir, we desire thee to hear us. We came down once before to buy food:

43:21. And when we had bought, and were come to the inn, we opened our sacks, and found our money in the mouths of the sacks: which we have now brought again in the same weight.

43:22. And we have brought other money besides, to buy what we want: we cannot tell who put it in our bags.

43:23. But he answered: Peace be with you, fear not: your God, and the God of your father, hath given you treasure in your sacks. For the money, which you gave me, I have for good. And he brought Simeon out to them.

43:24. And having brought them into the house, he fetched water, and they washed their feet, and he gave provender to their asses.

43:25. But they made ready the presents, against Joseph came at noon: for they had heard that they should eat bread there.

43:26. Then Joseph came in to his house, and they offered him the presents, holding them in their hands; and they bowed down with their face to the ground.

43:27. But he courteously saluting them again, asked them, saying: Is the old man your father in health, of whom you told me? Is he yet living?

43:28. And they answered: Thy servant our father, is in health; he is yet living. And bowing themselves, they made obeisance to him.

43:29. And Joseph lifting up his eyes, saw Benjamin, his brother by the same mother, and said: Is this your young brother, of whom you told me? And he said: God be gracious to thee, my son.

43:30. And he made haste, because his heart was moved upon his brother, and tears gushed out: and going into his chamber, he wept.

43:31. And when he had washed his face, coming out again, he refrained himself, and said: Set bread on the table.

43:32. And when it was set on, for Joseph apart, and for his brethren apart, for the Egyptians also that ate with him apart, (for it is unlawful for the Egyptians to eat with the Hebrews, and they think such a feast profane):

43:33. They sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright, and the youngest according to his age. And they wondered very much;

43:34. Taking the messes which they received of him: and the greater mess came to Benjamin, so that it exceeded by five parts. And they drank, and were merry with him.

Genesis Chapter 44

Joseph’s contrivance to stop his brethren. The humble supplication of Juda.

44:1. And Joseph commanded the steward of his house, saying: Fill their sacks with corn, as much as they can hold: and put the money of every one in the top of his sack.

44:2. And in the mouth of the younger’s sack put my silver cup, and the price which he gave for the wheat. And it was so done.

44:3. And when the morning arose, they were sent away with their asses.

44:4. And when they were now departed out of the city, and had gone forward a little way: Joseph sending for the steward of his house, said: Arise, and pursue after the men: and when thou hast overtaken them, say to them: Why have you returned evil for good?

44:5. The cup which you have stolen, is that in which my lord drinketh, and in which he is wont to divine: you have done a very evil thing.

44:6. He did as he had commanded him. And having overtaken them, he spoke to them the same words.

44:7. And they answered: Why doth our lord speak so, as though thy servants had committed so heinous a fact?

44:8. The money, that we found in the top of our sacks, we brought back to thee from the land of Chanaan: how then should it be that we should steal out of thy lord’s house, gold or silver?

44:9. With whomsoever of thy servants shall be found that which thou seekest, let him die, and we will be the bondmen of my lord.

44:10. And he said to them: Let it be according to your sentence: with whomsoever it shall be found, let him be my servant, and you shall be blameless.

44:11. Then they speedily took down their sacks to the ground, and every man opened his sack.

44:12. Which when he had searched, beginning at the eldest, and ending at the youngest, he found the cup in Benjamin’s sack.

44:13. Then they rent their garments, and loading their asses again, returned into the town.

44:14. And Juda at the head of his brethren went in to Joseph (for he was not yet gone out of the place) and they all together fell down before him on the ground.

44:15. And he said to them: Why would you do so? know you not that there is no one like me in the science of divining.

The science of divining. . .He speaks of himself according to what he was esteemed in that kingdom. And indeed, he being truly a prophet, knew more without comparison than any of the Egyptian sorcerers.

44:16. And Juda said to him: What shall we answer my lord? or what shall we say, or be able justly to allege? God hath found out the iniquity of thy servants: behold, we are all bondmen to my lord, both we, and he with whom the cup was found.

44:17. Joseph answered: God forbid that I should do so: he that stole the cup, he shall be my bondman: and go you away free to your father.

44:18. Then Juda coming nearer, said boldly: I beseech thee, my lord, let thy servant speak a word in thy ears, and be not angry with thy servant: for after Pharao thou art.

44:19. My lord. Thou didst ask thy servants the first time: Have you a father or a brother.

44:20. And we answered thee, my lord: We have a father an old man, and a young boy, that was born in his old age; whose brother by the mother is dead; and he alone is left of his mother, and his father loveth him tenderly.

44:21. And thou saidst to thy servants: Bring him hither to me, and I will set my eyes on him.

44:22. We suggested to my lord: The boy cannot leave his father: for if he leave him, he will die.

44:23. And thou saidst to thy servants: Except your youngest brother come with you, you shall see my face no more.

44:24. Therefore when we were gone up to thy servant our father, we told him all that my lord had said.

44:25. And our father said: Go again, and buy us a little wheat.

44:26. And we said to him: We cannot go: if our youngest brother go down with us, we will set out together: otherwise, without him we dare not see the man’s face.

44:27. Whereunto he answered: You know that my wife bore me two.

44:28. One went out, and you said: A beast devoured him; and hitherto he appeareth not.

44:29. If you take this also, and any thing befall him in the way, you will bring down my grey hairs with sorrow unto hell.

44:30. Therefore, if I shall go to thy servant, our father, and the boy be wanting, (whereas his life dependeth upon the life of him,)

44:31. And he shall see that he is not with us, he will die, and thy servants shall bring down his grey hairs with sorrow unto hell.

His gray hairs. . .That is, his person, now far advanced in years.—With sorrow unto hell. . .The Hebrew word for hell is here sheol, the Greek hades: it is not taken for the hell of the damned; but for that place of souls below where the servants of God were kept before the coming of Christ. Which place, both in the Scripture and in the creed, is named hell.

44:32. Let me be thy proper servant, who took him into my trust, and promised, saying: If I bring him not again, I will be guilty of sin against my father for ever.

44:33. Therefore I, thy servant, will stay instead of the boy in the service of my lord, and let the boy go up with his brethren.

44:34. For I cannot return to my father without the boy, lest I be a witness of the calamity that will oppress my father.

Genesis Chapter 45

Joseph maketh himself known to his brethren: and sendeth for his father.

45:1. Joseph could no longer refrain himself before many that stood by: whereupon he commanded that all should go out, and no stranger be present at their knowing one another.

45:2. And he lifted up his voice with weeping, which the Egyptians, and all the house of Pharao heard.

45:3. And he said to his brethren: I am Joseph: Is my father yet living? His brethren could not answer him, being struck with exceeding great fear.

45:4. And he said mildly to them: Come nearer to me. And when they were come near him, he said: I am Joseph, your brother, whom you sold into Egypt.

45:5. Be not afraid, and let it not seem to you a hard case that you sold me into these countries: for God sent me before you into Egypt for your preservation.

45:6. For it is two years since the famine began to be upon the land, and five years more remain, wherein there can be neither ploughing nor reaping.

45:7. And God sent me before, that you may be preserved upon the earth, and may have food to live.

45:8. Not by your counsel was I sent hither, but by the will of God: who hath made me as it were a father to Pharao, and lord of his whole house, and governor in all the land of Egypt.

45:9. Make haste, and go ye up to my father, and say to him: Thus saith thy son Joseph: God hath made me lord of the whole land of Egypt; come down to me, linger not.

45:10. And thou shalt dwell in the land of Gessen: and thou shalt be near me, thou and thy sons, and thy sons’ sons, thy sheep, and thy herds, and all things that thou hast.

45:11. And there I will feed thee, (for there are yet five years of famine remaining) lest both thou perish, and thy house, and all things that thou hast.

45:12. Behold, your eyes, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, see that it is my mouth that speaketh to you.

45:13. You shall tell my father of all my glory, and all things that you have seen in Egypt: make haste and bring him to me.

45:14. And falling upon the neck of his brother Benjamin, he embraced him and wept: and Benjamin in like manner wept also on his neck.

45:15. And Joseph kissed all his brethren, and wept upon every one of them: after which they were emboldened to speak to him.

45:16. And it was heard, and the fame was spread abroad in the king’s court: The brethren of Joseph are come; and Pharao with all his family was glad.

45:17. And he spoke to Joseph that he should give orders to his brethren, saying: Load your beasts, and go into the land of Chanaan,

45:18. And bring away from thence your father and kindred, and come to me; and I will give you all the good things of Egypt, that you may eat the marrow of the land.

45:19. Give orders also that they take wagons out of the land of Egypt, for the carriage of their children and their wives; and say: Take up your father, and make haste to come with all speed:

45:20. And leave nothing of your household stuff; for all the riches of Egypt shall be yours.

45:21. And the sons of Israel did as they were bid. And Joseph gave them wagons according to Pharao’s commandment: and provisions for the way.

45:22. He ordered also to be brought out for every one of them two robes: but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver, with five robes of the best:

45:23. Sending to his father as much money and raiment; adding besides, ten he-asses, to carry off all the riches of Egypt, and as many she-asses, carrying wheat and bread for the journey.

45:24. So he sent away his brethren, and at their departing said to them: Be not angry in the way.

45:25. And they went up out of Egypt, and came into the land of Chanaan, to their father Jacob.

45:26. And they told him, saying: Joseph, thy son, is living; and he is ruler in all the land of Egypt. Which when Jacob heard, he awaked as it were out of a deep sleep, yet did not believe them.

45:27. They, on the other side, told the whole order of the thing. And when he saw the wagons, and all that he had sent, his spirit revived,

45:28. And he said: It is enough for me if Joseph, my son, be yet living: I will go and see him before I die.

Genesis Chapter 46

Israel, warranted by a vision from God, goeth down into Egypt with all his family.

46:1. And Israel taking his journey, with all that he had, came to the well of the oath, and killing victims there to the God of his father Isaac,

The well of the oath. . .Bersabee.

46:2. He heard him, by a vision in the night, calling him, and saying to him: Jacob, Jacob. And he answered him: Lo, here I am.

46:3. God said to him: I am the most mighty God of thy father; fear not, go down into Egypt, for I will make a great nation of thee there.

46:4. I will go down with thee thither, and will bring thee back again from thence: Joseph also shall put his hands upon thy eyes.

46:5. And Jacob rose up from the well of the oath: and his sons took him up, with their children and wives in the wagons, which Pharao had sent to carry the old man,

46:6. And all that he had in the land of Chanaan: and he came into Egypt with all his seed;

46:7. His sons, and grandsons, daughters, and all his offspring together.

46:8. And these are the names of the children of Israel, that entered into Egypt, he and his children. His firstborn Ruben,

46:9. The sons of Ruben: Henoch and Phallu, and Hesron and Charmi.

46:10. The sons of Simeon: Jamuel and Jamin and Ahod, and Jachin and Sohar, and Saul, the son of a woman of Chanaan.

46:11. The sons of Levi: Gerson and Caath, and Merari.

46:12. The sons of Juda: Her and Onan, and Sela, and Phares and Zara. And Her and Onan died in the land of Chanaan. And sons were born to Phares: Hesron and Hamul.

46:13. The sons of Issachar: Thola and Phua, and Job and Semron.

46:14. The sons of Zabulon: Sared, and Elon, and Jahelel.

46:15. These are the sons of Lia, whom she bore in Mesopotamia of Syria, with Dina, his daughter. All the souls of her sons and daughters, thirty-three.

46:16. The sons of Gad: Sephion and Haggi, and Suni and Esebon, and Heri and Arodi, and Areli.

46:17. The sons of Aser: Jamne and Jesua, and Jessuri and Beria, and Sara their sister. The sons of Beria: Heber and Melchiel.

46:18. These are the sons of Zelpha, whom Laban gave to Lia, his daughter. And these she bore to Jacob, sixteen souls.

46:19. The sons of Rachel, Jacob’s wife: Joseph and Benjamin.

46:20. And sons were born to Joseph, in the land of Egypt, whom Aseneth, the daughter of Putiphare, priest of Heliopolis, bore him: Manasses and Ephraim.

46:21. The sons of Benjamin: Bela and Bechor, and Asbel and Gera, and Naaman and Echi, and Ross and Mophim, and Ophim and Ared.

46:22. These are the sons of Rachel, whom she bore to Jacob: all the souls, fourteen.

46:23. The sons of Dan: Husim.

46:24. The sons of Nephthali: Jaziel and Guni, and Jeser and Sallem.

46:25. These are the sons of Bala, whom Laban gave to Rachel, his daughter: and these she bore to Jacob: all the souls, seven.

46:26. All the souls that went with Jacob into Egypt, and that came out of his thigh, besides his sons’ wives, sixty-six.

46:27. And the sons of Joseph, that were born to him in the land of Egypt, two souls. All the souls of the house of Jacob, that entered into Egypt, were seventy.

46:28. And he sent Juda before him to Joseph, to tell him; and that he should meet him in Gessen.

46:29. And when he was come thither, Joseph made ready his chariot, and went up to meet his father in the same place: and seeing him, he fell upon his neck, and embracing him, wept.

46:30. And the father said to Joseph: Now shall I die with joy, because I have seen thy face, and leave thee alive.

46:31. And Joseph said to his brethren, and to all his father’s house: I will go up, and will tell Pharao, and will say to him: My brethren, and my father’s house, that were in the land of Chanaan, are come to me:

46:32. And the men are shepherds, and their occupation is to feed cattle; their flocks, and herds, and all they have, they have brought with them.

46:33. And when he shall call you, and shall say: What is your occupation?

46:34. You shall answer: We, thy servants, are shepherds, from our infancy until now, both we and our fathers. And this you shall say, that you may dwell in the land of Gessen, because the Egyptians have all shepherds in abomination.

Genesis Chapter 47

Jacob and his sons are presented before Pharao: he giveth them the land of Gessen. The famine forceth the Egyptians to sell all their possessions to the king.

47:1. Then Joseph went in and told Pharao, saying: My father and brethren, their sheep and their herds, and all that they possess, are come out of the land of Chanaan: and behold they stay in the land of Gessen.

47:2. Five men also, the last of his brethren, he presented before the king:

The last. . .xtremos. Some interpret this word of the chiefest, and most rightly: but Joseph seems rather to have chosen out such as had the meanest appearance, that Pharao might not think of employing them at court, with danger of their morals and religion.

47:3. And he asked them: What is your occupation? They answered: We, thy servants, are shepherds, both we and our fathers.

47:4. We are come to sojourn in thy land, because there is no grass for the flocks of thy servants, the famine being very grievous in the land of Chanaan: and we pray thee to give orders that we thy servants may be in the land of Gessen.

47:5. The king therefore said to Joseph: Thy father and thy brethren are come to thee.

47:6. The land of Egypt is before thee: and make them dwell in the best place, and give them the land of Gessen. And if thou knowest that there are industrious men among them, make them rulers over my cattle.

47:7. After this Joseph brought in his father to the king, and presented him before him: and he blessed him.

47:8. And being asked by him: How many are the days of the years of thy life?

47:9. He answered: The days of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty years, few, and evil, and they are not come up to the days of the pilgrimage of my fathers.

47:10. And blessing the king, he went out.

47:11. But Joseph gave a possession to his father and his brethren in Egypt, in the best place of the land, in Ramesses, as Pharao had commanded.

47:12. And he nourished them, and all his father’s house, allowing food to every one.

47:13. For in the whole world there was want of bread, and a famine had oppressed the land, more especially of Egypt and Chanaan;

47:14. Out of which he gathered up all the money for the corn which they bought, and brought it in to the king’s treasure.

47:15. And when the buyers wanted money, all Egypt came to Joseph, saying: Give us bread: why should we die in thy presence, having now no money?

47:16. And he answered them: Bring me your cattle, and for them I will give you food, if you have no money.

47:17. And when they had brought them, he gave them food in exchange for their horses, and sheep, and oxen, and asses: and he maintained them that year for the exchange of their cattle.

47:18. And they came the second year, and said to him: We will not hide from our lord, how that our money is spent, and our cattle also are gone: neither art thou ignorant that we have nothing now left but our bodies and our lands.

47:19. Why therefore shall we die before thy eyes? we will be thine, both we and our lands: buy us to be the king’s servants, and give us seed, lest for want of tillers the land be turned into a wilderness.

47:20. So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt, every man selling his possessions, because of the greatness of the famine. And he brought it into Pharao’s hands:

47:21. And all its people from one end of the borders of Egypt, even to the other end thereof,

47:22. Except the land of the priests, which had been given them by the king: to whom also a certain allowance of food was given out of the public stores, and therefore they were not forced to sell their possessions.

47:23. Then Joseph said to the people: Behold, as you see, both you and your lands belong to Pharao; take seed and sow the fields,

47:24. That you may have corn. The fifth part you shall give to the king; the other four you shall have for seed, and for food for your families and children.

47:25. And they answered: our life is in thy hand; only let my lord look favourably upon us, and we will gladly serve the king.

47:26. From that time unto this day, in the whole land of Egypt, the fifth part is paid to the kings, and it is become as a law, except the land of the priests, which was free from this covenant.

47:27. So Israel dwelt in Egypt, that is, in the land of Gessen, and possessed it; and grew, and was multiplied exceedingly.

47:28. And he lived in it seventeen years: and all the days of his life came to a hundred and forty-seven years.

47:29. And when he saw that the day of his death drew nigh, he called his son Joseph, and said to him: If I have found favour in thy sight, put thy hand under my thigh; and thou shalt shew me this kindness and truth, not to bury me in Egypt.

47:30. But I will sleep with my fathers, and thou shalt take me away out of this land, and bury me in the burying place of my ancestors. And Joseph answered him: I will do what thou hast commanded.

47:31. And he said: Swear then to me. And as he was swearing, Israel adored God, turning to the bed’s head.

To the bed’s head. . .St. Paul, Heb. 11.21, following the Greek translation of the Septuagint, reads adored the top of his rod. Where note, that the same word in the Hebrew, according to the different pointing of it, signifies both a bed and a rod. And to verify both these sentences, we must understand that Jacob leaning on Joseph’s rod adored, turning towards the head of his bed: which adoration, inasmuch as it was referred to God, was an absolute and sovereign worship: but inasmuch as it was referred to the rod of Joseph, as a figure of the sceptre, that is, of the royal dignity of Christ, was only an inferior and relative honour.

Genesis Chapter 48

Joseph visiteth his father in his sickness, who adopteth his two sons Manasses and Ephraim, and blesseth them, preferring the younger before the elder.

48:1. After these things, it was told Joseph that his father was sick; and he set out to go to him, taking his two sons Manasses and Ephraim.

48:2. And it was told the old man: Behold thy son Joseph cometh to thee. And being strengthened, he sat on his bed.

48:3. And when Joseph was come in to him, he said: God almighty appeared to me at Luza, which is in the land of Chanaan, and he blessed me,

48:4. And said: I will cause thee to increase and multiply, and I will make of thee a multitude of people: and I will give this land to thee, and to thy seed after thee for an everlasting possession.

48:5. So thy two sons, who were born to thee in the land of Egypt before I came hither to thee, shall be mine: Ephraim and Manasses shall be reputed to me as Ruben and Simeon.

48:6. But the rest whom thou shalt have after them, shall be thine, and shall be called by the name of their brethren in their possessions.

48:7. For, when I came out of Mesopotamia, Rachel died from me in the land of Chanaan in the very journey, and it was spring time: and I was going to Ephrata, and I buried her near the way of Ephrata, which by another name is called Bethlehem.

48:8. Then seeing his sons, he said to him: Who are these?

48:9. He answered: They are my sons, whom God hath given me in this place. And he said: Bring them to me, that I may bless them.

48:10. For Israel’s eyes were dim by reason of his great age, and he could not see clearly. And when they were brought to him, he kissed and embraced them,

48:11. And said to his son: I am not deprived of seeing thee; moreover God hath shewn me thy seed.

48:12. And when Joseph had taken them from his father’s lap, he bowed down with his face to the ground.

48:13. And he set Ephraim on his right hand, that is, towards the left hand of Israel; but Manasses on his left hand, to wit, towards his father’s right hand, and brought them near to him.

48:14. But he, stretching forth his right hand, put it upon the head of Ephraim, the younger brother; and the left upon the head of Manasses, who was the elder, changing his hands.

48:15. And Jacob blessed the sons of Joseph, and said: God, in whose sight my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, God that feedeth me from my youth until this day:

48:16. The angel that delivereth me from all evils, bless these boys: and let my name be called upon them, and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and may they grow into a multitude upon the earth.

48:17. And Joseph seeing that his father had put his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, was much displeased: and taking his father’s hand, he tried to lift it from Ephraim’s head, and to remove it to the head of Manasses.

48:18. And he said to his father: It should not be so, my father; for this is the firstborn, put thy right hand upon his head.

48:19. But he refusing, said: I know, my son, I know: and this also shall become a people, and shall be multiplied; but his younger brother shall be greater than he; and his seed shall grow into nations.

48:20. And he blessed them at that time, saying: In thee shall Israel be blessed, and it shall be said: God do to thee as to Ephraim, and as to Manasses. And he set Ephraim before Manasses.

48:21. And he said to Joseph, his son: Behold I die, and God will be with you, and will bring you back into the land of your fathers.

48:22. I give thee a portion above thy brethren, which I took out of the hand of the Amorrhite with my sword and bow.

Genesis Chapter 49

Jacob’s prophetical blessings of his twelve sons: his death.

49:1. And Jacob called his sons, and said to them: Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you the things that shall befall you in the last days.

49:2. Gather yourselves together, and hear, O ye sons of Jacob, hearken to Israel, your father:

49:3. Ruben, my firstborn, thou art my strength, and the beginning of my sorrow; excelling in gifts, greater in command.

My strength, etc. . .He calls him his strength, as being born whilst his father was in his full strength and vigour: he calls him the beginning of his sorrow, because cares and sorrows usually come on with the birth of children. Excelling in gifts, etc., because the firstborn had a title to a double portion, and to have the command over his brethren, which Ruben forfeited by his sin; being poured out as water, that is, spilt and lost.

49:4. Thou art poured out as water, grow thou not; because thou wentest up to thy father’s bed, and didst defile his couch.

Grow thou not. . .This was not meant by way of a curse or imprecation; but by way of a prophecy foretelling that the tribe of Ruben should not inherit the pre-eminences usually annexed to the first birthright, viz., the double portion, the being prince or lord over the other brethren, and the priesthood: of which the double portion was given to Joseph, the princely office to Juda, and the priesthood to Levi.

49:5. Simeon and Levi brethren: vessels of iniquity waging war.

49:6. Let not my soul go into their counsel, nor my glory be in their assembly: because in their fury they slew a man, and in their self-will they undermined a wall.

Slew a man,. . .viz., Sichem the son of Hemor, with all his people, Gen. 34.; mystically and prophetically it alludes to Christ, whom their posterity, viz., the priests and the scribes, put to death.

49:7. Cursed be their fury, because it was stubborn: and their wrath, because it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and will scatter them in Israel.

49:8. Juda, thee shall thy brethren praise: thy hand shall be on the necks of thy enemies; the sons of thy father shall bow down to thee.

49:9. Juda is a lion’s whelp: to the prey, my son, thou art gone up: resting thou hast couched as a lion, and as a lioness, who shall rouse him?

A lion’s whelp, etc. . .This blessing of Juda foretelleth the strength of his tribe, the fertility of his inheritance; and principally that the sceptre and legislative power should not be utterly taken away from his race till about the time of the coming of Christ: as in effect it never was: which is a demonstration against the modern Jews, that the Messiah is long since come; for the sceptre has long since been utterly taken away from Juda.

49:10. The sceptre shall not be taken away from Juda, nor a ruler from his thigh, till he come that is to be sent, and he shall be the expectation of nations.

49:11. Tying his foal to the vineyard, and his ass, O my son, to the vine. He shall wash his robe in wine, and his garment in the blood of the grape.

49:12. His eyes are more beautiful than wine, and his teeth whiter than milk.

49:13. Zabulon shall dwell on the seashore, and in the road of ships, reaching as far as Sidon.

49:14. Issachar shall be a strong ass, lying down between the borders.

49:15. He saw rest that it was good: and the land that it was excellent: and he bowed his shoulder to carry, and became a servant under tribute.

49:16. Dan shall judge his people like another tribe in Israel.

Dan shall judge, etc. . .This was verified in Samson, who was of the tribe of Dan, and began to deliver Israel. Judges 13.5. But as this deliverance was but temporal and very imperfect, the holy patriarch (ver. 18) aspires after another kind of deliverer, saying: I will look for thy salvation, O Lord.

49:17. Let Dan be a snake in the way, a serpent in the path, that biteth the horse’s heels, that his rider may fall backward.

49:18. I will look for thy salvation, O Lord.

49:19. Gad, being girded, shall fight before him: and he himself shall be girded backward.

Gad being girded, etc. . .It seems to allude to the tribe of Gad; when after they had received for their lot the land of Galaad, they marched in arms before the rest of the Israelites, to the conquest of the land of Chanaan: from whence they afterwards returned loaded with spoils. See Jos. 4. and 12.

49:20. Aser, his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield dainties to kings.

49:21. Nephthali, a hart let loose, and giving words of beauty.

49:22. Joseph is a growing son, a growing son and comely to behold: the daughters run to and fro upon the wall;

Run to and fro, etc. . .To behold his beauty; whilst his envious brethren turned their darts against him, etc.

49:23. But they that held darts, provoked him, and quarrelled with him, and envied him.

49:24. His bow rested upon the strong, and the bands of his arms and his hands were loosed, by the hands of the mighty one of Jacob: thence he came forth a pastor, the stone of Israel.

His bow rested upon the strong, etc. . .That is, upon God, who was his strength: who also loosed his bands, and brought him out of prison to be the pastor, that is, the feeder and ruler of Egypt, and the stone, that is, the rock and support of Israel.

49:25. The God of thy father shall be thy helper, and the Almighty shall bless thee with the blessings of heaven above, with the blessings of the deep that lieth beneath, with the blessings of the breasts and of the womb.

49:26. The blessings of thy father are strengthened with the blessings of his fathers: until the desire of the everlasting hills should come: may they be upon the head of Joseph, and upon the crown of the Nazarite among his brethren.

The blessings of thy father, etc. . .That is, thy father’s blessings are made more prevalent and effectual in thy regard, by the additional strength they receive from his inheriting the blessings of his progenitors Abraham and Isaac. The desire of the everlasting hills, etc. . .These blessings all looked forward towards Christ, called the desire of the everlasting hills, as being longed for, as it were, by the whole creation. Mystically, the patriarchs and prophets are called the everlasting hills, by reason of the eminence of their wisdom and holiness. The Nazarite. . .This word signifies one separated; and agrees to Joseph, as being separated from, and more eminent than, his brethren. As the ancient Nazarites were so called from their being set aside for God, and vowed to him.

49:27. Benjamin a ravenous wolf, in the morning shall eat the prey, and in the evening shall divide the spoil.

49:28. All these are the twelve tribes of Israel: these things their father spoke to them, and he blessed every one with their proper blessings.

49:29. And he charged them, saying: I am now going to be gathered to my people: bury me with my fathers in the double cave, which is in the field of Ephron the Hethite,

To be gathered to my people. . .That is, I am going to die, and so to follow my ancestors that are gone before me, and to join their company in another world.

49:30. Over against Mambre, in the land of Chanaan, which Abraham bought together with the field, of Ephron the Hethite, for a possession to bury in.

49:31. There they buried him, and Sara his wife: there was Isaac buried with Rebecca, his wife: there also Lia doth lie buried.

49:32. And when he had ended the commandments, wherewith he instructed his sons, he drew up his feet upon the bed, and died: and he was gathered to his people.

Genesis Chapter 50

The mourning for Jacob, and his interment. Joseph’s kindness towards his brethren. His death.

50:1. And when Joseph saw this, he fell upon his father’s face, weeping and kissing him.

50:2. And he commanded his servants, the physicians, to embalm his father.

50:3. And while they were fulfilling his commands, there passed forty days: for this was the manner with bodies that were embalmed, and Egypt mourned for him seventy days.

50:4. And the time of the mourning being expired, Joseph spoke to the family of Pharao: If I have found favour in your sight, speak in the ears of Pharao:

50:5. For my father made me swear to him, saying: Behold I die; thou shalt bury me in my sepulchre which I have digged for myself in the land of Chanaan. So I will go up and bury my father, and return.

50:6. And Pharao said to him: Go up and bury thy father according as he made thee swear.

50:7. So he went up, and there went with him all the ancients of Pharao’s house, and all the elders of the land of Egypt.

50:8. And the house of Joseph with his brethren, except their children, and their flocks and herds, which they left in the land of Gessen.

50:9. He had also in his train chariots and horsemen: and it was a great company.

50:10. And they came to the threshing floor of Atad, which is situated beyond the Jordan: where celebrating the exequies with a great and vehement lamentation, they spent full seven days.

50:11. And when the inhabitants of Chanaan saw this, they said: This is a great mourning to the Egyptians. And therefore the name of that place was called, The mourning of Egypt.

50:12. So the sons of Jacob did as he had commanded them.

50:13. And carrying him into the land of Chanaan, they buried him in the double cave, which Abraham had bought together with the field for a possession of a burying place, of Ephron, the Hethite, over against Mambre.

50:14. And Joseph returned into Egypt with his brethren, and all that were in his company, after he had buried his father.

50:15. Now he being dead, his brethren were afraid, and talked one with another: Lest perhaps he should remember the wrong he suffered, and requite us all the evil that we did to him.

50:16. And they sent a message to him, saying: Thy father commanded us before he died,

50:17. That we should say thus much to thee from him: I beseech thee to forget the wickedness of thy brethren, and the sin and malice they practised against thee: we also pray thee, to forgive the servants of the God of thy father this wickedness. And when Joseph heard this, he wept.

50:18. And his brethren came to him; and worshipping prostrate on the ground, they said: We are thy servants.

50:19. And he answered them: Fear not: can we resist the will of God?

50:20. You thought evil against me: but God turned it into good, that he might exalt me, as at present you see, and might save many people.

50:21. Fear not: I will feed you and your children. And he comforted them, and spoke gently and mildly.

50:22. And he dwelt in Egypt with all his father’s house; and lived a hundred and ten years. And he saw the children of Ephraim to the third generation. The children also of Machir, the sons of Manasses, were born on Joseph’s knees.

50:23. After which he told his brethren: God will visit you after my death, and will make you go up out of this land, to the land which he swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

50:24. And he made them swear to him, saying: God will visit you, carry my bones with you out of this place:

50:25. And he died, being a hundred and ten years old. And being embalmed, he was laid in a coffin in Egypt.

THE BOOK OF EXODUS

The Second Book of Moses is called EXODUS, from the Greek word EXODOS, which signifies going out: because it contains the history of the going out of the children of Israel out of Egypt. The Hebrews, from the words with which it begins, call it VEELLE SEMOTH: These are the names. It contains transactions for 145 years; that is, from the death of Joseph to the erecting of the tabernacle.

Exodus Chapter 1

The Israelites are multiplied in Egypt. They are oppressed by a new king, who commandeth all their male children to be killed.

1:1. These are the names of the children of Israel, that went into Egypt with Jacob: they went in every man with his household:

1:2. Ruben, Simeon, Levi, Juda,

1:3. Issachar, Zabulon, and Benjamin,

1:4. Dan, and Nephthali, Gad and Aser.

1:5. And all the souls that came out of Jacob’s thigh, were seventy: but Joseph was in Egypt.

1:6. After he was dead, and all his brethren, and all that generation,

1:7. The children of Israel increased, and sprung up into multitudes, and growing exceedingly strong they filled the land.

1:8. In the mean time there arose a new king over Egypt, that knew not Joseph:

1:9. And he said to his people: Behold the people of the children of Israel are numerous and stronger than we.

1:10. Come let us wisely oppress them, lest they multiply: and if any war shall rise against us, join with our enemies, and having overcome us, depart out of the land.

1:11. Therefore he set over them masters of the works, to afflict them with burdens: and they built for Pharao cities of tabernacles, Phithom, and Ramesses.

Of tabernacles. . .Or, of storehouses.

1:12. But the more they oppressed them, the more they were multiplied and increased.

1:13. And the Egyptians hated the children of Israel, and afflicted them and mocked them:

1:14. And they made their life bitter with hard works in clay and brick, and with all manner of service, wherewith they were overcharged in the works of the earth.

1:15. And the king of Egypt spoke to the midwives of the Hebrews: of whom one was called Sephora, the other Phua,

1:16. Commanding them: When you shall do the office of midwives to the Hebrew women, and the time of delivery is come: if it be a man child, kill it: if a woman, keep it alive.

1:17. But the midwives feared God, and did not do as the king of Egypt had commanded, but saved the men children.

1:18: And the king called for them and said: What is it that you meant to do, that you would save the men children?

1:19. They answered: The Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women: for they themselves are skilful in the office of a midwife; and they are delivered before we come to them.

1:20. Therefore God dealt well with the midwives: and the people multiplied and grew exceedingly strong.

1:21. And because the midwives feared God, he built them houses.

Because the midwives feared God, etc. . .The midwives were rewarded, not for their lie, which was a venial sin; but for their fear of God, and their humanity: but this reward was only temporal, in building them houses, that is, in establishing and enriching their families.

1:22. Pharao therefore charged all his people, saying: Whatsoever shall be born of the male sex, ye shall cast into the river: whatsoever of the female, ye shall save alive.

Exodus Chapter 2

Moses is born and exposed on the bank of the river; where he is taken up by the daughter of Pharao, and adopted for her son. He killeth an Egyptian, and fleeth into Madian; where he marrieth a wife.

2:1. After this there went a man of the house of Levi; and took a wife of his own kindred.

2:2. And she conceived, and bore a son: and seeing him a goodly child, hid him three months.

2:3. And when she could hide him no longer, she took a basket made of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and pitch: and put the little babe therein, and laid him in the sedges by the river’s brink,

2:4. His sister standing afar off, and taking notice what would be done.

2:5. And behold the daughter of Pharao came down to wash herself in the river: and her maids walked by the river’s brink. And when she saw the basket in the sedges she sent one of her maids for it: and when it was brought,

2:6. She opened it, and seeing within it an infant crying, having compassion on it, she said: This is one of the babes of the Hebrews.

2:7. And the child’s sister said to her: Shall I go, and call to thee a Hebrew woman, to nurse the babe?

2:8. She answered: Go. The maid went and called her mother.

2:9. And Pharao’s daughter said to her: Take this child, and nurse him for me: I will give thee thy wages. The woman took and nursed the child: and when he was grown up, she delivered him to Pharao’s daughter.

2:10. And she adopted him for a son, and called him Moses, saying: Because I took him out of the water.

Moses. . .Or Moyses, in the Egyptian tongue, signifies one taken or saved out of the water.

2:11. In those days, after Moses was grown up, he went out to his brethren: and saw their affliction, and an Egyptian striking one of the Hebrews, his brethren.

2:12. And when he had looked about this way and that way, and saw no one there, he slew the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.

He slew the Egyptian. . .This he did by a particular inspiration of God; as a prelude to his delivering the people from their oppression and bondage. He thought, says St. Stephen, Acts 7.25, that his brethren understood that God by his hand would save them. But such particular and extraordinary examples are not to be imitated.

2:13. And going out the next day, he saw two Hebrews quarrelling: and he said to him that did the wrong: Why strikest thou thy neighbour?

2:14. But he answered: Who hath appointed thee prince and judge over us? wilt thou kill me, as thou didst yesterday kill the Egyptian? Moses feared, and said: How is this come to be known?

2:15. And Pharao heard of this word, and sought to kill Moses: but he fled from his sight, and abode in the land of Madian, and he sat down by a well.

Madian. . .A city and country of Arabia, which took its name from Madian the son of Abraham, by Cetura, and was peopled by his posterity.

2:16. And the priest of Madian had seven daughters, who came to draw water: and when the troughs were filled, desired to water their father’s flocks.

2:17. And the shepherds came and drove them away: and Moses arose, and defending the maids, watered their sheep.

2:18: And when they returned to Raguel their father, he said to them: Why are ye come sooner than usual?

Raguel. . .He had two names, being also called Jethro, as appears from the first verse of the following chapter.

2:19. They answered: A man of Egypt delivered us from the hands of the shepherds: and he drew water also with us, and gave the sheep to drink.

2:20. But he said: Where is he? why have you let the man go? call him that he may eat bread.

2:21. And Moses swore that he would dwell with him. And he took Sephora his daughter to wife:

2:22. And she bore him a son, whom he called Gersam, saying: I have been a stranger in a foreign country. And she bore another, whom he called Eliezer, saying: For the God of my father, my helper, hath delivered me out of the hand of Pharao.

Gersam. . .Or Gershom. This name signifies a stranger there: as Eliezer signifies the help of God.

2:23. Now after a long time the king of Egypt died: and the children of Israel groaning, cried out because of the works: and their cry went up unto God from the works.

2:24. And he heard their groaning, and remembered the covenant which he made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

2:25. And the Lord looked upon the children of Israel, and he knew them.

Knew them. . .That is, he had respect to them, he cast a merciful eye upon them.

Exodus Chapter 3

God appeareth to Moses in a bush, and sendeth him to deliver Israel.

3:1. Now Moses fed the sheep of Jethro, his father in law, the priest of Madian: and he drove the flock to the inner parts of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, Horeb.

3:2. And the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he saw that the bush was on fire, and was not burnt.

The Lord appeared. . .That is, an angel representing God, and speaking in his name.

3:3. And Moses said: I will go, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.

3:4. And when the Lord saw that he went forward to see, he called to him out of the midst of the bush. and said: Moses, Moses. And he answered: Here I am.

3:5. And he said: Come not nigh hither, put off the shoes from thy feet; for the place, whereon thou standest, is holy ground.

3:6. And he said: I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Moses hid his face: for he durst not look at God.

3:7. And the Lord said to him: I have seen the affliction of my people in Egypt, and I have heard their cry because of the rigour of them that are over the works;

3:8. And knowing their sorrow, I am come down to deliver them out of the hands of the Egyptians, and to bring them out of that land into a good and spacious land, into a land that floweth with milk and honey, to the places of the Chanaanite, and Hethite, and Amorrhite, and Pherezite, and Hevite, and Jebusite.

3:9. For the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have seen their affliction, wherewith they are oppressed by the Egyptians.

3:10. But come, and I will send thee to Pharao, that thou mayst bring forth my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.

3:11. And Moses said to God: Who am I that I should go to Pharao, and should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?

3:12. And he said to him: I will be with thee; and this thou shalt have for a sign that I have sent thee: When thou shalt have brought my people out of Egypt, thou shalt offer sacrifice to God upon this mountain.

3:13. Moses said to God: Lo, I shall go to the children of Israel, and say to them: The God of your fathers hath sent me to you. If they shall say to me: What is his name? What shall I say to them?

3:14. God said to Moses: I AM WHO AM. He said: Thus shalt thou say to the children of Israel: HE WHO IS, hath sent me to you.

I am who am. . .That is, I am being itself, eternal, self-existent, independent, infinite; without beginning, end, or change; and the source of all other beings.

3:15. And God said again 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 unto all generations.

3:16. Go and gather together the ancients of Israel, and thou shalt say to them: The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared to me, saying: Visiting I have visited you; and I have seen all that hath befallen you in Egypt.

3:17. And I have said the word to bring you forth out of the affliction of Egypt, into the land of the Chanaanite, and Hethite, and Amorrhite, and Pherezite, and Hevite, and Jebusite, to a land that floweth with milk and honey.

3:18: And they shall hear thy voice; and thou shalt go in, thou and the ancients of Israel, to the king of Egypt, and thou shalt say to him: The Lord God of the Hebrews hath called us; we will go three days’ journey into the wilderness, to sacrifice unto the Lord our God.

3:19. But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go, but by a mighty hand.

3:20. For I will stretch forth my hand, and will strike Egypt with all my wonders which I will do in the midst of them: after these he will let you go.

3:21. And I will give favour to this people, in the sight of the Egyptians: and when you go forth, you shall not depart empty:

3:22. But every woman shall ask of her neighbour, and of her that is in her house, vessels of silver and of gold, and raiment: and you shall put them on your sons and daughters, and shall spoil Egypt.

Shall spoil, etc. . .That is, you shall strip, and take away the goods of the Egyptians. This was not authorizing theft or injustice; but was a just disposal made by Him, who is the great lord and master of all things, in order to pay the children of Israel some part of what was due to them from the Egyptians for their labours.

Exodus Chapter 4

Moses is empowered to confirm his mission with miracles: his brother Aaron is appointed to assist him.

4:1. Moses answered, and said: They will not believe me, nor hear my voice, but they will say: The Lord hath not appeared to thee.

4:2. Then he said to him: What is that thou holdest in thy hand? He answered: A rod.

4:3. And the Lord said: Cast it down upon the ground. He cast it down, and it was turned into a serpent, so that Moses fled from it.

4:4. And the Lord said: Put out thy hand, and take it by the tail. He put forth his hand, and took hold of it, and it was turned into a rod.

4:5. That they may believe, saith he, that the Lord God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared to thee.

4:6. And the Lord said again: Put thy hand into thy bosom. And when he had put it into his bosom, he brought it forth leprous as snow.

4:7. And he said: Put back thy hand into thy bosom. He put it back, and brought it out again, and it was like the other flesh.

4:8. If they will not believe thee, saith he, nor hear the voice of the former sign, they will believe the word of the latter sign.

4:9. But if they will not even believe these two signs, nor hear thy voice: take of the river water, and pour it out upon the dry land, and whatsoever thou drawest out of the river, shall be turned into blood.

4:10. Moses said: I beseech thee, Lord, I am not eloquent from yesterday and the day before; and since thou hast spoken to thy servant, I have more impediment and slowness of tongue.

4:11. The Lord said to him: Who made man’s mouth? or who made the dumb and the deaf, the seeing and the blind? did not I?

4:12. Go therefore, and I will be in thy mouth; and I will teach thee what thou shalt speak.

4:13. But he said: I beseech thee, Lord, send whom thou wilt send.

4:14. The Lord being angry at Moses, said: Aaron the Levite is thy brother, I know that he is eloquent: behold he cometh forth to meet thee, and seeing thee, shall be glad at heart.

4:15. Speak to him, and put my words in his mouth: and I will be in thy mouth, and in his mouth, and will shew you what you must do.

4:16. He shall speak in thy stead to the people, and shall be thy mouth: but thou shalt be to him in those things that pertain to God.

4:17. And take this rod in thy hand. wherewith thou shalt do the signs.

4:18: Moses went his way, and returned to Jethro his father in law, and said to him; I will go and return to my brethren into Egypt, that I may see if they be yet alive. And Jethro said to him: Go in peace.

4:19. And the Lord said to Moses, in Madian: Go, and return into Egypt; for they are all dead that sought thy life.

4:20. Moses therefore took his wife, and his sons, and set them upon an ass; and returned into Egypt, carrying the rod of God in his hand.

4:21. And the Lord said to him as he was returning into Egypt: See that thou do all the wonders before Pharao, which I have put in thy hand: I shall harden his heart, and he will not let the people go.

I shall harden, etc. . .Not by being the efficient cause of his sin; but by withdrawing from him, for his just punishment, the dew of grace that might have softened his heart; and so suffering him to grow harder and harder.

4:22. And thou shalt say to him: Thus saith the Lord: Israel is my son, my firstborn.

4:23. I have said to thee: Let my son go, that he may serve me, and thou wouldst not let him go: behold I will kill thy son, thy firstborn.

4:24. And when he was in his journey, in the inn, the Lord met him, and would have killed him.

The Lord met him, and would have killed him. . .This was an angel representing the Lord, who treated Moses in this manner, for having neglected the circumcision of his younger son; which his wife understanding, circumcised her child upon the spot, upon which the angel let Moses go.

4:25. Immediately Sephora took a very sharp stone, and circumcised the foreskin of her son, and touched his feet, and said: A bloody spouse art thou to me.

4:26. And he let him go after she had said: A bloody spouse art thou to me, because of the circumcision.

4:27. And the Lord said to Aaron: Go into the desert to meet Moses. And he went forth to meet him in the mountain of God, and kissed him.

4:28. And Moses told Aaron all the words of the Lord, by which he had sent him, and the signs that he had commanded.

4:29. And they came together, and they assembled all the ancients of the children of Israel.

4:30. And Aaron spoke all the words which the Lord had said to Moses: and he wrought the signs before the people.

4:31. And the people believed. And they heard that the Lord had visited the children of Israel, and that he had looked upon their affliction: and falling down they adored.

Exodus Chapter 5

Pharao refuseth to let the people go. They are more oppressed.

5:1. After these things, Moses and Aaron went in, and said to Pharao: Thus saith the Lord God of Israel: Let my people go, that they may sacrifice to me in the desert.

5:2. But he answered: Who is the Lord, that I should hear his voice, and let Israel go? I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go.

5:3. And they said: The God of the Hebrews hath called us, to go three days’ journey into the wilderness, and to sacrifice to the Lord our God; lest a pestilence or the sword fall upon us.

5:4. The king of Egypt said to them: Why do you Moses and Aaron draw off the people from their works? Get you gone to your burdens.

5:5. And Pharao said: The people of the land are numerous; you see that the multitude is increased; how much more if you give them rest from their works?

5:6. Therefore he commanded the same day the overseers of the works, and the task-masters of the people, saying:

5:7. You shall give straw no more to the people to make brick, as before; but let them go and gather straw.

5:8. And you shall lay upon them the task of bricks, which they did before; neither shall you diminish any thing thereof, for they are idle, and therefore they cry. saying: Let us go and sacrifice to our God.

5:9. Let them be oppressed with works, and let them fulfil them; that they may not regard lying words.

5:10. And the overseers of the works, and the taskmasters, went out and said to the people: Thus saith Pharao: I allow you no straw;

5:11. Go, and gather it where you can find it; neither shall any thing of your work be diminished.

5:12. And the people was scattered through all the land of Egypt to gather straw.

5:13. And the overseers of the works pressed them, saying: Fulfil your work every day, as before ye were wont to do, when straw was given you.

5:14. And they that were over the works of the children of Israel, were scourged by Pharao’s taskmasters, saying: Why have you not made up the task of bricks, both yesterday and to day, as before?

5:15. And the officers of the children of Israel came, and cried out to Pharao, saying: Why dealest thou so with thy servants?

5:16. Straw is not given us, and bricks are required of us as before; behold we, thy servants, are beaten with whips, and thy people is unjustly dealt withal.

5:17. And he said: You are idle, and therefore you say: Let us go and sacrifice to the Lord.

5:18: Go therefore and work: straw shall not be given you, and you shall deliver the accustomed number of bricks.

5:19. And the officers of the children of Israel saw that they were in evil case, because it was said to them: There shall not a whit be diminished of the bricks for every day.

5:20. And they met Moses and Aaron, who stood over against them as they came out from Pharao:

5:21. And they said to them: The Lord see and judge, because you have, made our savour to stink before Pharao and his servants, and you have given him a sword, to kill us.

5:22. And Moses returned to the Lord, and said: Lord, why hast thou afflicted this people? wherefore hast thou sent me?

5:23. For since the time that I went in to Pharao to speak in thy name, he hath afflicted thy people: and thou hast not delivered them.

Exodus Chapter 6

God reneweth his promise. The genealogies of Ruben, Simon and Levi, down to Moses and Aaron.

6;1. And the Lord said to Moses: Now thou shalt see what I will do to Pharao: for by a mighty hand shall he let them go, and with a strong hand shall he cast them out of his land.

6:2. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: I am the Lord

6:3. That appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, by the name of God Almighty: and my name ADONAI I did not shew them.

My name Adonai. . .The name, which is in the Hebrew text, is that most proper name of God, which signifieth his eternal, self-existent being, Ex. 3.14, which the Jews out of reverence never pronounce; but, instead of it, whenever it occurs in the Bible, they read Adonai, which signifies the Lord; and, therefore, they put the points or vowels, which belong to the name Adonai, to the four letters of that other ineffable name Jod, He, Vau, He. Hence some moderns have framed the name Jehovah, unknown to all the ancients, whether Jews or Christians; for the true pronunciation of the name, which is in the Hebrew text, by long disuse, is now quite lost.

6:4. And I made a covenant with them, to give them the land of Chanaan, the land of their pilgrimage wherein they were strangers.

6:5. I have heard the groaning of the children of Israel, wherewith the Egyptians have oppressed them: and I have remembered my covenant.

6:6. Therefore say to the children of Israel: I am the Lord who will bring you out from the work-prison of the Egyptians, and will deliver you from bondage: and redeem you with a high arm, and great judgments.

6:7. And I will take you to myself for my people, I will be your God: and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from the work-prison of the Egyptians:

6:8. And brought you into the land, concerning which I lifted up my hand to give it to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: and I will give it you to possess: I am the Lord.

6:9. And Moses told all this to the children of Israel: but they did not hearken to him, for anguish of spirit, and most painful work.

6:10. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

6:11. Go in, and speak to Pharao king of Egypt, that he let the children of Israel go out of his land.

6:12. Moses answered before the Lord: Behold the children of Israel do not hearken to me: and how will Pharao hear me, especially as I am of uncircumcised lips?

Uncircumcised lips. . .So he calls the defect he had in his words, or utterance.

6:13. And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, and he gave them a charge unto the children of Israel, and unto Pharao the king of Egypt, that they should bring forth the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt.

6:14. These are the heads of their houses by their families. The sons of Ruben the firstborn of Israel: Henoch and Phallu, Hesron and Charmi.

6:15. These are the kindreds of Ruben. The sons of Simeon, Jamuel and Jamin, and Ahod, and Jachin, and Soar, and Saul the son of a Chanaanitess: these are the families of Simeon.

6:16. And these are the names of the sons of Levi by their kindreds: Gerson, and Caath, and Merari. And the years of the life of Levi were a hundred and thirty-seven.

6:17. The sons of Gerson: Lobni and Semei, by their kindreds.

6:18: The sons of Caath: Amram, and Isaar, and Hebron and Oziel. And the years of Caath’s life, were a hundred and thirty-three.

6:19. The sons of Merari: Moholi and Musi. These are the kindreds of Levi by their families.

6:20. And Amram took to wife Jochabed his aunt by the father’s side: and she bore him Aaron and Moses. And the years of Amram’s life, were a hundred and thirty-seven.

6:21. The sons also of Isaar: Core, and Nepheg, and Zechri.

6:22. The sons also of Oziel: Mizael, and Elizaphan, and Sethri.

6:23. And Aaron took to wife Elizabeth the daughter of Aminadab, sister of Nahason, who bore him Nadab, and Abiu, and Eleazar, and Ithamar.

6:24. The sons also of Core: Aser, and Elcana, and Abiasaph. These are the kindreds of the Corites.

6:25. But Eleazar the son of Aaron took a wife of the daughters of Phutiel: and she bore him Phinees. These are the heads of the Levitical families by their kindreds.

6:26. These are Aaron and Moses, whom the Lord commanded to bring forth the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their companies.

6:27. These are they that speak to Pharao, king of Egypt, in order to bring out the children of Israel from Egypt: these are that Moses and Aaron,

6:28. In the day when the Lord spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt.

6:29. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: I am the Lord; speak thou to Pharao, king of Egypt, all that I say to thee.

6:30. And Moses said before the Lord: Lo I am of uncircumcised lips, how will Pharao hear me?

Exodus Chapter 7

Moses and Aaron go into Pharao: they turn the rod into a serpent; and the waters of Egypt into blood, which was the first plague. The magicians do the like, and Pharao’s heart is hardened.

7:1. And the Lord said to Moses: Behold, I have appointed thee the god of Pharao; and Aaron, thy brother, shall be thy prophet.

The god of Pharao. . .Viz., to be his judge; and to exercise a divine power, as God’s instrument, over him and his people.

7:2. Thou shalt speak to him all that I command thee; and he shall speak to Pharao, that he let the children of Israel go out of his land.

7:3. But I shall harden his heart, and shall multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt.

I shall harden, etc. . .not by being the efficient cause of his hardness of heart, but by permitting it; and by withdrawing grace from him, in punishment of his malice; which alone was the proper cause of his being hardened.

7:4. And he will not hear you: and I will lay my hand upon Egypt, and will bring forth my army and my people, the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt, by very great judgments.

7:5. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, who have stretched forth my hand upon Egypt, and have brought forth the children of Israel out of the midst of them.

7:6. And Moses and Aaron did as the Lord had commanded; so did they.

7:7. And Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron eighty-three, when they spoke to Pharao.

7:8. And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron:

7:9. When Pharao shall say to you, Shew signs; thou shalt say to Aaron: Take thy rod, and cast it down before Pharao, and it shall be turned into a serpent.

7:10. So Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharao, and did as the Lord had commanded. And Aaron took the rod before Pharao and his servants, and it was turned into a serpent.

7:11. And Pharao called the wise men and the magicians; and they also by Egyptian enchantments and certain secrets, did in like manner.

Magicians. . .Jannes, and Mambres, or Jambres, 2 Tim. 3.8.

7:12. And they every one cast down their rods, and they were turned into serpents: but Aaron’s rod devoured their rods.

7:13. And Pharao’s heart was hardened, and he did not hearken to them, as the Lord had commanded.

7:14. And the Lord said to Moses: Pharao’s heart is hardened, he will not let the people go.

7:15. Go to him in the morning, behold he will go out to the waters: and thou shalt stand to meet him on the bank of the river: and thou shalt take in thy hand the rod that was turned into a serpent.

7:16. And thou shalt say to him: The Lord God of the Hebrews sent me to thee, saying: Let my people go to sacrifice to me in the desert: and hitherto thou wouldst not hear.

7:17. Thus therefore saith the Lord: In this thou shalt know that I am the Lord: behold I will strike with the rod, that is in my hand, the water of the river, and it shall be turned into blood.

7:18: And the fishes that are in the river, shall die, and the waters shall be corrupted, and the Egyptians shall be afflicted when they drink the water of the river.

7:19. The Lord also said to Moses: Say to Aaron, Take thy rod; and stretch forth thy hand upon the waters of Egypt, and upon their rivers, and streams and pools, and all the ponds of waters, that they may be turned into blood: and let blood be in all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood and of stone.

7:20. And Moses and Aaron did as the Lord had commanded: and lifting up the rod, he struck the water of the river before Pharao and his servants: and it was turned into blood.

7:21. And the fishes that were in the river died; and the river corrupted, and the Egyptians could not drink the water of the river, and there was blood in all the land of Egypt.

7:22. And the magicians of the Egyptians with their enchantments did in like manner; and Pharao’s heart was hardened, neither did he hear them, as the Lord had commanded.

7:23. And he turned himself away, and went into his house, neither did he set his heart to it this time also.

7:24. And all the Egyptians dug round about the river for water to drink; for they could not drink of the water of the river.

7:25. And seven days were fully ended, after that the Lord struck the river.

Exodus Chapter 8

The second plague is of frogs: Pharao promiseth to let the Israelites go, but breaketh his promise. The third plague is of sciniphs. The fourth is of flies. Pharao again promiseth to dismiss the people, but doth it not.

8:1. And the Lord said to Moses: Go in to Pharao, and thou shalt say to him: Thus saith the Lord: Let my people go to sacrifice to me.

8:2. But if thou wilt not let them go, behold I will strike all thy coasts with frogs.

8:3. And the river shall bring forth an abundance of frogs; which shall come up and enter into thy house, and thy bedchamber, and upon thy bed, and into the houses of thy servants, and to thy people, and into thy ovens, and into the remains of thy meats:

8:4. And the frogs shall come in to thee, and to thy people, and to all thy servants.

8:5. And the Lord said to Moses: Say to Aaron: Stretch forth thy hand upon the streams, and upon the rivers and the pools, and bring forth frogs upon the land of Egypt.

8:6. And Aaron stretched forth his hand upon the waters of Egypt, and the frogs came up, and covered the land of Egypt.

8:7. And the magicians also, by their enchantments, did in like manner, and they brought forth frogs upon the land of Egypt.

8:8. But Pharao called Moses and Aaron, and said to them: Pray ye to the Lord to take away the frogs from me and from my people; and I will let the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.

Pray ye to the Lord, etc. . .By this it appears, that though the magicians, by the help of the devil, could bring frogs, yet they could not take them away: God being pleased to abridge in this the power of Satan. So we see they could not afterwards produce the lesser insects; and in this restraint of the power of the devil, were forced to acknowledge the finger of God.

8:9. And Moses said to Pharao: Set me a time when I shall pray for thee, and for thy servants, and for thy people, that the frogs may be driven away from thee and from thy house, and from thy servants, and from thy people; and may remain only in the river.

8:10. And he answered: To morrow. But he said: I will do according to thy word; that thou mayest know that there is none like to the Lord our God.

8:11. And the frogs shall depart from thee, and from thy house, and from thy servants, and from thy people; and shall remain only in the river.

8:12. And Moses and Aaron went forth from Pharao: and Moses cried to the Lord for the promise, which he had made to Pharao concerning the frogs.

8:13. And the Lord did according to the word of Moses: and the frogs died out of the houses, and out of the villages, and out of the fields:

8:14. And they gathered them together into immense heaps, and the land was corrupted.

8:15. And Pharao seeing that rest was given, hardened his own heart, and did not hear them, as the Lord had commanded.

Pharao hardened his own heart. . .By this we see that Pharao was himself the efficient cause of his heart being hardened, and not God.—See the same repeated in ver. 32. Pharao hardened his heart at this time also: likewise chap. 9.7, 35, and chap. 13.15.

8:16. And the Lord said to Moses: Say to Aaron: Stretch forth thy rod, and strike the dust of the earth; and may there be sciniphs in all the land of Egypt.

Sciniphs. . .Or Cinifs, Hebrew Chinnim, small flying insects, very troublesome both to men and beast.

8:17. And they did so. And Aaron stretched forth his hand, holding the rod; and he struck the dust of the earth, and there came sciniphs on men and on beasts: all the dust of the earth was turned into sciniphs through all the land of Egypt.

8:18: And the magicians with their enchantments practised in like manner, to bring forth sciniphs, and they could not: and there were sciniphs as well on men as on beasts.

8:19. And the magicians said to Pharao: This is the finger of God. And Pharao’s heart was hardened, and he hearkened not unto them, as the Lord had commanded.

8:20. The Lord also said to Moses: Arise early, and stand before Pharao; for he will go forth to the waters: and thou shalt say to him: Thus saith the Lord: Let my people go to sacrifice to me.

8:21. But if thou wilt not let them go, behold I will send in upon thee, and upon thy servants, and upon thy houses, all kind of flies: and the houses of the Egyptians shall be filled with flies of divers kinds, and the whole land wherein they shall be.

8:22. And I will make the land of Gessen wherein my people is, wonderful in that day, so that flies shall not be there: and thou shalt know that I am the Lord in the midst of the earth.

8:23. And I will put a division between my people and thy people: to morrow shall this sign be.

8:24. And the Lord did so. And there came a very grievous swarm of flies into the houses of Pharao and of his servants, and into all the land of Egypt: and the land was corrupted by this kind of flies.

8:25. And Pharao called Moses and Aaron, and said to them: Go and sacrifice to your God in this land.

8:26. And Moses said: It cannot be so: for we shall sacrifice the abominations of the Egyptians to the Lord our God: now if we kill those things which the Egyptians worship, in their presence, they will stone us.

The abominations, etc. . .That is, the things they worship for Gods: oxen, rams, etc. It is the usual style of the scriptures to call all idols and false gods, abominations, to signify how much the people of God ought to detest and abhor them.

8:27. We will go three days’ journey into the wilderness; and we will sacrifice to the Lord our God, as he hath commanded us.

8:28. And Pharao said: I will let you go to sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness, but go no farther: pray for me.

8:29. And Moses said: I will go out from thee, and will pray to the Lord: and the flies shall depart from Pharao, and from his servants, and from his people to morrow: but do not deceive any more, in not letting the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.

8:30. So Moses went out from Pharao, and prayed to the Lord.

8:31. And he did according to his word: and he took away the flies from Pharao, and from his servants, and from his people: there was not left so much as one.

8:32. And Pharao’s heart was hardened, so that neither this time would he let the people go.

Exodus Chapter 9

The fifth plague is a murrain among the cattle. The sixth, of boils in men and beasts. The seventh, of hail. Pharao promiseth again to let the people go, and breaketh his word.

9:1. And the Lord said to Moses: Go in to Pharao, and speak to him: Thus saith the Lord God of the Hebrews: Let my people go to sacrifice to me.

9:2. But if thou refuse, and withhold them still:

9:3. Behold my hand shall be upon thy fields; and a very grievous murrain upon thy horses, and asses, and camels, and oxen, and sheep.

9:4. And the Lord will make a wonderful difference between the possessions of Israel and the possessions of the Egyptians, that nothing at all shall die of those things that belong to the children of Israel.

9:5. And the Lord appointed a time, saying: To morrow will the Lord do this thing in the land.

9:6. The Lord therefore did this thing the next day: and all the beasts of the Egyptians died, but of the beasts of the children of Israel there died not one.

All the beasts. . .That is, many of all kinds.

9:7. And Pharao sent to see; and there was not any thing dead of that which Israel possessed. And Pharao’s heart was hardened, and he did not let the people go.

9:8. And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron: Take to you handfuls of ashes out of the chimney, and let Moses sprinkle it in the air in the presence of Pharao.

9:9. And be there dust upon all the land of Egypt: for there shall be boils and swelling blains both in men and beasts, in the whole land of Egypt.

9:10. And they took ashes out of the chimney, and stood before Pharao, and Moses sprinkled it in the air; and there came boils with swelling blains in men and beasts.

9:11. Neither could the magicians stand before Moses, for the boils that were upon them, and in all the land of Egypt.

9:12. And the Lord hardened Pharao’s heart, and he hearkened not unto them, as the Lord had spoken to Moses.

Hardened, etc. . .See the annotations above, chap. 4.21, chap. 7.3, and chap. 8.15.

9:13. And the Lord said to Moses: Arise in the morning, and stand before Pharao, and thou shalt say to him: Thus saith the Lord, the God of the Hebrews: Let my people go to sacrifice to me.

9:14. For I will at this time send all my plagues upon thy heart, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people; that thou mayst know that there is none like me in all the earth.

9:15. For now I will stretch out my hand to strike thee, and thy people, with pestilence, and thou shalt perish from the earth.

9:16. And therefore have I raised thee, that I may shew my power in thee, and my name may be spoken of throughout all the earth.

9:17. Dost thou yet hold back my people; and wilt thou not let them go?

9:18: Behold I will cause it to rain to morrow at this same hour, an exceeding great hail; such as hath not been in Egypt from the day that it was founded, until this present time.

9:19. Send therefore now presently, and gather together thy cattle, and all that thou hast in the field; for men and beasts, and all things that shall be found abroad, and not gathered together out of the fields which the hail shall fall upon, shall die.

9:20. He that feared the word of the Lord among Pharao’s servants, made his servants and his cattle flee into houses:

9:21. But he that regarded not the word of the Lord, left his servants, and his cattle in the fields.

9:22. And the Lord said to Moses: Stretch forth thy hand towards heaven, that there may be hail in the whole land of Egypt upon men, and upon beasts, and upon every herb of the field in the land of Egypt.

9:23. And Moses stretched forth his rod towards heaven, and the Lord sent thunder and hail, and lightnings running along the ground: and the Lord rained hail upon the land of Egypt.

9:24. And the hail and fire mixt with it drove on together: and it was of so great bigness, as never before was seen in the whole land of Egypt since that nation was founded.

9:25. And the hail destroyed through all the land of Egypt all things that were in the fields, both man and beast: and the hail smote every herb of the field, and it broke every tree of the country.

9:26. Only in the land of Gessen, where the children of Israel were, the hail fell not.

9:27. And Pharao sent and called Moses and Aaron, saying to them: I have sinned this time also, the Lord is just: I and my people, are wicked.

9:28. Pray ye to the Lord that the thunderings of God and the hail may cease: that I may let you go, and that ye may stay here no longer.

9:29. Moses said: As soon as I am gone out of the city, I will stretch forth my hands to the Lord, and the thunders shall cease, and the hail shall be no more: that thou mayst know that the earth is the Lord’s:

9:30. But I know that neither thou, nor thy servants do yet fear the Lord God.

9:31. The flax therefore, and the barley were hurt, because the barley was green, and the flax was now bolled;

9:32. But the wheat, and other winter corn were not hurt, because they were lateward.

9:33. And when Moses was gone from Pharao out of the city, he stretched forth his hands to the Lord: and the thunders and the hail ceased, neither did there drop any more rain upon the earth.

9:34. And Pharao seeing that the rain, and the hail, and the thunders were ceased, increased his sin:

9:35. And his heart was hardened, and the heart of his servants, and it was made exceeding hard: neither did he let the children of Israel go, as the Lord had commanded by the hand of Moses.

Exodus Chapter 10

The eighth plague of the locusts. The ninth, of darkness: Pharao is still hardened.

10:1. And the Lord said to Moses: Go in to Pharao; for I have hardened his heart, and the heart of his servants: that I may work these my signs in him,

10:2. And thou mayst tell in the ears of thy sons, and of thy grandsons, how often I have plagued the Egyptians, and wrought my signs amongst them: and you may know that I am the Lord.

10:3. Therefore Moses and Aaron went in to Pharao, and said to him: Thus saith the Lord God of the Hebrews: How long refusest thou to submit to me? let my people go, to sacrifice to me.

10:4. But if thou resist, and wilt not let them go, behold I will bring in to-morrow the locusts into thy coasts;

10:5. To cover the face of the earth, that nothing thereof may appear, but that which the hail hath left may be eaten: for they shall feed upon all the trees that spring in the fields.

10:6. And they shall fill thy houses, and the houses of thy servants, and of all the Egyptians: such a number as thy fathers have not seen, nor thy grandfathers, from the time they were first upon the earth, until this present day. And he turned himself away, and went forth from Pharao.

10:7. And Pharao’s servants said to him: How long shall we endure this scandal? Iet the men go to sacrifice to the Lord their God. Dost thou not see that Egypt is undone?

10:8. And they called back Moses, and Aaron, to Pharao; and he said to them: Go, sacrifice to the Lord your God: who are they that shall go?

10:9. Moses said: We will go with our young and old, with our sons and daughters, with our sheep and herds: for it is the solemnity of the Lord our God.

10:10. And Pharao answered: So be the Lord with you, as I shall let you and your children go: who can doubt but that you intend some great evil?

10:11. It shall not be so. but go ye men only, and sacrifice to the Lord: for this yourselves also desired. And immediately they were cast out from Pharao’s presence.

10:12. And the Lord said to Moses: Stretch forth thy hand upon the land of Egypt unto the locust, that it come upon it, and devour every herb that is left after the hail.

10:13. And Moses stretched forth his rod upon the land of Egypt: and the Lord brought a burning wind all that day, and night; and when it was morning, the burning wind raised the locusts.

10:14. And they came up over the whole land of Egypt; and rested in all the coasts of the Egyptians, innumerable, the like as had not been before that time, nor shall be hereafter.

10:15. And they covered the whole face of the earth, wasting all things. And the grass of the earth was devoured, and what fruits soever were on the trees, which the hail had left; and there remained not any thing that was green on the trees, or in the herbs of the earth, in all Egypt.

10:16. Wherefore Pharao in haste called Moses and Aaron, and said to them: I have sinned against the Lord your God, and against you.

10:17. But now forgive me my sin this time also, and pray to the Lord your God, that he take away from me this death.

10:18: And Moses going forth from the presence of Pharao, prayed to the Lord:

10:19. And he made a very strong wind to blow from the west, and it took the locusts and cast them into the Red Sea: there remained not so much as one in all the coasts of Egypt.

10:20. And the Lord hardened Pharao’s heart, neither did he let the children of Israel go.

10:21. And the Lord said to Moses: Stretch out thy hand towards heaven: and may there be darkness upon the land of Egypt so thick that it may be felt.

Darkness upon the land of Egypt, so thick that it may be felt. . .By means of the gross exhalations, which were to cause and accompany the darkness.

10:22. And Moses stretched forth his hand towards heaven: and there came horrible darkness in all the land of Egypt for three days.

10:23. No man saw his brother, nor moved himself out of the place where he was: but wheresoever the children of Israel dwelt, there was light.

10:24. And Pharao called Moses and Aaron, and said to them: Go, sacrifice to the Lord: let your sheep only, and herds remain, let your children go with you.

10:25. Moses said: Thou shalt give us also sacrifices and burnt-offerings, to the Lord our God.

10:26. All the flocks shall go with us; there shall not a hoof remain of them: for they are necessary for the service of the Lord our God: especially as we know not what must be offered, till we come to the very place.

10:27. And the Lord hardened Pharao’s heart, and he would not let them go.

10:28. And Pharao said to Moses: Get thee from me, and beware thou see not my face any more: in what day soever thou shalt come in my sight, thou shalt die.

10:29. Moses answered: So shall it be as thou hast spoken, I will not see thy face anymore.

Exodus Chapter 11

Pharao and his people are threatened with the death of their firstborn.

11:1. And the Lord said to Moses: Yet one plague more will I bring upon Pharao and Egypt, and after that he shall let you go, and thrust you out.

11:2. Therefore thou shalt tell all the people, that every man ask of his friend, and every woman of her neighbour, vessels of silver and of gold.

11:3. And the Lord will give favour to his people in the sight of the Egyptians. And Moses was a very great man in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharao’s servants, and of all the people.

11:4. And he said: Thus saith the Lord: At midnight I will enter into Egypt:

11:5. And every firstborn in the land of the Egyptians shall die, from the firstborn of Pharao who sitteth on his throne, even to the firstborn of the handmaid that is at the mill, and all the firstborn of beasts.

11:6. And there shall be a great cry in all the land of Egypt, such as neither hath been before, nor shall be hereafter.

11:7. But with all the children of Israel there shall not a dog make the least noise, from man even to beast; that you may know how wonderful a difference the Lord maketh between the Egyptians and Israel.

11:8. And all these thy servants shall come down to me, and shall worship me, saying: Go forth thou, and all the people that is under thee: after that we will go out.

11:9. And he went out from Pharao exceeding angry. But the Lord said to Moses: Pharao will not hear you, that many signs may be done in the land of Egypt.

11:10. And Moses and Aaron did all the wonders that are written, before Pharao. And the Lord hardened Pharao’s heart, neither did he let the children of Israel go out of his land.

The Lord hardened, etc. . .See the annotations above, chap. 4.21, and chap. 7.3.

Exodus Chapter 12

The manner of preparing, and eating the paschal lamb: the firstborn of Egypt are all slain: the Israelites depart.

12:1. And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt:

12:2. This month shall be to you the beginning of months; it shall be the first in the months of the year.

12:3. Speak ye to the whole assembly of the children of Israel, and say to them: On the tenth day of this month let every man take a lamb by their families and houses.

12:4. But if the number be less than may suffice to eat the lamb, he shall take unto him his neighbour that joineth to his house, according to the number of souls which may be enough to eat the lamb.

12:5. And it shall be a lamb without blemish, a male, of one year; according to which rite also you shall take a kid.

A kid. . .The phase might be performed, either with a lamb or with a kid: and all the same rites and ceremonies were to be used with the one as with the other.

12:6. And you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month; and the whole multitude of the children of Israel shall sacrifice it in the evening.

12:7. And they shall take of the blood thereof, and put it upon both the side posts, and on the upper door posts of the houses, wherein they shall eat it.

12:8. And they shall eat the flesh that night roasted at the fire, and unleavened bread with wild lettuce.

12:9. You shall not eat thereof any thing raw, nor boiled in water, but only roasted at the fire; you shall eat the head with the feet and entrails thereof.

12:10. Neither shall there remain any thing of it until morning. If there be any thing left, you shall burn it with fire.

12:11. And thus you shall eat it: you shall gird your reins, and you shall have shoes on your feet, holding staves in your hands, and you shall eat in haste; for it is the Phase (that is the Passage) of the Lord.

12:12. And I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and will kill every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast: and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments; I am the Lord.

12:13. And the blood shall be unto you for a sign in the houses where you shall be; and I shall see the blood, and shall pass over you; and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I shall strike the land of Egypt.

12:14. And this day shall be for a memorial to you; and you shall keep it a feast to the Lord in your generations, with an everlasting observance.

12:15. Seven days shall you eat unleavened bread: in the first day there shall be no leaven in your houses; whosoever shall eat any thing leavened, from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall perish out of Israel.

12:16. The first day shall be holy and solemn, and the seventh day shall be kept with the like solemnity: you shall do no work in them, except those things that belong to eating.

12:17. And you shall observe the feast of the unleavened bread: for in this same day I will bring forth your army out of the land of Egypt, and you shall keep this day in your generations by a perpetual observance.

12:18: The first month, the fourteenth day of the month, in the evening, you shall eat unleavened bread, until the one and twentieth day of the same month, in the evening.

Unleavened bread. . .By this it appears, that our Saviour made use of unleavened bread, in the institution of the blessed sacrament, which was on the evening of the paschal solemnity, at which time there was no leavened bread to be found in Israel.

12:19. Seven days there shall not be found any leaven in your houses: he that shall eat leavened bread, his soul shall perish out of the assembly of Israel, whether he be a stranger or born in the land.

12:20. You shall not eat any thing leavened: in all your habitations you shall eat unleavened bread.

12:21. And Moses called all the ancients of the children of Israel, and said to them: Go take a lamb by your families, and sacrifice the Phase.

12:22. And dip a bunch of hyssop in the blood that is at the door, and sprinkle the transom of the door therewith, and both the door cheeks: let none of you go out of the door of his house till morning.

Sprinkle, etc. . .This sprinkling the doors of the Israelites with the blood of the paschal lamb, in order to their being delivered from the sword of the destroying angel, was a lively figure of our redemption by the blood of Christ.

12:23. For the Lord will pass through striking the Egyptians: and when he shall see the blood on the transom, and on both the posts, he will pass over the door of the house, and not suffer the destroyer to come into your houses and to hurt you.

12:24. Thou shalt keep this thing as a law for thee and thy children for ever.

12:25. And when you have entered into the land which the Lord will give you, as he hath promised, you shall observe these ceremonies.

12:26. And when your children shall say to you: What is the meaning of this service?

12:27. You shall say to them: It is the victim of the passage of the Lord, when he passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, striking the Egyptians, and saving our houses. And the people bowing themselves, adored.

12:28. And the children of Israel going forth, did as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron.

12:29. And it came to pass at midnight, the Lord slew every firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharao, who sat on his throne, unto the firstborn of the captive woman that was in the prison, and all the firstborn of cattle.

12:30. And Pharao arose in the night, and all his servants, and all Egypt: and there arose a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house wherein there lay not one dead.

12:31. And Pharao calling Moses and Aaron, in the night, said: Arise and go forth from among my people, you and the children of Israel: go, sacrifice to the Lord as you say.

12:32. Your sheep and herds take along with you, as you demanded, and departing bless me.

12:33. And the Egyptians pressed the people to go forth out of the land speedily, saying: We shall all die.

12:34. The people therefore took dough before it was leavened; and tying it in their cloaks, put it on their shoulders.

12:35. And the children of Israel did as Moses had commanded: and they asked of the Egyptians vessels of silver and gold, and very much raiment.

12:36. And the Lord gave favour to the people in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they lent unto them: and they stripped the Egyptians.

12:37. And the children of Israel set forward from Ramesse to Socoth, being about six hundred thousand men on foot, beside children.

12:38. And a mixed multitude, without number, went up also with them, sheep and herds, and beasts of divers kinds, exceeding many.

12:39. And they baked the meal, which a little before they had brought out of Egypt in dough: and they made hearth cakes unleavened: for it could not be leavened, the Egyptians pressing them to depart, and not suffering them to make any stay; neither did they think of preparing any meat.

12:40. And the abode of the children of Israel that they made in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years.

12:41. Which being expired, the same day all the army of the Lord went forth out of the land of Egypt.

12:42. This is the observable night of the Lord, when he brought them forth out of the land of Egypt: this night all the children of Israel must observe in their generations.

12:43. And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron: This is the service of the Phase; no foreigner shall eat of it.

12:44. But every bought servant shall be circumcised, and so shall eat.

12:45. The stranger and the hireling shall not eat thereof.

12:46. In one house shall it be eaten, neither shall you carry forth of the flesh thereof out of the house, neither shall you break a bone thereof.

12:47. All the assembly of the children of Israel shall keep it.

12:48. And if any stranger be willing to dwell among you, and to keep the Phase of the Lord, all his males shall first be circumcised, and then shall he celebrate it according to the manner: and he shall be as he that is born in the land: but if any man be uncircumcised, he shall not eat thereof.

12:49. The same law shall be to him that is born in the land, and to the proselyte that sojourneth with you.

12:50. And all the children of Israel did as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron.

12:51. And the same day the Lord brought forth the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their companies.

Exodus Chapter 13

The paschal solemnity is to be observed; and the firstborn are to be consecrated to God. The people are conducted through the desert by a pillar of fire in the night, and a cloud in the day.

13:1. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

13:2. Sanctify unto me every firstborn that openeth the womb among the children of Israel, as well of men as of beasts: for they are all mine.

Sanctify unto me every firstborn. . .Sanctification in this place means that the firstborn males of the Hebrews should be deputed to the ministry in the divine worship; and the firstborn of beasts to be given for a sacrifice.

13:3. And Moses said to the people: Remember this day in which you came forth out of Egypt, and out of the house of bondage, for with a strong hand hath the Lord brought you forth out of this place: that you eat no leavened bread.

13:4. This day you go forth in the month of new corn.

13:5. And when the Lord shall have brought thee into the land of the Chanaanite, and the Hethite, and the Amorrhite, and the Hevite, and the Jebusite, which he swore to thy fathers that he would give thee, a land that floweth with milk and honey, thou shalt celebrate this manner of sacred rites in this month.

13:6. Seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread: and on the seventh day shall be the solemnity of the Lord.

13:7. Unleavened bread shall you eat seven days: there shall not be seen any thing leavened with thee, nor in all thy coasts.

13:8. And thou shalt tell thy son in that day, saying: This is what the Lord did to me when I came forth out of Egypt.

13:9. And it shall be as a sign in thy hand, and as a memorial before thy eyes; and that the law of the Lord be always in thy mouth, for with a strong hand the Lord hath brought thee out of the land of Egypt.

13:10. Thou shalt keep this observance at the set time from days to days.

13:11. And when the Lord shall have brought thee into the land of the Chanaanite, as he swore to thee and thy fathers, and shall give it thee:

13:12. Thou shalt set apart all that openeth the womb for the Lord, and all that is first brought forth of thy cattle: whatsoever thou shalt have of the male sex, thou shalt consecrate to the Lord.

13:13. The firstborn of an ass thou shalt change for a sheep: and if thou do not redeem it, thou shalt kill it. And every firstborn of men thou shalt redeem with a price.

13:14. And when thy son shall ask thee to morrow, saying: What is this? thou shalt answer him: With a strong hand did the Lord bring us forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

13:15. For when Pharao was hardened, and would not let us go, the Lord slew every firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of man to the firstborn of beasts: therefore I sacrifice to the Lord all that openeth the womb of the male sex, and all the firstborn of my sons I redeem.

13:16. And it shall be as a sign in thy hand, and as a thing hung between thy eyes, for a remembrance: because the Lord hath brought us forth out of Egypt by a strong hand.

13:17. And when Pharao had sent out the people, the Lord led them not by the way of the land of the Philistines, which is near; thinking lest perhaps they would repent, if they should see wars arise against them, and would return into Egypt.

13:18: But he led them about by the way of the desert, which is by the Red Sea: and the children of Israel went up armed out of the land of Egypt.

13:19. And Moses took Joseph’s bones with him: because he had adjured the children of Israel, saying: God shall visit you, carry out my bones from hence with you.

13:20. And marching from Socoth, they encamped in Etham, in the utmost coasts of the wilderness.

13:21. And the Lord went before them to shew the way, by day in a pillar of a cloud, and by night in a pillar of fire; that he might be the guide of their journey at both times.

13:22. There never failed the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, before the people.

Exodus Chapter 14

Pharao pursueth the children of Israel. They murmur against Moses, but are encouraged by him, and pass through the Red Sea. Pharao and his army following them are drowned.

14:1. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

14:2. Speak to the children of Israel: Let them turn and encamp over against Phihahiroth, which is between Magdal and the sea over against Beelsephon: you shall encamp before it upon the sea.

14:3. And Pharao will say of the children of Israel: They are straitened in the land, the desert hath shut them in.

14:4. And I shall harden his heart and he will pursue you: and I shall be glorified in Pharao, and in all his army: and the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord. And they did so.

14:5. And it was told the king of the Egyptians that the people was fled: and the heart of Pharao and of his servants was changed with regard to the people, and they said: What meant we to do, that we let Israel go from serving us?

14:6. So he made ready his chariot, and took all his people with him.

14:7. And he took six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots that were in Egypt: and the captains of the whole army.

14:8. And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharao, king of Egypt, and he pursued the children of Israel; but they were gone forth in a mighty hand.

14:9. And when the Egyptians followed the steps of them who were gone before, they found them encamped at the sea side: all Pharao’s horse and chariots and the whole army were in Phihahiroth, before Beelsephon.

14:10. And when Pharao drew near, the children of Israel lifting up their eyes, saw the Egyptians behind them: and they feared exceedingly, and cried to the Lord.

14:11. And they said to Moses: Perhaps there were no graves in Egypt, therefore thou hast brought us to die in the wilderness: why wouldst thou do this, to lead us out of Egypt?

14:12. Is not this the word that we spoke to thee in Egypt, saying: Depart from us, that we may serve the Egyptians? for it was much better to serve them, than to die in the wilderness.

14:13. And Moses said to the people: Fear not: stand, and see the great wonders of the Lord, which he will do this day; for the Egyptians, whom you see now, you shall see no more for ever.

14:14. The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.

14:15. And the Lord said to Moses: Why criest thou to me? Speak to the children of Israel to go forward.

14:16. But lift thou up thy rod, and stretch forth thy hand over the sea, and divide it: that the children of Israel may go through the midst of the sea on dry ground.

14:17. And I will harden the heart of the Egyptians to pursue you: and I will be glorified in Pharao, and in all his host, and in his chariots and in his horsemen.

14:18: And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall be glorified in Pharao, and in his chariots, and in his horsemen.

14:19. And the angel of God, who went before the camp of Israel, removing, went behind them: and together with him the pillar of the cloud, leaving the forepart,

14:20. Stood behind, between the Egyptians’ camp and the camp of Israel: and it was a dark cloud, and enlightening the night, so that they could not come at one another all the night.

A dark cloud, and enlightening the night. . .It was a dark cloud to the Egyptians; but enlightened the night to the Israelites by giving them a great light.

14:21. And when Moses had stretched forth his hand over the sea, the Lord took it away by a strong and burning wind blowing all the night, and turned it into dry ground: and the water was divided.

14:22. And the children of Israel went in through the midst of the sea dried up; for the water was as a wall on their right hand and on their left.

14:23. And the Egyptians pursuing went in after them, and all Pharao’s horses, his chariots and horsemen, through the midst of the sea.

14:24. And now the morning watch was come, and behold the Lord looking upon the Egyptian army through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, slew their host.

14:25. And overthrew the wheels of the chariots, and they were carried into the deep. And the Egyptians said: Let us flee from Israel; for the Lord fighteth for them against us.

14:26. And the Lord said to Moses: Stretch forth thy hand over the sea, that the waters may come again upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots and horsemen.

14:27. And when Moses had stretched forth his hand towards the sea, it returned at the first break of day to the former place: and as the Egyptians were fleeing away, the waters came upon them, and the Lord shut them up in the middle of the waves.

14:28. And the waters returned, and covered the chariots and the horsemen of all the army of Pharao, who had come into the sea after them, neither did there so much as one of them remain.

14:29. But the children of Israel marched through the midst of the sea upon dry land, and the waters were to them as a wall on the right hand and on the left:

14:30. And the Lord delivered Israel in that day out of the hands of the Egyptians.

14:31. And they saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore, and the mighty hand that the Lord had used against them: and the people feared the Lord, and they believed the Lord, and Moses his servant.

Exodus Chapter 15

The canticle of Moses. The bitter waters of Mara are made sweet.

15:1. Then Moses and the children of Israel sung this canticle to the Lord, and said: Let us sing to the Lord: for he is gloriously magnified, the horse and the rider he hath thrown into the sea.

15:2. The Lord is my strength and my praise, and he is become salvation to me: he is my God, and I will glorify him: the God of my father, and I will exalt him.

15:3. The Lord is as a man of war, Almighty is his name.

15:4. Pharao’s chariots and his army he hath cast into the sea: his chosen captains are drowned in the Red Sea.

15:5. The depths have covered them, they are sunk to the bottom like a stone.

15:6. Thy right hand, O Lord, is magnified in strength: thy right hand, O Lord, hath slain the enemy.

15:7. And in the multitude of thy glory thou hast put down thy adversaries: thou hast sent thy wrath, which hath devoured them like stubble.

15:8. And with the blast of thy anger the waters were gathered together: the flowing water stood, the depths were gathered together in the midst of the sea.

15:9. The enemy said: I will pursue and overtake, I will divide the spoils, my soul shall have its fill: I will draw my sword, my hand shall slay them.

15:10. Thy wind blew and the sea covered them: they sunk as lead in the mighty waters.

15:11. Who is like to thee, among the strong, O Lord? who is like to thee, glorious in holiness, terrible and praise-worthy, doing wonders?

15:12. Thou stretchedst forth thy hand, and the earth swallowed them.

15:13. In thy mercy thou hast been a leader to the people which thou hast redeemed: and in thy strength thou hast carried them to thy holy habitation.

15:14. Nations rose up, and were angry: sorrows took hold on the inhabitants of Philisthiim.

15:15. Then were the princes of Edom troubled, trembling seized on the stout men of Moab: all the inhabitants of Chanaan became stiff.

15:16. Let fear and dread fall upon them, in the greatness of thy arm: let them become immoveable as a stone, until thy people, O Lord, pass by: until this thy people pass by, which thou hast possessed.

15:17. Thou shalt bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of thy inheritance, in thy most firm habitation, which thou hast made, O Lord; thy sanctuary, O Lord, which thy hands have established.

15:18: The Lord shall reign for ever and ever.

15:19. For Pharao went in on horseback with his chariots and horsemen into the sea: and the Lord brought back upon them the waters of the sea: but the children of Israel walked on dry ground in the midst thereof.

15:20. So Mary the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand: and all the women went forth after her with timbrels and with dances.

15:21. And she began the song to them, saying: Let us sing to the Lord, for he is gloriously magnified, the horse and his rider he hath thrown into the sea.

15:22. And Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea, and they went forth into the wilderness of Sur: and they marched three days through the wilderness, and found no water.

15:23. And they came into Mara, and they could not drink the waters of Mara because they were bitter: whereupon he gave a name also agreeable to the place, calling it Mara, that is, bitterness.

15:24. And the people murmured against Moses, saying: What shall we drink?

15:25. But he cried to the Lord, and he shewed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, they were turned into sweetness. There he appointed him ordinances, and judgments, and there he proved him,

15:26. Saying: If thou wilt hear the voice of the Lord thy God, and do what is right before him, and obey his commandments, and keep all his precepts, none of the evils that I laid upon Egypt, will I bring upon thee: for I am the Lord thy healer.

15:27. And the children of Israel came into Elim, where there were twelve fountains of water, and seventy palm trees: and they encamped by the waters.

Exodus Chapter 16

The people murmur for want of meat: God giveth them quails and manna.

16:1. And they set forward from Elim, and all the multitude of the children of Israel came into the desert of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai: the fifteenth day of the second month, after they came out of the land of Egypt.

16:2. And all the congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness.

16:3. And the children of Israel said to them: Would to God we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat over the fleshpots, and ate bread to the full: Why have you brought us into this desert, that you might destroy all the multitude with famine?

16:4. And the Lord said to Moses: Behold I will rain bread from heaven for you; let the people go forth, and gather what is sufficient for every day: that I may prove them whether they will walk in my law, or not.

16:5. But the sixth day let them provide for to bring in: and let it be double to that they were wont to gather every day.

16:6. And Moses and Aaron said to the children of Israel In the evening you shall know that the Lord hath brought you forth out of the land of Egypt:

16:7. And in the morning you shall see the glory of the Lord: for he hath heard your murmuring against the Lord: but as for us, what are we, that you mutter against us?

16:8. And Moses said: In the evening the Lord will give you flesh to eat, and in the morning bread to the full: for he hath heard your murmurings, with which you have murmured against him, for what are we? your murmuring is not against us, but against the Lord.

16:9. Moses also said to Aaron: Say to the whole congregation of the children of Israel: Come before the Lord; for he hath heard your murmuring.

16:10. And when Aaron spoke to all the assembly of the children of Israel, they looked towards the wilderness; and behold the glory of the Lord appeared in a cloud.

16:11. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

16:12. I have heard the murmuring of the children of Israel, say to them: In the evening you shall eat flesh, and in the morning you shall have your fill of bread; and you shall know that I am the Lord your God.

16:13. So it came to pass in the evening, that quails coming up, covered the camp: and in the morning a dew lay round about the camp.

16:14. And when it had covered the face of the earth, it appeared in the wilderness small, and as it were beaten with a pestle, like unto the hoar frost on the ground.

16:15. And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another: Manhu! which signifieth: What is this! for they knew not what it was. And Moses said to them: This is the bread which the Lord hath given you to eat.

16:16. This is the word that the Lord hath commanded: Let every one gather of it as much as is enough to eat; a gomor for every man, according to the number of your souls that dwell in a tent, so shall you take of it.

16:17. And the children of Israel did so: and they gathered, one more, another less.

16:18: And they measured by the measure of a gomor: neither had he more that had gathered more; nor did he find less that had provided less: but every one had gathered, according to what they were able to eat.

16:19. And Moses said to them: Let no man leave thereof till the morning.

16:20. And they hearkened not to him, but some of them left until the morning, and it began to be full of worms, and it putrified, and Moses was angry with them.

16:21. Now every one of them gathered in the morning, as much as might suffice to eat: and after the sun grew hot, it melted.

16:22. But on the sixth day they gathered twice as much, that is, two gomors every man: and all the rulers of the multitude came, and told Moses.

16:23. And he said to them: This is what the Lord hath spoken: To morrow is the rest of the sabbath sanctified to the Lord. Whatsoever work is to be done, do it; and the meats that are to be dressed, dress them; and whatsoever shall remain, lay it up until the morning.

16:24. And they did so as Moses had commanded, and it did not putrify, neither was there worm found in it.

16:25. And Moses said: Eat it to day, because it is the sabbath of the Lord: to day it shall not be found in the field.

16:26. Gather it six days; but on the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord, therefore it shall not be found.

16:27. And the seventh day came; and some of the people going forth to gather, found none.

16:28. And the Lord said to Moses: How long will you refuse to keep my commandments, and my law?

16:29. See that the Lord hath given you the sabbath, and for this reason on the sixth day he giveth you a double provision: let each man stay at home, and let none go forth out of his place the seventh day.

16:30. And the people kept the sabbath on the seventh day.

16:31. And the house of Israel called the name thereof Manna: and it was like coriander seed, white, and the taste thereof like to flour with honey.

16:32. And Moses said: This is the word which the Lord hath commanded: Fill a gomor of it, and let it be kept unto generations to come hereafter; that they may know the bread, wherewith I fed you in the wilderness when you were brought forth out of the land of Egypt.

16:33. And Moses said to Aaron: Take a vessel, and put manna into it, as much as a gomor can hold; and lay it up before the Lord, to keep unto your generations,

16:34. As the Lord commanded Moses. And Aaron put it in the tabernacle to be kept.

16:35. And the children of Israel ate manna forty years, till they came to a habitable land: with this meat were they fed, until they reached the borders of the land of Chanaan.

16:36. Now a gomor is the tenth part of an ephi.

Exodus Chapter 17

The people murmur again for want of drink; the Lord giveth them water out of a rock. Moses lifting up his hand in prayer, Amalec is overcome.

17:1. Then all the multitude of the children of Israel setting forward from the desert of Sin, by their mansions, according to the word of the Lord, encamped in Raphidim, where there was no water for the people to drink.

17:2. And they chode with Moses, and said: Give us water, that we may drink. And Moses answered them: Why chide you with me? Wherefore do you tempt the Lord?

17:3. So the people were thirsty there for want of water, and murmured against Moses, saying: Why didst thou make us go forth out of Egypt, to kill us and our children, and our beasts with thirst?

17:4. And Moses cried to the Lord, saying: What shall I do to this people? Yet a little more and they will stone me.

17:5. And the Lord said to Moses: Go before the people, and take with thee of the ancients of Israel: and take in thy hand the rod wherewith thou didst strike the river, and go.

17:6. Behold I will stand there before thee, upon the rock Horeb, and thou shalt strike the rock, and water shall come out of it that the people may drink. Moses did so before the ancients of Israel:

17:7. And he called the name of that place Temptation, because of the chiding of the children of Israel, and for that they tempted the Lord, saying: Is the Lord amongst us or not?

17:8. And Amalec came, and fought against Israel in Raphidim.

17:9. And Moses said to Josue: Choose out men; and go out and fight against Amalec: tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill, having the rod of God in my hand.

17:10. Josue did as Moses had spoken, and he fought against Amalec; but Moses, and Aaron, and Hur, went up upon the top of the hill.

17:11. And when Moses lifted up his hands, Israel overcame; but if he let them down a little, Amalec overcame.

17:12. And Moses’s hands were heavy: so they took a stone, and put under him, and he sat on it: and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands on both sides. And it came to pass, that his hands were not weary until sunset.

17:13. And Josue put Amalec and his people to flight, by the edge of the sword.

17:14. And the Lord said to Moses: Write this for a memorial in a book, and deliver it to the ears of Josue; for I will destroy the memory of Amalec from under heaven.

17:15. And Moses built an altar; and called the name thereof, The Lord, my exaltation, saying:

17:16. Because the hand of the throne of the Lord, and the war of the Lord shall be against Amalec, from generation to generation.

Exodus Chapter 18

Jethro bringeth to Moses his wife and children. His counsel.

18:1. And when Jethro the priest of Madian, the kinsman of Moses, had heard all the things that God had done to Moses, and to Israel his people, and that the Lord had brought forth Israel out of Egypt:

18:2. He took Sephora, the wife of Moses, whom he had sent back:

18:3. And her two sons, of whom one was called Gersam: his father saying, I have been a stranger in a foreign country.

18:4. And the other Eliezer: For the God of my father, said he, is my helper, and hath delivered me from the sword of Pharao.

18:5. And Jethro, the kinsman of Moses, came with his sons, and his wife to Moses into the desert, where he was camped by the mountain of God.

18:6. And he sent word to Moses, saying: I Jethro, thy kinsman, come to thee, and thy wife, and thy two sons with her.

18:7. And he went out to meet his kinsman, and worshipped and kissed him: and they saluted one another with words of peace. And when he was come into the tent,

18:8. Moses told his kinsman all that the Lord had done to Pharao, and the Egyptians in favour of Israel: and all the labour which had befallen them in the journey, and that the Lord had delivered them.

18:9. And Jethro rejoiced for all the good things that the Lord had done to Israel, because he had delivered them out of the hands of the Egyptians.

18:10. And he said: Blessed is the Lord, who hath delivered you out of the hand of Pharao, and out of the hand of the Egyptians, who hath delivered his people out of the hand of Egypt.

18:11. Now I know, that the Lord is great above all gods; because they dealt proudly against them.

18:12. So Jethro, the kinsman of Moses, offered holocausts and sacrifices to God: and Aaron and all the ancients of Israel came, to eat bread with him before God.

18:13. And the next day Moses sat to judge the people, who stood by Moses from morning until night.

18:14. And when his kinsman had seen all things that he did among the people, he said: What is it that thou dost among the people? Why sittest thou alone, and all the people wait from morning till night?

18:15. And Moses answered him: The people come to me to seek the judgment of God?

18:16. And when any controversy falleth out among them, they come to me to judge between them, and to shew the precepts of God, and his laws.

18:17. But he said: The thing thou dost is not good.

18:18: Thou art spent with foolish labour, both thou, and this people that is with thee; the business is above thy strength, thou alone canst not bear it.

18:19. But hear my words and counsels, and God shall be with thee. Be thou to the people in those things that pertain to God, to bring their words to him:

18:20. And to shew the people the ceremonies, and the manner of worshipping; and the way wherein they ought to walk, and the work that they ought to do.

18:21. And provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, in whom there is truth, and that hate avarice, and appoint of them rulers of thousands, and of hundreds, and of fifties, and of tens,

18:22. Who may judge the people at all times: and when any great matter soever shall fall out, let them refer it to thee, and let them judge the lesser matters only: that so it may be lighter for thee, the burden being shared out unto others.

18:23. If thou dost this, thou shalt fulfil the commandment of God, and shalt be able to bear his precepts: and all this people shall return to their places with peace.

18:24. And when Moses heard this, he did all things that he had suggested unto him.

18:25. And choosing able men out of all Israel, he appointed them rulers of the people, rulers over thousands, and over hundreds, and over fifties, and over tens.

18:26. And they judged the people at all times: and whatsoever was of greater difficulty they referred to him, and they judged the easier cases only.

18:27. And he let his kinsman depart: and he returned and went into his own country.

Exodus Chapter 19

They come to Sinai: the people are commanded to be sanctified. The Lord, coming in thunder and lightning, speaketh with Moses.

19:1. In the third month of the departure of Israel out of the land of Egypt, on this day they came into the wilderness of Sinai:

19:2. For departing out of Raphidim, and coming to the desert of Sinai, they camped in the same place, and there Israel pitched their tents over against the mountain.

19:3. And Moses went up to God; and the Lord called unto him from the mountain, and said: Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel:

And Moses went up to God. . .Moses went up to mount Sinai, where God spoke to him.

19:4. You have seen what I have done to the Egyptians, how I have carried you upon the wings of eagles, and have taken you to myself.

19:5. If therefore you will hear my voice, and keep my covenant, you shall be my peculiar possession above all people: for all the earth is mine.

19:6. And you shall be to me a priestly kingdom, and a holy nation. These are the words thou shalt speak to the children of Israel.

19:7. Moses came; and calling together the elders of the people, he declared all the words which the Lord had commanded.

19:8. And all the people answered together: All that the Lord hath spoken, we will do. And when Moses had related the people’s words to the Lord,

19:9. The Lord said to him: Lo, now will I come to thee in the darkness of a cloud, that the people may hear me speaking to thee, and may believe thee for ever. And Moses told the words of the people to the Lord.

19:10. And he said to him: Go to the people, and sanctify them to day, and to morrow, and let them wash their garments.

19:11. And let them 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.

19:12. And thou shalt appoint certain limits to the people round about, and thou shalt say to them: Take heed ye go not up into the mount, and that ye touch not the borders thereof: every one that toucheth the mount, dying he shall die.

19:13. No hands shall touch him, but he shall be stoned to death, or he shall be shot through with arrows: whether it be beast, or man, he shall not live. When the trumpet shall begin to sound, then let them go up into the mount.

19:14. And Moses came down from the mount to the people, and sanctified them. And when they had washed their garments,

19:15. He said to them: Be ready against the third day, and come not near your wives.

19:16. And now the third day was come, and the morning appeared: and behold thunders began to be heard, and lightning to flash, and a very thick cloud to cover the mount, and the noise of the trumpet sounded exceeding loud; and the people that was in the camp, feared.

19:17. And when Moses had brought them forth to meet God, from the place of the camp, they stood at the bottom of the mount.

19:18. And all Mount Sinai was on a smoke: because the Lord was come down upon it in fire, and the smoke arose from it as out of a furnace: and all the mount was terrible.

19:19. And the sound of the trumpet grew by degrees louder and louder, and was drawn out to a greater length: Moses spoke, and God answered him.

19:20. And the Lord came down upon Mount Sinai, in the very top of the mount, and he called Moses unto the top thereof. And when he was gone up thither,

19:21. He said unto him: Go down, and charge the people; lest they should have a mind to pass the limits to see the Lord, and a very great multitude of them should perish.

19:22. The priests also that come to the Lord, let them be sanctified, lest he strike them.

19:23. And Moses said to the Lord: The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai: for thou didst charge, and command, saying: Set limits about the mount, and sanctify it.

19:24. And the Lord said to him: Go, get thee down; and thou shalt come up, thou and Aaron with thee: but let not the priests and the people pass the limits, nor come up to the Lord, lest he kill them.

19:25. And Moses went down to the people and told them all.

Exodus Chapter 20

The ten commandments.

20:1. And the Lord spoke all these words:

20:2. I am the Lord thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

20:3. Thou shalt not have strange gods before me.

20:4. Thou shalt not make to thyself a graven thing, nor the likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or in the earth beneath, nor of those things that are in the waters under the earth.

A graven thing, nor the likeness of any thing, etc. . .All such images, or likenesses, are forbidden by this commandment, as are made to be adored and served; according to that which immediately follows, thou shalt not adore them, nor serve them. That is, all such as are designed for idols or image-gods, or are worshipped with divine honour. But otherwise images, pictures, or representations, even in the house of God, and in the very sanctuary so far from being forbidden, are expressly authorized by the word of God. See Ex. 25.15, and etc.; chap. 38.7; Num. 21.8, 9; 1 Chron. or Paralip. 28.18, 19; 2 Chron. or Paralip. 3.10.

20:5. Thou shalt not adore them, nor serve them: I am the Lord thy God, mighty, jealous, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me:

20:6. And shewing mercy unto thousands to them that love me, and keep my commandments.

20:7. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain: for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that shall take the name of the Lord his God in vain.

20:8. Remember that thou keep holy the sabbath day.

20:9. Six days shalt thou labour, and shalt do all thy works.

20:10. But on the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: thou shalt do no work on it, thou nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy beast, nor the stranger that is within thy gates.

20:11. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and the sea, and all things that are in them, and rested on the seventh day: therefore the Lord blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it.

20:12. Honour thy father and thy mother, that thou mayst be longlived upon the land which the Lord thy God will give thee.

20:13. Thou shalt not kill.

20:14. Thou shalt not commit adultery.

20:15. Thou shalt not steal.

20:16. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.

20:17. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house; neither shalt thou desire his wife, nor his servant, nor his handmaid, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is his.

20:18. And all the people saw the voices and the flames, and the sound of the trumpet, and the mount smoking; and being terrified and struck with fear, they stood afar off,

20:19. Saying to Moses: Speak thou to us, and we will hear: let not the Lord speak to us, lest we die.

20:20. And Moses said to the people: Fear not; for God is come to prove you, and that the dread of him might be in you, and you should not sin.

20:21. And the people stood afar off. But Moses went to the dark cloud wherein God was.

20:22. And the Lord said to Moses: Thus shalt thou say to the children of Israel: You have seen that I have spoken to you from heaven.

20:23. You shall not make gods of silver, nor shall you make to yourselves gods of gold.

20:24. You shall make an altar of earth unto me, and you shall offer upon it your holocausts and peace offerings, your sheep and oxen, in every place where the memory of my name shall be: I will come to thee, and will bless thee.

20:25. And if thou make an altar of stone unto me, thou shalt not build it of hewn stones; for if thou lift up a tool upon it, it shall be defiled.

20:26. Thou shalt not go up by steps unto my altar, lest thy nakedness be discovered.

Exodus Chapter 21

Laws relating to Justice.

21:1. These are the judgments which thou shalt set before them.

21:2. If thou buy a Hebrew servant, six years shall he serve thee; in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing.

21:3. With what raiment he came in, with the like let him go out: if having a wife, his wife also shall go out with him.

21:4. But if his master gave him a wife, and she hath borne sons and daughters; the woman and her children shall be her master’s: but he himself shall go out with his raiment.

21:5. And if the servant shall say: I love my master and my wife and children, I will not go out free:

21:6. His master shall bring him to the gods, and he shall be set to the door and the posts, and he shall bore his ear through with an awl: and he shall be his servant for ever.

To the gods. . .Elohim. That is, to the judges, or magistrates, authorized by God.

21:7. If any man sell his daughter to be a servant, she shall not go out as bondwomen are wont to go out.

21:8. If she displease the eyes of her master to whom she was delivered, he shall let her go: but he shall have no power to sell her to a foreign nation, if he despise her.

21:9. But if he have betrothed her to his son, he shall deal with her after the manner of daughters.

21:10. And if he take another wife for him, he shall provide her a marriage, and raiment, neither shall he refuse the price of her chastity.

21:11. If he do not these three things, she shall go out free without money.

21:12. He that striketh a man with a will to kill him, shall be put to death.

21:13. But he that did not lie in wait for him, but God delivered him into his hands: I will appoint thee a place to which he must flee.

21:14. If a man kill his neighbour on set purpose, and by lying in wait for him: thou shalt take him away from my altar that he may die.

21:15. He that striketh his father or mother, shall be put to death.

21:16. He that shall steal a man, and sell him, being convicted of the guilt, shall be put to death.

21:17. He that curseth his father or mother, shall die the death.

21:18. If men quarrel, and the one strike his neighbour with a stone, or with his fist, and he die not, but keepeth his bed:

21:19. If he rise again and walk abroad upon his staff, he that struck him shall be quit, yet so that he make restitution for his work, and for his expenses upon the physicians.

21:20. He that striketh his bondman, or bondwoman, with a rod, and they die under his hands, shall be guilty of the crime.

21:21. But if the party remain alive a day or two, he shall not be subject to the punishment, because it is his money.

21:22. If men quarrel, and one strike a woman with child and she miscarry indeed, but live herself: he shall be answerable for so much damage as the woman’s husband shall require, and as arbiters shall award.

21:23. But if her death ensue thereupon, he shall render life for life,

21:24. Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,

21:25. Burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.

21:26. If any man strike the eye of his manservant or maidservant, and leave them but one eye, he shall let them go free for the eye which he put out.

21:27. Also if he strike out a tooth of his manservant or maidservant, he shall in like manner make them free.

21:28. If an ox gore a man or a woman, and they die, he shall be stoned: and his flesh shall not be eaten, but the owner of the ox shall be quit.

21:29. But if the ox was wont to push with his horn yesterday, and the day before, and they warned his master, and he did not shut him up, and he shall kill a man or a woman: then the ox shall be stoned, and his owner also shall be put to death.

21:30. And if they set a price upon him, he shall give for his life whatsoever is laid upon him.

21:31. If he have gored a son, or a daughter, he shall fall under the like sentence.

21:32. If he assault a bondman or bondwoman, he shall give thirty sicles of silver to their master, and the ox shall be stoned.

21:33. If a man open a pit, and dig one, and cover it not, and an ox or an ass fall into it,

21:34. The owner of the pit shall pay the price of the beasts: and that which is dead shall be his own.

21:35. If one man’s ox gore another man’s ox, and he die: they shall sell the live ox, and shall divide the price, and the carcass of that which died they shall part between them:

21:36. But if he knew that his ox was wont to push yesterday, and the day before, and his master did not keep him in; he shall pay ox for ox, and shall take the whole carcass.

Exodus Chapter 22

The punishment of theft, and other trespasses. The law of lending without usury, of taking pledges of reverences to superiors, and of paying tithes.

22:1. If any man steal an ox or a sheep, and kill or sell it: he shall restore five oxen for one ox, and four sheep for one sheep.

22:2. If a thief be found breaking open a house or undermining it, and be wounded so as to die: he that slew him shall not be guilty of blood.

22:3. But if he did this when the sun is risen, he hath committed murder, and he shall die. If he have not wherewith to make restitution for the theft, he shall be sold.

22:4. If that which he stole be found with him, alive, either ox, or ass, or sheep: he shall restore double.

22:5. If any man hurt a field or a vineyard, and put in his beast to feed upon that which is other men’s: he shall restore the best of whatsoever he hath in his own field, or in his vineyard, according to the estimation of the damage.

22:6. If a fire breaking out light upon thorns, and catch stacks of corn, or corn standing in the fields, he that kindled the fire shall make good the loss.

22:7. If a man deliver money, or any vessel unto his friend to keep, and they be stolen away from him that received them: if the thief be found, he shall restore double:

22:8. If the thief be not known, the master of the house shall be brought to the gods, and shall swear that he did not lay his hand upon his neighbour’s goods,

22:9. To do any fraud, either in ox, or in ass, or sheep, or raiment, or any thing that may bring damage: the cause of both parties shall come to the gods: and if they give judgment, he shall restore double to his neighbour.

22:10. If a man deliver ass, ox, sheep, or any beast, to his neighbour’s custody, and it die, or be hurt, or be taken by enemies, and no man saw it:

22:11. There shall be an oath between them, that he did not put forth his hand to his neighbour’s goods: and the owner shall accept of the oath, and he shall not be compelled to make restitution.

22:12. But if it were taken away by stealth, he shall make the loss good to the owner.

22:13. If it were eaten by a beast, let him bring to him that which was slain, and he shall not make restitution.

22:14. If a man borrow of his neighbour any of these things, and it be hurt or die, the owner not being present, he shall be obliged to make restitution.

22:15. But if the owner be present, he shall not make restitution, especially if it were hired, and came for the hire of his work.

22:16. If a man seduce a virgin not yet espoused, and lie with her: he shall endow her, and have her to wife.

22:17. If the maid’s father will not give her to him, he shall give money according to the dowry, which virgins are wont to receive.

22:18. Wizards thou shalt not suffer to live.

22:19. Whosoever copulateth with a beast; shall be put to death.

22:20. He that sacrificeth to gods, shall be put to death, save only to the Lord.

22:21. Thou shalt not molest a stranger, nor afflict him: for yourselves also were strangers in the land of Egypt.

22:22. You shall not hurt a widow or an orphan.

22:23. If you hurt them, they will cry out to me, and I will hear their cry:

22:24. And my rage shall be enkindled, and I will strike you with the sword, and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless.

22:25. If thou lend money to any of my people that is poor, that dwelleth with thee, thou shalt not be hard upon them as an extortioner, nor oppress them with usuries.

22:26. If thou take of thy neighbour a garment in pledge, thou shalt give it him again before sunset.

22:27. For that same is the only thing, wherewith he is covered, the clothing of his body, neither hath he any other to sleep in: if he cry to me, I will hear him, because I am compassionate.

22:28. Thou shalt not speak ill of the gods, and the prince of thy people thou shalt not curse.

22:29. Thou shalt not delay to pay thy tithes and thy firstfruits: thou shalt give the firstborn of thy sons to me.

22:30. Thou shalt do the same with the firstborn of thy oxen also and sheep: seven days let it be with its dam: the eighth day thou shalt give it to me.

22:31. You shall be holy men to me: the flesh that beasts have tasted of before, you shall not eat, but shall cast it to the dogs.

Exodus Chapter 23

Laws for judges; the rest of the seventh year, and day: three principal feasts to be solemnized every year; the promise of an angel, to conduct and protect them: idols are to be destroyed.

23:1. Thou shalt not receive the voice of a lie: neither shalt thou join thy hand to bear false witness for a wicked person.

23:2. Thou shalt not follow the multitude to do evil: neither shalt thou yield in judgment, to the opinion of the most part, to stray from the truth.

23:3. Neither shalt thou favour a poor man in judgment.

23:4. If thou meet thy enemy’s ox or ass going astray, bring it back to him.

23:5. If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lie underneath his burden, thou shalt not pass by, but shalt lift him up with him.

23:6. Thou shalt not go aside in the poor man’s judgment.

23:7. Thou shalt fly lying. The innocent and just person thou shalt not put to death: because I abhor the wicked.

23:8. Neither shalt thou take bribes, which even blind the wise, and pervert the words of the just.

23:9. Thou shalt not molest a stranger, for you know the hearts of strangers: for you also were strangers in the land of Egypt.

23:10. Six years thou shalt sow thy ground, and shalt gather the corn thereof.

23:11. But the seventh year thou shalt let it alone, and suffer it to rest, that the poor of thy people may eat, and whatsoever shall be left, let the beasts of the field eat it: so shalt thou do with thy vineyard and thy oliveyard.

23:12. Six days thou shalt work: the seventh day thou shalt cease, that thy ox and thy ass may rest: and the son of thy handmaid and the stranger may be refreshed.

23:13. Keep all things that I have said to you. And by the name of strange gods you shall not swear, neither shall it be heard out of your mouth.

23:14. Three times every year you shall celebrate feasts to me.

23:15. Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread. Seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread, as I commanded thee, in the time of the month of new corn, when thou didst come forth out of Egypt: thou shalt not appear empty before me.

23:16. And the feast of the harvest of the firstfruits of thy work, whatsoever thou hast sown in the field. The feast also in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in all thy corn out of the field.

23:17. Thrice a year shall all thy males appear before the Lord thy God.

23:18. Thou shalt not sacrifice the blood of my victim upon leaven, neither shall the fat of my solemnity remain until the morning.

23:19. Thou shalt carry the first-fruits of the corn of thy ground to the house of the Lord thy God. Thou shalt not boil a kid in the milk of his dam.

23:20. Behold I will send my angel, who shall go before thee, and keep thee in thy journey, and bring thee into the place that I have prepared.

23:21. Take notice of him, and hear his voice, and do not think him one to be contemned: for he will not forgive when thou hast sinned, and my name is in him.

23:22. But if thou wilt hear his voice, and do all that I speak, I will be an enemy to thy enemies, and will afflict them that afflict thee.

23:23. And my angel shall go before thee, and shall bring thee in unto the Amorrhite, and the Hethite, and the Pherezite, and the Chanaanite, and the Hevite, and the Jebusite, whom I will destroy.

23:24. Thou shalt not adore their gods, nor serve them. Thou shalt not do their works, but shalt destroy them, and break their statues.

23:25. And you shall serve the Lord your God, that I may bless your bread and your waters, and may take away sickness from the midst of thee.

23:26. There shall not be one fruitless nor barren in thy land: I will fill the number of thy days.

23:27. I will send my fear before thee, and will destroy all the people to whom thou shalt come: and will turn the backs of all thy enemies before thee:

23:28. Sending out hornets before, that shall drive away the Hevite, and the Chanaanite, and the Hethite, before thou come in.

23:29. I will not cast them out from thy face in one year; lest the land be brought into a wilderness, and the beasts multiply against thee.

23:30. By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, till thou be increased, and dost possess the land.

23:31. And I will set thy bounds from the Red Sea to the sea of the Palestines, and from the desert to the river: I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hands, and will drive them out from before you.

23:32. Thou shalt not enter into league with them, nor with their gods.

23:33. Let them not dwell in thy land, lest perhaps they make thee sin against me, if thou serve their gods; which, undoubtedly, will be a scandal to thee.

Exodus Chapter 24

Moses writeth his law; and after offering sacrifices, sprinkleth the blood of the testament upon the people: then goeth up the mountain which God covereth with a fiery cloud.

24:1. And he said to Moses: Come up to the Lord, thou, and Aaron, Nadab and Abiu, and seventy of the ancients of Israel, and you shall adore afar off.

24:2. And Moses alone shall come up to the Lord, but they shall not come nigh; neither shall the people come up with him.

24:3. So Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord, and all the judgments: and all the people answered with one voice: We will do all the words of the Lord, which he hath spoken.

24:4. And Moses wrote all the words of the Lord: and rising in the morning, he built an altar at the foot of the mount, and twelve titles according to the twelve tribes of Israel.

Titles. . .That is, pillars.

24:5. And he sent young men of the children of Israel, and they offered holocausts, and sacrificed pacific victims of calves to the Lord.

Holocausts. . .Whole burnt offerings, in which the whole sacrifice was consumed with fire upon the altar.

24:6. Then Moses took half of the blood, and put it into bowls; and the rest he poured upon the altar.

24:7. And taking the book of the covenant, he read it in the hearing of the people: and they said: All things that the Lord hath spoken, we will do, we will be obedient.

24:8. And he took the blood and sprinkled it upon the people, and he said: This is the blood of the covenant, which the Lord hath made with you concerning all these words.

24:9. Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abiu, and seventy of the ancients of Israel went up:

24:10. And they saw the God of Israel: and under his feet as it were a work of sapphire stone, and as the heaven, when clear.

24:11. Neither did he lay his hand upon those of the children of Israel, that retired afar off, and they saw God, and they did eat and drink.

24:12. And the Lord said to Moses: Come up to me into the mount, and be there; and I will give thee tables of stone, and the law, and the commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them.

24:13. Moses rose up, and his minister Josue: and Moses going up into the mount of God,

24:14. Said to the ancients: Wait ye here till we return to you. You have Aaron and Hur with you: if any question shall arise, you shall refer it to them.

24:15. And when Moses was gone up, a cloud covered the mount.

24:16. And the glory of the Lord dwelt upon Sinai, covering it with a cloud six days: and the seventh day he called him out of the midst of the cloud.

24:17. And the sight of the glory of the Lord, was like a burning fire upon the top of the mount, in the eyes of the children of Israel.

24:18. And Moses entering into the midst of the cloud, went up into the mountain: And he was there forty days and forty nights.

Exodus Chapter 25

Offerings prescribed for making the tabernacle, the ark, the candlestick, etc.

25:1. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

25:2. Speak to the children of Israel, that they bring firstfruits to me: of every man that offereth of his own accord, you shall take them.

Firstfruits. . .Offerings of some of the best and choicest of their goods.

25:3. And these are the things you must take: Gold, and silver, and brass,

25:4. Violet and purple, and scarlet twice dyed, and fine linen, and goats’ hair,

25:5. And rams’ skins dyed red, and violet skins, and setim wood:

Setim wood. . .The wood of a tree that grows in the wilderness, which is said to be incorruptible.

25:6. Oil to make lights: spices for ointment, and for sweetsmelling incense:

25:7. Onyx stones, and precious stones to adorn the ephod and the rational.

The ephod and the rational. . .The ephod was the high priest’s upper vestment; and the rational his breastplate, in which were twelve gems, etc.

25:8. And they shall make me a sanctuary, and I will dwell in the midst of them:

25:9. According to all the likeness of the tabernacle which I will shew thee, and of all the vessels for the service thereof: and thus you shall make it:

25:10. Frame an ark of setim wood, the length whereof shall be of two cubits and a half; the breadth, a cubit and a half; the height, likewise, a cubit and a half.

25:11. And thou shalt overlay it with the purest gold, within and without; and over it thou shalt make a golden crown round about:

25:12. And four golden rings, which thou shalt put at the four corners of the ark: let two rings be on the one side, and two on the other.

25:13. Thou shalt make bars also of setim wood, and shalt overlay them with gold.

25:14. And thou shalt put them in through the rings that are in the sides of the ark, that it may be carried on them:

25:15. And they shall be always in the rings, neither shall they at any time be drawn out of them.

25:16. And thou shalt put in the ark the testimony which I will give thee.

25:17. Thou shalt make also a propitiatory of the purest gold: the length thereof shall be two cubits and a half, and the breadth a cubit and a half.

A propitiatory. . .a covering for the ark: called a propitiatory, or mercy seat, because the Lord, who was supposed to sit there upon the wings of the cherubims, with the ark for his footstool, from thence shewed mercy. It is also called the oracle, ver. 18 and 20; because from thence God gave his orders and his answers.

25:18. Thou shalt make also two cherubims of beaten gold, on the two sides of the oracle.

25:19. Let one cherub be on the one side, and the other on the other.

25:20. Let them cover both sides of the propitiatory, spreading their wings, and covering the oracle, and let them look one towards the other, their faces being turned towards the propitiatory wherewith the ark is to be covered.

25:21. In which thou shalt put the testimony that I will give thee.

25:22. Thence will I give orders, and will speak to thee over the propitiatory, and from the midst of the two cherubims, which shall be upon the ark of the testimony, all things which I will command the children of Israel by thee.

25:23. Thou shalt make a table also of setim wood, of two cubits in length, and a cubit in breadth, and a cubit and a half in height.

A table. . .On which were to be placed the twelve loaves of proposition: or, as they are called in the Hebrew, the face bread, because they were always to stand before the face of the Lord in his temple: as a figure of the eucharistic sacrifice and sacrament, in the church of Christ.

25:24. And thou shalt overlay it with the purest gold: and thou shalt make to it a golden ledge round about.

25:25. And to the ledge itself a polished crown, four inches high; and over the same another little golden crown.

25:26. Thou shalt prepare also four golden rings, and shalt put them in the four corners of the same table, over each foot.

25:27. Under the crown shall the golden rings be, that the bars may be put through them, and the table may be carried.

25:28. The bars also themselves thou shalt make of setim wood, and shalt overlay them with gold, to bear up the table.

25:29. Thou shalt prepare also dishes, and bowls, censers, and cups, wherein the libations are to be offered, of the purest gold.

Libations. . .That is, drink offerings.

25:30. And thou shalt set upon the table loaves of proposition in my sight always.

25:31. Thou shalt make also a candlestick of beaten work, of the finest gold, the shaft thereof, and the branches, the cups, and the bowls, and the lilies going forth from it.

A candlestick. . .This candlestick, with its seven lamps, which was always to give light in the house of God, was a figure of the light of the Holy Ghost, and his sevenfold grace, in the sanctuary of the church of Christ.

25:32. Six branches shall come out of the sides, three out of one side, and three out of the other.

25:33. Three cups as it were nuts to every branch, and a bowl withal, and a lily: and three cups likewise of the fashion of nuts in the other branch, and a bowl withal, and a lily. Such shall be the work of the six branches, that are to come out from the shaft:

25:34. And in the candlestick itself shall be four cups in the manner of a nut, and at every one bowls and lilies.

25:35. Bowls under two branches in three places, which together make six, coming forth out of one shaft.

25:36. And both the bowls and the branches shall be of the same beaten work of the purest gold.

25:37. Thou shalt make also seven lamps, and shalt set them upon the candlestick, to give light over against.

25:38. The snuffers also, and where the snuffings shall be put out, shall be made of the purest gold.

25:39. The whole weight of the candlestick, with all the furniture thereof, shall be a talent of the purest gold.

25:40. Look, and make it according to the pattern that was shewn thee in the mount.

Exodus Chapter 26

The form of the tabernacle with its appurtenances.

26:1. And thou shalt make the tabernacle in this manner: Thou shalt make ten curtains of fine twisted linen, and violet and purple, and scarlet twice dyed, diversified with embroidery.

26:2. The length of one curtain shall be twenty-eight cubits; the breadth shall be four cubits. All the curtains shall be of one measure.

26:3. Five curtains shall be joined one to another, and the other five shall be coupled together in like manner.

26:4. Thou shalt make loops of violet in the sides and tops of the curtains, that they may be joined one to another.

26:5. Every curtain shall have fifty loops on both sides, so set on, that one loop may be against another loop, and one may be fitted to the other.

26:6. Thou shalt make also fifty rings of gold, wherewith the veils of the curtains are to be joined, that it may be made one tabernacle.

26:7. Thou shalt make also eleven curtains of goats’ hair, to cover the top of the tabernacle.

26:8. The length of one hair-curtain shall be thirty cubits; and the breadth, four: the measure of all the curtains shall be equal.

26:9. Five of which thou shalt couple by themselves, and the six others thou shalt couple one to another, so as to double the sixth curtain in the front of the roof.

26:10. Thou shalt make also fifty loops in the edge of one curtain, that it may be joined with the other: and fifty loops in the edge of the other curtain, that it may be coupled with its fellow.

26:11. Thou shalt make also fifty buckles of brass, wherewith the loops may be joined, that of all there may be made one covering.

26:12. And that which shall remain of the curtains, that are prepared for the roof, to wit, one curtain that is over and above, with the half thereof thou shalt cover the back parts of the tabernacle.

26:13. And there shall hang down a cubit on the one side, and another on the other side, which is over and above in the length of the curtains, fencing both sides of the tabernacle.

26:14. Thou shalt make also another cover to the roof of rams’ skins dyed red: and over that again another cover of violet coloured skins.

26:15. Thou shalt make also the boards of the tabernacle standing upright of setim wood.

26:16. Let every one of them be ten cubits in length, and in breadth one cubit and a half.

26:17. In the sides of the boards shall be made two mortises, whereby one board may be joined to another board: and after this manner shall all the boards be prepared.

26:18. Of which twenty shall be in the south side southward.

26:19. For which thou shalt cast forty sockets of silver, that under every board may be put two sockets at the two corners.

26:20. In the second side also of the tabernacle that looketh to the north, there shall be twenty boards,

26:21. Having forty sockets of silver, two sockets shall be put under each board.

26:22. But on the west side of the tabernacle thou shalt make six boards.

26:23. And again other two which shall be erected in the corners at the back of the tabernacle.

26:24. And they shall be joined together from beneath unto the top, and one joint shall hold them all. The like joining shall be observed for the two boards also that are to be put in the corners.

26:25. And they shall be in all eight boards, and their silver sockets sixteen, reckoning two sockets for each board.

26:26. Thou shalt make also five bars of setim wood, to hold together the boards on one side of the tabernacle.

26:27. And five others on the other side, and as many at the west side:

26:28. And they shall be put along by the midst of the boards, from one end to the other.

26:29. The boards also themselves thou shalt overlay with gold, and shalt cast rings of gold to be set upon them, for places for the bars to hold together the boardwork: which bars thou shalt cover with plates of gold.

26:30. And thou shalt rear up the tabernacle according to the pattern that was shewn thee in the mount.

26:31. Thou shalt make also a veil of violet, and purple, and scarlet twice dyed, and fine twisted linen, wrought with embroidered work and goodly variety:

26:32. And thou shalt hang it up before four pillars of setim wood, which themselves also shall be overlaid with gold, and shall have heads of gold, but sockets of silver.

26:33. And the veil shall be hanged on with rings, and within it thou shalt put the ark of the testimony, and the sanctuary and the holy of the holies shall be divided with it.

The sanctuary, etc. . .That part of the tabernacle, which was without the veil, into which the priests daily entered, is here called the sanctuary, or holy place; that part which was within the veil, into which no one but the high priest ever went, and he but once a year, is called the holy of holies, (literally, the sanctuary of the sanctuaries,) as being the most holy of all holy places.

26:34. And thou shalt set the propitiatory upon the ark of the testimony, in the holy of holies.

26:35. And the table without the veil, and over against the table the candlestick in the south side of the tabernacle: for the table shall stand in the north side.

26:36. Thou shalt make also a hanging in the entrance of the tabernacle of violet, and purple, and scarlet twice dyed, and fine twisted linen with embroidered work.

26:37. And thou shalt overlay with gold five pillars of setim wood, before which the hanging shall be drawn: their heads shall be of gold, and the sockets of brass.

Exodus Chapter 27

The altar; and the court of the tabernacle with its hangings and pillars. Provision of oil for lamps.

27:1. Thou shalt make also an altar of setim wood, which shall be five cubits long, and as many broad, that is four square, and three cubits high.

27:2. And there shall be horns at the four corners of the same: and thou shalt cover it with brass.

27:3. And thou shalt make for the uses thereof pans to receive the ashes, and tongs and fleshhooks, and firepans: all its vessels thou shalt make of brass.

27:4. And a grate of brass in manner of a net; at the four corners of which, shall be four rings of brass,

27:5. Which thou shalt put under the hearth of the altar: and the grate shall be even to the midst of the altar.

27:6. Thou shalt make also two bars for the altar, of setim wood, which thou shalt cover with plates of brass:

27:7. And thou shalt draw them through rings, and they shall be on both sides of the altar to carry it.

27:8. Thou shalt not make it solid, but empty and hollow in the inside, as it was shewn thee in the mount.

27:9. Thou shalt make also the court of the tabernacle, in the south side whereof southward there shall be hangings of fine twisted linen of a hundred cubits long for one side.

27:10. And twenty pillars with as many sockets of brass, the heads of which, with their engraving, shall be of silver.

27:11. In like manner also on the north side there shall be hangings of a hundred cubits long, twenty pillars, and as many sockets of brass, and their heads with their engraving of silver.

27:12. But in the breadth of the court, that looketh to the west, there shall be hangings of fifty cubits, and ten pillars, and as many sockets.

27:13. In that breadth also of the court, which looketh to the east, there shall be fifty cubits.

27:14. In which there shall be for one side, hangings of fifteen cubits, and three pillars, and as many sockets.

27:15. And in the other side, there shall be hangings of fifteen cubits, with three pillars, and as many sockets.

27:16. And in the entrance of the court there shall be made a hanging of twenty cubits of violet and purple, and scarlet twice dyed, and fine twisted linen, with embroidered work: it shall have four pillars, with as many sockets.

27:17. All the pillars of the court round about shall be garnished with plates of silver, silver heads, and sockets of brass.

27:18. In length the court shall take up a hundred cubits, in breadth fifty, the height shall be of five cubits, and it shall be made of fine twisted linen, and shall have sockets of brass.

27:19. All the vessels of the tabernacle for all uses and ceremonies, and the pins both of it and of the court, thou shalt make of brass.

27:20. Command the children of Israel that they bring thee the purest oil of the olives, and beaten with a pestle: that a lamp may burn always,

27:21. In the tabernacle of the testimony, without the veil that hangs before the testimony. And Aaron and his sons shall order it, that it may give light before the Lord until the morning. It shall be a perpetual observance throughout their successions among the children of Israel.

Exodus Chapter 28

The holy vestments for Aaron and his sons.

28:1. Take unto thee also Aaron thy brother with his sons, from among the children of Israel, that they may minister to me in the priest’s office: Aaron, Nadab, and Abiu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.

28:2. And thou shalt make a holy vesture for Aaron, thy brother, for glory and for beauty.

28:3. And thou shalt speak to all the wise of heart, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they may make Aaron’s vestments, in which he being consecrated, may minister to me.

28:4. And these shall be the vestments that they shall make: A rational and an ephod, a tunic and a strait linen garment, a mitre and a girdle. They shall make the holy vestments for thy brother Aaron and his sons, that they may do the office of priesthood unto me.

28:5. And they shall take gold, and violet, and purple, and scarlet twice dyed, and fine linen.

28:6. And they shall make the ephod of gold, and violet, and purple, and scarlet twice dyed, and fine twisted linen, embroidered with divers colours.

28:7. It shall have the two edges joined in the top on both sides, that they may be closed together.

28:8. The very workmanship also, and all the variety of the work, shall be of gold, and violet, and purple, and scarlet twice dyed, and fine twisted linen.

28:9. And thou shalt take two onyx stones, and shalt grave on them the names of the children of Israel:

28:10. Six names on one stone, and the other six on the other, according to the order of their birth.

28:11. With the work of an engraver, and the graving of a jeweller, thou shalt engrave them with the names of the children of Israel, set in gold and compassed about:

28:12. And thou shalt put them in both sides of the ephod, a memorial for the children of Israel. And Aaron shall bear their names before the Lord upon both shoulders, for a remembrance.

28:13. Thou shalt make also hooks of gold.

28:14. And two little chains of the purest gold, linked one to another, which thou shalt put into the hooks.

28:15. And thou shalt make the rational of judgment with embroidered work of divers colours, according to the workmanship of the ephod, of gold, violet, and purple, and scarlet twice dyed, and fine twisted linen.

The rational of judgment. . .This part of the priest’s attire, which he wore at his breast, was called the rational of judgment; partly because it admonished both priest and people of their duty to God, by carrying the names of all their tribes in his presence; and by the Urim and the Thummim, that is, doctrine and truth, which were written upon it; and partly because it gave divine answers and oracles, as if it were rational and endowed with judgment.

28:16. It shall be four square and doubled: it shall be the measure of a span both in length and in breadth.

28:17. And thou shalt set in it four rows of stones . In the first row shall be a sardius stone, and a topaz, and an emerald:

28:18. In the second a carbuncle, a sapphire, and a jasper:

28:19. In the third a ligurius, an agate, and an amethyst:

28:20. In the fourth a chrysolite, an onyx, and a beryl. They shall be set in gold by their rows.

28:21. And they shall have the names of the children of Israel: with twelve names shall they be engraved, each stone with the name of one according to the twelve tribes.

28:22. And thou shalt make on the rational chains, linked one to another, of the purest gold:

28:23. And two rings of gold, which thou shalt put in the two ends at the top of the rational.

28:24. And the golden chains thou shalt join to the rings, that are in the ends thereof.

28:25. And the ends of the chains themselves, thou shalt join together with two hooks, on both sides of the ephod, which is towards the rational.

28:26. Thou shalt make also two rings of gold, which thou shalt put in the top parts of the rational, in the borders that are over against the ephod, and look towards the back parts thereof.

28:27. Moreover also other two rings of gold, which are to be set on each side of the ephod beneath, that looketh towards the nether joining, that the rational may be fitted with the ephod,

28:28. And may be fastened by the rings thereof unto the rings of the ephod with a violet fillet, that the joining artificially wrought may continue, and the rational and the ephod may not be loosed one from the other.

28:29. And Aaron shall bear the names of the children of Israel in the rational of judgment upon his breast, when he shall enter into the sanctuary, a memorial before the Lord for ever.

28:30. And thou shalt put in the rational of judgment doctrine and truth, which shall be on Aaron’s breast, when he shall go in before the Lord: and he shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel on his breast, in the sight of the Lord always.

Doctrine and Truth. . .Hebrew, Urim and Thummim: illuminations and perfections. These words, written on the rational, seem to signify the light of doctrine and the integrity of life, with which the priests of God ought to approach him.

28:31. And thou shalt make the tunic of the ephod all of violet,

28:32. In the midst whereof above shall be a hole for the head, and a border round about it woven, as is wont to be made in the outmost parts of garments, that it may not easily be broken.

28:33. And beneath at the feet of the same tunic, round about, thou shalt make as it were pomegranates, of violet, and purple, and scarlet twice dyed, with little bells set between:

28:34. So that there shall be a golden bell and a pomegranate, and again another golden bell and a pomegranate.

28:35. And Aaron shall be vested with it in the office of his ministry, that the sound may be heard, when he goeth in and cometh out of the sanctuary, in the sight of the Lord, and that he may not die.

28:36. Thou shalt make also a plate of the purest gold: wherein thou shalt grave with engraver’s work, Holy to the Lord.

28:37. And thou shalt tie it with a violet fillet, and it shall be upon the mitre,

28:38. Hanging over the forehead of the high priest. And Aaron shall bear the iniquities of those things, which the children of Israel have offered and sanctified, in all their gifts and offerings. And the plate shall be always on his forehead, that the Lord may be well pleased with them.

28:39. And thou shalt gird the tunic with fine linen, and thou shalt make a fine linen mitre, and a girdle of embroidered work.

28:40. Moreover, for the sons of Aaron thou shalt prepare linen tunics, and girdles and mitres for glory and beauty:

28:41. And with all these things thou shalt vest Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him. And thou shalt consecrate the hands of them all, and shalt sanctify them, that they may do the office of priesthood unto me.

28:42. Thou shalt make also linen breeches, to cover the flesh of their nakedness, from the reins to the thighs:

28:43. And Aaron and his sons shall use them when they shall go into the tabernacle of the testimony, or when they approach to the altar to minister in the sanctuary. lest being guilty of iniquity they die. It shall be a law for ever to Aaron, and to his seed after him.

Exodus Chapter 29

The manner of consecrating Aaron and other priests; the institution of the daily sacrifice of two lambs, one in the morning, the other at evening.

29:1. And thou shalt also do this, that they may be consecrated to me in priesthood. Take a calf from the herd, and two rams without blemish,

29:2. And unleavened bread, and a cake without leaven, tempered with oil, wafers also unleavened, anointed with oil: thou shalt make them all of wheaten flour.

29:3. And thou shalt put them in a basket, and offer them: and the calf and the two rams.

29:4. And thou shalt bring Aaron and his sons to the door of the tabernacle of the testimony. And when thou hast washed the father and his sons with water,

29:5. Thou shalt clothe Aaron with his vestments, that is, with the linen garment and the tunic, and the ephod and the rational, which thou shalt gird with the girdle.

29:6. And thou shalt put the mitre upon his head, and the holy plate upon the mitre,

29:7. And thou shalt pour the oil of unction upon his head: and by this rite shall he be consecrated.

29:8. Thou shalt bring his sons also, and shalt put on them the linen tunics, and gird them with a girdle:

29:9. To wit, Aaron and his children, and thou shalt put mitres upon them; and they shall be priests to me by a perpetual ordinance. After thou shalt have consecrated their hands,

29:10. Thou shalt present also the calf before the tabernacle of the testimony. And Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands upon his head,

29:11. And thou shalt kill him in the sight of the Lord, beside the door of the tabernacle of the testimony.

29:12. And taking some of the blood of the calf, thou shalt put it upon the horns of the altar with thy finger, and the rest of the blood thou shalt pour at the bottom thereof.

29:13. Thou shalt take also all the fat that covereth the entrails, and the caul of the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and shalt offer a burnt offering upon the altar:

29:14. But the flesh of the calf, and the hide and the dung, thou shalt burn abroad, without the camp, because it is for sin.

29:15. Thou shalt take also one ram, upon the head whereof Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands.

29:16. And when thou hast killed him, thou shalt take of the blood thereof, and pour round about the altar.

29:17. And thou shalt cut the ram in pieces, and having washed his entrails and feet, thou shalt put them upon the flesh that is cut in pieces, and upon his head.

29:18. And thou shalt offer the whole ram for a burnt offering upon the altar: it is an oblation to the Lord, a most sweet savour of the victim of the Lord.

29:19. Thou shalt take also the other ram, upon whose head Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands.

29:20. And when thou hast sacrificed him, thou shalt take of his blood, and put upon the tip of the right ear of Aaron and of his sons, and upon the thumbs and great toes of their right hand and foot, and thou shalt pour the blood upon the altar round about.

29:21. And when thou hast taken of the blood that is upon the altar, and of the oil of unction, thou shalt sprinkle Aaron and his vesture, his sons and their vestments. And after they and their vestments are consecrated,

29:22. Thou shalt take the fat of the ram, and the rump, and the fat that covereth the lungs, and the caul of the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and the right shoulder, because it is the ram of consecration:

29:23. And one roll of bread, a cake tempered with oil, a wafer out of the basket of unleavened bread, which is set in the sight of the Lord:

29:24. And thou shalt put all upon the hands of Aaron and of his sons, and shalt sanctify them elevating before the Lord.

29:25. And thou shalt take all from their hands; and shalt burn them upon the altar for a holocaust, a most sweet savour in the sight of the Lord, because it is his oblation.

29:26. Thou shalt take also the breast of the ram, wherewith Aaron was consecrated, and elevating it thou shalt sanctify it before the Lord, and it shall fall to thy share.

29:27. And thou shalt sanctify both the consecrated breast, and the shoulder that thou didst separate of the ram,

29:28. Wherewith Aaron was consecrated and his sons, and they shall fall to Aaron’s share, and his sons’, by a perpetual right from the children of Israel: because they are the choicest and the beginnings of their peace victims which they offer to the Lord.

29:29. And the holy vesture, which Aaron shall use, his sons shall have after him, that they may be anointed, and their hands consecrated in it.

29:30. He of his sons that shall be appointed high priest in his stead, and that shall enter into the tabernacle of the testimony to minister in the sanctuary, shall wear it seven days.

29:31. And thou shalt take the ram of the consecration, and shalt boil the flesh thereof in the holy place:

29:32. And Aaron and his sons shall eat it. The loaves also, that are in the basket, they shall eat in the entry of the tabernacle of the testimony,

29:33. That it may be an atoning sacrifice, and the hands of the offerers may be sanctified. A stranger shall not eat of them, because they are holy.

29:34. And if there remain of the consecrated flesh, or of the bread, till the morning, thou shalt burn the remainder with fire: they shall not be eaten, because they are sanctified.

29:35. All that I have commanded thee, thou shalt do unto Aaron and his sons. Seven days shalt thou consecrate their hands:

29:36. And thou shalt offer a calf for sin every day for expiation. And thou shalt cleanse the altar when thou hast offered the victim of expiation, and shalt anoint it to sanctify it.

29:37. Seven days shalt thou expiate the altar and sanctify it, and it shall be most holy. Every one, that shall touch it, shall be holy.

29:38. This is what thou shalt sacrifice upon the altar: Two lambs of a year old every day continually,

29:39. One lamb in the morning, and another in the evening.

29:40. With one lamb a tenth part of flour tempered with beaten oil, of the fourth part of a hin, and wine for libation of the same measure.

29:41. And the other lamb thou shalt offer in the evening, according to the rite of the morning oblation, and according to what we have said, for a savour of sweetness:

29:42. It is a sacrifice to the Lord, by perpetual oblation unto your generations, at the door of the tabernacle of the testimony before the Lord, where I will appoint to speak unto thee.

29:43. And there will I command the children of Israel, and the altar shall be sanctified by my glory.

29:44. I will sanctify also the tabernacle of the testimony with the altar, and Aaron with his sons, to do the office of priesthood unto me.

29:45. And I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel, and will be their God:

29:46. And they shall know that I am the Lord their God, who have brought them out of the land of Egypt, that I might abide among them, I the Lord their God.

Exodus Chapter 30

The altar of incense: money to be gathered for the use of the tabernacle: the brazen laver: the holy oil of unction, and the composition of the perfume.

30:1. Thou shalt make also an altar to burn incense, of setim wood.

An altar to burn incense. . .This burning of incense was an emblem of prayer, ascending to God from an inflamed heart. See Ps. 140.2; Apoc. 5.8, and 8.4.

30:2. It shall be a cubit in length, and another in breadth, that is, four square, and two in height. Horns shall go out of the same.

30:3. And thou shalt overlay it with the purest gold, as well the grate thereof, as the walls round about, and the horns. And thou shalt make to it a crown of gold round about,

30:4. And two golden rings under the crown on either side, that the bars may be put into them, and the altar be carried.

30:5. And thou shalt make the bars also of setim wood, and shalt overlay them with gold.

30:6. And thou shalt set the altar over against the veil, that hangeth before the ark of the testimony before the propitiatory wherewith the testimony is covered, where I will speak to thee.

30:7. And Aaron shall burn sweet smelling incense upon it in the morning. When he shall dress the lamps, he shall burn it:

30:8. And when he shall place them in the evening, he shall burn an everlasting incense before the Lord throughout your generations.

30:9. You shall not offer upon it incense of another composition, nor oblation, and victim, neither shall you offer libations.

30:10. And Aaron shall pray upon the horns thereof once a year, with the blood of that which was offered for sin; and shall make atonement upon it in your generations. It shall be most holy to the Lord.

30:11. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

30:12. When thou shalt take the sum of the children of Israel, according to their number, every one of them shall give a price for their souls to the Lord, and there shall be no scourge among them, when they shall be reckoned.

30:13. And this shall every one give that passeth at the naming, half a sicle according to the standard of the temple. A sicle hath twenty obols. Half a sicle shall be offered to the Lord.

Half a sicle. . .A sicle or shekel of silver, (which was also called a stater,) according to the standard or weight of the sanctuary, which was the most just and exact, was half an ounce of silver, that is, about half a crown of English money. The obol, or gerah, was about three halfpence.

30:14. He that is counted in the number from twenty years and upwards, shall give the price.

30:15. The rich man shall not add to half a sicle, and the poor man shall diminish nothing.

30:16. And the money received, which was contributed by the children of Israel, thou shalt deliver unto the uses of the tabernacle of the testimony, that it may be a memorial of them before the Lord, and he may be merciful to their souls.

30:17. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

30:18. Thou shalt make also a brazen laver with its foot to wash in: and thou shalt set it between the tabernacle of the testimony and the altar. And water being put into it:

30:19. Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and feet in it:

30:20. When they are going into the tabernacle of the testimony, and when they are to come to the altar, to offer on it incense to the Lord,

30:21. Lest perhaps they die. It shall be an everlasting law to him, and to his seed by successions.

30:22. And the Lord spoke to Moses,

30:23. Saying: Take spices, of principal and chosen myrrh five hundred sicles, and of cinnamon half so much; that is, two hundred and fifty sicles, of calamus in like manner two hundred and fifty,

30:24. And of cassia five hundred sicles by the weight of the sanctuary, of oil of olives the measure hin:

30:25. And thou shalt make the holy oil of unction, an ointment compounded after the art of the perfumer,

30:26. And therewith thou shalt anoint the tabernacle of the testimony, and the ark of the testament,

30:27. And the table with the vessels thereof, the candlestick and furniture thereof, the altars of incense,

30:28. And of holocaust, and all the furniture that belongeth to the service of them.

30:29. And thou shalt sanctify all, and they shall be most holy: he that shall touch them shall be sanctified.

30:30. Thou shalt anoint Aaron and his sons, and shalt sanctify them, that they may do the office of priesthood unto me.

30:31. And thou shalt say to the children of Israel: This oil of unction shall be holy unto me throughout your generations.

30:32. The flesh of man shall not be anointed therewith, and you shall make none other of the same composition, because it is sanctified, and shall be holy unto you.

30:33. What man soever shall compound such, and shall give thereof to a stranger, he shall be cut off from his people.

30:34. And the Lord said to Moses: Take unto thee spices, stacte, and onycha, galbanum of sweet savour, and the clearest frankincense, all shall be of equal weight.

30:35. And thou shalt make incense compounded by the work of the perfumer, well tempered together, and pure, and most worthy of sanctification.

30:36. And when thou hast beaten all into very small powder, thou shalt set of it before the tabernacle of the testimony, in the place where I will appear to thee. Most holy shall this incense be unto you.

30:37. You shall not make such a composition for your own uses, because it is holy to the Lord.

30:38. What man soever shall make the like, to enjoy the smell thereof, he shall perish out of his people.

Exodus Chapter 31

Beseleel and Ooliab are appointed by the Lord to make the tabernacle, and the things belonging thereto. The observation of the sabbath day is again commanded. And the Lord delivereth to Moses two tables written with the finger of God.

31:1. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

31:2. Behold, I have called by name Beseleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Juda,

31:3. And I have filled him with the spirit of God, with wisdom and understanding, and knowledge in all manner of work,

31:4. To devise whatsoever may be artificially made of gold, and silver, and brass,

31:5. Of marble, and precious stones, and variety of wood.

31:6. And I have given him for his companion Ooliab, the son of Achisamech, of the tribe of Dan. And I have put wisdom in the heart of every skilful man, that they may make all things which I have commanded thee,

31:7. The tabernacle of the covenant, and the ark of the testimony, and the propitiatory, that is over it, and all the vessels of the tabernacle,

31:8. And the table and the vessels thereof, the most pure candlestick with the vessels thereof, and the altars of incense,

31:9. And of holocaust, and all their vessels, the laver with its foot,

31:10. The holy vestments in the ministry for Aaron the priest, and for his sons, that they may execute their office, about the sacred things:

31:11. The oil of unction, and the incense of spices in the sanctuary, all things which I have commanded thee, shall they make.

31:12. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

31:13. Speak to the children of Israel, and thou shalt say to them: See that you keep my sabbath; because it is a sign between me and you in your generations that you may know that I am the Lord, who sanctify you.

31:14. keep you my sabbath: for it is holy unto you: he that shall profane it, shall be put to death: he that shall do any work in it, his soul shall perish out of the midst of his people.

31:15. Six days shall you do work: in the seventh day is the sabbath, the rest holy to the Lord. Every one that shall do any work on this day, shall die.

31:16. Let the children of Israel keep the sabbath, and celebrate it in their generations. It is an everlasting covenant

31:17. Between me and the children of Israel, and a perpetual sign. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and in the seventh he ceased from work.

31:18. And the Lord, when he had ended these words in Mount Sinai, gave to Moses two stone tables of testimony, written with the finger of God.

Exodus Chapter 32

The people fall into idolatry. Moses prayeth for them. He breaketh the tables: destroyeth the idol: blameth Aaron, and causeth many of the idolaters to be slain.

32:1. And the people seeing that Moses delayed to come down from the mount, gathering together against Aaron, said: Arise, make us gods, that may go before us: For as to this Moses, the man that brought us out of the land of Egypt, we know not what has befallen him.

32:2. And Aaron said to them: Take the golden earrings from the ears of your wives, and your sons and daughters, and bring them to me.

32:3. And the people did what he had commanded, bringing the earrings to Aaron.

32:4. And when he had received them, he fashioned them by founders’ work, and made of them a molten calf. And they said: These are thy gods, O Israel, that have brought thee out of the land of Egypt.

32:5. And when Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it, and made proclamation by a crier’s voice, saying To morrow is the solemnity of the Lord.

32:6. And rising in the morning, they offered holocausts, and peace victims, and the people sat down to eat and drink, and they rose up to play.

32:7. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Go, get thee down: thy people, which thou hast brought out of the land of Egypt, hath sinned.

32:8. They have quickly strayed from the way which thou didst shew them: and they have made to themselves a molten calf, and have adored it, and sacrificing victims to it, have said: These are thy gods, O Israel, that have brought thee out of the land of Egypt.

32:9. And again the Lord said to Moses: I see that this people is stiffnecked:

32:10. Let me alone, that my wrath may be kindled against them, and that I may destroy them, and I will make of thee a great nation.

32:11. But Moses besought the Lord his God, saying: Why, O Lord, is thy indignation enkindled against thy people, whom thou hast brought out of the land of Egypt, with great power, and with a mighty hand?

32:12. Let not the Egyptians say, I beseech thee: He craftily brought them out, that he might kill them in the mountains, and destroy them from the earth: let thy anger cease, and be appeased upon the wickedness of thy people.

32:13. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou sworest by thy own self, saying: I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven: and this whole land that I have spoken of, I will give to your seed, and you shall possess it for ever:

32:14. And the Lord was appeased from doing the evil which he had spoken against his people.

32:15. And Moses returned from the mount, carrying the two tables of the testimony in his hand, written on both sides,

32:16. And made by the work of God; the writing also of God was graven in the tables.

32:17. And Josue hearing the noise of the people shouting, said to Moses: The noise of battle is heard in the camp.

32:18. But he answered: It is not the cry of men encouraging to fight, nor the shout of men compelling to flee: but I hear the voice of singers.

32:19. And when he came nigh to the camp, he saw the calf, and the dances: and being very angry, he threw the tables out of his hand, and broke them at the foot of the mount:

32:20. And laying hold of the calf which they had made, he burnt it, and beat it to powder, which he strewed into water, and gave thereof to the children of Israel to drink.

32:21. And he said to Aaron: What has this people done to thee, that thou shouldst bring upon them a most heinous sin?

32:22. And he answered him: Let not my lord be offended; for thou knowest this people, that they are prone to evil.

32:23. They said to me: make us gods, that may go before us; for as to this Moses, who brought us forth out of the land of Egypt, we know not what is befallen him.

32:24. And I said to them: Which of you hath any gold? and they took and brought it to me; and I cast it into the fire, and this calf came out.

32:25. And when Moses saw that the people were naked, (for Aaron had stripped them by occasion of the shame of the filth, and had set them naked among their enemies)

Naked. . .Having lost not only their gold, and their honour, but what was worst of all, being stripped also of the grace of God, and having lost him.—The shame of the filth. . .That is, of the idol, which they had taken for their god. It is the usual phrase of the scripture to call idols filth and abominations.

32:26. Then standing in the gate of the camp, he said: If any man be on the Lord’s side, let him join with me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him:

32:27. And he said to them: Thus saith the Lord God of Israel: Put every man his sword upon his thigh: go, and return from gate to gate through the midst of the camp, and let every man kill his brother, and friend, and neighbour.

32:28. And the sons of Levi did according to the words of Moses, and there were slain that day about three and twenty thousand men.

32:29. And Moses said: You have consecrated your hands this day to the Lord, every man in his son and in his brother, that a blessing may be given to you.

32:30. And when the next day was come, Moses spoke to the people: You have sinned a very great sin: I will go up to the Lord, if by any means I may be able to entreat him for your crime.

32:31. And returning to the Lord, he said: I beseech thee: this people hath sinned a heinous sin, and they have made to themselves gods of gold: either forgive them this trespass,

32:32. Or if thou do not, strike me out of the book that thou hast written.

32:33. And the Lord answered him: He that hath sinned against me, him will I strike out of my book:

32:34. But go thou, and lead this people whither I have told thee: my angel shall go before thee. And I in the day of revenge will visit this sin also of theirs.

32:35. The Lord therefore struck the people for the guilt, on occasion of the calf which Aaron had made.

Exodus Chapter 33

The people mourn for their sin. Moses pitcheth the tabernacle without the camp. He converseth familiarly with God. Desireth to see his glory.

33:1. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Go, get thee up from this place, thou and thy people which thou hast brought out of the land of Egypt, into the land concerning which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying: To thy seed I will give it:

33:2. And I will send an angel before thee, that I may cast out the Chanaanite, and the Amorrhite, and the Hethite, and the Pherezite, and the Hevite, and the Jebusite,

33:3. That thou mayst enter into the land that floweth with milk and honey. For I will not go up with thee, because thou art a stiffnecked people; lest I destroy thee in the way.

33:4. And the people hearing these very bad tidings, mourned: and no man put on his ornaments according to custom.

33:5. And the Lord said to Moses: Say to the children of Israel: Thou art a stiffnecked people, once I shall come up in the midst of thee, and shall destroy thee. Now presently lay aside thy ornaments, that I may know what to do to thee.

33:6. So the children of Israel laid aside their ornaments by Mount Horeb.

33:7. Moses also taking the tabernacle, pitched it without the camp afar off, and called the name thereof, The tabernacle of the covenant. And all the people, that had any question, went forth to the tabernacle of the covenant, without the camp.

33:8. And when Moses went forth to the tabernacle, all the people rose up, and every one stood in the door of his pavilion, and they beheld the back of Moses, till he went into the tabernacle.

33:9. And when he was gone into the tabernacle of the covenant, the pillar of the cloud came down, and stood at the door, and he spoke with Moses.

33:10. And all saw that the pillar of the cloud stood at the door of the tabernacle. And they stood and worshipped at the doors of their tent.

33:11. And the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man is wont to speak to his friend. And when he returned into the camp, his servant Josue, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not from the tabernacle.

Face to face. . .That is, in a most familiar manner. Though as we learn from this very chapter, Moses could not see the face of the Lord.

33:12. And Moses said to the Lord: Thou commandest me to lead forth this people; and thou dost not let me know whom thou wilt send with me, especially whereas thou hast said: I know thee by name, and thou hast found favour in my sight.

I know thee by name. . .In the language of the scriptures, God is said to know such as he approves and loves: and to know by name, those whom he favours in a most singular manner, as he did his servant Moses.

33:13. If therefore I have found favour in thy sight, shew me thy face, that I may know thee, and may find grace before thy eyes: look upon thy people this nation.

33:14. And the Lord said: My face shall go before thee, and I will give thee rest.

33:15. And Moses said: If thou thyself dost not go before, bring us not out of this place.

33:16. For how shall we be able to know, I and thy people, that we have found grace in thy sight, unless thou walk with us, that we may be glorified by all people that dwell upon the earth?

33:17. And the Lord said to Moses: This word also, which thou hast spoken, will I do; for thou hast found grace before me, and thee I have known by name.

33:18. And he said: Shew me thy glory.

33:19. He answered: I will shew thee all good, and I will proclaim in the name of the Lord before thee: and I will have mercy on whom I will, and I will be merciful to whom it shall please me.

33:20. And again he said: Thou canst not see my face: for man shall not see me, and live.

33:21. And again he said: Behold there is a place with me, and thou shalt stand upon the rock.

33:22. And when my glory shall pass, I will set thee in a hole of the rock, and protect thee with my right hand till I pass:

33:23. And I will take away my hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face thou canst not see.

See my back parts. . .The Lord by his angel, usually spoke to Moses in the pillar of the cloud; so that he could not see the glory of him that spoke familiarly with him. In the vision here mentioned he was allowed to see something of him, in an assumed corporeal form: not in the face, the rays of which were too bright for mortal eye to bear, but to view him as it were behind, when his face was turned from him.

Exodus Chapter 34

The tables are renewed: all society with the Chanaanites is forbid: some precepts concerning the firstborn, the sabbath, and other feasts: after forty days’ fast, Moses returneth to the people with the commandments, and his face appearing horned with rays of light, he covereth it, whensoever he speaketh to the people.

34:1. And after this he said: Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the former, and I will write upon them the words, which were in the tables, which thou brokest.

34:2. Be ready in the morning, that thou mayst forthwith go up into Mount Sinai, and thou shalt stand with me upon the top of the mount.

34:3. Let no man go up with thee, and let not any man be seen throughout all the mount; neither let the oxen nor the sheep feed over against it.

34:4. Then he cut out two tables of stone, such as had been before; and rising very early he went up into the Mount Sinai, as the Lord had commanded him, carrying with him the tables.

34:5. And when the Lord was come down in a cloud, Moses stood with him, calling upon the name of the Lord.

34:6. And when he passed before him, he said: O the Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, patient and of much compassion, and true,

34:7. Who keepest mercy unto thousands: who takest away iniquity, and wickedness, and sin, and no man of himself is innocent before thee. Who renderest the iniquity of the fathers to the children, and to the grandchildren unto the third and fourth generation.

34:8. And Moses making haste, bowed down prostrate unto the earth, and adoring,

34:9. Said: If I have found grace in thy sight, O Lord, I beseech thee that thou wilt go with us, (for it is a stiffnecked people) and take away our iniquities and sin, and possess us.

34:10. The Lord answered: I will make a covenant in the sight of all, I will do signs such as were never seen upon the earth, nor in any nations; that this people, in the midst of whom thou art, may see the terrible work of the Lord which I will do.

34:11. Observe all things which this day I command thee: I myself will drive out before thy face the Amorrhite, and the Chanaanite, and the Hethite, and the Pherezite, and the Hevite, and the Jebusite.

34:12. Beware thou never join in friendship with the inhabitants of that land, which may be thy ruin:

34:13. But destroy their altars, break their statues and cut down their groves:

34:14. Adore not any strange god. The Lord his name is jealous, he is a jealous God.

34:15. Make no covenant with the men of those countries; lest, when they have committed fornication with their gods, and have adored their idols, some one call thee to eat of the things sacrificed.

34:16. Neither shalt thou take of their daughters a wife for thy son, lest after they themselves have committed fornication, they make thy sons also to commit fornication with their gods.

34:17. Thou shalt not make to thyself any molten gods.

34:18: Thou shalt keep the feast of the unleavened bread. Seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread, as I commanded thee in the time of the month of the new corn: for in the month of the spring time thou camest out from Egypt.

34:19. All of the male kind that openeth the womb, shall be mine. Of all beasts; both of oxen and of sheep, it shall be mine.

34:20. The firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a sheep: but if thou wilt not give a price for it, it shall be slain. The firstborn of thy sons thou shalt redeem: neither shalt thou appear before me empty.

34:21. Six days shalt thou work, the seventh day thou shalt cease to plough and to reap.

34:22. Thou shalt keep the feast of weeks with the firstfruits of the corn of thy wheat harvest, and the feast when the time of the year returneth that all things are laid in.

34:23. Three times in the year all thy males shall appear in the sight of the almighty Lord the God of Israel.

34:24. For when I shall have taken away the nations from thy face, and shall have enlarged thy borders, no man shall lie in wait against thy land when thou shalt go up, and appear in the sight of the Lord thy God thrice in a year.

34:25. Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice upon leaven; neither shall there remain in the morning any thing of the victim of the solemnity of the Phase.

34:26. The first of the fruits of thy ground thou shalt offer in the house of the Lord thy God. Thou shalt not boil a kid in the milk of his dam.

34:27. And the Lord said to Moses: Write thee these words, by which I have made a covenant both with thee and with Israel.

34:28. And 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 ten words of the covenant.

34:29. And when Moses came down from the Mount Sinai, he held the two tables of the testimony, and he knew not that his face was horned from the conversation of the Lord.

Horned. . .That is, shining, and sending forth rays of light like horns.

34:30. And Aaron and the children of Israel seeing the face of Moses horned, were afraid to come near.

34:31. And being called by him, they returned, both Aaron and the rulers of the congregation. And after that he spoke to them,

34:32. And all the children of Israel came to him: and he gave them in commandment all that he had heard of the Lord on Mount Sinai.

34:33. And having done speaking, he put a veil upon his face.

34:34. But when he went in to the Lord, and spoke with him, he took it away until he came forth, and then he spoke to the children of Israel all things that had been commanded him.

34:35. And they saw that the face of Moses when he came out was horned, but he covered his face again, if at any time he spoke to them.

Exodus Chapter 35

The sabbath. Offerings for making the tabernacle. Beseleel and Ooliab are called to the work.

35:1. And all the multitude of the children of Israel being gathered together, he said to them: These are the things which the Lord hath commanded to be done:

35:2. Six days you shall do work; the seventh day shall be holy unto you, the sabbath and the rest of the Lord: he that shall do any work on it, shall be put to death.

35:3. You shall kindle no fire in any of your habitations on the sabbath day.

35:4. And Moses said to all the assembly of the children of Israel: This is the word the Lord hath commanded, saying:

35:5. Set aside with you firstfruits to the Lord. Let every one that is willing and hath a ready heart, offer them to the Lord: gold, and silver, and brass,

35:6. Violet and purple, and scarlet twice dyed, and fine linen, goats’ hair,

35:7. And rams’ skins dyed red, and violet coloured skins, setim wood,

35:8. And oil to maintain lights, and to make ointment, and most sweet incense,

35:9. Onyx stones, and precious stones, for the adorning of the ephod and the rational.

35:10. Whosoever of you is wise, let him come, and make that which the Lord hath commanded:

35:11. To wit, the tabernacle, and the roof thereof, and the cover, the rings, and the board-work with the bars, the pillars and the sockets:

35:12. The ark and the staves, the propitiatory, and the veil that is drawn before it:

35:13. The table with the bars and the vessels, and the loaves of proposition:

35:14. The candlestick to bear up the lights, the vessels thereof and the lamps, and the oil for the nourishing of fires:

35:15. The altar of incense, and the bars, and the oil of unction, and the incense of spices: the hanging at the door of the tabernacle:

35:16. The altar of holocaust, and its grate of brass, with the bars and vessels thereof: the laver and its foot:

35:17. The curtains of the court, with the pillars and the sockets, the hanging in the doors of the entry.

35:18. The pins of the tabernacle, and of the court, with their little cords:

35:19. The vestments that are to be used in the ministry of the sanctuary, the vesture of Aaron the high priest, and of his sons, to do the office of priesthood to me.

35:20. And all the multitude of the children of Israel going out from the presence of Moses,

35:21. Offered firstfruits to the Lord with a most ready and devout mind, to make the work of the tabernacle of the testimony. Whatever was necessary to the service and to the holy vestments,

35:22. Both men and women gave bracelets and earrings, rings and tablets: every vessel of gold was set aside to be offered to the Lord.

35:23. If any man had violet, and purple, and scarlet twice dyed, fine linen and goats’ hair, ramskins dyed red, and violet coloured skins,

35:24. Metal of silver and brass, they offered it to the Lord, and setim wood for divers uses.

35:25. The skilful women also gave such things as they had spun, violet, purple, and scarlet, and fine linen,

35:26. And goats’ hair, giving all of their own accord.

35:27. But the princes offered onyx stones, and precious stones, for the ephod and the rational,

35:28. And spices and oil for the lights, and for the preparing of ointment, and to make the incense of most sweet savour.

35:29. All, both men and women, with devout mind offered gifts, that the works might be done which the Lord had commanded by the hand of Moses. All the children of Israel dedicated voluntary offerings to the Lord.

35:30. And Moses said to the children of Israel: Behold, the Lord hath called by name Beseleel, the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Juda,

35:31. And hath filled him with the spirit of God, with wisdom and understanding, and knowledge, and all learning,

35:32. To devise and to work in gold and silver and brass,

35:33. And in engraving stones, and in carpenters’ work. Whatsoever can be devised artificially,

35:34. He hath given in his heart: Ooliab also, the son of Achisamech, of the tribe of Dan:

35:35. Both of them hath he instructed with wisdom, to do carpenters’ work, and tapestry, and embroidery in blue and purple, and scarlet twice dyed, and fine linen, and to weave all things, and to invent all new things.

Exodus Chapter 36

The offerings are delivered to the workmen, the curtains, coverings, boards, bars, veil, pillars, and hanging are made.

36:1. Beseleel therefore, and Ooliab, and every wise man, to whom the Lord gave wisdom and understanding, to know how to work artificially, made the things that are necessary for the uses of the sanctuary, and which the Lord commanded.

36:2. And when Moses had called them, and every skilful man, to whom the Lord had given wisdom, and such as of their own accord had offered themselves to the making of the work,

36:3. He delivered all the offerings of the children of Israel unto them. And while they were earnest about the work, the people daily in the morning offered their vows.

36:4. Whereupon the workmen being constrained to come,

36:5. Said to Moses: The people offereth more than is necessary.

36:6. Moses therefore commanded proclamation to be made by the crier’s voice: Let neither man nor woman offer any more for the work of the sanctuary. And so they ceased from offering gifts,

36:7. Because the things that were offered did suffice, and were too much.

36:8. And all the men that were wise of heart, to accomplish the work of the tabernacle, made ten curtains of twisted fine linen, and violet, and purple, and scarlet twice dyed, with varied work, and the art of embroidering:

36:9. The length of one curtain was twenty-eight cubits, and the breadth four: all the curtains were of the same size.

36:10. And he joined five curtains, one to another, and the other five he coupled one to another.

36:11. He made also loops of violet in the edge of one curtain on both sides, and in the edge of the other curtain in like manner,

36:12. That the loops might meet one against another, and might be joined each with the other.

36:13. Whereupon also he cast fifty rings of gold, that might catch the loops of the curtains, and they might be made one tabernacle.

36:14. He made also eleven curtains of goats’ hair, to cover the roof of the tabernacle:

36:15. One curtain was thirty cubits long, and four cubits broad: all the curtains were of one measure.

36:16. Five of which he joined apart, and the other six apart.

36:17. And he made fifty loops in the edge of one curtain, and fifty in the edge of another curtain, that they might be joined one to another.

36:18. And fifty buckles of brass wherewith the roof might be knit together, that of all the curtains there might be made one covering.

36:19. He made also a cover for the tabernacle of rams’ skins dyed red; and another cover over that of violet skins.

36:20. He made also the boards of the tabernacle of setim wood standing.

36:21. The length of one board was ten cubits; and the breadth was one cubit and a half.

36:22. There were two mortises throughout every board, that one might be joined to the other. And in this manner he made for all the boards of the tabernacle.

36:23. Of which twenty were at the south side southward,

36:24. With forty sockets of silver, two sockets were put under one board on the two sides of the corners, where the mortises of the sides end in the corners.

36:25. At that side also of the tabernacle, that looketh towards the north, he made twenty boards,

36:26. With forty sockets of silver, two sockets for every board.

36:27. But against the west, to wit, at that side of the tabernacle, which looketh to the sea, he made six boards,

36:28. And two others at each corner of the tabernacle behind:

36:29. Which were also joined from beneath unto the top, and went together into one joint. Thus he did on both sides at the corners:

36:30. So there were in all eight boards, and they had sixteen sockets of silver, to wit, two sockets under every board.

36:31. He made also bars of setim wood, five to hold together the boards of one side of the tabernacle,

36:32. And five others to join together the boards of the other side; and besides these, five other bars at the west side of the tabernacle towards the sea.

36:33. He made also another bar, that might come by the midst of the boards from corner to corner.

36:34. And the boards themselves he overlaid with gold casting for them sockets of silver. And their rings he made of gold, through which the bars might be drawn: and he covered the bars themselves with plates of gold.

36:35. He made also a veil of violet, and purple, scarlet and fine twisted linen, varied and distinguished with embroidery:

36:36. And four pillars of setim wood, which with their heads he overlaid with gold, casting for them sockets of silver.

36:37. He made also a hanging in the entry of the tabernacle of violet, purple, scarlet, and fine twisted linen, with the work of an embroiderer.

36:38. And five pillars with their heads, which he covered with gold, and their sockets he cast of brass.

Exodus Chapter 37

Beseleel maketh the ark: the propitiatory, and cherubims, the table, the candlestick, the lamps, and the altar of incense, and compoundeth the incense.

37:1. And Beseleel made also, the ark of setim wood: it was two cubits and a half in length, and a cubit and a half in breadth, and the height was of one cubit and a half: and he overlaid it with the purest gold within and without.

37:2. And he made to it a crown of gold round about,

37:3. Casting four rings of gold at the four corners thereof: two rings in one side, and two in the other.

37:4. And he made bars of setim wood, which he overlaid with gold,

37:5. And he put them into the rings that were at the sides of the ark to carry it.

37:6. He made also the propitiatory, that is, the oracle, of the purest gold, two cubits and a half in length, and a cubit and a half in breadth.

37:7. Two cherubims also of beaten gold, which he set on the two sides of the propitiatory:

37:8. One cherub in the top of one side, and the other cherub in the top of the other side: two cherubims at the two ends of the propitiatory,

37:9. Spreading their wings, and covering the propitiatory, and looking one towards the other, and towards it.

37:10. He made also the table of setim wood, in length two cubits, and in breadth one cubit, and in height it was a cubit and a half.

37:11. And he overlaid it with the finest gold, and he made to it a golden ledge round about,

37:12. And to the ledge itself he made a polished crown of gold, of four fingers breadth, and upon the same another golden crown.

37:13. And he cast four rings of gold, which he put in the four corners at each foot of the table,

37:14. Over against the crown: and he put the bars into them, that the table might be carried.

37:15. The bars also themselves he made of setim wood, and overlaid them with gold.

37:16. And the vessels for the divers uses of the table, dishes, bowls, and cups, and censers of pure gold, wherein the libations are to be offered.

37:17. He made also the candlestick of beaten work of the finest gold. from the shaft whereof its branches, its cups, and bowls, and lilies came out:

37:18: Six on the two sides: three branches on one side, and three on the other.

37:19. Three cups in manner of a nut on each branch, and bowls withal and lilies: and three cups of the fashion of a nut in another branch, and bowls withal and lilies. The work of the six branches, that went out from the shaft of the candlestick was equal.

37:20. And in the shaft itself were four cups after the manner of a nut, and bowls withal at every one, and lilies:

37:21. And bowls under two branches in three places, which together made six branches going out from one shaft.

37:22. So both the bowls, and the branches were of the same, all beaten work of the purest gold.

37:23. He made also the seven lamps with their snuffers, and the vessels where the snuffings were to be put out, of the purest gold.

37:24. The candlestick with all the vessels thereof weighed a talent of gold.

37:25. He made also the altar of incense of setim wood, being a cubit on every side foursquare, and in height two cubits: from the corners of which went out horns.

37:26. And he overlaid it with the purest gold, with its grate, and the sides, and the horns.

37:27. And he made to it a crown of gold round about, and two golden rings under the crown at each side, that the bars might be put into them, and the altar be carried.

37:28. And the bars themselves he made also of setim wood, and overlaid them with plates of gold.

37:29. He compounded also the oil for the ointment of sanctification, and incense of the purest spices, according to the work of a perfumer.

Exodus Chapter 38

He maketh the altar of holocaust. The brazen laver. The court with its pillars and hangings. The sum of what the people offered.

38:1. He made also the altar of holocaust of setim wood, five cubits square, and three in height:

38:2. The horns whereof went out from the corners, and he overlaid it with plates of brass.

38:3. And for the uses thereof, he prepared divers vessels of brass, cauldrons, tongs, fleshhooks, pothooks and firepans.

38:4. And he made the grate thereof of brass, in manner of a net, and under it in the midst of the altar a hearth,

38:5. Casting four rings at the four ends of the net at the top, to put in bars to carry it:

38:6. And he made the bars of setim wood, and overlaid them with plates of brass:

38:7. And he drew them through the rings that stood out in the sides of the altar. And the altar itself was not solid, but hollow, of boards, and empty within.

38:8. He made also the laver of brass, with the foot thereof, of the mirrors of the women that watched at the door of the tabernacle.

38:9. He made also the court, in the south side whereof were hangings of fine twisted linen of a hundred cubits.

38:10. Twenty pillars of brass with their sockets, the heads of the pillars, and the whole graving of the work, of silver.

38:11. In like manner at the north side the hangings, the pillars, and the sockets and heads of the pillars were of the same measure, and work and metal.

38:12. But on that side that looketh to the west, there were hangings of fifty cubits, ten pillars of brass with their sockets, and the heads of the pillars, and all the graving of the work, of silver.

38:13. Moreover, towards the east he prepared hangings of fifty cubits:

38:14. Fifteen cubits of which, were on one side with three pillars, and their sockets:

38:15. And on the other side (for between the two he made the entry of the tabernacle) there were hangings equally of fifteen cubits, and three pillars, and as many sockets.

38:16. All the hangings of the court were woven with twisted linen.

38:17. The sockets of the pillars were of brass, and their heads with all their gravings of silver: and he overlaid the pillars of the court also with silver.

38:18. And he made in the entry thereof an embroidered hanging of violet, purple, scarlet, and fine twisted linen, that was twenty cubits long, and five cubits high, according to the measure of all the hangings of the court.

38:19. And the pillars in the entry were four, with sockets of brass, and their heads and gravings of silver.

38:20. The pins also of the tabernacle and of the court round about he made of brass.

38:21. These are the instruments of the tabernacle of the testimony, which were counted according to the commandment of Moses, in the ceremonies of the Levites, by the hand of Ithamar, son of Aaron the priest:

38:22. Which Beseleel, the son of Uri, the son of Hur of the tribe of Juda, had made, as the Lord commanded by Moses.

38:23. Having for his companion Ooliab, the son of Achisamech, of the tribe of Dan: who also was an excellent artificer in wood, and worker in tapestry and embroidery in violet, purple, scarlet, and fine linen.

38:24. All the gold that was spent in the work of the sanctuary, and that was offered in gifts, was nine and twenty talents, and seven hundred and thirty sicles according to the standard of the sanctuary.

38:25. And it was offered by them that went to be numbered, from twenty years old and upwards, of six hundred and three thousand five hundred and fifty men able to bear arms.

38:26. There were moreover a hundred talents of silver, whereof were cast the sockets of the sanctuary, and of the entry where the veil hangeth.

38:27. A hundred sockets were made of a hundred talents, one talent being reckoned for every socket.

38:28. And of the thousand seven hundred and seventy-five he made the heads of the pillars, which also he overlaid with silver.

38:29. And there were offered of brass also seventy-two thousand talents, and four hundred sicles besides,

38:30. Of which were cast the sockets in the entry of the tabernacle of the testimony, and the altar of brass with the grate thereof, and also the vessels that belong to the use thereof.

38:31. And the sockets of the court as well round about as in the entry thereof, and the pins of the tabernacle, and of the court round about.

Exodus Chapter 39

All the ornaments of Aaron and his sons are made. And the whole work of the tabernacle is finished.

39:1. And he made, of violet and purple, scarlet and fine linen, the vestments for Aaron to wear when he ministered in the holy places, as the Lord commanded Moses.

39:2. So he made an ephod of gold, violet, and purple, and scarlet twice dyed, and fine twisted linen,

39:3. With embroidered work, and he cut thin plates of gold, and drew them small into threads, that they might be twisted with the woof of the foresaid colours,

39:4. And two borders coupled one to the other in the top on either side,

39:5. And a girdle of the same colours, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

39:6. He prepared also two onyx stones, fast set and closed in gold, and graven, by the art of a lapidary, with the names of the children of Israel:

39:7. And he set them in the sides of the ephod, for a memorial of the children of Israel, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

39:8. He made also a rational with embroidered work, according to the work of the ephod, of gold, violet, purple, and scarlet twice dyed, and fine twisted linen:

39:9. Foursquare, double, of the measure of a span.

39:10. And he set four rows of precious stones in it. In the first row was a sardius, a topaz, an emerald.

39:11. In the second, a carbuncle, a sapphire, and a jasper.

39:12. In the third, a ligurius, an agate, and an amethyst.

39:13. In the fourth, a chrysolite, an onyx, and a beryl, set and enclosed in gold by their rows.

39:14. And the twelve stones, were engraved with the names of the twelve tribes of Israel, each one with its several name.

39:15. They made also in the rational little chains, linked one to another, of the purest gold,

39:16. And two hooks, and as many rings of gold. And they set the rings on either side of the rational,

39:17. On which rings the two golden chains should hang, which they put into the hooks that stood out in the corners of the ephod.

39:18. These both before and behind so answered one another, that the ephod and the rational were bound together,

39:19. Being fastened to the girdle, and strongly coupled with rings, which a violet fillet joined, lest they should flag loose, and be moved one from the other, as the Lord commanded Moses.

39:20. They made also the tunic of the ephod all of violet,

39:21. And a hole for the head in the upper part at the middle, and a woven border round about the hole:

39:22. And beneath at the feet pomegranates of violet, purple, scarlet, and fine twisted linen:

39:23. And little bells of the purest gold, which they put between the pomegranates at the bottom of the tunic round about:

39:24. To wit, a bell of gold, and a pomegranate, wherewith the high priest went adorned, when he discharged his ministry, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

39:25. They made also fine linen tunics with woven work for Aaron and his sons:

39:26. And mitres with their little crowns of fine linen:

39:27. And linen breeches of fine linen:

39:28. And a girdle of fine twisted linen, violet, purple, and scarlet twice dyed, of embroidery work, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

39:29. They made also the plate of sacred veneration of the purest gold, and they wrote on it with the engraving of a lapidary: The Holy of the Lord:

39:30. And they fastened it to the mitre with a violet fillet, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

39:31. So all the work of the tabernacle and of the roof of the testimony was finished: and the children of Israel did all things which the Lord had commanded Moses.

39:32. And they offered the tabernacle, and the roof, and the whole furniture, the rings, the boards, the bars, the pillars and their sockets,

39:33. The cover of rams’ skins dyed red, and the other cover of violet skins,

39:34. The veil, the ark, the bars, the propitiatory,

39:35. The table, with the vessels thereof, and the loaves of proposition:

39:36. The candlestick, the lamps, and the furniture of them, with the oil:

39:37. The altar of gold, and the ointment, and the incense of spices:

39:38. And the hanging in the entry of the tabernacle:

39:39. The altar of brass, the grate, the bars, and all the vessels thereof: the laver, with the foot thereof: the hangings of the court, and the pillars, with their sockets:

39:40. The hanging in the entry of the court, and the little cords, and the pins thereof. Nothing was wanting of the vessels, that were commanded to be made for the ministry of the tabernacle, and for the roof of the covenant.

39:41. The vestments also, which the priests, to wit, Aaron and his sons, use in the sanctuary,

39:42. The children of Israel offered, as the Lord had commanded.

39:43. And when Moses saw all things finished, he blessed them.

Exodus Chapter 40

The tabernacle is commanded to be set up and anointed. God filleth it with his majesty.

40:1. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

40:2. The first month, the first day of the month, thou shalt set up the tabernacle of the testimony,

40:3. And shalt put the ark in it, and shalt let down the veil before it:

40:4. And thou shalt bring in the table, and set upon it the things that are commanded according to the rite. The candlestick shall stand with its lamps,

40:5. And the altar of gold, whereon the incense is burnt before the ark of the testimony. Thou shalt put the hanging in the entry of the tabernacle,

40:6. And before it the altar of holocaust.

40:7. The laver between the altar and the tabernacle, and thou shalt fill it with water.

40:8. And thou shalt encompass the court with hangings, and the entry thereof.

40:9. And thou shalt take the oil of unction and anoint the tabernacle with its vessels, that they may be sanctified:

40:10. The altar of holocaust and all its vessels:

40:11. The laver with its foot: thou shalt consecrate all with the oil of unction, that they may be most holy.

40:12. And thou shalt bring Aaron and his sons to the door of the tabernacle of the testimony, and having washed them with water,

40:13. Thou shalt put on them the holy vestments, that they may minister to me, and that the unction of them may prosper to an everlasting priesthood.

40:14. And Moses did all that the Lord had commanded.

40:15. So in the first month of the second year, the first day of the month, the tabernacle was set up.

40:16. And Moses reared it up, and placed the boards and the sockets and the bars, and set up the pillars,

40:17. And spread the roof over the tabernacle, putting over it a cover, as the Lord had commanded.

40:18. And he put the testimony in the ark, thrusting bars underneath, and the oracle above.

40:19. And when he had brought the ark into the tabernacle, he drew the veil before it to fulfil the commandment of the Lord.

40:20. And he set the table in the tabernacle of the testimony, at the north side, without the veil,

40:21. Setting there in order the loaves of proposition, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

40:22. He set the candlestick also in the tabernacle of the testimony, over against the table on the south side,

40:23. Placing the lamps in order, according to the precept of the Lord.

40:24. He set also the altar of gold under the roof of the testimony, over against the veil,

40:25. And burnt upon it the incense of spices, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

40:26. And he put also the hanging in the entry of the tabernacle of the testimony,

40:27. And the altar of holocaust in the entry of the testimony, offering the holocaust, and the sacrifices upon it, as the Lord had commanded.

40:28. And he set the laver between the tabernacle of the testimony and the altar, filling it with water.

40:29. And Moses and Aaron, and his sons, washed their hands and feet,

40:30. When they went into the tabernacle of the covenant, and went to the altar, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

40:31. He set up also the court round about the tabernacle and the altar, drawing the hanging in the entry thereof. After all things were perfected,

40:32. The cloud covered the tabernacle of the testimony, and the glory of the Lord filled it.

40:33. Neither could Moses go into the tabernacle of the covenant, the cloud covering all things, and the majesty of the Lord shining, for the cloud had covered all.

40:34. If at any time the cloud removed from the tabernacle, the children of Israel went forward by their troops:

40:35. If it hung over, they remained in the same place.

40:36. For the cloud of the Lord hung over the tabernacle by day, and a fire by night, in the sight of all the children of Israel throughout all their mansions.

THE BOOK OF LEVITICUS

This Book is called LEVITICUS, because it treats of the Offices, Ministries, Rites and Ceremonies of the Priests and Levites. The Hebrews call it VAICRA, from the word with which it begins.

Leviticus Chapter 1

Of holocausts or burnt offerings.

1:1. And the Lord called Moses, and spoke to him from the tabernacle of the testimony, saying:

1:2. Speak to the children of Israel, and thou shalt say to them: The man among you that shall offer to the Lord a sacrifice of the cattle, that is, offering victims of oxen and sheep:

1:3. If his offering be a holocaust, and of the herd, he shall offer a male without blemish, at the door of the testimony, to make the Lord favourable to him.

A holocaust. . .That is, a whole burnt offering (olokauston), so called, because the whole victim was consumed with fire; and given in such manner to God as wholly to evaporate, as it were, for his honour and glory; without having any part of it reserved for the use of man. The other sacrifices in the Old Testament were either offerings for sin, or peace offerings: and these latter again were either offered in thanksgiving for blessings received; or by way of prayer for new favours or graces. So that sacrifices were then offered to God for four different ends or intentions, answerable to the different obligations which man has to God: 1. By way of adoration, homage, praise, and glory due to his divine majesty. 2. By way of thanksgiving for all benefits received from him. 3. By way of confessing and craving pardon for sins. 4. By way of prayer and petition for grace and relief in all necessities. In the New Law we have but one sacrifice, viz., that of the body and blood of Christ: but this one sacrifice of the New Testament perfectly answers all these four ends; and both priest and people, as often as it is celebrated, ought to join in offering it up for these four ends.

1:4. And he shall put his hand upon the head of the victim: and it shall be acceptable, and help to its expiation.

1:5. And he shall immolate the calf before the Lord: and the priests the sons of Aaron shall offer the blood thereof, pouring it round about the altar, which is before the door of the tabernacle.

1:6. And when they have flayed the victim, they shall cut the joints into pieces:

1:7. And shall put fire on the altar, having before laid in order a pile of wood.

1:8. And they shall lay the parts that are cut out in order thereupon: to wit, the head, and all things that cleave to the liver;

1:9. The entrails and feet being washed with water. And the priest shall burn them upon the altar for a holocaust, and a sweet savour to the Lord.

1:10. And if the offering be of the flocks, a holocaust of sheep or of goats, he shall offer a male without blemish.

1:11. And he shall immolate it at the side of the altar that looketh to the north, before the Lord: but the sons of Aaron shall pour the blood thereof upon the altar round about.

1:12. And they shall divide the joints, the head, and all that cleave to the liver: and shall lay them upon the wood, under which the fire is to be put.

1:13. But the entrails and the feet they shall wash with water. And the priest shall offer it all and burn it all upon the altar for a holocaust, and most sweet savour to the Lord.

1:14. But if the oblation of a holocaust to the Lord be of birds, of turtles, or of young pigeons:

1:15. The priest shall offer it at the altar: and twisting back the neck, and breaking the place of the wound, he shall make the blood run down upon the brim of the altar.

1:16. But the crop of the throat, and the feathers he shall cast beside the altar at the east side, in the place where the ashes are wont to be poured out.

1:17. And he shall break the pinions thereof, and shall not cut, nor divide it with a knife: and shall burn it upon the altar, putting fire under the wood. It is a holocaust and oblation of most sweet savour to the Lord.

Leviticus Chapter 2

Of offerings of flour, and firstfruits.

2:1. When any one shall offer an oblation of sacrifice to the Lord, his offering shall be of fine flour: and he shall pour oil upon it, and put frankincense,

2:2. And shall bring it to the sons of Aaron the priests. And one of them shall take a handful of the flour and oil, and all the frankincense; and shall put it a memorial upon the altar for a most sweet savour to the Lord.

2:3. And the remnant of the sacrifice shall be Aaron’s, and his sons’, holy of holies of the offerings of the Lord.

Holy of holies. . .That is, most holy, as being dedicated to God, and set aside by his ordinance for the use of his priests.

2:4. But when thou offerest a sacrifice baked in the oven of flour, to wit, loaves without leaven, tempered with oil, and unleavened wafers, anointed with oil:

2:5. If thy oblation be from the fryingpan, of flour tempered with oil, and without leaven:

2:6. Thou shalt divide it into little pieces, and shalt pour oil upon it.

2:7. And if the sacrifice be from the gridiron, in like manner the flour shall be tempered with oil.

2:8. And when thou offerest it to the Lord, thou shalt deliver it to the hands of the priest.

2:9. And when he hath offered it, he shall take a memorial out of the sacrifice, and burn it upon the altar for a sweet savour to the Lord.

2:10. And whatsoever is left, shall be Aaron’s, and his sons’: holy of holies of the offerings of the Lord.

2:11. Every oblation that is offered to the Lord shall be made without leaven: neither shall any leaven or honey be burnt in the sacrifice to the Lord.

Without leaven or honey. . .No leaven nor honey was to be used in the sacrifice offered to God; to signify that we are to exclude from the pure worship of the gospel, all double dealing and affection to carnal pleasures.

2:12. You shall offer only the firstfruits of them and gifts: but they shall not be put upon the altar, for a savour of sweetness.

2:13. Whatsoever sacrifice thou offerest, thou shalt season it with salt: neither shalt thou take away the salt of the covenant of thy God from thy sacrifice. In all thy oblations thou shalt offer salt.

Salt. . .In every sacrifice salt was to be used, which is an emblem of wisdom and discretion, without which none of our performances are agreeable to God.

2:14. But if thou offer a gift of the firstfruits of thy corn to the Lord, of the ears yet green, thou shalt dry it at the fire, and break it small like meal; and so shalt thou offer thy firstfruits to the Lord:

2:15. Pouring oil upon it and putting on frankincense, because it is the oblation of the Lord.

2:16. Whereof the priest shall burn for a memorial of the gift, part of the corn broken small and of the oil, and all the frankincense.

Leviticus Chapter 3

Of peace offerings.

3:1. And if his oblation be a sacrifice of peace offerings, and he will offer of the herd, whether male or female: he shall offer them without blemish before the Lord.

Peace offerings. . .Peace, in the scripture language, signifies happiness, welfare or prosperity; in a word, all kind of blessings.—Such sacrifices, therefore, as were offered either on occasion of blessings received, or to obtain new favours, were called pacific or peace offerings. In these, some part of the victim was consumed with fire on the altar of God; other parts were eaten by the priests and by the persons for whom the sacrifice was offered.

3:2. And he shall lay his hand upon the head of his victim, which shall be slain in the entry of the tabernacle of the testimony: and the sons of Aaron the priests shall pour the blood round about upon the altar.

3:3. And they shall offer of the sacrifice of peace offerings, for an oblation to the Lord: the fat that covereth the entrails, and all the fat that is within,

3:4. The two kidneys with the fat wherewith the flanks are covered, and the caul of the liver with the two little kidneys.

3:5. And they shall burn them upon the altar, for a holocaust, putting fire under the wood: for an oblation of most sweet savour to the Lord.

3:6. But if his oblation and the sacrifice of peace offering be of the flock, whether he offer male or female, they shall be without blemish.

3:7. If he offer a lamb before the Lord:

3:8. He shall put his hand upon the head of the victim. And it shall be slain in the entry of the tabernacle of the testimony: and the sons of Aaron shall pour the blood thereof round about upon the altar.

3:9. And they shall offer of the victim of peace offerings, a sacrifice to the Lord: the fat and the whole rump,

3:10. With the kidneys, and the fat that covereth the belly and all the vitals and both the little kidneys, with the fat that is about the flanks, and the caul of the liver with the little kidneys.

3:11. And the priest shall burn them upon the altar, for the food of the fire, and of the oblation of the Lord.

3:12. If his offering be a goat, and he offer it to the Lord:

3:13. He shall put his hand upon the head thereof: and shall immolate it in the entry of the tabernacle of the testimony. And the sons of Aaron shall pour the blood thereof round about upon the altar.

3:14. And they shall take of it for the food of the Lord’s fire, the fat that covereth the belly, and that covereth all the vital parts:

3:15. The two little kidneys with the caul that is upon them which is by the flanks, and the fat of the liver with the little kidneys.

3:16. And the priest shall burn them upon the altar, for the food of the fire, and of a most sweet savour. All the fat shall be the Lord’s.

3:17. By a perpetual law for your generations, and in all your habitations: neither blood nor fat shall you eat at all.

Fat. . .It is meant of the fat, which by the prescription of the law was to be offered on God’s altar; not of the fat of meat, such as we commonly eat.

Leviticus Chapter 4

Of offerings for sins of ignorance.

4:1. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

4:2. Say to the children of Israel: The soul that sinneth through ignorance, and doth any thing concerning any of the commandments of the Lord, which he commanded not to be done:

Ignorance. . .To be ignorant of what we are bound to know is sinful; and for such culpable ignorance, these sacrifices, prescribed in this and the following chapter, were appointed.

4:3. If the priest that is anointed shall sin, making the people to offend, he shall offer to the Lord for his sin a calf without blemish.

4:4. And he shall bring it to the door of the testimony before the Lord: and shall put his hand upon the head thereof, and shall sacrifice it to the Lord.

4:5. He shall take also of the blood of the calf: and carry it into the tabernacle of the testimony.

The blood. . .As the figure of the blood of Christ shed for the remission of our sins, and carried by him into the sanctuary of heaven.

4:6. And having dipped his finger in the blood, he shall sprinkle with it seven times before the Lord, before the veil of the sanctuary.

4:7. And he shall put some of the same blood upon the horns of the altar of the sweet incense most acceptable to the Lord, which is in the tabernacle of the testimony. And he shall pour all the rest of the blood at the foot of the altar of holocaust in the entry of the tabernacle.

4:8. And he shall take off the fat of the calf for the sin offering, as well that which covereth the entrails, as all the inwards:

4:9. The two little kidneys, and the caul that is upon them, which is by the flanks, and the fat of the liver with the little kidneys:

4:10. As it is taken off from the calf of the sacrifice of peace offerings. And he shall burn them upon the altar of holocaust.

4:11. But the skin and all the flesh with the head and the feet and the bowels and the dung:

4:12. And the rest of the body, he shall carry forth without the camp into a clean place where the ashes are wont to be poured out: and he shall burn them upon a pile of wood. They shall be burnt in the place where the ashes are poured out.

4:13. And if all the multitude of Israel shall be ignorant, and through ignorance shall do that which is against the commandment of the Lord,

4:14. And afterwards shall understand their sin: they shall offer for their sin a calf, and shall bring it to the door of the tabernacle.

4:15. And the ancients of the people shall put their hands upon the head thereof before the Lord. And the calf being immolated in the sight of the Lord:

4:16. The priest that is anointed shall carry of the blood into the tabernacle of the testimony.

4:17. And shall dip his finger in it and sprinkle it seven times before the veil.

4:18. And he shall put of the same blood on the horns of the altar that is before the Lord, in the tabernacle of the testimony. And the rest of the blood he shall pour at the foot of the altar of holocaust, which is at the door of the tabernacle of the testimony.

4:19. And all the fat thereof he shall take off, and shall burn it upon the altar:

4:20. Doing so with this calf, as he did also with that before. And the priest praying for them, the Lord will be merciful unto them.

4:21. But the calf itself he shall carry forth without the camp, and shall burn it as he did the former calf: because it is for the sin of the multitude.

4:22. If a prince shall sin, and through ignorance do any one of the things that the law of the Lord forbiddeth,

4:23. And afterwards shall come to know his sin: he shall offer a buck goat without blemish, a sacrifice to the Lord.

4:24. And he shall put his hand upon the head thereof: and when he hath immolated it in the place where the holocaust is wont to be slain before the Lord, because it is for sin,

4:25. The priest shall dip his finger in the blood of the victim for sin, touching therewith the horns of the altar of holocaust, and pouring out the rest at the foot thereof.

4:26. But the fat he shall burn upon it, as is wont to be done with the victims of peace offerings. And the priest shall pray for him, and for his sin: and it shall be forgiven him.

4:27. And if any one of the people of the land shall sin through ignorance, doing any of those things that by the law of the Lord are forbidden, and offending,

4:28. And shall come to know his sin: he shall offer a she goat without blemish.

4:29. And he shall put his hand upon the head of the victim that is for sin: and shall immolate it in the place of the holocaust.

4:30. And the priest shall take of the blood with his finger, and shall touch the horns of the altar of holocaust: and shall pour out the rest at the foot thereof.

4:31. But taking off all the fat, as is wont to be taken away of the victims of peace offerings, he shall burn it upon the altar, for a sweet savour to the Lord: and he shall pray for him, and it shall be forgiven him.

4:32. But if he offer of the flock a victim for his sin, to wit, an ewe without blemish:

4:33. He shall put his hand upon the head thereof, and shall immolate it in the place where the victims of holocausts are wont to be slain.

4:34. And the priest shall take of the blood thereof with his finger, and shall touch the horns of the altar of holocaust: and the rest he shall pour out at the foot thereof.

4:35. All the fat also he shall take off, as the fat of the ram that is offered for peace offerings is wont to be taken away: and shall burn it upon the altar, for a burnt sacrifice of the Lord. And he shall pray for him and his sin, and it shall be forgiven him.

Leviticus Chapter 5

Of other sacrifices for sins.

5:1. If any one sin, and hear the voice of one swearing, and is a witness either because he himself hath seen, or is privy to it: if he do not utter it, he shall bear his iniquity.

5:2. Whosoever toucheth any unclean thing, either that which hath been killed by a beast, or died of itself, or any other creeping thing: and forgetteth his uncleanness, he is guilty, and hath offended.

5:3. And if he touch any thing of the uncleanness of man, according to any uncleanness wherewith he is wont to be defiled: and having forgotten it, come afterwards to know it, he shall be guilty of an offence.

5:4. The person that sweareth, and uttereth with his lips, that he would do either evil or good, and bindeth the same with an oath, and his word: and having forgotten it afterwards understandeth his offence,

5:5. Let him do penance for his sin:

5:6. And offer of the flocks an ewe lamb, or a she goat, and the priest shall pray for him and for his sin.

5:7. But if he be not able to offer a beast, let him offer two turtles, or two young pigeons to the Lord, one for sin, and the other for a holocaust,

5:8. And he shall give them to the priest: who shall offer the first for sin, and twist back the head of it to the little pinions, so that it stick to the neck, and be not altogether broken off.

5:9. And of its blood he shall sprinkle the side of the altar: and whatever is left, he shall let it drop at the bottom thereof, because it is for sin.

5:10. And the other he shall burn for a holocaust, as is wont to be done. And the priest shall pray for him, and for his sin, and it shall be forgiven him.

5:11. And if his hand be not able to offer two turtles, or two young pigeons, he shall offer for his sin the tenth part of an ephi of flour. He shall not put oil upon it, nor put any frankincense thereon, because it is for sin.

5:12. And he shall deliver it to the priest, who shall take a handful thereof, and shall burn it upon the altar for a memorial of him that offered it:

5:13. Praying for him and making atonement. But the part that is left, he himself shall have for a gift.

5:14. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

5:15. If any one shall sin through mistake, transgressing the ceremonies in those things that are sacrificed to the Lord, he shall offer for his offence a ram without blemish out of the flocks, that may be bought for two sicles, according to the weight of the sanctuary.

5:16. And he shall make good the damage itself which he hath done, and shall add the fifth part besides, delivering it to the priest, who shall pray for him, offering the ram: and it shall be forgiven him.

5:17. If any one sin through ignorance, and do one of those things which by the law of the Lord are forbidden, and being guilty of sin, understand his iniquity:

5:18. He shall offer of the flocks a ram without blemish to the priest, according to the measure and estimation of the sin. And the priest shall pray for him, because he did it ignorantly: And it shall be forgiven him,

5:19. Because by mistake he trespassed against the Lord.

Leviticus Chapter 6

Oblation for sins of injustice: ordinances concerning the holocausts and the perpetual fire: the sacrifices of the priests, and the sin offerings.

6:1. The Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

6:2. Whosoever shall sin, and despising the Lord, shall deny to his neighbour the thing delivered to his keeping, which was committed to his trust; or shall by force extort any thing, or commit oppression;

6:3. Or shall find a thing lost, and denying it, shall also swear falsely, or shall do any other of the many things, wherein men are wont to sin:

6:4. Being convicted of the offence, he shall restore

6:5. All that he would have gotten by fraud, in the principal, and the fifth part besides, to the owner, whom he wronged.

6:6. Moreover for his sin he shall offer a ram without blemish out of the flock: and shall give it to the priest, according to the estimation and measure of the offence.

6:7. And he shall pray for him before the Lord: and he shall have forgiveness for every thing in doing of which he bath sinned.

6:8. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

6:9. Command Aaron and his sons: This is the law of a holocaust. It shall be burnt upon the altar, all night until morning: the fire shall be of the same altar.

6:10. The priest shall be vested with the tunick and the linen breeches; and he shall take up the ashes of that which the devouring fire hath burnt: and putting them beside the altar,

6:11. Shall put off his former vestments, and being clothed with others, shall carry them forth without the camp, and shall cause them to be consumed to dust in a very clean place.

6:12. And the fire on the altar shall always burn, and the priest shall feed it, putting wood on it every day in the morning: and laying on the holocaust, shall burn thereupon the fat of the peace offerings.

6:13. This is the perpetual fire which shall never go out on the altar.

The perpetual fire. . .This fire came from heaven, (infra. chap. 9.24,) and was always kept burning on the altar, as a figure of the heavenly fire of divine love, which ought to be always burning in the heart of a Christian.

6:14. This is the law of the sacrifice and libations, which the children of Aaron shall offer before the Lord, and before the altar.

6:15. The priest shall take a handful of the flour that is tempered with oil, and all the frankincense that is put upon the flour: and he shall burn on the altar for a memorial of most sweet odour to the Lord.

6:16. And the part of the flour that is left, Aaron and his sons shall eat, without leaven: and he shall eat it in the holy place of the court of the tabernacle.

6:17. And therefore it shall not be leavened, because part thereof is offered for the burnt sacrifice of the Lord. It shall be most holy, as that which is offered for sin and for trespass.

6:18. The males only of the race of Aaron shall eat it. It shall be an ordinance everlasting in your generations concerning the sacrifices of the Lord: Every one that toucheth them shall be sanctified.

6:19. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

6:20. This is the oblation of Aaron, and of his sons, which they must offer to the Lord, in the day of their anointing. They shall offer the tenth part of an ephi of flour for a perpetual sacrifice, half of it in the morning, and half of it in the evening.

6:21. It shall be tempered with oil, and shall be fried in a fryingpan.

6:22. And the priest that rightfully succeedeth his father, shall offer it hot, for a most sweet odour to the Lord: and it shall be wholly burnt on the altar.

6:23. For every sacrifice of the priest shall be consumed with fire: neither shall any man eat thereof.

6:24. And the Lord spoke to Moses. saying:

6:25. Say to Aaron and his sons: This is the law of the victim for sin. In the place where the holocaust is offered, it shall be immolated before the Lord. It is holy of holies.

6:26. The priest that offereth it, shall eat it in a holy place, in the court of the tabernacle.

6:27. Whatsoever shall touch the flesh thereof, shall be sanctified. If a garment be sprinkled with the blood thereof, it shall be washed in a holy place.

6:28. And the earthen vessel, wherein it was sodden, shall be broken: but if the vessel be of brass, it shall be scoured, and washed with water.

6:29. Every male of the priestly race shall eat of the flesh thereof, because it is holy of holies.

6:30. For the victim that is slain for sin, the blood of which is carried into the tabernacle of the testimony to make atonement in the sanctuary, shall not be eaten, but shall be burnt with fire.

Leviticus Chapter 7

Of sacrifices for trespasses and thanks offerings. No fat nor blood is to be eaten.

7:1. This also is the law of the sacrifice for a trespass: it is most holy.

Trespass. . .Trespasses, for which these offerings were to be made, were lesser offences than those for which the sin offerings were appointed.

7:2. Therefore where the holocaust is immolated, the victim also for a trespass shall be slain: the blood thereof shall be poured round about the altar.

7:3. They shall offer thereof the rump and the fat that covereth the entrails:

7:4. The two little kidneys, and the fat which is by the flanks, and the caul of the liver with the little kidneys.

7:5. And the priest shall burn them upon the altar: it is the burnt sacrifice of the Lord for a trespass.

7:6. Every male of the priestly race, shall eat this flesh in a holy place, because it is most holy.

7:7. As the sacrifice for sin is offered, so is also that for a trespass: the same shall be the law of both these sacrifices. It shall belong to the priest that offereth it.

7:8. The priest that offereth the victim of holocaust, shall have the skin thereof.

7:9. And every sacrifice of flour that is baked in the oven, and whatsoever is dressed on the gridiron, or in the fryingpan, shall be the priest’s that offereth it.

7:10. Whether they be tempered with oil, or dry, all the sons of Aaron shall have one as much as another.

7:11. This is the law of the sacrifice of peace offerings that is offered to the Lord.

7:12. If the oblation be for thanksgiving, they shall offer loaves without leaven tempered with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil, and fine flour fried, and cakes tempered and mingled with oil.

7:13. Moreover loaves of leavened bread with the sacrifice of thanks, which is offered for peace offerings:

7:14. Of which one shall be offered to the Lord for firstfruits, and shall be the priest’s that shall pour out the blood of the victim.

7:15. And the flesh of it shall be eaten the same day: neither shall any of it remain until the morning.

7:16. If any man by vow, or of his own accord offer a sacrifice, it shall in like manner be eaten the same day. And if any of it remain until the morrow, it is lawful to eat it.

7:17. But whatsoever shall be found on the third day shall be consumed with fire.

7:18. If any man eat of the flesh of the victim of peace offerings on the third day, the oblation shall be of no effect: neither shall it profit the offerer. Yea rather, whatsoever soul shall defile itself with such meat, shall be guilty of transgression.

7:19. The flesh that hath touched any unclean thing, shall not be eaten: but shall be burnt with fire. He that is clean shall eat of it.

7:20. If any one that is defiled shall eat of the flesh of the sacrifice of peace offerings, which is offered to the Lord, he shall be cut off from his people.

7:21. And he that hath touched the uncleanness of man, or of beast, or of any thing that can defile, and shall eat of such kind of flesh: shall be cut off from his people.

7:22. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

7:23. Say to the children of Israel: The fat of a sheep, and of an ox, and of a goat you shall not eat.

7:24. The fat of a carcass that hath died of itself, and of a beast that was caught by another beast, you shall have for divers uses.

7:25. If any man eat the fat that should be offered for the burnt sacrifice of the Lord, he shall perish out of his people.

7:26. Moreover you shall not eat the blood of any creature whatsoever, whether of birds or beasts.

7:27. Every one that eateth blood, shall perish from among the people.

7:28. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

7:29. Speak to the children of Israel, saying: He that offereth a victim of peace offerings to the Lord, let him offer therewith a sacrifice also, that is, the libations thereof.

7:30. He shall hold in his hands the fat of the victim, and the breast. And when he hath offered and consecrated both to the Lord, he shall deliver them to the priest,

7:31. Who shall burn the fat upon the altar. But the breast shall be Aaron’s and his sons’.

7:32. The right shoulder also of the victim, of peace offerings shall fall to the priest for firstfruits.

7:33. He among the sons of Aaron, that offereth the blood, and the fat: he shall have the right shoulder also for his portion.

7:34. For the breast that is elevated and the shoulder that is separated I have taken of the children of Israel, from off their victims of peace offerings: and have given them to Aaron the priest, and to his sons, by a law for ever, from all the people of Israel.

7:35. This is the anointing of Aaron and his sons, in the ceremonies of the Lord, in the day when Moses offered them, that they might do the office of priesthood,

7:36. And the things that the Lord commanded to be given them by the children of Israel, by a perpetual observance in their generations.

7:37. This is the law of holocaust, and of the sacrifice for sin, and for trespass, and for consecration, and the victims of peace offerings:

7:38. Which the Lord appointed to Moses in mount Sinai, when he commanded the children of Israel, that they should offer their oblations to the Lord in the desert of Sinai.

Leviticus Chapter 8

Moses consecrateth Aaron and his sons.

8:1. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

8:2. Take Aaron with his sons, their vestments, and the oil of unction: a calf for sin, two rams, a basket with unleavened bread.

8:3. And thou shalt gather together all the congregation to the door of the tabernacle.

8:4. And Moses did as the Lord had commanded. And all the multitude being gathered together before the door of the tabernacle:

8:5. He said: This is the word that the Lord hath commanded to be done.

8:6. And immediately, he offered Aaron and his sons. And when he had washed them,

8:7. He vested the high priest with the strait linen garment, girding him with the girdle, and putting on him the violet tunick: and over it he put the ephod.

8:8. And binding it with the girdle, he fitted it to the rational, on which was Doctrine and Truth.

8:9. He put also the mitre upon his head: and upon the mitre over the forehead, he put the plate of gold, consecrated with sanctification, as the Lord had commanded him.

8:10. He took also the oil of unction, with which he anointed the tabernacle, with all the furniture thereof.

8:11. And when he had sanctified and sprinkled the altar seven times, he anointed it, and all the vessels thereof: and the laver with the foot thereof, he sanctified with the oil.

8:12. And he poured it upon Aaron’s head: and he anointed and consecrated him.

8:13. And after he had offered his sons, he vested them with linen tunicks, and girded them with girdles: and put mitres on them as the Lord had commanded.

8:14. He offered also the calf for sin: and when Aaron and his sons had put their hands upon the head thereof,

8:15. He immolated it: and took the blood, and dipping his finger in it, he touched the horns of the altar round about. Which being expiated, and sanctified, he poured the rest of the blood at the bottom thereof.

8:16. But the fat that was upon the entrails, and the caul of the liver, and the two little kidneys, with their fat, he burnt upon the altar.

8:17. And the calf with the skin, and the flesh and the dung, he burnt without the camp, as the Lord had commanded.

8:18. He offered also a ram for holocaust. And when Aaron and his sons had put their hands upon its head:

8:19. He immolated it, and poured the blood thereof round about the altar.

8:20. And cutting the ram into pieces, the head thereof, and the joints, and the fat he burnt in the fire.

8:21. Having first washed the entrails, and the feet, and the whole ram together he burnt upon the altar: because it was a holocaust of most sweet odour to the Lord, as he had commanded him.

8:22. He offered also the second ram, in the consecration of priests: and Aaron, and his sons put their hands upon the head thereof.

8:23. And when Moses had immolated it, he took of the blood thereof, and touched the tip of Aaron’s right ear, and the thumb of his right hand, and in like manner also the great toe of his right foot.

8:24. He offered also the sons of Aaron: and when with the blood of the ram that was immolated, he had touched the tip of the right ear of every one of them, and the thumbs of their right hands, and the great toes of their right feet, the rest he poured on the altar round about.

8:25. But the fat, and the rump, and all the fat that covereth the entrails, and the caul of the liver, and the two kidneys with their fat, and with the right shoulder, he separated.

8:26. And taking out of the basket of unleavened bread, which was before the Lord, a loaf without leaven, and a cake tempered with oil and a wafer, he put them upon the fat, and the right shoulder:

8:27. Delivering all to Aaron, and to his sons. Who having lifted them up before the Lord,

8:28. He took them again from their hands, and burnt them upon the altar of holocaust: because it was the oblation of consecration, for a sweet odour of sacrifice to the Lord.

8:29. And he took of the ram of consecration, the breast for his portion, elevating it before the Lord, as the Lord had commanded him.

8:30. And taking the ointment, and the blood that was upon the altar, he sprinkled Aaron, and his vestments, and his sons, and their vestments with it.

8:31. And when he had sanctified them in their vestments, he commanded them, saying: Boil the flesh before the door of the tabernacle, and there eat it. Eat ye also the loaves of consecration, that are laid in the basket, as the Lord commanded me, saying: Aaron and his sons shall eat them.

8:32. And whatsoever shall be left of the flesh and the loaves, shall be consumed with fire.

8:33. And you shall not go out of the door of the tabernacle for seven days, until the day wherein the time of your consecration shall be expired. For in seven days the consecration is finished:

8:34. As at this present it hath been done, that the rite of the sacrifice might be accomplished.

8:35. Day and night shall you remain in the tabernacle observing the watches of the Lord, lest you die. For so it hath been commanded me.

8:36. And Aaron and his sons did all things which the Lord spoke by the hand of Moses.

Leviticus Chapter 9

Aaron offereth sacrifice for himself and the people. Fire cometh from the Lord upon the altar.

9:1. And when the eighth day was come, Moses called Aaron and his sons, and the ancients of Israel, and said to Aaron:

9:2. Take of the herd a calf for sin, and a ram for a holocaust, both without blemish, and offer them before the Lord.

9:3. And to the children of Israel thou shalt say: Take ye a he goat for sin, and a calf, and a lamb, both of a year old, and without blemish for a holocaust.

9:4. Also a bullock and a ram for peace offerings. And immolate them before the Lord, offering for the sacrifice of every one of them flour tempered with oil: for to day the Lord will appear to you.

9:5. They brought therefore all things that Moses had commanded before the door of the tabernacle: where when all the multitude stood,

9:6. Moses said: This is the word, which the Lord hath commanded. Do it, and his glory will appear to you.

9:7. And he said to Aaron: Approach to the altar, and offer sacrifice for thy sin. Offer the holocaust, and pray for thyself and for the people: and when thou hast slain the people’s victim, pray for them, as the Lord hath commanded.

9:8. And forthwith Aaron, approaching to the altar, immolated the calf for his sin.

9:9. And his sons brought him the blood of it: and he dipped his finger therein, and touched the horns of the altar, and poured the rest at the foot thereof.

9:10. And the fat, and the little kidneys, and the caul of the liver, which are for sin, he burnt upon the altar, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

9:11. But the flesh and skins thereof he burnt with fire without the camp.

9:12. He immolated also the victim of holocaust: and his sons brought him the blood thereof, which he poured round about on the altar.

9:13. And the victim being cut into pieces, they brought to him the head and all the members: all which he burnt with fire upon the altar.

9:14. Having first washed the entrails and the feet with water.

9:15. Then offering for the sin of the people, he slew the he goat: and expiating the altar,

9:16. He offered the holocaust.

9:17. Adding in the sacrifice the libations, which are offered withal, and burning them upon the altar, besides the ceremonies of the morning holocaust.

9:18. He immolated also the bullock and the ram, and peace offerings of the people: and his sons brought him the blood, which he poured upon the altar round about.

9:19. The fat also of the bullock, and the rump of the ram, and the two little kidneys with their fat, and the caul of the liver,

9:20. They put upon the breasts. And after the fat was burnt upon the altar,

9:21. Aaron separated their breasts, and the right shoulders, elevating them before the Lord, as Moses had commanded.

9:22. And stretching forth his hands to the people, he blessed them. And so the victims for sin, and the holocausts, and the peace offerings being finished, he came down.

9:23. And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of the testimony, and afterwards came forth and blessed the people. And the glory of the Lord appeared to all the multitude.

9:24. And, behold, a fire, coming forth from the Lord, devoured the holocaust, and the fat that was upon the altar: which when the multitude saw, they praised the Lord, falling on their faces.

Leviticus Chapter 10

Nadab and Abiu for offering strange fire, are burnt by fire. Priests are forbidden to drink wine, when they enter into the tabernacle. The law of eating the holy things.

10:1. And Nadab and Abiu, the sons of Aaron, taking their censers, put fire therein, and incense on it, offering before the Lord strange fire: which was not commanded them.

10:2. And fire coming out from the Lord destroyed them: and they died before the Lord.

10:3. And Moses said to Aaron: This is what the Lord hath spoken. I will be sanctified in them that approach to me: and I will be glorified in the sight of all the people. And when Aaron heard this, he held his peace.

10:4. And Moses called Misael and Elisaphan, the sons of Oziel, the uncle of Aaron, and said to them: Go and take away your brethren from before the sanctuary, and carry them without the camp.

10:5. And they went forthwith and took them as they lay, vested with linen tunicks, and cast them forth, as had been commanded them.

10:6. And Moses said to Aaron, and to Eleazar and Ithamar, his sons: Uncover not your heads, and rend not your garments, lest perhaps you die, and indignation come upon all the congregation. Let your brethren, and all the house of Israel, bewail the burning which the Lord has kindled.

10:7. But you shall not go out of the door of the tabernacle: otherwise you shall perish, for the oil of the holy unction is on you. And they did all things according to the precept of Moses.

10:8. The Lord also said to Aaron:

10:9. You shall not drink wine nor any thing that may make drunk, thou nor thy sons, when you enter into the tabernacle of the testimony, lest you die. Because it is an everlasting precept; through your generations:

10:10. And that you may have knowledge to discern between holy and unholy, between unclean and clean:

10:11. And may teach the children of Israel all my ordinances which the Lord hath spoken to them by the hand of Moses.

10:12. And Moses spoke to Aaron, and to Eleazar and Ithamar, his sons that were left: Take the sacrifice that is remaining of the oblation of the Lord, and eat it without leaven beside the altar, because it is holy of holies.

10:13. And you shall eat it in a holy place: which is given to thee and thy sons of the oblations of the Lord, as it hath been commanded me.

10:14. The breast also that is offered, and the shoulder that is separated, you shall eat in a most clean place, thou and thy sons, and thy daughters with thee. For they are set aside for thee and thy children, of the victims of peace offerings of the children of Israel.

10:15. Because they have elevated before the Lord the shoulder and the breast, and the fat that is burnt on the altar: and they belong to thee and to thy sons by a perpetual law, as the Lord hath commanded.

10:16. While these things were a doing, when Moses sought for the buck goat, that had been offered for sin, he found it burnt. And being angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, the sons of Aaron that were left, he said:

10:17. Why did you not eat in the holy place the sacrifice for sin, which is most holy, and given to you, that you may bear the iniquity of the people, and may pray for them in the sight of the Lord.

10:18. Especially, whereas none of the blood thereof hath been carried within the holy places: and you ought to have eaten it in the sanctuary, as was commanded me?

10:19. Aaron answered: This day hath been offered the victim for sin, and the holocaust before the Lord: and to me what thou seest has happened. How could I eat it, or please the Lord in the ceremonies, having a sorrowful heart?

10:20. Which when Moses had heard he was satisfied.

Leviticus Chapter 11

The distinction of clean and unclean animals.

11:1. And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying:

11:2. Say to the children of Israel: These are the animals which you are to eat of all the living things of the earth.

Animals which you are to eat, etc. . .The prohibition of so many kinds of beasts, birds, and fishes, in the law, was ordered, 1st, to exercise the people in obedience, and temperance; 2ndly, to restrain them from the vices of which these animals were symbols; 3rdly, because the things here forbidden were for the most part unwholesome, and not proper to be eaten; 4thly, that the people of God, by being obliged to abstain from things corporally unclean, might be trained up to seek a spiritual cleanness.

11:3. Whatsoever hath the hoof divided, and cheweth the cud among the beasts, you shall eat.

Hoof divided, and cheweth the cud. . .The dividing of the hoof and chewing of the cud, signify discretion between good and evil, and meditating on the law of God; and where either of these is wanting a man is unclean. In like manner fishes were reputed unclean that had not fins and scales: that is, souls that did not raise themselves up by prayer and cover themselves with the scales of virtue.

11:4. But whatsoever cheweth indeed the cud, and hath a hoof, but divideth it not, as the camel, and others: that you shall not eat, but shall reckon it among the unclean.

11:5. The cherogrillus which cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof, is unclean.

The cherogrillus. . .Some suppose it to be the rabbit, others the hedgehog. St. Jerome intimates that it is another kind of animal common in Palestine, which lives in the holes of rocks or in the earth. We choose here, as also in the names of several other creatures that follow (which are little known in this part of the world,) to keep the Greek or Latin names.

11:6. The hare also: for that too cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof.

11:7. And the swine, which, though it divideth the hoof, cheweth not the cud.

11:8. The flesh of these you shall not eat, nor shall you touch their carcasses, because they are unclean to you.

11:9. These are the things that breed in the waters, and which it is lawful to eat. All that hath fins, and scales, as well in the sea, as in the rivers, and the pools, you shall eat.

11:10. But whatsoever hath not fins and scales, of those things that move and live in the waters, shall be an abomination to you,

11:11. And detestable. Their flesh you shall not eat: and their carcasses you shall avoid.

11:12. All that have not fins and scales, in the waters, shall be unclean.

11:13. Of birds these are they which you must not eat, and which are to be avoided by you: The eagle, and the griffon, and the osprey.

The griffon. . .Not the monster which the painter represent, which hath no being upon earth; but a bird of the eagle kind, larger than the common.

11:14. And the kite, and the vulture, according to their kind.

11:15. And all that is of the raven kind, according to their likeness.

11:16. The ostrich, and the owl, and the larus, and the hawk according to its kind.

11:17. The screech owl, and the cormorant, and the ibis.

11:18. And the swan, and the bittern, and the porphyrion.

11:19. The heron, and the charadroin according to its kind, the houp also, and the bat.

11:20. Of things that fly, whatsoever goeth upon four feet, shall be abominable to you.

11:21. But whatsoever walketh upon four feet, but hath the legs behind longer, wherewith it hoppeth upon the earth,

11:22. That you shall eat: as the bruchus in its kind, the attacus, and ophimachus, and the locust, every, one according to their kind.

11:23. But of flying things whatsoever hath four feet only, shall be an abomination to you.

11:24. And whosoever shall touch the carcasses of them, shall be defiled: and shall be unclean until the evening:

11:25. And if it be necessary that he carry any of these things when they are dead: he shall wash his clothes, and shall be unclean until the sun set.

11:26. Every beast that hath a hoof, but divideth it not, nor cheweth the cud shall be unclean: and he that toucheth it, shall be defiled.

11:27. That which walketh upon hands of all animals which go on all four, shall be unclean: he that shall touch their carcasses shall be defiled until evening.

11:28. And he that shall carry such carcasses, shall wash his clothes, and shall be unclean until evening: because all these things are unclean to you.

11:29. These also shall be reckoned among unclean things, of all that move upon the earth. The weasel, and the mouse, and the crocodile, every one according to their kind:

11:30. The shrew, and the chameleon, and the stellio, and the lizard, and the mole.

11:31. All these are unclean. He that toucheth their carcasses shall be unclean until the evening.

11:32. And upon what thing soever any of their carcasses shall fall, it shall be defiled, whether it be a vessel of wood, or a garment, or skins or haircloths: or any thing in which work is done. They shall be dipped in water, and shall be unclean until the evening, and so afterwards shall be clean.

11:33. But an earthen vessel, into which any of these shall fall, shall be defiled: and therefore is to be broken.

11:34. Any meat which you eat, if water from such a vessel be poured upon it, shall be unclean; and every liquor that is drunk out of any such vessel, shall be unclean.

11:35. And upon whatsoever thing any of these dead beasts shall fall, it shall be unclean. Whether it be oven, or pots with feet, they shall be destroyed, and shall be unclean.

11:36. But fountains and cisterns, and all gatherings together of waters shall be clean. He that toucheth their carcasses shall be defiled.

11:37. If it fall upon seed corn, it shall not defile it.

11:38. But if any man pour water upon the seed, and afterwards it be touched by the carcasses, it shall be forthwith defiled.

11:39. If any beast die, of which it is lawful for you to eat, he that toucheth the carcass thereof, shall be unclean until the evening.

11:40. And he that eateth or carrieth any thing thereof, shall wash his clothes, and shall be unclean until the evening.

11:41. All that creepeth upon the earth shall be abominable: neither shall it be taken for meat.

11:42. Whatsoever goeth upon the breast on four feet, or hath many feet, or traileth on the earth, you shall not eat, because it is abominable.

11:43. Do not defile your souls, nor touch aught thereof, lest you be unclean,

11:44. For I am the Lord your God. Be holy because I am holy. Defile not your souls by any creeping thing, that moveth upon the earth.

11:45. For I am the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that I might be your God.

11:46. You shall be holy, because I am holy. This is the law of beasts and fowls, and of every living creature that moveth in the waters, and creepeth on the earth:

11:47. That you may know the differences of the clean, and unclean, and know what you ought to eat, and what to refuse.

Leviticus Chapter 12

The purification of women after childbirth.

12:1. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

12:2. Speak to the children of Israel, and thou shalt say to them: If a woman having received seed shall bear a man child, she shall be unclean seven days, according to the days of separation of her flowers.

12:3. And on the eighth day the infant shall be circumcised:

12:4. But she shall remain three and thirty days in the blood of her purification. She shall touch no holy thing: neither shall she enter into the sanctuary, until the days of her purification, be fulfilled.

12:5. But if she shall bear a maid child, she shall be unclean two weeks, according to the custom of her monthly courses. And she shall remain in the blood of her purification sixty-six days.

12:6. And when the days of her purification are expired, for a son, or for a daughter, she shall bring to the door of the tabernacle of the testimony, a lamb of a year old for a holocaust, and a young pigeon or a turtle for sin: and shall deliver them to the priest.

12:7. Who shall offer them before the Lord, and shall pray for her: and so she shall be cleansed from the issue of her blood. This is the law for her that beareth a man child or a maid child.

12:8. And if her hand find not sufficiency, and she is not able to offer a lamb, she shall take two turtles, or two young pigeons, one for a holocaust, and another for sin: and the priest shall pray for her, and so she shall be cleansed.

Leviticus Chapter 13

The law concerning leprosy in men, and in garments.

13:1. And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying:

13:2. The man in whose skin or flesh shall arise a different colour or a blister, or as it were something shining, that is the stroke of the leprosy, shall be brought to Aaron the priest, or any one of his sons.

13:3. And if he see the leprosy in his skin, and the hair turned white and the place where the leprosy appears lower than the skin and the rest of the flesh: it is the stroke of the leprosy, and upon his judgment he shall be separated.

13:4. But if there be a shining whiteness in the skin, and not lower than the other flesh, and the hair be of the former colour, the priest shall shut him up seven days.

13:5. And the seventh day he shall look on him: and if the leprosy be grown no farther, and hath not spread itself in the skin, he shall shut him up again other seven days.

13:6. And on the seventh day, he shall look on him. If the leprosy be somewhat obscure, and not spread in the skin, he shall declare him clean, because it is but a scab: and the man shall wash his clothes, and shall be clean.

13:7. But, if the leprosy grow again, after he was seen by the priest and restored to cleanness, he shall be brought to him:

13:8. And shall be condemned of uncleanness.

13:9. If the stroke of the leprosy be in a man, he shall be brought to the priest:

13:10. And he shall view him. And when there shall be a white colour in the skin, and it shall have changed the look of the hair, and the living flesh itself shall appear:

13:11. It shall be judged an inveterate leprosy, and grown into the skin. The priest therefore shall declare him unclean: and shall not shut him up, because he is evidently unclean.

13:12. But if the leprosy spring out running about in the skin, and cover all the skin from the head to the feet, whatsoever falleth under the sight of the eyes:

13:13. The priest shall view him, and shall judge that the leprosy which he has is very clean: because it is all turned into whiteness, and therefore the man shall be clean.

13:14. But when the live flesh shall appear in him:

13:15. Then by the judgment of the priest he shall be defiled, and shall be reckoned among the unclean. For live flesh, if it be spotted with leprosy, is unclean.

13:16. And if again it be turned into whiteness, and cover all the man:

13:17. The priest shall view him, and shall judge him to be clean.

13:18. When also there has been an ulcer in the flesh and the skin, and it has been healed:

13:19. And in the place of the ulcer, there appeareth a white scar, or somewhat red, the man shall be brought to the priest.

13:20. And when he shall see the place of the leprosy lower than the other flesh, and the hair turned white: he shall declare him unclean, for the plague of leprosy is broken out in the ulcer.

13:21. But if the hair be of the former colour, and the scar somewhat obscure, and be not lower than the flesh that is near it: he shall shut him up seven days.

13:22. And if it spread, he shall judge him to have the leprosy:

13:23. But if it stay in its place, it is but the scar of an ulcer: and the man shall be clean.

13:24. The flesh also and skin that hath been burnt, and after it is healed hath a white or a red scar:

13:25. The priest shall view it, and if he see it turned white, and the place thereof is lower than the other skin: he shall declare him unclean, because the evil of leprosy is broken out in the scar.

13:26. But if the colour of the hair be not changed, nor the blemish lower than the other flesh, and the appearance of the leprosy be somewhat obscure: he shall shut him up seven days,

13:27. And on the seventh day he shall view him. If the leprosy be grown farther in the skin, he shall declare him unclean.

13:28. But if the whiteness stay in its place, and be not very clear, it is the sore of a burning: and therefore he shall be cleansed, because it is only the scar of a burning.

13:29. If the leprosy break out in the head or the beard of a man or woman, the priest shall see them,

13:30. And if the place be lower than the other flesh, and the hair yellow, and thinner than usual: he shall declare them unclean, because it is the leprosy of the head and the beard;

13:31. But if he perceive the place of the spot is equal with the flesh that is near it, and the hair black: he shall shut him up seven days,

13:32. And on the seventh day he shall look upon it. If the spot be not grown, and the hair keep its colour, and the place of the blemish be even with the other flesh:

13:33. The man shall be shaven all but the place of the spot: and he shall be shut up other seven days.

13:34. If on the seventh day the evil seem to have stayed in its place, and not lower than the other flesh, he shall cleanse him: and his clothes being washed he shall be clean.

13:35. But if after his cleansing the spot spread again in the skin:

13:36. He shall seek no more whether the hair be turned yellow, because he is evidently unclean.

13:37. But if the spot be stayed, and the hair be black, let him know that the man is healed: and let him confidently pronounce him clean.

13:38. If a whiteness appear in the skin of a man or a woman,

13:39. The priest shall view them. If he find that a darkish whiteness shineth in the skin, let him know that it is not the leprosy, but a white blemish, and that the man is clean.

13:40. The man whose hair falleth off from his head, he is bald and clean:

13:41. And if the hair fall from his forehead, he is bald before and clean.

13:42. But if in the bald head or in the bald forehead there be risen a white or reddish colour:

13:43. And the priest perceive this, he shall condemn him undoubtedly of leprosy which is risen in the bald part.

13:44. Now whosoever shall be defiled with the leprosy, and is separated by the judgment of the priest:

13:45. Shall have his clothes hanging loose, his head bare, his mouth covered with a cloth: and he shall cry out that he is defiled and unclean.

13:46. All the time that he is a leper and unclean he shall dwell alone without the camp.

13:47. A woollen or linen garment that shall have the leprosy

13:48. In the warp, and the woof: or skin, or whatsoever is made of a skin:

13:49. If it be infected with a white or red spot, it shall be accounted the leprosy, and shall be shewn to the priest.

13:50. And he shall look upon it and shall shut it up seven days.

13:51. And on the seventh day when he looketh on it again, if he find that it is grown, it is a fixed leprosy. He shall judge the garment unclean, and every thing wherein it shall be found.

13:52. And therefore it shall be burnt with fire.

13:53. But if he see that it is not grown,

13:54. He shall give orders, and they shall wash that part wherein the leprosy is: and he shall shut it up other seven days.

13:55. And when he shall see that the former colour is not returned, nor yet the leprosy spread, he shall judge it unclean: and shall burn it with fire, for the leprosy has taken hold of the outside of the garment, or through the whole.

13:56. But if the place of the leprosy be somewhat dark, after the garment is washed, he shall tear it off, and divide it from that which is sound.

13:57. And if after this there appear in those places that before were without spot, a flying and wandering leprosy: it must be burnt with fire.

13:58. If it cease, he shall wash with water the parts that are pure, the second time: and they shall be clean.

13:59. This is the law touching the leprosy of any woollen or linen garment, either in the warp or woof, or any thing of skins: how it ought to be cleaned, or pronounced unclean.

Leviticus Chapter 14

The rites of sacrifices in cleansing the leprosy. Leprosy in houses.

14:1. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

14:2. This is the rite of a leper, when he is to be cleansed. He shall be brought to the priest:

14:3. Who going out of the camp, when he shall find that the leprosy is cleansed,

14:4. Shall command him that is to be purified, to offer for himself two living sparrows, which it is lawful to eat, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop.

14:5. And he shall command one of the sparrows to be immolated in an earthen vessel over living waters.

Living waters. . .That is, waters taken from a spring, brook, or river.

14:6. But the other that is alive, he shall dip, with the cedar wood, and the scarlet and the hyssop, in the blood of the sparrow that is immolated:

14:7. Wherewith he shall sprinkle him that is to be cleansed seven times, that he may be rightly purified. And he shall let go the living sparrow, that it may fly into the field.

14:8. And when the man hath washed his clothes, he shall shave all the hair of his body, and shall be washed with water: and being purified he shall enter into the camp, yet so that he tarry without his own tent seven days.

14:9. And on the seventh day he shall shave the hair of his head, and his beard and his eyebrows, and the hair of all his body. And having washed again his clothes, and his body,

14:10. On the eighth day, he shall take two lambs without blemish, and an ewe of a year old without blemish, and three tenths of flour tempered with oil for a sacrifice, and a sextary of oil apart.

A sextary. . .Heb. log: a measure of liquids, which was the twelfth part of a hin; and held about as much as six eggs.

14:11. And when the priest that purifieth the man, hath presented him, and all these things before the Lord, at the door of the tabernacle of the testimony:

14:12. He shall take a lamb, and offer it for a trespass offering with the sextary of oil. And having offered all before the Lord,

14:13. He shall immolate the lamb, where the victim for sin is wont to be immolated, and the holocaust, that is, in the holy place. For as that which is for sin, so also the victim for a trespass offering pertaineth to the priest: it is holy of holies.

14:14. And the priest taking of the blood of the victim that was immolated for trespass, shall put it upon the tip of the right ear of him that is cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand and the great toe of his right foot.

Taking of the blood, etc. . .These ceremonies used in the cleansing of a leper, were mysterious and very significative. The sprinkling seven times with the blood of the little bird, the washing himself and his clothes, the shaving his hair and his beard, signify the means which are to be used in the reconciliation of a sinner, and the steps by which he is to return to God, viz., by the repeated application of the blood of Christ: the washing his conscience with the waters of compunction: and retrenching all vanities and superfluities, by employing all that is over and above what is necessary in alms deeds. The sin offering, and the holocaust or burnt offering, which he was to offer at his cleansing, signify the sacrifice of a contrite and humble heart, and that of adoration in spirit and truth, with gratitude and thankfulness, for the forgiveness of sins, with which we are ever to appear before the Almighty. The touching the right ear, the thumb of the right hand, and the great toe of the right foot, first with the blood of the victim, and then with the remainder of the oil, which had been sprinkled seven times before the Lord, signify the application of the blood of Christ, and the unction of the sevenfold grace of the Holy Ghost; to the sinner’s right ear, that he may duly hearken to and obey the law of God; and to his right hand and foot, that the works of his hands, and all the steps or affections of his soul, signified by the feet, may be rightly directed to God.

14:15. And he shall pour of the sextary of oil into his own left hand,

14:16. And shall dip his right finger in it, and sprinkle it before the Lord seven times.

14:17. And the rest of the oil in his left hand, he shall pour upon the tip of the right ear of him that is cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand and the great toe of his right foot, and upon the blood that was shed for trespass:

14:18. And upon his head.

14:19. And he shall pray for him before the Lord, and shall offer the sacrifice for sin. Then shall he immolate the holocaust.

14:20. And put it on the altar with the libations thereof: and the man shall be rightly cleansed.

14:21. But if he be poor, and his hand cannot find the things aforesaid: he shall take a lamb for an offering for trespass, that the priest may pray for him, and a tenth part of flour tempered with oil for a sacrifice, and a sextary of oil:

14:22. And two turtles or two young pigeons, of which one may be for sin, and the other for a holocaust.

14:23. And he shall offer them on the eighth day of his purification to the priest, at the door of the tabernacle of the testimony before the Lord.

14:24. And the priest receiving the lamb for trespass, and the sextary of oil, shall elevate them together.

14:25. And the lamb being immolated, he shall put of the blood thereof upon the tip of the right ear of him that is cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and the great toe of his right foot.

14:26. But he shall pour part of the oil into his own left hand,

14:27. And dipping the finger of his right hand in it, he shall sprinkle it seven times before the Lord.

14:28. And he shall touch the tip of the right ear of him that is cleansed, and the thumb of his right hand and the great toe of his right foot, in the place of the blood that was shed for trespass.

14:29. And the other part of the oil that is in his left hand, he shall pour upon the head of the purified person, that he may appease the Lord for him.

14:30. And he shall offer a turtle, or young pigeon:

14:31. One for trespass, and the other for a holocaust, with their libations.

14:32. This is the sacrifice of a leper, that is not able to have all things that appertain to his cleansing.

14:33. And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying:

14:34. When you shall come into the land of Chanaan, which I will give you for a possession, if there be the plague of leprosy in a house:

14:35. He whose house it is, shall go and tell the priest, saying: It seemeth to me, that there is the plague of leprosy in my house,

14:36. And he shall command, that they carry forth all things out of the house, before he go into it, and see whether it have the leprosy, let all things become unclean that are in the house. And afterwards he shall go in to view the leprosy of the house.

14:37. And if he see in the walls thereof as it were little dints, disfigured with paleness or redness, and lower than all he rest:

14:38. He shall go out of the door of the house, and forthwith shut it up seven days,

14:39. And returning on the seventh day, he shall look upon it. If he find that the leprosy is spread,

14:40. He shall command, that the stones wherein the leprosy is, be taken out, and cast without the city into an unclean place:

14:41. And that the house be scraped on the inside round about, and the dust of the scrapings be scattered without the city into an unclean place:

14:42. And that other stones be laid in the place of them that were taken away, and the house be plastered with other mortar.

14:43. But if after the stones be taken out, and the dust scraped off, and it be plastered with other earth.

14:44. The priest going in perceive that the leprosy is returned, and the walls full of spots, it is a lasting leprosy, and the house is unclean.

14:45. And they shall destroy it forthwith, and shall cast the stones and timber thereof, and all the dust without the town into an unclean place.

14:46. He that entereth into the house when it is shut, shall be unclean until evening,

14:47. And he that sleepeth in it, and eateth any thing, shall wash his clothes.

14:48. But if the priest going in perceive that the leprosy is not spread in the house, after it was plastered again, he shall purify it, it being cured.

14:49. And for the purification thereof he shall take two sparrows, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop.

14:50. And having immolated one sparrow in an earthen vessel, over living waters,

14:51. He shall take the cedar wood, and the hyssop, and the scarlet, and the living sparrow, and shall dip all in the blood of the sparrow that is immolated, and in the living water: and he shall sprinkle the house seven times.

14:52. And shall purify it as well with the blood of the sparrow, as with the living water, and with the living sparrow, and with the cedar wood, and the hyssop, and the scarlet.

14:53. And when he hath let go the sparrow to fly freely away into the field, he shall pray for the house: and it shall be rightly cleansed.

14:54. This is the law of every kind of leprosy and stroke.

14:55. Of the leprosy of garments and houses,

14:56. Of a scar and of blisters breaking out of a shining spot, and when the colours are diversely changed:

14:57. That it may be known when a thing is clean or unclean.

Leviticus Chapter 15

Other legal uncleannesses.

15:1. And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying:

15:2. Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: The man that hath an issue of seed, shall be unclean.

Issue of seed shall be unclean. . .These legal uncleannesses were instituted in order to give the people a horror of carnal impurities.

15:3. And then shall he be judged subject to this evil, when a filthy humour, at every moment, cleaveth to his flesh, and gathereth there.

15:4. Every bed on which he sleepeth, shall be unclean, and every place on which he sitteth.

15:5. If any man touch his bed, he shall wash his clothes and being washed with water, he shall be unclean until the evening.

15:6. If a man sit where that man hath sitten, he also shall wash his clothes: and being washed with water, shall be unclean until the evening.

15:7. He that toucheth his flesh, shall wash his clothes: and being himself washed with water shall be unclean until the evening.

15:8. If such a man cast his spittle upon him that is clean, he shall wash his clothes: and being washed with water, he shall be unclean until the evening.

15:9. The saddle on which he hath sitten shall be unclean.

15:10. And whatsoever has been under him that hath the issue of seed, shall be unclean until the evening. He that carrieth any of these things, shall wash his clothes: and being washed with water, he shall be unclean until the evening.

15:11. Every person whom such a one shall touch, not having washed his hands before, shall wash his clothes: and being washed with water, shall be unclean until the evening.

15:12. If he touch a vessel of earth, it shall be broken: but if a vessel of wood, it shall be washed with water.

15:13. If he who suffereth this disease be healed, he shall number seven days after his cleansing: and having washed his clothes, and all his body in living water, he shall be clean.

15:14. And on the eighth day he shall take two turtles, or two young pigeons, and he shall come before the Lord, to the door of the tabernacle of the testimony, and shall give them to the priest.

15:15. Who shall offer one for sin, and the other for a holocaust: and he shall pray for him before the Lord, that he may be cleansed of the issue of his seed.

15:16. The man from whom the seed of copulation goeth out, shall wash all his body with water: and he shall be unclean until the evening.

15:17. The garment or skin that he weareth, he shall wash with water: and it shall be unclean until the evening.

15:18. The woman, with whom he copulateth, shall be washed with water: and shall be unclean until the evening.

15:19. The woman, who at the return of the month, hath her issue of blood, shall be separated seven days.

15:20. Every one that toucheth her, shall be unclean until the evening.

15:21. And every thing that she sleepeth on, or that she sitteth on in the days of her separation, shall be defiled.

15:22. He that toucheth her bed shall wash his clothes: and being himself washed with water, shall be unclean until the evening.

15:23. Whosoever shall touch any vessel on which she sitteth, shall wash his clothes: and himself being washed with water, shall be defiled until the evening.

15:24. If a man copulateth with her in the time of her flowers, he shall be unclean seven days: and every bed on which he shall sleep, shall be defiled.

15:25. The woman that hath still issue of blood many days out of her ordinary time, or that ceaseth not to flow after the monthly courses, as long as she is subject to this disease, shall be unclean, in the same manner as if she were in her flowers.

15:26. Every bed on which she sleepeth, and every vessel on which she sitteth, shall be defiled.

15:27. Whosoever toucheth them shall wash his clothes: and himself being washed with water, shall be unclean until the evening.

15:28. If the blood stop and cease to run, she shall count seven days of her purification:

15:29. And on the eighth day she shall offer for herself to the priest, two turtles, or two young pigeons, at the door of the tabernacle of the testimony:

15:30. And he shall offer one for sin, and the other for a holocaust, and he shall pray for her before the Lord, and for the issue of her uncleanness.

15:31. You shall teach therefore the children of Israel to take heed of uncleanness, that they may not die in their filth, when they shall have defiled my tabernacle that is among them.

15:32. This is the law of him that hath the issue of seed, and that is defiled by copulation.

15:33. And of the woman that is separated in her monthly times, or that hath a continual issue of blood, and of the man that sleepeth with her.

Leviticus Chapter 16

When and how the high priest must enter into the sanctuary. The feast of expiation.

16:1. And the Lord spoke to Moses, after the death of the two sons of Aaron when they were slain upon their offering strange fire:

16:2. And he commanded him, saying: Speak to Aaron thy brother, that he enter not at all into the sanctuary, which is within the veil before the propitiatory, with which the ark is covered, lest he die, (for I will appear in a cloud over the oracle),

Enter not. . .No one but the high priest, and he but once a year, could enter into the sanctuary; to signify that no one could enter into the sanctuary of heaven, till Christ our high priest opened it by his passion. Heb. 10.8.

16:3. Unless he first do these things. He shall offer a calf for sin, and a ram for a holocaust.

16:4. He shall be vested with a linen tunick: he shall cover his nakedness with linen breeches: he shall be girded with a linen girdle, and he shall put a linen mitre upon his head. For these are holy vestments: all which he shall put on, after he is washed.

16:5. And he shall receive from the whole multitude of the children of Israel two buck goats for sin, and one ram for a holocaust.

16:6. And when he hath offered the cattle and prayed for himself and for his own house:

16:7. He shall make the two buck goats to stand before the Lord in the door of the tabernacle of the testimony.

16:8. And casting lots upon them both, one to be offered to the Lord, and the other to be the emissary goat:

16:9. That whose lot fell to be offered to the Lord, he shall offer for sin.

16:10. But that whose lot was to be the emissary goat, he shall present before the Lord, that he may pour prayers upon him, and let him go into the wilderness.

16:11. After these things are duly celebrated, he shall offer the calf: and praying for himself and for his own house, he shall immolate it.

16:12. And taking the censer, which he hath filled with the burning coals of the altar, and taking up with his hands the compounded perfume for incense, he shall go in within the veil into the holy place:

16:13. That when the perfumes are put upon the fire, the cloud and vapour thereof may cover the oracle, which is over the testimony, and he may not die.

16:14. He shall take also of the blood of the calf, and sprinkle with his finger seven times towards the propitiatory to the east.

16:15. And when he hath killed the buck goat for the sin of the people, he shall carry in the blood thereof within the veil, as he was commanded to do with the blood of the calf, that he may sprinkle it over against the oracle:

16:16. And may expiate the sanctuary from the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and from their transgressions, and all their sins. According to this rite shall he do to the tabernacle of the testimony, which is fixed among them in the midst of the filth of their habitation.

16:17. Let no man be in the tabernacle when the high priest goeth into the sanctuary, to pray for himself and his house, and for the whole congregation of Israel, until he come out.

16:18. And when he is come out to the altar that is before the Lord, let him pray for himself: and taking the blood of the calf, and of the buck goat, let him pour it upon the horns thereof round about.

16:19. And sprinkling with his finger seven times, let him expiate, and sanctify it from the uncleanness of the children of Israel.

16:20. After he hath cleaned the sanctuary, and the tabernacle, and the altar, then let him offer the living goat.

16:21. And putting both hands upon his head, let him confess all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their offences and sins. And praying that they may light on its head, he shall turn him out by a man ready for it, into the desert.

16:22. And when the goat hath carried all their iniquities into an uninhabited land, and shall be let go into the desert:

16:23. Aaron shall return into the tabernacle of the testimony, and putting off the vestments, which he had on him before when he entered into the sanctuary, and leaving them there,

16:24. He shall wash his flesh in the holy place, and shall put on his own garments. And after that he is come out and hath offered his own holocaust, and that of the people, he shall pray both for himself, and for the people.

16:25. And the fat that is offered for sins, he shall burn on the altar.

16:26. But he that hath let go the emissary goat, shall wash his clothes, and his body with water, and so shall enter into the camp.

16:27. But the calf and the buck goat, that were sacrificed for sin, and whose blood was carried into the sanctuary, to accomplish the atonement, they shall carry forth without the camp, and shall burn with fire: their skins and their flesh, and their dung.

16:28. And whosoever burneth them shall wash his clothes, and flesh with water: and so shall enter into the camp.

16:29. And this shall be to you an everlasting ordinance. The seventh month, the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict your souls, and shall do no work, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger that sojourneth among you.

16:30. Upon this day shall be the expiation for you, and the cleansing from all your sins. You shall be cleansed before the Lord.

16:31. For it is a sabbath of rest: and you shall afflict your souls by a perpetual religion.

16:32. And the priest that is anointed, and whose hands are consecrated to do the office of the priesthood in his father’s stead, shall make atonement. And he shall be vested with the linen robe and the holy vestments.

16:33. And he shall expiate the sanctuary and the tabernacle of the testimony and the altar: the priest also and all the people.

16:34. And this shall be an ordinance for ever, that you pray for the children of Israel, and for all their sins once a year. He did therefore as the Lord had commanded Moses.

Leviticus Chapter 17

No sacrifices to be offered but at the door of the tabernacle: a prohibition of blood.

17:1. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

17:2. Speak to Aaron and his sons, and to all the children of Israel, saying to them: This is the word, which the Lord hath commanded, saying:

17:3. Any man whosoever of the house of Israel, if he kill an ox, or a sheep, or a goat in the camp, or without the camp,

If he kill, etc. . .That is, in order to sacrifice. The law of God forbids sacrifices to be offered in any other place but at the tabernacle or temple of the Lord; to signify that no sacrifice would be acceptable to God, out of his true temple, the one holy, catholic, apostolic church.

17:4. And offer it not at the door of the tabernacle an oblation to the Lord, shall be guilty of blood. As if he had shed blood, so shall he perish from the midst of his people.

17:5. Therefore the children of Israel shall bring to the priest their victims, which they kill in the field, that they may be sanctified to the Lord before the door of the tabernacle of the testimony: and they may sacrifice them for peace offerings to the Lord.

17:6. And the priest shall pour the blood upon the altar of the Lord, at the door of the tabernacle of the testimony: and shall burn the fat for a sweet odour to the Lord.

17:7. And they shall no more sacrifice their victims to devils, with whom they have committed fornication. It shall be an ordinance for ever to them and to their posterity.

17:8. And thou shalt say to them: The man of the house of Israel, and of the strangers who sojourn among you, that offereth a holocaust or a victim,

17:9. And bringeth it not to the door of the tabernacle of the testimony, that it may be offered to the Lord, shall perish from among his people.

17:10. If any man whosoever of the house of Israel, and of the strangers that sojourn among them, eat blood, I will set my face against his soul, and will cut him off from among his people.

Eat blood. . .To eat blood was forbidden in the law; partly, because God reserved it to himself, to be offered in sacrifices on the altar, as to the Lord of life and death; and as a figure of the blood of Christ; and partly, to give men a horror of shedding blood. Gen. 9.4, 5, 6.

17:11. Because the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you, that you may make atonement with it upon the altar for your souls, and the blood may be for an expiation of the soul.

17:12. Therefore I have said to the children of Israel: No soul of you, nor of the strangers that sojourn among you, shall eat blood.

17:13. Any man whosoever of the children of Israel, and of the strangers that sojourn among you, if by hunting or fowling, he take a wild beast or a bird, which is lawful to eat, let him pour out its blood, and cover it with earth.

17:14. For the life of all flesh is in the blood. Therefore I said to the children of Israel: you shall not eat the blood of any flesh at all, because the life of the flesh is in the blood, and whosoever eateth it, shall be cut off.

17:15. The soul that eateth that which died of itself, or has been caught by a beast, whether he be one of your own country or a stranger, shall wash his clothes and himself with water, and shall be defiled until the evening: and in this manner he shall be made clean.

17:16. But if he do not wash his clothes, and his body, he shall bear his iniquity.

Leviticus Chapter 18

Marriage is prohibited in certain degrees of kindred: Anda all unnatural lusts.

18:1. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

18:2. Speak to the children of Israel, and thou shalt say to them: I am the Lord your God.

18:3. You shall not do according to the custom of the land of Egypt, in which you dwelt: neither shall you act according to the manner of the country of Chanaan, into which I will bring you. Nor shall you walk in their ordinances.

18:4. You shall do my judgments, and shall observe my precepts, and shall walk in them. I am the Lord your God.

18:5. Keep my laws and my judgments: which if a man do, he shall live in them, I am the Lord.

18:6. No man shall approach to her that is near of kin to him, to uncover her nakedness. I am the Lord.

18:7. Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father, or the nakedness of thy mother: she is thy mother, thou shalt not uncover her nakedness.

18:8. Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father’s wife: for it is the nakedness of thy father.

18:9. Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy sister by father or by mother: whether born at home or abroad.

18:10. Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy son’s daughter, or thy daughter’s daughter: because it is thy own nakedness.

18:11. Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father’s wife’s daughter, whom she bore to thy father: and who is thy sister.

18:12. Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father’s sister: because she is the flesh of thy father.

18:13. Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy mother’s sister: because she is thy mother’s flesh.

18:14. Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father’s brother: neither shalt thou approach to his wife, who is joined to thee by affinity.

18:15. Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy daughter in law: because she is thy son’s wife, neither shalt thou discover her shame.

18:16. Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy brother’s wife: because it is the nakedness of thy brother.

18:17. Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy wife and her daughter. Thou shalt not take her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter, to discover her shame: because they are her flesh, and such copulation is incest.

18:18. Thou shalt not take thy wife’s sister for a harlot, to rival her: neither shalt thou discover her nakedness, while she is yet living.

18:19. Thou shalt not approach to a woman having her flowers: neither shalt thou uncover her nakedness.

18:20. Thou shalt not lie with thy neighbour’s wife: nor be defiled with mingling of seed.

18:21. Thou shalt not give any of thy seed to be consecrated to the idol Moloch, nor defile the name of thy God. I am the Lord.

18:22. Thou shalt not lie with mankind as with womankind: because it is an abomination.

18:23. Thou shalt not copulate with any beast: neither shalt thou be defiled with it. A woman shall not lie down to a beast, nor copulate with it: because it is a heinous crime.

Because it is a heinous crime. . .In Hebrew, this word heinous crime is expressed by the word confusion, signifying the shamefulness and baseness of this abominable sin.

18:24. Defile not yourselves with any of these things with which all the nations have been defiled, which I will cast out before you,

18:25. And with which the land is defiled: the abominations of which I will visit, that it may vomit out its inhabitants.

18:26. Keep ye my ordinances and my judgments: and do not any of these abominations. Neither any of your own nation, nor any stranger that sojourneth among you.

18:27. For all these detestable things the inhabitants of the land have done, that were before you, and have defiled it.

18:28. Beware then, lest in like manner, it vomit you also out, if you do the like things: as it vomited out the nation that was before you.

18:29. Every soul that shall commit any of these abominations, shall perish from the midst of his people.

18:30. Keep my commandments. Do not the things which they have done, that have been before you: and be not defiled therein. I am the Lord your God.

Leviticus Chapter 19

Divers ordinances, partly moral, partly ceremonial or judicial.

19:1. The Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

19:2. Speak to all the congregation of the children of Israel. And thou shalt say to them: Be ye holy, because I the Lord your God am holy.

19:3. Let every one fear his father, and his mother. Keep my sabbaths. I am the Lord your God.

19:4. Turn ye not to idols: nor make to yourselves molten gods. I am the Lord your God.

19:5. If ye offer in sacrifice a peace offering to the Lord, that he may be favourable:

19:6. You shall eat it on the same day it was offered, and the next day. And whatsoever shall be left until the third day, you shall burn with fire.

19:7. If after two days any man eat thereof, he shall be profane and guilty of impiety:

19:8. And shall bear his iniquity, because he hath defiled the holy thing of the Lord. And that soul shall perish from among his people.

19:9. When thou reapest the corn of thy land, thou shalt not cut down all that is on the face of the earth to the very ground: nor shalt thou gather the ears that remain.

19:10. Neither shalt thou gather the bunches and grapes that fall down in thy vineyard: but shalt leave them to the poor and the strangers to take. I am the Lord your God.

19:11. You shall not steal. You shall not lie: neither shall any man deceive his neighbour.

19:12. Thou shalt not swear falsely by my name, nor profane the name of thy God. I am the Lord.

19:13. Thou shalt not calumniate thy neighbour, nor oppress him by violence. The wages of him that hath been hired by thee shall not abide with thee until the morning.

19:14. Thou shalt not speak evil of the deaf, nor put a stumbling block before the blind: but thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, because I am the Lord.

19:15. Thou shalt not do that which is unjust, nor judge unjustly. Respect not the person of the poor: nor honour the countenance of the mighty. But judge thy neighbour according to justice.

19:16. Thou shalt not be a detractor nor a whisperer among the people. Thou shalt not stand against the blood of thy neighbour. I am the Lord.

19:17. Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thy heart: But reprove him openly, lest thou incur sin through him.

19:18. Seek not revenge, nor be mindful of the injury of thy citizens. Thou shalt love thy friend as thyself. I am the Lord.

19:19. Keep ye my laws. Thou shalt not make thy cattle to gender with beasts of any other kind. Thou shalt not sow thy field with different seeds. Thou shalt not wear a garment that is woven of two sorts.

Different seeds, etc. . .This law tends to recommend simplicity and plain dealing in all things, and to teach the people not to join any false worship or heresy with the worship of the true God.

19:20. If a man carnally lie with a woman that is a bondservant and marriageable, and yet not redeemed with a price, nor made free: they both shall be scourged: and they shall not be put to death, because she was not a free woman.

19:21. And for his trespass he shall offer a ram to the Lord, at the door of the tabernacle of the testimony.

19:22. And the priest shall pray for him: and for his sin before the Lord: and he shall have mercy on him, and the sin shall be forgiven.

19:23. When you shall be come into the land, and shall have planted in it fruit trees, you shall take away the firstfruits of them. The fruit that comes forth shall be unclean to you: neither shall you eat of them.

Firstfruits. . .Proeputia, literally, their foreskins; it alludes to circumcision, and signifies that for the first three years the trees were to be as uncircumcised, and their fruit unclean: till in the fourth year their increase was sanctified and given to the Lord, that is, to the priests.

19:24. But in the fourth year, all their fruit shall be sanctified, to the praise of the Lord.

19:25. And in the fifth year you shall eat the fruits thereof, gathering the increase thereof. I am the Lord your God.

19:26. You shall not eat with blood. You shall not divine nor observe dreams.

19:27. Nor shall you cut your hair roundwise: nor shave your beard.

19:28. You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh, for the dead: neither shall you make in yourselves any figures or marks. I am the Lord.

19:29. Make not thy daughter a common strumpet, lest the land be defiled, and filled with wickedness.

19:30. Keep ye my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary. I am the Lord.

19:31. Go not aside after wizards: neither ask any thing of soothsayers, to be defiled by them. I am the Lord your God.

19:32. Rise up before the hoary head, and honour the person of the aged man: and fear the Lord thy God. I am the Lord.

19:33. If a stranger dwell in your land, and abide among you, do not upbraid him:

19:34. But let him be among you as one of the same country. And you shall love him as yourselves: for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.

19:35. Do not any unjust thing in judgment, in rule, in weight, or in measure.

19:36. Let the balance be just and the weights equal, the bushel just, and the sextary equal. I am the Lord your God, that brought you out of the land of Egypt.

19:37. Keep all my precepts, and all my judgments: and do them. I am the Lord.

Leviticus Chapter 20

Divers crimes to be punished with death.

20:1. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

20:2. Thus shalt thou say to the children of Israel: If any man of the children Israel, or of the strangers that dwell in Israel, give of his seed to the idol Moloch, dying let him die. The people of the land shall stone him.

20:3. And I will set my face against him: and I will cut him off from the midst of his people, because he hath given of his seed to Moloch, and hath defiled my sanctuary, and profaned my holy name.

20:4. And if the people of the land neglecting, and as it were little regarding my commandment, let alone the man that hath given of his seed to Moloch, and will not kill him:

20:5. I will set my face against that man, and his kindred, and will cut off both him and all that consented with him, to commit fornication with Moloch, out of the midst of their people.

20:6. The soul that shall go aside after magicians, and soothsayers, and shall commit fornication with them: I will set my face against that soul, and destroy it out of the midst of its people.

20:7. Sanctify yourselves, and be ye holy: because I am the Lord your God.

20:8. Keep my precepts, and do them. I am the Lord that sanctify you.

20:9. He that curseth his father, or mother, dying let him die. He hath cursed his father, and mother: let his blood be upon him.

20:10. If any man commit adultery with the wife of another, and defile his neighbour’s wife: let them be put to death, both the adulterer and the adulteress.

20:11. If a man lie with his stepmother, and discover the nakedness of his father, let them both be put to death: their blood be upon them.

20:12. If any man lie with his daughter in law: let both die, because they have done a heinous crime. Their blood be upon them.

20:13. If any one lie with a man as with a woman, both have committed an abomination: let them be put to death. Their blood be upon them.

20:14. If any man after marrying the daughter, marry her mother, he hath done a heinous crime. He shall be burnt alive with them: neither shall so great an abomination remain in the midst of you.

20:15. He that shall copulate with any beast or cattle, dying let him die: the beast also ye shall kill.

The beast also ye shall kill. . .The killing of the beast was for the greater horror of the crime, and to prevent the remembrance of such abomination.

20:16. The woman that shall lie under any beast, shall be killed together with the same. Their blood be upon them.

20:17. If any man take his sister, the daughter of his father, or the daughter of his mother, and see her nakedness, and she behold her brother’s shame: they have committed a crime. They shall be slain, in the sight of their people, because they have discovered one another’s nakedness. And they shall bear their iniquity.

20:18. If any man lie with a woman in her flowers, and uncover her nakedness, and she open the fountain of her blood: both shall be destroyed out of the midst of their people.

20:19. Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy aunt by thy mother, and of thy aunt by thy father. He that doth this, hath uncovered the shame of his own flesh: both shall bear their iniquity.

20:20. If any man lie with the wife of his uncle by the father, or of his uncle by the mother, and uncover the shame of his near akin, both shall bear their sin. They shall die without children.

20:21. He that marrieth his brother’s wife, doth an unlawful thing: he hath uncovered his brother’s nakedness. They shall be without children.

20:22. Keep my laws and my judgments, and do them: lest the land into which you are to enter to dwell therein, vomit you also out.

20:23. Walk not after the laws of the nations, which I will cast out before you. For they have done all these things: and therefore I abhorred them.

20:24. But to you I say: Possess their land which I will give you for an inheritance, a land flowing with milk and honey. I am the Lord your God, who have separated you from other people.

20:25. Therefore do you also separate the clean beast from the unclean, and the clean fowl from the unclean. Defile not your souls with beasts, or birds, or any things that move on the earth, and which I have shewn you to be unclean:

20:26. You shall be holy unto me, because I the Lord am holy: and I have separated you from other people, that you should be mine.

20:27. A man, or woman, in whom there is a pythonical or divining spirit, dying let them die. They shall stone them. Their blood be upon them.

Leviticus Chapter 21

Ordinances relating to the priests.

21:1. The Lord said also to Moses: Speak to the priests the sons of Aaron, and thou shalt say to them: Let not a priest incur an uncleanness at the death of his citizens.

An uncleanness. . .Viz., such as was contracted in laying out the dead body, or touching it; or in going into the house, or assisting at the funeral, etc.

21:2. But only for his kin, such as are near in blood: that is to say, for his father and for his mother, and for his son, and for his daughter, for his brother also:

21:3. And for a maiden sister, who hath had no husband.

21:4. But not even for the prince of his people shall he do any thing that may make him unclean.

21:5. Neither shall they shave their head, nor their beard, nor make incisions in their flesh.

21:6. They shall be holy to their God, and shall not profane his name. For they offer the burnt offering of the Lord, and the bread of their God: and therefore they shall be holy.

21:7. They shall not take to wife a harlot or a vile prostitute, nor one that has been put away from her husband: because they are consecrated to their God,

21:8. And offer the loaves of proposition. Let them therefore be holy because I also am holy: the Lord, who sanctify them.

21:9. If the daughter of a priest be taken in whoredom and dishonour the name of her father, she shall be burnt with fire.

21:10. The high priest, that is to say, the priest who is the greatest among his brethren, upon whose head the oil of unction hath been poured; and whose hands have been consecrated for the priesthood; and who hath been vested with the holy vestments. He shall not uncover his head: he shall not rend his garments.

21:11. Nor shall he go in at all to any dead person: not even for his father, or his mother, shall he be defiled.

21:12. Neither shall he go out of the holy places, lest he defile the sanctuary of the Lord: because the oil of the holy unction of his God is upon him. I am the Lord.

21:13. He shall take a virgin unto his wife.

21:14. But a widow or one that is divorced, or defiled, or a harlot, he shall not take: but a maid of his own people.

21:15. He shall not mingle the stock of his kindred with the common people of this nation: for I am the Lord who sanctify him.

21:16. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

21:17. Say to Aaron: Whosoever of thy seed throughout their families, hath a blemish, he shall not offer bread to his God.

21:18. Neither shall he approach to minister to him: If he be blind; if he be lame; if he have a little, or a great, or a crooked nose;

21:19. If his foot, or if his hand be broken;

21:20. If he be crookbacked; or blear eyed; or have a pearl in his eye, or a continual scab, or a dry scurf in his body, or a rupture.

21:21. Whosoever of the seed of Aaron the priest hath a blemish: he shall not approach to offer sacrifices to the Lord, nor bread to his God.

21:22. He shall eat nevertheless of the loaves that are offered in the sanctuary.

21:23. Yet so that he enter not within the veil, nor approach to the altar: because he hath a blemish, and he must not defile my sanctuary. I am the Lord who sanctify them.

21:24. Moses, therefore spoke to Aaron, and to his sons and to all Israel, all the things that had been commanded him.

Leviticus Chapter 22

Who may eat the holy things: and what things may be offered.

22:1. And the Lord spoke to Moses saying:

22:2. Speak to Aaron and to his sons, that they beware of those things that are consecrated of the children of Israel: and defile not the name of the things sanctified to me, which they offer. I am the Lord.

22:3. Say to them and to their posterity: Every man of your race, that approacheth to those things that are consecrated, and which the children of Israel have offered to the Lord, in whom there is uncleanness, shall perish before the Lord. I am the Lord.

Approacheth, etc. . .This is to give us to understand, with what purity of soul we are to approach to the blessed sacrament of which these meats that had been offered in sacrifice were a figure.

22:4. The man of the seed of Aaron, that is a leper, or that suffereth a running of the seed, shall not eat of those things that are sanctified to me, until he be healed. He that toucheth any thing unclean by occasion of the dead: and he whose seed goeth from him as in generation:

22:5. And he that toucheth a creeping thing, or any unclean thing, the touching of which is defiling:

22:6. Shall be unclean until the evening, and shall not eat those things that are sanctified. But when he hath washed his flesh with water,

22:7. And the sun is down, then being purified, he shall eat of the sanctified things, because it is his meat.

22:8. That which dieth of itself, and that which was taken by a beast, they shall not eat, nor be defiled therewith. I am the Lord.

22:9. Let them keep my precepts, that they may not fall into sin, and die in the sanctuary, when they shall have defiled it. I am the Lord who sanctify them.

22:10. No stranger shall eat of the sanctified things: a sojourner of the priests, or a hired servant, shall not eat of them.

22:11. But he whom the priest hath bought, and he that is his servant, born in his house, these shall eat of them.

22:12. If the daughter of a priest be married to any of the people, she shall not eat of those things that are sanctified nor of the firstfruits.

22:13. But if she be a widow, or divorced, and having no children return to her father’s house, she shall eat of her father’s meats, as she was wont to do when she was a maid. No stranger hath leave to eat of them.

22:14. He that eateth of the sanctified things through ignorance, shall add the fifth part with that which he ate, and shall give it to the priest into the sanctuary.

22:15. And they shall not profane the sanctified things of the children of Israel, which they offer to the Lord:

22:16. Lest perhaps they bear the iniquity of their trespass, when they shall have eaten the sanctified things. I am the Lord who sanctify them.

22:17. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

22:18. Speak to Aaron, and to his sons, and to all the children of Israel, and thou shalt say to them: The man of the house of Israel, and of the strangers who dwell with you, that offereth his oblation, either paying his vows, or offering of his own accord, whatsoever it be which he presenteth for a holocaust of the Lord,

22:19. To be offered by you: it shall be a male without blemish of the beeves, or of the sheep, or of the goats.

22:20. If it have a blemish you shall not offer it: neither shall it be acceptable.

22:21. The man that offereth a victim of peace offerings to the Lord, either paying his vows, or offering of his own accord, whether of beeves or of sheep, shall offer it without blemish, that it may be acceptable. There shall be no blemish in it.

22:22. If it be blind, or broken, or have a scar or blisters, or a scab, or a dry scurf: you shall not offer them to the Lord, nor burn any thing of them upon the Lord’s altar.

22:23. An ox or a sheep, that hath the ear and the tail cut off, thou mayst offer voluntarily: but a vow may not be paid with them.

22:24. you shall not offer to the Lord any beast that hath the testicles bruised, or crushed, or cut and taken away: neither shall you do any such things in your land.

22:25. you shall not offer bread to your God, from the hand of a stranger, nor any other thing that he would give: because they are all corrupted, and defiled. You shall not receive them.

22:26. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

22:27. When a bullock, or a sheep, or a goat, is brought forth, they shall be seven days under the udder of their dam: but the eighth day, and thenceforth, they may be offered to the Lord.

22:28. Whether it be a cow, or a sheep, they shall not be sacrificed the same day with their young ones.

22:29. If you immolate a victim for thanksgiving to the Lord, that he may be favourable,

22:30. You shall eat it the same day. There shall not any of it remain until the morning of the next day. I am the Lord.

22:31. Keep my commandments, and do them. I am the Lord.

22:32. Profane not my holy name, that I may be sanctified in the midst of the children of Israel. I am the Lord who sanctify you:

22:33. And who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that I might be your God. I am the Lord.

Leviticus Chapter 23

Holy days to be kept.

23:1. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

23:2. Speak to the children of Israel, and thou shalt say to them: These are the feasts of the Lord, which you shall call holy.

23:3. Six days shall ye do work: the seventh day, because it is the rest of the sabbath, shall be called holy. You shall do no work on that day: it is the sabbath of the Lord in all your habitations.

23:4. These also are the holy days of the Lord, which you must celebrate in their seasons.

23:5. The first month, the fourteenth day of the month at evening, is the phase of the Lord.

23:6. And the fifteenth day of the same month is the solemnity of the unleavened bread of the Lord. Seven days shall you eat unleavened bread.

23:7. The first day shall be most solemn unto you, and holy: you shall do no servile work therein.

23:8. But you shall offer sacrifice in fire to the Lord seven days. And the seventh day shall be more solemn, and more holy: and you shall do no servile work therein.

23:9. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

23:10. Speak to the children of Israel, and thou shalt say to them: When you shall have entered into the land which I will give you, and shall reap your corn, you shall bring sheaves of ears, the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest.

23:11. Who shall lift up the sheaf before the Lord, the next day after the sabbath, that it may be acceptable for you, and shall sanctify it.

23:12. And on the same day that the sheaf is consecrated, a lamb without blemish of the first year shall be killed for a holocaust of the Lord.

23:13. And the libations shall be offered with it: two tenths of flour tempered with oil, for a burnt offering of the Lord, and a most sweet odour. Libations also of wine, the fourth part of a hin.

23:14. You shall not eat either bread, or parched corn, or frumenty or the harvest, until the day that you shall offer thereof to your God. It is a precept for ever throughout your generations, and all your dwellings.

23:15. You shall count therefore from the morrow after the sabbath, wherein you offered the sheaf of firstfruits, seven full weeks.

23:16. Even unto the morrow after the seventh week be expired, that is to say, fifty days: and so you shall offer a new sacrifice to the Lord.

23:17. Out of all your dwellings, two loaves of the firstfruits, of two tenths of flour leavened, which you shall bake for the firstfruits of the Lord.

23:18. And you shall offer with the loaves seven lambs without blemish of the first year, and one calf from the herd, and two rams, and they shall be for a holocaust with their libations for a most sweet odour to the Lord.

23:19. You shall offer also a buck goat for sin, and two lambs of the first year for sacrifices of peace offerings.

23:20. And when the priest hath lifted them up with the loaves of the firstfruits before the Lord, they shall fall to his use.

23:21. And you shall call this day most solemn, and most holy. You shall do no servile work therein. It shall be an everlasting ordinance in all your dwellings and generations.

23:22. And when you reap the corn of your land, you shall not cut it to the very ground: neither shall you gather the ears that remain. But you shall leave them for the poor and for the strangers. I am the Lord your God.

23:23. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

23:24. Say to the children of Israel: The seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall keep a sabbath, a memorial, with the sound of trumpets, and it shall be called holy.

23:25. You shall do no servile work therein, and you shall offer a holocaust to the Lord.

23:26. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

23:27. Upon the tenth day of this seventh month shall be the day of atonement. It shall be most solemn, and shall be called holy: and you shall afflict your souls on that day, and shall offer a holocaust to the Lord.

23:28. You shall do no servile work in the time of this day: because it is a day of propitiation, that the Lord your God may be merciful unto you.

23:29. Every soul that is not afflicted on this day, shall perish from among his people.

23:30. And every soul that shall do any work, the same will I destroy from among his people.

23:31. You shall do no work therefore on that day: it shall be an everlasting ordinance unto you in all your generations, and dwellings.

23:32. It is a sabbath of rest, and you shall afflict your souls beginning on the ninth day of the month. From evening until evening you shall celebrate your sabbaths.

23:33. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

23:34. Say to the children of Israel: From the fifteenth day of this same seventh month, shall be kept the feast of tabernacles, seven days to the Lord.

23:35. The first day shall be called most solemn and most holy: you shall do no servile work therein. And seven days you shall offer holocausts to the Lord.

23:36. The eighth day also shall be most solemn and most holy: and you shall offer holocausts to the Lord. For it is the day of assembly and congregation. You shall do no servile work therein.

23:37. These are the feasts of the Lord which you shall call most solemn and most holy, and shall offer on them oblations to the Lord: holocausts and libations according to the rite of every day.

23:38. Besides the sabbaths of the Lord, and your gifts, and those things that you offer by vow, or which you shall give to the Lord voluntarily.

23:39. So from the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you shall have gathered in all the fruits of your land, you shall celebrate the feast of the Lord seven days. On the first day and the eighth shall be a sabbath: that is a day of rest.

23:40. And you shall take to you on the first day the fruits of the fairest tree, and branches of palm trees, and boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook: And you shall rejoice before the Lord your God.

23:41. And you shall keep the solemnity thereof seven days in the year. It shall be an everlasting ordinance in your generations. In the seventh month shall you celebrate this feast.

23:42. And you shall dwell in bowers seven days. Every one that is of the race of Israel, shall dwell in tabernacles:

23:43. That your posterity may know, that I made the children of Israel to dwell in tabernacles, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.

23:44. And Moses spoke concerning the feasts of the Lord to the children of Israel.

Leviticus Chapter 24

The oil for the lamps. The loaves of proposition. The punishment of blasphemy.

24:1. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

24:2. Command the children of Israel, that they bring unto thee the finest and clearest oil of olives, to furnish the lamps continually,

24:3. Without the veil of the testimony in the tabernacle of the covenant. And Aaron shall set them from evening until morning before the Lord, by a perpetual service and rite in your generations.

24:4. They shall be set upon the most pure candlestick before the Lord continually.

24:5. Thou shalt take also fine flour, and shalt bake twelve loaves thereof, two tenths shall be in every loaf.

24:6. And thou shalt set them six and six, one against another, upon the most clean table before the Lord.

24:7. And thou shalt put upon them the clearest frankincense, that the bread may be for a memorial of the oblation of the Lord.

24:8. Every sabbath they shall be changed before the Lord: being received of the children of Israel by an everlasting covenant.

24:9. And they shall be Aaron’s and his sons’, that they may eat them in the holy place: because it is most holy of the sacrifices of the Lord by a perpetual right.

24:10. And behold there went out the son of a woman of Israel, whom she had of an Egyptian, among the children of Israel: and fell at words in the camp with a man of Israel.

24:11. And when he had blasphemed the name, and had cursed it, he was brought to Moses. (Now his mother was called Salumith, the daughter of Dabri, of the tribe of Dan.)

24:12. And they put him into prison, till they might know what the Lord would command.

24:13. And the Lord spoke to Moses,

24:14. Saying: Bring forth the blasphemer without the camp: and let them that heard him, put their hands upon his head: and let all the people stone him.

24:15. And thou shalt speak to the children of Israel: The man that curseth his God, shall bear his sin:

24:16. And he that blasphemeth the name of the Lord, dying let him die. All the multitude shall stone him, whether he be a native or a stranger. He that blasphemeth the name of the Lord, dying let him die.

24:17. He that striketh and killeth a man: dying let him die.

24:18. He that killeth a beast, shall make it good that is to say, shall give beast for beast.

24:19. He that giveth a blemish to any of his neighbours: as he hath done, so shall it be done to him:

24:20. Breach for breach, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, shall he restore. What blemish he gave, the like shall he be compelled to suffer.

24:21. He that striketh a beast, shall render another. He that striketh a man shall be punished.

24:22. Let there be equal judgment among you, whether he be a stranger, or a native that offends: because I am the Lord your God.

24:23. And Moses spoke to the children of Israel. And they brought forth him that had blasphemed, without the camp: and they stoned him. And the children of Israel did as the Lord had commanded Moses.

Leviticus Chapter 25

The law of the seventh and of the fiftieth year of jubilee.

25:1. And the Lord spoke to Moses in mount Sinai, saying:

25:2. Speak to the children of Israel, and thou shalt say to them: When you shall have entered into the land which I will give you, observe the rest of the sabbath of the Lord.

25:3. Six years thou shalt sow thy field and six years thou shalt prune thy vineyard, and shalt gather the fruits thereof.

25:4. But in the seventh year there shall be a sabbath to the land, of the resting of the Lord. Thou shalt not sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard.

25:5. What the ground shall bring forth of itself, thou shalt not reap: neither shalt thou gather the grapes or the firstfruits as a vintage. For it is a year of rest to the land.

25:6. But they shall be unto you for meat, to thee and to thy manservant, to thy maidservant and thy hireling, and to the strangers that sojourn with thee.

25:7. All things that grow shall be meat to thy beasts and to thy cattle.

25:8. Thou shalt also number to thee seven weeks of years: that is to say, seven times seven, which together make forty-nine years.

25:9. And thou shalt sound the trumpet in the seventh month, the tenth day of the month, in the time of the expiation in all your land.

25:10. And thou shalt sanctify the fiftieth year, and shalt proclaim remission to all the inhabitants of thy land: for it is the year of jubilee. Every man shall return to his possession, and every one shall go back to his former family:

Remission. . .That is, a general release and discharge from debts and bondage, and a reinstating of every man in his former possessions.

25:11. Because it is the jubilee and the fiftieth year. You shall not sow, nor reap the things that grow in the field of their own accord, neither shall you gather the firstfruits of the vines,

25:12. Because of the sanctification of the jubilee. But as they grow you shall presently eat them.

25:13. In the year of the jubilee all shall return to their possessions.

25:14. When thou shalt sell any thing to thy neighbour, or shalt buy of him: grieve not thy brother. But thou shalt buy of him according to the number of years from the jubilee.

25:15. And he shall sell to thee according to the computation of the fruits.

25:16. The more years remain after the jubilee, the more shall the price increase: and the less time is counted, so much the less shall the purchase cost. For he shall sell to thee the time of the fruits.

25:17. Do not afflict your countrymen: but let every one fear his God. Because I am the Lord your God.

25:18. Do my precepts, and keep my judgments, and fulfil them: that you may dwell in the land without any fear.

25:19. And the ground may yield you its fruits, of which you may eat your fill, fearing no man’s invasion.

25:20. But if you say: What shall we eat the seventh year, if we sow not, nor gather our fruits?

25:21. I will give you my blessing the sixth year: and it shall yield the fruits of three years.

25:22. And the eighth year you shall sow, and shall eat of the old fruits, until the ninth year: till new grow up, you shall eat the old store.

25:23. The land also shall not be sold for ever: because it is mine, and you are strangers and sojourners with me.

25:24. For which cause all the country of your possession shall be under the condition of redemption.

25:25. If thy brother being impoverished sell his little possession, and his kinsman will: he may redeem what he had sold.

25:26. But if he have no kinsman, and he himself can find the price to redeem it:

25:27. The value of the fruits shall be counted from that time when he sold it. And the overplus he shall restore to the buyer, and so shall receive his possession again.

25:28. But if his hands find not the means to repay the price, the buyer shall have what he bought, until the year of the jubilee. For in that year all that is sold shall return to the owner, and to the ancient possessor.

25:29. He that selleth a house within the walls of a city, shall have the liberty to redeem it, until one year be expired.

25:30. If he redeem it not, and the whole year be fully out, the buyer shall possess it, and his posterity for ever, and it cannot be redeemed, not even in the jubilee.

25:31. But if the house be in a village, that hath no walls, it shall be sold according to the same law as the fields. If it be not redeemed before, in the jubilee it shall return to the owner.

25:32. The houses of Levites, which are in cities, may always be redeemed.

25:33. If they be not redeemed, in the jubilee they shall all return to the owners: because the houses of the cities of the Levites are for their possessions among the children of Israel.

25:34. But let not their suburbs be sold, because it is a perpetual possession.

25:35. If thy brother be impoverished, and weak of hand, and thou receive him as a stranger and sojourner, and he live with thee:

25:36. Take not usury of him nor more than thou gavest. Fear thy God, that thy brother may live with thee.

25:37. Thou shalt not give him thy money upon usury: nor exact of him any increase of fruits.

25:38. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that I might give you the land of Chanaan, and might be your God.

25:39. If thy brother constrained by poverty, sell himself to thee: thou shalt not oppress him with the service of bondservants.

25:40. But he shall be as a hireling, and a sojourner: he shall work with thee until the year of the jubilee.

25:41. And afterwards he shall go out with his children: and shall return to his kindred and to the possession of his fathers.

25:42. For they are my servants, and I brought them out of the land of Egypt: let them not be sold as bondmen.

25:43. Afflict him not by might: but fear thy God.

25:44. Let your bondmen, and your bondwomen, be of the nations that are round about you:

25:45. And of the strangers that sojourn among you, or that were born of them in your land. These you shall have for servants:

25:46. And by right of inheritance shall leave them to your posterity, and shall possess them for ever. But oppress not your brethren the children of Israel by might.

25:47. If the hand of a stranger or a sojourner grow strong among you, and thy brother being impoverished sell himself to him, or to any of his race:

25:48. After the sale he may be redeemed. He that will of his brethren shall redeem him:

25:49. Either his uncle, or his uncle’s son, or his kinsman, by blood, or by affinity. But if he himself be able also, he shall redeem himself:

25:50. Counting only the years from the time of his selling unto the year of the jubilee: and counting the money that he was sold for, according to the number of the years and the reckoning of a hired servant.

25:51. If there be many years that remain until the jubilee, according to them shall he also repay the price.

25:52. If few, he shall make the reckoning with him according to the number of the years: and shall repay to the buyer of what remaineth of the years.

25:53. His wages being allowed for which he served before: he shall not afflict him violently in thy sight.

25:54. And if by these means he cannot be redeemed, in the year of the jubilee he shall go out with his children.

25:55. For the children of Israel are my servants, whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt.

Leviticus Chapter 26

God’s promises to them that keep his commandments. And the many punishments with which he threatens transgressors.

26:1. I am the Lord your God. You shall not make to yourselves any idol or graven thing: neither shall you erect pillars, nor set up a remarkable stone in your land, to adore it. For I am the Lord your God.

26:2. Keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary. I am the Lord.

26:3. If you walk in my precepts, and keep my commandments, and do them, I will give you rain in due seasons.

26:4. And the ground shall bring forth its increase: and the trees shall be filled with fruit.

26:5. The threshing of your harvest shall reach unto the vintage, and the vintage shall reach unto the sowing time: and you shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land without fear.

26:6. I will give peace in your coasts: you shall sleep, and there shall be none to make you afraid. I will take away evil beasts: and the sword shall not pass through your quarters.

26:7. You shall pursue your enemies: and they shall fall before you.

26:8. Five of yours shall pursue a hundred others: and a hundred of you ten thousand. Your enemies shall fall before you by the sword.

26:9. I will look on you, and make you increase: you shall be multiplied, and I will establish my covenant with you.

26:10. You shall eat the oldest of the old store: and, new coming on, you shall cast away the old.

26:11. I will set my tabernacle in the midst of you: and my soul shall not cast you off.

26:12. I will walk among you, and will be your God: and you shall be my people.

26:13. I am the Lord your God: who have brought you out of the land of the Egyptians, that you should not serve them: and who have broken the chains of your necks, that you might go upright.

26:14. But if you will not hear me, nor do all my commandments:

26:15. If you despise my laws, and contemn my judgments so as not to do those things which are appointed by me, and to make void my covenant:

26:16. I also will do these things to you. I will quickly visit you with poverty, and burning heat, which shall waste your eyes, and consume your lives. You shall sow your seed in vain, which shall be devoured by your enemies.

26:17. I will set my face against you, and you shall fall down before your enemies: and shall be made subject to them that hate you. You shall flee when no man pursueth you.

26:18. But if you will not yet for all this obey me: I will chastise you seven times more for your sins.

26:19. And I will break the pride of your stubbornness: and I will make to you the heaven above as iron, and the earth as brass.

26:20. Your labour shall be spent in vain: the ground shall not bring forth her increase: nor the trees yield their fruit.

26:21. If you walk contrary to me, and will not hearken to me, I will bring seven times more plagues upon you for your sins.

26:22. And I will send in upon you the beasts of the field, to destroy you and your cattle, and make you few in number: and that your highways may be desolate.

26:23. And if even so you will not amend, but will walk contrary to me:

26:24. I also will walk contrary to you, and will strike you seven times for your sins.

26:25. And I will bring in upon you the sword that shall avenge my covenant. And when you shall flee into the cities, I will send the pestilence in the midst of you. And you shall be delivered into the hands of your enemies,

26:26. After I shall have broken the staff of your bread: so that ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and give it out by weight: and you shall eat, and shall not be filled,

26:27. But if you will not for all this hearken to me, but will walk against me

26:28. I will also go against you with opposite fury: and I will chastise you with seven plagues for your sins,

26:29. So that you shall eat the flesh of your sons and of your daughters.

26:30. I will destroy your high places, and break your idols. You shall fall among the ruins of your idols, and my soul shall abhor you.

26:31. Insomuch that I will bring your cities to be a wilderness: and I will make your sanctuaries desolate: and will receive no more your sweet odours.

26:32. And I will destroy your land: and your enemies shall be astonished at it, when they shall be the inhabitants thereof.

26:33. And I will scatter you among the Gentiles: and I will draw out the sword after you. And your land shall be desert, and your cities destroyed.

26:34. Then shall the land enjoy her sabbaths all the days of her desolation. When you shall be

26:35. In the enemy’s land, she shall keep a sabbath, and rest in the sabbaths of her desolation: because she did not rest in your sabbaths, when you dwelt therein.

26:36. And as to them that shall remain of you I will send fear in their hearts in the countries of their enemies. The sound of a flying leaf shall terrify them: and they shall flee as it were from the sword. They shall fall, when no man pursueth them.

26:37. And they shall every one fall upon their brethren as fleeing from wars: none of you shall dare to resist your enemies.

26:38. You shall perish among the Gentiles: and an enemy’s land shall consume you.

26:39. And if of them also some remain, they shall pine away in their iniquities, in the land of their enemies: and they shall be afflicted for the sins of their fathers, and their own.

26:40. Until they confess their iniquities, and the iniquities of their ancestors, whereby they have transgressed against me, and walked contrary unto me.

26:41. Therefore I also will walk against them, and bring them into their enemies’ land until their uncircumcised mind be ashamed. Then shall they pray for their sins.

26:42. And I will remember my covenant, that I made with Jacob, and Isaac, and Abraham. I will remember also the land:

26:43. Which when she shall be left by them, shall enjoy her sabbaths, being desolate for them. But they shall pray for their sins, because they rejected my judgments, and despised my laws.

26:44. And yet for all that when they were in the land of their enemies, I did not cast them off altogether. Neither did I so despise them that they should be quite consumed: and I should make void my covenant with them. For I am the Lord their God.

26:45. And I will remember my former covenant, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, in the sight of the Gentiles, to be their God. I am the Lord. These are the judgments, and precepts, and laws, which the Lord gave between him and the children of Israel, in mount Sinai, by the hand of Moses.

Leviticus Chapter 27

Of vows and tithes.

27:1. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

27:2. Speak to the children of Israel, and thou shalt say to them: The man that shall have made a vow, and promised his soul to God, shall give the price according to estimation.

27:3. If it be a man from twenty years old unto sixty years old, he shall give fifty sicles of silver, after the weight of the sanctuary:

27:4. If a woman, thirty.

27:5. But from the fifth year until the twentieth, a man shall give twenty sicles: a woman ten.

27:6. From one month until the fifth year, for a male shall be given five sicles: for a female three.

27:7. A man that is sixty years old or upward, shall give fifteen sicles: a woman ten.

27:8. If he be poor, and not able to pay the estimation, he shall stand before the priest: and as much as he shall value him at, and see him able to pay, so much shall he give.

27:9. But a beast that may be sacrificed to the Lord, if any one shall vow, shall be holy,

27:10. And cannot be changed: that is to say, neither a better for a worse, nor a worse for a better. And if he shall change it: both that which was changed, and that for which it was changed, shall be consecrated to the Lord.

27:11. An unclean beast, which cannot be sacrificed to the Lord, if any man shall vow, shall be brought before the priest:

27:12. Who judging whether it be good or bad, shall set the price.

27:13. Which, if he that offereth it will give, he shall add above the estimation the fifth part.

27:14. If a man shall vow his house, and sanctify it to the Lord, the priest shall consider it, whether it be good or bad: and it shall be sold according to the price, which he shall appoint.

27:15. But if he that vowed, will redeem it, he shall give the fifth part of the estimation over and above: and shall have the house.

27:16. And if he vow the field of his possession, and consecrate it to the Lord, the price shall be rated according to the measure of the seed. If the ground be sown with thirty bushels of barley, let it be sold for fifty sicles of silver.

27:17. If he vow his field immediately from the year of jubilee that is beginning: as much as it may be worth, at so much it shall be rated.

27:18. But if some time after, the priest shall reckon the money according to the number of years that remain until the jubilee, and the price shall be abated.

27:19. And if he that had vowed, will redeem his field, he shall add the fifth part of the money of the estimation, and shall possess it.

27:20. And if he will not redeem it, but it be sold to any other man, he that vowed it, may not redeem it any more.

27:21. For when the day of jubilee cometh, it shall be sanctified to the Lord, and as a possession consecrated, pertaineth to the right of the priest.

27:22. If a field that was bought, and not of a man’s ancestors’ possession, be sanctified to the Lord:

27:23. The priest shall reckon the price according to the number of years, unto the jubilee. And he that had vowed, shall give that to the Lord.

27:24. But in the jubilee, it shall return to the former owner, who had sold it, and had it in the lot of his possession.

27:25. All estimation shall be made according to the sicle of the sanctuary. A sicle hath twenty obols.

27:26. The firstborn, which belong to the Lord, no man may sanctify and vow: whether it be bullock, or sheep, they are the Lord’s.

27:27. And if it be an unclean beast, he that offereth it shall redeem it, according to thy estimation, and shall add the fifth part of the price. If he will not redeem it, it shall be sold to another for how much soever it was estimated by thee.

27:28. Any thing that is devoted to the Lord, whether it be man, or beast, or field, shall not be sold: neither may it be redeemed. Whatsoever is once consecrated shall be holy of holies to the Lord.

27:29. And any consecration that is offered by man, shall not be redeemed, but dying shall die.

27:30. All tithes of the land, whether of corn, or of the fruits of trees, are the Lord’s, and are sanctified to him.

27:31. And if any man will redeem his tithes, he shall add the fifth part of them.

27:32. Of all the tithes of oxen, and sheep, and goats, that pass under the shepherd’s rod, every tenth that cometh shall be sanctified to the Lord.

27:33. It shall not be chosen neither good nor bad, neither shall it be changed for another. If any man change it: both that which was changed, and that for which it was changed, shall be sanctified to the Lord, and shall not be redeemed.

27:34. These are the precepts which the Lord commanded Moses for the children of Israel in mount Sinai.

THE BOOK OF NUMBERS

This fourth Book of Moses is called NUMBERS, because it begins with the numbering of the people. The Hebrews, from its first words, call it VAIEDABBER. It contains the transactions of the Israelites from the second month of the second year after their going out of Egypt, until the beginning of the eleventh month of the fortieth year; that is, a history almost of thirty-nine years.

Numbers Chapter 1

The children of Israel are numbered: the Levites are designed to serve the tabernacle.

1:1. And the Lord spoke to Moses in the desert of Sinai in the tabernacle of the covenant, the first day of the second month, the second year of their going out of Egypt, saying:

1:2. Take the sum of all the congregation of the children of Israel by their families, and houses, and the names of every one, as many as are of the male sex,

1:3. From twenty years old and upwards, of all the men of Israel fit for war, and you shall number them by their troops, thou and Aaron.

1:4. And there shall be with you the princes of the tribes, and of the houses in their kindreds,

1:5. Whose names are these: Of Ruben, Elisur the son of Sedeur.

1:6. Of Simeon, Salamiel the son of Surisaddai.

1:7. Of Juda, Nahasson the son of Aminadab.

1:8. Of Issachar, Nathanael the son of Suar.

1:9. Of Zabulon, Eliab the son of Helon.

1:10. And of the sons of Joseph: of Ephraim, Elisama the son of Ammiud: of Manasses, Gamaliel the son of Phadassur.

1:11. Of Benjamin, Abidan the son of Gedeon.

1:12. Of Dan, Ahiezer the son of Ammisaddai.

1:13. Of Aser, Phegiel the son of Ochran.

1:14. Of Gad, Eliasaph the son of Duel.

1:15. Of Nephtali, Ahira the son of Enan.

1:16. These are the most noble princes of the multitude by their tribes and kindreds, and the chiefs of the army of Israel:

1:17. Whom Moses and Aaron took with all the multitude of the common people:

1:18. And assembled them on the first day of the second month, reckoning them up by the kindreds, and houses, and families, and heads, and names of every one from twenty years old and upward,

1:19. As the Lord had commanded Moses. And they were numbered in the desert of Sinai.

1:20. Of Ruben the eldest son of Israel, by their generations and families and houses and names of every head, all that were of the male sex, from twenty years old and upward, that were able to go forth to war,

1:21. Were forty-six thousand five hundred.

1:22. Of the sons of Simeon by their generations and families, and houses of their kindreds, were reckoned up by the names and heads of every one, all that were of the male sex, from twenty years old and upward, that were able to go forth to war,

1:23. Fifty-nine thousand three hundred.

1:24. Of the sons of Gad, by their generations and families and houses of their kindreds were reckoned up by the names of every one from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war,

1:25. Forty-five thousand six hundred and fifty.

1:26. Of the sons of Juda, by their generations and families and houses of their kindreds, by the names of every one from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war,

1:27. Were reckoned up seventy-four thousand six hundred.

1:28. Of the sons of Issachar, by their generations and families and houses of their kindreds, by the names of every one from twenty years old and upward, all that could go forth to war,

1:29. Were reckoned up fifty-four thousand four hundred.

1:30. Of the sons of Zabulon, by the generations and families and houses of their kindreds, were reckoned up by the names of every one from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war,

1:31. Fifty-seven thousand four hundred.

1:32. Of the sons of Joseph, namely, of the sons of Ephraim, by the generations and families and houses of their kindreds, were reckoned up by the names of every one, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war,

1:33. Forty thousand five hundred.

1:34. Moreover of the sons of Manasses, by the generations and families and houses of their kindreds, were reckoned up by the names of every one from twenty years old and upward, all that could go forth to war,

1:35. Thirty-two thousand two hundred.

1:36. Of the sons of Benjamin, by their generations and families and houses of their kindreds, were reckoned up by the names of every one from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war,

1:37. Thirty-five thousand four hundred.

1:38. Of the sons of Dan, by their generations and families and houses of their kindreds, were reckoned up by the names of every one from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war,

1:39. Sixty-two thousand seven hundred.

1:40. Of the sons of Aser, by their generations and families and houses of their kindreds, were reckoned up by the names of every one from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war,

1:41. Forty-one thousand and five hundred.

1:42. Of the sons of Nephtali, by their generations and families and houses of their kindreds, were reckoned up by the names of every one from twenty years old and upward, were able to go forth to war,

1:43. Fifty-three thousand four hundred.

1:44. These are they who were numbered by Moses and Aaron, and the twelve princes of Israel, every one by the houses of their kindreds.

1:45. And the whole number of the children of Israel by their houses and families, from twenty years old and upward, that were able to go to war,

1:46. Were six hundred and three thousand five hundred and fifty men.

1:47. But the Levites in the tribes of their families were not numbered with them.

1:48. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

1:49. Number not the tribe of Levi, neither shalt thou put down the sum of them with the children of Israel:

1:50. But appoint them over the tabernacle of the testimony, and all the vessels thereof, and whatsoever pertaineth to the ceremonies. They shall carry the tabernacle and all the furniture thereof: and they shall minister, and shall encamp round about the tabernacle.

1:51. When you are to go forward, the Levites shall take down the tabernacle: when you are to camp, they shall set it up. What stranger soever cometh to it, shall be slain.

1:52. And the children of Israel shall camp every man by his troops and bands and army.

1:53. But the Levites shall pitch their tents round about the tabernacle, lest there come indignation upon the multitude of the children of Israel, and they shall keep watch, and guard the tabernacle of the testimony.

1:54. And the children of Israel did according to all things which the Lord had commanded Moses.

Numbers Chapter 2

The order of the tribes in their camp.

2:1. And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying:

2:2. All the children of Israel shall camp by their troops, ensigns, and standards, and the houses of their kindreds, round about the tabernacle of the covenant.

2:3. On the east Juda shall pitch his tents by the bands of his army: and the prince of his sons; shall be Nahasson the son of Aminadab.

2:4. And the whole sum of the fighting men of his stock, were seventy-four thousand six hundred.

2:5. Next unto him they of the tribe of Issachar encamped, whose prince was Nathanael, the son of Suar.

2:6. And the whole number of his fighting men were fifty-four thousand four hundred.

2:7. In the tribe of Zabulon the prince was Eliab the son of Helon.

2:8. And all the army of fighting men of his stock, were fifty-seven thousand four hundred.

2:9. All that were numbered in the camp of Juda, were a hundred and eighty-six thousand four hundred: and they by their troops shall march first.

2:10. In the camp of the sons of Ruben, on the south side, the prince shall be Elisur the son of Sedeur:

2:11. And the whole army of his fighting men, that were numbered, were forty-six thousand five hundred.

2:12. Beside him camped they of the tribe of Simeon: whose prince was Salamiel the son of Surisaddai.

2:13. And the whole army of his fighting men, that were numbered, were fifty-nine thousand three hundred.

2:14. In the tribe of Gad the prince was Eliasaph the son of Duel.

2:15. And the whole army of his fighting men that were numbered, were forty-five thousand six hundred and fifty.

2:16. All that were reckoned up in the camp of Ruben, were a hundred and fifty-one thousand four hundred and fifty, by their troops: they shall march in the second place.

2:17. And the tabernacle of the testimony shall be carried by the officers of the Levites and their troops. As it shall be set up, so shall it be taken down. Every one shall march according to their places, and ranks.

2:18. On the west side shall be the camp of the sons of Ephraim, whose prince was Elisama the son of Ammiud.

2:19. The whole army of his fighting men, that were numbered, were forty thousand five hundred.

2:20. And with them the tribe of the sons of Manasses, whose prince was Gamaliel the son of Phadassur.

2:21. And the whole army of his fighting men, that were numbered, were thirty-two thousand two hundred.

2:22. In the tribe of the sons of Benjamin the prince was Abidan the son of Gedeon.

2:23. And the whole army of fighting men, that were reckoned up, were thirty-five thousand four hundred.

2:24. All that were numbered in the camp of Ephraim, were a hundred and eight-thousand one hundred by their troops: they shall march in the third place.

2:25. On the north side camped the sons of Dan: whose prince was Ahiezar the son of Ammisaddai.

2:26. The whole army of his fighting men, that were numbered, were sixty-two thousand seven hundred.

2:27. Beside him they of the tribe of Aser pitched their tents: whose prince was Phegiel the son of Ochran.

2:28. The whole army of his fighting men, that were numbered, were forty-one thousand five hundred.

2:29. Of the tribe of the sons of Nephtali the prince was Ahira the son of Enan.

2:30. The whole army of his fighting men, were fifty-three thousand four hundred.

2:31. All that were numbered in the camp of Dan, were a hundred and fifty-seven thousand six hundred: and they shall march last.

2:32. This is the number of the children of Israel, of their army divided according to the houses of their kindreds and their troops, six hundred and three thousand five hundred and fifty.

2:33. And the Levites were not numbered among the children of Israel: for so the Lord had commanded Moses.

2:34. And the children of Israel did according to all things that the Lord had commanded. They camped by their troops, and marched by the families and houses of their fathers.

Numbers Chapter 3

The Levites are numbered and their offices distinguished. They are taken in the place of the firstborn of the children of Israel.

3:1. These are the generations of Aaron and Moses in the day that the Lord spoke to Moses in mount Sinai.

3:2. And these the names of the sons of Aaron: his firstborn Nadab, then Abiu, and Eleazar, and Ithamar.

3:3. These the names of the sons of Aaron the priests that were anointed, and whose hands were filled and consecrated, to do the functions of priesthood.

3:4. Now Nadab and Abiu died, without children, when they offered strange fire before the Lord, in the desert of Sinai: and Eleazar and Ithamar performed the priestly office in the presence of Aaron their father.

3:5. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

3:6. Bring the tribe of Levi, and make them stand in the sight of Aaron the priest to minister to him, and let them watch,

3:7. And observe whatsoever appertaineth to the service of the multitude before the tabernacle of the testimony,

3:8. And let them keep the vessels of the tabernacle, serving in the ministry thereof.

3:9. And thou shalt give the Levites for a gift,

3:10. To Aaron and to his sons, to whom they are delivered by the children of Israel. But thou shalt appoint Aaron and his sons over the service of priesthood. The stranger that approacheth to minister, shall be put to death.

3:11. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

3:12. I have taken the Levites from the children of Israel, for every firstborn that openeth the womb among the children of Israel, and the Levites shall be mine.

3:13. For every firstborn is mine: since I struck the firstborn in the land of Egypt: I have sanctified to myself whatsoever is firstborn in Israel both of man and beast, they are mine: I am the Lord.

3:14. And the Lord spoke to Moses in the desert of Sinai, saying:

3:15. Number the sons of Levi by the houses of their fathers and their families, every male from one month and upward.

3:16. Moses numbered them as the Lord had commanded.

3:17. And there were found sons of Levi by their names, Gerson and Caath Merari.

3:18. The sons of Gerson: Lebni and Semei.

3:19. The sons of Caath: Amram, and Jesaar, Hebron and Oziel:

3:20. The sons of Merari, Moholi and Musi.

3:21. Of Gerson were two families, the Lebnites, and the Semeites:

3:22. Of which were numbered, people of the male sex from one month and upward, seven thousand five hundred.

3:23. These shall pitch behind the tabernacle on the west,

3:24. Under their prince Eliasaph the son of Lael.

3:25. And their charge shall be in the tabernacle of the covenant:

3:26. The tabernacle itself and the cover thereof, the hanging that is drawn before the doors of the tabernacle of the covenant, and the curtains of the court: the hanging also that is hanged in the entry of the court of the tabernacle, and whatsoever belongeth to the rite of the altar, the cords of the tabernacle, and all the furniture thereof.

3:27. Of the kindred of Caath come the families of the Amramites and Jesaarites and Hebronites and Ozielites. These are the families of the Caathites reckoned up by their names:

3:28. All of the male sex from one month and upward, eight thousand six hundred: they shall have the guard of the sanctuary,

3:29. And shall camp on the south side.

3:30. And their prince shall be Elisaphan the son of Oziel:

3:31. And they shall keep the ark, and the table and the candlestick, the altars, and the vessels of the sanctuary, wherewith they minister, and the veil, and all the furniture of this kind.

3:32. And the prince of the princes of the Levites, Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, shall be over them that watch for the guard of the sanctuary.

3:33. And of Merari are the families of the Moholites, and Musites, reckoned up by their names:

3:34. All of the male kind from one month and upward, six thousand two hundred.

3:35. Their prince Suriel the son of Abihaiel: their shall camp on the north side.

3:36. Under their custody shall be the boards of the tabernacle, and the bars, and the pillars and their sockets, and all things that pertain to this kind of service:

3:37. And the pillars of the court round about with their sockets, and the pins with their cords.

3:38. Before the tabernacle of the covenant, that is to say on the east side shall Moses and Aaron camp, with their sons, having the custody of the sanctuary, in the midst of the children of Israel. What stranger soever cometh unto it, shall be put to death.

3:39. All the Levites, that I Moses and Aaron numbered according to the precept of the Lord, by their f families, of the male kind from one month and upward, were twenty-two thousand.

3:40. And the Lord said to Moses: Number the firstborn of the male sex of the children of Israel, from one month and upward, and thou shalt take the sum of them.

3:41. And thou shalt take the Levites to me for all the firstborn of the children of Israel, I am the Lord: and their cattle for all the firstborn of the cattle of the children of Israel:

3:42. Moses reckoned up, as the Lord had commanded, the firstborn of the children of Israel:

3:43. And the males by their names, from one month and upward, were twenty-two thousand two hundred and seventy-three.

3:44. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

3:45. Take the Levites for the firstborn of the children of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites for their cattle, and the Levites shall be mine. I am the Lord.

3:46. But for the price of the two hundred and seventy-three, of the firstborn of the children of Israel, that exceed the number of the Levites,

3:47. Thou shalt take five sicles for every head, according to the weight of the sanctuary. A sicle hath twenty obols.

3:48. And thou shalt give the money to Aaron and his sons, the price of them that are above.

3:49. Moses therefore took the money of them that were above, and whom they had redeemed from the Levites,

3:50. For the firstborn of the children of Israel, one thousand three hundred and sixty-five sicles, according to the weight of the sanctuary,

3:51. And gave it to Aaron and his sons according to the word that the Lord had commanded him.

Numbers Chapter 4

The age and time of the Levites’ service: their offices and burdens.

4:1. And the Lord spoke to Moses, and Aaron, saying:

4:2. Take the sum of the sons of Caath from the midst of the Levites, by their houses and families.

4:3. From thirty years old and upward, to fifty years old, of all that go in to stand and to minister in the tabernacle of the covenant.

4:4. This is the service of the sons of Caath:

4:5. When the camp is; to set forward, Aaron and his sons shall go into the tabernacle of the covenant, and the holy of holies, and shall take down the veil that hangeth before the door, and shall wrap up the ark of the testimony in it,

4:6. And shall cover it again with a cover of violet skins, and shall spread over it a cloth all of violet, and shall put in the bars.

4:7. They shall wrap up also the table of proposition in a cloth of violet, and shall put with it the censers and little mortars, the cups and bowls to pour out the libations: the loaves shall be always on it:

4:8. And they shall spread over it a cloth of scarlet, which again they shall cover with a covering of violet skins, and shall put in the bars.

4:9. They shall take also a cloth of violet wherewith they shall cover the candlestick with the lamps and tongs thereof and the snuffers and all the oil vessels, which are necessary for the dressing of the lamps:

4:10. And over all they shall put a cover of violet skins and put in the bars.

4:11. And they shall wrap up the golden altar also in a cloth of violet, and shall spread over it a cover of violet skins, and put in the bars.

4:12. All the vessels wherewith they minister in the sanctuary, they shall wrap up in a cloth of violet, and shall spread over it a cover of violet skins, and put in the bars.

4:13. They shall cleanse the altar also from the ashes, and shall wrap it up in a purple cloth,

4:14. And shall put it with all the vessels that they use in the ministry thereof, that is to say, firepans, fleshhooks and forks, pothooks and shovels. They shall cover all the vessels of the altar together with a covering of violet skins, and shall put in the bars.

4:15. And when Aaron and his sons have wrapped up the sanctuary and the vessels thereof at the removing of the camp, then shall the sons of Caath enter in to carry the things wrapped up: and they shall not touch the vessels of the sanctuary, lest they die. These are the burdens of the sons of Caath: in the tabernacle of the covenant:

4:16. And over them shall be Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, to whose charge pertaineth the oil to dress the lamps, and the sweet incense, and the sacrifice, that is always offered, and the oil of unction, and whatsoever pertaineth to the service of the tabernacle, and of all the vessels that are in the sanctuary.

4:17. And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying:

4:18. Destroy not the people of Caath from the midst of the Levites:

4:19. But do this to them, that they may live, and not die, by touching the holies of holies. Aaron and his sons shall go in, and they shall appoint every man his work, and shall divide the burdens that every man is to carry.

4:20. Let not others by any curiosity see the things that are in the sanctuary before they be wrapped up, otherwise they shall die.

4:21. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

4:22. Take the sum of the sons of Gerson also by their houses and families and kindreds.

4:23. From thirty years old and upward, unto fifty years old. Number them all that go in and minister in the tabernacle of the covenant.

4:24. This is the office of the family of the Gersonites:

4:25. To carry the curtains of the tabernacle and the roof of the covenant, the other covering, and the violet covering over all, and the hanging that hangeth in the entry of the tabernacle of the covenant,

4:26. The curtains of the court, and the veil in the entry that is before tabernacle. All things that pertain to the altar, the cords and the vessels of the ministry,

4:27. The sons of Gerson shall carry, by the commandment of Aaron and his sons: and each man shall know to what burden he must be assigned.

4:28. This is the service of the family of the Gersonites in the tabernacle of the covenant, and they shall be under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.

4:29. Thou shalt reckon up the sons of Merari also by the families and houses of their fathers,

4:30. From thirty years old and upward, unto fifty years old, all that go in to the office of their ministry, and to the service of the covenant of the testimony.

4:31. These are their burdens: They shall carry the boards of the tabernacle and the bars thereof, the pillars and their sockets,

4:32. The pillars also of the court round about, with their sockets and pins and cords. They shall receive by account all the vessels and furniture, and so shall carry them.

4:33. This is the office of the family of the Merarites, and their ministry in the tabernacle of the covenant: and they shall be under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.

4:34. So Moses and Aaron and the princes of the synagogue reckoned up the sons of Caath, by their kindreds and the houses of their fathers,

4:35. From thirty years old and upward, unto fifty years old, all that go in to the ministry of the tabernacle of the covenant:

4:36. And they were found two thousand seven hundred and fifty.

4:37. This is the number of the people of Caath that go in to the tabernacle of the covenant: these did Moses and Aaron number according to the word of the Lord by the hand of Moses.

4:38. The sons of Gerson also were numbered by the kindreds and houses of their fathers,

4:39. From thirty years old and upward, unto fifty years old, all that go in to minister in the tabernacle of the covenant:

4:40. And they were found two thousand six hundred and thirty.

4:41. This is the people of the Gersonites, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the word of the Lord.

4:42. The sons of Merari also were numbered by the kindreds and houses of their fathers,

4:43. From thirty years old and upward, unto fifty years old, all that go in to fulfil the rites of the tabernacle of the covenant:

4:44. And they were found three thousand two hundred.

4:45. This is the number of the sons of Merari, whom Moses and Aaron reckoned up according to the commandment of the Lord by the hand of Moses.

4:46. All that were reckoned up of the Levites, and whom Moses and Aaron and the princes of Israel took by name, by the kindreds and houses of their fathers,

4:47. From thirty years old and upward, until fifty years old, that go into the ministry of the tabernacle, and to carry the burdens,

4:48. Were in all eight thousand five hundred and eighty.

4:49. Moses reckoned them up according to the word of the Lord, every one according to their office and burdens, as the Lord had commanded him.

Numbers Chapter 5

The unclean are removed out of the camp: confession of sins, and satisfaction: firstfruits and oblations belonging to the priests: trial of jealousy.

5:1. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

5:2. Command the children of Israel, that they cast out of the camp every leper, and whosoever hath an issue of seed, or is defiled by the dead:

5:3. Whether it be man or woman, cast ye them out of the camp, lest they defile it when I shall dwell with you,

5:4. And the children of Israel did so, and they cast them forth without the camp, as the Lord had spoken to Moses.

5:5. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

5:6. Say to the children of Israel: When a man or woman shall have committed any of all the sins that men are wont to commit, and by negligence shall have transgressed the commandment of the Lord, and offended,

5:7. They shall confess their sin, and restore the principal itself, and the fifth part over and above, to him against whom they have sinned.

Shall confess. . .This confession and satisfaction, ordained in the Old Law, was a figure of the sacrament of penance.

5:8. But if there be no one to receive it, they shall give it to the Lord, and it shall be the priest’s, besides the ram that is offered for expiation, to be an atoning sacrifice.

5:9. All the firstfruits also, which the children of Israel offer, belong to the priest:

5:10. And whatsoever is offered into the sanctuary by every one, and is delivered into the hands of the priest, it shall be his.

5:11. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

5:12. Speak to the children of Israel, and thou shalt say to them: The man whose wife shall have gone astray, and contemning her husband,

5:13. Shall have slept with another man, and her husband cannot discover it, but the adultery is secret, and cannot be proved by witnesses, because she was not found in the adultery:

5:14. If the spirit of jealousy stir up the husband against his wife, who either is defiled, or is charged with false suspicion,

The spirit of jealousy, etc. . .This ordinance was designed to clear the innocent, and to prevent jealous husbands from doing mischief to their wives: as likewise to give all a horror of adultery, by punishing it in so remarkable a manner.

5:15. He shall bring her to the priest, and shall offer an oblation for her, the tenth part of a measure of barley meal: he shall not pour oil thereon, nor put frankincense upon it: because it is a sacrifice of jealousy, and an oblation searching out adultery.

5:16. The priest therefore shall offer it, and set it before the Lord.

5:17. And he shall take holy water in an earthen vessel, and he shall cast a little earth of the pavement of the tabernacle into it.

5:18. And when the woman shall stand before the Lord, he shall uncover her head, and shall put on her hands the sacrifice of remembrance, and the oblation of jealousy: and he himself shall hold the most bitter waters, whereon he hath heaped curses with execration.

5:19. And he shall adjure her, and shall say: If another man hath not slept with thee, and if thou be not defiled by forsaking thy husband’s bed, these most bitter waters, on which I have heaped curses, shall not hurt thee.

5:20. But if thou hast gone aside from thy husband, and art defiled, and hast lain with another man:

5:21. These curses shall light upon thee: The Lord make thee a curse, and an example for all among his people: may he make thy thigh to rot, and may thy belly swell and burst asunder.

5:22. Let the cursed waters enter into thy belly, and may thy womb swell and thy thigh rot. And the woman shall answer, Amen, amen.

5:23. And the priest shall write these curses in a book, and shall wash them out with the most bitter waters, upon which he hath heaped the curses,

5:24. And he shall give them her to drink. And when she hath drunk them up,

5:25. The priest shall take from her hand the sacrifice of jealousy, and shall elevate it before the Lord, and shall put it upon the altar: yet so as first,

5:26. To take a handful of the sacrifice of that which is offered, and burn it upon the altar: and so give the most bitter waters to the woman to drink.

5:27. And when she hath drunk them, if she be defiled, and having despised her husband be guilty of adultery, the malediction shall go through her, and her belly swelling, her thigh shall rot: and the woman shall be a curse, and an example to all the people.

5:28. But if she be not defiled, she shall not be hurt, and shall bear children.

5:29. This is the law of jealousy. If a woman hath gone aside from her husband, and be defiled,

5:30. And the husband stirred up by the spirit of jealousy bring her before the Lord, and the priest do to her according to all things that are here written:

5:31. The husband shall be blameless, and she shall bear her iniquity.

Numbers Chapter 6

The law of the Nazarites: the form of blessing the people.

6:1. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

6:2. Speak to the children of Israel, and thou shalt say to them: When a man, or woman, shall make a vow to be sanctified, and will consecrate themselves to the Lord:

6:3. They shall abstain from wine, and from every thing that may make a man drunk. They shall not drink vinegar of wine, or of any other drink, nor any thing that is pressed out of the grape: nor shall they eat grapes either fresh or dried.

6:4. All the days that they are consecrated to the Lord by vow: they shall eat nothing that cometh of the vineyard, from the raisin even to the kernel.

6:5. All the time of his separation no razor shall pass over his head, until the day be fulfilled of his consecration to the Lord. He shall be holy, and shall let the hair of his head grow.

6:6. All the time of his consecration he shall not go in to any dead,

6:7. Neither shall he make himself unclean, even for his father, or for his mother, or for his brother, or for his sister, when they die, because the consecration of his God is upon his head.

6:8. All the days of his separation he shall be holy to the Lord.

6:9. But if any man die suddenly before him: the head of his consecration shall be defiled: and he shall shave it forthwith on the same day of his purification, and again on the seventh day.

6:10. And on the eighth day he shall bring two turtles, or two young pigeons to the priest in the entry of the covenant of the testimony.

6:11. And the priest shall offer one for sin, and the other for a holocaust, and shall pray for him, for that he hath sinned by the dead: and he shall sanctify his head that day:

6:12. And shall consecrate to the Lord the days of his separation, offering a lamb of one year for sin: yet so that the former days be made void, because his sanctification was profaned.

6:13. This is the law of consecration. When the days which he had determined by vow shall be expired, he shall bring him to the door of the tabernacle of the covenant,

6:14. And shall offer his oblation to the Lord: one he lamb of a year old without blemish for a holocaust, and one ewe lamb of a year old without blemish for a sin offering, and one ram without blemish for a victim of peace offering,

6:15. A basket also of unleavened bread, tempered with oil, and wafers without leaven anointed with oil, and the libations of each:

6:16. And the priest shall present them before the Lord, and shall offer both the sin offering and the holocaust.

6:17. But the ram he shall immolate for a sacrifice of peace offering to the Lord, offering at the same time the basket of unleavened bread, and the libations that are due by custom.

6:18. Then shall the hair of the consecration of the Nazarite, be shaved off before the door of the tabernacle of the covenant: and he shall take his hair, and lay it upon the fire, which is under the sacrifice of the peace offerings.

6:19. And shall take the boiled shoulder of the ram, and one unleavened cake out of the basket, and one unleavened wafer, and he shall deliver them into the hands of the Nazarite, after his head is shaven.

6:20. And receiving them again from him, he shall elevate them in the sight of the Lord: and they being sanctified shall belong to the priest, as the breast, which was commanded to be separated, and the shoulder. After this the Nazarite may drink wine.

6:21. This is the law of the Nazarite, when he hath vowed his oblation to the Lord in the time of his consecration, besides those things which his hand shall find, according to that which he had vowed in his mind, so shall he do for the fulfilling of his sanctification.

6:22. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

6:23. Say to Aaron and his sons: Thus shall you bless the children of Israel, and you shall say to them:

6:24. The Lord bless thee, and keep thee.

6:25. The Lord shew his face to thee, and have mercy on thee.

6:26. The Lord turn his countenance to thee, and give thee peace.

6:27. And they shall invoke my name upon the children of Israel, and I will bless them.

Numbers Chapter 7

The offerings of the princes at the dedication of the tabernacle. God speaketh to Moses from the propitiatory.

7:1. And it came to pass in the day that Moses had finished the tabernacle, and set it up, and had anointed and sanctified it with all its vessels, the altar likewise and all the vessels thereof,

7:2. The princes of Israel and the heads of the families, in every tribe, who were the rulers of them who had been numbered, offered

7:3. Their gifts before the Lord, six wagons covered, and twelve oxen. Two princes offered one wagon, and each one an ox, and they offered them before the tabernacle.

7:4. And the Lord said to Moses:

7:5. Receive them from them to serve in the ministry of the tabernacle, and thou shalt deliver them to the Levites according to the order of their ministry.

7:6. Moses therefore receiving the wagons and the oxen, delivered them to the Levites.

7:7. Two wagons and four oxen he gave to the sons of Gerson, according to their necessity.

7:8. The other four wagons, and eight oxen he gave to the sons of Merari, according to their offices and service, under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.

7:9. But to the sons of Caath he gave no wagons or oxen: because they serve in the sanctuary and carry their burdens upon their own shoulders.

7:10. And the princes offered for the dedication of the altar on the day when it was anointed, their oblation before the altar.

7:11. And the Lord said to Moses: Let each of the princes one day after another offer their gifts for the dedication of the altar.

7:12. The first day Nahasson the son of Aminadab of the tribe of Juda offered his offering:

7:13. And his offering was a silver dish weighing one hundred and thirty sicles, a silver bowl of seventy sicles according to the weight of the sanctuary, both full of flour tempered with oil for a sacrifice:

7:14. A little mortar of ten sicles of gold full of incense:

7:15. An ox of the herd, and a ram, and lamb of a year old for a holocaust:

7:16. And a buck goat for sin:

7:17. And for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five he goats, five lambs of a year old. This was the offering of Nahasson the son of Aminadab.

7:18. The second day Nathanael the son of Suar, prince of the tribe of Issachar, made his offering,

7:19. A silver dish weighing one hundred and thirty sicles, a silver bowl of seventy sicles, according to the weight of the sanctuary, both full of flour tempered with oil for a sacrifice:

7:20. A little mortar of gold weighing ten sicles full of incense:

7:21. An ox of the herd, and a ram, and a lamb of a year old for a holocaust:

7:22. And a buck goat for sin:

7:23. And for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five buck goats, five lambs of a year old. This was the offering of Nathanael the son of Suar.

7:24. The third day the prince of the sons of Zabulon, Eliab the son of Helon,

7:25. Offered a silver dish weighing one hundred and thirty sicles, a silver bowl of seventy sicles by the weight of the sanctuary, both full of flour tempered with oil for a sacrifice:

7:26. A little mortar of gold weighing ten sicles full of incense:

7:27. An ox of the herd, and a ram, and a lamb of a year old for a holocaust:

7:28. And a buck goat for sin:

7:29. And for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five buck goats, five lambs of a year old. This is the oblation of Eliab the son of Helon.

7:30. The fourth day the prince of the sons of Ruben, Elisur the son of Sedeur,

7:31. Offered a silver dish weighing one hundred and thirty sicles, a silver bowl of seventy sicles according to the weight of the sanctuary, both full of flour tempered with oil for a sacrifice:

7:32. A little mortar of gold weighing ten sicles full of incense:

7:33. An ox of the herd, and a ram, and a lamb of a year old, for a holocaust:

7:34. And a buck goat for sin:

7:35. And for victims of peace offerings two oxen, five rams, five buck goats, five lambs of a year old. This was the offering of Elisur the son of Sedeur.

7:36. The fifth day the prince of the sons of Simeon, Salamiel the son of Surisaddai,

7:37. Offered a silver dish weighing one hundred and thirty sicles, a silver bowl of seventy sicles after the weight of the sanctuary, both full of flour tempered with oil for a sacrifice:

7:38. A little mortar of gold weighing ten sicles full of incense:

7:39. An ox of the herd, and a ram, and a lamb of a year old for a holocaust:

7:40. And a buck goat for sin:

7:41. And for sacrifices of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five buck goats, five lambs of a year old. This was the offering of Salamiel the son of Surisaddai.

7:42. The sixth day the prince of the sons of Gad, Eliasaph the son of Duel,

7:43. Offered a silver dish weighing a hundred and thirty sicles, a silver bowl of seventy sicles by the weight of the sanctuary, both full of flour tempered with oil for a sacrifice:

7:44. A little mortar of gold weighing ten sicles full of incense:

7:45. An ox of the herd, and a ram, and a lamb of a year old for a holocaust:

7:46. And a buck goat for sin:

7:47. And for sacrifices of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five buck goats, five lambs of a year old. This was the offering of Eliasaph the son of Duel.

7:48. The seventh day the prince of the sons of Ephraim, Elisama the son of Ammiud,

7:49. Offered a silver dish weighing a hundred and thirty sicles, a silver bowl of seventy sicles according to the weight of the sanctuary, both full of flour tempered with oil for a sacrifice:

7:50. A little mortar of gold weighing ten sicles full of incense:

7:51. An ox of the herd, and a ram, and a lamb of a year old for a holocaust:

7:52. And a buck goat for sin:

7:53. And for sacrifices of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five buck goats, five lambs of a year old. This was the offering of Elisama the son of Ammiud.

7:54. The eighth day the prince of the sons of Manasses, Gamaliel the son of Phadassur,

7:55. Offered a silver dish, weighing a hundred and thirty sicles, a silver bowl of seventy sicles, according to the weight of the sanctuary, both full of flour tempered with oil for a sacrifice:

7:56. A little mortar of gold weighing ten sicles full of incense:

7:57. An ox of the herd, and a ram, and a lamb of a year old for a holocaust:

7:58. And a buck goat for sin:

7:59. And for sacrifices of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five buck goats, five lambs of a year old. This was the offering of Gamaliel the son of Phadassur.

7:60. The ninth day the prince of the sons of Benjamin, Abidan the son of Gedeon,

7:61. Offered a silver dish weighing a hundred and thirty sicles, a silver bowl of seventy sicles by the weight of the sanctuary, both full of flour tempered with oil for a sacrifice:

7:62. A little mortar of gold weighing ten sicles full of incense:

7:63. An ox of the herd, and a ram, and a lamb of a year old for a holocaust:

7:64. And a buck goat for sin:

7:65. And for sacrifices of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five buck goats, five lambs of a year old. This was the offering of Abidan the son of Gedeon.

7:66. The tenth day the princes of the sons of Dan, Ahiezer the son of Ammisaddai,

7:67. Offered a silver dish weighing a hundred and thirty sicles, a silver bowl of seventy sicles, according to the weight of the sanctuary, both full of flour tempered with oil for a sacrifice:

7:68. A little mortar of gold weighing ten sicles full of incense:

7:69. An ox of the herd, and a ram, and a lamb of a year old for a holocaust:

7:70. And a buck goat for sin:

7:71. And for sacrifices of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five buck goats, five lambs of a year old. This was the offering of Ahiezer the son of Ammisaddai.

7:72. The eleventh day the prince of the sons of Aser, Phegiel the son of Ochran,

7:73. Offered a silver dish weighing a hundred and thirty sicles, a silver bowl of seventy sicles, according to the weight of the sanctuary, both full of flour tempered with oil for a sacrifice:

7:74. A little mortar of gold weighing ten sicles full of incense:

7:75. An ox of the herd, and a ram, and a lamb of a year old for a holocaust:

7:76. And a buck goat for sin:

7:77. And for sacrifices of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five buck goats, five lambs of a year old. This was the offering of Phegiel the son of Ochran.

7:78. The twelfth day the prince of the sons of Nephtali, Ahira the son of Enan,

7:79. Offered a silver dish weighing a hundred and thirty sicles, a silver bowl of seventy sicles, according to the weight of the sanctuary, both full of flour tempered with oil for a sacrifice:

7:80. A little mortar of gold weighing ten sicles full of incense:

7:81. An ox of the herd, and a ram, and a lamb of a year old for a holocaust:

7:82. And a buck goat for sin:

7:83. And for sacrifices of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five buck goats, five lambs of a year old. This was the offering of Ahira the son of Enan.

7:84. These were the offerings made by the princes of Israel in the dedication of the altar, in the day wherein it was consecrated. Twelve dishes of silver: twelve silver bowls: twelve little mortars of gold:

7:85. Each dish weighing a hundred and thirty sicles of silver, and each bowl seventy sicles: that is, putting all the vessels of silver together, two thousand four hundred sicles, by the weight of the sanctuary.

7:86. Twelve little mortars of gold full of incense, weighing ten sicles apiece, by the weight of the sanctuary: that is, in all a hundred and twenty sicles of gold.

7:87. Twelve oxen out of the herd for a holocaust, twelve rams, twelve lambs of a year old, and their libations: twelve buck goats for sin.

7:88. And for sacrifices of peace offerings, oxen twenty-four, rams sixty, buck goats sixty, lambs of a year old sixty. These things were offered in the dedication of the altar, when it was anointed.

7:89. And when Moses entered into the tabernacle of the covenant, to consult the oracle, he heard the voice of one speaking to him from the propitiatory, that is over the ark between the two cherubims, and from this place he spoke to him.

Numbers Chapter 8

The seven lamps are placed on the golden candlestick, to shine towards the loaves of proposition: the ordination of the Levites: and to what age they shall serve in the tabernacle.

8:1. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

8:2. Speak to Aaron, and thou shalt say to him: When thou shalt place the seven lamps, let the candlestick be set up on the south side. Give orders therefore that the lamps look over against the north, towards the table of the loaves of proposition, over against that part shall they give light, towards which the candlestick looketh.

8:3. And Aaron did so, and he put the lamps upon the candlestick, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

8:4. Now this was the work of the candlestick, it was of beaten gold, both the shaft in the middle, and all that came out of both sides of the branches: according to the pattern which the Lord had shewn to Moses, so he made the candlestick.

8:5. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

8:6. Take the Levites out of the midst of the children of Israel, and thou shalt purify them,

8:7. According to this rite: Let them be sprinkled with the water of purification, and let them shave all the hairs of their flesh. And when they shall have washed their garments, and are cleansed,

Let them be sprinkled with the water of purification. . .This was the holy water mixed with the ashes of the red cow, Num. 19., appointed for purifying all that were unclean. It was a figure of the blood of Christ, applied to our souls by his holy sacraments.

8:8. They shall take an ox of the herd, and for the offering thereof fine flour tempered with oil: and thou shalt take another ox of the herd for a sin offering:

8:9. And thou shalt bring the Levites before the tabernacle of the covenant, calling together all the multitude of the children of Israel:

8:10. And when the Levites are before the Lord, the children of Israel shall put their hands upon them:

8:11. And Aaron shall offer the Levites, as a gift in the sight of the Lord from the children of Israel, that they may serve in his ministry.

8:12. The Levites also shall put their hands upon the heads of the oxen, of which thou shalt sacrifice one for sin, and the other for a holocaust to the Lord, to pray for them.

8:13. And thou shalt set the Levites in the sight of Aaron and of his, and shalt consecrate them being offered to the Lord,

8:14. And shalt separate them from the midst of the children of Israel, to be mine.

8:15. And afterwards they shall enter into the tabernacle of the covenant, to serve me. And thus shalt thou purify and consecrate them for an oblation of the Lord: for as a gift they were given me by the children of Israel.

8:16. I have taken them instead of the firstborn that open every womb in Israel,

8:17. For all the firstborn of the children of Israel, both of men and of beasts, are mine. From the day that I slew every firstborn in the land of Egypt, have I sanctified them to myself:

8:18. And I have taken the Levites for all the firstborn of the children of Israel:

8:19. And have delivered them for a gift to Aaron and his sons out of the midst of the people, to serve me for Israel in the tabernacle of the covenant, and to pray for them, lest there should be a plague among the people, if they should presume to approach unto my sanctuary.

8:20. And Moses and Aaron and all the multitude of the children of Israel did with the Levites all that the Lord had commanded Moses

8:21. And they were purified, and washed their garments. And Aaron lifted them up in the sight of the Lord, and prayed for them,

8:22. That being purified they might go into the tabernacle of the covenant to do their services before Aaron and his sons. As the Lord had commanded Moses touching the Levites, so was it done.

8:23. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

8:24. This is the law of the Levites: From twenty-five years old and upwards, they shall go in to minister in the tabernacle of the covenant.

8:25. And when they shall have accomplished the fiftieth year of their age, they shall cease to serve:

8:26. And they shall be the ministers of their brethren in the tabernacle of the covenant, to keep the things that are committed to their care, but not to do the works. Thus shalt thou order the Levites touching their charge.

Numbers Chapter 9

The precept of the pasch is renewed: the unclean and travellers are to observe it the second month: the camp is guided by the pillar of the cloud.

9:1. The Lord spoke to Moses in the desert of Sinai, the second year after they were come out of the land of Egypt, in the first month, saying:

9:2. Let the children of Israel make the phase in its due time,

Make the phase. . .That is, keep the paschal solemnity, and eat the paschal lamb.

9:3. The fourteenth day of this month in the evening, according to all the ceremonies and justifications thereof.

9:4. And Moses commanded the children of Israel that they should make the phase.

9:5. And they made it in its proper time: the fourteenth day of the month at evening, in mount Sinai. The children of Israel did according to all things that the Lord had commanded Moses.

9:6. But behold some who were unclean by occasion of the soul of a man, who could not make the phase on that day, coming to Moses and Aaron,

Behold some who were unclean by occasion of the soul of a man, etc. . .That is, by having touched or come near a dead body, out of which the soul was departed.

9:7. Said to them: We are unclean by occasion of the soul of a man. Why are we kept back that we may not offer in its season the offering to the Lord among the children of Israel?

9:8. And Moses answered them: Stay that I may consult the Lord what he will ordain concerning you.

9:9. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

9:10. Say to the children of Israel: The man that shall be unclean by occasion of one that is dead, or shall be in a journey afar off in your nation, let him make the phase to the Lord.

9:11. In the second month, on the fourteenth day of the month in the evening, they shall eat it with unleavened bread and wild lettuce:

9:12. They shall not leave any thing thereof until morning, nor break a bone thereof, they shall observe all the ceremonies of the phase.

9:13. But if any man is clean, and was not on a journey, and did not make the phase, that soul shall be cut off from among his people, because he offered not sacrifice to the Lord in due season: he shall bear his sin.

9:14. The sojourner also and the stranger if they be among you, shall make the phase to the Lord according to the ceremonies and justifications thereof. The same ordinances shall be with you both for the stranger, and for him that was born in the land.

9:15. Now on the day that the tabernacle was reared up, a cloud covered it. But from the evening there was over the tabernacle, as it were, the appearance of fire until the morning.

9:16. So it was always: by day the cloud covered it, and by night as it were the appearance of fire.

9:17. And when the cloud that covered the tabernacle was taken up, then the children of Israel marched forward: and in the place where the cloud stood still, there they camped.

9:18. At the commandment of the Lord they marched, and at his commandment they pitched the tabernacle. All the days that the cloud abode over the tabernacle, they remained in the same place:

9:19. And if it was so that it continued over it a long time, the children of Israel kept the watches of the Lord, and marched not,

9:20. For as many days soever as the cloud stayed over the tabernacle. At the commandment of the Lord they pitched their tents, and at his commandment they took them down.

9:21. If the cloud tarried from evening until morning, and immediately at break of day left the tabernacle, they marched forward: and if it departed after a day and a night, they took down their tents.

9:22. But if it remained over the tabernacle for two days or a month or a longer time, the children of Israel remained in the same place, and marched not: but immediately as soon as it departed, they removed the camp.

9:23. By the word of the Lord they pitched their tents, and by his word they marched: and kept the watches of the Lord according to his commandment by the hand of Moses.

Numbers Chapter 10

The silver trumpets and their use. They march from Sinai.

10:1. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

10:2. Make thee two trumpets of beaten silver, wherewith thou mayest call together the multitude when the camp is to be removed.

10:3. And when thou shalt sound the trumpets, all the multitude shall gather unto thee to the door of the tabernacle of the covenant.

10:4. If thou sound but once, the princes and the heads of the multitude of Israel shall come to thee.

10:5. But if the sound of the trumpets be longer, and with interruptions, they that are on the east side, shall first go forward.

10:6. And at the second sounding and like noise of the trumpet, they who lie on the south side shall take up their tents. And after this manner shall the rest do, when the trumpets shall sound for a march.

10:7. But when the people is to be gathered together, the sound of the trumpets shall be plain, and they shall not make a broken sound.

10:8. And the sons of Aaron the priest shall sound the trumpets: and this shall be an ordinance for ever in your generations.

10:9. If you go forth to war out of your land against the enemies that fight against you, you shall sound aloud with the trumpets, and there shall be a remembrance of you before the Lord your God, that you may be delivered out of the hands of your enemies.

10:10. If at any time you shall have a banquet, and on your festival days, and on the first days of your months, you shall sound the trumpets over the holocausts, and the sacrifices of peace offerings, that they may be to you for a remembrance of your God. I am the Lord your God.

10:11. The second year, in the second month, the twentieth day of the month, the cloud was taken up from the tabernacle of the covenant.

10:12. And the children of Israel marched by their troops from the desert of Sinai, and the cloud rested in the wilderness of Pharan.

10:13. And the first went forward according to the commandment of the Lord by the hand of Moses.

10:14. The sons of Juda by their troops: whose prince was Nahasson the son of Aminadab.

10:15. In the tribe of the sons of Issachar, the prince was Nathanael the son of Suar.

10:16. In the tribe of Zabulon, the prince was Eliab the son of Helon.

10:17. And the tabernacle was taken down, and the sons of Gerson and Merari set forward, bearing it.

10:18. And the sons of Ruben also marched, by their troops and ranks, whose prince was Helisur the son of Sedeur.

10:19. And in the tribe of Simeon, the prince was Salamiel the son of Surisaddai.

10:20. And in the tribe of Gad, the prince was Eliasaph the son of Duel.

10:21. Then the Caathites also marched carrying the sanctuary. So long was the tabernacle carried, till they came to the place of setting it up.

10:22. The sons of Ephraim also moved their camp by their troops, in whose army the prince was Elisama the son of Ammiud.

10:23. And in the tribe of the sons of Manasses, the prince was Gamaliel the son of Phadassur.

10:24. And in the tribe of Benjamin, the prince was Abidan the son of Gedeon.

10:25. The last of all the camp marched the sons of Dan by their troops, in whose army the prince was Ahiezer the son of Ammisaddai.

10:26. And in the tribe of the sons of Aser, the prince was Phegiel the son of Ochran.

10:27. And in the tribe of the sons of Nephtali, the prince was Ahira the son of Enan.

10:28. This was the order of the camps, and marches of the children of Israel by their troops, when they set forward.

10:29. And Moses said to Hobab the son of Raguel the Madianite, his kinsman: We are going towards the place which the Lord will give us: come with us, that we may do thee good: for the Lord hath promised good things to Israel.

10:30. But he answered him: I will not go with thee, but I will return to my country, wherein I was born.

10:31. And he said: Do not leave us: for thou knowest in what places we should encamp in the wilderness, and thou shalt be our guide.

10:32. And if thou comest with us, we will give thee what is the best of the riches which the Lord shall deliver to us.

10:33. So they marched from the mount of the Lord three days’ journey, and the ark of the covenant of the Lord went before them, for three days providing a place for the camp.

10:34. The cloud also of the Lord was over them by day when they marched.

10:35. And when the ark was lifted up, Moses said: Arise, O Lord, and let thy enemies be scattered, and let them that hate thee, flee from before thy face.

10:36. And when it was set down, he said: Return, O Lord, to the multitude of the host of Israel.

Numbers Chapter 11

The people murmur and are punished with fire. God appointeth seventy ancients for assistants to Moses. They prophesy. The people have their fill of flesh, but forthwith many die of the plague.

11:1. In the mean time there arose a murmuring of the people against the Lord, as it were repining at their fatigue. And when the Lord heard it he was angry. And the fire of the Lord being kindled against them, devoured them that were at the uttermost part of the camp.

11:2. And when the people cried to Moses, Moses prayed to the Lord, and the fire was swallowed up.

11:3. And he called the name of that place, The burning: for that the fire of the Lord had been kindled against them.

The burning. . .Hebrew, Taberah.

11:4. For a mixt multitude of people, that came up with them, burned with desire, sitting and weeping, the children of Israel also being joined with them, and said: Who shall give us flesh to eat?

A mixt multitude. . .These were people that came with them out of Egypt, who were not of the race of Israel; who, by their murmuring, drew also the children of Israel to murmur: this should teach us the danger of associating ourselves with the children of Egypt, that is, with the lovers and admirers of this wicked world.

11:5. We remember the fish that we ate in Egypt free cost: the cucumbers come into our mind, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlic.

11:6. Our soul is dry, our eyes behold nothing else but manna.

11:7. Now the manna was like coriander seed, of the colour of bdellium.

Bdellium. . .Bdellium, according to Pliny, 1.21, c. 9. was of the colour of a man’s nail, white and bright.

11:8. And the people went about, and gathering it, ground it in a mill, or beat it in a mortar, and boiled it in a pot, and made cakes thereof of the taste of bread tempered with oil.

11:9. And when the dew fell in the night upon the camp, the manna also fell with it.

11:10. Now Moses heard the people weeping by their families, every one at the door of his tent. And the wrath of the Lord was exceedingly enkindled: to Moses also the thing seemed insupportable.

11:11. And he said to the Lord: Why hast thou afflicted thy servant? Wherefore do I not find favour before thee? And why hast thou laid the weight of all this people upon me?

11:12. Have I conceived all this multitude, or begotten them, that thou shouldst say to me: Carry them in thy bosom as the nurse is wont to carry the little infant, and bear them into the land, for which thou hast sworn to their fathers?

11:13. Whence should I have flesh to give to so great a multitude? They weep against me, saying: Give us flesh that we may eat.

11:14. I am not able alone to bear all this people, because it is too heavy for me.

11:15. But if it seem unto thee otherwise, I beseech thee to kill me, and let me find grace in thy eyes, that I be not afflicted with so great evils.

11:16. And the Lord said to Moses: Gather unto me seventy men of the ancients of Israel, whom thou knowest to be ancients and masters of the people: and thou shalt bring them to the door of the tabernacle of the covenant, and shalt make them stand there with thee,

Seventy men. . .This was the first institution of the council or senate, called the Sanhedrin, consisting of seventy or seventy-two senators or counsellors.

11:17. That I may come down and speak with thee: and I will take of thy spirit, and will give to them, that they may bear with thee the burden of the people, and thou mayest not be burthened alone.

11:18. And thou shalt say to the people: Be ye sanctified: to morrow you shall eat flesh: for I have heard you say: Who will give us flesh to eat? It was well with us in Egypt. That the Lord may give you flesh, and you may eat:

11:19. Not for one day, nor two, nor five, nor ten, no nor for twenty.

11:20. But even for a month of days, till it come out at your nostrils, and become loathsome to you, because you have cast off the Lord, who is in the midst of you, and have wept before him, saying: Why came we out of Egypt?

11:21. And Moses said: There are six hundred thousand footmen of this people, and sayest thou: I will give them flesh to eat a whole month?

11:22. Shall then a multitude of sheep and oxen be killed, that it may suffice for their food? or shall the fishes of the sea be gathered together to fill them?

11:23. And the Lord answered him: Is the hand of the Lord unable? Thou shalt presently see whether my word shall come to pass or no.

11:24. Moses therefore came, and told the people the words of the Lord, and assembled seventy men of the ancients of Israel, and made them to stand about the tabernacle.

11:25. And the Lord came down in a cloud, and spoke to him, taking away of the spirit that was in Moses, and giving to the seventy men. And when the spirit had rested on them they prophesied, nor did they cease afterwards.

11:26. Now there remained in the camp two of the men, of whom one was called Eldad, and the other Medad, upon whom the spirit rested; for they also had been enrolled, but were not gone forth to the tabernacle.

11:27. And when they prophesied in the camp, there ran a young man, and told Moses, saying: Eldad and Medad prophesy in the camp.

11:28. Forthwith Josue the son of Nun, the minister of Moses, and chosen out of many, said: My lord Moses forbid them.

11:29. But he said: Why hast thou emulation for me? O that all the people might prophesy, and that the Lord would give them his spirit!

11:30. And Moses returned, with the ancients of Israel, into the camp.

11:31. And a wind going out from the Lord, taking quails up beyond the sea brought them, and cast them into the camp for the space of one day’s journey, on every side of the camp round about, and they flew in the air two cubits high above the ground.

11:32. The people therefore rising up all that day, and night, and the next day, gathered together of quails, he that did least, ten cores: and they dried them round about the camp.

11:33. As yet the flesh was between their teeth, neither had that kind of meat failed: when behold the wrath of the Lord being provoked against the people, struck them with an exceeding great plague.

11:34. And that place was called, The graves of lust: for there they buried the people that had lusted. And departing from the graves of lust, they came unto Haseroth, and abode there.

The graves of lust. . .Or, the sepulchres of concupiscence: so called from their irregular desire of flesh. In Hebrew, Kibroth. Hattaavah.

Numbers Chapter 12

Mary and Aaron murmur against Moses, whom God praiseth above other prophets. Mary being struck with leprosy, Aaron confesseth his fault. Moses prayeth for her, and after seven days’ separation from the camp, she is restored.

12:1. And Mary and Aaron spoke against Moses, because of his wife the Ethiopian,

Ethiopian. . .Sephora the wife of Moses was of Madian, which bordered upon the land of Chus or Ethiopia: where note, that the Ethiopia here spoken of is not that of Africa but that of Arabia.

12:2. And they said: Hath the Lord spoken by Moses only? Hath he not also spoken to us in like manner? And when the Lord heard this,

12:3. (For Moses was a man exceeding meek above all men that dwelt upon earth)

Exceeding meek. . .Moses being the meekest of men, would not contend for himself; therefore, God inspired him to write here his own defence: and the Holy Spirit, whose dictate he wrote, obliged him to declare the truth, though it was so much to his own praise.

12:4. Immediately he spoke to him, and to Aaron and Mary: Come out you three only to the tabernacle of the covenant. And when they were come out,

12:5. The Lord came down in a pillar of the cloud, and stood in the entry of the tabernacle calling to Aaron and Mary. And when they were come,

12:6. He said to them: Hear my words: if there be among you a prophet of the Lord, I will appear to him in a vision, or I will speak to him in a dream.

12:7. But it is not so with my servant Moses who is most faithful in all my house:

12:8. For I speak to him mouth to mouth: and plainly, and not by riddles and figures doth he see the Lord. Why then were you not afraid to speak ill of my servant Moses?

12:9. And being angry with them he went away:

12:10. The cloud also that was over the tabernacle departed: and behold Mary appeared white as snow with a leprosy. And when Aaron had looked on her, and saw her all covered with leprosy,

12:11. He said to Moses: I beseech thee, my lord, lay not upon us this sin, which we have foolishly committed:

12:12. Let her not be as one dead, and as an abortive that is cast forth from the mother’s womb. Lo, now one half of her flesh is consumed with the leprosy.

12:13. And Moses cried to the Lord, saying O God, I beseech thee heal her.

12:14. And the Lord answered him: If her father had spitten upon her face, ought she not to have been ashamed for seven days at least? Let her be separated seven days without the camp, and afterwards she shall be called again.

12:15. Mary therefore was put out of the camp seven days: and the people moved not from that place until Mary was called again.

Numbers Chapter 13

The twelve spies are sent to view the land. The relation they make of it.

13:1. And the people marched from Haseroth, and pitched their tents in the desert of Pharan.

13:2. And there the Lord spoke to Moses, saying.

13:3. Send men to view the land of Chanaan, which I will give to the children of Israel, one of every tribe, of the rulers.

13:4. Moses did what the Lord had commanded, sending from the desert of Pharan, principal men, whose names are these:

13:5. Of the tribe of Ruben, Sammua the son of Zechur.

13:6. Of the tribe of Simeon, Saphat the son of Huri.

13:7. Of the tribe of Juda, Caleb the son of Jephone.

13:8. Of the tribe of Issachar, Igal the son of Joseph.

13:9. Of the tribe of Ephraim, Osee the son of Nun.

13:10. Of the tribe of Benjamin, Phalti the son of Raphu.

13:11. Of the tribe of Zabulon, Geddiel the son of Sodi.

13:12. Of the tribe of Joseph, of the sceptre of Manasses, Gaddi the son of Susi.

13:13. Of the tribe of Dan, Ammiel the son of Gemalli.

13:14. Of the tribe of Aser, Sthur the son of Michael.

13:15. Of the tribe of Nephtali, Nahabi the son of Vapsi.

13:16. Of the tribe of Gad, Guel the son of Machi.

13:17. These are the names of the men, whom Moses sent to view the land: and he called Osee the son of Nun, Josue.

13:18. And Moses sent them to view the land of Chanaan, and said to them: Go you up by the south side. And when you shall come to the mountains,

13:19. View the land, of what sort it is, and the people that are the inhabitants thereof, whether they be strong or weak: few in number or many:

13:20. The land itself, whether it be good or bad: what manner of cities, walled or without walls:

13:21. The ground, fat or barren, woody or without trees. Be of good courage, and bring us of the fruits of the land. Now it was the time when the firstripe grapes are fit to be eaten.

13:22. And when they were gone up, they viewed the land from the desert of Sin, unto Rohob as you enter into Emath.

13:23. And they went up at the south side, and came to Hebron, where were Achiman and Sisai and Tholmai the sons of Enac. For Hebron was built seven years before Tanis the city of Egypt.

13:24. And going forward as far as the torrent of the cluster of grapes, they cut off a branch with its cluster of grapes, which two men carried upon a lever. They took also of the pomegranates and of the figs of that place:

13:25. Which was called Nehelescol, that is to say, the torrent of the cluster of grapes, because from thence the children of Israel had carried a cluster of grapes.

13:26. And they that went to spy out the land returned after forty days, having gone round all the country,

13:27. And came to Moses and Aaron and to all the assembly of the children of Israel to the desert of Pharan, which is in Cades. And speaking to them and to all the multitude, they shewed them the fruits of the land:

13:28. And they related and said: We came into the land to which thou sentest us, which in very deed floweth with milk and honey as may be known by these fruits:

13:29. But it hath very strong inhabitants, and the cities are great and walled. We saw there the race of Enac.

13:30. Amalec dwelleth in the south, the Hethite and the Jebusite and the Amorrhite in the mountains: but the Chanaanite abideth by the sea and near the streams of the Jordan.

13:31. In the mean time Caleb, to still the murmuring of the people that rose against Moses, said: Let us go up and possess the land, for we shall be able to conquer it.

13:32. But the others, that had been with him, said: No, we are not able to go up to this people, because they are stronger than we.

13:33. And they spoke ill of the land, which they had viewed, before the children of Israel, saying: The land which we have viewed, devoureth its inhabitants: the people, that we beheld are of a tall stature.

Spoke ill, etc. . .These men, who by their misrepresentations of the land of promise, discouraged the Israelites from attempting the conquest of it, were a figure of worldlings, who, by decrying or misrepresenting true devotion, discourage Christians from seeking in earnest and acquiring so great a good, and thereby securing to themselves a happy eternity.

13:34. There we saw certain monsters of the sons of Enac, of the giant kind: in comparison of whom, we seemed like locusts.

Numbers Chapter 14

The people murmur. God threateneth to destroy them. He is appeased by Moses, yet so as to exclude the murmurers from entering the promised land. The authors of the sedition are struck dead. The rest going to fight against the will of God are beaten.

14:1. Therefore the whole multitude crying wept that night.

14:2. And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron, saying:

14:3. Would God that we had died in Egypt: and would God we may die in this vast wilderness, and that the Lord may not bring us into this land, lest we fall by the sword, and our wives and children be led away captives. Is it not better to return into Egypt?

14:4. And they said one to another: Let us appoint a captain, and let us return into Egypt.

14:5. And when Moses and Aaron heard this, they fell down flat upon the ground before the multitude of the children of Israel.

14:6. But Josue the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephone, who themselves also had viewed the land, rent their garments,

14:7. And said to all the multitude of the children of Israel: The land which we have gone round is very good:

14:8. If the Lord be favourable, he will bring us into it, and give us a land flowing with milk and honey.

14:9. Be not rebellious against the Lord: and fear ye not the people of this land, for we are able to eat them up as bread. All aid is gone from them: the Lord is with us, fear ye not.

14:10. And when all the multitude cried out, and would have stoned them, the glory of the Lord appeared over the tabernacle of the covenant to all the children of Israel.

14:11. And the Lord said to Moses: How long will this people detract me? how long will they not believe me for all the signs that I have wrought before them?

14:12. I will strike them therefore with pestilence, and will consume them: but thee I will make a ruler over a great nation, and a mightier than this is.

14:13. And Moses said to the Lord: That the Egyptians, from the midst of whom thou hast brought forth this people,

14:14. And the inhabitants of this land, (who have heard that thou, O Lord, art among this people, and art seen face to face, and thy cloud protecteth them, and thou goest before them in a pillar of a cloud by day, and in a pillar of fire by night,)

14:15. May hear that thou hast killed so great a multitude as it were one man and may say:

14:16. He could not bring the people into the land for which he had sworn, therefore did he kill them in the wilderness.

14:17. Let then the strength of the Lord be magnified, as thou hast sworn, saying:

14:18. The Lord is patient and full of mercy, by taking away iniquity and wickedness, and leaving no man clear, who visitest the sins of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation.

Clear. . .i. e., who deserves punishment.

14:19. Forgive, I beseech thee, the sins of this people, according to the greatness of thy mercy, as thou hast been merciful to them from their going out of Egypt unto this place.

14:20. And the Lord said: I have forgiven according to thy word.

14:21. As I live: and the whole earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord.

14:22. But yet all the men that have seen my majesty, and the signs that I have done in Egypt, and in the wilderness, and have tempted me now ten times, and have not obeyed my voice,

14:23. Shall not see the land for which I swore to their fathers, neither shall any one of them that hath detracted me behold it.

14:24. My servant Caleb, who being full of another spirit hath followed me, I will bring into this land which he hath gone round: and his seed shall possess it.

14:25. For the Amalecite and the Chanaanite dwell in the valleys. To morrow remove the camp, and return into the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea.

14:26. And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying:

14:27. How long doth this wicked multitude murmur against me? I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel.

14:28. Say therefore to them: As I live, saith the Lord: According as you have spoken in my hearing, so will I do to you.

14:29. In the wilderness shall your carcasses lie. All you that were numbered from twenty years old and upward, and have murmured against me,

14:30. Shall not enter into the land, over which I lifted up my hand to make you dwell therein, except Caleb the son of Jephone, and Josue the son of Nun.

14:31. But your children, of whom you said, that they should be a prey to the enemies, will I bring in: that they may see the land which you have despised.

14:32. Your carcasses shall lie in the wilderness.

14:33. Your children shall wander in the desert forty years, and shall bear your fornication, until the carcasses of their fathers be consumed in the desert,

Shall bear your fornication. . .That is, shall bear the punishment of your disloyalty to God, which in the scripture language is here called a fornication, in a spiritual sense.

14:34. According to the number of the forty days, wherein you viewed the land: a year shall be counted for a day. And forty years you shall receive your iniquities, and shall know my revenge:

14:35. For as I have spoken, so will I do to all this wicked multitude, that hath risen up together against me: in this wilderness shall it faint away and die.

14:36. Therefore all the men, whom Moses had sent to view the land, and who at their return had made the whole multitude to murmur against him, speaking ill of the land that it was naught,

14:37. Died and were struck in the sight of the Lord.

14:38. But Josue the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephone lived, of all them that had gone to view the land.

14:39. And Moses spoke all these words to all the children of Israel, and the people mourned exceedingly.

14:40. And behold rising up very early in the morning, they went up to the top of the mountain, and said: We are ready to go up to the place, of which the Lord hath spoken: for we have sinned.

14:41. And Moses said to them: Why transgress you the word of the Lord, which shall not succeed prosperously with you?

14:42. Go not up, for the Lord is not with you: lest you fall before your enemies.

14:43. The Amalecite and the Chanaanite are before you, and by their sword you shall fall, because you would not consent to the Lord, neither will the Lord be with you.

14:44. But they being blinded went up to the top of the mountain. But the ark of the testament of the Lord and Moses departed not from the camp.

14:45. And the Amalecite came down, and the Chanaanite that dwelt in the mountain: and smiting and slaying them pursued them as far as Horma.

Numbers Chapter 15

Certain laws concerning sacrifices. Sabbath breaking is punished with death. The law of fringes on their garments.

15:1. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

15:2. Speak to the children of Israel and thou shalt say to them: When you shall be come unto the land of your habitation, which I will give you,

15:3. And shall make an offering to the Lord, for a holocaust, or a victim, paying your vows, or voluntarily offering gifts, or in your solemnities burning a sweet savour unto the Lord, of oxen or of sheep:

15:4. Whosoever immolateth the victim, shall offer a sacrifice of fine flour, the tenth part of an ephi, tempered with the fourth part of a hin of oil:

15:5. And he shall give the same measure of wine to pour out in libations for the holocaust or for the victim. For every lamb,

15:6. And for every ram there shall be a sacrifice of flour of two tenths, which shall be tempered with the third part of a hin of oil:

15:7. And he shall offer the third part the same measure of wine for the libation, for a sweet savour to the Lord.

15:8. But when thou offerest a holocaust or sacrifice of oxen, to fulfil thy vow or for victims of peace offerings,

15:9. Thou shalt give for every ox three tenths of flour tempered with half a hin of oil,

15:10. And wine for libations of the same measure, for an offering of most sweet savour to the Lord.

15:11. Thus shalt thou do

15:12. For every ox and ram and lamb and kid.

15:13. Both they that are born in the land, and the strangers

15:14. Shall offer sacrifices after the same rite.

15:15. There shall be all one law and judgment both for you and for them who are strangers in the land.

15:16. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

15:17. Speak to the children of Israel, and thou shalt say to them:

15:18. When you are come into the land which I will give you,

15:19. And shall eat of the bread of that country, you shall separate firstfruits to the Lord,

15:20. Of the things you eat. As you separate firstfruits of your barnfloors:

15:21. So also shall you give firstfruits of your dough to the Lord.

15:22. And if through ignorance you omit any of these things, which the Lord hath spoken to Moses,

15:23. And by him hath commanded you from the day that he began to command and thenceforward,

15:24. And the multitude have forgotten to do it: they shall offer a calf out of the herd, a holocaust for a most sweet savour to the Lord, and the sacrifice and libations thereof, as the ceremonies require, and a buck goat for sin:

15:25. And the priest shall pray for all the multitude of the children of Israel: and it shall be forgiven them, because they sinned ignorantly, offering notwithstanding a burnt offering to the Lord for themselves and for their sin and their Ignorance:

15:26. And it shall be forgiven all the people of the children of Israel: and the strangers that sojourn among them: because it is the fault of all the people through ignorance.

15:27. But if one soul shall sin ignorantly, he shall offer a she goat of a year old for his sin.

15:28. And the priest shall pray for him, because he sinned ignorantly before the Lord: and he shall obtain his pardon, and it shall be forgiven him.

15:29. The same law shall be for all that sin by ignorance, whether they be natives or strangers.

15:30. But the soul that committeth any thing through pride, whether he be born in the land or a stranger (because he hath been rebellious against the Lord) shall be cut off from among his people:

15:31. For he hath contemned the word of the Lord, and made void his precept: therefore shall he be destroyed, and shall bear his iniquity.

15:32. And it came to pass, when the children of Israel were in the wilderness, and had found a man gathering sticks on the sabbath day,

15:33. That they brought him to Moses and Aaron and the whole multitude.

15:34. And they put him into prison, not knowing what they should do with him.

15:35. And the Lord said to Moses: Let that man die, let all the multitude stone him without the camp.

15:36. And when they had brought him out, they stoned him, and he died as the Lord had commanded.

15:37. The Lord also said to Moses:

15:38. Speak to the children of Israel, and thou shalt tell them to make to themselves fringes in the corners of their garments, putting in them ribands of blue:

Fringes. . .The Pharisees enlarged these fringes through hypocrisy, Matt. 23.5, to appear more zealous than other men for the law of God.

15:39. That when they shall see them, they may remember all the commandments of the Lord, and not follow their own thoughts and eyes going astray after divers things,

15:40. But rather being mindful of the precepts of the Lord, may do them and be holy to their God.

15:41. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that I might be your God.

Numbers Chapter 16

The schism of Core and his adherents: their punishment.

16:1. And behold Core the son of Isaar, the son of Caath, the son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiron the sons of Eliab, and Hon the son of Pheleth of the children of Ruben,

16:2. Rose up against Moses, and with them two hundred and fifty others of the children of Israel, leading men of the synagogue, and who in the time of assembly were called by name.

Rose up. . .The crime of these men, which was punished in so remarkable a manner, was that of schism, and of rebellion against the authority established by God in the church; and their pretending to the priesthood without being lawfully called and sent: the same is the case of all modern sectaries.

16:3. And when they had stood up against Moses and Aaron, they said: Let it be enough for you, that all the multitude consisteth of holy ones, and the Lord is among them: Why lift you up yourselves above the people of the Lord?

16:4. When Moses heard this, he fell flat on his face:

16:5. And speaking to Core and all the multitude, he said: In the morning the Lord will make known who belong to him, and the holy he will join to himself: and whom he shall choose, they shall approach to him.

16:6. Do this therefore: Take every man of you your censers, thou Core, and all thy company.

16:7. And putting fire in them to morrow, put incense upon it before the Lord: and whomsoever he shall choose, the same shall be holy: you take too much upon you, ye sons of Levi.

16:8. And he said again to Core: Hear ye sons of Levi.

16:9. Is it a small thing unto you, that the God of Israel hath spared you from all the people, and joined you to himself, that you should serve him in the service of the tabernacle, and should stand before the congregation of the people, and should minister to him?

16:10. Did he therefore make thee and all thy brethren the sons of Levi to approach unto him, that you should challenge to yourselves the priesthood also,

16:11. And that all thy company should stand against the Lord? for what is Aaron that you murmur against him?

16:12. Then Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiron the sons of Eliab. But they answered: We will not come.

16:13. Is it a small matter to thee, that thou hast brought us out of a land that flowed with milk and honey, to kill us in the desert, except thou rule also like a lord over us?

16:14. Thou hast brought us indeed into a land that floweth with rivers of milk and honey, and hast given us possessions of fields and vineyards; wilt thou also pull out our eyes? We will not come.

16:15. Moses therefore being very angry, said to the Lord: Respect not their sacrifices: thou knowest that I have not taken of them so much as a young ass at any time, nor have injured any of them.

Very angry. . .This anger was a zeal against sin; and an indignation at the affront offered to God; like that which the same holy prophet conceived upon the sight of the golden calf, Ex. 32.19.

16:16. And he said to Core: Do thou and thy congregation stand apart before the Lord to morrow, and Aaron apart.

16:17. Take every one of you censers, and put incense upon them, offering to the Lord two hundred and fifty censers: let Aaron also hold his censer.

16:18. When they had done this, Moses and Aaron standing,

16:19. And had drawn up all the multitude against them to the door of the tabernacle, the glory of the Lord appeared to them all.

16:20. And the Lord speaking to Moses and Aaron, said:

16:21. Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may presently destroy them.

16:22. They fell flat on their face, and said: O most mighty, the God of the spirits of all flesh, for one man’s sin shall thy wrath rage against all?

16:23. And the Lord said to Moses:

16:24. Command the whole people to separate themselves from the tents of Core and Dathan and Abiron.

16:25. And Moses arose, and went to Dathan and Abiron: and the ancients of Israel following him,

16:26. He said to the multitude: Depart from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest you be involved in their sins.

16:27. And when they were departed from their tents round about, Dathan and Abiron coming out stood in the entry of their pavilions with their wives and children, and all the people.

16:28. And Moses said: By this you shall know that the Lord hath sent me to do all things that you see, and that I have not forged them of my own head:

16:29. If these men die the common death of men, and if they be visited with a plague, wherewith others also are wont to be visited, the Lord did not send me.

16:30. But if the Lord do a new thing, and the earth opening her mouth swallow them down, and all things that belong to them, and they go down alive into hell, you shall know that they have blasphemed the Lord.

16:31. And immediately as he had made an end of speaking, the earth broke asunder under their feet:

16:32. And opening her mouth, devoured them with their tents and all their substance.

16:33. And they went down alive into hell, the ground closing upon them, and they perished from among the people.

16:34. But all Israel, that was standing round about, fled at the cry of them that were perishing: saying: Lest perhaps the earth swallow us up also.

16:35. And a fire coming out from the Lord, destroyed the two hundred and fifty men that offered the incense.

16:36. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

16:37. Command Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest to take up the censers that lie in the burning, and to scatter the fire of one side and the other: because they are sanctified

16:38. In the deaths of the sinners: and let him beat them into plates, and fasten them to the altar, because incense hath been offered in them to the Lord, and they are sanctified, that the children of Israel may see them for a sign and a memorial.

16:39. Then Eleazar the priest took the brazen censers, wherein they had offered, whom the burning fire had devoured, and beat them into plates, fastening them to the altar:

16:40. That the children of Israel might have for the time to come wherewith they should be admonished, that no stranger or any one that is not of the seed of Aaron should come near to offer incense to the Lord, lest he should suffer as Core suffered, and all his congregation, according as the Lord spoke to Moses.

16:41. The following day all the multitude of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron, saying: You have killed the people of the Lord.

16:42. And when there arose a sedition, and the tumult increased,

16:43. Moses and Aaron fled to the tabernacle of the covenant. And when they were gone into it, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the Lord appeared.

16:44. And the Lord said to Moses:

16:45. Get you out from the midst of this multitude, this moment will I destroy them. And as they were lying on the ground,

16:46. Moses said to Aaron: Take the censer, and putting fire in it from the altar, put incense upon it, and go quickly to the people to pray for them: for already wrath is gone out from the Lord, and the plague rageth.

16:47. When Aaron had done this, and had run to the midst of the multitude which the burning fire was now destroying, he offered the incense:

16:48. And standing between the dead and the living, he prayed for the people, and the plague ceased.

16:49. And the number of them that were slain was fourteen thousand and seven hundred men, besides them that had perished in the sedition of Core.

16:50. And Aaron returned to Moses to the door of the tabernacle of the covenant after the destruction was over.

Numbers Chapter 17

The priesthood is confirmed to Aaron by the miracle of the blooming of his rod, which is kept for a monument in the tabernacle.

17:1. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

17:2. Speak to the children of Israel, and take of every one of them a rod by their kindreds, of all the princes of the tribes, twelve rods, and write the name of every man upon his rod.

17:3. And the name of Aaron shall be for the tribe of Levi, and one rod shall contain all their families:

17:4. And thou shalt lay them up in the tabernacle of the covenant before the testimony, where I will speak to thee.

17:5. Whomsoever of these I shall choose, his rod shall blossom: and I will make to cease from me the murmurings of the children of Israel, wherewith they murmur against you.

17:6. And Moses spoke to the children of Israel: and all the princes gave him rods one for every tribe: and there were twelve rods besides the rod of Aaron.

17:7. And when Moses had Laid them up before the Lord in the tabernacle of the testimony:

17:8. He returned on the following day, and found that the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi, was budded: and that the buds swelling it had bloomed blossoms, which spreading the leaves, were formed into almonds.

The rod of Aaron for the house of Levi, was budded, etc. . .This rod of Aaron which thus miraculously brought forth fruit, was a figure of the blessed Virgin conceiving and bringing forth her Son without any prejudice to her virginity.

17:9. Moses therefore brought out all the rods from before the Lord to all the children of Israel: and they saw, and every one received their rods.

17:10. And the Lord said to Moses: Carry back the rod of Aaron into the tabernacle of the testimony, that it may be kept there for a token of the rebellious children of Israel, and that their complaints may cease from me lest they die.

17:11. And Moses did as the Lord had commanded.

17:12. And the children of Israel said to Moses: Behold we are consumed, we all perish.

17:13. Whosoever approacheth to the tabernacle of the Lord, he dieth. Are we all to a man to be utterly destroyed?

Numbers Chapter 18

The charge of the priests and of the Levites, and their portion.

18:1. And 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 sins of your priesthood.

Thou, and thy father’s house with thee, shall bear the iniquity of the sanctuary. . .That is, you shall be punished if, through negligence or want of due attention, you err in the discharge of the sacred functions for which you were ordained.

18:2. And take with thee thy brethren also of the tribe of Levi, and the sceptre of thy father, and let them be ready in hand, and minister to thee: but thou and thy sons shall minister in the tabernacle of the testimony.

18:3. And the Levites shall watch to do thy commands, and about all the works of the tabernacle: only they shall not come nigh the vessels of the sanctuary nor the altar, lest both they die, and you also perish with them.

18:4. But let them be with thee, and watch in the charge of the tabernacle, and in all the ceremonies thereof. A stranger shall not join himself with you.

18:5. Watch ye in the charge of the sanctuary, and in the ministry of the altar: lest indignation rise upon the children of Israel.

18:6. I have given you your brethren the Levites from among the children of Israel, and have delivered them for a gift to the Lord, to serve in the ministries of the tabernacle.

18:7. But thou and thy sons look ye to the priesthood: and all things that pertain to the service of the altar, and that are within the veil, shall be executed by the priests. If any stranger shall approach, he shall be slain.

18:8. And the Lord said to Aaron: Behold I have given thee the charge of my firstfruits. All things that are sanctified by the children of Israel, I have delivered to thee and to thy sons for the priestly office, by everlasting ordinances.

18:9. These therefore shalt thou take of the things that are sanctified, and are offered to the Lord. Every offering, and sacrifice, and whatsoever is rendered to me for sin and for trespass, and becometh holy of holies, shall be for thee and thy sons.

18:10. Thou shalt eat it in the sanctuary: the males only shall eat thereof, because it is a consecrated thing to thee.

18:11. But the firstfruits, which the children of Israel shall vow and offer, I have given to thee, and to thy sons, and to thy daughters, by a perpetual law. He that is clean in thy house, shall eat them.

18:12. All the best of the oil, and of the wine, and of the corn, whatsoever firstfruits they offer to the Lord, I have given them to thee.

18:13. All the firstripe of the fruits, that the ground bringeth forth, and which are brought to the Lord, shall be for thy use: he that is clean in thy house, shall eat them.

18:14. Every thing that the children of Israel shall give by vow, shall be thine.

18:15. Whatsoever is firstborn of all flesh, which they offer to the Lord, whether it be of men, or of beasts, shall belong to thee: only for the firstborn of man thou shalt take a price, and every beast that is unclean thou shalt cause to be redeemed,

18:16. And the redemption of it shall be after one month, for five sicles of silver, by the weight of the sanctuary. A sicle hath twenty obols.

18:17. But the firstling of a cow, and of a sheep and of a goat thou shalt not cause to be redeemed, because they are sanctified to the Lord. Their blood only thou shalt pour upon the altar, and their fat thou shalt burn for a most sweet odour to the Lord.

18:18. But the flesh shall fall to thy use, as the consecrated breast, and the right shoulder shall be thine.

18:19. All the firstfruits of the sanctuary which the children of Israel offer to the Lord, I have given to thee and to thy sons and daughters, by a perpetual ordinance. It is a covenant of salt for ever before the Lord, to thee and to thy sons.

A covenant of salt. . .It is a proverbial expression, signifying a covenant not to be altered or corrupted; as salt is used to keep things from corruption; a covenant perpetual, like that by which it was appointed, that salt should be used in every sacrifice. Lev. 2.

18:20. And the Lord said to Aaron: You shall possess nothing in their land, neither shall you have a portion among them: I am thy portion and inheritance in the midst of the children of Israel.

18:21. And I have given to the sons of Levi all the tithes of Israel for a possession, for the ministry wherewith they serve me in the tabernacle of the covenant:

18:22. That the children of Israel may not approach any more to the tabernacle, nor commit deadly sin,

Deadly sin. . .That is, sin which will bring death after it.

18:23. But only the sons of Levi may serve me in the tabernacle, and bear the sins of the people. It shall be an everlasting ordinance in your generations. They shall not possess any other thing,

18:24. But be content with the oblation or tithes, which I have separated for their uses and necessities.

18:25. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

18:26. Command the Levites, and declare unto them: When you shall receive of the children of Israel the tithes, which I have given you, offer the firstfruits of them to the Lord, that is to say, the tenth part of the tenth:

18:27. That it may be reckoned to you as an oblation of firstfruits, as well of the barnfloors as of the winepresses:

18:28. And of all the things of which you receive tithes, offer the firstfruits to the Lord, and give them to Aaron the priest.

18:29. All the things that you shall offer of the tithes, and shall separate for the gifts of the Lord, shall be the best and choicest things.

18:30. And thou shalt say to them: If you offer all the goodly and the better things of the tithes, it shall be reckoned to you as if you had given the firstfruits of the barnfloor and the winepress:

18:31. And you shall eat them in all your places, both you and your families: because it is your reward for the ministry, wherewith you serve in the tabernacle of the testimony.

18:32. And you shall not sin in this point, by reserving the choicest and fat things to yourselves, lest you profane the oblations of the children of Israel, and die.

Numbers Chapter 19

The law of the sacrifice of the red cow, and the water of expiation.

19:1. And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying:

19:2. This is the observance of the victim, which the Lord hath ordained. Command the children of Israel, that they bring unto thee a red cow of full age, in which there is no blemish, and which hath not carried the yoke:

A red cow, etc. . .This red cow, offered in sacrifice for sin, and consumed with fire without the camp, with the ashes of which, mingled with water, the unclean were to be expiated and purified; was a figure of the passion of Christ, by whose precious blood applied to our souls in the holy sacraments, we are cleansed from our sins.

19:3. And you shall deliver her to Eleazar the priest, who shall bring her forth without the camp, and shall immolate her in the sight of all:

19:4. And dipping his finger in her blood, shall sprinkle it over against the door of the tabernacle seven times,

19:5. And shall burn her in the sight of all delivering up to the fire her skin, and her flesh, and her blood, and her dung.

19:6. The priest shall also take cedar wood, and hyssop, and scarlet twice dyed, and cast it into the flame, with which the cow is consumed.

19:7. And then after washing his garments, and body, he shall enter into the camp, and shall be unclean until the evening.

19:8. He also that hath burned her, shall wash his garments, and his body, and shall be unclean until the evening.

19:9. And a man that is clean shall gather up the ashes of the cow, and shall pour them forth without the camp in a most clean place, that they may be reserved for the multitude of the children of Israel, and for a water of aspersion: because the cow was burnt for sin.

19:10. And when he that carried the ashes of the cow, hath washed his garments, he shall be unclean until the evening. The children of Israel, and the strangers that dwell among them, shall observe this for a holy thing by a perpetual ordinance.

19:11. He that toucheth the corpse of a man, and is therefore unclean seven days,

19:12. Shall be sprinkled with this water on the third day, and on the seventh, and so shall be cleansed. If he were not sprinkled on the third day, he cannot be cleansed on the seventh.

19:13. Every one that toucheth the corpse of a man, and is not sprinkled with this mixture, shall profane the tabernacle of the Lord, and shall perish out of Israel: because he was not sprinkled with the water of expiation, he shall be unclean, and his uncleanness shall remain upon him.

19:14. This is the law of a man that dieth in a tent: All that go into his tent and all the vessels that are there, shall be unclean seven days.

19:15. The vessel that hath no cover, nor binding over it, shall be unclean.

19:16. If any man in the field touch the corpse of a man that was slain, or that died of himself, or his bone, or his grave, he shall be unclean seven days.

19:17. And they shall take of the ashes of the burning and of the sin offering, and shall pour living waters upon them into a vessel.

19:18. And a man that is clean shall dip hyssop in them, and shall sprinkle therewith all the tent, and all the furniture, and the men that are defiled with touching any such thing:

19:19. And in this manner he that is clean shall purify the unclean on the third and on the seventh day. And being expiated the seventh day, he shall wash both himself and his garments, and be unclean until the evening.

19:20. If any man be not expiated after this rite, his soul shall perish out of the midst of the church: because he hath profaned the sanctuary of the Lord, and was not sprinkled with the water of purification.

19:21. This precept shall be an ordinance for ever. He also that sprinkled the water, shall wash his garments. Every one that shall touch the waters of expiation, shall be unclean until the evening.

19:22. Whatsoever a person toucheth who is unclean, he shall make it unclean: and the person that toucheth any of these things, shall be unclean until the evening.

Numbers Chapter 20

The death of Mary the sister of Moses. The people murmur for want of water: God giveth it them from the rock. The death of Aaron.

20:1. And the children of Israel, and all the multitude came into the desert of Sin, in the first month: and the people abode in Cades. And Mary died there, and was buried in the same place.

20:2. And the people wanting water, came together against Moses and Aaron:

20:3. And making a sedition, they said: Would God we had perished among our brethren before the Lord.

20:4. Why have you brought out the church of the Lord into the wilderness, that both we and our cattle should die?

20:5. Why have you made us come up out of Egypt, and have brought us into this wretched place which cannot be sowed, nor bringeth forth figs, nor vines, nor pomegranates, neither is there any water to drink?

20:6. And Moses and Aaron leaving the multitude, went into the tabernacle of the covenant, and fell flat upon the ground, and cried to the Lord, and said. O Lord God, hear the cry of this people, and open to them thy treasure, a fountain of living water, that being satisfied, they may cease to murmur. And the glory of the Lord appeared over them.

20:7. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

20:8. Take the rod, and assemble the people together, thou and Aaron thy brother, and speak to the rock before them, and it shall yield waters. And when thou hast brought forth water out of the rock, all the multitude and their cattle shall drink.

20:9. Moses therefore took the rod, which was before the Lord, as he had commanded him,

20:10. And having gathered together the multitude before the rock, he said to them: Hear, ye rebellious and incredulous: Can we bring you forth water out of this rock?

20:11. And when Moses had lifted up his hand, and struck the rock twice with the rod, there came forth water in great abundance, so that the people and their cattle drank,

The rock. . .This rock was a figure of Christ, and the water that issued out from the rock, of his precious blood, the source of all our good.

20:12. And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron: Because you have not believed me, to sanctify me before the children of Israel, you shall not bring these people into the land, which I will give them.

You have not believed, etc. . .The fault of Moses and Aaron, on this occasion, was a certain diffidence and weakness of faith; not doubting of God’s power or veracity; but apprehending the unworthiness of that rebellious and incredulous people, and therefore speaking with some ambiguity.

20:13. This is the Water of contradiction, where the children of Israel strove with words against the Lord, and he was sanctified in them.

The Water of contradiction. . .Or strife. Hebrew, Meribah.

20:14. In the mean time Moses sent messengers from Cades to the king of Edom, to say: Thus saith thy brother Israel: Thou knowest all the labour that hath come upon us:

20:15. In what manner our fathers went down into Egypt, and there we dwelt a long time, and the Egyptians afflicted us and our fathers.

20:16. And how we cried to the Lord, and he heard us, and sent an angel, who hath brought us out of Egypt. Lo, we are now in the city of Cades, which is in the uttermost of thy borders,

20:17. And we beseech thee that we may have leave to pass through thy country. We will not go through the fields, nor through the vineyards, we will not drink the waters of thy wells, but we will go by the common highway, neither turning aside to the right hand, nor to the left, till we are past thy borders.

20:18. And Edom answered them: Thou shalt not pass by me: if thou dost I will come out armed against thee.

20:19. And the children of Israel said: We will go by the beaten way: and if we and our cattle drink of thy waters, we will give thee what is just: there shall be no difficulty in the price, only let us pass speedily.

20:20. But he answered: Thou shalt not pass. And immediately he came forth to meet them with an infinite multitude, and a strong hand,

20:21. Neither would he condescend to their desire to grant them passage through his borders. Wherefore Israel turned another way from him.

20:22. And when they had removed the camp from Cades, they came to mount Hor, which is in the borders of the land of Edom:

20:23. Where the Lord spoke to Moses:

20:24. Let Aaron, saith he, go to his people: for he shall not go into the land which I have given the children of Israel, because he was incredulous to my words, at the waters of contradiction.

20:25. Take Aaron and his son with him, and bring them up into mount Hor:

20:26. And when thou hast stripped the father of his vesture, thou shalt vest therewith Eleazar his son: Aaron shall be gathered to his people, and die there.

20:27. Moses did as the Lord had commanded: and they went up into mount Hor before all the multitude.

20:28. And when he had stripped Aaron of his vestments, he vested Eleazar his son with them.

20:29. And Aaron being dead in the top of the mountain, he came down with Eleazar.

20:30. And all the multitude seeing that Aaron was dead, mourned for him thirty days throughout all their families.

Numbers Chapter 21

King Arad is overcome. The people murmur and are punished with fiery serpents: they are healed by the brazen serpent. They conquer the kings Sehon and Og.

21:1. And when king Arad the Chanaanite, who dwelt towards the south, had heard this, to wit, that Israel was come by the way of the spies, he fought against them, and overcoming them carried off their spoils.

21:2. But Israel binding himself by vow to the Lord, said: If thou wilt deliver this people into my hand, I will utterly destroy their cities.

21:3. And the Lord heard the prayers of Israel, and delivered up the Chanaanite, and they cut them off and destroyed their cities: and they called the name of that place Horma, that is to say, Anathema.

Anathema. . .That is, a thing devoted to utter destruction.

21:4. And they marched from mount Hor, by the way that leadeth to the Red Sea, to compass the land of Edom. And the people began to be weary of their journey and labour:

21:5. And speaking against God and Moses, they said: Why didst thou bring us out of Egypt, to die in the wilderness? There is no bread, nor have we any waters: our soul now loatheth this very light food.

Very light food. . .So they call the heavenly manna: thus worldlings loathe the things of heaven, for which they have no relish.

21:6. Wherefore the Lord sent among the people fiery serpents, which bit them and killed many of them.

Fiery serpents. . .They are so called, because they that were bitten by them were burnt with a violent heat.

21:7. Upon which they came to Moses, and said; We have sinned, because we have spoken against the Lord and thee: pray that he may take away these serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people.

21:8. And the Lord said to him: Make a brazen serpent, and set it up for a sign: whosoever being struck shall look on it, shall live.

21:9. Moses therefore made a brazen serpent, and set it up for a sign: which when they that were bitten looked upon, they were healed.

A brazen serpent. . .This was a figure of Christ crucified, and of the efficacy of a lively faith in him, against the bites of the hellish serpent. John 3.14.

21:10. And the children of Israel setting forwards camped in Oboth.

21:11. And departing thence they pitched their tents in Jeabarim, in the wilderness, that faceth Moab toward the east.

21:12. And removing from thence, they came to the torrent Zared:

21:13. Which they left and encamped over against Arnon, which is in the desert and standeth out on the borders of the Amorrhite. For Arnon is the border of Moab, dividing the Moabites and the Amorrhites.

21:14. Wherefore it is said in the book of the wars of the Lord: As he did in the Red Sea, so will he do in the streams of Arnon.

The book of the wars, etc. . .An ancient book, which, like several others quoted in scripture, has been lost.

21:15. The rocks of the torrents were bowed down that they might rest in Ar, and lie down in the borders of the Moabites.

21:16. When they went from that place, the well appeared whereof the Lord said to Moses: Gather the people together, and I will give them water.

21:17. Then Israel sung this song: Let the well spring up. They sung thereto:

21:18. The well, which the princes dug, and the chiefs of the people prepared by the direction of the lawgiver, and with their staves. And they marched from the wilderness to Mathana.

21:19. From Mathana unto Nahaliel: from Nahaliel unto Bamoth.

21:20. From Bamoth, is a valley in the country of Moab, to the top of Phasga, which looked towards the desert.

21:21. And Israel sent messengers to Sehon king of the Amorrhites, saying:

21:22. I beseech thee that I may have leave to pass through thy land: we will not go aside into the fields or the vineyards, we will not drink waters of the wells, we will go the king’s highway, till we be past thy borders.

21:23. And he would not grant that Israel should pass by his borders: but rather gathering an army, went forth to meet them in the desert, and came to Jasa and fought against them.

21:24. And he was slain by them with the edge of the sword, and they possessed his land from the Arnon unto the Jeboc, and to the confines of the children of Ammon: for the borders of the Ammonites, were kept with a strong garrison.

21:25. So Israel took all his cities, and dwelt in the cities of the Amorrhite, to wit, in Hesebon, and in the villages thereof.

21:26. Hesebon was the city of Sehon the king of the Amorrhites, who fought against the king of Moab: and took all the land, that had been of his dominion, as far as the Arnon.

21:27. Therefore it is said in the proverb: Come into Hesebon, let the city of Sehon be built and set up:

21:28. A fire is gone out of Hesebon, a flame from the city of Sehon, and hath consumed Ar of the Moabites, and the inhabitants of the high places of the Arnon.

21:29. Woe to thee Moab: thou art undone, O people of Chamos. He hath given his sons to flight, and his daughters into captivity to Sehon the king of the Amorrhites.

21:30. Their yoke is perished from Hesebon unto Dibon, they came weary to Nophe, and unto Medaba.

21:31. So Israel dwelt in the land of the Amorrhite.

21:32. And Moses sent some to take a view of Jazer: and they took the villages of it, and conquered the inhabitants.

21:33. And they turned themselves, and went up by the way of Basan, and Og the king of Basan came against them with all his people, to fight in Edrai.

21:34. And the Lord said to Moses: Fear him not, for I have delivered him and all his people, and his country into thy hand: and thou shalt do to him as thou didst to Sehon the king of the Amorrhites, the inhabitant of Hesebon.

21:35. So they slew him also with his sons, and all his people, not letting any one escape, and they possessed his land.

Numbers Chapter 22

Balac, king of Moab, sendeth twice for Balaam to curse Israel. In his way Balaam is rebuked by an angel.

22:1. And they went forward and encamped in the plains of Moab, over against where Jericho is situate beyond the Jordan.

22:2. And Balac the son of Sephor, seeing all that Israel had done to the Amorrhite,

22:3. And that the Moabites were in great fear of him, and were not able to sustain his assault,

22:4. He said to the elders of Madian: So will this people destroy all that dwell in our borders, as the ox is wont to eat the grass to the very roots. Now he was at that time king in Moab.

22:5. He sent therefore messengers to Balaam the son of Beor, a soothsayer, who dwelt by the river of the land of the children of Ammon, to call him, and to say: Behold a people is come out of Egypt, that hath covered the face of the earth, sitting over against me.

22:6. Come therefore, and curse this people, because it is mightier than I: if by any means I may beat them and drive them out of my land: for I know that he whom thou shalt bless is blessed, and he whom thou shalt curse is cursed.

22:7. And the ancients of Moab, and the elders of Madian, went with the price of divination in their hands. And where they were come to Balaam, and had told him all the words of Balac:

22:8. He answered: Tarry here this night and I will answer whatsoever the Lord shall say to me. And while they stayed with Balaam, God came and said to him:

22:9. What mean these men that are with thee?

22:10. He answered: Balac the son of Sephor king of the Moabites hath sent to me,

22:11. Saying: Behold a people that is come out of Egypt, hath covered the face of the land: come and curse them, if by any means I may fight with them and drive them away.

22:12. And God said to Balaam: Thou shalt not go with them, nor shalt thou curse the people: because it is blessed.

22:13. And he rose in the morning and said to the princes: Go into your country, because the Lord hath forbid me to come with you.

22:14. The princes returning, said to Balac: Balaam would not come with us.

22:15. Then he sent many more and more noble than he had sent before:

22:16. Who, when they were come to Balaam, said: Thus saith Balac the son of Sephor, Delay not to come to me:

22:17. For I am ready to honour thee, and will give thee whatsoever thou wilt: come and curse this people.

22:18. Balaam answered: If Balac would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot alter the word of the Lord my God, to speak either more or less.

22:19. I pray you to stay here this night also, that I may know what the Lord will answer me once more.

To stay. . .His desiring them to stay, after he had been fully informed already that it was not God’s will he should go, came from the inclination he had to gratify Balac, for the sake of worldly gain. And this perverse disposition God punished by permitting him to go (though not to curse the people as he would willingly have done), and suffering him to fall still deeper and deeper into sin, till he came at last to give that abominable counsel against the people of God, which ended in his own destruction. So sad a thing it is to indulge a passion for money.

22:20. God therefore came to Balaam in the night, and said to him: If these men be come to call thee, arise and go with them: yet so, that thou do what I shall command thee.

22:21. Balaam arose in the morning, and saddling his ass went with them.

22:22. And God was angry. And an angel of the Lord stood in the way against Balaam, who sat on the ass, and had two servants with him.

22:23. The ass seeing the angel standing in the way, with a drawn sword, turned herself out of the way, and went into the field. And when Balaam beat her, and had a mind to bring her again to the way,

22:24. The angel stood in a narrow place between two walls, wherewith the vineyards were enclosed.

22:25. And the ass seeing him, thrust herself close to the wall, and bruised the foot of the rider. But he beat her again:

22:26. And nevertheless the angel going on to a narrow place, where there was no way to turn aside either to the right hand or to the left, stood to meet him.

22:27. And when the ass saw the angel standing, she fell under the feet of the rider: who being angry beat her sides more vehemently with a staff.

22:28. And the Lord opened the mouth of the ass, and she said: What have I done to thee? Why strikest thou me, lo, now this third time?

Opened the mouth, etc. . .The angel moved the tongue of the ass, to utter these speeches, to rebuke, by the mouth of a brute beast, the brutal fury and folly of Balaam.

22:29. Balaam answered: Because thou hast deserved it, and hast served me ill: I would I had a sword that I might kill thee.

22:30. The ass said: Am not I thy beast, on which thou hast been always accustomed to ride until this present day? tell me if I ever did the like thing to thee. But he said: Never.

22:31. Forthwith the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel standing in the way with a drawn sword, and he worshipped him falling flat on the ground.

22:32. And the angel said to him: Why beatest thou thy ass these three times? I am come to withstand thee, because thy way is perverse, and contrary to me:

Perverse. . .Because thy inclinations are wicked in being willing for the sake of gain to curse the people of whom I am the guardian.

22:33. And unless the ass had turned out of the way, giving place to me who stood against thee, I had slain thee, and she should have lived.

22:34. Balaam said: I have sinned, not knowing that thou didst stand against me: and now if it displease thee that I go, I will return.

22:35. The angel said: Go with these men, and see thou speak no other thing than what I shall command thee. He went therefore with the princes.

22:36. And when Balac heard it he came forth to meet him in a town of the Moabites, that is situate in the uttermost borders of Arnon.

22:37. And he said to Balaam: I sent messengers to call thee, why didst thou not come immediately to me? was it because I am not able to reward thy coming?

22:38. He answered him: Lo, here I am: shall I have power to speak any other thing but that which God shall put in my mouth?

22:39. So they went on together, and came into a city, that was in the uttermost borders of his kingdom.

22:40. And when Balac had killed oxen and sheep, he sent presents to Balaam, and to the princes that were with him.

22:41. And when morning was come, he brought him to the high places of Baal, and he beheld the uttermost part of the people.

Numbers Chapter 23

Balaam, instead of cursing Israel, is obliged to bless them, and prophesy good things of them.

23:1. And Balaam said to Balac: Build me here seven altars, and prepare as many calves, and the same number of rams.

23:2. And when he had done according to the word of Balaam, they laid together a calf and a ram upon every altar.

23:3. And Balaam said to Balac: Stand a while by thy burnt offering, until I go, to see if perhaps the Lord will meet me, and whatsoever he shall command, I will speak to thee.

23:4. And when he was gone with speed, God met him. And Balaam speaking to him, said: I have erected seven altars, and have laid on everyone a calf and a ram.

23:5. And the Lord put the word in his mouth, and said: Return to Balac, and thus shalt thou speak.

23:6. Returning he found Balac standing by his burnt offering, with all the princes of the Moabites:

23:7. And taking up his parable, he said: Balac king of the Moabites hath brought me from Aram, from the mountains of the east: Come, said he, and curse Jacob: make haste and detest Israel.

23:8. How shall I curse him, whom God hath not cursed? By what means should I detest him, whom the Lord detesteth not?

23:9. I shall see him from the tops of the rocks, and shall consider him from the hills. This people shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations.

23:10. Who can count the dust of Jacob, and know the number of the stock of Israel? Let my soul die the death of the just, and my last end be like to them.

23:11. And Balac said to Balaam: What is this that thou dost? I sent for thee to curse my enemies: and thou contrariwise blessest them.

23:12. He answered him: Can I speak any thing else but what the Lord commandeth?

23:13. Balac therefore said: Come with me to another place from whence thou mayest see part of Israel, and canst not see them all: curse them from thence.

23:14. And when he had brought him to a high place, upon the top of mount Phasga, Balaam built seven altars, and laying on every one a calf and a ram,

23:15. He said to Balac: Stand here by thy burnt offering while I go to meet him.

23:16. And when the Lord had met him, and had put the word in his mouth, he said: Return to Balac, and thus shalt thou say to him.

23:17. Returning he found him standing by his burnt sacrifice, and the princes of the Moabites with him. And Balac said to him: What hath the Lord spoken?

23:18. But he taking up his parable, said: Stand, O Balac, and give ear: hear, thou son of Sephor:

23:19. God is not a man, that he should lie, nor is the son of man, that he should be changed. Hath he said then, and will he not do? hath he spoken, and will he not fulfil?

23:20. I was brought to bless, the blessing I am not able to hinder.

23:21. There is no idol in Jacob, neither is there an image god to be seen in Israel. The Lord his God is with him, and the sound of the victory of the king in him.

23:22. God hath brought him out of Egypt, whose strength is like to the rhinoceros.

23:23. There is no soothsaying in Jacob, nor divination in Israel. In their times it shall be told to Jacob and to Israel what God hath wrought.

23:24. Behold the people shall rise up as a lioness, and shall lift itself up as a lion: it shall not lie down till it devour the prey, and drink the blood of the slain.

23:25. And Balac said to Balaam: Neither curse, nor bless him.

23:26. And he said: Did I not tell thee, that whatsoever God should command me, that I would do?

23:27. And Balac said to him: Come and I will bring thee to another place; if peradventure it please God that thou mayest curse them from thence.

23:28. And when he had brought him upon the top of mount Phogor, which looketh towards the wilderness,

23:29. Balaam said to him: Build me here seven altars, and prepare as many calves, and the same number of rams.

23:30. Balac did as Balaam had said: and he laid on every altar, a calf and a ram.

Numbers Chapter 24

Balaam still continues to prophesy good things in favour of Israel.

24:1. And when Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord that he should bless Israel, he went not as he had gone before, to seek divination: but setting his face towards the desert,

24:2. And lifting up his eyes, he saw Israel abiding in their tents by their tribes: and the spirit of God rushing upon him,

24:3. He took up his parable and said: Balaam the son of Beor hath said: The man hath said, whose eye is stopped up:

24:4. The hearer of the words of God hath said, he that hath beheld the vision of the Almighty, he that falleth, and so his eyes are opened:

24:5. How beautiful are thy tabernacles O Jacob, and thy tents, O Israel!

24:6. As woody valleys, as watered gardens near the rivers, as tabernacles which the Lord hath pitched, as cedars by the waterside.

24:7. Water shall flow out of his bucket, and his seed shall be in many waters. For Agag his king shall be removed, and his kingdom shall be taken away.

24:8. God hath brought him out of Egypt, whose strength is like to the rhinoceros. They shall devour the nations that are his enemies, and break their bones, and pierce them with arrows.

24:9. Lying down he hath slept as a lion, and as a lioness, whom none shall dare to rouse. He that blesseth thee, shall also himself be blessed: he that curseth thee shall be reckoned accursed.

24:10. And Balac being angry against Balaam, clapped his hands together and said: I called thee to curse my enemies, and thou on the contrary hast blessed them three times.

24:11. Return to thy place. I had determined indeed greatly to honour thee, but the Lord hath deprived thee of the honour designed for thee.

24:12. Balaam made answer to Balac: Did I not say to thy messengers, whom thou sentest to me:

24:13. If Balac would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the word of the Lord my God, to utter any thing of my own head either good or evil: but whatsoever the Lord shall say, that I will speak?

24:14. But yet going to my people, I will give thee counsel, what this people shall do to thy people in the latter days.

24:15. Therefore taking up his parable, again he said: Balaam the son of Beor hath said: The man whose eye is stopped up, hath said:

24:16. The hearer of the words of God hath said, who knoweth the doctrine of the Highest, and seeth the visions of the Almighty, who falling hath his eyes opened:

24:17. I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not near. A STAR SHALL RISE out of Jacob and a sceptre shall spring up from Israel: and shall strike the chiefs of Moab, and shall waste all the children of Seth

24:18. And he shall possess Idumea: the inheritance of Seir shall come to their enemies, but Israel shall do manfully.

24:19. Out of Jacob shall he come that shall rule, and shall destroy the remains of the city.

24:20. And when he saw Amalec, he took up his parable, and said: Amalec the beginning of nations, whose latter ends shall be destroyed.

24:21. He saw also the Cinite: and took up his parable, and said: Thy habitation indeed is strong: but though thou build thy nest in a rock,

24:22. And thou be chosen of the stock of Cin, how long shalt thou be able to continue? For Assur shall take thee captive.

24:23. And taking up his parable, again he said: Alas, who shall live when God shall do these things?

24:24. They shall come in galleys from Italy, they shall overcome the Assyrians, and shall waste the Hebrews, and at the last they themselves also shall perish.

24:25. And Balaam rose, and returned to his place: Balac also returned the way that he came.

Numbers Chapter 25

The people fall into fornication and idolatry; for which twenty-four thousand are slain. The zeal of Phinees.

25:1. And Israel at that time abode in Settim, and the people committed fornication with the daughters of Moab,

25:2. Who called them to their sacrifices. And they ate of them, and adored their gods.

25:3. And Israel was initiated to Beelphegor: upon which the Lord being angry,

Initiated to Beelphegor. . .That is, they took to the worship of Beelphegor, an obscene idol of the Moabites, and were consecrated, as it were, to him.

25:4. Said to Moses: Take all the princes of the people, and hang them up on gibbets against the sun: that my fury may be turned away from Israel.

25:5. And Moses said to the judges of Israel: Let every man kill his neighbours, that have been initiated to Beelphegor.

25:6. And behold one of the children of Israel went in before his brethren to a harlot of Madian, in the sight of Moses and of all the children of Israel, who were weeping before the door of the tabernacle.

25:7. And when Phinees the son of Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest saw it, he rose up from the midst of the multitude, and taking a dagger,

25:8. Went in after the Israelite into the brothel house, and thrust both of them through together, to wit, the man and the woman in the genital parts. And the scourge ceased from the children of Israel.

25:9. And there were slain four and twenty thousand men.

25:10. And the Lord said to Moses:

25:11. Phinees the son of Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, hath turned away my wrath from the children of Israel: because he was moved with my zeal against them, that I myself might not destroy the children of Israel in my zeal.

25:12. Therefore say to him: behold I give him the peace of my covenant,

25:13. And the covenant of the priesthood for ever shall be both to him and his seed, because he hath been zealous for his God, and hath made atonement for the wickedness of the children of Israel.

25:14. And the name of the Israelite, that was slain with the woman of Madian, was Zambri the son of Salu, a prince of the kindred and tribe of Simeon.

25:15. And the Madianite woman, that was slain with him, was called Cozbi the daughter of Sur, a most noble prince among the Madianites.

25:16. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

25:17. Let the Madianites find you their enemies, and slay you them:

25:18. Because they also have acted like enemies against you, and have guilefully deceived you by the idol Phogor, and Cozbi their sister, a daughter of a prince of Madian, who was slain in the day of the plague for the sacrilege of Phogor.

Numbers Chapter 26

The people are again numbered by their tribes and families.

26:1. After the blood of the guilty was shed, the Lord said to Moses and to Eleazar the son of Aaron, the priest:

26:2. Number the whole sum of the children of Israel from twenty years old and upward, by their houses and kindreds, all that are able to go forth to war.

26:3. Moses therefore and Eleazar the priest, being in the plains of Moab upon the Jordan over against Jericho, spoke to them that were

26:4. From twenty years old and upward, as the Lord had commanded: and this is the number of them:

26:5. Ruben the firstborn of Israel. His sons were Henoch, of whom is the family of the Henochites: and Phallu, of whom is the family of the Phalluites:

26:6. And Hesron, of whom is the family of the Hesronites: and Charmi, of whom is the family of the Charmites.

26:7. These are the families of the stock of Ruben: whose number was found to be forty-three thousand seven hundred and thirty.

26:8. The son of Phallu was Eliab.

26:9. His sons, were Namuel and Dathan and Abiron. These are Dathan and Abiron the princes of the people, that rose against Moses and Aaron in the sedition of Core, when they rebelled against the Lord:

26:10. And the earth opening her mouth swallowed up Core, many others dying, when the fire burned two hundred and fifty men. And there was a great miracle wrought,

26:11. That when Core perished, his sons did not perish.

26:12. The sons of Simeon by their kindreds: Namuel, of him is the family of the Namuelites: Jamin, of him is the family of the Jaminites: Jachim, of him is the family of the Jachimites:

26:13. Zare, of him is the family of the Zarites: Saul, of him is the family of the Saulites.

26:14. These are the families of the stock of Simeon, of which the whole number was twenty-two thousand two hundred.

26:15. The sons of Gad by their kindreds: Sephon, of him is the family of the Sephonites: Aggi, of him is the family of the Aggites: Suni, of him is the family of the Sunites:

26:16. Ozni, of him is the family of the Oznites: Her, of him is the family of the Herites:

26:17. Arod, of him is the family of the Arodites: Ariel, of him is the family of the Arielites.

26:18. These are the families of Gad, of which the whole number was forty thousand five hundred.

26:19. The sons of Juda, Her and Onan, who both died in the land of Chanaan.

26:20. And the sons of Juda by their kindreds were: Sela, of whom is the family of the Selaites: Phares, of whom is the family of the Pharesites: Zare, of whom is the family of the Zarites.

26:21. Moreover the sons of Phares were: Hesron, of whom is the family of the Hesronites: and Hamul, of whom is the family of the Hamulites.

26:22. These are the families of Juda, of which the whole number was seventy-six thousand five hundred.

26:23. The sons of Issachar, by their kindreds: Thola of whom is the family of the Tholaites: Phua, of whom is the family of the Phuaites:

26:24. Jasub, of whom is the family of the Jasubites: Semran, of whom is the family of the Semranites.

26:25. These are the kindreds of Issachar, whose number was sixty-four thousand three hundred.

26:26. The sons of Zabulon by their kindreds: Sared, of whom is the family of the Saredites: Elon, of whom is the family of the Elonites: Jalel, of whom is the family of the Jalelites.

26:27. These are the kindreds of Zabulon, whose number was sixty thousand five hundred.

26:28. The sons of Joseph by their kindred, Manasses and Ephraim.

26:29. Of Manasses was born Machir, of whom is the family of the Machirites. Machir begot Galaad, of whom is the family of the Galaadites.

26:30. Galaad had sons: Jezer, of whom is the family of the Jezerites: and Helec, of whom is the family of the Helecites:

26:31. And Asriel, of whom is the family of the Asrielites: and Sechem, of whom is the family of the Sechemites:

26:32. And Semida, of whom is the family of the Semidaites: and Hepher, of whom is the family of the Hepherites.

26:33. And Hepher was the father of Salphaad, who had no sons, but only daughters, whose names are these: Maala, and Noa, and Hegla, and Melcha, and Thersa.

26:34. These are the families of Manasses, and the number of them fifty-two thousand seven hundred.

26:35. And the sons of Ephraim by their kindreds were these: Suthala, of whom is the family of the Suthalaites: Becher, of whom is the family of the Becherites: Thehen, of whom is the family of the Thehenites.

26:36. Now the son of Suthala was Heran, of whom is the family of the Heranites.

26:37. These are the kindreds of the sons of Ephraim: whose number was thirty-two thousand five hundred.

26:38. These are the sons of Joseph by their families. The sons of Benjamin in their kindreds: Bela, of whom is the family of the Belaites: Asbel, of whom is the family of the Asbelites: Ahiram, of whom is the family of the Ahiramites:

26:39. Supham, of whom is the family of the Suphamites: Hupham, of whom is the family of the Huphamites.

26:40. The sons of Bela: Hered, and Noeman. Of Hered, is the family of the Heredites: of Noeman, the family of the Noemanites.

26:41. These are the sons of Benjamin by their kindreds, whose number was forty-five thousand six hundred.

26:42. The sons of Dan by their kindreds: Suham, of whom is the family of the Suhamites: These are the kindreds of Dan by their families.

26:43. All were Suhamites, whose number was sixty-four thousand four hundred.

26:44. The sons of Aser by their kindreds: Jemna, of whom is the family of the Jemnaites: Jessui, of whom is the family of the Jessuites: Brie, of whom is the family of the Brieites.

26:45. The sons of Brie: Heber, of whom is the family of the Heberites: and Melchiel, of whom is the family of the Melchielites.

26:46. And the name of the daughter of Aser, was Sara.

26:47. These are the kindreds of the sons of Aser, and their number fifty-three thousand four hundred.

26:48. The sons of Nephtali by their kindreds: Jesiel, of whom is the family of the Jesielites: Guni, of whom is the family of the Gunites:

26:49. Jeser, of whom is the family of the Jeserites: Sellem, of whom is the family of the Sellemites.

26:50. These are the kindreds of the sons of Nephtali by their families: whose number was forty-five thousand four hundred.

26:51. This is the sum of the children of Israel, that were reckoned up, six hundred and one thousand seven hundred and thirty.

26:52. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

26:53. To these shall the land be divided for their possessions according to the number of names.

26:54. To the greater number thou shalt give a greater portion, and to the fewer a less: to every one, as they have now been reckoned up, shall a possession be delivered:

26:55. Yet so that by lot the land be divided to the tribe and families.

26:56. Whatsoever shall fall by lot, that shall be taken by the more, or the fewer.

26:57. This also is the number of the sons of Levi by their families: Gerson, of whom is the family of the Gersonites: Caath, of whom is the family of the Caathites: Merari, of whom is the family of the Merarites.

26:58. These are the families of Levi: The family of Lobni, the family of Hebroni, the family of Moholi, the family of Musi, the family of Core. Now Caath begot Amram:

26:59. Who had to wife Jochabed the daughter of Levi, who was born to him in Egypt. She bore to her husband Amram sons, Aaron and Moses, and Mary their sister.

26:60. Of Aaron were born Nadab and Abiu, and Eleazar and Ithamar:

26:61. Of whom Nadab and Abiu died, when they had offered the strange fire before the Lord.

26:62. And all that were numbered, were twenty-three thousand males from one month old and upward: for they were not reckoned up among the children of Israel, neither was a possession given to them with the rest.

26:63. This is the number of the children of Israel, that were enrolled by Moses and Eleazar the priest, in the plains of Moab upon the Jordan, over against Jericho.

26:64. Among whom there was not one of them that were numbered before by Moses and Aaron in the desert of Sinai.

26:65. For the Lord had foretold that they should die in the wilderness. And none remained of them, but Caleb the son of Jephone, and Josue the son of Nun.

Numbers Chapter 27

The law of inheritance. Josue is appointed to succeed Moses.

27:1. Then came the daughters of Salphaad, the son of Hepher, the son of Galaad, the son of Machir, the son of Manasses, who was the son of Joseph: and their names are Maala, and Noa, and Hegla, and Melcha, and Thersa.

27:2. And they stood before Moses and Eleazar the priest, and all the princes of the people at the door of the tabernacle of the covenant, and said:

27:3. Our father died in the desert, and was not in the sedition, that was raised against the Lord under Core, but he died in his own sin: and he had no male children. Why is his name taken away out of his family, because he had no son? Give us a possession among the kinsmen of our father.

27:4. And Moses referred their cause to the judgment of the Lord.

27:5. And the Lord said to him:

27:6. The daughters of Salphaad demand a just thing: Give them a possession among their father’s kindred, and let them succeed him in his inheritance.

27:7. And to the children of Israel thou shalt speak these things:

27:8. When a man dieth without a son, his inheritance shall pass to his daughter.

27:9. If he have no daughter, his brethren shall succeed him.

27:10. And if he have no brethren, you shall give the inheritance to his father’s brethren.

27:11. But if he have no uncles by the father, the inheritance shall be given to them that are the next akin. And this shall be to the children of Israel sacred by a perpetual law, as the Lord hath commanded Moses.

27:12. The Lord also said to Moses: Go up into this mountain Abarim, and view from thence the land which I will give to the children of Israel.

27:13. And when thou shalt have seen it, thou also shalt go to thy people, as thy brother Aaron is gone:

27:14. Because you offended me in the desert of Sin in the contradiction of the multitude, neither would you sanctify me before them at the waters. These are the waters of contradiction in Cades of the desert of Sin.

27:15. And Moses answered him:

27:16. May the Lord the God of the spirits of all flesh provide a man, that may be over this multitude:

27:17. And may go out and in before them, and may lead them out, or bring them in: lest the people of the Lord be as sheep without a shepherd.

27:18. And the Lord said to him: take Josue the son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and put thy hand upon him.

27:19. And he shall stand before Eleazar the priest and all the multitude:

27:20. And thou shalt give him precepts in the sight of all, and part of thy glory, that all the congregation of the children of Israel may hear him.

27:21. If any thing be to be done, Eleazar the priest shall consult the Lord for him. He and all the children of Israel with him, and the rest of the multitude shall go out and go in at his word.

27:22. Moses did as the Lord had commanded. And, when he had taken Josue, he set him before Eleazar the priest, and all the assembly of the people,

27:23. And laying his hands on his head, he repeated all things that the Lord had commanded.

Numbers Chapter 28

Sacrifices are appointed as well for every day as for sabbaths, and other festivals.

28:1. The Lord also said to Moses:

28:2. Command the children of Israel, and thou shalt say to them: Offer ye my oblation and my bread, and burnt sacrifice of most sweet odour, in their due seasons.

28:3. These are the sacrifices which you shall offer: Two lambs of a year old without blemish every day for the perpetual holocaust:

28:4. One you shall offer in the mornings, and the other in the evening:

28:5. And the tenth part of an ephi of flour, which shall be tempered with the, purest oil, of the measure of the fourth part of a hin.

28:6. It is the continual holocaust which you offered in mount Sinai for a most sweet odour of a sacrifice by fire to the Lord.

28:7. And for a libation you shall offer of wine the fourth part of a hin for every lamb in the sanctuary of the Lord.

28:8. And you shall offer the other lamb in like manner in the evening according to all the rites of the morning sacrifice, and of the libations thereof, an oblation of most sweet odour to the Lord.

28:9. And on the sabbath day you shall offer two lambs of a year old without blemish, and two tenths of flour tempered with oil in sacrifice, and the libations,

28:10. Which regularly are poured out every sabbath for the perpetual holocaust.

28:11. And on the first day of the month you shall offer a holocaust to the Lord, two calves of the herd, one ram, and seven lambs of a year old, without blemish,

28:12. And three tenths of flour tempered with oil in sacrifice for every calf: and two tenths of flour tempered with oil for every ram:

28:13. And the tenth of a tenth of flour tempered with oil in sacrifice for every lamb. It is a holocaust of most sweet odour and an offering by fire to the Lord.

28:14. And these shall be the libations of wine that are to be poured out for every victim: Half a hin for every calf, a third for a ram, and a fourth for a lamb. This shall be the holocaust for every month, as they succeed one another in the course of the year.

28:15. A buck goat also shall be offered to the Lord for a sin offering over and above the perpetual holocaust with its libations.

28:16. And in the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, shall be the phase of the Lord,

28:17. And on the fifteenth day the solemn feast: seven days shall they eat unleavened bread.

28:18. And the first day of them shall be venerable and holy: you shall not do any servile work therein.

28:19. And you shall offer a burnt sacrifice a holocaust to the Lord, two calves of the herd, one ram, seven lambs of a year old, without blemish:

28:20. And for the sacrifice of every one three tenths of flour which shall be tempered with oil to every calf, and two tenths to every ram,

28:21. And the tenth of a tenth, to every lamb, that is to say, to all the seven lambs:

28:22. And one buck goat for sin, to make atonement for you,

28:23. Besides the morning holocaust which you shall always offer.

28:24. So shall you do every day of the seven days for the food of the fire, and for a most sweet odour to the Lord, which shall rise from the holocaust, and from the libations of each.

28:25. The seventh day also shall be most solemn and holy unto you, you shall do no servile work therein.

28:26. The day also of firstfruits, when after the weeks are accomplished, you shall offer new fruits to the Lord, shall be venerable and holy: you shall do no servile work therein.

28:27. And you shall offer a holocaust for a most sweet odour to the Lord, two calves of the herd, one ram, and seven lambs of a year old, without blemish:

28:28. And in the sacrifices of them three tenths of flour tempered with oil to every calf, two to every ram,

28:29. The tenth of a tenth to every lamb, which in all are seven lambs: a buck goat also,

28:30. Which is slain for expiation: besides the perpetual holocaust and the libations thereof.

28:31. You shall offer them all without blemish with their libations.

Numbers Chapter 29

Sacrifices for the festivals of the seventh month.

29:1. The first day also of the seventh month shall be venerable and holy unto you; you shall do no servile work therein, because it is the day of the sounding and of trumpets.

29:2. And you shall offer a holocaust for a most sweet odour to the Lord, one calf of the herd, one ram and seven lambs of a year old, without blemish.

29:3. And for their sacrifices, three tenths of flour tempered with oil to every calf, two tenths to a ram,

29:4. One tenth to a lamb, which in all are seven lambs:

29:5. And a buck goat for sin, which is offered for the expiation of the people,

29:6. Besides the holocaust of the first day of the month with the sacrifices thereof, and the perpetual holocaust with the accustomed libations. With the same ceremonies you shall offer a burnt sacrifice for a most sweet odour to the Lord.

29:7. The tenth day also of this seventh month shall be holy and venerable unto you, and you shall afflict your souls; you shall do no servile work therein.

29:8. And you shall offer a holocaust to the Lord for a most sweet odour, one calf of the herd, one ram, and seven lambs of a year old, without blemish:

29:9. And for their sacrifices, three tenths of flour tempered with oil to every calf, two tenths to a ram,

29:10. The tenth of a tenth to every lamb, which are in all seven lambs:

29:11. And a buck goat for sin, besides the things that are wont to be offered for sin, for expiation, and for the perpetual holocaust with their sacrifice and libations.

29:12. And on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, which shall be unto you holy and venerable, you shall do no servile work, but shall celebrate a solemnity to the Lord seven days.

29:13. And you shall offer a holocaust for a most sweet odour to the Lord, thirteen calves of the herd, two rams, and fourteen lambs of a year old, without blemish:

29:14. And for their libations three tenths of flour tempered with oil to every calf, being in all thirteen calves: and two tenths to each ram, being two rams,

29:15. And the tenth of a tenth to every lamb, being in all fourteen lambs:

29:16. And a buck goat for sin, besides the perpetual holocaust, and the sacrifice and the libation thereof.

29:17. On the second day you shall offer twelve calves of the herd, two rams and fourteen lambs of a year old, without blemish:

29:18. And the sacrifices and the libations for every one, for the calves and for the rams and for the lambs you shall duly celebrate:

29:19. And a buck goat for a sin offering besides the perpetual holocaust, and the sacrifice and the libation thereof.

29:20. The third day you shall offer eleven calves, two rams, and fourteen lambs of a year old, without blemish:

29:21. And the sacrifices and the libations of every one for the calves and for the rams and for the lambs you shall offer according to the rite:

29:22. And a buck goat for sin, besides the perpetual holocaust, and the sacrifice, and the libation thereof.

29:23. The fourth day you shall offer ten calves, two rams, and fourteen lambs of a year old, without blemish:

29:24. And the sacrifices and the libations of every one for the calves and for the rams and for the lambs you shall celebrate in right manner:

29:25. And a buck goat for sin, besides the perpetual holocaust, and the sacrifice and the libation thereof.

29:26. The fifth day you shall offer nine calves, two rams, and fourteen lambs of a year old, without blemish:

29:27. And the sacrifices and the libations of every one for the calves and for the rams and for the lambs you shall celebrate according to the rite:

29:28. And a buck goat for sin, besides the perpetual holocaust, and the sacrifice and the libation thereof.

29:29. The sixth day you shall offer eight calves, two rams, and fourteen lambs of a year old, without blemish:

29:30. And the sacrifices and the libations of every one for the calves and for the rams and for the lambs you shall celebrate according to the rite:

29:31. And a buck goat for sin, besides the perpetual holocaust, and the sacrifice and the libation thereof.

29:32. The seventh day you shall offer seven calves and two rams, and fourteen lambs of a year old, without blemish:

29:33. And the sacrifices and the libations of every one for the calves and for the rams and for the lambs you shall celebrate according to the rite:

29:34. And a buck goat for sin, besides the perpetual holocaust, and the sacrifice and the libation thereof.

29:35. On the eighth day, which is most solemn, you shall do no servile work:

29:36. But you shall offer a holocaust for a most sweet odour to the Lord, one calf, one ram, and seven lambs of a year old, without blemish:

29:37. And the sacrifices and the libations of every one for the calves and for the rams and for the lambs you shall celebrate according to the rite:

29:38. And a buck goat for sin, besides the perpetual holocaust, and the sacrifice and the libation thereof.

29:39. These things shall you offer to the Lord in your solemnities: besides your vows and voluntary oblations for holocaust, for sacrifice, for libation, and for victims of peace offerings.

Numbers Chapter 30

Of vows and oaths: and their obligation.

30:1. And Moses told the children of Israel all that the Lord had commanded him:

30:2. And he said to the princes of the tribes of the children of Israel: This is the word that the Lord hath commanded:

30:3. If any man make a vow to the Lord, or bind himself by an oath: he shall not make his word void but shall fulfil all that he promised.

30:4. If a woman vow any thing, and bind herself by an oath, being in her father’s house, and but yet a girl in age: if her father knew the vow that she hath promised, and the oath wherewith she hath bound her soul, and held his peace, she shall be bound by the vow:

30:5. Whatsoever she promised and swore, she shall fulfil in deed.

30:6. But if her father, immediately as soon as he heard it, gainsaid it, both her vows and her oaths shall be void, neither shall she be bound to what she promised, because her father hath gainsaid it.

30:7. If she have a husband, and shall vow any thing, and the word once going out of her mouth shall bind her soul by an oath,

30:8. The day that her husband shall hear it, and not gainsay it, she shall be bound to the vow, and shall give whatsoever she promised.

30:9. But if as soon as he heareth he gainsay it, and make her promises and the words wherewith she had bound her soul of no effect: the Lord will forgive her.

30:10. The widow, and she that is divorced, shall fulfil whatsoever they vow.

30:11. If the wife in the house of her husband, hath bound herself by vow and by oath,

30:12. If her husband hear, and hold his peace, and doth not disallow the promise, she shall accomplish whatsoever she had promised.

30:13. But if forthwith he gainsay it, she shall not be bound by the promise: because her husband gainsaid it, and the Lord will be merciful to her.

30:14. If she vow and bind herself by oath, to afflict her soul by fasting, or abstinence from other things, it shall depend on the will of her husband, whether she shall do it, or not do it.

30:15. But if the husband hearing it hold his peace, and defer the declaring his mind till another day: whatsoever she had vowed and promised, she shall fulfil: because immediately as he heard it, he held his peace.

30:16. But if he gainsay it after that he knew it, he shall bear her iniquity.

30:17. These are the laws which the Lord appointed to Moses between the husband and the wife, between the father and the daughter that is as yet but a girl in age, or that abideth in her father’s house.

Numbers Chapter 31

The Madianites are slain for having drawn the people of Israel into sin. The dividing of the booty.

31:1. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

31:2. Revenge first the children of Israel on the Madianites, and so thou shalt be gathered to thy people.

31:3. And Moses forthwith said: Arm of you men to fight, who may take the revenge of the Lord on the Madianites.

31:4. Let a thousand men be chosen out of every tribe of Israel to be sent to the war.

31:5. And they gave a thousand of every tribe, that is to say, twelve thousand men well appointed for battle.

31:6. And Moses sent them with Phinees the son of Eleazar the priest, and he delivered to him the holy vessels, and the trumpets to sound.

31:7. And when they had fought against the Madianites and had overcome them, they slew all the men.

31:8. And their kings Evi, and Recem, and Sur, and Hur, and Rebe, five princes of the nation: Balaam also the son of Beor they killed with the sword.

31:9. And they took their women, and their children captives, and all their cattle, and all their goods: and all their possessions they plundered:

31:10. And all their cities, and their villages, and castles, they burned.

31:11. And they carried away the booty, and all that they had taken both of men and of beasts.

31:12. And they brought them to Moses, and Eleazar the priest, and to all the multitude of the children of Israel. But the rest of the things for use they carried to the camp on the plains of Moab, beside the Jordan over against Jericho.

31:13. And Moses and Eleazar the priest and all the princes of the synagogue went forth to meet them without the camp.

31:14. And Moses being angry with the chief officers of the army, the tribunes, and the centurions that were come from the battle,

31:15. Said: Why have you saved the women?

31:16. Are not these they, that deceived the children of Israel by the counsel of Balaam, and made you transgress against the Lord by the sin of Phogor, for which also the people was punished?

The sin of Phogor. . .The sin committed in the worship of Beelphegor.

31:17. Therefore kill all that are of the male sex, even of the children: and put to death the women, that have carnally known men.

Of children. . .Women and children, ordinarily speaking, were not to be killed in war, Deut. 20.14. But the great Lord of life and death was pleased to order it otherwise in the present case, in detestation of the wickedness of this people, who by the counsel of Balaam, had sent their women among the Israelites on purpose to draw them from God.

31:18. But the girls, and all the women that are virgins save for yourselves:

31:19. And stay without the camp seven days. He that hath killed a man, or touched one that is killed, shall be purified the third day and the seventh day.

31:20. And of all the spoil, every garment, or vessel, or any thing made for use, of the skins, or hair of goats, or of wood, shall be purified.

31:21. Eleazar also the priest spoke to the men of the army, that had fought, in this manner: This is the ordinance of the law, which the Lord hath commanded Moses:

31:22. Gold, and silver, and brass, and iron, and lead, and tin,

31:23. And all that may pass through the fire, shall be purified by fire, but whatsoever cannot abide the fire, shall be sanctified with the water of expiation:

31:24. And you shall wash your garments the seventh day, and being purified, you shall afterwards enter into the camp.

31:25. And the Lord said to Moses:

31:26. Take the sum of the things that were taken both of man and beast, thou and Eleazar the priest and the princes of the multitude:

31:27. And thou shalt divide the spoil equally, between them that fought and went out to the war, and between the rest of the multitude.

31:28. And thou shalt separate a portion to the Lord from them that fought and were in the battle, one soul of five hundred as well of persons as of oxen and asses and sheep.

31:29. And thou shalt give it to Eleazar the priest, because they are the firstfruits of the Lord.

31:30. Out of the moiety also of the children of Israel thou shalt take the fiftieth head of persons, and of oxen, and asses, and sheep, and of all beasts, and thou shalt give them to the Levites that watch in the charge of the tabernacle of the Lord.

31:31. And Moses and Eleazar did as the Lord had commanded.

31:32. And the spoil which the army had taken, was six hundred seventy-five thousand sheep,

31:33. Seventy-two thousand oxen,

31:34. Sixty-one thousand asses:

31:35. And thirty-two thousand persons of the female sex, that had not known men.

31:36. And one half was given to them that had been in the battle, to wit, three hundred thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep:

31:37. Out of which, for the portion of the Lord, were reckoned six hundred seventy five sheep.

31:38. And out of the thirty-six thousand oxen, seventy-two oxen:

31:39. Out of the thirty thousand five hundred asses, sixty-one asses:

31:40. Out of the sixteen thousand persons, there fell to the portion of the Lord, thirty-two souls.

31:41. And Moses delivered the number of the firstfruits of the Lord to Eleazar the priest, as had been commanded him,

31:42. Out of the half of the children of Israel, which he had separated for them that had been in the battle.

31:43. But out of the half that fell to the rest of the multitude, that is to say, out of the three hundred thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep,

31:44. And out of the thirty-six thousand oxen,

31:45. And out of the thirty thousand five hundred asses,

31:46. And out of the sixteen thousand persons,

31:47. Moses took the fiftieth head, and gave it to the Levites that watched in the tabernacle of the Lord, as the Lord had commanded.

31:48. And when the commanders of the army, and the tribunes and centurions were come to Moses, they said:

31:49. We thy servants have reckoned up the number of the fighting men, whom we had under our hand, and not so much as one was wanting.

31:50. Therefore we offer as gifts to the Lord what gold every one of us could find in the booty, in garters and tablets, rings and bracelets, and chains, that thou mayst pray to the Lord for us.

31:51. And Moses and Eleazar the priest received all the gold in divers kinds,

31:52. In weight sixteen thousand seven hundred and fifty sicles, from the tribunes and from the centurions.

31:53. For that which every one had taken in the booty was his own.

31:54. And that which was received they brought into the tabernacle of the testimony, for a memorial of the children of Israel before the Lord.

Numbers Chapter 32

The tribes of Ruben and Gad, and half of the tribe of Manasses, receive their inheritance on the east side of Jordan, upon conditions approved of by Moses.

32:1. And the sons of Ruben and Gad had many flocks of cattle, and their substance in beasts was infinite. And when they saw the lands of Jazer and Galaad fit for feeding cattle,

32:2. They came to Moses and Eleazar the priest, and the princes of the multitude, and said:

32:3. Ataroth, and Dibon, and Jazer, and Nemra, Hesebon, and Eleale, and Saban, and Nebo, and Beon,

32:4. The land, which the Lord hath conquered in the sight of the children of Israel, is a very fertile soil for the feeding of beasts: and we thy servants have very much cattle:

32:5. And we pray thee, if we have found favour in thy sight, that thou give it to us thy servants in possession, and make us not pass over the Jordan.

32:6. And Moses answered them: What, shall your brethren go to fight, and will you sit here?

32:7. Why do ye overturn the minds of the children of Israel, that they may not dare to pass into the place which the Lord hath given them?

32:8. Was it not thus your fathers did, when I sent from Cadesbarne to view the land?

32:9. And when they were come as far as the valley of the cluster, having viewed all the country, they overturned the hearts of the children of Israel, that they should not enter into the coasts, which the Lord gave them.

32:10. And he swore in his anger, saying:

32:11. If these men, that came up out of Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land, which I promised with an oath to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: because they would not follow me,

32:12. Except Caleb the son of Jephone the Cenezite, and Josue the son of Nun: these have fulfilled my will.

32:13. And the Lord being angry against Israel, led them about through the desert forty years, until the whole generation, that had done evil in his sight, was consumed.

32:14. And behold, said he, you are risen up instead of your fathers, the increase and offspring of sinful men, to augment the fury of the Lord against Israel.

32:15. For if you will not follow him, he will leave the people in the wilderness, and you shall be the cause of the destruction of all.

32:16. But they coming near, said: We will make sheepfolds, and stalls for our cattle, and strong cities for our children:

32:17. And we ourselves will go armed and ready for battle before the children of Israel, until we bring them in unto their places. Our little ones, and all we have, shall be in walled cities, for fear of the ambushes of the inhabitants.

32:18. We will not return into our houses until the children of Israel possess their inheritance:

32:19. Neither will we seek any thing beyond the Jordan, because we have already our possession on the east side thereof,

32:20. And Moses said to them: If you do what you promise, go on well appointed for war before the Lord:

32:21. And let every fighting man pass over the Jordan, until the Lord overthrow his enemies:

32:22. And all the land be brought under him, then shall you be blameless before the Lord and before Israel, and you shall obtain the countries that you desire, before the Lord.

32:23. But if you do not what you say, no man can doubt but you sin against God: and know ye, that your sin shall overtake you.

32:24. Build therefore cities for your children, and folds and stalls for your sheep and beasts, and accomplish what you have promised.

32:25. And the children of Gad and Ruben said to Moses: We are thy servants, we will do what my lord commandeth.

32:26. We will leave our children, and our wives and sheep and cattle, in the cities of Galaad:

32:27. And we thy servants all well appointed will march on to the war, as thou, my lord, speakest.

32:28. Moses therefore commanded Eleazar the priest, and Josue the son of Nun, and the princes of the families of all the tribes of Israel, and said to them:

32:29. If the children of Gad, and the children of Ruben pass with you over the Jordan, all armed for war before the Lord, and the land be made subject to you: give them Galaad in possession.

32:30. But if they will not pass armed with you into the land of Chanaan, let them receive places to dwell in among you.

32:31. And the children of Gad, and the children of Ruben answered: As the Lord hath spoken to his servants, so will we do:

32:32. We will go armed before the Lord into the land of Chanaan, and we confess that we have already received our possession beyond the Jordan.

32:33. Moses therefore gave to the children of Gad and of Ruben, and to the half tribe of Manasses the son of Joseph, the kingdom of Sehon king of the Amorrhites, and the kingdom of Og king of Basan, and their land and the cities thereof round about.

32:34. And the sons of Gad built Dibon, and Ataroth, and Aroer,

32:35. And Etroth, and Sophan, and Jazer, and Jegbaa,

32:36. And Bethnemra, and Betharan, fenced cities, and folds for their cattle.

32:37. But the children of Ruben built Hesebon, and Eleale, and Cariathaim,

32:38. And Nabo, and Baalmeon (their names being changed) and Sabama: giving names to the cities which they had built.

32:39. Moreover the children of Machir, the son of Manasses, went into Galaad, and wasted it, cutting off the Amorrhites, the inhabitants thereof.

32:40. And Moses gave the land of Galaad to Machir the son of Manasses, and he dwelt in it.

32:41. And Jair the son of Manasses went, and took the villages thereof, and he called them Havoth Jair, that is to say, the villages of Jair.

32:42. Nobe also went, and took Canath with the villages thereof: and he called it by his own name, Nobe.

Numbers Chapter 33

The mansions or journeys of the children of Israel towards the land of promise.

33:1. These are the mansions of the children of Israel, who went out of Egypt by their troops under the conduct of Moses and Aaron,

The mansions. . .These mansions, or journeys of the children of Israel from Egypt to the land of promise, were figures, according to the fathers, of the steps and degrees by which Christians leaving sin are to advance from virtue to virtue, till they come to the heavenly mansions, after this life, to see and enjoy God.

33:2. Which Moses wrote down according to the places of their encamping, which they changed by the commandment of the Lord.

33:3. Now the children of Israel departed from Ramesses the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month, the day after the phase, with a mighty hand, in the sight of all the Egyptians,

33:4. Who were burying their firstborn, whom the Lord had slain (upon their gods also he had executed vengeance,)

33:5. And they camped in Soccoth.

33:6. And from Soccoth they came into Etham, which is in the uttermost borders of the wilderness.

33:7. Departing from thence they came over against Phihahiroth, which looketh towards Beelsephon, and they camped before Magdalum.

33:8. And departing from Phihahiroth, they passed through the midst of the sea into the wilderness: and having marched three days through the desert of Etham, they camped in Mara.

33:9. And departing from Mara, they came into Elim, where there were twelve fountains of waters, and seventy palm trees: and there they camped.

33:10. But departing from thence also, they pitched their tents by the Red Sea. And departing from the Red Sea,

33:11. They camped in the desert of Sin.

33:12. And they removed from thence, and came to Daphca.

33:13. And departing from Daphca, they camped in Alus.

33:14. And departing from Alus, they pitched their tents in Raphidim, where the people wanted water to drink.

33:15. And departing from Raphidim, they camped in the desert of Sinai.

33:16. But departing also from the desert of Sinai, they came to the graves of lust.

33:17. And departing from the graves of lust, they camped in Haseroth.

33:18. And from Haseroth they came to Rethma.

33:19. And departing from Rethma, they camped in Remmomphares.

33:20. And they departed from thence and came to Lebna.

33:21. Removing from Lebna they camped in Ressa.

33:22. And departing from Ressa, they came to Ceelatha.

33:23. And they removed from thence and camped in the mountain Sepher.

33:24. Departing from the mountain Sepher, they came to Arada,

33:25. From thence they went and camped in Maceloth.

33:26. And departing from Maceloth, they came to Thahath.

33:27. Removing from Thahath they camped in Thare.

33:28. And they departed from thence, and pitched their tents in Methca.

33:29. And removing from Methca, they camped in Hesmona.

33:30. And departing from Hesmona, they came to Moseroth.

33:31. And removing from Moseroth, they camped in Benejaacan.

33:32. And departing from Benejaacan, they came to mount Gadgad.

33:33. From thence they went and camped in Jetebatha.

33:34. And from Jetebatha they came to Hebrona.

33:35. And departing from Hebrona, they camped in Asiongaber.

33:36. They removed from thence and came into the desert of Sin, which is Cades.

33:37. And departing from Cades, they camped in mount Hor, in the uttermost borders of the land of Edom.

33:38. And Aaron the priest went up into mount Hor at the commandment of the Lord: and there he died in the fortieth year of the coming forth of the children of Israel out of Egypt, the fifth month, the first day of the month,

33:39. When he was a hundred and twenty-three years old.

33:40. And king Arad the Chanaanite, who dwelt towards the south, heard that the children of Israel were come to the land of Chanaan.

33:41. And they departed from mount Hor, and camped in Salmona.

33:42. From whence they removed and came to Phunon.

33:43. And departing from Phunon, they camped in Oboth.

33:44. And from Oboth they came to Ijeabarim, which is in the borders of the Moabites.

33:45. And departing from Ijeabarim they pitched their tents in Dibongab.

33:46. From thence they went and camped in Helmondeblathaim.

33:47. And departing from Helmondeblathaim, they came to the mountains of Abarim over against Nabo.

33:48. And departing from the mountains of Abarim, they passed to the plains of Moab, by the Jordan, over against Jericho.

33:49. And there they camped from Bethsimoth even to Ablesatim in the plains of the Moabites,

33:50. Where the Lord said to Moses:

33:51. Command the children of Israel, and say to them: When you shall have passed over the Jordan, entering into the land of Chanaan,

33:52. Destroy all the inhabitants of that land: Beat down their pillars, and break in pieces their statues, and waste all their high places,

33:53. Cleansing the land, and dwelling in it. For I have given it you for a possession.

33:54. And you shall divide it among you by lot. To the more you shall give a larger part, and to the fewer a lesser. To every one as the lot shall fall, so shall the inheritance be given. The possession shall be divided by the tribes and the families.

33:55. But if you will not kill the inhabitants of the land: they that remain, shall be unto you as nails in your eyes, and spears in your sides, and they shall be your adversaries in the land of your habitation.

33:56. And whatsoever I had thought to do to them, I will do to you.

Numbers Chapter 34

The limits of Chanaan; with the names of the men that make the division of it.

34:1. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

34:2. Command the children of Israel, and thou shalt say to them: When you are entered into the land of Chanaan, and it shall be fallen into your possession by lot, it shall be bounded by these limits:

34:3. The south side shall begin from the wilderness of Sin, which is by Edom: and shall have the most salt sea for its furthest limits eastward:

The most salt sea. . .The lake of Sodom, otherwise called the Dead Sea.

34:4. Which limits shall go round on the south side by the ascent of the Scorpion and so into Senna, and reach toward the south as far as Cadesbarne, from whence the frontiers shall go out to the town called Adar, and shall reach as far as Asemona.

The Scorpion. . .A mountain so called from having a great number of scorpions.

34:5. And the limits shall fetch a compass from Asemona to the torrent of Egypt, and shall end in the shore of the great sea.

The great sea. . .The Mediterranean.

34:6. And the west side shall begin from the great sea, and the same shall be the end thereof.

34:7. But toward the north side the borders shall begin from the great sea, reaching to the most high mountain,

The most high mountain. . .Libanus.

34:8. From which they shall come to Emath, as far as the borders of Sedada:

34:9. And the limits shall go as far as Zephrona, and the village of Enan. These shall be the borders on the north side.

34:10. From thence they shall mark out the bounds towards the east side from the village of Enan unto Sephama.

34:11. And from Sephama the bounds shall go down to Rebla over against the fountain of Daphnis: from thence they shall come eastward to the sea of Cenereth,

Sea of Cenereth. . .This is the sea of Galilee, illustrated by the miracles of our Lord.

34:12. And shall reach as far as the Jordan, and at the last shall be closed in by the most salt sea. This shall be your land with its borders round about.

34:13. And Moses commanded the children of Israel, saying: This shall be the land which you shall possess by lot, and which the Lord hath commanded to be given to the nine tribes, and to the half tribe.

34:14. For the tribe of the children of Ruben by their families, and the tribe of the children of Gad according to the number of their kindreds, and half of the tribe of Manasses,

34:15. That is, two tribes and a half, have received their portion beyond the Jordan over against Jericho at the east side.

34:16. And the Lord said to Moses:

34:17. These are the names of the men, that shall divide the land unto you: Eleazar the priest, and Josue the son of Nun,

34:18. And one prince of every tribe,

34:19. Whose names are these: Of the tribe of Juda, Caleb the son of Jephone.

34:20. Of the tribe of Simeon, Samuel the son of Ammiud.

34:21. Of the tribe of Benjamin, Elidad the son of Chaselon.

34:22. Of the tribe of the children of Dan, Bocci the son of Jogli.

34:23. Of the children of Joseph of the tribe of Manasses, Hanniel the son of Ephod.

34:24. Of the tribe of Ephraim, Camuel the son of Sephtan.

34:25. Of the tribe of Zabulon, Elisaphan the son of Pharnach.

34:26. Of the tribe of Issachar, Phaltiel the prince, the son of Ozan.

34:27. Of the tribe of Aser, Ahiud the son of Salomi.

34:28. Of the tribe of Nephtali: Phedael the son of Ammiud.

34:29. These are they Whom the Lord hath commanded to divide the land of Chanaan to the children of Israel.

Numbers Chapter 35

Cities are appointed for the Levites. Of which six are to be the cities of refuge.

35:1. And the Lord spoke these things also to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan, over against Jericho:

35:2. Command the children of Israel that they give to the Levites out of their possessions,

35:3. Cities to dwell in, and their suburbs round about: that they may abide in the towns, and the suburbs may be for their cattle and beasts:

35:4. Which suburbs shall reach from the walls of the cities outward, a thousand paces on every side:

35:5. Toward the east shall be two thousand cubits: and toward the south in like manner shall be two thousand cubits: toward the sea also, which looketh to the west, shall be the same extent: and the north side shall be bounded with the like limits. And the cities shall be in the midst, and the suburbs without.

35:6. And among the cities, which you shall give to the Levites, six shall be separated for refuge to fugitives, that he who hath shed blood may flee to them: and besides these there shall be other forty-two cities,

35:7. That is, in all forty-eight with their suburbs.

35:8. And of these cities which shall be given out of the possessions of the children of Israel, from them that have more, more shall be taken: and from them that have less, fewer. Each shall give towns to the Levites according to the extent of their inheritance.

35:9. The Lord said to Moses:

35:10. Speak to the children of Israel, and thou shalt say to them: When you shall have passed over the Jordan into the land of Chanaan,

35:11. Determine what cities shall be for the refuge of fugitives, who have shed blood against their will.

35:12. And when the fugitive shall be in them, the kinsman of him that is slain may not have power to kill him, until he stand before the multitude, and his cause be judged.

35:13. And of those cities, that are separated for the refuge of fugitives,

35:14. Three shall be beyond the Jordan, and three in the land of Chanaan,

35:15. As well for the children of Israel as for strangers and sojourners, that he may flee to them, who hath shed blood against his will.

35:16. If any man strike with iron, and he die that was struck: he shall be guilty of murder, and he himself shall die.

35:17. If he throw a stone, and he that is struck die: he shall be punished in the same manner.

35:18. If he that is struck with wood die: he shall be revenged by the blood of him that struck him.

35:19. The kinsman of him that was slain, shall kill the murderer: as soon as he apprehendeth him, he shall kill him.

35:20. If through hatred any one push a man, or fling any thing at him with ill design:

35:21. Or being his enemy, strike him with his hand, and he die: the striker shall be guilty of murder: the kinsman of him that was slain as soon as he findeth him, shall kill him.

35:22. But if by chance medley, and without hatred,

35:23. And enmity, he do any of these things,

35:24. And this be proved in the hearing of the people, and the cause be debated between him that struck, and the next of kin:

35:25. The innocent shall be delivered from the hand of the revenger, and shall be brought back by sentence into the city, to which he had fled, and he shall abide there until the death of the high priest, that is anointed with the holy oil.

Until the death, etc. . .This mystically signified that our deliverance was to be effected by the death of Christ, the high priest and the anointed of God.

35:26. If the murderer be found without the limits of the cities that are appointed for the banished,

35:27. And be struck by him that is the avenger of blood: he shall not be guilty that killed him.

35:28. For the fugitive ought to have stayed in the city until the death of the high priest: and after he is dead, then shall the manslayer return to his own country.

35:29. These things shall be perpetual, and for an ordinance in all your dwellings.

35:30. The murderer shall be punished by witnesses: none shall be condemned upon the evidence of one man.

35:31. You shall not take money of him that is guilty of blood, but he shall die forthwith.

35:32. The banished and fugitives before the death of the high priest may by no means return into their own cities.

35:33. Defile not the land of your habitation, which is stained with the blood of the innocent: neither can it otherwise be expiated, but by his blood that hath shed the blood of another.

35:34. And thus shall your possession be cleansed, myself abiding with you. For I am the Lord that dwell among the children of Israel.

Numbers Chapter 36

That the inheritances may not be alienated from one tribe to another, all are to marry within their own tribes.

36:1. And the princes of the families of Galaad, the son of Machir, the son of Manasses, of the stock of the children of Joseph, came and spoke to Moses before the princes of Israel, and said:

36:2. The Lord hath commanded thee, my lord, that thou shouldst divide the land by lot to the children of Israel, and that thou shouldst give to the daughters of Salphaad our brother the possession due to their father:

36:3. Now if men of another tribe take them to wives, their possession will follow them, and being transferred to another tribe, will be a diminishing of our inheritance.

36:4. And so it shall come to pass, that when the jubilee, that is, the fiftieth year of remission, is come, the distribution made by the lots shall be confounded, and the possession of the one shall pass to the others.

36:5. Moses answered the children of Israel, and said by the command of the Lord: The tribe of the children of Joseph hath spoken rightly.

36:6. And this is the law promulgated by the Lord touching the daughters of Salphaad: Let them marry to whom they will, only so that it be to men of their own tribe.

36:7. Lest the possession of the children of Israel be mingled from tribe to tribe. For all men shall marry wives of their own tribe and kindred:

36:8. And all women shall take husbands of the same tribe: that the inheritance may remain in the families.

36:9. And that the tribes be not mingled one with another, but remain so

36:10. As they were separated by the Lord. And the daughters of Salphaad did as was commanded:

36:11. And Maala, and Thersa, and Hegla, and Melcha, and Noa were married to the sons of their uncle by their father

36:12. Of the family of Manasses, who was the son of Joseph: and the possession that had been allotted to them, remained in the tribe and family of their father.

36:13. These are the commandments and judgment, which the Lord commanded by the hand of Moses to the children of Israel, in the plains of Moab upon the Jordan over against Jericho.

THE BOOK OF DEUTERONOMY

This Book is called DEUTERONOMY, which signifies a SECOND LAW, because it repeats and inculcates the ordinances formerly given on mount Sinai, with other precepts not expressed before. The Hebrews, from the first words in the book, call it ELLE HADDEBARIM.

Deuteronomy Chapter 1

A repetition of what passed at Sinai and Cadesbarne: and of the people’s murmuring and their punishment.

1:1. These are the words, which Moses spoke to all Israel beyond the Jordan, in the plain wilderness, over against the Red Sea, between Pharan and Thophel and Laban and Haseroth, where there is very much gold.

1:2. Eleven days’ journey from Horeb by the way of mount Seir to Cadesbarne.

1:3. In the fortieth year, the eleventh month, the first day of the month, Moses spoke to the children of Israel all that the Lord had commanded him to say to them:

1:4. After that he had slain Sehon king of the Amorrhites, who dwelt in Hesebon: and Og king of Basan who abode in Astaroth, and in Edrai,

1:5. Beyond the Jordan in the land of Moab. And Moses began to expound the law, and to say:

1:6. The Lord our God spoke to us in Horeb, saying: You have stayed long enough in this mountain:

1:7. Turn you, and come to the mountain of the Amorrhites, and to the other places that are next to it, the plains and the hills and the vales towards the south, and by the sea shore, the land of the Chanaanites, and of Libanus, as far as the great river Euphrates.

1:8. Behold, said he, I have delivered it to you: go in and possess it, concerning which the Lord swore to your fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that he would give it to them, and to their seed after them.

1:9. And I said to you at that time:

1:10. I alone am not able to bear you: for the Lord your God hath multiplied you, and you are this day as the stars of heaven, for multitude.

1:11. (The Lord God of your fathers add to this number many thousands, and bless you as he hath spoken.)

1:12. I alone am not able to bear your business, and the charge of you and your differences.

1:13. Let me have from among you wise and understanding men, and such whose conversation is approved among your tribes, that I may appoint them your rulers.

1:14. Then you answered me: The thing is good which thou meanest to do.

1:15. And I took out of your tribes men wise and honourable, and appointed them rulers, tribunes, and centurions, and officers over fifties, and over tens, who might teach you all things.

1:16. And I commanded them, saying: Hear them, and judge that which is just: whether he be one of your country, or a stranger.

1:17. There shall be no difference of persons, you shall hear the little as well as the great: neither shall you respect any man’s person, because it is the judgment of God. And if any thing seem hard to you, refer it to me, and I will hear it.

1:18. And I commanded you all things that you were to do.

1:19. And departing from Horeb, we passed through the terrible and vast wilderness, which you saw, by the way of the mountain of the Amorrhite, as the Lord our God had commanded us. And when we were come into Cadesbarne,

1:20. I said to you: You are come to the mountain of the Amorrhite, which the Lord our God will give to us.

1:21. See the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee: go up and possess it, as the Lord our God hath spoken to thy fathers: fear not, nor be any way discouraged.

1:22. And you came all to me, and said: Let us send men who may view the land, and bring us word what way we shall go up, and to what cities we shall go.

1:23. And because the saying pleased me, I sent of you twelve men, one of every tribe:

1:24. Who, when they had set forward and had gone up to the mountains, came as far as the valley of the cluster: and having viewed the land,

1:25. Taking of the fruits thereof, to shew its fertility, they brought them to us, and said: The land is good, which the Lord our God will give us.

1:26. And you would not go up, but being incredulous to the word of the Lord our God,

1:27. You murmured in your tents, and said: The Lord hateth us, and therefore he hath brought us out of the land of Egypt, that he might deliver us into the hand of the Amorrhite, and destroy us.

1:28. Whither shall we go up? the messengers have terrified our hearts, saying: The multitude is very great, and taller than we: the cities are great, and walled up to the sky, we have seen the sons of the Enacims there.

Walled up to the sky. . .A figurative expression, signifying the walls to be very high.

1:29. And I said to you: Fear not, neither be ye afraid of them:

1:30. The Lord God, who is your leader, himself will fight for you, as he did in Egypt in the sight of all.

1:31. And in the wilderness (as thou hast seen) the Lord thy God hath carried thee, as a man is wont to carry his little son, all the way that you have come, until you came to this place.

1:32. And yet for all this you did not believe the Lord your God,

1:33. Who went before you in the way, and marked out the place, wherein you should pitch your tents, in the night shewing you the way by fire, and in the day by the pillar of a cloud.

1:34. And when the Lord had heard the voice of your words, he was angry and swore, and said:

1:35. Not one of the men of this wicked generation shall see the good land, which I promised with an oath to your fathers:

1:36. Except Caleb the son of Jephone: for he shall see it, and to him I will give the land that he hath trodden upon, and to his children, because he hath followed the Lord.

1:37. Neither is his indignation against the people to be wondered at, since the Lord was angry with me also on your account, and said: Neither shalt thou go in thither.

1:38. But Josue the son of Nun, thy minister, he shall go in for thee: exhort and encourage him, and he shall divide the land by lot to Israel.

1:39. Your children, of whom you said that they should be led away captives, and your sons who know not this day the difference of good and evil, they shall go in: and to them I will give the land, and they shall possess it.

1:40. But return you and go into the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea.

1:41. And you answered me: We have sinned against the Lord: we will go up and fight, as the Lord our God hath commanded. And when you went ready armed unto the mountain,

1:42. The Lord said to me: Say to them: Go not up, and fight not, for I am not with you: lest you fall before your enemies.

1:43. I spoke, and you hearkened not: but resisting the commandment of the Lord, and swelling with pride, you went up into the mountain.

1:44. And the Amorrhite that dwelt in the mountains coming out, and meeting you, chased you, as bees do: and made slaughter of you from Seir as far as Horma.

1:45. And when you returned and wept before the Lord, he heard you not, neither would he yield to your voice.

1:46. So you abode in Cadesbarne a long time.

Deuteronomy Chapter 2

They are forbid to fight against the Edomites, Moabites, and Ammonites. Their victory over Sehon king of Hesebon.

2:1. And departing from thence we came into the wilderness that leadeth to the Red Sea, as the Lord had spoken to me: and we compassed mount Seir a long time.

2:2. And the Lord said to me:

2:3. You have compassed this mountain long enough: go toward the north:

2:4. And command thou the people, saying: You shall pass by the borders of your brethren the children of Esau, who dwell in Seir, and they will be afraid of you.

2:5. Take ye then good heed that you stir not against them. For I will not give you of their land so much as the step of one foot can tread upon, because I have given mount Seir to Esau, for a possession.

2:6. You shall buy meats of them for money and shall eat: you shall draw waters for money, and shall drink.

2:7. The Lord thy God hath blessed thee in every work of thy hands: the Lord thy God dwelling with thee, knoweth thy journey, how thou hast passed through this great wilderness, for forty years, and thou hast wanted nothing.

2:8. And when we had passed by our brethren the children of Esau, that dwelt in Seir, by the way of the plain from Elath and from Asiongaber, we came to the way that leadeth to the desert of Moab.

2:9. And the Lord said to me: Fight not against the Moabites, neither go to battle against them: for I will not give thee any of their land, because I have given Ar to the children of Lot in possession.

2:10. The Emims first were the inhabitants thereof, a people great, and strong, and so tall, that like the race of the Enacims,

2:11. They were esteemed as giants, and were like the sons of the Enacims. But the Moabites call them Emims.

2:12. The Horrhites also formerly dwelt in Seir: who being driven out and destroyed, the children of Esau dwelt there, as Israel did in the land of his possession, which the Lord gave him.

2:13. Then rising up to pass the torrent Zared, we came to it.

2:14. And the time that we journeyed from Cadesbarne till we passed over the torrent Zared, was thirty-eight years: until all the generation of the men that were fit for war was consumed out of the camp, as the Lord had sworn:

2:15. For his hand was against them, that they should perish from the midst of the camp.

2:16. And after all the fighting men were dead,

2:17. The Lord spoke to me, saying:

2:18. Thou shalt pass this day the borders of Moab, the city named Ar:

2:19. And when thou comest nigh the frontiers of the children of Ammon, take heed thou fight not against them, nor once move to battle: for I will not give thee of the land of the children of Ammon, because I have given it to the children of Lot for a possession.

2:20. It was accounted a land of giants: and giants formerly dwelt in it, whom the Ammonites call Zomzommims,

2:21. A people great and many, and of tall stature, like the Enacims whom the Lord destroyed before their face: and he made them to dwell in their stead,

2:22. As he had done in favour of the children of Esau, that dwell in Seir, destroying the Horrhites, and delivering their land to them, which they possess to this day.

2:23. The Hevites also, that dwelt in Haserim as far as Gaza, were expelled by the Cappadocians: who came out of Cappadocia, and destroyed them and dwelt in their stead.

2:24. Arise ye, and pass the torrent Arnon: Behold I have delivered into thy hand Sehon king of Hesebon the Amorrhite, and begin thou to possess his land and make war against him.

2:25. This day will I begin to send the dread and fear of thee upon the nations that dwell under the whole heaven: that when they hear thy name they may fear and tremble, and be in pain like women in travail.

2:26. So I sent messengers from the wilderness of Cademoth to Sehon the king of Hesebon with peaceable words, saying:

2:27. We will pass through thy land, we will go along by the highway: we will not turn aside neither to the right hand nor to the left.

2:28. Sell us meat for money, that we may eat: give us water for money and so we will drink. We only ask that thou wilt let us pass through,

2:29. As the children of Esau have done, that dwell in Seir, and the Moabites, that abide in Ar: until we come to the Jordan, and pass to the land which the Lord our God will give us.

2:30. And Sehon the king of Hesebon would not let us pass: because the Lord thy God had hardened his spirit, and fixed his heart, that he might be delivered into thy hands, as now thou seest.

Hardened, etc. . .That is, in punishment of his past sins he left him to his own stubborn and perverse disposition, which drew him to his ruin. See the note on Ex. 7.3.

2:31. And the Lord said to me: Behold I have begun to deliver unto thee Sehon and his land, begin to possess it.

2:32. And Sehon came out to meet us with all his people to fight at Jasa.

2:33. And the Lord our God delivered him to us: and we slew him with his sons and all his people.

2:34. And we took all his cities at that time, killing the inhabitants of them, men and women and children. We left nothing of them:

2:35. Except the cattle which came to the share of them that took them: and the spoils of the cities, which we took:

2:36. From Aroer, which is upon the bank of the torrent Arnon, a town that is situate in a valley, as far as Galaad. There was not a village or city, that escaped our hands: the Lord our God delivered all unto us:

2:37. Except the land of the children of Ammon, to which we approached not: and all that border upon the torrent Jeboc, and the cities in the mountains, and all the places which the Lord our God forbade us.

Deuteronomy Chapter 3

The victory over Og king of Basan. Ruben, Gad, and half the tribe of Manasses receive their possession on the other side of Jordan.

3:1. Then we turned and went by the way of Basan: and Og the king of Basan came out to meet us with his people to fight in Edrai.

3:2. And the Lord said to me: Fear him not: because he is delivered into thy hand, with all his people and his land: and thou shalt do to him as thou hast done to Sehon king of the Amorrhites, that dwelt in Hesebon.

3:3. So the Lord our God delivered into our hands, Og also, the king of Basan, and all his people: and we utterly destroyed them,

3:4. Wasting all his cities at one time, there was not a town that escaped us: sixty cities, all the country of Argob the kingdom of Og in Basan.

3:5. All the cities were fenced with very high walls, and with gates and bars, besides innumerable towns that had no walls.

3:6. And we utterly destroyed them, as we had done to Sehon the king of Hesebon, destroying every city, men and women and children:

3:7. But the cattle and the spoils of the cities we took for our prey.

3:8. And we took at that time the land out of the hand of the two kings of the Amorrhites, that were beyond the Jordan: from the torrent Arnon unto the mount Hermon,

3:9. Which the Sidonians call Sarion, and the Amorrhites Sanir:

3:10. All the cities that are situate in the plain, and all the land of Galaad and Basan as far as Selcha and Edrai, cities of the kingdom of Og in Basan.

3:11. For only Og king of Basan remained of the race of the giants. His bed of iron is shewn, which is in Rabbath of the children of Ammon, being nine cubits long, and four broad after the measure of the cubit of a man’s hand.

3:12. And we possessed the land at that time from Aroer, which is upon the bank of the torrent Arnon, unto the half of mount Galaad: and I gave the cities thereof to Ruben and Gad.

3:13. And I delivered the other part of Galaad, and all Basan the kingdom of Og to the half tribe of Manasses, all the country of Argob: and all Basan is called the Land of giants.

3:14. Jair the son of Manasses possessed all the country of Argob unto the borders of Gessuri, and Machati. And he called Basan by his own name, Havoth Jair, that is to say, the towns of Jair, until this present day.

3:15. To Machir also I gave Galaad.

3:16. And to the tribes of Ruben and Gad I gave of the land of Galaad as far as the torrent Arnon, half the torrent, and the confines even unto the torrent Jeboc, which is the border of the children of Ammon:

3:17. And the plain of the wilderness, and the Jordan, and the borders of Cenereth unto the sea of the desert, which is the most salt sea, to the foot of mount Phasga eastward.

3:18. And I commanded you at that time, saying: The Lord your God giveth you this land for an inheritance, go ye well appointed before your brethren the children of Israel, all the strong men of you.

3:19. Leaving your wives and children and cattle. For I know you have much cattle, and they must remain in the cities, which I have delivered to you.

3:20. Until the Lord give rest to your brethren, as he hath given to you: and they also possess the land, which he will give them beyond the Jordan: then shall every man return to his possession, which I have given you.

3:21. I commanded Josue also at that time, saying: Thy eyes have seen what the Lord your God hath done to these two kings: so will he do to all the kingdoms to which thou shalt pass.

3:22. Fear them not: for the Lord your God will fight for you.

3:23. And I besought the Lord at that time, saying:

3:24. Lord God, thou hast begun to shew unto thy servant thy greatness, and most mighty hand, for there is no other God either in heaven or earth, that is able to do thy works, or to be compared to thy strength.

3:25. I will pass over therefore, and will see this excellent land beyond the Jordan, and this goodly mountain, and Libanus.

3:26. And the Lord was angry with me on your account and heard me not, but said to me: It is enough: speak no more to me of this matter.

3:27. Go up to the top of Phasga, and cast thy eyes round about to the west, and to the north, and to the south, and to the east, and behold it, for thou shalt not pass this Jordan.

3:28. Command Josue, and encourage and strengthen him: for he shall go before this people, and shall divide unto them the land which thou shalt see.

3:29. And we abode in the valley over against the temple of Phogor.

Deuteronomy Chapter 4

Moses exhorteth the people to keep God’s commandments: particularly to fly idolatry. Appointeth three cities of refuge, on that side of the Jordan.

4:1. And now, O Israel, hear the commandments and judgments which I teach thee: that doing them, thou mayst live, and entering in mayst possess the land which the Lord the God of your fathers will give you.

4:2. You shall not add to the word that I speak to you, neither shall you take away from it: keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.

4:3. Your eyes have seen all that the Lord hath done against Beelphegor, how he hath destroyed all his worshippers from among you.

4:4. But you that adhere to the Lord your God, are all alive until this present day.

4:5. You know that I have taught you statutes and justices, as the Lord my God hath commanded me: so shall you do them in the land which you shall possess:

4:6. And you shall observe, and fulfil them in practice. For this is your wisdom, and understanding in the sight of nations, that hearing all these precepts, they may say: Behold a wise and understanding people, a great nation.

4:7. Neither is there any other nation so great, that hath gods so nigh them, as our God is present to all our petitions.

4:8. For what other nation is there so renowned that hath ceremonies, and just judgments, and all the law, which I will set forth this day before our eyes?

4:9. Keep thyself therefore, and thy soul carefully. Forget not the words that thy eyes have seen, and let them not go out of thy heart all the days of thy life. Thou shalt teach them to thy sons and to thy grandsons,

4:10. From the day in which thou didst stand before the Lord thy God in Horeb, when the Lord spoke to me, saying: Call together the people unto me, that they may hear my words, and may learn to fear me all the time that they live on the earth, and may teach their children.

4:11. And you came to the foot of the mount, which burned even unto heaven: and there was darkness, and a cloud and obscurity in it.

4:12. And the Lord spoke to you from the midst of the fire. You heard the voice of his words, but you saw not any form at all.

4:13. And he shewed you his covenant, which he commanded you to do, and the ten words that he wrote in two tables of stone.

4:14. And he commanded me at that time that I should teach you the ceremonies and judgments which you shall do in the land, that you shall possess.

4:15. Keep therefore your souls carefully. You saw not any similitude in the day that the Lord God spoke to you in Horeb from the midst of the fire:

4:16. Lest perhaps being deceived you might make you a graven similitude, or image of male or female,

4:17. The similitude of any beasts, that are upon the earth, or of birds, that fly under heaven,

4:18. Or of creeping things, that move on the earth, or of fishes, that abide in the waters under the earth:

4:19. Lest perhaps lifting up thy eyes to heaven, thou see the sun and the moon, and all the stars of heaven, and being deceived by error thou adore and serve them, which the Lord thy God created for the service of all the nations, that are under heaven.

4:20. But the Lord hath taken you and brought you out of the iron furnaces of Egypt, to make you his people of inheritance, as it is this present day.

4:21. And the Lord was angry with me for your words, and he swore that I should not pass over the Jordan, nor enter into the excellent land, which he will give you.

4:22. Behold I die in this land, I shall not pass over the Jordan: you shall pass, and possess the goodly land.

4:23. Beware lest thou ever forget the covenant of the Lord thy God, which he hath made with thee: and make to thyself a graven likeness of those things which the Lord hath forbid to be made:

4:24. Because the Lord thy God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.

4:25. If you shall beget sons and grandsons, and abide in the land, and being deceived, make to yourselves any similitude, committing evil before the Lord your God, to provoke him to wrath:

4:26. I call this day heaven and earth to witness, that you shall quickly perish out of the land, which, when you have passed over the Jordan, you shall possess. You shall not dwell therein long, but the Lord will destroy you,

4:27. And scatter you among all nations, and you shall remain a few among the nations, to which the Lord shall lead you.

4:28. And there you shall serve gods, that were framed with men’s hands: wood and stone, that neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell.

4:29. And when thou shalt seek there the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him: yet so, if thou seek him with all thy heart, and all the affliction of thy soul.

4:30. After all the things aforesaid shall find thee, in the latter time thou shalt return to the Lord thy God, and shalt hear his voice.

4:31. Because the Lord thy God is a merciful God: he will not leave thee, nor altogether destroy thee, nor forget the covenant, by which he swore to thy fathers.

4:32. Ask of the days of old, that have been before thy time from the day that God created man upon the earth, from one end of heaven to the other end thereof, if ever there was done the like thing, or it hath been known at any time,

4:33. That a people should hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of fire, as thou hast heard, and lived:

4:34. If God ever did so as to go, and take to himself a nation out of the midst of nations by temptations, signs, and wonders, by fight, and a strong hand, and stretched out arm, and horrible visions according to all the things that the Lord your God did for you in Egypt, before thy eyes.

4:35. That thou mightest know that the Lord he is God, and there is no other besides him.

4:36. From heaven he made thee to hear his voice, that he might teach thee. And upon earth he shewed thee his exceeding great fire, and thou didst hear his words out of the midst of the fire,

4:37. Because he loved thy fathers, and chose their seed after them. And he brought thee out of Egypt, going before thee with his great power,

4:38. To destroy at thy coming very great nations, and stronger than thou art, and to bring thee in, and give thee their land for a possession, as thou seest at this present day.

4:39. Know therefore this day, and think in thy heart that the Lord he is God in heaven above, and in the earth beneath, and there is no other.

4:40. Keep his precepts and commandments, which I command thee: that it may be well with thee, and thy children after thee, and thou mayst remain a long time upon the land, which the Lord thy God will give thee.

4:41. Then Moses set aside three cities beyond the Jordan at the east side,

4:42. That any one might flee to them who should kill his neighbour unwillingly, and was not his enemy a day or two before, and that he might escape to some one of these cities:

4:43. Bosor in the wilderness, which is situate in the plains of the tribe of Ruben: and Ramoth in Galaad, which is in the tribe of Gad: and Golan in Basan, which is in the tribe of Manasses.

4:44. This is the law, that Moses set before the children of Israel,

4:45. And these are the testimonies and ceremonies and judgments, which he spoke to the children of Israel, when they came out of Egypt,

4:46. Beyond the Jordan in the valley over against the temple of Phogor, in the land of Sehon king of the Amorrhites, that dwelt in Hesebon, whom Moses slew. And the children of Israel coming out of Egypt,

4:47. Possessed his land, and the land of Og king of Basan, of the two kings of the Amorrhites, who were beyond the Jordan towards the rising of the sun:

4:48. From Aroer, which is situate upon the bank of the torrent Arnon, unto mount Sion, which is also called Hermon,

4:49. All the plain beyond the Jordan at the east side, unto the sea of the wilderness, and unto the foot of mount Phasga.

Deuteronomy Chapter 5

The ten commandments are repeated and explained.

5:1. And Moses called all Israel, and said to them: Hear, O Israel, the ceremonies and judgments, which I speak in your ears this day: learn them, and fulfil them in work.

5:2. The Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb.

5:3. He made not the covenant with our fathers, but with us, who are now present and living.

5:4. He spoke to us face to face in the mount out of the midst of fire.

5:5. I was the mediator and stood between the Lord and you at that time, to shew you his words, for you feared the fire, and went not up into the mountain, and he said:

5:6. I am the Lord thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

5:7. Thou shalt not have strange gods in my sight.

5:8. Thou shalt not make to thy self a graven thing, nor the likeness of any things, that are in heaven above, or that are in the earth beneath, or that abide in the waters under the earth.

5:9. Thou shalt not adore them, and thou shalt not serve them. For I am the Lord thy God, a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon their children unto the third and fourth generation, to them that hate me,

5:10. And shewing mercy unto many thousands, to them that love me, and keep my commandments.

5:11. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain: for he shall not be unpunished that taketh his name upon a vain thing.

5:12. Observe the day of the sabbath, to sanctify it, as the Lord thy God hath commanded thee.

5:13. Six days shalt thou labour, and shalt do all thy works.

5:14. The seventh is the day of the sabbath, that is, the rest of the Lord thy God. Thou shalt not do any work therein, thou nor thy son nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant nor thy maidservant, nor thy ox, nor thy ass, nor any of thy beasts, nor the stranger that is within thy gates: that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest, even as thyself.

5:15. Remember that thou also didst serve in Egypt, and the Lord thy God brought thee out from thence with a strong hand, and a stretched out arm. Therefore hath he commanded thee that thou shouldst observe the sabbath day.

5:16. Honour thy father and mother, as the Lord thy God hath commanded thee, that thou mayst live a long time, and it may be well with thee in the land, which the Lord thy God will give thee.

5:17. Thou shalt not kill.

5:18. Neither shalt thou commit adultery.

5:19. And thou shalt not steal.

5:20. Neither shalt thou bear false witness against thy neighbour.

5:21. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife: nor his house, nor his field, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is his.

5:22. These words the Lord spoke to all the multitude of you in the mountain, out of the midst of the fire and the cloud, and the darkness, with a loud voice, adding nothing more: and he wrote them in two tables of stone, which he delivered unto me.

5:23. But you, after you heard the voice out of the midst of the darkness, and saw the mountain burn, came to me, all the princes of the tribes and the elders, and you said:

5:24. Behold the Lord our God hath shewn us his majesty and his greatness, we have heard his voice out of the midst of the fire, and have proved this day that God speaking with man, man hath lived.

5:25. Why shall we die therefore, and why shall this exceeding great fire comsume us: for if we hear the voice of the Lord our God any more, we shall die.

5:26. What is all flesh, that it should hear the voice of the living God, who speaketh out of the midst of the fire, as we have heard, and be able to live?

5:27. Approach thou rather: and hear all things that the Lord our God shall say to thee, and thou shalt speak to us, and we will hear and will do them.

5:28. And when the Lord had heard this, he said to me: I have heard the voice of the words of this people, which they spoke to thee: they have spoken all things well.

5:29. Who shall give them to have such a mind, to fear me, and to keep all my commandments at all times, that it may be well with them and with their children for ever?

5:30. Go and say to them: Return into your tents.

5:31. But stand thou here with me, and I will speak to thee all my commandments, and ceremonies and judgments: which thou shalt teach them, that they may do them in the land, which I will give them for a possession.

5:32. Keep therefore and do the things which the Lord God hath commanded you: you shall not go aside neither to the right hand, nor to the left.

5:33. But you shall walk in the way that the Lord your God hath commanded, that you may live, and it may be well with you, and your days may be long in the land of your possession.

Deuteronomy Chapter 6

An exhortation to the love of God, and obedience to his law.

6:1. These are the precepts, and ceremonies, and judgments, which the Lord your God commanded that I should teach you, and that you should do them in the land into which you pass over to possess it:

6:2. That thou mayst fear the Lord thy God, and keep all his commandments and precepts, which I command thee, and thy sons, and thy grandsons, all the days of thy life, that thy days may be prolonged.

6:3. Hear, O Israel, and observe to do the things which the Lord hath commanded thee, that it may be well with thee, and thou mayst be greatly multiplied, as the Lord the God of thy fathers hath promised thee a land flowing with milk and honey.

6:4. Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord.

6:5. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole strength.

6:6. And these words which I command thee this day, shall be in thy heart:

6:7. And thou shalt tell them to thy children, and thou shalt meditate upon them sitting in thy house, and walking on thy journey, sleeping and rising.

6:8. And thou shalt bind them as a sign on thy hand, and they shall be and shall move between thy eyes.

6:9. And thou shalt write them in the entry, and on the doors of thy house.

6:10. And when the Lord thy God shall have brought thee into the land, for which he swore to thy fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: and shall have given thee great and goodly cities, which thou didst not build,

6:11. Houses full of riches, which thou didst not set up, cisterns which thou didst not dig, vineyards and oliveyards, which thou didst not plant,

6:12. And thou shalt have eaten and be full:

6:13. Take heed diligently lest thou forget the Lord, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and shalt serve him only, and thou shalt swear by his name.

6:14. You shall not go after the strange gods of all the nations, that are round about you:

6:15. Because the Lord thy God is a jealous God in the midst of thee: lest at any time the wrath of the Lord thy God be kindled against thee, and take thee away from the face of the earth.

6:16. Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God, as thou temptedst him in the place of temptation.

6:17. Keep the precepts of the Lord thy God, and the testimonies and ceremonies which he hath commanded thee.

6:18. And do that which is pleasing and good in the sight of the Lord, that it may be well with thee: and going in thou mayst possess the goodly land, concerning which the Lord swore to thy fathers,

6:19. That he would destroy all thy enemies before thee, as he hath spoken.

6:20. And when thy son shall ask thee to morrow, saying: What mean these testimonies, and ceremonies and judgments, which the Lord our God hath commanded us?

6:21. Thou shalt say to him: We were bondmen of Pharao in Egypt, and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a strong hand.

6:22. And he wrought signs and wonders great and very grievous in Egypt against Pharao, and all his house, in our sight,

6:23. And he brought us out from thence, that he might bring us in and give us the land, concerning which he swore to our fathers.

6:24. And the Lord commanded that we should do all these ordinances, and should fear the Lord our God, that it might be well with us all the days of our life, as it is at this day.

6:25. And he will be merciful to us, if we keep and do all his precepts before the Lord our God, as he hath commanded us.

Deuteronomy Chapter 7

No league nor fellowship to be made with the Chanaanites: God promiseth his people his blessing and assistance, if they keep his commandments.

7:1. When the Lord thy God shall have brought thee into the land, which thou art going in to possess, and shall have destroyed many nations before thee, the Hethite, and the Gergezite, and the Amorrhite, and the Chanaanite, and the Pherezite, and the Hevite, and the Jebusite, seven nations much more numerous than thou art, and stronger than thou:

7:2. And the Lord thy God shall have delivered them to thee, thou shalt utterly destroy them. Thou shalt make no league with them, nor shew mercy to them:

7:3. Neither shalt thou make marriages with them. Thou shalt not give thy daughter to his son, nor take his daughter for thy son:

7:4. For she will turn away thy son from following me, that he may rather serve strange gods, and the wrath of the Lord will be kindled, and will quickly destroy thee.

7:5. But thus rather shall you deal with them: Destroy their altars, and break their statues, and cut down their groves, and burn their graven things.

7:6. Because thou art a holy people to the Lord thy God. The Lord thy God hath chosen thee, to be his peculiar people of all peoples that are upon the earth.

7:7. Not because you surpass all nations in number, is the Lord joined unto you, and hath chosen you, for you are the fewest of any people:

7:8. But because the Lord hath loved you, and hath kept his oath, which he swore to your fathers: and hath brought you out with a strong hand, and redeemed you from the house of bondage, out of the hand of Pharao the king of Egypt.

7:9. And thou shalt know that the Lord thy God, he is a strong and faithful God, keeping his covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments, unto a thousand generations:

7:10. And repaying forthwith them that hate him, so as to destroy them, without further delay immediately rendering to them what they deserve.

7:11. Keep therefore the precepts and ceremonies and judgments, which I command thee this day to do.

7:12. If after thou hast heard these judgments, thou keep and do them, the Lord thy God will also keep his covenant to thee, and the mercy which he swore to thy fathers:

7:13. And he will love thee and multiply thee, and will bless the fruit of thy womb, and the fruit of thy land, thy corn, and thy vintage, thy oil, and thy herds, and the flocks of thy sheep upon the land, for which he swore to thy fathers that he would give it thee.

7:14. Blessed shalt thou be among all people. No one shall be barren among you of either sex, neither of men nor cattle.

7:15. The Lord will take away from thee all sickness: and the grievous infirmities of Egypt, which thou knowest, he will not bring upon thee, but upon thy enemies.

7:16. Thou shalt consume all the people, which the Lord thy God will deliver to thee. Thy eye shall not spare them, neither shalt thou serve their gods, lest they be thy ruin.

7:17. If thou say in thy heart: These nations are more than I, how shall I be able to destroy them?

7:18. Fear not, but remember what the Lord thy God did to Pharao and to all the Egyptians,

7:19. The exceeding great plagues, which thy eyes saw, and the signs and wonders, and the strong hand, and the stretched out arm, with which the Lord thy God brought thee out: so will he do to all the people, whom thou fearest.

7:20. Moreover the Lord thy God will send also hornets among them, until he destroy and consume all that have escaped thee, and could hide themselves.

7:21. Thou shalt not fear them, because the Lord thy God is in the midst of thee, a God mighty and terrible:

7:22. He will consume these nations in thy sight by little and little and by degrees. Thou wilt not be able to destroy them altogether: lest perhaps the beasts of the earth should increase upon thee.

7:23. But the Lord thy God shall deliver them in thy sight: and shall slay them until they be utterly destroyed.

7:24. And he shall deliver their kings into thy hands, and thou shalt destroy their names from under Heaven: no man shall be able to resist thee, until thou destroy them.

7:25. Their graven things thou shalt burn with fire: thou shalt not covet the silver and gold of which they are made, neither shalt thou take to thee any thing thereof, lest thou offend, because it is an abomination to the Lord thy God.

Graven things. . .Idols, so called by contempt.

7:26. Neither shalt thou bring any thing of the idol into thy house, lest thou become an anathema, like it. Thou shalt detest it as dung, and shalt utterly abhor it as uncleanness and filth, because it is an anathema.

Deuteronomy Chapter 8

The people is put in mind of God’s dealings with them, to the end that they may love him and serve him.

8:1. All the commandments, that I command thee this day, take great care to observe: that you may live, and be multiplied, and going in may possess the land, for which the Lord swore to your fathers.

8:2. And thou shalt remember all the way through which the Lord thy God hath brought thee for forty years through the desert, to afflict thee and to prove thee, and that the things that were in thy heart might be made known, whether thou wouldst keep his commandments or no.

8:3. He afflicted thee with want, and gave thee manna for thy food, which neither thou nor thy fathers knew: to shew that not in bread alone doth man live, but in every word that proceedeth from the mouth of God.

Not in bread alone, etc. . .That is, that God is able to make food of what he pleases for the support of man.

8:4. Thy raiment, with which thou wast covered, hath not decayed for age, and thy foot is not worn, lo this is the fortieth year,

8:5. That thou mayst consider in thy heart, that as a man traineth up his son, so the Lord thy God hath trained thee up.

8:6. That thou shouldst keep the commandments of the Lord thy God, and walk in his ways, and fear him.

8:7. For the Lord thy God will bring thee into a good land, of brooks and of waters, and of fountains: in the plains of which and the hills deep rivers break out:

8:8. A land of wheat, and barley, and vineyards, wherein fig trees and pomegranates, and oliveyards grow: a land of oil and honey.

8:9. Where without any want thou shalt eat thy bread, and enjoy abundance of all things: where the stones are iron, and out of its hills are dug mines of brass:

8:10. That when thou hast eaten, and art full, thou mayst bless the Lord thy God for the excellent land which he hath given thee.

8:11. Take heed, and beware lest at any time thou forget the Lord thy God, and neglect his commandments and judgments and ceremonies, which I command thee this day:

8:12. Lest after thou hast eaten and art filled, hast built goodly houses, and dwelt in them,

8:13. And shalt have herds of oxen and flocks of sheep, and plenty of gold and of silver, and of all things,

8:14. Thy heart be lifted up, and thou remember not the Lord thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage:

8:15. And was thy leader in the great and terrible wilderness, wherein there was the serpent burning with his breath, and the scorpion and the dipsas, and no waters at all: who brought forth streams out of the hardest rock,

The Dipsas. . .A serpent whose bite causeth a violent thirst; from whence it has its name, for in Greek dipsa signifies thirst.

8:16. And fed thee in the wilderness with manna which thy fathers knew not. And after he had afflicted and proved thee, at the last he had mercy on thee,

8:17. Lest thou shouldst say in thy heart: My own might, and the strength of my own hand have achieved all these things for me.

8:18. But remember the Lord thy God, that he hath given thee strength, that he might fulfil his covenant, concerning which he swore to thy fathers, as this present day sheweth.

8:19. But if thou forget the Lord thy God, and follow strange gods, and serve and adore them: behold now I foretell thee that thou shalt utterly perish.

8:20. As the nations, which the Lord destroyed at thy entrance, so shall you also perish, if you be disobedient to the voice of the Lord your God.

Deuteronomy Chapter 9

Lest they should impute their victories to their own merits, they are put in mind of their manifold rebellions and other sins, for which they should have been destroyed, but God spared them for his promise made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

9:1. Hear, O Israel: Thou shalt go over the Jordan this day; to possess nations very great, and stronger than thyself, cities great, and walled up to the sky,

9:2. A people great and tall, the sons of the Enacims, whom thou hast seen, and heard of, against whom no man is able to stand.

9:3. Thou shalt know therefore this day that the Lord thy God himself will pass over before thee, a devouring and consuming fire, to destroy and extirpate and bring them to nothing before thy face quickly, as he hath spoken to thee.

9:4. Say not in thy heart, when the Lord thy God shall have destroyed them in thy sight: For my justice hath the Lord brought me in to possess this land, whereas these nations are destroyed for their wickedness.

9:5. For it is not for thy justices, and the uprightness of thy heart that thou shalt go in to possess their lands: but because they have done wickedly, they are destroyed at thy coming in: and that the Lord might accomplish his word, which he promised by oath to thy fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

9:6. Know therefore that the Lord thy God giveth thee not this excellent land in possession for thy justices, for thou art a very stiffnecked people.

9:7. Remember, and forget not how thou provokedst the Lord thy God to wrath in the wilderness. From the day that thou camest out of Egypt unto this place, thou hast always strove against the Lord.

9:8. For in Horeb, also thou didst provoke him, and he was angry, and would have destroyed thee,

9:9. When I went up into the mount to receive the tables of stone, the tables of the covenant which the Lord made with you: and I continued in the mount forty days and nights, neither eating bread, nor drinking water.

9:10. And the Lord gave me two tables of stone written with the finger of God, and containing all the words that he spoke to you in the mount from the midst of the fire, when the people were assembled together.

9:11. And when forty days were passed, and as many nights, the Lord gave me the two tables of stone, the tables of the covenant,

9:12. And said to me: Arise, and go down from hence quickly: for thy people, which thou hast brought out of Egypt, have quickly forsaken the way that thou hast shewn them, and have made to themselves a molten idol.

9:13. And again the Lord said to me: I see that this people is stiffnecked:

9:14. Let me alone that I may destroy them, and abolish their name from under heaven, and set thee over a nation, that is greater and stronger than this.

9:15. And when I came down from the burning mount, and held the two tables of the covenant with both hands,

9:16. And saw that you had sinned against the Lord your God, and had made to yourselves a molten calf, and had quickly forsaken his way, which he had shewn you:

9:17. I cast the tables out of my hands, and broke them in your sight.

9:18. And I fell down before the Lord as before, forty days and nights neither eating bread, nor drinking water, for all your sins, which you had committed against the Lord, and had provoked him to wrath:

9:19. For I feared his indignation and anger, wherewith being moved against you, he would have destroyed you. And the Lord heard me this time also.

9:20. And he was exceeding angry against Aaron also, and would have destroyed him, and I prayed in like manner for him.

9:21. And your sin that you had committed, that is, the calf, I took, and burned it with fire, and breaking it into pieces, until it was as small as dust, I threw it into the torrent, which cometh down from the mountain.

9:22. At the burning also, and at the place of temptation, and at the graves of lust you provoked the Lord:

9:23. And when he sent you from Cadesbarne, saying: Go up, and possess the land that I have given you, and you slighted the commandment of the Lord your God, and did not believe him, neither would you hearken to his voice:

9:24. But were always rebellious from the day that I began to know you.

9:25. And I lay prostrate before the Lord forty days and nights, in which I humbly besought him, that he would not destroy you as he had threatened:

9:26. And praying, I said: O Lord God, destroy not thy people, and thy inheritance, which thou hast redeemed in thy greatness, whom thou hast brought out of Egypt with a strong hand.

9:27. Remember thy servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: look not on the stubbornness of this people, nor on their wickedness and sin:

9:28. Lest perhaps the inhabitants of the land, out of which thou hast brought us, say: The Lord could not bring them into the land that he promised them, and he hated them: therefore he brought them out, that he might kill them in the wilderness,

9:29. Who are thy people and thy inheritance, whom thou hast brought out by thy great strength, and in thy stretched out arm.

Deuteronomy Chapter 10

God giveth the second tables of the law: a further exhortation to fear and serve the Lord.

10:1. At that time the Lord said to me: Hew thee two tables of stone like the former, and come up to me into the mount: and thou shalt make an ark of wood,

10:2. And I will write on the tables the words that were in them, which thou brokest before, and thou shalt put them in the ark.

10:3. And I made an ark of setim wood. And when I had hewn two tables of stone like the former, I went up into the mount, having them in my hands.

10:4. And he wrote in the tables, according as he had written before, the ten words, which the Lord spoke to you in the mount from the midst of the fire, when the people were assembled: and he gave them to me.

10:5. And returning from the mount, I came down, and put the tables into the ark, that I had made, and they are there till this present, as the Lord commanded me.

10:6. And the children of Israel removed their camp from Beroth, of the children of Jacan into Mosera, where Aaron died and was buried, and Eleazar his son succeeded him in the priestly office.

Mosera. . .By mount Hor, for there Aaron died, Num. 20. This and the following verses seem to be inserted by way of parenthesis.

10:7. From thence they came to Gadgad, from which place they departed, and camped in Jetebatha, in a land of waters and torrents.

10:8. At that time he separated the tribe of Levi, to carry the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and to stand before him in the ministry, and to bless in his name until this present day.

10:9. Wherefore Levi hath no part nor possession with his brethren: because the Lord himself is his possession, as the Lord thy God promised him.

10:10. And I stood in the mount, as before, forty days and nights: and the Lord heard me this time also, and would not destroy thee.

10:11. And he said to me: Go, and walk before the people, that they may enter, and possess the land, which I swore to their fathers that I would give them.

10:12. And now, Israel, what doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but that thou fear the Lord thy God, and walk in his ways, and love him, and serve the Lord thy God, with all thy heart, and with all thy soul:

10:13. And keep the commandments of the Lord, and his ceremonies, which I command thee this day, that it may be well with thee?

10:14. Behold heaven is the Lord’s thy God, and the heaven of heaven, the earth and all things that are therein.

10:15. And yet the Lord hath been closely joined to thy fathers, and loved them and chose their seed after them, that is to say, you, out of all nations, as this day it is proved.

10:16. Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and stiffen your neck no more.

10:17. Because the Lord your God he is the God of gods, and the Lord of lords, a great God and mighty and terrible, who accepteth no person nor taketh bribes.

10:18. He doth judgment to the fatherless and the widow, loveth the stranger, and giveth him food and raiment.

10:19. And do you therefore love strangers, because you also were strangers in the land of Egypt.

10:20. Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and serve him only: to him thou shalt adhere, and shalt swear by his name.

10:21. He is thy praise, and thy God, that hath done for thee these great and terrible things, which thy eyes have seen.

10:22. In seventy souls thy fathers went down into Egypt: and behold now the Lord thy God hath multiplied thee as the stars of heaven.

Deuteronomy Chapter 11

The love and service of God are still inculcated, with a blessing to them that serve him, and threats of punishment if they forsake his law.

11:1. Therefore love the Lord thy God and observe his precepts and ceremonies, his judgments and commandments at all times.

11:2. Know this day the things that your children know not, who saw not the chastisements of the Lord your God, his great doings and strong hand, and stretched out arm,

11:3. The signs and works which he did in the midst of Egypt to king Pharao, and to all his land,

11:4. And to all the host of the Egyptians, and to their horses and chariots: how the waters of the Red Sea covered them, when they pursued you, and how the Lord destroyed them until this present day:

11:5. And what he hath done to you in the wilderness, til you came to this place:

11:6. And to Dathan and Abiron the sons of Eliab, who was the son of Ruben: whom the earth, opening her mouth swallowed up with their households and tents, and all their substance, which they had in the midst of Israel.

11:7. Your eyes have seen all the great works of the Lord, that he hath done,

11:8. That you may keep all his commandments, which I command you this day, and may go in, and possess the land, to which you are entering,

11:9. And may live in it a long time: which the Lord promised by oath to your fathers, and to their seed, a land which floweth with milk and honey.

11:10. For the land, which thou goest to possess, is not like the land of Egypt, from whence thou camest out, where, when the seed is sown, waters are brought in to water it after the manner of gardens.

11:11. But it is a land of hills and plains, expecting rain from heaven.

11:12. And the Lord thy God doth always visit it, and his eyes are on it from the beginning of the year unto the end thereof.

11:13. If then you obey my commandments, which I command you this day, that you love the Lord your God, and serve him with all your heart, and with all your soul:

11:14. He will give to your land the early rain and the latter rain, that you may gather in your corn, and your wine, and your oil,

11:15. And your hay out of the fields to feed your cattle, and that you may eat and be filled.

11:16. Beware lest perhaps your heart be deceived, and you depart from the Lord, and serve strange gods, and adore them:

11:17. And the Lord being angry shut up heaven, that the rain come not down, nor the earth yield her fruit, and you perish quickly from the excellent land, which the Lord will give you.

11:18. Lay up these words in your hearts and minds, and hang them for a sign on your hands, and place them between your eyes.

11:19. Teach your children that they meditate on them, when thou sittest in thy house, and when thou walkest on the way, and when thou liest down and risest up.

11:20. Thou shalt write them upon the posts and the doors of thy house:

11:21. That thy days may be multiplied, and the days of thy children in the land which the Lord swore to thy fathers, that he would give them as long as the heaven hangeth over the earth.

11:22. For if you keep the commandments which I command you, and do them, to love the Lord your God, and walk in all his ways, cleaving unto him,

11:23. The Lord will destroy all these nations before your face, and you shall possess them, which are greater and stronger than you.

11:24. Every place, that your foot shall tread upon, shall be yours. From the desert, and from Libanus, from the great river Euphrates unto the western sea shall be your borders.

11:25. None shall stand against you: the Lord your God shall lay the dread and fear of you upon all the land that you shall tread upon, as he hath spoken to you.

11:26. Behold I set forth in your sight this day a blessing and a curse:

11:27. A blessing, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you this day:

11:28. A curse, if you obey not the commandments of the Lord your God, but revolt from the way which now I shew you, and walk after strange gods which you know not.

11:29. And when the Lord thy God shall have brought thee into the land, whither thou goest to dwell, thou shalt put the blessing upon mount Garizim, the curse upon mount Hebal:

Put the blessing, et. . .See Deut. 27.12, etc. and Josue 8.33, etc.

11:30. Which are beyond the Jordan, behind the way that goeth to the setting of the sun, in the land of the Chanaanite who dwelleth in the plain country over against Galgala, which is near the valley that reacheth and entereth far.

11:31. For you shall pass over the Jordan, to possess the land, which the Lord your God will give you, that you may have it and possess it.

11:32. See therefore that you fulfil the ceremonies and judgments, which I shall set this day before you.

Deuteronomy Chapter 12

All idolatry must be extirpated: sacrifices, tithes, and firstfruits must be offered in one only place: all eating of blood is prohibited.

12:1. These are the precepts and judgments, that you must do in the land, which the Lord the God of thy fathers will give thee, to possess it all the days that thou shalt walk upon the earth.

12:2. Destroy all the places in which the nations, that you shall possess, worshipped their gods upon high mountains, and hills, and under every shady tree:

12:3. Overthrow their altars, and break down their statues, burn their groves with fire, and break their idols in pieces: destroy their names out of those places.

12:4. You shall not do so to the Lord your God:

12:5. But you shall come to the place, which the Lord your God shall choose out of all your tribes, to put his name there, and to dwell in it:

12:6. And you shall offer in that place your holocausts and victims, the tithes and firstfruits of your hands and your vows and gifts, the firstborn of your herds and your sheep.

12:7. And you shall eat there in the sight of the Lord your God: and you shall rejoice in all things, whereunto you shall put your hand, you and your houses wherein the Lord your God hath blessed you.

12:8. You shall not do there the things we do here this day, every man that which seemeth good to himself.

12:9. For until this present time you are not come to rest, and to the possession, which the Lord your God will give you.

12:10. You shall pass over the Jordan, and shall dwell in the land which the Lord your God will give you, that you may have rest from all enemies round about: and may dwell without any fear,

12:11. In the place, which the Lord your God shall choose, that his name may be therein. Thither shall you bring all the things that I command you, holocausts, and victims, and tithes, and the firstfruits of your hands: and whatsoever is the choicest in the gifts which you shall vow to the Lord.

12:12. There shall you feast before the Lord your God, you and your sons and your daughters, your menservants and maidservants, and the Levite that dwelleth in your cities. For he hath no other part and possession among you.

12:13. Beware lest thou offer thy holocausts in every place that thou shalt see:

12:14. But in the place which the Lord shall choose in one of thy tribes shalt thou offer sacrifices, and shalt do all that I command thee.

12:15. But if thou desirest to eat, and the eating of flesh delight thee, kill, and eat according to the blessing of the Lord thy God, which he hath given thee, in thy cities: whether it be unclean, that is to say, having blemish or defect: or clean, that is to say, sound and without blemish, such as may be offered, as the roe, and the hart, shalt thou eat it:

12:16. Only the blood thou shalt not eat, but thou shalt pour it out upon the earth as water.

12:17. Thou mayst not eat in thy towns the tithes of thy corn, and thy wine, and thy oil, the firstborn of thy herds and thy cattle, nor any thing that thou vowest, and that thou wilt offer voluntarily, and the firstfruits of thy hands:

12:18. But thou shalt 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 manservant, and maidservant, and the Levite that dwelleth in thy cities: and thou shalt rejoice and be refreshed before the Lord thy God in all things, whereunto thou shalt put thy hand.

12:19. Take heed thou forsake not the Levite all the time that thou livest in the land.

12:20. When the Lord thy God shall have enlarged thy borders, as he hath spoken to thee, and thou wilt eat the flesh that thy soul desireth:

12:21. And if the place which the Lord thy God shall choose, that his name should be there, be far off, thou shalt kill of thy herds and of thy flocks, as I have commanded thee, and shalt eat in thy towns, as it pleaseth thee.

12:22. Even as the roe and the hart is eaten, so shalt thou eat them: both the clean and unclean shall eat of them alike.

12:23. Only beware of this, that thou eat not the blood, for the blood is for the soul: and therefore thou must not eat the soul with the flesh:

12:24. But thou shalt pour it upon the earth as water,

12:25. That it may be well with thee and thy children after thee, when thou shalt do that which is pleasing in the sight of the Lord.

12:26. But the things which thou hast sanctified and vowed to the Lord, thou shalt take, and shalt come to the place which the Lord shall choose:

12:27. And shalt offer thy oblations, the flesh and the blood upon the altar of the Lord thy God: the blood of thy victims thou shalt pour on the altar: and the flesh thou thyself shalt eat.

12:28. Observe and hear all the things that I command thee, that it may be well with thee and thy children after thee for ever, when thou shalt do what is good and pleasing in the sight of the Lord thy God.

12:29. When the Lord thy God shall have destroyed before thy face the nations, which thou shalt go in to possess, and when thou shalt possess them, and dwell in their land:

12:30. Beware lest thou imitate them, after they are destroyed at thy coming in, and lest thou seek after their ceremonies, saying: As these nations have worshipped their gods, so will I also worship.

12:31. Thou shalt not do in like manner to the Lord thy God. For they have done to their gods all the abominations which the Lord abhorreth, offering their sons and daughters, and burning them with fire.

12:32. What I command thee, that only do thou to the Lord: neither add any thing, nor diminish.

That only do thou, etc. . .They are forbid here to follow the ceremonies of the heathens; or to make any alterations in the divine ordinances.

Deuteronomy Chapter 13

False prophets must be slain, and idolatrous cities destroyed.

13:1. If there rise in the midst of thee a prophet or one that saith he hath dreamed a dream, and he foretell a sign and a wonder,

13:2. And that come to pass which he spoke, and he say to thee: Let us go and follow strange gods, which thou knowest not, and let us serve them:

13:3. Thou shalt not hear the words of that prophet or dreamer: for the Lord your God trieth you, that it may appear whether you love him with all your heart, and with all your soul, or not.

13:4. Follow the Lord your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and hear his voice: him you shall serve, and to him you shall cleave.

13:5. And that prophet or forger of dreams shall be slain: because he spoke to draw 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 make thee go out of the way, which the Lord thy God commanded thee: and thou shalt take away the evil out of the midst of thee.

13:6. If thy brother the son of thy mother, or thy son, or daughter, or thy wife that is in thy bosom, or thy friend, whom thou lovest as thy own soul, would persuade thee secretly, saying: Let us go, and serve strange gods, which thou knowest not, nor thy fathers,

13:7. Of all the nations round about, that are near or afar off, from one end of the earth to the other,

13:8. Consent not to him, hear him not, neither let thy eye spare him to pity and conceal him,

13:9. But thou shalt presently put him to death. Let thy hand be first upon him, and afterwards the hands of all the people.

Presently put him to death. . .Not by killing him by private authority, but by informing the magistrate, and proceeding by order of justice.

13:10. With stones shall he be stoned to death: because he would have withdrawn thee from the Lord thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage:

13:11. That all Israel hearing may fear, and may do no more any thing like this.

13:12. If in one of thy cities, which the Lord thy God shall give thee to dwell in, thou hear some say:

13:13. Children of Belial are gone out of the midst of thee, and have withdrawn the inhabitants of their city, and have said: Let us go, and serve strange gods which you know not:

Belial. . .That is, without yoke. Hence the wicked, who refuse to be subject to the divine law, are called in scripture the children of Belial.

13:14. Inquire carefully and diligently, the truth of the thing by looking well into it, and if thou find that which is said to be certain, and that this abomination hath been really committed,

13:15. Thou shalt forthwith kill the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, and shalt destroy it and all things that are in it, even the cattle.

13:16. And all the household goods that are there, thou shalt gather together in the midst of the streets thereof, and shall burn them with the city itself, so as to comsume all for the Lord thy God, and that it be a heap for ever: it shall be built no more.

13:17. And there shall nothing of that anathema stick to thy hand: that the Lord may turn from the wrath of his fury, and may have mercy on thee, and multiply thee as he swore to thy fathers,

13:18. When thou shalt hear the voice of the Lord thy God, keeping all his precepts, which I command thee this day, that thou mayst do what is pleasing in the sight of the Lord thy God.

Deuteronomy Chapter 14

In mourning for the dead they are not to follow the ways of the Gentiles: the distinction of clean and unclean meats: ordinances concerning tithes, and firstfruits.

14:1. Be ye children of the Lord your God: you shall not cut yourselves, nor make any baldness for the dead;

14:2. Because thou art a holy people to the Lord thy God: and he chose thee to be his peculiar people of all nations that are upon the earth.

14:3. Eat not the things that are unclean.

Unclean. . .See the annotations on Lev. 11.

14:4. These are the beasts that you shall eat, the ox, and the sheep, and the goat,

14:5. The hart and the roe, the buffle, the chamois, the pygarg, the wild goat, the camelopardalus.

14:6. Every beast that divideth the hoof in two parts, and cheweth the cud, you shall eat.

14:7. But of them that chew the cud, but divide not the hoof, you shall not eat, such as the camel, the hare, and the cherogril: because they chew the cud, but divide not the hoof, they shall be unclean to you.

14:8. The swine also, because it divideth the hoof, but cheweth not the cud, shall be unclean, their flesh you shall not eat, and their carcasses you shall not touch.

14:9. These shall you eat of all that abide in the waters: All that have fins and scales, you shall eat.

14:10. Such as are without fins and scales, you shall not eat, because they are unclean.

14:11. All birds that are clean you shall eat.

14:12. The unclean eat not: to wit, the eagle, and the grype, and the osprey,

14:13. The ringtail, and the vulture, and the kite according to their kind:

14:14. And all of the raven’s kind:

14:15. And the ostrich, and the owl, and the larus, and the hawk according to its kind:

14:16. The heron, and the swan, and the stork,

14:17. And the cormorant, the porphirion, and the night crow,

14:18. The bittern, and the charadrion, every one in their kind: the houp also and the bat.

14:19. Every thing that creepeth, and hath little wings, shall be unclean, and shall not be eaten.

14:20. All that is clean, you shall eat.

14:21. But whatsoever is dead of itself, eat not thereof. Give it to the stranger, that is within thy gates, to eat, or sell it to him: because thou art the holy people of the Lord thy God. Thou shalt not boil a kid in the milk of his dam.

14:22. Every year thou shalt set aside the tithes of all thy fruits that the earth bringeth forth,

14:23. And thou shalt eat before the Lord thy God in the place which he shall choose, that his name may be called upon therein, the tithe of thy corn, and thy wine, and thy oil, and the firstborn of thy herds and thy sheep: that thou mayst learn to fear the Lord thy God at all times.

14:24. But when the way and the place which the Lord thy God shall choose, are far off, and he hath blessed thee, and thou canst not carry all these things thither,

14:25. Thou shalt sell them all, and turn them into money, and shalt carry it in thy hand, and shalt go to the place which the Lord shall choose:

14:26. And thou shalt buy with the same money whatsoever pleaseth thee, either of the herds or of sheep, wine also and strong drink, and all that thy soul desireth: and thou shalt eat before the Lord thy God, and shalt feast, thou and thy house:

14:27. And the Levite that is within thy gates, beware thou forsake him not, because he hath no other part in thy possession.

14:28. The third year thou shalt separate another tithe of all things that grow to thee at that time, and shalt lay it up within thy gates.

14:29. And the Levite that hath no other part nor possession with thee, and the stranger and the fatherless and the widow, that are within thy gates, shall come and shall eat and be filled: that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all the works of thy hands that thou shalt do.

Deuteronomy Chapter 15

The law of the seventh year of remission. The firstlings of cattle are to be sanctified to the Lord.

15:1. In the seventh year thou shalt make a remission,

15:2. Which shall be celebrated in this order. He to whom any thing is owing from his friend or neighbour or brother, cannot demand it again, because it is the year of remission of the Lord.

15:3. Of the foreigner or stranger thou mayst exact it: of thy countryman and neighbour thou shalt not have power to demand it again.

15:4. And there shall be no poor nor beggar among you: that the Lord thy God may bless thee in the land which he will give thee in possession.

There shall be no poor, etc. . .It is not to be understood as a promise, that there should be no poor in Israel, as appears from ver. 11, where we learn that God’s people would never be at a loss to find objects for their charity: but it is an ordinance that all should do their best endeavours to prevent any of their brethren from suffering the hardships of poverty and want.

15:5. Yet so if thou hear the voice of the Lord thy God, and keep all things that he hath ordained, and which I command thee this day, he will bless thee, as he hath promised.

15:6. Thou shalt lend to many nations, and thou shalt borrow of no man. Thou shalt have dominion over very many nations, and no one shall have dominion over thee.

15:7. If one of thy brethren that dwelleth within thy gates of thy city in the land which the Lord thy God will give thee, come to poverty: thou shalt not harden thy heart, nor close thy hand,

15:8. But shalt open it to the poor man, thou shalt lend him, that which thou perceivest he hath need of.

15:9. Beware lest perhaps a wicked thought steal in upon thee, and thou say in thy heart: The seventh year of remission draweth nigh; and thou turn away thy eyes from thy poor brother, denying to lend him that which he asketh: lest he cry against thee to the Lord, and it become a sin unto thee.

15:10. But thou shalt give to him: neither shalt thou do any thing craftily in relieving his necessities: that the Lord thy God may bless thee at all times, and in all things to which thou shalt put thy hand.

15:11. There will not be wanting poor in the land of thy habitation: therefore I command thee to open thy hand to thy needy and poor brother, that liveth in the land.

15:12. When thy brother a Hebrew man, or Hebrew woman is sold to thee, and hath served thee six years, in the seventh year thou shalt let him go free:

15:13. And when thou sendest him out free, thou shalt not let him go away empty:

15:14. But shall give him for his way out of thy flocks, and out of thy barnfloor, and thy winepress, wherewith the Lord thy God shall bless thee.

15:15. Remember that thou also wast a bondservant in the land of Egypt, and the Lord thy God made thee free, and therefore I now command thee this.

15:16. But if he say: I will not depart: because he loveth thee, and thy house, and findeth that he is well with thee:

15:17. Thou shalt take an awl, and bore through his ear in the door of thy house, and he shall serve thee for ever: thou shalt do in like manner to thy womanservant also.

15:18. Turn not away thy eyes from them when thou makest them free: because he hath served thee six years according to the wages of a hireling: that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all the works that thou dost.

15:19. Of the firstlings, that come of thy herds and thy sheep, thou shalt sanctify to the Lord thy God whatsoever is of the male sex. Thou shalt not work with the firstling of a bullock, and thou shalt not shear the firstlings of thy sheep.

15:20. In the sight of the Lord thy God shalt thou eat them every year, in the place that the Lord shall choose, thou and thy house.

15:21. But if it have a blemish, or be lame, or blind, or in any part disfigured or feeble, it shall not be sacrificed to the Lord thy God.

15:22. But thou shalt eat it within the gates of thy city: the clean and the unclean shall eat them alike, as the roe and as the hart.

15:23. Only thou shalt take heed not to eat their blood, but pour it out on the earth as water.

Deuteronomy Chapter 16

The three principal solemnities to be observed: just judges to be appointed in every city: all occasions of idolatry to be avoided.

16:1. Observe the month of new corn, which is the first of the spring, that thou mayst celebrate the phase to the Lord thy God: because in this month the Lord thy God brought thee out of Egypt by night.

16:2. And thou shalt sacrifice the phase to the Lord thy God, of sheep, and of oxen, in the place which the Lord thy God shall choose, that his name may dwell there.

16:3. Thou shalt not eat with it leavened bread: seven days shalt thou eat without leaven, the bread of affliction, because thou camest out of Egypt in fear: that thou mayst remember the day of thy coming out of Egypt, all the days of thy life.

16:4. No leaven shall be seen in all thy coasts for seven days, neither shall any of the flesh of that which was sacrificed the first day in the evening remain until morning.

16:5. Thou mayst not immolate the phase in any one of thy cities, which the Lord thy God will give thee:

16:6. But in the place which the Lord thy God shall choose, that his name may dwell there: thou shalt immolate the phase in the evening, at the going down of the sun, at which time thou camest out of Egypt.

16:7. And thou shalt dress, and eat it in the place which the Lord thy God shall choose, and in the morning rising up thou shalt go into thy dwellings.

16:8. Six days shalt thou eat unleavened bread: and on the seventh day, because it is the assembly of the Lord thy God, thou shalt do no work.

16:9. Thou shalt number unto thee seven weeks from that day, wherein thou didst put the sickle to the corn.

16:10. And thou shalt celebrate the festival of weeks to the Lord thy God, a voluntary oblation of thy hand, which thou shalt offer according to the blessing of the Lord thy God.

16:11. And thou shalt feast before the Lord thy God, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite that is within thy gates, and the stranger and the fatherless, and the widow, who abide with you: in the place which the Lord thy God shall choose, that his name may dwell there:

16:12. And thou shalt remember that thou wast a servant in Egypt: and thou shalt keep and do the things that are commanded.

16:13. Thou shalt celebrate the solemnity also of tabernacles seven days, when thou hast gathered in thy fruit of the barnfloor and of the winepress.

16:14. And thou shalt make merry in thy festival time, thou, thy son, and thy daughter, thy manservant, and thy maidservant, the Levite also and the stranger, and the fatherless and the widow that are within thy gates.

16:15. Seven days shalt thou celebrate feasts to the Lord thy God in the place which the Lord shall choose: and the Lord thy God will bless thee in all thy fruits, and in every work of thy hands, and thou shalt be in joy.

16:16. Three 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, in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles. No one shall appear with his hands empty before the Lord:

16:17. But every one shall offer according to what he hath, according to the blessing of the Lord his God, which he shall give him.

16:18. Thou shalt appoint judges and magistrates in all thy gates, which the Lord thy God shall give thee, in all thy tribes: that they may judge the people with just judgment,

16:19. And not go aside to either part. Thou shalt not accept person nor gifts: for gifts blind the eyes of the wise, and change the words of the just.

16:20. Thou shalt follow justly after that which is just: that thou mayst live and possess the land, which the Lord thy God shall give thee.

16:21. Thou shalt plant no grove, nor any tree near the altar of the Lord thy God:

16:22. Neither shalt thou make nor set up to thyself a statue: which things the Lord thy God hateth.

Deuteronomy Chapter 17

Victims must be without blemish. Idolaters are to be slain. Controversies are to be decided by the high priest and council, whose sentence must be obeyed under pain of death. The duty of a king, who is to receive the law of God at the priest’s hands.

17:1. Thou shalt not sacrifice to the Lord thy God a sheep, or an ox, wherein there is blemish, or any fault: for that is an abomination to the Lord thy God.

17:2. When there shall be found among you within any of thy gates, which the Lord thy God shall give thee, man or woman that do evil in the sight of the Lord thy God, and transgress his covenant,

17:3. So as to go and serve strange gods, and adore them, the sun and the moon, and all the host of heaven, which I have not commanded:

The host of heaven. . .That is, the stars.

17:4. And this is told thee, and hearing it thou hast inquired diligently, and found it to be true, and that the abomination is committed in Israel:

17:5. Thou shalt bring forth the man or the woman, who have committed that most wicked thing, to the gates of thy city, and they shall be stoned.

17:6. By the mouth of two or three witnesses shall he die that is to be slain. Let no man be put to death, when only one beareth witness against him.

17:7. The hands of the witnesses shall be first upon him to kill him, and afterwards the hands of the rest of the people: that thou mayst take away the evil out of the midst of thee.

17:8. If thou perceive that there be among you a hard and doubtful matter in judgment between blood and blood, cause and cause, leprosy and leprosy: and thou see that the words of the judges within thy gates do vary: arise, and go up to the place, which the Lord thy God shall choose.

If thou perceive, etc. . .Here we see what authority God was pleased to give to the church guides of the Old Testament, in deciding, without appeal, all controversies relating to the law; promising that they should not err therein; and surely he has not done less for the church guides of the New Testament.

17:9. And thou shalt come to the priests of the Levitical race, and to the judge, that shall be at that time: and thou shalt ask of them, and they shall shew thee the truth of the judgment.

17:10. And thou shalt do whatsoever they shall say, that preside in the place, which the Lord shall choose, and what they shall teach thee,

17:11. According to his law; and thou shalt follow their sentence: neither shalt thou decline to the right hand nor to the left hand.

17:12. But he that will be proud, and refuse to obey the commandment of the priest, who ministereth at that time to the Lord thy God, and the decree of the judge, that man shall die, and thou shalt take away the evil from Israel:

17:13. And all the people hearing it shall fear, that no one afterwards swell with pride.

17:14. When thou art come into the land, which the Lord thy God will give thee, and possessest it, and shalt say: I will set a king over me, as all nations have that are round about:

17:15. Thou shalt set him whom the Lord thy God shall choose out of the number of thy brethren. Thou mayst not make a man of another nation king, that is not thy brother.

17:16. And when he is made king, he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor lead back the people into Egypt, being lifted up with the number of his horsemen, especially since the Lord hath commanded you to return no more the same way.

17:17. He shall not have many wives, that may allure his mind, nor immense sums of silver and gold.

17:18. But after he is raised to the throne of his kingdom, he shall copy out to himself the Deuteronomy of this law in a volume, taking the copy of the priests of the Levitical tribe,

17:19. And he shall have it with him, and shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God, and keep his words and ceremonies, that are commanded in the law;

17:20. And that his heart be not lifted up with pride over his brethren, nor decline to the right or to the left, that he and his sons may reign a long time over Israel.

Deuteronomy Chapter 18

The Lord is the inheritance of the priests and Levites. Heathenish abominations are to be avoided. The great PROPHET CHRIST is promised. False prophets must be slain.

18:1. The priests and Levites, and all that are of the same tribe, shall have no part nor inheritance with the rest of Israel, because they shall eat the sacrifices of the Lord, and his oblations,

18:2. And they shall receive nothing else of the possession of their brethren: for the Lord himself is their inheritance, as he hath said to them.

18:3. This shall be the priest’s due from the people, and from them that offer victims: whether they sacrifice an ox, or a sheep, they shall give to the priest the shoulder and the breast:

18:4. The firstfruits also of corn, of wine, and of oil, and a part of the wool from the shearing of their sheep.

18:5. For the Lord thy God hath chosen him of all thy tribes, to stand and to minister to the name of the Lord, him and his sons for ever.

18:6. If a Levite go out of any one of the cities throughout all Israel, in which he dwelleth, and have a longing mind to come to the place which the Lord shall choose,

18:7. He shall minister in the name of the Lord his God, as all his brethren the Levites do, that shall stand at that time before the Lord.

18:8. He shall receive the same portion of food that the rest do: besides that which is due to him in his own city, by succession from his fathers.

18:9. When thou art come into the land which the Lord thy God shall give thee, beware lest thou have a mind to imitate the abominations of those nations.

18:10. Neither let there be found among you any one that shall expiate his son or daughter, making them to pass through the fire: or that consulteth soothsayers, or observeth dreams and omens, neither let there be any wizard,

18:11. Nor charmer, nor any one that consulteth pythonic spirits, or fortune tellers, or that seeketh the truth from the dead.

18:12. For the Lord abhorreth all these things, and for these abominations he will destroy them at thy coming.

18:13. Thou shalt be perfect, and without spot before the Lord thy God.

18:14. These nations, whose land thou shalt possess, hearken to soothsayers and diviners: but thou art otherwise instructed by the Lord thy God.

18:15. The Lord thy God will raise up to thee a PROPHET of thy nation and of thy brethren like unto me: him thou shalt hear:

18:16. As thou desiredst of the Lord thy God in Horeb, when the assembly was gathered together, and saidst: Let me not hear any more the voice of the Lord my God, neither let me see any more this exceeding great fire, lest I die.

18:17. And the Lord said to me: They have spoken all things well.

18:18. I will raise them up a prophet out of the midst of their brethren like to thee: and I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I shall command him.

18:19. And he that will not hear his words, which he shall speak in my name, I will be the revenger.

18:20. But the prophet, who being corrupted with pride, shall speak in my name things that I did not command him to say, or in the name of strange gods, shall be slain.

18:21. And if in silent thought thou answer: How shall I know the word that the Lord hath not spoken?

18:22. Thou shalt have this sign: Whatsoever that same prophet foretelleth in the name of the Lord, and it cometh not to pass: that thing the Lord hath not spoken, but the prophet hath forged it by the pride of his mind: and therefore thou shalt not fear him.

Deuteronomy Chapter 19

The cities of refuge. Wilful murder, and false witnesses must be punished.

19:1. When the Lord thy God hath destroyed the nations, whose land he will deliver to thee, and thou shalt possess it, and shalt dwell in the cities and houses thereof:

19:2. Thou shalt separate to thee three cities in the midst of the land, which the Lord will give thee in possession,

19:3. Paving diligently the way: and thou shalt divide the whole province of thy land equally into three parts: that he who is forced to flee for manslaughter, may have near at hand whither to escape.

19:4. This shall be the law of the slayer that fleeth, whose life is to be saved: He that killeth his neighbor ignorantly, and who is proved to have had no hatred against him yesterday and the day before:

19:5. But to have gone with him to the wood to hew wood, and in cutting down the tree the axe slipped out of his hand, and the iron slipping from the handle struck his friend, and killed him: he shall flee to one of the cities aforesaid, and live:

19:6. Lest perhaps the next kinsman of him whose blood was shed, pushed on by his grief should pursue, and apprehend him, if the way be too long, and take away the life of him who is not guilty of death, because he is proved to have had no hatred before against him that was slain.

19:7. Therefore I command thee, that thou separate three cities at equal distance one from another.

19:8. And when the Lord thy God shall have enlarged thy borders, as he swore to thy fathers, and shall give thee all the land that he promised them,

19:9. (Yet so, if thou keep his commandments, and do the things which I command thee this day, that thou love the Lord thy God, and walk in his ways at all times) thou shalt add to thee other three cities, and shalt double the number of the three cities aforesaid:

19:10. That innocent blood may not be shed in the midst of the land which the Lord thy God will give thee to possess, lest thou be guilty of blood.

19:11. But if any man hating his neighbour, lie in wait for his life, and rise and strike him, and he die, and he flee to one of the cities aforesaid,

19:12. The ancients of his city shall send, and take him out of the place of refuge, and shall deliver him into the hand of the kinsman of him whose blood was shed, and he shall die.

19:13. Thou shalt not pity him, and thou shalt take away the guilt of innocent blood out of Israel, that it may be well with thee.

19:14. Thou shalt not take nor remove thy neighbour’s landmark, which thy predecessors have set in thy possession, which the Lord thy God will give thee in the land that thou shalt receive to possess.

19:15. One witness shall not rise up against any man, whatsoever the sin or wickedness be: but in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall stand.

19:16. If a lying witness stand against a man, accusing him of transgression,

19:17. Both of them, between whom the controversy is, shall stand before the Lord in the sight of the priests and the judges that shall be in those days.

19:18. And when after most diligent inquisition, they shall find that the false witness hath told a lie against his brother:

19:19. They shall render to him as he meant to do to his brother, and thou shalt take away the evil out of the midst of thee:

19:20. That others hearing may fear, and may not dare to do such things.

19:21. Thou shalt not pity him, but shalt require life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.

Deuteronomy Chapter 20

Laws relating to war.

20:1. If thou go out to war against thy enemies, and see horsemen and chariots, and the numbers of the enemy’s army greater than thine, thou shalt not fear them: because the Lord thy God is with thee, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt.

20:2. And when the battle is now at hand, the priest shall stand before the army, and shall speak to the people in this manner:

20:3. Hear, O Israel, you join battle this day against your enemies, let not your heart be dismayed, be not afraid, do not give back, fear ye them not:

20:4. Because the Lord your God is in the midst of you, and will fight for you against your enemies, to deliver you from danger.

20:5. And the captains shall proclaim through every band in the hearing of the army: 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 die in the battle, and another man dedicate it.

20:6. What man is there, that hath planted a vineyard, and hath not as yet made it to be common, whereof all men may eat? let him go, and return to his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man execute his office.

20:7. What man is there, that hath espoused a wife, and not taken her? let him go, and return to his house, lest he die in the war, and another man take her.

20:8. After these things are declared they shall add the rest, and shall speak to the people: What man is there that is fearful, and faint hearted? let him go, and return to his house, lest he make the hearts of his brethren to fear, as he himself is possessed with fear.

20:9. And when the captains of the army shall hold their peace, and have made an end of speaking, every man shall prepare their bands to fight.

20:10. If at any time thou come to fight against a city, thou shalt first offer it peace.

20:11. If they receive it, and open the gates to thee, all the people that are therein, shall be saved, and shall serve thee paying tribute.

20:12. But if they will not make peace, and shall begin war against thee, thou shalt besiege it.

20:13. And when the Lord thy God shall deliver it into thy hands, thou shalt slay all that are therein of the male sex, with the edge of the sword,

20:14. Excepting women and children, cattle and other things, that are in the city. And thou shalt divide all the prey to the army, and thou shalt eat the spoils of thy enemies, which the Lord thy God shall give thee.

20:15. So shalt thou do to all cities that are at a great distance from thee, and are not of these cities which thou shalt receive in possession.

20:16. But of those cities that shall be given thee, thou shalt suffer none at all to live:

20:17. But shalt kill them with the edge of the sword, to wit, the Hethite, and the Amorrhite, and the Chanaanite, the Pherezite, and the Hevite, and the Jebusite, as the Lord thy God hath commanded thee:

20:18. Lest they teach you to do all the abominations which they have done to their gods: and you should sin against the Lord your God.

20:19. When thou hast besieged a city a long time, and hath compassed it with bulwarks, to take it, thou shalt not cut down the trees that may be eaten of, neither shalt thou spoil the country round about with axes: for it is a tree, and not a man, neither can it increase the number of them that fight against thee.

20:20. But if there be any trees that are not fruitful, but wild, and fit for other uses, cut them down, and make engines, until thou take the city, which fighteth against thee.

Deuteronomy Chapter 21

The expiation of a secret murder. The marrying a captive. The eldest son must not be deprived of his birthright for hatred of his mother. A stubborn son is to be stoned to death. When one is hanged on a gibbet, he must be taken down the same day and buried.

21:1. When there shall be found in the land, which the Lord thy God will give thee, the corpse of a man slain, and it is not known who is guilty of the murder,

21:2. Thy ancients and judges shall go out, and shall measure from the place where the body lieth the distance of every city round about:

21:3. And the ancients of that city which they shall perceive to be nearer than the rest, shall take a heifer of the herd, that hath not drawn in the yoke, nor ploughed the ground,

21:4. And they shall bring her into a rough and stony valley, that never was ploughed, nor sown: and there they shall strike off the head of the heifer:

21:5. And the priests the sons of Levi shall come, whom the Lord thy God hath chosen to minister to him, and to bless in his name, and that by their word every matter should be decided, and whatsoever is clean or unclean should be judged.

21:6. And the ancients of that city shall come to the person slain, and shall wash their hands over the heifer that was killed in the valley,

21:7. And shall say: Our hands did not shed this blood, nor did our eyes see it.

21:8. Be merciful to thy people Israel, whom thou hast redeemed, O Lord, and lay not innocent blood to their charge, in the midst of thy people Israel. And the guilt of blood shall be taken from them:

21:9. And thou shalt be free from the innocent’s blood, that was shed, when thou shalt have done what the Lord hath commanded thee.

21:10. If thou go out to fight against thy enemies, and the Lord thy God deliver them into thy hand, and thou lead them away captives,

21:11. And seest in the number of the captives a beautiful woman, and lovest her, and wilt have her to wife,

21:12. Thou shalt bring her into thy house: and she shall shave her hair, and pare her nails,

21:13. And shall put off the raiment, wherein she was taken: and shall remain in thy house, and mourn for her father and mother one month: and after that thou shalt go in unto her, and shalt sleep with her, and she shall be thy wife.

21:14. But if afterwards she please thee not, thou shalt let her go free, but thou mayst not sell her for money nor oppress her by might because thou hast humbled her.

21:15. If a man have two wives, one beloved, and the other hated, and they have had children by him, and the son of the hated be the firstborn,

21:16. And he meaneth to divide his substance among his sons: he may not make the son of the beloved the firstborn, and prefer him before the son of the hated.

21:17. But he shall acknowledge the son of the hated for the firstborn, and shall give him a double portion of all he hath: for this is the first of his children, and to him are due the first birthrights.

21:18. If a man have a stubborn and unruly son, who will not hear the commandments of his father or mother, and being corrected, slighteth obedience:

21:19. They shall take him and bring him to the ancients of the city, and to the gate of judgment,

21:20. And shall say to them: This our son is rebellious and stubborn, he slighteth hearing our admonitions, he giveth himself to revelling, and to debauchery and banquetings:

21:21. The people of the city shall stone him: and he shall die, that you may take away the evil out of the midst of you, and all Israel hearing it may be afraid.

21:22. When a man hath committed a crime for which he is to be punished with death, and being condemned to die is hanged on a gibbet:

21:23. His body shall not remain upon the tree, but shall be buried the same day: for he is accursed of God that hangeth on a tree: and thou shalt not defile thy land, which the Lord thy God shall give thee in possession.

Deuteronomy Chapter 22

Humanity towards neighbours. Neither sex may use the apparel of the other. Cruelty to be avoided even to birds. Battlements about the roof of a house. Things of divers kinds not to be mixed. The punishment of him that slandereth his wife, as also of adultery and rape.

22:1. Thou shalt not pass by if thou seest thy brother’s ox, or his sheep go astray: but thou shalt bring them back to thy brother.

22:2. And if thy brother be not nigh, or thou know him not: thou shalt bring them to thy house, and they shall be with thee until thy brother seek them, and receive them.

22:3. Thou shalt do in like manner with his ass, and with his raiment, and with every thing that is thy brother’s, which is lost: if thou find it, neglect it not as pertaining to another.

22:4. If thou see thy brother’s ass or his ox to be fallen down in the way, thou shalt not slight it, but shalt lift it up with him.

22:5. A woman shall not be clothed with man’s apparel, neither shall a man use woman’s apparel: for he that doth these things is abominable before God.

22:6. If thou find as thou walkest by the way, a bird’s nest in a tree, or on the ground, and the dam sitting upon the young or upon the eggs: thou shalt not take her with her young:

Thou shalt not take, etc. This was to shew them to exercise a certain mercy even to irrational creatures; and by that means to train them up to a horror of cruelty; and to the exercise of humanity and mutual charity one to another.

22:7. But shalt let her go, keeping the young which thou hast caught: that it may be well with thee, and thou mayst live a long time.

22:8. When thou buildest a new house, thou shalt make a battlement to the roof round about: lest blood be shed in thy house, and thou be guilty, if any one slip, and fall down headlong.

Battlement. . .This precaution was necessary, because all their houses had flat tops, and it was usual to walk and to converse together upon them.

22:9. Thou shalt not sow thy vineyard with divers seeds: lest both the seed which thou hast sown, and the fruit of the vineyard, be sanctified together.

22:10. Thou shalt not plough with an ox and an ass together.

22:11. Thou shalt not wear a garment that is woven of woollen and linen together.

22:12. Thou shalt make strings in the hem at the four corners of thy cloak, wherewith thou shalt be covered.

22:13. If a man marry a wife, and afterwards hate her,

22:14. And seek occasions to put her away, laying to her charge a very ill name, and say: I took this woman to wife, and going in to her, I found her not a virgin:

22:15. Her father and mother shall take her, and shall bring with them the tokens of her virginity to the ancients of the city that are in the gate:

22:16. And the father shall say: I gave my daughter unto this man to wife: and because he hateth her,

22:17. He layeth to her charge a very ill name, so as to say: I found not thy daughter a virgin: and behold these are the tokens of my daughter’s virginity. And they shall spread the cloth before the ancients of the city:

22:18. And the ancients of that city shall take that man, and beat him,

22:19. Condemning him besides in a hundred sicles of silver, which he shall give to the damsel’s father, because he hath defamed by a very ill name a virgin of Israel: and he shall have her to wife, and may not put her away all the days of his life.

22:20. But if what he charged her with be true, and virginity be not found in the damsel:

22:21. They shall cast her out of the doors of her father’s house, and the men of the city shall stone her to death, and she shall die: because she hath done a wicked thing in Israel, to play the whore in her father’s house: and thou shalt take away the evil out of the midst of thee.

22:22. If a man lie with another man’s wife, they shall both die, that is to say, the adulterer and the adulteress: and thou shalt take away the evil out of Israel.

22:23. If a man have espoused a damsel that is a virgin, and some one find her in the city, and lie with her,

22:24. Thou shalt bring them both out to the gate of that city, and they shall be stoned: the damsel, because she cried not out, being in the city: the man, because he hath humbled his neighbour’s wife. And thou shalt take away the evil from the midst of thee.

22:25. But if a man find a damsel that is betrothed, in the field, and taking hold of her, lie with her, he alone shall die:

22:26. The damsel shall suffer nothing, neither is she guilty of death: for as a robber riseth against his brother, and taketh away his life, so also did the damsel suffer:

22:27. She was alone in the field: she cried, and there was no man to help her.

22:28. If a man find a damsel that is a virgin, who is not espoused, and taking her, lie with her, and the matter come to judgment:

22:29. He that lay with her shall give to the father of the maid fifty sicles of silver, and shall have her to wife, because he hath humbled her: he may not put her away all the days of his life.

22:30. No man shall take his father’s wife, nor remove his covering.

Deuteronomy Chapter 23

Who may and who may not enter into the church: uncleanness to be avoided: other precepts concerning fugitives, fornication, usury, vows, and eating other men’s grapes and corn.

23:1. An eunuch, whose testicles are broken or cut away, or yard cut off, shall not enter into the church of the Lord.

Eunuch. . .By these are meant, in the spiritual sense, such as are barren in good works. Ibid. Into the church. . .That is, into the assembly or congregation of Israel, so as to have the privilege of an Israelite, or to be capable of any place or office among the people of God.

23:2. A mamzer, that is to say, one born of a prostitute, shall not enter into the church of the Lord, until the tenth generation.

23:3. The Ammonite and the Moabite, even after the tenth generation shall not enter into the church of the Lord for ever:

23:4. Because they would not meet you with bread and water in the way, when you came out of Egypt: and because they hired against thee Balaam, the son of Beor, from Mesopotamia in Syria, to curse thee.

23:5. And the Lord thy God would not hear Balaam, and he turned his cursing into thy blessing, because he loved thee.

23:6. Thou shalt not make peace with them, neither shalt thou seek their prosperity all the days of thy life for ever.

23:7. Thou shalt not abhor the Edomite, because he is thy brother: nor the Egyptian, because thou wast a stranger in his land.

23:8. They that are born of them, in the third generation shall enter into the church of the Lord.

23:9. When thou goest out to war against thy enemies, thou shalt keep thyself from every evil thing.

23:10. If there be among you any man, that is defiled in a dream by night, he shall go forth out of the camp,

23:11. And shall not return, before he be washed with water in the evening: and after sunset he shall return into the camp.

23:12. Thou shalt have a place without the camp, to which thou mayst go for the necessities of nature,

23:13. Carrying a paddle at thy girdle. And when thou sittest down, thou shalt dig round about, and with the earth that is dug up thou shalt cover

23:14. That which thou art eased of: (for the Lord thy God walketh in the midst of thy camp, to deliver thee, and to give up thy enemies to thee:) and let thy camp be holy, and let no uncleanness appear therein, lest he go away from thee.

No uncleanness. . .This caution against suffering any filth in the camp, was to teach them to fly the filth of sin, which driveth God away from the soul.

23:15. Thou shalt not deliver to his master the servant that is fled to thee.

23:16. He shall dwell with thee in the place that shall please him, and shall rest in one of thy cities: give him no trouble.

23:17. There shall be no whore among the daughters of Israel, nor whoremonger among the sons of Israel.

23:18. Thou shalt not offer the hire of a strumpet, nor the price of a dog, in the house of the Lord thy God, whatsoever it be that thou hast vowed: because both these are an abomination to the Lord thy God.

23:19. Thou shalt not lend to thy brother money to usury, nor corn, nor any other thing:

23:20. But to the stranger. To thy brother thou shalt lend that which he wanteth, without usury: that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all thy works in the land, which thou shalt go in to possess.

To the stranger. . .This was a dispensation granted by God to his people, who being the Lord of all things, can give a right and title to one upon the goods of another. Otherwise the scripture everywhere condemns usury, as contrary to the law of God, and a crying sin. See Ex. 22.25; Lev. 25.36, 37; 2 Esd. 5.7; Ps. 14.5; Ezech. 18.8, 13, etc.

23:21. When thou hast made a vow to the Lord thy God, thou shalt not delay to pay it: because the Lord thy God will require it. And if thou delay, it shall be imputed to thee for a sin.

23:22. If thou wilt not promise, thou shalt be without sin.

23:23. But that which is once gone out of thy lips, thou shalt observe, and shalt do as thou hast promised to the Lord thy God, and hast spoken with thy own will and with thy own mouth.

23:24. Going into thy neighbour’s vineyard, thou mayst eat as many grapes as thou pleasest: but must carry none out with thee:

23:25. If thou go into thy friend’s corn, thou mayst break the ears, and rub them in thy hand: but not reap them with a sickle.

Deuteronomy Chapter 24

Divorce permitted to avoid greater evil: the newly married must not go to war: of men stealers, of leprosy, of pledges, of labourers’ hire, of justice, and of charity to the poor.

24:1. If a man take a wife, and have her, and she find not favour in his eyes, for some uncleanness: he shall write a bill of divorce, and shall give it in her hand, and send her out of his house.

24:2. And when she is departed, and marrieth another husband,

24:3. And he also hateth her, and hath given her a bill of divorce, and hath sent her out of his house or is dead:

24:4. The former husband cannot take her again to wife: because she is defiled, and is become abominable before the Lord: lest thou cause thy land to sin, which the Lord thy God shall give thee to possess.

24:5. When a man hath lately taken a wife, he shall not go out to war, neither shall any public business be enjoined him, but he shall be free at home without fault, that for one year he may rejoice with his wife.

24:6. Thou shalt not take the nether, nor the upper millstone to pledge: for he hath pledged his life to thee.

24:7. If any man be found soliciting his brother of the children of Israel, and selling him shall take a price, he shall be put to death, and thou shalt take away the evil from the midst of thee.

24:8. Observe diligently that thou incur not the stroke of the leprosy, but thou shalt do whatsoever the priests of the Levitical race shall teach thee, according to what I have commanded them, and fulfil thou it carefully.

24:9. Remember what the Lord your God did to Mary, in the way when you came out of Egypt.

24:10. When thou shalt demand of thy neighbour any thing that he oweth thee, thou shalt not go into his house to take away a pledge:

24:11. But thou shalt stand without, and he shall bring out to thee what he hath.

24:12. But if he be poor, the pledge shall not lodge with thee that night,

24:13. But thou shalt restore it to him presently before the going down of the sun: that he may sleep in his own raiment and bless thee, and thou mayst have justice before the Lord thy God.

24:14. Thou shalt not refuse the hire of the needy, and the poor, whether he be thy brother, or a stranger that dwelleth with thee in the land, and is within thy gates:

24:15. But thou shalt pay him the price of his labour the same day, before the going down of the sun, because he is poor, and with it maintaineth his life: lest he cry against thee to the Lord, and it be reputed to thee for a sin.

24:16. The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, nor the children for the fathers, but every one shall die for his own sin,

24:17. Thou shalt not pervert the judgment of the stranger nor of the fatherless, neither shalt thou take away the widow’s raiment for a pledge.

24:18. Remember that thou wast a slave in Egypt, and the Lord thy God delivered thee from thence. Therefore I command thee to do this thing.

24:19. When thou hast reaped the corn in thy field, and hast forgot and left a sheaf, thou shalt not return to take it away: but thou shalt suffer the stranger, and the fatherless and the widow to take it away: that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all the works of thy hands.

24:20. If thou have gathered the fruit of thy olive trees, thou shalt not return to gather whatsoever remaineth on the trees: but shalt leave it for the stranger, for the fatherless, and the widow.

24:21. If thou make the vintage of thy vineyard, thou shalt not gather the clusters that remain, but they shall be for the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow.

24:22. Remember that thou also wast a bondman in Egypt, and therefore I command thee to do this thing.

Deuteronomy Chapter 25

Stripes must not exceed forty. The ox is not to be muzzled. Of raising seed to the brother. Of the immodest woman. Of unjust weight. Of destroying the Amalecites.

25:1. If there be a controversy between men, and they call upon the judges: they shall give the prize of justice to him whom they perceive to be just: and him whom they find to be wicked, they shall condemn of wickedness.

25:2. And if they see that the offender be worthy of stripes: they shall lay him down, and shall cause him to be beaten before them. According to the measure of the sin shall the measure also of the stripes be:

25:3. Yet so, that they exceed not the number of forty: lest thy brother depart shamefully torn before thy eyes.

25:4. Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out thy corn on the floor.

Not muzzle, etc. . .St. Paul understands this of the spiritual labourer in the church of God, who is not to be denied his maintenance. 1 Cor. 9.8, 9, 10.

25:5. When brethren dwell together, and one of them dieth without children, the wife of the deceased shall not marry to another: but his brother shall take her, and raise up seed for his brother:

25:6. And the first son he shall have of her he shall call by his name, that his name be not abolished out of Israel.

25:7. But if he will not take his brother’s wife, who by law belongeth to him, the woman shall go to the gate of the city, and call upon the ancients, and say: My husband’s brother refuseth to raise up his brother’s name in Israel: and will not take me to wife.

25:8. And they shall cause him to be sent for forthwith, and shall ask him. If he answer: I will not take her to wife:

25:9. The woman shall come to him before the ancients, and shall take off his shoe from his foot, and spit in his face, and say: So shall it be done to the man that will not build up his brother’s house:

25:10. And his name shall be called in Israel, the house of the unshod.

25:11. If two men have words together, and one begin to fight against the other, and the other’s wife willing to deliver her husband out of the hand of the stronger, shall put forth her hand, and take him by the secrets,

25:12. Thou shalt cut off her hand, neither shalt thou be moved with any pity in her regard.

25:13. Thou shalt not have divers weights in thy bag, a greater and a less:

25:14. Neither shall there be in thy house a greater bushel and a less.

25:15. Thou shalt have a just and a true weight, and thy bushel shall be equal and true: that thou mayest live a long time upon the land which the Lord thy God shall give thee.

25:16. For the Lord thy God abhorreth him that doth these things, and he hateth all injustice.

25:17. Remember what Amalec did to thee in the way when thou camest out of Egypt:

Amalec. . .This order for destroying the Amalecites, in the mystical sense, sheweth how hateful they are to God, and what punishments they are to look for from his justice, who attack and discourage his servants when they are but just come out, as it were, of the Egypt of this wicked world and being yet weak and fainthearted, are but beginning their journey to the land of promise.

25:18. How he met thee: and slew the hindmost of the army, who sat down, being weary, when thou wast spent with hunger and labour, and he feared not God.

25:19. Therefore when the Lord thy God shall give thee rest, and shall have subdued all the nations round about in the land which he hath promised thee: thou shalt blot out his name from under heaven. See thou forget it not.

Deuteronomy Chapter 26

The form of words with which the firstfruits and tithes are to be offered. God’s covenant.

26:1. And when thou art come into the land which the Lord thy God will give thee to possess, and hast conquered it, and dwellest in it:

26:2. Thou shalt take the first of all thy fruits, and put them in a basket, and shalt go to the place which the Lord thy God shall choose, that his name may be invocated there:

26:3. And thou shalt go to the priest that shall be in those days, and say to him: I profess this day before the Lord thy God, that I am come into the land, for which he swore to our fathers, that he would give it us.

26:4. And the priest taking the basket at thy hand, shall set it before the altar of the Lord thy God:

26:5. And thou shalt speak thus in the sight of the Lord thy God: The Syrian pursued my father, who went down into Egypt, and sojourned there in a very small number, and grew into a nation great and strong and of an infinite multitude.

The Syrian. . .Laban. See Gen. 27.

26:6. And the Egyptians afflicted us, and persecuted us, laying on us most grievous burdens:

26:7. And we cried to the Lord God of our fathers: who heard us, and looked down upon our affliction, and labour, and distress:

26:8. And brought us out of Egypt with a strong hand, and a stretched out arm, with great terror, with signs and wonders:

26:9. And brought us into this place, and gave us this land flowing with milk and honey.

26:10. And therefore now I offer the firstfruits of the land which the Lord hath given me. And thou shalt leave them in the sight of the Lord thy God, adoring the Lord thy God.

26:11. And thou shalt feast in all the good things which the Lord thy God hath given thee, and thy house, thou and the Levite, and the stranger that is with thee.

26:12. When thou hast made an end of tithing all thy fruits, in the third year of tithes thou shalt give it to the Levite, and to the stranger, and to the fatherless, and to the widow, that they may eat within thy gates, and be filled:

26:13. And thou shalt speak thus in the sight of the Lord thy God: I have taken that which was sanctified out of my house, and I have given it to the Levite, and to the stranger, and to the fatherless, and to the widow, as thou hast commanded me: I have not transgressed thy commandments nor forgotten thy precepts.

26:14. I have not eaten of them in my mourning, nor separated them for any uncleanness, nor spent any thing of them in funerals. I have obeyed the voice of the Lord my God, and have done all things as thou hast commanded me.

26:15. Look from thy sanctuary, and thy high habitation of heaven, and bless thy people Israel, and the land which thou hast given us, as thou didst swear to our fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey.

26:16. This day the Lord thy God hath commanded thee to do these commandments and judgments: and to keep and fulfil them with all thy heart, and with all thy soul.

26:17. Thou hast chosen the Lord this day to be thy God, and to walk in his ways and keep his ceremonies, and precepts, and judgments, and obey his command.

26:18. And the Lord hath chosen thee this day, to be his peculiar people, as he hath spoken to thee, and to keep all his commandments:

26:19. And to make thee higher than all nations which he hath created, to his own praise, and name, and glory: that thou mayst be a holy people of the Lord thy God, as he hath spoken.

Deuteronomy Chapter 27

The commandments must be written on stones: and an altar erected, and sacrifices offered. The observers of the commandments are to be blessed, and the transgressors cursed.

27:1. And Moses with the ancients of Israel commanded the people, saying: Keep every commandment that I command you this day.

27:2. And when you are passed over the Jordan into the land which the Lord thy God will give thee, thou shalt set up great stones, and shalt plaster them over with plaster,

27:3. That thou mayst write on them all the words of this law, when thou art passed over the Jordan: that thou mayst enter into the land which the Lord thy God will give thee, a land flowing with milk and honey, as he swore to thy fathers.

27:4. Therefore when you are passed over the Jordan, set up the stones which I command you this day, in mount Hebal, and thou shalt plaster them with plaster:

27:5. And thou shalt build there an altar to the Lord thy God, of stones which iron hath not touched,

27:6. And of stones not fashioned nor polished: and thou shalt offer upon it holocausts to the Lord thy God:

27:7. And shalt immolate peace victims, and eat there, and feast before the Lord thy God.

27:8. And thou shalt write upon the stones all the words of this law plainly and clearly.

27:9. And Moses and the priests of the race of Levi said to all Israel: Attend, and hear, O Israel: This day thou art made the people of the Lord thy God:

27:10. Thou shalt hear his voice, and do the commandments and justices which I command thee.

27:11. And Moses commanded the people in that day, saying:

27:12. These shall stand upon mount Garizim to bless the people, when you are passed the Jordan: Simeon, Levi, Juda, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin.

27:13. And over against them shall stand on mount Hebal to curse: Ruben, Gad, and Aser, and Zabulon, Dan, and Nephtali.

27:14. And the Levites shall pronounce, and say to all the men of Israel with a loud voice:

27:15. Cursed be the man that maketh a graven and molten thing, the abomination of the Lord, the work of the hands of artificers, and shall put it in a secret place: and all the people shall answer and say: Amen.

27:16. Cursed be he that honoureth not his father and mother: and all the people shall say: Amen.

27:17. Cursed be he that removeth his neighbour’s landmarks: and all the people shall say: Amen.

27:18. Cursed be he that maketh the blind to wander out of his way: and all the people shall say: Amen.

27:19. Cursed be he that perverteth the judgment of the stranger, of the fatherless and the widow: and all the people shall say: Amen.

27:20. Cursed be he that lieth with his father’s wife, and uncovereth his bed: and all the people shall say: Amen.

27:21. Cursed be he that lieth with any beast: and all the people shall say: Amen.

27:22. Cursed be he that lieth with his sister, the daughter of his father, or of his mother: and all the people shall say: Amen.

27:23. Cursed be he that lieth with his mother-in-law: and all the people shall say: Amen.

27:24. Cursed be he that secretly killeth his neighbour: and all the people shall say: Amen.

27:25. Cursed be he that taketh gifts, to slay an innocent person: and all the people shall say: Amen.

27:26. Cursed be he that abideth not in the words of this law, and fulfilleth them not in work: and all the people shall say: Amen.

Deuteronomy Chapter 28

Many blessings are promised to observers of God’s commandments: and curses threatened to transgressors.

28:1. Now if thou wilt hear the voice of the Lord thy God, to do and keep all his commandments, which I command thee this day, the Lord thy God will make thee higher than all the nations that are on the earth.

28:2. And all these blessings shall come upon thee and overtake thee: yet so if thou hear his precepts.

All these blessings, etc. . .In the Old Testament, God promised temporal blessings to the keepers of his law, heaven not being opened as yet; and that gross and sensual people being more moved with present and sensible things. But in the New Testament the goods that are promised us are spiritual and eternal; and temporal evils are turned into blessings.

28:3. Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed in the field.

28:4. Blessed shall be the fruit of thy womb, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the droves of thy herds, and the folds of thy sheep.

28:5. Blessed shall be thy barns and blessed thy stores.

28:6. Blessed shalt thou be coming in and going out.

28:7. The Lord shall cause thy enemies, that rise up against thee, to fall down before thy face: one way shall they come out against thee, and seven ways shall they flee before thee.

28:8. The Lord will send forth a blessing upon thy storehouses, and upon all the works of thy hands: and will bless thee in the land that thou shalt receive.

28:9. The Lord will raise thee up to be a holy people to himself, as he swore to thee: if thou keep the commandments of the Lord thy God, and walk in his ways.

28:10. And all the people of the earth shall see that the name of the Lord is invocated upon thee, and they shall fear thee.

28:11. The Lord will make thee abound with all goods, with the fruit of thy womb, and the fruit of thy cattle, with the fruit of thy land, which the Lord swore to thy fathers that he would give thee.

28:12. The Lord will open his excellent treasure, the heaven, that it may give rain in due season: and he will bless all the works of thy hands. And thou shalt lend to many nations, and shalt not borrow of any one.

28:13. And the Lord shall make thee the head and not the tail: and thou shalt be always above, and not beneath: yet so if thou wilt hear the commandments of the Lord thy God which I command thee this day, and keep and do them,

28:14. And turn not away from them neither to the right hand, nor to the left, nor follow strange gods, nor worship them.

28:15. But if thou wilt not hear the voice of the Lord thy God, to keep and to do all his commandments and ceremonies, which I command thee this day, all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee.

All these curses, etc. . .Thus God dealt with the transgressors of his law in the Old Testament: but now he often suffers sinners to prosper in this world, rewarding them for some little good they have done, and reserving their punishment for the other world.

28:16. Cursed shalt thou be in the city, cursed in the field.

28:17. Cursed shall be thy barn, and cursed thy stores.

28:18. Cursed shall be the fruit of thy womb, and the fruit of thy ground, the herds of thy oxen, and the flocks of thy sheep.

28:19. Cursed shalt thou be coming in, and cursed going out.

28:20. The Lord shall send upon thee famine and hunger, and a rebuke upon all the works which thou shalt do: until he consume and destroy thee quickly, for thy most wicked inventions, by which thou hast forsaken me.

28:21. May the Lord set the pestilence upon thee, until he consume thee out of the land, which thou shalt go in to possess.

28:22. May the Lord afflict thee with miserable want, with the fever and with cold, with burning and with heat, and with corrupted air and with blasting, and pursue thee till thou perish.

28:23. Be the heaven, that is over thee, of brass: and the ground thou treadest on, of iron.

28:24. The Lord give thee dust for rain upon thy land, and let ashes come down from heaven upon thee, till thou be consumed.

28:25. The Lord make thee to fall down before thy enemies, one way mayst thou go out against them, and flee seven ways, and be scattered throughout all the kingdoms of the earth.

28:26. And be thy carcass meat for all the fowls of the air, and the beasts of the earth, and be there none to drive them away.

28:27. The Lord strike thee with the ulcer of Egypt, and the part of thy body, by which the dung is cast out, with the scab and with the itch: so that thou canst not be healed.

28:28. The Lord strike thee with madness and blindness and fury of mind.

28:29. And mayst thou grope at midday as the blind is wont to grope in the dark, and not make straight thy ways. And mayst thou at all times suffer wrong, and be oppressed with violence, and mayst thou have no one to deliver thee.

28:30. Mayst thou take a wife, and another sleep with her. Mayst thou build a house, and not dwell therein. Mayest thou plant a vineyard and not gather the vintage thereof.

28:31. May thy ox be slain before thee, and thou not eat thereof. May thy ass be taken away in thy sight, and not restored to thee. May thy sheep be given to thy enemies, and may there be none to help thee.

28:32. May thy sons and thy daughters be given to another people, thy eyes looking on, and languishing at the sight of them all the day, and may there be no strength in thy hand.

28:33. May a people which thou knowest not, eat the fruits of thy land, and all thy labours: and mayst thou always suffer oppression, and be crushed at all times.

28:34. And be astonished at the terror of those things which thy eyes shall see:

28:35. May the Lord strike thee with a very sore ulcer in the knees and in the legs, and be thou incurable from the sole of the foot to the top of the head.

28:36. The Lord shall bring thee, and thy king, whom thou shalt have appointed over thee, into a nation which thou and thy fathers know not: and there thou shalt serve strange gods, wood and stone.

28:37. And thou shalt be lost, as a proverb and a byword to all people, among whom the Lord shall bring thee in.

28:38. Thou shalt cast much seed into the ground, and gather little: because the locusts shall consume all.

28:39. Thou shalt plant a vineyard, and dig it, and shalt not drink the wine, nor gather any thing thereof: because it shall be wasted with worms.

28:40. Thou shalt have olive trees in all thy borders, and shalt not be anointed with the oil: for the olives shall fall off and perish.

28:41. Thou shalt beget sons and daughters, and shalt not enjoy them: because they shall be led into captivity.

28:42. The blast shall consume all the trees and the fruits of thy ground.

28:43. The stranger that liveth with thee in the land, shall rise up over thee, and shall be higher: and thou shalt go down, and be lower.

28:44. He shall lend to thee, and thou shalt not lend to him. He shall be as the head, and thou shalt be the tail.

28:45. And all these curses shall come upon thee, and shall pursue and overtake thee, till thou perish: because thou heardst not the voice of the Lord thy God, and didst not keep his commandments and ceremonies which he commanded thee.

28:46. And they shall be as signs and wonders on thee, and on thy seed for ever.

28:47. Because thou didst not serve the Lord thy God with joy and gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things:

28:48. Thou shalt serve thy enemy, whom the Lord will send upon thee, in hunger, and thirst, and nakedness, and in want of all things: and he shall put an iron yoke upon thy neck, till he consume thee.

28:49. The Lord will bring upon thee a nation from afar, and from the uttermost ends of the earth, like an eagle that flyeth swiftly, whose tongue thou canst not understand,

28:50. A most insolent nation, that will shew no regard to the ancients, nor have pity on the infant,

28:51. And will devour the fruit of thy cattle, and the fruits of thy land: until thou be destroyed, and will leave thee no wheat, nor wine, nor oil, nor herds of oxen, nor flocks of sheep: until he destroy thee.

28:52. And consume thee in all thy cities, and thy strong and high wall be brought down, wherein thou trustedst in all thy land. Thou shalt be besieged within thy gates in all thy land which the Lord thy God will give thee:

28:53. And thou shalt eat the fruit of thy womb, and the flesh of thy sons and of thy daughters, which the Lord thy God shall give thee, in the distress and extremity wherewith thy enemy shall oppress thee.

28:54. The man that is nice among you, and very delicate, shall envy his own brother, and his wife, that lieth in his bosom,

28:55. So that he will not give them of the flesh of his children, which he shall eat: because he hath nothing else in the siege and the want, wherewith thy enemies shall distress thee within all thy gates.

28:56. The tender and delicate woman, that could not go upon the ground, nor set down her foot for over much niceness and tenderness, will envy her husband who lieth in her bosom, the flesh of her son, and of her daughter,

28:57. And the filth of the afterbirths, that come forth from between her thighs, and the children that are born the same hour. For they shall eat them secretly for the want of all things, in the siege and distress, wherewith thy enemy shall oppress thee within thy gates.

28:58. If thou wilt not keep, and fulfil all the words of this law, that are written in this volume, and fear his glorious and terrible name: that is, The Lord thy God:

28:59. The Lord shall increase thy plagues, and the plagues of thy seed, plagues great and lasting, infirmities grievous and perpetual.

28:60. And he shall bring back on thee all the afflictions of Egypt, which thou wast afraid of, and they shall stick fast to thee.

28:61. Moreover the Lord will bring upon thee all the diseases, and plagues, that are not written in the volume of this law till he consume thee:

28:62. And you shall remain few in number, who before were as the stars of heaven for multitude, because thou heardst not the voice of the Lord thy God.

28:63. And as the Lord rejoiced upon you before doing good to you, and multiplying you: so he shall rejoice destroying and bringing you to nought, so that you shall be taken away from the land which thou shalt go in to possess.

28:64. The Lord shall scatter thee among all people, from the farthest parts of the earth to the ends thereof: and there thou shalt serve strange gods, which both thou art ignorant of and thy fathers, wood and stone.

28:65. Neither shalt thou be quiet, even in those nations, nor shall there be any rest for the sole of thy foot. For the Lord will give thee a fearful heart, and languishing eyes, and a soul consumed with pensiveness:

28:66. And thy life shall be as it were hanging before thee. Thou shalt fear night and day, neither shalt thou trust thy life.

28:67. In the morning thou shalt say: Who will grant me evening? and at evening: Who will grant me morning? for the fearfulness of thy heart, wherewith thou shalt be terrified, and for those things which thou shalt see with thy eyes.

28:68. The Lord shall bring thee again with ships into Egypt, by the way whereof he said to thee that thou shouldst see it no more. There shalt thou be set to sale to thy enemies for bondmen and bondwomen, and no man shall buy you.

Deuteronomy Chapter 29

The covenant is solemnly confirmed between God and his people. Threats against those that shall break it.

29:1. These are the words of the covenant which the Lord commanded Moses to make with the children of Israel in the land of Moab: beside that covenant which he made with them in Horeb.

29:2. And Moses called all Israel, and said to them: You have seen all the things that the Lord did before you in the land of Egypt to Pharao, and to all his servants, and to his whole land.

29:3. The great temptations, which thy eyes have seen, those mighty signs and wonders,

29:4. And the Lord hath not given you a heart to understand, and eyes to see, and ears that may hear, unto this present day.

Hath not given you, etc. . .Through your own fault and because you resisted his grace.

29:5. He hath brought you forty years through the desert: your garments are not worn out, neither are the shoes of your feet consumed with age.

29:6. You have not eaten bread, nor have you drunk wine or strong drink: that you might know that I am the Lord your God.

29:7. And you came to this place: and Sehon king of Hesebon, and Og king of Basan, came out against us to fight. And we slew them.

29:8. And took their land, and delivered it for a possession to Ruben and Gad, and the half tribe of Manasses.

29:9. Keep therefore the words of this covenant, and fulfil them: that you may understand all that you do.

29:10. You all stand this day before the Lord your God, your princes, and tribes, and ancients, and doctors, all the people of Israel,

29:11. Your children and your wives, and the stranger that abideth with thee in the camp, besides the hewers of wood, and them that bring water:

29:12. That thou mayst pass in the covenant of the Lord thy God, and in the oath which this day the Lord thy God maketh with thee.

29:13. That he may raise thee up a people to himself, and he may be thy God as he hath spoken to thee, and as he swore to thy fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

29:14. Neither with you only do I make this covenant, and confirm these oaths,

29:15. But with all that are present and that are absent.

29:16. For you know how we dwelt in the land of Egypt, and how we have passed through the midst of nations, and passing through them,

29:17. You have seen their abominations and filth, that is to say, their idols, wood and stone, silver and gold, which they worshipped.

29:18. Lest perhaps there should be among you a man or a woman, a family or a tribe, whose heart is turned away this day from the Lord our God, to go and serve the gods of those nations: and there should be among you a root bringing forth gall and bitterness.

29:19. And when he shall hear the words of this oath, he should bless himself in his heart saying: I shall have peace, and will walk on in the naughtiness of my heart: and the drunken may consume the thirsty,

The drunken, etc., absumat ebria sitientem. . .It is a proverbial expression, which may either be understood, as spoken by the sinner, blessing, that is, flattering himself in his sins with the imagination of peace, and so great an abundance as may satisfy, and as it were, consume all thirst and want: or it may be referred to the root of bitterness, spoken of before, which being drunken with sin may attract, and by that means consume, such as thirst after the like evils.

29:20. And the Lord should not forgive him: but his wrath and jealousy against that man should be exceedingly enkindled at that time, and all the curses that are written in this volume should light upon him: and the Lord should blot out his name from under heaven,

29:21. And utterly destroy him out of all the tribes of Israel, according to the curses that are contained in the book of this law and covenant:

29:22. And the following generation shall say, and the children that shall be born hereafter, and the strangers that shall come from afar, seeing the plagues of that land and the evils wherewith the Lord hath afflicted it,

29:23. Burning it with brimstone, and the heat of salt, so that it cannot be sown any more, nor any green thing grow therein, after the example of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrha, Adama and Seboim, which the Lord destroyed in his wrath and indignation:

29:24. And all the nations shall say: Why hath the Lord done thus to this land? what meaneth this exceeding great heat of his wrath?

29:25. And they shall answer: Because they forsook the covenant of the Lord, which he made with their fathers, when he brought them out of the land of Egypt:

29:26. And they have served strange gods, and adored them, whom they knew not, and for whom they had not been assigned:

29:27. Therefore the wrath of the Lord was kindled against this land, to bring upon it all the curses that are written in this volume:

29:28. And he hath cast them out of their land, in anger and in wrath, and in very great indignation, and hath thrown them into a strange land, as it is seen this day.

29:29. Secret things to the Lord our God: things that are manifest, to us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.

Secret things, etc. . .As much as to say, secret things belong to, and are known to, God alone; our business must be to observe what he has revealed and manifested to us, and to direct our lives accordingly.

Deuteronomy Chapter 30

Great mercies are promised to the penitent: God’s commandment is feasible. Life and death are set before them.

30:1. Now when all these things shall be come upon thee, the blessing or the curse, which I have set forth before thee, and thou shalt be touched with repentance of thy heart among all the nations, into which the Lord thy God shall have scattered thee,

30:2. And shalt return to him, and obey his commandments, as I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thy heart, and with all thy soul:

30:3. The Lord thy God will bring back again thy captivity, and will have mercy on thee, and gather thee again out of all the nations, into which he scattered thee before.

30:4. If thou be driven as far as the poles of heaven, the Lord thy God will fetch thee back from hence,

30:5. And will take thee to himself, and bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it: and blessing thee, he will make thee more numerous than were thy fathers.

30:6. The Lord thy God will circumcise thy heart, and the heart of thy seed: that thou mayst love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, that thou mayst live.

30:7. And he will turn all these curses upon thy enemies, and upon them that hate and persecute thee.

30:8. But thou shalt return, and hear the voice of the Lord thy God, and shalt do all the commandments which I command thee this day:

30:9. And the Lord thy God will make thee abound in all the works of thy hands, in the fruit of thy womb, and in the fruit of thy cattle, in the fruitfulness of thy land, and in the plenty of all things. For the Lord will return to rejoice over thee in all good things, as he rejoiced in thy fathers:

30:10. Yet so if thou hear the voice of the Lord thy God, and keep his precepts and ceremonies, which are written in this law: and return to the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul.

30:11. This commandment, that I command thee this day is not above thee, nor far off from thee:

30:12. Nor is it in heaven, that thou shouldst say: Which of us can go up to heaven to bring it unto us, and we may hear and fulfil it in work?

30:13. Nor is it beyond the sea: that thou mayst excuse thyself, and say: Which of us can cross the sea, and bring it unto us: that we may hear, and do that which is commanded?

30:14. But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth and in thy heart, that thou mayst do it.

30:15. Consider that I have set before thee this day life and good, and on the other hand death and evil:

30:16. That thou mayst love the Lord thy God, and walk in his ways, and keep his commandments and ceremonies and judgments, and thou mayst live, and he may multiply thee, and bless thee in the land, which thou shalt go in to possess.

30:17. But if thy heart be turned away, so that thou wilt not hear, and being deceived with error thou adore strange gods, and serve them:

30:18. I foretell thee this day that thou shalt perish, and shalt remain but a short time in the land, to which thou shalt pass over the Jordan, and shalt go in to possess it.

30:19. I call heaven and earth to witness this day, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing. Choose therefore life, that both thou and thy seed may live:

30:20. And that thou mayst love the Lord thy God, and obey his voice, and adhere to him (for he is thy life, and the length of thy days,) that thou mayst dwell in the land, for which the Lord swore to thy fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that he would give it them.

Deuteronomy Chapter 31

Moses encourageth the people, and Josue, who is appointed to succeed him. He delivereth the law to the priests. God foretelleth that the people will often forsake him, and that he will punish them. He commandeth Moses to write a canticle, as a constant remembrancer of the law.

31:1. And Moses went, and spoke all these words to all Israel,

31:2. And he said to them: I am this day a hundred and twenty years old, I can no longer go out and come in, especially as the Lord also hath said to me: Thou shalt not pass over this Jordan.

31:3. The Lord thy God then will pass over before thee: he will destroy all these nations in thy sight, and thou shalt possess them: and this Josue shall go over before thee, as the Lord hath spoken.

31:4. And the Lord shall do to them as he did to Sehon and Og the kings of the Amorrhites, and to their land, and shall destroy them.

31:5. Therefore when the Lord shall have delivered these also to you, you shall do in like manner to them as I have commanded you.

31:6. Do manfully and be of good heart: fear not, nor be ye dismayed at their sight: for the Lord thy God he himself is thy leader, and will not leave thee nor forsake thee.

31:7. And Moses called Josue, and said to him before all Israel: Take courage, and be valiant: for thou shalt bring this people into the land which the Lord swore he would give to their fathers, and thou shalt divide it by lot.

31:8. And the Lord who is your leader, he himself will be with thee: he will not leave thee, nor forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.

31:9. And Moses wrote this law, and delivered it to the priests the sons of Levi, who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and to all the ancients of Israel.

31:10. And he commanded them, saying: After seven years, in the year of remission, in the feast of tabernacles,

31:11. When all Israel come together, to appear in the sight of the Lord thy God in the place which the Lord shall choose, thou shalt read the words of this law before all Israel, in their hearing.

31:12. And the people being all assembled together, both men and women, children and strangers, that are within thy gates: that hearing they may learn, and fear the Lord your God, and keep, and fulfil all the words of this law:

31:13. That their children also, who now are ignorant, may hear, and fear the Lord their God, all the days that they live in the land whither you are going over the Jordan to possess it.

31:14. And the Lord said to Moses: Behold the days of thy death are nigh: call Josue, and stand ye in the tabernacle of the testimony, that I may give him a charge. So Moses and Josue went and stood in the tabernacle of the testimony:

31:15. And the Lord appeared there in the pillar of a cloud, which stood in the entry of the tabernacle.

31:16. And the Lord said to Moses: Behold thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, and this people rising up will go a fornicating after strange gods in the land, to which it goeth in to dwell: there will they forsake me, and will make void the covenant, which I have made with them,

31:17. And my wrath shall be kindled against them in that day: and I will forsake them, and will hide my face from them, and they shall be devoured: all evils and afflictions shall find them, so that they shall say in that day: In truth it is because God is not with me, that these evils have found me.

31:18. But I will hide, and cover my face in that day, for all the evils which they have done, because they have followed strange gods.

31:19. Now therefore write you this canticle, and teach the children of Israel: that they may know it by heart, and sing it by mouth, and this song may be unto me for a testimony among the children of Israel.

31:20. For I will bring them into the land, for which I swore to their fathers, that floweth with milk and honey. And when they have eaten, and are full and fat, they will turn away after strange gods, and will serve them: and will despise me, and make void my covenant.

31:21. And after many evils and afflictions shall have come upon them, this canticle shall answer them for a testimony, which no oblivion shall take away out of the mouth of their seed. For I know their thoughts, and what they are about to do this day, before that I bring them into the land which I have promised them.

31:22. Moses therefore wrote the canticle, and taught it to the children of Israel.

31:23. And the Lord commanded Josue the son of Nun, and said: Take courage, and be valiant: for thou shalt bring the children of Israel into the land which I have promised, and I will be with thee.

31:24. Therefore after Moses had wrote the words of this law in a volume, and finished it:

31:25. He commanded the Levites, who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, saying:

31:26. Take this book, and put it in the side of the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God: that it may be there for a testimony against thee.

31:27. For I know thy obstinacy, and thy most stiff neck. While I am yet living, and going in with you, you have always been rebellious against the Lord: how much more when I shall be dead?

31:28. Gather unto me all the ancients of your tribes, and your doctors, and I will speak these words in their hearing, and will call heaven and earth to witness against them.

31:29. For I know that, after my death, you will do wickedly, and will quickly turn aside from the way that I have commanded you: and evils shall come upon you in the latter times, when you shall do evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke him by the works of your hands.

31:30. Moses therefore spoke, in the hearing of the whole assembly of Israel, the words of this canticle, and finished it even to the end.

Deuteronomy Chapter 32

A canticle for the remembrance of the law. Moses is commanded to go up into a mountain, from whence he shall see the promised land but not enter into it.

32:1. Hear, O ye heavens, the things I speak, let the earth give ear to the words of my mouth.

32:2. Let my doctrine gather as the rain, let my speech distil as the dew, as a shower upon the herb, and as drops upon the grass.

32:3. Because I will invoke the name of the Lord: give ye magnificence to our God.

32:4. The works of God are perfect, and all his ways are judgments: God is faithful and without any iniquity, he is just and right.

32:5. They have sinned against him, and are none of his children in their filth: they are a wicked and perverse generation.

32:6. Is this the return thou makest to the Lord, O foolish and senseless people? Is not he thy father, that hath possessed thee, and made thee, and created thee?

32:7. Remember the days of old, think upon every generation: ask thy father, and he will declare to thee: thy elders and they will tell thee.

32:8. When the Most High divided the nations: when he separated the sons of Adam, he appointed the bounds of people according to the number of the children of Israel.

32:9. But the Lord’s portion is his people: Jacob the lot of his inheritance.

32:10. He found him in a desert land, in a place of horror, and of vast wilderness: he led him about, and taught him: and he kept him as the apple of his eye.

32:11. As the eagle enticing her young to fly, and hovering over them, he spread his wings, and hath taken him and carried him on his shoulders.

32:12. The Lord alone was his leader: and there was no strange god with him.

32:13. He set him upon high land: that he might eat the fruits of the fields, that he might suck honey out of the rock, and oil out of the hardest stone,

32:14. Butter of the herd, and milk of the sheep with the fat of lambs, and of the rams of the breed of Basan: and goats with the marrow of wheat, and might drink the purest blood of the grape.

32:15. The beloved grew fat, and kicked: he grew fat, and thick and gross, he forsook God who made him, and departed from God his saviour.

32:16. They provoked him by strange gods, and stirred him up to anger, with their abominations.

32:17. They sacrificed to devils and not to God: to gods whom they knew not: that were newly come up, whom their fathers worshipped not.

32:18. Thou hast forsaken the God that begot thee, and hast forgotten the Lord that created thee.

32:19. The Lord saw, and was moved to wrath: because his own sons and daughters provoked him.

32:20. And he said: I will hide my face from them, and will consider what their last end shall be: for it is a perverse generation, and unfaithful children.

32:21. They have provoked me with that which was no god, and have angered me with their vanities: and I will provoke them with that which is no people, and will vex them with a foolish nation.

32:22. A fire is kindled in my wrath, and shall burn even to the lowest hell: and shall devour the earth with her increase, and shall burn the foundations of the mountains.

32:23. I will heap evils upon them, and will spend my arrows among them.

32:24. They shall be consumed with famine, and birds shall devour them with a most bitter bite: I will send the teeth of beasts upon them, with the fury of creatures that trail upon the ground, and of serpents.

32:25. Without, the sword shall lay them waste, and terror within, both the young man and the virgin, the sucking child with the man in years.

32:26. I said: Where are they? I will make the memory of them to cease from among men.

32:27. But for the wrath of the enemies I have deferred it: lest perhaps their enemies might be proud, and should say: Our mighty hand, and not the Lord, hath done all these things.

32:28. They are a nation without counsel, and without wisdom.

32:29. O that they would be wise and would understand, and would provide for their last end.

32:30. How should one pursue after a thousand, and two chase ten thousand? Was it not, because their God had sold them, and the Lord had shut them up?

32:31. For our God is not as their gods: our enemies themselves are judges.

32:32. Their vines are of the vineyard of Sodom, and of the suburbs of Gomorrha: their grapes are grapes of gall, and their clusters most bitter.

32:33. Their wine is the gall of dragons, and the venom of asps, which is incurable.

32:34. Are not these things stored up with me, and sealed up in my treasures?

32:35. Revenge is mine, and I will repay them in due time, that their foot may slide: the day of destruction is at hand, and the time makes haste to come.

32:36. The Lord will judge his people, and will have mercy on his servants: he shall see that their hand is weakened, and that they who were shut up have also failed, and they that remained are consumed.

32:37. And he shall say: Where are their gods, in whom they trusted?

32:38. Of whose victims they ate the fat, and drank the wine of their drink offerings: let them arise and help you, and protect you in your distress.

32:39. See ye that I alone am, and there is no other God besides me: I will kill and I will make to live: I will strike, and I will heal, and there is none that can deliver out of my hand.

32:40. I will lift up my hand to heaven, and I will say: I live for ever.

32:41. If I shall whet my sword as the lightning, and my hand take hold on judgment: I will render vengeance to my enemies, and repay them that hate me.

32:42. I will make my arrows drunk with blood, and my sword shall devour flesh, of the blood of the slain and of the captivity, of the bare head of the enemies.

32:43. Praise his people, ye nations, for he will revenge the blood of his servants: and will render vengeance to their enemies, and he will be merciful to the land of his people.

32:44. So Moses came and spoke all the words of this canticle in the ears of the people, and Josue the son of Nun.

32:45. And he ended all these words, speaking to all Israel.

32:46. And he said to them: Set your hearts on all the words, which I testify to you this day: which you shall command your children to observe and to do, and to fulfil all that is written in this law:

32:47. For they are not commanded you in vain, but that every one should live in them, and that doing them you may continue a long time in the land whither you are going over the Jordan to possess it.

32:48. And the Lord spoke to Moses the same day, saying:

32:49. Go up into this mountain Abarim, (that is to say, of passages,) unto mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab over against Jericho: and see the land of Chanaan, which I will deliver to the children of Israel to possess, and die thou in the mountain.

32:50. When thou art gone up into it thou shalt be gathered to thy people, as Aaron thy brother died in mount Hor, and was gathered to his people:

32:51. Because you trespassed against me in the midst of the children of Israel, at the waters of contradiction, in Cades of the desert of Sin: and you did not sanctify me among the children of Israel.

32:52. Thou shalt see the land before thee, which I will give to the children of Israel, but thou shalt not enter into it.

Deuteronomy Chapter 33

Moses before his death blesseth the tribes of Israel.

33:1. This is the blessing, wherewith the man of God, Moses, blessed the children of Israel, before his death.

33:2. And he said: The Lord came from Sinai, and from Seir he rose up to us: he hath appeared from mount Pharan, and with him thousands of saints. In his right hand a fiery law.

33:3. He hath loved the people, all the saints are in his hand: and they that approach to his feet, shall receive of his doctrine.

33:4. Moses commanded us a law, the inheritance of the multitude of Jacob.

33:5. He shall be king with the most right, the princes of the people, being assembled with the tribes of Israel.

33:6. Let Ruben live, and not die, and be he small in number.

33:7. This is the blessing of Juda. Hear, O Lord, the voice of Juda, and bring him in unto his people: his hands shall fight for him, and he shall be his helper against his enemies.

33:8. To Levi also he said: Thy perfection, and thy doctrine be to thy holy man, whom thou hast proved in the temptation, and judged at the waters of contradiction:

Holy man. . .Aaron and his successors in the priesthood.

33:9. Who hath said to his father, and to his mother: I do not know you; and to his brethren: I know you not: and their own children they have not known. These have kept thy word, and observed thy covenant,

Who hath said, etc. . .It is the duty of the priestly tribe to prefer God’s honour and service before all considerations of flesh and blood: in such manner as to behave as strangers to their nearest akin, when these would withdraw them from the business of their calling.

33:10. Thy judgments, O Jacob, and thy law, O Israel: they shall put incense in thy wrath and holocaust upon thy altar.

33:11. Bless, O Lord, his strength, and receive the works of his hands. Strike the backs of his enemies, and let not them that hate him rise.

33:12. And to Benjamin he said: The best beloved of the Lord shall dwell confidently in him: as in a bride chamber shall he abide all the day long, and between his shoulders shall be rest.

Shall dwell, etc. . .This seems to allude to the temple being built in the confines of the tribe of Benjamin.

33:13. To Joseph also he said: Of the blessing of the Lord be his land, of the fruits of heaven, and of the dew, and of the deep that lieth beneath.

33:14. Of the fruits brought forth by the sun and by the moon.

33:15. Of the tops of the ancient mountains, of the fruits of the everlasting hills:

33:16. And of the fruits of the earth, and of the fulness thereof. The blessing of him that appeared in the bush, come upon the head of Joseph, and upon the crown of the Nazarite among his brethren.

The Nazarite. . .See the note on Gen. 49.26.

33:17. His beauty as of the firstling of a bullock, his horns as the horns of a rhinoceros: with them shall he push the nations even to the ends of the earth. These are the multitudes of Ephraim and these the thousands of Manasses.

33:18. And to Zabulon he said: Rejoice, O Zabulon, in thy going out; and Issachar in thy tabernacles.

33:19. They shall call the people to the mountain: there shall they sacrifice the victims of justice. Who shall suck as milk the abundance of the sea, and the hidden treasures of the sands.

33:20. And to Gad he said: Blessed be Gad in his breadth: he hath rested as a lion, and hath seized upon the arm and the top of the head.

33:21. And he saw his pre-eminence, that in his portion the teacher was laid up: who was with the princes of the people, and did the justices of the Lord, and his judgment with Israel.

He saw, etc. . .The pre-eminence of the tribe of Gad, to which this alludeth, was their having the lawgiver Moses buried in their borders; though the particular place was not known.

33:22. To Dan also he said: Dan is a young lion, he shall flow plentifully from Basan.

33:23. And To Nephtali he said: Nephtali shall enjoy abundance, and shall be full of the blessings of the Lord: he shall possess the sea and the south.

The sea. . .The lake of Genesareth.

33:24. To Aser also he said: Let Aser be blessed with children, let him be acceptable to his brethren, and let him dip his foot in oil.

33:25. His shoe shall be iron and brass. As the days of thy youth, so also shall thy old age be.

33:26. There is no other god like the God of the rightest: he that is mounted upon the heaven is thy helper. By his magnificence the clouds run hither and thither.

33:27. His dwelling is above, and underneath are the everlasting arms: he shall cast out the enemy from before thee, and shall say: Be thou brought to nought.

Underneath are the everlasting arms. . .Though the dwelling of God be above in heaven, his arms are always stretched out to help us here below.

33:28. Israel shall dwell in safety, and alone. The eye of Jacob in a land of corn and wine, and the heavens shall be misty with dew.

33:29. Blessed art thou, Israel: who is like to thee, O people, that art saved by the Lord? the shield of thy help, and the sword of thy glory: thy enemies shall deny thee, and thou shalt tread upon their necks.

Deuteronomy Chapter 34

Moses seeth the promised land, but is not suffered to go into it. He dieth at the age of 120 years. God burieth his body secretly, and all Israel mourn for him thirty days. Josue, replenished (by imposition of Moses’s hands) with the spirit of God, succeedeth. But Moses, for his special familiarity with God, and for most wonderful miracles, is commended above all other prophets.

34:1. Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab upon mount Nebo, to the top of Phasga over against Jericho: and the Lord shewed him all the land of Galaad as far as Dan.

34:2. And all Nephtali, and the land of Ephraim and Manasses, and all the land of Juda unto the furthermost sea,

34:3. And the south part, and the breadth of the plain of Jericho the city of palm trees as far as Segor.

34:4. And the Lord said to him: This is the land, for which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying: I will give it to thy seed. Thou hast seen it with thy eyes, and shalt not pass over to it.

34:5. And Moses the servant of the Lord died there, in the land of Moab, by the commandment of the Lord:

Died there. . .This last chapter of Deuteronomy, in which the death of Moses is related, was written by Josue, or by some of the prophets.

34:6. And he buried him in the valley of the land of Moab over against Phogor: and no man hath known of his sepulchre until this present day.

He buried him, viz. . .by the ministry of angels, and would have the place of his burial to be unknown, lest the Israelites, who were so prone to idolatry, might worship him with divine honours.

34:7. Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, neither were his teeth moved.

34:8. And the children of Israel mourned for him in the plains of Moab thirty days: and the days of their mourning in which they mourned Moses were ended.

34:9. And Josue the son of Nun was filled with the spirit of wisdom, because Moses had laid his hands upon him. And the children of Israel obeyed him, and did as the Lord commanded Moses.

34:10. And there arose no more a prophet in Israel like unto Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face,

34:11. In all the signs and wonders, which he sent by him, to do in the land of Egypt to Pharao, and to all his servants, and to his whole land,

34:12. And all the mighty hand, and great miracles, which Moses did before all Israel.

THE BOOK OF JOSUE

This Book is called JOSUE, because it contains the history of what passed under him, and according to the common opinion was written by him. The Greeks call him Jesus: for Josue and Jesus in the Hebrew, are the same name, and have the same signification, viz., A SAVIOUR. And it was not without a mystery that he who was to bring the people into the land of promise should have his name changed from OSEE (for so he was called before, Num. 13.17,) to JOSUE or JESUS, to give us to understand, that Moses by his law could only bring the people within sight of the promised inheritance, but that our Saviour JESUS was to bring us into it.

Josue Chapter 1

Josue, encouraged by the Lord, admonisheth the people to prepare themselves to pass over the Jordan.

1:1. Now it came to pass after the death of Moses, the servant of the Lord, that the Lord spoke to Josue, the son of Nun, the minister of Moses, and said to him:

1:2. Moses my servant is dead: arise, and pass over this Jordan, thou and thy people with thee, into the land which I will give to the children of Israel.

1:3. I will deliver to you every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, as I have said to Moses.

1:4. From the desert, and from Libanus unto the great river Euphrates, all the land of the Hethites, unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your border.

1:5. No man shall be able to resist you all the days of thy life: as I have been with Moses, so will I be with thee: I will not leave thee, nor forsake thee.

1:6. Take courage, and be strong: for thou shalt divide by lot to this people the land for which I swore to their fathers, that I would deliver it to them.

1:7. Take courage therefore, and be very valiant: that thou mayst observe and do all the law, which Moses my servant hath commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayst understand all things which thou dost.

1:8. Let not the book of this law depart from thy mouth: but thou shalt meditate on it day and night, that thou mayst observe and do all things that are written in it: then shalt thou direct thy way, and understand it.

1:9. Behold I command thee, take courage, and be strong. Fear not, and be not dismayed: because the Lord thy God is with thee in all things whatsoever thou shalt go to.

1:10. And Josue commanded the princes of the people, saying: Pass through the midst of the camp, and command the people, and say:

1:11. Prepare your victuals: for after the third day you shall pass over the Jordan, and shall go in to possess the land, which the Lord your God will give you.

1:12. And he said to the Rubenites, and the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasses:

1:13. Remember the word, which Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, saying: The Lord your God hath given you rest, and all this land.

1:14. Your wives, and children; and cattle, shall remain in the land which Moses gave you on this side of the Jordan: but pass you over armed before your brethren all of you that are strong of hand, and fight for them,

1:15. Until the Lord give rest to your brethren, as he hath given you, and they also possess the land which the Lord your God will give them: and so you shall return into the land of your possession, and you shall dwell in it, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave you beyond the Jordan, toward the rising of the sun.

1:16. And they made answer to Josue, and said: All that thou hast commanded us, we will do: and whither soever thou shalt send us, we will go.

1:17. As we obeyed Moses in all things, so will we obey thee also: only be the Lord thy God with thee, as he was with Moses.

1:18. He that shall gainsay thy mouth, and not obey all thy words, that thou shalt command him, let him die: only take thou courage, and do manfully.

Josue Chapter 2

Two spies are sent to Jericho, who are received and concealed by Rahab.

2:1. And Josue, the son of Nun, sent from Setim two men, to spy secretly: and said to them: Go, and view the land, and the city of Jericho. They went, and entered into the house of a woman that was a harlot, named Rahab, and lodged with her.

2:2. And it was told the king of Jericho, and was said: Behold there are men come in hither, by night, of the children of Israel, to spy the land.

2:3. And the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying: Bring forth the men that came to thee, and are entered into thy house: for they are spies, and are come to view all the land.

2:4. And the woman taking the men, hid them, and said: I confess they came to me, but I knew not whence they were:

2:5. And at the time of shutting the gate in the dark, they also went out together. I know not whither they are gone: pursue after them quickly, and you will overtake them.

2:6. But she made the men go up to the top of her house, and covered them with the stalks of flax, which was there.

2:7. Now they that were sent, pursued after them, by the way that leadeth to the fords of the Jordan: and as soon as they were gone out, the gate was presently shut.

2:8. The men that were hid were not yet asleep, when behold the woman went up to them, and said:

2:9. I know that the Lord hath given this land to you: for the dread of you is fallen upon us, and all the inhabitants of the land have lost all strength.

2:10. We have heard that the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea, at your going in, when you came out of Egypt: and what things you did to the two kings of the Amorrhites, that were beyond the Jordan, Sehon and Og whom you slew.

2:11. And at the hearing these things, we were affrighted, and our heart fainted away, neither did there remain any spirit in us, at your coming in: for the Lord your God he is God in heaven above, and in the earth beneath.

2:12. Now, therefore, swear ye to me by the Lord, that as I have shewed mercy to you, so you also will shew mercy to my father’s house: and give me a true token.

2:13. That you will save my father and mother, my brethren and sisters, and all things that are theirs, and deliver our souls from death.

2:14. They answered her: Be our lives for you unto death, only if thou betray us not. And when the Lord shall have delivered us the land, we will shew thee mercy and truth.

2:15. Then she let them down with a cord out of a window: for her house joined close to the wall.

2:16. And she said to them: Get ye up to the mountains, lest perhaps they meet you as they return: and there lie ye hid three days, till they come back, and so you shall go on your way.

2:17. And they said to her: We shall be blameless of this oath, which thou hast made us swear,

2:18. If, when we come into the land, this scarlet cord be a sign, and thou tie it in the window, by which thou hast let us down: and gather together thy father and mother, and brethren, and all thy kindred into thy house.

2:19. Whosoever shall go out of the door of thy house, his blood shall be upon his own head, and we shall be quit. But the blood of all that shall be with thee in the house, shall light upon our head, if any man touch them.

2:20. But if thou wilt betray us, and utter this word abroad, we shall be quit of this oath, which thou hast made us swear.

2:21. And she answered: As you have spoken, so be it done: and sending them on their way, she hung the scarlet cord in the window.

2:22. But they went and came to the mountains, and stayed there three days, till they that pursued them were returned. For having sought them through all the way, they found them not.

2:23. And when they were gone back into the city, the spies returned, and came down from the mountain: and passing over the Jordan, they came to Josue, the son of Nun, and told him all that befel them,

2:24. And said: the Lord hath delivered all this land into our hands, and all the inhabitants thereof are overthrown with fear.

Josue Chapter 3

The river Jordan is miraculously dried up for the passage of the children of Israel.

3:1. And Josue rose before daylight, and removed the camp: and they departed from Setim, and came to the Jordan: he, and all the children of Israel, and they abode there for three days.

3:2. After which, the heralds went through the midst of the camp,

3:3. And began to proclaim: When you shall see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the priests of the race of Levi carrying it, rise you up also, and follow them as they go before:

3:4. And let there be between you and the ark the space of two thousand cubits: that you may see it afar off, and know which way you must go: for you have not gone this way before: and take care you come not near the ark.

3:5. And Josue said to the people: Be ye sanctified: for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.

3:6. And he said to the priests: Take up the ark of the covenant, and go before the people. And they obeyed his commands, and took it up, and walked before them.

3:7. And the Lord said to Josue: This day will I begin to exalt thee before Israel: that they may know that as I was with Moses, so I am with thee also.

3:8. And do thou command the priests, that carry the ark of the covenant, and say to them: When you shall have entered into part of the water of the Jordan, stand in it.

3:9. And Josue said to the children of Israel: Come hither, and hear the word of the Lord your God.

3:10. And again he said: By this you shall know, that the Lord, the living God, is in the midst of you, and that he shall destroy, before your sight, the Chanaanite and the Hethite, the Hevite and the Pherezite, the Gergesite also, and the Jebusite, and the Amorrhite.

3:11. Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth shall go before you into the Jordan.

3:12. Prepare ye twelve men of the tribes of Israel, one of every tribe.

3:13. And when the priests, that carry the ark of the Lord the God of the whole earth, shall set the soles of their feet in the waters of the Jordan, the waters that are beneath shall run down and go off: and those that come from above, shall stand together upon a heap.

3:14. So the people went out of their tents, to pass over the Jordan: and the priests that carried the ark of the covenant, went on before them.

3:15. And as soon as they came into the Jordan, and their feet were dipped in part of the water, (now the Jordan, it being harvest time, had filled the banks of its channel,)

3:16. The waters that came down from above stood in one place, and swelling up like a mountain, were seen afar off, from the city that is called Adom, to the place of Sarthan: but those that were beneath, ran down into the sea of the wilderness, (which now is called the Dead Sea) until they wholly failed.

3:17. And the people marched over against Jericho: and the priests that carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, stood girded upon the dry ground in the midst of the Jordan, and all the people passed over, through the channel that was dried up.

Josue Chapter 4

Twelve stones are taken out of the river to be set up for a monument of the miracle; and other twelve are placed in the midst of the river.

4:1. And when they were passed over, the Lord said to Josue:

4:2. Choose twelve men, one of every tribe:

4:3. And command them to take out of the midst of the Jordan, where the feet of the priests stood, twelve very hard stones, which you shall set in the place of the camp, where you shall pitch your tents this night.

4:4. And Josue called twelve men, whom he had chosen out of the children of Israel, one out of every tribe,

4:5. And he said to them: Go before the ark of the Lord your God to the midst of the Jordan, and carry from thence every man a stone on your shoulders, according to the number of the children of Israel,

4:6. That it may be a sign among you: and when your children shall ask you tomorrow, saying: What means these stones?

4:7. You shall answer them: The waters of the Jordan ran off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord when it passed over the same: therefore were these stones set for a monument of the children of Israel forever.

4:8. The children of Israel therefore did as Josue commanded them, carrying out of the channel of the Jordan twelve stones, as the Lord had commanded him according to the number of the children of Israel unto the place wherein they camped, and there they set them.

4:9. And Josue put other twelve stones in the midst of the channel of the Jordan, where the priests stood that carried the ark of the covenant: and they are there until this present day.

4:10. Now the priests that carried the ark, stood in the midst of the Jordan, till all things were accomplished, which the Lord had commanded Josue to speak to the people, and Moses had said to him. And the people made haste, and passed over.

4:11. And when they had all passed over, the ark also of the Lord passed over, and the priests went before the people.

4:12. The children of Ruben also, and Gad, and half the tribe of Manasses, went armed before the children of Israel, as Moses had commanded them.

4:13. And forty thousand fighting men by their troops and bands, marched through the plains and fields of the city of Jericho.

4:14. In that day the Lord magnified Josue in the sight of all Israel, that they should fear him, as they had feared Moses, while he lived.

4:15. And he said to him:

4:16. Command the priests, that carry the ark of the covenant, to come up out of the Jordan.

4:17. And he commanded them, saying: Come ye up out of the Jordan.

4:18. And when they that carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, were come up, and began to tread on the dry ground, the waters returned into their channel, and ran as they were wont before.

4:19. And the people came up out of the Jordan, the tenth day of the first month, and camped in Galgal, over against the east side of the city of Jericho.

4:20. And the twelve stones, which they had taken out of the channel of the Jordan, Josue pitched in Galgal,

4:21. And said to the children of Israel: When your children shall ask their fathers tomorrow, and shall say to them: What mean these stones?

4:22. You shall teach them, and say: Israel passed over this Jordan through the dry channel,

4:23. The Lord your God drying up the waters thereof in your sight, until you passed over:

4:24. As he had done before in the Red Sea, which he dried up till we passed through:

4:25. That all the people of the earth may learn the most mighty hand of the Lord, that you also may fear the Lord your God for ever.

Josue Chapter 5

The people are circumcised: they keep the pasch. The manna ceaseth. An angel appeareth to Josue.

5:1. Now when all the kings of the Amorrhites, who dwelt beyond the Jordan, westward, and all the kings of Chanaan, who possessed the places near the great sea, had heard that the Lord had dried up the waters of the Jordan before the children of Israel, till they passed over, their heart failed them, and there remained no spirit in them, fearing the coming in of the children of Israel.

5:2. At that time the Lord said to Josue: Make thee knives of stone, and circumcise the second time the children of Israel.

The second time. . .Not that such as had been circumcised before were to be circumcised again; but that they were now to renew, and take up again the practice of circumcision; which had been omitted during their forty years’ sojourning in the wilderness; by reason of their being always uncertain when they should be obliged to march.

5:3. He did what the Lord had commanded, and he circumcised the children of Israel in the hill of the foreskins.

5:4. Now this is the cause of the second circumcision: All the people that came out of Egypt that were males, all the men fit for war, died in the desert, during the time of the long going about in the way:

5:6. Now these were all circumcised. But the people that were born in the desert,

5:6. During the forty years of the journey in the wide wilderness, were uncircumcised: till all they were consumed that had not heard the voice of the Lord, and to whom he had sworn before, that he would not shew them the land flowing with milk and honey.

5:7. The children of these succeeded in the place of their fathers, and were circumcised by Josue: for they were uncircumcised even as they were born, and no one had circumcised them in the way.

5:8. Now after they were all circumcised, they remained in the same place of the camp, until they were healed.

5:9. And the Lord said to Josue: This day have I taken away from you the reproach of Egypt. And the name of that place was called Galgal, until this present day.

5:10. And the children of Israel abode in Galgal, and they kept the phase, on the fourteenth day of the month at evening, in the plains of Jericho:

5:11. And they ate on the next day unleavened bread of the corn of the land, and frumenty of the same year.

5:12. And the manna ceased after they ate of the corn of the land, neither did the children of Israel use that food any more, but they ate of the corn of the present year of the land of Chanaan.

5:13. And when Josue was in the field of the city of Jericho, he lifted up his eyes, and saw a man standing over against him, holding a drawn sword, and he went to him, and said: Art thou one of ours, or of our adversaries?

5:14. And he answered: No: but I am prince of the host of the Lord, and now I am come.

Prince of the host of the Lord, etc. . .St. Michael, who is called prince of the people of Israel, Dan. 10.21.

5:15. Josue fell on his face to the ground. And worshipping, said: What saith my lord to his servant?

Worshipping. . .Not with divine honour, but with a religious veneration of an inferior kind, suitable to the dignity of his person.

5:16. Loose, saith he, thy shoes from off thy feet: for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Josue did as was commanded him.

Josue Chapter 6

After seven days’ processions, the priests sounding the trumpets, the walls of Jericho fall down: and the city is taken and destroyed.

6:1. Now Jericho was close shut up and fenced, for fear of the children of Israel, and no man durst go out or come in.

6:2. And the Lord said to Josue: Behold I have given into thy hands Jericho, and the king thereof, and all the valiant men.

6:3. Go round about the city all ye fighting men once a day: so shall ye do for six days.

6:4. And on the seventh day the priests shall take the seven trumpets, which are used in the jubilee, and shall go before the ark of the covenant: and you shall go about the city seven times, and the priests shall sound the trumpets.

6:5. And when the voice of the trumpet shall give a longer and broken tune, and shall sound in your ears, all the people shall shout together with a very great shout, and the walls of the city shall fall to the ground, and they shall enter in every one at the place against which they shall stand.

6:6. Then Josue, the son of Nun, called the priests, and said to them: Take the ark of the covenant: and let seven other priests take the seven trumpets of the jubilee, and march before the ark of the Lord.

6:7. And he said to the people: Go, and compass the city, armed, marching before the ark of the Lord.

6:8. And when Josue had ended his words, and the seven priests blew the seven trumpets before the ark of the covenant of the Lord,

6:9. And all the armed men went before, the rest of the common people followed the ark, and the sound of the trumpets was heard on all sides.

6:10. But Josue had commanded the people, saying: You shall not shout, nor shall your voice be heard, nor any word go out of your mouth: until the day come wherein I shall say to you: Cry, and shout.

6:11. So the ark of the Lord went about the city once a day, and returning into the camp, abode there.

6:12. And Josue rising before day, the priests took the ark of the Lord,

6:13. And seven of them seven trumpets, which are used in the jubilee: and they went before the ark of the Lord, walking and sounding the trumpets: and the armed men went before them, and the rest of the common people followed the ark, and they blew the trumpets.

6:14. And they went round about the city the second day once, and returned into the camp. So they did six days.

6:15. But the seventh day, rising up early, they went about the city, as it was ordered, seven times.

6:16. And when in the seventh going about the priests sounded with the trumpets, Josue said to all Israel: Shout: for the Lord hath delivered the city to you:

6:17. And let this city be an anathema, and all things that are in it, to the Lord. Let only Rahab, the harlot, live, with all that are with her in the house: for she hid the messengers whom we sent.

6:18. But beware ye lest you touch ought of those things that are forbidden, and you be guilty of transgression, and all the camp of Israel be under sin, and be troubled.

6:19. But whatsoever gold or silver there shall be, or vessels of brass and iron, let it be consecrated to the Lord, laid up in his treasures.

6:20. So all the people making a shout, and the trumpets sounding, when the voice and the sound thundered in the ears of the multitude, the walls forthwith fell down: and every man went up by the place that was over against him: and they took the city,

6:21. And killed all that were in it, man and woman, young and old. The oxen also, and the sheep, and the asses, they slew with the edge of the sword.

6:22. But Josue said to the two men that had been sent for spies: Go into the harlot’s house, and bring her out, and all things that are hers, as you assured her by oath.

6:23. And the young men went in, and brought out Rahab, and her parents, her brethren also, and all her goods, and her kindred, and made them to stay without the camp.

6:24. But they burned the city, and all things that were therein; except the gold and silver, and vessels of brass and iron, which they consecrated unto the treasury of the Lord. _

6:25. But Josue saved Rahab the harlot, and her father’s house, and all she had, and they dwelt in the midst of Israel until this present day: because she hid the messengers whom he had sent to spy out Jericho. At that time, Josue made an imprecation, saying:

6:26. Cursed be the man before the Lord, that shall raise up and build the city of Jericho. In his firstborn may he lay the foundation thereof, and in the last of his children set up its gates.

Cursed, etc. . .Jericho, in the mystical sense, signifies iniquity: the sounding of the trumpets by the priests, the preaching of the word of God; by which the walls of Jericho are thrown down, when sinners are converted; and a dreadful curse will light on them who build them up again.

6:27. And the Lord was with Josue, and his name was noised throughout all the land

Josue Chapter 7

For the sins of Achan, the Israelites are defeated at Hai. The offender is found out; and stoned to death, and God’s wrath is turned from them.

7:1. But the children of Israel transgressed the commandment, and took to their own use of that which was accursed. For Achan, the son of Charmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zare, of the tribe of Juda, took something of the anathema: and the Lord was angry against the children of Israel.

7:2. And when Josue sent men from Jericho against Hai, which is beside Bethaven, on the east side of the town of Bethel, he said to them: Go up, and view the country: and they fulfilled his command, and viewed Hai.

7:3. And returning, they said to him: Let not all the people go up, but let two or three thousand men go, and destroy the city: why should all the people be troubled in vain, against enemies that are very few?

7:4. There went up therefore three thousand fighting men: who immediately turned their backs,

7:5. And were defeated by the men of the city of Hai, and there fell of them six and thirty men: and the enemies pursued them from the gate as far as Sabarim, and they slew them as they fled by the descent: and the heart of the people was struck with fear, and melted like water.

7:6. But Josue rent his garments, and fell flat on the ground, before the ark of the Lord, until the evening, both he and all the ancients of Israel: and they put dust upon their heads.

7:7. And Josue said: Alas, O Lord God, why wouldst thou bring this people over the river Jordan, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorrhite, and to destroy us? would God we had stayed beyond the Jordan, as we began.

7:8. My Lord God, what shall I say, seeing Israel turning their backs to their enemies?

7:9. The Chanaanites, and all the inhabitants of the land, will hear of it, and being gathered together will surround us, and cut off our name from the earth: and what wilt thou do to thy great name?

7:10. And the Lord said to Josue: Arise, why liest thou flat on the ground?

7:11. Israel hath sinned, and transgressed my covenant: and they have taken of the anathema, and have stolen and lied, and have hid it among their goods.

7:12. Neither can Israel stand before his enemies, but he shall flee from them: because he is defiled with the anathema. I will be no more with you, till you destroy him that is guilty of this wickedness.

7:13. Arise, sanctify the people, and say to them: Be ye sanctified against tomorrow: for thus saith the Lord God of Israel: The curse is in the midst of thee, O Israel: thou canst not stand before thy enemies, till he be destroyed out of thee, that is defiled with this wickedness.

7:14. And you shall come in the morning, every one by your tribes: and what tribe soever the lot shall find, it shall come by its kindreds, and the kindred by its houses and the house by the men.

7:15. And whosoever he be that shall be found guilty of this fact, he shall be burnt with fire, with all his substance, because he hath transgressed the covenant of the Lord, and hath done wickedness in Israel.

7:16. Josue, therefore, when he rose in the morning, made Israel to come by their tribes, and the tribe of Juda was found.

7:17. Which being brought by in families, it was found to be the family of Zare. Bringing that also by the houses, he found it to be Zabdi:

7:18. And bringing his house man by man, he found Achan, the son of Charmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zare, of the tribe of Juda.

7:19. And Josue said to Achan: My son, give glory to the Lord God of Israel, and confess, and tell me what thou hast done, hide it not.

7:20. And Achan answered Josue, and said to him: Indeed I have sinned against the Lord, the God of Israel, and thus and thus have I done.

7:21. For I saw among the spoils a scarlet garment, exceeding good, and two hundred sicles of silver, and a golden rule of fifty sicles: and I coveted them, and I took them away, and hid them in the ground in the midst of my tent, and the silver I covered with the earth that I dug up.

7:22. Josue therefore sent ministers: who running to his tent, found all hid in the same place, together with the silver.

7:23. And taking them away out of the tent, they brought them to Josue, and to all the children of Israel, and threw them down before the Lord.

7:24. Then Josue, and all Israel with him, took Achan, the son of Zare, and the silver, and the garment, and the golden rule, his sons also, and his daughters, his oxen, and asses, and sheep, the tent also, and all the goods: and brought them to the valley of Achor:

His sons, etc. . .Probably conscious to, or accomplices of, the crime of their father.

7:25. Where Josue said: Because thou hast troubled us, the Lord trouble thee this day. And all Israel stoned him: and all things that were his, were consumed with fire.

7:26. And they gathered together upon him a great heap of stones, which remaineth until this present day And the wrath of the Lord was turned away from them. And the name of that place was called the Valley of Achor, until this day.

Achor. . .That is, trouble.

Josue Chapter 8

Hai is taken and burnt, and all the inhabitants slain. An altar is built, and sacrifices offered. The law is written on stones, and the blessings and cursings are read before all the people.

8:1. And the Lord said to Josue: Fear not, nor be thou dismayed: take with thee all the multitude of fighting men, arise, and go up to the town of Hai: Behold I have delivered into thy hand the king thereof, and the people, and the city, and the land.

8:2. And thou shalt do to the city of Hai, and to the king thereof, as thou hast done to Jericho, and to the king thereof: but the spoils, and all the cattle, you shall take for a prey to yourselves: lay an ambush for the city behind it.

8:3. And Josue arose, and all the army of the fighting men with him, to go up against Hai: and he sent thirty thousand chosen valiant men in the night,

8:4. And commanded them, saying: Lay an ambush behind the city: and go not very far from it: and be ye all ready.

8:5. But I, and the rest of the multitude which is with me, will approach on the contrary side against the city. And when they shall come out against us, we will flee, and turn our backs, as we did before:

8:6. Till they pursuing us be drawn farther from the city: for they will think that we flee as before.

8:7. And whilst we are fleeing, and they pursuing, you shall rise out of the ambush, and shall destroy the city: and the Lord your God will deliver it into your hands.

8:8. And when you shall have taken it, set it on fire, and you shall do all things so as I have commanded.

8:9. And he sent them away, and they went on to the place of the ambush, and abode between Bethel and Hai, on the west side of the city of Hai. But Josue staid that night in the midst of the people,

8:10. And rising early in the morning, he mustered his soldiers, and went up with the ancients in the front of the army, environed with the aid of the fighting men.

8:11. And when they were come, and were gone up over against the city, they stood on the north side of the city, between which and them there was a valley in the midst.

8:12. And he had chosen five thousand men, and set them to lie in ambush between Bethel and Hai, on the west side of the same city:

Five thousand. . .These were part of the thirty thousand mentioned above, ver. 3.

8:13. But all the rest of the army went in battle array on the north side, so that the last of that multitude reached to the west side of the city. So Josue went that night, and stood in the midst of the valley.

8:14. And when the king of Hai saw this, he made haste in the morning, and went out with all the army of the city, and set it in battle array, toward the desert, not knowing that there lay an ambush behind his back.

8:15. But Josue, and all Israel gave back, making as if they were afraid, and fleeing by the way of the wilderness.

8:16. But they shouting together, and encouraging one another, pursued them. And when they were come from the city,

8:17. And not one remained in the city of Hai and of Bethel, that did not pursue after Israel, leaving the towns open as they had rushed out,

8:18. The Lord said to Josue: Lift up the shield that is in thy hand, towards the city of Hai, for I will deliver it to thee.

8:19. And when he had lifted up his shield towards the city, the ambush, that lay hid, rose up immediately: and going to the city, took it, and set it on fire.

8:20. And the men of the city, that pursued after Josue, looking back, and seeing the smoke of the city rise up to heaven, had no more power to flee this way or that way: especially as they that had counterfeited flight, and were going toward the wilderness, turned back most valiantly against them that pursued.

8:21. So Josue, and all Israel, seeing that the city was taken, and that the smoke of the city rose up, returned, and slew the men of Hai.

8:22. And they also that had taken and set the city on fire, issuing out of the city to meet their own men, began to cut off the enemies who were surrounded by them. So that the enemies being cut off on both sides, not one of so great a multitude was saved.

8:23. And they took the king of the city of Hai alive and brought him to Josue.

8:24. So all being slain that had pursued after Israel, in his flight to the wilderness, and falling by the sword in the same place, the children of Israel returned and laid waste the city.

8:25. And the number of them that fell that day, both of men and women, was twelve thousand persons, all of the city of Hai.

8:26. But Josue drew not back his hand, which he had stretched out on high, holding the shield, till all the inhabitants of Hai were slain.

8:27. And the children of Israel divided among them, the cattle and the prey of the city, as the Lord had commanded Josue.

8:28. And he burnt the city, and made it a heap forever:

8:29. And he hung the king thereof on a gibbet, until the evening and the going down of the sun. Then Josue commanded, and they took down his carcass from the gibbet: and threw it in the very entrance of the city, heaping upon it a great heap of stones, which remaineth until this present day.

8:30. Then Josue built an altar to the Lord, the God of Israel, in Mount Hebal,

8:31. As Moses, the servant of the Lord, had commanded the children of Israel, and it is written in the book of the law of Moses: an altar of unhewn stones, which iron had not touched: and he offered upon it holocausts to the Lord, and immolated victims of peace offerings.

8:32. And he wrote upon stones, the Deuteronomy of the law of Moses, which he had ordered before the children of Israel.

8:33. And all the people, and the ancients, and the princes, and judges, stood on both sides of the ark, before the priests that carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, both the stranger and he that was born among them, half of them by Mount Garizim, and half by Mount Hebal, as Moses the servant of the Lord, had commanded. And first he blessed the people of Israel.

8:34. After this, he read all the words of the blessing and the cursing, and all things that were written in the book of the law.

8:35. He left out nothing of those things which Moses had commanded, but he repeated all before all the people of Israel, with the women and children, and strangers, that dwelt among them.

Josue Chapter 9

Josue is deceived by the Gabaonites: who being detected are condemned to be perpetual servants.

9:1. Now when these things were heard of, all the kings beyond the Jordan, that dwelt in the mountains, and in the plains, in the places near the sea, and on the coasts of the great sea, they also that dwell by Libanus, the Hethite, and the Amorrhite, the Chanaanite, the Pherezite, and the Hevite, and the Jebusite,

9:2. Gathered themselves together, to fight against Josue and Israel with one mind, and one resolution.

9:3. But they that dwelt in Gabaon, hearing all that Josue had done to Jericho and Hai:

9:4. Cunningly devising took for themselves provisions, laying old sacks upon their asses, and wine bottles rent and sewed up again,

9:5. And very old shoes, which for a show of age were clouted with patches, and old garments upon them: the loaves also, which they carried for provisions by the way, were hard, and broken into pieces:

9:6. And they went to Josue, who then abode in the camp at Galgal, and said to him, and to all Israel with him: We are come from a far country, desiring to make peace with you. And the children of Israel answered them, and said:

9:7. Perhaps you dwell in the land which falls to our lot; if so, we can make no league with you.

9:8. But they said to Josue: We are thy servants. Josue said to them: Who are you? and whence came you?

9:9. They answered: From a very far country thy servants are come in the name of the Lord thy God. For we have heard the fame of his power, all the things that he did in Egypt.

9:10. And to the two kings of the Amorrhites, that were beyond the Jordan, Sehon, king of Hesebon, and Og, king of Basan, that was in Astaroth:

9:11. And our ancients, and all the inhabitants of our country, said to us: Take with you victuals for a long way, and go meet them, and say: We are your servants, make ye a league with us.

9:12. Behold, these loaves we took hot, when we set out from our houses to come to you, now they are become dry, and broken in pieces by being exceeding old.

9:13. These bottles of wine when we filled them were new, now they are rent and burst. These garments we have on, and the shoes we have on our feet, by reason of the very long journey, are worn out, and almost consumed.

9:14. They took therefore of their victuals, and consulted not the mouth of the Lord.

9:15. And Josue made peace with them, and entering into a league, promised that they should not be slain: the princes also of the multitude swore to them.

9:16. Now three days after the league was made, they heard that they dwelt nigh, and they should be among them.

9:17. And the children of Israel removed the camp, and came into their cities on the third day, the names of which are, Gabaon, and Caphira, and Beroth, and Cariathiarim.

9:18. And they slew them not, because the princes of the multitude had sworn in the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. Then all the common people murmured against the princes.

9:19. And they answered them: We have sworn to them in the name of the Lord, the God of Israel, and therefore we may not touch them.

9:20. But this we will do to them: Let their lives be saved, lest the wrath of the Lord be stirred up against us, if we should be forsworn:

9:21. But so let them live, as to serve the whole multitude in hewing wood, and bringing in water. As they were speaking these things,

9;22. Josue called the Gabaonites, and said to them: Why would you impose upon us, saying: We dwell very far off from you, whereas you are in the midst of us?

9:23. Therefore you shall be under a curse, and your race shall always be hewers of wood, and carriers of water, into the house of my God.

9:24. They answered: It was told us, thy servants, that the Lord thy God had promised his servant Moses, to give you all the land, and to destroy all the inhabitants thereof. Therefore we feared exceedingly and provided for our lives, compelled by the dread we had of you, and we took this counsel.

9:25. And now we are in thy hand: deal with us as it seemeth good and right unto thee.

9:26. So Josue did as he had said, and delivered them from the hand of the children of Israel, that they should not be slain.

9:27. And he gave orders in that day, that they should be in the service of all the people, and of the altar of the Lord, hewing wood, and carrying water, until this present time, in the place which the Lord hath chosen.

Josue Chapter 10

Five kings war against Gabaon. Josue defeateth them: many are slain with hailstones. At the prayer of Josue the sun and moon stand still the space of one day. The five kings are hanged. Divers cities are taken.

10:1. When Adonisedec, king of Jerusalem, had heard these things, to wit, that Josue had taken Hai, and had destroyed it, (for as he had done to Jericho and the king thereof, so did he to Hai and its king) and that the Gabaonites were gone over to Israel, and were their confederates,

10:2. He was exceedingly afraid. For Gabaon was a great city, and one of the royal cities, and greater than the town of Hai, and all its fighting men were most valiant.

10:3. Therefore Adonisedec, king of Jerusalem, sent to Oham, king of Hebron, and to Pharam, king of Jerimoth, and to Japhia, king of Lachis, and to Dabir, king of Eglon, saying:

10:4. Come up to me, and bring help, that we may take Gabaon, because it hath gone over to Josue, and to the children of Israel.

10:5. So the five kings of the Amorrhites being assembled together, went up: the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jerimoth, the king of Lachis, the king of Eglon, they and their armies, and camped about Gabaon, laying siege to it.

10:6. But the inhabitants of the city of Gabaon, which was besieged, sent to Josue, who then abode in the camp at Galgal, and said to him: Withdraw not thy hands from helping thy servants: come up quickly, and save us, and bring us succour: for all the kings of the Amorrhites, who dwell in the mountains, are gathered together against us.

10:7. And Josue went up from Galgal, and all the army of the warriors with him, most valiant men.

10:8. But the Lord said to Josue: Fear them not: for I have delivered them into thy hands: none of them shall be able to stand against thee.

10:9. So Josue going up from Galgal all the night, came upon them suddenly.

10:10. And the Lord troubled them, at the sight of Israel: and he slew them with a great slaughter, in Gabaon, and pursued them by the way of the ascent to Bethoron, and cut them off all the way to Azeca and Maceda.

10:11. And when they were fleeing from the children of Israel, and were in the descent of Bethoron, the Lord cast down upon them great stones from heaven, as far as Azeca: and many more were killed with the hailstones, than were slain by the swords of the children of Israel,

10:12. Then Josue spoke to the Lord, in the day that he delivered the Amorrhite in the sight of the children of Israel, and he said before them: Move not, O sun, toward Gabaon, nor thou, O moon, toward the valley of Ajalon.

10:13. And the sun and the moon stood still, till the people revenged themselves of their enemies. Is not this written in the book of the just? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down the space of one day.

The book of the just. . .In Hebrew Jasher: an ancient book long since lost.

10:14. There was not before, nor after, so long a day, the Lord obeying the voice of a man, and fighting for Israel.

10:15. And Josue returned, with all Israel, into the camp of Galgal.

10:16. For the five kings were fled, and had hid themselves in a cave of the city of Maceda.

10:17. And it was told Josue, that the five kings were found hid in a cave of the city of Maceda.

10:18. And he commanded them that were with him, saying: Roll great stones to the mouth of the cave, and set careful men to keep them shut up:

10:19. And stay you not, but pursue after the enemies, and kill all the hindermost of them as they flee, and do not suffer them whom the Lord God hath delivered into your hands, to shelter themselves in their cities.

10:20. So the enemies being slain with a great slaughter, and almost utterly consumed, they that were able to escape from Israel, entered into fenced cities.

10:21. And all the army returned to Josue, in Maceda, where the camp then was, in good health, and without the loss of any one: and no man durst move his tongue against the children of Israel.

10:22. And Josue gave orders, saying: Open the mouth of the cave, and bring forth to me the five kings that lie hid therein.

10:23. And the ministers did as they were commanded: and they brought out to him the five kings out of the cave: the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jerimoth, the king of Lachis, the king of Eglon.

10:24. And when they were brought out to him, he called all the men of Israel, and said to the chiefs of the army that were with him: Go, and set your feet on the necks of these kings. And when they had gone, and put their feet upon the necks of them lying under them,

10:25. He said again to them: Fear not, neither be ye dismayed, take courage, and be strong: for so will the Lord do to all your enemies, against whom you fight.

10:26. And Josue struck, and slew them, and hanged them upon five gibbets; and they hung until the evening.

10:27. And when the sun was down, he commanded the soldiers to take them down from the gibbets. And after they were taken down, they cast them into the cave, where they had lain hid, and put great stones at the mouth thereof, which remain until this day.

10:28. The same day Josue took Maceda, and destroyed it with the edge of the sword, and killed the king and all the inhabitants thereof: he left not in it the least remains. And he did to the king of Maceda, as he had done to the king of Jericho.

10:29. And he passed from Maceda with all Israel to Lebna, and fought against it:

10:30. And the Lord delivered it with the king thereof into the hands of Israel: and they destroyed the city with the edge of the sword, and all the inhabitants thereof. They left not in it any remains. And they did to the king of Lebna, as they had done to the king of Jericho.

10:31. From Lebna he passed unto Lachis, with all Israel: and investing it with his army, besieged it.

10:32. And the Lord delivered Lachis into the hands of Israel, and he took it the following day, and put it to the sword, and every soul that was in it, as he had done to Lebna.

10:33. At that time Horam, king of Gazer, came up to succour Lachis: and Josue slew him with all his people so as to leave none alive.

10:34. And he passed from Lachis to Eglon, and surrounded it,

10:35. And took it the same day: and put to the sword all the souls that were in it, according to all that he had done to Lachis.

10:36. He went up also with all Israel from Eglon to Hebron, and fought against it:

10:37. Took it, and destroyed it with the edge of the sword: the king also thereof, and all the towns of that country, and all the souls that dwelt in it: he left not therein any remains: as he had done to Eglon, so did he also to Hebron, putting to the sword all that he found in it.

The king. . .Viz., the new king, who succeeded him that was slain, ver. 26.

10:38. Returning from thence to Dabir,

10:39. He took it, and destroyed it: the king also thereof, and all the towns round about, he destroyed with the edge of the sword: he left not in it any remains: as he had done to Hebron and Lebna, and to their kings, so did he to Dabir, and to the king thereof.

10:40. So Josue conquered all the country of the hills, and of the south, and of the plain, and of Asedoth, with their kings: he left not any remains therein, but slew all that breathed, as the Lord, the God of Israel, had commanded him.

Any remains therein, but slew, etc. . .God ordered these people to be utterly destroyed, in punishment of their manifold abomination; and that they might not draw the Israelites into the like sins.

10:41. From Cadesbarne even to Gaza. All the land of Gosen even to Gabaon,

10:42. And all their kings, and their lands he took and wasted at one onset: for the Lord the God of Israel fought for him.

10:43. And he returned with all Israel to the place of the camp in Galgal.

Josue Chapter 11

The kings of the north are overthrown: the whole country is taken.

11:1. And when Jabin king of Asor had heard these things, he sent to Jobab king of Madon, and to the king of Semeron, and to the king of Achsaph:

11:2. And to the kings of the north, that dwelt in the mountains and in the plains over against the south side of Ceneroth, and in the levels and the countries of Dor by the sea side:

11:3. To the Chanaanites also on the east and on the west, and the Amorrhite, and the Hethite, and the Pherezite, and the Jebusite in the mountains: to the Hevite also who dwelt at the foot of Hermon in the land of Maspha.

11:4. And they all came out with their troops, a people exceeding numerous as the sand that is on the sea shore, their horses also and chariots a very great multitude,

11:5. And all these kings assembled together at the waters of Merom, to fight against Israel.

11:6. And the Lord said to Josue: Fear them not: for to morrow at this same hour I will deliver all these to be slain in the sight of Israel: thou shalt hamstring their horses, and thou shalt burn their chariots with fire.

Hamstring their horses, and burn their chariots with fire, etc. . .God so ordained, that his people might not trust in chariots and horses, but in him.

11:7. And Josue came, and all the army with him, against them to the waters of Merom on a sudden, and fell upon them.

11:8. And the Lord delivered them into the hands of Israel. And they defeated them, and chased them as far as the great Sidon and the waters of Maserophot, and the field of Masphe, which is on the east thereof. He slew them all, so as to leave no remains of them:

11:9. And he did as the Lord had commanded him, he hamstringed their horses and burned their chariots.

11:10. And presently turning back he took Asor: and slew the king thereof with the sword. Now Asor of old was the head of all these kingdoms.

11:11. And he cut off all the souls that abode there: he left not in it any remains, but utterly destroyed all, and burned the city itself with fire.

11:12. And he took and put to the sword and destroyed all the cities round about, and their kings, as Moses the servant of God had commanded him.

11:13. Except the cities that were on hills and high places, the rest Israel burned: only Asor that was very strong he consumed with fire.

11:14. And the children of Israel divided among themselves all the spoil of these cities and the cattle, killing all the men.

11:15. As the Lord had commanded Moses his servant, so did Moses command Josue, and he accomplished all: he left not one thing undone of all the commandments which the Lord had commanded Moses.

11:16. So Josue took all the country of the hills, and of the south, and the land of Gosen, and the plains and the west country, and the mountain of Israel, and the plains thereof:

11:17. And part of the mountain that goeth up to Seir as far as Baalgad, by the plain of Libanus under mount Hermon: all their kings he took, smote and slew.

11:18. Josue made war a long time against these kings.

A long time. . .Seven years, as appears from chap. 14.10.

11:19. There was not a city that delivered itself to the children of Israel, except the Hevite, who dwelt in Gabaon: for he took all by fight.

11:20. For it was the sentence of the Lord, that their hearts should be hardened, and they should fight against Israel, and fall, and should not deserve any clemency, and should be destroyed as the Lord had commanded Moses.

Hardened. . .This hardening of their hearts, was their having no thought of yielding or submitting: which was a sentence or judgment of God upon them in punishment of their enormous crimes.

11:21. At that time Josue came and cut off the Enacims from the mountains, from Hebron, and Dabir, and Anab, and from all the mountain of Juda and Israel, and destroyed their cities.

11:22. He left not any of the stock of the Enacims, in the land of the children of Israel: except the cities of Gaza, and Geth, and Azotus, in which alone they were left.

11:23. So Josue took all the land, as the Lord spoke to Moses, and delivered it in possession to the children of Israel, according to their divisions and tribes. And the land rested from wars.

Josue Chapter 12

A list of the kings slain by Moses and Josue,

12:1. These are the kings, whom the children of Israel slew and possessed their land beyond the Jordan towards the rising of the sun, from the torrent Arnon unto mount Hermon, and all the east country that looketh towards the wilderness.

12:2. Sehon king of the Amorrhites, who dwelt in Hesebon, and had dominion from Aroer, which is seated upon the bank of the torrent Arnon, and of the middle part in the valley, and of half Galaad, as far as the torrent Jaboc, which is the border of the children of Ammon.

12:3. And from the wilderness, to the sea of Ceneroth towards the east, and to the sea of the wilderness, which is the most salt sea, on the east side by the way that leadeth to Bethsimoth: and on the south side that lieth under Asedoth, Phasga.

12:4. The border of Og the king of Basan, of the remnant of the Raphaims who dwelt in Astaroth, and in Edrai, and had dominion in mount Hermon, and in Salecha, and in all Basan, unto the borders

12:5. Of Gessuri and Machati, and of half Galaad: the borders of Sehon the king of Hesebon.

12:6. Moses the servant of the Lord, and the children of Israel slew them, and Moses delivered their land in possession to the Rubenites, and Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasses.

12:7. These are the kings of the land, whom Josue and the children of Israel slew beyond the Jordan on the west side from Baalgad in the field of Libanus, unto the mount, part of which goeth up into Seir: and Josue delivered it in possession to the tribes of Israel, to every one their divisions,

12:8. As well in the mountains as in the plains and the champaign countries. In Asedoth, and in the wilderness, and in the south was the Hethite and the Amorrhite, the Chanaanite and the Pherezite, the Hevite and the Jebusite.

12:9. The king of Jericho one: the king of Hai, which is on the side of Bethel, one:

12:10. The king of Jerusalem one, the king of Hebron one,

12:11. The king of Jerimoth one, the king of Lachis one,

12:12. The king of Eglon one, the king of Gazer one,

12:13. The king of Dabir one, the king of Gader one,

12:14. The king of Herma one, the king of Hered one,

12:15. The king of Lebna one, the king of Odullam one,

12:16. The king of Maceda one, the king of Bethel one,

12:17. The king of Taphua one, the king of Opher one,

12:18. The king of Aphec one, the king of Saron one,

12:19. The king of Madon one, the king of Asor one,

12:20. The king of Semeron one, the king of Achsaph one,

12:21. The king of Thenac one, the king of Mageddo one,

12:22. The king of Cades one, the king of Jachanan of Carmel one,

12:23. The king of Dor, and of the province of Dor one, the king of the nations of Galgal one,

12:24. The king of Thersa one: all the kings thirty and one.

Josue Chapter 13

God commandeth Josue to divide the land: the possessions of Ruben, Gad, and half the tribe of Manasses, beyond the Jordan.

13:1. Josue was old, and far advanced in years, and the Lord said to him: Thou art grown old, and advanced in age, and there is a very large country left, which is not yet divided by lot:

Josue was old, and far advanced in years. . .He was then about one hundred and one years old.—And there is a very large country left, which is not yet divided by lot. . .Not yet possessed by the children of Israel.

13:2. To wit, all Galilee, Philistia, and all Gessuri.

13:3. From the troubled river, that watereth Egypt, unto the border of Accaron northward: the land of Chanaan, which is divided among the lords of the Philistines, the Gazites, the Azotians, the Ascalonites, the Gethites, and the Accronites.

13:4. And on the south side are the Hevites, all the land of Chanaan, and Maara of the Sidonians as far as Apheca, and the borders of the Amorrhite,

13:5. And his confines. The country also of Libanus towards the east from Baalgad under mount Hermon to the entering into Emath.

13:6. Of all that dwell in the mountains from Libanus, to the waters of Maserephoth, and all the Sidonians. I am he that will cut them off from before the face of the children of Israel. So let their land come in as a part of the inheritance of Israel, as I have commanded thee.

13:7. And now divide the land in possession to the nine tribes, and to the half tribe of Manasses,

13:8. With whom Ruben and Gad have possessed the land, which Moses the servant of the Lord delivered to them beyond the river Jordan, on the east side.

With whom. . .That is, with the other half of that same tribe.

13:9. From Aroer, which is upon the bank of the torrent Arnon, and in the midst of the valley and all the plains of Medaba, as far as Dibon:

13:10. And all the cities of Sehon, king of the Amorrhites, who reigned in Hesebon, unto the borders of the children of Ammon.

13:11. And Galaad, and the borders of Gessuri and Machati, and all mount Hermon, and all Basan as far as Salecha,

13:12. All the kingdom of Og in Basan, who reigned in Astaroth and Edrai, he was of the remains of the Raphaims: and Moses overthrew and destroyed them.

13:13. And the children of Israel would not destroy Gessuri and Machati and they have dwelt in the midst of Israel, until this present day.

13:14. But to the tribe of Levi he gave no possession: but the sacrifices and victims of the Lord God of Israel, are his inheritance, as he spoke to him.

13:15. And Moses gave a possession to the children of Ruben according to their kindreds.

13:16. And their border was from Aroer, which is on the bank of the torrent Arnon, and in the midst of the valley of the same torrent: all the plain, that leadeth to Medaba,

13:17. And Hesebon, and all their villages, which are in the plains. Dibon also, and Bamothbaal, and the town of Baalmaon,

13:18. And Jassa, and Cidimoth, and Mephaath,

13:19. And Cariathaim, and Sabama, and Sarathasar in the mountain of the valley.

13:20. Bethphogor and Asedoth, Phasga and Bethiesimoth,

13:21. And all the cities of the plain, and all the kingdoms of Sehon king of the Amorrhites, that reigned in Hesebon, whom Moses slew with the princes of Madian: Hevi, and Recem, and Sur and Hur, and Rebe, dukes of Sehon inhabitants of the land.

The princes of Madian. . .It appears from hence that these were subjects of king Sehon: they are said to have been slain with him, that is, about the same time, but not in the same battle.

13:22. Balaam also the son of Beor the soothsayer, the children of Israel slew with the sword among the rest that were slain.

13:23. And the river Jordan was the border of the children of Ruben. This is the possession of the Rubenites, by their kindreds, of cities and villages.

13:24. And Moses gave to the tribe of Gad and to his children by their kindreds a possession, of which this is the division.

13:25. The border of Jaser, and all the cities of Galaad, and half the land of the children of Ammon: as far as Aroer which is over against Rabba:

13:26. And from Hesebon unto Ramoth, Masphe and Betonim: and from Manaim unto the borders of Dabir.

13:27. And in the valley Betharan and Bethnemra, and Socoth, and Saphon the other part of the kingdom of Sehon king of Hesebon: the limit of this also is the Jordan, as far as the uttermost part of the sea of Cenereth beyond the Jordan on the east side,

13:28. This is the possession of the children of Gad by their families, their cities, and villages.

13:29. He gave also to the half tribe of Manasses and his children possession according to their kindreds,

13:30. The beginning whereof is this: from Manaim all Basan, and all the kingdoms of Og king of Basan, and all the villages of Jair, which are in Basan, threescore towns.

13:31. And half Galaad, and Astaroth, and Edrai, cities of the kingdom of Og in Basan: to the children of Machir, the son of Manasses, to one half of the children of Machir according to their kindreds.

13:32. This possession Moses divided in the plains of Moab, beyond the Jordan, over against Jericho on the east side,

13:33. But to the tribe of Levi he gave no possession: because the Lord the God of Israel himself is their possession, as he spoke to them.

Josue Chapter 14

Caleb’s petition; Hebron is given to him and to his seed.

14:1. This is what the children of Israel possessed in the land of Chanaan, which Eleazar the priest, and Josue the son of Nun, and the princes of the families by the tribes of Israel gave to them.

14:2. Dividing all by lot, as the Lord had commanded by the hand of Moses, to the nine tribes, and the half tribe.

14:3. For to two tribes and a half Moses had given possession beyond the Jordan: besides the Levites, who received no land among their brethren:

14:4. But in their place succeeded the children of Joseph divided into two tribes, of Manasses and Ephraim: neither did the Levites receive other portion of land, but cities to dwell in, and their suburbs to feed their beasts and flocks.

Hebron belonged, etc. . .All the country thereabouts, depending on Hebron, was given to Caleb; but the city itself with the suburbs, was one of those that were given to the priests to dwell in.

14:5. As the Lord had commanded Moses so did the children of Israel, and they divided the land.

14:6. Then the children of Juda came to Josue in Galgal, and Caleb the son of Jephone the Cenezite spoke to him: Thou knowest what the Lord spoke to Moses the man of God concerning me and thee in Cadesbarne.

14:7. I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Cadesbarne, to view the land, and I brought him word again as to me seemed true,

14:8. But my brethren, that had gone up with me, discouraged the heart of the people: and I nevertheless followed the Lord my God.

14:9. And Moses swore in that day, saying: The land which thy foot hath trodden upon shall be thy possession, and thy children’s for ever, because thou hast followed the Lord my God.

14:10. The Lord therefore hath granted me life, as he promised until this present day, It is forty and five years since the Lord spoke this word to Moses, when Israel journeyed through the wilderness: this day I am eighty-five years old,

14:11. As strong as I was at that time when I was sent to view the land: the strength of that time continueth in me until this day, as well to fight as to march.

14:12. Give me therefore this mountain, which the Lord promised, in thy hearing also, wherein are the Enacims, and cities great and strong: if so be the Lord will be with me, and I shall be able to destroy them, as he promised me.

14:13. And Josue blessed him, and gave him Hebron in possession.

14:14. And from that time Hebron belonged to Caleb the son of Jephone the Cenezite, until this present day: because he followed the Lord the God of Israel.

14:15. The name of Hebron before was called Cariath-Arbe: Adam the greatest among the Enacims was laid there and the land rested from wars.

Josue Chapter 15

The borders of the lot of Juda. Caleb’s portion and conquest. The cities of Juda.

15:1. Now the lot of the children of Juda by their kindreds was this: From the frontier of Edom, to the desert of Sin southward, and to the uttermost part of the south coast.

15:2. Its beginning was from the top of the most salt sea, and from the bay thereof, that looketh to the south.

15:3. And it goeth out towards the ascent of the Scorpion, and passeth on to Sina: and ascendeth into Cadesbarne, and reacheth into Esron, going up to Addar, and compassing Carcaa.

15:4. And from thence passing along into Asemona, and reaching the torrent of Egypt: and the bounds thereof shall be the great sea, this shall be the limit of the south coast.

15:5. But on the east side the beginning shall be the most salt sea even to the end of the Jordan: and towards the north from the bay of the sea unto the same river Jordan.

15:6. And the border goeth up into Beth-Hagla, and passeth by the north into Beth-Araba: going up to the stone of Boen the son of Ruben.

15:7. And reaching as far as the borders of Debara from the valley of Achor, and so northward looking towards Galgal, which is opposite to the ascent of Adommin, on the south side of the torrent, and the border passeth the waters that are called the fountain of the sun: and the goings out thereof shall be at the fountain Rogel.

15:8. And it goeth up by the valley of the son of Ennom on the side of the Jebusite towards the south, the same is Jerusalem: and thence ascending to the top of the mountain, which is over against Geennom to the west in the end of the valley of Raphaim, northward.

15:9. And it passeth on from the top of the mountain to the fountain of the water of Nephtoa: and reacheth to the towns of mount Ephron: and it bendeth towards Baala, which is Cariathiarim, that is to say, the city of the woods.

15:10. And it compasseth from Baala westward unto mount Seir: and passeth by the side of mount Jarim to the north into Cheslon: and goeth down into Bethsames, and passeth into Thamna.

15:11. And reacheth northward to a part of Accaron at the side: and bendeth to Sechrona, and passeth mount Baala: and cometh into Jebneel, and is bounded westward with the great sea.

15:12. These are the borders round about of the children of Juda in their kindreds.

15:13. But to Caleb the son of Jephone he gave a portion in the midst of the children of Juda, as the Lord had commanded him: Cariath-Arbe the father of Enac, which is Hebron.

15:14. And Caleb destroyed out of it the three sons of Enac, Sesai and Ahiman, and Tholmai of the race of Enac.

15:15. And going up from thence he came to the inhabitants of Dabir, which before was called Cariath-Sepher, that is to say, the city of letters.

15:16. And Caleb said: He that shall smite Cariath-Sepher, and take it, I will give him Axa my daughter to wife.

15:17. And Othoniel the son of Cenez, the younger brother of Caleb, took it: and he gave him Axa his daughter to wife.

15:18. And as they were going together, she was moved by her husband to ask a field of her father, and she sighed as she sat on her ass. And Caleb said to her: What aileth thee?

15:19. But she answered: Give me a blessing: thou hast given me a southern and dry land, give me also a land that is watered. And Caleb gave her the upper and the nether watery ground.

15:20. This is the possession of the tribe of the children of Juda by their kindreds.

15:21. And the cities from the uttermost parts of the children of Juda by the borders of Edom to the south, were Cabseel and Eder and Jagur,

15:22. And Cina and Dimona and Adada,

15:23. And Cades and Asor and Jethnam,

15:24. Ziph and Telem and Baloth,

15:25. New Asor and Carioth, Hesron, which is Asor.

15:26. Amam, Sama and Molada,

15:27. And Asergadda and Hassemon and Bethphelet,

15:28. And Hasersual and Bersabee and Baziothia,

15:29. And Baala and Jim and Esem,

15:30. And Eltholad and Cesil and Harma,

15:31. And Siceleg and Medemena and Sensenna,

15:32. Lebaoth and Selim and Aen and Remmon: all the cities twenty-nine, and their villages.

15:33. But in the plains: Estaol and Sarea and Asena,

15:34. And Zanoe and Engannim and Taphua and Enaim,

15:35. And Jerimoth and Adullam, Socho and Azeca,

15:36. And Saraim and Adithaim and Gedera and Gederothaim: fourteen cities, and their villages.

15:37. Sanan and Hadassa and Magdalgad,

15:38. Delean and Masepha and Jecthel,

15:39. Lachis and Bascath and Eglon,

15:40. Chebbon and Leheman and Cethlis,

15:41. And Gideroth and Bethdagon and Naama and Maceda: sixteen cities, and their villages.

15:42. Labana and Ether and Asan,

15:43. Jephtha and Esna and Nesib,

15:44. And Ceila and Achzib and Maresa: nine cities, and their villages.

15:45. Accaron with the towns and villages thereof.

15:46. From Accaron even to the sea: all places that lie towards Azotus and the villages thereof.

15:47. Azotus with its towns and villages. Gaza with its towns and villages, even to the torrent of Egypt, and the great sea that is the border thereof.

15:48. And in the mountain Samir and Jether and Socoth,

15:49. And Danna and Cariath-senna, this is Dabir:

15:50. Anab and Istemo and Anim,

15:51. Gosen and Olon and Gilo: eleven cities and their villages.

15:52. Arab and Ruma and Esaan,

15:53. And Janum and Beththaphua and Apheca,

15:54. Athmatha and Cariath-Arbe, this is Hebron and Sior: nine cities and their villages.

15:55. Maon and Carmel and Ziph and Jota,

15:56. Jezrael and Jucadam and Zanoe,

15:57. Accain, Gabaa and Thamna: ten cities and their villages.

15:58. Halhul, and Bessur, and Gedor,

15:59. Mareth, and Bethanoth, and Eltecon: six cities and their villages.

15:60. Cariathbaal, the same is Cariathiarim the city of woods, and Arebba: two cities and their villages.

15:61. In the desert Betharaba, Meddin and Sachacha,

15:62. And Nebsan, and the city of salt, and Engaddi: six cities and their villages.

15:63. But the children of Juda could not destroy the Jebusite that dwelt in Jerusalem: and the Jebusite dwelt with the children of Juda in Jerusalem until this present day.

Josue Chapter 16

The lot of the sons of Joseph. The borders of the tribe of Ephraim.

16:1. And the lot of the sons of Joseph fell from the Jordan over against Jericho and the waters thereof, on the east: the wilderness which goeth up from Jericho to the mountain of Bethel:

16:2. And goeth out from Bethel to Luza: and passeth the border of Archi, to Ataroth,

16:3. And goeth down westward, by the border of Jephleti, unto the borders of Beth-horon the nether, and to Gazer: and the countries of it are ended by the great sea:

16:4. And Manasses and Ephraim the children of Joseph possessed it.

16:5. And the border of the children of Ephraim was according to their kindreds: and their possession towards the east was Ataroth-addar unto Beth-horon the upper.

16:6. And the confines go out unto the sea: but Machmethath looketh to the north, and it goeth round the borders eastward into Thanath-selo: and passeth along on the east side to Janoe.

Looketh to the north, etc. . .The meaning is, that the border went towards the north, by Machmethath; and then turned eastward to Thanath-selo.

16:7. And it goeth down from Janoe into Ataroth and Naaratha: and it cometh to Jericho, and goeth out to the Jordan.

16:8. From Taphua it passeth on towards the sea into the valley of reeds, and the goings out thereof are at the most salt sea. This is the possession of the tribe of the children of Ephraim by their families.

16:9. And there were cities with their villages separated for the children of Ephraim in the midst of the possession of the children of Manasses.

16:10. And the children of Ephraim slew not the Chanaanite, who dwelt in Gazer: and the Chanaanite dwelt in the midst of Ephraim until this day, paying tribute.

Josue Chapter 17

The lot of the half tribe of Manasses.

17:1. And this lot fell to the tribe of Manasses for he is the firstborn of Joseph to Machir the firstborn of Manasses the father of Galaad, who was a warlike man, and had for possession Galaad and Basan.

17:2. And to the rest of the children of Manasses according to their families: to the children of Abiezer, and to the children of Helec, and to the children of Esriel, and to the children of Sechem, and to the children of Hepher, and to the children of Semida: these are the male children of Manasses the son of Joseph, by their kindreds.

17:3. But Salphaad the son of Hepher the son of Galaad the son of Machir the son of Manasses had no sons, but only daughters: whose names are these, Maala and Noa and Hegla and Melcha and Thersa.

17:4. And they came in the presence of Eleazar the priest and of Josue the son of Nun, and of the princes, saying: The Lord commanded by the hand of Moses, that a possession should be given us in the midst of our brethren. And he gave them according to the commandment of the Lord a possession amongst the brethren of their father.

17:5. And there fell ten portions to Manasses, beside the land of Galaad and Basan beyond the Jordan.

17:6. For the daughters of Manasses possessed inheritance in the midst of his sons. And the land of Galaad fell to the lot of the rest of the children of Manasses.

17:7. And the border of Manasses was from Aser, Machmethath which looketh towards Sichem: and it goeth out on the right hand by the inhabitants of the fountain of Taphua.

17:8. For the lot of Manasses took in the land of Taphua, which is on the borders of Manasses, and belongs to the children of Ephraim.

17:9. And the border goeth down to the valley of the reeds, to the south of the torrent of the cities of Ephraim, which are in the midst of the cities of Manasses: the border of Manasses is on the north side of the torrent, and the outgoings of it are at the sea:

17:10. So that the possession of Ephraim is on the south, and on the north that of Manasses, and the sea is the border of both, and they are joined together in the tribe of Aser on the north, and in the tribe of Issachar on the east.

17:11. And the inheritance of Manasses in Issachar and in Aser, was Bethsan and its villages, and Jeblaam with its villages, and the inhabitants of Dor, with the towns thereof: the inhabitants also of Endor with the villages thereof: and in like manner the inhabitants of Thenac with the villages thereof: and the inhabitants of Mageddo with their villages, and the third part of the city of Nopheth.

17:12. Neither could the children of Manasses overthrow these cities, but the Chanaanite began to dwell in his land.

17:13. But after that the children of Israel were grown strong, they subdued the Chanaanites, and made them their tributaries, and they did not kill them.

17:14. And the children of Joseph spoke to Josue, and said: Why hast thou given me but one lot and one portion to possess, whereas I am of so great a multitude, and the Lord hath blessed me?

17:15. And Josue said to them: If thou be a great people, go up into the woodland, and cut down room for thyself in the land of the Pherezite and the Raphaims: because the possession of mount Ephraim is too narrow for thee.

17:16. And the children of Joseph answered him: We cannot go up to the mountains, for the Chanaanites that dwell in the low lands, wherein are situate Bethsan with its towns, and Jezrael in the midst of the valley, have chariots of iron.

17:17. And Josue said to the house of Joseph, to Ephraim and Manasses: Thou art a great people, and of great strength, thou shalt not have one lot only:

17:18. But thou shalt pass to the mountain, and shalt cut down the wood, and make thyself room to dwell in: and mayst proceed farther, when thou hast destroyed the Chanaanites, who as thou sayest have iron chariots, and are very strong.

Josue Chapter 18

Surveyors are sent to divide the rest of the land into seven tribes. The lot of Benjamin.

18:1. And all the children of Israel assembled together in Silo, and there they set up the tabernacle of the testimony, and the land was subdued before them.

18:2. But there remained seven tribes of the children of Israel, which as yet had not received their possessions.

18:3. And Josue said to them: How long are you indolent and slack, and go not in to possess the land which the Lord the God of your fathers hath given you?

18:4. Choose of every tribe three men, that I may send them, and they may go and compass the land, and mark it out according to the number of each multitude: and bring back to me what they have marked out.

18:5. Divide to yourselves the land into seven parts: let Juda be in his bounds on the south side, and the house of Joseph on the north.

18:6. The land in the midst between these mark ye out into seven parts; and you shall come hither to me, that I may cast lots for you before the Lord your God.

The land in the midst between these mark ye out into seven parts. . .That is to say, the rest of the land, which is not already assigned to Juda or Joseph.

18:7. For the Levites have no part among you, but the priesthood of the Lord is their inheritance. And Gad and Ruben, and the half tribe of Manasses have already received their possessions beyond the Jordan eastward: which Moses the servant of the Lord gave them.

18:8. And when the men were risen up, to go to mark out the land, Josue commanded them saying: Go round the land and mark it out, and return to me: that I may cast lots for you before the Lord in Silo.

18:9. So they went and surveying it divided it into seven parts, writing them down in a book. And they returned to Josue, to the camp in Silo.

18:10. And he cast lots before the Lord in Silo, and divided the land to the children of Israel into seven parts.

18:11. And first came up the lot of the children of Benjamin by their families, to possess the land between the children of Juda, and the children of Joseph.

18:12. And their border northward was from the Jordan: going along by the side of Jericho on the north side, and thence going up westward to the mountains, and reaching to the wilderness of Bethaven,

18:13. And passing along southward by Luza, the same is Bethel, and it goeth down into Ataroth-addar to the mountain, that is on the south of the nether Beth-horon.

18:14. And it bendeth thence going round towards the sea, south of the mountain that looketh towards Beth-horon to the southwest: and the outgoings thereof are into Cariathbaal, which is called also Cariathiarim, a city of the children of Juda This is their coast towards the sea, westward.

18:15. But on the south side the border goeth out from part of Cariathiarim towards the sea, and cometh to the fountain of the waters of Nephtoa.

18:16. And it goeth down to that part of the mountain that looketh on the valley of the children of Ennom: and is over against the north quarter in the furthermost part of the valley of Raphaim, and it goeth down into Geennom (that is the valley of Ennom) by the side of the Jebusite to the south: and cometh to the fountain of Rogel,

18:17. Passing thence to the north, and going out to Ensemes, that is to say, the fountain of the sun:

18:18. And it passeth along to the hills that are over against the ascent of Adommim: and it goeth down to Abenboen, that is, the stone of Boen the son of Ruben: and it passeth on the north side to the champaign countries; and goeth down into the plain,

18:19. And it passeth by Bethhagla northward: and the outgoings thereof are towards the north of the most salt sea at the south end of the Jordan.

18:20. Which is the border of it on the east side. This is the possession of the children of Benjamin by their borders round about, and their families.

18:21. And their cities were, Jericho and Bethhagla and Vale-Casis,

18:22. Betharaba and Samaraim and Bethel,

18:23. And Avim and Aphara and Ophera,

18:24. The town Emona and Ophni and Gabee: twelve cities, and their villages.

18:25. Gabam and Rama and Beroth,

18:26. And Mesphe, and Caphara, and Amosa,

18:27. And Recem, Jarephel, and Tharela,

18:28. And Sela, Eleph and Jebus, which is Jerusalem, Gabaath and Cariath: fourteen cities, and their villages. This is the possession of the children of Benjamin by their families.

Josue Chapter 19

The lots of the tribes of Simeon, Zabulon, Issachar, Aser, Nephtali and Dan. A city is given to Josue.

19:1. And the second lot came forth for the children of Simeon by their kindreds: and their inheritance was

19:2. In the midst of the possession of the children of Juda: Bersabee and Sabee and Molada

19:3. And Hasersual, Bala and Asem,

19:4. And Eltholad, Bethul and Harma,

19:5. And Siceleg and Bethmarchaboth and Hasersusa,

19:6. And Bethlebaoth and Sarohen: thirteen cities, and their villages.

19:7. And Remmon and Athor and Asan: four cities, and their villages.

19:8. And all the villages round about these cities to Baalath Beer Ramath to the south quarter. This is the inheritance of the children of Simeon according to their kindreds,

19:9. In the possession and lot of the children of Juda: because it was too great, and therefore the children of Simeon had their possession in the midst of their inheritance.

19:10. And the third lot fell to the children of Zabulon by their kindreds: and the border of their possession was unto Sarid.

19:11. And it went up from the sea and from Merala, and came to Debbaseth: as far as the torrent, which is over against Jeconam.

19:12. And it returneth from Sarid eastward to the borders of Ceseleththabor: and it goeth out to Dabereth and ascendeth towards Japhie.

19:13. And it passeth along from thence to the east side of Gethhepher and Thacasin: and goeth out to Remmon, Amthar and Noa.

19:14. And it turneth about to the north of Hanathon: and the outgoings thereof are the valley of Jephtahel,

19:15. And Cateth and Naalol and Semeron and Jedala and Bethlehem: twelve cities and their villages.

19:16. This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Zabulon by their kindreds, the cities and their villages.

19:17. The fourth lot came out to Issachar by their kindreds.

19:18. And his inheritance was Jezrael and Casaloth and Sunem,

19:19. And Hapharaim and Seon and Anaharath,

19:20. And Rabboth and Cesion, Abes,

19:21. And Rameth and Engannim and Enhadda and Bethpheses.

19:22. And the border thereof cometh to Thabor and Sehesima and Bethsames: and the outgoings thereof shall be at the Jordan: sixteen cities, and their villages.

19:23. This is the possession of the sons of Issachar by their kindreds, the cities and their villages.

19:24. And the fifth lot fell to the tribe of the children of Aser by their kindreds:

19:25. And their border was Halcath and Chali and Beten and Axaph,

19:26. And Elmelech and Amaad and Messal: and it reacheth to Carmel by the sea and Sihor and Labanath,

19:27. And it returneth towards the east to Bethdagon: and passeth along to Zabulon and to the valley of Jephthael towards the north to Bethemec and Nehiel. And it goeth out to the left side of Cabul,

19:28. And to Abaran and Rohob and Hamon and Cana, as far as the great Sidon.

19:29. And it returneth to Horma to the strong city of Tyre, and to Hosa: and the outgoings thereof shall be at the sea from the portion of Achziba:

19:30. And Amma and Aphec and Rohob: twenty-two cities, and their villages.

19:31. This is the possession of the children of Aser by their kindreds, and the cities and their villages.

19:32. The sixth lot came out to the sons of Nephtali by their families:

19:33. And the border began from Heleph and Elon to Saananim, and Adami, which is Neceb, and Jebnael even to Lecum: and their outgoings unto the Jordan:

19:34. And the border returneth westward to Azanotthabor, and goeth out from thence to Hucuca, and passeth along to Zabulon southward, and to Aser westward, and to Juda upon the Jordan towards the rising of the sun.

19:35. And the strong cities are Assedim, Ser, and Emath, and Reccath and Cenereth,

19:36. And Edema and Arama, Asor,

19:37. And Cedes and Edri, Enhasor,

19:38. And Jeron and Magdalel, Horem, and Bethanath and Bethsames: nineteen cities, and their villages.

19:39. This is the possession of the tribe of the children of Nephtali by their kindreds, the cities and their villages.

19:40. The seventh lot came out to the tribe of the children of Dan by their families

19:41. And the border of their possession was Saraa and Esthaol, and Hirsemes, that is, the city of the sun,

19:42. Selebin and Aialon and Jethela,

19:43. Elon and Themna and Acron,

19:44. Elthece, Gebbethon and Balaath,

19:45. And Juda and Bane and Barach and Gethremmon:

19:46. And Mejarcon and Arecon, with the border that looketh towards Joppe,

19:47. And is terminated there. And the children of Dan went up and fought against Lesem, and took it: and they put it to the sword, and possessed it, and dwelt in it, calling the name of it Lesem Dan, by the name of Dan their father.

19:48. This is the possession of the tribe of the sons of Dan, by their kindreds, the cities and their villages.

19:49. And when he had made an end of dividing the land by lot to each one by their tribes, the children of Israel gave a possession to Josue the son of Nun in the midst of them,

19:50. According to the commandment of the Lord, the city which he asked for, Thamnath Saraa, in mount Ephraim: and he built up the city, and dwelt in it.

19:51. These are the possessions which Eleazar the priest, and Josue the son of Nun, and the princes of the families, and of the tribes of the children of Israel, distributed by lot in Silo, before the Lord at the door of the tabernacle of the testimony, and they divided the land.

Josue Chapter 20

The cities of refuge are appointed for casual manslaughter.

20:1. And the Lord spoke to Josue, saying: Speak to the children of Israel and say to them:

20:2. Appoint cities of refuge, of which I spoke to you by the hand of Moses:

20:3. That whosoever shall kill a person unawares may flee to them, and may escape the wrath of the kinsman, who is the avenger of blood.

20:4. And when he shall flee to one of these cities: he shall stand before the gate of the city, and shall speak to the ancients of that city, such things as prove him innocent: and so shall they receive him, and give him a place to dwell in.

20:5. And when the avenger of blood shall pursue him, they shall not deliver him into his hands, because he slew his neighbour unawares, and is not proved to have been his enemy two or three days before,

20:6. And he shall dwell in that city, till he stand before judgment to give an account of his fact, and till the death of the high priest, who shall be at that time: then shall the manslayer return, and go into his own city and house from whence he fled.

20:7. And they appointed Cedes in Galilee of mount Nephtali, and Sichem in mount Ephraim, and Cariath-Arbe, the same is Hebron in the mountain of Juda.

20:8. And beyond the Jordan to the east of Jericho, they appointed Bosor, which is upon the plain of the wilderness of the tribe of Ruben, and Ramoth in Galaad of the tribe of Gad, and Gaulon in Basan of the tribe of Manasses.

20:9. These cities were appointed for all the children of Israel, and for the strangers, that dwelt among them, that whosoever had killed a person unawares might flee to them, and not die by the hand of the kinsman, coveting to revenge the blood that was shed, until he should stand before the people to lay open his cause.

Josue Chapter 21

Cities with their suburbs are assigned for the priests and Levites.

21:1. Then the princes of the families of Levi came to Eleazar the priest, and to Josue the son of Nun, and to the princes of the kindreds of all the tribes of the children of Israel

21:2. And they spoke to them in Silo in the land of Chanaan, and said: The Lord commanded by the hand of Moses, that cities should be given us to dwell in, and their suburbs to feed our cattle.

21:3. And the children of Israel gave out of their possessions according to the commandment of the Lord, cities and their suburbs.

21:4. And the lot came out for the family of Caath of the children of Aaron the priest out of the tribes of Juda, and of Simeon, and of Benjamin, thirteen cities.

21:5. And to the rest of the children of Caath, that is, to the Levites, who remained, out of the tribes of Ephraim, and of Dan, and the half tribe of Manasses, ten cities.

21:6. And the lot came out to the children of Gerson, that they should take of the tribes of Issachar and of Aser and of Nephtali, and of the half tribe of Manasses in Basan, thirteen cities.

21:7. And to the sons of Merari by their kindreds, of the tribes of Ruben and of Gad and of Zabulon, twelve cities.

21:8. And the children of Israel gave to the Levites the cities and their suburbs, as the Lord commanded by the hand of Moses, giving to every one by lot.

21:9. Of the tribes of the children of Juda and of Simeon Josue gave cities: whose names are these,

21:10. To the sons of Aaron, of the families of Caath of the race of Levi (for the first lot came out for them)

21:11. The city of Arbe the father of Enac, which is called Hebron, in the mountain of Juda, and the suburbs thereof round about.

21:12. But the fields and the villages thereof he had given to Caleb the son of Jephone for his possession.

21:13. He gave therefore to the children of Aaron the priest, Hebron a city of refuge, and the suburbs thereof, and Lebna with the suburbs thereof,

21:14. And Jether and Estemo,

21:15. And Holon, and Dabir,

21:16. And Ain, and Jeta, and Bethsames, with their suburbs: nine cities out of the two tribes, as hath been said.

21:17. And out of the tribe of the children of Benjamin, Gabaon, and Gabae,

21:18. And Anathoth and Almon, with, their suburbs: four cities.

21:19. All the cities together of the children of Aaron the priest, were thirteen, with their suburbs,

21:20. And to the rest of the families of the children of Caath of the race of Levi was given this possession.

21:21. Of the tribe of Ephraim, Sichem one of the cities of refuge, with the suburbs thereof in mount Ephraim, and Gazer,

21:22. And Cibsaim, and Beth-horon, with their suburbs, four cities.

21:23. And of he tribe of Dan, Eltheco and Gabathon,

21:24. And Aialon and Gethremmon, with their suburbs, four cities.

21:25. And of the half tribe of Manasses, Thanac and Gethremmon, with their suburbs, two cities.

21:26. All the cities were ten, with their suburbs, which were given to the children of Caath, of the inferior degree.

21:27. To the children of Gerson also of the race of Levi out of the half tribe of Manasses, Gaulon in Basan, one of the cities of refuge, and Bosra, with their suburbs, two cities.

21:28. And of the tribe of Issachar, Cesion, and Dabereth,

21:29. And Jaramoth, and Engannim, with their suburbs, four cities.

21:30. And of the tribe of Aser, Masal and Abdon,

21:31. And Helcath, and Rohob, with their suburbs, four cities.

21:32. Of the tribe also of Nephtali, Cedes in Galilee, one of the cities of refuge: and Hammoth Dor, and Carthan, with their suburbs, three cities.

21:33. All the cities of the families of Gerson, were thirteen, with their suburbs.

21:34. And to the children of Merari, Levites of the inferior degree, by their families were given of the tribe of Zabulon, Jecnam and Cartha,

21:35. And Damna and Naalol, four cities with their suburbs.

21:36. Of the tribe of Ruben beyond the Jordan over against Jericho, Bosor in the wilderness, one of the cities of refuge, Misor and Jaser and Jethson and Mephaath, four cities with their suburbs.

Four cities. . .There are no more, though there be five names: for Misor is the same city as Bosor, which is to be observed in some other places, where the number of names exceeds the number of cities.

21:37. Of the tribe of Gad, Ramoth in Galaad, one of the cities of refuge, and Manaim and Hesebon and Jaser, four cities with their suburbs,

21:38. All the cities of the children of Merari by their families and kindreds, were twelve.

21:39. So all the cities of the Levites within the possession of the children of Israel were forty-eight,

21:40. With their suburbs, each distributed by the families.

21:41. And the Lord God gave to Israel all the land that he had sworn to give to their fathers: and they possessed it, and dwelt in it.

21:42. And he gave them peace from all nations round about: and none of their enemies durst stand against them, but were brought under their dominion.

21:43. Not so much as one word, which he had promised to perform unto them, was made void, but all came to pass.

Josue Chapter 22

The tribes of Ruben and Gad, and half the tribe of Manasses return to their possessions. They build an altar by the side of the Jordan, which alarms the other tribes. An embassage is sent to them, to which they give a satisfactory answer.

22:1. At the same time Josue called the Rubenites, and the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasses,

22:2. And said to them: You have done all that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you: you have also obeyed me in all things,

22:3. Neither have you left your brethren this long time, until this present day, keeping the commandment of the Lord your God.

22:4. Therefore as the Lord your God hath given your brethren rest and peace, as he promised: return, and go to your dwellings, and to the land of your possession, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave you beyond the Jordan:

22:5. Yet so that you observe attentively, and in work fulfil the commandment and the law which Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you: that you love the Lord your God, and walk in all his ways, and keep all his commandments, and cleave to him, and serve him with all your heart, and with all your soul.

22:6. And Josue blessed them, and sent them away, and they returned to their dwellings.

22:7. Now to half the tribe of Manasses, Moses had given a possession in Basan: and therefore to the half that remained, Josue gave a lot among the rest of their brethren beyond the Jordan to the west. And when he sent them away to their dwellings and had blessed them,

22:8. He said to them: With much substance and riches, you return to your settlements, with silver and gold, brass and iron, and variety of raiment: divide the prey of your enemies with your brethren.

22:9. So the children of Ruben, and the children of Gad, and the half tribe of Manasses returned, and parted from the children of Israel in Silo, which is in Chanaan, to go into Galaad the land of their possession, which they had obtained according to the commandment of the Lord by the hand of Moses.

22:10. And when they were come to the banks of the Jordan, in the land of Chanaan, they built an altar immensely great near the Jordan.

22:11. And when the children of Israel had heard of it, and certain messengers brought them an account that the children of Ruben, and of Gad, and the half tribe of Manasses had built an altar in the land of Chanaan, upon the banks of the Jordan, over against the children of Israel:

22:12. They all assembled in Silo, to go up and fight against them.

22:13. And in the mean time they sent to them into the land of Galaad, Phinees the son of Eleazar the priest,

22:14. And ten princes with him, one of every tribe.

22:15. Who came to the children of Ruben, and of Gad, and the half tribe of Manasses, into the land of Galaad, and said to them:

22:16. Thus saith all the people of the Lord: What meaneth this transgression? Why have you forsaken the Lord the God of Israel, building a sacrilegious altar, and revolting from the worship of him?

22:17. Is it a small thing to you that you sinned with Beelphegor, and the stain of that crime remaineth in us to this day? and many of the people perished.

22:18. And you have forsaken the Lord to day, and to morrow his wrath will rage against all Israel.

22:19. But if you think the land of your possession to be unclean, pass over to the land wherein is the tabernacle of the Lord, and dwell among us: only depart not from the Lord, and from our society, by building an altar beside the altar of the Lord our God.

22:20. Did not Achan the son of Zare transgress the commandment of the Lord, and his wrath lay upon all the people of Israel? And he was but one man, and would to God he alone had perished in his wickedness.

22:21. And the children of Ruben, and of Gad, and of the half tribe of Manasses answered the princes of the embassage of Israel:

22:22. The Lord the most mighty God, the Lord the most mighty God, he knoweth, and Israel also shall understand: If with the design of transgression we have set up this altar, let him not save us, but punish us immediately:

22:23. And if we did it with that mind, that we might lay upon it holocausts, and sacrifice, and victims of peace offerings, let him require and judge:

22:24. And not rather with this thought and design, that we should say: To morrow your children will say to our children: What have you to do with the Lord the God of Israel?

22:25. The Lord hath put the river Jordan for a border between us and you, O ye children of Ruben, and ye children of Gad: and therefore you have no part in the Lord. And by this occasion your children shall turn away our children from the fear of the Lord. We therefore thought it best,

22:26. And said: Let us build us an altar, not for holocausts, nor to offer victims,

22:27. But for a testimony between us and you, and our posterity and yours, that we may serve the Lord, and that we may have a right to offer both holocausts, and victims and sacrifices of peace offerings: and that your children to morrow may not say to our children: You have no part in the Lord.

22:28. And if they will say so, they shall answer them: Behold the altar of the Lord, which our fathers made, not for holocausts, nor for sacrifice, but for a testimony between us and you.

22:29. God keep us from any such wickedness that we should revolt from the Lord, and leave off following his steps, by building an altar to offer holocausts, and sacrifices, and victims, beside the altar of the Lord our God, which is erected before his tabernacle.

22:30. And when Phinees the priest, and the princes of the embassage, who were with him, had heard this, they were satisfied: and they admitted most willingly the words of the children of Ruben, and Gad, and of the half tribe of Manasses,

22:31. And Phinees the priest the son of Eleazar said to them: Now we know that the Lord is with us, because you are not guilty of this revolt, and you have delivered the children of Israel from the hand of the Lord.

22:32. And he returned with the princes from the children of Ruben and Gad, out of the land of Galaad, into the land of Chanaan, to the children of Israel, and brought them word again.

22:33. And the saying pleased all that heard it. And the children of Israel praised God, and they no longer said that they would go up against them, and fight, and destroy the land of their possession.

22:34. And the children of Ruben, and the children of Gad called the altar which they had built, Our testimony, that the Lord is God,

Josue Chapter 23

Josue being old admonisheth the people to keep God’s commandments: and to avoid marriages and all society with the Gentiles for fear of being brought to idolatry.

23:1. And when a long time was passed, after that the Lord had given peace to Israel, all the nations round about being subdued. and Josue being now old, and far advanced in years:

23:2. Josue called for all Israel, and for the elders, and for the princes, and for the judges, and for the masters, and said to them: I am old, and far advanced in years,

23:3. And you see all that the Lord your God hath done to all the nations round about, how he himself hath fought for you:

23:4. And now since he hath divided to you by lot all the land, from the east of the Jordan unto the great sea, and many nations yet remain:

23:5. The Lord your God will destroy them, and take them away from before your face, and you shall possess the land as he hath promised you.

23:6. Only take courage, and be careful to observe all things that are written in the book of the law of Moses: and turn not aside from them neither to the right hand nor to the left:

23:7. Lest after that you are come in among the Gentiles, who will remain among you, you should swear by the name of their gods, and serve them, and adore them:

23:8. But cleave ye unto the Lord your God, as you have done until this day.

23:9. And then the Lord God will take away before your eyes nations that are great and very strong, and no man shall be able to resist you.

23:10. One of you shall chase a thousand men of the enemies: because the Lord your God himself will fight for you, as he hath promised.

23:11. This only take care of with all diligence, that you love the Lord your God.

23:12. But if you will embrace the errors of these nations that dwell among you, and make marriages with them, and join friendships:

23:13. Know ye for a certainty that the Lord your God will not destroy them before your face, but they shall be a pit and a snare in your way, and a stumbling-block at your side, and stakes in your eyes, till he take you away and destroy you from off this excellent land, which he hath given you.

23:14. Behold this day I am going into the way of all the earth, and you shall know with all your mind that of all the words which the Lord promised to perform for you, not one hath failed,

23:15. Therefore as he hath fulfilled in deed, what he promised, and all things prosperous have come: so will he bring upon you all the evils he hath threatened, till he take you away and destroy you from off this excellent land, which he hath given you,

23:16. When you shall have transgressed the covenant of the Lord your God, which he hath made with you, and shall have served strange gods, and adored them: then shall the indignation of the Lord rise up quickly and speedily against you, and you shall be taken away from this excellent land, which he hath delivered to you.

Josue Chapter 24

Josue assembleth the people, and reneweth the covenant between them and God. His death and burial.

24:1. And Josue gathered together all the tribes of Israel in Sichem, and called for the ancients, and the princes and the judges, and the masters: and they stood in the sight of the Lord:

24:2. And he spoke thus to the people: Thus saith the Lord the God of Israel: Your fathers dwelt of old on the other side of the river, Thare the father of Abraham, and Nachor: and they served strange gods.

Of the river. . .The Euphrates.

24:3. And I took your father Abraham from the borders of Mesopotamia: and brought him into the land of Chanaan: and I multiplied his seed,

24:4. And gave him Isaac: and to him again I gave Jacob and Esau. And I gave to Esau mount Seir for his possession: but Jacob and his children went down into Egypt.

24:5. And I sent Moses and Aaron, and I struck Egypt with many signs and wonders.

24:6. And I brought you and your fathers out of Egypt, and you came to the sea: and the Egyptians pursued your fathers with chariots and horsemen, as far as the Red Sea.

24:7. And the children of Israel cried to the Lord: and he put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and brought the sea upon them, and covered them. Your eyes saw all that I did in Egypt, and you dwelt in the wilderness a long time.

24:8. And I brought you into the land of the Amorrhite, who dwelt beyond the Jordan. And when they fought against you, I delivered them into your hands, and you possessed their land, and slew them.

24:9. And Balac son of Sephor king of Moab arose and fought against Israel. And he sent and called for Balaam son of Beor, to curse you:

24:10. And I would not hear him, but on the contrary I blessed you by him, and I delivered you out of his hand.

24:11. And you passed over the Jordan, and you came to Jericho. And the men of that city fought against you, the Amorrhite, and the Pherezite, and the Chanaanite, and the Hethite, and the Gergesite, and the Hevite, and the Jebusite: and I delivered them into your hands.

24:12. And I sent before you hornets: and I drove them out from their places, the two kings of the Amorrhites, not with thy sword nor with thy bow,

24:13. And I gave you a land, in which you had not laboured, and cities to dwell in which you built not, vineyards and oliveyards, which you planted not.

24:14. Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him with a perfect and most sincere heart: and put away the gods which your fathers served in Mesopotamia and in Egypt, and serve the Lord.

24:15. But if it seem evil to you to serve the Lord, you have your choice: choose this day that which pleaseth you, whom you would rather serve, whether the gods which your fathers served in Mesopotamia, or the gods of the Amorrhites, in whose land you dwell: but as for me and my house we will serve the Lord,

24:16. And the people answered, and said, God forbid we should leave the Lord, and serve strange gods.

24:17. The Lord our God he brought us and our fathers out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage: and did very great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way by which we journeyed, and among all the people through whom we passed.

24:18. And he hath cast out all the nations, the Amorrhite the inhabitant of the land into which we are come. Therefore we will serve the Lord, for he is our God.

24:19. And Josue said to the people: You will not be able to serve the Lord: for he is a holy God, and mighty and jealous, and will not forgive your wickedness and sins.

You will not be able to serve the Lord, etc. . .This was not said by way of discouraging them; but rather to make them more earnest and resolute, by setting before them the greatness of the undertaking, and the courage and constancy necessary to go through with it.

24:20. If you leave the Lord, and serve strange gods, he will turn, and will afflict you, and will destroy you after all the good he hath done you.

24:21. And the people said to Josue: No, it shall not be so as thou sayest, but we will serve the Lord.

24:22. And Josue said to the people, You are witnesses, that you yourselves have chosen you the Lord to serve him. And they answered: We are witnesses.

24:23. Now therefore, said he, put away strange gods from among you, and incline your hearts to the Lord the God of Israel.

24:24. And the people said to Josue: We will serve the Lord our God, and we will be obedient to his commandments.

24:25. Josue therefore on that day made a covenant, and set before the people commandments and judgments in Sichem.

24:26. And he wrote all these things in the volume of the law of the Lord: and he took a great stone, and set it under the oak that was in the sanctuary of the Lord.

24:27. And he said to all the people: Behold this stone shall be a testimony unto you, that it hath heard all the words of the Lord, which he hath spoken to you: lest perhaps hereafter you will deny it, and lie to the Lord your God.

It hath heard. . .This is a figure of speech, by which sensation is attributed to inanimate things; and they are called upon, as it were, to bear witness in favour of the great Creator, whom they on their part constantly obey.

24:28. And he sent the people away every one to their own possession,

24:29. And after these things Josue the son of Nun the servant of the Lord died, being a hundred and ten years old:

And after, etc. . .If Josue wrote this book, as is commonly believed, these last verses were added by Samuel, or some other prophet.

24:30. And they buried him in the border of his possession in Thamnathsare, which is situate in mount Ephraim, on the north side of mount Gaas.

24:31. And Israel served the Lord all the days of Josue, and of the ancients that lived a long time after Josue, and that had known all the works of the Lord which he had done in Israel.

24:32. And the bones of Joseph which the children of Israel had taken out of Egypt, they buried in Sichem, in that part of the field which Jacob had bought of the sons of Hemor the father of Sichem, for a hundred young ewes, and it was in the possession of the sons of Joseph.

24:33. Eleazar also the son of Aaron died: and they buried him in Gabaath that belongeth to Phinees his son, which was given him in mount Ephraim.

THE BOOK OF JUDGES

This Book is called JUDGES, because it contains the history of what passed under the government of the judges, who ruled Israel before they had kings. The writer of it, according to the more general opinion, was the prophet Samuel.

Judges Chapter 1

The expedition and victory of Juda against the Chanaanites: who are tolerated in many places.

1:1. After the death of Josue, the children of Israel consulted the Lord, saying: Who shall go up before us against the Chanaanite, and shall be the leader of the war?

1:2. And the Lord said: Juda shall go up: behold I have delivered the land into his hands.

1:3. And Juda said to Simeon, his brother: Come up with me into my lot, and fight against the Chanaanite, that I also may go along with thee into thy lot. And Simeon went with him.

1:4. And Juda went up, and the Lord delivered the Chanaanite, and the Pherezite into their hands: and they slew of them in Bezec ten thousand men.

1:5. And they found Adonibezec in Bezec, and fought against him, and they defeated the Chanaanite, and the Pherezite.

1:6. And Adonibezec fled: and they pursued after him and took him, and cut off his fingers and toes.

1:7. And Adonibezec said: Seventy kings, having their fingers and toes cut off, gathered up the leavings of the meat under my table: as I have done, so hath God requited me. And they brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there.

1:8. And the children of Juda besieging Jerusalem, took it, and put it to the sword, and set the whole city on fire.

Jerusalem. . .This city was divided into two; one part was called Jebus, the other Salem: the one was in the tribe of Juda, the other in the tribe of Benjamin. After it was taken and burnt by the men of Juda, it was quickly rebuilt again by the Jebusites, as we may gather from ver. 21; and continued in their possession till it was taken by king David.

1:9. And afterwards they went down and fought against the Chanaanite, who dwelt in the mountains, and in the south, and in the plains.

1:10. And Juda going forward against the Chanaanite, that dwelt in Hebron, (the name whereof was in former times Cariath-Arbe) slew Sesai, and Ahiman, and Tholmai:

Hebron. . .This expedition against Hebron, etc. is the same as is related, Jos. 15.24. It is here repeated, to give the reader at once a short sketch of all the achievements of the tribe of Juda against the Chanaanites.

1:11. And departing from thence, he went to the inhabitants of Dabir, the ancient name of which was Cariath-Sepher, that is, the city of letters.

The city of letters. . .Perhaps so called from some famous school, or library, kept there.

1:12. And Caleb said: He that shall take Cariath-Sepher, and lay it waste, to him will I give my daughter Axa to wife.

1:13. And Othoniel, the son of Cenez, the younger brother of Caleb, having taken it, he gave him Axa his daughter to wife.

1:14. And as she was going on her way, her husband admonished her to ask a field of her father. And as she sighed sitting on her ass, Caleb said to her: What aileth thee?

1:15. But she answered: Give me a blessing, for thou hast given me a dry land: give me also a watery land So Caleb gave her the upper and the nether watery ground.

1:16. And the children of the Cinite, the kinsman of Moses, went up from the city of palms, with the children of Juda, into the wilderness of his lot, which is at the south side of Arad, and they dwelt with him.

The Cinite. . .Jethro the father in law of Moses was called Cinoeus, or the Cinite; and his children who came along with the children of Israel settled themselves among them in the land of Chanaan, embracing their worship and religion. From these the Rechabites sprung, of whom see Jer. 35.—Ibid. The city of palms. . .Jericho, so called from the abundance of palm trees.

1:17. And Juda went with Simeon, his brother, and they together defeated the Chanaanites that dwelt in Sephaath, and slew them. And the name of the city was called Horma, that is, Anathema.

1:18. And Juda took Gaza, with its confines, and Ascalon, and Accaron, with their confines.

Gaza, etc. . .These were three of the principal cities of the Philistines, famous both in sacred and profane history. They were taken at this time by the Israelites: but as they took no care to put garrisons in them, the Philistines soon recovered them.

1:19. And the Lord was with Juda, and he possessed the hill country: but was not able to destroy the inhabitants of the valley, because they had many chariots armed with scythes.

Was not able, etc. . .Through a cowardly fear of their chariots armed with hooks and scythes, and for want of confidence in God.

1:20. And they gave Hebron to Caleb, as Moses had said, who destroyed out of it the three sons of Enac.

1:21. But the sons of Benjamin did not destroy the Jebusites that inhabited Jerusalem: and the Jebusite hath dwelt with the sons of Benjamin in Jerusalem until this present day.

1:22. The house of Joseph also went up against Bethel, and the Lord was with them.

1:23. For when they were besieging the city, which before was called Luza,

1:24. They saw a man coming out of the city, and they said to him: Shew us the entrance into the city, and we will shew thee mercy.

1:25. And when he had shewed them, they smote the city with the edge of the sword: but that man, and all his kindred, they let go:

1:26. Who being sent away, went into the land of Hetthim, and built there a city, and called it Luza: which is so called until this day.

1:27. Manasses also did not destroy Bethsan, and Thanac, with their villages; nor the inhabitants of Dor, and Jeblaam, and Mageddo, with their villages. And the Chanaanite began to dwell with them.

1:28. But after Israel was grown strong, he made them tributaries, and would not destroy them.

1:29. Ephraim also did not slay the Chanaanite that dwelt in Gazer, but dwelt with him.

1:30. Zabulon destroyed not the inhabitants of Cetron, and Naalol: but the Chanaanite dwelt among them, and became their tributary.

1:31. Aser also destroyed not the inhabitants of Accho, and of Sidon, of Ahalab, and of Achazib, and of Helba, and of Aphec, and of Rohob:

1:32. And he dwelt in the midst of the Chanaanites, the inhabitants of that land, and did not slay them.

1:33. Nephthali also destroyed not the inhabitants of Bethsames, and of Bethanath: and he dwelt in the midst of the Chanaanites, the inhabitants of the land, and the Bethsamites and Bethanites were tributaries to him.

1:34. And the Amorrhite straitened the children of Dan in the mountain, and gave them not a place to go down to the plain:

1:35. And he dwelt in the mountain Hares, that is, of potsherds, in Aialon and Salebim. And the hand of the house of Joseph was heavy upon him, and he became tributary to him.

He dwelt. . .That is, the Amorrhite.

1:36. And the border of the Amorrhite was from the ascent of the scorpion, the rock, and the higher places.

Judges Chapter 2

An angel reproveth Israel. They weep for their sins. After the death of Josue, they often fall, and repenting are delivered from their afflictions, but still fall worse and worse.

2:1. And an angel of the Lord went up from Galgal to the place of weepers, and said: I made you go out of Egypt, and have brought you into the land for which I swore to your fathers: and I promised that I would not make void my covenant with you for ever:

An angel. . .Taking the shape of a man.

2:2. On condition that you should not make a league with the inhabitants of this land, but should throw down their altars: and you would not hear my voice: why have you done this?

2:3. Wherefore I would not destroy them from before your face; that you may have enemies, and their gods may be your ruin.

2:4. And when the angel of the Lord spoke these words to all the children of Israel: they lifted up their voice, and wept.

2:5. And the name of that place was called, The place of weepers, or of tears: and there they offered sacrifices to the Lord.

2:6. And Josue sent away the people, and the children of Israel went every one to his own possession to hold it:

And Josue, etc. . .This is here inserted out of Jos. 24, by way of recapitulation of what had happened before, and by way of an introduction to that which follows.

2:7. And they served the Lord all his days, and the days of the ancients, that lived a long time after him, and who knew all the works of the Lord, which he had done for Israel.

2:8. And Josue, the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being a hundred and ten years old;

2:9. And they buried him in the borders of his possession in Thamnathsare, in Mount Ephraim, on the north side of Mount Gaas.

2:10. And all that generation was gathered to their fathers: and there arose others that knew not the Lord and the works which he had done for Israel.

2:11. And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and they served Baalim

2:12. And they left the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt: and they followed strange gods, and the gods of the people that dwelt round about them, and they adored them: and they provoked the Lord to anger,

They followed strange gods. . .What is here said of the children of Israel, as to their falling so often into idolatry, is to be understood of a great part of them; but not so universally, as if the true worship of God was ever quite abolished among them: for the succession of the true church and religion was kept up all this time by the priests and Levites, at least in the house of God in Silo.

2:13. Forsaking him, and serving Baal and Astaroth

2:14. And the Lord being angry against Israel, delivered them into the hands of plunderers: who took them and sold them to their enemies, that dwelt round about: neither could they stand against their enemies:

2:15. But whithersoever they meant to go, the hand of the Lord was upon them, as he had said, and as he had sworn to them: and they were greatly distressed.

2:16. And the Lord raised up judges, to deliver them from the hands of those that oppressed them: but they would not hearken to them,

2:17. Committing fornication with strange gods, and adoring them. They quickly forsook the way, in which their fathers had walked: and hearing the commandments of the Lord, they did all things contrary.

2:18. And when the Lord raised them up judges, in their days, he was moved to mercy, and heard the groanings of the afflicted, and delivered them from the slaughter of the oppressors.

2:19. But after the judge was dead, they returned, and did much worse things than their fathers had done, following strange gods, serving them, and adoring them. They left not their own inventions, and the stubborn way, by which they were accustomed to walk.

2:20. And the wrath of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he said: Behold this nation hath made void my covenant, which I had made with their fathers, and hath despised to hearken to my voice:

2:21. I also will not destroy the nations which Josue left when he died:

2:22. That through them I may try Israel, whether they will keep the way of the Lord, and walk in it, as their fathers kept it, or not.

2:23. The Lord therefore left all these nations, and would not quickly destroy them, neither did he deliver them into the hands of Josue.

Judges Chapter 3

The people falling into idolatry are oppressed by their enemies; but repenting are delivered by Othoniel, Aod, and Samgar.

3:1. These are the nations which the Lord left, that by them he might instruct Israel, and all that had not known the wars of the Chanaanites:

3:2. That afterwards their children might learn to fight with their enemies, and to be trained up to war:

3:3. The five princes of the Philistines, and all the Chanaanites, and the Sidonians, and the Hevites that dwelt in Mount Libanus, from Mount Baal Hermon to the entering into Emath.

3:4. And he left them, that he might try Israel by them, whether they would hear the commandments of the Lord, which he had commanded their fathers, by the hand of Moses, or not.

3:5. So the children of Israel dwelt in the midst of the Chanaanite, and the Hethite, and the Amorrhite, and the Pherezite, and the Hevite, and the Jebusite:

3:6. And they took their daughters to wives, and they gave their own daughters to their sons, and they served their gods.

3:7. And they did evil in the sight of the Lord, and they forgot their God, and served Baalim and Astaroth.

3:8. And the Lord being angry with Israel, delivered them into the hands of Chusan Rasathaim, king of Mesopotamia, and they served him eight years.

Mesopotamia. . .In Hebrew Aramnaharim. Syria of the two rivers: so called because it lies between the Euphrates and the Tigris. It is absolutely called Syria, ver. 10.

3:9. And they cried to the Lord, who raised them up a saviour, and delivered them; to wit, Othoniel, the son of Cenez, the younger brother of Caleb:

3:10. And the spirit of the Lord was in him, and he judged Israel. And he went out to fight, and the Lord delivered into his hands Chusan Rasathaim, king of Syria, and he overthrew him:

3:11. And the land rested forty years, and Othoniel, the son of Cenez, died.

3:12. And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord: who strengthened against them Eglon, king of Moab: because they did evil in his sight.

3:13. And he joined to him the children of Ammon, and Amalec: and he went and overthrew Israel, and possessed the city of palm trees.

3:14. And the children of Israel served Eglon, king of Moab, eighteen years.

3:15. And afterwards they cried to the Lord, who raised them up a saviour, called Aod, the son of Gera, the son of Jemini, who used the left hand as well as the right. And the children of Israel sent presents to Eglon, king of Moab, by him.

3:16. And he made himself a two-edged sword, with a haft in the midst of the length of the palm of the hand, and was girded therewith, under his garment, on the right thigh.

3:17. And he presented the gifts to Eglon, king of Moab Now Eglon was exceeding fat.

3:18. And when he had presented the gifts unto him he followed his companions that came along with him.

3:19. Then returning from Galgal, where the idols were, he said to the king: I have a secret message to thee, O king. And he commanded silence: and all being gone out that were about him,

3:20. Aod went in to him: now he was sitting in a summer parlour alone, and he said: I have a word from God to thee. And he forthwith rose up from his throne.

A word from God, etc. . .What Aod, who was judge and chief magistrate of Israel, did on this occasion, was by a special inspiration of God: but such things are not to be imitated by private men.

3:21. And Aod put forth his left hand, and took the dagger from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly,

3:22. With such force that the haft went in after the blade into the wound, and was closed up with the abundance of fat. So that he did not draw out the dagger, but left it in the body as he had struck it in: and forthwith, by the secret parts of nature, the excrements of the belly came out.

3:23. And Aod carefully shutting the doors of the parlour, and locking them,

3:24. Went out by a postern door. And the king’s servants going in, saw the doors of the parlour shut, and they said: Perhaps he is easing nature in his summer parlour.

3:25. And waiting a long time, till they were ashamed, and seeing that no man opened the door, they took a key: and opening, they found their lord lying dead on the ground.

3:26. But Aod, while they were in confusion, escaped, and passed by the place of the idols from whence he had returned. And he came to Seirath:

3:27. And forthwith he sounded the trumpet in Mount Ephraim: and the children of Israel went down with him, he himself going in the front.

3:28. And he said to them: Follow me: for the Lord hath delivered our enemies, the Moabites, into our hands. And they went down after him, and seized upon the fords of the Jordan, which are in the way to Moab: and they suffered no man to pass over:

3:29. But they slew of the Moabites at that time, about ten thousand, all strong and valiant men: none of them could escape.

3:30. And Moab was humbled that day under the hand of Israel: and the land rested eighty years.

3:31. After him was Samgar, the son of Anath, who slew of the Philistines six hundred men with a ploughshare: and he also defended Israel.

Judges Chapter 4

Debbora and Barac deliver Israel from Jabin and Sisara, Jahal killeth Sisara.

4:1. And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord after the death of Aod:

4:2. And the Lord delivered them up into the hands of Jabin, king of Chanaan, who reigned in Asor: and he had a general of his army named Sisara, and he dwelt in Haroseth of the Gentiles.

4:3. And the children of Israel cried to the Lord: for he had nine hundred chariots set with scythes and for twenty years had grievously oppressed them.

4:4. And there was at that time Debbora, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, who judged the people.

4:5. And she sat under a palm tree, which was called by her name, between Rama and Bethel, in Mount Ephraim: and the children of Israel came up to her for all judgment.

4:6. And she sent and called Barac, the Son of Abinoem, out of Cedes, in Nephthali: and she said to him: The Lord God of Israel hath commanded thee: Go, and lead an army to Mount Thabor, and thou shalt take with thee ten thousand fighting men of the children of Nephthali, and of the children of Zabulon:

4:7. And I will bring unto thee in the place of the torrent Cison, Sisara, the general of Jabin’s army, and his chariots, and all his multitude, and will deliver them into thy hand.

4:8. And Barac said to her: If thou wilt come with me, I will go: if thou wilt not come with me, I will not go.

4:9. She said to him: I will go, indeed, with thee, but at this time the victory shall not be attributed to thee, because Sisara shall be delivered into the hand of a woman. Debbora therefore arose, and went with Barac to Cedes.

4:10. And he called unto him Zabulon and Nephthali, and went up with ten thousand fighting men, having Debbora in his company.

4:11. Now Haber, the Cinite, had some time before departed from the rest of the Cinites, his brethren, the sons of Hobab, the kinsman of Moses: and had pitched his tents unto the valley, which is called Sennim, and was near Cedes.

4:12. And it was told Sisara, that Barac, the son of Abinoem, was gone up to Mount Thabor:

4:13. And he gathered together his nine hundred chariots armed with scythes, and all his army, from Haroseth of the Gentiles, to the torrent Cison.

4:14. And Debbora said to Barac: Arise, for this is the day wherein the Lord hath delivered Sisara into thy hands: behold, he is thy leader. And Barac went down from Mount Thabor, and ten thousand fighting men with him.

4:15. And the Lord struck a terror into Sisara, and all his chariots, and all his multitude, with the edge of the sword, at the sight of Barac; insomuch, that Sisara leaping down from off his chariot, fled away on foot,

4:16. And Barac pursued after the fleeing chariots, and the army, unto Haroseth of the Gentiles; and all the multitude of the enemies was utterly destroyed.

4:17. But Sisara fleeing, came to the tent of Jahel, the wife of Haber, the Cinite, for there was peace between Jabin, the king of Asor, and the house of Haber, the Cinite.

4:18. And Jahel went forth to meet Sisara, and said to him: Come in to me, my lord; come in, fear not. He went into her tent, and being covered by her with a cloak,

4:19. Said to her: Give me, I beseech thee, a little water, for I am very thirsty. She opened a bottle of milk, and gave him to drink, and covered him.

4:20. And Sisara said to her: Stand before the door of the tent, and when any shall come and inquire of thee, saying: Is there any man here? thou shalt say: There is none.

4:21. So Jahel, Haber’s wife, took a nail of the tent, and taking also a hammer: and going in softly, and with silence, she put the nail upon the temples of his head, and striking it with the hammer, drove it through his brain fast into the ground: and so passing from deep sleep to death, he fainted away and died.

4:22. And behold, Barac came pursuing after Sisara: and Jahel went out to meet him, and said to him: Come, and I will shew thee the man whom thou seekest. And when he came into her tent, he saw Sisara lying dead, and the nail fastened in his temples.

4:23. So God that day humbled Jabin, the king of Chanaan, before the children of Israel:

4:24. Who grew daily stronger, and with a mighty hand overpowered Jabin, king of Chanaan, till they quite destroyed him.

Judges Chapter 5

The canticle of Debbora and Barac after their victory.

5:1. In that day Debbora and Barac, son of Abinoem, sung, and said:

5:2. O you of Israel, that have willingly offered your lives to danger, bless the Lord.

5:3. Hear, O ye kings, give ear, O ye princes: It is I, it is I, that will sing to the Lord, I will sing to the Lord, the God of Israel.

5:4. O Lord, when thou wentest out of Seir, and passedst by the regions of Edom, the earth trembled, and the heavens and clouds dropped water.

5:5. The mountains melted before the face of the Lord, and Sinai before the face of the Lord the God of Israel.

5:6. In the days of Samgar, the son of Anath, in the days of Jahel, the paths rested: and they that went by them, walked through bye-ways.

The paths rested. . .The ways to the sanctuary of God were unfrequented: and men walked in the by-ways of error and sin.

5:7. The valiant men ceased, and rested in Israel: until Debbora arose, a mother arose in Israel.

5:8. The Lord chose new wars, and he himself overthrew the gates of the enemies: a shield and spear was not seen among forty thousand of Israel.

5:9. My heart loveth the princes of Israel: O you, that of your own good will offered yourselves to danger, bless the Lord.

5:10. Speak, you that ride upon fair asses, and you that sit in judgment, and walk in the way.

5:11. Where the chariots were dashed together, and the army of the enemies was choked, there let the justices of the Lord be rehearsed, and his clemency towards the brave men of Israel: then the people of the Lord went down to the gates, and obtained the sovereignty.

5:12. Arise, arise, O Debbora, arise, arise, and utter a canticle. Arise, Barac, and take hold of thy captives, O son of Abinoem.

5:13. The remnants of the people are saved, the Lord hath fought among the valiant ones.

5:14. Out of Ephraim he destroyed them into Amalec, and after him out of Benjamin into thy people, O Amalec: Out of Machir there came down princes, and out of Zabulon they that led the army to fight.

Out of Ephraim, etc. . .The enemies straggling in their flight were destroyed, as they were running through the land of Ephraim, and of Benjamin, which lies after, that is beyond Ephraim: and so on to the very confines of Amalec. Or, it alludes to former victories of the people of God, particularly that which was freshest in memory, when the men of Ephraim and Benjamin, with Aod at their head, overthrew their enemies the Moabites with the Amalecites their allies. See chap. 3.—Ibid. Machir. . .The tribe of Manasses, whose eldest son was Machir.

5:15. The captains of Issachar were with Debbora, and followed the steps of Barac, who exposed himself to danger, as one going headlong, and into a pit. Ruben being divided against himself, there was found a strife of courageous men.

Divided against himself, etc. . .By this it seems that the valient men of the tribe of Ruben were divided in their sentiments, with relation to this war; which division kept them at home within their own borders, to hear the bleating of their flocks.

5:16. Why dwellest thou between two borders, that thou mayst hear the bleatings of the flocks? Ruben being divided against himself, there was found a strife of courageous men.

5:17. Galaad rested beyond the Jordan, and Dan applied himself to ships: Aser dwelt on the sea shore, and abode in the havens.

5:18. But Zabulon and Nephthali offered their lives to death in the region of Merome.

5:19. The kings came and fought, the kings of Chanaan fought in Thanac, by the waters of Mageddo and yet they took no spoils.

5:20. There was war made against them from heaven: the stars, remaining in their order and courses, fought against Sisara.

5:21. The torrent of Cison dragged their carcasses, the torrent of Cadumim, the torrent of Cison: tread thou, my soul, upon the strong ones.

5:22. The hoofs of the horses were broken whilst the stoutest of the enemies fled amain, and fell headlong down.

5:23. Curse ye the land of Meroz, said the angel of the Lord: curse the inhabitants thereof, because they came not to the help of the Lord, to help his most valiant men.

Meroz. . .Where this land of Meroz was, which is here laid under a curse, we cannot find: nor is there mention of it anywhere else in holy writ. In the spiritual sense, they are cursed who refuse to assist the people of God in their warfare against their spiritual enemies.

5:24. Blessed among women be Jahel, the wife of Haber the Cinite, and blessed be she in her tent.

5:25. He asked her water, and she gave him milk, and offered him butter in a dish fit for princes.

5:26. She put her left hand to the nail, and her right hand to the workman’s hammer, and she struck Sisara, seeking in his head a place for the wound, and strongly piercing through his temples.

5:27. Between her feet he fell: he fainted, and he died: he rolled before her feet, and there he lay lifeless and wretched.

5:28. His mother looked out at a window, and howled: and she spoke from the dining room: Why is his chariot so long in coming back? Why are the feet of his horses so slow?

5:29. One that was wiser than the rest of his wives, returned this answer to her mother in law:

5:30. Perhaps he is now dividing the spoils, and the fairest of the women is chosen out for him: garments of divers colours are given to Sisara for his prey, and furniture of different kinds is heaped together to adorn necks.

5:31. So let all thy enemies perish, O Lord: but let them that love thee shine, as the sun shineth in his rising.

5:32. And the land rested for forty years.

Judges Chapter 6

The people for their sins, are oppressed by the Madianites. Gedeon is called to deliver them.

6:1. And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord: and he delivered them into the hand of Madian seven years,

6:2. And they were grievously oppressed by them. And they made themselves dens and caves in the mountains, and strong holds to resist.

6:3. And when Israel had sown, Madian and Amalec, and the rest of the eastern nations, came up:

6:4. And pitching their tents among them, wasted all things as they were in the blade, even to the entrance of Gaza: and they left nothing at all in Israel for sustenance of life, nor sheep, nor oxen, nor asses.

6:5. For they and all their flocks came with their tents, and like locusts filled all places, an innumerable multitude of men, and of camels, wasting whatsoever they touched.

6:6. And Israel was humbled exceedingly in the sight of Madian.

6:7. And he cried to the Lord, desiring help against the Madianites.

6:8. And he sent unto them a prophet, and he spoke: Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel: I made you to come up out of Egypt, and brought you out of the house of bondage,

6:9. And delivered you out of the hands of the Egyptians, and of all the enemies that afflicted you: and I cast them out at your coming in, and gave you their land.

6:10. And I said: I am the Lord your God, fear not the gods of the Amorrhites, in whose land you dwell. And you would not hear my voice.

6:11. And an angel of the Lord came, and sat under an oak that was in Ephra, and belonged to Joas, the father of the family of Ezri. And when Gedeon, his son, was threshing and cleansing wheat by the winepress, to flee from Madian,

6:12. The angel of the Lord appeared to him, and said: The Lord is with thee, O most valiant of men.

6:13. And Gedeon said to him: I beseech thee, my lord, if the Lord be with us, why have these evils fallen upon us? Where are his miracles, which our fathers have told us of, saying: The Lord brought us out of Egypt but now the Lord hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hand of Madian.

6:14. And the Lord looked upon him, and said: Go, in this thy strength, and thou shalt deliver Israel out of the hand of Madian: know that I have sent thee.

6:15. He answered, and said: I beseech thee, my lord wherewith shall I deliver Israel? Behold, my family is the meanest in Manasses, and I am the least in my father’s house.

The meanest in Manasses, etc. . .Mark how the Lord chooseth the humble (who are mean and little in their own eyes) for the greatest enterprises.

6:16. And the Lord said to him: I will be with thee: and thou shalt cut off Madian as one man.

6:17. And he said: If I have found grace before thee, give me a sign that it is thou that speakest to me:

6:18. And depart not hence, till I return to thee, and bring a sacrifice, and offer it to thee. And he answered: I will wait thy coming.

6:19. So Gedeon went in, and boiled a kid, and made unleavened loaves of a measure of flour: and putting the flesh in a basket, and the broth of the flesh into a pot, he carried all under the oak, and presented to him.

6:20. And the angel of the Lord said to him: Take the flesh and the unleavened loaves, and lay them upon that rock, and pour out the broth thereon. And when he had done so,

6:21. The angel of the Lord put forth the tip of the rod, which he held in his hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened loaves: and there arose a fire from the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened loaves: and the angel of the Lord vanished out of his sight.

6:22. And Gedeon seeing that it was the angel of the Lord, said: Alas, my Lord God: for I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face.

6:23. And the Lord said to him: Peace be with thee: fear not, thou shalt not die.

6:24. And Gedeon built there an altar to the Lord, and called it the Lord’s peace, until this present day. And when he was yet in Ephra, which is of the family of Ezri,

6:25. That night the Lord said to him: Take a bullock of thy father’s, and another bullock of seven years, and thou shalt destroy the altar of Baal, which is thy father’s: and cut down the grove that is about the altar:

6:26. And thou shalt build an altar to the Lord thy God, in the top of this rock, whereupon thou didst lay the sacrifice before: and thou shalt take the second bullock, and shalt offer a holocaust upon a pile of the wood, which thou shalt cut down out of the grove.

6:27. Then Gedeon, taking ten men of his servants, did as the Lord had commanded him. But fearing his father’s house, and the men of that city, he would not do it by day, but did all by night.

6:28. And when the men of that town were risen in the morning, they saw the altar of Baal destroyed, and the grove cut down, and the second bullock laid upon the altar, which then was built.

6:29. And they said one to another: Who hath done this? And when they inquired for the author of the fact, it was said: Gedeon, the son of Joas, did all this.

6:30. And they said to Joas: Bring out thy son hither, that he may die: because he hath destroyed the altar of Baal, and hath cut down his grove.

6:31. He answered them: Are you the avengers of Baal, that you fight for him? he that is his adversary, let him die before to morrow light appear: if he be a god, let him revenge himself on him that hath cast down his altar.

6:32. From that day Gedeon was called Jerobaal, because Joas had said: Let Baal revenge himself on him that hath cast down his altar.

6:33. Now all Madian, and Amalec, and the eastern people, were gathered together, and passing over the Jordan, camped in the valley of Jezrael.

6:34. But the spirit of the Lord came upon Gedeon, and he sounded the trumpet, and called together the house of Abiezer, to follow him.

6:35. And he sent messengers into all Manasses, and they also followed him : and other messengers into Aser and Zabulon, and Nephthali, and they came to meet him.

6:36. And Gedeon said to God: If thou wilt save Israel by my hand, as thou hast said,

6:37. I will put this fleece of wool on the floor: if there be dew on the fleece only, and it be dry on all the ground beside, I shall know that by my hand, as thou hast said, thou wilt deliver Israel.

6:38. And it was so. And rising before day, wringing the fleece, he filled a vessel with the dew.

6:39. And he said again to God: Let not thy wrath be kindled against me, if I try once more, seeking a sign in the fleece. I pray that the fleece only may be dry, and all the ground wet with dew.

6:40. And God did that night as he had requested: and it was dry on the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground.

Judges Chapter 7

Gedeon, with three hundred men, by stratagem defeateth the Madianites.

7:1. Then Jerobaal, who is the same as Gedeon, rising up early, and all the people with him, came to the fountain that is called Harad. Now the camp of Madian was in the valley, on the north side of the high hill.

7:2. And the Lord said to Gedeon: The people that are with thee are many, and Madian shall not be delivered into their hands: lest Israel should glory against me, and say: I was delivered by my own strength.

Lest Israel, etc. . .By this we see that God will not choose for his instruments in great achievements, which depend purely on his grace, such as, through pride and self conceit, will take the glory to themselves.

7:3. Speak to the people, and proclaim in the hearing of all: Whosoever is fearful and timorous, let him return. So two and twenty thousand men went away from Mount Galaad and returned home, and only ten thousand remained.

7:4. And the Lord said to Gedeon: The people are still too many, bring them to the waters, and there I will try them: and of whom I shall say to thee, This shall go with thee, let him go: whom I shall forbid to go, let him return.

7:5. And when the people were come down to the waters, the Lord said to Gedeon: They that shall lap the water with their tongues, as dogs are wont to lap, thou shalt set apart by themselves: but they that shall drink bowing down their knees, shall be on the other side.

7:6. And the number of them that had lapped water; casting it with the hand to their mouth, was three hundred men: and all the rest of the multitude had drunk kneeling.

7:7. And the Lord said to Gedeon: By the three hundred men, that lapped water, I will save you, and deliver Madian into thy hand: but let all the rest of the people return to their place.

That lapped water. . .These were preferred that took the water up in their hands, and so lapped it, before them who laid themselves quite down to the waters to drink: which argued a more eager and sensual disposition.

7:8. So taking victuals and trumpets according to their number, he ordered all the rest of the multitude to depart to their tents: and he with the three hundred gave himself to the battle. Now the camp of Madia was beneath him in the valley.

7:9. The same night the Lord said to him: Arise, and go down into the camp: because I have delivered them into thy hand.

7:10. But if thou be afraid to go alone, let Phara, thy servant, go down with thee.

7:11. And when thou shalt hear what they are saying, then shall thy hands be strengthened, and thou shalt go down more secure to the enemies’ camp. And he went down with Phara his servant, into part of the camp, where was the watch of men in arms.

7:12. But Madian and Amalec, and all the eastern people, lay scattered in the valley, as a multitude of locusts: their camels also were innumerable, as the sand that lieth on the sea shore.

7:13. And when Gedeon was come, one told his neighbour a dream: and in this manner related what he had seen: I dreamt a dream, and it seemed to me as if a hearth cake of barley bread rolled and came down into the camp of Madian: and when it was come to a tent, it struck it, and beat it down flat to the ground.

A dream. . .Observation of dreams is commonly superstitious, and as such is condemned in the word of God: but in some extraordinary cases, as we here see, God is pleased by dreams to foretell what he is about to do.

7:14. He to whom he spoke, answered: This is nothing else but the sword of Gedeon, the son of Joas, a man of Israel. For the Lord hath delivered Madian, and all their camp into his hand.

7:15. And when Gedeon had heard the dream, and the interpretation thereof, he adored: and returned to the camp of Israel, and said: Arise, for the Lord hath delivered the camp of Madian into our hands.

7:16. And he divided the three hundred men into three parts, and gave them trumpets in their hands, and empty pitchers, and lamps within the pitchers.

7:17. And he said to them: What you shall see me do, do you the same: I will go into one part of the camp, and do you as I shall do.

7:18. When the trumpet shall sound in my hand, do you also blow the trumpets on every side of the camp, and shout together to the Lord and to Gedeon.

7:19. And Gedeon, and the three hundred men that were with him, went into part of the camp, at the beginning of the midnight watch, and the watchmen being alarmed, they began to sound their trumpets, and to clap the pitchers one against another.

Their trumpets, etc. . .In a mystical sense, the preachers of the gospel, in order to spiritual conquests, must not only sound with the trumpet of the word of God, but must also break their earthen pitchers, by the mortification of the flesh and its passions, and carry lamps in their hands by the light of their virtues.

7:20. And when they sounded their trumpets in three places round about the camp, and had broken their pitchers, they held their lamps in their left hands, and with their right hands the trumpets which they blew, and they cried out: The sword of the Lord and of Gedeon:

7:21. Standing every man in his place round about the enemies’ camp. So all the camp was troubled, and crying out and howling, they fled away:

7:22. And the three hundred men nevertheless persisted sounding the trumpets. And the Lord sent the sword into all the camp, and they killed one another,

7:23. Fleeing as far as Bethsetta, and the border of Abelmahula, in Tebbath. But the men of Israel, shouting from Nephthali, and Aser, and from all Manasses, pursued after Madian.

7:24. And Gedeon sent messengers into all Mount Ephraim, saying: Come down to meet Madian, and take the waters before them to Bethbera and the Jordan. And all Ephraim shouted, and took the waters before them and the Jordan as far as Bethbera.

7:25. And having taken two men of Madian, Oreb and Zeb: Oreb they slew in the rock of Oreb, and Zeb in the winepress of Zeb. And they pursued Madian, carrying the heads of Oreb and Zeb to Gedeon, beyond the waters of the Jordan.

Two men. . .That is, two of their chiefs.

Judges Chapter 8

Gedeon appeaseth the Ephraimites. Taketh Zebee and Salmana. Destroyeth Soccoth and Phanuel. Refuseth to be king. Maketh an ephod of the gold of the prey, and dieth in a good old age. The people return to idolatry.

8:1. And the men of Ephraim said to him: What is this that thou meanest to do, that thou wouldst not call us, when thou wentest to fight against Madian? And they chid him sharply, and almost offered violence.

8:2. And he answered them: What could I have done like to that which you have done? Is not one bunch of grapes of Ephraim better than the vintages of Abiezer?

What could I, etc. . .A meek and humble answer appeased them; who otherwise might have come to extremities. So great is the power of humility both with God and man.

8:3. The Lord hath delivered into your hands the princes of Madian, Oreb and Zeb: what could I have done like to what you have done? And when he had said this, their spirit was appeased, with which they swelled against him.

8:4. And when Gedeon was come to the Jordan, he passed over it with the three hundred men that were with him: who were so weary that they could not pursue after them that fled.

8:5. And he said to the men of Soccoth: Give, I beseech you, bread to the people that is with me, for they are faint: that we may pursue Zebee, and Salmana, the kings of Madian.

8:6. The princes of Soccoth answered: Peradventure the palms of the hands of Zebee and Salmana are in thy hand, and therefore thou demandest that we should give bread to thy army.

8:7. And he said to them: When the Lord therefore shall have delivered Zebee and Salmana into my hands, I will thresh your flesh with the thorns and briers of the desert.

8:8. And going up from thence, he came to Phanuel: and he spoke the like things to the men of that place. And they also answered him, as the men of Soccoth had answered.

8:9. He said, therefore, to them also: When I shall return a conqueror in peace, I will destroy this tower.

8:10. But Zebee and Salmana were resting with all their army. For fifteen thousand men were left of all the troops of the eastern people, and one hundred and twenty thousand warriors that drew the sword were slain.

8:11. And Gedeon went up by the way of them that dwelt in tents, on the east of Nobe and Jegbaa, and smote the camp of the enemies, who were secure, and suspected no hurt.

8:12. And Zebee and Salmana fled, and Gedeon pursued and took them, all their host being put in confusion.

8:13. And returning from the battle before the sun rising,

8:14. He took a boy of the men of Soccoth: and he asked him the names of the princes and ancients of Soccoth, and he described unto him seventy-seven men.

8:15. And he came to Soccoth, and said to them: Behold Zebee, and Salmana, concerning whom you upbraided me, saying: Peradventure the hands of Zebee and Salmana are in thy hands, and therefore thou demandest that we should give bread to the men that are weary and faint.

8:16. So he took the ancients of the city, and thorns and briers of the desert, and tore them with the same, and cut in pieces the men of Soccoth.

8:17. And he demolished the tower of Phanuel, and slew the men of the city.

8:18. And he said to Zebee and Salmana: What manner of men were they, whom you slew in Thabor? They answered: They were like thee, and one of them as the son of a king.

8:19. He answered them: They were my brethren, the sons of my mother. As the Lord liveth, if you had saved them, I would not kill you.

8:20. And he said to Jether, his eldest son: Arise, and slay them. But he drew not his sword: for he was afraid, being but yet a boy.

8:21. And Zebee and Salmana said: Do thou rise and run upon us: because the strength of a man is according to his age: Gedeon rose up, and slew Zebee and Salmana: and he took the ornaments and bosses, with which the necks of the camels of kings are wont to be adorned.

8:22. And all the men of Israel said to Gedeon: Rule thou over us, and thy son, and thy son’s son: because thou hast delivered us from the hand of Madian.

8:23. And he said to them: I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you, but the Lord shall rule over you.

8:24. And he said to them: I desire one request of you: Give me the earlets of your spoils. For the Ismaelites were accustomed to wear golden earlets.

8:25. They answered: We will give them most willingly. And spreading a mantle on the ground, they cast upon it the earlets of the spoils.

8:26. And the weight of the earlets that he requested, was a thousand seven hundred sicles of gold, besides the ornaments, and jewels, and purple raiment, which the kings of Madian were wont to use, and besides the golden chains that were about the camels necks.

8:27. And Gedeon made an ephod thereof, and put it in his city Ephra. And all Israel committed fornication with it, and it became a ruin to Gedeon, and to all his house.

An ephod. . .A priestly garment which Gedeon made with a good design; but the Israelites, after his death, abused it by making it an instrument of their idolatrous worship.

8:28. But Madian was humbled before the children of Israel, neither could they any more lift up their heads: but the land rested for forty years, while Gedeon presided.

8:29. So Jerobaal, the son of Joas, went and dwelt in his own house:

8:30. And he had seventy sons, who came out of his thigh, for he had many wives.

8:31. And his concubine, that he had in Sichem, bore him a son, whose name was Abimelech.

His concubine. . .She was his servant, but not his harlot: and is called his concubine, as wives of an inferior degree are commonly called in the Old Testament, though otherwise lawfully married.

8:32. And Gedeon, the son of Joas died in a good old age, and was buried in the sepulchre of his father, in Ephra, of the family of Ezri.

8:33. But after Gedeon was dead, the children of Israel turned again, and committed fornication with Baalim. And they made a covenant with Baal, that he should be their god:

8:34. And they remembered not the Lord their God, who delivered them out of the hands of all their enemies round about:

8:35. Neither did they shew mercy to the house of Jerobaal Gedeon, according to all the good things he had done to Israel.

Judges Chapter 9

Abimelech killeth his brethren. Joatham’s parable. Gaal conspireth with the Sichemites against Abimelech, but is overcome. Abimelech destroyeth Sichem: but is killed at Thebes.

9:1. And Abimelech, the son of Jerobaal, went to Sichem, to his mother’s brethren, and spoke to them, and to all the kindred of his mother’s father, saying:

9:2. Speak to all the men of Sichem: whether is better for you that seventy men, all the sons of Jerobaal, should rule over you, or that one man should rule over you? And withal, consider that I am your bone, and your flesh.

9:3. And his mother’s brethren spoke of him to all the men of Sichem, all these words, and they inclined their hearts after Abimelech, saying: He is our brother:

9:4. And they gave him seventy weight of silver out of the temple of Baalberith: wherewith he hired to himself men that were needy, and vagabonds, and they followed him.

Baalberith. . .That is, Baal of the covenant, so called from the covenant they had made with Baal, chap. 8.33.

9:5. And he came to his father’s house in Ephra, and slew his brethren, the sons of Jerobaal, seventy men, upon one stone: and there remained only Joatham, the youngest son of Jerobaal, who was hidden.

9:6. And all the men of Sichem were gathered together, and all the families of the city of Mello: and they went and made Abimelech king, by the oak that stood in Sichem.

9:7. This being told to Joatham, he went, and stood on the top of Mount Garizim: and lifting up his voice, he cried, and said: Hear me, ye men of Sichem, so may God hear you.

9:8. The trees went to anoint a king over them: and they said to the olive tree: Reign thou over us.

9:9. And it answered: Can I leave my fatness, which both gods and men make use of, to come to be promoted among the trees?

Both gods and men make use of. . .The olive tree is introduced, speaking in this manner, because oil was used both in the worship of the true God, and in that of the false gods, whom the Sichemites served.

9:10. And the trees said to the fig tree: Come thou and reign over us.

9:11. And it answered them: Can I leave my sweetness, and my delicious fruits, and go to be promoted among the other trees?

9:12. And the trees said to the vine: Come thou and reign over us.

9:13. And it answered them: Can I forsake my wine, that cheereth God and men, and be promoted among the other trees?

Cheereth God and men. . .Wine is here represented as agreeable to God, because he had appointed it to be offered up with his sacrifices. But we are not obliged to take these words, spoken by the trees, in Joatham’s parable, according to the strict literal sense: but only in a sense accomodated to the design of the parable expressed in the conclusion of it.

9:14. And all the trees said to the bramble: Come thou and reign over us.

9:15. And it answered them: If, indeed, you mean to make me king, come ye, and rest under my shadow: but if you mean it not, let fire come out from the bramble, and devour the cedars of Libanus.

9:16. Now, therefore, if you have done well, and without sin, in appointing Abimelech king over you, and have dealt well with Jerobaal, and with his house, and have made a suitable return for the benefits of him who fought for you,

9:17. And exposed his life to dangers, to deliver you from the hand of Madian,

9:18. And you are now risen up against my father’s house, and have killed his sons, seventy men, upon one stone, and have made Abimelech, the son of his handmaid, king over the inhabitants of Sichem, because he is your brother:

9:19. If therefore you have dealt well, and without fault, with Jerobaal and his house, rejoice ye, this day, in Abimelech, and may he rejoice in you.

9:20. But if unjustly: let fire come out from him, and consume the inhabitants of Sichem, and the town of Mello: and let fire come out from the men of Sichem and from the town of Mello, and devour Abimelech.

9:21. And when he had said thus, he fled, and went into Bera: and dwelt there for fear of Abimelech, his brother.

9:22. So Abimelech reigned over Israel three years.

9:23. And the Lord sent a very evil spirit between Abimelech and the inhabitants of Sichem; who began to detest him,

9:24. And to lay the crime of the murder of the seventy sons of Jerobaal, and the shedding of their blood, upon Abimelech, their brother, and upon the rest of the princes of the Sichemites, who aided him.

9:25. And they set an ambush against him on the top of the mountains: and while they waited for his coming, they committed robberies, taking spoils of all that passed by: and it was told Abimelech.

9:26. And Gaal, the son of Obed, came with his brethren, and went over to Sichem. And the inhabitants of Sichem, taking courage at his coming,

9:27. Went out into the fields, wasting the vineyards, and treading down the grapes: and singing and dancing, they went into the temple of their god, and in their banquets and cups they cursed Abimelech.

9:28. And Gaal, the son of Obed, cried: Who is Abimelech, and what is Sichem, that we should serve him? Is he not the son of Jerobaal, and hath made Zebul, his servant, ruler over the men of Emor, the father of Sichem? Why then shall we serve him?

9:29. Would to God that some man would put this people under my hand, that I might remove Abimelech out of the way. And it was said to Abimelech: Gather together the multitude of an army, and come.

9:30. For Zebul, the ruler of the city, hearing the words of Gaal, the son of Obed, was very angry,

9:31. And sent messengers privately to Abimelech, saying: Behold, Gaal, the son of Obed, is come into Sichem with his brethren, and endeavoureth to set the city against thee.

9:32. Arise, therefore, in the night, with the people that is with thee, and lie hid in the field:

9:33. And betimes in the morning, at sun rising, set upon the city, and when he shall come out against thee, with his people, do to him what thou shalt be able.

9:34. Abimelech, therefore, arose with all his army, by night, and laid ambushes near Sichem in four places.

9:35. And Gaal, the son of Obed, went out, and stood in the entrance of the gate of the city. And Abimelech rose up, and all his army with him, from the places of the ambushes.

9:36. And when Gaal saw the people, he said to Zebul: Behold, a multitude cometh down from the mountains. And he answered him: Thou seest the shadows of the mountains as if they were the heads of men, and this is thy mistake.

9:37. Again Gaal said: Behold, there cometh people down from the midst of the land, and one troop cometh by the way that looketh towards the oak.

9:38. And Zebul said to him: Where is now thy mouth, wherewith thou saidst: Who is Abimelech, that we should serve him? Is not this the people which thou didst despise? Go out, and fight against him.

9:39. So Gaal went out, in the sight of the people of Sichem, and fought against Abimelech,

9:40. Who chased and put him to flight, and drove him to the city: and many were slain of his people, even to the gate of the city:

9:41. And Abimelech sat down in Ruma: but Zebul drove Gaal, and his companions, out of the city, and would not suffer them to abide in it.

9:42. So the day following the people went out into the field. And it was told to Abimelech,

9:43. And he took his army, and divided it into three companies, and laid ambushes in the fields. And seeing that the people came out of the city, he arose, and set upon them,

9:44. With his own company, assaulting and besieging the city: whilst the two other companies chased the enemies that were scattered about the field.

9:45. And Abimelech assaulted the city all that day: and took it, and killed the inhabitants thereof, and demolished it, so that he sowed salt in it.

Sowed salt. . .To make the ground barren, and fit for nothing.

9:46. And when they who dwelt in the tower of Sichem, had heard this, they went into the temple of their god Berith, where they had made a covenant with him, and from thence the place had taken its name, and it was exceeding strong.

9:47. Abimelech also hearing that the men of the tower of Sichem were gathered together,

9:48. Went up into mount Selmon, he and all his people with him: and taking an axe, he cut down the bough of a tree, and laying it on his shoulder, and carrying it, he said to his companions: What you see me do, do ye out of hand.

9:49. So they cut down boughs from the trees, every man as fast as he could, and followed their leader. And surrounding the fort, they set it on fire: and so it came to pass, that with the smoke and with the fire a thousand persons were killed, men and women together, of the inhabitants of the town of Sichem.

9:50. Then Abimelech, departing from thence, came to the town of Thebes, which he surrounded and besieged with his army.

9:51. And there was in the midst of the city a high tower, to which both the men and the women were fled together, and all the princes of the city, and having shut and strongly barred the gate, they stood upon the battlements of the tower to defend themselves.

9:52. And Abimelech, coming near the tower, fought stoutly: and, approaching to the gate, endeavoured to set fire to it:

9:53. And behold, a certain woman casting a piece of a millstone from above, dashed it against the head of Abimelech, and broke his skull.

9:54. And he called hastily to his armourbearer, and said to him: Draw thy sword, and kill me: lest it should be said that I was slain by a woman. He did as he was commanded, and slew him.

9:55. And when he was dead all the men of Israel that were with him, returned to their homes.

9:56. And God repaid the evil that Abimelech had done against his father, killing his seventy brethren.

9:57. The Sichemites also were rewarded for what they had done, and the curse of Joatham, the son of Jerobaal, came upon them.

Judges Chapter 10

Thola ruleth Israel twenty-three years; and Jair twenty-two. The people fall again into idolatry, and are afflicted again by the Philistines and Ammonites. They cry to God for help, who upon their repentance hath compassion on them.

10:1. After Abimelech, there arose a ruler in Israel, Thola, son of Phua, the uncle of Abimelech, a man of Issachar, who dwelt in Samir of mount Ephraim:

Uncle of Abimelech. . .i. e., half brother to Gedeon, as being born of the same mother, but by a different father, and of a different tribe.

10:2. And he judged Israel three and twenty years, and he died, and was buried in Samir.

10:3. To him succeeded Jair, the Galaadite, who judged Israel for two and twenty years,

10:4. Having thirty sons, that rode on thirty ass colts, and were princes of thirty cities, which from his name were called Havoth Jair, that is, the towns of Jair, until this present day, in the land of Galaad.

Havoth Jair. . .This name was now confirmed to these towns, which they had formerly received from another Jair. Num. 32.41.

10:5. And Jair died, and was buried in the place which is called Camon.

10:6. But the children of Israel, adding new sins to their old ones, did evil in the sight of the Lord, and served idols, Baalim and Astaroth, and the gods of Syria, and of Sidon, and of Moab, and of the children of Ammon, and of the Philistines: and they left the Lord, and did not serve him.

10:7. And the Lord being angry with them, delivered them into the hands of the Philistines, and of the children of Ammon.

10:8. And they were afflicted, and grievously oppressed for eighteen years, all they that dwelt beyond the Jordan in the land of the Amorrhite, who is in Galaad:

10:9. Insomuch that the children of Ammon, passing over the Jordan, wasted Juda, and Benjamin, and Ephraim: and Israel was distressed exceedingly.

10:10. And they cried to the Lord, and said, We have sinned against thee, because we have forsaken the Lord our God, and have served Baalim.

10:11. And the Lord said to them: Did not the Egyptians, and the Amorrhites, and the children of Ammon, and the Philistines,

10:12. The Sidonians also, and Amalec, and Chanaan, oppress you, and you cried to me, and I delivered you out of their hand?

10:13. And yet you have forsaken me, and have worshipped strange gods: therefore I will deliver you no more:

10:14. Go, and call upon the gods which you have chosen: let them deliver you in the time of distress.

10:15. And the children of Israel said to the Lord: We have sinned, do thou unto us whatsoever pleaseth thee: only deliver us this time.

10:16. And saying these things, they cast away out of their coasts all the idols of strange gods, and served the Lord their God: and he was touched with their miseries.

10:17. And the children of Ammon shouting together, pitched their tents in Galaad: against whom the children of Israel assembled themselves together, and camped in Maspha.

10:18. And the princes of Galaad said one to another: Whosoever of us shall first begin to fight against the children of Ammon, he shall be the leader of the people of Galaad.

Judges Chapter 11

Jephte is made ruler of the people of Galaad: he first pleads their cause against the Ammonites; then making a vow obtains a signal victory; he performs his vow.

11:1. There was at that time Jephte, the Galaadite, a most valiant man, and a warrior, the son of a woman that was a harlot, and his father was Galaad.

11:2. Now Galaad had a wife of whom he had sons: who, after they were grown up, thrust out Jephte, saying: Thou canst not inherit in the house of our father, because thou art born of another mother.

11:3. Then he fled and avoided them, and dwelt in the land of Tob: and there were gathered to him needy men and robbers, and they followed him as their prince.

11:4. In those days the children of Ammon made war against Israel.

11:5. And as they pressed hard upon them, the ancients of Galaad went to fetch Jephte out of the land of Tob to help them:

11:6. And they said to him: Come thou, and be our prince, and fight against the children of Ammon.

11:7. And he answered them: Are not you the men that hated me, and cast me out of my father’s house, and now you are come to me, constrained by necessity?

11:8. And the princes of Galaad said to Jephte: For this cause we are now come to thee, that thou mayst go with us, and fight against the children of Ammon, and be head over all the inhabitants of Galaad.

11:9. Jephte also said to them: If you be come to me sincerely, that I should fight for you against the children of Ammon, and the Lord shall deliver them into my hand, shall I be your prince?

11:10. They answered him: The Lord, who heareth these things, he himself is mediator and witness that we will do as we have promised.

11:11. Jephte therefore went with the princes of Galaad, and all the people made him their prince. And Jephte spoke all his words before the Lord in Maspha.

11:12. And he sent messengers to the king of the children of Ammon, to say in his name: What hast thou to do with me, that thou art come against me, to waste my land?

11:13. And he answered them: Because Israel took away my land, when he came up out of Egypt, from the confines of the Arnon unto the Jaboc and the Jordan: now, therefore, restore the same peaceably to me.

11:14. And Jephte again sent word by them, and commanded them to say to the king of Ammon:

11:15. Thus saith Jephte: Israel did not take away the land of Moab, nor the land of the children of Ammon:

11:16. But when they came up out of Egypt, he walked through the desert to the Red Sea, and came into Cades.

11:17. And he sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying: Suffer me to pass through thy land. But he would not condescend to his request. He sent also to the king of Moab, who, likewise, refused to give him passage. He abode, therefore, in Cades,

11:18. And went round the land of Edom at the side, and the land of Moab: and came over against the east coast of the land of Moab, and camped on the other side of the Arnon: and he would not enter the bounds of Moab.

11:19. So Israel sent messengers to Sehon, king of the Amorrhites, who dwelt in Hesebon, and they said to him: Suffer me to pass through thy land to the river.

11:20. But he, also despising the words of Israel, suffered him not to pass through his borders: but gathering an infinite multitude, went out against him to Jasa, and made strong opposition.

11:21. And the Lord delivered him, with all his army, into the hands of Israel, and he slew him, and possessed all the land of the Amorrhite, the inhabitant of that country,

11:22. And all the coasts thereof from the Arnon to the Jaboc, and from the wilderness to the Jordan.

11:23. So the Lord, the God of Israel, destroyed the Amorrhite, his people of Israel fighting against him, and wilt thou now possess his land?

11:24. Are not those things which thy god Chamos possesseth, due to thee by right? But what the Lord our God hath obtained by conquest, shall be our possession:

Chamos. . .The idol of the Moabites and Ammonites. He argues from their opinion, who thought they had a just title to the countries which they imagined they had conquered by the help of their gods: how much more then had Israel in indisputable title to the countries which God, by visible miracles, had conquered for them.

11:25. Unless, perhaps, thou art better than Balac, the son of Sephor, king of Moab: or canst shew that he strove against Israel, and fought against him,

11:26. Whereas he hath dwelt in Hesebon, and the villages thereof, and in Aroer, and its villages, and in all the cities near the Jordan, for three hundred years. Why have you for so long a time attempted nothing about this claim?

11:27. Therefore I do not trespass against thee, but thou wrongest me by declaring an unjust war against me. The Lord be judge, and decide this day, between Israel and the children of Ammon.

11:28. And the king of the children of Ammon would not hearken to the words of Jephte, which he sent him by the messengers.

11:29. Therefore the spirit of the Lord came upon Jephte, and going round Galaad, and Manasses, and Maspha of Galaad, and passing over from thence to the children of Ammon,

11:30. He made a vow to the Lord, saying: If thou wilt deliver the children of Ammon into my hands,

11:31. Whosoever shall first come forth out of the doors of my house, and shall meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, the same will I offer a holocaust to the Lord.

Whosoever, etc. . .Some are of opinion, that the meaning of this vow of Jephte, was to consecrate to God whatsoever should first meet him, according to the condition of the thing; so as to offer it up as a holocaust, if it were such a thing as might be offered by the law; or to devote it otherwise to God, if it were not such as the law allowed to be offered in sacrifice. And therefore they think the daughter of Jephte was not slain by her father, but only consecrated to perpetual virginity. But the common opinion followed by the generality of the holy fathers and divines is, that she was offered as a holocaust, in consequence of her father’s vow: and that Jephte did not sin, at least not mortally, neither in making, nor in keeping, his vow: since he is no ways blamed for it in scripture; and was even inspired by God himself to make the vow (as appears from ver. 29, 30) in consequence of which he obtained the victory; and therefore he reasonably concluded that God, who is the master of life and death, was pleased on this occasion to dispense with his own law; and that it was the divine will he should fulfil his vow.

11:32. And Jephte passed over to the children of Ammon to fight against them: and the Lord delivered them into his hands.

11:33. And he smote them from Aroer till you come to Mennith, twenty cities, and as far as Abel, which is set with vineyards, with a very great slaughter: and the children of Ammon were humbled by the children of Israel.

11:34. And when Jephte returned into Maspha, to his house, his only daughter met him with timbrels and with dances: for he had no other children.

11:35. And when he saw her, he rent his garments, and said: Alas! my daughter, thou hast deceived me, and thou thyself art deceived: for I have opened my mouth to the Lord, and I can do no other thing.

11:36. And she answered him: My father, if thou hast opened thy mouth to the Lord, do unto me whatsoever thou hast promised, since the victory hath been granted to thee, and revenge of thy enemies.

11:37. And she said to her father: Grant me only this, which I desire: Let me go, that I may go about the mountains for two months, and may bewail my virginity with my companions.

Bewail my virginity. . .The bearing of children was much coveted under the Old Testament, when women might hope that from some child of theirs, the Saviour of the world might one day spring. But under the New Testament virginity is preferred. 1 Cor. 7.35.

11:38. And he answered her: Go. And he sent her away for two months. And when she was gone with her comrades and companions, she mourned her virginity in the mountains.

11:39. And the two months being expired, she returned to her father, and he did to her as he had vowed, and she knew no man. From thence came a fashion in Israel, and a custom has been kept:

11:40. That, from year to year, the daughters of Israel assemble together, and lament the daughter of Jephte the Galaadite, for four days.

Judges Chapter 12

The Ephraimites quarrel with Jephte: forty-two thousand of them are slain: Abeson, Ahialon, and Abdon, are judges.

12:1. But behold there arose a sedition in Ephraim. And passing towards the north, they said to Jephte: When thou wentest to fight against the children of Ammon, why wouldst thou not call us, that we might go with thee? Therefore we will burn thy house.

12:2. And he answered them: I and my people were at great strife with the children of Ammon: and I called you to assist me, and you would not do it.

12:3. And when I saw this, I put my life in my own hands, and passed over against the children of Ammon and the Lord delivered them into my hands. What have I deserved, that you should rise up to fight against me?

12:4. Then calling to him all the men of Galaad, he fought against Ephraim: and the men of Galaad defeated Ephraim, because he had said: Galaad is a fugitive of Ephraim, and dwelleth in the midst of Ephraim and Manasses.

12:5. And the Galaadites secured the fords of the Jordan, by which Ephraim was to return. And when any one of the number of Ephraim came thither in the flight, and said: I beseech you let me pass: the Galaadites said to him: Art thou not an Ephraimite? If he said: I am not:

12:6. They asked him: Say then, Scibboleth, which is interpreted, An ear of corn. But he answered, Sibboleth, not being able to express an ear of corn by the same letter. Then presently they took him and killed him in the very passage of the Jordan. And there fell at that time of Ephraim, two and forty thousand.

12:7. And Jephte, the Galaadite, judged Israel six years: and he died, and was buried in his city of Galaad.

12:8. After him Abesan of Bethlehem judged Israel:

12:9. He had thirty sons, and as many daughters, whom he sent abroad, and gave to husbands, and took wives for his sons, of the same number, bringing them into his house. And he judged Israel seven years:

12:10. And he died, and was buried in Bethlehem.

12:11. To him succeeded Ahialon, a Zabulonite: and he judged Israel ten years:

12:12. And he died, and was buried in Zabulon.

12:13. After him, Abdon, the son of Illel, a Pharathonite, judged Israel:

12:14. And he had forty sons, and of them thirty grandsons, mounted upon seventy ass colts, and he judged Israel eight years:

12:15. And he died, and was buried in Pharathon, in the land of Ephraim, in the mount of Amalech.

Judges Chapter 13

The people fall again into idolatry and are afflicted by the Philistines. An angel foretelleth the birth of Samson.

13:1. And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord: and he delivered them into the hands of the Philistines forty years.

13:2. Now there was a certain man of Saraa, and of the race of Dan, whose name was Manue, and his wife was barren.

13:3. And an angel of the Lord appeared to her, and said: Thou art barren and without children: but thou shalt conceive and bear a son.

13:4. Now therefore beware, and drink no wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing.

13:5. Because thou shalt conceive, and bear a son, and no razor shall touch his head: for he shall be a Nazarite of God, from his infancy, and from his mother’s womb, and he shall begin to deliver Israel from the hands of the Philistines.

13:6. And when she was come to her husband, she said to him: A man of God came to me, having the countenance of an angel, very awful. And when I asked him who he was, and whence he came, and by what name he was called, he would not tell me:

13:7. But he answered thus: Behold thou shalt conceive and bear a son: beware thou drink no wine, nor strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing: for the child shall be a Nazarite of God from his infancy, from his mother’s womb until the day of his death.

13:8. Then Manue prayed to the Lord, and said: I beseech thee, O Lord, that the man of God, whom thou didst send, may come again, and teach us what we ought to do concerning the child, that shall be born.

13:9. And the Lord heard the prayer of Manue, and the angel of the Lord appeared again to his wife, as she was sitting in the field. But Manue her husband was not with her. And when she saw the angel,

13:10. She made haste, and ran to her husband: and told him, saying: Behold the man hath appeared to me, whom I saw before.

13:11. He rose up, and followed his wife: and coming to the man, said to him: Art thou he that spoke to the woman? And he answered: I am.

13:12. And Manue said to him: When thy word shall come to pass, what wilt thou that the child should do? or from what shall he keep himself?

13:13. And the angel of the Lord said to Manue: From all the things I have spoken of to thy wife, let her refrain herself:

Let her refrain, etc. . .By the Latin text it is not clear whether this abstinence was prescribed to the mother, or to the child; but the Hebrew (in which the verbs relating thereto are of the feminine gender) determineth it to the mother. But then the child also was to refrain from the like things, because he was to be from his infancy a Nazarite of God, ver. 5, that is, one set aside, in a particular manner, and consecrated to God: now the Nazarites by the law were to abstain from all these things.

13:14. And let her eat nothing that cometh of the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing: and whatsoever I have commanded her, let her fulfil and observe.

13:15. And Manue said to the angel of the Lord: I beseech thee to consent to my request, and let us dress a kid for thee.

13:16. And the angel answered him: If thou press me I will not eat of thy bread: but if thou wilt offer a holocaust, offer it to the Lord. And Manue knew not it was the angel of the Lord.

13:17. And he said to him: What is thy name, that, if thy word shall come to pass, we may honour thee?

13:18. And he answered him: Why askest thou my name, which is wonderful?

13:19. Then Manue took a kid of the flocks, and the libations, and put them upon a rock, offering to the Lord, who doth wonderful things: and he and his wife looked on.

13:20. And when the flame from the altar went up towards heaven, the angel of the Lord ascended also in the flame. And when Manue and his wife saw this, they fell flat on the ground;

13:21. And the angel of the Lord appeared to them no more. And forthwith Manue understood that it was an angel of the Lord,

13:22. And he said to his wife: We shall certainly die, because we have seen God.

Seen God. . .Not in his own person, but in the person of his messenger. The Israelites, in those days, imagined they should die if they saw an angel, taking occasion perhaps from those words spoken by the Lord to Moses, Ex. 33.20, No man shall see me and live. But the event demonstrated that it was but a groundless imagination.

13:23. And his wife answered him: If the Lord had a mind to kill us, he would not have received a holocaust and libations at our hands; neither would he have shewed us all these things, nor have told us the things that are to come.

13:24. And she bore a son, and called his name Samson. And the child grew, and the Lord blessed him.

13:25. And the Spirit of the Lord began to be with him in the camp of Dan, between Saraa and Esthaol.

Judges Chapter 14

Samson desireth a wife of the Philistines. He killeth a lion: in whose mouth he afterwards findeth honey. His marriage feast, and riddle, which is discovered by his wife. He killeth, and strippeth thirty Philistines. His wife taketh another man.

14:1. Then Samson went down to Thamnatha, and seeing there a woman of the daughters of the Philistines,

14:2. He came up, and told his father and his mother, saying: I saw a woman in Thamnatha of the daughters of the Philistines: I beseech you, take her for me to wife.

14:3. And his father and mother said to him: Is there no woman among the daughters of thy brethren, or among all my people, that thou wilt take a wife of the Philistines, who are uncircumcised? And Samson said to his father: Take this woman for me; for she hath pleased my eyes.

Is there no woman among the daughters of thy brethren. . .This shews his parents were at first against his marriage with a Gentile, it being prohibited, Deut. 7.3; but afterwards they consented, knowing it to be by the dispensation of God; which otherwise would have been sinful in acting contrary to the law.

14:4. Now his parents knew not that the thing was done by the Lord, and that he sought an occasion against the Philistines: for at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel.

14:5. Then Samson went down with his father and mother to Thamnatha. And when they were come to the vineyards of the town, behold a young lion met him, raging and roaring.

14:6. And the Spirit of the Lord came upon Samson, and he tore the lion as he would have torn a kid in pieces, having nothing at all in his hand: and he would not tell this to his father and mother.

14:7. And he went down, and spoke to the woman that had pleased his eyes.

14:8. And after some days, returning to take her, he went aside to see the carcass of the lion, and behold there was a swarm of bees in the mouth of the lion, and a honey-comb.

14:9. And when he had taken it in his hands, he went on eating: and coming to his father and mother, he gave them of it, and they ate: but he would not tell them that he had taken the honey from the body of the lion.

14:10. So his father went down to the woman, and made a feast for his son Samson: for so the young men used to do.

14:11. And when the citizens of that place saw him, they brought him thirty companions to be with him.

14:12. And Samson said to them: I will propose to you a riddle, which if you declare unto me within the seven days of the feast, I will give you thirty shirts, and as many coats:

14:13. But if you shall not be able to declare it, you shall give me thirty shirts and the same number of coats. They answered him: Put forth the riddle, that we may hear it.

14:14. And he said to them: Out of the eater came forth meat, and out of the strong came forth sweetness. And they could not for three days expound the riddle.

14:15. And when the seventh day came, they said to the wife of Samson: Sooth thy husband, and persuade him to tell thee what the riddle meaneth. But if thou wilt not do it, we will burn thee, and thy father’s house. Have you called us to the wedding on purpose to strip us?

14:16. So she wept before Samson and complained, saying: Thou hatest me, and dost not love me: therefore thou wilt not expound to me the riddle, which thou hast proposed to the sons of my people. But he answered: I would not tell it to my father and mother: and how can I tell it to thee?

14:17. So she wept before him the seven days of the feast: and, at length, on the seventh day, as she was troublesome to him, he expounded it. And she immediately told her countrymen.

14:18. And they, on the seventh day before the sun went down, said to him: What is sweeter than honey? and what is stronger than a lion? And he said to them: If you had not ploughed with my heifer, you had not found out my riddle.

14:19. And the Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he went down to Ascalon, and slew there thirty men whose garments he took away, and gave to them that had declared the riddle. And being exceeding angry, he went up to his father’s house:

14:20. But his wife took one of his friends and bridal companions for her husband.

Judges Chapter 15

Samson is denied his wife. He burns the corn of the Philistines, and kills many of them.

15:1. And a while after, when the days of the wheat harvest were at hand, Samson came, meaning to visit his wife, and he brought her a kid of the flock. And when he would have gone into her chamber, as usual, her father would not suffer him, saying:

15:2. I thought thou hadst hated her, and therefore I gave her to thy friend: but she hath a sister, who is younger and fairer than she, take her to wife instead of her.

15:3. And Samson answered him: From this day I shall be blameless in what I do against the Philistines: for I will do you evils.

15:4. And he went and caught three hundred foxes, and coupled them tail to tail, and fastened torches between the tails:

Foxes. . .Being judge of the people he might have many to assist him to catch with nets or otherwise a number of these animals; of which there were great numbers in that country.

15:6. And setting them on fire he let the foxes go, that they might run about hither and thither. And they presently went into the standing corn of the Philistines. Which being set on fire, both the corn that was already carried together, and that which was yet standing, was all burnt, insomuch that the flame consumed also the vineyards and the oliveyards.

15:6. Then the Philistines said: Who hath done this thing? And it was answered: Samson, the son in law of the Thamnathite, because he took away his wife, and gave her to another, hath done these things. And the Philistines went up and burnt both the woman and her father.

15:7. But Samson said to them: Although you have done this, yet will I be revenged of you, and then I will be quiet.

15:8. And he made a great slaughter of them, so that in astonishment they laid the calf of the leg upon the thigh. And going down he dwelt in a cavern of the rock Etam.

15:9. Then the Philistines going up into the land of Juda, camped in the place which afterwards was called Lechi, that is, the Jawbone, where their army was spread abroad.

15:10. And the men of the tribe of Juda said to them: Why are you come up against us? They answered: We are come to bind Samson, and to pay him for what he hath done against us.

15:11. Wherefore three thousand men of Juda went down to the cave of the rock Etam, and said to Samson: Knowest thou not that the Philistines rule over us? Why wouldst thou do thus? And he said to them: As they did to me, so have I done to them.

15:12. And they said to him: We are come to bind thee, and to deliver thee into the hands of the Philistines. And Samson said to them: Swear to me, and promise me that you will not kill me.

15:13. They said: We will not kill thee: but we will deliver thee up bound. And they bound him with two new cords, and brought him from the rock Etam.

15:14. Now when he was come to the place of the Jawbone, and the Philistines shouting went to meet him, the Spirit of the Lord came strongly upon him: and as flax is wont to be consumed at the approach of fire, so the bands with which he was bound were broken and loosed.

15:15. And finding a jawbone, even the jawbone of an ass, which lay there, catching it up, he slew therewith a thousand men.

15:16. And he said: With the jawbone of an ass, with the jaw of the colt of asses, I have destroyed them, and have slain a thousand men.

15:17. And when he had ended these words, singing, he threw the jawbone out of his hand, and called the name of that place Ramathlechi, which is interpreted the lifting up of the jawbone.

15:18. And being very thirsty, he cried to the Lord, and said: Thou hast given this very great deliverance and victory into the hand of thy servant: and behold I die for thirst, and shall fall into the hands of the uncircumcised.

15:19. Then the Lord opened a great tooth in the jaw of the ass and waters issued out of it. And when he had drunk them, he refreshed his spirit, and recovered his strength. Therefore the name of that place was called The Spring of him that invoked from the jawbone, until this present day.

15:20. And he judged Israel, in the days of the Philistines, twenty years.

Judges Chapter 16

Samson is deluded by Dalila: and falls into the hands of the Philistines. His death.

16:1. He went also into Gaza, and saw there a woman, a harlot, and went in unto her.

16:2. And when the Philistines had heard this, and it was noised about among them, that Samson was come into the city, they surrounded him, setting guards at the gate of the city, and watching there all the night in silence, that in the morning they might kill him as he went out.

16:3. But Samson slept till midnight, and then rising, he took both the doors of the gate, with the posts thereof and the bolt, and laying them on his shoulders, carried them up to the top of the hill, which looketh towards Hebron.

16:4. After this he loved a woman, who dwelt in the valley of Sorec, and she was called Dalila.

Dalila. . .Some are of opinion she was married to Samson; others that she was his harlot. If the latter opinion be true, we cannot wonder that, in punishment of his lust, the Lord delivered him up, by her means, into the hands of his enemies. However if he was guilty, it is not to be doubted but that under his afflictions he heartily repented and returned to God, and so obtained forgiveness of his sins.

16:5. And the princes of the Philistines came to her, and said: Deceive him, and learn of him wherein his great strength lieth, and how we may be able to overcome him, to bind and afflict him: which if thou shalt do, we will give thee every one of us eleven hundred pieces of silver.

16:6. And Dalila said to Samson: Tell me, I beseech thee, wherein thy greatest strength lieth, and what it is, wherewith if thou wert bound, thou couldst not break loose.

16:7. And Samson answered her: If I shall be bound with seven cords, made of sinews not yet dry, but still moist, I shall be weak like other men.

16:8. And the princes of the Philistines brought unto her seven cords, such as he spoke of, with which she bound him;

16:9. Men lying privately in wait with her, and in the chamber, expecting the event of the thing, and she cried out to him: The Philistines are upon thee, Samson. And he broke the bands, as a man would break a thread of tow twined with spittle, when it smelleth the fire: so it was not known wherein his strength lay.

16:10. And Dalila said to him: Behold thou hast mocked me, and hast told me a false thing: but now at least tell me wherewith thou mayest be bound.

16:11. And he answered her: If I shall be bound with new ropes, that were never in work, I shall be weak and like other men.

16:12. Dalila bound him again with these, and cried out: The Philistines are upon thee, Samson, there being an ambush prepared for him in the chamber. But he broke the bands like threads of webs.

16:13. And Dalila said to him again: How long dost thou deceive me, and tell me lies? Shew me wherewith thou mayest be bound. And Samson answered her: If thou plattest the seven locks of my head with a lace, and tying them round about a nail, fastenest it in the ground, I shall be weak.

16:14. And when Dalila had done this, she said to him: The Philistines are upon thee, Samson. And awaking out of his sleep, he drew out the nail with the hairs and the lace.

16:15. And Dalila said to him: How dost thou say thou lovest me, when thy mind is not with me? Thou hast told me lies these three times, and wouldst not tell me wherein thy greatest strength lieth.

16:16. And when she pressed him much, and continually hung upon him for many days, giving him no time to rest, his soul fainted away, and was wearied even unto death.

16:17. Then opening the truth of the thing, he said to her: The razor hath never come upon my head, for I am a Nazarite, that is to say, consecrated to God from my mother’s womb: If my head be shaven, my strength shall depart from me, and I shall become weak, and shall be like other men.

16:18. Then seeing that he had discovered to her all his mind, she sent to the princes of the Philistines, saying: Come up this once more, for now he hath opened his heart to me. And they went up, taking with them the money which they had promised.

16:19. But she made him sleep upon her knees, and lay his head in her bosom. And she called a barber and shaved his seven locks, and began to drive him away, and thrust him from her: for immediately his strength departed from him.

16:20. And she said: The Philistines are upon thee, Samson. And awaking from sleep, he said in his mind: I will go out as I did before, and shake myself, not knowing that the Lord was departed from him.

16:21. Then the Philistines seized upon him, and forthwith pulled out his eyes, and led him bound in chains to Gaza, and shutting him up in prison made him grind.

16:22. And now his hair began to grow again,

16:23. And the princes of the Philistines assembled together, to offer great sacrifices to Dagon their god, and to make merry, saying: Our god hath delivered our enemy Samson into our hands.

16:24. And the people also seeing this, praised their god, and said the same: Our god hath delivered our adversary into our hands, him that destroyed our country, and killed very many.

16:25. And rejoicing in their feasts, when they had now taken their good cheer, they commanded that Samson should be called, and should play before them. And being brought out of prison, he played before them; and they made him stand between two pillars.

16:26. And he said to the lad that guided his steps: Suffer me to touch the pillars which support the whole house, and let me lean upon them, and rest a little.

16:27. Now the house was full of men and women, and all the princes of the Philistines were there. Moreover about three thousand persons of both sexes, from the roof and the higher part of the house, were beholding Samson’s play.

16:28. But he called upon the Lord, saying: O Lord God remember me, and restore to me now my former strength, O my God, that I may revenge myself on my enemies, and for the loss of my two eyes I may take one revenge.

Revenge myself. . .This desire of revenge was out of zeal for justice against the enemies of God and his people; and not out of private rancour and malice of heart.

16:29. And laying hold on both the pillars on which the house rested, and holding the one with his right hand, and the other with his left,

16:30. He said: Let me die with the Philistines. And when he had strongly shook the pillars, the house fell upon all the princes, and the rest of the multitude, that was there: and he killed many more at his death, than he had killed before in his life.

Let me die. . .Literally, let my soul die. Samson did not sin on this occasion, though he was indirectly the cause of his own death. Because he was moved to what he did, by a particular inspiration of God, who also concurred with him by a miracle, in restoring his strength upon the spot, in consequence of his prayer. Samson, by dying in this manner, was a figure of Christ, who by his death overcame all his enemies.

16:31. And his brethren and all his kindred, going down took his body, and buried it between Saraa and Esthaol, in the buryingplace of his father Manue: and he judged Israel twenty years.

Judges Chapter 17

The history of the idol of Michas, and the young Levite.

17:1. There was at that time a man of mount Ephraim, whose name was Michas.

17:2. Who said to his mother: The eleven hundred pieces of silver, which thou hadst put aside for thyself, and concerning which thou didst swear in my hearing, behold I have, and they are with me. And she said to him. Blessed be my son by the Lord.

17:3. So he restored them to his mother, who said to him: I have consecrated and vowed this silver to the Lord, that my son may receive it at my hand, and make a graven and a molten god; so now I deliver it to thee.

17:4. And he restored them to his mother: and she took two hundred pieces of silver and gave them to the silversmith, to make of them a graven and a molten god, which was in the house of Michas.

17:5. And he separated also therein a little temple for the god, and made an ephod, and theraphim, that is to say, a priestly garment, and idols: and he filled the hand of one of his sons, and he became his priest.

Filled the hand. . .That is, appointed and consecrated him to the priestly office.

17:6. In those days there was no king in Israel, but every one did that which seemed right to himself.

17:7. There was also another young man of Bethlehem Juda, of the kindred thereof: and he was a Levite, and dwelt there.

17:8. Now he went out from the city of Bethlehem, and desired to sojourn wheresoever he should find it convenient for him. And when he was come to mount Ephraim, as he was on his journey, and had turned aside a little into the house of Michas,

17:9. He was asked by him whence he came. And he answered: I am a Levite of Bethlehem Juda, and I am going to dwell where I can, and where I shall find a place to my advantage.

17:10. And Michas said: Stay with me, and be unto me a father and a priest, and I will give thee every year ten pieces of silver, and a double suit of apparel, and thy victuals.

17:11. He was content, and abode with the man, and was unto him as one of his sons.

17:12. And Michas filled his hand, and had the young man with him for his priest, saying:

17:13. Now I know God will do me good, since I have a priest of the race of the Levites.

Judges Chapter 18

The expedition of the men of Dan against Lais: in their way they rob Michas of his priest and his gods.

18:1. In those days there was no king in Israel, and the tribe of Dan sought them an inheritance to dwell in: for unto that day they had not received their lot among the other tribes.

Not received, etc. . .They had their portions assigned them, Jos. 19.40. But, through their own sloth, possessed as yet but a small part of it. See Judges 1.34.

18:2. So the children of Dan sent five most valiant men, of their stock and family, from Saraa and Esthaol, to spy out the land, and to view it diligently: and they said to them: Go, and view the land. They went on their way, and when they came to mount Ephraim, they went into the house of Michas, and rested there:

18:3. And knowing the voice of the young man the Levite, and lodging with him, they said to him: Who brought thee hither? what dost thou here? why wouldst thou come hither?

18:4. He answered them: Michas hath done such and such things for me, and hath hired me to be his priest.

18:5. Then they desired him to consult the Lord, that they might know whether their journey should be prosperous, and the thing should have effect.

18:6. He answered them: Go in peace: the Lord looketh on your way, and the journey that you go.

18:7. So the five men going on came to Lais: and they saw how the people dwelt therein without any fear, according to the custom of the Sidonians, secure and easy, having no man at all to oppose them, being very rich, and living separated, at a distance from Sidon and from all men.

18:8. And they returned to their brethren in Saraa and Esthaol, who asked them what they had done: to whom they answered:

18:9. Arise, and let us go up to them: for we have seen the land which is exceeding rich and fruitful: neglect not, lose no time: let us go and possess it, there will be no difficulty.

18:10. We shall come to a people that is secure, into a spacious country, and the Lord will deliver the place to us, in which there is no want of any thing that groweth on the earth.

18:11. There went therefore of the kindred of Dan, to wit, from Saraa and Esthaol, six hundred men, furnished with arms for war.

18:12. And going up they lodged in Cariathiarim of Juda: which place from that time is called the camp of Dan, and is behind Cariathiarim.

18:13. From thence they passed into mount Ephraim. And when they were come to the house of Michas,

18:14. The five men, that before had been sent to view the land of Lais, said to the rest of their brethren: You know that in these houses there is an ephod and theraphim, and a graven and a molten god: see what you are pleased to do.

18:15. And when they had turned a little aside, they went into the house of the young man the Levite, who was in the house of Michas: and they saluted him with words of peace.

18:16. And the six hundred men stood before the door, appointed with their arms.

18:17. But they that were gone into the house of the young man, went about to take away the graven god, and the ephod, and the theraphim, and the molten god, and the priest stood before the door, the six hundred valiant men waiting not far off.

18:18. So they that were gone in took away the graven thing, the ephod, and the idols, and the molten god, And the priest said to them: What are you doing?

18:19. And they said to him: Hold thy peace, and put thy finger on thy mouth, and come with us, that we may have thee for a father, and a priest. Whether is better for thee, to be a priest in the house of one man, or in a tribe and family in Israel?

18:20. When he heard this, he agreed to their words, and took the ephod, and the idols, and the graven god, and departed with them.

18:21. And when they were going forward, and had put before them the children and the cattle, and all that was valuable,

18:22. And were now at a distance from the house of Michas, the men that dwelt in the houses of Michas gathering together followed them,

18:23. And began to shout out after them. They looked back, and said to Michas: What aileth thee? Why dost thou cry?

18:24. And he answered: You have taken away my gods which I have made me, and the priest, and all that I have, and do you say: What aileth thee?

18:25. And the children of Dan said to him: See thou say no more to us, lest men enraged come upon thee, and thou perish with all thy house.

18:26. And so they went on the journey they had begun. But Michas seeing that they were stronger than he, returned to his house.

18:27. And the six hundred men took the priest, and the things we spoke of before, and came to Lais, to a people that was quiet and secure, and smote them with the edge of the sword: and the city they burnt with fire,

18:28. There being no man at all who brought them any succour, because they dwelt far from Sidon, and had no society or business with any man. And the city was in the land of Rohob: and they rebuilt it, and dwelt therein,

18:29. Calling the name of the city Dan, after the name of their father, who was the son of Israel, which before was called Lais.

18:30. And they set up to themselves the graven idol, and Jonathan the son of Gersam, the son of Moses, he and his sons were priests in the tribe of Dan, until the day of their captivity.

18:31. And the idol of Michas remained with them all the time that the house of God was in Silo. In those days there was no king in Israel.

Judges Chapter 19

A Levite bringing home his wife, is lodged by an old man at Gabaa in the tribe of Benjamin. His wife is there abused by wicked men, and in the morning found dead. Her husband cutteth her body in pieces, and sendeth to every tribe of Israel, requiring them to revenge the wicked fact.

19:1. There was a certain Levite, who dwelt on the side of mount Ephraim, who took a wife of Bethlehem Juda:

19:2. And she left him, and returned to her father’s house in Bethlehem, and abode with him four months.

19:3. And her husband followed her, willing to be reconciled with her, and to speak kindly to her, and to bring her back with him, having with him a servant and two asses: and she received him, and brought him into her father’s house. And when his father in law had heard this, and had seen him, he met him with joy,

19:4. And embraced the man. And the son in law tarried in the house of his father in law three days, eating with him and drinking familiarly.

19:5. But on the fourth day, arising early in the morning, he desired to depart. But his father in law kept him, and said to him: Taste first a little bread, and strengthen thy stomach, and so thou shalt depart.

19:6. And they sat down together, and ate and drank. And the father of the young woman said to his son in law: I beseech thee to stay here to day, and let us make merry together.

19:7. But he rising up, began to be for departing. And nevertheless his father in law earnestly pressed him, and made him stay with him.

19:8. But when morning was come, the Levite prepared to go on his journey. And his father in law said to him again: I beseech thee to take a little meat, and strengthening thyself, till the day be farther advanced, afterwards thou mayest depart. And they ate together.

19:9. And the young man arose to set forward with his wife and servant. And his father in law spoke to him again: Consider that the day is declining, and draweth toward evening: tarry with me to day also, and spend the day in mirth, and to morrow thou shalt depart, that thou mayest go into thy house.

19:10. His son in law would not consent to his words: but forthwith went forward, and came over against Jebus, which by another name is called Jerusalem, leading with him two asses loaden, and his concubine.

Concubine. She was his lawful wife, but even lawful wives are frequently in scripture called concubines. See above, chap. 8. ver. 31.-ver. 16. Jemini. . .That is, Benjamin.

19:11. And now they were come near Jebus, and the day was far spent: and the servant said to his master: Come, I beseech thee, let us turn into the city of the Jebusites, and lodge there.

19:12. His master answered him: I will not go into the town of another nation, who are not of the children of Israel, but I will pass over to Gabaa:

19:13. And when I shall come thither, we will lodge there, or at least in the city of Rama.

19:14. So they passed by Jebus, and went on their journey, and the sun went down upon them when they were by Gabaa, which is in the tribe of Benjamin:

19:15. And they turned into it to lodge there. And when they were come in, they sat in the street of the city, for no man would receive them to lodge.

19:16. And behold they saw an old man, returning out of the field and from his work in the evening, and he also was of mount Ephraim, and dwelt as a stranger in Gabaa; but the men of that country were the children of Jemini.

19:17. And the old man lifting up his eyes, saw the man sitting with his bundles in the street of the city, and said to him: Whence comest thou? and whither goest thou?

19:18. He answered him: We came out from Bethlehem Juda, and we are going to our home, which is on the side of mount Ephraim, from whence we went to Bethlehem: and now we go to the house of God, and none will receive us under his roof:

19:19. We have straw and hay for provender of the asses, and bread and wine for the use of myself and of thy handmaid, and of the servant that is with me: we want nothing but lodging.

19:20. And the old man answered him: Peace be with thee: I will furnish all things that are necessary: only I beseech thee, stay not in the street.

19:21. And he brought him into his house, and gave provender to his asses: and after they had washed their feet, he entertained them with a feast.

19:22. While they were making merry, and refreshing their bodies with meat and drink, after the labour of the journey, the men of that city, sons of Belial (that is, without yoke), came and beset the old man’s house, and began to knock at the door, calling to the master of the house, and saying: Bring forth the man that came into thy house, that we may abuse him:

19:23. And the old man went out to them, and said: Do not so, my brethren, do not so wickedly: because this man is come into my lodging, and cease I pray you from this folly.

19:24. I have a maiden daughter, and this man hath a concubine, I will bring them out to you, and you may humble them, and satisfy your lust: only, I beseech you, commit not this crime against nature on the man.

19:25. They would not be satisfied with his words; which the man seeing, brought out his concubine to them, and abandoned her to their wickedness: and when they had abused her all the night, they let her go in the morning.

19:26. But the woman, at the dawning of the day, came to the door of the house, where her lord lodged, and there fell down.

19:27. And in the morning the man arose, and opened the door, that he might end the journey he had begun: and behold his concubine lay before the door with her hands spread on the threshold.

19:28. He thinking she was taking her rest, said to her: Arise, and let us be going. But as she made no answer, perceiving she was dead, he took her up, and laid her upon his ass, and returned to his house.

19:29. And when he was come home, he took a sword, and divided the dead body of his wife with her bones into twelve parts, and sent the pieces into all the borders of Israel.

19:30. And when every one had seen this, they all cried out: There was never such a thing done in Israel, from the day that our fathers came up out of Egypt, until this day: give sentence, and decree in common what ought to be done.

Judges Chapter 20

The Israelites warring against Benjamin are twice defeated; but in the third battle the Benjamites are all slain, saving six hundred men.

20:1. Then all the children of Israel went out, and gathered together as one man, from Dan to Bersabee, with the land of Galaad, to the Lord in Maspha:

20:2. And all the chiefs of the people, and all the tribes of Israel, met together in the assembly of the people of God, four hundred thousand footmen fit for war.

20:3. (Nor were the children of Benjamin ignorant that the children of Israel were come up to Maspha.) And the Levite, the husband of the woman that was killed being asked, how so great a wickedness had been committed,

20:4. Answered: I came into Gabaa, of Benjamin, with my wife, and there I lodged:

20:5. And behold the men of that city, in the night beset the house wherein I was, intending to kill me, and abused my wife with an incredible fury of lust, so that at last she died.

20:6. And I took her and cut her in pieces, and sent the parts into all the borders of your possession: because there never was so heinous a crime, and so great an abomination committed in Israel.

20:7. You are all here, O children of Israel, determine what you ought to do.

20:8. And all the people standing, answered as by the voice of one man: We will not return to our tents, neither shall any one of us go into his own house:

20:9. But this we will do in common against Gabaa:

20:10. We will take ten men of a hundred out of all the tribes of Israel, and a hundred out of a thousand, and a thousand out of ten thousand, to bring victuals for the army, that we may fight against Gabaa of Benjamin, and render to it for its wickedness, what it deserveth.

20:11. And all Israel were gathered together against the city, as one man, with one mind, and one counsel:

20:12. And they sent messengers to all the tribe of Benjamin, to say to them: Why hath so great an abomination been found among you?

20:13. Deliver up the men of Gabaa, that have committed this heinous crime, that they may die, and the evil may be taken away out of Israel. But they would not hearken to the proposition of their brethren the children of Israel:

20:14. But out of all the cities which were of their lot, they gathered themselves together into Gabaa, to aid them, and to fight against the whole people of Israel.

20:15. And there were found of Benjamin five and twenty thousand men that drew the sword, besides the inhabitants of Gabaa,

20:16. Who were seven hundred most valiant men, fighting with the left hand as well as with the right: and slinging stones so sure that they could hit even a hair, and not miss by the stone’s going on either side.

20:17. Of the men of Israel also, beside the children of Benjamin, were found four hundred thousand that drew swords and were prepared to fight.

20:18. And they arose and came to the house of God, that is, to Silo: and they consulted God, and said: Who shall be in our army the first to go to the battle against the children of Benjamin? And the Lord answered them: Let Juda be your leader.

20:19. And forthwith the children of Israel rising in the morning, camped by Gabaa:

20:20. And going out from thence to fight against Benjamin, began to assault the city.

20:21. And the children of Benjamin coming out of Gabaa slew of the children of Israel that day two and twenty thousand men.

20:22. Again Israel, trusting in their strength and their number, set their army in array in the same place, where they had fought before:

Trusting in their strength. . .The Lord suffered them to be overthrown and many of them to be slain, though their cause was just; partly in punishment of the idolatry which they exercised or tolerated in the tribe of Dan, and elsewhere; and partly because they trusted in their own strength; and therefore, though he bid them fight, he would not give them the victory, till they were thoroughly humbled and had learned to trust in him alone.

20:23. Yet so that they first went up and wept before the Lord until night: and consulted him and said: Shall I go out any more to fight against the children of Benjamin my brethren or not? And he answered them: Go up against them, and join battle.

20:24. And when the children of Israel went out the next day to fight against the children of Benjamin,

20:25. The children of Benjamin sallied forth out of the gates of Gabaa: and meeting them, made so great a slaughter of them, as to kill eighteen thousand men that drew the sword.

20:26. Wherefore all the children of Israel came to the house of God, and sat and wept before the Lord: and they fasted that day till the evening, and offered to him holocausts, and victims of peace offerings,

20:27. And inquired of him concerning their state. At that time the ark of the covenant of the Lord was there,

20:28. And Phinees, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, was over the house. So they consulted the Lord, and said: Shall we go out any more to fight against the children of Benjamin, our brethren, or shall we cease? And the Lord said to them: Go up, for to morrow I will deliver them into your hands.

20:29. And the children of Israel set ambushes round about the city of Gabaa:

20:30. And they drew up their army against Benjamin the third time, as they had done the first and second.

20:31. And the children of Benjamin boldly issued out of the city, and seeing their enemies flee, pursued them a long way, so as to wound and kill some of them, as they had done the first and second day, whilst they fled by two highways, whereof one goeth up to Bethel and the other to Gabaa, and they slew about thirty men:

20:32. For they thought to cut them off as they did before. But they artfully feigning a flight, designed to draw them away from the city, and by their seeming to flee, to bring them to the highways aforesaid.

20:33. Then all the children of Israel rising up out of the places where they were, set their army in battle array, in the place which is called Baalthamar. The ambushes also, which were about the city, began by little and little to come forth,

20:34. And to march from the west side of the city. And other ten thousand men chosen out of all Israel, attacked the inhabitants of the city. And the battle grew hot against the children of Benjamin: and they understood not that present death threatened them on every side.

20:35. And the Lord defeated them before the children of Israel, and they slew of them in that day five and twenty thousand, and one hundred, all fighting men, and that drew the sword.

20:36. But the children of Benjamin, when they saw themselves to be too weak, began to flee. Which the children of Israel seeing, gave them place to flee, that they might come to the ambushes that were prepared, which they had set near the city.

20:37. And they that were in ambush arose on a sudden out of their coverts, and whilst Benjamin turned their backs to the slayers, went into the city, and smote it with the edge of the sword.

20:38. Now the children of Israel had given a sign to them, whom they had laid in ambushes, that after they had taken the city, they should make a fire: that by the smoke rising on high, they might shew that the city was taken.

20:39. And when the children of Israel saw this in the battle, (for the children of Benjamin thought they fled, and pursued them vigorously, killing thirty men of their army)

20:40. And perceived, as it were, a pillar of smoke rise up from the city; and Benjamin looking back, saw that the city was taken, and that the flames ascended on high:

20:41. They that before had made as if they fled, turning their faces, stood bravely against them. Which the children of Benjamin seeing, turned their backs,

20:42. And began to go towards the way of the desert, the enemy pursuing them thither also. And they that fired the city came also out to meet them.

20:43. And so it was, that they were slain on both sides by the enemies, and there was no rest of their men dying. They fell and were beaten down on the east side of the city of Gabaa.

20:44. And they that were slain in the same place, were eighteen thousand men, all most valiant soldiers.

20:45. And when they that remained of Benjamin saw this, they fled into the wilderness, and made towards the rock that is called Remmon. In that flight also, as they were straggling, and going different ways; they slew of them five thousand men. And as they went farther, they still pursued them, and slew also other two thousand.

20:46. And so it came to pass, that all that were slain of Benjamin, in divers places, were five and twenty thousand fighting men, most valiant for war.

20:47. And there remained of all the number of Benjamin only six hundred men that were able to escape, and flee to the wilderness: and they abode in the rock Remmon four months.

20:48. But the children of Israel returning, put all the remains of the city to the sword, both men and beasts, and all the cities and villages of Benjamin were consumed with devouring flames.

Judges Chapter 21

The tribe of Benjamin is saved from being utterly extinct, by providing wives for the six hundred that remained.

21:1. Now the children of Israel had also sworn in Maspha, saying: None of us shall give of his daughters to the children of Benjamin to wife.

21:2. And they all came to the house of God in Silo, and sitting before him till the evening, lifted up their voices, and began to lament and weep, saying:

21:3. O Lord God of Israel, why is so great an evil come to pass in thy people, that this day one tribe should be taken away from among us?

21:4. And rising early the next day, they built an altar: and offered there holocausts, and victims of peace, and they said:

21:5. Who is there among all the tribes of Israel that came not up with the army of the Lord? for they had bound themselves with a great oath, when they were in Maspha, that whosoever were wanting should be slain.

21:6. And the children of Israel being moved with repentance for their brother Benjamin, began to say: One tribe is taken away from Israel.

21:7. Whence shall they take wives? For we have all in general sworn, not to give our daughters to them.

21:8. Therefore they said: Who is there of all the tribes of Israel, that came not up to the Lord to Maspha? And, behold, the inhabitants of Jabes Galaad were found not to have been in that army.

21:9. (At that time also when they were in Silo, no one of them was found there,)

21:10. So they sent ten thousand of the most valiant men, and commanded them, saying: Go and put the inhabitants of Jabes Galaad to the sword, with their wives and their children.

21:11. And this is what you shall observe: Every male, and all women that have known men, you shall kill, but the virgins you shall save.

21:12. And there were found of Jabes Galaad four hundred virgins, that had not known the bed of a man, and they brought them to the camp in Silo, into the land of Chanaan.

21:13. And they sent messengers to the children of Benjamin, that were in the rock Remmon, and commanded them to receive them in peace.

21:14. And the children of Benjamin came at that time, and wives were given them of the daughters of Jabes Galaad: but they found no others, whom they might give in like manner.

21:15. And all Israel was very sorry, and repented for the destroying of one tribe out of Israel.

21:16. And the ancients said: What shall we do with the rest, that have not received wives? for all the women in Benjamin are dead.

21:17. And we must use all care, and provide with great diligence, that one tribe be not destroyed out of Israel.

21:18. For as to our own daughters we cannot give them, being bound with an oath and a curse, whereby we said: Cursed be he that shall give Benjamin any of his daughters to wife.

21:19. So they took counsel, and said: Behold, there is a yearly solemnity of the Lord in Silo, which is situate on the north of the city of Bethel, and on the east side of the way, that goeth from Bethel to Sichem, and on the south of the town of Lebona.

21:20. And they commanded the children of Benjamin and said: Go, and lie hid in the vineyards,

21:21. And when you shall see the daughters of Silo come out, as the custom is, to dance, come ye on a sudden out of the vineyards, and catch you every man his wife among them, and go into the land of Benjamin.

21:22. And when their fathers and their brethren shall come, and shall begin to complain against you, and to chide, we will say to them: Have pity on them: for they took them not away as by the right of war or conquest, but when they asked to have them, you gave them not, and the fault was committed on your part.

21:23. And the children of Benjamin did as they had been commanded: and, according to their number, they carried off for themselves every man his wife of them that were dancing: and they went into their possession, and built up their cities, and dwelt in them.

21:24. The children of Israel also returned by their tribes, and families, to their dwellings. In those days there was no king in Israel: but every one did that which seemed right to himself.